diff --git a/data/cleaned_data_set_without_duplicates.csv b/data/cleaned_data_set_without_duplicates.csv new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0bfbeef --- /dev/null +++ b/data/cleaned_data_set_without_duplicates.csv @@ -0,0 +1,10000 @@ +'7f565b5746ba33be1784c7d3d6a7ede0c9cd81a2'|'Toshiba to sell less than 20 pct of chip unit, but may opt for IPO later'|'Industrials 25am EST Toshiba to sell less than 20 pct of chip unit, but may opt for IPO later TOKYO Jan 27 Toshiba Corp is currently looking to sell less than 20 percent of its memory chip business as it looks to raise capital to offset an upcoming multi-billion dollar charge, but may eventually list it, executives said on Friday. Toshiba Chief Executive Officer Satoshi Tsunakawa said he will do all he can to ensure the company doesn''t fall into negative net worth as a result of a writedown on its U.S. nuclear unit. The conglomerate will review its overseas nuclear business, Tsunakawa said, but added it has no plans to sell its infrastructure business. Toshiba''s board on Friday approved plans to make its core memory chip business a separate company and seek outside investment in it. (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) Next In Industrials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/toshiba-accounting-chips-idUST9N1F103J'|'2017-01-27T15:25:00.000+02:00' +'64e474522a8fbcdbb86a829a9c5708d3dd76e04b'|'Alaska Air to record $82 million as merger-related costs in fourth quarter'|'Alaska Air Group Inc ( ALK.N ) said on Wednesday it expects to record $82 million in the fourth quarter in costs related to the $2.6 billion acquisition of Virgin America Inc.Alaska Air completed its acquisition of Virgin America in December to become the fifth-largest U.S. carrier.The Seattle-based company said it expected unit revenue, a closely watched performance metric, for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, in the range of 11.24 cents to 11.29 cents, including Virgin America''s operational data. ( bit.ly/2jJNPGw )Alaska Air''s fourth-quarter expectations include Virgin America''s financial data from the period Dec. 14 to Dec. 31.(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Edited by Martina D''Couto)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-alaska-air-group-outlook-idINKBN1521MX'|'2017-01-18T09:28:00.000+02:00' +'244f708215c689f2fb7fa502434743a5410a254b'|'Delta Air Lines forecasts smaller drop in key revenue measure'|' 20am EST Delta Air Lines forecasts smaller drop in key revenue measure Passengers check in at a counter of Delta Air Lines in Mexico City, Mexico, August 8, 2016. REUTERS/Ginnette Riquelme/File Photo Delta Air Lines Inc ( DAL.N ) said on Thursday it expected a smaller decline in fourth-quarter passenger unit revenue, a closely watched revenue measure, than it had previously forecast. The No. 2 U.S. airline said it expects passenger unit revenue, which compares sales to flight capacity, to be down 2.5-3.0 percent for the current quarter, compared with its previous forecast of a decline of 3 percent. ( bit.ly/2j98WW0 ) (Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty) Next In Business News Chided by Trump, Ford scraps Mexico factory, adds Michigan jobs FLAT ROCK, Mich./WASHINGTON Ford Motor Co on Tuesday scrapped a planned Mexican car factory and added 700 jobs in Michigan following criticism by Donald Trump, as the U.S. president-elect turned his attention toward rival General Motors Co with the threat of a "big border tax" over compact cars made in Mexico.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-delta-air-outlook-idUSKBN14O1HE'|'2017-01-04T21:20:00.000+02:00' +'4a55c5a8cbbf3ff0b62d19127b664cb5ce483bca'|'Water utility Severn Trent sees FY rewards beating forecast'|'Business News - Tue Jan 31, 2017 - 8:26am GMT Water utility Severn Trent sees FY rewards beating forecast A sign hangs on a gate at Severn Trent Water''s Cropston Reservoir, Britain March 18, 2016. REUTERS/Darren Staples British water utility Severn Trent Plc ( SVT.L ) said it expected to exceed its forecast for full-year net customer outcome delivery incentive rewards (ODI) after strong operational performance in the third quarter. The company, which supplies water across the UK''s Midlands, said full-year ODI would be ahead of its previous guidance of 15 million pounds, but said there were two unpredictable winter months still to come. The company said it now expects to at least meet or exceed ODI of 23.2 million pounds for the year ended March 31 on a pretax basis at 2012/2013 prices. Water companies are rewarded when they meet or exceed target, and are penalised if they fail to meet targets. These targets include timely project completions and better customer services. (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri) Next In Business News Shell to sell North Sea assets to Chrysaor for $3.8 billion LONDON Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to sell a package of oil and gas fields to private equity-backed Chrysaor for $3.8 billion (3.04 billion pounds), giving the Anglo-Dutch group a major boost in its drive to reduce debt following the acquisition of BG Group.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-severn-trent-outlook-idUKKBN15F0Q3'|'2017-01-31T15:26:00.000+02:00' +'4f21e2d67d3b1dce026c874c2ae69f6792eb30ae'|'German industry orders fall more than expected in November'|'Business News - Fri Jan 6, 2017 - 2:09am EST German industry orders fall more than expected in November BERLIN Weak demand both at home and abroad drove a bigger-than-expected fall in German industrial orders in November, marking a slight correction after a surge in the prior month, data showed on Friday. Contracts for goods ''Made in Germany'' were down by 2.5 percent on the month, the Economy Ministry said. That was the biggest monthly drop since November 2014 and compared with a Reuters consensus forecast for a fall of 2.3 percent. Domestic demand decreased 2.8 percent while foreign orders fell 2.3 percent, with demand from euro zone countries down 2.7 percent. The data for October was revised up to a rise of 5.0 percent from a previously reported increase of 4.9 percent. This marked the biggest monthly rise since July 2014. (Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Paul Carrel) Next In Business News China''s yuan holds gains as PBOC hikes mid-point by most since 2005 SHANGHAI China''s yuan held onto its gains after a two-day rally on Friday as borrowing rates for its offshore component soared and the central bank set a stronger guidance rate for the currency, signaling no respite in official efforts to contain speculation.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-economy-orders-idUSKBN14Q0LH'|'2017-01-06T14:05:00.000+02:00' +'e3ec085e75ab8cc999d07b77be122efb2cab2c5e'|'Egypt updates pricing and sizes for US dollar triple-tranche'|'Financials 30am EST Egypt updates pricing and sizes for US dollar triple-tranche By Robert Hogg Jan 24 (IFR) - The Arab Republic of Egypt has provided updates on sizes and pricing for a triple-tranche US dollar bond deal, according to a lead. The sovereign has set yield on an expected US$1.75bn five-year bond at 6.125%. The notes were initially marketed at 6.375-6.625%. Guidance for a 10-year tranche with an expected US$1bn size has been set at 7.50-7.625%, to price in range. The notes were initially marketed at 7.625-7.875%. Guidance for a 30-year tranche with an expected US$1.25bn size has been set at 8.375-8.50%, to price in range. That compares to an initial marketing level at 8.625-8.875%. Combined order books are in excess of US$13.5bn, with a skew towards the five-year. The 144A/Reg S offering is being run by BNP Paribas, Citigroup, JP Morgan and Natixis. The sovereign is rated B3/B (Moody''s/Fitch). (Reporting by Robert Hogg; editing by Sudip Roy) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/egypt-bond-idUSL5N1FE1PN'|'2017-01-24T22:30:00.000+02:00' +'7ec1ede9bd2a45ec2161d5b3da69de8e81793fc4'|'Zodiac Aerospace rockets after Safran bid, European shares retreat'|'Business News - Thu Jan 19, 2017 - 10:19am GMT Zodiac Aerospace rockets after Safran bid, European shares retreat Traders work at their desks in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, January 16, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote By Kit Rees - LONDON LONDON European stocks dipped on Thursday, though Zodiac Aerospace''s ( ZODC.PA ) shares surged after a takeover offer by France''s Safran ( SAF.PA ) and Moneysupermarket.com ( MONY.L ) also jumped after it reported strong results. Zodiac Aerospace ( ZODC.PA ) rocketed 21.7 percent after Safran offered $9 billion to buy the aircraft seat manufacturer. Shares in Safran gained 1.9 percent. "On a stand-alone financial basis, the acquisition of Zodiac appears pretty attractive, in our view. We venture (to suggest) the planned special dividend may also lend near-term support to the Safran share price," Sandy Morris, equity analyst at Jefferies, said in a note. Earnings boosted shares in Moneysupermarket.com ( MONY.L ) by 6.6 percent to their highest level since March 2016 after the price comparison website reported better-than-expected fourth quarter and full year revenues. [nL5N1F9251 Dutch-Belgian food retailer Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize ( AD.AS ) also rose, up 3.2 percent after posting strong fourth quarter sales figures. Royal Mail''s ( RMG.L ) results were received less enthusiastically, its shares falling 6.4 percent and weighing on the blue chip FTSE 100 .FTSE index, which dropped 0.7 percent. [nL1N1F90BJ] Analysts flagged further weakening in Royal Mail''s UK letters business as a concern. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.4 percent in choppy trade. A 1.3 percent fall in oil stocks .SXEP also weighed. Downgrades were a drag, weighing on Gemalto ( GTO.AS ), Ingenico ( INGC.PA ) and Rightmove ( RMV.L ), which all fell between 3 to 3.8 percent. "We''re ... entering an earnings season, and I don''t think it''s going to be necessarily one of the strongest ones. I think we''re going to see a continuation of the one that we had last quarter, which was very patchy for many industries," said Ken Odeluga, market analyst at City Index. A meeting of the European Central Bank later in the day was also in focus for investors. The ECB is expected to keep policy unchanged. Overnight, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen signalled that the U.S. central bank was poised to pursue a path of steady interest rate hikes. (Editing by Gareth Jones)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks-idUKKBN1530X2'|'2017-01-19T17:19:00.000+02:00' +'4dcad7443ecfcb3944f55ab346156bd6cdfb1919'|'India plans expansive budget despite growth, revenue worries'|'Business 36pm EST India plans expansive budget despite growth, revenue worries left right India''s Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures as he reads a joint statement with Myanmar''s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi (not pictured) at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India October 19, 2016. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi 1/3 left right Finance Minister Arun Jaitley addresses a delegation while speaking on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) issues during the Vibrant Gujarat investor summit in Gandhinagar, January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Amit Dave 2/3 left right India''s Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivers a speech next to Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto (not pictured), at Los Pinos presidential residence in Mexico City, Mexico, June 8, 2016. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido 3/3 By Manoj Kumar - NEW DELHI NEW DELHI India''s finance minister is likely to borrow more than originally planned when he presents the budget on Feb. 1, senior aides and officials said, despite counting on revenues from a national sales tax whose launch date is still unknown. Arun Jaitley is looking at how to fund giveaways to taxpayers and higher public investment to help nurse Asia''s third-largest economy back to health after the government''s shock decision in November to abolish high-value banknotes. That is raising concern among some economists and investors that the government will take too many fiscal risks. Yet officials say that, given the choice, they would choose growth sustained by state investment over a fiscal straitjacket. "Some degree of flexibility on fiscal discipline should not be seen as irresponsible fiscal management," one senior government official told Reuters, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. A fiscal advisory panel, which includes central bank head Urjit Patel, has advocated widening the budget deficit to "slightly over" 3 percent of gross domestic product to free up funds for road, railway and irrigation projects. "It is not possible to keep up the pace of capital expenditure without increasing the fiscal deficit beyond 3 percent of GDP," another official, briefed on the committee''s findings, added. New Delhi earlier aimed to cut the federal deficit to 3 percent of GDP over the next two fiscal years, compared with 3.5 percent in the year now drawing to a close. Independent economists are also penciling in a higher federal deficit in the coming fiscal year, at 3.3-3.4 percent of GDP, creating room for the government to invest an extra $6 billion. That has drawn a warning from ratings agency Standard & Poor''s, which says that slowing the pace of fiscal consolidation could delay India''s chances of an upgrade due to its high and rising debt levels. HEROIC ASSUMPTIONS Jaitley''s team forecasts a recovery in nominal GDP growth, the key driver of tax revenues, to around 12 percent in 2017/18. Yet that assumes oil prices of $55-60 per barrel and a long-delayed Goods and Services Tax being implemented in July. And the economy is still getting over the shock of Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s decision in November to scrap 86 percent of cash in circulation in a bid to purge the economy of illicit "black money". The International Monetary Fund has chopped a percentage point off India''s forecast of real economic growth to 6.6 percent in the current fiscal year to March, meaning China regains the crown as the world''s fastest-growing large economy. The Washington-based lender has also shaved 0.4 of a percentage point off its forecast for the coming fiscal year. Finance ministry officials remain tight-lipped about how quickly they expect growth to bounce back after it slowed following so-called demonetization. International prices for crude oil, India''s most expensive import item, could meanwhile overshoot the finance ministry''s expectations as exporting nations curb output, hurting the growth and revenue outlook. "This budget is presented in a very uncertain situation," said N.R. Bhanumurthy, an economist at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, a New Delhi think-tank that is partly funded by the government. Modi faces the imminent verdict of voters in five regional elections, most importantly in the battleground state of Uttar Pradesh that is home to more than 200 million people. A setback there for his nationalist party could harm his chances of winning a second term in 2019. Election authorities have barred the government from offering targeted budget ''sops'' to buy votes. And even if the government does ramp up public investment in Jaitley''s fourth budget, it has little room for maneuver - nearly nine in every 10 rupees it spends go on servicing debt or paying wages and subsidies. "It will not be a populist, but a pragmatic budget," said a senior finance ministry official with direct knowledge of budget planning. (Additional reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh and Douglas Busvine; Editing by Mike Collett-White) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-budget-idUSKBN15A01Y'|'2017-01-26T07:30:00.000+02:00' +'7c83e74cb8329aa6a8ad4acad04ad6bea54babb2'|'UPDATE 1-Ford Motor criticizes Trump immigration order'|'(Adds more details from statement)By David ShepardsonWASHINGTON Jan 30 Ford Motor Co on Monday criticized President Donald Trump''s controversial immigration order, becoming one of the highest profile U.S. manufacturers to question the decision to temporary ban travelers coming from seven predominantly Muslim countries.Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. and Chief Executive Officer Mark Fields said in a statement to employees that the company does not support what it called a new U.S. travel ban."We do not support this policy or any other that goes against our values as a company," they said, adding that Ford is not aware of any employees directly affected by the policy.Fields met twice with Trump last week to talk about economic issues. Ford was harshly criticized by Trump during the campaign for moving some production to Mexico, but he has praised the automaker in recent weeks for announcing new U.S. investments.Ford is based in Dearborn, Michigan, home to one of the largest Arab-American populations in the United States.General Motors Co, Fiat Chrysler Group NV, Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co are among automakers that have declined to comment when asked by Reuters about the immigration order.Tesla Motors Inc CEO Elon Musk has also criticized the order. (Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/ford-trump-idINL1N1FK11M'|'2017-01-30T13:44:00.000+02:00' +'5dc3f467f86c9eb3197fee8a4fa9544c348e549e'|'UPDATE 1-Indonesia says bond dealers must avoid conflicts of interest'|'* Primary dealers must ''safeguard'' partnership with govt* Govt can revoke appointment if dealers break the rules* Govt to look at track record of dealership applicants* Fin ministry cut ties with JPMorgan after research downgrade (Adds context)By Eveline Danubrata and Gayatri SuroyoJAKARTA, Jan 11 Indonesia''s finance ministry, which recently cut its business ties with JPMorgan Chase & Co , announced new rules that require primary bond dealers to "safeguard" their partnership with the government and avoid conflicts of interest.The regulation is likely to add to analysts'' concern about moves to strike back over unfavourable investment commentary after Indonesia punished the U.S. bank for its downgrade of the country''s stocks in November.Primary dealers "have the duty to safeguard the partnership with the Indonesian government based on professionalism, integrity, the avoidance of conflict of interest, and looking at the interests of the Republic of Indonesia," according to documents uploaded to the ministry''s website on Wednesday.The documents, dated Dec. 30, said the finance minister can revoke the appointment of a primary dealer if it does not fulfill the stated conditions.The finance minister also has the authority to accept or reject an application to be a primary dealer by taking into consideration the track record of the bank or securities firm, including its working experience with the ministry.A primary dealer is a bank or a securities firm appointed by the finance minister that can buy government bonds in auctions and resell them in the secondary market. Indonesia had 19 such dealers as of Nov. 25.Foreigners hold more than 37 percent of Indonesia''s government bonds. The local capital market lacks depth and liquidity, making the perception of foreign investors particularly important for Southeast Asia''s biggest economy.The Finance Ministry dropped the JPMorgan''s services as a primary dealer for domestic sovereign bonds and as an underwriter for bonds sold to the global market. The bank also no longer receives certain transfers of state revenue.Suahasil Nazara, the head of the ministry''s fiscal policy office, on Jan. 4 defended the penalising of JPMorgan, saying its research was "not credible and not objective".(Additional reporting by Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Richard Borsuk)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/indonesia-bonds-idINL4N1F11SU'|'2017-01-11T01:47:00.000+02:00' +'a5896e7e00701c57d5aac21b809b66e3b9031ae8'|'China stocks climb to new 6-week highs; Hong Kong firmer'|'Industrials - Wed Jan 25, 2017 - 11:51pm EST China stocks climb to new 6-week highs; Hong Kong firmer * SSEC +0.1 pct, CSI300 +0.3 pct, HSI +1.4 pct * China''s Dec industrial profits grow at sharply slower pace SHANGHAI Jan 26 China stocks are set for a five-day winning streak, hitting a fresh six-week high on Thursday morning, but gains were curbed after profits earned by industrial firms grew at a sharply slower pace last month. Market turnover stayed thin on the last trading day before the Lunar New Year, China''s biggest holiday, starting on Friday. Markets will be closed for a week and will reopen on Feb. 3. Hong Kong stocks rallied and were poised for four days of gains, drawing inspiration from the Dow Jones Industrial Average breaching the 20,000-point level for the first time on Wednesday. Sentiment was also helped by a weaker U.S. dollar, easing fears of capital outflows from the city. In China, the blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.3 percent, to 3,387.16 points at the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.1 percent, to 3,153.77 points. Blue chip shares have gained almost 1 percent so far this week. "Investors are in a holiday mood now," said Cao Xuefeng, head of research at Huaxi Securities in Chengdu, noting the market is traditionally firm ahead of the Lunar New year. But bullish sentiment was partly offset by China''s profit growth earned by industrial firms in December, which eased sharply to 2.3 percent compared with November''s 14.5 percent. Cao said the slower pace was due to a cooling property market and seasonal factors as many workers had already left the factories for their home towns ahead of the new year. "The path of U.S. interest rate rises, Trump''s policies to China, whether he will brand China a currency manipulator, is there going to be a trade war - all these will affect the economy in China this year," Cao said, adding that it was hard to predict Trump''s next move. "He plays against the rules. He isn''t like former U.S. presidents." Sector performance was mixed in China. An index tracking the industrial sector lost 0.1 percent at midday after briefly hitting a two-week high in early trade. Banks were among best gainers on the mainland. An index tracking the sector was up nearly 0.8 percent, after China''s banking regulator reported that commercial banks'' non-performing loan (NPL) ratio stood at 1.74 percent at the end of 2016, basically flat from end of the third quarter. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index added 1.4 percent, to 23,365.01 points, while the Hong Kong China Enterprises Index gained 1.4 percent, to 9,875.77 points. The Dow surged on Wednesday as solid earnings and optimism over President Donald Trump''s pro-growth initiatives revitalised a post-election rally. Sectors gained across the board at midday, with tech stocks and real estate developers among the best performers. Hong Kong exchanges will be closed on Jan. 30 and 31 for the Lunar New Year. (Reporting by Jackie Cai and John Ruwitch; Editing by Jacqueline Wong) Next In Industrials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/china-stocks-midday-idUSL4N1FG1TI'|'2017-01-26T11:51:00.000+02:00' +'f2704dbd08a08f1aad5c2f43febc7cb6fd6011d2'|'Indonesia penalises JPMorgan for ''underweight'' call - officials'|'By Nilufar Rizki and Eveline Danubrata - JAKARTA JAKARTA Indonesia will drop JPMorgan Chase & Co from providing some services to the government after the bank''s research arm said investors should reduce their exposure to the country, senior finance ministry officials said on Tuesday."After we did a comprehensive review, we said no need to use JPMorgan''s services as a primary (bond) dealer and a perception bank," Suahasil Nazara, the head of the ministry''s fiscal policy office, told Reuters.A 2006 government decree says a perception bank is one appointed by the finance minister to receive transfers of state revenue not related to imports, including tax, onshore excise and non-tax revenue.Nazara said the penalty on JPMorgan was already in effect.In an equities research note dated Nov. 13, JPMorgan downgraded its investment recommendation on Indonesia to "underweight" from "overweight", citing higher risk premiums for emerging markets after Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election."Bond markets are starting to price in faster growth and higher deficit," the bank wrote, adding that the "spike in volatility" may stop or reverse flows into fixed-income assets in emerging markets.However, the bank said in the note that the downgrade on Indonesia and Brazil was a "tactical" response to Trump''s victory. Both economies are improving, with lower policy rates likely to support valuations for 2017, it added.A JPMorgan spokeswoman said on Tuesday that it continued to operate its business in Indonesia as usual. "The impact on our clients is minimal, and we continue to work with the Ministry of Finance to resolve the matter," she said by email.The finance ministry''s Nazara said the bank''s analysis "did not make sense" because it recommended a "neutral" position for Brazil, which is better than for Indonesia, despite what he said was a more stable political situation in the Southeast Asian nation."We have asked them to clarify their assessment. They''ve explained to us, but we found their argument not credible. It''s not that we think we''re so great, but we look at ourselves and we look at other countries'' economies," Nazara said."Our mindset is, if you''re doing business here in Indonesia, the spirit is to maintain stability. Don''t create unnecessary volatility to create business," he added.Robert Pakpahan, Indonesia''s director general for budget financing and risk management, told reporters on Tuesday that JPMorgan''s research should not have a major impact on Indonesia''s future bond issuance, but the sanction on JPMorgan would remain in place "until we say otherwise".Primary dealers of Indonesian government bonds as of Nov. 25 included Citibank, Deutsche Bank AG, Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited and local lender PT Bank Central Asia Tbk, according to the finance ministry''s website. ( bit.ly/2iKae6n )Indonesia''s 10-year credit default swap, a contract used to measure credit risk in fixed-income products, and the yield on its benchmark 10-year bonds spiked after the U.S. election, though they have since dipped.Trump signalled more protective U.S. trade policies, raising concerns about the impact on developing markets.Analysts have said Indonesia''s economy should be supported by domestic consumption, which makes up more than half of gross domestic product.But the relatively high foreign ownership of government bonds and Indonesia''s lack of depth of financial markets make it vulnerable to capital reversals, they say.Indonesia''s central bank said shortly after the Federal Reserve raised U.S. interest rates in December that it was on guard against "reversals" of capital flows into the country.However, Fitch Ratings revised in December Indonesia''s credit rating outlook to positive, citing a relatively low government debt burden, favourable growth outlook and an improving business environment.(Reporting by Nilufar Rizki and Eveline Danubrata; Additional reporting by Gayatri Suroyo, Hidayat Setiaji and Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Richard Borsuk and Will Waterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/indonesia-bonds-jpmorgan-idINKBN14N0O7'|'2017-01-03T06:55:00.000+02:00' +'a612e7075c0cb777363abc9f1c3c13e83cddba81'|'Prime property predictions for 2017: Savills'|'Prime property predictions for 2017: Savills Buyers must either add value or head to emerging markets - if they have the stomach for it 3 days ago by Yolande Barnes 1. The global challenge for real estate investors is to find value in a world where low interest rates have pushed asset prices, including residential property, to the full. Even private investors are now banking more on what a property can actually provide for them either in terms of amenity or additional income than on capital growth. City properties in great locations, either historic settings or sunbelt, are becoming increasingly sought after. Buyers all over the planet are beginning to recognise that neighbourhoods offering a high quality of life will appreciate in value, not just so many square feet of bricks and mortar. 2. We think there are still some enclaves in 2017 with scope for capital growth but these are few and far between. Europe as a global region has seen less of the effect of falling capitalisation rates which have characterised major US and Asian cities, so we expect some further growth even in major cities. In the main however, only higher yielding secondary and tertiary properties, rather than prime, are likely to see residential property growth through asset value catch-up. 3. With yields now at their lowest ever levels globally, the drivers of capital growth in future will be occupier demand and subsequent rental growth rather than competition between investors. After 2017, the fundamental quality of places will start to matter much more to buyers. Real estate will behave less like a commodity and so the emphasis will be on what value can be added rather than how it will automatically appreciate over time. 4. The biggest opportunities for growth lie outside developed economies, outside the famous world cities and outside prime areas. The trick is spotting the next up and coming, neighbourhood, city or economic region. At a global scale, it is less developed regions which have the greatest potential for growth as growing middle classes become homeowners or pay higher rents. The fundamentals will matter but levels of risk and lack of transparency in Africa, South America and less developed parts of Asia mean that buying property in these regions is not for the faint hearted. Yolande Barnes is Head of Savills World Research See Christies predictions here Next up: Nathan Brooker, property writer for FT House & Home Tags:'|'ft.com'|'http://www.ft.com/rss/companies/property'|'https://propertylistings.ft.com/propertynews/united-states/4924-prime-property-predictions-for-2017-savills.html?ftcamp=published_links%2Frss%2Fcompanies_property%2Ffeed%2F%2Fproduct'|'2017-01-06T17:16:00.000+02:00' +'b35e1132185336ed92fcb7d3ecbf5f107cf99a94'|'Fitch Rates Autonomous Community of Asturias''s Bonds ''BBB'''|' 39am EST Fitch Rates Autonomous Community of Asturias''s Bonds ''BBB'' (The following statement was released by the rating agency) BARCELONA, January 23 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings has assigned the Autonomous Community of Asturias''s (Asturias; BBB/Stable/F2) senior unsecured debt a long-term local currency rating of ''BBB''. The rating also applies to the region''s following bonds: - EUR19.2m 0.654% fixed-rate, with bullet repayment and five-year maturity - EUR20m 0.654% fixed-rate, with bullet repayment and five-year maturity - EUR102m 0.862% fixed-rate, with periodic repayment and nine-year maturity The bonds have been used to refinance existing obligations. KEY RATING DRIVERS The bonds'' ratings are aligned with Asturias''s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating as the notes constitute senior and unsecured debt of the region. Asturias''s IDRs reflect weak fiscal performance, a moderately high direct debt burden and financial support from the central government. The Stable Outlook incorporates Fitch''s expectations that the region''s fiscal performance will gradually improve, limiting direct debt growth to 107%-110% of current revenue through to 2017, versus 106% in 2015. RATING SENSITIVITIES A rating action on Asturias would be mirrored on the bonds'' rating. Contact: Primary Analyst Julia Carner Analyst +34 93 323 8401 Fitch Ratings Espana, S.A.U. Av. Diagonal, 601, Barcelona 08028 Secondary Analyst Guilhem Costes Senior Director +34 93 323 8410 Committee Chairperson Raffaele Carnevale Senior Director +39 02 87 90 87 203 Media Relations: Peter Fitzpatrick, London, Tel: +44 20 3530 1103, Email: peter.fitzpatrick@fitchratings.com. Additional information is available on www.fitchratings.com Applicable Criteria International Local and Regional Governments Rating Criteria - Outside the United States (pub. 18 Apr 2016) here Additional Disclosures Dodd-Frank Rating Information Disclosure Form here _id=1017886 Solicitation Status here Endorsement Policy here ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: here . 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Credit ratings information published by Fitch is not intended to be used by persons who are retail clients within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFit986910'|'2017-01-23T17:39:00.000+02:00' +'27352e5538c0f384e4bd53c024902fe145bb357e'|'Uber drivers are employees ''eligible for company social security contributions'' - Swiss agency'|' 09am GMT Uber drivers are employees ''eligible for company social security contributions'' - Swiss agency A photo illustration shows the Uber app logo displayed on a mobile telephone, as it is held up for a posed photograph in central London, Britain October 28, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville/Illustration ZURICH Uber drivers are employees for which the company must pay social security contributions, a Swiss insurance agency has ruled, dealing a blow to the U.S. ride-hailing platform that says drivers are freelance contractors. The California-based startup whose cab service has expanded worldwide stands accused in many countries of bypassing national labour protection standards and shunning collective negotiation with drivers who work on freelance terms. Suva - which as a provider of Swiss obligatory on-the-job accident insurance helps decide which workers are freelance - found Uber Technology [UBER.UL] drivers are staff because they faced consequences if they did not meet Uber rules and could not set prices and payment terms independently, broadcaster SRF reported. SRF cited an appeal ruling in one driver''s case it said it had seen. Suva was not immediately available for comment. Labour representatives hailed the ruling, but local Uber boss Rasoul Jalali pointed out to SRF that the Suva decision was not the final word. "If we cannot find an agreement with Suva, we will have to rely on the courts," he said. Founded in 2009, Uber has taken the world by storm but come up against opposition too. Various services it has proposed have been banned in some countries and it faces numerous battles in U.S. courts over labour standards, safety rules and pricing policies that trigger fare surges at peak times. (Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Nick Macfie) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-swiss-uber-idUKKBN14P0J7'|'2017-01-05T14:09:00.000+02:00' +'0a9ab89aac6175e5f4e675db1910dda3d0568d1b'|'LPC-Kenya''s syndicated loan delayed-bankers'|'Financials - Tue Jan 31, 2017 - 8:23am EST LPC-Kenya''s syndicated loan delayed-bankers By Sandrine Bradley - LONDON LONDON Jan 31 The Kenyan government''s efforts to raise an internationally syndicated loan has been delayed by uncertainty surrounding a second US$250m loan made by The Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (PTA Bank) to the sovereign, bankers close to the situation said. Banks submitted bids in response to a request from Kenya in December for bonds or loans totalling up to US$1bn, and earlier this month the government mandated Standard Chartered, Standard Bank, Citigroup and Rand Merchant Bank to lead a loan that is expected to total around US$800m. The confusion has arisen because there is uncertainty about whether the US$250m provided by PTA Bank will be syndicated to the market or not. If it is offered to banks, it could have significant consequences for the four lenders looking to syndicate the larger loan, bankers said. There is only a relatively small pool of banks available to lend to Kenya, and bankers say that lenders would only be able to lend to one of the two loans, but not both, because of exposure issues. "The deal with PTA is confusing all of us. We thought it was a bilateral and not a market transaction. You cannot have two transactions in the market at the same time. It will not necessarily stop the deal but it raises serious questions," said one banker. Until lenders receive clarification of what will happen with the PTA loan, the situation has now reached a ''stalemate'', a second banker said. "If PTA syndicates at the same time [as the larger loan] it complicates the whole process. None of the arranging banks would have proposed what they proposed if they knew the existence of the other syndication," another banker said. Subsequent bank meetings to discuss the loan, including one which took place in Nairobi on January 19 and another on January 30, did not clarify the situation, the bankers said. "It is frustrating that an African sovereign is behaving like this. It was a fantastically run RFP (request for proposals) process - clear and transparent -- and then this happens. It doesn''t make sense," the third banker said. PTA Bank and the Kenyan government did not respond to requests for comment by telephone and by email. Kenyan economic growth is expected to slip to 5.7% in 2017 from about 5.9% in 2016, the central bank said on Tuesday. (Editing by Christopher Mangham) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/kenya-loans-idUSL4N1FL2HC'|'2017-01-31T20:23:00.000+02:00' +'5b93ab29269511879205074eb7586d4370053e9c'|'Australia shares end higher on materials and financials; NZ up'|'Financials 1:09am EST Australia shares end higher on materials and financials; NZ up (Updates to close) Jan 25 Australian shares closed modestly higher on Wednesday, supported by financial stocks that rose on positive leads from U.S. counterparts, and by materials that were underpinned by higher commodity prices. The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.4 percent, or 21.40 points, to end at 5,671.50. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq set record highs on Tuesday in a broad rally led by financial and technology stocks. Australia''s local financial index snapped six sessions of losses, with the ''Big four'' up between 0.4 percent and 1.1 percent. The metals and mining index rose as much as 2.4 percent to its highest in over two years. Steel and iron ore futures in China rose for a second day on Wednesday, supported by hopes that demand for both commodities will strengthen after the Lunar New Year holiday. Mining giant BHP Billiton Ltd rose as much as 3.5 percent to its highest since June 2015. The world''s biggest miner reported a 9 percent rise in iron ore output in its fiscal second quarter. Rival Rio Tinto Ltd gained as much as 3.8 percent, its highest in over two and a half years, after it agreed to sell its unit Coal & Allied Industries Ltd to Yancoal Australia Ltd for up to $2.45 billion in cash. New Zealand''s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index closed 0.4 percent, or 26.75 points higher, at 7,090.91, its highest close in over three months. Industrials led gains, with Port Of Tauranga ending 2.3 percent higher. (Reporting by Sindhu Chandrasekaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim Coghill) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/australia-stocks-close-idUSL4N1FF1YU'|'2017-01-25T13:09:00.000+02:00' +'dfba9f5378e673ed9402de33b1a7496ea65fbdf0'|'Carlyle explores sale of vitamin maker Nature''s Bounty - Bloomberg'|'Carlyle Group LP is exploring a sale of one of the largest U.S. herbal supplement maker, Nature''s Bounty Co, Bloomberg reported on Friday.Carlyle has held talks with potential advisers about selling the Ronkonkoma, New York-based Nature''s Bounty, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. ( bloom.bg/2jibKjG )Nature''s Bounty, formerly known as NBTY Inc, could fetch as much as $6 billion in a sale, Bloomberg reported. Carlyle bought NBTY in 2010.While finding a buyer for the whole business is the preferred option, the private equity may also decide to shop the international unit separately, Bloomberg said citing two of the people.Carlyle and Nature''s Bounty, whose brands include "Solgar" and "MET-Rx", were not available to comment outside regular U.S. business hours.(Reporting by Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/nature-s-bounty-m-a-carlyle-group-idINKBN14Q0Y0'|'2017-01-06T06:48:00.000+02:00' +'08a489fcd216f66f11d4acca5c6ff870e81c20f7'|'Wall St Week Ahead-Optimism among S&P 500 CEOs as Trump takes power'|'Funds News 1:00pm EST Wall St Week Ahead-Optimism among S&P 500 CEOs as Trump takes power (Repeats story first published on Friday with no changes to text) By Noel Randewich SAN FRANCISCO Jan 20 U.S. President Donald Trump''s administration is only hours old, but already a small parade of S&P 500 companies'' chiefs have voiced optimism that his promised tax cuts, stimulus spending and deregulation will boost corporate profits. In the days ahead of Friday''s inauguration, senior executives from Morgan Stanley, Delta Air Lines and other major U.S. corporations said the Trump White House has already sparked a brighter outlook for business. "There is certainly more reason to be optimistic as we enter 2017 than there was at the beginning of 2016," Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman said on Tuesday after his bank said profit doubled in the fourth quarter. He pointed to factors including a surge in consumer confidence after the Nov. 8 election and lower taxes promised by Trump. Just under way, fourth-quarter earnings reporting season is providing a glimpse of what major large companies expect under Trump, and their take is largely positive so far. Over a dozen S&P 500 companies reporting results in the last week have signaled optimism about potential tax cuts, infrastructure spending, employee benefit costs and reduced regulation. With corporate earnings already on the mend after a slump in oil prices and a strong dollar last year, S&P 500 companies are expected on average to grow their earnings by 6.3 percent in the December quarter and 13.6 percent in the March quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Since the November election, the S&P 500 has rallied 6 percent to record highs, in part due to expectations Trump will pass policies that stimulate the economy. Banks have led gains, with investors betting Trump will roll back regulations passed by President Barack Obama following the 2008 financial crisis, which many investors say went too far. After United Continental Holdings on Tuesday posted lower December-quarter profits, airline President Scott Kirby told analysts on a call, "It feels like we are on a really good path. It felt to me like there was an inflection point after the election for business demand." An also upbeat Delta Air Lines Chief Executive Ed Bastian told analysts this month that he was excited about potential infrastructure spending promised by Trump, as well as a chance to make his case about unfair competition from Middle Eastern airlines heavily subsidized by governments. Vince Delie, Chief Executive of F.N.B., which own First National Bank, said on a quarterly conference call on Thursday that he was saw more confidence among commercial customers and a potential pickup in lending. "There are at least conversations occurring about larger capex opportunities within our customer base, which didn''t happen before," Delie said. Not everyone is over the moon, however. Kansas City Southern''s CEO bemoaned an uncertain environment on Friday after the cross-border railroad reported lower quarterly profits, hurt by a slump in Mexico''s peso since Trump''s election. "Obviously the political and economic uncertainty is probably first and foremost on most of our minds, and the irony of us reporting earnings on the Inauguration Day of the 45th President is not entirely lost on us," Chief Executive Patrick Ottensmeyer told analysts. Indeed, some business leaders and lobbyists in Washington who were initially enthusiastic about Trump''s victory have begun to exhibit some hesitance over his agenda amid confusing messages on healthcare, taxes and trade. SURGING CONFIDENCE Still, while Trump''s views on immigration and a range of other issues are at odd with many Americans, most small businesses and consumers do see a brighter future as he launches his presidency. An index of small business confidence in December hit a 12-year high, according to the National Federation of Independent Business. The U.S. consumer confidence index in December hit its highest level since August 2001, a month before the Sept. 11 attacks. Following strong stock gains in November and December, many on Wall Street are concerned that Trump may fail to deliver on all of his promises. A Republican-controlled Congress might balk at infrastructure spending or tax reductions that significantly widen the federal budget deficit. Other investors worry that Trump could follow through on campaign-trail threats to tear up global trade deals and crack down on illegal immigrants from Mexico who provide low-wage labor in agriculture, restaurants and other industries. "Folks are potentially underestimating the degree to which Trump is serious about real reform on trade an immigration," warned Jon Adams, senior investment strategist at BMO Global Asset Management. "Investors, in general, are hopeful Trump will take a more pragmatic approach on those issues." Over the past two months, Trump has publicly targeted and threatened a range of multinationals, including Ford Motor , General Motors, Boeing Co and Lockheed Martin. That may have left CEOs wary of publicly disagreeing with his policies. "You don''t want to step on a mine. So the best course of action is to be somewhat optimistic, positive but also somewhat noncommittal so you''re not trapped one way or another," said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Boston Private Wealth in New York. Trump''s frequent use of Twitter to single out companies for criticism or praise has created volatile spikes in trading of their shares, which is good for online brokers including Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade. "Each time, it''s a new market event and a potential trading opportunity for our clients. Like everyone else, we''re watching it with interest," TD Ameritrade Director of Finance Jeff Goeser said on a conference call on Wednesday after the company reported an increase in quarterly profits. (Reporting by Noel Randewich, additional reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch in New York; editing by Dan Burns and Nick Zieminski) Next In Funds News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-weekahead-repeat-scheduled-co-idUSL1N1FA1XP'|'2017-01-23T01:00:00.000+02:00' +'85ffb030ed5c79a66e3bb59e623bff6af57ea11e'|'BRIEF-Abbott announces European launch of the Proclaim DRG Neurostimulation system'|' 18am EST BRIEF-Abbott announces European launch of the Proclaim DRG Neurostimulation system Jan 18 Abbott Laboratories : * Abbott announces european launch of the Proclaim DRG neurostimulation system for the management of chronic neuropathic pain Source text for Eikon: UPDATE 2-HSBC to shift some staff to Paris after Brexit in blow to London DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 18 HSBC became the first major bank to detail plans to move jobs out of London after Brexit, saying it will relocate staff responsible for generating around a fifth of its UK-based trading revenue to Paris after Britain leaves the EU. Jan 18 Citigroup Inc reported a 7 percent rise in quarterly profit, wrapping up a strong quarter for big U.S. banks, as trading in bonds and currencies surged following the U.S. presidential election. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Taboola Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1F80DO'|'2017-01-18T20:18:00.000+02:00' +'ae7b88a7353fd50dc43dcdd46d593c1164c66286'|'UPDATE 1-Jupiter sees Q4 outflows but grows full-year assets'|'Financials 2:49am EST UPDATE 1-Jupiter sees Q4 outflows but grows full-year assets * Q4 overall net outflows 373 mln stg * Q4 mutual fund outflows 355 mln stg * FY inflows 859 mln stg; year-end assets up 13 pct (Adds detail from statement, CEO quote, bullet points) By Simon Jessop LONDON, Jan 12 Jupiter Fund Management said on Thursday clients pulled 373 million pounds ($456.44 million) from its investment products during the fourth quarter, with withdrawals largely by institutional investors exiting its European and multi-manager strategies. Over the 12 months to end-December, though, net mutual fund inflows were 859 million pounds, it said, raising year-end assets under management by 13 percent to 40.5 billion pounds from 35.7 billion at the end of 2015. Jupiter said the effects of market uncertainty on the firm''s performance during the year had been muted, although it expected global political and economic uncertainty to continue to affect investor sentiment in 2017. Financial market volatility was fuelled during the year by concerns about growth in China, Britain''s vote to leave the European Union and the U.S. election, among other issues, while the year ahead sees a batch of elections in Europe. "Overall, 2016 was positive for Jupiter. We continued to diversify our business by product, client type and geography and delivered strong investment performance after fees across a broad range of strategies," Chief Executive Maarten Slendebroek said. Jupiter said market gains during the fourth quarter, with global stock markets at or near record highs, had marginally offset the impact of client withdrawals. It attracted fresh money into its absolute return, fixed income and emerging markets strategies, Jupiter said. On the Q4 outflows, Numis analyst David McCann, who holds an ''add'' rating on the stock, said: "This was mainly driven by a larger one-off outflow from Merlin Income in October. We calculate that November and December were both positive flow months ...We also calculate (small) positive flows have been delivered so far in January." ($1 = 0.8172 pounds) (Reporting by Simon Jessop; editing by Jason Neely) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/jupiter-fund-trading-idUSL5N1F21C8'|'2017-01-12T14:49:00.000+02:00' +'12e91a042ff4d882083e212c5d91f93c3ebedea1'|'LVMH 2016 profit beats forecasts as U.S. and Asia show solid demand'|' 33pm IST LVMH 2016 profit beats forecasts as U.S. and Asia show solid demand The logo of French luxury group Louis Vuitton is seen at a store in Paris, France, January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen By Dominique Vidalon - PARIS PARIS LVMH, the world''s biggest luxury group, posted a forecast-beating rise in 2016 profit, as solid demand in the United States and improving trends in Asia lifted sales in the final quarter. LVMH, which raised its dividend by 13 percent, added it was cautiously confident over its prospects for 2017. The group, whose key brands include Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Hennessy cognac, said 2016 profit from recurring operations rose 6 percent to 7.03 billion euros ($7.5 billion). This compared with the 6.8 billion euros median estimate in a Reuters poll of 12 analysts. Fourth quarter sales rose to 11.27 billion euros, a like-for like growth of 8 percent, above analysts'' estimates for 5.6 percent growth. LVMH''s fashion and leather division, which accounts for the bulk of its sales and profits and is home to the Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Givenchy brands, had like-for-like revenue growth of 9 percent in the fourth quarter - above market forecasts.Analysts had expected growth of 5 percent in the quarter for the fashion and leather part of the LVMH business. Its wines and spirits division also reported a 7 percent rise in sales, helped by stronger cognac sales in China. LVMH''s rivals in the luxury industry, such as Cartier owner Richemont ( CFR.S ) and British luxury brand Burburry, have also signalled better demand in mainland China and improving tourist spending in the last part of the year. Growth in the luxury goods market had shown signs of a slowdown, notably in the second half of 2015 after attacks in Paris put off tourists travelling to Europe, where many luxury brands make a significant proportion of their sales. Global spending on luxury goods by tourists was up in December for the first time since February, lifted by strong business in Britain and France, a study by tax-refund services firm Global Blue showed. "Despite a climate of geopolitical and currency uncertainties, LVMH is well-equipped to continue its growth momentum across all business groups in 2017," LVMH said in a statement. ($1 = 0.9379 euros) (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta) Next In Money News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/lvmh-results-idINKBN15A2I5'|'2017-01-27T01:03:00.000+02:00' +'7aa59c17261e900cc401459da9335270731f7fb2'|'Christmas boost for easyJet as 5.6m people fly in December'|'EasyJet enjoyed a big rise in passenger numbers in December as Britons put aside concerns about the falling pound to seek out winter sun in the Canaries or Spain. European city breaks were also popular in the run-up to Christmas.The budget airline flew nearly 5.6 million passengers last month, 731,720 more than a year earlier a 15.1% rise. This took the number of passengers transported in 2016 to 74.5 million, up 6.6% on the previous year.Lower fares have helped, with easyJet cutting prices by about 6% in each of the past two years, passing on lower fuel costs in the wake of the oil price slump. Fuel makes up a third of the airlines overall costs.Traffic to Mediterranean beach destinations rose by nearly a quarter, as Brits headed to Tenerife, Lanzarote and Malaga, as well as taking a new route to La Palma.EasyJet profits fall due to weak pound and discount fares Read more Figures from Gatwick, also released on Friday, painted a similar picture. Britains second largest airport said 43 million people travelled through it last year a new record. The airport recorded 3.1 million passengers in December, 15% more than a year earlier. The airport operator said there was a clear split in December, with travellers opting for either very cold or very hot climes. Popular wintry destinations included Finland and Iceland, while winter sun was sought in La Palma, the Canary Islands, St Lucia and Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands.EasyJet said passengers also flocked to cities across Europe in the run-up to Christmas, with a year-on-year increase of 15% in December. Among the most popular destinations were London, Amsterdam, Paris, Geneva and Milan. Many Brits also flew home for Christmas, with travel within the UK increasing by 16% year on year.EasyJet vows to recruit more female pilots Read more This comes as welcome news for the airline, which had a rough ride over the year as a whole. EasyJet recorded a sharp fall in annual profits its first decline in six years after being hit by the slide in sterling, multiple terrorist attacks and airport strikes. It expects a further drop this year.Its rival Ryanair also recorded strong growth in passenger numbers in December: earlier this week it reported a 20% rise to 9 million customers. The Irish carrier transported 117 million people last year, up 15% on 2015.Long-haul travel is also booming, according to Gatwick, growing nearly 27% last month. Toronto airport saw the biggest increase in passenger numbers in 2016, at 97%, as holidaymakers followed in Prince Harrys footsteps . Belfast International was also popular, with an 83% jump in passenger numbers last year. Gatwick credited the Game of Thrones effect as tourists travelled to Northern Ireland to visit locations for the TV series .'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jan/06/christmas-boost-for-easyjet-as-56m-people-fly-in-december'|'2017-01-06T16:59:00.000+02:00' +'b066224e82f9b4e30b14111e07dbbc2d18ca9d58'|'Dubai''s Mashreq board proposes cash dividend of 40 pct for 2016'|'Financials - Thu Jan 26, 2017 - 12:04am EST Dubai''s Mashreq board proposes cash dividend of 40 pct for 2016 DUBAI Jan 26 Mashreq, Dubai''s third-biggest bank by assets, said on Thursday its board had proposed a cash dividend of 40 percent of the bank''s paid up capital for 2016. The payout would be the same as the proposed cash dividend for the previous year. On Wednesday, Mashreq reported a 20.7 percent fall in fourth-quarter net profit. (Reporting By Tom Arnold; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/mashreqbank-dividend-idUSD5N1F601K'|'2017-01-26T12:04:00.000+02:00' +'0fe4571880dd63cb7a5d9d111bb02020c2c4ac6b'|'Bank of England to sit tight as Brexit cross-winds blow'|'Money - Fri Jan 27, 2017 - 2:32pm GMT Bank of England to sit tight as Brexit cross-winds blow Britain''s Bank of England Governor Mark Carney attends the G20 Germany 2017 Conference in Wiesbaden, Germany January 25, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski By William Schomberg - LONDON LONDON Mark Carney, who has spent much of his time in charge of the Bank of England trying to signal what the central bank is planning, will probably say next week that he doesn''t know what its next move will be. Carney and his fellow policymakers are likely to stick to their neutral stance on whether to cut or raise interest rates in future, due to the scale of uncertainty about the impact of last year''s referendum decision to leave the European Union. Economically, Britain has so far coped much better than expected with the shock vote. It was probably the world''s fastest-growing big advanced economy in 2016, confounding forecasts from the BoE and almost everyone else of a swift Brexit hit. Most economists in a Reuters poll published this week said the Bank will raise its economic growth forecast for 2017 for the second consecutive time on Feb. 2, when it is due to deliver its latest thinking on the economy. HSBC economist Liz Martins expects the Bank to say the economy will grow by 1.7 percent this year, up from November''s forecast of 1.4 percent and more than double the 0.8 percent it expected in August, when concerns about a Brexit slump were their strongest. Combined with inflation that looks set to shoot above the Bank''s 2 percent target soon and an 11-year low jobless rate, an upgrade like that would normally suggest the BoE ought to be turning its mind to raising its record-low interest rates. But top Bank officials have said they are bracing for a "slow-motion slowdown" as the Brexit vote eats into the value of sterling and the spending power of consumers. Prime Minister Theresa May''s speech earlier this month, signalling a potentially disruptive "hard Brexit" from the EU and its single market, may add to the cautious approach of Carney and his colleagues. RATE HIKE OR RATE CUT? Some economists say a creeping Brexit effect on the economy will prompt the BoE to cut rates over the next year. That is the opposite expectation to many investors who are pricing in a 50-50 chance of a rate hike by the end of 2017. "The market is desperate to get a hawkish signal," said Ross Walker, an economist with bank RBS. "But I think the Bank will be unwilling to move in either direction for the next six months or this year." Sitting on the fence about whether to cut rates or raise them represents something of a novelty for the BoE since Carney took over as governor in 2013. He sought to show investors that super-low rates would not rise for a long time. But his forward guidance policy struggled to cope with unexpected twists and turns of the economy. On top of the uncertainty about Brexit, it is far from clear what the election of U.S. President Donald Trump, and his calls to get a better deal for the United States in trade deals, means for the world economy. All of which suggests that the Bank next week will stick closely to the neutral stance it adopted in November. Economists take it as a given that it will keep rates at 0.25 percent on Thursday and announce no new extension of its bond-buying programme. "Expectations for next week''s ''Super Thursday'' are pretty low," analysts at Nomura said in a note to clients, referring to the combined announcement of the Bank''s rate decision and publication of minutes of its meeting and its Inflation Report. "We may have to re-name it ''Average Thursday'' for a while." (Writing by William Schomberg)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-boe-idUKKBN15B1ET'|'2017-01-27T21:32:00.000+02:00' +'b28850c14eceb166831b90e3b0b16c793ac481b5'|'Seagate to cut more than 2,000 jobs in China'|'Hard-disk drive maker Seagate Technology Plc ( STX.O ) said it would cut more than 2,000 jobs as it shuts down its Suzhou factory in China.The latest job cuts were part of its earlier restructuring plans announced in July to reduce its global manufacturing footprint, Seagate spokeswoman Kelly Zhang said on Wednesday.(Reporting by Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-seagate-tech-redundancies-idUSKBN14V1CD'|'2017-01-11T14:48:00.000+02:00' +'edc574c7c78433bda11e90510c0008a81858088d'|'Retailer Carrefour Q4 sales growth slows as France lags'|'By Dominique Vidalon - PARIS PARIS Carrefour, the world''s second-largest retailer, said sales growth slowed in the fourth quarter, reflecting a weaker performance in its core French market where hypermarket stores suffered in a persistently difficult environment.In Brazil, the group''s second-largest market after France, business was resilient despite a slowing economy, while sales elsewhere in Europe, notably Spain, posted solid growth.In China, where Carrefour is restructuring its operations, the rate of decline in sales slowed to 5.4 percent from 7.8 percent in the third quarter.Carrefour finance chief Pierre-Jean Sivignon said 2016 recurring operating income would be "very close" to median expectations of 2.39 billion euros, implying a 2.2 percent decline from 2.445 billion euros in 2015.Europe''s largest retailer also hoped to launch initial public offerings for its commercial property unit Carmila and its Brazilian business this year, he said.Carrefour said fourth quarter sales reached 23.366 billion euros ($24.85 billion), above the median of analysts estimates of 23.22 billion in a Thomson Reuters poll.Stripping out fuel, currency and calendar effects, revenue grew 2.9 percent year-on-year, a slowdown from 3.2 percent growth in the third quarter.Despite the quarterly slowdown, Carrefour achieved its fifth straight year of rising sales for 2016 as a whole, as a recovery plan started by Chief Executive Georges Plassat in 2012 continues to bear fruit.Carrefour, which makes 73 percent of its sales in Europe, is pursuing a recovery strategy focusing on price and cost cuts along with expansion into smaller convenience stores, while also renovating its chain of hypermarkets."In 2017 Carrefour will continue to strengthen all its (growth) boosters to pursue profitable growth," Sivignon said.In France, where Carrefour makes 43 percent of its sales, like-for-like revenue rose 0.7 percent in the quarter, a slowdown from 1.2 percent growth in the third quarter amid fierce price competition among retailers.Closely watched same-store sales at Carrefour''s French hypermarkets fell 1.2 percent after a 1.0 percent decline in the third quarter but supermarkets and convenience stores had a robust performance.Carrefour''s performance in France still outpaced that of smaller rival Casino is acquiring three specialized skincare brands - CeraVe, AcneFree and Ambi - from Canada''s Valeant Pharmaceuticals International for $1.3 billion in cash to expand into one of the fastest growing areas of the beauty industry.** Valeant Pharmaceuticals International is selling its Dendreon cancer business and three skincare brands for about $2.12 billion as the troubled Canadian drugmaker looks to pay down its more than $30 billion debt.** Newspaper group Trinity Mirror said it was in early talks about investing in a new company comprising assets owned by Northern & Shell, Richard Desmond''s group that owns the Daily Express and Daily Star titles.** Japan''s Takeda Pharmaceutical Co flagged its appetite for fresh acquisitions to bolster its drug portfolio after agreeing on Monday to acquire cancer drug maker Ariad Pharmaceuticals in a $5.20 billion deal.** Canadian apparel maker Gildan Activewear Inc has won a bankruptcy auction for U.S. fashion retailer American Apparel LLC after raising its offer to around $88 million, a person familiar with the matter said.** Yahoo Inc said Monday that it would rename itself Altaba Inc and Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer would step down from the board after the closing of its deal with Verizon Communications Inc.** Private-equity firm Blackstone Group LP is no longer looking at buying a $5 billion stake in Energy Transfer Partners, a source familiar with the matter confirmed.** Brazilian food processor BRF SA and Qatar''s sovereign wealth fund agreed to buy the operations of Turkish poultry producer Banvit in a joint venture, BRF said in a securities filing.** Indian online real estate services providers PropTiger.com and Housing.com will merge to create what the companies said would be the biggest player in the segment, accelerating a consolidation in the sector. (Compiled by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/deals-day-idINL4N1F043Q'|'2017-01-10T12:18:00.000+02:00' +'2defe398e4655d2d3e283c6f145fb6018e65815b'|'Investment Focus: History suggests Trump month will be stocks down, dollar up'|'Business News 9:18am EST Investment Focus: History suggests Trump month will be stocks down, dollar up FILE PHOTO - Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump poses for a photo after an interview with Reuters in his office in Trump Tower, in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S., May 17, 2016. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo By Jamie McGeever and Marc Jones - LONDON LONDON For financial markets, the Trump era begins on Monday, and if history is any guide the following month should be a rocky one for Wall Street but positive for the dollar. The S&P 500 .SPX has fallen a median 2.7 percent in the month after each new president has taken the keys to the White House since Herbert Hoover did so in January 1929, according to Reuters analysis. Only four presidents have seen Wall Street rise in their first month in power: Hoover (+3.8 percent), John F. Kennedy in 1961 (+6 pct), George H. W. Bush in 1989 (+5.3 pct) and Bill Clinton in 1993 (0.8 pct). The market has fallen in the first month under every other incoming president since Hoover. Even Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama, who ultimately presided over 120 percent and 165 percent rallies on Wall Street during their two terms, respectively, saw initial slides of 4.8 percent and 15 percent. The dollar tends to fare better. Analysis going back to the early 1970s when the currency was taken off the gold standard shows it has risen an average 2.2 percent in the first month of a first-time president. Donald Trump takes office as the 45th president of the United States with investor apprehension over an incoming president has rarely been higher. "There are two sides to Trump, the one side focusing on U.S. stimulus which drives up global growth and the other side, the protectionist Donald Trump that could do the opposite. So the big question is which will we get?," said State Street Global Advisors'' EMEA head of currencies James Binny. Markets latched on after Trump won the November election to his reflationary and pro-growth stance: stocks rose to new highs, the bond selloff deepened, and the dollar clocked a 14-year peak against the euro. But as the inauguration has drawn closer, that momentum has faded. This week, the Dow Jones .DJI and dollar .DXY hit six-week lows, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield its lowest since late November US10YT=RR, and gold rose to its highest in two months XAU=. Some investors are playing safe. "We are neutral, because we don''t know exactly what direction Trump will take," said Lukas Daadler, chief investment officer of investment solutions at Robeco, a subsidiary of Robeco Group. The latter has 269 billion euros in assets under management. "There is some extreme positioning out there, so there''s the risk of a short squeeze. But we''ve taken a neutral stance, and we might see more detail on his plans next week." Much of that positioning is in the U.S. bond market and the dollar. Speculators have amassed record bets against 10-year Treasuries, and according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch''s January fund manager survey, the most overcrowded trade in the world now is the pro-dollar trade. BAML strategists said on Friday that although there has been a clear cooling of "Trump trade" bets in recent weeks, overall investor sentiment is its highest in three months. They recommend sticking with they call the "Icarus trade" - one last 10 percent rise in stocks and commodities before the rally ends. For graphic on markets one month into presidency: reut.rs/2k8p0Ui The Presidential Touch: tmsnrt.rs/2j1OyVe (Graphic by Vikram Subhedar; Editing by Jeremy Gaunt) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-markets-idUSKBN1541WV'|'2017-01-20T21:18:00.000+02:00' +'243721885670360b1441d62a94e6fe5fe8db3cf7'|'US Homeland Security says will ''comply with judicial orders'''|'Industrials 2:05am EST US Homeland Security says will ''comply with judicial orders'' Jan 28 The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement late on Saturday it would "comply with judicial orders" but that executive action restricting entry into the country from seven Muslim-majority nations remains in place. The statement was issued hours after a federal judge in New York blocked the deportation of dozens of travelers and refugees from those countries who were stranded at U.S. airports. "These individuals went through enhanced security screenings and are being processed for entry to the United States, consistent with our immigration laws and judicial orders," the Homeland Security statement said. (Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Industrials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-trump-immigration-homelandsecurity-idUSL1N1FJ06H'|'2017-01-29T14:05:00.000+02:00' +'26c151f6536a65e88657415b92e1534eb1acd8bd'|'Solid Christmas for UK supermarkets before uncertain 2017'|'Business News - Sun Jan 8, 2017 - 3:19am EST Solid Christmas for UK supermarkets before uncertain 2017 Customers enter and exit a Tesco shop in London, Britain, December 8, 2011. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo By James Davey Britain''s three quoted major supermarkets are expected to report this week that they enjoyed solid Christmas trading, though investor concern about a potential squeeze on consumer spending in 2017 means the focus is on their outlooks. Shares in market leader Tesco ( TSCO.L ) and Morrisons ( MRW.L ), the UK''s fourth biggest grocer, soared 38 percent and 55 percent respectively in 2016, reflecting a recovery in trading. That coincided with a slowdown in sales growth at German discounters Aldi ALDIEI.UL, which will update on Christmas on Jan. 9, and Lidl LIDUK.UL as Britain''s traditional supermarkets cut their prices, and continued problems at sector laggard Asda, the No. 3 player. The share price of No. 2 Sainsbury''s was held back by uncertainty over the merits of its 1.1 billion pounds ($1.36 billion) takeover of household goods retailer Argos. Robust growth in consumer spending has been one of the main factors sustaining Britain''s economy since last June''s vote to leave the European Union. However, retailers fear a reduction in spending as inflation begins to erode real earnings growth in 2017. Sterling''s devaluation since the Brexit vote - down 12 percent against other major currencies - has also driven up supermarkets'' import costs, as have commodity price increases. They also face further cost pressures from the national minimum wage, business rates and utilities. There are also signs that Asda, the British arm of Wal-Mart ( WMT.N ), will make life tougher for rivals in 2017. Analysts say a new management team is starting to make an impact, putting more staff on the shop floor and generally improving store standards. While underlying sales slumped 5.8 percent in its third quarter, they anticipate a significant improvement when it reports fourth quarter results next month. Analysts expect Tesco (on Jan. 12) to report UK like-for-like sales growth of 1.25 to 2 percent for its third quarter to Nov. 26 and growth of 0.6 to 1.5 percent for the six weeks to Jan. 7, building on four straight quarters of underlying growth. Morrisons (on Jan. 10) is expected to report underlying sales growth of 1.1 percent for the nine weeks to Jan. 1, according to an average of analysts'' forecasts, a fifth consecutive quarter of growth. Sainsbury''s (on Jan. 11) could be perceived as the relative loser of the three, with analysts on average forecasting a like-for-like sales fall of 0.8 percent for its third quarter to Jan. 7, though it is still expected to report volume growth and underlying sales growth at Argos of 1.5 percent. However, it is important to note that Sainsbury''s, unlike Tesco and Morrisons, is not in turnaround mode and has not had to rebase its like-for-like sales performance. Updates due next week from a raft of other UK retailers, including from Marks & Spencer ( MKS.L ), department stores John Lewis JLP.UL and Debenhams ( DEB.L ), Primark owner AB Foods ( ABF.L ) and ASOS.L ( ASOS.L ), will also shine a light on prospects for the sector. Marks & Spencer will (on Jan. 12) report on its third quarter to Dec. 31. Analysts are on average forecasting like-for-like sales growth in its clothing and home division of 0.2 percent with underlying sales in its food business down 0.4 percent. Such an outcome in clothing would represent an improvement on the second quarter''s 2.9 percent fall and provide some encouragement to investors that new boss Steve Rowe''s turnaround plan has found some traction. Last week rival Next ( NXT.L ) reported disappointing Christmas sales, cut its profit forecast and highlighted "exceptional" levels of uncertainty in the sector. ($1 = 0.8079 pounds) (Editing by Anna Willard; james.davey@thomsonreuters.com; +44 20 7542 7674; Reuters Messaging: james.davey.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-supermarkets-idUSKBN14S07Q'|'2017-01-08T15:19:00.000+02:00' +'2c68dbd144c1d1602eff4870531b20093d497c12'|'Never-before-heard Bernie Madoff tapes reveal details of ruinous Ponzi scheme - Business'|'Bernard Madoff , the imprisoned confidence trickster, has laid the blame for his ruinous Ponzi scheme at the feet of banks and wealthy investors he claims didnt care whether his firm was legitimate or not in a series of never-before-heard recordings.The interviews, part of author Steve Fishmans new podcast, Ponzi Supernova , feature much of Madoffs characteristic refusal to take responsibility for paying his investors out of each others pockets.Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities promised huge returns from canny investments but in reality paid investors with other early investors cash. As the firm became more and more successful Madoff said the banks that at first shunned him were suddenly beating down his door: All of a sudden these banks give you the time of day. Theyre willing to give you a billion dollars. I had all of these major banks coming down and entertaining me. It is a head trip, he tells Fishman.Madoff was found guilty of defrauding thousands of investors of billions of dollars on 29 June 2009. He was sentenced to 150 years in prison with restitution of $170bn and is serving his sentence at the Butner federal correctional complex in Durham, North Carolina.Madoff got away with it for so long because inexperienced regulators chasing him didnt know what they were looking forFishman , who conducted three hours of interviews with Madoff personally, points out that while the fraudster ruined many lives, roughly half of Madoffs investors still ended up in the black . Yeah, he was a criminal talent, with God-given gifts in a sense, but Madoff was Patient Zero, Fishman said. What really makes him a pandemic is all the feeder funds [who introduced new clients to Madoff] and the banks, Fishman told the Guardian. They take him around the world. They recruit investors, in Latin America and through Europe, and they basically pour gasoline on this dumpster fire. Madoff could have been kind of a local swindler until he meets this massive distribution network.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Bernard Madoff at the Christmas party at the London offices of Madoff Securities International in 2003. Photograph: Rex FeaturesThe forgeries committed on some clients documents, Fishman said, were even done as if to order by some clients. According to ex-FBI agent Steve Garfinkel, Annette Bongiorno, Madoffs longtime assistant and first employee, would doctor statements on request. Clients would call to complain that Madoff promised 18% but theyd gotten 16%. Bongiorno would respond with an amended statement showing the promised rate. Bongiorno began her own sentence of six years for her role in the scheme in 2014.The 50 best podcasts of 2016 Read moreWhile he will spend the rest of his life in jail, the 73-year-old Madoff is upbeat about his circumstances on the podcast, bragging about how his doors are not locked at night.I have a pretty big picture window you cant open it, he tells Fishman.But life behind bars has not always been easy. Other prisoners say Madoff didnt learn courtesy quickly enough one interviewee recounts Madoff trying to change the television to a news report featuring his crimes while another inmate was watching something else. The other much younger man ended the dispute with an open-hand slap.Madoff got away with it for so long, he and others tell Fishman, because the inexperienced US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulators chasing him didnt know what they were looking for, and because his operation stayed one step ahead of the regulator. In one anecdote, Madoff simply rifles through an inspectors briefcase until he finds that hes being pursued for front-running the practice of buying for yourself on advance information before you pass it on to investors.That seemed logical, Madoff admits, except it wasnt true, and it was illegal!Others printed out a faked report and put it in the refrigerator so it wouldnt be obviously warm from the printerMadoff orchestrated office-wide performances for the investigators who were sent to his offices to search for evidence of wrongdoing, former US attorney Matthew Schwartz tells Fishman. Because his investment returns were so big the regulator were suspicious, but they didnt know how or what was going on. When an investigator asked to see a report that a legitimate firm would have on hand in the course of its normal businesses, Madoffs second-in-command, Frank DiPascali, stalled for time while downstairs others printed out a faked report, put it in the refrigerator so it wouldnt be obviously warm from the printer, and played football with it, Schwartz says tossing it back and forth across the room like a football to make it look weathered.Set dressing was also important: on the credenza behind his desk, Madoff displayed a sculpture by the renowned artist Claes Oldenburg of a giant black screw, listing a little to one side. The 1976 sculpture, called Soft Screw, drew nearly $50,000 at Sothebys when Madoffs assets were sold off after his disgrace.When financial regulators visited his firms offices, Madoff put the Soft Screw away.'|'theguardian.com'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/all'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jan/12/bernie-madoff-prison-life-ponzi-supernova-podcast-experience'|'2017-01-12T21:00:00.000+02:00' +'ff167b5970c746eebade74de3ea004180881cb1f'|'UAE''s du acquires license to operate Virgin Mobile service'|'DUBAI The United Arab Emirates'' second largest telecoms company has acquired a license from British entrepreneur Richard Branson''s privately owned Virgin Group to operate Virgin Mobile-branded services in the country.Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Co (EITC), the holding company of operator du DU.DU, will launch services using the Virgin Mobile brand in the UAE "within weeks," EITC''s chief executive Osman Sultan said on Tuesday.EITC''s license term is for over five years, granting it full rights to ownership, management and operation of the brand in the UAE, Sultan said at a news conference in Dubai. An EITC spokesman told Reuters the license was bought from the Virgin Group.Virgin Mobile will operate using EITC''s network and infrastructure in the same way that du does but be run by a separate business unit under EITC, Sultan said.It will be the only foreign-branded telecom service operating in the UAE.Former Virgin Mobile Saudi Arabia Chief Executive Karim Benkirane has been appointed managing director of the UAE brand and will report to Sultan.The UAE is the third Middle East country to adopt the Virgin Mobile brand after Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Ooredoo ORDS.QA, then branded QTel, was ordered to close its Virgin Mobile Services by the country''s regulator in 2011 while Virgin Mobile Saudi Arabia continues to operate.The UAE Virgin Mobile brand and du will not compete head-to-head, Sultan said, with the Virgin brand to focus on consumers.Du is the UAE''s second largest telecoms network operator after ending rival Etisalats ETEL.AD domestic monopoly in 2007.The financial performance of the Virgin Mobile business will contribute to EITC''s quarterly results, the same way that du does, which are published on the Dubai bourse under the name "du," Sultan said, adding that the listing name could be changed going forward.EITC is launching Virgin Mobile amid a months-long restructuring that has seen "tens" of job cuts, Sultan said.The company''s financial performance has been under pressure since late 2014 as the pace of growth in the mobile market is unable to keep up with the increasing royalty rates paid to the government."Streamlining an organization means that you find pockets of efficiency and some positions have been made redundant," Sultan told reporters. "I triggered this process in April/May last year."Sultan also said the government had yet to notify EITC of the royalty rate for 2017.(This version of the story corrects fourth paragraph to read "Sultan said" instead of "he said")(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell in Dubai; Editing by Greg Mahlich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-du-virgin-idUSKBN15F1A8'|'2017-01-31T15:04:00.000+02:00' +'d0ee21d96b16d3b6e002519ec71a525f8f0187f9'|'EU Parliament speaker vote could strengthen eurosceptics'|'Financials 6:00pm EST EU Parliament speaker vote could strengthen eurosceptics By Francesco Guarascio - STRASBOURG STRASBOURG Jan 17 The European Parliament elects a new speaker on Tuesday in an unusually hotly contested vote that could strengthen eurosceptic forces at a time when the EU faces British moves to leave and questions about its future role. A divisive campaign and the end of the ''grand coalition'' of the main parties is also likely to hamper the assembly, delaying lawmaking - another boon for anti-EU parties who portray the union as rigid and bureaucratic. Other sensitive matters facing the assembly include immigration and banking. Conservative Antonio Tajani, 63, a close ally of Italy''s former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, is the favourite as he can count on the support of the European People''s Party, the largest grouping in parliament. Unlike past appointments which were agreed in advance by the main parties, he faces a real challenger in socialist Gianni Pittella, 58, who is bidding to succeed Martin Schulz, also of the centre-left. Last-minute manoeuvres could yet propel to victory candidates from smaller groups. Seven of the eight political groups of the legislature have fielded candidates, the exception being the United Kingdom Independence Party''s (UKIP) grouping. DEAL MAKING The speaker chairs debates in the European Parliament, which embraces deputies from the 28 states. He or she can play a key role in brokering agreements with the executive, the European Commission and national governments. Britain is expected to formally notify Brussels in March of its intention to leave the EU following the results of a June referendum. The negotiations that follow seem likely to raise some tensions not only between the EU and Britain but within the EU itself, as well as within Britain. Breaking from a decade-long convention whereby the socialists and the conservatives take turns to hold the high-profile job, Pittella has vowed to stimulate genuine debate and dispel the idea that all main parties in the parliament are part of a reform-shy establishment. But his bid may turn into a boost to eurosceptics, who could play an unprecedented king-maker role in the uncertain vote. Tajani may need the support of lawmakers from Marine Le Pen''s far-right grouping or those of UKIP to be elected. If Tajani wins, the conservatives would hold all three EU top jobs. Jean-Claude Juncker of Luxembourg heads the EU''s Brussels-based executive, the Commission, and former Polish prime minister Donald Tusk chairs the European Council, which groups the national governments. Socialists have said that if Pittella does not win in the Parliament, they will push for a reshuffle of the key posts . (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; editing by Ralph Boulton) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/eu-parliament-president-idUSL5N1F64PW'|'2017-01-17T06:00:00.000+02:00' +'e34f7df66f63d6ce965447f57083041562caeb1b'|'VW unveils electric microbus concept'|'VW unveils electric microbus concept by Peter Valdes-Dapena @peterdrives January 8, 2017: 11:19 PM ET VW unveils better, cheaper electric car Volkswagen revealed an extremely groovy new concept car during the Detroit Auto Show Sunday night. The VW ID Buzz is an all-electric rebirth of the classic microbus. VW didn''t say for certain that it would be produced for sale but, in introducing the ID Buzz, the automaker talked about a "big electric offensive" to begin in 2020. By 2025 the German automaker hopes to be selling 1 million electric vehicles per year. "We are making electric mobility the new trademark of Volkswagen," the automaker said in a statement. The ID Buzz follows on the VW ID electric concept car unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in late September. The ID boasts a 270 mile driving range, according to VW, and a total of 369 horsepower from two electric motors. However , VW did not say how that driving range was calculated. With one electric motor in front and one in back, the ID Buzz has all-wheel drive. It is also capable of fully autonomous driving, according to VW. The driver''s seat can even be turned around 180 degrees to face backward and the steering wheel can also retract into the dashboard. Related: Kia unveils its own European sports sedan While the original VW Microbus was famously underpowered and slow, this one will be able to jump from zero to 60 miles an hour in just five seconds, VW says. Top speed will be limited to 99 miles an hour. The name Buzz plays off the word "Bus," VW said, while ID stands for -- take your pick -- "Idea," "Identity," or "Intelligent Design," among other things. Related: Car sales set another U.S. record VW''s big push on electric vehicles follows the automaker''s recent diesel emissions scandal. Volkswagen was found to have installed software that reduced harmful emissions from many of the automaker''s diesel-powered vehicles only during testing. As part of a plan to make up for that, VW has agreed to promote electric cars. This is not VW''s first electric bus concept. Volkswagen showed off the BUDD-e electric concept bus almost exactly one year ago at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. At that time VW said the electric VW bus could be in production by the end of the decade. CNNMoney (New York) First published January 8, 2017: 11:14 PM ET'|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/edition_business.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/08/technology/volkswagen-id-buzz-concept/index.html'|'2017-01-09T11:19:00.000+02:00' +'95e63f1cc69c0e5b702cc05f4f2e6b7b33264fb1'|'Investor demand re-emerges for U.S. 3-year note supply'|'NEW YORK Jan 10 Investor demand for U.S. three-year Treasury notes re-emerged at an auction on Tuesday after it fell last month in advance of a widely expected quarter-point interest rate increase from the Federal Reserve.Indirect bidders which include fund managers and foreign central banks bought 54.6 percent of the $24 billion of the three-year Treasury issue offered. This was their largest share at a three-year auction since September, Treasury data showed. (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Chris Reese)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-auction-3year-idINL1N1F018B'|'2017-01-10T15:22:00.000+02:00' +'99b326e69b9301ba8ad5cfdd226912c760f2f9d5'|'PM Modi touts digitized economy to business leaders'|'Economic News - Tue Jan 10, 2017 - 10:06pm IST PM Modi touts digitized economy to business leaders left right India''s Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivers a speech after he inaugurated the country''s first international exchange - India INX in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) in Gandhinagar, India, January 9, 2017. REUTERS/Amit Dave 1/2 left right India''s Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) receives a memento after he inaugurated the country''s first international exchange-India INX in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) in Gandhinagar, India, January 9, 2017. REUTERS/Amit Dave 2/2 By Rupam Jain and Promit Mukherjee - GANDHINAGAR GANDHINAGAR Prime Minister Narendra Modi told a gathering of business leaders on Tuesday that the country was on the verge of becoming the world''s most digitized economy, and avoided direct mention of the economic hit from demonetisation. Speaking at India''s biggest investor summit, organized in his home state of Gujarat, the 65-year-old said his government was strongly committed to continue reforming the Indian economy. "We are working to adopt and absorb newer technologies, to bring about transparency, and to end discretion," Modi told the summit, adding that foreign direct investment in the country has topped $130 billion in his two-and-a-half years in office. "Believe me, we are on the threshold of becoming the world''s most digitized economy. Most of you wanted this change in India. I am proud to say that it is happening before you. "Creating an enabling environment for business, and attracting investments, is my top priority." Modi''s address to the Vibrant Gujarat investor gathering comes weeks after his shock decision to abolish 500 and 1,000 rupee notes, worth around $7.50 and $15 each. The move caused widespread anger among millions of people across the country, as they endured long queues at banks and ATMs to draw money or deposit old notes about to expire. The radical gambit has been billed as an attempt to root out corruption, end terror financing and move the country into the age of digital payments. But Modi''s government has struggled to produce enough new bank notes to meet demand, leading to a temporary slump in business in an economy that is heavily dependent on cash. India''s corporate earnings expectations have taken a hit. Fears that the note ban will dent profits in the latest quarter have led to a 2.25 percent drop in earnings estimates since Nov. 8 for those companies that are part of the country''s benchmark index, according to Thomson Reuters data. Still, government officials are optimistic that major investment pledges will come out of the meeting, which is being held at a sprawling convention center in Gandhinagar. Skepticism exists, however, over how many of the hundreds of anticipated memorandums of understanding expected to be signed at the week-long summit will translate into real spending. "The summit is a symbolic gesture to lure investment, but companies will only invest if there are changes at the macro policy level," said professor Sebastian Morris of the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, noting investors need to see infrastructure and support. Later on Tuesday, Modi was set to chair a CEO roundtable attended by nearly 60 top executives, including Cisco''s John Chambers, Trafigura Beheer''s Jeremy Weir, Fairfax Financial''s Prem Watsa and Peter Huntsman of Huntsman Corp, along with Indian business titans such as Mukesh Ambani and Ratan Tata. "This time we want to hand-hold investors and assure them that the business environment is perfect for them to launch new businesses," said Deepak Bagla, managing director of Invest India, a vehicle set up to guide investments into the country. (Additional reporting by Aditi Shah, Euan Rocha and Abhirup Roy; Editing by Mike Collett-White) Next In Economic News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/india-vibrantgujarat-modi-idINKBN14U20V'|'2017-01-10T23:36:00.000+02:00' +'331714cbebecba6a38796032e1d94e2244cb0693'|'MOVES-Harvard to hire Slocum as CIO as it reorganizes investment arm'|'Funds News 15pm EST MOVES-Harvard to hire Slocum as CIO as it reorganizes investment arm BOSTON Jan 25 Harvard University will hire Rick Slocum as chief investment officer at its investment arm, Harvard Management Company, as the school overhauls the way it manages its endowment. N.P. Narvekar, the recently hired chief executive of the investment arm, said Slocum, who had been chief investment officer at the Johnson Company family office, will join in March. Vir Dholabhai, Adam Goldstein and Charlie Saravia will join as a managing directors. (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Alan Crosby) Next In Funds News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/harvard-moves-slocum-idUSL1N1FF18R'|'2017-01-26T01:15:00.000+02:00' +'1aa822676df337217788309a592c99ae1d7c89b6'|'China''s choices narrowing as it burns through forex reserves to support yuan'|' 11am GMT China''s choices narrowing as it burns through FX reserves to support yuan A 100 yuan banknote (R) is placed next to a $100 banknote in this picture illustration taken in Beijing November 7, 2010. REUTERS/Petar Kujundzic By Nichola Saminather - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE As China''s foreign exchange reserves threaten to tumble below the critical $3 trillion mark, the biggest fear for investors is not whether Beijing can continue to defend the yuan but whether it will set off a vicious cycle of more outflows and currency depreciation. Data this week is expected to show China''s forex reserves precariously perched just above $3 trillion at end-December, the lowest level since February 2011, according to a Reuters poll. While the world''s second-largest economy still has the largest stash of forex reserves by far, it has been churning through them rapidly since August 2015, when it stunned global investors by devaluing the yuan and moving to what it promised would be a slightly freer and more transparent currency regime. Since then, authorities have repeatedly intervened to support the yuan when it weakened too sharply, burning through half a trillion dollars of reserves and prompting them to sell some of their massive holdings of U.S. government bonds. They also have put a tightening regulatory chokehold on individuals and businesses who want to move money out of the country, while denying they were imposing new capital controls. Concerns over the speed with which China is depleting its ammunition are swirling, with some analysts estimating it needs to retain a minimum of $2.6 trillion to $2.8 trillion under the International Monetary Fund''s adequacy measures. "There has been quite a bit of anxiety and speculation because the way many people in China talk about it is will the government defend the 7-per-dollar level or the 3 trillion dollars'', said Louis Kuijs, head of Asia economics at Oxford Economics in Hong Kong. China stepped into both its onshore and offshore yuan markets this week to shore up the yuan as it neared the 7 level, sparking speculation that it wants to regain a firm grip ahead of the Jan. 20 inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has threatened to brand Beijing a currency manipulator. But if forex reserves continue to be depleted at a fast pace and capital flight continues, some strategists believe China''s leaders may have little choice but to sanction another big "one-off" devaluation. That could set off competitive currency devaluations by other struggling emerging economies, even as the world braces for greater trade protectionism under Trump. MORE CONTROLS To slow the yuan''s decline without depleting reserves at an ever faster pace, analysts and economists expect authorities to turn to even tighter regulatory measures, including more scrutiny of outbound investments, overseas lending and export revenues, and closing loopholes in existing capital controls. But as fast as authorities jump to control one exit ramp, others may open up unless Beijing can reverse the market''s mind-set that the yuan is on a one-way depreciation path. "It doesn''t matter if there''s actually enough reserves or not," said Joey Chew, Asia foreign exchange strategist at HSBC, who believes China doesn''t need a buffer of more than $2 trillion. "If people think there won''t be enough they''ll try to get out and it becomes a self-fulfilling mechanism. "The authorities are already aware that trying to run down reserves will be counterproductive, which is why they''re relying on regulatory controls," she added. As recently as last week, authorities introduced requirements for financial institutions to report all single domestic and overseas cash transactions of more than 50,000 yuan ($7,212.72) from July onwards, down from 200,000 yuan previously. The authorities also stepped up scrutiny on individual foreign currency purchases, although they kept the $50,000 annual individual quota in place. "Previously, capital controls had been relatively loose and authorities had turned a blind eye to individual forex purchases because of abundant foreign exchange reserves," said Jerry Hu, an economist at Shanghai Securities. "But they are now strengthening supervision in order to change expectations." With regulators also pledging to increase scrutiny of major outbound deals, "it''s not impossible to see that we''ll see further moves in that area," Kuijs said. China could also encourage its domestic exporters to convert more of their earnings into yuan, HSBC''s Chew said. Chew believes new capital controls are unlikely. There are a lot of controls already, she said. They were maybe not as strictly enforced, so theyll focus on improving that. But the tweaks may not be enough. We still expect capital outflows and we still expect RMB depreciation. Dwyfor Evans, head of Asia-Pacific macro strategy at State Street Global Markets, also feared authorities may be limited in how they respond. Chinese officials have few policy options, he said. If they allow faster depreciation, this will only spur pressures for greater outflows. And a one-off devaluation risks a repeat of the market turbulence evidenced twice in the past 18 months." (Additional reporting by Kevin Yao in BEIJING; Editing by Vidya Ranganathan and Kim Coghill) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-forex-reserves-analysis-idUKKBN14P0QV'|'2017-01-05T16:05:00.000+02:00' +'442c40d6a2bd9fe96b8a8e3922b22b59f88850a1'|'Apax plans $1.9 bln IPO of Norway''s Evry - report'|'Private Equity 1:04am EST Apax plans $1.9 bln IPO of Norway''s Evry - report OSLO Jan 19 Private equity firm Apax Partners plans to gradually cut its stake in Norwegian technology firm Evry ASA through an initial public offering, daily Finansavisen reported on Thursday, quoting unnamed sources. The IPO could value Evry at up to 16 billion crowns ($1.88 billion), almost five times the 3.4 billion crowns Apax paid for the firm in 2015, the paper added. ($1 = 8.4920 Norwegian crowns) (Reporting by Terje Solsvik; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier) Next In Private Equity'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/evry-ipo-apax-idUSL5N1F90LJ'|'2017-01-19T13:04:00.000+02:00' +'0427b28e2b3f5fdd8abea6fb32f21dbf3c2fd4c5'|'Speculators trim net long U.S. dollar bets for 2nd straight week-CFTC, - Reuters'|'NEW YORK Jan 20 Speculators reduced long bets on the U.S. dollar for a second straight week, as investors continued to pare back overextended positions on the greenback and worried about U.S. President Donald Trump''s trade and currency policies.The value of the dollar''s net long position was $24.44 billion in the week ended Jan. 17, from $24.95 billion the previous week, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission released on Friday and calculations by Reuters.Net short contracts on the Mexican peso, meanwhile, rose in the latest week to 73,321, the largest since early October. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss, editing by G Crosse)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/cftc-forex-idINL1N1FA1PU'|'2017-01-20T17:52:00.000+02:00' +'87f55c127ca1c96403ca78d3cdb9f213014166b4'|'UK high street retailers race to keep up with online demand'|' 9:08am GMT UK high street retailers race to keep up with online demand left right A Marks & Spencer logo is seen in front of one of their food stores in Paris, France, November 8, 2016. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann 1/2 Online clothing retail delivery in the UK 2/2 By Kate Holton - LONDON LONDON British fashion retailers will switch their spending firepower to technology from the high street in 2017 after online shopping became the key driver of sales growth over the all-important festive period. Marks & Spencer ( MKS.L ) is investing in apps, its website and logistics, while spending 350 million pounds over five years to close 10 percent of clothing and home space. Department store John Lewis said it was cutting staff bonuses in part to enable it to invest in its online operations after 40 percent of its Christmas sales came from the web. And Next ( NXT.L ), which failed to keep up with rivals for a second Christmas in a row, will spend 10 million pounds to improve its online operations and marketing. "They will have to invest in infrastructure and it will weigh on margins, but if you get it right you have a profitable online business," said one large institutional investor in UK retail who asked not to be named due to company policy. "And you can engage on multiple platforms." The renewed drive in technology comes as British web-only players ASOS ( ASOS.L ) and Boohoo ( BOOH.L ) continue to race ahead, helping Britons to embrace online shopping more quickly than their European cousins. And the pressure is relentless. ASOS, with nearly 5 million active users in the UK, said it would increase its own capital expenditure to keep ahead of the pack after it posted 18 percent UK sales growth in the four months to the end of the year. Boohoo grew British sales by 31 percent in the same period. Online sales have been booming in Britain for years, with ecommerce accounting for nearly a quarter of all purchases in December, according to the British Retail Consortium. In the 52 weeks to Dec. 18, overall fashion sales fell 2 percent, according to market research firm Kantar Worldpanel, while pure online players grew 7 percent as fashion lovers snapped up goods through simple apps on their mobile. While trading updates show that traditional retailers grew their sales by selling additional goods to customers picking up online orders in store, the move online also brings new challenges such as the high number of goods that are returned. The signs of the change can be seen across the country, on small high streets where independent shops have shut - hurt by high business rates - and on the stock market where the share price of Boohoo has jumped by 500 percent in two years. Pick-up lockers at railway stations and petrol pumps mean parcels can be picked up at any time, while changing rooms in standalone sites in the centre of towns allow purchases to be tried on and instantly sent back if not wanted, making it as easy to shop online as it is to wander down a high street. The industry estimates that around 30 percent of womenswear items bought online are returned. Traditional retailers have harnessed the web by persuading customers to pick up online-ordered goods instore, forcing firms to speed up delivery logistics and increase storage space in their shops. "The role of the shop does change," said Charlie Mayfield, chairman of the employee-owned John Lewis Partnership. "We are still opening shops but we will be opening fewer going forward and we will be investing more in changing existing shops so they can fulfil that different role more." THINKING DIGITAL The 133-year-old Marks & Spencer, which has struggled for years to grow its clothing business, beat forecasts for Christmas trading as investment in its app for iPad and mobile devices helped boost online sales. More than 60 percent of all goods sold online were picked up in store - known as click and collect. Seeking to adapt the business to meet the new demand, its said in November it would not return additional cash to shareholders in the second half. Debenhams, Britain''s No. 2 department store chain, also beat forecasts as those customers shopping online and in-store spent about two and a half times more than a shopper in one place. The group, which appointed Sergio Bucher as CEO in October, is set to unveil its plans for the future in April and analysts at Liberum have said that could entail higher spending. And Britain''s biggest department store John Lewis, one of the leading retailers online over the last 15 years, said it would speed up its internet strategy after 40 percent of its Christmas sales came from the web, up from 36 percent last year. "You might have expected to see a slowdown in the rate of growth but it has basically continued on the same trajectory," Mayfield said. "And we''ve got very good data which shows the relationship between shops and online sales is strong." But the cost to transform the business is clear, with operating profit down 31 percent in the six months to end July. John Lewis said trading profit would come under pressure this year and the need to invest, plus the weaker pound, meant staff bonuses would be "significantly" lower. Thomson Reuters data shows that 2017 full-year pretax profit at M&S and Debenhams is also expected to fall around 18 and 12 percent respectively. Despite the high costs, the experience of retailer Next ( NXT.L ) shows that the big names have little choice but to follow their online peers if they want to remain competitive. Next will invest to improve its website and online marketing in a recognition that it may have fallen behind the standard of some competitors, where sites carry more content including video and numerous photographs to show how an item would look. "If it''s not convenient and the check out process is not good or you don''t portray the product in the right way, then people will just open up another app and order somewhere else," the institutional investor said. "It''s as simple as that these days." ($1 = 0.8113 pounds) (Additional reporting by Paul Sandle, Sarah Young and James Davey; editing by Anna Willard) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-retail-online-idUKKBN1560BW'|'2017-01-22T16:08:00.000+02:00' +'04a5c84ab2c07a734caa2be991774f24e85bebb9'|'EU clears French capital injection and bridging loan for Areva'|'Tue Jan 10, 2017 - 3:35pm GMT EU clears French capital injection and bridging loan for Areva A view shows the Areva Tower, the headquarters of the French nuclear reactor maker Areva, at La Defense business and financial district in Courbevoie near Paris, France, May 7, 2015. REUTERS/Charles Platiau By Philip Blenkinsop and Geert De Clercq - BRUSSELS/PARIS BRUSSELS/PARIS European Union antitrust regulators have approved the French government''s plan to inject 4.5 billion euros ($4.8 billion) into embattled nuclear group Areva ( AREVA.PA ), saying the rescue would not unduly distort competition. The European Commission''s ruling will allow Areva, whose equity has been wiped out by years of losses, to restart as a smaller company focused on uranium mining and nuclear fuel production and recycling. "Today''s decision paves the way for a viable future for Areva based on a sustainable restructuring plan," EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement on Tuesday. She added the plan struck the right balance between improving the group''s competitiveness and limiting distortions of competition created by the public financing. The Commission said the aid for 87 percent state-owned Areva was subject to conditions, notably a positive conclusion of French nuclear regulator ASN''s safety tests on the vessel of an Areva-designed reactor under construction for utility EDF ( EDF.PA ) in Flamanville, France, as well as EU approval of the planned sale of Areva''s reactor business to EDF. This means the planned state aid may not be paid until then, said the Commission, which therefore also approved a 3.3 billion euros French state loan to Areva, aimed at bridging Areva''s liquidity needs until the capital injection can take place. ASN has said it expects to rule on the safety of the Flamanville reactor by the end of June. In 2015, Areva discovered carbon concentrations in the steel of the reactor vessel, which can weaken the resilience of the steel. The head of French state holding agency APE said in October that EU competition authorities were not expected to rule on the planned takeover of Areva''s reactor unit by state-owned EDF before the summer of 2017. Following the Commission''s statement, Areva said its board would meet on Wednesday to determine the terms of the capital increase, on which its shareholders will vote on Feb. 3. France notified the European Commission, which oversees competition policy in the EU, in April of the restructuring plan to restore the group''s competitiveness and financial position. State aid may be authorized under certain conditions when it contributes to an objective or common interest without unduly distorting competition. (Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop in Brussels and Geert De Clercq in Paris; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Mark Potter) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-areva-restructuring-eu-idUKKBN14U1L0'|'2017-01-11T00:15:00.000+02:00' +'c85654f4e7da23991f823d47530265dce61a2c4c'|'State Bank of India cuts lending rate by 90 bps across maturities'|'Business News - Sun Jan 1, 2017 - 3:33am EST State Bank of India cuts lending rate by 90 bps across maturities An electrician puts lights on the logo of State Bank of India at its main branch in Mumbai, India, March 9, 2016. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/File Photo MUMBAI State Bank of India ( SBI.NS ), the country''s biggest lender by assets, said on Sunday it had cut its lending rates by 90 basis points for maturities ranging from overnight to three-year tenures, after experiencing a surge in deposits. After the move, its so-called overnight marginal cost of funds-based lending rate (MCLR) fell to 7.75 percent from 8.65 percent, while three-year loan rates will now be 8.15 percent from 9.05 percent previously. Lending rates were also cut across other maturities effective Sunday. Banks have received an estimated 14.9 trillion rupees ($219.30 billion) in old 500, and 1,000 rupees notes from depositors since the government in Nov. 8 unexpectedly banned the banknotes in a bid to fight counterfeiting and bring unaccounted cash to the economy. That had raised expectations banks would have room to cut lending rates, which is seen as vital to increase credit growth and spark a revival in private investments. Although India''s gross domestic product grew 7.3 percent in the July-September quarter from a year earlier, the fastest pace of growth among large economies, much of that has been led by consumer demand. Lower lending rates will be welcome by the Reserve Bank of India, which has cut the policy rate by 175 bps since the start of 2015 but has felt banks were being too slow in cutting their lending rates. The SBI move also comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday admonished banks to "keep the poor, the lower middle class, and the middle class at the focus of their activities," and to act with the "public interest" in mind. Modi''s comments were made in a special New Year''s eve speech in which he defended his ban on higher value cash notes and announced a slew of incentives including channeling more credit to the poor and the middle class. ($1 = 67.9445 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Rafael Nam; Editing by Michael Perry) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-state-bank-of-india-lending-rate-idUSKBN14L0V4'|'2017-01-01T15:30:00.000+02:00' +'76c1dec49014f3d824324009d81383a7d1e82efd'|'Saudi bourse says T+2 settlement cycle to start in Q2 2017'|'Financials 28am EST Saudi bourse says T+2 settlement cycle to start in Q2 2017 DUBAI Jan 9 The Saudi Stock Exchange will introduce the settlement of trades within two working days of execution during the second quarter of 2017, it said on Monday. The exchange said the move to T+2 settlement was part of its aim to move in step with "leading global settlement practices and increase levels of asset safety for investors." At present, trades must be settled on the same day, a practice known as T+0. The Capital Market Authority said in May last year it had approved the switch "during the first half of 2017." (Reporting by Tom Arnold, editing by Louise Heavens) Next In Financials U.S. Supreme Court rejects Dow over $1 billion tax deduction claim WASHINGTON, Jan 9 The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear Dow Chemical Co''s bid to revive its claim to more than $1 billion in tax deductions based on partnerships the company entered into that lower courts said were created primarily to avoid tax liability and had no legitimate business purpose. UPDATE 2-Hard Brexit is not inevitable, says British PM May * Wants to switch focus to UK policy with "shared society" (Adds more quotes, context) * Manulife Investments -Plans to replace certain operating expenses of Manulife U.S. All Cap Equity Class and Manulife Global Balanced Private Trust MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Taboola Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/saudi-plan-stocks-settlement-idUSL5N1EZ48E'|'2017-01-09T21:28:00.000+02:00' +'2eae3a199b662d6c4fb2633904702a90b28e408c'|'Barclays CEO says bulk of activity to stay in London after Brexit - BBC'|' 14am GMT Barclays CEO says bulk of activity to stay in London after Brexit - BBC A Barclays bank office is seen at Canary Wharf in London, Britain, May 19, 2015. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo LONDON Barclays will keep the bulk of its activities in Britain after the UK leaves the European Union, its chief executive said on Thursday, saying that any changes to how the bank operates will be small and manageable. "We may have to move certain activities, we may have to change the legal structure that we use to operate in Europe, but I think it''s going to be at the margin and will be manageable," Jes Staley told BBC Radio in an interview in Davos, Switzerland. "The bulk of what we do will continue to occur in London." (Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Louise Ireland) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-barclays-idUKKBN15310V'|'2017-01-19T16:14:00.000+02:00' +'3eb95ec5c0e6c65f18cbdeda3a3834dcbb40f5b6'|'Deutsche Bank CEO tells EU financial hubs to seize Brexit chance'|' 28pm GMT Deutsche Bank CEO tells EU financial hubs to seize Brexit chance Deutsche Bank Chief Executive John Cryan attends a news conference in Frankfurt, Germany, January 28, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo BERLIN The European Union''s financial hubs must seize the opportunity of Britain''s exit from the bloc, or risk losing out to New York, Singapore or Shanghai, Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) CEO John Cryan said on Thursday. "We are competing on a global basis. If we don''t act, financial hubs in the European Union will not benefit from the chances that Brexit offers," he said in a speech in Berlin. "The answer to this global competition has to be a more integrated capital market in the EU, and as quickly as possible," he added. Global banks and insurers have begun signalling how they will put into action plans to cope with a "hard" exit from the EU, after Prime Minister Theresa May said that Britain would leave the single market. Alternative European financial centres to London, including Frankfurt, Paris, Dublin and Luxembourg, have also been looking at ways of getting businesses to relocate to them when Britain leaves the EU. Barclays, for example, ( BARC.L ) is preparing to make Dublin its EU headquarters for when Britain leaves the European Union, according to a source familiar with the matter. Cryan said London would become less attractive as a result of Brexit, despite its unique characteristics and the infrastructure that has been built up over many decades. But Frankfurt, where Deutsche Bank is based, was a natural winner: "We see our home city as on the ascent - Frankfurt will become more important." (Reporting by Klaus Lauer and Victoria Bryan; Editing by Alexander Smith) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-deutsche-bank-idUKKBN15A2K5'|'2017-01-27T01:28:00.000+02:00' +'3353da669e966933ff45d845b968e4f7bde8c176'|'South Korea prosecutors to investigate other conglomerates after Samsung probe'|'Technology 6:01am GMT South Korea prosecutors to investigate other conglomerates after Samsung probe SEOUL South Korea''s special prosecutor''s office said on Monday it plans to investigate other conglomerates after completing its probe of Samsung Group [SAGR.UL], whose leader has been named a suspect in a graft scandal involving President Park Geun-hye. Prosecution office spokesman Lee Kyu-chul did not elaborate on when the probe into Samsung may end or what other conglomerates the office plans to investigate. (Reporting by Ju-min Park; writing by Se Young Lee; Editing by Nick Macfie) Next In Technology News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-politics-conglomerates-idUKKBN1570IN'|'2017-01-23T12:57:00.000+02:00' +'51607db97b50f7ef6e4c2f0161d3fae84df79fc4'|'AB InBev and Keurig to develop alcoholic drinks dispenser for the home'|'LONDON Anheuser Busch InBev ( ABI.BR ) and Keurig Green Mountain have teamed up to develop a home appliance that could dispense alcoholic drinks in the home, similar to Keurig''s existing machine for soft drinks.The companies on Friday announced a research and development joint venture that will focus on the North American market with the aim of developing a system that could work with beer, spirits, cocktails and mixers.Financial terms of the venture were not disclosed.AB InBev is the world''s largest brewer with brands like Budweiser and Stella Artois. Keurig is part of privately held JAB Holding, owner of the world''s biggest standalone coffee business.(Reporting by Martinne Geller; editing by Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-anheuser-busch-keurig-venture-idINKBN14Q24Y'|'2017-01-06T15:04:00.000+02:00' +'c86d9706923e345fff16071971d42e64ec4c8642'|'Some 800 boat migrants rescued during break in weather - Italian coast guard'|' 50pm EST Some 800 boat migrants rescued during break in weather - Italian coast guard By Steve Scherer - ROME ROME Jan 12 Some 800 migrants were plucked from flimsy rubber boats on Thursday, Italy''s coast guard said, as Libya-based people smugglers took advantage of a window of good mid-winter weather to send them to sea. Italian coast guard vessel Diciotti and two ships run by humanitarian groups, the Aquarius and the Golfo Azzurro, went to the rescue of a total of six rubber boats in international waters off the coast of Libya, the coast guard said. Mathilde Auvillain, a spokeswoman for SOS Mediterranee which co-runs the Aquarius, said they aided a small wooden boat carrying 26 people, mostly Nigerians, on Wednesday, while 123 were taken off a rubber dinghy on Thursday. After several days of rough seas, weather conditions improved on Wednesday evening and were expected to remain calm until Friday evening, she told Reuters by telephone. "We are expecting another long year. There''s no sign that things are going to improve. So far this winter we have had no rest. We have not gone a full week without a rescue." Among the 149 rescued by the Aquarius were people from Nigeria, Sudan, Guinea, and Bangladesh, Auvillain said. Last year a record 181,000 boat migrants, mostly from Africa, reached Italy. The majority paid Libyan people traffickers to make the journey. With Libya still plagued by disorder and divided by rival governments and militias, it has become a safe haven for people smugglers and a dangerous place for migrants. "The migrants are fleeing Libya as much as they are coming to Europe," Auvillain said. Last year the Aquarius crew went to the rescue of 7,500 boat migrants, she said. The European Union plans new measures to deter migrants crossing the Mediterranean from Libya, officials said, as Malta urged the bloc on Thursday to act to head off a surge in arrivals from the North African country. The EU all but halted a migrant influx into Greece through a deal last year with Turkey to hold back Syrian refugees. But doing the same in Italy''s case is more problematic because of the lack of effective state authority in Libya. (Reporting by Steve Scherer; editing by Mark Heinrich) Next In Industrials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/europe-migrants-italy-idUSL5N1F25N0'|'2017-01-13T00:50:00.000+02:00' +'ae16c28a6ddc03b56da0db04499919b84bcbbd6f'|'Royal Albert Hall president to be grilled by MPs over ticket abuse - Money'|'The president of the Royal Albert Hall and the multi-millionaire founder of controversial ticket resale website Viagogo are to be grilled by MPs in the second phase of an inquiry into ticket abuse.MPs on the department for culture, media and sport committee are planning a fresh evidence session, after they were told in a previous hearing about the relationship between powerful ticket touts and secondary resale websites.High prices, low profile what we know about Viagogo Read more Royal Albert Hall president Jon Moynihan is among the witnesses likely to be asked to give evidence in the light of revelations that members who own permanent seats at the venue are selling them for profit.At least one MP on the committee is understood to have written to chairman Damian Collins, calling on him to summon Moynihan, who has defended members legal right to sell their tickets.The committee is also keen to hear from Viagogos secretive founder Eric Baker, amid criticism of the Switzerland-based companys practices.Baker cannot be compelled to attend because the American is not thought to hold British citizenship.But senior British staff, such as executive Ed Parkinson, can technically be forced to turn up to the committee session. The committee cannot compel Viagogo founder Eric Baker to give evidence. Photograph: Eamonn McCabe for the Guardian Viagogo has proved particularly controversial among secondary ticketing firms, due to its apparent disregard for artists and venues trying to stop their tickets being resold.It has also come under fire for making a profit on tickets for charity events , such as Peter Kays Dance for Life charity event to raise funds for Cancer Research UK.The company did not respond to a request for comment.Ticketmaster, which sent its UK chairman Chris Edmonds to the committees first hearing in November, is also likely to be recalled to give fresh evidence.The previous session saw resale sites, which include Viagogo, Stubhub and Ticketmaster-owned Seatwave and GetMeIn, accused of acting like old-fashioned fences for helping touts sell tickets.Critics say the secondary ticketing industry shuts out fans and forces up prices because touts are able to harvest tickets in bulk before anyone else can get hold of them.Tickets for in-demand events then appear on resale websites, some of whom have close relationships with the touts , within seconds of first going on sale, often at huge mark-ups on their face value.Recent events to have been targeted include a tour by U2, concerts at Wembley stadium by Adele and the popular hip-hop musical Hamilton, despite efforts by the shows producers to prevent resale .Security consultant and ticketing expert Reg Walker, who gave evidence at the first hearing on ticket abuse, said MPs should take the opportunity to pose tough questions to Viagogos publicity-shy executives.Id like to see the committee ask questions, including whether these companies accept that they have to comply with UK legislation regardless of their country of registration.How can Viagogo possibly offer non-existent tickets for sale before the real tickets go on sale?The committees second session, expected to take place in early March, comes amid growing scrutiny of ticket touts and resale sites.The Competition and Markets Authority has launched a probe into whether touts are flouting the Consumer Rights Act 2015 by failing to publish their company details and information about the seat they are selling.HMRC has also begun a separate investigation into whether touts are declaring their full income from the trade.Some of the UKs biggest touts have recently begun rebranding their organisations as the spotlight on them has intensified, an investigation by The Guardian found.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/jan/29/royal-albert-hall-president-grilled-mps-ticket-abuse-viagogo-hamilton'|'2017-01-30T00:39:00.000+02:00' +'370a227d9023c4960a37ae44e43f3688f928864d'|'Israel''s Modiin Energy plans to buy North Sea drilling rights'|'Business News - Sun Jan 22, 2017 - 1:25pm GMT Israel''s Modiin Energy plans to buy North Sea drilling rights TEL AVIV Modiin Energy ( MDINp.TA ) said on Sunday it signed a letter of intent to buy 25 percent of the oil drilling rights in a site in shallow North Sea waters in British territory. Modiin will pay the seller, who was not identified, $175,000 (141,460) to cover previous expenses, Modiin said in a statement. The seller will continue to serve as operator and retain the remaining rights. Modiin will pay a third of the costs associated with the first drill in the site. The deal is conditioned on completion of due diligence by Modiin and the signing of an operating agreement with the seller. Modiin is controlled by Yitzhak Sultan and IDB Development Corp. The partnership also holds stakes in Israel''s Shimshon and Daniel sites. (Reporting by Tova Cohen)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-energy-modiin-energy-northsea-idUKKBN1560NN'|'2017-01-22T20:25:00.000+02:00' +'16b3f3d42e8de8d2f86d456dad9bf2707a7390aa'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'(Adds Powertech, Centrica, Bain Capital, Fininvest)Jan 13 The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1430 GMT on Friday:** Taiwan''s Powertech Technology Inc said it was terminating a share agreement with China''s Tsinghua Unigroup Ltd, unraveling more than $2 billion in deal-making that the state-run Chinese giant had hoped to seal on the island.** Britain''s Centrica has completed its withdrawal from wind power generation with the sale of a 50 percent stake in the Lincs offshore wind farm to the Green Investment Bank and its offshore wind fund, the companies said.** Private equity firms Advent and Bain Capital agreed to buy German payment group Concardis from a group of private, savings and cooperative banks, the parties said in a joint statement, not disclosing a purchase price.** Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and his holding company Fininvest have appealed to the European Court of Justice against a decision by the European Central Bank that Fininvest should cut its stake in asset manager Banca Mediolanum .** State-owned Shenzhen Metro Group''s purchase of the second-biggest holding in China Vanke is likely to pave the way for it to take control of the property giant and put an end to a year-long corporate power struggle.** U.S. private equity firm KKR & Co LP said on Friday it has agreed to buy Hitachi Ltd''s power tools unit, Hitachi Koki Co Ltd, for about $1.3 billion, its second billion-dollar deal in Japan in three months.** Oil and gas producer Anadarko Petroleum Corporation said it would sell its Eagleford Shale assets in South Texas for about $2.3 billion to a strategic 50/50 partnership formed by Sanchez Energy Corp and asset manager Blackstone Group LP.** Megadeals in China helped bring a record $31 billion in venture capital investment into the country in 2016 despite a sluggish global economy and a sharp drop in the number of new deals, a report said.** Canadian energy infrastructure company AltaGas Ltd said on Thursday it was in talks with a third party over a potential transaction.** Peruvian builder Grana y Montero''s shares dropped by more than 12 percent after it called its partnership with corruption-plagued Brazilian builder Odebrecht a "mistake" and said it was considering taking legal action.** Swedish small-cap industrial firm Duroc said on Friday it was buying the far larger International Fibres Group from one of its largest owners by issuing new shares.** Renova Energia SA has agreed to sell a wind farm project to the local unit of AES Corp for about 650 million reais ($204 million) as part of efforts by the Brazilian renewable power company to repay debt and ease a cash crunch.** ClubCorp Holdings Inc, one of the largest owners and operators of private golf and country clubs in the United States, said it was exploring strategic alternatives after Reuters reported the company was in a process to sell itself.** The Brazilian government is drafting a decree to allow 100 percent foreign ownership of local airlines, a Transportation Ministry spokesperson said, a move that could attract investors to a recession-beaten industry. (Compiled by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/deals-day-idINL4N1F34F1'|'2017-01-13T11:54:00.000+02:00' +'480d53a81ba7856c014e046edad3acbaa94e5d71'|'UPDATE 1-China''s preliminary 2016 fiscal deficit $413 bln, exceeding target'|'Business News 6:00am EST China''s preliminary 2016 fiscal deficit $413 billion, exceeding target A 100 Yuan note is seen in this illustration picture in Beijing March 7, 2011. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo BEIJING China had a significantly larger fiscal deficit in 2016 than it targeted, according to a Reuters calculation based on preliminary data released on Monday by the Finance Ministry. The preliminary deficit was 2.83 trillion yuan ($413 billion), which Reuters calculates to be 3.8 percent of gross domestic product. China had budgeted for a deficit last year of 2.18 trillion yuan - equivalent to 3 percent of GDP. Beijing has relied on government spending to stabilize economic growth in the past year, but concerns about the country''s debt load are increasing. Fiscal expenditures in 2016 rose 6.4 percent from the previous year, while revenue increased 4.5 percent, the ministry said. The figures are subject to revisions. In early 2016, its preliminary figures put the 2015 deficit at 2.355 trillion yuan. But the final figures showed a deficit of only 1.62 trillion yuan, or 2.3 percent of GDP. In 2016, value-added tax (VAT) revenue jumped 30.9 percent from the previous year, while business tax revenue fell 40.4 percent, the ministry said. The combined VAT and business tax revenue rose 5.4 percent last year, it said. China made a full switch to a VAT system from a flat business tax for companies last year, which the government had said would save companies 500 billion yuan in taxes for 2016. (Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk and Kevin Yao; Editing by Richard Borsuk) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-fiscal-idUSKBN15718R'|'2017-01-23T17:53:00.000+02:00' +'3d4a119ee618edfaf261722eef244f67b5cce503'|'RBS challenges investors on costs as rights issue trial nears'|' 5:40pm GMT RBS challenges investors on costs as rights issue trial nears People walk past a Royal Bank of Scotland office in London, Britain, February 6, 2013. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo By Kirstin Ridley and Andrew MacAskill - LONDON LONDON Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ) is demanding that thousands of shareholders suing the bank over a 12 billion pound ($15 billion) cash call in 2008 prove they have appropriate insurance cover to meet the hefty risks of a trial now slated for May. RBS said the RBoS Action Group, a 27,000-strong group of retail shareholders backed by around 100 institutions, had so far declined to give the bank assurances that they had adequate legal expenses insurance to cover their costs if they lose the case, according to court documents seen by Reuters. State-controlled RBS offered five investor groups a total of 800 million pounds last month to draw a line under allegations of omissions and mistatements to shareholders during an emergency rights issue at the height of the 2008 credit crisis. Four separate investor groups accepted the offer, leaving the RBoS Shareholder Action Group the last claimants to shoulder the costs of proceeding to a trial that has now been delayed and shortened as both sides hone their arguments. The RBoS Action group, which is demanding damages of around 850 million pounds, has suggested that the case can be heard over 12 weeks from May 22, according to court documents. A lawyer for the action group urged RBS to "put up or shut up" at a pre-trial hearing on Wednesday, calling questions about "after the event (ATE)" insurance, which protects against paying opponents'' costs if legal cases are lost, "extremely destabilising and distracting". "We can''t see any conceivable basis on which the defendants are entitled to have information about the ATE position," said Jonathan Nash, for the claimant group. "Still less do we think there is any proper basis for an application for security for costs to be made in this case." RBS declined to comment. The claimants, who plan to call disgraced former RBS chief executive Fred Goodwin to court, say they have funding from a variety of sources, including private individuals and professional litigation funders. Goodwin asked shareholders to stump up 12 billion pounds in May 2008 to bolster the bank''s capital position just months before the bank imploded at the height of the credit crisis, forcing a taxpayer bailout. Shareholders, many of whom were long-term RBS employees, lost around 80 percent of their investment. ($1 = 0.7945 pounds) (Reporting by Kirstin Ridley; Editing by Ruth Pitchford) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-rbs-lawsuit-investors-idUKKBN1592BT'|'2017-01-26T00:40:00.000+02:00' +'ed801d2b0f8a5dd7f58afad23eab7a0a5cc3cc4a'|'Australia''s Tigerair expects to resume Bali flights on Feb 3'|'Cyclical Consumer Goods - Thu Jan 19, 2017 - 1:47am EST Australia''s Tigerair expects to resume Bali flights on Feb 3 SYDNEY Jan 19 Tigerair Australia said it expects to resume flights to Bali from Feb. 3, almost three weeks after the airline''s permission to fly to the island was revoked by Indonesia due to a bureaucratic technicality. On Jan. 12, Indonesia forced the budget subsidiary of Virgin Australia Holdings to cancel its flights for failing to comply with charter flight regulations. The flights had previously been considered regularly scheduled flights for regulatory purposes. That left thousands of passengers stranded in Bali - known for its beaches, mountains and paddy fields and which is particularly popular with Australian tourists. Tigerair on Thursday said it had received a "key approval" to fly to Bali using its A320s from Feb. 3, subject to final procedural approvals being secured. It needs to obtain a route permit and have an aircraft inspected to receive final approvals, according to a person familiar with the situation. Tigerair plans to switch back to 737s when it receives a licence to fly those on its own from regulators in Indonesia and Australia, said the source, who did not want to be named due to rules on talking to media. Over the past week, around 4,000 Australians stranded in Bali have returned on relief flights operated by Virgin and Tigerair, while other angry customers scrambled to purchase tickets on rivals like Jetstar and Garuda Indonesia during a heavily booked school holiday period. Tigerair flights from Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth to Bali, which began last March, were flying under Virgin Australia''s licence and using its pilots because Indonesia had not yet granted Tigerair approval to operate Boeing 737s on its own. Tigerair''s current fleet comprises of Airbus A320 aircraft, which have a slightly shorter range and are unable to fly fully loaded from Melbourne to Bali in certain weather conditions. (Reporting by Jamie Freed; Editing by Himani Sarkar) Next In Cyclical Consumer Goods'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/australia-indonesia-tigerair-idUSL4N1F926F'|'2017-01-19T13:47:00.000+02:00' +'bd05f3de183d420457425f942a723ab09efbaee1'|'Citi downgrades Goldman Sachs to ''sell'' on valuation'|'Citigroup downgraded Goldman Sachs Group Inc ( GS.N ) to "sell" citing valuation, sending its stock down as much as 1.6 percent and making it the biggest drag on the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI .Citi analyst Keith Horowitz said Goldman would need an additional $4 billion of revenue above current full-year estimates to bridge the gap between current and expected return on tangible equity."While we expect Goldman will see improved trading revenues going forward, the path is relatively uncertain and the bar is relatively high," Horowitz wrote in a note to clients.Analysts on average are expecting 2017 revenue of $32.32 billion, according to Reuters data.The downgrade comes days before the large U.S. banks start reporting fourth-quarter results, their first after the election in November and the Federal Reserve''s rate hike in December.Goldman is expected to report on Jan. 18.Bank stocks have been on a tear since the U.S. election, with the KBW Bank Index .BKX rising 22.6 percent. Goldman Sachs'' shares rose 33.5 percent during the period.The stock was down 0.9 percent at $240.58 in morning trading.(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-goldman-sachs-research-citi-idUSKBN14U1YJ'|'2017-01-10T19:01:00.000+02:00' +'8bb5046996e1301a166dbf10bec497d93c40cd59'|'UPDATE 1-U.S. Senate finance committee to vote on Rep. Price on Tuesday'|' 24am EST UPDATE 1-U.S. Senate finance committee to vote on Rep. Price on Tuesday (Adds details, background) WASHINGTON Jan 29 The Republican-majority U.S. Senate Finance Committee will vote on Tuesday on the nomination of Representative Tom Price to head the Department of Health and Human Services, the panel''s chairman, Senator Orrin Hatch, said on Sunday. Price, a Republican, is an orthopedic surgeon who if confirmed would be given the task of carrying out President Donald Trump''s promise to gut former President Obama''s Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare. Price''s trading in health company stocks while a lawmaker has been questioned by Democrats, but Price says his actions were legal and ethical. Price made his name in Washington as an opponent of Obamacare. For years he has proposed legislation to repeal and replace the 2010 health care law, but his proposal has never been voted on in committee. At a hearing last week before the finance committee, Price minimized the impact he would have on changing the healthcare insurance system if he is confirmed, saying it would be his task to carry out the will of Congress, expressed in legislation. Congress is in the process of working on a repeal of Obamacare and crafting a replacement. Republicans have generally supported Price''s nomination while Democrats have sharply criticized it. At last week''s hearing, the top Democrat on the finance committee, Senator Ron Wyden, said that if Price is confirmed, he would "take America back to the dark days when healthcare was for the healthy and the wealthy." (Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Editing by Susan Fenton and Jeffrey Benkoe) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-congress-price-idUSL1N1FJ09L'|'2017-01-29T21:24:00.000+02:00' +'304508363013f723def23234de92b3f2b94209fe'|'Exclusive: Pentagon, Lockheed near deal on $9 billion F-35 contract - sources'|'By Mike Stone - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The U.S. Department of Defense and Lockheed Martin Corp ( LMT.N ) are close to deal for a contract worth almost $9 billion as negotiations are poised to bring the price per F-35 below $100 million for the first time, people familiar with the talks said Wednesday.The F-35, the Pentagon''s costliest arms program, has drawn fire from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump who has made lowering prices for military equipment a pillar of his transition into office.Talks are still ongoing for the tenth batch of stealthy fighter jets with a deal for 90 planes expected to be announced by the end of the month, three people said on condition of anonymity.A Lockheed representative declined to comment and a representative for the fighter program said negotiations are ongoing.The U.S. Defense Department expects to spend $391 billion in the coming decades to develop and buy 2,443 of the supersonic warplanes. Though the F-35 program has been criticized by Trump as too expensive, the price per jet has already been declining. Lockheed, the prime contractor, and its partners have been working on building a more cost-effective supply chain to fuel the production line in Fort Worth, Texas.The overtures from the incoming administration may have had some effect, but Lockheed''s F-35 program manager Jeff Babione said last summer that the price of the F-35A conventional takeoff and landing version of the jet would drop to under $100 million per plane in this contract for the 10th low-rate production batch.The F-35 comes in three configurations, the A-model for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. allies; a F-35 B-model which can handle short takeoffs and vertical landings for the Marine Corps and the British navy; and carrier-variant F-35C jets for the U.S. Navy.Lockheed and its main partners, including Northrop Grumman Corp ( NOC.N ), United Technologies Corp''s ( UTX.N ) Pratt & Whitney and BAE Systems Plc ( BAES.L ), have been developing and building F-35s for the U.S. military and 10 allies.On Oct. 25 Lockheed, the world''s largest defense contractor, reported a quarterly profit that handily beat analysts'' expectations, as sales of its Sikorsky helicopters pushed total revenue up 14.8 percent. Lockheed is set to host its fourth-quarter earnings call on Tuesday.(Reporting by Mike Stone; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-lockheed-pentagon-idINKBN15308A'|'2017-01-18T23:01:00.000+02:00' +'7a6ce0726be4b3ce7a1dbe05bf98671722a25685'|'German inflation rate could reach 2 percent in January - Bundesbank'|'Business News 03am EST German inflation rate could reach two percent in January: Bundesbank FRANKFURT German inflation could hit 2 percent in January due to higher energy prices, the Bundesbank said on Monday, hitting the European Central Bank''s elusive target for the first time in four years. Germany''s relatively quick inflation pick up has increased calls on the ECB to scale back its extensive stimulus measures as real savings rates turn negative and fears mount that the bank would now overshoot its target of close to but below 2 percent. The ECB has pushed back, however, arguing that it looks at inflation across the euro zone, not just one member, and it needs to see a broad based, sustained rise in prices before lowering its guard. "Due to a considerable increase in the daily average prices of oil products, the (inflation) rate could well reach 2 percent in January," the Bundesbank said in its monthly report. Inflation was 1.1 percent across the 19-member euro zone in December and 1.7 percent in Germany, the bloc''s biggest economy and also home to the ECB. But elsewhere, like Ireland, Cyprus, Greece and Italy, price growth is either negative or just above zero. The ECB has agreed to scale back its monthly bond purchases by a quarter from April but also extended the program until the end of 2017. An ECB survey last week also showed that underlying inflation, a key indicator watched by rate setters, will remain weak for the years to come, suggesting that the ECB is still far away from reducing its unprecedented stimulus measures. (Reporting by Andreas Framke; Editing by Balazs Koranyi) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-economy-bundesbank-idUSKBN15719G'|'2017-01-23T18:00:00.000+02:00' +'336f65e36f7c83359fff9d3e6ec930df6df234c1'|'BRIEF-Strikepoint signs agreement to purchase IDM''s Yukon portfolio'|' 19am EST BRIEF-Strikepoint signs agreement to purchase IDM''s Yukon portfolio Jan 19 Strikepoint Gold Inc : * Strikepoint signs definitive agreement to purchase IDM''s Yukon portfolio * Strikepoint Gold Inc - entered into definitive agreement with IDM mining ltd to purchase a portfolio of properties located in yukon * Strikepoint Gold Inc - purchase price for properties will be $4.2 million * Strikepoint Gold Inc - strikepoint will incur a minimum of $1,500,000 in exploration expenditures on yukon properties by December 31, 2017 Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSASC09RH2'|'2017-01-19T21:19:00.000+02:00' +'66721eb1ad0f8202da90ccd36829af6f27748a63'|'John Lewis to ramp up investment to meet online demand'|'Business News - Thu Jan 12, 2017 - 8:20am GMT John Lewis to ramp up investment to meet online demand left Shoppers pass a branch of John Lewis in London, Britain, September 15, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville 1/2 left right A John Lewis store is seen in Oxford street, in London, Britain August 14, 2016. Photograph taken on August 14, 2016. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls 2/2 LONDON Britain''s biggest department store John Lewis said it would invest heavily in its business this year in response to the accelerating shift to online shopping, after it reported a 2.7 percent rise in underlying Christmas sales. The John Lewis Partnership, which also owns the upmarket Waitrose supermarket, said even though it expected profit to be up on last year, its trading profit was coming under pressure due to the rapid changes in the industry. "The most obvious of these changes is the channel shift from shops to online," it said in a statement. "The other major influence is pricing, where deflation continues in foodand non-food, despite rising input costs as a result of weakness in the Sterling exchange rate." The group said it would speed up aspects of its strategy, which would involve a period of significant change, investment and innovation. It did not say how much it would spend on the programme. (Reporting by Kate Holton; editing by Sarah Young) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-johnlewis-outlook-idUKKBN14W0VJ'|'2017-01-12T15:20:00.000+02:00' +'8af4a41777fa53c17f8dd573908667a6dfed1ce4'|'Equatorial Guinea says presents offer to become OPEC member in 2017'|'JOHANNESBURG Africa''s no. 3 oil producer Equatorial Guinea has presented an offer to join the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) this year and has agreed to production cuts, its energy ministry said on Monday.If Equatorial Guinea was to join OPEC, it would become the cartel''s 14th member and the sixth from Africa, further raising the continent''s influence and profile in the corridors of global oil production and pricing."We firmly believe that Equatorial Guinea''s interests are fully aligned with those of OPEC in serving the best interests of the industry," Mines and Hydrocarbons Minister Gabriel Mbaga Obiang was Quote: d as saying in a statement.The offer was made when Obiang traveled to Vienna on Friday to meet with OPEC officials but the statement provided no further details about the west African nation''s bid for OPEC membership.Oil prices fell one percent on Monday as signs of a strong recovery in U.S. oil drilling activity outweighed news that OPEC and non-OPEC producers were on track to meet output reduction goals set in December.Equatorial Guinea was one of the non-OPEC nations that signed up to those production cuts.Ministers representing members of OPEC and non-OPEC producers said at a meeting on Sunday that of almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) they had agreed to be taken out of the market, 1.5 million bpd had already gone."There is a consensus amongst producers that an oversupply of oil has been dragging down the price of the barrel. Equatorial Guinea is doing its part to ensure stability in the market and that the industry continues to invest in exploring and developing our resources," Obiang said.(Reporting by Ed Stoddard; Editing by James Macharia)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/equatorial-opec-idINKBN1571G9'|'2017-01-23T08:58:00.000+02:00' +'0f469ed65db236a08048bc49030c004d2dff8e49'|'JPMorgan upgrades Indonesian stocks to ''neutral'' after row'|'Business News - Mon Jan 16, 2017 - 5:40am EST JPMorgan upgrades Indonesian stocks to ''neutral'' after row The logo of Dow Jones Industrial Average stock market index listed company JPMorgan Chase (JPM) is seen in Los Angeles, California, United States, in this October 12, 2010 file photo. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owns Chase Commerical Bank and JPMorgan Investment Bank. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo By Gayatri Suroyo and Hidayat Setiaji - JAKARTA JAKARTA JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ) upgraded its investment recommendation on Indonesian stocks to "neutral" from "underweight" on Monday, partially reversing a move it made in November that upset the government. Indonesia cut its business ties with JPMorgan after the U.S. investment bank downgraded its recommendation on Indonesian stocks to "underweight" from "overweight" in a research report issued after the U.S. presidential election. Government officials said JPMorgan''s November report "did not make sense" because it gave better recommendations for equities of other emerging economies that Indonesia argued were not doing better than its economy, Southeast Asia''s largest. JPMorgan''s equities research team wrote on Monday that in the month after Donald Trump''s surprise victory, funds sold large amount of emerging markets'' bonds and equities which it estimated at $15 billion each. "Redemption and bond volatility risks have now played out, in our view. Bond volatility should now decay allowing us to partially reverse November''s tactical moves including upgrading Indonesia to neutral," according to the note sent to clients and seen by Reuters. "Indonesia''s macro fundamentals are strong, with high potential growth rate and low debt/GDP with economic reform. Within Asia it was the biggest beneficiary of bond inflows," the bank said, adding that better motorcycle sales data also supported its upgrade. JPMorgan said it remained concerned about volatility in the first half of 2017 and "manages risk with a neutral call". When asked about JPMorgan''s upgrade, Indonesia''s Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said "it''s good", without elaborating. Responding to the upgrade, Indonesia''s central bank governor Agus Martowardojo said 2017 will be a year of recovery for Indonesian corporates, banks and fiscal spending, while 2016 was a year of consolidation. Indonesia''s main benchmark index .JKSE has dipped so far this year after gaining more than 15 percent in 2016. After JPMorgan''s November downgrade, Indonesia''s finance ministry dropped the bank''s services as a primary dealer for domestic sovereign bonds and as an underwriter for bonds sold to global markets. The bank also no longer receives certain transfers of state revenue. The ministry then issued new rules that require all primary bond dealers - banks and securities appointed to buy government bonds in auctions and resell them in the secondary market - to "safeguard" their partnership with the government and avoid conflict of interest. JPMorgan did not mention the government''s sanction in the note it published on Monday. (Reporting by Gayatri Suroyo and Hidayat Setiaji; Editing by Jacqueline Wong) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-stocks-jpmorgan-idUSKBN150154'|'2017-01-16T17:40:00.000+02:00' +'f2687ad19a9a3c031cc1f53afccf22192b0435f9'|'MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf shares diverge in early trade, small caps support Saudi'|'Financials - Sun Jan 15, 2017 - 3:13am EST MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf shares diverge in early trade, small caps support Saudi DUBAI Jan 15 Stock markets in the Gulf diverged in early trade on Sunday with Saudi Arabia''s bourse supported by small and mid-sized shares while profit taking weighed on Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Saudi Arabia''s index edged up 0.3 percent in the first half hour; Al Jouf Cement was the top gainer, jumping 5.8 percent. Almarai rose 0.4 percent after the Gulf''s largest dairy company reported a 1 percent increase in fourth-quarter net profit to 488.5 million riyals ($130 million), virtually meeting analysts'' forecasts as sales rose marginally and the cost of sales fell. Analysts at NCB Capital said that despite the relatively flat earnings and revenue growth, strong margin expansion from lower operating expenditure and improving sales in Almarai''s poultry segment were important positives. The company, one of the few that give a forward guidance, said: "Given the changing economic environment and the increasing competitive conditions, the company will continue to focus on costs control, efficiency gains and cashflow preservation while maintaining its strategic direction of profitable growth." Bank Aljazira, the first bank to report earnings in the kingdom, lost 0.8 percent after reporting a 4.4 percent drop in fourth-quarter net profit to 152 million riyals. Aljazira attributed the fall to higher impairment charges for credit losses. Some other banks were knocked lower as a result, with Saudi British Bank dropping 1.4 percent. Kuwait''s stock market, which is often thinly traded, was up 1.6 percent with Boubyan Petrochemical rising 3.9 percent and the largest logistics firm in the Gulf, Agility , climbing 3 percent. "Sentiment is very positive in the market but no change in fundamentals ..." said Bader Al Gahnim, head of regional asset management at Kuwait-based Global Investment House. "From an economic perspective the country is well positioned due to prudent fiscal management and a lower fiscal break-even oil price." Dubai''s index pulled back 0.4 percent on profit taking in some of last week''s biggest gainers. Islamic Arab Insurance fell 0.7 percent and builder Drake & Scull lost 0.6 percent. Abu Dhabi''s index was also weakened by profit taking and fell 0.4 percent. National Bank of Abu Dhabi dropped 1.4 percent; shares in the bank, which is set to merge with First Gulf Bank this quarter, have been volatile for the past week. FGB was down 0.8 percent. (Reporting by Celine Aswad; Editing by Andrew Torchia and Susan Fenton) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/mideast-stocks-emirates-idUSL5N1F504D'|'2017-01-15T15:13:00.000+02:00' +'6982e8524df33f52d432487c418267f08c5ff275'|'Britain in ''front seat'' for U.S. trade deal, top Republican says'|'Politics - Tue Jan 10, 2017 - 2:22am EST Britain in ''front seat'' for U.S. trade deal, top Republican says U.S. President-elect Donald Trump listens to questions from reporters in the lobby at Trump Tower in New York, U.S., January 9, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Segar LONDON Britain will be in the "front seat" to negotiate a new trade deal with the incoming administration of Donald Trump, a top Republican in the United States Senate said, the BBC reported. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker said after meeting British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson that a trade deal between the two countries would be a priority as Britain prepares to leave the European Union. Ahead of the Brexit vote, President Barack Obama exhorted Britons to stay in the EU and warned that if they left they would be at "the back of the queue" for a U.S. trade deal. Corker said Johnson knows "full well" that "there is no way the United Kingdom is going to take a back seat". "They will take a front seat and I think it will be our priority to make sure that we deal with them on a trade agreement initially but in all respects in a way that demonstrates the long-term friendship that we''ve had for so long," Corker was quoted as saying by the BBC. Trump, while a candidate for the U.S. presidency, hailed Brexit as a "great thing" when visiting Scotland the day after the vote though Britain cannot sign a trade deal until it leaves the EU which under current plans will likely be in 2019. After visits to see aides in Trump Tower in New York and meet members of Congress in Washington, Johnson said: "Clearly, the Trump administration-to-be has a very exciting agenda of change. One thing that won''t change, though, is the closeness of the relationship between the US and the UK. "We are Americas principal partner in working for global security and, of course, we are great campaigners for free trade," Johnson was quoted as saying by the Guardian newspaper. "We hear that we are first in line to do a great free trade deal with the United States. So, it''s going to be a very exciting year for both our countries," Johnson said. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Michael Holden) Next In Politics'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-usa-idUSKBN14U0MQ'|'2017-01-10T14:22:00.000+02:00' +'35b31570b1d3608deed785664669a0e45a4da7e3'|'British banks'' optimism hits crisis-era low on Brexit uncertainty'|'Business News - Mon Jan 23, 2017 - 12:07am GMT British banks'' optimism hits crisis-era low on Brexit uncertainty A general view of the Shard, the London Eye and Tower Bridge on the skyline of London, Britain January 19, 2017. Picture taken January 19, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs LONDON Optimism about the business environment for Britain''s financial services firms fell for a fourth consecutive quarter, according to a survey published on Monday, the longest decline since the global financial crisis. The latest quarterly survey of 103 financial services firms by business lobby CBI and consultancy PwC found sentiment about Britain''s overall business climate fell the most since December 2008, with banks especially pessimistic. 90 percent of banks surveyed said preparing for the impact of Britain''s exit from the European Union was their top challenge. "Uncertainty has contributed to the low levels of optimism reported by many financial services companies, particularly by the banks," Andrew Kail, Head of Financial Services at PwC, said in the report. Banks have begun signalling how they will put plans into action to cope with a "hard" exit by Britain from the EU, after Prime Minister Theresa May said Britain will leave the single market. Kail also said that greater clarity on the UK position on Brexit from the Prime Minister''s speech this week was welcome, not least a commitment to a period of phased implementation. The survey revealed a more optimistic outlook for hiring, with 18 percent of financial firms saying they had increased employment in the period compared with 10 percent showing a decrease. IT was the biggest area for new jobs. The survey also said firms considered increasing their dialogue with regulators as the biggest priority as Britain negotiates its EU exit. (Reporting By Lawrence White. Editing by Jane Merriman) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-banks-outlook-idUKKBN157003'|'2017-01-23T07:07:00.000+02:00' +'aad5a090c212ecd4ffb8f5b5786c6491fb076327'|'UPDATE 2-Canada''s Trudeau welcomes refugees, airline rejects U.S.-bound passenger'|'(Rewrites throughout after prime minister''s tweet welcoming refugees to Canada)By David Ljunggren and Anna Mehler PapernyOTTAWA/TORONTO Jan 28 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed those fleeing war and persecution on Saturday even as Canadian airlines said they would turn back U.S.-bound passengers to comply with an immigration ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries.A day after U.S. President Donald Trump put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travellers from the seven countries, Trudeau said in a tweet: "To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada."A second tweet included an archive photo of Trudeau welcoming a Syrian refugee at a Canadian airport in 2015.Confusion abounded at airports around the world on Saturday as immigration and customs officials struggled to interpret the new U.S. rules.In Canada, WestJet Airlines said it turned back a passenger bound for the United States on Saturday to comply with an executive order signed by Trump on Friday. WestJet spokeswoman Lauren Stewart said the airline would give full refunds to anyone affected by the order. It did not say which country the passenger had come from.The order would help protect Americans from terrorist attacks, the president said.Stewart said WestJet had been informed by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) that the ban did not apply to dual citizens who had passports from countries other than those covered by the ban: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen."U.S. CBP has confirmed it is the citizenship document they present to enter the country, not the country of where they were born," Stewart wrote in an email.Air Canada, the country''s other major airline, said it was complying with the order but did not comment on whether it had yet denied travel to any passengers."We are required to ensure passengers have the required documents for entry into, or transit the countries they are travelling to," said spokeswoman Isabelle Arthur. "In the case of these nationalities, they are not permitted to enter the U.S." (Reporting by David Ljunggren and Anna Mehler Paperny; Writing by Amran Abocar, Editing by Nick Zieminski and Grant McCool)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-trump-immigration-canada-idINL1N1FI0E8'|'2017-01-28T18:29:00.000+02:00' +'a757f4996ddb52ae46ad49893ded61b775460880'|'China stocks rise for 4th day, but gains curbed'|'Industrials 09am EST China stocks rise for 4th day, but gains curbed SHANGHAI Jan 25 China stocks rose for the fourth straight day on Wednesday, although optimism over improving corporate earnings was offset by a surprise increase in rates on medium-term loans. Trading volume in Shanghai shrank to the lowest in four months, as many traders had already left for the week-long Lunar New Year holiday that starts on Friday. The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.3 percent, to 3,375.90, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.2 percent to 3,149.55 points. Xiao Shijun, analyst at Guodu Securities in Beijing, said that the market was closely monitoring U.S. President Donald Trump''s policies, which could set the tone on trade ties between the world''s two largest economies and consequently affect the stock market. Sentiment was also curbed by tightening concerns, after China''s central bank raised interest rates on its medium-term lending facility (MLF) on Tuesday, a move seen to be in line with its broader objective of deleveraging. Most sectors gained ground. An index tracking infrastructure stocks advanced around 0.8 percent, as shares of heavyweight China State Construction Engineering Corp Ltd rose 2.2 percent. Shares of Aluminium Corp of China Ltd, the nation''s top aluminium producer, jumped 3.3 percent, after reports of possible capacity cuts. (Reporting by Samuel Shen and John Ruwitch; Editing by Jacqueline Wong) Next In Industrials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/china-stocks-close-idUSZZN2RXL00'|'2017-01-25T14:09:00.000+02:00' +'22faa201b1c1f340e1bfc0202615b178f3f084ef'|'IMF wants to participate in Greek bailout in full -Eurogroup head'|'Business News 16am EST IMF wants to participate in Greek bailout in full: Eurogroup head Dutch Finance Minister and Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem arrives at a euro zone finance ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium December 5, 2016. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir BRUSSELS The International Monetary Fund wants to fully participate in the latest Greek bailout, the head of euro zone finance ministers Jeroen Dijsselbloem told reporters on Thursday. He was responding to media reports that euro zone countries, which are now handling the bailout on their own, were ready to give up on IMF involvement because of problems agreeing a common stance on Greek reforms, fiscal targets and debt relief. "I spoke to (IMF Managing Director Christine) Lagarde quite recently and she reassured me that the IMF has still strong intentions to remain part of the program and to take that step and to participate to the program in full," Dijsselbloem said. Last week the German finance ministry said it still expected the IMF to participate in the bailout, rejecting a newspaper report that Berlin was preparing for a deal without the global lender. The latest Greek bailout, the third since 2010, started in the middle of 2015 and is due to end in mid-2018. (Reporting By Jan Strupczewski and Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Catherine Evans) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-greece-imf-idUSKBN15A1WJ'|'2017-01-26T21:15:00.000+02:00' +'52a17d2c55f6084f1a115607108e138c2264ec66'|'Mars to buy pet health care provider VCA for $7.7 billion'|'Candy and pet food maker Mars Inc said it would buy VCA Inc ( WOOF.O ), which runs hospitals for animals, for $7.7 billion.Mars, the maker of Whiskas and Pedigree pet products, will pay $93 per share, a premium of 31.4 percent to VCA''s Friday closing price.The enterprise value of the deal is $9.1 billion including $1.4 billion in debt, the companies said in a statement on Monday.VCA will operate as a separate business unit within Mars Petcare, the biggest pet food maker in the world.(Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-vca-m-a-mars-inc-idINKBN14T1FH'|'2017-01-09T10:21:00.000+02:00' +'9d2fd456b1bcc4f146ebdf55312ee6129600f36f'|'Deutsche Bank fails to end BlackRock, Pimco mortgage debt lawsuit'|'Business News - Mon Jan 23, 2017 - 7:14pm EST Deutsche Bank fails to end BlackRock, Pimco mortgage debt lawsuit left right A green traffic light is seen next to the logo of Germany''s largest business bank, Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, October 27, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo 1/2 left right The BlackRock logo is seen outside of its offices in New York January 18, 2012. B REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo 2/2 A U.S. judge on Monday narrowed but refused to dismiss a lawsuit seeking to hold Deutsche Bank AG ( DBKGn.DE ) liable to investors, including dozens of portfolios from BlackRock Inc ( BLK.N ) and Pacific Investment Management Co, for losses on poorly underwritten residential mortgage-backed securities. The proposed class-action lawsuit sought to recover "significant monetary damages" arising from Deutsche Bank''s alleged "failure to discharge its essential duties" as trustee of 62 trusts created between 2004 and 2008, and which issued notes backed by about $90.3 billion of home loans. In a docket entry, U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman in Manhattan granted Deutsche Bank''s bid to dismiss conflict-of-interest claims but denied its request to dismiss representations-and-warranties, servicer-notification and event-of-default claims. The judge said he would explain his reasoning at a Feb. 2 hearing and consider additional claims he has yet to decide. Deutsche Bank did not immediately respond to requests for comment. According to their amended complaint, the plaintiffs own more than $2.6 billion of notes issued by the 62 trusts. Furman took over the case in June from U.S. District Judge Richard Berman, who had dismissed other claims last January. Among the other plaintiffs are funds run by Prudential Investments, court records show. The lawsuit is one of many accusing bond trustees such as Deutsche Bank of shirking their responsibilities, including notifying lenders of loan defects and telling investors when defaults occur. It is separate from Deutsche Bank''s completion last week of a $7.2 billion settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over its sale of defective mortgage securities prior to the 2008 financial crisis. The case is BlackRock Core Bond Portfolio et al v Deutsche Bank National Trust Co et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 14-09367. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-deutschebank-lawsuit-idUSKBN15800F'|'2017-01-24T07:14:00.000+02:00' +'68b2e133d42f2449f6901f1ef90272809b617356'|'FTSE falters after record close but Worldpay and Lloyds lead risers'|'Ahead of the US jobs data later, leading UK shares are struggling to hit another record high.Two more days of closing highs would beat the eight-day record set in 1997, but so far the FTSE 100 is down 5.10 points at 7190.21.Leading the risers is payments processor Worldpay , up 7.1p at 285.2p, as analysts at Exane BNP Paribas raised their recommendation from neutral to outperform. They said: We remain cautious on Worldpays eCom margins and capex but factor in faster sales growth. Also, we up EBITDA forecasts for Worldpay US: we believe the division now has the right assets to compete in the SMB [small to medium size business] space. In all, we revise our group EBITDA forecasts by 4% for 2017 and 7% for 2018.Lloyds Banking Group is close behind, up 1.3p at 65.95p after analysts at Barclays lifted their target price and rating:UK economic prospects remain challenging and uncertain but less severe than we had previously anticipated. On revised economic assumptions, our detailed credit quality analysis suggests that provisions will peak below 35bp and we expect the net interest margin to rise helped by the interest rate environment and the planned MBNA credit card acquisition. Together these drive around 15% upgrades to our underlying earnings estimates in 2017 and 2018, suggesting that Lloyds can make a near 13% return on total equity over the next three years and return close to a quarter of its market cap to shareholders. We expect this to drive share price outperformance and upgrade Lloyds to overweight with a 75p price target (from equal weight, 55p).Persimmon has put on another 22p to 19.62 after the housebuilders positive update this week.With gold slipping from a one month high as the dollar strengthened ahead of the non-farm payrolls numbers, precious metal miners are among the biggest fallers in the leading index. Fresnillo has fallen 30p to 13.68 while Randgold Resources is down 125p at 65.80.Outsourcing group Capita is 8p lower at 512p after UBS cut its price target from 575p to 540p. It said:Capita was the worst performer in Support Services in 2016 (-57%). Disposals, restructuring, and reinvestment are all required to return Capita to a path of long-term earnings growth but we do not think these New Years resolutions will be ticked off quickly. Around 10 times EV/EBITA, around 11 times PE (pro-forma for disposals) suggests the market is pricing in no long-term growth but deflationary trends are only accelerating and we expect the UK environment to remain pressurised. We cut numbers a further 4-9% (with 2016 estimated margins falling to around 12%), lower our price target to 540p, and remain neutral.Among the mid-caps, broking group TP Icap has jumped 33.5p to 466.9p after a positive trading statement. The group, formed when Tullett Prebon bought Icaps voice broking business, said it has seen a surge in trading volumes in the final months of last year, boosted by Donald Trumps victory in the US presidential election and speculation about higher interest rates. Peel Hunt analyst Stuart Duncan said:The strength of trading in the fourth quarter has surprised on the upside, with a benefit from both increased activity levels and a further foreign exchange tailwind. The net effect is a significant increase to December 2016 forecasts (+14%). Key for TP ICAP is delivering the benefits of the recently completed transaction. Our recommendation remains hold. But consumer credit group International Personal Finance has dropped 9% to 160p after it said it would appeal against a ruling by the Polish tax authority relating to 2008 business. It said it would pay 20m assessed by the authority in order to make the appeal, and said it expected a similar decision related to 2009 which would give rise to a similar liability.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/marketforceslive/2017/jan/06/ftse-falters-after-record-close-but-worldpay-and-lloyds-lead-risers'|'2017-01-06T16:57:00.000+02:00' +'70b5fe9ef801bb593f01e3dd0db6620fd3f93fbc'|'Impact of job-stealing robots a growing concern at Davos'|'Davos - Fri Jan 20, 2017 - 1:16am EST Impact of job-stealing robots a growing concern at Davos left right An attendee communicate with SARA, a socially aware robot assisstant, during a presentation at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich 1/2 left right An attendee communicate with SARA, a socially aware robot assisstant, during a presentation at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich 2/2 By Martinne Geller and Ben Hirschler - DAVOS, Switzerland DAVOS, Switzerland Open markets and global trade have been blamed for job losses over the last decade, but global CEOs say the real culprits are increasingly machines. And while business leaders gathered at the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos relish the productivity gains technology can bring, they warned this week that the collateral damage to jobs needs to be addressed more seriously. From taxi drivers to healthcare professionals, technologies such as robotics, driverless cars, artificial intelligence and 3-D printing mean more and more types of jobs are at risk. Adidas ( ADSGn.DE ), for example, aims to use 3-D printing in the manufacture of some running shoes. "Jobs will be lost, jobs will evolve and this revolution is going to be ageless, it''s going to be classless and it''s going to affect everyone," said Meg Whitman, chief executive of Hewlett Packard Enterprise ( HPE.N ). So while some supporters of Donald Trump and Brexit may hope new government policies will bring lost jobs back to America''s Rust Belt or Britain''s industrial north, economists estimate 86 percent of U.S. manufacturing job losses are actually down to productivity, according to the WEF''s annual risks report. "Technology is the big issue and we don''t acknowledge that," Mark Weinberger, chairman of consultancy EY, said on Thursday, arguing there was a tendency to always blame trading partners. The political backdrop is prompting CEOs to take more seriously the challenge of long-life training of workforces to keep up with the exponential growth of technological advances. "I think what we''re reaching now is a time when we may have to find alternative careers through our lifetime," Microsoft ( MSFT.O ) Chief Executive Satya Nadella told Reuters. Over the last decade, more jobs have been lost to technology than any other factor, and John Drzik, head of global risk at insurance broker Marsh, expects more of the same. "That is going to raise challenges, particularly given the political context," Drzik, who helped compile the WEF report, said. Compared to clamping down on immigration by tightening borders, dealing with the impact of technology destroying jobs is something that is perhaps even less easily controlled. For while many advanced technologies remain more expensive than low- or medium-skilled labor in the near term, the shift is likely to accelerate as costs come down. WIDENING GAP Technological advancements require governments, businesses and academic institutions to develop more educated and highly skilled workforces, executives in Davos said. But this shift to skilled workers also widens the income gap and fuels growing inequality. [nL5N1F01GV] Jonas Prising, CEO of staffing firm ManpowerGroup ( MAN.N ), noted that U.S. unemployment is only about 2 to 2.5 percent among college-educated people but 9 or 10 percent among those with low or no skills. "The idea that we would ban automation as part of an evolution within the manufacturing industry, is not really part of the discussion," Prising said. He pointed to policies in countries like Denmark and Italy, where there is a focus on employability of workers. "If we don''t own responsibility (for the problem of displaced workers), it''s only going to get bigger," Procter & Gamble ( PG.N ) Chief Executive David Taylor said. BRAWN AND BRAIN The scope of the employment risk from what the WEF calls the "fourth industrial revolution" which "blurs the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres" is unclear. A University of Oxford study in 2013 said nearly half of U.S. jobs were at risk, while in 2015 Forrester Research predicted a net loss of only 7 percent by 2025, as some lost jobs will be replaced with new ones. Forrester predicts that by 2019, one-quarter of all job tasks will be offloaded to software robots, physical robots, or customer self-service automation. Even the corner office may not be safe. "CEOs feel reasonably confident we are not going to be replaced by artificial intelligence," Inga Beale, CEO of the Lloyd''s of London [SOLYD.UL] insurance market, said. "But I''m sure there will be a time! (Editing by Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-davos-meeting-robots-idUSKBN1540H0'|'2017-01-20T13:00:00.000+02:00' +'9c408dbca6cf32305a1a9333535e5713376b7f02'|'German industry chief backs Berlin on Brexit'|'German industry chief backs Berlins tough stance on Brexit BDI president quashes idea industry will seek flexible deal to protect business ties Read next International trade department appoints US specialist Tuesday, 10 January, 2017 UK premier Theresa May (l) with Angela Merkel in Berlin last year. The German chancellor has warned Britain cannot ''cherry-pick'' in Brexit negotiations Bloomberg by: Stefan Wagstyl in Berlin A leading German industry chief has warned the UK against expecting any softening of Berlins increasingly tough stance on Britains plans to leave the EU. Dieter Kempf, who took over this month as president of the BDI, the German employers federation, told journalists on Tuesday there could be no question of Europe bowing to British demands for immigration controls, saying the EUs four freedoms including the freedom of movement must not be put into danger. His message appears to damp any hopes held by UK soft Brexit supporters that German industry could press Chancellor Angela Merkel for a more flexible approach to protect business ties, under which the UK might be allowed to combine migration control with single market access. In the European family we must now share a bitter reality after the Brexit referendum, said Mr Kempf. For politicians in Brussels and Berlin there should be only one motto keep Europe together and make it stronger. The four basic freedoms of the EU are fundamental there must be no borders for goods, services, capital and workers. Mr Kempfs tough line echoes Ms Merkels insistence this week that the UK would not be allowed any cherry-picking in its access to the single market. Dieter Kempf, president of Germany''s employers federation AFP She said in a speech: We have to be clear...that joining or having access to the joint market can only be possible on the condition of conforming with the four freedoms. The view in German industry has hardened markedly since the immediate aftermath of the referendum, when BDI leaders argued against punishing the UK and favoured negotiating a market-access deal similar to that held by Switzerland or Norway. Related article Outside, the UK will be able to choose rules and regulations for itself Tuesday, 10 January, 2017 The harder line comes amid growing signs that Theresa May , UK prime minister, is ready to introduce migration controls even at the price of leaving the single market. Mr Kempf urged Mrs May not to delay the start of Brexit negotiations, which she plans to announce by the end of March. The ball is in Londons court, he said. It is necessary that the British government sets out its position by the end of March...recent weakening of German-British trade shows that the uncertainty over the coming process is poison for the economy. Mr Kempf, a 64-year-old former accountant and IT industry executive, also warned Donald Trump against attacking world trade. He said the US president-elects Make America great again slogan definitely does not fit with isolation. He added: We see two risks: first that the cancellation of existing [trade] agreements heralds a trend change away from free trade towards isolation. This would damage the whole world economy and especially the export-oriented German economy. Secondly, that market access for our businesses could deteriorate, whether through more buy American rules or through extra hurdles for foreign investment. Despite his concerns, Mr Kempf forecast further economic growth of 1.5 per cent in Germany this year, similar to 2016s, with exports rising 2-3 per cent. Asked about the bulging German current account surplus criticised by trade partners long before Mr Trumps political ascent Mr Kempf argued it would not necessarily remain so high in the light of rising oil prices and possible interest rate increases that could damp investment in export-oriented German companies. However, the BDI president also warned that the economic outlook could be overshadowed by political crises that were moving ever closer to the EU, including those in Syria, Ukraine and Turkey. The refugee crisis, which has seen more than 1.2m people come to Germany since early 2015, was also in no way resolved, he said. Mr Kempf urged European countries to respond with more co-operation. Only together can we Europeans still be successful in the world. If we are again divided, we will rapidly sink in significance. That is especially true for [Germany]. Sample the FTs top stories for a week You select the topic, we deliver the news. Select topic Invalid email Sign up By signing up you confirm that you have read and agree to the terms and conditions , cookie policy and privacy policy . Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2017. All rights reserved. You may share using our article tools. Please don''t cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.'|'ft.com'|'http://www.ft.com/rss/world/uk/business'|'https://www.ft.com/content/8eef080a-d72d-11e6-944b-e7eb37a6aa8e'|'2017-01-10T21:15:00.000+02:00' +'544b0fb94bd327df9b04f5b8f50b22ec3c941114'|'BofA''s profit beats as Trump''s win spurs trading and costs fall'|'Bank of America Corp reported a 46.8 percent rise in quarterly profit on Friday, kicking off what is expected to be a strong period for U.S. banks following an upswing in market activity in the wake of the U.S. presidential election.Also helped by a sharp fall in expenses, net income attributable to shareholders of the No. 2 U.S. bank by assets rose to $4.34 billion in the three months ended Dec. 31 from $2.95 billion a year earlier. ( bit.ly/2j7Aisq )Earnings per share jumped to 40 cents from 27. Excluding items, the bank earned 42 cents per share, beating the average estimate of 38 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.Excluding an adjustment, total sales and trading revenue increased 11 percent in the quarter, spurred by a surge in activity in stock and bond markets following Donald Trump''s surprise victory on Nov. 8.BofA is the first big U.S. bank to report earnings since the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for only the second time since 2006 on Dec. 14."While the recent rise in interest rates came too late to impact the results, we expect to see a significant increase in net interest income in the first quarter of 2017," Chief Financial Officer Paul Donofrio said in a statement.JPMorgan Chase & Co, the biggest U.S. bank, and Wells Fargo & Co, the biggest mortgage lender, report results later on Friday.BofA''s shares were little changed in premarket trading, having risen 34.8 percent since the election.Total non-interest expenses fell 6.1 percent to $13.16 billion, bringing the total for the year to $54.95 billion.Chief Executive Brian Moynihan, who has been criticized for being slow to cut costs, said in July that the bank would cut annual non-interest expenses to about $53 billion by 2018.BofA said first-quarter expenses would be impacted by about $1.3 billion as a result of annual retirement-eligible incentive compensation costs.BofA, considered the most interest-rate sensitive among the major U.S. banks due to its large stock of deposits and mortgage securities, said its net interest income rose 6.3 percent to $10.29 billion in the quarter.Bank shares have rallied strongly since Trump''s victory in anticipation that his policies will boost the economy as well as loosen regulations that have restrained banks in recent years.Banks will also benefit if, as expected, the Fed raises interest rates three times this year. The Fed raised the key interest rate by 0.25 percentage points in December.Excluding certain items, revenue from fixed-income and currency trading rose 12.2 percent to $1.96 billion, while equities trading revenue rose 7.5 percent to $948 million.Total revenue, net of interest expense on a fully taxable equivalent basis rose 2.1 percent to $20.22 billion."Strong client activity and good expense discipline created solid operating leverage again this quarter," Donofrio said.(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru and Dan Freed in New York; Editing by Ted Kerr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/bank-of-america-results-idINKBN14X1BQ'|'2017-01-13T09:18:00.000+02:00' +'3cb3f1600a8e3bb7169ae863fbaa44baa06275c0'|'Former Belgian central bank governor Luc Coene dies'|' 9:48am EST Former Belgian central bank governor Luc Coene dies BRUSSELS Jan 6 The former governor of Belgium''s central bank ECB governing council member Luc Coene has died, Belgian media reported on Friday. Coene, who would have turned 70 this year, took office as the head of Belgium''s central bank in April 2011 and held the job until he was replaced by Jan Smets in March 2015. Before becoming central bank governor, Coene was a senator with the Flemish liberal party (Open-VLD) and became a deputy governor of the bank in 2003. He also headed the committee overseeing the rescue of Belgian banks during the financial crisis and the break-up of Belgo-Dutch financial group Fortis. Belgium''s central bank was not immediately available for comment. (Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek, editing by Larry King) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/belgium-cenbank-coene-idUSL5N1EW32P'|'2017-01-06T21:48:00.000+02:00' +'b69b466ce0a81e5a5d6ecb6366e5b0e743921dc2'|'How Toyota, Target, Best Buy are fighting back against Republican border tax push'|'Business 6:16am GMT How Toyota, Target, Best Buy are fighting back against Republican border tax push FILE PHOTO - The Toyota logo is seen at the company''s display during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., January 10, 2017. REUTERS/Mark Blinch/File Photo By Ginger Gibson and David Shepardson - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Days before a group of Republican lawmakers were due to discuss their party''s controversial proposal to tax all imports, Toyota Motor Corp ( 7203.T ) sent an urgent message to its U.S. dealers - tell the politicians the tax would seriously hurt car buyers. Some of Toyota''s 1,500 dealers heeded the call and contacted members of the House of Representatives'' tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, urging them to rethink their proposal, according to people familiar with the effort. Imposing a 20 percent tax on imports would force consumers to pay potentially thousands of dollars more for vehicles, they warned. The Japanese automaker''s mobilization of its army of dealers underscores the growing alarm among some of the worlds largest companies that sell imported goods in the United States. They fear a big tax on imports would hurt their sales and profits and put them at a disadvantage to rivals more reliant on U.S.-made products. "Cost is going to go up, as a result demand is going to go down. As a result, we''re not going to able to employ as many as people as we do today. That''s my biggest fear," Toyota''s North America CEO Jim Lentz said in an interview. Toyota dealers employ more than 97,000 people in the United States. While companies and industry groups frequently lobby Congress, the threat of an import tax has mobilized an unusually broad swath of firms at home and abroad. That lobbying effort is taking place largely out of the public eye partly to avoid potential conflict with President Donald Trump, who has attacked companies for manufacturing abroad for U.S. consumers. Earlier this month Trump targeted Toyota, threatening to impose a hefty fee on the world''s largest automaker if it builds its Corolla cars for the U.S. market at a plant in Mexico. The White House said last week that a border tax is one option under review to pay for a wall with Mexico, although what exactly Trump is planning to do is still not clear. He has pledged to impose a "big border tax" on Mexican imports. The plan proposed by House Republicans would cut corporate income tax to 20 percent from 35 percent, exclude export revenue from taxable income and impose the 20 percent tax on imports. Companies that rely heavily on imports say a border tax will outweigh the benefit of a lower headline corporate tax. As car dealers are reaching out to members of Congress in their districts, Toyota and other automakers are lobbying lawmakers in states where they have large manufacturing plants and employ thousands of workers. The No. 3 vehicle seller in the United States behind General Motors Co ( GM.N ) and Ford Motor Co ( F.N ), Toyota imports about 1.2 million vehicles to the U.S. market annually, half of its 2.4 million U.S. sales. It employs 40,000 people directly. BABY SUPPLIES AND BEER Toyota and the automakers are not alone in this lobbying effort. Target Corp''s ( TGT.N ) chief executive, Brian Cornell, traveled to Washington to meet members of the House Ways and Means Committee. He told them an import tax could impact consumers'' ability to buy essential goods, such as baby supplies that are made overseas and imported to the United States, according to a person familiar with the talks. Target spokeswoman Dustee Jenkins confirmed the visit. The largest U.S. electronics retailer, Best Buy ( BBY.N ), headquartered down the road from Minneapolis-based Target, has circulated a flyer to lawmakers. It cites an analyst forecast that a 20 percent tax would wipe out the company''s projected annual net income of $1 billion and turn it into a $2 billion loss. The flyer, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, argues that foreign Internet sellers like China''s Alibaba.com would be able to avoid the tax by making sales online and shipping to U.S. consumers directly, undercutting U.S. businesses. Company officials have been handing out the flyer to lawmakers and their staff on Capitol Hill, Best Buy spokesman Jeff Shelman confirmed. Constellation Brands ( STZ.N ), which brews Corona and Modelo in Mexico, has been pushing lawmakers to exempt products like Mexican beer in any border tax because its inherently a Mexican product," CEO Rob Sands said on an earnings call. But if that effort fails, Constellation is prepared to buy more raw materials from the United States instead of Mexico, Sands said. Koch Industries [KCHIN.UL], the second-largest private U.S. company according to Forbes, said in a statement a border tax would have a "devastating" impact on consumers. The company, owned by Republican donors Charles and David Koch, includes oil refining and manufacturing interests. Tim Phillips, the president of Americans for Prosperity, a conservative political group founded by the billionaire brothers, told Reuters the powerful group has started to educate its network of activists about the tax, so they can lobby against it. AFP says it has two million activists. LOVE AND HATE Not everyone in corporate America is worried about a new border tax. Several aerospace companies including Boeing Co ( BA.N ), United Technologies Corp ( UTX.N ) and Raytheon Co ( RTN.N ) said in earnings calls last week that a border tax could be positive for net exporters like them. We see the aerospace sector as fundamentally having an advantage in that regard, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said. The American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA), however, called the proposal "heart stopping," in a letter last week to 9,500 dealers selling vehicles like Toyota, Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ), and BMW ( BMWG.DE ). Opponents of the border tax may have already found some allies. Republican Representative Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, where BMW has a large plant, said the importance of foreign automakers such as BMW and Toyota to the economy needs to be considered when making laws. I cannot overstate how significant that industry is to my state, Gowdy said in an interview, adding that he and his wife both drive Toyotas. (Reporting by Ginger Gibson and David Shepardson in Washington, Additional reporting by Mike Stone and Joel Schectman in Washington, Joe White in Detroit, Alwyn Scott in New York, Hyunjoo Jin in Seoul, Stephen Nellis and Jeffrey Dastin in San Francisco. Editing by Soyoung Kim and Ross Colvin) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-companies-tax-insight-idUKKBN15F0FK'|'2017-01-31T13:09:00.000+02:00' +'7e58a187c4d0e368283982baa0428aad9b0a173d'|'Federal judge blocks Aetna Inc''s plan to buy rival Humana'|'Business News - Mon Jan 23, 2017 - 5:11pm GMT Federal judge blocks Aetna Inc''s plan to buy rival Humana A trader points up at a display on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange August 20, 2012. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid WASHINGTON A U.S. federal judge blocked on Monday health insurer Aetna Inc''s ( AET.N ) proposed $34 billion (27.25 billion pounds) merger with rival Humana, saying it was illegal under antitrust law. Judge John Bates of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said the proposed deal would "substantially lessen competition in the sale of individual Medicare Advantage plans in 364 counties identified in the complaint and in the sale of individual commercial insurance on the public exchanges in three counties in Florida."The Justice Department filed a lawsuit on July 21, 2016 to block Aetna''s acquisition of Humana and Anthem Inc''s ( ANTM.N ) purchase of Cigna Corp ( CI.N ), saying the two deals would lead to higher prices. (Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-humana-aetna-antitrust-idUKKBN1572BL'|'2017-01-24T00:11:00.000+02:00' +'bdb76bc4aff081a15a0ed4900963f74ae894c896'|'Brexit could put tens of thousands finance jobs at risk: executives'|' 28am EST Brexit could put tens of thousands finance jobs at risk: executives Workers are seen in office windows in the financial district of Canary Wharf in London, Britain, November 3, 2015. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs/File Photo By Huw Jones and Andrew MacAskill - LONDON LONDON Tens of thousands of jobs in Britain''s financial services sector could be lost if euro clearing shifts to continental Europe and full access to the bloc''s single market is lost, top industry officials said on Tuesday. London has become the world''s biggest center for clearing euro-denominated financial contracts, and some continental policymakers want this shifted to the euro zone after Brexit. Xavier Rolet, chief executive of the London Stock Exchange Group ( LSE.L ), owner of the world''s biggest clearing house for euro-denominated contracts, said that without clarity on what happens to markets after Brexit, clearing customers in London will leave. Some tens of thousands of jobs could leave London, not just from clearing itself, but also from ancillary services like software and IT, risk management, and administrative staff, Rolet told parliament''s Treasury Select Committee. To avoid customers quitting London when Britain begins formal divorce talks with the EU in March, existing rules should stay in place until 2022 to avoid disruptions that could undermine financial stability, Rolet said. Already, banks with large London operations say they will step up lobbying European officials because they are running out of arguments to convince the British government the industry needs single market access. Douglas Flint, chairman of HSBC bank HBSA.L, told the lawmakers that banks without operations elsewhere in the EU will likely trigger migration plans immediately after EU divorce talks begin in March, estimating that "tens of thousands" of jobs are linked to EU "passporting" rights. Currently, banks have passporting rights, allowing them to operate across the 28-nation bloc from a base in Britain. They could lose this right under Brexit. Possible job losses in banking would depend on how lenders in Britain negotiate new licenses with regulators on the continent, raising question marks about the back office staff across Britain''s regions. This could hit JPMorgan ( JPM.N ), Citigroup ( C.N ) and Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) which currently employ thousands of back-office staff in regional cities around Britain in places such as Bournemouth and Glasgow. "Clearly you would need to move the front part of the business," Flint said. "The question would be whether the negotiation would allow the middle and back office, the settlement, the risk management, the accounting and so on to be done out of the EU 27." Rolet said that since Britain''s referendum on the EU, he has heard of calls made by continental European regulators to customers, warning them of the risk of euro clearing leaving Britain. "That resulted in commercial pressure on our business," Rolet said. The EU is reviewing its derivatives trading and clearing rules which could include ways to making it impossible to clear euro-denominated contracts in the UK, Rolet said. "Those sort of pesky, well-targeted, seemingly minor regulations that actually have a major impact on customer behavior." It would amount to an effective control on currencies in the EU and backfire on the bloc, he added. Flint, Rolet and Allianz Global Investors Vice Chair Elizabeth Corley appearing before the lawmakers all said a transitional deal would need to last until at least 2021 to allow companies enough time for a smooth departure from the EU. Flint said one of his biggest concerns is that by Britain leaving the EU the regulatory rules that have converged in the decade since the start of the global financial crisis risk being fragmented, undermining economic stability. "After 10 years of putting it in place it would in my view, be seen with hindsight, as one of the worst actions that could have ever taken place," Flint said. (Reporting by Huw Jones and Andrew MacAskill, editing by Susan Thomas) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-finance-idUSKBN14U1VY'|'2017-01-10T22:28:00.000+02:00' +'c45e182a8ca4206d738753f69585c06c9acf8e30'|'Russia''s VTB CEO says Trump should first lift sanctions against banks'|'Business News 26pm IST Russia''s VTB CEO says Trump should first lift sanctions against banks The logo of VTB bank is seen at a branch office in Vienna, Austria, September 5, 2016. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader MOSCOW U.S. President-elect Donald Trump should first scrap penalties against Russian banks when considering lifting other sanctions against Moscow, chief executive with Russia''s No.2 bank VTB ( VTBR.MM ) said on Thursday. Andrei Kostin, who heads the VTB bank included into the Western sanction list in 2014, said he expected the Russian central bank to cut its key interest rate to 8.5-8 percent by the end of 2017 from 10 percent at present. Speaking at a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Kostin added that consumer inflation in Russia may slow below the central bank''s target of 4 percent by the end of the year. (Reporting by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Andrey Ostroukh) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-davos-meeting-vtb-idINKBN1531FD'|'2017-01-19T17:54:00.000+02:00' +'0b80fc9b859427b57fa95f92514d7c2bc4e2a4c4'|'TRIUMPH BANCORP REPORTS Q4 EARNINGS PER SHARE $0.33'|'Jan 23 Triumph Bancorp Inc* TRIUMPH BANCORP REPORTS FOURTH QUARTER NET INCOME TO COMMON STOCKHOLDERS OF $6.1 MILLION AND 2016 ANNUAL NET INCOME TO COMMON STOCKHOLDERS OF $19.8 MILLION* Q4 EARNINGS PER SHARE $0.33* Q4 EARNINGS PER SHARE VIEW $0.39 -- THOMSON REUTERS I/B/E/S* QTRLY NET INTEREST INCOME FOR QUARTER ENDED DEC 31, 2016 OF $33.5 MILLION COMPARED TO $30.4 MILLION FOR QUARTER ENDED SEPT 30, 2016* NIM ADJUSTED TO EXCLUDE LOAN DISCOUNT ACCRETION WAS 5.15% FOR QUARTER ENDED DEC 31 COMPARED TO 5.53% FOR QUARTER ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2016 '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/idINASB0AWBC'|'2017-01-23T19:05:00.000+02:00' +'5b2ba711c04d430c99f5e3385ce80247792cb643'|'Peabody secures $1.5 billion in financing to exit Chapter 11'|'CHICAGO Peabody Energy Corp ( BTUUQ.PK ) said on Thursday that a group of banks, including affiliates of Goldman Sachs Group Inc ( GS.N ) and JPMorgan Chase Bank ( JPM.N ), has pledged a combined $1.5 billion in loans to help the coal producer exit bankruptcy in the coming months.The cash will be used to cover claims by Peabody''s secured lenders and provide "a strong foundation" for its capital structure when it emerges from the roughly $8 billion Chapter 11 bankruptcy it filed last April, according to court documents.Affiliates of Credit Suisse AG ( CSGN.S ) and Macquarie Group Ltd ( MQG.AX ) are also part of the group that has signed on to the new financing.Peabody, with 6.3 billion tons of proven and probable coal reserves, joined other U.S. coal producers in bankruptcy last year when falling prices left it unable to service billions of dollars in debt taken on to finance expansion in Australia.The company expects to exit Chapter 11 in the second quarter of this year with a plan, supported by most of its creditors, to cut more than $5 billion of debt and raise new capital through a $750 million private placement and a $750 million rights offering.Peabody has not yet explained how it will guarantee about $1 billion in future mine cleanup costs previously covered by "self-bonding," a federal program that exempt large miners from setting aside cash or collateral to ensure mined land is returned to its natural setting, as required by law.The practice came under scrutiny following Chapter 11 filings by U.S. coal producers that held a total of $3.6 billion in self-bonds as of July, raising concerns that taxpayers could some day be stuck with the cost of cleaning up mined land.(Reporting by Tracy Rucinski; Editing by Alan Crosby)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-peabody-energy-bankruptcy-idINKBN14W2XH'|'2017-01-12T18:10:00.000+02:00' +'e7c70fae1ebeebe3902d331c78df26de6c05a004'|'Fed''s Yellen says ''makes sense'' to gradually raise interest rates'|'Business 9:54pm GMT Fed''s Yellen says ''makes sense'' to gradually raise interest rates By Ann Saphir - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO With the U.S. economy close to full employment and inflation headed toward the Federal Reserve''s 2 percent goal, it "makes sense" for the U.S. central bank to gradually lift interest rates, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Wednesday. "Waiting too long to begin moving toward the neutral rate could risk a nasty surprise down the road - either too much inflation, financial instability, or both," Yellen told the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco. "In that scenario, we could be forced to raise interest rates rapidly, which in turn could push the economy into a new recession." The Fed raised short-term rates last month for only the second time since the 2007-2009 financial crisis, when it slashed rates to near zero and began buying massive amounts of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities to push down long-term borrowing costs. The rate increase in December reflected confidence the U.S. economy will continue to recover, Yellen said. The Fed chief said that she and other Fed policymakers expected the central bank to lift its key benchmark short-term rate "a few times a year" through 2019, putting it near the long-term sustainable rate of 3 percent. That pace could change depending on how the outlook for the economy develops, Yellen cautioned. "The economy is vast and vastly complex, and its path can take surprising twists and turns," she said. Benchmark U.S. Treasury yields rose and the dollar strengthened after the remarks. Yellen said asset valuations including stock prices in part reflect expectations that the Fed will normalize rates faster than other central banks. Republican businessman-turned-politician Donald Trump, who will be sworn in as U.S. president on Friday, has promised tax cuts, regulatory rollbacks and infrastructure spending that he says will boost economic growth. Other Fed policymakers have suggested fiscal stimulus, with the unemployment rate now at a healthy 4.7 percent, could lead to a faster pace of rate hikes than currently anticipated. Without commenting directly on Trump, Yellen said she will "closely follow" the many new economic policies that are under discussion. "We will factor (any changes in economic policy) into the outlook and take account of their impact on what we need to do to achieve our dual mandate objectives," she said. The U.S. economy is "close" on both the Fed''s employment mandate and its inflation goal, Yellen said. But, she added, "our foot remains on the pedal in part because we want to make sure the economic expansion remains strong enough to withstand an unexpected shock, given that we don''t have much room to cut interest rates." Dramatic rate hikes will probably not be necessary because slow U.S. productivity growth is holding back economic growth, Yellen said. "Nevertheless, as the economy approaches our objectives, it makes sense to gradually reduce the level of monetary policy support," she said. (Reporting by Ann Saphir; Editing by Paul Simao and Meredith Mazzilli) Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen holds a news conference following day two of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in Washington, U.S. on December 14, 2016. REUTERS/Gary Cameron/File Photo Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-yellen-idUKKBN1522VH'|'2017-01-19T04:50:00.000+02:00' +'6c60609565e0c040598413a3689695ca237fce6e'|'Argentina avoids Trump uncertainty with bond sale, finmin tells paper'|'BUENOS AIRES Jan 22 Argentina shielded itself from potential market volatility after the election of U.S. President Donald Trump by selling a more-than-expected $7 billion in bonds on Thursday, Finance Minister Luis Caputo said in an interview published in the Clarin newspaper.The sale of five- and ten-year bonds likely means Argentina will not need to sell additional dollar bonds this year, he said upon returning from a road show to promote the bond sale."With these funds we have saved ourselves from the uncertainty of the so-called Trump effect," said Caputo, who had said $3 billion to $5 billion would be sold in dollar bonds."In principal there will not be new emissions. There could still be something in yen, euros or Swiss francs or another emission in dollars in order to settle an expiration but the stock of dollar bonds will not grow."The bonds sold on Thursday were more than three times oversubscribed, with total orders for some $22 billion. Caputo said that Argentina did not sell more than the $7 billion to maintain market credibility."Credibility is at stake. If we took $12 billion we could have aroused suspicions and the investors could have been against us," he said in the interview on Saturday. "In addition, if complications appear in the rest of the year we have scope to obtain those funds."Caputo said that total issuance in 2017 would be half those of 2016, when the federal government sold $20 billion, provinces sold $7 billion and companies around $5 billion."This year the federal government will emit just $7 billion, the provinces no more than $3.5 billion and companies at most the same as last year," he told Clarin. (Reporting by Caroline Stauffer; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/argentina-bonds-idINL1N1FC1E9'|'2017-01-22T14:30:00.000+02:00' +'5eb8b7a11e095233f5590c52f9d48262880f69c6'|'BRIEF-LINDBLAD EXPEDITIONS SAYS GEOGRAPHIC ORION EXPERIENCED SIGNIFICANT TECHNICAL ISSUE WITH MAIN ENGINE'|'Company News 11:52am EST BRIEF-LINDBLAD EXPEDITIONS SAYS GEOGRAPHIC ORION EXPERIENCED SIGNIFICANT TECHNICAL ISSUE WITH MAIN ENGINE Jan 13 LINDBLAD EXPEDITIONS HOLDINGS INC * ON DEC 27, 2016, 102-GUEST NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ORION EXPERIENCED SIGNIFICANT TECHNICAL ISSUE WITH MAIN ENGINE * FOR 2017, COMPANY CURRENTLY EXPECTS IMPACT ON REVENUE WILL BE BETWEEN NINE AND TEN MILLION DOLLARS- SEC FILING * EXPECT NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ORION WILL BE OUT OF SERVICE FOR FIVE VOYAGES, RETURN TO REGULARLY SCHEDULED OPERATION IN APRIL 2017 * 2016 REVENUE WILL BE IMPACTED BY APPROXIMATELY ONE MILLION DOLLARS SOURCE TEXT FOR EIKON: FURTHER COMPANY COVERAGE: Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1F30OZ'|'2017-01-13T23:52:00.000+02:00' +'04435e48132c79cd3e702b574b9863325a255782'|'RPT-UPDATE 1-U.S. scrambles to clear egg exports to bird flu-hit Korea'|'Company News - Sun Jan 1, 2017 - 9:47pm EST RPT-UPDATE 1-U.S. scrambles to clear egg exports to bird flu-hit Korea (Repeats earlier story for wider readership with no change to text.) By Tom Polansek CHICAGO Dec 30 U.S. officials are urgently seeking an agreement with South Korea that would allow imports of American eggs so farmers can cash in on a shortage caused by the Asian country''s worst-ever outbreak of bird flu. The two sides are negotiating over terms of potential shipments after South Korea lifted a ban on imports of U.S. table eggs that it imposed when the United States grappled with its own bout of bird flu last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. If an agreement is reached, U.S. shipments could bring some relief to South Koreans who have faced soaring egg prices and rationing since the outbreak there began last month. The egg shipments also would help U.S. farmers cope with an oversupply that is depressing prices. The opportunity to profit by filling South Korea''s shortfall with U.S. eggs has sent brokers and traders into overdrive. About 26 million birds, more than a quarter of South Korea''s poultry stock, have been culled to control the outbreak, and most of the birds have been egg-laying hens. Strains of bird flu, which can be spread to poultry by wild birds, have been detected across Asia and in Europe in recent weeks. Two people in China and one person in Hong Kong have died in the outbreaks. The United States could reach agreement to open trade with South Korea as early as next week, said Mark Perigen, national supervisor for shell eggs for a division of the USDA. "Everybody''s working hard to get it done," Perigen said in an interview on Friday, adding that USDA employees had worked during holiday vacations on the issue. "They''re desperate for eggs over there, and the government realizes that," Perigen said. South Korea''s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment. Glenn Hickman, chief executive of Hickman''s Eggs in Arizona, has received calls from brokers searching for U.S. eggs to ship to South Korea. "Everybody in Korea who needs eggs has Googled everybody in the world who might have eggs," Hickman said. "We''re getting calls from brokers who have no idea even the right questions to ask us," he added. "It''s just somebody who knows how to freight stuff from the U.S. to Korea." With no agreement yet between the two countries, Hickman is asking employees to take contact information for the potential customers. United States Egg Marketers, a cooperative of farmers that was established to export eggs, has received "numerous inquiries about this already, including from people who have never exported anything in their lives," said Eka Inall, the group''s president. "Our phone is blowing up, our email is blowing up," she said. Last year, U.S. food companies imported eggs from Europe after bird flu ravaged domestic chicken flocks and sent egg prices to record highs. Since then, U.S. prices have tumbled as farmers have ramped up production. The United States produced 7.44 billion table eggs in November, up 11.5 percent from a year earlier, and there were 312 million hens laying table eggs on Dec. 1, up 8 percent from a year before, according to USDA. On Dec. 26, the average price for a dozen large white U.S. eggs was $1.17, down from a high of $2.88 in August 2015, according to market data firm Urner Barry. "Current conditions in the U.S. are definitely a motivating factor to get this thing done," Brian Moscogiuri, an Urner Barry egg analyst, said about U.S. efforts to start shipments to South Korea. If South Korea begins importing U.S. eggs, its residents may need to adjust to a different appearance of the food staple. Jim Sumner, president of the U.S. Poultry and Egg Export Council, said many Koreans prefer brown colored eggs, while the United States mostly produces white eggs. "As they say, beggars can''t be choosers," he said. (Editing by Matthew Lewis and Michael Perry) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/health-birdflu-southkorea-usa-repeat-upd-idUSL1N1ES02H'|'2017-01-02T09:47:00.000+02:00' +'7a0524280924039832ffa27ee9cb786d4420c9e9'|'Euro zone bailout fund - Greek public debt is manageable'|'Business News 00pm GMT Euro zone bailout fund - Greek public debt is manageable The Greek Parliament is seen behind flags displayed for sale during an anti-austerity rally organized by the country''s biggest public sector union ADEDY in Athens, Greece July 15, 2015. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis BRUSSELS Greece''s public debt can be manageable, the euro zone bailout fund said on Sunday, responding to a leaked report by the International Monetary Fund that the country''s debt will explode to 275 percent of GDP by 2060. A spokesman for the bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), said the path for Greek public finances agreed between Athens and the euro zone was credible and backed by contingency measures in case of unforeseen events. "We believe that Greece''s debt burden can be manageable, if the agreed reforms are fully implemented, thanks to the ESM''s exceptionally favorable loan conditions over the long term and the recently adopted short-term debt relief measures," the ESM said. In the document, seen by the Financial Times, the IMF calculated that Greeces debt load would reach 170 per cent of gross domestic product by 2020 and 164 per cent by 2022. But it would become explosive thereafter and grow to 275 per cent of GDP by 2060, the paper quoted the report as saying. The spokesman said, however, that the euro zone had promised to offer Greece additional debt relief if Athens delivers on all its reform promises. "As a result, we see no reason for an alarmistic assessment of Greece''s debt situation," the spokesman said. The IMF has long been calling for substantial euro zone debt relief for Athens, but Germany, which faces elections this year, has been strongly opposed to such a move until after 2018, when Greece is to finish all its promised reforms. The IMF assessment of Greek debt developments may make it impossible for the Fund to join the current bailout for Greece, now shouldered only by euro zone governments, because the fund''s policy is to enter programs which in the end allow a country to cope on its own. Euro zone governments want the IMF on board, but do not seem to be ready to provide the debt relief to Greece that is necessary for the Fund to join. (Reporting By Jan Strupczewski; Editing by Stephen Powell) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-greece-debt-idUKKBN15D0XJ'|'2017-01-29T23:42:00.000+02:00' +'9d7fcc34c0dee38ec0d79731218451bd8f15ef3f'|'Barratt builds fewer homes in London'|'All the benefits of Standard Digital, plus: Unlimited access to all content Instant Insights column for comment and analysis as news unfolds FT Confidential Research - in-depth China and Southeast Asia analysis ePaper - the digital replica of the printed newspaper Full access to LEX - our agenda setting daily commentary Exclusive emails, including a weekly email from our Editor, Lionel Barber Full access to EM Squared- news and analysis service on emerging markets'|'ft.com'|'http://www.ft.com/rss/companies/construction'|'https://www.ft.com/content/6d330386-d89c-11e6-944b-e7eb37a6aa8e?ftcamp=published_links%2Frss%2Fcompanies_construction%2Ffeed%2F%2Fproduct'|'2017-01-12T16:05:00.000+02:00' +'44ad2523c12d7c21d92f25ab08e6e188ba28d2b6'|'Argentina launches US$7bn two-part bond'|'By Paul Kilby NEW YORK, Jan 19 (IFR) - Here is the pricing progression on the new US$7bn bond offering from Argentina, expected to price later on Thursday: SIZE MATURITY IPTs GUIDANCE LAUNCH US$3.25bn 5-year high 5% area 5.625%-5.75% 5.625% US$3.75bn 10-year low 7% area 6.875%-7.00% 7.00% Bookrunners: BBVA, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, JP Morgan and Santander (Reporting by Paul Kilby; Editing by Marc Carnegie)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/argentina-bond-idINL1N1F91J4'|'2017-01-19T15:05:00.000+02:00' +'a0ec0b2104c6a784d23c731f8491937ea0d99461'|'Italy to announce new 15-year BTP bond on Tuesday - sources'|'Financials 29am EST Italy to announce new 15-year BTP bond on Tuesday - sources MILAN Jan 17 Italy is set to announce later on Tuesday it has hired a group of banks for the syndicated issue of a new 15-year nominal bond, two market sources said, in the first test of investor appetite for its debt after last week''s sovereign downgrade. It was not immediately possible to reach the Treasury for comment. Italy last launched a 15-year BTP bond in March 2015. Expectations for a new 15-year issue have been weighing on longer-dated Italian bonds in recent days. "The Treasury is at work on a new 15-year issue. It is expected to announce the mandate after market close," one of the sources said. Italy lost its last remaining single ''A'' rating on its debt on Friday when Canadian rating agency DBRS downgraded it to ''BBB (high)'' from ''A (low)''. (Reporting by Luca Trogni, writing by Valentina Za, editing by Francesca Landini) Next In Financials Fitch Affirms CIFD at ''A''; Stable Outlook (The following statement was released by the rating agency) PARIS, January 17 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings has affirmed Credit Immobilier de France Developpement''s (CIFD) Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ''A''. The Long-Term IDR of Caisse Centrale du Credit Immobilier de France (3CIF), the group''s financing arm, has also been affirmed at ''A''. The Outlooks are Stable. A full list of rating actions is at the end of this rating action commentary. These rating actions are part of a review of euro'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/italy-bonds-15year-idUSI6N1F2000'|'2017-01-17T22:29:00.000+02:00' +'6535246e4fed34ab3aa4d550a5a3b9012cd8ec27'|'Flipkart reshuffle signals shift to margins over volume'|'By Sankalp Phartiyal and Shounak Dasgupta - MUMBAI/BENGALURU MUMBAI/BENGALURU Even before he was appointed to run India''s biggest e-commerce company, Kalyan Krishnamurthy had signaled a change: as head of sales at Flipkart he focused on profitable "big ticket" items, a shift away from the industry''s fixation on growth at all costs.That helped turn around the group''s revenues after a series of valuation writedowns, and secured the top job for the veteran of Flipkart''s largest investor, Tiger Global, in a management shakeup this week.Krishnamurthy was named CEO on Monday, while co-founder and outgoing CEO Binny Bansal moved into the new role of group head."The trigger (for the reshuffle)... was repeated mark-downs in its valuation by the fund units of Morgan Stanley and Fidelity," said one source familiar with investor discussions.The person said investors, led by Tiger, were getting increasingly edgy as the writedowns not only stung early investors who bought in at higher valuations, but made it harder for Flipkart to tap the market and raise fresh capital.The company is preparing for an initial public offering, probably in 2018 or 2019.Flipkart and Tiger Global both declined to comment on the reshuffle and its implications.Flipkart has seen its lead in the online market in India eaten into by global giant Amazon.But some company sources credited Krishnamurthy, who joined Flipkart in June to spearhead some of its core sales efforts, with outmaneuvering Amazon during the festive sales push from October onwards.No official data for the period are available, but several analysts and company sources said Flipkart clocked higher gross merchandise value (GMV).A source close to the company said Flipkart''s GMV for the peak month of October was more than 50 billion rupees (599.02 million).Flipkart and Amazon declined to reveal their sales data.Company sources said Krishnamurthy achieved this by offering discounts and other incentives on more expensive items like televisions, handsets and home appliances, helping it achieve better margins than rivals who paid more attention to volume."He focused the discounts on high demand categories like mobile (phones), TV and large items - washing machines, air conditioners," said one employee.Whether Flipkart can outsmart Amazon over the longer term remains to be seen.Deep pockets are key to winning market share through aggressive discounting, and the American giant has announced a $5 billion investment plan in India.Bank of America Merrill Lynch, in a September 2016 report, said it expected Flipkart''s GMV market share to remain largely unchanged at 44 percent by 2019. By comparison, the brokerage expected Amazon''s share to grow to 37 percent from 28 percent estimated for 2016.FALLING VALUATIONA senior Flipkart executive, who like other company sources declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the press, said this week''s management restructuring was on the cards from the day Krishnamurthy joined Flipkart.The source close to Flipkart added that Tiger Global, the U.S. hedge fund that owns about a third of the company, wanted to be more closely involved in Flipkart''s operations.Launched by two former Amazon employees in 2007, Flipkart has grown to become India''s most valuable startup worth $15 billion in 2015.But its valuation has since dropped to below $10 billion by late 2016 amid intensifying competition, and it needs fresh funds to stay ahead of Amazon in the battle for supremacy in the world''s fastest growing internet services market.Talks were held with U.S. retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc, which is looking to invest between $750 million and $1 billion in Flipkart, Reuters reported in October.Binny Bansal told Reuters in October that the company had cash reserves to last up to three years, but the source close to the firm said Flipkart had about two years before its war chest dried up.The company raised a little over $1 billion in the last two years, but needs to raise more funds in the next six to eight months, according to the same source."Tiger, along with other investors, want to steady the ship and make it IPO-ready as soon as they can," said the source familiar with investor discussions.Binny Bansal also mentioned "IPO readiness" as one of his key objectives as group CEO in an internal memo announcing the reshuffle.Flipkart''s restructuring takes away control of daily operations from Binny Bansal, who replaced Sachin Bansal a year ago as CEO.As group CEO, Binny will oversee the allocation of capital across units while Sachin will be responsible for strategic direction of existing business, Flipkart said in a statement."Investors are happy with the way the founders have stepped aside and given the control to professionals, as it''s very rare in India," one of the sources said.A day after Krishnamurthy took charge, three senior executives including the head of Flipkart''s logistics unit and its chief marketing officer quit the company, according to local media. A company spokesman declined to comment.(Additional reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee in Hong Kong, Rishika Sadam, Gaurika Juneja, Supantha Mukherjee, Ankit Ajmera, Noor Zainab Hussain, Sayantani Ghosh and Rachit Vats in Bengaluru, Rahul Bhatia in Mumbai; Editing by Euan Rocha and Mike Collett-White)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-flipkart-online-strategy-idINKBN14W1UU'|'2017-01-12T10:22:00.000+02:00' +'67085e26413a96aab9d760f16801104bd7307739'|'Sri Lanka shares fall; foreign selling inches close to 1 bln rupees'|'Basic Materials 31am EST Sri Lanka shares fall; foreign selling inches close to 1 bln rupees COLOMBO Jan 5 Sri Lankan shares fell for a fifth straight session and ended at a nine-month low on Thursday as foreign investors continued to sell shares, offloading close to one billion rupees worth of stocks in the first four sessions of the new year. Foreign investors sold a net 181.7 million rupees ($1.22 million) worth of equities on Thursday, extending the net outflow in the first four trading sessions of the year to 996.6 million rupees. Worries over a weakening rupee, rising interest rates and continued foreign selling in index heavyweight John Keells Holdings Plc also weighed on the sentiment. The Colombo stock index ended 0.09 percent down at 6,147.52, its lowest close since April 4. The bourse fell 9.7 percent in 2016, its second straight annual decline. The index has been trading in the oversold territory since Tuesday with 14-day relative strength index breaking below 30, Thomson Reuters data showed. A level between 30 and 70 indicates the market is neutral. Conglomerate John Keells, which saw net foreign selling of 2.34 million shares that accounted for 62 percent of the day''s turnover of 802.4 million rupees, ended 0.14 percent lower. Talks of a high net worth foreign investor exiting from Keells has triggered panic selling, dealers said. "Foreign selling in Keells is still continuing and that has brought the market down," said Dimantha Mathew, head of research, First Capital Equities (Pvt) Ltd. Analysts said interest rate volatility and policy uncertainties are also hurting investor sentiment. Yields on treasury bill auctions rose 5-6 basis points at a weekly auction on Wednesday, a day after the central bank governor signalled less intervention to defend the currency as market has braced for a depreciation. Shares in Hemas Holdings Plc dropped 2.20 percent while biggest listed lender Commercial Bank of Ceylon Plc lost 0.77 percent. ($1 = 149.4000 Sri Lankan rupees) (Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez; Editing by Vyas Mohan) Next In Basic Materials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/sri-lanka-stocks-idUSL4N1EV3CA'|'2017-01-05T19:31:00.000+02:00' +'04449284bf0719311c5d406f3370aac8f730e869'|'Worlds largest bike maker rides into Manchester'|'Worlds largest bicycle maker rides into Manchester Hero Cycles hopes 2m design centre will benefit from Team GBs Olympic glory Read next by: Andy Bounds in Manchester The worlds largest bicycle manufacturer by volume has set up in Manchester, opening a 2m design centre in the home of British Cycling. Hero Cycles , which builds one out of every 20 of the worlds bicycles and is based in the north Indian city of Ludhiana, chose the northern English city over some of the worlds most bike-friendly ones, including Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Berlin. Hero also plans to open a European factory, with Manchester as the most likely destination. The R&D centre is close to Manchester velodrome, the base of British Cycling, and Hero hopes that the high-end bikes it designs there will be associated with Team GBs Olympic success. Pankaj Munjal, chairman and managing director, pointed to Manchesters history of innovation, from computers to the graphene molecule, and its large student population as factors that contributed to the decision. Hero already has a majority stake in Avocet, a Manchester bike designer and distributor that once employed 850 in its factories around the UK. Mr Munjal said the prospect of the UK leaving the EU did not worry him, and that he had decided to make the investment in October. Pankaj Munjal said the prospect of the UK leaving the EU did not worry him Jon Super Brexit or no Brexit we still have strong brands. The British create great brands known around the world, he said in an interview. And the talent is available. There is no better place in Europe than Manchester for product design. There are four universities in Greater Manchester with 105,000 students. Hero manufactures 5.5m bikes a year and supplies many of the brands sold at Argos, Halfords and Tesco stores in the UK. It now wants to concentrate on its own higher-value brands, including Viking and Riddick. It also owns Lectro, an electric bike range. Read more Britain has dominated the Olympic sport. But as allegations of doping and bullying swirl, can the team do it again? Sunday, 29 January, 2017 Mr Munjal said the UK market alone (1.1bn in 2015) was twice as valuable as the Indian one because of higher prices. In India you get status if you drive a car, he said. In Denmark and London it is more prestigious to own a good bicycle than an Audi 7 series. The average bicycle price in the Netherlands was 914 in 2015 according to the European Cyclists Federation, while the average price in the UK was 300. Mr Munjal said Hero was likely to open a European factory, probably in the UK, within a few years to specialise in more expensive models. You cannot make a Porsche in a Skoda factory, he said. Bikes made in India face 14 per cent import tariffs in the EU. Hero, a family-owned group, also makes car parts and has more than 1bn in assets and a staff of 8,000. Steven Walsh, chairman of Avocet, said he had to shut factories in Oldham and Bolton, which made brands such as British Eagle and Falcon, in the early 1990s because of Chinese competition. Hero''s chairman said there was ''no better place in Europe'' than Manchester for product design Scott Hortop/Alamy The anti-dumping duties came too late, he said. The EU now imposes 43 per cent tariffs on Chinese bikes. But he said wage differentials were far lower now, prices higher and bikes expensive to transport. I think the time is right to start manufacturing in the UK again. After Raleigh shut its Nottingham factory in 2003 and moved its production line to Taiwan, there are just three mass-market UK-based bicycle builders left. They are the folding Brompton Bicycle in Brentford, west London; Pashley, which makes Londons rental bikes ; and Moulton in Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire. '|'ft.com'|'http://www.ft.com/rss/world/uk/business'|'https://www.ft.com/content/a8862f02-e487-11e6-8405-9e5580d6e5fb'|'2017-01-28T12:42:00.000+02:00' +'3d8babddb33a21831a24e41ede8b6f5f1f961a1b'|'China''s Alibaba becomes major sponsor of Olympics'|' 12am GMT China''s Alibaba becomes major sponsor of Olympics A logo of Alibaba Group is pictured at its headquarters in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, October 14, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer/File photo DAVOS, Switzerland Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba ( BABA.N ) has become a major sponsor of the Olympics after signing a deal with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that runs until 2028, the two parties said on Thursday Alibaba, which becomes the official e-commerce and cloud services partner, joins a dozen other companies - including Coca-Cola ( KO.N ) and McDonald''s ( MCD.N ) - as top Olympic sponsors. No financial details were disclosed. IOC sources have previously told Reuters that major sponsors pay about $100 million per four-year cycle, which includes one summer and one winter games. (Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Pravin Char) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-davos-meeting-olympics-alibaba-idUKKBN1531I6'|'2017-01-19T18:12:00.000+02:00' +'e87a1128624c3c74d4534f3453f8125950173200'|'BRIEF-Centerra Gold says 2016 gold production was 598,677 ounces'|' 5:56pm EST BRIEF-Centerra Gold says 2016 gold production was 598,677 ounces Jan 17 Centerra Gold Inc * Centerra Gold announces 2016 gold production of 598,677 ounces and 2017 outlook * Says during q4 of 2016, centerra''s gold production was 248,479 ounces * Planned exploration expenditures for 2017 totals $9 million * Says centerra''s copper production from mount milligan was 10.4 million pounds for period october 20, 2016 to december 31, 2016 * Centerra''s 2017 gold production is expected to be between 715,000 to 795,000 ounces * Centerra Gold Inc - expecting 55 million to 65 million pounds of payable copper production from mount milligan for 2017 * Says kumtor''s 2017 production forecast is expected to be in range of 455,000 ounces to 505,000 * Centerra Gold Inc - 2017 production forecast assumes no gold production from boroo, gatsuurt or kst * Centerra Gold - 2017 capital expenditures estimated to be $148 million, including $96 million of sustaining capital, $52 million of growth capital * Centerra Gold- at mount milligan, co. Expects payable gold production to be in range of 260,000-290,000 ounces with about 35% of ounces expected in q4 * Centerra Gold Inc -sees 2017 consolidated all-in sustaining cost per ounce sold net of copper by-product in range of $743 to $824 per ounce '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSASC09QXM'|'2017-01-17T05:56:00.000+02:00' +'ab0b9f01cf2ad63f305ddb8d8d630e001ea02a29'|'German e-car supplier Aumann plans stock market listing: sources'|'FRANKFURT German engineering group Aumann is planning a stock market-listing as the maker of parts for electric engines seeks cash for its expansion, people close to the matter said.Private equity owner MBB has asked Citi,Berenberg and Hauck & Aufhaeuser to start with preparations of an Aumann initial public offering, which may take place as early as April or May and see around 40 percent of Aumann''s shares sold, the people added.MBB and the banks declined to comment.Analysts at brokerage Equits said in a note last year that Aumann could be valued at 300 million euros ($320.49 million)including debt or 1.5 times Aumann''s estimated 2017 sales in a potential IPO.MBB could reap more than 130 million euros in proceeds from the Aumann stock market listing, increasing MBB''s fire power for acquisitions to 200 million euros, Equits said.According to analysts at Hauck & Aufhaeuser, Aumann could even be valued at 460 million euros.(Reporting by Arno Schuetze and Alexander Hbner; Editing by Harro ten Wolde)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-aumann-ipo-idINKBN1521FI'|'2017-01-18T08:29:00.000+02:00' +'77431217c0525ca8baf7ccfbab9739a05c94f82e'|'Italy''s UBI to clinch buy of three rescued banks this week - sources'|'Deals - Tue Jan 10, 2017 - 8:38pm GMT Italy''s UBI to clinch buy of three rescued banks this week: sources A logo of UBI bank (Unione di Banche Italiane) is seen in downtown Rome July 23, 2010. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi MILAN Italy''s fifth-biggest bank UBI ( UBI.MI ) is expected to agree this week to buy three small lenders that have been rescued from bankruptcy and have failed to attract rival bids, two sources close to the matter said on Tuesday. Following the rescue in November 2015 of Banca Etruria, Banca Marche, CariChieti and CariFerrara, Italy has struggled to find a buyer for them. It rejected bids from private equity funds over the summer as too low. UBI has expressed an interest in buying three of the lenders, but set conditions including the offloading of 2.2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) in bad debts which banking industry bailout fund Atlante is set to acquire. The sale to UBI was expected to be finalised by the end of 2016. But sources said last week the deal had been delayed because the EU Commission had told Italy''s resolution fund, which owns the banks, to ask the rejected bidders if they were still interested. One of the sources said a dozen letters sent out to investors to invite fresh bids had remained unanswered. "Over the next few days the deal will be wrapped up," a second source said. (Reporting by Andrea Mandala Writing by Valentina Za; Editing by Ruth Pitchford) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-italy-banks-ubi-banca-m-a-idUKKBN14U2KD'|'2017-01-11T03:38:00.000+02:00' +'749f26190ae86773a023db16c7b402c111287bcd'|'The fintech entrepreneur doubling as Arnold Schwarzeneggers sidekick - Guardian Small Business Network'|'How did your business Moola [an online money management service] start? Im sure its the same for everyone in financial services: youre often approached by friends asking you what they should do with their money [Godfrey has worked in financial management since 1997]. For me this was magnified because I was being asked the same question on television while appearing as a money and consumer expert [Godfreys credits include the BBC, ITV and Sky News].There is a savings crisis in the UK. Millions [according to Deloitte research the number is 5.5 million] have a bit of money to invest but no access to financial advice.People are making more financial transactions online and I felt this change in behaviour was not being catered for. Meanwhile, finance has been shrouded in jargon and complexity, which has alienated people.With Moola, which was launched at the end of 2016, I wanted to offer something different. The advice is jargon-free and it provides a stripped down service to small investors. For financial advisers it takes away the regulatory and administrative burden of looking after smaller clients, making it more cost-effective.''I launched a foreign exchange business with no money'' Read moreSo far, we have a few thousand people signed up and we have been working with venture capital and private equity firm Octopus Investments and their network of independent financial advisers and customers for the last couple of months.How does Moola make money? It gives users access to online investment services for a fee [the lowest cost for investors is 200]. We keep the price down by offering a simplified service and automating wherever possible.The fee is a small slice of whats invested. It covers the cost of safeguarding the money, background checks, guiding towards investment options, putting the money to work and monitoring it from then on.Where would you like to take it? The vision is to change the landscape of finance, making it inclusive and accessible, so that everyone can grow their money, regardless of how much money they have or how much they understand about investing.It could help people who feel left behind financially, such as those who made their feelings known in the Brexit vote.You recently appeared as an adviser to Arnold Schwarzenegger on The Celebrity Apprentice in the US how did that opportunity come about? It took seven years of blood, sweat and tears. I started from scratch in the media, dedicating time to build a network of contacts and develop the on-camera skills needed.Of course, I also had to build a track record in business, from firms running $10bn [8bn] of peoples money [Brooks Macdonald], to my own startup.As one of few official contributors for CNBC outside of the US, Id already been broadcasted to millions of American viewers on a regular basis. Also, the network that runs The Apprentice is NBC, the owner of CNBC, and therefore I was in the family.For this new season, with Arnold Schwarzenegger as the new boss, there was even more of a focus on entertainment. And the show had moved to California from New York [and Trump Towers], so my running a financial technology startup was a perfect fit [with Californias reputation for successful technology startups].As the boardroom adviser, my role was to assess all contestants during the tasks and then report back to Arnold on their performances and suggest who he should fire and save. In the celebrity version, the contestants battled it out for their chosen charities.What was it like? It was fun, surreal and absolutely fascinating to see behind the scenes. It was inspiring to be around such powerful and prominent personalities. With each task kept to a time limit, it meant shooting the show was full-on. It was also hard work offering real, tangible business insights while being entertaining. But I loved every second of it.What was it like to do business in front of a camera crew? The biggest difference between TV and real life is the time restrictions. Its unlikely youd have to launch a new brand or close a deal within the 24-hour period in which an Apprentice task is shot. But the skills you need to succeed are the same, and so are the challenges. Its just like learning about business on fast forward.While you were over there, did you get a sense of the buzz around the election? What were peoples views of Donald Trump? Like with Brexit over here, the rise of someone outside of politics showed how split the country is in terms of the millions of people who feel disenfranchised and left behind.Why do you think finance is dominated by men? Its a self-perpetuating scenario where the lack of women has put off more women from rising through the ranks. But a successful business needs a balance of skills. Diversity of age, gender and background is required to represent customer needs, challenge the business strategy and deliver tailored solutions.The way to solve the problem is to initiate a virtuous circle of [diverse] role models and mentors showing how it can be done and shifting the balance.ClassPass co-founder: ditching unlimited pass was tough Read more Is there anything you would do differently if you started again?Nope. Ive made mistakes but they made me tougher. You probably learn more from a misstep than by getting something right first time.What is your proudest moment? Advising the legendary Arnold Schwarzenegger and being in the company of titans such as Warren Buffett, Jessica Alba, Tyra Banks and Steve Ballmer on The Celebrity Apprentice is a contender.Starting Moola with a talented team, backed by industry leaders and authorised by our regulator is another. Theyre only beaten by marrying my soulmate, having the most amazing son and a daughter on the way.What advice would you give to other aspiring entrepreneurs? Solve a problem rather than sell a product, validate the need before you build, find a great team.Sign up to become a member of the Guardian Small Business Network here for more advice, insight and best practice direct to your inbox.'|'theguardian.com'|'https://www.theguardian.com/uk/business'|'https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/jan/04/fintech-entrepreneur-arnold-schwarzeneggers-sidekick'|'2017-01-04T15:15:00.000+02:00' +'1095e947cae46f25af9972b07a1434b8f416ac0f'|'US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-Wall St opens higher, Dow eyes 20,000'|' 34am EST US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-Wall St opens higher, Dow eyes 20,000 Jan 3 U.S. stocks kicked off the new year with big gains on Tuesday, with all eyes on the Dow Jones Industrial Average as it zeroes in on the historic 20,000 mark. The Dow was up 152.92 points, or 0.77 percent, at 19,915.52, the S&P 500 was up 16.98 points, or 0.758432 percent, at 2,255.81 and the Nasdaq composite was up 41.68 points, or 0.77 percent, at 5,424.80. (Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-idUSL4N1ET2HW'|'2017-01-03T21:34:00.000+02:00' +'6cc4344f079f84d721f4cf9478d3bd348d20d7fa'|'RBS writes off $4 bln for US mortgage mis-selling cases'|'Financials 12am EST RBS writes off $4 bln for US mortgage mis-selling cases LONDON Jan 26 Royal Bank of Scotland has taken a 3.1 billion pound ($3.92 billion) provision as it prepares to settle claims in the United States that it mis-sold toxic mortgage-backed securities in the run up to the 2008 financial crisis. The surprise provision means that RBS is unlikely to make a profit in 2016, the ninth straight year the bank has failed to make an annual profit. RBS is currently in negotiations with the U.S. Department of Justice over the settlement, the timing of which is still uncertain. Chief Executive Ross McEwan has been trying to clean up RBS''s balance sheet and end an array of legal cases so the government can sell its more than 70 percent stake in the lender after a 45.5 billion pound bailout during the financial crisis. The British government has said that the uncertainty about the scale of the penalty is one of the reasons why it halted plans to sell any further shares in the lender. "Putting our legacy litigation issues behind us, including those relating to RMBS, remains a key part of our strategy," McEwan said in a statement. ($1 = 0.7910 pounds) (Reporting By Andrew MacAskill and Lawrence White; Editing by Rachel Armstrong) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/rbs-mortgage-provision-idUSL4N1FG2E6'|'2017-01-26T14:12:00.000+02:00' +'b78028e02e7b44c00300676c7ba167bfefb5897d'|'Mothercare''s UK sales return to growth on online surge'|' 44am GMT Mothercare''s UK sales return to growth on online surge Customers leave a Mothercare shop in London October 11, 2008. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett Baby goods retailer Mothercare Plc ( MTC.L ) said third-quarter sales in the UK returned to growth helped by a rise in online orders. The company, which has been trying to revive its British business that has come under pressure from tough competition, said total sales in the UK for the 13 weeks to Jan. 7 rose 0.6 percent with online sales rising 5.5 percent. Sales at UK stores open over a year rose 1 percent during the quarter and online sales now represent about 40 percent of its total UK sales, the company said. (Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mothercare-outlook-idUKKBN14W0RY'|'2017-01-12T14:44:00.000+02:00' +'0d56434b80ec60515706a2404bdebc5fd969a0ef'|'BRIEF-UK''s CMA says consulting on changes to investigations in smaller markets'|'Financials 15am EST BRIEF-UK''s CMA says consulting on changes to investigations in smaller markets Jan 23 UK''s CMA: * Is consulting on changes to reduce the number of mergers it investigates in smaller markets * Proposal to raise threshold for markets generally considered as sufficiently important to justify a merger reference to above 15 million from current 10 million stg * Proposes changing the figure for markets generally considered not sufficiently important from below 3 million to below 5 million * The consultation is open until 13 February 2017 * Expected that the changes will reduce the number of mergers that are subject to investigations - in particular those subject to initial Phase 1 examination Source text for Eikon: ( bit.ly/2jQ0KcN ) (Bengaluru Newsroom: +91 80 6749 1136) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1FD0CT'|'2017-01-23T19:15:00.000+02:00' +'4588639d70b6ec911844a53ead30b8af72b9da79'|'BRIEF-Hudson Bay Capital Management reports 7.54 pct passive stake in Jensyn Acquisition - SEC filing'|'Funds 13pm reports 7.54 pct passive stake in Jensyn Acquisition - SEC filing Jan 30 Hudson Bay Capital Management L.P. : Management L.P. reports 7.54 Jensyn Acquisition Corp as of Dec 31, 2016 - SEC filing Source text : ( bit.ly/2kGVCFP ) Funds News Carrefour seeks Brazil unit IPO in second quarter, sources say SAO PAULO, Jan 30 France''s Carrefour SA aims to price the initial public offering of its fast-growing Brazilian unit as early as the second quarter, two people with direct knowledge of the plan said on Monday, a sign demand for new equity offerings in Latin America''s No. 1 economy is gaining traction rapidly. '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1FK0IL'|'2017-01-31T01:13:00.000+02:00' +'ba0fda16a4187f2fd68cac75372f1c160f21c388'|'Australia shares hit 1-month low as industrials, healthcare weigh'|' 36pm EST Australia shares hit 1-month low as industrials, healthcare weigh Jan 23 Australian shares gave up early gains on Monday, falling to a 1-month low, as industrial and healthcare stocks pushed the index down and Brambles Ltd disappointed by slashing its annual profit forecast. In its first trading session since U.S. President Donald Trump''s inauguration, the S&P/ASX 200 index lost 0.4 percent or 22.05 points to 5627.2 by 01:23 GMT. The industrial sector was the worst performer as supply-chain logistics company Brambles dived to its lowest in more than 11 months. The company said its annual constant-currency sales revenue and underlying profit growth would be below its current guidance range. "We had some positive leads, but gains have quickly evaporated," said Christopher Conway, head of research and trading at Australian Stock Report. "I think local traders will now be more focused on the rest of the U.S. earnings season and next month''s Australian earnings. The Trump presidency will sort of recede into the background," he added. Healthcare stocks moved into the red with shares of CSL Ltd posting their biggest percentage loss in more than a week. Conway said traders were booking some profit from CSL after it rose quite significantly in the last two sessions. Materials also posted losses, tracking weak metal prices. BlueScope Steel Ltd shed 1.7 percent and nickel miner Western Areas Ltd dropped 4.2 percent. Energy stocks offered some support as prices edged up after energy ministers of OPEC and non-OPEC countries applauded a strong start to output cuts. Oil majors Caltex Australia Ltd and Woodside Petroleum Ltd added 0.8 percent and 0.6 percent each. The gold index rose as much as 1.8 percent after a weaker U.S. dollar drove up gold prices on Friday. Financials, the biggest index component, lost their initial momentum with the "Big Four" banks paring some of their early gains. New Zealand''s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index saw lacklustre trade, just three points up at 7051.49 by 01:32 GMT. Comvita Ltd was the top loser on the benchmark, slipping 18.3 percent by 01:34 GMT, after it lowered its profit guidance. (Reporting by Anusha Ravindranath in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Geo Tharappel; Editing by Eric Meijer) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/australia-stocks-midday-idUSL4N1FD0QG'|'2017-01-23T08:36:00.000+02:00' +'65b929c40a8fde0490f5ae351853e3e3c048f31f'|'Movie chain operator Cineworld''s full-year group revenue rises 8.3 percent'|' 15am GMT Movie chain operator Cineworld''s full-year group revenue rises 8.3 percent British cinema operator Cineworld Group Plc ( CINE.L ) said on Wednesday full-year group revenue rose 8.3 percent on a constant currency basis as movies such as "Star Wars: Rogue One", "Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them", and "The Jungle Book" drew record number of viewers to its screens. Group box office revenue increased 7 percent in the year ended Dec. 31, while admissions rose in its key UK & Ireland market and others, including Poland, Hungary and Israel. The company, which operates 226 sites with 2,115 screens across nine countries, said it would add 13 new sites in 2017, including six in the UK. Cineworld''s retail revenue, which comes from sales of items such as popcorn and soft drinks, rose 12.7 percent. The company, founded in 1995, has grown through a string of acquisitions like the bolt-on purchase of five UK cinema units from Empire Cinema Ltd for 94 million pounds in July last year, which included a nine-screen multiplex at Empire Leicester Square in London''s West End. The operator said the film slate for 2017 was "exciting" with releases like "Justice League", "Fast and Furious 8", and "Dunkirk". Separately, the company promoted Deputy Chief Financial Officer Nisan Cohen as CFO with immediate effect. (Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair and Subhranshu Sahu) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-cineworld-group-outlook-idUKKBN14V0OW'|'2017-01-11T15:15:00.000+02:00' +'af22d76df417d067d47d20419546997bd7453b6d'|'UPDATE 1-Czech president to appoint EU experts to central bank board'|'Financials 29am EST UPDATE 1-Czech president to appoint EU experts to central bank board (Adds details on appointments, central bank policy) PRAGUE Jan 10 Czech President Milos Zeman will appoint economists Oldrich Dedek and Marek Mora to join the Czech National Bank (CNB) board in February, his spokesman said on Tuesday, extending the bank''s gradual shift towards a more receptive stance on adopting the euro. The bank is nearing an exit from its weak-crown policy, in place since 2013, with data on Tuesday showing inflation returning to its 2 percent target for the first time in four years in December. This will be the second stint at the bank for economics professor Dedek, who has worked as the country''s euro adoption coordinator for the past decade and served on the CNB''s board from 1999 to 2005. Mora is an economist who has worked in senior positions in the Czech government and European Union institutions. He currently works in Brussels as a director at the EU Council, focused on budget, tax and regional policy. "Both of them will act in a less eurosceptic way than previous (board members) so it means a gradual shift of the Czech central bank to a more pro-euro tone," said Pavel Sobisek, chief economist at UniCredit in Prague. "But I don''t want to say that euro adoption will get closer because of these appointments." The Czech Republic has set no euro adoption target and successive governments have put off setting a date. The central bank has kept the crown on the weak side of 27 to the euro through a market intervention regime since November 2013 to revive price pressures in the economy. The board has pledged to keep the crown cap in place until at least the second quarter of this year, which it calls its "hard" commitment. The return of inflation to the bank''s 2 percent target has raised market speculation that the end of the regime is near. Dedek and Mora will replace outgoing board members Pavel Rezabek and Lubomir Lizal, whose terms end Feb. 13. Both will attend the bank''s next policy meeting on Feb. 2 before Dedek and Mora join the board. (Reporting by Robert Muller; Writing by Jason Hovet; Editing by Mark Trevelyan) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/czech-cenbank-appointment-idUSL5N1F02EV'|'2017-01-10T18:29:00.000+02:00' +'dd8b1ae0ef8bab51d39dad1592bd5c6bb84553f1'|'Volkswagen must face U.S. investor lawsuit in emissions scandal - judge'|'Business News - Thu Jan 5, 2017 - 1:30am GMT Volkswagen must face U.S. investor lawsuit in emissions scandal - judge The logo of German car maker Volkswagen is seen outside a garage in Vienna, Austria, September 29, 2016. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger By David Shepardson - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Volkswagen AG ( VOWG_p.DE ) and former Chief Executive Officer Martin Winterkorn must defend an investor lawsuit in California over the company''s diesel emissions cheating scandal, a U.S. judge ruled on Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer also rejected a request by VW brand chief Herbert Diess to have the proposed securities fraud lawsuits tossed out of a California court. Other defendants include VW''s U.S. unit and its Audi of America unit and the former head of its U.S. unit, Michael Horn. The investors suing are mostly U.S. municipal pension funds that invested in VW through American Depositary Receipts (ADR), a form of equity ownership in a non-U.S. company that represents the foreign shares of the company held on deposit by a bank in the companys home country. Volkswagen argued that German courts were the proper place for investor lawsuits. Breyer said in his ruling that "because the United States has an interest in protecting domestic investors against securities fraud" the lawsuits should go forward in a U.S. court. The pension funds include those representing Arkansas State Highway Employees and Miami Police. The lawsuits said VW''s market capitalisation fell by $63 billion (51 billion pounds) after the diesel cheating scandal became public. A VW spokeswoman had no immediate comment Wednesday. Winterkorn resigned days after the scandal became public and much of the company''s management has changed since 2015. VW in September 2015 admitted using sophisticated secret software in its cars to cheat exhaust emissions tests, with 11 millions vehicles worldwide affected. The cheating allowed nearly 580,0000 VW''s U.S. diesel vehicles sold since 2009 to emit up to 40 times legally allowable pollution levels. The lawsuits said VW and its executives misled the investing public "assuring them to the contrary namely, that the diesel vehicles met all applicable emissions standards" and it "understated the liabilities that it would suffer as a result of its known emissions non-compliance." Volkswagen has agreed to spend as much as $17.5 billion in the United States to resolve claims from owners and federal and state regulators over polluting diesel vehicles. Volkswagen could still spend billions of dollars more to resolve a U.S. Department of Justice criminal investigation and federal and state environmental claims; come under oversight by a federal monitor and face other conditions. The Justice Department and VW are in settlement talks and it is possible a deal could be reached before Jan. 20, when President Barack Obama leaves office, according to sources briefed on the matter. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Grant McCool) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-volkswagen-emissions-idUKKBN14P04C'|'2017-01-05T08:17:00.000+02:00' +'94a88ad7ecd9315204cd287ed2b92941edb8f36a'|'China should stop intervening in FX market and let yuan float - researcher'|'Mon Jan 16, 2017 - 2:41am GMT China should stop intervening in FX market and let yuan float: researcher A 100 Yuan note is seen in this illustration picture in Beijing March 7, 2011. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo SHANGHAI China should stop intervening in the foreign exchange market, devalue the yuan and let it float freely to restore stability, a senior researcher at a government-backed think tank said. Xiao Lisheng, a finance expert with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, made the remarks in an article on Monday in the official China Securities Journal amid a growing debate among the country''s economists on whether authorities should let the closely-managed currency trade more freely. The yuan lost 6.6 percent against the dollar last year, the biggest annual loss since 1994. "The more the government delays the release of depreciation pressure, the greater the impact and destructive power of the release of depreciation pressure will be," Xiao wrote. The authorities should "let the yuan exchange rate have a one-off adjustment to realize a free float" of the currency, he said. The yuan is allowed to trade in a band of 2 percent on either side of a daily reference rate managed by the central bank. Authorities have said repeatedly there was no basis for continued depreciation of the unit, but many currency strategists predict a further weakening this year if the U.S. dollar remains strong, spurring further capital outflows from China. Xiao said the current mid-point formation mechanism, adopted in 2015, is still immature and in transition, although it has eased depreciation pressure and curbed sharp declines in the country''s foreign exchange reserves. "But any foreign exchange rate mechanism without a free float cannot fundamentally reach a market clearing (price)," he wrote. The mechanism for setting the daily reference rate was adopted after a one-off devaluation of the yuan in August 2015. It is opaque, but factors in the closing price from a day earlier and the movements of various other currencies. Yu Yongding, a former central bank adviser, has also advocated that China stop intervening to help preserve its dwindling foreign exchange reserves, and suggested the central bank set a "bottom line" of 25 percent for the yuan to depreciate. China''s foreign exchange reserves fell to near six-year lows in December, but held just above the critical $3 trillion level, as authorities stepped in to support the weakening yuan ahead of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump''s inauguration. For 2016 as a whole, China''s reserves fell nearly $320 billion to $3.011 trillion, on top of a record drop of $513 billion in 2015. (Reporting by Winni Zhou and John Ruwitch; Editing by Kim Coghill) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-yuan-depreciation-idUKKBN150064'|'2017-01-16T09:35:00.000+02:00' +'e2ba9612aa520c00bcc27909aa97d5713a57e4e6'|'Fitch Rates Crown Castle''s Sr. Unsecured Notes ''BBB-''; Outlook Stable'|'Financials 2:50pm EST Fitch Rates Crown Castle''s Sr. Unsecured Notes ''BBB-''; Outlook Stable (The following statement was released by the rating agency) CHICAGO, January 30 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings has assigned a ''BBB-'' rating to Crown Castle International Corp.''s (Crown) offering of senior unsecured notes due 2027. Crown''s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) is ''BBB-''. The Rating Outlook remains Stable. Crown will use the proceeds from the note offering to reduce borrowings on its revolving credit facility (RCF) including borrowings to fund its acquisition of FPL FiberNet Holdings, LLC and certain other NextEra Energy, Inc. subsidiaries (FiberNet). Crown primarily funded the $1.5 billion acquisition with approximately $1 billion of equity issued November 2016, with the revolver used for the remainder. KEY RATING DRIVERS Strong Recurring Cash Flows: Crown''s ratings reflect the strong recurring cash flows generated from its leasing operations, robust EBITDA margins and the scale of its tower portfolio. In addition, a focus on the U.S. market reduces operating risk. The tower business model provides considerable stability to operating performance and free cash flow (FCF) growth. These characteristics have led to a lower business-risk profile for Crown than for most typical corporate credits. Deleveraging Progress: Fitch expects Crown''s 2017 gross leverage to be similar to the 5.6x at the end of 2016. Crown has deleveraged via EBITDA growth following two major acquisitions of towers, or rights to towers, since the end of 2012. These transactions include the $2.5 billion T-Mobile transaction in 2012 and the $4.8 billion AT&T Inc. transaction in 2013, which was primarily financed with equity. Leverage is slightly above our expectations for leverage for a ''BBB-'' rated tower company with Crown''s business and financial risk profile. However, Fitch believes current levels of investment, driven by small-cell investments, will provide for future EBITDA growth, driving leverage down over time. Wireless Broadband Growth: A key factor in Crown''s future revenue and cash flow growth is the relentless rise in the need for mobile broadband wireless network capacity. Growth in 4G LTE data services is driving amendment activity and new lease-up revenues from the major operators, leading to mid-single-digit organic revenue growth prospects for 2017. Crown is active in building small-cells and distributed antenna systems, which should allow it to capture additional share. Consolidation Risk Manageable: Fitch believes that if consolidation in the U.S. wireless market were to occur, there would not be a material effect on Crown''s operations. While relatively modest losses would occur, revenue growth from continued lease activity and contractual escalators would more than offset such losses over time. FiberNet Acquisition: The acquisition strengthens Crown''s small cell business by increasing its fiber footprint in top metro markets. The acquisition adds approximately 11,500 fiber route miles to Crown''s footprint, bringing the pro forma total to approximately 26,500. Primary markets served by FiberNet include Texas and Florida. KEY ASSUMPTIONS --Fitch assumes revenue growth will be in the mid- to high-single digits (on a GAAP basis) in 2017. Over the next two to three years, EBITDA margins will remain relatively stable in the mid-to-high-50% range. --Fitch gross leverage in 2017 will be similar to the 5.6x recorded in 2016. RATING SENSITIVITIES Positive Rating Action: A commitment to leverage of less than 4.7x to 4.8x could lead to a positive rating action. Negative Rating Action: Developments potentially leading to a negative rating action include an increase in leverage above 5.5x for a protracted period of time due to an acquisition funded mostly by debt, or a change in financial policy that targets higher leverage. LIQUIDITY Strong Liquidity: Crown has meaningful cash generation, balance sheet cash, RCF availability and a favorable maturity schedule relative to available liquidity. Cash, excluding restricted cash, was $568 million as of Dec. 31, 2016. Liquidity is provided by an unsecured $2.5 billion RCF maturing in January 2021. The financial covenants within Crown''s unsecured credit agreement include a total net leverage ratio of 6.5x (not to exceed 7x for up to three quarters following a qualified acquisition), a senior secured leverage ratio of 3.5x (on a gross basis) and, if rated below investment grade by two of three rating agencies, consolidated interest coverage of 2.5x. Crown''s FCF is expected to be negative in 2017 and is affected by REIT required distributions as well as the use of cash for discretionary capex. As a REIT, Crown is required to distribute at least 90% of its REIT taxable income, after the use of any net operating losses. Capex was $874 million in 2016, of which approximately $90 million was for sustaining capex, with the balance discretionary in nature. Maturity Profile: Crown''s maturity profile over 2017 to 2019 has no significant maturities. Contact: Primary Analyst John C. Culver, CFA Senior Director +1-312-368-3216 Fitch Ratings, Inc. 70 W. Madison Street Chicago, IL 60602 Secondary Analyst Bill Densmore Senior Director +1-312-368-3125 Committee Chairperson Steven Marks Managing Director +1-212-908-9161 Media Relations: Sandro Scenga, New York, Tel: +1 212-908-0278, Email: sandro.scenga@fitchratings.com. Date of Relevant Rating Committee: Sept. 9, 2016. Additional information is available on www.fitchratings.com. Summary of Financial Statement Adjustments - Financial statement adjustments that depart materially from those contained in the published financial statements of the relevant rated entity or obligor are disclosed below: --Historical mandatory convertible preferred stock is given 100% equity credit. Applicable Criteria Corporate Rating Methodology - Including Short-Term Ratings and Parent and Subsidiary Linkage - Effective from 17 August 2015 to 27 September 2016 (pub. 17 Aug 2015) here Treatment and Notching of Hybrids in Non-Financial Corporate and REIT Credit Analysis (pub. 29 Feb 2016) here Additional Disclosures Solicitation Status here Endorsement Policy here ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: here . IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY''S PUBLIC WEB SITE AT WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA, AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH''S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE, AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE CODE OF CONDUCT SECTION OF THIS SITE. 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Due to the relative efficiency of electronic publishing and distribution, Fitch research may be available to electronic subscribers up to three days earlier than to print subscribers. For Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and South Korea only: Fitch Australia Pty Ltd holds an Australian financial services license (AFS license no. 337123) which authorizes it to provide credit ratings to wholesale clients only. Credit ratings information published by Fitch is not intended to be used by persons who are retail clients within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFit988220'|'2017-01-31T02:50:00.000+02:00' +'0399c4e8aa7d2414fe50495e3831f29bd42741e0'|'UniCredit investor Cariverona still undecided on cash call: source'|'Deals - Wed Jan 4, 2017 - 12:06pm EST UniCredit investor Cariverona still undecided on cash call: source The headquarters of UniCredit bank in Milan, Italy, February 8, 2016. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini MILAN The Cariverona foundation has still not made up its mind whether it will underwrite the 13 billion euro ($13.6 billion) rights issue of Italy''s UniCredit ( CRDI.MI ), a foundation source said on Wednesday. Italian daily Il Sole 24 Ore said on Wednesday leading UniCredit shareholders, including CariVerona which owns 2.7 percent of the bank, were all inclined to buy into the share sale to avoid a dilution of their stakes. "The governance structures of the Foundation are continuing to carefully look into all the aspects and developments of the UniCredit turnaround," the source said. In December, Italy''s biggest bank by assets said it planned to raise 13 billion euros ($13.6 billion) in the country''s biggest-ever share issue to shore up its balance sheet and shield itself from a broader banking crisis. (Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro, editing by Emilio Parodi, writing by Stephen Jewkes) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-banks-unicredit-cariverona-idUSKBN14O1R6'|'2017-01-05T00:06:00.000+02:00' +'c162a6f3f4f15b568babeae2d5ccbe2c0b7c485d'|'Barclays chairman says government supports 3-year post-Brexit transition'|'Davos 3:16am EST Barclays chairman says government supports three-year post-Brexit transition DAVOS Britain''s government is supportive of a three-year transition period for the financial sector after Britain exits the European Union, Barclays Chairman John McFarlane said on Thursday. "The government does [support it] because I think they understand the complexity of this," McFarlane told Reuters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. (Reporting By Carmel Crimmins, writing by Lawrence White) Next In Davos'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-davos-meeting-barclays-idUSKBN1530VG'|'2017-01-19T15:07:00.000+02:00' +'152266ee09db1df250baef2fe5f9c603e71c7664'|'Aetna and Humana CEOs consider all available options after court loss'|'NEW YORK The top executives of Aetna ( AET.N ) and Humana ( HUM.N ) on Tuesday issued a joint statement saying that they continue to believe in their $34 billion merger deal after a court ruled against it for antitrust reasons, and said that they would consider all available options.Aetna Chief Executive Officer Mark Bertolini and Humana Chief Executive Offer Bruce Broussard said We continue to believe a combined company will create access to higher-quality and more affordable care, and deliver a better overall experience for those we serve.(Reporting by Caroline Humer)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-humana-m-a-aetna-idUSKBN1581Z3'|'2017-01-24T17:38:00.000+02:00' +'6febc448d757fefe32297b096af946dafcbc692c'|'Japan''s Mitsubishi Regional Jet maker delays first delivery by two more years'|' 6:20am GMT Japan''s Mitsubishi Regional Jet maker delays first delivery by two more years An aerial view shows Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp''s Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) taking off for a test flight at Nagoya Airfield in Toyoyama town, Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, in this photo released by Kyodo November 11, 2015. REUTERS/Kyodo TOKYO Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp said on Monday deliveries of the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) will be delayed by another two years to adjust the aircraft''s systems and electrical configuration. The latest postponement, the fifth since the programme began, means the first customer, Japan''s ANA Holdings Inc, will not receive its first aircraft until mid-2020, the subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd said in a press release. The aircraft maker has so far secured 233 firm orders with a further 194 options. (Reporting by Tim Kelly and Maki Shiraki; Editing by Randy Fabi) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mhi-mrj-idUKKBN1570KC'|'2017-01-23T13:20:00.000+02:00' +'d01c63e07d5958a3fe38b12fb36137f6ee58c1ed'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX rises, led by energy and gold miners'|'Company News 33am EST CANADA STOCKS-TSX rises, led by energy and gold miners TORONTO Jan 17 Canada''s main stock index rose on Tuesday as higher commodity prices supported the shares of energy and gold mining companies. The Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index was up 19.01 points, or 0.12 percent, at 15,498.30, shortly after the open. Just four of the index''s 10 main groups were higher. (Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-open-idUSL1N1F70V9'|'2017-01-17T21:33:00.000+02:00' +'76bb846477966a3371b35f8302131576b996cd94'|'Fed''s Williams calls for further gradual U.S. rate hikes'|'Business News - Wed Jan 18, 2017 - 4:32am IST Fed''s Williams calls for further gradual U.S. rate hikes San Francisco Federal Reserve President John Williams speaks to Reuters in San Francisco, California, U.S. September 27, 2016. REUTERS/Stephen Lam SACRAMENTO San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams on Tuesday called for gradual U.S. interest-rate hikes over the next few years to keep the economy from overheating and ultimately falling into recession. With the unemployment rate at 4.7 percent, the U.S. economy has reached full employment, Williams said, adding that inflation is on track to reach the Fed''s 2-percent goal over the next couple of years. "Looking ahead, further gradual increases in the target fed funds rate will likely be appropriate to bring monetary policy back to a more normal setting consistent with an economy at full strength," Williams said in remarks prepared for delivery at Sacramento State University. "If we wait too long to remove monetary accommodation, we hazard allowing imbalances to grow, requiring us to play catch-up, and not leaving much room to maneuver." The Fed last month raised its target range for short-term interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, to 0.5 percent to 0.75 percent, and signaled it would probably raise rates three more times this year. Williams did not say in his prepared remarks how many rate hikes he would favor, nor did he address, as have several of his colleagues, the potential for fiscal policy under the incoming administration to speed growth, which could force the Fed to raise rates even faster. But Williams did warn against the dangers of pushing the economy beyond its natural potential growth rate, which these days he said is about 1.5 percent to 1.75 percent. Williams said he expects about that rate of growth this year and next, adding that faster growth risks too-high inflation, asset-market bubbles and, eventually, a correction. "In arguing for gradual increases in interest rates over the next few years, Im not aiming to stall the economic expansion. In fact, its just the opposite: My aim is to keep it on a sound footing," said Williams, who does not vote on policy this year but participates in the Fed''s regular rate-setting discussions. "I fear that if we allow the economy to overshoot this mark by too much, eventually we will need to reverse course to bring the economy back on track." (Reporting by Ann Saphir; editing by Diane Craft) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-williams-idINKBN15135T'|'2017-01-18T06:05:00.000+02:00' +'27dca027283c94b31528c772fda0fe778e7d3e4e'|'AT&T does not expect to seek FCC approval to buy Time Warner'|'WASHINGTON AT&T Inc said on Friday it expects to bypass a powerful telecommunications regulator in its planned $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc ( TWX.N ).Dallas-based AT&T said in a securities filing that it anticipates Time Warner will not need to transfer any of its FCC licenses to AT&T, which would likely mean the deal will only need the approval of the U.S. Justice Department. The deal faces hurdles including the fact that in October President-elect Donald Trump said he was opposed to the merger.(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-time-warner-m-a-at-t-idINKBN14Q1UE'|'2017-01-06T12:48:00.000+02:00' +'921fd760c8e750f18622618f79ea3b49b28310cc'|'China''s Lander Sports agrees to buy stake in Saints'|'Business News - 22am GMT China''s Lander Sports agrees to buy stake in Saints Britain Football Soccer - Liverpool v Southampton - EFL Cup Semi Final Second Leg - Anfield - 25/1/17 Southampton''s Shane Long scores their first goal Action Images via Reuters / Jason Cairnduff Livepic SHANGHAI Chinese stadium builder Lander Sports Development ( 000558.SZ ) said on Thursday that it has agreed to buy a stake in Southampton Football Club, making it the latest English Premier League team to do a deal with Chinese investors. Lander said in a statement to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange that it had signed an agreement with Southampton''s owner, Katharina Liebherr, to buy a stake in the soccer club''s holding company, without disclosing financial details. The size of the stake in the club, which on Wednesday night beat Liverpool to reach the final of England''s League Cup, was not known. Chinese entities and individuals have ploughed more than $3 billion (2.4 billion pounds) into overseas soccer investments over the past year or so, encouraged by avid fan President Xi Jinping who wants the country to become a soccer superpower. Currently placed 11th in the English Premier League, Southampton would join Aston Villa, West Bromwich Albion, Birmingham City and Wolverhampton Wanderers as English football clubs that now have Chinese investors. Shares in Lander, which builds stadiums and organises sporting competitions, have been suspended since Oct. 14. Reports of its interest in Southampton began swirling last year. (Reporting by Brenda Goh)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-china-southampton-idUKKBN15A0YE'|'2017-01-26T16:22:00.000+02:00' +'361d3e848980f3d1a69188b6d7859b4980f2b6c2'|'TABLE-Mesterhus heads list of Norway''s top house builders in 2016'|'Financials - Wed Jan 25, 2017 - 4:28am EST TABLE-Mesterhus heads list of Norway''s top house builders in 2016 OSLO, Jan 25 Norway''s top ten housing constructors in 2016, measured by the number of housing starts, according to the Norwegian Home Builders'' Association (NHBA): 2016 Company Housing starts Placement 2015 1. Mesterhus 1,270 2. 2. Byggman 1,206 5. 3. Blink Hus 1,188 4. 4. OBOS (ex. B.Watne) 1,140 1. 5. Nordbohus 1,133 3. 6. Systemhus 1,006 8. 7. Selvaag Bolig 902 7. 8. Norgeshus 824 6. 9. Boligpartner 746 10. 10. Block Watne (OBOS) 694 9. Full-year sales of new homes rose by 15 percent to 35,621 units, while housing starts were up 4 percent to 31,278 units, NHBA data showed. (Reporting by Camilla Knudsen, editing by Terje Solsvik) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/norway-housing-builders-idUSL5N1FE4D5'|'2017-01-25T16:28:00.000+02:00' +'924c751c23b5a4ddd9f397faffa502d50c2ef059'|'BP Whiting refinery operating normally after minor upset - source'|'Business News - Tue Jan 17, 2017 - 2:39pm GMT BP Whiting refinery operating normally after minor upset - source Spectators are seen reflected in a British Petroleum sponsors building in Olympic Park at the London 2012 Paralympic Games September 6, 2012. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo HOUSTON BP Plc''s ( BP.L ) 413,500 barrel per day (bpd) Whiting, Indiana, refinery was operating normally on Tuesday following a minor upset, said a source familiar with plant operations. Energy industry intelligence service Genscape said the Whiting refinery used its safety flare system for about 15 minutes early on Tuesday morning. (Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-refinery-operations-bp-idUKKBN15122W'|'2017-01-17T21:39:00.000+02:00' +'130abd57767a3ce13351dacce523eac92066129e'|'SEC charges two former Och-Ziff executives in corruption case'|'WASHINGTON The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Thursday it charged two former executives at Och-Ziff Capital Management Group ( OZM.N ) with masterminding a far-reaching bribery scheme that violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).The SEC said in a statement that the complaint filed on Thursday alleges that Michael Cohen, who headed Och-Ziffs European office, and an investment executive on Africa-related deals, Vanja Baros, caused tens of millions of dollars in bribes to be paid to high-level government officials in Africa.Och-Ziff and two other executives previously settled charges against them in the case, the statement said.(Reporting by Eric Walsh; Editing by David Alexander)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sec-och-ziff-capital-idUSKBN15A29Z'|'2017-01-26T19:39:00.000+02:00' +'4b279906f6ee009d941d9313ad26342cb7ab417f'|'Trump threatens German carmakers with 35 pct U.S. import tariff'|' 9:18am GMT Trump threatens German carmakers with 35 pct U.S. import tariff left right FILE PHOTO - A U.S. flag flutters in the wind above a Volkswagen dealership in Carlsbad, California, U.S. May 2, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo 1/2 left right View of a BMW logo on a wheel at the Mondial de l''Automobile, Paris auto show, during media day in Paris, September 30, 2016. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen 2/2 FRANKFURT Shares in German carmakers BMW ( BMWG.DE ), Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ) and Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) fell after United States President-elect Donald Trump warned he will impose a border tax of 35 percent on vehicles imported from abroad to the U.S. market. All three carmakers have invested heavily in factories in Mexico, where production costs are lower than the United States, with an eye to exporting smaller vehicles to the U.S. market. In an interview with German newspaper Bild, published on Monday, Trump sharply criticised the German carmakers for failing to produce more cars on U.S. soil. [nL5N1F50TJ] "If you want to build cars in the world, then I wish you all the best. You can build cars for the United States, but for every car that comes to the USA, you will pay 35 percent tax," Trump said in remarks that were translated into German. "I would tell BMW that if you are building a factory in Mexico and plan to sell cars to the USA, without a 35 percent tax, then you can forget that," Trump said, adding that carmakers will instead have to build plants in the United States. Mercedes-Benz and BMW already have sizeable factories in the United States where they build higher-margin sports utility vehicles (SUVs). BMW shares were down 0.85 percent, shares in Daimler were 1.54 percent lower and Volkswagen shares were trading 1.07 percent lower shortly in early trading in Frankfurt. A BMW spokeswoman said a BMW Group plant in the central Mexican city of San Luis Potosi would build the BMW 3 Series starting from 2019, with the output intended for the world market. The plant in Mexico would be an addition to existing 3 Series production facilities in Germany and China. In June last year, BMW broke ground on the plant, pledging to invest $2.2 billion in Mexico by 2019 for annual production of 150,000 cars. [nL1N1981CK] Daimler has said it plans to begin assembling Mercedes-Benz vehicles in 2018 from a $1 billion facility shared with Renault-Nissan ( RENA.PA ) ( 7201.T ) in Aguascalientes in Mexico. Daimler was not immediately available for comment. Last year VW''s Audi division inaugurated a $1.3 billion production facility with 150,000 vehicle production capacity near Puebla, Mexico. Audi said it will build electric and petrol Q5 SUVs in Mexico. [nL1N1972AM] Audi was not immediately reachable for comment. Trump went on to say Germany was a great car producer, noting that Mercedes-Benz cars were a frequent sight in New York, but claimed there was not enough reciprocity. Germans were not buying Chevrolets at the same rate, he said, calling the business relationship an unfair one-way street. Chevrolet sales have fallen sharply in Europe since parent company General Motors ( GM.N ) in 2013 said it will drop the Chevrolet brand in Europe by the end of 2015. Since then, GM has focused instead on promoting its Opel and Vauxhall marques. (Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Keith Weir) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-germany-autos-idUKKBN1500VS'|'2017-01-16T16:18:00.000+02:00' +'527fe387497073620ad413c4fc993fbf50da0839'|'Nikkei hits near 3-wk high on Wall Street gains; financials up'|'Company News 1:08am EST Nikkei hits near 3-wk high on Wall Street gains; financials up TOKYO Jan 26 Japan''s Nikkei share average surged to a near three-week high on Thursday tracking strength in Wall Street, while financial stocks were in demand after U.S. yields rose. The Nikkei gained 1.8 percent to 19,402.39, the highest closing level since Jan. 6. The broader Topix gained 1.5 percent to 1,545.01 and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 advanced 1.6 percent to 13,859.63. (Reporting by Ayai Tomisawa; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-close-idUSL4N1FG26Q'|'2017-01-26T13:08:00.000+02:00' +'8039adfa1457fc67d4e8158123f5697790845084'|'Nissan''s premium brand Infiniti sells 230,000 vehicles in 2016'|'Business News 12am GMT Nissan''s premium brand Infiniti sells 230,000 vehicles in 2016 Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO of Nissan, introduces the 2017 Infiniti Q60 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, January 11, 2016. REUTERS/Gary Cameron Nissan Motor''s ( 7201.T ) premium brand Infiniti sold more than 230,000 vehicles globally in 2016, a 7 percent annual rise, Infiniti said on Wednesday, a record year for a marque that trails rivals in the increasingly crowded premium market. The brand distantly lags German luxury competitors like BMW AG ( BMWG.DE ), which can sell almost as many vehicles in a single month, and second-tier luxury leaders like Toyota''s ( 7203.T ) Lexus, which sells at least twice as many cars each year. Infiniti annual sales grew 4 percent year-on-year in the United States, its largest market, to more than 138,300, while China sales rose 3 percent to 41,590. In December, Infiniti sold 27,200 vehicles globally. (Reporting by Jake Spring in BEIJING; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-nissan-infiniti-sales-idUKKBN14O0X7'|'2017-01-04T17:12:00.000+02:00' +'7a8009603172953d687b8fd129baf14113636dd3'|'LPC-Banks line up approx 630m debt for Allfunds sale'|'Big Story 10 36am EST LPC: Banks line up approx 630million debt for Allfunds sale By Claire Ruckin - LONDON LONDON Banks have committed up to 630m of debt financing to back a potential sale of Allfunds Bank mutual fund platform owned by Santander Asset Management and Intesa Sanpaolo as interested buyers get shortlisted, banking sources said. Santander Asset Management and Intesa, which own 50% each of the Madrid-based firm, have decided to sell their shares, hiring Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley to advise on the process, which is being carried out as a competitive auction, the sources said. BAML and Morgan Stanley have provided a staple financing totaling around 630m, which equates to roughly 5.5x Allfunds approximate 115m Ebitda, the sources said. The staple financing is made up of an all-senior high-yield bond financing. Private equity firms Bain Capital and Advent, Hellman & Friedman as well as Permira are thought to have made it through to the second round of the bidding process, alongside Chinas Legend Holding, after first round bids were submitted on January 13, the sources said. Bain and Advent have often teamed up over the years to secure joint control of several European financial services and payment firms, most recently Concardis. Prior tie-ups resulted in the acquisitions of Worldpay and Nets, which both listed on European stock markets, as well as Italy''s Istituto Centrale delle Banche Popolari (ICBPI). The staple financing is similar to the ICBPI debt financing, one of the sources said. Private equity firms Bain Capital and Permira and SAM declined to comment. Advent, Hellman & Friedman, Legend Holding, Allfunds Bank, Grupo Santander and Intesa were not immediately available to comment. Mid-sized asset managers appeal to private equity investors as they generate stable returns and offer scope for growth over a three- to five-year period. Established in 2000 to provide access to open architecture investment funds market, Allfunds has more than 200bn of assets under management. It offers more than 47,000 funds and has an extensive network of more than 503 clients including commercial and private banks, fund managers and insurers. (Editing by Christopher Mangham)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-allfunds-loans-idUSKBN15824H'|'2017-01-24T22:35:00.000+02:00' +'edcdd42af996eda1afdd050430f65e04875d2a95'|'Bitcoin plunges by a fifth'|'Business 7:18pm IST Bitcoin plunges by a fifth A sticker reading ''''Bitcoin accepted here'''' is displayed at the entrance of the Stadthaus town hall in Zug, Switzerland, August 30, 2016. Picture taken August 30, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann LONDON Digital currency bitcoin fell more than 20 percent in the space of four hours of trading on Thursday, putting it on track for its worst daily performance in nearly two years. The web-based "cryptocurrency" had been on a tear for the two previous weeks, gaining more than 40 percent to hit a three-year high of $1,139.89 on Wednesday, just shy of an all-time high of $1,163 on the Europe-based Bitstamp exchange BTC=BTSP . But it dived from around $1.1130 to a low of $885 in between 0925 and 1325 GMT (8:25 a.m. ET) on Thursday, leaving it at its weakest since Dec. 25. (Reporting by Jemima Kelly, Editing by Vikram Subhedar) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-bitcoin-idINKBN14P1ID'|'2017-01-05T20:33:00.000+02:00' +'f8ed62b9cd2bbd516429dc28dce5a2501904b65c'|'European shares lower as UBS weighs on banks; Tesco surges'|'Hot Stocks 12:13pm EST European shares lower as UBS weighs on banks; Tesco surges * STOXX 600 down 0.3 pct, weighed down by banks * Swiss bank UBS drops after underwhelming results * Tesco rallies on Booker acquisition * Index posts weekly gain on M&A, earnings, Trump boost (Updates prices at close) By Kit Rees and Danilo Masoni MILAN, Jan 27 European shares pulled back on Friday with UBS dragging bank stocks lower after posting a drop in full-year profit, while Britain''s biggest supermarket Tesco surged after a 3.7 billion-pound takeover deal to buy a supplier. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.3 percent at its close, while the UK''s FTSE 100 rose 0.3 percent, supported by Tesco, which soared 9.3 percent after agreeing to buy wholesale supplier Booker in a deal that cements its dominant position in the UK. Booker shares hit a record high and were the top STOXX gainer, up almost 16 percent. "At first glance Tesco''s merger with Booker makes perfect sense. Tie up the end-to-end wholesale/retail business and make savings in the process," said ETX Capital analyst Neil Wilson. Investors also cheered the news that the UK supermarket expects to restart paying dividends again. UBS, however, fell 4.5 percent. The world''s biggest wealth manager posted a 47 percent fall in 2016 net profit but struck a more optimistic tone for 2017 as its fourth-quarter net profit came in well ahead of market expectations. Baader Helvea analyst Tomasz Grzelak said UBS delivered a solid update thanks to very strong investment banking results, but outflows at its wealth management operations disappointed. "Considering that the ... negatives are to be seen as phasing out in 2017, the results support our buy rating," he added. Losses in UBS helped drag Europe''s bank index down 0.8 percent, to be among the weakest sectors. UniCredit fell 5.2 percent after a report said the Italian lender may start its multi-billion-euro capital hike on Feb. 6. In spite of Friday''s weakness, the STOXX 600 remains close to its highest level in more than one year and ended the week with a gain of around 1 percent. The surge reflects support from merger and acquisition activity, optimism over U.S. President Donald Trump''s growth-boosting policies and a good start to the earnings season. According to JP Morgan, 59 percent of the STOXX companies that have reported so far beat earnings per share estimates, with growth running at 11 percent year-on-year, while more than two thirds beat revenue forecasts. Among other positive updates on Friday, Finnish ship engine and power plant maker Wartsila climbed 7.2 percent, buoyed by stronger than expected results. Among the biggest losers of the day was online lottery firm Zeal Network. Its shares tumbled more than 24 percent with traders citing disappointment over its dividend plans and a below-consensus guidance. (Reporting by Kit Rees and Danilo Masoni; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle) Next In Hot Stocks'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/europe-stocks-idUSL5N1FH4XB'|'2017-01-28T00:13:00.000+02:00' +'5c7b784a2a860c6224a1b975e2e0ed9699fb1b4b'|'UPDATE 1-Louis Dreyfus revives shelved euro bond plans'|'(Adds investor and banker comments, expected timing)By Laura BenitezLONDON, Jan 30 (IFR) - Commodity trader Louis Dreyfus will test investor appetite for riskier debt this week, after its previous plans were thwarted by torrid market conditions and soaring funding costs.The unrated borrower is expected to issue a 300m five-year deal as soon as tomorrow, a lead banker said, following an investor call on Monday via BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, Credit Suisse and HSBC.Soaring funding costs and a challenging backdrop soured the firm''s hopes of selling a bond last year, forcing it to shelve a trade in November.One investor expects the deal to price around 4%, based on the company''s existing bonds and CDS.That would be a marked improvement from the feedback of mid to high 4% that investors gave to lead banks last year. Then, one account expected it to price with an even higher yield of 5%."They should achieve a better cost of funding this time around, but they have to be careful not to push pricing too far. It would be really detrimental to have to pull two deals," one investor looking at the deal said."Their secondaries have improved a lot now, whereas before their bonds were offered only. But that said, it''s a tricky credit and not many accounts can even consider it. I suspect high yield accounts won''t look at it."Its 4% Apr 2020s were bid at 2.83% on Monday morning, having been Quote: d at 4.1% in late November, according to Tradeweb.The company is struggling with ample supply of commodities, lower prices and slower economic growth. Investor concerns last time around centred on struggling operating profits and deteriorating leverage."Louis Dreyfus is a privately-held commodities company without a credit rating, so the trade is not for everyone," a banker on the deal said."But there is a new CFO which will hopefully give investors a roadmap for the future," he added.The commodity trader, controlled by Margarita Louis-Dreyfus through the Akira family trust set up by her late husband Robert, appointed a new CFO in December.Armand Lumens, previously at Royal Dutch Shell, became the latest in a series of leadership changes. (Reporting By Laura Benitez, Editing by Sudip Roy and Julian Baker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/louis-dryfs-com-bond-idUSL5N1FK2KK'|'2017-01-30T16:34:00.000+02:00' +'6cfd44a1e91e26e2fa4bb635d42e1aead4c2c0f2'|'Indonesia''s c.bank holds key rate, guards against global risks'|'Financials - Thu Jan 19, 2017 - 4:22am EST Indonesia''s c.bank holds key rate, guards against global risks JAKARTA Jan 19 Indonesia''s central bank on Thursday held its benchmark interest rate unchanged, as expected, saying it is guarding against global risks and rising utility prices at home. Bank Indonesia (BI) left the 7-day reverse repurchase rate unchanged at 4.75 percent, as all 22 analysts in a Reuters poll had predicted. The central bank also held steady the two other rates, which act as the floor and ceiling of the overnight interbank money market, at 4.00 percent and 5.50 percent, respectively. BI trimmed its benchmark six times during January-October 2016 by a total of 150 basis points, trying to spur bank lending and aid economic growth. Last year, BI switched its main policy rate to enhance the effect of monetary easing on market rates. Until August, BI''s main policy rate was the 12-month reference rate. KEY DATA: Announcement date Rate (percent)*'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/indonesia-economy-rates-idUSJ9N1D100P'|'2017-01-19T16:22:00.000+02:00' +'a8a12979a5ae58ad241b02935dfcd509e7f1cf4d'|'UBS plans to raise stake in China securities JV to 49 percent: sources'|'HONG KONG UBS Group AG ( UBSG.S ) plans to raise its stake in its Chinese securities joint venture to 49 percent from about 25 percent, sources with direct knowledge of the development said on Monday.China allowed foreign banks to boost shareholdings in securities joint ventures to a maximum 49 percent in 2012 from the previous cap of a third to help modernize the country''s capital markets and boost capital flows into the country.But foreign investments banks with securities joint ventures in China have not as yet raised their stakes as most of the ventures were small or struggling to break even due to sluggish onshore deals.News of the UBS stake increase plan was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.A spokesman for UBS declined to comment.(Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee, Elzio Barreto and Julie Zhu; Editing by Stephen Coates)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-ubs-group-china-jointventure-idINKBN14T026'|'2017-01-08T22:15:00.000+02:00' +'91ee327cc472b14dd5e2306dc238c95fa30f8d93'|'Shell bolsters offshore wind interests with bid in U.S. tender'|'Business News - Wed Jan 18, 2017 - 5:54pm GMT Shell bolsters offshore wind interests with bid in U.S. tender The logo of Royal Dutch Shell plc is shown on a monitor above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, December 30, 2015. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson LONDON Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) has been shortlisted by the U.S. government to make a bid for an offshore wind project licence in the waters off North Carolina, as it comes under pressure from shareholders to diversify into green energy. Shell, as well as Norway''s Statoil ( STL.OL ), qualified to participate in the upcoming leasing round offshore Kitty Hawk, the U.S. interior ministry said on Tuesday. The lease award is set for March 16. Shell''s core business of producing oil and gas is reeling after more than two years of weak prices. The company has limited experience in building offshore wind farms but last month won a bid to build a 700-megawatt offshore wind farm in the Netherlands, together with more experienced partners. Statoil is also increasing its presence in the sector and last month secured a lease to build a wind farm offshore New York. Energy companies Avangrid Inc ( AGR.N ) and Enbridge Inc ( ENB.TO ) were also among the shortlisted firms. (Reporting by Karolin Schaps; editing by Susan Thomas) Next In Business News HSBC, UBS to shift 1,000 jobs each from UK in Brexit blow to London DAVOS, Switzerland Two of Europe''s biggest banks warned on Wednesday they could each move around 1,000 jobs out of London, in the clearest sign yet of how financial firms are preparing for disruption caused by Britain''s exit from the European Union.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-shell-renewables-usa-idUKKBN1522M5'|'2017-01-19T00:54:00.000+02:00' +'963e82e1727dddec4e94e38c57d845a55ef85e63'|'Japan steel industry fears protectionism from Trump: industry official'|'TOKYO Japan''s steel industry is concerned over the risks of a U.S. exit from the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal and reform of the North American Free Trade Agreement by the incoming Trump administration, a Japanese industry official said on Friday."We are worried about the risks of the Trump administration taking protectionism actions or policies," Kosei Shindo, chairman of the Japan Iron and Steel Federation, told a news conference.Shindo is also president of Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp ( 5401.T ), Japan''s biggest steelmaker.(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Tom Hogue)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-japan-steel-trump-idINKBN1540KM'|'2017-01-20T03:42:00.000+02:00' +'49615918b39d2b7b1e949ab73a723d692dbbe23a'|'MOVES-Dubai''s Network International appoints new CEO'|'Funds News - Sun Jan 8, 2017 - 6:43am EST MOVES-Dubai''s Network International appoints new CEO DUBAI Jan 8 Network International, the largest payment processing firm across the Middle East and Africa, has appointed Simon Haslam as chief executive, it said on Sunday. Haslam, who was previously the president and chief executive of U.S.-based Elavon, succeeds Bhairav Trivedi, who will continue to serve as an adviser to the Network International board and also work on special projects for the firm during the transition period. The Dubai-based company is jointly owned by Emirates NBD , Dubai''s largest bank, and private equity firms, Warburg Pincus and General Atlantic. (Reporting by Tom Arnold; Editing by Mark Potter) Next In Funds News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/network-international-moves-idUSD5N1EF00B'|'2017-01-08T18:43:00.000+02:00' +'cec93d52f70e2377c21b176a0cd2b171396d7c50'|'Vodafone-Idea deal could speed up India telecoms consolidation'|'Technology News - Tue Jan 31, 2017 - 11:32am GMT Vodafone-Idea deal could speed up India telecoms consolidation FILE PHOTO: A man casts silhouette onto an electronic screen displaying logo of Vodafone India after a news conference to announce the half year results in Mumbai, India, November 10, 2015. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade/File Photo By Sankalp Phartiyal and Devidutta Tripathy - MUMBAI MUMBAI A proposed merger between Vodafone''s ( VOD.L ) India operation and Idea Cellular ( IDEA.NS ) would create a market leader in India''s crowded and hyper-competitive telecoms sector, forcing smaller players into two likely options: merge or exit altogether. Britain''s Vodafone confirmed on Monday it was in talks to merge its Indian subsidiary with its local rival in an all-share deal, driving Idea''s shares to a near six-month high on Tuesday. The combined entity would be a formidable player, with a subscriber base of about 395 million and a revenue market share of around 40 percent in the country''s telecoms sector, although divestments would be needed in certain regions to comply with competition rules, analysts said. Both complement each other. Idea is stronger in rural areas and Vodafone''s Indian unit is more competitive in cities, and they would be able to cut costs mainly through reduced capital spending and network operating costs, analysts added. That synergy would pose a direct threat to current market leader Bharti Airtel ( BRTI.NS ) and Reliance Jio, the upstart launched by billionaire Mukesh Ambani last year that has up-ended India''s telecoms market with free voice and data until the end of March. That kind of intensifying competition would raise the stakes for India''s smaller wireless providers, with analysts predicting a period of consolidation to allow them to better compete against the top three players. The stakes would be especially high for small players such as Telenor ( TEL.OL ) or Tata Teleservices ( TTML.NS ). Videocon Telecom, for example, is already in the process of exiting. "If data (from Jio) is free and the likes of Bharti, Vodafone and Idea have a huge post-paid subscriber base and good products, I wouldn''t be surprised if there is further consolidation in the sector or some smaller players exit," said Naveen Kulkarni, co-head of research at PhillipCapital. Jio''s entry has forced players to offer cheaper plans of their own, cutting deeply into their profits. Deals are already in the works. Reliance Communications ( RLCM.NS ), controlled by Anil Ambani, has agreed to acquire Sistema''s ( SSAq.L ) Indian mobile phone operations. It has also agreed to combine its wireless business with Aircel, majority owned by Malaysia''s Maxis. Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel is in talks to acquire Telenor''s Indian operations, local media has widely reported. Bharti Airtel welcomed the proposed alliance between Vodafone and Idea, saying "consolidation is always good", although it said companies must not be forced into consolidation by an "unfair playing field". But mergers won''t guarantee success in India''s telecoms sector, analysts warned. India remains a capital-intensive market. Spectrum costs are high and big investments in network are needed to cover a vast geography. At the same time margins are wafer-thin, as carriers offer one of the world''s cheapest data and voice prices. "If it eventually becomes a market of three players, good for them. They will make money," said a banker who is not involved in the deal and did not wish to be named. "I don''t see any future for the small ones. They will be taken over or will exit the market." (Writing by Rafael Nam; Editing by Adrian Croft) Next In Technology News Canon unlikely to help Toshiba with investment in memory chip business TOKYO Japan''s Canon Inc said would be difficult to invest in Toshiba Corp''s memory chip business, dousing hopes that the struggling conglomerate could count on its business partner for help as it scrambles for funds to offset a multi-billion dollar writedown. Canada''s Wealthsimple takes on crowded U.S. robo-adviser market TORONTO Wealthsimple, a Canadian-based robo-adviser startup, announced a C$20 million ($15.25 million) investment from Power Financial Corp, and formally launched in the United States on Tuesday, as it looks to compete in a crowded American market dominated by big investment firms. TOKYO Japanese camera and printer maker Canon Inc forecast full-year operating profit to climb 11.4 percent, its first rise in three years, bolstered by earnings from a medical equipment unit it bought from Toshiba Corp last year. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-vodafone-m-a-idea-cellular-idUKKBN15F17U'|'2017-01-31T18:28:00.000+02:00' +'9e1a70a7c07dabb922dbebe36fcb63cdedc0ca45'|'UPDATE 1-HKEX plans to launch iron ore contract this year'|' 39am EST UPDATE 1-HKEX plans to launch iron ore contract this year (Updates with details throughout) HONG KONG Jan 19 The Hong Kong stock exchange plans to launch a U.S. dollar-denominated, cash-settled iron ore futures contract in Hong Kong this year, it said on Thursday, as the bourse aims to compete with U.S. and Asian rivals. The iron ore contract would be linked to an index, and the launch is subject to regulatory approval, the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEX) said in a statement. It also said it is considering listing a hot-rolled coil steel product on the London Metal Exchange. The exchange said it was keen to build on the success of the LME''s steel scrap and rebar contracts since they have grown in volume. The exchange said it is continuing to seek all the necessary approvals to operate its spot commodities trading platform in Qianhai, the free trade zone in the city of Shenzhen, just north of Hong Kong. "Once the Qianhai platform is up and running, we will look at ways to connect it with the LME, to provide new opportunities to players active in both the mainland''s domestic markets and international markets," it said. It said it had largely completed development of IT systems, had started internal testing and was in talks with "leading warehouse companies on the mainland about potential partnerships". It expects to launch the platform this year, it added. (Reporting by Michelle Price in HONG KONG and Melanie Burton in SYDNEY; Writing by Josephine Mason in BEIJING; Editing by Tom Hogue and Clarence Fernandez) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/hkex-lme-iron-ore-idUSL4N1F92O1'|'2017-01-19T14:39:00.000+02:00' +'878b7422379d3ec7950cb2ae4e7570506b2d6860'|'BRIEF-POET Technologies streamlines organization and makes key appointments'|' 6:01pm EST BRIEF-POET Technologies streamlines organization and makes key appointments Jan 16 POET Technologies Inc * POET Technologies streamlines organization and makes key appointments * Chief operating officer Subhash Deshmukh resigned effective January 13, 2017 * POET Technologies says effective January 13, position of corporate chief technology officer previously held by Daniel Desimone, has been eliminated * POET Technologies says formally dissolving company''s technology roadmap advisory board '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1F60KN'|'2017-01-17T06:01:00.000+02:00' +'7ea922d5dc5873f1ca80934939392083235ccce6'|'Bank of Cyprus emergency funding repaid'|'Financials 34am EST Bank of Cyprus emergency funding repaid * ELA funding was legacy of Cyprus financial crisis * Bank has repaid 11.4 billion euros in total ATHENS Jan 5 Bank of Cyprus, which was forced to recapitalise by seizing customer savings in 2013, said on Thursday that it has fully repaid emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) to the island''s central bank. The lender said it had repaid 11.4 billion euros in total. Most of it was a legacy of Laiki, a lender that was shut down during the financial crisis that gripped Cyprus in March 2013. Both banks switched to using ELA provided by the Cypriot central bank in 2012 and 2013 after being cut off from the European Central Bank''s funding window. Under terms of a 10 billion euro EU/IMF bailout for Cyprus, Bank of Cyprus was forced to acquire operations of Laiki, including its ELA debt, and convert into equity a portion of deposits held by its own clients to recapitalise the lender. Bank of Cyprus has undertaken extensive deleveraging of non-core assets since 2013 and successfully raised equity in 2014 as it sought to shore up its finances. The last outstanding ELA debt was repaid on Thursday, the bank said in a statement, adding that had repaid 3.8 billion euros of ELA during 2016 and early 2017. "This should further strengthen stakeholders'' confidence that the bank is becoming a stronger, safer and a more focused institution capable of delivering appropriate shareholder returns over the medium term," Bank of Cyprus Chief Executive John Patrick Hourican said in a statement. (Reporting by Michele Kambas; Editing by David Goodman) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/bankofcyprus-debt-idUSL5N1EV2HC'|'2017-01-05T19:34:00.000+02:00' +'d07239594f9747d276516797abd53b095ab55c0b'|'SE Asia Stocks-Choppy; Philippine index extends losses for 3rd day'|'Financials - Fri Jan 13, 2017 - 12:15am EST SE Asia Stocks-Choppy; Philippine index extends losses for 3rd day By Sandhya Sampath Jan 13 Southeast Asian stock markets, except Singapore, were subdued in thin trade on Friday as investors paused to reflect on U.S. President-elect Donald Trump''s failure to elaborate on stimulus plans in his first news conference since his election victory. In Asia, shares dipped and the dollar was poised for a losing week after hitting a five-week low in the previous session, while overnight on Wall Street major indexes finished lower as investors weighed whether Trump would stress growth-boosting steps when he takes office. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.2 percent after rising to its highest levels since late October in the previous session. "Markets are pretty choppy because there is still uncertainty related to how Trump is going to manoeuvre his economic policies," Taye Shim, research head at KDB Daewoo Indonesia said. Investors also shrugged off China trade data that showed imports beating forecasts slightly on strong demand for commodities, while exports fell more-than-expected. China, the world''s largest trading nation, could be heavily exposed to protectionist measures this year if Trump follows through on campaign pledges to brand it a currency manipulator and impose heavy tariffs on imports of Chinese goods. In Southeast Asia, the Philippine index dipped 0.3 percent, extending losses to a third straight session, dragged down by financials and telecom services. Property developer SM Prime Holdings Inc was down as much as 2 percent, while telecom services provider PLDT Inc fell as much as 2.5 percent. Malaysia fell 0.2 percent, snapping three sessions of gains, led lower by consumer staples and utilities. British American Tobacco Malaysia Bhd, the biggest drag on the index, lost as much as 4.8 percent, while infrastructure conglomerate YTL Corporation Bhd fell as much as 1.3 percent. Bucking the trend, Singapore gained 0.6 pct, aided by financials and industrials. DBS Group Holdings Ltd rose as much as 0.8 percent, while industrial conglomerate Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd climbed as much as 1.7 percent. "Singapore is just following the trend of some Asian markets like Hong Kong and Japan," said Manny Cruz, an analyst with Manila-based Asiasec Equities Inc. Hong Kong''s Hang Seng index was up 0.4 percent, while Japan''s Nikkei index was trading 0.7 percent higher as of 0505 GMT. For Asian Companies click; SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS (Change at 0420 GMT) STOCK MARKETS Market Current Previous close Pct Move Singapore 3009.4 2993 0.55 Bangkok 1570.06 1568.84 0.08 Manila 7241.17 7264.55 -0.32 Jakarta 5298.074 5292.75 0.10 Kuala Lumpur 1674.99 1677.76 -0.17 Ho Chi Minh 687.08 686.96 0.02 Change this year Market Current End 2016 Pct Move Singapore 3009.4 2880.76 4.47 Bangkok 1570.06 1542.94 1.76 Manila 7241.17 6840.64 5.9 Jakarta 5298.074 5296.711 0.03 Kuala Lumpur 1674.99 1641.73 2.03 Ho Chi Minh 687.08 664.87 3.3 (Reporting by Sandhya Sampath; Additional reporting by Susan Mathew; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath) Next In Financials China''s money rates mixed, traders eye on MLF loans rollover SHANGHAI, Jan 13 China''s primary money rates were mixed for the week, and there were few signs of liquidity tightness after the central bank injected funds, though traders expected cash to be sucked out of the market in coming days as firms prepare to pay taxes and demand for cash rises ahead of the Lunar Bew Year holiday. Liquidity conditions were largely balanced this week, mainly due to support from the central bank through open market operations, traders said. Hopes for a rol'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/southeast-asia-stocks-idUSL4N1F3254'|'2017-01-13T12:15:00.000+02:00' +'12d8cab00eb3059ef710bcd38a2fcffa3b8b2629'|'Hormel stops operations at supplier farm after video shows animal abuse'|'Business News - Tue Jan 31, 2017 - 4:20pm EST Hormel stops operations at supplier farm after video shows animal abuse A package of Applegate Farms organic sausage is shown in this illustration photograph in Encinitas, California August 20, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Blake Packaged foods maker Hormel Foods Corp ( HRL.N ) said on Tuesday that it had suspended operations at one its pork suppliers in Oklahoma until it investigates claims that pigs were being abused at the farm. Animal rights group Mercy for Animals released a video last week that showed large number of pigs and piglets constrained in small spaces, being treated cruelly and left to suffer from injuries and illnesses without veterinary care. The video, which is 2 minutes and 26 seconds long and is available on YouTube and on Mercy for Animals'' website, was part of the group''s undercover investigation at the Maschhoffs farm. Hormel said it would send third-party auditors to investigate the claims made in the video. "We have issued a suspension of all the Maschhoffs, LLC Oklahoma sow operations while a thorough investigation is completed", Hormel said. The Maschhoffs farm said in a statement that they had begun their own investigation into the events depicted in the video, and that they would re-train all employees in Oklahoma on proper production procedures. This is not the first instance that an animal activist group has released a video showing animals being treated cruelly at a Hormel supplier. In 2015, Compassion Over Killing released a video showing workers at a Quality Pork Processors Inc plant beating, dragging and slitting the throats of live animals. Hormel also said on Tuesday that its company-owned farm will be gestation crate free in the next 30 days. (Reporting by Sangameswaran S in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-hormel-foods-livestock-abuse-idUSKBN15F2MW'|'2017-02-01T04:20:00.000+02:00' +'bebc80b78661bdbc37ad08f20f89598450d06be7'|'China''s Yuexiu Group signs debt-to-equity swap agreement with ICBC'|'Private Equity - Mon Jan 9, 2017 - 5:06am EST China''s Yuexiu Group signs debt-to-equity swap agreement with ICBC BEIJING Jan 9 China''s state-owned Yuexiu Group has signed a framework debt-to-equity swap agreement with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), according to a statement posted by the lender on its official website on Monday. China has sought to revive its lumbering state-owned firms that have been dogged by inefficiencies and oversupply as economic growth slows. China''s largest lender said it will help Yuexiu Group, which counts Yuexiu Property and Yuexiu Real Estate Investment Trust among its subsidiaries, to optimize its financial structure. ICBC said debt-to-equity swaps can help reduce corporate financial leverage, improve corporate governance and enhance long-term development. The bank did not disclose how much it will invest in the swap. In December, ICBC signed debt-for-equity swaps with Taiyuan Iron & Steel (Group), Datong Coal Mine Group and Yangquan Coal Industry (Group). (Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk and Engen Tham in Shanghai; Editing by Himani Sarkar) Next In Private Equity'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/china-debt-swap-guangzhouyuexiu-idUSL4N1EZ2ST'|'2017-01-09T17:06:00.000+02:00' +'cf1c7c00f8a5ed6c3b5d0a1826978172bf629325'|'FTSE extends losses ahead of May speech, Europe lower too'|'Market News - Tue Jan 17, 2017 - 3:37am EST FTSE extends losses ahead of May speech, Europe lower too LONDON Jan 17 European shares fell on Tuesday, weighed by miners and autos, as markets awaited details of Britain''s Brexit position in a late morning speech by Prime Minister Theresa May. The pan-European STOXX index was down 0.5 percent, and Britain''s blue-chip FTSE extended its losses, down 0.4 percent. Fears that Britain is heading for a "hard" Brexit were reinforced over the past week pushing the pound to some of the lowest levels against the U.S. dollar seen in more than three decades. Britain will not seek a Brexit deal that leaves it "half in, half out" of the European Union, British PM May will say on Tuesday, according to her office, in a speech setting out her 12 priorities for upcoming divorce talks with the bloc. British aero-engine maker Rolls-Royce was a top European gainer in the index after it settled a long-running bribery probe and said its 2016 profit would beat expectations. Shares in German fashion retailer Zalando slumped down 6.5 percent, the top European faller, after its sales growth disappointed expectations. Swiss chocolate maker Lindt saw its shares gain 3.1 percent after it succeeded in growing sales in Europe, Japan and Brazil, facing headwinds of low consumer confidence. Basic resources stocks were the biggest sectoral fallers, down 1.1 percent, weighed by lower metals prices. Anglo American , BHP Billiton and Antofagasta were down 1.6 to 1.8 percent. Mediaset was down 3.8 percent after a report, without citing sources, said a potential takeover offer for the Italian broadcaster by France''s Vivendi would not be ''judicially acceptable'' for Italian communications authority AGCOM. (Reporting by Helen Reid, Editing by Vikram Subhedar) Next In Market News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/mergersNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/europe-stocks-idUSL5N1F71GH'|'2017-01-17T15:37:00.000+02:00' +'dc889cc78522a48fe3caa7c8118443f6e5726f80'|'Fitch: Risks to Indian Homebuilders Rise; Sales to Fall in 2017'|'Financials 1:03am EST Fitch: Risks to Indian Homebuilders Rise; Sales to Fall in 2017 (The following statement was released by the rating agency) SINGAPORE/MUMBAI, January 25 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings expects property sales in India to fall by at least 20%-30% in 2017, owing to disruption caused by demonetisation and general caution on the part of buyers. Homebuilders already have high levels of unsold inventory and are likely to cut selling prices as demand weakens. We expect risks to homebuilders to rise further this year, with leverage likely to increase and liquidity to tighten. Homebuilders with access to diversified funding channels are likely to be more insulated from the downturn. We expect home prices to decline this year because demand for residential property has weakened significantly in 4Q16, following the demonetisation of large denomination notes in November last year. Demonetisation has made it harder for home buyers to use undeclared wealth for property payments. The number of residential property units sold in 4Q16 fell by 44% yoy, dragging down overall units sold in 2016 by 9%, based on data compiled by Knight Frank Research. The volume of new units launched fell by 61% yoy. We expect the largest cuts to selling prices in the National Capital Region (NCR) followed by Mumbai, where unsold inventory is the highest at 16 and 10 quarters of sales, respectively, based on market estimates. The NCR is also known to have the largest cash-based economy in the country, and therefore demand is likely to suffer more from the currency demonetisation than other regions. We expect demand for homes in Chennai and Pune to be less affected by the downturn, as unsold inventory is the lowest in these cities, at around 6-7 quarters of sales. Top-tier homebuilders like Indiabulls Real Estate Limited (IBREL, B+/Stable) and Lodha Developers Private Limited (Lodha, B/Negative) - whose sales benefit from their brand strength - have yet to start cutting home prices substantially. However, we understand that smaller and second-tier homebuilders across the country have started offering discounts of around 25%-30% to attract buyers. The worst of the downturn in home sales is likely to occur in 1H17. Demand is likely to recover moderately in 2H17 as the festive season approaches, and because banks have cut interest rates on home loans by 50bp-60bp over the last 12 months to multi-year lows. Fitch continues to expect homebuilders that have a large pipeline of pre-sold projects, such as IBREL and Lodha, to be better off than those that do not. However, even these homebuilders'' credit profiles may weaken if demand does not recover for an extended period. Although property construction was hampered for a few weeks after the demonetisation announcement, we understand that most homebuilders have been able to work around practical issues related to making payments to suppliers and contractors, and that construction has since resumed. Contact: Hasira De Silva, CFA Director, Corporates +65 6796 7240 Fitch Ratings Singapore Pte Ltd One Raffles Quay South Tower #22-11 Singapore 048583 Snehdeep Bohra Associate Director, Corporates +91 22 4000 1732 Daniel Martin Senior Analyst, Fitch Wire +65 6796 7232 Media Relations: Bindu Menon, Mumbai, Tel: +91 22 4000 1727, Email: bindu.menon@fitchratings.com; Leslie Tan, Singapore, Tel: +65 67 96 7234, Email: leslie.tan@fitchratings.com. Additional information is available on www.fitchratings.com. ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: here . IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY''S PUBLIC WEB SITE AT WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA, AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. 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Credit ratings information published by Fitch is not intended to be used by persons who are retail clients within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFit987603'|'2017-01-25T13:03:00.000+02:00' +'4c123c8e37fa489e48edf840b651e415ec05e655'|'Congress moves to cede federal lands, jeopardizing billions in revenue and 6.1m jobs - Environment - The Guardian'|'I n the midst of highly publicized steps to dismantle insurance coverage for 32 million people and defund womens healthcare facilities , Republican lawmakers have quietly laid the foundation to give away Americans birthright: 640m acres of national land. In a single line of changes to the rules for the House of Representatives , Republicans have overwritten the value of federal lands, easing the path to disposing of federal property even if doing so loses money for the government and provides no demonstrable compensation to American citizens.At stake are areas managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Forests and Federal Wildlife Refuges, which contribute to an estimated $646bn in economic stimulus from recreation on federal lands and 6.1m jobs. Transferring these lands to the states, critics fear, could decimate those numbers by eliminating mixed-use requirements, limiting public access and turning over large portions for energy or property development.Repealing Obamacare would leave 32m without health coverage, analysis finds Read more According to the Outdoor Alliance, US public land is the governments second largest source of income after taxes. In addition to economic stimulus in outdoor activities, federal land also creates revenue through oil and gas production, logging and other industrial uses. According to the BLM, in 2016, it made $2bn in royalty revenue from federal leases.Ignoring those figures, the new language for the House budget, authored by Utah Republican representative Rob Bishop, who has a history of fighting to transfer public land to the states, says that federal land is effectively worthless. Transferring public land to state, local government or tribal entity shall not be considered as providing new budget authority, decreasing revenues, increasing mandatory spending or increasing outlays. Essentially, the revised budget rules deny that federal land has any value at all, allowing the new Congress to sidestep requirements that a bill giving away a piece of federal land does not decrease federal revenue or contribute to the federal debt.Republican eagerness to cede federal land to local governments for possible sale, mining or development is already moving states to act. Western states, where most federal land is concentrated, are already introducing legislation that pave the way for land transfers.In Wyoming, for example, the 2017 senate has introduced a joint resolution that would amend the state constitution to dictate how public land given to the state by the federal government after 2019 is managed. It has little public support, but Wyoming Senate President Eli Bebout said that he though the state should be preemptively thinking about what it would do with federal land.Healthcare without Planned Parenthood: Wisconsin and Texas point to dark future Read more The Congressional devaluation of national property is the most far-reaching legislative change in a recent push to transfer federal lands to the states. Because of the Republican majority in Congress, bills proposing land transfers could now swiftly diminish Forest Service and BLM lands across the country.We didnt see it coming. I think it was sneaky and underhanded. It exemplifies an effort to not play by the rules, said Alan Rowsome, senior director of government relations at The Wilderness Society . This is the worst Congress for public lands ever.Rowsome said hes not exactly sure how the rule will be used, but he thinks the first places to come under attack might include areas adjacent to the majestic Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona and Minnesotas Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Those areas hold uranium and copper, respectively.Rowsome said hes worried that sensitive tracts of public land, like the oil-rich Arctic National Wildlife Refuge , could soon be up for sale. Some 60% percent of Alaska is made up of national land, and the states representatives have tried to pass laws claiming parts of it for state use as recently as 2015. Its amazing ecosystem and worthy of protection, and its very likely that House Republican majority will open that up for drilling, Rowsome said.Facebook Twitter Pinterest If transferred to the state, Alaskas Arctic National Wildlife Refuge could be opened up to drilling. Photograph: Fitz Cahall This latest effort comes on the heels of a bill adopted in 2016 that directs the Department of Agriculture to transfer 2m acres of eligible Forest Service lands to each state. Giving away national land has been part of the Republican Party platform since the mid-80s, after Reagan declared himself a Sagebrush Rebel, but its regained steam in the past few years as 20 states have introduced some form of legislation suggesting that federal property be given to local governments. In 2015, Bishop and fellow Utah representative Chris Stewart formed the Federal Land Action Group, a congressional team with the specific intent to come up with a framework for transferring public land. Washington bureaucrats dont listen to people, Bishop said in a statement. Local governments do.But Rowsome argues thats a populist message without any popular support, pushed by a small faction of legislators with support from industries like mining and energy.Western Republicans that are perpetuating the idea are very well funded by the oil and gas industry during their campaign, Rowsome said. Its special interests wielding power for an agenda that will advance their goal. Nearly 90% of BLM lands are already open, but they cant stop trying to get more.A 2016 Colorado College survey of seven western states found that 60% of voters rejected both the sale of public lands to states and giving states control without sale.In 2012, Arizona voters struck down a proposal two pieces of legislation that would have turned over federal land to the state, including one that claimed the Grand Canyon as state land.Barack Obama designates two national monuments in west despite opposition Read more Opponents fear that local governments, especially in states with small budgets, wont be able to invest in management and will sell off land to make money. Last summer, the Forest Service was spending $240m a week to suppress wildfires, and the Department of Interior estimates the cost of deferred maintenance, like updating roads, at around $11bn.In December, Wyoming Governor Matt Mead said that transferring public land to his state was legally and financially impractical. He cited firefighting costs on public land as something that the state budget wouldnt have room for.Historically, when federal lands have been transferred to states, they have become less accessible. Idaho sold off almost 100,000 acres of its public land between 2000 and 2009. In Colorado, access has been limited the public can only use 20% of state trust land for hunting and fishing.John Gale, conservation director for Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, said that hes worried about access for sportsmen. He believes that theres a further danger is in segmenting ecosystems through state-by-state development.70% of the headwaters of our streams and rivers in the West are on public lands, he said. Rivers and migratory corridors dont follow state boundaries.The incoming administration hasnt been clear about where it falls on transfers. Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke, tapped to be the next Secretary of Interior, voted for the rules package, but in the past hes been against land transfers. President-elect Donald Trump has spoken out against reallocating federal land, but hes also met with prominent pro-land transfer groups.Nevertheless, bills proposing land transfer will now have an easy route to passage, as they wont need to be backed by any financial justification.The entire rules package passed on party lines, but it runs counter to legislation that passed both the House and Senate in November, the Outdoor Recreation Jobs and Economic Impact Act of 2016. Signed into law in December, the legislation requires the Department of Commerce to count the over half a trillion dollars from the outdoor recreation economy in the countrys GDP for the first time.Its not just natural resources that are on the auction block, but jobs, said Gale. For a party that prides itself on being fiscally conservative ... theyre talking out of both sides of their mouth.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/oil/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jan/19/bureau-land-management-federal-lease'|'2017-01-19T21:39:00.000+02:00' +'8d66abd13b9217da316fb9f0b22d1d3ffe6a3bff'|'Sawiris says to discuss Oi bid with Brazil government: paper'|'SAO PAULO Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris will travel to Brazil in two weeks to persuade the government his bid is the best option to rescue Oi SA ( OIBR4.SA ), the carrier operating under bankruptcy protection, he told newspaper Folha de S.Paulo.The Egyptian entrepreneur said he plans to turn the company around in one year, repeating what his Orascom TMT Holding SAE ( OTMT.CA ) group did in 2011 in a merger with Italy''s Wind Telecomunicazioni SpA [WINVFT.UL], the report said.Cerberus Capital Management LP and Elliot Management Corp also have had talks with Oi regarding a potential bid.In December, Sawiris and a group of Oi creditors devised a plan to take over and capitalize the ailing carrier, which is Brazil''s fourth-largest wireless operator, with a market share of around 18 percent.Their plan entails a $1.25 billion share offering that Sawiris and certain Oi creditors vowed to fully subscribe to if no other investors are interested.If the Egyptian''s bid is successful, Sawiris told Folha that a recuperated Oi could be merged with TIM Participaes ( TIMP3.SA ), Brazil''s second-largest wireless carrier, with a market share of 25.41 percent.Rio de Janeiro-based Oi owes regulator Anatel and government lenders Banco do Brasil SA, Caixa Econmica Federal SA and BNDES a combined 20 billion reais ($6.2 billion) - making the government the carrier''s second-biggest creditor after bondholders.(Writing by Ana Mano, editing by Louise Heavens)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-telecom-oi-idINKBN14T16R'|'2017-01-09T08:39:00.000+02:00' +'adad15f567935f0ccc3b46cee32e63e1f503e234'|'Rainbow Rare Earths listing raises funds for Burundi mining project'|'Business News - Mon Jan 30, 2017 - 11:28am GMT Rainbow Rare Earths listing raises funds for Burundi mining project LONDON Rainbow Rare Earths RWBR.L listed on the main London stock market on Monday, raising 8 million pounds ($10 million) to invest in its Gakara project in Burundi, with a view to starting sales to Germany''s Thyssenkrupp ( TKAG.DE ) by year-end. The project''s minerals are weighted towards magnetic rare earths, including neodymium and praseodymium, which are expected to used become increasingly sought after for use in generators, wind turbines and electric vehicles as supply from top producer China dwindles. Rainbow''s shares were placed at 10 pence per share. They opened at 10.75 pence, hit a session high of 12.84 pence and were trading at 11.50 pence by 1030 GMT. The Gakara project has a 10-year distribution and offtake agreement with a division of Thyssenkrupp to take 100 percent of production up to 5,000 tonnes and the option to take anything above that. Rainbow CEO Martin Eales said that Gakara is distinguished by its quality. "Our project boasts an in-situ grade in the range of 47-67 percent TREO (total rare earth oxide), making it one of the highest-grade rare earth element (REE) projects globally," he said. "With recent shifts in the rare earths market, driven by the increasing demand for powerful magnets used for electric vehicles, motors and wind turbines, we believe that now is an optimal time for Rainbow to produce REE concentrate." There are very few pure rare earths players listed in London -- Mkango Resources ( MKA.L ), the only AIM-listed rare earths company, floated its shares in June 2016 -- and the British government is keen to support a revival of mining activity as part of its economic strategy after leaving the European Union. Its industrial strategy offers support for a low-emission vehicles industry, which would require rare earths. Australian-listed Peak Resources ( PEK.AX ), which is developing rare earths in Tanzania, has been granted permission for a rare earths refinery in northeastern England. (Reporting by Barbara Lewis; Additional reporting by Zandi Shabalala; Editing by David Goodman) Next In Business News Oil slides as strong U.S. drilling activity weakens deal to cut output LONDON Oil prices fell on Monday as news of another increase in U.S. drilling activity spread concern over rising oil output just as many of the world''s oil producers are trying to comply with a deal to pump less in an attempt to prop up prices.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-rainbow-rare-listing-idUKKBN15E13Z'|'2017-01-30T18:28:00.000+02:00' +'12b96e7c1eece823014cda40e40dce18e84400b2'|'Oil price rises for second day ahead of producers'' compliance meeting'|' 10:13am GMT Oil price rises for second day ahead of producers'' compliance meeting left right FILE PHOTO - Refinery workers walk inside the LyondellBasell oil refinery in Houston, Texas March 6, 2013. REUTERS/Donna Carson/File Photo 1/3 left right Crude oil storage tanks are seen from above at the Cushing oil hub, in Cushing, Oklahoma, March 24, 2016. REUTERS/Nick Oxford/File Photo 2/3 left right An oil well pump jack is seen at an oil field supply yard near Denver, Colorado, U.S., February 2, 2015. REUTERS/Rick Wilking/File Photo 3/3 By Karolin Schaps - LONDON LONDON Oil prices edged up for a second day on Friday on expectations that a weekend meeting of the world''s top oil producers would demonstrate compliance to a global output cut deal, but a larger than expected rise in weekly U.S. crude stocks capped gains. International benchmark Brent crude prices were up 68 cents at $54.84 a barrel at 0950 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were trading up 63 cents at $52 a barrel. "Prices were pushed down a bit too far and hopes will rise that the OPEC/non-OPEC meeting this weekend will show that these producers actually give some proof that they cut production," said Hans van Cleef, senior energy economist at ABN Amro. A weekend meeting in Vienna of members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and some producers outside of the group, including Russia, will establish a compliance mechanism to verify producers are sticking to a deal to reduce output, OPEC''s secretary general told Reuters. However, higher crude oil and gasoline stocks in the United States weighed on prices on Friday. U.S. crude inventories rose unexpectedly last week as refineries sharply slowed production, while gasoline stocks soared amid weak demand, the Energy Information Administration said on Thursday. Crude inventories rose 2.3 million barrels in the week to Jan. 13, compared with analyst expectations for an increase of 342,000 barrels. The data showed much larger than expected builds in gasoline stocks, with inventories on the U.S. east coast, the biggest demand region, swelling to the highest weekly levels on record for this time of year, when refiners typically begin storing barrels ahead of the summer driving season. Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB Markets, said Brent crude was starting to move into a trading range centered around $55 a barrel as the production cut deal had placed a floor price of $50 a barrel, while U.S. shale oil producers were capping the upside at $60 a barrel. "As a new consensus is starting to form, the fog around the oil market balance is starting to clear and the oil price is likely going to start to stabilize," he said. (Additional reporting by Naveen Thukral in Singapore; Editing by Greg Mahlich) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUKKBN153057'|'2017-01-20T19:39:00.000+02:00' +'9b318dd774d93dde65e39e715d03c4f5ed3fc341'|'Roche said to consider options for Diabetes unit- Bloomberg'|'Company 35pm EST Roche said to consider options for Diabetes unit- Bloomberg Jan 31 Roche Holding AG is considering options for its diabetes-care business including a sale, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The alternatives for the unit could include a partial sale or spinoff and the sale could fetch as much as $5 billion, Bloomberg also reported. bloom.bg/2knSjG5 Roche was not immediately available for comment outside regular business hours. (Reporting by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Ruth Pitchford) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/roche-holding-divestiture-diabetes-idUSL5N1FL70O'|'2017-02-01T03:35:00.000+02:00' +'95e7be752631c07c9130b04c069094732424d235'|'Toshiba loses court appeal against EU cartel fine on joint venture'|' 40am GMT Toshiba loses court appeal against EU cartel fine on joint venture Toshiba''s logo is seen at an industrial area in Kawasaki, Japan, January 16, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon By Waverly Colville - BRUSSELS BRUSSELS Japanese consumer electronics group Toshiba ( 6502.T ) on Wednesday lost an appeal against an EU cartel fine levied on its joint venture with Panasonic ( 6752.T ) five years ago, after Europe''s highest court said it had decisive influence over the business. The company was part of a group of seven cathode ray tube makers fined a total 1.47 billion euros by the European Commission in 2012 for fixing prices and restricting output for cathode ray tubes for televisions and computer screens for a decade. Toshiba subsequently challenged the EU competition enforcer''s ruling at the Luxembourg-based General Court which cut the fine imposed on its MTPD joint venture to 82.8 million euros ($88.5 million) from 86.7 million euros. Toshiba later appealed to the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ), saying that it could not control MTPD''s decisions and therefore could not be held liable. The ECJ on Wednesday rejected its argument. "The Court confirms the fine of 82 million euros imposed jointly and severally on Toshiba and Panasonic/MTPD for their participation in the cartel on the market for tubes for television sets," judges said in their verdict. ($1 = 0.9356 euros) (Reporting by Waverly Colville. Editing by Jane Merriman) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-cartel-court-idUKKBN1521FE'|'2017-01-18T18:40:00.000+02:00' +'3ff1867d99181f1d9b4553e83e078559668ffc90'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX posts largest drop since September on travel curb jitters'|'Company News 24am EST CANADA STOCKS-TSX posts largest drop since September on travel curb jitters (Adds details throughout on stocks and sectors and updates prices) * TSX down 203.44 points, or 1.31 percent, at 15,372.37 * All of the TSX''s 10 main groups were lower TORONTO, Jan 30 Canada''s main stock index fell to a nearly two-week low on Monday and was on track for its deepest loss since September after a travel ban implemented by U.S. President Donald Trump triggered uncertainty for investors. Wall Street also lost ground after Trump on Friday signed executive orders to bar admission of Syrian refugees and suspend travel to the United States from Syria, Iraq, Iran and four other countries on the grounds of national security. Canada will offer temporary residency to any travelers stranded by the ban. At 11:01 a.m. ET (1601 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index fell 203.44 points, or 1.31 percent, to 15,372.37. It last lost more than 1.3 percent on Sept. 13, while it touched its lowest intraday since Jan. 18 at 15,368.80. Lower oil prices were an additional drag on energy stocks, with Canadian Natural Resources Ltd declining 3.9 percent to C$38.74 and the overall energy group slumping to its lowest since mid-November, down 3 percent. The energy group got a boost last week from revived prospects for the Keystone XL pipeline, but investors have been worried about a potential U.S. border adjustment tax. U.S. crude prices were down 1.1 percent at $52.57 a barrel as news of another weekly increase in U.S. drilling activity spread concern over rising output. Some of the most influential weights on the TSX included the country''s major bank stocks. Royal Bank of Canada fell 0.9 percent to C$93.64, while the financials group was down 1.2 percent. All of the index''s 10 main groups were lower, with industrials falling 1.4 percent and information technology sliding 1.9 percent. The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, lost 0.5 percent. Gains for gold stocks tempered losses for the materials group, with Barrick Gold Corp climbing 2.2 percent to C$23.90 as gold rose. Gold futures rose 0.8 percent to $1,197.3 an ounce, supported by political uncertainty. Canadian dairy company Saputo Inc said it will make an all-cash takeover offer for the 12 percent of Australia''s Warrnambool Cheese and Butter it does not already own, valuing the company at A$682 million ($515 million). Saputo''s shares dipped 0.1 percent to C$48.18. Two suspects were under arrest after a shooting at a Quebec City mosque on Sunday evening killed six people and wounded eight, but police declined to give details of their identity or possible motives. (Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Tom Brown) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-idUSL1N1FK0ZP'|'2017-01-30T23:24:00.000+02:00' +'829675ecc413dec434007e192114d41013c23862'|'Snapchat establishes international HQ in Britain'|'Snapchat establishes international HQ in Britain Messaging start-up goes against trend of US tech heading for lower-tax EU countries Read next by: Madhumita Murgia in London and Hannah Kuchler in San Francisco Snap, the company behind Snapchat , has established its international headquarters in Britain, where it will book all sales made outside the US, in a post-Brexit win for the UK. The move by the Los Angeles-based messaging start-up, which plans to go public this year with a valuation of up to $25bn, is an unusual one among top US tech companies. Apple , Google, Facebook, Microsoft , Twitter, Uber and others have chosen the UKs neighbours, such as Ireland, the Netherlands or Luxembourg as their European base to take advantage of lower-tax regimes. Instead, Snap Group Limited the companys new UK entity will book revenues from all sales made to customers in the UK and sales in any country where Snapchat has no local entity or salesforce, according to a spokeswoman. At first, the Snapchat teams in France, Australia, Canada and Saudi Arabia will be booked through the UK. The start-up, which has yet to turn a profit, is in the earliest stages of generating revenue outside the US and so is unlikely to have significant tax liabilities as yet. But it is expanding advertising quickly from a small base, with research company eMarketer forecasting ad revenue will grow from an estimated $367m last year to almost $1bn this year. Snapchat has more than 150m daily active users worldwide, with about half of them outside the US. London, where the disappearing messages app opened its first overseas office in late-2015, has 75 staff, up from six people a year ago. The company will open a new site near its Soho office and hire additional employees, including a small number of engineers. We believe in the UK creative industries. The UK is where our advertising clients are, where more than 10m daily Snapchatters are, and where weve already begun to hire talent, said Claire Valoti, general manager of Snap Group in the UK. Snapchats decision to base itself purely in London comes amid growing public criticism of Silicon Valley companies tax avoidance tactics in the UK. Facebooks 2015 tax bill showed it had paid less in corporate taxes than a British worker on average wages had paid in income taxes, which it achieved by routing its revenues through Ireland a technique known as a double Irish. It has recently been forced to restructure its approach and book sales from its largest advertisers in the UK rather than Ireland, after the UK government introduced a diverted profits tax to stymie avoidance. Separately, Googles announcement last January that it would pay 130m in retrospective tax payments to the HM Revenue & Customs tax authority prompted outrage and claims of a sweetheart deal. Snap is putting its affairs in order ahead of plans to go public as early as March, hoping for a valuation of between $20bn and $25bn. It will be the first of a new generation of so-called deca-unicorns private technology start-ups with valuations above $10bn to test the public markets. Sample the FTs top stories for a week You select the topic, we deliver the news. Select topic Invalid email Sign up By signing up you confirm that you have read and agree to the terms and conditions , cookie policy and privacy policy . Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2017. All rights reserved. You may share using our article tools. Please don''t cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.'|'ft.com'|'http://www.ft.com/rss/companies/us'|'https://www.ft.com/content/a7f0295c-d434-11e6-b06b-680c49b4b4c0'|'2017-01-10T12:02:00.000+02:00' +'0cac51d3d36a37f14c885cfd6a3a3c5500b8257c'|'Indonesia penalises JPMorgan for rating its bonds ''underweight'''|'Tue Jan 3, 2017 - 6:24am GMT Indonesia penalizes JPMorgan for rating its bonds ''underweight'' A view of the exterior of the JP Morgan Chase & Co. corporate headquarters in New York City May 20, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar/Files JAKARTA Indonesia has penalized JPMorgan Chase & Co after the investment bank''s research arm recommended a smaller exposure to the country''s sovereign bonds, a senior finance ministry official said on Tuesday. "After we did a comprehensive review, we said no need to use JPMorgan''s services as a primary (bond) dealer and a perception bank," Suahasil Nazara, the head of the ministry''s fiscal policy office, told Reuters. A 2006 government decree says a perception bank is one appointed by the finance minister to receive transfers of state revenue not related to imports, including tax, onshore excise and non-tax revenue. Nazara said the penalty on JPMorgan ( JPM.N ) has already taken effect. The decision was taken after JPMorgan issued a note in November downgrading its rating for Indonesian bonds to "underweight" from "overweight", he said. The official said the bank''s analysis "did not make sense" because it recommended a "neutral" position for Brazil, a better rating than for Indonesia, despite what he said was a more stable political situation in the Southeast Asian nation. "We have asked them to clarify their assessment. They''ve explained to us, but we found their argument not credible. It''s not that we think we''re so great, but we look at ourselves and we look at other countries'' economies," Nazara said. "Our mindset is, if you''re doing business here in Indonesia, the spirit is to maintain stability. Don''t create unnecessary volatility to create business," he added. BUSINESS AS USUAL A JPMorgan spokeswoman said on Tuesday that it continued to operate its business in Indonesia as usual. "The impact on our clients is minimal and we continue to work with the Ministry of Finance to resolve the matter," she said in an email. In a note dated Nov. 13, JPMorgan downgraded emerging markets including Indonesia and Brazil, citing higher risk premiums for their credit default swaps after Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election. "Bond markets are starting to price in faster growth and higher deficit," the bank wrote, adding that the "spike in volatility" may stop or reverse flows into fixed-income assets in emerging markets. However, the bank said in the note that the downgrade on Indonesia and Brazil was a "tactical" response to Trump''s victory. Both economies are improving, with lower policy rates likely to support valuations for 2017, it added. Indonesia''s 10-year credit default swap IDGV10YUSAC=MG, a swap contract used to measure credit risk in fixed-income products, and the yield of its benchmark 10-year bonds ID10YT=RR spiked after the U.S. election, though they have since dipped. Trump signaled more protective U.S. trade policies, raising concerns about the impact on developing markets. Analysts have said that Indonesia''s economy should be supported by domestic consumption, which makes up more than half of gross domestic product. But the relatively high foreign ownership of government bonds and Indonesia''s lack of depth of financial markets make it vulnerable to capital reversals, they say. In 2015, then-Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said he had given JPMorgan a sanction that "will be disturbing for them and make them uncomfortable" after it recommended an "underweight" position on Indonesian bonds. He didn''t say what the sanction was. ( reut.rs/2is0VKj ) (Reporting by Nilufar Rizki and Eveline Danubrata; Additional reporting and writing by Gayatri Suroyo; Editing by Richard Borsuk) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-bonds-jpmorgan-idUKKBN14N0BS'|'2017-01-03T13:24:00.000+02:00' +'79d8d876f5f207d951cc68e6c26e3e986fa9007f'|'UPDATE 1-Congo central bank injects $50 million into market to prop up franc'|'Financials 36am EST UPDATE 1-Congo central bank injects $50 million into market to prop up franc (Adds quote, background) KINSHASA Jan 24 Democratic Republic of Congo''s central bank injected $50 million into the interbank exchange market on Tuesday to prop up the Congolese franc, which has lost nearly 40 percent of its value in the last year, the bank''s spokesman said. The bank injected $50 million into the market five times in 2016 and hiked interest rates but the franc continued to slide. Low oil and mineral prices over the last two years in Africa''s top copper producer have heaped pressure on the franc and driven inflation from less than 1 percent in 2015 to over 11 percent last year. The oil and mining sectors provide 95 percent of the country''s export earnings. Congo''s GDP growth slowed to an estimated 2.5 percent last year from 6.9 percent in 2015. The bank expects growth of 2.9 percent this year. (Reporting By Aaron Ross; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/congo-economy-currency-idUSL5N1FE58L'|'2017-01-24T22:36:00.000+02:00' +'52992254337ddc212c296e84017880d43ffc79d2'|'Spanish manufacturing expands in December at fastest pace since Jan - PMI'|'Business 8:21am GMT Spanish manufacturing expands in December at fastest pace since Jan - PMI MADRID Spanish factory activity expanded at the fastest pace in 11 months in December driven by strong orders and increasing output, a survey showed on Monday, adding to expectations of more economic growth in the last quarter. Markit''s Purchasing Managers'' Index (PMI) of manufacturers rose to 55.3 in December from 54.5 in November. The index has held above the 50 line separating growth from contraction every month since November 2013. "The Spanish manufacturing PMI signalled that the sector ended 2016 on a high, with growth back at the levels seen at the start of the year. The picture is much more positive than in the summer when output and new orders stagnated," senior economist at Markit Andrew Harker said. New factory orders expanded at their fastest pace since the beginning of the year in December, rising to 57.1 from 55.4 a month earlier. The government has said it expects the economy to expand at up to 0.8 percent, quarter on quarter, in the October to December period. Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-spain-economy-pmi-idUKKBN14M08Y'|'2017-01-02T15:21:00.000+02:00' +'97366e36261c3d56d5062364fc3c4e4c84a0676a'|'Exclusive: Staff at French fashion house Lanvin fear job cuts as sales slump - sources'|'A woman walks past a Lanvin store in Paris, France, January 12, 2017. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann 3/4 left right FILE PHOTO Designer Bouchra Jarrar appears at the end of her Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2014-2015 fashion show July 8, 2014 in Paris, France. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo 4/4 By Astrid Wendlandt and Pascale Denis - PARIS PARIS Morale is low at Lanvin with staff expecting job cuts after France''s oldest fashion brand swung into the red in 2016 and new designer Bouchra Jarrar failed to lift sales, sources told Reuters. The company appointed advisory firm Long Term Partners to conduct an audit and it is due to present its findings to Lanvin''s board at the end of this month and recommend ways to reduce the company''s cost base, the sources with first hand knowledge of the matter said. Founded in 1889, Lanvin is one of France''s last major independent fashion brands, part of the country''s fashion heritage, in the same league as LVMH''s ( LVMH.PA ) Christian Dior, Hermes ( HRMS.PA ) and privately owned Chanel. Lanvin expects to post a net loss of more than 10 million euros for 2016 - its first in nearly a decade - against a profit of 6.3 million euros in 2015, sources have said. Many items on its website are being offered at a 50 percent discount. Sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the company''s woes stem in part from the uncertainty created by the arrival of its new designer, as well as the luxury spending downturn and underinvestment. Controlling shareholder, 75-year-old Chinese media magnate Shaw-Lan Wang who is based in Taiwan, has been reluctant to invest in the brand for many years. Wang would also not let her associate, private investor Ralph Bartel who owns 25 percent, inject more cash into the business as it would dilute her stake, the sources said. "It is clear that the company''s situation is deteriorating fast and now it is in a stalemate," one of the sources told Reuters. "But since Mrs Wang simply refuses to sell or (let the capital) be diluted, there is nothing we can do about it. It is so sad for the brand and its staff." Wang shocked the fashion world in 2015 by sacking star designer Alber Elbaz after a boardroom dispute. Elbaz had been at the creative helm for 14 years and was frustrated by Wang''s refusal to invest in Lanvin, particularly in areas crucial to growth such as new boutiques and accessories, several sources said. Lanvin declined to comment, while a spokesman for Wang said she was not available for comment and Long Term Partners did not return calls or emails asking for comment. DOWNWARD SPIRAL Luxury analysts believe that Lanvin, had it benefited from more investment, has all it takes to become France''s answer to Italy''s Valentino, now generating more than 1 billion euros ($1.07 billion) in sales and preparing itself for a flotation. Instead, orders for new collections from multi-brand shops and department stores, which represent around 70 percent of Lanvin''s turnover, fell 30-40 percent in the last half year. Overall, consolidated 2016 sales fell by more than 20 percent to below 170 million euros, from 210 million in 2015, several sources said. Designer Jarrar, appointed in March last year, presented at a show in September a Lanvin woman dressed in black and white tuxedos, very different from Elbaz''s ethereal, light, ultra-feminine silhouettes adorned with clunky jewellery. DISPUTES At its peak in 2012, before Chief Executive Thierry Andretta, now CEO of Britain''s Mulberry, resigned over strategic differences, revenue reached 235 million euros and the company''s operating margins stood at around 10-12 percent. In 2015, Wang refused offers secured by Elbaz for Lanvin, including one of more than 400 million euros from Mayhoola, the Qatari firm that now owns Balmain and Valentino, sources said. Elbaz is still in legal proceedings with Lanvin and Wang over his dismissal and the value of his stake. Dozens of employees have resigned or been sacked and many former key staff are in legal fights, they said. Wang also sold off many of Lanvin''s assets in the past decade, such as its Japanese operations to Japan''s Itochu and its perfume business to Interparfums, which the brand can buy back in 2025. Lanvin is also in a dispute with Itochu over the value of the licence it is able buy back, the sources said. ($1 = 0.9374 euros) (Reporting by Astrid Wendlandt; Editing by Susan Fenton) Next In Business News Tesco caps year of recovery with solid Christmas LONDON Britain''s biggest retailer Tesco reported its best quarter of UK underlying sales growth for over five years and more growth over Christmas, continuing a major recovery in its fortunes, though it cautioned it would not be immune to inflationary pressures.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-fashion-lanvin-exclusive-idUKKBN14W2NJ'|'2017-01-13T01:25:00.000+02:00' +'096b4834869d96f6d843e7f016b220e861096108'|'Nippon Steel mulls discussing exit clause for Brazil''s Usiminas'|'Big Story 10 57am EST Nippon Steel mulls discussing exit clause for Brazil''s Usiminas A logo of Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp is pictured outside its headquarters in Tokyo November 9, 2012. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao/File Photo SAO PAULO Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp does not rule out discussing with partner Ternium SA an amendment of an existing shareholder accord giving them the possibility of exiting Brazilian steelmaker Usinas Siderrugicas de Minas Gerais SA, a senior executive with the Japanese company said on Tuesday. (Reporting by Alberto Alerigi Jr; Writing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) Next In Big Story 10'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usiminas-restructuring-idUSKBN1511XH'|'2017-01-17T20:55:00.000+02:00' +'971b45e210b0bb5f70be9b3795ec9a0df09da68c'|'Late Christmas shoppers boost December retail sales'|'All the benefits of Standard Digital, plus: Unlimited access to all content Instant Insights column for comment and analysis as news unfolds FT Confidential Research - in-depth China and Southeast Asia analysis ePaper - the digital replica of the printed newspaper Full access to LEX - our agenda setting daily commentary Exclusive emails, including a weekly email from our Editor, Lionel Barber Full access to EM Squared- news and analysis service on emerging markets'|'ft.com'|'http://www.ft.com/rss/world/uk/business'|'https://www.ft.com/content/7e2ae57e-d67a-11e6-944b-e7eb37a6aa8e?ftcamp=published_links%2Frss%2Fworld_uk_business-economy%2Ffeed%2F%2Fproduct'|'2017-01-10T15:31:00.000+02:00' +'f89fe3d3e7ff0e944e2265f51ad739f773971bc7'|'GM Dec U.S. sales up 8 pct, sees record for industry in 2017'|'Money News - Wed Jan 4, 2017 - 9:55pm IST GM Dec U.S. sales up 8 pct, sees record for industry in 2017 The GM logo is seen at the General Motors Warren Transmission Operations Plant in Warren, Michigan October 26, 2015. Photo taken October 26. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/Files By Bernie Woodall - DETROIT DETROIT General Motors Co on Wednesday reported an unexpected 8 percent rise in December U.S. auto sales while Ford Motor Co also beat forecasts, indicating that 2016 results will beat a record high set last year. Key economic indicators, especially consumer confidence, continue to reflect optimism about the U.S. economy, and strong customer demand continues to drive a very healthy U.S. auto industry, said Mustafa Mohatarem, GMs chief economist. We believe the U.S. auto industry remains well positioned for sales to continue at or near record levels in 2017. Analysts polled by Reuters expected GM''s December U.S. sales to increase by about 3.5 percent from a year earlier. Ford''s December U.S. sales increased 0.3 percent while Wall Street estimated a decline of about 2.5 percent. The better-than-expected results helped boost shares of GM, up 4.4 percent, and Ford up 4.2 percent. GM said December industry sales will be a robust 18.2 million vehicles on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, far exceeding the 17.7 million vehicles forecast by 35 economists polled by Thomson Reuters. Ford Chief Executive Officer Mark Fields said on Tuesday the auto industry and Ford will be helped by "pro-growth" policies expected by the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. GM and Ford notched the gains as they kept inventory at healthy levels. GM ended the year with 71 days of inventory, meeting its target of about 70 days of supply. Ford ended with 70 days of U.S. inventory. Analysts were concerned that GM''s inventory levels were high, but the data showed otherwise. Ford was led by the F-Series pickup truck, which rose 2.7 percent to 87,512. The model line was the top-selling pickup truck in the United States for a 40th consecutive year. Japan''s Toyota Motor Corp reported a 2 percent gain. Analysts expected a decline of 1 percent to 4 percent. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles'' sales slid 10 percent while analysts looked for a decrease of between 10 percent and 15 percent. The fall was partly due to production ending on several sedan models. However, sales at its Jeep brand, which has been its strongest since the 2008-2009 recession, fell 6 percent in December. Jeep Cherokee sales fell 25 percent as rivals fielded new models in the increasingly competitive midsize SUV segment. Investors will watch to see if consumer discounts, which cut into company profits, are also at a record high, which analysts expected. Nissan Motor Co''s sales rose 10 percent in December, led by its luxury brand Infiniti, which gained 20.6 percent. (Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-autos-idINKBN14O1OO'|'2017-01-04T23:25:00.000+02:00' +'7cd34b6d93662ac525df61e86cbc829d2dcb4471'|'Forbes Energy eyes quick emergence from prepackaged Chapter 11'|'Commodities 2:22pm EST Forbes Energy eyes quick emergence from prepackaged Chapter 11 CHICAGO U.S. oilfield services company Forbes Energy Services Ltd ( FESL.PK ) said it expected to "promptly" emerge from bankruptcy after filing a Chapter 11 plan on Monday with a prepackaged deal to exchange $280 million of debt for equity. Dozens in the sector, whose services include drilling wells and hauling water for energy exploration companies, have sought protection from creditors as low energy prices have prompted producers to scale back on drilling. In a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston, Forbes said the slump had reduced demand for its activities, rendering it unable to make payments on some of its debt. It said holders of 87 percent of senior unsecured notes had voted to accept its restructuring plan. The Alice, Texas, company operates around 173 well servicing rigs in Texas, Louisiana and Pennsylvania. It also transports and disposes of fluids used in drilling. Forbes said it had ample liquidity to support the business during the Chapter 11 proceeding and also secured a $50 million facility to be funded by certain of bondholders to ensure adequate working capital after the bankruptcy. Existing equity in the company, including common and preferred stock, would be canceled. Competitors Key Energy Service Inc KEGXQ.PK and Basic Energy Services Inc ( BAS.N ) each filed for bankruptcy in the fourth quarter but emerged soon after. Another competitor, Seventy Seven Energy Inc ( SVNT.PK ), emerged from bankruptcy in August and recently announced an approximately $1.76 billion deal to be acquired by Patterson-UTI Energy Inc ( PTEN.O ). (Reporting by Tracy Rucinski; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn) Next In Commodities'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-forbesenergy-bankruptcy-idUSKBN1572KH'|'2017-01-24T02:19:00.000+02:00' +'f45c5c90e70437911ac7534cfab5c184fefd6315'|'Berkshire Hathaway unit buys big NYC-area real estate firm'|'Deals 55pm EST Berkshire Hathaway unit buys big NYC-area real estate firm Berkshire Hathaway shareholders walk by a video screen at the company''s annual meeting in Omaha May 4, 2013. REUTERS/Rick Wilking/File Photo By Jonathan Stempel - NEW YORK NEW YORK HomeServices of America Inc, a unit of Warren Buffett''s Berkshire Hathaway Inc ( BRKa.N ), on Tuesday said it has purchased the Houlihan Lawrence residential real estate firm, its second foray into the New York City area this month. The purchase by HomeServices, the second-largest U.S. residential real estate brokerage, was disclosed eight days after its majority-owned Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices unit announced the opening of its first New York City office. Terms of Tuesday''s transaction were not disclosed. Established in 1888 and based in Rye Brook, New York, Houlihan Lawrence has 1,300 employees and 30 offices serving the counties of Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Orange and Ulster in New York, and Fairfield in Connecticut. It said sales volume totaled $6.7 billion last year. Ron Peltier, chief executive of HomeServices, said in an interview that while there have been signs of softness in the New York-area luxury housing market, millennials and first-time buyers have shown greater interest in buying homes. "Houlihan Lawrence is a very prestigious, well-run and well-established company. It is a wonderful way for us to enter the marketplace," Peltier said. "Even though the market may be experiencing a bit of a slowdown, it is going to be temporary." Stephen and Chris Meyers, who are respectively chief executive and managing principal of Houlihan Lawrence, will remain, while their sister Nancy Seaman will step aside as chairman, the brokerage said. HomeServices said it now has nearly 29,500 employees in close to 570 offices in 28 U.S. states, and that residential sales volume topped $93 billion in 2016. The Minneapolis-based brokerage was started in 1998, and has gradually entered the Westchester market in recent years. Buffett has run Berkshire since 1965. His Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate''s more than 90 businesses include insurers, chemical and energy companies, food and apparel companies and a railroad. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David Gregorio) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/mergersNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-houlihan-lawrence-m-a-berkshire-hatha-idUSKBN15135C'|'2017-01-18T05:52:00.000+02:00' +'576c095b8b6a708aba3ebed0cb6bcf8260e4fbb1'|'Top execs of Abu Dhabi''s Etihad airline group to quit amid strategy review'|'ABU DHABI Jan 24 The longtime chief executive of Abu Dhabi''s Etihad Aviation Group, which owns one of the Middle East''s top airlines, will leave this year as the group reviews its strategy in a challenging market, Etihad said on Tuesday.James Hogan will step down as president and CEO of the group in the second half of 2017. Chief financial officer James Rigney will also leave later this year, Etihad said.Chairman Mohamed Mubarak Fadhel al-Mazrouei said the airline, which has seven equity partnerships with other carriers around the world including Air Berlin and Alitalia , would "progress and adjust" those links. (Reporting by Stanley Carvalho; Writing by Andrew Torchia)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/etihad-airways-ceo-idUSD5N19L00N'|'2017-01-24T09:57:00.000+02:00' +'6f43cad174c2be3e04d4967529f9a4697fe9a698'|'Hong Kong court rejects short seller''s appeal bid in Evergrande case'|'Financials 41am EST Hong Kong court rejects short seller''s appeal bid in Evergrande case HONG KONG Jan 13 Hong Kong''s Court of Appeal on Friday rejected activist short seller Andrew Left''s bid to appeal a tribunal ruling that found him culpable of market misconduct over a research report involving China Evergrande Group, his lawyer said. On Nov. 16, Left filed an appeal to reverse findings of law, and a separate application to appeal findings of fact made by the Market Misconduct Tribunal. On Friday, the court refused Left leave to appeal findings of fact, said Timothy Loh, managing partner at Timothy Loh LLP law firm in Hong Kong. "Mr. Left is currently considering the possibility of appealing this decision to refuse leave to the Court of Final Appeal. Mr. Left believes that the decision of the Market Misconduct Tribunal is patently wrong and, unless it is overturned on appeal, will deter the investing public in Hong Kong from engaging in the robust discussion necessary to police listed company disclosures." In August, the tribunal found the U.S.-based short seller culpable of market misconduct with the publication of a research report in June 2012 alleging Chinese property developer China Evergrande was insolvent. (Michelle Price +85298121634) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/lawsuit-evergrande-idUSL4N1F32MX'|'2017-01-13T13:41:00.000+02:00' +'dea7a4ec9000cb763b4a754de9d5bbf79ba43d75'|'Australia''s banks announce reforms amid consumer backlash'|'Financials - Sun Jan 29, 2017 - 1:15am EST Australia''s banks announce reforms amid consumer backlash By Harry Pearl - SYDNEY SYDNEY Jan 29 Australia''s biggest banks announced on Sunday a $1 billion ($754.6 million) investment in a new system to allow real-time transfers and payments as part of reforms aimed at appeasing public dissatisfaction with the financial system. The changes come amid calls from the opposition Labor Party for a judicial inquiry into the broader financial industry, which has been plagued by scandals involving misleading financial advice, insurance fraud and alleged interest-rate rigging. Australia''s "Big Four" banks - Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group , Westpac Banking Corp and National Australia Bank - have been forced to respond to public anger over the perception they are abusing their power. The four together control 80 percent of lending in Australia and have enjoyed years of record profits thanks largely to their dominance of the mortgage market. "We have heard the concerns of Australians and we are committed to taking action so that banking with all of us is a better experience," Andrew Thorburn, chairman of the Australian Banking Association (ABA) and CEO of National Australia Bank, said in a statement. Real time payments will allow Australian customers to overcome current delays of up to five business days when making transfers. It will also ensure funds are available on a 24/7 basis. Other initiatives announced by the ABA include financial literacy resources for small businesses and farmers, and making it easier for customers to change banks and accounts. Tom Godfrey, spokesperson for consumer advocacy group CHOICE, said the steps did not go far enough. "While all these steps are welcome, there is no substitute for a genuinely independent review of competition in Australia''s banking sector, a review commissioned by government, not the banks themselves," he said. (1 Australian dollar = $0.7546) (Reporting by Harry Pearl; Editing by Stephen Coates) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/australia-banks-idUSL4N1FJ020'|'2017-01-29T13:15:00.000+02:00' +'bbf84df5cf185345127cf7fc2a5533aafd6610a6'|'BlackRock U.S. ETF business tops $1 trillion in assets for 1st time'|'Money 40pm EST BlackRock U.S. ETF business tops $1 trillion in assets for first time The BlackRock logo is seen outside of its offices in New York City, U.S., October 17, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid BlackRock Inc''s exchange-traded fund unit, iShares, topped $1 trillion in assets in the United States for the first time, a spokeswoman said on Tuesday. The milestone, which happened late last week, came after a dramatic shift in markets since the November U.S. presidential election and is a capstone in a move by investors to lower costs using ETFs. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in New York; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe) Next In Money Gold becomes one of investors'' favorite safe havens with Trump uncertainty NEW YORK Some of Wall Street''s largest fund managers have taken a contrarian bet on gold, wagering that U.S. President Donald Trump''s governing style and upcoming elections in Europe will combine to create more stock market volatility and boost the prices of a metal long seen as a safe haven.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-blackrock-etf-flows-idUSKBN15F2GQ'|'2017-02-01T02:37:00.000+02:00' +'7fb23522581a0ab768f370ddb95efcc18ad6670d'|'UPDATE 2-Puerto Rico governor cites ''sharp contrast'' with island''s overseers'|'(Adds detail on healthcare, higher education spending)By Nick BrownJan 20 Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello on Friday criticized a set of recommendations by the federal board in charge of managing the U.S. territory''s finances, signaling a potential power struggle between the government and the board on how to pull the island out of economic crisis.In a letter to the board on Friday, Rossello said that while he supports reducing government spending, he would not focus on layoffs as a primary means of saving money.He also took a more moderate stance on reducing repayments to holders of the island''s $70 billion in debt, saying his administration had a "fundamental willingness to pay based upon available resources."The board, in a letter to the governor on Wednesday, said the island may have only $800 million available annually for debt service, just 21 percent of what it owes.The board''s letter had called for Puerto Rico to save more than $4.5 billion a year through a mix of savings and new revenues, including by "right-sizing government" through a 30 percent reduction in payroll and other means.The board also said it favored extending some key deadlines that could give Rossello''s administration more time to negotiate consensual restructuring deals with creditors.In addition to its debt from a myriad of public issuers, Puerto Rico is struggling with a 45 percent poverty rate and unemployment that is more than twice the mainland U.S. average.The bipartisan, seven-member oversight board was created under the federal Puerto Rico rescue law known as PROMESA, passed by the U.S. Congress last year. It is charged with helping the island manage its finances and negotiate restructuring deals with creditors.Rossello''s adversarial tone could score him political points on an island where many locals view the oversight board as an extension of U.S. imperialism.However, his policies and the board''s vision may be more aligned than not. For instance, both stress the need for the island to reduce spending and create new revenue sources.That is a departure from Rossello''s predecessor, former Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla, who called for dramatic repayment cuts in favor of maintaining government services.Rossello and the board may clash on healthcare spending, with the board calling for $1 billion a year in savings.Puerto Rico''s Medicare and Medicaid insurance programs are in financial trouble, due in part to federal government reimbursement levels that are disproportionately smaller than what is given to U.S. states.Rossello said he felt "highly confident" his administration would convince Congress to increase that funding."There is no single political leader in the world that would want to be responsible for ... endangering the health and wellbeing of 3.5 million of its citizens," the governor said.The board also called on Puerto Rico to annually save $300 million in higher education spending and $200 million in pension costs.Rossello said he would implement means-testing for tuition rates at the University of Puerto Rico, move pension benefits into private accounts, and implement rules to treat some pension benefits as taxable ordinary income. (Reporting by Nick Brown; Editing by Daniel Bases and Andrew Hay)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/puertorico-debt-oversightboard-idINL1N1FA1XI'|'2017-01-20T19:48:00.000+02:00' +'811a11687cbdd76c72d8ee916d98e65694c3e792'|'Actors Johnny Depp, Amber Heard finalize bitter divorce'|'Entertainment News - Fri Jan 13, 2017 - 9:34pm EST Actors Johnny Depp, Amber Heard finalize bitter divorce File photo: Cast member Johnny Depp and his actress wife Amber Heard arrive for the British premiere of the film ''''Black Mass'''' in London, Britain October 11, 2015. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo By Piya Sinha-Roy - LOS ANGELES LOS ANGELES Film star Johnny Depp''s tumultuous divorce from actress Amber Heard was finalized on Friday, ending the couple''s marriage after months of highly publicized claims by Heard of domestic violence and counterclaims from Depp of financial blackmail. Court papers filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Friday detailed a splitting of marital assets and an agreement by Depp, 53, to pay a previously announced sum of $7 million to Heard, 30, that she said will be donated to charity. Heard filed for divorce in May after 15 months of marriage, and days later obtained a temporary restraining order against Depp. She said in court filings that Depp was abusive to her throughout their marriage, culminating in an argument in May in which he hurled a cell phone into her face and shattered various objects in her apartment. A lawyer for Depp denied allegations of abuse and argued that Heard was "attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse." As part of the divorce settlement, Heard dismissed her request for a continued restraining order against Depp. She also dropped her defamation lawsuit against Depp''s friend, comedian Doug Stanhope, over an article he had written accusing the actress of blackmailing and manipulating her estranged husband. The divorce papers showed that Depp would retain sole possession of numerous real estate assets, including properties in Los Angeles, Paris and his private island in the Bahamas. He will also keep more than 40 vehicles and vessels, including vintage cars and his motorcycle collection. Heard will maintain custody of her dogs Pistol and Boo, the two canines at the center of a scandal in Australia in which Heard pleaded guilty to falsifying travel documents to sneak her pets into the country in 2015 without proper quarantine procedures. Heard said she would split her $7 million divorce settlement equally between the American Civil Liberties Union and the Children''s Hospital of Los Angeles. Court papers said Depp has paid $200,000 of the settlement so far, and will pay the rest over the course of the year. The payments will be made from Depp''s compensation from his upcoming film "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" and sale of some of his properties, the papers showed. Heard''s attorney, Pierce O''Donnell, hailed the finalization as a "great day" for his client, adding, "All Amber wanted was to be divorced and now she is." There was no immediate statement from Depp or his representatives. (Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Steve Gorman and Mary Milliken) Next In Entertainment News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/uk-people-depp-heard-idUSKBN14Y02A'|'2017-01-14T09:26:00.000+02:00' +'231b374101a35ec8ad9e303fcfd1558ed41ccfb7'|'S.Korea special prosecutors to question Samsung leader as a suspect'|'Cyclical Consumer Goods 12:49am EST S.Korea special prosecutors to question Samsung leader as a suspect SEOUL Jan 11 A South Korean special prosecutor''s office on Wednesday said it had summoned Samsung Group leader Jay Y. Lee as a suspect in a widening influence-peddling scandal involving President Park Geun-hye. Prosecutors have been checking whether Samsung''s support for a business and foundations backed by Park''s friend, Choi Soon-sil, was connected to a 2015 decision by the National Pension Service to back a controversial merger of two Samsung Group affiliates. Lee Kyu-chul, spokesman for the special prosecution team, told a briefing Lee was being summoned on Thursday morning over suspicions including bribery, but did not elaborate. Samsung Group could not be immediately reached for comment. (Reporting by Se Young Lee and Ju-min Park; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) Next In Cyclical Consumer Goods'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/southkorea-politics-samsung-group-idUSS6N14Q04X'|'2017-01-11T12:49:00.000+02:00' +'7b20764c9b9de6d990705e264cde3535a661cce3'|'UPDATE 1-Iraq has cut 180,000 bpd as part of OPEC oil deal - minister'|'Commodities 25am EST Iraq has cut 180,000 bpd as part of OPEC oil deal: minister OPEC logo is pictured ahead of an informal meeting between members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Algiers, Algeria September 28, 2016. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina/File Photo By Ahmad Ghaddar - LONDON LONDON Iraq has reduced its oil production by around 180,000 barrels per day and plans to cut a further 30,000 bpd before the end of the month, the OPEC member''s oil minister said on Monday. The cut came from a 4.75 million bpd level, Jabar Ali al-Luaibi told reporters at an industry event at Chatham House in London. "We are abiding by OPEC policy and the OPEC agreement," Luaibi said. Iraq agreed to lower its production by 210,000 bpd under a deal struck in December between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers led by Russia. The Middle Eastern country, OPEC''s second-largest producer, had originally sought to be exempt from any cuts, saying it needed the revenue to fight an Islamic State insurgency. "We are cutting from all Iraq," Luaibi said, although he added that cuts to production started at fields operated by national oil companies. He said the ministry had contacted international oil companies operating in the country about the cuts and so far received a "good response" from most of them. He said Russia''s Lukoil, which operates the West Qurna-2 oilfield, told him recently that the company was prepared to lower output by 20,000 bpd without compensation. "BP as well and some other companies are responding," he added. "So far everything is moving smoothly as far as the oil companies are concerned." (Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar; Editing by Dale Hudson) Next In Commodities Anglo sees incremental gains as trading unit hits cruising speed SINGAPORE Anglo American Plc , which broke with tradition when it set up a focused commercial unit, sees modest improvements ahead after an early boost to profits, as it gets closer to clients, even offering shelter from volatile markets with fixed-price contracts.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-opec-meeting-iraq-idUSKBN1571D2'|'2017-01-23T19:23:00.000+02:00' +'8e147c833fdf30576588ba97357e3c45d2e2730b'|'Government to go for growth in Feb. 1 budget, accept bigger deficit - Reuters poll'|'Economic News - Tue Jan 31, 2017 - 12:41pm IST Government to go for growth in Feb. 1 budget, accept bigger deficit - Reuters poll left right Prime Minister Narendra Modi (3rd L) and President Pranab Mukherjee (C) walk inside the parliament premises as they arrive to attend the first day of the budget session, in New Delhi, January 31, 2017. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi 1/3 left right Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks with the media inside the parliament premises on the first day of the budget session, in New Delhi, January 31, 2017. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi 2/3 left right Prime Minister Narendra Modi (C) speaks with the media inside the parliament premises on the first day of the budget session, in New Delhi, January 31, 2017. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi 3/3 By Rahul Karunakar - BENGALURU BENGALURU India''s government is expected to unveil a budget on Wednesday aimed at boosting economic growth through additional spending, with borrowing seen rising to 3.3 percent of gross domestic product in the coming fiscal year and 3 percent in the year after that, economists polled by Reuters say. Median forecasts ahead of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley''s budget are broadly in line with figures discussed over the past few days, with deficit forecasts ranging from just under 3 percent to as high as 4 percent for the coming two years. The poll was conducted Jan. 27-30. That will effectively delay by a year an earlier plan of bringing the fiscal gap down to 3 percent of GDP in 2017/18 from the current 3.5 percent budgeted for this year. Twenty-four of 36 economists surveyed said the government''s key theme in the budget will be to use additional borrowing to support growth. Possible measures include reducing personal income and corporate tax as well as higher public investment. Only four economists said the government will choose to dish out more subsidies, while the remaining eight said fiscal consolidation will be the theme. The 2017/18 budget comes less than three months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s bold and risky gamble to outlaw high-value old currency bills, which has slammed the brakes on Asia''s third-largest economy and hit the poor particularly hard. With uncertainty over how quickly the economy will recover, economists say the new budget is likely to echo what India has become accustomed to in the past -- expansion of spending programmes rather than fiscal restraint. "As has been the case at times in the past, we think that the government will have to tread very carefully between the need for stimulating demand in a weak economic environment after demonetization and continuing on the path of fiscal consolidation," wrote Nupur Gupta, economist at Goldman Sachs. "We expect the government to budget for a fiscal deficit target of 3.3 percent of GDP, 30 basis points higher than planned in the government''s medium-term fiscal consolidation program." While Standard and Poor''s has warned India needs to maintain its fiscal consolidation path for any prospects of a ratings upgrade, Jaitley is under pressure to boost growth after the government''s shock decision in November sparked a cash crunch. A recent Reuters poll predicted that Asia''s third-largest economy lost considerable momentum in the final three months of 2016 after the move dented consumption and business confidence. (Polling by Shaloo Shrivastava; Editing by Ross Finley and Kim Coghill) Next In Economic News EXCLUSIVE: India''s health budget may rise after minister warns of funding crunch NEW DELHI India''s health ministry is likely to see a substantial increase in funding, after it warned that its programmes were short of cash and sought more than $1.2 billion in additional money, according to government officials and documents seen by Reuters.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/india-budget-idINKBN15F0JA'|'2017-01-31T14:11:00.000+02:00' +'df248b062a82f1624e7c9debdd54aa0fdad4c229'|'Sony takes $976 million charge on film segment in Oct-Dec'|' 30am GMT Sony takes $976 million charge on film segment in Oct-Dec FILE PHOTO - A reception staff walks under a logo of Sony Corp at its headquarters in Tokyo February 4, 2015. REUTERS/Yuya Shino/File Photo TOKYO Sony Corp ( 6758.T ) said on Monday it booked an impairment charge of 112.1 billion yen ($976 million) on the goodwill value of its film segment in October-December. The impairment charge came mainly as Sony revised down the profit prospects of its DVD sales and other home entertainment operations in line with a market decline, the company said. Sony said the impact on the group''s earnings for the fiscal year ending in March is currently being evaluated and will be disclosed when it releases its third-quarter results on Feb. 2. (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Himani Sarkar) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sony-outlook-idUKKBN15E0NV'|'2017-01-30T15:30:00.000+02:00' +'f0a525c5328e9fd0e5226b498ce36445fdbeb5fb'|'Sugar mills shut early as drought hits cane crop - trade body'|'INWire - Tue Jan 3, 2017 - 6:11pm IST Sugar mills shut early as drought hits cane crop - trade body A farmers uses a machete to cut sugarcane as he harvests a field outside Gove village in Satara district, about 260km (161 miles) south of Mumbai May 10, 2011. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash/Files MUMBAI More than two dozen mills in India''s top sugar producing Maharashtra state have stopped crushing due to cane shortage while many more mills are likely to shut before February end, a producers'' body said on Tuesday. Sugar mills in Maharashtra typically operate between November to April, but this year cane supplies have fallen due to back-to-back droughts. Out of 147 sugar mills that started operations this year, 25 mills have stopped crushing as on Dec. 31, Indian Sugar Mills Association said in a statement. The country produced 8.09 million tonnes of the sweetener between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, 0.4 percent higher than a year earlier, as crushing began few weeks earlier, it said. The world''s biggest consumer is likely to produce 23.4 million tonnes of sugar in 2016/17, down about 7 percent from a year ago as back-to-back droughts ravaged the cane crop. (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Vyas Mohan) Next In INWire'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/india-sugar-output-idINKBN14N118'|'2017-01-03T17:28:00.000+02:00' +'7625e18ccaaef405111f55ba78e25ee2d8147dc0'|'BRIEF-Moody''s and ICRA say Indian economy to remain strong in 2017, despite short-term impact of demonetization'|' 13pm EST BRIEF-Moody''s and ICRA say Indian economy to remain strong in 2017, despite short-term impact of demonetization Jan 16 (Reuters) - * Moody''s and ICRA: Indian economy to remain strong in 2017, despite short-term impact of demonetization * Moody''s - believes that Indian government will likely achieve its fiscal deficit target of 3.5% of gdp for current fiscal year ending 31 march 2017 * Moody''s - India to remain one of fastest growing economies globally in 2017,although GDP growth to moderate in H1 as economy adjusts post demonetization * Moody''s - ICRA expects India''s growth of gross value added at basic prices to remain healthy in 2017 * Moody''s - Indian government will likely remain committed to achieving its fiscal deficit target of 3.5% of GDP for the fiscal year ending 31 March 2017 * Moody''s on Indian economy - on the issue of average CPI inflation, ICRA says that the rate will soften to 4.5% in 2017 from 4.9% in 2016 * Moody''s - ICRA says focus on digital transactions, introduction of a goods and services tax will likely reduce competitiveness of unorganised sector * Moody''s - ICRA anticipates a relatively healthier expansion of the organised sectors in 2017, at the cost of the unorganised sectors Source text - bit.ly/2ivXlvf (Bengaluru Newsroom) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1F6003'|'2017-01-16T09:13:00.000+02:00' +'ca68d662052346df5042557cda359bc87db8b129'|'European stocks futures open higher. For more see the European equities LiveMarkets blog'|'Financials 14am EST European stocks futures open higher. For more see the European equities LiveMarkets blog LONDON Jan 18 Live coverage of European markets now available on cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets Summary: **European stocks futures open higher **Deutsche Bank sees $1.2 billion Q4 pretax impact from DoJ civil penalty **FTSE posts worst fall since June 2016 on Tuesday after UK PM May outlines Brexit plans (Reporting by Kit Rees) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL5N1F8139'|'2017-01-18T14:14:00.000+02:00' +'d5fbc4e78e7cb42bddce658a8b91ee21749e961e'|'Elliott turns up CEO pressure blending activism with buyouts'|'Business 6:17am GMT Elliott turns up CEO pressure blending activism with buyouts left right A general view of Evergreen Coast Capital Corp. office is seen in Menlo Park, California, U.S., January 14, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam 1/4 left right A general view of Evergreen Coast Capital Corp. office is seen in Menlo Park, California, U.S., January 14, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam 2/4 left right A general view of Evergreen Coast Capital Corp. office is seen in Menlo Park, California, U.S., January 14, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam 3/4 left right A general view of Evergreen Coast Capital Corp. office is seen in Menlo Park, California, U.S., January 14, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam 4/4 By Michael Flaherty and Liana B. Baker - NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO Eight days after Elliott Management disclosed a 7.6 percent stake in LifeLock Inc ( LOCK.N ), managers of the more than $30 billion hedge fund met with executives at the consumer protection company. Activist investors such as Elliott usually use these initial meetings to lay out a broad plan on how to boost the stock price. But when LifeLock''s managers sat down with Elliott last June, the leader of its new private equity team revealed that Elliott was interested in buying the entire company, according to a December securities filing. Just like that, the auction for LifeLock began. In the end, the winning bid came from Symantec Corp ( SYMC.O ), which also counts Elliott among its major shareholders. LifeLock''s $2.3 billion sale agreement in November handed Elliott an 80 percent return on its five-month investment. The deal shows how the hedge fund is rewriting the activist investor playbook, ramping up its ability to act both as an engaged shareholder and a potential buyer of the whole company. Over the past few decades, activists have primarily focused on buying minority stakes and pushing for changes, which include leadership changes, cash allocation and exploring the sale of the company. Elliott''s private equity push promises greater rewards, but also involves bigger risks. Owning the majority of a company that fails to live up to its potential can hurt the fund''s bottom line and its reputation far more than a minority stake that underperforms. It also creates potential confusion for CEOs and boards wondering which hat Elliott is wearing when it shows up among shareholders. The multi-strategy fund, which also invests in other assets, such as currencies, commodities and government bonds, is alone with its hybrid approach, for now, thanks mainly to its size and resources. Even the largest activists have half or less of Elliott''s capital and usually a dozen or so investment professionals compared with more than 150 that work for Elliott. Elliott''s strategy is paying off for the fund, whose founder Paul Singer has built a reputation as one of the world''s toughest investors, adept at applying relentless pressure on targets that include national governments and some of the largest companies in the world. BLURRING THE LINE Of the 15 companies Elliott has targeted with a more than 5 percent stake since 2015, ten have inked $40 billion worth of deals - including two spin-offs. Activist investor Carl Icahn has disclosed nine similar filings in the same period that included two sales and two spin-offs. Elliott made an average return of around 30 percent on the deals, according to a Reuters analysis of filings and research firm 13D Monitor ( tmsnrt.rs/2iRamAo ). That compares to a 6 percent return from activist funds over a similar period, according to Hedge Fund Research. Still, some investors in public companies may feel uncomfortable blurring the line between the roles of a minority shareholder and a private equity investor, analysts say. "It''s a conflict because as a shareholder, your goal is to get the maximum return on your investment. As a private equity buyer, you want the best possible price," said Charles Elson, a University of Delaware corporate governance professor who also sits on the board of restaurant chain Bob Evans Farms Inc ( BOBE.O ). As a director, he would always wonder if Elliott''s interest was as a shareholder or a buyer, Elson said. "There is no conflict in these situations, because it is the companys board of directors, not Elliott, that decides whether to sell the company and who to sell it to," an Elliott spokesman said in an emailed statement. Michael Stark, the founder of CrossLink Capital and major LifeLock shareholder, said he had no issue with Elliott acting both as an investor and a bidder, though he was slightly disappointed with the final price Symantec paid. "We got the bottom end of a fair price," Stark said. "As long as shareholders were fairly represented by the board and management team, I''m okay with that." Some activist investors have made buyout bids in the past, but not in a systematic manner. Starboard Value, an activist fund with more than $4 billion in assets, offered in 2014 to buy 3-D technology maker RealD, which sold the following year to private equity. Icahn Enterprises bought auto service and parts chain Pep Boys for $1 billion in early 2016 and is trying to buy Federal Mogul Holdings Corp, another auto parts maker. Advisors to activists told Reuters that several activist funds were considering expanding into private equity but are still assessing whether to make such a move. BUILD UP Last year, New York-based Elliott expanded its tech-focused private equity practice, adding professionals, naming it Evergreen Coast Capital Corp and opening an office in Silicon Valley. Unlike in the past, when it would occasionally bid for majority stakes, the fund now has a dedicated team chasing buyouts of whole companies. Last June, Evergreen teamed up with Francisco Partners to buy Dell''s software assets for more than $2 billion, but Elliott has yet to emerge as the sole owner of any of public companies it offered to buy. While that might raise doubts about Evergreen''s credibility as a potential majority owner, merely having a takeover offer in hand has allowed Elliott to fast-track what typically would be months of trench warfare between activists and reluctant boards. Directors have a fiduciary duty to shareholders to explore a credible takeover proposal and launching an auction is one way to find out its worth. "When you commit to buying a company as a private equity owner, you''re putting your money where your mouth is," said Keith Gottfried, a partner at law firm Morgan Lewis who specializes in defending companies from activists. The establishment of a dedicated buyout team follows a gradual effort that started with the launch of Elliott''s tech investing arm, overseen by Jesse Cohn, who joined the fund in 2004 from Morgan Stanley as a 24-year old. Cohn, who now oversees Evergreen and Elliott''s U.S. activist investments, has developed close relationships with Silicon Valley and Wall Street firms, helping Elliott to strike deals where the fund would keep its stakes in companies going private. ( tmsnrt.rs/2je93zI ) These roll-over stakes allowed Elliot to benefit from the premium a sale would usually command, and later share profits with the private equity firm once it was ready to offload the revamped company. But buyout firms grew reluctant to share the spoils with Elliott. Its latest setback came in early 2015 when buyout firm Thoma Bravo bought software developer Riverbed Technology for $3.5 billion in a sale Elliott helped trigger, but then did not let the fund stay on as a minority investor. After that snub, Elliott''s top executives, including Singer, co-chief investment officer Jon Pollock and Cohn began laying the ground for Evergreen, which would give Elliott more independence in seeking its own private equity deals. Elliott''s investments, including ones made by Evergreen, come from the same general pool of capital shared across the firm, a person familiar with the matter said. Rich McBee, chief executive of business telecommunications company Mitel Communications ( MITL.O ), in which Elliott has owned shares for nearly a decade, said he valued the regular contacts and Elliott''s readiness to offer strategic suggestions. "They dont come with an idea that they have not fully investigated or vetted and talked with a lot of people about," McBee told Reuters in an interview. "Its not a random walk with them." (Reporting by Michael Flaherty in New York and Liana B. Baker in San Francisco; Editing by Greg Roumeliotis and Tomasz Janowski) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-elliott-activism-insight-idUKKBN15F0ER'|'2017-01-31T13:17:00.000+02:00' +'e2d69d3c44c64a174fa7c0a1812035ff46878245'|'Algerian firm signs $300 million farming deal with U.S. group'|'ALGIERS An Algerian company has signed a deal with a U.S. group to set up agricultural projects worth $300 million in the North African country as it seeks to reduce dependence on imports, Algeria''s agriculture ministry said on Wednesday.Under the deal, privately-owned Algerian dairy company Tifralait and the American International Agriculture Group (AIAG) will set up a joint venture to develop projects over an area of 25,000 hectares covering cereals, potato, fertilizers, dairy and cattle feed, the ministry said.Algeria imports most of its agriculture-related products because of weak domestic output, but has promised to develop the farming sector as part of efforts to diversify the economy away from oil and gas after a drop in oil prices hit state finances.It has also approved a new investment law offering incentives to foreign and local private firms willing to invest in the non-oil sector.Foreign investors often find Algeria a complex market to enter because of heavy state bureaucracy and a regulation requiring Algerian partners to hold 51 percent in any joint venture with foreign companies.The North African state''s economy is slowly emerging from years of socialist-inspired state centralization and protectionism that following independence from France in 1962. A decade of war with armed Islamists in the 1990s also left Algeria''s economy underdeveloped.Oil and gas earnings still account for 60 percent of the state budget and 95 percent of total exports for the OPEC member nation as it has struggled to diversify.Tifralait will hold a 51 percent stake in the joint venture, with AIAG owning the remaining 49 percent.The farming projects, planned for the southern province of Adrar, are aimed at producing 22,000 tonnes of cereal, 105,000 tonnes of cattle feed, 190 million liters of milk and 20,000 tonnes of red meat per year.(Reporting by Hamid Ould Ahmed; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-algeria-usa-agriculture-idINKBN1591MB'|'2017-01-25T10:48:00.000+02:00' +'7eb81d9dd4831a1d372426f0b4a9c21d9f55d105'|'Indonesia finance ministry issues new rules for bond dealers'|'JAKARTA Jan 11 Indonesia''s finance ministry announced new rules that require primary bond dealers to "safeguard" their partnership with the government and avoid conflicts of interest.Primary dealers "have the duty to safeguard the partnership with the Indonesian government based on professionalism, integrity, the avoidance of conflict of interest, and looking at the interests of the Republic of Indonesia," according to documents uploaded to the ministry''s website on Wednesday.The documents, dated Dec. 30, said the finance minister can revoke the license of a primary dealer if it does not fulfill the stated conditions.The finance minister also has the authority to accept or reject an application to be a primary dealer by taking into consideration the track record of the bank or securities firm, including its working experience with the ministry.The Indonesian government cut its business ties with JPMorgan Chase & Co following a November downgrade by the U.S. bank in its Indonesian stocks recommendation to "underweight" from "overweight". (Reporting by Eveline Danubrata and Gayatri Suroyo; Additional reporting by Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Richard Borsuk)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/indonesia-bonds-idINJ9N1CH01M'|'2017-01-11T00:56:00.000+02:00' +'8a6bc713128f129613d4122337a4a9b9545093f5'|'EU antitrust regulators to fine cartel of lead recyclers - sources'|'Commodities 42am EST EU antitrust regulators to fine cartel of lead recyclers: sources BRUSSELS EU antitrust regulators are set to fine world No. 1 lead recycler Ecobat Technologies [ECOBT.UL], Belgian peer Campine and France''s Recylex next month for taking part in a cartel, two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Johnson Controls International will not be sanctioned as it alerted the cartel to the European Commission, the people said. The EU competition enforcer in June 2015 charged five companies of fixing prices of scrap lead-acid batteries in Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands over a three-year period to 2012, resulting in lowered prices paid to scrap dealers. It did not name the firms. The Commission subsequently dropped one company from the case, one of the people said. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee) Next In Commodities'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-cartel-leadrecycling-idUSKBN15F23R'|'2017-01-31T23:34:00.000+02:00' +'d44057a310a9ecdbc08ef99015fe9d2a1775011c'|'UniCredit may price shares in cash call with 30-40 percent discount - source'|' 46am GMT UniCredit may price shares in cash call with 30-40 percent discount - source The headquarters of UniCredit bank is seen in Milan, Italy, in this February 8, 2016. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini/File Photo MILAN UniCredit ( CRDI.MI ) may price shares in an upcoming 13 billion euro (11.52 billion pounds) cash call with a 30-40 percent discount, a source close to the matter said on Wednesday, confirming a press report which drove shares down 3 percent. The source said no final decision had yet been taken. UniCredit declined to comment. The source said the bank was considering pricing new shares at between 1.2 euros and 1.3 euros each. "It''s a possibility that''s being studied," the source said. The stock fell 2.7 percent to 2.608 euros by 0838 GMT with traders saying sales had been triggered by Il Messaggero daily, which first reported details of the share issue pricing. A second source close to the matter said UniCredit could launch the share issue soon after it approves full-year results on Feb. 9. (Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro and Valentina Za, editing by Stefano Bernabei) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-italy-banks-unicredit-cash-call-idUKKBN14V0SZ'|'2017-01-11T15:46:00.000+02:00' +'0769d2e3848cf3da6a58f0cfea9decb373e117e3'|'UK PM May urges firms to end short-term thinking, show global leadership'|'Davos 5:00am EST UK PM May urges firms to end short-term thinking, show global leadership Britain''s Prime Minister Theresa May attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland January 19, 2017. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich DAVOS, Switzerland Multinational businesses must avoid short-term thinking and show leadership to help restore faith in globalization among citizens who feel left behind by the pace of economic change, British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Thursday. May said businesses must put aside short-term considerations and invest in people and communities for the long term. "We must heed the underlying feeling that there are some companies, particularly those with a global reach who are playing by a different set of rules to ordinary working people," she told business leaders at the World Economic Forum, a gathering of business and political elites in the Swiss Alps. "So it is essential for business to demonstrate leadership, to show that in this globalized world everyone is playing by the same rules." (Reporting by Elizabeth Piper and Noah Barkin, writing by William James, editing by Kylie MacLellan) Next In Davos'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-may-businesses-idUSKBN15316P'|'2017-01-19T16:57:00.000+02:00' +'2f7d18906444ab47edfeb52949a2eef646418e87'|'UPDATE 1-U.S. Democrats, citing Russia, Exxon, want Tillerson hearing delay'|'Company News - Wed Jan 4, 2017 - 7:15pm EST UPDATE 1-U.S. Democrats, citing Russia, Exxon, want Tillerson hearing delay (Updates with quotes from McCain, Coons) By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON Jan 4 Rex Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trump''s nominee for secretary of state, won over Republicans during meetings at the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, but Democrats want more time to consider his record, especially his ties to Russia. Senator Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, described Tillerson as "very much in the mainstream" of U.S. foreign policy thinking. Tillerson, Exxon Mobil''s former chairman and chief executive, drove the company''s expansion in Russia and opposed sanctions imposed over its annexation of Crimea. Many lawmakers, including Republicans, have expressed concerns about Tillerson''s relationship with Moscow, given its differences with Washington not only over Ukraine but the civil war in Syria. Asked on Wednesday if he could support Tillerson, Republican Senator John McCain, a leading U.S. critic of Russia, told reporters: "Sure. There''s also a realistic scenario that pigs fly," the Houston Chronicle reported. U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help the Republican Trump. Corker, whose committee will conduct Tillerson''s confirmation hearing, which is expected to start on Jan. 11, told reporters he was comfortable Tillerson would lead a robust U.S. policy toward Russia. Senator Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on the foreign relations panel, said after his meeting with Tillerson that he had not reached any conclusion on him. "We''re just at the beginning of the process," Cardin told reporters after spending about an hour with the nominee. Tillerson did not speak to reporters. Russia and Tillerson''s view of sanctions are expected to be a focus of Tillerson''s confirmation hearing, which could last for two days next week. Democrats have called for a delay before Tillerson''s hearing, given the complexity of his financial records and ties to Exxon after spending decades at the oil giant. Cardin said it was too soon to discuss Tillerson''s agreement announced late on Tuesday to sever all ties to Exxon Mobil to comply with conflict-of-interest requirements. Senator Chris Coons, another Democrat on the foreign relations panel, said next week may be too soon for the hearing, given Republicans'' plans to vote at the same time to repeal Democratic President Barack Obama''s healthcare law. "It strikes me as trying to get too many things done at the same time," he said. Coons said he was "generally encouraged" by some of Tillerson''s answers during their 1-1/2-hour meeting but had not decided whether to support his nomination. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Additional reporting by Susan Cornwell; Editing by Alistair Bell and Peter Cooney) Next In Company News Suntory not considering listing US unit Beam TOKYO, Jan 5 Suntory Holdings Ltd said on Thursday it was not considering an initial public offering of Beam Suntory Inc, denying a media report that it was eying a listing of its U.S. spirits unit on the New York Stock Exchange.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-congress-tillerson-idUSL1N1EU1SP'|'2017-01-05T07:15:00.000+02:00' +'dff74812359637edd1651bceeb83390c1a0cf13b'|'Ratings outlook never worse as Italy kicks off year''s crucial calls'|'Thu Jan 12, 2017 - 4:45pm GMT Ratings outlook never worse as Italy kicks off year''s crucial calls The skyline of Porta Nuova''s district is seen in Milan, northern Italy March 5, 2015. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini By Marc Jones - LONDON LONDON The number of countries at risk of having their credit ratings cut has never been higher as the first of the year''s crucial reviews looms on Friday in the shape of European struggler Italy. Global growth is gradually improving and oil and metals are recovering, but the cross-continent rise in political uncertainty and the hangover from two years of weak commodity prices means many countries still face intense pressures. Roughly a quarter of the 120-130 countries the big rating agencies cover are at risk of a downgrade meaning the 8-year, post-financial crisis fall in credit quality is likely to continue. S&P''s negative outlooks now outnumber positive ones 30-to-7 or a ratio of 4:1, while for Fitch it is 6:1. The triple-A club is shrinking and the proportion of countries with an investment grade BBB- or above with S&P is at an all-time low 52 percent. For the first time in a decade Europe is starting a year with more positive rating outlooks than negative ones, but Italy remains an outlier and its review by DBRS this week is likely to be one of the most closely watched of 2017. The Canadian agency is one of the four used by the European Central Bank and a downgrade would see the ECB increase the ''haircut'' it applies to Italian bonds, piling extra stress on the country''s banks that rely on its interest-free funding. An S&P Capital IQ model using credit default swaps shows markets currently price Italy a full four notches below DBRS'' A (low) rating a statistic that would normally point to a cut. DBRS'' head analyst Fergus McCormick, however, who will help make its decision on Friday, has been reassured by plans to shore up battered bank Monte dei Paschi and doesn''t expect the country to rush to early elections. "The key now is whether the governments burden-sharing precautionary recapitalization will restore investor confidence in the entire Italian banking system," he told Reuters, adding decisions on the country''s electoral law before the end of the month will be "critical" to the political outlook. Friday will also be a big day for Portugal which is set to be reviewed by Moody''s as market pressures rise again there.. Poland is also on its list, while Fitch rates Iceland which is lifting capital controls but has just taken two months to form a government. Jan. 27 looks busy too with Moody''s getting its first chance to resolve its negative outlook on Brexit-bound Britain and Fitch rating Turkey where the lira is in virtual freefall amid worries about its government and economy. GOING SOUTH Seen as greatly at risk of falling out of the key investment grade group is South Africa, which is struggling with government division and a limping economy that accounts for a roughly a third of sub-Saharan Africa''s GDP. S&P which has been on the brink at BBB- negative for over a year won''t formally review it until June 2. Moody''s which has it a notch higher is scheduled for April 7, while Fitch which is at the same key level as S&P should be sometime between the two. All three are watching to see whether economy falls into recession and if the prized independence of its central bank or finance minister are compromised by political forces. At the same time, the models that point a cut to Italy this week, predict a monster 2-3 notch cut in South Africa''s case. "We expect South Africa to be downgraded," said Aberdeen Asset Management EM portfolio manager Viktor Szabo, "It''s not a certainty, but the main reason is still there and he''s called Jacob Zuma." It is Latin America now however that has the largest number of negative outlooks at 12 in the case of S&P. And even though Europe looks better for once, there are warnings it could quickly sour again with German, French, Dutch and potentially Italian elections looming not to mention Brexit. "The possibility of unexpected political outcomes, could lead to sharp policy shifts in euro zone member states with implications for sovereign ratings," S&P''s top sovereign analyst Moritz Kraemer said. (Reporting by Marc Jones; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ratings-idUKKBN14W2FL'|'2017-01-12T23:44:00.000+02:00' +'d8ba644917a4d4741637d26f1b363ad3597d230e'|'BRIEF-Castellum signs 10-year contract for logistics premises in Gothenburg'|' 12am EST BRIEF-Castellum signs 10-year contract for logistics premises in Gothenburg Jan 31 Castellum AB : * Signs 10-year leasing contract for 28,000 square meters of logistics premises in Gothenburg with Speed Group (Gdynia Newsroom) Next In Financials * Maintaining positive momentum across all divisions and trading is in line with management expectations MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories Reuters News Agency - Brand Attribution Guidelines Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters . Thomson Reuters is the world''s largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1FK0X5'|'2017-01-31T14:12:00.000+02:00' +'3d5b2303c101c417ad241169a94725935ad09c8a'|'BT slump weighs on European, UK indexes; Generali rallies'|' 5:08am EST BT slump weighs on European, UK indexes; Generali rallies * STOXX 600 up 0.2 pct * Aryzta, BT slump after results * easyJet also weaker * Generali jumps on deal chatter (Adds quote and detail, updates prices) By Kit Rees LONDON, Jan 24 European earnings season got off to a rocky start on Tuesday with profit warnings from BT Group and Aryzta sending their shares sharply lower, with weakness offset by gains in Italian financials and mining stocks. Overall, the pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.2 percent. While basic resources were the biggest sectoral risers, gaining on the back of a weaker dollar, shares in Generali were the biggest gainers, up 9 percent on speculation that Intesa Sanpaolo''s could make a bid for the Italian insurer. Italy''s index was the standout performer, up 1 percent as Generali''s biggest shareholder Mediobanca also rallied 7.4 percent. Intesa declined to comment on a possible share swap offer on Generali. BT fell as much as 19 percent after the telecoms firm cut forecasts for 2017 and 2018 after finding that inappropriate accounting behaviour in its Italian business went far deeper than previously thought. Tuesday''s losses were poised to wipe out more than $8 billion off BT''s market value. "I think companies have been punished ... over the last year for misleading statements, for false accounting," Jonathan Roy, advisory investment manager at Charles Hanover Investments, said. "The worries are, is there anything else that isn''t being managed as it should be?" Charles Hanover Investments'' Roy added. Swiss bakery firm Aryzta was the biggest faller, set to lost almost a third of its market value after issuing a profit warning. Budget airline easyJet was another top faller, down 7.7 percent after reporting its first quarter earnings. "While Q1 could be viewed as a positive start to the year we expect the fuel/currency impact (which is beyond the company''s control) will weigh into the shares negatively (especially given the recent strong performance)," analysts at UBS said in a note. A miss in fourth quarter earnings also weighed on Philips , which dropped 2.6 percent. The medical equipment maker also disclosed a conflict with the U.S. government over defibrillators it sold in 2015 and before. Britain''s blue chip FTSE 100 index turned slightly higher, up 0.3 percent after the UK Supreme Court ruled that Prime Minister Theresa May needed parliament''s approval before triggering Britain''s formal exit from the European Union. (Editing by Vikram Subhedar and Raissa Kasolowsky) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/europe-stocks-idUSL5N1FE1UX'|'2017-01-24T17:08:00.000+02:00' +'6f5c727f735304ebdb212b7391cf3b0aadc0ad2c'|'Samsung''s chip, screen sales to drive fourth quarter profit to three-year high - analysts'|'Business News 11am GMT Samsung''s chip, screen sales to drive fourth quarter profit to three-year high - analysts left right The logo of Samsung Electronics is seen at its headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, November 29, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji 1/3 left right Employees walk past a building of Samsung Electronics in Seoul, South Korea, November 8, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji 2/3 left right Men take a look at Samsung Electronics'' TV sets during Korea Electronics Show 2016 in Seoul, South Korea, October 27, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji 3/3 By Se Young Lee - SEOUL SEOUL Samsung Electronics Co Ltd ( 005930.KS ) is likely to forecast its best quarterly profit in nearly three years on Friday, analysts said, with robust memory chip sales easing the pain of the costly failure of a flagship smartphone. The South Korean firm discontinued sales of the Galaxy Note 7 phones after some of the devices caught fire, warning of a $2.1 billion hit to its profit in the fourth quarter of 2016 due to expenses tied to an ongoing global recall and lost sales. But investors are betting a surge in sales of memory chips and organic light-emitting diode screens for smartphones will translate to strong earnings growth for the October-December period and through 2017. Samsung''s operating profit likely rose for a second straight quarter to 8.4 trillion won (5.68 billion pounds) over October-December, according to a Thomson Reuters StarMine SmartEstimate derived from a survey of 15 analysts, up 37 percent from a year ago and the highest since the first quarter of 2014. "We look for the memory business to post a big earnings improvement and contribute 50 percent of its (Samsung''s) total operating profit for Q416," Daiwa said in a report. Memory chip prices have spiked recently on demand for more firepower on mobile devices. But it is the sales of the higher-end 3D NAND chips which have rallied significantly, helping Samsung rake in profits given it is ahead of its rivals such as Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) and SK Hynix ( 000660.KS ) in the mass production of these chips, analysts said. Samsung''s semiconductor profit likely surged to a record 4.5 trillion won for the fourth quarter and 13.1 trillion won for 2016, Eugene Investment said in a report, adding chip earnings will grow further this year on firm demand. HDC Asset Management''s fund manager Park Jung-hoon agreed that the components business outlook appeared "pretty solid". "We''ll have to see how the mobile business does ... but I think Samsung''s operating profit should be able to come in somewhere around mid-30 trillion won range (this year)." For the recently ended quarter, Samsung''s mobile earnings likely rebounded from the dismal third quarter on healthy sales of the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge smartphones, analysts said. Hyundai Securities expects Samsung''s mobile division''s operating profit at 2.2 trillion won, in line with a year earlier and up sharply from 99 billion won in July-September. The company''s shares hit a record 1.831 million won on Tuesday this week ahead of the earnings forecast on Friday. They surged 43 percent in 2016 - the most since 2012 - suggesting investors did not expect a serious business impact from Samsung''s name being dragged into a growing political scandal in the country. (Reporting by Se Young Lee; Editing by Himani Sarkar) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-samsung-elec-outlook-idUKKBN14O07Y'|'2017-01-04T10:11:00.000+02:00' +'3ed3faf7717f6f4ca19da4ba84725d8a689014b1'|'Britain says auto industry is a key sector, looking to ensure best EU market access'|' 43am GMT Britain says auto industry is a key sector, looking to ensure best EU market access Nissan technicians prepare doors for the Qashqai car at the company''s plant in Sunderland, Britain, November 9, 2011. REUTERS/Nigel Roddis/File Photo LONDON Britain''s car industry is a key part of the economy and the government is looking to ensure the best possible EU market access for all of the country''s important sectors, Prime Minister Theresa May''s spokesman said on Thursday. The chairman of Japanese carmaker Toyota ( 7203.T ) told the Financial Times on Wednesday: "We have seen the direction of the prime minister of the UK, (so) we are now going to consider, together with the suppliers, how our company can survive." Asked for a response to the comments, May''s spokesman said: "The automotive industry and the finance sector ... are key areas for us and we will be, as we go into the negotiating period, looking at how we can ensure the best possible access to the European market for our key sectors. (Reporting by William James; writing by Costas Pitas; editing by Guy Faulconbridge) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-autos-idUKKBN1531MB'|'2017-01-19T18:43:00.000+02:00' +'2bb41b9f57bcf739fe9c514c4f9d3be35d260cf9'|'AppDynamics deal shows buyouts more lucrative in anemic IPO market'|'By Sweta Singh and Ankur Banerjee Cisco Systems Inc''s ( CSCO.O ) surprise and costly acquisition of business software firm AppDynamics Inc just two days ahead of its market debut suggests that U.S. tech startups are finding more value in buyouts amid a still-tepid IPO market.Cisco said on Tuesday it agreed to buy AppDynamics, which makes software to manage and analyze applications, for $3.7 billion.The offer price is more than double what the company would be valued at - $1.7 billion - if its shares were priced at the top end of its estimated IPO price range.The deal will allow AppDynamics investors to exit their holdings completely, compared with a roughly 10 percent exit if the company listed its shares.The M&A route may be more attractive not only for tech startups whose valuations have taken a hit over the past year, but also for traditional tech companies such as Cisco, which are looking to boost revenue through deals as they struggle to grow organically."I think this does reflect that the valuations are still relatively conservative," said Richard Truesdell, co-head of global capital markets at law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell."Certainly (AppDynamics) seems to have hit the jackpot ... this is the most dramatic disparity in valuation between the two markets that I can think of seeing recently."Cisco''s announcement comes a week after Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co ( HPE.N ) said it would buy cloud startup SimpliVity for $650 million in cash.This is not to say that 2017 will be a disappointing year for IPOs.In fact, social media company Snap Inc is all set to debut this year and several smaller tech companies have pinned their hopes on a rebounding U.S IPO market, coming off a forgettable 2016 marred by political and economic uncertainty.Only 20 technology companies went public in 2016, the fewest since 2008, according to Thomson Reuters data."Decacorns" - companies valued at tens of billions of dollars - including Uber and Airbnb are also expected to file to list their shares this year, allowing high-profile backers including BlackRock and Sequoia Capital to cash in their investments.For now, startups are likely to be sweet on buyouts."I expect that the U.S. IPO market will have more activity this year than last, but very few tech companies will go public because companies such as Cisco Systems and Oracle are willing to pay top dollar," said Jay Ritter, IPO expert and professor at the University of Florida.(Reporting by Ankur Banerjee and Sweta Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-ipo-valuation-idINKBN1592L1'|'2017-01-25T16:39:00.000+02:00' +'ab133c774f6e3e1fae38369abbf5bbd74f31c13c'|'Ascential to sell Drapers and Nursing Times as it ditches ''heritage'' brands - Media'|'Ascential, the events and publishing business once known as Emap, is to sell more than a dozen heritage titles including the fashion bible Drapers, Architects Journal and Nursing Times.The sell-off will leave Ascential with just one print title, Retail Week, which it is keeping due to its strategic fit with the digital brands Planet Retail and One Click Retail. The publisher, which made an 800m stock market flotation in February last year, said it was selling off the 13 titles to focus on its largest brands and those with the highest growth potential.The titles, which are being hived off into a separate business while buyers are sought, include Construction News, Health Service Journal, Local Government Chronicle and Middle Eastern Economic Digest (MEED).Ascentials growth strategy continues to be to focus its resources and investment on its largest brands and those with the highest growth potential, said Duncan Painter, chief executive of Ascential. This move will further focus our portfolio on our largest market leading products. The heritage brands, with large, loyal audience communities, provide an exciting opportunity for new owners.The 13 titles made revenue of 63m last year, and about 10m in operating profits, with just under 9m in revenue coming from print advertising.In 2015, Ascential announced it was retiring the venerable Emap brand , which had been a publishing institution for almost 70 years. In the 1980s and 1990s Emap expanded via a series of launches and acquisitions to become a major UK media company encompassing local newspapers, trade and consumer magazines and radio. At the time Ascential said it intended to close the print editions of its titles over a two-year period as part of a focus on digital publishing and events associated with the magazine brands. Ascential continues to own a large array of businesses including the Cannes Lions advertising festival, fashion information business WGSN, environmental data business Groundsure and Glenigan.Painter said Ascentials top five brands accounted for 56% of total group revenues and 71% of adjusted profits.Guardian Media Group, the publisher of the Guardian and Observer, owns a 14.9% stake in Ascential.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/jan/05/ascential-drapers-nursing-times-emap-retail-week'|'2017-01-05T02:00:00.000+02:00' +'aa3a156d1e905b1cb8d4ea5e9a202dc345da56ba'|'Arnold Donald, Carnival CEO'|'All the benefits of Standard Digital, plus: Unlimited access to all content Instant Insights column for comment and analysis as news unfolds FT Confidential Research - in-depth China and Southeast Asia analysis ePaper - the digital replica of the printed newspaper Full access to LEX - our agenda setting daily commentary Exclusive emails, including a weekly email from our Editor, Lionel Barber Full access to EM Squared- news and analysis service on emerging markets'|'ft.com'|'http://www.ft.com/rss/companies/travel-leisure'|'https://www.ft.com/content/3201e790-9abd-11e6-b8c6-568a43813464?ftcamp=published_links%2Frss%2Fcompanies_travel-leisure%2Ffeed%2F%2Fproduct'|'2017-01-08T19:24:00.000+02:00' +'2e549d466a0bea80d352da7b8208328bcf195d54'|'Ford South Africa recalls Kuga SUV models after cars burst into flames'|'CAPE TOWN Jan 16 U.S. auto-maker Ford will recall 4,500 of its Kuga SUV models after dozens of reports of the vehicles catching fire spontaneously, the head of the company''s South Africa unit said on Monday.In a joint statement with the National Consumer Commission, Ford''s Southern Africa President and chief executive Jeff Nemeth said the company could confirm 39 incidents of the cars catching fire, as well as one death, which Nemeth said was not directly linked to the defect.In October, the company''s North American arm recalled 400,000 units of the Ford Escape - the U.S. version of the Kuga - also due to engine problems. (Reporting by Wendell Roelf, Writing by Mfuneko Toyana, Editing by Angus MacSwan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/safrica-ford-idINJ8N1E700U'|'2017-01-16T10:55:00.000+02:00' +'641c3dbd3c008fe16ab6e40cda480a13076296e4'|'China''s Yonghui Superstores, Bain to buy U.S.-based Daymon for $413 million'|'HONG KONG China''s supermarket chain operator Yonghui Superstores Co Ltd ( 601933.SS ) said it would team up with Bain Capital Private Equity to buy U.S. retail services group Daymon Worldwide Inc for $413 million.Yonghui will invest $165 million for a 40 percent stake in Daymon, while Bain Capital will buy 60 percent, the Chinese firm said in a statement late on Tuesday. It said it would fund the deal by bank borrowing and cash.Bain Capital said separately it would buy the stake from existing shareholders of Daymon. Daymon''s expertise ranges from private brand development to strategy and branding, sourcing and logistics, retail merchandising services and consumer experience marketing.The global retail market is expected to reach $28 trillion by 2019 at an average annual growth rate of 3.8 percent, while Asia''s retail sales are expected to exceed $10 trillion by 2018, Bain Capital said.(Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-daymonworldwide-m-a-yh-superstores-idINKBN1520CM'|'2017-01-18T00:54:00.000+02:00' +'a65726f348f0165ec9cf73f88852af44c85aeba3'|'Japan economy minister declines comment on Trump''s Toyota tweet'|'Company 02pm EST Japan economy minister declines comment on Trump''s Toyota tweet TOKYO Jan 6 Japanese Economy Minister Nobuteru Ishihara said on Friday he had no comment on tweets by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump about Toyota Motor Corp before Trump takes office. Trump threatened in a tweet to impose heavy taxes on the automaker if it builds its Corolla cars for the U.S. market at a plant in Mexico. (Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Chris Gallagher) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-trump-toyota-ishihara-idUST9N1DA02B'|'2017-01-06T09:02:00.000+02:00' +'03303f41f1a3ccdd55e32ed0e089df3eea4d7810'|'Buoyant German economic growth will be tough to sustain'|'Business News 5:12pm GMT Buoyant German economic growth will be tough to sustain Cranes of German shipyard Blohm&Voss are silhouetted against the setting sun in Hamburg July 22, 2013. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer By Michael Nienaber - BERLIN BERLIN A golden decade of growth and prosperity in Germany risks fading if the government fails to heed calls to increase investment and pursue structural reforms that lay the foundations for a new phase of economic expansion. Europe''s economic powerhouse grew at the fastest rate in half a decade last year, but it is unlikely to top this performance in 2017 and beyond. A consumption-led upswing looks to have reached its peak as a slowdown in wage growth and a pick-up in inflation gradually weakens consumers'' spending power. Meanwhile exports - long the mainstay of growth - could also weaken given political uncertainties such as Brexit and a possible protectionist U.S. trade policy under Donald Trump. Germany''s economy grew by 1.9 percent in 2016 driven by soaring private consumption, increased state spending on refugees and higher construction investment, data showed on Thursday. But analysts polled by Reuters expect economic growth to slow to 1.4 percent in 2017 and 1.5 percent in 2018, with inflation predicted to bounce back to 1.6 percent this year. "German private and public consumption will rise less dynamically in 2017," Ifo economist Timo Wollmershaeuser said, pointing to the higher oil price and a reduced number of refugee arrivals. Meanwhile, real wages for workers with collective agreements rose less sharply in 2016 than in the previous two years, a study showed last week. ING''s Carsten Brzeski said that German real wages would not continue to rise and interest rates would not be cut further. "The simple lack of additional stimulus means that growth should slow down. Not only in 2017 but also in the year beyond," Brzeski said, adding that household and state spending would continue to drive growth - only at a somewhat slower pace. END OF AN ERA Germany has enjoyed an economic super-cycle, kicked-off by the economic reforms from Chancellor Angela Merkel''s predecessor Gerhard Schroeder and prolonged by the European Central Bank''s ultra-loose monetary policy, a weak euro and lower oil prices. Under Schroeder, Germany cut income tax, reduced non-wage labour costs such as employer healthcare contributions and made it easier for firms to hire and fire workers. However economists and senior German officials say a new wave of changes are needed: to improve the country''s infrastructure, underpin the pension system for an ageing population and meet the challenges of digitalisation. They say the government should increase female participation in the labour market by getting rid of tax incentives for parents staying at home, introduce part-time work schemes, and provide better child care. Other demands include strengthening English language skills for children and investing in high-speed internet and digital infrastructure that put Germany on par with world leaders. If the government fails to pursue such reforms, business leaders say the "golden era" of growth and prosperity risks fading. While the government has increased investment more than the euro zone average in recent years due to healthy tax revenues and record-low borrowing costs, the private sector is holding back amid rising political uncertainty. "What the upswing is missing is a contribution from industry," Ifo''s Wollmershaeuser said, adding that companies were not investing enough in equipment and machinery. "There is no impulse from abroad that could turn this upswing into a boom," he added. BDI President Dieter Kempf said this week that future growth was anything but self-evident, given the political challenges threatening Germany. German business leaders are worried that the economy could face headwinds from a protectionist U.S. trade policy under new president Trump and excessive state interference in China. "Strong export growth will not return," Commerzbank analyst Joerg Kraemer said, arguing that demand from China would remain weak and the benefits from past trade liberalisations had been reaped while protectionist sentiment prevented new trade deals. LONG-TERM PROBLEMS There are also structural problems which may prevent German exports from propelling growth strongly as before. "The German government is rolling back the labour market reforms of the former Chancellor Schroeder which is weakening the competitiveness of the German economy," Kraemer said. German wages rose much more strongly than productivity in 2016, meaning that unit labour costs increased for the fourth consecutive year, the Federal Statistics Office said. The Cologne Institute for Economic Research warned that this trend is hurting German companies'' export performance and increasing the risk of losing market share. A global shift away from traditional manufacturing towards services is also a problem - the latter not being a German strength. "Combined with a general tendency towards more protectionism, it is hard to see that German exports will easily return to old strength," ING''s Brzeski concluded. To lay the foundations for more growth, experts such as the government''s panel of economic advisers have repeatedly urged the government to encourage private investment through fresh reforms. But Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble on Thursday suggested using last year''s federal budget surplus of 6.2 billion euros (5.38 billion) to amortize old debt instead of increasing investment. "In the long run, these problems will hit back and lower growth in Germany," Commerzbank''s Kraemer said. (Editing by Toby Chopra)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-economy-gdp-analysis-idUKKBN14W2I9'|'2017-01-13T00:12:00.000+02:00' +'8c727113024325083e0c615820bd0dfe8424ee27'|'Aviva teams up with Tencent, Hillhouse Capital to launch Hong Kong insurer'|' 06am GMT Aviva teams up with Tencent, Hillhouse Capital to launch Hong Kong insurer Pedestrians walk past an Aviva logo outside the company''s head office in the city of London, Britain, March 5, 2009. REUTERS/Stephen Hird/File Photo British insurer Aviva said it had joined up with investment management firm Hillhouse Capital and Chinese internet services giant Tencent Holdings to start a digital insurance focused company in Hong Kong. As part of the deal, Hillhouse and Tencent will acquire shares in Aviva Hong Kong, the insurer said on Friday. When the deal closes, Aviva and Hillhouse would each hold 40 percent of Aviva Hong Kong, while Tencent will own the rest, Aviva said. Aviva said earlier this week it will merge its UK life and general insurance businesses as it focuses on offering products online, as part of an organisational shake-up that also saw the departure of its European chief. Tencent, which is among the backers of Chinese internet insurer Zhong An Online Property and Casualty Insurance, has also invested in online insurer HeTai Life. China''s online finance industry has boomed in recent years, with players ranging from Tencent to e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and start-ups offering peer-to-peer lending, wealth management and online payments in a bid to prise business away from traditional banks and insurers. (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; editing by Carolyn Cohn) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-aviva-gb-jv-tencent-holdings-idUKKBN1540Z9'|'2017-01-20T16:06:00.000+02:00' +'9dbb7201187275713d8e9bb62b28eda1b80bbbcf'|'Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk bets 115 million pounds on post-Brexit UK science'|' 10:42am GMT Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk bets 115 million pounds on post-Brexit UK science The logo of Danish multinational pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk is pictured on the facade of a production plant in Chartres, north-central France, April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Guillaume Souvant/Pool/File Photo By Ben Hirschler - LONDON LONDON Novo Nordisk ( NOVOb.CO ), the world''s top maker of diabetes drugs, is investing 115 million pounds in a new research centre in Britain, undeterred by Brexit. The Danish company said on Monday it would invest the money over 10 years in the centre based at the University of Oxford, which will employ 100 scientists hunting for new ways to treat type 2 diabetes. Britain''s vote last year to leave the European Union was disappointing but did not undermine the case for working with a renowned centre of science, said Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, Novo''s chief scientist. "There''s no doubt that Brexit created uncertainty for a period in our deliberations," he told Reuters. "It is unfortunate, but we''ve passed that challenge and I''m convinced we''ve no need to worry...Oxford is a worldwide powerhouse in medicine." The decision was welcomed by the government of Prime Minister Theresa May, who last week highlighted life sciences when she laid out a new industrial strategy designed to rebalance Britain''s heavily services-based economy after it leaves the EU. Treasury minister David Gauke said Novo''s move was "a vote of confidence in the UK''s position as a world-leader in science and research". Brexit has raised concerns in the life sciences sector, with academics fretting over a potential gap in funding currently provided by the EU and drugmakers concerned over future medicine regulation. The European Medicines Agency - based in London for now, but likely to move after Brexit - currently offers a one-stop-shop for drug approvals, smoothing the sale of pharmaceuticals across borders. Given these challenges, some drug company executives have warned that Britain could lose its appeal as a centre for research and manufacturing. Novo''s move is therefore reassuring, although the bulk of the company''s work in producing new diabetes treatments, including large-scale drug development and manufacturing, will still be done in Denmark. Significantly, Britain''s two big domestic drugmakers have both committed to new investments in the country recently. AstraZeneca ( AZN.L ) is finishing a $500 million (399.2 million) headquarters and research centre in Cambridge, while GlaxoSmithKline ( GSK.L ) pledged $360 million to expand manufacturing in Britain in July, just five weeks after the Brexit vote. Novo Nordisk has built a booming business over the last two decades by focusing on diabetes, which is a growing problem worldwide, driven by obesity and sedentary lifestyles. More recently, however, it has struggled with squeezed prices in the key U.S. market. It said James Johnson, currently a professor at the University of British Columbia, had been appointed head of the Novo Nordisk Research Centre Oxford. Johnson is an expert on pancreas biology, insulin action and diabetes. The new set-up will allow for daily interactions between academics at Oxford and Novo''s industrial scientists. (Editing by Ruth Pitchford/Keith Weir) Oil slides as strong U.S. drilling activity weakens deal to cut output LONDON Oil prices fell on Monday as news of another increase in U.S. drilling activity spread concern over rising oil output just as many of the world''s oil producers are trying to comply with a deal to pump less in an attempt to prop up prices.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-novo-nordisk-britain-idUKKBN15E0ES'|'2017-01-30T17:42:00.000+02:00' +'8de0ec20bbced277d80e0011d9b3527081302de4'|'Deutsche Bank plans new bonus system for senior staff - Handelsblatt'|'FRANKFURT Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) is working on a new, more transparent bonus system for its top executives, German newspaper Handelsblatt reported on Tuesday, citing sources.Deutsche Bank will propose the new system to its annual shareholders meeting, which is scheduled for May 18, the newspaper said.The new system will be less complicated and more transparent. Deutsche Bank declined to comment on the report.Deutsche Bank earlier this month decided to cut bonuses drastically as it tries to turn a profit and faces a big bill for litigation.Germany''s biggest bank has finalised a $7.2 billion settlement with the U.S. authorities over its sale of toxic mortgage securities in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis. It has also agreed to pay $630 million in fines for organising $10 billion in sham Russian trades.Deutsche Bank''s management board has decided to waive its own bonuses for 2016.(Reporting by Harro ten Wolde and Hans Seidenstuecker. Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/deutsche-bank-bonuses-idINKBN15F2I1'|'2017-01-31T17:03:00.000+02:00' +'b8c1f4a9030121787780addcfb010ad9126b4b10'|'U.S. exports fill Asia''s LNG demand gap as market tightens'|' 5:18am GMT U.S. exports fill Asia''s LNG demand gap as market tightens FILE PHOTO: A LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) tanker is anchored off a port in Yokohama, south of Tokyo December 5, 2012. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao/File Photo By Henning Gloystein - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE U.S. liquefied natural gas exporters sending tankers to Asia to fill a gap in the region''s demand as markets have tightened more-than-expected on surging consumption in China and Pakistan as well as Australia''s continuing struggles to ramp up scheduled production. Benefiting from the Panama Canal expansion last year that allows bigger ships to cross from the Gulf of Mexico into the Pacific, around a dozen LNG cargoes from the United States have gone to Asia since December. Data in Thomson Reuters Eikon currently shows two LNG tankers, carrying a combined 280,000 cubic metres of gas, are currently crossing to Asia from Louisiana. The U.S. LNG exports are coming from Cheniere Energy''s Sabine Pass, Louisiana, facility that opened last year as the first U.S. export terminal outside Alaska. U.S. spot natural gas costs just $3.21 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), while Asian spot LNG prices have soared over 80 percent since June last year to almost $10 per mmBtu. "This run up in prices definitely took everyone by surprise. In mid-2016, I don''t think anyone expected LNG prices to double to reach $10 per mmBtu," said Chong Zhi Xin, principal Asia LNG analyst at consultants Wood Mackenzie. "Cheniere definitely did well (out of filling the supply gap), as they have been selling on a spot basis." Shipping brokerage Arctic Securities said this week that this Asian LNG premium meant "LNG traders (are) netting $1 million plus per U.S.-Asia cargo." Along with Cheniere, Royal Dutch Shell, and Spain''s Gas Natural Fenosa (GNF) have been active exporters from Louisiana to Asia. "LNG exports out of U.S. to Asia... is clearly an attractive deal which is benefiting the likes of Cheniere Marketing, and Shell/GNF, who own volumes at the first two trains," Arctic Securities said. TIGHTER ASIA The juicy arbitrage route is a result of Asian demand rising faster than expected. Commodity trader Gunvor has won a major tender to supply 60 LNG shipments to Pakistan over a five-year period, starting this year, while Italy''s Eni will supply the country with 180 LNG cargoes over a 15-year period, a Pakistani energy official told Reuters this week. The expected surge in Pakistani demand is occurring as colder-than-normal winter weather in North Asia has increased LNG requirements. China''s 2016 LNG imports surged 30 percent from 2015 to over 25 million tonnes a year, making it the world''s third-biggest LNG importer behind Japan and South Korea. Including India and Taiwan, the world''s five largest LNG consumers are now in Asia, using about 70 percent of globally traded LNG, according to the International Gas Union (IGU). Meanwhile, demand is stagnant in Europe, the next biggest import region. Asia faster-than-expected demand is happening amid delays and outages at new export sites. Chevron''s Gorgon export facility, which was launched last year in Western Australia, has had several outages due to technical trouble. Upcoming projects like Shell''s Prelude, the world''s biggest ever floating liquefaction vessel, and Ichthys - led by Japan''s Inpex - have had delays in expected first exports. Still, the LNG market remains well supplied, with available LNG capacity standing 45 percent above demand last year, according to Eikon data. (Reporting by Henning Gloystein; Editing by Christian Schmollinger) Britain seeks bids for 2.75 billion pound high speed train contract LONDON Britain opened the bidding on Friday for a 2.75 billion pound contract to build a fleet of trains for a new high speed railway project to link London with the north of England, work on which is due to begin this year.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-asia-lng-idUKKBN1540EM'|'2017-01-20T12:18:00.000+02:00' +'962ba3c6b05e7c258bdf277314a84ad3c4382737'|'Australia shares set to extend gains; NZ steady'|'Financials 20pm EST Australia shares set to extend gains; NZ steady Jan 5 Australian shares are expected to open higher on Thursday, tracking gains on Wall Street after it emerged U.S. policymakers were eyeing faster interest rate rises in response to U.S President-elect Donald Trump''s fiscal stimulus plans. The local share price index futures edged up 0.5 percent to 5,724 points, a 12.4-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close. The benchmark rose 0.06 percent on Wednesday, extending the previous session''s gains, to hit its highest close since May 29, 2015. New Zealand''s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index is steady in early trade. Almost all U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers thought the U.S. economy could grow more quickly because of fiscal stimulus under the Trump administration and many were eyeing faster interest rate increases, minutes from the central bank''s December meeting showed. For a summary of overnight action across global markets, double click on For a digest of the day''s business stories in Australian newspapers, double click on (Reporting by Hanna Paul in Bengaluru; editing by Richard Lough) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/australia-stocks-morning-idUSL4N1EU45D'|'2017-01-05T04:20:00.000+02:00' +'0c111e76023213a9875cffd990c3c1a8b28ea9b0'|'Green bond issuance growth to slow after bumper 2016 - HSBC'|'Business News - Wed Jan 11, 2017 - 10:15am GMT Green bond issuance growth to slow after bumper 2016 - HSBC HSBC headquarters building is seen in Pudong financial district in Shanghai December 8, 2010. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo LONDON The growth in global green bond issuance could slow this year to $90-120 billion, with China unlikely to repeat its record issuance and policymakers abstaining from intervening in the nascent market, HSBC said on Wednesday. Around $90 billion of green bonds were issued last year, more than double the amount of 2015. Chinese green bonds made up 37 percent of issuance, compared with 2 percent in 2015. The proceeds from so-called green bonds help finance projects such as renewable energy, the energy-efficiency sector, green transport and wastewater treatment. HSBC expects issuance to be at around $90-120 billion this year, a growth rate of 0 to 30 percent. "We think growth will slow, as last years commencement of Chinese green bond supply was a one-off that cannot be repeated," the bank said in a research note. Policymakers are also not likely to intervene in the green bond market this year while it is still growing and developing standards. "If green quality standards remain high, then we expect that in time, policy practitioners may then step in and help further to accelerate market growth," it added. The green bond market is widely expected to expand steadily in future, as a global climate change agreement and concerns over the environment boost spending on green projects. But it is still a tiny fraction of the overall bond market. Commonly agreed standards on what constitutes a green bond and transparency over how proceeds are used are needed to make the market become more mainstream. HSBC said sovereign green bond issuance could grow slightly in 2017, with up to six governments expected to issue sovereign green bonds. (Reporting by Nina Chestney; editing by Susan Thomas) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-environment-bonds-hsbc-idUKKBN14V12Z'|'2017-01-11T17:15:00.000+02:00' +'855d58cc9711e3541c8512bbf90e0153f6008d2e'|'BRIEF-International Bank of Saint-Petersburg provides RUB 2 bln credit to LSR Group unit'|'Financials 14am EST BRIEF-International Bank of Saint-Petersburg provides RUB 2 bln credit to LSR Group unit Jan 17International Bank of Saint-Petersburg: * Provides 2 billion roubles ($33.77 million) credit to LSR Group''s unit LSR.Realestate-M to replenish working capital for the Group''s construction projects in Moscow ($1 = 59.2200 roubles) (Gdynia Newsroom) Next In Financials * IHS markit reports fourth quarter and fiscal year 2016 results MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Taboola Trending Stories Reuters News Agency - Brand Attribution Guidelines Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters . Thomson Reuters is the world''s largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL5N1F734B'|'2017-01-17T18:14:00.000+02:00' +'6d32a72540364d4bfada28709179938a7c1105e6'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX falls as financials and railway stocks slide'|'TORONTO Jan 17 Canada''s main stock index fell on Tuesday as financial and railway stocks weighed, while shares of energy companies and gold miners rose on higher commodity prices.The Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index unofficially closed down 37.93 points, or 0.25 percent, at 15,441.36. Six of the index''s 10 main groups ended lower. (Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Sandra Maler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-close-idINL1N1F71WT'|'2017-01-17T18:07:00.000+02:00' +'ca3410b8859a516c408188a5ca8cb85dc092e357'|'Australia shares likely to open flat, NZ little changed'|'Financials 14pm EST Australia shares likely to open flat, NZ little changed Jan 27 Australian shares are set to open flat on Friday, tracking Wall Street, with gains for mining heavyweights from rallying iron ore expected to be tempered by the decline in copper prices, while rising crude should boost energy stocks. U.S. stocks were little changed on Thursday after the two-day rally which pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average above the 20,000 mark. Chinese steel and iron ore futures extended gains on Thursday on expectations of firm demand following the Lunar New Year holiday, while copper prices declined on a strengthening dollar. Oil prices jumped 2 percent overnight, while gold slipped to a two-week low. [GOL Local share price index futures were flat at 5,649, a 22.5-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close on Wednesday. Australian markets were closed on Thursday for a holiday. New Zealand''s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was flat in early trade. For a summary of overnight action across global markets, double click on For a digest of the day''s business stories in Australian newspapers, double click on (Reporting by Geo Tharappel in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom Heneghan) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/australia-stocks-morning-idUSL4N1FG52H'|'2017-01-27T04:14:00.000+02:00' +'5ddb6e8516d83ee7a2f89e87d127cf105486edea'|'Siemens chairman to nominate Snabe as successor - Manager Magazin'|'Business News - Mon Jan 30, 2017 - 9:40am GMT Siemens chairman to nominate Snabe as successor - Manager Magazin CEO of German software group SAP Jim Hagemann Snabe attends the company''s balance sheet news conference in Frankfurt January 25, 2012. REUTERS/Lmar Niazman FRANKFURT Siemens'' chairman plans to put forward ex-SAP co-Chief Executive Jim Hagemann Snabe as his successor at the company''s annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday, German business monthly Manager Magazin reported. The 51-year-old Dane was co-CEO of software giant SAP from 2010 to 2014 and has been a member of Siemens'' supervisory board since 2013. The contract of Siemens Chairman Gerhard Cromme runs until 2018. The 73-year-old former CEO and chairman of Thyssenkrupp has been criticised for not producing a succession plan in his decade in the role. Influential board members had persuaded Cromme to nominate a successor, Manager Magazin reported, citing supervisory board sources. Siemens declined to comment on the report. Trains-to-turbines group Siemens is focusing increasingly on industrial software, an area in which it has partnered with SAP and will also increasingly compete with Europe''s most valuable technology company. (Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; editing by Jason Neely) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-siemens-chairman-snabe-idUKKBN15E0SR'|'2017-01-30T16:40:00.000+02:00' +'523980ca49af630c6ecc46183881a30ae6846540'|'Norway court to hear appeal in $1.8 bln gas transport tariff row'|'Market News 06am EST Norway court to hear appeal in $1.8 bln gas transport tariff row OSLO Jan 27 A Norwegian court will hear an appeal next week by four firms seeking to overturn a ruling that upheld a government decision to cut offshore gas transportation tariffs. The firms - owned by Allianz, UBS, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board - said the slashed tariffs would cost them 15 billion crowns ($1.8 billion) in lost earning by 2028. Solveig Gas, Njord Gas Infrastructure, Silex Gas and Infragas, which hold a combined 44 percent stake in pipeline owner Gassled, said Oslo''s decision was illegal and took it to court, but lost the case in September. The government cut tariffs shortly after the four firms bought their stakes in Gassled in 2011 and 2012 from ExxonMobil , Total, Statoil and Royal Dutch Shell for a total of 32 billion Norwegian crowns ($3.8 bln). Infragas and Njord Gas Infrastructure said they could shy away from new investment in the pipeline infrastructure just as Norway is seeking to expand the network northwards due to discoveries in the Arctic. Norway exports gas from numerous offshore fields via an 8,000-km (5,000-mile) gas pipeline network, the largest offshore pipeline system in the world, to Britain and the continental Europe. The appeal hearing is expected to last from Jan. 31 until April 7, the Borgarting Court of Appeals said in a statement on Friday. ($1 = 8.3633 Norwegian crowns) (Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis) Next In Market News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/norway-lawsuit-gas-idUSL5N1FH2B3'|'2017-01-27T18:06:00.000+02:00' +'b63375e547eeb92e29083e71f55bda4a06a145b2'|'Sterling skids on Brexit worry; investors await Trump clarity'|'Business News - Sun Jan 15, 2017 - 11:01pm GMT Sterling skids on Brexit worry; investors await Trump clarity People are reflected in a display showing the Nikkei average (top in L) and the NASDAQ average of the U.S outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, November 7, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon By Wayne Cole - SYDNEY SYDNEY Sterling slid to three-month lows in Asia on Monday with investors again spooked by concerns over Britain''s exit from the European Union, while U.S. policy uncertainty lingered ahead of President-elect Donald Trump''s inauguration. All the early action was in currencies where the pound sank 1.6 percent to as low as $1.1983, depths not seen since the flash crash of October, having finished around $1.2175 in New York on Friday. It was last at $1.2034. Dealers said the market was reacting in part to a report in the Sunday Times that U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May will use a speech on Tuesday to signal plans for a "hard Brexit", quitting the EU''s single market to regain control of Britain''s borders. Investors have been worried such a decisive break from the single market would hurt British exports and drive foreign investment out of the country. The flight from sterling benefited the safe-haven Japanese yen, with the pound down 1.2 percent to 137.77 yen while the U.S. dollar held at 114.44. Trading was erratic with currencies gyrating on very little volume. The dollar edged up 0.2 percent to 101.450 on a basket of currencies, while the euro pared initial losses to stand at $1.0624. The dollar index put in its worst weekly performance in more than two months last week as investors reconsidered the whole "reflation" trade - that Trump''s promises of debt-funded fiscal spending and lower taxes would stoke inflation and drive the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates faster. All eyes will be on Trump''s inauguration on Friday for any clarity on his economic plans. "The market is showing greater reluctance to push on with reflation-type trades without more details of proposed fiscal spending plans and the economic data to back it up," said analysts at ANZ in a research note. "It looks as though more than just reasonable data will be needed to see yields and the dollar push higher again. Some decent positive surprises may be necessary for the market to gain conviction." Asian markets are also waiting anxiously to see if Trump makes good on a campaign pledge to brand Beijing a currency manipulator on his first day in office, and starts to follow up on a threat to slap high tariffs on Chinese goods. Analysts fret that the specter of deteriorating U.S.-China trade and political ties is likely to weigh on the confidence of exporters and investors worldwide. Wall Street ended last week mixed, with the Dow off slightly but the Nasdaq at a record high. Sentiment this week could be driven by results from the major banks with Morgan Stanley, Citibank and Bank of New York Mellon among those reporting. (Editing by Peter Cooney)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUKKBN14Z0Z0'|'2017-01-16T06:01:00.000+02:00' +'68d38367e88712da6a3c462d20054acd98a65dfb'|'PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - Jan 6'|'Bonds News - Fri Jan 6, 2017 - 12:20am EST PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - Jan 6 Jan 6 The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. - Donald Trump blasted Toyota Motor Corp for its plan to build a new Mexican plant, just hours after the head of the Japanese auto maker signaled a willingness to work with the new administration. on.wsj.com/2ihIF3G - Apple Inc said its App Store generated record revenue of more than $20 billion for developers in 2016, as that business roughly maintained its growth rate even as iPhone sales volumes declined. on.wsj.com/2ihMaXF - Struggling retailer Sears Holdings Corp has bought itself some breathing room through maneuvers that include the sale of its Craftsman brand for $900 million and the closure of 150 additional stores as it grapples with a prolonged sales slump and mounting losses. on.wsj.com/2ihIWTY - Verizon Communications Inc is unsure whether it will proceed with its $4.83 billion purchase of Yahoo Inc''s core business, a top Verizon executive said, weeks after the internet company disclosed a second massive data breach. on.wsj.com/2ihCjRK - T-Mobile US Inc plans to eliminate additional fees and taxes on the bills for its new data plan, the latest move by the wireless carrier to differentiate itself from rivals. on.wsj.com/2ihxIPy - Fox News tapped veteran journalist and commentator Tucker Carlson to replace Megyn Kelly in one of its most prominent time slots, underscoring that the cable news network has no intention of moving away from its conservative roots. on.wsj.com/2ihxuHZ - A U.S. federal judge ruled that drugmakers Sanofi SA and partner Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc infringed the patent that rival Amgen Inc holds for its new cholesterol drug. on.wsj.com/2ihAHre - Shake Shack Inc''s chief financial officer, who successfully led the burger chain through its 2015 initial public offering, plans to leave company in March, according to a regulatory filing. on.wsj.com/2ihCA7g - Wal-Mart Stores Inc will resume accepting Visa Inc cards in its Canadian stores in the wake of a dispute over credit-card fee terms, the two companies said Thursday. on.wsj.com/2ihEXHg - Samsung Electronics Co estimated that its fourth-quarter operating profit rose 49.8 percent from a year earlier, its biggest quarter of profits in more than three years, as the world''s biggest smartphone maker leaned heavily on components to drive growth after billions of dollars were wiped out from a massive recall of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones. on.wsj.com/2ihG9dD - Online advertising network Taboola has acquired Israel-based website personalization technology firm Commerce Sciences, the companies said. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. on.wsj.com/2ihD90F (Compiled by Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru) Next In Bonds News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/mergersNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/press-digest-wsj-idUSL4N1EW1SZ'|'2017-01-06T12:20:00.000+02:00' +'ec2eed45e4ef4dff1c37803601d125328669d52e'|'UK economy fundamentally strong, but uncertainty may lie ahead - Hammond'|'Business News - Thu Jan 26, 2017 - 9:59am GMT UK economy fundamentally strong, but uncertainty may lie ahead - Hammond Philip Hammond, Britain''s Chancellor of the Exchequer attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland January 20, 2017. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich LONDON British finance minister Philip Hammond said on Thursday the economy''s robust performance in the fourth quarter points to its fundamental strength, although he warned uncertainty may lie ahead as the process of Brexit progresses. Official data earlier on Thursday showed the economy grew 0.6 percent in the final three months of 2016, slightly stronger than expected and maintaining the above-average pace seen after the referendum to leave the European Union in June. "There may be uncertainty ahead as we adjust to a new relationship with Europe, but we are ready to seize the opportunities to create a competitive economy that works for all," Hammond said in a statement. (Reporting by Andy Bruce, editing by Alistair Smout) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-hammond-idUKKBN15A12Q'|'2017-01-26T16:59:00.000+02:00' +'3ddeed0f20e02b043f07ffb2916a1460e19cb448'|'PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - Jan 19'|'Jan 19 The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.- Netflix Inc''s subscriber additions surged in the fourth quarter, fueled by an aggressive international expansion, beating both internal and Wall Street targets. on.wsj.com/2k5VNNG- Hunter Harrison, the railroad veteran who announced his early departure from Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd Wednesday, is joining with an activist investor in an attempt to shake up management at rival railroad CSX Corp. on.wsj.com/2k5TZV1- Alphabet Inc''s Google agreed to acquire a unit from Twitter Inc that runs a tool for developers to make mobile apps, the latest step in Twitter''s efforts to streamline its business. on.wsj.com/2k5FwZc- A South Korean court denied an arrest warrant for Lee Jae-yong, the scion of the Samsung Group conglomerate, for his alleged involvement in a national corruption scandal. on.wsj.com/2k5NP7s- Irish drugmaker Mallinckrodt PLC and a U.S. subsidiary will pay $100 million and agree to other conditions to settle government antitrust allegations they unlawfully prevented competition for Acthar, a drug that has seen enormous price spikes in recent years. on.wsj.com/2k5Vq5G- Sumner Redstone''s ex-girlfriend has asked a California court to appoint an independent doctor to assess his health and, if he lacks mental capacity, appoint a guardian for him, according to documents filed Wednesday. on.wsj.com/2k60NSm- Target Corp warned of weak profits and sales during the critical holiday period, the latest retail chain to acknowledge its struggle to attract shoppers to its stores and compete with online sellers such as Amazon.com Inc. on.wsj.com/2k5YNtr (Compiled by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/press-digest-wsj-idINL4N1F925O'|'2017-01-19T02:27:00.000+02:00' +'ddbffc57ee4b2cda825526fb7587e3a46110ce66'|'Mercuria introduces blockchain to oil trade with ING, SocGen'|'Industrials 41am EST Mercuria introduces blockchain to oil trade with ING, SocGen By Dmitry Zhdannikov - DAVOS, Switzerland DAVOS, Switzerland Jan 19 Trading house Mercuria is working with banks ING and Societe Generale on the first large oil trade based on blockchain technology, as the tradition-bound oil industry tests out digital technology. Mercuria is shipping an oil cargo with African crude to China, selling it to one of its shareholders - ChemChina - with ING and Societe Generale helping to execute the deal, Mercuria''s chief executive and co-founder Marco Dunand told Reuters. He announced the deal on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where digitalisation is one of the key topics of this year''s debates among some of the world''s top oil companies and trading houses. Blockchain works by creating permanent, public "ledgers" of all transactions that could potentially replace complicated clearing and settlement systems with one simple ledger. The technology is also behind the bitcoin electronic currency. "The energy industry will have to digitalise more and more in oil production, refining, shipping. So traders will also have to participate," said Dunand. The concept behind the deal is quite simple, according to Dunand. Today, when the cargo is shipped from buyer to trader to seller, the ship captain has to stamp the so-called bill of lading - a document issued by a carrier to acknowledge receipt of cargo for shipment. The papers then have to go to customs, surveyors and other agents and officials while the carrier has to issue letters of indemnity in case documents are not processed in time. "It is a pre-archaic process. So introducing blockchain will allow to pass title from buyer to shipper to seller without going through massive paperwork of bills of lading," said Dunand. Dunand said that if the industry managed to standardise blockchain contracts, the whole process of oil trading would become safer, while costs associated with physical transactions and their financing would decline. "Going forward the challenges will be on the legal side as the blockchain technology is still not recognised by many governments. So banks are now working with various jurisdictions to make sure it can work worldwide," said Dunand. (Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Mark Potter) Next In Industrials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/davos-meeting-mercuria-idUSL5N1F921I'|'2017-01-19T17:41:00.000+02:00' +'50219ddf26b7afd1aa7609666499c9c97495578d'|'Brazil court extends deadline for Samarco to pay dam spill guarantee'|'Environment 09pm EST Brazil court extends deadline for Samarco to pay dam spill guarantee The debris of the municipal school of Bento Rodrigues district, which was covered with mud after a dam owned by Vale SA and BHP Billiton Ltd burst, is pictured in Mariana, Brazil, November 10, 2015. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes/File photo BRASILIA A Brazilian judge has extended the deadline for Samarco and its shareholders Vale SA and BHP Billiton to make a 1.2 billion reais ($375.41 million) payment related to a dam spill to Jan 19, a statement from the court in the state of the Minas Gerais said on Wednesday. The payment was due on Monday (Jan 9), but the companies applied for the date to be pushed back. ($1 = 3.1965 reais) (Reporting by Stephen Eisenhammer; Editing by Andrew Hay) Next In Environment'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-samarco-miner-payment-idUSKBN14V2LR'|'2017-01-12T04:05:00.000+02:00' +'6b714df3a50146ab589a4a1d4f5d9706302c93b9'|'UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Jan 23'|'Company 2:29am EST UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Jan 23 (Adds company news item and futures) Jan 23 Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening down 31 points at 7,168 on Monday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures down 0.14 percent ahead of the cash market open. * The UK blue chip index slipped 0.14 percent to close at 7198.44 points on Friday, posting its biggest weekly loss since before Donald Trump won the U.S presidential election in November, as investors grew cautious before his inauguration. * BOVIS/BERKELEY: Bovis Homes Group Plc investor Schroder Investment Management has written to Berkeley Group Holdings Plc, urging the London builder to consider an all-share merger with its smaller rival, the Sunday Times reported. * HOCHSCHILD MINING: Hochschild Mining Plc said it would restart operations at its Pallancata silver mine in Peru on Jan. 25, after reaching an agreement with members of a local community who blocked a road and demanded renegotiation of agreements. * SHELL: Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) has signed an agreement to acquire the 50 percent that it does not already own in its petrochemical venture with Shell Arabia, a unit of Royal Dutch Shell, for $820 million, SABIC said on Sunday. * JOHNSTON PRESS: The interim chairman of newspaper publisher Johnston Press Plc has asked Rothschild to examine refinancing options in an attempt to navigate the debt-saddled company through a potential financial crunch, the Telegraph reported on Sunday, citing City sources. bit.ly/2jP54ZR * UK REFERENDUM: Britain will on Monday outline a new, interventionist approach to balancing its heavily services-based economy for the post-Brexit era, seeking to reinvigorate industrial production and stimulate investment in technology and R&D. * UK FINANCIAL SERVICES: Optimism about the business environment for Britain''s financial services firms fell for a fourth consecutive quarter, according to a survey published on Monday, the longest decline since the global financial crisis. * BREXIT: U.S. banks Morgan Stanley and Citigroup have identified many of the roles that will need to be moved from Britain following its exit from the European Union, sources involved in the processes told Reuters. * OIL: Oil edged up on Monday on statements over the weekend from OPEC and other producers that they have been successfully implementing output cuts, but gains were limited by a surge in U.S. drilling. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets TODAY''S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru, Editing by Sunil Nair) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idUSL4N1FD2RT'|'2017-01-23T14:29:00.000+02:00' +'4bab652a3c0c15bc326fb3430adea7067a3c0cf0'|'Carlyle to become largest shareholder in South Africa''s Global Credit Ratings'|'LONDON Carlyle Group ( CG.O ) has agreed to become the largest shareholder in Johannesburg-based Global Credit Ratings (GCR), the U.S. buyout fund said on Tuesday, looking to broaden the pan-African ratings agency''s services.Terms of the deal, which was first reported by the Financial Times, were not disclosed.Carlyle is set to buy around half of the equity in GCR from its management founders and German development finance business DEG, which will remain invested in the company, Carlyle said.GCR serves 400 customers across 20 countries and is the only ratings agency to have a strong presence in multiple geographies across Africa."The business plays a critical role in deepening African capital markets and we look forward to working with management to continue to develop and broaden the companys service offerings," Steve Burn-Murdoch, a Vice President on the Carlyle Sub-Saharan Africa team, said in a statement.Carlyle raised $698 million for its Africa buyout fund in 2014, exceeding its $500 million target.In November, Carlyle, which has $169 billion of assets under management, agreed to buy a majority share of CMC Networks, a pan-African telecommunications business.In September, it agreed to buy a majority share of Amrod, a supplier of promotional products and clothing in South Africa and neighboring countries.Carlyle is already invested in the sector, having partnered with private equity fund Warburg Pincus and a consortium of Canadian-based individual investors to acquire the world''s fourth largest global credit ratings agency DBRS in 2015.Founded more than two decades ago as the African arm of the New York Stock Exchange-listed Duff & Phelps, GCR expanded through acquisitions, alliances, and organic growth, and says it assigns more credit ratings in Africa than S&P, Moodys and Fitch combined.(Reporting by Dasha Afanasieva; Editing by Jason Neely and Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-globalratingsagency-m-a-carlyle-group-idINKBN1510N5'|'2017-01-17T05:22:00.000+02:00' +'fc047e2919b771e575a6f612d9905303e39d6af6'|'CFTC orders two E*Trade units to pay $280,000 civil penalty'|'Business News 17pm EST CFTC orders two E*Trade units to pay $280,000 civil penalty WASHINGTON Chicago-based E*Trade Securities LLC and E*Trade Clearing LLC, units of E*Trade Financial Corp ( ETFC.O ), have agreed to pay a $280,000 civil penalty for failing to comply with record-keeping rules, the U.S. Commodities Trading Commission said in a statement on Thursday. The CFTC said it found that E*Trade Securities units did not preserve and maintain some audit trail logs for their customers and E*Trade Clearing did not preserve and maintain customer audit trail logs after becoming registered as a futures commission merchant. (Reporting by David Alexander; Editing by Eric Walsh) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-e-trade-financl-cftc-idUSKBN15A2CY'|'2017-01-27T00:03:00.000+02:00' +'96eadb1af99e932da0118b6b500cae88ca57ba2d'|'P&G boosts sales forecast on China recovery'|'P&G boosts full-year sales forecast on China recovery Consumer goods group capitalises on demand for premium nappies Read next by: Lindsay Whipp in Chicago Procter & Gamble has raised its full-year sales guidance , as a strategy change in China in its Pampers business paid off, and demand at home in the US and in Latin America increased. The worlds largest consumer goods company by market capitalisation now expects organic sales, which exclude the negative impact of currency moves and divestitures, to increase between 2 and 3 per cent for the fiscal year to June 2017, up from an earlier forecast of 2 per cent. P&G also said on Friday that it was still expecting core earnings per share growth of mid-single digits. Shares were up 3.6 per cent at $87.75 in mid-morning trading in New York. P&G has been revamping its Pampers business in China. It had underestimated demand for higher-end nappies and was losing share to Japanese rivals just as the economy there began to slow. Now that it has premium products in place and is making an ecommerce push, the sales decline is reversing. In its most recent quarter to the end of December, Chinese organic sales rose 3 per cent year on year, up from 2.5 per cent in the quarter ending September, having declined as much as 8 per cent in the quarter that ended June 2016. However, competition is stiff, and this has led to discounting in the market. P&G did not break out its profit or margins by country. Jon Moeller, chief financial officer, said he was confident about the outlook for China. He cited the increasing propensity of consumers to choose higher-end products, the shift away from the one-child policy and the move towards a consumer-based economy from a manufacturing one. He said that he was not expecting the protectionist rhetoric that has characterised remarks on international trade from new president Donald Trump to hurt the positive outlook for P&G. Its hard to believe that those positives would be overcome in any significant way by US policy objectives. Well have to see, of course, Mr Moeller said. Mr Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on imports to the US. Mr Moeller said that P&Gs net imports into the US stood at about 5 per cent of its products. Group-wide sales were $16.9bn in the quarter ending December, unchanged from the same period a year earlier, the company said. That beat analysts forecasts for sales of $16.8bn. Organic sales rose 2 per cent. Earnings per share for the quarter surged 157 per cent to $2.88 a share because of a one-time gain from the divestiture of dozens of P&G brands to rival Coty. Excluding that gain and the effect of the strong dollar, core EPS increased 4 per cent to $1.08, slightly higher than consensus analyst estimates of $1.06. The company said that organic sales growth had increased by high single digits in Brazil, where investments into its Pantene haircare brand had been paying off. Mr Moeller warned, however, that the Russian market remained volatile, pushing sales down low single digits. Sample the FTs top stories for a week You select the topic, we deliver the news. Select topic Invalid email Sign up By signing up you confirm that you have read and agree to the terms and conditions , cookie policy and privacy policy . Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2017. All rights reserved. You may share using our article tools. Please don''t cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.'|'ft.com'|'http://www.ft.com/rss/companies/retail-consumer'|'https://www.ft.com/content/f8a9073c-df16-11e6-86ac-f253db7791c6'|'2017-01-21T00:55:00.000+02:00' +'09416a00a5fa24f7ef6d29c202c589d1c0e5ccc7'|'Abe says next BOJ head should carry on Kuroda''s policy stance'|'Business News 6:31am GMT Abe says next BOJ head should carry on Kuroda''s policy stance File Photo: Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda attends a news conference at the BOJ headquarters in Tokyo, Japan November 1, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo TOKYO Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday the next central bank governor should be someone who would carry on the policy stance taken by incumbent Haruhiko Kuroda. "The BOJ adopted unprecedented monetary easing under governor Kuroda, which has exerted intended effects on prices," Abe told parliament. "Governor Kuroda has my full trust. I hope the next governor would be someone who takes over his policy stance," he said, when asked about the choice of new BOJ governor. Kuroda, hand-picked by Abe to lead the BOJ''s battle to end deflation, will see his five-year term end in April next year. (Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Chris Gallagher) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-abe-boj-idUKKBN15E0GK'|'2017-01-30T13:31:00.000+02:00' +'bef84b3e2f8c26a514ef69fcd16bd75f1d51f77e'|'Auto executives, with eye on Trump, highlight U.S. investments'|'Money News - Tue Jan 10, 2017 - 2:11am IST Auto executives, with eye on Trump, highlight U.S. investments left right Hakan Samuelsson (R), president and CEO of Volvo Car Group, hands off keys to the first Volvo XC90T8 Inscription autonomous car to Alex (L) and Paula Hain (2nd R) of Gothenburg, Sweden, along with their daughters Philippa Hain (middle) and Smila Hain, during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., January 9, 2017. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook 1/6 left right The Infiniti QX50 concept car is introduced during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., January 9, 2017. REUTERS/Mark Blinch 2/6 left right The Infiniti QX50 concept car is introduced during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., January 9, 2017. REUTERS/Mark Blinch 3/6 left right Roland Krueger, president of Infiniti Motor Company, introduces the Infiniti QX50 concept car during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., January 9, 2017. REUTERS/Mark Blinch 4/6 left right Mary Barra, CEO and Chairperson of GM, sits with Tony Cervone (R), Senior VP, Global Communications during the presentation of the 2018 Chevrolet Traverse at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., January 9, 2017. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook 5/6 left right A 2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV is displayed during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., January 9, 2017. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook 6/6 By Bernie Woodall and David Shepardson - DETROIT DETROIT Global auto executives at the Detroit auto show are highlighting their investments in the United States, mindful of President-elect Donald Trump''s attacks on automakers for building vehicles in Mexico. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles ( FCHA.MI )( FCAU.N ) Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said on Monday that uncertainty over Trump''s trade and tax policies could lead automakers to delay investments in Mexico, and he confirmed plans to create 2,000 jobs at Fiat Chrysler''s U.S. factories. "The reality is the Mexican automotive industry has now for a number of years been tooled-up to try and deal with the U.S. market. If the U.S. market were not to be there, the reasons for its existence are on the line," Marchionne told reporters at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. FCA announced on Sunday it would spend $1 billion to retool factories in Ohio and Michigan to build new Jeep sport utility vehicle, including a pickup truck, and potentially move production of a Ram heavy-duty pickup truck to Michigan from Mexico. On Monday, Ford confirmed it would build a new Ranger pickup and a new SUV under the storied Bronco name at a Michigan factory that currently builds Focus small cars. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump had criticized Ford''s announcement last year that it would move Focus production to Mexico. Last week, Ford scrapped plans to build the $1.6-billion Focus plant in Mexico and said it would invest $700 million in a factory in Michigan. Executives at Ford, Fiat Chrysler and other automakers said during interviews at the auto show their investment decisions are driven by business considerations, not Trump''s comments. Most major automakers in the U.S. market have substantial vehicle-making operations in Mexico, as well as complex networks of parts makers that supply their factories in the United States and support jobs and investment in states such as Ohio and Michigan. Trump praised Ford and Fiat Chrysler''s latest announcements on his Twitter account on Monday. "It''s finally happening - Fiat Chrysler just announced plans to invest $1BILLION in Michigan and Ohio plants, adding 2000 jobs," Trump said in a tweet. In a follow-up tweet, he added: "Ford said last week that it will expand in Michigan and U.S. instead of building a BILLION dollar plant in Mexico. Thank you Ford & Fiat C(hrysler)." INVESTING IN THE UNITED STATES Trump''s focus on U.S. automotive jobs, and uncertainty over what policies he may introduce, have been central topics of discussions among industry officials at the annual auto show. Companies ranging from General Motors Co ( GM.N ) to Honda Motor Co ( 7267.T ) to Daimler AG ( DAIGn.DE ) used the show to highlight new U.S. investments. Toyota Motor Corp ( 7203.T ) will invest $10 billion in the United States over the next five years, the same as in the previous five years, North America Chief Executive Jim Lentz said Monday. Honda ( 7267.T ) will build a new hybrid model that does not have a gasoline counterpart in its lineup. The hybrid will be made in the United States in 2018 at an existing plant, and Honda said it would boost investment at its transmission plant in Georgia. Daimler AG ( DAIGn.DE ) Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche said Sunday the German automaker plans to invest another $1.3 billion to expand sport utility vehicle (SUV) production at a factory in Alabama. German automaker Volkswagen AG ( VOWG_p.DE ) plans to invest $7 billion in the United States between 2015 and 2019. It is weighing whether to build an electric SUV in the United States or Mexico, Hinrich Woebcken, chief executive of the North America Region, told Reuters on Sunday. Volkswagen has had a plant in Mexico for 50 years and it is not shifting any jobs to Mexico from the United States. "We do not make our investment decisions based on administrative cycles," Woebcken said on the sidelines of the Detroit auto show. FCA''s Marchionne said Monday his company''s decision to invest in expanded truck production in the United States "was in the works and has been in the works for a long period of time." Marchionne wanted to get out the news about adding jobs and investment in the United States in case the company encountered more criticism from Trump, a person familiar with the situation said on Sunday. ADJUSTING TO TRUMP Marchionne said he has not made a decision on whether to move production of certain Ram heavy-duty pickups from Mexico to the United States, in part because of uncertainty about tariffs. "There''s no commitment to move the heavy-duty. If tomorrow morning President-elect Trump decides to impose a border tax on anything that comes up from Mexico, then well have to adjust." Marchionne said it would be "very, very costly and uncertain" to repurpose Mexican production for export to markets other than the United States. Ford Motor Co ( F.N ) Chairman Bill Ford Jr and GM Chief Executive Mary Barra have, separately, spoken with Trump in recent days. Ford said he has been "in relatively frequent contact with him." Ford said he is encouraged that overhauling the corporate tax code is high on Trump''s agenda. Barra on Sunday said tax reform and "streamlining regulations ... are just two areas that would be extremely beneficial" for Trump to address. Trump has criticized GM for building cars in Mexico while laying off workers in the United States. Barra, who is on an advisory committee to Trump, told reporters that decisions about where to build specific vehicles are made "two, three four years ago." Overall, she said of Trump, "we have much more in common" than areas of disagreement. Marchionne said that he has not spoken with Trump or anyone on the presidential transition team. Trump takes office Jan. 20. (Reporting by Nick Carey, David Shepardson and Bernie Woodall; Editing by Nick Zieminski) Next In Money News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-autoshow-idINKBN14T2AF'|'2017-01-10T03:41:00.000+02:00' +'8ef3f00207424846ef1069721235258885bacde9'|'Buyside dominant price makers on MarketAxess'|'Bonds News - Thu Jan 26, 2017 - 6:38am EST Buyside dominant price makers on MarketAxess By Tom Porter LONDON, Jan 26 (IFR) - Investors have become the dominant liquidity providers on MarketAxess''s Open Trading platform, though rapid growth in participant firms appeared to level off in 2016. Full-year results published on Wednesday showed Open Trading, an ''all-to-all'' platform, had a record fourth quarter, with around 125,000 transactions taking place and an average daily traded volume of US$831m, up 86% from the same period in 2015. Several trading platforms have been created in recent years to address a decline in corporate bond liquidity. Some have employed unconventional trading protocols such as all-to-all rather than the traditional dealer-led principal-at-risk model. Larger asset managers'' bond holdings now dwarf those of investment banks, which have drastically reduced the size of bond inventories in response to capital-intensive post-crisis regulation. Electronic bond trading platforms are unlocking some of this liquidity by allowing asset managers to trade directly with one another, rather than using a dealer as an intermediary. The number of responses to requests on the platform''s Market List continued its strong growth across 2016, while the number of liquidity providers appeared to level off at around 650 in the second half of the year. But a majority of the liquidity provided in Q4 came from long-only investment managers, which accounted for 39% of trade volume, compared with 29% for dealers and 32% for other market participants. (Reporting by Tom Porter; Editing by Ian Edmondson) Next In Bonds News CEE MARKETS-Bonds ease, with Romania''s 2017 budget looking risky * Markets mixed, investors cautious over Trump''s policies * Bonds ease, currencies mixed, stocks rise * Romania to finish 2017 budget draft soon, deficit a concern By Sandor Peto and Bartosz Chmielewski BUDAPEST/WARSAW, Jan 26 Central European government bonds fell on Thursday, with Romania''s new government expected to introduce a draft 2017 budget that might increase its deficit and trigger sanctions from the European Union. The finance ministry released a budg'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL5N1FG2XG'|'2017-01-26T18:38:00.000+02:00' +'9d150a95668ec7681d5153f36f2d534234d92c15'|'Exclusive - Credit Agricole exits government bond dealer roles in Austria, Ireland'|' 59am GMT Exclusive - Credit Agricole exits government bond dealer roles in Austria, Ireland The logo of the Credit Agricole Bank is seen on the bank''s headquarters in Kiev, Ukraine, April 25, 2016. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko By Abhinav Ramnarayan - LONDON LONDON Credit Agricole''s investment banking arm said on Friday it had decided to cease acting as a primary dealer in government bonds for Austria and Ireland, and in treasury bills for the Netherlands. The bank is the latest to have given up primary dealer roles in Europe, a trend that threatens to increase liquidity constraints and could eventually make it more expensive for some countries to borrow. The bank reviewed its government bond business to take account of the impact of new regulations on banks'' balance sheets and profitability, a spokeswoman for the bank said in an emailed statement to Reuters. "Credit Agricole CIB remains committed to the Government Bonds business. This activity remains a core business of the bank and is part of its fixed income franchise," she said. Of the other investment banks to have taken similar decisions, the most notable was Credit Suisse, which in 2015 pulled out of making markets for most European countries. Societe Generale withdrew from the UK later the same year, ING quit Ireland, Commerzbank left Italy, and Belgium did not re-appoint Deutsche Bank as a primary dealer and dropped Nordea as a recognised dealer. COST/BENEFIT CALCULATION "It is another mid-sized player leaving this sector," said a rival banker who manages government bond transactions. "Shrinking balance sheets are forcing many banks to re-examine whether or not they can stay in this space. The competition is diminishing." Primary dealers are charged with buying government bonds directly from a country''s debt management office and selling them on to investors in the market. They are typically also entrusted with maintaining secondary trading activity, which entails holding a portion of the government bonds on their balance sheets for a period. With regulators keen for banks to reduce the size of their balance sheets, many are having to reconsider whether this activity is worth the cost. Government debt officials have taken note and some have had to adapt to address the issue. Belgium''s head of debt, Anne Leclercq, said in November that the country was selling more to hedge funds in bond syndications to allow them to fill the role of providing secondary trading activity. (Reporting by Abhinav Ramnarayan; Editing by Kevin Liffey) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-bonds-creditagricole-exclusi-idUKKBN14X0Z0'|'2017-01-13T16:59:00.000+02:00' +'1e6092d806694dc9b50707c60102c2851be4064f'|'Vodafone wins German court victory over Telekom duct charges'|'Technology 5:43pm GMT Vodafone wins German court victory over Telekom duct charges Branding for Vodafone is seen on the exterior of a shop in London, Britain, September 10, 2015. REUTERS/Toby Melville BERLIN Germany''s highest federal court handed Vodafone ( VOD.L ) a victory on Tuesday in a dispute with Deutsche Telekom ( DTEGn.DE ) over how the former state monopoly charges for the use of cable ducts, Vodafone said. The dispute concerns around 400 million euros ($430 million) that Vodafone says Telekom has overcharged it in rent for using the cable network that Deutsche Telekom built before it had to spin it off as part of its privatization. A Vodafone spokeswoman said the Federal Court of Justice had overturned a ruling of a lower court in favor of Deutsche Telekom and referred the case back to that court to determine whether and to what extent Vodafone''s claims were founded. "In our opinion, Telekom is abusing its dominant position with the high rental fees for the use of cable ducts," the spokeswoman said. The Federal Court of Justice was not reachable after office hours. Deutsche Telekom said it was confident the lower court would again find in its favor. "We expect that the higher regional court will agree with our view that the size of the demand is not justified," a spokesman said. (Reporting by Peter Maushagen; Writing by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Georgina Prodhan) Next In Technology News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-vodafone-group-deutsche-telekom-idUKKBN1582FS'|'2017-01-25T00:41:00.000+02:00' +'ab7b1648c0ee83f389a33547e5fa991064f48f74'|'Could Next be new M&S: profitable but terminally unexciting?'|'A reliable high street stalwart and City favourite for years, fashion chain Next rocked the City last week as it admitted to having had a gloomy Christmas , after a poor year, and warned of an even gloomier outlook for 2017.Traditionally the first major retailer to report on Christmas trading, Next has long been viewed as a bellwether for the high street and news of its poor performance dragged down the share prices of Marks & Spencer and others. Even Nexts ever-reliable winter sale when eager customers queue up for its 5am Boxing Day opening was a disappointment, with sales down 7% on last year.The company said store sales in the weeks before Christmas were down 3.5%, and profits for 2017-18 could come in a full 100m below market forecasts thanks to extra costs from rises in the minimum wage for over-25s, business rates and the new apprenticeship levy.The shares plunged 14% and are now changing hands at just over 40 valuing the chain at 6bn down from almost 80 little more than 12 months ago. And even 40 is too high for Next boss Lord Wolfson, it would seem. In recent years he has bought back shares worth hundreds of millions of pounds ; now he has chosen instead to pay special dividends a move that suggests he still doesnt think the shares are good value.Wolfson blamed the poor performance on unseasonal weather and a shift in consumer spending away from fashion in favour of eating out and holidays. It also forecast that fashion sales were likely to be squeezed further in 2017 as inflation leaves consumers with less money spare for non-essentials.But a number of analysts believe Nexts problems are more fundamental, with some voicing fears that it is running into the problems that have beset Marks & Spencer for years ageing customers, dull ranges and a tired brand.Emily Stella of Verdict Retail said: Nexts customer is ageing, and it is not attracting the people they think are their core customer 25-44-year-olds who are buying furniture and childrenswear as well as clothing. It really needs to improve its product and make something more relevant and inspirational for that demographic.Verdicts research indicates that less than half of Nexts shoppers, 46%, are now in that key 25-44 age group, compared with 64% a decade ago. Younger shoppers have defected to competitors such as Zara, Ted Baker, Primark and online retailer Asos.It could be going down the same route as M&S, which is not where anyone wants to be going, said Stella.For years, the Next Directory online and catalogue business benefited from a combination of an attractive credit offer and slick delivery both of which outclassed its rivals. Directory has been driven by consumer credit rather than the desirability of the product, said veteran analyst Tony Shiret. Now credit has become more widely available.Shiret added that by focusing on credit, Next had failed to invest enough in keeping its online operations up to speed. Last Christmas, there was a dramatic shift towards buying via smartphones, and Next did not at the time have a specialist mobile site.Nexts UK online sales rose just 1.4% in the year to 24 December a poor performance compared with the 18% growth for online fashion in general last year, according to trade body IMRG.There is clear evidence that in terms of an online offering, Next has been squeezed by new, more nimble entrants, said Clive Black of Shore Capital. He believes last year was the apex of profit generation for Next and that erosion of earnings is likely to continue.Last week, Wolfson promised to spend 10m in the coming year on improving its website and online marketing, but there are other problems.Fixing Nexts fashion ranges may be trickier. Wolfson has admitted that all UK growth is coming from selling brands other than Next. The groups Label catalogue sells its own young fashion brand, Lipsy, alongside brands such as Calvin Klein, Nike, Whistles and Ted Baker, but those names are not stocked in Nexts high street stores and thats where the real disappointment lay over Christmas.Partly of course, Next has the same issue as its great rival Marks & Spencer in being a mature business with high market share which means finding new converts is tough. Its a long time since Next has excited fashion editors, but that didnt stop it enjoying fairly consistent growth for years. However, 2014s loss of product director Christos Angelides after 28 years may have hit it harder than expected.The retailer is still generating big profits, and the cerebral Wolfson is by no means in panic mode. In recent years he has focused on larger department store-style locations and points to a downturn in Christmas shopper numbers in those shops of only 4%. We dont think its a turning point, he says.But if the retailer cant revive shoppers interest, closing stores, or downsizing, may have to move on to the agenda.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jan/07/is-next-doomed-to-be-new-marks-and-spencer'|'2017-01-07T02:00:00.000+02:00' +'d0c4e974c1ea9b45de4d31ab89ded4cbef6bbf8b'|'Boeing expects to deliver more planes in 2017'|' 53pm GMT Boeing expects to deliver more planes in 2017 FILE PHOTO: Boeing facilities are seen in Los Angeles, California, U.S. April 22, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo Boeing Co ( BA.N ) said on Wednesday it expects to deliver between 760 and 765 commercial aircraft in 2017, higher than 748 deliveries in 2016. The world''s biggest maker of jetliners said it expected 2017 core earnings, which exclude some pension and other costs, in the range of $9.10-$9.30 per share on revenue of $90.5 billion-$92.5 billion (72.00 - 73.59 billion pounds). Boeing forecast operating cash flow of about $10.75 billion in 2017. The company reported cash flow of $10.50 billion in 2016. The company''s core earnings rose to $2.47 per share in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 from $1.60 a year earlier. Revenue fell 1.2 percent to $23.29 billion. (Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-boeing-results-idUKKBN1591G9'|'2017-01-25T19:53:00.000+02:00' +'078b669fe5b1c7b03eeccd755f681d3afdc615bd'|'Republican senators urge Trump to embrace findings on Russia hacking - Reuters'|'By Ginger Gibson - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Jan 8 Two senior Republican senators urged President-elect Donald Trump to punish Russia in response to U.S. intelligence agencies'' conclusion that President Vladimir Putin personally directed efforts aimed at influencing the outcome of the November election.In a joint appearance on NBC''s "Meet the Press" on Sunday, Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and John McCain said evidence was conclusive that Putin sought to influence the election - a point that Trump has refuted repeatedly by arguing it might be impossible to tell who was responsible."In a couple weeks, Donald Trump will be the defender of the free world and democracy," Graham said. "You should let everybody know in America, Republicans and Democrats, that you''re going to make Russia pay a price for trying to interfere."Both senators said they remain unsure if they will support Trump''s pick for secretary of state, former Exxon Mobil Corp Chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson, who has been criticized for his close ties to Putin. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on Wednesday to consider Tillerson''s nomination.Three U.S. intelligence agencies released a joint report on Friday that concluded that Putin directed efforts to help Trump''s electoral chances by discrediting his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.Hackers penetrated the Democratic National Committee''s email server and separately stole emails from John Podesta, who chaired Clinton''s campaign. The emails were then posted online and used to embarrass Clinton, including by Trump who frequently used the content as political ammunition.Russia was trying to undermine public faith in the democratic process, damage Clinton, making it harder for her to win and harm her presidency if she did, the unclassified report said.McCain said he supports continued investigations into the hacks."We need to come to grips with it and get to the bottom of it and overall come up with a strategy in this new form of warfare that can basically harm our economy, harm our elections, harm our national security," he said.Trump, whose views on Russia are out of step with his party, has repeatedly dismissed claims that the Russians were trying to help him, arguing that the charges against Russia are the product of his political opponents trying to undermine his victory.On Friday, after receiving his intelligence briefing, Trump did not squarely address whether he was told of the agencies'' belief Russia carried out the hacking.Instead, he said: "Russia, China, other countries, outside groups and people are consistently trying to break through the cyber infrastructure of our governmental institutions, businesses and organizations" including the DNC.On Saturday, Trump wrote on Twitter that having a better relationship with Russia is a "good thing.""Only ''stupid'' people or fools, would think that is bad!" he tweeted. "We have enough problems around the world without yet another one. When I am President, Russia will respect us far more than they do now and both countries will, perhaps, work together to solve some of the many great and pressing problems and issues of the WORLD!"(Reporting by Ginger Gibson; Editing by Mary Milliken)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-cyber-russia-republicans-idINL1N1EX0GO'|'2017-01-08T11:00:00.000+02:00' +'6bd5697ad34e836480a977f9c5c1f09a6bc80711'|'Foreign business sceptical of China''s promised opening'|'Company 15am EST Foreign business sceptical of China''s promised opening * President Xi in Davos paints picture of "wide open" China * Beijing announces plans to reduce curbs on foreign investment * Business lobby survey says foreign firms feel less welcome * Analysts, investors don''t expect much to change in short term By Michael Martina and John Ruwitch BEIJING/SHANGHAI, Jan 18 Beijing has some way to go to convince foreign businesses that it is serious about liberalising China''s economy, despite President Xi Jinping''s speech at Davos on Tuesday and new proposals to relax restrictions on foreign investment. Xi made a vigorous defence of globalisation at the World Economic Forum and painted a picture of China as a "wide open" economy, but foreign businesses see it through a very different lens. An annual survey from the American Chamber of Commerce in China released on Wednesday showed that more than 80 percent of its members felt less welcome in China than before and most had little confidence in China''s vows to open its markets. "I think it is good that President Xi is saying these things," said William Zarit, Chairman of the Chamber. "And hopefully there will be some opening of markets. But I don''t think we''ve seen that yet." The proposed liberalising measures unveiled by China''s State Council, or the Cabinet, late on Tuesday are testament to the scope of the restrictions placed on foreign businesses in the world''s second-largest economy. The State Council said on its website that China would lower restrictions on foreign investment in a broad range of financial services, plus telecommunications, the internet, culture, education and transport sectors. It also said it would allow foreign-invested companies to list on Chinese stock exchanges, and issue various debt instruments in China including corporate bonds, enterprise bonds and convertible bonds. China''s central planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), joined the chorus on Wednesday, saying on its website that local governments will be able to introduce preferential policies to attract foreign investment, focusing on manufacturing projects. It also conceded that some foreign firms have been moving out of China. "If the State Council and other government agencies are going to actually open up more widely, they have a lot to do," said Lester Ross, chairman of the Chamber''s policy committee. Joerg Wuttke, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, welcomed the commitment to opening up, but noted there had been "many years of talk of opening up" and businesses now wanted to see what it would entail. "For the European Chamber, a true demonstration of this commitment would be a deal between China and the European Union on their ongoing investment agreement negotiations," he said. NO DETAILS, NO TIMELINE The State Council did not give details or a timeline, and analysts were sceptical that there would be much to celebrate in the near term on any greater access to share markets. "Overseas companies'' listing on the A-share market is unlikely in any meaningful scale, given the pressure the market is under," said David Cui, head of China Equity Strategy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. And the plan could find itself running up against a more pressing policy priority - Beijing''s battle to stop capital leaving the country, an outflow that helped knock nearly 7 percent off the yuan currency last year. "There could be currency implications, as well, if the foreign companies are allowed to send the IPO proceeds offshore," Cui added. Zhu Haifeng, a retail investor, said it would not change much for him, as he can already buy foreign shares through the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect scheme, and he didn''t see much likelihood of overseas firms rushing to invest in China. "I think foreign companies will consider listing in China only when China''s economy fully recovers and the yuan stops depreciating, which is some 2-3 years away." In the energy sector, Angus Rodger, research director, upstream oil and gas at Wood Mackenzie, said that while Beijing might like more private players investing downstream, there was little prospect of it allowing a meaningful challenge to its dominant national oil companies in exploration and production. "I don''t think we''ll see that happening in the short term, and really I don''t think we''ll see it happening at all," he said. A Hong Kong fund manager in China stocks who asked not to be named said it was "superficially a move in the right direction", but politics was playing a significant part, just days before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump enters the White House. Trump has repeatedly slammed China for trade practices that put American firms at a disadvantage. "Politically, this seems a prepared counter-offensive against Trump''s inauguration on Jan. 20, to shut his mouth, so to speak," he said. Michelle Price in Hong Kong, Samuel Shen in Shanghai, and Roslan Khasawneh in Singapore; Writing by Will Waterman; Editing by Mike Collett-White) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/china-markets-opening-idUSL4N1F82AB'|'2017-01-18T16:15:00.000+02:00' +'a51c26f1bae35230cf69fb3a9165ea198b2ace78'|'Chipotle Mexican estimates 4.8 percent drop in fourth-quarter comparable sales'|'Business News - Tue Jan 10, 2017 - 8:15am EST Chipotle Mexican estimates 4.8 percent drop in fourth-quarter comparable sales A Chipotle Mexican Grill is seen in Los Angeles, California, U.S. on April 25, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc ( CMG.N ) said sales at established restaurants likely fell 4.8 percent in the fourth quarter and that costs came in higher than it had previously anticipated. Chipotle''s shares were down 3.2 percent at $381.99 in premarket trading. The company said it incurred higher-than-expected expenses due to higher promotional spending and costs related to television advertising, as it fights to recover from a string of food safety lapses late last year. Food costs were also higher than anticipated due to increased costs of avocados, the company said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday. The company estimated sales of $1.04 billion for the quarter ended December, below the average analyst estimate of $1.05 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. (Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-chipotle-outlook-idUSKBN14U1JT'|'2017-01-10T20:15:00.000+02:00' +'99a97237a261744696d25d8dcce33ffdf114a175'|'Senator says U.S. Labor Department dismantled website for Wells Fargo workers'|'Business News 33pm EST Senator says U.S. Labor Department dismantled website for Wells Fargo workers U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) questions Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf (not pictured) during his testimony before a Senate Banking Committee hearing on the firm''s sales practices on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 20, 2016. REUTERS/Gary Cameron By Sarah N. Lynch - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren on Friday accused the U.S. Labor Department of dismantling a website designed to help Wells Fargo ( WFC.N ) workers file whistleblower retaliation and other complaints against the bank, and asked the department to reinstate it. In her letter to Acting Labor Secretary Edward Hugler, Warren said she noticed on Tuesday that the site (www.dol.gov/wellsfargo) was gone and contained the words "Page Not Found." Labor Department spokesman Steve Barr told Reuters the site was removed on January 9, but did not comment further on the reasons why it was taken down. Former Labor Department Secretary Thomas Perez created the special website last September, shortly after Wells Fargo was ordered to pay $190 million in fines and customer restitution after its high-pressure sales environment led to the opening of as many as two million accounts that customers may not have authorized. Some of the bank''s employees filed whistleblower complaints with the Labor Department''s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, saying they had been fired for reporting the "gaming" of sales quotas by Wells Fargo, while others complained that they were forced to work late. "Taking down this website enables Wells Fargo to escape full responsibility for its fraudulent actions and the department to shirk its outstanding obligations to American workers," wrote Warren, who is a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, which oversees the Labor Department. When he launched the site, Perez pledged to Warren he would conduct a top-to-bottom review of all the Wells Fargo complaints the department had received to see how they were handled. The website also offered assistance on issues including proper pay for employees and workplace discrimination. Reuters has reported on issues with some of the whistleblower cases, including one involving a former Wells Fargo employee who waited nearly five years to be interviewed after telling OSHA she was fired for reporting the gaming. On Friday, Warren also asked for an update on the Labor Department''s review. The findings have not been made public, but a person familiar with the review said that OSHA''s San Francisco office, which handled the bulk of the Wells Fargo complaints, faced a particularly high caseload-to-staff ratio. The review also found that OSHA does not have an effective case management system to track what is going on in the field, the person added. Labor spokesman Barr declined to comment on that part of the letter, saying he cannot discuss ongoing investigations. Warren''s concerns could resurface on Feb. 7, when fast-food executive Andrew Puzder is expected to appear for his confirmation hearing to become the next labor secretary. Puzder is already facing a backlash by some of his own workers at CKE Restaurants, who allege they are victims of wage theft. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; editing by Leslie Adler, G Crosse and Chizu Nomiyama) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-labor-wells-fargo-idUSKBN15B2FZ'|'2017-01-28T05:33:00.000+02:00' +'849bd030083ef05e8f06ce74426fddf1ba9d88c2'|'China state tabloid scolds New York Times for investigative reports'|'BEIJING An influential Chinese state-run tabloid has chided the New York Times over its reporting practices after Apple Inc removed the newspaper''s app from its China app store at the request of the Chinese government.The Global Times editorial, released on Friday, said the New York Times had in the past four years been "trying to wield influence in China''s internal affairs" by doing investigative stories on sensitive subjects. It did not give specific examples."China is sincere in opening itself up but the prerequisite is to ensure its political security," said the editoral in the Global Times, an influential tabloid published by the ruling Communist Party''s official People''s Daily. "The Western media should not question China if it is to close its doors by scrutinizing one particular issue."Apple removed the newspaper''s English and Chinese-language apps on Dec. 23, citing requests from authorities.The Global Times said Apple "cares most about business, so it is willing to respect Chinese laws", adding that Apple faced tough competition from local brands in Greater China.The New York Times pointed to a recent investigative report on government subsidies offered to Apple supplier Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai Precison Industry Co, as a possible reason for the ban.In an report on the app''s removal, the New York Times cited their own spokeswoman as saying the app was removed shortly after a journalist made requests to government authorities, Foxconn and Apple seeking comment for the story.The New York Times called on Apple to reconsider the ban, and said the block was part of a wider attempt to prevent readers from accessing the U.S. publication.The newspaper is one of many foreign publications that is blocked within the country by China''s cyberauthority. But the apps from other blocked news sites, including the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times, remain available on the China app store as of Friday.The internet regulator has yet to respond to Reuters'' queries on the matter."The development of the internet in China must respect China''s laws and regulations, in principle," foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Thursday in response to a question about the apps.(Reporting by Cate Cadell; Editing by Martin Howell)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/apple-new-york-times-state-media-idINKBN14Q0EU'|'2017-01-06T02:36:00.000+02:00' +'8c9268b781e8e30918a0845ed7982da561cd0ee3'|'Europe power prices jump on cold, German day ahead falls on wind'|'Financials 29am EST Europe power prices jump on cold, German day ahead falls on wind FRANKFURT Jan 10 European power prices for the near-term and weeks and months in the first quarter rose on Tuesday, as the impact of more cold weather and tight thermal supply spilled into mid-term contracts, while German day-ahead power fell. The German Wednesday delivery position fell 29 percent to 36 euros ($38.21) pre megawatt hour, with Thomson Reuters wind forecasts showing an increase to 24 or even 28 gigawatts (GW) from 11 GW recorded on Tuesday. Week ahead prices were sharply up, with baseload in France up 42 percent at 125 euros/MWh and up 8 percent in Germany to 53.75 euros. German weeks 2, 3 and 4 also gained sharply and so did February and March. Setbacks for France''s nuclear reactors have shaken confidence in Europe''s wholesale electricity since last October, keeping prices high despite the fact French capacity is currently at a more comfortable level than in 2016. ($1 = 0.9422 euros) (Reporting by Vera Eckert; editing by Jason Neely) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/europe-power-prices-idUSL5N1F01FF'|'2017-01-10T15:29:00.000+02:00' +'863596800db8efa4cf4048255f6f6bfbd139d9fa'|'Hong Kong Dec home prices extend record run'|'Financials - Fri Jan 27, 2017 - 12:11am EST Hong Kong Dec home prices extend record run HONG KONG Jan 27 Hong Kong home prices shattered records for the second consecutive month, reaching yet another life-time high in December, the latest government data released on Friday showed. Private home prices climbed for nine consecutive months, edging up 0.07 percent in December when compared to the previous historic high a month ago, according to provisional data from the Rating and Valuation Department. The Asian financial hub has the world''s least affordable housing, with flats costing 18 times the median household income, according to the Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey published earlier this week. Although making housing more affordable is a top priority for the current government, home prices have surged by almost 50 percent since outgoing leader Leung Chun-ying took office in July 2012, pushing some 200,000 residents to live in cages, industrial buildings and sub-par partitioned units. In an effort to reign in an overheated property market, the government raised stamp duties to 15 percent of the transaction value early in November, exempting first time buyers. Real estate consultants, including JLL and Savills, said late last year they expected residential prices in 2017 to continue rising by 5 percent. (Reporting by Venus Wu; Editing by Shri Navaratnam) Next In Financials SE Asia Stocks-Steady tracking strong global markets; S''pore hits 15-mth high By Hanna Paul Jan 27 Southeast Asian stocks were steady on Friday in thin trading, tracking a rally in broader global peers on strong U.S. corporate earnings and an overnight surge in oil prices. MSCI''s world index, which tracks shares in 46 countries, hovered near record highs, cheered by a 2 percent rise in oil prices and a rebound of the greenback from a seven-week low. U.S. President Donald Trump''s pro-growth initiatives also boosted sentiments. "Everybody was a'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/hongkong-property-idUSL4N1FH1JL'|'2017-01-27T12:11:00.000+02:00' +'f392878dd0630004830e643625341351ea4b527d'|'Italian senators tell government to keep Generali Italian'|'ROME More than 100 Italian senators - many from the ruling Democratic Party - have tabled a question in parliament asking the government what steps it plans to take to protect insurer Generali from any foreign takeover.Generali, Italy''s biggest insurer, has seen recent leadership changes amid mounting talk that foreign companies such as France''s AXA ( AXAF.PA ) and Germany''s Allianz ( ALVG.DE )are interesting in the group.One of the senators, Francesco Russo, said in a statement on Thursday that the parliamentary question had been presented to Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan.Italy''s biggest retail bank Intesa SanPaolo ( ISP.MI ) said this week it was considering a tie-up with Generali.(Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte, writing by Gavin Jones)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-generali-m-a-senators-idUSKBN15A29G'|'2017-01-26T19:29:00.000+02:00' +'20818274a9b9ebd9212c5e52256ef4452f4a9dc6'|'Theresa May''s Brexit speech leaves small firms in the dark - Guardian Small Business Network'|'T heresa Mays speech on Tuesday was the governments first informative announcement on what the UK will look like after Brexit.A customs union with the EU has been ruled out so the UK can negotiate trade deals with countries outside the EU. This hard Brexit would mean that, after we leave, the UK will trade with the EU and the rest of the world under World Trade Organisation rules, until it has negotiated its new trade deals. That is unless we make an interim agreement with the EU before we leave, which would also need to be approved by the WTO. However, we still could not make trade agreements with countries outside the EU before Brexit without the EUs approval.The EU continues to be our biggest trade and investment partner. Exiting the single market without any other trade deal with the EU in place would mean a 5% cost disadvantage for UK manufacturers, who would face import taxes in the EU.EU referendum: how would Brexit change VAT and import duties? Read more The UKs main exports are in business-to-business, professional and financial services. Leaving the single market would reduce the size of the market available to these exporters, for reasons such as loss of mutual recognition of standards. For example, lawyers directives that allow solicitors to cross borders temporarily or permanently under their UK title , and the likely loss of the financial services EU passport . While Mays negotiating position is for us to keep that right to provide financial services across borders the EU principle is that if you leave the union you lose that privilege, so it will be a tough negotiation.Few trade agreements in the world have managed to remove the barriers to services trade, because it requires trade partners to commit to harmonisation of standards in product, services and labour markets. If a future customs agreement with the EU is to maintain comparable levels of market access for service exports, the UK must prioritise getting mutual recognition of standards from the EU. May has committed to incorporating EU law into UK law after Brexit to enable a smooth transition. After this, the UK will decide which rules it wants to keep. As such, for a temporary trade agreement, our standards will match the EUs. For a permanent agreement, we will need new commitments based on new laws. This will be a hard and typically take several years, or even decades.The speech did reveal that the government will work on getting an interim trade agreement with the EU. This is the best path forward. A temporary agreement would ease uncertainty among businesses and would buy the UK time to work out a permanent settlement.However, it is unlikely that the UK could reach a temporary deal before the date set for us to leave the EU. As such, it is likely that the temporary deal could follow an existing model like that of Norway. Immigration The Brexit speech has laid out the governments intentions it will not compromise on control over EU immigration to get single market access. This clarity is welcome, but the speech could have done away with many of the Eurosceptic claims that lack verifiable evidence. This includes those comments regarding the economic impact of immigration there is little hard evidence that EU immigrants put pressure on schools and wages.Even if we negotiate several trade deals with the rest of the world, it will be a long, arduous task to make up for the reduced trade and investment from the single market. And we would still need to resolve difficult issues, such as worker visas or investment disputes procedures, issues that slowed the EU in trade deals with large economies like the US, China or India.Many questions were left unanswered for small firms. It is likely that post Brexit they are going to find it even harder to participate in international markets and to get access to government funds. The prime ministers speech suggested the UK would use tax concessions to prevent businesses from leaving, but the link between tax concessions and economic growth is tenuous. And it comes at the risk of exacerbating economic inequality and of putting in place an industrial strategy that provides special favours to particular firms. This would go against the spirit of the Brexit vote, and the prime ministers promise to reverse the years of economic neglect that have divided the country.Swati Dhingra is an assistant professor at the department of economics at the London School of Economics, researching international economics, globalisation and industrial policy. She is co-author of the recent Life after Brexit report by LSEs centre for economic performance. Sign up to become a member of the Guardian Small Business Network here for more advice, insight and best practice direct to your inbox.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/jan/18/brexit-speech-leaves-small-firms-in-the-dark'|'2017-01-18T02:00:00.000+02:00' +'425448e2ef5740f56c59b70feb652f526eb76ec6'|'Fox needs Patriots'' popularity to drive Super Bowl ratings'|'Sports News 23pm EST Fox needs Patriots'' popularity to drive Super Bowl ratings Jan 22, 2017; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) celebrates with the Lamar Hunt Trophy after defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2017 AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports By Tim Baysinger - NEW YORK NEW YORK Fox will have to rely on the popularity of the New England Patriots as they face the less-celebrated Atlanta Falcons if it wants to draw a record U.S. television crowd for the Super Bowl. The 21st Century Fox unit is set to broadcast the 51st edition of the National Football Leagues title game on Feb. 5 in what is traditionally the most-watched TV show of the year with viewership of more than 100 million. Big Super Bowl ratings are particularly important this year as the NFL is coming off a season in which it saw its average TV audience drop by 8 percent. The league was hoping the playoffs would continue its post-U.S. election turnaround but the post-season has been filled with one-sided match-ups, with an average margin of victory of 15.7 points. Heading into Sunday''s conference championships games, NFL playoff games have averaged 33.2 million viewers, down more than 3 percent from last year. This years title game in Houston pits the four-time Super Bowl champion Patriots against the Falcons, who are making only their second Super Bowl appearance. Fox is getting more than $5 million for 30 seconds of commercial time and as high as $700,000 for a spot in the online livestream of the game, according to Fox Sports chief executive Eric Shanks. Fox has not sold its entire ad inventory for the game yet, hoping to command a premium from any last-minute buyers, although a Falcons-Patriots matchup may not command quite as a high a rate. While the Falcons have quarterback Matt Ryan, a favorite to win the NFLs Most Valuable Player award, Fox missed out on a chance of having Patriots quarterback Tom Brady square off against Green Bays superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers after the Packers were defeated by the Falcons on Sunday. This came a week after the Packers eliminated the Dallas Cowboys from the playoffs. A Cowboys-Patriots Super Bowl was widely considered to be the most enticing TV match-up. Four of the five most-viewed games this season featured the Cowboys and their one playoff game brought in 48.5 million viewers, the most for any TV show since last years Super Bowl. "They just have an incredibly strong national following," said Jason Maltby, director of national broadcast TV at ad agency MindShare. Losing Dallas is definitely a minus for them. The Falcons have little national presence. In their first Super Bowl appearance in 1999, they were easily defeated by the Denver Broncos in what was the least-viewed Super Bowl of the past 20 years with 83.7 million viewers. Atlanta just hasnt been there a lot, and while Matt Ryan is definitely a premiere QB ... hes just not as well known, Maltby said. The advertising market has been slower this year due to the lower TV ratings and increased advertiser spending on the U.S. presidential election and Summer Olympics in 2016, according to a media buyer with knowledge of the negotiations. Fox did not immediately respond when asked for an update on ad sales. (Reporting by Tim Baysinger; Editing by Bill Trott) Next In Sports News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-nfl-superbowl-ratings-idUSKBN1572C6'|'2017-01-24T00:18:00.000+02:00' +'946cc9b9b99e715ae3c574250c8a7b63d1cb75d7'|'MOVES-Pension Infrastructure Platform, Willis Towers Watson, BlueBay Asset'|'Company 36am EST MOVES-Pension Infrastructure Platform, Willis Towers Watson, BlueBay Asset Jan 18 The following financial services industry appointments were announced on Wednesday. To inform us of other job changes, email moves@thomsonreuters.com. PENSION INFRASTRUCTURE PLATFORM (PIP) The investment manager developed by UK pension funds to invest in UK infrastructure, appointed Tony Poulter as chairman. WILLIS TOWERS WATSON PLC The global advisory, broking and solutions firm named Mike Liss as head of its corporate risk and broking (CRB) business in North America, effective immediately. BLUEBAY ASSET MANAGEMENT LLP The fixed income manager appointed Timothy Ash to the newly created role of emerging markets senior sovereign strategist in its emerging market debt team. (Compiled by Diptendu Lahiri in Bengaluru) Next In Company News Gates charity to sell 60 mln Berkshire shares, as Buffett urged Jan 18 The foundation created by billionaire Bill Gates and his wife Melinda plans to sell 60 million Class B shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc donated by Warren Buffett, reflecting the fellow billionaire''s desire that proceeds be spent on charitable works.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/financial-moves-idUSL4N1F84K2'|'2017-01-18T22:36:00.000+02:00' +'0bdb2de6a8bf5d32257c37942daa013f0625720f'|'BRIEF-Fisco says unit NCXX Group''s business and capital alliance with Terilogy'|'Financials 48am EST BRIEF-Fisco says unit NCXX Group''s business and capital alliance with Terilogy Jan 17 Fisco Ltd : * says its unit NCXX Group Inc formed a business and capital alliance with Terilogy Co Ltd on Jan. 17 * Says the alliance is for cooperate on joint development of products, promotion of sales, joint marketing of new products * Says NCXX Group will acquire 2,291,700 shares (14.9 percent voting rights) of Terilogy at price of 630,217,500 yen on Feb. 1 Source text in Japanese: goo.gl/XeANLM Further company Coverage: (Beijing Headline News) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL4N1F730W'|'2017-01-17T15:48:00.000+02:00' +'6002f008b6eb0d7d5f710e3f00ca96ddd092f9d6'|'Mexico telecom ruling struck down in blow to Televisa -sources'|'MEXICO CITY A Mexican tribunal struck down a ruling on Thursday that said broadcaster Grupo Televisa did not have market power in pay television, two people with knowledge of the matter said, opening the door to tougher rules against the company.The move by the tribunal upheld a legal challenge to the 2015 ruling by the Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT), and it means the telecoms regulator must make its decision again, said the two people, who declined to be named.The IFT justified its decision at the time by saying competitors such as Dish, Megacable and Axtel were adding subscribers and taking market share from Televisa. The ruling was challenged by a rival cable provider, Total Play, part of Grupo Salinas.Televisa is the country''s largest satellite and cable television provider, accounting for some 60 percent of all pay TV subscribers, according to the latest IFT figures.A Grupo Televisa spokesman said the company had not been notified of Thursday''s decision by the tribunal. The IFT did not immediately return a request for comment. Tribunal officials could not immediately be reached for comment.If the IFT reassesses its decision and rules Televisa does have market power in pay television, it would mean the regulator could impose special antitrust measures on the company.(Reporting by Christine Murray; Editing by Daniel Wallis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-televisa-regulator-idINKBN15400I'|'2017-01-19T21:09:00.000+02:00' +'0e6802b98bfcc9c044563762c432b29fa0748b9e'|'LG Electronics posts 2016 operating profit of $1.2 billion'|' 22am GMT LG Electronics posts 2016 operating profit of $1.2 billion FILE PHOTO - A man looks at LG Electronics'' TV sets, which are made with LG Display flat screens, at its store in Seoul, South Korea, April 26, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo SEOUL South Korea''s LG Electronics Inc reported on Tuesday a 2016 operating profit of 1.34 trillion won ($1.15 billion), up 12 percent from the previous year. In the fourth quarter, the company swung to an operating loss of 35 billion won, according to Reuters calculations, in line with its guidance earlier this month. (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Writing by Joyce Lee; After U.S. exit, Asian nations try to save TPP trade deal WELLINGTON/TOKYO Australia and New Zealand said on Tuesday they hope to salvage the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) by encouraging China and other Asian nations to join the trade pact after U.S. President Donald Trump kept his promise to pull out of the accord.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lg-elec-results-idUKKBN1580WH'|'2017-01-24T16:22:00.000+02:00' +'933d13b5f06aa54c13c0fcb7580b11e6de86f2cc'|'China''s December home price growth moderates, bubble fears abate'|'Business News - Wed Jan 18, 2017 - 2:19am GMT China''s December home price growth moderates, bubble fears abate Labourers work atop scaffolding at a residential construction site in Shanghai, July 14, 2014. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo BEIJING Growth in China''s home prices moderated slightly in December as local governments stepped up curbs to tame speculation which some fear is fuelling a property bubble. The price moderation will come as something of a relief to China''s leaders as they wrestle with economic targets for 2017. Sources have told Reuters Beijing is prepared to accept a more modest growth target of 6.5 percent this year as leaders tackle a mountain of debt built up over years of heavy official borrowing to fund stimulus campaigns. But after 2016''s record surge in China''s nationwide home prices, the biggest since 2011 when the data was first available, further sharp gains may require more aggressive policy curbs, adding to risks of a price crash and a sharp knock on the economy. Average new home prices in 70 major cities rose 12.4 percent in December from a year earlier, compared to November''s record 12.6 percent rise, data from the National Bureau of Statistics(NBS) showed on Wednesday. On a monthly basis, new home prices rose 0.3 percent, slowing from November''s 0.6 percent, according to Reuters calculations. Authorities have unleashed a series of measures in recent months to contain rapid house price rises in more than two dozen Chinese cities, amid fears that markets are overheating. China''s leaders have pledged to strictly limit credit flowing into speculative buying in the housing market in 2017. Those sentiments have been echoed by some local government heads, although local authorities are not always seen as eager to follow Beijing''s property clampdowns due to the hefty revenues they garner from land sales. Market watchers say prices are likely to continue rising in the biggest cities due to strong demand and limited land for new housing projects. Inventories in some of China''s biggest cities shrunk to less than six months of demand in January, data from private research agency China Index Academy showed, leaving many analysts still bullish on the housing market overall. China''s average home prices are forecast to rise 4.1 percent in 2017, while growth in property investment would rise 5.4 percent, a state-owned newspaper reported earlier this month, citing the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. But authorities will be walking a tightrope between curbing excessive price gains and clamping down too hard on a sector which accounts for about 15 percent of the economy. The National Academy of Economic Strategy, part of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), has warned that an "overcorrecting" property market would drag on economic growth and impair financial stability, saying first-tier and some second-tier cities would be most exposed to such risks. Wednesday''s data showed eye-popping price rises in 2016 despite a slowdown in growth late in the year. Prices in Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing prices rose 23.5 percent, 26.5 percent and 25.9 percent from 2015. China depended heavily on the surging real estate market and government stimulus to drive economic expansion in 2016, and not surprisingly is widely expected to report on Friday that it met its annual growth target of 6.5 to 7 percent. While property curbs are expected to weigh on economic growth this year, the government is likely to welcome signs of moderation in home prices, which would allow it to focus on defusing explosive growth in corporate debt. But speculation is still rife in some parts of the country as buyers are priced out of the top cities and look to invest elsewhere. In the major southwestern city of Chongqing, the local government recently imposed a property tax on first-time home buyers who are non-residents, while some smaller cities are still suffering from a large overhang of unsold homes that has hardly improved from a year ago. Official data showed Chongqing prices rose 1.1 percent in December compared to a month ago, making it one of the top performers in terms of monthly growth in the month. China''s commercial housing inventory totalled 691 million square metres in November 2016, a mere 0.01 percent drop from the same time a year earlier, as developers rushed to bring on new projects as home sales and prices soared, official data from the Statistic Bureau showed. (Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk and Yawen Chen; Editing by Eric Meijer) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-homeprices-idUKKBN15207N'|'2017-01-18T09:19:00.000+02:00' +'83d5c51a8847a4d757fc9620e427e0e57532db62'|'Rolls-Royce: questions remain despite 671m bribery settlement - Nils Pratley - Business'|'F or Rolls-Royce, the company, the book is now almost closed. It has apologised unreservedly in court for the bribery and corruption in its midst in the period 1989 to 2013. It will pay 671m in penalties, the lions share in the UK. It has changed its senior management. And, under the terms of the deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the Serious Fraud Office, it will improve its behaviour on pain of getting properly whacked.But the affair cannot be left to lie there. Read the statement of facts in the case, and consider the words of Sir Brian Leveson in the high court as he approved the DPA, to appreciate the size of this scandal. Rolls-Royces internal investigation, we learn, involved disciplinary proceedings against 38 individuals in its civil aerospace, energy and marine divisions, leading to 11 employees leaving the company during the disciplinary process and six being dismissed. Others have suffered sanctions short of dismissal.That is a sizeable tally but naturally understates matters since disciplinary proceedings could only be taken against those still on the companys payroll in 2013 and afterwards. The corruption spanned three decades, remember. And look at Rolls-Royces review of the intermediaries it used to win contracts in foreign markets. The company examined 250 relationships and suspended 88 intermediaries.If that suggests a past culture where corruption was completely out of control, so do the words of the judge in his concluding remarks: My reaction when first considering these papers was that if Rolls-Royce were not to be prosecuted in the context of such egregious criminality over decades, involving countries around the world, making truly vast corrupt payments and, consequentially, even greater profits, then it was difficult to see when any company would be prosecuted.Leveson nevertheless approved the DPA because he accepted that Rolls-Royce is no longer the company that once it was and its new board and executive team has sought to clear out all the disreputable practices. That seems pragmatic and correct: there is no point in destroying Rolls-Royce, damaging its suppliers and undermining the UKs defence capabilities.But two questions still loom large: who, at the top at Rolls-Royce, knew what was going on and when? Tuesdays documents contained no names but, again, the judges remarks were powerful. He referred to most serious breaches of the criminal law some of which implicated senior management and, on the face of it, controlling minds of the company. Note, too, the detail that the company, after starting its own investigations in 2013, supplied the SFO with a report concerning conduct Rolls-Royce had known about since 2010 and previously (under different leadership) decided not to notify.Until the controlling minds at Rolls-Royce in the relevant period explain their conduct, consider this tale incomplete. A company regarded as the UKs finest has been disgraced. Now we need to know who let it happen.BATs Reynolds takeover shows Big Tobacco is far from burnt out Its amazing now to recall that when British American Tobacco sold its US subsidiary Brown & Williamson to RJ Reynolds in 2004, taking a 42% stake in exchange, the deal was worth only $3bn (2.42bn at current rates). Wind forward to the present day and the numbers have become extraordinary. BAT is now buying the remaining 58% of the restyled Reynolds American, owner of Camel and Newport, for almost $50bn.One must adjust for the $4.7bn BAT injected to maintain its 42% holding after Reynolds takeover of Lorillard, another US fags firm, in 2015. Even so, the inflation in valuations shows what a wonderful investment Big Tobacco became once the threat of ruinous class-action litigation was removed. That era began with a grand settlement with 46 US states in 1998 and was later cemented by various rulings that limited punitive damages.The share prices tell the story. Back in 2004, Reynolds shares traded around the $8 mark, versus a valuation of $59.64 in Tuesdays deal. BATs shares, in the same period, have improved from 9 to 46 with barely a wheeze along the way. There is cash and plenty of it in selling to customers who tend to remain loyal until they kick the habit or die. And, in the age of low interest rates, there have been easy opportunities to spice up returns to shareholders via the use of debt.Is there any mileage left, though? BAT is betting there is because it is buying Reynolds at almost 17 times its earnings, thought to be the highest price ever paid for a large tobacco firm. That ratio looks aggressive, especially as promised cost savings of $400m are small in the context of the deal. But BAT chief executive Nicandro Durante could probably justify the punt on four grounds.First, the effective oligopoly in the US market means cigarette prices can continue to be increased gently. Second, theres a chance Donald Trump will cut corporate taxes, which would do wonders for Reynolds bottom-line earnings. Third, the cigarette giants are well on the way to controlling the vaping market (which satisfies different consumer moments, in BATs grim language), so the threat of major upheaval in earnings is slight. Fourth, its hard to go too far wrong in cigarettes; it will take five years to achieve returns in the US that beat the cost of capital, thinks BAT, but it can be confident of getting there eventually.In short, this mega-deal suggests Big Tobaccos winning run can continue for some time yet. It didnt seem possible in the litigation-heavy fog of 2004; now it seems probable.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jan/17/rolls-royce-bribery-settlement'|'2017-01-18T02:50:00.000+02:00' +'8d6772a12da785ccbf973ccbbd6c500e70e45d50'|'Diageo reports better than expected half-year sales growth'|' 44am GMT Diageo reports better than expected half-year sales growth FILE PHOTO - Whisky barrels are seen in the warehouse of the Diageo Cardhu distillery in Scotland March 21, 2014. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne/File Photo LONDON Diageo ( DGE.L ), the world''s largest distilled drinks company, reported on Thursday better than expected sales growth in the last six months, helped by improvements in its U.S. business and the strong U.S. dollar. The maker of Johnnie Walker Scotch and Smirnoff vodka said sales rose 4.4 percent in the six months ended Dec. 31, above the average of analysts'' estimates for growth of 3.4 percent. Earnings per share, before one-off items, rose 21 percent to 62 pence, as higher operating profit and favourable exchange rates more than offset the impact of disposals and a higher tax rate. The company said it remains confident it can achieve its full year goal of "consistent mid-single digit top line growth and 100 basis points of organic operating margin improvement in the three years ending 30 June 2019". (Reporting by Martinne Geller; Editing by Greg Mahlich) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-diageo-results-idUKKBN15A0Q1'|'2017-01-26T14:44:00.000+02:00' +'a9a5b7fcc303adb13d8281995b8d17c5be543391'|'BRIEF-Imvescor announces renewal of normal course issuer bid'|' 19am EST BRIEF-Imvescor announces renewal of normal course issuer bid Jan 18 Imvescor Restaurant Group Inc : * Imvescor announces renewal of normal course issuer bid * Imvescor Restaurant Group Inc - renewal will follow on conclusion of Imvescor''s current normal course issuer bid expiring on January 19, 2017 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1F80EQ'|'2017-01-18T19:19:00.000+02:00' +'157e38c633acbaa14f7b49fec64bd9750359d3db'|'Mitsubishi UFJ Trust to sue Toshiba over 2015 accounting scandal'|'Business News - Mon Jan 30, 2017 - 1:34am GMT Mitsubishi UFJ Trust to sue Toshiba over 2015 accounting scandal FILE PHOTO- A logo of Toshiba Corp is seen on a printed circuit board in this photo illustration taken in Tokyo July 31, 2012. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao/File Phot TOKYO Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corp [MTFGTB.UL] is preparing to sue Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) for 1 billion yen ($8.7 million) in damages after its share price tanked due to a $1.3 billion (1.03 billion pounds) accounting scandal two years ago. The trust bank is seeking compensation on behalf of its client pension funds, a spokesman said on Monday. The development is an extra headache for the conglomerate which has plunged into crisis again. It said on Friday it will sell a minority stake in its memory chip business as it urgently seeks funds to offset an imminent multi-billion dollar writedown, adding that its overseas nuclear division - the cause of its woes - was now under review. The laptops-to-nuclear conglomerate said in October last year that it had been sued by 15 groups and individuals since it first admitted to reporting inflated profits going back to 2008. (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting-idUKKBN15E03G'|'2017-01-30T08:34:00.000+02:00' +'c0999c1521f68c88aae7d2d565224ceb14bf4efd'|'Russia''s Detsky Mir says wants to float shares on Moscow Exchange'|'MOSCOW Jan 16 Russian children''s goods retailer Detsky Mir intends to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) of its shares on the Moscow Exchange, the company said on Monday.Detsky Mir said in a statement that the offering was expected to be exclusively of its secondary shares.The selling shareholders are the Sistema business conglomerate, the Russia-China Investment Fund, and certain members of the management teams of Detsky Mir and Sistema.Sistema intends to maintain strategic control over Detsky Mir in the medium term by retaining majority ownership, Detsky Mir said. (Reporting by Polina Devitt; Writing by Alexander Winning; Editing by Andrew Osborn)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/russia-detsky-mir-ipo-idINR4N1EP02L'|'2017-01-16T04:28:00.000+02:00' +'f1f36c642d2209f9f8925f03e34e8e4375bbf909'|'Fitch Rates Santander''s Second Ranking Senior Notes ''A-(EXP)'''|'Financials 59pm EST Fitch Rates Santander''s Second Ranking Senior Notes ''A-(EXP)'' (The following statement was released by the rating agency) BARCELONA, January 25 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings has assigned Banco Santander, S.A.''s (Santander) upcoming issue of second ranking senior notes an expected long-term rating of ''A-(EXP)''. The assignment of the final rating is contingent on the receipt of final documents conforming to the information already received. The introduction of this new debt class does not affect the ''A-'' long-term rating on the bank''s outstanding senior debt, which becomes senior to this new issue and named senior higher priority liabilities in Santander''s prospectus. Once the Insolvency Harmonisation Directive has been implemented in Spain, the second ranking senior notes will become senior non-preferred debt and the senior higher priority liabilities will become senior preferred debt. Under its criteria, Fitch requires a high burden of proof to notch senior debt up or down a bank''s Issuer Default Rating (IDR) based on recovery prospects, particularly at high rating levels. This is because the structure of a bank''s balance sheet is likely to be very different at the point of failure and that default is unlikely to result in liquidation for systemically important banks. Additionally, Fitch believes the difference in default risk between the second ranking senior notes and senior higher priority debt will initially be very small until the bank has larger buffers of second ranking (or non-preferred) senior and junior debt. Over time, a build-up of senior non-preferred notes in combination with the bank''s qualifying junior debt could result in a level of protection for senior preferred notes warranting a long-term rating one notch higher than the bank''s Long-Term IDR and senior non-preferred debt ratings. For the senior preferred notes to achieve a one notch uplift, the buffer of qualifying junior debt and senior non-preferred debt would need to exceed our estimate of a ''recapitalisation amount''. This amount is likely to be around or above the bank''s minimum pillar 1 total capital requirement. KEY RATING DRIVERS The second ranking senior notes are rated in line with Santander''s Long-Term IDR (A-/Stable) and existing senior debt ratings. Fitch views the likelihood of default on the second ranking senior notes as the same as the likelihood of default of the bank. Second ranking senior debt constitutes a contractually new senior debt class. In accordance with the issue characteristics, second ranking senior obligations are senior to subordinated debt and subordinated to existing senior debt, which becomes senior higher priority liabilities (senior preferred debt) and continues to rank in line with certain other senior liabilities. The new second ranking senior notes will be bailed in before senior higher priority debt in the event of insolvency or resolution. RATING SENSITIVITIES The rating of second ranking senior notes is primarily sensitive to a change in the Long-Term IDR of Santander. Contact: Primary Analyst Josu Fabo, CFA Director +34 93 494 3464 Fitch Ratings Espana, S.A.U. Av. Diagonal, 601, 2nd Floor 08028 Barcelona Secondary Analyst Roger Turro Director +34 93 323 8406 Committee Chairperson Olivia Perney Guillot Senior Director +33 1 44 29 91 74 Media Relations: Elaine Bailey, London, Tel: +44 203 530 1153, Email: elaine.bailey@fitchratings.com. Additional information is available on www.fitchratings.com Applicable Criteria Global Bank Rating Criteria (pub. 25 Nov 2016) here Additional Disclosures Dodd-Frank Rating Information Disclosure Form here _id=1018115 Solicitation Status here Endorsement Policy here ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: here . IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY''S PUBLIC WEB SITE AT WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA, AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. 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Due to the relative efficiency of electronic publishing and distribution, Fitch research may be available to electronic subscribers up to three days earlier than to print subscribers. For Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and South Korea only: Fitch Australia Pty Ltd holds an Australian financial services license (AFS license no. 337123) which authorizes it to provide credit ratings to wholesale clients only. Credit ratings information published by Fitch is not intended to be used by persons who are retail clients within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFit987802'|'2017-01-26T00:59:00.000+02:00' +'10e3d925f76a330c60e596573892d9a224fd3bf2'|'HSH Nordbank optimistic about finding a buyer - paper'|'Private Equity - Sun Jan 8, 2017 - 9:51am EST HSH Nordbank optimistic about finding a buyer - paper BERLIN Jan 8 German shipping finance provider HSH Nordbank sees a good chance of finding a buyer, its finance chief said. "Despite the difficult market environment, we have very good prospects of selling the bank," Oliver Gatzke told the Boersen Zeitung newspaper. HSH Nordbank met potential buyers in London in November ahead of the German lender''s planned privatisation this year, people close to the matter told Reuters. HSH''s owners - the northern German states of Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg jointly hold 85 percent - have to privatise the bank by the end of February 2018 and have mandated Citi to organise the process, due to start in early 2017. HSH, which had total assets of 90 billion euros ($95 billion) and posted a profit of 160 million euros as of June, sought backing from its owners after risky assets turned sour in 2008, and it got hit further by the slump in global trade after the financial crisis. The EU Commission, HSH and its owners negotiated for years over a plan to restore HSH to health and avoid future state aid. Gatzke said he could not imagine the bank would have to be wound up, as the EU Commission demands in case no buyer is found. "We sense a lot of interest and are very optimistic that we will reach a big circle of investors, who will make expressions of interests at the start of February," he said. HSH is eyeing European and Asian banks as possible buyers and Gatzke said the company was also speaking to specialised investors, who concentrate on private equity and debt funds. ($1 = 0.9499 euros) (Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Mark Potter) Next In Private Equity'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/hsh-nordbank-sale-idUSL5N1EY0FS'|'2017-01-08T21:51:00.000+02:00' +'8aefe197b970a1aa22a6a2827dd66e9441aa517c'|'Peruvian police detain first suspect in Odebrecht bribe case'|'Business News - Sat Jan 21, 2017 - 2:59pm GMT Peruvian police detain first suspect in Odebrecht bribe case Headquarters of the Odebrecht Brazilian construction conglomerate is seen in Lima, Peru, January 5, 2017. REUTERS/Mariana Bazo LIMA Peruvian police detained a former government official accused of taking bribes from Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht in exchange for a contract to build the Lima metro, prosecutors said on Saturday. Edwin Luyo, who led a committee to auction off the Metro in 2009 when Alan Garcia was President, was identified thanks to information obtained from Odebrecht as part of a preliminary leniency deal, Peru''s prosecutors'' office said on Twitter. The detention, the first involving Odebrecht in Peru, occurred on Friday night after a police operation that also raided the home of Garcia''s former vice minister of communications Jorge Cuba, who was not found, the prosecutors'' office said. A spokeswoman said the detention was preliminary and Luyo would be released on Saturday night unless prosecutors requested and received more time from a judge. Odebrecht, the largest construction firm in Latin America, admitted to paying bribes in 12 countries, including $29 million in Peru over the course of three presidencies, as part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice last month. While it is under investigation in other countries, the case is more advanced in Peru than anywhere outside of Brazil. Peru''s President Pedro Pablo Kuczysnki has said Odebrecht should pay at least 90 million soles (22 million) to settle in Peru. Odebrecht paid $7 million (5.6 million) to win a contract for Line 1 of Lima''s Metro, which started operating in 2011, according to Hamilton Castro, the lead Peruvian prosecutor on the case. The Brazilian Supreme Course Justice presiding over the case that has seen dozens of high-profile executives and politicians arrested in Brazil, died in a plane crash on Thursday, just weeks before he was due to unveil explosive testimony from Odebrecht executives. (Reporting by Marco Aquino; Writing by Caroline Stauffer, Editing by Franklin Paul) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-peru-corruption-odebrecht-idUKKBN1550L8'|'2017-01-21T21:59:00.000+02:00' +'799dec3f7e1009dd5b4442f85ad90f546a6f1835'|'Trump''s protectionist policies top risk to U.S. economy in 2017 - Reuters poll'|' 45pm GMT Trump''s protectionist policies top risk to U.S. economy in 2017 - Reuters poll U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks to diplomats at the Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) Chairman''s Global Dinner in Washington, U.S. January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst By Anu Bararia and Sumanta Dey The top risk to U.S. growth would come if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump keeps his protectionist promises, according to a Reuters poll that shows economists have not joined in the market exuberance since the shock November vote. For most of his campaign and after the election, Trump vowed to make sweeping changes to U.S. trade and immigration policy, threatened to impose steep tariffs on Chinese imports and proposed hefty tax cuts. While financial markets have retreated in the past week and hopes of a sudden spurt in inflation have faded, U.S. 10-year Treasury yields are still up more than 25 percent since Election Day, and stocks have hit record highs. Still, more than two-thirds of the 70 respondents to the question in the Reuters survey taken over the past week said Trump''s protectionist policies were the biggest threat to the world''s largest economy this year. "There is no question that near the top of the list of downside risks is the potential for more follow-through on the anti-free trade rhetoric," said Jim O''Sullivan of High Frequency Economics. "I am kind of assuming that the (incoming) administration will be practical on this," said O''Sullivan, the top forecaster of U.S. economic data in Reuters polls for 2016, the second year in a row he achieved that distinction. The strong dollar, which hit a 14-year high early this month and is up close to 6 percent since Trump was elected, poses an additional near-term risk. Worries around the globe over Trump''s confrontational style and a strengthening dollar are likely to be key themes among political and business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week. Sweeping tax cuts for businesses and individuals, and the prospect of some infrastructure spending, have also not brightened prospects for U.S. economic growth, which Trump has said he aimed to boost to 3.5 percent. More than 80 percent of respondents said "no" when asked if now was the right time for such aggressive tax cuts, with the economy close to full employment. The unemployment rate was 4.7 percent in December. TOO OPTIMISTIC The latest poll estimated growth slowed to 2.2 percent in the fourth quarter from 3.5 percent in the third quarter. Through 2017, economists predicted the economy would expand at an annual rate of 2.1 percent to 2.5 percent each quarter, just 0.1 percentage point higher than the previous estimate. The full-year median was 2.3 percent. The most optimistic growth forecast for any point in 2017 was 4.1 percent, far short of the post-financial crisis peak of 5.6 percent hit in the fourth quarter of 2009. "Obviously people have been assuming the growth-sapping parts (protectionist measures) are not followed through, but they may have run ahead of themselves in predicting how much stimulus will be enacted and how much growth will be boosted," said O''Sullivan, who was also the most optimistic on growth among the top forecasters. A little fewer than one-third of the respondents, including three of the top 10 U.S. economy forecasters in Reuters polls last year, upgraded their 2017 growth outlooks in the latest poll. Many of them, like O''Sullivan, said it was mainly on the assumption Trump would not follow through on his restrictive trade agenda and instead focus on boosting growth through fiscal measures. While those projected growth rates may be considered healthy for the economy at such a late stage of the recovery cycle, they could do little to boost inflation much beyond the Federal Reserve''s 2 percent target. Inflation pressure is more likely to come from a round of retaliatory tariffs if Trump''s protectionist agenda becomes a global reality. Even though pay growth is forecast to average 3.0 percent this year, up from 2.8 percent in December''s poll, the Fed''s preferred gauge of inflation, the Core PCE Price Index, will probably average 1.8 percent in 2017 and 2.0 percent in 2018, unchanged from the last poll. Fed policymakers recently warned that with the economy close to full employment, an expansive fiscal policy could lead to faster rate hikes than currently priced in, pushing the U.S. dollar higher. "If the unemployment rate falls some more, it is going to add to upward pressure on wages and inflation and reinforce the case for Fed tightening," O''Sullivan said. The wider poll of over 100 economists, including 17 large banks that transact directly with the Fed, showed rates would remain unchanged at 0.50 percent to 0.75 percent until the second quarter, when a 25-basis-point hike is likely. A follow-up increase is expected in the fourth quarter, taking the Fed funds rate to a range of 1.00 percent to 1.25 percent. Fourteen economists, however, forecast a hike by March. (For other stories from the poll) (Polling and analysis by Sarmista Sen and Purnita Deb; Editing by Ross Finley and Lisa Von Ahn) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-economy-poll-idUKKBN1521ON'|'2017-01-18T19:45:00.000+02:00' +'f18725b07a9bfa7d371b9ea9740940e135c62990'|'Egypt begins marketing triple-tranche Eurobond at 6.375 to 8.875 pct'|'CAIRO Jan 24 Egypt began marketing on Tuesday a triple-tranche U.S. dollar-denominated benchmark bond issue with yields ranging between 6.375 and 8.875 percent, bankers involved in the deal said. The five-year tranche of the Eurobond is being marketed at 6.375-6.625 percent, according to a document showing initial price thoughts. The 10-year tranche is being marketed at 7.625-7.875 percent and the 30-year tranche is being marketed at 8.625-8.875 percent.Egyptian officials said they were targeting a Eurobond issuance of $2 billion to $2.5 billion on the eve of their roadshow, which began last week in the United Arab Emirates and took in investors in the United States and United Kingdom.The bonds will be listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. The offering is being run by BNP Paribas, Citigroup, JP Morgan and Natixis.Egypt had planned to begin its roadshow in November but postponed it due to market volatility.The country of over 90 million has been seeking a variety of funding sources, from development loans to foreign grants and aid, to plug its financing needs as it struggles with an acute dollar shortage that has hampered its ability to import.The central bank abandoned its currency peg of 8.8 pounds to the U.S. dollar in November and raised interest rates by 300 basis points in a move it hopes will unlock currency inflows and bring back foreign investors driven away after a 2011 uprising.The currency flotation helped Egypt clinch a $12 billion loan programme from the International Monetary Fund to support plans for sweeping economic reforms. The IMF deal and flotation have helped propel the Egyptian stock market to multi-year highs. (Reporting by Asma AlSharif in Cairo and Robert Hogg in London; Writing by Lin Noueihed; Editing by Tom Heneghan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/egypt-eurobonds-idINL5N1FE292'|'2017-01-24T06:44:00.000+02:00' +'b4fa412a4d92aae1672692b2ff791e730b3b2e02'|'UPDATE 1-Honduras sets IPTs on 2027 bond'|'(Adds secondary levels)By Paul KilbyNEW YORK, Jan 12 (IFR) - The Republic of Honduras, rated B2/B+, announced initial price thoughts on Thursday of mid-to-high 6% on a 2027 US dollar bond, according to a lead on the deal.The Central American country was last in the international markets in late 2013 when it issued a 2020 to yield 8.75%.That bond has been trading at a bid yield of around 5.50%, while the borrower''s 7.5% 2024 is being Quote: d at around 6.06%, according to Thomson Reuters data.Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Citigroup are acting as leads on the new offering, which is expected to price later on Thursday. (Reporting by Paul Kilby; Editing by Natalie Harrison and Marc Carnegie)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/honduras-bond-idINL1N1F20QI'|'2017-01-12T11:37:00.000+02:00' +'6e9a6cb2eb6bacba8d4bccbf2036674e9a286486'|'BRIEF-Zoom Video Communications says raised $100 mln in series D funding'|'Market News - Tue Jan 17, 2017 - 7:55am EST BRIEF-Zoom Video Communications says raised $100 mln in series D funding Jan 17 Zoom Video Communications * Says raised $100 million in series D funding * Zoom Video Communications - funding from Sequoia, with additional participation from Emergence Capital, Jerry Yang''s AME Cloud Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures Source text for Eikon: Next In Market News Trump adviser Scaramucci says parts, not all, of NATO obsolete DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 17 A senior advisor to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said his comments about the NATO alliance being "obsolete" reflect how the world has changed, but should not be interpreted as meaning that it needs to be consigned to history.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1F70HB'|'2017-01-17T19:55:00.000+02:00' +'381c0be1cb3137658e5efeaf79de72adc1cdf931'|'Egypt''s Finance Ministry issues $888 mln one-year dollar-denominated t-bill'|'Financials 23am EST Egypt''s Finance Ministry issues $888 mln one-year dollar-denominated t-bill CAIRO Jan 9 Egypt issued one-year treasury bills worth $888 million at an average yield of 3.7 percent, the central bank said on Monday. The minimum yield was 3.65 percent and the maximum 3.7 percent, the bank said in a statement. (Reporting by Asma Alsharif; Editing by Angus MacSwan) Next In Financials Petrobras to buy back up to $2 bln of debt in cash, offer new bonds SAO PAULO, Jan 9 Petrleo Brasileiro SA has launched a program to buy back up to $2 billion of existing bonds in cash and the offering of new debt, as the world''s most indebted oil company seeks to refinance debt maturing before the end of the decade. * Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc - Deal for $24.00 per share in cash, or an enterprise value of approximately $5.2 billion MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Taboola Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/egypt-debt-treasuries-idUSL5N1EZ3N5'|'2017-01-09T20:23:00.000+02:00' +'b81f862f896d5c60dffe2d85e491b6a74ba72aac'|'Looser euro zone fiscal stance not in line with rules, sustainability - IMF'|'BRUSSELS The International Monetary Fund clashed on Thursday with the European Commission, saying it advocated a neutral fiscal stance for the euro zone as a whole rather than an expansionary one as suggested by the EU executive arm.The view was presented in a regular assessment of the economy of the 19 countries sharing the euro, at a meeting of euro zone finance ministers on Thursday."The sum of our current fiscal policy advice to each euro area member implies a broadly neutral aggregate fiscal stance for the euro area," the IMF said.The European Commission said last year that the aggregate fiscal stance of the euro zone should be expansionary to the tune of 0.5 percent of GDP to address the euro zone''s negative output gap.But the IMF said a looser fiscal stance to address that would not be consistent with fiscal sustainability at the individual country level nor with EU budget rules -- the Stability and Growth Pact."Instead, a more accommodative overall stance would require the creation of a central fiscal capacity (CFC), which the monetary union needs to offset large, adverse country-specific shocks," the IMF said, referring to a politically very sensitive idea of creating a separate euro zone budget."But this will take time, and building political support will depend on the credible enforcement of existing fiscal rules," it said.The Fund said the existing rules were to complex and should instead focus on a single fiscal anchor and a single operational target, together with more automatic enforcement."The rules could also be reinforced by making access to central funds conditional on compliance," it said.(Reporting By Jan Strupczewski)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/eurozone-imf-fiscal-idINKBN15A2OJ'|'2017-01-26T16:07:00.000+02:00' +'f52c8765e863bfdc4615ca668bd19f98e5664b5e'|'Carlyle to buy South Africa''s Global Credit Ratings'|'Funds News 34am EST Carlyle to buy South Africa''s Global Credit Ratings LONDON Jan 17 Carlyle Group has agreed to acquire Johannesburg-based ratings agency Global Credit Ratings (GCR), a spokeswoman for the U.S. buyout fund said on Tuesday. Terms of the acquisition, which was first reported by the Financial Times, were not disclosed. Carlyle raised $698 million for its Africa buyout fund in 2014, exceeding its $500 million target. In November, Carlyle, which has $169 billion of assets under management, agreed to acquire a majority share of CMC Networks, a pan-African telecommunications business. In September, it agreed to buy a majority share of Amrod, a supplier of promotional products and clothing in South Africa and neighbouring countries. (Reporting by Dasha Afanasieva; editing by Jason Neely) Next In Funds News Thailand''s CP All and three funds compete for Polish retailer Zabka - sources WARSAW, Jan 16 Thailand''s top convenience store chain CP All Pcl and three private equity funds are competing to buy Polish retail chain Zabka from Mid Europa Partners, in a deal valued at up to 1.5 billion euros ($1.59 billion), sources familiar with the transaction said.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/mergersNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/globalratingsagency-ma-carlyle-group-idUSL5N1F718A'|'2017-01-17T14:34:00.000+02:00' +'adbe7e013b777245db7735c4edd8ef7f252835b3'|'Indonesian tycoon Tahir says keen to buy StanChart''s Permata stake'|'JAKARTA Indonesian tycoon Tahir said on Monday he is interested in buying Asia-focused lender Standard Chartered Plc''s ( STAN.L ) entire stake in Indonesia''s PT Bank Permata Tbk ( BNLI.JK ).Standard Chartered and Indonesian conglomerate PT Astra International Tbk ( ASII.JK ) each owned 44.8 percent of Permata as of Sept. 30, according to Thomson Reuters data. Permata shares surged as much as 12.4 percent on Monday."Actually we want all of Permata shares," Tahir told Reuters by telephone. "But at the moment the one that is planning to sell is StanChart, so we are targeting that first."Standard Chartered and Permata were not immediately available to comment.(Reporting by Cindy Silviana; Writing by Eveline Danubrata; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-stanchart-bank-permata-deals-idINKBN1500CZ'|'2017-01-16T02:00:00.000+02:00' +'e05446b15ed1cc5d5b8d97c1d19ce4a80e415acc'|'BRIEF-J&J''s DePuy Synthes acquires technology from Interventional Spine Inc'|'Jan 3 (Reuters) -* DePuy Synthes acquires Interventional Spine expandable cage technology to accelerate growth in spine* DePuy Synthes Products - Financial terms of transaction have not been disclosed* DePuy Synthes says it is also acquiring Interventional Spine''s facet screw system for open and percutaneous spine surgery Source text:'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/article/idINASC09PCC'|'2017-01-03T15:09:00.000+02:00' +'faf14430fefaf11ba83cffe6e37de36343b6340e'|'Oil sinks on supply worries; sterling drops on May comments'|'Business News - Mon Jan 9, 2017 - 9:52pm GMT Oil sinks on supply worries; sterling drops on May comments left right A British ten pound note is seen in front of a stock graph in this November 7, 2016 picture illustration. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo 1/4 left right Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) shortly after the opening bell in New York, REUTERS/Lucas Jackson 2/4 left right Traders work at their desks in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, January 3, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote 3/4 left right A journalist walks past an electronic board of the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the Korea Exchange (KRX) in Seoul, South Korea, January 20, 2016 REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji 4/4 By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss - NEW YORK NEW YORK Oil prices fell on Monday on fears that record Iraqi crude exports and growing U.S. output could undermine OPEC''s efforts to reduce supply, while sterling slumped on comments by British Prime Minister Theresa May suggesting what could be an aggressive exit from the European Union. Sterling was the big mover in the currency market, falling nearly 1 percent against the dollar to more than two-month lows after May''s remarks. May said she was willing to sacrifice the country''s single-market membership for more control over its borders. U.S. Treasury yields retreated in line with British bond yields after the comments. The drop in oil prices weighed on energy stocks on Wall Street and the Dow Jones Industrial Average moved further from hitting the historic and widely awaited 20,000 mark. "The (oil) price weakness ... calls attention to some bearish news that the market had been willing to ignore, such as the high level of (fourth-quarter) supply still in transit to consumers and the uptrend in U.S. drilling rigs and actual oil production," said Tim Evans, energy futures specialist at Citigroup. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed in November to cut output for the first time since the global financial crisis more than eight years ago. In late trading, Brent crude LCOc1 fell $2.25, or 2.87 percent, at $54.85 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures slid CLc1 slid nearly 4 percent to $51.87 per barrel. In the U.S. equity market, declines in energy and financial stocks pressured the S&P 500 and hampered the Dow''s pursuit of the 20,000 milestone ahead of earnings season and U.S. policy changes under President-elect Donald Trump. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 76.42 points, or 0.4 percent, to 19,887.38, while the S&P 500 .SPX was down 8.08 points, or 0.4 percent, at 2,268.9. A gain in technology stocks lifted the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC to an intra-day record high, and it was last trading up 0.2 percent at 5,531.82. U.S. government bond prices rose, with the 10-year note US10YT=RR up 12/32 in price to yield 2.372 percent, compared with 2.418 percent late on Friday. German 10-year yields DE10YT=TWEB, the benchmark for euro zone borrowing costs, fell and last stood at 0.28 percent. Analysts said a softer dollar weighed on U.S. Treasuries yields. The dollar slid against the safe-haven yen as risk appetite declined, while sterling sank to more than two-month lows. Sterling was last down 0.9 percent at $1.2163 GBP=D4 . "Anything that suggests a hard Brexit is more likely ... is very damaging to UK growth prospects," said Richard Franulovich, senior currency strategist at Westpac Banking Corp in New York. The dollar index .DXY, which tracks the greenback versus a basket of six currencies, fell 0.23 percent to 101.98. The greenback was down 0.7 percent against the yen at 116.09 JPY= . The euro EUR= was last up 0.4 percent, at $1.0567, while Europe''s broad FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 dropped 0.5 percent to 1,437.72. In Asia, MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 1.1 points or 0.25 percent, to 438.77. Australia''s S&P/ASX200 rose 0.9 percent while Hong Kong shares .HSI rose 0.2 percent. Trading was light because Japan was shut for a holiday. The MSCI world equity index .MIWD PUS, which tracks shares in 45 nations, fell 0.13 percent to 429.11. A focus for the week will be a news conference on Wednesday at which Trump may give more details about the policies he will seek to implement after he takes office on Jan. 20. Expectations of more economic stimulus from a Trump administration have helped boost U.S. stocks and bond yields. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Additional reporting by Catherine Ngai, Sam Forgione, and Richard Leong in New York, Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Dan Grebler and Meredith Mazzilli) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets-idUKKBN14T00C'|'2017-01-10T04:52:00.000+02:00' +'280ef295db96441e6690afa4ed680b0c27c9ec65'|'Abraaj buys home furnisher Casaideas in first Chile acquisition'|'SANTIAGO Jan 19 Middle Eastern private equity investor Abraaj Group has bought a majority stake in Chile''s private home furnishings retailer Casaideas in its first foray into the country, Abraaj said on Thursday.Casaideas runs more than 50 stores in South America, including 33 in Chile and 16 in Peru. Abraaj said it would consider expanding in those countries, as well as possibly entering Mexico, Colombia and central America.It did not give financial details of the deal.Abraaj has made a number of investments in other countries of Latin America''s pro-free trade bloc, the Pacific Alliance. The Dubai-based group manages $10 billion worldwide, with a focus on economies with growing middle classes.Despite a commodities-led slowdown, Chile''s economy has continued to grow and is expected to expand between 1.5 and 2.5 percent this year, according to its central bank.A number of regional retailers, including Falabella and Cencosud, are headquartered in Santiago.(Reporting by Rosalba O''Brien; Editing by Daniel Wallis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/abraaj-casaideas-idINL1N1F916V'|'2017-01-19T13:56:00.000+02:00' +'55270135319701b539bbfea19432db2f718f5e61'|'TABLE-Foreign trading in South Korean stocks'|' 23am EST TABLE-Foreign trading in South Korean stocks SEOUL, Jan 2 Daily net trading in shares on South Korea''s main stock exchange by three major categories of investors as of 0720 GMT, in billions of South Korean won (a negative figure indicates net selling): FOREIGNERS INSTITUTIONS RETAIL January 2 *29.9 -87.2 38.6 ^December 29 128.6 -296.8 156.2 December 28 126.8 -414.8 281.0 December 27 93.4 173.6 -258.8 December 26 -31.2 125.3 -87.9 December 23 -100.5 228.3 -125.5 December 22 -50.0 75.9 -29.7 December 21 78.2 -69.1 -8.2 December 20 60.6 -29.1 -33.5 December 19 5.0 -79.5 78.8 December 16 67.7 -162.1 25.4 December 15 -3.3 66.0 -67.6 December 14 176.3 -189.0 13.2 December 13 112.0 -14.7 -102.5 December 12 84.8 14.8 -96.4 Month to date 29.9 -87.2 38.6 Year to date 29.9 -87.2 38.6 * Offshore investors have been net buyers for four consecutive sessions, bringing their total purchase for the period to a net 378.7 billion Korean won ($313.82 million) worth. ^ December 29 figures revised. ($1 = 1,206.7500 won) (Reporting by Jeong-eun Lee) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/southkorea-stocks-trading-idUSL4N1ES128'|'2017-01-02T14:23:00.000+02:00' +'a9c86a30b7813c3a0698384bb0d97fdfa91aedf8'|'Sanofi''s M&A misses frustrate some investors in drugmaker'|'By Matthias Blamont , Nolle Mennella and Ben Hirschler - PARIS/DAVOS, Switzerland PARIS/DAVOS, Switzerland For the last year, Sanofi''s chief executive has made clear his quest for deals to help revive the fortunes of France''s biggest drugmaker.The market is still waiting. Olivier Brandicourt''s failure to land two big biotech acquisitions he was chasing has led to growing impatience among some investors."The company needs a growth driver and must make an acquisition. Time is running out," said Olivier David of Vega Investment Managers, who holds shares in the company.In an interview at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos this week Brandicourt defended his track record, citing an unwillingness to overpay for pricey assets and a paucity of good opportunities."We can grow without M&A. However, it is a tool which we do continue to consider and which can help growth potentially, only if it makes sense strategically," he said. "The reason why it is so competitive is that you don''t have a very, very large number of potential targets."Sanofi''s misses underscore the race for assets as the world''s top drugmakers try to replenish their medicine cabinets.After entering exclusive talks, Johnson & Johnson appears to be closing in on a deal to buy Actelion for some $28 billion, edging out Sanofi, which also tried to buy the Swiss company, according to people familiar with the matter.It marks a second setback for Brandicourt''s M&A ambitions after he was beaten by Pfizer''s $14 billion bid for U.S. cancer specialist Medivation last August.Brandicourt said he had to tread a fine line between delivering and overpaying, arguing many shareholders appreciated the financial discipline needed to walk away from deals."Shareholders being frustrated after one year is not automatically what I''m hearing, to be honest, because when I see investors they seem to be very happy for us not to have spent $14 billion on Medivation," he said."On Actelion, I''m not making any comment but you will understand that a company like ours will continuously look at what''s happening in the world of potential mergers and acquisitions."The global pharmaceutical industry has seen a flurry of acquisitions in recent years as leading players build their drug pipelines by snapping up young biotech firms.Sanofi has a particular need to do this because its core U.S. diabetes business has stalled.Brandicourt - who joined the company in April 2015 after the ousting of former CEO Chris Viehbacher - insisted Sanofi was delivering effectively on a plan set out to 2020.The drugmaker posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings in October, helped by a surge in flu vaccine sales, but it stuck to its guidance for currency-adjusted sales at its embattled diabetes business to shrink by 4-8 percent per year on average from 2015 to 2018.Despite a rally since October, over the last five years Sanofi shares have lagged the sector, rising around 37 percent, against a 61 percent gain for the STOXX Europe 600 Healthcare index."A lot of fund managers and historic shareholders are fed up with Sanofi and tired of seeing the stock in this ''vegetative'' state," said Frederic Rozier, a Sanofi investor and fund manager with Meeschaert."Cost cutting is not enough, we want to see growth in sales, that''s where we need to see progress." "CONSTANT SCREENING MODE"Sanofi is due to publish annual results on Feb. 8 and its 2016 financial performance is expected to hinge on cost savings.The fear is that with few potential new blockbusters in development, with the notable exception of dupilumab for eczema and asthma, Sanofi may find itself stuck with no meaningful growth for a while."Sanofi is looking for a pipeline and for this very reason it must engage in external growth," said Rudi Van den Eynde, with asset management firm Candriam."At the moment, the company is being overtaken by other groups that are offering more money. One can applaud that Sanofi is financially disciplined but it is a pity that it misses its targets ... it doesn''t help in terms of credibility."Sanofi''s failure to land either Medivation or Actelion has raised questions over its acquisition strategy, even as the group insists it is in "constant screening mode"."Is Sanofi not too rigid when it comes to pricing? At the end, they lose to someone else," said a Paris-based banker who asked not to be identified.Another banking source said Sanofi''s hostile approach in the Medivation process had been a mistake. Weeks before losing out to Pfizer, Sanofi tried to oust Medivation''s board members to replace them with new directors."Everyone knows that 95 percent of hostile approaches go wrong," the source said, adding that in the final stage Pfizer and Sanofi were only a few hundred millions apart.Brandicourt said he simply stuck to his guns on price and he noted that Sanofi, with a relatively small oncology business, may have had fewer potential cost savings than competitors.IF YOU DON''T LIKE IT, SWAP ITSanofi has signaled its readiness to do deals of a similar size to its $20 billion purchase of Genzyme in 2011 but finding the right large biotech to fit is not that easy."Alternatively, Sanofi could purchase smaller companies, along the lines of the strategy pursued by Japan''s Takeda. It would be more realistic," Van den Eynde said.Sanofi may also look at more asset swaps, after agreeing to hand its animal unit to Boehringer Ingelheim in exchange for the German firm''s consumer healthcare operations, a business strand it is keen to grow."A number of healthcare companies are looking at Pfizer''s consumer health unit. Sanofi is one of them," said one healthcare banker. A Sanofi spokesman declined to comment.(Additional reporting by Pamela Barbaglia and Matthieu Protard; editing by Anna Willard)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-sanofi-strategy-insight-idINKBN1540M1'|'2017-01-20T05:10:00.000+02:00' +'4e3738cfe881a42a8882ebd9c278ca6868d7ef59'|'Singapore Dec headline CPI rises 0.2 percent from year earlier'|'SINGAPORE Singapore''s headline consumer prices index rose from a year earlier due to an increase in private road transport cost, data showed on Monday.The all-items consumer price index (CPI) in December rose 0.2 percent from a year earlier. The median forecast in a Reuters poll was for headline CPI to rise 0.1 percent from a year earlier.In November, headline CPI showed zero inflation, coming off a deflationary trend for the first time in two years.Singapore''s core CPI rose slightly less than expected at 1.2 percent in December from a year earlier. The median forecast was a rise of 1.3 percent.All items CPI was -0.5 percent for the whole of 2016.(Reporting by Fathin Ungku; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/singapore-economy-inflation-idINKBN1570II'|'2017-01-23T02:54:00.000+02:00' +'5a116bbc6d5f55f8bbeb60db24e8fbca01daca23'|'REFILE-Safe Harbor Marinas buys peer as it mulls IPO -sources'|'Deals - Sun Jan 22, 2017 - 7:19pm EST Safe Harbor Marinas buys peer as it mulls IPO: sources By Greg Roumeliotis and Lauren Hirsch Safe Harbor Marinas has acquired peer Brewer Yacht Yard Group, roughly doubling its size and making itself the world''s largest owner and operator of marinas, as it considers an initial public offering, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday. The deal comes less than two years after investment firm American Infrastructure MLP Funds formed Safe Harbor. It underscores the financial appeal of marinas, which can produce strong, reliable cash flows thanks to the membership fees that they charge boat owners and sailing enthusiasts. Dallas-based Safe Harbor is also in preliminary talks with investment banks to explore the possibility of an IPO that could value the company at between $500 million and $1 billion, the people said, cautioning that no decision has been made yet as to whether the company will go public. Accounting for the deal with Brewer Yacht Yard, Safe Harbor generates 12-month revenue of around $200 million, the people added. As part of the deal with Brewer Yacht Yard, which is expected on be announced on Monday, investment firms Guggenheim Partners and Weatherford Partners have also invested in Safe Harbor, the people said. American Infrastructure Funds remains the majority owner of the company, the people added. The sources asked not to be named because the deal is not yet public. With the acquisition of Brewer Yacht Yard, Safe Harbor now owns 63 properties across 17 U.S. states. Many of its marinas offer amenities that include restaurants, playgrounds and pools. Founded in 1879 by R.G. Brewer as a chandlery and hardware store for boat owners and fishermen in Mamaroneck, New York, Brewer Yacht Yard expanded into marinas starting in the 1950s. The founder''s great-grandson, Jack Brewer, now owns a minority stake in the combined company following the deal with Safe Harbor, according to the sources. Safe Harbor President Baxter Underwood has been appointed CEO of the combined company, succeeding Marshall Funk, who has been named chief strategy officer and will still sit on the company''s board, according to the sources. (Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis and Lauren Hirsch in New York; Editing by Paul Simao) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/mergersNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-brewer-yacht-yard-group-m-a-safe-harb-idUSKBN15700L'|'2017-01-23T06:37:00.000+02:00' +'17057a4ea2c24a0cd9c0fae3bbb1440d101308eb'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'Financials 3:56pm EST Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions Jan 23 The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2100 GMT on Monday: ** A U.S. judge blocked on Monday health insurer Aetna Inc''s proposed $34 billion acquisition of smaller peer Humana Inc, raising the stakes for rival Anthem Inc as it battles to clear a $54 billion deal to buy Cigna Corp. ** Former shareholders of Brazil''s CPFL Energia SA have handed over ownership of their stakes to State Grid Corp of China on Monday, which will automatically trigger a buyout of minority stakeholders, a person familiar with the matter said. ** Assicurazioni Generali said on Monday it had bought voting rights equal to 3.01 percent of Intesa Sanpaolo''s share capital, effectively blocking the lender from acquiring a large stake in Italy''s biggest insurer. ** Germany''s Ottobock, the world''s largest maker of artificial limbs, has attracted interest from private equity groups including KKR and CVC for a 20 percent stake in its core business, people familiar with the matter said on Monday. ** Eurobank has hired HSBC and Mediobanca to help it find a "strategic partner" for its Romanian subsidiary, a source at the Greek bank said on Monday. ** French carmaker PSA Group, the maker of Peugeot and Citroen cars, will announce a return to India this week through a manufacturing venture with New Delhi-based CK Birla Group, Les Echos reported on Monday. ** British housebuilders Bovis and Berkeley see little logic in a merger, sources close to the companies told Reuters, after a media report said an influential Bovis shareholder wrote to Berkeley asking it to consider such a step. ** Acquisitive Chinese conglomerate HNA, the owner of Hainan Airlines Co, is in final talks over the purchase of Hahn airport in western Germany, the airport''s state owners said on Monday. ** AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc, the No. 1 U.S. theater operator, said it would buy Nordic Cinema Group, the largest cinema chain in the Nordic and Baltic countries, for the equivalent of $929 million in cash. ** Russia is expected to sell discounted rights to one of the world''s largest untapped gold deposits this week to a joint venture of miner Polyus and a state conglomerate, industry sources and analysts said, after sanctions and restrictions discouraged other bidders. ** Siam Commercial Bank Pcl (SCB) has begun to formally seek bids for its life insurance business in a sale that could raise about $3 billion for Thailand''s third-biggest lender, said people with knowledge of the process. ** French cosmetics giant L''Oreal said on Monday it had chosen to invest in five tech start-up firms in the beauty products sector along with partner Founders Factory, as L''Oreal steps up its ventures in this area. ** Dutch tycoon John de Mol said Monday he would launch a 5.90 euro per share bid for Telegraaf Media Group (TMG), owner of the Netherlands'' largest newspaper, that values the company at around 273 million euros ($294 million). ** Shipping finance provider HSH Nordbank has launched its sales process, inviting expressions of interest from potential buyers, according to a statement issued by Citigroup on Monday. ** South Korea''s LG Corp, the holding company of LG Group, said in a filing on Monday it agreed to sell a stake in silicon wafer producer LG Siltron Inc to SK Holdings Co for 620 billion won ($531.9 million). ** China Molybdenum Co Ltd (CMOC) said on Sunday it had signed an agreement with Chinese private equity firm BHR to support BHR''s acquisition of a 24 percent stake in Democratic Republic of Congo''s massive Tenke copper mine. ** COSCO Shipping Ports will acquire a 16.82 percent stake in Qingdao Port International (QPI), operator of China''s sixth busiest port, the company said on Sunday, expanding COSCO''s port network. ** Modiin Energy said on Sunday it signed a letter of intent to buy 25 percent of the oil drilling rights in a site in shallow North Sea waters in British territory. ** Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) has signed an agreement to acquire the 50 percent that it does not already own in its petrochemical venture with Shell Arabia, a unit of Royal Dutch Shell, for $820 million, SABIC said on Sunday. ** Abu Dhabi''s government merged two of its top investment funds on Saturday to strengthen their financial clout in an era of low oil prices, creating a company with assets totalling about $125 billion. (Compiled by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru) Next In Financials Fitch Takes Rating Actions on U.S. Midtier Regional Banks Following Peer Review (The following statement was released by the rating agency) CHICAGO, January 23 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings has completed its review of its U.S. midtier regional bank peer group. Following the review, which generally covers banks with assets between $10 billion and $50 billion, Fitch downgraded UMB financial (UMBF) and revised the Rating Outlook to Stable from Negative. At the same time, Fitch revised the Outlooks for BOK Financial (BOKF) to Stable from Negative and revised the Outlook for First UPDATE 4-Canada has ''very special status,'' not a NAFTA target -Trump adviser CALGARY, Alberta, Jan 23 Canada has a "very special status" and is unlikely to be hit hard by changes the United States wants to make to the NAFTA trade accord, the head of a business advisory council to U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday. Fitch Affirms BankUnited, Inc.''s IDRs at ''BBB/F2''; Outlook Stable (The following statement was released by the rating agency) NEW YORK, January 23 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings has affirmed the Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDRs) at ''BBB'' and Short-Term IDRs at ''F2'' for BankUnited, Inc. (BankUnited) and BankUnited, N.A. The Rating Outlook is Stable. See the full list of rating actions at the end of this release. The rating action follows a periodic review of the mid-tier regional banking group, which includes BankUnited Inc. (BKU), BOK Financial Corp. (BOKF), C MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Taboola Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/deals-day-idUSL4N1FD51J'|'2017-01-24T03:56:00.000+02:00' +'3b55259c05ad6786bb1bfe443c62bcf493fff9dd'|'Dog fight - Start-ups take aim at errant drones'|'Business News - 14pm GMT Dog fight - Start-ups take aim at errant drones By Jeremy Wagstaff and Swati Pandey A boom in consumer drone sales has spawned a counter-industry of start-ups aiming to stop drones flying where they shouldn''t, by disabling them or knocking them out of the sky. Dozens of start-up firms are developing techniques - from deploying birds of prey to firing gas through a bazooka - to take on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that are being used to smuggle drugs, drop bombs, spy on enemy lines or buzz public spaces. The arms race is fed in part by the slow pace of government regulation for drones. In Australia, for example, different agencies regulate drones and counter-drone technologies. "There are potential privacy issues in operating remotely piloted aircraft, but the Civil Aviation Safety Authority''s role is restricted to safety. Privacy is not in our remit," the CASA told Reuters. "There''s a bit of a fear factor here," says Kyle Landry, an analyst at Lux Research. "The high volume of drones, plus regulations that can''t quite keep pace, equals a need for personal counter-drone technology." The consumer drone market is expected to be worth $5 billion by 2021, according to market researcher Tractica, with the average drone in the United States costing more than $500 and packing a range of features from high-definition cameras to built-in GPS, predicts NPD Group, a consultancy. Australian authorities relaxed drone regulations in September, allowing anyone to fly drones weighing up to 2kg without training, insurance, registration or certification. Elsewhere, millions of consumers can fly high-end devices - and so can drug traffickers, criminal gangs and insurgents. Drones have been used to smuggle mobile phones, drugs and weapons into prisons, in one case triggering a riot. One U.S. prison governor has converted a bookshelf into an impromptu display of drones his officers have confiscated. Armed groups in Iraq, Ukraine, Syria and Turkey are increasingly using off-the-shelf drones for reconnaissance or as improvised explosive devices, says Nic Jenzen-Jones, director of Armament Research Services, a consultancy on weapons. A booby-trapped drone launched by Islamic State militants killed two Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and wounded two French soldiers in October near Mosul. The use of drones by such groups is likely to spread, says Jenzen-Jones. "There''s an understanding that the threat can migrate beyond existing conflict zones," he told Reuters. ANTI-DRONES This is feeding demand for increasingly advanced technology to bring down or disable unwanted drones. At one end of the scale, the Dutch national police recently bought several birds of prey from a start-up called Guard From Above to pluck unwanted drones from the sky, its CEO and founder Sjoerd Hoogendoorn said in an email. Other approaches focus on netting drones, either via bigger drones or by guns firing a net and a parachute via compressed gas. Some, like Germany''s DeDrone, take a less intrusive approach by using a combination of sensors - camera, acoustic, Wi-Fi signal detectors and radio frequency (RF) scanners - to passively monitor drones within designated areas. Newer start-ups, however, are focusing on cracking the radio wireless protocols used to control a drone''s direction and payload to then take it over and block its video transmission. Singapore''s TeleRadio Engineering uses RF signals in its SkyDroner device to track and control drones and a video feed to confirm targets visually. DroneVision Inc of Taiwan, meanwhile, says it is the first to anticipate the frequency hopping many drones use. Founder Kason Shih says his anti-drone gun - resembling a rifle with two oversized barrels, coupled with a backpack - blocks the drone''s GPS signals and video transmission, forcing it back to where it took off via the drone''s own failsafe features. VARIED CLIENTELE Clients, the start-up companies say, range from intelligence agencies to hotels. DroneVision, for example, helped local police down 40 drones flying around Taipei 101, one of the world''s tallest buildings and a magnet for drone users, in a single day. In the Middle East, upscale hotels are talking to at least two companies about blocking drones from taking shots of their celebrity guests longing poolside or in the privacy of their bathrooms. And even while the military, Jenzen-Jones says, may have the capability to bring down drones, demand is shifting to nimbler, more agile devices to cope with attacks using smaller off-the-shelf devices. "The key is looking for systems that are scalable, lightweight and easily deployable," he said. DroneShield ( DRO.AX ), an Australian-listed company, says it has sold its drone detection equipment to an Asian national security agency it declined to identify, and the Turkish prime minister''s office. HEY, REGULATORS The problem, such companies say, is that regulations on the use of drones - and about countering them - are still in their infancy. In countries like the United States and Australia, for example, drones are considered private property, and they can only be jammed by government agencies. "Mitigation capabilities," says Jonathan Hunter, CEO of Department 13 ( D13.AX ), "are therefore limited." Oleg Vornik, chief financial officer of DroneShield, however, says: "This is expected to change shortly as governments start to recognise that critical infrastructure facilities such as airports need to be able to defend themselves against drones." In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration is testing various counter-drone technologies at several airports. Interest in the space will only grow. London will next year host the world''s first two conferences on counter-drone technologies, says Jenzen-Jones. But there will also likely be consolidation. DroneShield''s Vornik says the company has counted 100 counter-drone start-ups, and is talking to more than a dozen of them as potential acquisition targets. It''s too early, Vornik says, to see evidence of moves to get around anti-drone technology. But Amazon.com ( AMZN.O ) last month tested deliveries in the UK via drones, and published a patent describing how it might defend drones from threats, ranging from a bow and arrow to signal jammers. (Reporting by Jeremy Wagstaff and Swati Pandey; Editing by Ian Geoghegan) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-tech-drones-idUKKBN14M184'|'2017-01-03T06:14:00.000+02:00' +'fb3bdcfc32490c49b0b3dc1fea25a05c6d5b5ff9'|'CORRECTED-LG Display says in talks with Samsung Elec on supplying LCD TV panels'|'Cyclical Consumer Goods - Wed Jan 4, 2017 - 8:16pm EST CORRECTED-LG Display says in talks with Samsung Elec on supplying LCD TV panels (Corrects 2nd paragraph to say LG Display CEO spoke on Wednesday, not Thursday) SEOUL Jan 5 South Korea''s LG Display Co Ltd was in talks with Samsung Electronics Co Ltd about a supply agreement for television display panels, LG Display Chief Executive Han Sang-beom said. The executive told reporters on the sidelines of the CES trade show in Las Vegas on Wednesday that no specifics have been agreed to and that it would be difficult to supply Samsung with panels even if a deal was reached during the first half of 2017, due to the time required to develop products requested by Samsung and ensure supply to other customers was not disrupted. ($1 = 1,192.4000 won) (Reporting by Se Young Lee) Next In Cyclical Consumer Goods'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/lg-display-samsung-elec-idUSS6N1CU00T'|'2017-01-05T08:16:00.000+02:00' +'e1a6773fd95cb702ba82cce87b867f396dbc9cb7'|'RPT-UPDATE 1-LSE Boerse chiefs travel to meet top German politician - sources'|'Financials 37am EST RPT-UPDATE 1-LSE Boerse chiefs travel to meet top German politician - sources (Repeats Thursday''s story without changes) By Andreas Krner FRANKFURT Jan 12 Top executives from Deutsche Boerse and the London Stock Exchange will meet a top German politician to resolve a dispute about where to locate the combined group''s headquarters, three sources said, with pressure growing for it to be in Frankfurt. The meeting on Jan. 17 comes as Britain''s government prepares to trigger divorce talks with the European Union, a move that has put a question mark over the deal and created uncertainty over the City of London''s future. Britain''s departure from the 28-member bloc would place London, Europe''s financial capital and planned headquarters of the new group, outside the EU. German regulators, fearing a loss of control, want Frankfurt to play the leading role, or, at the very least, be one of two headquarters. The meeting will be held in Wiesbaden, in the state of Hesse, where Frankfurt is also located. It will be attended by one of Germany''s top politicians, Volker Bouffier, the state''s premier and an ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel. "Those at the meeting want to come face to face to find out what could work but nothing will be finalised," said one of the people with knowledge of the plans, adding that the question of where the headquarters should be would be high on the agenda. London Stock Exchange Chief Executive Xavier Rolet and Carsten Kengeter, head of Deutsche Boerse, will travel to the meeting. The chairmen of both firms, Deutsche Boerse''s Joachim Faber, and Donald Brydon from the LSE, will also attend. Deutsche Boerse and the London Stock Exchange declined to comment. Bouffier''s office could not immediately be reached. LSE management want the headquarters to stay in London. But it is unlikely that Germany will agree. Shortly after the vote in Britain to leave the European Union, Germany''s financial market regulator, Felix Hufeld, said London could not host the headquarters. This position has since hardened, creating a hurdle to the planned $25 billion merger. On Wednesday, the head of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, said that it too would carefully look at the proposed merger, particularly given Britain''s decision to leave the EU. "The United Kingdom''s withdrawal (from the EU) may lead to a loss of oversight and supervision of UK central counterparties by the ECB," Draghi wrote in a letter to a European lawmaker. (Additional reporting by John O''Donnell and Arno Schuetze; writing by John O''Donnell; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle) Next In Financials TABLE-Foreign trading in South Korean stocks SEOUL, Jan 13 Daily net trading in shares on South Korea''s main stock exchange by three major categories of investors as of 0729 GMT, in billions of South Korean won (a negative figure indicates net selling): FOREIGNERS INSTITUTIONS RETAIL January 13 *-108.5 162.0 -58.4 ^January 12 31.4 -10.4 -32.1 January 11 485.5 -55.1 -430.0 January 10'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/deutsche-boerse-ma-lse-idUSL5N1F315L'|'2017-01-13T14:37:00.000+02:00' +'c5ce323781c4dccf648e9cc49f80dd9a710c7b98'|'GIC leads $1.04 bln investment in office tower in downtown Manhattan'|'SINGAPORE Jan 25 Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte Ltd and Paramount Group have formed a joint venture to acquire office tower "60 Wall Street" in downtown Manhattan for $1.04 billion.The JV, in which GIC has a 95 percent share, is paying $640 per square foot for the 47 storey tower that also serves as the U.S. headquarters of Deutsche Bank, a joint statement said.GIC, which is among the more established real estate investors in the world, has more than 350 property-related investments in over 40 countries.These include investments in the Time Warner Centre in New York and assets in the United Kingdom, Japan and Australia.(Reporting by Saeed Azhar; Editing by Michael Perry)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/gic-property-idINL4N1FF060'|'2017-01-24T21:54:00.000+02:00' +'aa11f2568c17351fdb740956e131c8015338f462'|'UPDATE 1-Euronext suspends rapeseed futures to review specifications'|' 53pm EST UPDATE 1-Euronext suspends rapeseed futures to review specifications (Adds details, background) PARIS Jan 31 Euronext said on Tuesday it was temporarily suspending its rapeseed futures and options contracts to review their technical specifications with industry players. The rapeseed futures and options contracts for the August 2019 expiry month and onwards, which were due to be listed on Feb. 1, will not be made available to trade, the exchange said in a statement. Euronext is waiting to complete discussions with the industry on the issue and also for the outcome of a meeting of an expert committee in the spring, it said in an emailed statement. "This temporary suspension aims to analyse whether enhancements to the contract specifications are required," it said. It declined to give further details. Industry players such as France''s largest rapeseed buyer Saipol, have been pushing for a rise in the oil content basis of rapeseed contracts to 42 percent from 40 percent currently to bring it closer to French rapeseed''s oil content. Saipol changed the terms of its own contracts last year - a move criticised by many suppliers who wanted to be paid a premium for the additional oil content. Saipol also said it would also seek a change in the futures contract. (Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide and Valerie Parent. Editing by Jane Merriman) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/oilseeds-euronext-rapeseed-idUSL5N1FL6ML'|'2017-02-01T01:53:00.000+02:00' +'9d4651cb73d3d3126de81e32aa115a3746bc5a85'|'BRIEF-GC Investment files to Katowice Court restructuring, repair plans'|'Bankruptcy News 9:59am EST BRIEF-GC Investment files to Katowice Court restructuring, repair plans Jan 13 GC Investment SA : * Says it filed to Katowice Court its restructuring and repair plans; and financial forecast for 2017-2024 * Once the plans have been approved by the creditors and court, the management will take all the necessary measures to implement a 5-year share buyback program * The share buyback program will include shares issued by the company in regards to the agreement with creditors * Under the restructuring and repair plans, it wants to issue series E shares at the issue price of 1 zloty each and offer them to the creditors * The number of new series E shares, each creditor will be offered, will be set as the quotient of the sum of the outstanding debt towards the company divided by the series E share issue price * Taking into account, the price of 1 zloty per share, GC Investment will be obliged to issue 89.3 mln of the series E shares * Will cover the purchase of own shares through the sale of properties Source text for Eikon: ($1 = 4.1096 zlotys) (Gdynia Newsroom) Next In Bankruptcy News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL5N1F33MD'|'2017-01-13T21:59:00.000+02:00' +'338be1dc277aca1ab3c4e9214ae7c40a4c8b5ea3'|'We may have less than five years to change how we learn, earn and care - Guardian Sustainable Business'|'O ver the course of the last year, at the World Economic Forum and elsewhere, I have asked participants two questions. First I ask for a show of hands on whether they feel confident about their current skills taking them through to the end of their careers about one in five raise their hands. Then I ask if they feel confident about advising their children on their education to prepare for their own futures: none raises their hand. These are some of the most knowledgeable, leading figures in the world and yet they, like many of us, are uncertain about what the future of labour markets looks like.This is not surprising.Globalisation and technology are accelerating both job creation and destruction. Some estimates have put the risk of automation as high as half of current jobs, while others forecast a considerably lower value of 9%. Still, all occupations will go through change: we found that on average one-third of the skillsets required to perform todays jobs will be wholly new by 2020.At the same time, education and training systems are not keeping pace with these shifts. Some studies suggest that 65% of children now entering primary school will have jobs that do not yet exist and for which their education will fail to prepare them, exacerbating skills gaps and unemployment in the future. Even more urgent, underdeveloped adult training and skilling systems are unable to support learning for the active workforce of nearly 3 billion people.Artificial intelligence has arrived, but Australian businesses are not ready for it Read more In addition, outdated cultural norms and institutional inertia create roadblocks for half of the worlds talent and are getting worse in the new context. Despite womens leap forward in education, their participation in the paid workforce remains low; and progress is stalling, with current forecasts for economic parity at 170 years.The near-term outcomes of these dynamics, compounded through other demographic, geopolitical and economic factors, are profoundly challenging. They include skills gaps in the workforce that are difficult for employers and workers alike, unemployment and job displacement, particularly in blue-collar and services work, rising fear of further technological unemployment, insufficient supply of talent for many high-skill occupations, and loss of female talent and potential. Together these factors are exacerbating income inequality and creating a crisis of identity.Yet, most of these dire predictions need not be foregone conclusions. If leaders act now, using this moment of transformation as an impetus for tackling long-overdue reform, they have the ability not only to stem the flow of negative trends but to accelerate positive ones and create an environment in which more than 7 billion people on the planet can live up to their full potential. Instead, in several advanced economies, we are seeing the political and social consequences of short-term, emotive and sometimes disingenuous thinking. For those who are losing out from the changes under way, fear is an understandable response. But turning away immigrants, trade or technology itself, and disengaging from the world, is a distraction, at best. At worst, this will create even more negative consequences for those already losing out and many more. It is up to courageous, responsible and responsive leaders and citizens to take the long view and set out on the path to more fundamental, relevant reforms and an inspiring future.How? By investing in human capital and preparing people for the new opportunities of the fourth industrial revolution. The World Economic Forum has worked with leaders, experts and practitioners to create a common vision and a shared change agenda focused on how we learn, earn and care.Transform education ecosystems Most education systems are so far behind the mark on keeping up with the pace of change today and so disconnected from labour markets that nothing short of a fundamental overhaul will suffice in many economies. The eight key areas of action here are early childhood education, future-ready curricula, a professionalised teaching workforce, early exposure to the workplace, digital fluency, robust and respected technical and vocational education, openness to education innovation, and, critically, a new deal on lifelong learning.Facilitate the transition to a new world of work While there are deeply polarised views about how technology will impact employment, there is agreement that we are in a period of transition. Policy needs to catch up and facilitate this transition. We propose four areas of action: recognition of all work models and agile implementation of new regulations, updated social protection, adult learning and continuous re-skilling, and proactive employment services.Advance the care economy Often undervalued and unregulated, care is one of the most fundamental needs among both young and old populations. It has a strong impact on education, and holds potential for job growth. We propose six areas of action: recognise and value care as a vital sector of the economy, professionalise the care workforce, rebalance paid and unpaid work responsibilities, expand high-quality care infrastructure, create new financial provisions to facilitate care, and use technology as a tool for balancing care and work.To do any of this and to make it pay off it is critical that policy design includes agile multi-stakeholder governance, empowerment of the individual, objective measurement, universal access and long-term planning as fundamental tenets.Automated mining will cost jobs and tax income: it''s time for governments to act Read more The rapid pace of change means we need to act urgently. By some estimates, the window of opportunity for action is three to five years. This may sound daunting but there are a large variety of robust success stories to learn from and emulate. There are also substantial new commercial opportunities such as adult education, care services, employment services that make this space ripe for public-private collaboration.Its the harder path to follow, theres no doubt about it. Transforming education ecosystems, creating a care economy and managing the transition to a new world of work require political will, innovative policy, new financing models and, most importantly, a new mindset.But this is also the only viable path if we want to get ahead of the transition under way and turn this moment of flux into an opportunity for revitalising growth and realising human potential in the age of the fourth industrial revolution.This article first appeared on the World Economic Forum site. The white paper on Realizing Human Potential in the Fourth Industrial Revolution: An Agenda for Leaders to Shape the Future of Education, Gender and Work can be found here .'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/jan/30/we-may-have-less-than-five-years-to-change-how-we-learn-earn-and-care'|'2017-01-30T08:06:00.000+02:00' +'421cd9acab441d3afbadfd530d9f98970ea5ed14'|'Baidu names former Microsoft exec as COO in artificial intelligence push'|'BEIJING China''s Baidu Inc said it has appointed a former Microsoft Corp executive as chief operating officer, part of a push into artificial intelligence as earnings from its core search engine business wane.Baidu has been refocusing its business strategy after the introduction of new advertising regulations, aimed at medical advertising in particular, led to a 16 percent drop in ad customers during quarter ended in September.Qi Lu, who was an executive vice president at Microsoft and headed its unit in charge of Office, Bing and Skype until last September, will help develop artificial intelligence as a key strategic focus for Baidu over the next decade."Dr. Lu possesses a wealth of leadership and management experience, and is a leading authority in the area of artificial intelligence," Baidu Chief Executive Robin Li in a statement.The company launched a $200 million fund in October to focus on artificial intelligence, augmented reality and deep learning, followed by a $3 billion fund announced in September to target mid and late stage start-ups.In 2014 Baidu appointed another former Microsoft executive, Zhang Ya-Qin, as president, overseeing emerging business. Zhang will report directly to Lu under the new arrangement.Baidu, which is expected to report full-year earnings next month, has forecast a 4.6 percent dip in revenue in the quarter ending in December.(Reporting by Cate Cadell; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-baidu-management-idINKBN1510A0'|'2017-01-17T00:24:00.000+02:00' +'fe8911148515aeac92845844c1718e225d9e8a81'|'MIDEAST STOCKS-Q4 earnings misses may pull down Saudi'|'Financials - Sun Jan 22, 2017 - 12:35am EST MIDEAST STOCKS-Q4 earnings misses may pull down Saudi DUBAI Jan 22 Weak fourth-quarter earnings at several major Saudi Arabian companies may pull down stocks in that market on Sunday, while other Gulf markets may have a moderately firm tone after oil prices and global equities ended last week on a strong note. Savola Group, Saudi Arabia''s largest food products company, swung to a net loss of 964.3 million riyals ($257.2 million) in the three months to the end of December from a profit of 515.3 million riyals a year ago. The company said it did not plan to pay quarterly dividends in 2017, attributing the profit drop to lower gross profits, higher financial charges, and non-recurring items booked during the quarter. Analysts polled by Reuters had on average forecast Savola would make a quarterly profit of 53.6 million riyals. Several banks also missed estimates, partly because of rises in provisions for credit losses in a weak Saudi economy. Alawwal Bank swung to a net loss of 249.3 million riyals from a net profit of 451.3 million riyals; Alistithmar Capital and EFG Hermes had forecast a profit of 330.5 million and 438.0 million riyals. Saudi British Bank posted a 35 percent drop in fourth-quarter net profit, Banque Saudi Fransi reported a 61 percent drop, and Samba Financial Group reported a 12 percent fall. All three missed analysts'' forecasts. (Reporting by Andrew Torchia) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/mideast-stocks-emirates-idUSL5N1FB0JS'|'2017-01-22T12:35:00.000+02:00' +'e00a42583ef5e0c11a5a1edc0de451ce4f9e7eb4'|'OPEC sees smaller oil glut, upbeat on non-OPEC cut compliance'|' 06pm GMT OPEC sees smaller oil glut, upbeat on non-OPEC cut compliance A flag with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) logo is seen before a news conference at OPEC''s headquarters in Vienna, Austria, December 10, 2016. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader/File Photo LONDON OPEC signalled a falling oil supply surplus in 2017 on Wednesday as the producer group''s output declines from a record high and outside producers show positive initial signs of complying with the first joint supply-reduction deal since 2001. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, excluding Indonesia, pumped 33.085 million barrels per day (bpd) last month, according to figures OPEC collects from secondary sources, down 221,000 bpd from November, OPEC said in a monthly report. The November OPEC production figure was the highest since at least 2008. As well as reporting lower output from its own members, OPEC cut its forecast of supply in 2017 from non-member countries following pledges by Russia and other non-members to join OPEC in limiting output. OPEC now expects non-OPEC supply to rise by 120,000 bpd this year, down from growth of 300,000 bpd last month, despite an upwardly revised forecast of U.S. supply. (Reporting by Alex Lawler; editing by Susan Thomas) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-opec-oil-idUKKBN1521JL'|'2017-01-18T19:06:00.000+02:00' +'2801558df5b4028b05124322db30fdb5d8faeead'|'Euro zone factories entering 2017 in good shape, PMI shows'|' 08am GMT Euro zone factories entering 2017 in good shape, PMI shows High voltage switch gear is seen in a show room of German industrial group Siemens in Berlin, Germany, April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch LONDON Manufacturers in the euro zone started 2017 on a solid footing, after ramping up activity at the fastest pace in more than five years in December and building up a burgeoning order book, a survey showed on Monday. IHS Markit''s final 2016 manufacturing Purchasing Managers'' Index for the euro zone registered 54.9 in December, in line with an earlier flash estimate and its highest since April 2011. That was above both the 50 mark which separates growth from contraction and November''s 53.7. An index measuring output, which feeds into the composite PMI, jumped to a 32-month high of 56.1 from 54.1. "Euro zone manufacturers are entering 2017 on a strong footing, having ended 2016 with a surge in production," said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit. "To put the PMI data into perspective, the five-and-a-half-year high reached in December is broadly consistent with factory output growing at an impressive annual rate of approximately 4 percent." Suggesting this month will also be strong, a new orders sub-index climbed to 55.9 from 54.4, its highest since April 2011, even though companies raised prices at the fastest rate in over five years. "Policymakers will be doubly pleased to see the manufacturing sector''s improved outlook being accompanied by rising price pressures," Williamson said. In a surprise move last month, the European Central Bank cut asset purchases but promised protracted stimulus to aid a still-fragile recovery and bolster weak inflation. '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-economy-pmi-idUKKBN14M0CF'|'2017-01-02T16:08:00.000+02:00' +'7a6a675558e7d95b27b9822df0bce5df063a0228'|'UPDATE 1-Weak Chinese market may hit elevator maker Kone in 2017'|' 52am EST Weak Chinese market may hit elevator maker Kone in 2017 HELSINKI Sales and profits at Finnish elevator maker Kone Oyj ( KNEBV.HE ) may fall this year due to a weak Chinese market, it said on Thursday, sending its shares as much as 7 percent lower. Kone reported record sales and operating profit for 2016 as growth in other regions offset a cooling business in China, where the company made about 30 percent of its sales. But this year, it said sales were likely to be in a range of down 1 percent to up 3 percent from 8.78 billion ($9.42 billion) in 2016, while operating income is seen at 1.18-1.30 billion euros, compared with 1.29 billion last year. "In monetary value, the (Chinese) market declined clearly (in the fourth quarter) due to the intense price pressure as well as the continued shift in customer preferences toward lower-specification products," Chief Executive Henrik Ehnrooth said in a statement. "In 2017, we expect the (Chinese) market to decline by 0-5 percent in unit terms and the competition to remain intense." At 1130 GMT, Kone shares were down 6.9 percent at 42 euros, the biggest fall by a European blue-chip stock .FTEU3 , after touching a six week low of 41.68 euros. One analyst said Kone seemed to be both lowering prices and losing market share in China. "The stock is still attractive as a long-term investment, but at its current price and with pressure from China it may have reached its short term peak," said Juha Kinnunen at Inderes Equity Research, who has a "reduce" rating on the shares. Kone is the world''s second-biggest elevator maker after Otis, a unit of U.S. company United Technologies ( UTX.N ). Rivals also include Swiss company Schindler ( SCHP.S ) and Germany''s ThyssenKrupp ( TKAG.DE ). (Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl and Tuomas Forsell; Editing by Gwladys Fouche and Mark Potter) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-kone-results-idUSKBN15A175'|'2017-01-26T18:39:00.000+02:00' +'37f20aae6faebb01096cd88cde0618cdbc60b7a6'|'Crisis-hit BT seeks to reassure investors, points to strong consumer demand'|'LONDON BT, the telecoms group reeling from an accounting scandal and a slowdown in its government work, said it was seeing record growth in its EE mobile unit and good momentum in consumer operations in a bid to reassure investors.In results overshadowed by the profit warning on Tuesday that wiped out a fifth of its market value, the group said it had added 83,000 broadband customers in its third quarter, while 260,000 switched to faster fibre connections."I am deeply disappointed with the unacceptable practices by some that we''ve found," Chief Executive Gavin Patterson said.Adjusted core earnings for the quarter rose 18 percent to 1.87 billion pounds, it said.(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Kate Holton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/bt-group-results-idINKBN15B0IW'|'2017-01-27T04:19:00.000+02:00' +'71febc5a433b21741c11c07ba75022718869130f'|'China''s BYD plans to sell passenger cars in U.S. in 2-3 years -exec'|'BEIJING Jan 19 BYD Co Ltd plans to sell electric passenger cars in the United States in about two to three years, an executive said on Thursday, as it races to be the first Chinese automaker to sell cars to American drivers.BYD, backed by Warren Buffett''s Berkshire Hathaway Inc , specializes in electric and plug-in petrol-electric hybrid vehicles. At present, its U.S. presence is limited to producing buses and selling fleet vehicles such as taxis.Li Yunfei, BYD''s deputy general manager for branding and public relations, said its passenger car plan was not fixed as entering the U.S. was a complicated process."It could be adjusted," Li said at an event in Beijing. "Now we can only say roughly 2 to 3 years."China''s government has used a raft of policies, including billions of dollars in subsidies, to spur a boom in electric and plug-in hybrid sales since 2015. The U.S., meanwhile, has lagged.BYD has had false starts in the U.S., with Chairman Wang Chuanfu previously saying the automaker would begin selling in the U.S. in 2010. Other Chinese peers have also encountered delays in entering the market.GAC Motor, a subsidiary of Guangzhou Automobile Group Co Ltd , displayed three models at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this month, stating it would enter the U.S. by 2019 instead of a previous goal of 2017.A GAC Motor spokeswoman declined to elaborate on the delay. (Reporting by Jake Spring; Editing by Christopher Cushing)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/byd-usa-idINL4N1F926I'|'2017-01-19T03:00:00.000+02:00' +'bde2559b1834ece5e52d030891f00fdf0e63e2ac'|'Dixons Carphone beats forecasts for Christmas trading'|' 38am GMT Dixons Carphone beats forecasts for Christmas trading FILE PHOTO - The headquarters of Carphone Warehouse is seen in west London May 15, 2014. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo LONDON Dixons Carphone, Britain''s largest electricals and mobile phone retailer, on Tuesday beat forecasts for trading in its key Christmas quarter and kept its profit outlook for the full year. The firm, which trades as Currys, PC World and Carphone Warehouse in Britain, Elkjop and Elgiganten in Nordic countries and Kotsovolos in Greece, said sales at stores open over a year rose 4 percent in the 10 weeks to Jan. 7. That compared with analysts'' consensus forecast of a rise of 2.5 percent and a first half increase of 4 percent. "We believe that we have outperformed the market during the period," said Chief Executive Seb James, adding he was looking forward to another year of growth. Like-for-like sales in the UK and Ireland rose 6 percent versus analysts'' consensus forecast of 3.5 percent growth. Underlying sales increased 5 percent in the southern Europe division but fell 1 percent in the Nordics, where the firm focused on optimising profit margins. Dixons Carphone forecast a 2016-17 underlying pretax profit of 475-495 million pounds, up from 447 million pounds in 2015-16. Though the firm has had a strong run of trading statements over the last year, its shares have still fallen 28 percent, reflecting its exposure to high-cost goods and perceived vulnerability to any consumer spending squeeze this year. Last month, Dixons Carphone reported a 19 percent rise in first-half profit, but said it was planning for the possibility of more uncertain times ahead. The stock closed Monday at 336 pence, valuing the business at 3.8 billion pounds. (Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Sarah Young and Mark Potter) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-dixons-carphone-outlook-idUKKBN1580LV'|'2017-01-24T14:22:00.000+02:00' +'ef012cc15e08ceb9951e5459426cffbf548e12df'|'Swiss stocks - Factors to watch on Jan 19'|'ZURICH Jan 19 The following are some of the main factors expected to affect Swiss stocks on Thursday:UBSChairman Axel Weber has said that around 1,000 of the Swiss bank''s 5,000 employees based in London could be impacted by Britain''s exit from the European Union.For more click onCREDIT SUISSECredit Suisse formally agreed to pay $5.3 billion to settle with U.S. authorities over claims it misled investors in residential mortgage-backed securities it sold in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis. As part of the settlement, announced by the U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday, the Zurich-based bank acknowledged that home loans it pooled into the securities did not meet underwriting guidelines, with some described by employees as "complete crap" and " tter complete garbage."For more click onCOMPANY STATEMENTS* Galenica said preparations for the division of the group planned for 2017 are on track and that Jrg Kneubuehler, current CEO of Galenica Sant, has been designated future chairman of the Board of Directors of Galenica Sant, and Jean-Claude Clmenon, current head retail business sector, as its future CEO. The changes will come into effect following the planned IPO of Galenica Sant. It also said consolidated net sales rose 8.6 percent in 2016 to 4.118 billion Swiss francs ($4.09 billion) while confirming the profit and EBIT forecasts for 2016 communicated in October.* Liechtensteinische Landesbank said it expects a net profit of about 104 million Swiss francs for 2016.* Looser Holding said full-year net revenues were 434.3 million Swiss francs, 0.5 percent below the prior year level, adding that it continues to expect earnings growth and an increase in EBITDA margin for the full financial year 2016.* Arbonia posted net revenue of 995.3 million Swiss francs for the full year, an increase of 5.7 percent in comparison to the previous year.* Investis Holding on Wednesday said it successfully issued a 140 million Swiss francs fixed-rate bond with a coupon of 0.25 percent and a tenor of two years in market.* WISeKey International Holding said it would partner with Stratumn to provide enterprise grade process security software based on blockchain technologies.ECONOMYSwiss producer and import prices for December to be released at 0815 GMT. ($1 = 1.0072 Swiss francs) (Reporting by Zurich newsroom)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/markets-swiss-stocks-idINL5N1F90HH'|'2017-01-19T03:28:00.000+02:00' +'d92c3bff4b9cd60131df3fafc2ab0107299d4155'|'Fitch Affirms Bangladesh at ''BB-''; Outlook Stable'|'Financials 18am EST Fitch Affirms Bangladesh at ''BB-''; Outlook Stable (The following statement was released by the rating agency) HONG KONG, January 16 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings has affirmed Bangladesh''s Long-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at ''BB-''. The Outlooks on the Long-Term IDRs are Stable. The Country Ceiling has been affirmed at ''BB-'' and the Short-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency IDRs at ''B''. KEY RATING DRIVERS Bangladesh''s ratings balance strong foreign-currency earnings and high and stable real GDP growth against weak structural indicators, significant political risk and weak banking-sector health. Bangladesh''s external finances are supported by comfortable and gradually rising foreign-exchange reserves, amounting to USD32.1bn in December 2016 (7.9 months of current external payments, compared with 4.4 months for peers in the ''BB'' category). Remittances have started to decline in mid-2016, however, especially inflows from the Middle East, leading to an 11% drop in 2016 to USD13.6bn. Bangladeshi ready-made garment exports continued to be strong, accounting for 81% of total exports and earning the country USD26.1bn in the first 11 months of 2016 (USD24.6bn in 2015). In 2017, this sector may feel the pinch of further real effective exchange rate appreciation, although Bangladeshi labour costs are still relatively low. Bangladesh''s real GDP growth is high at a five-year average of 6.5% compared with the ''BB'' category median of 3.5%. Growth has been remarkably stable over the years despite both political turmoil and natural disasters. In the financial year ended 30 June 2016 (FY16), GDP growth was 7.1%, supported by increased purchasing power from public-sector wage hikes and monetary policy loosening. Fitch expects GDP growth to decline to 6.6% in FY17 and 6.4% in FY18, in part due to lower consumer spending resulting from falling remittances. Inflation is relatively high compared with peers, averaging 5.4% in the first half of FY17, but below the authorities'' target of 5.8% set for FY17. Political and safety risks remain substantial in Bangladesh. Security incidents or political turmoil could inflict long-term economic harm if it deters foreign investors and buyers of Bangladeshi goods, especially ready-made garments, from doing business in Bangladesh. Calm has returned after political violence erupting in 2014 and 2015, but continued strong political polarisation could again lead to widespread violence and blockades, especially nearer to parliamentary elections, which are to be held no later than January 2019. The risk that the sovereign will need to provide considerable additional support to the banking sector is substantial, although the small size of private credit, at just 36.5% of GDP, would moderate the impact. The sector''s health and governance standards are generally weak, particularly in public-sector banks. The official non-performing loan ratio is high at 10.3% in 3Q16, while the capital adequacy ratio (CAR) is low at 10.3%, down from 10.6% in 1Q16. The CAR for the six state-owned commercial banks was just 5.6%. Bangladesh''s general government debt was 32.4% of GDP in FY16, which compares well with the ''BB'' median of 51.4%. However, the government''s revenue intake of 9.9% of GDP is the second-lowest of all sovereigns rated by Fitch after Nigeria, implying limited fiscal space to boost badly needed infrastructure development. Implementation of the new VAT has been postponed to July 2017. The new VAT has the potential to significantly boost revenues, but the impact will depend on the details, such as the final tax rate and whether the rate will be uniform for all products. Bangladesh scores poorly on a broad range of structural indicators, such as the World Bank''s governance indicator (22nd percentile versus the ''BB'' median of 50th percentile). GDP per capita of USD1,443 is well below the ''BB'' peer category median of USD5,325, although major improvements have taken place over the past decade on a number of social metrics. The difficult business environment is illustrated by the country''s position of 176th out of 190 countries in the World Bank''s Ease of Doing Business report, while a large infrastructure deficit also hampers investment. However, the government seems focused on making progress on some big ongoing infrastructure projects, including the Padma Multipurpose Bridge. SOVEREIGN RATING MODEL (SRM) and QUALITATIVE OVERLAY (QO) Fitch''s proprietary SRM assigns Bangladesh a score equivalent to a rating of ''BB'' on the Long-Term Foreign-Currency IDR scale. Fitch''s sovereign rating committee adjusted the output from the SRM to arrive at the final Long-Term Foreign-Currency IDR by applying its QO, relative to rated peers, as follows: - Structural Features: -1 notch, to reflect political risk arising from a polarised political environment and domestic security concerns, as well as weak banking-sector health and governance. Fitch''s SRM is the agency''s proprietary multiple regression rating model that employs 18 variables based on three-year centred averages, including one year of forecasts, to produce a score equivalent to a Long-Term Foreign-Currency IDR. Fitch''s QO is a forward-looking qualitative framework designed to allow for adjustment to the SRM output to assign the final rating, reflecting factors within our criteria that are not fully quantifiable and/or not fully reflected in the SRM. RATING SENSITIVITIES The Stable Outlook reflects Fitch''s assessment that upside and downside risks to the rating are well-balanced. The main factors that individually, or collectively, could trigger positive rating action are: - An improvement in governance, which would strengthen the business climate and could improve banking-sector health - A reduction in political risk or domestic security concerns The main factors that individually, or collectively, could trigger negative rating action are: - Protracted substantial economic disruption from materialising political risk or a deterioration in the security situation - A significant rise in the government debt-to-GDP ratio, for example due to substantial government support for the banking sector KEY ASSUMPTIONS - The global economy performs broadly in line with forecasts in Fitch''s latest Global Economic Outlook. Contact: Primary Analyst Thomas Rookmaaker Director +852 2263 9891 Fitch (Hong Kong) Limited 19/F Man Yee Building 68 Des Voeux Road Central Hong Kong Secondary Analyst Mervyn Tang Director +852 2263 9944 Committee Chairperson Jan Friederich Senior Director +852 2263 9910 Media Relations: Bindu Menon, Mumbai, Tel: +91 22 4000 1727, Email: bindu.menon@fitchratings.com; Wai-Lun Wan, Hong Kong, Tel: +852 2263 9935, Email: wailun.wan@fitchratings.com. Additional information is available on www.fitchratings.com Applicable Criteria Country Ceilings (pub. 16 Aug 2016) here Sovereign Rating Criteria (pub. 18 Jul 2016) here Additional Disclosures Dodd-Frank Rating Information Disclosure Form here _id=1017596 Solicitation Status here Endorsement Policy here ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: here . IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY''S PUBLIC WEB SITE AT WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA, AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH''S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE, AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE CODE OF CONDUCT SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE. Copyright 2017 by Fitch Ratings, Inc., Fitch Ratings Ltd. and its subsidiaries. 33 Whitehall Street, NY, NY 10004. Telephone: 1-800-753-4824, (212) 908-0500. Fax: (212) 480-4435. Reproduction or retransmission in whole or in part is prohibited except by permission. All rights reserved. In issuing and maintaining its ratings and in making other reports (including forecast information), Fitch relies on factual information it receives from issuers and underwriters and from other sources Fitch believes to be credible. Fitch conducts a reasonable investigation of the factual information relied upon by it in accordance with its ratings methodology, and obtains reasonable verification of that information from independent sources, to the extent such sources are available for a given security or in a given jurisdiction. The manner of Fitch''s factual investigation and the scope of the third-party verification it obtains will vary depending on the nature of the rated security and its issuer, the requirements and practices in the jurisdiction in which the rated security is offered and sold and/or the issuer is located, the availability and nature of relevant public information, access to the management of the issuer and its advisers, the availability of pre-existing third-party verifications such as audit reports, agreed-upon procedures letters, appraisals, actuarial reports, engineering reports, legal opinions and other reports provided by third parties, the availability of independent and competent third- party verification sources with respect to the particular security or in the particular jurisdiction of the issuer, and a variety of other factors. Users of Fitch''s ratings and reports should understand that neither an enhanced factual investigation nor any third-party verification can ensure that all of the information Fitch relies on in connection with a rating or a report will be accurate and complete. Ultimately, the issuer and its advisers are responsible for the accuracy of the information they provide to Fitch and to the market in offering documents and other reports. In issuing its ratings and its reports, Fitch must rely on the work of experts, including independent auditors with respect to financial statements and attorneys with respect to legal and tax matters. Further, ratings and forecasts of financial and other information are inherently forward-looking and embody assumptions and predictions about future events that by their nature cannot be verified as facts. As a result, despite any verification of current facts, ratings and forecasts can be affected by future events or conditions that were not anticipated at the time a rating or forecast was issued or affirmed. The information in this report is provided "as is" without any representation or warranty of any kind, and Fitch does not represent or warrant that the report or any of its contents will meet any of the requirements of a recipient of the report. A Fitch rating is an opinion as to the creditworthiness of a security. This opinion and reports made by Fitch are based on established criteria and methodologies that Fitch is continuously evaluating and updating. Therefore, ratings and reports are the collective work product of Fitch and no individual, or group of individuals, is solely responsible for a rating or a report. The rating does not address the risk of loss due to risks other than credit risk, unless such risk is specifically mentioned. 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Fitch receives fees from issuers, insurers, guarantors, other obligors, and underwriters for rating securities. Such fees generally vary from US$1,000 to US$750,000 (or the applicable currency equivalent) per issue. In certain cases, Fitch will rate all or a number of issues issued by a particular issuer, or insured or guaranteed by a particular insurer or guarantor, for a single annual fee. Such fees are expected to vary from US$10,000 to US$1,500,000 (or the applicable currency equivalent). The assignment, publication, or dissemination of a rating by Fitch shall not constitute a consent by Fitch to use its name as an expert in connection with any registration statement filed under the United States securities laws, the Financial Services and Markets Act of 2000 of the United Kingdom, or the securities laws of any particular jurisdiction. Due to the relative efficiency of electronic publishing and distribution, Fitch research may be available to electronic subscribers up to three days earlier than to print subscribers. For Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and South Korea only: Fitch Australia Pty Ltd holds an Australian financial services license (AFS license no. 337123) which authorizes it to provide credit ratings to wholesale clients only. Credit ratings information published by Fitch is not intended to be used by persons who are retail clients within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFit986606'|'2017-01-16T15:18:00.000+02:00' +'a9ffeea86abb5780504e0777e65dc3bb015c7c89'|'Sensex, Nifty end flat on caution ahead of earnings, budget'|'Money News - Wed Jan 4, 2017 - 4:08pm IST Sensex, Nifty end flat on caution ahead of earnings, budget People look at a screen displaying the Sensex on the facade of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai February 28, 2015. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade/Files The Sensex and Nifty ended flat on Wednesday as positive sentiment from upbeat global economic data was offset by caution ahead of corporate results starting later this month and the government''s annual budget in early February. The Nifty ended down 0.02 percent at 8,190.5, while the Sensex closed down 0.04 percent at 26,633.13. (Reporting by Samantha Kareen Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri) Next In Money News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/india-stocks-sensex-nifty-idINKBN14O0ZG'|'2017-01-04T17:38:00.000+02:00' +'6bf392c28335d6cb14ca6fa66e687eef9aac7b3b'|'Trump executive order to slash regulations,'|'Politics - Mon Jan 30, 2017 - 10:11am EST Trump executive order to slash regulations U.S. President Donald Trump holds breakfast meeting with small business leaders at the Roosevelt room of the White House in Washington U.S., January 30, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria WASHINGTON President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order on Monday that will require that for every new federal regulation proposed, two must be revoked, an administration official said. The order says federal agencies will propose rules they want to eliminate and the White House will review those decisions. The order sets a budget of $0 for new regulations in 2017 and the administration will set a regulation budget each year, the official said on customary condition of anonymity. Trump campaigned on a promise to reduce federal regulations that he said burdened American businesses. (Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe; Writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) Next In Politics'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-regulations-idUSKBN15E1QU'|'2017-01-30T22:04:00.000+02:00' +'09e52c8be299b21aac7fca1f648ac73542ec9a35'|'Ex-Visium fund manager identifies insider trading source'|'Business News 5:03pm EST Ex-Visium fund manager identifies insider trading source By Nate Raymond - NEW YORK NEW YORK A former Visium Asset Management portfolio manager on Tuesday identified a Washington-based policy expert as having helped him engage in insider trading by tipping him to a yet-announced government funding cut for home health services. Christopher Plaford, who became a cooperating witness for U.S. authorities probing the hedge fund, testified in Manhattan federal court that in 2013, he obtained inside information from David Blaszczak, the founder of Precipio Health Strategies. Plaford testified that while acting as a consultant to Visium, Blaszczak tipped him to an impending announcement from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) about a cut to Medicare reimbursement rates for some home health services. Based on that information, Plaford said he arranged trades related to two home health service providers, Amedisys Inc and Gentiva Health Services Inc. The testimony provided confirmation that the investigation that led Plaford to plead guilty in June also involved Blaszczak, who previously worked at CMS from 2000 to 2005, according to a LinkedIn profile. The Wall Street Journal had previously linked Blaszczak to the probe, citing anonymous sources. In court papers, Blaszczak was identified only as "CC-2" or "Political Consultant" who obtained his information from a CMS employee. Blaszczak has not been charged. Neither he nor his lawyer responded to requests for comment. The testimony came during the trial of Stefan Lumiere, an ex-portfolio manager at Visium, which was founded by his former brother-in-law, Jacob Gottlieb. The case stemmed from a probe that prompted the $8 billion firm''s wind-down and charges against Lumiere and three others, including Sanjay Valvani, a portfolio manager who committed suicide in June after being accused of insider trading. From 2011 to 2013, prosecutors said, Lumiere and others schemed to defraud investors by mismarking the value of securities held by the bond fund, causing its net asset value to be overstated. Those others included Plaford, who testified that he worked with Lumiere to obtain sham broker quotes that would justify the securities'' inflated valuations. "I helped to create the values and also directed the broker quotes," Plaford said. Plaford said when he initially discussed his conduct with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecutors, he was not fully truthful about his wrongdoing, saying it "took a while for me to come to terms with what I had done." He has since helped authorities with "whatever they ask me to do," Plaford said, including taping conversations with individuals. The case is U.S. v. Lumiere, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 16-cr-00483. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Dan Grebler) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fraud-visium-idUSKBN151325'|'2017-01-18T05:01:00.000+02:00' +'34c0f6d12e09b81def2590acb0b5beb6a86143e5'|'SE Asia Stocks-Weaker dollar, bond yields lift risk appetite; S''pore hits 14-mth high'|'Financials - Thu Jan 12, 2017 - 12:22am EST SE Asia Stocks-Weaker dollar, bond yields lift risk appetite; S''pore hits 14-mth high By Anusha Ravindranath Jan 12 Most Southeast Asian stock markets rose on Thursday, in line with Asian peers, as a weaker U.S. dollar and bond yields fuelled risk appetite in emerging markets after President-elect Donald Trump provided scant clarity on future fiscal policies. The dollar eased against the perceived safe-haven yen on renewed uncertainty about Trump''s policies while lower Treasury yields also undermined the greenback. It fell as low as 114.245 yen, its deepest nadir since Nov. 9. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan climbed 0.8 percent to its highest since late October. The rally in emerging markets is triggered by the correction in the dollar, said April Lee Tan of COL Financial, adding that: "One of the reasons why they were sold off post Trump''s victory was that investors were expecting rapid economic policies out of the United States." Trump''s win in November had sparked a major realignment in markets, with expectations of tax cuts, fiscal spending and deregulation sending U.S. bond yields and dollar higher, while prompting capital outflows from emerging economies. Singapore shares rose as much as 0.7 percent to their highest in 14 months. Financials drove the gains with DBS Group and United Overseas Bank adding 0.9 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively. Global Logistic Properties was the top performer with a rise of 3.2 percent. Malaysian shares climbed as much as 0.45 percent to their highest in four months and were on track for a third straight session of gains, helped by telecom and financial stocks. Telecom operator Axiata Group Bhd rose 1.06 percent and was among the top gainers. Jakarta gained as much as 0.4 percent, helped by financial and real estate stocks, while Thailand rose for a third straight session as an overnight rally in oil boosted energy stocks. Both PTT Pcl and Thai Oil Pcl rose more than 1 percent. Philippine shares fell for a second consecutive session, hurt by losses in financial and industrial stocks, while Vietnam was flat. For Asian Companies click; SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS AS OF 0443 GMT Market Current previous Pct Move close Singapore 3008.1 3000.94 0.24 Bangkok 1574.5 1572.93 0.10 Manila 7301.72 7321.82 -0.27 Jakarta 5312.581 5301.237 0.21 Kuala Lumpur 1678.73 1675.21 0.21 Ho Chi Minh 686.99 687.16 -0.02 Change so far this year Market Current End 2016 Pct Move Singapore 3008.1 2880.76 4.42 Bangkok 1574.5 1542.94 2.05 Manila 7301.72 6840.64 6.74 Jakarta 5312.581 5296.711 0.30 Kuala Lumpur 1678.73 1641.73 2.25 Ho Chi Minh 686.99 664.87 3.32 (Reporting by Anusha Ravindranath in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/southeast-asia-stocks-idUSL4N1F224L'|'2017-01-12T12:22:00.000+02:00' +'6e31831bad3e08c6aabd200acee4050381ce9f26'|'Trump energy policy unlikely to have big impact on CO2 fight - BP'|'Company 30am EST Trump energy policy unlikely to have big impact on CO2 fight - BP LONDON Jan 25 Changes to U.S. energy policies under new President Donald Trump are unlikely to have a big impact on global action to curb a rise in greenhouse gas emissions, oil major BP''s chief economist said on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Trump signed orders to smooth the path for the Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines in a move to expand energy infrastructure and roll back key Obama administration environmental decisions. As part of his election campaign, Trump promised to bolster the U.S. oil, gas and coal industries, partly by undoing federal regulations curbing carbon dioxide emissions. "The actual implications of change in U.S. policy are unlikely to be a big game changer," Spencer Dale, group chief economist at BP, told journalists in London. "The U.S. has played an enormous leadership role together with China in galvanizing international support (for action on climate change) .... Much of that improvement in the outlook for carbon emissions isn''t happening in America," he added. "Improvements within America are due to energy efficiency ... which are still quite valued in an economy that encourages growth and competitiveness." Earlier on Wednesday, the chief executive of German utility E.ON singled out the election of Trump as an obstacle to global efforts to tackle climate change. China has been keen to be seen as leading the way on climate change as Trump has dismissed it as a "hoax" and vowed during his presidential campaign to pull the United States out of the 2015 Paris Agreement which aims to phase out net greenhouse gas emissions in the second half of this century. "What could be a game changer is if the U.S. stops playing a significant (climate) leadership role, it then has significant implication for wider international commitment and that could have greater impact," Dale said. In its annual Energy Outlook report on Wednesday, BP forecast renewable energy would be the fastest growing energy source to 2035, increasing at an average annual rate of 7.6 percent. (Reporting by Ron Bousso and Nina Chestney; Editing by Mark Potter) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/bp-outlook-trump-idUSL5N1FF4KF'|'2017-01-25T21:30:00.000+02:00' +'57103a1da7edbeafed9807ab7b27546c033eb1b6'|'UPDATE 2-Canada''s Porter Airlines resumes flights after outage grounds fleet'|'(Updates with flights resuming)TORONTO Jan 14 Privately held Canadian carrier Porter Airlines said flights had resumed after a system outage grounded its fleet earlier on Saturday.The airline, which operates short-haul flights out of Toronto''s city airport using a fleet of turboprop aircraft, said the unidentified outage affected about 400 passengers and five flights were cancelled, the airline said."The system is now operating normally. Flights have started departing," Porter said in an emailed statement. "We will be reviewing the circumstances to determine ... what caused the issue."The carrier, which has 15 Canadian and eight U.S. destinations, partners with JetBlue in the United States.Last June, Porter Chief Executive Robert Deluce said he would consider taking the carrier public in the medium term as a strategy to support its broader growth plan. (Reporting by Amran Abocar; Editing by James Dalgleish)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/canada-airline-porter-idINL1N1F40J2'|'2017-01-14T20:36:00.000+02:00' +'788636d1da5eededa4fd9f7ed657fb53d52e57b8'|'Dollar slips, shares wobbly after Trump''s protectionist address'|' 3:27am GMT Dollar slips after Trump''s protectionist address, Asia shares resilient People are seen behind an electronic board showing stock prices after the New Year opening ceremony at the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), held to wish for the success of Japan''s stock market, in Tokyo, Japan, January 4, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon By Hideyuki Sano - TOKYO TOKYO The dollar slipped broadly on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump struck a protectionist tone in his inauguration speech, offsetting optimism that he will follow through on promises of tax cuts and other stimulus. Japan''s Nikkei dropped 1.1 percent while shares in Australia dropped 0.7 percent after the Trump administration, on its first day in office, declared its intention to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a 12-nation trade pact that Japan and Australia also have signed up for. Other Asian shares were resilient, however, in part due to a relief that there was no negative surprises, with Trump refraining from labelling China as a currency manipulator for now, an accusation he made while campaigning. Hong Kong shares rose 0.6 percent and Taiwan shares rose 0.8 percent, helping to boost MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan 0.4 percent. U.S. stock futures dipped 0.2 percent, erasing gains made on Friday. In his inaugural address, Trump pledged to end what he called an "American carnage" of rusted factories and vowed to put "America first", laying out two simple rules - buy American and hire American. Trump also said on Sunday he plans talks soon with the leaders of Canada and Mexico to begin renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). "The market is getting nervous about the possibility that the world''s trade might shrink," said Koichi Yoshikawa, executive director of financial markets at Standard Chartered Bank in Tokyo. "Many of his policies, including tax cuts and infrastructure spending, need approval from the Senate and that (may not be) easy," he said. "The markets that had been led by expectations on his policy since the election are now the dragged down by the reality." The dollar had soared late last year on expectations that Trump''s pledges to cut taxes and hike infrastructure spending would boost the U.S. economy, but it has since lost steam. The dollar fell as much as 1.1 percent against the yen to 113.435 yen, edging towards its seven-week low of 112.57 yen touched on Wednesday. The euro gained 0.4 percent to $1.0746, its highest level since Dec. 8. Most emerging market currencies gained. The Mexican peso, which has weakened the most on Trump''s protectionist and anti-immigration stance, rose 0.6 percent to a two-week high of 21.44 per dollar. The rise came after its 1.7 percent gains on Friday, its biggest in two months. The 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield fell to 2.432 percent, after having risen briefly on Friday to 2.513 percent, its highest since Jan. 3. The two-year yield, which is more sensitive to the Fed''s policy outlook, dropped sharply to 1.180 percent from Thursday''s three-week high of 1.250 percent, giving back much of gains made after Wednesday''s upbeat comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen. Oil edged up after statements over the weekend from OPEC and other producers that they have been successfully implementing output cuts, but gains were limited by a surge in U.S. drilling. International benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.2 percent to $55.58 per barrel, building on Friday''s 2.5 percent gains. (Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore) Dollar drops as investors await details of Trump''s policies TOKYO The dollar skidded in Asian trade on Monday, with the euro hitting its highest levels in more than a month as investors locked in gains on the greenback''s recent rise as they waited for U.S. President Donald Trump to offer details of his promised stimulus.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUKKBN157023'|'2017-01-23T13:48:00.000+02:00' +'974e1887191036402d11c6cff31f8f22ed023a25'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'Financials 9:03am EST Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions Jan 20 The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1400 GMT on Friday: ** Fairfax Financial Holdings is in early talks to sell 25 percent of India''s largest private general insurer ICICI Lombard in a deal that could fetch up to $1 billion, as the Canadian firm looks to cash out and start a new insurance joint venture, sources familiar with the matter said. ** Halyk Bank,, Kazakhstan''s No.2 lender by assets, is in talks with Kazkommertsbank, the country''s No.1 bank, and Kazkommertsbank''s majority shareholder, about a potential transaction, Halyk said. ** Heineken, the world''s second largest brewer, said it was in talks regarding a possible deal for the Brazilian operations of Japan''s Kirin Holdings Co Ltd. ** Japan''s Canon Inc is considering investing in Toshiba Corp''s chip business, Kyodo news agency reported. ** British insurer Aviva said it had joined up with investment management firm Hillhouse Capital and Chinese internet services giant Tencent Holdings to start a digital insurance focused company in Hong Kong. ** UniCredit''s Hungarian business is in the final stages of selling a distressed mortgage portfolio to Prague-based investor APS Holding in a deal worth tens of millions of euros, multiple financial sector sources said. ** China National Chemical Corp, or ChemChina, said it has sought the U.S. anti-trust regulator''s approval for its planned $43 billion acquisition of Swiss crop protection and seed group Syngenta AG. ** Japanese financial services firm Orix Corp has agreed to buy $290 million worth of shipping loans from Royal Bank of Scotland, sources with direct knowledge of the deal told Reuters. ** China''s COSCO Shipping Corporation and Hong Kong-listed shipping-to-property firm Orient Overseas International (OOIL) Ltd threw cold water on reports that the two were in talks over a deal for OOIL''s subsidiary OOCL. ** Wells Fargo & Co, the third-largest U.S. bank by assets, said on Thursday it would merge its international business with its wholesale banking unit that serves corporate clients. ** India-based car parts maker and engineering group Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd has agreed to buy Finnish truck wire maker PKC Group for 571 million euros ($609 million), PKC said on Thursday. ** Swedish telecom operator Telia is considering a bid for Denmark''s TDC, which is itself exploring a takeover of Swedish cable TV firm Com Hem, Dagens Industri (DI) reported, citing unnamed sources. ** Japan''s Toshiba Corp has begun preparations to sell a minority stake in its core chip business, people with knowledge of the matter said, as it urgently seeks funding to avoid being crippled by an upcoming multi-billion dollar writedown. ** Viacom Inc''s Paramount Pictures will receive a $1 billion cash investment from two Chinese film companies, Shanghai Film Group (SFG) and Huahua Media, giving the U.S. studio much-needed cash and support as it attempts to grow. (Compiled by Akankshita Mukhopadhyay in Bengaluru) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/deals-day-idUSL4N1FA4GP'|'2017-01-20T21:03:00.000+02:00' +'554d276903b206e3a1ffc2e8e7084afea65f876f'|'PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - Jan 20'|'Jan 20 The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.- Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, the drug lord who staged two spectacular escapes from maximum-security prisons in Mexico, has arrived in New York to face trial, U.S. officials said Thursday. on.wsj.com/2jeuWLl- A $1 billion financing deal with Chinese firms Shanghai Film Group Corp and Huahua Media promises Viacom Inc''s struggling Paramount Pictures some much-needed funds and a foothold in the world''s second-largest box-office market. on.wsj.com/2jeBNV7- A Chinese consortium led by China Oceanwide Holdings Group Co reached a deal to buy International Data Group Inc, the data and marketing company that also runs venture-capital firm IDG Ventures. on.wsj.com/2jevNMa- China''s flagship state-owned chip maker Tsinghua Unigroup said it plans to build a $30 billion memory-chip factory in Nanjing, its latest investment as China moves to diminish its dependence on U.S. chip manufacturers. on.wsj.com/2jeE7LL- U.S. regulators closed a probe of a fatal crash involving a Tesla Motors Inc car driving itself, concluding the Silicon Valley auto maker''s semi-automated technology didn''t contain a safety defect. on.wsj.com/2jeEpSQ- JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Jamie Dimon will receive $28 million in total compensation for 2016, up 3.7 percent - or $1 million - from 2015, according to a Thursday securities filing. on.wsj.com/2jezEsp- South Korea''s Hyundai Merchant Marine Co Ltd said it will buy a fifth of the company that runs the biggest container terminal at Long Beach, Calif., the U.S.''s second-largest port. on.wsj.com/2jeCGNr- Uber Technologies Inc agreed Thursday to pay $20 million to resolve Federal Trade Commission allegations that it misled drivers about potential earnings and vehicle financing. on.wsj.com/2jev9Oy (Compiled by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/press-digest-wsj-idUSL4N1FA2B5'|'2017-01-20T08:25:00.000+02:00' +'f2835f1c0f121d98f9168430c93b221f6e6999d0'|'Gap posts surprise comparable sales rise in December'|' 10:29pm GMT Gap posts surprise comparable sales rise in December left right View of the logo of a GAP clothing store on the Champs Elysee in Paris, France, March 3, 2016. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen 1/2 left right View of the logo of a GAP clothing store on the Champs Elysee in Paris, France, March 3, 2016. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen/File Photo 2/2 Apparel retailer Gap Inc ( GPS.N ) reported a surprise rise in December comparable sales, helped by strong demand for its Gap and Old Navy brands, a bright spot in the overall retail gloom. The company''s shares rose 7.4 percent to $24.98 in after-market trading on Thursday. Gap, which is also shutting stores and reducing overhead costs, said it now expected full-year 2016 adjusted profit to be modestly above the higher end of the previously forecast range of $1.92 per share. The company''s comparable sales for December rose 4 percent, while analysts on average had expected a fall of 0.7 percent. (Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-gap-outlook-idUKKBN14P2K3'|'2017-01-06T05:29:00.000+02:00' +'7a25b21a667359773c12372ff9945d2038cdf8c3'|'Facebook CEO, facing wave of criticism, stops attempt to force Hawaii land sale'|'Business News - Fri Jan 27, 2017 - 5:51pm EST Facebook CEO, facing wave of criticism, stops attempt to force Hawaii land sale left right Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg gestures while addressing the audience during a meeting of the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Ceo Summit in Lima, Peru, November 19, 2016. REUTERS/Mariana Bazo 1/2 left right Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is seen on stage during a town hall at Facebook''s headquarters in Menlo Park, California September 27, 2015. REUTERS/Stephen Lam/File Photo 2/2 By Alex Dobuzinskis Facing mounting criticism from islanders and local lawmakers, Facebook ( FB.O ) CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Friday revealed he was dropping his legal gambit to force the sale of land tracts on his seafront property on the island of Kauai that are claimed by native Hawaiians. "Upon reflection, I regret that I did not take the time to fully understand the quiet title process and its history before we moved ahead," Zuckerberg wrote in Kauai newspaper The Garden Island. "Now that I understand the issues better, it''s clear we made a mistake," the billionaire added. Zuckerberg had previously tried to secure parcels of land within the property by filing quiet title actions, a legal mechanism used to establish ownership and force a sale of land where inheritance rights stretch back generations and formal documentation is lacking. Hawaii state representative Kaniela Ing, a Democrat, in response to the controversy this week introduced a bill that would require mediation in similar disputes involving native Hawaiians. At the time, the lawmaker likened Zuckerberg''s plans to those of sugar barons who took land from native Hawaiians in the 1800s. Business Insider reported some Hawaii residents planned to protest at Zuckerberg''s property on Saturday. The local news article at the top bore the names of Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, as co-authors but it only had Zuckerberg''s name listed at the bottom. "The right path is to sit down and discuss how to best move forward," their article said. Forbes reported Zuckerberg paid close to $100 million for the 700 acres (283 hectares) on the secluded north shores of Kauai in 2014. "I''ve got to give him (Zuckerberg) the benefit of the doubt and say it looks like he''s sincere and trying to reach out to the community," Ing said. But the lawmaker added that he will not withdraw his bill, saying it was needed to help improve Hawaii''s outdated land laws. A representative for Zuckerberg could not immediately be reached for further comment. Zuckerberg in a previous statement said the estate is made up of several properties and while he worked with majority owners of the tracts to reach a fair deal, he filed the actions to identify all partial owners. "For most of these folks, they will now receive money for something they never even knew they had. No one will be forced off the land," Zuckerberg wrote in the previous statement. (Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Editing by David Gregorio) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-hawaii-land-idUSKBN15B2GZ'|'2017-01-28T05:51:00.000+02:00' +'0ac9ab88a532d12217cdeb22282aac2924a675f1'|'South Korea special prosecutors to question Samsung leader as a suspect'|'Business News - Wed Jan 11, 2017 - 5:52am GMT South Korea special prosecutors to question Samsung leader as a suspect Samsung Electronics vice chairman Jay Y. Lee arrives to attend a hearing at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, December 6, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji SEOUL A South Korean special prosecutor''s office on Wednesday said it had summoned Samsung Group leader Jay Y. Lee as a suspect in a widening influence-peddling scandal involving President Park Geun-hye. Prosecutors have been checking whether Samsung''s support for a business and foundations backed by Park''s friend, Choi Soon-sil, was connected to a 2015 decision by the National Pension Service to back a controversial merger of two Samsung Group affiliates. Lee Kyu-chul, spokesman for the special prosecution team, told a briefing Lee was being summoned on Thursday morning over suspicions including bribery, but did not elaborate. Samsung Group could not be immediately reached for comment. (Reporting by Se Young Lee and Ju-min Park; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-southkorea-politics-samsung-group-idUKKBN14V0GA'|'2017-01-11T12:52:00.000+02:00' +'dbf6c4d3a7e7d9af6e863c62742e201f6c2fd89d'|'How Congress might crack down on H-1B abuse'|'How Congress might crack down on H-1B abuse by Sara Ashley O''Brien @saraashleyo January 6, 2017: 1:17 PM ET What is an H-1B visa? A popular visa program may soon get a makeover. Employers say H-1B visas are crucial because they allow foreign workers to fill skill gaps in the American workforce. Foreigners are in hot pursuit of them, too: Last year demand was three times more than the annual limit of 85,000. But critics of the program say some outsourcing firms exploit H-1B visas to hire foreign workers. They contract them to work for big companies who end up paying them less than Americans would make for the same jobs. For years, lawmakers have been debating proposals to change the program. Now a window might be opening. President-elect Donald Trump has said he wants to crack down on misuse of visas , though he has not detailed how. Rep. Darrell Issa, a California Republican, introduced a bill this week that he says will punish outsourcing companies. Under his legislation, any company paying H-1B workers less than $100,000 would have to show they couldn''t hire Americans for the same jobs. Existing law has a similar requirement but sets the threshold at $60,000, a level established in 1998, and doesn''t apply to foreign workers with master''s degrees. Issa''s bill would do away with that exemption. The idea is to make it more expensive and complicated for companies to use H-1B visas, and to hurt companies that exploit the program. Issa''s bill, like the current law, would apply only to companies with more than 50 employees and for whom H-1B workers make up at least 15% of the workforce. Related: Uncertainty over Trump''s immigration policy leads foreign engineers to ditch startups The bill addresses Trump''s concerns about high-skilled immigration, says Neil Ruiz, a specialist in migration and economic development at George Washington University Law School. "This bill shows the direction of where they may go in immigration reform: Let people in -- but make sure you''re protecting American workers and set the bar high," he said. The visa has special significance for Silicon Valley because the tech industry is worried about attracting and retaining foreign engineering talent. Tech industry advocates have lobbied for years to increase the number of visas to meet the growing demand. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a Democrat who represents Silicon Valley, says Issa''s legislation is inadequate and won''t stop outsourcing. "It''s just a fig leaf," she told CNNMoney. Lofgren has drafted a more comprehensive bill that would award visas by which employers offer the highest salaries. Under both the current system and Issa''s proposal, visas are awarded by lottery, even after companies go through all the paperwork. "That would avoid this program undercutting the wages of American workers," she said. "It lets the market forces work." Related: Trump''s crackdown on ''visa abuse'': Experts weigh in Lofgren says she plans to introduce her bill within weeks. It will also propose changes to how permanent visas are awarded, eliminating limits allocated by country. Lofgren believes that this will help clear up some of the high demand for H-1B visas, which she said is, in part, due to long wait lists in countries like India. H-1B visas are for three years and can be renewed for three more. "Trump has said he''s against outsourcing. If he is, he can take a look at this bill that could actually work," she said. "If he''s not serious, there''s nothing I can do about it." Calvin Moore, a spokesman for Issa, said his bill, originally introduced last year, is a good entry point for reform. "The point of the bill is to be a modest reform on the pieces of H-1B reform that we think have the most buy-in and that we think are most achievable early in the Congress," he told CNNMoney. Plenty of industries outside Silicon Valley rely on the H-1B visa program. Foreign journalists, doctors, professors, models , sports coaches and even zookeepers compete for them. Employers are all required to pay, at minimum, the prevailing wage for the job, which ranges depending on skill level, job description and where the job is. Immigration lawyers are waiting to see whether changes will take effect before the upcoming H-1B season. The government begins accepting applications April 1. 1:17 PM ET'|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/edition_business.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/06/technology/h1b-reform-bill/index.html'|'2017-01-07T01:17:00.000+02:00' +'5dea4b8853246aad40680ba23bec0beff3510a74'|'Watchmakers hope for Trump economics rally'|'Watchmakers hope for Trump economics rally US president-elect has proposed policies that could cut red tape and boost sales Read next by: Mamta Badkar A watch ticks, a fanfare swells, a shrill alarm sounds and a deep voice intones, Good morning, Mr President. In this television ad, Swiss watchmaker Vulcain airs pride in its presidential history Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower and Lyndon Johnson were all fans of Vulcain and every successive president except George W Bush has owned one. It remains to be seen, however, whether Donald Trump , the incoming US president, will help the watchmaking industry or worsen the problems Swiss manufacturers have experienced since 2014. Exports, according to the Swiss watch industry federation, are down 10.3 per cent in the two years to November 2016 and by 28 per cent in Hong Kong and 22 per cent in the US, the two biggest markets. Executives from the luxury industry are already talking to Mr Trump. Bernard Arnault, chief executive of LVMH, which owns watch brands like Hublot and TAG Heuer, met him on January 9 and said LVMH, which derives 9.2 per cent of its revenues from watches and jewellery, might consider expanding its operations in the US. Policies Mr Trump mentioned on the campaign trail have broad relevance to the watch industry. If his administration were to push through the income tax rate cuts promised, that could boost the spending power of wealthy Americans when the dollar is already at near 14-year highs. Indeed, the DXY dollar index, a measure against a basket of peers, began its upturn in mid-2014 and has risen nearly 27 per cent since, including more than four percentage points following Mr Trumps election victory. There has been a sustained Trump-driven stock market rally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has advanced more than 8 per cent since the election and continues to push on. This, together with the economic growth that Mr Trump has promised, could boost the luxury market in general and watches in particular. Trump certainly has a pro-business stance and bringing back jobs to the US and growing the economy is very much part of his mantra, says Giles English, co-founder of UK-based watchmaker Bremont. That sort of talk undoubtedly boosts confidence and people are more inclined to spend when they feel confident about the future. Rogerio Fujimori, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, says the US offers long-term growth for the industry, considering the mismatch between the big US wealth pool (which contains 35 per cent of the worlds population classified as of high net worth) and limited penetration of Swiss watches (relative to other luxury categories). Trump certainly has a pro-business stance and bringing back jobs to the US is very much part of his mantra Giles English, co-founder of UK-based watchmaker Bremont In keeping with his America First trade policy, however, Mr Trump has nominated Robert Lighthizer , an advocate of protectionism, as his US trade representative. While his policies will have more bearing on relations with China, they could ensnare Switzerlands watch industry. The industrys fortunes are linked to growth in the number of wealthy and middle-class people globally, says Jelena Sokolova, an analyst at investment research business Morningstar. If Trumps protectionist policies have [an] adverse impact on Chinese growth and wealth creation, it could impact the industry negatively. However, such conclusions remain farfetched at the moment, she adds. Mr Trumps protectionist policies that have so far been used to shame and strong-arm automakers and industrial companies like Carrier into keeping jobs and manufacturing plants in the US could bring further scrutiny to US watchmakers like Shinola . Last year, the company agreed that it would move away from its Where American is made slogan after the Federal Trade Commission said it felt the phrase was likely to mislead consumers about the extent to which its watches and other products were made in the US. The FTCs guidelines require companies that use Made in America slogans to have products that are all or virtually all made domestically. Shinola made concessions, including applying corrective hangtags and information cards...to alert consumers to the fact that those products include significant imported content. But the company told the Financial Times, Shinola is not a Made in America play, it is a company with a sincere interest and devotion to creating American jobs in industries where manufacturing has left our shores. Mr Trump has promised to repeal job-killing regulations, a move which the watchmaking industry would in general welcome. The American Watch Association has always stood for, promoted and supported the reduction of taxes and tariffs on watches and the elimination of burdensome regulation on watch companies and their suppliers, says Alyson Gottlieb, a spokesperson for the association. The dollar may have further to strengthen under Mr Trump, if the US economy continues to grow and the Federal Reserve accelerates the pace of its interest rate rises should Mr Trumps proposed stimulus measures raise inflation. While the strong dollar benefits domestic spending, many US department stores and retailers have warned that it has cooled tourist expenditure. That could counterbalance the pressure the industry has faced from the strong Swiss franc, however, which has driven up manufacturing costs. The franc has appreciated nearly 12 per cent against the euro since January 2015. Recent performance by some of the best-known Swiss watchmakers shows how sombre the industrys mood is. Richemont, the luxury conglomerate which owns brands like Vacheron Constantin and Cartier, abolished its chief executive position last year. Founder Johann Rupert emphasised the need to slim down as the groups interim results showed that operating profits had fallen 43 per cent and sales were down 13 per cent. Sales at Swatch, which owns Breguet and Omega, decreased by more than 11 per cent in the first half of the year and profits fell by more than half. Analysts estimate sales will drop nearly 5 per cent in the second half. Additional reporting by Simon de Burton Sample the FTs top stories for a week You select the topic, we deliver the news. Select topic Invalid email Sign up By signing up you confirm that you have read and agree to the terms and conditions , cookie policy and privacy policy . Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2017. All rights reserved. You may share using our article tools. Please don''t cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.'|'ft.com'|'http://www.ft.com/rss/companies/retail-consumer'|'https://www.ft.com/content/b3e49344-d1cb-11e6-b06b-680c49b4b4c0'|'2017-01-14T21:08:00.000+02:00' +'4af08ddb577df16206cb947fb79737861b878a5a'|'Takata''s remaining bidders to seek court-led turnaround in Japan: Nikkei'|'Deals - Wed Jan 18, 2017 - 8:30pm EST Takata''s remaining bidders to seek court-led turnaround in Japan: Nikkei left right A billboard advertisement of Takata Corp is pictured in Tokyo September 17, 2014. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo 1/2 left right A sign with the TAKATA logo is seen outside the Takata Corporation building in Auburn Hills, Michigan May 20, 2015. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File Photo 2/2 TOKYO Takata Corp''s ( 7312.T ) two remaining bidders plan to propose a court-mediated turnaround for the Japanese operations of the troubled auto parts maker, the Nikkei business daily reported on Thursday. The Tokyo Stock Exchange suspended trading in Takata shares after the report. A spokesman for Takata declined to comment on the report. Takata is in the process of selecting a financial backer as it faces billions of dollars in costs to replace tens of millions of potentially defective air bag inflators that have been linked to at least 16 deaths globally. Potential bidders, so far, have presented restructuring plans that require the company to file for bankruptcy protection for its U.S. unit, sources have previously told Reuters. Some of them, including U.S. buyout firm KKR & Co ( KKR.N ), have since dropped out of the process. Takata has been considering the option, but is said to prefer a private, out-of-court process for its core Japanese operations. The Nikkei said the two remaining bidders, Swedish air bag maker Autoliv Inc ( ALV.N ) and U.S. parts supplier Key Safety Systems, plan to present their proposals as early as this week. Japan''s Daicel Corp ( 4202.T ) and U.S. buyout firm Bain Capital, which had previously teamed up for a separate bid, have joined Key Safety Systems, the Nikkei said. The paper added that even if Takata''s external steering committee submits a plan for court-led rehabilitation, its board could still reject the idea. (Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Himani Sarkar) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-takata-restructuring-idUSKBN15306Y'|'2017-01-19T08:30:00.000+02:00' +'695948f0709f7324f7e90e43778a5f1d9e24c421'|'France ready to save nuclear group Areva whoever wins presidency'|'Business News - Wed Jan 4, 2017 - 9:57am EST France ready to save nuclear group Areva whoever wins presidency A view shows the Areva Tower, the headquarters of the French nuclear reactor maker Areva, at La Defense business and financial district in Courbevoie near Paris, France, March 2, 2016. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen/File Photo By Geert De Clercq - PARIS PARIS A government-led rescue of French nuclear group Areva and the wider atomic energy industry may cost the state as much as 10 billion euros ($10.45 billion), but political support is almost certain whoever wins the presidential election in May. While taxpayers will ultimately pick up the huge bill, the main election contenders - from the Socialists and conservatives to the far-right National Front - broadly back the bailout, which involves splitting up Areva. ( AREVA.PA ) On top of its dire financial state, Areva is beset by technical, regulatory and legal problems. But given its importance to a nuclear industry that generates three quarters of France''s electricity and employs 220,000 people, the next government probably has little choice but to stand by the scheme hatched under outgoing Socialist President Francois Hollande. France has a small but fierce anti-nuclear movement and some critics oppose investing billions in extending the life of ageing reactors. Nevertheless, nuclear energy is broadly accepted, even though neighboring Germany has decided to ditch it altogether following the 2011 disaster at Japan''s Fukushima plant. "I am convinced that the 21st century will need nuclear," said conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon. "That is why we must support the industry during this difficult period," the former prime minister wrote in his manifesto. Although Fillon is a frontrunner, the election outcome remains uncertain. However, even if National Front candidate Marine Le Pen pulls off an upset, she too has promised to stand by the nuclear industry. While Germany is replacing lost nuclear output with wind and solar power capacity, Le Pen said "so-called green energies are not realistic yet". In her manifesto, she said nuclear was necessary in the medium term to meet targets for cutting carbon emissions and maintaining French energy independence. The nuclear industry rescue also involves a cash injection for power utility EDF ( EDF.PA ), which operates France''s 58 nuclear reactors and will buy part of Areva''s business. But for all the domestic support, Brussels must also rule on whether the bailout complies with European Union rules on state aid. Shareholders of two companies that will emerge from the restructured Areva are due to vote on the plan on Feb. 3. The timing of the EU decision is unknown, but an Areva spokeswoman said: "We hope for an answer from the European Commission within a timeframe that is compatible with the shareholder meetings." GRAPHIC: Areva shares, uranium price: tmsnrt.rs/2hNy4iZ ONCE THE CHAMPION Once the champion of France''s nuclear industry, 87 percent state-owned Areva has seen its equity wiped out by years of losses. Among its biggest problems is a nuclear plant it is building in Olkiluoto, Finland. Work is almost a decade behind schedule and huge cost overruns have led to Finnish utility TVO and Areva claiming billions from each other. A similar project in Flamanville, France is also running years late, with costs spiralling. Areva has also had to take heavy writedowns on its African uranium mines while foreign orders have generally slumped since the Fukushima accident. On top of this, U.S. and other regulators are investigating possible safety problems related to the suspected falsification of documents at Areva''s Le Creusot plant, which makes components for reactors worldwide. In a restructuring that means an end to Areva as an integrated nuclear group, the firm will sell its reactor unit Areva NP to EDF. The French state will effectively nationalize the Olkiluoto liabilities and Areva will receive a mainly state-funded cash injection of 5 billion euros ($5.2 billion) to refloat it as a uranium mining and nuclear fuel group. The government is also seeking Japanese and Chinese investors to buy minority stakes in the fuel group, provisionally called NewCo, for one billion euros. Such third-party involvement - which is likely to be crucial for winning EU state-aid clearance - could reduce the net cost to four billion, but the state''s liabilities won''t end there. Areva''s rescue closely involves 85 percent state-owned EDF. The utility has agreed to buy a majority stake in the reactor unit Areva NP based on a value of 2.5 billion euros. The hope is that outside investors will buy minority stakes in Areva NP too. Last week Russian nuclear group Rosatom also expressed interest in participating in Areva''s restructuring. While EU sanctions on Russia would be a problem, Fillon has promised to pursue warmer relations with Moscow if elected. SAFETY-RELATED OUTAGES EDF itself has been weakened by low power prices, high debt and a series of safety-related outages at its Areva-designed reactors. Now it is taking on more heavy spending commitments. In an 18 billion pound ($22 billion) project approved last year, EDF plans to build two reactors at Britain''s Hinkley Point plant. This was Areva''s first reactor sale in almost a decade. EDF also needs to spend 50 billion euros on upgrading its French reactors and will sink billions more into helping to save Areva. To fund this, EDF plans a 4 billion euro capital increase in early 2017, to which the state will contribute 3 billion. The state has agreed to take EDF''s dividend on 2015 earnings in shares, saving the utility 1.8 billion euros in cash, and will accept the same on 2016 and 2017 earnings. So, combining the capital increases for Areva and EDF with the foregone dividend income on the 2015-17 earnings, the total cost to the state is set to add up to around 10 billion euros - although the exact amount will depend on the size of third-party investors'' stakes in NewCo. In most countries such a bill would provoke a political row. In Britain, Hinkley Point is highly controversial due to its cost and the involvement of Chinese investors in a strategic industry. Prime Minister Theresa May held up signing of the deal for several weeks after taking office last year. But France is different. As well as Fillon and Le Pen, Hollande''s former economy minister Emmanuel Macron, who is running as an independent, also supports nuclear energy. The Socialists have yet to pick a candidate but their choice is almost certain to back the present Socialist government''s plan. "France is well known for heated debates about taxes, family issues and labor reform, but nuclear is one of the few things which every government has supported for decades," said Jean-Marc Ollagnier, Paris-based head of global consultancy Accenture''s resources and energy unit. STAYING ALIVE The civil nuclear program has not only reduced dependence on oil from the unstable Middle East. Via state nuclear agency CEA, it is also linked to France''s atomic weapons program and nuclear submarine fleet, whose propulsion systems are made by an Areva unit. Letting Areva fail would mean relying on foreign groups such as Toshiba-owned Westinghouse ( 6502.T ) to service EDF''s reactors and handle their fuel, which is unthinkable within France''s policy of energy self-reliance. Areva is also due to play a crucial role in extending the lifespan of EDF''s reactors. Most were connected to the grid between 1980 and 1990, and designed to operate for 40 years. Fillon supports EDF''s wish to extend this to 60 years. But critics note that while France struggles to sell nuclear reactors abroad, Denmark''s Vestas ( VWS.CO ) and Germany''s Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ) are winning export deals for wind turbines. Former environment minister Corinne Lepage blames an old boy''s network of graduates from France''s elite engineering schools for defending nuclear at any cost. She opposes EDF extending the life of its oldest reactors, saying it should instead start decommissioning them. EDF could build this into a business in dismantling reactors while gradually switching to renewable energy, she told Reuters. "We need a massive reconversion plan for EDF staff. These are engineers. If they can handle nuclear reactors, they can also handle wind turbines and solar panels," she said. (editing by David Stamp)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/mergersNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-areva-restructuring-france-idUSKBN14O1JW'|'2017-01-04T21:52:00.000+02:00' +'78a2261e4f99d3cffa6b87cf2729e69877322246'|'Luxottica buys Brazil retailer Oticas Carol in 110 million euro deal'|'MILAN Italian eyewear group Luxottica ( LUX.MI ) has agreed to buy Brazilian optical chain Oticas Carol in a 110 million euro ($117 million) deal that expands its retail footprint in the South American country.Luxottica, which earlier this month signed a $50 billion merger deal with top lens maker Essilor ( ESSI.PA ), is already present in Brazil with a network of Sunglass Hut shops, a manufacturing plant and its wholesale business.Oticas Carol operates a franchise of around 950 outlets selling both prescription frames and sunglasses, with annual revenue of around 200 million euros. Its main shareholders are investment funds 3i Group, Neuberger Berman and Siguler Guff & Company.Luxottica is due to report full-year sales later on Monday.($1 = 0.9413 euros)(Reporting by Valentina Za)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-luxottica-m-a-brazil-idINKBN15E1GD'|'2017-01-30T10:29:00.000+02:00' +'13b547f4eb0a61bc4a0193f1402f8a58573c5120'|'Top executives of Abu Dhabi''s Etihad airline group to quit amid strategy review'|' 02am GMT Top executives of Abu Dhabi''s Etihad airline group to quit amid strategy review James Hogan, CEO of Etihad Airways, speaks during the India Economic Summit 2014 at the World Economic Forum in New Delhi November 6, 2014. REUTERS/Anindito Mukherjee ABU DHABI The longtime chief executive of Abu Dhabi''s Etihad Aviation Group, which owns one of the Middle East''s top airlines, will leave this year as the group reviews its strategy in a challenging market, Etihad said on Tuesday. James Hogan will step down as president and CEO of the group in the second half of 2017. Chief financial officer James Rigney will also leave later this year, Etihad said. Chairman Mohamed Mubarak Fadhel al-Mazrouei said the airline, which has seven equity partnerships with other carriers around the world including Air Berlin and Alitalia, would "progress and adjust" those links. (Reporting by Stanley Carvalho; Writing by Andrew Torchia) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-etihad-airways-ceo-idUKKBN1580K5'|'2017-01-24T14:02:00.000+02:00' +'978bb8f27a6e904eea64afcae05f2b4766a260b9'|'Grana y Montero shares sink, says Odebrecht partnership a ''mistake'''|'LIMA Peruvian builder Grana y Montero''s shares dropped by more than 12 percent on Thursday after it called its partnership with corruption-plagued Brazilian builder Odebrecht a "mistake" and said it was considering taking legal action.Corporate General Manager Mario Alvarado said in an interview with local Peruvian magazine Caretas that Grana knew nothing about any kickback schemes and had no idea that Odebrecht had a special department dedicated to secretly distributing bribes."It''s clear we made a mistake in this partnership," Alvarado was Quote: d saying in the magazine''s edition published Thursday. "We''re studying our legal options in order to make a decision."Grana confirmed the accuracy of the Quote: s.The company''s shares closed 14.6 percent lower on Lima''s bourse on Thursday and 12.15 percent weaker in New York.Grana''s shares have dropped about 42 percent on both stock exchanges since December 21, 2016 when Odebrecht acknowledged in a U.S. plea deal that it distributed $29 million in bribes to win public work contracts in Peru from about 2005 to 2014, part of hundreds of millions in corrupt payments across the region.Grana has been one of Odebrecht''s most important Peruvian partners this century, working with it on half a dozen public work contracts worth more than $10 billion, according to a report by the comptroller''s office on Wednesday.Grana owns a 20 percent stake in a natural gas pipeline project that Odebrecht won in 2014 after its sole competitor was disqualified the day of the auction. Grana was not a part of the original consortium and bought its stake from Odebrecht in 2015.The government has said it would cancel the pipeline contract if financing that hinges on Odebrecht exiting the project does not come through this month. Odebrecht has been trying to sell its 55 percent stake for more than six months and has been in talks with Brookfield Asset Management Inc.Odebrecht has said it would cooperate with local prosecutors to reach a plea deal that would include civil reparations for crimes committed.(Reporting By Ursula Scollo and Mitra Taj; Editing by Diane Craft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-grana-y-montero-odebrecht-idUSKBN14W32W'|'2017-01-13T01:47:00.000+02:00' +'0f1bb1d62560e12d74b0c94ab1ef3c026b4cd521'|'Brazil''s BRF says halal food unit IPO remains an option'|'SAO PAULO Jan 6 BRF SA, the world''s largest poultry exporter, said on Friday an initial public offering of a subsidiary focused on the halal processed food market remains a strategic option.Reuters reported on Thursday that BRF wants to raise about $1.5 billion from the sale of a 20 percent stake in the unit, known as One Foods Holdings Ltd. In a Friday securities filing in response to the report, BRF said the IPO could take place in London but it is also gauging a private placement. (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/one-foods-holdings-ipo-idINE6N1DJ018'|'2017-01-06T18:18:00.000+02:00' +'b018ab6f61c443e61257e912da769f62940437e1'|'PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Jan 5'|' 27pm EST PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Jan 5 Jan 5 - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. The Times The Competition and Markets Authority has raised concerns over Mastercard Inc''s takeover of VocaLink Holdings, warning that the deal could give the credit and debit card provider too strong a hold over part of the United Kingdom''s payment systems. bit.ly/2hShkbX Poor Christmas trading at Next Plc has delivered a blow to the entire retail industry, hitting confidence and dragging down the shares in many listed stores groups yesterday. bit.ly/2j6eCvM The Guardian The discount retail chain B&M European Value Retail SA revealed a bumper Christmas trading period with sales up to 7.2 percent at established UK stores in 13 weeks to Dec. 24. bit.ly/2hS8RWh David Metcalf, a founding member of the Low Pay Commission and former chairman of the Migration Advisory Committee, was named on Thursday as the first director of Labour Market Enforcement. bit.ly/2j6fXmd The Telegraph ConvaTec Group Plc, the wound dressings manufacturer, has bought Dutch rival Eurotec Beheer for 25 million euros ($26.30 million), in the company''s first acquisition since listing on the stock market in October. bit.ly/2j6eTi2 Britain''s economy is bouncing back from the slump in business confidence which struck in the wake of the Brexit vote, with services, manufacturing and construction firms all reporting solid growth in the final months of 2016. bit.ly/2j6dg4d Sky News Next Plc has warned its shoppers they face price rises of up to 5 percent in the year ahead, with a series of cost pressures potentially knocking annual profits by as much as 14 percent. bit.ly/2hSh4cV Currency trading broker FxPro has shelved plans for a London stock market flotation amid a crackdown by regulators on financial spread-betting groups. bit.ly/2j6hWXS The Independent Mark Clare is to replace Baroness Ford as the chairman of Grainger Plc, breaking up the first all-female board of a FTSE company. ind.pn/2hShmR6 Department store chain John Lewis Plc saw sales surge by more than a third in the run-up to Christmas, with a similar boost of 31.1 percent at its Waitrose supermarkets, despite tough trading conditions for retailers. ind.pn/2j6ht7O ($1 = 0.9507 euros) (Compiled by Vishal Sridhar; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-press-business-idUSL4N1EU4C0'|'2017-01-05T08:27:00.000+02:00' +'9aa1fdfa7b76521f97619dbc73f7cf12ce29b9aa'|'Gates charity to sell 60 mln Berkshire shares, as Buffett urged'|'Business 37am EST Gates charity to sell 60 million Berkshire shares, as Buffett urged Businessman Bill Gates exits through the lobby at Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., December 13, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly By Jonathan Stempel The foundation created by billionaire Bill Gates and his wife Melinda plans to sell 60 million Class B shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc ( BRKa.N ) donated by Warren Buffett, reflecting the fellow billionaire'' s desire that proceeds be spent on charitable works. In a regulatory filing on Tuesday, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said the sales would occur from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2020, under a plan similar to one expiring on June 30, 2017. Sixty million Class B shares of Berkshire are currently worth about $9.6 billion. The Gates Foundation, which works to improve education and health and reduce poverty worldwide, is the largest beneficiary of Buffett''s 2006 commitment to donate nearly all of his wealth to charity. The foundation, which received more than $2.1 billion of Berkshire stock last year, said it owns about 68.71 million Class B shares, worth roughly $11 billion. Bill Gates is a co-founder of Microsoft Corp ( MSFT.O ) and a director of Berkshire. Buffett is also donating Berkshire shares to four family charities. In the HBO documentary "Becoming Warren Buffett" scheduled to air on Jan. 30, Buffett explained why he is giving away his fortune, estimated on Wednesday by Forbes magazine at $71.6 billion despite more than $24.3 billion of donations so far. "In my entire lifetime, everything that I''ve spent will be quite a bit less than 1 percent of everything I make. The other 99 percent plus will go to others because it has no utility to me," Buffett said. "So it''s silly for me to not transfer that utility to people who can use it." The Gates Foundation will sell its Berkshire shares through a 10b5-1 program, named for a federal rule allowing periodic share sales by executives and other insiders without raising the specter of insider trading. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-berkshire-hatha-gatesfoundation-idUSKBN15228H'|'2017-01-18T22:34:00.000+02:00' +'4ac708388d9483c97662c9af546362bea3aa4c52'|'U.S.-based stock funds attract $2.4 bln in weekly period -Lipper'|'Company 57pm EST U.S.-based stock funds attract $2.4 bln in weekly period -Lipper NEW YORK Jan 5 Investors pumped $2.4 billion into U.S.-based stock funds during the week through Jan. 4, Lipper data showed on Thursday, marking the second straight week of inflows. Taxable bond funds took in $1.2 billion during the week, following three straight weeks of withdrawals, the research service said. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Bernard Orr) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/investment-mutualfunds-lipper-idUSL1N1EV1XG'|'2017-01-06T04:57:00.000+02:00' +'ab175c27d5500c69548a4fb56af83fbafd5995f5'|'Syngenta CEO expects regulatory approval for ChemChina deal soon: CNBC'|'ZURICH Syngenta Chief Executive Erik Fyrwald expects regulatory approval soon for ChemChina''s proposed $43 billion takeover of the Swiss pesticides and seeds group, he said on Monday."I am very confident that we will finish the deal. We are making a lot of progress," he told broadcaster CNBC in an interview from the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos."We are working well with the U.S. and the EU regulators now toward finalising the agreements with them and expect to be finished in the not too distant future," he said.China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) [CNNCC.UL] and Syngenta AG have proposed minor concessions to the EU''s competition watchdog to address concerns over their merger plan, sources close to the matter told Reuters last week.(Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Susan Fenton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-syngenta-m-a-chemchina-idINKBN1501Y2'|'2017-01-16T12:54:00.000+02:00' +'5a8ec1a7a00d4adc7a1f1f5b1c656cd4bebd344c'|'UPDATE 2-France''s Fillon and his wife questioned in ''fake work'' probe'|'World News 57am EST France''s Fillon and his wife questioned in ''fake work'' probe Francois Fillon (L), former French prime minister, member of The Republicans political party and 2017 presidential candidate of the French centre-right, and his wife Penelope Fillon stand close at the end of a political rally in Paris, France, January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol By Chine Labb and Grard Bon - PARIS PARIS French presidential candidate Francois Fillon and his wife are being questioned by investigators as part of a probe into allegations that Penelope Fillon was paid for fake jobs, a source close to the case said on Monday. Francois Fillon, who has denied any wrongdoing, had said after the probe was opened last week that he wanted to be heard by the investigators. Such questioning is a normal step in a preliminary probe and not a sign of culpability. The financial prosecutor''s office, Fillon''s lawyer and his staff were not immediately available for comment on the case, which is sapping the popularity of the former conservative prime minister and could shake up the April-May presidential contest. Satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaine reported last week that Penelope Fillon had been paid 500,000 euros ($534,000)from state funds as a parliamentary assistant to her husband and his successor but that it could find no proof of her having actually done any work. The source close to the case said businessman Marc Ladreit de Lacharriere was also questioned because his Fimalac holding company owns the literary review La Revue des Deux Mondes, which Le Canard Enchaine said paid Penelope Fillon another 100,000 euros for very little work. Fillon, until now the clear favorite to win the two-round election, has said his wife''s work was real, and says he is the victim of a smear campaign. He is facing an increasingly tight race against centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right party leader Marine Le Pen. An investigation was launched last week into the affair, which has knocked Fillon''s presidential campaign off course and dented the wholesome image the devout Catholic has cultivated. The probe so far is only a preliminary investigation, the first step in the judicial process. The conservative former prime minister has said he would abandon his presidential bid if placed under formal criminal investigation. A Fimalac spokeswoman declined to comment on the questioning of Ladreit de Lacharriere. There was no immediate response to an attempt to reach him by email. An Internet petition saying "Mme Fillon give us back the 500,000 euros" said on Monday afternoon 208,000 people had signed so far. If police find fake work allegations stand up, prosecutors can seek a formal inquiry by an investigating magistrate, which would take months to reach a conclusion. However, prosecutors could also leapfrog that step and go directly to trial, the source close to the case said. Should Fillon drop his presidential bid, time is running out for the conservative Republicans party to choose another candidate. The party only has about two weeks to organize a new primary before it would be too late, as a March 22 deadline approaches for all candidates to officially register for the election, Anne Levade, who oversaw the party''s primary in November, told Le Monde newspaper at the weekend. ($1 = 0.9369 euros) (Writing by Leigh Thomas and Ingrid Melander; Editing by Mark Trevelyan) Next In World News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-election-inquiry-idUSKBN15E11M'|'2017-01-30T22:53:00.000+02:00' +'5af14ecbda5984ba573289ad569b080b7852666c'|'Sri Lankan rupee ends steady; foreign bank dollar sales offset importer demand'|'Financials 15am EST Sri Lankan rupee ends steady; foreign bank dollar sales offset importer demand COLOMBO Jan 17 The Sri Lankan rupee closed little changed in thin trade on Tuesday as dollar selling by foreign banks offset importer demand for the U.S. currency, even as the rupee is expected to weaken after the central bank allowed flexibility in the exchange rate, dealers said. The rupee has been under pressure due to rising imports and net selling of government securities by foreign investors, while the central bank has adjusted the spot rupee reference rate to a record low of 150.15 rupees per dollar. The spot rupee, which did not trade for nearly a month, was actively traded on Tuesday, and closed at 150.15/25 per dollar compared with Monday''s close of 150.15/18, dealers said. "There were sellers in the morning but we have seen some demand building up in the latter part of the day. And we have seen demand is building up for two-week (forwards)," a currency dealer said, asking not to be named. The rupee was under pressure with foreign investors selling a net 16.1 billion rupees ($107.3 million) worth of government securities in the week ended Jan. 11, latest central bank data showed. The market has also shrugged off Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake''s announcement last week of higher returns and immediate residence visas to foreigners who invest at least $300,000, in a move to ease pressure on the rupee. The central bank''s moral suasion in early January prevented a sharp fall in the rupee even as the monetary authority signalled a change in its intervention policy. Central Bank Governor Indrajith Coomaraswamy said earlier this month that defending the rupee with foreign exchange reserves "doesn''t seem sensible" as it has always been followed by a sharp depreciation in the currency. (Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/sri-lanka-markets-idUSL4N1F73KX'|'2017-01-17T18:15:00.000+02:00' +'64a4094dc53943f568f9bc547932d62468a082bf'|'World trade chief warns against ''talking ourselves into a crisis'''|'DAVOS, Switzerland The world should be wary of creating a crisis amid talk of trade wars, World Trade Organization chief Roberto Azevedo said after a meeting of trade ministers at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Friday."Ive heard a lot in Davos about trade wars. That would destroy jobs, not create jobs," he said, after the meeting attended by 29 WTO members. "We must definitely avoid talking ourselves into a crisis."(Writing by Tom Miles; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/davos-meeting-trade-idINKBN1541VZ'|'2017-01-20T11:08:00.000+02:00' +'fe5920de6c8077436249553e2f4c136f39859f84'|'German finance minister preparing for Greek aid without IMF - report'|' 8:11am GMT German finance minister preparing for Greek aid without IMF - report German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble attends the weekly cabinet meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, November 30, 2016. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke BERLIN German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble is preparing for a continuation of aid for Greece without the involvement of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Germany''s Bild newspaper reported on Wednesday. Talks between Athens and foreign lenders on its bailout progress have dragged on for months due to differences on labour and energy reforms as well as on fiscal targets and debt relief measures. The IMF has said it will only be involved if it is the last bailout for Athens and includes debt relief for Greece. The German government would like the IMF to participate in the bailout programme to boost its credibility but Berlin is against granting Athens significant debt relief. The Finance Ministry is preparing for a vote in the Bundestag lower house of parliament in case the IMF refuses to take part, after Schaeuble previously promised the Bundestag the rescue package would only be approved if the IMF was involved and keeping tabs on Greek reforms, Bild said. The newspaper, which did not name its sources, said Schaeuble thinks the hole left by the IMF should be filled by the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) - the euro zone''s bailout fund, Bild said. The German Finance Ministry was not immediately available for comment. Bild said the Bundestag would vote on the modified programme for Greece before a federal election due to take place in September. Last week Schaeuble proposed turning the ESM into a European monetary fund to improve the management of crises in Europe. (Reporting by Michelle Martin; Editing by Dominic Evans) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-greece-schaeuble-idUKKBN1520RQ'|'2017-01-18T15:11:00.000+02:00' +'abf23e5320ad84f659750fc4a03082eda8b13328'|'UK Court ruling on Brexit will dampen investment - Germany''s DIHK'|'Economic 55pm IST UK Court ruling on Brexit will dampen investment - Germany''s DIHK Britain''s Attorney General, Jeremy Wright, speaks outside the Supreme Court following the decision of a court ruling that Theresa May''s government requires parliamentary approval to start the process of leaving the European Union, in Parliament Square, central London,... REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth BERLIN Germany''s DIHK Chambers of Commerce said a UK Supreme Court ruling that the British government must get parliament''s approval to start an exit from the bloc raised new questions about the way forward and would further dampen investment. "Now there is doubt about whether (British Prime Minister Theresa May) can hold her course. There are new question marks over the path to Brexit," said Volker Treier, the DIHK''s head of foreign business. "That is unsettling German firms. As without clarity and predictability regarding Brexit, industry will hold back even more with investment." (Reporting by Gernot Heller; Writing by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Michelle Martin) Next In Economic News Demonetisation drive to favour country''s big gold jewellery store chains - WGC MUMBAI India''s drive to bring transparency to bullion trading, along with the rise of branded gold jewellery, could help major retailers raise their share of the world''s second-biggest gold market to 40 percent by 2020, the World Gold Council (WGC) said.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-eu-germany-industry-idINKBN15815W'|'2017-01-24T17:25:00.000+02:00' +'f6ca6549576eb99416012581b0bd62b9b99be91f'|'Stocks: 5 things to know before the U.S. open'|'Trump meets Theresa May; U.S. GDP; American Airlines earnings by Alanna Petroff @AlannaPetroff January 27, 2017: 5:13 AM ET Click chart for in-depth premarket data. 1. When Trump met Theresa: President Trump is hosting his first foreign leader Friday -- British Prime Minister Theresa May. They''re expected to talk about improving their trading relationship, among other topics. They''ll hold a press conference at 1 p.m. ET. Currency traders will be among those watching closely -- the pound has fallen sharply against the dollar since the U.K. voted to leave the European Union, and it remains volatile. Trump may talk trade but a deal with the U.K. will take years to conclude. The U.K. is not allowed to begin formally negotiating its own trade deals while it''s still a member of the EU, an obligation Britain will respect, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond said Friday. In the meantime, Trump has been alienating other trading partners , in particular Mexico. His administration began outlining options yesterday for how to finance a border wall with Mexico. Mexican President Enrique Pea Nieto responded by canceling a meeting with Trump set for next week. Related: These are America''s top trading partners 2. U.S. growth slowdown?: New numbers set to be released at 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday are expected to show the U.S. economy cooled off in the fourth quarter. Economists expect GDP grew by just over 2% in the final three months of 2016, following strong growth of 3.5% in the third quarter. 3. Earnings: American Airlines ( AAL ) , Chevron ( CVX ) and Honeywell ( HON ) are some of the big companies due to release earnings before the open. Investors will be looking out for any comments they make on Trump''s trade and economic agenda. Meanwhile, shares in UBS ( UBS ) are declining in Europe after the bank reported fourth-quarter results. And Starbucks ( SBUX ) and Alphabet ( GOOGL , Tech30 ) stock are down in extended trading after the companies released earnings on Thursday evening. Google''s parent company Alphabet ( GOOGL , Tech30 ) reported it lost nearly $1.1 billion from its moonshot projects in the fourth quarter of 2016. 4. Global market overview: U.S. stocks hit new records on Thursday but not all the indexes were able to hold onto their gains. The Dow Jones industrial average finished the day at its highest ever closing level. But the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both dipped back down a bit. U.S. stock futures are currently holding steady. European markets are mostly declining in early trading. Most Asian markets ended the day with small gains.'|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/edition_business.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/27/investing/premarket-stocks-trading/index.html'|'2017-01-27T17:16:00.000+02:00' +'5615bf1e815515f0baf2113cd7761f19eddd2ecc'|'Samsung says batteries caused Note 7 fires, may delay new phone launch'|'Technology 9:49am GMT Samsung says batteries caused Note 7 fires, may delay new phone launch By Hyunjoo Jin and Se Young Lee - SEOUL SEOUL Samsung Electronics Co Ltd indicated on Monday that its latest flagship Galaxy S smartphone could be delayed as it pledged to enhance product safety following an investigation into the cause of fires in its premium Note 7 devices. Wrapping up its months-long probe, the world''s top smartphone maker said faulty batteries from two suppliers were to blame for a product failure that wiped $5.3 billion off its operating profit. Samsung mobile chief Koh Dong-jin said procedures had been put in place to avoid a repeat of the fires as the South Korean firm prepares to launch the Galaxy S8, its first premium handset since the Note 7''s demise. "The lessons of this incident are deeply reflected in our culture and process," Koh told reporters at a press briefing. "Samsung Electronics will be working hard to regain consumer trust." Koh said the Galaxy S8 would not be unveiled at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona beginning Feb. 27, the traditional forum for Galaxy S series launches. He did not comment on when the company planned to launch the handset, though analysts expect it to start selling by April. Investors have said Samsung needs to reassure consumers that it is on top of the Note 7 problem and can be trusted to fix it. Samsung''s reputation took a hammering after it announced a recall of fire-prone Note 7s, only for reports to emerge that replacement devices also caught fire. Images of melted Samsung devices spread on social media and airlines banned travellers from carrying them on flights. The handset, Samsung''s answer to Apple Inc''s iPhones, was withdrawn from sale in October less than two months after its launch, in one of the biggest failures in tech history. Samsung said later on Monday it has not decided whether to reuse parts in the recovered Note 7s or resell any recalled phones. A person familiar with the matter told Reuters reselling some Note 7s as refurbished phones was an option. The firm said it has recovered 96 percent of the 3.06 million Note 7s sold to consumers. SHORT CIRCUITS Investigations by internal and independent experts ruled out problems with the Note 7''s hardware and software. Instead, they said the batteries, which came from two suppliers, featured different manufacturing defects or design flaws that caused them to short-circuit. "The odds that two different suppliers had issue with the same phone is an extremely low likelihood and may signal we have reached an inflection point in smartphone battery technology," said Patrick Moorhead, president of technology analyst and advisory firm Moor Insights & Strategy. Samsung did not name the suppliers on Monday but previously identified them as affiliate Samsung SDI Co Ltd and China''s Amperex Technology Ltd (ATL). SDI said separately it would invest 150 billion won ($129 million) to improve product safety and expected to continue supplying batteries for Samsung phones. ATL declined to comment. Samsung said it accepted responsibility and would not take legal action against suppliers. The company touted longer battery life and fast charging as major improvements when it launched the Note 7. "The current situation is not largely different from that of the first recall, when Samsung pointed the finger at battery defects," said Park Chul-wan, a former director of the Centre for Advanced Batteries at the Korea Electronics Technology Institute. BATTERY CHECKS Among other measures to boost safety, Samsung said it had implemented an eight-point battery check system to avoid any such problems going unnoticed again. While Samsung''s mobile division is widely expected to have bounced back from the Note 7 failure during the fourth quarter, experts remained cautious about the outlook for sales of future flagship devices. "Consumers will accept the results (of the probe) only if there are no problems with the S8," said Park. Moorhead, however, said he thought Samsung had done enough to convince consumers that it can prevent future issues. Samsung Electronics shares ended up 2.3 percent in a flat wider market. Analysts said the rise was mainly due to a healthy outlook for makers of tech components such as memory chips but also boosted by hopes the firm will be able to put the Note 7 fiasco behind it. The firm expects fourth-quarter operating profit to hit a more than three-year high when it reports earnings on Tuesday, driven by booming chip sales. ($1 = 1,166.8000 won) (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Se Young Lee; Additional reporting by Dahee Kim in SEOUL and Sijia Jiang in HONG KONG; Editing by Stephen Coates) A flag bearing the logo of Samsung Electronics is pictured at its headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, November 29, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji Next In Technology News JP Morgan sees U.S. telecom sector consolidation, T-Mobile deal U.S. telecom sector could be on the brink of a major consolidation under President Donald Trump''s likely more merger-friendly administration, said JP Morgan Securities, which now sees a 90 percent chance of T-Mobile US being involved in a strategic transaction in the next five years.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-samsung-elec-smartphones-battery-idUKKBN157034'|'2017-01-23T16:07:00.000+02:00' +'da42b36a6f89e84bea82ae31ffc40a1343e4afc7'|'Exclusive: Warburg Pincus hires Goldman Sachs to sell Safetykleen Europe'|'By Andrs Gonzlez and Arno Schuetze - MADRID/FRANKFURT MADRID/FRANKFURT U.S. private equity fund Warburg Pincus [WP.UL] has hired Goldman Sachs to sell Safetykleen Europe [WARBPS.UL], which provides used oil collection, recycling and parts cleaning services, four sources with knowledge of the matter said.The firm, which was acquired by Warburg Pincus in 2008 for 565 million pounds ($695.57 million) could fetch around 640 million pounds, including debt, at a multiple of around eight times core earnings, two of the sources said.Warburg Pincus and Goldman Sachs declined to comment.Safetykleen Europe had earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 60 million pounds in 2015.One of the sources said core earnings were expected to reach 70 million pounds in 2016 and 80 million pounds in 2017, helped by a rebound of the industrials unit''s business.The sale was likely to attract bids from Europe, the U.S. and China, the source also said.Safetykleen Europe has 1,500 staff working in 70 locations in Europe, Turkey, Brasil, China and Hong Kong.(Changes currency from euros to pounds in fifth paragraph)(Editing by Julien Toyer and Louise Heavens)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-safetykleen-sale-idINKBN1570QN'|'2017-01-23T05:25:00.000+02:00' +'4ed1439ceaa4cec530168077021f9b9e79b7d83a'|'Exclusive: Trade show operator Emerald Expositions mulls $2 billion sale: sources'|'Deals - Wed Jan 25, 2017 - 6:27pm EST Exclusive: Trade show operator Emerald Expositions mulls $2 billion sale: sources By Lauren Hirsch and Liana B. Baker Emerald Expositions LLC, the largest operator of business-to-business trade shows in the United States, is exploring a sale that could value the company at close to $2 billion, including debt, people familiar with the situation said on Wednesday. A deal for Emerald at such a price would underscore the value that business executives place on face-to-face meetings and networking, despite the advent of electronic communications such as video conferencing and instant messaging. Private equity firm Onex Corp ( ONEX.TO ) has hired Bank of America Corp ( BAC.N ) to run an auction for Emerald, the people said. Onex may pursue an initial public offering of Emerald if it is not satisfied with the acquisition offers it receives, the people added. Emerald has roughly $160 million in 12-month earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, the people said. The sources asked not to be identified because the details are confidential. Bank of America and Onex did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Emerald declined comment. San Juan Capistrano, California-based Emerald''s nearly 50 trade shows span industries that include jewelry, apparel, healthcare and military. It runs 30 of the top 250 trade shows in the United States, according to the company''s website. Onex acquired Emerald from information and measurement company Nielsen Holdings PLC ( NLSN.N ) for $950 million in 2013, when it operated under the name Nielsen Expositions. Under Onex''s ownership, Emerald has made a number of acquisitions, including its acquisition of George Little Management LLC for $335 million, which closed in 2014. George Little''s trade shows include Surf Expo in Orlando, Florida, and the National Stationary Show in New York. There has been demand for trade show businesses in recent years. In 2014, British communications and events company UBM Plc ( UBM.L ) bought Advanstar Communications Inc, best known for its semi-annual Magic fashion trade show in Las Vegas, for $972 million. (Reporting by Lauren Hirsch in New York and Liana Baker in San Francisco, editing by G Crosse) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/news/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-emerald-expositions-m-a-idUSKBN1592X8'|'2017-01-26T06:27:00.000+02:00' +'aa680788fdbbb1b7bf11b65f594092a018283847'|'Monte dei Paschi won''t take chances with first state-backed bond-sources'|'Financials 1:08pm EST Monte dei Paschi won''t take chances with first state-backed bond-sources By Valentina Za - MILAN MILAN Jan 18 Monte dei Paschi di Siena is unlikely to tap markets with an upcoming 2 billion euro ($2.1 bln) bond as it fears a state guarantee on the issue won''t be enough to draw sufficient investor demand, three sources familiar with the matter said. Instead of selling the bond to investors the bank plans to use it in repo deals, in which a bank typically lends government bonds overnight to another bank in exchange for cash and buys them back the following day. The Tuscan bank, which had to be rescued by the Italian state in December after failing to pull off a 5-billion euro capital increase, needs to restore its liquidity after suffering a major deposit outflow last month. The European Central Bank has since raised the capital shortfall that the bank needs to plug to 8.8 billion euros, meaning the state is set to take a 70 percent stake in the lender. Monte dei Paschi plans to sell 15 billion euros in debt this year using a special state guarantee provided by the treasury to help weaker lenders, with the first 2-billion euro issue expected shortly. One of the sources said Monte dei Paschi would likely refrain from issuing the bond on the market as it could struggle to quickly place it, given the uncertainty still surrounding the timing of the state intervention - which should take place by March but still needs to be cleared by European authorities. Another source said no final decision had been made on the first debt issue. A second bond worth up to 2 billion euros will follow in February-March and may be sold on the market, the first source said. The bank, which warned in December it could run out of liquidity in four months, last sold a senior bond on the market in 2014. ($1 = 0.9361 euros) (Editing by Silvia Aloisi) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/monte-dei-paschi-liquidity-bonds-idUSI6N1F200F'|'2017-01-19T01:08:00.000+02:00' +'2ea89be49f10567cc85631eadd06a9515646727f'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Latam currencies strengthen after weak U.S. GDP data'|'Company News 25pm EST EMERGING MARKETS-Latam currencies strengthen after weak U.S. GDP data (Updates table) By Bruno Federowski SAO PAULO, Jan 27 Latin American currencies mostly strengthened on Friday after weaker-than-expected U.S. growth figures dampened expectations of a fast rate-hiking cycle in the coming months. U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) increased at a 1.9 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter, closing the year 1.6 percent higher. That was the weakest pace since 2011, a reflection of cheap oil and a strong dollar. Some investors bet that could drive the central bank to avoid increasing interest rate too quickly, supporting the allure of high-yielding emerging market assets. Still, question marks hover over U.S. monetary policy as traders ponder the economic implications of President Donald Trump''s pledges of heavy spending and protectionism. The Brazilian real strengthened around 1 percent, while the Mexican peso strengthened 1.45 percent to have its best week in almost a year after a phone call between Trump and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. Shares of Mexican-owned Banorte gained nearly 3 percent on Mexico''s IPC index on Friday, following a strong fourth-quarter reporter posted by the bank a day prior. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 2300 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % Latest change change MSCI Emerging 915.92 -0.09 6.22 Markets MSCI LatAm 2547.95 0.61 8.86 Brazil Bovespa 66033.99 -0.24 9.64 Mexico IPC 47421.12 -0.4 3.90 Chile IPSA 4275.72 -0.83 2.99 Chile IGPA 21323.88 -0.67 2.84 Argentina MerVal 19215.78 0.18 13.58 Colombia IGBC 10274.83 0.12 1.45 Venezuela IBC 27974.32 0.38 -11.77 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.1500 0.95 3.15 Mexico peso 20.9100 1.43 -0.79 Chile peso 650.15 -0.05 3.16 Colombia peso 2928.57 0.35 2.49 Peru sol 3.29 0.30 3.77 (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Grant McCool) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-latam-idUSL1N1FH1YU'|'2017-01-28T06:25:00.000+02:00' +'321a71586b1c17d40a23eac54ed7b950de5460b4'|'New Indian land laws to expedite projects hurt farmers, activists say'|'Non-Cyclical Consumer Goods - Mon Jan 2, 2017 - 9:04am EST New Indian land laws to expedite projects hurt farmers, activists say By Rina Chandran MUMBAI, Jan 2 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Farmers and activists are protesting legislative efforts in two south Indian states that would make it easier to acquire land for infrastructure projects, as the battle for scarce land in the country becomes more contentious. Andhra Pradesh state will introduce a law to accelerate land acquisitions for "public purposes", Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said over the weekend. Neighbouring Telangana state last week passed a law that drops the federal requirements for public consensus and a social impact study for land acquired for infrastructure projects. "Telangana''s new law shuts the doors on farmers and other vulnerable communities who depend on the land for their livelihood," said Kiran Kumar Vissa at Rythu Swarajya Vedika, an umbrella organisation of non-profits focused on agriculture. "It puts all the power in the hands of the state and wealthy land owners. The state will become nothing but a real estate agent for corporations." His organisation has held protests in Telangana''s capital Hyderabad, and plans a statewide campaign against the law, he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhara Rao defended the new law, saying India''s 2013 Land Acquisition Act had slowed Telangana''s development projects. "It is not possible to do development projects without taking land. We have a right to amend the act," Rao said. Land-related conflict is the main reason behind stalled industrial and development projects in India, affecting millions of people and putting billions of dollars of investment at risk, according to a recent report. Federal law requires consensus to buy land, a social impact assessment, rehabilitation for those displaced, and compensation up to four times the market value. States including Rajasthan and Gujarat have introduced laws that dilute some of the federal law''s provisions. Activists say states'' ability to bypass these requirements sets a dangerous precedent, dismantling vital checks and balances. The All India Kisan Sabha, a union fighting for peasants'' and farmers'' rights, has also held protests. India has introduced several land laws in the past decade to give the vulnerable more rights, but many of these laws are diluted and do not protect poor farmers enough, activists say. In Telangana, protests had erupted over the state''s plan to acquire land for a reservoir with its controversial GO123 order that diluted several conditions of the federal law. Andhra Pradesh recently introduced a land pooling scheme for its capital city Amaravati that activists say puts pressure on owners to give up their land. The proposed new law gives the state even greater power, said E.A.S. Sarma, a land rights activist. "In the name of expediting infrastructure projects, the new law does away with key safeguards," he said. "The proposed amendments are highly regressive, anti-farmer and facilitate human rights violations. You can expect to see more protests." (Reporting by Rina Chandran @rinachandran, editing by Alisa Tang. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women''s rights, trafficking, corruption and climate change. Visit news.trust.org to see more stories.) Next In Non-Cyclical Consumer Goods'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/india-landrights-lawmaking-idUSL5N1ES00X'|'2017-01-02T21:04:00.000+02:00' +'484d7522e5d19613f02a32eb6c9bfea2db6263d6'|'Talks with Chinese investors in Areva focus on governance -French minister'|'PARIS Jan 11 The French government''s talks with Chinese investors about taking a minority stake in nuclear fuel group Areva NewCo, which is being split off from Areva , are focusing on governance, French Industry Minister Christophe Sirugue told Reuters on Wednesday.Areva said last month that two investors have made a 500 million euro ($526.40 million) offer for a combined 10 percent stake in NewCo.It has not specified who they are but a source familiar with the situation said the two investors are Japan''s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and JNFL. Talks are continuing with China''s National Nuclear Corporation about also taking a minority stake in NewCo."These talks are continuing and focus on governance issues, and on the issue of the balance between the different third-party investor parties," Sirugue told Reuters in an interview.He added that the potential representation on the board of the company is an important issue in the talks, as well as that of the balance between third-party investors.Sirugue said he had discussed the governance issue with Chinese Vice Premier Ma Kai during his visit to France in November.Earlier this week, European Union antitrust regulators approved the French government''s plan to inject 4.5 billion euros ($4.8 billion) into embattled nuclear group Areva, saying the rescue would not unduly distort competition.($1 = 0.9498 euros) (Reporting by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/areva-restructuring-investors-idUSL5N1F129P'|'2017-01-11T13:25:00.000+02:00' +'8c321c6922b33e07c9262feaf2d5bda168a81632'|'Deutsche Bank sees chance to set out future course after U.S. settlement'|'Business News 25am EST Deutsche Bank sees chance to set out future course after U.S. settlement The logo of Germany''s largest business bank, Deutsche Bank is seen in front of one of the bank''s office buildings in Frankfurt, Germany, October 27, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach By Matthias Inverardi - DUESSELDORF, Germany DUESSELDORF, Germany Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) plans to put its home German market and corporate customers at the center of its plans when it spells out more of its future strategy over the next few months, the lender''s finance chief said on Friday. Marcus Schenck''s remarks make clear that the bank feels it is finally able to focus on reshaping its core business, after last month agreeing a $7.2 billion penalty over the sale of U.S. toxic mortgage debt -- its largest in a long line of legal battles. "We want to go on the offensive," Chief Financial Officer Schenck told a gathering of customers, striking an upbeat tone after months of uncertainty over the fine that had prompted fears that Germany''s largest bank would need a state bailout. "We want to score goals," he said, expressing relief that the fine had now been agreed. The penalty was lower than the $14 billion at first suggested by U.S. authorities. The original organizational change, launched in October 2015 by Chief Executive John Cryan, aimed to cut costs by reducing g staff numbers and overheads and selling off some non-core businesses. But toward the end of last year, staff numbers had barely changed from around 100,000 and there was little clarity on what the bank''s long-term business model would look like, increasing pressure on management to speed up its turnaround. Even Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, had taken the unusual step of questioning the bank''s business model, urging it to "decide what size it wants to have". There have, however, already been some indications about the direction the bank will take. In November, two people familiar with the matter said that Deutsche Bank was looking to cut its loan securitization business further starting with repackaged U.S. mortgages. As well as rolling back the repackaging and resale of U.S. mortgages, European car loan securitization and other areas may also be cut, the people said. Such a move would mark a retreat from a core business that helped Deutsche become one of the most dominant investment banks in the world before the financial crash. In paring back its presence, Deutsche would be responding not only to tighter regulation but also tougher market conditions. (Writing By John O''Donnell; Editing by Keith Weir) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-deutsche-bank-idUSKBN14X1TJ'|'2017-01-13T22:25:00.000+02:00' +'52ce21c7a75e76ec592bf0f37f924ada1c732b42'|'UPDATE 1-AirAsia X cleared for US flights, 1st Asian budget carrier to get nod'|'* Says received FAA nod to fly to any destination within U.S.* Says also mulling resumption of its London route (Updates with spokesman''s comments on London route resumption)KUALA LUMPUR Jan 24 Malaysia''s AirAsia X Bhd said it had become Asia''s first low-cost carrier to receive approval to operate scheduled passenger flights to any destination within the United States.The long-haul airline in a statement said it gained approval from the United States'' Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) and that it was considering flights to several U.S. states, including Hawaii."Our expansion up until now has concentrated on Asia, Australasia and the Middle East, and we are excited about our first foray into an entirely new market as we look beyond Asia Pacific," Group Chief Executive Officer Kamarudin Meranun said in the statement on Tuesday.The announcement comes a day after Emirates Airline , the world''s largest long-haul carrier, said it would add a U.S. route. A U.S. airline lobby group said that move amounted to unfair competition because Gulf carriers received government subsidies.Gulf carriers deny receiving subsidies.AirAsia X also said it was mulling the resumption of flights on its London route. The airline suspended its London flights in March 2012 due to high taxes, but has held on to hopes of continuing the route since."At the moment we are looking at resuming our London routes and are working towards the necessary approvals," a spokesman told Reuters in an email. (Reporting by Liz Lee; Editing by Himani Sarkar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/airasia-x-usa-idINL4N1FE2QO'|'2017-01-24T05:22:00.000+02:00' +'c949917e0c2335c020149ff8ac8f6214dd5913e6'|'UnitedHealth to buy Surgical Care Affiliates in $2.3 bln deal'|'Deals 20am EST UnitedHealth to buy Surgical Care Affiliates in $2.3 billion deal UnitedHealth Group Inc ( UNH.N ) said on Monday its Optum unit would buy Surgical Care Affiliates Inc ( SCAI.O ) in a deal valuing the company at about $2.3 billion. The offer of $57 per share, represents a premium of 17 percent to Friday''s close. The deal will be funded between 51 percent to 80 percent with UnitedHealth Group stock, with the remainder in cash. (Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-surgical-care-m-a-unitedhealth-idUSKBN14T15E'|'2017-01-09T18:16:00.000+02:00' +'bf81cfa977b7992e265b4ff5493247f47eaff429'|'Fibria sees pulp prices holding on to most gains through 2017'|' 11am EST Fibria sees pulp prices holding on to most gains through 2017 SAO PAULO Jan 31 Brazil''s Fibria Celulose SA , the world''s largest producer of eucalyptus pulp, expects the outlook for higher global pulp prices to stretch into the second quarter of 2017, executives told journalists on an earnings call on Tuesday. Chief Executive Marcelo Castelli said he expected prices to be flat or slightly lower in the second half of the year, but he said a sharp drop in prices this year was unlikely. (Reporting by Brad Haynes and Alberto Alerigi Jr.; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/fibria-outlook-idUSS0N17F00A'|'2017-01-31T21:11:00.000+02:00' +'636b0df34e471714ef2269cedb636c4c43af5686'|'Companies blast out bonds on new year momentum'|'* January volumes expected to hit three-year highs* Demand pours into new trades* M&A-led bond flurry expectedBy Laura BenitezLONDON, Jan 4 (IFR) - European companies capitalised on high investor cash reserves and positive new year momentum on Wednesday to fire out bonds while market conditions remain favourable.Auto firms BMW, RCI and PSA Banque France are among those raising financing this week, where year-to-date volumes are expected to hit three-year highs."Investors have high cash balances and are looking for credit opportunities, let''s see how far this Trump-led rally can continue for," one syndicate banker said.Issuers are making the most of the strong market backdrop and looking to avoid a repeat of 2016 when the European bond market was disrupted several times as unexpected political turns made investors nervous and caused pricing technicals to swing out of favour.Bankers and investors expect this year''s political calendar to spark a similar level of uncertainty and disruption, which will see borrowers grab safe market windows while they can.Brexit negotiations and France''s presidential election are some of the events expected to cause potential market volatility in the coming months.SPEEDING INToday''s deals have so far lured strong investor demand, illustrated by an over 4bn order book for BMW Finance''s dual tranche four and 7.5-year benchmark deal.Elsewhere, PSA Banque France, rated Baa2 (positive) by Moody''s, is marketing a 500mn no-grow three-year deal, while auto spare parts manufacturer Valeo, rated Baa2/BBB, will price a 500m six-year and attracted over 3bn of demand.Germany-based chemicals group BASF is looking to lock in more sterling financing to further capitalise on the Bank of England''s stimulus programme.BASF, rated A1/A/A (Moody''s/S&P/Scope), is marketing a long eight-year sterling deal, after selling the BoE''s first eligible bond for its corporate bond buying programme at the close of September last year.Elsewhere, German healthcare group Fresenius kicked off 2017''s jumbo M&A-linked bond supply on Tuesday, in what is expected to be a busy year for the European market.Fresenius is preparing to meet investors for the next stage of financing its 5.76bn acquisition of Spain''s biggest hospital chain IDC Salud Holding (Quironsalud).Bankers say that M&A financing could make a big impact on January''s overall bond volumes, while expecting the European market to generally take a decent chunk out of a busy M&A pipeline throughout 2017.British American Tobacco is expected to tap the market for M&A-linked supply, after it made a US$47bn bid for the rest of US tobacco company Reynolds American it does not already own.Investors expect most of the financing to be issued in the US dollar market but say low costs could mean they issue a reasonable portion in euros in early 2017.Bayer is another candidate with a hotly anticipated M&A-related deal, having said it will sell a mix of senior and hybrid debt to help finance its US$66bn takeover of US seed company Monsanto.Bayer expects to close the transaction by the end of 2017.This start of the year activity will give bond investors comfort for the rest of the month, bankers say, while primary issuance in other corners, namely the financials and SSA markets, are also well underway for a busy January. (Reporting By Laura Benitez)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/corporatebonds-euro-idINL5N1EU1CT'|'2017-01-04T08:54:00.000+02:00' +'9884c296a959876ab6292edc823a03d5d4c029ad'|'ASIA OPEN: Risk markets seen cautious ahead of US earnings'|'Financials 27pm EST ASIA OPEN: Risk markets seen cautious ahead of US earnings By John Weavers SYDNEY, Jan 13 (IFR) - Asian risk assets may have a slight negative bias, following an overnight slippage on Wall Street where investors and traders positioned themselves ahead of the fourth-quarter earnings season that kicks off later today. Ongoing disappointment over a lack of clarity on Donald Trump''s economic and fiscal policies, plus an absence of company stock buybacks before earnings announcements contributed to respective daily declines of 0.21%, 0.32% and 0.29% in the S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq Composite. Treasuries were well bid again on Thursday, a day after the Investment Company Institute revealed the biggest cashflow to bond funds from stock funds since the election. US two-year and 10-year yields both eased 1bp to 1.18% and 2.36%, respectively, while 30-year yields firmed 1bp to 2.96%. European bourses were weighed down by a catch-up sell-off in healthcare stocks on Trump''s criticism of pharmaceutical pricing, as well as a slide in auto shares after the Environmental Protection Agency accused Fiat Chrysler of excess diesel omissions. With Fiat Chrysler''s share price plunging over 16%, it was no surprise to see the FTSE Milan underperforming with a 1.69% slide. The DAX, CAC 40 and Spanish IBEX declined 1.07%, 0.51% and 0.01%, respectively, while the FTSE 100 managed to eke out a 0.03% increase for its record 13th successive positive session. Gilt and Spanish 10-year yields eased 4bp and 2bp to 1.30% and 1.43%, as 10-year Bund and BTP yields rose 6bp and 4bp to 0.31% and 1.90%, respectively. US investment-grade and high-yield CDS spreads finished unchanged and 2bp wider at 66.5bp and 354bp after Europe''s main and crossover CDS spreads had climbed 1bp and 4bp to 70.5bp and 293.5bp, respectively. PRIMARY MARKETS The Republic of Korea (Aa2/AA/AA-) is marketing SEC-registered 10-year US dollar bonds at Treasuries plus 70bp-75bp with joint bookrunners Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JP Morgan, KDB and Samsung Securities. Changchun Urban Development and Investment Holdings, rated Baa1 (Moody''s), has set guidance at Treasuries plus 240bp for three-year Reg S US dollar bonds. CMBC International is sole global coordinator and joint bookrunner with ANZ. China Everbright Securities HK, China Merchants Securities HK and ICBC Singapore are joint lead managers. Unrated S E A Holdings has tightened price guidance on its offering of three-year Reg S US dollar bonds to 4.5%-4.625%. Credit Suisse and HSBC are joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners with DBS, MUFG and Standard Chartered. National Australia Bank (Aa2/AA-/AA-) has updated guidance for seven-year Samurai bonds to 12bp over yen offer-side swaps, ahead of pricing today, alongside a 10-year tranche being marketed at 17bp over. Daiwa, Nomura and SMBC Nikko are joint lead managers. Guangzhou R&F Properties, rated BB (Fitch), is reopening its US$265m 5.75% Reg S January 12 2022s around final yield guidance of 5.95%. AMTD, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and UBS have joined original leads Goldman Sachs, China Merchants Securities (HK), Deutsche Bank and Haitong International as joint bookrunners for the tap. Auckland Council, rated Aa2/AA (Moody''s/S&P), issued a 500m 1.0% 10-year Eurobond at mid-swaps plus 33bp, inside 40bp area guidance. German agency Rentenbank (Aaa/AAA/AAA) is expected to tap its NZ$850m (US$590m) 5.375% April 23 2024 Kauri bond today for a minimum NZ$50m through sole lead ANZ. (Reporting by John Weavers) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/asia-bonds-idUSL1N1F22JO'|'2017-01-13T06:27:00.000+02:00' +'1eeeaa648a7e8f5e7ec3d0abde60a3a02ea87565'|'Saudi Aramco''s oil reserves confirmed by external audit - sources'|'Business 27pm GMT Saudi Aramco''s oil reserves confirmed by external audit - sources FILE PHOTO - An oil pipeline is laid next to the Vopak-Dialog oil storage facility (R) and a Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) project construction site in Pangerang in Malaysia''s southern state of Johor October 6, 2015. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo By Rania El Gamal , Reem Shamseddine and Alex Lawler - DUBAI/KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia/LONDON DUBAI/KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia/LONDON The first independent audit of Saudi Aramco''s [IPO-ARMO.SE] oil reserves has confirmed the state oil company''s own figures, sources familiar with the situation said, ahead of its planned share market listing next year. The listing, expected to be the world''s biggest initial public offering (IPO), is a centrepiece of a Saudi Arabian government plan to transform the country by enticing investment and diversifying the economy away from oil. Based on a figure of 265 billion barrels, Aramco''s fields contain about 15 percent of the world''s proven reserves. Any finding that the reserves are significantly above or below that could affect the company''s market value in the listing. "The independent audit produced no surprises," a source familiar with the situation said on Friday. "Aramco''s reserves have always been reported internally in line with international practice." Aramco had asked two U.S. oil reserve auditing specialists to review its deposits. These are Gaffney, Cline and Associates, part of Baker Hughes ( BHI.N ) and Dallas-based DeGolyer and MacNaughton. DeGolyer and MacNaughton completed its audit last year, two of the sources said. Aramco and DeGolyer could not be reached for immediate comment on Friday. Gaffney Cline also could not be reached for immediate comment. Saudi Arabia''s proven oil reserves have been listed at about 265 billion barrels in oil industry reference publications such as the BP Statistical Review of World Energy for many years. Aramco said its crude oil and condensate reserves were 261.1 billion barrels in its 2015 annual report. The reserves audit produced figures "definitely not below" those published by Aramco, a second source familiar with the matter said, while a third source said the auditing firm''s estimate was higher than Aramco''s own. The IPO plan is being championed by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who oversees energy and economic policy in the world''s top oil-exporting country. Prince Mohammed has said he expects the IPO, which will offer up to five percent of the company, to value Aramco at a minimum of $2 trillion. Senior oil industry figures have welcomed the Aramco IPO for casting more light on Saudi Arabia''s oil reserves. Many of the world''s biggest sovereign reserves holders have not changed their numbers for years. The head of Russian oil company Rosneft ( ROSN.MM ) Igor Sechin said last year the Aramco listing would give transparency over reserves data which had not been updated for 30 years. (Additional reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov in London; Editing by Jane Merriman) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-saudi-aramco-reserves-idUKKBN15B1C5'|'2017-01-27T20:27:00.000+02:00' +'372de71aba055670fc7cae5a4935634d361a4c9b'|'Denmark to raise military spending, citing Russian threat'|'Industrials 10:56am EST Denmark to raise military spending, citing Russian threat COPENHAGEN Jan 13 NATO member Denmark plans to increase military spending in response to Russian missile deployments in the Baltic region that it perceives as a threat, its new defence minister said in an interview published on Friday. But Claus Hjort Frederiksen said that despite pressure from allies including incoming U.S. President Donald Trump, Denmark was not able to meet the NATO defence spending target of 2 percent of gross domestic product. "We are under great pressure from both the current Obama administration and, from what we understand, the incoming president Trump to live up to the 2 percent target," Frederiksen said. "I would say it is not a realistic (target to reach)." His comments feed into a contentious debate about burden-sharing in NATO, fuelled by Trump''s assertions that U.S. allies are not contributing enough for their own defence and Washington is paying a disproportionate amount. Denmark spent about 1.2 percent of GDP on defence in 2016. Russia said in October that as part of routine drills it had moved ballistic nuclear-capable Iskander-M missiles to its enclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea and deployed its S-400 air missile defence system there. "We can observe that the Russians now are deploying new missiles in Kaliningrad with a capability to reach Copenhagen." This is of course a serious risk," Frederiksen told daily newspaper Berlingske. Denmark last month offered to deploy 200 troops to a UK-led NATO mission in Estonia, and has said it plans to join a Europe-based missile defence system. In March 2015, Russia''s ambassador to Denmark threatened to aim nuclear missiles at Danish warships if Denmark joined that programme. (Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Teis Jensen; Editing by Mark Trevelyan) Next In Industrials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/denmark-security-russia-idUSL5N1F31TZ'|'2017-01-13T22:56:00.000+02:00' +'76b4788722e8e15fbc47109b03db1d6cfbc0a402'|'At Davos, retreat of globalisation stokes fears for poor nations'|'Tue Jan 17, 2017 - 9:49am GMT At Davos, retreat of globalization stokes fears for poor nations left right A man walks past the official logo of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland January 16, 2017. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich 1/2 left right A worker prepares the logo of the World Economic Forum in the congress center of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland January 16, 2017. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich 2/2 By Sujata Rao - DAVOS, Switzerland DAVOS, Switzerland In 2014, Arnold Kamler, CEO of New Jersey-based Kent International, took a big step: he resumed making bicycles in the United States, 23 years after uprooting production to China. This year, he hopes to sell half a million U.S.-made bikes. For business and political leaders gathered in the Swiss Alps town of Davos for this year''s World Economic Forum, Kamler''s experience - part of a process Morgan Stanley once dubbed the "re-industrialization" of America - is a cause for some anxiety. If a mix of accelerating automation and trade protectionism is the defining economic climate of the moment, globalization may well be in decline, and developing nations that failed to capitalize on the past two decades of economic integration - notably those in Africa - may have missed the boat altogether. It is an issue with profound consequences - for emerging economies that have built their fortunes on exports, and for richer nations that hope a "reshoring" of industrial production will appease disgruntled blue-collar workers at home and re-ignite stagnant wage growth. Global trade likely grew last year at just 1.7 percent, lagging world economic growth for the first time in 15 years and for only the second time since 1982, according to the World Trade Organization which expects a further slowdown in 2017. While there are complex reasons behind the slowdown, it''s hard to ignore the rising popularity of trade protectionism and anti-globalization. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump''s campaign pledges and plans for "a very large border tax" on firms producing overseas fall into this category. But perhaps even more influential is businesses'' push toward automation, digitization, robotics and innovations such as 3-D printing that undermine low-wage countries'' biggest comparative advantage. That contributed to the return of 250,000 manufacturing jobs to the United States between 2010 and 2015, according to data from Reshoring Initiative, a group that advises U.S. businesses. Kamler''s state-of-the-art plant, for instance, will soon be able to produce bicycles with just 12 employees per shift. "Most of those people will be sitting looking at computer screens. The same operation in China would need 60 people," he said. Automation tends to see jobs return to the countries which develop the technology - carmaker Ford''s decision to expand a Michigan plant rather than start one in Mexico is seen as partly motivated by a focus on high-tech electric vehicles. LAGGARDS "Reshoring" is bad news for emerging economies transformed by the manufacturing-for-export boom and now suffering from its reversal. But for countries only now getting in on the manufacturing act, things are worse, says Hung Tran, managing director of the Washington DC-based Institute for International Finance (IIF). "The conclusion to reach is that the business and growth model which worked for many countries, especially in Asia, won''t provide the same growth opportunities as before," Tran said. "That''s the big challenge for emerging economies that are only just trying to take off ... it''s much harder to do than 20 years ago when all you needed to do was attract investment, produce and export," Tran said. Laggards include swathes of Africa and also India, the world''s fastest growing economy. With a 1.2 billion population, it accounts for just 2 percent of global trade but needs desperately to create jobs for the 10 million youth entering the workplace each year. The fear is that as low-level factory jobs for unskilled workers become scarcer, workers in these countries, unlike in early birds such as China or Malaysia, will be ill-prepared for the higher-tech manufacturing of the future. Against that backdrop, India may struggle to meet its goal of raising manufacturing''s share of the economy to 25 percent. That share is currently 16 percent, half of China''s level. Others are even worse off - manufacturing comprises 10 percent of Nigeria''s economy and 6 percent in Tanzania, according to the World Bank. The picture is mirrored across Africa where the population could double by 2050 to 2.5 billion. "There is a missed-boat aspect for industrial output especially for Africa," said Marion Amiot at Oxford Economics, whose report on the impact of digitization concluded that upfront costs of technology and training would pose significant entry barriers for poorer economies. Not everyone is pessimistic. India for instance may be able to capture the burgeoning trade in services. It and peers such as Indonesia are moving to reform their economies, unlocking faster growth and making exports less important. LOSERS EVERYWHERE It could eventually prove a game in which everyone loses. Take Trump''s tirades against Mexico. U.S. firms have invested more than $200 billion in Mexico, employing over a million people, but are now under pressure to shutter factories producing for U.S. markets. Yet reshoring may not deliver the kind of benefits Trump and U.S. unions hope for. The new high-tech plants will likely create far fewer jobs than expected. Second, the loss of manufacturing jobs - and failure to create them in countries with huge populations - may trigger more migration to rich countries, exacerbating the tensions that are fuelling the lurch toward right-wing parties. Migration patterns already suggest people''s movement is increasingly dictated by "push" from poorer areas of the world, rather than by "pull" from richer countries, UBS said in a note. As former Mexican president Felipe Calderon warned Trump in a tweet: "The more jobs you destroy in Mxico, the more immigrants the American people will have." (Reporting by Sujata Rao; Editing by Mark Potter) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-davos-meeting-trade-idUKKBN151132'|'2017-01-17T16:45:00.000+02:00' +'99fddd7099b6996161a5fa447224cd81a3c3d8a3'|'Swedish banks - safe bet or risky business?'|' 39pm IST Swedish banks - safe bet or risky business? Swedish kronor notes in various denominations are seen shot February 2, 2011. REUTERS/Bob Strong/File Photo By Johan Ahlander - STOCKHOLM STOCKHOLM Sweden''s four largest banks are using a calculation of the risk to their loan portfolio''s that critics say is flawed and leaves them vulnerable to any correction in the booming housing market. Nordea, Swedbank, SEB Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idUSL4N1F829I'|'2017-01-18T13:22:00.000+02:00' +'fb4581d486d538eb24ff0e9e17b2a69e2c64694d'|'Uttar Pradesh sugar output to rise 19 percent in 2016/17 - government officials'|'NEW DELHI Sugar output in India''s top producing state of Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) is expected at 8.1 million tonnes in the year to Sept. 2017, up from 6.8 million tonnes in the previous year, two government officials who did not want to be named told reporters on Tuesday.Production in U.P. is likely to go up because of higher cane crop yield, the officials said after a meeting of representatives from India''s leading sugar producing states.(Reporting by Mayank Bhardwaj; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/india-sugar-idINKBN1581FS'|'2017-01-24T09:01:00.000+02:00' +'ee2cf6501a6276ce9e4fce760ee8e10f4eb9477d'|'Strong Danish crown to keep central bank alert in 2017 - Danske'|'Financials - Tue Jan 3, 2017 - 9:14am EST Strong Danish crown to keep central bank alert in 2017 - Danske By Teis Jensen - COPENHAGEN COPENHAGEN Jan 3 Denmark''s central bank will remain on high alert in 2017 to defend its safe-haven currency, which is expected to face more upward pressure from booming U.S. investments and political risks in Europe, the country''s biggest bank said on Tuesday. The Danish crown, considered a hedge against political uncertainty in the euro zone by many investors, reached its strongest level against the euro since 2012 in December. A large share of Danish pension savings are invested in U.S. stocks, so the recent rally there has resulted in "substantial wealth gains for Danish savers" and further strengthened the foundation under the crown, Danske Bank A/S said in a 2017 outlook note. Upcoming elections in The Netherlands, France, Germany and potentially also Italy, and the negotiations about Britain''s exit from the European Union, could also strengthen the crown further. "We could see additional DKK (crown) buying if EU and euro opposition gains further ground this year," Danske said. A strengthening of the crown would in turn lead the central bank to intervene by selling crowns for foreign currency. Under Europe''s Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM2), a surrogate for euro adoption, the crown is pegged within plus or minus 2.25 percent of a central rate of 7.46038 per euro. In practice, Denmark''s central bank has held it in a much tighter range of 0.50 percent either way, via periodic currency interventions and, more rarely, changing the certificate of deposit rate. Danske said it expected the key rate to remain at the current -0.65 percent throughout 2017. The central bank will disclose its foreign exchange reserves as of the end of December at 1500 GMT on Tuesday. (Editing by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, editing by Larry King) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/denmark-cenbank-currency-idUSL5N1ET2BM'|'2017-01-03T21:14:00.000+02:00' +'52b61e1b40a40edcf14f324a584c2b979f9432ba'|'Rig builder Lamprell sees lower revenue, to tighten purse strings'|'Energy 45am EST Rig builder Lamprell sees lower revenue, to tighten purse strings Jan 23 Oil-rig builder Lamprell Plc said it would continue to maintain a tight reign on costs as it stuck to its guidance of lower 2017 revenue. The company, which mainly focuses on contracts around the United Arab Emirates, said it expected 2017 revenue to be between $400-$500 million, with the current market pointing towards the lower half of the range. Lamprell also said it expected full-year 2016 revenue to be about $700 million, lower than the $871.1 million it reported in 2015. Lamprell, which has taken on cost-reduction activities to address an expected fall in revenue for 2016 and 2017, reduced its overall headcount by 4,000 people at the end of 2016. Oil services and equipment companies have suffered from contract cancellations as explorers and producers fetched lower prices since the fall in oil prices in mid-2014. The rig-builder said in a statement on Monday that while it recognises the likelihood of stronger product pricing in 2017, most of its customers already have their 2017 capital budgets in place, leaving "little expansive flexibility". "The company continues to believe that 2017 will prove a particularly cautious environment, and will continue to maintain tight control over expenditure and expenses," Executive Chairman John Kennedy said. (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair) Next In Energy'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/lamprell-outlook-idUSL4N1FD2SI'|'2017-01-23T14:45:00.000+02:00' +'a0be55db1dcb56ab710da3fd885539b88cf70114'|'Oil dips on rising U.S. crude inventories, plentiful global supplies'|'Business News - Thu Jan 12, 2017 - 2:13am GMT Oil dips on rising U.S. crude inventories, plentiful global supplies Crude oil drips from a valve at an oil well operated by Venezuela''s state oil company PDVSA, in the oil rich Orinoco belt, near Morichal at the state of Monagas April 16, 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo By Henning Gloystein - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Oil prices dipped on Thursday on the back of rising U.S. crude inventories and plentiful supplies, despite emerging output cuts from OPEC and other producers. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures CLc1 were trading at $52.18 a barrel at 0141 GMT, down 7 cents from their last settlement. Prices for Brent crude futures LCOc1, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $55.06 a barrel, down 4 cents. Traders said that a crude oil inventory report published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration late on Wednesday implied ongoing oversupply as inventories unexpectedly rose by 4.1 million barrels to 483.11 million barrel. However, record U.S. refinery runs of 17.1 million barrels per day (bpd), up 418,000 bpd on the week, indicated strong demand, preventing bigger price falls. "EIA data showed U.S. refineries increased the amount of crude they processed, pushing the utilization rate to the highest since September. This saw inventories rise ... much more than the market expected," ANZ bank said. Outside the United States, emerging detail of Saudi supply cuts as parts of efforts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers like Russia to curb the global supply glut started to emerge. Despite some February supply reductions to China, India and Malaysia, top crude exporter Saudi Arabia is likely to focus its cuts on Europe and the United States, shielding its biggest customers in Asia. BMI Research said that overall "compliance to the OPEC/non-OPEC oil production cut appears to be positive... (and that) we calculate compliance with production cuts at around 73 percent." The research firm said that compliance with the planned cuts was particularly strong among members of the Gulf Cooperation Council of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman. Analysts noted that one aspect of the coordinated production cut which has been overlooked is that under the deal, producers have committed themselves to reducing output, not necessarily exports. "The GCC countries (and Iraq) that have reportedly enacted the bulk of the production cuts are currently in the lowest domestic demand period of the year and have significant flexibility to reduce production but maintain exports," BMI said. In another indicator that there is still plentiful supply available despite the cuts, traders are ceasing the opportunity of higher crude prices following OPEC''s decision to cut output to send record volumes of 22 million barrels of surplus European and Azerbaijani oil to Asia. (Reporting by Henning Gloystein; Editing by Joseph Radford and Kenneth Maxwell) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUKKBN14W03V'|'2017-01-12T08:51:00.000+02:00' +'d5d015042c0b8905a46551f19a2ebf6ead53f74b'|'IMF says Trump''s protectionism is among risks to world economy'|'The global economy faces a multitude of risks in 2017, ranging from rising protectionism spearheaded by Donald Trump to a severe slowdown in China, the International Monetary Fund has warned.The Washington-based fund used an update to its economic forecasts to highlight popular antipathy towards international trade and a widening in the gap between rich and poor. It called on governments to tackle inequality by helping people find work in fast-changing jobs markets shaken up by technology and globalisation.The IMF made no changes to its October forecast for global economic growth to edge up this year after a sluggish 2016. But it upgraded its outlook for the UK economy, bringing the IMF more in line with other forecasters following signs that the British economy grew at a solid pace in the second half of 2016, despite the Brexit vote. The UK outlook for 2018 was cut, however.Germany hits back at Trump criticism of refugee policy and BMW tariff threat Read more The IMF''s world growth forecasts The IMFs world growth forecasts After expanding an estimated 2.0% in 2016, making it the fastest growing of the G7 leading industrial countries , the UK economy was expected to lose that ranking in 2017 as growth slows to 1.5%. It is forecasting growth will slow further in 2018 to 1.4%. In October, the IMF predicted growth of 1.1% for 2017 and 1.7% for 2018.Speaking on the eve of a key speech by Theresa May on the Brexit process , the IMFs economic counsellor, Maurice Obstfeld, described Britains terms of exit from the EU as unsettled and one of many factors contributing to a climate of uncertainty that also included elections in the eurozone, a change of president in the US and geopolitical tensions.Obstfeld noted signs of widespread frustration around the world at what many feel is an unfair distribution of the fruits of globalisation and economic growth. As policymakers and business leaders gather in Davos for the World Economic Forum with inequality top of this years agenda , the IMF was the latest in a line of international bodies to call for more shared prosperity .Social dislocation due to globalisation and, even more, to technology change is a major challenge that will only intensify in the future. One result has been wider inequality and wage stagnation in many countries, Obstfeld said, presenting the latest IMF forecasts.He added that a key takeaway from 2016 was that sustainable growth must also be inclusive growth.But at the same time, with nationalist politicians gaining ground in some countries, the IMF warned against moving towards more inward-looking policies.Rolling back economic integration, however, would impose aggregate economic costs without reducing the need for government investment in well-trained, nimble workforces, along with policies to promote better matching of available jobs to skills.Without naming president-elect Trump, who campaigned on an anti-globalisation platform and with the promise of a big infrastructure drive, the IMF said there was a risk that the boost from higher spending could force the US central bank to raise interest rates at a faster pace to contain inflation and that would push up the US dollar. Those currency moves, which would make US exports more expensive and its imports cheaper, risked driving up protectionist measures and retaliatory responses, Obstfeld said.On the other hand, the extra spending in the US was likely to boost economic growth, and if done in a way that did not stoke inflation it would allow the US Federal Reserve to raise interest rates at a more moderate pace. The IMF sees the US economy growing by 2.3% in 2017 and 2.5% in 2018. That was an upgrade from Octobers forecasts for 2.2% growth in 2017 and 2.1% in 2018.For the global economy, the IMF saw more scope for growth to disappoint rather than beat expectations. It forecast 3.4% growth this year and 3.6% in 2017. That follows estimated growth of 3.1% in 2016.A faster pace of expansion would be especially welcome this year: global growth in 2016 was the weakest since 2008-09, owing to a challenging first half marked initially by turmoil in world financial markets, said Obstfeld, referring to sharp swings on markets this time last year .To help shore up growth in 2017, the IMF called on central banks to keep policy accommodative, relying on unconventional strategies as needed. It also repeated a call for governments to do their share of the heavy lifting with spending and long-term reforms to make growth more sustainable.The list of risks the IMF sees for 2017 was long. They included:A sharp or disruptive slowdown in the future in China.Higher popular antipathy toward trade, immigration, and multilateral engagement in the United States and Europe. Widespread high levels of public and private debt. Ongoing climate change. In several advanced economies, continuing slow growth and deflationary pressures. Britains negotiations to leave the EU. A crowded national elections calendar in Europe. Geopolitical tensions, including conflict in parts of the Middle East and Africa, the tragic plight of refugees and migrants in neighboring countries and in Europe and acts of terrorism worldwide. Reflecting that, the IMF concluded in its latest forecasts: Risks to the global growth outlook are two sided but are assessed to be skewed to the downside, especially over the medium term.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jan/16/imf-trump-protectionism-world-economy-trade-us-europe'|'2017-01-16T02:00:00.000+02:00' +'02c0891b2c8952d6a564e4d36038e6671143c326'|'Italy discussing its budget problems with EU - Treasury official'|'Business News - Mon Jan 16, 2017 - 10:29am GMT Italy discussing its budget problems with EU - Treasury official ROME Italy is discussing with the European Commission how it can allay Brussels'' concerns over its 2017 budget and avoid emergency belt-tightening measures that could crimp growth, an Italian Treasury official said. The comments come after la Repubblica newspaper reported on Monday that the commission is ready to open an excessive-deficit procedure against Rome unless it commits by Feb. 1 to cutting its deficit by an extra 3.4 billion euros (3 billion) this year. The Treasury official, who asked not to be named, said Rome and the commission were "assessing the opportune steps" to avoid being put on the commission''s blacklist, while avoiding "restrictive budget measures". Rome has not received any formal letter from the commission, the official added. (Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte, writing by Gavin Jones) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-italy-budget-eu-idUKKBN15013Z'|'2017-01-16T17:29:00.000+02:00' +'52840fd4f0e9f5e6770e69566c2a76f36901ef73'|'Wall Street heads for worst day in months following migration order - Business'|'Wall Streets main indexes were set for their worst day in more than three months on Monday, as President Donald Trumps orders to curb travel and immigration from some countries sparked uncertainty.Trump on Friday signed executive orders to suspend travel to the United States from seven Muslim-majority countries on grounds of national security, while also banning refugees from Syria.Thousands of people rallied in major US cities and at airports in protest. Nike and Starbucks were among the companies that did not support the ban.The market is reacting negatively right now because of the uncertainty that it creates, said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Boston Private Wealth. If it can pull more Republicans off of the presidents following and maybe weaken his strength in Congress then you start to wonder about the other initiatives that may not get passed. Dow Jones hits record high is Trump good for stock markets? Read more US equities hit record highs following Trumps election in November, encouraged by his promise of tax cuts and simpler regulations. However, the potential risk of Trumps protectionist policies and the lack of clarity since he took office have dampened the enthusiasm. The Dow, which soared 9.2% in the aftermath of Trumps election, has managed to gain only 1% after his inauguration on 20 January and fell below the historic high of 20,000 that it hit last week. The CBOE Volatility index or Wall Streets fear gauge surged 20%, its biggest rise since 9 September.Trump also signed an executive order that would seek to pare back federal regulations by requiring agencies to cut two existing regulations for every new rule introduced. Five of the nine declining sectors of the S&P 500, including financials and technology, were down more than 1%. Utilities and consumer staples considered defensive plays were slightly higher. Facebook and Apple, which are scheduled to report earnings this week, were the top drags on the S&P 500. Other technology stocks trading lower included Alphabet and Microsoft. Airline stocks including American Airlines, United Continental and JetBlue were also down.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jan/30/wall-street-stock-market-fall-trump-travel-ban'|'2017-01-31T01:26:00.000+02:00' +'f0e4e06cd9a6d6657a6fdb73f54f8223856d63f1'|'FACTBOX - India takes steps to ease impact from ban on banknotes'|' 2:21pm IST FACTBOX - India takes steps to ease impact from ban on banknotes People queue outside a bank to withdraw cash and deposit their old high denomination banknotes in Mumbai, India December 2, 2016. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/Files MUMBAI India''s Prime Minister Narendra Modi shocked the country on Nov. 8 by abolishing 500 and 1,000 rupee notes, which accounted for 86 percent of the cash in circulation. The move was aimed at cracking down on the shadow economy, but has brought India''s cash economy to a virtual standstill. The government and the Reserve Bank of India have since taken a slew of measures to ease the pain from its measures. They are detailed below in chronological order. DEC. 31 - Resident Indians, NRIs out of India Nov 9-Dec 30 given more time to exchange old notes DEC. 30 - RBI raises daily limit of withdrawals from ATMs to 4,500 rupees from 2,500 - Monthly limits on mobile wallets, cards transactions to stay at 20,000 INR till further notice - Eases rules for sourcing cash for non-bank ATMs DEC. 29 - RBI allows banks to provide additional working capital loans to small enterprises DEC. 26 - RBI allows 60 day grace period for some farmers to repay crop loans due Nov. 1 to Dec. 31 DEC. 21 - RBI rolls back measure on 5,000 rupees deposit limit, says deposits won''t face scrutiny DEC. 19 - RBI to allow deposits of up to 5,000 rupees in old notes til Dec. 30 after scrutiny from banks DEC. 16 - RBI caps merchant discount rates for some card payments from Jan. 1, 2017 to March 31, 2017 - RBI waives fees for some Immediate Payment Services from Jan. 1, 2017 to March 31, 2017 - Tourists can change FX up to 5,000 rupees per week till Dec 31, from pvs deadline of Dec 15 DEC. 13 - RBI advices banks to preserve CCTV recordings at branches between Nov 8 to Dec 30 DEC. 8 - Govt announces incentives on retail purchases of some products on cashless transactions DEC. 7 - RBI withdraws temporary order for banks to place deposits under cash reserve ratio DEC. 2 - Govt raises limit for market stabilisation bonds to 6 tln rupees to absorb extra liquidity DEC. 1 - Govt says old 500 notes can no longer be used at petrol stations, airline ticket counters NOV. 30 - RBI allows banks to use all cash to meet hiked cash reserve requirement ratio - RBI tightens monthly withdrawal rules from "Jan Dhan" accounts for poor NOV. 28 - Govt announces tax amnesty scheme for unreported cash; will charge 50 pct in taxes, surcharges - People would also have to park quarter of total sum in non-interest bearing deposit for 4 yrs - RBI to allow withdrawals above 24,000 INR weekly limit of deposits made in legal tender. - Those withdrawals would be in new 2,000, 500 rupee bills NOV. 26 - RBI says orders banks to place 100 pct of deposits between Sept-Nov under cash reserve ratio NOV. 25 - RBI expands basket of securities that can be accepted for collateral under money market ops - RBI says old currency notes can be exchanged at RBI branches - RBI says tourists can exchange foreign currency worth up to INR 5,000 per week till Dec 15 NOV. 24 - Govt stops over the counter exchange of old banknotes; can only be deposited - Govt to ensure adequate cash supply for pensioners, armed forces personnel - Allows certain payments in old 500 rupees notes including at tolls, hospitals for limited time NOV. 23 - India govt says will offer 210 bln rupees in farm credit to farmers NOV. 22 - RBI sets balance kept in prepaid wallets, cards (PPIs) at 20,000 rupees from 10,000 til Dec 30 - Merchants can transfer up to 50,000 rupees from PPIs to banks til Dec 30 - Monthly limits on transactions via PPIs raised to 20,000 rupees for 10,000 til Dec 30 - RBI asks state-run Nabard to disburse up to 230 bln rupees for crop loans NOV. 21 - RBI allows cash withdrawal of up to 250,000 rupees for wedding-related expenses - RBI allows farmers to withdraw up to 25,000 rupees a week from their loan, deposit accounts - RBI gives small borrowers 60 more days before loans of up to 10 mln INR are marked substandard - Govt allows farmers to purchase seeds from state-run outlets with old 500 rupee notes NOV. 18 - RBI sets limit of cash withdrawal at card swiping machines at 2,000 rupees per day NOV. 17 - Govt allows farmers to withdraw up to 25,000 rupees a week against the crop loans - Govt extends time limit for farmer to pay crop insurance premiums by 14 days - Cuts limit for over-the-counter exchange of old bills at banks to 2,000 rupees from 4,500 NOV. 15 - Govt says banks must use indelible ink to ensure people change cash only once NOV. 14 - India extends deadline for payments in old notes including for petrol for limited time - Govt says to instal new micro cash machines acrouss country - Govt asks banks to waive off transaction charges on debit, credit cards - Govt says to raise the cash withdrawal limit from current accounts to 50,000 rupees per week NOV. 13 - RBI raises cap on weekly cash withdrawals from banks to 24,000 rupees from 20,000 - Removes per-day withdrawal limit cap of 10,000 rupees - Raises limit for over-the-counter exchange of old bills at banks to 4,500 rupees from 4,000 - Waives ATM fees for all transactions by savings bank customers til Dec. 30 - Govt increases withdrawal limits at recalibrated ATMs to 2,500 rupees/day from 2,000 rupees NOV. 11 - Extends deadline for payments in old notes including for petrol for limited time NOV. 8 - India abolishes 500, 1,000 rupee notes in fight against ''black money'' - 500, 1000 rupee notes must be tendered into banks, RBI by Dec. 30 - Caps exchange of old bills over-the-counter at banks at 4,000 rupees - Caps cash withdrawals from bank accounts at 10,000 rupees per day till Nov 24 - Caps cash withdrawals from bank accounts at 20,000 rupees per week till Nov 24 - Caps cash withdrawals from ATMs at 2,000 rupees per day per card till Nov. 18 - Caps cash withdrawals from ATMs at 4,000 rupees per day per card from Nov. 19 - Allows certain payments in old notes including for petrol for limited time (Compiled by Rafael Nam and Swati Bhat) Next In Money News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/india-demonetisation-idINKBN14M0B7'|'2017-01-02T15:51:00.000+02:00' +'14eff8ef40c8d1383de9e5e85a6cc3deecdc370e'|'Brazil''s IBG eyes Praxair-Linde assets amid merger -Valor'|'SAO PAULO Jan 11 IBG-Indstria Brasileira de Gases Ltda may bid for assets of proposed merger partners Praxair Inc and Linde AG should Brazilian antitrust watchdog Cade force them to divest businesses to approve their deal, Valor Econmico newspaper said on Wednesday.In December, industrial gas companies Linde and Praxair announced plans to merge, creating a $65 billion global entity with extensive business in Brazil.IBG founder Newton de Oliveira told Valor the combined entity would have too much market power. Praxair''s White Martins Ltda controls 59 percent of Brazil''s industrial gas market, while Linde''s unit has 12 percent, Valor Quote: d Oliveira as saying.If Cade orders Praxair and Linde to dispose of some assets, IBG would be interested in acquiring those in Brazil''s north and northeastern regions.IBG, Praxair and Linde were not immediately available to comment on the Valor report.In 2010, Cade found Praxair, Linde and other competitors guilty of price-fixing and market collusion, and imposed a record fine of 2.5 billion reais ($783 million) on them.($1 = 3.1950 reais) (Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Lisa Von Ahn)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/linde-ma-praxair-brazil-idINL1N1F10D3'|'2017-01-11T09:22:00.000+02:00' +'e934e46e71ea565fff4e1d7e5fb8f1a37be6e6ba'|'Greek prosecutor raids Novartis Athens offices in bribery probe'|'Business News - Wed Jan 4, 2017 - 6:23am EST Greek prosecutor raids Novartis Athens offices in bribery probe The logo of Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis is seen on its headquarters building in Basel, Switzerland October 27, 2015. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann ATHENS Greek corruption prosecutors have raided the Athens offices of Swiss drug maker Novartis ( NOVN.S ) as part of an ongoing probe over bribery allegations after media reports, a court official told Reuters on Wednesday. "In the framework of a judicial probe that was ordered in December, prosecutors raided the offices of Novartis over the last few days to search for possible bribery," said the official, who declining to be identified. The investigation was ordered after the country''s justice minister responded to media reports alleging bribes by Novartis to doctors and public officials. "The prosecutors do not have any other evidence apart from the reports and have asked U.S. judicial authorities for assistance," the court official said. Novartis did not respond to a request for immediate comment. The Swiss drug maker is fighting a widening lawsuit by U.S. prosecutors who allege its sales force ran a decade-long doctor kickback scheme involving sham events that led to overcharging the federal government. The drugmaker has disputed the allegations, which were filed in 2013, but faces an investigation in Turkey after an anonymous whistleblower alleged the company paid bribes there through a consulting firm to secure business advantages worth an estimated $85 million. In 2015 Novartis paid $390 million to settle U.S. allegations that it used kickbacks to specialty pharmacies to inappropriately push the sales of its drugs. (Reporting by George Georgiopoulos and Lefteris Papadimas; additional reporting by Michael Shields in Zurich; editing by Jason Neely) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-novartis-greece-corruption-idUSKBN14O156'|'2017-01-04T18:23:00.000+02:00' +'02565791426da3512d009c93f1be7ec99c66454a'|'Valeant to sell Dendreon unit to China''s Sanpower for $819.9 million'|'Business News - Tue Jan 10, 2017 - 4:03am GMT Valeant to sell Dendreon unit to China''s Sanpower for $819.9 million A sign for the headquarters of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc is seen in Laval, Quebec June 14, 2016. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi/File Photo Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc ( VRX.TO ) said its affiliate will sell its Dendreon Pharmaceuticals business to China''s Sanpower Group Co Ltd for $819.9 million in cash. Valeant will use the proceeds to repay its term loan debt under its senior credit facility, the company said on Monday. (Reporting by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair) Next In Business News Asia stocks steady, oil in flux, sterling suffering ''hard'' Brexit fears SINGAPORE Asian stock markets steadied on Tuesday and crude prices inched up from Monday''s three-week low, with investors uncertain whether output cuts by major exporters, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, will be enough to support the oil market as other producers have increased supplies.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-dendreon-m-a-sanpower-idUKKBN14U0B9'|'2017-01-10T11:03:00.000+02:00' +'b513b3a477bf681667518df722d8147e7fc0e341'|'Trump aide Kushner scraps plan for Canada visit -Canada official'|'CALGARY, Alberta Jan 23 A senior aide to U.S. President Donald Trump has scrapped plans to visit Canada for talks with officials in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau''s team, a Canadian government source said on Monday.The source said the planned visit by Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner had hit logistical problems. A separate source had earlier said Kushner intended to meet Trudeau aides on the margins of a cabinet retreat in Calgary. (Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Chris Reese)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/canada-politics-kushner-idINL1N1FD25Z'|'2017-01-23T19:42:00.000+02:00' +'e5ac6bfadd16f8fb876fa42dad9a3c8e78f39280'|'SpaceX 2015 accident cost it hundreds of millions: Wall St. Journal'|'Business News - Fri Jan 13, 2017 - 3:47pm EST SpaceX 2015 accident cost it hundreds of millions: Wall St. Journal An unmanned SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket explodes after lift-off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, June 28, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Brown CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Elon Musks SpaceX lost more than a quarter of a billion dollars in 2015 after a botched cargo run to the International Space Station and the subsequent grounding of its Falcon 9 rocket fleet, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The accident derailed SpaceXs expectations of $1.8 billion in launch revenue in 2016, an analysis of the privately held firms financial documents showed, according to the Journal, which said it had obtained the documents. SpaceX declined to comment on the Journals report. In a statement emailed to Reuters, SpaceX Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen said the company is in a financially strong position with more than $1 billion in cash reserves and no debt. SpaceX, owned and operated by Musk, who also is chief executive of Tesla Motors Inc ( TSLA.O ), is aiming to return to flight on Saturday following a second Falcon 9 accident on Sept. 1. (Reporting by Irene Klotz; Editing by Leslie Adler) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-space-spacex-idUSKBN14X2FL'|'2017-01-14T03:47:00.000+02:00' +'b9e6050a12b3734cb7ea9acd4f05b1cc406bfc44'|'U.S. to probe whether Fujifilm violating Sony magnetic tape patents'|'Internet 40pm EST U.S. to probe whether Fujifilm violating Sony magnetic tape patents A man stands in front of the headquarters of Fujifilm Holdings Corp in Tokyo, Japan, June 2, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Peter WASHINGTON The U.S. International Trade Commission said on Wednesday it had launched on investigation into whether Fujifilm Holdings Corp was violating patents which Sony Corp holds for certain magnetic tape cartridges. The ITC said the products at issue in its probe were so-called Linear Tape-Open, or LTO, magnetic tape products and tape cartridge components comprising such products. (Reporting by Timothy Ahmann, editing by G Crosse) Next In Internet News Facebook dismissive of censorship, abuse concerns, rights groups allege WASHINGTON Nearly 80 rights groups on Wednesday accused Facebook of "racially biased censorship" and failing to be more transparent about its removal policies and cooperation with law enforcement, adding to criticism the company has faced in recent months over its management of content on its network of 1.8 billion users.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sony-fujifilm-ip-idUSKBN1522PT'|'2017-01-19T01:39:00.000+02:00' +'6576ffd55fe2e952b7c2640ddea1d5accc160baa'|'EU, U.S. strike deal to boost transatlantic insurance market'|' 52pm GMT EU, U.S. strike deal to boost transatlantic insurance market BRUSSELS The European Union and the United States agreed on Friday to reduce legal and capital barriers to boost the $3 billion (2.4 billion) transatlantic insurance and reinsurance market. The accord has been under negotiation for more than a year and follows an agreement last year on derivatives. U.S. and EU representatives said in a joint statement they had reached a deal "that will ensure ongoing robust insurance consumer protection and provide enhanced regulatory certainty for insurers and reinsurers operating in both the U.S. and the EU." Under the deal, EU and U.S. authorities will lift requirements for reinsurers to hold more capital against risks if they operate from the other side of the Atlantic, eliminating one key hurdle for cross-border expansion. Insurers will also benefit from lower supervisory requirements, a move expected to reduce costs. "This is a major deal that is set to benefit insurers, reinsurers and policy holders on both sides of the Atlantic," said the EU financial services commissioner, Valdis Dombrovskis. The deal paves the way for EU companies to increase their market share in the United States and for US companies to sell their policies more easily in the 28 European Union countries. The deal needs approval from the European Parliament and U.S. Congress. Two powerful Democrats on U.S. congressional committees said in statements on Friday that they will review the agreement to make certain that it leads to more balanced treatment of U.S. insurance companies. "I look forward to closely studying the agreement and consulting with stakeholders to ensure that the agreement successfully addresses EU discrimination against the U.S. insurance and reinsurance industries," said Representative Richard Neal of Massachusetts, the most powerful Democrat on the U.S. House Ways and Means committee. (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio, additional reporting by Suzanne Barlyn; editing by Alissa de Carbonnel and Cynthia Osterman) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-usa-insurance-idUKKBN14X2A3'|'2017-01-14T01:52:00.000+02:00' +'a01885d28cd363f62c5d6b716d445d863a920cfb'|'U.S. banks to stay in fashion as earnings kick off'|'Fri Jan 13, 2017 - 9:34pm GMT U.S. banks to stay in fashion as earnings kick off A street sign for Wall Street is seen outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City, U.S. December 28, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly By Sinead Carew and Lewis Krauskopf - NEW YORK NEW YORK U.S. bank stocks will stay in favor with investors as long as earnings reports in the coming week show an improving profit outlook while investors wait to see if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump lives up to his campaign promises. Wells Fargo & Co. ( WFC.N ), JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ) and Bank of America ( BAC.N ) kicked off the earnings season on a positive note on Friday, sending the S&P 500''s banking sub-sector .SPXBK up as much as 2.3 percent to its highest since February 2008 before paring gains. It closed trading up 0.8 percent compared with a 0.2 percent gain for the broader S&P 500 .SPX . The banks'' top executives expressed optimism on Friday about 2017 in their first public comments about earnings since Trump won the presidential election on Nov. 8. The bank index rose 24.8 percent between Nov. 8 and Dec. 9 then traded sideways for a month as bond yields fell. Investors were waiting for earnings and for concrete plans from Trump who has said he supports lower taxes, fiscal stimulus and lighter regulation, which would all help banks. Results and guidance from the big banks scheduled to report in the week ahead could boost the sector, according to John Praveen, chief investment strategist at Prudential International Investments Advisers LLC in Newark, New Jersey. "Results are likely to be good and the outlook is going to be positive so there''s room for further gains," said Praveen. The S&P banks index has traded recently at 13.6 times earnings estimates for the next 12 months compared with its five-year average multiple of about 11 but in line with the 10-year average of 13.1, including the 2008 financial crisis, according to Thomson Reuters data. The banks'' multiple is well below the broader S&P 500''s forward price/earnings ratio of 17. But the banks'' discount to the broader market has been shrinking since before the election. Praveen sees a bigger multiple expansion for the banking sector than for the S&P as a whole as more defensive sectors like utilities or consumer staples that are sensitive to interest rate hikes will likely not enjoy as much expansion. Among banks reporting in the coming week Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) is expected to post results Tuesday followed by Citibank ( C.N ) on Wednesday. BB&T Corp ( BBT.N ), KeyCorp ( KEY.N ) and Bank of New York Mellon Corp ( BK.N ) all report on Thursday. Fred Cannon, director of research at KBW in New York, said banks'' expanded valuations make them a "show-me" story but as long as earnings estimates are rising they should stay popular. Until we see the blue skies get cloudy it will probably still be a sector in favor, he said. Some investors are more cautious going into earnings. For instance traders in Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLF.P ) options have moved to protect post-election gains. Open contracts on the fund''s shares are now the most defensive in about four weeks, according to options analytics firm Trade Alert. "The banks'' stocks are likely to chop along in sideways volatility through earnings season," said Jeff Morris, head of U.S. equities for Standard Life Investments in Boston, who doesn''t see earnings as a big catalyst at a time when there is still uncertainty about whether Trump will be able to enact policies expected to help banks and accelerate economic growth. While his firm has increased the weighting of bank stocks in its $360 billion assets under management since the election it is "not in the strong bull camp for bank stocks," Morris said. He warned that bank stocks could come under pressure if there is no clear path toward regulatory relief or an acceleration of economic growth coming into the third quarter. (Reporting by Sinead Carew, Lewis Krauskopf and Saqib Ahmed; Editing by James Dalgleish) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks-weekahead-idUKKBN14X2I7'|'2017-01-14T04:34:00.000+02:00' +'a30bf8cdef1490cc87e43c64894483606e9ac3ec'|'U.S. watchdog calls Peabody bankruptcy plan fees ''exorbitant'''|'By Tracy Rucinski - CHICAGO CHICAGO The U.S. government''s bankruptcy watchdog objected on Wednesday to certain parts of Peabody Energy Corp''s plan to slash $5 billion of debt and exit Chapter 11, calling a proposed $240 million in transaction fees "exorbitant," court papers showed.Peabody Energy, the world''s largest private sector coal producer, has proposed a $750 million rights offering, a $750 million private placement and the issuance of new common stock as part of a reorganization plan unveiled last month.In a court filing, the U.S. Trustee said the fees to be paid in those transactions would transfer millions of dollars of funds from the bankruptcy estate before the reorganization plan is approved by creditors and the court."Plan voting is at the core of the reorganization process and should not be eviscerated by a deal struck by powerful well-connected parties," the watchdog said in a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in St. Louis.The U.S. Trustee, which oversees the administration of bankruptcy cases, said Peabody''s request for court approval of those proposals would improperly lock in payment terms before the whole reorganization plan is approved."We''re evaluating the statements of the trustee and intend to respond appropriately," Peabody spokesman Vic Svec said.Peabody hopes to exit bankruptcy around a year after its April, 2016 Chapter 11 filing with a plan that has the approval of most but not all of its creditors.Shareholders have objected to the reorganization plan and have requested an official voice in the $8 billion bankruptcy case, arguing that a rise in coal prices means the company is valuable enough to repay shareholders who normally lose their money in a bankruptcy.A hearing on the shareholders'' request is scheduled in St. Louis on Thursday, while the U.S. Trustee''s objections will be heard at a hearing on Jan. 26.(Reporting by Tracy Rucinski; editing by Grant McCool)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-peabody-energy-bankruptcy-idINKBN152380'|'2017-01-18T20:52:00.000+02:00' +'96a49e58c2777d5922e2c47b38f783328ab54525'|'Make it personal, dont bombard them: How to approach brand buyers - Guardian Small Business Network'|'W hen a major retailer lists a startups products, it can be the turning point. Sudden exposure to a much larger audience often provides a catalyst for next-stage business growth. However, the stumbling block for many aspiring entrepreneurs is making the initial connections with those all-important big brand buyers.Buyers do want to engage with interesting suppliers but they have to filter ruthlessly, says Chris Simpson, SME consultant with Business Doctors .Buyers at Waitrose can get up to 10 speculative pitches a week and sometimes more; via phone, email, and post and sometimes in person. Waitrose pet care buyer Andrea Watson has experienced them all. She says: Take the trouble to find the name of the buyer you need to speak to, as simply writing Dear Buyer shows a lack of research. And dont say you have been into a Waitrose if you havent. It really shows if you dont know our range for your product area.Polite persistence is one thing; bombardment with calls and emails, which Watson has experienced many times, is another. A follow up email is fine and we will get back to you, she says. And dont be disheartened if we say its not one for now; we always keep new products on file for the future.Bombarding buyers with product samples can also backfire, as they simply dont have the storage space. Send the very best of your range, and ensure they are in date and are transit safe. Ive often received products that have spilt or exploded, adds Watson.Mark Barclay, e-commerce manager at automotive retailer Autosessive , says: As a buyer, whenever were contacted by manufacturers, were instantly impressed when they demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the market by benchmarking their product against the competition in terms of the quality, price, and availability. This will show the buyer you know your stuff and deserve to be taken seriously.He adds: If the buyer seems interested, a great way to seal the deal is to offer exclusive distribution for a period and a marketing rebate. If you can also demonstrate how you can support our marketing efforts, or how your products can be personalised with our branding, as buyers, were a lot more likely to be interested.Holly Anna Scarsella, founder of resort-wear startup Pampelone had no background or experience in approaching buyers, but 18 months on from its launch her brand appears in some of the worlds largest department stores, including Bloomingdales and Shopbop.She says: I spent weeks researching buyers on LinkedIn, often staying up until four in the morning to study them, and then sent extremely targeted emails. Without any help, I managed to get meetings that other businesses took years to get. The best way to get on a buyers radar, she says, is to grab their attention with the first few sentences. She did this by highlighting the celebrities who had worn her brand, and how many times it had sold out.You need to give them a reason to want to read your email, says Scarsella. Instead of just a simple subject line of Pampelone Clothing, which the buyers will just know is another brand pitch, I used Pampelone: St Tropez comes to Bloomingdales. I always email a buyer and their assistant; buyers have so much admin to do, so sometimes the best approach is via their assistant. And make it personal. Show that you understand them and their work.Another way of approaching buyers is via social media. Scarsella found out which bloggers they follow, which publications they look at, and did everything she could to be seen by them. Practical help with the procurement process is available to entrepreneurs who know where to look. When it came to dealing with large retail buyers, Luke Johnstone and Alex Stewart, co-founders of Packd , which makes frozen smoothie kits, were also novices. Johnstone says: We did make mistakes, approaching buyers in the wrong way. The trouble was, I had no business background and no business connections, and we needed help.And they found it, firstly from the Princes Trust, where a former retail buyer was available to offer advice to new business owners, and then from Virgin Startup, which runs a Doing Business With Big Business workshop. Open to anyone, the workshop features buyers from big brands like Virgin Trains, Tesco, and John Lewis, sharing their insight into the best ways to approach them and what they are looking for.Johnstone said: Its still tough getting in front of buyers, but at least I have a strategy, and it works, as our products are now stocked in Sainsburys, Planet Organic, Whole Foods and Tesco Express.Trade shows and exhibitions offer another route into the world of the retail buyer. Health food startup Creative Nature has won listings with TK Maxx, Asda and WH Smith, largely as result of its founder, Julianne Ponan, hitting the trade show circuit and approaching the right buyers directly.She says: We attend a lot of shows throughout the year, one of which was Natural Products Europe at the ExCel in London, where I met buyers from Tesco, Ocado and many more. I managed to secure a meeting with Ocado on the stand at one of the shows.With a strong product targeted at the right market, patience and persistence will generally pay off. But as is often in business, success can come down to good timing, which was the case for Guy Blaskey, founder of canine health brand Pooch & Mutt . Launched in 2008, the products are listed with major multiples, including Tesco and Waitrose.Blaskey says: We timed our approach to Waitrose and Tesco for when they were preparing for a health push with their food products, reducing added sugar and widening their gluten-free range. We contacted them during this time with our grain-free health food for dogs range, as it offered them an opportunity to expand their vision across their pet range too. They were interested, and invited us to send samples, which in turn led to a meeting and a listing. Its all about how relevant research into a retailers plans and vision can reveal how you can help the buyer rather than vice versa.Sign up to become a member of the Guardian Small Business Network here for more advice, insight and best practice direct to your inbox.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/jan/17/how-to-approach-brand-buyers-major-retailers'|'2017-01-17T14:15:00.000+02:00' +'c242d392fc3d135c704f0e1d7eba4602ff4f5cdf'|'ChemChina, Syngenta submit remedy proposals to EU antitrust watchdog'|'Deals - Tue Jan 10, 2017 - 5:11am GMT ChemChina, Syngenta submit remedy proposals to EU antitrust watchdog A woman checks her phone at the headquarters of China National Chemical Corporation in Beijing, July 20, 2009. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo HONG KONG State-owned China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) [CNNCC.UL] and Swiss pesticides and seeds group Syngenta AG ( SYNN.S ) on Monday submitted proposed remedies to the European Union''s antitrust watchdog to address concerns over their $43 billion merger. The European Commission''s website showed the companies had submitted "commitments" on Jan. 9, which typically means the parties have proposed remedies such as asset divestment or product pricing commitments. The website did not show any further information on the nature of the commitments. "Details of the remedy proposals are confidential," a spokesman for ChemChina told Reuters. The Commission opened an in-depth investigation into ChemChina''s takeover of Syngenta in October, saying the companies had not allayed concerns over the deal. Syngenta said last week the Commission had agreed to extend the review deadline by 10 working days to April 12 to allow "sufficient time for the discussion of remedy proposals". In an October statement, the Commission highlighted ChemChina''s European subsidiary Adama as one area where the companies had overlapping operations that could cause competition concerns. (Reporting by Michelle Price; Editing by Christopher Cushing) Next In Deals Mars to buy pet healthcare provider VCA for $7.7 billion Candy and pet food conglomerate Mars Inc is buying veterinary hospital operator VCA Inc for $7.7 billion in a deal that will give the maker of Pedigree pet food an even bigger share of the $4 billion global pet healthcare market.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-syngenta-ag-m-a-chemchina-idUKKBN14U0DD'|'2017-01-10T12:00:00.000+02:00' +'9ab1ff2f526006e18f6fddde841be59ceb5a2a38'|'FTC not sold on Walgreens'' plan to win nod for Rite Aid deal: Bloomberg'|'The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is not satisfied with Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc''s ( WBA.O ) plan to divest stores to win antitrust clearance for its acquisition of Rite Aid Corp ( RAD.N ), Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.The FTC isn''t convinced that Walgreen''s proposal to sell 865 drugstores to Fred''s Inc ( FRED.O ) would do enough to preserve competition that would be lost in the $9.4 billion tie-up, Bloomberg reported on Friday. ( bloom.bg/2iJXpwf )The FTC is also unlikely to complete its review of the deal before the deadline of Jan. 27 to close the transaction, Bloomberg reported.Walgreens will have to pay Rite Aid a termination fee of $325 million if the FTC blocks the deal.Walgreens declined to comment. Rite Aid, Fred''s and the FTC could not be immediately reached for comment.Walgreens shares were down 2 percent in heavy trading. Rite Aid shares tumbled about 14 percent and Fred''s shares fell 5.8 percent.(Reporting by Abhijith Ganapavaram in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-rite-aid-m-a-walgreens-boots-idINKBN15429T'|'2017-01-20T14:09:00.000+02:00' +'c34d16e640b638f56294d833008934c748592f03'|'Roundup of 2017 prime property predictions'|'Roundup of 2017 prime property predictions Five experts provide their forecasts for the real estate market in the coming year 6 hours ago from left to right: Dan Conn, Liam Bailey, Yolande Barnes, Nathan Brooker, Robin Paterson Dan Conn, chief executive of Christies International Real Estate Markets seem willing to overlook the years political uncertainty, given the expected pro-business stance of the Trump presidency and other governments. For global buyers, I believe investment in high-end residential property will continue to be viewed as safe and attractive. Currency moves will fuel increased demand in high-end markets in stable environments. On a relative basis, London may be a more attractive location for global buyers in 2017, as will Paris, due to the weakened euro. Read more Yolande Barnes, head of Savills World Research The global challenge for real estate investors is to find value in a world where low interest rates have pushed asset prices, including residential property, to the full. Even private investors are now banking more on what a property can actually provide for them either in terms of amenity or additional income than on capital growth. Buyers all over the planet are beginning to recognise that neighbourhoods offering a high quality of life will appreciate in value, not just so many square feet of bricks and mortar. Read more Nathan Brooker, property writer for FT House & Home While rapidly dropping prices in prime central London will probably level off and growth in entrepreneurial cities such as Austin and Portland will probably edge forward, in reality, all bets are off. Since the financial crisis of 2008, growth in prime property markets has been facilitated by international capital flows. As western democracies seem ready to embrace protectionist policies, disruptions to the free movement of capital could seriously destabilise global property markets. Read more Robin Paterson, But in upcoming Read more Liam Bailey, global head of research at Knight Frank Tax is a growing influence on market performance. Over the past 12 months a number of rules aimed at controlling the destination of investment flows were brought in. Clearly the expansion of so-called cooling measures to control international wealth flows into property shows no sign of easing.'|'ft.com'|'http://www.ft.com/rss/companies/property'|'https://propertylistings.ft.com/propertynews/united-states/4937-roundup-of-2017-prime-property-predictions.html?ftcamp=published_links%2Frss%2Fcompanies_property%2Ffeed%2F%2Fproduct'|'2017-01-23T17:23:00.000+02:00' +'403f15b46688d49557225e3f4cdd07c438cdd751'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Brazil real weakens on prospects of cenbank intervention'|'Company News 1:09pm EST EMERGING MARKETS-Brazil real weakens on prospects of cenbank intervention SAO PAULO, Jan 31 The Brazilian real weakened on Tuesday after the central bank hinted it could allow some of the currency swaps due in March to expire. The central bank currently holds $26.6 billion reais worth of currency swaps, which function like dollar sales to investors for future delivery, down from over $100 billion by late 2015. It halted the reduction of the outstanding swaps after the surprise election victory of Donald Trump triggered market volatility. On Tuesday, central bank governor Ilan Goldfajn said the bank could resume the process as soon as next month after fully rolling over the $6.4 billion worth of swaps maturing on Wednesday. The real slipped 0.9 percent, the worst performing currency in Latin America. Other currencies seesawed as traders avoided big bets ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve''s policy meeting on Wednesday. Brazilian stocks rose 0.6 percent, rebounding from a sharp drop the day before. Shares of pulp producer Fibria Celulose SA fell 5.5 percent a day after reporting a quarterly loss. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1800 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % change change Latest MSCI Emerging Markets 910.57 -0.28 5.89 MSCI LatAm 2511.10 -0.43 7.75 Brazil Bovespa 64695.52 0.61 7.42 Mexico IPC 47002.94 -0.19 2.98 Chile IPSA 4200.59 -0.22 1.19 Chile IGPA 20997.20 -0.17 1.27 Argentina MerVal 18987.91 1.12 12.24 Colombia IGBC 10169.48 -0.37 0.41 Venezuela IBC 28109.65 -0.28 -11.34 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.1537 -0.88 3.03 Mexico peso 20.8600 -0.29 -0.56 Chile peso 646.9 0.09 3.68 Colombia peso 2920.2 0.18 2.78 Peru sol 3.276 0.49 4.21 Argentina peso (interbank) 15.8950 0.17 -0.13 Argentina peso (parallel) 16.59 0.66 1.39 (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-latam-idUSL1N1FL1GH'|'2017-02-01T01:09:00.000+02:00' +'66e733fc06a26cbce5d8a7527267e09231a0170a'|'Malaysia to offer reward for missing Flight MH370'|'World News 6:25am EST Malaysia to offer reward for missing Flight MH370 A family member of a passenger aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 which went missing in 2014 reacts during a protest outside the Chinese foreign ministry in Beijing, July 29, 2016. The hat reads ''''Pray for MH370'''' REUTERS/Thomas Peter/Files KUALA LUMPUR Malaysia said on Thursday it would pay a reward to any private company that found the fuselage of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, days after a fruitless, three-year hunt was suspended. Australia, Malaysia and China ended the search for the aircraft on Tuesday, leaving one of the world''s greatest aviation mysteries unanswered. The Boeing 777 jet disappeared in March 2014, en route to Beijing from the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, with 239 people on board. Malaysian Deputy Transport Minister Abdul Aziz Kaprawi said the government was open to credible private companies searching for it, and would reward any that found its fuselage. "All costs must be borne by them. We will only reward them if they are successful," Abdul Aziz told Reuters. He said the size of the reward had not been decided. Any company intending to search should contact the government, and a decision would then be made on the reward, he said. The search of a 120,000 sq km (46,000 sq mile) area of the Indian Ocean cost about A$200 million ($150 million). But the three countries involved were reluctant to keep looking without new evidence about the plane''s final resting place. Flight MH370 lost contact over the Gulf of Thailand in the early hours of March 8, 2014. Subsequent analysis of radar and satellite contacts suggested someone on board may have deliberately switched off the plane''s transponder before diverting it thousands of kilometers out over the Indian Ocean. Since the crash, there have been competing theories over whether the plane was hijacked and whether it was under the control of anyone when it finally ran out of fuel. ''NOT HAPPY'' The end of the underwater search drew swift and angry reactions from relatives of those on board, who have repeatedly called for the hunt to be expanded. "We know the next-of-kin are not happy when we suspended the search," said Abdul Aziz. "We can''t proceed until there is new evidence, but if there are credible companies that want to take on the search, then why not?" he said. The only confirmed traces of the plane have been three pieces of debris found washed up on the island country Mauritius, the French island Reunion and an island off Tanzania. As many as 30 other pieces of wreckage found there and on beaches in Mozambique, Tanzania and South Africa are suspected to have come from the plane. On Wednesday, Australia said it was not ruling out a future underwater search. Malaysia holds ultimate responsibility for the search given Malaysia Airlines is registered there. The aircraft is thought to have crashed west of Australia, placing it in its maritime zone of responsibility. Most of the passengers were from China. Abdul Aziz said the search costs had been borne by the three countries while the aircraft-maker, Boeing, had not committed anything. "There''s been no funding from Boeing," he said. Boeing said in a statement it provided technical expertise and assistance, principally as advisers to government investigative authorities. "In addition, at the direction and under the supervision of investigating authorities, Boeing provides exemplar hardware, testing analysis and laboratory services," the company said. (Reporting by Praveen Menon; Additional reporting by Clara Ferreira Marques; Editing by Robert Birsel) Next In World News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-malaysia-airlines-mh-idUSKBN1531KO'|'2017-01-19T18:23:00.000+02:00' +'732a61c798e0177ba439c1163f53141e2bde321b'|'BRIEF-Brookfield Infrastructure Partners says to issue $200 mln of preferred units'|' 17am EST BRIEF-Brookfield Infrastructure Partners says to issue $200 mln of preferred units Jan 19 Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP : * Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP says to issue $200 million of preferred units * Brookfield infrastructure -to issue 8 million cumulative class a preferred limited partnership units, series 7 to a syndicate of underwriters for $25/unit Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1F90SC'|'2017-01-19T21:17:00.000+02:00' +'0dc91e48910ab32e2abeab4eb4244c5dccaf34fe'|'MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf mixed in early trade, Omani falls after budget'|'Financials - Mon Jan 2, 2017 - 3:28am EST MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf mixed in early trade, Omani falls after budget DUBAI Jan 2 Gulf stock markets were mixed in early trade on Monday as most reopened after the New Year, with some investors yet to return from holidays. Oman fell after authorities announced a tight budget for 2017. Dubai''s index edged up 0.4 percent as much activity focused on speculative stocks including Islamic Arab Insurance , which jumped 14.2 percent and was the most heavily traded issue. Abu Dhabi fell 0.5 percent, partly due to a 5.7 percent slide in Abu Dhabi National Energy. Qatar edged down 0.1 percent as Islamic bank Masraf Al Rayan dropped 0.5 percent after saying it would suspend the activities and licence of its brokerage business, Al Rayan Financial Brokerage Co. It said the brokerage''s paid-up capital represented just 0.06 percent of the bank''s total assets. Saudi Arabia''s index gained 0.3 percent with petrochemicals lagging slightly. Travel agency Al Tayyar, which climbed 7.4 percent on Sunday in unusually heavy trade, added a further 3.8 percent. Oman''s index dropped 0.5 percent after the government released a 2017 budget plan on Sunday that projected a smaller deficit but included fresh austerity steps and tight curbs on spending because of low oil prices. Oman Telecommunications dropped 1.4 percent after tumbling 4.3 percent on Sunday in response to a hike in the royalty that it must pay the government. Ooredoo Oman fell 0.7 percent after plunging 7.9 percent on Sunday. (Reporting by Andrew Torchia; editing by John Stonestreet) Next In Financials German and French share indexes start 2017 on a weaker note LONDON, Jan 2 Germany''s DAX and France''s CAC share indexes fell on the first trading day of 2017 on Monday, with Dialog Semiconductor, the maker of chips used in smartphones made by Apple and Samsung Electronics, featuring among the top fallers.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/mideast-stocks-idUSL5N1ES0GQ'|'2017-01-02T15:28:00.000+02:00' +'c708d2d051d3b76ce95846e1f079b6fdf0994bd0'|'U.S. deficit to shrink to $559 billion in fiscal year 2017 - CBO'|' 4:00pm GMT U.S. deficit to shrink to $559 billion in fiscal year 2017 - CBO FILE PHOTO: A man pushes his shopping cart down an aisle at a Home Depot store in New York, July 29, 2010. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton By Emily Stephenson - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The U.S. budget deficit is expected to dip in fiscal year 2017 but expand later in the decade, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said in a report on Tuesday that showed President Donald Trump inheriting a tricky long-term deficit picture. The CBO projected the deficit to fall slightly to $559 billion (446.77 billion pounds) in fiscal year 2017 compared to $587 billion a year earlier, and it was seen lower still in 2018 at $487 billion. After that, according to the CBO, deficits are expected to grow steadily due to costs associated with the retiring baby-boom generation. The CBO also forecast U.S. real gross domestic product growth in calendar year 2017 at 2.3 percent, slowing to 2 percent in 2018. Swelling deficits will be a challenge for Trump and congressional Republicans after many in the party for years advocated budget restraint. Trump has promised tax cuts, massive new infrastructure projects, and a military expansion plan projected to cost hundreds of billions of dollars. During his presidential campaign, Trump promised to slash government spending elsewhere but never detailed where the cuts would occur. He signed an executive order on Monday imposing a federal government hiring freeze. The CBO said the dip in projected deficits in 2017 was partly due to a quirk in the calendar in which the first day of the fiscal year fell on a weekend, meaning some payments were shifted. (Reporting by Emily Stephenson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Will Dunham) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-congress-budget-idUKKBN15827U'|'2017-01-24T23:00:00.000+02:00' +'311f6e5584dbb8cf3ab388d3bd1eb625294cac8c'|'Exclusive - ECB is happy with UniCredit plan, has made no new request: source'|'Business News 2:59pm GMT Exclusive - ECB is happy with UniCredit plan, has made no new request: source left right Unicredit bank logo is seen on a sign in Milan, Italy, May 23, 2016. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini/File Photo 1/2 left right Unicredit bank CEO Jean Pierre Mustier poses during the shareholders meeting in Rome, Italy, January 12, 2017. REUTERS/Remo Casilli 2/2 MILAN UniCredit''s ( CRDI.MI ) chief executive told investors on Tuesday the European Central Bank is satisfied with a turnaround plan announced by the bank in December and has made no additional requests, according to a source who attended the meeting. In a preliminary document for an upcoming 13 billion-euro ($14.01 billion) rights issue, the bank said on Monday the ECB had asked it to present a plan to reduce its bad loans by Feb. 28, fuelling concerns among some investors that the regulator could demand extra measures. CEO Jean-Pierre Mustier told a meeting with Italian and foreign investors in Milan that the ECB was "very happy" with the plan already presented by the bank, which includes the sale of 17.7 billion euros of bad loans, according to the source. "There has been no new request from the ECB," the source quoted Mustier as saying. (Reporting by Silvia Aloisi and Paola Arosio; editing by Agnieszka Flak) Next In Business News London set for largest oil company listing since 2014 price crash LONDON Diversified Gas & Oil, a conventional gas producer in the United States, is set to list on London''s junior AIM market on Friday and raise $50 million, the biggest oil and gas flotation since oil prices started to fall in mid-2014.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-banks-italy-unicredit-exclus-idUKKBN15F1UK'|'2017-01-31T21:59:00.000+02:00' +'eceb4e9ced941c66e58205e486336175c15fdc2b'|'Insurers drag down European shares, FTSE holds near record'|'Business News - Thu Jan 5, 2017 - 8:30am GMT Insurers drag down European shares, FTSE holds near record A man walks through the lobby of the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 25, 2015. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett LONDON European shares headed lower for a second straight session on Thursday after recent strong gains, with insurers leading the market lower after JP Morgan cut its rating for several companies in the sector. RSA Insurance ( RSA.L ) fell 2.2 percent after JP Morgan downgraded the stock to "neutral" from "overweight", while Hannover Rueck HNRGN.DE fell 2.7 percent after the investment bank cut its price target to 102 euros from 108 euros. The European insurance index .SXIP was down 0.9 percent, the biggest faller in the pan-European STOXX 600 index , which fell 0.3 percent. The STOXX 600, which hit a one-year high on Tuesday, closed 0.1 percent lower in the previous session. Worst performer across the European benchmark was Rolls Royce ( RR.L ) which fell more than 3 percent. The stock suffered a price target at JPMorgan. Rolls-Royce led the loser board on Britain''s FTSE 100 index .FTSE which held near record highs underpinned by a 1.3 percent rise in the UK mining index .FTNMX1770 following an increase in industrial metals prices on brightening outlook for Chinese metals demand. Embattled retailer Next PLC ( NXT.L ) fell another 2 percent in early trades setting its shares up for the worst three-day loss in nearly two decades. (Reporting by Atul Prakash and Helen Reid, Editing by Vikram Subhedar) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks-idUKKBN14P0Q0'|'2017-01-05T15:30:00.000+02:00' +'11c1905ff4870efb907e27e313a1e5fff74f35d2'|'French December factory activity strongest since 2011 - PMI'|' 02am GMT French December factory activity strongest since 2011 - PMI A general view shows employees working to produce calissons d''Aix at the French manufacturer factory Roy Rene in Puyricard near Aix en Provence, France, December 15, 2016 which are traditional sweets from Provence, made with almonds and candied melon and created in France in... REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier PARIS French manufacturers ended 2016 on a strong note with activity at a 5-1/2 year high in December while hiring and new orders jumped, a monthly survey showed on Monday. Data compiler IHS Markit said its final purchasing managers'' index rose to 53.5 in December from 51.7 in November, unchanged from a preliminary reading. The increase brought the index to its highest level since May 2011 and marked the third month in a row above the 50-point line dividing expansions in activity from contractions. "Favourable demand conditions had encouraged firms to raise output, which resulted in the sharpest round of job creation in 5-1/2 years," IHS Markit economist Alexander Gill said. "These are positive signs for France as the country contends with high levels of unemployment," he added. Companies increased staffing levels as the flow of new orders grew at the strongest pace since May 2011, suggesting the spurt of activity in December may be more than a month-long blip. '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-economy-pmi-idUKKBN14M0BW'|'2017-01-02T16:02:00.000+02:00' +'e32e6563902cca1c95c9a044cd89facfdf506801'|'Egypt likely to meet targets for unlocking second tranche of IMF loan -mission chief'|'Financials 37am EST Egypt likely to meet targets for unlocking second tranche of IMF loan -mission chief CAIRO Jan 18 The International Monetary Fund''s Mission Chief for Egypt Chris Jarvis said on Wednesday that it looked likely that the country would meet the required targets to unlock the second tranche of a $12 billion three-year loan. "Although (economic indicators) for December have not been published yet, early indications are that the benchmarks for the next tranche of the loan are likely to be met," Jarvis said at a news conference. (Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Eric Knecht) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/egypt-imf-benchmarks-idUSC6N1DO019'|'2017-01-18T22:37:00.000+02:00' +'cc0411f3789a57882b7411d01155a7a6090360de'|'U.S. crude stocks fall sharply, products surge'|'Business News - Thu Jan 5, 2017 - 11:11am EST U.S. crude stocks fall sharply, products surge Oil pump jacks are seen next to a strawberry field in Oxnard, California February 24, 2015. Crude oil futures fell on Tuesday as expectations that this week''s reports will show U.S. crude inventories rose again countered supportive news of Libyan oilfields being shut. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson U.S. crude stocks fell last week as refineries hiked output, while gasoline stocks increased and distillate inventories rose, the Energy Information Administration said on Thursday. Crude inventories fell by 7.1 million barrels in the week to Dec. 30, compared with analysts'' expectations for an decrease of 2.2 million barrels. Refinery crude runs rose by 132,000 barrels per day, EIA data showed. Refinery utilization rates rose by 1 percentage points. Gasoline stocks rose by 8.3 million barrels, compared with analyst expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.8 million-barrel gain. Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 10.1 million barrels, versus expectations for a 1.1 million-barrel increase, the EIA data showed. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 1.074 million barrels, EIA said. U.S. crude imports fell last week by 1 million barrels per day. (Reporting By David Gaffen)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-oil-eia-idUSKBN14P1XP'|'2017-01-05T23:11:00.000+02:00' +'ed070bd40bcf77634cf42c9b178902b0e4bce22b'|'VW admits guilt and pays $4.3bn emissions penalty'|'VW admits guilt and pays $4.3bn emissions scandal penalty Six executives based in Germany indicted following cheating probe Read next by: David J Lynch in Washington Volkswagen agreed to plead guilty to three felonies and pay $4.3bn to settle a US Department of Justice investigation as six of its executives were indicted for their role in the diesel emissions scandal that has engulfed the German carmaker for 16 months. The six executives, all based in Germany, include Oliver Schmidt, the groups former US head of compliance, who was arrested in the US on Monday, and the former heads of engine development and quality management, said Loretta Lynch, US attorney-general. For years, Volkswagen advertised its vehicles calling them clean diesel. Our investigation has revealed they were anything but, Ms Lynch said. Officials said the indictments validated the DoJs strategy of targeting individuals in corporate crime prosecutions, which has been criticised as ineffectual since its September 2015 launch by Sally Yates, deputy attorney-general. The fact that we are announcing charges today against six high-ranking executives at Volkswagen not just six employees but six high-ranking executives at Volkswagen demonstrates this is not a paper policy, Ms Yates said. The settlement comes more than a decade after VW opted to design software to outwit Environmental Protection Agency tests rather than sacrifice power in a new diesel engine. Up to 11m vehicles worldwide were fitted with the defeat devices to reduce their nitrogen oxide emissions in laboratory tests. When government regulators grew suspicious, VW executives lied and destroyed documents related to the affair. Volkswagens top executives knew about this illegal activity and deliberately kept regulators, shareholders and consumers in the dark and they did this for years, said Andrew McCabe, deputy director of the FBI. The penalty, which includes a criminal fine of $2.8bn, is the second-largest criminal environmental settlement in US history, behind BPs Deepwater Horizon case. It represents an attempt by one of the worlds largest carmakers to resolve a scandal that ranks as the worst crisis in the companys history. VW pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act and commit wire fraud, obstruction of justice and making false statements in order to import goods. Insight and analysis Lex VW/Porsche: tailgating Along with Mr Schmidt, a federal grand jury has indicted for their roles in the scheme Heinz-Jacob Neusser, a member of the management board for VW brand; Jens Hadler, former head of engine development; Richard Dorenkamp, another former engine development executive; Bernd Gottweis, a former quality management supervisor; and Jrgen Peter, an executive in VWs quality management and product safety group. Other than Mr Schmidt, all of the men are in Germany, which generally does not extradite its citizens. The company will pay $1.5bn to settle civil claims by the EPA and US Customs as well as $50m for violations of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act related to the pooling of car leases into asset-backed securities. David Uhlmann, former head of the DoJs environmental crimes unit, said it was significant that the government had not agreed to a deferred prosecution agreement, a more lenient way of dealing with corporate lawbreaking. It was essential that the justice department insist on a guilty plea given the egregiousness of Volkswagens misconduct and the fact it reached very high in the company, he said. VW shares rose 3.3 per cent on Wednesday, after the company announced late on Tuesday that it was in advanced discussions to settle for $4.3bn. Wednesdays penalties come on top of the $15.3bn that VW agreed in June to pay in a partial civil settlement with federal and state governments and owners of cars fitted with two-litre engines, plus an additional $1bn announced last month related to three-litre engine models. VW said in October that it had set aside 18.2bn ($19.2bn) to cover the costs of the scandal. VW must also accept and pay for an independent monitor of its compliance programmes for three years. The company has agreed to independent audits, establishment of an internal committee and additional vehicle testing. The plea agreement filed in federal court in Detroit shows that the decision to cheat the emissions tests was contentious within VW. Six supervisors, often over their subordinates objections, and one company attorney directed specific acts to design the defeat device or conceal its existence from regulators, according to the plea agreement. VW employees destroyed documents as part of a broad cover-up of the engines used in 590,000 cars sold in the US. On August 31 2015, as the cover-up was unravelling, a VW supervisor deleted files containing the term acoustic function, a reference to the cheating software, and instructed subordinates to do likewise. A second supervisor instructed his assistant to throw away a computer hard drive containing potentially incriminating files, according to court documents. Inside VW and Audi, thousands of documents were deleted by approximately 40 employees. After the EPA publicly disclosed VWs emissions cheating in September 2015, the companys internal investigation recovered many of the deleted files and turned them over to prosecutors. That co-operation earned the company a 20 per cent reduction in the financial penalty it might have faced, the DoJ said. VW also received $11bn in credit for its settlements with customers and payments into an environmental remediation trust. Sample the FTs top stories for a week You select the topic, we deliver the news. Select topic Invalid email Sign up By signing up you confirm that you have read and agree to the terms and conditions , cookie policy and privacy policy . Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2017. All rights reserved. You may share using our article tools. Please don''t cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.'|'ft.com'|'http://www.ft.com/rss/companies/technology'|'https://www.ft.com/content/d998b804-d81a-11e6-944b-e7eb37a6aa8e'|'2017-01-12T03:33:00.000+02:00' +'a2d30d5f8ce5295f0655f1d9c3c7b575494ddeec'|'Money can''t buy single market access, ex-British EU official warns'|'Business News - Fri Jan 6, 2017 - 9:46am GMT Money can''t buy single market access, ex-British EU official warns Jonathan Faull, director-general of a task force for strategic Issues related to the UK referendum, delivers a talk at the offices of The Institute of International and European Affairs in Dublin, Ireland November 25, 2015. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton LONDON Britain will not be able to buy access to the single market following its exit from the EU, a former top UK official at European Commission warned, casting doubt on mooted government plans for Britain''s future relationship with the bloc. British Prime Minister Theresa May intends to launch the two-year process of negotiations to leave the EU by the end of March and some members of her government have suggested this could include paying to maintain access to the single market. But Jonathan Faull, who worked in the Commission for 38 years until retiring in 2016, said paying to access the tariff-free zone was not how the EU worked. "Can you buy access to the single market? It''s not something that''s on sale in that way," he told the BBC''s Newsnight programme late on Thursday. That contrasts with the idea floated by Brexit minister David Davis, who has said that after the UK leaves the EU, giving it control over migration, the country could continue to make payments into the EU budget in order to maintain access for its exporters to the single market. One area in which Britain did have a strong hand to negotiate with the EU as defence co-operation which the bloc will want to continue, Faull said. "But that''s more complicated if you''re outside the EU, because part of the mechanisms used for this purpose are today EU mechanisms," he said. Faull''s warning that Britain won''t be able to buy EU single market access comes at a time of change for Britain''s Brexit negotiating team. Ivan Rogers, the country''s envoy to the EU, quit earlier this week and was replaced by Tim Barrow. Prime Minister May has so far said little publicly about her negotiating position ahead of what are expected to be some of the most complicated international talks Britain has engaged in since World War Two. Some investors fear the government will prioritise curbing immigration, a so-called "hard Brexit", over ensuring Britain maintains single market access. Faull dismissed the idea that Britain could have an arrangement with the bloc similar to that of non-EU member Norway, pointing out that Norway makes budgetary contributions to the EU as well as accepting the free movement of people. "It''s (Norway is) not buying access to the single market in that sense, it''s taking part in a project," Faull said. (Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Michael Holden) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-faull-idUKKBN14Q0ZQ'|'2017-01-06T16:07:00.000+02:00' +'6de277e71b9405a1aec56675559a64edef4cd356'|'Australia shares expected to fall; NZ flat'|'Financials 4:11pm EST Australia shares expected to fall; NZ flat Jan 17 Australian shares are likely to trade lower on Tuesday, as investors await U.S. President-elect Donald Trump''s inauguration on Friday to seek clarity on his future policies. Market activity is expected to remain light due to the lack of cues from U.S. markets, which were closed on Monday for the Martin Luther King Day holiday. Share markets in the United States have rallied on expectations that Trump''s administration will oversee lower taxes and reduced regulation. Australian markets have gained more than 11 percent since the U.S. election. Investors will also be looking out for mining giant Rio Tinto Ltd''s fourth quarter production report, expected later. The local share price index futures fell 0.1 percent to 5,695 points, a 53.44-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close. The benchmark rose half a percent on Monday. New Zealand''s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was flat at 7,079.4 points in early trade. For a summary of overnight action across global markets, double click on For a digest of the day''s business stories in Australian newspapers, double click on (Reporting by Suhail Hassan Bhat in Bengaluru; Editing by Alison Williams) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/australia-stocks-morning-idUSL4N1F64IW'|'2017-01-17T04:11:00.000+02:00' +'b0c6c73c7ae165f8ef4938eba1cc04e14664e4ae'|'Airlines Lufthansa and Etihad ''in merger talks'' - newspaper'|'MILAN Germany''s Lufthansa and Etihad Airways are in talks to possibly merge the two airlines, Italian newspaper Il Messaggero said in an unsourced report on Tuesday, boosting the German airline''s share price.According to the paper, managers from both companies have for weeks been examining the possibility of Etihad buying a 30-40 percent stake in Lufthansa through a sale of new shares to the Abu Dhabi state-owned airline.In a second step, the two airlines would look at a full-blown merger, the paper said, adding that the parties would meet shortly to speed up the talks.Any combination between the two would have an impact on loss-making Italian airline Alitalia, which is 49 percent-owned by Etihad and is in the midst of a major restructuring that will likely include job cuts and grounding of planes.Lufthansa and Etihad declined to comment on what they described as "speculation".Lufthansa shares were up 6 percent on Tuesday, topping the DAX index of largest German companies.Lufthansa and Etihad last month signed a flight code-sharing deal after Lufthansa agreed to lease 38 crewed planes from Air Berlin, which is part-owned by Etihad.Analysts reacted with scepticism to the report, citing the foreign ownership rules governing international traffic rights, and questioning what the benefits for Lufthansa would be.In Europe an airline must by majority-owned by EU investors in order to maintain its traffic rights under international air service agreements.Lufthansa is currently almost 69 percent owned by German investors but 13 percent is in the hands of U.S. investors and a further 9 percent is owned by other nationalities.In addition, if Etihad wished to buy more than 30 percent of Lufthansa, it would have to make an offer for the company as a whole according to German takeover rules.Etihad''s local rival Qatar Airways has built up a 20 percent stake in British Airways-owner IAG by purchasing shares on the open market. That has boosted links between Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. However, Credit Suisse said Lufthansa already had joint ventures with Singapore Airlines, Air China and All Nippon Airways covering the region.Greater cooperation with Lufthansa could help Etihad, especially given the growth of Qatar Airways, CAPA-Centre for Aviation senior analyst Will Horton said."The rapid growth of Qatar Airways and its future expansion will make it harder and costlier for Etihad to stay relevant on its own - everything else aside," he said in an emailed comment.There have previously been media reports that Italian shareholders in Alitalia are keen for Lufthansa to invest in the Italian carrier, along with speculation that Lufthansa could take on more of Air Berlin. However, Lufthansa executives have repeatedly said in recent weeks that they have their hands full integrating the Air Berlin planes into its operations as well as taking over Brussels Airlines."A Lufthansa/Etihad pseudo-merger, which is what is being suggested in the press today, presumably encompassing the whole of Alitalia and Air Berlin, looks rather implausible," Barclays analysts said in a note.(Reporting by Agnieszka Flak in Milan, Victoria Bryan in Berlin and Alexander Cornwell in Dubai; Editing by Greg Mahlich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/lufthansa-etihad-idINKBN1510Z0'|'2017-01-17T10:31:00.000+02:00' +'1d5d25c7c7f8b0db7305e9c6d4d36325ec2a069a'|'Top banks'' fourth-quarter commodities revenue jumps 20-25 percent - report'|' 30pm GMT Top banks'' fourth-quarter commodities revenue jumps 20-25 percent - report left right The logo of Barclays is seen on the top of one of its branch in Madrid, Spain, March 22, 2016. REUTERS/Sergio Perez/File Photo 1/4 left right A logo of BNP Paribas is seen outside its Tokyo headquarters, Japan, January 7, 2016. REUTERS/Yuya Shino/File Photo 2/4 left right FILE PHOTO -- People walk beneath a Citibank branch logo in the financial district of San Francisco, California July 17, 2009. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith/File Photo 3/4 left right The logo of Germany''s largest business bank, Deutsche Bank is seen in front of one of the bank''s office buildings in Frankfurt, Germany, October 27, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach 4/4 LONDON Commodities-related revenue at the 12 biggest investment banks rebounded in the fourth quarter due to stronger activity in the energy sector, a report by financial industry analytics firm Coalition said on Monday. Revenue from commodity trading, selling derivatives to investors and other activities in the sector jumped by 20-25 percent in the final three months of 2016 compared with the same period the previous year, it said in a preliminary report, without giving a figure in dollars. The rise was largely due to "structured deal activity in U.S. natural gas and improved conditions in oil trading", it said. Commodity revenue in the first nine months of last year fell 22 percent to $3.1 billion due to weak industrial metals trading and lacklustre investor interest, Coalition said in November. Coalition tracks Bank of America Merrill Lynch ( BAC.N ), Barclays ( BARC.L ), BNP Paribas ( BNPP.PA ), Citigroup ( C.N ), Credit Suisse ( CSGN.S ), Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ), Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ), HSBC ( HSBA.L ), JPMorgan ( JPM.N ), Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ), Societe Generale ( SOGN.PA ) and UBS ( UBSG.S ). (Reporting by Eric Onstad) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-banks-commodities-idUKKBN1571XM'|'2017-01-23T21:30:00.000+02:00' +'00775b81a10fbec55a80be7f39829cf83ed03c6b'|'U.S. Senate backs waiver allowing Mattis to lead Pentagon'|'Industrials 3:16pm EST U.S. Senate backs waiver allowing Mattis to lead Pentagon WASHINGTON Jan 12 The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly backed a waiver on Thursday that will allow James Mattis to serve as President-elect Donald Trump''s secretary of defense, despite having retired as a Marine General in 2013. The Senate voted 81 to 17 for a one-time waiver of a provision of a law on civilian control of the U.S. military requiring a seven-year wait before active-duty military can lead the Department of Defense. The waiver must still be approved by the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee and full House, and signed into law by the president, to allow Mattis to serve if he is confirmed to lead the Pentagon. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by David Gregorio) Next In Industrials U.S. motorists drove 4.3 pct more miles in November year-over-year NEW YORK, Jan 12 Motorists drove 262.2 billion miles (422 billion km) on U.S. roads in November, a 4.3 percent increase from a year prior and the highest volumes ever for the month, according to data released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Transportation.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-congress-mattis-senate-idUSL1N1F2209'|'2017-01-13T03:16:00.000+02:00' +'6fb911bfe8f236e6b372e8a37b37d0add47b36a7'|'RPT-UPDATE 1-U.S. scrambles to clear egg exports to bird flu-hit Korea'|'(Repeats earlier story for wider readership with no change to text.)By Tom PolansekCHICAGO Dec 30 U.S. officials are urgently seeking an agreement with South Korea that would allow imports of American eggs so farmers can cash in on a shortage caused by the Asian country''s worst-ever outbreak of bird flu.The two sides are negotiating over terms of potential shipments after South Korea lifted a ban on imports of U.S. table eggs that it imposed when the United States grappled with its own bout of bird flu last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.If an agreement is reached, U.S. shipments could bring some relief to South Koreans who have faced soaring egg prices and rationing since the outbreak there began last month.The egg shipments also would help U.S. farmers cope with an oversupply that is depressing prices.The opportunity to profit by filling South Korea''s shortfall with U.S. eggs has sent brokers and traders into overdrive.About 26 million birds, more than a quarter of South Korea''s poultry stock, have been culled to control the outbreak, and most of the birds have been egg-laying hens.Strains of bird flu, which can be spread to poultry by wild birds, have been detected across Asia and in Europe in recent weeks. Two people in China and one person in Hong Kong have died in the outbreaks.The United States could reach agreement to open trade with South Korea as early as next week, said Mark Perigen, national supervisor for shell eggs for a division of the USDA."Everybody''s working hard to get it done," Perigen said in an interview on Friday, adding that USDA employees had worked during holiday vacations on the issue."They''re desperate for eggs over there, and the government realizes that," Perigen said.South Korea''s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment.Glenn Hickman, chief executive of Hickman''s Eggs in Arizona, has received calls from brokers searching for U.S. eggs to ship to South Korea."Everybody in Korea who needs eggs has Googled everybody in the world who might have eggs," Hickman said."We''re getting calls from brokers who have no idea even the right questions to ask us," he added. "It''s just somebody who knows how to freight stuff from the U.S. to Korea."With no agreement yet between the two countries, Hickman is asking employees to take contact information for the potential customers.United States Egg Marketers, a cooperative of farmers that was established to export eggs, has received "numerous inquiries about this already, including from people who have never exported anything in their lives," said Eka Inall, the group''s president."Our phone is blowing up, our email is blowing up," she said.Last year, U.S. food companies imported eggs from Europe after bird flu ravaged domestic chicken flocks and sent egg prices to record highs.Since then, U.S. prices have tumbled as farmers have ramped up production.The United States produced 7.44 billion table eggs in November, up 11.5 percent from a year earlier, and there were 312 million hens laying table eggs on Dec. 1, up 8 percent from a year before, according to USDA.On Dec. 26, the average price for a dozen large white U.S. eggs was $1.17, down from a high of $2.88 in August 2015, according to market data firm Urner Barry."Current conditions in the U.S. are definitely a motivating factor to get this thing done," Brian Moscogiuri, an Urner Barry egg analyst, said about U.S. efforts to start shipments to South Korea.If South Korea begins importing U.S. eggs, its residents may need to adjust to a different appearance of the food staple.Jim Sumner, president of the U.S. Poultry and Egg Export Council, said many Koreans prefer brown colored eggs, while the United States mostly produces white eggs."As they say, beggars can''t be choosers," he said.(Editing by Matthew Lewis and Michael Perry)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/health-birdflu-southkorea-usa-repeat-upd-idINL1N1ES02H'|'2017-01-01T23:47:00.000+02:00' +'904b68d4f31f148e18fa6c4c9c57214347d752ca'|'Burberry''s CEO designate to join firm this month'|'Business News 24am EST Burberry''s CEO designate to join firm this month A customer walks in front of a Burberry store in central London July 15, 2008. REUTERS/Alessia Pierdomenico/File Photo LONDON British luxury brand Burberry ( BRBY.L ) said on Monday its incoming chief executive Marco Gobbetti will initially join the company on Jan. 27 as executive chairman, Asia Pacific and Middle East, before joining the board and taking the top job on July 5. Italian Gobbetti, the former boss of French brand Celine, was named as Christopher Bailey''s successor as CEO last July. Bailey will take on the new role of president and chief creative officer. Burberry will update on trading in its Christmas quarter on Wednesday. (Reporting by James Davey; editing by Sarah Young) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-burberry-group-managementchanges-idUSKBN1500O8'|'2017-01-16T14:24:00.000+02:00' +'f800b9afbfd5452299be5b39d47b7797ab163af2'|'Insurers drag down European shares, FTSE holds near record'|' 27am EST Insurers drag down European shares, FTSE holds near record LONDON Jan 5 European shares headed lower for a second straight session on Thursday after recent strong gains, with insurers leading the market lower after JP Morgan cut its rating for several companies in the sector. RSA Insurance fell 2.2 percent after JP Morgan downgraded the stock to "neutral" from "overweight", while Hannover Rueck fell 2.7 percent after the investment bank cut its price target to 102 euros from 108 euros. The European insurance index was down 0.9 percent, the biggest faller in the pan-European STOXX 600 index, which fell 0.3 percent. The STOXX 600, which hit a one-year high on Tuesday, closed 0.1 percent lower in the previous session. Worst performer across the European benchmark was Rolls Royce which fell more than 3 percent. The stock suffered a price target at JPMorgan. Rolls-Royce led the loser board on Britain''s FTSE 100 index which held near record highs underpinned by a 1.3 percent rise in the UK mining index following an increase in industrial metals prices on brightening outlook for Chinese metals demand. Embattled retailer Next PLC fell another 2 percent in early trades setting its shares up for the worst three-day loss in nearly two decades. (Reporting by Atul Prakash and Helen Reid, Editing by Vikram Subhedar) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/europe-stocks-idUSL5N1EV12J'|'2017-01-05T15:27:00.000+02:00' +'e75ea7822b05b0b89bae1388341c9652a05d7902'|'UPDATE 2-LatAm nations jump to bond market ahead of Trump'|'(Adds background, Quote: s)By Paul KilbyNEW YORK, Jan 18 (IFR) - Three Latin American nations led the charge into the US bond market on Wednesday, selling over US$5bn of new debt as the clock counts down to the inauguration of Donald Trump as US president.Just a day after Trump''s comments sent the US greenback into retreat, underscoring fears of increased volatility ahead, Chile, Colombia and the Dominican Republic all launched bond deals.Argentina was following closely behind with its own multi-billion dollar trade, already flagging its terms ahead of expected pricing on Thursday."It seems like Friday is the line in the sand you have to get ahead of," one syndicate banker told IFR."Argentina probably felt there is so much supply out there that they want to get some shelf space and make sure investors saved some cash (for them)."Some of the president-elect''s rhetoric has set off jitters across the region, and some market participants noted that this was the last chance to act before Trump takes power."There is not a lot of clarity after Friday and the rates environment is constructive for dollar trades, especially sovereigns," another banker said.Trump on Tuesday said the US dollar was "too strong", a comment that reversed some of the gains the greenback had made since his November election victory.Colombia and the Dominican Republic sold a combined US$3.7bn of US dollar bonds, while Chile launched a Ps1trn (US$1.52bn) Euroclearable peso-denominated trade.The state-owned company that manages the metro system in the Chilean capital of Santiago, Empresa de Transporte de Pasajeros Metro SA, also priced a US$500m 30-year bond at US Treasuries plus 215bp.Brazilian aerospace company Embraer and Central America Bottling Corporation also announced roadshows on Wednesday as they readied new bond offerings as well."There is a lot of downside to this market," said a third banker. "So if you are smart, you want to get ahead of the curve rather than gang around. That is really the driver."The deals were expected to see good demand, even in one of the busiest sessions of emerging market sovereign debt in recent years.Aside from the four LatAm countries that announced deals on Wednesday, Turkey and the Philippines are also approaching investors with dollar trades."This has got to be a record day (for sovereigns)," said Sean Newman, a senior portfolio manager at Invesco.Investors have money to put to work after a long issuance drought. Inflows have also been relatively benign, despite expectations of heavy redemptions after Trump''s win."There is demand out there, cash levels have been building up in anticipation of deals coming to market, and fund flows remain supportive," Newman said.The largest issue is likely to come from Argentina, which announced five and 10-year tranches for its first international bond sale of the year, expected to price as soon as Thursday.By mid afternoon, Argentina had already garnered some US$14bn in demand, even before participation from larger accounts focused on other sovereign deals Wednesday.Order books on Colombia''s two-part US dollar bond sale meanwhile hit a healthy US$9bn, allowing leads to tighten 25bp across both tranches.The passage of recent fiscal reforms and the peace accord with FARC rebels have made Colombia attractive to investors previously concerned about its ratings trajectory."Colombia is in a good position in terms of fundamentals and the peace agreement," said Eddy Sternberg, EM portfolio manager at Loomis Sayles & Company. "It is not a bad place to be." (Reporting by the IFR team; Writing by Marc Carnegie; Editing by Natalie Harrison and Paul Kilby)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/latam-bonds-idINL1N1F816K'|'2017-01-18T18:15:00.000+02:00' +'163b2a0ba571121fdc80ccfbba347fdaf5387742'|'BM&FBovespa says CME fully divests from bourse shares'|'Big Story 10 25am EST BM&FBovespa says CME fully divests from bourse shares BRASILIA BM&FBovespa SA, Latin America''s largest financial bourse, said on Friday that CME Group had fully divested its position in shares issued by the Brazilian bourse, but said the accords between both companies remained valid. "The agreements between BM&FBovespa and the CME Group will remain valid and the companies will seek to continue to cooperate strategically in developing products, technology and other areas of mutual interest for both companies," BM&FBovespa said in a filing. (Reporting by Paula Arend Laier; Writing by Alonso Soto) Next In Big Story 10 Pakistan''s Sindh province cracks down on child labor KARACHI, Pakistan (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Pakistan''s Sindh province has banned children under 14 from working, becoming the third region to limit child labor in a country where millions of minors work in sectors from brick making to carpet weaving, farming to mining.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-bm-fbovespa-cme-group-idUSKBN15B124'|'2017-01-27T18:19:00.000+02:00' +'92e5418d9ca0579c3d140cc05e5c67c2f854ead8'|'Massachusetts orders LPL to pay $3.7 mln in relief for older investors'|'Money 43am EST Massachusetts orders LPL to pay $3.7 million in relief for older investors BOSTON Massachusetts'' top securities regulator said on Monday he ordered LPL Financial Holdings Inc to offer about $2.5 million in restitution to older investors over the sale of unsuitable insurance products. The order also fines LPL $975,000 and requires disgorgement of $208,000 in commissions on the sales. The order from Secretary of the Commonwealth William Gavin said one of LPLs advisers misrepresented clients ages and net worth to make them appear more suitable for buying variable annuity investments. LPL also failed to detect various red flags and discrepancies which should would have prevented the harm, according to a statement from Galvin''s office. With the risk of the Department of Labors Fiduciary rule being dismantled, it is crucial that the states step in to fill this void, Galvin said. The Securities Division and I intend to do that by vigilantly policing this area to protect retirees, and I would also caution Washington not to dismantle Labors rule and abandon mom and pop investors." On the campaign trail, U.S. President Donald Trump had said that "70 percent of regulations can go," and one of his top advisers, Anthony Scaramucci, told Reuters the fiduciary rule "would likely be stopped." (Reporting By Tim McLaughlin; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli) Next In Money'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-lpl-hldg-massachusetts-settlement-idUSKBN15E1VB'|'2017-01-30T22:39:00.000+02:00' +'c72653a1188fd8db42f2e8cdc9de6877ed6f26bc'|'Asia Graphics-Japan, China lead Asia in export exposure to United States'|'Financials 58am EST Asia Graphics-Japan, China lead Asia in export exposure to United States Jan 27 Expectations of more protectionist policies from the new U.S. administration of Donald Trump are likely to hurt Asian countries with more export exposure to the United States. Japan leads the region with about 20 percent exposure, followed by China with 18 percent, based on 2015 data. For a chart on Asian countries'' export exposure to the United States: tmsnrt.rs/2jaCGlz (Reporting By Patturaja Murugaboopathy and Gaurav Dogra in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/asia-usexposure-graphics-idUSL4N1FH1TC'|'2017-01-27T14:58:00.000+02:00' +'4dcd8ac1af8a4a4550b27e9a094db7a51136e654'|'China Moly to help BHR acquire stake in Congo''s Tenke copper mine'|'KINSHASA Jan 22 China Molybdenum Co Ltd (CMOC) said on Sunday that it has signed an agreement with Chinese private equity firm BHR to support BHR''s acquisition of a 24 percent stake in Democratic Republic of Congo''s giant Tenke copper mine.CMOC says it is the majority owner of Tenke after completing a $2.65 billion purchase of a 56 percent stake in the mine, one of the world''s largest, from Freeport McMoRan Inc in November. BHR agreed to buy a minority stake from Canada''s Lundin Mining in November for about $1.14 billion.Congo state mining company Gecamines, which has a 20 percent stake, has tried for months to block both sales, arguing it has a right to pre-empt them.Gecamines representatives and Congo''s mines minister could not be immediately reached for comment on Sunday."CMOC will provide financial guarantees and other assistance to BHR to ensure that BHR''s acquisition of Lundin''s 24 percent indirect stake in (Tenke) completes successfully in a timely manner," CMOC said in a statement.It added that CMOC and BHR have entered into an agreement, which would give CMOC the right to purchase BHR''s stake at a pre-agreed price if BHR leaves the project.Congo is Africa''s largest copper producer, mining about 1 million tonnes of the metal in 2014 and 2015. Tenke has proven and probable reserves of 3.8 million tonnes of contained copper, according to CMOC. (Reporting By Aaron Ross; Editing by Joe Bavier and Elaine Hardcastle)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/congo-mining-idINL5N1FC0KG'|'2017-01-22T10:31:00.000+02:00' +'cefe4df1af920f8682a7ab34b6bd87cdb94890b9'|'Novartis weighs Alcon spinoff, launches share buyback'|'BASEL, Switzerland Novartis AG may spin off its struggling Alcon eye care business and is launching a share buyback of up to $5 billion, the Swiss drugmaker said on Wednesday while reporting fourth-quarter results that lagged market expectations.Fourth-quarter core net income was $2.66 billion, short of the $2.72 billion expected on average by analysts in a Reuters poll.Sales of heart drug Entresto for the full year were $170 million, short of Novartis''s own target of $200 million.Novartis has been trying to whip Alcon back into shape and said the division was making progress. Its sales were flat in the fourth quarter."Options being considered range from retaining the business to separation via a capital markets transaction," it said, adding the review would take place during the course of 2017.Novartis proposed raising its dividend by 2 percent to 2.75 Swiss francs per share.It forecast 2017 net sales broadly in line with 2016 levels at constant exchange rates after absorbing the impact of generic competition. Core operating income was expected to be broadly in line or decline at a low-single-digit rate at constant currencies.(Reporting by John Miller, Editing by Michael Shields)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-novartis-results-idINKBN1590GE'|'2017-01-25T04:05:00.000+02:00' +'c7862e048a0c20462814979b18567c72de41d6ef'|'LSE says no plans to move clearing operations after Deutsche Boerse merger'|'London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) ( LSE.L ) said on Monday it had no plans to shift the operations of its LCH clearing business from Britain to Germany following the group''s merger with Deutsche Boerse ( DB1Gn.DE ).LSEG was responding to an independent study and press speculation about the possible future location of some of its businesses as a result of its tie-up with its German rival.According to the research report published in the Times on Monday, there is a "good chance" Deutsche Boerse will relocate derivatives trading from London to Frankfurt. bit.ly/2jVIlff"Such action is not contemplated and any statements suggesting otherwise are inaccurate and misguided ... LSEG and Deutsche Brse are committed to maintaining the strengths and capabilities of their respective operations in London and Frankfurt," LSEG said in a statement."There is no intention to move the locations of Eurex or Clearstream from Frankfurt, LCH from London and the U.S., Monte Titoli from Milan or CC&G from Rome following completion," it added.Deutsche Boerse and LSEG have been working to overcome regulatory hurdles holding up their $28 billion merger and looking to appease regulators. LSEG agreed this month to sell its French clearing business to Euronext ( ENX.PA ).Last week, the head of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, said it would carefully look at the proposed merger too, particularly given Britain''s decision to leave the European Union.Separately on Monday, the economic secretary to the UK Treasury told Reuters that keeping euro-denominated clearing in London even after Britain leaves the EU was in Europe''s interest.(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-lse-m-a-deutsche-boerse-relocation-idINKBN1501KE'|'2017-01-16T10:18:00.000+02:00' +'db76425cfd8e4f91a6039eea3f2485964a1b88f5'|'RPT-COLUMN-U.S. complaint against China''s aluminium sector risks back-firing: Andy Home'|'(Repeats with no changes. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters)* tmsnrt.rs/2iy2wuQ* tmsnrt.rs/2iy5zTGBy Andy HomeLONDON, Jan 16 The gloves have just come off in the simmering dispute between the United States and China about that country''s rising exports of aluminium.The United States last week launched a formal complaint at the World Trade Organization (WTO), taking aim at China''s "subsidies to certain producers of primary aluminum".Such subsidies, the United States claims, have "artificially" increased China''s capacity, production and market share leading to depressed prices and causing "serious prejudice" to U.S. interests.This dispute has been brewing for a long time.The United States was once one of the world''s largest producers with 22 aluminium smelters. The number of operating plants has dwindled from 14 in 2011 to just five now.China, meanwhile, has lifted its share of global production from 25 percent 10 years ago to over 50 percent today.That parts of China''s giant aluminium sector are subsidized is not news to anyone involved in the aluminium market.But China is not the only country offering subsidies to its smelters and the problem, if there is one, is arguably not at the primary metal stage of the supply chain but further downstream.Graphic on global aluminium production; China and the rest of the world: tmsnrt.rs/2iy2wuQSUBSIDIES - A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD?The WTO complaint specifically accuses China of providing "artificially cheap loans from banks and (...) artificially low-priced inputs for aluminium production, such as coal, electricity, and alumina."Some of those targets look a little off the mark. It''s questionable, for example, as to whether Chinese smelters are really getting their alumina at below-market prices.But you don''t have to look very hard to see Beijing''s influence over parts of the country''s aluminium sector.Chalco, the state-backed producer, recognised 1,769 million yuan (equivalent to $256 million at today''s exchange rate) of government grants as income for the financial year to December 2015. The funds were "necessary to compensate costs and facilitate the group''s development".Behind that headline figure, moreover, lay a web of transactions ranging from asset swaps to lease arrangements with the state entity, Chinalco, that is the company''s largest shareholder.This is indicative of one of the core problems with China''s aluminium smelter sector.While a new generation of smelters, mostly located in the northwestern province of Xinjiang, are widely believed to be among the most competitive in the world, older, higher-cost plants such as those operated by Chalco have been kept alive by both central and regional governments.Paul Adkins, founder of the AZ China consultancy, estimates that six or seven Chinese provinces offer rebates on electricity to some smelters in their jurisdictions.But they''re not the only ones doing so to support financially challenged smelters.One of those five smelters still operating in the United States, Alcoa''s Massena West, is only producing metal thanks to subsidies by the state of New York.In November 2015 the state''s power authority committed $30 million in power assistance and its Economic Development Commission $38.8 million in capital and operating funds to modernise the plant.And right now Alcoa is in talks with both the Australian government and the state government of Victoria aimed at securing financial support to keep open the 30-year old Portland smelter.Accusing China of providing subsidies via power rebates may prove something of a double-edged sword for the United States.Graphic on China''s exports of aluminium by type:tmsnrt.rs/2iy5zTGTHE CHANGING SHAPE OF EXPORTSChina, meanwhile, is no longer a significant exporter of primary aluminium.That changed around 2006. Primary exports totalled over a million tonnes in 2004 and 2005. By 2015 exports had fallen to 30,000 tonnes and in the first 11 months of last year the total was just 17,000 tonnes.Rather, the country''s export profile is now in the form of semi-manufactured products, 4.2 million tonnes of them in 2015.True, there are legitimate concerns as to whether some of this outbound flow has really been "product" or metal transformed just enough to bypass the country''s export duty on primary metal.The issue of "fake" semis certainly warrants a conversation between the United States and China, not least because it disadvantages both.But most of what leaves China is "real" product and if over-capacity is the problem, it''s located in the semi-manufacturing part of the supply chain.As AZ China''s Adkins notes, "some of that over-capacity is supported by government policy" in the form of "zero land tax, help with labour costs or local taxes, and the formation of industrial zones with attractive benefits."However, he goes on to suggest that "the natural structure of aluminum prices in China lends itself to a lower semi-fabricated cost".A VAT rebate on exports of "product" of course helps but, again, China isn''t the only country using that sort of tax instrument to promote value-added output.Adkins'' view is that relative to other countries, the "additional" help offered to the semi-manufacturing sector by the Chinese government is "minimal".COMPETITIVE?The United States in announcing its complaint noted pointedly that it has filed 25 complaints with the WTO since President Obama was inaugurated in 2009 and has so far won all those so far announced.This one, however, may yet prove trickier.And even if successful, will it really mean a revival of the country''s smelter sector?"When American aluminum workers and producers can compete on a level playing field, they will outcompete any other workers in the world," according to Representative Dave Loebsack (D-IA), one of the backers of the WTO action.That''s questionable, given the age and cost structure of many U.S. smelters relative to the new capacity coming on line in China.And which workers in particular?Because there are more American workers employed in the manufacturing part than in the raw production part of the aluminium supply chain.They may not welcome their own government''s attempt to stem the flow of low-cost Chinese semi-manufactured product upon which they and so many other product makers around the world now rely on.(Editing by David Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/aluminium-trade-ahome-idINL5N1F63PT'|'2017-01-16T22:00:00.000+02:00' +'e391870ad4c0775ea14bb34e30db5f4384249c4f'|'U.S. agency calls for safer lithium-ion batteries after Samsung fires'|'Company News 56pm EST U.S. agency calls for safer lithium-ion batteries after Samsung fires Jan 24 Safety standards for lithium-ion batteries need to be modernised following a massive recall of Samsung Electronics Co Ltd phones after faulty batteries caused fires, a U.S. government agency said on Tuesday. "Consumers should never have to worry that a battery-powered device might put them, their family or their property at risk," Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairman Elliot Kaye said in a statement. The agency reached agreement with Samsung to recall 2.5 million Note 7 phones in early September. While most recalls have a "dangerously low" consumer response rate, 97 percent of Samsung''s Note 7 phones have been returned, Kaye said. The U.S. consumer-safety regulator and Samsung are working with the industry to update the voluntary standard for lithium-ion batteries in smartphones, the commission said. "At a minimum, industry needs to learn from this experience and improve consumer safety by putting more safeguards in place during the design and manufacturing stages to ensure that technologies run by lithium-ion batteries deliver their benefits without the serious safety risks," Kaye said. (Reporting by Komal Khettry in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) Next In Company News EMERGING MARKETS-Mexico stocks in biggest one-day rise since Trump election By Bruno Federowski and Miguel Angel Gutierrez SAO PAULO/MEXICO CITY, Jan 24 Mexico''s blue-chip stock index on Tuesday saw its largest one-day rise since the election of President Donald Trump, just one day before key negotiations on trade with the United States begin. The IPC rose 2.19 percent, its third consecutive day of gains, as Mexico prepared to discuss changes in trade rules about a product''s country of origin to try to avoid a disruptive fight with the United States'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/tech-batteries-safety-idUSL1N1FF013'|'2017-01-25T07:56:00.000+02:00' +'cbff0ed6e1fa8eb2525c02959b2fe4f4c3206f10'|'China should set more flexible GDP growth target in 2017 - central bank adviser'|'Business News - Mon Jan 2, 2017 - 2:10pm GMT China should set more flexible GDP growth target in 2017 - central bank adviser An employee works at a steel factory in Dalian, Liaoning Province, China, June 27, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer BEIJING China should set a more flexible economic growth target this year to create more room for reforms, a central bank adviser told the official Xinhua news agency, suggesting a range of 6.0 to 7.0 percent versus 6.5 to 7.0 percent in 2016. China has made reform of its lumbering and uncompetitive state-owned enterprises - many in heavy industries - a priority as excess capacity and idle workers bleed what precious resources such "zombie" companies have. Policymakers are counting on growth in the services sector to help counter the ill effects of the restructuring while weak global demand and persistent weakness in exports drag on the world''s second-largest economy. As the economy''s old growth drivers lose momentum, the new ones are still not robust enough to substitute them, which is the biggest problem for China''s economy at present, said Huang Yiping, a member of the central bank monetary policy committee. "Reforms should target facilitating economic restructuring and eliminating ''old capacity'' from the market," he told Xinhua in an interview published on Monday. Separately, Huang also said that as more Chinese residents look overseas to diversify their investment portfolios, capital outflows will "last for a certain period". (Reporting by Ryan Woo; editing by David Stamp) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-reform-idUKKBN14M0QZ'|'2017-01-02T21:10:00.000+02:00' +'b8f9319c4355f3905abe89c3cb9df929f3dbc132'|'Starbucks curbs 2017 revenue forecast after U.S. store visits drop'|'By Lisa Baertlein - LOS ANGELES LOS ANGELES Starbucks Corp ( SBUX.O ) on Thursday trimmed its full-year revenue forecast and reported a smaller-than-expected rise in quarterly sales at established restaurants in the Americas, sending its shares down 3.8 percent in after-hours trade trade.The world''s biggest coffee seller said visits to U.S. stores region were down in a sign the company may be succumbing to the stubborn slump bedeviling the broader restaurant industry.Starbucks Chief Operating Officer Kevin Johnson told Reuters the disappointing Americas results were primarily due to operational challenges caused by congestion at drink pickup sites after the number of cafes reaping more than 20 percent of transactions from mobile orders doubled to 1,200 during the fiscal first quarter, which ended Jan. 1.Chief Executive Howard Schultz said on a conference call: "This is a great problem to have and a problem that we know how to solve. This is not rocket science."Sales at Americas region cafes open at least 13 months were up 3.0 percent for the first quarter, but missed analysts'' average forecast of a 3.9 percent rise, according to research firm Consensus Metrix.U.S. same-store sales were also up 3.0 percent while the actual number of transactions was down. Starbucks recently changed its loyalty program to focus on dollars spent rather than transactions. Adjusting for that change, Starbucks said traffic was flat.The Seattle company forecast 2017 revenue growth of 8.0 to 10 percent, down from prior call for a double-digit rise.Johnson, the chief operating officer, also pinned some blame on macroeconomic weakness that is causing pain throughout the restaurant industry.Revenue rose to $5.7 billion from $5.4 billion a year earlier as net income attributable to Starbucks rose to $751.8 million from $687.6 million.The revenue was less than the $5.8 billion average target of analysts compiled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Adjusted earnings per share of 52 cents met expectations."Despite (Starbucks'') relative consistency and outperformance vs. peers, it isn''t completely immune to a meaningful deterioration in retail traffic," Stephens analyst Will Slabaugh said in a client note.The Americas region contributed 62 percent of Starbucks'' total net revenue in the latest fiscal year.Much of that came from the United States, where Starbucks and other chains have been battling direct rivals as well as unusually low grocery prices.Starbucks shares fell $2.20 to $56.26 in extended trade.(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles and Peter Henderson in San Francisco; Editing by Matthew Lewis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/starbucks-results-idINKBN15A37Y'|'2017-01-26T21:15:00.000+02:00' +'13f20b293eb1cecbe64248f41411c217003d3043'|'Crisis-hit BT seeks to reassure investors with strong consumer growth'|' 7:19am GMT Crisis-hit BT seeks to reassure investors, points to strong consumer demand A man walks past a BT logo outside of offices in the City of London, Britain, January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON BT ( BT.L ), the telecoms group reeling from an accounting scandal and a slowdown in its government work, said it was seeing record growth in its EE mobile unit and good momentum in consumer operations in a bid to reassure investors. In results overshadowed by the profit warning on Tuesday that wiped out a fifth of its market value, the group said it had added 83,000 broadband customers in its third quarter, while 260,000 switched to faster fibre connections. "I am deeply disappointed with the unacceptable practices by some that we''ve found," Chief Executive Gavin Patterson said. Adjusted core earnings for the quarter rose 18 percent to 1.87 billion pounds, it said. (Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Kate Holton) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bt-group-results-idUKKBN15B0IP'|'2017-01-27T14:38:00.000+02:00' +'11c0eaae531165495aa011565f9a8ed0554f89aa'|'PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Jan 30'|'Jan 30 The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.The Times* The American consulting engineer playing a key role in Britain''s new High Speed Two rail route, CH2M, has approached UK competitor WS Atkins about a possible $4 billion merger. bit.ly/2jteHJK* The Competition and Markets Authority is expected to confirm plans to look at Tesco Plc''s planned 3.9 billion pound ($4.91 billion) takeover of Booker Group Plc . bit.ly/2jtda6eThe Guardian* Thousands of steelworkers will vote on rescue proposals for the Port Talbot steelworks this week in a definitive moment for the crisis in the industry. Tata Steel has tabled a proposal to save 8,000 job in its UK business, including the Port Talbot steelworks in south Wales, by investing 1 billion pounds into modernising its operations over the next 10 years. bit.ly/2jtdCBK* BT Group Plc has fired the first shot in the battle for Champions League football, saying it is determined to keep a grip on the TV rights to European football''s blue-riband club competition and accusing arch-rival Sky of having too much dominance over pay-TV sport. htt p://bit.ly/2jtn9ZlThe Telegraph* Philip Green is understood to be close to a deal that will see him stump up more than 350 million pounds to fund the pensions of former BHS staff who have been left in limbo since the retail chain''s collapse last year. bit.ly/2khtD22* The maker of the next generation of the black cab is targeting European capitals for sales of its hybrid-powered version of the iconic vehicle. London Taxi Co opens its new 300 million pound factory in Coventry, where it will produce the TX5 taxis, in March, with the vehicles rolling off the production line in the third quarter. bit.ly/2khuH6bSky News* British Bankers'' Association has warned that market stability could be undermined if Brexit is not handled efficiently, according to Sky News. bit.ly/2khuPmb* Theresa May has announced a 100 million pound deal for the development of fighter jets for Turkey, following trade talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. bit.ly/2khuQqg($1 = 0.7945 pounds) (Compiled by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-press-business-idINL1N1FK013'|'2017-01-29T22:15:00.000+02:00' +'f53785b4ff33dd71a29540417f034313ef30803b'|'UPDATE 1-Bad loans, other costs hobble Q4 earnings for Saudi banks'|'Financials - Thu Jan 19, 2017 - 2:21pm EST UPDATE 1-Bad loans, other costs hobble Q4 earnings for Saudi banks * Alawwal Bank Q4 loss 249.3 mln riyals vs 451.3 mln profit yr-ago * Saudi British Bank posts 35 pct profit drop * Profits also down for Banque Saudi Fransi, Samba Financial Group (Adds detail, context) By Tom Arnold DUBAI, Jan 19 Rising bad loans dragged down the fourth-quarter results of several Saudi Arabian banks on Thursday, underlining the tougher conditions lenders in the Arab World''s largest economy face after lower oil revenues curbed spending and business activity. Alawwal Bank, Saudi Arabia''s oldest lender, swung to a net loss of 249.3 million riyals ($66.5 million) in the three months to Dec. 31, down from a net profit of 451.3 million riyals in the same quarter of 2015, according to a statement. Alistithmar Capital and EFG Hermes had forecast it would make a quarterly profit of 330.5 million riyals and 438.0 million riyals respectively. Saudi British Bank <1060.SE (SABB)>, the kingdom''s sixth-largest bank by assets, posted a 35 percent drop in its fourth-quarter net profit, missing analysts'' forecasts. Both banks attributed the weaker performance in part to higher operating expenses as a result of a rise in provisions for credit losses, with Alawwal experiencing a 181.5 percent rise in costs. Banque Saudi Fransi, which is partly owned by Credit Agricole, widely missed analysts'' forecasts with a 61 percent drop in fourth-quarter net profit. It blamed a more than doubling in total operating expenses partly due to higher impairment charges for credit losses and a rise in other costs. Some banks are grappling with a rising tide of bad debt as customers, including several large contractors, struggle due to stalled payments and delayed projects as the government tightens its belt. "It appears several Saudi banks booked higher provisions in the quarter which appear lumpy and may have been related to one or two big companies," said Chiradeep Ghosh, senior analyst at SICO in Bahrain. Samba Financial Group, Saudi Arabia''s third-largest bank by assets, reported a 12 percent fall in fourth-quarter net profit to 1.09 billion riyals, missing analysts'' forecasts. Operating expenses for the bank rose 15.6 percent on account of higher general and administrative expenses and provisions for credit and rent costs, although it was offset by a drop in salaries and depreciation expenses, it said. Still, in a sign that some lenders are faring better than others, National Commercial Bank and Al Rajhi Bank, the two largest banks, on Wednesday both reported a rise in profits. Another lender hit by impairment charges was Riyad Bank , the fourth-largest lender by assets. On Monday it posted a 65.6 percent fall in fourth-quarter net profit. ($1 = 3.7505 riyals) (Editing by Jason Neely and Alexandra Hudson) Next In Financials REFILE-UPDATE 2-Western Union settles U.S. money laundering allegations for $586 mln WASHINGTON, Jan 19 Western Union Co agreed to pay $586 million and admitted to turning a blind eye as criminals used its service for money laundering and fraud, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission said in statements on Thursday.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/samba-financial-results-idUSL5N1F95Z6'|'2017-01-20T02:21:00.000+02:00' +'b5ec90efa92f818ae407fe12b0c4bd4705e2a788'|'Generali CFO Minali preparing to resign - source'|'Financials 3:44pm EST Generali CFO Minali preparing to resign - source MILAN Jan 23 Generali Chief Financial Officer Alberto Minali is preparing to hand in his resignation and a board meeting on Wednesday will discuss his position, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Monday. The source said Minali''s decision was due to disagreements with Chief Executive Philippe Donnet, who took over the helm at Italy''s largest insurer last year following the sudden departure of former CEO Mario Greco to rival Zurich Insurance. Minali was already CFO when Donnet took over but was then also appointed managing director in addition to his previous responsibilities. A second source with knowledge of the matter confirmed that Generali will hold a board meeting on Wednesday, but did without elaborating. Minali did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Speculation over Minali''s pending departure was first reported by daily La Stampa over the weekend. (Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro, writing by Agnieszka Flak, editing by Silvia Aloisi) Next In Financials Fitch Takes Rating Actions on U.S. Midtier Regional Banks Following Peer Review (The following statement was released by the rating agency) CHICAGO, January 23 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings has completed its review of its U.S. midtier regional bank peer group. Following the review, which generally covers banks with assets between $10 billion and $50 billion, Fitch downgraded UMB financial (UMBF) and revised the Rating Outlook to Stable from Negative. At the same time, Fitch revised the Outlooks for BOK Financial (BOKF) to Stable from Negative and revised the Outlook for First'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/generali-cfo-idUSI6N1F201W'|'2017-01-24T03:44:00.000+02:00' +'d2075c4faf118255cc841787425e3c5a8a9db515'|'Moscow and Kiev head for $3 bln debt showdown in English court'|'* Ukraine sold Russia $3 bln bond weeks before regime change* Moscow at odds with Kiev''s now pro-Western government* Russia chooses public hearing over private arbitration* London High Court hearing starts on Jan. 17By Karin StroheckerLONDON, Jan 13 A $3 billion dispute between two adversarial governments will come to a head in an English court on Tuesday when Russia and Ukraine meet for a first hearing in their legal battle over a politically charged eurobond.The debt at the heart of the dispute was sold in late December 2013 by then-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich to Russia, less than two months before his Moscow-backed government was ousted by street protests that the swept ex-Soviet republic.Fast-forward through a pro-Western change of government in Kiev, Russia''s annexation of Ukraine''s Crimea region and an International Monetary Fund bailout for Ukraine involving a restructuring of sovereign, hard currency bonds.Those bonds, restructured to pull the near-bankrupt Ukraine back from the brink, were chiefly held by private investors - aside from $3 billion worth held by the Russian government.Moscow insists the bond which matured in December 2015 is sovereign debt and should never have been included in the restructuring plan. Kiev refused to repay the bond, saying Russia should have participated in the restructuring.Russia, represented by Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton LLP, filed a lawsuit in February 2016 demanding a full $3 billion repayment plus legal fees and interest, which according to Moscow''s finance ministry amounted to $75 million a year ago.The case, which will be heard at the High Court on Jan. 17, is unusual in many ways, according to Mitu Gulati, a law professor at Duke University in the United States."The most important big issue here is: Does Ukraine actually owe money to a country that basically ran it as a vassal state and invaded it and took its territory? And that is the kind of question that courts usually don''t ever decide," said Gulati.The bond is unusual because countries do not generally lend to each other under a third country''s legal framework, opting instead for direct bilateral agreements. Terms are often kept under wraps.If debt relief is needed, it tends to be agreed under the framework of the Paris Club of creditor nations, of which Russia is a permanent member.This bond however was structured under English Law, and both Russia and Ukraine had agreed from the outset that a British court ought to decide on possible disputes, Gulati noted."Now a dispute is actually happening, and rather than negotiating and resolving it on their own, they are bringing it in front of a judge which means the judge is going to have to decide on matters that affect international law, not just commercial law."Both Russia and Ukraine''s government declined to comment.UKRAINE SAYS BOND WAS ISSUED UNDER DURESSUkraine''s defence, managed by Quinn, Emanuel, Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, centres around a number of arguments. First, that the bond had never been properly authorised by Ukraine''s parliament and government, was issued under duress and was subject to a number of implied additional terms.Kiev should also be allowed to take "counter-measures" in response to actions taken by Russia, it argued, according to a defence document seen by Reuters.Russia''s "illegal invasion and unlawful occupation" had deprived Ukraine "of the entire purported economic benefit of the transaction", the document states in its defence.The hearing comes after Russia requested a summary judgement, often used to speed up proceedings. This means the court will look at each of Ukraine''s defence arguments and decide if they are likely to stand up in court. Following this, it could allow the case to go to trial, or not.Russia had the option of a private hearing at the London International Court of Arbitration, according to the bond prospectus, but the fact it chose to bring the case to a public court shows it is confident of victory, legal experts said."Their choice was very interesting," said Peter Griffin at Slaney Advisors, an expert in international arbitration and foreign investment disputes."Russia''s case seems to me very strong. And Russia has played this one really intelligently from the beginning - it is almost like they have been two steps ahead of Ukraine and everyone else." (Additional reporting by Natasha Zinets in Kiev and Andrey Ostroukh in Moscow; editing by Mark Heinrich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/ukraine-russia-eurobonds-idINL5N1F32FU'|'2017-01-13T14:18:00.000+02:00' +'43b3a0c6e5f4de538391ba51c8a3d289932286a5'|'Trump signs order withdrawing U.S. from Trans-Pacific trade deal'|' 5:02pm GMT Trump signs order withdrawing U.S. from Trans-Pacific trade deal left right U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order on U.S. withdrawal from the Trans Pacific Partnership while flanked by Vice President Mike Pence (L) and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus (R) in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington January 23, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque 1/2 left right U.S. President Donald Trump holds up the executive order on withdrawal from the Trans Pacific Partnership after signing it as White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus stands at his side in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington January 23, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque 2/2 WASHINGTON President Donald Trump signed an executive order formally withdrawing the United States from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal on Monday, following through on a promise from his campaign last year. In an Oval Office ceremony, Trump also signed an order imposing a federal hiring freeze and a directive banning U.S. non-governmental organizations receive federal funding from providing abortions abroad. Trump called the TPP order a "great thing for the American worker." (Reporting By Steve Holland)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-executiveorders-idUKKBN1572AJ'|'2017-01-23T23:59:00.000+02:00' +'27ce96bc4494bdf4f62b193b95322b2be2574e67'|'Sri Lankan shares fall on foreign selling amid political uncertainties'|'Basic Materials - Tue Jan 31, 2017 - 7:58am EST Sri Lankan shares fall on foreign selling amid political uncertainties COLOMBO Jan 31 Sri Lankan shares fell on Tuesday to end near a 10-month low as foreign investors sold equities amid political instability and on worries of further interest rate hikes, brokers said. While investors turned cautious after the government''s coalition partners decided to contest local polls separately, a rise in treasury bill yields last week also affected risk appetite, said analysts. Yields on treasury bills rose 2-5 basis points at a weekly auction on Wednesday to a near five-month high after the central bank governor signalled reduced intervention to defend the rupee. Rising interest rates, which move in tandem with T-bill yields, have been a cause for concern, brokers said. The Colombo stock index ended 0.13 percent down at 6,132.68, near its 10-month closing low hit last week, its second straight weekly decline. "Big chunk of today''s trade was foreign-to-foreign transaction. Other than that, there was no major activity as most of the investors are on the sidelines, awaiting direction," said Dimantha Mathew, head of research at First Capital Equities (Pvt) Ltd. Turnover stood at 1.65 billion rupees ($10.99 million), the highest since Dec. 28. Foreign trading accounted for 67 percent of the day''s turnover, as foreign investors net sold 20.77 million rupees ($138,374) worth of equities on Tuesday, extending the year-to-date net foreign outflow to 1.65 billion rupees worth of shares. Shares in Colombo Cold Stores Plc fell 1 percent while Ceylon Tobacco Company Plc fell 0.33 percent. ($1 = 150.1000 Sri Lankan rupees) (Reporting by Ranga Sirilal; Editing by Vyas Mohan) Next In Basic Materials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/sri-lanka-stocks-idUSL4N1FL274'|'2017-01-31T19:58:00.000+02:00' +'4de90fdc25c4446374f6bfd2c73671b6887a2e81'|'Nigeria to close capital''s airport for 6 weeks from 8 March'|'Industrials - Tue Jan 3, 2017 - 9:30am EST Nigeria to close capital''s airport for 6 weeks from 8 March ABUJA Jan 3 Nigeria plans to close the airport in the capital Abuja for six weeks from 8 March to repair its runway, the aviation ministry said on Tuesday, pushing the move back later than previously scheduled. The decision to shut the airport and divert Abuja-bound flights to Kaduna, an airport used primarily for domestic flights about 160 km (100 miles) to the north, was taken after airlines threatened to stop flying to the capital. The government had said the six week closure would begin in February. But a statement issued on Tuesday, which said the aviation minister would discuss the matter with stakeholders, said the "proposed closure" was set to start on 8 March. No reason was given for the change of date. The meeting with aviation industry figures, on Thursday, is to brief them on efforts being made to ensure that the use of Kaduna''s airport is "seamless and hitch-free" said aviation ministry spokesman James Odaudu. Analysts have said that the temporary closure of Abuja airport, the country''s second busiest after the commercial capital Lagos, will have a negative impact on Africa''s biggest economy, which fell into recession in 2016 for the first time in 25 years. Passengers travelling to Abuja will have to fly to Kaduna and travel in bus shuttles, guarded by security provided by the government, to the capital on a pot-holed road where kidnappings have taken place in the last few years. Kaduna''s international airport handled 12 flights in December 2015, the last month for which Nigeria''s airports authority has figures, compared with 812 that used Abuja International. The government has said German company Julius Berger will carry out repairs on Abuja''s damaged runway. (Reporting by Felix Onuah; Writing by Alexis Akwagyiram) Next In Industrials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/nigeria-airport-idUSL5N1ET2M7'|'2017-01-03T21:30:00.000+02:00' +'8dfce0f009c4e2e1876e0c803af63bfc3097d717'|'UPDATE 1-Venezuela''s PDVSA 2016 financial debt drops 6 pct to $41 bln'|'(Adds context, Quote: )CARACAS Jan 20 Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA''s consolidated financial debt fell 6 percent in 2016 compared with the previous year to reach $41 billion, the company said on Friday.The decline was driven by a $1.7 billion drop in outstanding bonds and a $1.6 billion decline in outstanding loans, according to a table published by the company.It did not provide further details. PDVSA as of last year had $28.475 billion in outstanding bonds.The company in 2016 carried out a $2.8 billion bond swap that pushed the maturity of bonds coming due in 2017 to 2020. That helped ease a heavy payment schedule this year but did not significantly alter its overall debt load.Total debt at the company''s U.S. subsidiary Citgo rose 3 percent from 2015 to reach $4.2 billion.Investors are less worried about a default by Venezuela and PDVSA than they have been in previous years as a result of rising oil prices, the source of nearly all the country''s export revenue.But the bonds'' yields remain among the highest of emerging market securities due to concerns about the country''s decaying socialist economic system. (Reporting by Corina Pons, writing by Brian Ellsworth; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Bernadette Baum)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/venezuela-pdvsa-idINL1N1FA0JE'|'2017-01-20T10:31:00.000+02:00' +'bd91126351545ddab0cdd4a1c2f858f697e31936'|'J&J, Actelion approach Swiss takeover board over deal structure - paper'|'Global Energy News - Fri Jan 6, 2017 - 7:04am GMT J&J, Actelion approach Swiss takeover board over deal structure - paper The logo of healthcare company Johnson & Johnson is seen in front of an office building in Zug, Switzerland July 20, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann ZURICH Johnson & Johnson and Actelion have asked Switzerland''s takeover board about the viability of a complicated takeover deal the U.S. healthcare company is discussing with the Swiss biotech firm, newspaper Tages-Anzeiger reported on Friday, without saying how it got the information. The two companies asked about the proposal under which Johnson & Johnson would acquire Actelion while separating its commercialised portfolio from its research and development assets, a deal structure first reported by Reuters last week. The panel''s preliminary review was still going on, the paper said. The Tages-Anzeiger quotes a spokesman for the takeover board as saying it does not comment on specific transactions. The Swiss takeover board, which determines whether a deal meets legal requirements, did not immediately respond to a request by Reuters for comment. An Actelion spokesman also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The proposed deal structure would allow J&J to acquire Actelion with a cash offer in the region of $260 per share, a little more than what it had offered when it walked away from negotiations earlier in December. It also would allow Actelion shareholders to benefit financially from Actelion''s R&D pipeline, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. In return for a minority stake in the remaining business to develop new drugs, Johnson & Johnson could invest $1 billion to $2 billion over several years into Actelion''s research activities as part of the deal, the Tages-Anzeiger reported, again without saying where the information came from. (Reporting by Joshua Franklin; Editing by Michael Shields) Next In Global Energy News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-actelion-m-a-johnson-johnson-swiss-idUKKBN14Q0L4'|'2017-01-06T14:04:00.000+02:00' +'f7762b3a7f6a761836f58059c4efcacd2c7a01a0'|'Ford bets on Mustang to power up China profits'|'Business News 5:04am GMT Ford bets on Mustang to power up China profits People walk by the Ford display during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., January 10, 2017. REUTERS/Mark Blinch By Norihiko Shirouzu - BEIJING BEIJING Ford Motor Co ( F.N ) is betting on one of its most distinctively American models, the Mustang muscle car, to boost the company''s sales and profits in China. Ford began selling the Mustang in China in early 2015, and it is a niche vehicle, selling at a rate of about 3,000 cars a year. Still, that makes the Mustang, which starts at 399,800 yuan ($57,670) the top-seller in a sporty car segment against more expensive vehicles like the Audi TT and the Nissan Skyline GT-R. Mustang last year outsold the Chevrolet Camaro from General Motors Co ( GM.N ) by nearly 15 to one. With styling that harks back to 1960s Detroit muscle cars, the Mustang stands out in a Ford lineup dominated by practical sedans and sport utility vehicles. Ford''s sales in China grew by 50 percent in 2013 and 20 percent in 2014, but in 2015 the pace slowed to 3 percent. In 2016, Ford added the Lincoln luxury brand to its China lineup and expanded sales by 14 percent. Industry analysts said Fords China market profits and profitability were relatively healthy, with operating margins for Fords joint ventures with Chongqing Changan Automobile Co Ltd (000625.SZ) and Jiangling Motors Corp (JMC) (000550.SZ) in the 14-16 percent range over the past three years. But competition in the world''s largest car market continues to heat up as global automakers, from GM to Volkswagen AG ( VOWG_p.DE ) to Toyota Motor Corp ( 7203.T ), add more models to product ranges. Indigenous Chinese automakers, too, are launching models that can compete more head-on with global carmakers'' products. Ford officials said the companys China operations did not have specific profit objectives but were trying to keep margins in their current healthy range. "In terms of having a pricing power on your brand, you want people to be choosing your brand for rational reasons, but if you could also (combine) that with emotional reasons, thats when you get some pricing power, Peter Fleet, Fords executive in charge of sales and marketing for the Asia-Pacific region told Reuters. The Mustang and the F-150 Raptor, a high performance version of Ford''s F-150 large pickup truck, provide the emotion, he said. The formula works for Dong Zirui, a 27-year-old small rental car business owner in the northeastern China city of Tangshan who bought a Mustang late last year. The Mustang is a rear-wheel-drive car," said Dong who decided to buy the Mustang when he spotted photos of it online. "Its a savage when you try some drifting stunts with the car." But Dong said he can fit his wife and young son in the car when he needs to. Dealers say the Mustang brings in two types of buyers to Ford stores: younger drivers, mostly younger than 30 years of age, from upper-middle class families, who have recently finished their studies and have financial support from their parents, as well as drivers in their 30s and 40s who have work or life experience outside China. "Ford has a cleaner sheet in China, so there might be an opening for those halo cars to help the company improve its brand image," said James Chao, Asia-Pacific chief for consulting and research firm IHS Markit Automotive, referring to China being a relatively young market. As Chinese consumers typically make car purchasing decisions based on word-of-mouth advice from their family and friends, Mustang buyers can be influential opinion leaders for Ford. Guo Xin, a 30-year-old rally car racer and stunt driver for films and commercials in Beijing, said he liked the Mustang so much that in 2011 he helped form a Mustang Club of China which now has some 2,000 members. "Growing up I used to see the Mustang in movies," said Guo who drives a 2006 Mustang and also owns a 1966 Mustang. Guo''s classic Mustang would turn heads even in Detroit. But he cannot take it out on public roads. Used cars brought in from outside China cannot be registered in the country. (Reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu in Shanghai and Beijing; Editing by Andrew Hay) Next In Business News Hong Kong court hears Moody''s appeal over ''red flags'' report HONG KONG Hong Kong''s Court of Appeal on Wednesday began hearing Moody''s appeal against a tribunal decision that partly upheld regulatory action imposed on it for a report on Chinese firms, in what is considered a landmark case for the financial centre.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-autoshow-ford-mustang-idUKKBN14V0DT'|'2017-01-11T12:04:00.000+02:00' +'ed04aab1796d8cc23551e65555a2d7540c040aa6'|'Zodiac Aerospace rockets after Safran bid, boosts European shares'|'Business News 34am GMT Zodiac Aerospace rockets after Safran bid, boosts European shares Traders work at their desks in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote LONDON European shares rose on Thursday in early deals, as Zodiac Aerospace''s shares surged after France''s Safran''s takeover offer, and Moneysupermarket.com jumped after results. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.1 percent in early trade. Zodiac Aerospace rocketed 21.6 percent after Safran offered $9 billion to buy the aircraft seat manufacturer. Shares in Safran gained 1.7 percent. Earnings boosted shares in Moneysupermarket.com, up nearly 10 percent at their highest level since March 2016 after the price comparison website said that it expected an 8 percent rise in operating profit. Royal Mail''s results were received less enthusiastically, its shares falling 4.2 percent and weighing on the blue chip FTSE 100 index, which retreated 0.1 percent. A meeting from the European Central Bank later in the day was also in focus, at which the ECB is expected to keep policy unchanged. Overnight, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen signalled that the U.S. central bank is poised to pursue a path of steady interest rate hikes. (Reporting by Kit Rees, Editing by Vikram Subhedar) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks-idUKKBN1530X2'|'2017-01-19T15:34:00.000+02:00' +'571ae6e2c5fdd2cff1b8b9a30794268297e737fc'|'UPDATE 2-Trump names Ohlhausen as acting chair of Federal Trade Commission'|'(Adds background)By Diane BartzWASHINGTON Jan 25 Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen, a Republican on the Federal Trade Commission, has been named the FTC''s acting chairman, the agency said on Wednesday.In addition to Ohlhausen, the commission has two Democrats, outgoing Chairwoman Edith Ramirez who steps down early next month and Democrat Terrell McSweeny. It has two vacancies.The appointment was made by a White House order, the FTC said on its website."I am deeply honored that President Trump has asked me to serve as acting chairman of the FTC and to preserve America''s true engine of prosperity: a free, honest, and competitive marketplace," Ohlhausen said in a statement.Ohlhausen became a commissioner in April 2012 with her term set to expire in 2018, according to the FTC website. The commission works with the Justice Department to enforce antitrust law and pursues companies involved in deceptive advertising as well as those accused of fraud.As a member of the Republican minority in the commission, she has often dissented, sometimes arguing that there was insufficient evidence to justify FTC action.In the past few days, she dissented on a $20 million settlement with the ride-hailing app Uber, which was accused of luring drivers with promises of inflated earnings, and the decision to sue Qualcomm for allegedly using its market power to maintain a monopoly on key semiconductors.Also this month, she dissented on the FTC''s decision to file lawsuits against two companies accused of striking deals aimed at delaying generic medicines from coming to market.Ohlhausen has also been skeptical of the Federal Communications Commission''s move to oversee aspects of security and privacy in the Internet, arguing the FTC should do the job.But she signed on to an FTC lawsuit against Wyndham Hotels for being sloppy in its treatment of consumer data. The chain suffered three data breaches in less than two years, and subsequently settled.She also voted against the FTC''s lawsuit to stop food distribution giant Sysco Corp from buying US Foods Inc, a fight the agency won in court.She voted in favor of the lawsuit to stop office supplies superstore Staples Inc from buying Office Depot Inc, which was also successful.Before becoming a commissioner, Ohlhausen was a partner at the law firm Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP.Ohlhausen has had a long list of posts at the FTC, including director of the Office on Policy Planning and attorney adviser for a former commissioner. (Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Bernard Orr and Alan Crosby)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/ftc-ohlhausen-acting-idINL1N1FF1SO'|'2017-01-25T19:53:00.000+02:00' +'fb359b517fcae759cced6fec627ac4344f3ccad4'|'Fitch Affirms Autonomous Community of Madrid at ''BBB''; Outlook Stable'|'Financials 2:09pm EST Fitch Affirms Autonomous Community of Madrid at ''BBB''; Outlook Stable (The following statement was released by the rating agency) BARCELONA, January 13 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings has affirmed the Autonomous Community of Madrid''s (Madrid) Long-Term Foreign and Local Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at ''BBB'' with Stable Outlooks. Fitch has also affirmed the Short-Term Foreign Currency IDR at ''F2''. The ratings on the senior unsecured outstanding bonds have been affirmed at ''BBB''. The affirmation reflects Madrid''s still weak fiscal performance, high direct debt, but also a strong economy that is supportive of the ratings. The Stable Outlook reflects Fitch''s expectations that the region''s fiscal performance will gradually improve and that the regional economy will remain strong, despite an expected rise of direct debt to 180%-190% of current revenue by 2017 from 180% in 2015. KEY RATING DRIVERS Operating Performance Expected to Improve The regional government has rolled over the 2016 budget for 2017 and the 2017 regional draft budget approval will be given once the central government has communicated its final allocations for 2017. Fitch expects the region''s operating performance to have improved in 2016 and to continue this trend in 2017, with an operating margin of 3%-4% (-1.1% at end-2015). This is based on expected average operating revenue growth of 4.2%, stemming from national economic recovery and a large revenue settlement from the funding system corresponding to previous years'' revenue. Operating expenditure is likely to have grown by a slower 1%-2% in 2016, after one-off health spending of around EUR250m in 2015. Madrid''s current weak fiscal performance is attributed to the current funding system to which the region is a net contributor. This results in its funding per capita being 10% below the average of the other 14 regions under the common regime. The funding system for Spanish regional governments is likely to be reviewed over the medium term but Fitch does not factor in its projections a change of the system. Strong Regional Economy Recovering Madrid has a strong economic profile, with a GDP per capita 36.7% above Spain''s average in 2015. It is the main political, administrative and economic centre in Spain (BBB+/F2/Stable). Its strong economy is also illustrated by a higher-than-average employment rate of 53.6% in 3Q16 versus 48.1% nationally. Madrid''s economy is recovering as GDP grew 3.9% yoy in 2015 to an estimated nominal EUR203bn. Madrid created a cumulative 10.4% more jobs between December 2013 and November 2016, after having shed 9.4% jobs between December 2008 and December 2013, reflecting the economic recovery underway in the region. Rising Direct Debt Madrid''s direct debt grew significantly in 2015 to EUR26.9bn or 180.1% of current revenue, (EUR24.2bn or 170.6% in 2014) and Fitch estimates this to have grown further in 2016 to EUR28bn-EUR29bn, or 180%-185% of current revenues. Debt servicing-to-current revenue is expected to have slightly declined from 26% in 2015. Overall debt repayments for the next three years are EUR7.2bn, or 27% of outstanding direct debt at end-2015. However, this is mitigated by Madrid''s strong access to external liquidity. Strong Access to External Liquidity Madrid has strong access to capital and commercial markets to fund its annual deficit, even during adverse periods. Consequently, it is one of the few Spanish regional governments rated by Fitch that had not applied to the Regional Liquidity Fund state support mechanism until 2014. The central government''s introduction in 2015 of the Fondo de Facilidad Financiera zero interest rate loans for regional governments that complied with stability goals helped ease Madrid''s commercial debt financing in 2016. Nevertheless, Madrid has funded a larger proportion of its annual deficit through capital market debt and bank loans bearing moderate interest rates averaging 1.54% and with a long amortisation period. In 2017, Madrid''s debt redemption and budgetary needs will continue to be funded from capital markets and banks. Adherence to Fiscal Targets The President of the regional government formed following the May 2015 elections, Ms. Cristina Cifuentes, will continue with the fiscal policy with a strong intention to comply with fiscal targets. RATING SENSITIVITIES A negative operating balance in 2016 would automatically result in a negative rating action. Direct debt structurally exceeding 200% of current revenue could also trigger a negative rating action. The ratings could be upgraded if the regional government reports a consistently positive current balance and if direct debt to current revenue declines on a sustained basis. KEY ASSUMPTIONS Fitch assumes that the state will continue providing support to Spanish autonomous communities over the medium term, in particular, through liquidity mechanisms. Discussion on the regional financial system is ongoing in Spain, and changes are in prospect over the medium term. However, Fitch does not factor such changes into Madrid''s IDRs. Contact: Primary Analyst Julia Carner Analyst +34 93 323 8401 Fitch Ratings Espana, S.A.U. Av. Diagonal, 601, Barcelona 08028 Secondary Analyst Guilhem Costes Senior Director +34 93 323 8410 Committee Chairperson Christophe Parisot Managing Director +33 1 44 29 91 34 Media Relations: Peter Fitzpatrick, London, Tel: +44 20 3530 1103, Email: peter.fitzpatrick@fitchratings.com; Pilar Perez, Barcelona, Tel: +34 93 323 8414, Email: pilar.perez@fitchratings.com. Fitch has made an adjustment to the official accounts to make Madrid comparable internationally for analyses purposes: -Negative cash in 2014 and 2015 from cash, liquid deposits, sinking fund was re-classified to short-term direct debt Additional information is available on www.fitchratings.com Applicable Criteria International Local and Regional Governments Rating Criteria - Outside the United States (pub. 18 Apr 2016) here Additional Disclosures Dodd-Frank Rating Information Disclosure Form here _id=1017546 Solicitation Status here Endorsement Policy here ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: here . IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY''S PUBLIC WEB SITE AT WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA, AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. 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Credit ratings information published by Fitch is not intended to be used by persons who are retail clients within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFit985685'|'2017-01-14T02:09:00.000+02:00' +'9d02cf4733e6574470aec6b1ae18a7c35ad20fdc'|'Lufthansa 2017 growth plans driven by Air Berlin, Brussels deals'|' 24pm GMT Lufthansa 2017 growth plans driven by Air Berlin, Brussels deals A Lufthansa aircraft moves on the tarmac of Riga International Airport in Riga, Latvia, December 21, 2016. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins By Victoria Bryan - BERLIN BERLIN Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) outlined plans for 4 percent capacity growth in 2017, not including recent deals to expand budget brand Eurowings, as Europe''s airlines engage in a race for customers against a backdrop of rising fuel prices. The German carrier said in an investor presentation on Friday that its network airlines - Lufthansa, Austrian and Swiss - would grow the number of seats on offer by 3 percent, while Eurowings would grow 19 percent. Including recent deals to lease 38 planes and crew from Air Berlin plus take over Brussels Airlines, group growth would be a reported 12.5 percent, according to the slides. UBS earlier downgraded Lufthansa shares to "sell" from "neutral", saying it was concerned that yields - a measure of pricing - would remain negative in 2017, as European carriers continue to add seats despite likely being unable to pass on increased fuel costs to passengers. Expanding Eurowings is Lufthansa''s response to the rise of low-cost carriers in Europe, notably Ryanair ( RYA.I ), which is set to usurp Lufthansa as Europe''s largest carrier by passenger numbers, after the Irish budget airline said it carried 117 million people last year, a 15 percent increase on 2015. Up until the end of November the Lufthansa group had carried almost 102 million passengers and typically carries 8-9 million in the last month of the year, meaning it is unlikely to catch Ryanair when it reports annual passenger numbers on Tuesday. Showing a wish to take some capacity out of the market as well, Lufthansa said that of the 33 A320 planes coming to Eurowings from the Air Berlin lease deal, up to 20 would be used to replace existing Eurowings planes that currently run at higher costs. Lufthansa estimated its fuel costs would rise to 5.3 billion euros ($5.60 billion) in 2017, from 4.9 billion in 2016. The group had previously predicted a 2016 fuel bill of 4.85 billion euros and said fuel costs had risen more than expected in the fourth quarter due to the rising oil price and a strengthening dollar. Lufthansa also on Friday confirmed a forecast for 2016''s adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to remain around 2015''s level of 1.8 billion euros. It is expected to give a first forecast for 2017 profit when it reports full-year results in March. Barclays analysts earlier said they expected it would be difficult for Lufthansa to maintain adjusted EBIT at 2016 levels this year, given rising fuel prices. (Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Adrian Croft) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lufthansa-outlook-idUKKBN14Q21M'|'2017-01-07T00:01:00.000+02:00' +'d15d1d3ca5c1f00b1cb5a09066d4a433bed60f9c'|'Bankruptcy filings for big Brazil firms seen hitting another record'|'By Alusio Alves - SAO PAULO SAO PAULO A growing number of large Brazilian companies will seek protection from creditors in 2017, hitting a record for a third straight year due to a harsh recession and tight credit conditions, bankers and lawyers said on Monday.New bankruptcy filings from companies with annual revenue surpassing 50 million reais ($16 million) are expected to top the 227 requests last year, as publicly listed homebuilders and energy companies may seek in-court reorganizations, they said.Reuters reported on Nov. 3 that PDG Realty SA Empreendimentos e Participaes ( PDGR3.SA ) was considering seeking creditor protection if banks do not refinance the homebuilder''s maturing loans. PDG has repeatedly denied such a decision.A bankruptcy lawyer who asked for anonymity to talk about the situation said PDG is not the only residential developer that could file for bankruptcy protection before June.While declining to elaborate on the potential case, the lawyer said the inability of both builders to sell assets to raise cash could speed up their processes.Last year, a record 1,863 Brazilian companies - most of them oil equipment, construction and manufacturing firms - requested court protection from creditors, about 45 percent more than in 2015, according to data from Experian Plc''s ( EXPN.L ) Brazilian unit. Rating agencies have warned that the risk remained high of more firms facing cash crunches.For homebuilders, which have struggled with weak demand, sales cancellations and high borrowing costs, "we could see a few in-court reorganization cases in the first half alone," said Gilberto de Abreu, president of mortgage lending group Abecip.The outlook presents lingering risks to banks and investors such as pension funds that lent to or bought debt from a myriad of commodity, industrial and services companies earlier this decade after years of robust growth in Latin America''s largest economy.Lenders have cut borrowing costs in recent years and extended maturities for corporate borrowers. Some analysts have said banks may have to refinance or renegotiate terms on more than 100 billion reais in loans over the next 12 months.(Reporting by Alusio Alves; Writing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by David Gregorio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-restructuring-bankruptcy-idINKBN15E2NG'|'2017-01-30T18:55:00.000+02:00' +'2da46d0f45adfd5f8f12f05e35a521ce56ef021b'|'Exclusive: Viacom to announce executive changes - sources'|' 29pm GMT Exclusive: Viacom to announce executive changes - sources A woman exits the Viacom Inc. headquarters in New York April 30, 2013. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo By Jessica Toonkel and Liana B. Baker Viacom Inc ( VIAB.O ) is expected to announce changes to its executive ranks, as new chief executive Bob Bakish seeks to turn around the ailing media company, two sources told Reuters on Wednesday. Viacom is expected to promote Sarah Kirshbaum Levy, the chief operating officer of its Nickelodeon network, to chief operating officer of its global entertainment group, the sources said. Viacom created the group late last year to combine its international division with its music and entertainment group as well as TV Land and CMT. Additionally, Viacom is expected to make a handful of executive cuts in its music and entertainment group, which includes cable networks Comedy Central and MTV and had been led by 25-year veteran Doug Herzog, who left the company this week, the sources said. The sources wished to remain anonymous because they are not permitted to speak to the media. (This story corrects day of week in first paragraph to Thursday from Wednesday.) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-viacom-reorg-exclusive-idUKKBN14P23T'|'2017-01-06T00:29:00.000+02:00' +'098013a7de2eda8579cd0ccea9f283c4fd3d20f6'|'China''s banking regulator to bolster private bank supervision'|'Private Equity - Thu Jan 5, 2017 - 6:20am EST China''s banking regulator to bolster private bank supervision BEIJING Jan 5 China''s banking regulator on Thursday issued guidelines aimed at strengthening governance at the country''s emerging private banks, the latest move by regulators to beef up risk management among financial services firms. The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) guidelines call for private banks to exercise prudential supervision in such areas as related-party transactions, while clearly defining their business strategy, according to a notice published on the CBRC website. (Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk; editing by Susan Thomas) Next In Private Equity'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/china-banking-regulator-idUSB9N1EN00W'|'2017-01-05T18:20:00.000+02:00' +'d7e3433ef90d050fa8b3a06f4e482be4b66ebaec'|'Greece sets March 24 bid deadline for Thessaloniki port sale: sources'|'ATHENS Greece has given investors until March 24 to submit binding bids for a majority stake in its second biggest port, Thessaloniki Port ( OLTr.AT ), two sources close to the matter said on Tuesday.The sale of the 67 percent stake in the port and other privatisations are a key part of the country''s current EU/IMF international bailout deal, the third since 2010.But the programme has fallen behind schedule due to political resistance and red tape, and has raised only 4 billion euros ($4.3 billion) so far versus an original target of 50 billion euros."The board of the privatisations agency decided that the binding bids for the port will be submitted on March 24," said an official from the agency, who declined to be named.Potential investors include shortlisted Danish container terminal operator APM Terminals [APMOLM.UL], Phillipines-based International Container Terminal Services ICTS ( ICT.PS ), Dubai-based P&O Steam Navigation Company (DP World) DPW.DI and Japan''s Mitsui & Co ( 8031.T ).Past deadlines for the submission of binding bids have been pushed back several times due to differences over the amount of mandatory investment and other issues.Athens has said the buyer will have to invest 180 million euros by 2021 to develop the port.Port workers oppose the sale, saying the size of mandatory investment is low and reducing the value of the port, said Lazaros Tantalidis, their representative on the port''s board.Thessaloniki Port, which currently has a market value of $200.5 million (186 million euros), had a throughput of 344,277 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) last year.(Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Karolina Tagaris and Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-greece-privatisation-port-idINKBN15F1M2'|'2017-01-31T10:58:00.000+02:00' +'f0e411a19048304c5e4d764dd9ee9adce6b3fd21'|'Virgin gets back on track with rail ticket refunds - Money'|'A few weeks ago we covered the case of GC of London who had forgotten his disabled persons railcard while on a Virgin West Coast train between Manchester Piccadilly and London Euston. He had to buy two new tickets at full price (an eye-watering 201.85 each compared with 35.65 for the advance tickets with the railcard).GC found his railcard at the end of the journey but, despite sending in a claim for a refund, was denied this by Virgin. The operator also refused to pay up after we intervened, saying it was company policy. However, the case triggered howls of outrage from other readers and passenger group Transport Focus, and Virgin subsequently issued a full refund.The Department for Transport has since announced changes to ticketing policy that give more flexibility in the cases of passengers who have made a mistake. These will come into force in March. Virgin has also changed its policy on its West Coast line (it was the case on the East Coast since the start of the franchise) and will automatically refund the cost of the new ticket if the person finds their railcard after the journey and takes it to their local ticket office.A Virgin Trains spokeswoman said: We are constantly looking to improve the experiences of our customers and understand that sometimes mistakes can happen, like forgetting or misplacing your railcard on the day of travel. In this situation you will still need to purchase a new ticket to travel, but we have introduced a policy to refund the cost of the new ticket when customers take their railcard and proof of purchase for the tickets to the ticket office.We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number'|'theguardian.com'|'https://www.theguardian.com/uk/business'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/jan/04/virgin-gets-back-on-track-with-rail-ticket-refunds'|'2017-01-04T15:00:00.000+02:00' +'e06092f4a40b8ae9b28e6b50c9ce720ffd431258'|'Sri Lankan shares close slightly higher in dull trade'|'Basic Materials 20am EST Sri Lankan shares close slightly higher in dull trade COLOMBO Jan 30 Sri Lankan stocks ended marginally higher on Monday in lacklustre trading as bargain-hunting investors picked up battered shares, but political instability and a rise in interest rates capped gains, brokers said. The Colombo stock index ended 0.1 percent higher at 6,140.54. It hit a near 10-month closing low on Wednesday, and lost 0.5 percent last week, its second straight weekly decline. Biggest listed lender Commercial bank of Ceylon Plc rose 2.2 percent while Colombo Cold Stores Plc rose 1.3 percent. "We saw some bargain-hunting, but there were no big trades," said Dimantha Mathew, head of research at First Capital Equities (Pvt) Ltd. Foreign investors net bought 5.95 million rupees ($39,614) worth of equities on Monday, but they have net sold 1.63 billion rupees worth shares so far this year. Turnover stood at 179.3 million rupees, its lowest since Jan. 18. ($1 = 150.2000 Sri Lankan rupees) (Reporting by Ranga Sirilal; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri) Next In Basic Materials Brazil Supreme Court approves Odebrecht graft plea deal testimony BRASILIA, Jan 30 The president of Brazil''s Supreme Court, Carmen Lucia Rocha, has approved plea bargain statements by 77 executives of engineering conglomerate Odebrecht, who are being investigated for paying bribes in the country''s biggest graft scandal, the court said on Monday.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/sri-lanka-stocks-idUSL4N1FK1E8'|'2017-01-30T19:20:00.000+02:00' +'536310624bc36194027633415a7790712f6d25fc'|'Japanese banks agree to not call in some Toshiba loans early for now - sources'|'By Taro Fuse - TOKYO TOKYO Main Japanese lenders of Toshiba Corp have agreed to not call in some of their loans early for now even as recent downgrades of the troubled firm''s credit ratings violate some provisions in debt agreements, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said.Toshiba on Jan. 10 requested the creditors, which included Japan''s three mega banks, not to use provisions in the loan agreements to call in the loans early and to wait at least till the end of February for such a course of action.Most of the lenders, including main banks Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, Mizuho Bank Ltd and Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd, have agreed to wait till at least end-February to call in the loans, the people said.Toshiba met the lenders after it made warnings for a massive writedown from its nuclear business.The lenders could have exercised their rights to call in the loans as Toshiba''s credit ratings were downgraded to levels low enough for the lenders to do so, said the people.In December, credit rating agencies such as S&P Global Ratings cut Toshiba''s ratings after the writedown warning.Toshiba had about 800 billion yen ($7.04 billion) in outstanding bank loans as of September, of which a chunk was syndicated loans that the group of main lenders agreed to not call in, the people said. Some regional banks are opposed to the deal, they said.The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not permitted to speak to media.(Reporting by Taro Fuse, Writing by Junko Fujita; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/toshiba-accounting-banks-idINKBN1571FX'|'2017-01-23T08:57:00.000+02:00' +'6c0faedb4f43aabc95353bc4711f23b891ac4cf8'|'Ford, Goldman CEOs criticise Trump travel curbs'|'Business News - Mon Jan 30, 2017 - 8:09pm GMT Ford, Goldman CEOs criticise Trump travel curbs left right People walk by the Ford display during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., January 10, 2017. REUTERS/Mark Blinch 1/3 left right Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO, Lloyd Blankfein, waits to speak at the 10,000 Women/State Department Entrepreneurship Program at the State Department in Washington, March 9, 2015. REUTERS/Gary Cameron 2/3 left right FILE PHOTO - The logo of Dow Jones Industrial Average stock market index listed company Goldman Sachs (GS) is seen on the clothing of a trader working at the Goldman Sachs stall on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, United States, in this April 16, 2012 file photo. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo 3/3 By Olivia Oran and David Shepardson The chief executives of Goldman Sachs Group ( GS.N ) and Ford Motor Co ( F.N ) joined the criticism of President Donald Trump''s order to halt arrivals from several Muslim-majority countries, as equity markets fell and the dollar slipped on Monday. The initial response over the weekend from U.S. corporate leaders to Trump''s order curtailing travel from seven Muslim-majority countries had been fragmented and muted outside the technology sector. However, on Monday, after a weekend of confusion over how the travel restrictions would be enforced, more companies and unions went public with concerns, although most avoided direct attacks on Trump''s policy. United Parcel Service Inc ( UPS.N ), for example, said it "supports policies that enable the legal movement of people across borders, while also understanding the need to protect national security." Goldman Sachs Group Inc ( GS.N ) Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein was the first major Wall Street CEO to weigh in against the administration''s travel ban. Other financial industry leaders followed on Monday with expressions of concern about the travel order. "This is not a policy we support, and I would note that it has already been challenged in federal court, and some of the order has been enjoined at least temporarily," Blankfein said in a voicemail to employees on Sunday. If the temporary freeze became permanent, he said, it could create "disruption" for the bank and its staff, according to a transcript seen by Reuters. Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. and Chief Executive Mark Fields said in a statement to employees that the company does not support what it called a new U.S. travel ban. "We do not support this policy or any other that goes against our values as a company," they said, adding that Ford is not aware of any employees directly affected by the policy. General Motors Co''s ( GM.N ) head of human resources told employees in a memo that a few GM employees are from countries affected by the travel order, and added, at General Motors, we value and respect individual differences. Equity markets sold off amid uncertainty over what broader impact the travel ban and the disruption it created could have. The dollar fell more than 1 percent against the Japanese yen. FOCUS ON AUTO INDUSTRY Trump has focussed on the auto industry to promote more manufacturing jobs in industrial states that were critical to his electoral college victory. He met with the heads of the Detroit Three automakers, including Fields, last week. Ford''s situation illustrates the balancing act for companies in many sectors. Ford - like Wall Street banks and other big manufacturers - has much to gain from working with Trump to overhaul the federal tax code and revamp regulation. Fields has cited those potential gains in explaining Ford''s decisions to cancel investments in Mexico that Trump had attacked. Fields met twice with Trump last week to talk about economic issues. Trump harshly Ford criticized during the campaign for moving some production to Mexico, but he has praised the automaker in recent weeks for announcing new U.S. investments. However, Ford has employees who could be affected by immigration curbs, and does business in countries that are majority Muslim, or whose leaders have expressed disapproval of Trump''s policy. Ford is based in Dearborn, Michigan, home to one of the largest Arab-American populations in the United States. Separately, the head of the United Auto Workers union, Dennis Williams, said on Monday the UAW "denounces any policy that judges people based on their religion or nation of origin." Williams, who represents Detroit Three factory workers, has previously supported Trump''s moves to renegotiate or scrap open trade deals. Tesla Motors Inc ( TSLA.O ) CEO Elon Musk asked followers to read the immigration order and propose "specific amendments." He said he would seek a consensus among members of a business advisory council that is expected to meet with President Trump this week. In a response to a comment on his Twitter feed, Musk wrote, "There is no possibility of retraction, but there is possibility of modification ..." Starbucks Corp ( SBUX.O ) Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz took a different approach to the travel ban, saying on Sunday that the coffee shop chain planned to hire 10,000 refugees over five years in 75 countries. The hiring efforts would start in the United States by initially focussing on individuals who have served with U.S. troops as interpreters and support personnel in countries where the military has asked for such support, Schultz said. Some big industrial companies and financial industry players stayed clear of the controversy. The U.S. hedge fund industry was virtually silent on the immigration restrictions. Representatives for most major firms including Bridgewater Associates, Renaissance Technologies, Millennium Management and Two Sigma Investments did not respond to requests for comment over the weekend. Private equity firms, including Blackstone Group LP ( BX.N ), whose CEO, Stephen Schwarzman, chairs Trump''s advisory panel of business leaders, also would not comment on the travel ban. Fiat Chrysler Group NV ( FCHA.MI ), Toyota Motor Corp ( 7203.T ) and Honda Motor Co ( 7267.T ) declined to comment on the immigration order. (Reporting by Olivia Oran in New York and David Shepardson in Washington. Additional reporting by Richa Naidu in Bengaluru and Lawrence Delevingne, David Henry and Trevor Hunnicutt and Devika Krishna Kumar in New York; Editing by Joseph White, Martina D''Couto and Nick Zieminski) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-immigration-companies-idUKKBN15E2GU'|'2017-01-31T03:09:00.000+02:00' +'c4e471b6ce0122cbb4cd293446b5949e03b97f17'|'UK unemployment falls as economy avoids Brexit shock'|'Wage growth picked up and unemployment fell in the three months ending November, in the latest sign that the UK economy has so far avoided a Brexit-related shock .Pay growth picked up to 2.8% from 2.6% while unemployment fell by 52,000 to 1.6 million. The jobless rate was unchanged at 4.8% still an 11-year low according to Office for National Statistics data.Suren Thiru, head of economics at the British Chambers of Commerce, said the UK jobs market was a major bright spot for the UK economy.Pound soars but FTSE falls after Theresa May''s Brexit speech Read more The number of people in work, however, fell by 9,000 to 31.8 million, but the employment rate remained at a record high of 74.5%.David Freeman, senior statistician at the ONS, said: While employment is little changed on the quarter, the rate remains at an historical high. The rate at which pay is increasing continues to pick up in cash terms, though it remains moderate. The number of people claiming jobless benefits also fell, by 10,100 to 797,800, between November and December, defying City expectations of a 5,000 increase.The UK labour market continues to surprise with its resilience to the Brexit shock, said Ben Brettell, senior economist at Hargreaves Lansdown.This is yet more evidence that the labour market and the wider economy have fared better than expected since Junes referendum something which is now being recognised by Mark Carney and his Bank of England colleagues.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jan/18/uk-unemployment-falls-economy-brexit-pay-growth'|'2017-01-18T02:00:00.000+02:00' +'d8a856b42d8d93220a2fe2429bf07dab29accd9f'|'UK competition watchdog may accept proposed remedies for Mastercard takeover of Vocalink'|'Deals 24am GMT UK competition watchdog may accept proposed remedies for Mastercard takeover of Vocalink LONDON Britain''s competition watchdog said on Wednesday that Mastercard''s ( MA.N ) proposals might be acceptable in addressing its concerns over the acquisition of payments processing company Vocalink. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it had until March 15 to consider whether to accept the proposed undertakings, although it may decide to extend this deadline by two months if it decides that there are special reasons for doing so. (Reporting by Dasha Afanasieva; Editing by Susan Fenton) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-mastercard-vocalink-merger-cma-idUKKBN1520OM'|'2017-01-18T14:23:00.000+02:00' +'fe660347d9200251a1151a617fda016bf03e549f'|'Alibaba''s Ant Financial in overseas push with MoneyGram deal'|'By Sweta Singh , Richa Naidu and Anna Irrera Ant Financial Services Group, the world''s largest financial technology company, said on Thursday that it would acquire U.S. money-transfer company MoneyGram International Inc ( MGI.O ) for about $880 million in a deal that is expected to shake up the international payments landscape.Ant, the payment affiliate of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd ( BABA.N ), dominates the online payments industry in China. With this acquisition it will significantly expand its presence overseas, as competition from major domestic rival Tencent Holdings Ltd''s ( 0700.HK ) Wechat payment system heats up at home.The offer of $13.25 per share is at a premium of 11.5 percent to MoneyGram''s Wednesday''s close. MoneyGram''s shares were trading up around 9 percent at $12.95 in afternoon trading.MoneyGram, alongside competitor Western Union Co ( WU.N ), has long dominated the money transfer industry with its large network of retail locations. It has about 350,000 outlets in retail shops, post offices and banks in nearly 200 countries and territories.Over the past few years, however, brick and mortar incumbents have been facing growing competition from more tech-savvy companies that are able to offer cheaper services online.The combination of Ant''s technological expertise and MoneyGram''s large network of agents and established brand could be a game-changer for the industry by leading to more consumers, including migrant workers sending remittances home, to use online transfer services rather than taking cash to storefronts, experts said."The combination is a powerful one: leading edge technology with global reach and a significant physical footprint.Innovation and trust in one bundle," said Warren Mead, global co-head of fintech at KPMG. "I expect to see the ever increasing convergence of fintech and the more traditional financial services sector."REMITTANCES ''A REALLY INTERESTING BRIDGE''China''s financial technology companies are on the rise, boosted by rapid digitization and the rise of a mass middle class at home.Chinese fintech "dragons" accounted for 46 percent of all venture capital investments in fintech globally in the first nine months of 2016, according to a report by Citigroup Inc ( C.N ).Ant raised $4.5 billion in a record funding round in April, valuing the company at about $60 billion, the same as American Express Co ( AXP.N ) or insurer Chubb Ltd ( CB.N ) and more than any other privately held fintech company.It has been using its financial firepower to expand at home and overseas as it prepares for a planned initial public offering this year. ( reut.rs/2dbbviE ) This would be its second acquisition in the United States. Last year, the company bought EyeVerify, a maker of optical verification technology used by U.S. banks."The large Chinese fintechs have been active across the developing markets for quite some time now," said Imran Gulamhuseinwala, global head of fintech at EY. "We expected them to come to the U.S. and Europe and the remittance space represents a really interesting bridge between the two."Ant''s acquisition of Dallas-based Moneygram comes against a backdrop of rising tensions between China and the United States over President Donald Trumps willingness to re-evaluate key foreign policy conventions such as the "One China" principle. He has also threatened to impose punitive tariffs on Chinese imports.Trump has, however, met with Jack Ma, the billionaire founder of Alibaba since his election, describing Ma as "smart" and "open-minded".REMITTANCESThe deal also comes as the Trump administration commences a crackdown on illegal immigration, which could impact remittances, the money that migrants workers send home. Prior to taking office, Trump threatened to halt money transfers from Mexican nationals unless Mexico agreed to pay for the massive wall he plans build on the U.S. southern border to keep out illegal immigrants.Daumantas Dvilinskas, chief executive of money-transfer startup TransferGo, said restrictions on immigration would have a negative impact on outflows from the specific country implementing the change, but that it was unlikely to have significant impact on the global $550 billion remittances market."I don''t believe it will stop the prevailing growth of the global migrant segment," Dvilinskas said.MoneyGram''s biggest shareholder, private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners, which has a 44.5 percent stake, agreed to vote in favor of the deal, the companies said.The company faced a serious liquidity crunch in 2008 after investing in subprime and other risky asset-backed securities, but it was rescued through a $1.5 billion equity and debt deal clinched with Goldman Sachs Group Inc ( GS.N ) and Thomas H. Lee Partners.Ant Financial said it would assume or refinance MoneyGram''s outstanding debt, which stood at $937.3 million on a net basis as of Sept. 30, according to a regulatory filing.Alex Holmes will remain MoneyGram''s chief executive and the company will continue to be based in Dallas.Citi is Ant Financial''s financial adviser, while Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is its legal adviser.MoneyGram is being advised by BofA Merrill Lynch and legal firm Vinson & Elkins LLP.The companies said the acquisition was expected to close in the second half of 2017.(This story corrects to fix spelling of Dvilinskas in paragraphs 14, 15.)(Additional reporting by Rishika Sadam; editing by Carmel Crimmins and Cynthia Osterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-moneygram-intl-m-a-ant-financial-idINKBN15A2V4'|'2017-01-26T18:33:00.000+02:00' +'c2d6fb051a7423c8442ed373c0582e6dde5a8ecc'|'Europe''s bank rescue rule in doubt, even among enforcers'|'By Francesco Canepa and Andreas Krner - FRANKFURT FRANKFURT Some senior regulators are privately raising doubts over whether politically unpopular European rules seeking to shield taxpayers from bank bailouts will ever be enforced as intended."Bail-ins" were trumpeted as the centerpiece of Europe''s response to the financial crisis, but some of the people who will have to apply them are now questioning in private whether they will be used following the Italian government''s rescue of the troubled Monte dei Paschi di Siena ( BMPS.MI ).The bail-in rules demand that private investors must suffer some losses before public money is used to rescue a bank.But in the case of Monte dei Paschi, Italy used an exception built into the new rules to avoid a bail-in of senior bond and savings account holders, thereby setting a dangerous precedent for other crisis-struck lenders in Italy and beyond."A bail-in of savers would cause a revolt in Italy and could bring down the whole euro project by boosting anti-euro parties," one source told Reuters.Imposing losses on creditors, who sometimes include small savers, is economically damaging and politically painful at a time when public resentment towards the European Union is running high and elections loom in key countries.Against this backdrop, banks are struggling to raise the capital they need to deal with unpaid loans accumulated during the economic downturn.The head of the German banking association, Michael Kemmer, has said Rome''s approval of a "precautionary recapitalization" of Monte dei Paschi just before Christmas, after the bank failed to find enough private investors to back its capital increase, puts regulators'' credibility at risk.Ratings agency Moody''s said the rescue, which is awaiting European Commission approval, "raises questions regarding the European authorities'' commitment to follow strictly the ... bail-in provisions to resolve troubled banks"."The SRB is the most useless institution in Europe because no-one dares to use it at the moment," one European regulator said of the euro zone''s Single Resolution Board, which is in charge of bail-ins.But its head Elke Koenig said last week she had no concerns about the application of the directive, while an EC spokesperson said the rules "apply on a case-by-case basis to a specific bank in its specific circumstances".TESTING TIMESThe SRB''s Koenig may find her faith is put to the test soon, with a number of smaller Italian banks still trying to raise capital and Italy''s top lender, UniCredit in the process of raising 13 billion euro ($14 billion) through a cash call."A first round of losses must be absorbed by the state if the banking system is to be rescued," Gennaro Pucci, head of investment firm PVE Capital, said, estimating around 100 billion euros in public money may be needed.Cleaning up balance sheets has been a key objective of the European Central Bank, which wants to bring down the amount of bad loans to free up resources for fresh lending.This risks backfiring, however, if banks try to sell more non-performing loans (NPLs) and shares than investors are prepared to buy."In the end, the ECBs effort to clean up banks'' balance sheets too quickly may be counterproductive," Marco Troiano, a director at ratings agency Scope, said."At present, there''s just not enough appetite out there to buy the NPLs and subscribe capital increases on a wide scale."Even in euro zone countries where bailouts took place before the new rules, some banks are still not out of the woods.Portugal''s Novo Banco, the so called ''good bank'' carved out of the collapsed Banco Espirito Santo, and Germany''s HSH Nordbank may need further state help if they can''t find buyers.U.S. hedge fund Lone Star, the top bidder for government-owned Novo Banco, has asked for a state guarantee on its investment, prompting calls from two leftist parties that prop up Portugal''s minority government that the firm be nationalized instead.Bailed out during the crisis, HSH Nordbank has until February 2018 to find a buyer or be wound down.The bank''s management says it has a good chance of finding an investor. But some question whether it would be allowed to go under even it did not manage to do so.(Additional reporting by Francesco Guarascio in Brussels; Editing by Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-banks-bailout-idINKBN1522V2'|'2017-01-18T17:06:00.000+02:00' +'a21cddb3bda3548ee830675b5978c25b20d318c1'|'Stock markets hit by US travel ban fears business live'|'Business live Stock markets hit by US travel ban fears business live All the days economic and financial news, as president Trumps ban on citizens from seven countries entering the US worries investors Monday 30 January 2017 08.22 GMT View more sharing options 08:20 Markets hit by fears over Trump travel ban Stock markets and the US dollar are both starting the week on the back foot, as Donald Trumps controversial travel ban worries investors. Shares have fallen in Asia, amid fears that Trumps policies will hurt the US economy, and trigger a new phase of protectionism. Japans Nikkei fell 0.5%, while Australias S&P/ASX index shed almost 1%. European stock markets are under pressure too, with Londons FTSE 100 dropping by 55 points, or 0.75%, to 7129 in early trading. The US dollar also retreated against the Japanese yen, dropping by 0.2% to 114.88. Eddie van der Walt (@EdVanDerWalt) State of play. pic.twitter.com/MdqrDcsJ8H The selloff comes after Trump imposed a 90-day ban on citizens from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen travelling to the US, and temporarily halted Americas refugee programme. The move has sparked heavy criticism around the globe, and protests in several American cities. In Britain, a petition against Trump being granted a state visit to Britain has already attracted almost one million signatures. Theresa May feels heat over travel ban as Donald Trump stands firm Read more Financial analysts are concerned that the backlash against Trumps plans could have serious economic consequences. Stephen Innes, a senior trader at OANDA, summed the situation up well: World leaders were quick to condemn President Trumps executive order to ban U.S. travel from seven Muslim countries. The global reaction has been one of universal condemnation. The fear here is that the market may start to think that personal vendetta is clouding the Oval Office judgment and they could express a huge vote of non-confidence through the markets. The increase in civil unrest alone should be a concern for investors, and with a lack of clarity on the economic policy front, markets will be cantankerous early in the week as theyre completely uncertain of whats next from President Trump on the geopolitical landscape. People chant slogans at the Indianapolis International Airport on Sunday. Photograph: Kelly Wilkinson/AP Updated 07:44 The agenda: Big week for news Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business. This is going to be a big week for news, with European growth data being released, two key central bank meetings, and a new healthcheck on Americas jobs market. On Tuesday, we get new eurozone GDP figures showing how the currency bloc fared in the last three months of 2016, plus euro inflation data for January. Wednesday brings a Federal Reserve meeting; the US central bank isnt expected to raise interest rates, but could hint at a hike in March. Heres Bloombergs take: Joe Weisenthal (@TheStalwart) This is going to be an insane week. On top of political fallout from Friday, a huge week for data. Via @5thrule pic.twitter.com/wQE3sE0AaE January 29, 2017 On Thursday the Bank of England will announce its interest rate decision, and publish its quarterly inflation report. With inflation picking up, the BoE could face pressure to raise rates sooner than expected. Finally, Friday will bring the latest US jobs data, in the Non-Farm Payroll report. That will show if Americas labour market is slowing down, after years of solid growth under Barack Obama. Coming up today.... The week starts with new inflation figures from Germany, at 1pm GMT, and America at 1.30pm GMT. Economists predict that Germanys inflation rate may have risen to 2% in January, slightly over the eurozones target, and ahead of other European countries. German politicians are already anxious that the European Central Bank is too relaxed about the rising cost of living, so todays data could fuel that debate. Eurozone inflation rates Photograph: Bloomberg TV Analysts at RBC Capital Markets say: The consensus call is that the German inflation rate rose to 2% y/y in January, in line with the ECBs own target with the likelihood that the rate will rise further in coming months which will likely see further public calls from Germany policy makers and commentators for the ECB to begin to consider normalising policy. Well also have an eye on Greece, as talks with its creditors drag on. Experts fear trouble ahead unless the latest phase of Athens bailout is signed off by 20 February. Greece has three weeks to deal with ''potentially disastrous'' debt, says IMF Read more Well be tracking all the main events through the day.... Share'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/economics/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2017/jan/30/stock-markets-us-dollar-trump-travel-ban-german-inflation-business-live'|'2017-01-30T15:22:00.000+02:00' +'39bc6ca0908eb475825ea0ae2084ca8acb9c6cb0'|'France should sell non-strategic stakes in firms - Fillon'|' 11:20pm GMT France should sell non-strategic stakes in firms - Fillon Francois Fillon, member of Les Republicains political party and 2017 presidential candidate of the French centre-right, presents his New Year wishes at a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Paris, France, January 10, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer PARIS Francois Fillon, the conservative politician seen by opinion polls as most likely to win the French presidential election this year, says France should sell state stakes in firms deemed as not having a strategic importance for the country. "The state should only be a shareholder in strategic companies," Fillon said in an interview with French magazine Capital. He declined in the published interview to name any individual companies to which this might apply. He also told Capital that France "must not show any signs of weakness" in terms of ensuring French technology companies could challenge bigger international rivals such as Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon. Fillon''s interview echoed similar comments last month, when he said he was favourable towards privatisations of state shareholdings in order to raise cash for investments in major infrastructure projects. Fillon, a former Prime Minister, said in December France should sell out of "unnecessary investments" in private-sector companies, citing carmaker Renault as an example. The French government holds just under 20 percent of Renault and has significant stakes in several other large companies including Air France, Airbus, Peugeot, Orange and Engie. (Reporting by Jean-Baptiste Vey and Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by James '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-election-fillon-idUKKBN14X2LO'|'2017-01-14T06:20:00.000+02:00' +'607d431c75766724d313b87f7e0ab20830169da0'|'What really happens when Royal Mail fails to deliver? - Money'|'When Royal Mail fails to deliver an item, perhaps because they are too big or the person is out and a signature is required, what happens to these items next? I presume theyre destroyed. I ask, because last July I was awaiting delivery of a rare vintage lamp, which never turned up. The sender assured me it was not returned. I purchased another vintage item at the end of last year but was working away from home when it was delivered. A red card was left dated 4 November 2016. There is no number to contact and it only says that the item will be returned to sender after 18 days. There was no mention of what to do after 18 days if the item wasnt returned. I am thinking of taking a small claims action to highlight these constant disposals of peoples property. WF, Sternfield, Suffolk Royal Mail told us: We contacted the customer for more details and established that the item, dating from 4 November, was returned to the sender in line with our policy of returning non-collected items after 18 calendar days at the delivery office.The customer has informed us that the sender has now received the item and that he and the sender are in contact to agree next steps.The overwhelming majority of mail is delivered safely to the correct address. If a recipient is not at home, a card is left informing them that their item has been forwarded to the local delivery office to be collected at a convenient time. In the case of non-collection from a delivery office, the item is returned to the sender after 18 calendar days.The Royal Mail says it does not keep a record of the items which are eventually destroyed, due to the large number of items that the national returns centre in Belfast handles every day.We are clearly not going to get to the bottom of what happens in the bowels of the mysterious returns centre, but if you are awaiting a delivery of some value when you know youre not going to be home, do make special arrangements.People who know that they will not be at home when an item is expected to be delivered, for example, can use the Royal Mail Keepsafe service which will store mail safely for up to 66 days. The cost varies depending on how long you have it running, but prices start from 13.50 for 17 days.We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/jan/31/royal-mail-return-sender-deliver'|'2017-01-31T14:00:00.000+02:00' +'f6b85b57211cc7476115d521f83d1583cbe41923'|'India''s Axis Bank Q3 net profit plunges as bad loans jump'|'Financials - Thu Jan 19, 2017 - 6:31am EST India''s Axis Bank Q3 net profit plunges as bad loans jump MUMBAI Jan 19 Axis Bank Ltd, India''s third-biggest private sector lender by assets, reported on Thursday third-quarter net profit tumbled 73 percent as provisions for bad loans jumped. Net profit fell to 5.80 billion rupees ($85 million) for the three months ended Dec. 31, from 21.75 billion rupees a year earlier, missing 7.79 billion rupees on average expected by analysts. Gross bad loans as a percentage of total loans rose to 5.22 percent from 4.17 percent in the previous quarter, and compared with 1.68 percent a year ago. Provisions, including for bad loans, surged more than five times from a year earlier to 37.96 billion rupees. Ahead of the results, Axis shares closed down about 1 percent in a Mumbai market that gained 0.22 percent. Earlier in the day, Axis Bank''s smaller rival - Yes Bank - reported a better-than-expected 31 percent rise in net third-quarter net profit to 8.83 billion rupees. Another private sector lender Federal Bank Ltd reported a 26 percent rise in third-quarter profit, roughly matching estimates. Lakshmi Vilas Bank, which also reported on Thursday, saw its net profit rising about 70 percent. ($1 = 68.1550 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/axis-bank-results-idUSL4N1F93V4'|'2017-01-19T18:31:00.000+02:00' +'801b129e947c35f551d892774fadb2abb5fea2e3'|'Indonesia expects Freeport to pay higher taxes -Finance Ministry official'|'JAKARTA Jan 18 The Indonesian unit of U.S. copper miner Freeport McMoRan Inc is expected to pay more in taxes once it obtains a new mining permit, a finance ministry official said, as part of new rules on the mining sector in Southeast Asia''s largest economy."The impact is positive for government revenues," said Suahasil Nazara, head of the fiscal policy office. Under the new rules Freeport would pay less income tax, he said, but would now have to pay a dividend tax and a 10 percent value added tax.The total amount Freeport pays in taxes, however, would increase only "slightly", he said. (Reporting by Gayatri Suroyo; Writing by Fergus Jensen; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/indonesia-mining-freeport-mcmoran-idINJ9N1EZ00F'|'2017-01-18T05:39:00.000+02:00' +'2aa15ab4be1ea5906e799520f8d259f3ba4ffdc9'|'U.S. eggs crack Korean market as Seoul fights worst bird flu outbreak'|' 33am EST U.S. eggs crack Korean market as Seoul fights worst bird flu outbreak * S.Korea expects to import 25 mln eggs by week''s end * Egg prices have rocketed 70 pct since bird flu hit * New hens won''t start producing till H2 2017 By Jane Chung SEOUL, Jan 23 U.S. white-shelled eggs landed on South Korean supermarket shelves beside local brown-shelled eggs on Monday as the country scrambled to boost imports to relieve a shortage amid its worst-ever bird flu outbreak. Some 6 million eggs, mainly from the United States, are set to hit the shelves this week as South Korea launched emergency import measures after egg prices shot up 70 percent ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday this weekend. Thirty U.S. eggs cost 8,470 won ($7.27) at Lotte Mart, one of South Korea''s major discount stores, which began selling the imports on Monday. That was down from the average retail price for local eggs of 9,285 won as of Jan. 20. Prices stood at around 5,438 won when the first bird flu case was confirmed in November, according to state-run Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Corp. "U.S.-origin eggs are good, but I prefer to use Korean eggs because the Lunar New Year holiday is a Korean traditional holiday. Even if local eggs are more expensive, I would buy them," said Park Hee-kil, a 64-year-old lady who was shopping at a Lotte Mart store in Seoul. In the wake of the bird flu epidemic, Asia''s fourth-largest economy culled more than 32 million farm birds, or nearly a fifth of its poultry population, mostly egg-laying hens. The country''s egg production is expected to decline 12.7 percent to 559,000 tonnes in 2017 from a year earlier, according to the state-run Korea Rural Economics Institute (KREI). "Egg imports may be needed through the first half of this year," said Ji Seon-U, a researcher at the state-run think tank, adding that the volume would depend on how soon egg prices and output stabilised. The Korean government expected a total of 1,500 tonnes, or roughly 25 million eggs, to be imported mainly from the United States before the holiday season. That compared with a total of 1,856 tonnes of egg products worth about $12 million imported last year, according to customs office data. As of Sunday, 444 tonnes of shell eggs and 217 tonnes of egg products had been shipped to Korea since Jan.5, according to the agriculture ministry. The ministry also plans to import a total of 200,000 baby chickens and parent stock for egg-laying hens from five bird flu-free countries, including the United States, Australia and Spain, to rebuild flocks. "However we can''t start it right away because farms have to be virus-free for three months," Ji said. Given it takes at least six months for the offspring of parent stock birds to start laying eggs, the new hens would only start producing in the second half of this year, he said. ($1 = 1,165.4000 won) (Reporting by Jane Chung; Additional reporting by Choi Ji Won; Editing by Sonali Paul) Next In Industrials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/health-birdflu-southkorea-idUSL4N1F6396'|'2017-01-23T16:33:00.000+02:00' +'62395cd3fd2c342f34f03476fc9c25b95c5eaf02'|'European shares lower but FTSE rally continues, Luxottica hits one-year peak'|' 8:31am GMT European shares lower but FTSE rally continues, Luxottica hits one-year peak People walk through the lobby of the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 25, 2015. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File photo MILAN European shares were lower in early deals on Monday, weighed down by banking and auto stocks, though weakness in the pound helped Britain''s FTSE rise to a fresh record high. Shares in Luxottica ( LUX.MI ) and Essilor ( ESSI.PA ) both rallied more than 10 after agreeing on a 46-billion euro merger deal to create a global powerhouse in the eyewear industry. Luxottica hit a one-year high, while Essilor surged to its highest since the end of September. By 0816 GMT the pan European STOXX index was down 1.3 percent, while the FTSE added 0.1 percent, with a stronger mining sector helping it touch a fresh record high. In the banking sector, the Italian banking index .FTIT8300 underperformed with a fall of 1.5 percent after rating agency DBRS cut Italy''s credit rating on Friday in a move which could raise their borrowing costs. (Reporting by Danilo Masoni, editing by Kit Rees) Luxottica and Essilor agree 46 billion euro merger to create eyewear giant MILAN/PARIS Italy''s Luxottica and France''s Essilor have agreed a 46 billion euro (40.76 billion pounds) merger to create a global powerhouse in the eyewear industry with annual revenue of more than 15 billion euros, they said in a statement on Monday.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks-idUKKBN1500T7'|'2017-01-16T15:31:00.000+02:00' +'8c2e141fae7d2d1ae9eab5d633370ffda0290406'|'BAT agrees to buy Reynolds for $49 billion'|'By Paul Sandle - LONDON LONDON British American Tobacco ( BATS.L ) has agreed a $49.4 billion takeover of U.S. rival Reynolds American Inc ( RAI.N ), creating the world''s biggest listed tobacco company after it increased an earlier offer by more than $2 billion.BAT, which already owned 42 percent of Reynolds, will pay $29.44 in cash and 0.5260 BAT shares for each Reynolds share, it said, a 26 percent premium over the price of the stock on Oct. 20, the day before BAT''s first offer was made public.Reynolds, the maker of Camel and Newport cigarettes, rejected the approach a month later, according to sources, although the two sides remained in talks.The deal, which values the whole of Reynolds at around $86 billion, will mark the return of BAT to the lucrative and highly regulated U.S. market after a 12-year absence, making it the only tobacco giant with a leading presence in American and international markets.BAT Chief Executive Nicandro Durante said bringing the two companies together would create a market leader with brands including Newport, Lucky Strike, Camel and Pall Mall."It will create a stronger, global tobacco and NGP (next generation products) business with direct access for our products across the most attractive markets in the world," he said on Tuesday.Analysts have said the takeover could spark further deals as Philip Morris International ( PM.N ) and Japan Tobacco ( 2914.T ) jostle for market share in an industry that is shrinking in the West as more people quit smoking.Durante said the combined group would have the largest global footprint of any tobacco group, with strong positions in both fast-growing emerging markets and lucrative Western countries.RBC Capital Markets said assuming BAT was able to achieve the annual cost savings of "at least $400 million" it has targeted, the deal would be financially neutral for BAT shares."We think (the deal) makes sense strategically and operationally and just about washes its face financially," it said. "That said, a value-neutral acquisition does little to alter our view that the shares are already reasonably valued."Shares in BAT were up 0.4 percent at 47.80 pounds at 0855 GMT, about where they were trading in October before the company revealed its initial bid.Centerview Partners, Deutsche Bank and UBS advised BAT on the deal, while Lazard, JP Morgan and Jones Day worked for Reynolds American.(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Kate Holton and Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-reynolds-amricn-m-a-brit-am-tobacco-idINKBN1510LW'|'2017-01-17T06:51:00.000+02:00' +'219da35d60de602ea360c25c5eff6f0daafc1ceb'|'UPDATE 1-HSBC to shift staff from Britain to Paris after Brexit'|' 42am EST UPDATE 1-HSBC to shift staff from Britain to Paris after Brexit * No staff to move for at least 2 years * HSBC would set up France holding company * Shares up 1 percent by 0821 GMT (Adds details, share price) DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 18 HSBC will move staff responsible for generating around a fifth of its UK-based trading revenue to Paris following Britain''s exit from the European Union, Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver said on Wednesday. "We''re not moving this year and maybe not even next year," Gulliver said in an interview on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. "We will move in about two years time when Brexit becomes effective," Gulliver added. HSBC, Europe''s biggest bank, has all the licences it needs for such a move, Gulliver said, and would only need to set up a so-called intermediate holding company in France, a move that should take only a matter of months. HSBC''s global banking and markets division that houses those trading jobs made profits of $384 million in the UK in 2015, according to a company filing. Gulliver has been among the more outspoken global bank chief executives about the impact of the Brexit vote, saying in the immediate aftermath of the referendum last June that the bank could move around 1,000 roles to Paris. Britain''s financial services sector has said it will accelerate plans to move some business overseas after Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday the country will quit the European Union''s single market. Banks had initially hoped Britain could retain the access to Europe''s single market that allows them to trade and sell all financial products from London, meaning they would not have to move staff, but such a deal now looks unlikely. Financial firms instead have shifted to pushing for a transitional period in case it proves difficult to negotiate a favourable deal or if talks are protracted and go beyond the two-year time frame for divorce talks. HSBC shares were up 1 percent by 0821 GMT, against a 0.8 percent fall in the broader European banks index. (Reporting by Pamela Barbaglia in Davos, writing by Lawrence White; editing by Jason Neely/Keith Weir) Next In Company News Indonesia expects Freeport to pay higher taxes -Finance Ministry official JAKARTA, Jan 18 The Indonesian unit of U.S. copper miner Freeport McMoRan Inc is expected to pay more in taxes once it obtains a new mining permit, a finance ministry official said, as part of new rules on the mining sector in Southeast Asia''s largest economy.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/davos-meeting-hsbc-idUSL5N1F81JN'|'2017-01-18T15:42:00.000+02:00' +'a6356048bf8547d7a8df248a2782bddd5d5175b3'|'MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf slips on weak global trend but Dubai''s Aramex climbs on Q4 profit leap'|'Financials 34am EST MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf slips on weak global trend but Dubai''s Aramex climbs on Q4 profit leap DUBAI Jan 30 Major Gulf stock markets were weak in early trade on Monday in response to soft global equities and crude oil prices, although Dubai courier firm Aramex soared on a fourth-quarter earnings beat. Saudi Arabia''s index fell 0.1 percent after 20 minutes of trade. Half of the 14 listed petrochemical makers declined, but Nama Chemicals jumped 8.0 percent after soaring its 10 percent daily limit on the two previous days following its announcement of plan to recover from major losses. In Dubai, Aramex jumped 9.0 percent after reporting a 129 percent jump in fourth-quarter net profit to 131.8 million dirhams ($35.9 million); EFG Hermes and SICO Bahrain had forecast 94.0 million dirhams and 77.5 million dirhams respectively. The main Dubai index, however, edged down 0.1 percent, weighed down by a 0.4 percent decline in heavyweight Emaar Properties. The builder of the tallest tower in the world has not yet reported fourth-quarter results. In neighbouring Abu Dhabi, blue chip National Bank of Abu Dhabi climbed 3.4 percent ahead of Tuesday''s board meeting to discuss its quarterly earnings. The index was up 0.3 percent. (Reporting by Celine Aswad; Editing by Andrew Torchia and Andrew Heavens) Next In Financials TABLE-Ichigo Hotel Reit Investment -6 MTH forecast Jan 30 (Reuters) Ichigo Hotel Reit Investment Corporation EARNINGS ESTIMATES (in billions of yen unless specified) 6 months to 6 months to Jul 31, 2017 Jul 31, 2017 LATEST PRIOR FORECAST FORECAST Revenues 1.67 1.64 Net 767 mln 731 mln Div 2,981 yen'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/mideast-stocks-idUSL5N1FK0U0'|'2017-01-30T14:34:00.000+02:00' +'62ae492768e845c1679354b3f08fd803795d1b8d'|'German construction boom continues, building permits up 20 percent in 2016'|'Business News - Sun Jan 15, 2017 - 7:03am GMT German construction boom continues, building permits up 20 percent in 2016 BERLIN New residential building permits issued in Germany increased by more than 20 percent on the year in 2016, Housing Minister Barbara Hendricks said on Sunday, suggesting a building boom will continue to support economic growth this year. Demand for real estate is soaring in Europe''s biggest economy due to a growing population, increased job security and record-low borrowing costs. Increased state spending on social housing, not least to accommodate a record influx of refugees, is giving construction an additional push. "We have succeeded in initiating a turnaround in housing construction within a very short time," Hendricks said in a Reuters interview. Permits were issued for more than 380,000 residential buildings in 2016, a sharp increase from the 313.000 permit issued in the previous year, she said. "That''s the highest number of permits issued in a year since 2000," Hendricks said. The construction sector is forecast to continue its solid performance, helped by housing shortages in urban areas and low interest rates that have encouraged more people to buy homes instead of renting. Construction industry associations expect sales to rise by 5 percent this year to hit the highest level since 1995, following growth of 5.8 percent in 2016. Construction is one of the main drivers of economic expansion in Germany, contributing 0.3 percentage points to an overall GDP growth rate of 1.9 percent last year, the strongest in half a decade. Even before the refugee numbers started to increase in 2015, urban areas lacked an estimated 800,000 affordable flats due to higher immigration from other European countries. With demand outstripping supply, property prices and rents have soared in cities like Berlin, Hamburg and Munich. Property experts say that at least 350,000 new homes are needed every year until 2020 to cope with the drastic shortage of affordable housing. Construction associations estimate that between 280,000 and 290,000 new homes were completed in 2016 and they expect up to 320,000 this year. (Reporting by Markus Wacket and Michael Nienaber, Editing by Angus MacSwan) Next In Business News Davos elites struggle for answers as Trump era dawns DAVOS, Switzerland The global economy is in better shape than it''s been in years. Stock markets are booming, oil prices are on the rise again and the risks of a rapid economic slowdown in China, a major source of concern a year ago, have eased. South Korea prosecutor delays decision on arrest warrant of Samsung''s Lee SEOUL South Korea''s special prosecutor has delayed until Monday a decision on whether to seek a warrant to arrest Samsung Group [SAGR.UL] leader Jay Y. Lee, a suspect in an influence-peddling investigation involving President Park Geun-hye, citing the gravity of the case. As its boss moves to Tata HQ, investors fret over TCS future MUMBAI Moving the head of Tata Consultancy Services to the top job at Tata Sons'' holding company fills a critical hole for the salt-to-software conglomerate, but it leaves another at its most valuable company ahead of a complex and unpredictable 2017. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Taboola Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-economy-construction-idUKKBN14Z07T'|'2017-01-15T14:03:00.000+02:00' +'9944889de2e3ee72898844e0fd923c1987e2eed8'|'Britain seeks bids for 2.75 billion pound high speed train contract'|'Business News - Fri Jan 20, 2017 - 12:10am GMT Britain seeks bids for 2.75 billion pound high speed train contract LONDON Britain opened the bidding on Friday for a 2.75 billion pound contract to build a fleet of trains for a new high speed railway project to link London with the north of England, work on which is due to begin this year. The government was looking to order up to 60 trains, which could each seat over 1,000 passengers and travel at around 225 miles per hour, and planned to award the contract in 2019, Transport Minister Chris Grayling said. "We have held discussions with UK suppliers to make sure they are in the best possible position to win contracts," Grayling said in a statement. Britain''s 56 billion pound High Speed 2 railway will connect London to cities in the country''s central and northern regions, with a first phase planned to open in 2026 and a second by 2033. The first phase of the project, which has divided opinion in Britain because of its rising costs and the potential impact on the countryside and local communities, is due to get final approval shortly, the Department for Transport (DfT) said. Calling it Europe''s largest infrastructure project, the DfT said construction would start this spring, with building creating 25,000 jobs, helping to stimulate Britain''s economy when it faces uncertainty and possible job losses as the country withdraws from the EU over the next two years. The contract up for grabs on the HS2 trains would cover the design, building and maintenance of the fleet, said the DfT. Train supply deals in Britain have been politically sensitive in the past, with a 2011 contract awarded to Germany''s Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ) resulting in hundreds of job losses in Britain. But UK-based train factories have been boosted since. In 2013, Britain awarded Hitachi ( 6501.T ) a 1.2 billion pound order for trains to be built at a factory in County Durham, north east England. The following year, it handed a 1 billion pound contract to Canadian-owned Bombardier ( BBDb.TO ), securing jobs at a factory in Derby, northern England. Bombardier also won another 1 billion pound contract in August 2016. The DfT said that Friday marked the indicative notice which gave potential bidders advance warning of the formal start of the process this spring. (Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Keith Weir) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-trains-hs-idUKKBN15400K'|'2017-01-20T07:10:00.000+02:00' +'08dc5d29108050b3c23fd6b73162b46b784580d4'|'CMBS tied to Trump son-in-law sails through market'|'By Joy Wiltermuth NEW YORK, Jan 27 (IFR) - Investors on Friday snapped up a new US$1.11bn commercial mortgage bond backed by a highly leveraged loan to refinance a New York property owned by President Donald Trump''s son-in-law.The US$100m loan, part of a big refinance package on a Times Square building owned by Jared Kushner''s real-estate company, is 10% more than the property''s value, according to Kroll Bond Rating Agency.Although that 110% loan-to-value ratio is relatively high, it was not enough to deter investors, whose strong demand made the trade a success.Lead banks Deutsche Bank and Citigroup were able to price the deal cheaply, with 9.82-year Triple A class clearing the market at swaps plus 90bp.Similar bonds priced at 115bp in December, according to IFR data. Both banks declined to comment.SKY HIGH DEBTThe loan on 229 West 43rd Street, an 18-story property that includes a popular bowling alley, was the biggest in the collateral underpinning the new bond.Bond documents seen by IFR showed that Deutsche Bank originated much of the property''s US$370m refinancing package - which includes the loan - in October before Trump''s election.On January 3, Kushner notified lenders on the property that he intended to resign from his post as manager of the building on January 19, according to the documents.The mortgage seller told Fitch Ratings that his brother Joshua Kushner would manage the property instead, as part of the credit agency''s vetting of the bond deal."Loan documents will be amended to provide that both Jared Kushner and (his brother) Joshua Kushner will be guarantors under the non-recourse carve-out guaranty and will individually and collectively constitute key principals for purposes of such documents," Fitch Ratings said in a note."However, such proposal is not final and may be subject to further change."A call to Kushner Companies for comment was not immediately returned.Kroll assigned the Kushner loan part of the bond a 110.3% loan-to-value ratio, noting that the borrower only pays interest during the full term of the loan and is not required to pay down principal.Interest-only loans are viewed as more likely to default because the entire balance of the loan comes due in one fell swoop at maturity.Fitch meanwhile calculated the LTV ratio at 129.6% and Moody''s Investors Service gave it 127.9%.Alarming levels of leverage have become commonplace in CMBS over the past few years.Last year, however, the average conduit pool''s LTV dipped from record highs to 113%, according to Moody''s. (Reporting by Joy Wiltermuth; Editing by Marc Carnegie and Shankar Ramakrishnan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-corpbonds-abs-idINL5N1FH4LI'|'2017-01-27T17:24:00.000+02:00' +'5ee26dddb3c16328caac950e23e510b23b8b8119'|'IT research firm Gartner to buy CEB to expand business analysis'|'Technology 12:53pm GMT IT research firm Gartner to buy CEB to expand business analysis IT research and advisory company Gartner Inc ( IT.N ) said on Thursday it would buy CEB Inc ( CEB.N ), a provider of business research and analysis, in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $2.6 billion to expand its business services. The deal will broaden Gartner''s research business through the addition of CEB''s services, which include research and analysis related to human resources, sales, finance and the law. Gartner is offering $54 in cash and 0.2284 of its shares for each CEB share. The deal represents a premium of about 25 percent to CEB''s Wednesday close. CEB''s shares were up 16.4 percent at $72.05 in premarket trading, below the implied offer price of $77.25 per share. Gartner''s shares, which closed at $101.79 on Wednesday, were untraded. Gartner shareholders will own about 91 percent of the combined company. CEB, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, has a 35-day "go-shop" period during which it can solicit alternative proposals. Stamford, Connecticut based-Gartner said the deal would immediately add to adjusted earnings per share on completion, expected in the first half of 2017, and be "double-digit percentage accretive" to adjusted EPS in 2018. Evercore and Goldman, Sachs & Co advised Gartner. Centerview Partners LLC was lead adviser to CEB, with Allen & Co LLC also advising. (Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee and Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; Editing by Ted Kerr) Next In Technology News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ceb-us-m-a-gartner-idUKKBN14P1BF'|'2017-01-05T19:51:00.000+02:00' +'1ba6eb8cb56feb5a8345d808ec0d7a46cab38f61'|'France''s Technicolor warns on profits'|' 36pm GMT France''s Technicolor warns on profits Sandra Carvalho, Chief Marketing Officer of Technicolor, speaks during the LG press conference at CES in Las Vegas, U.S., January 4, 2017. REUTERS/Rick Wilking French media and entertainment company Technicolor ( TCH.PA ) said on Thursday that core profits last year fell short of its forecast, hit by lower than anticipated sales in its connected home business and changes in foreign exchange rates. The company said it expects to report adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of about 565 million euros. In October it reaffirmed a forecast of 600-630 million euros. However, the company said free cash flow was in line with its target at above 240 million euros. (Reporting by Alan Charlish; Editing by Greg Mahlich) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-technicolor-idUKKBN14W2OF'|'2017-01-13T01:36:00.000+02:00' +'af103845cd33071d1d17cfdc5359d90f6748bd43'|'Metro reports sluggish Christmas sales at Real and Media-Saturn'|' 18am GMT Metro reports sluggish Christmas sales at Real and Media-Saturn The logo of German retailer Metro is seen on its cash and carry store in Kiev, Ukraine, August 17, 2016. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko BERLIN German retailer Metro ( MEOG.DE ), which plans to split into two companies by mid-2017, reported that sales slipped 0.6 percent in the critical Christmas quarter due to weakness at its Real hypermarkets and sluggish performance in consumer electronics. Sales for the October-December quarter rose 0.1 percent on a like-for-like basis to 17 billion euros ($18 billion), slightly below analysts'' expectations for 17.2 billion, according to Thomson Reuters Smart Estimates. Metro plans to split off the cash-and-carry business that serves independent traders, hotels and restaurants, along with Real, from the Media-Saturn consumer electronics group, hoping to help each become more focused and able to pursue growth. The cash-and carry business saw sales rise 0.7 percent on a like-for-like basis, boosted by Spain, Turkey and China, Metro said on Tuesday. It was also helped by a recovery in the Russian rouble and reported like-for-like sales growth in Russia despite more intense price competition. Metro scrapped plans to list its Russia business in 2014 at the height of the Ukraine crisis. Meanwhile, Real hypermarkets in Germany, battling tough competition from discounters, saw same-store sales fall 1.7 percent due to a weak start to Christmas trade, with food sales hurt most. Data out last week showed that German retail sales rose by between 1.8 and 2.1 percent on the year in 2016 in real terms, a slightly slower growth rate than in the previous year. Metro confirmed its forecast for the 2016/17 fiscal year for a slight rise in overall sales and a slight improvement in earnings before interest and taxation before special items. Metro said its Media-Saturn consumer electronics unit had flat like-for-like sales, with December turnover hurt by consumers pulling forward purchases due to the "Black Friday" sale in November. It saw declines in sales of entertainment, photo and hardware products roughly offset by growth in smartphones, white goods and televisions. British rival Dixons Carphone ( DC.L ) said last month it is planning for tougher times ahead although it has not yet seen any impact on consumer demand from Britain''s vote to leave the European Union. (Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Georgina Prodhan) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-metro-ag-results-idUKKBN14U0M6'|'2017-01-10T14:18:00.000+02:00' +'23d65c615177b0f349165d4276feeb944613565c'|'UPDATE 1-Portugal yields fall after bond sale test; Trump appearance eyed'|'Bonds News 8:08am EST UPDATE 1-Portugal yields fall after bond sale test; Trump appearance eyed * Lisbon to sell 3 bn euros of 10-year bonds * President-elect Trump due to speak at 1600GMT * Italian court rules on labour reform referendum (Writes through) By John Geddie and Dhara Ranasinghe LONDON, Jan 11 Portuguese yields edged back from 11-month highs on Wednesday as the country got through one of its toughest bond sales in years, while safe-haven bonds were also in demand with investors nervous about an upcoming Donald Trump press conference. Wrestling a bank crisis, a sluggish economy and reduced support from the European Central Bank, Lisbon is poised to sell three billion euros of a new 10-year bond on Wednesday after attracting demand of more than 8.5 billion euros. "If you look at how much issuance Portugal needs to do this year, and we''re looking at around 16 billion euros, that''s already around 15-20 percent of their issuance in one go in this auction," said Orlando Green, European fixed income strategist at Credit Agricole. "That might be what the market is looking at and that may have given Portugal a small bid today." Germany sold 4 billion euros of 10-year debt on Wednesday at its regular auction, with strategists saying demand was supported by concern about Donald Trump''s first press conference since he won November''s U.S. presidential election. Trump''s calls for fiscal stimulus have pushed up inflation expectations, and with it stocks and bond yields. But his protectionist statements and jibes at China are considered potential sources of diplomatic tension that could roil markets. His press conference is scheduled for 1600GMT. German 10-year yields -- the bloc''s benchmark -- fell 3 basis points to 0.25 percent, keeping clear of Monday''s 0.325 percent three-week high. NORMALISE Portuguese 10-year yields fell 5 basis points to 4.01 percent. So did those in neighbouring Spain, which fell 5 bps to 1.43 percent. Italian yields also fell but lagged the rally slightly after news that its new Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni had undergone emergency heart surgery . Portugal has been benefiting less than others from the trillions of euros the European Central Bank has spent buying bonds, and it is just one ratings downgrade away from being excluded from the ECB''s bond purchases altogether. Strategists said Portugal''s bond sale could ease concern about a lack of its debt available for the ECB bond-buying programme. "The new benchmark and the resulting injection of liquidity, PSPP-related purchases of Portuguese government bonds could well normalise to some extent, at least in the short term, and unfold their positive yield-compressing effect," DZ Bank strategist Sebastian Fellechner said. In southern Europe, investors are also waiting a ruling on Italy''s constitutional court on whether a request to hold a referendum on a 2014 labour-market reform is in line with the constitution. DZ Bank said it is "pretty unlikely" that a plebiscite will actually be held, even if the constitutional court approves the request. For Reuters new Live Markets blog on European and UK stock markets see reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=http://emea1.apps.cp.extranet.thomsonreuters.biz/cms/?pageId=livemarkets (Editing by Larry King) Next In Bonds News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/eurozone-bonds-idUSL5N1F135J'|'2017-01-11T20:08:00.000+02:00' +'0ef0e5fd4157fc95ec44da1d8558e682a312a151'|'UPDATE 2-Viacom names global entertainment group COO'|'(Adds detail from internal memo, changes sourcing)By Jessica Toonkel and Liana B. BakerJan 5 Viacom Inc on Thursday named Sarah Levy, the chief operating officer of its Nickelodeon network, COO of its global entertainment group, as new Chief Executive Bob Bakish seeks to turn around the ailing media company.Viacom is also set to make a handful of executive cuts in its music and entertainment group, which includes cable networks Comedy Central and MTV and had been led by 25-year veteran Doug Herzog, who left the company this week, two sources told Reuters on Thursday.The sources wished to remain anonymous because they are not permitted to speak to the media.Viacom created the global entertainment group late last year to combine its international division with its music and entertainment group as well as TV Land and CMT.In her new role Levy will oversee a number of functions for the global entertainment group, including strategy and business development, research and operations, according to a memo reviewed by Reuters to employees from Bakish."By aligning GEG operations, we''re taking an important step towards becoming a more integrated organization," Bakish said in the memo.Viacom named Bakish, former head of its international business, as acting CEO at the end of October, and then permanent CEO on Dec. 12 when it announced the end of merger explorations with CBS Corp.Viacom, which also owns Nickelodeon and Paramount, has been struggling to improve ratings and ad revenue. Last year, the company''s stock fell 14.7 percent.Bakish is hoping to turn Viacom around. His strategy includes improving relations with the media company''s television distributors as well as a focus on fixing MTV, he told Reuters in an interview late last year.Denise Denson, who headed distribution, left the company in December.Viacom, which is majority owned by Sumner Redstone and his daughter Shari Redstone, was embroiled in a corporate governance drama for much of last year. In August, the Redstones won a battle to maintain control of the company, resulting in the dismissal of former CEO Philippe Dauman. (Reporting By Jessica Toonkel in New York and Liana B. Baker in San Francisco; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/viacom-reorg-idINL1N1EV1AR'|'2017-01-05T16:18:00.000+02:00' +'2626356f375b2d6aed00cae69ecf37a39a166f66'|'Bidders circle insolvent German cocoa firm Euromar - sources'|'HAMBURG Jan 31 Several potential bidders have expressed an interest in German cocoa grinder Euromar Commodities GmbH, which declared insolvency in December, sources with knowledge of the situation said on Tuesday.Some five groups have shown interest, including a Swiss-based trading and cocoa processing house and a Malaysian cocoa processor, they said.A spokesman for insolvency administrator Rolf Rattunde declined to comment.Rattunde has said he will attempt to restructure Euromar and return it to long-term operations.Euromar is a major producer of cocoa products including cocoa butter and cocoa powder at its plant at Fehrbellin near Berlin. The company suffered liquidity problems caused by exchange rate fluctuations in the British pound, in which cocoa is traded, and swings in cocoa prices.A U.S. associate company Transmar Commodity Group Ltd also filed for bankruptcy protection in December.German traders estimate the plant in Fehrbellin can crush 150 tonnes of beans a day, which with full 365 day production means around 54,700 tonnes a year. Germany grinds about 400,000 tonnes of cocoa annually.Euromar''s problems were a factor causing a sudden fall in European cocoa grindings in the fourth quarter of 2016.Euromar has never given official production figures."In the long term I do not expect the Euromar insolvency to have a major impact on the market," a German trader said."The company has always kept its production volumes secret but my feeling is that there is enough capacity in Europe, West Africa and Asia to meet demand if the Euromar processing plant does not return to long-term operations." (Reporting by Michael Hogan; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/euromar-cocoa-idINL5N1FL1LG'|'2017-01-31T05:11:00.000+02:00' +'01de1ebb350e47c2a0f30d2196a193a1a8c8b8a9'|'Bayer says had productive meeting with Trump over Monsanto deal'|'Market News - Thu Jan 12, 2017 - 5:10am EST Bayer says had productive meeting with Trump over Monsanto deal By Ludwig Burger and Patricia Weiss - FRANKFURT FRANKFURT Jan 12 German drugs and pesticides maker Bayer, which will need regulatory approval for its $66 billion deal to buy U.S. seeds giant Monsanto, said company chief executives had a productive meeting with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump. Trump talked to Bayer Chief Executive Werner Baumann, Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant and some of their advisers in New York, his transition team said on Wednesday, part of meetings before he takes office later this month. "It was a productive meeting about the future of agriculture and the need for innovation," a Bayer spokesman said on Thursday, declining to provide more details for the moment. The fate of major proposed mergers, not just Bayer-Monsanto but also Dow Chemical and DuPont, which plan to spin off their combined agriculture businesses, will be decided by Trump''s nominees to lead antitrust enforcement at the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission. Antitrust and industry experts see the regulatory hurdles to a deal as manageable because Bayer''s main business in agriculture is pesticides while Monsanto''s focus is on genetically modified seeds. Under such a scenario, Bayer could at worst be asked to divest soybean, cotton and canola seed assets as well as LibertyLink-branded crops that are resistant to its glufosinate herbicide, an important alternative to Monsanto''s Roundup Ready seeds. But uncertainty remains over what regulators will make of the merged group''s grip of the overall agriculture market, with a combined market share in seeds and pesticides of about 28 percent. Critics argue this dominant market position will allow it to crimp research and development efforts. Bayer has said that much needed innovation will come from combined seeds-chemicals offerings and that it needs to merge to compete against other integrated suppliers such as the future Dow-Dupont. Monsanto shares closed little changed at $108.45 on Wednesday, offering an 18 percent upside to Bayer''s takeover bid of $128 per share or $66 billion in total. Bayer shares were down 0.6 percent at 100.40 euros at 0942 GMT. The meeting took place on the day of Trump''s first news conference as president-elect, which also saw him slam drug companies as "getting away with murder" in what they charge the government for medicines. Bayer, the inventor of aspirin, is among the world''s top 20 pharmaceutical groups, with products including Yasmin birth-control pills and stroke prevention drug Xarelto. (Editing by Keith Weir) Next In Market News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/mergersNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/monsanto-ma-bayer-trump-idUSL5N1F225I'|'2017-01-12T17:10:00.000+02:00' +'76998450cd95998f29b60f67bd7bea4d1955e1dc'|'Egypt''s Finance Ministry to issue $800 mln 1-year dollar-denominated T-bill'|'Financials - Thu Jan 5, 2017 - 11:19am EST Egypt''s Finance Ministry to issue $800 mln 1-year dollar-denominated T-bill CAIRO Jan 5 Egypt''s Finance Ministry will issue $800 million in one-year dollar-denominated treasury bills to local banks and foreign financial institutions on January 9, the central bank said in a statement on Thursday. The auction deadline is Jan. 9, 2017, and the maturity date for the issuance is Jan. 9, 2018, the statement said. The government has turned mainly to the local money market to finance its public deficit since a popular uprising in early 2011 that deterred many foreign investors. (Reporting by Asma Alsharif; Editing by Dominic Evans) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/egypt-debt-treasuries-idUSL5N1EV4EU'|'2017-01-05T23:19:00.000+02:00' +'f480114196451bfd0e0d81264fd53ceeb6023837'|'Under U.S. pressure on trade, Japan scrambles ahead of White House visit'|'By Yoshifumi Takemoto - TOKYO TOKYO Japan is scrambling to respond to intensifying trade pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe planning to meet the head of Toyota Motor Corp this week and business lobby Keidanren planning a Trump task force.Abe will visit Washington on Feb. 10 for talks with Trump at which the U.S. leader is expected to seek quick progress toward a two-way trade deal with Japan and discuss the automotive sector.Ahead of those talks, Abe will meet with Toyota Chief Executive Akio Toyoda, two sources told Reuters. One of them said the meeting would take place on Friday. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga denied a meeting had been set for Friday, while Toyota Motor Corp declined to comment.In a phone call with Abe on Saturday, Trump reiterated his pledge to create jobs in the United States and asked that the Japanese auto industry contribute, the Nikkei business daily reported, quoting unidentified Japanese government officials.The two leaders discussed the automotive industry, senior government spokesman Koichi Hagiuda told reporters after the phone call, without giving details. A White House statement said the two "committed to deepen the bilateral trade and investment relationship".Japan needs to craft a plan to show that its firms, car makers especially, will contribute to creating U.S. jobs, a former Japanese diplomat said. "I think that is the only way forward to make the bilateral summit a success," the diplomat said."Trump only cares about numbers. Everything has to be linked to jobs creation," he added. "Symbolically, autos is a very big player."Abe has left the door open to discussing a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, but some officials worry Japan would have little to gain while coming under intense pressure from Washington. Bilateral talks on specific sectors such as autos, however, are an option, officials have said.Trump, who last week dropped out of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership pushed by his predecessor Barack Obama and favoured by Abe, has repeatedly attacked Japan''s auto market as closed, in an echo of criticisms heard two decades ago.Japan has rejected that accusation, saying it does not impose tariffs on U.S. auto imports nor put up discriminatory non-tariff barriers.Over the decades, Japanese automakers have developed SUVs, mini-vans and pick-up trucks specifically targeting American consumers'' taste for bigger cars, while U.S. brands have struggled to make inroads in Japan, where drivers overwhelmingly prefer domestic brands.Foreign-branded cars accounted for only 7 percent of the Japanese passenger car market, led by Germany. American brands collectively made up less than a third of 1 percent of passenger cars sold in Japan last year.TRUMP TASK FORCEToyota has come under fire from Trump for plans, announced in 2015, to shift production of its Corolla sedan to Mexico from Canada. Earlier this month, Japan''s top automaker said it would invest $10 billion in the United States over the next five years, the same as the previous five years.Toyota says it directly employed about 40,000 American workers as of December 2015, and indirectly more than 200,000 if dealers and suppliers are included.Japan''s biggest business lobby Keidanren wants to beef up its information gathering and analysis of the Trump administration''s policies, while also conveying data on Japan Inc''s importance to the U.S. economy, a Keidanren official said."We will create a task force, the main purpose of which is to convey correct information about the contribution of Japanese firms in the United States," said another Keidanren official, who declined to be identified because he was not authorised to speak to media.Japan''s government is already trying to give Trump''s administration a crash course on its companies'' contribution to U.S. jobs and growth, with fact sheets showing, among other things, that Japanese companies created 839,000 jobs in America, second only to Britain.Tokyo came under harsh U.S. criticism in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when Japan accounted for up to 60 percent of the U.S. trade deficit.But now its share has shrunk to less than 10 percent, while China''s has ballooned to nearly 50 percent - something Japanese officials are trying to stress to American counterparts.Automobiles and car parts account for about three-quarters of the overall Japan-U.S. trade gap, making it an easy target.Japanese media have begun reminiscing about the heated U.S.-Japan auto talks 20 years ago. A last-minute deal in June 1995 averted U.S. tariffs on Japanese luxury cars when Japan''s automakers crafted "voluntary plans" to boost purchases of American auto parts and expand production in the United States.(Additional reporting by Chris Gallagher, Maki Shiraki, Kiyoshi Takenaka, Ami Miyazaki, Stanley White, Chang-Ran Kim and Tetsushi Kajimoto; Writing by Linda Sieg and Malcolm Foster; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Alex Richardson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-trump-japan-toyota-idINKBN15E0PR'|'2017-01-30T05:50:00.000+02:00' +'a197e59558fe2f739e08d9d44d94a60bab5cb1cd'|'Euronext offers 510 million euros for LSE''s French clearing business'|' 7:38am GMT Euronext offers 510 million euros for LSE''s French clearing business Company stock price information are displayed on screens as they hang above the Paris stock exchange, operated by Euronext NV, in La Defense business district in Paris, France, December 14, 2016. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier Euronext ( ENX.PA ) said it has offered 510 million euros (434.41 million pounds)to buy the London Stock Exchange''s (LSE) ( LSE.L ) French clearing business, helping clear the way for LSE Group''s proposed $28 billion merger with Deutsche Boerse ( DB1Gn.DE ). LSE Group and LCH Group Limited confirmed that the companies have agreed on the terms of Euronext''s all-cash offer. The European Commission had stated its objections to the LSE''s merger with Deutsche Boerse in December, but outlined fewer concerns than in its first letter sent to both exchange operators in September. Its concerns were focused on the clearing of derivatives contracts. Clearing has become a major issue since global reforms introduced after the 2007-09 financial crisis mean banks must clear the bulk of their derivatives trades to make them safer and more transparent. (Reporting by Sanjeeban Sarkar and Vidya L Nathan in Bengaluru, editing by Louise Heavens) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lse-m-a-euronext-clearnet-idUKKBN14N0FN'|'2017-01-03T14:38:00.000+02:00' +'c4d73d963720426380a37ecc0d4b9b78e5ccfe02'|'Lufthansa says to hire more than 3,000 new staff in 2017'|'Business News - Wed Jan 4, 2017 - 4:23am EST Lufthansa says to hire more than 3,000 new staff in 2017 The tail of a parked plane is pictured during a pilots strike of German airline Lufthansa at Frankfurt airport, Germany, November 30, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT German airline Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) plans to hire more than 3,000 new staff in 2017, most of them flight attendants, it said in a statement on Wednesday. Lufthansa Group airlines - Austrian, Swiss and Eurowings - are hiring more than 2,200 staff in total, it said. Lufthansa Technik is planning to recruit 450 new staff. Lufthansa cabin crew and pilots have gone on strike several times over the last few years as the airline battles to reduce costs. Its cabin-crew union UFO said last month the latest talks over pay and working conditions had failed. (Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Harro ten Wolde) Next In Business News Exclusive: Wall Street lawyer Jay Clayton emerges as Trumps top SEC choice BOSTON/WASHINGTON Wall Street lawyer Jay Clayton, who has worked on high-profile initial public offerings such as Alibaba Group, is a leading candidate to head the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in the Trump administration, two sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-lufthansa-hiring-idUSKBN14O0SU'|'2017-01-04T16:23:00.000+02:00' +'29d09735a1a824cc9375d82aac5df7bc09e61f1c'|'Global casino operators on Japan charm offensive'|' 58am GMT Global casino operators on Japan charm offensive left right FILE PHOTO - View of the logo of the Hard Rock cafe in Paris, France, March 3, 2016. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen/File Photo 1/3 left right FILE PHOTO - A bus stops outside Sands Macao in Macau, China June 1, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo 2/3 left right FILE PHOTO - May 1, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Exterior view of the MGM Grand hotel and casino following weigh-ins for the upcoming boxing fight between Floyd Mayweather against Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo 3/3 By Thomas Wilson and Emi Emoto - TOKYO TOKYO Global casino operators are stepping up their efforts to woo local partners and venue hosts in Japan, even though it may be a year before lawmakers lay out the ground rules for what could be the world''s second-biggest casino market. Just weeks after Japan legalised casinos, major operators from MGM Resorts ( MGM.N ) to Hard Rock Cafe International are jostling for pole position, while a team of just three dozen bureaucrats drafts a new law, due by December, on how to regulate the industry and choose operators and locations. The likeliest option, political sources say, is for local authorities to team up with operators and bid for licences to run integrated resorts - complexes with casinos, hotels, shops and conference space - putting the onus on the operators to form consortiums as early as possible. "If the venue government needs to have a partner in place prior to the selection, we have to start moving now," said a manager at a Japanese construction firm, which is looking to be involved in casino development. The political sources predict Japan may initially approve two to three casinos, with locations and operators chosen by 2019 and the casinos open by 2023. Just two casinos could bring in more than $10 billion (8 billion pounds) in annual gaming revenue, forecasts brokerage CLSA, rising to $25 billion if more casinos are approved. Other analysts say Japan''s market could be worth as much as $40 billion a year. With a wealthy population and strong tourist appeal, Japan''s opening up to casinos is welcome news for global operators impacted by China''s crackdown on corruption and currency outflows that has hit revenues in Macau, the world''s biggest gambling hub. Las Vegas Sands ( LVS.N ), Genting Singapore Plc ( GENS.SI ) and MGM lead the chase in Japan, CLSA says, given the strong balance sheets and proven track record required there. Keen to avoid losing out - as it did to Sands and Genting in Singapore a decade ago - MGM will this year boost staff and resources, it told Reuters without elaborating. Japan attracted a record 24 million tourists last year, and sees casinos as a catalyst for more visitors and economic growth after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. "The opportunity that Japan represents is one of the most significant anywhere in the world," said Alan Feldman, MGM executive vice president of global government and industry affairs. LOBBYING EFFORT International operators have said they will likely seek minority stakes in ventures with Japanese partners, who bring political connections and local expertise. Hard Rock, which operates casinos in the Americas, said it had talks with local firms and banks in Tokyo this month. Aware of widespread public opposition to Japan allowing casinos, the company said it has also discussed social issues such as gambling addiction with politicians. "We should be transparent in explaining both the positive and potential negative impacts of an IR industry for Japan," said Daniel Cheng, the firm''s senior vice president for development in Asia. Tokyo''s prospects of having an integrated resort are hampered by its hosting of the upcoming Olympics and height restrictions likely to deter operators used to developing high-rise resorts. That puts cities such as Osaka and Yokohama in a strong position, casino executives say. In Kyushu, in the south of Japan, travel agency H.I.S. Co Ltd ( 9603.T ) has proposed a casino at a theme park modelled on a 17th century Dutch town. The attraction''s management met casino operators this month, with more talks expected in February, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said. On the northern island of Hokkaido, U.S. company Boyd Gaming Corp ( BYD.N ) has met authorities in Sapporo, two people familiar with the matter said. Boyd Gaming said it has visited Japan and other countries for meetings, and is monitoring developments. "How the selection process plays out will result in different kinds of strategies," said Grant Govertsen, an analyst at Union Gaming in Macau. "Regardless of the structure, there will be significant interest from international developers." (Reporting by Thomas Wilson and Emi Emoto; Editing by Ian Geoghegan) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-casinos-idUKKBN15B032'|'2017-01-27T07:58:00.000+02:00' +'2531fb3ffb55fc00afc28950fcb8e750d38cffff'|'Fitch Rates Egypt''s New USD Bonds ''B'''|'Financials 46am EST Fitch Rates Egypt''s New USD Bonds ''B'' (The following statement was released by the rating agency) HONG KONG, January 25 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings has assigned Egypt''s new senior unsecured bonds issued under the sovereign''s Global Medium-Term Note programme ''B'' ratings. The issues are as follows: USD1.75bn 6.125% bonds maturing 31 January 2022 USD1bn 7.5% bonds maturing 31 January 2027 USD1.25bn 8.5% bonds maturing 31 January 2047 KEY RATING DRIVERS The ratings are in line with Egypt''s existing senior unsecured ratings and its Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of ''B'', which has a Stable Outlook. The IDR was last affirmed on 15 December 2016. RATING SENSITIVITIES The ratings of the bonds are sensitive to changes in Egypt''s Long-Term Foreign-Currency IDR. Contact: Primary Analyst Toby Iles Director +852 2263 9832 Fitch (Hong Kong) Limited 68 Des Voeux Road Central Hong Kong Secondary Analyst Ed Parker Managing Director +44 20 3530 1176 Committee Chairperson Tony Stringer Managing Director +44 20 3530 1219 Media Relations: Peter Fitzpatrick, London, Tel: +44 20 3530 1103, Email: peter.fitzpatrick@fitchratings.com; Wai-Lun Wan, Hong Kong, Tel: +852 2263 9935, Email: wailun.wan@fitchratings.com. Date of Relevant Rating Committee: 14 December 2016 Additional information is available on www.fitchratings.com Applicable Criteria Country Ceilings (pub. 16 Aug 2016) here Sovereign Rating Criteria (pub. 18 Jul 2016) here Additional Disclosures Solicitation Status here Endorsement Policy here ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. 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Due to the relative efficiency of electronic publishing and distribution, Fitch research may be available to electronic subscribers up to three days earlier than to print subscribers. For Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and South Korea only: Fitch Australia Pty Ltd holds an Australian financial services license (AFS license no. 337123) which authorizes it to provide credit ratings to wholesale clients only. Credit ratings information published by Fitch is not intended to be used by persons who are retail clients within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFit987744'|'2017-01-25T19:46:00.000+02:00' +'f7a1128d3cd42620489e3b3e06edbca07e3deaa6'|'Brookdale Senior in deal talks with Blackstone, others: WSJ'|'Brookdale Senior Living Inc ( BKD.N ) is in talks with private equity firm Blackstone Group LP ( BX.N ) and others about a potential deal to sell a part or all of the company, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.Shares of Brookdale, which had a market value of $2.39 billion as of Monday''s close, jumped 14.6 percent to $14.73.The talks are at an early stage and may not lead to a deal, the Journal reported on Tuesday.Brookdale and Blackstone declined to comment.Brookdale operates independent living, assisted living and dementia-care communities, with 1,077 communities in 47 U.S. states.The company has been under pressure after activist hedge fund Land and Buildings Investment Management LLC issued a letter to Brookdale''s shareholders last month, seeking a sale of the company''s real estate.Land and Buildings, which had a 0.3 percent stake in Brookdale as of Sept. 30, had also asked Brookdale to transition to an asset-light senior housing management company.Up to Monday''s close, Brookdale''s shares had fallen about 63 percent since February 2015, when another activist investor, Sandell Asset Management, pushed the company to aggressively explore opportunities to monetize its real estate.(Reporting by Divya Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-brookdale-senior-m-a-blackstone-group-idINKBN14U2BB'|'2017-01-10T17:01:00.000+02:00' +'2ace8999c1a6bf23ad8a1414d2ed7fb275535435'|'U.S. watchdog calls Peabody bankruptcy plan fees ''exorbitant'''|'Bonds News 6:44pm EST U.S. watchdog calls Peabody bankruptcy plan fees ''exorbitant'' By Tracy Rucinski - CHICAGO CHICAGO Jan 18 The U.S. government''s bankruptcy watchdog objected on Wednesday to certain parts of Peabody Energy Corp''s plan to slash $5 billion of debt and exit Chapter 11, calling a proposed $240 million in transaction fees "exorbitant," court papers showed. Peabody Energy, the world''s largest private sector coal producer, has proposed a $750 million rights offering, a $750 million private placement and the issuance of new common stock as part of a reorganization plan unveiled last month. In a court filing, the U.S. Trustee said the fees to be paid in those transactions would transfer millions of dollars of funds from the bankruptcy estate before the reorganization plan is approved by creditors and the court. "Plan voting is at the core of the reorganization process and should not be eviscerated by a deal struck by powerful well-connected parties," the watchdog said in a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in St. Louis. The U.S. Trustee, which oversees the administration of bankruptcy cases, said Peabody''s request for court approval of those proposals would improperly lock in payment terms before the whole reorganization plan is approved. "We''re evaluating the statements of the trustee and intend to respond appropriately," Peabody spokesman Vic Svec said. Peabody hopes to exit bankruptcy around a year after its April, 2016 Chapter 11 filing with a plan that has the approval of most but not all of its creditors. Shareholders have objected to the reorganization plan and have requested an official voice in the $8 billion bankruptcy case, arguing that a rise in coal prices means the company is valuable enough to repay shareholders who normally lose their money in a bankruptcy. A hearing on the shareholders'' request is scheduled in St. Louis on Thursday, while the U.S. Trustee''s objections will be heard at a hearing on Jan. 26. (Reporting by Tracy Rucinski; editing by Grant McCool) Next In Bonds News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/mergersNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/peabody-energy-bankruptcy-idUSL1N1F81OR'|'2017-01-19T06:44:00.000+02:00' +'286cf3c468013bd04494b7ba11c51a6a61be30f0'|'Under-fire Sports Direct chairman faces second shareholder vote'|' 23am GMT Under-fire Sports Direct chairman faces second shareholder vote Keith Hellawell chairman of sportwear retailer Sports Direct arrives at the company''s AGM after his offer to resign was rejected by the board, at the company''s headquarters in Shirebrook, Britain, September 7, 2016. REUTERS/Darren Staples LONDON Sports Direct ( SPD.L ) investors will vote on the re-election of chairman Keith Hellawell later on Thursday, four months after he was rejected by a majority of independent shareholders who said he had overseen a string of management and governance failures. Hellawell is likely to win the ballot at a special meeting because he has the support of founder and chief executive Mike Ashley, who owns 55 percent of the sportswear retailer. However, the 74-year-old former police chief constable and government drugs czar pledged in September he would step down at the next annual shareholder meeting later this year if he once again did not receive the backing of independent investors. Aberdeen Investment Management plans to vote against Hellawell on Thursday, saying that although the company had made progress since the last meeting, it was still "deeply concerned" about governance. Hellawell said in September he had offered to resign, but the board had persuaded him to stay to oversee improvements in working practices and independent scrutiny. Sports Direct was condemned by lawmakers last year for its treatment of workers, including paying some less than the minimum wage for shifts at its warehouse in central England. An independent report commissioned by the company found "serious shortcomings" in working practices, which it is taking steps to tackle. Investors, already counting the cost of the damage to the company''s reputation, have also endured a slump in profits at the sportswear retailer, in part caused by Britain''s vote to leave the European Union, which has pushed up its costs. The stock has halved over the last six months. Shareholder advisory group ISS is also opposed to Hellawell''s re-appointment in the second ballot, called under new rules that give independent shareholders more say. "As chairman, Keith Hellawell has overseen a period of serious operational, governance, and risk oversight concerns which have materially affected the company''s outlook and damaged shareholder value," it said. (Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Mark Potter) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sports-direct-chairman-meeting-idUKKBN14P0UL'|'2017-01-05T16:23:00.000+02:00' +'7ceff1ee9d9de7aa8c1f9b1168f3c7f777e9cf64'|'MIDEAST STOCKS - Factors to watch - Jan 10'|'DUBAI Jan 10 Here are some factors that may affect Middle East stock markets on Tuesday. Reuters has not verified the press reports and does not vouch for their accuracy.INTERNATIONAL/REGIONAL* GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks shaky as oil slump, ''hard'' Brexit fears dim mood* MIDEAST STOCKS-Egypt corrects, Saudi extends losses and UAE outperforms* Oil markets torn between Saudi led supply cuts, rising output elsewhere* PRECIOUS-Gold holds below 5-week high on weaker dollar* Middle East Crude-Chinaoil to receive another two March cargoes* Afghan businesses feel squeeze from government tax drive* Italy reopening embassy in Libya two years after closure* Lebanon''s Aoun visits Riyadh to mend fences with Saudi Arabia* Iran receives Saudi invitation to discuss haj arrangements* Cyprus leaders seek deal in ''historic opportunity'' for peace* Iraq special forces advance in east Mosul, close to linking with army* UN''s Palestinian aid agency urges Trump to revive MidEast peace bid* Syria truce under strain; Assad ready to discuss "everything" at talks* Morocco political deadlock deepens as premier ends coalition talks* U.S. Navy destroyer fires warning shots at Iranian vessels -U.S. officials* Iran to expand military spending, develop missiles* Iraq gives full Feb crude supply to 3 Asia, Europe buyers despite OPEC cut* Some Gulf Arabs commiserate over Iran''s Rafsanjani, Saudi silent* Danske Bank says in talks with Iran central bank on financing* Attacks target Turkey''s economic image, rate hike pressure unacceptable - deputy PMEGYPT* Egypt''s Eurobond roadshow to start next week in Gulf -finance minister* Average yields on Egypt''s T-bonds rise at auction* Faisal Islamic Bank FY standalone profit rises* Egypt''s Finance Ministry issues $888 mln one-year dollar-denominated t-bill* Seven Egyptian police killed in Sinai bomb attack* Sawiris says to discuss Oi bid with Brazil gov''t - paperSAUDI ARABIA* Saudi bourse to start T+2 settlement in second quarter* Saudi''s Mobily appoints new CEO* Saudia Airlines appoints new chairman in management shake-up - SPA* Saudi''s ACWA Power to issue $1 billion bond in February - chairman* Saudi''s Jarir Marketing Q4 profit rises 3.5 pct on rising smartphone salesUNITED ARAB EMIRATES* Dubai loans loom for airport expansion and Expo 2020 - sources* Investment Corporation of Dubai expected to issue dollar bond this month -sources* National Bank of Abu Dhabi issues $885 mln Formosa bondKUWAIT* Kuwait expects big commitment to global supply cut deal* Board of Kuwait''s Americana endorses Adeptio offer to minority shareholdersQATAR* BRF, Qatar to buy Turkish poultry firm Banvit in $470 mln venture* Qatar Electricity and Water unit acquires stake in IPM Indonesia and IPM AsiaOMAN* Saudi-Iran crisis, economic woes strain Oman''s neutrality'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/mideast-factors-idINL5N1F003N'|'2017-01-10T00:05:00.000+02:00' +'693d4e6e9fcaede93d218994ccaff3ed6a338f48'|'BRIEF-Goldman Sachs reports Q4 earnings of $5.08 per share'|' 49am EST BRIEF-Goldman Sachs reports Q4 earnings of $5.08 per share Jan 18 Goldman Sachs Group Inc * Fourth quarter earnings per common share were $5.08 * Q4 annualized ROE was 11.4 percent versus 11.2 percent in Q3 and 3 percent year ago * Book value per common share increased by 6.7% during the year to $182.47 * Operating expenses were $20.30 billion for 2016, 19% lower than 2015 * Fourth quarter net revenues were $8.17 billion * Net revenues in investment banking were $1.49 billion for the fourth quarter of 2016, 4% lower than last year * Net revenues in fixed income, currency and commodities client execution were $2.00 billion for Q4 2016, 78% higher * Q4 earnings per share view $4.82, revenue view $7.72 billion -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * Ratio of compensation and benefits to net revenues for 2016 was 38.1% compared with 37.5% for 2015 * Q4 net revenues in equities were $1.59 billion, 9% lower than the fourth quarter of 2015 * "After a challenging first half, the firm performed well for the remainder of the year as the operating environment improved" * Basel III advanced common equity tier 1 ratio was 13.1% as of December 31, 2016, compared with 12.4% as of Sept 30, 2016 * Non-compensation expenses were $2.33 billion for the fourth quarter of 2016, 44% lower than the fourth quarter of 2015 Source text ( bit.ly/2jnjZYL ) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1F7124'|'2017-01-18T19:49:00.000+02:00' +'e36813e5092233cb85ca712a8835a2c2fadb3270'|'China Huarong launches new unit for debt-for-equity swaps'|'Private Equity 27pm EST China Huarong launches new unit for debt-for-equity swaps BEIJING Jan 18 China Huarong Asset Management Co (AMC), the country''s biggest distressed debt manager, said on Wednesday it launched a wholly owned subsidiary as a "strategic platform" to conduct debt-for-equity swaps. The new entity, Huarong Ruitong Equity Investment Management Co, has a registered capital of 300 million yuan ($43.74 million), Huarong said in an emailed statement. It will be responsible for fundraising, project selection, debt acquisition and equity management for Huarong''s debt-for-equity swap deals, it said. Since China''s policymakers re-launched the debt-for-equity scheme in October last year to ease the borrowing overhang of its struggling firms, the country''s state banks and bad debt managers have rushed to sign deals with big state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to ease their debt burden. The country''s big banks, led by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd and China Construction Bank Corp , also said recently that they would launch their own subsidiaries for debt-for-equity swaps. Huarong, one of China''s Big Four state-owned distressed debt managers, has handled 680 billion yuan in non-performing assets since it was launched by the government in 1999, Chairman Lai Xiaomin said in the statement. In China''s last round of government-driven debt-for-equity swaps, Huarong conducted deals with 420 large and medium-sized SOEs, Lai said. The total value was 69.7 billion yuan. ($1 = 6.8591 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Shu Zhang and Matthew Miller; Editing by Sunil Nair) Next In Private Equity'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/china-huarong-debt-idUSL4N1F81Z9'|'2017-01-18T11:27:00.000+02:00' +'0acca3f2b2a8f50fa879c3f5138e2ac5e234c02b'|'HSBC risks losing advantage with year-long delay in Chinese banking push'|'Business News - Thu Jan 12, 2017 - 12:44pm GMT HSBC risks losing advantage with year-long delay in Chinese banking push The moon rises over the HSBC building in the Canary Wharf financial district of London, in London, Britain November 13, 2016. REUTERS/Hannah McKay By Lawrence White - LONDON LONDON HSBC''s ( HSBA.L ) ambitions to establish an investment banking franchise in China have hit a roadblock, with the bank still waiting for approval for its partnership with a state-owned fund more than a year after it announced the venture. The partnership is a key part of the bank''s ambition to grow annual profits in the fast-growing southern region of China from $100 million (81.50 million) to $1 billion in the medium term, and as growth in China slows, HSBC has delayed other expansion plans it said would help achieve that goal. HSBC announced on Nov. 2, 2015 the proposed venture with Shenzhen Qianhai Financial Holdings Co Ltd, with HSBC set to own a majority 51 percent stake while foreign peers are currently capped at a maximum of 49 percent in Chinese partnerships. The bank is expected to get the go-ahead for the venture eventually, sources familiar with the matter said, but the delay has reduced the advantage HSBC could have stolen over rivals as China relaxes rules on foreign players in its markets. A spokesman for HSBC in Hong Kong said the bank continues to seek the required approval, declining to comment on the timing. The proposed HSBC-Qianhai firm would be able to trade as well as underwrite stocks and bonds for Chinese firms, unlike foreign rivals who operate under more restrictions. "HSBC a year ago was saying ''here we go'', it was all guns blazing but we are still waiting...," said a Hong-Kong based consultant who works with the bank. HSBC did not publicly set out a timeline for when it expected to receive the go-ahead but the process is taking longer than analysts expected. Chirantan Barua of Bernstein research wrote in April last year that he expected approval by the July-September quarter. The HSBC joint venture has had the longest wait of any pending Sino-foreign securities joint venture, and two such ventures have received approval since HSBC submitted its application, according to data compiled by Hong Kong consultancy firm Quinlan & Associates. LOSING THE EDGE Qianhai is a free trade zone in Shenzhen, a fast-growing city neighbouring Hong Kong that China has earmarked for development as a financial hub. HSBC has a potential edge over foreign bank rivals in China thanks to its ownership of a Hong Kong-based banking subsidiary, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, allowing it to own and control its planned new Chinese joint venture. But now banks including Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse are set to raise their stakes in their securities joint ventures to the current 49 percent limit in anticipation of being able to have majority control soon, sources told Reuters on Monday. On December 30, China unveiled plans to allow more foreign investment in banking, insurance, securities and credit-rating firms, paving the way for HSBC''s rivals to enjoy controlling stakes despite the lack of a Hong Kong base. CHINA STRATEGY DELAYED The slow progress of HSBC''s investment banking ambitions comes alongside other setbacks in China for Europe''s biggest bank. Decelerating economic growth in the country has delayed HSBC''s plans to hire 4,000 new staff and do more business in the country''s southern region. HSBC in June 2015 announced it would invest in China''s southern Pearl River Delta region, banking on the country''s rapid growth and its own Hong Kong heritage to reinvigorate profit growth after years of restructuring. But HSBC has since revised its ambitions for the scale and speed of that investment as China''s growth slowed. Gulliver said in February last year the bank''s plans to hire 4,000 new staff in the region will happen over five years instead of three. "The June update... was prior to changing views on where the renminbi would be, and China''s GDP has slowed, so all we are saying is the redeployment will take longer," Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver told Reuters by phone in August. HSBC in April last year took analysts and investors on a tour of its operations in the Pearl River Delta (PRD), in a sign of how important the investment there is to the bank''s strategy. "HSBC''s foray into the PRD is not a choice but a necessity to stay relevant as Hong Kong connects with the mainland," Bernstein''s Barua wrote in a report following that April trip. (Reporting By Lawrence White, additional reporting by Michelle Price and Sumeet Chatterjee in Hong Kong; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hsbc-china-idUKKBN14W1QJ'|'2017-01-12T19:44:00.000+02:00' +'bbcf649daf0c64fd5a5b0409e059501bf0564d6b'|'Royal Mail moves to close pension fund'|'All the benefits of Standard Digital, plus: Unlimited access to all content Instant Insights column for comment and analysis as news unfolds FT Confidential Research - in-depth China and Southeast Asia analysis ePaper - the digital replica of the printed newspaper Full access to LEX - our agenda setting daily commentary Exclusive emails, including a weekly email from our Editor, Lionel Barber Full access to EM Squared- news and analysis service on emerging markets'|'ft.com'|'http://www.ft.com/rss/companies/support-services'|'https://www.ft.com/content/d0e55e68-d35d-11e6-9341-7393bb2e1b51?ftcamp=published_links%2Frss%2Fcompanies_support-services%2Ffeed%2F%2Fproduct'|'2017-01-06T01:51:00.000+02:00' +'276b761151aa377618921b6004705787135ac118'|'Elliott, private equity firm buy stakes in NRG Energy'|'Activist investor Elliott Management and private equity firm Bluescape Energy Partners said they bought stakes in NRG Energy Inc ( NRG.N ) and would team up to urge the power producer to make strategic changes to the company.Elliott and Bluescape - termed "the Group" - said NRG''s shares were "deeply undervalued" and they wanted to make operational and financial improvements in the company.Elliott Management acquired 16.9 million shares of the company, or a 5.4 percent stake, as of Jan. 4. Including swaps, it has an economic exposure of about 6.9 percent in the company.Bluescape, whose executive chairman is former Texas utility chief John Wilder, said it bought 7.8 million shares, or a 2.5 percent stake.Wilder is credited with overhauling TXU Corp Wilder, now known as Energy Future Holdings Corp [EFHC.UL], before selling it in 2007 in the one of the biggest-ever leveraged buyouts.Together they have an economic exposure of about 9.4 percent in NRG, according to regulatory filings."The Group believes that Charles John Wilder, Jr. and his team have directly relevant experience in effectuating such improvements and are initiating a dialogue with management and the Board of Directors," both shareholders said in their filings.The Group said it was also looking to nominate one or more people to the board at the 2017 annual stockholders meeting.(Reporting by Sayantani Ghosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-nrg-energy-elliott-idINKBN151225'|'2017-01-17T11:32:00.000+02:00' +'e0753e2b5f4564530f63c4de91ebee803dd9fd46'|'Federal judge blocks Aetna Inc''s plan to buy rival Humana'|'WASHINGTON A U.S. federal judge blocked on Monday health insurer Aetna Inc''s proposed $34 billion merger with rival Humana, and Aetna said it was considering an appeal.Judge John Bates of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said the proposed deal would "substantially lessen competition" in the sale of some Medicare Advantage plans in 364 counties that the Justice Department identified in their complaint and in individual insurance on the Obamacare exchange in three Florida counties."We''re reviewing the opinion now and giving serious consideration to an appeal after putting forward a compelling case," Aetna spokesman T.J. Crawford said.The order came as President Donald Trump began the process of attempting to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare. On Friday, shortly after being sworn in, he directed government agencies to freeze regulations and take steps to weaken the program.The Justice Department filed a lawsuit on July 21, 2016 to block Aetna''s acquisition of Humana and Anthem Inc''s purchase of Cigna Corp, saying the two deals would lead to higher prices.(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Andrew Hay)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-humana-aetna-antitrust-idINKBN1572BF'|'2017-01-23T14:31:00.000+02:00' +'4651c2a4013596c537f949e3634d21a3978a0f6d'|'Nikkei edges down as strong yen bites but supported by global gains'|'* US jobs data on Friday in focus for clues on US rate outlook* Takata soars for 4th day on hopes it will settle criminal charges with USBy Ayai TomisawaTOKYO, Jan 5 Japan''s Nikkei share average edged down on Thursday as a stronger yen hurt some exporters, but the downside was limited as strong U.S. shares supported overall sentiment.The Nikkei eased 0.1 percent to 19,568.93 points in midmorning trade after flirting with positive territory, while the broader Topix rose 0.2 percent to 1,557.06.The dollar slipped to 116.63 yen after having peaked at 118.605 on Tuesday as minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve''s December meeting showed concerns that quicker economic growth under President-elect Donald Trump could require faster interest rate increases.U.S. stock investors took heart from the minutes, chasing the market higher overnight."A U.S. rate hike is positive for Japanese stocks as it is translated (as a sign of) a U.S. economic recovery. Investors cautiously stay focused on the release of U.S. jobs data this Friday," said Isao Kubo, an equity strategist at Nissay Asset Management.But he added that as the dollar-yen levels remain the main focus in the Japanese market, a rise in the yen can sour sentiment so trading is likely to be subdued throughout the day.Automakers languished after rising on the previous day. Toyota Motor Corp dropped 0.8 percent and Honda Motor Co shed 0.1 percent.On the other hand, drugmakers attracted buyers. Astellas Pharma rose 1.3 percent, while Shionogi & Co gained 2.1 percent.Takata Corp hit its daily-limit high for a fourth straight day on continued expectations that criminal charges with the U.S. Department of Justice on its defective airbags may settle this month.It later pared gains and was up 1.7 percent by late morning.The JPX-Nikkei Index 400 advanced 0.2 percent to 13,966.58. (Editing by Kim Coghill)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-midday-idINL4N1EV1DP'|'2017-01-04T23:22:00.000+02:00' +'9ef3199c6c2bcfd53dbe3a50a78b9ba36af44483'|'Raymond Ltd posts consol loss'|'Jan 25 Raymond Ltd* Raymond Ltd - dec quarter consol net loss 146.9 million rupees* Raymond Ltd - dec quarter consol net sales 13.07 billion rupees* Raymond Ltd - consol net profit in dec quarter last year was 390.8 million rupees as per Ind-AS; consol net sales was 13.80 billion rupees Source text - ( bit.ly/2j4sP0G ) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/idINFWN1FF0PZ'|'2017-01-25T08:54:00.000+02:00' +'122b42743190debd568ebfce2c5bc24f47979e84'|'U.S. bankruptcy judge denies request for Peabody equity committee'|'Commodities 5:05pm EST U.S. bankruptcy judge denies request for Peabody equity committee A dragline excavator moves surface dirt into a 240 ton haul truck during a tour of Peabody Energy''s North Antelope Rochelle coal mine near Gillette, Wyoming, U.S. June 1, 2016. REUTERS/Kristina Barker/File Photo ST LOUIS A U.S. bankruptcy judge denied on Thursday a request to order the appointment of an official equity committee in chapter 11 of coal miner Peabody Energy Corp. (Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; editing by G Crosse) Next In Commodities Oil edges up from one-week low as IEA sees tighter market NEW YORK Oil prices edged higher on Thursday, but swelling U.S. crude stockpiles limited the rebound from a one-week low after the International Energy Agency said oil markets had been tightening even before cuts agreed by OPEC and other producers took effect.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-peabody-energy-bankruptcy-shareholder-idUSKBN15336B'|'2017-01-20T05:03:00.000+02:00' +'11f79fc770fded9de7f28b698eb4364e55a44472'|'Is equity release a good way to pay off your home loan?'|'T he number of people raiding the equity locked up in their home to pay off their interest-only mortgage is set to rocket. But is signing up for an equity release plan a good idea? And what are the other options for those who took out an interest-only deal perhaps 20-25 years ago who are now staring down the barrel of a hefty shortfall?The City watchdog has identified 2017-18 as the first of three peak periods when large numbers of interest-only mortgages will mature. It estimated that about 85,000 of these home loans are due for repayment this year, and then the same again next year. This has in turn prompted claims that the equity release market stands to benefit hugely.The Financial Conduct Authority has previously warned that many of those with maturing interest-only mortgages may not have enough money to pay what they owe. With this type of home loan, the borrower agrees to pay off the interest each month but makes no capital repayments. Borrowers are expected to make sure they have an investment plan in place traditionally an endowment policy to pay off the debt at the end of the term. However, some people are facing a shortfall because their endowment has underperformed. Others never set anything up and have given little or no thought to how they will repay the capital.Equity release levels hit record high among over-55s Read more What lenders are doing In cases where someone with a maturing interest-only mortgage is unable to repay the capital but doesnt want to sell their home, their lender will sometimes agree to extend the mortgage term at the same time as switching the loan to a repayment basis. However, because the individual will be paying back capital each month as well as interest, their monthly repayments will be higher.Also, their age may well be a big factor, says David Hollingworth at mortgage broker London & Country. Getting on for half of the people whose interest-only loans are maturing this year and next will be over 65. Some lenders have maximum age caps often its 70 or 75. As Hollingworth explains, a homeowner in this situation might be prepared to make such a switch, but if they are then bumping up against their lenders maximum age limit, this may shorten the mortgage term to such a degree that it means the monthly payments would be unaffordable.However, he says some lenders are more flexible than others on age, and adds that in some cases it might be possible for the borrower to continue on an interest-only basis.For borrowers with limited options equity release might be a solution.The basics Between 40% and 50% of those with no repayment method should find hope within the equity release marketEquity release is a way for older people the minimum age is usually 55, sometimes 60 to get cash out of their property without the need to move home. Typically, there are no monthly repayments. Leading providers include Aviva, Legal & General, More 2 Life and LV=.It can prove an expensive way to borrow because the way these schemes usually work means you end up paying interest on interest, so that over 18 years, say, the total owed can easily double.Generally speaking, for most older people the most financially effective way of releasing equity will be to move to a smaller property or a cheaper part of the country.The most common equity release schemes are mortgage-based products secured against your home and repaid usually from the sale of the property when you die or go into long-term care. These are known as lifetime mortgages and allow you to take out a loan on your property in return for a one-off lump sum or regular smaller sums. Some products give people the option of paying the interest as they go, says Nigel Waterson, chairman of main trade body the Equity Release Council.How much? The amount you can borrow via equity release usually depends on your age, the value of your property and sometimes your health. Lets take someone aged 72 with a 300,000 house. They could typically borrow a maximum of 123,000 from Just (the new name for the combined Just Retirement and Partnership Assurance), 114,000 from Aviva, or 96,000 from Hodge Lifetime, according to calculators on their websites.Dean Mirfin at independent specialist firm Key Retirement crunched some numbers for Guardian Money. He says someone who wants to release 60,000 as a lump sum upfront could take an equity release loan with More 2 Life which has an interest rate of 4.26%. After 22 years (the average remaining life expectancy in this scenario) the total amount owing the loan plus interest would have swelled to 151,635.Earlier this month Key Retirement published a report showing that last year the average equity release customer accessed nearly 78,000 from their property, with more than one in five using the funds to clear an outstanding mortgage.Warning for grandparents raiding their pension pots to help out family Read more How old? The average age of those releasing equity has risen in recent years and now stands at 72, though Mirfin says: Because of interest-only we are expecting that to fall. A lot of interest-only mortgages were written to age 65.The downsides All members of the Equity Release Council offer a no negative equity guarantee which means customers will never owe more than the value of their home. But that could still mean your family is left with little or nothing from your property when you die.Also, some people with maturing interest-only mortgages wont be eligible for equity release. Mirfin says: Our analysis shows that between 40% and 50% of those with no repayment method should find hope within the equity release market. But some will simply have too high a loan-to-value for existing products to help.Any other options? Yes, possibly. There is the 55+ Mortgage from retirement specialist Hodge Lifetime which, as the name suggests, is exclusively for over-55s, but isnt an equity release deal its a standard mortgage where you pay the interest on the loan each month and retain 100% ownership of your property. Its available for house purchases/remortgages, but can also be used to raise capital ie, to consolidate existing debts. There are three rates available for the 55+ Mortgage: a two-year fix at 3.1%, a 3.3% five-year fix, and a two-year discounted-rate deal with a pay rate of 2.99%.We are seeing a shift to people gifting an inheritance early because the child needs it now more than everA helping hand Could equity release play a bigger role in helping younger people get on the housing ladder? Not all older people are accessing the value locked up in their home in order to pay off debts. Some are doing it to help their children or grandchildren buy a place of their own.Around 24% of people who released equity in 2016 used the money to help family or friends, according to Key Retirement, a leading firm in the sector. Often this will take the form of cash given to younger family members to help towards a deposit, or to help with the cost of a wedding or university.We are seeing a shift to people gifting an inheritance early because the child needs it now more than ever, says Alice Watson, head of marketing for equity release at specialist firm Retirement Advantage.Last summer Key Retirement published research showing that more than two-fifths (44%) of those unlocking equity to pass on to family members were gifting 20,000, 18% were paying out more than 50,000, and 6% more than 100,000. It found that where they were helping someone get a foot on the property ladder, the average amount contributed was 33,350.Many retirees dont relish the thought of their children and grandchildren going without, and are happy to step in to ease the financial pressures on families just starting out, the firm said.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/jan/28/is-equity-release-good-way-pay-off-interest-only-home-loan-capital'|'2017-01-28T14:00:00.000+02:00' +'eb152e6a8661b9066672e0fc2017b91997a3b1ce'|'RBI employees urge governor to protect autonomy'|'Economic 12:17pm IST RBI employees urge governor to protect autonomy left right A man talks on his mobile phone as he walks past the logo of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) inside its head office in Mumbai June 14, 2010. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri/Files 1/4 left right The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel attends a news conference after the bi-monthly monetary policy review in Mumbai, India, October 4, 2016. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/Files 2/4 left right People queue to withdraw cash at the ICICI bank ATM in Lucknow, November 14, 2016. REUTERS/Pawan Kumar/Files 3/4 left right Workers unload boxes carrying Indian currency outside a bank in Chandigarh, November 15, 2016. REUTERS/Ajay Verma/Files 4/4 By Suvashree Choudhury - MUMBAI MUMBAI The employee union of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has urged the bank''s governor to protect central bank autonomy and not allow the government to interfere in processes, after criticism over how it handled a ban on high-value currency. The bank and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been criticised for the implementation of their November decision to abolish high-value bills that accounted for 86 percent of currency in circulation. Economists said slow replacement of the bills undermined the RBI''s reputation for competence, while some raised doubts about the bank''s independence for agreeing to implementation with limited preparation. The RBI''s employee union in a letter to the governor dated January 13 said it was "painful" the central bank was being criticised despite its staff successfully carrying out the "humongous task" of replacing the old bills. It cited a recent local media report saying the finance ministry had sent a bureaucrat to coordinate the bank''s cash operations. "If true, this is most unfortunate and we take strong exception to this measure of the government as impinging on RBI autonomy," the union said in the letter. The RBI did not require any assistance, it said. "Apart from showing RBI operations and its gigantic performance in poor light, the government now blatantly encroaches on its jurisdiction," the union said in the letter, a copy of which was seen by Reuters. An RBI union member confirmed the authenticity of the letter. The RBI did not provide an immediate comment. A finance ministry spokesman declined to comment. Modi''s decision on November 8 to suddenly scrap 500 and 1,000 rupee banknotes as part of a crackdown on tax dodgers and counterfeiters has resulted in severe cash shortages, impacting companies, farmers and households alike. The action has also sparked political concern, with some people in Modi''s own party anxious that the cash crunch could hurt their prospects in states going to the polls this year. One RBI official involved in drafting the union''s letter said employees were worried that government intervention in distributing new bills could be politically influenced ahead of state polls. (Reporting by Suvashree Choudhury; Additional reporting and writing by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Rafael Nam and Christopher Cushing) Next In Economic News China steel exports fall from record in relief for global steelmakers MANILA China''s steel exports fell in 2016 from a record in the previous year, dragged down by improved demand at home and Beijing''s resolve to tackle overcapacity, in a relief for steelmakers elsewhere that have been hit by cheap Chinese shipments.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/india-rbi-employe-governor-idINKBN14Y06U'|'2017-01-14T13:47:00.000+02:00' +'af874a2041608f268bb6c1ef75154d0927b1e4ac'|'Israel''s Check Point Software Q4 profit tops estimates'|'TEL AVIV Jan 19 Network security provider Check Point Software Technologies reported quarterly net profit that beat expectations on strong growth in demand for mobile security and threat prevention products and an increase in new customer wins.Check Point earned $1.46 per diluted share excluding one-time items in the fourth quarter, up from $1.20 a year earlier. Revenue grew 6 percent to $487 million, the Israel-based company said on Thursday.It was forecast to earn $1.25 a share on revenue of $478 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S."We realised triple-digit growth across our focus areas of mobile and advanced threat prevention," said Chief Executive Gil Shwed.For all of 2016, Check Point earned $4.72 per share, up 13 percent, while revenue grew 7 percent to $1.74 billion.(Reporting by Tova Cohen; Editing by Steven Scheer)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/chk-pnt-sftwre-results-idINL5N1F91K8'|'2017-01-19T07:08:00.000+02:00' +'c01de74c2e4cbb88b147027e2f6b2a3836bdf64e'|'UPDATE 1-Peru sees much weaker economic growth in 2017 on graft scandal'|'(Adds comments on new measures)LIMA Jan 25 Peru''s economy might grow by 3.8 percent instead of 4.8 percent this year as previously forecast by the government as a massive graft scandal slows public work projects and deters new investments, the country''s finance minister said on Wednesday.Alfredo Thorne told a press conference that he was preparing new measures to offset the impacts on the economy from an ongoing inquiry into bribes that Brazil''s Odebrecht has acknowledged distributing to win billions in contracts in Peru.Some 5 billion soles ($1.51 billion) will be disbursed for public investments by March 31, building on an injection of 3.89 billion soles to help local governments develop infrastructure in all of 2017, Thorne said.State bidding agency Proinversion is also aiming to award projects this year worth between $3.3 billion and $5.5 billion that would be financed mostly by the private sector, Thorne added. (Reporting By Mitra Taj; Editing by David Gregorio and Meredith Mazzilli)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/peru-economy-growth-idUSL1N1FF1UA'|'2017-01-26T01:07:00.000+02:00' +'094af45e0bad1ad08d372909c46dd68a87cbc5ea'|'Shanghai suspends sales of commercial office projects'|'Business News - Sat Jan 7, 2017 - 11:14pm EST Shanghai suspends sales of commercial office projects A woman wears a mask as she rides near the Bund during a polluted day in Shanghai, China, January 2, 2017. REUTERS/Aly Song SHANGHAI Municipal authorities in Shanghai suspended sales of commercial office projects from Jan. 6, in the latest move to crack down on irregularities in the property market amid concerns about soaring prices. The suspension came after the municipality''s housing and urban-rural development committee received increasing complaints about "illegal sales and unauthorized alterations" to commercial housing projects, it said in an online statement published over the weekend. "The committee, along with other relevant departments, has launched the focused clean-ups and verifications starting Jan. 6, and signing contracts online for such projects would be suspended during the period," it said. The committee added that it had found "relatively serious unauthorized changes" to commercial office projects in the city, with some privately installing gas pipelines to change the nature of the use of the housing. Housing developers used "false propaganda to seriously mislead housing buyers" for such projects, according to the statement. Media reported in late December that the city had suspended planning and management approvals for apartment-style office buildings that have residential function. The country''s first- and second- tier cities have rolled out a slew of measures over the past few months, including higher mortgage down payments and tighter real estate-related loans, in an attempt to cool their housing markets after a rally in housing prices. (Reporting by Winni Zhou, Yawen Chen and Alexandra Harney; Editing by Kim Coghill) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-property-shanghai-idUSKBN14S02W'|'2017-01-08T11:11:00.000+02:00' +'bc310e39399f824063432b814a113e86cf4247b9'|'Toyota shares slide after targeted by Trump over Mexico manufacturing'|'Business News - Fri Jan 6, 2017 - 12:27am GMT Toyota shares slide after targeted by Trump over Mexico manufacturing The logo of Toyota is pictured at at the 37th Bangkok International Motor Show in Bangkok, Thailand, March 22, 2016. Picture taken March 22, 2016. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom TOKYO Shares of Toyota Motor Corp ( 7203.T ) tumbled on Friday after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump threatened to impose a hefty fee on the automaker if it builds its Corolla cars for the U.S. market at a plant in Mexico. Toyota dropped as much as 3.1 percent to 6,830 yen in early trade. Other Japanese carmakers fell. Honda Motor Co ( 7267.T ) lost 2.4 percent and Nissan Motor Co ( 7201.T ) shed 2.0 percent, underperforming the broad Topix .TOPX index, which slipped 0.7 percent. A stronger yen was also expected to weigh on shares of automakers. (Reporting by Ayai Tomisawa; Editing by Chris Gallagher) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-toyota-stocks-idUKKBN14Q01X'|'2017-01-06T07:27:00.000+02:00' +'0380f52b07ab0e8a25760ee47399bac3ebe0fcd2'|'Qatar''s Masraf Al Rayan to halt brokerage business'|' 34am EST Qatar''s Masraf Al Rayan to halt brokerage business DUBAI Jan 2 Masraf Al Rayan, Qatar''s second-largest bank by market capitalisation, said on Monday that it had decided to suspend the activities and licence of its brokerage business, Al Rayan Financial Brokerage Company. After obtaining the necessary approvals from regulatory authorities, the bank said the last date of trading for the company would be Jan. 12. All remaining stocks held by clients will be then transferred to their accounts at the Qatar Central Securities Depository before the termination of activities on Feb. 23. Al Rayan Financial Brokerage Company has a paid up capital of 50 million riyals ($13.7 million), representing 0.06 percent of the total assets of the bank as of Sept. 30, 2016, it said. ($1 = 3.6410 Qatar riyals) (Reporting by Tom Arnold) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/masraf-al-rayan-brokerage-idUSD5N1E9007'|'2017-01-02T13:34:00.000+02:00' +'5172e529f3cfa0baff7702fae1c44319e2d408b6'|'Investors hold fewest net shorts on U.S. Treasuries since November -JPM'|'NEW YORK Jan 4 The margin on bearish bets on longer-dated U.S. Treasuries over bullish positions shrank to its smallest since late November as bargain-minded investors emerged after the recent bond market selloff, a J.P. Morgan survey released on Wednesday showed.Some fund managers stepped up their Treasury purchases in the latter half of December after the benchmark 10-year yield hit 2.64 percent, the highest since September 2014, after the Federal Reserve raised short-term interest rates by a quarter point on Dec. 14, analysts said.The share of "long" investors who said they were holding more longer-dated U.S. government debt than their portfolio benchmarks was 11 percent, matching the level on Dec. 12 when J.P. Morgan released its last Treasury survey.The firm''s survey of clients include bond fund managers, central banks and sovereign wealth funds.The share of "short" investors, who said they were holding fewer longer-dated Treasuries than their benchmarks, tumbled to 20 percent from 39 percent three weeks earlier.Nevertheless, short investors outnumbered long investors, or net shorts, by nine percentage points, which was the lowest since Nov. 28. That compared with 28 percentage points on Dec. 12, which was the biggest difference since June 28, 2015.In addition to hints the Fed might increase interest rates faster in 2017, inflation worries intensified following an agreement among major oil producers to cut output, propelling crude prices to an 18-month high.Uneasiness about inflation stemming from a possible fiscal stimulus package under a Trump administration has underpinned the jump in longer-dated U.S. yields since the Nov. 8 election.On Wednesday, the 10-year yield was last at 2.450 percent, unchanged from on Tuesday but up about 60 basis points since Donald Trump''s presidential victory.The share of "neutral" investors, who said on Tuesday they were holding amounts of longer-dated Treasuries that match their benchmarks, rose to 69 percent, up from 50 percent on Dec. 12, J.P. Morgan''s survey showed. (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/treasuries-jpmorgan-idINL1N1EU14F'|'2017-01-04T15:39:00.000+02:00' +'69ed6cfb4ab05db30e0c62d5e422223f00fdb658'|'Weekly jobless claims rise less than expected'|'Business News - Thu Jan 12, 2017 - 8:37am EST Weekly jobless claims rise less than expected Job applicants listen to a presentation prior to the opening of a job fair for veterans and their spouses held by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Washington Nationals baseball club at Nationals Park in Washington December 5, 2012. REUTERS/Gary Cameron WASHINGTON Jan 12 The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose less than expected last week and the underlying trend remained consistent with a tightening labor market that is starting to spur faster wage growth. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 247,000 for the week ended Jan. 7, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims for the prior week were revised to show 2,000 more applications received than previously reported. Last week''s data included the New Year holiday. Claims tend to be volatile around this time of the year because of different timings of the various holidays. Claims have fluctuated in a 233,000-275,000 range since mid-November. They have now been below 300,000, a threshold associated with a healthy labor market, for 97 consecutive weeks. That is the longest stretch since 1970, when the labor market was much smaller. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast first-time applications for jobless benefits rising to 255,000 in the latest week. A Labor Department analyst said there were no special factors influencing last week''s data and that only claims for Virginia had been estimated. The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, fell 1,750 to 256,500 last week. The labor market is considered to be at or near full employment, with the unemployment rate near a nine-year low of 4.7 percent. Tightening labor markets are starting to push up wage growth. Average hourly earnings increased 2.9 percent in the 12 months through December, the largest gain since June 2009. Rising wages and President-elect Donald Trump''s pledge to cut taxes are expected to boost consumer spending and support economic growth through much of this year. A tighter labor market and firming inflation suggest further interest rate increases from the Federal Reserve this year. The Fed raised its benchmark overnight interest rate last month by 25 basis points to a range of 0.50 percent to 0.75 percent. The U.S. central bank has forecast three rate hikes for this year. Thursday''s claims report also showed the number of people still receiving benefits after an initial week of aid fell 29,000 to 2.09 million in the week ended Dec. 31. That was the first decline in the so-called continuing claims since November. The four-week average of continuing claims rose 16,500 to 2.09 million. (Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-idUSKBN14W1VG'|'2017-01-12T20:37:00.000+02:00' +'3853d39241785274ba09b1168c23a81cc3f29f0d'|'German real wages rose less sharply in 2016 due to inflation - study'|'Business News - 28am GMT German real wages rose less sharply in 2016 due to inflation - study BERLIN Real wages for German workers with collective agreements rose less sharply in 2016 than in the previous two years, a study showed on Thursday, suggesting consumers'' purchasing power is being hit by rising inflation. That could weaken future domestic support for overall economic output at a time when Europe''s biggest economy is increasingly relying on private consumption to propel growth. Household spending has become the most important driver of economic expansion in Germany as consumers are benefiting from record-high employment, increased job security, rising wages and low borrowing costs. The study by the Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI) showed nominal wages for the roughly 19 million workers with collective agreements rose by 2.4 percent on average in 2016. Since the national inflation rate (CPI) rose to 0.5 percent last year, real wages increased by only 1.9 percent in 2016, the WSI study said. That is a weaker increase than in the previous two years. Real wages of workers with collective agreements rose by 2.4 percent in 2015 and by 2.2 percent in 2014. The next round of wage negotiations starts on Jan. 18, when Verdi, Germany''s biggest white collar union, is set to demand a 6 percent pay hike for more than 2 million civil servants and other public sector employees at the regional level. The government expects soaring private consumption and increased state spending to have propelled overall growth to 1.8 percent in 2016, the strongest GDP expansion in five years. For 2017, Berlin predicts a slowdown to 1.4 percent due to weaker exports and fewer working days. With inflation expected to jump to 1.5 percent this year due to rising energy prices, that would further weaken consumers'' purchasing power. (Reporting by Rene Wagner and Michael Nienaber; Editing by Catherine Evans) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-economy-wages-idUKKBN14P17E'|'2017-01-05T18:28:00.000+02:00' +'3f140f5544b87bf7c0aa5efb34c3180501c65030'|'Sanpower launching fund to acquire cinemas in China, targets $435 million - sources'|'By Julie Zhu - HONG KONG HONG KONG Chinese conglomerate Sanpower Group is launching a fund with a 3 billion yuan ($435 million) target that will be used to acquire up to 150 domestic cinemas in a bet on rapid growth in the country''s movie market, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.Sanpower is in talks with several domestic institutional investors, including banks and investment funds, for contributions, the sources told Reuters. The privately-owned conglomerate itself will commit 20 percent to 30 percent of the fund''s capital, they said, adding it is expected to close in the second half of 2017.The Nanjing-based group, founded by its billionaire chairman Yuan Yafei in 1993, shot into international prominence in 2014 after buying Britain''s high-street retailer House of Fraser. It has spent about $4.2 billion on domestic and outbound acquisitions over the past two years, data compiled by Thomson Reuters showed.Sanpower''s maiden entertainment industry buyout fund will enable it to raise external private capital to support its acquisition spree without dipping into its own balance sheet or seeking debt-funding.The fundraising comes as Sanpower is seeking to diversify from a focus on property, retail and healthcare and tap into cinema-crazy China, which is poised to become the world''s largest movie market by box-office revenue in the next few years, overtaking the United States.But after a surge in recent years, the growth rate of China''s movie market is cooling, with total ticket sales rising just 3.7 percent in 2016 to 45.7 billion yuan amid a crackdown on box-office fraud, after a 49 percent jump in 2015.Sanpower, which is already building about 10 cinemas that will open in 2017 and 2018 in a few tier-two cities like Nanjing, aims to buy between 120 to 150 cinemas across China over the next three years, the sources said.The group, when contacted, confirmed the plan for the fund but declined to give details. The sources declined to be identified as the fundraising plans are confidential.Sanpower has more than 100 subsidiaries, including Shanghai-listed retail arm Nanjing Xinjiekou, one of China''s oldest department stores. It employs over 100,000 people in industries ranging from retail to real estate with assets worth over 100 billion yuan, according to its website.Last week, it agreed to buy the Dendreon cancer treatment business from Canada''s Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc for $820 million.($1 = 6.8986 Chinese yuan renminbi)(Reporting by Julie Zhu; Editing by Denny Thomas and Muralikumar Anantharaman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/sanpower-m-a-idINKBN1520JF'|'2017-01-18T03:19:00.000+02:00' +'d0f8722684d817122203bb3acd0c8e49b532b7cb'|'Turkey''s Isbank says sees credit growth at 12-13 pct in 2017'|'Financials - Fri Jan 6, 2017 - 8:55am EST Turkey''s Isbank says sees credit growth at 12-13 pct in 2017 ISTANBUL Jan 6 Turkey''s Isbank said on Friday that it predicted its credit growth at 12 to 13 percent in 2017, while it expected its deposits to rise by 14 to 15 percent. In a statement to the Istanbul Stock Exchange, Isbank said it expected the overall banking sector''s credit and deposits growth to be at 12 percent for this year. (Reporting by Ceyda Caglayan; Writing by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Daren Butler) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/turkey-isbank-idUSI7N1EE02F'|'2017-01-06T20:55:00.000+02:00' +'f91245503f3bcd83ce794075ab51d96783190ac5'|'Alibaba''s 1M U.S. jobs promise isn''t realistic'|'Alibaba''s 1 million American jobs promise isn''t realistic by Sherisse Pham @Sherisse January 10, 2017: 5:48 AM ET Jack Ma: President Trump must work with China Alibaba founder Jack Ma met with Donald Trump Monday and pledged to create one million jobs in the U.S. over the next five years through the company''s e-commerce platform. That is a vague and misleading promise. Ma is not going to build factories. He is not planning to set up Alibaba operations centers that would employ tech savvy Americans. And he is not touting a big investment in the U.S. In other words, Ma isn''t promising what most experts and economists would define as job creation. He''s talking about stimulating trade by helping one million small businesses sell American goods to consumers in China and Asia. To create one million jobs would require each of those businesses to hire one new worker. So far so good. But U.S. trade on Alibaba''s Taobao and Tmall shopping sites is currently tiny. More than 7,000 U.S. brands sold $15 million worth of goods to Chinese consumers last year, according to Alibaba spokesperson Rico Ngai. (Alibaba did $17.8 billion in sales on Singles Day in November .) Ma has been pushing since 2015 to increase U.S. sales to China on Alibaba. But getting one million American brands onto its platforms would require a 142-fold increase in business. Realistically, what will likely happen is Mom and Pop stores will set up e-commerce stores on Alibaba as a side business to tap into the China market, says Ben Cavender, director with China Market Research Group. "I don''t see a lot of job creation happening," Cavender said. While Ma did not present any concrete plans for job creation, his meeting with Trump was a good "lobby photo opp," says Duncan Clark, chairman of consultancy firm BDA China and author of "Alibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built". It could also be seen as a way to curry favor with U.S. regulators. The U.S. Trade Representative put Taobao back on its " notorious markets " list last month, citing an "unacceptably high" level of fake goods. Related: Alibaba''s Singles Day: World''s biggest shopping bonanza sets new record Analysts say sophisticated, middle class Chinese consumers have a growing appetite for foreign goods that are more trustworthy than Asian products. Small U.S. companies that specialize in nutrition, supplements, and baby productsshould do well on Alibaba''s platforms, said Cavender. Milk and milk formula products from Australia, New Zealand and Germany were extremely popular during Alibaba''s Singles Day shopping blitz last November, said Clark. Ma''s reported focus on America''s Midwest "makes me think of opportunities for, say, Wisconsin dairy farmers," Clark said. But unless those farmers understand Chinese, they would have to hire a third party to help them set up shop on Taobao or Tmall. Alibaba could also open warehouses in the U.S. where companies could deliver their products,and Alibaba would take care of listing and shipping themto Asia. That would create a few jobs, but Alibaba warehouses are for the most part heavily automated logistics hubs. CNNMoney (Hong Kong) First published January 10, 2017: 5:48 AM ET'|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/edition_business.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/10/technology/jack-ma-trump-us-jobs-claim/index.html'|'2017-01-10T17:51:00.000+02:00' +'70bc03536e53a91c36cb857d39eeb4536ba5b15a'|'Ghana 91-day bill yield rises to 15.9376 pct'|'Financials - Fri Jan 27, 2017 - 1:39pm EST Ghana 91-day bill yield rises to 15.9376 pct ACCRA Jan 27 The Bank of Ghana said the yield on its weekly 91-day bill rose to 15.9376 percent at an auction on Friday from 15.7952 percent at the last sale, on Jan. 20. The bank said it had accepted 797.54 million cedis ($184 million) worth of bids out of 815.34 million cedis tendered for the 91-day paper, which will be issued on Jan. 30. For full details, click here: here %201522.pdf ($1 = 4.3327 Ghanaian cedis) (Writing by Kwasi Kpodo, editing by Larry King) Next In Financials Nasdaq amends disputed fee proposal for key stock market data NEW YORK, Jan 27 Nasdaq Inc no longer plans to charge additional fees to access key data essential for stock market operations following complaints of price gouging from other exchanges, trading firms and an industry trade group, according to a regulatory filing.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/ghana-bonds-yield-idUSL5N1FH5GA'|'2017-01-28T01:39:00.000+02:00' +'20da86fe15f61400f5371b433abe991c0e3d24b1'|'Canada''s Freeland, Russia critic, to be foreign minister - source'|'Company News 11:29am EST Canada''s Freeland, Russia critic, to be foreign minister - source (Adds details on changes, context) OTTAWA Jan 10 Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland will become Canada''s foreign affairs minister in a planned Cabinet shuffle, said a person familiar with the change, putting a Russia critic on the front lines of working with the incoming U.S. Trump administration. The change-up is part of a wider shuffle of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau''s cabinet which will be announced at 2 p.m. ET (1900 GMT) on Tuesday. The person said Freeland would replace Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion. A Freeland spokesman could not immediately be reached while spokespeople for Dion and Trudeau declined to comment. A person with knowledge of the matter said on Monday that Dion was set to be removed as foreign minister. The shuffle will be the first major change Trudeau has made to the Cabinet he appointed in November 2015. Donald Trump is due to succeed U.S. President Barack Obama on Jan. 20. Canada''s relationship with its neighbor to the south could be tested in coming years, with Trump promising to renegotiate the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement aimed at removing tariff barriers between Canada, Mexico and the United States. The appointment of Freeland, an author and former reporter, to the foreign affairs file could be thorny as she has been harshly critical of Vladimir Putin, the Russian president whom Trump has repeatedly praised. Moscow banned Freeland, who is of Ukrainian descent, in 2014 as part of a series of retaliatory sanctions against Canadian officials. Ottawa had earlier blacklisted many Russian officials to punish the country for its annexation of Crimea. Before running for election in the Canadian parliament, Freeland worked for Reuters, a unit of Thomson Reuters. Among other changes that are expected to be announced, Immigration Minister John McCallum will be appointed Canada''s ambassador to China, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) said. Francois-Philippe Champagne, parliamentary secretary to the finance minister, will become trade minister, the CBC said. (Reporting by Leah Schnurr and David Ljunggren; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Howard Goller) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-politics-idUSL1N1F00N9'|'2017-01-10T23:29:00.000+02:00' +'3f1bc8828eea00353442122fc4d862451990a69d'|'Chevron profit miss hurts stock, Dow Jones index - Reuters'|'By Ernest Scheyder Helped by rising oil prices, Chevron Corp ( CVX.N ) swung to a quarterly profit on Friday that still fell short of analyst expectations, dragging down the company''s share price, and with it, the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI index.The results showed that Wall Street analysts overestimated how much the No. 2 U.S. oil producer could improve with cost cuts in the quarter after two years of lacklustre results."Sometimes when things are going well, it''s not uncommon for the Street to be optimistic," said Brian Youngberg, an analyst at Edward Jones.Since the end of 2014, Chevron has laid off 9.500 employees and slashed its annual budget to boost results and protect its dividend, which Chief Executive John Watson said on a Friday call with investors remained his top priority.Most layoffs are "behind us," he said."The trend of spend is down," Watson said, forecasting the company will be cash-flow neutral this year. "We''ve made remarkable progress bringing our costs down."Like many U.S. oil producers, Chevron has benefited from the OPEC oil cartel''s move to curtail production, which has helped lift crude prices CLc1 in recent months.The California-based company posted a net income of $415 million, or 22 cents per share, after a net loss of $588 million, or 31 cents a share, a year earlier.Excluding one-time items, the company earned 21 cents per share. By that measure, analysts expected earnings of 64 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.Despite missing expectations, Chevron still is seen by many as a top-notch oil producer."The overall investment thesis hasn''t changed at all," Youngberg said.Production fell slightly to 2.7 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.Earnings rose in the company''s upstream segments, which pump oil and gas, but dropped in the refining segments due to lower margins and higher taxes.Chevron''s flagship Richmond, Calif., refinery, which is undergoing a $1 billion renovation, also had downtime during the quarter, denting profit.Watson said he expected the company''s Wheatstone liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Australia to come online this year. The nearby Gorgon LNG facility has shipped 10 LNG tankers since Jan. 1, he said.In the Permian Basin of Texas, where Chevron controls more than 1 million acres of oil-rich land, the company plans to add a new drilling rig every 8 weeks, Watson said.Shares of Chevron fell 2.5 percent to $113.68 in afternoon trading.(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Bernadette Baum)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/chevron-results-idINKBN15C013'|'2017-01-27T21:54:00.000+02:00' +'d7566e6179abec9768ad5d6cc1fbd07cafa8da03'|'Chipmaker Qualcomm''s revenue misses estimates'|'Technology 9:11pm GMT Chipmaker Qualcomm''s revenue rises 3.9 percent amid legal challenges One of many Qualcomm buildings is shown in San Diego, California, U.S. on November 3, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo Qualcomm Inc reported a 3.9 percent rise in quarterly revenue, boosted by strong demand for its chips used in smartphones, at a time when the company is facing multiple legal challenges over its alleged "anticompetitive" tactics. Net income attributable to the company more than halved to $682 million, or 46 cents per share, in the first quarter ended Dec. 25, from $1.50 billion, or 99 cents per share, a year earlier. The quarter included a $868 million charge related to the Korea Free Trade Commission (KFTC) investigation, the company said on Wednesday. Revenue rose to $6 billion from $5.78 billion. bit.ly/2jqEoha The U.S. Federal Trade Commission and Apple Inc have sued Qualcomm accusing the chipmaker of resorting to "anticompetitive" tactics to maintain a monopoly over key semiconductors in mobile phones. Apple also filed a lawsuit against Qualcomm in Beijing on Wednesday, alleging that the chip supplier abused its clout in the chip industry and is seeking 1 billion yuan ($145.32 million) in damages. South Korea''s antitrust regulator, The Korea Fair Trade Commission, fined Qualcomm 1.03 trillion won ($854 million) in December for what it called unfair business practices in patent licensing and modem chip sales. Qualcomm is a major supplier to both Apple and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, with the two accounting for 40 percent of the company''s $23.5 billion in revenue in 2016. The Qualcomm Technology Licensing (QTL) business, which contributed about 85 percent of the company''s earnings before taxes in 2016, generates royalties earned through the licensing of wireless patents to the mobile industry. (Reporting by Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila) Next In Technology News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-qualcomm-results-idUKKBN1592P7'|'2017-01-26T04:35:00.000+02:00' +'223b39ac2c8aeadbd2d7385f66366fb02dcdff8c'|'BRIEF-Time Inc to acquire Adelphic Inc- WSJ'|'Company 46pm EST BRIEF-Time Inc to acquire Adelphic Inc- WSJ Jan 23 (Reuters) - * Time Inc to acquire automated ad buying platform Adelphic Inc,terms weren''t disclosed- WSJ Source on.wsj.com/2kkBcFo Next In Company News UPDATE 2-Citi subsidiaries to pay $28.8 mln over giving U.S. homeowners ''runaround'' -watchdog WASHINGTON, Jan 23 The U.S. consumer financial watchdog said on Monday it had fined subsidiaries of Citigroup Inc $28.8 million for giving "the runaround to borrowers" on mortgage servicing by keeping them in the dark about options to avoid foreclosure or making it difficult for them to apply for relief. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Taboola Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1FD0OQ'|'2017-01-24T02:46:00.000+02:00' +'dd0ba63685e2a446bf7440ff465b7e213ed2ea21'|'BRIEF-Invesco Office J-Reit to buy property for 15.15 bln yen and to take out loan of 5.5 bln yen'|'United States Financials 19am EST BRIEF-Invesco Office J-Reit to buy property for 15.15 bln yen and to take out loan of 5.5 bln yen Jan 18 Invesco Office J-Reit Inc : * Says it to buy property that located in Japan at price of 15.15 billion yen on Jan. 20 * Says it to take out loan of totally 5.5 billion yen on Jan. 20 for the property acquisition Source text in Japanese: goo.gl/vl5P37 ; goo.gl/ZmH1gH Further company Coverage: (Beijing Headline News) Next In Financials Fitch Rates Philippines'' USD Bond ''BBB-(EXP)'' (The following statement was released by the rating agency) HONG KONG, January 18 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings has assigned the Philippines'' forthcoming US dollar-denominated bonds an expected rating of ''BBB-(EXP)''. The Philippines intends to use the proceeds from the bond sale to pay the purchase price and accrued interest of its own securities repurchased in an associated debt management operation. Residual proceeds may be used for general budget financing purposes. KEY RATING DRIVERS The expect TABLE-United Urban Investment -6 MTH results Jan 18 (Reuters) United Urban Investment Corp. FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (in billions of yen unless specified) 6 months 6 months 6 months 6 months ended Nov 30, 2016 ended May 31, 2016 to May 31, 2017 to Nov 30, 2017 LATEST PRIOR COMPANY COMPANY RESULTS RESULTS FORECAST FORECAST Revenues * In talks with domestic institutions; may pitch in up to 30 pct MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Taboola Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL4N1F82GM'|'2017-01-18T13:19:00.000+02:00' +'73d1b07322b5c4512c789d2c731638f4c09523c1'|'Deutsche to pay $425 million to New York regulator over Russian ''mirror trades'''|'Business News - Mon Jan 30, 2017 - 6:23pm EST Deutsche to pay $425 million to New York regulator over Russian ''mirror trades'' A statue is pictured next to the logo of Germany''s Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt, Germany September 30, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo By Karen Freifeld and Arno Schuetze - NEW YORK/FRANKFURT NEW YORK/FRANKFURT Deutsche Bank AG ( DBKGn.DE ) has agreed to pay $425 million to New York''s banking regulator over a "mirror trading" scheme that moved $10 billion out of Russia between 2011 and 2015, the regulator said on Monday. In addition, Britain''s Financial Conduct Authority is about to penalize the bank roughly $200 million for the suspicious trades, a person familiar with the matter said. The scheme involved clients buying stocks in Moscow in rubles and related parties selling the same stocks shortly thereafter through the bank''s London branch, the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) said in a statement. The trade of a Russian blue chip stock, typically valued at between $2 million to $3 million an order, was cleared through the bank''s New York operations, with the sellers typically paid in U.S. dollars, the regulator found. The regulator, which licenses and supervises the New York branch, found the bank conducted its business in an unsafe and unsound manner in violation of state banking law. Though the trades appeared to have no legitimate economic purpose, Deutsche''s deficient anti-money laundering controls and know-your-customer policies did not detect and stop the scheme for years, DFS superintendent Maria Vullo said. Deutsche Bank said "it has been unable to identify the actual purpose behind this scheme," according to a consent order between the New York regulator and the bank. "It is obvious, though, that the scheme could have facilitated capital flight, tax evasion or other potentially illegal objectives." In addition to the penalty, Deutsche is required to retain an independent monitor to review the bank''s compliance programs. A spokesperson for the Financial Conduct Authority declined to comment. The source on the FCA''s expected penalty did not want to be identified because the terms were not public. The New York regulator said it worked closely on the investigation with the FCA. Reuters reported on Monday that Deutsche Bank was poised to settle with British and U.S. authorities over the trades. The U.S. Department of Justice, which also has been investigating the suspicious trades, is not party to the deal. A spokesman for the Justice Department declined to comment on the status of its probe. Deutsche Bank disclosed last September that it had taken disciplinary measures against certain employees as part of an investigation of the trades and would continue to do so. The bank also cut back on its investment banking activities in Russia last year. Monday''s consent order found Deutsche Bank''s Moscow traders facilitated the scheme. Deutsche Bank had set aside 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in provisions for the Russian case, people close to the matter have told Reuters. A resolution on the mirror trades comes on the heels of a $7.2 billion agreement with the Justice Department for misleading investors in selling mortgage-backed securities in the run-up to the financial crisis. The two probes lift much of the uncertainty swirling around the bank over its exposure to fines and enforcement. The bank is due to report fourth-quarter financial results on Thursday. (Reporting By Karen Freifeld; additional reporting by Kirstin Ridley in London and Kathrin Jones in Frankfurt; Editing by Bernard Orr) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-deutsche-mirrortrade-probe-idUSKBN15E2SP'|'2017-01-31T06:23:00.000+02:00' +'77b01e6c051de78185b13438a05362868871446f'|'U.S. Supreme Court rejects Dow over $1 billion tax deduction claim'|'Funds News 40am EST U.S. Supreme Court rejects Dow over $1 billion tax deduction claim WASHINGTON Jan 9 The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear Dow Chemical Co''s bid to revive its claim to more than $1 billion in tax deductions based on partnerships the company entered into that lower courts said were created primarily to avoid tax liability and had no legitimate business purpose. The justices left in place two rulings by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of the U.S. government over the two partnerships that ran from 1993 to 2003. (Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham) Next In Funds News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-court-dow-idUSW1N1B501Z'|'2017-01-09T21:40:00.000+02:00' +'fdb158a1f3d031348f17ca3555b3c7308ab4998a'|'Britain''s FTSE sets fresh record high on first trading day of 2017'|'Money News - Tue Jan 3, 2017 - 10:57pm IST Britain''s FTSE sets fresh record high on first trading day of 2017 A worker shelters from the rain as he passes the London Stock Exchange in the City of London at lunchtime October 1, 2008. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo By Helen Reid and Alistair Smout - LONDON LONDON Britain''s top share index hit a further record high on Tuesday, extending an end-of-year rally into 2017, with financials and commodities-related stocks leading the market upwards. The FTSE 100 ended 0.5 percent higher at 7,177.89 points as the London Stock Exchange reopened after a long weekend. It set a record high of 7,205.45, rising above the peak reached at the end of 2016 after a 5.3 percent rally in December, its strongest monthly performance since July 2013. The index ended 14.4 percent higher in 2016, outperforming major European bourses, as a weakening in sterling after Britain voted to leave the European Union helped support British stocks, especially those with international exposure in dollars. The start of the year paints a stark contrast to the beginning of 2016, when concerns over Chinese growth roiled equities globally. "Given a year ago (when) investors came back from the Christmas break to see markets plummet, it is no doubt a big relief that this year has started more positively. The PMI numbers are surprisingly strong," said Adrian Lowcock, investment director at Architas. Miners, which surged more than 100 percent in 2016, were up 1.1 percent, while the oil and gas index gained 1.0 percent as commodity prices improved. Other growth-sensitive sectors, such as banks, were also among top gainers, as strong PMI readings in Britain, China and the United States suggested the global economy was in good shape heading into 2017. UK banks, up 2.2 percent, were also helped by news saying global banking regulators postponed the approval of long-awaited rules designed to avert a repeat of the financial crisis after failing to agree on the minimum amount of capital banks must hold. The development meant that the implementation of a tough regulatory environment was pushed back, cheering some investors. Barclays, Lloyds and Standard Chartered were up 2.1 to 3.8 percent. InterContinental Hotels rose 1.3 percent after an upgrade to "overweight" from "equal-weight" from Barclays, lifting the stock to an all-time high. Top faller was retailer Next, which suffered from a downgrade by Deutsche Bank to "hold" from "buy". It closed 4.3 percent lower after tumbling by more than 30 percent in 2016. Deutsche Bank analysts said that even with this slump, the stock did not look especially cheap. "The sector has already de-rated, mainly on the changed demand and currency outlook due to Brexit, and valuations are typically at historical average levels cheap but in some cases not cheap enough," they said in a note. (Editing by Mark Heinrich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-idINKBN14N1J8'|'2017-01-04T00:27:00.000+02:00' +'df81e27c238f76281ad2ce2a11e823b5fc873e2c'|'British banks'' optimism hits crisis-era low on Brexit uncertainty'|'Business News 8:24pm EST British banks'' optimism hits crisis-era low on Brexit uncertainty Sunlight reflecting off a building is seen during a foggy morning in the Canary Wharf financial district of London, Britain, December 28, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Winning LONDON Optimism about the business environment for Britain''s financial services firms fell for a fourth consecutive quarter, according to a survey published on Monday, the longest decline since the global financial crisis. The latest quarterly survey of 103 financial services firms by business lobby CBI and consultancy PwC found sentiment about Britain''s overall business climate fell the most since December 2008, with banks especially pessimistic. 90 percent of banks surveyed said preparing for the impact of Britain''s exit from the European Union was their top challenge. "Uncertainty has contributed to the low levels of optimism reported by many financial services companies, particularly by the banks," Andrew Kail, Head of Financial Services at PwC, said in the report. Banks have begun signaling how they will put plans into action to cope with a "hard" exit by Britain from the EU, after Prime Minister Theresa May said Britain will leave the single market. Kail also said that greater clarity on the UK position on Brexit from the Prime Minister''s speech this week was welcome, not least a commitment to a period of phased implementation. The survey revealed a more optimistic outlook for hiring, with 18 percent of financial firms saying they had increased employment in the period compared with 10 percent showing a decrease. IT was the biggest area for new jobs. The survey also said firms considered increasing their dialogue with regulators as the biggest priority as Britain negotiates its EU exit. (Reporting By Lawrence White. Editing by Jane Merriman) Next In Business News Oil edges up after producer meeting, but high U.S. output weighs SINGAPORE Oil prices edged up on Monday, supported by statements from oil producers over the weekend that an output cut was being successfully implemented, but markets were held back by a surge in drilling that suggested U.S. production would rise further. Dollar starts week on back foot as Trump policy detail awaited TOKYO The dollar started the week on the back foot in early Asian trade on Monday, with the euro edging up to its highest in more than a month as investors locked in gains on the dollar''s recent rise as they waited for U.S. President Donald Trump to offer details of his promised stimulus. Majority of Japan firms plan no wage hike, a blow to Abenomics: Reuters poll TOKYO Nearly two-thirds of Japanese companies do not plan to hike their workers'' wages this year, a Reuters poll showed, a blow to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe''s campaign for higher pay to spur a recovery and a way to end two decades of deflation. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Taboola Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-banks-outlook-idUSKBN15703Y'|'2017-01-23T07:01:00.000+02:00' +'bde7ccd5436cce8d5ae3d505a75c7b75378717bd'|'China Vanke, centre of power struggle, says No. 2 shareholder has a plan'|'Thu China Vanke, center of power struggle, says No. 2 shareholder has a plan A sign of China Vanke is seen in Hong Kong, China August 22, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo By Clare Jim - HONG KONG HONG KONG Property developer China Vanke ( 2.SZ ) ( 2202.HK ), embroiled in a high-profile corporate power tussle for over a year, said on Thursday its No. 2 shareholder China Resources Group is considering a major plan. The country''s second-largest developer said in a statement it had been informed on Wednesday that China Resources and a unit were ''formulating a major plan involving its holdings in Vanke but are still finalizing the details.'' China Resources said it had nothing further to add at this point. Vanke has been plunged into crisis ever since financial conglomerate Baoneng Group built up a 25 percent stake and sought to oust management. To counter that, it agreed to a $6.9 billion deal with white knight Shenzhen Metro Group but last month called it off saying it could not get major shareholders to agree. Baoneng''s shares will come out of a lock-up period that prevents them from being sold on Jan. 17, according to a Citi report. China Resources, which owns 15.2 percent of Vanke, previously opposed the Shenzhen Metro deal but has said it was not working with Baoneng to oust management. Complicating matters, China Evergrande Group ( 3333.HK ), the country''s biggest homebuilder, quickly built up a stake of 14.07 percent in the latter half of last year but has since said it is not interested in seeking control of its rival. Vanke''s shares were suspended from trade in both Hong Kong and Shenzhen earlier in the day. (Reporting by Clare Jim; Additional reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-vanke-stocks-idUKKBN14W0GL'|'2017-01-12T12:52:00.000+02:00' +'9f3ba190fc99cacc694e4d35ab856d5e4eff3883'|'UK''s Imperial Brands teams up in joint venture with China Tobacco'|'By Martinne Geller Britain''s Imperial Brands ( IMB.L ) has formed a joint venture with state-owned China National Tobacco (CNTC) in a move to gain a foothold in the world''s largest cigarette market.The joint venture announced on Wednesday could boost Imperial''s long-term earnings potential and competitive position in the growing e-cigarette market and increase the chances of the world''s fourth-biggest tobacco company attracting takeover interest as the industry consolidates, according to analysts.Big tobacco companies are facing shrinking markets due to health concerns and are all investing heavily in developing less harmful alternatives to smoking tobacco.Imperial''s shares closed up 1 percent at 3,626.5 pence in London."We think today''s news could make a bid more likely," said Jefferies analysts, citing speculation that Imperial could be swept up in a wave of consolidation brought on by British American Tobacco''s ( BATS.L ) $47 billion bid for Reynolds American ( RAI.N ).The joint venture, Global Horizon Ventures Limited (GHVL), will be based in Hong Kong and link Imperial with CNTC subsidiary Yunnan Tobacco, which controls over one-fifth of the Chinese market.Imperial said the joint venture will expand Imperial''s West and Davidoff brands in China, and Yunnan''s Jade and Horizon brands internationally."Further tobacco and next-generation product launches, as well as potential M&A opportunities, will also be evaluated by GHVL in due course," it said in a statement.China is by far the world''s largest tobacco market, selling about 2.5 trillion cigarettes a year, or about one in every third cigarette smoked.The market is dominated by state-owned monopoly CNTC, which struck partnerships with Marlboro maker Philip Morris International ( PM.N ) in 2005 and British American in 2013.A partnership with China Tobacco could give Imperial more capital and scale with which to expand in the growing market for cigarette alternatives. So far it has stuck to e-cigarettes, which heat nicotine-laced liquid into vapor, unlike Philip Morris and BAT, which also have tobacco-heating devices they say may be more appealing to smokers who can''t quit.A successful initial partnership could pave the way for an all-out takeover bid down the road, Jefferies analysts said, noting it also makes Imperial more attractive to Japan Tobacco ( 2914.T ), long seen as a likely suitor.Imperial was advised by Vermilion Partners and Allen & Overy on the transaction, whose financial terms were not disclosed.BAT is in talks with U.S. peer Reynolds about buying the 58 percent of the company it does not already own. Reynolds'' next-generation technology is seen as a key driver for that move, as smoking declines in Western markets due to growing health consciousness.(Additional reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Alexander Smith, Greg Mahlich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-imperial-brands-jv-china-idINKBN14V28V'|'2017-01-11T14:44:00.000+02:00' +'3e3bf19106a202f6c790db9a0538fc411aac8f58'|'TREASURIES-Prices gain as Trump roils dollar, raising uncertainty'|'(Recasts with bond rally, adds Trump comments, Quote: s, updates prices) * Trump''s comments on dollar spark safety buying * Fed begins two-day meeting * Heavy data week anticipated By Karen Brettell NEW YORK, Jan 31 U.S. Treasury prices gained on Tuesday as President Donald Trump expressed concern about the value of the dollar, sending it lower and raising demand for safe haven U.S. bonds. In comments targeted to the pharmaceutical industry, Trump said currency devaluation by other countries had increased drugmakers'' outsourcing their production and called on the companies to make more of their products in the United States. The remarks came after Trump''s new National Trade Council head Peter Navarro suggested that Germany was benefiting from a "grossly undervalued" exchange rate. "It''s a significant change in policy in the dollar," said Lou Brien, a market strategist at DRW Trading in Chicago. " ... It''s destabilizing. The fact that they are talking around (the strong dollar policy) is going to upset the markets." Data on Tuesday also showed consumer confidence fell from a 15-year high in January, driven by a less optimistic outlook on business conditions, jobs and consumer income. A Chicago survey also found that business production in the Midwest grew at a slower pace and was below economists'' expectations in January. "Part of the story was the data," said Brien. Benchmark 10-year notes gained 12/32 in price to yield 2.44 percent, down from 2.48 percent late on Monday and the lowest level since Jan. 24. Investors are preparing for a barrage of data this week, culminating in Friday''s jobs report for January, that they will evaluate for further signs of the strength of the U.S. economy. The data is expected to show employers added 175,000 jobs in the month, according to the median of 102 economists polled by Reuters. The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to keep interest rates unchanged when it concludes its two-day meeting on Wednesday, in its first policy decision since Trump took office, as the central bank awaits greater clarity on his economic policies. "The Fed tomorrow will be interesting in gauging the near-term policy bias, but no one''s expecting anything in terms of an actual increase or a definitive shift in their rhetoric," said Ian Lyngen, head of U.S. rates strategy at BMO Capital Markets in New York. "I think the market is expecting the tone to be more optimistic and on the margin more hawkish," Lyngen said. Treasuries are likely to gain support on Tuesday from demand for them for month-end rebalancing. (Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-bonds-idINL1N1FL12K'|'2017-01-31T13:05:00.000+02:00' +'382101b55fd902f16a66626c92073b70fe7ca666'|'SunEdison settles contract fight to help close $150 million sale'|'By Jim Christie Bankrupt renewable energy company SunEdison Inc has reached a deal with a spinoff company that helps clear the way for a $150 million sale of its solar materials business to a Chinese buyer, according to court papers filed on Tuesday.Chinese solar equipment maker GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd agreed to buy the business in August, part of SunEdison''s drive to shed assets to raise money to repay its creditors.The sale ran into trouble due to an objection from SunEdison Semiconductor, which was spun off by SunEdison in 2014.The spin-off company argued in an October court filing it had not consented to transfer of intellectual property licenses as part of the deal.SunEdison has resolved that objection to help close the sale and will extend a services agreement with its affiliate through September at reduced rates.In addition, SunEdison Semiconductor gets an administrative expense claim of nearly $2.7 million and a general unsecured claim non-priority claim of about $16.5 million, compared with the $40 million in unsecured claims it had asserted.Once the fastest-growing U.S. renewable energy company, SunEdison filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April after a binge of debt-fueled acquisitions proved unsustainable.A hearing at which the settlement could be approved will be held in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan on Jan. 24, two days ahead of SunEdison''s target date for filing a Chapter 11 plan.(Reporting by Jim Christie; Editing by Bernard Orr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-bankruptcy-sunedison-inc-idINKBN14P00D'|'2017-01-04T21:03:00.000+02:00' +'c04d3c5f4817a61b9e9b65ed3973a502c6135e26'|'Vivendi looks to Israeli businessman to fuel convergence push'|'Fri Jan 6, 2017 - 4:46pm GMT Vivendi looks to Israeli businessman to fuel convergence push The Vivendi logo is pictured at the main entrance of the entertainment-to-telecoms conglomerate headquarters in Paris, March 10, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo By Ana Mano and Guillermo Parra-Bernal - SAO PAULO SAO PAULO Israeli businessman Amos Genish was vital to Vivendi SA''s ( VIV.PA ) successful foray in Brazil a few years ago. Now the French media company has turned to him to create a single platform for digital, content and media distribution services, something its rivals are struggling to do. Credited for pioneering the adoption of digital services at the helm of two Brazilian phone companies, Genish, 56, could engage in partnerships with mobile carriers as a way to channel Vivendi''s videos, songs and games to consumers across Europe more easily. His appointment this week as Vivendi''s first chief convergence officer comes as global media companies bet on megadeals to increase their presence in entertainment-rich regions like the Americas, Europe and Asia while struggling to make efficient use of their digital capabilities and content. Genish''s ties with Spain''s Telefnica SA ( TEF.MC ), which he competed against and then presided over in Brazil until November, could prove useful for Vivendi to disseminate content in other countries without having to acquire phone carriers, analysts said. "This will be a trump card for Vivendi in the forging of new partnerships with global carriers," Natixis analyst Jerme Bodin said. "In particular, he knows Telefnica and its Latin American businesses inside out." Genish''s new role, integrating all the content that Vivendi''s platforms produce and delivering it efficiently to customers, exemplifies how global media companies are responding to digital rivals such as Netflix Inc ( NFLX.O ) and Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ). "Now it seems there is an organic strategy that aims to create value through making the existing platform more efficient, and not only through acquisitions," said Joo Moura, head of Brazilian industry group Telcomp. Controlled by French billionaire Vincent Bollor, Vivendi wants to become one of Europe''s dominant media companies. Founded as a water utility during the reign of Napoleon III, it reshaped itself after embarking on a whirlwind of acquisitions and asset sales in the late 1990s. Vivendi owns France''s No. 1 pay TV service Canal+, music label Universal Music Group and YouTube competitor Dailymotion. It also controls large stakes in Italy''s Mediaset SpA ( MS.MI ) and Telecom Italia SpA ( TLIT.MI ). FROM GVT TO TELEFNICA Convincing carriers to channel content in different regions might help Vivendi sidestep the threat of rival media companies that are trying to combine their assets. Some such deals are facing more scrutiny from regulators, consumers and politicians. To that end, Rupert Murdoch''s Twenty-First Century Fox Inc ( FOXA.O ) struck a $14.6 billion agreement last month to buy the 61 percent of Sky Plc ( SKYB.L ) it does not already own. British politicians have vowed to monitor the deal closely. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump remains opposed to AT&T Inc''s ( T.N ) planned $85.4 billion takeover of Time Warner Inc ( TWX.N ), Bloomberg News said on Thursday. Reuters reported last month that Bollor was bidding for a stake in Imagina, Spain''s No. 1 sports broadcasting rights company, while he also faces off with former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi over control of Mediaset. Ita BBA analyst Susana Salaru said Genish''s move to Vivendi meant a loss for Telefnica, which will miss his entrepreneurial spirit and knowledge of an industry poised for consolidation in coming years. A former Israeli army captain, Genish founded phone company GVT SA in 1999 and transformed it into a fast-growing carrier. Vivendi bought GVT after a fierce bidding war with Telefnica in 2010 and kept him as chief executive officer. Four years later, Vivendi sold GVT to Telefnica, realizing a capital gain of more than $4 billion, when it exited Brazil during a dispute among shareholders, including Bollor, over the company''s focus and soaring debt. Following Telefnica''s purchase of GVT, Genish became CEO of local subsidiary Telefnica Brasil SA ( VIVT4.SA ). Under him, data surpassed voice as the main revenue source for the company''s wireless unit, the first time a local carrier achieved this. Under Genish, shares of Telefnica Brasil rose about 11 percent, and he more than doubled targeted cost savings from the GVT acquisition. He also tried to boost the company''s digital services division, whose 40 million clients use 80 applications developed through partnerships and in-house. One of these is Studio+, a new provider of short films for cellphone viewing. (Editing by Lisa Von Ahn) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-moves-vivendi-genish-idUKKBN14Q207'|'2017-01-06T23:43:00.000+02:00' +'9d9cf62750229df485eeedf6b60035a6ea510715'|'Trump to meet Novartis CEO, other pharma bosses on Tuesday'|'Tue Jan 31, 2017 - 12:13pm GMT Trump to meet Novartis CEO, other pharma bosses on Tuesday Joe Jimenez, the CEO of Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG, addresses a news conference to present the company''s 2016 results in Basel, Switzerland January 25, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann By John Miller U.S. President Donald Trump, who has accused drugmakers of "getting away with murder" on prices, will meet executives from the pharmaceutical industry at the White House on Tuesday. Switzerland''s Novartis ( NOVN.S ) said its chief executive Joe Jimenez, chairman-elect of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), would be among those attending, after the White House announced the meeting on Monday. Trump and the Republican-majority Congress, as well as raising concerns over medicine prices, have also begun rolling back former President Barack Obama''s signature healthcare legislation. Jimenez said last week that he wanted to talk to Trump about efforts to develop outcomes-based pricing models, which would pay for clinical results rather than a flat price per pill, as well as plans to replace Obama''s Affordable Care Act (ACA), popularly known as "Obamacare". "I''m in Washington quite frequently, because we have a large government affairs group," Jimenez told reporters at the company''s annual press conference. "Obviously, we would love to in the coming months be able to sit down and talk with the administration about how we can be helpful in what is happening in the U.S. around the Affordable Care Act and also show him some of what we have done in terms of outcomes-based pricing and being a leader in that space." Trump spooked investors in the pharmaceuticals and biotech sectors by saying on Jan. 11, while president-elect, that drug companies were "getting away with murder" on what they charged the government for medicine and that he would do something about it. That prompted PhRMA, the industry''s largest lobbying group, to unveil a new TV marketing campaign last week, called "Go Boldly," to improve its image by focusing attention on strides in research. Company executives, meanwhile, have tried to tread a careful line in defending their industry while expressing optimism that the United States would continue to reward scientific advances. "If you provide true medical differentiation coupled with a strong intellectual property position, I think the U.S. will continue to reward this kind of innovation," Roche ( ROG.S ) CEO Severin Schwan told Reuters this month. "If you don''t offer that then, frankly, I think it is the right thing that prices should come down." (Additional reporting by Eric Beech and Ben Hirschler; Editing by Peter Cooney and Susan Fenton) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-pharmaceuticals-novartis-idUKKBN15F13K'|'2017-01-31T19:12:00.000+02:00' +'9cd325934613a8da099d33c2e2baa4f54ef5ed55'|'Global growth outlook shaky on trade protectionism fears - Reuters poll'|'Business News - Wed Jan 18, 2017 - 11:48am GMT Global growth outlook shaky on trade protectionism fears - Reuters poll left right An employee of a foreign exchange trading company works near monitors showing U.S. President-elect Donald Trump (top R), and the Japanese yen''s exchange rate against the euro in Tokyo, Japan, January 18, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: A stack of shipping containers are pictured in the Port of Miami in Miami, Florida, U.S., May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo 2/2 By Rahul Karunakar The global economic outlook remains shaky, despite recent pockets of resilience, according to the overwhelming majority of economists polled by Reuters who said a rise in protectionist trade policies would hamper growth. With elections due in a number of major euro zone countries, political change in the bloc was picked as a close second choice for potential disruptions to the global economic revival. That uncertainty is heightened by the signs of a rise in nationalist sentiment worldwide, as exemplified by Britain''s surprise vote last year to leave the European Union and Donald Trump''s shock U.S. election victory. Three months ago, economists overwhelmingly cited a pickup in international trade as essential for improvement in the world economy. But an expected rise in protectionist policies has dented confidence in those prospects. This trend is reflected in most other Reuters polls over the past month on major economies, stock prices, bond yields and foreign exchange rates. [POLL/] "Clearly, the geopolitical, political and economic risks facing the world are many and multifarious, and it is no easy matter to isolate those that seem most apparent to us," wrote Mike Carey, chief economist at CA-CIB in a note. "While 2017 does not look as if it will be the ''year of living dangerously'', 2018 could well be more fraught." Reuters polls of over 500 economists across Asia, Europe and the Americas reveal downgrades, or at best no change to growth forecasts compared with previous months, as well as a weaker inflation outlook across most countries. While the latest poll gave only a 10 percent probability of a global economic recession this year, the main difference this time is that the range of forecasts for global growth showed lower highs and lower lows. Speculation that Trump will enact bold stimulus and reflationary measures once in office has pushed up U.S. 10-year Treasury yields by around 50 basis points since election day, lit a fire under the dollar and sent U.S. stocks to record highs. But concerns over his stand on trade are starting to undermine investor sentiment, with the yen - considered a safety bet in uncertain times - back to its highest levels in more than five weeks. "Maybe a home-grown U.S. wage acceleration is underway, with Trump''s policies acting as a conduit to bring it all about. It''s a nice thought, but we need more substance," wrote Jan Lambregts, global head of financial markets research at Rabobank. "Trump''s fiscal plans are as of yet unclear in size, focus and therefore impact. Markets are currently priced for perfection when it comes to Trump''s policies. That''s a lot to ask for." Trump''s posture on trade has clouded the outlook for the U.S. economy with rising risks of a trade war with China. [ECILT/US] A strong dollar, which hit a 14-year high earlier this month and is up close to 6 percent since the U.S. election result, acts as a drag on the economy by making U.S. exports relatively more expensive as well as damping down import price inflation. Across the Atlantic, the recent optimism that the euro zone economy is on a more robust growth path has weakened and will only be maintained if there are no major upsets in several national elections there. [ECILT/EU] While euro zone inflation in December was the highest in 3-1/2 years, the outlook for price growth remained weak. Not a single economist in the poll of more than 60 said they expected inflation to hit 2 percent this year or next. "Despite the U.S. reflation trade, we see little underlying inflation pressure in Europe. Meaningful fiscal expansion seems unlikely and structural reform has stalled or even reversed," wrote Janet Henry, global chief economist at HSBC. "QE is failing to lift inflation but the ECB may need to taper, if only to shift pressure back to governments." Britain''s inflation rate is expected to soar following sterling''s fall since the Brexit vote. But the economy will dodge a recession this year at least as the Bank of England maintains its ultra-easy policy stance. [ECILT/GB] EMERGING ECONOMIES RECOVERING Since Trump''s victory, expectations of protectionist policies have driven investors out of emerging markets. But the latest poll showed Brazil will come out of its worst recession ever this year, albeit very slowly and still leaving millions unemployed. [ECILT/BR] Despite expectations for sluggish world trade and Trump''s trade policy, China - the world''s second-largest economy - is forecast to grow 6.5 percent this year as the government keeps up policy support. [ECILT/CN] India, which was one of the few exceptions in emerging markets with a stable outlook, likely lost momentum in the final three months of 2016 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s ban on high-value currency notes hurt demand and businesses. [ECILT/IN] (For a graphic of poll results: tmsnrt.rs/2e7JFpt ) (For other stories from the poll) (reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=winners-2016 for top forecasters in Reuters polls) (Polling, analysis and additional reporting by Reuters Polls Bengaluru and bureaus in Jakarta, Seoul, London, Milan, Paris, Johannesburg, Toronto, Brasilia, Mexico City, Lima, Buenos Aires, Bogota, Caracas and Santiago; Editing by Ross Finley and Hugh Lawson) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-economy-poll-idUKKBN1521HK'|'2017-01-18T18:48:00.000+02:00' +'0edabbb713c9a5f32eabfc7210f69b3d683abdb7'|'Societe Generale to pay $50 million to settle U.S. fraud claims'|'Fri Jan 20, 2017 - 6:34pm GMT Societe Generale to pay $50 million to settle U.S. fraud claims The logo of Societe Generale Private Banking is seen at an office building in Zurich, Switzerland October 13, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann NEW YORK Societe Generale ( SOGN.PA ) agreed to pay a $50 million civil fine to settle U.S. claims that it defrauded investors in connection with the marketing and sale of residential mortgage-backed securities. The U.S. Department of Justice announced the settlement on Friday, and said the French bank acknowledged having committed misconduct. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by James Dalgleish) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-societegenerale-settlement-idUKKBN1542HS'|'2017-01-21T01:28:00.000+02:00' +'833a8b22bf498da20e632bf276c7ba6ad015e50b'|'Australia offers financial support for crippled Alcoa aluminium plant'|'Company 49am EST Australia offers financial support for crippled Alcoa aluminium plant By Melanie Burton and Sonali Paul - SYDNEY/MELBOURNE SYDNEY/MELBOURNE Jan 9 The Australian government has offered "substantial" financial support to help repair Alcoa Corp''s aluminium smelter in Victoria that was crippled last month by a state-wide blackout, government ministers said on Monday. The outage, which caused molten aluminium to solidify, disrupted some production at the 300,000-tonnes-per-year Portland smelter and raised questions about the facility''s long-term future. The ongoing negotiations between Australia''s government, energy provider AGL Energy, and Alcoa suggest the smelter may eventually resume full production. "The state''s substantial support is aimed at keeping the smelter open and sustainable into the future," state minister Philip Dalidakis in a statement. The government had offered "significant, immediate financial support" as well as the potential for further assistance through Australia''s Clean Energy Finance Corporation, a government-owned bank that invests in renewables, to provide longer-term energy security, said a spokesman for federal minister Greg Hunt. Both ministers declined to comment on the scale of financial support because negotiations were confidential, but Australia''s Fairfax Media reported that Alcoa received an offer of A$240 million ($175.63 million), comprised of $200 million in state funds over four years and a $40 million interest-free loan from Canberra. A spokesman for Alcoa also declined to comment on the negotiations, saying only that the plant continued to operate at a reduced capacity. To seal the deal, pressure is now on AGL Energy to agree to provide cheaper power to the plant as a result of the government''s financial support. A spokeswoman for the energy firm said discussions with Alcoa were ongoing. James Purcell, the member of the state parliament for Western Victoria, said an announcement could be made on Friday if a power supply deal can be reached. "Everyone is working to ensure that the smelter remains open," Dan Tehan, federal member of parliament for the district which includes Portland, told Reuters. Tehan said federal assistance to Alcoa was justifiable in the wake of the power outage that damaged the smelter. "In my view, such an event warrants the government looking at ways it can assist the smelter to get back on its feet and continue operations," he said. "It is critically important to the local economy that we get the smelter back up and running at full production." ($1 = 1.3665 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Melanie Burton in Sydney and Sonali Paul in Melbourne; Editing by Randy Fabi) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/alcoa-corp-australia-smelter-idUSL4N1EZ25U'|'2017-01-09T15:49:00.000+02:00' +'0c336eb83a26e3009b6be856105b5d5d28e956af'|'Credit Suisse CEO sees conditions improving in 2017: Bloomberg TV'|'Business News 5:07am EST Credit Suisse CEO sees conditions improving in 2017: Bloomberg TV Tidjane Thiam, CEO of the Credit Suisse bank attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting of the Forum in Davos, Switzerland January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich ZURICH Credit Suisse ( CSGN.S ) Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam sees market conditions improving during 2017 as the bank''s reorganization gathers pace and its efficiency drive continues. Switzerland''s second-biggest lender has accelerated its transformation and achieved "a lot" in 12 months, Thiam told Bloomberg TV in an interview from Davos on Tuesday. "After a year in 2016 where you saw revenues really go down (across the sector)...hopefully 2017 will be better but all this is markets permitting," he said. "Certainty we see a strength in fixed income, you can see that. You can see the securitized products market going. You can see generally global credit products growing. You can see leveraged finance still at a reasonable level of activity," he said, while the equities business would have a "reasonable" year. Credit Suisse was now in a decent capital position and was progressing at "full speed" toward the flotation of its Swiss bank unit later this year, Thiam said. (Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Michael Shields) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-creditsuisse-ceo-idUSKBN151160'|'2017-01-17T17:07:00.000+02:00' +'b684d91fe4b876d44661179bdad8d5d7d0be2b10'|'Snow, rain pummel parts of California, Nevada and Oregon'|'U.S. 5:00am EST Snow, rain pummel parts of California, Nevada and Oregon A private contractor clears deep snow from a driveway during a heavy winter storm in Incline Village, Nevada, U.S. January 10, 2017 REUTERS/Bob Strong Heavy rain and snowfall hit parts of California, Nevada and Oregon early on Wednesday, causing roads to be closed, schools to cancel classes and widespread flooding along already swollen waterways. A National Weather Service blizzard warning remained in effect until late on Wednesday morning for ski resort towns in the greater Lake Tahoe area, including Truckee and South Lake Tahoe, California, and neighboring Nevada enclaves of Stateline and Incline Village. Snow accumulations of 5 to 10 feet (1.5 to 3 meters) were forecast above elevations of 7,000 feet, with fierce wind gusts reaching 100 miles (160 km) per hour along the ridge of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, the National Weather Service reported. An avalanche warning was issued for much of the same mountain regions. "Those venturing outdoors may become lost or disoriented so persons in the warning area are advised to stay indoors," the weather service said. Roadways, including Interstate 80 near the border of California and Nevada, were closed on Wednesday morning. Schools throughout the region canceled Wednesday classes, including the Portland Public Schools district in Oregon, attended by about 50,000 students. Several flood warnings remained in effect until Wednesday morning for lower elevations in northern and central California and in western Nevada, where creeks and rivers were expected to overrun their banks. Several communities in the region opened evacuation centers for people who heeded warnings from officials to move to higher ground to avoid flooding. Heavy downpours sent a wall of mud down onto a house in Fairfax, California, trapping an elderly couple and their two granddaughters, according to local media. Firefighters rescued the couple and children and no one was injured, an ABC affiliate reported. A series of floodgates on the Sacramento River, just upstream of California''s capital, were opened for the first time in 11 years on Tuesday to divert high water around the city and into a special drainage channel, said Lauren Hersh, a spokeswoman for the state Water Resources Department. The cascade of rain and snow marked the fourth round of extreme precipitation unleashed during the past month by a weather pattern meteorologists call an "atmospheric river" - a dense plume of moisture flowing from the tropical Pacific into California. The storms have brought some sorely needed replenishment to many reservoirs left low by five years of drought, while restoring California''s mountain snowpack to 135 percent of its average water-content level for this time of year as of Tuesday, state water officials said. (Reporting by Brendan O''Brien in Milwaukee; editing by Dominic Evans) Next In U.S.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-weather-idUSKBN14V119'|'2017-01-11T16:54:00.000+02:00' +'3a8a6f2e2c3528110f788c58a7d0755b0a8bc3a4'|'Rosneft signs oil supply deal with firm linked to Qatar and Glencore'|'Business News - Tue Jan 10, 2017 - 8:23am GMT Rosneft signs oil supply deal with firm linked to Qatar and Glencore Workers stand next to a logo of Russia''s Rosneft oil company at the central processing facility of the Rosneft-owned Priobskoye oil field outside the West Siberian city of Nefteyugansk, Russia, August 4, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin MOSCOW Russian oil major Rosneft ( ROSN.MM ) has concluded a deal with a company linked to Qatar and commodities trader Glencore to supply up to 55 million tonnes of crude in total over a 5-year period, Rosneft said in a statement on Tuesday. The agreement follows the acquisition of a 19.5 percent stake in Rosneft by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) fund and Glencore ( GLEN.L ) last month for around 710 billion roubles ($11.8 billion). Under the terms of the acquisition, Glencore had said it would conclude a five-year supply agreement with Rosneft giving it an extra 220,000 barrels a day to trade. The supply deal announced on Tuesday was between Rosneft and QHG Trading LLP. A Rosneft representative said the firm is a Glencore subsidiary. It is registered at the same address as Glencore''s London office. Regulatory filings list company officers as Glencore Energy UK Ltd and Qatar Holding LLC, a unit of the Qatar Investment Authority. Rosneft said in a statement on Tuesday that it may supply QHG Trading with between 4.5 million tonnes and 11 million tonnes of oil per year with the price being set according to a formula pegged to global oil prices. Currently, Rosneft''s largest buyer of oil is Swiss commodities trader Trafigura with estimated annual purchasing volumes of around 20 million tonnes, equal to the entire annual output of two large refineries or enough to meet the consumption of a country such as Spain for half a year. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Christian Lowe) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-rosneft-supply-idUKKBN14U0RF'|'2017-01-10T15:23:00.000+02:00' +'f9f18f6a6d5d12b294815bee4836b8e56967cc72'|'Britain''s Next could give formal profit alert - Sky News'|' 53pm EST Britain''s Next could give formal profit alert: Sky News Mannequins are pictured in the window of a Next clothing store in London, Britain, March 26, 2009. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/File Photo British clothing retailer Next Inc ( NXT.L ) could give a formal profit warming for its 2017 financial year in its fourth-quarter trading update, Sky News reported, citing a source. bit.ly/2iM9FsD A spokeswoman for the company said Next would report its quarterly trading update on Wednesday as scheduled without providing further details. The retailer was downbeat about prospects for 2017 when it reported its quarterly results in November. In November, the company projected full-price sales for its year to January 2017 in a range of down 1.75 percent to up 1.25 percent. (Reporting by Vishal Sridhar in Bengaluru; editing by Susan Thomas) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-next-uk-outlook-idUSKBN14N1QM'|'2017-01-04T02:48:00.000+02:00' +'820c4909bffdba0add694e87f96e5398890d9597'|'UK''s Co-op Christmas sales boosted by new membership scheme'|' 30am GMT UK''s Co-op Christmas sales boosted by new membership scheme A sign is seen outside a Co-operative retail store in east London, April 10, 2014. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON Britain''s Co-operative Group ( 42TE.L ), the mutually-owned supermarkets to funeral services group, enjoyed strong trading in the final quarter of 2016, it said on Wednesday, hailing the positive impact of a new membership scheme. The Co-op nearly collapsed in 2013 after a 1.5 billion-pound ($1.9 billion) funding "hole" was found in its banking operation. But it has recovered under Chief Executive Richard Pennycook, aided by the shift in Britons'' grocery shopping habits towards more frequent trips to smaller convenience stores. In September, Pennycook launched a new membership scheme targeting the recruitment of one million additional members and the handing back of more than 100 million pounds a year from 2018 to members and their local communities. Through the scheme, Co-op members receive a 5 percent reward for purchases they make on own-brand products and services, with a further 1 percent directly benefiting local causes. The mutual said underlying sales in its core convenience supermarket estate increased 4 percent year-on-year from Sept. 21 to Dec. 31, with total Co-op food like-for-like sales up 3.4 percent. The Co-op is Britain''s fifth largest grocer with a 6 percent market share, trailing Tesco ( TSCO.L ), Sainsbury''s ( SBRY.L ), Asda ( WMT.N ) and Morrisons ( MRW.L ). It said direct motor insurance sales increased 17 percent in the period year-on-year, while sales of pre-paid funeral plans were up 73 percent. The Co-op said the success of the membership scheme, with 400,000 new members in the four months since launch, had prompted it to accelerate its recruitment plans. The target for one million new members has been brought forward to the end of 2017. It currently has 4.1 million active members. Last week, Morrisons and Sainsbury''s reported better than expected Christmas trading, while Tesco also reported solid numbers. ($1 = 0.8123 pounds) (Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Mark Potter) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-co-operative-outlook-idUKKBN1521FT'|'2017-01-18T18:30:00.000+02:00' +'82d7abe232f08ec94155b6f606af864b0d88f22d'|'UK factory order books strongest since 2015, costs growing - CBI'|' 22am GMT UK factory order books strongest since 2015, costs growing - CBI One of the blast furnaces of the Tata Steel plant is seen at sunset in Port Talbot, South Wales, May 31, 2013. REUTERS/Rebecca Naden/File Photo LONDON British manufacturers have reported the strongest inflow of orders in nearly two years but are also seeing their costs rise sharply following last year''s Brexit vote which pushed down the value of sterling, a survey showed on Wednesday. The Confederation of British Industry''s monthly industrial orders balance rose to +5 in January from zero in December, its highest level since April 2015. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a smaller rise to +2. Britain''s economy has so far withstood the shock of June''s vote to leave the European Union. The Bank of England is expected to raise its predictions for growth this year when it meets next week in what would be a second quarterly upgrade, a Reuters poll of economists showed earlier this week. "UK manufacturers are firing on all cylinders right now with domestic orders up and optimism rising at the fastest pace in two years," Rain Newton-Smith, the CBI''s chief economist, said. "The weaker pound is driving export optimism for the year ahead, but is having a detrimental impact on costs for firms and ultimately for consumers." The CBI survey''s reading of prices that manufacturers expect to charge in the next three months rose to +28 from +26, the highest level since June 2011. In a separate quarterly questionnaire, the CBI found a measure of unit costs among manufacturers rose to its highest level since July 2011. (Reporting by William Schomberg, Editing by David Milliken) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-manufacturing-cbi-idUKKBN15918N'|'2017-01-25T18:22:00.000+02:00' +'062bdc3fd1962cd7f464de69433f047b5bc286c3'|'Swiss private banks see asset influx after U.S. election - Baer CEO'|'Money 8:48am EST Swiss private banks see asset influx after U.S. election: Baer CEO CEO Boris Collardi of Swiss private bank Julius Baer gestures as he addresses a news conference to present the bank''s half-year results in Zurich, Switzerland July 25, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo By Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi - ZURICH ZURICH Swiss private banks have profited from rising stock markets and renewed client optimism since the election of U.S. President Donald Trump, Julius Baer Chief Executive Boris Collardi said on Thursday. "We have seen client interest in financial markets increasing," Collardi told Reuters. "With stocks going up, you have assets going up, transaction volumes going up, which is all a positive for the banks because we have more assets, more revenues." Over the medium to long term, banks also stand to gain from deregulation in a sector increasingly saddled with mounting compliance efforts since the 2008 financial crisis, he said. Speaking earlier at a conference in Berne about the implications of Britain''s decision to exit the European Union, Collardi warned Switzerland should not unnecessarily cut off any negotiating possibilities amid a changing political landscape and uncertain future for the EU. While the consequences of Brexit will remain manageable for Swiss banks in the foreseeable future, Switzerland stands little chance of gaining significantly from the weakness of London''s financial center, he said. This year would be a year of many changes and he expected consolidation in Europe''s banking sector over the medium term. "As long as the cost of money remains low and stock valuations go up, we could be in a positive environment for M&A," Collardi said. "We still have overcapacity in the European banking sector. I could imagine that some of the Swiss banks, based on their strength, may continue to take advantage of international M&A opportunities." (Editing by Mark Heinrich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-swiss-banks-wealth-idUSKBN15A1SY'|'2017-01-26T20:46:00.000+02:00' +'49bf3ba6acfdacbc23b86b2ade7a85eca976d4e6'|'RPT-INVESTMENT FOCUS-History suggests Trump month will be stocks down, dollar up'|'(Repeats from Friday without changes)* Graphic: One month in: reut.rs/2j1xrmu* Graphic: The Presidential Touch: tmsnrt.rs/2jtEpzi* Stock performance in previous transitions:* Trump trades fade as inauguration looms:By Jamie McGeever and Marc JonesLONDON, Jan 20 For financial markets, the Trump era begins on Monday, and if history is any guide the following month should be a rocky one for Wall Street but positive for the dollar.The S&P 500 has fallen a median 2.7 percent in the month after each new president has taken the keys to the White House since Herbert Hoover did so in January 1929, according to Reuters analysis.Only four presidents have seen Wall Street rise in their first month in power: Hoover (+3.8 percent), John F. Kennedy in 1961 (+6 pct), George H. W. Bush in 1989 (+5.3 pct) and Bill Clinton in 1993 (0.8 pct).The market has fallen in the first month under every other incoming president since Hoover. Even Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama, who ultimately presided over 120 percent and 165 percent rallies on Wall Street during their two terms, respectively, saw initial slides of 4.8 percent and 15 percent.The dollar tends to fare better. Analysis going back to the early 1970s when the currency was taken off the gold standard shows it has risen an average 2.2 percent in the first month of a first-time president.Donald Trump takes office as the 45th president of the United States with investor apprehension over an incoming president has rarely been higher."There are two sides to Trump, the one side focusing on U.S. stimulus which drives up global growth and the other side, the protectionist Donald Trump that could do the opposite. So the big question is which will we get?," said State Street Global Advisors'' EMEA head of currencies James Binny.Markets latched on after Trump won the November election to his reflationary and pro-growth stance: stocks rose to new highs, the bond selloff deepened, and the dollar clocked a 14-year peak against the euro.But as the inauguration has drawn closer, that momentum has faded. This week, the Dow Jones and dollar hit six-week lows, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield its lowest since late November, and gold rose to its highest in two months.Some investors are playing safe."We are neutral, because we don''t know exactly what direction Trump will take," said Lukas Daadler, chief investment officer of investment solutions at Robeco, a subsidiary of Robeco Group. The latter has 269 billion euros in assets under management."There is some extreme positioning out there, so there''s the risk of a short squeeze. But we''ve taken a neutral stance, and we might see more detail on his plans next week."Much of that positioning is in the U.S. bond market and the dollar. Speculators have amassed record bets against 10-year Treasuries, and according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch''s January fund manager survey, the most overcrowded trade in the world now is the pro-dollar trade.BAML strategists said on Friday that although there has been a clear cooling of "Trump trade" bets in recent weeks, overall investor sentiment is its highest in three months.They recommend sticking with they call the "Icarus trade" - one last 10 percent rise in stocks and commodities before the rally ends.(Graphic by Vikram Subhedar; Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-trump-markets-repeat-investment-focu-idINL5N1FD1S1'|'2017-01-23T06:05:00.000+02:00' +'3e01e1dc6bb84a9691a45eaf9a84defbf3fbb677'|'UPDATE 1-Cheering better growth, ECB still to keep policy, stimulus unchanged'|'Bonds News - Thu Jan 19, 2017 - 4:22am EST UPDATE 1-Cheering better growth, ECB still to keep policy, stimulus unchanged * Rates, QE seen unchanged * Growth improving but fraught with risk * Decision at 1245, Draghi at 1330 (Adds quote, Fed) By Balazs Koranyi and Francesco Canepa FRANKFURT, Jan 19 Even as euro zone growth and inflation slowly pick up pace, the European Central Bank is set to argue on Thursday that its extra-easy policy stance is still needed to keep the recovery on course. The ECB is all but certain to leave current monetary policy in place and maintain a promise for lengthy stimulus, having extended its bond-buying programme just last month. ECB President Mario Draghi can argue the bank has done its part to mend growth, but he will also likely note the recovery is not self-sustaining, underlying inflation is weak and markets could become more volatile as the Federal Reserve gradually raises rates. So turning down the taps now is inappropriate, Draghi is expected to say, once again underscoring diverging policy paths between the ECB and the Federal Reserve, whose chair, Janet Yellen, signalled further interest rate increases on Wednesday. "Draghi seems to be comfortable to allow inflation to drift higher before declaring full victory over deflation," David Kohl an economist at Swiss private bank Julius Baer, said. On the face of it, Draghi should be relaxed. Inflation hit a three year high last month, manufacturing activity is accelerating and confidence indicators are firming, all pointing to solid growth at the end of last year. Indeed, euro zone business growth was the fastest in more than five years in December, order books are surging on export demand, and consumption is holding up, despite rising energy costs, all pointing to the sort of resilience not seen since before the bloc''s debt crisis. The underlying picture is mixed, however, giving Draghi plenty of arguments to bat back criticism, particularly from Germany, the bloc''s biggest economy and the ECB''s top policy foe. Inflation is still just half of the bank''s 2 percent target and the jump is mostly down to higher oil prices while underlying price growth remains dangerously weak. The market euphoria after Donald Trump''s surprising U.S. election win is also yet to be backed up concrete policy action and the threat of more protectionist policies from the United States and possibly Britain could reverse market sentiment. The ECB announces its rate decision at 1245 GMT and Draghi holds a news conference at 1330 GMT. GERMAN ANGST The ECB last month agreed to cut its asset buys by a quarter from April but extended the 2.3 trillion euro scheme, known as quantitative easing, until the end of the year, promising substantial accommodation and extended market presence. The extension threatens to reignite tensions between the bank and Berlin, particularly as Germany heads towards an election in the fall and with Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble often pointing the finger at the ECB for problems. Berlin argues that super cheap borrowing costs negate pressure on inefficient euro zone members to reform but unduly punish frugal German savers, who have seen the return on their savings evaporate. Indeed, with German inflation rates above the euro zone average and government bond yields in negative territory across much of the yield curve, real rates are negative for many savers, pushing some voters towards the rightist Alternative for Germany party. Still, cutting back stimulus may be a double edged sword, even for Germany, which is struggling with a bloated and inefficient bank sector. Higher ECB rates would not only cost the budget billions of euros in extra spending but would risk thwarting a still fledgling lending growth. "The lending channel is no longer clogged up, but it is not completely free either and progress has only been possible thanks to massive measures by the ECB," Commerzbank said. "If monetary policy were to be tightened again, and the burdens from existing loans were to increase once more, the lending channel would close and the economic picture would worsen considerably again," Commerzbank added. The risk for now is if the oil stabilises at a relatively high level, eventually feeding into core inflation and raising the risk that inflation could even overshoot the ECB''s target. Still, it would take years such a pass through and all indication is that Draghi would happily tolerate a modest overshoot after facing the threat of deflation for years. (Editing by Jeremy Gaunt) Hammond: UK''s budget stance is "steady as she goes" DAVOS, Switzerland Jan 19 British finance minister Philip Hammond said on Thursday he saw no case right now for using some of the room he reserved last year for the government to borrow more, ahead of his annual budget on March 8.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/ecb-policy-idUSL5N1F923U'|'2017-01-19T16:22:00.000+02:00' +'bb9f4ebc8b35e2df84d7a7884313a2682b0c6f24'|'Brazil court decision could stifle loans to states -officials'|'Bonds 34pm EST Brazil court decision could stifle loans to states -officials By Alonso Soto - BRASILIA BRASILIA Jan 10 Brazil''s federal government is less likely to authorize cash-strapped states to raise fresh debt after the Supreme Court forced the Treasury to use its own money to honor loans not paid by the Rio de Janeiro state, three government officials told Reuters on Tuesday. As the guarantor of nearly all loans contracted by states, the Treasury has withheld states'' own tax revenues to honor missed payments. However, last week''s court order prevents the government from withholding those tax revenues, meaning it has to use its own resources to honor unpaid debts. Over the last five years, Rio accumulated billions of dollars in government-backed loans with state-run lenders and multilateral banks to pay for infrastructure ahead of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. But Rio, like several other Brazilian states, is unable to pay back the money as the country''s worst recession on record drags down its tax income and oil royalties. Hospitals across Brazilian states are running out of supplies, police and teachers are not being paid and badly needed infrastructure projects are frozen because of the crunch. "The decision was well intentioned, but it creates a huge problem. It fuels legal uncertainty that could undermine future loans," said one of the officials who asked not to be named because he was not allowed to speak publicly. That uncertainty could discourage Brazil''s Treasury from approving new debt to states, said a senior finance ministry official who also requested anonymity. The ruling added pressure on President Michel Temer to reach a deal with Rio de Janeiro this week to ease its financial crisis before 6.5 billion reais ($2 billion) in local and external debts are due this year. The treasury''s press office declined to comment for the story. A deal with Rio would lift the order the head of the Supreme Court, Carmen Lucia, that forced the federal government to release 374 million reais for Rio de Janeiro to pay for wages and services. Critics say that such legal uncertainty hampers investment, as individual judges have broad discretion to suspend debt contracts, award labor compensations and halt building projects. "If the court continues to grant those injunctions to states without any fiscal adjustment then we will have a problem," said Carlos Kawall, chief economist with Banco Safra and former head of the national treasury The government paid 2.2 billion reais in debt Rio failed to honor last year, according to the Treasury. The state missed payments to the Inter-American Development Bank (BID) and Agence Franaise de Developpement. Rio has about 340 million reais in payments due to the World Bank next year, according to the state''s finance secretary. Other states are considering asking for similar injunctions to prevent the government from withholding their transfers. When a loan is not paid by a state, the federal government withholds federal revenues earmarked for those local governments to honor their obligations. ($1 = 3.197 reais) (Reporting by Alonso Soto; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) Next In Bonds News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-economy-states-idUSL1N1F00WG'|'2017-01-11T04:34:00.000+02:00' +'d535abe4724dcbff97f3c7350e0099165e29829d'|'UPDATE 1-EU states should guarantee minimum income for citizens - Juncker'|'Financials 11pm EST UPDATE 1-EU states should guarantee minimum income for citizens - Juncker (writes through, adds quotes, background) By Francesco Guarascio BRUSSELS Jan 23 The European Commission wants all EU member states to introduce minimum wages and incomes for their workers and unemployed, the head of the EU executive president said on Monday, in an effort to combat growing social inequality and poverty. The Commission, which has limited powers in the area of social policy, is preparing an overhaul of the EU''s functions and targets and wants it to include tackling social and economic injustices that have often been successfully exploited by right-wing eurosceptic parties across the 28-nation bloc. "There should be a minimum salary in each country of the European Union," Jean-Claude Juncker told a conference on social rights in Brussels, adding that those seeking work should also have a guaranteed minimum level of income. Juncker, a former prime minister of Luxembourg, said each state should be free to set its own minimum wage, but added: "There is a level of dignity we have to respect." Living standards and costs vary widely across the EU, and some parts of the EU, especially in southern Europe, are suffering very high levels of unemployment. Juncker urged companies to adopt a minimum wage to help counter "social dumping" - a term that describes the employment of cheaper labour, sometimes involving migrants or moving production to lower-wage countries. Juncker said reforming EU social policy should start within the bloc''s 19-country euro zone, which already shares a single currency and fiscal supervision. The Commission will present its reform proposals in the coming weeks, before a summit in Rome on March 25 that will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, which laid the foundations of today''s European Union. (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Gareth Jones) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/eu-labour-juncker-idUSL5N1FD500'|'2017-01-24T01:11:00.000+02:00' +'5661105b096ce07e1945a9ab10c90c31854cdef7'|'ATR chief says in no hurry to develop larger aircraft'|'Industrials - Mon Jan 23, 2017 - 12:05am EST ATR chief says in no hurry to develop larger aircraft TOULOUSE, France Jan 23 Franco-Italian turboprop maker ATR is likely to develop a larger version of its aircraft family in the future, but is in no hurry to act, its chief executive said. ATR is jointly owned by aerospace groups Airbus and Leonardo, which are seen as split over whether to focus on the existing family of two models seating 42 to 78 people, or build a new model with 100 seats to keep up with demand for more capacity. "My personal view is that a larger ATR is a question of when rather than if," CEO Christian Scherer told Reuters, adding that any decision would be a matter for joint shareholders. "If you want to take a more conservative stance, and I can imagine myself in the shoes of both shareholders, there is nothing wrong with ATR today. It is a very nice franchise and profitable contribution and we don''t see any chess moves that should fundamentally modify the game. So we can go on; there is no urgency," he said. "Do I as ATR have the ambition to continue to introduce new features, new airplanes, new products to grow? Absolutely. I am happy to see that we have one shareholder who is of the same opinion. The other one is exercising a perfectly rational business judgment and saying ATR is doing very well, keep on going." Scherer, a former Airbus commercial strategy and defence executive, was appointed to run ATR in November. His predecessor, Patrick de Castelbajac, told Flightglobal last July that Airbus wanted to revamp the existing ATR 42/72 series with new engines, while Italy''s Leonardo was keen on expanding the family with an all-new 100-seat model. Both projects could happen at different times, he said. Airbus and Leonardo each owns half of ATR. Leonardo has indicated it would like to take greater control of ATR, while Airbus is said to be interested in Leonardo''s stake in MBDA, the European missile maker in which Airbus already has a share. Officials on both sides say they have held informal talks but that discussions are not advanced. Analysts say 35-year-old ATR is profitable, partly because the cost of developing its main models was absorbed long ago. But figures published on Monday show that while deliveries have trebled in the past decade, the number of years of production in its backlog has fallen from over five years to fewer than three, spurring a debate about how it should secure its growth. (Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Paul Simao) Next In Industrials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/atr-aircraft-idUSL5N1FC13L'|'2017-01-23T12:05:00.000+02:00' +'424e6a83296d6935f3d195a16b8dea43e59dd355'|'Global steel output rises 0.8 percent in 2016 vs 2015'|' 48am GMT Global steel output rises 0.8 percent in 2016 vs 2015 A worker uses a cutting torch near a reheating furnace at the ArcelorMittal steel plant in Ghent, Belgium, July 7, 2016. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir LONDON Global crude steel output rose by 0.8 percent last year, industry data showed on Wednesday, as mills in top producer China churned out more metal to meet higher demand even as Beijing cracked down on excess capacity. Global crude steel output in 2016 reached 1,629 million tonnes in 2016 versus 1,615 a year earlier, with output in China rising 1.2 percent to hit 808 million tonnes, according to the World Steel Association. China accounts for about half the world''s steel output and around half of the excess global steelmaking capacity, estimated at 350 million tonnes. Beijing last year cut 45 million tonnes of steelmaking capacity, but much of it was already idle. As a result, steel output in the country continued to rise as mills were tempted by a 60 percent annual surge in steel prices SRBcv1 that came in part as a result of government rhetoric on steel capacity cuts. China is planning to close 100-150 million tonnes of annual steelmaking capacity over the 2016-2020 period. It has pledged this year to eliminate all low-quality steel production by the end of June - a move that should cut about 4 percent of steel output. "Substantial steel prices rises were seen in all markets in the fourth quarter of 2016. In China, demand last year was supported by a sharp upturn in real estate investment," said Chris Houlden, research manager at consultants CRU. Outside China, WorldSteel data showed output in Japan, the world''s second largest producer, fell 0.3 percent to 105 million tonnes, while output in India, the world''s third largest steelmaker, surged 7.4 percent to 96 million tonnes. Output in the European Union fell by 2.3 percent and remained flat year-on-year in North America, the data showed. (Reporting by Maytaal Angel, editing by Louise Heavens) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-steel-idUKKBN15915O'|'2017-01-25T17:48:00.000+02:00' +'ba7784b4ac2c4472caed86aa9aba2342b568bfc3'|'PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - Jan 11'|' 17am EST PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news on the New York Times business pages. on the verge of pleading guilty to criminal charges and paying $4.3 billion in fines, in a deal that would resolve a federal criminal investigation into its cheating on vehicle emissions tests, the automaker said on Tuesday. nyti.ms/2jtdNNH - The publisher of The Daily Mirror, a left-wing British tabloid, said on Tuesday it was in early-stage talks to acquire a minority stake in a new company that would include assets of the Northern & Shell Media Group, which publishes two rival right-wing tabloids, The Daily Express and The Daily Star. nyti.ms/2j64abm is pushing further into the very sector that it helped to disrupt with a $2.6 billion bid for Ltd, a department store and mall operator in China. Alibaba, a Chinese e-commerce behemoth, already owned 28 percent of Intime, which is listed in Hong Kong, and made an offer with Shen Guo Jun, the founder of the department store chain, to take the company private. nyti.ms/2j66u27 - Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan have hired a top political operative to lead the next phase of their philanthropic work at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the limited liability company they set up in 2015 to conduct charitable efforts. David Plouffe, who managed Barack Obama''s 2008 presidential campaign and is chief adviser and a board member at Uber, is leaving the ride-hailing company to join the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative as president of policy and advocacy. nyti.ms/2jtfiLE - John Carlin, who was the Justice Department''s top national security lawyer, has moved to the law firm Morrison & Foerster to lead its global risk and crisis management practice, the firm announced on Tuesday. nyti.ms/2iDPU6a (Compiled by Rama Venkat Raman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/press-digest-nyt-idUSL4N1F11ZG'|'2017-01-11T12:17:00.000+02:00' +'fa512e70a341b214c96874d27a12e6c67d654623'|'China, Hong Kong stocks rebound; Vanke jumps as China Resources steps down'|'Energy - Thu Jan 12, 2017 - 11:27pm EST China, Hong Kong stocks rebound; Vanke jumps as China Resources steps down * SSEC +0.1 pct, CSI300 +0.4 pct, HSI +0.5 pct * Vanke shares hit one-month intraday high * Energy rebound on strong oil prices SHANGHAI, Jan 13 China stocks were up on Friday morning, on course to snap a three-day losing streak, as the property sector rebounded strongly on strength in China Vanke Co Ltd''s , the country''s second largest developer. Hong Kong stocks also rose, setting for a third week of gains, with support from the energy sector as oil prices advanced. The benchmark CSI300 index rose 0.4 percent, to 3,330.61 points at the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.1 percent, to 3,122.93 points. The benchmark index has lost more than 0.5 percent so far this week. Investors cheered China Vanke Co Ltd''s breakthrough in a high-profile corporate power tussle lasting for over a year, after its No. 2 shareholder China Resources Group decided to sell its entire stake to Shenzhen Metro Group. Shares of the industry bellwether jumped around 7 percent on the mainland and 5.6 percent in Hong Kong at the lunch break. But gains in China were limited as investors were awaiting the upcoming corporate earnings season to kick off late on Friday, to justify a flurry of solid economic data in the world''s second largest economy. Earlier this month, China''s manufacturing sector posted a monthly expansion for the fifth time in December, but the pace slowed more than expected amid the government''s effort to rein in soaring asset prices. Sector performance in the mainland market was mixed, with property leading the gains, up around 2.3 percent. Insurance firms retreated 0.6 percent despite their premium income rising almost 30 percent in 2016, as investors stayed cautious amid a tightening regulatory environment. Metallurgical Corporation of China Ltd slid around 2 percent after closing at a six-week high in the previous session, as optimism fuelled by restructuring hopes quickly faded. The tech-heavy ChiNext sub-index, China''s equivalent of the Nasdaq, was set to lose for a seventh session and hit a six-month intraday low as faster approvals for IPOs boosted the supply of small-caps. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index added 0.5 percent, to 22,932.47 points, bringing its weekly gain to around 1.9 percent, while the Hong Kong China Enterprises Index gained 0.7 percent, to 9,792.44 points. Nearly all sectors in the city gained modestly, with the energy sector the biggest performer, up nearly 2.4 percent by the lunch break. Oil majors including CNOOC Ltd and PetroChina Co Ltd rallied as oil prices held sharp gains from the previous two sessions. (Reporting by Jackie Cai and John Ruwitch; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore) Next In Energy'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/china-stocks-midday-idUSL4N1F31Y5'|'2017-01-13T11:27:00.000+02:00' +'e76c99cb8596b5027537f547a7bc60ca53e77bc2'|'PM May indicates Britain will seek "hard Brexit" in EU talks'|'Market News 21am EST PM May indicates Britain will seek "hard Brexit" in EU talks * UK PM May to unveil Brexit plans at 1145 GMT * May to say UK to seek no partial membership of EU * Sterling falls over fears of ''hard Brexit'' By Kylie MacLellan and William James LONDON, Jan 17 Britain will not seek a Brexit deal that leaves it "half in, half out" of the EU, Prime Minister Theresa May will say on Tuesday in a speech setting out her priorities for divorce talks which indicates she is prepared to leave the single market. Sterling, which has traded at the lowest levels against the U.S. dollar for more than three decades, fell to near three-month lows and stocks were mostly weaker as investors feared May would spell out plans for a "hard Brexit". "We seek a new and equal partnership, between an independent, self-governing, global Britain and our friends and allies in the EU," May will say, according to advance extracts released by her office. "Not partial membership of the European Union, associate membership of the European Union, or anything that leaves us half-in, half-out. We do not seek to adopt a model already enjoyed by other countries. We do not seek to hold on to bits of membership as we leave." Her 12 objectives for upcoming exit talks from the European Union will include ditching preferential access to the single market and quitting the European Court of Justice in return for full control of Britain''s borders, several newspapers reported. More than six months after Britons voted to leave the EU, May has come under fire from investors, businesses and lawmakers for revealing little about the future relationship she will seek when she begins formal divorce talks by the end of March. She is due to set out more detail on her plans at 1145 GMT on Tuesday in a speech to an audience including foreign diplomats and Britain''s own Brexit negotiating team. "NEW FREE BRITAIN" The extracts from her speech did not set out explicit details of the future trading relationship she wants to have with the EU or what her 12 priorities would be, but British newspapers, most of which backed Brexit, said it would delight those who supported leaving the bloc. "Theresa''s New Free Britain", the Daily Mail said on its front page while The Sun, Britain''s biggest-selling tabloid, called it "Great Brexpectations". Media reported May would be less explicit on her plans for the customs union, but that her emphasis on building new trade relationships would make clear Britain could be no longer a member of the single market in the way it is now. The EU would be likely to insist on freedom of movement for EU citizens in return for full access to the single market, while many of those who voted for Brexit did so precisely in order to be able to restrict immigration. The Times newspaper said May would acknowledge for the first time that transitional deals would be needed to avoid a Brexit ''cliff edge'' for businesses after Britain leaves the economic bloc that accounts for roughly half of its exports and imports. May will say she wants Britain to be a "magnet for international talent", and a "great, global trading nation" that reaches beyond Europe to build relationships with other countries around the world. She will also say that it is in Britain''s national interest for the EU to succeed. "We will continue to be reliable partners, willing allies and close friends. We want to buy your goods, sell you ours, trade with you as freely as possible, and work with one another to make sure we are all safer, more secure and more prosperous through continued friendship," she will say. (Editing by Catherine Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-eu-may-idUSL5N1F7255'|'2017-01-17T16:21:00.000+02:00' +'6940a789a2873bdf9a4cac3913621ccbf9eeae9f'|'Canada court dismisses challenge to controversial arms deal'|'Company 1:02pm EST Canada court dismisses challenge to controversial arms deal OTTAWA Jan 24 A Canadian court on Tuesday dismissed a challenge to the government''s controversial arms deal with Saudi Arabia, ruling that the former foreign affairs minister considered the relevant security and human rights factors. Former Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion and the Liberal government came under fire last year for signing off on a $13 billion General Dynamics Corp contract to supply light armored vehicles to Saudi Arabia, despite concerns about the country''s human rights record. The Liberals have argued they had no choice but to honor what they said was a binding contract made in 2014 under the previous Conservative government. Dion signed the key export permits last April. The application for judicial review was brought before the Federal Court last year by Daniel Turp, a professor at the Universite de Montreal and former member of parliament for the separatist Bloc Quebecois. Turp argued that the issuance of the permits was against Canada''s export rules, as well as the Geneva Convention, and that there was a reasonable risk that the armored vehicles would be used against Shi''ite minorities in Saudi Arabia. The government countered that Dion''s sole obligation was to take into account all the relevant factors, which he did. Justice Daniele Tremblay-Lamer found that it was up to Dion to assess whether there was a reasonable risk the vehicles might be used against civilians, noting that there have been no incidents in which light armored vehicles have been used in human rights violations in Saudi Arabia since trade relations began with Canada in the 1990s. "The role of the court is not to pass moral judgment on the minister''s decision to issue the export permits but only to make sure of the legality of such a decision," Tremblay-Lamer wrote. "The court is of the opinion that the minister considered the relevant factors. In such a case, it is not open to the court to set aside the decision." Turp was not immediately available for comment. Joseph Pickerill, a spokesman for current Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, said the minister thanked the court for its decision. Dion was replaced as foreign affairs minister earlier this month by Freeland, who was previously in charge of trade. Tremblay-Lamer dismissed the judicial review without costs. Turp has 30 days to appeal. (Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by Andrew Hay) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-politics-dion-idUSL1N1FD29B'|'2017-01-25T01:02:00.000+02:00' +'f9d73b5b09edc7a03f9384a1b9f8a2b81d33f089'|'Russia cbank to coordinate managing forex reserves with govt - Interfax'|'Financials 1:08pm EST Russia cbank to coordinate managing forex reserves with govt - Interfax MOSCOW Jan 18 The Russian central bank will coordinate its action on how to manage forex reserves with the Finance Ministry, Interfax news agency quoted the bank as saying on Wednesday. Discussion on ways to prop up the reserves have resumed after the rouble became one of the best performing emerging market currencies in 2016. The reserves were used to cushion the budget deficit, which widened due to the slump in the price of oil, Russia''s chief commodity export. But the independent central bank has been resistant to state conditions for replenishing the reserves. The bank said it may consider buying foreign currency if the oil prices increase, Interfax reported. OPEC, Russia and other non-OPEC producers in November and December pledged to cut oil output by nearly 1.8 million bpd, initially for six months, to bring supplies back in line with consumption, supporting prices. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin and Andrey Ostroukh; Editing by Alison Williams) Next In Financials Monte dei Paschi won''t take chances with first state-backed bond-sources MILAN, Jan 18 Monte dei Paschi di Siena is unlikely to tap markets with an upcoming 2 billion euro ($2.1 bln) bond as it fears a state guarantee on the issue won''t be enough to draw sufficient investor demand, three sources familiar with the matter said.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/russia-cenbank-reserves-idUSL5N1F85Y4'|'2017-01-19T01:08:00.000+02:00' +'8e24de8e74c89d36ccfac54d6590f80f5a8b32ab'|'Dangote, China''s Sinotruck set up $100 million truck plant in Nigeria'|'Deals 6:06am EST Dangote, China''s Sinotruck set up $100 million truck plant in Nigeria Founder and Chief Executive of the Dangote Group Aliko Dangote gestures during an interview with Reuters in his office in Lagos, Nigeria, June 13, 2012. REUTERS/Akintunde Akinleye/File Photo By Chijioke Ohuocha - LAGOS LAGOS Africa''s richest man Aliko Dangote has partnered with China''s heavy duty truck group Sinotruck to set up a $100 million plant to assemble trucks and cars in Nigeria for local use and export, the executive director of Dangote group said. The joint venture, which is 65 percent owned by Dangote and 35 percent by Sinotruck will assemble components and knocked down parts imported from Sinotruck to the Nigerian plant. It aims to meet an expected increased demand for transport in the country as the government focuses on boosting agriculture and farmers need to move goods across the vast country. The first set of trucks will be rolled out next week, Edwin Devakumar, told Reuters in an interview in Lagos. The plant has the capacity to assemble 16 trucks a day and will export to West Africa, he said, adding the facility would expand into vehicle manufacturing. "[The Dangote Group] has a fleet size of 12,000 trucks ... and are large users. One of the biggest challenges in the market today is logistics because we do not have a proper transport network," he said. Last March Dangote bid for a majority stake in Peugeot Automobile Nigeria. The results of the sale have not yet been released. Turning to Dangote''s other interests, Devakumar said Dangote was on track to launch its $17 billion oil refinery plant with the first crude for processing going into the plant in October 2019. It will handle 650,000 barrels per day. The company will scale down operations in its flour milling DANGFLO.LG, sugar refinery ( DANGSUG.LG ) and tomato processing businesses however, due to dollar shortages to fund the import of raw materials, he said. Nigeria is grappling with dollar shortages brought on by low prices for oil, its mainstay, and which have hammered its currency and shrunk its foreign reserves, triggering its first recession in 25-years. "Where the foreign exchange is not available we are cutting down our operations," he said. "For example we had a vegetable oil refinery we have shut it down, we had a tomato based processing plant we have shut it down." Dangote''s cement business ( DANGCEM.LG ) was continuing as its main raw material - limestone - could be sourced at home, he said. He added the firm commissioned a new cement plant in Sierra Leone last week and expected a plant in Congo to begin production this year. (Editing by Ulf Laessing and Alexandra Hudson) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/news/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-nigeria-dangote-sinotruck-idUSKBN1521C9'|'2017-01-18T18:06:00.000+02:00' +'e9208d765cb8ed14f6eb226bcef4d12fbbdc3ea6'|'Fitch Rates Bank of Sharjah''s New EMTN Programme ''BBB+'''|' 15am EST Fitch Rates Bank of Sharjah''s New EMTN Programme ''BBB+'' (The following statement was released by the rating agency) DUBAI/LONDON, January 30 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings has assigned Bank of Sharjah''s PJSC (BOS; BBB+/Stable/bb) new Euro Medium Term Note (EMTN) Programme a long-term rating of ''BBB+'' and short-term rating of ''F2''. The ratings of the programme apply only to senior issuance. There is no assurance that notes issued under the programme will be assigned a rating, or that the rating assigned to a specific issue under the programme will have the same rating as the programme. KEY RATING DRIVERS The notes under the programme will be issued by BOS Funding Limited in the Cayman Islands. BOS Funding Limited is a fully owned subsidiary of BOS that is set up solely to act as the issuer of debt funding. The new programme''s ratings are driven by BOS''s Issuer Default Ratings (IDR), reflecting Fitch''s view that default of this senior unsecured obligation would reflect default of the entity in accordance with Fitch''s rating definitions. According to the transaction documents, the payments of principal and interest in respect of the senior notes are unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by BOS. The obligations of BOS under the deed of guarantee in respect of the senior notes are direct, unconditional, unsecured and unsubordinated obligations of BOS and rank at least pari passu with all other outstanding present and future unsecured and unsubordinated obligations of the bank. The documentation includes a negative pledge provision and cross default clause with BOS. The notes, the guarantee and all non-contractual obligations arising out of or in connection with the notes will be governed by, and shall be construed in accordance with, English law. RATING SENSITIVITIES The ratings are sensitive to a change in BOS''s IDR. This in turn is sensitive to a change in the perceived ability or willingness of the UAE authorities to provide support to the bank, if needed. Given the robust economy, the authorities'' strong track record of support for local banks and no plans for resolution legislation at this stage, downward pressure on ratings is low. Contact: Primary Analyst Redmond Ramsdale Senior Director +971 4 424 1202 Fitch Ratings Limited Al Thuraya Tower 1, Office 1806, Dubai Media City, Dubai, United Arab Emirates PO Box 502030 Secondary Analyst Gilbert Hobeika Associate Director +44 20 3530 1004 Committee Chairperson Eric Dupont Senior Director +33 1 4429 91 31 Media Relations: Elaine Bailey, London, Tel: +44 203 530 1153, Email: elaine.bailey@fitchratings.com. Additional information is available on www.fitchratings.com Applicable Criteria Global Bank Rating Criteria (pub. 25 Nov 2016) here Additional Disclosures Dodd-Frank Rating Information Disclosure Form here _id=1018291 Solicitation Status here Endorsement Policy here ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: here . IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY''S PUBLIC WEB SITE AT WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM. 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Credit ratings information published by Fitch is not intended to be used by persons who are retail clients within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFit987960'|'2017-01-30T16:15:00.000+02:00' +'e8b04361e49e43da7e4fe649d7ca4bf6e571fe17'|'China plans to spend $115 billion on railways in 2017 - Xinhua'|'Business 2:26pm IST China plans to spend $115 billion on railways in 2017: Xinhua People stand next to a train at a railway station in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China June 6, 2016. REUTERS/Aly Song SHANGHAI China plans to spend 800 billion yuan ($115.09 billion) on building railways this year, the same budget as last year, to grow its network to 150,000 kilometers, state news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday. China plans to add 2,100 kilometres of track this year, mostly in its central and western regions, and electrify 4,000 kilometres of railways, Xinhua reported, citing a statement released by national operator China Railway Corporation after an annual work conference. The country, which had set an annual spending target of 800 billion yuan for the last three years, used 801.5 billion yuan on railway construction in 2016, according to local media reports citing the national operator. It plans to spend 3.5 trillion yuan on building railway tracks over 2016-2020, Xinhua said. Railway spending was at a high of 840 billion yuan in 2010 before a high-speed rail crash that led to the arrest of numerous officials on corruption charges and the breakup of the railway ministry. In recent months, the government sped up approvals of construction projects including railways to support slowing economic growth, adding to China Railway''s debt burden which stood at 4.21 trillion yuan at the end of June. ($1 = 6.9509 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-china-railways-idINKBN14O0Q3'|'2017-01-04T15:53:00.000+02:00' +'c2ab929a79ec0f2feb39fe3239675cd1ae2671a1'|'Sterling slips as investors brace for May Brexit speech'|'Foreign Exchange Analysis 5:08pm GMT Sterling slips as investors brace for May Brexit speech A pile of one pound coins is seen in a photo illustration shot June 17, 2008. REUTERS/Toby Melville/Illustration/File Photo - RTSRQZQ By Jemima Kelly - LONDON LONDON Sterling slipped on Thursday after a spokeswoman said British Prime Minister Theresa May will give a speech next week on her plans for leaving the European Union, which sparked fears that she would suggest Britain will undergo a "hard Brexit". Sterling skidded to its lowest levels for almost 32 years -excluding a "flash crash" in October - this week, after May said over the weekend that Britain would not keep "bits" of EU membership when it leaves the bloc. Investors interpreted this to mean Britain would lose access to the lucrative European single market in order to give priority to reasserting full control of its borders to curb immigration. This scenario has come to be known as "hard Brexit" - a phrase that May herself rejects. The pound had rebounded to as high as $1.2317 GBP=D4 earlier on Thursday against a dollar weakened by a lack of detail on President-elect Donald Trump''s spending plans in his first news conference since his election on Wednesday. But after the news of May''s speech, it slid backwards to trade at $1.2207, slightly lower on the day though well clear of Wednesday''s low of $1.2038. Against a broadly stronger euro, sterling fell 0.9 percent to its weakest in almost two weeks, at 87.34 pence EURGBP=D4. "If you were to look back at recent performances, its rare that shes said anything thats been taken positively, so the risk - if you had to go one way or another - is that she again pushes the market in the direction of a relatively hard exit, which is not a positive for the currency," said RBC Capital Markets currency strategist Adam Cole. Traders are also awaiting a decision - expected in the coming days - from Britain''s Supreme Court on whether to uphold a High Court ruling last year that said May''s government needed parliamentary approval before triggering "Article 50", which will formally kick off Brexit negotiations with Brussels. Investors reckon that if lawmakers from across the political spectrum - a majority of whom backed staying in the EU in June''s referendum - are involved in activating Article 50, they will push for a "softer" Brexit, which would be sterling-positive. A further boost to sterling could come if Britain is forced to delay its exit talks because of a potential suspension of Northern Ireland''s regional assembly - which a lawyer said on Wednesday was a possibility. The resignation of Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness on Monday effectively collapsed the devolved government. "If the Supreme Court were to both affirm the High Court decision and also ruled that the government had to obtain the approval of devolved legislatures, thats even more positive for sterling. But the noise were hearing is that thats probably not going to happen," said Tan. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Wednesday that the immediate risks from Brexit had fallen, and that the central bank may now raise its forecasts for the UK economy. (Reporting by Jemima Kelly; editing by Mark Heinrich) Next In Foreign Exchange Analysis Dollar tumbles to five-week lows as Trump trade loses steam NEW YORK The U.S. dollar hit its lowest level in five weeks against a basket of major currencies on Thursday and was on course for its worst week since November, hit by a loss of confidence in the U.S. reflation trade a day after a news conference by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. UK banks'' share of corporate currency business dips LONDON The share of Britain''s biggest banks in the market supplying UK companies'' daily foreign currency needs fell for a second year running in 2016 as firms made more use of new trading platforms and brokers, an industry report showed on Wednesday. NEW YORK The U.S. dollar fell to a one-month low against a basket of major rivals on Wednesday, reversing an early rally after a news conference held by President-elect Donald Trump disappointed dollar bulls who were expecting a pro-growth message. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Taboola Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-sterling-close-idUKKBN14W2I3'|'2017-01-13T00:08:00.000+02:00' +'5605dc03b9bf2c4858016aaceb99578ef9fb2688'|'Rothschild replaces Millstein as Puerto Rico financial adviser'|'By Nick Brown Jan 18 Puerto Rico''s new government has hired Rothschild & Co to help it develop a fiscal turnaround plan and lead restructuring negotiations with creditors holding some $70 billion in debt, the government announced on Wednesday.Rothschild will replace Millstein and Co, which had served as financial adviser under the administration of ex-Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla.Governor Ricky Rossello, who was sworn in on Jan. 2, had sharply criticized Garcia Padilla''s financial policies, which were shaped in large part by Millstein, during his campaign.Rothschild''s hiring comes a few days after Rossello''s administration tapped law firm Dentons to serve as legal counsel, replacing Cleary Gottlieb, which had played that role for Garcia Padilla.In a statement on Wednesday, Puerto Rico''s Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority, the U.S. territory''s primary fiscal agent, said the Rothschild team would be led by Todd Snyder, the firm''s restructuring chief."We selected Rothschild & Co based upon its commitment to Puerto Rico and its extensive track record advising in many of the most complex transactions in recent years," Gerardo Portela, FAFAA''s executive director, said in the statement.Puerto Rico faces months of complicated debt restructuring talks with myriad creditor groups. The U.S. territory owes $18 billion in general obligation debt, backed by a constitutional promise; $15 billion in so-called COFINA debt backed by sales tax proceeds; and billions more in debt at public agencies like power authority PREPA and water utility PRASA.Nearly half the island''s 3.5 million residents live in poverty. Its unemployment rate is more than twice the U.S. average, and its population continues to fall as locals flock to the U.S. mainland.Under a federal rescue law known as PROMESA, passed last year, the island must submit a fiscal turnaround plan to a federal board appointed to manage the island''s finances. The board will also likely play a role in facilitating debt restructuring talks between the island and creditors.Garcia Padilla had pushed for sharp reductions in debt payments to creditors, and ordered several defaults during his term. Rossello, who favors U.S. statehood for the island, believes it should try to limit such cuts while imposing belt-tightening measures like consolidating public agencies. (Reporting by Nick Brown; Editing by Frances Kerry)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/puertorico-debt-advisers-idINL1N1F81DX'|'2017-01-18T14:22:00.000+02:00' +'32d78a82bd22e68b7ce6f67ada2e22370e7ff3d9'|'BRIEF-Ennis acquires Independent Printing Company Inc in stock purchase transaction'|' 35am EST BRIEF-Ennis acquires Independent Printing Company Inc in stock purchase transaction Jan 30 Ennis Inc : * Ennis acquires independent printing company, inc. In a stock purchase transaction * Ennis acquires independent printing company, inc. In a stock purchase transaction * Ennis Inc- operations will continue under independent and related entity names * Ennis Inc - operations will continue under independent and related entity names * Says company will now have 4 folder facilities in Michigan, Kansas, California and Wisconsin * Ennis Inc- all of locations will continue their normal operations Source '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/mergersNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSASB0AXB2'|'2017-01-30T18:35:00.000+02:00' +'8bc8d44dcaccd23beea83fc2130b26ef1b21f546'|'In-house or out? Blade strategy divides wind turbine makers'|'* Division pits technology ownership against flexibility* Blade design is key - but pricey and complex* Vestas, Gamesa, Nordex outsource - Siemens, Enercon don''tBy Christoph SteitzFRANKFURT, Jan 18 A wave of deals in the wind power industry, waiting to gauge the impact of Donald Trump''s election and Brexit, has highlighted opposing strategies in the production of the most complicated and sensitive turbine components: blades.Companies are at odds over whether to go in-house or out to produce the blades, which can be as long as a football pitch, as they ride out a global M&A frenzy in a sector still reliant on fickle state support.In many ways they face a choice between keeping vital design expertise to themselves, or sharing that design and outsourcing production to react to demand swings. Neither strategy as yet offers a definitive answer on how to reduce costs long-term, although some analysts predict that as in the automobile industry, outsourcing will become the dominant trend.General Electric and Senvion, two of the top 10 global wind turbine makers, recently announced deals to snap up rotor-blades makers in a bet on integration.This conflicts with outsourcing strategies at rivals including Denmark''s Vestas, China''s Goldwind and Spain''s Gamesa, which is merging with insourcing stalwart Siemens'' wind business."There are some parts that are a source of differentiation, so you want to keep ownership of that," said Jean-Marc Lechene, chief operating officer at Vestas, the world''s biggest turbine maker, referring to technology behind the blades.On the other hand, manufacturing can be routine and be shared out which is why these two trends have emerged, he added.Growing uncertainty over future support for renewables - triggered by Trump''s election victory in the United States and Britain''s decision to leave the EU - could tip the balance in favour of outsourcing."Being able to respond to a shift in demand from one country to another is important given that the sector is dependent on political support, which can change quickly," Macquarie analyst Gurpreet Gujral said.Blades account for about a fifth of the component costs for wind turbines - which stand at about 3 million euros ($3.2 million) for the most common models - and are key in determining their power output.As they are constantly exposed to different levels of wind, their design is crucial, yet their construction - which requires adhesives that join different layers of carbon or glass-fibre to dry at exactly the right temperatures - can also be complex.Accidents related to faulty blades - described as the Achilles'' heel of turbine manufacturing - have hit several equipment makers in the past, making a seamless production process absolutely vital.RAT-RACEHard-liners including Germany''s Enercon are cagey about their technology and production techniques, hoping that controlling all steps of the process will give them the upper hand in the highly competitive market.Technology is key to reducing the cost of producing electricity and making wind competitive with fossil fuels.Vestas, by contrast, has outsourced about a fifth of blade production, helping it to raise the volume of produced and shipped turbines by 30 percent in 2015, while costs only rose by a fifth to 6.9 billion euros."Outsourcing can give turbine vendors more flexibility in using globally located independent manufacturers while avoiding the need to build new factories to serve all global markets," said Jesse Broehl, senior analyst at Navigant Research.Transporting blades can be expensive and time-consuming. That''s why turbine makers are prepared to pay a small premium to outsourced providers, several industry sources told Reuters.With margin pressure increasing and prices falling further, the industry is likely to outsource more going forward, said Danny van Doesburg, senior portfolio manager at Dutch APG Asset Management, the seventh-largest shareholder in Vestas."It''s a continuing rat-race of lowering costs similar to what we are witnessing in the car industry. In cars, you see a rule of thumb where you will try to outsource as much as possible," he said.A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that groups with the highest level of in-house production, Siemens and Enercon, tend to be priced at the upper end of the market range.But with the industry continuously weaning off state support around the globe, even stalwart opponents of outsourcing are changing their mind, afraid they will be too expensive and too slow to compete in emerging markets.With a core profit margin of less than 10 percent in its wind power and renewables business, Siemens recently announced it would for the first time ever outsource blade production for its low wind SWT-3.15-142 turbine to LM Wind Power.Steen Broust Nielsen, partner at renewable consultancy MAKE, says: "Winning the game is not only about technology, it''s also about market access." ($1 = 0.9348 euros)(Editing by Alexandra Hudson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/windpower-outsourcing-idINL5N1F73HH'|'2017-01-18T11:01:00.000+02:00' +'c25895697e0ac8aa07211faf166a7cb9c5e29d1d'|'Competition watchdog sees concerns with MasterCard''s VocaLink deal'|'LONDON Britain''s competition watchdog said it has concerns with MasterCard Inc''s ( MA.N ) acquisition of payment processing company VocaLink Holdings."A number of industry participants have raised concerns with the transaction," the Competition and Markets Authority said on Wednesday.The companies are two of three most credible providers of infrastructure services to the LINK network of automated teller machines, the CMA said, meaning the merger could reduce LINK''s negotiating power with those providers if they combined.MasterCard said in July it would buy a 92.4 percent stake in London-based VocaLink Holdings Ltd for about $920 million.(Reporting By Lawrence White; Editing by Susan Fenton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-vocalink-m-a-mastercard-competition-idINKBN14O0JJ'|'2017-01-04T04:26:00.000+02:00' +'1b50855fc1db85c7f6229c3cd9f7f1a247dbbead'|'Close Brothers sees strong first half, reports rise in loan book'|'Business News - Fri Jan 20, 2017 - 7:57am GMT Close Brothers sees strong first half, reports rise in loan book British lender Close Brothers Group said it expected to report strong results for the first half, driven by strength in its banking division and higher trading income from market maker Winterflood. The merchant banking group, which provides loans and wealth management and securities trading services, said the loan book at its banking division rose to 6.6 billion pounds over the five-month period ended Dec. 31, from 6.4 billion pounds at the end of July. Loan book jumped 9.3 percent from a year earlier, driven by growth in the premium finance and property business, the company said. The banking unit saw stable net interest margins, with lower bad debt ratio, the lender said. Market maker Winterflood saw strong retail trading activity throughout the period, Close Brothers said. The company said in September that Winterflood reported an improvement in retail trading activity, driven in part by Britain''s vote to leave the European Union. Total client assets at Close Brothers'' asset management arm fell to 7.8 billion pounds from 8 billion pounds at the end of July, hurt by the disposal of OLIM Investment Managers, which had managed assets worth about 500 million pounds at the end of July. Close Brothers said it expected to deliver a good outcome for the 2017 financial year. (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-close-brothers-outlook-idUKKBN1540R1'|'2017-01-20T14:57:00.000+02:00' +'9d8e061d6d2c6cab44467130a963c7c6a994e222'|'UPDATE 1-Emirates to open up Dubai luxury lounges to lower-tier frequent flyers'|'Industrials 56am EST UPDATE 1-Emirates to open up Dubai luxury lounges to lower-tier frequent flyers (Adds analyst comment) By Alexander Cornwell DUBAI Jan 16 Emirates is opening up its lounges at its Dubai hub to lower-tier frequent flyer members in what is the latest move by the world''s largest long-haul airline to look for new ways to boost revenues. Emirates, which reported a 75 percent drop in half-year profit in November, had previously restricted access to these lounges to higher-tier frequent flier members and business or first class travellers. In an email sent out to Skywards frequent flier members, seen by Reuters, passengers with Blue-tier status, the lowest of four membership categories, can pay $100 to access the airline''s Dubai business lounge and $200 for the first class lounge. An Emirates spokeswoman confirmed to Reuters that the email was sent out to Skywards members. Other changes to the lounge access policy include Skywards members being allowed to pay for access for non-member travel companions and upgrading from business to first class lounges, according to the email dated Jan. 13. Will Horton, senior analyst at CAPA - Centre for Aviation, said there could be higher profit on lounge entrance fees than tickets given that it is rare for guests to consume food and beverages worth more than the fee. "With a proliferation in the number and quality of pay-as-you-go lounges, it makes sense for Emirates to make a play in this space," he told Reuters by email. Emirates, trying to counter the impact of overcapacity in the market and tighter corporate travel budgets, is looking at other additional revenue sources, including fees on bags. The airline introduced fees for advanced seat selection for economy passengers in October. Emirates has said it planned to introduce premium economy, a class between economy and business, by 2018. In a bid to cut costs, Emirates has offered redundancies to staff working in accounting, finance, IT and other head-office departments, sources told Reuters on Dec. 10 The airline has not responded to the report. (Reporting by Alexander Cornwell. Editing by Jane Merriman and Louise Heavens) Next In Industrials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emirates-airline-idUSL5N1F6351'|'2017-01-16T19:56:00.000+02:00' +'6044266588b1f1767f7d75db5f13a2d4b646297b'|'British lender CYBG says first-quarter trading in line with expectations'|'Business News - Mon Jan 30, 2017 - 11:12pm GMT British lender CYBG says first-quarter trading in line with expectations British lender CYBG Plc ( CYBGC.L ), home of Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank, said on Monday its first-quarter net interest margin was unchanged from a year earlier, in line with its expectations, as asset yields came under pressure. The lender said net interest margin in the three months ended Dec. 31 was flat at 222 basis points, and that its trading in the period was in line with its expectations. "As expected, asset yields came under pressure from the start of the period following the August 2016 base rate reduction, along with increased competition in retail lending markets," CYBG said. "We saw the benefits of deposit repricing begin to offset these pressures towards the end of the period, alongside other measures to reduce funding costs, including a modest drawdown on the Bank of England Term Funding Scheme in December." The challenger bank said its overall deposit balances was 27.3 billion pounds as at Dec. 31, up 4.7 percent on an annualised basis compared with Sept. 30, driven by both business and personal accounts. CYBG, which was spun off from National Australia Bank ( NAB.AX ), said its mortgage book was 22.1 billion pounds as at Dec. 31, a growth of 4.4 percent on an annualised basis. The lender''s common equity tier one capital ratio a key measure of financial strength increased to 12.8 percent as at Dec. 31 from 12.6 percent as at Sept. 30. The company said 574 million pounds worth of its lending was to small and medium-sized businesses in the first quarter. CYBG, which is targeting more than 100 million pounds of sustainable cost reductions by 2019, said it was on track to record underlying costs of 690 million to 700 million pounds this fiscal year. The company also maintained its other forecasts for fiscal 2017, including that net interest margin would be broadly flat with the year earlier. (Reporting by Rushil Dutta and Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-cybg-results-idUKKBN15E2SN'|'2017-01-31T06:12:00.000+02:00' +'396642f0a1e2b2012cd21b88158ca05caf4bbf32'|'Japan threatens India with WTO on steel as Trump era heralds rising trade tensions'|' 52am GMT Japan threatens India with WTO on steel as Trump era heralds rising trade tensions left right Kosei Shindo, chairman of the Japan Iron and Steel Federation and president of Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp, attends a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, January 20, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 1/3 left right Chimneys of a steel factory are pictured at an industrial area in Kawasaki, Japan, January 16, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 2/3 left right A chimney of a steel factory is pictured at an industrial area in Kawasaki, Japan, January 16, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 3/3 By Yuka Obayashi - TOKYO TOKYO Japan is threatening to take India to the WTO over restrictions that nearly halved its steel exports to the South Asian nation over the past year, a step that could trigger more trade spats as global tensions over steel and other commodities run high. Such action is rare for Japan. The world''s second-biggest steel producer typically tries to smooth disputes quietly through bilateral talks, but with global trade friction increasing, Japan''s defence of an industry that sells nearly half of its products overseas is getting more vigorous. Besides concern over India''s protection of its domestic steel industry, Japan is also worried about the more rough and tumble climate for global trade being engendered by incoming U.S. President Donald Trump, and feels it must make a strong stand for open and fair international markets. "We need to stop unfair trade actions from spreading," said a Japanese industry ministry official, explaining a Dec. 20 request for WTO dispute consultations with India over steel safeguard duties and a minimum import price for iron and steel products. India imposed duties of up to 20 percent on some hot-rolled flat steel products in September 2015, and set a floor price in February 2016 for steel product imports to deter countries such as China, Japan and South Korea from undercutting local mills. "If consultations fail to resolve the dispute, we may ask adjudication by a WTO panel," the industry ministry official said. Such action could come as soon as 60 days - in February - after its consultation request was filed in December. Tokyo says India''s actions are inconsistent with WTO rules and contributed to the plunge in its steel exports to India, which dropped to 11th-largest on Japan''s buyer list in 2016 through November, down from sixth-largest in 2015. "We are following the WTO guidelines," said a top official at India''s steel ministry, though adding that New Delhi is ready to sit across the table for trade talks. As of Friday, the date of a WTO-led consultation had not been set. GROWING GLOBAL TRADE DISPUTES There has been a series of trade disputes over the past few years amid massive exports of cheap steel products from China, the world''s top producer, with Vietnam, Malaysia and South Africa taking or planning measures to block incoming shipments. China''s steel exports dropped by 3.5 percent in 2016 to 108 million tonnes, still about as much as Japan produces in a year. Japan is also monitoring its small volume of imports for signs of dumping, fearing that steel products with nowhere to turn because of import restrictions may head to it own market. "All trade need to be fair. If there are trades that violate the rules, we will take necessary actions while consulting with our government," Kosei Shindo, chairman of the Japan Iron and Steel Federation, told a news conference on Friday. But in an environment where a new U.S. president is threatening to tear up trade treaties and impose import duties in the world''s biggest economy, Tokyo may be at risk of helping to set off a trade war it is trying to avoid. "We may see a battle of trade litigations especially after Trump takes the helm in the U.S.," said Kazuhito Yamashita, research director at Canon Institute for Global Studies. (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Additional reporting by Neha Dasgupta in NEW DELHI; Editing by Tom Hogue) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-india-steel-idUKKBN1541H4'|'2017-01-20T18:52:00.000+02:00' +'2a15e570dbbb5d8b73ab74e049d292c3d96e4b83'|'European shares steady as Sainsbury''s soars, Cobham tanks'|'Business News - Wed Jan 11, 2017 - 8:19am GMT European shares steady as Sainsbury''s soars, Cobham tanks left right A man walks through the lobby of the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 25, 2015. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett 1/2 left right Traders work at their desks in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, January 9, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote 2/2 LONDON European shares steadied on Tuesday in early deals, with retail stocks back in focus after a well-received update from British grocer Sainsbury ( SBRY.L ), though Cobham ( COB.L ) tanked. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was flat in percentage terms, as was the blue-chip FTSE 100 .FTSE , which held close to a record high of 7,284.81 points reached in the previous session. Sainsbury''s ( SBRY.L ) was the top gainer, jumping more than 5 percent after Britain''s second biggest supermarket beat forecasts for underlying sales in its Christmas quarter. This follows peer Morrison''s ( MRW.L ) strong performance in the previous session after it too reported robust figures. Earnings also buoyed shares in Denmark''s Chr Hansen ( CHRH.CO ), which gained 4.6 percent. British aero engineering firm Cobham ( COB.L ) slumped more than 19 percent, however, after it missed its profit target and scrapped its final dividend. Cobham''s 2016 trading profit fell short of a target it had cut just two months before the year-end because of poor trading. (Reporting by Kit Rees, Editing by Vikram Subhedar) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks-idUKKBN14V0QJ'|'2017-01-11T15:19:00.000+02:00' +'8f311ec2a9e5aa4231843eb6341c80fad6e156b4'|'EFG International CEO says BSI integration entirely on schedule'|'Financials 10:14am EST EFG International CEO says BSI integration entirely on schedule ZURICH Jan 26 EFG International''s integration of BSI Bank, the private bank it bought last year from BTG Pactual, is "entirely on schedule", Chief Executive Joe Straehle said on Thursday. Speaking at a conference organised by Swiss newspaper Finanz und Wirtschaft, Straehle also said he hoped the bank would be able to increase revenues but that this was difficult in the current environment. (Reporting by Joshua Franklin; Editing by Michael Shields) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/efg-intl-bsi-bank-integration-idUSZ8N17V00P'|'2017-01-26T22:14:00.000+02:00' +'f09ecd8822615cc021ceeaaae9174b7ef4a113d8'|'UPDATE 1-Plains All American in $1.22 bln deal to expand Permian presence'|'Commodities 28pm EST Plains All American in $1.22 billion deal to expand Permian presence Plains All American Pipeline LP ( PAA.N ) said it would buy a crude oil gathering system in the Permian Basin for about $1.22 billion, bolstering its presence in the top U.S. oil field. The gathering system, called the Alpha Crude Connector, is located in the northern portion of the Delaware Basin and is supported by acreage dedications from several producers, the company said on Tuesday. In a separate deal, Targa Resources Corp ( TRGP.N ) said it would buy Outrigger Energy''s assets in the Delaware and Midland basins, two of the main portions of the Permian Basin, for up to $1.5 billion. The Permian basin has seen a jump in land acquisitions as producers scramble to gain or expand positions in the oil field, where drilling costs are low, as oil prices recover. "We expect aggregate crude oil production on the dedicated acreage to double over the next two to three years," Plains All American Chief Executive Greg Armstrong said in a statement. Concho Resources Inc ( CXO.N ), which in 2014 formed the ACC in a joint venture with Frontier Midstream Solutions, said it expects to receive net cash proceeds of about $800 million. Gathering volumes in the ACC system averaged about 70,000 barrels per day in the fourth quarter and shipper nominations for January 2017 totaled about 85,000 barrels per day, Plains All American said. The Houston-based pipeline company also said it had agreed to sell assets for about $380 million as part of a larger program. These include two pending transactions and the completion of a third in January. Jefferies LLC served as PAA''s financial adviser, while Norton Rose Fulbright provided legal advice. (Reporting by Komal Khettry in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila) Next In Commodities'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/mergersNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-plains-all-amer-deals-idUSKBN1582W4'|'2017-01-25T05:25:00.000+02:00' +'de8098f4bfe155c5a47b4af13bb119f1e17efb4a'|'AB InBev and Keurig to develop alcoholic drinks dispenser for the home'|'Deals - Fri Jan 6, 2017 - 6:04pm GMT AB InBev and Keurig to develop alcoholic drinks dispenser for the home View of Anheuser-Busch InBev logo outside the brewery headquarters in Leuven August 12, 2010. REUTERS/Jan Van De Vel LONDON Anheuser Busch InBev ( ABI.BR ) and Keurig Green Mountain have teamed up to develop a home appliance that could dispense alcoholic drinks in the home, similar to Keurig''s existing machine for soft drinks. The companies on Friday announced a research and development joint venture that will focus on the North American market with the aim of developing a system that could work with beer, spirits, cocktails and mixers. Financial terms of the venture were not disclosed. AB InBev is the world''s largest brewer with brands like Budweiser and Stella Artois. Keurig is part of privately held JAB Holding, owner of the world''s biggest standalone coffee business. (Reporting by Martinne Geller; editing by Susan Thomas) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-anheuser-busch-keurig-venture-idUKKBN14Q24Y'|'2017-01-07T01:02:00.000+02:00' +'955f493ae09ed5f8c01dff173f9dcb391dc6c3c1'|'Factory goods orders fall, but trend points to recovery'|'Aerospace & Defense - Fri Jan 6, 2017 - 10:05am EST Factory goods orders fall, but trend points to recovery Workers at South Carolina Boeing work on a 787 Dreamliner for Air India at the plant''s final assembly building in North Charleston, South Carolina December 19, 2013. REUTERS/Randall Hill WASHINGTON Jan 6 New orders for U.S.-made goods fell in November, weighed down by a plunge in the volatile civilian aircraft category, but the underlying trend suggested manufacturing is gradually firming. Factory goods orders declined 2.4 percent, the Commerce Department said on Friday after an upwardly revised 2.8 percent increase in October. November''s drop followed four straight months of gains and was the biggest decline since December 2015. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast factory orders decreasing 2.2 percent in November after a previously reported 2.7 percent gain in October. The department also said orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft -- seen as a measure of business confidence and spending plans -- rose 0.9 percent in November as reported last month. Shipments of these so-called core capital goods, which are used to calculate business equipment spending in the gross domestic product report, gained 0.2 percent in November as previously reported. A report this week showed factory activity hitting a two-year high in December, driven by a surge in new orders. Manufacturing, which accounts for about 12 percent of the economy, is gaining some muscle after a prolonged period of decline, spurred by a strong dollar and lower oil prices. The sector is getting a lift from rising oil prices, which have led to an increase in well drilling. Still, manufacturing remains constrained by dollar strength. In November, orders for transportation equipment tumbled 13.2 percent, the largest drop since August 2014, reflecting a 73.8 percent decline in civilian aircraft orders. Orders for primary metals jumped 2.2 percent, the biggest rise since December 2015. Machinery orders increased 1.4 percent, the largest gain since January last year. There were increases in orders for computers and electronic products, and electrical equipment, appliances and components. Shipments of overall factory goods slipped 0.1 percent in November after rising 0.2 percent the prior month. Inventories of factory goods increased 0.2 percent. That left the inventories-to-shipments ratio unchanged at 1.34 in November. Unfilled orders at factories dipped 0.1 percent after rising 0.8 percent in October. (Reporting by Lucia Mutikani, Editing by Andrea Ricci) Next In Aerospace & Defense'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-factory-idUSKBN14Q1S8'|'2017-01-06T22:05:00.000+02:00' +'dbba754db8ef3cc6b26843bd2fb64ea42eaa92f2'|'How Russia sold its oil jewel - without saying who bought it'|'Commodities - Tue Jan 24, 2017 - 3:05pm EST How Russia sold its oil jewel - without saying who bought it left right Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a news conference after a meeting with his Moldovan counterpart Igor Dodon at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool 1/2 left right Workers stand next to a logo of Russia''s Rosneft oil company at the central processing facility of the Rosneft-owned Priobskoye oil field outside the West Siberian city of Nefteyugansk, Russia, August 4, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin 2/2 By Katya Golubkova , Dmitry Zhdannikov and Stephen Jewkes - MOSCOW/LONDON/MILAN MOSCOW/LONDON/MILAN More than a month after Russia announced one of its biggest privatizations since the 1990s, selling a 19.5 percent stake in its giant oil company Rosneft, it still isn''t possible to determine from public records the full identities of those who bought it. The stake was sold for 10.2 billion euros to a Singapore investment vehicle that Rosneft said was a 50/50 joint venture between Qatar and the Swiss oil trading firm Glencore. Unveiling the deal at a televised meeting with Rosneft''s boss Igor Sechin on Dec. 7, President Vladimir Putin called it a sign of international faith in Russia, despite U.S. and EU financial sanctions on Russian firms including Rosneft. "It is the largest privatization deal, the largest sale and acquisition in the global oil and gas sector in 2016," Putin said. It was also one of the biggest transfers of state property into private hands since the early post-Soviet years, when allies of President Boris Yeltsin took control of state firms and became billionaires overnight. But important facts about the deal either have not been disclosed, cannot be determined solely from public records, or appear to contradict the straightforward official account of the stake being split 50/50 by Glencore and the Qataris. For one: Glencore contributed only 300 million euros of equity to the deal, less than 3 percent of the purchase price, which it said in a statement on Dec. 10 had bought it an "indirect equity interest" limited to just 0.54 percent of Rosneft. In addition, public records show the ownership structure of the stake ultimately includes a Cayman Islands company whose beneficial owners cannot be traced. And while Italian bank Intesa SanPaolo leant the Singapore vehicle 5.2 billion euros to fund the deal, and Qatar put in 2.5 billion, the sources of funding for nearly a quarter of the purchase price have not been disclosed by any of the parties. "The main question in relation to this transaction, as ever, still sounds like this: Who is the real buyer of a 19.5 percent stake in Rosneft?" Sergey Aleksashenko, a former deputy head of Russia''s central bank, wrote in a blog last week. Glencore would not comment on the identity of the Cayman Islands firm or give a further explanation of how ownership of the 19.5 percent stake was divided. The Qatari Investment Authority said it would not comment on the deal, beyond confirming that it has participated in it. Rosneft declined to respond to questions posed by Reuters, including a request for comment on how ownership of the 19.5 percent stake was divided, information about the identity of the Cayman Islands buyer, or details of the source of any undisclosed sources of funds. The Kremlin did not respond to a list of questions about the deal sent by Reuters. MATRYOSHKA DOLL Like many large deals, the Rosneft privatization uses a structure of shell companies owning shell companies, commonly referred to in Russia as a "matryoshka", after the wooden nesting dolls that open to reveal a smaller doll inside. Following the trail of ownership leads to a Glencore UK subsidiary and a company that shares addresses with the Qatari Investment Authority, but also to a firm registered in the Cayman Islands, which does not require companies to record publicly who owns them. The Singapore-registered investment vehicle that holds the newly privatized 19.5 percent stake in Rosneft is called QHG Shares. It is owned by a London-registered limited liability partnership, QHG Investments, which in turn lists as one of its two owners another London-registered limited liability partnership, QHG Holding, created on Dec. 5. One of the partners in QHG Holding is QHG Cayman Limited, registered at an address of the Cayman Islands office of Walkers, an international law firm. Jack Boldarin, Walkers managing partner in London, told Reuters the law firm would not be able to confirm whether any company was its client, or comment further. The use of an offshore company is by itself no indication of wrongdoing, but it can make it impossible to determine the true owner of an asset from public records. The Singapore vehicle is also the borrower for Intesa''s 5.2 billion euro loan, and QHG Holdings, the London partnership that includes the Cayman Islands firm, is a guarantor of that debt. Banking experts say Intesa would be required by "know your customer" rules to verify the borrowers'' identities. Regulators would exercise heightened scrutiny because of the size of the deal and the need to comply with sanctions on Russia. Reuters asked Intesa whether it knew who the beneficial owners of the Cayman company were. The bank replied with a statement: "Intesa Sanpaolo does not comment on the details of its client operations. But we wish to reiterate that the financing was completed with strict adherence to the regulations applicable to embargoes. Italian authorities found nothing that would prohibit such an operation." The Italian central bank, which serves as Italy''s banking regulator, declined to comment. (For a graphic showing the ownership of the privatized stake, click on: tmsnrt.rs/2jJvBpk ) MYSTERY FINANCING If the full identity of the new owners of the Rosneft stake is a mystery, so too is the complete source of the funds with which they bought it. Although Qatar has never publicly confirmed how much it has contributed to the deal or the size of the stake that it bought, Glencore and Rosneft say it contributed 2.5 billion euros. Along with the 300 million from Glencore and the 5.2 billion loaned by Intesa, that still leaves a shortfall of 2.2 billion euros. Glencore has said this additional money came from other, undisclosed banks, including Russian banks, but has given no further details. The Qataris and Rosneft have declined to comment on the source of this funding. The purpose of Russia''s privatization program is to attract overseas money to cover a budgetary shortfall caused by low oil prices and Western sanctions. Putin has therefore banned Russian state-owned banks from participating in the financing of privatization deals, which would defeat the aim of bringing in foreign capital. But public records in Singapore show that Russia''s second-largest bank, state-controlled VTB, loaned the Singapore vehicle QHG Shares the full 10.2 billion euros that it paid to the Russian state last month to buy the stake. VTB held the 19.5 percent Rosneft stake as collateral for that loan for part of December, before relinquishing it back to Rosneft''s state-owned parent company Rosneftegaz, which in turn relinquished it back to the Singapore vehicle when Intesa''s loan arrived in January. VTB and Rosneft say VTB''s role in the deal was solely to reduce market turbulence which would have arisen if the 10.2 billion euros had arrived abruptly from abroad to be converted to roubles on the open market. Apart from saying that its role was to reduce market volatility, VTB declined to comment further, including when asked if the full 10.2 billion euros was paid back, or by whom. FINDING A BUYER Rosneft is the world''s biggest listed oil company by output and, along with natural gas export monopoly Gazprom, one of two crown jewels of the Russian state. Even at the best of times without the added risk of Western sanctions, there would only be a few foreign investors with deep enough pockets to buy a big stake. Glencore, one of the main buyers of Rosneft''s crude, has Qatar''s $335 billion sovereign wealth fund, the QIA, as its largest shareholder. Russia and Qatar have backed opposite sides for years in the war in Syria, but as the world''s two leading natural gas exporters they have good reason to cooperate on energy issues and bury some of their differences over Middle East policy. "The idea looked appealing to Qatar. They like investing in energy. They saw upside in Rosneft. They saw upside in building relations with Russia, whose role in the Middle East politics is only set to rise," said one source involved in talks among members of the Qatar/Glencore consortium about the purchase. According to a source close to Rosneft''s management board, the deal came as a surprise to Rosneft''s shareholders, including Britain''s BP ( BP.L ), which itself owns 19.75 percent of Rosneft and is represented on its board. The Rosneft board learned about the sale from Sechin himself only on Dec. 7, several hours after Sechin recorded his televised meeting with Putin announcing it, the source said. In response to questions from Reuters, BP said: "Matters of the board of directors are confidential." Two sources in the Russian government said the deal was also a surprise there: it had been agreed between Sechin and Putin''s Kremlin, above the cabinet. "Sechin did it all on his own - the government did not take part in this," one of the sources said. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev''s spokeswoman Natalia Timakova said: "All documents and procedures needed for privatization were prepared and executed on time." ($1 = 59.2518 roubles) (Additional reporting by Peter Graff in LONDON, Valentina Za in MILAN, Tom Finn in DOHA, Vladimir Soldatkin, Oksana Kobzeva, Darya Korsunskaya, Polina Nikolskaya, Andrey Ostroukh and Vladimir Abramov in MOSCOW; Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov and Peter Graff) Next In Commodities Saudi oil output, exports to drop in January: sources, data DUBAI/LONDON Saudi Arabia''s oil output is likely to drop to around 9.9 million barrels per day in January and exports are down from December, according to industry sources and shipping data, as the OPEC heavyweight plays its part in a global supply-cut deal. Glencore eyes more Brazil mills after recent acquisition: sources SAO PAULO Swiss commodities trader Glencore Plc is considering additional sugar and ethanol mills takeovers in Brazil, where it recently bought a second plant, to ramp up operations in the world''s No. 1 sugar producer, three people familiar with the plan said on Tuesday. Peabody Energy Corp , the world''s largest private sector coal producer, stood by its current bankruptcy exit plan on Tuesday, saying in court papers that no alternative proposal satisfies its reorganization goals. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Taboola Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-rosneft-privatisation-insight-idUSKBN1582OH'|'2017-01-25T03:05:00.000+02:00' +'fc750db7f084b840bd083a1bfaae11692bad364e'|'Saudi finance ministry says no fees on remittances out of the country'|' 45am EST Saudi finance ministry says no fees on remittances out of the country RIYADH Jan 22 The Saudi finance ministry said on Sunday there would be no fees applied on remittances out of the country, days after the kingdom''s advisory Shura Council said it was considering a proposal to impose a 6 percent levy on expatriate remittances. Saudi Arabia is "committed to the principle of free movement of capital in and out of the kingdom, in line with international standards," the ministry''s official Twitter account said. (Reporting by Katie Paul. Editing by Jane Merriman) Next In Financials Americans won''t lose coverage in health law reform - Trump aide WASHINGTON, Jan 22 The Trump administration will not allow 20 million people who rely on the Affordable Care Act for their health insurance to go without coverage when the law, known as Obamacare, is repealed and replaced with a new plan, a senior White House official said on Sunday. UPDATE 1-Syrian rebels call on Russia to help defend ceasefire ASTANA, Jan 22 A Syrian rebel group called on Russia to withstand pressure from Iran and the Syrian government to help ensure that a ceasefire agreed last month holds, the head of a delegation at peace talks told Reuters on Sunday. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Taboola Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/saudi-tax-remittances-idUSL5N1FC0P7'|'2017-01-22T22:45:00.000+02:00' +'4d0732de9c9358bf49c87a82969957e77ebe38ac'|'UPDATE 1-Motor racing-F1 body approves Liberty Media takeover'|'* FIA approves transfer of F1 commercial rights* Liberty Media taking over from CVC Capital Partners* Formula one''s governing body also a shareholder (Adds detail)By Alan BaldwinLONDON, Jan 18 Liberty Media''s Formula One takeover cleared another key hurdle on Wednesday with the sport''s governing body unanimously approving the deal.The Paris-based International Automobile Federation (FIA) said in a statement that its World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) approved the change of commercial rights holder at an extraordinary meeting in Geneva."Liberty, Formula One Group and the FIA intend to collaborate to create a constructive relationship that will ensure the continued success and the development of the FIA Formula One World Championship in the long term," it said.Liberty Media, controlled by U.S. cable television mogul John Malone, acquired an initial 18.7 percent stake from private equity firm CVC Capital Partners and is due to complete a cash and shares deal by first quarter 2017.CVC took control of the sport, a global championship with 20 races this year, in March 2006 and has since recouped its money many times over.The Liberty deal, which needs the approval of the FIA and European anti-trust regulators, has been valued at $8 billion and represents a major shake-up in the sport.Shareholders in Colorado-based Liberty Media voted on Tuesday to approve funding and changes related to the takeover.The WMSC, which usually meets four times a year, is the governing body''s top decision-making body and includes president Jean Todt and Formula One''s 86-year-old commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone.The FIA said Liberty Media representatives had made a detailed presentation of their strategy to the council."The members of the World Motor Sport Council then had the opportunity to ask questions about the specifics of the agreement, the ongoing working relationship with the FIA and Liberty''s plans for the sport," it added."The World Motor Sport Council''s decision confirms the FIA''s belief that Liberty, as a renowned media organisation with expertise in both sport and entertainment, is clearly well positioned to ensure the continued development of its pinnacle championship."The FIA holds a one percent stake in Delta Topco, Formula One''s holding company that owns the commercial rights.The governing body said that it would be "dragged along in the sale process under the same conditions as CVC and all the other shareholders" and looked forward to working with the new owners and helping to develop the sport.Liberty Media has interests in the Atlanta Braves baseball team, satellite radio service Sirius XM, entertainment group Live Nation and minority interests in Time Warner and Viacom. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ed Osmond and Toby Davis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/motor-f1-liberty-fia-idINL4N1F84RN'|'2017-01-18T15:32:00.000+02:00' +'1ff0bd6a4e916ddf996a6135f0c2aaa268dd1e88'|'Global Economy Weekahead - to get first sign of economic health -'|'By Philip Blenkinsop - BRUSSELS BRUSSELS Donald Trump''s policy plans in his first days in office are likely to dominate headlines in the coming week, but the new president himself will also get a first read-out on the health of the U.S. economy.And for all his call to make American great again, data should confirm that the economy is clipping along at a healthy rate even before Trump''s promised tax cuts and infrastructure spending.While Trump has talked of a feverish first full day - with orders and notifications to withdraw from the TPP trans-Pacific trade pact, cancellation of restrictions of energy production and curbs on illegal immigrants - the economic diary is light.Further details of a stimulus package, which could be watered down by Congress, could be the dominant economic event.Other than that, a week before the monetary policy meetings of the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan and a week after a European Central Bank sitting, the stand-out figures are likely to be first estimates for U.S. growth on Friday and for British growth a day earlier.The U.S. economy is seen expanding by an annualised rate of 2.2 percent in the final quarter of 2016, easing from the 3.5 percent of third quarter as net trade turns negative, but with solid consumption growth and a reduced drag from the energy price collapse that hit investment."We''re seeing a lot of momentum in some areas of the economy," said Laura Rosner, economist at BNP Paribas. "It''s a bit of a step down, but is still very healthy and really should support expectations for further growth and expansion.""It''s an important number but at the same time markets are focused on the outlook, particularly given all the potential policy changes," she added.Rosner, like other economists, sees U.S. growth accelerating this year and next, buoyed by the fiscal stimulus.Harm Bandholz, chief U.S. economist at UniCredit, sees the effect of that being at the end of 2017, but says there is then a risk increased consumption hikes imports, leading to a call for growth-draining trade protection.According to a Reuters poll in the past week, the top risk to U.S. growth is that Trump keeps his protectionist promises. [ECILT/US]BREXIT HIT FOR UK ECONOMY IN 2017?In Britain, it is the week after Prime Minister Theresa May''s big speech on Britain''s plans to leave the European Union. The chief Brexit news is likely to be Tuesday''s supreme court ruling on parliamentary involvement in triggering the EU''s Article 50 exit clause.Britain too will report a first estimate for economic growth in the fourth quarter. Like the United States, GDP is seen easing, to 0.5 percent quarter-on-quarter from 0.6 percent in the July-Sept period.James Knightley, ING senior economist, said the report is likely to confirm that the UK economy grew faster than that of the United States, the euro zone and Japan in 2016. However, the outlook for 2017 is less rosy."Inflation is going to rise, driven by import costs for energy and food, particularly as hedged positions end. This should weaken consumer spending, while the triggering of Article 50 could lead to business being more cautious," Knightley said.For the euro zone, purchasing manager indexes should confirm continued steady growth across industry and services in January.In Europe''s largest economy, business sentiment is forecast to push slightly beyond December''s near three-year high in Ifo''s report on Wednesday, with both the assessment of current conditions and expectations ticking higher.The mood among German analysts and investors improved slightly in January, figures showed on Tuesday, with rising expectations "a leap of faith for 2017" after a stronger-than-expected economic performance by Germany last year.Elsewhere, Turkey is one of few countries where central bank policymakers will meet faced, like many emerging markets, with a challenge from the strong dollar. Its central bank will undergo a credibility test, with investors hoping for a significant interest rate hike after attempts to defend the Turkish lira with liquidity measures proved ineffective.(Reporting By Philip Blenkinsop)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-economy-idINKBN1542WL'|'2017-01-20T19:38:00.000+02:00' +'5c27cbf59828d1b9cb5edf8fe66eb72f2155d23e'|'Fitch Rates Regency Centers'' 2027 and 2047 Notes ''BBB+''; Outlook Stable'|'Financials 12:57pm EST Fitch Rates Regency Centers'' 2027 and 2047 Notes ''BBB+''; Outlook Stable (The following statement was released by the rating agency) NEW YORK, January 17 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings has assigned a ''BBB+'' credit rating to the senior unsecured notes due 2027 and 2047 issued by Regency Center Corp.''s (NYSE: REG) operating partnership Regency Centers, L.P. (collectively, REG or the company). KEY RATING DRIVERS Fitch views the pending merger transaction between the company and Equity One, Inc. (EQY) positively given the quality of EQY''s portfolio, its geographic overlap with REG''s in higher barrier to entry markets and the potential for the issuer to have improved access to debt and equity capital as the largest shopping center REIT. These positive elements are unlikely to result in a materially stronger credit at the onset but could over time as the pro forma leverage is largely consistent with Fitch''s projections when it last upgraded REG in August 2016. A key factor supporting further positive rating momentum is REG''s demonstration of access to leading capital markets across the broader REIT universe. POSITIVE MOVEMENT IN CREDIT METRICS Fitch expects leverage will settle around 5.0x after the transaction closes. REG''s pro rata leverage was 4.3x as of Sept. 30, 2016, down from 5.1x and 5.5x as of Dec. 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. The company has improved leverage primarily due to common equity issuance to fund acquisitions and development. This improvement will be offset slightly given the company''s anticipated use of bond offering proceeds to redeem its perpetual preferred shares. Fitch projects REG''s pro rata fixed charge coverage will sustain in the low 3x range through 2018. STABLE FUNDAMENTALS Operating fundamentals for shopping centers remain favorable, driven in large part by limited new supply. Pro rata same-store property net operating income (NOI) has grown 3.4% year-to-date, a slight deceleration from the approximately 4% growth of 2012-2015. Rent growth has been strong for both new leases and renewals in recent years and is the primary factor driving NOI growth given relatively stable occupancies. Fitch expects that same-property NOI will continue to grow in the low single digits through 2018 with the company maintaining its current occupancy rate. STRONG UA / UD; SUFFICIENT LIQUIDITY TO CLOSE TRANSACTION REG''s unencumbered asset (UA) pool provides ample contingent liquidity to unsecured bondholders. Fitch expects REG''s UA coverage of unsecured debt to sustain around 3.0x during the projection period. This ratio is good for the ''BBB+'' rating, and Fitch does not envision it deteriorating materially pro forma for the EQY transaction. Fitch expects REG has adequate liquidity to close the transaction given the all-stock equity consideration and the expectation that EQY''s private placement debt will be assumed by the issuer. MODERATE GEOGRAPHIC CONCENTRATION TO INCREASE REG''s community and neighborhood shopping center portfolio has moderate geographic and anchor tenant concentrations which will likely concentrate further pro forma for EQY. Over 75% of REG''s annualized base rent will be derived from its top 25 markets pro forma with the highest concentration in California, although many of the assets and markets REG is acquiring are of solid quality. Pro forma for the merger, REG''s three largest tenants by annual base rent (ABR) will represent 9.1% of ABR down from 11.2%. The company''s three largest tenants are Publix Super Markets Inc. (3.1%), The Kroger Co. (3%, IDR ''BBB''), and Safeway (2.9%). PRO RATA RATIONALE Fitch looks at REG''s property portfolio profile, credit statistics, debt maturities, and liquidity position based on combining its wholly-owned properties and its pro rata share of co-investment partnerships, to analyze the company as if each of the co-investment partnerships was dissolved via distribution in kind. Several of REG''s co-investment partnerships provide for unilateral dissolution. Most of these co-investment partnerships provide for a distribution in kind in the event of a dissolution, whereby REG and its limited partner unwind the partnership by distributing the underlying properties (and related property-level debt, if any) to each partner based on each partner''s respective ownership percentage in the partnership. Further, the company has supported its co-investment partnerships in the past by raising common equity to repay or refinance its share of secured debt, demonstrating its willingness to de-lever these partnerships. Fitch views REG''s partnership platform positively as it provides REG with broader market insights and incremental fee and property income. Via follow-on common equity offerings, the company has also reduced leverage in its partnerships to levels consistent with leverage on the wholly-owned consolidated portfolio. STABLE OUTLOOK The Stable Outlook reflects Fitch''s view that REG''s operating fundamentals will remain favorable over the next 12 to 24 months and that the issuer will maintain credit metrics consistent with the ''BBB+'' rating. KEY ASSUMPTIONS Fitch''s key assumptions within the rating case for REG include: --Same-store revenue growth in the mid 2% range for 2016-2018; --Acquisitions of $100 million in both 2017 and 2018, all at a 4.5% yield; --Dispositions of $100 million in both 2017 and 2018 all at a 6.5% yield; --Additional (re)development spending of $175 in 2017 and $200 million in 2018; --All secured debt is refinanced dollar for dollar at fixed rates starting at 4.75% in 2017 and rising to 5% by 2018. RATING SENSITIVITIES The following factors may have a positive impact on REG''s ratings: --Demonstrated market-leading capital markets access across the broader REIT universe; --Fitch''s expectation of pro rata leverage sustaining below 4.5x for several quarters; --Fitch''s expectation of fixed charge coverage sustaining above 3.0x for several quarters. The following factors may have a negative impact on REG''s ratings and/or Outlook: --Fitch''s expectation of leverage sustaining above 5.5x for several quarters; --Fitch''s expectation of fixed charge coverage sustaining below 2.5x for several quarters. Fitch currently rates Regency as follows: Regency Centers Corporation --Issuer Default Rating (IDR) ''BBB+''; --Preferred Stock ''BBB-''. Regency Centers, L.P. --IDR ''BBB+''; --Unsecured Revolving Facility ''BBB+''; --Senior Unsecured Term Loan ''BBB+''; --Senior Unsecured Notes ''BBB+''. The Rating Outlook is Stable. Contact: Primary Analyst Steven Marks Managing Director +1-212-908-9161 Fitch Ratings, Inc. 33 Whitehall Street New York, NY 10004 Secondary Analyst Ronald Nirenberg Director +1-212-612-7747 Committee Chairperson Michael Paladino, CFA Managing Director +1-212-908-9113 Media Relations: Sandro Scenga, New York, Tel: +1 212-908-0278, Email: sandro.scenga@fitchratings.com. Date of Relevant Rating Committee: Nov. 15, 2016 SUMMARY OF KEY FINANCIAL STATEMENT ADJUSTMENTS A summary of financial adjustments includes combining the financial results of REG''s wholly-owned properties and its pro-rata share of co-investment partnerships, Fitch''s exclusion of non-cash stock-based compensation in G&A expense, and exclusion of noncontrolling interest associated with the operating partnership in calculating leverage and coverage. Additional information is available at ''www.fitchratings.com''. Applicable Criteria Criteria for Rating Non-Financial Corporates (pub. 27 Sep 2016) here Treatment and Notching of Hybrids in Non-Financial Corporate and REIT Credit Analysis (pub. 29 Feb 2016) here Additional Disclosures Solicitation Status here Endorsement Policy here ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: here . IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY''S PUBLIC WEB SITE AT WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA, AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH''S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE, AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE CODE OF CONDUCT SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. 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The manner of Fitch''s factual investigation and the scope of the third-party verification it obtains will vary depending on the nature of the rated security and its issuer, the requirements and practices in the jurisdiction in which the rated security is offered and sold and/or the issuer is located, the availability and nature of relevant public information, access to the management of the issuer and its advisers, the availability of pre-existing third-party verifications such as audit reports, agreed-upon procedures letters, appraisals, actuarial reports, engineering reports, legal opinions and other reports provided by third parties, the availability of independent and competent third- party verification sources with respect to the particular security or in the particular jurisdiction of the issuer, and a variety of other factors. Users of Fitch''s ratings and reports should understand that neither an enhanced factual investigation nor any third-party verification can ensure that all of the information Fitch relies on in connection with a rating or a report will be accurate and complete. Ultimately, the issuer and its advisers are responsible for the accuracy of the information they provide to Fitch and to the market in offering documents and other reports. In issuing its ratings and its reports, Fitch must rely on the work of experts, including independent auditors with respect to financial statements and attorneys with respect to legal and tax matters. Further, ratings and forecasts of financial and other information are inherently forward-looking and embody assumptions and predictions about future events that by their nature cannot be verified as facts. As a result, despite any verification of current facts, ratings and forecasts can be affected by future events or conditions that were not anticipated at the time a rating or forecast was issued or affirmed. The information in this report is provided "as is" without any representation or warranty of any kind, and Fitch does not represent or warrant that the report or any of its contents will meet any of the requirements of a recipient of the report. A Fitch rating is an opinion as to the creditworthiness of a security. This opinion and reports made by Fitch are based on established criteria and methodologies that Fitch is continuously evaluating and updating. Therefore, ratings and reports are the collective work product of Fitch and no individual, or group of individuals, is solely responsible for a rating or a report. The rating does not address the risk of loss due to risks other than credit risk, unless such risk is specifically mentioned. 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Fitch receives fees from issuers, insurers, guarantors, other obligors, and underwriters for rating securities. Such fees generally vary from US$1,000 to US$750,000 (or the applicable currency equivalent) per issue. In certain cases, Fitch will rate all or a number of issues issued by a particular issuer, or insured or guaranteed by a particular insurer or guarantor, for a single annual fee. Such fees are expected to vary from US$10,000 to US$1,500,000 (or the applicable currency equivalent). The assignment, publication, or dissemination of a rating by Fitch shall not constitute a consent by Fitch to use its name as an expert in connection with any registration statement filed under the United States securities laws, the Financial Services and Markets Act of 2000 of the United Kingdom, or the securities laws of any particular jurisdiction. Due to the relative efficiency of electronic publishing and distribution, Fitch research may be available to electronic subscribers up to three days earlier than to print subscribers. For Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and South Korea only: Fitch Australia Pty Ltd holds an Australian financial services license (AFS license no. 337123) which authorizes it to provide credit ratings to wholesale clients only. Credit ratings information published by Fitch is not intended to be used by persons who are retail clients within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 Next In Financials Trump Commerce nominee Ross to divest assets worth up to $187 million WASHINGTON, Jan 17 Wilbur Ross, President-elect Donald Trump''s nominee for Commerce Secretary, has pledged to divest assets worth about $62 million to $187 million and resign his corporate board seats, but the billionaire investor intends to retain his interests in mortgage lending and transoceanic shipping.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFit986757'|'2017-01-18T00:57:00.000+02:00' +'2b16acb2af93d0c0fb90db4a8cdcc6159296fa4c'|'France''s Mediawan in talks to buy TV broadcaster Groupe AB'|'Deals 9:07am GMT France''s Mediawan in talks to buy TV broadcaster Groupe AB Pierre-Antoine Capton, CEO of Mediawan, poses during a ceremony for the debuts of Mediawan, a company set up to buy European media and entertainment businesses, on Euronext Paris stock market at La Defense business and financial district in Courbevoie near Paris, France,... REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen By Matthieu Protard - PARIS PARIS Mediawan ( MDWP_p.PA ), a media acquisition vehicle founded by well-known personalities including telecoms billionaire Xavier Niel and Lazard banker Matthieu Pigasse, is in talks to buy Groupe AB to expand in the television sector. Mediawan has offered 270 million euros ($289 million) to buy the French broadcasting group, it said in a statement on Monday, with French TV group TF1 ( TFFP.PA ) selling its 33.5 percent stake to Mediawan as part of the planned deal. "Our plan is a simple one. It''s to use Groupe AB, which will be renamed Mediawan, to create the leading European company in terms of content, and in terms of different areas such as production, catalogs and distribution," Pigasse told Reuters. Mediawan listed on the Paris stock market last year. The company was set up by Pierre-Antoine Capton, founder of French media producer 3e Oeil Productions, and Le Monde newspaper and L''Obs magazine co-owners Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse. Niel also controls and founded telecom group Iliad ( ILD.PA ). Pigasse said Mediawan was in talks with other European media companies over potential deals, and that they hoped to recreate a "Big Bang" in the media sector similar to the wave of deals in London after the "Big Bang" bank deregulation of the late 1980s. "We are already in talks with other European companies based outside France, at least five of them. We''re looking to launch the start of a major ''Big Bang'' in the sector," Pigasse said. (Writing by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Andrew Callus and Louise Heavens) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-mediawan-tf1-groupe-ab-idUKKBN15E0QF'|'2017-01-30T16:04:00.000+02:00' +'9a3f00584ed51124743324f617eefefe2fcba110'|'China economic growth to slow slightly this year as policymakers focus on risks - Reuters poll'|'Business News - Wed Jan 18, 2017 - 6:20am GMT China economic growth to slow slightly this year as policymakers focus on risks: Reuters poll A Chinese flag is seen near a construction site in Beijing''s central business area, China, January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee BEIJING China''s economy will likely expand 6.5 percent this year as authorities tolerate a further slowdown so they can focus on containing increasing financial risks, but a weakening yuan will complicate their policy choices, a Reuters poll showed. The forecast would represent only a mild cooling from 2016''s expected growth of 6.7 percent, but would likely mark the seventh straight year of slower growth as China looks to reign in excessive debt and increasingly unproductive investment while boosting the consumer sector. The forecast for 6.5 percent growth this year was unchanged from an October poll. China''s economy picked up towards the end of last year, supported by higher government spending and record bank lending, putting it on track to meet the government''s target of 6.5-7 percent growth. Economists expect China''s economy likely grew by a steady 6.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016, the same pace as in the previous three quarters, according to a Reuters poll. China will announce Q4 and 2016 GDP growth on Friday. But Beijing''s decision to double down on spending may have come at a high price, as policymakers will have their hands full this year trying to defuse financial risks created by the explosive growth in debt. China will lower its 2017 economic growth target to around 6.5 percent, policy sources said, reinforcing a policy shift from supporting growth to pushing reforms to contain debt and housing risks. Growth will likely weaken further to 6.2 percent in 2018, the Reuters poll of 57 economists showed, as China deals with a debt ratio that will likely surpass 285 percent of GDP this year, Gene Frieda, global emerging markets strategist at asset management giant PIMCO, said in a note this week. On a quarterly basis, China''s economy is expected to slow from 6.6 percent growth in the first quarter of 2017 to 6.5 percent in the second and third quarters, and then hit 6.4 percent in the fourth quarter, the poll showed. Analysts also expect annual inflation to average 2.2 percent in 2017 and 2018, picking up slightly from an expected 2 percent in 2016. Sluggish demand is expected to keep consumer prices largely in check despite a big bump in producer prices in late 2016. POLICY OUTLOOK With the economy stabilizing, economists have dropped calls for fresh monetary easing amid concerns that it could aggravate rising debt levels and speculative activities and as the policy focus shifts to supporting the yuan, the poll showed. Lower interest rates in China could put further pressure on the yuan to depreciate amid expectations of rising rates in the United States, which are boosting the dollar. The yuan fell 6.6 percent against the dollar in 2016, and currency strategists in a separate Reuters poll predicted it would weaken by over 4 percent this year. China''s central bank has been fighting a weakening yuan and capital outflows by spending down the country''s foreign exchange reserves and tightening controls on money leaving the country. The country''s forex reserves fell to about $3 trillion at the end of 2016, a decline of almost $1 trillion since mid-2014, while outbound investment in December fell by almost 40 percent. Analysts believe the PBOC will keep benchmark interest rates unchanged at 4.35 percent through at least the second quarter of 2018, the Reuters poll showed, with policymakers vowing monetary policy will be neutral. That compares with previous expectations of a 25 basis point interest rate cut in the fourth quarter of 2017, according to a Reuters poll in October, as economic activity remains robust and risks of asset bubbles in housing and commodities have grown. The central bank will cut the amount of cash that banks are required to hold as reserves by 50 basis points (bps) in the third quarter this year to 16.50 percent, according to the poll. Banks'' reserve requirement ratios (RRR) will then likely fall to 16 percent by the second quarter of 2018. Economists polled in October had expected a 50 bps cut in RRR in the first quarter of this year. (Reporting by Elias Glenn; Polling by Shaloo Shrivastava and Khushboo Mittal; Editing by Kim Coghill) Next In Business News U.S. lobby says China protectionism fuelling foreign business pessimism BEIJING More than 80 percent of members of a U.S. business lobby in China say foreign companies are less welcome than in the past, a survey released on Wednesday showed, with most saying they have little confidence in China''s vows to open its markets.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-poll-idUKKBN1520JL'|'2017-01-18T13:19:00.000+02:00' +'510240499863cca06773ef269219f2d090aab944'|'UPDATE 1-On sensitive U.S. stopover, Taiwan leader connects to Twitter'|'(Adds details on Twitter account, meeting)By Jane Lanhee LeeSAN FRANCISCO Jan 14 Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, carving a careful diplomatic path on her stopovers in the United States, visited the headquarters of micro-messaging service Twitter Inc on Saturday and created a new account.A source with knowledge of the president''s travel through San Francisco told Reuters she opened a Twitter account in English. Tsai already has a Chinese language account which she has not used in a few years.Another source at the meeting said Tsai met with Twitter General Counsel Vijaya Gadde and that CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey was not present.Pictures of the visit posted online showed the president reactivating her presence on the messaging service and posing in front of the famous photo that crashed Twitter - 2014 Oscars host Ellen DeGeneres'' "selfie" with top Hollywood celebrities.Tsai was returning from a week-long visit to Central America. But it was her stopovers in the United States that raised more interest after President-elect Donald Trump said last month he would reconsider the long-standing "one China" policy, whereby the United States acknowledges the Chinese position that there is only one China and that Taiwan is part of China.He reiterated that possibility in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Friday, a week before his inauguration. China responded that the "one China" principle was the non-negotiable political basis for China-U.S. relations.Trump took a congratulatory call from Tsai after his Nov. 8 victory, sparking outrage from China, which believes the Taiwanese leader wants to seek formal independence from the mainland.Tsai made a stopover in Houston on Jan. 7 and 8 before heading to Central America and arrived Friday night in San Francisco on her way back home. She did not appear to have met with any representatives of the Trump team during her short U.S. stays. But in Houston last Sunday, she met with Republican U.S. Senator Ted Cruz and Texas Governor Greg Abbott and sparked more ire in Beijing.China had asked the United States not to allow Tsai to enter or have formal government meetings under the one China policy.Cruz was pointed in his criticism of the Chinese, saying they needed to "understand that in America we make decisions about meeting with visitors for ourselves."Beijing considers self-governing Taiwan a renegade province ineligible for state-to-state relations. The subject is a sensitive one for China.More than a hundred people were gathered outside the Hyatt Regency near San Francisco International Airport, some to protest and some to support the president.Tsai wound up her trip with a lunch for 800 people from the Taiwanese community before her scheduled departure for Taiwan in the afternoon. (Writing by Mary Milliken; Editing by Matthew Lewis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/california-taiwan-idINL1N1F40JO'|'2017-01-14T21:06:00.000+02:00' +'8dea6b5635df46d88484c59cccfe656ca52c45f1'|'Fitch: New S2 Data to Reveal Insurers Most Exposed to Low Rates'|'Financials 02am EST Fitch: New S2 Data to Reveal Insurers Most Exposed to Low Rates (The following statement was released by the rating agency) LONDON, January 23 (Fitch) Solvency II (S2) ratios excluding the benefit of transitional measures will shed new light on insurers'' exposure to low bond yields, when they are published for the first time later this year, Fitch Ratings says in a new report. Fitch will strip out the impact of transitional measures on technical provisions (TMTPs) to analyse insurers'' underlying S2 ratios, starting with the German life sector, where large asset-liability duration gaps on business with long-term investment guarantees generate significant exposure to low yields. Until now, this exposure has been largely hidden by local accounting and the widespread use of TMTPs, which mitigate the increase in provisions for interest-sensitive business under S2. S2 ratios excluding TMTPs should be reasonably comparable between German life insurers, giving a meaningful indication of their relative capital strength, reflecting their exposure to interest-rate risk. This should help to inform our overall view of their capital. We will dig deeper into any insurer whose underlying S2 ratio relative to peers'' is out of line with our expectations. If this leads to a material change in our capital assessment, we may change ratings. Even excluding transitional measures, S2 ratios may not always be readily comparable. Some German life insurers hold material peripheral eurozone sovereign debt, but the S2 standard formula does not differentiate between this and ''AAA'' German sovereign debt, treating all eurozone sovereigns as risk-free. Differences between internal models and the standard formula, and the 4.2% ultimate forward rate to extrapolate the curve for valuing long liabilities, also affect comparability. Insurers must publish Quantitative Report Templates based on end-2016 data by 20 May 2017 for solo entities and 1 July 2017 for groups. These reports will show own funds and solvency capital requirements excluding the benefit of the 16-year TMTPs. S2 equivalence remains a key obstacle to the direct use of S2 metrics in ratings. For example, Aegon, Allianz, AXA and Prudential have large US operations, for which they feed US-based regulatory capital metrics into their group S2 ratios. This reflects the S2 equivalence granted to the US by the EC, which avoided the potentially awkward imposition of S2 on US businesses. However, US regulatory capital calculations differ significantly from S2, and group S2 ratios based on a blend of US and S2 numbers may be far from true S2. We continue to assess insurers'' capital based primarily on our Prism Factor-Based Capital Model (see www.fitchratings.com/prismfbm), as we believe Prism scores are more comparable across markets than S2 metrics. We are not using S2 metrics directly in our ratings, but we evaluate S2 disclosures as supplementary information to enhance our understanding of insurers'' risk profiles. In the longer term, if S2 calculation methods stabilise and converge or become more comparable, we may place more weight on S2 metrics. The report "New Solvency II Data to Reveal Insurers Most Exposed to Low Bond Yields" is available at www.fitchratings.com or by clicking on the link above. Contact: David Prowse Senior Director Insurance +44 20 3530 1250 Fitch Ratings Limited 30 North Colonnade London E14 5GN Sam Mageed Director Insurance +44 20 3530 1704 Simon Kennedy Senior Analyst Fitch Wire +44 20 3530 1387 Media Relations: Athos Larkou, London, Tel: +44 203 530 1549, Email: athos.larkou@fitchratings.com. The above article originally appeared as a post on the Fitch Wire credit market commentary page. The original article can be accessed at www.fitchratings.com. All opinions expressed are those of Fitch Ratings. Related Research New Solvency II Data to Reveal Insurers Most Exposed to Low Bond Yields here ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: here . IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY''S PUBLIC WEB SITE AT WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA, AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH''S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE, AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE CODE OF CONDUCT SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE. Copyright 2017 by Fitch Ratings, Inc., Fitch Ratings Ltd. and its subsidiaries. 33 Whitehall Street, NY, NY 10004. Telephone: 1-800-753-4824, (212) 908-0500. Fax: (212) 480-4435. Reproduction or retransmission in whole or in part is prohibited except by permission. All rights reserved. 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Credit ratings information published by Fitch is not intended to be used by persons who are retail clients within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFit986950'|'2017-01-23T18:02:00.000+02:00' +'8f944ca4a3b5228ea99f8e98744fae36eb90199e'|'Czech central bank''s FX cap exit likely in mid-2017 -Benda'|'Financials 29am EST Czech central bank''s FX cap exit likely in mid-2017 -Benda PRAGUE Jan 24 The Czech central bank is likely to ditch its cap on the crown in mid-2017, board member Vojtech Benda said on Tuesday, reiterating the bank''s outlook in a presentation published on its website. Benda said the exit depended on economic conditions, and predicted the return to conventional currency policy would not result in the crown firming sharply to "slightly over-valued" levels seen before interventions started in 2013. He added the crown market was overbought. He also said the use of negative interest rates was not a preferred option but the central bank might considered it for supporting the exchange rate commitment. (Reporting by Jason Hovet; editing by John Stonestreet) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/czech-cenbank-benda-idUSP7N1AK01P'|'2017-01-24T20:29:00.000+02:00' +'0a3b02694b1a7dd4778860ac09c2a6ef1c8495ee'|'History suggests Trump month will be stocks down, dollar up'|' 2:19pm GMT History suggests Trump month will be stocks down, dollar up Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump poses for a photo after an interview with Reuters in his office in Trump Tower, in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S., May 17, 2016. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo By Jamie McGeever and Marc Jones - LONDON LONDON For financial markets, the Trump era begins on Monday, and if history is any guide the following month should be a rocky one for Wall Street but positive for the dollar. The S&P 500 .SPX has fallen a median 2.7 percent in the month after each new president has taken the keys to the White House since Herbert Hoover did so in January 1929, according to Reuters analysis. Only four presidents have seen Wall Street rise in their first month in power: Hoover (+3.8 percent), John F. Kennedy in 1961 (+6 pct), George H. W. Bush in 1989 (+5.3 pct) and Bill Clinton in 1993 (0.8 pct). The market has fallen in the first month under every other incoming president since Hoover. Even Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama, who ultimately presided over 120 percent and 165 percent rallies on Wall Street during their two terms, respectively, saw initial slides of 4.8 percent and 15 percent. The dollar tends to fare better. Analysis going back to the early 1970s when the currency was taken off the gold standard shows it has risen an average 2.2 percent in the first month of a first-time president. Donald Trump takes office as the 45th president of the United States with investor apprehension over an incoming president has rarely been higher. "There are two sides to Trump, the one side focussing on U.S. stimulus which drives up global growth and the other side, the protectionist Donald Trump that could do the opposite. So the big question is which will we get?," said State Street Global Advisors'' EMEA head of currencies James Binny. Markets latched on after Trump won the November election to his reflationary and pro-growth stance: stocks rose to new highs, the bond selloff deepened, and the dollar clocked a 14-year peak against the euro. But as the inauguration has drawn closer, that momentum has faded. This week, the Dow Jones .DJI and dollar .DXY hit six-week lows, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield its lowest since late November US10YT=RR, and gold rose to its highest in two months XAU=. Some investors are playing safe. "We are neutral, because we don''t know exactly what direction Trump will take," said Lukas Daadler, chief investment officer of investment solutions at Robeco, a subsidiary of Robeco Group. The latter has 269 billion euros in assets under management. "There is some extreme positioning out there, so there''s the risk of a short squeeze. But we''ve taken a neutral stance, and we might see more detail on his plans next week." Much of that positioning is in the U.S. bond market and the dollar. Speculators have amassed record bets against 10-year Treasuries, and according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch''s January fund manager survey, the most overcrowded trade in the world now is the pro-dollar trade. BAML strategists said on Friday that although there has been a clear cooling of "Trump trade" bets in recent weeks, overall investor sentiment is its highest in three months. They recommend sticking with they call the "Icarus trade" - one last 10 percent rise in stocks and commodities before the rally ends. (For graphic on U.S. Presidential inauguration and financial markets, click reut.rs/2j1xrmu ) (For graphic on the Presidential touch, click tmsnrt.rs/2jtEpzi ) (Graphic by Vikram Subhedar; Editing by Jeremy Gaunt) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-markets-idUKKBN1541WR'|'2017-01-20T21:19:00.000+02:00' +'2b054f5f9c0376f7aef3a06fbdc10f2112c666cc'|'In nod to index funds, Agg bond benchmark changing rules'|'By Trevor Hunnicutt - NEW YORK NEW YORK Jan 31 One of the most widely tracked market indexes is raising its admission standards, potentially offering relief to index-fund managers and pressuring bonds that failed to make the cut.Starting April 1, the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index will hold most kinds of debt only if at least $300 million of the bond remains on the market, up from $250 million.The rule change pushes $304 billion in bonds out of the index, nearly 2 percent of its value, while allowing funds to sidestep the process of buying or trying to match the performance of bonds in short supply, analysts said."It has to be easier for a portfolio manager to track this index if the smaller, less liquid names were removed," said Elisabeth Kashner, director of exchange-traded fund research at FactSet Research Systems Inc, adding that many portfolio managers "struggle to fully replicate their indexes."The performance of at least hundreds of billions of investments are judged against the "Agg." Nearly $80 billion in ETFs track the index directly, according to Morningstar Inc, with investors increasingly buying relatively cheap funds that strive to mimic benchmarks, not beat the market.The largest such funds include the $42 billion iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF and the $32 billion Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF. Though both funds track Agg, neither must match the index''s holdings exactly.Josh Barrickman, Vanguard Group''s Americas head of fixed-income indexing, said the asset manager may hold the smaller sets of bonds even as they leave the index "if we think they have value."Karen Schenone, a fixed-income strategist at iShares , said she anticipates "minimal" activity as a result of the change.The bonds set to be removed, including debt in the utilities, real-estate, energy and healthcare sectors, are selling off already, Bank of America Corp said in a research note.Some investors avoid the U.S.-dollar, investment-grade index because of its extensive Treasury and mortgage-related holdings, which are especially likely to hemorrhage if interest rates move higher. U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers have telegraphed that they plan to hike rates three times this year.In an additional nod to index funds, Agg owner Bloomberg L.P. will provide an additional closing price for the index at 4 p.m. ET, when many funds calculate their value.The difference in bond prices between the index''s 3 p.m. close and 4 p.m. means that index funds often report significantly different performance than their benchmark over short periods. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Paul Simao)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/funds-passive-bonds-idINL1N1FG1MW'|'2017-01-31T10:51:00.000+02:00' +'76dcae300080086679d6a82d66cfb41bfff4f103'|'CORRECTED-EpiPen rival to be offered free to many but high price for insurers'|'Company News - Mon Jan 23, 2017 - 9:15am EST CORRECTED-EpiPen rival to be offered free to many but high price for insurers (In Jan. 19 item, corrects in 4th paragraph to delete reference to government) By Bill Berkrot Jan 19 Privately held drugmaker Kaleo on Thursday said it would offer its Auvi-Q emergency allergy auto-injector at no cost to many consumers, but set a list price for the EpiPen rival that will be used as the benchmark cost to insurance companies at a whopping $4,500. EpiPen maker Mylan NV came under intense criticism last year when it raised the price for a pair of its life-saving auto-injectors to $600, putting it out of reach for many consumers. It has since said it will sell its own generic EpiPen for about half that price. Kaleo, which plans to relaunch Auvi-Q on Feb. 14 following a product recall, appears to have come up with a strategy to avoid the ire of mothers whose children depend on the product and others prone to potentially deadly allergic reactions. Consumers with commercial insurance will be able to obtain Auvi-Q at no charge, the company said. It will also make the product available for free to patients with no insurance and a household income of less than $100,000. Auvi-Q will be sold at a cash price of $360 for those who do not qualify for the emergency treatment at no charge, the Richmond, Virginia-based company said. However, the starting price from which health insurance companies will negotiate discounts or rebates will be $4,500. It remains to be seen how payers will respond to the strategy. "In order to help ensure Auvi-Q is available as an option to eligible patients for $0 out-of-pocket, we set the list price at $4,500," Kaleo Chief Executive Spencer Williamson said in an e-mailed statement. "It''s important to note that nobody pays the list price, and that the most important price is the price to the patient," Williamson said. "No epinephrine auto-injector, branded or even generic, will cost a commercially insured patient less out-of-pocket than Auvi-Q." EpiPen has had a virtual monopoly on the emergency allergy treatments with more than a 90 percent market share. Auvi-Q was originally sold in partnership with French drugmaker Sanofi, but was pulled from the market over manufacturing problems. Sanofi has since returned full rights to Auvi-Q to Kaleo. (Reporting by Bill Berkrot) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/kaleo-epipen-idUSL1N1FD0YV'|'2017-01-23T21:15:00.000+02:00' +'4cc512c6f718f2231299e6e3ed54e720ddff5499'|'BMW urges Britain to retain tariff-free access to EU single market'|' 4:12pm GMT BMW urges Britain to retain tariff-free access to EU single market The BMW logo is seen on the bonnet of a colour wrapped vehicle in London, Britain September 30, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON German carmaker BMW ( BMWG.DE ), which builds its Mini model in Britain, said on Tuesday it was best for business for the UK to be in the single market and urged London to ensure the country retained tariff-free access to the bloc. Prime Minister Theresa May said earlier Britain will quit the single market when it exits the bloc, in a decisive speech that quashed speculation she would seek a compromise deal to stay inside the world''s biggest trading group. "We ... urge her to ensure the UKs negotiations with the EU result in uncomplicated, tariff-free access to the EU single market in future," a BMW spokeswoman said. (Reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Stephen Addison) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-may-bmw-idUKKBN1512C3'|'2017-01-17T23:12:00.000+02:00' +'78fc45311b75e30a9279881f32d11815769bc29b'|'City of London adds 1 Leadenhall to its towering skyline - UK news'|'A 400m skyscraper has been given the green light by City of London planners and will be built next to the historic Leadenhall market, which featured in the Harry Potter films.The 182.7m, 36-storey building, named 1 Leadenhall for its location, is one of a host of new towers going up in Londons financial district. Facebook Twitter Pinterest 1 Leadenhall pictured next to the historic Leadenhall market. Photograph: PR Company Handout It will be dwarfed by 1 Undershaft, a 73-storey skyscraper nicknamed the Trellis which will be the second-tallest building in western Europe after the Shard, at just under 300 metres. Also in the works is the 255m 22 Bishopsgate, the reworked Pinnacle.The developer behind 1 Leadenhall is Canadian group Brookfield Property Partners, which is also building an office block at 100 Bishopsgate and other projects in the City.The new tower, designed by former Foster + Partners architect Ken Shuttleworths Make practice, will have 540,000 sq ft of office space, as well as 50,000 sq ft of shops and cafes on the ground, first and second floors. A public terrace will overlook the roof of the adjacent Grade II-listed Victorian market. Construction is due to start next year and the building is expected to open in 2021.1 Leadenhall, which will replace a 1970s seven-storey office block, has faced strong criticism from Historic Royal Palaces and the Victorian Society, both conservation charities. The latter has described the planned skyscraper as a glass lump. Facebook Twitter Pinterest 1 Leadenhall, centre, joins the cluster of towers in the Square Mile. Photograph: PR Company Handout Alex Bowring, conservation adviser for the Victorian Society, said: We are extremely disappointed by this news. We have objected to these plans as we feel a skyscraper is not appropriate for the site The proposed skyscraper would mark an absolute break in the skyline and therefore significantly harm the streetscape and leave the lively Leadenhall market looking like a lost relic.But Martin Jepson, who runs Brookfields UK office division, insisted: 1 Leadenhall is a carefully considered design that will complement the architecture of the surrounding buildings and embraces the heritage of its unique setting.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jan/25/city-of-london-adds-1-leadenhall-to-its-towering-skyline'|'2017-01-26T01:51:00.000+02:00' +'07c815759033dbe15fde7b0a0a5f13265a897b3c'|'Feedvisor raises $20 mln in private funding round'|'Financials 07am EST Feedvisor raises $20 mln in private funding round JERUSALEM, Jan 31 (Reuters) - * U.S.-Israeli algo-commerce firm Feedvisor said on Tuesday it raised $20 million in a Series B funding round. * The round was led by venture capital fund manager General Catalyst and included participation from existing investors Square Peg Capital, Jal Ventures, Oryzn Capital and Titanium Investments. * To date, Feedvisor has raised $33 million. * The funds will be used to expand Feedvisor''s product offering and accelerate the growth of its U.S. operations, it said. * Feedvisor said it plans to double its staff, currently 96, at its three locations in New York, Seattle and Tel Aviv. (Reporting by Steven Scheer) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/tech-israel-feedvisor-idUSL5N1FL5K5'|'2017-01-31T22:07:00.000+02:00' +'78f280b607e4324a513166833b9fbb50e6742dd6'|'Top banks'' Q4 commodities revenue jumps 20-25 pct-report'|'Money 10:01am EST Top banks'' fourth-quarter commodities revenue jumps 20-25 percent: report A sign for Bank Street and high rise offices are seen in the financial district in Canary Wharf in London, Britain, October 21, 2010. REUTERS/Luke Macgregor/File Photo LONDON Commodities-related revenue at the 12 biggest investment banks rebounded in the fourth quarter due to stronger activity in the energy sector, a report by financial industry analytics firm Coalition said on Monday. Revenue from commodity trading, selling derivatives to investors and other activities in the sector jumped by 20-25 percent in the final three months of 2016 compared with the same period the previous year, it said in a preliminary report, without giving a figure in dollars. The rise was largely due to "structured deal activity in U.S. natural gas and improved conditions in oil trading", it said. Commodity revenue in the first nine months of last year fell 22 percent to $3.1 billion due to weak industrial metals trading and lackluster investor interest, Coalition said in November. Coalition tracks Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Societe Generale and UBS. (Reporting by Eric Onstad)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-banks-commodities-idUSKBN157205'|'2017-01-23T21:25:00.000+02:00' +'54bbd59f0e420ce9e34ef8aa0bed30e63fd92da0'|'China stocks up on stronger Q4 GDP growth; HK down, all eyes on Trump'|'Energy 59pm EST China stocks up on stronger Q4 GDP growth; HK down, all eyes on Trump * SSEC +0.5 pct, CSI300 +0.7 pct, HSI -0.6 pct * China Q4 GDP grows 6.8 pct, slightly better than expected * Trade friction concerns rise ahead of Trump''s inauguration SHANGHAI, Jan 20 China stocks rebounded on Friday morning as data showing stronger-than-expected fourth quarter GDP growth bolstered blue-chips, while bargain hunting helped small-caps recover much of the losses suffered earlier in the week. But underlying caution prevailed ahead of Donald Trump''s inauguration as the 45th U.S. president later in the day, reflecting worries about the new U.S. administration''s potentially detrimental China policy - a concern that dented Hong Kong shares. The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.7 percent, to 3,352.25 points at the end of the morning session, which would mean a weekly loss of roughly 1 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.5 percent, to 3,118.03 points. At the end of a volatile week, market sentiment improved after China reported economic growth of 6.8 percent in the fourth quarter, exceeding market expectations. The data raised expectations of solid corporate results as markets also look to looming earnings season. Still, some analysts were wary of the headwinds in a Trump-led White House, potentially sparking trade friction with China during his term. "The key risk is Trump''s trade policy. The external risk of China is obviously heightened, at the same time how Fed will move policy rates in the U.S," said Raymond Yeung, chief economist of Greater China for ANZ in Hong Kong. That view was echoed by Zhang Qi, analyst at Haitong Securities, who said companies in eastern China will likely face greater pressure on exports if Trump carries through with his protectionist policies. All sector in the mainland market made modest gains by the lunch break, with consumer discretionary stocks among the best performers, with an index tracking the sector up around 1.3 percent. China''s start-up tech-heavy ChiNext rebounded strongly, up 2.5 percent as recent sharp falls attracted bargain hunting. Hong Kong In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng index dropped 0.6 percent, to 22,907.86 points, while the Hong Kong China Enterprises Index lost 0.6 percent, to 9,734.38 points. The benchmark index has lost 0.1 percent so far this week, threatening to snap a three-week winning streak if losses aren''t pared in the afternoon. Interest-sensitive stocks including property developers and utilities firms retreated around 0.7 percent at midday, after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said that the U.S. central bank should continue to raise interest rates slowly to keep jobs plentiful and inflation low. The city''s interest rates usually follow the United States, thanks to a currency peg to the greenback. Energy sector extended Thursday''s losses and fell more than 1.2 percent, partially dragged by index heavyweight PetroChina Co Ltd and CNOOC Ltd. (Reporting by Jackie Cai and John Ruwitch; Editing by Shri Navaratnam) Next In Energy China Dec coal output hits 1-year high on winter demand BEIJING, Jan 20 China''s December coal output rose 1 percent from November to hit its highest level in a year, as miners cranked out more product to meet government orders amid increased demand from utilities during the cold winter months, data showed on Friday.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/china-stocks-midday-idUSL4N1FA1ZW'|'2017-01-20T11:59:00.000+02:00' +'a23d8bae116bea3a8354fc3d085322a40339a40a'|'Exclusive: Millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil stuck at sea in dirty tankers'|'Business News - Thu Jan 26, 2017 - 6:09am GMT Exclusive: Millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil stuck at sea in dirty tankers The logo of the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA is seen at a gas station in Caracas, Venezuela January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Marco Bello By Marianna Parraga and Mircely Guanipa - HOUSTON/PUNTO FIJO, Venezuela HOUSTON/PUNTO FIJO, Venezuela More than 4 million barrels of Venezuelan crude and fuels are sitting in tankers anchored in the Caribbean sea, unable to reach their final destination because state-run PDVSA cannot pay for hull cleaning, inspections, and other port services, according to internal documents and Reuters data. About a dozen tankers are being held back because the hulls have been soiled by crude, stemming from several oil leaks in the last year at key ports of Bajo Grande and Jose, which has resulted in delayed operations for loading and discharging. Since debt-laden PDVSA cannot afford to have the ships cleaned, they have to wait for weeks to navigate international waters, delaying shipments. Dirty tankers are the latest of a litany of problems weighing on PDVSA, the source of most of Venezuela''s export revenue and critical to the government''s budget. Oil production and exports are currently at lows not seen in more than two decades. PDVSA''s difficulty with paying creditors and service providers makes pulling itself out of that hole more onerous. That has contributed to a deep, years-long recession in the OPEC country. As of Jan. 25, vessels carrying some 1.4 million barrels of crude, diesel, gasoline, fuel oil and liquefied petroleum gas were anchored in Venezuelan and Caribbean waters waiting for cleaning, according to PDVSA''s trade documents, verified by Reuters shipping data. The company did not respond to a request for comment. "PDVSA almost solved this situation in Bajo Grande in early December because it needed to drain inventories, but it is now taking at least three weeks to complete the cleaning," said an inspector at Lake Maracaibo, who was not authorized to speak to the press. The dozen or so tankers that have not been cleaned are mostly from PDVSA''s fleet of owned and leased vessels, according to a series of PDVSA''s internal operational reports confirmed by Reuters vessel tracking data. In addition, another 11 tankers in early January are being held up for "financial retention," a classification used by PDVSA in its internal reports to identify loaded vessels that have been embargoed or temporarily retained by port authorities, inspection firms or maritime agencies due to unpaid bills. Those tankers, along with several smaller ones retained for other operational delays, are holding a combined 2.9 million barrels, according to the data. The list includes the Aframax Hero, loaded in September with 520,000 barrels of fuel oil bound for China. The cargo is moored in Curacao, delayed by more than 100 days, until a payment to inspection firm Saybolt ( CLB.N ) is made. [nL1N1CY00P] PDVSA''s crude exports fell to 1.59 million barrels per day (bpd) in the last quarter of 2016 from 1.82 million bpd in the first quarter, a 13 percent decline, according to Thomson Reuters trade flows data. [ tmsnrt.rs/2baTeGm ] DIRTY BUSINESS Vessels started to become soiled by crude in PDVSA''s ports last year amid intermittent oil leaks at Bajo Grande terminal in Venezuela''s Lake Maracaibo, according to sources close to that operation. Maritime laws prohibit stained tankers from navigating international waters until hull cleaning is performed. While PDVSA''s debts to cleaning firms grow, the leaks have not been repaired, so dozens of vessels have traveled within the country in recent months, spreading the problem to other terminals, including Puerto la Cruz, La Salina, Cardon and Amuay, the documents state. Cleaning, which is performed at the Guaranao Port, located close to Venezuela''s largest refinery, has taken as much as two months in some cases, an inspector said. A crude spill at Jose in January stained more tankers, this time affecting vessels waiting to load crude for exports. PDVSA last week said the affected dock at Jose resumed operations, but there is a logjam of ships needing cleaning, affecting regular foreign buyers of Venezuelan crude, the inspector and a trader from a firm buying Venezuelan oil said. [nL1N1F71I7][nL1N1F80NG] Some of PDVSA''s joint venture partners in projects in the Orinoco belt have proposed picking up part of the bill, paying cleaning companies in dollars to amortize debts faster and ease the bottleneck, but the state-run firm has refused due to its cash flow constraints, the trader said. (Reporting by Marianna Parraga in Houston and Mircely Guanipa in Punto Fijo, Venezuela; Editing by Marguerita Choy) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-pdvsa-tankers-idUKKBN15A0JA'|'2017-01-26T13:08:00.000+02:00' +'05989b127a85bd65e5f7f20b993231ea07ae48ae'|'AIG, Berkshire Hathaway unit enter reinsurance pact'|'Deals 51am EST AIG, Berkshire Hathaway unit enter reinsurance pact Berkshire Hathaway shareholders walk by a video screen at the company''s annual meeting in Omaha May 4, 2013. REUTERS/Rick Wilking/File Photo American International Group Inc ( AIG.N ) said it would pay $9.8 billion to National Indemnity Co, a unit of Berkshire Hathaway Inc ( BRKa.N ), to cover most of AIG''s U.S. Commercial "long-tail exposures" for accidents that occurred in 2015 and prior. The agreement covers 80 percent of AIG''s U.S. Commercial long-tail exposures - liabilities for claims that take a long time to be settled. AIG will have to make the payment by June 30. It will be placed into a collateral trust account as security for NICO''s claim payment obligations to AIG operating subsidiaries, AIG said. AIG, which is expected to report its quarterly results after market close on Feb. 14, said it expected to take a related charge in the fourth quarter. AIG will retain sole authority to handle and resolve claims, and NICO has various access, association and consultation rights. (Reporting by Richa Naidu and Nikhil Subba in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D''Couto) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-aig-reinsurance-berkshire-hatha-idUSKBN1541TS'|'2017-01-20T20:51:00.000+02:00' +'d058327e4d321d71d10e82c911957faab2693ddf'|'WTO says $1 trln global trade treaty about to come into force'|' 38pm GMT WTO says $1 trln global trade treaty about to come into force left right World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Roberto Azevedo gestures during an interview with Reuters in Geneva, Switzerland, January 26, 2017. To match Interview WTO-AZEVEDO/ REUTERS/Pierre Albouy 1/4 left right World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Roberto Azevedo gestures during an interview with Reuters in Geneva, Switzerland, January 26, 2017. To match Interview WTO-AZEVEDO/ REUTERS/Pierre Albouy 2/4 left right World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Roberto Azevedo gestures during an interview with Reuters in Geneva, Switzerland, January 26, 2017. To match Interview WTO-AZEVEDO/ REUTERS/Pierre Albouy 3/4 left right World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Roberto Azevedo poses before an interview with Reuters in Geneva, Switzerland, January 26, 2017. To match Interview WTO-AZEVEDO/ REUTERS/Pierre Albouy 4/4 By Tom Miles - GENEVA GENEVA A trade accord that will boost global exports by $1 trillion (0.79 trillion pounds) is expected to come into force in the next two weeks, the head of the World Trade Organization said on Thursday, despite concerns over a more protectionist United States under Donald Trump. The WTO''s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), which will standardise and simplify customs procedures around the world, needs two more ratifications to legally take effect, WTO chief Roberto Azevedo said, adding that Chad, Jordan and Kuwait were all poised to ratify it. "In the WTO''s history, it is the biggest agreement we ever reached," Azevedo told Reuters in an interview. "There are estimates that once fully implemented, this could have an impact of around 2.7 percentage points on trade expansion throughout the world every year until say 2030, and half a percentage point of GDP growth around the world." Three-quarters of the estimated $1 trillion boost to world exports is expected to be in developing countries, especially for small firms which are stymied by red tape, corruption and border delays. The United States, where Trump took office last Friday after fighting an election campaign on promises of protecting U.S. industry, has already ratified the TFA. Other major global economies including China, Japan and the EU have also ratified. "If its truly implemented and done well, there will be almost no contact between the client and the (customs) authority," Azevedo said. "When that happens the room for corruption basically disappears. And we know that at the border, corruption is a problem for many countries." Where a product may previously have taken 6-7 weeks to arrive, the waiting time should be cut to a few days. "Things are going to cross the border much more easily, much more transparently and at lower costs," Azevedo said. Asked if the deal was the high point of global trade liberalisation, the veteran Brazilian trade negotiator said there was still a "rich agenda" of potential trade reforms. Azevedo said it was too early to tell whether the new U.S. administration would be on board with those reforms, adding that much of what was being said about Trump''s plans for trade was speculation inferred from his previous comments. "A lot of concerns Ive heard in recent political debates in the United States can be addressed by tools that we have here in the WTO," he added. (Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Gareth Jones) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-wto-azevedo-idUKKBN15A2LV'|'2017-01-27T01:38:00.000+02:00' +'193323e6eea030a4b51c92173de6bb27edd73e7b'|'BHP second-quarter iron ore output up 9 percent, year guidance intact'|'By James Regan - SYDNEY SYDNEY BHP Billiton ( BHP.AX ) was on track to meet its iron ore production guidance for fiscal 2017 after reporting a strong second quarter for its most profitable business on Wednesday.The world''s biggest miner reported a 9 percent rise in iron ore output in Western Australia to 70 million tonnes for the December quarter from the same period a year earlier.It maintained full-year guidance of between 265 million and 275 million tonnes.We have performed well during a period of higherprices, with record iron ore volumes achieved at WAIO (Western Australia Iron Ore)," BHP Billiton Chief Executive Andrew Mackenzie said in the group''s quarterly operations review.Forecasters anticipated a strong quarter for the world no. 3 iron ore miner after figures from the Port Hedland export terminal near its mines reported record shipments of 43.9 million tonnes in December.Close peer Rio Tinto ( RIO.AX ) ( RIO.L ) ended up shipping 327.6 million tonnes in calendar 2016, meeting its own full-year guidance.Later this month, the so-called "third force" in Australian iron ore mining, Fortescue Metals Group ( FMG.AX ), is forecast to report it too is on track to meet full-year production guidance.Iron ore was one of the best-performing commodities in 2016, rising 81 percent on a spot basis, and is expected to fuel strong growth in BHP''s cash flow.Over the first half of fiscal 2017, BHP said it sold its iron ore for an average price of $55 a tonne compared with $44 in the year-ago period.But concern among forecasters is rising that millions of tonnes of additional low cost supply from Australia and Brazil will soon send iron ore prices into retreat.A Reuters poll in mid-December put the average price of iron ore at $54.70 per tonne in 2017, while Barclays expects prices to tumble as low as $50 a tonne by the third quarter of 2017.Copper output fell 7 percent to 357,000 tonnes in the December quarter, partly due to power outages at its Olympic Dam mine in South Australia, which forced BHP to cut full-year guidance by 2 percent to 1.62 million tonnes.Olympic Dam copper production for half-year to Dec. 31 decreased by 30 percent to 78,000 tonnes, BHP said.(Reporting by James Regan; editing by Louise Ireland, Bernard Orr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/bhp-billiton-output-idINKBN15900X'|'2017-01-24T21:22:00.000+02:00' +'e1d1c5829bc76bb70c23962da9ed6182f9eb2314'|'Big China bitcoin exchange says no government pressure on outflows'|'Business News 10pm GMT Big China bitcoin exchange says no government pressure on outflows left right A Bitcoin (virtual currency) paper wallet with QR codes and a coin are seen in an illustration picture taken at La Maison du Bitcoin in Paris, France, May 27, 2015. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: A sticker reading ''Bitcoin accepted here'' is displayed at the entrance of the Stadthaus town hall in Zug, Switzerland, August 30, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo 2/2 By John Ruwitch - SHANGHAI SHANGHAI The head of a major bitcoin exchange in China says few people there use the cryptocurrency to get around rules on how much money they can take out of the country, and despite a publicized meeting with the central bank last week the exchange, BTCC, hasn''t been told explicitly to check capital outflows. Bitcoin''s price took a steep dive on Friday after China''s central bank cautioned investors to take a rational and careful approach to investing in the digital currency. The price had surged to record highs. The central bank''s comments come as Beijing escalates a campaign to check capital outflows and slow the depreciation of the yuan currency CNY=CFXS , which lost nearly 7 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar last year. With bitcoin''s soaring price and the relative anonymity it affords, some believe the digital currency was becoming an attractive option for tech-savvy Chinese to hedge against the yuan and circumvent rules that limit individuals to $50,000 of foreign exchange each year. The Shanghai office of the People''s Bank of China (PBOC) said on Friday it had met with BTCC to understand the platform''s operations, highlight the risks, remind the exchange to abide by the law, and "urge the platform to carry out self-examination and corresponding clean-up and rectification" according to law. Asked if BTCC had received direct pressure on outflows, CEO Bobby Lee, who founded BTCC in 2011, said: "No. Not as of yet... Nothing verbal or written to us." In Beijing, the PBOC told two of China''s other big bitcoin exchanges, Huobi and OKCoin, not to mention the depreciating yuan when advertising their platforms, the influential news outlet Caixin said, citing people familiar with the meeting. Star Xu, CEO and founder of OKCoin, confirmed there had been a meeting of the PBOC and leading bitcoin exchanges on Friday to discuss the operation of trading platforms. "The industry can benefit from balanced, risk-based regulation and/or oversight, and we look forward to further constructive discussions with the regulators and industry participants," Xu told Reuters in an emailed comment. While it''s possible to buy bitcoin with yuan and then sell it abroad for a foreign currency, BTCC''s Lee said "to be honest, not many" people were doing it because of the cost. The renminbi price of bitcoin carries a premium to the price in other currencies, he noted. In addition, buy or sell orders in the 100,000 yuan ($14,423) to 1 million yuan ($144,233) range, and up, would influence the bitcoin spot price and affect the transaction. "For that range, you''re not going to be able to do it at a good rate. You''re going to lose 10 percent of your money," Lee said. "Maybe the individual household might buy 20,000 more dollars worth of bitcoin than their $50,000 (forex) quota, but that''s a drop in the bucket." Still, Lee said various indicators, like active trading accounts, new users, actual deposits and withdrawals, were "very active" in China, and some key BTCC metrics were at "all-time highs", though he declined to be more specific. NOT LEGAL TENDER Bitcoin is not regulated in China, but the PBOC has declared it is not legal tender, and is instead a "virtual good", Lee said. That puts it in the same category as other goods. "If I pack a suitcase and take a plane to the United States, do the clothes, does the computer in my suitcase, does the watch I wear count towards capital flight?" he said. "Where do you draw the line?" He said no new or planned rules regarding bitcoin were discussed in the latest meeting with the PBOC, and he estimates it will be two to three years before China regulates bitcoin. In a statement on its website, BTCC, which calls itself the world''s longest running bitcoin exchange, said it regularly meets with the PBOC and "work(s) closely with them to ensure that we are operating in accordance with the laws and regulations of China." Exchanges in China say they account for more than 90 percent of global bitcoin trading, which would help explain why a shift in Chinese demand would sharply affect the price. But many bitcoin experts say Chinese exchanges overstate their volumes in the digital currency, and attribute sharp moves to speculation by, for example, U.S.-based hedge funds. (Reporting by John Ruwitch; Editing by Ian Geoghegan) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-bitcoin-idUKKBN14T190'|'2017-01-09T19:01:00.000+02:00' +'83ec68375ae3939e67ec63a4e05ac2fd434c8828'|'UBS Chairman says 1,000 London-based employees could be hit by Brexit: BBC'|'Business News - Wed Jan 18, 2017 - 11:37am EST UBS Chairman says 1,000 London-based employees could be hit by Brexit: BBC Axel Weber, Chairman of the Board of Directors of UBS bank attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich LONDON UBS ( UBSG.S ) Chairman Axel Weber has said that around 1,000 of the Swiss bank''s 5,000 employees based in London could be impacted by Britain''s exit from the European Union. "We have roughly 5,000 people in London. Real passporting business is probably down to about 1,000 of those employees in London and for them we have to look at what the ultimate deal will be mapped out with," Weber said in a BBC television interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday. "So were still looking at what is happening but of course we have to look at optionality and weve largely done that so far." CEO Sergio Ermotti has said previously that 20 percent to 30 percent of those London-based employees could be affected should the Swiss bank decide to move. In 2016, UBS set up a bank in Frankfurt to consolidate most of its European wealth management operations in an effort to conserve capital and simplify its structure. Other banks are expected to announce more concrete plans for how they will adapt to Brexit in the coming months after Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed in a speech on Tuesday that Britain would leave the European single market. (Reporting By Anjuli Davies; Editing by Rachel Armstrong.) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-ubs-group-idUSKBN1522EV'|'2017-01-18T23:37:00.000+02:00' +'62e9e9042a7149010be19bd415caa2a1e4263b35'|'Sharp to consider listing its LCD venture with Foxconn - Nikkei'|'Business 5:36am GMT Sharp to consider listing its LCD venture with Foxconn - Nikkei A logo of Sharp Corp is pictured at CEATEC (Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies) JAPAN 2016 at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan, October 3, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo - TOKYO Japan''s Sharp Corp will consider an initial public offering for Sakai Display Products Corp, the LCD joint venture between it and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (Foxconn) of Taiwan, the Nikkei business daily reported on Thursday. "We''ll think about it from here on," the Nikkei quoted an unnamed senior Sharp executive as telling reporters. The comment comes after the joint venture announced plans last week to build an $8.8 billion factory in China to produce liquid crystal displays. (Reporting by Chris Gallagher; Editing by Stephen Coates) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sakai-display-ipo-idUKKBN14P0C7'|'2017-01-05T12:36:00.000+02:00' +'485ec4e8dc9cde09fc29bd287d16295ff209f29f'|'European shares seen down as markets brace for Theresa May''s Brexit speech - For more see the European equities LiveMarkets blog'|'LONDON Jan 17 Live coverage of European markets now available on cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarketsSummary:**Britain''s FTSE to open 1 point lower**Germany''s DAX to open 78 points lower**France''s CAC 40 to open 44 points lower**British Prime Minister May to give Brexit speech (Reporting by Helen Reid)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL5N1F70PC'|'2017-01-17T09:24:00.000+02:00' +'5e0c34c56e7e0ebbf574a50e8c27cb707bf41cb4'|'John Lewis posts strong sales growth in pre-Christmas week'|' 11:17am GMT John Lewis posts strong sales growth in pre-Christmas week Shoppers pass a branch of John Lewis in London, Britain, September 15, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON John Lewis [JLP.UL] [JLPLC.UL], Britain''s biggest department store chain, said sales in the week before Christmas soared 36 percent as shoppers splurged on household items and the figures were boosted by two extra trading days compared to the same period in 2015. That contrasted with a 9.4 percent drop in department store sales in the following week ended Dec. 31, when there were fewer trading days due to the timing of public holidays. The employee-owned firm reported similar trends at its upmarket grocery chain Waitrose, with sales in the week to Dec. 24, up 31.1 percent, on strong demand for sparkling wine and party food, while they fell 12.5 percent in the week to Dec. 31. (Reporting by Sarah Young, editing by Paul Sandle) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-john-lewis-table-idUKKBN14O14K'|'2017-01-04T18:17:00.000+02:00' +'2423505f7db2b4791997a9e2c434334326ccfe8b'|'TREASURIES-Yields rise as data shows stronger economy'|'* 10-year yields rise to two-week highs * Jobs, housing, manufacturing data all strong * U.S. to sell $13 bln 10-year TIPS By Karen Brettell NEW YORK, Jan 19 U.S. Treasury yields rose to two-week highs on Thursday after data showed solid economic growth, a day after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen signaled further rate hikes are likely. The number of Americans filing initial claims for unemployment benefits fell unexpectedly last week back to near the lowest levels in decades. U.S. homebuilding rebounded more than expected in December, suggesting that the housing market contributed to economic growth in the fourth quarter. Manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area also grew faster than expected in January, the Federal Reserve of Philadelphia said. "This morning we had some economic news which came out stronger than anticipated," said Gary Pollack, head of fixed-income trading at Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management in New York. Benchmark 10-year notes fell 20/32 in price to yield 2.46 percent, up from 2.39 percent late Wednesday, and the highest since Jan. 4. Yields had also risen on Wednesday after data showed rising inflation data and on Yellen''s comments. U.S. consumer prices increased in December as households paid more for gasoline and rental accommodations, leading to the largest year-on-year rise in 2-1/2 years. Yellen said, with the U.S. economy close to full employment and inflation headed toward the Federal Reserve''s 2 percent goal, it "makes sense" for the U.S. central bank to gradually lift interest rates. "The market is extremely sensitive to monetary policy given the last FOMC meeting in December, where they indicated possibly three rate hikes in 2017," said Pollack. "It showed a Fed that is a little more aggressive in returning to normal monetary policy." The Treasury Department on Thursday will auction $13 billion of 10-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS), which will gauge concern about rising inflation as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office on Friday. Yellen will speak again on Thursday at 8 p.m. EST (1:00 a.m. GMT) on the outlook for the economy and monetary policy. (Editing by Nick Zieminski)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-bonds-idINL1N1F90UO'|'2017-01-19T11:39:00.000+02:00' +'1d1fd437aae23ec68b8740d2dfea84e0467cf080'|'Germany urges EU to speed trade deals after Trump, Brexit'|'Business News - Fri Jan 27, 2017 - 1:55pm GMT Germany urges EU to speed trade deals after Trump, Brexit A rainbow is seen behind European flags during a euro zone EU leaders emergency summit on the situation in Greece at the European Council headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, July 7, 2015. REUTERS/Eric Vidal By Tom Krkemeier - BRUSSELS BRUSSELS Germany called on the European Union on Friday to speed deals to open trade with a dozen or more countries, mainly in Asia, and to boost support for free trade around the world in response to scepticism about it from new U.S. President Donald Trump. In a paper presented to EU finance ministers at a meeting in Brussels and seen by Reuters, the bloc''s leading economic power repeated its view that Trump, along with Britain leaving the EU, posed risks for the world economy. The Union must bolster common policies such as in defense, diplomacy and the economy, it said. It should also "give a timely push against protectionism and for free trading relationships and international cooperation", the paper continued, referring indirectly to Trump''s scepticism on trade agreements. In his first week in office, he signed an order pulling the United States out of the multilateral Trans-Pacific Partnership with Asian states. Listing 12 countries, mainly in Asia, that are at varying stages of talks with Brussels, where the EU executive runs trade policy, the German paper said: "The Commission should seize the initiative now to make decisive progress in these negotiations." It noted potential deals with: Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, India, China, Vietnam, Singapore, Japan, Thailand, Myanmar, Australia and New Zealand. It also noted that talks dating back some 20 years with the six Arab countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council had lately shown little progress. (Writing by Alastair Macdonald; editing by Ralph Boulton) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eu-trade-germany-idUKKBN15B1EG'|'2017-01-27T20:54:00.000+02:00' +'7125b47a3ce1bd150f0050c5216766805322d421'|'"Show me the money": divorce first, then trade deal, EU tells UK'|'Thu Jan 26, 2017 - 8:10am GMT ''Show me the money'': divorce first, then trade deal, EU tells UK Britain''s Prime Minister Theresa May delivers a speech on leaving the European Union at Lancaster House in London, January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Kirsty Wigglesworth/Pool By Alastair Macdonald and Jan Strupczewski - BRUSSELS BRUSSELS Since Prime Minister Theresa May set out her Brexit goals last week, interest in Britain has focused on the future trade deals she may one day strike with the United States and other powers, as well as with the European Union. In Brussels and European capitals, that looks like putting the cart before the horse. "They''re talking about their future relationships," said one EU official preparing for talks with London. "But first we need to get divorced. This is not going to be easy. Frankly, it''s going to be very, very messy." In diplomatic language, the European Commission''s spokesman Margaritis Schinas told a news conference this week: "First, one needs to agree on the terms for an orderly separation and then, on the basis of this, build a future new, good relationship." As with other divorces, the bitterest battle may be over money. And there is no certainty that any settlement can be agreed at all. "Britains payments to the EU budget and the issue of the EU quickly starting talks on an FTA (free trade agreement) with Britain will be linked," said a second senior EU official. "There cannot be discussions of a future relationship without first regulating the issue of an orderly separation." EU negotiators reckon Britain has a weak hand to play; May must accept a two-year guillotine on talks that she hopes will end with a deal to keep "maximum" British access to EU markets while pulling Britain out of the single market and its obligations. Put simply, if May wants to draft an FTA in only two years as she says -- a goal that prompts head-shaking in Brussels -- continentals think they can hold her hostage with the threat of trade tariffs from 2019 unless she settles British debts. Many discount as bluster May''s warning that she would rather have no deal than a bad deal, walking away without free trade and daring continentals to take a hit to their own exports. But some diplomats voice concern that London may be tempted to flounce out without paying EU bills worth tens of billions. YOUR BILL: 60 BILLION EUROS May insists Britain wants to remain a friend and constructive partner for the EU. It would hardly enhance Britain''s reputation among future global trade partners to flee with bills unpaid. The other EU member states want it to pay its share of the spending commitments that were agreed when it was a member, stretching out some years, as well as possibly funds to cover the pensions of British EU staff. There will, however, be differences over the size of the bill, estimated informally by EU officials at very roughly 60 billion euros -- more than Britain spends on defense each year. "I can see this turning very bloody over money," said a person who has had preliminary contact with negotiators on both sides. EU officials have prepared arguments to counter suggestions that Britain should be credited with a share of EU assets -- buildings, say -- to offset what it will owe Brussels on leaving. The bloc''s negotiators will argue that Britain was not asked to pay extra for a share of existing EU assets when it joined in 1973, so it has no right to demand repayment of any share now. Filling the hole left by the bloc''s second biggest economy in the EU budget is already causing jitters as the remaining 27 brace for the seven-yearly blood ritual of financial planning. German leaders see a grim prospect of picking up the biggest tab, while the ex-communist eastern states, who are the major net beneficiaries of EU spending, fear they will lose out. British officials say they can use the money card to divide the 27. On the EU side, diplomats are saying that if London tries that, it will find its hopes of a quick free trade deal put on hold. Other knotty issues to be settled in the withdrawal treaty include border arrangements, notably in Ireland, and the rights of EU and British expatriates. Brussels has accused May of underestimating the problem by calling for a deal on that right now. (Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Kevin Liffey) Up Next Exclusive: Millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil stuck at sea in dirty tankers HOUSTON/PUNTO FIJO, Venezuela More than 4 million barrels of Venezuelan crude and fuels are sitting in tankers anchored in the Caribbean sea, unable to reach their final destination because state-run PDVSA cannot pay for hull cleaning, inspections, and other port services, according to internal documents and Reuters data.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-divorce-idUKKBN15A0RP'|'2017-01-26T15:03:00.000+02:00' +'75fd3afe1bef39725b438e8004533b1a337dbf3c'|'Fed''s Kaplan says backs gradual rate increases in 2017'|'CHICAGO The U.S. economy is ready for gradual interest rate increases this year and it remains too early to know whether Trump administration policies will boost economic growth, Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan said on Friday."We should be removing accommodation in 2017. I think we can do it gradually and patiently," Kaplan, who has a vote on Fed interest rate policy this year, told an economics conference in Chicago, adding that he was not ready to "pre-judge" changes in tax and spending policies in the incoming administration.(Reporting by Ann Saphir and Jason Lange; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-fed-kaplan-idINKBN14Q2IP'|'2017-01-06T20:23:00.000+02:00' +'727919a2e3ac20123be56dfc40a268c574422be0'|'Shell sells Thailand gas field stake to Kuwait''s Kufpec for $900 million'|'Business 5:57am GMT Shell sells Thailand gas field stake to Kuwait''s Kufpec for $900 million A passenger plane flies over a Shell logo at a petrol station in west London, in this January 29, 2015 file photo. REUTERS/Toby Melville/Files SINGAPORE Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) said on Tuesday it will sell its stake in Thailand''s Bongkot gas field to Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company for $900 million (719.5 million pounds). The transaction will include Shell''s 22.2 percent equity stake in the Bongkot field and adjoining acreage offshore Thailand consisting of Blocks 15, 16 and 17 and Block G12/48, Shell said in a statement. The deal is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2017, Shell said. (Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Richard Pullin) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-thailand-gas-shell-idUKKBN15F0DG'|'2017-01-31T12:57:00.000+02:00' +'94be653fb2fc39e05ee922ced6f8ede2f8077ab1'|'Netflix adds a third more subscribers than expected; shares jump 7 percent'|'Internet 4:13am IST Netflix adds a third more subscribers than expected; shares jump seven percent The Netflix sign on screen is shown on an iPad in Encinitas, California, U.S. on April 19,2013. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo By Lisa Richwine and Anya George Tharakan Streaming video pioneer Netflix Inc ( NFLX.O ) added over a third more subscribers than expected in the last quarter of 2016, a sign of success for its ambitious global expansion that sent its shares up 7 percent in extended trading. Netflix signed up 7.1 million new subscribers globally, far more than the 5.2 million analysts had expected, despite higher prices, beating targets at home and abroad, according to research firm FactSet. Original shows like "Marvel''s Luke Cage" and British drama "The Crown" performed strongly around the world, Netflix said, noting that competitors were adapting to compete. Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) recently expanded its Amazon Prime Video service globally, and Britain''s BBC announced plans to release entire series at once to allow the "binge watching" popularized by Netflix. "It''s becoming an internet TV world, which presents both challenges and opportunities for Netflix as we strive to earn screen time," the company said in its quarterly letter to shareholders. Netflix, in its earnings report, said it added 5.1 million subscribers outside the United States and 1.9 million in its home market in the quarter ended Dec. 31. ( nflx.it/2jyes47 ) Analysts had forecast 3.73 million non-U.S. additions and 1.44 million at home. "The future battleground at home is now in keeping hold of customers as much as it is in trying to acquire new ones," said Neil Saunders, head of retail analyst firm Conlumino. "In our view, the fact that consumers have readily absorbed the price increase, and that Netflix has continued to advance its subscriber numbers in spite of it, indicates the company is now firmly in pole position in the streaming arena." Netflix said it planned to release over 1,000 hours of original programing this year, up from 600 hours last year. The Los Gatos, California-based company said revenue rose 35.9 percent to $2.48 billion in the December quarter. Analysts on average had expected $2.47 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. The company said it expected to add 1.50 million subscribers in the United States in the current quarter, fewer than the FactSet estimate of 1.79 million. In international markets, Netflix said it expected to add 3.70 million subscribers, above the average estimate of 3.05 million. Up to Wednesday''s close of $133.26, Netflix''s stock had risen 33.5 percent since it reported third-quarter results in October. Netflix rose as much as 8.2 percent in after hours trading, adding nearly $5 billion to the companys stock market value. (Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Henderson and Richard Chang) Next In Internet News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-netflix-results-idINKBN1522YR'|'2017-01-19T05:31:00.000+02:00' +'b6462396a4bac6a394fd6a7d21ec7d00151f5793'|'German prosecutors widen VW emissions probe'|'Business News - Fri Jan 27, 2017 - 6:37am EST German prosecutors widen VW emissions probe A Volkswagen (VW) logo covered with mud and dust is seen on the wheel of a car in Grafenwoehr, Germany, October 26, 2016. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle/File Photo BERLIN German prosecutors have expanded an investigation into Volkswagen''s ( VOWG_p.DE ) emissions test-cheating scandal and said the carmaker''s former chief executive may have known about the manipulation sooner than he has so far said publicly. Prosecutors in Braunschweig near Volkswagen''s (VW) Wolfsburg base said on Friday that 28 homes and offices were searched this week in connection with the investigation. They said they had increased the number of people accused in connection with the diesel emissions scandal to 37 from 21, including former chief executive Martin Winterkorn. Prosecutors said they were investigating Winterkorn on suspicion of fraud. The former CEO is already being probed by Braunschweig prosecutors over possible market manipulation. VW has said its executive board did not learn of the software violations until late August 2015 and formally reported the cheating to U.S. authorities in early September that year. Winterkorn told a German parliamentary committee of inquiry into the scandal on Jan. 19 that he did not know about the software cheating earlier. (Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Maria Sheahan) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-probe-idUSKBN15B13B'|'2017-01-27T18:37:00.000+02:00' +'deb5a31b6c2cba0406a3b6297b4aa77343fc7ad9'|'FBI arrests Volkswagen exec on fraud charges - NYT'|'Money News - Mon Jan 9, 2017 - 2:08pm IST FBI arrests Volkswagen exec on fraud charges - NYT The Federal Bureau of Investigation has arrested a Volkswagen AG executive on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, the New York Times reported on Monday. Oliver Schmidt, who headed the company''s regulatory compliance office in the U.S. from 2014 to March 2015, was arrested on Saturday by federal investigators in Florida, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter. nyti.ms/2iTA73S VW admitted in September 2015 to installing secret software known as "defeat devices" in 475,000 U.S. 2.0-liter diesel cars to cheat exhaust emissions tests and make them appear cleaner in testing. In reality, the vehicles emitted up to 40 times the legally allowable pollution levels. Volkswagen declined to comment on the reported arrest. "Volkswagen continues to cooperate with the Department of Justice as we work to resolve remaining matters in the United States. It would not be appropriate to comment on any ongoing investigations or to discuss personnel matters," it said. The FBI was not immediately available for comment. Schmidt is expected to be brought before court in Detroit on Monday, the NYT said. Senior VW officials are not attending this year''s Detroit auto show, which is taking place this week. The news comes as Volkswagen was nearing a deal to resolve criminal and civil allegations over its diesel cheating, crucial steps toward moving past the scandal, which has cost it billions of dollars and its reputation. Volkswagen shares were up 2 percent at 141.75 euros by 0816 GMT, at the top of a 0.2 percent-weaker German blue-chip DAX, on the expected deal. (Reporting by Gaurika Juneja in Bengaluru and Edward Taylor in Frankfurt; Editing by Sunil Nair and Louise Heavens) Next In Money News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/volkswagen-usa-idINKBN14T0RX'|'2017-01-09T15:38:00.000+02:00' +'a8409ca27bf46a18e5667fa894aa0f73c5ec9938'|'LVMH cuts ties to crocodile farms criticised by animal rights group'|'Company 06pm EST LVMH cuts ties to crocodile farms criticised by animal rights group PARIS Jan 13 Luxury good maker LVMH said its Louis Vuitton brand had ceased all trading with Vietnamese farms which animal rights activist group Peta alleged mistreated crocodiles, whose skins are used to make handbags and other accessories. "The LVMH group and its suppliers ceased all trading in 2014 with the farms named by Peta," LVMH said on Friday, adding that it sources its crocodile skins from other Asian suppliers. Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) said on Thursday it had bought one share in LVMH to enable it to put pressure on the French company to stop selling products made with exotic animal skins. The animal rights group, which has long campaigned for changes by luxury goods groups, released a film which it said showed poor conditions at farms that have supplied LVMH. It did not name the farms concerned. This is not the first such campaign by Peta. In 2015 it alleged luxury goods group Hermes was sourcing skins from a crocodile farm in Texas which it also said was not treating the reptiles properly. Actress and singer Jane Birkin responded by asking Hermes to remove her name from one of its best-selling handbags. Hermes said it had investigated those allegations and re-assured Birkin that it imposed the highest ethical standards for the treatment of crocodiles on its suppliers and was conducting monthly checks on them. (Reporting by Astrid Wendlandt; Editing by Alexander Smith) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/lvmh-crocodiles-idUSL5N1F34GU'|'2017-01-14T00:06:00.000+02:00' +'ef32ef0886225428ce304e31375d2a2cd1e10fe2'|'Government to name underwriters for further Japan Post share sale'|'Deals - Mon Jan 16, 2017 - 8:12am EST Government to name underwriters for further Japan Post share sale A man holding an umbrella walks past a logo of Japan Post Group at its headquarters in Tokyo February 18, 2015. REUTERS/Yuya Shino TOKYO Japan''s government has started arranging a further sale of shares in Japan Post Holdings Co ( 6178.T ), it said on Monday, laying the groundwork to add to its biggest privatization in nearly 30 years. The conglomerate made an unprecedented three-way initial public offering in November 2015, in which the holding company and its two financial units each sold about 10 percent shares to the public. The government plans to eventually raise about 4 trillion yen ($35 billion) through additional stake sales in Japan Post group to fund the reconstruction of areas hit by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The Ministry of Finance said it would start selecting lead underwriters for the second round of sales of Japan Post Holdings shares held by the government. It set a deadline of Feb. 16 to apply for roles as global coordinators and book runners. A finance ministry statement said the timing and scale of the additional share sale have not been decided. Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley, Nomura Securities, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan were hired as global coordinators for Japan Post''s IPO. The government sold about $12 billion worth of shares in Japan Post and its Japan Post Bank Co ( 7182.T ) and Japan Post Insurance Co ( 7181.T ) units in the IPO, which was the largest privatization of a Japanese state-owned firm since that of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp ( 9432.T ) in 1987. The parent company''s stock ended down 4.9 percent on Monday after media reports that the government would sell a further 1.4 trillion yen - the ceiling for expected revenues from such a sale in the draft government budget for the fiscal year starting in April. Japan Post Holdings'' shares surged as much as 40 percent over its IPO price of 1,400 yen in the weeks following its stock market debut. But they had been traded below the IPO price since the middle of last year until the market rally following the surprise victory of Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election. (Reporting by Takaya Yamaguchi and Taiga Uranaka; Writing by William Mallard; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman/Ruth Pitchford) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-post-listing-idUSKBN1501K0'|'2017-01-16T20:12:00.000+02:00' +'236e1e99fc6b985a095eb40e9d4f57e4277b2a62'|'Recruitment firm Robert Walters'' FY gross profit rises 9 pct'|'Industrials 41am EST Recruitment firm Robert Walters'' FY gross profit rises 9 pct Jan 10 Robert Walters reported a 9 percent rise in full-year gross profit on a constant currency basis and said pretax profit for the year would be slightly ahead of market expectations. The company, which places people in finance, engineering, legal and marketing jobs, reported higher quarterly gross profit, driven by growth in all its regions and said UK gross profit rose 16 percent to 23.1 million pounds ($28 million) in the three months ended Dec. 31. Robert Walters, which makes nearly two-thirds of its gross profit outside the UK, said in a trading statement on Tuesday that it had entered two new countries with the opening of offices in Canada and Portugal. ($1 = 0.8236 pounds) (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain and Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair) Next In Industrials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/robert-walters-outlook-idUSL4N1F02ID'|'2017-01-10T14:41:00.000+02:00' +'dccea95778f565e6fb0ac50b9cc3e3fd78d0b1c5'|'China decides against taking stake in Areva - report'|'Business News 8:02am GMT China decides against taking stake in Areva - report A logo is seen on the Areva Tower (R), the headquarters of the French nuclear reactor maker Areva in Courbevoie, France, March 8, 2016. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann/File Photo PARIS China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) [CNNNC.UL] has decided against taking a stake in the capital increase and restructuring of French nuclear group Areva ( AREVA.PA ), BFM Business reported on Tuesday. Officials at state-controlled Areva and the French Economy Ministry could not be immediately reached for comment. Earlier this month, France said it would buy out minority shareholders in Areva and delist the troubled nuclear group, as talks with potential investors in a new nuclear fuel company being spun out of Areva neared a conclusion. The state, which owns 87 percent of Areva, said it would offer 4.5 euros per Areva SA share to minority investors which include Kuwait''s investment fund, French utility EDF ( EDF.PA ) and French energy group Total ( TOTF.PA ). Japan''s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries ( 7011.T ) and JNFL have also been looking into taking a stake in Areva. (Reporting by Matthieu Protard and Sudip Kar-Gupta; editing by Michel Rose) Next In Business News Shell has billion (3.04 billion pounds), '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-areva-china-idUKKBN15F0O8'|'2017-01-31T15:02:00.000+02:00' +'85d210d021f766b1d06c39ffe24d4d9dbad5c6fb'|'Fed''s Lacker says interest rates may have to rise more briskly'|' 08pm GMT Fed''s Lacker says interest rates may have to rise more briskly File photo: Jeffrey Lacker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, participates in NABE Economic Policy Conference in Washington March 5, 2013. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas By Lindsay Dunsmuir - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The U.S. Federal Reserve may have to raise interest rates quicker than markets currently predict should the Trump administration''s fiscal stimulus boost the economy, Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker said in prepared remarks on Friday. "Monetary policy rates are likely to increase, and my view is that they may need to increase more briskly than markets appear to expect, depending on developments as the year unfolds," Lacker wrote in a speech that due to a family emergency was delivered in Baltimore by another Richmond Fed official. The U.S. central bank raised rates last month for only the second time since the 2007-2009 financial crisis, and predicted three rate hikes this year to keep apace with President-elect Donald Trump''s promises of tax cuts and increased spending. Lacker is not a voting member on the Fed''s rate-setting committee this year but participates fully in its deliberations. In his remarks, the Richmond Fed chief also forecast GDP growth of 2.0 percent in 2017, falling to 1.75 pct from 2018 onwards. He forecast that inflation this year would rise close to the Fed''s 2 percent target. U.S. employment rose less than expected in December but a rebound in wages pointed to sustained labour market momentum, the Labor Department said in its closely-watched monthly jobs report on Friday. Earlier this week, minutes from the Fed''s December policy meeting showed most policymakers felt the economy could grow more quickly under Trump and that, coupled with a low unemployment rate, may hasten higher inflation. Lacker has repeatedly advocated a swifter pace of rate rises than many of his Fed colleagues in order to ward off possible inflationary pressures. He said last month that the Fed would likely need more than three rate hikes in 2017. In Friday''s remarks, he once again warned against getting behind the curve on inflation. "Greater fiscal stimulus implies higher interest rates than would otherwise be warranted," Lacker said. "Otherwise, inflation pressures are likely to become elevated." (Reporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir; Editing by Paul Simao) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-fed-lacker-idUKKBN14Q25L'|'2017-01-07T01:08:00.000+02:00' +'77cb56b3a61a8a565532a31181fce6306e708465'|'RPT-Automakers, suppliers team up to share costs of self-driving cars'|'By Paul Lienert and Alexandria Sage - LAS VEGAS LAS VEGAS Jan 8 Automotive suppliers and automakers are expanding alliances to develop self-driving car technology that can serve multiple automakers, as the race to put such vehicles on the road separates companies that can go it alone from those that need help sharing the financial and technical burdens.While some companies, such as Tesla Motors, General Motors and Ford Motor, are trying to develop proprietary driverless systems, a larger group of automakers appears to have decided it makes more sense to develop self-driving technology in collaboration with suppliers - as many other features such as anti-lock brakes or radar-enabled cruise control already are."What''s going on in the industry right now is like a hyper version of musical chairs - and the music is still playing," said Gill Pratt, chief executive officer of Toyota Research Institute. "Everyone is changing partners."Several suppliers - notably Mobileye, Nvidia and Delphi Automotive - are among the more popular technology partners in the self-driving race, with multiple alliances around the globe."If you want to build a truly autonomous car, this is a task for more than one player," said Amnon Shashua, chief executive of Mobileye, an Israeli-based supplier of mapping and vision-based sensing systems."The technological challenges are immense," Shashua told Reuters. "I would compare it to sending a man to the moon."Mobileye supplies cameras, chips and software for driver assist systems - the building blocks for self-driving cars - to more than two dozen manufacturers around the globe. The company was an early supplier of vision systems to Tesla, but the two companies had an acrimonious and public breakup last summer after the driver of a Tesla Model S was killed while operating his vehicle using Tesla''s Autopilot system.Since the break with Tesla, Mobileye has secured two critical partnerships to develop self-driving systems: With German automaker BMW and U.S. chipmaker Intel , and with longtime supplier Delphi.The Delphi-Mobileye alliance involves a turn-key system that the partners plan to offer to smaller automakers that lack the resources to develop such systems on their own. It will be ready for production by 2019, said Jeff Owens, Delphi''s chief technology officer, with a projected wholesale cost of about $8,000.The alliance with BMW and Intel is expected to draw additional vehicle manufacturers and suppliers, according to Elmar Frickenstein, BMW''s senior vice president for automated driving."We would like to create a standard system for everybody to use by 2021," Frickenstein said. "That would share the costs and speed up the process of development and adoption."Eventually, BMW and its partners could offer self-driving hardware and software sets or an entire driverless system on a non-exclusive basis to companies ranging from Uber to Google, Frickenstein said.A blueprint for collaboration is BMW''s joint ownership with Daimler AG and Volkswagen AG''s Audi of Here, the mapping company acquired in late 2015 from Nokia . Since then, both Intel and Mobileye have teamed with Here to pool and share data.Chipmaker Nvidia also is ramping up its partnerships in self-driving technology and systems, this week announcing deals with Audi and Here, as well as German suppliers ZF and Bosch."We''re not looking to develop a proprietary system," said Dirk Hoheisel, the member of Bosch''s board of management who oversees autonomous driving. "We want to work with others to develop a standard platform and open standards for self-driving systems, especially around data and mapping."While pursuing similar partnerships with suppliers, Audi sees its role as a vehicle manufacturer evolving to that of systems integrator."There''s not one supplier out there who can provide the whole solution - no one who knows everything, every part of what''s needed to make an autonomous car," said Alejandro Vukotich, Audi''s head of development for driver assistance systems.Some key components of self-driving systems - cybersecurity, for instance - should remain the responsibility of vehicle manufacturers, said Guillaume Devauchelle, head of innovation and scientific development at French supplier Valeo.But carmakers also will continue to rely on suppliers to provide specific self-driving technologies, he said."There will be a mix because it''s quite a complex system (with) sensing, data fusion, artificial intelligence, connectivity, man-machine interface and so on," Devauchelle said. "Those are big blocks." (Reporting by Paul Lienert and Alexandria Sage in Las Vegas; Editing by Nick Zieminski)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-autos-selfdriving-idINL1N1EW1U7'|'2017-01-08T09:00:00.000+02:00' +'7b1c3cbf5bc7c4967113d56ad4a13abec3806f12'|'Indian shares end higher ahead of qtrly results'|'Financials 22am EST Indian shares end higher ahead of qtrly results Jan 10 Indian shares ended higher on Tuesday, with Tata Motors surging after unit Jaguar Land Rover reported strong sales for 2016, and as recent underperformers recovered, although broader sentiment remained cautious ahead of corporate results. The broader NSE index closed up 0.64 percent at 8288.60, while the benchmark BSE index ended 0.65 percent higher at 26899.56. For midday report, click here (Reporting by Shivam Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/india-stocks-idUSB8N1EI013'|'2017-01-10T17:22:00.000+02:00' +'8c280a3f5b7255cb9f3fe3dc682928f4152d18b9'|'Bond drought casts shadow on euro zone''s financial system'|'Financials 22am EST Bond drought casts shadow on euro zone''s financial system * Funds pay record fees for German, French bonds * Scarcity undoes ECB stimulus, threatens stability * Chart on collateral squeeze since QE: * reut.rs/2hymSHD By Francesco Canepa FRANKFURT, Jan 5 The European Central Bank''s bond-buying programme was intended to rescue the euro zone''s economy by flooding it with cash, but it is also siphoning off one of its most valuable assets: high-quality government debt. The worst drought of German and French bonds on record is undoing some of the ECB''s own stimulus and raising questions about the functioning of the financial system, bankers and analysts said. Aggressive ECB bond buying have deprived investment funds of collateral they need to raise money and guarantee their trading positions: high-rated and liquid debt such as that issued by Germany. For a chart: reut.rs/2hymSHD The cost of borrowing German and other high-rated bonds has risen to record highs over the past week, despite ECB efforts to make more of the bonds it owns available to borrowers . The bonds have historically been used to raise cash against collateral in so-called repurchase agreements, or repos. But the ECB''s negative interest rates has turned the system on its head: companies are now paying to swap their cash for German debt. Last Friday, they were paying some 4.9 percent to borrow German debt, more than on any day on ICAP records going back to 2006. The rate had since eased to 1.5 percent, but that was still twice as high as before Christmas. Consequently, investors have no incentive to sell those relatively safe bonds and invest in riskier assets - contradicting one of the objectives that the ECB''s quantitative easing programme (QE) aims to achieve. "QE is about the quantitative aspect but also getting investors to take on more risk, and that simply doesn''t have to happen if the repo market gets more expensive," Peter Chatwell, head of euro rates strategy. Worse, the scarcity of bonds to borrow could leave banks and investment funds struggling to meet sudden obligations to post collateral - in a market sell-off, for example. In extreme cases, that could lead to the firm''s being put into default by its clearing house, the middle man between parties in a trade. "The bond scarcity increases systemic risk," one senior banker said. "If one bank fails to deliver to a central clearing counterparty, this could put it into default." The rise in the cost of borrowing bonds was probably exacerbated by thin supply over New Year, when banks that lend the paper are reluctant to deploy resources before their full-year results. But the record rates, far higher than at any point thus far, suggested the problem was more fundamental and likely to occur again at crunch times, such as the end of quarters. That raises questions about the effectiveness of the ECB''s bond-for-cash scheme, begun in December to allow banks to borrow ECB holdings of government bonds in return for cash. Market participants said one of the faults of the scheme was that euro zone central banks were only allowed to lend bonds at existing market rates, meaning their power to influence them was limited. The problem was exacerbated by tougher post-crisis regulation, which had limited banks'' ability to make the market while increasing funds'' need for high-quality bonds to use as collateral. "Maybe the ECB will take more action, the door is not shut for them never to change the rules again," David Schnatz, rates strategist at Commerzbank, said. "But the whole repo problem is likely to stay with us for some time and it is likely to get worse before it gets better." The ECB declined to comment. (Additional reporting By Dhara Ranasinghe, editing by Larry King) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/ecb-bonds-idUSL5N1EV3YW'|'2017-01-05T22:22:00.000+02:00' +'bd83f0b0c6a1ed8425d40fadedaa97b384e2b7c1'|'Ukraine central bank says ready to sell up to $100 mln today'|'Financials 56am EST Ukraine central bank says ready to sell up to $100 mln today KIEV Jan 10 The Ukrainian central bank is prepared to sell up to $100 million on Tuesday, it said on its website, without giving further details. According to central bank policy, the regulator intervenes on the currency market to prevent excessive volatility. Last week it attributed recent hryvnia weakness to seasonal factors. On Friday -- the most recent day of trading -- the hryvnia closed at 27.02. The currency has been trading around 27 since December, when it hit ten-month lows. (Reporting by Natalia Zinets; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Matthias Williams) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/ukraine-cenbank-idUSS8N1BX00W'|'2017-01-10T15:56:00.000+02:00' +'151cb0883f721f25a640192da28c3ebe39d55691'|'Plains All American in $1.22 billion deal to expand Permian presence'|'Plains All American Pipeline LP ( PAA.N ) said it would buy a crude oil gathering system in the Permian Basin for about $1.22 billion, bolstering its presence in the top U.S. oil field.The gathering system, called the Alpha Crude Connector, is located in the northern portion of the Delaware Basin and is supported by acreage dedications from several producers, the company said on Tuesday.In a separate deal, Targa Resources Corp ( TRGP.N ) said it would buy Outrigger Energy''s assets in the Delaware and Midland basins, two of the main portions of the Permian Basin, for up to $1.5 billion.The Permian basin has seen a jump in land acquisitions as producers scramble to gain or expand positions in the oil field, where drilling costs are low, as oil prices recover."We expect aggregate crude oil production on the dedicated acreage to double over the next two to three years," Plains All American Chief Executive Greg Armstrong said in a statement.Concho Resources Inc ( CXO.N ), which in 2014 formed the ACC in a joint venture with Frontier Midstream Solutions, said it expects to receive net cash proceeds of about $800 million.Gathering volumes in the ACC system averaged about 70,000 barrels per day in the fourth quarter and shipper nominations for January 2017 totaled about 85,000 barrels per day, Plains All American said.The Houston-based pipeline company also said it had agreed to sell assets for about $380 million as part of a larger program. These include two pending transactions and the completion of a third in January.Jefferies LLC served as PAA''s financial adviser, while Norton Rose Fulbright provided legal advice.(Reporting by Komal Khettry in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-plains-all-amer-deals-idINKBN1582W4'|'2017-01-24T19:28:00.000+02:00' +'b4f020a6ef8a29b20da6b9a67bdc78d9cfdcb2f3'|'UPDATE 1-Kushner divests equity in major NYC property'|'(Adds more detail on divested stake)By Joy WiltermuthNEW YORK, Jan 31 (IFR) - Jared Kushner has divested his equity interest in 666 Fifth Avenue, a 39-story office and retail building on Manhattan''s famed shopping area, according to a spokesperson at Kushner Companies.Kushner said he would step down as CEO of Kushner Companies, a family owned real estate company, and begin to divest himself of substantial assets after he was made a senior White House advisor to US President Donald Trump, his father-in-law."Mr. Kushner divested his equity interest in 666 Fifth Avenue, and has no role in the management or operations of the property," a Kushner Companies spokesperson said in an emailed statement to IFR."Mr. Kushner''s ownership interests were sold using a third-party appraisal for fair market value to a family trust, of which he is not a beneficiary," the spokesperson said.Neither Ivanka Trump nor her and Kushner''s children are beneficiaries to the family trust, the spokesperson also confirmed.When asked by IFR, Kushner Companies declined to give any detail about the sale price of the equity stake and declined to discuss any aspect of the outstanding debt on the property.Kushner bought the property for US$1.8bn in 2007 - the highest price ever paid for a single office building sale in the United States at the time, according to Kroll Bond Rating Agency - but it was last valued well below that level.The last appraisal, completed in 2011 as part of a debt restructuring, valued the building at just US$820m. Kroll, which said the building was 20% vacant as of July 2016, valued the property at US$982.1m.Kushner and his partners in 666 Fifth took out US$1.2bn of senior debt to buy the property, which was later packaged and sold into three CMBS deals.It is not clear what the divestiture means for the debt on the property.The senior debt was restructured in 2011 and extended to February 2019. As part of the restructuring, Kushner brought in Vornado Realty as a partner.A call and email to Vornado was not immediately returned. (Reporting by Joy Wiltermuth; Editing by Natalie Harrison and Shankar Ramakrishnan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-cmbs-kushner-idINL1N1FL1HT'|'2017-01-31T17:02:00.000+02:00' +'464d5fa7b237a3f38b5e60b2f7d828802d3acc5b'|'Institutional investors seen sticking with UK assets: survey'|'Business 1:07pm GMT Institutional investors seen sticking with UK assets: survey The British Union flag and the European Union flag are seen flying behind a clock in the City of London, Britain, January 16 , 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville By Kit Rees - LONDON LONDON More than 60 percent of institutional investors expect to maintain their holdings in UK assets over the next six months, according to State Street Corp''s ( STT.N ) "Brexometer," a sentiment survey the firm launched on Thursday. State Street Corp ( STT.N ), a U.S. custody bank with $2 trillion in assets under management, added that fewer than a third of investors believed that asset owners would decrease risk levels over the next three to five years. State Street''s Brexometer is a quarterly survey of institutional investor sentiment towards the UK''s divorce from the European Union, a process Britain is seeking to trigger in March later this year. On Tuesday, UK May said that Britain will leave the EU single market, setting a course for a "hard Brexit". State Street surveyed 111 institutional and alternative investors, including hedge funds, real estate and private equity between 12 December 2016 and 4 January 2017. "Questions over timing of the UKs ultimate split from the EU and the nature of their future relationship still linger and have the potential to weigh on both the economy and the pound," said Michael Metcalfe, head of global macro strategy at State Street Global Markets. "Nevertheless, thus far at least, the extremely gloomy pre-Brexit predictions for the UK economy and asset markets look well off the mark, Metcalfe said. Beyond asset allocation decisions, however, the impact of UK''s decision to leave the EU is likely to be felt notably on regulatory reporting requirements while 80 percent of the investors surveyed said Brexit will have an impact on their operating model. Roughly 2 percent of the respondents said their holdings of UK assets are likely to decrease significantly while 8 percent were undecided at the time of the survey. Britain''s Brexit vote sent markets tumbling, with the pan-European STOXX 600 dropping 7 percent and the FTSE 100 .FTSE falling 3.1 percent on June 24 2016, the day after the referendum. However, both have snapped back since with the exporter-heavy UK bluechip index hitting record highs earlier this month largely on the back of the impact of a significantly weaker sterling. In US dollar terms, however, the index is still nursing losses from pre-referendum levels. Sterling GBP= , however, has lost nearly 18 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar since last June''s Brexit vote. Trading in the currency has been punctuated by particularly sharp bouts of volatility, raising concerns that international investors might lose appetite for sterling-denominated assets. Graphic on sterling: tmsnrt.rs/2hwV9Hv Broader European equity markets struggled relative to other developed markets last year as sluggish growth and a busy political calendar pushed investors looking for better returns elsewhere. (Reporting by Kit Rees, Editing by Vikram Subhedar) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-investors-assets-idUKKBN1531VD'|'2017-01-19T20:07:00.000+02:00' +'1ec5f85541552cea4b806af8ca2063a0c7363da1'|'BRIEF-Viavi Solutions approved restructuring, global workforce reduction plan on Jan. 15'|' 18am EST BRIEF-Viavi Solutions approved restructuring, global workforce reduction plan on Jan. 15 Jan 18 Viavi Solutions Inc : * Says on Jan 15, co approved a restructuring and global workforce reduction plan * Viavi Solutions Inc- company expects up to approximately 10% of its global workforce to be affected * Viavi Solutions Inc- company expects plan to be completed by end of Q2 of fiscal 2018 with significant portion completed by end of fiscal 2017 * Estimates it will incur total aggregate charges of up to approximately $30 million in connection with plan * Viavi Solutions Inc- company expects to recognize majority of total charges in q3 of fiscal 2017- sec filing Source text ( bit.ly/2jnmx96 ) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1F80DU'|'2017-01-18T20:18:00.000+02:00' +'be8cedd2a26c8072ac4888be7db9a6932664ce4c'|'UniCredit investor Cariverona still undecided on cash call: source'|'MILAN The Cariverona foundation has still not made up its mind whether it will underwrite the 13 billion euro ($13.6 billion) rights issue of Italy''s UniCredit ( CRDI.MI ), a foundation source said on Wednesday.Italian daily Il Sole 24 Ore said on Wednesday leading UniCredit shareholders, including CariVerona which owns 2.7 percent of the bank, were all inclined to buy into the share sale to avoid a dilution of their stakes."The governance structures of the Foundation are continuing to carefully look into all the aspects and developments of the UniCredit turnaround," the source said.In December, Italy''s biggest bank by assets said it planned to raise 13 billion euros ($13.6 billion) in the country''s biggest-ever share issue to shore up its balance sheet and shield itself from a broader banking crisis.(Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro, editing by Emilio Parodi, writing by Stephen Jewkes)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-banks-unicredit-cariverona-idINKBN14O1R6'|'2017-01-04T14:06:00.000+02:00' +'250608a069c81ada9359c1c6b5af25932349610c'|'UPDATE 1-Cemex says to sell up to 23 pct stake in Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua'|'(Adds history of offering, background)MEXICO CITY Jan 25 Mexican cement giant Cemex said on Wednesday it will offer to sell up to a 23 percent stake it owns in Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua, as part of Cemex''s plan to shed certain assets.Cemex said in a statement that the eventual size and timing of the sale, which will take place locally and also be open privately to foreign investors, will be dependent on market conditions.Cemex, one of the world''s largest cement producers, first announced plans to sell its 23 percent stake in September, when it sought regulatory approval for the move.Cemex said on Wednesday that the Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua shares it owns are currently valued between 95 and 115 pesos per share. The company said it could offer as many 76.5 million Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua shares in the offering.In recent years, Cemex has been looking to sell billions of dollars worth of assets as it looks to improve its creditworthiness.In the wake of Donald Trump''s U.S. election win, various Mexican companies have postponed stock offerings due to uncertainty over his policies that could hurt Mexico.However, this week, two sources said Jose Cuervo, the world''s biggest tequila producer which had twice stalled its initial public offering, is planning a Feb. 8 pricing for its IPO in a bid to raise up to $1 billion.Trump, who took office last week, has promised to renegotiate or scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement, and has threatened to slap hefty taxes on companies shipping products from Mexico to U.S. markets. (Reporting by Bangalore Newsroom and Gabriel Stargardter in Mexico City; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/cemex-sale-idINL4N1FF47Q'|'2017-01-25T10:55:00.000+02:00' +'a300b6772fc37033ce5c063dee88f0b212786835'|'Bank of England''s Carney says curbing consumer lending would be "big call"'|'Bonds News 03pm EST Bank of England''s Carney says curbing consumer lending would be "big call" LONDON Jan 11 Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said it would be a "big call" for the central bank to rein in rapid growth in lending to consumers, which picked up strongly last year and brought some echoes of the period before the global financial crisis. British consumer borrowing increased at the fastest annual rate in more than 11 years in November, the BoE said last week, and Carney told lawmakers that the momentum appeared to have continued into the Christmas holiday season. (Reporting by David Milliken and Huw Jones; Additional reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Louise Ireland) Next In Bonds News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-boe-carney-lending-idUSU8N1D202M'|'2017-01-12T01:03:00.000+02:00' +'f9583a13298311929d1dedc0c435059469d4b976'|'MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf may have modestly firm tone on global trend'|' 50am EST MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf may have modestly firm tone on global trend DUBAI Jan 15 Gulf stock markets may have a modestly firm tone on Sunday after rises in global equities at the end of last week. On Friday Europe''s broad FTSEurofirst 300 index closed up 1 percent and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.5 percent to a record-high close. Brent crude futures closed at $55.45 a barrel, roughly flat from their level when Gulf bourses closed on Thursday. Two Omani banks posted earnings in line with analysts'' estimates. Bank Muscat, Oman''s largest lender, posted a 1.3 percent increase in fourth-quarter net profit to 39.7 million rials ($103.2 million). Bank Dhofar reported a 19.6 percent fall in fourth-quarter profit to 10.75 million rials. (Reporting by Celine Aswad; Editing by Andrew Torchia) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/mideast-stocks-emirates-idUSL5N1F502E'|'2017-01-15T12:50:00.000+02:00' +'d1b88be4536cefb80a8ed1e59358a16fad546150'|'Asia stocks and pound weak, brace for May''s speech on Brexit stance'|'Money 12am IST Asia stocks and pound weak, brace for May''s speech on Brexit stance An English ten Pound note is seen in an illustration taken March 16, 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble/Illustration/File Photo By Shinichi Saoshiro - TOKYO TOKYO Asian stocks and the pound sagged on Tuesday as investors waited for British Prime Minister Theresa May to lay out plans to exit the European Union, which traders fear will see Britain lose access to the bloc''s single market. Britain will not seek a Brexit deal that leaves it "half in, half out" of the EU, May will say later in the day, according to her office, in a speech setting out her 12 priorities for upcoming divorce talks with the bloc. Those priorities will include leaving the EU''s single market and regaining full control of Britain''s borders, media reported, reinforcing fears of a ''Hard Brexit'' which has pushed the pound to some of the lowest levels against the U.S. dollar in more than three decades and weighed on other riskier assets such as stocks. Growing uncertainty over the policies of Donald Trump have also hurt equities, which had rallied in many parts of the world thanks to speculation that the U.S. President-elect would enact bold stimulus and reflationary measures once in office. "Markets affected by the twin political black swans of 2016 - the Brexit vote and Trump win - remain volatile and uncertain," wrote David Croy, senior rates strategist at ANZ. U.S. stock futures dipped 0.3 percent. Wall Street was closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Day. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 0.1 percent, while Japan''s Nikkei brushed a five-week low and was last down 0.4 percent. "Europe is going to be dominating the headlines today, and the focus is justifiably on May''s speech, and also on the interviews that Trump gave to European newspapers," said Stefan Worrall, director of Japan equity sales at Credit Suisse in Tokyo. Sterling hovered around $1.2050 , in striking distance of $1.1983, its lowest since Oct. 7 struck the previous day. The weaker pound helped take some pressure off of the greenback, which has been burdened by investor uncertainty over whether the incoming Trump administration would actually be able to implement effective policies. The euro was little changed at $1.0604 after dipping about 0.4 percent overnight. The yen benefited from its safe-haven status, holding its gains versus against the dollar, euro and sterling. The dollar was steady at 114.200 yen having gone as low as 113.610 the previous day, its weakest since Dec. 8. The Australian dollar, sensitive to shifts in risk sentiment, was down 0.1 percent at $0.7472. Higher iron ore prices had taken the Aussie to a one-month high of $0.7519 last week. Gold was helped by the heightened risk aversion stemming from Brexit and uncertainty over Trump''s plans. Spot gold was $1,203.93 an ounce after climbing to $1,207.86 overnight, its highest since late November. Crude oil was higher as Saudi Arabia''s steady commitment to reduce production offset a report forecasting U.S. output would rise again this year. [O/R] U.S. crude was up 0.3 percent at $52.51 a barrel . (Reporting by Shinichi Saoshiro; Additional reporting by Lisa Twaronite in Tokyo; Editing by Eric Meijer and Kim Coghill) Next In Money News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-markets-idINKBN15106J'|'2017-01-17T09:42:00.000+02:00' +'93a48d0146715009a79076126c8033b2b6019850'|'Twitter China head Kathy Chen leaves company'|'Mon Jan 2, 2017 - 10:49pm GMT Twitter China head Kathy Chen leaves company The Twitter logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., September 28, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid NEW YORK Twitter Inc ( TWTR.N ) executive Kathy Chen, who courted potential Chinese advertisers for the social media platform, announced her departure from the company in a tweet on Saturday. "Now that the Twitter APAC team is working directly with Chinese advertisers, this is the right time for me to leave the company," she wrote. Twitter grew its Greater China advertiser base nearly 400 percent over the past two years, she wrote, making it one of the company''s fastest growing revenue markets in Asia Pacific. Twitter, which has been under pressure to post profits, said in October it would cut 9 percent of its global workforce to keep costs down. Parminder Singh, the former managing director for Twitter in India and the Middle East, left the company in early November. Twitter did not reply to an email seeking comment. (Reporting by David Randall; Editing by David Gregorio) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-twitter-chen-idUKKBN14M17P'|'2017-01-03T05:46:00.000+02:00' +'291dbf7721b26c8008ecf94c0855dc9fb92ecbc9'|'Alliance Trust to buy back shares owned by U.S. activist fund Elliott'|' 7:36am GMT Alliance Trust to buy back shares owned by U.S. activist fund Elliott LONDON Alliance Trust will buy back the 19.75 percent of its shares owned by U.S. activist investor Elliott Management, the Scottish asset manager said on Friday, following pressure from Elliott to improve the fund''s performance. The repurchase requires approval by Alliance''s independent shareholders and would be done at a 4.75 percent discount, Alliance Trust said in the statement. Elliott increased its stake in Alliance Trust on Dec. 28, stepping up the pressure on the fund which Elliott said needs a shake-up to improve performance and close the gap between its shares and the value of the assets it holds. The activist fund forced Alliance Trust Chief Executive Katherine Garrett-Cox, one of the City of London''s most high-profile women in business, to step down from the group''s board in October 2015. Elliott, founded by billionaire Paul Singer, is unusual among U.S. hedge funds in targeting foreign firms for its activist campaigns, in which it buys shares in a company and then agitates for changes to how the investee is run. (Reporting By Lawrence White; editing by Susan Thomas) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-alliance-tr-elliott-idUKKBN15B0K9'|'2017-01-27T14:36:00.000+02:00' +'0c4ad53196ff03ac6f8ab43495b1c4b5df3376ad'|'Australia shares end at 20-month high; New Zealand up'|' 1:01am EST Australia shares end at 20-month high; New Zealand up (Updates to close) Jan 9 Australian shares closed firmer on Monday posting their fifth straight session of gains, pushed up by financials and healthcare companies, in line with U.S. stocks hitting new highs. The S&P/ASX 200 index ended the session up 0.9 percent, or 51.819 points, to 5,807.4, its highest close since May 5, 2015. The financial sector was up with the index gaining 1.5 percent, pushed up by the "Big Four" banks rising more than 1 percent each. Healthcare stocks led gainers on the main index, with CSL Ltd ending up 1.6 percent at its highest since Oct. 21 after the European Commission granted marketing authorisation for haemophilia drug AFSTYLA developed by CSL''s unit. Ramsay Healthcare also gained 3 percent to its highest since Nov. 14. On the other hand, basic material stocks lost as Australia''s Department of Industry, Innovation and Science has forecast a steep decline in iron ore prices, its most valuable export commodity, calling an end to an unexpected rally fuelled by strong demand from China. Iron ore producer Fortescue Metals lost 3.8 percent to end at its lowest in more than two weeks. BHP Billiton shed 0.1 percent while Rio Tinto declined 1.3 percent. New Zealand''s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index closed 0.6 percent higher, or 42.08 points, to finish the session at 7,012.74, its highest close since Oct. 17 Financial and industrial stocks pulled up the index as Westpac Banking Corp gained 1.8 percent while Auckland International Airport added 1.6 percent. On the losing side, consumer cyclicals eased with Fletcher Building shedding nearly 2 percent in its third consecutive session. (Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; Editing by Jacqueline Wong) Next In Financials MIDEAST DUBAI, UPDATE 2-France''s Ipsen to buy Merrimack''s pancreatic cancer drug, assets in $1 bln deal Jan 9 French drugmaker Ipsen SA said on Monday it would buy some assets of Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc , including pancreatic cancer drug Onivyde, for up to $1 billion, barely a month after the U.S. company stopped a breast cancer drug trial. SHANGHAI, Jan 9 China stocks started the week on a firmer note on Monday, led by defence stocks that surged after a state-run tabloid said China would seek to "take revenge" should U.S. President-elect Donald Trump abandon the "one-China" policy. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Taboola Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/australia-stocks-close-idUSL4N1EZ1SU'|'2017-01-09T13:01:00.000+02:00' +'15162e287a11a07519b510065954390e9a246088'|'Brazil''s CPFL stake handover to State Grid to trigger minority buyout: source'|'SAO PAULO Former shareholders of Brazil''s CPFL Energia SA ( CPFE3.SA ) have handed over ownership of their stakes to State Grid Corp of China on Monday, which will automatically trigger a buyout of minority stakeholders, a person familiar with the matter said.The formal handover of stakes from Camargo Correa SA and several pension funds that were CPFL Energia''s majority shareholders before the June deal to State Grid was signed earlier in the day, said the person, who requested anonymity because the plan remains private.CPFL plans to inform details of the transaction and the ensuing minority buyout in a securities filing to be published later in the day, the person said.(Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer; Writing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-cpfl-energia-m-a-buyout-idINKBN1572LJ'|'2017-01-23T16:43:00.000+02:00' +'8d646e0ebc3c71dccbd55c497e95cbab74f61132'|'Otonomy''s ear infection drug succeeds in late-stage trial'|'Health 21am EST Otonomy''s ear infection drug succeeds in late-stage trial Drug developer Otonomy Inc said on Thursday its drug to treat acute otitis externa (AOE), an infection in the outer ear canal, met the main goal in a late-stage trial. The drug, Otiprio, is approved for use in pediatric patients during tympanostomy tube placement surgery. The company said it would submit a supplemental marketing approval application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the first half of 2017. (Reporting by Divya Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta) Next In Health News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-otonomy-trials-idUSKBN14P1BO'|'2017-01-05T19:18:00.000+02:00' +'05b952849d4e02c03640ddb5928b45fda022885f'|'U.S. President Trump poses grave risk to world trade -French Finance Minister'|'World News 47am EST U.S. President Trump poses grave risk to world trade: French Finance Minister French Finance Minister Michel Sapin speaks during an interview with Reuters in his office at the Bercy Ministry in Paris, France, October 4, 2016. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen PARIS U.S. President Donald Trump''s administration poses a grave risk to international trade and Europe will have to stand up to him to prevent the collapse of global economic institutions, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said on Tuesday. "Our American partner appears to want to take unilaterally protectionist decisions which could destabilise the whole world economy," Sapin said in a speech to an audience of international economists gathered at the French finance ministry. "Decisions by the new U.S. administration are posing a grave risk to the world trade order," he said. "Neither France nor Europe ... can watch helplessly as our economic institutions risk being dislocated," he added. (Reporting by Myriam Rivet; writing by Michel Rose) Next In World News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-sapin-idUSKBN15F0S1'|'2017-01-31T15:36:00.000+02:00' +'22ae641f8a9382de7e1dad0f97f747f94f764e64'|'London banks'' Brexit battle heads to Europe'|'Business News - Tue Jan 10, 2017 - 5:58am EST London banks'' Brexit battle heads to Europe A man looks towards the Canary Wharf business district in London, Britain December 11, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville By Andrew MacAskill and Anjuli Davies - LONDON LONDON Banks with large London operations say they will step up lobbying European officials because they are running out of arguments to convince the British government the industry needs single market access after Britain leaves the European Union. Banks have focused on pressuring British officials to push for as much market access as possible since voters decided seven months ago to leave the EU. They held fewer meetings with European officials, according to several senior sources in the financial services industry. The focus is shifting because after scores of meetings and research reports, banks, which say they may begin moving staff and operations out of London in the next few months if there is no clarity, feel they are running out of new points to make. Prime Minister Theresa May said on Sunday she was not interested in Britain keeping "bits" of its EU membership, interpreted by some as signaling she will favor immigration controls over access to the single market. Banks are now planning a new round of lobbying to highlight how a hard Brexit could harm the EU and the UK. They have identified French politicians, EU regulators and government officials, as key groups to win over. "The battle for Britain is over, the battle for France is about to begin," said one senior lobbyist. Another senior lobbyist for one of the major global banks said he will spend more time in Brussels this year to target the EU''s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier and his teams as well as Didier Seeuws, a Belgian diplomat, who is helping coordinate the Brexit negotiations. Another lobbyist said he is planning to visit Paris to meet with French politicians and regulators later this month. Britain''s position as Europe''s financial center is emerging as one of the main collision points in the Brexit talks. Some European politicians see an opportunity to challenge British dominance of finance after decades of viewing its free-wheeling "Anglo-Saxon" model of capitalism with suspicion. EU leaders like French President Francois Hollande have said they plan to weaken Britain''s grip on finance by, for instance, demanding the lucrative business of clearing euros should move to the euro zone. Finance is Britain''s most important industry, accounting for about a tenth of its economic output and is its biggest source of business tax revenue. EUROPE''S INVESTMENT BANKER But Britain also acts as "the investment banker for Europe", Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said in November, with more than half the equity and debt raised for European governments and companies done in the UK. Banks will argue that Europe depends on the strength and the depth of the financial sector in London to service its economy and companies. If access to the EU is cut off, regional financial stability could be in jeopardy, they will say. UK-based banks had total outstanding loans of more than 1.1 trillion pounds to European companies and governments at the start of 2016. The British government has also privately appealed to financial organizations to make their case in Europe if they want a transitional period where their ability to operate in the EU would be phased out gradually over several years. Finance minister Philip Hammond told a meeting of finance executives at the end of November they should lobby European governments if they want to secure a post-Brexit transitional deal, according to two people who were present. Hammond made the comments at the annual dinner of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Wholesale Financial Markets and Services, attended by executives from the major British and international banks, according to the people who attended. "He basically said we need a transitional deal to avoid a cliff edge effect, but the EU also needs to argue for it," one person at the dinner said. "He was implying that we need to help the government prepare the ground." A Treasury spokesman, when asked for comment, reiterated Hammond''s previous statements to lawmakers that Europe will harm itself if they use Brexit to undermine London''s position as the region''s principal financial center. Bankers say more work is needed on forging a consensus between Britain and Europe on what any transitional deal may look like. European officials say they will not discuss such a deal before Britain triggers Article 50 of the EU''s Lisbon Treaty to start the process of leaving the EU. "Everyone has a different definition of what it means in Europe and within Whitehall. We''re trying to get a common view on what transition means," one of the lobbyists said. THAWING RELATIONS The British government''s relationship with business has gradually improved after months of friction after the vote. It hit a low point during the Conservative party conference in October when May attacked a "rootless" international elite and officials privately suggested banks would get no special favors in the Brexit negotiations. Nevertheless, banks feel they have largely finished putting forward their case for single market access. "We feel we''ve been lobbying the UK government to death. We''ve presented every piece of evidence, every report, research, you name it," one of the lobbyists said. "We''ve been repeating ourselves for a month or two now... What else do they really need from us now?" One government official, who asked not to be named, said regular dialogue with the finance sector will continue, but the number of meetings may reduce. "The door is open if people want to talk to us. There is not an arbitrary point at which speaking to people is no longer helpful," the person said. "But it has been intense, as we wanted it to be, and that intensity may ease." (Additional reporting by Huw Jones; editing by Anna Willard) Next In Business News Alibaba''s Ma meets Trump, promises to bring one million jobs to U.S. NEW YORK/BEIJING Alibaba Executive Chairman Jack Ma met U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Monday and laid out the Chinese e-commerce giant''s new plan to bring one million small U.S. businesses onto its platform to sell to Chinese consumers over the next five years, an Alibaba spokesman said. Toshiba asks creditors not to call in loans: sources TOKYO Toshiba Corp met creditors on Tuesday and asked them not to use provisions in debt agreements to call in their loans early, giving the troubled company time to work out a turnaround plan, sources with knowledge of the matter said. NEW YORK Citigroup Inc stands to get less of a profit boost than other big U.S. banks from lower corporate tax rates expected from the new government in Washington. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Taboola Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-banks-idUSKBN14U178'|'2017-01-10T17:58:00.000+02:00' +'58e0cfc70d8741782a766128fecad27018da7ca8'|'AXA UK says travel policies to cover those hit by U.S. ban'|' 12:19pm GMT AXA UK says travel policies to cover those hit by U.S. ban Logo of France''s biggest insurer Axa is seen in front the compagny headquarter in Paris, France, August 4, 2016. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen/File Photo LONDON The UK division of French insurer AXA ( AXAF.PA ) said its travel policies would cover those denied access to the United States due to a U.S. travel ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries. An executive order by U.S. President Donald Trump halted travel by people with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days. "Although not technically covered, we view the current situation as unprecedented and unforeseen and as such we are extending the cover under our (travel) policies," AXA UK said in a statement. (Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; Editing by Rachel Armstrong) Oil steady but U.S. drilling weakens deal to cut output LONDON Oil prices were steady on Monday, but news of another increase in U.S. drilling activity spread concern over rising output just as many of the world''s oil producers are trying to comply with a deal to pump less in an attempt to prop up prices.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-immigration-axa-sa-idUKKBN15E19K'|'2017-01-30T19:19:00.000+02:00' +'5498751f07c9d6347e2bc6a68147bc770992095a'|'17 global development clichs to avoid in 2017 - Global Development Professionals Network'|'1. On the ground Someone once told me that this phrase exists to differentiate perspectives from ivory towers. But to me, it feels more commonly used as a lazy, somewhat self-righteous substitute for parachuting into a developing nation. I get countless pitches from writers who tell me theyre on the ground in [insert country in Africa, Asia, or Latin America]. A question: When they return home, do they not walk on the ground?Related, people talk about the research they are conducting in the field. Are they researching the growth patterns of organic wheat? Or the nighttime behaviors of field mice?2. Empowerment This is one of those words that has great intentions who doesnt want to, say, empower women? but has lost its edge with overuse. It will also forever remind me of a photo I once saw taken by an NGO in rural India, in which several women gathered around a poster that said, Thanks to [name redacted] workshop, we are EMPOWERED.Empowerment isnt like a light switch; its a long and messy process, and it certainly wont be completed in a workshopFirst, Im not sure the women in the photo read English. Second, empowerment isnt like a light switch; its a long and messy process, and it certainly wont be completed in a workshop.3. Income-generating activity Because for some reason poor people cant just have a job. Also see livelihood opportunities.4. Photos of children chasing after a jeep Theres something about this particular photographic choice that, to me, reinforces the white saviour narrative.5. Capacity building For those of you who arent familiar with this cringe-worthy phrase, the World Health Organisation defines it as the development and strengthening of human and institutional resources. Whatever that means.6. Global citizen Ever noticed how most people who give themselves this epithet are white and citizens of countries with powerful passports ? Until people begin referring to Syrian refugees as global citizens, were avoiding the term altogether.7. Villages v towns Several months ago, I received a draft that started with, In towns across Europe and villages in Africa. What distinguishes a town from a village? And why across Europe but in Africa? On a related note, I implore writers to think twice before using loaded terms like tribe.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Cliched development image Photograph: age fotostock / Alamy/Alamy 8. Photos of Maasai warriors with cell phones What a pithy way to convey the ways in which traditional cultures are adapting to the 21st century. #ict4d 9. Stories that focus more on the do-gooder than the actual work I love profiles of impressive people who have effected tremendous social change. But I dont love stories that serve as glorified hero worship, or that treat the worthiness of someones work as evidence of the works success.10. Do-gooder Lets not turn powerful individuals who work on social change into teachers pets.11. Do good and do well Such a grammatically awkward way to talk about a for-profit organisation with a social mission.12. Giving voice to the voiceless Yes, one of the intentions of The Development Set is to publish underreported stories that will increase visibility of historically marginalised populations. But the word voiceless at best reminds me of Ariel in The Little Mermaid and at worst, feels condescending.13. Liaising with key local stakeholders Jargon police here. As with most jargon, this can be solved through specificity. Instead of stakeholder, tell me who matters when a decision is being made. And when you say liaise, do you mean youre having a conversation?14. Silver bullet There are none, and certainly not in the complicated world of social impact. I commit to never rhetorically asking in a headline whether an innovation is a silver bullet. The answer is no.15. Stories in which black/brown people are used as flat, colourful characters Louise Linton''s Zambia is not the Zambia I know Read more Im reminded here of Binyavanga Wainainas essay in Granta, How to Write about Africa :Among your characters you must always include The Starving African, who wanders the refugee camp nearly naked, and waits for the benevolence of the West. Her children have flies on their eyelids and pot bellies, and her breasts are flat and empty. She must look utterly helpless. She can have no past, no history; such diversions ruin the dramatic moment. Moans are good. She must never say anything about herself in the dialogue except to speak of her (unspeakable) suffering. Also be sure to include a warm and motherly woman who has a rolling laugh and who is concerned for your well-being. Just call her Mama.On the other hand, too many experts quoted in health/development stories are dripping with privilege, especially compared to the quintessential Starving African. I implore writers to think about the people youre choosing to interview for your stories, and the ways in which you plan to use them. You may also want to check the list of Aspen New Voices and Global Health Corps fellows for experts from Africa and Asia.16. Beneficiaries Poverty porn vs empowerment: The best and worst aid videos of 2016 Read more Wayan Vota has written about the inherent problems with this term: The definition of the term beneficiary means a person who derives advantage from something, usually a will, trust or other financial instrument. The implication is that this recipient is a passive recipient of largesse. And somehow, we have adopted this term in development. That the people we are working with should be passive recipients of our financial gifts.17. Third world This term originated during the Cold War to define countries that were neither aligned with NATO nor the Communist Bloc. Its now used as shorthand for non-industrialised countries though according to its definition, it also includes neutral countries like Switzerland. Like several of the other phrases in this list, third world also feels quite paternalistic.But Im not sure how to replace it. We typically use developing country, but recognise that theres an increasingly false divide between developed and developing countries. Ive had crystal-clear Skype connections in Tanzania and Thailand, while Ive struggled with public transportation to New York Citys JFK airport. Other terms, like least developed countries and global south also have their pitfalls.Whats the most cringe-inducing of this list? What phrase are you actually OK with? And did I miss any tropes or clichs?This article was first published on The Development Set . Join our community of development professionals and humanitarians. Follow @GuardianGDP on Twitter.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2017/jan/13/17-global-development-cliches-to-avoid-in-2017'|'2017-01-13T18:05:00.000+02:00' +'db911d13f65abbcf756325776d7aeef03d0eac79'|'Oil majors, car makers to push hydrogen technology to help cut emissions'|'Business News - Tue Jan 17, 2017 - 9:13pm GMT Oil majors, car makers to push hydrogen technology to help cut emissions left right Ben van Beurden, chief executive officer of Royal Dutch Shell, speaks during a news conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, February 15, 2016. REUTERS/Sergio Moraes 1/2 left right Total Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne attends an economic forum in Paris, France, December 1, 2016. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen 2/2 DAVOS, Switzerland The heads of some of the world''s biggest oil firms and automakers agreed on Tuesday to push for broader global use and bigger investments in using hydrogen to help reduce emissions and arrest global warming. The oil firms'' and car makers'' chiefs said the plan was part of global efforts to keep global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius, an ambitious goal agreed by 195 countries in Paris in 2015. "In this context, we are convinced that the unique contribution that hydrogen solutions offer needs to be strongly reaffirmed now," the participants, including the chiefs of oil firms Total ( TOTF.PA ) and Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ), Patrick Pouyanne and Ben van Beurden, said in a statement. The declaration was also signed by the CEOs of car makers BMW, Daimler, Honda, Hyundai, Kawasaki and Toyota as well as miner Anglo American and energy and engineering firms Engie, Linde and Air Liquide. Hydrogen does not release any CO2 at the point of use and its technologies and products have progressed significantly, the firms said in a statement. They aim to accelerate investment in developing and commercialising the hydrogen sector, currently amounting to just 1.4 billion euros a year - compared with the hundreds of billions of dollars invested annually by the oil sector. "We need governments to back hydrogen with actions of their own - for example through large scale infrastructure investment schemes," the statement quoted the head of Air Liquide Benoit Potier as saying. "We are not trying to bring hydrogen only to cars or trains. We are trying to bring a systemic approach. Hydrogen can generate power, produce heat and it is close to the chemical industry. And it is the most abundant element in the universe," Potier told a news conference. The head of oil major Shell Ben van Beurden said that despite starting a hydrogen business 20 years ago, his firm today had only had five hydrogen refuelling stations in Germany and three in California. "You need a coordinated approach to make it work. Hopefully, we can have hundreds (of stations)," he said. The head of Total Pouyanne said hydrogen was also the best way to store energy and Total was studying those opportunities. (Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Ruth Pitchford) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-davos-meeting-energy-idUKKBN1512ZB'|'2017-01-18T04:13:00.000+02:00' +'27416ed858a438c3812148cb3c040455d8530967'|'Online healthcare platform Practo raises $55 million in fresh funding - Reuters'|'MUMBAI Indian online healthcare platform Practo said on Tuesday it had raised $55 million from new and existing investors in a fresh round of funding led by China''s Tencent Holdings.Bengaluru-headquartered Practo, founded in 2008, acts as a one-stop shop for patients booking appointments with doctors for online and in-person consultations.New investors in the latest round include Japan''s Recruit Holdings Co -owned RSI Fund and Thrive Capital, Practo''s founder and chief executive Shashank ND told Reuters.Sequoia Capital, Matrix Partners, Capital G and Tencent were among the existing investors, who also participated in the latest round of funding, he said."The main focus will be to further invest in the platform to make it accessible to more Indians," said Shashank, who added that Practo will expand its medicine delivery and diagnostics services, currently available in the tech-hub of Bengaluru, to all major Indian cities.The firm may soon partner with health insurance providers, Shashank said.A part of the new funds will be used to expand the company''s services in South East Asia, he said. The company already has a presence in Indonesia, the Philippines, Brazil and Singapore.The firm says 45 million appointments annually are currently managed through its website.(Reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal; Editing by Sunil Nair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/practo-funding-idINKBN1510LH'|'2017-01-17T04:22:00.000+02:00' +'eb08b883b68a39960209fd4e746ae16da0b8c3e8'|'BRIEF-Fitch - Japan mega banks face challenges from unconventional policies'|'Financials - Thu Jan 26, 2017 - 11:34pm EST BRIEF-Fitch - Japan mega banks face challenges from unconventional policies Jan 26 Fitch on Japan''s mega banks : * Japan''s mega banks face challenges from unconventional policies, market volatility * Expects the banking sector''s profitability will continue to be pressured * Capital positions will remain intact with reduced vulnerability to market volatilities * Overseas loan growth to slow with the rising costs of foreign-currency funding Source text for Eikon: SE Asia Stocks-Steady tracking strong global markets; S''pore hits 15-mth high By Hanna Paul Jan 27 Southeast Asian stocks were steady on Friday in thin trading, tracking a rally in broader global peers on strong U.S. corporate earnings and an overnight surge in oil prices. MSCI''s world index, which tracks shares in 46 countries, hovered near record highs, cheered by a 2 percent rise in oil prices and a rebound of the greenback from a seven-week low. U.S. President Donald Trump''s pro-growth initiatives also boosted sentiments. "Everybody was a HONG KONG, Jan 27 Hong Kong home prices shattered records for the second consecutive month, reaching yet another life-time high in December, the latest government data released on Friday showed. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Taboola Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1FG19I'|'2017-01-27T11:34:00.000+02:00' +'bb6503662ad70196a6a3e65391c0e9f76085fbd5'|'French construction group Vinci sees signs of growth in 2017'|'Cyclical Consumer Goods - Thu Jan 12, 2017 - 10:21am EST French construction group Vinci sees signs of growth in 2017 * Signs of growth for 2017 - CEO Huillard * Possible boost from new French motorways deal * Vinci shares up around 1 pct so far in 2017 By Dominique Vidalon and Gilles Guillaume PARIS, Jan 12 Europe''s largest construction and concessions group Vinci expects group revenue to pick up this year as its construction business recovers and its French market improves, said its chairman and chief executive. "2017 should be a year of upturn for our global business volumes", Xavier Huillard told a news conference on Thursday. "Our orders are quite clearly showing recovery signs and we think that for most of our businesses, the low point in France is behind us...2017 should be a year when Vinci Construction returns to growth," he added. For 2016, Huillard confirmed Vinci''s earlier forecast for a slight decline in revenue due to challenging economic conditions. To counter weakness in its domestic French construction business, Vinci has expanded into faster growing and more profitable concessions such as at foreign airports and motorways, as well as engineering deals in the energy sector. After eight years of recession, French construction activity is, however, seen rising to 1.9 percent in volume in 2016 and should accelerate further to 3.4 percent in 2017, the French building federation (FFB) predicted in December. Vinci also sees possible support from a 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) motorway sector stimulus package eyed by the French government, motorway operators and regional authorities. Vinci could secure half of that package if the plan materialises, said Huillard, although he also cautioned that talks on the deal were still taking place and were "complex". In September, the French government started selecting projects for this new motorway package, under which operators may bear investment costs in exchange for limited toll hikes. Huillard was speaking during a visit of Vinci''s renovation work for Paris'' historic ''Penthemont'' Abbey. The project, worth some 50 million euros, will see the site house the new headquarters of fashion house Yves Saint Laurent as well as a luxury hotel operated by the Marriott group. Vinci shares were flat in late session trading. The stock is up some 1 percent so far in 2017, having risen 9 percent last year. ($1 = 0.9396 euros) (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta) Next In Cyclical Consumer Goods UPDATE 1-Amazon to go on hiring spree in the United States Jan 12 Amazon.com Inc said on Thursday it plans a hiring spree for warehouses it is building across the United States, making it the latest company to tout U.S. job creation since Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election in November.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/vinci-frcasts-idUSL5N1F13H0'|'2017-01-12T22:21:00.000+02:00' +'90e87896422c77fb84c739a354aaa5bdfa27c8de'|'Canada''s Saputo makes bid for rest of Australia''s Warrnambool Cheese and Butter'|'SYDNEY Jan 30 Canadian diary company Saputo Inc said on Monday it will make an all-cash takeover offer for the 12 percent of Warrnambool Cheese and Butter it does not already own, valuing the company at A$682 million ($515 million).The A$8.85 per-share offer announced by Saputo in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange is a 24.8 percent premium to Warrnambool''s Friday closing price of A$7.09.Saputo, which already owns 88.02 percent of Warrnambool shares, said it will fund the acquisition from cash on hand and existing credit facilities. ($1 = 1.3233 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Lincoln Feast)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/wcb-ma-saputo-idINL4N1FJ0EY'|'2017-01-29T19:33:00.000+02:00' +'28875a019c8625e8cc87c1f599ecb8681f7877f5'|'Brazil''s Odebrecht settling bribe cases in 12 countries'|'Business 10:01pm EST Brazil''s Odebrecht settling bribe cases in 12 countries A sign of the Odebrecht Brazilian construction conglomerate is seen at their headquarters in Lima, Peru, January 5, 2017. REUTERS/Mariana Bazo By Aluisio Pereira - BRASILIA BRASILIA Brazil''s largest engineering conglomerate Odebrecht SA [ODBES.UL] plans to reach settlements in all 12 countries where it has admitted to paying bribes to obtain contracts, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. The family-owned firm signed a $1.94 billion leniency deal with U.S., Swiss and Brazilian prosecutors in December for its involvement in a massive bribery and political kickback scheme and is striving to survive as a multinational concern by negotiating deals in a dozen other countries where it operated. "The company hopes to complete this process by mid-year," one of the sources said, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the matter. A second source confirmed the information. Since December, Odebrecht has agreed to pay $32 million to the government of Colombia, $59 million to the Panamanian government and $8.9 million to Peru''s as investigations of bribes paid to officials are under way in the three countries. "The company has to pass through this phase if it is to return to growth," one of the sources said. He declined to details the costs of further settlements in the works. Fitch credit rating agency downgraded Odebrecht''s engineering unit Odebrecht Engenharia e Construcao S.A.''s (OEC) from B- to CC on Tuesday, saying the global plea deal the company signed in December had not improved its situation. Instead it has "exacerbated OEC''s reputational risk and triggered a series of investigations in some countries where the company operates," Fitch said. Corruption probes in Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and Peru will probably result in the stoppage of projects under construction, suspension from participation in new public biddings and the payment of fines, the agency said. Fitch said OEC continues to support its parent, a cash burn that further pressures its liquidity. The sources that spoke to Reuters, however, said the rating downgrade will not impact management of the company''s debt that stood at $3.4 billion at the end of September, because the main payments are not due until 2025 when a $519 million tranche is due. OEC said in a statement that the Fitch rating change will not affect the current cost of financing its debt. The company said it had a portfolio of projects worth $21.3 billion in September, which will shrink because some have been finished with no new contracts coming in. "The company is taking steps to clean its reputation and it will have to shrink now to be able to grow again in the future," one of the sources said. (Reporting by Aluisio Pereira; Writing by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-corruption-odebrecht-idUSKBN15209G'|'2017-01-18T09:44:00.000+02:00' +'d6f4dc328ce6b5ddca8b276aa35500b4239d2dad'|'ChemChina seeks U.S. anti-trust approval for Syngenta deal'|'Fri Jan 20, 2017 - 9:01am GMT ChemChina seeks U.S. anti-trust approval for Syngenta deal left right People use an escalator outside the headquarters of ChemChina (China National Chemical Corporation) in Beijing, China, February 4, 2005. 1/2 left right A Syngenta logo is pictured in their office in Singapore, February 12, 2016. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo 2/2 BEIJING China National Chemical Corp, or ChemChina, said on Friday it has sought the U.S. anti-trust regulator''s approval for its planned $43 billion acquisition of Swiss crop protection and seed group Syngenta AG ( SYNN.S ). "We have filed an HSR Act with the FTC after good communications with the case team. We believe the U.S. anti-trust process is on track," ChemChina said in an email, referring to the U.S. anti-trust Hart-Scott-Rodino Act and the Federal Trade Commission, which oversees mergers. Sources close to the deal expected an approval soon, given the small revenue that ChemChina generates from the U.S. via Adama ( ADAM.N ), a maker of generic versions of pesticides without patent protection, and its minor overlap with Syngenta products. The deal has already won approvals from regulators in several markets, including a U.S. national security panel and Australia''s competition watchdog. Earlier this month, companies proposed minor concessions to the European Commission''s competition watchdog with one source close to the deal estimating the overall divestment from Adama at less than $500 million. Recently, the EU Commission extended the deal review to April 12, and a top Syngenta executive said earlier this week that it was "highly optimistic that by the date we will have made sufficient progress in the U.S. and EU to be going forward". (Reporting by Chen Aizhu; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-chemchina-syngenta-us-idUKKBN1540Y4'|'2017-01-20T16:00:00.000+02:00' +'d47c328240b9cf781f7f9b09ee2de4c0650215f1'|'UPDATE 1-Trump''s health nominee says has no plans to privatize Medicare'|'Financials - Tue Jan 24, 2017 - 3:33pm EST UPDATE 1-Trump''s health nominee says has no plans to privatize Medicare (Adds details from hearing) By Toni Clarke and Susan Cornwell Jan 24 President Donald Trump''s nominee to run the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told a U.S. congressional panel on Tuesday that he does not support the privatization of Medicare. Speaking before the Senate Committee on Finance, one of two committees that oversee the health department, Representative Tom Price, a Georgia orthopedic surgeon, also said his position reflects that of Trump, who has stated he does not want to cut Medicare. Price, who has previously backed privatization of Medicare, told lawmakers his role as health secretary would be very different from his role as a congressman and that his job would be to execute the wishes of Congress. "I would just convey to the Medicare population of this nation, they don''t have reason to be concerned," he said. "We look forward to assisting them in getting the care and coverage that they need." Democrats also grilled Price on his plans for Medicaid. A senior Trump adviser, Kellyanne Conway, said in an interview on NBC''s "Sunday Today" show that Trump''s plan to replace the Affordable Care Act will include fixed payments from the government to the states to care for Medicaid patients. These payments, known as block grants, contrast with the current system in which states share the actual cost of Medicaid enrollees with the federal government. Conway said converting to a block grant system would ensure that people in charge of administering the program are "those who are closest to the people" who need care. Price has long advocated block grants for Medicaid but declined on Tuesday to overtly re-state his position, saying only that he would work to make sure "people have better healthcare, not less healthcare." Price declined to say whether he supports the repeal of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, but said "any reform or improvement" would include the opportunity to gain access to quality healthcare. Medicare is the federal health program for the elderly while Medicaid covers the poor. (Reporting by Toni Clarke and Susan Cornwell in Washington; additional reporting by Caroline Humer in New York; Editing by Tom Brown) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-congress-price-idUSL1N1FE5HL'|'2017-01-25T03:33:00.000+02:00' +'2077f1e52ccf774474c7fdeb411c0415a76a7db9'|'Indonesia may issue new tax rules for mineral exports next week -official'|'Financials 17am EST Indonesia may issue new tax rules for mineral exports next week -official JAKARTA Jan 17 Indonesia may issue new tax rules for mineral exports next week, a Finance Ministry official said on Tuesday, after discussions with the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, which recently changed rules on domestic mineral processing. "We want the export duties to push domestic processing. That''s the principle," Suahasil Nazara, head of the Fiscal Policy Office at the Finance Ministry, told reporters, adding that the taxes were "not just for increasing state revenues". "There''s a high possibility we will continue with a scheme that has layers, depending on completion of smelters," he added. (Reporting by Hidayat Setiaji; Writing by Fergus Jensen; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/indonesia-mining-taxation-idUSJ9N1DV02Q'|'2017-01-17T12:17:00.000+02:00' +'488d46a0c54ce92909248cff575959991d785002'|'Jaguar Land Rover sells record 583,313 cars in 2016'|'Business News - Mon Jan 9, 2017 - 6:27am GMT Jaguar Land Rover sells record 583,313 cars in 2016 Signs are seen outside the Jaguar Land Rover plant at Halewood in Liverpool, northern England, September 12 , 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble LONDON Britain''s biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) ( TAMO.NS ) sold a record 583,312 cars last year as the Indian-owned firm continues its rapid expansion with the aim of building 1 million vehicles a year at the turn of the decade. Sales were up 20 percent from the previous year, although sales growth slowed to 12 percent year-on-year in December, the carmaker said. The automaker, which spent years in the doldrums before being bought by India''s Tata in 2008, has since invested heavily in new models and expanded production with plants in China and Brazil and construction of a new site in Slovakia under way. Sales of luxury Jaguar models rose 77 percent to 148,730 units in 2016 due to strong demand for a range of new high-end products including the F-PACE, the brand''s first off-roader which was launched last year. Europe was the carmaker''s biggest overall market, accounting for almost a quarter of total demand. The firm said its line-up will continue to expand but it has warned about the negative effect any tariffs on its business imposed as part of a Brexit deal could have if Britain were to lose unfettered access to the single market. Its annual profit could be cut by 1 billion pounds by 2020 if Britain returned to World Trade Organisation rules for trade with the continent, two sources told Reuters last year. (Reporting by Costas Pitas; Editing by Adrian Croft) Next In Business News Morgan Stanley, UBS to raise stakes in China securities JVs to 49 percent - sources HONG KONG Morgan Stanley and UBS Group AG are set to raise their stakes in separate Chinese securities joint ventures to 49 percent, people with direct knowledge of the moves said, betting on strong deals momentum in the world''s second-largest economy.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-jaguarlandrover-results-idUKKBN14T0H6'|'2017-01-09T13:27:00.000+02:00' +'8dedacf4733e54e9e8a078cd9f8938847b9163cd'|'At least 26 killed as Indian train derails'|'Industrials 10:32pm EST At least 26 killed as Indian train derails MUMBAI Jan 22 At least 26 people were killed and 50 injured on Saturday night when nine coaches of a passenger train derailed in eastern India, in the latest disaster to hit the vast and accident-prone state railways, police said. The express train from Jagdalpur to Bhubaneswar derailed near Kuneri station, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, around 30 km (18 miles) outside the town of Raigarh. "Nine bogies were derailed of which three have turned and fallen off the track," said local Superintendent of Police L.K.V. Ranga Rao. "Most of the casualties and deaths are from the three sleeper class compartments." (Reporting by Douglas Busvine and Suvashree Choudhury; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore) Next In Industrials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/india-crash-idUSL4N1FC02J'|'2017-01-22T10:32:00.000+02:00' +'658df770fdba15272c33281b09e9a565f88d7f30'|'Bovis Homes chief executive steps down after profit warning'|'Business News - Mon Jan 9, 2017 - 7:17am GMT Bovis Homes chief executive steps down after profit warning A Bovis homes flag flies at a housing development near Bolton, northern England, July 9, 2008. REUTERS/Phil Noble LONDON British housebuilder Bovis Homes ( BVS.L ) said its chief executive David Ritchie had stepped down with immediate effect, days after it warned on profit because it failed to complete the number of homes it expected at the end of 2016. The company said on Monday it had appointed finance director Earl Sibley as interim chief executive. (Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Sarah Young) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bovis-homes-grp-moves-idUKKBN14T0KV'|'2017-01-09T14:17:00.000+02:00' +'33283db576d767c318b460b847a651bfd791b770'|'MOVES-UBS hires ex-Deutsche Asia wealth head to oversee super rich business'|'Financials - Mon Jan 9, 2017 - 10:04pm EST MOVES-UBS hires ex-Deutsche Asia wealth head to oversee super rich business SINGAPORE Jan 10 UBS Group AG on Tuesday announced the hiring of former Deutsche Bank AG Asia Pacific wealth management head Ravi Raju as co-head of its global ultra-high net worth business in Asia Pacific. Raju joined Deutsche Bank in 2007 and played a key role in building its wealth management business in Asia, overseeing more than 700 employees in 15 locations. He left the bank in October last year. At UBS, Raju will work with Amy Lo, head of wealth management in Greater China and co-head of global ultra-high net worth business in Asia Pacific, the Swiss bank said in a statement. (Reporting by Saeed Azhar and Sumeet Chatterjee) Next In Financials Taiwan stocks down; strong Dec exports data caps losses TAIPEI, Jan 10 Taiwan stocks fell on Tuesday as traders exercised caution tracking shaky overseas markets, but losses were short-lived on buying after data showed December exports at a four-year high. As of 0210 GMT, the main TAIEX index was down 0.1 percent at 9,335.79, after closing down 0.3 percent in the previous session. The electronics subindex climbed as much as 0.3 percent, while the financials subindex dropped up to 0.6 percent. Government issued data on Monda'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/ubs-group-wealth-asia-idUSL4N1F01LT'|'2017-01-10T10:04:00.000+02:00' +'f487d6364bdcd4b1087e9094ad116a104345bcf5'|'Lufthansa says to hire more than 3,000 new staff in 2017'|'Wed Jan 4, 2017 - 9:23am GMT Lufthansa says to hire more than 3,000 new staff in 2017 The tail of a parked plane is pictured during a pilots strike of German airline Lufthansa at Frankfurt airport, Germany, November 30, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT German airline Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) plans to hire more than 3,000 new staff in 2017, most of them flight attendants, it said in a statement on Wednesday. Lufthansa Group airlines - Austrian, Swiss and Eurowings - are hiring more than 2,200 staff in total, it said. Lufthansa Technik is planning to recruit 450 new staff. Lufthansa cabin crew and pilots have gone on strike several times over the last few years as the airline battles to reduce costs. Its cabin-crew union UFO said last month the latest talks over pay and working conditions had failed. (Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Harro ten Wolde) Up Next Exclusive: Wall Street lawyer Jay Clayton emerges as Trumps top SEC choice BOSTON/WASHINGTON Wall Street lawyer Jay Clayton, who has worked on high-profile initial public offerings such as Alibaba Group, is a leading candidate to head the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in the Trump administration, two sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-lufthansa-hiring-idUKKBN14O0SU'|'2017-01-04T16:21:00.000+02:00' +'c7e8e04c64922fe9f67da73bd60b0eace964418e'|'''Apocalypse Now'' could become a video game'|'Francis Ford Coppola wants to make an ''Apocalypse Now'' video game by Jethro Mullen @CNNTech January 27, 2017: 3:52 AM ET Francis Ford Coppola says the "Apocalypse Now" movie "almost broke me because it was so expensive." Nearly four decades after "Apocalypse Now" came out, Francis Ford Coppola is asking fans of the classic Vietnam War movie to help him turn it into a video game. The legendary director is planning to develop a "psychological horror" role-playing game. Players will see the world through the eyes of Capt. Willard, the U.S. officer played by Martin Sheen in the film who embarks on a mission to assassinate Marlon Brando''s renegade Col. Kurtz. As he did during his cinema career, Coppola says he wants to go outside of the mainstream industry to realize his vision. He and his collaborators launched a Kickstarter campaign this week that''s aiming to raise $900,000. They''re offering rewards for early backers of the project that include props from the movie and opportunities to work with the game developers. Apocalypse Now (@apocnowgame) January 25, 2017 Fans hoping for a war game filled with lots of shooting, like "Call of Duty," will be disappointed, though. "Some game industry executives told us we should license our film and make a shooter game or do a mobile version, clearly trading only on the iconic title of the film, but that''s the last thing I''d want to do," Coppola says in a video talking about the new project. A photo posted by Apocalypse Now (@apocalypsenowgame) on Nov 28, 2016 at 4:02pm PST The Kickstarter fundraising, which stood at more than $89,000 on Friday, will only cover part of the financing for the game, which is expected to take about three years to produce. Its developers are also planning to raise money on a separate website and will turn to other funding sources if needed -- but Coppola and his team are eager to remain as independent as they can. "The major game publishers have modeled themselves after the big Hollywood studios in that they''re driven to make risk-free, formulaic, tent-pole projects that fit easily into a specific genre," he said. The "Apocalypse Now" video game will nonetheless have industry veterans working on it, including developers of popular titles like "Gears of War" and "Fallout: New Vegas." Related: Nintendo Switch links to the past but feels like the future Let''s hope the finances of the game are better managed than those of the original movie. "''Apocalypse Now'' almost broke me because it was so expensive," Coppola told CNN in 2009. "I had every nickel that I owned riding on a movie that was going rampantly over-budget and I was going to end up with the bill." CNNMoney (Hong Kong) 27, 2017: 3:52 AM ET'|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/edition_business.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/27/technology/apocalypse-now-video-game-francis-ford-coppola/index.html'|'2017-01-27T16:34:00.000+02:00' +'d819dc6715ab6b612c1b73b316ceacdda4c84ac6'|'UPDATE 1-Vietnam Airlines shares soar 40 pct on debut, giving it $2.1 bln value'|'Industrials 34am EST UPDATE 1-Vietnam Airlines shares soar 40 pct on debut, giving it $2.1 bln value * Shares hit 39,200 dong by midday break vs 28,000 dong open price * Volumes thin due to low free-float - trader * Jump could boost govt stake divestment plan (Adds trader''s comments, context) By My Pham HANOI, Jan 3 Shares of Vietnam Airlines surged 40 percent on their stock market debut on Tuesday, valuing the firm at $2.1 billion, as investors sought exposure to the flagship carrier to tap into strong air travel growth in the Southeast Asian nation. A strong stock market showing could prove beneficial to the Vietnamese government''s stake divestment plan. The government wants to sell off its stake in several state firms, including brewers Sabeco and Habeco, and use stock market prices as benchmarks to value its holdings in them. Vietnam Airlines shares hit 39,200 Vietnam dong ($1.72) at the midday break on the Unlisted Public Company Market compared to their opening price of 28,000 dong, data from the secondary exchange showed. There were bids for 1.3 million HVN shares, while just 700 shares were bought, the data showed. The carrier is 86 percent owned by the government, with another 8.8 percent belonging to Japan''s ANA Holdings, meaning very few shares are freely available for trading. "There was limited supply due to the low free-float, while sellers were few as shareholders were waiting for higher prices," said Duong Manh Dung, a trader at VnDirect Securities. Vietnam''s airline market is growing at one of the fastest rates in Asia Pacific, boosted by a burgeoning middle class, with the country''s airlines placing multi-billion dollar aircraft orders and the Southeast Asian nation unveiling plans to shore up infrastructure. Vietnam Airlines said on Monday its 2016 pre-tax profit hit a record high of 2.5 trillion dong, jumping 140 percent from a year earlier. It has a 70 percent stake in Vietnamese low-cost carrier Jetstar Pacific, with Australia''s Qantas holding the rest. Its other domestic affiliate is Vietnam Air Service Company and it also owns 49 percent of Cambodia Angkor Air, a joint venture with the Cambodian government. The airline commands about half of the domestic market while the two affiliates have another combined 15 percent share. Together, they announced deals last year to buy 20 Airbus jets worth an estimated $4.1 billion to expand their fleet. The stock market debut of Vietnam Airlines comes as private sector rival VietJet is gearing up to make its market debut and has been valued at $1.2 billion, according to Thomson Reuters publication IFR. Vietnam late last year also saw several major share sales and listings, including a $3.72 billion listing of its top brewer Sabeco where the government owns nearly 90 percent and is keen to unload its entire stake by 2017. Other closely watched offerings were the listing of Habeco and the sale of a portion of state shares in dairy products maker Vinamilk. Vietnam has been seeking to accelerate the initial public offerings (IPOs) of state-owned companies and list their shares to boost investment and increase transparency. ($1=22,750 dong) (Reporting by My Pham; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman) Next In Industrials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/vietnam-airlines-listing-idUSL4N1ET0WR'|'2017-01-03T15:34:00.000+02:00' +'19e8a556e0ec5846e08af262f34bac2d98e26b40'|'Tata Steel in talks to cut its UK pension scheme benefits - Trustees'|'Business News - Fri Jan 13, 2017 - 3:57pm GMT Tata Steel in talks to cut its UK pension scheme benefits - Trustees A company logo is seen outside the Tata steelworks near Rotherham in Britain, in this March 30, 2016 file photo. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo LONDON Tata Steel ( TISC.NS ) is in talks with stakeholders to cut its UK pension benefits and end its liability for the scheme, according to a statement from the trustees of its British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS). Tata Steel, the UK''s largest steelmaker, is currently in talks to merge its European assets with Germany''s Thyssenkrupp but the success of those talks hinges on Tata being able to separate itself from its pension scheme. The 15 billion pound scheme, which Tata inherited in 2007 when it bought Corus, formerly state-owned British Steel, is one of the largest defined benefit, or final salary, UK pension schemes. Its deficit stood at 50 million pounds last October, though it stood at 700 million pounds earlier in the year and could easily balloon again, depending on market conditions. . Given that position, the company is seeking a deal with the pensions regulator and other stakeholders to cut benefits for all members but keep them above levels that would be offered by the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) -- a lifeboat for failing schemes. If a deal were struck, the idea would be for the scheme to be run by the trustees without the financial backing of Tata. "The Trustees hope and expect to be able to provide better benefits for members than PPF compensation. This could be done by transferring members and assets to a new scheme with modified benefits," the BSPS trustees said. Tata Steel has meanwhile offered to invest in its British business and guarantee the jobs of its 11,000 UK employees if they vote in favour of closing the pension scheme to future accrual and moving on to a less generous scheme. The UK business has made consistent losses since Indian-owned Tata bought it 2007. Employees will vote on the deal at the end of this month. (Reporting by Maytaal Angel and Carolyn Cohn; Editing by Keith Weir) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-tatasteel-pensions-uk-idUKKBN14X1X2'|'2017-01-13T22:57:00.000+02:00' +'452b499a6de8823072ee6c1789e90ca577563dca'|'Deutsche Boerse-LSE merger make markets healthier - Blackrock'|'Deals 9:53pm GMT Deutsche Boerse-LSE merger make markets healthier: Blackrock left right Picture shows the inside of the new Deutsche Boerse Group headquarters in Eschborn, outside Frankfurt, Germany, January 25, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach 1/2 left right A red London bus passes the Stock Exchange in London, Britain, February 9, 2011. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/File Photo 2/2 FRANKFURT Blackrock ( BLK.N ), the second-largest shareholder in both Deutsche Boerse ( DB1Gn.DE ) and London Stock Exchange Group ( LSE.L ), publicly voiced its support for the $28 billion merger of the two European exchanges as key regulatory decisions on the tie-up loom. Deutsche Boerse and LSEG have been working to overcome regulatory hurdles holding up the merger and looking to appease antitrust regulators. LSEG agreed this month to sell its French clearing business to Euronext ( ENX.PA ). "Sceptics of this merger must consider the need for stronger capital markets in Europe - as well as the ways the alliance could in fact benefit competition by deepening access to capital on the continent," Blackrock Chairman Laurence Fink said in a speech at a Deutsche Boerse reception on Monday. "Deutsche Boerse itself has taken an important step towards healthier markets through the proposed merger with LSE." The German state of Hesse, which has the authority to veto a merger of the two exchange operators, will host a summit on Tuesday to review the tie-up. Britain''s preparations to trigger divorce talks with the European Union have put a question mark over the deal because a Brexit would place London, Europe''s financial capital and planned headquarters of the new group, outside the bloc. British Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to use a speech on Tuesday to signal a so-called "hard Brexit", meaning Britain would pull out of the single market and customs union. German regulators, fearing a loss of control, want Frankfurt to play the leading role, or, at the very least, be one of two headquarters with London. Blackrock''s Fink also said that Germany needed to keep a close relationship with Britain. "Brexit means that maintaining ties with London is even more important today, given its more developed capital markets," he said in a prepared speech. Fink, who is part of President-elect Donald Trump''s business advisory council, also hailed the moral leadership of Germany''s Chancellor Angela Merkel. "Despite the terrible events in Berlin only a couple of weeks ago, Germany has demonstrated its ability to balance acts of humanity and economic and political challenges that come along with it," Fink said, referring to the attack in which a truck ploughed into a Berlin Christmas market, killing 12. Trump''s stance on immigration contrasts sharply with that of Merkel, whose policy has allowed for an influx of more than a million migrants into Germany in 2015 and 2016, mainly Muslims fleeing war-torn countries including Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. (Reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by David Evans) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-deutsche-boerse-m-a-lse-idUKKBN1502G2'|'2017-01-17T01:58:00.000+02:00' +'7f236c926781928ed668d315ff68bfa893994bfc'|'BRIEF-Guangzhou Yuetai Group expects FY 2016 net profit to be 139.7 mln to 167.6 mln yuan'|'Financials 42am EST BRIEF-Guangzhou Yuetai Group expects FY 2016 net profit to be 139.7 mln to 167.6 mln yuan Jan 19 Guangzhou Yuetai Group Co Ltd : * Says net profit of FY 2016 expected to be 139.7 million to 167.6 million yuan * Says the net profit of FY 2015 was 64.5 million yuan (before adjustment) or 55.9 million yuan (after adjustment) Source text in Chinese: goo.gl/hkmD3x Further company Coverage: (Beijing Headline News) Next In Financials UPDATE 2-Brazil''s inflation falls below 6 pct in mid-January (Adds comments, services prices, background on inflation target) By Silvio Cascione BRASILIA, Jan 19 Brazil''s inflation rate slowed more than expected in mid-January, falling below 6 percent for the first time in nearly three years and reinforcing market bets on steep interest rate cuts by the central bank. Consumer prices as measured by the IPCA-15 index rose 5.94 percent in the 12 months to mid-January, slowing from an increase of 6.58 percent in mid-December, govern Lloyds bank named Britain''s best employer for LGBT people LONDON, Jan 19 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Lloyds Banking Group was named on Thursday as Britain''s best employer for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in a nationwide workplace equality index, followed by law firm Pinsent Masons and J.P. Morgan bank. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Taboola Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL4N1F944Z'|'2017-01-19T19:42:00.000+02:00' +'6c27f79339390c336a8eb058d10ccbf1bca624ab'|'UK''s Greggs raises profit guidance after strong Christmas'|' 26am GMT UK''s Greggs raises profit guidance after strong Christmas A man walks past a Greggs bakery in Bradford, Britain March 1, 2016. Greggs plans to close three bakeries and cut up to 355 jobs as part of a 100-million-pound ($140 million) restructuring programme, the British baker announced on Tuesday. REUTERS/Phil Noble LONDON British baker and food-on-the-go seller Greggs ( GRG.L ) forecast full year profit slightly ahead of previous expectations after enjoying strong sales in its Christmas quarter. But the Newcastle, northern England, based firm, which sells sandwiches, sausage rolls, bakes and pastries, also cautioned on Tuesday that there was greater uncertainty in the trading environment with increased pressure on real income growth. It said it continued to expect some industry-wide cost pressures in 2017 and these were likely to have a modest impact on margins in the short term. Greggs said sales at company-managed shops open over a year rose 6.4 percent in its fiscal fourth quarter to Dec. 31. That compared to third quarter growth of 2.8 percent and took like-for-like sales growth for the full 2016 year to 4.2 percent. (Reporting by James Davey, Editing by Sarah Young) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-greggs-outlook-idUKKBN1510M3'|'2017-01-17T14:26:00.000+02:00' +'5f1d620dffebdeac2b5d6db3f61a196396968063'|'China''s COFCO Agri names chief operating officer as part of shake-up - company memo'|'Market News - Fri Jan 13, 2017 - 9:38am EST China''s COFCO Agri names chief operating officer as part of shake-up - company memo LONDON Jan 13 Selina Yang has been appointed as chief operating officer of COFCO Agri, the international grains business of China''s state run COFCO group, according to an internal memo from the division seen by Reuters. Yang will be responsible for the global grains, oilseeds and cotton business, having previously been head of business integration with the parent group COFCO. COFCO Group said last week that Matt Jansen had resigned as CEO of COFCO Agri - 18 months after joining. It named COFCO vice president Jingtao Chi, who is known as Johnny, as chief executive of both COFCO Agri Ltd and COFCO International Ltd to succeed Jansen. The changes come after a tough year for global commodity traders, with bumper crops in major growing nations like the United States pressuring prices of corn and soybeans and intensifying competition among merchants. Officials at COFCO Agri and the parent group could not be immediately reached for comment. The memo also named the heads of business segments who will report to Yang including Crawford Tatum, its global head of cotton. Two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters last week that Kevin Brassington, COFCO Agri''s global head of grains and oilseeds, had also left, which was confirmed in the memo. COFCO has been on a major global expansion drive in recent years, investing over $3 billion to buy Noble Group''s agribusiness as well as a large stake in Dutch grain trader Nidera. Since first investing in Nidera in 2014, COFCO has had several setbacks, including a $150 million financial hole in its Latin American operations and $200 million in unauthorized trading losses on its biofuels desk. (Reporting by Jonathan Saul and Nigel Hunt in London and Dominique Patton in Beijing; Editing by Veronica Brown and Keith Weir) Next In Market News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/mergersNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/cofco-moves-idUSL5N1F33K9'|'2017-01-13T21:38:00.000+02:00' +'1c477aaaf48d66e7735f8ccb43b30d8a1b20afdc'|'Trump attacks GM over Chevy Cruze production, threatens tax'|' 2:56pm GMT Trump attacks GM over Chevy Cruze production, threatens tax left right General Motors introduces the new 2016 Chevy Cruze vehicle at the Filmore Theater in Detroit, Michigan June 24, 2015. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook 1/2 left right U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump arrive for a New Year''s Eve celebration with members and guests at the Mar-a-lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. December 31, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst 2/2 By Bernie Woodall and David Shepardson - DETROIT/WASHINGTON DETROIT/WASHINGTON U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday blasted General Motors Co ( GM.N ) and threatened to impose a "big border tax" for making some Chevrolet Cruze cars in Mexico, which the U.S. carmaker defended as part of a strategy to serve global customers, not sell them in the United States. "General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to U.S. car dealers-tax free across border. Make in U.S.A. or pay big border tax!" Trump said in a post on Twitter. GM said it makes its Cruze sedan in the United States and that all of those sold in the United States are made in a plant in Lordstown, Ohio. "GM builds the Chevrolet Cruze hatchback for global markets in Mexico, with a small number sold in the U.S." it said in a statement posed on its website without giving numbers. Shares of GM ( GM.N ) rose 1 percent to $35.19 after falling about 1 percent following Trump''s tweet before the market opened. Last month. Trump announced the formation of a council to advise him on job creation, a group comprised of leaders from a variety of major U.S. corporations including GM Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra. GM said in 2015 it would build its next-generation Chevrolet Cruze compact in Mexico as automakers look to expand in the Latin American nation to take advantage of low labor costs and free trade agreements. GM said in 2015 it would invest $350 million to produce the Cruze at its plant in Coahuila as part of the $5 billion investment in its Mexican plants announced in 2014. GM said earlier this year it would import some Cruze cars from Mexico. According to Automotive News, GM began producing the Cruze in Mexico last year, making 52,631 cars there. In comparison, it built 319,536 of them in the United States. Previous versions of the Cruze sold in Mexico were made in a GM South Korea plant, it reported. The shift is part of a larger trend among Detroits Big Three automakers to produce more small cars for the North American market in Mexico in an effort to lower labor costs, while using higher-paid U.S. workers to build more profitable trucks, sport utility vehicles and luxury cars. In November, GM said it planned in early 2017 to lay off 2,000 employees at two U.S. auto plants, including the one in Lordstown. U.S. small car sales have been hurt by lagging consumer demand and low gas prices. GM''s U.S. Cruze sales are down 18 percent through November. Representatives for the United Auto Workers union could not be reached immediately for a response to Trump''s tweet. Trump''s comments are the latest in a string of Tweets targeted at companies over jobs, imports and costs before he takes office on Jan. 20, including United Technologies Corp''s ( UTX.N ) Carrier unit and U.S. defence companies. The Republican, who will succeed Democratic President Barack Obama, campaigned with tough rhetoric on trade and promises to protect American workers and called out several companies by name, including GM rival Ford Motor Co ( F.N ) (Additional reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-gm-idUKKBN14N1AI'|'2017-01-03T21:56:00.000+02:00' +'855a602b63076744b7839a4ed10c9139baafb7e3'|'Saudi Aramco selects U.S. firms to audit reserves for IPO: sources'|'DUBAI/KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia/LONDON State oil giant Saudi Aramco [IPO-ARMO.SE] has tasked two U.S. industry leaders in oil reserves auditing to review the content of its deposits as it pushes ahead with a share listing next year, industry sources said on Thursday.Aramco, whose fields are estimated to contain 15 percent of the world''s oil, has asked a unit of oil services firm Baker Hughes - Gaffney, Cline and Associates - to carry out the review, three sources familiar with the move told Reuters.Two separate sources said Aramco had also asked Dallas-based DeGolyer and MacNaughton, one of the world''s oldest names in reserves auditing, to perform some work.Baker Hughes and Aramco declined to comment. DeGolyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The listing, expected to be the world''s biggest initial public offering (IPO), is a centerpiece of a Saudi Arabian government plan to transform the kingdom by enticing investment and diversifying the economy away from a reliance on oil.Aramco, once U.S.-based and run by Americans, has long been a Saudi state corporation. It dwarfs all others in the industry by production and reserves, with crude reserves of 265 billion barrels.The plan to list Aramco, the kingdom''s crown jewel, is being championed by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who oversees energy and economic policy in the world''s top oil-exporting nation.He is leading a reform drive, called Vision 2030, to address falling oil revenue and fiscal deficits by boosting the private sector, ending government waste and diversifying the economy.Last year, Prince Mohammed said he expected the IPO would value Aramco at a minimum of $2 trillion, but that he thought the figure might end up higher.Any valuation would account for oil price expectations and the size of Saudi Arabia''s proven crude reserves.Industry sources say the right to own the reserves is a sovereign issue retained by the Saudi government, while Aramco is most likely to keep its concession, meaning it would have direct access to those reserves with sole rights of exploration and production.The main question is how much of the oil reserves would be reflected in Aramco''s financial books after an independent audit as a result of the concession, the sources say."Aramco is in talks with a company to audit its reserves and another one to audit its finances," another Saudi-based industry source said."Whether (all) the oil reserves would be IPO-ed or not, that''s still being discussed."The Wall Street Journal was first to report that Aramco had hired Gaffney, Cline & Associates to assess its oil reserves, citing sources.MILESTONESSaudi officials and their advisers are aiming for two key milestones in 2017 as they push ahead with the flotation.Saudi-based industry sources say 2018 remains the planned date and up to 5 percent is the stake size being considered for the offer, though this could be raised depending on oil prices and market reaction to the listing."There are two key milestones this year. Choosing banks for the IPO and choosing an exchange," said a senior industry source familiar with the IPO plans."Aramco is looking at all options ranging from North America, Europe and Asia. In terms of deadlines, 2018 is still the plan to list the company."Aramco had said it was considering several options for the flotation, including a single domestic stock exchange listing and a dual listing with a foreign market.Officials from the oil firm plan "discovery trips" to foreign exchanges in the next few months and have invited banks to pitch for an advisory position in the IPO, the sources said.Morgan Stanley and HSBC are among the banks that have received a request for proposals. The invitation was to evaluate Aramco''s business and help it with measures surrounding the share sale.(Additional reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov in London; Editing by Dale Hudson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-aramco-ipo-idUSKBN15A27X'|'2017-01-26T19:20:00.000+02:00' +'1a4d30200d09c7b6b7a781123800d7c099a451d7'|'France to hold London roadshow to lure finance jobs to Paris'|' 7:52pm GMT France to hold London roadshow to lure finance jobs to Paris French politician Valerie Pecresse, President of the Ile-de-France region, arrives to attend the political council of Les Republicains political party at their headquarters in Paris, France, November 29, 2016. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen By Maya Nikolaeva , Jean-Baptiste Vey and Michel Rose - PARIS PARIS French authorities will head to London next week for a roadshow to try to lure financial jobs to Paris which will show off the French capital''s advantages versus Frankfurt as an alternative to Britain''s financial centre. Valerie Pecresse, the head of the wider Paris region and Gerard Mestrallet, president of France''s finance industry lobby Europlace, will next Monday meet executives from BlackRock, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and others to present a study by McKinsey, aimed at highlighting the attractions of Paris. In the run up to Britain''s June vote on Brexit, leading financial firms said they would move jobs out of the country if there was a vote to leave but have set out few details since on how many will go or where to. "The battle narrows down to Paris and Frankfurt," a spokesman for Pecresse told Reuters. HSBC, Europe''s biggest bank, has said it could move a part of its operations to Paris. HSBC already has a large subsidiary in Paris that holds most of the licences needed by an investment bank. "There will be others," one French minister, who declined to be named, told Reuters. Paris has a network of international law firms and asset managers and the city is also home to the European markets authority, ESMA and has its own financial supervisor, which looks after some of the largest banks in the eurozone, French officials say. "We have a very good supervisor and that''s important for American banks," a source at the French finance ministry said. Also in Paris''s favour is its status as Europe''s only other "world city" alongside London, with some of the most-visited cultural attractions in the world and the headquarters of many multinational companies, French authorities say. Germany is also on a charm offensive to attract finance jobs from Britain. The country''s senior regulators met about 50 envoys from foreign banks on Monday to explain how they could move business to Europe''s biggest economy after Britain leaves the European Union, German financial watchdog Bafin said. Beyond the financial sector, Paris''s allure has recently been boosted by an influx of investment in its tech sector, with Facebook choosing the French capital to open its first ever start-up incubator. But French officials have acknowledged France''s strict labour laws can put off businesses. The finance ministry source said the French administration was working on ways to allow firms to lay off teams of 50 people or so more easily, but this could not be implemented before the presidential election this spring. Nordine Hachemi, chairman and chief executive of Kaufman & Broad, a France-based property developer and builder, is optimistic about Paris''s attractions but expects any actual moves to take time. "We should be realistic, no-one is going to rush to settle in Paris," Hachemi told Reuters, adding that he saw no impact from Brexit on the property market with regards to companies considering relocation plans. "This will take time ... There is competition with other European cities, there is no impact at this stage," he said. Behind the scenes though, companies and employees are already making enquiries with French institutions about practical matters. Ecole Internationale Bilingue, one of Paris'' most prestigious bilingual schools, told Reuters they received quite a lot of registration requests from British-based families who were concerned about the consequences of Brexit. (Reporting by Maya Nikolaeva, Jean-Baptiste Vey and Michel Rose; Additional reporting by Emmanuel Jarry, Julien Ponthus and Matthieu Protard. Editing by Jane Merriman) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-france-idUKKBN15E2F8'|'2017-01-31T02:52:00.000+02:00' +'9abdd7a0ffa002c6a0b2d5b940aff5467aa26f03'|'Bank of China to open deposit bank in Turkey with Lira funding in exchange for $300 mln - banking watchdog'|'United States Financials 11:12am EST Bank of China to open deposit bank in Turkey with Lira funding in exchange for $300 mln - banking watchdog ANKARA Jan 13 Turkey''s banking watchdog BDDK said on Friday the Bank of China had received permission to open a deposit bank with Turkish lira funding in exchange for $300 million. In a statement, the BDDK said the Bank of China had brought the "necessary capital" and would apply to start functioning shortly. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu and Birsen Altayli; Editing by Angus MacSwan) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/turkey-banks-bank-of-china-idUSL5N1F34DC'|'2017-01-13T23:12:00.000+02:00' +'b3ad6bcd93daf1650d98dba9b6eea79b0baae3d2'|'Exclusive: Viacom to announce executive changes - sources'|' 30pm EST Exclusive: Viacom to announce executive changes - sources A woman exits the Viacom Inc. headquarters in New York April 30, 2013. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo By Jessica Toonkel and Liana B. Baker Viacom Inc ( VIAB.O ) is expected to announce changes to its executive ranks, as new chief executive Bob Bakish seeks to turn around the ailing media company, two sources told Reuters on Thursday. Viacom is expected to promote Sarah Kirshbaum Levy, the chief operating officer of its Nickelodeon network, to chief operating officer of its global entertainment group, the sources said. Viacom created the group late last year to combine its international division with its music and entertainment group as well as TV Land and CMT. Additionally, Viacom is expected to make a handful of executive cuts in its music and entertainment group, which includes cable networks Comedy Central and MTV and had been led by 25-year veteran Doug Herzog, who left the company this week, the sources said. The sources wished to remain anonymous because they are not permitted to speak to the media. (Reporting By Jessica Toonkel in New York and Liana B. Baker in San Francisco; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-viacom-reorg-idUSKBN14P23W'|'2017-01-06T00:26:00.000+02:00' +'64e102ab99b2952f882c186992bf83da325aaa7b'|'Britain can discuss but not seal trade deals while still in EU - executive'|'Business News - Tue Jan 24, 2017 - 10:39am GMT Britain can discuss but not seal trade deals while still in EU - executive European Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans addresses the European Parliament during a debate on the commission work Programme for 2017, in Strasbourg, France, October 25, 2016. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler VALLETTA Britain can discuss but not seal bilateral trade deals while it remains a member of the European Union, the deputy head of the bloc''s executive, which will lead the technical negotiations on Brexit, said on Tuesday. Frans Timmermans'' words raised the prospect of obstacles and delays for Britain''s plan to pursue trade pacts with the United States and other nations as it prepares to leave the bloc. Prime Minister Theresa May had promised to start the divorce proceedings in March - though the timing of the exit was called into question on Tuesday when a top court ruled she must first seek approval from parliament. "It''s a very simple legal situation," said Timmermans, First Vice-President of the European Commission. "Everybody can talk to everyone, but you can only sign a trade agreement with a third country once you have left the EU. You can''t do that before," Timmermans told reporters. His comments seemed slightly less rigid that those of his boss, the Commission''s President Jean-Claude Juncker, who said last year he did not like the idea of Britain negotiating trade agreements on its own while Brexit has not materialised. The line has been echoed by Italy''s Europe minister, Sandro Gozi, also attending a meeting of EU ministers and officials in Malta: "It is clear that trade is an exclusive competence (of central EU institutions on behalf of member states). As long as UK remains member of the EU, it should respect the EU law." EU regulations give both sides two years from the moment the exit clause is triggered to negotiate and agree the divorce before it comes to fruition. (Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Andrew Heavens) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-trade-idUKKBN15817A'|'2017-01-24T17:39:00.000+02:00' +'7a714fb5bb5a8390492205ed22ec8ca7e08f74af'|'With no new bids, Performance Sports to sell assets to Sagard, Fairfax'|'Performance Sports Group Ltd said on Thursday it would seek approval from a U.S. bankruptcy court for the sale of its assets to Sagard Capital Partners LP and Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd ( FFH.TO ), after it failed to attract other bids.Sagard, Performance''s biggest shareholder, and Fairfax had agreed in October to act as "stalking horse" bidders to buy most of the Bauer ice hockey gear maker''s assets and its North American units for $575 million.A "stalking horse" bid is an opening offer that other interested bidders must surpass if they want to buy the company.The auction scheduled for Jan. 30 will not be held as no qualified bids were submitted by the deadline of Jan. 25, said Performance, which owns Mission Roller Hockey and Maverik Lacrosse brands.The former chairman of Performance, which has filed for bankruptcy protection in October, was in talks with U.S. and Canadian private equity firms about submitting a bid for the company, Reuters had reported then.Performance, which also makes baseball bats and other sports equipment, said it would seek the approval of the courts for the sale at the final sale hearing, scheduled for Feb. 6.The closing is expected to occur on or about Feb. 23 and no later than Feb. 27, the company said.(Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-performance-bankruptcy-idINKBN15A1OJ'|'2017-01-26T10:00:00.000+02:00' +'06c86409faff186b244b6230cc58ea3f4d0eaf3b'|'Berkshire Hathaway unit buys big NYC-area real estate firm'|'By Jonathan Stempel - NEW YORK NEW YORK HomeServices of America Inc, a unit of Warren Buffett''s Berkshire Hathaway Inc ( BRKa.N ), on Tuesday said it has purchased the Houlihan Lawrence residential real estate firm, its second foray into the New York City area this month.The purchase by HomeServices, the second-largest U.S. residential real estate brokerage, was disclosed eight days after its majority-owned Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices unit announced the opening of its first New York City office.Terms of Tuesday''s transaction were not disclosed.Established in 1888 and based in Rye Brook, New York, Houlihan Lawrence has 1,300 employees and 30 offices serving the counties of Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Orange and Ulster in New York, and Fairfield in Connecticut. It said sales volume totaled $6.7 billion last year.Ron Peltier, chief executive of HomeServices, said in an interview that while there have been signs of softness in the New York-area luxury housing market, millennials and first-time buyers have shown greater interest in buying homes."Houlihan Lawrence is a very prestigious, well-run and well-established company. It is a wonderful way for us to enter the marketplace," Peltier said. "Even though the market may be experiencing a bit of a slowdown, it is going to be temporary."Stephen and Chris Meyers, who are respectively chief executive and managing principal of Houlihan Lawrence, will remain, while their sister Nancy Seaman will step aside as chairman, the brokerage said.HomeServices said it now has nearly 29,500 employees in close to 570 offices in 28 U.S. states, and that residential sales volume topped $93 billion in 2016.The Minneapolis-based brokerage was started in 1998, and has gradually entered the Westchester market in recent years.Buffett has run Berkshire since 1965. His Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate''s more than 90 businesses include insurers, chemical and energy companies, food and apparel companies and a railroad.(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David Gregorio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-houlihan-lawrence-m-a-berkshire-hatha-idINKBN15135C'|'2017-01-17T19:55:00.000+02:00' +'8669e26d7146c8a94f72608e23a90307d5f46975'|'German industry output up, exports soar in November'|'Business News - Mon Jan 9, 2017 - 7:14am GMT German industry output up, exports soar in November An employee of German car manufacturer Mercedes Benz works on the interior of a GLA model at their production line at the factory in Rastatt, Germany, January 22, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo BERLIN German industrial production rose for the second consecutive month in November and exports jumped more than expected, data showed on Monday, boosting expectations for a rebound in Europe''s biggest economy in the fourth quarter. Industrial output edged up by 0.4 percent on the month, data from the Economy Ministry showed. This was slightly weaker than the consensus forecast in a Reuters poll for a rise of 0.6 percent. The increase was driven by a 1.5 percent jump in construction output, the strongest monthly gain since February. Manufacturing production was up 0.4 percent while energy output fell 0.4 percent. The October reading was revised up to a rise of 0.5 percent from a previously reported rise of 0.3 percent. Separate data released from the Federal Statistics Office showed on Monday that seasonally adjusted exports rose by 3.9 percent on the month. This was the strongest monthly gain since May 2012 and came in better than the consensus forecast in a Reuters poll for a rise of 0.5 percent. Imports increased by 3.5 percent which was the strongest monthly rise since June 2014 and also much stronger than a predicted increase of only 0.2 percent. The seasonally adjusted trade surplus widened to 21.7 billion euros (18.76 billion pounds) from 20.6 billion euros in October. The November reading was above the Reuters consensus forecast of 21.2 billion euros. (Reporting by Michael Nienaber and Joseph Nasr; Editing by Paul Carrel) Next In Business News '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-economy-idUKKBN14T0KM'|'2017-01-09T14:14:00.000+02:00' +'f77d24a723949d319e73043893f051743a828883'|'Iran takes ownership of first passenger jet under sanctions deal'|' 9:50am GMT Iran takes ownership of first passenger jet under sanctions deal An Airbus A321 with the description ''''The Airline of the Islamic Republic of Iran'''' below the tail fin is parked at the Airbus facility in Hamburg Finkenwerder, Germany, December 19, 2016. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer Airbus said on Sunday Iran''s state airline IranAir had accepted its first new jet, marking a key step in opening up trade under a nuclear sanctions deal between Iran and major powers. The Airbus A321 jetliner has been painted in IranAir livery and is expected to be delivered later this week. "The technical acceptance has been done with formal delivery still to be done," an Airbus spokesman said. A spokesman for Iran''s civil aviation authority said the aircraft had been placed on the country''s aircraft register, indicating IranAir had taken ownership of the aircraft, the first of around 200 Western aircraft ordered since sanctions were lifted. '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iran-aircraft-idUKKBN14S0AC'|'2017-01-08T16:50:00.000+02:00' +'df05629984e7a871c55231af088b5d47c7e0e18b'|'U.S. consumer spending increases solidly in December'|' 34am EST U.S. consumer spending increases solidly in December FILE PHOTO - A family shops at the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Springdale, Arkansas June 4, 2015. REUTERS/Rick Wilking/File Photo WASHINGTON U.S. consumer spending rose solidly in December as households bought motor vehicles and a range of services amid rising wages, pointing to sustained domestic demand that is likely to set the economy up for faster growth in early 2017. The Commerce Department said on Monday that consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, increased 0.5 percent after an unrevised 0.2 percent gain in November. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast consumer spending climbing 0.5 percent last month. Consumer spending increased 3.8 percent in 2016 after rising 3.5 percent in 2015. When adjusted for inflation, consumer spending increased 0.3 percent last month after rising 0.2 percent in November. The data was included in the fourth-quarter gross domestic product report published on Friday. The economy grew at a 1.9 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter, restrained by a wider trade deficit. Private domestic demand, however, increased at a solid 2.8 percent rate. The economy grew at a 3.5 percent rate in the third quarter. With domestic demand rising, inflation showed some signs of picking up last month. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose 0.2 percent after edging up 0.1 percent in November. In the 12 months through December the PCE price index rose 1.6 percent, the biggest increase since September 2014. That followed a 1.4 percent increase in November. Excluding food and energy, the so-called core PCE price index ticked up 0.1 percent after being unchanged in November. The core PCE price index increased 1.7 percent year-on-year after a similar gain in November. The core PCE is the Federal Reserve''s preferred inflation measure and is running below its 2 percent target. However, other inflation measures are above the PCE price indexes. The consumer price index (CPI) is currently at 2.1 percent on a year-on-year basis and the core CPI is up 2.2 percent. Consumer spending last month was buoyed by a 1.4 percent jump in purchases of long-lasting manufactured goods such as automobiles. Spending on services increased 0.4 percent. Personal income advanced 0.3 percent last month after nudging up 0.1 percent in November. Wages and salaries rebounded 0.4 percent after slipping 0.1 percent in November. Income increased 3.5 percent in 2016 after rising 4.4 percent in 2015. Savings fell to $768.4 billion last month, the lowest level since May 2015, from $791.2 billion in November. (Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-spending-idUSKBN15E1GK'|'2017-01-30T20:34:00.000+02:00' +'417671e2ea0e1cf2a5195f845c7036aa102473dd'|'GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks shaky as oil slump, ''hard'' Brexit fears dim mood'|'Company News 55pm EST GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks shaky as oil slump, ''hard'' Brexit fears dim mood * Asia ex-Japan little changed, Nikkei falls * Oil inches up after Monday''s plunge on Iraq, U.S. supply rise * Sterling slides after British PM comments * Gold, yen rise as investors seek shelter in safe havens By Nichola Saminather SINGAPORE, Jan 10 Asian stock markets were on the back foot on Tuesday as risk appetite evaporated overnight after the year''s strong start, with equities retreating, oil markets roiled by a supply surge and the pound sliding on renewed concerns about a "hard" Brexit. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat in early trade. Japan''s Nikkei dropped 0.2 percent as investors took refuge in the safe-haven yen. Oil prices on Monday posted their biggest one-day loss in six weeks amid fears that record Iraqi crude exports in December and rising U.S. output would undermine OPEC''s efforts to curb a global supply glut. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed in November to cut output for the first time since the global financial crisis more than eight years ago. Iraq''s oil ministry emphasized that the high levels would not affect the country''s decision to cut January production to comply with the OPEC agreement. But sources told Reuters that Iraq''s State Oil Marketing Company had given three buyers in Asia and Europe full supply allocations for February. "It''s unusual to have these agreements last for very long because inevitably someone cheats," said Daniel Morris, senior investment strategist at BNP Paribas Investment Partners. "It''s certainly conceivable that the (OPEC) agreement falls apart and you get more production than anticipated in addition to already thinking that it should be lower because of dollar strength." Last week, U.S. energy companies added oil rigs for a 10th week in a row, Baker Hughes data showed, with some analysts expecting the U.S. rig count will rise to 850-875 by the end of the year. U.S. crude slumped 3.8 percent on Monday but were steady early on Tuesday, up 0.1 percent at $52.02 a barrel. Global benchmark Brent also dropped 3.8 percent to $54.82 a barrel on Monday. In currencies, sterling slumped 1 percent on Monday, extending Friday''s 1.1 percent slide, after British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Sunday the country would not be keeping "bits" of European Union membership, without providing more detail on her strategy. May''s comments stoked fears of a "hard Brexit", in which border controls are prioritised over market access. EU officials say Britain cannot have access to its single market of 500 million consumers without accepting the principle of free movement and have repeatedly warned May against trying to "cherry pick" the profitable parts of their union. The pound was fractionally higher at $1.2164 early on Tuesday. The drop in risk appetite pushed the dollar lower against the safe-haven yen. The U.S. currency was down 0.28 percent to 115.67 yen in early trade on Tuesday, after declining 0.8 percent on Monday. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six global peers, edged down 0.1 percent to 101.85, extending Monday''s 0.3 percent loss. The euro climbed 0.1 percent to $1.0588 on Tuesday. Gold shone amid investors'' quest for safety. Spot gold , which jumped to a more than one-month high on Monday, added 0.1 percent to $1,182.24 an ounce in early trade on Tuesday. (Editing by Shri Navaratnam)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/global-markets-idUSL4N1F005G'|'2017-01-10T07:55:00.000+02:00' +'1ead3604c91aa5909139f34bf50af578a5cafc94'|'Tata Steel offers to pay millions for pension scheme revamp - FT'|'Financials 03am EST Tata Steel offers to pay millions for pension scheme revamp - FT Jan 13 Tata Steel Ltd has offered to pay hundreds of millions of pounds to its pension scheme to release a guarantee the fund holds over its Dutch assets, as the Indian firm moves closer to merging its European assets with Germany''s Thyssenkrupp, the Financial Times reported. The pension fund''s trustees have a right over the assets in Tata''s Ijmuiden plant in the Netherlands in certain circumstances, the FT said. Tata Steel and the fund were in meaningful talks and there was an improved offer for the release of the security package, FT said citing chairman of the scheme''s trustee board, Allan Johnston. on.ft.com/2jdVAra Tata Steel was not immediately available for comment. Last month, Tata Steel UK offered British unions a deal guaranteeing jobs and investment in return for pension cuts. Tata, which employs some 4,000 people at Port Talbot and 11,000 in Britain as a whole, started formal pension consultations in December, with a view to moving employees on to a less generous defined contribution scheme. Unions are concerned that if they agree to let Tata close the current British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS), the company will look to spin it off into a standalone entity that could eventually fall into the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) if necessary. In March, Britain battled to save its steel industry after Tata Steel put its British operations up for sale, leaving thousands of jobs at risk as a result of cheap Chinese imports. (Reporting by Rama Venkat Raman in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/tata-steel-pensions-idUSL4N1F335A'|'2017-01-13T16:03:00.000+02:00' +'4384647748270fc3878d0d3ceac1f8d2199dedd1'|'RPT-Investors balk at "squeezed middle" of UK retail firms'|'Financials - Thu Jan 5, 2017 - 2:30am EST RPT-Investors balk at "squeezed middle" of UK retail firms (Repeats with no changes to text) * Next has worst start to trading in 25 years * Weaker pound, online shopping hurt traditional retailers * Short-selling ticks higher in Debenhams, M&S By Alasdair Pal LONDON, Jan 4 The worst start to a trading year for Next PLC shares since 1991 underscores the plight of mid-tier UK retailers hit by a combination of fierce online competition and higher costs driven by a weaker pound. Traditional British stores, particularly those relying on clothing, risk getting caught in no-man''s land as bargain-hunting consumers find cheaper alternatives while the rising popularity of online shopping, now nearly a fifth of UK retail sales, eats into their business. Profit margins, already crimped by heavy discounting in efforts to maintain market share, now face additional headwinds as sterling weakness pushes up sourcing costs. Next shares, down 18 percent in the first two trading days of 2017, have fallen 41 percent in the past year. Debenhams and Marks & Spencer are down about a quarter and short-selling, where funds borrow shares and sell them in the hope of buying back later at a lower price, has ticked higher in recent months. The troubles echo a trend seen across UK grocers where discount chains such Lidl and Aldi ate into the profits of long-established chains such as Sainsbury, Tesco and Morrison. While Next warned of tough times, B&M European Value Retail said it enjoyed record Christmas sales. At the top end of the market, John Lewis, Britain''s biggest department store chain which also runs upmarket grocery brand Waitrose, saw sales in the week before Christmas soar 36 percent. "It mirrors what happened in the supermarket space," said Richard Marwood, a fund manager at Royal London Asset Management. "It was the people in the middle who struggled." Marwood, who owns B&M shares, said that the company is enjoying the benefits of recent expansion but the jump in like-for-like sales suggested it was attracting more consumers looking for cheaper alternatives to traditional stores. B&M, which sells products from toys to soft furnishings, is a top pick in the European retail sector for analysts at Deutsche Bank and Bank of America-Merrill Lynch. Higher inflation and lower wage growth looks set to make 2017 "the year of value" in UK retail, according to analysts at Deutsche Bank, which this week downgraded Next and Debenhams. UK wage growth will fall below 1 percent in 2017, according to the OECD, while inflation in food and fuel is set to pick up - meaning consumers will have less to spend on discretionary items like clothing. DOLLAR DILEMMA Retailers buy a significant proportion of their goods in U.S. dollars from manufacturers in Asia, selling on to British consumers in pounds. "The fundamental issue is that you''ve seen a nearly 20 percent trade-weighted depreciation of sterling over the course of the last 12 months," said Jeremy Lawson, chief economist at Standard Life Investments. A weaker pound is a direct hit to profits. And in an already tough environment retailers have little wiggle room on prices. "They can hold the shop prices and hit margins, or they can put up prices but will have an impact on volume of sales," RLAM''s Marwood said. Next is among those worst hit by currency moves, according to analysts at HSBC, as it pays in dollars for around 70 percent of its cost of goods sold. Rivals like ASOS and Inditex, which source more of what they sell closer to home, are poised to benefit and grab market share by being even more competitive on prices, analysts at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch said in a note to clients. VALUE BUY Five hedge funds have significant short positions on Debenhams totalling 7 percent, an all-time high, according to latest data from the UK''s market regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority. On M&S, the ratio has more than doubled to 2.2 percent over the last three months of 2016. High levels of bearishness do leave stocks susceptible to bounces, however, if there is a rush of short-covering. Also, with valuations already depressed, some investors are not as downbeat on the sector. Retailers "trade close to financial crisis multiples", suggesting sentiment may be too pessimistic on some companies, according to Tineke Frikkee, a fund manager at Smith & Williamson who owns shares in Debenhams and M&S. For brave investors, bargain-hunting in shares of beaten-down retailers might just pay off. In 1991, the last time shares of Next started the year with a double-digit decline, they ended up more than 250 percent. (Additional reporting by Tricia Wright and Alistair Smout; Editing by Mark Trevelyan) Next In Financials Greek police arrest militant from Revolutionary Struggle group ATHENS, Jan 5 Greek police early on Thursday arrested a militant, who was in hiding with her child and whose Revolutionary Struggle group has carried out more than a dozen attacks, including one on the U.S. embassy in Athens in 2007. REFILE-Danske Bank Markets slashes Norway 2017 GDP forecast (Fixes format) OSLO, Jan 5 The Norwegian economy will recover more slowly than previously anticipated, economists at Danske Bank Markets predicted on Thursday. The forecast for growth in the mainland economy in 2017 was cut to 1.8 percent from a previous estimates made in October of 2.3 percent, while growth in 2018 was seen at 2.2 percent. Despite the cut, and that investments by the oil industry will continue to decline, there were several positive signs. "There COPENHAGEN, Jan 5 Danske Bank on Thursday lowered its forecast for Denmark''s economic growth this year, but warned that there is a risk of economic overheating within the next few years, the bank said in a note. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Taboola Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-retail-idUSL5N1EU3TR'|'2017-01-05T14:30:00.000+02:00' +'d4bf582182b74ab058d8e79ae830f43c57938823'|'Senate Republicans signal strong support for U.S. SEC nominee Clayton'|'Politics 24pm EST Senate Republicans signal strong support for U.S. SEC nominee Clayton A general exterior view of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) headquarters in Washington, June 24, 2011. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst By Sarah N. Lynch - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The confirmation process for Republican President Donald Trump''s choice to chair the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission appears to be moving forward without any hiccups. Jay Clayton, a lawyer whose specialties include mergers and acquisitions, met privately with Senate Banking Committee Chairman Michael Crapo on Tuesday. They discussed the SEC''s role in facilitating capital formation and ways to reduce "unnecessary burdens" for small companies, Crapo said in a statement that he posted on Twitter. "Had a great conversation," Crapo added. In recent days, he and other Senate Republicans have issued glowing statements about Clayton''s qualifications and plans to help companies raise capital. While Democrats will probably raise questions about Clayton''s ties to Wall Street at his confirmation hearing, they will not be able to block him without some support from Republicans. Clayton''s hearing has not yet been scheduled but could come as early as the week of Feb. 6, according to several people familiar with the committee''s plans. Private meetings with senators are typically held in advance of confirmation hearings so that the lawmakers can get a chance to vet the candidate and ask questions. Last week, Clayton met with three other Republican lawmakers on the panel - Senators Richard Shelby of Alabama, Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Patrick Toomey of Pennsylvania. He also met separately on Tuesday with Senator David Perdue of Georgia, who wrote on Twitter: "Jay knows capital formation. He wants to create a level playing field & make things fair and efficient. I fully support his nomination." Clayton is expected to have one-on-one meetings with some of the panel''s Democrats sometime next week, according to one of the sources. Some Democrats on the committee, including Sherrod Brown, the committee''s senior Democrat and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, have already expressed reservations about Clayton because of his legal work at Sullivan & Cromwell representing major Wall Street clients such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc, where his wife works as a wealth manager. Before Clayton accepted Trump''s nomination, his family decided his wife would step down from her post at the investment bank if he is confirmed, one of the people familiar with the matter said. In the meantime, the SEC''s lone Republican commissioner, Michael Piwowar, is acting as chairman, according to people familiar with the matter. The SEC, typically a five-member commission, is down to two members until Clayton is confirmed. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn) Next In Politics Trump administration could reinstate secret, overseas CIA prisons WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to issue an executive order that could lead to the reinstatement of a CIA program to interrogate terrorist suspects in secret overseas "black site" prisons using techniques that have been condemned as torture, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-congress-sec-clayton-idUSKBN1592FM'|'2017-01-26T01:10:00.000+02:00' +'6e574294065d76bce9a2a26c2e5a63ff8add0eb8'|'Saudi British Bank fourth-quarter net profit falls 35 percent, misses forecasts'|'Business News - Thu Jan 19, 2017 - 5:58pm GMT Saudi British Bank fourth-quarter net profit falls 35 percent, misses forecasts DUBAI Saudi British Bank 1060.SE (SABB), the kingdom''s sixth-largest bank by assets, posted a 35 percent drop in its fourth-quarter net profit on Thursday, missing analysts'' forecasts. The bank, an affiliate of HSBC Holdings ( HSBA.L ), said it made 607 million riyals (132 million) in the three months ending Dec. 31, compared with 939 million riyals in the same period a year earlier, according to a bourse filing. Three analysts surveyed by Reuters expected the bank to post an average net profit of 1.02 billion riyals for the quarter. (Reporting by Tom Arnold; editing by Susan Thomas) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sabb-results-idUKKBN1532QU'|'2017-01-20T00:58:00.000+02:00' +'6a283f179d3564cbb4c7d344ac0fba7661f3a418'|'Aussie major banks make strong start in offshore bond market'|'Financials 29pm EST Aussie major banks make strong start in offshore bond market * Westpac and NAB tap US market for first bond sales of 2017 By John Weavers and Mike Gambale SYDNEY, Jan 9 (IFR) - Two Australian major banks overcame intense competition last week to access the buoyant US dollar bond market, where investors lapped up the latest offerings from the country''s well-regarded Double A rated issuers. The Big Four like to open the year strongly and stay well ahead of the run rate in light of their substantial wholesale funding requirements. For annual bond funding, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac have needs of around A$30 billion ($21.6 billion) equivalent, while National Australia Bank has issued A$25-$30 billion and ANZ has raised A$20-$25 billion. Up to two thirds of these totals are raised offshore, mainly in the deep US dollar and euro markets, reflecting the shallowness of the local bond scene, as well as Australians'' relatively low bank deposit holdings. Westpac (Aa2/AA-/AA-) was one of six international banks to issue US dollar bonds on the first trading day of 2017, with a US$1.75 billion sale of dual-tranche five-year senior unsecured SEC registered notes. The arrangers were Bank of America Merrill Lynch and HSBC. The $1.25 billion 2.8 percent January 11 2022s attracted an order book of $3 billion and priced 88bp wide of Treasuries, well inside 105bp area initial price thoughts, for a 4bp new-issue concession over Westpac''s 2.0 percent August 2021s. The $500 million floating-rate notes were three times oversubscribed and priced at three-month Libor plus 85bp. Westpac is the only Australian major with SEC registration rights, meaning it can issue bonds off its global medium-term notes programme and attract a wider pool of offshore investors. Identically rated NAB followed a day later with a hefty US$3.5 billion sale of five-piece senior unsecured 144A/Reg S bonds on the US high-grade market''s busiest day since May 2016. Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, NAB and RBC were joint leads on the trade. The $1 billion 2.25 percent three-year, the $1 billion 2.8 percent five-year and the $750 million 3.5 percent 10-year fixed-rate tranches priced 78bp, 90bp and 108bp wide of Treasuries versus 90bp area, 105bp area and 120bp area initial price thoughts, respectively. The $250 million three-year and $500 million five-year floating-rate notes priced at three-month Libor plus 59bp and 89bp. NAB PREMIUM NAB''s trade secured a combined order book of $6.7 billion, while the new issue concessions were seen at 3bp, 2bp and 4bp for the bonds of three, five and 10 years, respectively. The five-year notes swapped back into Australian dollars at around 115bp over the bank bill swap rate (BBSW) benchmark, in line with the current clearing rate for new major bank five-year paper in the domestic market. The three-year swapped back about 78bp wide of BBSW, 10bp or so inside the highs 80s local three-year clearing rate. The better pricing available in the US for shorter-dated paper largely reflects the relative flatness of the Australian curve. NAB paid 2bp more than Westpac''s five-year Global, as the former continues to suffer, at the margin, from historical difficulties, including its ill-fated purchase of Clydesdale Bank. The next day NAB crossed the Atlantic to issue a 300 million Swiss france ($297 million) 0.30 percent 8.75-year (October 31 2025) note at mid-swaps plus 21bp. Also on Thursday CBA kicked off its 2017 issuance programme in the UK where it took advantage of the sterling covered market''s compelling pricing levels. HSBC, Nomura and CBA were joint leads for the 1.125 percent short five-year (December 22 2021) Eurobond offering that exceeded 250-300 million size expectations with a 350 million ($434 million) print. The notes priced in line with Gilts plus 67bp guidance, inside both the bank''s US dollar curve and euro covered curves. Meanwhile, ANZ is targeting the Japanese market to issue its first bonds of the year with Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley and Mizuho Securities mandated for seven-year Samurai notes, which are being marketed at 11bp-13bp over yen offer-side swaps. Other tranches may be added to the issue, which will price as early as January 11. (Reporting by John Weavers; editing by Daniel Stanton and Vincent Baby) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/australia-banks-bonds-idUSL4N1EZ1B5'|'2017-01-09T09:29:00.000+02:00' +'a40f9821ad2512102ba72f2eacaa77b96d867f93'|'VW shareholders question bonuses in wake of U.S. diesel deal'|'By Edward Taylor and Simon Jessop - FRANKFURT/LONDON FRANKFURT/LONDON Volkswagen investors demanded reforms and questioned executive bonuses after the carmaker admitted to criminal offences in rigging U.S. emissions tests and U.S. prosecutors indicted six current and former managers over the scandal.The German company agreed to pay $4.3 billion in civil and criminal fines in a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) on Wednesday, the largest ever U.S. penalty levied on an automaker.Volkswagen (VW) admitted about 40 employees at its VW and Audi brands deleted thousands of documents in an effort to hide from U.S. authorities the systematic use of so-called defeat devices to rig diesel emissions tests, a scale of wrongdoing that led some investors to call for deep reforms."For senior management to receive any bonuses in 2017, we would now expect VW to deliver a dramatic improvement in profits," said Ben Walker, partner at activist hedge fund TCI, which last year publicly criticised "corporate excess on an epic scale" at the carmaker."Seventeen billion euros of EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) should be the minimum amount for any bonus to be received by executive management. Below that, zero bonus," he wrote in an email, noting VW''s admissions of guilt in the DoJ settlement did not extend to any board-level managers.VW has forecast an operating margin of 5-6 percent on expected sales of around 213 billion euros ($227 billion) for 2016, implying EBIT of around 10.6-12.8 billion euros.It has set aside more than 18 billion euros to cover the cost of the diesel scandal, a figure it is expected to raise in light of the DoJ deal.Moody''s credit-rating agency said the deal could raise its provisions expectation of 21.2 billion euros by around 1 billion euros, but welcomed the removal of uncertainties."The settlement agreement ... should also help VW and VW''s management to refocus its efforts into the development of its operations, and therefore is a positive partially balancing the need to increase its provision," it wrote.VW still faces lawsuits from about 20 U.S. states and from U.S. investors, and will spend years buying back or fixing nearly 580,000 polluting U.S. vehicles. It also faces claims from investors and customers in Europe and Asia, after it admitted in September 2015 that up to 11 million vehicles worldwide could have defeat device software installed.MORE INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS, OPENNESS"What is most disturbing... is the pattern of deception, both in developing and perfecting the defeat devices, as well as deliberately obstructing the subsequent investigation," said Annie Bersagel, an adviser for responsible investments at Norwegian Mutual Insurance company Kommunal Landspensjonskasse (KLP). KLP and KLP mutual funds have small investments in both VW equities and fixed income products."Going forward we would like to see more truly independent directors. This may change governance at the company where we see some issues, for example the awarding of large bonuses to current and former managers. We would like to see a clawback provision relating to violations."Ingo Speich, a fund manager at Union Investment which holds about 0.6 percent of VW preference shares, said on Wednesday the company needed to "put everything on the table" about its wrongdoing to regain the trust of investors.For 2015, the year the scandal was uncovered, VW agreed to pay 12 current and former members of the management board at total of 63.2 million euros in fixed and flexible remuneration. It said board members would have 30 percent of their variable bonus withheld if the share price remained below 140 euros.VW shares are currently trading at 149.85 euros, around 7 percent below pre-scandal levels.SIX EMPLOYEES INDICTEDIn total, six current and former VW managers have been indicted, including Heinz-Jakob Neusser, former head of development for the VW brand. Five of them are in Germany and it is unclear if they will come to the United States to face charges since Germany typically does not extradite its citizens.While senior managers, none of them are - or were - members of VW''s management board.At a press conference in Washington, U.S. attorney general Loretta E. Lynch said U.S. authorities would continue to pursue those responsible for emissions cheating."This announcement does not mean that our investigation is complete ... We will continue to pursue the individuals responsible for orchestrating this damaging conspiracy," Lynch said.The indictment said the six managers engaged in a 10-year conspiracy to cheat U.S. emissions tests and then cover up excessive emissions even as regulators questioned irregularities.VW Chief Executive Matthias Mueller said in a statement the company "deeply regrets the behaviour that gave rise to the diesel crisis" and vowed to continue changes in how the company operates.See graphic on emissions affair: ( tmsnrt.rs/2fYcm9Q )See timeline on emissions affair:($1 = 8.5018 Norwegian crowns)($1 = 0.9403 euros)(Additional reporting by Andreas Cremer in Berlin; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/volkswagen-emissions-idINKBN14W1RQ'|'2017-01-12T09:53:00.000+02:00' +'8b1f109f97b45615931ba5fe1a8ff4ee11fc397a'|'UPDATE 1-Airbus deliveries rose 8 pct, orders outpaced Boeing in 2016'|'Market News - Wed Jan 11, 2017 - 4:20am EST UPDATE 1-Airbus deliveries rose 8 pct, orders outpaced Boeing in 2016 (Adds details, Bregier comments) By Tim Hepher TOULOUSE, France Jan 11 Airbus posted an eight percent rise in deliveries last year, beating its own forecasts by a comfortable margin to set a company record, and pulled off a last-minute surge in orders to beat its arch-rival Boeing in the race for new orders. Confirming an estimate published by Reuters, the European planemaker said on Wednesday it had delivered 688 aircraft in 2016, compared with an official company forecast of more than 650 and a goal set by its finance director of more than 670. Deliveries rebounded at the year-end after problems in the supply chain, but Airbus planemaking president Fabrice Bregier told a news conference he was not expecting another record end to the year in 2017 as production levels smooth out. Airbus remained behind the world''s biggest aircraft manufacturer, Boeing, in deliveries but scored another win in the race for new business after posting 731 net orders for 2016. Boeing delivered 748 aircraft and took 668 net orders last year. The surge in Airbus orders included 98 aircraft sold to Iran, the first of which was due to be delivered later on Wednesday. It also included over 100 orders to unidentified customers, which industry sources have linked to Saudi carrier Flynas and the leasing arm of China''s Bank of Communications. But a December sales flurry by both Airbus and Boeing failed to prevent the combined book-to-bill ratio of the two giants dipping below 1 for the first time since 2009, placing a dent in record industry order backlogs amid concerns over the economy. (Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta) Next In Market News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/airbus-deliveries-idUSL5N1F11QW'|'2017-01-11T16:20:00.000+02:00' +'eb8b0fb51fb0fe69314496596f0ae95c9d440ebf'|'Generali finance chief to leave, takeover talk mounts'|'By Stephen Jewkes - MILAN MILAN Italy''s Assicurazioni Generali ( GASI.MI ) said on Wednesday its chief financial officer Alberto Minali would be leaving at the end of the month, at a time of uncertainty for the country''s biggest insurer.The departure of Minali comes a day after Italy''s biggest retail bank Intesa Sanpaolo ( ISP.MI ) said it was considering the idea of a tie-up with Generali in a move that could reshape the country''s financial landscape.Generali, whose biggest shareholder is influential investment bank Mediobanca ( MDBI.MI ), said on Monday it had bought voting rights equal to 3.01 percent of Intesa, in a defensive move.In a statement, Generali said Minali, who is also general manager at the group, would be replaced as CFO by head of corporate finance Luigi Lubelli.It added Minali would receive a severance package of around 5.78 million euros ($6.2 million), plus a payment related to his long-term bonus package that was yet to be quantified, and said his role as general manager would not be replaced.Last year, Minali lost out to Philippe Donnet in the race to replace Mario Greco as CEO of Europe''s No. 3 insurer and sources close to the matter told Reuters tensions have built up between the two.Recent leadership changes at Generali and political weakness in Rome have helped kindle bid talk about the 186-year-old company which for years has been at the crossroads of Italian finance.Italian newspapers have said Intesa''s move is in part aimed at fending off interest in Generali from foreign companies such as France''s AXA ( AXAF.PA ) and Germany''s Allianz ( ALVG.DE ).Donnet was formerly an executive of AXA.Generali and Allianz have declined to comment, while AXA CEO Thomas Buberl said in remarks published Wednesday he was not interested in a bid for Generali.Italian market regulator Consob, which met Intesa managers on Wednesday, is due to meet on Thursday executives of Generali and lender UniCredit CDRI.MI, the top investor in Mediobanca.Like other European insurers, Generali has had to cope with falling investment returns and stiffer competition.The company, which generates most of its revenues and earnings in Italy, France and Germany, said in November it was looking to leave unattractive markets and cut costs to improve profits and boost capital.(Reporting by Stephen Jewkes and Valentina Za; Editing by Valentina Za and Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-generali-m-a-cfo-idINKBN1592MH'|'2017-01-25T17:03:00.000+02:00' +'61675c9a694593bfa3f3fa9c3d1760a25512851c'|'UPDATE 1-BB Seguridade names new CEO, while Banco do Brasil shuffles VPs'|'Financials 3:58pm EST UPDATE 1-BB Seguridade names new CEO, while Banco do Brasil shuffles VPs (Adds changes to VP positions at Banco do Brasil) RIO DE JANEIRO Dec 31 BB Seguridade Participaes SA, the insurance unit of Brazil''s state-controlled lender Banco do Brasil SA, said in a securities filing that its board on Friday elected Jose Mauricio Pereira Coelho as its new chief executive officer. The 50-year-old Coelho, until now the chief financial officer of Banco do Brasil itself, takes the helm at a time when BB Seguridade, like most banks and insurers, is struggling with a difficult outlook for financial companies amid a deep recession in Brazil. In the filing, released late on Friday, BB Seguridade said that Coelho''s predecessor as chief executive, 45-year-old Marcelo Augusto Dutra Labuto, would assume the role of chairman of BB Seguridade''s board. Separately, Banco do Brasil in a statement said that Labuto will also take the role of vice president of retail businesses at the bank, which continues to restructure following a cost-cutting program that included branch closures and offering early retirement to about 9000 employees. The bank also named new vice presidents to head four other departments. Mrcio Hamilton Ferreira will lead internal controls and risk management, while Alberto Monteiro de Queiroz Netto will head financial management and investor relations. Jos Eduardo Pereira Filho becomes vice president for government affairs and Walter Malieni Jnior will manage retail distribution and human resources. (Reporting by Pedro Fonseca. Editing by W Simon and Nick Zieminski) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/bb-seguridade-executives-idUSL1N1EQ0CQ'|'2017-01-01T03:58:00.000+02:00' +'c2299275b57a98c285a9fa8ac4f853f848295d72'|'BAT agrees purchase of Bosnian FDS tobacco business from Austrian fund'|'Deals - Thu Jan 26, 2017 - 5:06pm GMT BAT agrees purchase of Bosnian FDS tobacco business from Austrian fund People walk past the British American Tobacco offices in London, Britain October 21, 2016. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth SARAJEVO British American Tobacco (BAT) ( BATS.L ) has reached a principle agreement to acquire the tobacco assets of Bosnian holding firm Fabrika Duhana Sarajevo (FDS) FDSS.SJ from an Austrian fund, the two companies said in a joint statement on Thursday. Using financing provided by BAT, Austria''s CID Adriatic Investments (CID) had bought a 78.7 percent stake in FDS for the total of 84.3 million Bosnian marka ($46.3 million). It first bought a 39.9 percent stake from the regional government in September and then in December an additional 38.8 percent stake from small shareholders and funds. The final agreements will be signed in the next few days and the transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of this year, following an FDS shareholder approval vote and the relevant regulatory approvals, the statement said. FDS has banking and real estate operations as well as tobacco interests. "BAT will acquire all FDS tobacco brands and retail business (Tobacco Press) from FDS," the statement said. "BAT will also enter into a contract manufacture agreement with FDS for the continued production of the acquired brands by FDS in Sarajevo." CID will continue to develop the non-tobacco parts of FDS independently, it said. BAT last week agreed a $49.4 billion takeover of U.S. rival Reynolds American Inc, creating the world''s biggest listed tobacco company. (Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by David Evans) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-bosnia-privatisation-bat-idUKKBN15A2BX'|'2017-01-27T00:03:00.000+02:00' +'c87be5afc80c9fb3936584a91da6035cf60c9add'|'Reliance Industries Q3 net profit up 10 pct, beats estimate'|'MUMBAI India''s oil-to-telecoms conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd beat analysts'' estimates to post a 10 percent increase in third-quarter standalone net profit, as high margins from its core business of crude oil refining helped bolster earnings.The "standalone" profit and revenue figures include the company''s refining and petrochemicals business and oil and gas exploration in India.Standalone net profit rose to 80.22 billion rupees ($1.18 billion) for the three months to Dec. 31 from 72.96 billion rupees reported a year earlier, Reliance, controlled by India''s richest man Mukesh Ambani, said in a statement on Monday.Analysts on average had expected a standalone profit of 78.5 billion rupees, according to data compiled by Thomson Reuters.Its standalone revenues for the quarter came in at $9.8 billion, up 9 percent from a year ago due to higher margins from selling petrol and diesel.Refining and petrochemicals contribute around 90 percent to overall revenue and profit.The company said its gross refining margin, or profit earned on each barrel of crude processed - a key profitability gauge for a refiner - was $10.8 per barrel for the quarter.On a consolidated basis, which includes its telecom, retail and U.S. shale gas operations, its net profit came in at 75.67 billion rupees.Reliance commercially launched its fourth-generation (4G) telecoms network, Reliance Jio, on Sept. 1 offering free voice and data service to its subscribers until the end of March.The telecoms venture, in which the company has invested approximately $20 billion, had built a subscriber base of 72.4 million by Dec. 31, Reliance said.Reliance''s flagship refining operations, with a 1.2 million barrels per day crude oil refinery in the western state of Gujarat, reported a 4.3 percent fall in profitability for the December quarter to $912 million.The petrochemicals business saw a 25.5 percent jump in profit to $486 million, Reliance said.($1 = 68.0999 rupees)(Reporting by Promit Mukherjee in Mumbai; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath and Adrian Croft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/reliance-results-q-idINKBN1501HS'|'2017-01-16T09:46:00.000+02:00' +'a3eab65bcf46082ab304e6e998ab5234600ef2a3'|'Saudi''s National Commercial Bank proposes higher H2 dividend'|'Financials - Sun Jan 29, 2017 - 12:56am EST Saudi''s National Commercial Bank proposes higher H2 dividend DUBAI Jan 29 The board of Saudi Arabia''s National Commercial Bank is recommending a dividend of 1 riyal per share for the second half of 2016, the kingdom''s largest lender said in a bourse filing on Sunday. The payout is higher than the 0.75 riyal which the bank paid for the second half of 2015, according to Thomson Reuters data. (Reporting by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Andrew Torchia) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/nationl-comml-bk-dividend-idUSL5N1FJ02X'|'2017-01-29T12:56:00.000+02:00' +'e49d4087664bbb9bac47abf0e43259033d5c4525'|'Nikkei edges up, investors cautious before Trump''s news conference - Reuters'|'* Nikkei up for 1st time in 4 days* Toshiba soars on hopes creditors offer supportBy Ayai TomisawaTOKYO, Jan 11 Japanese stocks edged up on Wednesday morning but trading is expected to be subdued ahead of a much-anticipated press conference by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump later in the day.The Nikkei share average rose 0.4 percent to 19,382.39 in midmorning trade, after falling for the past three days."Investors are cautiously focused on Trump''s potentially market-moving speech," said Norihiro Fujito, a senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.Trump''s news conference - his first since winning the election in November - will be held later in the global day.Fujito said many investors are focused on Trump''s promises to provide more stimulus and cut taxes to boost U.S. growth, while there is also anxiety on his protectionist stance."If he points his finger at a specific Japanese company again, Japanese stocks may get hit so investors are staying on the sidelines today," Fujito said, referring to Trump''s threat on Toyota Motor Corp last week over the automaker''s Mexico manufacturing plan.Trump has criticised U.S. companies like General Motors and Ford Motor Co which manufacture abroad, accusing them of costing U.S. jobs. On Thursday he took on Toyota, warning the world''s largest automaker that it would face a "big border tax" if it exported Mexico-built cars to the U.S. market.Exporters were mixed, with Toyota gaining 0.6 percent, while Honda Motor Co and Nissan Motor Co were almost flat. Panasonic Corp advanced 1.2 percent.Toshiba Corp jumped 6.5 percent after sources said that Toshiba''s creditors agreed to support the company, giving the troubled firm time to work out a turnaround plan.The broader Topix gained 0.5 percent to 1,550.41 and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 rose 0.5 percent to 13,885.67.(Editing by Shri Navaratnam)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-midday-idINL4N1F11EA'|'2017-01-10T23:44:00.000+02:00' +'964fee2a4e4c06242cbde665b3f687baa7ad8a99'|'Japan exports up for first time in 15 months, U.S. protectionism poses risks'|'Business News - Wed Jan 25, 2017 - 12:22am GMT Japan''s annual exports up for first time in 15 months on global demand A worker rides a bicycle past containers at a port in Tokyo August 19, 2015. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo By Tetsushi Kajimoto - TOKYO TOKYO Japan''s annual exports rose for the first time in 15 months in December, led by shipments of car parts and electronics, underscoring a pickup in global demand and adding momentum to the export-reliant economy''s recovery. Ministry of Finance data showed on Wednesday that exports rose 5.4 percent year-on-year in December, compared with a 1.2 percent annual increase expected by economists in a Reuters poll. It followed an annual 0.4 percent decline in November. Shipments in terms of volume also rose 8.4 percent from a year earlier, up for a second straight month, underlining a pickup in external demand. The trade data should be encouraging to the Bank of Japan, which is seen maintaining an upbeat view on the world''s third largest economy at a policy review next week on prospects of improving global growth However, worries about protectionism under U.S. President Donald Trump have raised uncertainty over the outlook as he formally withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal on Monday, distancing America from its Asian allies. (Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Shri Navaratnam) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-trade-idUKKBN1582ZT'|'2017-01-25T09:00:00.000+02:00' +'1bdcb51e5285bc1259145a416d6b654dddba543d'|'No Brexit shock to U.K. economy... yet'|'No Brexit shock to U.K. economy... yet by Ivana Kottasova @ivanakottasova January 26, 2017: 5:05 AM ET UK Chancellor wants trade partnerships with the world The U.K. economy grew steadily in 2016 -- but there''s plenty to worry about. The first official estimate of fourth quarter GDP published Thursday showed the economy grew by 0.6% over the third quarter, the same pace as the two previous quarters. For 2016 as a whole the economy grew 2%, down from 2.2% in 2015 and 3.1% in 2014. But warning signs are piling up. Retail spending fell slightly in December -- typically a strong month for sales -- investments have been put on hold because of uncertainty over Britain''s relationship with the European Union after Brexit, and some big banks have said they will start moving thousands of jobs away from London. "Every major sector of the economy grew last year, which is further evidence of the fundamental strength and resilience of the U.K. economy," said Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond. "There may be uncertainty ahead as we adjust to a new relationship with Europe, but we are ready to seize the opportunities to create a competitive economy that works for all." The pound is still 15% down against the dollar compared to the EU referendum day in June. The slump is boosting British exporters, but hurting consumers at home. Prices on a wide range of consumer goods from chocolate bars and beer to iPhones and toys are rising as a result. "Retail data for [December] has shown some signs of slowing spending among consumers and if the upcoming number for this month also confirm the same trend, we could be heading towards serious trouble," said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Think Markets U.K. Investment in the auto sector slumped to 1.66 billion ($2.1 billion) in 2016 from 2.5 billion ($3.2 billion) in 2015, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Related: Trump says he wants a U.K. trade deal The government expects to borrow an extra 58.7 billion ($72.6 billion) over the next five years because of an economic slowdown. The Office of Budget Responsibility, an independent government agency, said that growth will slump to just 1.4% in 2017, the weakest since 2009, according to IMF data. Prime Minister Theresa May wants to start the formal process of leaving the EU by the end of March. May is meeting President Trump at the White House on Friday, hoping to start discussions about a future trade deal between the two countries. Trump said he would put the U.K. at the front of the queue for a trade deal, but experts warn an agreement is far from certain , and will take years to achieve. CNNMoney (London) 5:05 AM ET'|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/edition_business.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/26/news/economy/uk-gdp-economy-brexit/index.html'|'2017-01-26T17:05:00.000+02:00' +'d19be268849c08e34df43d07117482a5b7881ca7'|'Arthur Sadoun to take over as CEO of ad firm Publicis Groupe'|'Market News 43pm EST Arthur Sadoun to take over as CEO of ad firm Publicis Groupe By Tim Baysinger Jan 26 Arthur Sadoun will take over as chief executive of advertising company Publicis Groupe SA from longtime CEO Maurice Levy on June 1, the company said on Thursday. Paris-based Publicis Groupe is the third-largest ad company in the world, part of what is considered the "Big Four" agency companies, along with WPP PLC, Interpublic Group of Companies Inc and Omnicom Group Inc. Currently, Sadoun oversees all of Publicis'' creative agencies, including Saatchi & Saatchi and Leo Burnett. Levy was set to retire this year - the company said he will become chairman when Sadoun takes over - and the identity of his successor was something many in the ad industry were paying close attention to. Sadoun had been considered among the front-runners along with Publicis Media CEO Steve King, who will also join the board. Much like longtime rival, WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell, Levy is considered to be one of the most-influential advertising executives. Under Levy''s leadership, Publicis went on a massive buying spree, particularly in recent years snapping up digital agencies as the industry has been more and more reliant on technology. Changing consumer habits have also forced large advertising agencies into a more holistic approach in serving their clients'' varying needs. Sadoun will become the third different chief executive for the French-owned company, following Levy and the company''s founder, Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet. "I''m taking on this new role with confidence, determination and one objective in mind: accelerating our transformation and development through The Power of One to continue to make Publicis shine like Marcel and Maurice have done for the past 90 years," said Sadoun, in a statement. Last year, along with the three other major ad companies, Publicis revealed that subsidiaries received subpoenas from the U.S. Department of Justice as part of an investigation into video production practices in the industry. (Reporting by Tim Baysinger; Editing by Alan Crosby) Next In Market News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/mergersNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/publicis-groupe-ceo-idUSL1N1FG1VC'|'2017-01-27T02:43:00.000+02:00' +'145f15bf9a0f1c6fc35f227cf618d86e2a5eca28'|'HSH Nordbank nears sale of debt portfolio, Macquarie tipped to buy - sources'|'Private Equity 8:45am EST HSH Nordbank nears sale of debt portfolio, Macquarie tipped to buy - sources By Andreas Krner , Jonathan Saul and Alexander Hbner - LONDON/FRANKFURT LONDON/FRANKFURT Jan 26 State-owned German lender HSH Nordbank is close to concluding the sale of parts of its 3.2 billion euro ($3.4 billion) loan portfolio and Australia''s Macquarie Group is expected to be among the buyers, sources familiar with the matter said. HSH and Macquarie declined to comment. HSH''s owners - the German states of Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg jointly hold 85 percent - have to privatise the bank under European state-aid rules by the end of February 2018 and have been trying to offload parts of its business. Four finance sources said HSH were close to selling 800 million euros in aviation loans to Macquarie with another buyer set to pick up real estate loans. "This is an important milestone for HSH," one source said. The total aviation portfolio on sale was close to 1 billion euros, 750 million of it non-performing and the remainder performing debt, two sources said. The two sources said there were also 2 billion euros of real estate loans on sale - mostly non-performing - and assets in Britain including near London''s financial district as well as in Germany and other parts of Europe. Another source said HSH was expected to conclude the sale of of around 1.6 billion euros of energy and real estate assets of the overall 3.2 billion euros by mid year. However, due to low offers HSH has dropped efforts to sell 500 million euros of shipping loans in this sales process, the sources said. Many segments of the global shipping sector are struggling with their worst ever market conditions, caused by a glut of ships and slowing global trade, which have battered earnings and led to the collapse of companies including South Korean container line Hanjin last August. "The appetite was low for this segment of the book and shows how toxic the debt on sale was. Shipping is in a distressed state at the moment," another source said. In October, sources told Reuters 20 bidders were in talks for the portfolio which included Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse and Citigroup C.N, together with asset managers Apollo Global Management, KKR and Oaktree Capital Group. German lenders - among the biggest backers of shipowners over the past 20 years - are estimated to be behind up to a quarter of the world''s $400 billion of outstanding shipping loans and are struggling with an estimated tens of billions of dollars in troubled loans. Earlier this week HSH launched the planned sale of the overall bank. Two sources said fellow state-backed regional bank NordLB was planning to make an indicative offer and to take a look at HSH''s books. ($1 = 0.9331 euros) (Editing by Ruth Pitchford) Next In Private Equity'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/hsh-nordbank-sale-portfolio-idUSL5N1FG4AP'|'2017-01-26T20:45:00.000+02:00' +'6da950620120ebe913db86c43a9d3bb32ed1af40'|'UPDATE 1-Peru''s Grana says it plans to sell $300 mln in assets'|'Market News - Wed Jan 25, 2017 - 10:46am EST UPDATE 1-Peru''s Grana says it plans to sell $300 mln in assets (Adds comments from company, context) LIMA Jan 25 Grana y Montero , Peru''s largest construction group, said Wednesday that it would ask its board to approve the sale of $300 million in assets to help it meet its obligations after it lost a key contract in a graft scandal. Grana was a junior partner on corruption-plagued Brazilian builder Odebrecht''s $5 billion natural gas pipeline project in Peru, which returned to state control after the group missed a financing deadline on Monday. Grana said it must pay off some $330 million in debt and guarantees related to the pipeline concession, and is aiming to do so before a public auction of the project''s assets. Grana expects to recover at least 95 percent of its investments in the project from the auction within a year, including the $220 million that the company paid for a 20 percent stake in the project in 2015. A divestiture plan will be presented to the company board on Thursday, Grana said. Odebrecht, a family-owned engineering conglomerate at the center of a growing graft scandal in Latin America, said Tuesday that a $500 million irrigation project that it was building with Grana has been frozen since December pending a government permit. Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said that Odebrecht must sell its projects and leave the country, after the company acknowledged distributing $29 million in bribes in Peru. (Reporting by Marco Aquino, Writing by Mitra Taj; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Alistair Bell) Next In Market News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/mergersNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/peru-grana-y-montero-idUSL1N1FF0S9'|'2017-01-25T22:46:00.000+02:00' +'2e0f4e9cb60d731a1e94e073171e625e4b3f3b8d'|'Court approves Caesars Entertainment unit''s bankruptcy plan'|'CHICAGO Jan 17 Caesars Entertainment Corp''s main operating unit won court approval on Tuesday for a plan to shed $10 billion of debt and end a contentious $18 billion bankruptcy filed nearly two years ago to the day."It is a monumental achievement," U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Benjamin Goldgar said at a hearing in Chicago after approving the reorganization plan.(Reporting by Tracy Rucinski in Chicago, writing by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/caesars-bankruptcy-idINL1N1F71C4'|'2017-01-17T14:41:00.000+02:00' +'0528d123643e4be9881980fcea1d8e68f2d9d502'|'LyondellBasell plans to retain Houston refinery after asset review'|'By Jessica Resnick-Ault - NEW YORK NEW YORK Jan 5 LyondellBasell said on Thursday that it would retain its Houston-area refinery following a review of strategic options for the business."During the normal course of business it is not unusual for a company to periodically review its asset portfolio," said Michael Waldron, vice president of corporate communications for LyondellBasell. The refinery has the ability to process 264,000 barrels a day of crude. (Reporting By Jessica Resnick-Ault; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/lyondell-refinery-idINL1N1EV0SY'|'2017-01-05T12:09:00.000+02:00' +'1b98a9c368433155e7dc93173c2e33d849c4ce3a'|'Walgreens working to finalize Rite Aid deal, clear antitrust hurdles'|'WASHINGTON The chief executive of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc ( WBA.O ) said Thursday that the biggest U.S. drug store chain was pressing on with its purchase of smaller Rite Aid Corp ( RAD.N ), which was announced in October 2015 and has not closed.Rite Aid Corp said on Dec. 20 that it would sell 865 stores to Fred''s Inc ( FRED.O ) for $950 million to satisfy antitrust concerns on the deal, which was valued at $9.4 billion when it was announced in October 2015.The Federal Trade Commission is assessing the proposed merger to ensure it complies with antitrust law."During the year, we also continued in our effort to get regulatory approval for our acquisition," said Stefano Pessina, Walgreens Boots Alliance chief executive, at an annual shareholders meeting in New York City.Pessina declined to detail issues raised in the review: "The only thing I can repeat is that we are actively engaged in dialogue with the FTC and we are doing everything we can to support their work," he said.Pessina said Walgreens was also talking to Rite Aid. "These discussions include taking into account anything required to gain approval for the transaction," he said.It could take two months for the agency to assess a proposed divestiture of that size since it would look at the proposed sales, store by store, and in detail, said David Balto, a former FTC official now in private practice."Retail market divestitures are very complex. It''s unrealistic to assume that they could get through a divestiture that''s this significant in a few weeks," said Balto.The purchase is a big expansion for Fred''s. The chain has more than 650 discount stores in the southeastern United States with 350 pharmacies, according to its website.Walgreens has 13,200 stores, nearly 60 percent of which are in the United States, while Rite Aid has 4,570 stores in the United States.The FTC may be doubly careful after it was stung by the failure of an earlier retail divestiture. It allowed regional grocer Haggen to buy 146 stores as part of a deal to allow Albertsons to buy Safeway in early 2015, only to have Haggen file for bankruptcy that same year. Albertsons bought dozens of the stores.The FTC is also in transition. President Donald Trump named Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen the acting chair on Wednesday. Another commissioner, former Chairwoman Edith Ramirez, leaves early next month.(Reporting by Diane Bartz and Siddharth Cavale; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-rite-aid-m-a-walgreens-boots-idINKBN15A2LY'|'2017-01-26T15:40:00.000+02:00' +'d18069dc8e15e4eac2ee6f36fe14878fdf8dc372'|'Canada''s Shaw turns to Comcast technology to regain market share'|'Technology 19pm EST Canada''s Shaw turns to Comcast technology to regain market share The Shaw logo is pictured on their Barlow Trail building, home to the annual Shaw AGM, in Calgary, Alberta January 14, 2014. REUTERS/Todd Korol TORONTO Canada''s Shaw Communications Inc ( SJRb.TO ) announced a voice-controlled television product on Wednesday that it hopes will help it stem years of market share losses to western Canadian telecom rival Telus Corp ( T.TO ). The product, named BlueSky TV, is available in Calgary and will expand to other markets in coming months, Shaw said in a statement. The product is powered by Comcast Corp''s ( CMCSA.O ) X1 technology, which is making its first foray outside of the United States. Fellow cable company Rogers Communications Inc ( RCIb.TO ), a major television provider in eastern Canada, said in December that it had scrapped development of its own internet-based television platform in favor of X1, which it does not expect to introduce until 2018. Cable companies have struggled to respond to telecom rivals'' internet-based TV services, which have eroded their market dominance. Shaw began offering aggressively priced high-speed internet in mid-July and recently added wireless to its product mix through its purchase of Wind Mobile, which it has renamed Freedom Mobile. The Calgary-based company said BlueSky would be available for as low as C$99.90 ($75.85) a month for 12 months when coupled with its high-end internet on a two-year plan. Shaw is due to report quarterly earnings on Thursday. (Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn) Next In Technology News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-shaw-comms-television-idUSKBN14V2BR'|'2017-01-12T01:15:00.000+02:00' +'de24fab31ef8ecd401dfe9deb325823fdb5f0b31'|'L''Oreal to buy three skincare brands from Valeant for $1.3 billion'|' 8:01am GMT L''Oreal to buy three skincare brands from Valeant for $1.3 billion A customer walks past a cosmetics display of French cosmetics group L''Oreal in Nice, France, April 6, 2016. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/File Photo PARIS French cosmetics group L''Oreal ( OREP.PA ) said on Tuesday it was buying three skincare brands - CeraVe, AcneFree and Ambi - from Valeant ( VRX.TO ) for $1.3 billion, in a cash deal which L''Oreal said would boost its U.S. revenues. L''Oreal said that the three brands had an annualised, combined revenue of around $168 million. ""These three brands, built on strong relationships with health professionals and widely distributed, will nearly double the revenue of our Active Cosmetics Division in the U.S. and will help us satisfy the growing demand for active skincare at accessible prices," Frederic Roze, president and chief executive of L''Oral USA, said in a statement. (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Andrew Callus) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-l-oreal-valeant-idUKKBN14U0O9'|'2017-01-10T14:47:00.000+02:00' +'26222d7f255601209cf498d9526ad005f028a0af'|'TREASURIES-Yields inch up for second day ahead of Fed minutes'|'By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss - NEW YORK NEW YORK Jan 4 U.S. Treasury debt yields edged higher on Wednesday for a second straight day in quiet trading as they continued to benefit from increased market appetite for risk with the rise in stocks and oil prices as well as an improving global economic environment."Yesterday we had a confluence of factors that led to higher yields: we had strong inflation numbers from overseas; we had oil starting to rally," said Subadra Rajappa, head of U.S. rates strategy at Societe Generale in New York."This is just momentum from yesterday''s selloff that''s really pushing yields higher today," she added.The U.S. economic calendar was thin on Wednesday so investors focused on the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting due later in the session. The minutes were expected to provide justification for the increase in U.S. interest rates last month and could reinforce the market''s general belief that the economy can absorb further tightening.The risk, however, is that the Fed tries to downplay the increases in interest rate forecasts, or the so-called dot-plot, by emphasizing the fact it only took a few forecast changes to tip the scale, said BMO Capital Markets in a research note."While the dot-plot is certainly that sensitive, the Chairwoman (Fed Chair Janet Yellen) was unable to walk the market back from the initial bearish response and so we''d be skeptical of any attempts to do so via the minutes," the bank said.Analysts also said the overall bias of the market was for higher Treasury yields, which move inversely to prices, amid what is known as "rate-lock selling" during an expected heavy corporate issuance calendar this month.Wall Street dealers typically lock in borrowing costs for corporate bonds they are underwriting by selling Treasuries as a hedge before the deal is completed. Once the bond is sold, the dealer buys back Treasuries to exit the rate-lock.In mid-morning trading, the U.S. 10-year note was down 1/32 in price to yield 2.457 percent, compared with 2.454 percent late on Tuesday.U.S. 30-year bond prices were down 2/32, yielding 3.053 percent, up from Tuesday''s 3.05 percent.U.S. two-year note prices were flat, yielding 1.234 percent , compared with 1.226 percent on Tuesday. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Meredith Mazzilli)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-bonds-idINL1N1EU0MA'|'2017-01-04T12:24:00.000+02:00' +'a5618af4e7c49b9e0398fae3b066f04e3493cfb2'|'Inflows into Egypt banks at $9 bln since pound float -c.bank official'|' 52pm EST Inflows into Egypt banks at $9 bln since pound float -c.bank official CAIRO Jan 31 Total inflows into the Egyptian banking system have reached $9 billion since the Egyptian pound was floated in November, assistant central bank sub-governor Rami Aboulnaga said on Tuesday. Import-dependent Egypt has been facing a currency crunch since a popular uprising in 2011 drove away tourists and foreign investors. In an effort to attract inflows, it floated its currency on Nov. 3. (Reporting by Asma Alsharif; Editing by Kevin Liffey) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/egypt-economy-banks-idUSL5N1FL6NU'|'2017-02-01T01:52:00.000+02:00' +'e1d74b7fa1ff76bb434866ae0e497a51ee1f35c4'|'South Korea considers "measures" as China blocks charter flights'|'World News - Mon Jan 2, 2017 - 5:03am EST South Korea considers ''measures'' as China blocks charter flights left A view of the Asiana Airline''s head office in Seoul August 8, 2013. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji 1/2 left right South Korea''s finance minister Yoo Il-ho (C) gets a briefing in front of a car carrier during his visits to a port in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, January 15, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji 2/2 By Hyunjoo Jin - SEOUL SEOUL South Korea''s government and airline companies will meet on Tuesday to discuss China''s rejection of applications by Korean carriers to add charter flights between the two countries for early this year, a government official said on Monday. South Korean Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said on Sunday he would look into whether China''s decision, which came ahead of a traditional surge in Lunar New Year travel, was "related to" the planned deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system in South Korea. Yoo told reporters there were "several suspected cases of non-tariff barriers" following last year''s decision to deploy the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system and South Korea needed to determine China''s "real intention". China''s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on a holiday, while China''s Civil Aviation Administration was not immediately reachable. China worries that the THAAD''s powerful radar can penetrate its territory and has objected to the deployment, which South Korea and the United States say is aimed solely at countering any threat from North Korea. South Korean carriers Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air and Jin Air, an affiliate of Korean Air Lines, said their applications for charter flights to China were rejected for January and February, with no reason given. "It is regrettable," a spokesman at Jeju Air said. The companies already operate scheduled flights to China but wanted to add charter flights at busy times. The transport ministry had sent a letter to China''s ministry seeking cooperation on the proposed flights and it would also meet the companies to ponder a next step, a ministry official said. "We will hold a closed-meeting with major airline affiliates tomorrow morning to discuss measures, the ministry official said, without elaborating on what type of measures might be considered. China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines had asked South Korea to hold off on approving their applications to add charter flights in January, citing "a situation in China", said the official who is not authorized to speak to media and declined to be identified. A China Eastern press official denied that it had asked South Korea to hold off approving applications to add charter flights. A China Southern media official was not immediately available. The Korea Tourism Organization said charter flights typically accounted for 4 to 5 percent of available seats between the two countries. "Travelers can switch over to regular scheduled flights, so we do not expect huge losses," said Han Hwa-joon, China team director. Shares in South Korean cosmetics-related companies and airlines dropped on news reports of the charter denials. Korean cosmetics are a hot-selling item for visitors from China, South Korea''s biggest source of tourists. Shares in cosmetics maker Amorepacific Corp were down 5 percent on Monday, their biggest daily percentage loss since Oct. 25 and Korean Air Lines Co Ltd shares fell 2.2 percent to their lowest level since July 14. (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Additional reporting Yun Hwan Chae and Dahee Kim in SEOUL and Chen Aizhu in BEIJING; Editing by Tony Munroe, Robert Birsel) Next In World News Blast in Baghdad''s Sadr City kills at least 16 BAGHDAD/TIKRIT, Iraq At least 16 people were killed by a car bomb in a busy square in Baghdad''s sprawling Sadr City district on Monday, while Islamic State attacks on military positions north of the capital killed 16 pro-government fighters, sources said.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-china-airlines-idUSKBN14M0F7'|'2017-01-02T16:41:00.000+02:00' +'d3a0b71ceb675b68c005ec78dd6e6faa1d31e929'|'WRAPUP 1-Trump fights criticism, protests, legal challenges over travel bans'|' 11:20am EST WRAPUP 1-Trump fights criticism, protests, legal challenges over travel bans By Doina Chiacu and Steve Holland - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Jan 29 U.S. President Donald Trump fought back on Sunday amid growing international criticism, outrage from civil rights activists and legal challenges over his abrupt order for a halt on arrivals of refugees and people from seven Muslim-majority countries. In his most sweeping action since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump, a Republican, put a 120-day hold on Friday on allowing refugees into the country, an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria and a 90-day bar on citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. "Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world - a horrible mess!" Trump wrote on Twitter on Sunday. "Christians in the Middle-East have been executed in large numbers. We cannot allow this horror to continue!" added Trump, who has presented the policy as a way to protect Americans from the threat of Islamist militants. Civil rights and faith groups, activists and Democratic politicians have promised to fight the order, which caused chaos and confusion for affected travelers and sparked protests at several U.S. airports throughout Saturday. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, voiced muted criticism. Speaking on ABC''s "This Week" program, he said it was a good idea to tighten the vetting of immigrants, but "it''s important to remember that some of our best sources in the war against radical Islamic terrorism, are Muslims, both in this country and overseas ... We need to be careful as we do this." A Republican colleague in the Senate, John McCain, was more critical, saying the order had been a confused process and could give Islamic State propaganda material. Condemnation of the order poured in from abroad, including from traditional allies of the United States. In Germany - which has taken in large numbers of people fleeing the Syrian civil war - Chancellor Angela Merkel said the global fight against terrorism was no excuse for the measures and "does not justify putting people of a specific background or faith under general suspicion", her spokesman said on Sunday. A federal judge in Brooklyn, New York, granted a temporary reprieve late on Saturday evening. The American Civil Liberties Union, representing two Iraqis caught by the order as they flew into the country, successfully argued for a temporary stay that allowed travelers to remain in the United States. The court action did not reverse Trump''s order, but prevented those denied entry into the country from being deported. Anthony Romero, the ACLU''s executive director, predicted in an interview with CNN on Sunday that the case could ultimately land in the U.S. Supreme Court. Separately, a group of state attorneys general were discussing whether to file their own court challenge against Trump''s order, officials in three states told Reuters. Other groups eyed a constitutional challenge claiming religious discrimination. Trump, a businessman who successfully tapped into American fears about attacks by Islamist militants during his campaign, had promised what he called "extreme vetting" of immigrants and refugees from areas the White House said the U.S. Congress deemed to be high risk. He told reporters on Saturday that his order was "not a Muslim ban," adding the measures were long overdue and were working out "very nicely." The Department of Homeland Security said about 375 travelers had been affected by the order, 109 of whom were in transit and were denied entry to the United States. Another 173 were stopped by airlines before boarding. The order "affects a minor portion of international travelers," the department said in a statement, saying the measures "inconvenienced" less than 1 percent of the daily arrivals of foreigners into U.S. airports. The DHS, which issued its statement after the Brooklyn federal judge''s ruling, said the order would stay in place. "No foreign national in a foreign land, without ties to the United States, has any unfettered right to demand entry into the United States," it said. The new rules blindsided people in transit and families waiting for them, and caused havoc for businesses with employees holding passports from the targeted nations and colleges with international students. Mark Krikorian, the director of the conservative Center for Immigration Studies, called lawsuits challenging the order "last ditch efforts" that would only apply to a few individuals, and he said a broader constitutional argument would be hard to win. Some leaders from the U.S. technology industry, a major employer of foreign workers, issued warnings to their staff and called the order immoral and un-American. "This ban will impact many innocent people," said Travis Kalanick, chief executive of Uber Technologies Inc, who said he would raise the issue at a White House meeting on Friday. ''TREATED LIKE DRUG DEALERS'' The new rules upended plans that had been long in the making for some people, such as Iraqi Fuad Sharef and his family. They waited two years for a visa to settle in the United States, selling their home and quitting jobs and schools in Iraq before setting off on Saturday for a new life they saw as a reward for working with U.S. organizations. Sharef, his wife and three children were prevented from boarding their connecting flight to New York from Cairo on Saturday, detained overnight at Cairo airport and forced to board a flight back to the northern Iraqi city of Erbil on Sunday morning. "We were treated like drug dealers, escorted by deportation officers," Sharef told Reuters by telephone from Cairo airport. Iraq''s former ambassador to the United States, Lukman Faily, said Trump''s ban was unfair to a country that itself has been a victim of attacks, and could backfire. Iran vowed to retaliate. Sudan called the action "very unfortunate" after Washington lifted sanctions on the country just weeks ago for cooperation on combating terrorism. A Yemeni official expressed dismay at the ban. Britain''s most successful track athlete, Olympic champion Mo Farah, slammed the policy in a statement. "On 1st January this year, Her Majesty the Queen made me a Knight of the Realm. On 27th January, President Donald Trump seems to have made me an alien," said Farah, who was born in Somalia, came to Britain as a child and who currently lives with his wife and children in Oregon. Confusion abounded at airports on Saturday as immigration and customs officials struggled to interpret the new rules. Some legal residents with green cards, or the right to residency, who were in the air when the order was issued were detained at airports upon arrival. Airlines were blindsided and some cabin crew were barred from entering the country. Emirates, the world''s largest long-haul airline, has had to change flight attendant and pilot rosters on services to the United States because of the ban, an airline spokeswoman said Sunday. Thousands of refugees seeking entry were thrown into limbo. Melanie Nezer of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society said she knew of roughly 2,000 who were booked to come to the United States next week. (Reporting by Doina Chiacu, Susan Cornwell and Steve Holland in Washington; Mica Rosenberg, Jonathan Allen, Melissa Fares, Daniel Trotta and David Ingram in New York; Andrea Hopkins, Anna Mehler Paperny in Toronto; Andrea Shalal and Andreas Rilke in Berlin, Paul Sandle in London; Alexander Cornwell in Dubai, Arwa Gaballa, Eric Knecht in Cairo, and Michael Georgy in Erbil; Writing by Frances Kerry; Editing by Mary Milliken) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-trump-immigration-idUSL1N1FJ0B2'|'2017-01-29T23:20:00.000+02:00' +'286ab8ac081ec06b0fccc578998e4baa3f2c0a3c'|'Lufthansa not in talks with Etihad over stake: source'|'FRANKFURT Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) is not in talks with Etihad about the Abu Dhabi-based carrier taking a stake in the German airline, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday in response to an Italian media report."A financial stake is out of the question at the moment," the source, who is familiar with Lufthansa''s plans, told Reuters.Italian paper Il Messaggero earlier on Tuesday reported that Etihad and Lufthansa were in talks about a Etihad taking a 30-40 percent stake as a precursor to a merger, although analysts said they viewed a deal as unlikely.Lufthansa shares had earlier risen as much as 6 percent and were up 4.5 percent at 1559 GMT.Lufthansa is also not in talks about buying the rest of Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ), part-owned by Etihad, the source added.Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr had poured cold water on that Air Berlin speculation last week, telling reporters Air Berlin''s high costs, debt pile and also antitrust concerns would be obstacles to any deal.(Reporting by Peter Maushagen; Writing by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Katrin Jones and Harro ten Wolde)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-lufthansa-etihad-m-a-idINKBN1512CD'|'2017-01-17T13:12:00.000+02:00' +'6a03aa361fb0e9b65325fc2702b6245469e21096'|'UPDATE 1-Brazil''s Petrobras announces new bond, debt tender'|'Bonds News 25am EST UPDATE 1-Brazil''s Petrobras announces new bond, debt tender (ADDS tender details) By Paul Kilby NEW YORK, Jan 9 (IFR) - Brazilian state-owned oil company Petrobras announced a new bond sale on Monday as it seeks to finance a debt tender. The company is approaching accounts with five and 10-year bonds at initial price thoughts of 6.5% area and 7.75% area, respectively. In the tender, the borrower is targeting US dollar-denominated 3% 2019s, floating-rate 2019s, 7.875% 2019s, 5.75% 2020s, 4.875% 2020s and floating-rate 2020s. If holders tender by the early bird date of January 23, they will receive a purchase price of 100.625, 101.625, 110.50, 104.875, 102.75 and 101.625, respectively. Petrobras is also offering to buy back euro-denominated 3.25% 2019s at 105.125 if holders tender by the early bird date. The bond is set to price later on Monday. Bradesco, Citigroup, HSBC, Itau and Morgan Stanley are acting as leads. (Reporting by Paul Kilby; Editing by Marc Carnegie) Next In Bonds News Petrobras to buy back up to $2 bln of debt in cash, offer new bonds SAO PAULO, Jan 9 Petrleo Brasileiro SA has launched a program to buy back up to $2 billion of existing bonds in cash and the offering of new debt, as the world''s most indebted oil company seeks to refinance debt maturing before the end of the decade.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/petrobras-gl-fin-bonds-idUSL1N1EZ0I2'|'2017-01-09T20:25:00.000+02:00' +'3c69e8516201d67f63008e040716d48d5c37808f'|'ZTE: ring off'|'Save January 9, 2017 Ideally, chasing a race leader should make one focus on running harder. The same applies to ZTE , Chinas number two wireless telecom network company behind world-beater Huawei. A maturing mobile market at home plus withering competition in smartphone handsets have caused enough problems. A tiff with the US over sales of equipment to Iran in March last year appears to have made matters worse. However, the shares, down almost a fifth in a year, already price in a lot of woe. Recent reports that ZTE will soon fire 3,000 workers hint that all is still not well. On Monday, the Hong Kong and Shenzhen-listed shares fell more than 3 per cent. The company would not confirm the reductions. But cost-cutting must come in a handset business generating almost a third of group revenues. Though never a global powerhouse, ZTE has seen once-solid smartphone growth dissipate as domestic rivals Oppo and Vivo, not to mention leader Huawei, eroded its share. In 2015 ZTE made over a tenth of Chinese smartphones; this year that will fall to less than 7 per cent. Superficially, things do not look much better in ZTEs mobile networks business, which accounts for four-fifths of operating profits. In the first half to June 2016, its overseas revenues fell more than 7 per cent year on year. That followed a period of double-digit growth in 2015. Potential US sanctions on ZTE for selling kit to Iran might explain part of the slowdown. But the equipment business still has promise. Margins in networks have held up. Although 4G prospects have matured in China, as capital spending by local operators has peaked, ZTEs valuation at 11 times forward earnings looks cheap. Global rivals Nokia and Ericsson have traded around 16 times on average in the past few years, with no better expansion promise. A Chinese shift to 5G should spark more spending on ZTEs equipment, eventually. ZTE should focus on its networks business and hive off the handset unit. Phones will not drive the groups growth and could cost the company dearly if it fights to win back lost share. Email the Lex team at Sample the FTs top stories for a week You select the topic, we deliver the news. Select topic Invalid email Sign up By signing up you confirm that you have read and agree to the terms and conditions , cookie policy and privacy policy . Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2017. All rights reserved. You may share using our article tools. Please don''t cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.'|'ft.com'|'http://www.ft.com/rss/companies/telecoms'|'https://www.ft.com/content/104e2c58-d66d-11e6-944b-e7eb37a6aa8e'|'2017-01-10T04:36:00.000+02:00' +'451acc4dc2c4687c232a458b0c80c19facb218f3'|'Nintendo says to launch Super Mario Run Android version in March'|'Technology 12:45am GMT Nintendo says to launch Super Mario Run Android version in March Nintendo''s game character Super Mario is seen on a screen at the presentation ceremony of Nintendo''s new game console Switch in Tokyo, Japan January 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon TOKYO Japan''s Nintendo said it will release an Android version of its first ever Super Mario mobile game in March following the launch of Super Mario Run for Apple Inc''s iPhone in December. The Japanese company announced the planned launch on through its Twitter feed. (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Michael Perry) Next In Technology News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-nintendo-supermario-idUKKBN153033'|'2017-01-19T09:34:00.000+02:00' +'cef605b30702a3403d56f6809a520e480d776ac4'|'Airbus gets leasing boost as it tots up new orders'|' 38pm GMT Airbus gets leasing boost as it tots up new orders A flight test engineer holds an Airbus Group flag after the first flight of the Airbus A320neo (New Engine Option) in Colomiers near Toulouse, France, September 25, 2014. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau By Tim Hepher and Brenda Goh - PARIS/SHANGHAI PARIS/SHANGHAI Airbus ( AIR.PA ) won a $3.8 billion (3.1 billion) order from U.S leasing company Aviation Capital Group and industry sources said it may land another $4 billion in new business from the leasing arm of China''s Bank of Communications ( 601328.SS ). The trades emerged on the eve of an annual news conference at which Airbus will reveal whether it accumulated the 278 orders needed to maintain a lead over rival Boeing and replenish its own order book, by keeping up with increased deliveries. Depending on when it was signed, the ACG order brings to over 300 the number of potential orders that could end up on Airbus''s order books in December, keeping it ahead in its fierce annual order race with Boeing even though it lags on deliveries. ACG, the aircraft leasing arm of Pacific Life Insurance, said on Tuesday it had ordered 35 narrow-body jets including 30 of the latest version of the A320 family, the A320neo. It also ordered two current-generation A320s and three of the existing version of the A321. Such an order would be worth a total $3.8 billion at list prices. Airbus declined comment ahead of Wednesday''s event. Industry sources said earlier Airbus may win an order for some 42 narrow-body jets from Shanghai-based Bank of Communications Financial Leasing. The Chinese company did not respond to a request for comment. Airbus needs to report 278 orders for December to meet a goal of matching its deliveries, which rose by an estimated 8 percent to as many as 688 aircraft last year. Between January and November, it notched up 410 net orders and 577 deliveries. Its finance chief has predicted more than 670 deliveries in 2016 and at least as many new orders. In addition to the potential Chinese leasing order, industry sources say Airbus is expected to finalise an order for 72 jets from India''s GoAir and has finalised an order worth $6.4 billion for over 60 jets from Saudi carrier flynas. However, while adding to the 2016 Airbus tally, the Saudi carrier may only be identified separately at a later date. Airbus is also expected to book at least part of an order for 100 jets from Iran, the first of which is scheduled to leave Europe on Wednesday for a ceremony in Tehran on Thursday. Boeing said last week it delivered 748 aircraft in 2016 and took 668 net orders for the year. On Tuesday, it said it had won an order worth $300 million for three 737 aircraft from South Korea''s Jeju Air. (Additional reporting by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta/Ruth Pitchford) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-airbus-bankcomm-idUKKBN14U2N5'|'2017-01-11T04:38:00.000+02:00' +'257160bb6ddc94ea4434920847c9678baab22cec'|'Toshiba writedown for U.S. nuclear business to be $6 billion - Mainichi'|'Business News - Thu Jan 26, 2017 - 2:06am GMT Toshiba writedown for U.S. nuclear business to be $6 billion - Mainichi The logo of Toshiba Corp is seen at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan January 23, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai TOKYO Toshiba Corp''s upcoming writedown for its U.S. nuclear business that has been hit by cost overruns will be 680 billion yen ($6 billion), the Mainichi newspaper reported, without citing sources. Other domestic media have reported that the figure could be as much as 700 billion yen, while sources have previously told Reuters it could be more than 500 billion yen (3.5 billion pounds). A Toshiba spokesman said that nothing concrete has been decided yet. It plans to announce the size of the writedown on Feb. 14 with its third-quarter results. Toshiba is rushing to raise funds by the end of the financial year in March as a massive charge could wipe out shareholders equity that has shrunk to just $3 billion in thewake of a 2015 accounting scandal. The conglomerate''s board will meet on Friday to approve plans to make its core chip business a separate company and hopes to raise more than 200 billion yen by selling a 20 percent stake in it, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said. (Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-idUKKBN15A070'|'2017-01-26T09:06:00.000+02:00' +'a903d7d424619c0c2b0dd35a4d551ccebd9e013f'|'Fitch Affirms BankUnited, Inc.''s IDRs at ''BBB/F2''; Outlook Stable'|'Financials 3:52pm EST Fitch Affirms BankUnited, Inc.''s IDRs at ''BBB/F2''; Outlook Stable (The following statement was released by the rating agency) NEW YORK, January 23 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings has affirmed the Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDRs) at ''BBB'' and Short-Term IDRs at ''F2'' for BankUnited, Inc. (BankUnited) and BankUnited, N.A. The Rating Outlook is Stable. See the full list of rating actions at the end of this release. The rating action follows a periodic review of the mid-tier regional banking group, which includes BankUnited Inc. (BKU), BOK Financial Corp. (BOKF), Cathay General Bancorp (CATY), East West Bancorp (EWBC), First Republic Bank (FRC), First Horizon National Corp. (FHN), First National of Nebraska Inc. (FNNI), Fulton Financial Corp. (FULT), Hilltop Holdings, Inc. (HTH), Synovus Financial Corp. (SNV), TCF Financial Corp. (TCB), Trustmark Corp. (TRMK), UMB Financial Corp. (UMBF) and Wintrust Financial Corp. (WTFC). Company-specific rating rationales for the other banks are published separately, and for further discussion of the mid-tier regional bank sector in general, refer to the special report titled ''U.S. Banks: Mid-tier Regional Bank Periodic Review,'' to be published shortly. KEY RATING DRIVERS IDRS, VRs, AND SENIOR DEBT The ratings reflect BankUnited''s developing franchise with a growing position in the New York multifamily market and solid foundation in the Florida commercial market. The rating also reflects a seasoned management team with a solid reputation in the company''s core markets, good earnings performance supported by a relatively good cost structure, and solid asset quality. Fitch views the company''s capital adequacy and liquidity as consistent with the rating level and overall risk appetite. Rating constraints include BankUnited''s comparatively short operating history under current management, above-peer-level loan growth, comparatively narrow geographic exposure, low proportion of non-interest income versus peers, and, in Fitch''s view, modest key man risk. Fitch believes BankUnited has an experienced executive management team and considers it a key credit strength. The company''s regional management team is deep and stable with a number of senior managers having solid commercial banking experience on both the lending and deposit-taking sides of the business. Effective Jan. 1, Raj Singh, BankUnited''s Chief Operating Officer, succeeded John Kanas as President and Chief Executive Officer. Singh, along with Kanas, was one of the founders of BankUnited in 2009. Fitch believes that key man risk is mitigated by Singh''s appointment to CEO, continued management bench strength, and Kanas retaining the role of Chairman. Ultimately, Singh''s appointment to CEO brings further clarity to succession planning, which we believe should be viewed positively overall. The company''s high-growth model and manageable branch footprint/cost structure in New York and Florida has led to good profitability metrics. However, going forward, we expect profitability to come under pressure as the covered loan portfolio runs off and the company grows deposits in a rising interest rate environment. In addition, revenue diversification is viewed as a rating constraint given the company is very spread reliant. BankUnited reported non-interest income-to-total revenues of about 9% compared to the mid-tier peer median of 31%. BankUnited''s non-performing asset (NPA) ratio in the non-covered loan portfolio was 96bps at third quarter 2016 (3Q16), which compares well to mid-tier peers and supports the current ratings. However, Fitch recognizes that industry-wide credit performance has been supported by relatively benign credit conditions during this phase of the cycle. For the industry, Fitch anticipates some reversion to long-run averages of non-performing loans and losses from current unsustainably low levels. For many loan classes, asset quality is at or close to peak performance. BankUnited has seen increased nonaccrual inflows in its C&I portfolio driven by its New York City taxi medallion exposure ($192 million or 1% of total loans and 8% of tangible common equity). Although Fitch believes the loan loss reserve level and charge-offs related to the taxi medallion portfolio could increase, due to the small size of the portfolio relative to total loans, earnings would likely be modestly affected rather than capital. Fitch views BankUnited''s capital adequacy and liquidity metrics as consistent with the rating level and the company''s overall risk appetite. Fitch expects capital adequacy and liquidity metrics to improve as the company focuses on its national commercial deposit growth strategy in 2017, while actively slowing loan growth. Fitch considers BankUnited''s capital to be adequate for the current rating level with Common Equity Tier 1 risk-based capital of 11.6% at Sept. 30, 2016, slightly above the mid-tier median of 11.4%. BankUnited, N.A.''s Tier 1 leverage ratio was 9.3% at 3Q16, above the OCC requirement of 8% (the requirement dates back to the bank''s FDIC-assisted acquisition in 2009). To support capital levels, management expects to continue to opportunistically raise debt capital. Historically, the company''s high loan growth model has been funded by modest growth in deposits, FHLB advances, and senior unsecured debt. Deposit growth especially in competitive markets such as New York and Florida has led to deposit cost more than 30bps above the median peer deposit cost. As BankUnited''s national commercial deposit gathering initiative unfolds in 2017, this should decrease wholesale funding reliance and stabilize the loan-to-deposit ratio. BankUnited''s loan-to-deposit ratio is currently 101%, which is high compared to the median mid-tier peer of 92%. The company''s strategy is focused on growing loans and gathering deposits in New York and Florida with its national platform providing additional asset growth and potential diversification. Although Fitch recognizes the overall strengths of these markets, particularly the company''s focus on relatively top-performing metropolitan areas, BankUnited''s geographic concentration remains high compared to Fitch''s mid-tier peer universe. LONG- AND SHORT-TERM DEPOSIT RATINGS BankUnited''s uninsured deposit ratings at the subsidiary banks are rated one notch higher than the company''s IDR and senior unsecured debt because U.S. uninsured deposits benefit from depositor preference. U.S. depositor preference gives deposit liabilities superior recovery prospects in the event of default. HOLDING COMPANY BankUnited''s IDR and Viability Rating (VR) are equalized with those of BankUnited, N.A., reflecting its role as the bank holding company, which is mandated in the U.S. to act as a source of strength for its bank subsidiaries. Ratings are also equalized reflecting the very close correlation between holding company and subsidiary failure and default probabilities. SUPPORT RATING AND SUPPORT RATING FLOOR BankUnited and BankUnited, N.A. have a Support Rating of ''5'' and Support Rating Floor of ''NF''. In Fitch''s view, BankUnited and BankUnited, N.A. are not systemically important and therefore, the probability of support is unlikely. IDRs and VRs do not incorporate any support. RATING SENSITIVITIES IDRS, VRs, AND SENIOR DEBT Fitch believes the ratings are currently well positioned and sees limited upside over the near-to-intermediate term. The ratings are sensitive to earnings deterioration or asset quality falling below similarly rated Fitch mid-tier peer averages. In the near term, we expect earnings to come under pressure as the covered loan portfolio runs off and as the company grows deposits in a rising interest rate environment. Longer term, as core lending markets become more competitive, there is risk that underwriting standards could come under pressure, potentially leading to diminished asset quality, higher provisioning, and lower future earnings. Further, we note BankUnited''s loan growth is above peer averages. Although not anticipated, Fitch could undertake a review of the ratings should there be a material reduction in balance sheet liquidity as evidenced by loans-to-deposits increasing to the 105%-110% range, increased leverage, or adverse regulatory findings. Longer term, positive ratings momentum could be driven by successful execution of the company''s deposit growth strategy, increased scale, or improved diversity among geographies and loan products, non-interest revenue sources, or as top-quartile performance through the cycle is demonstrated. Given the emphasis Fitch places on senior management at BankUnited, the ratings are sensitive to key man risk. Material unexpected departures or changes in senior management at either the holding company or bank could prompt a review of the ratings. However, Fitch acknowledges that key man risk is partially mitigated by a deep bench of seasoned executives at the bank level as well as Raj Singh''s appointment to CEO, which brings clarity to succession planning at the executive level. LONG- AND SHORT-TERM DEPOSIT RATINGS The long- and short-term deposit ratings are sensitive to any change to BankUnited''s long- and short-term IDR. HOLDING COMPANY Should BankUnited begin to exhibit signs of weakness, demonstrate trouble accessing the capital markets, or have inadequate cash flow coverage to meet near-term obligations, there is the potential that Fitch could notch the holding company IDR and VR from the ratings of the operating companies. SUPPORT RATING AND SUPPORT RATING FLOOR Since BankUnited''s and BankUnited, N.A.''s Support and Support Rating Floors are ''5'' and ''NF'', respectively, there is limited likelihood that these ratings will change over the foreseeable future. Fitch has affirmed the following ratings: BankUnited, Inc. --Long-Term IDR at ''BBB''; Outlook Stable; --Senior Debt at ''BBB''; --Short-Term IDR ''F2''; --Viability Rating at ''bbb''; --Support Rating at ''5''; --Support Floor at ''NF''. BankUnited, N.A. --Long-Term IDR at ''BBB''; Outlook Stable; --Short-Term IDR at ''F2''; --Long-term Deposits at ''BBB+''; --Short-term Deposits at ''F2''; --Viability Rating at ''bbb''; --Support Rating at ''5''; --Support Floor at ''NF''. Contact: Primary Analyst Stefan Kahandaliyanage, CFA Associate Director +1-646-582-4918 Fitch Ratings, Inc. 33 Whitehall St. New York, NY 10004 Secondary Analyst Johannes Moller Associate Director +1-646-582-4954 Committee Chairperson Christopher Wolfe Managing Director +1-212-908-0771 Media Relations: Hannah James, New York, Tel: + 1 646 582 4947, Email: hannah.james@fitchratings.com. Additional information is available on www.fitchratings.com Applicable Criteria Global Bank Rating Criteria (pub. 25 Nov 2016) here Additional Disclosures Dodd-Frank Rating Information Disclosure Form here _id=1017940 Solicitation Status here Endorsement Policy here ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: here . IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY''S PUBLIC WEB SITE AT WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA, AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH''S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE, AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE CODE OF CONDUCT SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE. Copyright 2017 by Fitch Ratings, Inc., Fitch Ratings Ltd. and its subsidiaries. 33 Whitehall Street, NY, NY 10004. Telephone: 1-800-753-4824, (212) 908-0500. Fax: (212) 480-4435. Reproduction or retransmission in whole or in part is prohibited except by permission. All rights reserved. In issuing and maintaining its ratings and in making other reports (including forecast information), Fitch relies on factual information it receives from issuers and underwriters and from other sources Fitch believes to be credible. Fitch conducts a reasonable investigation of the factual information relied upon by it in accordance with its ratings methodology, and obtains reasonable verification of that information from independent sources, to the extent such sources are available for a given security or in a given jurisdiction. The manner of Fitch''s factual investigation and the scope of the third-party verification it obtains will vary depending on the nature of the rated security and its issuer, the requirements and practices in the jurisdiction in which the rated security is offered and sold and/or the issuer is located, the availability and nature of relevant public information, access to the management of the issuer and its advisers, the availability of pre-existing third-party verifications such as audit reports, agreed-upon procedures letters, appraisals, actuarial reports, engineering reports, legal opinions and other reports provided by third parties, the availability of independent and competent third- party verification sources with respect to the particular security or in the particular jurisdiction of the issuer, and a variety of other factors. Users of Fitch''s ratings and reports should understand that neither an enhanced factual investigation nor any third-party verification can ensure that all of the information Fitch relies on in connection with a rating or a report will be accurate and complete. Ultimately, the issuer and its advisers are responsible for the accuracy of the information they provide to Fitch and to the market in offering documents and other reports. In issuing its ratings and its reports, Fitch must rely on the work of experts, including independent auditors with respect to financial statements and attorneys with respect to legal and tax matters. Further, ratings and forecasts of financial and other information are inherently forward-looking and embody assumptions and predictions about future events that by their nature cannot be verified as facts. As a result, despite any verification of current facts, ratings and forecasts can be affected by future events or conditions that were not anticipated at the time a rating or forecast was issued or affirmed. The information in this report is provided "as is" without any representation or warranty of any kind, and Fitch does not represent or warrant that the report or any of its contents will meet any of the requirements of a recipient of the report. A Fitch rating is an opinion as to the creditworthiness of a security. This opinion and reports made by Fitch are based on established criteria and methodologies that Fitch is continuously evaluating and updating. Therefore, ratings and reports are the collective work product of Fitch and no individual, or group of individuals, is solely responsible for a rating or a report. The rating does not address the risk of loss due to risks other than credit risk, unless such risk is specifically mentioned. Fitch is not engaged in the offer or sale of any security. All Fitch reports have shared authorship. Individuals identified in a Fitch report were involved in, but are not solely responsible for, the opinions stated therein. The individuals are named for contact purposes only. A report providing a Fitch rating is neither a prospectus nor a substitute for the information assembled, verified and presented to investors by the issuer and its agents in connection with the sale of the securities. Ratings may be changed or withdrawn at any time for any reason in the sole discretion of Fitch. Fitch does not provide investment advice of any sort. Ratings are not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. Ratings do not comment on the adequacy of market price, the suitability of any security for a particular investor, or the tax-exempt nature or taxability of payments made in respect to any security. Fitch receives fees from issuers, insurers, guarantors, other obligors, and underwriters for rating securities. Such fees generally vary from US$1,000 to US$750,000 (or the applicable currency equivalent) per issue. In certain cases, Fitch will rate all or a number of issues issued by a particular issuer, or insured or guaranteed by a particular insurer or guarantor, for a single annual fee. Such fees are expected to vary from US$10,000 to US$1,500,000 (or the applicable currency equivalent). The assignment, publication, or dissemination of a rating by Fitch shall not constitute a consent by Fitch to use its name as an expert in connection with any registration statement filed under the United States securities laws, the Financial Services and Markets Act of 2000 of the United Kingdom, or the securities laws of any particular jurisdiction. Due to the relative efficiency of electronic publishing and distribution, Fitch research may be available to electronic subscribers up to three days earlier than to print subscribers. For Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and South Korea only: Fitch Australia Pty Ltd holds an Australian financial services license (AFS license no. 337123) which authorizes it to provide credit ratings to wholesale clients only. Credit ratings information published by Fitch is not intended to be used by persons who are retail clients within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 Next In Financials Fitch Takes Rating Actions on U.S. Midtier Regional Banks Following Peer Review (The following statement was released by the rating agency) CHICAGO, January 23 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings has completed its review of its U.S. midtier regional bank peer group. Following the review, which generally covers banks with assets between $10 billion and $50 billion, Fitch downgraded UMB financial (UMBF) and revised the Rating Outlook to Stable from Negative. At the same time, Fitch revised the Outlooks for BOK Financial (BOKF) to Stable from Negative and revised the Outlook for First'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFit987385'|'2017-01-24T03:52:00.000+02:00' +'e36232a68bc0919a0ef3416d079f84ff565f2f5e'|'European shares slip as bank losses offset tech gains; FTSE hits new high'|'Market News - Mon Jan 9, 2017 - 12:40pm EST European shares slip as bank losses offset tech gains; FTSE hits new high * Live coverage: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets * STOXX led lower by banks, oils * Britain''s FTSE 100 hits another peak * SAP hits 22-year high as tech stocks shine (Adds details, closing prices) By Danilo Masoni MILAN, Jan 9 European shares slipped on Monday as a pullback in bank stocks more than offset a stronger tech sector, while a drop in the pound drove Britain''s FTSE 100 index to further record highs. The pan-European STOXX index slid 0.4 percent, while the FTSE 100 rose 0.4 percent after hitting an all-time high of 7,243.76 points in its 10th straight session of gains. The pound sank to more than two-month lows after weekend comments from British Prime Minister Theresa May sparked talk that Britain would drastically rework trade relations with the European Union after Brexit. "Domestic populist politics trumps the trade card for now, it seems and that is weighing on the pound, whilst simultaneously giving another boost to the FTSE 100," Neil Wilson, Senior Market Analyst at ETX Capital, said in a note. Banks were the biggest fallers in Europe - the sector''s index lost 1.7 percent and Italian lenders were down 3.5 percent following a strong start of the year. The sector has outperformed over the past weeks as hopes for fiscal stimulus in the United States under Donald Trump''s administration from Jan. 20 have further boosted bond yields, seen as supportive for bank margins. But after the surge, some brokers have turned less bullish. Credit Suisse reduced its overweight stance on the sector in a global equity strategy note on Friday. Germany''s Fresenius Medical fell 6.8 percent, making it the biggest loser on the STOXX, after it and U.S. rival DaVita Inc received subpoenas from federal prosecutors investigating their ties with a charity that helps patients pay for kidney dialysis. Among the biggest weights to the STOXX were also oil majors Royal Dutch Shell and Total. Oil prices fell sharply as signs that growing U.S. production and record Iraqi exports had raised concerns that additional output would weigh on the market. Among top gainers, French retailer Casino Guichard rose 3 percent after an upgrade from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, citing a simplification of the group''s corporate structure as a positive for the stock. Tech stocks rose 0.7 percent after an upbeat note from Citi, which expects the sector to have another bright year, citing appealing fundamentals and earnings prospects. SAP rose 0.8 percent to a fresh 22-year high after UBS said a survey of customers of the German software maker suggested that the company had room to lift its mid-term goals when it reports results late this month. German carmaker Volkswagen rose 4.9 percent with traders citing hopes a deal to resolve the U.S. diesel emissions scandal could be close. Such hopes overshadowed news of the arrest of a top executive in connection with the investigation. (Additional reporting by Kit Rees; editing by Mark Heinrich) Next In Market News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/europe-stocks-idUSL5N1EZ5AE'|'2017-01-10T00:40:00.000+02:00' +'5270b50a9a996dd8243b7dddeaf9ad4b0f792362'|'BRIEF-Rubicon Project to explore strategic options, including potential sale - WSJ, citing sources'|'Market News - Fri Jan 13, 2017 - 12:01pm EST BRIEF-Rubicon Project to explore strategic options, including potential sale - WSJ, citing sources Jan 13 (Reuters) - PARIS, Jan 13 Luxury good maker LVMH said its Louis Vuitton brand had ceased all trading with Vietnamese farms which animal rights activist group Peta alleged mistreated crocodiles, whose skins are used to make handbags and other accessories. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Taboola Trending Stories Reuters News Agency - Brand Attribution Guidelines Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters . Thomson Reuters is the world''s largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/mergersNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1F30UM'|'2017-01-14T00:01:00.000+02:00' +'0b2d519c48ca7eff1b513591854d884def5bd55c'|'UPDATE 1-Taiwan to inject funds into labour pensions, says reforms will delay defaults'|'Financials 45am EST UPDATE 1-Taiwan to inject funds into labour pensions, says reforms will delay defaults * Govt to inject US$633 mln a year to labour pension funds * Details on military pension reforms to come after Lunar New Year * Successful reform is crucial for President Tsai * Protesters should have representatives speak for them on Sunday (Adds comments, details) By Faith Hung TAIPEI, Jan 19 Taiwan will inject T$20 billion ($632.5 million) a year into labour pensions starting in 2018 as part of broader reforms to ensure that workers'' pensions remain financially solvent. Vice President Chen Chien-jen told a news conference on Thursday that pension reforms for teachers, civil servants and non-government employees will help delay a default in payments to retirees by a decade. Pensions for civil servants could default by 2030, teachers in 2031 and other workers in 2048, government data shows, if Taiwan''s pension system is not reformed due to years of under-funded liabilities. Reform plans for military pensions, which could default as early as 2020, will be discussed after the Lunar New Year holiday, Lin Wan-yi, deputy chief of the National Pension Reform Committee, told Reuters on the sidelines of the briefing. The government has said an urgent overhaul of the pension system is needed as large payouts are no longer sustainable for the export-reliant economy, with contributions crimped by slower economic growth since the 1990s and a rapidly aging population. Successfully reforming the system will be crucial for President Tsai Ing-wen, whose popularity has hit an all-time low since taking office last May. She says reforms are "urgent" given limited national and social resources and wants to see pension reform bills passed by the legislature this spring. The reform plan has triggered protests from thousands in the public sector over the last few months. Another such protest is set for Sunday outside the Presidential Office, when the government will hold a key meeting to discuss the plan. Chen encouraged those intending to protest to let their representatives come forward instead. "It has been pretty cold outside," said the vice president, in reference to the weather. "We urge them to have their representatives participate in the meeting to speak on their behalf." The unease over pension reforms cuts across several sectors. Under-funded liabilities of public and labour sector pensions were expected to hit a record T$18 trillion ($570 billion) in 2016, nine times the government''s annual budget expenditure and a big jump from T$12 trillion a decade ago. ($1 = 31.6190 Taiwan dollars) (Editing by Jacqueline Wong) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/taiwan-pensions-idUSL4N1F92HA'|'2017-01-19T15:45:00.000+02:00' +'437c152a251b679e78f0b1662dda717cb8a1bcc2'|'Airbus finalises deal to sell more than 60 jets to Saudi''s flynas -sources'|'Industrials 01am EST Airbus finalises deal to sell more than 60 jets to Saudi''s flynas -sources By Alexander Cornwell - DUBAI DUBAI Jan 10 Airbus has finalised an agreement to sell more than 60 jets to Saudi Arabian budget carrier flynas, according to industry sources. The order from flynas is expected to cover over 60 A320neo narrow body jets, one of the sources with direct knowledge of the deal told Reuters. Including purchasing options, the agreement includes 100 A320neos, sources said. An order for 60 A320neos would be worth $6.4 billion at list prices. Airbus and flynas (Reporting Alexander Cornwell in Dubai; Additional reporting by Tim Hepher in Paris; Editing by Susan Fenton) Next In Industrials UPDATE 1-Airbus finalises deal to sell more than 60 jets to Saudi''s flynas - sources DUBAI, Jan 10 Airbus has finalised an agreement to sell more than 60 jets to Saudi Arabian budget carrier flynas, according to industry sources, a move that could help keep ahead of Boeing in the annual race for new orders.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/airbus-flynas-orders-idUSL5N1F038Q'|'2017-01-10T21:01:00.000+02:00' +'e3375c4a3a62625d2b2322366779a841c57b676b'|'EU regulators delay ChemChina/Syngenta merger decision to April 12'|'Deals - Tue Jan 3, 2017 - 11:43am EST EU regulators delay ChemChina/Syngenta merger decision to April 12 A Syngenta logo is pictured in their office in Singapore, February 12, 2016. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo BRUSSELS European Union antitrust regulators have extended the deadline for a decision on ChemChina''s proposed buy of Swiss pesticides and seeds group Syngenta ( SYNN.S ) by 10 working days to April 12. The European Commission which handles competition cases for the European Union, extended the deadline on Tuesday, its website showed. Syngenta was not immediately available for comment. The Commission opened an in-depth investigation into state-owned ChemChina''s $43 billion bid in October, saying the companies had not allayed concerns over the deal. (Reporting by Julia Fioretti; editing by Susan Thomas) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-syngenta-ag-m-a-chemchina-idUSKBN14N1GK'|'2017-01-03T23:43:00.000+02:00' +'7ee3f85936478d8cc55581b6f3afe6bc0e618049'|'easyJet says first quarter in line with expectations, forward bookings ahead'|' 20am GMT easyJet says first quarter in line with expectations, forward bookings ahead FILE PHOTO - An EasyJet passenger aircraft prepares for take off from Gatwick Airport in southern England, Britain, October 9, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo LONDON British low-cost airline easyJet posted first-quarter revenue, cost and passenger numbers in line with its expectations and said forward bookings were ahead of last year. easyJet, Europe''s no.2 no-frills carrier behind Ryanair, warned however that the weak pound since the June 23 Brexit vote meant that its 2017 profit would take a larger-than-expected 105 million pound hit. (Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Costas Pitas) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-easyjet-outlook-idUKKBN1580LK'|'2017-01-24T14:20:00.000+02:00' +'962c5acb061cd2551cc54ef4f7a52d333097dae3'|'UPDATE 2-China hikes anti-dumping duties on U.S. animal feed in final ruling'|'(Updating with details throughout)By Josephine Mason and Hallie GuBEIJING Jan 11 China has increased punitive tariffs on imports of a U.S. animal feed ingredient known as distillers'' dried grains (DDGS) from levels first proposed last year, potentially escalating a trade spat between the world''s two largest economies.In a final ruling, the Commerce Ministry said on Wednesday that anti-dumping duties will range from 42.2 percent to 53.7 percent, up from 33.8 percent in its preliminary decision in September. Anti-subsidy tariffs will range from 11.2 percent to 12 percent, up from 10 percent to 10.7 percent.The ruling is a major victory for China''s fledging ethanol industry, which had complained the U.S. industry was unfairly benefiting from subsidies, and follows a year-long government probe.On Wednesday, Beijing said it found the domestic DDGS industry had "suffered substantial harm" due to subsidised imports from the United States.China is the world''s top buyer of DDGS, a by-product of corn ethanol that is used by feed mills as a substitute for corn and soymeal. China imports almost all of its needs from the United States, the largest exporter.The decision is a big blow to the larger U.S. ethanol industry, including global traders Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM) and Louis Dreyfus, along with biofuel producer Poet LLC, oil refiner and ethanol producer Valero Energy Corp and grains group Andersons Inc.The penalty hike was larger than experts had expected, and comes amid growing tensions between the two countries over China''s corn subsidies and its steel and aluminium exports.U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has threatened to impose punitive tariffs on Chinese goods coming into the United States.Many Chinese businesses have already started to wind back imports of U.S. DDGS since the preliminary ruling in September, switching to domestic suppliers or alternatives like soymeal."I don''t buy DGGs from the U.S. anymore and have turned to domestic DDGs, soymeal and rapemeal," said Mr Hu, who is in charge of buying protein in southern China for feed manufacturer New Hope Liuhe. He declined to give his first name as he is not authorised to speak to the media.Imports have steadily dropped in recent months.Shipments in October and November fell to 135,000 tonnes and 163,000 tonnes respectively, about a third of the total in August before the first ruling. In the first 11 months of the year, imports were down 53 percent at just under 3 million tonnes.The new rates will take effect from Thursday and be in force for five years.(Reporting by Josephine Mason and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Richard Pullin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/china-grains-usa-idINL4N1F11H1'|'2017-01-11T02:25:00.000+02:00' +'df28ad37de7500ced923f8f7a9914bf8f05ab7bd'|'UPDATE 1-HgCapital to sell vehicle rental firm Zenith to Bridgepoint'|'Private Equity 41am EST UPDATE 1-HgCapital to sell vehicle rental firm Zenith to Bridgepoint (Adds details from Bridgepoint statement) Jan 30 London-based private equity firm HgCapital Trust Plc has agreed to sell Zenith, a British vehicle leasing business, to peer Bridgepoint in a deal valued at 750 million pounds ($942.08 million), its manager HgCapital said on Monday. The sale delivers a 2.9 times investment multiple and a 46 percent gross internal rate of return over the investment period, HgCapital said in a statement. Leeds-headquartered Zenith has over 500 employees and operates a fleet of about 85,000 vehicles. Its services include funding company cars and commercial vehicles, and providing outsourced fleet management services. HgCapital Trust would realise cash proceeds of about 59 million pounds from the deal, an uplift of 15.4 million pounds, or about 35 percent, on the carrying value of the asset as of Nov. 30, 2016. HgCapital Trust initially invested in Zenith in February 2014 and merged it with Leasedrive, a company it already owned, to achieve economies of scale. Zenith, whose customers have included pub firm Greene King , grocer Asda and financial firm Santander , delivered strong double-digit revenue and core earnings growth over the past year, the trust said on Monday. "We believe that (Zenith) can continue its impressive growth trajectory through its continued focus on customer service, technology and targeted acquisition activity," said Emma Watford, Bridgepoint''s head of business services sector team. HSBC, RBS and Lloyds will provide debt financing for the transaction, Bridgepoint said separately. HgCapital''s advisers on the sale were Evercore, Deloitte, OC&C, KPMG, Weil Gotshal & Manges and Sidley Austin. HSBC & Investec, White & Case, LEK, Deloitte, ERM and EY advised Bridgepoint. ($1 = 0.7961 pounds) (Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri) Next In Private Equity'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/hgcapital-trust-divestiture-bridgepoint-idUSL4N1FK11E'|'2017-01-30T15:41:00.000+02:00' +'eb83a7467a49c25d2783f83b1eaa2237f1dd0ee9'|'Interview: India''s top bank SBI eyes up to $1.5 billion capital raising next fiscal year'|'By Angeline Ong and Sujata Rao - DAVOS, Switzerland DAVOS, Switzerland India''s biggest lender by assets, State Bank of India, could tap capital markets next fiscal year to raise up to $1.5 billion, its chief said on Friday, though it first needs to complete a planned merger with its subsidiary banks.In an interview with Reuters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Arundhati Bhattacharya also said the lender would look to raise funds from stake sales in its life insurance unit that could list in a year to 18 months, and by paring its holding in UTI Asset Management Co, which is also looking to go public."We do plan to raise some capital. However, this is also dependent on the fact that there is a merger that we are planning to do," said Bhattacharya, 60, who has been at the helm of SBI as its chairman since late 2013.SBI, which is merging its five subsidiary banks with itself and also taking over a small state-run lender for women, previously expected the merger to be completed by March.The deals could now get delayed by a quarter, Bhattacharya said, as banks are still busy replacing withdrawn banknotes after India''s sudden move in November to cancel 86 percent of its currency. India''s fiscal year starts in April."As long as the merger is not over and done with, it could be difficult to approach the capital markets," Bhattacharya said, adding the lender could look to raise between $1 billion and $1.5 billion from the markets.SBI last sold shares in January 2014 to raise $1.2 billion.Bhattacharya said activities were "slowly getting back to normal" as effects of the banknote ban subside, although it would still take until the end of February to fully gauge the impact.Bhattacharya hoped recent lending rate cuts by banks including SBI, after they were flush with billions of dollars of deposits following the banknote ban, would help "kickstart" credit growth, which is hovering near two-decade lows."We feel that credit growth will pick up ... definitely by the second half of next (fiscal) year we should see substantial pick up," she said.Ratings agency Fitch estimates India''s banks will need about $90 billion to meet global Basel III rules which are due to be fully implemented by March 2019.Indian banks face a March deadline from the country''s central bank to identify and make provisions for the troubled assets.But Bhattacharya said: "It''s unlikely now to be finished by March 2017, but probably in another quarter or two it should be at least many of the large ones would have found some kind of resolution."BNP Paribas Cardif, SBI''s partner in its life insurance arm, was no longer interested in picking up 10 percent more in SBI Life at current valuations, Bhattacharya said.The two sides had been in talks over the stake after India allowed higher foreign holdings in the insurance sector. In separate deals, SBI last month agreed to sell stakes in SBI Life to KKR and Temasek($1 = 68.1400 Indian rupees)(Writing and additional reporting by Devidutta Tripathy in Mumbai; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/davos-meeting-state-bank-india-idINKBN1541ZJ'|'2017-01-20T11:46:00.000+02:00' +'53eebaecc34e704d28149bb3ee9275d72f1924cb'|'Yahoo''s Marissa Mayers to resign from board after Verizon deal closes'|'Yahoo Inc ( YHOO.O ) said Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer would step down from the board after the closing of its deal with Verizon Communications Inc ( VZ.N ).Five other directors would also resign after the deal closes, Yahoo said in an filing on Monday. ( bit.ly/2iXrbwn )The company also named Eric Brandt chairman of the board, effective Jan. 9.Verizon''s $4.83 billion deal for Yahoo''s core internet assets came under renewed scrutiny by federal investigators and lawmakers last month after Yahoo disclosed the largest known data breach in history.Mayer said in July that she planned to stay at Yahoo through the transaction''s close.Yahoo said the remaining company would be renamed Altaba Inc after the deal closes.(Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-yahoo-m-a-verizon-idINKBN14T2I7'|'2017-01-09T20:37:00.000+02:00' +'82faae128fdab0de28d79dc704836341e12b515b'|'Actelion says R&D company will launch with 1 bln Sfr cash'|'Market News - Thu Jan 26, 2017 - 3:22am EST Actelion says R&D company will launch with 1 bln Sfr cash ZURICH Jan 26 Actelion said the new research and development company to be created following the $30 billion takeover by Johnson & Johnson will be launched with 1 billion Swiss francs ($1.00 billion)in cash. The unit will be spun out into a standalone company based and listed in Switzerland and will be led by Actelion Chief Executive and founder Jean-Paul Clozel, with Johnson & Johnson taking a 16 percent stake with rights to another 16 percent via a convertible note. ($1 = 0.9994 Swiss francs) (Reporting by John Revill) Next In Market News Physical gold demand slides to 7-year low in 2016 -GFMS * Physical gold demand slides 20 pct to 3,349 T in 2016 * Gold market surplus biggest this century * GFMS forecasts gold at $1,259/oz in 2017 By Jan Harvey LONDON, Jan 26 Physical gold demand fell 20 percent last year to its lowest since 2009, GFMS analysts at Thomson Reuters said in a report on Thursday, as a rebound in prices after three straight years of losses blunted appetite for the metal. Buying of jewellery, coins and bars, plus official sector and indu'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/mergersNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/actelion-ma-johnsonjohnson-newco-idUSFWN1FG0DD'|'2017-01-26T15:22:00.000+02:00' +'5eec80439a75190e3137326b9f77e242a7b686e8'|'Russian retailer Magnit misses 2016 sales forecast'|'Business News - Tue Jan 10, 2017 - 9:01am GMT Russian retailer Magnit misses 2016 sales forecast People walk to enter a grocery store owned by Russian retailer Magnit on the suburbs of Moscow August 1, 2012. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin MOSCOW Russia''s biggest food retailer Magnit ( MGNT.MM ) reported on Tuesday a 12.8 percent increase in 2016 sales, missing its 14-16 percent growth forecast. The low-cost retailer has seen revenue growth slow as competition increased among stores seeking to tap into the pool of cash-strapped consumers who have cut back on spending as the rouble weakened and inflation ran high. Analysts have said they expect Magnit to cede its leading position to X5 Retail Group ( PJPq.L ) in 2017 as the aggressively expanding competitor has been reporting sales growth in excess of 20 percent. Other retailers in the sector have yet to report their 2016 sales figures. Magnit''s 2016 sales rose to 1.1 trillion roubles (15.06 billion pounds) from 947.8 billion roubles in 2015, with growth slowing from the 24 percent achieved in 2015. In December alone, sales growth slowed to 6.9 percent from more than 10 percent in previous months. Like-for-like sales were down 0.3 percent last year as Magnit''s customer numbers dropped 0.9 percent while the average bill rose 0.65 percent, Magnit said in a statement. It also opened fewer new stores than planned, adding 927 convenience shops against an earlier forecast 1,000-1,100 stores, Magnit said in a statement. Magnit Chief Executive Officer Sergey Galitskiy said in October the company was likely to end 2016 with fewer net openings than planned as it was ramping up closures of inefficient outlets. Shares in Magnit were down 3.3 percent by 0827 GMT in Moscow, underperforming a broader market index . (Reporting by Maria Kiselyova; Editing by Christian Lowe) Next In Business News L''Oreal to buy three skincare brands from Valeant for $1.3 billion PARIS French cosmetics group L''Oreal is acquiring three specialized skincare brands - CeraVe, AcneFree and Ambi - from Canada''s Valeant Pharmaceuticals International for $1.3 billion (1.07 billion pounds) in cash to expand into one of the fastest growing areas of the beauty industry.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-magnit-salesfigures-idUKKBN14U0VI'|'2017-01-10T16:01:00.000+02:00' +'c35cef4a4afd1f9bbb828ab3d74da319b7881f1a'|'Futures flat as earnings season gathers pace'|' 7:29am EST Futures flat as earnings season gathers pace Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., January 23, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid By Yashaswini Swamynathan U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Tuesday as investors assessed quarterly earnings reports, while seeking more clarity on President Donald Trump''s economic policies. * Trump''s focus on protectionism over fiscal stimulus since taking office on Friday has disappointed investors, who had driven up Wall Street to record highs following his election. * Wall Street dipped on Monday after Trump warned of border taxes and signed orders to withdraw the United States from the Trans-Pacific trade deal. * The dollar turned positive after falling to a seven-week low on Tuesday. Oil prices were flat, while gold declined for the first time in four days. * Data due on Tuesday includes a report on existing home sales, which likely fell to 5.52 million in December from 5.61 million the previous month. * Shares of General Motors ( GM.N ), Ford ( F.N ) and Fiat Chrysler ( FCAU.N ) rose in premarket trading. Trump is expected to meet the executives of the auto makers to discuss U.S. jobs. * Johnson & Johnson dropped 2.5 percent to $111.11 after the company reported a quarterly revenue that missed analysts'' expectations. * Apple ( AAPL.O ) was off 0.71 percent on a Barclays downgrade to "equal-weight" from "overweight". Of the 49 brokerages covering the stock, only eight have a "hold" or equivalent rating. * Yahoo ( YHOO.O ) rose 2.9 percent to $43.54 after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue and said the sale of its core internet business to Verizon ( VZ.N ) should be completed in the second quarter. Futures snapshot at 6:54 a.m. ET: * Dow e-minis 1YMc1 were up 4 points, or 0.02 percent, with 17,054 contracts changing hands. * S&P 500 e-minis ESc1 were down 0.25 points, or 0.01 percent, with 76,667 contracts traded. * Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQc1 were up 1.25 points, or 0.02 percent, on volume of 14,557 contracts. (Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks-idUSKBN1581J9'|'2017-01-24T19:29:00.000+02:00' +'bc66f34f8193107cc02830ab1ca3327a8d6eb2f5'|'London Metal Exchange chief resigns - HKEX statement'|'Financials 12:55am EST London Metal Exchange chief resigns - HKEX statement * Jones to retire from all HKEX Group roles with immediate effect * LME chief operating officer Chamberlain appointed CEO in interim HONG KONG Jan 23 London Metal Exchange (LME) Chief Executive Garry Jones is stepping down just over three years after being appointed to run the world''s largest and oldest metals market, parent company Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEX) said on Monday. Jones is retiring from all his positions within the HKEX Group, including his positions at the LME and LME Clear, with immediate effect. He will be replaced in the interim by Matthew Chamberlain, the LME''s 34-year-old chief operating officer, until a permanent replacement is found, the bourse said in a stock exchange filing. Andrew Dodsworth, the LME''s head of market operations, has been appointed interim COO. Jones will serve as an advisor to the LME until the end of the year, the bourse said. HKEX appointed Jones, a well-known industry veteran, CEO of the LME in August 2013, selecting the former top executive at the NYSE Liffe to help drive its expansion into commodities and beyond. Jones, with 30 years of experience in exchanges and financial services, but limited experience in metals, inherited a difficult role at a time when the LME was caught in a controversy over warehousing metals and its impact on consumers. The former NYSE Liffe executive also courted controversy during his tenure after the LME moved a year ago to hike fees by an average of 31 percent, angering the bourse''s members. (Reporting by Michelle Price; additional reporting by Josephine Mason in Beijing; Editing by Stephen Coates) Next In Financials Canada''s CALGARY, Alberta, '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/lme-ceo-idUSL4N1FD27C'|'2017-01-23T12:55:00.000+02:00' +'2494a2ceae66397c3c31c990358f89b5a03800f9'|'Flush with funds, Israeli tech firms delay exits'|'By Tova Cohen - TEL AVIV TEL AVIV Whenever potential buyers have approached Tel Aviv-based Fiverr, the technology firm has said no; like a growing number of Israeli start-ups, it has enough backing from private investors to stay independent for longer.Traditionally, many of Israel''s numerous tech companies have sold out at an early stage to global giants like Cisco, IBM and Microsoft. Only a few - such as cyber security leader Check Point Software - have reached a significant size.But now start-ups are using a sharp rise in private investment to pursue growth, often aiming for eventual stock market flotations. With founders looking longer term rather than trying to make quick money, acquisitions of Israeli technology firms fell in 2016 to their lowest level in six years.Fiverr, backed by large venture capital funds including California-based Accel and Bessemer, is among those hoping to follow the Check Point model.Its online marketplace allows freelancers to offer services ranging from logo design to cartoons, and translations to psychic readings. Asking prices range from $5 to $10,000.A consumer-oriented company focused on the U.S. market, Fiverr raised $60 million in November 2015, bringing its total funding to date to $110 million."Fiverr should be a multi-billion dollar business. This is why we aren''t looking to be acquired," Chief Executive Micha Kaufman told Reuters. "Eventually a company like ours will go public."Fiverr declined to disclose the company''s current valuation or name the would-be buyers that have approached it in the past couple of years.Israel''s high tech industry is well established, using skills of workers trained in the military and intelligence sectors. Tax breaks and government funding have encouraged start-ups, and also drawn in entrepreneurs from abroad.But acquisitions of Israeli high-tech companies more than halved last year to $3.5 billion, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.Stock market listings in the sector are also dwindling as investors increasingly prefer bigger tech companies. After eight initial public offerings valued at $3.4 billion in 2015, only two IPOs totaling $44 million took place in 2016 - one in London and the other in Tel Aviv.Instead, private investment is rising. In the first nine months of 2016 Israeli start-ups raised $4 billion, up 27 percent from a year earlier, according to the Israel Venture Capital Research Centre (IVC), which has forecast a record year in 2016.Investment in more established late stage companies surged 47 percent to $1.6 billion in the first nine months, IVC said.The Aleph VC fund said four of its 12 companies have declined offers from would-be buyers in the hundreds of millions of dollars."I''m seeing for first time that many founders are saying no to M&A. It''s a good thing," Aleph partner Eden Shochat said. "These bigger companies create pockets of knowledge ... which is required to build an industry."Aleph was structured to allow 12 years for investors to cash in, instead of the seven years typical for the venture capital sector, he said.Accel, which has just opened an Israeli office, said it can invest $50 million in a growth stage company and has raised a fifth fund of $500 million to invest in Israel and Europe."The fact that money is available has clearly impacted the level of exits," Accel partner Philippe Botteri said.Adam Fisher, a partner who manages Bessemer''s Israel office, expects this trend of holding out to continue as long as growth funding, especially from new sources such as China, is abundant.LESS EFFICIENTFisher believes the availability of growth capital also has disadvantages. The risk is that generously-funded companies may be less efficient than those running on a shoestring.Moreover, rejecting an offer to hold out for more money limits the number of potential buyers, while an IPO may also not be possible if stock market investors consider a firm has yet to grow big enough for a flotation.Gone are the days of the tech boom in the late 1990s when relatively small firms listed on the U.S. Nasdaq market."Startups often need growth financing to reach the current IPO threshold of $100 million revenue run rate, but by no means does that imply that growth financing will create an IPO candidate," Fisher said.Despite the country''s reputation as a center for innovation, many global buyers prefer the more established markets of the United States and Europe. Rubi Suliman, high-tech leader for PwC Israel, said there are still not enough buyers who are familiar and comfortable enough with Israeli high-tech to drive a wave of deals."When potential buyers are relatively scarce, deal prices are expected to go down," he said.Taking the IPO route could also prove difficult for Israeli firms in certain business areas. Some of the largest private companies in revenue terms are in the online advertising sector, which public markets have turned against.The valuation of Israeli adtech firm Matomy, for example, has nearly halved since it went public in London in 2014.With Facebook and Google owning much of the distribution and profit from selling ads directly to the advertiser, the pie for adtech firms is much smaller, said Nir Blumberger, Accel''s Israel-based partner and a former corporate development executive at Facebook.Amounts made by investors exiting adtech firms through sales or IPOs fell to $238 million in 2016 from about $600 million in 2015, according to IVC and the Meitar law firm.In cyber security technology, the need for firms'' services is growing but a proliferation of start-ups means competition is stiff. Cyber start-ups raised more funds last year than in 2015, but exits nearly halved to $660 million, IVC data shows."I still foresee this will be a big area for M&A and IPOs in the future but it will take a while to be built into a revenue stream," said Shochat.A third group is automotive tech, boosted by the success of Mobileye which makes driver warning systems aimed at preventing accidents. Investment in start-ups nearly doubled in 2016 to $680 million though exits brought in only $190 million.Investors caution that companies in this sector require a lot of money over a very long period.(editing by David Stamp)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-israel-tech-idINKBN14P1OS'|'2017-01-05T11:18:00.000+02:00' +'4d1a8fce7a9b3531dda404f8e087a8fc203b4d0d'|'Stocks, dollar steady after Trump-led dip'|' 11pm IST Stocks, dollar steady after Trump-led dip By Patrick Graham - LONDON LONDON Stock markets steadied while the dollar recovered some ground on Tuesday after unease over how the U.S. policy slate will develop under Donald Trump''s presidency drove the currency to its weakest since early December. Traders in Asia said shares were helped by hopes that the concerns about a stronger dollar expressed by the U.S. President-elect at the weekend, would be beneficial to emerging markets where companies have borrowed heavily in dollars. In Asia, MSCI''s ex-Japan Asia-Pacific shares index rose 0.3 percent, just shy of a three-month high hit last Thursday. Energy and cyclical stocks were the chief gainers. Short-covering also helped, especially in China, where stocks tumbled more than 4 percent last week as traders took some money off the table before Trump''s inauguration on Friday. European stock markets were broadly steady after a choppy start, banking shares under pressure as investors chewed over details of the impact of regulatory fines on Deutsche Bank. "You''ve seen the banks ease, everything has taken a breather after the strong start in January for stocks," said Andy Sullivan, a portfolio manager with GL Asset Management UK in London. "The last few days have been choppier and for the rally to be sustained, we need to see earnings growth start to come through." MSCI''s broadest index of global share prices reached its highest since mid-2015 on Friday and, driven by a bounce in expectations for U.S. inflation and growth since Trump''s election, is within sight of all-time highs. But worries about the new U.S. president''s attitude to trade and politics, with relations with China in focus, have begun to show up more in some asset prices since the start of the year. The dollar fell almost 1 percent on Tuesday and is on course for its worst two weeks since the election after Trump expressed concern about the dollar''s strength in the context of trade relations with China. It recovered around 0.3 percent on Wednesday with eyes on a speech by the head of the Federal Reserve and U.S. inflation data for clues on the path of interest rates. Sterling, which soared more than 3 percent on Tuesday after Prime Minister Theresa May''s Brexit speech, fell back 0.7 percent. "Everything is just a partial reversal of the price action yesterday," said RBC Capital Markets currency strategist Adam Cole, arguing that the greenback''s weakness had been primarily driven by excessive positioning at the end of last year. With doubts growing about the sustainability of the "Trump trade" - higher stocks and a stronger dollar - investors'' favourite safe havens for capital have been in demand. Gold was perched comfortably at a two-month high above 1215 dollars per ounce. It is up nearly 8 percent in the last three weeks. The yen dipped half a percent as the dollar rose on Wednesday, but is still trading around its highest in seven weeks. Oil prices fell by just over 1 percent, with benchmark Brent futures dipping to $54.70 per barrel and U.S. crude to $51.68. (editing by John Stonestreet)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-markets-idINKBN152189'|'2017-01-18T17:41:00.000+02:00' +'598c9877e7564e88a37be74a5dc9e3ba2b97e5f2'|'South Africa''s Post Office to register financial services unit as a bank'|'Financials 33am EST South Africa''s Post Office to register financial services unit as a bank CAPE TOWN Jan 31 South Africa''s Post Office Group will submit an application to register its financial services unit, Postbank, as a bank by July 3, a document handed out in parliament showed. Postbank has 1.4 billion rand ($104 million) in excess capital, enough to meet regulatory minimum requirements for a bank, the document showed. ($1 = 13.5060 rand) (Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Mark Potter) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/safrica-postoffice-idUSJ8N1F9000'|'2017-01-31T15:33:00.000+02:00' +'cc97c730a4b11bb7be609670776ce050214a3d8e'|'Life-long learning will be crucial in the AI era'|'Life-long learning will be crucial in the AI era Changing education essential to achieve the best from the new industrial revolution Read next Tuesday, 17 January, 2017 Future on show: people will have to learn to work with robots Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Westfield January 17, 2017 by: Vishal Sikka Artificial intelligence and automation technologies are already starting to affect our work and daily lives. AI is present in everyday objects and processes such as virtual assistants, supermarket checkouts, driverless cars and detecting fraud in credit card transactions. Disruption is inevitable but it is often deeply feared. The current wave of change, fuelled by technological advancement, is no different. However, like generations before us, we must learn to transcend the disruption and thrive in new times. Changing how we view education is essential to humanitys ability to achieve the best from new technologies. I recently spoke to graduating students at the University of Queensland in Australia and their excitement was tinged with trepidation about the future. I made three points to them: first, AI and the resulting automation of industrial and business processes will affect us all and is here to stay; second, it is in its infancy and there is an immense opportunity to transcend the disruption; third, as AI develops, this disruption will be repeated again and again. The only certain strategy in our world is for us all to become life-long learners. We are still far from the society of mind that Marvin Minsky wrote about in the 1980s, in which many sophisticated instruments of intelligence possessed with faculties of deduction and learning as well as different ways of representing knowledge and reasoning about it combine to deliver systems capable of complex, autonomous behaviours. Yet many business leaders already consider AI integral to the future. A recent survey of 1,600 global enterprises by Infosys found that 71 per cent of their leaders feel the adoption of AI in business and society is inevitable; more than three quarters feel AI adoption will deliver positive, wider economic change; a quarter have already fully deployed at least one AI technology. But I believe humans will not do well if they merely endure such disruptions. Rather, we can play an active part in shaping our collective future and changing our world in a meaningful and purposeful way. Technology can be a great enabling force that amplifies and empowers people, improves the quality of life for all and opens up opportunities for the underprivileged. For example, at the start of the 20th century 38 per cent of Americans worked on farms. Since then, mechanisation has increased production while reducing the number of employees. Today hired farm workers constitute less than 1 per cent of the US workforce and yet overall employment has soared . Farming jobs have been replaced with new industries telecoms, health, manufacturing, financial services and more. We work in areas unimaginable to a farmer in the 1900s. Related article Paradoxically, Trumps policies could speed automation and the loss of jobs Tuesday, 17 January, 2017 In the same way, AI will affect how we work, the jobs we do and the activities we take part in, both for work and in our free time. It will provide humans with opportunities to create new kinds of experiences and jobs that are unimaginable today, but that have the potential to create trillions of dollars of new value. While intelligent systems may eventually surpass humans in performing well-defined cognitive tasks (such as problem solving), it takes human creativity and ingenuity to see the opportunity (such as recognising a problem technology can solve in the first place). AI can enable us to overcome the limitations of our minds and senses. As my co-chair at the World Economic Forums Global Future Council on AI and Robotics, Professor Missy Cummings of Duke University, says, we are still in the early stages of understanding how intelligent systems can work with people more seamlessly. This would enable both the sharing of work and achieving shared meaning and perspectives. It is not a question of man or machine, but of man and machine. Such collaboration is critical to establishing shared meaning as we have seen in human collaboration for generations. Breakthroughs can only be achieved if man and machine work together on a set of shared goals. When we achieve such a symbiosis, the potential for our species will be immense. This story of disruption and transcendence has played out over millennia. But the pace of change is accelerating, necessitating an ever-faster rate of adaptation. Related article Exhibitors at CES insist the internet of things is moving closer to reality. But will these smart gadgets prove useful? Tuesday, 17 January, 2017 The time has come to rethink education and to recast it as a life-long process. That means we need to move away from rewarding memorisation and instead prize curiosity and experimentation the building blocks of discovering and understanding the things we do not yet know. Curriculums should be modernised to encourage creative problem finding and solving, and learning through doing, with mandatory computer science learning as the bedrock for enabling digital literacy. Organisations also need to make life-long learning resources available for employees to enhance skills development. Indeed, they should be required to dedicate a percentage of their annual revenue to reskilling staff. Humans have adapted in part because we have evolved our education systems alongside our technologies: we advanced our capacities to understand our tools. As with reading and writing, being digitally literate is a fundamental need and every child should study computer science. Todays rapid changes call for a new perspective on education by states and companies. Infosys is rethinking its training infrastructure and augmenting it with, for example, short courses (or nanodegrees) to help drive the rapid acquisition of new skills, including AI techniques, at scale. We are also introducing company-wide training to help employees reassess the way they approach challenges and identify problems, and to be more creative and bring innovation to everything we do. These are small starts and governments and businesses need to help develop an approach to life-long learning that will create a more level playing field for people everywhere. If we can do this, I believe the only limit to our human potential will be the capacity of our imaginations. The AIs of our creation will help us to become more human. The writer is chief executive of Infosys Sample the FTs top stories for a week You select the topic, we deliver the news. Select topic Invalid email Sign up By signing up you confirm that you have read and agree to the terms and conditions , cookie policy and privacy policy . Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2017. All rights reserved. You may share using our article tools. Please don''t cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.'|'ft.com'|'http://www.ft.com/rss/companies/technology'|'https://www.ft.com/content/5bf845fe-b7c2-11e6-961e-a1acd97f622d'|'2017-01-17T12:03:00.000+02:00' +'39b942c968a4e60a34c778fff8fcbadb6e3710ef'|'China exchanges still rife with illegal behaviour - paper'|'Business News - Wed Jan 11, 2017 - 6:10am IST China exchanges still rife with illegal behavior: paper SHANGHAI China''s trading exchanges are still rife with illegal behavior despite a recent crackdown by authorities, the official China Securities Journal reported on Wednesday, citing a recent meeting of the country''s securities regulator. The paper said a government-led rectification campaign had helped to bring the situation under control, but there has been a "resurgence" of regulatory breaches at some exchanges. It said some precious metal and crude oil trading venues were suspected of engaging in illegal futures trading activities, while others were suspected of a range of offences including manipulating market prices and defrauding investors. Regulators attending the meeting will work to rectify the problems over the next six months, the newspaper said. China has put its exchanges under greater scrutiny after blaming a crash in its stock markets in 2015 on widespread irregularities, including price manipulation. The China Securities Regulatory Commission has also been accused of allowing the families of its officials to trade in stocks.. China''s police authorities set up five specialist units last year to deal with financial crimes. (Reporting by David Stanway; Editing by Shri Navaratnam) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-china-finance-fraud-idINKBN14V01B'|'2017-01-11T07:35:00.000+02:00' +'12fcafa92a0f1348dbefa28dd192878768741388'|'Saudi energy minister: still expects Aramco IPO in 2018'|'ABU DHABI Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Thursday that he still expected national oil giant Saudi Aramco IPO-ARMO.SE to conduct a public offer of its shares in 2018.Falih was speaking at a conference in Abu Dhabi. Riyadh has said it plans to sell up to 5 percent of the company in what could be the world''s largest initial public offer of equity, raising tens of billions of dollars.Officials have been working since early last year on complex details of the offer, including legal conditions, how to value Aramco''s assets, and on which exchanges its shares would be listed.(Reporting by Stanley Carvalho; Writing by Andrew Torchia)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-aramco-ipo-idINKBN14W15N'|'2017-01-12T07:01:00.000+02:00' +'e14e48b3ae9aef96eece9c9143704c6980492fc7'|'BRIEF-Appdynamics sees IPO of 12 mln shares of common stock to be priced between $10 and $12/share - SEC Filing'|'Jan 12 Appdynamics Inc:* Appdynamics Inc sees IPO of 12.0 million shares of common stock to be priced between $10.00 and $12.00 per share - SEC Filing* Appdynamics-In concurrent private placement, existing stockholders indicated interest in buyin up to aggregate of $32.5 million, or 2.95 million shares of co''s common stock, at $11per share* Appdynamics-Intends to use portion of IPO net proceeds and concurrent private placement to fully repay term loan under credit facility Source text: [ bit.ly/2iKaWQF ]'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/article/idINFWN1F20A6'|'2017-01-12T08:46:00.000+02:00' +'01e12c0c8f8ee246452aba5676e9ccab10a452be'|'BRIEF-Emerita provides a further update on Aznalcllar appeal'|' 57pm EST BRIEF-Emerita provides a further update on Aznalcllar appeal Jan 26 Emerita Resources Corp * Emerita Resources a further update on the Aznalcllar appeal * Emerita Resources - Spain''s federal police obtained documents related to Aznalcllar tender process from Direccion General De Industria, Energa Y Minas * Emerita Resources - federal police have also requisitioned critical documentation from Andalusian Mining Agency relating to Aznalcllar tender process '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSASB0AX3M'|'2017-01-27T04:57:00.000+02:00' +'2693ba13d42a5e1315c3e51998ef1a782e170312'|'Lloyds a victim of cyber attack that hit banking services'|'UK - Mon Jan 23, 2017 - 11:34am GMT Lloyds a victim of cyber attack that hit banking services A man walks past a Lloyds Bank branch in central London, Britain February 25, 2016. REUTERS/Paul Hackett LONDON Lloyds Banking Group ( LLOY.L ) is working with law enforcement agencies to trace who may be behind a cyber attack that caused intermittent outages for customers of its personal banking websites almost two weeks ago, according to a source familiar with the incident. Britain''s largest mortgage lender was hit by a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack on Jan. 11, which carried on for two days, according to the source. The disruption, which involved bombarding the websites with huge volumes of traffic from multiple systems so they overload a server, left some customers temporarily unable to use services such as checking their balance or sending payments. DDoS attacks have become common tools for cyber criminals trying to cripple businesses and organisations with significant online activities. Such campaigns may be part of attempts to extract ransom from these organisations or part of efforts to distract security teams in order to find other ways to break into an organisations network in order to grab customer data or steal money from accounts. Lloyds said it would not speculate on the cause of the attack. No customers suffered any losses. "Only a small number of customers experienced problems," the bank said in a statement. "In most cases if customers attempted another log in they were able to access their accounts." Other banks have been hit by service outages in the past two years after their systems were breached by cyber attacks. Tesco Bank, owned by Britain''s biggest retailer Tesco ( TSCO.L ), halted online transactions from all current accounts in November after money was stolen from 20,000 of them in the country''s first such cyber heist. British lawmakers have criticised both banks and regulators for doing too little to improve cyber security after a string of technical failures and breaches of banking systems. (Reporting by Andrew MacAskill, editing by Anjuli Davies and Louise Heavens) Next In UK'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lloyds-cyber-idUKKBN1571CB'|'2017-01-23T18:34:00.000+02:00' +'dcf7393c3e1f1f1f0d13cf118fac2cce96f9090a'|'UK M&A to drop sharply in 2017 as investors await Brexit clarity: Baker McKenzie'|'LONDON Mergers and acquisitions activity in the United Kingdom will drop sharply in 2017 due to uncertainty over the terms of its exit from the European Union, law firm Baker McKenzie said in a report published on Monday.Britain avoided a collapse in mergers and acquisitions activity in 2016 as foreign companies used sterling''s spectacular devaluation against the U.S. dollar to snap up British companies, Thomson Reuters data shows.Baker McKenzie said that while M&A activity would have only a modest impact on European transactions if there was an amicable divorce, the lack of clarity over Brexit could hurt activity in the United Kingdom."Given Brexit''s impact on business confidence, we expect M&A values to fall by two-thirds in 2017 after numerous large deals in the first half of last year boosted 2016," Tim Gee, London M&A partner at Baker McKenzie said."Similarly, the potential for market volatility during the UK''s exit from the EU is likely to impact the number of cross-border IPOs coming to market in London during 2017," Gee said.Baker McKenzie and Oxford Economics said they forecast UK M&A values to fall to $125 billion in 2017 from the record $340 billion in 2016.Prime Minister Theresa May has said she will trigger formal Brexit divorce talks with the EU by the end of March. She then has two years to negotiate an exit.Baker McKenzie said it forecast global deal-making to drop slightly in 2017 but to rise in 2018.(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Stephen Addison)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-m-a-idINKBN15000K'|'2017-01-15T21:09:00.000+02:00' +'b4fb5c8091f8fd38a30a8865fad328740efdeb12'|'Lego rooster to feature in Hong Kong''s Lunar New Year parade'|'Cyclical Consumer Goods 19am EST Lego rooster to feature in Hong Kong''s Lunar New Year parade HONGKONG Jan 26 A Lego rooster made of 220,000 red, white, yellow and green toy bricks will be the centrepiece of a float in Hong Kong''s Lunar New Year parade to usher in the Year of the Rooster. Andy Hung, the territory''s only certified Lego professional builder, was commissioned by the Hong Kong Tourism Board to create the two-metre (6.5 ft) tall bird. "I wanted to use Lego pieces that resonate with people from the East and impress my audience," Hung told Reuters Televison. The rooster, which took 5 people 1-1/2 months to build, is one of several Lego statues on the float, including a life-sized farmer holding a rake, a tuxedo-clad waiter and a race car driver clutching his helmet. The night-time parade takes place on Saturday, the first day of the Lunar New Year, when 10 floats will light up the streets of Hong Kong''s famous Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district. Hung, a full-time artist with studios in Hong Kong and Beijing, is one of Asia''s three certified Lego professionals. The group comprises adult hobbyists who have turned their passion into a professional activity, Lego says on its website. (Reporting by Joyce Zhou, Writing by Karishma Singh, Editing by Darren Schuettler) Next In Cyclical Consumer Goods'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/lunar-newyear-hongkong-lego-idUSL4N1FG25O'|'2017-01-26T15:19:00.000+02:00' +'1bb35ef167c30096e4f72e703da32229c0d28821'|'AB InBev offers voluntary severance in South Africa - newspaper'|' 7:05am GMT AB InBev offers voluntary severance in South Africa - newspaper A man walks past the logo of Anheuser-Busch InBev at the brewer''s headquarters in Leuven, Belgium February 26, 2014. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir/File photo JOHANNESBURG Anheuser-Busch InBev ( ABI.BR ), the world''s largest brewer, has offered more than 1,000 employees in South Africa voluntary severance following its merger with SABMiller, the Business Day newspaper reported on Monday, citing an internal memo. AB InBev bought nearest rival SABMiller for 79 billion pounds last year in one of the largest corporate mergers in history and taking the company into Africa for the first time. As part of the merger conditions, AB InBev was required to maintain the number of employees in SABMiller''s South African operations for five years after the date of the merger and not implement forced retrenchments. The paper said AB InBev could not confirm the number of job cuts it was targeting through the voluntary severance, which has only been offered to management employees. Spokeswoman Robyn Chalmers did not respond to telephone requests for comment but she is quoted in the paper confirming that Ab InBev has started the programme. "The voluntary severance offer, which is entirely voluntary, has been made available only to mid-level employees and above," Business Day quoted her as saying. "We understand that during this period of change some employees may wish to voluntarily exit the business, which is why we have introduced a voluntary severance offer." (Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ab-inbev-redundancies-safrica-idUKKBN1570NI'|'2017-01-23T14:05:00.000+02:00' +'9806923946c49b5432101ca11c5a11c49206f5d1'|'China seen posting steady fourth-quarter GDP growth of 6.7 percent, but debt risk fears grow'|' 35pm GMT China seen posting steady fourth-quarter GDP growth of 6.7 percent, but debt risk fears grow A general view shows Beijing''s skyline on a sunny day, China January 10, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee By Kevin Yao - BEIJING BEIJING Boosted by higher government spending and record bank lending, China is expected to report on Friday that its economy grew by a steady 6.7 percent giving it a solid tailwind heading into what is expected to be a turbulent 2017. But Beijing''s decision to double down on spending to meet its official growth target may have come at a high price, as policymakers will have their hands full this year trying to defuse financial risks created by an explosive growth in debt. The world''s second-largest economy also faces increased uncertainties from a cooling housing market and the government''s bid to push through painful structural reforms, which could help deal with the root-cause of rising debt and housing risks but may weigh on near-term growth. China''s sluggish exports also could come under fresh pressure this year if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump follows through on pledges to impose tough protectionist measures. "While Chinese growth looks stable into early 2017, a more marked slowdown by the second quarter appears inevitable," GeneFrieda, global emerging markets strategist at asset management giant PIMCO, said in a note this week. "Growth has been stabilized only after massive fiscal and credit stimulus. Chinas total government and private sectordebt will likely surpass 285 percent of GDP this year, a 90 percent increase since 2008." While China''s economy appears to be on much better footing than a year ago, the expected fourth-quarter growth rate would still be near the weakest since the global crisis. Economists polled by Reuters estimated GDP grew 1.7 percent in October-December from the previous three-month period, versus 1.8 percent in July-October. A surprisingly strong print on Friday would likely boost global financial markets, particularly commodities, which have already been buoyed by China''s record imports of crude oil, iron ore, copper and soybeans. A weak outcome would likely raise the risk of more capital outflows, adding pressure on the yuan currency CNY=CFXS , which last year hit 8-1/2 year lows. China recently tightened curbs on outflows as its foreign exchange reserves fell to near six-year lows.. The economy also likely grew around 6.7 percent for 2016 as a whole - roughly in the middle of the government''s target range - as a stimulus-fuelled construction boom breathed new life into its long ailing "smokestack" heavy industries. The head of economic planning said last week that conditions have been generally stable at the start of 2017, continuing the "steadying and good" momentum from the second half of 2016. Amid those signs of stabilisation, policy sources told Reuters that China''s leaders will lower their economic growth target to around 6.5 percent this year from 6.5-7 percent in 2016, giving them more room to push reforms to contain debt risks. The central bank could slightly tighten credit conditions to encourage debt-laden companies to deleverage, but it''s unlikely to rush to raise interest rates despite an expected pick-up in inflation, policy insiders said. Among other major risks this year, analysts point to a cooling property market, after many local governments imposed or tightened restrictions on home purchases to tame speculation which some fear is feeding a property bubble. China''s average new home prices surged 12.4 percent in 2016, but gains have moderated in recent months. China''s corporate debt has climbed to 169 percent of GDP and international institutions have repeatedly urged Beijing to act quickly to tackle the problem in order to avoid a financial crisis. (Reporting by Kevin Yao; Editing by Kim Coghill) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-idUKKBN1533BW'|'2017-01-20T06:35:00.000+02:00' +'140fb861d59c029a8013ca5f0a90cceaa50ad2ac'|'Greek power utility shareholders approve grid spin-off -ministry'|'ATHENS Jan 17 Shareholders of Greece''s power utility Public Power Corp. (PPC) approved on Tuesday the transfer of a 51-percent stake in the power grid operator ADMIE, part of a spin-off scheme, which is a major term in Greece''s bailout programme.Under a legislated scheme aiming at keeping ADMIE under state control, PPC will sell a 24-percent stake to China''s State Grid for 320 million euros ($340 million) and set up a special vehicle to transfer a cost-free 51-percent stake to the state and existing private shareholders."The extraordinary PPC shareholders meeting approved the procedures in order to conclude ADMIE''s spin-off," the energy ministry said in a statement.In 2015, Greece signed up to its third international bailout since the debt crisis erupted, agreeing to cut spending, pursue reforms and speed up privatisations to shore up its finances.ADMIE is fully owned by Greece''s state-controlled electricity utility PPC and Athens has agreed to conclude the plan by the end of March or fully privatise the grid this year.Shareholders were due to approve the stake transfer on Jan. 12 but their meeting was postponed until Tuesday after Greece''s four biggest banks expressed concerns over the plan.National Bank, Piraeus Bank, Alpha Bank and Eurobank, which have extended a 2.2 billion euro syndicated loan to PPC, sent a letter to the PPC and the finance ministry last week, saying that the sale of the 51-percent stake without any proceeds for PPC would harm the utility''s finances.After talks between all parties involved, the banks sent another letter to PPC and the finance ministry on Tuesday saying they were examining positively PPC''s servicing of the loans after being given guarantees worth at least 300 million euros.The utility has paid off some 600 million euros of the syndicated loan and has been negotiating an additional 200 million credit facility with the banks. According to the letter which was released by PPC, the banks also said they would examine providing short- and medium-term financing to PPC in exchange for tantamount guarantees. (Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Louise Ireland)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/greece-privatisation-admie-idINL5N1F647N'|'2017-01-17T16:55:00.000+02:00' +'bc8402acbd17f22740d3b523c618d13ee195102d'|'MOVES-Jefferies hires two energy bankers from Barclays'|'Funds 6:03pm EST MOVES-Jefferies hires two energy bankers from Barclays By Davide Scigliuzzo NEW YORK, Jan 5 (IFR) - Jefferies has hired two senior leveraged finance bankers focused on the energy sector from Barclays, two people familiar with the situation told IFR on Thursday. The pair, Paul Cugno and Robert Anderson, will start in their new roles as managing directors on Monday. They have worked together for 12 years, first at Lehman Brothers and then at Barclays after the British bank purchased the former''s North American investment banking and capital markets business in 2008. At Barclays, Cugno most recently served as head of natural resources, power and infrastructure debt capital markets, while Anderson worked as a managing director in the high-yield and leveraged loan capital markets group. Cugno joined Lehman''s leveraged finance business in 2000 after a three-year stint at Scotia Capital, while Anderson joined the bank in 2004, according to their LinkedIn profiles. Jefferies has made an aggressive push to bolster its leveraged financing business in recent months, attempting to hire a number of senior investment bankers from Credit Suisse before the Swiss bank managed to convince the majority of them to stay. Barclays declined to comment. (Reporting by Davide Scigliuzzo; Editing by Natalie Harrison) Next In Funds News Ex-Jefferies trader lied to customers, jurors are told NEW HAVEN, Conn., Jan 5 Bond trader Jesse Litvak lied to customers about mortgage securities prices because he wanted to make more money for his employer, a federal prosecutor said on Thursday, as a retrial of the former Jefferies Group Inc managing director got underway.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/mergersNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/moves-jefferies-cugno-anderson-idUSL1N1EV22A'|'2017-01-06T06:03:00.000+02:00' +'26e05c44ce2eaabc0cf575df92c9c9e349622217'|'MOVES-P1 Investment appoints new head of research'|'Financials 12:34pm EST MOVES-P1 Investment appoints new head of research Jan 13 P1 Investment Management, the adviser-led discretionary fund management proposition, named Quintin Rayer as head of research. As a head of research in the Southernhay East, Exeter based company, Rayer will be responsible for investment research, portfolio stress-testing, and the development of quant models. Rayer previously worked at Fort Grey Consulting Ltd. (Reporting by Divya Grover in Bengaluru) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/p1-investment-moves-quintin-rayer-idUSL4N1F34OL'|'2017-01-14T00:34:00.000+02:00' +'5e10df9c0675b9b1990d5c3debb2355dc64a397a'|'Citic, Carlyle to buy stake in McDonald''s China, HK businesses for $2.08 billion'|'Business News - Mon Jan 9, 2017 - 12:58am EST Citic, Carlyle to buy stake in McDonald''s China, HK businesses for $2.08 billion A woman walks past a McDonald''s outlet in Hong Kong in this July 25, 2014 file photo. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/Files Photo Citic Ltd ( 0267.HK ) and Carlyle Group LP ( CG.O ) would buy a majority interest in McDonald''s Corp''s ( MCD.N ) mainland China and Hong Kong businesses for $2.08 billion, the companies said. Citic Ltd and Citic Capital will have a stake of 52 percent, while Carlyle and McDonald''s will own 28 percent and 20 percent, respectively in the businesses. Reuters reported in December that McDonald''s was looking to raise $1 billion to $2 billion with the sale of its China and Hong Kong stores. (Reporting By Rushil Dutta in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mcdonalds-china-citic-idUSKBN14T0FH'|'2017-01-09T12:58:00.000+02:00' +'f0c8b20ab9bdbb5ebbfd8e5f4dbb0d92f44a8af6'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Latam currencies strengthen as Trump uncertainty lingers'|'(Updates table, first paragraph) SAO PAULO, Jan 23 Latin American currencies strengthened on Monday as the dollar fell to a seven-week low over investor concerns about protectionist pledges by U.S. President Donald Trump. The Mexican peso led gains, strengthening as much as 1.5 percent to a two-week high before paring back advances to close at 21.36 per greenback. The peso''s gains came after Trump refrained from taking initial actions on Monday that would disrupt trade with Mexico, despite saying over the weekend that he planned to talk soon with the leaders of Canada and Mexico to begin discussing the North American Free Trade Agreement(NAFTA). The peso had also strengthened on Friday following an inauguration speech in which the new U.S. president did not specifically mention Mexico after he had threatened to ditch NAFTA during the campaign. Wider emerging markets rallied earlier in the day, with MSCI''s emerging markets index gaining nearly 1 percent. Still, traders warned of volatility in the coming weeks as Trump''s plans become clearer. Mexico''s stock index rose 1.69 percent to a new two-month high, with shares of telecommunications giant America Movil gaining nearly 3 percent. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 2100 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % change change Latest MSCI Emerging 902.14 0.99 4.62 Markets MSCI LatAm 2518.09 2.58 7.58 <.MILA PUS > Brazil Bovespa 65748.63 1.9 9.17 Mexico IPC 47116.24 1.69 3.23 Chile IPSA 4258.88 0.01 2.59 Chile IGPA 21227.68 0.03 2.38 Argentina 19470.59 2.26 15.09 MerVal Colombia IGBC 10125.36 0.02 -0.03 Venezuela IBC 28272.44 1.12 -10.83 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.1678 0.40 2.57 Mexico peso 21.3625 1.01 -2.90 Chile peso 653.5 0.28 2.63 Colombia peso 2925.2 -0.18 2.61 Peru sol 3.283 0.30 3.99 (Reporting by Bruno Federowski and Miguel Angel Gutierrez; Editing by Bernadette Baum and James Dalgleish)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-latam-idINL1N1FD26Q'|'2017-01-23T19:57:00.000+02:00' +'46001c75306770fd5712a995f6c2db6c8d561aba'|'Euro zone corporate lending accelerates in December'|' 9:14am GMT Euro zone corporate lending accelerates in December Euro coins are seen in front of displayed flag and map of European Union in this picture illustration taken in Zenica, May 28 2015. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic FRANKFURT Bank loans to euro zone companies grew at the fastest pace in 4- 1/2 years last month and a key measure of money circulating, often an indicator of future activity, rose more than expected, the European Central Bank said on Friday. Corporate lending grew by 2.3 percent in December after a revised 2.1 percent increase one month earlier, the data showed. Household lending growth in the 19-member currency bloc accelerated to 2.0 percent from 1.9 percent in November, the biggest gain since mid 2011. The annual growth rate of the M3 measure of money circulating in the euro zone, which has in the past often predicted economic activity, rose 5.0 percent last month from 4.8 percent in November, slightly beating forecasts for 4.9 percent. (Reporting by Andreas Framke; Editing by Francesco Canepa) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-lending-ecb-idUKKBN15B0QE'|'2017-01-27T16:14:00.000+02:00' +'359b369eee8a719d3c14fe0abffea1d78f7cf7c6'|'Indirect bidders snap up U.S. 2-year note supply'|'Funds 18pm EST Indirect bidders snap up U.S. 2-year note supply NEW YORK Jan 24 Fund managers, central banks and other indirect bidders purchased their biggest share of U.S. two-year Treasury note supply at an auction in eight months, Treasury data showed. This group of investors bought 48.82 percent of the $26 billion of two-year note offered compared with 32.74 percent at the prior two-year auction held in December and the largest since the two-year note sale in May 2016. (Reporting by Richard Leong, editing by G Crosse) Next In Funds News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-auction-debt-idUSL1N1FE55L'|'2017-01-25T01:18:00.000+02:00' +'6c3fa96622a06457e3eb11165270d34c86a00a94'|'BRIEF-U.S. Army enlists IBM for $62 million cloud deal'|' 26am EST BRIEF-U.S. Army enlists IBM for $62 million cloud deal Jan 18 International Business Machines Corp : * U.S. Army enlists IBM for $62 million cloud deal * IBM says that U.S. Army has signed a five-year, multi-million dollar contract with IBM * IBM - if army exercises all options, contract would be worth about $62 million over five years Source text for Eikon: UPDATE 2-HSBC to shift some staff to Paris after Brexit in blow to London DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 18 HSBC became the first major bank to detail plans to move jobs out of London after Brexit, saying it will relocate staff responsible for generating around a fifth of its UK-based trading revenue to Paris after Britain leaves the EU. Jan 18 Citigroup Inc reported a 7 percent rise in quarterly profit, wrapping up a strong quarter for big U.S. banks, as trading in bonds and currencies surged following the U.S. presidential election. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Taboola Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1F80FF'|'2017-01-18T20:26:00.000+02:00' +'8086a9ab5a038f6856c9d4de23c7353dc6ce252c'|'H&M monthly sales growth up 6 percent, lagging forecasts'|' 29am GMT H&M monthly sales growth up 6 percent, lagging forecasts People walk past a company logo in the window of a H&M store in Manchester northern England, March 17, 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble STOCKHOLM Budget fashion retailer H&M ( HMb.ST ) reported on Monday a 6 percent year-on-year increase in local-currency sales in December, the slowest pace since September and lagging expectations. Analysts polled by Reuters had on average forecast an 8 percent increase in the industry''s important Christmas holidays shopping month, which is the first month of the Swedish group''s fiscal first quarter. H&M, the world''s second-largest clothing retailer after Inditex ( ITX.MC ), said that converted into Swedish crowns, sales increased by 10 percent. It did not comment on the figures. In November, its growth was roughly unchanged from October at 9 percent, missing expectations for an acceleration on the back of demand for winter clothes. H&M, which has the bulk of sales in Europe, has in the past year blamed several monthly sales misses on unseasonable weather. Like its rivals, H&M has underperformed Inditex, partly because the Zara owner has a supply chain that enables it to react more quickly to shifts in demand, making it less exposed to variations on weather. H&M will publish its full earnings report for its fiscal year through November on Jan. 31. (Reporting by Anna Ringstrom, editing by Louise Heavens) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-h-m-sales-idUKKBN1500ON'|'2017-01-16T14:29:00.000+02:00' +'39a9dec76685e76323dc7a244ca5238a60c9132e'|'Johnson & Johnson fourth-quarter sales up 1.7 percent, plans to divest diabetes care division'|'Business News - Tue Jan 24, 2017 - 6:53am EST Johnson & Johnson fourth-quarter sales up 1.7 percent, plans to divest diabetes care division The logo of healthcare company Johnson & Johnson is seen in front of an office building in Zug, Switzerland July 20, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ.N ) reported a 1.7 percent rise in fourth-quarter sales, due to a strong demand for its newer products. The diversified healthcare company''s sales rose to $18.11 billion in the fourth quarter from $17.81 billion a year earlier. Net earnings rose to $3.81 billion, or $1.38 per share, from $3.22 billion, or $1.15 per share. The band-aid maker also said on Tuesday that it was looking to divest its diabetes care division. (Reporting by Natalie Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-johnson-johnson-results-idUSKBN1581F8'|'2017-01-24T18:53:00.000+02:00' +'c2348294c388bc29ff6503a29ed6dff018ddca92'|'Fiat Chrysler pledges to nearly halve net debt in 2017, shares rise'|'MILAN Jan 26 Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) expects to nearly halve net debt to below 2.5 billion euros ($2.68 billion) this year - more than expected - as the company is in a race against time to prove it can turn cash positive by the end of 2018.The world''s seventh-largest carmaker already cut debt to 4.59 billion euros by the end of December, beating analysts consensus expectations of 4.86 billion euros, according to a Thomson Reuters poll.The company said adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) and revenues for the October-December period rose 1 percent to 1.55 billion euros and 29.7 billion euros, respectively, a notch below consensus forecasts.Shares in the company rose sharply after the results and the full-year guidance, trading up 4.5 percent at 10.7 euros by 1057 GMT.The carmaker said it expects 2017 adjusted EBIT of more than 7 billion euros, up from 6 billion euros last year, while sales are expected to rise to between 115-120 billion euros.($1 = 0.9333 euros) (Reporting by Agnieszka Flak)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/fiatchrysler-results-idINI6N1FA00D'|'2017-01-26T08:02:00.000+02:00' +'6e3771a6df24b48fd305280ed196d267c48458a9'|'S.Korea prosecutor says Samsung''s Lee paid bribes to Park''s friend'|'Company News - Mon Jan 16, 2017 - 12:28am EST S.Korea prosecutor says Samsung''s Lee paid bribes to Park''s friend SEOUL Jan 16 South Korea''s special prosecutor''s office said on Monday that Samsung Group leader Jay Y. Lee had paid bribes totaling 43 billion won ($36.42 million) to Choi Soon-sil, the friend of President Park Geun-hye at the centre of an escalating corruption scandal. The prosecutor''s office said on Monday it will seek a warrant to arrest Lee on charges of bribery and embezzlement. Lee Kyu-chul, a spokesman for the prosecutor''s office, told journalists that arrest warrants would not be sought for three other Samsung executives questioned during the investigation. ($1 = 1,180.5300 won) (Reporting by Se Young Lee; Writing by Christine Kim; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore) Next In Company News Morgan Stanley gets regulatory nod to raise China securities JV stake - source HONG KONG, Jan 16 Morgan Stanley the maximum permissible 49 percent, matter said, making it the first '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/southkorea-politics-samsung-group-charge-idUSS6N1CU01K'|'2017-01-16T12:28:00.000+02:00' +'7edb226dc89e4c498ce291c50c3073e84cf00b61'|'MOVES-Lloyds Bank North America appoints CEO'|'Company 49am EST MOVES-Lloyds Bank North America appoints CEO Jan 12 Lloyds Bank said Andy Schaeffer would replace Mark Grant as chief executive of its North America business, effective Feb. 1. Schaeffer joined Lloyds Bank North America in July 2014 and was made head of North America markets a year later. He has 25 years of experience in the banking industry. Grant, as previously announced, will return to London as CEO designate of the Group''s Non-Ring-Fenced Bank alongside his responsibilities for Lloyds Bank''s operations in Asia, Europe and North America. (Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru) Next In Company News GLOBAL MARKETS-U.S. stocks slide, dollar drops as Trump optimism wanes NEW YORK, Jan 12 Wall Street stocks fell nearly 1 percent and the U.S. dollar dropped to a five-week low on Thursday after President-elect Donald Trump''s eagerly awaited news briefing the previous day ignored his fiscal policies, which are expected to boost the economy.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/lloyds-bank-north-america-moves-andy-sch-idUSL4N1F24QZ'|'2017-01-12T23:49:00.000+02:00' +'bdb536e7b7d2f848c7d864914f3ddd49b107eec2'|'Thai c.bank has FX buffers to handle volatility - governor'|'Financials 7:11am EST Thai c.bank has FX buffers to handle volatility - governor LONDON Jan 10 Thailand has enough foreign exchange reserves to handle market volatility if it flares up again this year, the head of the country''s central bank said on Tuesday. Emerging market currencies in Asia are being buffeted by a parallel rise in the dollar and a fall in China''s yuan, but Veerathai Santiprabhob said Thailand had the ammunition to cope with any stress. "We have built good buffers to protect us from financial instability," Santiprabhob said at an event hosted by policy think-tank OMFIF. (Reporting by Marc Jones; editing by John Geddie) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/thailand-cenbank-idUSL9N1EE002'|'2017-01-10T19:11:00.000+02:00' +'6ee1f5740e7b1e3fe3f346a009ebc7b573f8cae3'|'UK''s Southern rail strike next week reduced to three days'|'Industrials - Wed Jan 4, 2017 - 5:16am EST UK''s Southern rail strike next week reduced to three days LONDON Jan 4 Train drivers on Britain''s Southern rail commuter network have cut a planned six-day strike on one of London''s main commuter networks next week to three days, the ASLEF union said on Wednesday. Strikes will now take place on January 10, 11 and 13 after ASLEF reduced the walkout which was due to last from January 9 to 14, the latest action in a long-running dispute over whose role it should be to open and close train doors. Southern train services connect Brighton and Gatwick Airport to London, and are run by GTR, a joint venture owned by London-listed Go-Ahead and France''s Keolis. The network has been hit by months of industrial action, with stoppages by ASLEF and the RMT, which represents conductors, causing Britain''s worst rail disruption for two decades in December. "ASLEF''s move shows pure contempt for the travelling public and it still causes massive disruption over next week," a Southern spokesman said. "These strikes are pointless and they should call the whole thing off and let common sense prevail." (Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Michael Holden) Next In Industrials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-railways-strike-idUSL5N1EU1PP'|'2017-01-04T17:16:00.000+02:00' +'ce04ea0ad28be91b5bcf16949854740b577b4f40'|'China should stop intervening in forex market and let yuan float - researcher'|'Economic 54am IST China should stop intervening in forex market and let yuan float - researcher FILE PHOTO: Arrangement of various world currencies including Chinese Yuan, US Dollar, Euro, British Pound, shot January 25, 2011. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration/File Photo SHANGHAI China should stop intervening in the foreign exchange market, devalue the yuan and let it float freely to restore stability, a senior researcher at a government-backed think tank said. Xiao Lisheng, a finance expert with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, made the remarks in an article on Monday in the official China Securities Journal amid a growing debate among the country''s economists on whether authorities should let the closely-managed currency trade more freely. The yuan lost 6.6 percent against the dollar last year, the biggest annual loss since 1994. "The more the government delays the release of depreciation pressure, the greater the impact and destructive power of the release of depreciation pressure will be," Xiao wrote. The authorities should "let the yuan exchange rate have a one-off adjustment to realize a free float" of the currency, he said. The yuan is allowed to trade in a band of 2 percent on either side of a daily reference rate managed by the central bank. Authorities have said repeatedly there was no basis for continued depreciation of the unit, but many currency strategists predict a further weakening this year if the U.S. dollar remains strong, spurring further capital outflows from China. Xiao said the current mid-point formation mechanism, adopted in 2015, is still immature and in transition, although it has eased depreciation pressure and curbed sharp declines in the country''s foreign exchange reserves. "But any foreign exchange rate mechanism without a free float cannot fundamentally reach a market clearing (price)," he wrote. The mechanism for setting the daily reference rate was adopted after a one-off devaluation of the yuan in August 2015. It is opaque, but factors in the closing price from a day earlier and the movements of various other currencies. Yu Yongding, a former central bank adviser, has also advocated that China stop intervening to help preserve its dwindling foreign exchange reserves, and suggested the central bank set a "bottom line" of 25 percent for the yuan to depreciate. China''s foreign exchange reserves fell to near six-year lows in December, but held just above the critical $3 trillion level, as authorities stepped in to support the weakening yuan ahead of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump''s inauguration. For 2016 as a whole, China''s reserves fell nearly $320 billion to $3.011 trillion, on top of a record drop of $513 billion in 2015. (Reporting by Winni Zhou and John Ruwitch; Editing by Kim Coghill) Next In Economic News Davos elites struggle for answers as Trump era dawns DAVOS, Switzerland The global economy is in better shape than it''s been in years. Stock markets are booming, oil prices are on the rise again and the risks of a rapid economic slowdown in China, a major source of concern a year ago, have eased. RBI employees urge governor to protect autonomy MUMBAI The employee union of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has urged the bank''s governor to protect central bank autonomy and not allow the federal government to interfere in processes following criticism over how it handled a ban on high-value currency. GANDHINAGAR, India Business leaders from around the world attending an investment summit in the Gujarat this week cheered Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s reforms, and said the disruption caused by his radical demonetisation move should be temporary. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Taboola Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/china-yuan-depreciation-idINKBN1500EC'|'2017-01-16T12:24:00.000+02:00' +'42c0612bdc19f6284b6b7fb620800386bd2e05f8'|'BOJ to keep policy steady, seek to allay tapering fears'|' 11:30pm GMT BOJ to keep policy steady, seek to allay tapering fears Haruhiko Kuroda, Governor of the Bank of Japan attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland January 20, 2017. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich By Leika Kihara - TOKYO TOKYO The Bank of Japan is set to keep monetary policy steady on Tuesday and seek to allay speculation of an early tapering of its massive stimulus, as recent bond market turbulence puts to the test its revamped policy framework that aims to control the yield curve. Japanese government bond yields spiked last week after the BOJ skipped a much-anticipated auction to buy short-term debt on Wednesday, leaving investors wondering about its intentions and casting doubt on its resolve to cap bond yields. Two days later, it surprised markets again by increasing bond purchases. The BOJ says such adjustments to its market operations are aimed at getting markets accustomed to a decision it made last September, which was to shift its policy focus to interest rates from the pace of bond buying, sources say. The central bank was forced into making the policy revamp after more than three years of aggressive bond buying failed to accelerate inflation to its 2 percent target. But the new framework, dubbed "yield curve control" (YCC), has brought in new challenges. With markets accustomed to huge bond buying by the BOJ, any sign of slowdown in its purchases has heightened market volatility and prompted market speculation it could withdraw stimulus earlier than expected. At a post-meeting news conference, BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda is likely to stress that any tapering of the bank''s huge asset-buying programme would be some time off as inflation remains distant from its 2 percent target. "Kuroda probably won''t want to give markets the impression the BOJ is eyeing an early exit from its ultra-loose policy as that could turn around the current favourable weak-yen trend," said Izuru Kato, chief economist at Totan Research. "The BOJ may consider raising its yield targets later this year, but only if yen declines become excessive and hurt households by pushing up grocery costs." Markets are also focussing on what Kuroda has to say on uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump''s economic policies and their impact on Japan. Global bond yields have risen on expectations that Trump''s pledge of big infrastructure spending could lead to higher U.S. inflation, putting upward pressure on Japanese long-term rates. At the two-day rate review ending on Tuesday, the BOJ is set to maintain a pledge to guide short-term rates at minus 0.1 percent and the 10-year bond yield to around zero percent. The BOJ is the first major central bank to commit to directly controlling long-term interest rates. The task has been made more difficult by a loose commitment it keeps to buy government bonds at the current pace, so that the balance of holdings increase at 80 trillion yen (553.88 billion pounds) per year. UPBEAT ON INFLATION The BOJ will also conduct a quarterly review of its growth and price forecasts at the two-day policy meeting. The bank''s nine-member board is likely to raise its growth estimates for the coming years, as exports and output show signs of life on brightening prospects for the global economy. But the central bank is likely to make only minor, if any, upward revisions to its already optimistic inflation forecasts despite external headwinds that push up prices, such as a rebound in oil costs and rising import prices from a weak yen. Despite prospects of accelerating inflation, many central bankers remain wary on whether price rises driven by external factors could transform into sustained price growth backed by strength in the economy. The BOJ now projects core consumer inflation to hit 1.5 percent in the fiscal year beginning in April and accelerate to 1.7 percent the following year. Japan''s economic growth remained anaemic in the first half of last year as private consumption slumped, leaving many market players forecasting the BOJ''s next move would be to ease policy. But a pick-up in global demand has helped exports recover since late last year, heightening prospects of a stronger economic recovery. Some market players now bet the BOJ may hike its yield targets this year if inflation accelerates reflecting strength in the economy. (Editing by Shri Navaratnam)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-boj-idUKKBN15D17B'|'2017-01-30T06:30:00.000+02:00' +'3f6766297252b59317b494cede2faf0a92beac48'|'Macy''s cuts 2016 adjusted profit forecast as holiday sales weigh'|'Business 5:00pm EST Macy''s cuts 2016 adjusted profit forecast as holiday sales weigh A sign marks the Macy''s store in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., May 10, 2016. REUTERS/Brian Snyder Macy''s Inc ( M.N ), the biggest U.S. department store operator, cut its 2016 adjusted profit forecast, largely due to weak holiday season sales. The company''s shares were down 8.9 percent at $32.63 in extended trading on Wednesday. Macy''s cut its adjusted profit forecast for the year ending Jan. 30 to $2.95-$3.10 per share from $3.15-$3.40 per share it previously expected. The company said its comparable sales on an owned plus licensed basis fell 2.1 percent in November and December. On an owned basis, comparable sales fell 2.7 percent during the period. (Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila) Next In Business News U.S. December auto sales on pace for record high, led by GM DETROIT Sales of new cars and trucks in the United States likely set new records for December and the full year, automakers said on Wednesday, and investors bid up shares in the sector as strong consumer confidence and stable fuel prices bolstered the industry''s outlook.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-macy-s-outlook-idUSKBN14O28R'|'2017-01-05T04:58:00.000+02:00' +'ee3930f60b56ace22e50ebfb763d5ffeb5c9b7ea'|'Brussels and London form "fintech bridge"'|'Technology News 05pm EST Brussels and London form ''fintech bridge'' By Jemima Kelly - LONDON LONDON A delegation from Belgium''s financial technology sector came to London with its finance minister this week to set up a "fintech bridge" with the British capital that will enable cooperation on the burgeoning sector. "B-Hive", the part-government-owned platform set up to facilitate innovation between Belgium''s fintech sector and the traditional financial and technology sectors, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Innovate Finance, the trade body for Britain''s fintech sector, it said on Wednesday. The initiative follows similar "fintech bridges" Britain has signed with Australia, Singapore and South Korea. Belgian Finance Minister Johan Van Overtveldt told Reuters that the project had come about as a result of a working group that he had set up when he took up his post two years ago, and that he saw London-based Innovate Finance as a role model for B-Hive. Britain''s vote to leave the European Union last year raised some worries that start-ups will relocate. Financial firms rely on the EU''s "passporting" system, which allows them to sell their services across the bloc while being registered and regulated just in Britain, thus saving huge amounts of money by not having to set up shop in each member state. But Van Overtveldt said his intention in coming to London was not to lure talent away from the fintech sector, and that London would remain the main center for finance and fintech in Europe. "London is the financial sector of Europe theres a lot of infrastructure..., there''s a huge talent pool that is there, there''s the capital availability that is there, so of course even with Brexit, that wont go away just like that. Its an important change but we should not underestimate the resilience of London as a financial (and fintech) center." In 2015 Britain''s fintech sector, whose ranges from app-based payment services to crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending firms, employed over 60,000 people and generated 6.6 billion pounds ($8 billion) in revenue, according to the Treasury. (Reporting by Jemima Kelly; editing by Mark Heinrich) Next In Technology News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-belgium-britain-fintech-idUSKBN14V2AG'|'2017-01-12T01:02:00.000+02:00' +'e8693ab36c7b0a131b7ba146554bfa33971a26b9'|'India to cut stake in general insurers to 75 percent - finance minister'|'INWire 6:24pm IST India to cut stake in general insurers to 75 percent - Jaitley Finance Minister Arun Jaitley gestures during the session ''India''s Next Decade'' in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos January 23, 2015. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich/Files NEW DELHI India''s cabinet on Wednesday approved a plan to reduce its stake in five state-run general insurance companies to 75 percent from 100 percent, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters. Jaitley had announced in last year''s budget the government would list the general insurance companies to improve transparency and accountability. (Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh; Writing by Tommy Wilkes; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani) Next In INWire'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/india-cabinet-insurers-stake-idINKBN1521Q1'|'2017-01-18T16:22:00.000+02:00' +'abcc95ee8deffe5df5c01c6c49e7358506022a0f'|'Polish stock exchange appoints Rafal Antczak as new CEO'|'Financials 37am EST Polish stock exchange appoints Rafal Antczak as new CEO WARSAW Jan 4 Shareholders of Poland''s state-run stock exchange dismissed on Wednesday the bourse''s Chief Executive Officer Malgorzata Zaleska and appointed economist Rafal Antczak as the new head. Zaleska was appointed at the start of 2016 as part of a wider management reshuffle in state-controlled firms following parliamentary election in October 2015 won by the conservative Law and Justice party (PiS). But the dismissal of PiS treasury minister Dawid Jackiewicz in September, who had been criticised by some PiS politicians for appointing his colleagues as executives and managers in the companies, triggered another wave of personnel changes. The bourse faces challenges attracting new issuers and raising capitalisation after the government''s plans to cut dividends and increase tax revenues from state-run firms added to the impact of a 2013 pension system overhaul which hit pension funds. Polish government has a 51.76-percent stake in the exchange, which is vulnerable to government decisions as more than half of the 20 blue chips listed in Warsaw, mostly utilities and banks, also have the state among their shareholders. (Reporting by Anna Koper; Writing Agnieszka Barteczko; Editing by Lidia Kelly) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/bourse-poland-idUSW8N1E3000'|'2017-01-04T17:37:00.000+02:00' +'a33d153f6788cf155044acf47e46552da3ca5632'|'Intesa Sanpaolo board won''t discuss Generali on Friday: CEO'|'Deals - Thu Jan 26, 2017 - 12:18pm EST Intesa Sanpaolo board won''t discuss Generali on Friday: CEO The Intesa Sanpaolo logo is seen in Milan, Italy, in this January 18, 2016 file photo. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini TURIN, Italy Intesa Sanpaolo ( ISP.MI ) will not discuss a possible tie-up with the country''s largest insurer Assicurazioni Generali ( GASI.MI ) at a board meeting on Friday, the Italian bank''s Chief Executive Carlo Messina said on Thursday. "Absolutely not," Messina said when asked if the board would talk about Generali. Intesa said on Tuesday it was examining potential "industrial combinations" with Generali, following a report that it was studying a possible takeover bid. (Reporting by Gianni Montani; writing by Francesca Landini, editing by Valentina Za) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/news/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-generali-m-a-intesasp-board-idUSKBN15A2E3'|'2017-01-27T00:18:00.000+02:00' +'e07acd5fe9e4c874ebb5944000ab7b14a3d16594'|'Italy regulator may consider Vivendi takeover of Mediaset invalid: report'|'MILAN A potential takeover offer for Italian broadcaster Mediaset ( MS.MI ) by France''s Vivendi ( VIV.PA ) would not be "judicially acceptable" for Italian communications authority AGCOM, daily la Repubblica reported on Tuesday, without citing sources.Vivendi is now the second largest shareholder of the Milan-based TV group, with a stake of 28.8 percent, while also being the top shareholder in phone incumbent Telecom Italia ( TLIT.MI ), with a 24.9 percent share.Italy''s anti-trust regulations prevent companies from having an excessive share in both the domestic telecommunications and media markets.In preliminary investigations by AGCOM, four commissioners have agreed in considering the possible move by Vivendi "invalid" but would communicate the decision to Italy''s market watchdog only if the French media group decides to make a bid for Mediaset, the daily reported.Both Mediaset and Vivendi will have to present AGCOM with all required documentation for the investigation by Jan. 21, it added.AGCOM opened an investigation into Vivendi''s stake-building into Mediaset in late December, after the Italian broadcaster made a complaint.(Reporting by Giulia Segreti; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-mediaset-vivendi-agcom-idINKBN1510LQ'|'2017-01-17T04:21:00.000+02:00' +'2575e5f5e50d91ef5f23dcad6d424fb06e814267'|'CANADA STOCKS-Futures lower as oil prices slip'|' 43am EST CANADA STOCKS-Futures lower as oil prices slip Jan 16 Stock futures pointed to a lower opening for Canada''s main stock index on Monday as oil prices slipped, pressured by doubts that large oil producers will reduce production. March futures on the S&P TSX index were down 0.33 percent at 7:15 a.m. ET (1215 GMT). Canada''s main stock index rose on Friday as higher bond yields and solid U.S. bank earnings helped boost the index''s heavyweight financials sector. Dow Jones Industrial Average e-mini futures were down 0.22 percent at 7:15 a.m. ET, while S&P 500 e-mini futures were down 0.23 percent and Nasdaq 100 e-mini futures were down 0.26 percent. (Morning News Call newsletter link.reuters.com/nex49s ; The Day Ahead newsletter link.reuters.com/mex49s ) TOP STORIES Privately held Canadian carrier Porter Airlines said flights had resumed after a system outage grounded its fleet earlier on Saturday. COMMODITIES Gold futures : $1,203.3 per ounce; +0.59 pct US crude : $52.5 per barrel; -0.23 pct Brent crude : $55.32 ; -0.23 pct LME 3-month copper : $5,885.00 per tonne; -0.41 pct ANALYST RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS Hudbay Minerals Inc : NBF raises to "outperform" from "sector perform" Sun Life Financial Inc : Canaccord Genuity raises to "buy" from "hold" FOR CANADIAN MARKETS NEWS, CLICK ON CODES: TSX market report Canadian dollar and bonds report Reuters global stocks poll for Canada Canadian markets directory ($1= C$1.31) (Reporting by Pradip Kakoti in Bengaluru; Editing by James Dalgleish) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-idUSL1N1F60F0'|'2017-01-16T19:43:00.000+02:00' +'a2f9160419fdd0ef4ad35c928aeb19aa67f525c0'|'U.S. jury orders DuPont to pay $10.5 mln in punitive damages over leaked chemical'|'Company 10:45am EST U.S. jury orders DuPont to pay $10.5 mln in punitive damages over leaked chemical Jan 5 A U.S. jury in Ohio on Thursday ordered DuPont to pay $10.5 million in punitive damages to a man who said he developed testicular cancer from exposure to a toxic chemical leaked from one of the company''s plants, according to the plaintiff''s lawyer Robert Billott. The federal jury awarded Kenneth Vigneron $2 million in compensatory damages in December. This is the third time jurors in Columbus, Ohio federal court have found DuPont liable for individuals'' injuries linked to perfluorooctanoic acid, known as PFOA or C-8, which is used to make Teflon. (Reporting by Erica Teichert; Editing by Bernadette Baum) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/du-pont-verdict-idUSL1N1EV0Y5'|'2017-01-05T22:45:00.000+02:00' +'8f4f6fd346f8c71b938e9490a287ba3436ac1bc7'|'Trump tells carmakers he''s an environmentalist on same day he revives oil pipelines - US news'|'The US president, Donald Trump , offered auto executives the carrot and the stick on Tuesday, promising to reduce out of control environmental regulation while threatening tariffs on those that build cars abroad.Auto industry''s Trump fear: ''Everyone dreads being subject of a tweet'' Read moreIn a boardroom-style meeting with General Motors chief executive officer Mary Barra, Ford head Mark Fields and Fiat Chrysler boss Sergio Marchionne , Trump said he wanted regulation that means something and that companies looking to build new factories in the US would find his administration hospitable.They cant get their environmental permit over something that nobody ever heard of before, Trump said. I am to a large extent an environmentalist, I believe in it, but its out of control.Trump has attacked all the major car companies over plans to import vehicles, particularly from Mexico, for sale in the US. Ahead of Detroits annual auto show earlier this month, Trump singled out GM.General Motors is sending Mexican-made model of Chevy Cruze to US car dealers-tax free across border. Make in USA or pay big border tax! Trump warned via Twitter.We have a very big push on to have auto plants and other plants, many other plants, youre not being singled out, Mary, believe me he said, indicating Barra but to have a lot of plants a lot of different items built in the United States. Its happening, its happening big league. We had Whirlpool up yesterday.Resurrection of Keystone and DAPL cements America''s climate antagonism Read moreYoure going to find us to be from very inhospitable to extremely hospitable, Trump said.As soon as he was inaugurated on Friday, Trump ordered the heads of every executive-branch department and agency to stop sending new regulation to the Federal Register . On Monday, Trump announced a hiring freeze, drawing the ire of union leaders.Private industry remains friendly to Trump: Barra attended his inauguration, and Fields praised the president for withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a complex multilateral trade deal between 12 nations including the US. Industry lobbying group the Alliance of Auto Manufacturers sent Trump a letter asking him to ease regulations from the National Highway Safety and Transportation Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency.The Alliance represents car companies including GM, Ford and Volkswagen, which is currently on the hook for tens of billions in fines after its emissions-cheating software became an international scandal.'|'theguardian.com'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/all'|'https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/24/donald-trump-automakers-environmental-regulations'|'2017-01-25T01:53:00.000+02:00' +'44a5fd4997948baa958f18315b95198dea2ec0ce'|'Samsung Elec in talks with LG Display for LCD panel supply - Yonhap'|'Business News - Wed Jan 4, 2017 - 8:35am GMT Samsung Elec in talks with LG Display for LCD panel supply - Yonhap An LG Electronics'' logo is pictured on a TV displayed at a shop in Seoul, South Korea, April 26, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo SEOUL Samsung Electronics Co Ltd is in talks with South Korea''s LG Display Co Ltd about a potential liquid crystal display (LCD) panel supply deal for televisions, South Korea''s Yonhap News Agency reported on Wednesday. "There are no specifics decided yet but the two companies are deliberating on the matter carefully and seriously," Kim Hyun-suk, head of Samsung''s TV business, was quoted as saying by Yonhap on the sidelines of the CES trade show in Las Vegas. Japan''s Nikkei newspaper reported in December that a joint venture company between Taiwan''s Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd and Sharp Corp will halt the supply of LCD panels to Samsung, the world''s top TV maker, sometime in 2017 as Hon Hai seeks to help boost Sharp''s TV business. LG Display, the world''s top LCD panel maker, does not have a supply relationship agreement with Samsung''s TV business as its top shareholder and sister firm LG Electronics Co Ltd competes against Samsung in the TV market. Samsung did not immediately comment on the report. An LG Display spokeswoman said the company does not comment on client-related matters. (Reporting by Se Young Lee; Editing by Himani Sarkar) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-samsung-elec-lg-display-idUKKBN14O0OK'|'2017-01-04T15:35:00.000+02:00' +'e5fccec62638d6f4c35781f6503ba1134197d693'|'Rupee to fall to record low over coming year: Reuters poll'|'INWire - Fri Jan 6, 2017 - 11:46pm IST Rupee to fall to record low over coming year: Reuters poll FILE PHOTO: A notice is pasted at a shop stating the refusal of the acceptance of the old 500 and 1000 Indian rupee banknotes and acceptance of the new 500 and 2000 Indian rupee banknotes, in Allahabad, India, November 10, 2016. REUTERS/Jitendra Prakash/File photo By Krishna Eluri - BENGALURU BENGALURU The rupee is expected to fall further against the U.S. dollar this year to a record low, hit by rising global bond yields and an economic blow from New Delhi''s dramatic currency crackdown launched two months ago, a Reuters poll found. The rupee performed a bit better than most of its regional peers in 2016, weakening just over 2 percent as India''s economy, the fastest-growing in Asia, roared ahead for most of the year. But capital outflows intensified toward the end of 2016 after Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the end of high-value bank notes. The rupee is forecast to weaken to 68.50 a dollar in one month versus 67.73 at Thursday''s close, the poll of nearly 30 foreign exchange strategists carried out this week showed. It is expected to fall further to 69.50 by year-end. That 12-month consensus is the weakest for several years and would mark a record low. Just three months back the view in a Reuters poll was for the rupee to trade at 67.73 in a year. "We see a less rosy scenario in the capital account and current account front in the coming two years, with global bond yields and money flowing back to the U.S.," said Bhupesh Bameta, head of FX research at Edelweiss Financial Services in Mumbai. Since Trump''s election victory, markets have realigned over expectations his administration will bring in sweeping tax cuts, infrastructure projects and deregulation. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield has rallied more than 25 percent since the election, hitting a two-year high of 2.641 percent on Dec. 15. The Fed also raised the federal funds rate last month for the first time in a year. The central bank signaled a faster pace of rate increases this year based on expectations for fiscal stimulus. In India, Modi''s demonetization drive has hampered both industrial and services output, with a private survey this week showing factory activity and services took a hit last month, lending credence to worries that it would dent growth. "Given the demonetization exercise, the attraction for gold may come back again," Bameta said. "(Given) the fact that there was no meaningful depreciation of the rupee over the last two years when everything else was depreciating, a correction...is due." (For other stories from the FX poll) (Polling By Shaloo Srivastava and Khushboo Mittal; Editing by Ross Finley and Randy Fabi) Next In INWire Global stocks, dollar recover ground after U.S. jobs report NEW YORK Stocks overcame early weakness, and the dollar and U.S. Treasury debt yields rallied on Friday, after December''s U.S. non-farm payrolls report showed a slowing in hiring but an increase in wages, setting the economy up for further interest rate increases from the Federal Reserve this year. Stocks, dollar recover ground after U.S. jobs report NEW YORK Stocks overcame early weakness, and the dollar and U.S. Treasury debt yields rallied on Friday, after December''s U.S. non-farm payrolls report showed a slowing in hiring but an increase in wages, setting the economy up for further interest rate increases from the Federal Reserve this year. Anarchists threaten to disrupt Trump inauguration, police say ready WASHINGTON Anarchist groups have threatened to shut down Republican Donald Trump''s swearing-in as U.S. president, but police in Washington said on Friday they believe the thousands of security officers assigned to the event will be able to head off any disruption. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Taboola Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/forex-poll-rupee-idINKBN14Q260'|'2017-01-06T17:07:00.000+02:00' +'daa258408cde74674f69a3e01d9afc4a122bff6e'|'Volkswagen agrees to $4.3 billion U.S. diesel settlement - sources'|'Business News - Wed Jan 11, 2017 - 4:39pm GMT Volkswagen agrees to $4.3 billion U.S. diesel settlement - sources The Volkswagen logo is seen at the company''s display during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., January 10, 2017. REUTERS/Mark Blinch By David Shepardson - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Volkswagen AG ( VOWG_p.DE ) has agreed to a $4.3 billion settlement to resolve the U.S. government''s civil and criminal investigations into the German automaker''s diesel emissions cheating, two sources briefed on the matter said Wednesday. U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Environmental Protection Agency chief Gina McCarthy will announce the settlement in Washington on Wednesday at a news conference, the government said in a statement. Reuters has learned that prosecutors may charge additional individuals with criminal conduct as early as today, the sources said. On Monday, a VW executive, the second VW employee charged by U.S. prosecutors, was accused of conspiracy to defraud the United States over the company''s emissions cheating and the automaker was charged with concealing the cheating from regulators. The world''s second largest automaker confirmed Tuesday it has negotiated a $4.3-billion concrete draft settlement with U.S. regulators to resolve its diesel emissions issues and plans to plead guilty to criminal misconduct as part of the civil and criminal settlement. The settlement doesn''t impact the government''s ongoing investigation into individual misconduct by current and former VW employees. Volkswagen had previously agreed to spend up to $17.5 billion in the United States to resolve claims by U.S. regulators, owners and dealers and offered to buy back nearly 500,000 polluting vehicles. The automaker was in intensive talks with regulators in recent weeks in an effort to reach a deal before the end of the Obama administration. Without a deal by next week, a final resolution could have been delayed by months until the Trump EPA and Justice Department teams are in place. VW admitted in September 2015 to installing secret software in hundreds of thousands of U.S. diesel cars to cheat exhaust emissions tests and make them appear cleaner than they were on the road, and that as many as 11 million vehicles could have similar software installed worldwide. Much of the company''s senior management departed following the scandal, including chief executive Martin Winterkorn. (Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and Andreas Cremer in Berlin; Writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Nick Zieminski) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-volkswagen-emissions-epa-idUKKBN14V21W'|'2017-01-11T23:39:00.000+02:00' +'a9a5d419d1230f1a19c06f6ed4205ece15b1ffbc'|'Saudia Airlines appoints new chairman in management shake-up - SPA'|'Industrials 17am EST Saudia Airlines appoints new chairman in management shake-up - SPA DOHA Jan 9 Saudi Arabia appointed a new chairman of Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) by royal decree on Monday in a management shake-up. Ghassan bin Abdulrahman al-Shabal was appointed chairman of the board of directors of the state-owned airline, said Saudi state news agency SPA. Shabal will replace Sulaiman al-Hamdan, according to the airline''s website. SPA said representatives of the finance, economy and civil service ministries and the Public Investment Fund would be made members of the airline''s board. Saudi Arabia''s air travel industry has benefited from strong population growth and rising incomes since the government announced plans in 2012 to liberalise the domestic aviation market in 2012. At present the state-owned carrier''s only domestic competitor is budget carrier flynas. (Reporting by Tom Finn; Editing by Ruth Pitchford) Next In Industrials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/saudia-chairman-idUSL5N1EZ3BI'|'2017-01-09T20:17:00.000+02:00' +'c5c332311c8071a15cefd2fb737e2102932a4f95'|'Number of UK workers edges down again, but pay growth picks up pace'|'Business 12:37pm GMT No Brexit hit yet for UK workers as pay growth accelerates A bank employee counts pound notes at Kasikornbank in Bangkok, Thailand October 12, 2010. REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang/File Photo By William Schomberg and Alistair Smout - LONDON LONDON British workers saw their pay grow at the fastest pace in more than a year in the three months to November, official data showed on Wednesday, adding to signs that the country''s economy ended 2016 strongly despite the shock of the Brexit vote. The jobless rate remained at an 11-year low of 4.8 percent and the employment rate stayed at all-time record high, the Office for National Statistics said. There were a few signs the strong pace of job creation of recent years has peaked. The number of people in work fell for a second time in a row, the first back-to-back fall since the middle of 2015. And the number of hours worked edged down. But the number of jobless benefit claimants unexpectedly fell by 10,100 in December, another sign of the overall resilience in the jobs market. The growth in wages will be noted by the Bank of England. Policymakers have said they will not be rushed into an interest rate hike by rising inflation because they expect the pick-up in prices will be driven by temporary effects from the fall in the pound after June''s vote to leave the European Union. "The Bank has already tacked back from a dovish spin on their policy to a more nuanced interpretation of the outlook," David Tinsley, an economist with Exane BNP Paribas, said. "But if this week''s trends of higher inflation and higher pay growth continue, it will have to sharpen that rhetoric up further. This can provide support for sterling even as the Brexit uncertainty swirls." BoE Governor Mark Carney said on Monday he would keep a close eye on how British consumers cope this year, when higher inflation is expected to outpace wage growth. The BoE is due to update its forecasts for the economy on Feb. 2. Inflation hit its highest level since mid-2014 in December at 1.6 percent, data showed on Tuesday. Many economists say it will climb toward 3 percent during this year, reflecting the fall in the value of the pound since the Brexit vote. The ONS said workers'' total earnings in the September-November period rose by an annual 2.8 percent, the fastest pace since September 2015 and above all forecasts in a Reuters poll. Excluding bonuses, earnings rose by 2.7 percent year-on-year, the strongest increase since August 2015 and ahead of expectations for a 2.6 percent rise. The growth in wages in Wednesday''s data was a possible reflection of shortages of workers reported by employers in several sectors with the unemployment rate so low. Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday she wanted to control the number of migrant workers coming to Britain, something many employers fear will add to their recruitment problems. Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-jobs-idUKKBN15211Y'|'2017-01-18T19:35:00.000+02:00' +'fb7edcdab3b030cc18679b420d13ca2122d5dea1'|'Exclusive: U.S. drugmaker Merrimack nears deal with France''s Ipsen - sources - Reuters'|'By Carl O''Donnell and Greg Roumeliotis U.S. cancer drug developer Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc ( MACK.O ) is close to selling its most developed products to French peer Ipsen SA ( IPN.PA ) in a deal that could be worth more than $1 billion, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday.The deal would give Merrimack the resources to fund the development of three new compounds targeting pancreatic, lung, and other types of cancers. It would boost Ipsen''s portfolio, which has traditionally focused on endocrinology.Under the terms of the deal that could be announced as early as Monday, Ipsen would acquire Merrimack''s pancreatic cancer treatment Onivyde, as well as Doxil, a generic ovarian cancer drug Merrimack developed in partnership with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd ( TEVA.TA ) unit Actavis LLC, the sources said.Merrimack would be paid upfront in cash for a little more than half of the deal''s value, and would stand to receive the remainder of the potentially more than $1 billion consideration in milestone payments, the sources added.Merrimack would use the proceeds to fund research and development, pay down debt, and declare a special dividend to shareholders, according to the sources.The sources asked not to be identified because the deal has not yet been announced. Merrimack and Ipsen did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Merrimack announced last October that Chief Executive Officer Robert Mulroy would step down. Merrimack named Chairman Gary Crocker as interim CEO and launched a search for a chief. It has yet to announce a permanent replacement.The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company also plans to restructure operations, included slashing costs by $200 million over the next two years and slimming down its development pipeline.The company, which has a market capitalization of $467 million, has cut 22 percent of its workforce.In December, Merrimack said it was cancelling its research efforts on a compound called MM-302 that would have been a potential treatment for breast cancer.Merrimack received regulatory approval to launch Onivyde in the United States late in 2015, and has been ramping up its sales efforts.Ipsen has been looking for acquisitions and tie-ups to strengthen its presence in the United States, the world''s biggest pharmaceutical market, where it generates only a small percentage of sales.The Paris-based company had so far counted on Somatuline, which is currently the only drug approved in the United States to treat neuroendocrine tumors, to anchor itself in the Americas.(Reporting by Carl O''Donnell and Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-merrimack-m-a-ipsen-idINKBN14S0UP'|'2017-01-08T15:39:00.000+02:00' +'16f7c58594bbdf4a787e12708a3212cbc7216a4f'|'Russia''s Sistema says plans to list agricultural business'|'MOSCOW Russian conglomerate Sistema ( AFKS.MM ) ( SSAq.L ) plans to list shares in Steppe, its agricultural business, later this year or early in 2018, Chairman Vladimir Yevtushenkov said on Thursday.Sistema''s only business currently listed is Russia''s biggest mobile telecoms network operator MTS ( MBT.N ) ( MTSS.MM ) but on Monday its toy retailer Detsky Mir also announced an intention to list its shares."We plan to carry out the next IPO (initial public offering) either at the end of this year or at the beginning of next year of our agricultural holding, Steppe, because we think that it has been developing very fast," Yevtushenkov said in an interview with Rossiya-24 TV channel.He said Sistema had set a target for Steppe of doubling profits this year and that it was seeking more acquisitions in the sector.Agroholding Steppe is engaged in wheat, fruit and vegetable and dairy production in the southern Krasnodar, Stavropol and Rostov regions and the Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia.Detsky Mir''s share sale would be held next month, Yevtushenkov said.(Reporting by Polina Devitt and Maria Kiselyova; Editing by Greg Mahlich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-russia-sistema-ipo-idINKBN1531FB'|'2017-01-19T08:02:00.000+02:00' +'9a1c1b89baef4412e34b909bd48e2265307653b5'|'Bitcoin jumps above $1,000 for first time in three years'|' 48am GMT Bitcoin jumps above $1,000 for first time in three years A Bitcoin logo is displayed at the Bitcoin Center New York City in New York''s financial district, U.S. on July 28, 2015. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo By Jemima Kelly - LONDON LONDON Digital currency bitcoin kicked off the new year by jumping above $1,000 for the first time in three years late on Sunday, having outperformed all central-bank-issued currencies with a 125 percent climb in 2016. Bitcoin - a web-based "cryptocurrency" that has no central authority, relying instead on thousands of computers across the world that validate transactions and add new bitcoins to the system - jumped 2.5 percent to $1,022 on the Europe-based Bitstamp exchange, its highest since December 2013. Though the digital currency has historically been highly volatile - a tenfold increase in its value in two months in late 2013 took it to above $1,100, before a hack on the Tokyo-based Mt. Gox exchange saw it plunge to under $400 in the following weeks - it has in the past two years been more stable. Its biggest daily moves in 2016 were around 10 percent, still very volatile compared with fiat currencies, but markedly lower than the trading of 2013, which saw daily price swings of as much as 40 percent. Bitcoin may have been boosted in the past year by increased demand in China on the back of a 7 percent annual fall in the value of the yuan in 2016, the Chinese currency''s weakest showing in over 20 years. Data shows most bitcoin trading is done in China. Bitcoin is used to move money across the globe quickly and anonymously and does not fall under the purview of any authority, making it attractive to those wanting to get around capital controls, such as China''s. It is also may appeal to those worried about a lack of supply of cash, such as in India, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi removed high-denomination bank notes from circulation in November. "The growing war on cash, and capital controls, is making bitcoin look like a viable, if high risk, alternative," said Paul Gordon, a board member of the UK Digital Currency Association and co-founder of Quantave, a firm seeking to make it easier for institutional investors to access digital currency exchanges. Though bitcoin is still some way off the all-time high of $1,163 that it reached on the Bitstamp exchange in late 2013, there are now more bitcoins in circulation - 12.5 are added to the system every 10 minutes. Its total worth is at a record-high above $16 billion, putting its value at around the same as that of an average FTSE 100 company. (Reporting by Jemima Kelly; Editing by Peter Graff) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets-bitcoin-idUKKBN14M0IV'|'2017-01-02T18:48:00.000+02:00' +'222daf4b68a1610b77c37c115840443b839840a4'|'Halliburton warns of weakness in international markets'|'Commodities - Mon Jan 23, 2017 - 7:18am EST Halliburton warns of weakness in international markets The company logo of Halliburton oilfield services corporate offices is seen in Houston, Texas April 6, 2012. REUTERS/Richard Carson/File Photo Halliburton Co ( HAL.N ), the world''s No. 2 oilfield services provider, on Monday warned of weakness in markets outside of North America, echoing comments made by larger rival Schlumberger ( SLB.N ) last week. Halliburton reported a better-than-expected quarterly adjusted profit as oil producers put more rigs back to work in North American shale fields. Shale producers, encouraged by a rise in crude prices after a slump of more than two years, have been drilling and completing more wells in North America. "Despite the positive sentiment surrounding the North American land market, it is important to remember that our world is still a tale of two cycles," Chief Executive Dave Lesar said in a statement. "The North America market appears to have rounded the corner, but the international downward cycle is still playing out." International markets are yet to recover with most oil companies reluctant to increase spending on expensive deepwater and mature oilfields. Net loss attributable to Halliburton widened to $149 million, or 17 cents per share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, from $28 million, or 3 cents per share, a year earlier. The current quarter included impairment and other charges of $169 million, compared with $282 million last year. Excluding items, the company earned 4 cents per share in the latest reported quarter, beating the average analyst estimate of 2 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. The company''s revenue fell 20.9 percent to $4.02 billion, missing analysts'' estimate of $4.09 billion. (Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel) Next In Commodities Anglo sees incremental gains as trading unit hits cruising speed SINGAPORE Anglo American Plc , which broke with tradition when it set up a focused commercial unit, sees modest improvements ahead after an early boost to profits, as it gets closer to clients, even offering shelter from volatile markets with fixed-price contracts.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-halliburton-results-idUSKBN1571GT'|'2017-01-23T19:18:00.000+02:00' +'1bcec54fbeff8164ab30d56a344f084caf6c1923'|'Taiwan stocks drop; TSMC falls on profit-taking, lower sales guidance'|'Financials - Thu Jan 12, 2017 - 11:02pm EST Taiwan stocks drop; TSMC falls on profit-taking, lower sales guidance TAIPEI, Jan 13 Taiwan stocks fell on Friday on profit-taking after the world''s largest contract chipmaker TSMC reported a record fourth-quarter profit but forecast slower business for its first quarter. Asian shares wobbling also kept overall trading cautious. As of 0330 GMT, the main TAIEX index was down 0.4 percent at 9,371.82, after closing up 0.7 percent in the previous session. The electronics subindex fell as much as 0.6 percent, while the financials subindex lost up to 0.7 percent. Shares in TSMC dropped as much as 2.2 percent, after the company expected its first-quarter revenue to likely dive at least 8.7 percent from the fourth quarter. The stock had closed up 1.4 percent in the previous session, just before the earnings results were reported. After a record fourth quarter for net profit and revenue, normal seasonal lull from smartphone customers were mainly behind the lower forecasts, TSMC said. The Taiwan dollar firmed T$0.179 to T$31.601 per U.S. dollar. The local currency was trading at its strongest levels against the U.S. dollar in two months. (Reporting by J.R. Wu; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips) Next In Financials SE Asia Stocks-Choppy; Philippine index extends losses for 3rd day By Sandhya Sampath Jan 13 Southeast Asian stock markets, except Singapore, were subdued in thin trade on Friday as investors paused to reflect on U.S. President-elect Donald Trump''s failure to elaborate on stimulus plans in his first news conference since his election victory. In Asia, shares dipped and the dollar was poised for a losing week after hitting a five-week low in the previous session, while overnight on Wall Street major indexes finished lower as investors weighed China''s money rates mixed, traders eye on MLF loans rollover SHANGHAI, Jan 13 China''s primary money rates were mixed for the week, and there were few signs of liquidity tightness after the central bank injected funds, though traders expected cash to be sucked out of the market in coming days as firms prepare to pay taxes and demand for cash rises ahead of the Lunar Bew Year holiday. Liquidity conditions were largely balanced this week, mainly due to support from the central bank through open market operations, traders said. Hopes for a rol * 9-months ended Nov 2016 group loss before taxation of $25.4 million MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Taboola Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/taiwan-stocks-idUSL4N1F31WM'|'2017-01-13T11:02:00.000+02:00' +'290c3a695e3437dff02e642a615a667e61145805'|'Putin says he hopes cooperation between Russian and Qatari wealth funds to expand'|'Financials 10am EST Putin says he hopes cooperation between Russian and Qatari wealth funds to expand MOSCOW Jan 25 Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he hoped cooperation between the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and the Russian Direct Investment Fund would expand. Putin was speaking at a meeting with QIA head Sheikh Abdulla bin Mohammed bin Saud Al-Thani, Glencore Chief Executive Ivan Glasenberg, Intesa CEO Carlo Messina, and Rosneft Chief Executive Igor Sechin. (Reporting by Olesya Astakhova; Writing by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Andrew Osborn) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/russia-putin-qatar-idUSR4N1FC006'|'2017-01-25T21:10:00.000+02:00' +'09010b121709c68ac60494be403ce88a4bd14ad3'|'Highlights - Donald Trump in first full week as U.S. president'|'President Donald Trump addresses business and trade issues on Monday. Highlights of the day follow:BUSINESSTrump tells leaders of companies ranging from Lockheed Martin Corp to Under Armour Inc that his administration can cut U.S. regulations on businesses by 75 percent and that those planning to build factories in the United States will get quick approval.TRADETrump could sign an executive order on Monday intended to renegotiate the free trade agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico, NBC News reported.Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau begins a retreat with his Cabinet focusing mainly on the best approach to take with Trump, whose vow to renegotiate NAFTA could damage the nation''s economy.Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, saying Trump understands the value of free trade, vows to keep pitching a multinational pact that Trump''s administration has vowed to exit.British May will champion free trade and also voice her support for the Iran nuclear deal when she meets Trump later this week, her spokeswoman said.Mexico is ready to renegotiate trade rules with the United States but any change in U.S. policy that affected imports would be countered with a "mirror action" in Mexico.FOREIGN LEADERSThe Kremlin expects to agree soon on a date for the first phone call between President Vladimir Putin and Trump, but there is no word on when they will meet.Gulf Arab states are quietly applauding the arrival in the White House of a hawkish leader opposed to their adversary Iran, even if they suspect Trump might at times heighten tensions in the Middle East.LAWSUITA group files suit against Trump, accusing him of violating the "emoluments" clause of the U.S. Constitution by allowing his hotels and other businesses to accept payments from foreign governments.MARKET IMPACTFor financial markets, the Trump era begins on Monday. If history is any guide, the following month should be a rocky one for Wall Street but positive for the dollar.CABINETSenator Ben Cardin, the most senior Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, says he will not support Trump''s nominee for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson.(Compiled by Bill Trott; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Meredith Mazzilli)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-trump-highlights-idINKBN15723V'|'2017-01-23T12:27:00.000+02:00' +'8d7f1db11bdf5618f8e6b170eb705028b3c5c08a'|'Jump in manufacturing, tight labour markets show U.S. economic health - Fed'|' 8:01pm GMT Jump in manufacturing, tight labour markets show U.S. economic health - Fed A security guard walks in front of an image of the Federal Reserve in Washington, DC, U.S., March 16, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo WASHINGTON A pickup in manufacturing, "widespread" reports of labour shortages and improving business investment set the stage for the Federal Reserve''s December rate hike amid signs of steady economic growth across the country, the Fed reported Wednesday in its latest Beige Book compendium of economic conditions. Manufacturers in "most" of the Federal Reserve System''s 12 regions reported increased sales, the Fed reported in the document, a collection of anecdotal information from businesses assembled before each Fed meeting. Fed officials said companies in their districts acknowledged the uncertainty surrounding the change of administrations in Washington, with a healthcare firm in the Boston region expecting "a possible headwind" from the battle over Obamacare. Others worried about the potential fallout from trade tensions. But in general, across industries "firms...were said to be optimistic about growth in 2017," while also reporting that it was becoming increasingly difficult to fill vacant positions. That issue is likely to intensify. "Labour markets were reported to be tight or tightening...District reports cited widespread difficulties in finding workers for skilled positions," the Fed reported. "Many districts...expect labour markets to continue to tighten in 2017, with wage pressures likely to rise and the pace of hiring to hold steady or increase." Across the country "pricing pressures intensified somewhat," the Fed wrote. U.S. central bankers raised interest rates in December, setting their target rate at a range of between 0.5 and 0.75 percent. It was the only increase in 2016, but came as Fed officials began adjusting to the possibility that they may have to raise rates faster if the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump follows through on plans to cut taxes and spend additional tens of billions of dollars on infrastructure. While the Beige Book is not a systematic survey, it does reflect each Fed district''s sense of the regional economy. And as of the end of 2016, they portrayed an economy that seemed increasingly healthy. One manufacturer in Chicago noted that because workers could not be found who were qualified to run its most sophisticated machines, they were instead using "less sophisticated equipment that was easier to operate." Businesses in that district, including several of the heartland states where economic anxiety fuelled Trump''s victory, said they expected capital investment to grow over the next year. Several other districts said manufacturing was up, while in the Kansas district "manufacturing production, shipments and new orders grew at their fastest pace in over two years." In Dallas, the recently beleaguered energy sector "noted improved demand and an uptick in employment, following depressed activity for nearly two years." (Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Andrea Ricci) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-fed-beigebook-idUKKBN1522UT'|'2017-01-19T03:01:00.000+02:00' +'0932570d0446fb9e21880cc9b79c738f8a328003'|'Fitch Rates Chengdu Xingcheng Investment''s USD Notes Final ''BBB+'''|'Financials 14am EST Fitch Rates Chengdu Xingcheng Investment''s USD Notes Final ''BBB+'' (The following statement was released by the rating agency) HONG KONG, January 26 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings has assigned Chengdu Xingcheng Investment Group Co., Ltd.''s (CXIG) USD300m 3.25% senior unsecured notes due 2021 a final rating of ''BBB+''. The assignment of the final rating follows the receipt of documents conforming to information already received. The final ratings are in line with the expected ratings assigned on 16 November 2016. The net proceeds of the bond issue will be used for general corporate purposes. KEY RATING DRIVERS The bonds were issued directly by CXIG and are rated at the same level as its Issuer Default Rating (BBB+/Stable) as they will constitute direct, unconditional, unsubordinated and unsecured obligations of CXIG and rank pari passu with all its other senior unsecured obligations. The ratings of CXIG are credit-linked but not equalised to Fitch''s internal assessment of the creditworthiness of Chengdu Municipality. This is because the municipality owns 100% of the entity, there is strong government oversight of CXIG''s financials, and the strategic importance of the entity''s operation to the municipality. These factors result in a high likelihood the municipal government would provide extraordinary support to the entity, if needed. CXIG is one of the primary investment and financing vehicles of Chengdu Municipality and implements the municipal government''s blueprint for urban planning, city infrastructure construction and social affordable housing. CXIG is also the exclusive concessionaire of primary land development in the eastern and southern parts of the city, according to CXIG. RATING SENSITIVITIES Rating action on CXIG would lead to similar action on the rating of its US dollar notes. Links with Chengdu Municipality: An upgrade of Fitch''s internal assessment on the creditworthiness of Chengdu Municipality may trigger positive rating action on CXIG. A positive rating action may also stem from a stronger or more explicit municipal government support commitment. A weakening of CXIG''s strategic importance to the municipality, weakening of the municipal government''s controlling shareholding, and/or reduced municipal support may result in a widening of notching from the sponsor. A downgrade may also stem from weaker fiscal performance or increased indebtedness of the municipality, leading to deterioration of Fitch''s internal assessment of the creditworthiness of Chengdu Municipality. Contact: Primary Analyst Terry Gao Director +852 2263 9972 Fitch (Hong Kong) Limited 19/F Man Yee Building 68 Des Voeux Road Central, Hong Kong Secondary Analyst Ark Huang Analyst +86 21 5097 3153 Committee Chairperson Guido Bach Senior Director +49 69 768076 111 Date of Relevant Rating Committee: 15 November 2016 Media Relations: Wai-Lun Wan, Hong Kong, Tel: +852 2263 9935, Email: wailun.wan@fitchratings.com. Additional information is available at www.fitchratings.com Applicable Criteria International Local and Regional Governments Rating Criteria - Outside the United States (pub. 18 Apr 2016) here Rating of Public-Sector Entities - Outside the United States (pub. 22 Feb 2016) here Additional Disclosures Solicitation Status here Endorsement Policy here ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: here . 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Due to the relative efficiency of electronic publishing and distribution, Fitch research may be available to electronic subscribers up to three days earlier than to print subscribers. For Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and South Korea only: Fitch Australia Pty Ltd holds an Australian financial services license (AFS license no. 337123) which authorizes it to provide credit ratings to wholesale clients only. Credit ratings information published by Fitch is not intended to be used by persons who are retail clients within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFit983935'|'2017-01-26T15:14:00.000+02:00' +'7f16616fc1a068c5d202f98b3f55906f3d81499d'|'Saudi''s SABIC to acquire remaining 50 percent of Shell venture for $820 million'|'Deals 8:54am GMT Saudi''s SABIC to acquire remaining 50 percent of Shell venture for $820 million A man walks past the headquarters of Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia October 27, 2013. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser/File Photo KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia/DUBAI Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) 2010.SE has signed an agreement to acquire the 50 percent that it does not already own in its petrochemical venture with Shell Arabia, a unit of Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ), for $820 million, SABIC said on Sunday. "As per the partnership agreement between the two companies that stipulates the right of SABIC to renew or end the partnership by the end of 2020...SABIC decided to acquire the full stake of Shell, which is 50 percent," it said. SABIC, one of the world''s largest petrochemical firms, said the $820 million figure was based on the net value of the venture''s assets. It said the acquisition was in line with a strategy to develop its successful investments. The venture, known as SADAF, was established in 1980 and operates six petrochemical plants with total annual output of over 4 million tonnes year of chemicals. It makes products including ethylene, crude industrial ethanol and styrene at a complex in Jubail, on the Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia. The acquisition agreement is expected to be carried out before the end of this year, SABIC said, adding that it signed another memorandum of understanding with Shell Arabia on Sunday to boost the companies'' cooperation in unspecified international and local investments. "We will continue to explore potential future opportunities with SABIC," Graham vant Hoff, executive vice-president of chemicals at Shell, said in an emailed statement to Reuters. In 2014, SABIC and Shell shelved plans to expand SADAF as the results of feasibility studies were not encouraging. The expansion was to have added production of polyols, propylene oxide and styrene monomer. Shell is involved in other downstream activities in Saudi Arabia; it has a crude oil refinery with Saudi Aramco in Jubail. (Reporting by Reem Shamseddine and Hadeel Al Sayegh; Writing by Reem Shamseddine; Editing by Andrew Torchia) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-sabic-shell-idUKKBN15609J'|'2017-01-22T15:33:00.000+02:00' +'7614b5d09c137972ba21e8c78c81fc2b0a72c890'|'Australian shares to open slightly higher; NZ lower'|'Financials - Tue Jan 31, 2017 - 4:33pm EST Australian shares to open slightly higher; NZ lower Feb 1 Australian shares are expected to edge up on Wednesday as basic material stocks may get some support from the weakening U.S. dollar and higher oil prices may boost energy stocks. The U.S. dollar nose-dived against key rivals on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump criticised currency devaluation by other countries and his trade adviser accused Germany of using a "grossly undervalued" euro to gain a competitive advantage. The dollar movement aided oil prices, which were further boosted by an output cut by OPEC. The local share price index futures rose 0.4 percent, or 20 points, to 5575, a 45.9 point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close. The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.72 percent in the previous session. New Zealand''s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.077 percent or 5.44 points, to 7045.31 at 2110 GMT. For a summary of overnight action across global markets, double click on For a digest of the day''s business stories in Australian newspapers, double click on (Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; Editing by Kevin Liffey) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/australia-stocks-morning-idUSL4N1FL3R9'|'2017-02-01T04:33:00.000+02:00' +'2dda1a0e9b0584f5f81390c9f1f5101a4d059329'|'Brazil court allows Petrobras to sell Sergipe, Cear offshore fields'|'Commodities 34pm EST Brazil court allows Petrobras to sell Sergipe, Cear offshore fields Gasoline prices are displayed at a Brazilian Oil Company Petrobras gas station in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, February 6, 2016. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes SAO PAULO A Brazilian court has ruled that state-controlled oil company Petrleo Brasileiro SA can continue a process to sell several offshore oil fields in the country''s northeastern region. In securities filing on Monday, Petrobras said the Federal Regional Tribunal of the Fifth Region''s decision allows the company to proceed with the sale of fields in the states of Cear and Sergipe, although a final decision lies on a federal auditing court. The auditing court known as TCU suspended on Dec. 7 part of Petrobras'' asset sale program to improve transparency in the process. (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli) Next In Commodities'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-petrobras-divestiture-idUSKBN1572QM'|'2017-01-24T04:20:00.000+02:00' +'6b30d71add2f5e5d15835de543e547602b6dc009'|'Nikkei rises as weaker yen helps lift mood; Yellen speech awaited'|'TOKYO Jan 18 Japanese stocks rose on Wednesday after recovering from five-week lows as the yen weakened against the dollar and helped restore investor sentiment.The Nikkei share average rose 0.4 percent to 18,894.37, crawling back from its intraday low of 18,650.33 hit in the morning, its weakest level since Dec. 8.The broader Topix gained 0.3 percent to 1,513.86 and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 added 0.4 percent to 13,563.75.The dollar added 0.6 percent to 113.32 yen, after hitting a seven-week low of 112.57 yen.Investors are awaiting Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen''s speech on monetary policy for any hints on the outlook for rates and the economy. (Reporting by Ayai Tomisawa; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-close-idINL4N1F82F2'|'2017-01-18T03:16:00.000+02:00' +'2393fee3f83227524577e4a72ca4600dfd1b9ec1'|'Brazil''s Samarco requests extension for dam disaster guarantee'|'Environment 36pm EST Brazil''s Samarco requests extension for dam disaster guarantee A cupboard is pictured in debris in Bento Rodrigues district, which was covered with mud after a dam owned by Vale SA and BHP Billiton Ltd burst, in Mariana, Brazil, November 10, 2015. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes BRASILIA Brazilian miner Samarco and its shareholders Vale SA and BHP Billiton have requested to extend until Jan. 19 a deadline to pay 1.2 billion reais ($375.39 million) in guarantees related to the collapse of a tailings dam in 2015, Vale said in a statement on Monday. The payment was meant to be made to a court in Minas Gerais state by Monday. ($1 = 3.1967 reais) (Reporting by Stephen Eisenhammer; editing by Diane Craft) Next In Environment'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-samarco-vale-sa-guarantee-idUSKBN14T2DD'|'2017-01-10T04:31:00.000+02:00' +'beaabd1c8b314fbd84d2f115a8c41a4786daa03f'|'Oil prices firm on U.S. crude inventory fall, record car sales'|' 39am GMT Oil prices firm on U.S. crude inventory fall, record car sales An employee holds a gas pump at a petrol station in Sao Paulo, Brazil, November 8, 2016. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker By Henning Gloystein - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Oil prices were firm on Thursday, buoyed by data showing a fall in U.S. crude inventories and by record car sales in the United States. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were trading at $53.26 per barrel at 0024 GMT, unchanged from their settlement on Wednesday, when prices rose around 2 percent. International Brent crude oil futures were yet to trade. Traders said that WTI had been lifted by a report by the American Petroleum Institute (API) stating that U.S. crude inventories fell 7.4 million barrels in the week ended Dec. 30 to 482.7 million, compared with analyst expectations for a decrease of 2.2 million barrels. "We expect Asia to trade on the positive-side today, supported by the API number," said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA brokerage in Singapore. Prices were also lifted by U.S. car and truck sales, which were up 3.1 percent in December from the same month last year, and hit a record 17.55 million overall in 2016. A fall in the dollar away from a 14-year peak hit earlier this week also supported Brent futures, traders said, as a cheaper greenback makes dollar-traded fuel purchases cheaper for countries using other currencies at home. Swings in the dollar also impact crude as financial speculators weigh the differing profit potentials of foreign exchange and commodity futures. (Reporting by Henning Gloystein; Editing by Joseph Radford) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUKKBN14P02C'|'2017-01-05T07:38:00.000+02:00' +'fec17336166cd01dc0eb43f805581bcdfb0ecfdf'|'RPT-Pipeline opponents face high legal hurdles challenging Trump'|'(Repeats story published Tuesday with no changes)By Joseph AxNEW YORK Jan 25 Opponents of two controversial oil pipelines face a long and difficult legal path if the U.S. government approves their construction, experts said after the Trump administration issued orders on Tuesday intended to advance the Keystone XL and Dakota Access projects.U.S. President Donald Trump issued a pair of memoranda to several agencies paving the way to revive Keystone XL, which would bring oil from Canada, and Dakota Access, a nearly completed pipeline which had sought to build under a lake near a Native American reservation in North Dakota. Both projects stalled under former President Barack Obama."Presidents are by and large entitled to take their agencies in a different direction and serve their policy goals," said Wayne D''Angelo, an energy and environmental lawyer with Kelley Drye & Warren in Washington.Nevertheless, several groups immediately said they would challenge in court any attempt to resume the projects, which have become hot-button political issues at the intersection of environmentalism, Native American tribal rights and energy needs.The two pipelines could present different legal obstacles for environmentalists and other groups intent on halting them.As a cross-border project, the $8 billion Keystone XL requires a presidential permit to proceed. Obama denied such a permit to pipeline operator TransCanada Corp in 2015, arguing it would undermine the United States'' ability to act as a world leader on climate change policy.Trump''s Keystone order on Wednesday invited TransCanada to re-apply.Presidential authority to grant such permits is generally accepted by the courts, said James Rubin, an energy and environmental attorney at Dorsey & Whitney in Washington.Even with presidential approval, TransCanada would need permits from other government agencies, including the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to navigate federal waters and lands. Any of those permits could be legally challenged by opponents as improperly issued.But courts would not review whether the government''s decisions were correct. Instead, they would consider whether the conclusions were "arbitrary and capricious" or inconsistent with the evidence before the agencies."If the agency issuing the permit has taken all the right steps and made a reasonable determination, it''s hard to overturn them," Rubin said. "The court can''t tell an agency what to do. It can only make sure that it did it right. It''s a review of the process, not the substance."In the case of the 1,179-mile (1,900-km) Keystone XL pipeline, the U.S. government previously completed an environmental impact statement that concluded the pipeline would have no significant effect on climate change, making it more difficult for a legal challenge to succeed, D''Angelo said.Energy Transfer Partners LP''s Dakota project, meanwhile, was halted in December when the Army Corps denied an easement to tunnel under a section of the Missouri River after weeks of protests by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and its supporters.Trump''s Dakota order on Tuesday did not instruct the corps to change its position. But the president ordered the agency to consider "whether to rescind or modify" its December determination.If the corps abruptly reverses its decision, opponents could argue the agency had no justification for changing course in the absence of any new evidence. Earthjustice, the nonprofit that has led legal challenges to the Dakota project, said it would fight any attempt by the corps to step back from its December decision."If the corps issues the easement, it will violate its own prior findings, and we will likely seek court review of that decision," the group said in a statement.But D''Angelo pointed out that the corps'' December decision was itself a reversal of one in July granting the easement before the protests became widespread. Courts have traditionally taken into account that new presidential administrations may bring different priorities to executive agencies."I don''t know anyone in the world that believes that the late-breaking changes on those projects were anything but political," he said.The Standing Rock Sioux are also suing the government for not consulting with the tribe before approving the route. Last year, a judge denied the tribe''s request for an injunction stopping the work, a signal the judge did not view its claim as likely to succeed.(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Anthony Lin and Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-trump-pipeline-legal-idINL1N1FF014'|'2017-01-25T09:00:00.000+02:00' +'3ae8da64bc9d648ee9745698d1f981428ce58bc7'|'Russian security service says hackers attacked major banks in 2016 - Ifax'|'Money News - Fri Jan 27, 2017 - 4:03pm IST Russian security service says hackers attacked major banks in 2016 - Ifax left right General view shows the logo on a building of Alfa bank in Minsk, Belarus November 15, 2016. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko 1/2 left right A view shows a board advertising Rosbank on the roof in a building in Moscow, Russia, July 4, 2016. Reuters/Maxim Zmeyev/Files 2/2 MOSCOW Russia''s major commercial banks came under cyber attacks in November last year, the country''s Federal Security Service said on Friday, Interfax news agency reported. Lenders such as Sberbank, Rosbank, Alfa Bank, Bank of Moscow, as well as the Moscow Exchange and other institutions were the targets of "a massive attack" from hackers between Nov. 8 and Nov. 14, deputy head of the Security Service Dmitry Shalkov said. "Analysis shows that the number of information attacks at Russian official information resources is on the rise. There were 70 million (such attacks) in 2016," Shalkov said, adding it was a threefold increase from a year earlier. The attacks were countered by banks'' cybersecurity services in coordinations with the Security Service, he said. (Reporting by Andrey Ostroukh; editing by Polina Devitt) Next In Money News FACTBOX: Measures expected from the annual budget that could impact markets MUMBAI Investors in India are bracing for higher taxes and less incentives from the government''s annual budget to be unveiled on Feb. 1 as the focus shifts to wringing out revenues to finance giveaways and higher public investments to support the economy.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/russia-banks-cyberattacks-idINKBN15B0WV'|'2017-01-27T17:33:00.000+02:00' +'0fb3c29cdecec48ee2686d00a72aa2f7d53ba91d'|'TABLE- Top 20 selling vehicles in U.S. in December'|'Jan 4 The following are the 20 top-selling vehicles in the U.S. in December as reported by the automakers and ranked by total units. Top 20 selling vehicles in U.S. in December RANK VEHICLE Dec-16 Dec-15 PCT CHNG 1 Ford F-Series P/U 87,512 85,211 +2.7 2 Chevy Silverado-C/K P/U 54,272 62,992 -13.8 3 Ram P/U 47,556 41,398 +14.9 4 Nissan Rogue 40,477 26,479 +52.9 5 Honda CR-V 37,778 31,185 +21.1 6 Toyota RAV4 37,214 31,866 +16.8 7 Honda Accord 33,873 35,056 -3.4 8 Toyota Camry 33,412 37,299 -10.4 9 Honda Civic 31,482 32,796 -4.0 10 Toyota Corolla 31,209 33,692 -7.4 11 Chevrolet Equinox 27,195 21,827 +24.6 12 Ford Escape 25,788 27,954 -7.7 13 Toyota Highlander 25,425 16,100 +57.9 14 Nissan Altima 24,763 29,462 -15.9 15 GMC Sierra P/U 23,290 27,438 -15.1 16 Jeep Grand Cherokee 23,250 20,566 +13.1 17 Chevrolet Malibu 22,764 12,155 +87.3 18 Hyundai Elantra 19,556 14,242 +37.3 19 Ford Fusion 19,132 25,576 -25.2 20 Ford Explorer 19,030 18,892 +0.7 Top 20 selling vehicles in U.S. through December RANK VEHICLE YTD 2016 YTD 2015 PCT CHNG 1 Ford F-Series P/U 820,799 780,354 +5.2 2 Chevy Silverado-C/K P/U 574,876 600,544 -4.3 3 Ram P/U 489,418 450,122 +8.7 4 Toyota Camry 388,618 429,355 -9.5 5 Toyota Corolla 378,210 368,431 +2.7 6 Honda Civic 366,927 335,384 +9.4 7 Honda CR-V 357,335 345,647 +3.4 8 Toyota RAV4 352,154 315,412 +11.6 9 Honda Accord 345,225 355,557 -2.9 10 Nissan Rogue 329,904 287,190 +14.9 11 Nissan Altima 307,380 333,398 -7.8 12 Ford Escape 307,069 306,492 +0.2 13 Ford Fusion 265,840 300,170 -11.4 14 Chevrolet Equinox 242,195 277,589 -12.8 15 Chevrolet Malibu 227,881 194,854 +16.9 16 GMC Sierra P/U 221,680 224,139 -1.1 17 Ford Explorer 216,294 224,309 -3.6 18 Nissan Sentra 214,709 203,509 +5.5 19 Jeep Grand Cherokee 212,273 196,312 +8.1 20 Hyundai Elantra 208,319 241,706 -13.8 (Compiled by Bengaluru Newsroom)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/autosalesusa-top-idINL4N1EU3Z5'|'2017-01-04T16:47:00.000+02:00' +'a5123914d83f8d75006518960104e8e8c27d577d'|'AltaGas to buy WGL Holdings for about C$8.4 billion'|'Jan 25 Energy infrastructure company AltaGas Ltd said on Wednesday it would buy WGL Holdings Inc in a deal valued at C$8.4 billion ($6.42 billion).WGL Holdings, the parent of natural-gas utility Washington Gas, provides natural gas services in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.The deal includes the assumption of about C$2.4 billion of debt.The company said the deal would add about 7-9 percent to earnings per common share.($1 = 1.3078 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Komal Khettry in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/mergersNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/wgl-holdings-ma-altagas-idUSL4N1FF5L2'|'2017-01-26T01:02:00.000+02:00' +'82b1bf50b10a9bc3366620c609ecc1d63f98f727'|'BRIEF-Enanta pharmaceuticals says EMA grants accelerated assessment for Abbvie''s investigational HCV regimen of Glecaprevir/Pibrentasvir'|'Company 44am EST BRIEF-Enanta pharmaceuticals says EMA grants accelerated assessment for Abbvie''s investigational HCV regimen of Glecaprevir/Pibrentasvir Jan 24 Enanta Pharmaceuticals Inc * Says EMA grants accelerated assessment for Abbvie''s investigational HCV Regimen Of Glecaprevir/Pibrentasvir * Says if approved, Abbvie''s G/P regimen could become available for marketing in European Union in second half of 2017 * Says Abbvie also announced they remain on track to submit a new drug application for G/P in Japan in Q1 2017 Source text for Eikon:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1FE04Y'|'2017-01-24T16:44:00.000+02:00' +'f36fcec5c738f55bd0c91c78f45d4c2e6e4476cb'|'Saudi builder Khodari says delayed projects at $83.4 mln end-2016'|' 15am EST Saudi builder Khodari says delayed projects at $83.4 mln end-2016 DUBAI Jan 26 Saudi Arabian construction firm Abdullah Abdul Mohsin al-Khodari and Sons said on Thursday that the total value of its delayed projects as of Dec. 31 last year was 312.7 million riyals ($83.4 million). It estimated the total value of its backlog of uncompleted work as of the same date at 2.85 billion riyals. Its total contract value was 7.85 billion riyals. ($1 = 3.7491 riyals) (Reporting By Tom Arnold; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/al-khodari-contract-idUSD5N1F0016'|'2017-01-26T13:15:00.000+02:00' +'ecb4ffa9c4f18631acf6433f0846d0548e9d6c52'|'BRIEF-Amicus Therapeutics presents preclinical data for Pompe program at WORLDSymposium 2017'|' 20am EST BRIEF-Amicus Therapeutics presents preclinical data for Pompe program at WORLDSymposium 2017 Feb 15 Amicus Therapeutics Inc - * Preclinical studies showed ATB200/AT2221 reversed cellular dysfunction, increased muscle strength over 5 month period in GAA knock-out mice Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1G00KK'|'2017-02-15T20:20:00.000+02:00' +'2ccb25695cc94700eb722ffcb491296ea78569f9'|'Medical helicopter company Air Methods exploring sale - WSJ'|'Deals - Wed Feb 1, 2017 - 2:26pm EST Medical helicopter company Air Methods exploring sale: WSJ U.S. medical helicopter company Air Methods Corp ( AIRM.O ) is exploring a potential sale, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The company is working with bankers to find potential buyers, the Journal said. ( on.wsj.com/2kSZwey ) Air Methods'' shares were up 6.3 percent at $37.95. (Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/mergersNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-air-methods-m-a-idUSKBN15G5F9'|'2017-02-02T02:25:00.000+02:00' +'456a88d3780f7863ba465a64e72a5abf64f48a52'|'Siemens completes key test of 3D-printed gas-turbine blades'|'Internet News - Mon Feb 6, 2017 - 10:17am GMT Siemens completes key test of 3D-printed gas-turbine blades Siemens logo is pictured on a CT scan in the manufacturing plant of Siemens Healthineers in Forchheim near Nuremberg, Germany, October 7, 2016. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle FRANKFURT German engineering group Siemens has run a successful test of power generation gas turbine blades produced wholly by metal-based 3D printing by UK-based Materials Solutions, which it bought last year. Siemens said on Monday it was the first to test such blades under full-load engine conditions at 13,000 revolutions per minutes and temperatures above 1,250 Celsius (2,282 Fahrenheit). It called the test a "breakthrough". 3D printing, also called additive manufacturing, involves making a three-dimensional object by adding ultra-thin layers of material one by one, following a digital design, in contrast to conventional manufacturing, where excess material is cut away. "This is a breakthrough success for the use of additive manufacturing in the power generation field, which is one of the most challenging applications for this technology," Willi Meixner, head of Siemens'' Power and Gas division, said. Siemens'' U.S. rival General Electric bought two 3D printing firms last year for over $1 billion and introduced its first 3D-printed aircraft engine component into service last July. "Technology is moving rapidly. All vendors across the supply chain need to be on their toes," capital goods analyst James Stettler of Barclays said. A Siemens spokesman could not estimate how long it would take for 3D-printed gas turbine blades to go into commercial production but said the technology reduced the design-to-testing time to two months from two years. The blades in the Siemens test were made from a powder of high-performing polycrystalline nickel superalloy. The 3D technology made possible a new design with improved internal cooling geometry. Prices for gas-fired power generation turbines are under extreme pressure, with Siemens saying last week new projects were being deferred and it had to fight for every order. (Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Greg Mahlich) Next In Internet News Samsung Group to disband its corporate strategy office after probe ends SEOUL Samsung Group [SAGR.UL] said it will disband its corporate strategy office after a special prosecution probe ends, setting a timeline on a pledge to wind up a power center that has been criticized for its role in South Korea''s graft scandal.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-siemens-turbines-3d-idUKKBN15L103'|'2017-02-06T17:14:00.000+02:00' +'5e5b78ac6e67b079485f1d9de80cdf009e9a3254'|'Lone Star, IL&FS to invest in struggling Indian infrastructure projects'|'MUMBAI Feb 26 U.S. private equity firm Lone Star has joined up with Indian infrastructure financier IL&FS to invest in struggling Indian infrastructure projects, the companies said on Sunday.The collaboration will have an investment capital pool of $550 million, which could result in asset purchases of up to $2.5 billion, the partners said.India''s banks have been saddled with more than $130 billion of soured loans, mostly notably from sectors such as steel and power, hurting new credit and economic growth. Resolving soured loans is one of the main targets for the government and the central bank.The Lone Star-IL&FS collaboration "seeks to assist banks, sponsors and asset reconstruction companies recycle capital, thus permitting reinvestment capital in fresh projects," the companies said. (Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/lonestar-ilfs-india-idINL3N1GB09W'|'2017-02-26T08:56:00.000+02:00' +'55fe58c1c9ce2026aa79d664be7764166356cf68'|'Japan business mood mixed in export-led recovery - Reuters Tankan'|'Business News - Thu Feb 16, 2017 - 11:23pm GMT Japan business mood mixed in export-led recovery - Reuters Tankan Newly manufactured cars await export at port in Yokohama, Japan, January 16, 2017. Picture taken January 16, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai By Tetsushi Kajimoto and Izumi Nakagawa - TOKYO TOKYO Confidence among Japanese manufacturers rose for a sixth straight month in February to a 2-1/2 year high but the service sector''s mood fell for the first time in four months, a Reuters poll showed, underscoring the export-led nature of the economic recovery. The Reuters'' monthly poll - which tracks the Bank of Japan''s key quarterly tankan - found confidence at manufacturers slipping over the next three months and service-sector firms holding steady. In the poll of 531 large- and mid-sized firms, conducted between Jan. 31 and Feb. 14 in which 255 responded, the sentiment index for manufacturers rose to 20 from 18 in January, led by steel/nonferrous metals, chemicals and electric machinery. It was the highest reading since August 2014, and is expected to drop to 19 in May. The Reuters Tankan follows data this week that showed Japan''s economy grew moderately in October-December driven by exports, but tepid private consumption and uncertainty over policies of U.S. President Donald Trump cloud the outlook. "The yen''s weakening since Trump''s election has brightened business sentiment. But what he says and does could make companies cautious about the future," a manager at a electric machinery firm wrote in the survey, which companies answer anonymously. The manager said Trump may turn up the heat against a weak yen and Japanese car exporters, although the president held off from criticizing Japan''s trade surplus with the United States during a meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last week. The Reuters Tankan service-sector index fell to 26 in February from a 1 1/2-year high of 30 in the previous month. It was the first decline in four months, dragged down by retailers and wholesalers, underlining fragility in the private consumption that constitutes about 60 percent of the economy. The Bank of Japan''s last tankan in December showed sentiment among big Japanese manufacturers improved for the first time in six quarters to hit a one-year high, as a weak yen and a pick-up in global demand brightened prospects for exporters. In a quarterly review of its forecasts issued last month, the BOJ raised its growth estimates for the fiscal year beginning in April to 1.5 percent from the 1.3 percent forecast in November, nodding to brightening prospects for exports. Data on Monday showed Japan''s economy, the world''s third-largest, grew an annualised 1.0 percent in October-December, following a revised 1.4 percent expansion in July-September. It was the fourth straight quarter of expansion. (Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Eric Meijer) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-tankan-idUKKBN15V2ZO'|'2017-02-17T06:23:00.000+02:00' +'43bd53fc468680d246f3bcfefbacc1169b388554'|'BRIEF-Perrigo Company Plc files for non-timely 10-Q'|' 57pm EST BRIEF-Perrigo Company Plc files for non-timely 10-Q Feb 27 Perrigo Company Plc * Perrigo Company Plc files for non-timely 10-Q * Files for non-timely 10-Q - SEC Filing * Perrigo Company Plc - Is in the process of identifying certain deferred tax assets and other related effects at Omega Pharma Invest N.V. * Perrigo Company Plc - Company has not completed its calculation of the implied fair value of the Tysabri asset * Perrigo Company says it has not completed its calculation of the implied fair value of the Tysabri asset * Perrigo Company says its independent auditors also are evaluating the historical revenue recognition practices associated with Tysabri Source text: [ bit.ly/2l5YXlq ] '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-perrigo-company-plc-files-for-non-idUSFWN1GC140'|'2017-02-28T04:57:00.000+02:00' +'a6f483665ab5549d542d64e92e8813b1498d016f'|'Twitter reports slowest quarterly revenue growth'|'Business News - 12pm GMT Twitter reports slowest quarterly revenue growth The Twitter logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., September 28, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Twitter Inc reported its slowest quarterly revenue growth since going public, as the company continues to grapple with intense competition from newer services such as Snap Inc''s Snapchat and Facebook''s Instagram. Twitter''s net loss widened to $167.1 million, or 23 cents per share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, from $90.24 million, or 13 cents per share, a year earlier. Restructuring charges in the latest quarter ballooned to $101.2 million from $12.9 million a year earlier. Revenue rose 1 percent to $717 million. Twitter was abuzz with takeover chatter last year involving big names such as Salesforce.com Inc and Walt Disney Co. The rumours died down due to the lack of concrete offers. Twitter said in October it would cut 9 percent of its global workforce as part of a broader restructuring. (Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal and Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-twitter-results-idUKKBN15O1F8'|'2017-02-09T19:13:00.000+02:00' +'750e99fb094544f19cf9d9f21dc8105b3274d57d'|'EU parliament says governments delayed new rules on car emissions'|'Business News - Tue Feb 28, 2017 - 11:28am EST EU parliament says governments delayed new rules on car emissions The exhaust system of a Volkswagen Passat TDI diesel car is seen in Esquibien, France, September 23, 2015. REUTERS/Mal Langsdon By Julia Fioretti and Waverly Colville - BRUSSELS BRUSSELS European governments delayed stricter car engine emissions tests by six years and did not do enough to uncover cheating by car manufacturers, a European Parliament report into the dieselgate scandal said on Tuesday. The investigation into Volkswagen''s ( VOWG_p.DE ) emissions test cheating also blamed the European Commission for failing to scrutinize governments'' legal obligation to enforce a ban on so-called defeat devices, which can scale back car exhaust pollution under certain driving conditions. "We now have a crystal-clear understanding of the failures in the oversight of the car industry that made dieselgate possible: the fraud could have been prevented," said Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy, a Dutch lawmaker who helped draft the report. It called for a drastic strengthening of market surveillance to break the cosy relationship between regulators who test emissions and car manufacturers, including new EU-level tests that could lead to fines. Lawmakers said delays to the introduction of more realistic emissions tests came about due to politicians caving in to lobbying from the car industry and seeking to avoid burdening manufacturers after the 2008 financial crisis. The non-binding report named France, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia, Spain and Romania as the main culprits blocking the adoption of more realistic emissions testing on roads, leading to a six-year delay. VW admitted in September 2015 to using defeat devices to confound nitrogen oxide (NOx) tests in the United States, prompting several European governments to launch their own investigations. They revealed that actual NOx emissions by cars on the road were as much as 15 times above regulatory limits and the use of defeat devices was widespread. More than 70,000 Europeans die prematurely each year from high levels of nitrogen dioxide pollution in cities, according to the European Environment Agency. In a bid to prevent a repeat of the VW scandal, the European Commission has proposed an overhaul of rules on how vehicles are licensed and tested throughout the bloc. A draft bill which would bolster EU oversight won the backing of the European Parliament''s internal market committee this month. But it still faces a tough battle to be approved by member states. EU Industry Commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska has accused governments of obstructing the bloc''s efforts to rein in what it sees as wayward behavior by the car industry. Julia Poliscanova at campaign group Transport and Environment said the report had rightly pointed the finger at national regulators. "At the heart of the dieselgate scandal in Europe lies a testing system that is shrouded in secrecy and cronyism," she said. (Editing by David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-europe-idUSKBN167208'|'2017-02-28T23:28:00.000+02:00' +'3389de8af6561c9dc16552b2016d3f3bed64c131'|'Washington state pipeline disruption jury fails to reach verdict'|'U.S. 26pm EST Washington state pipeline disruption jury fails to reach verdict Marla Marcum reads from the Gospel and offers prayers before activists Ken Ward (C) and Jay O''Hara blockade a 40,000 ton shipment of coal at the Brayton Point power station with their lobster boat named the ''''Henry David T'''' in Newport, Rhode Island, U.S. on May 15, 2013 in... REUTERS A jury weighing charges against an activist behind a coordinated protest that disrupted the flow of millions of barrels of crude oil into the United States failed to reach a verdict in a case in Washington state, prosecutors said on Wednesday. Ken Ward did not dispute that he shut down a valve on Kinder Morgan Inc''s Trans Mountain Pipeline near Burlington, Washington, but a jury could not agree on a verdict for his charges of trespassing, burglary and sabotage. "I am surprised and hugely pleased," Ward said by phone on Wednesday afternoon. Skagit County Prosecutor Rich Weyrich said by email that his office has the ability to retry Ward and planned to make that decision shortly. Ward''s trial was the first in a series of proceedings that activists hope will serve as a referendum on climate change. Ward, 60, maintained that his actions are necessary in the face of the government''s failure to address global warming. Ward was arrested in October when he and other activists in four states cut padlocks and chains and entered remote flow stations to turn off valves to try to stop crude from moving through lines that carry as much as 15 percent of daily U.S. oil consumption. Officials, pipeline companies and experts said the protesters could have caused environmental damage themselves by shutting down the lines. Supporters called Ward''s trial an "all hands on deck moment" for the climate change movement, which has also spawned protests of the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipeline. Last week U.S. President Donald Trump signed orders smoothing the path for those pipelines in an effort to expand energy infrastructure. Native Americans and activists protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline project expressed alarm on Wednesday after federal lawmakers from North Dakota said the final permit had been granted for the project, a statement later contradicted by the U.S. Army, which issues such permits. (Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Bill Rigby) Next In U.S.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-washington-pipeline-trial-idUSKBN15G5WC'|'2017-02-02T06:18:00.000+02:00' +'679907d2bdf590429422e1be7c576f9862f1adbc'|'Thomson Reuters posts higher fourth-quarter net income'|' 14pm GMT Thomson Reuters posts higher fourth-quarter net income FILE PHOTO - The Thomson Reuters logo is seen on the company building in Times Square, New York October 29, 2013. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo NEW YORK Thomson Reuters Corp ( TRI.N )( TRI.TO ) reported a higher quarterly net profit on Thursday, reflecting a gain on the sale of a business and said it expects revenue growth this year in the low single digits. The news and information company reported diluted net earnings of $2.24 billion, or $3.03 per share, versus $417 million, or 53 cents, in the year-ago period. Excluding charges and earnings from discontinued operations, Thomson Reuters earned 60 cents per share. It was not immediately clear whether that compared directly with the 58 cents a share analysts expected. (Reporting By Nick Zieminski in New York Editing by W Simon) Up Next Cautious outlook hits Thomas Cook shares LONDON Thomas Cook said on Thursday it was cautious about the rest of the year due to political and economic uncertainty, sending its shares down sharply, even though the tour operator produced solid first-quarter results and a rise in summer bookings.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-thomsonreuters-results-idUKKBN15O1FK'|'2017-02-09T19:11:00.000+02:00' +'ad7b6a8ca3cd043628c4a630e665885d8823defd'|'UPDATE 1-Brazil builder PDG seeks court protection from creditors'|'(Adds context, analyst comment)SAO PAULO Feb 22 Brazilian homebuilder PDG Realty SA said it was seeking protection from creditors by filing on Wednesday to restructure its debt in court, the country''s second publicly listed builder to do so in less than six months.PDG''s gross debt was 5.4 billion reais ($1.75 billion) at the end of September, according to a quarterly earnings report. The company had 235 million reais of cash on hand at the time.The company said its efforts to restructure about 74 percent of its bank debt last year "did not achieve the originally desired effect." PDG said it continues to struggle with weak demand, growing sales cancellations, stalled construction projects and lawsuits from clients and contractors.The bankruptcy filing in a So Paulo court follows a similar move by Viver Incorporadora e Construtora SA in September and underscores risks for the sector, which boomed early this decade due to plentiful capital and government incentives for low-income housing.PDG passed on the low-income housing boom and focused on more custom-built projects in the middle-income segment as it pushed into new corners of the country.That made it harder to achieve economies of scale as it tripled the size of its operations in three years to become Brazil''s biggest homebuilder in 2011.As PDG''s finances deteriorated, management hired So Paulo-based RK Partners in November as adviser on a new round of talks with its creditors. RK''s mandate included helping PDG access credit to obtain construction financing, the builder said in Wednesday''s filing.PDG shares fell as much as 5 percent in early Wednesday trading and then rebounded to a 3 percent gain before they were suspended at 3.33 reais on the So Paulo Stock Exchange.If a court grants PDG bankruptcy protection, it will have 60 days to present a debt restructuring plan to its creditors, which then must vote to approve or reject it. Under Brazil''s bankruptcy procedures, the company is protected from lawsuits for six months, a period known as a "stay of execution."During the in-court restructuring, PDG said it would do its best to keep up commercial and operation activities and follow through on commitments to clients.($1 = 3.0788 reais) (Reporting by Ana Mano and Gabriela Mello; Editing by Brad Haynes and Lisa Von Ahn)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/pdg-realty-sa-restructuring-idINL1N1G70UN'|'2017-02-22T14:37:00.000+02:00' +'358356bd734877e94b6cf41f3700d920a25ab159'|'UniCredit agrees job cuts with unions ahead of cash call start'|'MILAN Italy''s biggest bank UniCredit ( CRDI.MI ) said on Saturday it had signed a deal with trade unions to cut 3,900 jobs in the country as it prepares to launch a record 13 billion euro ($14 billion) share issue next week.A total of 14,000 job cuts by 2019 are key to a business plan unveiled in December by UniCredit''s new chief executive, Jean Pierre Mustier, to bolster the bank''s balance sheet. The plan also includes the proposed sale of 17.7 billion euros in bad debts.UniCredit has said it will book one-off restructuring costs of 1.7 billion euros in the fourth quarter to cut a total of 5,600 jobs."With the agreement defined today, the negotiations with the trade unions in the affected countries (Italy, Germany, Austria) have been completed," the bank said in a statement. "(The plan''s) targets are confirmed."The cuts in Italy will be carried out on a voluntary basis and UniCredit has committed to hiring 1,300 people over the next three years."It''s a good accord which paves the way for the capital increase," said Massimo Masi, secretary general at the UILCA bank workers'' union.To offset fourth-quarter losses stemming mainly from 8.1 billion euros in loan writedowns, UniCredit will sell new shares starting from Monday in Italy''s biggest ever corporate cash call.In a document published on Friday, UniCredit said it was not aware that anyone planned to take on more than 5 percent of the share offer.It added that none of its shareholders with a stake of at least 3 percent had yet committed to exercise their rights to buy new shares and avoid dilution.UniCredit''s top shareholder is U.S. investment firm Capital Research and Management Company with 6.7 percent, followed by Abu Dhabi''s sovereign wealth fund Aabar and asset manager BlackRock ( BLK.N ) with a stake of about 5 percent each.($1 = 0.9276 euros)(Reporting by Valentina Za; Editing by Helen Popper)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-italy-banks-unicredit-jobs-idINKBN15J0S4'|'2017-02-04T15:33:00.000+02:00' +'a2e2742090a28d6d96f0642ba9f29d5eb59e23c6'|'Oil rises 1 percent as OPEC sees higher compliance with cuts'|'Global Energy 8:50pm GMT Oil rises 1 percent as OPEC sees higher compliance with cuts A maze of crude oil pipes and valves is pictured during a tour by the Department of Energy at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in Freeport, Texas, U.S. June 9, 2016. REUTERS/Richard Carson By Devika Krishna Kumar - NEW YORK NEW YORK Oil prices ended about 1 percent higher after touching three-week highs on Tuesday on OPEC''s optimism for greater compliance with its deal with other producers including Russia to curb output in an effort to clear a glut that has weighed on the market. OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo told an industry conference in London that January data showed conformity from participating OPEC nations with output curbs had been above 90 percent and oil inventories would decline further this year. "All countries involved remain resolute in the determination to achieve a higher level of conformity," Barkindo said. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers outside the group agreed in November to cut output by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in an effort to drain a glut that has depressed prices for over two years. Barkindo said it was too early to say if the supply cut, which lasts for six months from Jan. 1, would need to be extended or deepened at the next OPEC meeting in May. "While Barkindo''s statement puts a confident spin on market fundamentals, we''d say questions do remain, given that Iran seems to be signalling increased production rather than improved compliance," Tim Evans, an energy futures specialist at Citi Futures said in a note. Under the deal, Iran was allowed to boost output from its October level and Tehran expects its oil production to reach 4 million barrels per day by mid-April. Iranian Oil Minister Zanganeh told state TV that OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers are committed to the production cut. Brent crude LCOc1 ended the session at $56.66 a barrel, up 48 cents or 0.9 percent, after hitting its highest since Feb. 2 at $57.31. The U.S. March crude contract CLc1 expired 66 cents, or 1.2 percent, higher at $54.06, after peaking at $54.68, its highest since Jan. 3. The more active U.S. crude for April delivery CLJ7 closed the session up 1 percent at $54.33. U.S. gasoline futures RBc1 were the biggest drag on the energy complex, ending 1.5 percent lower at $1.4940 a gallon. That pushed gasoline crack spreads RBc1-CLc1 , an indicator of refining margins, to a fresh one-year low. From a technical perspective, the tight consolidation above last year''s key broken resistance levels suggests oil prices have been coiling to break higher, said Fawad Razaqzada, technical analyst for Forex.com. "I am anticipating both oil contracts to break out of their recent ranges and head higher." Since the OPEC deal in November, crude prices have moved in a tight $5-band. The OPEC cuts, however, have spurred a speculative move into crude oil that has pushed prices towards the top of their recent ranges that might prompt a correction. Money managers hold the highest number of net long Brent and U.S. crude futures and options on record, data showed on Monday and Friday, betting on higher prices to come as OPEC and other key exporters reduce production. [O/ICE] [CFTC/] "Should there come a time when these speculative positions decide to unwind, oil prices will be in for a significant correction," said Jonathan Chan, an investment analyst at Phillip Futures. Still, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) in U.S. crude futures remained at about 58 on Tuesday, well below the overbought level of 70, Reuters data showed. Bank of America Merrill Lynch cut its forecast for Brent crude prices to an average of $50-70 through 2022, from $55-$75 amid a recovery in U.S. shale production. (Additional reporting by Christopher Johnson in London and Aaron Sheldrick in Tokyo; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Ruth Pitchford) Next In Global Energy News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-oil-idUKKBN160039'|'2017-02-22T03:50:00.000+02:00' +'aa0b7525e24fda3f80f3fad075be79e0558ce1cf'|'Blackstone, Prudential top pick for failed Bradford & Bingley''s U.K. mortgages'|' 30pm GMT Blackstone, Prudential top pick for failed Bradford & Bingley''s U.K. mortgages FILE PHOTO - A branch of Bradford & Bingley is seen in Bingley, northern England, September 29, 2008. REUTERS/Phil Noble LONDON Buyout firm Blackstone Group ( BX.N ) and insurer Prudential ( PRU.L ) are the preferred bidders for about 12.5 billion pounds in mortgages made by failed British lender Bradford & Bingley, a person with knowledge of the matter said. Bradford & Bingley, a buy-to-let mortgage provider bailed out by the British government during the financial crisis, is now owned by government vehicle UK Asset Resolution (UKAR) which declined to comment because of the contractual obligation of confidentiality. Spokesmen for Blackstone and Prudential also declined to comment on the report which was first published by Bloomberg. The person said Blackstone would take a majority of the mortgages, which are being repaid, while Prudential takes a minority. Bradford & Bingley is being run by UK Asset Resolution with the aim of winding it down. It is not writing any new business. UKAR said in 2016 it would sell Bradford & Bingley''s 15.65 billion pound mortgage portfolio, which also includes around 3 billion pounds in non-performing loans, in two or three transactions, as it seeks a speedier repayment of taxpayers'' money. Terms of the sale were not known and the person said any announcement was weeks away. ($1 = 0.8056 pounds) (Reporting by Dasha Afanasieva, Andrew MacAskill and Carolyn Cohn; Editing by Ruth Pitchford/Rachel Armstrong) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bradford-bingley-mortgages-idUKKBN1661EW'|'2017-02-27T19:30:00.000+02:00' +'4e466eaf301802ff0a6f8ce5025bc96b9cd4fdab'|'EU''s Katainen hopes to revive EU-U.S. free trade talks under Trump'|'Business News - Tue Feb 7, 2017 - 11:45am GMT EU''s Katainen hopes to revive EU-U.S. free trade talks under Trump European Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen holds a news conference on the European Defence Action Plan in Brussels, Belgium November 30, 2016. REUTERS/Eric Vidal BERLIN The European Union could revive talks on a free trade deal with the United States under the administration of President Donald Trump, European Commission Vice President Jyrki Katainen said on Tuesday. The two sides failed to conclude negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) before former president Barack Obama left office last month. "TTIP has not been mentioned by the new US-administration," Katainen said at a business conference in Berlin. "So we still expect that it will be possible to relaunch discussions and to create a sustainable business environment." (Reporting by Gernot Heller; Writing by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Madeline Chambers) Next In Business News UK tax burden set to rise to highest since 1986 - IFS LONDON Britain''s tax burden will rise to its highest in over 30 years by the time of the next national election in 2020, as the government tries to cut borrowing at the same time as leaving the European Union, a leading think tank said on Tuesday.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-trade-europe-idUKKBN15M17X'|'2017-02-07T18:45:00.000+02:00' +'e6625f5b11ce5b35b94f6c9c7b8b738997e8421d'|'BRIEF-Milacron Holdings'' unit entered into amendment no. 1'|' 30pm EST BRIEF-Milacron Holdings'' unit entered into amendment no. 1 Feb 21 Milacron Holdings Corp * On Feb 15, Co''s unit entered into amendment no. 1 which amends previous term loan agreement dated as of May 14, 2015 - SEC filing * Term loan agreement says borrower may request increases to term loan facility in aggregate principal amount not to exceed times $220 million '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-milacron-holdings-unit-entered-int-idUSFWN1G60X9'|'2017-02-22T05:30:00.000+02:00' +'845f78188a06b1d08deea43ebc75644cd4da49f0'|'BRIEF-Snap Inc''s initial valuation at $19.5 bln to $22.2 bln- CNBC, citing DJ'|'Company News - Thu Feb 16, 2017 - 12:11am EST BRIEF-Snap Inc''s initial valuation at $19.5 bln to $22.2 bln- CNBC, citing DJ Feb 16 (Reuters) - * Snap Inc sets initial valuation at $19.5 billion to $22.2 billion, or $14 to $16 per share, near low end of its targeted range - CNBC, citing Dow Jones Next In Company News Morning News Call - India, February 16 To access the newsletter, click on the link: http://share.thomsonreuters.com/assets/newsletters/Indiamorning/MNC_IN_02162017.pdf If you would like to receive this newsletter via email, please register at: https://forms.thomsonreuters.com/india-morning/ FACTORS TO WATCH 10:00 am: Junior Finance Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal at CII event in New Delhi. LIVECHAT: COMMODITIES OUTLOOK Oil markets remain under pressure as crude supplies remain bloated despite th MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1G01AF'|'2017-02-16T12:11:00.000+02:00' +'d6970501f4180455abb50f120d4f0c1da7818c2a'|'UPDATE 1-Russia''s Detsky Mir prices IPO at bottom of range-sources'|'(Adds details about demand, background)MOSCOW Feb 8 Russia''s largest children''s goods retailer Detsky Mir has priced its initial public offering at 85 roubles ($1.43) per share, at the bottom of the 85-87 rouble range, two sources familiar with the deal said on Wednesday.The company saw bids for more than 1.5 times the number of shares on offer, drawing strong demand from foreign investors, said another source, who is close to the placement.More than 30 percent of demand came from U.S. investors, around 35 percent from Europe, less than 10 percent from Russia and more than 25 percent from the Middle East and Asia, he said.The source added there were "hedge funds, long-only investors including sovereign wealth funds" among the buyers and that nobody would take a dominant position.The IPO is a test of how quickly investor appetite for Russian assets is recovering, after a three-year period when the economy was buffeted by a slump in oil prices, economic slowdown, and Western sanctions imposed over the conflict in Ukraine.The transaction comprised shares sold by the Sistema conglomerate and the Russia-China Investment Fund.Detsky Mir declined to comment. ($1 = 59.4112 roubles) (Reporting by Maria Kiselyova and Olga Sichkar; Editing by Christian Lowe)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/russia-detsky-mir-ipo-price-idINL5N1FT0DF'|'2017-02-08T02:45:00.000+02:00' +'f6e5dc1df1615707be107fc91bf5f30e0b25d6a3'|'L3 reaches $34.5 mln settlement of shareholder accounting lawsuit'|'Company 02am EST L3 reaches $34.5 mln settlement of shareholder accounting lawsuit By Jonathan Stempel - NEW YORK NEW YORK Feb 23 L3 Technologies Inc said on Thursday it reached a $34.5 million settlement of a lawsuit by shareholders who accused the defense contractor of accounting fraud in its aerospace systems business. A preliminary settlement was filed on Wednesday night in Manhattan federal court, and requires approval by U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni. L3 denied wrongdoing. The New York-based company changed its name from L-3 Communications Holdings Inc at the end of 2016. Shareholders led by two Michigan pension plans accused L3 of hiding improprieties, including those raised by an internal management-level whistleblower, tied to a contract to service U.S. Army C-12 airplanes. L3 shares slid 12.3 percent on July 31, 2014, losing about $1.3 billion of market value, after the company said it would restate two years of results and fire four people over problems with the C-12 contract, such as inflated costs and sales. Chief Executive Officer Michael Strianese and Chief Financial Officer Ralph D''Ambrosio had also been sued. Caproni dismissed claims against them last March, finding a lack of evidence that they acted recklessly or intended to defraud anyone. The lead plaintiffs are the City of Pontiac General Employees'' Retirement System, Local 1205 Pension Plan, and the City of Taylor Police and Fire Retirement System. Their law firm, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd, plans to seek legal fees of up to 25 percent of the settlement amount on behalf of itself and two other firms, court papers show. L3 said its insurers would fund the settlement. A company spokeswoman declined additional comment. The case, which has a different named plaintiff, is Patel v L-3 Communications Holdings Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 14-06038. (Editing by Lisa Von Ahn) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/l3-settlement-idUSL1N1G80UH'|'2017-02-23T22:02:00.000+02:00' +'8f8b4463805a74d1c55e88889b56eaaedf8b0eb8'|'Indian e-commerce firm Snapdeal to make profit in 2 years - CEO'|' 23am EST Indian e-commerce firm Snapdeal to make profit in 2 years - CEO MUMBAI Feb 6 Indian e-commerce firm Snapdeal expects to turn profitable in the next two years, its CEO said, as the company takes steps to cut costs and boost efficiency in a market currently dominated by homegrown Flipkart and U.S. internet giant Amazon. Kunal Bahl, who co-founded Snapdeal in 2010, also told Reuters in an interview on Monday that the online marketplace provider backed by Japan''s SoftBank Group did not immediately need to raise capital unless it makes an acquisition. "I see a relatively clear line of sight to (profit) and we''ve been making great progress in that direction also," Bahl said. (Reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/snapdeal-ceo-idUSL4N1FR35I'|'2017-02-06T17:23:00.000+02:00' +'fb3b010ec3b8a58f8aa5a48d0a95add2c26ed170'|'Experts must admit uncertainty to regain trust, says top BoE official'|'By Andy Bruce - OXFORD, England OXFORD, England Economic experts, maligned in an age of populist movements and fake news, must come clean when they are uncertain about the future if they are to regain the trust of the public, Bank of England Deputy Governor Minouche Shafik said on Wednesday.Her comments reflect a bout of soul-searching among BoE policymakers, who have been criticised by Brexit supporters for warning that a vote to leave the European Union could lead to a sharp slowdown - something that has not yet materialised.Shafik said confidence in experts was at an all-time low.A widespread failure to predict the 2007-09 financial crisis had been compounded by banking scandals, culminating in open scepticism towards experts ahead of last June''s vote to leave the European Union, she said."Rather than pretending to be certain and risk frequently getting it wrong, being candid about uncertainty will over the long term build the credibility of experts," Shafik said in a speech to students at the Oxford Union debating society.Her colleague, Monetary Policy Committee member Gertjan Vlieghe, made newspaper headlines this week when he told lawmakers that the BoE was unlikely to be able to forecast the next financial crisis or recession.And BoE Chief Economist Andy Haldane has compared the economics profession''s troubles with meteorologists'' failure to predict a major storm in 1987, which unexpectedly tore through the south of England.Shafik also suggested that Britain''s economic think tanks and media should adopt standards of transparency and scrutiny practised by academic institutions to help rebuild trust."For example, should think tanks have to report transparently about where their funding comes from? Should journalists and bloggers be exposed for reporting or recirculating falsehoods or rumours?" she asked.Wednesday''s speech was billed as Shafik''s last as a BoE official. She is due to step down at the end of the month to head up the London School of Economics.(Editing by Alison Williams)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-boe-shafik-idINKBN1612MA'|'2017-02-22T17:15:00.000+02:00' +'1fcd657c99480ccb6e3a076c414d7d323c75ce5c'|'Boeing front-runner for $13.8 billion Singapore Airlines order: Bloomberg'|'Aerospace & Defense 03pm EST Boeing front-runner for $13.8 billion Singapore Airlines order: Bloomberg Boeing Co''s logo is seen above the front doors of its largest jetliner factory in Everett, Washington, U.S. January 13, 2017. REUTERS/Alwyn Scott Boeing Co ( BA.N ) is the front-runner as Singapore Airlines Ltd ( SIAL.SI ) is closing in on a 35 wide-body aircraft order amid a battle with Chinese and Middle Eastern carriers, Bloomberg reported, citing sources. Singapore Airlines has for months been weighing the latest model of Boeing''s 777, the 406-seat 777-9, against a possible stretched version of the A350 that Airbus is considering building to increase the capacity of its newest jetliner to 400 seats. The carrier is also poised to take at least 19 of the longest Dreamliner model, Boeing 787-10, Bloomberg said. Singapore also has reviewed a proposed version of the twin-engine 777 that would carry about 450 passengers, a load previously handled by four-engine jumbo jets only, Bloomberg reported. Airbus has so far delayed taking a decision on whether to build the larger version, variously code-named A350-8000 and most recently A350-2000. Industry sources said the two main potential customers whose decisions could have a decisive influence on whether the project goes ahead are Singapore Airlines ( SIAL.SI ) and British Airways ( ICAG.L ). CNN reported in November that Singapore Airlines would make a decision by end-year. Boeing Co declined to comment, while Singapore Air was not immediately available for comment. (Reporting by Shalini Nagarajan in Bengaluru) Next In Aerospace & Defense'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-singapore-airlin-orders-boeing-idUSKBN15O001'|'2017-02-09T07:03:00.000+02:00' +'c8e44cd64098a48cd57ce97a99cc9428111df508'|'UK union fears grow over future of GM''s Vauxhall plants - source'|' 22pm GMT UK FILE PHOTO: Employees work on the Astra production line at the Vauxhall Motors plant in Ellesmere Port, Britain, May 17, 2012. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo By Costas Pitas - LONDON Peugeot-maker PSA is in talks to buy GM''s loss-making European business, which operates under the Vauxhall and Opel brands, with overcapacity at existing sites, Britain''s move to leave the European Union and pension liabilities all likely to influence any deal and possible restructuring. PSA boss Carlos Tavares is also due to meet business minister Greg Clark "towards the end of the week," a government source said, in a key test of Britain''s ability to retain investment after its Brexit vote in June. German media reports over the weekend suggested PSA had told Berlin it would continue production at all four of Opel''s German sites, although Germany''s deputy economy minister said on Monday there had been no binding assurances. "We are increasingly concerned after reports that German plants are safe," the trade union source told Reuters, adding the head of the Unite trade union, Len McCluskey, was likely to meet Tavares in London on Friday. The pensions deficit at GM''s British division is up to 1 billion pounds, a separate source Reuters. Many multinational companies are trying to rein in rising pension liabilities. Britain''s overwhelmingly foreign-owned car industry has been lauded as a success story by politicians and is set to hit record production levels by the turn of the decade, but any tariffs following Britain''s departure from the EU would hit margins and could see output cut. Last year, Japanese carmaker Nissan asked for a pledge of compensation if its plant was hit by Brexit, but went on to invest in two new models after what a source described as a government promise of extra support to counter any loss of competitiveness. Prime Minister Theresa May also plans to speak with Tavares and is determined to protect Britain''s car industry, her spokesman said on Monday. "It''s going to be a private conversation. There''s been a request for a meeting and we will try to make that meeting happen, but I am not going to go into what the nature of that conversation will be," he told reporters, adding the timing of the meeting depended on "diary compatibility". Elizabeth Piper in London and Edward Taylor in Frankfurt; Editing by Kate Holton and Mark Potter) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-opel-m-a-psa-britain-idUKKBN15Z0XX'|'2017-02-20T20:22:00.000+02:00' +'ad195581f942d2f5a79a5c7284b296f28e9e22c1'|'Spotify-backed Soundtrack Your Brand raises $22 million for expansion'|' 9:04am GMT Spotify-backed Soundtrack Your Brand raises $22 million for expansion STOCKHOLM Soundtrack Your Brand (SYB), which provides a background music streaming service for businesses, said on Friday it had raised $22 million (18 million pounds) in a funding round led by Nordic venture capital fund Industrifonden and UK''s Balderton Capital. The company was co-founded by Spotify in 2013 and provides tailor-made music playlists for customers such as McDonald''s ( MCD.N ) and Swiss watch brand TAG Heuer. It said the funding would help with its plans to expand globally. Telia ( TELIA.ST ), Northzone, Creandum and H&M''s ( HMb.ST ) family vehicle HMP, which have already invested in SYB, also participated in the latest financing round. Spotify, the largest external owner with around 15 percent of the share capital, did not. An SYB spokesman declined to comment on the amount of shares issued, or on the valuation of the company. The Swedish tech start-up''s sales are currently growing by between 300 and 400 percent a year, from the 10 million crowns($1.1 mln) achieved in 2015, CEO and co-founder Ola Sars said. He also said the firm''s market share in the Nordic countries was around 30 percent. "Outside of there we''re not even on the map since we just started, but our plan is for global market leadership within five years," he told Reuters. SYB said its main competitive advantage was much lower distribution costs than competitors due to its product being digital, which makes it possible to target more customers. SYB says most background music is distributed via CDs, satellite feeds and USB sticks. The firm estimates the global market for background music, which is very fragmented, at around $2-4 billion annually in terms of sales, with Texas-based Mood Media ( MM.TO ) the current market leader. SYB competes directly with Mood Media and several local players in its markets . It also competes indirectly with consumer music streaming services like Apple Music ( AAPL.O ) and Spotify. It targets small businesses and large chains with the pitch that music can keep customers in-store longer and boost sales. It has received around $40 million in funding to date. SYB backer Spotify has made big losses since it was created a decade ago, but a board member told Reuters in December it could start to become profitable as early as this year. Based on a funding round in 2015, Spotify - widely seen as a prime candidate to go public on the Nasdaq - had a value of over $8 billion. It reported an operating loss of 184.5 million euros ($196.1 mln) in 2015, up from 165.1 million in 2014. (Reporting by Helena Soderpalm. Editing by Jane Merriman) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-soundtrack-your-brand-funding-idUKKBN15W0SR'|'2017-02-17T16:04:00.000+02:00' +'3f98c205acde874f7702fdf27f6f263cbfa2088d'|'BRIEF-FTS International announces intention to launch IPO'|' 10am EST BRIEF-FTS International announces intention to launch IPO Feb 6 FTS International Inc : * FTS International Inc announces intention to launch initial public offering * FTS International- announces intention to launch initial public offering * FTS International says if IPO is consummated, intends to use net proceeds for general corporate purposes, which include repaying existing indebtedness '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSASB0AYOW'|'2017-02-06T21:10:00.000+02:00' +'4aea8321ed7e4b568fe2303d939c25dcd36b15cf'|'UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Feb. 21'|'Company News - Tue Feb 21, 2017 - 2:30am EST UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Feb. 21 (Adds futures, company news items) Feb 21 Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening down 2 points at 7298 on Tuesday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures down 0.1 percent ahead of the cash market open. * The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed flat in percentage terms at 7,299.86 points after climbing to an intra-day high of 7,329.56, the highest level since the middle of January. * BHP: Mining giant BHP Billiton rewarded shareholders with a bigger-than-expected dividend on Tuesday, signalling its growing confidence amid a resurgence in commodity prices. BHP Billiton said it sees a little downside risk for iron ore prices as Chinese demand moderates. * HSBC: HSBC Holdings reported a 62 percent slump in annual pre-tax profit that fell way short of analysts'' estimates due to one-time charges related to some businesses, and announced a new $1 billion share buy-back. * CAPITA: Outsourcing group Capita, under pressure from a slowdown in demand from customers, said it had written off the value of a number of historic contracts but was otherwise trading in line with the guidance it gave in December. * ANGLO AMERICAN: Anglo American reported on Tuesday a 25 percent rise in annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and 34 percent fall in net debt and said it would resume dividend payments by the end of 2017. * IHG: InterContinental Hotels Group Plc, one of the world''s largest hoteliers, reported a slightly better-than-expected yearly profit rise and said it would return $400 million to investors via a special dividend and share consolidation. * COPPER: Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange traded flat at $6,071 a tonne by 0112 GMT, holding gains after a 1.9 percent rally the session before when it struck $6,105 a tonne, the strongest since Feb. 14. * GOLD: Spot gold inched down 0.2 percent to $1,235.08 per ounce at 0058 GMT, while U.S. gold futures GCcv1 also fell 0.2 percent to $1,236.2. The dollar index edged up 0.1 percent to 101.09. * OIL: U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 27 cents, or 0.5 percent, at $53.67 a barrel at 0511 GMT, after rising about 0.5 percent in a shortened session on Monday due to a U.S. national holiday. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets TODAY''S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Sanjeeban Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idUSL4N1G62M9'|'2017-02-21T14:30:00.000+02:00' +'fb8e08c2022f00adb5cd3a68d5f51d2ca809465a'|'Fitch Downgrades AccessBank''s VR to ''f''; Affirms IDR at ''BB+''; Outlook Negative'|'Financials 45am EST Fitch Downgrades AccessBank''s VR to ''f''; Affirms IDR at ''BB+''; Outlook Negative (The following statement was released by the rating agency) MOSCOW, February 01 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings has downgraded Azerbaijan-based AccessBank''s Viability Rating (VR) to ''f'' from ''b+''. At the same time the agency has affirmed the bank''s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ''BB+''. The Outlook on the Long-Term IDR is Negative. A full list of rating actions is at the end of this commentary. KEY RATING DRIVERS VR The downgrade of AccessBank''s VR to ''f'' reflects Fitch''s view that the bank has failed, as reflected by a material capital shortfall. The agency believes the bank has become dependent on regulatory forbearance as it is in significant non-compliance with regulatory capital adequacy rules and requires extraordinary external capital support to restore its solvency. Based on the bank''s end-2016 regulatory accounts, Tier 1 and total capital ratios had fallen to just 1.7% and 3.4%, respectively, down from 10% and 16% at end-1H16. AccessBank made a loss in 2016 equal to 93% of its end-2015 Tier 1 regulatory capital, mostly due to substantial AZN145m impairment charges (equal to 18% of average loans; of this, AZN70m was posted in 2H16). Fitch estimates AccessBank''s Fitch Core Capital (FCC) at 5.4% of Basel risk-weighted assets (RWAs) at end-2016 (down a from comfortable 16% at end-1H16); this ratio is moderately higher than regulatory metrics mainly due to lower weightings of secured performing loans in Basel RWAs (50% versus 100% in regulatory rules). AccessBank''s non-performing loans (NPLs; loans 90 days overdue) were a high 27% of gross loans at end-2016 (up from 22% at end-1H16 and 5% at end-2015). Reserve coverage of NPLs in preliminary IFRS accounts was above 80%, but additional downside asset quality risks stem from a large amount of recently restructured foreign-currency loans (around 50% of the total portfolio); these are of uncertain credit quality, particularly in light of the further devaluation of the local currency by 18% between September 2016 and January 2017. According to management, in December 2016 AccessBank''s shareholders have decided to inject USD20m (AZN35m equivalent) of equity on a pro rata basis, which management expects to be completed in 1Q17. International Finance Corporation (IFC) plans to participate via conversion of a part of its USD25m subordinated debt, while three other international financial institution (IFI) shareholders intend to convert their senior debt. According to management, the shareholders are considering contributing an additional equity injection as a second stage of recapitalisation, although the decision on its amount and timing has not yet been taken. The conversion of shareholder senior debt into equity does not result in AccessBank''s IDRs being downgraded to default level as Fitch''s bank IDRs relate to the risk of non-performance on third-party, rather than related-party, obligations. Fitch expects that the planned USD20m injection will be sufficient to make the bank compliant with prudential requirements: adjusting for this and 8% depreciation of the manat in January 2017, the end-2016 regulatory tier 1 and FCC ratios would rise to 6% (above the regulatory minimum of 5%) and 11%, respectively. However, sizable unreserved NPLs of AZN58m (equal to 0.9x post-injection FCC) and the above-mentioned restructured loans of AZN312m (about 5x) will remain a drag on AccessBank''s capital position and may require additional provisioning in 2017. The bank''s core pre-impairment profit of AZN34m in 2016 regulatory accounts was equal to 4% of average gross loans, but adjusting for AZN46m of accrued interest not received in cash pre-impairment profit would have been negative. AccessBank''s funding profile has been stable. At end-2016, the bank''s wholesale funding maturing within 12 months was equal to around 25% of total liabilities, but the available liquidity buffer was equal to a high 96% of this. Refinancing risks are further reduced by AccessBank''s access to funding from shareholders and other IFIs. IDRS AND SUPPORT RATING The affirmation of AccessBank''s Long-Term IDR at ''BB+'' and Support Rating at ''3'' reflects Fitch''s view that the bank''s IFI shareholders continue to have a strong propensity to provide support, notwithstanding the bank''s recent losses. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (AAA/Stable), KfW (AAA/Stable), IFC and the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank each hold a direct 20% stake in AccessBank. Fitch''s view on support is based on the IFIs'' strategic commitment to microfinance lending in emerging markets and the IFIs'' direct ownership of AccessBank, stemming from their participation as founding shareholders. This is additionally supported by the shareholder''s intention to inject equity in 1Q17 to restore AccessBank''s capital position. However, the bank''s ability to receive and utilise potential support could be restricted by transfer and convertibility risks, as reflected in Azerbaijan''s Country Ceiling of ''BB+''. The Negative Outlook on AccessBank''s IDR reflects that on the sovereign. RATING SENSITIVITIES IDRS AND SR AccessBank''s IDR will be downgraded in case of a sovereign downgrade and downward revision of the Country Ceiling. Conversely, a revision of the Outlook on the sovereign to Stable may result in a similar action on the bank. Downside risks for AccessBank''s IDRs and Support Rating could also stem from a weakening of the support propensity of the IFI shareholders, for example, if they intend to divest their stakes in the bank or if there are material delays in capital support. VR Fitch will review AccessBank''s VR once the announced recapitalisation measures have been completed and audited IFRS accounts for 2016 are available. The level of the post-recapitalisation VR will depend primarily on prospects for the bank''s asset quality and performance, given the large volume of restructured loans and risks to pre-impairment profitability. The rating actions are as follows: AccessBank Long-Term IDR: affirmed at ''BB+''; Outlook Negative Short-Term IDR: affirmed at ''B'' Viability Rating: downgraded to ''f'' from ''b+'' Support Rating: affirmed at ''3'' Contact: Primary Analyst Dmitri Vasiliev Director +7 495 956 5576 Fitch Ratings CIS Limited 26 Valovaya Street Moscow, 115054 Secondary Analyst Ruslan Bulatov Associate Director +7 495 956 9982 Committee Chairperson Olga Ignatieva Senior Director +7 495 956 6906 Media Relations: Elaine Bailey, London, Tel: +44 203 530 1153, Email: elaine.bailey@fitchratings.com. Additional information is available on www.fitchratings.com Applicable Criteria Global Bank Rating Criteria (pub. 25 Nov 2016) here Additional Disclosures Dodd-Frank Rating Information Disclosure Form here _id=1018421 Solicitation Status here Endorsement Policy here ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: here . IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY''S PUBLIC WEB SITE AT WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA, AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH''S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE, AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE CODE OF CONDUCT SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. 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Due to the relative efficiency of electronic publishing and distribution, Fitch research may be available to electronic subscribers up to three days earlier than to print subscribers. For Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and South Korea only: Fitch Australia Pty Ltd holds an Australian financial services license (AFS license no. 337123) which authorizes it to provide credit ratings to wholesale clients only. Credit ratings information published by Fitch is not intended to be used by persons who are retail clients within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFit988428'|'2017-02-01T22:45:00.000+02:00' +'20de031ab5fddcdcec65d1032a0d462a7dce1008'|'Brexit means Germany will have to pay more into EU budget - Oettinger'|' 42pm GMT Brexit means Germany will have to pay more into EU budget - Oettinger Guenther Oettinger, European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, speaks during the welcome night at the world''s biggest computer and software fair CeBit in Hanover, Germany, March 14, 2016. REUTERS/Nigel Treblin BERLIN Germany and other net contributors to the joint European Union budget will have to pay out more once Britain leaves the bloc, European Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said in comments published on Monday. Britain''s net contribution of some 9 billion euros (7.66 billion pounds) could not be offset totally through future budget cuts, he told Handelsblatt business daily in an interview for its Tuesday edition. German Oettinger''s brief covers the EU''s budget and human resources. Germany, Europe''s largest economy, makes the largest net contribution to the EU budget each year at more than 15 billion euros. According to an internal Finance Ministry report in September, Germany may have to contribute an extra 4.5 billion euros in 2019 and 2020, after Britain leaves. Senior German government officials have said the EU budget must shrink if Britain''s contribution falls away. Oettinger said the EU was considering further cut agricultural subsidies, but it still needed more funds given other issues that Brussels wanted to take on, such as tackling the causes of migration and bolstering joint defence. (Reporting by Michael Nienaber, editing by John Stonestreet) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-budget-germany-idUKKBN16626K'|'2017-02-28T01:42:00.000+02:00' +'5482c59e2956cc470b29134bbab613bf8327e67e'|'UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Feb 8'|'Company News - Wed Feb 8, 2017 - 2:24am EST UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Feb 8 (Adds futures, company news items) Feb 8 Britain''s FTSE 100 futures were up about 0.1 percent ahead of the cash market open on Wednesday. * The UK blue chip index closed up 0.2 percent at 7,186.22 points on Tuesday, boosted by a weak sterling and a surge in services company DCC, while UK mid-caps posted a record closing level. * RIO TINTO: Global miner Rio Tinto, said on Wednesday it will pay a bigger-than-expected annual dividend of $1.70 per share on the back of a strong recovery in mineral commodities markets in 2016 and cost-cutting. Rio Tinto wants to cut its debt further, as the company looks to ensure it can withstand any volatility in global commodity markets, Chief Financial Officer Chris Lynch said. * CO-OPERATIVE GROUP: Britain''s Co-operative Group said Richard Pennycook, its CEO who played a key role in steering the group through a 2013 crisis, is to step down on March 1 and be succeeded by Steve Murrells, the current boss of the group''s food business. * SHIRE: The U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint against Shire ViroPharma on Tuesday, accusing it of abusing government processes in order to fend off generic competition to its antibiotic Vancocin HCI, the agency said in a statement. * TULLOW: Africa-focused Tullow Oil reported a loss for a third consecutive year in 2016 after it was forced to write off further exploration costs, the company said on Wednesday. * BHP: Workers are set to strike on Thursday at BHP Billiton Plc''s Escondida copper mine after contract talks mediated by the Chilean government failed to reach a deal, the main union at the world''s largest copper mine told Reuters. * TESCO BANK: British banking executives and security experts are growing frustrated at the dearth of information available more than three months after 2.5 million pounds ($3.09 million) was stolen from Tesco Bank in the UK''s biggest financial cyber heist. The bank is owned by supermarket chain Tesco Plc . * BRITAIN ECONOMY: British employers struggled to find the staff they needed in January, forcing them to increase starting salaries for permanent staff at the fastest pace in nine months, a survey showed on Wednesday. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets TODAY''S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Rahul in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idUSL4N1FT2KH'|'2017-02-08T14:24:00.000+02:00' +'2fb6820b0fb4991220971bba41be1d65ca4f54a9'|'China stocks rebound on hopes of speedy pension fund investment; HK also up'|' 42pm EST China stocks rebound on hopes of speedy pension fund investment; HK also up * SSEC +0.8 pct, CSI300 +1.1 pct, HSI +0.3 pct * Non-cyclical stocks rally on pension funds hopes SHANGHAI Feb 20 China shares rebounded on Monday, led by wine makers and banks, after media reports said pension funds may begin flowing into the country''s stock markets as early as this week. The bullish sentiment spread to Hong Kong, where the market also advanced but by a more modest margin. China''s CSI300 index rose 1.1 percent to 3,457.94 points by the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.8 percent to 3,227.33, recouping losses on Friday. Blue chips were on pace for their best single-day performance since Nov. 11, if the gains could be sustained. Media reported on Friday China had started investing an initial 360 billion yuan ($52.42 billion) in pension insurance funds from seven provinces and cities in financial markets. The first tranche of that investment was expected to flow into the stock market as early as this week, state media reported on Monday. Cao Xuefeng, head of research at Huaxi Securities in Chengdu, said non-cyclical stocks such as pharmaceuticals and wine makers would benefit most from the pension fund investment, as "insurance firms prefer stocks with stable returns." He also said regulatory moves to restrict "excessive" and frequent" fundraising by some listed companies on late Friday would help contain speculation and boost optimism toward blue-chips. Sectors gained ground across the board in the mainland market. Wine makers were popular bets, with an index tracking the liquor sector rallied 3.6 percent at midday, as the industry has been gradually recovering from President Xi Jinping''s graft clampdown and the plasticizer scandal since 2012. Shanghai Bailian Group Co Ltd jumped 10 percent, the maximum allowed, to a 13-1/2-month high, on news of a tie-up with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng index added 0.3 percent to 24,111.85, while Hong Kong China Enterprises Index gained 0.8 percent to 10,439.67. Southbound flows through the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect recovered slightly on Monday after accounting for a mere 2.2 percent of Friday''s daily quota, down sharply from an average of 24 percent in the previous five sessions. Most sectors gained ground in the city, but property sector shed 0.1 percent ahead of a busy week for U.S. Federal Reserve speakers. Market expectation of a U.S. interest rate hike in March are curbing the demand for real estate stocks as the city''s borrowing costs closely track that of the United States due to a currency peg to the greenback. ($1 = 6.8670 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Jackie Cai and John Ruwitch; Editing by Kim Coghill) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/china-stocks-midday-idUSL4N1G51WS'|'2017-02-20T11:42:00.000+02:00' +'b4397c13c4a5b3b8f3b83760328736b8d34be7d1'|'UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Feb. 20'|'(Adds futures, company news items) Feb 20 Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening up 11 points at 7,310 on Monday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures 0.3 percent higher ahead of the cash market open. * The benchmark FTSE 100 index finished 0.3 percent higher on Friday and gained 0.6 percent for the week. The index, dominated by companies that trade internationally, was also supported by weakness in sterling after a drop in British retail sales for January. * KRAFT HEINZ/UNILEVER: U.S. food company Kraft Heinz Co withdrew its proposal for a $143-billion merger with larger rival Unilever Plc, the companies said on Sunday, raising questions about whether Kraft will turn its focus to another target. * BOVIS HOMES: British housebuilder Bovis Homes, whose boss left in January just days after the firm warned it would not meet market expectations, said its full-year pretax profit fell in 2016 and it will build fewer homes this year. * RBS: Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc said on Friday it had proposed abandoning the planned sale of its Williams & Glyn unit after a seven-year struggle to sell the small business lender to meet European Union state aid demands. * OIL: Oil prices held steady on Monday as investors gauged whether an increase in U.S. drilling rigs and record stockpiles would undermine efforts by producers to cut output and bring the market into balance. * COPPER: London copper edged up on Monday to stay near the key level of $6,000 per tonne, buoyed by supply worries after the world''s second-biggest copper mine in Indonesia said it could not deliver promised shipments due to export permit issues. * GOLD: Gold prices held steady on Monday, with investors looking ahead to a clutch of speeches from U.S. Federal Reserve officials later in the week for clues on the timing of possible interest rate hikes. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets * UK CORPORATE DIARY: Hammerson Plc Full Year 2016 Earnings Bovis Homes Group Plc Full Year 2016 Earnings Gemfields Plc Half Year 2017 Earnings BGEO Group Plc Q4 2016 Earnings TODAY''S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Sanjeeban Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idINL4N1G52L8'|'2017-02-20T04:33:00.000+02:00' +'955a21b9891a4474519a730650236a047922a11d'|'EU regulators say Deutsche Boerse, LSE have offered concessions'|' 07am GMT EU regulators say Deutsche Boerse, LSE have offered concessions left right FILE PHOTO: A worker shelters from the rain under a Union Flag umbrella as he passes the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain, October 1, 2008. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo 1/2 left right The plaque of the Deutsche Boerse AG is pictured at the entrance of the Frankfurt stock exchange February 1, 2012. REUTERS/Alex Domanski/File Photo 2/2 BRUSSELS Deutsche Boerse ( DB1Gn.DE ) and the London Stock Exchange ( LSE.L ) have submitted concessions to allay competition concerns about their planned merger, the European Commission said on Tuesday. The EU antitrust enforcer will now decide by April 3 whether to clear or block the deal, Commission spokesman Ricardo Cardoso said. The Commission is expected to seek feedback from rivals and customers in the coming days. Deutsche Boerse earlier on Tuesday said the companies would make a formal offer to the EU to sell their French clearing business LCH.Clearnet SA. They have already found a buyer in Euronext ( ENX.PA ). (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deutsche-boerse-m-a-lse-eu-idUKKBN15M0XK'|'2017-02-07T17:07:00.000+02:00' +'15722ec23e8c285a6a96d64675a494edea2f4f88'|'HSBC drags FTSE lower'|'Business News - Tue Feb 21, 2017 - 10:37am GMT HSBC drags FTSE lower A worker shelters from the rain under a Union Flag umbrella as he passes the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain, October 1, 2008. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo By Helen Reid - LONDON LONDON British shares lost 0.2 percent on Tuesday, weighed by banking stocks as a week of full-year earnings releases for major listed banks began with HSBC''s profit slump. Britain''s blue-chip FTSE .FTSE index was down 0.2 percent, with HSBC ( HSBA.L ), the first bank to report earnings this week, down 6.5 percent, heading for its worst day in 18 months after its results. The bank has a more than 6 percent weighting on the index. HSBC kickstarted a string of major bank earnings updates by announcing a 62 percent slump in profits for 2016, falling short of analysts'' estimates due to writedowns from restructuring. "The group flagged multiple headwinds (totalling 2.41 billion) for 2017. We believe the key question is to what extent the group will be able to offset these through volume growth," said Goldman Sachs analysts in a note. HSBC shares had rallied 70 percent from April 2016 to Monday''s close. Hargreaves Lansdown ( HRGV.L ) and Standard Chartered Bank ( STAN.L ) tracked HSBC lower. Hargreaves Lansdown was also smarting from a downgrade to "underperform" by Bernstein. The FTSE 350 banking index .FTNMX8350 was down 3.7 percent, headed for its worst day since the Brexit referendum aftermath at the end of June 2016. Lloyds, Barclays, RBS and Standard Chartered will post full-year results in the coming days. "It will be interesting to see how the other banks perform, because HSBC might have a competitive advantage because of its Asia focus and diversification," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya of LCG Capital. Mediclinic ( MDCM.L ) was down 4.7 percent after the South African private healthcare provider said it expected a drop in revenue and margins at its Middle East business. Miners Anglo American ( AAL.L ) and Fresnillo ( FRES.L ) were among top fallers, despite a solid results update from the former. Anglo American posted a 25 percent profit increase in results, saying it would resume dividends by the end of 2017. It had cut net debt to $8.5 billion, and said it would sell further assets only to sharpen its focus, rather than because it needed the money. "We are encouraged by free cash flow, deleveraging and diamonds. However, near term we are concerned Anglo is vulnerable to negative spot price momentum and South Africa headwinds," wrote UBS analyst Myles Allsop in a note. The stock was down 1.8 percent. Announcing a wind-down of asset sales could be raising investors'' concerns about the strength of Anglo''s balance sheet, Ozkardeskaya said. Rolls-Royce ( RR.L ) was the top gainer in the blue-chip index, maintaining Monday''s momentum after a Goldman Sachs upgrade to "buy". Educational publisher Sage Group ( SGE.L ) was also a top gainer, benefiting from Stifel starting coverage on the stock with a "buy" rating, up 2.3 percent. Oil services company Wood Group ( WG.L ) was the worst performing on the mid-cap FTSE 250 index .FTMC , down 7.8 percent and headed for its biggest one-day drop since July 2011, after it posted a 62 percent fall in full-year profit, missing market estimates, citing a challenging oil and gas market. (Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Alison Williams) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks-idUKKBN160126'|'2017-02-21T17:37:00.000+02:00' +'798465efdcb96e68ff7e9edee938eec60d4e3c9b'|'Trump banking review raises fears for global standards talks'|'Tue Feb 7, 2017 - 1:50pm GMT Trump banking review raises fears for global standards talks DAY 8 / JANUARY 27: Trump''s order to restrict people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States sparked confusion and anger after immigrants and refugees were kept off flights and left stranded in airports. REUTERS/Carlos Barria By Huw Jones - LONDON LONDON President Donald Trump''s review of post-crisis banking rules could sound the death knell for new global standards now being finalised and rip apart a common approach to regulating international lenders, bankers and regulators said. Central banks and watchdogs around the world have spent the past eight years drawing up regulation aimed at preventing a repeat of the 2007-2009 financial crisis, but there are fears that project could unravel after Trump said he wants the U.S. to row back on capital rules. Trump''s order for a regulatory review to overcome what he sees as obstacles to lending came as banking watchdogs were trying to complete the final piece of global capital requirements, known as Basel III. Given that the United States wants to shrink the banking rule book, there are doubts over whether the Basel rules can make it over the finishing line next month if they don''t have backing from the United States. Without support from the world''s biggest capital market, other countries would be less willing to commit too. The core aim of the outstanding part of Basel III that regulators are working on - dubbed Basel IV by critical banks who worry about more stringent capital requirements - is to impose more consistency into how banks calculate the amount of capital they hold against risky assets like loans. JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon said in the aftermath of the financial crisis that European rivals had been "a lot more aggressive" than American banks in calculating capital, meaning they were holding less. European policymakers have rejected that criticism, but their region''s banks have been lobbying against the remaining Basel rules, saying they would force them to increase significantly the amount of capital they need to hold. If the United States fails to approve the completion of Basel III, the perceived problem that European banks get away with holding less capital than U.S. lenders may not be properly tackled, a source involved in the negotiations said. "It''s in the interests of American banks to get this done," the source said. Others are less optimistic that a deal can now be done after Trump''s intervention. "It''s going to delay completing Basel III, and perhaps lead to it not being concluded," an adviser to banks said on condition of anonymity. "I do fear that Basel IV is doomed," a banking industry official added. There are headwinds from elsewhere, too. Patrick McHenry, Republican vice chairman of the House financial services committee, fired a warning shot at Federal Reserve Governor Janet Yellen about the Basel talks in a letter dated Jan. 31, ahead of Trump''s executive order. The Fed must "cease" all attempts to negotiate binding standards "burdening American business" until the Trump Administration has had the opportunity to nominate officials that prioritize "America''s best interests", McHenry said. While lawmakers often call on regulators to ease pressure on firms, regulators said Trump''s intervention in banking rules gives more clout to McHenry''s warning. The Basel Committee declined to comment. GLOBAL COOPERATION Trump''s decision to review existing, post-crisis banking rules has rung alarm bells among regulators outside the country. Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, which regulates the euro zone''s main lenders, said on Monday that easing banking rules could threaten financial stability. Draghi was chairman of the Group of 20 Economies'' (G20) regulatory task force, the Financial Stability Board, which during the financial crisis was instrumental in building up a global approach to reinforcing banking standards. A former regulator said the United States would be scoring an own goal by withdrawing from multilateral bodies like Basel as it would no longer be shaping rules that impinge on U.S. banking competitiveness globally. "It''s early days, but what we have seen in language and rhetoric from Washington is worrying," said David Wright, a former top EU official who was part of crisis-era efforts to create the global regulatory consensus. "If you break international consensus, you are effectively opening up a regulatory race and heaven knows where it will end," said Wright, now at Flint Global, which advises companies on regulatory matters. Wright was referring to what was seen in the run-up to the financial crisis, when countries like Britain resorted to a "light touch" approach to banks to make London a more attractive financial center. Valdis Dombrovskis, the EU''s financial services chief, said last week that international regulatory cooperation had been vital in tackling the financial crisis and must continue. Much will hinge on how much regulatory change Trump can actually push through. Former Democratic Congressman Barney Frank, who jointly sponsored the Dodd Frank Act that Trump wants to review, told the BBC last week he does not expect Congress to approve the wholesale rolling back of rules, but the Trump administration could pressure U.S. regulators to ease up on applying existing requirements. Anil Kashyap, a Bank of England policymaker, said last month that Trump''s nomination for the powerful role of Fed Vice Chair in charge of banking supervision would shape the U.S. approach to international rule-making. It will have a "huge impact", a regulatory source added. The fear among global regulators is that multilateral bodies like the Basel Committee and the Financial Stability Board could be abandoned by the United States under Trump. Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri, chairman of Spain''s Bankia, told Spanish television on Tuesday he would be concerned if Trump was questioning the usefulness of international banking rules. "It would worry me very much because I think it''s very important, very relevant that there have been advances in the homogenization of regulation amongst developed countries," he said. (Additional reporting by Paul Day in Madrid, editing by Giles Elgood) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-banks-europe-idUKKBN15M1JE'|'2017-02-07T20:42:00.000+02:00' +'e6bbb8622d2077fe4b5be7b27035d2a6e433f21e'|'BRIEF-RBC Global Asset Management announces Jan. mutual fund net sales of $1.1 bln'|' 19am EST BRIEF-RBC Global Asset Management announces Jan. mutual fund net sales of $1.1 bln Feb 6 RBC Global Asset Management: * RBC Global Asset Management Inc. announces January sales results for RBC funds, PH&N funds and Bluebay Funds * RBC Global Asset Management - announced January mutual fund net sales of $1.1 billion * RBC global asset management says assets under management increased by 0.4 per cent in January '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSASB0AYP3'|'2017-02-06T21:19:00.000+02:00' +'517f8f544540acb5885058932f4c27deb02a9d16'|'Charmed by U.S. tax plans, investors buy stock, bond funds'|'Money News - Fri Feb 24, 2017 - 8:48am IST Charmed by U.S. tax plans, investors buy stock, bond funds U.S. President Donald Trump is interviewed by Reuters in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst By Trevor Hunnicutt - NEW YORK NEW YORK Investors are showing increasing comfort wading into the markets, lavishing cash on U.S.-based stock and corporate bond funds in the latest week, Lipper data showed on Thursday. Those stock funds attracted $2.7 billion during the week ended Feb. 22, their fourth consecutive week of inflows, and taxable bond funds took in another $4 billion, the research service''s data showed. The bond funds have gathered money for eight straight weeks. U.S. President Donald Trump, in an interview on Thursday with Reuters, spoke favorably about a tax proposal that could cut corporate tax rates and exempt U.S. export revenues from federal taxes but impose an implicit 20 percent tax on imports. Pat Keon, senior research analyst for Thomson Reuters Lipper, said markets are increasingly charmed by tax cut and deregulation proposals touted by Republicans, including Trump. "There''s a lot of enthusiasm in the markets for that, a lot of positive investor sentiment," said Keon. "It seems like every day there''s another mini-controversy in the news about things not related to the economy, and it seems to be holding the administration back from getting going on the economy," Keon said. "You wonder how long the markets and investors will keep waiting." For now, the optimism continues, with $2.6 billion moving into investment-grade bond funds, their 10th straight week of inflows. High-yield bond funds attracted $726 million, Lipper said. The lion''s share of money in stock funds has moved into exchange-traded funds. For the week, stock ETFs attracted $2.9 billion while mutual funds posted withdrawals of $176 million. Mutual funds are seen to represent retail investors'' moves, while ETFs reflect a range of investors, including institutions such as hedge funds. The U.S. Federal Reserve released the minutes of its last policy meeting on Wednesday, which showed its officials believe it may be appropriate to raise interest rates again "fairly soon" should jobs and inflation data come in line with expectations. Investors withdrew cash from energy stock funds and interest rate-sensitive utilities and real estate funds over the last seven days, while shuffling more money into banks and technology, the data showed. Overall, demand for stock funds was roughly evenly split between funds that invest at home and those that invest abroad. The following is a broad breakdown of the flows for the week, including mutual funds and exchange-traded funds: Sector Flow Chg Pct of Assets($ Count ($ blns) Assets blns) All Equity Funds 2.745 0.05 5,770.808 11,823 Domestic Equities 1.389 0.03 4,130.341 8,437 Non-Domestic Equities 1.355 0.08 1,640.467 3,386 All Taxable Bond Funds 3.987 0.17 2,372.818 5,949 All Money Market Funds 3.964 0.17 2,346.829 1,037 All Municipal Bond Funds 0.149 0.04 371.216 1,409 (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; editing by Jennifer Ablan and Jonathan Oatis) Next In Money News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/investment-mutualfunds-lipper-idINKBN1630AR'|'2017-02-24T10:18:00.000+02:00' +'9afa2b3ce4fced2d59a5aeec31bc88f6f89f725d'|'Telecom Italia reports 14 pct rise in core earnings'|' 10:36pm GMT Telecom Italia reports 14 pct rise in core earnings FILE PHOTO: Telecom Italia logo is seen at the headquarters in Milan, Italy, May 25, 2016. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini/File Photo By Agnieszka Flak - MILAN MILAN Telecom Italia ( TLIT.MI ) on Friday posted a better than expected 14.4 percent rise in full-year core earnings, helped by cost cuts and its domestic operations returning to growth. Italy''s biggest phone group also said it would spend around 11 billion euros (9 billion pounds) in its home market over the next three years, with 5 billion euros of the total going on speeding up the installation of a nationwide ultrafast broadband network. Outlining its 2017-19 business plan, the former monopoly network operator said its fibre optic cables would cover 95 percent of Italy by the end of 2019, while its 4G mobile broadband network would reach more than 99 percent of the population by then. The group, in which French media firm Vivendi ( VIV.PA ) holds a 24 percent stake, also said it was aiming to make 1.9 billion euros in efficiency savings by 2019. Chief Executive Flavio Cattaneo, who took over the running of the heavily indebted group last year, has been seeking to cut costs and return the business to growth. The company reported on Friday that core earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 14.4 percent last year to 8.02 billion euros, above analysts'' consensus forecast of 7.98 billion euros, on revenue down a less than expected 3.5 percent at 19.04 billion euros. The firm also said annual turnover and domestic EBITDA would increase for the next three years, with the latter rising at a low-single digit percentage rate, while the aim is to cut net debt to below 2.7 times reported EBITDA by the end of 2018. Adjusted net debt stood at 25.12 billion euros at the end of December, down from 27.28 billion a year earlier, helped by the sale of the group''s stake in Telecom Argentina and the expiration in November of a mandatory convertible bond. The company also expects recovery to continue at TIM Participaes SA ( TIMP3.SA ), Brazil''s second-biggest cellular network operator and majority-owned by Telecom Italia. Earlier on Friday TIM Brasil reported a stronger than expected fourth-quarter operating margin, pushing its shares to a three-month high. ($1 = 0.9294 euros)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-telecomitalia-results-idUKKBN15I30H'|'2017-02-04T05:36:00.000+02:00' +'3a9a828bd5da57dacde6566de254b8555fbdbca1'|'German lawmakers to drop support for Greece bailout if IMF quits - senior MP'|'Economic 28am IST German lawmakers to drop support for Greece bailout if IMF quits - senior MP By Michael Nienaber - BERLIN BERLIN German lawmakers will not back further financial support for Greece if the International Monetary Fund withdraws from Athens''s bailout programme, the deputy parliamentary floor leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel''s conservative bloc said. Greece needs a new tranche of financial aid under its third bailout programme by July to meet its debt repayments. But the IMF says Greece also needs substantial debt relief to make its public finances more sustainable, while Germany, one of Athens'' biggest creditors through the euro zone''s rescue mechanism, opposes such a step. Asked if there could be any scenario under which the German Bundestag, or lower house of parliament, would support the bailout without IMF participation, Hans-Peter Friedrich told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday: "No chance. This was an explicit condition for the third bailout programme." "Without IMF participation, there won''t be any further assistance loans. The IMF must stay on board," said Friedrich, a member of the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party of Merkel''s Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Berlin has long argued that the IMF''s expertise and independence are crucial to make Greece''s third bailout, worth up to 86 billion euros ($91 billion), a success. The Fund''s continued involvement will be the main issue on the agenda on Wednesday when IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde meets Merkel in Berlin. Friedrich urged the Fund to show flexibility and to back off its demand for the euro zone to grant Greece some debt relief. Earlier on Tuesday German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble accused Greece of using the debt issue as "an excuse" for not focusing on what he said should be Athens''s top priority, implementation of reforms agreed with its lenders. Germany is preparing for what is likely to be a close-run national election in September and a new parliamentary vote on Greece in the coming months could complicate Merkel''s efforts to get re-elected. But Friedrich said German elections should not prevent lawmakers from halting aid to Greece if the IMF decides against participating in the bailout programme. "Electoral reasons should not play a role when dealing with Greece. It''s an international issue," he said. "After all, there is always an election somewhere in Europe." Greece and its lenders agreed on Monday to resume talks on a bailout review, easing a standoff which had threatened to block the release of the next tranche of its bailout. ($1 = 0.9485 euros) (Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Gareth Jones) FILE PHOTO - German Chancellor Angela Merkel and members of the lower house of parliament cast their votes on Greece''s third bailout programme, during a session of the Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, August 19, 2015. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt Next In Economic News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/eurozone-greece-imf-germany-idINKBN1602C7'|'2017-02-22T01:38:00.000+02:00' +'ce4d9841aee423a55801a7eb55ff67d03eb91495'|'TABLE-Nippon Reit Investment -6 MTH forecast'|'Financials 09am EST TABLE-Nippon Reit Investment -6 MTH forecast Feb 2 (Reuters) Nippon Reit Investment Corporation EARNINGS ESTIMATES (in billions of yen unless specified) 6 months to 6 months to Dec 31, 2016 Dec 31, 2016 LATEST PRIOR FORECAST FORECAST Revenues 6.84 6.78 Net 3.05 2.89 Div 7,800 yen 7,385 yen To see Company Overview page, click reuters://REALTIME/verb=CompanyData/ric=3296.T Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL4N1FN1W2'|'2017-02-02T15:09:00.000+02:00' +'5890b1e489f3c09b0c31fd9e9ec5fd689dfd028b'|'CVR settles SEC probe into disclosures tied to Icahn takeover'|'NEW YORK CVR Energy Inc will not pay a penalty over allegations that it made inadequate disclosures to investors during its unsuccessful defense against billionaire Carl Icahn''s 2012 hostile takeover, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Tuesday.The SEC announcement came two years after CVR disclosed regulators were examining whether it properly characterized fees it agreed to pay advisers Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank to defend against Icahn''s tender offer.According to the SEC, the Texas-based oil refinery company made inadequate disclosures in SEC filings about "success fee" arrangements it reached with the two investment banks.Investors as a result were unaware of the potential conflicts of interest that the banks could still earn success fees even if Icahn secured control of the company, the SEC said.A majority of CVR shareholders ultimately accepted Icahn''s $30-per-share tender offer. The activist investor as of September had an 82 percent stake in the company, according to a regulatory filing.CVR declined to comment. It agreed to settle the case without admitting or denying wrongdoing, and the SEC said the company would pay no penalty in light of remedial steps it had taken and its "extensive cooperation" with the probe.(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by David Gregorio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-cvr-energy-settlement-idINKBN15T341'|'2017-02-14T20:38:00.000+02:00' +'dc254bf2fb2605801e3fe6db830c159f7d0e58cd'|'Wells Fargo sees ''relatively stable'' retail trends in January'|' 18am EST Wells Fargo sees ''relatively stable'' retail trends in January Feb 17 Wells Fargo & Co saw "relatively stable" trends in branch banking in January, the executive in charge of the unit stated Friday in a company press release. Branch interactions fell 12 percent from December and four percent from January 2016, but other metrics showed growth versus a year ago. (Reporting by Dan Freed in New York) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/wells-fargo-banks-idUSFWN1G20XV'|'2017-02-17T23:18:00.000+02:00' +'88157b939eadd17c4f0f1d57e552b0c7f9ea7e5b'|'BRIEF-Bright Horizons Family Solutions reports Q4 earnings of $0.28 per share'|' 15pm EST BRIEF-Bright Horizons Family Solutions reports Q4 earnings of $0.28 per share Feb 9 Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc : * Bright horizons family solutions reports fourth quarter and full year 2016 financial results * Q4 non-gaap earnings per share $0.28 * Q4 earnings per share view $0.56 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * Bright horizons family solutions inc qtrly revenue increased 7% to $399 million Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSASB0AZNR'|'2017-02-10T05:15:00.000+02:00' +'c5bc353c12e9a524f86a5bdacd7a08e4d9440025'|'Saudi Aramco selects lead underwriters for $100 bln IPO -WSJ'|'Business News - Tue Feb 21, 2017 - 11:55pm GMT Saudi Aramco selects lead underwriters for $100 billion IPO: WSJ A Saudi Aramco employee sits in the area of its stand at the Middle East Petrotech 2016, an exhibition and conference for the refining and petrochemical industries, in Manama, Bahrain, September 27, 2016. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed Oil giant Saudi Aramco IPO-ARMO.SE has selected JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ), Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ), and HSBC Holdings Plc ( HSBA.L ) as lead underwriters on the firm''s planned initial public share offering, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing matter. Saudi Arabian Oil Co, known as Saudi Aramco, was not immediately available for comment. Saudi authorities are aiming to list up to 5 percent of the world''s largest oil producer on both the Saudi stock exchange in Riyadh, the Tadawul, and one or more international markets in an IPO that could raise $100 billion. The listing is the centerpiece of a Saudi Arabian government plan to transform the kingdom by enticing investment and diversifying the economy away from reliance on oil. (Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by James Dalgleish) Next In Business News Wall Street challenges U.S. regulator over proposed commodities rule Wall Street is pushing back against a proposed rule to force U.S. banks like Goldman Sachs Group Inc to hold more capital against investments in commodities, placing what some see as an overly restrictive limit on banks'' ties to the sector.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-aramco-ipo-idUKKBN1602U9'|'2017-02-22T06:47:00.000+02:00' +'6c66b2c93b4d802b5a33d99182cb7a6ff2bd663d'|'BRIEF-Signet Jewelers gives statement to NBC news on "sexual harassment claims"'|'UPDATE 3-JPMorgan eyes bigger investor payouts as it nears capital needs Feb 28 No. 1 U.S. bank JPMorgan Chase & Co may return more money to shareholders than it earns over the next few years, it forecast on Tuesday, an encouraging sign for investors who have been waiting for richer dividends and share repurchases. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-signet-jewelers-gives-statement-to-idUSFWN1GD13J'|'2017-03-01T00:09:00.000+02:00' +'0c7577d1dc27a0f0d08d1d19607e930fcc4ac658'|'RPT-3G Capital''s austere empire-building weighs on Kraft''s Unilever bid'|'Company News - Sat Feb 18, 2017 - 7:00am EST RPT-3G Capital''s austere empire-building weighs on Kraft''s Unilever bid (Repeats story published Friday to widen distribution) By Michael Flaherty and Lauren Hirsch Feb 18 Buyout firm 3G Capital managed to build a consumer empire with a market value of over $140 billion in just seven years. Yet its ruthless approach to costs may end up hampering 3G-backed Kraft Heinz Co''s $143 billion bid for Unilever Plc. 3G made its name in corporate America by orchestrating large debt-laden acquisitions and then slashing costs dramatically to juice profits. Using a strategy called zero-based budgeting, its managers must justify all expenses, from pencils to forklifts. Its investment approach has attracted backers ranging from billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who has helped bankroll all four major 3G deals, to celebrities such as supermodel Gisele Bundchen and tennis champion Roger Federer, who invested in 3G''s latest approximately $10 billion fund. This relentless focus on costs, however, may end up making Kraft''s pursuit of Unilever more difficult. In rebuffing Kraft''s bid publicly on Friday, Unilever cited "strategic" in addition to financial reasons. While sources told Reuters that Kraft believes that investing in innovation would be an important part of the combined company, analysts have begun to question whether 3G''s operational approach hinders Kraft''s ability to grow over the long term. "We can understand how some investors could wonder if Kraft''s efficiency-centric model is as sustainable as many have believed," Barclays analysts said earlier this month. Kraft''s sales were down 3.8 percent to $6.86 billion in the fourth quarter of 2016. Kraft has attributed the decline in sales to a pruning of its portfolio, as it weeds out non-profitable products. It sees tight operational management as perfectly compatible with sales growth. Unilever, the London and Rotterdam-based owner of Dove soap and Hellmann''s mayonnaise brands, defines itself as a business "making sustainable living commonplace." This means putting money with an eye beyond the immediate bottom line, such as products with low environmental impact and resources toward bringing safe water to under-served regions. "(The rebuff of Kraft) makes us also wonder if Unilever''s focus on sustainability might make it very resistant to any further approach from Kraft," said Royal Bank of Canada analyst David Palmer. Adding to Kraft''s challenges, the U.S. consumer food company will need to either integrate or find other options for Unilever''s household and personal care (HPC) business, which makes products such as toothpaste, soaps and detergents. "It seems plausible that the HPC piece of (Unilever) then becomes a merger partner for something 3G might do on its own in HP. In other words, this could be part one of a huge two-step process," said Don Bilson, head of research at event-driven research firm Gordon Haskett. Kraft, Unilever and 3G Capital declined to comment. MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY BREWED AT ANHEUSER BUSCH Co-founded by Brazilian billionaire financier Jorge Paulo Lemann, 3G combined Kraft and H.J. Heinz Co in 2015 to create a company that now has a $112 billion market capitalization, and combined Burger King and Tim Hortons in 2014 in a $11 billion deal. The 3G management philosophy was developed by Lemann and Brazilian investment bankers Marcel Herrmann Telles and Carlos Alberto Sicupira, and pioneered at Budweiser brewer Anheuser Busch InBev, the world''s biggest brewer, which they helped create through a series of big mergers. Lemann, Telles and Alberto Sicupira made their mark at Banco Garantia, the investment bank they founded in Brazil in the 1970s. After selling it to Credit Suisse Group AG in 1998, they formed private equity firm 3G to invest in U.S. consumer names. After 3G teamed up with billionaire Buffett to buy Heinz in 2013, they closed six factories and cut 7,000 jobs in 18 months. Operating margins jumped from 18 percent to 26 percent. Lemann, Brazil''s richest man and a former tennis pro, once served on the board of Gillette, where he met Buffett, who has partnered with Lemann on Heinz and Kraft and has said he would like to do more deals. While 3G is often seen as extreme - at Heinz they limited employee use of company printers to 200 pages per month, required double-sided printing - zero-based budgeting has been adopted elsewhere, such as at Oreo cookie maker Mondelez International Inc. (Reporting by Michael Flaherty and Lauren Hirsch in New York; Editing by Greg Roumeliotis and Lisa Shumaker) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/unilever-ma-kraft-3g-idUSL1N1G302L'|'2017-02-18T19:00:00.000+02:00' +'83ef96b5ed528953f65ed795711b779cf620784a'|'PSA boss says Opel deal would find ''speedy'' savings'|' 52am GMT PSA boss says Opel deal would find ''speedy'' savings The logo of German car maker Opel is seen at a dealership in Marseille, France, February 22, 2017. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier PARIS PSA Group''s ( PEUP.PA ) proposed acquisition of Opel would swiftly create savings and value from the General Motors ( GM.N ) European division''s turnaround and complementary brands, the French carmaker''s Chief Executive Carlos Tavares said on Thursday. Adding GM''s German Opel British Vauxhall brand would bring new customers reluctant to buy French cars, Tavares told analysts and reporters, while generating savings from shared technical underpinnings. "There is significant complementarity in terms of customer consideration between the German Opel brand and our three French brands," Tavares said, referring to the French group''s Peugeot, Citroen and DS badges. "This company needs help," he said. "What we see today with the situation of Opel ... has a lot of similarities with what we were facing four years ago." Under Tavares, PSA has rebounded from a 2014 brush with bankruptcy and state-backed bailout to record levels of profitability. On Thursday, it posted a 6 percent automotive operating margin for 2016 and raised its medium-term earnings goal. Savings with Opel, if the deal goes through, would be underpinned by rapid convergence of underlying vehicle architectures, the PSA chief also said. "When you look at the product plan you see that you can in a quite speedy way implement quite significant synergies," Tavares said. PSA expects the deal to lead to combined sales of 5 million vehicles in 2020-22 and savings between 1.5 billion and 2 billion euros, sources told Reuters on Wednesday. (Reporting by Laurence Frost. Editing by Jane Merriman) UK '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-peugeot-opel-m-a-idUKKBN1620UI'|'2017-02-23T15:52:00.000+02:00' +'68fb655562a057ee00f161316d918f75e014123f'|'INVESTMENT FOCUS-Sovereign funds increasingly do their own private equity deals'|'Money 2:33am EST Sovereign funds increasingly do their own private equity deals By Claire Milhench - LONDON LONDON Some of the world''s biggest sovereign wealth funds are increasingly striking their own private equity deals rather than relying on external fund managers, in a drive to cut costs and gain more control. With some $6.5 trillion in assets, sovereign investors already account for 19 percent of capital committed to private equity, according to data from research firm Preqin. But mega-funds such as the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Saudi Arabia''s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Singapore''s GIC, are hiring specialists to find or vet deals - enabling them to negotiate with private equity firms from a position of strength or to go it alone. In 2012 sovereign investors participated in just 77 direct private equity deals. By 2016, that had risen to 137, Thomson Reuters data shows. Deal value more than trebled to $45.2 billion from $14.8 billion. For target companies it could mean longer-term investors with deeper pockets. Private equity funds typically look to sell within three to five years, but sovereign funds often an take investment view stretching over decades. The trend is driven partly by a need to work assets harder as returns shrink, and partly by a conviction that only through originating or structuring deals themselves can sovereign funds get what they want. "It''s a natural evolution. If you do it yourself, you not only reduce the fees, you get greater control over the pricing of the deal," said Babak Nikravesh, a San Francisco-based partner at law firm Hogan Lovells, who represents sovereign investors. This allows funds to better protect their interests when markets go south. One sovereign investor who spoke on condition of anonymity said that during the global financial crisis, some external funds behaved irrationally. "They had different liability streams than us, so they were under pressure to sell at a time when they should have been investing more," the source said. "Going more direct means you don''t have to worry about whether your interests are aligned with other investors''." Some funds still rely on private equity funds to find deals and commit capital on their behalf, but not many can take the amount of capital the sovereign investors want to commit. There is also growing disenchantment with the industry''s traditional 2 percent management fee and 20 percent performance fee model. A Preqin survey found 39 percent of institutional investors polled in December 2016 cited fees as one of the key challenges facing the industry, up from 19 percent in 2015. "The fees are very high and swallow a large chunk of the returns, so there is a big desire to look at how can they do this more efficiently," said Elliot Hentov, head of policy and research in the official institutions group at State Street Global Advisors. For the oil-backed funds, low oil prices mean the days of plenty are over, while lackluster returns from publicly listed assets mean more funds are missing targets. As a result, sovereign funds may be under pressure to manage their portfolios more actively. HIRING TALENT To this end, Saudi''s PIF signaled a switch to a higher- risk, more-active strategy when it purchased a $3.5 billion stake in Uber last year. It recruited Kevin O''Donnell from Kaiser Permanente as head of global private equity and is the lead investment partner in a technology fund jointly established with Japan''s Softbank Group. ADIA, estimated by the SWF Institute to have some $792 billion in assets, has added people with direct transaction experience and hired regional and sector specialists in its private equity department. This now has around 40 investment professionals headed by ex-GE executive Sherwood Dodge. The aim is to participate earlier in originating, valuing and structuring deals alongside private equity firms. Together with TDR Capital, ADIA was one of the largest investors in the acquisition of LeasePlan Corp. And GIC, which has been at the forefront of the direct investment trend, now has boots on the ground in San Francisco, New York and London. Local offices help investors source proprietary deals and avoid going through auctions, keeping costs down. GIC has landed a string of deals in the past year, partnering with private equity firm Golden Gate Capital to take U.S. telecoms group Neustar private and buying a stake in digital maps company HERE, to name two. Sovereign funds are also partnering more with their each other, rather than relying on private equity firms. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has joint investment vehicles with China, Kuwait, Qatar, France and Korea, among others. "When we invest with sovereign wealth partners, we help the business and we can generate significant positive returns," said its chief executive, Kirill Dmitriev. He cited a co-investment in French glass manufacturer ARC International with Chinese and Middle Eastern partners, which has helped ARC grow in China, the Middle East and Russia. But for the industry as a whole, it remains difficult to tell whether going direct is more profitable than investing via third parties. "In theory, you''re saving money on management fees, but it depends how good you are at choosing the investments," said Nikravesh at Hogan Lovells. (Editing by Larry King)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-swf-privateequity-idUSKBN15W0M8'|'2017-02-17T14:30:00.000+02:00' +'265e0e42fe9f5f954694eb1de4d4a8b74a1a0b33'|'Amazon warns that trade protectionism could hurt business: filing'|'Technology News - Fri Feb 10, 2017 - 4:49pm EST Amazon warns that trade protectionism could hurt business: filing Amazon.com''s logo is seen at Amazon Japan''s office building in Tokyo, Japan, August 8, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon By Jeffrey Dastin Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) warned on Friday that government actions to bolster domestic companies over foreign competition could hurt its business, in a potential reference to U.S. President Donald Trump''s "America First" agenda. In a routine description of regulatory risks in its 2016 annual filing, the world''s largest online retailer said "trade and protectionist measures" might hinder its ability to grow. That language has not appeared in Amazon''s warning about government regulation in at least the past five annual filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. However, the Seattle-based company has cited trade protection in those filings as a risk to its international sales and operations specifically. The new Republican president has made job creation a cornerstone of his policies, threatening to impose tariffs on imports so companies produce and hire within the United States. Republicans in Congress also have a plan to target imports while excluding export revenue from U.S. corporate income tax, known as a border adjustment tax. The proposal in the U.S. House of Representatives has divided corporate America. Major exporters like Boeing Co ( BA.N ) have thrown their weight behind it, but a retail association has said it would raise prices for shoppers. It was not clear what kinds of protectionist measures - whether tariffs or other actions - concerned Amazon the most, or from which countries Amazon saw the greatest risk. Amazon so far has declined to comment on Republican lawmakers'' border tax plan. It did not return requests for comment on the new language in its annual filing. The filing did not mention the change in leadership of the White House. The language appeared in its filing under the header, "Government Regulation Is Evolving and Unfavorable Changes Could Harm Our Business." (Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin in San Francisco; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) Next In Technology News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-com-outlook-trade-idUSKBN15P2OR'|'2017-02-11T04:49:00.000+02:00' +'304dd311a9de698ea06520c55af71a3f77d67dae'|'Confident Snap brushes off concerns on second day of IPO roadshow'|' 18am IST Confident Snap brushes off concerns on second day of IPO roadshow FILE PHOTO: The logo of messaging app Snapchat is seen at a booth at TechFair LA, a technology job fair, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo By Lauren Hirsch and Liana B. Baker - NEW YORK NEW YORK Snap Inc, owner of popular messaging app Snapchat, fended off investor skepticism on the second day of its IPO roadshow on Tuesday, betting on the charisma of CEO Evan Spiegel, 26, whom it introduced as a "once in a generation founder." Snap is targeting a valuation of between $19.5 billion and $22.3 billion from listing on the New York Stock Exchange in two weeks. It cut its initial target of $20 billion-$25 billion last week following negative investor feedback. In a room of more than 400 investors on the 36th floor of New York''s Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Spiegel brushed aside concerns of slowing user growth and stressed Snap''s potential to change "the way people live and communicate," according to sources who asked not to be identified because the meeting was closed to the press. Many investors remained unconvinced by Snap''s claim that it is more valuable than Facebook Inc based on revenue at the time of its IPO in 2012. Still, they acknowledged that Snap has built momentum as this year''s biggest technology IPO and the darling of millennials. "They could have been in their underwear up there and no one would have cared," said one investor who attended the roadhow on Tuesday. In the Q&A with management that took up the entire session, not one attendee asked about the company''s first-of-its kind share structure that offers IPO investors no voting rights. Investors were wary that being too critical might prompt the company to limit their allocation in the offering, an investor said. Spiegel and co-founder Bobby Murphy will have the right to 10 votes for every share, and existing investors such as venture capital backers will get one vote for each share. Investors seeking clear answers to concerns around metrics, particularly the company''s long-touted new user growth, were disappointed. New user growth slowed in the second half of 2016, and just this week Facebook''s WhatsApp introduced a disappearing photo-messaging service similar to Snapchat''s. Last year, Facebook introduced disappearing videos to its Instagram platform that resemble Snapchat''s. Spiegel said the company''s growth is "lumpy," due to new launches that have varying degrees of success. In a recent update of its IPO registration document, the company also pointed to technical issues facing Android devices that have hindered new user growth outside the United States. Chief Strategy Officer Imran Khan asked investors to gauge how much users engaged by looking at Snap''s cost of revenue. Traditionally, investors focus on metrics such as daily active users or minutes spent on the app. Snap''s cost of revenue is primarily driven by how much the company has to pay to partners such as Alphabet Inc''s Google and Amazon.com Inc to support data and bandwidth. This is based on how often users engage with the app and the types of features they use. One investor saw a "huge red flag" when Snap''s leaders did not answer the question of where they see the company in five years. "There was so much hubris there it scared me away... This felt like the late technology bubble roadshows," one of the investors said, referring to the IPO bonanza of the dot-com boom in 2000. (Reporting by Lauren Hirsch and Liana B. Baker in New York; Additional reporting by Olivia Oran in New York; Editing by David Gregorio) Next In Money News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/snap-ipo-idINKBN1610G8'|'2017-02-22T12:48:00.000+02:00' +'f18c13e19373315badb12023376b6e1b081cf53e'|'Exclusive - Wal-Mart launches new front in U.S. price war, targets Aldi in grocery aisle'|'Mon Feb 27, 2017 - 6:08am GMT Exclusive: Wal-Mart launches new front in U.S. price war, targets Aldi in grocery aisle FILE PHOTO -- Shopping carts are seen outside a new Wal-Mart Express store in Chicago July 26, 2011. REUTERS/John Gress/File Photo By Nandita Bose Wal-Mart Stores Inc ( WMT.N ) is running a new price-comparison test in at least 1,200 U.S. stores and squeezing packaged goods suppliers in a bid to close a pricing gap with German-based discount grocery chain Aldi ALDIEI.UL and other U.S. rivals like Kroger Co ( KR.N ), according to four sources familiar with the moves. Wal-Mart launched the price test across 11 Midwest and Southeastern states such as Iowa, Illinois and Florida, focusing on price competition in the grocery business that accounts for 56 percent of the company''s revenue, said vendor sources with direct knowledge of the matter who did not wish to be identified for fear of disrupting business relations with Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart''s tests are aimed at finding the right price point across a range of products that will attract more shoppers, and then adjusting prices as needed. Spot checks by Reuters on a basket of grocery items sold by competing Aldi and Wal-Mart stores in five Iowa and Illinois cities showed Wal-Mart''s bid to lower prices is already taking hold. Wal-Mart consistently offered lower prices versus Aldi, an improvement over recent analyst estimates that Wal-Mart''s prices have been as much as 20 percent higher than Aldi on many grocery staples. The competition at these stores is intense, with both competitors selling a dozen large eggs for less than a dollar. A gallon of milk at some stores was priced at around $1. For a graphic, click: tmsnrt.rs/2le6v0Y The big box retailer also held meetings last week in Bentonville, Arkansas with food and consumer products vendors, including Procter & Gamble ( PG.N ), Unilever PLC ( ULVR.L ), Conagra Brands Inc ( CAG.N ), and demanded they reduce the cost they charge the retailer by 15 percent, sources said. Wal-Mart also said it expects suppliers to help the company beat rivals on head-to-head pricing 80 percent of the time, these vendor sources said. The wide-ranging meeting with suppliers - where Wal-Mart discussed other topics - was also attended by Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ.N ) and Kraft Heinz Co ( KHC.O ), among others, sources told Reuters. The consumer goods companies did not respond to Reuters requests seeking comment. These Wal-Mart moves signal a new front in the price war for U.S. shoppers, as the pioneer of everyday low pricing seeks to regain its competitive pricing advantage in traditional retailing. For more than a year, Wal-Mart said it is investing in price while not sharing specifics. When asked by Reuters about the test and demands on grocery suppliers, Wal-Mart spokesman Lorenzo Lopez said the company is "not in a position to share our strategy for competitive reasons." Germany-based discount grocer Aldi is one of the relatively new rivals quickly gaining market share in the hotly competitive grocery sector, which already boasts Kroger, Albertsons Cos Inc and Publix Super Markets as stiff competitors on price. A second Germany-based discount grocer, Lidl, is planning to enter the U.S. market this year, and together the German discounters pose a serious threat to Wal-Mart''s U.S. grocery business. The stakes are high for Wal-Mart. According to Scott Mushkin, managing director of Wolfe Research and a leading pricing analyst, the retailer would need to spend about $6 billion to regain market share from all of its grocery rivals. Wal-Mart also needs to find ways to cut prices without further damaging its bottom line. In its latest quarter, gross margins slipped 8 basis points, while net income dropped 18 percent compared to the year-ago quarter. The company attributed the decline to factors such as price investments, which is essentially the cost of cutting prices.Vendors said Wal-Mart has told them it intends to maintain margins on average and lose money on some goods as part of its pricing plan. Wal-Mart told vendors it will absorb some of the losses so suppliers can adjust to the new pricing demand. A supplier of consumer goods said Wal-Mart cut prices on some of his company''s products by as much as 30 percent in some stores over the past few months. "It helped them figure out the sweet spot that drives traffic," the person said. Wal-Mart also said it wants vendors to make logistics improvements that would help vendors get $1 billion more in sales, though it did not specify the time period. The retailer asked vendors to work harder on shipping orders in full and on-time, which would trim delivery costs, reduce re-orders, and reduce out-of-stock problems that have vexed the retailer and hurt sales in recent years, vendor sources who attended the meeting told Reuters. "Wal-Mart is trying to go back to where they were 10 years ago when they were absolutely the low price leader," a large packaged food supplier told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "We understand they are willing to give up profits to a large extent in some cases, so they can invest in their own brand." Aldi and Kroger declined to comment on the story. Lidl and Publix did not respond to Reuters'' requests seeking comment. Albertsons said running its stores means delivering price competitiveness every day, but did not comment specifically on the tests. HEATED COMPETITION Wal-Mart is eyeing both German chains based on its recent experience in the United Kingdom. Aldi and Lidl, with their no-frills stores, limited product assortment and low-cost model, have successfully upended the grocery market there, cutting into the sales of larger players like Tesco Plc ( TSCO.L ) and Asda, Wal-Mart''s UK arm. A Reuters spot check of markets where Wal-Mart is running its new U.S. pricing program indicates the retailer has already taken the price battle to Aldi. The Reuters check of Wal-Mart and Aldi stores in five Midwestern cities where Wal-Mart is running its test found Wal-Mart''s prices for a basket of 15 staples averaged 8 percent less than Aldi''s products. Reuters conducted the price comparisons in Dubuque and Davenport, Iowa, and Moline, Dixon and Galesburg, Illinois. At each, Reuters collected prices for a basket of 15 similar-sized products including private-label packages of butter and milk, along with branded items like Crest toothpaste and 2 liter-bottle of Coca-Cola. In some cases, Wal-Mart''s prices were as much as 10 percent cheaper than at Aldi. Reuters found Wal-Mart''s prices were lower on at least eight and as many as 12 items in each of the five locations. Wal-Mart is also conducting the price comparisons in Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, according to sources. In the United States, Aldi is starting from a small base and Lidl has not yet opened its first store. Aldi, with roughly 1,600 U.S. stores, accounts for only about 1.5 percent of the U.S. grocery market - but it is growing at 15 percent a year. Mushkin of Wolfe Research estimated Aldi and Lidl together could grab as much as seven percent of the U.S. market over five years. Wal-Mart currently controls about 22 percent of the U.S. grocery market, and its U.S. sales are estimated to grow about 2 percent this year, according to analysts. Over the past few years, Aldi''s prices have been about 20 percent lower than Wal-Mart''s, said Mushkin of Wolfe Research. When Mushkin in December compared Wal-Mart and Aldi prices in Connecticut for private label goods - the retailers'' own brands, typically the lowest-priced goods in each category - he found the German chain''s prices were 24 percent lower. (Editing by David Greising and Edward Tobin) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-walmart-pricing-exclusive-idUKKBN1660I4'|'2017-02-27T13:05:00.000+02:00' +'1188f39b16f802e01bb354de39523d3100d5b9a2'|'Deutsche Bank to cut as much as 17 percent of equities staff - Wall Street Journal'|' 04pm GMT Deutsche Bank to cut as much as 17 percent of equities staff - Wall Street Journal The head quarters of Germany''s Deutsche Bank are photographed early evening in Frankfurt, Germany, January 31, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) plans to cut as much as 17 percent of its equities staff and 6 percent of its fixed-income staff around the world, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. The paper said notices were to be sent to many employees next week. It cited one source as saying the cuts were part of Deutsche Bank''s previously announced plans to cut 9,000 staff. Deutsche Bank declined to comment. (Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Additional reporting by Kathrin Jones; Editing by Victoria Bryan) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deutsche-bank-redundancies-idUKKBN15I1HF'|'2017-02-03T19:04:00.000+02:00' +'7aa722d831fbe3202fd7e153ca17b28d2a5099de'|'European shares retreat after 7 sessions of gains, Cobham plunges'|'Company 13am EST European shares retreat after 7 sessions of gains, Cobham plunges (ADVISORY- Follow European and UK stock markets in real time on the Reuters Live Markets blog on Eikon - see cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets) * STOXX Europe 600 index down 0.3 pct * Cobham plunges 20 pct after results * Miners track weaker metals prices By Atul Prakash LONDON, Feb 16 European equities fell on Thursday after seven straight sessions of gains, with weaker metal prices weighing on miners and a poor update battering shares in engineering group Cobham. Companies like NN Group and Drax also dragged the market lower after their disappointing updates. The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 0.3 percent by 0957 GMT after recent gains to a two-month high on Wednesday. Britain''s commodity-heavy FTSE 100 index was down 0.4 percent, while Germany''s DAX dropped 0.2 percent. Cobham led the STOXX 600 lower after slumping nearly 20 percent to its lowest level in about 13 years and heading for its biggest-ever daily fall. The sharp sell-off came after the company missed a profit target that had already been repeatedly lowered and took a charge on a troubled contract with Boeing, capping "an incredibly turbulent and disappointing year" for the defence and aerospace group. The company said 2017 could be even worse as it struggles to fix operational problems in difficult markets. Its shares have already more than halved in the last 12 months. "Investors are ditching the stock as it looks like the problems at Cobham go further than anyone realised when all this started. There is every reason to think that management''s review of the business may throw up further concerns and more write-downs," said Neil Wilson, an analyst at ETX Capital. Miners put pressure on the broader market. The STOXX Europe 600 Basic Resources index fell 0.9 percent, the biggest sectoral decliner, as copper prices fell after China''s overseas investment weakened and sentiment waned over demand in the world''s top copper user. Shares in Anglo American, Antofagasta and Rio Tinto fell 0.5 to 2.4 percent. Elsewhere, Dutch insurance company NN Group dropped 8 percent after its fourth quarter core profit missed expectations, while power producer Drax fell 7 percent after saying it was reviewing its dividend policy. However, broader market losses were partly offset by stronger airlines. Air France-KLM jumped 6 percent after reporting better-than-expected operating profit for 2016 and said it had made a "resilient" start to 2017. Shares in International Consolidates Airlines Group and Lufthansa rose 1.9 percent and 2.8 percent respectively. Mobile telecom equipment maker Ericsson advanced 3.4 percent, the biggest gainer in the STOXX 600, on a media report saying that Cisco was open to larger acquisitions, while IT services group Capgemini was up 2.7 percent after saying that it was targeting higher 2017 earnings. (Editing by Gareth Jones) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/europe-stocks-idUSL8N1G12GR'|'2017-02-16T17:13:00.000+02:00' +'1a1d2830045328d6c72a12ef46220fd8e61fb582'|'Electra to receive 203 mln pounds from Audiotonix sale'|'LONDON Feb 3 Electra Private Equity is to receive 203 million pounds ($254 million) after its investment arm sold Audiotonix, a manufacturer of audio mixing consoles, to French buyout group Astorg.The sale comes as Electra is in the process of separating itself from the investment arm, which has renamed itself Epiris and is due to split from the firm in June.Epiris said the deal had generated a return close to five times the amount originally invested."This has been a fantastic deal for Epiris and its investors, and clearly demonstrates our strategy in action," said Charles Elkington, a partner at Epiris.The Auditonix sale is expected to close in the first quarter of this year. ($1 = 0.7985 pounds) (Reporting By Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Rachel Armstrong)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/electra-pvt-eqty-sale-idINL5N1FO1BR'|'2017-02-03T04:59:00.000+02:00' +'228bd844b8c8203b7307079f09ec53c944124c4a'|'News Corp posts second-quarter loss'|'Thu Feb 9, 2017 - 4:30pm EST News Corp posts second-quarter loss News Corp ( NWSA.O ), the owner of the Dow Jones Newswires and book publisher HarperCollins, posted a second-quarter loss as it struggles to offset the decline in advertising income in its newspaper business. Net loss available to News Corp shareholders was $290 million, or 50 cents per share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with a profit of $62 million, or 11 cents per share, a year earlier. The company, controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch, said revenue fell 2.1 percent to $2.12 billion. (Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-news-corp-results-idUSKBN15O2VX'|'2017-02-10T04:23:00.000+02:00' +'7de686d3e5df0afcfab415f7c3f42c1b26565cc6'|'Argentine GDP warrants rally on improving economic data'|'Company 51pm EST Argentine GDP warrants rally on improving economic data By Paul Kilby NEW YORK, Feb 2 (IFR) - Argentine GDP warrants are rallying this week as investors bet that stronger economic data will soon translate into a payout. The US dollar warrants were trading as high as US$10.30 on Thursday, up from around US$9.00 last week just before the government released data on January 26 showing that economic activity in November had jumped 1.4% month on month. That marked the second month-on-month gain, raising hopes that Argentina''s GDP growth could eventually top 3% and trigger payment on the warrants. "Accumulated strong data is creating strong conviction and putting the coupon back in play," Siobhan Morden, head of Latin America fixed-income strategy at Nomura. Prices have been further bolstered following reports that car sales had surged in January and that the government is further hiking electricity prices to cut fiscal deficits. "If higher inflation (from electricity hikes) is not coupled with an accordingly weaker peso, which we believe is likely, it also will boost the value of the US dollar and euro warrants," wrote an analyst this week. Last year the government said it would offer investors options to retire the GDP warrants, but the finance ministry has yet to follow through with such plans. Under that plan, the US dollar warrants issued in 2005 and 2010 could be sold back at US$10.25 and US$10.00 respectively, while euro and the peso denominated instruments had a sell-back price of 10.00. (Reporting By Paul Kilby; Editing by Jack Doran) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/latam-bonds-idUSL1N1FN1AD'|'2017-02-03T00:51:00.000+02:00' +'d28c65b9f6b5b3ef141c64f1ebfe00c497385412'|'BRIEF-First Global Data Ltd says was recently served with an application by Fountain Asset Corp'|' 31pm EST BRIEF-First Global Data Ltd says was recently served with an application by Fountain Asset Corp Feb 13 First Global Data Ltd : * First Global Data Ltd says was recently served with an application by fountain asset corp * First Global -in application, fountain is seeking an order co deliver to fountain options to subscribe for and purchase 3.4 million common shares at $0.10/share * First Global Data Ltd says "is in process of investigating fountain''s allegations" '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1FY11E'|'2017-02-14T08:31:00.000+02:00' +'4f01823d55ef8fd4b4ba5b731d8a7de3ee1ed92b'|'China''s top coal miners push for Beijing to cap output again - sources'|' 36am GMT China''s top coal miners push for Beijing to cap output again - sources left right FILE PHOTO: A worker speaks as he loads coal on a truck at a depot near a coal mine from the state-owned Longmay Group on the outskirts of Jixi, in Heilongjiang province, China, October 24, 2015. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo 1/3 left right FILE PHOTO: A driver gets off a loading vehicle at local businessman Sun Meng''s small coal depot near a coal mine of the state-owned Longmay Group on the outskirts of Jixi, in Heilongjiang province, China, October 23, 2015. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo 2/3 left right FILE PHOTO: A man stands amidst coal at a factory in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, April 29, 2014. REUTERS/William Hong/File Photo 3/3 BEIJING China''s major coal miners pushed for the government to reinstate limits on thermal coal output at an industry meeting on Tuesday citing weakening demand and growing supply, two sources briefed on the gathering said. It''s not clear if a government representative was at the meeting, which took place at the China Coal Association headquarters in Beijing. Beijing is considering reimposing tough measures to cut output after the peak winter heating season ends, spurring a rally in prices to three-month highs on Tuesday. The sources declined to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media. If reintroduced, it would be the third major shift in policy by the government in the past year as Beijing aims to move the world''s largest energy market towards cleaner, renewable fuel sources, while ensuring utilities have enough fuel. Executives from top miners China Coal Energy Co Ltd ( 601898.SS ) and China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd ( 601088.SS ) were among the attendees, sources said. The companies and the Coal Association did not respond to requests for immediate comment. Speculation about a cut pushed domestic thermal coal futures CZCcv1 to 562 yuan (65.75) per tonne on Tuesday, their highest since mid-November and up 16 percent since the start of the year. In April last year, the government ordered mines to limit the number of days they operate each year to 276 days from 330 as part of its effort to cut inefficient surplus capacity, triggering an historic surge in prices as supplies to utilities tightened. In November, the NDRC reversed the curbs in a bid to avert a winter energy crisis. Some mining executives and analysts have said the government may take a more flexible approach to the policy this year, chastened by the wild price lurches in 2016. Global miners were the main beneficiaries of the price rally, helping the industry exit a long bear market. (Reporting by Meng Meng and Josephine Mason; editing by Jason Neely and Louise Heavens) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-coal-output-idUKKBN16017Q'|'2017-02-21T18:36:00.000+02:00' +'adf80546dfd3a212e776279f25c563e623f992b3'|'MOVES- MUFG, Brit Ltd, Greenhill, Idinvest, TriOptima'|'Company 36pm EST MOVES- MUFG, Brit Ltd, Greenhill, Idinvest, TriOptima Feb 6 The following financial services industry appointments were announced on Monday. To inform us of other job changes, email moves@thomsonreuters.com. MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GROUP (MUFG) The Japanese firm hired Anne Gebuhrer to head its European Financial Institutions Debt Capital Markets (DCM). BRIT LTD The specialty insurer, a unit of Canada''s Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd, named Tim Chesson senior vice president of Brit Global Specialty USA (BGSU), effective Jan. 23. GREENHILL & CO INC Richard Phillips has been appointed vice chairman of the advisory firm and co-head of its Australia office. IDINVEST PARTNERS SA The Paris-based securities brokerage named Alban Wyniecki as an investment director. TRIOPTIMA Per Sjoberg has stepped down from his role as CEO for the post-trade derivatives processing firm owned by NEX Group Plc . (Compiled by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/financial-moves-idUSL4N1FR4MI'|'2017-02-07T03:36:00.000+02:00' +'befca5d75f88028803bd4dbb6ab2133e52b6a545'|'Alibaba forms partnership with supermarket operator Bailian Group'|'Money News - Mon Feb 20, 2017 - 8:59am IST Alibaba forms partnership with supermarket operator Bailian Group An employee is seen behind a glass wall with the logo of Alibaba at the company''s headquarters on the outskirts of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, April 23, 2014. REUTERS/Chance Chan/Files SHANGHAI Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd has formed a strategic partnership with supermarket operator Bailian Group, extending its push into bricks-and-mortar retail as online growth slows. Alibaba has also struck a recent deal for a stake in retailer Suning Commerce Group Co Ltd and is seeking to take a controlling stake in Intime Retail Group Co Ltd. Bailian and Alibaba will initially cooperate on supply chain technology using Alibaba''s big data capabilities as well as integrating Alipay payments with Bailian Group''s existing membership program. (Reporting by Cate Cadell and Adam Jourdan; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) Next In Money News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/alibaba-bailian-idINKBN15Z08U'|'2017-02-20T10:29:00.000+02:00' +'dbb3bc80e91df1cba9dcf74afbb7af8e6196b081'|'Germany''s Gabriel - give Italy, France, Portugal time to cut deficits'|'Business News - Sun Feb 5, 2017 - 6:15pm GMT Germany''s Gabriel - give Italy, France, Portugal time to cut deficits German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel speaks to the media outside of German House in New York, U.S., February 3, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson BERLIN European Union countries such as Italy, France and Portugal that are pursuing economic reforms should be given time to reduce their budget deficits, German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said on Sunday. "Europe must not, as has been the case so far, be divided further between north, south, east and west," Gabriel said. "It makes no sense not to give the French a millimetre more room even though they are taking on a great defence burden in Mali. "Those that are pushing through reforms - that includes Italy, France too, Portugal too - we should give them time to reduce their deficits," he told German broadcaster ARD. (Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Ruth Pitchford) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-deficits-germany-idUKKBN15K0Q1'|'2017-02-06T01:15:00.000+02:00' +'553c3290e192a364c93869a86178b78a1cbe4839'|'Out of pocket, Italians fall out of love with the euro'|'Business News - Wed Feb 8, 2017 - 6:48am GMT Out of pocket, Italians fall out of love with the euro Euro coins are seen on the figure of a pair of hands, which are painted in Italy''s colour national colours, on the ground in downtown Rome August 23, 2014. . REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini By Gavin Jones - ROME ROME When the Italian central bank''s deputy governor joined a radio phone-in show last week, many callers asked why Italy didn''t ditch the euro and return to its old lira currency. A few years ago such a scenario, that Salvatore Rossi said would lead to "catastrophe and disaster", would not have been up for public discussion. Now, with the possibility of an election by June, politicians of all stripes are tapping into growing hostility towards the euro. Many Italians hold the single currency responsible for economic decline since its launch in 1999. "We lived much better before the euro," says Luca Fioravanti, a 32-year-old real estate surveyor from Rome. "Prices have gone up but our salaries have stayed the same, we need to get out and go back to our own sovereign currency." The central bank is concerned about the rise in anti-euro sentiment, and a Bank of Italy source told Reuters Rossi''s appearance is part of a plan to reach out to ordinary Italians. Few Italians want to leave the European Union, as Britain chose to do in its referendum last year. Italy was a founding EU member in 1957 and Italians think it has helped maintain peace and stability in Europe. And the ruling Democratic Party (PD) is pro-euro and wants more European integration though it complains that the fiscal rules governing the euro are too rigid. But the three other largest parties are hostile, in various degrees, to Italy''s membership of the single currency in its current form. The PD is due to govern until early 2018, unless elections are called sooner. The PD''s prospects of victory have waned since its leader Matteo Renzi resigned as premier in December after losing a referendum on constitutional reform, and polls suggest that under the current electoral system no party or coalition is likely to win a majority. Italians used to be among the euro''s biggest supporters but a Eurobarometer survey published in December by the European Commission showed only 41 percent said the euro was "a good thing", while 47 percent called it "a bad thing." In the Eurobarometer published in April 2002, a few months after the introduction of euro notes and coins, Italy was the second most pro-euro nation after Luxembourg, with 79 percent expressing a positive opinion. Italy is the only country in the euro zone where per capita output has actually fallen since it joined the euro, according to Eurostat data. Its economy is still 7 percent smaller than it was before the 2008 financial crisis, and youth unemployment stands at 40 percent. 5-STAR THREAT The right-wing Northern League, the third biggest party, is the most critical of the euro. Party leader Matteo Salvini calls it "one of the biggest economic and social crimes ever committed against humanity." The party has promised to pull Italy out of the euro if elected but it only has about 13 percent of voter support. The anti-system 5-Star Movement may pose a bigger threat to Italy''s membership of the currency club. Polling roughly level with the PD at about 30 percent, 5-Star says it will hold a referendum on euro membership. But Italy''s constitution forbids referendums on matters that are governed by international treaties such as euro zone membership. 5-Star says it could organise a non-binding "consultative" ballot to gauge public opinion. A post last week on its official mouthpiece, the blog of founder Beppe Grillo, was headlined "A referendum on the euro before it''s too late". "I would vote to leave the euro as it stands," lower house deputy Luigi Di Maio, who is widely expected to be 5-Star''s candidate for prime minister at the election, told Reuters. "We should return to a sovereign currency or, if there is an agreement with the other countries, form a new common currency with new rules." Italy''s other significant party, Silvio Berlusconi''s centre-right Forza Italia, is not pushing for outright euro exit, but he has argued that Germany should leave instead, or that Italy should use the euro and the lira at the same time, an idea that many economists say is unworkable. CENTRAL BANK WARNING Economists in favour of leaving say a devalued currency would revive Italy''s exports and that by throwing off the shackles of the EU''s fiscal rules the country could ramp up public spending to boost growth and create jobs. Those wanting to stay in the euro say an exit would trigger a surge in interest rates and inflation, capital flight, a banking crisis and possibly a default on Italy''s public debt. The central bank warns Italians that leaving the euro would sharply erode the value of their savings. However, after repeated banking crises it is widely blamed for not preventing, and years of over-optimistic economic forecasts, the Bank of Italy no longer commands the respect among Italians that it used to. Northern League and 5-Star politicians also point to the British vote in June to leave the European Union and Italy''s ballot in December that threw out Renzi''s constitutional reform. They say they did not lead to the chaos that some mainstream economists forecast. (additional reporting by Luca Trogni; editing by Anna Willard) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-italy-exit-analysis-idUKKBN15N0JK'|'2017-02-08T13:48:00.000+02:00' +'1035d2274f667205d9af9b36bf38c56618c60360'|'UPDATE 1-Key Vale partners want to keep CEO to stem political pressure -Valor'|' 18am EST UPDATE 1-Key Vale partners want to keep CEO to stem political pressure -Valor (Recasts, adds details and share performance) SAO PAULO Feb 13 Vale SA''s top non-government shareholders want Chief Executive Officer Murilo Ferreira in the job for another two years to stem pressure from Brazilian politicians to appoint an ally at the helm of the world''s No. 1 iron ore producer, newspaper Valor Econmico said on Monday. Valor, which cited unnamed people familiar with the matter, said some members of Vale''s controlling bloc were considering voting for the renewal of Ferreira''s term when it expires next quarter. Bradespar SA and Japan''s Mitsui & Co are the private-sector members of the bloc. Valor said members of President Michel Temer''s PMDB party and Senator Aecio Neves of the PSDB party from the mineral-rich Minas Gerais state, where Vale is based, were vying to influence the selection of the new CEO. Such disputes have gone on for months, Valor said. In January, Reuters reported that shareholders led by Bradespar and pension fund Previ Caixa de Previdncia could propose Ferreira stay on for at least another year as part of discussions over a new shareholder accord. His term expires midway through the second quarter. Vale''s media representatives declined to comment on the Valor report. Representatives for Neves, Andrade and Temer did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Preferred shares, the company''s most widely traded class of stock, rallied 4.6 percent to 32.65 reais, on top of Friday''s 6.6 percent jump, as iron ore prices soared and on optimism that shareholders will seek to block a political appointee as CEO. The stock is up 40 percent this year. The reported tension over the Vale job is the latest sign of strain between the two biggest parties in Temer''s coalition. The PSDB and some in Temer''s PMDB have butted heads over a string of ministry posts and may run rival candidates in the 2018 presidential election. Vale was partly privatized in 1997, although the government continues to wield influence over it through the investment holding company of state development bank BNDES and state-controlled pension funds. Bradespar, the funds, Mitsui and BNDESPar are all members of Valepar SA, which has control of the company. (Writing by Brad Haynes; Editing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Lisa Von Ahn) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/vale-sa-ceo-idUSL1N1FY0GR'|'2017-02-13T20:18:00.000+02:00' +'1f02d61e83614b9c787766bf41fb432390656e64'|'Euronext''s core profit stable on lower costs'|' 11am GMT Euronext''s core profit stable on lower costs FILE PHOTO: Company stock price information are displayed on screens as they hang above the Paris stock exchange, operated by Euronext NV, in La Defense business district in Paris, France, December 14, 2016. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo Euronext ( ENX.PA ) said its full-year core earnings stood stable, as the pan-European exchange group''s reduced costs offset a drop in listing and trading volumes that it blamed on uncertainty following Britain''s vote to leave the European Union. The bourse operator said total capital raised in primary activity fell to 3.73 billion euros ($3.95 billion) from 28 new listings, against 12.40 billion euros a year earlier from 52 listings. Trading activity for the year was "marked by lower volumes," the company said, citing reduced investor confidence post-Brexit and lower volatility. Seasonally low levels of volume in cash and derivatives markets were further hurt in July and August as a result of the June 23 referendum, which saw volatility drop to 12-month lows after a brief spike in the final days of June, Euronext said in November. The bourse operator has been vocal in warning its investors over falling listings and reduced trading activity and has turned to making itself a leaner company to compensate. Euronext last year unveiled a new strategic plan and said it would improve technology, cut costs and aim to grow sales at its core business by 2 percent a year for the next three years. On Wednesday, the company said it had achieved about 70 percent of its cost reductions that were targeted. Euronext, which has agreed to buy London Stock Exchange Group''s ( LSE.L ) French clearing business for 510 million euros, said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were stable at 283.9 million euros for 2016. Analysts on average had expected EBITDA of 276.6 million euros, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. The company, which operates bourses in Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, London and Lisbon, said third-party revenue fell to 496.4 million euros from 518.5 million euros in the year. Operating expenses for the year fell 9.4 percent to 212.5 million euros from 234.7 million euros a year earlier. The company''s EBITDA margin rose to 57.2 percent, up from 54.7 percent a year ago. ($1 = 0.9451 euros) (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier and Sunil Nair) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-euronext-results-idUKKBN15U0LH'|'2017-02-15T14:11:00.000+02:00' +'9dd02923bf908b1c1dc4c8d9295727402ecae2d4'|'BRIEF-Baozun reports Q4 revenue rose 25.2 pct to rmb 1.273 bln'|' 20pm EST BRIEF-Baozun reports Q4 revenue rose 25.2 pct to rmb 1.273 bln Feb 21 Baozun Inc- * Baozun announces fourth quarter and fiscal year 2016 unaudited financial results * Q4 revenue rose 25.2 percent to rmb 1.273 billion * Sees Q1 2017 revenue rmb 800 million to rmb 810 million * Sees Q1 2017 revenue up about 20 to 21 percent * "Expect gmv during fiscal year 2017 to grow by over 50% from fiscal year 2016" * Quarterly non -gaap earnings per share per ads $0.20 * Baozun Inc says Q4 diluted net income attributable to Baozun ordinary shareholders per american depository share $0.16 Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-baozun-reports-q4-revenue-rose-idUSASB0B1F6'|'2017-02-22T05:20:00.000+02:00' +'05b8a65a506c76e456fad271cff2e5472db50158'|'CEE MARKETS-Banks drive stock indices to new highs on Fed comments'|'* Budapest stocks touch record high, Warsaw a 17-month high * Bank stocks lead the rise after Fed hints at rate hike * Romanian inflation rises, central bank may tighten policy By Sandor Peto BUDAPEST, Feb 15 Budapest stocks hit a record high on Tuesday as Central European equities mostly joined a global rise driven by the prospect of a possible Federal Reserve interest rate rise next month. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Tuesday the Fed would probably need to lift rates at an upcoming meeting, triggering a firming of the dollar and a rise of global stocks. Budapest''s stock index had risen 0.2 percent by 1017 GMT, touching a record high, mainly driven by gains of OTP , Hungary''s biggest lender, whose share price was the highest since 2007. It tested 9,300 forints ($31.85), after crossing a key technical level at 9,100 early this week. "It is driven by the general optimism (in stock markets) rather than expectations for its earnings," said Marton Medveczky, analyst of Equilor brokerage. "Looking at comments from the (Hungarian) central bank, that would be negative rather than positive." Deputy governor Marton Nagy was Quote: d on Wednesday as saying that the central bank would seek to reduce the cost of housing loans to borrowers. He said the loans offered by banks were still expensive and price competition was insufficient in the banking sector. The central bank is also unlikely to react any time soon to a rebound in inflation by lifting rates, which would help commercial banks increase revenues. In the latest evidence of regional inflation picking up pace, Romanian data showed the first rise in the annual rate to positive territory since mid-2015. Value-added tax cuts and changes in the inflation basket still keep the index relatively low but a further rise is likely, which could trigger policy tightening from the Romanian central bank, ING Bank analysts said in a note. "We look for a first step at the 3 July meeting, via a narrower standing facilities corridor," they said. Bucharest''s stock index rose 0.7 percent. Government bonds and currencies were rangebound in the region, including Romania. "(Short-term) yields have got so low that foreigners have not really been interested recently (in the forint market)," one Budapest-based currency dealer said. The rise in regional stock markets was mainly driven by banks. Prague''s stock index rose 0.4 percent and touched a 14-month high, with bank stocks rebounding after a fall on Tuesday as the ruling party revealed a plan to levy a special tax on banks if it wins upcoming elections. Warsaw''s bluechip index dropped 0.25 percent. It touched a 17-month high before retreating as KGHM shed 1.7 percent after the copper producer announced a big writedown on overseas assets. CEE SNAPS AT 1117 MARKETS HOT CET CURRENCIES Lates Previ Daily Chang t ous e bid close chang in e 2017 Czech crown 27.02 27.02 +0.0 -0.05 00 45 2% % Hungary 308.3 308.0 -0.09 0.15% forint 500 800 % Polish 4.302 4.303 +0.0 2.37% zloty 0 7 4% Romanian 4.507 4.504 -0.06 0.62% leu 0 5 % Croatian 7.460 7.453 -0.09 1.27% kuna 0 5 % Serbian 123.8 123.9 +0.0 -0.36 dinar 000 000 8% % Note: daily calculate previ close 1800 change d from ous at CET STOCK S Lates Previ Daily Chang t ous e close chang in e 2017 Prague 970.4 966.3 +0.4 +5.3 1 2 2% 0% Budapest 33799 33724 +0.2 +5.6 .06 .52 2% 1% Warsaw 2168. 2173. -0.25 +11. 31 76 % 31% Bucharest 7660. 7609. +0.6 +8.1 84 25 8% 3% Ljubljana 757.9 760.3 -0.32 +5.6 1 3 % 2% Zagreb 2167. 2168. -0.06 +8.6 57 85 % 6% Belgrade <.BELEX15 708.8 703.5 +0.7 -1.19 > 2 2 5% % Sofia 600.4 600.7 -0.06 +2.3 0 4 % 8% BONDS Yield Yield Sprea Daily d (bid) chang vs chang e Bund e in Czech sprea Republic d 2-year 3 bps s 5-year bps s 10-year bps s Poland 2-year 2 bps s 5-year 4 bps 10-year bps s FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M inter bank Czech Rep < 0.28 0.28 0.33 0 PRIBOR=> Hungary < 0.38 0.53 0.66 0.24 BUBOR=> Poland < 1.76 1.81 1.91 1.73 WIBOR=> Note: FRA are for Quote: s ask prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets-idINL8N1G02XH'|'2017-02-15T08:00:00.000+02:00' +'67d42425fa743c5d011de877d21579ffa0697a7e'|'PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - Feb 17'|' 12:53am EST PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - Feb 17 Feb 17 The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. - UnitedHealth Group is accused in a scheme that allowed its subsidiaries and other insurers to improperly overcharge Medicare by "hundreds of millions and likely billions of dollars" according to a lawsuit made public on Thursday at the Justice Department''s request. nyti.ms/2lRKd9W - In a 5,800-word letter posted publicly, Facebook CEO Zuckerberg expressed alarm that what was once considered normal seeking global connection was now seen by people and governments around the world as something undesirable. nyti.ms/2lRL2zz - Jeffrey A. Zucker, the president of CNN, has been at the center of a media firestorm since President Trump started singling out the cable network as the country''s leading distributor of that favorite Trump phrase "fake news" nyti.ms/2lRN7vp - The de facto leader of Samsung, Lee Jae-yong, was arrested Friday on bribery charges, a dramatic turn in South Korea''s decades-old struggle to end collusive ties between the government and powerful family-controlled conglomerates. nyti.ms/2lRIGAy - Moving quickly after his first choice for labor secretary withdrew his nomination amid controversy, President Trump made a seemingly safe selection on Thursday in Alexander Acosta, a Florida law school dean and former assistant attorney general. nyti.ms/2lRyCaW - Snap Inc disclosed on Thursday that it expected to be valued at as much as $22.2 billion in the sale. At the midpoint of the offering''s range of $14 to $16 per share, Snap would be worth nearly $20.9 billion. nyti.ms/2lRIguf (Compiled by Vishal Sridhar in Bengaluru) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/press-digest-nyt-idUSL4N1G224W'|'2017-02-17T12:53:00.000+02:00' +'85d05f4e1d1d119a4cde38a108c9e3ecb768bda1'|'Turnbull calls Australia Post chairman over CEO''s pay video - Business'|'Turnbull calls Australia Post chairman over CEO''s pay video The prime minister has called the chairman of Australia Post after it was revealed its chief executive, Ahmed Fahour, took home $5.6m in salary and bonus in 2016. Turnbull told reporters, I think that renumeration is too high.Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email View more sharing options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Google+ Share on WhatsApp Share on Messenger Close Source: Australian Associated PressWednesday 8 February 2017 00.56 GMT'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/video/2017/feb/08/turnbull-calls-australia-post-chairman-over-ceos-pay-video'|'2017-02-08T07:56:00.000+02:00' +'bb2f21583c991c48b3b4fc4515179c7765052454'|'BRIEF-Omega Advisors Inc cuts share stake in Facebook, Delta Air Lines - SEC filing'|' 10:56am EST BRIEF-Omega Advisors Inc cuts share stake in Facebook, Delta Air Lines - SEC filing Feb 14 Omega Advisors Inc : * Omega Advisors Inc dissolves share stake of 273,650 shares in Chesapeake Energy Corp - SEC Filing * Omega Advisors Inc cuts share stake in Facebook Inc to 68,800 class A shares from 278,100 class A shares * Omega Advisors Inc cuts share stake in Delta Air Lines Inc to 75,600 shares from 976,400 shares * Omega Advisors Inc - Change in holdings are as of Dec 31, 2016 and compared with the previous quarter ended as of Sept 30, 2016 Source text for quarter ended Dec 31, 2016: bit.ly/2lfYUm4 Source text for quarter ended Sept 30, 2016: bit.ly/2fNytzh Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1FZ0YR'|'2017-02-14T22:56:00.000+02:00' +'cacfed1338b0a892fe6316df6abdce0bc899b471'|'China''s Legend, buyout funds preparing final bids for Allfunds Bank - sources'|'Deals - Asia - Thu Feb 23, 2017 - 6:09pm GMT China''s Legend, buyout funds preparing final bids for Allfunds Bank: sources By Pamela Barbaglia , Jess Aguado and Dasha Afanasieva - LONDON/MADRID LONDON/MADRID Chinese investment firm Legend Holdings ( 3396.HK ) and three groups of private equity funds are putting the finishing touches to rival bids for Allfunds Bank, a deal worth close to 2 billion euros ($2.11 billion), sources close to the matter told Reuters. Santander Asset Management and Intesa Sanpaolo ( ISP.MI ), which own 50 percent each of Allfunds Bank, a Madrid-based mutual fund platform, have agreed to push back the deadline for the binding offers to March 1 from a previous cut-off date of Feb. 27, giving prospective bidders extra time to finalize their offers, the sources said. Banco Santander ( SAN.MC ), which controls Santander Asset Management, declined to comment, while Intesa was not immediately available for comment. The deal, which is expected to wrap up by the end of March, has drawn interest from a series of U.S. and European private equity firms which have teamed up with some cash-rich sovereign wealth funds and Canadian pension funds. A consortium of Bain Capital, Advent and Singapore''s state investor Temasek is vying against two other private equity consortia led by Permira and Hellman & Friedman, respectively, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the matter is confidential. Permira has formed an alliance with PSP Investments, one of Canada''s biggest pension funds, while Hellman & Friedman is bidding in tandem with Singapore''s sovereign wealth fund GIC, the sources said. Advent, Bain Capital, Hellman & Friedman and PSP declined to comment, while Temasek, Permira and GIC were not immediately available for comment. China''s Legend Holdings, owner of computer giant Lenovo Group ( 0992.HK ), is also keen to secure control of the business, which is regulated by the Bank of Spain and has more than 250 billion euros of assets under management. If successful, Legend would clinch its first major European deal after securing a minority interest in Britain''s Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) last year. However, Legend would need to pass the vetting of the Bank of Spain which will have the final word on Allfunds'' new ownership structure, the sources said. A spokeswoman at Legend had no immediate comment. Allfunds could be valued at about 1.8 billion euros, fetching a multiple of roughly 15 times its pro-forma earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of 117 million euros, the sources said. While its core earnings fell nearly 9 percent last year to 98 million euros, it has benefited from some new contracts which have boosted its financial projections, they said. Established in 2000 to provide access to the so-called open architecture investment funds market, Allfunds offers more than 50,000 funds and has an extensive network of more than 530 clients including commercial and private banks, fund managers and insurers. (Reporting by Pamela Barbaglia; Editing by Mark Potter) Next In Deals - Asia'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-allfunds-m-a-idUKKBN162297'|'2017-02-24T01:08:00.000+02:00' +'7564e2356036de1cf2f2478b318f260d5d3a7d53'|'BRIEF-Western Gas Partners announces acquisition in delaware basin gathering system'|' 13pm EST BRIEF-Western Gas Partners announces acquisition in delaware basin gathering system Feb 9 Western Gas Partners LP : * Western Gas Partners announces acquisition of interest in delaware basin gathering system * Western Gas Partners - deal in exchange for wes''s 33.75% non-operated interest in 2 natural gas gathering systems in pennsylvania and $155 million in cash * Western Gas Partners - will acquire wpz''s 50% non-operated interest in assets of delaware basin JV gathering LLC * Says currently holds a 50% interest in, and operates, dbjv''s assets Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1FU160'|'2017-02-10T05:13:00.000+02:00' +'59cb95b74c98f32956b1984f6b1fbf363cdc64ec'|'Saudi favors New York for Aramco IPO, also considers Toronto, London: WSJ'|'Saudi Arabia is favoring New York to list state oil giant Saudi Aramco IPO-ARMO.SE, while also considering London and Toronto for the prospect of floating the firm, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.Saudi officials also talked to exchanges in Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Shanghai but are unlikely to pursue listing in those places, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter. on.wsj.com/2m54QfHThe listing is the centerpiece of a Saudi Arabian government plan to transform the kingdom by enticing investment and diversifying the economy away from a reliance on oil.Saudi officials expect the IPO to value Aramco at a minimum of $2 trillion.Saudi Arabian Oil Co, known as Saudi Aramco, was not immediately available for comment.(Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-aramco-ipo-idINKBN15Z216'|'2017-02-20T16:17:00.000+02:00' +'3d43e06646742ba56b7bf1ef40b261ec61142a81'|'Buffett mulls change to canny Bank of America stake if dividend rises'|'By Jonathan Stempel Feb 25 Warren Buffett said on Saturday he plans to stick with the shrewd bet that his Berkshire Hathaway Inc made on Bank of America Corp, but might eventually swap the preferred stock that Berkshire owns into common stock.Berkshire bought $5 billion of Bank of America preferred stock carrying a 6 percent dividend, or $300 million annually, in August 2011, when many investors worried about the second-largest U.S. bank''s capital needs.More importantly, Buffett also received warrants to buy 700 million Bank of America common shares at $7.14 each, roughly where the stock traded, by September 2021.Many analysts thought the terms agreed to by Buffett and Bank of America Chief Executive Brian Moynihan were generous to Berkshire. And so far, they have been proven right.Berkshire is now sitting on a $12 billion gain on the warrants because Bank of America''s stock price has more than tripled, to $24.23.That includes a more than 42 percent increase in the 3-1/2 months since Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election.In his annual letter to Berkshire shareholders, Buffett said if Bank of America''s current 30 cents per share annual dividend rose above 44 cents before 2019, "we would anticipate making a cashless exchange of our preferred into common."On the other hand, Buffett said that if the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank''s dividend stayed below 44 cents, "it is highly probable that we will exercise the warrant immediately before it expires."Bank of America spokesman Larry Di Rita declined to comment.Many U.S. banks, including Bank of America, were forced to slash their dividends because of the 2008 financial crisis.Some have since boosted payouts after getting seals of approval through annual U.S. Federal Reserve "stress tests" that examine their ability to withstand major market shocks.Bank of America last boosted its dividend 50 percent after passing its most recent stress test in June.The preferred investment was among several totaling more than $25 billion that Berkshire made from 2008 to 2011 in Dow Chemical Co, General Electric Co, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and other companies, when Berkshire was often seen as a lender of last resort.Most have since been redeemed, and Buffett has lamented the loss of their mid- to high- single-digit or double-digit income streams.The Goldman investment also included cashless warrants to buy common stock. Berkshire ended 2016 with 11.39 million Goldman shares, and assuming it still owns them is sitting on a nearly $2.2 billion gain. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David Gregorio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/berkshire-hatha-buffett-bankofamerica-idINL1N1GA0AF'|'2017-02-25T13:31:00.000+02:00' +'08850d85ec3126f553f9a5b051c708bc195c8f70'|'PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Feb 6'|'Feb 6 The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.The TimesAmazon hunts for London shopsAmazon.com Inc has begun searching for high street locations in prime areas of central London ahead of the potential launch of a checkout-free grocery chain later this year. The move suggests it is stepping up plans to bring futuristic convenience stores to Britain. The online retail giant is testing its first Amazon Go store near its base in Seattle, where the firm''s employees are able to buy goods without queuing at a till. ( bit.ly/2kDbPyC )The GuardianRolls-Royce faces civil service inquiry over UK state fundingCivil servants are carrying out an internal inquiry to establish whether the engineering giant Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc fraudulently obtained financial support worth hundreds of millions of pounds from the government. The inquiry was launched after the multinational manufacturer admitted last month it had used multimillion-pound bribes to secure export orders across the world over four decades. ( bit.ly/2ld9F5t )RBS boss to unveil more cuts after receiving pay worth 3m in 2016Ross McEwan, chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, is preparing to unveil further cost cutting measures after receiving pay of around 3 million pounds ($3.75 million) in 2016. The cost-reduction measures - which will be unveiled alongside the bank''s ninth consecutive annual loss later this month - are expected to coincide with confirmation of his pay deal for the 2016 financial year. McEwan could be paid more than 3 million pounds after 2.7 million pounds of salary and allowances are topped up with bonuses. ( bit.ly/2ldcqU5 )The TelegraphBarclays sparks job cuts fears with bank office overhaulBarclays Plc is revamping its back office operations in a wide-ranging restructuring that has spurred speculation the bank is preparing to cut jobs. The lender is setting up a new internal company that will manage all back office services such as human resources, marketing, compliance, and IT support for the rest of the bank''s businesses. ( bit.ly/2kDblsg )Booker woos shopkeepers over Tesco mergerBooker Group Plc bosses will launch a charm offensive this week in an attempt to convince Britain''s shopkeepers of the merits of its shock 3.7 billion pound Tesco Plc merger, amid rising concerns that the deal will strangle competition in the convenience store market. ( bit.ly/2kwx7v8 )Sky NewsWonga strikes 60 mln stg deal to sell European unit to Swedish suitorWonga, Britain''s best-known payday lender, will this week announce the sale of a big chunk of its European operations, underlining its continuing international retrenchment in the wake of a torrid period for the business. Wonga will confirm that it has decided to sell BillPay to Klarna, a Swedish provider of e-commerce solutions for about 60 million pounds. ( bit.ly/2l8vJ5c )RBS to pay 340 mln stg bonus pot as it posts ninth successive lossThe state-backed Royal Bank of Scotland is finalising plans to pay about 340 million pounds in bonuses to employees for last year, even as it prepares to announce one of its biggest annual losses since its 2008 bailout. RBS, which is just over 70 percent-owned by the government, has disclosed proposals for the bonus pot during recent discussions with UK Financial Investments, which manages the taxpayer''s stake in the bank. ( bit.ly/2kzurPX )The IndependentBrexit: Germany''s Finance Minister says EU ''should not punish Britain'' to keep City benefitsThe EU should offer Britain a "reasonable" Brexit deal because financial services offered by the City of London benefit Europe as a whole, Germany''s Finance Minister has said. Wolfgang Schaeuble told German newspaper Tagesspiegel London''s financial centre "serves the whole European economy", so it was preferable to "keep Britain close to us". ( ind.pn/2jOykfA ) ($1 = 0.8009 pounds) (Compiled by Rama Venkat Raman in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-press-business-idINL1N1FR00J'|'2017-02-05T21:31:00.000+02:00' +'3f567f9b6859301de383183e8c67970ba71b203f'|'Daimler strikes electric vehicle agreement with workers at German plant'|'Internet News - Tue Feb 14, 2017 - 11:37am GMT Daimler strikes electric vehicle agreement with workers at German plant Journalists wait for the arrival of Daimler AG CEO Dieter Zetsche before the car maker''s annual news conference in Stuttgart, Germany, February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle FRANKFURT Daimler has struck an agreement with workers at Mercedes-Benz''s biggest transmission factory in Germany, under which work on electric vehicles (EVs) will be based at the plant near the carmaker''s home town of Stuttgart. German carmakers are investing heavily in EVs but their engines require fewer workers to build than more complex combustion motors, and labor bosses have been pushing for Daimler to produce more EV parts itself to safeguard jobs. The Untertuerkheim transmission site, which employs 19,000 people, would be particularly hard hit by the shift to electric cars. Under the agreement announced on Tuesday, Mercedes will set up an e-technology center in Untertuerkheim, where prototypes for electric powertrains will be built, and the plant will start producing components for electric vehicles, Daimler said in a statement. Daimler said its agreement with workers also paved the way for a further capacity expansion of combustion engines in Untertuerkheim, for instance for a new generation of highly efficient. (Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by David Holmes) Next In Internet News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-daimler-electric-idUKKBN15T1CY'|'2017-02-14T18:30:00.000+02:00' +'e4894f5140b8be1334109424eb442a889d9a1a58'|'China''s regulator inspects inter-bank lending business in Shanghai - sources'|' 3:16am GMT China''s regulator inspects inter-bank lending business in Shanghai - sources SHANGHAI The Shanghai branch of China''s banking regulator has launched an inspection of the inter-bank lending business of small- and medium-sized financial institutions in the city, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. The aim of the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) inspection is to prevent risks that may arise from using inter-bank loans as a channel to invest in wealth management products, the sources said on the condition of anonymity. The Shanghai branch of the CBRC has yet to respond to a Reuters request seeking comment. (Reporting by Shanghai newsroom; Editing by Shri Navaratnam) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-banking-debt-idUKKBN160095'|'2017-02-21T10:16:00.000+02:00' +'71c719a28110745e2b5623cd605d4075440736f2'|'South Korea prosecution to decide on Samsung chief arrest warrant by Wednesday'|'Business News 6:44am GMT South Korea prosecution to decide on Samsung chief warrant by Wednesday FILE PHOTO - Samsung Group chief, Jay Y. Lee, leaves after attending a court hearing to review a detention warrant request against him at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea, January 18, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo By Se Young Lee and Ju-min Park - SEOUL SEOUL South Korean special prosecutor''s office will decide no later than Wednesday whether to request an arrest warrant for Samsung Group [SAGR.UL] chief Jay Y. Lee, a suspect in a graft investigation that may topple President Park Geun-hye. Lee, third-generation leader of the country''s top conglomerate, was questioned for more than 15 hours after being summoned by the special prosecution on Monday. He is accused of pledging payments to a company and organisations backed by Park''s confidant, Choi Soon-sil, to win support for a 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates. [L4N1FY068] "There will be a decision on whether to make another arrest warrant request for him between today and tomorrow," special prosecutor''s office spokesman Lee Kyu-chul told reporters on Tuesday in a briefing. The office will decide at the same time on whether to seek arrest warrants for four other Samsung Group executives identified as suspects in its investigation. A Samsung Group spokeswoman declined to comment. Park was impeached by parliament in December after accusations that she colluded with her long-time friend, Choi, to pressure big businesses to donate to two foundations set up to back the presidents policy initiatives. Both women deny wrongdoing. Park, 65, and the daughter of a former military ruler, remains in office but has been stripped of her powers while the Constitutional Court decides whether to uphold the impeachment. If the court rules to uphold the impeachment vote, Park would be South Korea''s first elected leader to be forced from office and a presidential election would be held. The special prosecutor has focussed on Samsung Group''s relationship with Park, accusing Lee in his capacity as Samsung chief of pledging 43 billion won to win support for the 2015 merger of Samsung C&T Corp and Cheil Industries Inc. Lee, 48, has denied wrongdoing. Last month, a court rejected the prosecution''s first request for an arrest warrant for the Samsung chief. The office on Tuesday declined to comment on whether it had any new evidence against him or other Samsung executives. Proving illicit dealings between Park, or those linked to her, and the Samsung Group is critical for the special prosecutor''s case that ultimately targets Park, analysts have said. Prosecution spokesman Lee said the office had told parliament it needed to extend the investigation period. The office can seek a 30-day extension to its current deadline of Feb. 28. The office of acting president Hwang Kyo-ahn, who must sign off on any such extension, could not be immediately reached for comment. (Reporting by Se Young Lee and Ju-min Park; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore, Robert Birsel) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-southkorea-politics-samsung-group-idUKKBN15T0HZ'|'2017-02-14T13:05:00.000+02:00' +'a99fe41bed6afb46be5b995f540acb3d33aa42c1'|'Verizon, Yahoo agree to cut deal price by as much as $350 million - WSJ'|'Business News - Tue Feb 21, 2017 - 12:46pm GMT Verizon, Yahoo agree to cut deal price by as much as $350 million - WSJ A Verizon sign is seen at a retail store in San Diego, California, U.S. on April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo Verizon agreed to a revised deal to buy Yahoo Inc''s ( YHOO.O ) core internet business for $4.83 billion (4 billion), as much as $350 million less than the original price, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The revised agreement could be announced as soon as Tuesday, the Journal said. Verizon Communications Inc ( VZ.N ) had been trying to persuade Yahoo since last year to amend the terms of the agreement to reflect the economic damage from two cyber attacks. The two companies will also split any future liabilities and costs that arise from the data breaches, the WSJ reported. Yahoo and Verizon were not immediately available for comment. (Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-yahoo-m-a-verizon-idUKKBN1601ES'|'2017-02-21T19:46:00.000+02:00' +'c83a196e02e841138c484a029047a429d8a6ad31'|'Tesla down ahead of first quarterly report to include SolarCity'|'By Noel Randewich - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Shares of Tesla were down almost 1 percent on Wednesday ahead of the electric car maker''s first quarterly report following its $2.6 billion acquisition of solar panel installer SolarCity.Wall Street estimates for Tesla''s fourth-quarter loss per share vary widely, potentially due in part to the deal. In the previous quarter, Tesla posted its first net profit in more than three years.Over the past three months, the stock has enjoyed a 41 percent rally and is near record highs, while short bets against Tesla remain elevated despite nearly $2 billion in paper losses suffered by short sellers this year.Options trading strategies suggest investors expect a 6.5 percent move in Tesla''s stock - up or down - by Friday.Musk, the largest shareholder in both companies, combined Tesla and SolarCity in a bid to create a clean energy powerhouse. More recently, the Silicon Valley billionaire became a key figure on President Donald Trump''s business council."The recent run-up in Tesla stock has less to do, in our view, with anything around the near-term financials, and more to do with the nearly superhero status of Elon Musk," wrote Barclays analyst Brian Johnson in a note to clients on Wednesday.A year ago, Musk said Tesla would become full-year profitable in 2016, a promise that helped the stock rebound from a two-year low. Since then, the shares have doubled. In afternoon trade on Nasdaq they were around $275.75.The average analyst estimate for Tesla''s quarterly adjusted, non-GAAP loss per share is 43 cents, according to Thomson Reuters data. But Tesla could report a loss of 63 cents per share, according to the Thomson Reuters Starmine estimate, which gives more weight to analysts with stronger track records.In Wednesday''s report after markets close, Wall Street will be looking for updates on Tesla''s plan to launch volume production of its Model 3 sedan in the second half of this year. Tesla was set to begin test-building its Model 3 this past Monday, Reuters reported.Six analysts recommend buying Tesla''s stock, another six recommend selling, and eight are neutral, according to Thomson Reuters data.(Reporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by Bernard Orr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-markets-tesla-idINKBN1612HS'|'2017-02-22T16:23:00.000+02:00' +'942d8655960971205ccf10e3e7ac420762c252f2'|'BRIEF-Summit Midstream Partners LP announces pricing of senior notes'|' 18pm EST BRIEF-Summit Midstream Partners LP announces pricing of senior notes Feb 8 Summit Midstream Partners LP : * Summit Midstream Partners LP announces pricing of senior notes * Summit Midstream Partners - notes will be issued at par and bear interest at 5.75 pct per annum, payable semi-annually in arrears '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSASB0AZCU'|'2017-02-09T05:18:00.000+02:00' +'a3f943b4aa4fd8fc32d8a079e6cb2ac9531d2ee7'|'EQT Infrastructure to buy Lumos Networks in $950 mln deal'|'Fiber-based service provider Lumos Networks Corp ( LMOS.O ) said on Monday it agreed to be bought by investment firm EQT Infrastructure in an all-cash deal with an enterprise value of about $950 million.The offer of $18 per share represents an 18.2 percent premium to Lumos'' closing price of $15.23 on Friday.(Reporting by Anya George; Editing by Leslie AdlerTharakan in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-lumos-network-m-a-eqt-infrastructure-idINKBN15Z1G1'|'2017-02-20T11:17:00.000+02:00' +'a21b7b82ff86936d9e30ad00cacd61374c25d42b'|'Hannover Re hikes 2017 profit guidance after January renewals'|'Financials - Thu Feb 2, 2017 - 1:46am EST Hannover Re hikes 2017 profit guidance after January renewals FRANKFURT Feb 2 Germany''s Hannover Re raised its 2017 net profit guidance to more than 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) from more than 950 million euros after what it said was a strong round of treaty renewals at the start of the year. The world''s third largest reinsurer also said on Thursday it now expected gross premiums to rise by a low single-digit percentage this year. The company said it was pleased with the outcome of talks to renew reinsurance contracts with its insurance company clients in January, saying its premium volume had grown about 7 percent, including its structured reinsurance business, despite continued price pressure. ($1 = 0.9266 euros) (Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/hannover-rueck-outlook-idUSASM00097W'|'2017-02-02T13:46:00.000+02:00' +'e3450ac52751d800db172136b47f82a16adb17ae'|'Ukraine PM sees IMF deal by end-Feb amid new fighting in east'|' 20pm GMT Ukraine PM sees IMF deal by end-Feb amid new fighting in east Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman speaks during an interview with Reuters in Brussels, Belgium February 10, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman - By Robin Emmott - BRUSSELS BRUSSELS Kiev expects to reach a deal with the International Monetary Fund by the end of the month to allow the next tranche of aid, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said on Friday, and blamed Russia for renewed fighting flared in eastern Ukraine. Speaking after the biggest surge in violence in Ukraine''s industrial east for more than a year, Groysman also called on new U.S. President Donald Trump to provide "defensive weapons" to Ukraine to bring Moscow back into peace talks. "We have practically completed negotiations (with the IMF) and only a few nuances remain," he said of talks with the global lender to unlock the latest series of loans under Ukraine''s $17.5 billion (14 billion pound) bailout by the end of the month. Groysman said Kiev intends to cooperate with the Washington-based lender but that the IMF needed to have "realistic" expectations on what Ukraine could achieve in terms of judicial reforms that are holding up talks. "It''s important that all the conditions ... have realistic deadlines," he told Reuters during a two-day visit to Brussels where he met officials from the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. (Reporting by Robin Emmott; Editing by Alissa de Carbonnel) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ukraine-crisis-idUKKBN15P1F8'|'2017-02-10T19:20:00.000+02:00' +'2e7dc596cdc334b8530fcf48905725b2a131d8e3'|'TMX posts quarterly profit helped by cost cuts'|'Feb 13 TMX Group Ltd posted a net profit for the fourth quarter, compared with a loss in the year-ago period, boosted by cost cuts.The owner of the Toronto Stock Exchange said the net profit attributable to shareholders was C$52.6 million ($40.2 million), or 95 Canadian cents per share, in the last three months of 2016, compared with a loss of C$159 million, or C$2.92 per share, a year earlier.Revenue rose 7 percent to C$189.4 million. ($1 = 1.3074 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Vishal Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/tmx-grp-results-idINL4N1FZ1GS'|'2017-02-13T23:16:00.000+02:00' +'42fe92b1d7b21898987fa1e30c8f94723264d264'|'France''s Vinci confident on 2017 prospects'|' 05pm GMT France''s Vinci confident on 2017 prospects FILE PHOTO - The logo of Vinci is pictured during the company''s 2011 annual results presentation in Paris February 8, 2012. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo By Dominique Vidalon - PARIS PARIS France''s Vinci ( SGEF.PA ) on Tuesday forecast higher revenue and profits this year on the strength of a French construction market upturn and a robust concessions business. Europe''s biggest construction and concession company also saw support this year from a new 800 million euro road infrastructure package announced by the French government, half of which was secured by Vinci. "Despite uncertainty regarding the global economy, we expect increased activity in both our concessions and contracting businesses in 2017, along with higher group earnings," the statement said. Vinci made the prediction after reporting forecast-beating revenues and profits for 2016. Operating income rose 11.1 percent to 4.174 billion euros (3.58 billion pounds) on 38.07 billion euros in revenue, down 1.2 percent, thanks to tight cost control and a robust concessions business. The results exceeded expectations of 4.065 billion euros in operating income and 37.841 billion in revenue, based on the median estimates of 12 analysts in a ThomsonReuters poll. The company said its construction business, the biggest contributor to group revenue, saw a 5.6 percent fall in revenue last year while concessions revenue rose 8.5 percent. To counter the construction decline, Vinci has been expanding into faster-growing and more profitable concessions such as airports and motorways as well as in energy engineering. Vinci, which operates about half of France''s motorway concessions said motorway traffic grew 3.2 percent in 2016 while its airport traffic grew 10 percent. Vinci increased its proposed dividend to 2.10 euros per share from the 1.84 euros paid out in 2015. ($1 = 0.9346 euros) (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Laurence Frost) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-vinci-results-idUKKBN15M256'|'2017-02-08T01:05:00.000+02:00' +'1c4ee0f8e9dce9839521839e27bb8219765c7206'|'German trade surplus surges to new record in 2016'|'Business News - Thu Feb 9, 2017 - 7:09am GMT German trade surplus surges to new record in 2016 Loading cranes are seen at a shipping terminal in the harbour in Hamburg September 18, 2014. Picture taken September 18. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer BERLIN Germany''s trade surplus hit a new record in 2016 despite a drop in exports narrowing the monthly measure for Europe''s largest economy in December, data showed on Thursday. Germany''s trade surplus for 2016 as a whole rose to a new record of 252.9 billion euros (216 billion pounds), surpassing the previous high of 244.3 billion euros from the prior year, the Federal Statistics Office said. In December, seasonally adjusted exports fell by 3.3 percent on the month while imports were unchanged. Economists polled by Reuters had expected exports to fall by 1.1 percent and imports to decline by 1.0 percent. In December, the trade surplus narrowed to 18.4 billion euros from 21.8 billion in the previous month. ($1 = 0.9365 euros) (Reporting by Paul Carrel; Editing by Michelle Martin) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-economy-trade-idUKKBN15O0NA'|'2017-02-09T14:09:00.000+02:00' +'a3ca3ce09bcb7d2987fc349c63bec85051aaff46'|'UPDATE 3-Whole Foods cuts 2017 profit, sales forecasts as growth lags'|'Wed Feb 8, 2017 - 7:14pm EST Whole Foods cuts 2017 profit, sales forecasts as growth lags People pass by a Whole Foods Market in New York City, U.S., February 7, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Whole Foods Market Inc ( WFM.O ) on Wednesday said it is closing some stores and increasing use of customer data to improve results after cutting its full-year sales and profit forecasts after posting its sixth straight quarter of same-store sales declines. Shares in the organic and natural food grocer were down 2.1 percent in extended trading. "We''re examining every aspect of our retail operations," Whole Foods co-founder John Mackey, who recently resumed the role of sole chief executive officer after the departure of co-CEO Walter Robb, said on a conference call with analysts. Whole Foods has been battling intense competition from rivals that include Kroger Co ( KR.N ) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc ( WMT.N ), as well as new competitors such as Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) and meal kit provider Blue Apron. The company has been lowering prices and experimenting with its value-oriented 365 by Whole Foods Market chain, as it tries to shed its unflattering "Whole Paycheck" nickname. Mackey said the company is "doubling down" on its most loyal customers, continue to lower prices and taking other steps to improve profitability and efficiency. "What has become clear is that we don''t want to compete in a ''race to the bottom'' as consumers have ever increasing choices for how much and where they shop," Mackey said. Whole Foods has closed one commissary kitchen and will be closing nine stores and the company''s last two remaining commissary kitchens in the current quarter. It also terminated two leases. Mackey said the majority of the stores slated for closure were smaller, older acquisitions and that shuttering them should improve results. Whole Foods also is teaming up with dunnhumby, a private, wholly owned consumer data subsidiary of Tesco Plc, in a bid to catch up with Kroger and other rivals that already use such information to improve merchandising and personalize offers to loyal customers. The organic and natural food grocer on Wednesday said same-store sales fell a sharper-than-expected 2.4 percent in the fiscal first quarter ended Jan. 15, the sixth straight quarterly drop. That decline accelerated to 3.2 percent for the current second quarter through Feb. 5. Whole Foods it expects sales for the year to rise 1.5 percent or greater, compared with its previous forecast of growth of 2.5 percent to 4.5 percent. It also cut its profit forecast for the year to $1.33 per share or greater, from its previous view of $1.42 or greater. First-quarter revenue rose 1.9 percent to $4.92 billion from a year earlier. Net income fell to $95 million, or 30 cents per share, from $157 million, or 46 cents per share, a year earlier. The company said it incurred a charge of about 9 cents per share in the quarter, related to Robb''s separation agreement and store closures. It expects to incur an additional charge related to the closures of about 6 cents per share in the current quarter. (Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles and Jessica Kuruthukulangara in Bengaluru; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Alan Crosby) Up Next Panera surges to record as Wall Street eyes payoff from technology SAN FRANCISCO Shares of Panera Bread surged to a record high on Wednesday and were on track for the biggest one-day move in almost two years after the company gave an upbeat forecast and said technology investments at its restaurants were paying off.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-whole-foods-results-idUSKBN15N2OU'|'2017-02-09T07:07:00.000+02:00' +'cfbae1cdb25bacaeef6449068af94517384daaea'|'Germany, France want long-term prospects for workers in PSA/Opel merger'|'Company 05am EST Germany, France want long-term prospects for workers in PSA/Opel merger BERLIN Feb 23 France and Germany on Thursday called on the management of General Motors and PSA Group to give a "long-term perspective" for all production sites in the proposed acquisition of Opel from the U.S. carmaker. They also said that both Opel and Peugeot should keep their own brand names and separate management entities. "The merged company needs a sustainable strategy for the future with a long-term perspective for all production sites, development centres and staff," French Economy Minister Michel Sapin and his German counterpart Brigitte Zypries said in joint statement published after talks in Paris. "Workers from both companies need clarity quickly and have to be involved in further talks," the ministers said. Paris-based PSA and GM confirmed last week that they were in negotiations on a deal to create Europe''s second-largest carmaker by sales behind Volkswagen, sparking criticism in Germany and Britain amid fears of possible job losses. (Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Madeline Chambers) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/peugeot-opel-ma-ministers-idUSB4N1CG028'|'2017-02-23T21:05:00.000+02:00' +'b90502a2f42d1ea6ff6ea177ce5e3d41448af387'|'BRIEF-Markel to acquire SureTec Financial Corp'|' Markel to acquire SureTec Financial Corp Feb 1 Markel Corp - * Markel to acquire SureTec Financial Corp * Deal for $250 million * Following acquisition, SureTec will operate as a separate business unit * Deal value includes a three-year earn out * SureTec will become part of Markel''s specialty division and US Insurance segment Source '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/mergersNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSASB0AY2Z'|'2017-02-02T04:59:00.000+02:00' +'27b992dd71a8a619c1d28675b18e7b87b4c9f4fc'|'GM shares could climb 35 percent if it sells Opel: Barron''s'|'General Motors Co ( GM.N ) shares could climb by as much as 35 percent if it succeeds in selling its European Opel brand and focuses on its healthier markets, Barron''s said on Sunday.Last week, GM confirmed reports that it was in talks to sell its Opel business to Paris-based PSA Group, which manufactures brands including Peugeot.If the deal goes through, it could net GM as much as $1 billion in cash, Barron''s says, citing analysts. However, the real value from the sale would come from offloading a money-losing business and refocusing on operations in China, Latin America and North America, it said.Last year, GM reported a $257 million operating loss from its Opel unit. Cutting away Opel could gain GM nearly $1 billion in additional annual cash flow, on top of the immediate proceeds from the deal, Barron''s said.It also said that investors might reward GM''s stock because the sale would demonstrate a willingness by Chief Executive Mary Barra to focus on value-generating business.Barron''s added that, although GM is a cyclical stock and a downturn in auto sales is widely expected in the near future, its trough earnings per share will be better than many investors expect, perhaps around $3 to $4.GM shares are trading around $37.(Reporting by Carl O''Donnell; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-gm-opel-strategy-idINKBN15Z065'|'2017-02-19T23:39:00.000+02:00' +'da4e41db4a57fa5028d3b1a362cc3a546b802e1e'|'Elbit Systems wins $102 mln U.S. Army mortar fire systems deal'|'Big Story 10 Elbit Systems wins $102 million U.S. Army mortar fire systems deal TEL AVIV Israeli defense electronics firm Elbit Systems said on Thursday its American subsidiary, Elbit Systems of America, won a deal worth as much as $102 million from the United States Army to provide and maintain mortar fire control systems. The indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract, if fully ordered, will be carried out over five years. Elbit said the shipment of mortar fire control systems both mounted and dismounted along with a lightweight handheld mortar ballistic computer, will improve the accuracy of mortars. In November, Elbit won a five-year contract worth as much as $103 million for the production of mortar weapons systems for the U.S. Army. (Reporting by Yuval Ben-David; Editing by Steven Scheer) Next In Big Story 10'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-elbit-systems-contract-idUSKBN15V0YM'|'2017-02-16T16:06:00.000+02:00' +'376ce9aa104ef8161be0d10afa08bd90955ec090'|'UPDATE 1-Genmab and J&J''s cancer drug set for blockbuster sales this year'|'Company 04pm EST UPDATE 1-Genmab and J&J''s cancer drug set for blockbuster sales this year (Adds CEO comment on peak sales potential) COPENHAGEN Feb 22 Danish biotech drugmaker Genmab expects sales of Darzalex, used to fight cancer in bone marrow, to surpass $1 billion this year to become a blockbuster drug, the company said on Wednesday. The strong performance of Darzalex, which is currently approved to treat multiple myeloma, prompted six upward revisions to the company''s revenue and operating profit guidance for its 2016 financial year. The $1 billion a year required to achieve blockbuster is now in sight, with net sales of Darzalex -- approved in November 2015 and is marketed by Johnson & Johnson (J&J) -- expected to reach between $1.1 billion and $1.3 billion this year, up from $572 million in 2016, Genmab said. Analyst expectations, on average, are for Darzalex to generate as much as $1.18 billion in revenue this year and $2.53 billion by 2020, according to data from Thomson Reuters Cortellis. Shares in the Danish company have surged by more than 3,200 percent in the past five years as it has morphed from a cash-burning operation into a profitable business with actual drugs on the market. Genmab receives tiered royalties from J&J on its sales and expects to receive Darzalex royalties of between 930 million Danish crowns and 1,100 million crowns ($132 million-$156 million) and 800 million crowns in milestone payments this year. Operating income for 2016 came in at 1.1 billion crowns and is expected in the range of 900-1,100 million crowns in 2017. With a market capitalisation of $12 billion, Genmab is Europe''s second-biggest biotech company behind Actelion , although both still lag well behind the likes of U.S. groups Gilead, Amgen and Celgene. However, Genmab''s chief executive Jan van de Winkel believes that Darzalex has the potential to achieve peak annual sales as high as $13 billion if the drug is approved for a wider range of cancers. "It could work in other blood cancers as well as in solid tumours. So that means $13 billion potential if it would work in all the indications," van de Winkel told Reuters. He acknowledged that $13 billion would be the most rosy scenario but said that Darzalex could "definitely" achieve more than $9 billion. ($1 = 7.0497 Danish crowns) (Reporting by Stine Jacobsen; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and David Goodman) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/genmab-results-idUSL8N1G77A1'|'2017-02-23T03:04:00.000+02:00' +'96bfb7af67673879150ba9964c7c96b4e7de8eed'|'KKR buys 14.1 percent stake in GFK, Dell stake rises to 10.1 percent'|'FRANKFURT Private equity firm KKR ( KKR.N ) has acquired a stake of 14.1 percent in German research firm GFK ( GFKG.DE ), regulatory filings show, as it seeks to fight off rival investor Michael Dell.Together with GFK Verein, KKR is seeking to acquire control over 75 percent of GFK by end of Feb. 10, but rival investor Michael Dell has also started building a stake.Dell''s GFK shareholdings now amounts to 10.1 percent, the filings show.KKR made its 43.50 euros a share GKK offer conditional on surpassing a 18.54 percent threshold.Dell''s MSD Capital fund manages more than $12 billion in assets, the company says on its website, which lists merger arbitrage as one of its investment strategies.(Reporting by Alexander Huebner, writing by Edward Taylor; editing by Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/gfk-m-a-dell-idINKBN15O2OW'|'2017-02-09T16:38:00.000+02:00' +'e896a1d34ce3488b23aac072e79db6ed4e665425'|'Banque du Caire officially requests listing'|'Financials 29am EST Banque du Caire officially requests listing CAIRO Feb 1 Egyptian state-run lender Banque du Caire has officially requested that its shares be listed, the Cairo bourse said in a statement on Wednesday. "The documents are currently being examined to be submitted," it said. The bank has 2.25 billion Egyptian pounds ($119.17 million) in capital distributed over 562.5 million shares at a nominal value of 4 pounds per share, it said. ($1 = 18.8800 Egyptian pounds) (Reporting by Ehab Farouk; writing by Asma Alsharif; editing by Jason Neely) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/banque-du-caire-listing-idUSC6N1DT00J'|'2017-02-01T19:29:00.000+02:00' +'43ffcb3c752f0895367b72202f1a333e0f048993'|'Bahrain''s Investcorp H1 net income falls 30 pct'|'DUBAI Feb 9 Bahrain-based alternative investment fund Investcorp posted a 30 percent decrease in first-half net profit on Thursday.Profit fell to $35.6 million in the six months to Dec. 31 from $50.9 million in the prior-year period.Founded in 1982, making it one of the oldest Middle Eastern private equity houses, Investcorp is best known in the global space for listing luxury goods brands, such as Gucci and Tiffany & Co, but has increasingly branched out into other sectors too. (Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh; Editing by Andrew Torchia)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/investcorp-bank-results-idUSD5N1F6028'|'2017-02-09T08:32:00.000+02:00' +'544296bffaa6d2d3235395f23bdd7ac484d3ad21'|'US STOCKS-Wall St hits record highs as retailers post strong results'|' 47am EST US STOCKS-Wall St hits record highs as retailers post strong results * Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Macy''s rise after results * Popeyes up after Restaurant Brands agrees to buy company * Kraft Heinz top drag on S&P after failed Unilever bid * Indexes up: Dow 0.54 pct, S&P 0.53 pct, Nasdaq 0.37 pct (Adds details, comments, updates prices) By Yashaswini Swamynathan Feb 21 U.S. stocks hit record intraday highs on Tuesday amid gains across sectors as strong earnings from top retailers underscored the strength of the U.S. economy. One in every six stocks on the S&P 500 hit a new 52-week high as a rally sparked by President Donald Trump''s promise of tax reforms shows no sign of fading despite concerns around valuations. "There is no doubt in anyone''s mind that the market has become over extended and is due for a pullback," said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey. "That said, when you have this kind of momentum, it is very hard to sit on the sidelines." In the one month of Trump''s presidency, the S&P 500 hit record intraday highs 10 times, gained 3.9 percent and surpassed $20 trillion in market capitalization. Robust earnings have added to the momentum. Overall profit for S&P 500 companies is estimated to have risen 7.5 percent in the latest quarter - the biggest rise since the fourth quarter of 2014. Wal-Mart''s shares provided the biggest boost to the Dow, rising 4 percent after the company reported higher-than-expected U.S. sales. Department store bellwether Macy''s and home improvement chain Home Depot rose after the companies posted profits that topped estimates. All 11 major S&P sectors were higher on Tuesday, led by a 1 percent gain in the energy index as oil prices rose. At 11:01 a.m. ET (1601 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 112.22 points, or 0.54 percent, at 20,736.27, the S&P 500 was up 12.59 points, or 0.53 percent, at 2,363.75 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 21.51 points, or 0.37 percent, at 5,860.08. Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen jumped 19 percent to $78.80 after Restaurant Brands agreed to acquire the quick-service restaurant chain for $1.8 billion. Kraft Heinz shares were the top drag on the S&P, falling 3.3 percent after the company walked away from its $143 billion offer to buy Unilever, a day after the Anglo-Dutch company rejected the proposal. Unilever''s U.S.-listed shares were down 8.4 percent. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 2,054 to 797. On the Nasdaq, 1,570 issues rose and 1,128 fell. The S&P 500 index showed 83 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 184 new highs and 16 new lows. (Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-idUSL4N1G64G6'|'2017-02-21T23:47:00.000+02:00' +'62dbd0658186947b1a4de6f12502242a8ec89316'|'VimpelCom returns to growth in Q4; hikes dividend, cash flow targets'|' 1:12am EST VimpelCom returns to growth in Q4; hikes dividend, cash flow targets BARCELONA Feb 27 Russian and emerging markets communications network operator VimpelCom Ltd on Monday reported a return to growth in the final quarter of last year and posted solid progress in its 18-month-old turnaround strategy, including a six-fold dividend increase. For 2017, the company lifted its growth target for revenue, excluding acquisitions and disposals, to the low single digits as a percentage, compared with its prior outlook for flat to a low single digit. It also boosted its cash flow goal. For the fourth quarter, VimpelCom posted core earnings of $783 million while service revenue rose 3 percent across its dozen country markets, with strength in Pakistan and Ukraine offset by ongoing weakness in Algeria. VimpelCom generated $588 million of underlying equity-free cash flow in 2016 and raised its 2017 target to a range of $700 million to $800 million and to more than $1 billion for 2018, reflecting a return to stable growth and cost-cutting as it works to become a faster-moving data-driven company. Introducing a new dividend policy, VimpelCom said it would pay out 23 cents a share, including a 3.5 cent interim dividend paid in December and a final dividend of 19.5 cents to be paid in April. Three years earlier, it slashed its expected dividend to a token 3.5 cents from 80 cents. ( reut.rs/2leuT2c ) (Reporting by Eric Auchard; Editing by Christopher Cushing) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/vimpelcom-results-idUSL5N1GC05Y'|'2017-02-27T13:12:00.000+02:00' +'49f89f65fd769b19651f896889f434834bf3196a'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX pulls back from record high as resource shares fall'|' 24am EST CANADA (Adds details throughout on stocks and sectors and updates prices) * TSX falls 43.87 points, or 0.28 percent, to 15,878.50 * Five of the TSX''s 10 main groups rise At 11:03 a.m. ET (1603 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index fell 43.87 points, or 0.28 percent, to 15,878.50. Still, the TSX is up 3.9 percent since the start of the year after notching a 17.5 percent gain in 2016. Some of the biggest drags on the index were its major energy companies, with Canadian Natural Resources Ltd falling 1.3 percent to C$39.34 and Cenovus Energy retreating 2.9 percent to C$18.02. The overall energy group fell 1.3 percent, pressured by lower oil prices. U.S. crude prices were down 1.4 percent at $53.57 a barrel as the U.S. dollar <.DXY,> in which payments for crude are made, rose ahead of minutes of the Federal Reserve''s latest meeting. The energy group has fallen more than 7 percent year-to-date as investors weigh prospects for a proposed U.S. border adjustment which could hamper the competitiveness of Canada''s oil exports. The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, lost 1.2 percent, with Teck Resources Ltd losing more than 2 percent to C$28.55 and Barrick Gold Corp declining 1.6 percent to C$26.04. Gold futures fell 0.4 percent to $1,232.8 an ounce and copper prices declined 0.5 percent to $6,031 a tonne. Five of the index''s 10 main groups were lower. Among those that were higher, industrials climbed 0.6 percent as railroad stocks gained and financials firmed 0.1 percent. Meat packaging company Maple Leaf Foods reported a smaller-than-expected profit and also said it would allow its largest shareholder to take a bigger stake in the company. Its shares rose 0.4 percent to C$29.96. Waste Connections Inc advanced 2 percent to C$113.01. On Tuesday, it reported fourth-quarter results and provided a 2017 outlook. Canadian retail sales unexpectedly fell 0.5 percent in December as consumers bought fewer new cars and spent less during the holiday shopping season, putting a damper on expectations for economic growth at the year''s end. (Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-idUSL1N1G70ZP'|'2017-02-22T23:24:00.000+02:00' +'0972052a21b710f401f6298c19344659fd6b113a'|'UPDATE 1-Sweden''s MTG upbeat on 2017 after Q4 profit tops forecast'|' 48am EST UPDATE 1-Sweden''s MTG upbeat on 2017 after Q4 profit tops forecast (Adds CEO comments, detail) Feb 2 Swedish media group MTG said on Thursday it was aiming to grow profits and sales this year after posting a quarterly profit above market forecasts and proposing a raised dividend for 2016. * Q4 adjusted operating income 554 million SEK ($63.5 mln) vs 509 mln SEK seen in Reuters poll * Q4 sales of SEK 5.0 bln with 8 pct organic growth vs 4.9 bln SEK seen in Reuters poll * CEO Jorgen Madsen Lindemann says ambition for this year is to increase revenues and profits * CEO says keeps ambition for digital arm MTGx to be profitable in 2018 * CEO says aiming for MTGx to show lower losses this year * MTGx had negative operating margin of 21 pct in Q4 * CEO says hunt for new acquisitions going well * CEO says sees negative currency effects of around 100 million SEK in 2017 vs 250 mln last year * Board of directors to propose a dividend of SEK 12.00 per share vs 11.70 SEK seen in Reuters poll * With linear TV viewing in decline, MTG is transforming from a traditional broadcaster into a digital entertainment firm * Co said last month it had sold its stake in Czech FTV Prima Holding and was considering raising its ownership in online gaming firm InnoGames * MTG, controlled by Swedish investment firm Kinnevik , entered the multi-billion dollar online gaming market by taking a 35 percent stake in InnoGames in October last year ($1 = 8.7240 Swedish crowns) (Reporting by Helena Soderpalm; editing by Niklas Pollard) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/mtg-ceo-idUSL5N1FN1F7'|'2017-02-02T14:48:00.000+02:00' +'b2f222e725187e7f3711264c30609a831143c48e'|'Soon time to watch for rising global inflation?'|' 26pm GMT Global Economy Weekahead: Soon time to watch for rising global inflation? FILE PHOTO:A shopping trolley is pushed around a supermarket in London, Britain May 19, 2015. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth/File Photo By Ross Finley - LONDON LONDON The global economy has weathered the new U.S. administration''s sweeping challenges to the status quo with surprising aplomb given serious threats made to world trade, but what is not so clear is how much longer inflation will remain stubbornly low. Nearly a decade since the start of the financial crisis and an avalanche of emergency monetary stimulus that ensued, inflation is only just now close to the 2 percent target many of the world''s biggest central banks still keep. But there have been stirring signals on inflation elsewhere in the world, suggesting a turning point may be closer. The Reserve Bank of India just dropped its bias to ease policy, citing global inflation pressures as one reason for a sudden volte-face. Mexico''s central bank, grappling with a falling peso, hiked rates on Thursday to a near-eight year high. Key releases on inflation for the United States, Britain and China are due next week, forecast at 2.4, 1.9 and 2.4 percent, respectively, according to Reuters polls. The worry is with growth holding up and commodity prices giving inflation a nudge up now, the last thing needed with most major central bank rates still near zero is more fuel poured onto to an already-raging fire. An expected announcement from the Trump administration on plans for sweeping tax cuts is likely only weeks away, and has again boosted already-lofty stock prices, despite widespread worries about the barriers to trade that may come later. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is due to testify to Congress next week for the first time since Donald Trump moved into the White House. She doesn''t appear ready to signal a major step up in the Fed''s glacial pace of rate rises yet either. Inflation in the economy is picking up: but so far not because spare capacity has been eaten up in product and labour markets, triggering price rises driven by demand outstripping shortages of supply. Instead, the latest rise has to do with rising costs, particularly energy costs, leaving central bankers, notably European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, saying they will instead focus on the next round of inflation pressures. The main impediment to higher inflation rests in one of the side-effects from the free flow of labour: a lack of wage pressure. "What had appeared to be a promising trend of stronger wage growth broadening out to include more higher paying industries has reversed since late last year," notes Morgan Stanley U.S. economist Robert Rosener. "Wage pressures remain predominately in low-wage industries, limiting gains in overall aggregate wage growth." The U.S. unemployment rate is below 5 percent, close to where most economists say is the lowest it can go before shortages start to drive up the cost of labour. Despite this latest setback in the official data, the general expectation is that wage inflation will soon take off, especially given that it is one of President Trump''s stated aims to hire American. The talk of wage inflation has been less robust in the Britain, however. Britain is facing an imported inflation challenge following Britons'' majority vote last June to leave the European Union that caused a 15 percent fall in sterling. That could send inflation to 3 percent or higher later this year. The Bank of England just cut its estimate of the unemployment rate it thinks will generate inflation to 4.5 percent from 5.0 percent based on recent evidence that already-low unemployment isn''t boosting wages much. Its latest agents survey of businesses shows very modest expectations for pay settlements in the coming year, only slightly above 2 percent. Average UK weekly earnings excluding bonuses are forecast to rise 2.7 percent in the three months to December on a year ago, steady compared with the last official set of data. It is clear that going forward, there is still plenty of uncertainty over what Britain''s future trading relationship will be with the EU and how long that will take. But if the unemployment rate keeps falling, it should soon be time for a trend of rising wages to re-establish itself, so long as basic laws of economics still apply. "There seems to be a real inconsistency between the way the U.S. is being analysed and the way the UK is being analysed," said Charles Goodhart, former member of the BoE''s Monetary Policy Committee, at a recent conference hosted by Fathom Consulting and Thomson Reuters. "That means that there must be, to my mind, at least a 50 percent possibility that wages will go up in line with inflation... in which case interest rates in the UK will go up. So it all depends on wages. Watch wages like a hawk." '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-economy-weekahead-idUKKBN15P1WE'|'2017-02-10T22:26:00.000+02:00' +'3710380ff3824493d1078c74065690262d388691'|'China''s Sun Art''s 2016 profit up 5.2 pct, beats forecast'|'Company 6:40am EST China''s Sun Art''s 2016 profit up 5.2 pct, beats forecast HONG KONG Feb 19 Hypermarket operator Sun Art Retail Group Ltd on Sunday posted a 5.2 percent rise in 2016 net profit, beating forecasts, as steady demand from lower-tier cities helped offset increasing pressure from the country''s rapidly growing e-commerce sector. The retailer, a joint venture between Taiwanese conglomerate Ruentex Group and French retailer Groupe Auchan SA, posted a net profit of 2.6 billion yuan ($379 million) for the 12 months ended December, up from 2.4 billion yuan in 2015. That compared with an average forecast of 2.5 billion yuan from 16 analysts polled by Reuters. (Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Mark Potter) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/sun-art-results-idUSL4N1G028X'|'2017-02-19T18:40:00.000+02:00' +'09a3dcd725047d9887942d6ac64bc5a5970d8f1e'|'PSA Opel deal would benefit both companies - GM CEO'|'Company News 42am EST PSA Opel deal would benefit both companies - GM CEO FRANKFURT Feb 15 General Motors Chief Executive Mary Barra on Wednesday told employees that combining GM''s European Opel and Vauxhall business with Peugeot would be beneficial for both companies. "While there can be no assurance of any agreement, any possible transaction would enable PSA Groupe and Opel Vauxhall to leverage their complementary strengths, enhancing their competitive positions for the future in a rapidly changing European market," Barra said in message to staff, according to extracts of the message seen by Reuters. Barra urged employees not to let speculation about Opel''s fate distract the carmaker from carrying out its business. Barra concluded by saying that no additional information could be provided at this point, "because we are simply not at that point in our discussions." (Reporting by Edward Taylor. Editing by Jane Merriman) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/opel-ma-psa-barra-idUSL8N1G05YN'|'2017-02-15T23:42:00.000+02:00' +'71c22e87e6eea49945ea2c9d59e4857281cb964b'|'Toshiba says not aware Westinghouse unit considering Chapter 11 filing'|'Company 8:48pm unit TOKYO Feb 24 Toshiba Corp Company News UPDATE 2-YPF, Shell sign deal for Vaca Muerta pilot project BUENOS AIRES, Feb 23 Argentina''s state-run oil company YPF SA said it reached a preliminary deal with Royal Dutch Shell Plc on Thursday to develop oil and gas assets in the Vaca Muerta shale field, involving a $300 million investment from Shell.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/toshiba-accounting-idUST9N1FM040'|'2017-02-24T08:48:00.000+02:00' +'b5f94a461bd8071b589aa620959ad94b07fc1a35'|'Oscars ratings for 2017 pacing behind last year in early numbers -Nielsen'|'Company 59am EST Oscars ratings for 2017 pacing behind last year in early numbers -Nielsen Feb 27 ABC''s broadcast of The 89th Academy Awards on Sunday night drew a 22.4 overnight rating, according to Nielsen data released by the Walt Disney Co unit. The 22.4 rating is down 4 percent from last years show, which ended up translating to 34.4 million, the third-lowest rated since 1974. ABC will release viewership numbers later on Monday. (Reporting by Tim Baysinger; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/awards-oscars-ratings-idUSL2N1GC0L0'|'2017-02-27T21:59:00.000+02:00' +'6c26ff154dd9675a833f701dbfc9cfe6c86a81b6'|'Toshiba to purchase IHI''s stake in Westinghouse'|' 51am EST Toshiba to purchase IHI''s stake in Westinghouse TOKYO Feb 17 Toshiba Corp on Friday said it would buy 3 percent of U.S. nuclear power subsidiary Westinghouse Electric Co LLC from Japanese infrastructure firm IHI Corp for $157 million. Toshiba said it had received notice from IHI that it would exercise an option to sell its Westinghouse stake to Toshiba. Toshiba is trying to sell part or all of its stake in its memory chip business as it seeks funds to offset an multi-billion dollar writedown at Westinghouse. (Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Christopher Cushing) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/toshiba-accounting-idUST9N1FM03A'|'2017-02-17T14:51:00.000+02:00' +'155ed5fbc7375071881a0a0e63f5d76775542e73'|'China global trade settled in yuan drops to more than 3-year lows - StanChart'|'Business News - Wed Feb 8, 2017 - 4:56am GMT China global trade settled in yuan drops to more than 3-year lows - StanChart HONG KONG Cross-border trade settled in the Chinese currency plunged to the lowest levels in more than three years in December as stricter capital controls and fears of further weakness in the yuan dampened global interest in the currency. The decline could mark a major setback for Beijing, which has tried to foster greater usage of the yuan in cross-border trade to expand its global clout. The yuan, also known as the renminbi, fell 6.6 percent against the dollar last year, its worst annual drop since 1994, reducing its attractiveness to both trading companies and investors. While the yuan has steadied early this year due to dollar weakness and tighter controls on moving funds out of China, currency strategists polled by Reuters expect it will resume its descent soon, especially if the U.S. continues to raise interest rates, which would trigger fresh capital outflows. Renminbi trade settlement accounted for only 11.5 percent of Chinas total goods trade in December, the lowest since September 2013, and down from over 28 percent a year earlier. That contributed to a general decline in an index tracking offshore yuan usage across various metrics compiled by Standard Chartered Bank. "In addition to stricter scrutiny of cross-border flows and depreciation worries, less effective liquidity management and hedging tools probably weighed on corporates sentiment," analysts at the bank wrote in a note. (Reporting by Saikat Chatterjee; Editing by Kim Coghill) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-trade-yuan-idUKKBN15N0DB'|'2017-02-08T11:56:00.000+02:00' +'c8170aabfa9b656c7df64211c51955b26053d90e'|'Enbridge, Spectra Energy to settle charges merger would harm competition: FTC'|'WASHINGTON Energy infrastructure firms Enbridge Inc ( ENB.TO ) and Spectra Energy Corp ( SE.N ) have agreed to settle charges their merger would hurt competition in the market for gas pipeline transportation in three areas off the Louisiana coast, the Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday.The FTC said the firms agreed to resolve the charges by adopting a consent decree that would require Enbridge to notify the panel before acquiring an ownership interest in any natural gas pipeline operating in the Grand Canyon, Walker Ridge and Keathley Canyon areas off Louisiana.The decree also would require Enbridge to notify the FTC before increasing Spectra''s ownership interest in certain pipelines in the area and would require Enbridge to establish firewalls to limit its access to non-public information about Discovery Pipeline. Spectra affiliated firms have a 40 percent interest in Discovery, the FTC said.(Reporting by David Alexander; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-enbridge-spectra-energy-merger-idINKBN15V2EG'|'2017-02-16T14:54:00.000+02:00' +'7df3731db12d4088840f43ab96fc9a1a35cadc8a'|'Asia gains as Wall Street extends record rise, dollar dips'|' 3:32am GMT Asia gains as Wall Street extends record rise, dollar dips A Chinese investor monitors share prices at a securities company in Shanghai November 12, 2003. REUTERS/Claro Cortes IV/File Photo By Shinichi Saoshiro - TOKYO TOKYO Asian stocks rose on Wednesday, joining a record-setting session for global markets as investors cheered upbeat factory activity in Europe and solid earnings on Wall Street. But the dollar dipped, reversing an earlier rise made on hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.5 percent, taking its cues from the world stock index rising to an all-time peak of 446.21 overnight. South Korea''s Kospi added 0.1 percent, Shanghai climbed 0.2 percent and Hong Kong''s Hang Seng rose 0.7 percent. Japan''s Nikkei <.N225. bucked the trend and shed 0.2 percent. The Dow rose 0.6 percent on Tuesday to notch a record closing high for the eighth straight session, lifted by strong earnings reports from Wal-Mart and Home Depot. [.N] That followed a strong showing in European equities, which were boosted by upbeat German and French factory activity data, with Germany''s DAX rising to its highest in nearly two years. "U.S. stock markets are currently a great example of the old trading adage that the trend is your friend," wrote Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets. "The slide in the euro as Marie Le Penn''s polls improve was the other key feature of international markets last night and is an early indicator that French elections could loom larger on the market radar over coming weeks." The euro inched up 0.1 percent to $1.0549after losing more than 0.7 percent the previous day. While the European political concerns remain a drag on the euro, the dollar had received further support following hawkish comments from Cleveland and Philadelphia Fed Presidents Loretta Mester and Patrick Harker. Mester expressed comfort at raising rates at this point, while Harker reportedly said a March rate hike was on the table. Financial markets are waiting on the Fed''s Jan. 31-Feb. 1 policy meeting minutes due later in the day for fresh hints on the central bank''s stance toward interest rates. The dollar slipped 0.3 percent to 113.350 yen after climbing to a five-day high of 113.780 overnight. The greenback''s index against a basket of major currencies was a shade lower at 101.270 after gaining 0.5 percent the previous day. A recent big mover in currencies was the Mexican peso which rallied against the dollar on news that the country''s central bank will offer up to $20 billion in currency hedges to tame market volatility. The Mexican peso surged 1.7 percent against the dollar overnight, breaking the psychological level of 20 per dollar or the first time since Donald Trump''s November U.S. election victory. Trump''s threats to impose trade barriers on Mexico had recently pushed the peso to record lows. "This is the most important change in the approach to FX policy since the Tequila Crisis," said Marco Oviedo, an economist at Barclays in Mexico City, referring to the economic crisis that pushed Mexico to adopt a free-floating peso in 1994. The Australian dollar, which has enjoyed steady gains this year on country''s relatively high yields and the rise in the price of iron ore, climbed 0.3 percent to $0.7696. In commodities, crude extended gains from the previous day when it touched 1-1/2-month peaks on OPEC''s optimism for greater compliance with its deal with other producers including Russia to curb output. [O/R] Brent crude rose 0.5 percent to $56.92 a barrel and U.S. crude added 0.4 percent to $54.53 a barrel. (Additional reporting by Michael O''Boyle, ALexandra Alper and Paulina Osorio in Mexico City; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Kim Coghill) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUKKBN161039'|'2017-02-22T10:18:00.000+02:00' +'26500dabd5ef4f9034807e0f0210d396a771a650'|'Germany encouraged over Opel jobs, but UK union worries'|'Deals - Mon Feb 20, 2017 - 3:27pm GMT Germany encouraged over Opel jobs, but UK union worries left Opel presents their new Crossland X SUV in Frankfurt, Germany February 20, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski 1/8 left right An Opel logo is seen on a car in Bordeaux, France, February 20, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau 2/8 Opel presents their new Crossland X SUV in Frankfurt, Germany February 20, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski 3/8 Opel presents their new Crossland X SUV in Frankfurt, Germany February 20, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski 4/8 Opel presents their new Crossland X SUV in Frankfurt, Germany February 20, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski 5/8 left right FILE PHOTO: The logo of Opel is seen at the entrance of a dealership of the brand in Strasbourg, France, February 14, 2017. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler/File Photo 6/8 left right An Opel logo is seen on a car in Bordeaux, France, February 20, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau 7/8 Opel presents their new Crossland X SUV in Frankfurt, Germany February 20, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski 8/8 By Gernot Heller and Costas Pitas - BERLIN/LONDON BERLIN/LONDON Initial talks between the German government and carmakers PSA ( PEUP.PA ) and General Motors ( GM.N ) have led to some encouraging signs that jobs at Opel factories will be preserved, though no guarantees have been made yet, a top official said on Monday. In contrast, a source close to Britain''s biggest trade union said it was increasingly concerned about the future of Vauxhall plants in England, should Peugeot-maker PSA seal a deal to buy GM''s European Opel/Vauxhall arm. Europe''s car industry has been dogged by overcapacity for years, and analysts have said the planned sale of GM''s loss making European business to France''s PSA is likely to result in some cutbacks. Two sources close to PSA told Reuters last week that job and plant cuts were part of the tie-up talks, with the two Vauxhall sites in Britain in the front line. Britain''s decision to leave the European Union, which could lead to trade tariffs, could be a factor in the decision, although the country''s politicians and unions are lobbying hard. Of GM Europe''s roughly 38,000 staff, around half are in Germany and about 4,500 in Britain. German Deputy Economy Minister Matthias Machnig said on Monday GM and PSA had so far not given any binding guarantees on German jobs, but that there had been some encouraging signs. "This is why speculation is premature at this point," Machnig told German television station ARD. He expressed hope that a combination with France''s PSA could form the basis of a better future for Opel. German newspaper Bild am Sonntag had reported that PSA had pledged to continue operating all four of Opel''s German production sites. That sent alarm bells ringing in Britain. "We are increasingly concerned after reports that German plants are safe," the trade union source told Reuters, adding the head of the Unite union, Len McCluskey, was likely to meet PSA Chief Executive Carlos Tavares in London on Friday. HIGH STAKES Germany will hold a federal election in September and any major job cuts at Opel could weaken the chances of Chancellor Angela Merkel getting re-elected for a fourth term. Merkel is constantly being updated on the progress of talks between the government and the management of the carmakers, government spokesman Steffen Seibert said during a regular news conference in Berlin on Monday. Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries will discuss the planned deal in talks with her French counterpart Michel Sapin during her visit in Paris on Thursday, a ministry spokesman said. He added Berlin was also in contact with the British government and the two countries would not let themselves be played off against each other. British business minister Greg Clark is due to meet PSA''s Tavares "towards the end of the week," a government source said, in a key test of Britain''s ability to retain investment after its Brexit vote in June. Last year, Japanese carmaker Nissan ( 7201.T ) asked for a pledge of compensation if its UK plant was hit by Brexit, but went on to invest in two new models after what a source described as a government promise of extra support to counter any loss of competitiveness. British Prime Minister Theresa May also plans to speak with Tavares and is determined to protect Britain''s car industry, her spokesman said on Monday. "It''s going to be a private conversation. There''s been a request for a meeting and we will try to make that meeting happen, but I am not going to go into what the nature of that conversation will be," he told reporters. (Reporting by Gernot Heller and Michael Nienaber; Editing by Mark Potter) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-opel-m-a-psa-idUKKBN15Z0XV'|'2017-02-20T22:26:00.000+02:00' +'66ce9bf9da7daeb16b1aa1d515cdb0658950ce18'|'Sensex largely flat ahead of RBI monetary policy meet'|'By Arnab Paul Indian shares oscillated in and out of positive terrain on Wednesday amid tepid investor sentiment ahead of the central bank''s monetary policy decision later in the day.Analysts expect a close call with 28 of 46 participants in a Reuters poll last week predicting the Reserve Bank of India will cut the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.0 percent, its lowest since November 2010, while two analysts expected a 50 bps cut.The broader NSE Nifty was up 0.09 percent at 8,776.25 as of 0552 GMT, while the benchmark BSE Sensex was trading 0.01 percent down at 28,332.77Earlier this week, both indexes had hit a four-month high on rate-cut hopes.Tata Steel Ltd ( TISC.NS ) was among top gainers on the NSE index, rising to over two-year high after reporting its first quarterly profit in five.FMCG stocks were among the biggest decliners with cigarette maker ITC Ltd ( ITC.NS ) falling as much as 1.7 percent after it hit a record high in the previous session.(Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/india-sensex-nifty-stock-markets-idINKBN15N0H7'|'2017-02-08T03:21:00.000+02:00' +'cb4227b8f0e9c51a7cdfdb6ffda3a5509d77d079'|'Advent raises bid in three-way tussle for in tussle for Stada'|'Business News - Thu Feb 23, 2017 - 4:54pm GMT Advent raises bid in three-way tussle for in tussle for Stada The logo of the pharmaceutical company Stada Arzneimittel AG is pictured at its headquarters in Bad Vilbel near Frankfurt March 14, 2012. REUTERS/Alex Domanski By Ludwig Burger and Arno Schuetze - FRANKFURT FRANKFURT Buyout firm Advent International raised the stakes in the three-way bidding tussle for German drug company Stada Arzneimittel ( STAGn.DE ) on Thursday with a 3.6 billion euro (3 billion pound) takeover offer, giving management until Monday to respond. Stada has become the subject of a bidding war between Cinven, Advent and a third buyout group that sources have identified as Bain Capital. Advent''s binding offer, which was not extended to shareholders directly, is for 58 euros per share in cash plus the dividend for 2016. It is limited until Monday and subject to the approval of Stada''s executive board, Stada said in a statement. Should the management board approve the offer, it could soon be extended to shareholders, though Stada signalled that it would not dismiss other options quite yet. "The Executive Board will review the offer in the best interest of the company and will continue the open-minded talks with all interested parties," the company said. Previous expressions of interest, which have been non-binding, were 56 euros per share from Cinven and, sources said, 58 euros from Bain. Advent''s previous offer proposal was for around 55 euros, sources close to the matter said. Three sources familiar with the matter said that information on Stada''s business provided to Advent encouraged the buyout firm to go ahead with the offer. The limited data provided to Cinven and Bain, meanwhile, has so far kept them from making firm offers. Advent''s move puts pressure on Stada to allow a fuller glance at its books, the sources added. Seeking investments in stable healthcare businesses, cash-rich buyout firms -- also including Permira and CVC -- have been working on offers for months and approached Stada about a deal, people familiar with the situation have told Reuters. The approaches vindicate the strategy of activist investor Active Ownership Capital (AOC), which built a stake of about 7 percent in shares and options before May last year, when the shares were trading at about 30 euros. In the wake of the investor''s campaign for a management shake-up, long-serving Chief Executive Hartmut Retzlaff stepped down for health reasons last year. In addition, non-executive Chairman Martin Abend was replaced by Carl Ferdinand Oetker, a member of the family behind the unlisted German food group. Founded in 1895 in Dresden as a pharmacists'' cooperative, Stada is seeking to expand its non-prescription consumer care business and also expand in areas such as cosmetics, diagnostics kits and electronic cigarettes. Its generic drug business is under price pressure as medical insurers in Germany, its largest market, are seeking bulk procurement deals at low prices. Under former CEO Retzlaff, it has steered clear of a major consolidation wave in the generic drugs industry, which was driven by larger players such as Teva ( TEVA.TA ) and Allergan ( AGN.N ). Stada shares were flat at 57.65 euros at 1530 GMT. ($1 = 0.9456 euros) (Additional reporting by Alexander Huebner; Editing by David Goodman) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-stada-m-a-advent-idUKKBN162221'|'2017-02-23T23:54:00.000+02:00' +'582d8c5c90ba3d486b8e1ca27385450e29fd64e3'|'BRIEF-Cedar fair says on track to achieve long-term adjusted EBITDA target'|'Company News - Wed Feb 15, 2017 - 5:16am EST BRIEF-Cedar fair says on track to achieve long-term adjusted EBITDA target Feb 15 Cedar Fair Lp * Cedar fair reports record results for 2016 on strong attendance and guest spending growth * On track to achieve our long-term adjusted EBITDA target of $500 million by end of 2017 Source text for Eikon: Europe ready to embrace first copies of biotech cancer drugs LONDON, Feb 15 Treatment with two important cancer drugs is about to get much cheaper in Europe with a cut-price copy of Roche''s blood cancer drug Rituxan likely to hit the market imminently followed by a rival to its breast cancer medicine Herceptin. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSASB0B0C7'|'2017-02-15T17:16:00.000+02:00' +'ac7b59cd9597cfda4b3528845ba730bb644fbab3'|'BRIEF-Univision Communications says will stream 46 Liga MX matches in 2017 via Facebook Live'|'Company 35pm EST BRIEF-Univision Communications says will stream 46 Liga MX matches in 2017 via Facebook Live Feb 13 Univision Communications * Univision Deportes will stream 46 Liga MX matches including playoff games in 2017 via Facebook Live * Will bring the live stream for select matches of Liga MX, directly to fans in English via Facebook Live this season * Further terms of the agreement were not disclosed Source: bit.ly/2kkcBRC Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL8N1FY5VQ'|'2017-02-14T01:35:00.000+02:00' +'56a1fac5638d5edcbbfa0a9e58b3c869184da774'|'Deutsche Boerse, LSE to formally offer sale of French clearing ops'|' 6:15am GMT Deutsche Boerse, LSE to formally offer sale of French clearing ops Traders work at their desks in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote FRANKFURT Deutsche Boerse ( DB1Gn.DE ) and the London Stock Exchange ( LSE.L ) will formally offer to divest their French clearing business as a remedy to the European Commission to address anti-trust concerns in relation to the merger of the two exchange operators, Deutsche Boerse said. The groups had already said last month they would sell the unit, LCH.Clearnet SA, to Euronext ( ENX.PA ) for 510 million euros (438.13 million pounds) as they seek to win regulatory approval for their proposed deal. The European Commission has expressed antitrust concerns about the $28 billion merger and the impact on the clearing of derivatives contracts in particular. ($1 = 0.9335 euros) (Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Kim Coghill) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deutsche-boerse-m-a-lse-idUKKBN15M0DT'|'2017-02-07T13:15:00.000+02:00' +'d0400af3235877663691d04e4295c5481106d6da'|'BRIEF-Hecla Q4 earnings per share $0.05'|'Company News 4:57am EST BRIEF-Hecla Q4 earnings per share $0.05 Feb 23 Hecla Mining Co * Hecla reports fourth quarter and year 2016 results * Q4 earnings per share $0.05 * Silver cost of sales is estimated to increase to $358 million in 2017 * Looking to 2017, we estimate silver equivalent production will be higher than record we set in 2016 * Qtrly sales $164.2 million versus $115.3 million * Q4 earnings per share view $0.04, revenue view $162.2 million -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * Estimated 2017 silver equivalent production of 46.5 million ounces-49.4 million ounces Source text for Eikon:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-hecla-q4-earnings-per-share-idUSASB0B1SF'|'2017-02-23T16:57:00.000+02:00' +'57397d7551e29ebd55272f808eea01a3f4f03982'|'Samsung Display gets license to invest $2.5 billion more in Vietnam: state TV'|'HANOI Samsung Electronics Co Ltd''s display panel subsidiary has received a license to invest another $2.5 billion in Vietnam to boost capacity, Vietnam''s State Television (VTV)reported.The extra funding will boost Samsung Display''s total investment in Vietnam to $6.5 billion and increase the South Korean firm''s screen-making capacity to 220 million products a year from 180 million now, VTV said.Vietnam is a major smartphone manufacturing base for Samsung Electronics and its subsidiaries, which have already invested billions of dollars in the country.(Reporting by Mai Nguyen; editing by David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-samsung-elec-vietnam-idUSKBN1631FL'|'2017-02-24T15:53:00.000+02:00' +'7af25a3b542d3f926f9a7efac4a48f0d11dbd9bd'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Rand on edge before Zuma speech; other emerging markets firm'|' 32am EST EMERGING MARKETS-Rand on edge before Zuma speech; other emerging markets firm LONDON Feb 9 Emerging stocks flirted with new five-month highs on Thursday and currencies mostly firmed versus a tepid dollar, except for the South African rand which fell before the president''s annual state of the nation address. MSCI''s emerging equity benchmark gained 0.4 percent, lifted by solid gains in China and elsewhere in Asia while bourses in South Africa and Turkey rose around 0.5 percent. The rand weakened as much as 0.5 percent against the dollar at one point ahead of President Jacob Zuma''s annual speech where he is expected to outline government plans to improve the economy and could also announce a cabinet reshuffle. "Investors in emerging markets overall are still cautiously optimistic," said Paul Fage, senior emerging markets strategist at TD Securities. "The rand is the biggest mover today ... the one person the market has their eye on is what happens to finance minister (Pravin) Gordhan and I can''t believe Zuma would be crazy enough to get rid of him, even if there is no love lost between the two," he said. Zuma has downplayed the prospect of a significant reshuffle but investors remain nervous given the importance of reform to lift the country''s sluggish growth rate and avert ratings downgrade to sub-investment grade. Uday Patnaik, head of emerging debt at Legal & General noted a potential improvement in growth prospects this year. But he remains neutral on the credit, adding: "This Zuma issue, we don''t know what he wants to do, there is still a chance they get junked in summer and it depends on what he does." Mexico''s peso also booked losses ahead of a central bank meeting which may raise interest rates by 50 basis points to 6.25 percent to stem accelerating inflation fanned by currency falls and a gasoline price hike. However, Russia''s rouble, buoyed by higher oil prices , strengthened 0.3 percent against the dollar, Turkey''s lira struggled 0.1 percent higher and most Asian currencies also firmed. In central Europe, Romania''s leu edged lower but was set for its biggest weekly gain in a year despite hundreds of thousands of Romanians taking to the street to protest a government decree to decriminalize some graft offences. "We don''t think this will result in a full blown political crisis...but the stand-off between the government and the protesters will go on for the time being," said Andreas Schwabe, senior economist at Raiffeisen Bank International in Vienna. Schwab said overly optimistic economic growth forecasts in the draft budget were more worrying. "The budget deficit will be higher than 3 percent, maybe 3.5 percent and that would be above the threshold the European Union and the Commission wants to see," he said. Elsewhere, Nigeria indicated it could offer around 8.5 percent for a $1 billion 15-year eurobond. For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance 2016, see tmsnrt.rs/2e7eoml For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance 2016, see tmsnrt.rs/2dZbdP5 Emerging Markets Prices from Reuters Equities Latest Net Chg % Chg % Chg on year Morgan Stanley Emrg Mkt Indx 925.52 +3.84 +0.42 +7.34 Czech Rep 957.15 +1.94 +0.20 +3.86 Poland 2110.19 +26.54 +1.27 +8.33 Hungary 32806.27 +210.35 +0.65 +2.51 Romania 7622.15 +16.98 +0.22 +7.58 Greece 610.77 -0.09 -0.01 -5.11 Russia 1158.85 -5.80 -0.50 +0.57 South Africa 45122.14 +199.21 +0.44 +2.78 Turkey 88565.85 +316.77 +0.36 +13.34 China 3183.79 +16.81 +0.53 +2.58 India 28312.71 +22.79 +0.08 +6.33 Currencies Latest Prev Local Local close currency currency'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-idUSL5N1FT6XX'|'2017-02-09T17:32:00.000+02:00' +'8f2ccd44236463d7faa85872ef3f64710d275abe'|'BRIEF-Level 3 communications says entered into 12th amendment agreement to existing credit agreement'|' 18am EST BRIEF-Level 3 communications says entered into 12th amendment agreement to existing credit agreement Feb 27 Level 3 Communications Inc: * Level 3 Communications Inc- on February 22 unit entered into a twelfth amendment agreement to existing credit agreement - sec filing * Level 3 Communications Inc- tranche b 2024 term loan matures on February 22, 2024 - sec filing * Level 3 Communications - amendment to credit agreement to incur $4.6 billion in borrowings under existing credit agreement through new tranche b 2024 term loan * Level 3 Communications - proceeds of tranche b 2024 term loan used to pre-pay level 3 financing''s $815 million tranche b-iii 2019 term loan among other things Source text - bit.ly/2lgdmXG '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-level-3-communications-says-entere-idUSFWN1GC0TB'|'2017-02-27T21:18:00.000+02:00' +'fea5a0eb2aaa7e4927fdad7197f784aa4163e172'|'De Beers to hold diamond exploration spend steady in 2017'|'Business News - Mon Feb 6, 2017 - 12:40pm GMT De Beers to hold diamond exploration spend steady in 2017 The De Beers logo is displayed in Hong Kong, China, September 14, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo CAPE TOWN Anglo American''s ( AAL.L ) diamond unit De Beers will keep its diamond exploration budget steady at $35 million in 2017, the company said, although it has turned to new technology to try to improve the rate of discoveries. Many mining companies cut exploration spending because of a slump in commodity prices in 2015, as well as a widening gap between expenditure and the value of resources found as the best quality ores are depleted. "Our exploration spend this year is likely to be in line with last year''s, around $35 million," De Beers said in an email. De Beers, however, is employing a high-tech detection method that measures the tiny magnetic field shifts that indicate the presence of a kimberlite pipe, where diamonds are found, well below the surface of the earth. The industry as a whole invested around $7 billion on exploration between 2000 and 2013, De Beers figures show. The results of this spending have been meagre. De Beers says only one diamond deposit of significant size has been discovered Bunder in India, which Rio Tinto ( RIO.AX ) ( RIO.L ) found in 2004. Last year De Beers also brought on a new mine in Canada, saying it was the world''s largest new diamond mine but would not result in a supply surge because it was only helping to replace diamonds that have been sold. Some analysts talk about peak diamonds and De Beers has a policy of balancing production and demand to maintain its position as the biggest producer by value. Russia''s Alrosa ( ALRS.MM ) is the biggest diamond producer by volume. Anglo American has placed diamonds, along with copper and platinum, at the core of a business it wants to focus on increased margins rather than bulk. Diamond sales recovered in 2016 as the entire industry bounced back from a slump in 2015. Sales of smaller grades, however, were hit late last year by India''s decision to phase out higher denomination bank notes, constraining consumer spending in a largely cash economy. (Reporting by Barbara Lewis, editing by David Evans) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-africa-mining-debeers-idUKKBN15L1CW'|'2017-02-06T19:40:00.000+02:00' +'46aaa60059f15a789b7bd5e46fbe5c259171dc38'|'METALS-Copper and zinc rebound on supply concerns'|'Company 7:11am EST METALS-Copper and zinc rebound on supply concerns * Freeport says could damages in Grasberg dispute * Officials at Chile mine put conditions on meeting with union * LME on-warrant zinc inventories slide to lowest since 2009 (Adds quotes, updates prices; changes dateline from MELBOURNE) By Eric Onstad LONDON, Feb 20 Copper bounced back above $6,000 a tonne on Monday as a dispute escalated over the world''s second-biggest copper operation in Indonesia while zinc was boosted by a drop in inventories. Supply issues dominated the base metals market, with nickel also gaining ground to reach a two-month high as the market tracked the latest plans by the Philippines to close mines on environmental grounds. In copper, U.S. mining giant Freeport-McMoRan Inc warned on Monday that it could take the Indonesian government to arbitration and seek damages over a contractual dispute that has halted operations at its huge Grasberg mine. "From a fundamental perspective, it really is supply that''s supporting prices, because we''re not very clear on demand at the moment given the delays to Chinese data," said Caroline Bain, chief commodities economist at Capital Economics. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange had risen 0.9 percent to $6,016 a tonne by 1145 GMT, recovering from losses on Friday. Further tightening supply is a strike at Chile''s Escondida copper mine, the world''s biggest, which has extended into a second week. Both Grasberg and Escondida declared force majeure last week. "We expect the copper market to move into deficit in 2017 for the first time in six years," Citi said in a report. "We believe market tightness, and associated positive investor flows, will prompt copper prices to sustain a push above $6,000/T (in the second-half of 2017), with peaks of close to $7,000/T expected before year-end." Copper prices hit $6,204 a week ago after Escondida, operated by BHP Billiton, declared force majeure, though industry sources said that smelters and fabricators were still amply supplied with metal. Escondida representatives plan to attend talks with striking workers on Monday as long as the union does not interfere with a shift change for non-union employees. LME zinc gained 1.3 percent to $2,845 after LME data showed on-warrant inventories MZNSTX-TOTAL -- those not earmarked for shipment from warehouses and therefore available to investors -- slid 11 percent to 258,050 tonnes, the lowest since January 2009. Zinc has gained 10 percent this year on concerns that the closure and suspensions of big mines will create shortages. "Turnover has really picked up since the (inventory) announcement ... over four times the 20-day average," Alastair Munro at Marex Spectron said in a note. Nickel extended recent gains, adding 0.2 percent to $11,075, the highest since Dec. 19. The Philippines'' environment minister said on Monday that she stands by her decision to shut more than half the country''s operating mines and bar mining in watershed zones ahead of an inter-agency meeting later in the day to review the move. PRICES'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/global-metals-idUSL4N1G5337'|'2017-02-20T19:11:00.000+02:00' +'90534123d267b8d3bf0778a8dc0fc63205d18485'|'Shell submits plan for dismantling Brent North Sea production platforms'|'Global Energy 12:51pm GMT Shell submits plan for dismantling Brent North Sea production platforms A Shell logo is seen reflected in a car''s side mirror at a petrol station in west London, Britain, January 29, 2015. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo LONDON Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) has submitted a plan to the British government for dismantling its Brent North Sea production platforms, a turning point for the UK oil industry as operators face the huge challenge of gradually abandoning depleted fields after 40 years of production. Shell on Wednesday lodged the plans for decommissioning production at the huge Brent field, which lends its name to the globally traded benchmark crude oil grade and which has produced over 3 billion barrels of oil equivalent since 1976. The government has in turn invited public responses to Shell''s proposals over the coming 60 days, a longer consultation period than usual because the decommissioning programme is so complex. It will then analyse the feedback and subsequently decide whether to approve the plan. "Any decommissioning plan will be carefully considered by the government, taking into account environmental, safety and cost implications, the impact on other users of the sea and a public consultation," a spokesman for the government''s department of business, energy and industrial strategy said. Shell will start the programme this year by removing the 24,200 tonne topside of the Brent Delta platform, a process which was already approved two years ago. following Delta''s cessation of production in 2011. The Brent field continues to produce oil from the Charlie platform and Shell said it expected to maintain output from there "for some time". Companies operating in UK waters need to dismantle around 7,500 kilometres of pipelines and more than 100 platforms at an estimated cost of 17.6 billion pounds by 2025, according to industry body Oil & Gas UK. These costs have been provided for by the operators and the British government through tax relief. (Reporting by Karolin Schaps; Editing by Greg Mahlich) Next In Global Energy News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-shell-britain-decommissioning-brent-idUKKBN15N1EX'|'2017-02-08T19:51:00.000+02:00' +'d53889dd957fb55f672c33a5f7db9ee3af80f7d5'|'Banks and earnings power European shares'|' 28am EST Banks and earnings power European shares LONDON Feb 15 European shares rose in early trade on Wednesday as French lender Credit Agricole led banking stocks higher and earnings provided a boost. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.3 percent in early trade with the European banking index the top-gaining sector, up 1.2 percent. Shares in Credit Agricole Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Sanjeeban Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idUSL4N1G02GA'|'2017-02-15T13:34:00.000+02:00' +'a3fb1806e013860bcb5763607673706274e92c41'|'SpaceX rocket poised for second launch try from historic NASA pad'|'Company 2:00am EST SpaceX rocket poised for second launch try from historic NASA pad By Irene Klotz - CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. Feb 19 Countdown clocks were ticking down on Sunday for the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from a historic launchpad leased from NASA at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Blastoff of Space Exploration Technology Corp''s Falcon 9 rocket is targeted for 9:38 a.m. local time/1438 GMT on a mission to fly supplies and science experiments to the International Space Station. SpaceX scrubbed its first launch attempt on Saturday seconds before liftoff due to concerns about the steering system in the rocket''s upper stage, the company said. SpaceX founder and Chief Executive Elon Musk wrote on Twitter after the delay, "99% likely to be fine ... but that 1% chance isn''t worth rolling the dice. Better to wait a day." The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which hired SpaceX to fly cargo to the station after the shuttle program ended, will closely monitor Sunday''s launch to learn more about SpaceX''s operations before it clears the company to fly NASA astronauts on SpaceX rockets. "We''re going in and listening to their launches and getting smart so we can have intelligent discussions with them and offer feedback about how things might be different if you''re launching people," Stephen Payne, NASA''s launch integration manager for the commercial space taxi program, said in an interview. SpaceX and Boeing are scheduled to begin flying crew to the station by the end of 2018. But a Government Accountability Office report last week said both firms face technical hurdles that likely will delay their programs. This is the first time SpaceX is launching a rocket from Kennedy Space Center''s historic Launch Complex 39A, which was originally built for the 1960s-era Apollo moon program and later repurposed for the space shuttles. SpaceX leased the pad from NASA in 2014 and is spending upwards of $100 million to ready it for a variety of NASA, commercial and military launches, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said. "It means a lot to see the pad just not sit and waste away," Kennedy Space Center director Bob Cabana told reporters. SpaceX hopes to have its second Florida launchpad, located at the nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, back in operation this summer. That pad was heavily damaged in a Sept. 1 rocket explosion. (Editing by Alex Dobuzinskis and Himani Sarkar) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/space-spacex-launch-idUSL1N1G4024'|'2017-02-19T14:00:00.000+02:00' +'5ceda379bc5ea453be746da0ac1f9b4753e8c55d'|'ABN Amro authorized to subpoena more Transmar units in asset search'|'NEW YORK ABN Amro Capital USA LLC has been granted authority to issue subpoenas to the U.S. and Ecuadorian units of cocoa trading house Transmar Group Ltd, a court filing showed on Tuesday, as the bank searches for more than $300 million in assets.The bank has widened its search on behalf of the company''s lenders for assets that they say disappeared from Transmar Commodity Group Ltd before it filed for bankruptcy on Dec. 31, 2016, a court document showed. The lenders say the assets could have helped cover Transmar''s debt.Transmar Commodity Group is a U.S. unit of Transmar Group, which is based in Morristown, New Jersey.ABN Amro Capital USA LLC, a unit of ABN Amro Group NV and agent for lenders to Transmar Commodity Group, was authorized to issue subpoenas to several companies, including Transmar Commodity Group, Transmar Holdings LLC, Transmar Ecuador S.A. and several directors, for documents and examination of witnesses, the court filing showed.ABN Amro was already authorized to issue subpoenas to ITC Cocoa House, Ltd, Itochu Corporation and Euromar Commodities GmbH, a Jan. 31 court document showed.Transmar Commodity Group sells cocoa products to major chocolate makers including Hershey Co and Nestle. Transmar Group''s European operations, Euromar Commodities GmbH in Germany, declared insolvency, citing "unfavorable" cocoa contracts and British pound fluctuations.Japanese trading house Itochu Corp, which bought a stake in a new joint venture with Transmar in early 2016, said earlier this month that it would exit the venture.In February 2016, ABN Amro entered into a $400 million credit facility with a group of lenders and Transmar Commodities Group, a Jan. 17 court document showed.ABN Amro is the most significant creditor in the Chapter 11 case, with total claims around $360 million in principal and $4.7 million in interest against Transmar, the bank''s attorneys stated in a Jan. 23 court document.(Editing by Simon Webb and Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-transmar-cocoa-idUSKBN15T2T6'|'2017-02-14T23:57:00.000+02:00' +'363fadffb14b4284af45a3b2a354408bdde0507c'|'Syngenta sees ChemChina takeover closing in second quarter'|'ZURICH Swiss pesticides and seeds group Syngenta ( SYNN.S ) expects its $43 billion takeover by ChemChina [CNNCC.UL] to close in the second quarter of 2017 as it makes progress in winning regulatory approval for the deal, it said on Wednesday.The transaction is important for China, the world''s largest agricultural market, which is seeking to secure the food supply for its huge population.Syngenta''s portfolio of top-tier chemicals and patent-protected seeds would boost its potential output."ChemChina and Syngenta have made significant progress towards achieving the necessary regulatory approvals and closing the transaction," Syngenta said in announcing 2016 results, noting it had won approvals from 13 regulatory authorities.It was awaiting approvals from Brazil, Canada, China, the EU, India, Mexico and the United States."ChemChina and Syngenta remain fully committed to the transaction and are confident of its closure," it said.Chief Executive Erik Fyrwald told Reuters he was confident the deal would win approval from China''s MOFCOM regulator without causing any delay. The deal was making good progress with U.S. and EU regulators as well, he said.ChemChina is set to secure conditional EU antitrust approval for its bid, the largest foreign acquisition by a Chinese company, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters last week.Bridge financing to close the deal was in place and irrevocable, finance chief Mark Patrick said, while the partners were working on the structure of longer-term financing.Syngenta said it planned to push its annual meeting to June given that it was close to completing the deal."With the first settlement of the transaction expected to take place before the AGM, there will not be a proposal for payment of a regular dividend. As previously communicated, a special dividend of 5.00 Swiss francs will be paid conditional upon and prior to the first settlement of the transaction," it said.Syngenta reported 2016 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $2.66 billion on sales of $12.79 billion.Analysts polled by Reuters had on average expected EBITDA to fall 5.9 percent to $2.61 billion on sales down 4.2 percent to $12.85 billion. They had expected it to boost its dividend to 11.60 Swiss francs from 11.00.(Reporting by Michael Shields and Ludwig Burger; Editing by Joshua Franklin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-syngenta-results-idINKBN15N0HQ'|'2017-02-08T03:56:00.000+02:00' +'abbbe8c4305f39b1ffb10e9ce2416286c9e16f60'|'TREASURIES-Yield curve steepens as wage data points to low inflation'|'(Adds Quote: s, data, Fed speakers, updates prices) * Fed''s Williams hawkish on inflation, rate hikes * Tepid wage growth eases inflation concerns * Treasury to sell $62 bln new issues next week By Karen Brettell NEW YORK, Feb 3 The U.S. Treasury yield curve was the steepest in one-and-a-half months on Friday after the jobs report for January showed disappointing wage growth, indicating inflation is not rising at a pace that would lead the Federal Reserve to raise rates in the near-term. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 227,000 jobs last month, the largest gain in four months, the Labor Department said. Average hourly earnings, however, increased only three cents or 0.1 percent and December''s wage gain was revised down. "Most of the disappointment is really focused around the inflation pressures that would presumably force the Fed to act," said Aaron Kohli, an interest rate strategist at BMO Capital Markets in New York. The yield curve between 5-year notes and 30-year bonds steepened to 120 basis points, the widest since Dec. 14. Five-year notes, which are very sensitive to rate increases, were supported by the payrolls report while long-dated bonds were weighed down by anticipation of new debt issuance next week. The Treasury Department will sell $62 billion in three-year, 10-year and 30-year debt. Hawkish comments from San Francisco Fed President John Williams on Friday afternoon, however, undid much of the bond rally sparked by the jobs report. The Fed can prepare to raise interest rates this year without knowing details of any new U.S. fiscal policies because inflation is firming and the labor market looks good, Williams said. Benchmark 10-year notes fell 6/32 in price on the day to yield 2.49 percent, after the yields fell as low as 2.43 percent after the jobs data. Expectations that the Fed could raise rates at its March meeting have fallen since the U.S. central bank gave a more dovish than expected statement after it''s meeting on Wednesday. The odds dropped further on the jobs report. "The wage numbers from today definitely takes March off the table for anything from the Fed," said Mary Ann Hurley, vice president in fixed income trading at D.A. Davidson in Seattle. "The Fed has been very, very concerned about weak wage growth." Futures traders are now pricing in only a 9 percent of a rate increase in March, down from 18 percent on Thursday, according to CME Group''s FedWatch Tool. Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said on Friday that the Fed should raise interest rates slowly. (Editing by Bernadette Baum and Andrew Hay)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-bonds-idINL1N1FO1KX'|'2017-02-03T16:44:00.000+02:00' +'68c0bfe93ccb0a8f603bc0e4802bec0cb2056b24'|'Asian stocks shaky ahead of U.S. jobs data, China markets'|' 58am GMT Asian left right A billboard displays the morning trading on the first day of trade after Lunar New Year at the Hong Kong Exchanges in Hong Kong February 1, 2017. REUTERS/Bobby Yip 1/3 left right People are seen behind an electronic board showing stock prices after the New Year opening ceremony at the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), held to wish for the success of Japan''s stock market, in Tokyo, Japan, January 4, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 2/3 left right A man stands next to an electronic stock board at the Indonesia Stock Exchange in Jakarta, Indonesia November 11, 2016. REUTERS/Iqro Rinaldi 3/3 MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was flat after touching its highest level since mid-October in the previous session. Morning trade in markets such as Australia was broadly steady, while Japan''s Nikkei share average was up 0.6 percent. "A strong reading in the payrolls data above 200,000 coupled with a rise in wage growth could put the March 15th (Federal Reserve) meeting in serious contention for a hike despite uncertainty around the potential flow on effects from Trumps stated economic policies," James Woods, global investment analyst at Rivkin Securities in Sydney. According to a Reuters survey of economists, nonfarm payrolls probably increased by 175,000 jobs last month, picking up from the 156,000 jobs added in December. The unemployment rate is expected to be unchanged at 4.7 percent in January, near a nine-year low. The S&P 500 settled at levels around six weeks ago, losing steam due to lingering investor anxiety about Trump''s aggressive policies, such as restricting travel to the United States and rewriting trade deals. The Fed held interest rates steady on Wednesday in its first meeting since Trump took office, but painted a relatively upbeat picture of the U.S. economy that suggested it was on track to tighten monetary policy this year. Markets had run up sharply following Trump''s Nov. 8 election win on the expectation that tax cuts, deregulation and a fiscal stimulus would accelerate economic growth. [.N] China''s markets reopen trade after a week long holiday with investors wary that a slowing economy may force investors to lock in profits. In Hong Kong, the benchmark index .HSI fell on Thursday, led by property firms and casino companies. In currency markets, the dollar was pinned near its weakest level against a basket of major rivals since mid-November .DXY amid uncertainty about the Trump''s administration mixed comments on the greenback. The Australian dollar AUD= gave back some of its strong gains on Thursday after a record December trade surplus burnished its appeal among foreign investors. It was trading at 0.7653 per dollar after hitting a high of 0.7696 per dollar in the previous session. Oil prices were broadly flat as traders grew less concerned about United States and Iran. Brent LCOc1 futures settled around $56.56 a barrel. [O/R] (Reporting by Saikat Chatterjee; Editing by Shri Navaratnam) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUKKBN15I047'|'2017-02-03T07:55:00.000+02:00' +'02656e585732a38b962b075e4d6b5f3fb9892291'|'Pfeiffer tells shareholders to spurn Busch takeover offer'|'FRANKFURT German pump maker Pfeiffer Vacuum''s ( PV.DE ) management and supervisory boards told shareholders to reject a takeover offer from rival Busch as too low.Family-owned Busch has offered 96.20 euros per share for Pfeiffer, valuing the group at around 949 million euros ($1 billion) and said last week it had secured more than 30 percent of shares in Pfeiffer already.Pfeiffer said in a statement on Monday that the premium that Busch was offering was well below that paid in comparable transactions and was around a 7.5 percent discount to its share price on Feb. 10, the last trading day before Busch published its offer document.Management and supervisory boards at German companies make formal recommendations on takeover bids.Pfeiffer said it believed that Busch could actively interfere with its strategy, as it had already made several attempts to influence decisions that were up to Pfeiffer''s boards."Adding to this concern is the fact that the Busch Group has been changing its stated intentions with regard to its stake in Pfeiffer Vacuum within a short period of time," it said.The acceptance period for Busch''s bid started on Feb. 13 and runs through to March 13.Shares in Pfeiffer closed at 101.70 euros on Friday.Pfeiffer makes pumps used by manufacturers including semiconductor firms and makers of analytical devices such as electron microscopes. Busch describes itself as one of the world''s largest makers of vacuum pumps, blowers and compressors supplying all industry sectors.(Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-pfeiffer-vacuum-m-a-busch-idINKBN1660UO'|'2017-02-27T05:13:00.000+02:00' +'4c68ee1838d9102171566659dc26791a0a3f02b6'|'CBS invests in Kapital Entertainment in bid to own more content'|'By Jessica Toonkel CBS Corp ( CBS.N ) has taken an ownership stake in Kapital Entertainment, the independent production company behind such series as HBO''s "Divorce," CBS'' "Live in Pieces" and Netflix Corp''s "Santa Clarita Diet."CBS will provide co-financing for Kapital''s programming and distribute it but will not have exclusive rights to its shows. Kapital, which is run by producer Aaron Kaplan, will maintain its autonomy and can sell shows to competitors of CBS. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.For CBS, the deal marks another step in owning more content and thus being able to generate greater revenue through deals with international affiliates and streaming video providers after they air.As advertisers are increasingly shifting their dollars from TV to online, media companies are looking toward other sources of revenue such as selling to the likes of Netflix ( NFLX.O ) and Amazon ( AMZN.O ). By owning the content, CBS is positioning itself to gain revenue from those deals, whether those shows are CBS shows or not."With all of these new revenue streams like international sales and the Netflix of the world, it makes a lot better sense to own the content," CBS CEO Leslie Moonves, told Reuters in an interview."We are going to own a piece of everything that Aaron does, whether it is for CBS, or for HBO or for whoever."The first project under the new deal is a pilot "9J, 9K and 9L," which is being co-produced by Kapital with CBS Television Studios for CBS.CBS is interested in other deals where it could have a stake in content, but Moonves noted that Kapital was a unique opportunity given how many series it puts out a year."This wouldn''t work with a normal writer, producer who does one or two shows a year," Moonves said, noting that Kapital currently has six pilots, three of which are with CBS."A success on another network means we do well too," he said.(Reporting By Jessica Toonkel; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-cbs-corp-kapital-deal-idINKBN15P2KT'|'2017-02-10T17:19:00.000+02:00' +'f1878ea608ae6c852f467927a5188cb141c81991'|'UPDATE 3-Platts revamps Brent oil benchmark for first time in a decade'|'Commodities - Mon Feb 20, 2017 - 11:50am EST Platts revamps Brent oil benchmark for first time in a decade FILE PHOTO: An oil pump jack can be seen in Cisco, Texas, August 23, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Stone/File Photo By Alex Lawler - LONDON LONDON Oil pricing agency S&P Global Platts is making the first major overhaul of its Brent oil price assessment in a decade, to address falling supplies of the crude oil grades underpinning the benchmark that prices most of the world''s oil. A decline in supply from North Sea fields has led to concerns that physical volumes could become too thin and hence at times could be accumulated in the hands of just a few players, making the benchmark vulnerable to manipulation. Platts said on Monday it would add Norway''s Troll to the basket of four British and Norwegian crude grades which it already uses to assess dated Brent from Jan 1. 2018. This will join Brent, Forties, Oseberg and Ekofisk, or BFOE as they are known. "Overall we have had significant support for the addition of a new grade to the basket," Jonty Rushforth, global editorial director for S&P Platts Global''s oil and shipping price group, said at an industry conference. "Far and away, Troll has received the most support." Troll will add about 200,000 barrels per day, or 20 percent, to the basket of crude supplies underpinning the benchmark, Platts said. The move was in line with expectations after Platts said in December it was being considered. Brent is used to set the price of billions of dollars of daily oil trade though a forward market for BFOE crude cargoes, swaps markets, physical benchmark dated Brent and Brent crude futures. Troll, a light, sweet crude, is operated by Norwegian state producer Statoil, which also contributes to the Oseberg, Statfjord, Gullfaks, Grane and Asgard streams. Statoil on Monday said it supported the move. "We are pleased that Platts now has announced that Troll will be included," Statoil spokeswoman Elin Isaksen said in an email. "Troll will produce both oil and gas for a long time yet," she said in a separate email. OWNERSHIP STRUCTURE Platts announced the decision at its conference held a day before the start of the Energy Institute''s IP Week, an annual gathering of the oil trading industry in London. Some trade sources on Monday noted that Statoil''s share of the production used to set the benchmark will rise -- a development Platts acknowledges. "There is of course interest from the market in the ownership structure of the basket," Rushforth said at a media briefing. "It does mean that Statoil has a larger share than Shell and Total." Even so, no single company would own more than a quarter of total production in the new basket, he said in a Platts video on the company''s website. Supply of the current four BFOE grades is normally around 1 million bpd, equal to just over 1 percent of world output. The last change to the dated Brent benchmark was in 2007 when Platts added Ekofisk, a light, sweet crude. Oseberg and Forties were added in 2002. In an earlier move to boost liquidity, Platts began to apply quality premiums to two better-quality crudes - Oseberg and Ekofisk - to encourage delivery of these into contracts. There are no plans yet to apply one to Troll, said Platts, which will be sticking with the BFOE name. Thomson Reuters competes with Platts in providing news and information to the oil market. (Additional reporting by Amanda Cooper and Nerijus Adomaitis in Oslo; Editing by Mark Potter, Greg Mahlich) Next In Commodities After OPEC cuts heavy oil, China teapot refiners pull U.S. supply to Asia SINGAPORE/HOUSTON Chinese independent, or teapot, refiners are bringing in rare cargoes of North American heavy crude in a new long-distance flow that traders say has only been made possible by OPEC''s output cuts and ample supplies in Canada and the United States.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-nsea-oil-troll-idUSKBN15Z1S6'|'2017-02-20T23:48:00.000+02:00' +'0271b9debd46ba4590ee6b2349bc2dc8aebef11d'|'Boston Scientific recalls all Lotus Valve heart devices'|'Health News - Thu Feb 23, 2017 - 9:00am EST Boston Scientific recalls all Lotus Valve heart devices Boston Scientific Corp said on Thursday it was recalling its range of Lotus Valve heart devices, citing reports of problems with the locking mechanism. The products are expected to return to the European market and in other regions in the fourth quarter, the company added. The company''s stock was down 9.4 percent at $22.79 in premarket trading. (Reporting by Natalie Grover in Bengaluru; Edited by Martina D''Couto) Next In Health News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-boston-scientific-recall-idUSKBN1621NA'|'2017-02-23T20:58:00.000+02:00' +'0027648b7ea19f55e37ffa5a4bc689bf468bd9a2'|'MOVES-KPMG India names Arun Kumar as CEO'|'Company News - Sun Feb 5, 2017 - 10:43pm EST MOVES-KPMG India names Arun Kumar as CEO Feb 5 KPMG India has appointed Arun Kumar as chairman and chief executive, effective Feb. 5. Kumar, elected for a five-year term, succeeds Richard Rekhy, who was the CEO for over four years. Kumar was earlier the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets and Director General of U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service in the Obama administration. Prior to that, he was on the KPMG US and KPMG Americas Boards during 2008-2013. (Reporting by Vishal Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/kpmg-moves-arun-kumar-idUSL4N1FR1NX'|'2017-02-06T10:43:00.000+02:00' +'0ebf3a49566111fe47870dc1a46064ad0dd44f18'|'UPDATE 1-Freeport to reduce Indonesian mining activities -smelter official'|'Company News - Wed Feb 8, 2017 - 2:24am EST UPDATE 1-Freeport to reduce Indonesian mining activities -smelter official (Adds government comment, context) By Wilda Asmarini JAKARTA Feb 8 Freeport-McMoRan Inc has warned it will scale back activities at its Indonesian copper mine, an official at Indonesia''s main copper smelter, PT Smelting, said on Wednesday, amid a worker strike and other issues. Freeport''s Grasberg mine in Papua, Indonesia, is the world''s second-largest copper mine, and recent disruptions there have helped support a jump in copper prices. Grasberg had aimed to produce around one-third of the Freeport''s total copper output this year, up from less than a quarter in 2016, as it digs into higher-grade ores. "Freeport has just issued a notice this morning that they will reduce (mining) activities in stages," Smelting director Prihadi Santoso told reporters. "We are trying to meet our commitments to our clients," he said, declining to comment on what had sparked the strike at the mine or how many people were involved. PT Smelting is 60.5 percent owned by Mitsubishi Materials Corporation, while Freeport Indonesia holds 25 percent. Lower output from Grasberg would affect Smelting, which processes around 40 percent of the mine''s copper concentrate production, Santoso said, noting he did not know how much the volumes would be cut. A spokesman for Freeport Indonesia confirmed by text message that it had sent out a notice on output cuts at Grasberg. Last week, Phoenix-based Freeport warned it could be forced to cut staff, spending and production in Indonesia if it did not get a new export permit by mid-February. Freeport CEO Richard Adkerson said in late January that labour issues were hampering production as Grasberg targets to wind up its open pit mining in late 2018. "As we''ve approached the completion of the pit, workers have been raising complaints, grievances, and have simply not been meeting productivity standards," he said. A spokesman for Freeport workers union did not respond to requests for comment. Indonesia''s Coal and Minerals Director General Bambang Gatot said on Wednesday that Freeport had not been issued with a new permit yet and there had been no reports of layoffs. Freeport said on Friday last week it was still working with the Indonesian government to resolve issues after exports of its copper concentrate were halted Jan. 12. The Southeast Asian country banned export shipments of semi-processed ore to boost its local smelter industry. Copper prices on the London Metal Exchange have climbed 6 percent on supply concerns since Indonesia stopped Freeport''s concentrate shipments and as a strike looms at top copper mine Escondida. (Reporting by Wilda Asmarini; Additional reporting by Susan Taylor; Writing by Fergus Jensen; Editing by Tom Hogue) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/indonesia-freeport-idUSL4N1FT26Z'|'2017-02-08T14:24:00.000+02:00' +'3942dec4c7092b53fb84b21d25a88cc0f882c189'|'French manufacturing bosses grow more sanguine on investment plans'|'Business News - Tue Feb 7, 2017 - 8:11am GMT French manufacturing bosses grow more sanguine on investment plans An employee uses a sewing machine as she works at the Royal Mer Bretagne factory, specializing in French manufactured knitted clothes, in La Regrippiere, western France, November 28, 2016. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe PARIS Executives in France''s manufacturing industry said they expected to increase investments by 5 percent this year, sharply up from stagnation signalled for 2017 in the last survey in October, national statistics office INSEE said on Tuesday. For 2016, executives said they had increased investment by 4 percent, slightly lower than the 5 percent they had reported as being planned for in the last survey. This year''s more ambitious investment plans are good news for the French economy at a time when many wonder whether uncertainty over the presidential election in April and May could weigh on a firming recovery in the euro zone''s second-largest economy. (Reporting by Michel Rose; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-economy-industry-idUKKBN15M0N7'|'2017-02-07T15:11:00.000+02:00' +'2f4e00135521750ab73917a658132f3c8e6f44c6'|'''Luxury water'' for 80 a bottle? It''s ignorant, insensitive and irresponsible - Katherine Purvis - Global Development Professionals Network'|'W eve reached peak bottled water. From today, for a sweet 80, Harrods will sell luxury water harvested from icebergs off the coast of Svalbard.Svalbari is the brainchild of Jamal Qureshi, a Norwegian-American Wall Street businessman who visited the archipelago in 2013, and returned with melted iceberg water as a gift for his wife. He then, it seems, decided to bring this water to more people.Astonishingly, the governor of Svalbard has approved Qureshis venture. He charters an icebreaker to make two expeditions a year, in the summer and the autumn when icebergs calve away from glaciers that run into the sea. One-tonne pieces of ice are carved from these floating bergs at a time. Using a crane and a net, they are lifted onto the boat and taken to Longyearbyen to be melted down into bottles of polar iceberg water which has has the taste of snow in air. On each expedition, Qureshi plans to harvest 15 tonnes of ice to produce 13,000 bottles.The environmental sustainability of the venture is the first concern of many people, Qureshi told the Guardian. But were carbon neutral certified, and were supporting renewable energy projects in East Africa and China, he said. We also only take icebergs that are already floating in the water and would usually melt in a few weeks, and that cant be used for hunting [by polar bears].Some may argue that if you can afford to drink melted ice caps, who should stop you? Your money, your choice. Depleting 30 tonnes of iceberg a year is, arguably, not that much in the grand scheme of things. But Qureshis venture is not the first of its kind. Tibet has already approved licences for dozens of companies to tap Himalayan glaciers for premium bottled drinking water. Ten major rivers that flow into South Asia depend on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau . Disrupting their source could have devastating impacts for water security across the region.And this is not the only problem. First, sea ice is already melting. The extent of Arctic sea ice shrank to its second lowest record last year and scientists have warned this could have devastating impacts across the rest of the world , such as shifts in snow distribution that warm the ocean and change climate patterns as far as Asia, as well as the collapse of key Arctic fisheries, which could impact other ocean ecosystems. Icebergs dont need yet more human interference no matter how small the scale to speed up the melting process.Second, the bottled water industry is already giving us enough of a headache. It is estimated that 3l of water are need to produce just one 1l plastic bottle of water, which is more likely to be discarded and end up in landfill than recycled. Beside the fact that our planet is slowly silting up with plastic, it also takes huge amounts of fossil fuels to make water bottles plastic or glass and transport them around the world. In the US, for example, 1.5 million barrels of oil are needed per year to meet the demand of the countrys water bottle manufacturing.But surely the most problematic aspect of this product is the sheer insensitivity of exploiting one of the worlds last wildernesses, and charging such a high price for its product? This, while 663 million people currently live without safe water . Consider the extremes: one person pays 80 to drink water, never before touched by humans and preserved by micron filters and UV light, while another one of 159 million depends on surface water, vulnerable to contamination by faeces, parasites, pesticides and more. The emergence of luxury water is just another ugly indicator of our worlds many inequalities.For so many of the things we buy, there is a flashier, pricier, more luxurious alternative for those who can afford it. Why travel in economy if you could travel first class? Why buy from the high-street when you could buy designer clothing ? Water, it seems, is just the next in a list to receive this divisive treatment; why, if you live somewhere it is clean and safe, drink water from a tap when you could drink bottled water from pristine peaks , artesian aquifers and now from the top of the world?The wheels are in motion. Precedents have been set. Will more wealthy entrepreneurs now eye up other precious natural resources to create yet another must-have item?We already live beyond our means. Our lifestyle choices see us using the equivalent of 1.6 Earths to provide the resources we consume, and absorb what we throw away. At such a time, Svalbari seems insensitive, ignorant and irresponsible. Its time to live sustainably and consume responsibly, not promote mindless habits just because some people can afford it.For some time, water has been thought of as a commodity, and even the former UN special rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation believes it doesnt have to be free . But something so precious, so essential to all life human, animal and mineral should never be marketed as a luxury.Join our community of development professionals and humanitarians. Follow @GuardianGDP on Twitter, and have your say on issues around water in development using #H2Oideas .'|'theguardian.com'|'https://www.theguardian.com/uk/business'|'https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2017/feb/15/luxury-water-for-80-a-bottle-its-ignorant-insensitive-and-irresponsible'|'2017-02-15T20:54:00.000+02:00' +'e27bad3ed9107e07945865b41be7b7aa71cddb61'|'Spain''s Caixabank posts 29 pct profit rise in 2016, misses forecasts'|' 30am EST Spain''s Caixabank posts 29 pct profit rise in 2016, misses forecasts MADRID Feb 2 Spain''s third biggest Caixabank on Thursday reported a 28.6 percent rise in its 2016 net profit from a year earlier due to a favourable comparison against the previous year when results were hit by huge writedowns in the last quarter. Caixabank, which is in the process of taking over Portuguese lender BPI, posted a 2016 net profit of 1.05 billion euros ($1.13 billion) below the average of analysts'' estimates of 1.2 billion euros, according to Thomson Reuters data. Net profit in the fourth quarter came in at 77 million euros against a 182 million euros loss in the same period last year. However, results in the final quarter were negatively impacted as the lender had to set aside tens of millions of euros to provision for mis-sold mortgages. ($1 = 0.9268 euros) (Reporting By Jesus Aguado; Editing by Sonya Dowsett) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/caixabank-results-idUSE8N18A012'|'2017-02-02T13:30:00.000+02:00' +'4f2019f8555305a9bb3b1977945c1004ba7859c0'|'Toshiba shares drop after S&P warns of downgrade risk - Reuters'|'TOKYO Shares in Japan''s Toshiba sank 10 percent in morning trade on Friday, after rating agency S&P Global said it could slash the conglomerate''s rating if financial support from lenders includes any form of debt restructuring.The rating agency said in a note that such a move would be seen as "selective default".Toshiba, rated CCC+ by S&P, is already on credit watch with negative implications, after downgrades in December and January."Given Toshiba''s already very fragile financial standing, whether the company can receive continuous financial support from its creditor banks, including liquidity support, is a key factor in our credit analysis," S&P said in a statement issued on Friday."Even in the event banks continue to provide financial support for the company, if it includes any form of debt restructuring we define as selective default, we will lower the ratings by multiple notches."At around 0315 GMT, Toshiba shares were down 9.9 percent, underperforming a broader market down 0.5 percent.The TVs-to-nuclear conglomerate is scrambling for cash tostay in business after a multibillion dollar hit to the value of its nuclear business.(Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Clara Ferreira Marques)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/toshiba-accounting-idINKBN15W08C'|'2017-02-17T00:34:00.000+02:00' +'c9859b1f65f52cb23b0f304b892d538a4ca7f33a'|'U.S. fourth-quarter economic growth unrevised at 1.9 percent'|'Business 1:37pm GMT U.S. fourth-quarter economic growth unrevised at 1.9 percent A woman shops at The Grove mall in Los Angeles November 26, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson WASHINGTON - U.S. economic growth slowed in the fourth quarter as previously reported, with robust consumer spending offset by downward revisions to business and government investment. Gross domestic product increased at a 1.9 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday in its second estimate for the fourth quarter, confirming the estimate published last month. Output increased at a 3.5 percent rate in the third quarter. The economy grew 1.6 percent for all of 2016, its worst performance since 2011, after expanding 2.6 percent in 2015. Economic data early in the first quarter has been mixed, with retail sales rising in January but homebuilding and business spending on capital goods easing. The economy may get a boost from President Donald Trump''s proposed stimulus package of sweeping tax cuts and infrastructure spending as well as less regulation. Trump, who pledged during last year''s election campaign to deliver 4 percent annual GDP growth, has promised a "phenomenal" tax plan that the White House said would include tax cuts for businesses and individuals. Details on the proposal remain vague, though Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday that Trump would use a policy speech to Congress on Tuesday night to preview some aspects of the tax reform plans. Economists polled by Reuters had expected fourth-quarter GDP would be revised up to a 2.1 percent rate. Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, was revised sharply higher to a 3.0 percent rate of growth in the fourth quarter. It was previously reported to have risen at a 2.5 percent rate. Some of the increase in demand was met with imports, which increased at a 8.5 percent rate rather than the 8.3 percent pace reported last month. Exports declined, leaving a trade deficit that subtracted 1.70 percentage point from GDP growth as previously reported. There was a small downward revision to inventory investment. Businesses accumulated inventories at a rate of $46.2 billion in the last quarter, instead of the previously reported $48.7 billion. Inventory investment added 0.94 percentage points to GDP growth, down from the 1.0 percentage point estimated last month. Business investment was revised lower to reflect a more modest pace of spending on equipment, which increased at a 1.9 percent rate instead of the previously estimated 3.1 percent pace. That was still the first increase in over a year and reflected a surge in gas and oil well drilling in line with rising crude oil prices. Spending on mining exploration, wells and shafts increased at a 23.6 percent rate instead of the previously reported 24.3 percent pace. It declined at a 30.0 percent pace in the third quarter. Investment in nonresidential structures was revised to show it falling at a less steep 4.5 percent pace in the fourth quarter. It was previously reported to have declined at a 5.0 percent rate. Spending on residential construction increased at a 9.6 percent rate, which was downwardly revised from the 10.2 percent pace reported last month. The rebound followed two straight quarterly declines. Government spending increased at a 0.4 percent rate in the fourth quarter, rather than the previously reported 1.2 percent pace of growth. (Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-economy-gdp-idUKKBN1671KZ'|'2017-02-28T20:37:00.000+02:00' +'919a90069ab8beffa01b6f63567fa5f45758ee9c'|'Family Christian book chain closing its 240 U.S. stores'|'Family Christian, the biggest U.S. Christian bookstore chain, said on Thursday it was going out of business and planned to close its 240 stores across 36 states."We have prayerfully looked at all possible options, trusting God''s plan for our organization, and the difficult decision to liquidate is our only recourse," Chuck Bengochea, the company''s president, said in a statement."Despite improvements in product assortment and the store experience, sales continued to decline," he noted. "In addition, we were not able to get the pricing and terms we needed from our vendors to successfully compete in the market."The chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2015 with more than $120 million in debt in the face of a sales slump amid growing competition from online stores.Bricks-and-mortar rivals also took business away by stocking best-selling Christian-market titles and Bibles.The company trailed Barnes & Noble Inc ( BKS.N ), with 640 stores, and Books-A-Million Inc, which describes itself as the second-largest U.S. book retailer and operates more than 260 stores, according to its website.Family Christian''s bankruptcy was noteworthy as U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Gregg took the unusual step of finding that the company''s auction of its business was "flawed" and ordered a new sale.The original sale produced a $49.8 million high bid by liquidators Gordon Brothers Retail Partners and Hilco Merchant Resources. But the company instead selected a less valuable bid by FCS Acquisition, which like Family Christian is owned by the nonprofit Family Christian Resource Centers Inc.The Grand Rapids, Michigan-based retailer was eventually sold for $55 million to FCS Acquisition.(Reporting by Jim Christie in San Francisco; Editing by Peter Cooney)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-bankruptcy-family-christian-idUSKBN1622RU'|'2017-02-24T02:01:00.000+02:00' +'8a64a8239a6827e26a6f404d7553862e29ede0ae'|'BRIEF-Route One Investment Company LP reports 5.6 pct passive stake in Herbalife Ltd as of Dec 31, 2016'|'United States 33pm EST BRIEF-Route One Investment Company LP reports 5.6 pct passive stake in Herbalife Ltd as of Dec 31, 2016 Feb 14 Route One Investment Company LP: * Route one investment company lp reports 5.6 herbalife ltd as of december 31, 2016 - sec filing Source text ( bit.ly/2lHiOaF ) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1FZ160'|'2017-02-15T01:33:00.000+02:00' +'da50315f8911c39bb2fb055eb899f3982cfaeb8e'|'Enbridge buys stake in EnBW''s 1.8 billion euro Hohe See wind park'|'FRANKFURT Canadian energy infrastructure group Enbridge Inc ( ENB.TO ) has bought a 49.9 percent stake in EnBW''s ( EBKG.DE ) 1.8 billion euro ($1.9 billion) North Sea offshore park Hohe See, EnBW said on Friday.Enbridge said it was spending a total of around C$1.7 billion ($1.3 billion), which includes some financing and transaction costs. It said it had already funded its investment through financing moves in the fourth quarter of last year, primarily preferred share and hybrid instrument offerings.With a planned capacity of about 500 megawatts (MW), Hohe See is one of Europe''s largest offshore wind park projects and will be EnBW''s biggest park to date.Both partners will jointly finance the wind park from construction through to commissioning in 2019, shouldering roughly half the investment sum each.EnBW will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the finished park based on a service and management contract, EnBW said.EnBW said Enbridge also had an option to participate in expansion project Albatros, for which an investment decision is expected early this year.A person familiar with the matter told Reuters in August that Enbridge had won the auction for a stake in Hohe See.Hohe See, which will be located in the North Sea around 100 kilometers (62 miles) west of the German island of Heligoland, will supply around 560,000 households with power and save 1.5 million tonnes of CO2. EnBW said it would make a substantial contribution to its group operating earnings after it is commissioned.Enbridge said its financial advisor for the Hohe See deal was JP Morgan, while its legal advisor was Dentons.($1 = 0.9398 euros)($1 = 1.3094 Canadian dollars)(Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Victoria Bryan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-enbw-energie-windfarm-enbridge-inc-idINKBN15W17B'|'2017-02-17T09:00:00.000+02:00' +'c9751f05fdec6e9958a2d7b88d3cebd0ec411e71'|'Salzgitter CEO sees further rise in 2017 profit -BZ'|'Commodities - Sat Feb 4, 2017 - 9:30am EST Salzgitter CEO sees further rise in 2017 profit -BZ Heinz Joerg Fuhrmann, CEO of Germany''s traditional steelmaker Salzgitter AG poses for a picture at a hotel in Duesseldorf, Germany February 16, 2016. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay FRANKFURT German steelmaker Salzgitter sees a further rise in profit this year as steel prices rise and restructuring measures continue to bear fruit, its chief executive told German markets daily Boersen-Zeitung in an interview. Heinz Joerg Fuhrmann added that he was not overly concerned about U.S. President Donald Trump''s order that American steel should be used for pipelines built in the United States, and said that Salzgitter may profit from a U.S. infrastructure programme. Salzgitter has forecast 2016 pretax profit of 30 million to 60 million euros ($32 to $65 million) on sales that are expected to be more than 8 billion euros. Fuhrmann said orders were on the rise, and better than a few months ago. "For 2017, I wouldn''t rule out a fourth increase in group profit in a row or a pretax profit in triple-digit millions of euros," he said. "But 2017 is only four weeks old and we will still experience plenty of surprises." Salzgitter is due to report 2016 results on Feb. 28. Fuhrmann said it remains to be seen whether it would be possible to source the steel for the pipes Salzgitter builds in the United States domestically. Salzgitter makes 8.5 percent of its revenue in the United States, a third of which comes from products it manufactures there. He said Salzgitter would also have to rethink an idea to build up in production in Mexico, given Trump''s threat to tear up the NAFTA free trade agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada. "Luckily, we have not set any investments in motion yet," Fuhrmann said. But he added: "There are activities that could profit from a possible infrastructure programme. There is a downside but it''s limited. We remain relaxed and wait." ($1 = 0.9276 euros) (Reporting by Georgina Prodhan, editing by Louise Heavens) Next In Commodities'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/salzgitter-outlook-idUSKBN15J0KO'|'2017-02-04T21:26:00.000+02:00' +'49e2f5bb725bec8ff458bbd72d0a4024e3efcc38'|'EU Commission says very disappointed in Swiss vote result'|' 26am GMT EU Commission says very disappointed in Swiss vote result European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Pierre Moscovici in Lisbon, Portugal November 18, 2016. REUTERS/Rafael Marchante BRUSSELS The European Commission is very disappointed in the Swiss rejection of an overhaul of the corporate tax system and will consult with European Union governments on how to proceed, the EU Commissioner for taxation said on Monday. Swiss voters on Sunday clearly rejected plans to overhaul the corporate tax system, sending the government back to the drawing board as it tries to abolish ultra-low tax rates for thousands of multinational companies without triggering a mass exodus. Most Swiss recognised the country needs reform to avoid being blacklisted as a low-tax pariah. But new measures proposed to help companies offset the loss of their special status breaks had created deep divisions. "The Commission is very disappointed by the results of a referendum in Switzerland," European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Pierre Moscovici told a news conference. "The rejection of the reform and referendum means we need to redouble our efforts when it comes to taxation. The Commission plans to consult the member states so we can decide together how to proceed," he said. (Reporting By Jan Strupczewski and Waverly Colville; editing by Philip Blenkinsop) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-swiss-tax-eu-idUKKBN15S16D'|'2017-02-13T18:26:00.000+02:00' +'80cef04e20aa5e9ddcf58bf325e619942eb7d372'|'Ireland looks to LNG, France supply line in ''post-Brexit era'' - minister'|'Business News - Mon Feb 27, 2017 - 6:13pm GMT Ireland looks to LNG, France supply line in ''post-Brexit era'' - minister left right Irish Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Denis Naughten reacts during an interview with Reuters in Brussels, Belgium February 27, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman 1/7 left right Irish Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Denis Naughten reacts during an interview with Reuters in Brussels, Belgium February 27, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman 2/7 left right Irish Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Denis Naughten reacts during an interview with Reuters in Brussels, Belgium February 27, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman 3/7 left right Irish Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Denis Naughten reacts during an interview with Reuters in Brussels, Belgium February 27, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman 4/7 left right Irish Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Denis Naughten reacts during an interview with Reuters in Brussels, Belgium February 27, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman 5/7 left right Irish Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Denis Naughten reacts during an interview with Reuters in Brussels, Belgium February 27, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman 6/7 left right Irish Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Denis Naughten reacts during an interview with Reuters in Brussels, Belgium February 27, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman 7/7 By Alissa de Carbonnel - BRUSSELS BRUSSELS Plans to ease Ireland''s near total dependence on energy imports via Britain have shot to the top of the agenda, the nation''s energy minister said on Monday, as it grapples with the risk of how Brexit could alter ties with its key partner. Two projects long in the planning - a power cable to France, built by French grid operator RTE and Ireland''s EirGrid, and a liquefied natural gas terminal - are newly being prioritised, minister Denis Naughten told Reuters. "It has become a bigger priority for everyone on foot of Brexit ... because we are so dependent on imports of energy, we need to have options available to us," Naughten said following a meeting of EU energy ministers in Brussels. Although Naughten said neither project was short of financing, he acknowledged they had been slowed by a lack of clarity and disputes over costing for connecting to the distribution network - issues he said were now being tackled. "We are in a very different era now post Brexit and because of that the issues that hadn''t been looked at in the past are being revisited," Naughten told Reuters. With an economy highly dependent on trade with Britain, and the only land border with the UK, Ireland is widely considered the country with the most to lose when its bigger neighbour quits the European Union. All the energy links supplying 88 percent of Ireland''s energy needs feed from Britain. One of the biggest fears is that Brexit could split Ireland''s single electricity market. While Naughten dismissed concerns over the single electricity market, he said the importance of deft management of the impact of Brexit on Ireland''s energy security should not be taken lightly. "I don''t see an impact of Brexit on the single electricity market," he said, adding the British, Irish and Northern Irish governments had all committed to maintaining it. "It is important for people to remember: The Berlin wall is gone; we still have walls," he added. "And the only way that we can provide long-term peace in northern Ireland is to have economic stability, and energy is a key part of that." (Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel, editing by David Evans) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-ireland-energy-idUKKBN16624H'|'2017-02-28T01:13:00.000+02:00' +'963d222cc11f5e872b8e90535d0b78412f0f7ac6'|'Oil companies bullish on Egypt, eyeing more investment, discoveries'|'Global Energy 5:58pm GMT Oil companies bullish on Egypt, eyeing more investment, discoveries The logo of oil company Eni-Saipem is pictured on a barrel in Rome, Italy, March 5 2016. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi By Lin Noueihed and Eric Knecht - CAIRO CAIRO Major international oil companies say they plan to step up their investments in Egypt, expecting to find more oil and gas now that ENI''s ( ENI.MI ) giant Zohr gas discovery has put its Mediterranean waters on the map. Once a net gas exporter, Egypt has turned into a major importer in recent years as growing domestic demand outstripped production, but the discovery of the 850 billion-cubic metre Zohr field in 2015 is expected to change that. The field is expected to come into production by the end of the year and will save Egypt billions of dollars in hard currency that would otherwise be spent on imports. The Egyptian government is also seeking to attract foreign investors as it seeks to transform itself into a gas trading hub for its own and other emerging Mediterranean producers. Marc Benayoun, chief executive of Italian energy group Edison ( EDNn.MI ), which is exploring areas near the Zohr field, said on Tuesday he was confident more gas would be discovered. Like other oil and gas industry executives speaking at a conference in Cairo on Tuesday, Benayoun said the fact that Egypt already had plenty of spare capacity in its existing gas pipelines and other infrastructure meant new production costs were competitive. "We find here (Egypt) there has been very competitive costs and operating costs in a context of volatile prices. This is an area where we think we will continue to make investments and develop as opposed to other regions which are higher in cost," he said. "For Egypt, gas prices will be extremely important because the country has lots of gas reserves and extraordinary discoveries have been made and others will be made I''m confident in the next two, three years, and at some point the country will be in a position to export gas." ENI''s chief executive, Claudio Descalzi, said the Zohr field would enter production before the end of the year but the company was still exploring and expected more finds in the area. "The big effort in Zohr is there ... but we can also find something else," he said. "We have Noroos in 11 months we got to 170,000 barrels a day of gas condensate and we continue exploration." The presence of top level oil executives in Cairo shows how quickly the country has emerged from the shadow of major nearby oil and gas exporters in the Gulf and North Africa to become an important player in its own right. BP ( BP.L ), which has been present in Egypt for half a century, last year bought a 10 percent stake in Zohr from ENI. It has also been actively snapping up licence blocks in Egypt''s recent exploration rounds. "In 2016-17, we''re investing more money in Egypt than any country in the world. We have a lot of confidence in Egypt," Bob Dudley, chief executive of BP, told the conference. (Reporting by Lin Noueihed; Writing by Asma Alsharif; Editing by Susan Fenton, Greg Mahlich) Next In Global Energy News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-edison-egypt-gas-idUKKBN15T2EI'|'2017-02-15T00:58:00.000+02:00' +'3fe57b41a653a7009decae601bf6147df86c3a0a'|'Energy Transfer says Dakota Access pipeline 99 pct complete'|'Environment 48am EST Energy Transfer says Dakota Access pipeline 99 percent complete A police officer monitors the outskirts of the Dakota Access oil pipeline protest camp near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester NEW YORK Energy Transfer Partners LP said on Thursday that 99 percent of its controversial Dakota Access Pipeline is complete after receiving all federal authorizations necessary earlier this month. The crude pipeline will begin or continue line fill in late March or early April, according to executives on its fourth-quarter earnings call. It will then begin "demand charges" on subscribed volumes by June 1. Native Americans and environmental activists have said the multibillion-dollar pipeline threatens the water resources and sacred land of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, but President Donald Trump has quickly pushed for the completion of the pipeline since taking office last month. The pipeline will carry Bakken crude from North Dakota through the Midwest, and then be transported through a connecting pipe into the U.S. Gulf Coast. The company added that it had not yet launched its next open season for additional shippers, but expects to do so in the next 30 to 60 days. It said it remains in dialogue with potential shippers currently. Meanwhile, Energy Transfer added that work on the 24-inch (61-cm) segment on the Bayou Bridge pipeline project from Lake Charles to St. James in Louisiana is ahead of schedule and expects to start deliveries in the fourth quarter. (Reporting by Catherine Ngai; Editing by Marguerita Choy) Next In Environment'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-north-dakota-pipeline-energytransfer-idUSKBN1621WF'|'2017-02-23T22:41:00.000+02:00' +'a17431e33c8560d8c2b1cd0ff9fc8c12c191c315'|'Dollar''s sudden weakness could help U.S. profit picture'|'Business News - Sat Feb 4, 2017 - 4:10am IST Wall St. Week Ahead: Dollar''s sudden weakness could help U.S. profit picture FILE PHOTO: U.S. dollar notes are seen in this November 7, 2016 picture illustration. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo By Caroline Valetkevitch and Sinead Carew - NEW YORK NEW YORK Stock investors could have at least one less worry in the next earnings period: the suddenly limp U.S. dollar. The greenback, whose strong rally after the Nov. 8 U.S. election hit profits at many U.S. multinationals in the fourth quarter, has had a sharp reversal since the start of the year. Coupled with comments suggesting that the Trump administration favors a weaker currency, that could shift the picture for the current quarter. Fourth-quarter results, even with the dollar''s drag, are mostly beating Wall Street''s expectations and helping provide a buffer to some of the uncertainties facing investors, including the new U.S. president''s policies. The S&P 500 .SPX ended with a slight gain for the week. With earnings in from more than half the S&P 500 companies, year-over-year profit growth for the fourth quarter is now estimated at 8.0 percent, up from 6.1 percent forecast at the start of January, and on track to be the strongest since the third quarter of 2014, according to Thomson Reuters data. Analysts expect first-quarter earnings to rise 11.5 percent. That "sets the stage for a stronger Q1, particularly when you look at the jobs numbers coming out and when you look at the business confidence surveys and consumer confidence surveys. There''s a lot of improving sentiment," said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial in Waltham, Massachusetts. U.S. nonfarm payrolls had the largest increase in four months in January. "Even as the companies are talking their expectations down, consumers and businesses are likely to act on that better sentiment." The dollar index .DXY on Jan. 31 posted its worst start to a year in three decades, putting in a decline of 2.6 percent for January after gaining 7.1 percent in the last quarter of 2016. Comments this week by President Donald Trump and a top economics adviser suggested to some that the administration is prepared to jettison two decades of "strong dollar" policies advocated by predecessors. A strong dollar is a worry for equity investors because it makes U.S. multinationals'' foreign currency earnings worth less in dollars. Nearly half of S&P 500 sales come from overseas, according to S&P-Dow Jones Indices. Executives from a slew of U.S. companies cited the strong dollar as a negative in their fourth-quarter reports and also concern about its effect on 2017 results. Among them, Apple ( AAPL.O ) gave a cautious outlook for the current quarter that it mainly attributed to the strong dollar, despite its upbeat fourth-quarter results. "For a company like ours where we do about two-thirds of our business outside the United States, the strong dollar presents a headwind of more than 2 percent growth," Apple Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri told Reuters. Other companies citing currency hurdles for the last quarter or for 2017 included Procter & Gamble ( PG.N ), Mead Johnson Nutrition ( MJN.N ), 3M Co ( MMM.N ) and PPG Industries ( PPG.N ). Procter & Gamble said it expects combined headwinds of foreign exchange and minor brand divestitures to cut sales growth by two to three percentage points for fiscal 2017. Some strategists say the dollar is still likely to be stronger rather than weaker this year, especially given expectations for interest rate hikes for this year, but that earnings should still benefit from an improving economy. "You should get more than enough growth from the economy if you''re a corporation to more than offset the rise in the dollar," said Sameer Samana, global quantitative strategist for Wells Fargo Investment Institute, which expects the dollar index to rise 7 percent by year end. (Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch and Sinead Carew in New York; Additional reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by James Dalgleish) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks-weekahead-idINKBN15I30V'|'2017-02-04T05:40:00.000+02:00' +'fb7ed713a9e7a8c8641818690d97cec567cdca1b'|'Saudi Aramco selects lead underwriters for $100 billion IPO: WSJ'|'Oil giant Saudi Aramco IPO-ARMO.SE has selected JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ), Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ), and HSBC Holdings Plc ( HSBA.L ) as lead underwriters on the firm''s planned initial public share offering, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.Saudi Arabian Oil Co, known as Saudi Aramco, was not immediately available for comment.Saudi authorities are aiming to list up to 5 percent of the world''s largest oil producer on both the Saudi stock exchange in Riyadh, the Tadawul, and one or more international markets in an IPO that could raise $100 billion.The listing is the centerpiece of a Saudi Arabian government plan to transform the kingdom by enticing investment and diversifying the economy away from reliance on oil.(Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by James Dalgleish)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-aramco-ipo-idINKBN1602U9'|'2017-02-21T20:55:00.000+02:00' +'56adf84e3696edf68a77590cabadabf5657bafcb'|'UPDATE 1-Bondholders in Brazil''s Oi appeal Dutch court ruling'|'(Adds details in paragraphs 3-12)By Ana ManoSAO PAULO Feb 10 A group of bondholders in Oi SA appealed on Friday a ruling by a Dutch court that refused to declare insolvent two subsidiaries in the Netherlands, the latest setback in a protracted legal battle to solve Brazil''s largest bankruptcy case on record.In an emailed statement, the International Bondholder Committee group said it "remains committed to finding a consensual solution" to restructure the debt of the two Oi subsidiaries.The International Bondholder Committee holds more than $2 billion of bonds issued by the two Dutch companies and other members of the Oi group. The units have outstanding debt of about $6.2 billion.Oi declined to comment.The appeal underscores the dissenting agendas of different creditor groups participating in Oi''s restructuring, and how their disagreements are hampering the process.Oi''s common and preferred shares both rose about 1.6 percent in late afternoon trade, to 3.8 reais and 3.2 reais respectively.In December, a separate group of Oi bondholders advised by Moelis & Co proposed injecting $1.25 billion of new capital into Oi, a move that would give them immediate control of the carrier through a debt-for-equity swap. Backed by Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris, the plan is part of a binding offer presented to Oi after the Moelis group considered the carrier''s own reorganization proposal "unacceptable" for imposing a 70 percent haircut on the bond debt."The restructuring should treat similarly situated creditors equally," the International Bondholder Group said, adding that if there is a proven need to raise new capital, all creditors should be invited to take part "on a fair and equitable basis."Moelis did not have an immediate comment regarding the strategy of the group, which was formed in November by dissenting investors including Aurelius Capital Management LP, Attestor Capital LLC, Citadel LLP and York Capital Management.Rio de Janeiro-based Oi made Brazil''s largest ever bankruptcy filing in June to restructure about 65 billion reais ($20.9 billion) of bond, bank and regulatory liabilities.A stay of execution, which protects Oi from creditor suits, will expire in May, said a source close to bondholders who is not allowed to talk in public.A Cerberus Capital Management LP-led group of investors also intends to present an alternative in-court restructuring proposal for Oi carrier by March.Paul Singer''s Elliott Management Corp unveiled plan for Oi involving a 9 billion reais capital injection last month.($1 = 3.1111 reais) (Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/oi-sa-restructuring-idINL1N1FV120'|'2017-02-10T15:45:00.000+02:00' +'114be60ebb2a64df1af408121a6d2be8c1b51042'|'HP Enterprise cuts FY profit forecast, shares slide'|'Business News - Thu Feb 23, 2017 - 11:43pm GMT HP Enterprise cuts FY profit forecast, shares slide FILE PHOTO - Signs for Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co., cover the facade of the New York Stock Exchange November 2, 2015. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid By Rishika Sadam Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co, the corporate hardware and enterprise software business of Hewlett-Packard Co, cut its full-year profit forecast, as the company faces intense competition in its cloud-related business and struggles with a strong dollar. The company''s shares were down 6.7 percent at $23 in after-market trading on Thursday. They have gained nearly 88 percent in the past 12 months. HPE also cited higher commodities costs and some "near-term execution issues" for the cut in full-year profit forecast. Since its separation from Hewlett-Packard Co in 2015, HPE has sold off most of its traditional software services, while building its cloud-related businesses, which has pitted it against much bigger and established companies such as Cisco Systems Inc and the Dell-EMC combine. "I think (the cut) is a combination of increased pressure from foreign exchange movements as well as a highly competitive environment," Edward Jones analyst Bill Kreher said. About 61 percent of HPE''s revenue comes from outside the United States. HPE said it expected full-year adjusted profit of between $1.88-$1.98 per share, down from the $2-$2.10 per share it forecast earlier. Analysts on average were expecting a profit of $2.05 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. HPE also reported a revenue miss for the first quarter ended Jan. 31. Revenue fell 10.4 percent to $11.41 billion (9.10 billion pounds), well short of the analysts'' average estimate of $12.07 billion. "We saw significantly lower demand from one customer and major Tier 1 service provider facing a very competitive environment," Chief Executive Officer Meg Whitman said on a call with analysts. Revenue from its enterprise group, the company''s biggest and which offers servers, storage and networking services, fell nearly 12 percent to $6.32 billion in the quarter. Excluding items, the company earned 45 cents per share, edging past estimates by 1 cent. The Palo Alto, California-based company also forecast current-quarter adjusted profit in the range of 41 cents-45 cents per share. Analysts were expecting a profit of 47 cents. HP Inc, which holds the hardware division of Hewlett-Packard Co, reported better-than-expected revenue on Wednesday, largely helped by a stabilizing PC market. (Reporting by Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hewlett-packard-results-idUKKBN1622UO'|'2017-02-24T06:43:00.000+02:00' +'18081aee2db3874fe6d343abf4321a9f83ee916f'|'Italy freezes assets of banker accused of using Vatican for market rigging'|' 3:44pm GMT Italy freezes assets of banker accused of using Vatican for market rigging FILE PHOTO: Giampietro Nattino, chairman of Banca Finnat Euroamerica S.p.A. is seen in front of his private bank in Rome, Italy, September 20, 2011. Picture taken on September 20, 2011. REUTERS/Luigi Mistrulli/File Photo By Philip Pullella - ROME ROME Investigating magistrates in Italy on Tuesday froze millions of euros worth of assets belonging to a prominent Italian banker they believe used the Vatican bank and another Holy See financial department for market manipulation. The financial crimes police said in a statement that they had executed the magistrates'' orders, sequestering 2.5 million euros (2 million) in buildings, stocks and land belonging to Giampietro Nattino, head of Banca Finnat Euramerica SpA. [BFE.MI] Magistrates accuse him of market manipulation and providing false information to Consob, Italy''s stock regulator. Nattino said in a statement that the frozen assets belonged to him personally and not to his bank, and that he would cooperate with investigators. Shares in his private bank fell 3.6 percent before recovering some of that loss. Tuesday''s developments followed an exclusive report by Reuters in November, 2015 about a Vatican investigation into Nattino''s accounts at the Vatican bank, known as the Institute for Works of Religion, and at APSA, an office that oversees Vatican real estate and investments. reut.rs/2m7SvYh A confidential document seen by Reuters at the time covered the period from 2000 to 2011 and was passed on to Italian and Swiss investigators for their checks because some activity tied to the accounts allegedly took place in these countries. Vatican investigators suspected that on one occasion when his bank handled a stock placement, the APSA accounts were used to buy shares before they were allocated to other investors. In their statement on Tuesday, police said Nattino had used the "cover" of the Vatican financial institutions to carry out "a complex stock operation which resulted in criminal behaviour regarding market manipulation". The police statement said Nattino had employed "misleading and false" methods to "substantially alter" the price of shares in his bank. It said Italian magistrates were investigating two people who were managers at APSA in 2011 on suspicion of complicity. The Vatican had no immediate comment on the Italian magistrates'' order or on who the former Vatican officials were. Nattino''s statement on Tuesday referred back to one issued in 2015 in which he said his work had "always been characterised by maximum transparency and correctness". The Vatican, a sovereign state surrounded by Rome, has enacted a number of provisions to cleanse its finances and make them more transparent in recent years, particularly since the election of Pope Francis in 2013. Among the reforms was the closing of accounts held by outsiders such as Nattino. APSA made headlines in June 2013 with the arrest of Monsignor Nunzio Scarano, who worked there for 22 years as a senior accountant. Last year he was acquitted of charges of conspiracy to smuggle 20 million euros in cash into Italy from Switzerland to help friends avoid taxes. Scarano, who still faces a separate trial on money laundering charges, denies all wrongdoing. (Additional reporting by Stefano Bernabei and Antonella Cinelli; editing by John Stonestreet) Next In Business News Chancellor '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-vatican-banker-idUKKBN1601X5'|'2017-02-21T22:44:00.000+02:00' +'a4d50fddff0a95c22276f632a74b7c3665d7b08f'|'Chinese industry wants "win-win" end to U.S. anti-dumping duties on washing machines'|'Money News - Sat Feb 4, 2017 - 8:50pm IST Chinese industry wants "win-win" end to U.S. anti-dumping duties on washing machines Employees assemble washing machines on the production line inside a factory of Hefei Rongshida Sanyo Electric in Hefei, Anhui province August 13, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer/Files BEIJING Chinese industry called on Saturday for talks with the United States to seek an end to anti-dumping duties imposed on its exports of large washing machines, state news agency Xinhua reported. The U.S. International Trade Commission last month made a final finding of harm to a U.S. manufacturer after a Commerce Department probe found some large residential washers were being imported from China at below fair value. "The move hurts not only Chinese manufacturers, but also the interests of U.S. consumers," the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products (CCCME) said, according to Xinhua. "The chamber is concerned about the U.S. use of trade remedy measures to protect its own market, and hopes to solve the issue through negotiations to gain win-win results." The investigation followed a petition by Whirlpool Corp over imports of washers manufactured in China by two South Korean companies, Samsung Electronics Co Ltdand LG Electronics Inc. The ITC decision imposed of final duties of up to 52.5 percent. In 2015, U.S. imports of such washers from China were valued at an estimated $1.1 billion. (Reporting by Ryan Woo; Editing by Robin Pomeroy) Next In Money News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-china-washers-idINKBN15J0LH'|'2017-02-04T22:20:00.000+02:00' +'0e8dde88499e3a950d4045c5ff1406373ef64a6f'|'BRIEF-Omega Advisors cuts share stake in Alphabet, Microsoft; dissolves in Chesapeake Energy'|' 10:55am EST BRIEF-Omega Advisors cuts share stake in Alphabet, Microsoft; dissolves in Chesapeake Energy Feb 14 Omega Advisors Inc * Omega Advisors Inc takes share stake of 50,000 shares in Bluebird Bio Inc - SEC filing * Omega Advisors Inc dissolves share stake in Electronic Arts Inc * Omega Advisors Inc dissolves share stake in Chesapeake Energy Corp * Omega Advisors Inc ups share stake in Time Inc to 3.9 million shares from 903,500 shares * Omega Advisors Inc cuts share stake in Alphabet Inc by to 139,395 Class A shares from 161,156 Class A shares * Omega Advisors Inc cuts share stake in Microsoft Corp by 23.5 percent to 803,620 shares from 1.1 million shares Source text for quarter ended Dec 31, 2016: bit.ly/2lfYUm4 Source text for quarter ended Sept 30, 2016: bit.ly/2fNytzh Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1FZ0YQ'|'2017-02-14T22:55:00.000+02:00' +'53670b404970cf0aa03e85a9c286cd874249b2c9'|'German two-year bond yields again fall to record low'|'LONDON Feb 24 Germany''s two-year government bond yield extended recent declines on Friday and again reached record lows.The European Central Bank''s bond-buying programme and upcoming regulatory changes have helped push short-dated German yields down, a trend exacerbated by investor concern over France''s presidential race.The two-year German Schatz yield fell as low as minus 0.931 percent in early Friday trade as an overnight decline in U.S. Treasury yields spilled over into German bond markets. It is on track to end the week 12 basis points lower -- more than in any single week since July 2012. (Reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe, editing by Larry King)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/eurozone-bonds-idINL8N1G910U'|'2017-02-24T04:25:00.000+02:00' +'9b264043b11de1ec54e2dca088ea3c29189185cd'|'Prosecutors confirm investigating Deutsche Boerse CEO for insider trading'|'Business News - Thu Feb 2, 2017 - 2:40am EST Prosecutors confirm investigating Deutsche Boerse CEO for insider trading Carsten Kengeter, CEO of Deutsche Boerse talks to the media during the presentation of FinTec start-up facilities provided by Deutsche Boerse in Frankfurt, Germany, February 24, 2016. EUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT German prosecutors said on Thursday their investigation of Deutsche Boerse ( DB1Gn.DE ) Chief Executive Carsten Kengeter for suspected insider trading related to talks held between the group''s management and the London Stock Exchange ( LSE.L ) between July/August and December 2015. Prosecutors searched offices at Deutsche Boerse''s headquarters in Eschborn near Frankfurt on Wednesday in connection with a 4.5 million euro ($4.85 million) purchase of Deutsche Boerse shares by Kengeter in December 2015, just over two months before Boerse and LSE announced merger talks. The Frankfurt prosecutor''s office said in a statement that the search was meant to help clear up the course of talks up to Feb. 23, 2016, when the two companies confirmed they were in negotiations for a merger. ($1 = 0.9274 euros) (Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Christoph Steitz) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-deutsche-boerse-investigation-prosecu-idUSKBN15H0MF'|'2017-02-02T14:40:00.000+02:00' +'c008b26c0b28db00a2c4a8090cfbd853ef7cb126'|'Deutsche Boerse CEO says insider trading allegations will prove unfounded'|'Business News 06am GMT Deutsche Boerse CEO says insider trading allegations will prove unfounded FILE PHOTO: Traders work at their desks in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote/File Photo FRANKFURT Deutsche Boerse ( DB1Gn.DE ) Chief Executive Carsten Kengeter said insider trading allegations against him would prove unfounded, given he had no role in determining the timing of his share purchases ahead of the announcement of merger plans with the London Stock Exchange ( LSE.L ). "We, Deutsche Boerse and myself, are fully cooperating with the public prosecutor. I am certain that, following detailed investigation, the allegations will turn out to be unfounded," Kengeter said at a news conference to discuss the exchange operator''s annual results. "When I purchased the shares using my own funds, I did not do so at a time of my own choosing. I did so between 1 and 21 December 2015 within a time-frame fixed by the Supervisory board," Kengeter said, adding that the shares were subject to a holding period until the end of 2019. Kengeter said the company was pursuing its merger with LSE and that he was engaged in a "constructive dialogue" with policymakers in Hesse, the German state where Deutsche Boerse is headquartered. (Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Maria Sheahan) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deutsche-boerse-lse-kengeter-idUKKBN15V0Y0'|'2017-02-16T16:06:00.000+02:00' +'901148b2ffea6b6de00cc81279805165c28bcafe'|'BRIEF-Andersons posts Q4 eanings $0.36 per share'|' 4:53pm EST BRIEF-Andersons posts Q4 eanings $0.36 per share Feb 15 Andersons Inc * The Andersons Inc reports fourth-quarter and full year results * Andersons Inc - reported Q4 2016 net income attributable to andersons of $10.1 million, or $0.36 per diluted share * Andersons Inc says has begun to see signs of improvement in fertilizer orders and price stability in early weeks of 2017 * Andersons Inc - qtrly sales and merchandising revenues $1.11 billion versus $1.18 billion * Andersons Inc - company has begun to see signs of improvement in fertilizer orders and price stability in early weeks of 2017 * Q4 earnings per share view $0.63, revenue view $1.23 billion -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSASB0B0JE'|'2017-02-16T04:53:00.000+02:00' +'e6cde9d2f43efc0b909de24dd0b1338bcd462d68'|'Dubai Islamic Bank mandates banks for potential sukuk sale -sources'|'Financials - Wed Feb 1, 2017 - 7:02am EST Dubai Islamic Bank mandates banks for potential sukuk sale -sources By Davide Barbuscia - DUBAI DUBAI Feb 1 Dubai Islamic Bank, the largest sharia-compliant bank in the United Arab Emirates, has appointed banks ahead of a potential benchmark-sized U.S. dollar sukuk sale, banking sources familiar with the situation said on Wednesday. The group of banks arranging the deal includes Bank ABC, Boubyan Bank, Emirates NBD, HSBC, Maybank, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Sharjah Islamic Bank and Standard Chartered, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the information is private. Dubai Islamic Bank did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. The planned Islamic debt issuance would come at a busy time in the Gulf Cooperation Council debt capital market, as banks, sovereigns and corporates tap international funds to replenish their coffers and improve liquidity, which has been squeezed by low oil prices. After an issue in January by Bahrain''s Gulf International Bank, the UAE''s Bank of Sharjah recently mandated Bank ABC, Emirates NBD, JP Morgan and National Bank of Abu Dhabi to arrange fixed income investor meetings for a potential senior unsecured five-year international bond. Kuwait''s Equate Petrochemical ( IPO-EQUP.KW ) announced on Wednesday the dates of a series of investor meetings ahead of a potential sukuk issue, while Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Oman and possibly Saudi Arabia are among the regional sovereigns expected soon to raise dollar-denominated debt. DIB''s sukuk, expected to be upwards of $500 million, is likely to be a five-year deal, said one of the bankers. The timing of the issue has not been decided yet, but the Islamic bond could hit the market next week, said the same banker. DIB''s latest sukuk was a $500 million five-year issue in March last year which offered a 3.6 percent profit rate. The bond, part of a $2.5 billion sukuk programme, was listed on the Dubai Financial Market and the Irish Stock Exchange. DIB is rated Baa1 by Moody''s and A by Fitch. (Editing by Andrew Torchia) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/dubai-islamic-bank-sukuk-idUSL5N1FM3ER'|'2017-02-01T19:02:00.000+02:00' +'8da272a23b77bf44c1a14734e17eb49eda157e33'|'Germany committed to Greece bailout programme - Merkel spokesman'|' 18am GMT Germany committed to Greece bailout programme - Merkel spokesman German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, Germany February 10, 2017. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke BERLIN Germany is committed to making a success of Greece''s bailout programme, a spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday, when asked if Greece leaving the euro zone was an option. "For years, euro zone member states, including Germany, have shown active solidarity with Greece with the goal to bring this country to a path of sustainable finances and economic growth," Steffen Seibert told a regular government news conference. "It is a mission that has dragged on for many years and we are holding on to it," he added. Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer added: "We want to keep the euro zone whole, including Greece, and we will support everything that helps Greece. That''s why we want the aid programme to continue to be successful." (Reporting by Gernot Heller; Writing by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Paul Carrel) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-greece-germany-idUKKBN15S15R'|'2017-02-13T18:18:00.000+02:00' +'aeef8085ed9a2fedbce0d90204ef08e4768ca0ac'|'UPDATE 1-Rio Tinto boosts dividend on commodities recovery'|'Commodities - Wed Feb 8, 2017 - 1:15am EST Rio Tinto boosts dividend on commodities recovery FILE PHOTO - A sign adorns the building where mining company Rio Tinto has their office in Perth, Western Australia, November 19, 2015. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo SYDNEY Global miner Rio Tinto said on Wednesday it will pay a bigger-than-expected annual dividend of $1.70 per share on the back of a strong recovery in mineral commodities markets in 2016 and cost-cutting. Underlying earnings for the world''s second-biggest mining house rose by 12 percent to $5.1 billion, beating analysts'' estimates for around $4.87 billion, according to an externally compiled consensus. The result marks a turnaround from 2015, when the world''s No. 2 miner posted its worst underlying earnings in 11 years and scrapped its generous payout policy amid tumbling commodity prices. "We enter 2017 in good shape. Our team will deliver $5 billion of extra free cash flow over the next five years from our productivity programme," Chief Executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques said in a statement. The market had been expecting a dividend of about $1.33 a share, according to the external consensus. The annual payout is still below 2015''s dividend which partly included the previous payout policy of never cutting payments year to year. Analysts are mixed on whether Rio Tinto will increase returns to shareholder in 2017 or hold on to more cash amid forecasts for a retraction in commodities prices. The price of iron ore surged 81 percent last year and now sells for around $80 a tonne, despite analysts'' expectations for a retreat to around $55. The concern is that millions of tonnes of additional low-cost supply from Australia and Brazil will overwhelm demand in 2017 and send prices into retreat. (Reporting by James Regan; Editing by Richard Pullin) Next In Commodities'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-rio-tinto-results-idUSKBN15N0GK'|'2017-02-08T13:14:00.000+02:00' +'72b3ffad47c311778ffe8543b8cd335451c44a19'|'Fidelity''s operating profit surged nearly 20 pct in 2016'|' 39am EST Fidelity''s operating profit surged nearly 20 pct in 2016 BOSTON Feb 16 Fidelity Investments said on Thursday its financial services operating profit rose 19.5 percent to $3.5 billion in 2016, despite massive withdrawals of investor money from its actively managed stock funds. Boston-based Fidelity, which is controlled by the family of Chairman Abigail Johnson, said 2016 revenue was $15.9 billion, an increase of 3.4 percent over 2015. Fidelity''s actively managed equity mutual funds saw $57.7 billion in net outflows during the year. These outflows were offset by $19.1 billion of flows into managed account products, $22.6 billion of flows into money market funds, and $16.1 billion of flows into Fidelity index funds. (Reporting By Tim McLaughlin; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/funds-fidelity-results-idUSL1N1G117Z'|'2017-02-16T23:39:00.000+02:00' +'9ac0377bedd465db3ca838bff621f0cc84f490a8'|'China securities regulator to focus on stability, reform'|'Business News - Sun Feb 26, 2017 - 7:36am GMT China securities regulator to focus on stability, reform FILE PHOTO: Journalists take photos of Liu Shiyu, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, as he arrives for a news conference on the sidelines of the National People''s Congress (NPC), China''s parliament, in Beijing, China, March 12, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo By Elias Glenn - BEIJING BEIJING China will focus on stable development of its capital markets this year, but will press ahead to further open its markets to foreign companies, the top securities regulator said on Sunday. "We will not waver from reforms (to make China''s capital markets) more market-based, law-based and international, Liu Shiyu, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), told a news conference in Beijing. Chinese regulators have turned their sights on controlling risks in financial markets as speculative activity and leverage in the economy rise, with the securities regulator vowing to clear out "abnormal phenomena" from capital markets. The CSRC recently pledged to target "barbaric" leveraged buyouts and to restrict excessive fundraising by some listed companies, with a focus on private share placements. Liu said earlier this month that CSRC would take down law-breaking financial tycoons he called "giant crocodiles", saying they will not be allowed to take advantage of retail investors. China''s crackdown on illegal market activities has intensified since the mid-2015 stock market crash that wiped out almost $3 trillion of share value. Liu, who was appointed CSRC chairman in early 2016, said that balancing the needs for stability and progress were crucial, especially in managing the primary market. Limiting or halting initial share sales in order to stabilise the secondary market doesn''t "solve the problems of long-term healthy development of capital markets," Liu said. CSRC deputy chief Fang Xinghai said at the same news conference that China is discussing measures that would allow foreign firms to take a larger stake in domestic joint venture securities and futures brokerages, without providing a timetable for any changes. Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) and UBS Group AG ( UBSG.S ) are set to raise their stakes in their separate Chinese securities joint ventures to 49 percent, people with direct knowledge of the moves confirmed last month. Fang also said there was no timetable for the launch of an international board that will allow foreign-invested enterprises to list shares domestically in China, adding that issues such as accounting treatment and disclosure rules were still being studied. Liu declined to confirm a Reuters report on Friday that regulators are considering offering a shortcut for some of the country''s largest technology companies to list their shares on domestic markets, allowing them to jump a long queue of applicants and boost domestic bourses. China has been losing out to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq on key technology listings, so more IPOs at home could mean millions of yuan in revenue for Chinese investment banks, who dominate domestic stock issuance. (Reporting by Elias Glenn; Writing by Matthew Miller; Editing by Kim Coghill) Next In Business News TCL carries flickering BlackBerry flame with new phone launch BARCELONA, Spain Blackberry Ltd may have exited the device business, but fans of the pioneering email machine need not despair as Chinese smartphone maker TCL Communication has introduced its first Blackberry-licensed phone with the physical keyboard that was long its key allure.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-stocks-regulator-idUKKBN16506T'|'2017-02-26T14:36:00.000+02:00' +'0bdc80b105d93b2146087e5c563bd23886dcd416'|'PSA says Germany''s Merkel "very receptive" to case for Opel deal'|'Company 9:56am EST PSA says Germany''s Merkel "very receptive" to case for Opel deal PARIS Feb 21 German Chancellor Angela Merkel was "very receptive" to the case for PSA Group''s proposed acquisition of Opel from General Motors in a conversation with the French carmaker''s chief executive, a company spokesman said. Carlos Tavares spoke with the German leader by telephone for more than 35 minutes earlier on Tuesday, the PSA spokesman said. "The tone of the exchange was very convivial and Chancellor Merkel was very receptive to our arguments," he said. (Reporting by Laurence Frost, editin by Louise Heavens) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/opel-ma-psa-merkel-idUSL8N1G655H'|'2017-02-21T21:56:00.000+02:00' +'df181d419493e736d0b6def7d5eadf4255f5211c'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX barely higher as banks, gold miners shine'|'Company 44am EST CANADA STOCKS-TSX barely higher as banks, gold miners shine (Adds details, updates prices) * TSX up 2.14 points, or 0.01 percent, at 15,478.53 * Six of the TSX''s 10 main groups move higher TORONTO, Feb 6 Canada''s main stock index was barely higher in morning trade on Monday, as financial stocks and gold miners gained along with bond yields and bullion, while energy names fell as oil prices slipped. Among the most influential gainers were the index''s sizable gold mining group, with Barrick Gold rising 1.4 percent to C$25.02 and Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd up 1.3 percent to C$64.97. Gold climbed to its highest in nearly three months as worries about the political landscape in the United States and Europe and a subdued dollar reinforced investor interest in the precious metal. The index''s materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 0.5 percent. The heavyweight financials group gained 0.3 percent as bond yields rose, with the country''s largest lender Royal Bank of Canada up 0.9 percent at C$95.43. Canada''s financial sector got a boost on Friday from U.S. President Donald Trump''s signal that looser banking regulation is coming there. Many companies in the sector are active in the United States At 10:32 a.m. ET (1532 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index was up 2.14 points, or 0.01 percent, at 15,478.53. Advancers outnumbered decliners by a 1.3-to-1 ratio overall, while six of the 10 main group moved higher. Enbridge Inc fell 1.3 percent to C$56.29 and fellow pipeline company TransCanada lost 0.8 percent to C$61.99, while major energy producer Canadian Natural Resources declined 0.8 percent to C$39.59. The energy group retreated 0.6 percent, as oil prices slipped on a stronger dollar and ample U.S. supplies that outweighed OPEC output curbs and rising tensions between the United States and Iran. Pharmaceutical company Prometic Life Sciences Inc advanced 3.8 percent to C$2.18 after it said California Capital Equity LLC had exercised share purchase warrants in the company as it prepares for its first commercial launch in 2017. Trade data for December is due on Tuesday, after Canada achieved its first trade surplus in more than two years in November. (Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-idUSL1N1FR0NH'|'2017-02-06T22:44:00.000+02:00' +'5a21cfc61078043eab4ffdf1d2b0e8dbb6bff845'|'FTSE steadies after setting one-month high, Unilever slumps'|'Business News - Mon Feb 20, 2017 - 10:53am GMT FTSE steadies after setting one-month high, Unilever slumps A man walks past the London Stock Exchange in the City of London October 11, 2013. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth By Atul Prakash - LONDON LONDON Britain''s top share index .FTSE steadied after hitting a new one-month high on Monday, with a slump in Unilever ( ULVR.L ) after Kraft ditched its bid offset by stronger firms like Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ) and Rolls Royce ( RR.L ). Unilever shares tumbled nearly 7 percent and were on track for their biggest one-day fall since 2008 after U.S. food giant Kraft Heinz ( KHC.O ) withdrew its proposal for a $143-billion merger with its larger rival. Kraft had made a surprise offer for Unilever to build a global consumer goods behemoth that was flatly rejected on Friday by Unilever, the maker of Lipton tea and Dove soap. "What exactly happened in this whirlwind of a story is yet to be fully revealed, but it looks like Unilever isnt just playing hard to get," said George Salmon, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. "It was always going to be a difficult pitch to convince shareholders to relinquish their grip on Unilever, given the expectations for the company to keep churning out resilient growth in the years to come." Pearson ( PSON.L ) also lost ground, with its shares falling 4 percent after Berenberg sharply cut its target price for the stock to 400 pence from 500 pence, saying it did not see a short-term fix for the company amid serious structural and cyclical issues at the key higher education courseware division. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was flat in percentage terms at 7,298.91 points after climbing to an intra-day high of 7,329.56, the highest level since the middle of January. The broader index stayed steady despite sharp falls in shares of companies like Unilever and Pearson as some other firms made strong gains. Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ) shares rose 6 percent, the top gainers in the FTSE 100 index, as the lender said late on Friday that it had proposed abandoning the disposal of its Williams & Glyn business after a seven-year struggle to sell the unit to meet European Union state aid demands. "On the face of it, removing this uncertainty would seem like good news for RBS investors, reflecting the fact that executing a disposal of Williams & Glyn was a key hurdle that the group needed to overcome before it could recommence paying dividends," Shore Capital analyst Gary Greenwood said. Rolls Royce ( RR.L ) gained 4 percent after Goldman Sachs added the stock to its "Conviction List" and upgraded its rating on the aero-engine maker to "buy" from "neutral", saying that its earnings performance was expected to improve. Elsewhere, British builder Bovis ( BVS.L ) slumped more than 9 percent, the biggest faller in the FTSE mid-cap index .FTMC , after the company said profit would drop again this year as it builds fewer homes and focuses on improving quality. (Reporting by Atul Prakash, editing by Ed Osmond) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks-idUKKBN15Z106'|'2017-02-20T17:53:00.000+02:00' +'4d20f0bd72e0a75610566d893b2165b57a2e3643'|'M''bishi Materials targets March restart to Indonesia copper smelter'|'Company News 31am EST M''bishi Materials targets March restart to Indonesia copper smelter TOKYO/JAKARTA Feb 13 Japan''s Mitsubishi Materials Corp aims to replace workers and resume operations at Indonesia''s main copper smelter in early March after a labor strike forced it to halt operations except for the refining process on Jan. 19, a spokesman said. The Gresik smelter, owned by PT Smelting, produced about 190,000 tonnes of copper cathode in the year to March 2016 and had planned to produce 260,000 tonnes this financial year through March 31, without taking into account the impact from the strike, Mitsubishi Materials spokesman Hiroshi Shimizu told Reuters. PT Smelting is 60.5 percent owned by Mitsubishi Materials, while Freeport-McMoRan Inc''s Indonesian unit holds 25 percent. The Gresik smelter on Java island takes up to 40 percent of Freeport''s output of copper concentrate from its Grasberg mine in Papua province, the world''s second-largest copper mine. "PT Smelting has sent notice of dismissal to its about 300 workers late last month and is now hiring new workers with an aim to resume operations as early as March," the spokesman said. Indonesia introduced new rules on Jan 12 that require miners including Freeport to develop additional smelting capacity and halt their exports until they obtain new permits. As a result of the rules, Freeport warned it could be forced to slash output by around 70 million pounds of copper per month and lay off workers at Grasberg, PT Smelting''s main source of copper concentrate. As of Monday, Freeport had not resolved the permit issues, a Jakarta-based spokesman told Reuters. He declined to comment on Grasberg''s production status. "Exports are still banned as a result of the regulations that were issued in January," Freeport Indonesia spokesman Riza Pratama said. "There has been no agreement." The Mitsubishi Materials spokesman said PT Smelting has also stopped exporting anode slime, a byproduct of copper concentrate processing that includes other metals such as gold and silver, due to the new rules. Previously, Mitsubishi had sent anode slime to its Naoshima plant in western Japan to extract gold and silver, providing the company with additional revenues from the operation. "We have applied for an export permit with Indonesian government and we hope to resume exports of slime when PT Smelting restarts operations in March," the spokesman said. (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi in TOKYO and Fergus Jensen in JAKARTA; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/mitsubishi-ma-indonesia-idUSL4N1FY27I'|'2017-02-13T15:31:00.000+02:00' +'952682c7e28ddaf34a625999eace3ee4d1d1d13d'|'Oil exports from southern Iraq down in January after OPEC deal - sources'|'Business News - Tue Feb 7, 2017 - 2:28pm GMT Oil exports from southern Iraq down in January after OPEC deal - sources FILE PHOTO - A flag with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) logo is seen before a news conference at OPEC''s headquarters in Vienna, Austria, December 10, 2016. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader/File Photo BASRA, Iraq Crude oil exports from southern Iraq in January fell to 3.275 million barrels per day (bpd) from 3.51 million bpd in December, as the country complied with an agreement with other producers to reduce output, two oil executives said on Tuesday. December''s exports from the southern region, where Iraq produces most of its oil, set a record high. Iraq is OPEC''s second-largest crude producer after Saudi Arabia. The group agreed in late November to cut production in order to support sagging oil prices. (Reporting by Aref Mohammed; writing by Maher Chmaytelli; editing by Jason Neely) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iraq-energy-oil-exports-idUKKBN15M1L6'|'2017-02-07T21:28:00.000+02:00' +'78eb685ea5572f52462a3da9e1dd17d0f756cf9a'|'Turkish foreign minister warns of Greek "provocations"'|' 3:55am EST Turkish foreign minister warns of Greek ''provocations'' Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (C) the attends a ceremony in the ''''House of Independence'''' before meeting Paraguay''s foreign minister Eladio Loizaga at his office in Asuncion, Paraguay, January 31, 2017. REUTERS/Mario Valdez ANKARA Turkey has accused Greece of provocative actions and warned there could be "no going back" if tensions were allowed to escalate, a newspaper said on Thursday, underscoring strains from territorial disputes and Athens'' failure to hand over Turkish soldiers who fled after an abortive coup. Tensions between the NATO allies rose when a Greek court last week blocked the extradition of eight Turkish soldiers Ankara accuses of involvement in July''s failed coup. The move angered Turkey, which said relations with Greece would be reviewed. On Wednesday, Greece reported mass incursions by Turkish military aircraft over the central and southern Aegean, which Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos called "cowboy antics". Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told the mass circulation Hurriyet newspaper Turkey was behaving "reasonably". "Greece has been doing provocative things for a long time. We are behaving reasonably so there are no tensions with our neighbors," the newspaper quoted him as saying while on an official trip to Latin America. "We know how to give the necessary response, the minister''s approach isn''t new... If the situation escalates, God forbid, if there is an unwanted accident, there will be no going back." He did not specify what he meant by "no going back". Turkey and Greece came to the brink of war in 1996 over the ownership of uninhabited islets known as Imia in Greek and Kardak in Turkish. The two countries play an important role in the handling of Europe''s worst migration crisis in decades and the EU depends on Ankara to enforce a deal to stem mass migration to Europe. (Reporting by Tulay Karadeniz; Writing by Tuvan Gumrukcu; editing by Ralph Boulton; Editing by David Dolan) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-greece-turkey-tensions-idUSKBN15H0RL'|'2017-02-02T15:52:00.000+02:00' +'2b7cafdf755510784fbb77caf76255e4436baf61'|'Asian share off 1-1/2-year high, Trump''s yuan comment in focus'|'Business News - Thu Feb 23, 2017 - 8:01pm EST Asian share off 1-1/2-year high, Trump''s yuan comment in focus A man looks at a stock quotation board outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, April 18, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai By Hideyuki Sano - TOKYO TOKYO Asian shares took a breather on Friday, hovering just below 1-1/2-year highs as investors braced for a potentially wobbly session after U.S. President Donald Trump called China "grand champions" of currency manipulation. Over the past month or so, financial markets have been buffeted by rising protectionism under the Trump administration, and the President''s latest comments on China does little to raise confidence on trade relations between the world''s two biggest economies. His comments came just hours after his new Treasury secretary pledged a more methodical approach to analyzing Beijing''s foreign exchange practices. The offshore yuan stood flat at 6.8476 per dollar CNH=D4 . In onshore trade, the yuan fell 6.6 percent last year in its biggest drop in over 20 years. All eyes are on the Chinese markets which open shortly. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was down 0.1 percent in early trade after four straight days of gains while Japan''s yen-sensitive Nikkei .N225 was off 0.7 percent. The MSCI world equity index .MIWD PUS, which tracks shares in 46 nations, rose 0.15 percent to 446.69 on Thursday, touching a record peak at 447.67 at one point and extending its gains so far this year to almost six percent. Leading the gains were emerging markets .MSCIEF, which have rallied more than 10 percent since the start of the year, thanks to signs of a pickup in global economic activity. On Wall Street, the Dow .DJI managed to notch a record high for a tenth straight session, the longest streak since 1987. The streak of gains is the longest for the index since March 2013. Traders have bet on tax cuts, less regulation and more infrastructure spending from Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress to bolster the U.S. economy. "There are strong expectations on tax cuts in the U.S. markets. On the other hand, the chance of a Fed rate hike in March seems limited, which is also helping shares," said Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday laid out an ambitious schedule to enact tax relief for the middle class and businesses by August, but added the Trump administration was still studying a border tax. As Trump has promised a "phenomenal" plan by early March to cut business taxes, many investors expect more clarity when he delivers a speech to Congress on Tuesday. Wednesday''s Federal Reserve minutes, which showed that there was less urgency among voting members to raise interest rates, have helped to drive down U.S. Treasuries yield and the dollar. The 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield hit a two-week low of 2.372 percent US10YT=RR. The dollar slipped to 112.55 yen JPY= , also a two-week low, on Thursday and last stood at 112.69 yen. The euro fetched $1.0584 EUR= , off Wednesday''s six-week low of $1.0494. Oil prices held firm near the top of their trading ranges, thanks to high compliance among the OPEC countries to curb output. U.S. crude futures CLc1 traded at $54.36 per barrel. (Editing by Shri Navaratnam) Game company seeks to block Facebook from using virtual reality code Video game publisher ZeniMax Media Inc., which earlier this month won a $500 million verdict against Facebook Inc.s Oculus virtual reality unit for unauthorized copying of computer code, has asked a federal judge to block Oculus from using the code in its products.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUSKBN163041'|'2017-02-24T08:01:00.000+02:00' +'97e0e797e8a4d261ea614dc91ed5b1eabbf3503a'|'BRIEF-India allocates 480 bln rupees to rural job scheme in 2017/18'|' 1:36am EST BRIEF-India allocates 480 bln rupees to rural job scheme in 2017/18 Feb 1 India''s finance minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday allocated 480 billion rupees to the country''s rural job scheme in 2017/18. For more details and other highlights from Jaitley''s budget for the 2017/18 fiscal year that begins on April 1, see . (Reporting by Delhi bureau) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSD8N1AX015'|'2017-02-01T13:36:00.000+02:00' +'46c48bb08804c97c62edcae72cc176c4a367befa'|'UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Feb 10'|'Company News - Fri Feb 10, 2017 - 2:50am EST UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Feb 10 (Adds futures, company news item) Feb 10 Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening up 23 points at 7,252 on Friday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures up 0.3 percent ahead of the cash market open. * The UK blue chip index was up 0.6 percent at 7,229.50 points at the market close, underperforming the pan-European STOXX 600 index on Thursday, as insurance and banking stocks picked up pace, while miners weighed. * RB: Reckitt Benckiser has agreed to buy U.S. infant formula maker Mead Johnson Nutrition for $16.6 billion, its biggest deal ever and opening up a new market area for the British consumer goods company. * JUST EAT: The chief executive of Just Eat, the online food delivery company, is to quit due to "urgent family matters", prompting the chairman to step into his role on a temporary basis, it said on Friday. * NATIONWIDE: Britain''s Nationwide Building Society said that pretax profit for the first nine months of its financial year fell by 16 percent year on year as increasing competition and low interest rates continued to pressure earnings. * LLOYDS: Lloyds Banking Group is the latest bank to join a new British cyber security group for banks called the Cyber Defence Alliance (CDA), sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. * BHP: Workers at BHP Billiton''s, Escondida copper mine in Chile, the world''s largest, walked off the job on Thursday in a strike that threatens to disrupt the international supply of the widely used metal. * RBS: Royal Bank of Scotland has rejected calls to beef up a 400 million pound ($502 million) scheme to reimburse customers who say they were mistreated by the bank''s business restructuring division. * BAE: A group of companies including subsidiaries of BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman Corp, Science Applications International Corp, Teledyne Technologies Inc and KBR Inc will share in a $3.04 billion missile defense contract, the Pentagon said on Thursday. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets TODAY''S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idUSL4N1FV2VQ'|'2017-02-10T14:50:00.000+02:00' +'3271403a4e9b752f0b81d89c08f852e6087cebfc'|'FEATURE-Brazil races against time to save drought-hit city, dying crops'|'Company News - Fri Feb 17, 2017 - 9:00am EST FEATURE-Brazil races against time to save drought-hit city, dying crops By Anthony Boadle - CAMPINA GRANDE, Brazil CAMPINA GRANDE, Brazil Feb 17 The shrunken carcasses of cows lie in scorched fields outside the city of Campina Grande in northeast Brazil, and hungry goats search for food on the cracked-earth floor of the Boqueirao reservoir that serves the desperate town. After five years of drought, farmer Edivaldo Brito says he cannot remember when the Boqueiro reservoir was last full. But he has never seen it this empty. "We''ve lost everything: bananas, beans, potatoes," Brito said. "We have to walk 3 kilometers just to wash clothes." Brazil''s arid northeast is weathering its worst drought on record and Campina Grande, which has 400,000 residents that depend on the reservoir, is running out of water. After two years of rationing, residents complain that water from the reservoir is dirty, smelly and undrinkable. Those who can afford to do so buy bottled water to cook, wash their teeth with, and even to give their pets. The reservoir is down to 4 percent of capacity and rainfall is expected to be sparse this year. "If it does not fill up, the city''s water system will collapse by mid-year," says Janiro Costa Rgo, an expert on water resources and hydraulics professor at Campina Grande''s federal university. "It would be a holocaust. You would have to evacuate the city." Brazil''s government says help is on the way. REROUTING THE RIVER After decades of promises and years of delays, the government says the rerouting of Brazil''s longest river, the So Francisco, will soon relieve Campina Grande and desperate farmers in four parched northeastern states. Water will be pumped over hills and through 400 kilometers of canals into dry river basins in Cear, Rio Grande do Norte, Pernambuco, and Paraba, the small state of which Campina Grande is the second-biggest city. Begun in 2005 by leftist president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the project has been delayed by political squabbles, corruption and cost-overruns of billions of dollars. Brazil''s ongoing recession, which economists calculate has shrunk the economy of the impoverished northeast by over four percent during each of the past two years, made things even worse. Now, President Michel Temer is speeding up completion of the project, perhaps his best opportunity to boost support for his unpopular government in a region long-dominated by native-son Lula and his leftist Workers Party. In early March, Temer plans to open a canal that will feed Campina Grande''s reservoir at the town of Monteiro. The water will still take weeks to flow down the dry bed of the Paraba river to Boqueiro. With the quality of water in Campina Grande dropping by the day, it is a race against time. Professor Costa Rgo says the reservoir water will become untreatable by March and could harm residents who cannot afford bottled water. Helder Barbalho, Temer''s minister in charge of the project, says the government is confident the water will arrive on schedule. "We have to deliver the water by April at all costs," he said. CLIMATE CHANGE Climate change has worsened the droughts in Brazil''s northeast over the last 30 years, according to Eduardo Martins, head of Funceme, Cear state''s meteorological agency. Rainfall has decreased and temperatures have risen, increasing demand for agricultural irrigation just as water supplies fell and evaporation accelerated. Costa Rgo blames lack of planning by Brazil''s governments for persistent and repeated water crises, shocking for a country that boasts the biggest fresh water reserves on the planet. The reservoir supplying So Paulo, Brazil''s largest city and a metropolitan region of 20 million people, nearly dried up in 2015. The capital, Brasilia, resorted to rationing this year. In Fortaleza, capital of Cear and the northeast''s second largest city, the vital Castanho reservoir is down to 5 percent of its capacity. While that city will also get water from the So Francisco project, it will not arrive until at least year-end because contractor Mendes Junior abandoned work after being implicated in a major corruption scandal. "Water from the So Francisco river is vital," Cear Governor Camilo Santana told Reuters. He said the reservoir can supply Cear only until August. After that, the state must use emergency wells and a mandatory 20 percent reduction in consumption to keep Fortaleza taps running until water arrives. RATIONING Cear has had to cut back on irrigation, hurting flower and melon exporters, cattle ranchers and dairy farmers. They stand to flourish when the transfer comes through, but quenching the thirst of the cities will take priority. In Campina Grande, a textile center, companies including industry leaders Coteminas and Alpargatas have curtailed expansion plans and drastically cut back consumption by recycling the water they use. There, too, new water will first go towards solving the crisis in Campina Grande and surrounding towns. Only then will officials think about agriculture. "First we have to satisfy the thirst of urban consumers. Only then can we think of producing wealth," said Joao Fernandes da Silva, the top water management official in Paraba. Rationing has particularly hurt poorer urban families. Many have no running water or water tanks and instead store water in plastic bottles. For those who have waited decades for the So Francisco transfer, they will believe it only when they see the water flow. Brito said he and his neighbors survive on the social programs that were the hallmark of Lula and his Workers Party administration. Though tainted by corruption allegations, Lula remains Brazil''s most popular politician ahead of presidential elections next year. "Without the Bolsa Familia program, we would be dying of hunger," said Brito, who believes shortages could persist even after the river transfer. "It''s political season again, so they promise us water, just for our votes." (Additional reporting by Ueslei Marcelino and Sergio Queiroz; Editing by Paulo Prada, Daniel Flynn and Bernadette Baum) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-drought-idUSL1N1FW0B7'|'2017-02-17T21:00:00.000+02:00' +'1f409db26af0fc10ae3b16cef1a389d71176a11e'|'Rio Tinto denies Guinea iron ore sale has stalled after investigation'|'By Eric Onstad and Barbara Lewis - LONDON/CAPE TOWN LONDON/CAPE TOWN Rio Tinto ( RIO.L ) ( RIO.AX ) shrugged off concerns on Wednesday that its sale of Guinea''s Simandou project to Chinalco ( 3668.HK ) had stalled after an investigation into payments to a consultant who helped it win rights to the huge iron ore deposit.Rio signed a preliminary deal in late October to sell its stake in Simandou, the world''s largest untapped iron ore reserves.But the following month, the world''s second-largest miner axed two of its top 10 executives amid a probe over $10.5 million in payments to a consultant providing advisory services on the Simandou project.Rio has alerted U.S., British and Australian regulators about the payments, but there is no suggestion that the officials or consultant acted illegally.China, the world''s largest iron ore consumer, provides an obvious market for Simandou, but industry sources have questioned whether China would ever develop the project."Why do you say stalled?," Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques said during a results conference call in response to a question."The two (negotiating) teams are working as we speak. The Rio team was in Beijing last week again and we''ll be in China next week again."Jacques declined to say if he was confident that Rio and Chinalco would finalize the deal within the original six-month timeframe."We are progressing, it''s a complicated process, it takes some time. We''re just moving as quickly as we can," he said.If the deal to sell its 46.6 percent stake in Simandou to Chinalco went ahead, Rio Tinto would receive payments of between $1.1 billion and $1.3 billion based on the timing of the project''s development, it said in October.Rio pleased investors on Wednesday when it beat full-year profit forecasts and announced a bigger-than-expected annual dividend, but it also warned that the investigation "could ultimately expose the group to material financial cost"."At this point in time it''s early days," Jacques said."We don''t know if there will be any provision... but it was important due to disclosure requirements to put out that there could be something."(Reporting by Eric Onstad in London and Barbara Lewis in Cape Town; editing by Ken Ferris)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-rio-tinto-simandou-idINKBN15N1IP'|'2017-02-08T10:36:00.000+02:00' +'0e8c533a9dcf232968a16f91745ca61d767d72e7'|'EMERGING MARKETS-LatAm currencies gain as U.S. wages rise less than expected'|'Company News 55am EST EMERGING MARKETS-LatAm currencies gain as U.S. wages rise less than expected SAO PAULO, Feb 3 Latin American currencies strengthened on Friday after U.S. wages remained nearly flat in January, reducing expectations of a fast interest rate-hike cycle in the coming months. Wages rose just three cents last month despite the largest gain in U.S. nonfarm payrolls in four months, a report showed. Investors bet the figures would keep the U.S. Federal Reserve on a trajectory of gradual interest rate increases, sustaining the allure of high-yielding emerging market assets. The Mexican and Chilean pesos firmed around 1 percent, while the Brazilian real rose 0.4 percent. Other emerging markets had been pressured earlier in the day by an unexpected Chinese interest rate raise, but pared back losses after the U.S. report. Brazil''s benchmark Bovespa stock index rose 1 percent, supported by appetite for risky assets. The stock of TIM Participaes SA was the biggest gainer after the company reported strong fourth-quarter margins. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1550 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % change change Latest MSCI Emerging Markets 921.81 0.72 6.14 MSCI LatAm 2570.89 1.4 8.32 Brazil Bovespa 65286.55 1.1 8.40 Mexico IPC 47049.66 -0.1 3.08 Chile IPSA 4228.35 0.05 1.85 Chile IGPA 21115.44 0.05 1.84 Argentina MerVal 19470.07 0.49 15.09 Colombia IGBC 10190.89 -0.03 0.62 Venezuela IBC 27893.74 -1.07 -12.02 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.1087 0.38 4.52 Mexico peso 20.3390 1.01 1.99 Chile peso 636.1 1.15 5.44 Colombia peso 2848.3 0.87 5.38 Peru sol 3.236 0.37 5.50 Argentina peso (interbank) 15.6300 0.38 1.57 Argentina peso (parallel) 16.39 0.73 2.62 (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Bernadette Baum) Next In Company News Lockheed to announce $8.5 billion F-35 order on Friday-sources WASHINGTON, Feb 3 The U.S. Department of Defense and Lockheed Martin Corp are set to announce a deal worth about $8.5 billion for 90 F-35 jets on Friday, people familiar with the talks said.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-latam-idUSL1N1FO12E'|'2017-02-03T22:55:00.000+02:00' +'a1273f3c4144bcb4ffab610d24a460091c0a8475'|'China''s property investment to grow less rapidly this year - report'|'Business News - Sun Feb 19, 2017 - 8:12am GMT China''s property investment to grow less rapidly this year - report A new residential quarter of the Country Garden is seen in Shanghai, China, February 10, 2017. Picture taken February 10, 2017. REUTERS/Aly Song BEIJING China''s investment in the property sector will likely expand at a slower pace in 2017 as Beijing looks to curb speculation, while infrastructure spending is expected to maintain a double-digit growth, state media cited a government adviser as saying. Li Wei, president of the State Council''s Development Research centre, made the comments over the weekend at a seminar, China Economic Daily reported on Sunday. Li also said China''s exports would likely resume positive growth this year, as commodity prices stabilise and the impact of an appreciation in the U.S. dollar gets gradually absorbed. China, the world''s largest trading nation, posted a 7.7 percent decline in exports in 2016, the second annual drop in a row and the worst since the depths of the global crisis in 2009, in the face of persistently weak global demand. The country''s real estate investment rose 6.9 percent in 2016 as national sales posted their strongest annual growth in seven years thanks to a furious property boom in top-tier cities. "From mid to long term, the downward channel for Chinese economy has narrowed significantly," Li was quoted as saying. Consumer spending, a key driver for the economy, is also expected to extend a double-digit growth this year, Li added. China''s consumer spending rose 10.4 percent last year, while its infrastructure spending expanded 17.4 percent. The government should prioritise risk management in the financial sector this year, said Li, echoing the country''s central bank that has said it plans to tighten up its oversight in a range of areas, including corporate debt and bank assets. The government has been fretting over fast-rising leverage and the risk of asset bubbles in the rapidly growing economy, which expanded 6.7 percent in 2016. Surging home prices have already led to restrictions on purchases and lending in dozens of cities since October. (Reporting by Chen Aizhu and Zhang Min; Editing by Himani Sarkar) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-adviser-idUKKBN15Y07C'|'2017-02-19T15:12:00.000+02:00' +'43cc6bd4a8e05de2324e232d46caf0c7c4d59ccf'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Brazil real rises to over 1-1/2-year high as central bank acts'|'(Updates prices, adds Yellen comments)SAO PAULO Feb 14 The Brazilian real gained on Tuesday to its strongest level in more than a year and a half, following a rise in capital inflows and after the central bank resumed currency intervention following a two-week pause.The real firmed 0.45 percent to 3.096 real per dollar, its strongest showing since July 2015.Gains were limited, though, as the central bank indicated it could allow around $4.3 billion worth of currency swaps, which function like future dollar sales, to expire next month.The bank sold $300 million in currency swaps on Tuesday morning to roll over March maturities. Should it maintain that pace until the end of the month, it will roll over $2.7 billion of the roughly $7 billion due next month.Some had speculated the bank could allow all of those contracts to expire after it refrained from conducting any auctions in recent weeks.The central bank currently holds $26.5 billion worth of currency swaps on its balance sheet, down from more than $100 billion two years ago.On Tuesday, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said the Federal Reserve will likely need to raise interest rates at an upcoming meeting, although she flagged considerable uncertainty over economic policy under the Trump administration.Yellen said delaying rate increases could leave the Fed''s policymaking committee behind the curve and eventually lead it to hike rates quickly, which she said could cause a recession.The dollar strengthened briefly against the real after her comments, while the Mexican peso also lost ground against the greenback. However, the peso ended the day slightly higher, up 0.14 percent at 20.25 pesos per dollar.Investors said they were waiting to see U.S. inflation data due on Wednesday, that would help clarify the Fed''s decision-making on future rate hikes. (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Diane Craft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-latam-idINL1N1FZ2B4'|'2017-02-14T21:19:00.000+02:00' +'ce0a2b92ed3371f1f2c3945c0c25564ba299226e'|'BRIEF-Cigna sets full year cash dividend of $0.04 per share'|' 14pm EST BRIEF-Cigna sets full year cash dividend of $0.04 per share Feb 22 Cigna Corp- * Sets FY cash dividend of $0.04per share Further UPDATE 4-Dozens defy deadline to leave Dakota pipeline protest camp CANNON BALL, N.D., Feb 22 A few dozen demonstrators opposed to the Dakota Access pipeline defied a Wednesday deadline to leave a protest camp they have occupied for months to demand an end to construction of the project, saying they were prepared to be arrested. * Pershing Square Holdings Ltd releases regular weekly net asset value as of 21 February 2017 MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-cigna-sets-full-year-cash-dividend-idUSFWN1G70X6'|'2017-02-23T05:14:00.000+02:00' +'c8f7afb311d7095c954a090790f983b562c2eee1'|'Daimler invests in smartphone-based vehicle finance app AutoGravity'|'Technology News 6:22am GMT Daimler invests in smartphone-based vehicle finance app AutoGravity Daimler AG sign is pictured at the IAA truck show in Hanover, Germany, September 22, 2016. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo FRANKFURT Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ) said on Tuesday it was investing a double-digit million euro amount into AutoGravity, a smartphone-based vehicle leasing and financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services. Car buyers in the United States can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers. AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models, and enables various financial services providers and automotive manufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphone. (Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach; Writing by Edward Taylor; Editing by Maria Sheahan) Next In Technology News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-daimler-investment-autogravity-idUKKBN15T0KH'|'2017-02-14T13:13:00.000+02:00' +'9234685dbe7f9bffb741f089a94f08a3db27bac4'|'UPDATE 2-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Feb. 23'|'(Adds details, updates futures)Feb 23 Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening 4 points higher, or up 0.05 percent on Thursday, according to Financial spreadbetters, with futures up 0.06 percent ahead of the cash market open.* The blue-chip FTSE 100 index ended up 0.4 percent at 7302.25 points, as Lloyds reported its highest annual profit in a decade and Unilever promised a far-reaching review.* BARCLAYS: Barclays reported a surprise increase in its core capital ratio on Thursday, as the key measure of financial strength rose to 12.4 percent against analysts'' expectations it would only climb to 11.8 percent.* BARCLAYS AFRICA: Barclays PLC has agreed to pay Barclays Africa 12.8 billion rand ($988 million) to fund investments required to separate it from its African unit, Barclays Africa said on Thursday.* LLOYDS: The British government said on Thursday it has further reduced its stake in Lloyds Banking Group, a day after the bank posted its highest profit since before the 2007-2009 global financial crisis.* GLENCORE: Miner and trader Glencore reported an 18 percent increase in core profits for 2016 on Thursday and said the company had never been so well positioned, although an ill-timed coal hedge had eaten into energy profits.* BAE: Britain''s BAE Systems said it expected increased defence budgets to boost its earnings by 5-10 percent this year after it met market expectations with a 7 percent rise in 2016.* BAT: British American Tobacco, the second-largest international tobacco company, reported a slight increase in full-year cigarette and tobacco sales volumes on Thursday.* RELX: European information and analytics provider Relx raised its dividend by a more-than-expected 21 percent on Thursday after meeting 2016 results forecasts.* CENTRICA: Centrica, Britain''s largest energy supplier, reported a 4 percent rise in annual adjusted profit on Thursday, slightly ahead of analyst estimates, and said debt levels could be low enough this year to allow an increase in its dividend.* RSA: Insurer RSA posted a 25 percent rise in 2016 operating profit to an above-forecast 655 million pounds ($814.49 million) due to strong performance in most of its core businesses, and raised its target for return on equity.* INTU PROPERTIES: British shopping centre landlord Intu Properties posted an unchanged full-year NAV from last year, as values and demand for Britain''s top malls stabilised against a weakening broader market following the country''s vote to leave the EU.* MONDI: South African paper and packaging company Mondi''s 2016 underlying profit rose, helped by good performance in all its businesses despite pricing pressure in a number of key paper grades.* RATHBONE: British wealth manager Rathbone Brothers said funds under management rose 17.1 percent in 2016 to 34.2 billion pounds ($42.55 billion), boosted by gains in the British stock market in the second half of the year.* HOWDEN JOINERY: Modular kitchen maker Howden Joinery Group Plc reported a slower full-year revenue growth for its UK depots, dragged down by weaker consumer confidence following Britain''s vote to leave the European Union.* PLAYTECH: Gambling technology company Playtech Plc said full-year revenue rose 12.5 percent, aided by strong performance in its gaming division.* BANK OF ENGLAND: Bank of England Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe warned on Wednesday that requiring financial instruments to be cleared in a country that uses the currency in which they are denominated would bump up costs and splinter markets.* BANK OF ENGLAND/INSURERS: EU capital rules for insurers need some tweaks but are not a deterrent to investment in infrastructure as some insurers'' claim, the Bank of England said on Wednesday.* PURPLEBRICKS: British online real estate agent Purplebricks Group Plc said it intended to raise funds through a share issue to expand into the United States.* AO WORLD: AO World, the British online electricals retailer, said on Wednesday its founder John Roberts had stepped down as chief executive but would remain on the board in a new executive role.* OIL: U.S. oil futures rose nearly 1 percent on Thursday after data released by an industry group showed a surprise decline in U.S. crude stocks as imports fell, lending support to the view that a global glut is ending.* BHP: The first attempt at an acquisition by Australia''s South32 S32.AX following its spinoff from BHP Billiton, has raised competition concerns over control of the local coking coal market.* EX-DIVS: Carnival, Diageo, Easyjet GlaxoSmithKline , Rio Tinto and Lancashire to go ex-dividend. According to Reuters calculations at current market prices, the effect of the resulting adjustment to prices by market-makers would take 12.3 points off the index.* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarketsTODAY''S UK PAPERS> Financial Times> Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Sanjeeban Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idINL4N1G82PW'|'2017-02-23T04:50:00.000+02:00' +'d6b2083bef8acde13c31f5edf6f517fe5861edbd'|'BUZZ-India''s Tata Motors plunges to over 2-month low; JLR profit falls'|'** Tata Motors falls as much as 8.6 pct, lowest since Dec 7, 2016** Company on Tuesday reported worse-than-expected 96 pct fall in Dec-quarter profit, citing sharply lower earnings at its British luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and losses in its domestic business** Consolidated net profit fell to 1.12 bln rupees ($16.76 million), missing analysts estimate of 22.48 bln rupees, according to Thomson Reuters data** Company expects to see much better Q4, Chief Financial Officer C Ramakrishnan said in a news conference** While a weak Pound is a big boon for JLR, given hedging it has lead to high losses - Morgan Stanley analysts** Management commentary on JLR margins has weakened significantly with hedging losses likely to continue at high levels for longer and rising incentives due to demand pressures," CLSA analysts write($1 = 66.8100 Indian rupees)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/buzz-indias-tata-motors-plunges-to-over-idINL4N1G01QS'|'2017-02-15T00:53:00.000+02:00' +'9c812f54b913341f1046a7fd4d4aadfc0dfab883'|'FDA approves Marathon Pharmaceuticals DMD drug'|'Health News 20pm EST FDA approves Marathon Pharmaceuticals DMD drug A view shows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland August 14, 2012. REUTERS/Jason Reed/File Photo The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved Marathon Pharmaceuticals'' Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) drug, Emflaza, to treat patients aged 5 years and above. DMD is a rare genetic disorder that causes progressive muscle deterioration and weakness and had only one approved treatment in the United States before Emflaza''s approval. The FDA in September approved Sarepta Therapeutics Inc''s DMD treatment even though an outside panel of experts and the agency''s own reviewers questioned the drug''s efficacy. (Reporting by Akankshita Mukhopadhyay in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza) Next In Health News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-fda-marathon-pharmaceuticals-idUSKBN15O2N6'|'2017-02-10T02:16:00.000+02:00' +'af4482458bd4c4c310b054d13d809429421ed037'|'UK inflation expectations steady for year ahead, rise further out'|' 58am GMT UK Shoppers are reflected in a shop window as they walk along Oxford Street on the last Saturday before Christmas, in London December 21, 2013. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/File Photo Short-run inflation expectations stood at 2.6 percent unchanged from January, the highest since December 2013 and above their long-run average of 2.4 percent. The Bank of England has forecast that inflation - which is rising fast after last year''s Brexit vote pushed down the value of the pound - will peak at just over 2.7 percent in mid 2018. Citi said longer-run inflation expectations for the next five to 10 years rose to 3.2 percent from 3.0 percent in January, the highest since January 2014 but not above the series average since it was launched in 2005. "We cannot rule out second-round effects when households and businesses negotiate wages and rents, perpetuating higher inflation beyond the current spike," Citi economists Christian Schulz and Ann O''Kelly said. "If the economy does not cool over the coming quarters, the BoE''s Monetary Policy Committee may come under pressure to raise Bank Rate from its current low of 0.25 percent, despite Brexit uncertainty." The survey was based on a sample of 2,059 adults polled between Feb. 20 and 21. (Reporting by William Schomberg; Editing by Alistair Smout) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-inflation-citi-idUKKBN1620VH'|'2017-02-23T15:53:00.000+02:00' +'aea6690f5819e4bd9879155613577d4c13d1c1b8'|'Sports Direct in talks to bid for Bob''s, Eastern Mountain Sports - sources'|' 40pm GMT Sports Direct in talks to bid for Bob''s, Eastern Mountain Sports - sources A worker walks up stairs before a Sports Direct general meeting to vote on the re-appointment of chairman Keith Hellawell in Shirebrook, January 5, 2017. REUTERS/Darren Staples By Jessica DiNapoli Struggling British sportswear retailer Sports Direct ( SPD.L ) is in talks to bid for Eastern Outfitters LLC, the parent of U.S. discount chain Bob''s Stores and outdoor retailer Eastern Mountain Sports, people familiar with the matter said. The sportswear chain, founded and controlled by Chief Executive Mike Ashley, is Britain''s largest sporting goods retailer with about 700 stores there and in the rest of Europe and has been looking for ways to expand in the United States. A regulatory filing to the London Stock Exchange on Thursday also revealed that Sports Direct had taken a 11.2 percent stake in troubled UK fashion retailer French Connection ( FCCN.L ), through contracts for difference. A spokesman for Sports Direct declined to comment on its intentions in either situation. The firm had a disastrous 2016. British lawmakers condemned it for "Victorian" working conditions, investors and media criticised its corporate governance and trading was poor with a series of profit warnings issued. It bid for the intellectual property of bankrupt U.S. retailer Sports Authority last year, but lost out to Dick''s Sporting Goods Inc ( DKS.N ). Sports Direct is now in talks with Eastern Outfitters about becoming a stalking horse bidder in a bankruptcy auction for the company, the people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. That would set the price floor for more bids in the auction. Shares in Sports Direct, down 24 percent over the last year, were up 1.7 percent at 303.5 pence at 1505 GMT. Meriden, Connecticut-based Eastern Outfitters has hired law firm Cole Schotz PC to prepare for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, expected in the coming days, the people said. Together, Bob''s and Eastern Mountain Sports have a total of close to 90 stores in the United States. Sports Direct has expressed interest in preserving at least some of them, according to the sources who asked not to be identified because the negotiations are confidential. Eastern Outfitters and Cole Schotz did not immediately return requests for comment. Eastern Outfitters is owned by private equity firm Versa Capital Management LLC, which acquired Bob''s and Eastern Mountain Sports through the bankruptcy last year of the store chains'' then holding company, Vestis Retail Group LLC. Versa said at the time that Eastern Outfitters had more than $400 million in annual revenue. The U.S. sporting goods sector is being tested by the advent of internet shopping and discount chains. Sports Authority, speciality golf retailer Golfsmith International Holdings Inc and sporting goods manufacturer Performance Sports Group Ltd are among companies that filed for bankruptcy in 2016. Sports Direct''s brands include boxing-inspired line Everlast and fitness label LA Gear. It sold the Dunlop brand to Sumitomo Rubber Industries for $137.5 million (109.66 million) in December. (Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli, additional reporting by James Davey; Editing by Chris Reese and Adrian Croft) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-easternoutfitters-m-a-sports-direct-idUKKBN15H228'|'2017-02-02T23:40:00.000+02:00' +'3083d6f80a98e32e66a81183e505009d1bd0ca1d'|'European Parliament adopts draft reform of carbon market post-2020'|'Business News - Wed Feb 15, 2017 - 3:31pm GMT European Parliament adopts draft reform of carbon market post-2020 By Alissa de Carbonnel - BRUSSELS BRUSSELS The European Parliament on Wednesday adopted draft reforms of the EU''s carbon market post-2020 that aim to balance greater cuts in greenhouse gases with protection for energy-intensive industries. The European Union''s emission trading system (ETS), a cap-and-trade permit system to regulate industry pollution, has suffered from excess supply since the financial crisis, depressing its prices and heightening the need for reform. But politicians and EU nations are divided over how best to fix the complex system, with industry and environment groups lobbying hard on opposing sides. Reform efforts have also been overshadowed by Britain''s decision to quit the bloc, raising fears it would also leave the EU''s scheme, hammering prices. The draft, adopted by 379-263 votes, rejected a more environmentally ambitious proposal for the faster removal of surplus carbon permits from the ETS - sparking criticism from climate campaigners. Instead, it sticks with the EU executive''s proposal for the cap on emissions to fall by 2.2 percent per year - the so-called linear reduction factor - until at least 2024. The Climate Action Network said it "betrayed the spirit" of the Paris accord to slow global warming, while Dutch green lawmaker Bas Eickhout said provisions to protect industry showed "the lobbyists have won out in the end." But leading policymakers called it the best compromise possible in tough talks. EU lawmakers will now enter negotiations with representatives of the bloc''s 28 governments to hammer out the final legislation. The benchmark European carbon contract CFI2Zc1 fell by about 2 percent following the vote, hovering around 5 euros/tonne, but Thomson Reuters carbon analysts said the market reaction would be short-lived. "The Parliament position significantly tightens the market balance," said Hege Fjellheim, an analyst at Thomson Reuters. INDUSTRY PROTECTION FROM ''CARBON LEAKAGE'' The cap-and-trade system is the EU''s key tool to meet its goal of a 43 percent cut in greenhouse gases from industries and power plants covered by the market compared with 2005. It aims to send a policy signal to encourage their investment in renewables and low-carbon electricity production. In a bid to shore up prices, the Parliament''s proposal doubles the rate at which the scheme''s Market Stability Reserve (MSR) soaks up excess allowances to 24 percent per year from 2019. It also cancels 800 million carbon allowances from the MSR in 2021. To minimise the risk of industry moving abroad to escape climate regulation, the draft allows for the share of allowances auctioned to be reduced by up to five percent to cushion against the impact of a cap on overall allocations, known as the cross-sectoral correction factor. The cement industry, which some lawmakers had pushed to exclude from free allowances, will remain on the list of installations receiving handouts. The deal drew mixed reactions from other industries. The steel, metal and chemical sectors welcomed the step towards adopting the long-awaited reforms but said they hoped for more safeguards for their competitiveness in continuing talks. The shipping industry protested its inclusion under the scheme from 2023 in the draft proposal, which also calls for reforms to tighten emission controls on aviation. However, lawmakers leading the reform have said the two provisions are likely to be traded away in upcoming negotiations with member states. (Additional reporting by Susanna Twidale and Angela Maytaal in London; Editing by David Evans and Ken Ferris) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-carbon-idUKKBN15U1Z2'|'2017-02-15T22:31:00.000+02:00' +'ce6f9e72efc0be2ec94892e0851362b4def59bbb'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX little changed as Barrick helps it touch record'|' 49am EST CANADA STOCKS-TSX little changed as Barrick helps it touch record * TSX up 14.35 points, or 0.09 pct, to 15,859.30 * Six of the TSX''s 10 main groups were higher OTTAWA Feb 16 Canada''s main stock index was little changed on Thursday after touching a record high as Barrick Gold Corp jumped on the company''s better-than-expected profits, but that was offset by a drop in Sun Life, which reported a decline in earnings. Bay Street also got some help from the energy sector, which was boosted by firmer oil prices and a 2.3 percent gain in Cenovus Energy Inc . The oil and gas producer reported an unexpected quarterly profit and the stock was up at C$18.38. The overall energy sector climbed 0.1 percent as oil prices were up 0.2 percent at $53.21 a barrel after sources said OPEC could extend its supply reduction deal with non-members. Barrick was the biggest lift on the index, jumping 6 percent to C$26.79, the day after the miner announced stronger-than-anticipated profit and a debt reduction plan. Goldcorp Inc also drove the market higher as lower costs at its gold mines in the Americas helped its quarterly profit beat expectations. Its stock was up 4.1 percent at C$22.72. The gold subindex climbed 1.4 percent. At midmorning, the Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index was up 14.35 points, or 0.09 percent, to 15,859.30. Of the index''s 10 main groups, six were in positive territory. The stock index touched a record high at 15,863.28, making for the fifth session in a row that equities have notched a new record. But a drop in shares of Sun Life Financial Inc kept overall market gains in check after the insurer reported a drop in quarterly underlying profit. Sun Life was down 3 percent at C$51.05. Bombardier fell 3.1 percent to C$2.50 after it posted lower-than-expected revenue on weak demand in its rail and business aircraft divisions. Bombardier has struggled in recent years as it brings its new CSeries jet program to the market. The Canadian government agreed last week to provide aid to the company. (Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe) Next In Company News GRAPHIC- ZURICH, '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-idUSL1N1G111H'|'2017-02-16T22:49:00.000+02:00' +'f97636f44ce4afa7ec7959239f2db1c1a6e53c25'|'J&J says kept drug price increases below 10 percent since 2012'|' 33pm GMT J&J says kept drug price increases below 10 percent since 2012 A Johnson & Johnson building is shown in Irvine, California, U.S., January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake By Michael Erman - NEW YORK NEW YORK Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ.N ) on Monday said the average list price of its drugs rose less than 10 percent each year since 2012, noting that the net price paid for the drugs, which includes discounts and rebates, was significantly lower. The company released a report with its price increase history in response to widespread outcry over high U.S. prices for prescription drugs. U.S. President Donald Trump has said drug companies are "getting away with murder" in what they charge the government for medicines. Johnson & Johnson, which makes Remicade for rheumatoid arthritis and the blood thinner Xarelto, said in 2016 the average increase in list price for its drugs was 8.5 percent, while the net price change was 3.5 percent. The highest average price increases at the company over the five-year period were in 2015, when the average list price rose 9.7 percent from the previous year and the average net price increase was 5.2 percent. The company said it generally limits its annual aggregate list price increase to single digit percentages. Merck ( MRK.N ) released a report on its own pricing history last month, revealing slightly larger average increases over the five year period than Johnson & Johnson. In response to the criticism of high drug prices, AbbVie Inc ( ABBV.N ), Allergan ( AGN.N ) and Danish diabetes company Novo Nordisk ( NOVOb.CO ) have pledged to keep all drug price increases in 2017 under 10 percent. (Reporting by Michael Erman; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-johnson-johnson-drugpricing-idUKKBN16629F'|'2017-02-28T02:33:00.000+02:00' +'a76ef262f0d1061e5ad4c2a849bbea57a88171e8'|'L''Oreal eyes Body Shop sale, posts higher revenue, profit'|'By Sudip Kar-Gupta and Martinne Geller - PARIS/LONDON PARIS/LONDON French cosmetics giant L''Oreal ( OREP.PA ) is weighing a possible sale of The Body Shop retail chain, it said on Thursday as it posted higher sales and profits.L''Oreal said in a statement that it had decided to "explore all strategic options regarding The Body Shop''s ownership in order to give it the best opportunities and full ability to continue its development."It said no final decision had been taken on the British chain, which it bought over a decade ago.Founded in 1976 by social and environmental activist Anita Roddick, the brand was a pioneer in the ethical beauty business, but has since suffered from heavy competition as many other brands adopted similar philosophies."Given the uninspiring performance of the brand, we suspect it shouldn''t come as a big surprise," said RBC Capital Markets analysts.L''Oreal is being advised by Lazard, according to an earlier report in the Financial Times, which said some private equity suitors had already expressed interest in buying the brand and it could fetch 1 billion euros.L''Oreal said 2016 sales had risen 2.3 percent from a year ago to 25.84 billion euros ($27.6 billion), slightly ahead of the mean average forecast for sales of 25.75 billion euros according to a Reuters consensus conducted with Inquiry Financial.Earnings per share for 2016 also rose 4.6 percent.Looking ahead, L''Oreal said that despite "an economic context that is still volatile and uncertain", it was "confident it will once again outperform the beauty market in 2017" with another year of growing sales and profits.L''Oreal, whose brands include Maybeline New York, Kiehl''s and Redken, issued its statement after the Paris stock market had closed with the stock up 0.4 percent after marginal gains so far this year on top of a roughly 12 percent gain in 2016.L''Oreal has been very active lately in terms of deal-making, announcing the $1.2 billion acquisition of IT Cosmetics last July and the $1.3 billion purchase of three brands from Valeant last month. It said the possible sale of The Body Shop was part of a related "brand portfolio optimisation".(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Andrew Callus/Ruth Pitchford)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-loreal-results-idINKBN15O2BS'|'2017-02-09T15:19:00.000+02:00' +'bf70c02f0d0a3435886759f950e6fbe15bbcfb30'|'Tiffany says CEO Frederic Cumenal steps down'|' 34pm EST Tiffany says CEO Frederic Cumenal steps down Feb 5 Jeweler Tiffany & Co on Sunday said Frederic Cumenal has stepped down as chief executive officer, effective immediately. The retailer said its chairman and previous CEO, Michael Kowalski, would serve as interim CEO while the board of directors seeks a new CEO. Kowalski will continue as Chairman. (Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-tiffany-idUSASB0AYLM'|'2017-02-06T05:34:00.000+02:00' +'b9482d37574d05fa6fb3f8f8f6db205652714b81'|'BRIEF-Mosaic Co files for potential mixed shelf, size undisclosed - SEC filing'|' 4:59pm EST BRIEF-Mosaic Co files for potential mixed shelf, size undisclosed - SEC filing Feb 17 Mosaic Co * Mosaic Co files for potential mixed shelf, size undisclosed - SEC filing Source text for Eikon: ( bit.ly/2m4Ugob ) UPDATE 3-Enbridge CEO says Canada only needs two more export pipelines CALGARY, Alberta, Feb 17 Two new crude oil export pipelines will provide enough capacity to ship Canadian production to market until at least the mid 2020s, Enbridge Inc Chief Executive Al Monaco said on Friday, making clear his company''s Line 3 should be one of them. * Reached a confidential agreement to settle the proceedings filed by the minority shareholders in court MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-mosaic-co-files-for-potential-mixe-idUSFWN1G210A'|'2017-02-18T04:59:00.000+02:00' +'9fad682acf767d2e0e57aa3692c607e657410d9a'|'Randgold fourth quarter profit up 76 percent'|'Business News 21am GMT Randgold fourth quarter profit up 76 percent The KCD open pit gold mine, operated by Randgold, at the Kibali mining site in the Democratic Republic of Congo, May 1, 2014. REUTERS/Pete Jones/File Photo Gold miner Randgold Resources Ltd ( RRS.L ) reported a 76 percent rise in fourth-quarter profit and said it would raise its annual dividend by 52 percent. The stock rose as much as 4.8 percent to 7,190 pence in early trading making it a top gainer on FTSE 100 index .FTSE . The company which has gold mines in Mali, Ivory Coast and the Democratic Republic of Congo, said profit rose to $94.3 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31 from $77.3 million, a year earlier. Gold production rose about 16 percent to 378,388 ounces in the same period from a year ago. Randgold said the company had achieved its cash target of $500 million without any debt. (Reporting by Sanjeeban Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-randgold-rsrcs-results-idUKKBN15L0PM'|'2017-02-06T15:21:00.000+02:00' +'02c7e3a2b6e776a08f5840ee7ab393b890865182'|'FTSE gets mining boost, hits 3-week high'|'Business News - Fri Feb 10, 2017 - 10:59am GMT FTSE gets mining boost, hits 3-week high A red London bus passes the Stock Exchange in London, Britain, February 9, 2011. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/File Photo By Atul Prakash - LONDON LONDON Britain''s commodity-heavy FTSE 100 .FTSE index climbed to a three-week high on Friday, with a rally in metals prices on soothing Chinese data and supply concerns boosting shares in basic resources companies. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was up 0.3 percent at 7,253.60 points after hitting an intra-day peak of 7,274.80, the highest since Jan. 17. The benchmark index, up more than 1 percent so far this week, headed for a second week of gains. The UK mining index .FTNMX1770 gained more than 2 percent as copper rose after China reported better-than-expected trade data for January and workers at BHP Billiton''s ( BLT.L ) mine in Chile went on a strike that threatens to disrupt copper supply. Prices of other industrial metals were also sharply higher. Shares in Anglo American ( AAL.L ), Antofagasta ( ANTO.L ), Rio Tinto ( RIO.L ), Glencore ( GLEN.L ) and BHP Billiton -- top five gainers in the FTSE 100 index -- advanced 1.8 to 3.4 percent. Sentiment also improved after data highlighted that British manufacturing grew more strongly than expected in December, suggesting the economy remained resilient to the end of the year despite June''s Brexit vote shock. "There is plenty to be cheery about UK plc. Industrial production growth hit a six-year high in the final month of 2016 ... While slower than the 2.1 percent seen in Nov, it was miles ahead of the flat growth expected," said Neil Wilson, analyst at ETX Capital. "Todays data confirm that the UK economy remains very resilient and lends support to the Bank of Englands decision to revise up its 2017 growth outlook." However, gold miners lost favour today. Shares in Randgold Resources ( RRS.L ) and Fresnillo ( FRES.L ) fell 0.5 percent and 0.3 percent respectively on a firmer dollar after U.S. President Donald Trump promised a major tax move and as data boosted expectations of a U.S. rate hike. Elsewhere, building materials group CRH ( CRH.L ) rose 1.7 percent after Berenberg raised its target price for the stock to 34.6 euros from 32 euros. Among mid-caps, speciality chemicals maker Elementis ( ELM.L ) rose nearly 7 percent after saying it would buy U.S.-based SummitReheis for an enterprise value of $360 million. The deal would increase the annual sales of its personal care business to $200 million and boost its adjusted earnings. On the downside, Just Eat ( JE.L ) fell 6.6 percent after the chief executive of the online food delivery company was to quit due to "urgent family matters", prompting the chairman to step into his role on a temporary basis. The UK index is up around 1.5 percent so far this year, after surging 14 percent last year and outperforming other major European equity indexes. (Reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Toby Chopra) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks-idUKKBN15P168'|'2017-02-10T17:59:00.000+02:00' +'ea3c32dd6779bb01e92862e382cb938f3fce0569'|'UK consumer morale dips as inflation pinches households - GfK'|'Business News - Mon Feb 27, 2017 - 7:29pm GMT UK consumer morale dips as inflation pinches households - GfK Shoppers carry bags on Oxford Street in London, Britain December 18, 2016. REUTERS/Neil Hall LONDON British consumer morale edged lower in February as rising inflation following last year''s Brexit vote made householders warier about the outlook for their finances, a survey showed on Monday. The report by market research firm GfK pointed to increased financial pressure on households in the year ahead and added to signs that consumer spending - the driving force behind Britain''s economy over the last few years - is starting to wilt as price pressures mount. GfK''s monthly consumer sentiment index edged down to -6 from -5 in January, in line with forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists. For a second month running, Britons became less enthusiastic about splashing out on major purchases. "Any momentum behind the post-Brexit, debt-fuelled, consumer spending boom now appears to be softening," said Joe Staton, head of market dynamics at GfK. A Reuters poll of economists last week suggested consumer price inflation will peak at around 3 percent towards the end of this year, up from 1.8 percent in January. [ECILT/GB] The Bank of England forecasts household incomes will cease growing in inflation-adjusted terms later this year, and says it will keep a close eye on the extent to which households will seek to bridge the gap by borrowing more. The Reuters poll suggested economic growth will slow this year to around 1.5 percent, down from 1.8 percent in 2016. Prime Minister Theresa May has said she wants to trigger formal Brexit negotiations - beginning a two-year countdown to leaving the EU - by the end of March. (Writing by William Schomberg; editing by John Stonestreet) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-consumersentiment-idUKKBN16628C'|'2017-02-28T02:21:00.000+02:00' +'faca8776fda8a5a1f7f83930d577963c375c029b'|'EDF defends nuclear decommissioning cost estimate'|' 11:48am GMT EDF defends nuclear decommissioning cost estimate The logo of France''s state-owned electricity company EDF is seen on the company''s headquarters in Paris, France, November 24, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Platiau PARIS French power company EDF ( EDF.PA ) on Wednesday defended its cost estimate of 22.2 billion euros ($24 billion) for dismantling nuclear power stations, rejecting a parliamentary committee report which said the costs may be higher. The parliamentary report, commissioned by a body looking into renewable energy, said that dismantling the sites could take longer than EDF had envisaged. "The optimistic scenarios upon which EDF has based its provisions, as well as a certain number of major costs which have been omitted, lead to questions over the validity of EDFs estimates, while at the same time, certain other costs appear to have been underestimated," the report said. State-controlled EDF rejected those findings, and pointed out that the French Environment, Energy and Sea Ministry had backed EDF''s estimates earlier this month. "The Ministry concluded that the audit essentially backs up EDF''s estimate of the cost of dismantling its nuclear fleet," EDF said in a statement. EDF is the world''s biggest nuclear power operator. It currently manages 58 French reactors which provide over 75 percent of France''s electricity. (Reporting by Benjamin Mallet and Sudip Kar-Gupta; editing by Jason Neely) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-edf-nuclearpower-idUKKBN15G49C'|'2017-02-01T18:48:00.000+02:00' +'252e3f733c68b9e5c7e5718aa5c55e24cd6c667a'|'SoftBank to buy Fortress Investment for $3.3 billion'|'Deals - Wed Feb 15, 2017 - 1:02am GMT SoftBank to buy Fortress Investment for $3.3 billion A man talks on the phone as he stand in front of an advertising poster of the SoftBank telecommunications company in Tokyo October 16, 2015. REUTERS/Thomas Peter TOKYO Japan''s SoftBank Group Corp ( 9984.T ) has agreed to buy Fortress Investment Group LLC ( FIG.N ), a private-equity firm and asset manager, for about $3.3 billion in cash - a surprise move for a group that has to date focused on telecoms and technology. Led by charismatic founder Masayashi Son, SoftBank has made unpredictable moves in the past, not least its decision last October to set up a $100 billion technology investment fund with Saudi Arabia. A New York-listed asset manager, Fortress''s investments span real estate, hedge funds and private equity. It had $70 billion in investments under management at the end of September 2016. In the wake of the global financial crisis, Fortress bought bad loans in Italy and has a track record in Japan, where it bought hotels held by Lehman Brothers after the bank collapsed in 2008. It is one of few global foreign investors with funds that are targeted at Japanese assets. SoftBank hired one of Fortress''s senior executives, Rajeev Misra, in 2014. Misra now runs SoftBank''s blockbuster fund - a fund the Fortress deal is designed to boost. The companies said Fortress principals would continue to lead the investment manager, which will operate within SoftBank as an independent business, based in New York. Senior fund managers would also remain with the group, it said. Fortress shareholders will receive $8.08 per share, a premium of 38.6 percent to the closing price on Feb. 13. Fortress plans to maintain its current base dividend of 9 cents per share for the fourth quarter of 2016, the company said in a statement. SoftBank shares ticked higher in early Tokyo trade on Wednesday, up 0.5 percent but slightly underperforming a broader market rise of 1 percent. (Reporting by Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru and Clara Ferreira Marques in Singapore; Editing by Stephen Coates) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-fortress-inv-glo-m-a-softbank-group-idUKKBN15T333'|'2017-02-15T07:55:00.000+02:00' +'4403bc99e99c28827d2f3d1a31a95a28548f51fa'|'Frontline says DHT Holdings rejects improved offer'|'By Gwladys Fouche and Ole Petter Skonnord - OSLO OSLO Tanker firm Frontline ( FRO.OL ) said on Tuesday it had made a higher and final offer for rival DHT Holdings ( DHT.N ) which was rejected.Frontline said it had raised its all-share offer to 0.80 Frontline share per DHT share from an initial 0.725 but that DHT had again rejected the offer."As DHT''s largest shareholder we are surprised that DHT''s board has declined our repeated attempts to discuss a business combination that we believe is clearly in the best interest of all shareholders," Frontline CEO Robert Hvide Macleod said in a statement.He decline to comment further when contacted by Reuters. Frontline holds a 16 percent stake in DHT.Last month Frontline, controlled by shipping tycoon John Fredriksen, made a non-binding, all-share offer to acquire DHT to create the largest private tanker firm in the world.That initial offer was unanimously rejected by DHT''s board.In the fourth quarter, Frontline reported an operating profit of $17.8 million, below the $35 million expected by analysts polled by Reuters and down from $77 million a year earlier.In its market outlook, Frontline reiterated that it expected freight rates to remain under pressure as more new tankers enter the market but that the market would begin to tighten in 2018.Shares in Frontline were up 0.53 percent at 0801 GMT while the Oslo benchmark index .OSEBX was up 0.12 percent.(Editing by Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-dht-holdings-m-a-frontline-idINKBN1670TV'|'2017-02-28T05:21:00.000+02:00' +'f719f3951bef5d2ac31ad9dc860733666de461f9'|'BRIEF-Oneok sees 2017 maintenance capital expense of $140 mln to $160 mln'|' 58am EST BRIEF-Oneok sees 2017 maintenance capital expense of $140 mln to $160 mln Feb 1 Oneok Inc * Oneok inc - dividend increase of 21 percent to 74.5 cents per share * Oneok inc sees annual dividend growth of 9 to 11 percent through 2021 * Oneok announces 2017 financial guidance * Oneok inc sees 2017 maintenance capital expenditures $ 140 - $ 160 million * Oneok inc - natural gas liquids segment expects full-year 2017 adjusted ebitda of $1.11 billion to $1.31 billion * Oneok - ngls gathered expected to average 800,000 to 900,000 bpd and ngls fractionated are expected to average 575,000 to 635,000 bpd in 2017 * Oneok inc - natural gas pipelines segment expects full-year 2017 adjusted ebitda of $320 million to $340 million * Oneok inc - natural gas gathering and processing segment expects full-year 2017 adjusted ebitda of $445 million to $485 million Source '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSASB0AXU1'|'2017-02-01T18:58:00.000+02:00' +'7b38c96f8631aa311784b91a5602c6721e6206d6'|'SocGen buys Aviva''s stake in insurer Antarius 1 for 425 million pounds'|'Deals - Thu Feb 9, 2017 - 7:25am GMT SocGen buys Aviva''s stake in insurer Antarius 1 for 425 million pounds The logo of the French bank Societe Generale is seen in front of the bank''s headquarters building at La Defense business and financial district in Courbevoie near Paris, France, April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes LONDON British insurer Aviva ( AV.L ) on Thursday announced the sale of a 50 percent stake in its life insurance joint venture Antarius 1 to a unit of French bank Societe Generale ( SOGN.PA ) for about 425 million pounds ($531.42 million). Antarius is currently owned jointly by Aviva and a separate subsidiary of Societe Generale. "This is a good deal at an attractive valuation and the sale realises a strong return for our shareholders," said Aviva Chief Executive Officer Mark Wilson. (Reporting By Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Rachel Armstrong) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-aviva-sale-societe-generale-idUKKBN15O0PE'|'2017-02-09T14:18:00.000+02:00' +'f4047933d56f736cad61a055a2ac1b567a9392e9'|'South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims, probes BMW, Porsche'|'Japan 5:48am GMT South Korea sues Nissan over mileage claims, probes BMW, Porsche left right The logo of Nissan is seen through a window of a bus passing by its dealership in Seoul, South Korea, May 16, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo 1/3 left right A frost covered logo of German luxury carmaker BMW is seen in Munich, Germany January 16, 2017. REUTERS/Michael Dalder 2/3 left right A view shows the logo of Porsche on a car in Moscow, Russia, July 6, 2016. REUTERS/Maxim Zmeyev/File Photo 3/3 By Hyunjoo Jin - SEOUL SEOUL South Korea has sued Nissan Motor''s ( 7201.T ) South Korean unit alleging that the Japanese car maker manipulated the fuel economy test results of its Infiniti Q50 sedan, a government official said on Tuesday. The ministry is also investigating BMW ( BMWG.DE ) and Porsche on a similar matter, the official, Koh Sung-woo, told Reuters. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors'' Office has launched a probe into Nissan after a criminal compliant was filed by the transport ministry, a spokesman at the office said. Makers of imported cars, which have surged in popularity in recent years in South Korea, have been facing growing scrutiny following Volkswagen''s ( VOWG_p.DE ) emissions-test cheating scandal. Last month, the environment ministry banned the sale of 10 models of Nissan, BMW and Porsche after the car makers were found to have fabricated documents on emissions and noise-level tests. The models banned include BMW''s X5M and Porsche''s Cayenne and Macan models. The transport ministry has been expanding the probe into whether the three car makers have falsified documents on fuel economy tests of the 10 models as well, Koh said. Koh said Nissan overstated the fuel economy of the Q50 so that it is 3.4 percent higher than the actual test result. "They manipulated the test results of the car to make the fuel economy look better," he said. Nissan Korea said it reported "some inappropriate problems" in certification documents to authorities last year, saying the errors were caused by the misconduct of a manager at the company. "We express sincere regret over those issues," a spokeswoman said. A BMW spokesman in Seoul said the company has not been notified of the probe, while a Porsche spokesman in Seoul did not have immediate comments. The complaint adds to the troubles in South Korea for Nissan, which is already accused of cheating on emissions of its Qashqai diesel model. Last week, a South Korean court sided with the government which had said the Japanese automaker used a so-called defeat device in its Qashqai sport utility vehicle to turn off its emissions reduction device during regular driving. (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman) Next In Japan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-south-korea-autos-mileage-idUKKBN15T0GD'|'2017-02-14T12:45:00.000+02:00' +'424bd2f6de8ccd17ad1d3e84297ed2f94de12f02'|'Coca-Cola HBC lifts full-year profit on lower revenue'|'Thu Feb 16, 2017 - 7:34am GMT Coca-Cola HBC lifts full-year profit on lower revenue LONDON Soft drinks bottler Coca-Cola HBC ( CCH.L ) reported higher full-year profit on Thursday, helped by price increases and cost cuts, though revenue was pulled lower by currency fluctuations and weakness in Russia. The company, which bottles, sells and distributes Coca-Cola ( KO.N ) drinks in 28 countries, mostly in Europe, said net sales revenue for 2016 fell 2 percent to 6.2 billion euros ($6.6 billion), while comparable earnings per share rose 12.5 percent to 0.97 euros. Excluding the impact of currency fluctuations, revenue was up 3 percent, helped by price increases, mainly in emerging markets. The company only sold 0.1 percent more of its drinks, due to declines in Russia and weak performance in Italy and Austria. "In 2017, we expect slightly better economic conditions to support volume growth," said Chief Executive Dimity''s Lois in a statement. "We are confident that 2017 will be a year of currency-neutral revenue growth and margin expansion." The company is seen as a possible buyer for the 57 percent stake in Coca-Cola Beverages Africa that Coke is putting up for sale following the takeover of its partner SABMiller by Anheuser-Busch InBev. (Reporting by Martinne Geller; Editing by David Goodman and David Holmes) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-cocacola-hbc-results-idUKKBN15V0O6'|'2017-02-16T14:33:00.000+02:00' +'3041813bb7c8a90d5a6a3810244709eaf6d7aa05'|'BRIEF-First Foundation Inc posts Q4 earnings per share $0.19'|' 14am EST BRIEF-First Foundation Inc posts Q4 earnings per share $0.19 Feb 6 First Foundation Inc: * Says Q4 total revenues were $32.6 million, an increase of 22% * First foundation announces 2016 financial results * Q4 earnings per share $0.19 * Q4 earnings per share view $0.13 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * Q4 revenue view $31.3 million -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL5N1FR40Y'|'2017-02-06T21:14:00.000+02:00' +'4bacbb92f7af01f3d57371d03834f21690c796d3'|'Workers launch strike at Escondida, world''s No. 1 copper mine'|' 55pm GMT Workers launch strike at Escondida, world''s No. 1 copper mine left right Building materials are pictured outside Escondida, the world''s biggest copper mine, as workers prepare to camp outside the company gates during a strike, in Antofagasta, Chile February 9, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Ricardo 1/10 left right Building materials are pictured outside Escondida, the world''s biggest copper mine, as workers prepare to camp outside the company gates during a strike, in Antofagasta, Chile February 9, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Ricardo 2/10 left right A worker from Escondida, the world''s biggest copper mine, carries a pumpkin as they prepare to camp outside the company gates during a strike, in Antofagasta, Chile February 9, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Ricardo 3/10 left right Workers from Escondida, the world''s biggest copper mine, prepare to camp outside the company gates during a strike, in Antofagasta, Chile February 9, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Ricardo 4/10 left right Workers from Escondida, the world''s biggest copper mine, prepare to camp outside the company gates during a strike, in Antofagasta, Chile February 9, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Ricardo 5/10 left right Workers from Escondida, the world''s biggest copper mine, prepare to camp outside the company gates during a strike, in Antofagasta, Chile February 9, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Ricardo 6/10 left right A worker from Escondida, the world''s biggest copper mine, prepares a tent outside the company gates during a strike, in Antofagasta, Chile February 9, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Ricardo 7/10 left right A worker from Escondida, the world''s biggest copper mine, walks outside the company gates, in Antofagasta, Chile February 9, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Ricardo 8/10 left right A view of the main gate of Escondida, the world''s biggest copper mine, near Antofagasta, Chile February 9, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Ricardo 9/10 left right A view of main gate of Escondida, the world''s biggest copper mine, near Antofagasta, Chile February 9, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Ricardo 10/10 By Fabian Cambero - ANTOFAGASTA, Chile ANTOFAGASTA, Chile Workers at BHP Billiton''s ( BHP.AX )( BLT.L ) Escondida in Chile, the world''s biggest copper mine, walked off the job on Thursday, their union said, marking the start of a strike that threatens to disrupt the international supply of the widely used industrial metal. It said no miners arrived for morning work aboard buses which normally deliver them to the vast deposit, which accounted for about 6 percent of global production in 2015. "The buses are empty, there are no workers in them to replace the night shift," union spokesman Carlos Allendes told Reuters. "The strike is now in effect." The union has warned that it is prepared for a lengthy strike. At a camp near the mine, protesting workers settled in for the long haul, equipped with stockpiles of gas cylinders, portable cookers and tents to weather the Chilean high desert''s scorching sun and frigid nights. Escondida''s processing plants, which had begun going offline on Wednesday, are now completely stopped, the union added. Striking workers also blocked roads at the Coloso port, where hundreds of thousands of tonnes of copper are shipped annually. "We are united and strong to make sure this is a success considering the measures the company has taken against its workers," said Claudio Perez, plant worker at the Coloso port. BHP Billiton spokesmen were not immediately available for comment. BHP has said it would halt production during the strike because it could not guarantee the safety of the 80 workers the government had authorized to perform critical duties, such as equipment upkeep and adhering to environmental protocols. Only a handful of workers remained at the mine and port performing critical duties on Thursday morning, union director Jaime Thenoux said. The strike at Escondida follows weeks of fractious labour negotiations, as both sides were unable to agree on a new salary and benefits scheme, sending copper prices higher. Copper prices eased on Thursday as some investors cashed in the previous day''s gains, though it remained underpinned by the threat of supply disruptions. Among other things, the union complained that BHP had not committed to placing new and longtime workers on equal footing in terms of benefits, something it considers essential to any agreement. Escondida is majority-controlled by BHP, with Rio Tinto ( RIO.AX )( RIO.L ) and Japan''s JECO ( 7768.T ) also holding stakes. (Additional reporting by Anthony Esposito; Writing by Anthony Esposito & Gram Slattery; Editing by W Simon; editing by Jason Neely and W Simon) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bhp-billiton-ltd-chile-idUKKBN15O1DC'|'2017-02-09T21:55:00.000+02:00' +'338e698083d78d7cadaaf45362488e0768a2d364'|'METALS-London copper little changed, supply threats underpin'|'MELBOURNE Feb 21 London copper held its ground on Tuesday, near its highest in a week, supported by supply concerns amid industrial action in Chile and an Indonesian export permit dispute.FUNDAMENTALS* Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange traded flat at $6,071 a tonne by 0112 GMT, holding gains after a 1.9 percent rally the session before when it struck $6,105 a tonne, the strongest since Feb. 14.* Shanghai Futures Exchange copper traded up 1.5 percent to 49,120 yuan ($7,142) a tonne.* Other metals were also buoyed by supply concerns, with Shanghai zinc leading sister metal lead up more than 2 percent, following London''s gains overnight after a steep fall in available zinc inventory on the LME. * A government-mediated meeting between BHP Billiton and striking workers at its Escondida copper mine in Chile has failed, and workers will head back to their encampment without any future dialogue planned, a union spokesman said on Monday.* U.S. mining giant Freeport-McMoRan Inc warned on Monday it could take the Indonesian government to arbitration and seek damages over a contractual dispute that has halted operations at the world''s second-biggest copper mine.* A major aluminium producer has made an indicative offer of a premium of $125 per tonne to Japanese buyers for April-June primary metal shipments, up 32 percent from the last quarter, three sources directly involved in pricing talks said on Monday.* China''s steel mills and traders were scrambling to find alternative supplies of coking coal for steel making after Beijing slapped a surprise ban on coal imports from its isolated northern neighbour.* For the top stories in metals and other news, click orMARKETS NEWS* Asian stocks held near 1-1/2-year highs in subdued early trade on Tuesday as a holiday in the United States left investors with few catalysts, while the euro nursed overnight losses as lingering concerns about the looming French election rattled its bonds.DATA AHEAD (GMT)0800 France Markit manufacturing flash PMI Feb0830 Germany Markit manufacturing flash PMI Feb0900 Euro zone Markit manufacturing flash PMI Feb1445 U.S. Markit manufacturing flash PMI FebPRICESThree month LME copperMost active ShFE copperThree month LME aluminiumMost active ShFE aluminiumThree month LME zincMost active ShFE zincThree month LME leadMost active ShFE leadThree month LME nickelMost active ShFE nickelThree month LME tinMost active ShFE tin($1 = 6.8778 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Richard Pullin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-metals-idINL4N1G6194'|'2017-02-20T22:32:00.000+02:00' +'3ee3c23c1c5fb26c19c0e78400050323adcfa0b7'|'RBS posts 6.96 billion loss in ninth straight year without a profit'|' 7:20am GMT RBS posts 6.96 billion loss in ninth straight year without a profit left right A Royal Bank of Scotland branch is seen in central London, Britain February 21, 2009. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/File Photo 1/2 left right The Royal Bank of Scotland is seen in the High Street in Linlithgow, Scotland, Britain February 8, 2017. Picture taken February 8, 2017. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne 2/2 LONDON Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ) reported on Friday a sharp rise in losses as higher misconduct charges and restructuring costs underscored the challenges facing the lender nine years after it required the world''s biggest bank bailout. RBS, which has not made an annual profit since 2007, booked 6.96 billion pounds of losses for 2016, against a 1.98 billion pound loss in the same period a year earlier. Once, briefly, the world''s largest bank by assets, RBS is in the midst of a vast, multi-year restructuring of the bank, which includes asset sales, job cuts and wading through a series of legal scandals. "This is a bank that has been on a remarkable journey. We still have further to go. But the next three years will not be the same as the past three," Chief Executive Ross McEwan said in the statement. RBS announced plans to cut 750 million pounds of costs from the business next year to help offset the challenge of a low interest rate economy that makes it harder for the bank to make money. (Reporting By Andrew MacAskill and Lawrence White) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-rbs-results-idUKKBN1630KZ'|'2017-02-24T14:20:00.000+02:00' +'08cc8f1ce920c4e679e479f736d396842359ca1e'|'Rating agencies appear to have learned from past errors: ECB study'|' 05pm IST Rating agencies appear to have learned from past errors: ECB study FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, Germany, June 28, 2015. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo FRANKFURT Global rating agencies appear to have learned from past errors and their current assessment may better reflect euro zone vulnerabilities before the continent''s debt crisis, a European Central Bank research paper concluded. Ratings before 2010 did not serve as a leading indicator of debt and growth risks but there is some evidence that ratings are now more sensitive to institutional factors and economic fundamentals, the authors said in a paper that does not necessarily reflect the ECB''s views. Some regulators and policymakers questioned the judgment of rating agencies for giving top-notch credit scores to debt that later unravelled, and for failing to properly appreciate the risks in more complex financial instruments. EU lawmakers implemented new regulations on rating agencies after the crisis but some have called for even more stringent rules. "While in the pre-sovereign crisis period buoyancy was masking latent vulnerabilities, there appear to have been some learning process by rating agencies since 2010, leading to a swifter adjustment of rating agencies to a move in fundamentals," the ECB paper, published on Thursday, said. Rating moves suggest that agencies have attached a higher emphasis to risks stemming from the fiscal dynamics, whereas economic development seemed to have played a stronger role in the pre-crisis period. "This implies that the current ratings may better reflect the significant vulnerabilities and risks of several euro area countries," the paper said. "The size of the downgrades observed since the start of the sovereign crisis has been broadly in line with the deterioration of economic fundamentals for most countries." (Reporting by Balazs Koranyi Editing by Jeremy Gaunt) Next In Money News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/ecb-policy-ratings-idINKBN15H1AX'|'2017-02-02T19:35:00.000+02:00' +'904cacaf93c7d288ea3ccba8937beed4d8e6bec4'|'Tata Steel agrees to sell speciality steel biz to Liberty House'|' 18pm GMT Tata Steel agrees to sell speciality steel biz to Liberty House A company logo is seen outside the Tata steelworks near Rotherham in Britain, in this March 30, 2016 file photo. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo MUMBAI India''s Tata Steel Ltd ( TISC.NS ) said on Thursday its British arm has signed a definitive agreement to sell its speciality steel business to Liberty House Group for 100 million pounds. The deal covers several South Yorkshire-based assets including the electric arc steelworks and bar mill at Rotherham, Tata Steel said in a filing to Indian stock exchanges. Speciality Steels directly employs about 1,700 people making steel for aerospace, automotive, and oil and gas businesses, it said. Tata and Liberty House had entered into exclusive talks in November as the Indian group seeks to offload its money-losing assets and restructure European operations. (Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-tata-steel-sale-britain-idUKKBN15O1L6'|'2017-02-09T20:18:00.000+02:00' +'3c134ca256513ff05dbd5572a3d2ef021a1b1115'|'Trump sons open Dubai golf course, praise U.S. ally'|'Sat Feb 18, 2017 - 6:53pm GMT Trump sons open Dubai golf course, praise U.S. ally left right U.S. President Donald Trump''s son Eric Trump attends the opening ceremony of the Trump International Golf Club in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, February 18, 2017. REUTERS/William Maclean 1/3 left right Fireworks explode during the opening of the Trump International Golf Club in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, February 18, 2017. REUTERS/Alexander Cornwell 2/3 left right Fireworks explode during the opening of the Trump International Golf Club in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, February 18, 2017. REUTERS/Alexander Cornwell 3/3 DUBAI U.S. President Donald Trump''s eldest sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump were guests of honor at the opening of a Trump-branded golf course in Dubai on Saturday, the first Trump property project launched since their father''s inauguration. Speaking on a stage in front of the clubhouse at the Trump International Golf Club Dubai, Donald Trump Jr. praised the development of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a close U.S. ally that is also a global trade, transport and tourism hub. "To see the incredible vision Sheikh Mohammed has been able to put forward for this country is truly awe-inspiring," he said, referring to UAE Vice-President, Prime Minister and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum. "As a developer, which lets us be somewhat artists at times, it is truly incredible to be part of that vision." A ceremony featuring fireworks and a classical music ensemble marked the opening of the project announced by the Trump Organisation and Dubai-listed developer DAMAC Properties in 2013. The relationship between President Trump and Damac Chairman Hussain Sajwani came under scrutiny last month when then-President-elect Trump said without elaborating that he had turned down a $2-billion deal offered by Sajwani because he did not want to "take advantage". President Trump''s sons praised their close relationship with Sajwani in their remarks. Eric Trump said Sajwani was "a great friend" with a "truly amazing family". "We are going to have a lot of fun years together and this is just the beginning of those days," Eric Trump said. The Trump International Gulf Club Dubai is part of a 42 million square foot wider development known as DAMAC Hills, according to DAMAC. Sajwani said it was the first new golf course to open in the city in "many years". Trump has been criticized for not distancing himself enough from his family business, the Trump Organization, since he was elected president in November. DAMAC pays a licensing fee to the Trump Organization to use the Trump brand. Last month, before the inauguration, Trump announced that he would maintain ownership of his global business empire but had handed control to Donald Jr. and Eric while he is president. The Trump organization would not enter into any new overseas deals while he is president, Trump adviser Sheri Dillon has said. (Reporting by Alexander Cornwell and William Maclean; Editing by Adrian Croft) Up Next Kraft Heinz bids $143 billion for Unilever in global brand grab LONDON U.S. food company Kraft Heinz Co made a surprise $143 billion offer for Unilever Plc in a bid to build a global consumer goods giant, although it was flatly rejected on Friday by the maker of Lipton tea and Dove soap. China says policies unaffected by Trump plan to bring factories back to U.S. SHANGHAI China is closely following U.S. President Donald Trump''s plans to create more domestic jobs by encouraging U.S. companies to bring home or "reshore" their overseas production, but the government will not change its overall strategy, Industry Minister Miao Wei said on Friday. NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. President Donald Trump promised to boost U.S. manufacturing and punish companies for moving jobs overseas during a visit on Friday to a South Carolina Boeing Co plant to celebrate the unveiling of its latest Dreamliner jet. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-dubai-golf-idUKKBN15X0OU'|'2017-02-19T01:31:00.000+02:00' +'f795df5116531a36670e53f9158681ef790c6e10'|'Vale readies for diluted ownership as partners renew accord'|'SAO PAULO Feb 20 Brazilian miner Vale SA will become a company with dispersed share ownership, it said on Monday, in a move aimed at enhancing transparency and equal rights for all shareholders in the world''s largest iron ore producer.Vale and its largest shareholders agreed to renew their shareholder accord for another three and a half years, with substantial changes to its corporate structure, it said in a securities filing.Under the plan to turn Vale into a company with diluted ownership, holders of its Class A preferred shares will receive 0.9342 common share based on a 30-day average through Feb. 17.The agreement to change the company''s structure will last for six months. The group of shareholders running the investment holding company that controls Vale will remain together until November 2020, when the new accord is due to expire.Holding company Bradespar and pension fund Previ proposed the conversion of Vale''s different types of stock into a single common one as the first step in transforming the mining giant and increasing its allure to investors, people familiar with the matter told Reuters in January.The move should generate goodwill of 3.1 billion reais ($1 billon) to be shared among all Vale shareholders. To facilitate the migration to diluted ownership, Vale will issue new shares that will be given to members of the holding company known as Valepar SA.($1 = 3.10 reais) (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal, editing by Louise Heavens)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/vale-sa-shareholders-idINL1N1G507T'|'2017-02-20T08:01:00.000+02:00' +'c4f670ce8b9b67ca498018b9f031fba671926577'|'Auto CEOs want Trump to order review of 2025 fuel rules'|'Business News - Sun Feb 12, 2017 - 4:45pm GMT Auto CEOs want Trump to order review of 2025 fuel rules left right The General Motors CAMI car assembly plant sits behind rows of new GMC Terrain and Chevrolet Equinox, in Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada, January 27, 2017. REUTERS/Geoff Robins 1/2 left right A billboard welcoming Ford Motor Co is seen at an industrial park in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, January 4, 2017. Picture taken January 4, 2017. REUTERS/Christine Murray 2/2 By David Shepardson - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The chief executives of 18 major automakers and their U.S. units urged President Donald Trump to revisit a decision by the Obama administration to lock in vehicle fuel efficiency rules through 2025. In a letter sent late Friday and viewed by Reuters, the chief executives of General Motors Co ( GM.N ), Ford Motor Co, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, along with the top North American executives at Toyota Motor Corp ( 7203.T ), Volkswagen AG ( VOWG_p.DE ), Honda Motor Co ( 7267.T ), Hyundai Motor Co ( 005380.KS ), Nissan Motor Co ( 7201.T ) and others urged Trump to reverse the decision, warning thousands of jobs could be at risk. On Jan. 13, the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalised a determination that the landmark fuel efficiency rules instituted by then President Barack Obama should be locked in through 2025, a bid to maintain a key part of his administration''s climate legacy. As part of a 2012 regulation, EPA had to decide by April 2018 whether to modify the 2022-2025 model year vehicle emission rules requiring average fleet-wide efficiency of more than 50 miles per gallon through a "midterm review." The agency in November moved up the timetable for proposing automakers could meet the 2025 standards. The auto CEO letter asked Trump to reopen the midterm review "without prejudging the outcome" and praised Trump''s "personal focus on steps to strengthen the economy in the United States and your commitment to jobs in our sector." Days after Trump was elected, automakers quickly appealed to Trump to review the rules, saying they impose significant costs and are out of step with consumer preferences. Gloria Bergquist, a spokeswoman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, said Sunday, automakers are "seeking a restoration of the process -- that''s all. This is a reset." The chief executives of Ford, GM and Fiat Chrysler also raised the issue in a White House meeting with Trump last month. The letter warned the rules could "threaten future production levels, putting hundreds of thousands and perhaps as many as a million jobs at risk." Environmentalists say the rules are working, saving drivers thousands in fuel costs and shouldn''t be changed. Luke Tonachel of the Natural Resources Defense Council, said lowering the standards would "cost consumers more, increase our dependence on oil and put Americans at greater risk from a changing climate." Trump EPA nominee Scott Pruitt told a Senate panel he will review the Obama administration''s decision. In 2011, Obama announced an agreement with automakers to raise fuel efficiency standards to 54.5 miles per gallon. This, the administration said, would save motorists $1.7 trillion (1.36 trillion) in fuel costs over the life of the vehicles, but cost the auto industry about $200 billion over 13 years. The EPA said in July that because Americans were buying fewer cars and more SUVs and trucks, it estimated the fleet will average 50.8 mpg to 52.6 mpg in 2025. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Andrea Ricci) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-vehicles-idUKKBN15R0TR'|'2017-02-12T23:45:00.000+02:00' +'1e2cce3f14646588cc8aac6acc7c51883cceb1ac'|'Fiat Chrysler shares volatile after France refers emissions case to prosecutor'|'Tue Feb 7, 2017 - 8:36am GMT Fiat Chrysler shares volatile after France refers emissions case to prosecutor A woman walks past a logo of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) in Turin March 31, 2014. REUTERS/Giorgio Perottino MILAN Shares in Fiat Chrysler ( FCHA.MI ) were volatile in early trade on Tuesday after French investigators referred the carmaker for possible prosecution over abnormal emissions of nitrogen oxide pollutants from some of its diesel engines. The stock fell more than 5 percent at open, triggering an automatic suspension from trading due to excessive volatility. By 0808 GMT, it was trading down 1 percent. (Reporting by Agnieszka Flak)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-fiatchrysler-emissions-idUKKBN15M0PT'|'2017-02-07T15:20:00.000+02:00' +'ef66eaff1f1a49aa14604e9d44ea9475a026c65a'|'RPT-Trump administration drafts plan to raise asylum bar, speed deportations'|'Company 7:00am EST RPT-Trump administration drafts plan to raise asylum bar, speed deportations (No changes to text) By Julia Edwards Ainsley WASHINGTON, Feb 18 The Department of Homeland Security has prepared new guidance for immigration agents aimed at speeding up deportations by denying asylum claims earlier in the process. The new guidelines, contained in a draft memo dated February 17 but not yet sent to field offices, directs agents to only pass applicants who have a good chance of ultimately getting asylum, but does not give specific criteria for establishing credible fear of persecution if sent home. The guidance instructs asylum officers to "elicit all relevant information" in determining whether an applicant has credible fear of persecution if returned home, the first obstacle faced by migrants on the U.S.-Mexico border requesting asylum. (Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/2m4aPAs ) Three sources familiar with the drafting of the guidance said the goal of the new instructions is to raise the bar on initial screening. The administration''s plan is to leave wide discretion to asylum officers by allowing them to determine which applications have a "significant possibility" of being approved by an immigration court, the sources said. The guidance was first reported and posted on the internet by McClatchy news organization. In 2015, just 18 percent of asylum applicants whose cases were ruled on by immigration judges were granted asylum, according to the Justice Department. Applicants from countries with a high rate of political persecution have a higher chance of winning their asylum cases. A tougher approach to asylum seekers would be an element of President Donald Trump''s promise to crackdown on immigration and tighten border security, a cornerstone of his election campaign and a top priority of his first month in office. The DHS declined to comment for this story, referring questions to the White House, which did not respond to a request for comment. WHAT IS "CREDIBLE FEAR"? Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, an applicant must generally demonstrate "a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion." Immigration lawyers say any applicants who appear to meet that criteria in their initial interviews should be allowed to make their cases in court. They oppose encouraging asylum officers to take a stricter stance on questioning claims and rejecting applications. Interviews to assess credible fear are conducted almost immediately after an asylum request is made, often at the border or in detention facilities by immigration agents or asylum officers, and most applicants easily clear that hurdle. Between July and September of 2016, U.S. asylum officers accepted nearly 88 percent of the claims of credible fear, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data. Asylum seekers who fail the credible fear test can be quickly deported unless they file an appeal. Currently, those who pass the test are eventually released and allowed to remain in the United States awaiting hearings, which are often scheduled years into the future because of a backlog of more than 500,000 cases in immigration courts. Between October 2015 and April 2016, nearly 50,000 migrants claimed credible fear, 78 percent of whom were from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala or Mexico, according to statistics from USCIS. The number of migrants from those three countries who passed credible fear and went to court to make their case for asylum rose sharply between 2011 and 2015, from 13,970 claims to 34,125, according to data from the Justice Department. Former border patrol chief Mike Fisher credits that trend to advice from immigration lawyers who know "asylum officers are going to err on the side of caution and refer most cases to a judge." The new guidance on asylum seekers is for border personnel implementing Trump''s Jan. 25 executive order on tightening U.S. border security. Among other measures, the presidents directive calls for expediting eligibility claims of those attempting to stay in the United States and promptly deporting those whose claims are rejected. COMPLICATED LOGISTICS Some immigration officers familiar with the draft guidance say they are concerned that a rapid increase in deportations of asylum seekers could strain overcrowded detention facilities and create transportation problems. Deportations take time and coordination, even when immigrants are quickly targeted for expulsion. U.S. officials must get approval from a deportees home country before repatriation can take place, and transportation can be complicated and expensive. Immigrants from non-contiguous countries are flown home by plane, while Mexicans are often bused across the border. Homeland Security personnel who worked on the guidance say they hope to expand detention space by at least 8,000 beds. The money to pay for that would require congressional sign-off. The extra beds, they say, would further the president''s goal, expressed in his executive order on border security, of ending the practice known as "catch and release" in which migrants, including asylum seekers, are freed pending a court hearing. The new guidance calls for expanding detention, but acknowledges that ending the practice "may not be immediately possible." A congressional aide familiar with the administrations plans said DHS is considering expanding its contracts with private prison companies like GEO Group and CoreCivic , which currently hold most immigrant detainees. Immigrants rights advocates say they fear that raising the bar on the credible fear test could screen out migrants with a rightful claim to asylum, because asylum officers may dismiss cases that could make it through court if the asylum seeker were given legal counsel, said Marielena Hincapie, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center. Asylum applicants have the right to appeal denials of credible fear claims and may request to see a judge to assert their claim to be in the United States for other reasons, such as family ties. For that reason, raising the bar on credible fear might not deter asylum seekers as much as the Trump administration hopes, said former border patrol head Fisher. (Reporting by Julia Edwards Ainsley, editing by Sue Horton, Ross Colvin and Michael Perry) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-immigration-asylum-idUSL1N1G4044'|'2017-02-19T19:00:00.000+02:00' +'c2bf62aae6083ca3ee2e4e654a70a99277b42441'|'UPDATE 2-Enbridge reports quarterly profit, North Sea windfarm stake'|'Company 12:00pm EST UPDATE 2-Enbridge reports quarterly profit, North Sea windfarm stake (New throughout to add comments from earnings call) By Nia Williams CALGARY, Alberta Feb 17 Enbridge Inc, Canada''s largest pipeline company, reported a smaller than expected quarterly profit on Friday, and also announced a C$1.7 billion ($1.3 billion) investment in a North Sea windfarm. The 50 percent ownership in EnBW''s Hohe See strengthens Enbridge''s footprint in Europe''s booming offshore wind power industry. Chief executive Al Monaco said there could be more to come given the push towards renewable energy in a number of European countries. "The opportunity is generally pretty large and we have got a team in Europe looking at these opportunities, scouring through them, and so hopefully there will be more coming along," Monaco told investors on a quarterly earnings call. Closer to home, Calgary-based Enbridge said a deal to buy Spectra Energy Corp is on track to close this quarter after it obtained U.S. antitrust approval for the transaction that will create North America''s largest energy infrastructure company. In an update on crude oil pipelines, Monaco said the controversial Dakota Access conduit, which has been delayed by fierce environmental and tribal opposition, could be in service by the second quarter. Enbridge has a minority stake in the project. Last November, the Canadian government approved Enbridge''s Line 3 replacement project, which will add 375,000 barrels per day of capacity on the Mainline system, which ships the bulk of Canadian crude exports to the United States. Monaco said Enbridge had another 400,000 bpd of potential capacity expansion opportunities but the company would be guided by the amount of supply coming out of western Canada. A number of new export pipelines have been proposed including Kinder Morgan''s Trans Mountain line and TransCanada Corp''s Keystone XL. Enbridge reported a smaller-than-expected fourth quarter profit on Friday and recorded a C$373 million before-tax impairment charge related to its Northern Gateway pipeline, which the Canadian government blocked last year. Earnings attributable to the company''s shareholders were C$365 million ($279 million), or 39 Canadian cents per share, in the fourth quarter, hurt by charges, including for asset impairment and restructuring. Excluding items, Enbridge earned 56 Canadian cents per share, missing analysts'' average estimate of 58 Canadian cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Enbridge said its expenses jumped 11 percent to about C$9 billion in the three months ended Dec. 31. Enbridge shares were last down 0.6 percent on the Toronto Stock Exchange at C$55.10. ($1 = 1.3110 Canadian dollars) (Additional reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza and Grant McCool) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/enbridge-inc-results-idUSL4N1G243S'|'2017-02-18T00:00:00.000+02:00' +'c22d7767fcc4ab0228b50d4325bccdd5943fe04e'|'PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - Feb 10'|'Company News - Thu Feb 9, 2017 - 7:17pm EST PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - Feb 10 Feb 10 The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. Headlines ( on.ft.com/2kYX0pX ) Overview Tata Steel UK has signed a 100 million pound ($124.97 million) deal to sell its speciality steel business to Liberty House Group, as the firm''s Indian owner Tata Steel Ltd presses on with restructuring its European operations. Zenefits is laying off nearly half its staff as the U.S. software startup grapples with the fallout of insurance violations that resulted in hefty penalties from state regulators. Lloyds Banking Group is the latest bank to join a new British cyber security group for banks called the Cyber Defence Alliance to share information on cyber crime. U.S. online rental marketplace Airbnb Inc is in talks to buy Canada''s Luxury Retreats, that specialises in rentals of high-end vacation villas, for more than $200 million. ($1 = 0.8002 pounds) (Compiled by Rama Venkat Raman in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-press-ft-idUSL1N1FV00L'|'2017-02-10T07:17:00.000+02:00' +'e9ae66e50551f51628eb321767df842dbccb498a'|'Homes at 300,000 in pictures - Money'|'Homes at 300,000 in pictures Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email View more sharing options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Google+ Share on WhatsApp Share on Messenger Close Your six-figure budget can get you a variety of accommodation from a house boat to a French manorAnna Tims Wednesday 22 February 2017 07.00 GMT Home: London SE1 Your budget will barely fund a private parking space if you insist on central London. But if you cant cope with suburbia and even there youll only get a small flat you could consider floating. The address of this two-bedroom barge is central Londons only marina, St Katherine Docks, a handsome, hidden enclave near Tower Bridge. Space may be tight a double amputation would be required to fit you in the two bath tubs but its stylish, and when the 15,427 annual mooring fee bankrupts you, you can set sail to cheaper postcodes. Cash offers only. River Homes , 020 7407 8000 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Home: Harvington, near Evesham, Worcestershire This detached house overlooks the village green in a conservation area, and most of lifes essentials two pubs, supermarket, school church and farm shop are a stroll away. The three bedrooms are doubles, and a conservatory adds a third reception room which have, between them, flagstoned, tiled and stripped wooden flooring. RA Bennett , 01386 210182 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Home: Thelbridge, Devon A trad Devon idyll inglenook fireplace, wobbly walls, rustic views and a crown of thatch. But country quaintness has its drawbacks: townies may be appalled to discover that farms can be noisy and smelly, and theres a working one next door; and its not always convenient, with the bathroom in this case being downstairs through the living room and kitchen, although the planners are agreeable to it being relocated upstairs with the three bedrooms (one of which is accessed via another). Cost: 299,950. Helmores , 01363 777999 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Away: near Cosne dAllier, Auvergne Why do we waste money on Britains grey skies when we could be lord of a French manor? 297,000 buys a six-bedroom 17th-century house beside a village church. The boring stuff like electrics, heating and the roof have been renovated, and theres scope for expansion into the adjoining outbuildings and attics. Existing rooms are gracefully embellished with beams, fireplaces and large windows. A covered terrace opens on to a third of an acre of grounds. Groupe Mercure , 020 7467 5330 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Away: Cabo Roig, Costa Blanca There are sea views from this three-bedroom villa, but you dont have to schlepp the five minutes to the beach for a dip because your own pool lies beyond the glass-walled living room, and theres another pool, communal this time, in the development. Up top, glass-fronted terraces overlook the garden and bring the outside in. The car gets a covered, secure slot nearby. Slightly over budget at 302,000. Sequre International , 0800 0112639 Facebook Twitter Pinterest'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/gallery/2017/feb/22/homes-at-300000-in-pictures'|'2017-02-22T14:00:00.000+02:00' +'97bc8e43f61c7d5a85caabd29a3698c71050cb18'|'BRIEF-Cancer Genetics says hereditary cancer panel selected by a global pharmaceutical company'|' 23am EST BRIEF-Cancer Genetics says hereditary cancer panel selected by a global pharmaceutical company Feb 16 Cancer Genetics Inc * Cancer Genetics - its hereditary cancer panel, for breast, ovarian cancer, has been selected by global pharmaceutical co for 1,000+ patient clinical study * Cancer Genetics Inc says revenue from study will begin immediately, and company expects it to continue through 2018 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1G10KD'|'2017-02-16T20:23:00.000+02:00' +'20f3d8221eca017b3f4d084eba92907245d54b15'|'Northern Trust buys UBS Asset Management administration units'|'Deals 3:07am EST Northern Trust buys UBS Asset Management administration units ZURICH U.S.-based Northern Trust ( NTRS.O ) is buying UBS Group''s ( UBSG.S ) UBS Asset Management fund administration servicing units in Luxembourg and Switzerland, UBS said in a statement on Monday. Financial terms were not disclosed. Northern Trust will become the fund administration services provider for UBS funds with about 420 billion Swiss francs($418.91 billion)in assets. UBS clients will continue to work with their existing relationship management teams, it said. Northern Trust is expanding in Europe, while UBS said shifting the administration of its funds to another company would boost efficiency. In 2015, UBS sold its Alternative Fund Services (AFS) business in the Cayman Islands to Mitsubishi UFG Financial Group ( 8306.T ). Analysts from Zuercher Kantonalbank said fund administration is a "commodity business" where size is the most important factor. "It makes no sense for UBS to tie up resources in this business," analyst Javier Lodeiro wrote in a note to investors. "Even so, Monday''s transaction has neither the dimensions nor the strategic significance to have an impact on UBS shares." (Reporting by John Miller; editing by Jason Neely) Next In Deals Inbound China M&A takes flight on consumer promise HONG KONG Overseas acquisitions by Chinese buyers are cooling after two record years as Beijing reins in capital outflows, but deals into China are on the rise, and new rules will make it easier for foreign buyers to tap China''s giant consumer potential.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ubs-group-m-a-nthern-trust-idUSKBN15Z0NC'|'2017-02-20T15:05:00.000+02:00' +'fce24fc4ef01ec176694e556b985f0f688da28be'|'Punjab National Bank Q3 net profit surges; bad loans stable'|'Global Coverage 3 - Tue Feb 7, 2017 - 8:18pm IST Punjab National Bank Q3 net profit surges; bad loans stable A cashier stacks currency notes inside a bank in Chandigarh, India, November 19, 2016. REUTERS/Ajay Verma/File Photo MUMBAI Punjab National Bank (PNB), India''s fifth-biggest lender by assets, reported on Tuesday a surge in third-quarter profit on lower provisions for bad loans, but the profit fell short of analysts'' expectations. Net profit rose to 2.07 billion rupees ($30.7 million) for the three months to Dec. 31 from 510.1 million rupees a year earlier, the state-run lender said in a stock exchange filing. Analysts on average had expected a net profit of 6.29 billion rupees, according to data compiled by Thomson Reuters. Gross bad loans as a percentage of total loans were 13.7 percent in the December quarter, little changed from 13.63 percent in September, but far higher than 8.47 percent a year earlier. Banks such as PNB have seen a surge in their bad loans in the past one year after an asset-quality review ordered by the regulator in a bid to clean up the sector. Provisions for bad loans were 33.63 billion rupees in the December quarter, lower than 37.67 billion rupees a year earlier, but higher than 22.18 billion rupees reported in the September quarter. PNB shares were trading nearly 2 percent higher by 0657 GMT on the NSE index, which was down 0.2 percent. ($1 = 67.3700 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri) Next In Global Coverage 3'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/punjab-nat-bk-results-copy-idINKBN15M1OC'|'2017-02-07T14:16:00.000+02:00' +'d4749cf8ec098ab19d5b70b326b3cf532d880e46'|'BRIEF-Slate Office REIT may purchase for cancellation up to 3.9 mln units'|' 19pm EST BRIEF-Slate Office REIT may purchase for cancellation up to 3.9 mln units Feb 27 Slate Office Reit: * Slate Office REIT- may purchase for cancellation up to maximum of 3.9 million units over 12-month period from March 2, 2017 to March 1, 2018 * Slate Office REIT- intends to fund purchases of units under its normal course issuer bid out of general funds of REIT Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-slate-office-reit-may-purchase-for-idUSFWN1GC15Z'|'2017-02-28T05:19:00.000+02:00' +'b7d9a608b7aa3e263311ee1acf40b3f760881c4d'|'ABB says cooperating with UK corruption probe'|'Business News - Fri Feb 10, 2017 - 11:30am EST ABB says cooperating with UK corruption probe A woman takes pictures of the logo of Swiss power technology and automation group ABB ahead of a news conference to present the company''s full-year results in Zurich, Switzerland February 8, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann ZURICH ABB ( ABBN.S ) said it was cooperating with anti-fraud authorities in the United States and Britain and had reported past dealings with Monaco-based engineering and construction group Unaoil, including alleged improper payments to third parties. The Serious Fraud Office in Britain said earlier it has launched an investigation into the activities of ABB''s United Kingdom subsidiaries, their officers, employees and agents for suspected bribery and corruption. "As a result of an internal investigation, ABB self-reported ... certain of its past dealings with Unaoil and its subsidiaries, including alleged improper payments made by these entities to third parties," ABB said in a statement. Unaoil in May denied a media report linking it to corrupt practices involving big oil companies and said it has been the victim of an extortion attempt by unidentified criminals. (Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Michael Shields) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-abb-unaoil-investigation-idUSKBN15P22Q'|'2017-02-10T23:30:00.000+02:00' +'ee8d9b77c031be7b4c9f4b5dc0c85eff7ea41fa0'|'Symantec sought to buy FireEye, talks end with no deal: sources'|'Security software provider Symantec Corp held talks to acquire FireEye Inc about six months ago, but is not currently pursuing a deal with the cyber security company, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.The two companies could not reach a deal because of disagreements over price, the sources said, asking not to be identified because the negotiations were confidential. Symantec and FireEye declined to comment.Shares of FireEye had jumped earlier on Thursday after financial blog Zero Hedge published an article based on anonymous sources stating that Symantec''s LifeLock unit was willing to offer $16 per share for FireEye.FireEye shares were up 2 percent in late morning trading in New York on Thursday, giving the company a market capitalization of close to $2 billion.(Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-fireye-m-a-symantec-idINKBN16222L'|'2017-02-23T13:57:00.000+02:00' +'a164bab8e97d2158f331ab6be1cf3b7247eb6312'|'Sony rules out pictures biz sale, committed to turnaround - Reuters'|'TOKYO Sony Corp on Thursday said it does not plan to sell its pictures business after suffering a $1 billion writedown, and instead aims to turn it around by adding sales channels and making more use of movie characters."We believe in long-term upside potential for pictures," Chief Financial Officer Kenichiro Yoshida said at an earnings briefing, reiterating that Sony continues to regard the business as important to the group.The pictures writedown, brought about by a shrinking market for movies on disc, prompted Sony to cut 11 percent off the group''s full-year operating profit outlook to 240 billion yen.The cut could have been more severe were it not for a weaker yen and Chinese smartphone makers'' strong demand for Sony''s image sensors - itself a business only just recovering from earthquake damage.Sony''s semiconductor division, which makes the sensors, is now likely to lose only 19 billion yen on an operating basis this financial year, rather than the 53 billion yen previously forecast. Even so, fluctuation in the smartphone market means Sony has to maintain a cautious stance, Yoshida said.SHORT-TERM HURTThe pictures division, which also includes media networks and television programmes, underpinned Sony''s earnings while its core consumer electronics business struggled against low-cost Asian rivals.Such was the profitability of pictures that activist shareholder Daniel Loeb urged Sony in 2013 to partially spin off the division so it could pump cash into reviving the electronics business.Sony did sell some pictures assets, and the electronics business has since returned to profit. Its movie studio, however, now trails rivals in box office share and hit films.Pictures'' current struggle "partly stems from Sony''s focus on short-term profit over many years," Yoshida said.Citing the sale of rights to Spider-Man merchandise and a Latin American TV channel in fiscal 2011, a number of short-term measures at the cost of long-term profit and cash flow reduced pictures'' profitability, he said.That business, which currently accounts for some 10 percent of Sony''s overall sales, can recover through expansion in growing markets such as China as well as by bolstering sales of merchandise after films are released, Yoshida said.Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai is currently taking on a larger role in pictures, notably at Sony Entertainment where he is seeking a successor to resigning CEO Michael Lynton.($1 = 112.5700 yen)(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Christopher Cushing)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/sony-results-idINKBN15H0EW'|'2017-02-02T08:24:00.000+02:00' +'c773e8aa8ae6e9fa7ca1fe993c78c8eb1e7890d1'|'Snap makes $3 billion IPO details public'|'Business News - Thu Feb 2, 2017 - 9:59pm GMT Snap makes $3 billion IPO details public The logo of messaging app Snapchat is seen at a booth at TechFair LA, a technology job fair, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson Snap Inc, owner of popular messaging service Snapchat, made many of its financial details public for the first time on Thursday as it prepared to raise up to $3 billion (2.39 billion pounds) in an initial public offering. The Los Angeles-based company said it generated $404.5 million in sales in 2016, up from $58.7 million in 2015. It had a net loss of $514.6 million in 2016, up from a net loss of $372.9 million in 2015. Snap expects to go public as soon as March and could be valued at between $20 billion and $25 billion, sources familiar with the situation have said. That would give the company the richest valuation in a U.S. technology IPO since Facebook Inc ( FB.O ). Snap said it will list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "SNAP". (Reporting by Lauren Hirsch; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-snap-inc-ipo-idUKKBN15H2V7'|'2017-02-03T04:59:00.000+02:00' +'f149b915971fc101b6ebe52c36c11039eb6926f8'|'Insurer Lancashire reports lower full-year profit'|'Business News - Thu Feb 16, 2017 - 7:35am GMT Insurer Lancashire reports lower full-year profit Insurer Lancashire Holdings ( LRE.L ) forecast another challenging year ahead after posting a 12-percent fall in full-year profit, hurt by continuing pricing pressure and a slight fall in gross written premiums in its LLoyd''s and marine businesses. The property and casualty insurer, which writes policies for heavy-duty assets such as oil rigs, ships and aircraft, said pretax profit fell to $150.4 million in the year ended Dec. 31, 2016, from $171.7 million a year earlier. Lancashire''s gross written premiums fell about 1.1 percent to $633.9 million in the period, while its combined ratio improved to 76.5 percent from 72.1 percent in 2015. "Whilst we expect market conditions to remain difficult for the foreseeable future, which requires discipline and patience to navigate, our strategy has the ability to respond across the insurance cycle," CEO Alex Maloney said in a statement. The company said it was carrying a "bit more" capital buffer on Jan. 1 than it typically would, which would allow it to take advantage of any opportunities up ahead. (Reporting by Esha Vaish and Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lancashire-results-idUKKBN15V0OQ'|'2017-02-16T14:35:00.000+02:00' +'c83be87a4e6b0f14c3f2b813ff2bce72af3d49f0'|'Fertilizer maker Agrium forecasts less profitable year than expected'|'Thu Feb 9, 2017 - 6:33pm EST Fertilizer maker Agrium forecasts less profitable year than expected WINNIPEG, Manitoba Agrium Inc ( AGU.TO ) ( AGU.N ), a Canadian fertilizer maker and the world''s biggest farm retailer, on Thursday forecast a less profitable year than expected. The Calgary, Alberta-based company said after normal trading hours that it expects to earn $4.50-$6 per share in 2017. The midpoint, $5.25, fell below analysts'' average estimate of $5.45, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. (Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-agrium-results-idUSKBN15O32U'|'2017-02-10T06:20:00.000+02:00' +'5d699e87b3b4e80e18cd280b9e6aaf7081d8518f'|'At Snap, cost of hosting sets high bar for revenue growth'|'Business News - Fri Feb 3, 2017 - 9:59pm GMT At Snap, cost of hosting sets high bar for revenue growth FILE PHOTO - A Snapchat sign hangs on the facade of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., January 23, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo By Stephen Nellis and Liana B. Baker - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Snap Incs initial public offering filing seemed to show a company with a basic math problem: the company''s cost of revenue for 2016 - the amount it had to spend just to keep the messaging service running - was $47 million higher than its $405 million in sales. The high cost of revenue, which in Snap''s case consists mainly of payments to Alphabet Inc''s ( GOOGL.O ) Google for hosting the service, means that, on an annual basis, Snap lost money on every one of its 158 million users in 2016, even before accounting for salaries, office rents or anything else. Snap revealed in its IPO prospectus, filed with securities regulators on Thursday, that it will pay Google at least $2 billion over the next five years. But the cost side of the problem may not be as serious as it seems. The company''s hosting costs are broadly in line with other social media companies. Its cost of revenue per active daily user was 97 cents in the last quarter of 2016, not much higher than the 85 cents that Facebook Inc ( FB.O ) paid for each of its 1.23 billion daily users in the final quarter of 2016. Further, while Snaps cost of revenue was higher than sales on a yearly basis in 2016, the company drastically tightened up hosting costs over the course of the year. While costs were nearly double revenues at the start of the year, by the fourth quarter, when Snap hit 158 million users, the company eked out a small gross margin. Snaps bigger math problem is how much revenue it generates per user. The $1.05 per user for the last quarter of 2016 was a massive increase from the 31 cents per user it drew in the same period in 2015. In its IPO filing, Snap said it hopes to increase its revenue per user by focusing on more lucrative advertising markets, like North America, where its revenue per user was $2.15 at the end of 2016, nearly double the global rate. But even those higher rates for Snap pale in comparison to the $7.16 in revenue per user that Facebook brought in in the fourth quarter. Snaps issue is not cost, but user growth and revenue per user, said Ethan Kurzweil, a venture investor with Bessemer Venture Partners who backed startups such as Twitch and Periscope but has not backed Snap. If they can get revenue per user into the kind of territory they think is possible, the cost of hosting will be a hit to gross margin but its not going to be an issue. Facebook provides the example. Even though its cost per user rose 7.4 percent between the last quarter of 2016 versus a year earlier, its revenue per user grew at a much faster 27.5 percent, a difference that helped drive its $10.2 billion in profits for the full year. All of that does, however, mean that Snap has little leeway in delivering dramatic revenue growth in light of the high underlying cost of delivering all those pictures and videos. The cost of revenue figure, noted analyst Brian Wieser at Pivotal Group, "was notable for what it indicates about the expense of running Snap." (Reporting by Stephen Nellis and Liana Baker; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Bill Rigby) Next In Business News Wall Street stands with two Fed-hike outlook for 2017 - Reuters poll NEW YORK Wall Street''s top banks expect just two rate hikes from the Federal Reserve this year and see only modest risk to the U.S. central bank being pressed into a more aggressive pace of monetary policy tightening, a Reuters poll showed on Friday.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-snap-ipo-costs-idUKKBN15I2YZ'|'2017-02-04T04:59:00.000+02:00' +'db1723025a70607f097d3afd3d4d2ce50c98bdb5'|'BRIEF-Group Ten Metals says has arranged two private placements to raise proceeds of up to C$1.8 mln'|' 15pm EST BRIEF-Group Ten Metals says has arranged two private placements to raise proceeds of up to C$1.8 mln Feb 8 Group Ten Metals Inc : * Arranged 2 concurrent, non-brokered private placements to raise total proceeds of up to C$1.8 million by issuance of up to 29 million units * Proceeds of financings will be used on company''s Yukon and Ontario projects Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1FT0V8'|'2017-02-09T00:15:00.000+02:00' +'0ec40980e18fdd8b5a95e8afa772fc8403792b80'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX rises as higher oil prices boost energy stocks'|'Company News 42am EST CANADA STOCKS-TSX rises as higher oil prices boost energy stocks * TSX up 17.87 points, or 0.11 percent, at 15,848.09 * Seven of the TSX''s 10 main groups move higher TORONTO Feb 23 Canada''s main stock index rose on Thursday as energy company stocks were boosted by gains in oil prices, while higher prices for bullion lifted shares of gold miners. Supermarket chain Loblaw''s advanced 2.1 percent to C$70.37 after reporting a sharp jump in profit and higher-than-expected revenue. The energy group climbed 1.3 percent, as oil prices rose more than $1 a barrel after U.S. data showed a surprise decline in inventories, suggesting a global glut may be ending after moves by OPEC to cut production. Suncor Energy Inc rose 1.1 percent to C$42.60 and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd also added 1.1 percent, to C$38.58. Crescent Point Energy Corp advanced 3.5 percent to C$16.04, even as the company reported a bigger-than-expected quarterly loss as production fell about 6 percent. Pipeline operator Enbridge Inc fell 1.1 percent to C$54.71. An outage on its Line 2A pipeline in Canada''s Alberta will last about three weeks, the company said in a note to shippers seen by Reuters. At 10:29 a.m. ET (1529 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index was up 17.87 points, or 0.11 percent, at 15,848.09. Seven of the index''s 10 main groups were in positive territory, with two advancers for every decliner. The index is trading just off record highs. Goldcorp Inc advanced 1.5 percent to C$22.52 and Barrick Gold Corp rose 1.3 percent to C$26.44 as prices for the precious metal hit a three-month high. Bullion rose after the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve policy meeting further damped expectations of an interest rate hike in March, lowering U.S. bond yields and stalling upward momentum in the dollar. Maple Leaf Foods Inc advanced 3.2 percent to C$30.905. The meat packing company is hunting for acquisitions in the United States, after years spent upgrading old factories and shedding business lines, its chief executive officer said on Wednesday, a day after reporting a doubling of fourth-quarter profit. The financials group gained 0.2 percent, with Royal Bank of Canada advancing 0.4 percent to C$98.86 and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce advancing 1.0 percent to C$119.39. CIBC said it would be "disciplined" in assessing whether to raise its C$3.8 billion ($2.9 billion) offer for Chicago-based PrivateBancorp and could step up stock buybacks if the deal collapses. U.S. crude prices were up 2.0 percent to $54.64 a barrel, while Brent added 2.0 percent to $56.98. Gold futures rose 1.3 percent to $1,247.4 an ounce and copper prices fell 1.3 percent to $5,960 a tonne. The materials group was barely higher as losses for base metal miners and fertilizer companies offset the gold mining gains. First Quantum Minerals Ltd fell 2.4 percent to C$14.85 and Potash Corp shed 2.2 percent to C$23.92. (Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Bernadette Baum) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-idUSL1N1G810S'|'2017-02-23T22:42:00.000+02:00' +'02b67f4bd42c470a846d4483311dd2548c8c25fd'|'GRAPHIC-Swiss banks face withdrawals due to tax clampdown'|' 51am EST GRAPHIC- By Joshua Franklin - ZURICH ZURICH With tax amnesty programmes in countries like Argentina, Brazil and Indonesia, these so-called regularisation outflows come from clients taking money out of their accounts to pay taxes and penalties. Those who decline to participate in amnesty programmes often have to move their accounts. Swiss banks are still recovering from European and U.S. clients withdrawing tens of billions of dollars following a post-financial crisis clampdown on tax dodging The tax clampdown has eroded Switzerland''s bank secrecy rules, which for decades pulled in money from the world''s super-rich. UBS and Credit Suisse flagged further withdrawals in 2017 due to these amnesty programmes as well as the introduction of the OECD''s Automatic Exchange Of Information, a financial data sharing initiative. "We expect Wealth Management''s net new money growth rate to remain around the lower end of our 3 percent to 5 percent target range for 2017," UBS Chief Financial Officer Kirt Gardner said last month. Credit Suisse CFO David Mathers said on Tuesday the bank expected gross outflows of around 9 billion Swiss francs ($9.01 billion) in 2017, though part of this will also come from a pruning of relationships with external asset managers at its Swiss business. These outflows at Julius Baer should tail off in 2018, the bank''s Chief Executive Boris Collardi said earlier this month. ($1 = 0.9987 Swiss francs) (Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/swiss-banks-tax-idUSL8N1G01YG'|'2017-02-16T22:51:00.000+02:00' +'3f053f12aebd1e741a9945d404df6279e28fa6df'|'BRIEF-Levi Strauss & Co prices EUR475 mln of 3 3/8% senior notes due 2027'|' 36pm EST BRIEF-Levi Strauss & Co prices EUR475 mln of 3 3/8% senior notes due 2027 Feb 23 Levi Strauss & Co * Levi strauss & co. Prices private placement of senior notes * Levi strauss & co says pricing of eur475 million, approximately us$501 million, of its 3 3/8 % senior notes due 2027 in a private placement * Levi strauss & co - sale of notes is expected to close on february 28, 2017 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-levi-strauss-co-prices-eur475-mln-idUSASB0B1ZB'|'2017-02-24T00:36:00.000+02:00' +'6d8a4e5cd7649b646ebf4de08733f16690301742'|'Food group Danone unveils new cost cuts amid pressures at dairy arm and China'|' 01am GMT Food group Danone unveils new cost cuts amid pressures at dairy arm and China Yoghurt by French foods group Danone are seen in this photo illustration shot in Strasbourg, April 15, 2015. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler/File Photo PARIS French food group Danone ( DANO.PA ) unveiled a new 1 billion euros (848.62 million pounds) cost cutting plan, saying the turnaround of its dairy division in Europe was taking longer than expected while tough conditions in China would also endure in 2017. The world''s largest yoghurt maker did not provide provide sales or operating profit margin growth targets for the current year, saying it would review its financial goals for 2017 after closing its acquisition of U.S. organic food group WhiteWave, which is slated for the first quarter. Danone, which makes Activia yoghurt, Evian water and Bledina babyfood, said like-for-like sales in 2016 rose 2.9 percent to 21.94 billion euros ($23.22 billion), in line with analysts'' expectations of 2.9 percent growth for 2016, which was a slowdown from 4.4 percent growth in 2015. The slowdown reflected tough market conditions in Spain and problems with the relaunch of its Activia brand in Europe, which held back dairy sales growth in the final quarter, while pressures in the Chinese market weighed on baby food sales. Danone had flagged the European dairy problem in December, warning its 2016 sales growth would come below its original target of 3-5 percent. Its operating margin rose by 70 basis points to 13.77 percent, in line with analysts'' expectations of 13.71 percent. ($1 = 0.9451 euros) (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-danone-results-idUKKBN15U0KN'|'2017-02-15T14:01:00.000+02:00' +'9df53c1e72ed3fc9e4517735afa067cf5c6d415b'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Brazil real rises to over 1-1/2-year high as central bank acts'|'Company News 19pm EST EMERGING MARKETS-Brazil real rises to over 1-1/2-year high as central bank acts (Updates prices, adds Yellen comments) SAO PAULO Feb 14 The Brazilian real gained on Tuesday to its strongest level in more than a year and a half, following a rise in capital inflows and after the central bank resumed currency intervention following a two-week pause. The real firmed 0.45 percent to 3.096 real per dollar, its strongest showing since July 2015. Gains were limited, though, as the central bank indicated it could allow around $4.3 billion worth of currency swaps, which function like future dollar sales, to expire next month. The bank sold $300 million in currency swaps on Tuesday morning to roll over March maturities. Should it maintain that pace until the end of the month, it will roll over $2.7 billion of the roughly $7 billion due next month. Some had speculated the bank could allow all of those contracts to expire after it refrained from conducting any auctions in recent weeks. The central bank currently holds $26.5 billion worth of currency swaps on its balance sheet, down from more than $100 billion two years ago. On Tuesday, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said the Federal Reserve will likely need to raise interest rates at an upcoming meeting, although she flagged considerable uncertainty over economic policy under the Trump administration. Yellen said delaying rate increases could leave the Fed''s policymaking committee behind the curve and eventually lead it to hike rates quickly, which she said could cause a recession. The dollar strengthened briefly against the real after her comments, while the Mexican peso also lost ground against the greenback. However, the peso ended the day slightly higher, up 0.14 percent at 20.25 pesos per dollar. Investors said they were waiting to see U.S. inflation data due on Wednesday, that would help clarify the Fed''s decision-making on future rate hikes. (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Diane Craft) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-latam-idUSL1N1FZ2B4'|'2017-02-15T07:19:00.000+02:00' +'9ab4203bc1d56f106bc5c6a04442f452576a282d'|'BRIEF-Dr Reddy''s says U.S. court finds co''s product infringes some patents'|' 14pm EST BRIEF-Dr Reddy''s says U.S. court finds co''s product infringes some patents Feb 16 Dr.Reddy''s Laboratories Ltd * Says Dr. Reddy''s Laboratories announces U.S. district court''s opinion relating to patent infringement * Court found that asserted claims of the "094" and "980" patents were not invalid * Court found that co''s proposed palonosetron hydrochloride product infringes certain claims of some U.S. patents Source text: bit.ly/2ks6WZY '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1G019U'|'2017-02-16T11:14:00.000+02:00' +'fbd4c6a188aa3528bde836d4d34229c88928cfab'|'SoftBank nears deal to invest $3 billion in U.S. startup WeWork - CNBC'|'Business News - Sun Feb 26, 2017 - 11:34pm GMT SoftBank nears deal to invest $3 billion in U.S. startup WeWork - CNBC A man talks on the phone as he stand in front of an advertising poster of the SoftBank telecommunications company in Tokyo October 16, 2015. REUTERS/Thomas Peter Japan''s SoftBank Group Corp ( 9984.T ) is close to finalising an investment in U.S. office-sharing startup WeWork in a deal expected to be worth over $3 billion, CNBC reported on Sunday. The investment under discussion is a $2 billion primary tranche of funding, followed by a secondary round worth more than $1 billion, CNBC reported, citing a source. cnb.cx/2lVk0X5 SoftBank may increase the size of the secondary investment to nearly $2 billion for a total investment of nearly $4 billion, CNBC added. SoftBank could not immediately be reached for comment. WeWork declined to comment. (Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-wework-m-a-softbank-group-idUKKBN1650Z1'|'2017-02-27T06:34:00.000+02:00' +'96ac442445e8e6e64973373a0968eb5d997a2f0b'|'Some Platinum hedge fund clients get hopeful sign from receiver'|'By Lawrence Delevingne - NEW YORK NEW YORK A federal court-appointed receiver for troubled U.S. hedge fund manager Platinum Partners has hinted that some clients may yet recover much of their assets."Though we have just initiated our review, thus far we have not observed a major shift in overall portfolio value," Bart Schwartz, chairman of Guidepost Solutions, wrote in a message posted to platinumpartnersreceiver.com last week.Guidepost is working to liquidate Platinum''s investments in hard-to-sell private energy, mining and other companies after six top executives of the firm, including founder Mark Nordlicht and President Uri Landesman, were charged in December with running a $1 billion fraud. All six have pleaded not guilty.Platinum executives reported to Guidepost in September that two funds, Platinum Partners Credit Opportunities funds and the Platinum Partners Liquid Opportunity funds, had assets of $520 million and $16 million respectively, according to Schwartz''s note.The new message from Schwartz said that Guidepost continues to work with a valuation expert to assess those assets, a process that will continue for several months."We intend to purposefully and prudently liquidate the Funds investments and generate cash whenever possible," Schwartz wrote. "However, we do not intend to engage in a fire sale and are not interested in impairing value for the sake of generating cash."A spokesman for Platinum declined to comment.Investors in Platinum''s credit and liquid strategies may fare better than those in the firm''s largest group of funds, Platinum Partners Value Arbitrage (PPVA). They are also being wound down under the supervision of a Cayman Islands-based liquidator per the mandate of a local court and received bankruptcy protection from a U.S. court to avoid an asset fire-sale.The PPVA funds were the focus of the U.S. government''s December charges. The Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that Platinum dramatically inflated the value of the companies in the PPVA portfolio and favored some investors over others who wanted to take their money out, among other issues.Reuters previously reported that clients of PPVA were not likely to recover the full value of their investments in the hedge funds that were once known for reported average annual returns of 17 percent.(Reporting by Lawrence Delevingne; Editing by Carmel Crimmins and Jonathan Oatis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-hedgefunds-platinum-idINKBN15S2GD'|'2017-02-13T18:17:00.000+02:00' +'f48593bbdebbf595e5d36320b2704b603a658130'|'Virgin Australia defers Boeing deliveries after profits drop'|'Business News - Fri Feb 17, 2017 - 2:54am GMT Virgin Australia defers Boeing deliveries after profits drop By Jamie Freed - SYDNEY SYDNEY Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd ( VAH.AX ) on Friday said it would defer the delivery of new Boeing Co ( BA.N ) 737 MAX aircraft for at least a year as it continues to battle against tough demand conditions in the domestic aviation market. Virgin Chief Executive John Borghetti said the capital cost of buying the new aircraft for Australia''s second-largest airline "far outweighs" savings on offer from operating more fuel-efficient planes given the oil price was relatively low. "The fuel business case isn''t as good as it was," he told Reuters in a phone interview after the airline reported a 48 percent fall in first-half underlying pre-tax earnings to A$42.3 million ($32.56 million). "On balance we can push these back." Borghetti declined to say how many 737 MAX deliveries would be affected, but a person with knowledge of the situation told Reuters it was between five and 10 aircraft. Borghetti did not rule out a further deferral, depending on market conditions. Virgin is the latest customer of the U.S. based aircraft manufacturer to defer deliveries at a time when orders for Boeing and rival Airbus Group SE ( AIR.PA ) have slowed globally due to weakening economies and relatively low oil prices. Australia''s domestic aviation market, dominated by Virgin and its larger rival Qantas Airways Ltd ( QAN.AX ), has been subdued for the past year due to weak demand for flying from corporate customers, including mining companies, as well as government travelers. Virgin said domestic yields, a proxy for average fare prices, had fallen by 5.6 percent in the first half of the financial year, although Borghetti said booking trends had improved in the last few weeks in a positive sign. "I would like to think it would improve in the second half of this calendar year but who knows?" Borghetti said of the outlook. "At some point you have got to believe the market has got to come back." Virgin on Friday separately said it planned to launch flights between Australia and Hong Kong in the middle of this year as part of a proposed alliance with shareholder HNA Aviation and affiliated carriers Hong Kong Airlines and Hong Kong Express. Borghetti declined to disclose the departure city for the flight, which could compete against non-stop flights to Hong Kong flown by Qantas and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd ( 0293.HK ). He said Virgin also planned to fly to Beijing and Shanghai in the future, but that would depend on the availability of airport slots. (Reporting by Jamie Freed; Editing by Louise Ireland and Lisa Shumaker) Next In Business News Facebook CEO warns against reversal of global thinking SAN FRANCISCO Facebook Inc Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg laid out a vision on Thursday of his company serving as a bulwark against rising isolationism, writing in a letter to users that the company''s platform could be the "social infrastructure" for the globe.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-virgin-au-hldgs-results-idUKKBN15W06W'|'2017-02-17T09:54:00.000+02:00' +'ef10ee9644e72cf12342a55b3b5765b3431c10fb'|'Snap bets on hardware as Facebook threat looms'|'Technology 6:04am GMT Snap bets on hardware as Facebook threat looms The logo of messaging app Snapchat is seen at a booth at TechFair LA, a technology job fair, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo 1/2 A Snapchat sign hangs on the facade of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., January 23, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo 2/2 By Heather Somerville - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Snap Inc takes to the road in London on Monday to promote its initial public offering with a daring proposition: that it can build hot-selling hardware gadgets and ad-friendly software features fast enough to stay one step ahead of Facebook. No longer just a purveyor of a smartphone app for disappearing messages, Snap has hired hundreds of hardware engineers, built a secretive product development lab and scoured the landscape for acquisitions as it pursues its newly stated ambition to be "a camera company." These efforts, which are aimed at developing hardware and so-called augmented reality technologies, are central to the strategy of a company that is seeking a valuation of up to $22 billion in its early March IPO despite heavy losses and the specter of stiff competition for advertising dollars with a far-larger Facebook. (Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/2kXZxA7 ) It is a big gamble and the odds against Snap are long. There is little precedent for a company with its roots in software and social networking succeeding in the notoriously difficult consumer hardware business. Few U.S. firms aside from Apple have made big profits on hardware, and camera and wearable gadget makers have much lower valuations than Snap is seeking. Once-hot camera start-up GoPro is a cautionary tale: its stock sits 61 percent below its 2014 IPO price. More broadly, creating new products and features that have mass-market appeal and cannot be readily mimicked is a huge challenge, analysts say. "Its worrisome, said Paul Meeks, chief investment officer at Sloy, Dahl & Holst, which manages more than $1 billion in assets. Snapchat is going to have to continue to be really innovative and distinctive. Its going to be very tough to trump Facebook. Snap declined to comment for this story. Snap first signaled its new focus with the September reveal of Spectacles, funky sunglasses with an embedded video camera for posting to the Snapchat app. The company spent $184 million on research and development last year, nearly half its revenue. Augmented reality, which refers to computer-generated images overlaid on real surroundings and viewed through a smartphone or special glasses, is a big part of the plan. Snap''s "lenses" image-overlay feature has been a hit, and gives Snap an advertising format that''s unique, at least for now. "If you''re going to make the bet longer-term on Snap, you are betting they are going to come up with innovative products that Facebook can''t copy," said Nabil Elsheshai, senior equity analyst at Thrivent Financial, who is considering whether to recommend that his firm buy Snap''s IPO. Facebook-owned Instagram last year rolled out a feature called Stories, modeled after Snapchat''s feature by the same name. Snapchat had about 100 million fewer downloads than Instagram in 2016, according to market research firm App Annie. NEW GADGETS Snap had 158 million daily active users in the fourth quarter, up just 3 percent from the previous quarter, compared to 14 percent growth during the same period in 2015, according to Snap''s IPO filing. New gadgets that offer more ways to interact with Snapchat could help attract new users and get existing users to spend more time on the app. "Ultimately, that''s what advertisers are going to be looking at," said Douglas Melsheimer, managing director at investment bank and consulting firm Bulger Partners. Snap, along with Facebook and host of online rivals ranging from Google to BuzzFeed, is capitalizing on the shift of video advertising dollars from traditional television to the internet. Snap''s IPO filing reads "as if all the hard things in front of them that they have to do are already done," said Rett Wallace, cofounder and chief executive at Triton Research. But, he said, that''s not the case. "How will they hold up against all the guys you don''t want to be fighting against in the world - Facebook, Google and Apple?" Hardware is part of the answer. Snap has recruited hardware experts from Apple, Alphabet Inc''s Google, Nest and Motorola, according to an analysis of LinkedIn profiles. One former employee described ample resources and support from management for the hand-picked hardware teams. Last spring, Snap set out to hire up to 300 hardware, augmented reality and virtual reality specialists in a single month, according to another former employee. It also set up Snap Labs, a group dedicated to working on secretive projects. Its members have reviewed acquisition targets in areas including wearable cameras, facial recognition and 3D scanning technology, according to people close to the discussions. Spectacles itself came from Snap''s acquisition of startup Vergence Labs in 2014. The sunglasses surprised even Snap''s earliest investors, who say hardware was not in Snap''s initial pitch to them. "It was a disappearing messaging product, and that''s it," said Jeremy Liew, a partner with Lightspeed Venture Partners, who made the initial venture investment into Snap. Like most Snap backers he lauded the Spectacles rollout. Snap has acquired at least 10 startups since 2014 according to firms tracking such deals, and M&A deal makers say Snap is one of the most active shoppers they have heard from. "AMAZON PASS" Snap''s R&D investment as a percentage of revenue is far higher than what Facebook or Twitter were spending before they went public. One result of that investment has been a wave of patent filings - about 46 total, according to research firm CB Insights. They include eye-wear patents for Spectacles, as well as patents for photo and video-capture devices, and object and facial recognition, which is key to developing augmented reality technology. One former employee said Snap is working to figure out ways to turn the warehouse of data it collects from Memories, a feature for users to save photos on Snap''s server, into augmented reality or facial recognition applications. Spectacles "opens the doors for augmented reality," Elsheshai said. "That''s a different direction for the company than just adding more social media capabilities." The quirky popularity of Spectacles further endears users to Snapchat, he said, but doubted that such niche products can propel the user growth Snap needs in the long term. The greatest impediment to Snap''s innovation efforts, however, may be its hefty losses: the company lost $515 million last year on $404 million in sales. Revenue from Spectacles. was "not material," according to Snap''s IPO filing. Snap, like Amazon.com, is expecting public investors to allow the company to lose money for years on the promise that more investment in innovation will pay off later. "They are going to have to get the Amazon pass - investors that don''t care in the short run," Elsheshai said. (Reporting by Heather Somerville; Julia Love; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Tomasz Janowski) Next In Technology News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-snap-ipo-hardware-analysis-idUKKBN15Z0F5'|'2017-02-20T13:03:00.000+02:00' +'6a3a3d7a6d5b0f462fb48533bb79890805bfccea'|'Toshiba prepares to unveil nuclear hole, other perils threaten'|'Business 11:03pm GMT Toshiba prepares to unveil nuclear hole, other perils threaten FILE PHOTO - The logo of Toshiba Corp is pictured at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, August 31, 2015. REUTERS/Yuya Shino/File Photo By Makiko Yamazaki and Taro Fuse - TOKYO TOKYO Toshiba Corp will on Tuesday detail a writedown of close to $6 billion after bruising cost overruns at its U.S. nuclear arm, turning investor attention to the Japanese group''s efforts to fix that and other balance sheet headaches. The TVs-to-construction conglomerate warned of a potential multi-billion dollar nuclear writedown in December, a year after a $1.3 billion accounting scandal. Sources familiar with the matter say the final charge, to be detailed alongside quarterly earnings, will be as high as 700 billion yen ($6.2 billion), a sum which alone would wipe out the company''s shareholder equity. Toshiba, which has seen its market value almost halve since the prospect of a writedown emerged in December, is also expected to outline the prospects for its nuclear arm and update investors on efforts to raise capital, including through the sale of a stake in its flagship memory chips business. "The question for Toshiba is how is it going to move forward," said Masahiko Ishino, analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Center. He added Toshiba would need to show how it could stay competitive in the cash-generating but capital-intensive memory chip industry, given its battered balance sheet. Toshiba has offered a 19.9 percent of its prize chips business to investment funds and rivals including Bain Capital, SK Hynix and Micron Technology. PILLAR OF BUSINESS On Thursday, a source said that Toshiba had received bids of between 200 billion yen to 400 billion yen for the flash memory stake, a range that could cover the 300 billion yen the company wants to raise. It prefers multiple investors. Toshiba is a pillar of Japan''s business establishment. Born in the tumult of Japan''s emergence from centuries of isolation, it made Japan''s first light bulb and was a pioneer in laptop computers. Toshiba''s 190,000 workers, employed at some 500 units, likely will make it too big to fail. But as with other established Japanese firms that have dodged financial collapse, such as liquid crystal display inventor Sharp Corp, Toshiba could face protracted pain. Financial sources last week pointed to problem businesses within Toshiba beyond nuclear, including Landis+Gyr AG. Toshiba agreed to buy that unlisted meter maker for $2.3 billion in 2011 to tap smart grid demand that at the time was expected to grow six-fold to around $70 billion in 10 years. At the end of September, the goodwill value of Landis+Gyr was 143.2 billion yen ($1.3 billion). Other stumbling blocks for Toshiba include a $7.4 billion commitment four years ago to buy U.S. liquefied natural gas believing that would help sell power plant turbines. ACCOUNTING SCANDAL A fall in Asian gas prices, now at about half the level they were, has cast doubt on that strategy. Toshiba, on a stock exchange watchlist barring it from issuing new shares, must also contend with fallout from the 2015 accounting scandal. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corp last month said it will seek 1 billion yen in damages, while sources say Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank Ltd and Mizuho Trust & Banking Co are preparing similar suits.[nL4N1FK07I} With its latest financial crisis unresolved, investors appear most nervous about Toshiba''s short-term prospects. The cost of insuring against a credit default has soared over the past two months. Five-year insurance, or credit default swaps, was quoted at 315/355 basis points on Friday, compared with 75 basis points in mid-December. That quote, below late December highs, suggests it would cost $315,000-$355,000 per year for five years to insure $10 million in bonds. The CDS curve <0#TOSBJPACMPBMK=> is inverted, suggesting short-term cover is most expensive. ($1 = 113.1900 yen) (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki and Taro Fuse; Writing by Tim Kelly; Editing by Richard Borsuk) Next In Business News VW says has no plans to retain large number of temporary staff BERLIN Volkswagen said it has no plans to keep a large number of temporary workers on its books following a media report saying management at the carmaker''s VW brand would retain about 2,000 of them as labour leaders and executives wrestle over the company''s turnaround plan.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting-idUKKBN15R11Q'|'2017-02-13T06:03:00.000+02:00' +'928689255871580b88dc8e76d3b9a55fca6c941a'|'Alphabet''s self-driving car unit sues Uber with trade theft charge'|'Technology News - Fri Feb 24, 2017 - 8:13pm EST Alphabet''s self-driving car unit sues Uber with trade theft charge left right Waymo unveils a self-driving Chrysler Pacifica minivan during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., January 8, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid 1/3 left right FILE PHOTO -- An Autonomous trucking start-up Otto vehicle is shown during an announcing event in Concord, California, U.S. August 4, 2016. REUTERS/Alexandria Sage/File Photo 2/3 left right A man arrives at the Uber offices in Queens, New York, U.S., February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid 3/3 By Alexandria Sage - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Alphabet Inc''s ( GOOGL.O ) Waymo self-driving car unit sued Uber Technologies [UBER.UL] and its autonomous trucking subsidiary Otto on Thursday over allegations of theft of its confidential and proprietary sensor technology. Waymo accused Uber and Otto, acquired by the ride services company in August, with stealing confidential information on Waymo''s Lidar sensor technology to help speed its own efforts in autonomous technology. "Uber''s LiDAR technology is actually Waymo''s LiDAR technology," said Waymo''s complaint in the Northern District of California. Uber said it took "the allegations made against Otto and Uber employees seriously and we will review this matter carefully." Lidar, which uses light pulses reflected off objects to gauge their position on or near the road, is a crucial component of autonomous driving systems. Previous systems have been prohibitively expensive and Waymo sought to design one over 90 percent cheaper, making its Lidar technology among the company''s "most valuable assets," Waymo said. Waymo is seeking an unspecified amount of damages and a court order preventing Uber from using its proprietary information. Otto launched with much fanfare in May, due in part to the high profile of one of its co-founders, Anthony Levandowski, who had been an executive on Google''s self-driving project. Uber acquired the company in August for what Waymo said in the lawsuit was $680 million. Waymo said that before Levandowski''s resignation in January 2016 from Google, whose self-driving unit was renamed Waymo in December, he downloaded over 14,000 confidential files, including Lidar circuit board designs, thereby allowing Uber and Otto to fast-track its self-driving technology. Waymo accused Levandowski of attempting to "erase any forensic fingerprints" via a reformat of his laptop. "While Waymo developed its custom LiDAR systems with sustained effort over many years, defendants leveraged stolen information to shortcut the process and purportedly build a comparable LiDAR system in only nine months," the complaint said. Last month, Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ) electric car company sued the former head of its Autopilot system. It said he tried to recruit Tesla engineers for his new venture with the former head of Google''s self-driving programme while still working there, and said he stole proprietary data belonging to Tesla. Waymo''s lawsuit said it learned of this use of trade secrets and patent infringement after it was inadvertently copied on an email from a component vendor that included a design of Uber''s Lidar circuit board, which bore a "striking resemblance" to Waymo''s design. Waymo noted that Google devoted over seven years to self-driving cars and said Uber''s forays into the technology through a partnership with Carnegie Mellon University had stalled by early 2016. (Reporting by Alexandria Sage; editing by Grant McCool) Next In Technology News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-autonomous-lawsuit-idUSKBN164011'|'2017-02-25T08:13:00.000+02:00' +'1a9a7d0106cd8c1813828b4c6cc2fa5705057754'|'European shares boosted by soothing earnings, SocGen and Total up'|' 39am GMT European shares boosted by soothing earnings, SocGen and Total up A woman walks past the London Stock Exchange building in the City of London, Britain, January 16 , 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON European shares rose for a third consecutive session on Thursday, with some major companies such as France''s second-biggest listed bank Societe Generale ( SOGN.PA ) and oil major Total ( TOTF.PA ) advancing after their results. Eutelsat rose nearly 5 percent, the top gainer in the pan-European STOXX 600 index , after the company predicted higher Internet and mobile satellite sales and announced plans to buy a Viasat ( VSAT.O ) satellite. France''s Total was up 0.8 percent after the company reported better-than-expected fourth quarter net profits, thanks to cost savings that enabled it to raise its dividend, and said it was hunting opportunities to buy assets from struggling rivals after. Shares in Societe Generale rose 3 percent after the bank reported a better-than-expected net income in the final three months of last year and said it would float a stake in its booming vehicle leasing unit ALD. However, gains were limited by some poor updates. Commerzbank ( CBKG.DE ) fell 1 percent after the German lender said it needed to do more to get back to sustainable growth. Germany''s second-largest lender behind Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ), however, beat quarterly profit forecasts. Smith & Nephew ( SN.L ) fell 4.8 percent after Europe''s biggest artificial hip and knee maker reported a 7 percent drop in full-year trading profit, missing average forecasts, on tough market conditions in China and the Gulf. The STOXX 600 index was up 0.5 percent by 0827 GMT after rising in the previous two straight sessions. (Reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Catherine Evans) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks-idUKKBN15O0V2'|'2017-02-09T15:39:00.000+02:00' +'8644f7d76369eabefff54807a81344857143f31c'|'Wall Street hits record highs on strong retail results'|'Money News - Tue Feb 21, 2017 - 8:07pm IST Wall Street hits record highs on strong retail results A street sign for Wall Street is seen outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City, U.S. December 28, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/Files U.S. stocks opened at record intraday highs on Tuesday as oil prices rose and as better-than-expected profits at top U.S. retailers pushed consumer stocks higher. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 47.57 points, or 0.23 percent, at 20,671.62, the S&P 500 was up 5.38 points, or 0.23 percent, at 2,356.54 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 9.78 points, or 0.17 percent, at 5,848.36. (Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty) Next In Money News Reliance Jio racks up 100 million subscribers but ends freebies MUMBAI Reliance Industries'' Jio telecoms unit will charge for its services from April, ending an almost seven month spree of free calls and data that shook up India''s telecoms sector and helped the new arrival rack up more than 100 million users.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-idINKBN1601P8'|'2017-02-21T21:37:00.000+02:00' +'b8b870cdfd1cc8508571e83fb76f7096effc58d8'|'OPEC chief sees higher compliance with oil cut, says confidence returning - Reuters'|'By Rania El Gamal and Alex Lawler - LONDON LONDON OPEC and outside producers including Russia will boost compliance with agreed oil output curbs in a bid to clear a supply glut that has weighed on prices, the group''s secretary general said on Tuesday.OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo also said he was "cautiously optimistic" on the outlook for the oil market, almost two months into the group''s supply cut deal with Russia and other producers."Confidence has returned to this market," he said at a news conference at Energy Institute''s IP Week, an annual gathering of the oil trading industry in London. "It''s work in progress, but the trend I think has commenced."Oil prices rose after the comments, trading above $57 a barrel in London. Crude, while up from the low $30s a year ago, is still half its level of mid-2014 because of a persistent supply glut.The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is curbing its output by about 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) from Jan. 1, the first cut in eight years. Russia and 10 other non-OPEC producers agreed to cut half as much.Barkindo said that the production data for January in OPEC''s most recent monthly report showed conformity from participating OPEC nations with agreed output curbs above 90 percent."All countries involved remain resolute in the determination to achieve a higher level of conformity," he said in a speech.Russia and the other outside producers have so far delivered a smaller percentage, but Barkindo told reporters this would increase."You have to give them the benefit of the doubt in the initial stages," he said, explaining that voluntary output restraint is a new activity for the outside producers."I am confident that the non-OPEC will also raise their level of conformity to bring it at par with OPEC."PREMATURE TO TALK OF NEW STEPSHe said it was too early to say if the supply cut, which lasts for six months from Jan. 1, would need to be extended or deepened at the next OPEC meeting in May."I think it will be very premature," he told reporters. "The market is so dynamic it is becoming increasingly challenging for even professional forecasters."OPEC sources last week said extending or deepening the cut was a possibility if stocks do not fall.Barkindo said that oil inventories were expected to decline this year."It is expected that we will see a further drop during 2017," he said. "We will continue to focus on the level of inventory drawdown to bring the level closer to the five-year industry average.(Reporting by Alex Lawler and Rania El Gamal, editing by Louise Heavens)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/opec-oil-idINKBN1601UJ'|'2017-02-21T12:24:00.000+02:00' +'eff8b08bec2e63ad12043010b848c4d1f7588fd1'|'Tata Sons, DoCoMo to settle $1.17 billion legal dispute: Nikkei'|'Business News - Mon Feb 27, 2017 - 6:00pm EST Tata Sons, DoCoMo to settle $1.17 billion legal dispute: Nikkei A woman walks past a brach of Japanese mobile communications company NTT Docomo in Tokyo, Japan, May 16, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Peter India''s Tata Sons Ltd has agreed to pay Japan''s NTT DoCoMo ( 9437.T ) about $1.17 billion in connection with the termination of a joint venture in the South Asian nation, the Nikkei daily reported, without citing its sources. The deal could be announced as early as Tuesday, the Nikkei reported. ( s.nikkei.com/2mnqa3g ) Tata Sons and DoCoMo were not immediately available for comments. Tata Teleservices and DoCoMo have been locked in a long tussle over the Japanese company''s move to exit a partnership formed in 2009. Under the terms of that deal, in the event of an exit, DoCoMo was guaranteed the higher of either half its original investment, or its fair value. When DoCoMo decided to get out in 2014, Tata was unable to find a buyer for the Japanese firm''s stake and offered to buy the stake itself for half of DoCoMo''s $2.2 billion investment. India''s central bank blocked Tata''s offer, saying a rule change the previous year prevented foreign investors from selling stakes in Indian firms at a pre-determined price. Docomo proceeded to initiate arbitration in a London court, and won it. Tata was asked to pay a penalty of $1.17 billion, which it has deposited with the Delhi High Court. (Reporting by Vishaka George in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva) Next In Business News Starwood in talks on raising initial bid for Milestone: sources TORONTO/NEW YORK Milestone Apartments Real Estate Investment Trust, which has agreed to be acquired by Starwood Capital Group for about C$1.7 billion ($1.3 billion), is in talks with the U.S. private investment firm about raising its bid, people familiar with the situation told Reuters.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-tata-sons-ntt-docomo-idUSKBN1662KS'|'2017-02-28T06:00:00.000+02:00' +'3f7b293e227d4f4f6470e0863ef84cb5b1c68ab7'|'Osram CFO doesn''t expect Trump to hamper Lamps sale -CNBC'|'Company News - Wed Feb 8, 2017 - 2:09am EST Osram CFO doesn''t expect Trump to hamper Lamps sale -CNBC FRANKFURT Feb 8 German lighting group Osram is confident the sale of its traditional Lamps business to a consortium of Chinese buyers will go through as planned this year, Chief Financial Officer Ingo Bank told CNBC television on Wednesday. The 400 million-euro ($427 million) deal is still awaiting approval from the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) - which blocked Philips'' planned sale of its lighting-components unit to Asian buyers last year. Asked whether he feared the new U.S. administration of Donald Trump, with its protectionist policies, may complicate the planned sale, Bank said: "We have no indication that that will be the case." "We still strongly believe this deal will go through." ($1 = 0.9377 euros) (Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Harro ten Wolde) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/osram-licht-results-lamps-idUSFWN1FT01H'|'2017-02-08T14:09:00.000+02:00' +'26baf5b3d07a5659993a664d2b048bd3c7eb375c'|'BT hit weighs on hedge fund Lansdowne''s January returns - letter'|' 26am EST BT hit weighs on hedge fund Lansdowne''s January returns - letter * Developed Markets Fund down 2.9 pct in January * Takes 1.3 pct hit from slide in BT''s share price * Comcast, Amazon, Facebook all help to offset losses By Maiya Keidan LONDON, Feb 17 After ending last year down heavily, the value of London-based Lansdowne Partners'' main fund slid again in January after shares in crisis-hit BT Group plunged, a letter to investors seen by Reuters showed. Lansdowne, one of Britain''s oldest hedge funds, struggled last year, losing 15 percent in its main vehicle, the $9.3 billion Developed Markets Fund, according to a report by HSBC. The same fund fell a further 2.9 percent in January, the letter showed. The biggest drag in the opening weeks of the year was BT, which lost the fund 1.3 percent when it shed a fifth of its value on Jan. 24 after it made deeper provisions for an accounting scandal in Italy and warned on profit. The continued poor performance comes after a tough period for many hedge funds, which prompted Lansdowne Chairman Stuart Roden to tell the industry it needed to stop making excuses for poor performance. Among other holdings to weigh on January''s performance was British satellite telecoms company Inmarsat, which cost the fund 0.9 percent. Helping offset some of those losses, the firm made gains from a number of ''long'' positions, a bet the share price will rise, in firms including Comcast Corp, Amazon.com and Facebook Inc, the letter showed. Other winnng investments included International Consolidated Airlines and Booker Group Plc. A spokesman for Lansdowne declined to comment. (Reporting by Maiya Keidan; Editing by Keith Weir) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/hedgefunds-lansdowne-performance-idUSL8N1G22TE'|'2017-02-17T21:26:00.000+02:00' +'67d8f140d621d8f145aa348ce46eef625caec1d2'|'South Korean court rules against Nissan in emissions case'|'Business News - Thu Feb 9, 2017 - 12:31am EST South Korean court rules against Nissan in emissions case The Nissan logo is seen at the company''s display area during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., January 10, 2017. REUTERS/Mark Blinch SEOUL A South Korean court on Thursday ruled against Nissan Motor Co ( 7201.T ) in an emissions case, a court spokesman told Reuters, without immediately providing the reason behind the ruling. Nissan sued South Korea''s environment ministry last year after it accused the Japanese automaker of cheating on emissions with its Qashqai diesel sports utility vehicle. (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) Next In Business News Exclusive: Tesla pausing factory for Model 3 preparation this month DETROIT/SAN FRANCISCO Tesla Inc said on Wednesday it will shut down production at its California assembly plant for a week this month to prepare for production of its high-volume Model 3 sedan, moving the company closer to meeting its target to start production in July. Goldman hedge fund folding London operations, shifting staff to U.S.: sources NEW YORK/LONDON Goldman Sachs Investment Partners (GSIP), which opened in 2008 with one of the biggest launches in hedge fund history, is folding its London operations into the United States and shifting staff members to New York, four sources told Reuters. Toshiba receives bid as high as $3.6 billion for chip business stake: source TOKYO Toshiba Corp has received an offer as high as 400 billion yen ($3.6 billion) for a 19.9 percent stake in its flash memory business, with other bids as low as 200 billion yen, a person directly involved in the deal told Reuters. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-nissan-southkorea-idUSKBN15O0EW'|'2017-02-09T12:31:00.000+02:00' +'7d0073aa6d3e7850828f65a36ddb3ce2ba8d3033'|'U.S. says Trump order will not undermine data transfer deals with EU'|'By Julia Fioretti - BRUSSELS BRUSSELS An executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump to crack down on illegal immigration will not undermine two data transfer agreements between the United States and the EU, Washington wrote in a letter to allay European concerns.An executive order signed by Trump on Jan. 25 aiming to toughen enforcement of U.S. immigration law rattled the European Union as it appeared to suggest Europeans would not be given the same privacy protections as U.S. citizens.The order directs U.S. agencies to "exclude persons who are not United States citizens or lawful permanent residents from the protections of the Privacy Act regarding personally identifiable information."Securing equal treatment of EU citizens was key to agreeing the Umbrella Agreement which protects law enforcement data shared between the United States and the EU.And the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield - which makes possible about $260 billion of trade in digital services - was only clinched after Washington agreed to protect the data from excessive surveillance and misuse by companies.In the first written confirmation since the executive order stoked uncertainty over transatlantic data flows, the U.S. Department of Justice said the executive order did not affect either the Umbrella Agreement or the Privacy Shield."Section 14 of the Executive Order does not affect the privacy rights extended by the Judicial Redress Act to Europeans. Nor does Section 14 affect the commitments the United States has made under the DPPA (Umbrella Agreement) or the Privacy Shield," Bruce Swartz, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, wrote to the European Commission in a letter seen by Reuters.EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova, who will travel to the United States at the end of March, said she was "not worried" but remained vigilant.The EU-U.S. Privacy Shield is used by almost 2,000 companies including Google, Facebook and Microsoft to store data about EU citizens on U.S. servers.Its predecessor was struck down in 2015 by the EU''s top court for allowing U.S. agents unfettered access to Europeans'' data, forcing an acceleration of difficult talks to find a replacement.(Reporting by Julia Fioretti; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-eu-dataprotection-usa-idINKBN1661G7'|'2017-02-27T09:53:00.000+02:00' +'cd5dcbff5de3038428c2f0e868c4996e8711a512'|'RBS proposes abandoning sale of Williams & Glyn unit'|'Business News - Fri Feb 17, 2017 - 7:49pm GMT RBS proposes abandoning sale of Williams & Glyn unit A man walks past a branch of The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in central London, Britain August 27, 2014. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc has proposed abandoning the planned sale of its Williams & Glyn unit after a seven-year struggle to sell the small business lender to meet European Union state aid demands. The taxpayer-backed bank has proposed an alternative series of measures to help so-called challenger banks and boost competition among lenders. If the plan is accepted it would end one of the bank''s biggest headaches after it was ordered to sell Williams & Glyn as a condition of its state-backed rescue at the height of the financial crisis. (Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru and Andrew MacAskill in London, editing by David Evans) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-royal-bank-scot-divestiture-williams-idUKKBN15W27L'|'2017-02-18T02:49:00.000+02:00' +'c0ff1d68c1fc2cba878b00fa63ea60556f920344'|'Greece on track with programme but IMF too pessimistic - EU''s Dombrovskis'|' 1:09pm GMT Greece on track with programme but IMF too pessimistic - EU''s Dombrovskis European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis addresses a news conference at the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, July 27, 2016. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir FRANKFURT Greece is on track with the economic adjustment needed to secure the next tranche of its bailout but the International Monetary Fund is failing raise its overly pessimistic forecasts, the vice president of the European Commission said on Monday. "The programme itself is on track," Valdis Dombrovskis said at an event in Frankfurt. "If we do a final push from all sides - from institutions, creditors, euro zone countries and Greece itself - we can actually conclude the second review." He added: "Our basic assumption is that it will be done in close co-operation with the IMF." "The problem is that the IMF is coming with very pessimistic growth and fiscal forecasts as regards Greece. Moreover it is not correcting those forecasts based on facts, based on the actual outcomes." (Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Toby Chopra) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-greece-bailout-eu-idUKKBN15S1FZ'|'2017-02-13T20:09:00.000+02:00' +'61051ca519086fd85d3fed27c3ba7b8b2852bb59'|'Amazon plans more than 200 daily flights from new cargo hub'|'Company News - Wed Feb 1, 2017 - 6:56pm EST Amazon plans more than 200 daily flights from new cargo hub By Jeffrey Dastin - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Feb 1 Amazon.com Inc plans to schedule more than 200 flight departures and landings per day at a $1.49 billion cargo hub it is building near Cincinnati, the airport''s chief said in an interview on Wednesday, in a sign of the soaring ambitions of the online retailer. Amazon announced the airport project on Tuesday but gave few details. The flight estimate offers new insight into Amazon''s plan to handle shipping in-house, cut costs and speed packages to shoppers faster. It is written in the lease term sheet that Amazon and the airport expect to sign, said Candace McGraw, chief executive of Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. (Reporting By Jeffrey Dastin; Editing by Peter Henderson and Sandra Maler) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/amazoncom-shipping-idUSL1N1FM2CR'|'2017-02-02T06:56:00.000+02:00' +'acbcaa3ef29b779b38a075b9d9850dfda3957af6'|'Sears, Kmart drop 31 Trump Home items from their online shops'|'Sat Feb 11, 2017 - 6:25pm GMT Sears, Kmart drop 31 Trump Home items from their online shops left right A Sears department store is seen in New Hyde Park, New York, U.S., January 5, 2017. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton 1/2 left right Customers are seen outside of a Kmart department store in Killeen, Texas, U.S., January 5, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammad Khursheed 2/2 Major U.S. retailers Sears and Kmart this week removed 31 Trump Home items from their online product offerings to focus on more profitable items, a spokesman said on Saturday. The decision follows retailer Nordstrom Inc''s announcement this week it had decided to stop carrying Ivanka Trump''s apparel because of declining sales, prompting President Donald Trump to take to Twitter to defend his daughter. White House spokesman Sean Spicer characterized the Nordstrom move as a "direct attack" on the president''s policies. Neither Sears nor Kmart carried the Trump Home products in their retail stores, a Sears Holdings Corp spokesman said. Kmart is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sears Holdings. "As part of the companys initiative to optimize its online product assortment, we constantly refine that assortment to focus on our most profitable items," spokesman Brian Hanover said in a statement. "Amid that streamlining effort, 31 Trump Home items were among the items removed online this week," he said, adding those items can be found through a third-party vendor, without providing additional information about the products. The Trump Home collection includes lines of furniture, lighting, bedding, mirrors and chandeliers, some from makers who supply the items to Trump hotels, according to the collection''s website. Nordstrom''s sales of Ivanka Trump''s line of clothing and shoes fell by nearly one-third in the past fiscal year, with sharp drops in sales weeks before her father was elected president on Nov. 8, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. (Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; editing by Grant McCool) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-sears-idUKKBN15Q0Q2'|'2017-02-12T01:32:00.000+02:00' +'70eedef56c12459fe7ad128885dded75a5bc795c'|'UK offers Peugeot assurances on post-Brexit auto industry: FT'|'Business News - Sat Feb 18, 2017 - 8:00am EST UK offers Peugeot assurances on post-Brexit auto industry: FT A Peugeot car is seen parked outside the Opel headquarters in Ruesselsheim, Germany February 14, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski LONDON Britain has offered Peugeot manufacturer PSA Group ( PEUP.PA ) assurances on post-Brexit trade and supply chains in an attempt to protect Vauxhall car plants after a possible takeover, the Financial Times reported on Saturday. Business minister Greg Clark met French politicians and PSA executives in Paris on Thursday to discuss their plan to buy General Motors'' ( GM.N ) European unit, Opel, which include Vauxhall plants in Britain. The talks have set political alarm bells ringing in Britain and Germany, where there are fears that a sale to the French company could lead to heavy job losses. Clark said on Friday, after the meeting, that PSA executives had "stressed that they valued highly the enduring strength of the Vauxhall brand, underpinned by its committed workforce". The FT reported on Saturday, citing a person with knowledge of the meeting, that Clark had also made commitments similar to those he gave Nissan ( 7201.T ) last year before it announced it would build two new models in Britain. Clark promised Nissan that he would ensure more car part suppliers were based in Britain, support training and research into electric and low-emission vehicles, and push for "free and unencumbered" access to European Union markets for carmakers after Britain leaves the EU. The government has declined to give exact details of its promises to Nissan, citing commercial confidentiality, though government auditors who saw the letter said it did not make the government liable for Brexit-related costs incurred by Nissan. Britain''s business ministry declined to comment on Saturday on whether Clark had made similar commitments to PSA. The FT quoted Clark as saying that he and PSA executives had "talked generally about our commitments and enthusiasm for research in electric vehicles and batteries", but added that the minister did not give further detail. (Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Helen Popper) Next In Business News Kraft Heinz bids $143 billion for Unilever in global brand grab LONDON U.S. food company Kraft Heinz Co made a surprise $143 billion offer for Unilever Plc in a bid to build a global consumer goods giant, although it was flatly rejected on Friday by the maker of Lipton tea and Dove soap.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-opel-m-a-psa-britain-idUSKBN15X0EB'|'2017-02-18T20:00:00.000+02:00' +'d59258a20a018ee87a01d1626ccd627f2debc236'|'European shares snap losing streak on solid earnings, macro data'|'Company 07pm EST European shares snap losing streak on solid earnings, macro data * Live Markets blog: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets * Pan-European STOXX 600 index adds 0.8 pct * Basic resources, industrials lead sectors higher * Volvo, Siemens shine after earnings beats (Adds details, closing prices) By Danilo Masoni and Helen Reid MILAN/LONDON, Feb 1 European shares snapped a three-day losing streak on Wednesday, led higher by miners and industrial stocks following solid corporate results and strong data from China and Europe. The pan-European STOXX index ended up 0.8 percent, after hitting a one-week low on Tuesday. Germany''s DAX and France''s CAC added 1.1 and 1 percent respectively. "Equity markets across the EU are stronger today on the back of a round of better than expected earnings, as well as rather better than anticipated China manufacturing data," said Stephane Ekolo, chief European strategist at Market Securities in London. "This should be enough, at least temporarily, to offset political uncertainties," he said, adding that strong European data was also supportive. French manufacturing activity expanded at the fastest pace in nearly six years in January as demand firmed up, while German factory growth was the highest in three years, and Italy''s also increased, albeit at a slower pace. Miners were the biggest sectoral gainer, up 1.6 percent after data showed that activity in China''s manufacturing sector expanded slightly more than expected in January. China is a big metals consumer. Volvo shares were among top European gainers, up 4.7 percent after the car maker substantially outperformed forecasts with a core profit of 5.66 billion Swedish crowns, and raised its forecast for the European truck market. Shares in German industrial group Siemens hit their highest level since September 2000, after it raised its outlook, with industrial business profit jumping in the fiscal first quarter. Its shares ended up 5.6 percent. "Siemens'' transformation is under way and we see little reason why the stock would not move more towards a sector multiple," Liberum analysts said in a note, reiterating their ''buy'' rating on the stock. Industrials across Europe were buoyed by the manufacturing data, with materials firm Saint Gobain and tire manufacturer Michelin among the top gainers in France''s CAC 40 index. Finnish paper maker UPM-Kymmene was recovering from its biggest ever daily drop yesterday, up 6.3 percent, while Swedish oil company Lundin Petroleum was up 2.9 percent after its fourth-quarter earnings beat consensus. BBVA was a weak spot. Its shares fell 1.4 percent after the Spanish bank warned of a tougher business environment in Mexico this year while its largest market adapts to the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump. Appliance maker Electrolux fell 2.1 percent after results disappointment. (Reporting by Danilo Masoni; Editing by Tom Heneghan) Next In Company News Mastercard, UniRush fined $13 mln for prepaid card breakdowns -U.S. CFPB WASHINGTON, Feb 1 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/europe-stocks-idUSL5N1FM5M6'|'2017-02-02T00:07:00.000+02:00' +'e18a3e9b99f6d94995da90b3b6465c4b8800c62e'|'Inbound China M&A takes flight on consumer promise'|' 00pm EST Inbound China M&A takes flight on consumer promise * Inbound M&A in 2017 already twice same period last year * Consumer/retail account for nearly half early deals * Beijing relaxed foreign deal approval regime in October * High valuations remain an obstacle to foreign capital By Elzio Barreto HONG KONG, Feb 20 Overseas acquisitions by Chinese buyers are cooling after two record years as Beijing reins in capital outflows, but deals into China are on the rise, and new rules will make it easier for foreign buyers to tap China''s giant consumer potential. Inbound M&A deals have already reached $7.1 billion so far in 2017, almost double the amount in the same period last year and are well on track to beat the 2016 total of $46 billion, while outbound deals tumbled more than 40 percent to $8.4 billion, Thomson Reuters data showed. Deals in retail and consumer staples accounted for nearly half those early transactions, far outpacing real estate and financial deals, which usually dominate inbound M&A. Belgian investment firm Verlinvest is ahead of the trend. It set up a $300 million venture last year with Chinese state-owned conglomerate China Resources and has already deployed more than half of the funds. Verlinvest, which manages funds for the founding families of Anheuser-Busch InBev, is investing in minority and majority stakes in leading western brands so it can push them through China Resources'' distribution channels in China, said Nicholas Cator, who is responsible for the Asia business. "We''re going to be focusing on those high-growth sectors that are based on consumer trends, like health-related food and beverage products, healthcare, education, cinema or entertainment, or anything linked to kind of cultural production and content," he said. Verlinvest''s joint venture in December bought an undisclosed stake in Oatly, a Swedish maker of dairy-free products, and plans to expand it into China, and in November it bought a majority stake in Red Sun Enterprise, which owns senior care homes in Shanghai and Nanjing. LOOSER APPROVALS REGIME The leadership in Beijing has long been trying to rebalance the economy away from infrastructure, heavy industry and export-led growth and towards domestic consumption, so in theory such investment should be welcome, but in practice foreign capital has fallen foul of barriers to entry. That appears to be changing. After a trial in a few of its free-trade zones, China in October expanded to the entire country a new liberalisation programme. Apart from a "negative list" of industries deemed too sensitive, foreign investments no longer need to go through a cumbersome approval system, and there has even been some loosening in the off-limits list. "The direction China is going is that for most sectors, provided it''s not in the so-called negative list, where there would be additional scrutiny, the process for corporate establishment and changes including share transfers should be simpler," said Tracy Wut, M&A partner at law firm Baker McKenzie in Hong Kong. "From the recently amended negative list, there are further relaxations in certain sectors to which the government is trying to encourage foreign investments." CDIB Capital International Corp, part of Taiwanese financial group China Development Financial Holding (CDF), is also seizing the opportunities. Last August it invested 200 million yuan ($29.2 million) for a stake in outdoor sports retailer Tutwo (Xiamen) Outdoor Co Ltd, betting on a jump in demand for hiking, skiing and camping gear in China. "Clearly there''s going to be more of a focus on domestic growth and consumption is one of the themes," said Lionel de Saint-Exupery, president and CEO of CDIB. "Consumption is still relatively robust, but we''re not just seeking average growth, we''re seeking hyper growth and that you can see in new categories." The biggest fly in the ointment, according to David Cogman, a principal focusing on China at consulting firm McKinsey & Co, is the lofty valuations for Chinese assets. Consumption and services companies listed in Shenzhen and Shanghai trade at about 30 times their earnings, compared with a multiple of 17 for similar companies trading in Hong Kong and about 20 for U.S.-listed companies, Thomson Reuters data shows. "At the end of the day, particularly if you''re a fund looking across multiple markets, your investment committees still have to think where to put the capital and that''s hard to do with the current numbers you see in China," he said. ($1 = 6.8583 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Elzio Barreto; Editing by Will Waterman) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/china-ma-inbound-idUSL4N1FN0XX'|'2017-02-20T06:00:00.000+02:00' +'2aaec40fd26fef40b0360d1a6d0e1a5905273038'|'Italian banks struggle to break free from soured debt cycle'|'Business 7:14am GMT Italian banks struggle to break free from soured debt cycle The skyline of Porta Nuova''s district is seen in Milan, northern Italy March 5, 2015. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini By Valentina Za - MILAN MILAN Italian banks are stuck in what stressed-debt experts call purgatory, still forced to pay a heavy price for their past sins despite loan data that suggests they are turning a corner. The rate at which loans are souring hit an eight-year low last year, but banks still face some 8 billion euros (6.74 billion pounds) a year in fresh writedowns, based on past rates at which already-soured loans have gone into outright default. Italy has 130 billion euros in unlikely-to-pay loans, where borrowers are in trouble but remain in business. As borrowers become insolvent, their loans are added to an existing mountain of debt known aptly as "sofferenze" or "suffering." Each time that happens, banks make heavy writedowns, wiping out profits, undermining their balance sheets and adding to the instability within the euro zone''s fourth-largest banking industry, which now has 200 billion euros in sofferenze. The only way to stop loans from ending up there is for banks to get borrowers back on track. "Unlikely-to-pay loans are like purgatory: to avoid plunging into the hell of bad loans you need to wash off your sins," said Katia Mariotti, associate partner of consultancy PwC, which calculated in an unpublished study that some 26 billion euros in unlikely-to-pay (UTP) loans turned into sofferenze in 2015. "UTP loans don''t go back to performing on their own. They must be actively managed, otherwise a very large share of them is bound to turn into bad debts." In the port city of Genoa, bankers have taken the hint. Guido Bastianini, chief executive of Genoa-based lender Banca Carige ( CRGI.MI ), has set to work to recover UTP loans as part of his pledge to cut the bank''s overall problem loans, which make up a third of its loan book. "It''s an absolutely exceptional and excessive number," he told analysts on Feb. 10. One of Carige''s unlikely-to-pay debts is a $420 million loan to family-owned shipper Gruppo Messina, which used the money to renew its fleet and order eight of the world''s largest container ships from South Korea''s Daewoo Shipbuilding from 2009 to 2012. The last of the bright-red vessels was delivered in 2015, in the middle of the shipping industry''s worst slump on record as international trade slows and freight rates fall. Messina is restructuring its debts and hopes the world''s second-largest container line, Mediterranean Shipping Company, will become a shareholder. This is also Carige''s best chance of getting its money back. MSC said it and Messina were pursuing an agreement with the help of the bank. All three declined further comment. GOING SOUR When UTP loans cannot be nursed back to health they can be extinguished in two ways: sale or foreclosure. If sold, the bank incurs a huge loss because the loans are currently valued well above their market price. For example, Italy''s largest lender, UniCredit ( CRDI.MI ), is selling bad loans in the country''s biggest such deal at just 13 cents to the euro. That compares with an average net book value for UTP loans of around 72 cents to the euro -- and 41 cents to the euro for defaulted loans. Foreclosure, or seizing collateral, is a long process that would "kill" the borrower and also not recover the entire loan. The best cure normally entails both a debt and a corporate restructuring, a complex process that becomes a big challenge if the borrower is a small company, like most Italian firms, and its counterpart a loan official at a local bank branch. Timely action is key. Prelios Credit Servicing CEO Riccardo Serrini, a stressed debt specialist, said most UTP loans were corporate with property pledged as collateral. "As time passes things only get worse. Think of a half finished property development: it''s not like Barolo (wine), ageing doesn''t do it any good," Serrini said. The PwC study, based on 2015 data, found that 56 percent of UTP loans at Italy''s top 20 banks were still such after a year, while 22 percent became insolvent and 18 percent was either collected or returned to be performing. MIGRATION HURTS PROFITS The migration of UTP loans into sofferenze is the main driver of fresh loan writedowns, said Victor Massiah, chief executive of Italy''s fifth-largest lender, UBI Banca. UBI said its inflows of problematic loans were down 70 percent from a 2012 high, but the rate at which UTP loans turned into sofferenze was still at a peak and would start declining only from this year. "This is true for the whole system from what I see," Massiah said after UBI posted a 2016 loss of 830 million euros due to loan writedowns. Broker Equita expects UBI''s UTP migration rate to fall only slightly to 22 percent this year from an average of 24 percent in 2013-2015. European Central Bank supervisors wants Italian lenders to cut overall problem loans, which make up nearly 18 percent of their total lending, and have unlikely-to-pay debt firmly in their sights, in some cases pushing for higher coverage ratios, banks say. Italian banks booked 107 billion euros in loan writedowns in 2012-2015. The top six banks alone booked another 24 billion euros just last year. For a graphic on Italian banks and their debt burden, click here (Reporting by Valentina Za; Editing by Mark Bendeich and Keith Weir) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-italy-banks-loans-analysis-idUKKBN1610LX'|'2017-02-22T14:14:00.000+02:00' +'cd2cb85c48d0065398e2aa49a0752ad744d87643'|'Greek debt: will EU and IMF finally offer light at the end of the tunnel? - Business'|'Knocked off the front pages by Brexit and Donald Trump, Greece is back on the agenda. The countrys two most important creditors will meet in Berlin on Wednesday when the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, hosts the head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde .It could be a fateful meeting. Europe and the IMF have been at loggerheads for months over whether Greece will ever be able to repay its debts a disagreement that has stopped the Washington-based fund from signing up to a 86bn-bailout programme crafted by EU leaders in July 2015 . Merkel and other European leaders, who face elections, are anxious to bring the IMF on board, to persuade sceptical voters the bailout is credible.Now signs of a compromise are emerging. This week eurozone leaders echoed the IMF in talking of the end of austerity, increasing the chances the fund will join the Greek bailout. Pierre Moscovici, the European commissioner for economic affairs, reported that 19 finance ministers of the single currency agreed that the Greek people needed to see light at the end of the tunnel of austerity. Greece standoff over 86bn bailout eases after Brussels deal Read more But while the bailout chiefs are poised to agree on a route map, the journey for the Greek people seems no less long and arduous. The crux of the dispute between the IMF and EU is a European demand for Greece to maintain a budget surplus of 3.5% for a decade from 2018, a feat few governments in the world have managed, much less one in a country with a 23% unemployment rate.The IMF has been arguing for months that Greece cannot meet this target. Greece does not need more austerity at this time, two senior IMF officials wrote in a recent blog post , adding that the target for a primary budget surplus the gap between government income and spending, excluding interest payments and national debt would generate a degree of austerity that could prevent the nascent recovery from taking hold.The EU maintains that the 3.5% target is achievable. But after a meeting of eurozone ministers on Monday, European creditors edged closer to the IMF view that more focus is needed on economic reforms, less on austerity. To deliver these deep reforms, all sides agreed that EU and IMF bailout inspectors will return to Athens soon to discuss an overhaul of Greeces tax and pension systems, as well as labour market reforms.In Athens commentators have been desperately trying to decode the Eurogroup agreement.It was not lost on many that what was being billed as an agreement to agree the key to allowing bailout auditors to finally return to Greece and resume stalled talks had been struck exactly two years to the day after a similar accord by the countrys leftist-led government. Then, the prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, had signed up to a temporary deal that allowed fiscal breathing space before embarking on six months of nail-biting negotiations that eventually led to Athens accepting the harshest terms attached to a bailout since the crisis began.Despite the change in tone and talk of a new policy mix the consensus was that Mondays agreement of common understanding amounted to much of the same with reforms becoming the new byword for further cuts. After vowing not to undertake more austerity, Tsipras fragile two-party coalition found itself on the back foot, accused across the board of crossing its own red lines. The government is trying to save its image claiming that the policy mix is supposedly changing, the Greek daily Ta Nea proclaimed from its front page. But the only thing it has achieved is the pre-legislation of harsh measures that the troika [European commission, European Central Bank and IMF] will approve when it returns.What we are seeing is a war of propaganda, a lot of doublespeak, Dimitris Tsiodras, spokesman of the centrist Potami party told the Guardian. The only thing that has been attained, in reality, is the return of the troika.How Tsipras will sell the concessions to his compatriots, including increasingly disillusioned members of his own Syriza party, will play a central role in whether Greece now plunges into renewed political turmoil. Addressing reporters, the government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos ratcheted up the rhetoric, calling on Germany to see sense now that all sides had made concessions.We expect the German finance ministry to take back its unreasonable demand for [Greece to achieve] primary surpluses of 3.5% for a decade and to adopt a more constructive stance so that a reduction of the Greek debt over the medium term can be agreed.Simon Tilford, deputy director of the Centre for European Reform, a thinktank, said he believed the IMF and eurozone would find a compromise, whereby the fund signed up to the 3.5% target for a limited period of time, as the price of stabilising the eurozone in an election year. My feeling is they will largely settle for a fig leaf. It will be made to look as if the pace of austerity has been eased, ie that the eurozone will agree that the size of the primary budget surplus will be reassessed at some specified point in the future.All we are going to see us another round of extend and pretend. He added that this would not do anything significant to alleviate the pressure we see on Greece.He pointed out that even a primary budget surplus of 1.5% (favoured by the IMF) would still mean ongoing austerity in Greece.The IMFs reforms may also prove politically difficult to sell to a population reeling from nearly eight years in the EUs bailout regime. One of the IMFs key demands is an overhaul of the Greek tax system to ensure more middle-class professionals pay their dues. More than 50% of Greek wage earners do not pay income tax, compared with 8% in the rest of the eurozone. But the low tax take partly reflects the economic collapse that has pushed down wages and squeezed people out of regular work.Reforming pensions, another IMF priority, may also run into trouble. The fund wants to rein in extremely generous Greek pensions that absorb 11% of national income. But Greek pensions have already been slashed since 2010, with 43% of pensioners living on 660 a month, compared with an average annual income of 20,000 for over-65s in other eurozone countries, according to government figures. Many Greek pensioners are also supporting unemployed children and grandchildren, as other benefits have been cut.With these politically tough reforms ahead, the light at the end of tunnel looks dim and distant. Greeks are facing ongoing austerity into the foreseeable future, Tilford says.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/feb/22/greek-debt-eu-imf-angela-merkel-christine-lagarde-austerity'|'2017-02-22T02:00:00.000+02:00' +'50ec1c57fa2993b09f12177a0e9d10f0ff813259'|'Exclusive: Odebrecht seeks faster Latin America plea deals to sell assets, sources say'|'By Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Tatiana Bautzer - SAO PAULO SAO PAULO Odebrecht SA wants to negotiate graft-related fines with several Latin American countries by June, which would help the Brazilian engineering conglomerate prevent upcoming elections across the region from slowing planned asset sales, two people familiar with the matter said.According to the sources, Odebrecht [ODBES.UL] could sell some 6.5 billion reais ($2.1 billion) in project stakes and operating licenses in the region and Angola by year-end. So far, it has sold about 5 billion reais in assets out of a total goal of 12 billion reais.The fate of the pending asset sales is increasingly dependent on how quickly governments decide penalties for Odebrecht, which admitted to paying bribes to win projects in recent years. Prosecutors from 10 Latin American countries last week formed a task force to share evidence on how the scheme operated.Several planned divestitures like Angola''s Catoca mining project and a 28 percent stake in Brazil''s Santo Antnio hydropower dam could be finalized later this year, the people said. Exiting Gasoducto Sur Peruano SA will take longer, they noted, following a decision by Peru''s government to seize the project and auction it off again.Settling plea deals in those countries as soon as possible is key to help Odebrecht mitigate reputational and political risks on the asset plan as elections loom across the region. Of the 10 countries investigating Odebrecht, eight will hold at least one congressional, regional or presidential ballot in the 18 months through December 2018.The scandal has sparked an upheaval in countries like Peru, where authorities are seeking the arrest of a former president, or in Colombia, where the company is being accused of financing the campaign of President Juan Manuel Santos.Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Panama, apart from home turf Brazil, also are investigating the Odebrecht scheme as are prosecutors from Portugal.Salvador, Brazil-based Odebrecht declined to comment. The people spoke under condition of anonymity, because of the sensitivity of the issue.Odebrecht is the largest of Brazilian engineering firms accused of colluding to overcharge Petrleo Brasileiro SA and other state firms for contracts, then using part of that to channel donations and bribes into Brazil''s former ruling Workers Party and domestic and international allies.CREDIT LINERapidly resolving legal obligations is also key for Odebrecht to win new projects and raise cash to reduce the group''s 76 billion reais in consolidated net debt.In December, Odebrecht and petrochemical subsidiary Braskem SA ( BRKM5.SA ) settled with Brazilian, U.S. and Swiss authorities a record fine of $3.5 billion. Odebrecht admitted to bribing officials in 12 countries, mostly Latin America, to help secure lucrative contracts.The quick settlement with authorities in those three countries enabled an Odebrecht-led group working on a subway project in Panama to clinch a $1.8 billion credit facility from two unnamed European banks, a third person briefed on the matter said.To weather fallout from the scandal and an economic slowdown throughout Latin America, Odebrecht has also cut costs and renegotiated obligations at some cash-strapped subsidiaries.According to the first person, talks with creditors to restructure oil drilling firm Odebrecht leo & Gs SA''s obligations could be concluded as early as next month.Other Odebrecht assets and projects that are for sale include Per''s Chaglla power dam, Colombia''s Ruta del Sol highway project, several subway and toll road licenses as well as a stake in Rio de Janeiro''s international Galeo airport.($1 = 3.0949 reais)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-odebrecht-restructuring-divestiture-e-idINKBN1611PO'|'2017-02-22T11:09:00.000+02:00' +'3463a307915e5536ce7375cac99fb0e4516c0f5a'|'World First closes FX options business'|'Financials - Wed Feb 1, 2017 - 7:09am EST World First closes FX options business LONDON Feb 1 Currency broker World First is closing its corporate options business, the company said on Wednesday, in a move that will affect up to 50 staff at the UK-based firm. World First cited changes in its business, which put more emphasis on areas such as automated electronic trading, where it has strong growth. (Reporting by John Geddie and Patrick Graham; Editing by David Goodman) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/worldfirst-options-cuts-idUSL5N1FM3GT'|'2017-02-01T19:09:00.000+02:00' +'5c573f82c2651264f9bccd4a898f16b132332606'|'UK factory costs balloon at record pace in Jan, growth slips - PMI'|' 42am GMT UK factory costs balloon at record pace in Jan, growth slips - PMI By Andy Bruce - LONDON, LONDON, Sterling''s fall since Britain voted to leave the European Union stoked the sharpest rise in factory costs on record last month but offered little boost to exports, tainting otherwise robust manufacturing growth at the start of 2017. Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers'' Index (PMI) edged down to 55.9 from December''s 2-1/2 year peak of 56.1, matching the consensus forecast in a Reuters poll. The survey out on Wednesday suggested Britain''s economy continues to expand at a solid rate after outpacing its rivals last year, with the PMI''s gauge of manufacturing output pointing to the fastest growth since May 2014. But it also drove home the view shared by Bank of England policymakers, who meet this week, that rising prices will soon put a brake on household spending, a key driver of the economy. Factories'' raw material costs rose at the fastest pace since PMI records began 25 years ago - fuelled by the pound''s near 20 percent drop against the dollar since June''s Brexit vote, as well as higher prices for steel and oil. In response, manufacturers raised the prices they charged for their goods at the fastest pace since April 2011. In previous months spiralling cost pressures had been matched with an improvement in export orders, but this faded in January''s PMI. Orders from abroad rose at the weakest rate since last May, before the Brexit vote. "With cost pressures increasingly feeding though to higher selling prices at factories, it looks inevitable that consumer price inflation will rise further in coming months," said Rob Dobson, senior economist at IHS Markit, which compiles the survey. "The question is whether increased cost ... pressure will act as a drag on manufacturing growth going forward." Dobson said manufacturers sounded relaxed about this, with optimism at an eight-month high. A recent survey from industry association EEF also showed manufacturers were confident about the year ahead, despite doubts about the economic outlook. "Taken alongside robust output growth, rising new order inflows and further job creation, all signs are pointing to a solid contribution to UK GDP from manufacturing during the opening quarter of 2017," Dobson said. Manufacturing accounts for around a tenth of British economic output, and recent strong manufacturing PMIs have not fully transferred into subsequent official growth statistics. ((Editing by Hugh Lawson)) and Volkswagen and '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-pmi-idUKKBN15G3VU'|'2017-02-01T16:38:00.000+02:00' +'8368bd6cf163e5ddebe18e397f517548a602ecd8'|'Lawsuit over TMZ''s naming of wrong rapper who cut off penis is dismissed'|'U.S. - 53pm EST Lawsuit over TMZ''s naming of wrong rapper who cut off penis is dismissed By Jonathan Stempel A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by a rapper affiliated with hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan who accused celebrity news website TMZ of defamation for reporting incorrectly that he attempted suicide by severing his penis and jumping off a second-floor balcony. Marques Andre Johnson, known as Andre Roxx, missed a one-year statute of limitations by waiting 23 months after TMZ''s story was published to sue, Chief Judge Leonard Stark of U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Delaware, ruled on Tuesday. Lawyers for Johnson did not immediately respond to requests for comment. TMZ is a unit of Warner Brothers Entertainment, which is owned by Time Warner Inc. Warner Brothers spokesman Paul McGuire declined to comment. The story in question arose from apparent confusion between Marques Andre Johnson, who was associated with Wu-Tang affiliate Killa Beez, and Andre Johnson, who performed as Christ Bearer and was associated with Wu-Tang affiliate Northstar. According to court papers, Christ Bearer''s suicide attempt was wrongly attributed in the April 16, 2014, story to the plaintiff, who was then serving a 16-month prison term in Pennsylvania. Marques Andre Johnson said the error soon "spread like wild fire" across other media such as CBS Corp''s CBS Radio, Gannett Co''s USA Today, Viacom Inc''s MTV and the New York Daily News. He said he was forced him to go into protective custody while in prison and his career was irreparably harmed, warranting damages. The complaint said TMZ fixed but did not retract its story, while other media did not correct their versions. Johnson said Delaware''s two-year statute of limitations should apply to his March 2016 complaint because his music was often showcased in the state, he had a "substantial" fan base in Delaware, and many defendants were incorporated there. But the judge said Pennsylvania''s one-year deadline to sue applied because Johnson, a Philadelphia resident, suffered the most significant harm in that state. "Plaintiff points to his special connections to Delaware - having a promoter, radio show, and concerts here - but they do not give Delaware a more significant relationship to his claims than the other states where he has lost fans and concert bookings," Stark wrote. Lawyers for CBS, Gannett, Viacom and the Daily News did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The case is Johnson v Warner Brothers Entertainment Inc et al, U.S. District Court, District of Delaware, No. 16-00185. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler) Next In U.S.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-lawsuit-tmz-rapper-idUSKBN15T2NO'|'2017-02-15T02:51:00.000+02:00' +'f963bead8ac07f029043f8a09bc38d894b720c4f'|'Oil sold out of tanker storage in Asia as market slowly tightens'|'Commodities - Thu Feb 23, 2017 - 8:59pm EST Oil sold out of tanker storage in Asia as market slowly tightens FILE PHOTO: Shipping vessels and oil tankers line up on the eastern coast of Singapore July 22, 2015. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo By Mark Tay - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Traders are selling oil held in tankers anchored off Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia in a sign that the production cut led by OPEC is starting to have the desired effect of drawing down bloated inventories. Yet in the short-term, the crude released from tankers will weigh on markets and possibly undermine OPEC''s goal of achieving a balanced market by mid-2017. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers outside the group, including Russia, announced late last year that they would cut output by almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half of 2017, looking to drain a glut that pulled down prices from over $100 per barrel in 2014 to around $56.50 currently LCOc1. "OPEC''s strategy is targeting inventories given the scale of the overhang, the market won''t rebalance in six months we expect an extension into (the second half of 2017)," said Energy Aspects analyst Virendra Chauhan. As OPEC''s cuts start to leave some demand unmet, a hefty 6.8 million barrels of crude has been taken out of tanker storage from Linggi, off Malaysia''s west coast, in February, shipping data in Thomson Reuters Eikon shows. An additional 4.1 million barrels and another 1.2 million barrels have been taken out of storage on tankers in Singaporean and Indonesian waters, the data shows. DANCING CONTANGO In the short-term, the flood of crude from floating storage will add to supplies coming into Asia from as far away as the Americas and Europe. In the longer-term, however, clearing oil out of inventories like tankers is part of OPEC''s goal to rebalance markets. "Inventories will continue to decline driven by the combination of production cuts and the strong demand growth," U.S. bank Goldman Sachs said this week in a note to clients, adding that it expected Brent prices to rise slightly in the second quarter, to $59 per barrel. Traders charter supertankers like Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC), in which they can store up to 2 million barrels of oil for extended periods of time, when a market situation known as contango is in place, with prices for later delivery higher than those for immediate dispatch. The January to June 2017 contango in the forward curve was almost $3 per barrel, compared to a June premium of under half a dollar now. With prices further out into 2018 and beyond even falling, the curve has fallen into what traders call backwardation, which makes it unattractive to store oil on chartered tankers. "Dancing contango is now not a profitable thing to do, so we''ve sold out," said one oil trading manager who, until recently, held crude stored in a tanker. He spoke on condition of anonymity due to the commercial sensitivity of the issue. (Reporting by Mark Tay; Editing by Henning Gloystein and Joseph Radford) Next In Commodities Iran says oil prices over $55 per barrel harmful for OPEC: Fars ISTANBUL Iran said on Thursday an increase in oil prices to more than $55 per barrel was not in the interest of OPEC as it would lead to a rise in output by non-OPEC producers, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-asia-oil-floating-storage-idUSKBN16307E'|'2017-02-24T08:59:00.000+02:00' +'c613b0fa78b53f165ee3549dbb4cb3d8bc050028'|'UPDATE 1-VimpelCom returns to growth as turnaround strategy progresses'|'Mon Feb 27, 2017 - 1:16am EST VimpelCom returns to growth as turnaround strategy progresses By Eric Auchard - BARCELONA BARCELONA Russian and emerging markets communications network operator VimpelCom Ltd ( VIP.O ) on Monday reported a return to growth in the final quarter of last year and posted solid progress in its 18-month-old turnaround strategy, including a six-fold dividend increase. For 2017, the company lifted its growth target for revenue, excluding acquisitions and disposals, to the low single digits as a percentage, compared with its prior outlook for flat to a low single digit. It also boosted its cash flow goal. Marking its determination to overhaul its telecoms business, VimpelCom said it plans to rebrand as VEON, the moniker it has adopted for the messaging app at the center of its strategy to become a major online player. In a measure of progress in reinventing itself as an Internet player, VimpelCom said it had struck its first three distribution partnerships with Vivendi SA''s ( VIV.PA ) Studio+, music streaming service Deezer SA ( DZR.PA ) and MasterCard Inc ( MA.N ). VEON is a new-model messaging app designed to compete with the likes of Facebook Inc''s ( FB.O ) WhatsApp and Rakuten Inc''s ( 4755.T ) Viber by offering free services to customers over its network without users incurring data charges as other apps do. VimpelCom aims to offer basic communication for free, while taking a cut of proceeds from partnerships with popular internet services it offers through its app, using data insights it can glean as a network operator. "We want to take this company from a telecom company to a tech company," VimpelCom Chief Executive Jean-Yves Charlier told Reuters in an interview ahead of the earnings results. "The group is in a very solid position as it moves into 2017," he added. The VEON messaging app was introduced in November in Italy and has been downloaded by nearly 1 million users since, Charlier said. It ranked among the top five social media apps in Italy in February, according to data by market research firm SimilarWeb. ( reut.rs/2lSQEZn ) The Amsterdam-based company is among the world''s 10 largest communications network operators with more than 200 million customers. VimpelCom, which operates in a dozen markets including Russia, Italy, Algeria, Pakistan and Bangladesh, aims to make a clean break from a corruption scandal in which it was accused of using shell companies and phoney contracts to funnel funds to a close relative of the president of Uzbekistan. A year ago, it paid $795 million to settle a U.S. and Dutch investigation into the scheme. Charlier, the former chief executive of SFR, Vivendi''s French telecom business before it was sold to Altice NV ( ATCA.AS ), joined in 2015 to undertake a house-cleaning, setting a strategy to first stabilize existing VimpelCom businesses before seeking to fuel faster growth with the internet. "The first stage for all of this is to regain credibility with investors and financial markets," he said. VimpelCom''s makeover is among the more radical reincarnations being considered by the world''s telecom industry, which is stuck in a rut of falling prices and tight regulation ( reut.rs/2mkvXXm ). EXPANDING SHAREHOLDER BASE VimpelCom said it aims to expand its free float to 45 percent of shares to draw more European investors in coming months. On Monday, it set out plans for a second listing on the Euronext exchange in Amsterdam besides its current Nasdaq listing. The larger float is the result of the decision by Norwegian emerging markets telecoms operator Telenor ASA ( TEL.OL ) to completely sell its one-time $2.5 billion investment in VimpelCom, following sharp disagreement over strategy ( reut.rs/2kYH742 ). Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman holds 48 percent of VimpelCom and is said to be fed up with the commodity-like trends of the telecoms business. VEON is developing partnerships with consumer and business brands to offer services integrated with its messaging app to mobile customers in frontier markets ranging from transport to retail to financial services. Studio+ produces original video programming series for mobile users, with episodes typically running 10 minutes. Deezer has expanded to offer music services in more than 180 countries with funding from Access Industries Inc, the family office of Ukrainian-born U.S. billionaire Len Blavatnik. For the fourth quarter, VimpelCom posted core earnings of $783 million while service revenue rose 3 percent across its dozen country markets, with strength in Pakistan and Ukraine offset by ongoing weakness in Algeria. VimpelCom generated $588 million of underlying equity-free cash flow in 2016 and raised its 2017 target to a range of $700 million to $800 million and to more than $1 billion for 2018, reflecting a return to stable growth and cost-cutting as it works to become a faster-moving data-driven company. Introducing a new dividend policy, VimpelCom said it would pay out 23 cents a share, including a 3.5 cent interim dividend paid in December and a final dividend of 19.5 cents to be paid in April. Three years earlier, it slashed its expected dividend to a token 3.5 cents from 80 cents. ( reut.rs/2leuT2c ) The VEON name change is subject to a shareholder vote at an extraordinary general meeting to be held on March 30. (Reporting by Eric Auchard; Additional reporting by Anthony Deutsch; Editing by Christopher Cushing) Up Next HKEX 2016 profit slides on weak trading volumes, cautious on outlook HONG KONG Hong Kong''s stock exchange operator said on Monday its 2016 net profit fell 27 percent due to a decline in fees generated by stocks and metals trading on the bourse as it struggled to match stellar volumes seen during 2015''s record rally.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-vimpelcom-results-idUSKBN1660J0'|'2017-02-27T13:14:00.000+02:00' +'01ce466176fa1bfc119a49eead3bbe6521f0e5e4'|'On the frontline of China''s spending revolution - small loans, big data'|'Business News 16pm GMT On the frontline of China''s spending revolution - small loans, big data left right Jiao Zhiwen, a sales agent, displays the platform of Home Credit Consumer Finance with an electronic device at a store in Tianjin, China, January 20, 2017. REUTERS/Matthew Miller 1/2 left right Ondrej Frydrych, chief executive officer of Home Credit China, poses during an interview in Tianjin, China, January 20, 2017. REUTERS/Matthew Miller 2/2 By Matthew Miller - TIANJIN, China TIANJIN, China In a mobile phone shop in Tianjin, northeast China, Jiao Zhiwen sells about 220,000 yuan ($32,000) in small loans each month, one of hundreds of thousands of loans agents helping to fund the country''s unprecedented consumer spending spree. Though seven in 10 customers have never financed a purchase before, most loans are processed in 25 minutes, with a basic ID check and proof of a bank account. Jiao''s store on a busy commercial road, among furniture and enamel factories, is on the frontline of a consumer finance revolution in a country with a fast-growing borrowing culture, a government keen to boost spending, but still no provision for personal bankruptcy. "They are factory workers, construction labourers and shop assistants," Jiao says of her clients. "They need to feel they should only dig a little money out of their pockets each month and not too much at one time." Jiao works for Home Credit China, among the handful of small-loans firms to receive national licenses over the last three years to offer modest, mostly high-interest, loans to bring China''s roughly 300 million under-banked adults into its $3.9 trillion consumer finance market. Beijing wants its high-saving population to have greater access to credit, so personal consumption can take over from industry and infrastructure spending as the key driver of growth. Zhang Xiao, 22, a student at Shanghai University, embodies the change in attitudes, taking a 500 yuan loan to buy clothes over the Lunar New Year holiday. "If, before, the price was quite high, I might just have chosen not to buy something. Now with this sort of loan I can buy first and only then have to think about paying the money back slowly." But in a country where credit records are scattered, most adults don''t have a borrowing history and collecting delinquent loans can be slow, the transition could usher in a wave of personal defaults. Mao Wanyuan, who helps supervise non-bank financial institutions at China''s banking regulator, told reporters in December that inclusive finance firms still lacked adequate experience to manage risk. For Home Credit and other nationally licensed consumer finance firms like Suning Consumer Finance Co, big data, as employed by Jiao on her tablet, is the answer - determining how much they can lend, to whom, and when. "The banks wouldn''t touch a lot of our clients," said Ondrej Frydrych, chief executive of Home Credit China, which is backed by Czech billionaire Petr Kellner''s investment firm PPF Group PPFGP.UL and has 145,000 point-of-sales (POS) operations in 312 cities. "Our choice is either we can play it safe, have low risk, and approve only people with a good record or people we think can repay - or be more inclusive." His bet is that as customers become wealthier, loans will become bigger and more profitable. For now, mobile phone loans are the industry''s big mover Home Credit finances 8 percent of all Apple iPhones sold in China. MANAGING RISK Judging by developments in emerging markets like Brazil and India, there are big risks in small loans. John Chen, China managing director for credit rating services firm FICO, says lenders need to use "alternative data", from mobile phone charges to travel bookings, to compensate for the lack of credit bureau coverage. Home Credit uses a scoring engine based on items from the predictable disposable income and age of the borrower, to the shop''s own history of bad credit to determine risk levels. It also checks with the central bank''s own credit database to ensure applicants haven''t previously defaulted. Home Credit chases delinquent borrowers through three call centres employing 5,000 people, before handing them over to collection agencies. It also maintains a 20-person anti-fraud unit. At Suning Consumer Finance Co - backed by home appliances retailer Suning Commerce Group ( 002024.SZ ), Bank of Nanjing Co ( 601099.SS ) and BNP Paribas Personal Finance - a spate of frauds when the firm launched 21 months ago led to a tighter customer verification system, said general manager Chen Ming. Suning''s system now uses facial recognition, real-name and bank-card authentication software, alongside online consumer information from its shopping website to verify applicant identities and then track loans after they''re issued. So far, the volume of bad loans has been limited, averaging 4.1 percent at the end of September for licensed firms. Home Credit says its "loss of sales" fell below 4 percent in November for POS loans, and slightly higher for cash loans. But industry executives expect the figures to deteriorate at all firms as portfolios mature and coverage widens. Consumer finance firms started receiving China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) licenses only in 2010 and still account for less than 1 percent of the total personal lending offered by commercial banks, petty loan companies, and online platforms. Nationwide, total outstanding consumer lending in 2016 reached 26.76 trillion yuan (3.13 trillion pounds), up 282.5 percent on 2011, according to Euromonitor International, which is forecasting it could reach 35 trillion yuan by 2021. "People''s ideas about borrowing are changing," says Jiao in Tianjin. "A customer borrowing a few thousand yuan today may return later for a bigger cash loan." (Reporting By Matthew Miller; Editing by Clara Ferreira Marques and Will Waterman) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-finance-consumers-idUKKBN15T32D'|'2017-02-15T06:16:00.000+02:00' +'c7fb25cfb8773bbfb9a41be6fe1dc253305c7981'|'Tesco tests waters in Pakistan with Alpha Supermarkets tie-up'|'ISLAMABAD Britain''s biggest retailer Tesco ( TSCO.L ) will stock its products at a Pakistani supermarket chain, a Tesco official said on Thursday, dipping its toes in a country of nearly 200 million with rising consumer spending and a growing middle class.Tesco has been expanding rapidly in emerging markets to bolster sluggish growth in western Europe and is among a growing band of companies attracted by Pakistan''s fast-growing consumer market, encouraged by the highest economic growth since 2008 and improved security."We have agreed on a wholesale partnership with Alpha Supermarkets in Pakistan, under which Tesco products will be stocked at two of its stores," Jared Lebel, head of new market development at Tesco, told Reuters.He said that Limestone Private Limited, which owns the Alpha Superstores chain, planned to open 50 smaller express stores and four Alpha stores stocking Tesco products within the next three years."We are excited about Pakistan as a market," Lebel said. "A big factor in coming to Pakistan is rising consumer spending."A spokesman for Tesco in London said: "We''re looking forward to seeing how customers respond."Fauzia Khuhro, head of business development at Limestone, told Reuters that Tesco products would hit its shelves in about 10 days."Alpha Supermarkets will be the only retailer in Pakistan that stocks Tesco private-label products," Khuhro said. "We will offer a complete range of Tesco product categories, from food and non-food items to frozen and fresh foods."Tesco''s partnership with Alpha Supermarkets was announced by British High Commissioner Thomas Drew and Limestone at a press briefing in Karachi on Tuesday.(Additional reporting by Alistair Smout in London; Editing by David Goodman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-tesco-idUSKBN15V1DI'|'2017-02-16T14:45:00.000+02:00' +'28a8bb74eb1f4aeb425f227ecf8ed8f5eb434b4f'|'Direct Line sees less impact from personal injury rate change, shares up'|'Business News - Mon Feb 20, 2017 - 9:45am GMT Direct Line sees less impact from personal injury rate change, shares up A photo illustration shows insurance renewal notices from Direct Line in London October 10, 2012. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett By Simon Jessop and Carolyn Cohn - LONDON LONDON British motor insurer Direct Line ( DLGD.L ) said on Monday new rules to determine lump-sum payouts for personal injury claims would have less impact than previously estimated because it had already started to factor in a change, boosting its shares. A government review into the so-called Ogden Rate is due to be released soon, and most analysts expect the level to fall from its current maximum 2.5 percent, in place since 2001, given a slide in real interest rates since then. Any downwards move in the rate would require insurers to pay out more in cash to claimants now to ensure that returns over their lifetime met the awarded compensation, a potential hit to motor insurers'' profitability. Given its potential importance to the firm''s financial outlook, Direct Line said it had decided to delay the release of its preliminary 2016 results by a week to March 7. Direct Line said it was already applying a rate of 1.5 percent when calculating its personal injury claims liabilities, which could mitigate the impact of any downward revision of the Ogden Rate. Direct Line said in its 2015 results that a 100 basis point increase or decrease in the rate would impact pretax profit by 131.9 million pounds. It said on Monday the impact would now be "materially lower," without giving a figure. "These sensitivities have reduced over time as claims have been paid and reserves released, and as the Group''s lower reinsurance retention has reduced its net exposure on new business," it said. The company also said it continued to expect to meet its targeted combined operating ratio towards the lower end of a 93 percent to 95 percent range for the year ended December 2016. A level below 100 percent indicates an underwriting profit. In response to the statement, shares in Direct Line were up 2.6 percent, among the top gainers in a flat FTSE 100 .FTSE . "We had been perplexed over the volatility of the Direct Line share price these past few months, seemingly reflecting concerns in the market over the implications of any change to the Ogden discount rate," said Shore Capital analyst Eamonn Flanagan. "This statement should allay those fears, in our view, and hence dampen this volatility." (Reporting by Simon Jessop; Editing by Mark Potter) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-direct-line-ins-results-delay-idUKKBN15Z0V8'|'2017-02-20T16:45:00.000+02:00' +'4df6c808cbd02208519032b5ed7e6baa8e6383ce'|'TREASURIES-Yields jump on surging consumer price inflation'|'(Adds details on data, Quote: s, updates prices) * Consumer prices post largest gain in 4 years * Chances of Fed rate increase in March seen increasing * Goldman, JPMorgan bring forward hike expectations By Karen Brettell NEW YORK, Feb 15 Benchmark U.S. Treasury yields rose to 2-1/2-week highs on Wednesday after data showing surging consumer price inflation in January bolstered expectations that the Federal Reserve is closer to raising interest rates. The Labor Department said its Consumer Price Index jumped 0.6 percent last month after gaining 0.3 percent in December. January''s increase in the CPI was the largest since February 2013. "CPI was much higher than expected, both the headline itself as well as the core number," said Mary Ann Hurley, vice president in fixed income trading at D.A. Davidson in Seattle. Data from the Commerce Department showed that retail sales rose 0.4 percent last month as households bought electronics and a range of other goods. Benchmark 10-year notes were last down 11/32 in price to yield 2.51 percent. Those yields earlier rose as high as 2.52 percent, the highest since Jan. 27. "The 10-year over 2.50 (percent) directed some buying and there were some unwinds of some cross-market trades that were going on," said Tom Tucci, head of Treasuries trading at CIBC in New York. Much of the inflation increase in the CPI data was attributable to a jump in gas prices, which may not prove sustainable, Tucci said. Wednesday''s data came after Fed Chair Janet Yellen adopted a more hawkish tone than expected during testimony to lawmakers in Washington on Tuesday, which raised expectations that the U.S. central bank will hike interest rates in the coming months. "She definitely seemed to indicate that there were rate hikes coming, and more than one coming," Hurley said. Traders are pricing in a 27 percent chance of a rate increase at the Fed''s March meeting, up from 13 percent on Monday, according to the CME Group''s FedWatch Tool. Goldman Sachs on Wednesday raised its expectations that the Fed will hike rates in the first half of 2017, and J.P. Morgan brought forward its forecast of the next rate increase to May. Wage growth data in February''s jobs report, which will be released a week and a half before the Fed''s March meeting, will likely be crucial in deciding whether the U.S. central bank can hikes rates that month. "The wage component of the jobs number will be highly scrutinized for the potential for the Fed to move," said Tucci. Treasury prices rallied earlier this month after January''s jobs report showed disappointing wage growth. (Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Jeffrey Benkoe)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-bonds-idINL1N1G01PW'|'2017-02-15T16:54:00.000+02:00' +'78a051cebc369e46fed57b58f08f8f736f58fbec'|'Europe without Merkel? Investors think through another ''surprise'''|'Business News - Fri Feb 3, 2017 - 10:20am EST Europe without Merkel? Investors think through another ''surprise'' FILE PHOTO: German Chancellor Angela Merkel addresses the media at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, January 18, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo By Marc Jones and Paul Carrel - LONDON/BERLIN LONDON/BERLIN A serious challenger to German Chancellor Angela Merkel is forcing global investors to parse another potential electoral surprise - removal of a key political constant through years of euro zone turbulence but also an end to Europe''s austerity bias. Martin Schulz''s appointment as the Social Democrats'' (SPD) candidate to run against Merkel has energized Germany''s September election race and those in his party daring to think they could unseat her. He remains the underdog, but polls show him pulling closer by the day. One published on Thursday gave just a six point gap between Merkel''s alliance and the SPD. It said Schulz far outstripped her in one-on-one popularity. That is an unnerving prospect for some investors now accustomed to Merkel''s generally steady handling of Europe''s rolling crises that has contributed to triple-digit gains from German stocks .GDAXI to Portuguese bonds. PT10YT=TWEB Just a few weeks ago, Larry Fink, head of the world''s biggest asset manager BlackRock, praised "the moral leadership Chancellor Merkel and Germany have played in an increasingly discordant world," adding that he hoped it would continue. Schulz, a former European Parliament president, though, is looking to shake things up. Having seen his party wither during its time as the junior partner in a ''grand coalition'' with Merkel''s conservative alliance, he is vowing to fight for fairer tax rules, higher wages, better education and to overcome the "deep divisions" that have fueled populism. Financial markets will see that as a nod to loosening the fiscal purse strings - no problem for a major economy with a large surplus and probably good for European stocks, although not so great for bonds if it fuels inflation. One lesson for investors from 2016 was that political shocks from the U.S. election of Donald Trump and Britain''s vote to leave the EU did not crash markets. In part that''s because growth-friendly fiscal policies have come to the fore, away from an over-reliance on maxed out monetary policy. A change in Germany could also help ease international strains about its budget and trade surpluses that surfaced again this week when Donald Trump''s trade advisor lashed out at the boost German exporters gets from a "grossly undervalued" euro. Another question for international investors will be what happens to Wolfgang Schaeuble''s tough stance on financial aid for Greece if the veteran finance minister is replaced. They will want to know if Schulz could end the push for austerity in Europe and take aim at the European Central Bank''s money printing program and the sub-zero interest rates that have been crushing German savers. "If you read between the lines, the Merkel administration has been very supportive of the ECB''s actions," said Tim Barker, Head of Credit at Old Mutual Global Investors. "Were she not to be in power, would that support remain? We don''t know the answer." EUROPEAN DNA Schulz is unsurprisingly pro European. He told Der Spiegel magazine in 2012 the introduction of common ''euro bonds'' across the single currency bloc would be the best way to reduce the interest burden on indebted countries in the south, though he said this was "a theoretical debate" as northern countries didn''t want them. Greek, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese bonds have all been underperforming this year on nervousness about ECB policy and rising anti-euro sentiment several countries including France. JP Morgan Asset Management''s Tilmann Galler said with "European DNA running through his political career," Schulz might be the antidote. Any rally could easily reverse if it opened the government borrowing spigot again in peripheral euro zone countries. "All things being equal austerity equals fiscal discipline, so if you reverse that, does that open the floodgates of supply?" said Old Mutual''s Barker. "You have to reassess you starting point for valuation. It could potentially be quite damaging." The euro could swing too if Germany does start spending. The government has faced international pressure for years - including from the IMF and OECD - to boost economic demand at home to balance its exports. It had a record trade surplus of almost a quarter of a trillion euros ($264.10 billion) last year. POSSIBLE ALLIANCES Despite the SPD''s excitement about Schulz, his chances of toppling Merkel are still seen as slim. Though popularity polls have him pulling neck-and-neck, or even beating Merkel, personal ratings don''t necessarily count for much as Germany does not have a presidential-style system. A more significant measure of party support still shows Merkel''s conservatives ahead on 34 percent, with the SPD trailing on 28 percent. The gap means that to clinch power, Schulz would need to team up with two smaller parties - the environmentalist Greens and the leftist Linke - exploratory talks have been held. The prospect of a heavily left alliance is already alarming some conservatives, even if it is a long shot. "It would endanger everything we have achieved," said Michael Frieser, a member of parliament for the Christian Social Union (CSU), Merkel''s conservative Bavarian allies. For market players the unknowns all breed caution. If Schulz became chancellor and signals a spending drive, German Bunds are likely to underperform their euro zone peers said JP Morgan AM''s Galler, though the bond market selling would broaden if the ECB makes a quick move to wind down its aid. The uncertainty is already being reflected in currency options markets. Traders have been taking out some bets on euro volatility EUR6MO= EUR9MO= around the Sept. 24 election, although that is also when analysts expect the ECB to announce the next scale down in its bond buying. Analysts in UBS''s Chief Investment Office expect the euro to be at $1.20 in 12 months time once the dust has settled though it could be a bumpy ride if Schulz does win. "It would be an enormous shock to markets and the political order of the eurozone," said Sassan Ghahramani, CEO of U.S.-based SGH Macro Advisors which advises hedge funds. (Additional reporting by Holger Hansen in Berlin, Edward Taylor in Frankfurt, John Geddie in London, Graphic by Vikram Subheder; editing by Anna Willard) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-election-markets-analysis-idUSKBN15I22F'|'2017-02-03T22:20:00.000+02:00' +'f6dbf700a3483b10db902bd6bb04cdaebf597429'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX falls the most in 3 weeks as resource shares slide'|'Company 06pm EST CANADA STOCKS-TSX falls the most in 3 weeks as resource shares slide TORONTO Feb 22 Canada''s main stock index fell the most in three weeks on Wednesday, pulling back from a record high set the day before, as lower commodity prices weighed on shares of energy and materials companies. The Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index unofficially closed down 92.15 points, or 0.58 percent, at 15,830.22. Six of the index''s 10 main groups ended lower. (Reporting by Fergal Smith; editing by Diane Craft) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-close-idUSL1N1G71R6'|'2017-02-23T04:06:00.000+02:00' +'d391c038ba73813d9c72f298fd7a699272c4c6ca'|'German steel federation sees Chinese overcapacity persisting'|'Business News - Thu Feb 16, 2017 - 9:40am GMT German steel federation sees Chinese overcapacity persisting An employee works at a steel factory in Dalian, Liaoning Province, China, June 27, 2016. Picture taken June 27, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer DUESSELDORF, Germany The German steel federation expects Chinese overcapacity for steel production, which puts pressure on global prices, to persist in the coming years, its president said on Thursday. China''s overcapacity was 360 million tonnes last year and is likely to remain well above 300 million tonnes in 2020, Hans Juergen Kerkhoff told the Handelsblatt steel conference. Actual crude steel production in China last year was 808 million tonnes, accounting for half of global production, according to Worldsteel. Expectations of a pickup in construction activity and steel supply tightening in China, the world''s largest producer, have helped steel prices rally this year. Kerkhoff added that he did not rule out an increase in steel output from the United States, the world''s fourth-biggest producer, which kept production flat last year. He reiterated the German federation''s forecast for crude steel output to rise 1 percent in Germany this year, compared with a fall of 1 percent last year. (Reporting by Tom Kaeckenhoff; Writing by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Maria Sheahan) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-steel-idUKKBN15V10Y'|'2017-02-16T16:40:00.000+02:00' +'71f074877d6596e9de4963b380cab9e81fbdacfa'|'FCC chair to block implementation of stricter broadband privacy rules'|'U.S. 42pm EST FCC chair to block implementation of stricter broadband privacy rules File Photo: Ajit Pai speaks at a FCC Net Neutrality hearing in Washington February 26, 2015. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas WASHINGTON The new U.S. Federal Communications Commission chief will move to block broadband privacy rules, approved by the Obama administration, that subject broadband providers to stricter scrutiny than websites, a spokesman said on Friday, in a victory for internet providers like AT&T Inc, Comcast Corp and Verizon Communications Corp. The spokesman for FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said Pai believes all companies in the "online space should be subject to the same rules, and the federal government should not favor one set of companies over another." Pai plans by March 2 to delay the implementation of the rules which subject companies to stricter oversight than websites under Federal Trade Commission rules, the spokesman said. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Richard Chang) Next In U.S.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fcc-broadband-idUSKBN163222'|'2017-02-25T00:31:00.000+02:00' +'8a03120976d7475e9446f9043519b05b8997bfe8'|'Merck to halt study of mild to moderate Alzheimer''s drug'|'Health 07pm EST Merck to halt study of mild to moderate Alzheimer''s drug Merck & Co Inc said it would halt a late-stage trial of its drug in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer''s disease after an external panel pointed to a lack of effectiveness. The company''s shares were down 2.4 percent at $64.06 in after-market trading on Tuesday. Merck said the external data monitoring committee, which assessed overall benefit or risk of verubecestat, determined that there was "virtually no chance of finding a positive clinical effect". Patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer''s disease exhibit detectable and worsening impairment of cognitive and functional abilities. The company''s announcement comes nearly three months after Eli Lilly and Co said its Alzheimer''s treatment failed to slow declines in mental capacity of patients with even mild symptoms. Merck said that another late-stage study for the treatment of people with prodromal Alzheimer''s disease would continue and results from the study are expected by February 2019. Patients with prodromal Alzheimer''s disease have objective memory problems but relatively normal functioning in activities of daily living. (Reporting by Akankshita Mukhopadhyay in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel) Next In Health News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-alzheimers-merck-co-idUSKBN15T31M'|'2017-02-15T06:04:00.000+02:00' +'bbb9c0f1cee5e2449b3664be2cec5dc41c9d5f90'|'NBC buys stake in Euronews, names new president'|' 29pm GMT NBC buys stake in Euronews, names new president left right The NBC and Comcast logo are displayed on top of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, formerly known as the GE building, in midtown Manhattan in New York July 1, McDermid/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: Writer Noah Oppenheim poses at a screening of ''JACKIE'' as a part of AFI Fest in Los Angeles, California, U.S. November 14, 2016. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok 2/2 NBCUniversal, the U.S. media conglomerate owned by Comcast Corp ( CMCSA.O ), has made an investment in European broadcaster Euronews and named Noah Oppenheim as the president of NBC News, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Tuesday. Financial details of the investment were not disclosed in the memo. However, Reuters, citing sources, reported in November that NBC would buy a stake of between 15 percent and 30 percent. The investment will allow NBC to reach out to 277 million new households in 13 languages across Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Euronews was created in the wake of the 1990 Gulf War as a "European CNN" and used to be owned by a consortium of state-owned European channels before Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris took a 53 percent stake in the broadcaster. The memo said Oppenheim, the executive in charge of NBC''s morning show "Today", will replace Deborah Turness, president since 2013. Turness will be named as the first president of NBC News International. Both Oppenheim and Turness will report to NBC News Chairman Andy Lack. (Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee Maju Samuel) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-euronews-comcast-nbcuniversal-idUKKBN15T2ZL'|'2017-02-15T05:29:00.000+02:00' +'d6ab8786304579f73f8d5aa2f97812c362100ae6'|'UK supermarkets ration iceberg lettuce on supply crunch'|'LONDON British supermarkets are rationing shoppers to three iceberg lettuces per visit, blaming poor growing conditions in Spain for a shortage in supply.Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury''s have all imposed restrictions on bulk purchases after production in Spain was hit by crop damage from flooding late last year and compounded by cold weather last month.The limited supply of iceberg lettuces follows an ongoing shortage of courgettes in Britain. Broccoli and aubergines have also suffered from limited availability.Analysts noted that as the vegetables tend to be farmed in southern Europe on a quarterly cycle it is likely to remain a problem until the end of March."Due to bad weather conditions in Spain, we are experiencing some availability issues but are working with our suppliers to resolve them as quickly as possible," said a spokesman for Tesco, Britain''s biggest supermarket group."To make sure customers dont miss out, we are asking them to limit the number of iceberg lettuces they buy to three."Morrisons, Britain''s fourth-biggest supermarket chain, has also limited customers to three heads of broccoli and three iceberg lettuces.A spokesman for the grocer said that Morrisons'' availability of broccoli and iceberg lettuce is good."However, other businesses (such as cafes and restaurants) are experiencing shortages and we have seen some bulk buying in our stores. We have therefore had a cap on sales of broccoli and iceberg lettuce to ensure we maintain good supplies for our regular customers," he said.A spokeswoman for Sainsbury''s, Britain''s second-largest supermarket group, said it was working with suppliers to maintain supply but that customers would be prevented from making bulk purchases.No. 3 player Asda, the British arm of Wal-Mart, said that it had availability issues on a small number of salad items and vegetables such as courgettes and aubergines."Were doing everything we can to support our growers and get back up to full supply as quickly as possible," a spokesman said.Discounters Aldi [ALDIEI.UL] and Lidl [LIDUK.UL] both said they were not experiencing significant availability issues and have no need to ration.(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by David Goodman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-britain-food-shortages-idINKBN15I15F'|'2017-02-03T07:22:00.000+02:00' +'000c43c0ef75413b4a3186ec625177a49e538170'|'PRESS DIGEST- The New York Times business news - Feb 16'|'Feb 16 The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.- Union organizers fell far short on Wednesday in a bid to enlist workers at Boeing''s South Carolina facilities in what was widely viewed as an early test of labor''s strength in the Trump era. nyti.ms/2kV0SYp- The fast-food executive Andrew Puzder withdrew his nomination to be labor secretary on Wednesday as Republican senators turned sharply against him, the latest defeat for a White House besieged by infighting and struggling for traction even with a Republican-controlled Congress. nyti.ms/2kV7shy- Soon after Yahoo disclosed the first of two enormous data breaches that threatened to upend a $4.8 billion deal it had reached with Verizon Communications, the embattled company began to confront an unpleasant potential future. nyti.ms/2kV4KsD- Janet Yellen, the Federal Reserve chairwoman, sparred with House Republicans on Wednesday about the value of financial regulation and the effectiveness of monetary policy in a testy session that showed the gulf between the central bank and the conservatives who control Capitol Hill. nyti.ms/2kV7EgM (Compiled by Vishal Sridhar in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/press-digest-nyt-idINL4N1G12C7'|'2017-02-16T03:26:00.000+02:00' +'99389424d28393faa88088c4977ada30f9a5f7d6'|'Why is Trump backing off his China threats?'|'Why is Trump backing off his China threats? by Jethro Mullen @CNNMoney February 10, 2017: 9:20 AM ET America''s complicated, critical trade relations with China Well, that didn''t take long. Less than two months ago, Donald Trump rattled China by suggesting that the highly sensitive matter of American policy on Taiwan could be used as leverage to "make a deal" with Beijing on trade and other issues. Now he''s backed off , telling Chinese President Xi Jinping over the phone on Thursday that he''ll honor the "One China" policy that acknowledges Beijing''s claim that Taiwan is part of China. Trump portrayed himself during his campaign as a master negotiator who would take a tough line on China to get the U.S. a better deal with its biggest trading partner. But putting into play an issue that Beijing regards as non-negotiable doesn''t seem to have gotten him anywhere. "If you want to get something done in terms of economics and trade, you don''t overshadow it with an issue like that," said Alan Oxley, a former Australian trade negotiator. "It''ll be very political. There will be standoffs and no discussions." Trump had also threatened to label China a currency manipulator on his first day in office, a move that some experts feared could be the first step toward a trade war. He didn''t follow through on that threat either. "I would talk to them first," Trump told the Wall Street Journal in an interview shortly before he took office. Related: Trump didn''t go after China on Day One His willingness to pull back from some of his more extreme ideas has been welcomed by market watchers. The pledge to Xi on Taiwan "matters to investors because if China can bring about a change like this, it may succeed in softening other U.S. policy positions," said Paul Donovan, global chief economist at UBS Wealth Management. Trump has previously threatened to slap tariffs of as much as 45% on Chinese goods. If he follows through with that, the result could be a trade war that damages both economies . Related: Chinese president: No one can win a trade war Talking with China, rather than trading threats, could help Trump come away with some kind of deal on issues like import tariffs and currencies that he could tout as a victory. "I think from Beijing''s point of view, they are amenable to negotiations and even compromise on trade issues," said Willy Lam, a China expert at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. "But they are tougher on territorial issues." Chinese leaders shouldn''t relax too soon, however. "If China doesn''t compromise on currency and trade, Trump might change his mind," Lam warned. He suggested Trump could easily bring Taiwan back into play by enhancing contacts with its government. "It''s too early to say Trump has abandoned the ''One China'' card," he said. The U.S. president''s choices for key trade jobs in his administration indicate he could still take a hawkish line. His team includes Peter Navarro , an economist who directed a documentary titled: "Death By China: How America lost its manufacturing base" and Robert Lighthizer , who was part of a Reagan administration trade team that imposed protectionist measures. But if Trump does change course on Taiwan again, he''ll be playing a very risky game. "The ''One China'' policy is not a card on the bargaining table," said Paul Haenle, a former China director at the U.S. National Security Council. "It is the table itself." -- David McKenzie and Katie Hunt contributed to this report. CNNMoney (Hong Kong) 7:46 AM ET'|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/edition_business.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/10/news/economy/trump-china-taiwan-threats-trade/index.html'|'2017-02-10T19:46:00.000+02:00' +'ac4d72b09a07265b88cffe9fafd31f37c808dfe7'|'Deutsche Bank board member says staff not quitting over bonus cuts-paper'|'Business News - Sun Feb 26, 2017 - 7:29am EST Deutsche Bank board member says staff not quitting over bonus cuts-paper The head quarters of Germany''s Deutsche Bank are photographed early evening in Frankfurt, Germany, January 31, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT Bonus cuts at German flagship lender Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ), announced in January, have so far not led to a mass exodus of employees, one of its board members told a German weekly newspaper. "Fluctuation is normal and within the usual boundaries and was even lower in January compared to the previous year," Chief Administrative Officer Karl von Rohr told Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (FAS) when asked if the bank had lost staff. The cuts will see the bank''s bonus pool shrink by about 80 percent and hit about a quarter of Deutsche''s roughly 100,000 staff. Carmaker Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) on Friday announced major changes to executive pay with a cap on earnings, looking to quell widespread anger over bonuses paid even as the carmaker suffered record losses after the emissions scandal. Deutsche Bank, Germany''s flagship lender, posted a net loss of 1.9 billion euros ($2.01 billion) in the final quarter of 2016 as legal costs for past misdeeds weighed heavily on results. While Deutsche Bank has drawn a line under some major legal headaches, earmarking 4.7 billion of total litigation reserves of 7.6 billion euros for settlements such as over the sale of toxic mortgages and sham Russian trades, it is not yet out of the woods. About 20 large cases account for 90 percent of the bank''s legal provisions, von Rohr said, adding half of those had either been concluded already or were about to be completed. "The rest will hopefully be largely dealt with by the end of the year." (Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-deutsche-bank-bonuses-idUSKBN1650FP'|'2017-02-26T19:29:00.000+02:00' +'b5ff67a53da4cdc86ed7091eea43c1b18b788b43'|'Lundin Petroleum to spin off non-Norwegian assets'|' 8:02am GMT Lundin Petroleum to spin off non-Norwegian assets OSLO Swedish oil firm Lundin Petroleum ( LUPE.ST ) plans to spin off its assets outside of Norway in a separately listed company and will hand out shares in the new firm to its owners, it said in a statement on Monday. Separately the company''s Norwegian unit announced an oil discovery in the Arctic Barents Sea, while Lundin also set an output target for 2017 that was below forecasts in a Reuters poll of analysts. The assets that will be hived off, located in Malaysia, France and the Netherlands, will become part of the newly formed International Petroleum Corporation (IPC). "Given ongoing developments and successes with the company''s assets in Norway, the IPC Assets, held within a separate and independent entity, would benefit from enhanced strategic flexibility and management focus, as well as be ascribed increased focus, visibility, and value from investors," it said. The aim is to turn IPC into a leading international independent oil and gas company. "IPC has applied to the Toronto Stock Exchange to list its shares ... under the ticker IPCO, and also intends to list its shares on the NASDAQ Stockholm stock exchange," Lundin said. (Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Nerijus Adomaitis) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lundinpetroleum-divestiture-idUKKBN15S0PT'|'2017-02-13T15:02:00.000+02:00' +'b2687c2c77dd6b75e261cf48ef8ce52379890214'|'Genmab and J&J''s cancer drug set for blockbuster sales this year'|'Wed Feb 22, 2017 - 8:12pm GMT Genmab and J&J''s cancer drug set for blockbuster sales this year COPENHAGEN Danish biotech drugmaker Genmab ( GEN.CO ) expects sales of Darzalex, used to fight cancer in bone marrow, to surpass $1 billion this year to become a blockbuster drug, the company said on Wednesday. The strong performance of Darzalex, which is currently approved to treat multiple myeloma, prompted six upward revisions to the company''s revenue and operating profit guidance for its 2016 financial year. The $1 billion a year required to achieve blockbuster is now in sight, with net sales of Darzalex -- approved in November 2015 and is marketed by Johnson & Johnson (J&J)( JNJ.N ) -- expected to reach between $1.1 billion and $1.3 billion this year, up from $572 million in 2016, Genmab said. Analyst expectations, on average, are for Darzalex to generate as much as $1.18 billion in revenue this year and $2.53 billion by 2020, according to data from Thomson Reuters Cortellis. Shares in the Danish company have surged by more than 3,200 percent in the past five years as it has morphed from a cash-burning operation into a profitable business with actual drugs on the market. Genmab receives tiered royalties from J&J on its sales and expects to receive Darzalex royalties of between 930 million Danish crowns and 1,100 million crowns ($132 million-$156 million) and 800 million crowns in milestone payments this year. Operating income for 2016 came in at 1.1 billion crowns and is expected in the range of 900-1,100 million crowns in 2017. With a market capitalization of $12 billion, Genmab is Europe''s second-biggest biotech company behind Actelion ( ATLN.S ), although both still lag well behind the likes of U.S. groups Gilead ( GILD.O ), Amgen ( AMGN.O ) and Celgene. However, Genmab''s chief executive Jan van de Winkel believes that Darzalex has the potential to achieve peak annual sales as high as $13 billion if the drug is approved for a wider range of cancers. "It could work in other blood cancers as well as in solid tumors. So that means $13 billion potential if it would work in all the indications," van de Winkel told Reuters. He acknowledged that $13 billion would be the most rosy scenario but said that Darzalex could "definitely" achieve more than $9 billion. (Reporting by Stine Jacobsen; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and David Goodman) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-genmab-results-idUKKBN1612LL'|'2017-02-23T03:11:00.000+02:00' +'add1d1662df2678d34027349ec8382699a22e20a'|'Deutsche Boerse CEO says insider trading allegations will prove unfounded'|'Business News 02am EST Deutsche Boerse CEO says insider trading allegations will prove unfounded Carsten Kengeter, CEO of Deutsche Boerse talks to the media during the presentation of FinTec start-up facilities provided by Deutsche Boerse in Frankfurt, Germany, February 24, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT Deutsche Boerse ( DB1Gn.DE ) Chief Executive Carsten Kengeter said insider trading allegations against him would prove unfounded, given he had no role in determining the timing of his share purchases ahead of the announcement of merger plans with the London Stock Exchange ( LSE.L ). "We, Deutsche Boerse and myself, are fully cooperating with the public prosecutor. I am certain that, following detailed investigation, the allegations will turn out to be unfounded," Kengeter said at a news conference to discuss the exchange operator''s annual results. "When I purchased the shares using my own funds, I did not do so at a time of my own choosing. I did so between 1 and 21 December 2015 within a time-frame fixed by the Supervisory board," Kengeter said, adding that the shares were subject to a holding period until the end of 2019. Kengeter said the company was pursuing its merger with LSE and that he was engaged in a "constructive dialogue" with policymakers in Hesse, the German state where Deutsche Boerse is headquartered. (Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Maria Sheahan) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-deutsche-boerse-lse-kengeter-idUSKBN15V0X4'|'2017-02-16T16:02:00.000+02:00' +'fffe5fe7daf0ac816f67b529f512b319de26adde'|'Anglo American reports 25 percent rise in core earnings, to resume dividends'|' 7:20am GMT Anglo American reports 25 percent rise in core earnings, to resume dividends A cow is seen near the AngloAmerican sign board outside the Mogalakwena platinum mine in Mokopane , north-western part of South Africa , Limpopo province May 18, 2016. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo LONDON Anglo American ( AAL.L ) on Tuesday reported a 25 percent rise in annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and 34 percent fall in net debt and said it would resume dividend payments by the end of 2017. In late 2015 it announced it would suspend dividends after a commodities rout, which was followed by a rebound in raw materials prices in 2016. To shore up its balance sheet, Anglo had announced a major restructuring plan. On Tuesday it said it would retain its focus "on high-quality long-life assets" while asset sales for deleveraging were no longer necessary. (Reporting by Barbara Lewis and Sanjeeban Sarkar; editing by Jason Neely) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-anglo-results-idUKKBN1600LC'|'2017-02-21T14:20:00.000+02:00' +'ca3f741f6cc474b943dc7cc6d070869ddcbc8154'|'Shattered when the roof of my Hyundai fell in on me - Money'|'Impressed by the offer of a five-year warranty, we bought, in October 2012, a new Hyundai ix35. For no reason (good weather, no trees above) the sunroof spontaneously shattered. The noise was staggering, and I had glass raining down on me as I was driving at 30mph. My local Hyundai dealer, where we bought the car, was confident a repair would be covered by the warranty. The following day, the warranty team refused the repair and, instead, quoted us 1,700 to fix the roof. I escalated the matter to Hyundai UK and it only offered 280 as a goodwill gesture. Internet research reveals Hyundai has had past issues with shattering sunroofs in different markets, with some repaired under warranty and some refused it seems to be the luck of the dealer. Am I being unreasonable? JP, Tunbridge Wells We dont think you are being unreasonable at all, and this is yet another case of a car manufacturer failing to honour its warranty. You have told me the car was being driven on a quiet road with no other cars around, and not under anything. As you say, there are lots of other owners claiming that the same thing has happened to them in each case, like you, they report a gunshot-like sound and the whole thing shatters.In the US, Hyundai recalled 20,000 vehicles, and in 2015 was accused in a California federal court of doing nothing to protect or inform drivers of the possibility of panoramic sunroofs in certain models spontaneously shattering.Despite this, Hyundai has again told us that it will not pay for your roof. In its response it laughably claimed that it has fully inspected the roof even though it is in tiny shattered parts. We have photographs of the roof, but as all the glass has fallen in, there was no opportunity to identify an actual impact point. However, this vehicle has been visually inspected by the dealership and it has confirmed no manufacturing defect could be found. We are satisfied that, as with other cases, this was caused by an object striking the roof whilst the vehicle was moving, it said.Clearly this sunroof is not fit for purpose. I would write to the dealer who sold you the car to say you will bring a claim in the small claims court under the terms of the Consumer Rights Act. This may prompt a reasonable solution. If it doesnt, bring the claim.We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/feb/05/hyundai-roof-shattered-glass-warranty'|'2017-02-05T14:01:00.000+02:00' +'9539bbf2c4e8978bc0060ebcdbb19ca9809f1923'|'Coca-Cola forecasts drop in 2017 on refranchising costs -'|'Coca-Cola Co forecast a drop in full-year adjusted profit, hurt by higher costs for refranchising its bottling operations in North America.The world''s largest beverage maker''s shares were down 2 percent at $41.12 in premarket trading on Thursday.Coca-Cola has been offloading much of its bottling business to cope with falling demand for carbonated beverages in North America.The company said on Thursday it was on track to complete refranchising of its U.S. bottling operations by the end of this year.Charges related to the refranchising of its U.S. bottling operations look to be a more meaningful drag on the company''s full-year profit than analysts were expecting, brokerage Cowen & Co said in a note to clients on Thursday.The company forecast 2017 adjusted earnings to fall 1-4 percent from $1.91 per share in 2016. Analysts on average were expecting earnings of $1.97,Net income attributable to the company''s shareholders more than halved to $550 million, or 13 cents per share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, from $1.24 billion, or 28 cents per share, a year earlier.The quarter included a $919 million charge related to the refranchising of its bottling operations.Excluding items, the company earned 37 cents per share, in line with estimates.Net operating revenue fell about 6 percent to $9.41 billion, the seventh straight drop, but beat estimates of $9.13 billion, helped by higher sales of its sodas in North America, its biggest market.Volume in North America, including a 1 percent growth in sales of its carbonated sodas such as Sprite and Fanta.However, global volume sales for the company fell 1 quarter, hurt by high levels of inflation in certain Latin American countries.(Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/coca-cola-results-idINKBN15O1X0'|'2017-02-09T11:53:00.000+02:00' +'4b6059e3fe7e328db824e85fa900a0a2fdc8a079'|'UPDATE 1-Union at Chilean Escondida mine says strike is likely'|'Company 10:30am EST UPDATE 1-Union at Chilean Escondida mine says strike is likely (Recasts, adds quote and copper price) By Fabian Cambero and Gram Slattery SANTIAGO Feb 7 The main union at BHP Billiton Plc''s Escondida copper mine in Chile, the world''s largest, will probably go on strike as government-mediated negotiations with the company are not progressing well, a spokesman said on Tuesday. The two sides on Friday started a five-day government-mediated period of negotiations that effectively delays a work stoppage the Escondida Union No. 1 voted for last week. As no talks took place on Sunday, Wednesday will be the last day of the negotiations, which the union is legally required to attend, unless both parties agree to an extension. "Three days of government mediation, and we haven''t arrived at any agreement," union spokesman Carlos Allendes said. " ... It''s likely that on (Thursday) the ninth, we''ll have to make the strike effective on the ground, so we already have that prepared." A strike would halt production at the mine, Allendes added. In a news release late on Monday, the union said BHP had not committed to a benefits scheme that places new and old workers on equal footing. The union, which considers equality of benefits key to any agreement, added that it tried to discuss the issue with the company, which asked to put it off to the end of negotiations. BHP did not respond immediately to requests for comment. The possibility of a strike, which workers warn could be lengthy, has pushed up global copper prices in recent days. They stood at $5,833.50 per tonne at noon local time (1500 GMT), up from a morning low of $5,786 per tonne. Escondida produced 1.15 million tonnes of copper in 2015, about 6 percent of the world''s total. It is majority-controlled by BHP, with Rio Tinto and Japan''s JECO also holding stakes. (Reporting by Gram Slattery; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/chile-copper-escondida-idUSL1N1FS0ST'|'2017-02-07T22:30:00.000+02:00' +'864da34bfa8bca7016a524546a98e15b7b426b33'|'Sensex little changed; Idea Cellular, Bank of Baroda biggest drags'|'By Tanvi Mehta Indian shares were little changed on Monday with losses in financials such as Bank of Baroda Ltd and telecom company Idea Cellular Ltd outweighing gains in IT stocks.However, investor sentiment was upbeat as Asian shares ticked up on renewed optimism over U.S. President Trump''s tax reform plans and his change of tack to agree to honour the "one China" policy.Trump plans to announce the most ambitious tax reform plan since the Reagan era in the next few weeks, the White House said last week, sending stock prices and the dollar higher on hopes for a cut in corporate tax rates."Markets have been fairly strong after the budget and mid-caps have been doing well... Global mood is also helping boost sentiment (in India)," said Jayant Manglik, president, retail distribution, Religare Securities.The Nifty was down 0.03 percent at8,791.60 as of 0531 GMT, while the benchmark Sensex was 0.02 percent down at 28,319.As of Friday''s close, the Nifty had gained 2.7 percent since the budget on Feb. 1, rising in seven sessions out of the eight so far this month.IT stocks were the biggest contributors to the gains with the Nifty IT index, which fell about 7 percent in 2016, trading 0.41 percent higher. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd was up 0.8 percent, while Infosys Ltd was 0.7 percent higher.Banks were the biggest drags with the Nifty PSU bank index shedding as much as 2.7 percent. Bank of Baroda Ltd slumped as much as 8.9 percent in its biggest percentage loss since Nov. 21, 2016 after reporting a lower-than-expected quarterly profit on Friday.Among other losers, Idea Cellular fell as much as 5.6 percent in its biggest percentage decline in a month, after the company posted its first quarterly loss as a new rival forced carriers to cut prices in the highly competitive domestic market.(Reporting by Tanvi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/india-stocks-sensex-nifty-idINKBN15S0IL'|'2017-02-13T03:25:00.000+02:00' +'5d6c9e39e1399a65faf7d00c6f72c9194cc66e99'|'UPDATE 1-Chinese investors find their cash is losing its cachet'|'Company News - Tue Feb 21, 2017 - 5:36am EST UPDATE 1-Chinese investors find their cash is losing its cachet * Tight capital controls, deal scrutiny hurt investor confidence * Chinese firms struggle to close deals owing to lack of FX * Overseas direct investment dropping sharply * Sellers want Chinese buyers to provide proof of funds * Regulators will approve deals that make economic sense (Adds FX regulator comment in paragraph 8-9) By John Ruwitch and Dasha Afanasieva SHANGHAI/LONDON, Feb 21 For years, cash-rich Chinese investors have been highly sought after the world over. Now, their cash is losing its cachet. China''s increasing efforts to prevent capital from leaving the country are eroding the confidence of domestic and foreign investors about getting deals done inside and outside of the world''s second-biggest economy. Chinese bidders had become ubiquitous in deals in the past two years and were welcomed, said Severin Brizay, head of Europe, the Middle East and Africa mergers and acquisitions for the investment bank UBS. "Clients were asking if it would be possible to make sure they are involved. Now, we are seeing the reverse: some clients are asking if we can do it without Chinese bidders because of the domestic challenges they face," he said. Dealmakers said many Chinese firms are unable to close deals because they can not secure official permission to transfer yuan into foreign exchange. This follows a series of measures by authorities since late last year to tighten restrictions on capital outflows and rein in what officials have called "irrational" outbound investment. The Institute of International Finance estimated capital outflows surged to a record $725 billion last year and it expects even higher outflows this year. The yuan fell more than 6.5 percent last year against the dollar, its steepest decline since 1994, prompting the central bank to spend hundreds of billions of dollars in reserves to prevent the slide from turning into a slump. China''s foreign exchange regulator, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, said there were no restrictions on "genuine and compliant" international payments or transfers, and that it supported "healthy and orderly" overseas investment. "We have all along supported foreign investment by companies with the ability and the conditions to do so," it said in response to Reuters'' questions. IMPACT Still, the measures have had a dramatic impact, lawyers, bankers and analysts said. Overseas direct investment (ODI) by Chinese in December fell almost 40 percent from a year earlier to $8.41 billion, the lowest monthly level in 2016. In January, overseas property purchases by Chinese corporations plunged. Global stock index provider MSCI expressed concern about the capital outflow measures and China shelved plans for a new crude futures contract because potential foreign participants were worried they would not be able to take yuan profits out of the country. Chinese conglomerate and cinema chain operator Dalian Wanda''s proposed $1 billion purchase of U.S. entertainment group Dick Clark Productions Inc collapsed over problems getting currency out of China and regulatory approval, online website The Wrap said on Monday. In another case, a Chinese investor was unable to get permission from authorities to exchange yuan into $30 million to close a U.S. deal, a consultant involved in the project said. The planned $100 million investment in a U.S. residential property portfolio fell through. "Sellers nowadays will request certain proof," said Jeffrey Sun, a Shanghai-based partner at the legal practice of Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe. From the sellers side, the worry is justified. Still, while Chinese regulators are putting proposed deals under greater scrutiny, it does not mean they are shutting the door on outbound investment, lawyers said. Regulators will approve deals if they make economic sense, Sun said. For example, a steel manufacturer buying a soccer club "is unlikely" to be approved, he said. "FREAKED OUT" Fund managers that help Chinese invest abroad, such as China Orient Summit Capital, are changing tack. The firm had been raising money in China for funds to target U.S. and European real estate. It is now looking to raise money in offshore markets, an executive at the company said. China Orient Summit Capital declined a request for a formal interview. Companies are also looking to avoid the approval process for buying foreign exchange if they have access to funds outside of China, lawyers and bankers said. "Every deal at this point is looking for some way to identify offshore funds rather than deal with the capital controls," said an M&A lawyer in Shanghai, who declined to be identified. Chinese companies raised a record $111 billion in offshore dollar bonds in 2016, according to data from Dealogic, up from $88 billion in 2015. Some of those funds would have been earmarked for overseas investments, said Ivan Chung, associate managing director at Moodys ratings service. Chinese conglomerate HNA Group announced about $20 billion in outbound deals last year. Thomson Reuters data shows it raised at least $17.05 billion in loans abroad in 2016. Overall, China''s outbound investment hit a record last year but could have been much higher, said the Rhodium Group, a consultancy that tracks direct investment from China. It said a record 30 deals worth $74 billion and involving Chinese companies were cancelled in the United States and Europe in 2016. "Right now everybody is thoroughly freaked out by capital controls," Daniel Rosen, a Rhodium partner and adjunct professor at Columbia University, said. Still, on Vancouver''s upscale West Side, a neighborhood popular with foreign buyers where the price of homes runs in the millions of dollars, realtor Tom Gradecak was less worried about Chinese demand. In the past, Chinese investors have tended to find ways around capital controls, he said. "It won''t take them long," he said. "The people that really want to come here, I don''t think it''s going to stop them." (Reporting by John Ruwitch and Samuel Shen in SHANGHAI, Matt Miller in BEIJING, Dasha Afanasieva in LONDON, and Nicole Mordant in VANCOUVER; Editing by Neil Fullick) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/china-economy-idUSL4N1G62Y2'|'2017-02-21T17:36:00.000+02:00' +'03e139a06f87d2878fbc9b8cea0b80735fdd75ef'|'U.S. technology startups panic over immigration ban'|' 13pm GMT U.S. technology startups panic over immigration ban Demonstrators participate in a protest by the Yemeni community against U.S. President Donald Trump''s travel ban in the Brooklyn borough of New York, U.S., February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson By Heather Somerville and Kristina Cooke - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Silicon Valley venture capitalist Kate Mitchell said her startup companies have a message for their employees who are foreign nationals: Don''t travel outside the country right now. "Common sense would say, why take the risk?" said Mitchell, co-founder and partner at Scale Venture Partners. Silicon Valley draws on a global workforce. These young businesses depend on hiring quickly from every corner of the world, travelling globally to find customers and having access to Silicon Valley venture capitalists to raise funding. President Donald Trump issued an executive order a week ago that put a 120-day halt on the U.S. refugee program, barred Syrian refugees indefinitely and imposed a 90-day suspension on people from seven predominantly Muslim countries - Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. It triggered widespread protests, and the chilling effect has spread far beyond citizens of those nations. "Here and now, today, we have businesses that are stopping because their employees can''t travel in and out of the United States," said David Cowan, a partner at Silicon Valley firm Bessemer Venture Partners, one of the oldest top-tier venture practices. "This will be the No.1 cause of missed business plans in 2017." The immigration issue is still unfolding, but the broader and potentially more injurious effects could include a blow to the nation''s competitiveness in technology, hindering job growth and sending more capital overseas to the detriment of the American economy. The extent of the impact on startups is still unclear, but more than 15 venture capitalists and technology company founders described immediate concerns about the consequences of the travel ban. "I''ve never seen something impact the day-to-day thought process of CEOs so fast," said Neeraj Agrawal, general partner at Battery Ventures. CRISIS MODE IN SILICON VALLEY Immigrants have been behind many of Silicon Valley''s high-flying companies. More than half of all "unicorns" - or startups valued at $1 billion or more - have at least one immigrant founder, according to a 2016 study by the National Foundation for American Policy, a non-partisan think tank based in Arlington, Virginia. Since Trump''s order, some lawyers and venture capitalists have been in crisis mode, fielding inquires from concerned startup founders and their employees about travel and pending visa applications. Concerns stretch beyond the seven countries targeted by the order. "There is a panic in the startup community," said Bill Stock, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. "Startups are very concerned because of the unpredictability of the order." Startup founders often lead sales deals, globe-trotting to meet customers. The scrappy companies rarely have big human-resources departments or the ability of larger corporations to protect employees in immigration battles. Adil Aijaz, a Pakistani immigrant, is considering sending new hires of his software startup, Split, to Argentina, rather than the Silicon Valley headquarters. "I need to be able to hire the best and the brightest in the world," he said. "Any restriction on that, I''ll move the jobs over to Argentina." Cowan sits on the board of a cybersecurity company in Israel that has put the brakes on plans to move its headquarters to the United States because its employees are "from all sorts of countries," he said. A Pakistani founder has decided to start his artificial intelligence company outside the United States rather than incubate it with Bessemer in Silicon Valley, Cowan said. Some entrepreneurs funded by startup accelerator and venture fund 500 Startups have suspended plans to go to the United States, where their offices are. Some had returned to their home countries from the United States for the holiday season and are now unsure if they can get back in, according to a 500 Startups spokeswoman, who was informed of the situation. Amin Shokrollahi, founder and chief executive of Kandou, a semiconductor company, is rethinking his plans to open a U.S. design centre to employ at least 20 people. The Iranian-German dual citizen is based in Switzerland, and he and his Iranian colleagues cancelled plans to attend a trade show in Silicon Valley this week due to the travel ban. He was supposed to receive an award. ''GO TO HAWAII INSTEAD'' San Francisco-based immigration lawyer Gali Schaham Gordon said an early-stage startup founder emailed her Wednesday evening asking whether he should tell his foreign national employees not to travel, regardless of their nationality or immigration status. Gordon has been warning people who are identifiably Muslim or Middle Eastern against non-essential travel. "Now might be a good time to go to Hawaii on vacation instead," she said. The travel ban is already threatening the bottom line at Totango, a customer relationship software firm. The company is holding a conference in February in San Francisco. But on Monday, some attendees started backing out, said co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Guy Nirpaz. They cited the travel ban and asked for a refund. (Reporting By Heather Somerville and Kristina Cooke; editing by Peter Henderson and Cynthia Osterman) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-immigration-startups-idUKKBN15I1IE'|'2017-02-03T19:13:00.000+02:00' +'b1f68f2f2bf3b648e7bb8e467cb4fca010e8ca65'|'Primark owner AB Foods maintains earnings guidance'|'Business News - Mon Feb 27, 2017 - 7:20am GMT Primark owner AB Foods maintains earnings guidance The Primark logo can be seen on windows at Primark''s new Spanish flagship store in Madrid, Spain, October 15, 2015. REUTERS/Andrea Comas LONDON Associated British Foods ( ABF.L ) maintained its full-year earnings guidance on Monday, with sales growth at its Primark discount fashion retailer supported by better performances in its sugar, grocery and ingredients businesses. The firm said on Monday it still expected progress in adjusted operating profit and adjusted earnings per share in its 2016-17 year. AB Foods made adjusted operating profit of 1.12 billion pounds ($1.39 billion) in 2015-16, with adjusted earnings per share of 106.2 pence. For its half year to March 4 the group forecast "excellent progress" in adjusted operating profit and adjusted EPS. It said first-half sales at Primark were expected to be 11 percent ahead of last year at constant currency, driven by increased retail selling space, and 21 percent ahead at actual exchange rates. ($1 = 0.8057 pounds) (Reporting by James Davey; editing by Kate Holton) Next In Business News Exclusive - Wal-Mart launches new front in U.S. price war, targets Aldi in grocery aisle Wal-Mart Stores Inc is running a new price-comparison test in at least 1,200 U.S. stores and squeezing packaged goods suppliers in a bid to close a pricing gap with German-based discount grocery chain Aldi and other U.S. rivals like Kroger Co , according to four sources familiar with the moves.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ab-foods-outlook-idUKKBN1660P4'|'2017-02-27T14:20:00.000+02:00' +'3d8f219fda73d411e0c07292f0113f8576f8880c'|'Travel Trolley wanted 175 to correct a typo on my booking - Money'|'I booked flights from London to Sydney using the online agent Travel Trolley and, stupidly, put in a typo in my surname. I alerted it within five minutes and after a number of unhelpful phone calls (a rep told me to Google it when I asked how to complain about the service) it wanted 175 to amend my name on the booking. The official Air China policy on this is 80 and Travel Trolley is refusing to explain why it has added 95 on top of this when the tickets havent even been issued yet. When I asked to speak to a supervisor, I was told they were on leave for a week. This fee is a third of the price of the tickets and I will struggle to pay it. RM, LondonA couple of years ago a passenger changed his name by deed poll because it was cheaper than the fee to amend an error on his flight booking.While some airlines will make a change for free, others charge more than 200. A few insist you buy a new ticket and, as youve found, if you use a third-party travel agent theres yet another charge on top.Travel Trolley says the total is 110, not 175, and that 80 is levied by the airline and 30 to cover its own costs.And what are these costs? According to a spokesman, passengers who want to amend a name have to send a copy of their passport, which is verified and forwarded to the airline. The airlines trade support desk has to give permission for the change and has to establish the airlines charges.It may seem merely a name change, but the entire procedure consumes well over five minutes, he says.Five minutes? Money well earned.However, the fees are on the terms and conditions so it pays to make sure that you check and recheck all the information on a booking.If you need help email Anna Tims at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/feb/15/travel-trolley-charges-booking-error-typo'|'2017-02-15T02:00:00.000+02:00' +'6afba3b6d4fdb5cb9d6382b2a48fb3ec74b073c3'|'China targets green, branded food products as part of farm reform'|' 13am GMT China targets green, branded food products as part of farm reform FILE PHOTO: Farmers collect corn for a cargo at a farm in Gaocheng, Hebei province, China, September 30, 2015. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo By Dominique Patton and Ben Blanchard - BEIJING BEIJING China will promote high-quality, branded farm products as it reforms its agricultural sector to meet demand from a growing middle class and boost rural incomes, the government''s first policy statement of the year shows. Beijing is trying to modernize its sprawling farm sector, the world''s largest, and rebalance output away from basic grains towards foods such as meat, dairy and other value-added products increasingly in demand from its urbanizing population. But the policy document published late on Sunday suggested that local producers in the world''s second-largest economy are struggling to compete with imports because of high production costs and inventory. Known as the "number one document", the statement sets out Beijing''s priorities in rural policy for the year. It reiterated earlier plans to modify the crop structure, encouraging farmers to grow less grain corn and more soybeans, corn silage and alfalfa for livestock. Analysts said the document underlined the challenge facing the government as it seeks to boost farmers'' incomes and ensure food supply for China''s 1.5 billion people while preventing over-production of grains as the pace of demand growth slows. But they expressed disappointment that it didn''t include specific measures that would improve farmers'' incomes, which have fallen in recent years as living and farming costs have increased. "The document is significant, but effective implementation is the key," said Ma Wenfeng, analyst at Beijing Orient Agri-business Consultant Co Ltd. "Farmers'' incomes have fallen significantly in the past few years, the whole society is getting poorer and demand and consumption are down sharply." The government said it plans to promote new channels of demand for corn to help digest excess stocks, built up after years of buying from farmers to support their income. After abandoning the policy last year, it still has an estimated 200 million tonnes in warehouses, according to some estimates, much of poor quality. Meanwhile it will promote local and specialty products and geographical indications as well as organic products, with favourable taxes for start-ups in rural areas and innovation centres to support high quality produce. It will also encourage exports, and support companies to set up overseas production bases, particularly in countries that are part of its Silk Road initiative. Beijing will also make use of anti-dumping and other measures to protect its producers, said the document. It placed significant emphasis on making agriculture more environmentally sustainable, promoting major water-saving programs through technology such as drip irrigation, tackling overuse of pesticides and strict standards on handling manure as well as use of more technology such as large-scale biogas digesters. Reforms must however "ensure that grain production capacity is not reduced, the income of farmers is not reversed and rural stability is not a problem", added the document. (Additional reporting by Hallie Gu; Editing by Jason Neely and Ruth Pitchford) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-policy-agriculture-idUKKBN15L0BQ'|'2017-02-06T11:13:00.000+02:00' +'1623fb3684a256298de04fcfa23bf1f48580f0a2'|'Audi says reviewing provisions for dieselgate scandal'|'Wed Feb 1, 2017 - 8:37am GMT Audi says reviewing provisions for dieselgate scandal The logo of German car manufacturer Audi is seen at a building of a car dealer in Duebendorf, Switzerland November 22, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann MUNICH Audi ( NSUG.DE ) is reviewing whether it needs to put aside more provisions to cover the costs of a settlement in the United States over the dieselgate scandal. Parent group VW ( VOWG_p.DE ) has agreed to pay at least $1.26 billion to fix or buy back and compensate owners of about 80,000 polluting 3.0 liter diesel-engined vehicles -- and could be forced to pay more than $4 billion if regulators don''t approve fixes for all vehicles, court documents filed late Tuesday showed. "We are using the court documents to review what we still need to set aside for the annual accounts," a spokesman said on Wednesday, declining to provide further details. Audi has already set aside a total of 980 million euros ($1.06 billion) in provisions for the matter. Supplier Robert Bosch has separately agreed to pay $327.5 million, which it said did not reflect an admission of guilt. "After carefully weighing up all the factors, we decided to reach a settlement," Bosch CEO Volkmar Denner said in a statement. ($1 = 0.9270 euros) (Reporting by Irene Preisinger; Writing by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Christoph Steitz) Up Next VW, Robert Bosch agree to pay $1.6 billion to settle U.S. diesel claims WASHINGTON Volkswagen AG has agreed to pay at least $1.26 billion to fix or buy back and compensate owners of about 80,000 polluting 3.0 liter diesel-engined vehicles -- and could be forced to pay more than $4 billion if regulators don''t approve fixes for all vehicles, court documents filed late Tuesday showed.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-audi-idUKKBN15G3RX'|'2017-02-01T15:35:00.000+02:00' +'dff0c5ec19d208ad08d1c538a957f24d7cf05e30'|'Chuck E. Cheese hires banks to run sale process, IPO: sources'|'By Lauren Hirsch and Greg Roumeliotis The buyout firm that owns Chuck E. Cheese has hired investment banks to help it prepare for either a sale or initial public offering (IPO), people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.Irving, Texas-based Chuck E. Cheese''s private equity owner, Apollo Global Management LLC ( APO.N ), has hired Deutsche Bank AG ( DBKGn.DE ) and Credit Suisse Group AG ( CSGN.S ) to solicit acquisition bids for the company, the sources said this week.Apollo has also asked Jefferies LLC and Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) to prepare Chuck E. Cheese for an IPO, should the acquisition offers it receives come in at less than the $2 billion that it hopes the company will fetch, the people added.A decision on whether Chuck E. Cheese will be sold or go public is still several months away, according to the sources.The sources asked not to be named because the process is confidential. Spokespeople for Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, Jefferies, Morgan Stanley, Apollo and CEC Entertainment Inc [CEII.UL], the company that owns Chuck E. Cheese, declined to comment.Sitdown casual restaurants have struggled as consumers opt to eat at home and increasingly avoid the mall, where such restaurants are often located. The threat of a rising minimum wage has put further pressure on the sector.Still, "interactive" restaurants such as Chuck E. Cheese, which offers video games, bumper cars and play areas in addition to food, promise a distinctive dining experience.Its closest competitor, Dave & Buster''s Entertainment Inc ( PLAY.O ), saw comparable store sales increase nearly 6 percent in the third quarter of 2016 over the prior year, a slower rate of growth than the 8.8 percent achieved in 2015.Chuck E. Cheese was taken private by Apollo in 2014 for $1.3 billion, including debt. It has since sought to broaden its appeal beyond children and teenagers, expanding its alcohol offerings for adults.Chuck E. Cheese was founded in 1977 by Nolan Bushnell, the founder of video game company Atari and one of the first bosses of Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) founder Steve Jobs.The company and its franchisees now operate a system of 603 Chuck E. Cheese and 144 Peter Piper Pizza stores, with locations in 47 U.S. states and 11 other countries.(Reporting by Lauren Hirsch and Greg Roumeliotis in New York, editing by G Crosse)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-cec-entertainmnt-m-a-idINKBN15T354'|'2017-02-14T20:59:00.000+02:00' +'a74fce7b222c0f1fceed33794c8540ec246be283'|'Japan readies package for Trump to help create 700,000 U.S. jobs'|'Business News - Fri Feb 3, 2017 - 7:46am GMT Japan readies package for Trump to help create 700,000 U.S. jobs FILE PHOTO - Japan''s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks during a news conference at his official residence in Tokyo, Japan, October 6, 2015. REUTERS/Yuya Shino/File Photo TOKYO Japan is putting together a package it says would generate 700,000 U.S. jobs and help create a $450-billion market to present to President Donald Trump next week, government sources familiar with the plans said. The plans, to be unveiled when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits Trump on Feb. 10 in Washington, envisage investments in infrastructure projects such as high-speed trains and cybersecurity, said the sources, who declined to be identified as they are not authorized to speak to the media. Investing in overseas infrastructure projects dovetails with a key plank in Abes growth strategy, which is to export "high-quality" infrastructure technology. The government may tap its foreign exchange reserves account to fund the package, the sources said. (Reporting by Tokyo Newsroom; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-japan-idUKKBN15I0S2'|'2017-02-03T14:46:00.000+02:00' +'22e636b6d2d6d5c58d03b4c2e8ba6a6d9ac0df7e'|'Oi CEO says Brazil telecom reform not affecting reorganization plan'|'SAO PAULO Feb 14 Changes in Brazil''s telecom law currently under debate in the Senate are not being taken into account by debt-laden carrier Oi SA as it devises its in-court reorganization plan, Oi''s Chief Executive Marcos Schroeder said on Tuesday.Speaking at an industry event in Braslia, Schroeder said that the imminent reforms will have "no economic effect" on the company''s efforts to restructure about 65.4 billion reais ($21.1 billion) of bank debt, bonds and regulatory liabilities.($1 = 3.095 reais) (Reporting by Ana Mano)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/brazil-telecoms-idINE6N1DF021'|'2017-02-14T10:16:00.000+02:00' +'031c40f5d215e528644c775e9c66aa99a6d684f1'|'HNA Group takes just over 3 percent stake in Deutsche bank'|'Money 5:53pm IST HNA Group takes just over 3 percent stake in Deutsche bank The head quarters of Germany''s Deutsche Bank are photographed early evening in Frankfurt, Germany, January 31, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/Files FRANKFURT HNA Group has taken a stake of just over 3 percent in German flagship lender Deutsche Bank, a regulatory filing showed on Friday. HNA held 3.04 percent in Deutsche Bank via vehicle Hainan Jiaoguan Holding Co as of Feb. 15, according to the filing. (Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Harro ten Wolde) Next In Money News India may soon allow institutions to trade commodity futures - SEBI chief MUMBAI India could start allowing institutional investors to trade in its annual $1 trillion commodity futures market as soon as in a month, the head of the country''s capital markets regulator said on Friday, as the government targets deepening of the market. Full start of Reliance petchem will halt heavy exports NEW DELHI/SINGAPORE India''s Reliance Industries, owner of the world''s biggest refining complex, will halt heavy naphtha exports in 2017/18 after the full-scale start-up of its 2.2 million tonnes per year (tpy) paraxylene plant, four people with said. MUMBAI The RBI governor said it needs to look beyond recent muted headline inflation figures and focus on trends in core inflation, which excludes more volatile food and fuel prices. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/deutsche-bank-shareholders-hna-idINKBN15W18S'|'2017-02-17T19:23:00.000+02:00' +'8bdbaf6137662673a18d4656c00158437f8ae261'|'Brazil''s Vale approves dividend of 4.7 bln reais'|' 24am EST Brazil''s Vale approves dividend of 4.7 bln reais BRASILIA Feb 23 Brazilian miner Vale SA said on Thursday its board had approved that a dividend of 4.7 billion reais ($1.53 billion), or 0.91 reais per share, be paid to shareholders. The payment, if approved by the company''s general assembly, will be paid from April 28. ($1 = 3.0630 reais) (Reporting by Stephen Eisenhammer. Editing by Jane Merriman) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/vale-sa-dividend-idUSE5N19901T'|'2017-02-23T16:24:00.000+02:00' +'e66f992cfdf847e03d8c46cc57284cfc20189ca6'|'BRIEF-MuleSoft Inc files for IPO of its Class A common stock of up to $100 mln'|'Feb 17 (Reuters) -* Mulesoft Inc files for IPO of its Class A common stock of up to $100 million - SEC filing* Mulesoft Inc - Intend to apply to list its IPO on NYSE under the symbol "MULE"* Mulesoft Inc - Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and BofA Merrill Lynch are among underwriters to IPO Source text: bit.ly/2l3gvwW'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/brief-mulesoft-inc-files-for-ipo-of-its-idINFWN1G20TT'|'2017-02-17T19:35:00.000+02:00' +'5d518d243057b46b13d65573e38b79e06b429cc2'|'Barratt''s first-half profits rise but builds fewer homes'|'Business 7:17am GMT Barratt''s first-half profits rise but builds fewer homes A sold sign hangs on a new house on a Barratt Homes building site in Nuneaton, Britain, March 20, 2014. REUTERS/Darren Staples/Files LONDON Britain''s biggest housebuilder Barratt ( BDEV.L ) posted a 9 percent rise in first-half pretax profit but built fewer homes, in a move which could harm government efforts to boost supply to tackle a growing housing crisis. Barratt, which reported profit of 321 million pounds ($400 million) in the six months to end-December, had previously said it might built fewer homes this financial year despite continuing strong demand and a record forward order book. "Whilst we have increased volumes across the UK by 55 percent in the last five financial years, we have maintained our commitment to build quality and customer service," Chief Executive David Thomas said after completions fell 6 percent. Smaller rival Bovis ( BVS.L ) said on Monday it would spend an extra 7 million pounds to fix work on some of its properties after a backlash from some buyers who have criticised it for substandard building work. ($1 = 0.8004 pounds) (Reporting by Costas Pitas, Editing by Paul Sandle) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-barratt-results-idUKKBN1610MO'|'2017-02-22T14:17:00.000+02:00' +'0764fe5613bcea0b6f530f2bff7514a949d69d16'|'Fincantieri signs $1.5 billion China cruise ship deal with Carnival'|'Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri ( FCT.MI ) and China State Shipbuilding Corp have agreed with Carnival Corp ( CCL.N ) to build two cruise ships for the fast-growing Chinese cruise market under a $1.5 billion agreement.Carnival''s Chinese joint venture will operate the ships and the agreement also includes an option to build four more ships.The design of the ships, which will be delivered from 2023, will be tailored for the "specific tastes of the Chinese travelers", the companies said on Wednesday.(Reporting by Silvia Recchimuzzi in Gdynia; editing by David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-fincantieri-carnival-china-idINKBN16119B'|'2017-02-22T08:40:00.000+02:00' +'f96761014c510c55760599ed8c0c32cf5c8a969a'|'UK to set out proposed government''s role in foreign takeovers in next few weeks'|'Business News 12:46pm GMT UK to set out proposed government''s role in foreign takeovers in next few weeks Britain''s Secretary of State for Business Greg Clark arrives for a cabinet meeting in Downing Street, London, January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall LONDON Britain''s business minister said on Wednesday he will set out proposals over the government''s stance towards the possible foreign takeover of British firms, particularly in critically important areas such as nuclear power, in the coming weeks. Anglo-Dutch firm Unilever ( ULVR.L ) ( UNc.AS ) rejected a $143 billion (115 billion pounds) bid from U.S. rival Kraft Heinz ( KHC.O ) last week and Prime Minister Theresa May intervened in a deal to build a new nuclear plant in Britain which strained relations with China, which will help pay for it, and France, which will build it. "We will be setting out some proposals in the weeks ahead," Greg Clark told a London conference on Wednesday. (Reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Maytaal Angel) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-business-m-a-idUKKBN1611GE'|'2017-02-22T19:46:00.000+02:00' +'2f99e86a0e8206c97175d602f90645096b0cbf0e'|'J.C. Penney to shut 130-140 stores; quarterly sales drop'|'Business 14am EST J.C. Penney to shut 130-140 stores; quarterly sales drop Customers ride the escalator at a J.C. Penney store in New York August 14, 2013. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Department store operator J.C. Penney Co Inc ( JCP.N ) said on Friday it would close about 130-140 stores over the next few months, and reported a 0.7 percent drop in same-store sales for the holiday quarter. The company will also initiate a voluntary early retirement program for about 6,000 eligible employees and close two distribution facilities. The stores being closed represent about 13-14 percent of the company''s store base and account for less than 5 percent of annual sales, the company said on Friday. J.C. Penney''s net sales fell 0.9 percent to $3.96 billion in the fourth quarter ended Jan. 28, declining for the third time this year. (Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru,) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-jc-penney-results-idUSKBN1631DB'|'2017-02-24T19:11:00.000+02:00' +'bfc9c2d8bc12c298d9d63d31de7479e80fbd5fc1'|'Alexion Pharma''s revenue rises 18.5 pct'|' 38am EST Alexion Pharma''s revenue rises 18.5 percent Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc ( ALXN.O ) reported an 18.5 percent rise in fourth-quarter revenue, helped by demand for its costly rare blood disorder drug Soliris. The biotechnology company, which announced the resignations of its chief executive and chief financial officer in December, said total revenue rose to $831 million from $701 million, a year ago. The company''s net income rose to $93 million, or 41 cents per share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31, from $67 million, or 29 cents per share, a year earlier. (Reporting by Natalie Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-alexion-pharms-results-idUSKBN15V1CY'|'2017-02-16T18:37:00.000+02:00' +'e95950953c3b8845ce7fb964f6c3b7d6c3905b2a'|'NEWSMAKER-Congo''s Tshisekedi leaves legacy of democratic struggle, unfulfilled promise'|'Basic Materials - Wed Feb 1, 2017 - 6:13pm EST NEWSMAKER-Congo''s Tshisekedi leaves legacy of democratic struggle, unfulfilled promise By Aaron Ross - KINSHASA KINSHASA Feb 2 The dates below the framed black-and-white photograph of Etienne Tshisekedi in the reception hall of the prime minister''s offices in Democratic Republic of Congo''s capital, Kinshasa, testify to a fraught and complicated relationship with power. Tshisekedi, who died on Wednesday in Brussels at 84, was named prime minister four times of the country then known as Zaire, between 1991 and 1997. His longest stint lasted three-and-a-half months; the shortest just five days after he purposely omitted a reference to autocratic ruler Mobutu Sese Seko as "guarantor of the nation" from his oath of office, and was promptly fired. Nicknamed "the Sphinx" for not speaking much but causing a lot of trouble when he did, Tshisekedi was a crusading voice for political pluralism and democracy in Congo, whose politics since independence in 1960 from Belgium has been marred by foreign intervention, civil war, coups and authoritarian rule. While his popularity in Congo made him impossible to ignore, his legendary irascibility may have thwarted his hopes of reaching the summit of Congolese politics. Now, as Congo experiences its latest political crisis over President Joseph Kabila''s failure to step down at the end of his constitutional mandate last December, Tshisekedi''s absence will test Congo''s divided and often ineffectual opposition. Tshisekedi began his political career as a close loyalist of Mobutu but broke ranks in 1982 to found the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS). As the first organized opposition platform at a time of strict one-party rule, the UDPS endured harsh repression and Tshisekedi was repeatedly imprisoned. But he tapped into widespread discontent as Mobutu''s kleptocratic rule entered its third decade and the appeal of his calls to Zairean "authenticity" wore thin. UNREALISED POTENTIAL The post-Soviet democratic wave that swept across Africa forced Mobutu to accede to multi-partyism in 1990, but he held onto power for another seven years. He finally fell in 1997 to an invasion by Rwanda, Uganda and other neighbouring countries in support of a rebel movement led by Laurent Kabila. That war and a subsequent 1998-2003 regional conflict killed millions of Congolese, most from hunger and disease. Under the rules of Laurent Kabila and his son, Joseph, who took power in 2001 after Laurent''s assassination, Tshisekedi reprised his role as opposition leader, presiding over a UDPS party installed across the vast central African country. But many, including some collaborators, thought his legendary stubborness and disdain for what he perceived to be the establishment squandered repeated opportunities to unseat entrenched rulers. He called for a boycott of the 2005 constitutional referendum and also sat out the 2006 presidential vote, Congo''s first free elections in over 40 years, won by Joseph Kabila. He finished runner-up to Kabila in the 2011 presidential election, a vote international observers said was marred by widespread fraud. Foreign diplomats and investors were wary of the unpredictable Tshisekedi who, in turn, harboured lingering suspicions of the western powers who had backed the anti-communist Mobutu during the Cold War. "He''s someone who attacked ferociously but didn''t know how to take power," said Jean Omasombo, Congo expert at the Royal Central Africa Museum in Belgium. He spent much of his latter years outside the country receiving medical treatment as Congo spiralled toward constitutional crisis. Dozens have died in anti-government protests over the last two years, including about 40 last month when Kabila failed to step down at the end of his term. Under a deal cut on Dec. 31, Tshisekedi was set to take the top post in a transitional council that would oversee Kabila''s exit by the end of this year. His son, Felix Tshisekedi is tipped to be named prime minister in a forthcoming power-sharing government, though no other opposition leader has proved able to match his mobilising prowess or reputation for principled opposition. "Etienne Tshisekedi represented true political resistance in our country," said Chantal Muya, a law student, hours after the leader''s death. "We don''t know what will come after Tshisekedi." (Additional reporting by Amedee Mwarabu Kiboko; Editing by David Gregorio) Next In Basic Materials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/congo-tshisekedi-obituary-idUSL5N1FM6LT'|'2017-02-02T06:13:00.000+02:00' +'737a4ac75e3d9218cc32e2bfc8d393331509a23a'|'UPDATE 1-Bahrain''s Investcorp targets U.S. service sector, UK property'|' 16am EST UPDATE 1-Bahrain''s Investcorp targets U.S. service sector, UK property (Adds detail, Co-CEO quotes) By Tom Arnold DUBAI Feb 9 Bahrain-based Investcorp is responding to the election of U.S. President Donald Trump and Brexit by seeking investments in U.S. business services and British real estate, the private equity firm''s Co-Chief Executive Rishi Kapoor said. Investcorp, which expects its assets under management to rise to around $21 billion in the first half of 2017, on Thursday reported a fall in profit to $35.6 million in the six months to Dec. 31 from $50.9 million in the prior-year period. This was largely due to the writedown of a real estate investment in the U.S. which it bought before the global financial crisis, Kapoor told Reuters on a call. Among potential investments in the U.S., Europe and the Gulf, Investcorp was looking for opportunities created by Britain''s vote to leave the European Union and uncertainty over whether Trump''s U.S. administration would deploy fiscal stimulus and the pace of interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve. "As a consequence (of the uncertainty) in the U.S., the kind of businesses we are focusing on are those resilient to cyclical downturns," Kapoor said, adding that business services was one area in particular where it was looking for opportunities. Kapoor said U.S.-based AlixPartners, the global advisory firm it agreed to acquire ownership stakes in along with other investors in November, was an example of this thinking. In Britain, Investcorp was looking at real estate assets with a long-term horizon in order to overcome any market volatility in the next two or three years, he said. The pound''s slump since June''s Brexit vote has encouraged investors from some Middle Eastern markets linked to the U.S. dollar to look for openings in the property market. Investcorp, which was founded in 1982, is one of the oldest Middle Eastern private equity houses and is best known outside the region for listing luxury goods brands such as Gucci and Tiffany & Co. It has increasingly branched out into other sectors and set out a goal in 2015 to more than double its assets under management in the next five to seven years to $25 billion. In a big step towards achieving that goal it agreed to buy 3i Group''s debt-management business in October. When that deal closes in the first half of 2017, Investcorp said its assets under management will reach around $21 billion. (Additional reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh; Editing by Andrew Torchia and Alexander Smith) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/investcorp-bank-results-idUSL5N1FU17T'|'2017-02-09T16:16:00.000+02:00' +'02288de902779c46c4c41d3dcc65af4c0ccd8593'|'Julius Baer served with 306 million euro claim in embezzlement case'|'Business News - Fri Feb 10, 2017 - 6:32am GMT Julius Baer served with 306 million euro claim in embezzlement case The logo of Swiss private bank Julius Baer is seen at the bank''s headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland February 1, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann ZURICH Swiss private bank Julius Baer ( BAER.S ) said on Friday that it has been served with a 306 million euro (260.74 million pounds) claim that contends it did not prevent two clients from embezzling assets from a foreign corporation that is now being liquidated. Baer is contesting the claim and taking what it called "further appropriate measures" to defend its interests, it said in a statement. In its 2013 annual report, Baer had disclosed the foreign corporation''s liquidator had presented the private bank with a draft 12 million euro complaint and had filed a a payment order for 422 million euros, plus accrued interest from 2009. It does not name the corporation or country where the claim originated. ($1 = 0.9389 euros)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-julius-baer-claim-idUKKBN15P0K4'|'2017-02-10T13:32:00.000+02:00' +'c524a3e092b79b17ddedacf7996b977e6117d0f8'|'Rome moves to shield Italy Inc from corporate raiders'|'Company News - Wed Feb 8, 2017 - 10:02am EST Rome moves to shield Italy Inc from corporate raiders * Government plans transparency law on stake purchases * Some lawmakers urge tougher action to protect firms * Signals growing protectionist sentiment in Italy * French buyers biggest overseas investors in country * Graphic-Italian inbound M&A: tmsnrt.rs/2khFKJg By Giselda Vagnoni and Giuseppe Fonte ROME, Feb 8 Italy''s government is concerned about the vulnerability of its companies to foreign takeover, particularly those it considers of national importance, and is moving to defend them. Rome is drafting new corporate transparency rules to force buyers who build up significant minority stakes in Italian firms to disclose what their ultimate intentions are, a reform aimed at guarding against hostile foreign takeovers. Few details have been disclosed about the planned law but Massimo Mucchetti, a senior senator in the ruling Democratic Party (PD), told Reuters the proposals envisaged a threshold of 5 percent at which a buyer must disclose their aims regarding the company. The government drive follows aggressive stake-building by French tycoon Vincent Bollore''s media group Vivendi, which has accumulated a holding of almost 29 percent in Italian broadcaster Mediaset since last year. Vivendi is the top shareholder in Telecom Italia. There have also been a spate of acquisitions of high-profile Italian companies across a wide range of sectors in recent years, with the charge led by French firms. Deals have included ChemChina''s 7.1 billion euro ($7.6 billion) acquisition of tyre maker Pirelli in 2015 and French asset manager Amundi''s 3.5 billion euro purchase of Italian rival Pioneer late last year. Last month Italy''s Luxottica and France''s Essilor agreed on a 46-billion-euro merger to form an eyewear powerhouse that will be headquartered and listed in Paris. Some PD lawmakers are urging tougher government action. While few people expect Rome to go beyond its disclosure rules for now, the planned law and political debate signals protectionist sentiment is on the rise in Italy after years of a relatively open approach to foreign acquisitions - one championed by former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. This has echoes of a trend seen in the United States, where Donald Trump won the presidency after a campaign advocating "America First" protectionist policies. The planned Italian law also underlines growing political concerns about the prospect of companies deemed of strategic national importance - including Mediaset, national airline Alitalia, insurer Generali and former telecoms monopoly Telecom Italia - falling under overseas control. Mucchetti, chairman of the Senate''s industry committee, said the planned disclosure law would put "some sand in the engine" for foreign takeovers but added it would not affect the Vivendi-Mediaset situation as it could not be applied retrospectively. He said he was reporting what was discussed in a meeting between members of his committee and government officials. A spokeswoman for the industry minister declined to comment on the 5 percent threshold or provide details about the draft legislation, saying discussions between the government and lawmakers were at an early stage. Vivendi and Mediaset declined to comment. Vivendi has previously denied it is seeking a hostile takeover of Mediaset , saying its stake-building is aimed at strengthening Mediaset. FRENCH BUYERS French buyers have been the biggest overseas investors in Italian companies over the past decade, with total deals worth about $65 billion since 2008, according to Thomson Reuters data, ahead of U.S. buyers in second place with about $39 billion. Over the same period, Italian companies have invested a relatively paltry $7.3 billion in France. The Italian government announced it was planning to increase corporate transparency requirements late last month, without providing details. Another PD Senator on the industry committee, Salvatore Tomaselli, told Reuters the government hoped it would be approved by parliament by next month. He said Italy aimed to make rules "more stringent like those in France". Under French disclosure rules for listed companies, the threshold for triggering a compulsory public filing, including a "statement of intent" is set at 10 percent. Concerns about overseas buyers go right to the top. When New Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni made his first speech in parliament - a day after Amundi announced its acquisition of Pioneer in December - he warned Italy was "not open to incursions", in a distinct break from Renzi. The Amundi deal raised national interest concerns among some politicians because Pioneer oversees 146 billion euros of Italian savings and around 30 billion euros of Italian sovereign bonds. More than 100 senators - from both the ruling and opposition parties - have since lodged a question in parliament asking the government what steps it plans to take to protect Generali from any foreign takeover. The insurer is seen by Rome as a strategic asset because of its holdings of around 70 billion euros of Italian government bonds. Francesco Boccia, a PD lawmaker who heads the lower house of parliament''s Treasury Committee, is among those calling for tougher action to keep Italian companies out of overseas hands. He wants the government to strengthen its so-called golden powers to veto deals and dictate transaction terms in sectors deemed important to national security, including communications, energy and transport. "Italy is open to any sort of incursion. If we do not defend our (corporate) pillars they either will fall apart or will be taken away by foreign bidders," he said. ($1 = 0.9391 euros) (Additional reporting by Crispian Balmer in Rome, Sophie Sassard in London and Mathieu Rosemain in Paris; Editing by Mark Bendeich and Pravin Char) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/italy-ma-idUSL5N1FR4PD'|'2017-02-08T22:02:00.000+02:00' +'f77fa08303912f554a00962ee6ed689b4fee4860'|'Ford upbeat on local sales despite safety recall in South Africa'|'Fri Feb 3, 2017 - 7:52am GMT Ford upbeat on local sales despite safety recall in South Africa A logo of Ford is pictured on a car at the 86th International Motor Show in Geneva, Switzerland, March 1, 2016. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse CAPE TOWN U.S. auto-maker Ford ( F.N ) said on Friday sales of its vehicles in South Africa remained resilient, despite a challenging start to the year as safety concerns led to the recall of thousands of vehicles, a senior company official said. In January, Ford recalled around 4,500 Kuga SUVs sold in South Africa after dozens of reports of the vehicles catching fire spontaneously due to engine overheating. With a total of 6,634 vehicles sold last month, Ford sales were up 1.7 percent compared to the same month last year, while the company''s overall market share was 14.5 percent, Ford said in a statement. "We are encouraged by and grateful for the continued customer confidence in the Ford brand... despite the challenges relating to the safety recall announced in January for the 1.6-litre Kuga sold in South Africa in 2013 and 2014," said Gerhard Herselman, general manager for sales at Ford''s sub-Saharan region. He said Ford was committed to addressing customer concerns as it sought to limit the impact among affected customers who complain that Ford was tardy in its response to the Kuga problem. South Africa''s new vehicle sales rose 3.7 percent year-on-year to 50,333 units in January, data from the trade and industry department showed this week. (Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Adrian Croft) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-safrica-ford-idUKKBN15I0SQ'|'2017-02-03T14:52:00.000+02:00' +'386603c9c2af61249643cddd4eb6ca3508bd819b'|'MIDEAST STOCKS-Firm oil, global shares may support Gulf bourses - Reuters'|'DUBAI Feb 12 Gulf stock markets could move higher on Sunday, fuelled by a strong rebound in oil prices last week and sentiment on global exchanges that is generally positive.Global benchmark Brent crude settled at $56.70 a barrel on Friday, up 1.9 percent on the day; it touched a session high of $56.88. The MSCI''s world index, which tracks shares in 46 countries, rose after evidence of Chinese growth lifted shares in Asia and Europe.Saudi Arabia''s stock market has been lacking vigour over the last two weeks, with investors unwilling to make sizeable allocations in the absence of a catalyst, but any sustained oil price rise may encourage investors, who have been sitting on the sidelines, to mobilise their funds.Shares in Kingdom Holding are set to gain after it announced it had traded 90 percent of its shares in Euro Disney into Walt Disney Co stock, gaining a net profit of $61 million through the deal.Shares in Kuwait''s Jazeera Airways, which are often thinly traded, may fall after the firm reported a drop of 29.9 percent in 2016 full year net profit to 10.8 million dinars ($35.4 million) and the board recommended a cash dividend of 35 fils per share.Telecommunication operator Zain, however, may attract buyers after the company said it won a contract for 22 million dinars by the Ministry of Electricity and Water.Kuwait''s general index, which had jumped almost 20 percent last month, is now down 3.8 percent sine Feb. 1 and many analysts believe risks for a further drop are likely since the market is trading at a premium to its expected fair value.In Dubai, shares in Dubai Investment may be bid up after a subsidiary acquired a 153,000-square-foot (14,214-sq-m) neighbourhood shopping centre in Ventura, California. The value of the acquisition was not disclosed.The Dubai-listed shares of Bahrain''s GFH Financial Company , often traded by short-term investors, may also rise after the company said a subsidiary had raised $50 million in one of its funds and the financial impact is expected to be reflected in the first quarter results. (Reporting by Celine Aswad; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/mideast-stocks-idINL8N1FX02L'|'2017-02-12T02:52:00.000+02:00' +'cec1f897f421d353a95fc19e64d20c34cf2ad902'|'Activist fund year-end returns boosted by Trump rally'|'Business News - Tue Feb 14, 2017 - 2:44pm EST Activist fund year-end returns boosted by Trump rally By Michael Flaherty - NEW YORK NEW YORK Activist hedge funds recovered from a slow start last year, ending 2016 with sharp gains across the sector, spurred by a stock rally that followed the U.S. presidential election. Hedge fund managers that exclusively or partially manage an activist portfolio of stocks cited the election of President Donald Trump as a year-end boost and a likely tailwind for 2017, though several expressed concern that the policy direction coming from the White House remains uncertain. "Like it or not, Donald Trump''s presidency changes everything," activist Raging Capital said in its fourth-quarter letter. The fund, which manages around $900 million, was up 27 percent last year. Unlike most of the hedge fund industry, activist managers directly engage with chief executives and boards to push changes, sometimes publicly calling out the companies and pursuing proxy fights. The HFRI Event-Driven activist index showed a 10.4 percent gain for the year, compared with a 1.15 percent bump the year before. In 2016, the S&P 500 index ended the year up 9.5 percent. New activist targets in 2016 included restaurant chain Buffalo Wild Wings ( BWLD.O ), refiner Marathon Petroleum ( MPC.N ) and industrial retailer HD Supply ( HDS.O ). J.P. Morgan director David Hunker, who advises companies on shareholder activism, said activists showed more discipline toward the end of the year in targeting companies where a broader set of investors were unhappy. "There''s a lot more going on among activists to really understand what shareholder frustrations are and where they can drive a wedge between management teams, the board and their investors," Hunker said. Raging Capital Chief Investment Officer, William Martin, said Trump''s election, and the anticipation of low-tax, pro-business policies, have handed the economic baton over to Congress from the U.S. Federal Reserve, which had kept interest rates at near-zero levels for nearly a decade. "Many of the Republican proposals have potentially far- reaching impacts on certain industries, though sufficient detail does not exist to properly quantify these impacts or their timing," according to hedge fund PSAM, which manages around $2 billion and was up 14 percent last year. The hedge fund, which occasionally takes activist positions, added that Trump''s expected deregulation push could further accelerate merger deals in 2017, with media companies expected to lead the pack. (Reporting by Michael Flaherty; Editing by Alan Crosby) Next In Business News U.S. investors brace for mounting political risks as they decode Trump NEW YORK Barry James built up his $4 billion mutual fund largely by studying balance sheets, earnings and market share. In the last few weeks, however, he has realized that he must look at a new force in the market: U.S. President Donald Trump. Exclusive: Yellen brushes off warning, says Fed has authority on global talks NEW YORK Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, in response to a warning from a U.S. congressman to halt global regulatory talks in the early stages of Donald Trump''s presidency, said in a letter the Fed has the authority and responsibility to consult with its foreign counterparts and does so to benefit the United States. HOUSTON Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan on Tuesday said that the biggest risk to U.S. economic growth in 2017 is the size of the workforce, which is shrinking because of the aging population. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-activist-funds-returns-idUSKBN15T2MW'|'2017-02-15T02:41:00.000+02:00' +'562031c1331d567981e3e38e52dba1379f2339e5'|'Opel CEO says sale to PSA would start new chapter-Bild am Sonntag'|'FRANKFURT Feb 17 A takeover of Opel, General Motors'' European arm, by France''s PSA Group would make sense from an industrial point of view, the Bild am Sonntag paper reported, citing comments by Opel CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann in a letter to employees."This is a chance to forge a European champion and start a new and successful chapter in our history after having been part of GM for 88 years," Neumann was Quote: d as saying in the letter.Talks on a sale of GM''s European arm to PSA were confirmed by both companies on Feb. 14."All parties involved understand the industrial logic behind the planned transaction: this would create the second-largest European carmaker - with a market share of nearly 17 percent," Neumann was Quote: d as saying.He also said talks on Wednesday with GM CEO Marry Barra and Opel supervisory board Chairman Dan Ammann had been "very constructive", adding the works council and union IG Metall would be closely involved in the detailed assessment of the potential deal. (Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Michael Shields)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/opel-ma-psa-talks-idINFWN1G20S6'|'2017-02-17T12:59:00.000+02:00' +'4e627cf0f6e5e9fc61037eeb06e709718954183c'|'Appliance retailer hhgregg to explore strategic alternatives'|'Appliance retailer hhgregg Inc ( HGG.N ) said it had hired Stifel Financial Corp ( SF.N ) to advise it on strategic and financial transactions, as the company struggles with sales declines.Stifel Financial''s subsidiaries, Stifel Nicolaus & Co and Miller Buckfire & Co, have been engaged as hhgregg''s financial adviser and investment banker.Hhgregg''s shares surged 21 percent to 52 cents in extended trading. The stock had lost 77.4 percent of its value in the last 12 months.The company, which has a market value of about $12 million, last month reported a 23.8 percent fall in sales for the third quarter."We are committed to improving our results through our business strategy, including investments made to shift our focus to appliances and furniture, and additional expected cost reductions," Chief Executive Robert Riesbeck said in a statement on Wednesday.(Reporting by Ahmed Farhatha in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-hhgregg-restructuring-idINKBN15U2WT'|'2017-02-15T20:22:00.000+02:00' +'8198790d6ad66c752a81e021fbfc0985f5cb7552'|'BRIEF-Cousins Properties prices public offering of 63,571,336 shares of common stock'|' 07am EST BRIEF-Cousins Properties prices public offering of 63,571,336 shares of common stock Feb 22 Cousins Properties Inc * Cousins Properties prices public offering of 63,571,336 shares of common stock * Says offering 63.6 million common shares * Cousins Properties - shareholders affiliated with TPG Global, LLC have priced an underwritten public offering of 63.6 million shares of co''s common stock * Cousins Properties - 25 million shares being offered for expected gross proceeds $214.0 million; 38.6 million shares being offered by TPG for expected proceeds $330.2 million Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-cousins-properties-prices-public-o-idUSASB0B1JW'|'2017-02-22T21:07:00.000+02:00' +'5785e3eb1dc0c3931ce0df6638ca7f477b7a8fdc'|'BRIEF-Parker Drilling announces public offerings of common stock'|' 56pm EST BRIEF-Parker Drilling announces public offerings of common stock Feb 21 Parker Drilling Co: * Parker Drilling Company announces public offerings of common stock and series a mandatory convertible preferred stock * Parker Drilling Co - commencing a registered public offering of 12 million shares of its common stock * Parker Drilling Co - commencing registered public offering of approximately $50 million of its series a mandatory convertible preferred stock '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-parker-drilling-announces-public-o-idUSASB0B1DR'|'2017-02-22T04:56:00.000+02:00' +'e22ce02ea29e0a99b82df5f6019fddc28932c000'|'UPDATE 1-Airline Wizz Air cuts profit forecast on low prices, severe weather'|'Industrials - Wed Feb 1, 2017 - 2:49am EST UPDATE 1-Airline Wizz Air cuts profit forecast on low prices, severe weather (Adds quote, detail) LONDON Feb 1 Eastern European-focussed budget airline Wizz Air cut its full-year profit guidance on Wednesday due to low prices and disruption from severe weather that hit some of its services. Wizz Air lowered its underlying net profit guidance to a range of between 225 million euros and 235 million euros for the full year, from a previous forecast of 245 to 255 million euros. "Although the current financial year is looking like a very good year for Wizz Air and we remain excited about our prospects for the next financial year, lower fuel prices continue to feed through to lower airfares, and this downward trend looks likely to continue well into 2017," Chief Executive Jozsef Varadi said. In the last two years, Europe''s biggest airlines including low-cost rivals like easyJet and Ryanair have driven fares down as they put more seats onto the market to try to take advantage of previously low oil prices and gain market share. The cautious outlook by Wizz Air echoes an update from Flybe earlier in the week, which also cited poor weather as hindering its performance at the start of the current quarter. Wizz Air said it expected to deliver full-year capacity growth of 20 percent. Unlike most of its rivals, Wizz Air did not downgrade its profit forecasts in the wake of Britain''s vote to leave the European Union last June, as the London-listed group has relatively little exposure to Britain. The company said it had started operating 26 new routes in the third quarter, and increased the numbers of passengers carried by 20.1 percent. (Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Kate Holton) Next In Industrials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/wizz-air-hldgs-outlook-idUSL5N1FM1AN'|'2017-02-01T14:49:00.000+02:00' +'27917902c6c2e7730b644f3ba56e3e068f63b77b'|'CEE MARKETS-Bucharest stocks extend rally on Banca Transilvania gains'|'* Bucharest stock index is highest since Jan 2008 * Improved bank prospects buoy stock indices in CEE * Czech central bank reiterates guidance on crown cap By Sandor Peto BUDAPEST, Feb 22 Romania''s Banca Transilvania stocks surged to a record high on Wednesday in continued reaction to expectations of growth, boosting the Bucharest stock index in a reflection of general optimism over Central European banks. The sector is emerging from a bad period marked with a jump in bad loans after 2008, solvency woes in Slovenia and Bulgaria, and increased costs from new taxes in Hungary and Poland and schemes to convert Swiss franc loans into national currencies. Bank profits are rising across the region. In the latest sign of improvement, the Bank of Slovenia reported on Tuesday that the net profit of Slovenian lenders tripled last year. Bank shares have been a key driver of a rally in Central European equities markets in the past weeks, also driven by a global rise due to expectations for economic stimulus in the U.S. Most of the region''s markets took a respite on Wednesday after robust gains on Tuesday. But Bucharest''s index, which reached its highest levels since June 2008 on Tuesday, extended its gains. It rose 0.9 percent by 0905 GMT, and was the highest since January 2008. Its gains were again driven mainly by the shares of Banca Transilvania, which traded at record highs, rising more than 2.5 percent. Banca Transilvania shares have been rising since it reported its results last week. Net profits fell last year after a one-off surge in 2015. But investors are optimistic over the prospects of the bank, which acquired Volksbank''s unit in 2015, based on improved indicators including the ratio of non-performing loans. Prague stocks rose by only 0.3 percent but that was enough to set a new 15-month high. The Czech Republic holds a government bond auction on Wednesday. The 10-year bond on offer may look attractive as its spread versus Bunds has been recently restored to more than 30 basis points from zero in January, Raiffeisen analyst Stephan Imre said in a note. Czech debt assets have been made more attractive by the widened spreads and speculation that the Czech central bank could remove its cap on the value of the crown soon, letting it firm past 27 against the euro, the analyst added. Czech central bank Vice Governor Mojmir Hampl reiterated on Wednesday that the bank most likely to abandon its weak crown policy around the middle of 2017 and it will not remove a cap on the currency before the second quarter. The crown''s implied rate in six-month forwards deals eased to a one-week low of 26.848 against the euro. CEE SNAPS AT 1005 MARKETS HOT CET CURRENCIES Lates Previ Daily Chang t ous e bid close chang in e 2017 Czech crown 27.02 27.02 +0.0 -0.05 00 30 1% % Hungary 307.2 307.3 +0.0 0.53% forint 000 650 5% Polish 4.293 4.297 +0.1 2.58% zloty 0 9 1% Romanian 4.515 4.516 +0.0 0.43% leu 5 9 3% Croatian 7.448 7.452 +0.0 1.44% kuna 0 8 6% Serbian 123.7 123.8 +0.0 -0.33 dinar 600 600 8% % Note: daily calculate previ close 1800 change d from ous at CET STOCK S Lates Previ Daily Chang t ous e close chang in e 2017 Prague 977.4 974.4 +0.3 +6.0 1 7 0% 5% Budapest 34248 34324 -0.22 +7.0 .85 .99 % 2% Warsaw 2248. 2248. +0.0 +15. 64 52 1% 44% Bucharest 7983. 7912. +0.9 +12. 92 64 0% 69% Ljubljana 765.1 765.6 -0.06 +6.6 6 5 % 3% Zagreb 2214. 2225. -0.51 +10. 05 48 % 99% Belgrade <.BELEX15 710.4 712.0 -0.22 -0.97 > 2 1 % % Sofia 610.2 610.5 -0.04 +4.0 9 1 % 7% BONDS Yield Yield Sprea Daily d (bid) chang vs chang e Bund e in Czech sprea Republic d 2-year 9 bps s 5-year bps s 10-year 5 bps s Poland 2-year bps s 5-year bps s 10-year 6 bps s FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M inter bank Czech Rep < 0.28 0.31 0.35 0 PRIBOR=> Hungary < 0.33 0.51 0.65 0.23 BUBOR=> Poland < 1.77 1.805 1.9 1.73 WIBOR=> Note: FRA are for Quote: s ask prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets-idINL8N1G72JT'|'2017-02-22T07:15:00.000+02:00' +'48e51893ea21859dbe0d5353b02cf9d034e69747'|'Barge glut chokes U.S. shipping sector despite record harvest'|' 09pm EST Barge glut chokes U.S. shipping sector despite record harvest * Covered fleet at 13,000 barges, up 24 pct from 2014 * New barge orders, coal barge conversions boost fleet size * February freight rates down 30 pct versus five-year average * Barge coal shipments lowest in at least two decades By Karl Plume and Michael Hirtzer CHICAGO, Feb 23 A glut of idled river barges is clogging Mississippi River shorelines from St. Louis to New Orleans, leaving U.S. barge companies that haul grain, coal and other bulk goods counting their losses. Even with record-large exports of corn and soybeans, typically a boon for shippers that haul grain to Gulf Coast export terminals, the collapse of coal shipments to the lowest levels in decades has left the dry bulk barge fleet chasing too little cargo. In pursuit of rising grain volumes since 2014, many shippers expanded their fleets too quickly. Barge lease rates paid to companies like Archer Daniels Midland Co''s American River Transportation Company, privately held Ingram Barge and a handful of smaller operators are at 1-1/2-month lows and more than 30 percent below the five-year average for February. Rates from St. Louis to the Gulf Coast of $8.40 per ton are down from a pre-harvest high of $18.00 - not enough for many barge companies to turn a profit. A rise in grain shipments has not been enough to offset the steeper decline in coal shipments. Grain barge shipments rose 21 percent from 2012 to 2015 to a near-record 89.7 million tons, but coal shipments dropped by nearly 47 million tons in that period, to 126.2 million tons. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which tracks barge traffic, has not yet released data for 2016. Demand for barges is at "historically weak levels," barge maker Trinity Industries Inc told analysts on a conference call last week. Orders for new barges in the fourth quarter totaled just $18 million, compared with $190 million in the fourth quarter of 2015. Some barge lines are paying companies to lash their mothballed vessels along river banks rather than lose money keeping them active, according to barge brokers. At least 11 percent of the fleet was idled this winter, a number that could double by spring as South America''s harvest competes with the United States for exports, according to industry estimates. There is no reliable way to estimate industry-wide losses. One small barge company spent $75,000 in December to idle nearly half of its 225-barge fleet. The company had estimated it would lose $450,000 in the month if it kept operating the barges, said a broker who asked not to be named because he was sharing his clients'' business information. "I learned that math in the first grade. Losing $25 a day (per barge) or $150 a day. That''s a no-brainer," he said. LASTING PAIN The barge backlog and financial losses are the result of a years-long expansion of the nation''s covered barge fleet. Seeking to cash in on massive U.S. crops, barge lines ordered new barges and converted open-top vessels previously used for coal into covered barges. Today, there are an estimated 13,000 covered barges in the U.S. fleet, up from about 10,500 in 2014, barge brokers and transportation analysts said. Ideal shipping conditions have also boosted capacity since last autumn''s record corn and soybean harvests. Fewer delays at river locks and higher-than-normal water levels increased shipping speeds and barge turnover, effectively raising the fleet''s capacity by about 15 to 20 percent, industry analysts said. U.S. freight rates are expected to decline into July. Consolidation is squeezing the diminishing number of small operators. More than 80 percent of all covered barges operating on the Mississippi River system are controlled by the five largest barge companies, up from about 50 percent in 1995, according to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Informa Economics data. A manager at one small barge company, who requested anonymity to speak about internal company matters, said his company laid off three boat pilots and three deck hands after losing an Ohio River towboat contract to Indiana-based American Commercial Lines (ACL). "It''s been a bad year for us, the worst year as far as financials ever," said the manager. ACL declined comment. (Editing by David Greising and Matthew Lewis) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-transport-barges-idUSL1N1FF00V'|'2017-02-24T05:09:00.000+02:00' +'a4efabf0535c215491b7be054e5e58f0a0bd3055'|'Telefonica says has received several offers for stake in Telxius'|'Company News - Fri Feb 10, 2017 - 2:59am EST Telefonica says has received several offers for stake in Telxius MADRID Feb 10 Spain''s Telefonica has received several offers for a stake in its telecom masts subsidiary Telxius, the telecoms company said in a statement on Friday, adding it was negotiating and analysing the different options available. The company is in talks with private equity firms KKR , CVC and Ardian as well as Singapore sovereign fund GIC about the sale of a 49 percent stake in Telxius, Reuters said on Thursday, citing four sources. (Reporting By Sonya Dowsett; Editing by Robert Hetz) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/telefonica-ma-telxius-idUSE8N18A01H'|'2017-02-10T14:59:00.000+02:00' +'b5b9a48e5de75709c7b09e9731883674455bce64'|'BRIEF-Career Education Corp and American Intercontinental University entered into a settlement agreement with Private Plaintiffs'|' 14pm EST BRIEF-Career Education Corp and American Intercontinental University entered into a settlement agreement with Private Plaintiffs Feb 21 Career Education Corp * On february 15, 2017, Co and American Intercontinental University entered into a settlement agreement with Private Plaintiffs * Under terms of agreement, company will pay $10 million to United States - SEC filing * In addition to settlement, entered into separate settlement deal with private plaintiffs for claims for attorney''s fees, costs * Under terms of this agreement company will pay $22 million to attorneys representing private plaintiffs Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-career-education-corp-and-american-idUSFWN1G60YG'|'2017-02-22T05:14:00.000+02:00' +'758b734bd507a1b44c6c84153a4a1e98c73683b4'|'Exclusive: China''s Geely to bid for Malaysian car maker Proton - sources'|'BEIJING Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co is expected to bid as early as this week for a strategic partnership with struggling Malaysian car maker Proton Holdings Bhd, two people familiar with the bidding process told Reuters.As part of its pitch following discussions with Proton''s owner, Malaysian conglomerate DRB-Hicom Bhd ( DRBM.KL ), Hangzhou-based Geely, which owns Sweden''s Volvo Car Group, is expected to offer Proton some of the latest vehicle technologies it has developed with Volvo''s input.DRB-Hicom said earlier this month it was waiting for prospective foreign car makers to submit bids for a strategic partnership.Proton, founded in 1983 by former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad, received 1.5 billion ringgit ($338.2 million) in government aid a year ago on the condition that it implement a turnaround plan and seek a foreign partner to help its research and development.Other potential bidders have included Peugeot maker PSA ( PEUP.PA ), Japan''s Suzuki Motor Corp ( 7269.T ) and French car maker Renault SA ( RENA.PA ).In response to Reuters requests for comment, Mahmood Razak, DRB-Hicom''s head of strategic communications, said: "We have nothing new to say," noting a previous statement about it being a complex process. It has said it expects to announce a decision in the first half of this year."We are evaluating the bids received. No disclosures until we have selected a FSP (foreign strategic partner)," he added.A Geely spokesman declined to comment.It was not clear whether Geely''s pitch - part of what the sources said was the final bidding round - includes a cash offer for a stake in Proton. The people with knowledge of the bidding said Geely is looking for at least a 51 percent stake.DRIVING ON THE LEFTBy offering Proton some of its own technologies, Geely hopes to help Proton''s sales in right-hand-drive (RHD) markets, including Malaysia, the UK, India and Australia, the people said.The technologies include those Geely has used to engineer midsize vehicles such as its GC9 sedan and Boyue sport-utility vehicle, as well as small car technologies developed with Volvo, the people said.Strong sales of the GC9 and the Boyue SUV helped Geely grow its China sales by 50 percent last year to 765,851 vehicles.Geely''s investment would help Proton - which also owns British sports car maker Lotus - grow its sales overseas and recover some of the global presence it has lost in recent years, the people said.For Geely, a significant partnership with Proton would give the Chinese firm entry into the global (RHD) market."There are 8 million RHD vehicles sold every year globally," one of the individuals said. "Geely sells roughly zero RHD cars, so even if Geely cars were sold under Proton, if nothing else Geely would make a handsome license fee.""The overall plan is basically to invest in Proton to bring it back to global (sales) levels it had in the 1990s," the person added.Geely''s offer comes amid a thaw in often chilly ties between Malaysia and China.In November, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak returned from a six-day trip to China with about $34 billion worth of deals - including an agreement to buy four Chinese naval vessels - which could help lift the economy ahead of elections due by mid-2018.(Reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu in BEIJING, with additional reporting by Liz Lee in KUALA LUMPUR; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-proton-m-a-geely-exclusive-idUSKBN15Z138'|'2017-02-20T14:27:00.000+02:00' +'8a6822e3c6126259b0462bc75bb0ed55869acd97'|'Hochtief could bid for U.S. border wall contract: CEO'|'Business News - Tue Feb 28, 2017 - 4:55am EST Hochtief could bid for U.S. border wall contract: CEO Workers of German construction company Hochtief stand next to the company''s logo at a construction site in Essen, western Germany March 8, 2016. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay DUESSELDORF, Germany German builder Hochtief ( HOTG.DE ) is keen for more work in the United States, including any possible contract to build a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico, Chief Executive Marcelino Fernandez Verdes said. "No decision is yet known. But we are open for all contracts in the United States," he told journalists on Tuesday when asked if Hochtief would be interested in building the wall. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency said last week it would accept proposals next month for the design of a wall to be built near the U.S.-Mexican frontier, a first step in picking vendors for President Donald Trump''s proposed border wall. Fernandez Verdes was speaking after Hochtief, which is majority-owned by Spanish construction group ACS ( ACS.MC ), published 2016 financial results. (Reporting by Matthias Inverardi; Writing by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Victoria Bryan) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-hochtief-results-usa-idUSKBN167120'|'2017-02-28T16:55:00.000+02:00' +'4e19d68c9f08edb3f16b412560eca1183199430c'|'UPDATE 1-EU regulators set to clear Dow, DuPont deal -sources'|'Deals - Wed Feb 22, 2017 - 11:16am EST EU regulators set to clear Dow, DuPont deal -sources A sign is seen at an entrance to a Dow Chemical Co plant in Plaquemine, Louisiana December 12, 2015. REUTERS/Jonathan Bachman By Foo Yun Chee - BRUSSELS BRUSSELS Dow Chemical ( DOW.N ) and DuPont ( DD.N ) are set to win EU antitrust approval for their $130 billion merger, two people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, one of three mega deals in the agrochemicals industry. The deal, which still needs approval from U.S. and other regulators, has faced intense scrutiny from the European Commission. Of particular concern is combining the two companies'' agricultural businesses which sell seeds and crop protection chemicals, including insecticides and pesticides. The EU competition enforcer had expressed concerns about whether the merged company would still be incentivized to produce new herbicides and pesticides in the future. This month, DuPont offered to sell a portion of its crop protection business and related research and development, while Dow agreed to sell its acid copolymers and ionomers business to South Korea''s SK Innovation ( 096770.KS ) if the merger goes ahead. The companies fine-tuned their concessions after the Commission received feedback from rivals and customers last week. "These were very minor tweaks," one of the people said. The Commission will not seek third parties'' views on the changes, a clear sign that it will approve the deal, the source said. The Commission, which is scheduled to rule on the merger by April 4, declined to comment. Dow and DuPont did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Dow and DuPont shares added gains in New York after the Reuters story. Dow was trading 3.8 percent higher at $63.54 and DuPont was up 3.8 percent at $80. The other two big deals pending in the sector are ChemChina''s $43 billion bid for Swiss pesticides and seeds group Syngenta ( SYNN.S ), and German drugs and pesticides maker Bayer''s ( BAYGn.DE ) $66 billion deal to take over U.S. seeds giant Monsanto ( MON.N ). Sources have told Reuters that the European Commission is expected to give the green light to the ChemChina deal, the largest foreign acquisition by a Chinese company. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Susan Fenton) Next In Deals Saudi Aramco recruits JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley for IPO, HSBC a contender: source Oil giant Saudi Aramco [IPO-ARMO.SE] has asked JPMorgan Chase & Co and Morgan Stanley to assist with its mammoth initial public share offer and could call on another bank with access to Chinese investors, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said. Exclusive: Odebrecht seeks faster Latin America plea deals to sell assets, sources say SAO PAULO Odebrecht SA wants to negotiate graft-related fines with several Latin American countries by June, which would help the Brazilian engineering conglomerate prevent upcoming elections across the region from slowing planned asset sales, two people familiar with the matter said. Confident Snap brushes off concerns on second day of IPO roadshow NEW YORK Snap Inc, owner of popular messaging app Snapchat, fended off investor skepticism on the second day of its IPO roadshow on Tuesday, betting on the charisma of CEO Evan Spiegel, 26, whom it introduced as a "once in a generation founder." MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-du-pont-m-a-dow-eu-idUSKBN16122P'|'2017-02-22T23:05:00.000+02:00' +'3d177d77c1d02c4fb23f76c371cc3408254a2f78'|'Toshiba says not aware Westinghouse considering Chapter 11 filing - Reuters'|'TOKYO Japanese conglomerate Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) said on Friday it was not aware that its U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse was considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.The Nikkei business daily reported earlier that a Chapter 11 filing was one of the options that Toshiba was considering.A Chapter 11 filing could help Toshiba draw a line under a decade-long U.S. nuclear venture that has pushed the Japanese group to the brink, forcing it to offer a majority stake in its chips business to cover a $6.3 billion nuclear writedown.Bankruptcy protection, however, could be a complex proposition for Toshiba, which has guaranteed as much as 793.5 billion yen ($7 billion) to cover almost 90 percent of potential liabilities due to Westinghouse''s AP1000 reactors customer in the United States.The Toshiba spokesman said he was unsure how any bankruptcy filing by the U.S. business would affect that commitment.(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Clara Ferreira Marques)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-idINKBN16307S'|'2017-02-23T23:27:00.000+02:00' +'f85bf0b11ddfba841f7055f979afdf5816051427'|'Participants keen to conclude Basel III reforms -committee boss'|'PARIS Feb 22 All participants in talks on new Basel III banking reforms are keen to bring the process to a conclusion, Basel Committee Secretary General William Coen told the French Senate''s finance commission on Wednesday."All members are interested to bring this to conclusion," said Coen, who declined to give a deadline.Two people close to the talks told Reuters this month that banking regulators due to meet in March were not expected to agree on capital requirements rules intended to keep banks stable during a financial crisis.Approving any deal would be difficult until U.S. President Donald Trump''s administration appoints a new top financial supervisor at the Federal Reserve, the people said. (Reporting by Maya Nikolaeva and Julien Ponthus; editing by Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/france-banks-regulation-idUSFWN1G7086'|'2017-02-22T13:28:00.000+02:00' +'64782dd84400f5e6141478eeabd81ea3499da5fb'|'Royal Mint bullion coin sales surge on wave of political turmoil'|'Company News 34am EST Royal Mint bullion coin sales surge on wave of political turmoil By Jan Harvey - LLANTRISANT, Wales LLANTRISANT, Wales Feb 1 In a warehouse a dozen miles to the northwest of Cardiff, the Royal Mint is running its machines through the night to keep up with demand for one of the big beneficiaries of the last year''s political turmoil - gold and silver bullion. The 1,100-year-old Mint, based here since the 1960s, is producing 50 percent more gold bullion coins and bars than it was this time last year, director of bullion Chris Howard says, while its sales in January rose by a third. With growth prospects for its core minting business limited by the advent of the cashless society, the Mint has focused heavily on growing its bullion arm in the last few years. Its contribution to the overall business''s bottom line has gone from negligible levels in 2012 to more than a quarter in the last year. "We used to send these out by the box," head of bullion sales Nick Bowkett says, indicating stacks of silver coins packed for transit in the Mint''s bullion striking room. "Now we ship them out by the pallet." Next door, the Mint''s core business -- producing commemorative coins and legal tender for 60 different countries -- is churning out crates of coinage, including the new 12-sided British pound, due to launch in March. But it''s the bullion arm that is really ramping up. While in global terms the Mint is still small -- its total gold sales of 237,000 ounces last year were dwarfed by the U.S. Mint''s 1.2 million ounces of gold Eagle and Buffalo coin sales, the Austrian Mint''s 534,000 ounces of gold Philharmonic coin sales, and the Perth Mint''s 520,000 ounces of gold sales -- its bullion unit expanded both revenue and profit by two-thirds last year. It is forecasting similar growth this year, through expansion in its already core U.S. and German markets, and elsewhere. About 30 percent of its bullion sales - largely Britannia coins, but also sovereigns, and bars ranging in size from 1 gram to 1 kilogram - are made through the Mint''s website, while a further 70 percent goes to wholesale clients. RETAIL EXPLOSION Global retail investment in gold has exploded in the last 15 years. At nearly 1,000 tonnes last year, it was two and a half times the levels seen in 2001. While a sharp rise in investors selling gold back onto the market after prices surged last year weighed on the net demand figure, gold sales in Europe jumped after the Britain''s Brexit vote and resulting fluctuations in the currency markets. The government-owned Mint''s sales to Germany more than doubled last year in volume terms, while UK sales rose by more than a quarter. "The excitement around Brexit, and the uncertainty, brought a lot more (business), especially on to our ecommerce platform," Howard, a veteran of designer retail brands such as Guess and Swarowski, said. "The level of trading after Brexit was much higher than it was before, and it has continued to be at that level." Gold prices rose for the first year since 2012 last year, by 10 percent, while in sterling terms gold performed even more strongly, climbing 30 percent. The turmoil seen in stock markets this month after U.S. President Donald Trump took office and optimism over his plans for the U.S. economy dissipated suggests that investors will continue to need havens from risk. A monthly Reuters poll of investment professionals across Europe, the United States and Japan this week showed U.S. equity holdings at their highest since June 2015, but also suggested markets may have overcooked the "reflation" trade. This year Howard expects sales to the United States and Germany to stay strong, and he tips Asia -- home to the two biggest physical bullion markets, China and India -- as a key growth market. That''s not necessarily an easy sell. The mint has worked around import restrictions into India through a licensing agreement with Swiss-Indian refiner MMTC-PAMP, which produces sovereigns on its behalf. Howard admits that China, where last year traders reported that Beijing was restricting imports, has been a tough market to crack. "From 25 years of working in other industries, it''s been the same challenge everywhere," he says. "Everyone sees this great opportunity, that China is where you should be -- but how do you do it? It''s exactly the same with bullion." (Reporting by Jan Harvey; Editing by Veronica Brown and Jane Merriman) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/gold-physical-royal-mint-idUSL5N1FK2AN'|'2017-02-01T20:34:00.000+02:00' +'31215aff364534ac8d0284d4a03676a0993d99c5'|'EMERGING MARKETS-LatAm currencies weaken as France election fuels risk aversion'|'Company News 48am EST EMERGING MARKETS-LatAm currencies weaken as France election fuels risk aversion SAO PAULO, Feb 7 Latin American currencies weakened on Tuesday on concerns that the far right could win France''s presidential election and take the country out of the European Union. Recent opinion polls have shown the anti-immigration National Front leader Marine Le Pen, who promises to haul France out of the euro zone and hold a referendum on EU membership, reaching a second-round vote. Fears that this could translate into a global economic shock led traders to sell riskier assets, such as emerging market currencies, and seek refuge in the U.S. dollar. The Mexican peso weakened 0.3 percent after dropping 1 percent the day before, a move exaggerated by low trading volumes as local markets were closed for a holiday. The Brazilian real slipped 0.1 percent, less than its peers. Losses were limited by expectations of capital inflows due to a recent flurry of corporate debt issuances. Still, the country''s benchmark Bovespa stock index rose 1.1 percent, boosted by shares of miner Vale SA and lender Ita Unibanco Holding SA. Vale shares tracked a rebound in iron ore prices from their lowest in nearly four weeks, while traders also cheered the success of a $1 billion bond reopening on Tuesday. Shares of Ita Unibanco rose 2.8 percent after Brazil''s No. 1 bank by market value forecast lower loan-loss provisions this year and reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1435 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % Latest change change MSCI Emerging Markets 919.97 -0.33 7.04 MSCI LatAm 2537.27 0.22 8.16 Brazil Bovespa 64714.70 1.13 7.45 Mexico IPC 47080.62 -0.31 3.15 Chile IPSA 4253.46 0.15 2.46 Chile IGPA 21227.54 0.14 2.38 Argentina MerVal 19365.99 0.6 14.47 Colombia IGBC 10168.76 -0.22 0.40 Venezuela IBC 28220.30 0.25 -10.99 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.1290 -0.14 3.84 Mexico peso 20.6300 -0.32 0.55 Chile peso 645.41 -0.70 3.92 Colombia peso 2866.6 -0.53 4.71 Peru sol 3.291 -0.12 3.74 Argentina peso (interbank) 15.7550 0.16 0.76 Argentina peso (parallel) 16.44 0.24 2.31 (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-latam-idUSL1N1FS0RZ'|'2017-02-07T21:48:00.000+02:00' +'e8f31b462e2c2e802e0db62b9ec2e863c63275a6'|'Nigeria plans 142 bln naira Treasury bill auction on Feb. 15'|'LAGOS Feb 7 Nigeria plans to raise about 142.43 billion naira ($453.60 million) in short-dated Treasury bills at an auction on Feb. 15, the central bank said on Tuesday.The bank said it would raise 32.43 billion naira in three-month debt, 30 billion in six-month bills and 80 billion in one-year notes, using a Dutch auction system. Payment will be due the day after the auction.Nigeria issues Treasury bills to fund its budget deficit, manage banking system liquidity and curb rising inflation.Last week, Nigeria raised a total of 302.4 billion naira in Treasury bills, more than the 242 billion planned due to strong demand for the one-year debt. The central bank at the auction offered a yield above its benchmark interest rate to lure investors in the face of galloping inflation.Its annual inflation rate rose in December to 18.55 percent, its highest for more than 11 years and the eleventh straight monthly rise. ($1 = 314 naira) (Reporting by Oludare Mayowa; Editing by Louise Ireland)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/nigeria-bills-idINL5N1FS28O'|'2017-02-07T06:22:00.000+02:00' +'b28a219b4f04c328b311b4e05e9a5d71f75651ef'|'Fed''s Tarullo to resign, creating opening at central bank'|'Business News - Fri Feb 10, 2017 - 6:37pm GMT Fed''s Tarullo to resign, creating opening at central bank U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Daniel Tarullo delivers remarks at the Center for American Progress in Washington, U.S. July 12, 2016. REUTERS/Gary Cameron WASHINGTON Federal Reserve Governor Daniel Tarullo will resign from the U.S. central bank where he helped lead financial regulation, creating further room for President Donald Trump to reshape the Fed''s policymaking staff. Tarullo, who had served at the Fed since 2009 and helped shape its response to a financial crisis and deep recession, said in a letter to Trump on Friday he would leave the central bank "on or around April 5." The Fed released the letter along with a comment by Fed Chair Janet Yellen who cited Tarullo''s work crafting a new regulatory framework and his "invaluable" contributions to Fed policymaking. Besides crafting regulation, Tarullo also is a voter on interest rate policy. "It has been a great privilege to work with former Chairman Bernanke and Chair Yellen during such a challenging period," Tarullo said in the letter. (Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Andrea Ricci) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-fed-tarullo-idUKKBN15P2CL'|'2017-02-11T01:37:00.000+02:00' +'fd0d0665a2127d8f1ac420f3b7d6e852cf35228c'|'UPDATE 1-Mexico''s Jose Cuervo prices IPO at 34 pesos per share'|'(Adds sum raised)MEXICO CITY Feb 9 The initial public offering for tequila maker Jose Cuervo priced at the top of an expected range at 34 pesos per share, the company said on Thursday, kicking off the first Mexican initial public offering since Donald Trump won the U.S. presidency in November.Including the overallotment option, the IPO raised 18.64 billion pesos ($912.6 million), the company said in a statement.The share price confirmed a report by sources familiar with the matter consulted by Reuters on Wednesday, who said there was strong investor demand for the offering.The company, officially known as Becle, put its IPO on hold twice last year, after Trump''s relationship with Mexico became strained over the issue of immigration, sending the peso currency to a string of record lows. ($1 = 20.4260 Mexican pesos) (Reporting by Dave Graham)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/mexico-josecuervo-idINL1N1FU0PX'|'2017-02-09T10:43:00.000+02:00' +'800a9f2c2445bd2de77b3895cc0ec39260765006'|'FXCM to pay $650,000 CFTC fine over capital shortfall'|'Company News 23pm EST FXCM to pay $650,000 CFTC fine over capital shortfall NEW YORK Feb 13 FXCM Inc agreed to pay a $650,000 civil fine to settle U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission charges that the currencies broker was undercapitalized in January 2015 and was too slow to report the shortfall. A consent order describing the settlement was filed on Monday with the federal court in Manhattan and approved by U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest. The settlement also resolved a claim that FXCM violated CFTC rules by representing to customers that it would limit their losses, through a policy of "zeroing out" negative balances. FXCM did not admit or deny wrongdoing. A spokeswoman did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The settlement was disclosed one week after New York-based FXCM said it intended to pull out of U.S. retail foreign exchange, and sell its customer accounts to Gain Capital Holdings Inc. That announcement accompanied a $7 million CFTC fine against FXCM and founding partners Dror "Drew" Niv and William Ahdout to resolve charges that over five years they concealed FXCM''s close ties to a market maker that received favored treatment. FXCM, Niv and Ahdout were also barred from markets overseen by the CFTC. ( here ) Monday''s settlement stemmed from the Swiss National Bank''s decision on Jan. 15, 2015 to eliminate a cap on the Swiss franc''s value relative to the euro. That decision caused the euro to plunge, and led FXCM a day later to report having lost more than $200 million as a result. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Alan Crosby) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/fxcm-cftc-settlement-idUSL1N1FY0W5'|'2017-02-14T00:23:00.000+02:00' +'e7fec6860947d55e36358ad1f417e59f254b2e03'|'UPDATE 1-Buyout firm KKR to hike dividend payout; earnings disappoints'|'(Adds details of results)NEW YORK Feb 9 Private equity firm KKR & Co LP said on Thursday it will raise its quarterly dividend payout from the end of March by a cent, after posting lower-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings, hurt by unrealised losses in its buyout investments.New York-based KKR, which managed $129.6 billion as of the end of December, said it was raising its dividend payout to 17 cents a share from 16 cents from the first quarter of this year.KKR gives its investors a fixed payout every quarter.Gains in the U.S. stock market in the past year have buoyed the returns for some buyout firms, although stubborn weakness in various business segments including hedge funds have dented overall performance.KKR''s rival Carlyle Group LP, for example, reported sharply lower-than-expected earnings on Wednesday, weighed by losses in its hedge funds.KKR earned an economic net income of $339.2 million after taxes in the fourth quarter, which translated to 40 cents a share, compared with analysts'' forecasts of 43 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.Economic net income is a key metric for U.S. private equity firms that accounts for unrealized gains or losses in investments.In a statement, KKR said it had earned less carried interest in the final three months of 2016 due to a lower level of net gains in its private equity investments. Carried interest is a cut of the profit that KKR keeps after generating returns in excess of an agreed level for its clients.For the fourth quarter, KKR said its private equity returns rose 3.4 percent, roughly in line with gains in the benchmark S&P 500 stock index. Its buyout investments gained 11.9 percent for all of 2016, beating a 9.5 gain in the S&P 500 over the same period.A breakdown of KKR''s buyout investments showed weakness in its energy, infrastructure and U.S. real estate holdings were a drag.(Reporting by Koh Gui Qing; Editing by W Simon and Bernadette Baum)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/kkr-results-idINL1N1FU0N4'|'2017-02-09T10:36:00.000+02:00' +'cf18d7e31b9a5be7ca07e6d5af81e68230841542'|'Boeing workers in South Carolina vote on whether to unionize 15,'|'Boeing shoots a plane into the air like a rocket Nearly 3,000 Boeing workers at its new South Carolina plant are voting Wednesday in a closely watched effort by organize labor to establish an important foothold in the South. Manufacturers have been drawn to the South because the region is strongly anti-union. Less than 2% of South Carolina workers are union members, the lowest unionization rate in the nation. Boeing ( BA ) spent billions to open its North Charleston plant, arguing it needs to assure customers who buy the 787 Dreamliner, which is built there, that the plant wouldn''t go on strike. Related: Trump move on Iran could cost jobs at Boeing The Machinists union, which represents most Boeing factory workers throughout the U.S., is seeking to represent the workers in South Carolina. A win would give it even more leverage over Boeing in future labor talks. A union loss would further encourage other manufacturers to open union-free plants in the South. The vote is seen as an uphill battle for the union, which dropped plans for a vote last year. About 40% to 50% of organizing votes fail. A visit from President Donald Trump on Friday will draw even more attention to the plant. Boeing''s South Carolina assembly line, where workers are voting on whether or not to join a union. The plant will get additional attention this week as President Donald Trump plans to visit the plant Friday. Wages are a key issue in the vote. The union says South Carolina workers earn about $10 an hour less than union members at Boeing''s Washington state plants. For its part, Boeing says pay scales are driven by wages in the local market, and that the South Carolina plant already pays better than a union-represented Boeing plant in Alabama. Related: Boeing pitches China facility as Trump-friendly The battle between Boeing and the union won''t end with Wednesday''s vote. If it loses, the union could try for another vote in a year. If it wins, it would then start what are likely to be contentious negotiations for a contract with Boeing to cover the South Carolina workers. CNNMoney (New York) 15, 2017: 10:28 AM ET'|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_news_companies.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/15/news/companies/boeing-union-vote/index.html'|'2017-02-15T17:28:00.000+02:00' +'4d735baaf091184da5833f812f4c76f78ec730b2'|'BRIEF-Terex Corp reports Q4 loss per share $2.96'|' 54pm EST BRIEF-Terex Corp reports Q4 loss per share $2.96 Feb 21 Terex Corp: * Terex announces fourth quarter and full year 2016 results and provides 2017 guidance * Q4 loss per share $2.96 from continuing operations * Q4 sales $1.0 billion versus i/b/e/s view $918.8 million * Sees FY 2017 earnings per share $0.60 to $0.80 excluding items * Q4 adjusted earnings per share $0.07 from continuing operations excluding items * Sees FY 2017 sales about $3.9 billion * Q4 earnings per share view $-0.05 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * Terex Corp - income from continuing operations, as adjusted, for Q4 of 2016 was $7.4 million, or $0.07 per share * Terex Corp - "looking ahead to 2017, we expect our primary global markets to remain challenging" * Terex Corp sees 2017 adjusted earnings per share of between $0.60 and $0.80 * Terex Corp qtrly net sales $974.7 million versus $1,167.6 million '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-terex-corp-reports-q4-loss-per-sha-idUSASB0B1DW'|'2017-02-22T04:54:00.000+02:00' +'5c734871f01788542c08fcf178192871a326959e'|'IT security firm Sophos rises after $100 million Invincea deal'|'LONDON British IT security company Sophos ( SOPH.L ) has agreed to buy malware protection company Invincea for $100 million to bolster its product line and give it a stronger presence in the U.S. government, healthcare and financial services sector.Shares in Sophos rose 5.5 percent to a four-month high of 287 pence, topping the mid-cap index .FTMC , after the deal was announced on Wednesday.Sophos chief executive Kris Hagerman said Invincea''s machine learning-based threat detection technology would be rapidly integrated into its product line, representing a significant growth opportunity for the company.The deal, which includes a $20 million earn-out in addition to the $100 million cash payment, came as Sophos reported a 16 percent rise in third-quarter billings to $164.1 million.(Reporting by Paul Sandle, editing by James Davey)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-sophos-group-m-a-invincea-idINKBN15N0XO'|'2017-02-08T06:27:00.000+02:00' +'d0d325c3ed921d2c96450577df7bea1b28f3733b'|'Braskem sees Brazil plastics market growing 2 pct in 2017 -CEO'|'Company News 13am EST Braskem sees Brazil plastics market growing 2 pct in 2017 -CEO SAO PAULO Feb 22 Petrochemical producer Braskem SA expects demand for plastic resins to grow around 2 percent this year from 2016, Chief Executive Fernando Musa said on a Wednesday earnings call. Demand for polyethylene, polypropylene and PVC in Brazil rose 13 percent in the fourth quarter from a year ago, Braskem said in an unaudited earnings release on Wednesday. (Reporting by Brad Haynes) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/braskem-results-outlook-idUSE6N1CB02G'|'2017-02-22T22:13:00.000+02:00' +'b8e9359db5cf4434a3ef78a31aa6449641a0ee39'|'PSA boss to meet top German officials over Opel plans'|' 22am EST PSA boss to meet top German officials over Opel plans PARIS Feb 15 The chief executive of Peugeot maker PSA Group, Carlos Tavares, plans to meet senior German officials in the near future to discuss the possible acquisition of General Motors'' European Opel division, the French carmaker said on Wednesday. "Carlos Tavares intends to meet with Opel''s stakeholders in Germany," a PSA spokesman said, without giving any timetable for the talks. Tavares may meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel as part of those discussions, he said. (Reporting by Laurence Frost; editing by Jason Neely) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/psa-opel-ma-germany-idUSL8N1G02UV'|'2017-02-15T17:22:00.000+02:00' +'88e44d0d48ae246abed97a0bd28fd1b863adc56c'|'Morning News Call - India, February 21'|' 27pm EST Morning News Call - India, February 21 To access the newsletter, click on the link: here If you would like to receive this newsletter via email, please register at: here FACTORS TO WATCH 9:00 am: N. Chandrasekaran to take over as new chairman of Tata Sons in Mumbai. 11:00 am: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadela to meet Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in New Delhi. 12:00 pm: Environment Minister Anil Dave briefs media on air pollution in New Delhi. 1:30 pm: Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani video statement in Mumbai. 2:00 pm: Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa to speak at an event in New Delhi. 3:00 pm: Foreign Investment Promotion Board meets to consider 24 FDI proposals in New Delhi. LIVECHAT-INDIAN CRICKET BEYOND BCCI AND IPL Cricketer Jatin Paranjpe joins us at 11:00 am to share his views on cricket in the Kohli era, IPL and on why despite repeated attempts cricket still remains a passionate sport in a handful of countries. To join the conversation, click on the link: here LIVECHAT- FOREX PULSE We explore the outlook for FX markets with Derek Halpenny, European head of FX research at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ at 3:30 pm. To join the conversation, click on the link: here INDIA TOP NEWS TCS announces up to $2.4 bln share buyback Software services exporter Tata Consultancy Services will buy back shares worth up to 160 billion rupees, it said on Monday, adding to pressure on similarly cash-rich rival Infosys to follow suit. Rosneft-led consortium plans to complete Essar acquisition next month -sources A consortium led by Russian oil major Rosneft plans to finally complete its $12.9 billion acquisition of India''s Essar Oil next month, two Russian sources close to the deal told Reuters. Reliance''s Jio hails Uber ride in payments battle with PayTM Uber users in India, who until now had Chinese Internet giant Alibaba-backed PayTM as the only payment wallet option available to book a ride, will now be able to pay through Reliance Jio Infocomm''s Jio Money. Goldman unit launches up to $82 mln block deal in Max Financial - terms A unit of Goldman Sachs has launched a block deal to sell up to $82.1 million worth of shares in Max Financial Services Ltd with an upsize option of $41.1 million, a deal term sheet showed on Monday. Russia to start deliveries of helicopters to India in 2019 Russia will start initial deliveries of military helicopters to India in 2019, with assembly and manufacturing to follow in Asia''s fastest growing economy, the chief executive of state-owned manufacturer Russian Helicopters said on Monday. India looks to expand energy ties with Myanmar India plans to sell refined crude oil products to Myanmar as part of New Delhi''s efforts to deepen ties with its eastern neighbour, which is expected to see strong demand for fuels as it builds new roads, factories, utilities and airports. India extends anti-dumping duty on some Chinese steel items by 5 yrs India has extended anti-dumping duty on some steel products from China by five years, in a bid to retain protectionist barriers and stem the tide of cheap foreign products. GLOBAL TOP NEWS Outspoken general named Trump''s top security adviser U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday named Lieutenant General Herbert Raymond McMaster as his new national security adviser, choosing a military officer known for speaking his mind and challenging his superiors. Toshiba seeking $8.8 bln for majority stake in chip unit -source Toshiba Corp wants to raise at least 1 trillion yen from the sale of a majority stake in its flash memory chip business as a buffer against any fresh financial problems, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said. Malaysian PM says probe into airport killing will be fair Malaysia''s Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Monday his government''s investigation of the killing of the North Korean leader''s half-brother, Kim Jong Nam, will be "objective", as tensions rose between the countries. GLOBAL MARKETS Asian stocks held near 1-1/2-year highs in subdued early trade as a holiday in the United States left investors with few catalysts, while the euro nursed overnight losses as lingering concerns about the looming French election rattled its bonds. U.S. crude futures rose for a second day with data showing hedge funds are betting big across oil markets following OPEC production cuts agreed last year. Gold prices eased slightly amid a firmer dollar as investors waited on clues on the timing of U.S. interest rate hikes in a host of speeches by Federal Reserve officials. CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT PNDF spot 66.97/67.00 February 20 -$64.73 mln -$10.31 mln 10-yr bond yield 7.17 pct Month-to-date $1.58 bln $1.10 bln Year-to-date $1.56 bln $990.44 mln (Money markets are closed on account of Mumbai local elections) For additional data: India govt bond market volumes Stock market reports Non-deliverable forwards data Corporate debt stories [IN CORPD] Local market closing/intraday levels [IN SNAPSHOT] Monthly inflows [INFLOWS RTRS TABLE IN] (Erum Khaled in Bengaluru) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/india-morningcall-idUSL4N1G61IM'|'2017-02-21T10:27:00.000+02:00' +'c37936a7fd75bf7e54a1decc92c138ea30be9e08'|'UK fashion retailer Reiss names Angelides as CEO'|'LONDON Feb 20 British fashion retailer Reiss named former Next executive Christos Angelides as its new chief executive on Monday in a move aimed at allowing founder and chairman David Reiss to scale back his responsibilities.Reiss, which is majority owned by private equity firm Warburg Pincus, said the appointment was part of a planned succession process. It ends speculation that Angelides might join Marks & Spencer to lead its struggling clothing division.Angelides, who spent 28 years at Next with 14 as group product director, had a brief stint as president of Abercrombie and Fitch based in the United States.He will start his new role at the end of March and will resign as a non-executive director of rival French Connection on Feb. 28."I am delighted that Christos has agreed to lead Reiss ... and look forward to working closely with him in order to ensure an orderly succession," said David Reiss, who will remain chairman but give up the CEO role.Last month Reiss reported total sales up 19.7 percent in the six weeks to Jan. 7. ($1 = 0.8026 pounds) (Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/reiss-ceo-idINL8N1G5296'|'2017-02-20T08:24:00.000+02:00' +'52c35f699315a55f3fd31d216ce19457fdc97eb1'|'BRIEF-Eaton Vance Q1 adjusted earnings per share $0.53'|' 07am EST BRIEF-Eaton Vance Q1 adjusted earnings per share $0.53 Feb 22 Eaton Vance Corp - * Q1 adjusted earnings per share $0.53 * Q1 revenue $355 million * Q1 earnings per share view $0.57 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * Consolidated net inflows of $7.8 billion in q1 of fiscal 2017 versus net inflows of $5.3 billion * Consolidated assets under management were $363.7 billion on January 31, 2017, up 20 percent * Qtrly revenue $354.96 million versus $331.6 million last year * Q1 revenue view $351.2 million -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * Average consolidated assets under management were $344.9 billion in Q1, up 12 percent * Consolidated sales and other inflows were $44.9 billion in Q1, up 47 percent Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-eaton-vance-q1-adjusted-earnings-p-idUSASB0B1JT'|'2017-02-22T21:07:00.000+02:00' +'e33d4df4fac7e7c52cd51a4e1771426c50b8e936'|'Facebook''s quarterly profit, revenue beat estimates'|' 10:47pm GMT Facebook''s quarterly profit, revenue beat estimates The Facebook logo is displayed on their website in an illustration photo taken in Bordeaux, France, February 1, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau By Rishika Sadam and David Ingram Facebook Inc ( FB.O ) shares rose more than 2 percent in after-hours trading on Wednesday as the world''s largest online social network reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue, helped by continued growth in mobile advertising. The results offered some reassurance to investors who have been concerned since the company warned in November that ad growth would likely slow "meaningfully" due to limits on ad load - the total number of ads Facebook can show to each user. Facebook has faced doubts about whether it can continue its runaway success in the face of such limits, as well as its absence from the Chinese market and criticism about its handling of so-called "fake news" posts during last year''s U.S. election. The company suffered a slight setback just before the market close when a jury in Texas ordered Facebook, its virtual reality unit Oculus, and other defendants to pay a combined $500 million to ZeniMax Media Inc, a video game publisher that says Oculus stole its technology. Facebook shares were up 2.4 percent at $136.44 after the bell on Wednesday. Mobile ad revenue accounted for 84 percent of the company''s total advertising revenue of $8.63 billion (6.82 billion pounds) in the fourth quarter that ended Dec. 31, compared with 80 percent a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected total ad revenue of $8.31 billion, according to research firm FactSet StreetAccount. The company inched closer to reaching 2 billion users, saying that about 1.86 billion people were using its service monthly as of Dec. 31, up 17 percent from a year earlier. Mobile daily active users rose 23 percent to 1.15 billion, the company said. About 90 percent of Facebook''s users access the network through mobile devices. However, many analysts have raised concerns about Facebook''s ability to meet its own targets it sets every quarter. "I think the rate of growth will decline, but it will remain very high," said analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities. "They grew 57 percent in 2016, and our current model has ''only'' 38 percent revenue growth in 2017. That''s still pretty impressive." Pachter said he expects Facebook to appeal Wednesday''s jury verdict in Texas, but that the result would not affect the share price even if the company loses. "Even if Facebook has to pay $300 million, it''s less than $0.10 per share and they have $29.5 billion in cash," he said. Apart from the core Facebook network, which contributes the lion''s share to overall revenue, the company''s photo-sharing app Instagram and messaging service WhatsApp also have huge user bases. Facebook has been adding features to attract more users and retain those already on the network, with a feature to tackle fake news posts being the most recent addition, after the criticism that followed the U.S. election on Nov. 8. Facebook is expected to generate about $29.71 billion in mobile ad revenue in 2017, according to research firm eMarketer, up about 35.2 percent from 2016. Net income attributable to Facebook shareholders rose to $3.56 billion, or $1.21 per share, from $1.56 billion, or 54 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding items, the company earned $1.41 per share. Total revenue rose to $8.81 billion from $5.84 billion. Analysts on average had expected a profit of $1.31 per share on revenue of $8.51 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. (Reporting by Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru and David Ingram in New York; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Bill Rigby) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-facebook-results-idUKKBN15G5MQ'|'2017-02-02T05:47:00.000+02:00' +'b5967be641cb6b189ddfc3968bdbe249669557c3'|'UPDATE 2-Dean Foods profit forecast misses on weak milk demand'|'Thu Feb 16, 2017 - 9:22am EST Dean Foods quarterly profit misses on low milk demand Dean Foods Co ( DF.N ) forecast first-quarter earnings well below analysts'' estimates due to weak demand for milk and higher investments in a recently announced joint venture to expand its organic milk business. Shares of the largest U.S. dairy processor were down 7 percent in premarket trading on Thursday. Dean Foods formed a joint venture with America''s largest cooperative of organic dairy farmers, CROPP, in November to process and supply organic milk. However, the company said earnings from the joint venture are expected to be minimal in 2017. Milk consumption has been falling in the United States, in part due to years of high prices amid a drought-induced supply deficit and shifting consumer preferences towards lower fat alternatives such as juices and vitamin water. Milk volume sales fell 0.8 percent in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, while raw milk prices dropped 2 percent, the owner of DairyPure and Meadow Gold milk said. The company forecast adjusted profit of 12-20 cents per share for the first quarter. Analysts on average expected earnings of 40 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Net income rose to $32.83 million, or 36 cents per share, in the latest quarter from $18.48 million, or 20 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding items, the company earned 38 cents per share, missing the analysts'' average estimate of 41 cents. Net sales were little changed at $2.02 billion, marking eight quarters of no revenue growth. (Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza and Anil D''Silva) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-dean-foods-results-idUSKBN15V1NF'|'2017-02-16T22:43:00.000+02:00' +'2cd4ff79ad72f900bffa51ce0d09fba30965f2df'|'DEALTALK-CIBC''s U.S. dream hangs in balance as PrivateBancorp deal drags'|'(For more Reuters DEALTALKS, click on)By John Tilak and Matt ScuffhamTORONTO Feb 24 Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce''s insistence on keeping its discipline while assessing whether to increase its $2.9 billion bid for Chicago-based PrivateBancorp leaves the bank''s U.S. expansion plans in the balance.PrivateBancorp postponed a shareholder vote on the deal in December after some investors indicated they would reject it. They argued it undervalued the business following Donald Trump''s election as U.S. president, which sparked hopes of lighter financial regulation, lower tax rates and higher interest rates.Many PrivateBancorp investors had expected CIBC would come back with a higher offer when it reported results on Thursday. But it held its ground, saying it would wait to see how events in the United States unfold between now and June 27, when its current offer expires.CIBCs offer is worth about $52 per PrivateBancorp share, above the $47 deal value at the time of the deal announcement but below PrivateBancorps share price of $56.50 on Friday.CIBC''s Chief Executive Victor Dodig, who had pinned his hopes on the PrivateBancorp deal reducing his bank''s dependence on a lackluster Canadian economy and frothy housing markets, is now facing an agonizing dilemma over whether to bid more or walk away.Sources close to CIBC, who declined to be identified by name, said the bank may marginally improve its initial offer but question whether that would be enough to placate PrivateBancorp shareholders, who are demanding about 25 percent more to secure the deal."The question for CIBC is, how much more can they afford to pay without entering into a transaction that is excessively dilutive?" a source familiar with the bank''s thinking said.The source said it would be tough for CIBC to find an alternative for U.S. expansion in the near-term."It took a long time for CIBC to find PrivateBancorp, the source added. "If they walk away, they''re back to being the most Canadian of the country''s big five banks."There appears to be little prospect of PrivateBancorp accepting the current offer unless unexpected events cause markets to retreat. The U.S. bank''s shares have surged nearly 60 percent since CIBC''s offer on June 29 and about 30 percent since the beginning of November."We feel CIBC''s bid undervalues the strong franchise and future of PrivateBancorp, especially given the changing banking landscape," said David Neuhauser, managing director at U.S. hedge fund Livermore Partners, which owns PrivateBancorp shares.John Rodis, research analyst at boutique U.S. investment bank FIG Partners, said PrivateBancorp shareholders are angling for the high end of the $60 to $70 range."All that I know for sure is the deal in its current form does not get done...but I would think that they would come back with at least one better offer," he saidCIBC''s Dodig said on Thursday the bank "will be disciplined and we will be patient when it comes to price."SIGNS OF CAUTION AT CIBCSome advisers said CIBC''s cautious approach made sense."CIBC is sending signals that they''re not going to buy a company of that size based on speculation around what the tax rate could be in the future or what the banking regulations might be," said one source.Another source said Thursdays comments were aimed at warming up CIBC investors to the prospect of walking away."It tells me that they''re lowering expectations for a deal," he said. "They''re preparing the market for the possibility that a deal does not get done."Some bankers said CIBC investors would not be too disappointed if they chose to walk away."If I were an investor, I''d say,''That''s good discipline. They agreed to a price, they signed a contract and stuck to their guns. I wouldn''t have a problem with that,'' said one banking source. (Reporting by John Tilak and Matt Scuffham; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/privatebancorp-cibc-idUSL1N1G913B'|'2017-02-25T01:13:00.000+02:00' +'93fea55575a4cc8e8072d2aa16d6e1d3d2472202'|'Greece to exceed its primary surplus target in 2018 - Commission'|' 13am GMT Greece to exceed its primary surplus target in 2018 - Commission The moon rises next to a fluttering Greek national flag in Athens, Greece February 9, 2017. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis BRUSSELS Greece will have a primary surplus in the budget of 3.7 percent of gross domestic product next year, exceeding the target of 3.5 percent agreed with its euro zone creditors, the European Commission forecast on Monday. The size of next year''s Greek primary surplus, which is the budget balance before debt-servicing costs, is a bone of contention between euro zone governments and the International Monetary Fund, which believes it will be only 1.5 percent. A further disagreement between the two lenders to Greece is what surplus Athens will be able to maintain in the years after 2018. The higher the surplus and the longer it is kept the less is the need for any further debt relief to Greece. The IMF insists Greek debt, which the Commission forecast on Monday would fall to 177.2 percent of GDP this year from 179.7 percent in 2016 and then decline again to 170.6 percent in 2018, is unsustainably high and that Greece must get debt relief. Germany and several other euro zone countries say that, if Greece does all the agreed reforms, then debt relief will not be necessary. The Commission forecast that Greek investment would triple to 12 percent of GDP this year and rise further to 14.2 percent of GDP next year as the economy expands 2.7 percent in 2017 and 3.1 percent in 2018 after years of recession. It also forecast Greek unemployment would fall to 22 percent of the workforce this year from 23.4 percent last year and decline further to 20.3 percent in 2018. (Reporting By Jan Strupczewski; editing by Philip Blenkinsop) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-greece-surplus-idUKKBN15S0ZS'|'2017-02-13T17:13:00.000+02:00' +'23fc8cc2751a90211a76c7086ec55b86aea0b22f'|'China FX regulator surveying Shanghai firms about potential impact of higher U.S. tariffs - sources'|'Business 7:01am GMT China FX regulator surveying Shanghai firms about potential impact of higher U.S. tariffs - sources The building of State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) is pictured in Beijing, China, January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee SHANGHAI China''s foreign exchange regulator began surveying firms in Shanghai in early February about the impact on cross-border trade of possible protectionist measures by the United States, two sources said on Tuesday. The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) is asking firms with large trading operations and cross-border payments with the United States whether they have U.S. production facilities, their tolerance for higher tariffs, and how they would deal with the higher tariffs, said one of the sources. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to slap higher tariffs on Chinese imports in retaliation for what he claims are unfair trade practices, though he has yet to follow through on the threats since taking office on Jan. 20. "It is still in the survey phase. Every foreign trade firm''s situation is different. If there really was a trade war, there will be pressure," said the above source. Reuters was not immediately able to reach SAFE''s Shanghai office for comment. SAFE is also looking at the operations of U.S.-invested firms in China, including their business models and whether those firms will move production to other countries or divest from China. (Reporting by Shanghai and Beijing newsrooms; Editing by Kim Coghill) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-china-trade-idUKKBN15T0NH'|'2017-02-14T14:01:00.000+02:00' +'eec11548723f5bcd091e2b66d5b469f069444434'|'Siemens set to win EU approval for $4.5 billion Mentor deal: sources'|'By Foo Yun Chee and Arno Schuetze - BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT German engineering group Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ) is set to gain unconditional EU antitrust approval for its $4.5 billion bid for U.S. software company Mentor Graphics, its biggest deal in this area in a decade, two people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.Siemens unveiled the deal in November last year, aiming to boost its presence in a sector with faster growth and bigger margins than other areas.The German company''s move comes in response to growing customer demand for more complex software for smart connected products such as aeroplanes, trains and cars. Siemens is targeting a rise in its software revenue by about a third from the deal.Mentor Graphics'' software helps semiconductor companies design and test their chips before they manufacture them.The European Commission, which is scheduled to decide on the deal by Feb. 27, declined to comment. Siemens also declined to comment.Mentor Graphics competes with Synopsys ( SNPS.O ) and Cadence ( CDNS.O ).(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee in Brussels and Arno Schuetze in Frankfurt, additional reporting by Jens Hack in Munich. Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-mentor-graphics-m-a-siemens-eu-idINKBN1621T2'|'2017-02-23T12:08:00.000+02:00' +'952d6aa85a41dc3d3a71c07a357b66b473fe58f5'|'Shareholder democracy is ailing'|'DEMOCRACY is in decline around the world, according to Freedom House, a think-tank. Only 45% of countries are considered free today, and their number is slipping. Liberty is in retreat in the world of business, too. The idea that firms should be controlled by diverse shareholders who exercise one vote per share is increasingly viewed as redundant or even dangerous.Consider the initial public offering (IPO) of Silicon Valleys latest social-media star, Snap. It plans to raise $3-4bn and secure a valuation of $20bn-25bn. The securities being sold have no voting rights, so all the power will stay with Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy, its co-founders. Snaps IPO has echoes of that of Alibaba, a Chinese internet giant. It listed itself in New York in 2014, in the worlds largest-ever IPO, raising $25bn. It is worth $252bn today and is controlled by an opaque partnership using legal vehicles in the Cayman Islands. Its ordinary shareholders are supine.In this section Internet firms legal immunity is under threat Ralph Lauren and Macys tell a similar tale of woe Snow-making companies in a warming world Grab battles Uber in South-East Asia Tatas governance is still faulty Shareholder democracy is ailing Stockmarkets IPOs China United States SamsungOptimists may dismiss the two IPOs as isolated events, but there is a deeper trend towards autocracy. Eight of the worlds 20 most valuable firms are not controlled by outside shareholders. They include Samsung, Berkshire Hathaway, ICBC (a Chinese bank) and Google. Available figures show that about 30% of the aggregate value of the worlds stockmarkets is governed undemocratically, because voting rights are curtailed, because core shareholders have de facto control, or because the shares belong to passively managed funds that have little incentive to vote.Cheerleaders for corporate governance, particularly in America, often paint a rosy picture. They point out that fewer bosses are keeping control through legal skulduggery, such as poison pills that prevent takeovers. Unfortunately, these gains have been overwhelmed by three bigger trends. The first is that technology firms can dictate terms to infatuated investors. Young and with a limited need for outside capital, many have come of age when growth is scarce. Google floated in 2004 with a dual voting structure expressly designed to ensure that outside investors would have little ability to influence its strategic decisions. Facebook listed in 2012 with a similar structure and in 2016 said that it would issue new non-voting shares. Alibaba listed in New York after Hong Kongs stock exchange refused to countenance its peculiar arrangements. Undaunted, American investors piled in.At the same time there has been a drift away from the model of dispersed ownership in emerging economies, with 60% of the typical bourse being closely held by families or governments, up from 50% before the global financial crisis, according to the IMF. One reason has been lots of IPOs of state-backed firms in which the relevant government retains a controlling stake. Hank Paulson, a former boss of Goldman Sachs, helped design many of Chinas privatisations in the early 2000s. The Chinese could not surrender control, his memoirs recall. Mr Paulson hoped that the government would eventually take a back seat, but that has not happened. Other emerging economies, including Brazil and Russia, copied the Chinese strategy of partial privatisation. And across the emerging world, tightly held family firms, such as Tata in India and Samsung in South Korea, are bigger than ever.Voter apathy is the third trend, owing to the rise of low-cost index funds that track the market. Passive funds offer a good deal for savers, but their lean overheads mean that they dont have the skills or resources to involve themselves in lots of firms affairs. Such funds now own 13% of Americas stockmarket, up from 9% in 2013, and are growing fast. A slug of the shareholder register of most listed firms is now comprised of professional snoozers.For many in business the decay of shareholder democracy is irrelevant. After all, they argue, investors own lots of other securitiesbonds, options, swaps and warrantsthat dont have any voting rights and it doesnt seem to matter. At well-run firms such as Berkshire, shares with different voting rights trade at similar prices, suggesting those rights are not worth much. Some managers go further and argue that less shareholder democracy is good, because voters are myopic. Last year Mark Zuckerberg, Facebooks boss, pointed out that with a normal structure the firm would have been forced to sell out to Yahoo in 2006.It doesnt take a billionaire to poke holes in this logic. For economies, toothless shareholders are damaging. In China and Japan firms allocate capital badly because they are not answerable to outside owners, and earn returns on equity of 8-9%. A study in 2016 by Sanford C. Bernstein, a research firm, got Wall Streets attention by calling passive investing the silent road to serfdom. Without active ownership, it said, capitalism would break down.Democratic deficitAt the firm level, voting rights are critical during takeovers, or if performance slips. At Viacom, a media firm with dual-class shares, which ran MTV in its heyday but which has stagnated for the past decade, outside investors are helpless. Control sits with the patriarch, Sumner Redstone, aged 93, who has 80% of its votes but only 10% of its shares. Yahoo (once as sexy as Snap) has lost its way, too. But because it has only one class of shares, outsider investors have been able to step in and, using their voting power, force the firm to break itself up and return cash to its owners.The system may be partially self-correcting. Some passive managers, such as BlackRock, are stepping up their engagement with companies. If index funds get too big, shares will be mispriced, creating opportunities for active managers. If shares without votes are sold for inflated prices, their owners will eventually be burned, and wont buy them again. And if fashionable young firms miss targets, they will need more cash and will get it on worse terms. But in the end shareholder democracy depends on investors asserting their right to vote in return for providing capital to risky firms. If they dont bother, shareholder democracy will continue to decline. That is something to think about as fund managers queue up for Snaps IPO. Snaptrap'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21716654-snaps-refusal-hand-out-any-voting-shares-part-wider-trend-towards-corporate'|'2017-02-11T08:00:00.000+02:00' +'0c7bfba373adc1fb50f27f647b4b581073238e5a'|'Six banks pitch for Aramco IPO role on Saudi bourse: sources'|'By Hadeel Al Sayegh , Tom Arnold and Katie Paul - DUBAI/RIYADH DUBAI/RIYADH Saudi oil giant Aramco [IPO-ARMO.SE] has received proposals from at least six banks for an advisory role on the firm''s planned initial public share offering, sources familiar with the process said on Tuesday.Saudi authorities are aiming to list up to 5 percent of the world''s largest oil producer on both the Saudi stock exchange in Riyadh, the Tadawul, and one or more international markets in an IPO that could raise $100 billion.HSBC Saudi Arabia, a joint venture between Saudi British Bank and HSBC , NCB Capital, Samba Capital, Saudi Fransi Capital, Riyad Capital and GIB Capital, the investment banking arm of Bahrain-based Gulf International Bank [GLFBK.UL], submitted proposals to Aramco in early February, the sources said.Aramco is also considering proposals from international banks for the global share offering, with a source saying on Feb. 17 that JPMorgan was close to being selected as an underwriter. Aramco also recently chose boutique investment bank Moelis & Co as an adviser.Two of the sources on Tuesday said bank appointments for the local mandate were expected before the end of the month.Aramco did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.The local role will entail working with regulators at Saudi''s Capital Market Authority to prepare for the Tadawul listing, which is expected to be smaller than the international portion, the sources said.HSBC declined to comment while the other companies did not immediately respond to email requests for comments.Officials hope the company could be valued at around $2 trillion, which would allow them to raise as much as $100 billion from investors.Saudi Arabia is considering two options for the shape of Aramco when it sells shares in the national oil giant next year: a global industrial conglomerate, and a specialised international oil company, industry and banking sources have told Reuters.(additional reporting by Celine Aswad in Dubai and Reem Shamseddine in Khobar; Editing by Louise Heavens, Greg Mahlich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-saudiaramco-ipo-idINKBN1601RE'|'2017-02-21T12:37:00.000+02:00' +'aed4439391673eebc1532ea37995b13518c5b158'|'Cerberus to unveil proposal for Brazil''s Oi in March -source'|'By Tatiana Bautzer - SAO PAULO SAO PAULO Feb 9 A Cerberus Capital Management LP-led group of investors plans to unveil an alternative in-court restructuring proposal for debt-laden Brazilian phone carrier Oi SA as early as next month, right after finalizing due diligence procedures, a person with direct knowledge of the plan said on Friday.New York-based Cerberus is still gauging the size of Oi''s future equity needs and how the carrier''s creditors will have to be compensated, said the person, who asked for anonymity because the process is underway. Oi filed for Brazil''s largest-ever bankruptcy protection in June.Cerberus, which specializes in private equity and distressed debt investments, could still arrange partners to advance on the Oi proposal should the company''s shareholders and bondholders agree to discuss it, the person added. Oi''s shareholders and creditors are locked in a battle for control of Brazil''s No. 4 wireless carrier, which is saddled with 65.4 billion reais ($21 billion) of debt.The media office of Cerberus declined to comment. Reuters reported Cerberus'' interest in Oi on Dec. 6.Oi did not immediately comment.Cerberus is the only potential bidder that has formally undertaken due diligence procedures, because it is has not partnered with Oi''s creditors, the person said.Billionaire Paul Singer''s Elliott Management Corp recently made an informal proposal committing to invest around $3 billion into Oi. The board of Oi recently shunned Elliott''s proposal and another put forward by Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris and a group of Oi bondholders led by Moelis & Co.Common shares of Oi rose 2.9 percent to 3.74 reais on Friday, extending gains to 47 percent this year.($1 = 3.1150 reais) (Editing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Meredith Mazzilli)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/oi-sa-restructuring-cerberus-capital-idINL1N1FU0XM'|'2017-02-10T11:31:00.000+02:00' +'9310cc91b607a3126ef9abcb0a3dcd22f8a1b72a'|'Noble Group shares jump 17 percent after confirming talks on potential investment'|'SINGAPORE Shares in Noble Group Ltd ( NOBG.SI ) leapt as much as 17 percent on Tuesday to the highest in eight months after the commodities trader confirmed it was holding talks on a possible strategic investment in the firm.China''s state-owned Sinochem is in early talks with Noble to buy an equity stake, a move that would help it gain access to the Singapore-listed trader''s global supply chain, Reuters reported on Monday.In response to the story, Noble told the Singapore exchange on Tuesday that it was in talks but did not give details."The board wishes to advise that Noble Group is currently engaged in discussions regarding a possible strategic investment in Noble Group," it said."However, no binding arrangements have as yet been entered into with respect to this possible transaction and, accordingly, there can be no assurance that this transaction will be concluded."(Reporting by Anshuman Daga; Editing by Stephen Coates)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-noble-m-a-sinochem-idINKBN15T070'|'2017-02-13T22:58:00.000+02:00' +'d329417a6a27bdc64d33b98d1f78f401231e27eb'|'Japan automaker shares feel heat ahead of Trump-Abe meeting'|'Business News 17am EST Japan automaker shares feel heat ahead of Trump-Abe meeting Newly manufactured cars await export at a port in Yokohama, Japan, January 16, 2017. Picture taken January 16, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai By Marika Tsuji - TOKYO TOKYO Japanese carmaker shares have underperformed their peers so far this year as investors fret over U.S. protectionist stance, ahead of his meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe later in the day. With Trump branding Japan''s auto trade as "unfair" and accusing Tokyo of using monetary policy to devalue its currency to boost exports, Japanese car makers are seen as likely to take the brunt of any flare-up in trade friction between the two countries. The Tokyo Stock Exchange''s transport equipment makers index .ITEQP.T, which largely consists of car makers, has fallen 2.3 percent so far this year, with Mazda Motor Corp ( 7261.T ) falling 16.9 percent and Toyota Motor Corp ( 7203.T ) 6.3 percent. That compared with gains of 1.4 percent in the Nikkei average share price index .N225 . "It is hard to buy the sector with mid/long-term uncertainties," said Ryoma Sugihara, director of equity sales at Societe Generale Securities. Japanese automaker shares fared worse than their U.S. competitors even as Trump bashed U.S. car makers for having production operations in Mexico. The hit stems from fear that Trump''s "America First" policies might put Japanese firms in difficult positions. "There are expectations that U.S. auto shares would perform better than their overseas counterparts, as Trump is putting pressure on Japanese and European automakers," an analyst at a Japanese securities firm said. General Motors Co ( GM.N ) has risen 0.7 percent, while Ford Motor Co ( F.N ) has gained 2.1 percent. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV ( FCAU.K ) has soared 18.5 percent. Trade experts note, however, that World Trade Organization (WTO) rules should give Japan some protection, unlike in the 1980s when Japan agreed to voluntarily curb car exports to the United States. "Given the rules and procedures by the WTO, it would be difficult to impose measures similar to those taken during the 1980s, as long as the U.S. remains a WTO member," said Hiroshi Mukunoki, professor of economics at Gakushuin University in Tokyo. After a trade war in the 1980-90s, Japanese car makers expanded U.S. production and their U.S.-bound exports declined to 1.73 million vehicles in 2016 from 3.13 million in 1985. Still, last year Japan earned $39.3 billion through car exports, which accounts for a large part of its $68.9 billion trade surplus with the United States. In contrast, U.S. car exports to Japan amounted to only $0.5 billion. Trump''s meeting with Abe comes just a few days after U.S. data showed Japan became the second-largest contributor to the U.S. trade deficit after China, with automobiles accounting for a bulk of it. "This data came at a really bad time. Trump may demand measures to help slash the (U.S.) trade deficit," said Nobuyuki Fujimoto, senior market analyst at SBI Securities. (Reporting by Marika Tsuji; Writing by Hideyuki Sano) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-stocks-autos-idUSKBN15P127'|'2017-02-10T17:17:00.000+02:00' +'d00f3dfd946da2344109be23687ac3936ac40b08'|'Japan machinery orders rebound, trade protectionism poses risk - Reuters'|'By Tetsushi Kajimoto - TOKYO TOKYO Japan''s core machinery orders rebounded more than expected in December from the prior month''s fall and are seen rising again this quarter - an encouraging sign of a pick-up in capital expenditure.The Cabinet Office data showed on Thursday core orders, a highly volatile data series regarded as an indicator of capital spending in the coming six to nine months, grew 6.7 percent in December, the fastest month-on-month gain in six months.It followed a 5.1 percent drop in November and was twice the 3.1 percent pace forecast in a Reuters poll.Japanese policymakers hope capital spending will help drive growth in the world''s third-largest economy and pull it out of deflation and stagnation."Capital expenditure is picking up due to a recovery in exports, and it will gather momentum in the coming months as external and domestic economic conditions firm up," said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute."Policies of U.S. President Donald Trump could pose a risk. If protectionism causes global trade to contract, that could hit Japan''s domestic capital spending as well."By sector, core orders from manufacturers rose 1.0 percent in December, following a 9.8 percent gain the previous month. Orders from the services sector rose 3.5 percent after a 9.4 percent decline in November.Manufacturers surveyed by the Cabinet Office forecast that core orders will rise 3.3 percent in January-March from the previous quarter, after a 0.2 percent decrease in the final three months of last year.Compared with a year earlier, core orders, which exclude ships and orders from electric power utilities, grew 6.7 percent in December, the data showed.The Cabinet Office, however, maintained its assessment of machinery orders, saying the pick-up was stalling.Data out next Monday is likely to show Japan''s economy grew for a fourth straight quarter in October-December led by exports and capital spending, and the Bank of Japan sees the economy in gradual recovery through fiscal 2018.However, the outlook is far from assured as protectionist talk from U.S. President Donald Trump impairs the outlook for global trade, possibly undermining the economic health of export-reliant Japan and investment by Japanese companies.Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are scheduled to meet for talks later this week, where trade imbalances and currency valuations are in focus as Trump pursues an "America First" campaign.(Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Eric Meijer and Jacqueline Wong)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/japan-economy-orders-idINKBN15O055'|'2017-02-08T22:25:00.000+02:00' +'516c2d7b6facd2ca5ddb88a32d2bcc5f2393f577'|'Mattel partners with parenting website to expand China presence'|'Technology 34pm EST Mattel partners with parenting website to expand China presence A worker carries Barbie dolls to put them on the shelves at a toy store in Caracas November 14, 2014. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo Barbie maker Mattel Inc ( MAT.O ) said it would partner with Chinese parenting website Babytree to create an online learning platform for early childhood development, the latest in the No. 1 U.S. toymaker''s push into China. The partnership with Babytree announced on Thursday comes two days after Mattel said it would sell its products on Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd''s ( BABA.N ) online marketplace Tmall. Mattel said it would also work with Alibaba''s A.I. Lab to create products for child development through interactive learning as part of the deal. Mattel and Babytree will provide child development assessment tools and customized parenting content and development curriculum, based on Mattel''s early childhood development brand, Fisher-Price, the company said. Babytree, founded in 2006, provides families in China a platform to learn and exchange ideas on early education, child development tracking and nutrition. Mattel posted holiday-quarter sales well below analysts'' estimates last month, as the toymaker battles weak demand in North America and rising competition. (Reporting by Jessica Kuruthukulangara in Bengaluru) Next In Technology News Facebook says Irish challenge to U.S. data transfers ''deeply flawed'' DUBLIN Facebook said on Thursday a legal challenge against the way it transfers EU user data to the United States was "deeply flawed" and should not be referred to the EU''s top court because ample privacy protections were already in place.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mattel-babytree-idUSKBN15V308'|'2017-02-17T06:29:00.000+02:00' +'5a10fd9657b159f5a151672195930efedfb5cc4d'|'Aetna, Humana terminate $34 billion deal; Humana to receive $1 billion'|'Health insurers Aetna Inc and Humana Inc said on Tuesday that they would end their $34 billion merger agreement after a U.S. federal court ruled against the deal, saying it would stifle competition in the Medicare Advantage program.Aetna will pay Humana a $1 billion breakup fee and has terminated its plan to sell some Medicare Advantage assets to Molina Healthcare Inc, the companies said.Aetna and Humana announced their deal in July 2015, just a few weeks before Anthem Inc and Cigna Corp said they would also combine. The U.S. Justice Department sued to block both transactions last July and won in separate court proceedings.Anthem filed an appeal last week after its loss, but Aetna and Humana had said they were weighing their next steps ahead of the Feb. 15 end date for the merger agreement."While we continue to believe that a combined company would create greater value for health care consumers through improved affordability and quality, the current environment makes it too challenging to continue pursuing the transaction, said Aetna Chief Executive Officer Mark Bertolini.Aetna, which had issued debt to acquire Humana, said it was redeeming the notes for cash.Humana plans to hold a conference call later on Tuesday to provide its 2017 financial outlook. The company said the breakup fee was $630 million after taxes.(Reporting by Caroline Humer in New York and Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-humana-m-a-aetna-idINKBN15T1HN'|'2017-02-14T09:44:00.000+02:00' +'5bf03015ccb762c7000273cecc74f15e95a0618e'|'Fidelity & Guaranty extends Anbang deal deadline, to take rival offers'|'Company 08pm EST Fidelity & Guaranty extends Anbang deal deadline, to take rival offers By Koh Gui Qing Feb 9 In the face of U.S. state regulatory hurdles, U.S. annuities and life insurer Fidelity & Guaranty Life said on Thursday it extended the deadline for its $1.6 billion sale to China''s Anbang Insurance Group, and has negotiated the right to accept other offers. The delay gives Anbang, which has sought high-profile deals overseas, more time to win needed approval for the deal from U.S. state regulators. Anbang withdrew an application for regulatory approval last year and has not re-applied. The Fidelity deal has emerged as another test of the Chinese insurer''s global ambitions. Last year, it abruptly pulled out of a $14 billion bid for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. Fidelity said it can now seek, respond to, evaluate and negotiate competing offers as long as it does not "enter a definitive agreement", or sign a separate deal with another buyer. Fidelity said the deadline for the deal with Anbang, which was agreed in November 2015, has been pushed back to April 17 from Feb 8. It said Anbang will have until May 31 if it secures a public hearing from Iowa''s financial regulator by April 17. Beijing-based Anbang must secure approvals from regulators in New York and Iowa, where Fidelity has businesses. The deal has been approved by the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which scrutinizes deals over national security concerns. But getting regulatory approval in New York had been problematic. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters last year the New York Department of Financial Services had sought more details about Anbang''s funding and shareholder structure, information Anbang was not immediately able to provide. As a result, Anbang withdrew an application it made in New York last year for regulatory approval and has not re-applied, a spokesman for New York''s Department of Financial Services said this week. Established in 2004, Anbang manages some 1.65 trillion yuan ($239.8 billion) worth of assets and burst onto the global scene from near obscurity by signing more than $30 billion worth of corporate deals in the last 2-1/2 years. Its high-profile investments included a $1.95 billion purchase of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. Due in part to the fact that it is a private company, little is known about Anbang''s funding and shareholding structure. Corporate records in China show Anbang is owned by 39 privately held and little-known companies scattered across China. U.S. President Donald Trump''s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, last month divested his equity interest in a flagship New York City building that is the subject of negotiations with Anbang about a possible investment. ($1 = 6.8821 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Koh Gui Qing in New York; Editing by David Gregorio) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/fgl-ma-anbang-idUSL1N1FS247'|'2017-02-10T00:08:00.000+02:00' +'3ca5d1308a09e5e1e6f29d27cdeb58a51dcd94ca'|'German court bars discussion of dieselgate documents in Audi case'|'Company News 32pm EST German court bars discussion of dieselgate documents in Audi case HEILBRONN, Germany Feb 21 A German labour court on Tuesday barred the public disclosure of documents relating to Volkswagen''s emissions scandal during a hearing for wrongful dismissal brought by a former employee at VW subsidiary Audi. The hearing in Heilbronn in southern Germany began in public but Audi''s lawyers requested confidentiality when the plaintiff''s lawyer mentioned an email exchange in 2012 between engineers about emissions of Audi cars in the United States. The court accepted Audi''s motion and judge Carsten Witt asked observers to leave the hearing so the emails and other documents could be discussed behind closed doors. "I regret that the public was barred," said Hans-Georg Kauffeld, the lawyer for Ulrich Weiss, the engineer who was fired by Audi last week following investigations into the scandal. Kauffeld declined to comment further to reporters. Audi admitted in November 2015 that its 3.0 litre V6 diesel engines were fitted with an auxiliary control device deemed illegal in the United States that allowed vehicles to evade U.S. emission limits. VW in December agreed to a $1 billion settlement to fix or buy back about 80,000 polluting diesel vehicles sold in the country. Audi''s lawyer, Christian Bitsch of law firm Bluedex, told the court on Tuesday that Kauffeld''s client knew about the emissions manipulations in September 2015 but failed to inform his superiors. Bitsch also accused the engineer of destroying documents and encouraging his staff to do likewise. Kauffeld rejected the allegations. (Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach; writing by Andreas Cremer; editing by David Clarke) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/volkswagen-emissions-audi-idUSL8N1G652Y'|'2017-02-22T01:32:00.000+02:00' +'e48f02b7a25c2f401b6489428e6af2cdf4cdf982'|'Days of low inflation are over with UK consumer finances to take a hit - Business'|'It was nice while it lasted, but the days of ultra-low inflation are over at least for the time being.The year ahead is going to be marked by rising prices and squeezed living standards, but the pickup in the cost of living needs to be put in perspective; Januarys increase was smaller than expected, and the result of prices falling less sharply than they did a year ago.Also, the UK was spoiled by a couple of years in which crashing oil prices flattered the inflation figures. Some bounceback was always likely in late 2017, and the upward trend has been exacerbated by the decision of the Opec Organisation to cut production.UK warned to expect higher inflation as CPI jumps to 1.8% - business live Read more Britain is not alone in seeing prices start to rise. Germany currently has slightly higher inflation (1.9%) than the UK (1.8%), suggesting that the upward move over the winter has more to do with commodity prices than the fall in the pound following the Brexit vote last June.That interpretation is supported by the Office for National Statistics data for core inflation, which strips out the impact of energy, food, tobacco and alcohol. This stood at 1.4% last June and is now at 1.6%. Over the same period headline inflation which includes all the above items has risen from 0.5% to 1.8%.There is some evidence that competition is helping to keep the lid on prices. Clothing and footwear retailers had a pretty tough January and reduced prices by more than they did in early 2016. Without those high street and online bargains, the annual inflation rate would have risen closer to the Bank of England s 2% target.That said, it looks unlikely that retailers will be able to defer price rises for ever. The separate ONS figures for producer prices which measures how much manufacturers are paying for their fuel and raw material on the one hand and the cost of goods as they leave factory gates on the other show a pronounced rise in the second half of 2016 and early 2017. Input prices are up by more than 20% year on year the sharpest rise since oil prices were rocketing in 2008 while factory gate prices are going up by 3.5% a year the fastest rate since 2012.The Brexit economy: falling pound and rising inflation fuel fears of slowdown Read more Some of this pressure, clearly, is the result of higher global energy prices. The 16% drop against the dollar is also making imports more expensive and this will have more of a bearing on inflation as 2017 wears on.Three conclusions can be drawn from all this. The first is that inflation is going to carry on climbing and will probably overtake the current rate of earnings growth within the next few months.The second is that the Bank of England will not respond with an increase in interest rates unless there is evidence that the higher cost of living has set off a price-wage spiral.But unless wages do start to rise, 2017 is going to be quite a tough year for consumers. The balance of the economy is likely to shift towards manufacturing and exporting, helped by the weak pound. That explains the third conclusion. Growth may not be that much weaker in 2017 than it was in 2016, but that is not the way it is going to feel to households.Inflation Economics Family finances Consumer affairs Economic policy Economic growth (GDP) news Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Google+ Share on WhatsApp Share on Messenger'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/feb/14/low-inflation-over-uk-consumer-finances-take-a-hit'|'2017-02-14T22:12:00.000+02:00' +'66340ebce11b04f454175cf92820d758cdcee9c8'|'Nissan appoints Hiroto Saikawa as CEO'|'Business 41pm EST Nissan appoints Hiroto Saikawa as CEO Nissan Motor Co Ltd ( 7201.T ) said on Wednesday it has appointed the company''s co-chief executive officer, Hiroto Saikawa, as Nissan''s chief executive, effective April 1. Carlos Ghosn, chairman of the board and CEO, will continue to serve as chairman, the company said in a statement. Ghosn will seek a renewal of his mandate at the companys general shareholders meeting in June, the company said. (Reporting by Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; Editing by James Dalgleish) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-nissan-moves-ceo-idUSKBN1612YT'|'2017-02-23T06:37:00.000+02:00' +'1231deec8fdbc4d7f6b9c32ac0a509707d0531d0'|'U.S. economy now on ''sound footing'' - Fed''s Mester'|'Business News - Mon Feb 20, 2017 - 1:18am GMT U.S. economy now on ''sound footing'' - Fed''s Mester Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester takes part in a panel convened to speak about the health of the U.S. economy in New York November 18, 2015. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson SINGAPORE The U.S. economy is on "sound footing," a hawkish Federal Reserve official said on Monday in a speech that cautioned against asking the central bank to solve problems beyond its control such as low productivity growth. Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, at a forum in Singapore, did not comment specifically on interest rates. However she has dissented in the past in favour of quicker rate hikes and on Monday urged the Fed to focus on returning to a more normal policy footing, including trimming its $4.5-trillion bond portfolio. The Fed has raised rates twice in two years and expects to pick up the pace of tightening this year as unemployment, at 4.8 percent, has fallen to near an equilibrium level and as the Republican-controlled White House and Congress are expected to provide fiscal stimulus. The U.S. economy is "now on sound footing," Mester, who does not vote on monetary policy until next year, said in prepared remarks to The Global Interdependence Center. However, she said, "am very doubtful that monetary policy could be targeted to spur a strong pickup in the types of investment in human capital and physical capital that would raise productivity growth." Years of disappointing productivity growth has stymied the Fed''s expectations that the U.S. economy would grow sustainably quicker than its roughly 2-percent rate. Turning to the balance sheet, which the Fed quadrupled in the wake of the financial crisis to spur investment and hiring, Mester reiterated the central bank expected to shed its mortgage-backed bonds and return to an all-Treasuries portfolio. "The return to primarily Treasuries will take some time, but it will be welcome because ... it may help guard against future calls for the Federal Reserve to enter into the realm of fiscal policy," she said. (Reporting by Masayuki Kitano; Writing by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Phil Berlowitz) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-fed-mester-idUKKBN15Z03G'|'2017-02-20T08:18:00.000+02:00' +'de561a7f48607c8646ffcf61c2d8f1bd9729e6e8'|'Pump-maker Pfeiffer rejects Busch bid, forecasts strong demand'|' 20am GMT Pump-maker Pfeiffer rejects Busch bid, forecasts strong demand BERLIN Germany''s Pfeiffer Vacuum ( PV.DE ) publicly rejected a takeover bid from rival Busch on Wednesday, saying it lacked a control premium and did not reflect the growth potential for vacuum pumps. Busch had bid 96.20 euros per share, Pfeiffer said in a statement, adding that its management board was "reviewing other options" to ensure its shareholders could participate in the company''s long-term development. DZ Bank analyst Harald Schnitzer, who has a "buy" recommendation on Pfeiffer, said the offer was too low, with shares in Pfeiffer at 106.80 euros by 0837 GMT, up 2 percent from Tuesday''s close. Pfeiffer also reported fourth-quarter financial results on and said it expected strong business demand to continue at least through the first half of 2017. Pfeiffer makes pumps used by manufacturers including semiconductor firms and makers of analytical devices such as electron microscopes. Busch describes itself as one of the world''s largest makers of vacuum pumps, blowers and compressors supplying all industry sectors. Operating profit at Pfeiffer rose 12 percent to 68 million euros (57.71 million pounds) in 2016 and Chief Executive Manfred Bender said he was very satisfied with business in the first six weeks of 2017, helped by strong order intake at the end of last year. ($1 = 0.9469 euros) (Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Alexander Smith) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-pfeiffer-vacuum-m-a-busch-idUKKBN15U0XH'|'2017-02-15T16:20:00.000+02:00' +'459ecca45a00cb4345701989e6cf2238b6d835cd'|'Deutsche Bank investment banking head Urwin in talks to leave - WSJ'|' 53pm GMT Deutsche Bank investment banking head Urwin in talks to leave - WSJ The head quarters of Germany''s Deutsche Bank are photographed early evening in Frankfurt, Germany, January 31, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach Deutsche Bank AG''s ( DBKGn.DE ) investment banking chief Jeffrey Urwin is in talks to leave the role, and the bank is in discussions to name finance chief Marcus Schenck to run the unit, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing The bank hired Urwin, a Briton, in February 2016 from JP Morgan ( JPM.N ), where he co-headed the global banking division. Deutsche Bank declined to comment on the report. ( on.wsj.com/2lhcgiH ) (Reporting by Rama Venkat Raman in Bengaluru; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) Euro exchange rate determined by market processes, monetary policy - Weidmann BERLIN The euro exchange rate is determined by market processes and is influenced by factors such as U.S. and European monetary policy, ECB policymaker Jens Weidmann said on Tuesday, responding to criticism from a trade adviser of U.S. President Donald Trump.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deutsche-bank-moves-urwin-idUKKBN15M2F4'|'2017-02-08T03:53:00.000+02:00' +'eb57d9db1c16f3f18200286bb3b2a6aa5ceba1ec'|'PRESS DIGEST- Canada-Feb 10'|'Company News 47am EST PRESS DIGEST- Canada-Feb 10 Feb 10 The following are the top stories from selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. THE GLOBE AND MAIL ** Energy Transfer Partners LLC, which is building the Dakota Access pipeline, expects to close the sale of a minority stake in the project to Enbridge Inc. tgam.ca/2kav0QM ** Canada and China are joining a mid-March summit hosted by Chile on how to advance trade in Asia-Pacific now that Donald Trump has pulled the United States out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and ceded leadership in the region. tgam.ca/2kaCenR NATIONAL POST ** Open Text Corp has spent almost $3 billion on acquisitions over the past three years, including its recently-closed purchase of Dell EMC''s enterprise content division. bit.ly/2kaj4ic ** Suncor Energy Inc''s chief executive, Steve Williams, thinks Rex Tillerson, Donald Trump''s secretary of state, could help shield domestic crude from a border adjustment tax. bit.ly/2kaof1A ** Advanced Development Group Ltd, a Canadian construction company, says it has severed ties with its representative in Baghdad and is probing what role he may have played in a recent missile test by the Iraqi government. bit.ly/2kapJZy (Compiled by Gaurika Juneja in Bengaluru) Next In Company News UPDATE 1-UK''s Elementis to buy SummitReheis to grow personal care chemicals Feb 10 British speciality chemicals maker Elementis Plc said on Friday it would buy U.S.-based SummitReheis from an affiliate of private equity firm One Rock Capital Partners LLC for an enterprise value of $360 million to expand its personal care chemicals business.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/press-digest-canada-idUSL4N1FV3R3'|'2017-02-10T17:47:00.000+02:00' +'0e12ee222574c43e77037a2cdaf5731a16b034fb'|'UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Feb 2'|'Company News - Thu Feb 2, 2017 - 2:45am EST UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Feb 2 (Adds futures, companies items) Feb 2 Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening 10 to 15 points lower, or down as much as 0.2 percent on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures down 0.1 percent ahead of the cash market open. * The UK blue chip index ended up 0.1 percent, coming off earlier highs as commodity-related stocks retreated. The benchmark index dropped to its lowest level since late December on Tuesday before closing 0.3 percent weaker. * SHELL : Royal Dutch Shell, Europe''s largest oil major, missed analysts'' profit expectations for the fourth quarter after booking $500 million of impairments. * VODAFONE: Vodafone, the world''s second biggest mobile phone group, said it would meet the "lower end" of its earnings guidance for the full year as its battles intensifying competition in India and Britain. * LSE/DEUTSCHE BOERSE: German prosecutors said on Thursday their investigation of Deutsche Boerse Chief Executive Carsten Kengeter for suspected insider trading related to talks held between the group''s management and the London Stock Exchange between July/August and December 2015. * GLENCORE: Mining and trading group Glencore''s full-year output was in line with target, it said on Thursday, and reiterated its 2017 guidance. * ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT : Emerging markets fund firm Aberdeen Asset Management said total assets fell to 302.7 billion pounds ($383.22 billion) in the quarter to end-December, as demand from clients to withdraw cash more than offset market gains. * RECKITT BENCKISER: UK consumer goods maker Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc said it was in advanced talks to buy baby formula maker Mead Johnson Nutrition Co in a $16.7 billion deal that would take it in a new direction and boost its business in Asia. * SPORTS DIRECT: British sporting goods company Sports Direct International Plc is in talks to bid for Eastern Outfitters LLC, the parent of U.S. discount chain Bob''s Stores and outdoor retailer Eastern Mountain Sports, people familiar with the matter said. * DEUTSCHE BOERSE: Deutsche Boerse said on Wednesday that German prosecutors were investigating a share purchase by its chief executive in December 2015, which was just over two months before the exchange operator announced merger talks. * ECB/BANKS: The European Central Bank would give "considerable attention" to any merger or takeover between banks in different European countries, a top supervisor said on Thursday, highlighting issues with deals involving a party from outside the European Union. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets TODAY''S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Rahul B and Vidya L Nathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idUSL4N1FN1PR'|'2017-02-02T14:45:00.000+02:00' +'ff06eb6f1927e14310e68dcf6768d02206d87e6b'|'SpaceX Falcon rocket poised for flight from historic NASA launchpad'|'Science 6:08am EST SpaceX Falcon rocket poised for flight from historic NASA launchpad left right A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, in a horizontal position, is readied for launch on a supply mission to the International Space Station on historic launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., February 17, 2017. REUTERS/Joe Skipper 1/5 left right A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, in a horizontal position, is readied for launch on a supply mission to the International Space Station on historic launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., February 17, 2017. REUTERS/Joe Skipper 2/5 left right A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket (in center, in a horizontal position), is readied for launch on a supply mission to the International Space Station on historic launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., February 17, 2017. REUTERS/Joe Skipper 3/5 left right A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket (in center, in a horizontal position), is readied for launch on a supply mission to the International Space Station on historic launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., February 17, 2017. REUTERS/Joe Skipper 4/5 left right A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket (in lower center, in a horizontal position), is readied for launch on a supply mission to the International Space Station on historic launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., February 17, 2017. REUTERS/Joe Skipper 5/5 By Irene Klotz - CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was poised for a debut flight on Saturday from a NASA launchpad idled since the end of the space shuttle program nearly six years ago. Liftoff was scheduled for 10:01 a.m. (1501 GMT) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, pending good weather and the resolution of what the company described as a minor technical issue with the rocket''s second-stage motor. Space Exploration Technologies Corp, owned and operated by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, has not flown from Florida in six months. Flights were suspended after a rocket exploded as it was being fueled for a routine, prelaunch test at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The accident destroyed the rocket and its cargo and heavily damaged the launchpad. SpaceX resumed flying last month from a second launch site in California while it hustled to finish work on the shuttle''s old launchpad. Originally built for the 1960s-era Apollo moon program, the Florida pad was refurbished for the space shuttles, which flew from 1981 to 2011. SpaceX signed a 20-year lease for the pad in 2014. "My heart is pounding to come out here today. Not because you guys make me nervous, but because I''ve got a vehicle on this extraordinary pad behind me," SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell told reporters at the launchpad on Friday. Perched on top of the rocket is a Dragon capsule loaded with about 5,500 pounds (2,500 kg) of supplies and science experiments for the International Space Station, a $100 billion research laboratory that flies about 250 miles (400 km) above Earth. NASA hired privately owned SpaceX and Orbital ATK ( OA.N ) to resupply the station after the shuttles were retired. The U.S. space agency last year added a third company, privately owned Sierra Nevada Corp, for station cargo runs beginning in 2019. By then, SpaceX intends to also be launching NASA astronauts, breaking Russia''s monopoly on flying crew to the space station. Shotwell on Friday dismissed a Government Accountability Office report this week that said SpaceX and Boeing ( BA.N ), which also is developing a space taxi for NASA, have too many technical hurdles ahead to make their 2018 deadlines for station crew ferry flights. "The response to that report ... is, ''The hell we won''t fly before 2019!''" Shotwell said. A backup opportunity for Saturday''s launch is for 9:38 a.m. local time (1438 GMT) on Sunday. (Reporting by Irene Klotz in Cape Canaveral, Florida; Editing by Curtis Skinner and Sandra Maler) Next In Science News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-space-spacex-launch-idUSKBN15X0AI'|'2017-02-18T18:00:00.000+02:00' +'0b09e31bcac48ba2a789270187584be95e328842'|'CEE MARKETS-Romanian assets, hit by protests, lag post-Fed rebound'|'* CEE currencies, bonds firm as Fed does not turn hawkish * Romanian protests continue, weigh on asset prices * Czech central bank unlikely to change guidance on crown cap By Sandor Peto and Jason Hovet BUDAPEST/PRAGUE, Feb 2 Central European assets mostly firmed on Thursday on relief that the U.S. Federal Reserve gave no hint of accelerating its rate hikes, but Romania lagged behind the region following anti-government protests. Rising interest rates in the United States would make emerging markets assets relatively less attractive. Hungary''s forint led regional gains, firming 0.4 percent to 308.65 against the euro, to levels seen before dovish central bank comments sent it into a slide last month. The leu steadied at 4.5405, slightly off 7-month lows hit on Wednesday after massive street protests erupted in Romania over the four-week-old leftist government''s "emergency" decree to ease anti-corruption rules. Hundreds of thousands rallied on Wednesday night again, Romania''s president condemned the decree, Western states including Germany and the United Statses expressed concern over the decision and on Thursday a cabinet minister resigned. Romanian markets have calmed somewhat after Wednesday''s plunge, but analysts said further jitters in politics and asset prices were likely. "The street protests announced in Bucharest and in the main cities could continue in the following days," Raiffeisen said in a note on the region''s markets. Romania''s 3-year bond yield was bid at a 7-month high of 1.878 percent, up 13 basis points, and the uncertainty could weigh on an auction of 2-year bonds scheduled for Thursday. Meanwhile, an auction of bonds is seen drawing ample demand in Hungary, where yields dropped 2-3 basis points, a Budapest-based dealer said. Czech bond yields dropped ahead of the central bank''s meeting. The meeting might revive speculation for a surge of the Czech crown later this year, even though the bank is not expected to change its guidance that a likely exit from a cap on the crown''s, would happen around mid-2017. The cap has kept the crown weaker than 27 against the euro since 2013, but as inflation has risen to the bank''s target, investors have scrambled to buy crown assets this year, speculating on a removal of the ceiling. Commerzbank analysts said in a note that commodity prices and base effects still played a major role in Czech price data, so the bank would not scrap the cap before mid-2017. Most analysts in a Reuters poll said the cap would be removed in the second quarter. "Whatever the (central bank) says, the (inflation) forecast will be a key thing to watch," one trader said. CEE SNAPS AT 1010 MARKETS HOT CET CURRENCIES Lates Previ Daily Chang t ous e bid close chang in e 2017 Czech crown 27.02 27.02 +0.0 -0.05 10 45 1% % Hungary 308.6 309.8 +0.4 0.06% forint 500 800 0% Polish 4.309 4.312 +0.0 2.20% zloty 0 8 9% Romanian 4.540 4.541 +0.0 -0.12 leu 5 5 2% % Croatian 7.456 7.465 +0.1 1.32% kuna 5 3 2% Serbian 123.9 124.0 +0.1 -0.45 dinar 100 500 1% % Note: daily calculate previ close 1800 change d from ous at CET STOCK S Lates Previ Daily Chang t ous e close chang in e 2017 Prague 940.9 938.2 +0.2 +2.1 9 3 9% 0% Budapest 32623 32584 +0.1 +1.9 .41 .18 2% 4% Warsaw 2075. 2079. -0.18 +6.5 41 10 % 4% Bucharest 7521. 7527. -0.09 +6.1 22 94 % 6% Ljubljana 744.0 741.1 +0.4 +3.6 9 6 0% 9% Zagreb 2150. 2151. -0.05 +7.8 68 72 % 1% Belgrade <.BELEX15 698.5 700.8 -0.33 -2.62 > 8 8 % % Sofia 594.2 593.8 +0.0 +1.3 2 0 7% 3% BONDS Yield Yield Sprea Daily d (bid) chang vs chang e Bund e in Czech sprea Republic d 2-year 2 1 bps 5-year 9 8 bps s 10-year 2 bps Poland 2-year 1 bps s 5-year 9 bps 10-year bps FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M inter bank Czech Rep < 0.25 0.23 0.24 0 PRIBOR=> Hungary < 0.33 0.42 0.52 0.25 BUBOR=> Poland < 1.765 1.805 1.89 1.73 WIBOR=> Note: FRA are for Quote: s ask prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets-idINL5N1FN2R8'|'2017-02-02T07:18:00.000+02:00' +'38f0aa4b5abe1b419c14633a99b02f36c5887e6b'|'Tesla says Model 3 on track for volume production by Sept'|'Business News - Wed Feb 22, 2017 - 9:24pm GMT Tesla says Model 3 on track for volume production by September A wheel of a prototype of the Tesla Model 3 on display in front of the factory during a media tour of the Tesla Gigafactory, which will produce batteries for the electric carmaker in Sparks, Nevada, U.S. July 26, 2016. REUTERS/James Glover II/File Photo Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ) posted a smaller quarterly loss and said its mass-market Model 3 sedan was on track for volume production by September. The company''s net loss attributable to common shareholders narrowed to $121.3 million, or 78 cents per share, for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 from $320.4 million, or $2.44 per share, a year earlier. Tesla, which is led by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, said revenue rose 88 percent to $2.28 billion. The company is betting big on Model 3 to help it meet its goal of producing 500,000 cars annually in 2018. (Reporting by Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-results-idUKKBN1612QO'|'2017-02-23T04:22:00.000+02:00' +'f0d77aa8cebd62d509f568e27af8f117011ed8c6'|'Germany focused on ensuring Greek bailout review is successful - Finance Ministry'|' 12:07pm GMT Germany focused on ensuring Greek bailout review is successful - Finance Ministry German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble in Wiesbaden, Germany January 25, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski BERLIN Germany is focused on ensuring that a review of Greece''s bailout is successful, a Finance Ministry spokeswoman said when asked about remarks by Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble that Athens would have to leave the euro zone if it ignored its commitments. "We are at the moment engaged in ensuring that a review of the current third programme is successful. That''s where all our efforts are focused," ministry spokeswoman Friederike von Tiesenhausen told a government news conference on Friday. A senior euro zone official had said earlier that lenders in the single currency bloc and the International Monetary Fund had reached an agreement between themselves on a common stance they will present to Greece, signalling a breakthrough. "That is pleasing. That shows that the IMF has been playing a constructive role. But I would like to point out that from a procedural perspective an agreement among the institutions is one step, but it is also important that we have an agreement between the institutions and Greece," she added. A meeting between the lenders and Greek officials is scheduled for later on Friday. (Reporting by Gernot Heller; Writing by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Paul Carrel) Unrealistic to see UK/EU trade deal in two years - EU representative EDINBURGH It is unrealistic for Britain to expect to negotiate its exit from the European Union and reach a free trade agreement in two years and both will probably need an implementation phase, the head of the European Commission''s office in Britain said.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-greece-germany-idUKKBN15P1D6'|'2017-02-10T19:07:00.000+02:00' +'0dd20fa95b544ccf62b4bdd2985b408f16f412e9'|'TCI Fund urges French market regulator to intervene on Zodiac-Safran tie-up'|'PARIS Hedge fund TCI Fund Management wrote to French market regulator AMF on Tuesday to protest against aero engine maker Safran''s ( SAF.PA ) agreed bid for seats manufacturer Zodiac Aerospace ( ZODC.PA ), saying it risks violating shareholders'' rights.The $9 billion Safran-Zodiac tie-up plan aims to create the world''s third-largest aerospace supplier as the industry bulks up to tackle record high output plans."We believe that the AMF should intervene in order to ensure the protection of the rights of the shareholders of both Safran and Zodiac Aerospace," TCI head Christopher Hohn said in the letter published on the fund''s website.A spokeswoman for Safran declined to comment. A spokeswoman for the AMF could not immediately be reached.TCI Fund owns about 3.87 percent of Safran''s capital and, together with other clients of TCI, that reaches about 4.13 percent, he said, adding that TCI is also a shareholder of Zodiac.Hohn writes that he fears shareholders will only be consulted on the public tender offer after it has been initiated."If this were to be the case, we believe that launching a public tender offer prior to a vote on the merger by Safran shareholders would be in violation of the rights of Safran shareholders and in violation of the principle of equal access to information for all Zodiac shareholders," Hohn wrote."In order to preserve Safran shareholders'' voting rights, a vote of the extraordinary shareholders'' meeting of Safran on the merger must take place before the filing of the public tender offer."(Reporting by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-zodiac-aero-m-a-safran-idUSKBN15T2N0'|'2017-02-14T22:46:00.000+02:00' +'b7bb0cc435bfeb4d396925b77f43adf77b3fd3d9'|'Hologic buys Cynosure to expand into medical aesthetics'|'By Divya Grover and Natalie Grover Hologic Inc said on Tuesday it would acquire medical aesthetics company Cynosure Inc for $1.65 billion as it looks to capitalize on an increase in medical procedures that are not traditionally reimbursed.The medical aesthetics market is growing at a rapid pace as the American population ages and analysts expect the sector to see more deals.Botox maker Allergan Plc agreed to buy Cynosure''s rival Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc for about $2.48 billion on Monday.Much of aesthetics is not subject to reimbursement risks, making it less cyclical, William Blair analyst Margaret Kaczor told Reuters."Larger acquirers can access a fast growing, profitable market that is just in the first quarter of the game."The medical aesthetics market exceeds $2 billion globally and is expected to grow at a low-double-digit rate over the next several years, Hologic said.Shares of Cynosure were up about 28 percent at $65.88 in morning trading, slightly below Hologic''s offer of $66 per share. Hologic''s shares were down about 3.6 percent at $38.57.Cynosure makes products used in non-invasive body contouring, hair removal, skin revitalization and women''s health and generated 2016 revenue of $433.5 million.The transaction has an enterprise value of $1.44 billion and will be fully funded with cash on hand, Hologic said.Hologic - a maker of diagnostic products, medical imaging systems and surgical products - said the deal will immediately add about 3 cents-5 cents per share to its adjusted earnings for the balance of fiscal 2017.Morgan Stanley & Co LLC is Hologic''s financial adviser, while Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is its legal adviser.Leerink Partners LLC is financial adviser to Cynosure, while Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP is its legal adviser.Shares of rival aesthetics company Syneron Medical Ltd, which also offers products for body contouring, hair and tattoo removal as well as facial treatments, were up 3 percent.(Reporting by Natalie Grover and Divya Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-cynosure-m-a-hologic-idINKBN15T1OI'|'2017-02-14T12:10:00.000+02:00' +'47b2a75379b6ec9c0b54e00307c2201319567581'|'UPDATE 1-SEB proposes higher dividend as Q4 profit beats forecast'|' 2:01am EST UPDATE 1-SEB proposes higher dividend as Q4 profit beats forecast * Q4 operating profit SEK 5.56 bln vs expected 5.07 bln * Proposes dividend of 5.50 crowns per share * Higher customer demand for risk management helped results (Adds details, background) STOCKHOLM, Feb 1 SEB, Sweden''s fourth-biggest bank by market capitalization, reported fourth-quarter operating profit above analysts'' expectations on Wednesday and proposed higher dividend as customer demand for risk management services increased. Operating profit rose to 5.56 billion Swedish crowns ($635 million) from 5.51 billion crowns in the year-ago period, beating the mean forecast for 5.07 billion crowns in a Reuters poll of analysts. Volatile markets and higher customer activity helped the bank''s performance as demand for risk management services led to higher net financial income, Sweden''s top corporate bank said. Net financial income, which includes revenues from customer trading and hedging, rose to 2.04 billion crowns from 1.62 billion crowns and was higher than the expected 1.54 billion crowns. The bank said it would propose a dividend of 5.50 crowns per share, compared with the poll forecast of 5.31 crowns and 5.25 crowns in 2015. The pay-out ratio, excluding items affecting comparability, was 75 percent. SEB''s target is to distribute 40 percent or more of earnings per share, and paid out 69 percent of profits for 2015. Net interest income, which includes revenue from mortgages and loans to companies, rose to 4.80 billion crowns in the fourth quarter from 4.68 billion crowns a year earlier and higher than the forecast of 4.77 billion crowns. Net commission income rose to 4.61 billion crowns from 4.40 billion crowns and was higher than the 4.34 billion crown forecast. Losses from loans came in at 284 million crowns, marginally better than the 289 million crown loss expected by analysts. SEB said last month CEO Annika Falkengren was quitting after 11 years at the helm, to join Swiss wealth and asset manager firm Lombard Odier Group. ($1 = 8.7535 Swedish crowns) (Reporting by Johan Ahlander; Editing Niklas Pollard and Subhranshu Sahu) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/seb-results-idUSL5N1FM0S7'|'2017-02-01T14:01:00.000+02:00' +'c1b0b6bd3c78ff38a4d0a0c3d11cb3a019320b09'|'White House memo confuses Wall Street on fate of fiduciary rule'|'Money - Tue Feb 7, 2017 - 1:21am EST White House memo confuses Wall Street on fate of fiduciary rule Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., January 23, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid By Sarah N. Lynch and Elizabeth Dilts - WASHINGTON/NEW YORK WASHINGTON/NEW YORK Conflicting signs from the White House have left brokerage firms and lobbyists unsure whether a controversial rule governing retirement advice will ever be put in place, but they are taking no chances and complying anyway. President Donald Trump''s Friday memorandum ordered the Labor Department to review the so-called "fiduciary" rule, which requires brokers to put their clients'' interests first when advising them about 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. But that call for a review was significantly weaker than an earlier draft, seen by Reuters, that requested a 180-day delay in the scheduled April 10 effective date of the rule, which is already on the books. Trump''s memo did not go as far as White House early guidance to reporters that the memo would ask the department to "defer implementation" of the rule. It is not clear to Washington insiders just how quickly or easily the Labor Department can delay implementation of the rule. And while most expect there will eventually be a delay, it still is not clear to Wall Streeters who have already started changing their business models whether they can count on a deferral or reversal of the regulation. Theres confusion because it injected a whole lot more noise into the system with very little specificity about what is to come, said Michael Spellacy, the head of PWC''s wealth management consultancy, who said he spent most of his weekend on the phone with the heads of 35 U.S. brokerages they are advising discussing the memo and its implications. Legal experts say the Labor Department likely will have to undertake a formal rulemaking process in order to delay the rule''s implementation - a process that cannot happen overnight, and that may be further delayed by the lack of a permanent Labor Secretary. Trump''s choice to be Labor Secretary, Andrew Puzder, has seen his own confirmation indefinitely postponed in the Senate amidst delays with his ethics paperwork. One other possible wrinkle that could impact the rule''s implementation, meanwhile, is a pending legal challenge in a federal court in Texas. Last week, the judge said she plans to rule no later than Feb. 10. The fiduciary rule is separate from the banking rules that were put in place after the 2008 financial crisis. Trump has also ordered a review of the 2010 Dodd-Frank reform. EXPECTING A DELAY, BUT COMPLYING ANYWAY In the meantime, lawyers are advising their financial services clients to continue preparing for the upcoming deadline. "What is clear from the memo is that we don''t have certainty yet," said Michael Kreps, an attorney with the Groom Law Group. The White House did not explain why it scaled back its memo, but legal experts say it was most likely changed because the prior version may have violated the Administrative Procedures Act - a federal law that governs the rulemaking process. That law requires public notice and a comment period before changes to a rule can be made. Had Trump proceeded with the original plan for a 180-day delay, the change could have been vulnerable to legal challenges. Legal experts say the Labor Department has a few possible options. It can issue what is known as an "interim final rule," which would immediately delay the effective date while seeking comments from the public on why a delay is justified. Or, it can issue a proposed rulemaking to delay the rule''s compliance deadline, give the public 30 days to comment, and then issue a final rule. A Labor Department spokeswoman reiterated on Monday that the department is reviewing its legal options to delay the rule, but declined to elaborate. Kenneth Laverriere, an attorney at Shearman & Sterling, said he fully expects the rule to be delayed eventually, though it will come after companies have already spent a lot of money to comply. Three of the biggest U.S. brokerages, Bank of America Corps ( BAC.N ) Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) and Wells Fargo Advisors ( WFC.N ), said Fridays memo will not change compliance plans the firms already have in place. Of those, Bank of America intends to adopt the most aggressive changes with its plans to scrap selling brokerage IRA accounts starting in April. "The genie is certainly out of the bottle," Laverriere said. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch in Washington and Elizabeth Dilts in New York; Additional reporting by Ayesha Rascoe in Washington; Editing by Linda Stern and Lisa Shumaker) Next In Money'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-labor-fiduciary-idUSKBN15M0E1'|'2017-02-07T13:21:00.000+02:00' +'39e450e7652d9aec163841dbb79255b77d6b4780'|'World food prices rise to near two-year high in January - UN FAO'|'Lifestyle - Thu Feb 2, 2017 - 4:18am EST World food prices rise to near two-year high in January: U.N. FAO A farmer harvests rice on a field in Lalitpur, Nepal October 26, 2016. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar ROME World food prices rose to a near two-year high in January, driven by surges in sugar quotations and export prices for cereals and vegetable oils, the United Nations food agency said on Thursday. The Food and Agriculture Organization''s (FAO) food price index, which measures monthly changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy products, meat and sugar, averaged 173.8 points in January, versus a revised 170.2 in December. The 2.1 percent monthly rise pushed food prices on international markets to their highest since February 2015, and 16.4 percent above their levels in January last year. Global cereals output is now expected to reach 2.592 billion tonnes in the 2016-17 season, confirming prospects of a record harvest, FAO said. (Reporting by Isla Binnie; editing by Philip Pullella) Next In Lifestyle'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-economy-food-idUSKBN15H0TV'|'2017-02-02T16:16:00.000+02:00' +'cbc817ea312c92a2976bc519afa57b0029c8f76d'|'BRIEF-Unisys Corporation names Paul Martin to board of directors'|' 12pm EST BRIEF-Unisys Corporation names Paul Martin to board of directors Feb 10 Unisys Corp * Unisys Corporation names Paul Martin to board of directors Source text for Eikon: * Q4 earnings per share view $0.51 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories Reuters News Agency - Brand Attribution Guidelines - Careers Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters . Thomson Reuters is the world''s largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSASB0AZOK'|'2017-02-10T05:12:00.000+02:00' +'b61dc01e2620be2a850a0c3111ff63d785700e49'|'Michael Kors, Coach in second round of Kate Spade auction: sources'|'Michael Kors Holding Inc ( KORS.N ) and Coach Inc ( COH.N ) are among the companies that have made it through to the second round of bidding for handbag and accessories maker Kate Spade & Co ( KATE.N ), people familiar with the situation said on Friday.The interest in Kate Spade underlines the appeal of its young clientele to other retailers as handbag makers struggle to capture the interest of shoppers inundated with options.Michael Kors and Coach face competition from other bidders, including a non-U.S. party, in the auction for Kate Spade, the people said, asking not to be identified because details of the sale process are confidential.The process is still roughly a month away from an outcome, and there is no certainty a sale will occur, the sources added.Kate Spade, which has a market capitalization of $2.9 billion, declined to comment. Michael Kors also declined to comment, while Coach did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Affordable luxury brands such as Michael Kors and Coach have suffered after they expanded their retail presence too quickly and sold too heavily in outlet stores, diluting the exclusivity that once caused shoppers to line up for the next hot handbag.These brands have been hurt as fewer shoppers in malls have led to fewer handbag sales, while a stronger dollar has made it difficult for them to maintain their popularity with tourists visiting the United States.Kate Spade would offer Coach and Michael Kors greater pricing power with department stores as well a younger clientele.Coach has been seeking to diversify its business beyond handbags, and it paid $574 million for designer footwear company Stuart Weitzman in 2015.Michael Kors, which sells apparel, handbags, watches and other accessories, said in its most recent earnings call it was "actively looking" at potential acquisitions and that it probably would not do small deals. The company has been focused on a turnaround by improving its outlets and stores.Kate Spade has been under pressure from a small New York-based hedge fund Caerus Investors. Caerus sent a letter to Kate Spade''s board in November, stating it was "increasingly frustrated" by the inability of the retailer''s management to achieve profit margins comparable with industry peers.Separately, investor Barry Rosenstein''s activist hedge fund Jana Partners LLC has revealed a 0.85 percent stake in the company.(Reporting by Lauren Hirsch and Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-kate-spade-co-m-a-idUSKBN1632KB'|'2017-02-25T01:46:00.000+02:00' +'7c9e2213b9e5dc3b7e55f646265537631cdb88d5'|'China piles into Cuba as Venezuela fades and Trump looms'|'By Marc Frank - HAVANA HAVANA From buses and trucks to a $500 million golf resort, China is deepening its business footprint in Cuba, helping the fellow Communist-run state survive a crisis in oil-benefactor Venezuela and insulate against a possible rollback of U.S. detente.Cuban imports from China reached a record $1.9 billion in 2015, nearly 60 percent above the annual average of the previous decade, and were at $1.8 billion in 2016 as the flow of oil and cash slowed from Venezuela due to economic and political turmoil in the South American country.China''s growing presence gives its companies a head start over U.S. competitors in Cuba''s opening market. It could leave the island less exposed to the chance U.S. President Donald Trump will clamp down on travel to Cuba and tighten trade restrictions loosened by his predecessor Barack Obama.A deterioration in U.S.-China relations under Trump could also lead Beijing to dig in deeper in Cuba, some analysts say.If and when the Trump administration increases pressure on China ... China may decide to double down on its expanding footprint in the United States neighborhood, said Ted Piccone, a Latin America analyst at the Brookings Institution think tank.China, the world''s second largest economy, sells goods to Cuba on soft credit terms. It is Cuba''s largest creditor and debt is regularly restructured, though amounts and terms are considered state secrets.While Cuba does not publish investment data, the state press has been abuzz with news of Chinese projects lately, covering infrastructure, telecoms, tourism and electronics.Yutong ( 600066.SS ) buses, Sinotruk ( 3808.HK ) trucks, YTO ( 600233.SS ) tractors, Geely ( 0175.HK ) cars, Haier ( 1169.HK ) domestic appliances and other products are prominent in Cuba, where the main U.S. products on display are cars dating back to the 1950s, thanks to the ongoing economic embargo.Cubans flock every day to hundreds of Huawei supplied Wi-Fi hot spots and the firm is now helping to wire the first homes."Business is really booming, more than we could have ever imagined, said the manager of a shipping company which brings in Chinese machinery and transport equipment and who asked not to be identified.The foreign ministry in Beijing described China and Cuba as "good comrades, brothers, and partners," and said the relations "were not influenced by any third party," when asked whether U.S. policy was encouraging China to deepen its presence."We are happy to see that recently countries around the world are all expanding cooperation with Cuba. I think this shows that all countries have consistent expectations about Cuba''s vast potential for development," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters.The U.S. State Department and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.INCREASED INVESTMENTOver the past two decades, China has become a major player in Latin America and the Caribbean, second only to the United States in investment flows and diplomatic clout.But the Asian giant was reluctant to invest in Cuba because of the poor business climate and fear of losing opportunities in the United States, according to Asian diplomats in Havana.That began to change after Obama moved to normalize relations two years ago and Cuba sweetened investment rules, sparking new interest among U.S. businesses and competitors around the world.China was well placed because the local government preferred doing business with long-term friends offering ample credit to work with state-run firms.In return, Cuba has shared contacts and knowledge about the region, and taught hundreds of Chinese translators Spanish.A report on the government''s official Cubadebate media web site last month said the two countries agreed to strengthen cooperation in renewable energy and industry, with 18 Chinese firms taking part in a three-day meeting in Havana.Plans for several projects were signed, including a joint venture with Haier to establish a renewable energy research and development facility, the report said.A few weeks earlier, Cuba opened its first computer assembly plant with Haier with an annual capacity of 120,000 laptops and tablets, state media reported.Other projects include pharmaceuticals, vehicle production, a container terminal in eastern Santiago de Cuba, backed by a $120 million Chinese development loan, and Beijing Enterprises Holdings Ltd. ( 0392.HK ) venture for a $460 million golf resort just east of Havana.Shanghai Electric ( 601727.SS ) is providing funds and equipment for a series of bioelectricity plants attached to sugar mills.(Additional reporting by Sue-Lin Wong and Michael Martina in Beijing; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Tom Brown)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-china-analysis-idINKBN15T2PE'|'2017-02-14T17:50:00.000+02:00' +'100963444f052213b18db9904b2beb7491128154'|'Straumann on hunt for 3D printer partner, could take stake - CEO'|' 50am GMT Straumann on hunt for 3D printer partner, could take stake - CEO ZURICH Straumann ( STMN.S ) Chief Executive Marco Gadola is on the hunt for a 3D printing partner, saying on Thursday it is likely that the Swiss dental implant maker will reach distribution agreement over the next 12 months that includes a possible ownership stake. "What we have to offer is a worldwide distribution network, especially when it comes to penetrating dentists'' offices," Gadola said in an interview . "More and more dentists are looking at 3D printing in their own offices." Gadola said fast-growing 3D printing applications for dentists is one of the few remaining gaps in the company''s push to become what he calls a "total solutions" provider. "The probability is rather high" that such a distribution pact will emerge over the next year, he said. Straumann''s full-year 2016 net income tripled to 230 million Swiss francs ($229 million), helped by a one-time tax gain related to the acquisition of Brazil''s Neodent. It plans to pay a dividend of 4.25 francs per share. ($1 = 1.0043 Swiss francs) (Reporting by John Miller; Editing by Michael Shields) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-straumann-results-3d-printing-idUKKBN15V0PQ'|'2017-02-16T14:50:00.000+02:00' +'33959bf2e162cfb489c7ddb434b2c6a7455a7e22'|'New labor laws in Chile embolden striking miners'|'Commodities - Wed Feb 15, 2017 - 1:10am EST New labor laws in Chile embolden striking miners left right Workers from BHP Billiton''s Escondida, the world''s biggest copper mine, gather outside the company gates during a strike, in Antofagasta, Chile February 9, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Ricardo 1/5 left right Workers from BHP Billiton''s Escondida, the world''s biggest copper mine, gather outside the company gates during a strike, in Antofagasta, Chile February 10, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Ricardo 2/5 left right Workers from BHP Billiton''s Escondida, the world''s biggest copper mine, gather outside the company gates during a strike, in Antofagasta, Chile February 10, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Ricardo 3/5 left right Workers from BHP Billiton''s Escondida, the world''s biggest copper mine, gather outside the company gates during a strike, in Antofagasta, Chile February 9, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Ricardo 4/5 left right Workers from BHP Billiton''s Escondida, the world''s biggest copper mine, gather outside the company gates during a strike, in Antofagasta, Chile February 9, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Ricardo 5/5 By Gram Slattery and Fabian Cambero - SANTIAGO/ANTOFAGASTA SANTIAGO/ANTOFAGASTA Workers at the world''s largest copper mine in Chile are digging in for a long strike, emboldened by new labor laws that are likely to result in tough wage negotiations in the industry in 2017 in one of Latin America''s most free-market economies. The 2,500-member union at BHP Billiton''s Escondida mine has been on strike since Thursday. Labor leaders say they are far from reaching an agreement, and BHP has already said it will not be able to fulfill copper delivery contracts. The stoppage at Escondida, combined with export issues at Freeport-McMoRan Inc''s Grasberg copper mine in Indonesia, the world''s second-largest, have sent prices for the metal to 20-month highs amid supply concerns. Workers at mines representing around 12 percent of global output are due to renegotiate contracts in Chile in 2017, with any stoppage likely to affect volatile copper prices. Escondida''s labor relations have long been fractious, and strikes paralyzed the mine in 2011 and 2006, when previous collective labor contracts were renegotiated. This time, negotiations stalled in part because of a freshly minted labor code that aims to return power lost by unions decades ago, people with knowledge of the talks told Reuters. The law does not take effect until April, but its provisions and language have influenced the union''s negotiating position. Last year, the center-left government of President Michelle Bachelet passed the sweeping, complex reform to strengthen the hand of organized labor, which government supporters say never recovered from suppression under the 1973-1990 dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Union sources say workers broke off wage talks with Escondida in part because they believed the company was using underhanded tactics to dilute the impact of that reform. BHP declined to comment on ongoing negotiations. But one legal source with knowledge of BHP''s negotiating strategy said the reform had effectively narrowed the pay and benefit proposals the company could successfully take to the union. The situation at Escondida bodes ill for other mining companies ahead of wage talks expected elsewhere in Chile this year. Anglo American Plc and Glencore Plc''s Collahuasi mine and Barrick Gold Corp and Antofogasta Plc''s Zaldivar mine are among those on that list. Those two mines account for about a half-million tonnes per year of copper output and more than 2 percent of global supply. Labor leaders at both deposits said they had good relationships with management. They added, however, they would use the powers granted them in the reform in the coming negotiations. "It brings some rather powerful tools to the workers'' movement," said Raul Torres, president of Zaldivar''s main union. An Antofagasta spokeswoman said the company was already working with unions to define what activities a company can perform during a legal strike under the reform. Collahuasi did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Escondida, majority-controlled by BHP with minority participations by Rio Tinto and Japanese companies including Mitsubishi Corp, produced about 5 percent of the world''s copper alone last year. LEGAL COMPLEXITIES At Escondida, a principal point of contention between the company and workers is a proposal by BHP to offer new workers fewer benefits than those awarded to laborers already at the mine, the union said. The union says this is a BHP ploy to undermine a provision in the new labor code. Under that provision, known as the minimum-floor rule, a company will not be permitted during wage talks to offer workers benefits weaker than those afforded in the previous contract. If junior workers have fewer benefits than their colleagues, that could lower the negotiating floor for the next round of wage talks, years down the road, union leaders say. "It''s very probable that the company intends to lower benefits (for new workers) so that the next negotiation starts with what that established," union spokesman Carlos Allendes said. "(For us) that''s the last straw, the last thrashes of a drowning man." Other aspects of the law, such as provisions that give unions greater powers over nonunionized workers, were also affecting negotiations, the legal source said, and workers were adopting the language of the new rules. "The words that were put into the labor reform have become the words of the union," added the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks. Workers have also said that if the strike stretches into April, when the reform goes into effect, they would need to examine what additional demands to make, if any. However, under Chilean law, the negotiation would largely continue under the old regulations, so the concrete benefits of holding out until the reform takes effect would be limited, lawyers say. The labor reform passed Congress last April after a bruising battle that opened up divisions within the governing coalition. But a constitutional court struck down several sections of the legislation, leaving lawyers uncertain about how much of the reform can be implemented. A government representative was not immediately available to comment for this story, but proponents of the law say more workers'' protections are needed to battle Chile''s biting inequality. Industry analysts are watching negotiations at Escondida and elsewhere for a sense of how the reform will play out throughout Chile''s economy. "In some respects, this strike is a kind of transition between the old system and the new," said Juan Carlos Guajardo, president of Chilean copper consultancy Plusmining. (Writing by Gram Slattery and Rosalba O''Brien; Editing by Simon Webb and Matthew Lewis) Next In Commodities'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-chile-copper-escondida-labor-idUSKBN15U0H5'|'2017-02-15T13:01:00.000+02:00' +'7fb356caf8161c14921c836dce544b8ff0a2a0c8'|'UPDATE 1-Boeing expects 737 MAX-9 to fly in April as larger version takes shape'|'Business 1:07pm EST Boeing expects 737 MAX-9 to fly in April as larger version takes shape left right Boeing''s new 737 MAX-9 is pictured under construction at their production facility in Renton, Washington, U.S., February 13, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Redmond 1/12 left right A worker is pictured next to Boeing''s new 737 MAX-9 under construction at their production facility in Renton, Washington, U.S., February 13, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Redmond 2/12 left right An engine of Boeing''s new 737 MAX-9 is pictured under construction at their production facility in Renton, Washington, U.S., February 13, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Redmond 3/12 left right Boeing''s new 737 MAX-9 is pictured under construction at their production facility in Renton, Washington, U.S., February 13, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Redmond 4/12 left right Boeing''s new 737 MAX-9 is pictured under construction at their production facility in Renton, Washington, U.S., February 13, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Redmond 5/12 left right A worker walks past Boeing''s new 737 MAX-9 under construction at their production facility in Renton, Washington, U.S., February 13, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Redmond 6/12 left right Workers are pictured next to Boeing''s new 737 MAX-9 under construction at their production facility in Renton, Washington, U.S., February 13, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Redmond 7/12 left right The cockpit of Boeing''s new 737 MAX-9 is pictured under construction at their production facility in Renton, Washington, U.S., February 13, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Redmond 8/12 left right A wing for a Boeing 737 is pictured in the wing system installation area at their factory in Renton, Washington, U.S., February 13, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Redmond 9/12 left right Keith Leverkuhn, vice president in charge of Boeing''s 737 program, speaks to reporters at their factory in Renton, Washington, U.S., February 13, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Redmond 10/12 left right Boeing''s new 737 MAX-9 is pictured under construction at their production facility in Renton, Washington, U.S., February 13, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Redmond 11/12 left right A Spar Assembly Line (SAL) machine, which builds spars for wings, is pictured at Boeing''s 737 factory in Renton, Washington, U.S., February 13, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Redmond 12/12 By Alwyn Scott - SEATTLE SEATTLE Boeing Co ( BA.N ) said on Tuesday it plans to fly its new 737 MAX-9 aircraft for the first time in April, a further sign the company will start delivering the large version of the workhorse plane in 2018. Delivery of the single-aisle 737 MAX models, which replace the current 737 "NG" introduced in 1997, is crucial for Boeing to hit the financial targets it has promised investors and to offset slowing output of some of its largest jets such as the 777 and 747. Airlines want the MAX because it burns significantly less fuel than current models. The world''s largest plane maker is creating up to five MAX versions, while planning to increase output to 57 planes a month in 2019, from 42 a month at present. The first MAX model in production, known as the MAX-8, is on track to reach customers by mid-year. "We are anticipating our certification of the airplane within a matter of days-weeks," Keith Leverkuhn, 737 general manager, said at a Monday briefing embargoed until Tuesday. The stamp of approval by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration would come about a year after the MAX-8''s first flight and allow Boeing to begin delivering the $110 million, 162-seat jetliner in the second quarter, he said. Deliveries trigger the bulk of airline payments. Norwegian Air Shuttle ( NWC.OL ) will be one of the first airlines to fly the plane commercially, likely ahead of launch customer Southwest Airlines Co ( LUV.N ), which was first to order the MAX but is taking longer to put it into service. Boeing expects the MAX to account for as much as 15 percent of the 500 or more 737s it expects to deliver in 2017, rising to nearly 100 percent by 2020. Boeing on Monday showed off the first 737 MAX-9 sitting near the end of the assembly line at its factory in Renton, Washington. The nearly completed jet, which carries a list price of $116.6 million and seats 178, will undergo about nine months of testing after first flight in April. MAX-10 TAKES SHAPE Boeing is mulling an even larger version, the 737 MAX-10, to take on rival Airbus ( AIR.PA ), which has had strong sales of its A321neo that is a larger competitor to the MAX-9. The MAX-10 would be 66 inches (1.68 m) longer than the MAX-9, with the same engine thrust. The major change will be the landing gear, which must be taller to accommodate the longer fuselage. Boeing expects to test various landing gear designs this year "to see which one ... is going to be the best solution," Leverkuhn said. Boeing is about 90 percent finished with design drawings for the smallest version, the 737 MAX-7. A high-density MAX-200, with seating for 200 passengers, rounds out the model line. Sales of Boeing''s larger twin-aisle planes have slowed sharply and the company is cutting output of the profitable 777 by 40 percent this year. It will rely on the 737 and 787 to make up a large part of the financial difference. Introducing new models while increasing production rates requires Boeing to solve any factory issues quickly. So far, Leverkuhn said, "the hours to build the MAX are meeting our expectation." (Editing by Matthew Lewis) Exclusive: Yellen brushes off warning, says Fed has authority on global talks NEW YORK Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, in response to a warning from a U.S. congressman to halt global regulatory talks in the early stages of Donald Trump''s presidency, said in a letter the Fed has the authority and responsibility to consult with its foreign counterparts and does so to benefit the United States.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-boeing-idUSKBN15T2FB'|'2017-02-15T01:00:00.000+02:00' +'901c03d03c7340fde8ede136c8e173d12cbb0e15'|'REFILE-Top AstraZeneca shareholder Woodford adds to stake, bullish on outlook'|'Business 37pm EST Top AstraZeneca shareholder Woodford adds to stake, bullish on outlook FILE PHOTO: The logo of AstraZeneca is seen on a medication package at a pharmacy in London April 28, 2014. To match Insight CHINA-CANCER/BLACK MARKET REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth/File Photo LONDON Top AstraZeneca ( AZN.L ) shareholder Woodford Investment Management said on Wednesday it had added to its stake in the pharmaceutical firm and was confident in its growth outlook. Woodford, in an update on its website, said shares in AstraZeneca had been unfairly hit since analysts raised concern about the prospects for its key cancer drug trial, Mystic, after rival Bristol-Myers Squibb ( BMY.N ) scaled back its plans in a similar area. "Whilst this is understandable to an extent, we think the reaction is wrong. Indeed, Bristol-Myers Squibbs problems in this setting may well turn out to be positive for AstraZeneca," Mitchell Fraser-Jones said in a note to investors. Fraser-Jones said Woodford believed AstraZeneca was on a path to return to growth regardless of the outcome of Mystic, although it was nevertheless optimistic that Mystic would be successful when results are released later this year. (Adds dropped word "trial" in second paragraph) (Reporting by Simon Jessop; Editing by Susan Fenton) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-astrazeneca-shareholder-woodford-idUSKBN15V26D'|'2017-02-17T00:36:00.000+02:00' +'9f79545225f6f632621ac0b796e628c60af5b269'|'Russia''s MTS says to buy back shares worth 4.65 bln roubles from Sistema'|'Company News 35am EST Russia''s MTS says to buy back shares worth 4.65 bln roubles from Sistema MOSCOW Feb 15 Russia''s biggest mobile phone operator MTS said on Wednesday it would repurchase 16 million of its shares from its parent company Sistema for 4.65 billion roubles ($81 million). MTS will also buy the same number of shares for the same price from its minority shareholders, it added in a statement. ($1 = 57.4737 roubles) (Reporting by Polina Devitt; writing by Alessandra Prentice; editing by Polina Devitt) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/russia-mts-buyback-idUSR4N1FZ00E'|'2017-02-15T19:35:00.000+02:00' +'777d4ec9e49fef33bafba6a002cae014b8f7e28d'|'France''s Ubisoft lowers sales guidance after Q3 miss'|'French software games developer Ubisoft ( UBIP.PA ) cut its full year sales guidance by 10 percent after reporting sales below expectations for the key Christmas quarter, the company said on Thursday.Sales for the Sept-Dec quarter fell 6 percent to 529.9 million euros ($565.4 million), short of the 560.0 million euros, it had expected.The company said the launch of a sequel to its open-world hacking game, Watch Dogs 2, did not go "as dynamic as expected".($1 = 0.9373 euros)(Reporting by Wout Vergauwen; Editing by Adrian Croft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/ubisoft-results-idINKBN15O28G'|'2017-02-09T13:52:00.000+02:00' +'d483710709a8ead2df2f41f27138d940c5626c4a'|'METALS-Copper recovers some lost ground but demand concerns weigh'|' 02am EST METALS-Copper recovers some lost ground but demand concerns weigh * Copper heads for second straight weekly drop * Demand doubts counter supply pinch in Chile, Indonesia * GRAPHIC-2017 metal returns: tmsnrt.rs/2eqHKkL (Updates throughout, adds LONDON dateline) By Jan Harvey LONDON, Feb 24 Copper clawed back some of the previous session''s hefty losses on Friday as supply disruptions in Chile and Indonesia lent support, but stayed on track for a second straight weekly drop as concerns over the demand outlook weighed. The metal used in construction fell 3 percent on Thursday, its biggest one-day drop in 17 months, as traders flagged persistent worries over Chinese consumption. Some investors also cashed in after copper hit a 21-month high of $6,204 on Feb. 13 on supply outages from major copper mines and hopes a pledge by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to lift infrastructure spending would fuel demand. The metal remained well off its February peak on Friday. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.7 percent at $5,898 a tonne at 1040 GMT, and was set to end the week 1.1 percent lower. "All the signs coming out of China are that the authorities are committed to reining in credit growth this year, rather than stimulating economic growth at all costs. That would be negative for copper," Capital Economics analyst Caroline Bain said. "Yes, there are supply disruptions, but stocks are also very high," she added. "Copper started to rally after Trump got elected in the U.S. There was optimism there about demand, given his fiscal stimulus plans ... We think again there''ll be disappointment about demand on that front." China''s refined copper imports fell 14 percent last month, Chinese customs data showed on Friday. Strike action at the Escondida copper mine in Chile, which accounts for about 6 percent of world supply, lent support. Operator BHP Billiton this week delayed its legal right to replace striking workers, a move seen as sacrificing output to undermine the union''s position. A halt to the Grasberg copper mine in Indonesia by Freeport McMoRan was also giving copper bulls solace. "Given their size, lengthy disruptions at either will eat into this year''s normal 5 percent disruption allowance," GFMS analysts at Thomson Reuters said in a recent report. "But unless accompanied by other major disruptions, they are still unlikely to prevent another year of surplus." Aluminium was 0.7 percent higher at $1,880.50 a tonne, while lead was up 0.8 percent at $2,256 a tonne. Zinc was 1.1 percent higher at $2,821.50 a tonne. Zinc prices are still nearly double the levels seen in January 2016 due to deficits arising from mine closures and shutdowns. Nickel was up 1.3 percent at $10,720 a tonne, while tin was 2 percent higher at $19,150 a tonne. PRICES'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/global-metals-idUSL4N1G936X'|'2017-02-24T18:02:00.000+02:00' +'8b4d7b0afcdc993daa4843a5cc9d465d3da2fea5'|'Millions face benefits cut-off in South African service-provider row'|'Company News 40am EST Millions face benefits cut-off in South African service-provider row By Wendell Roelf - CAPE TOWN CAPE TOWN Feb 28 Millions of South Africa''s most vulnerable people, including the disabled and the old, are in danger of missing their social security payments because of a service-provider dispute, setting the government racing to meet an April 1 deadline. Zodwa Mvulane, project manager at South Africa''s Social Security Agency (SASSA) said on Tuesday the agency was seeking to ensure as many as 17 million people continued to receive their money, despite concerns that retaining the existing service provider is both unlawful and costly. "We will be negotiating with the current service provider for a new contract," she said. The existing contract, run by Cash Paymaster Services, a unit of technology company Net1 unit, has been in doubt since South Africa''s highest court ruled four years ago that the tender process to acquire its services was unlawful. It ordered that a new contract to be negotiated. SASSA has so far failed to find a new service provider to take up the service at the start of April or set up its own payment agency, officials said, adding that they opted to renew the deal with Cash Paymaster Services despite the court order. The looming crisis saw opposition parties and ruling African National Congress members of parliament unite on Tuesday in a rare display of cross-party condemnation as SASSA officials struggled to justify the delays. For millions of South Africa''s most vulnerable SASSA money is often the difference between an empty or full belly. The Treasury has expressed misgivings about SASSA retaining Cash Paymaster Services, a move also criticised by members of parliament''s committee on public accounts. "You are literally between a rock and a hard place, because Treasury will have to approve your process and it doesn''t look like it wants to do it," said Tim Brauteseth of the opposition Democratic Alliance. Brauteseth quoted a Treasury letter to SASSA saying extending a contract declared invalid by the Constitutional Court was "not justifiable". The government''s expenditure on social grants in the 2017/18 financial year amounting to more than 150 billion rand ($12 billion), a key expenditure item in a low-growth environment. Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini assured beneficiaries that government would continue with payments. The minister said she would hold a news conference on Wednesday to address all questions related to SASSA. ($1 = 13.0375 rand) (Editing by James Macharia/Jeremy Gaunt) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/safrica-welfare-idUSL5N1GD3WQ'|'2017-02-28T22:40:00.000+02:00' +'43f181f589a473760dfd71f410ac65a992ce4297'|'Britain cuts discount rate for personal injury claims in blow for insurers'|'Money - Mon Feb 27, 2017 - 8:12am GMT Britain cuts discount rate for personal injury claims in blow for insurers LONDON Britain on Monday changed the rate at which compensation payments are calculated in personal injury claims, a move likely to increase the size of lump sum pay outs and potentially hit UK motor insurers'' profits. The Ministry of Justice cut the discount rate used to calculate lump sum payouts to minus 0.75 percent from 2.5 percent, it said in a statement, a rate that had been in place since 2001. A downwards move in the discount rate is expected to force insurers to pay out more in cash to personal injury claimants now to ensure that returns over their lifetime met the awarded compensation. "The current legal framework makes clear that claimants must be treated as risk-averse investors, reflecting the fact that they may be financially dependent on this lump sum, often for long periods or the duration of their life," the Ministry of Justice said. Admiral ( ADML.L ) said on Monday it was postponing the publication of its annual results as a result of the change, to March 8 from March 1. It estimated the net financial impact on 2016 reported profit at 70-100 million pounds. Direct Line ( DLGD.L ) last week postponed the release of its annual results until after the results of the review. It said in a statement on Monday it would update the market later in the day on the implications of the change. (Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; Editing by Rachel Armstrong) Next In Money UK average pay deal inches up to 2 percent - XpertHR LONDON British companies gave staff an average 2 percent annual pay rise in the three months to the end of January, unchanged from a year earlier, according to data on Thursday which offered little sign that employees will be shielded from rising inflation.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-insurance-discountrate-idUKKBN1660T8'|'2017-02-27T15:04:00.000+02:00' +'ee86a0c35194bbb02015f3fb73e750514c12fca0'|'UPDATE 1-Morgan Stanley''s chief U.S. equity strategist to join hedge fund -source'|'Company News 48am EST UPDATE 1-Morgan Stanley''s chief U.S. equity strategist to join hedge fund -source (Adds background) By Olivia Oran NEW YORK Feb 15 Morgan Stanley''s chief U.S. equity strategist, Adam Parker, is leaving the company, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Wednesday. Parker is joining hedge fund Eminence Capital, according to a person familiar with the matter. This is the second major departure from Morgan Stanley for a hedge fund in as many days. Peter Santoro, who had been head of global equities trading, is leaving for Millennium Partners, Reuters reported on Tuesday.. Parker, who was also director of quantitative research at Morgan Stanley, will take on a similar role at Eminence, a long/short equity hedge fund run by Ricky Sandler. Mike Wilson, Morgan Stanley''s chief investment officer of wealth management, will assume Parker''s responsibilities as well as those of chief investment officer of institutional securities. A Morgan Stanley spokesman confirmed the contents of the memo. Parker could not immediately be reached for comment. Wilson joined Morgan Stanley in 1989 as an investment banker and held various positions, including head of content distribution. In 2012, he became chief investment officer of wealth management. (Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Lisa Von Ahn) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/morgan-stanley-investing-idUSL1N1G00WW'|'2017-02-15T23:48:00.000+02:00' +'d48276ba6fdeef4db34a78c5beb2582c2546edee'|'Cree ends Wolfspeed deal with Infineon over U.S. security concerns'|'Deals 59pm EST Cree ends Wolfspeed deal with Infineon over U.S. security concerns U.S. LED lighting maker Cree Inc ( CREE.O ) said it would terminate a deal to sell its Wolfspeed Power and RF division to German chipmaker Infineon Technologies AG ( IFXGn.DE ), citing security concerns raised by the U.S. government. Cree and Infineon have not been able to identify alternatives to address the security concerns, Cree said on Thursday. The Wolfspeed division makes devices using gallium nitride, a sensitive powdery compound with military applications whose use by other companies has led the United States to block deals. Infineon, which agreed to buy Wolfspeed in July last year for $850 million, said earlier in the day that it did not expect to be able to salvage the purchase. Infineon will pay a termination fee of $12.5 million, Cree said. (Reporting by Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-wolfspeed-m-a-infineon-technol-idUSKBN15V2UY'|'2017-02-17T04:54:00.000+02:00' +'0389ab468349591337395fd1781b2620ae309200'|'World business grows as it faces upcoming risks'|'Business 36pm GMT World business grows as it faces upcoming risks left right FILE PHOTO: A customer shops in a Casino supermarket in Nice, France, January 16, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/File Photo 1/3 left right FILE PHOTO: A tree is seen surrounded by plastic pipes at a factory in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, China January 12, 2017. REUTERS/Aly Song /File Photo 2/3 left right FILE PHOTO: A waiter carries plates of food for customers at the Britannia and Co. restaurant in Mumbai September 19, 2013. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/File Photo 3/3 By Jonathan Cable - LONDON LONDON Global businesses started 2017 on a solid footing, surveys showed on Friday, thriving ahead of a myriad of political risks in the coming year. Fears of a growing protectionist agenda in the United States, whether national elections across Europe upset the status quo and just how fractious Britain''s divorce proceedings from the European Union become, are all expected to weigh in the months ahead. Yet so far those risks seem to have been mostly ignored with firms from Asia to Europe to the United States increasing or at least largely maintaining activity. Euro zone businesses started 2017 by increasing activity at the same multi-year record pace they set in December while the U.S. non-farm payroll report showed job growth surging more than expected in January as construction firms and retailers ramped up hiring. "Overall while this report is further evidence that the (U.S.) labor market is buoyant the continued slow pace of wage growth means that the (Federal Reserve) will feel under no great pressure to step up the pace of monetary tightening," economists at Lloyds Bank told clients in a note. China''s factory activity grew for a seventh month and while India''s services business contracted for a third month as firms struggled to recover from a government crackdown on currency in circulation, the pace slowed. "The outlook for this year is reasonably bright despite all the risks. The numbers for January have generally been quite positive," said Andrew Kenningham, chief global economist at Capital Economics. Growth in Britain''s services sector slowed for the first time in four months in January, dipping just below its long-run average, as businesses battled the sharpest rise in costs in more than five years. But on Thursday the Bank of England sharply revised up its growth forecast for 2017 to 2.0 percent, a view held by only the most optimistic forecaster in a Reuters poll of 50 economists taken last month. Britain''s economy unexpectedly outpaced all its major peers last year, wrongfooting those who expected an immediate hit from June''s Brexit vote. The Markit/CIPS British services Purchasing Managers'' Index dropped to a three-month low of 54.5 last month from December''s 15-month high, at the bottom end of a range of forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists, but Markit said the PMIs still point to first quarter growth of 0.5 percent. "Despite the slightly disappointing outcome this remains a very strong report," said James Knightley, senior economist at ING. IHS Markit''s final composite PMI for the euro zone, seen as a good guide to growth, held at 54.4. It has not been higher since May 2011 and has remained above the 50 mark dividing growth from contraction since mid-2013. That points to first quarter expansion of 0.4 percent, Markit said, matching the median prediction in a Reuters poll. A similar survey from the U.S. showed non-manufacturing growth dipped marginally last month. China''s factory activity expanded for the seventh straight month in January, giving Beijing more room to tackle chronic imbalances in the economy. The Caixin/Markit Manufacturing PMI fell to 51.0. The world''s second largest economy has seen a broad-based pickup in recent months, with fourth-quarter GDP beating expectations due largely to a strong housing market and higher government spending on infrastructure projects. A recovery in the country''s "smokestack" industries has also been supported by government mandates to close down outdated production capacity in the coal and steel sectors, as well as a rebound in investment in the property sector that came amid a record flood of credit. India''s Nikkei/IHS Markit Services PMI remained below 50 registering 48.7 in January as firms still reel from Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s decision in November to abolish high-value bank notes. Modi''s policy removed 86 percent of the currency in circulation, hitting consumption and capital investments, and shattered traditional cash-reliant supply chains. (Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-economy-idUKKBN15I1FP'|'2017-02-03T22:26:00.000+02:00' +'1f3184f4f53db859f33e7ca81f2e361d7b1fe5e6'|'Low-carbon policy ''less vital than low energy bills and security'' - Business'|'Ministers should establish a new energy commission to spur on construction of power stations because successive governments have failed to encourage enough fresh power capacity in the UK, according to a House of Lords report.Subsidy-backed growth in renewable energy projects, such as windfarms, has deterred the construction of new conventional power plants, the economic affairs committee claimed. The peers envisage the new energy commission would oversee auctions where all technologies, including gas power, competed for guaranteed electricity prices. The auctions would provide the required amount of capacity and cap carbon emissions.At present the government only allows low-carbon power, such as windfarms and new nuclear power stations, to compete in auctions for such deals, known as contracts for difference.The influential cross-party group of peers concluded that successive governments have got their priorities wrong on energy policy by giving priority to carbon emissions cuts a statutory duty under the Climate Change Act over keeping costs down and keeping the lights on.UK offshore wind ''will lower energy bills'' more than nuclear Read more The report has sparked an angry response. Robert Gross, director of the centre for energy policy and technology at Imperial College, London, said: The term post truth has become over-used. Yet it would be possible to take all the evidence the committee presents and tell a completely different story: theres been huge success in growing renewables and reducing emissions from the power sector.Lord Hollick, the committees chair, said: We are critical of the drift thats taken place over the last 15 years or so, which has delivered on the decarbonisation agenda but very much at the expense of consumers paying 58% more than they were in 2003. On the affordability front we havent looked after consumers. Zero carbon emissions target to be enshrined in UK law Read more The peers, who include the former chancellor Norman Lamont, and a former head of the civil service, Andrew Turnbull, said security of supply should become the key aim of energy policy, above decarbonisation and cost. Low-carbon but chronically unreliable electricity is not acceptable. Similarly very cheap prices at the expense of frequent shortages would be unacceptable, the report says, which also claims fossil fuels have remained cheaper than renewable sources.But Paul Massara, the former chief executive of npower who now runs the renewable energy firm North Star Solar, said the committee was simply wrong to say fossil fuels were always cheaper than renewables, and condemned the report as backward looking.Darren Baxter, a researcher at the Institute for Public Policy Research thinktank, said: A failure to keep the pace up with decarbonisation, as suggested in this report, would be a disaster for the north [of England] and its growing low-carbon economy.Greg Clark to meet energy firms over ''profiteering'' claims Read more Hollick told the Guardian that the government had micromanaged the energy market and did not need to interfere as much. He said the government should now allow the energy commission to move forward, to run auctions, to fill the gap and to build a properly balanced [energy system].Hollick denied the report was anti-renewables. Exactly the opposite. We see renewables very much as the way forward, he said, arguing that more public money should go into R&D in renewables and energy storage.Toshiba crisis: unions urge government to ''get a grip'' on nuclear policy Read more The committee also urged the government to publish its plan B if the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station, which is expected to provide 7% of the UKs electricity from 2025, is delayed or even cancelled. Hollick said the biggest surprise during the committees inquiry was the fragility of the governments nuclear ambitions, which envisage new nuclear reactors in Somerset, Suffolk, Anglesey and Cumbria.It is imperative that the government publishes it contingency plans for how it will make up the capacity due to be provided by these plants in the event one or more does not succeed or is delayed, the report says. Hollick said he expected the governments energy back-up plan to be made up largely of new gas power stations and offshore windfarms.A spokeswoman for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: Keeping the lights on is non-negotiable. Our top priority is making sure UK families and businesses have secure, affordable energy supplies.Energy industry House of Lords Fossil fuels Energy Greenhouse gas emissions Climate change news Share Reuse this content'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/feb/24/low-carbon-policy-less-vital-than-low-energy-bills-and-security'|'2017-02-24T14:10:00.000+02:00' +'bdd75bde0f3adc29ca4e76cb70575c5d6e4e259c'|'Shell misses fourth-quarter estimates after $500 million of impairments'|'Business News - Thu Feb 2, 2017 - 7:19am GMT Shell misses fourth-quarter estimates after $500 million of impairments LONDON Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ), Europe''s largest oil major, missed analysts'' profit expectations for the fourth quarter after booking $500 million (394.5 million pounds) of impairments. Shell''s cost of supplies excluding identified items, its preferred way of measuring profit, was $1.8 billion in the fourth quarter, against analyst expectations of $2.8 billion. "Earnings were impacted by charges of $0.5 billion related to deferred tax reassessments which were not included as identified items," the company said. (Reporting by Karolin Schaps and Ron Bousso; Editing by David Goodman) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-shell-results-idUKKBN15H0K7'|'2017-02-02T14:19:00.000+02:00' +'6eaa22035962319d8ee070aa01a0612b1b9469b3'|'Indian police bust $550-million internet scam that duped thousands'|'By Tommy Wilkes - NEW DELHI NEW DELHI Indian police have busted an internet scam in which around 650,000 people lost a combined 37 billion rupees ($549 million) after sending money to a company that promised they would earn cash by clicking on web links, police said on Friday.Police, who described the pyramid-style scheme as one of India''s biggest ever, said they had arrested three ringleaders on the outskirts of New Delhi, the capital, and seized more than 5 billion rupees ($74 million) from bank accounts."They learned that if you give some money back to members, the investments would go up exponentially," Amit Pathak, head of a police cyber crime unit in India''s populous northern state of Uttar Pradesh, told Reuters.The men ran a series of websites that promised would-be subscribers a chance to earn five rupees ($0.07) each time they clicked or liked web links sent to their mobile phones, police said.The unsuspecting investors each paid thousands of rupees into the company''s bank accounts to join the scheme, but the web links they received were fake.The company running the alleged scam had operated for years, but earned almost all the money over a few months from last August, after it began to distribute some of the proceeds, using the beneficiaries to draw in more investors.Police said the ringleaders had not yet appointed lawyers as the chargesheet was still being prepared.When police raided the company''s head office in the city of Noida they found 250 passports of employees and members who had been rewarded with a holiday to Australia.The scammers planned to film the holiday and then post it online as promotional material to lure more subscribers.The alleged mastermind spent some of the proceeds on houses, cars and celebrity parties. Pathak said it would take time to trace most of the money, and several bank employees were believed to be involved."It''s a very big task for us. We have brought in the income-tax department, and other government agencies, to trace the money," Pathak said.Cyber crime in India, home to the world''s second largest number of internet users, jumped 350 percent in the three years to 2014 as criminals exploited booming smartphone use, a study by auditing services firm PwC and industry lobby group Assocham showed last year.($1=67.3100 Indian rupees)(Reporting by Tommy Wilkes)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/india-fraud-idINKBN15I18V'|'2017-02-03T07:30:00.000+02:00' +'a5c1625be719ea5a3a5e0e770a4ec3b269f454be'|'BRIEF-International Flavors & Fragrances posts qtrly earnings $1.00/shr'|' 4:59pm EST BRIEF-International Flavors & Fragrances posts qtrly earnings $1.00/shr Feb 15 International Flavors & Fragrances Inc * IFF reports fourth quarter & full year 2016 results * International Flavors & Fragrances Inc - expects growth rates in 2017 to accelerate versus prior year * International Flavors & Fragrances Inc - announces multi-year productivity program to selectively invest & deliver long-term targets in 2018 * International Flavors & Fragrances sees savings from productivity program to reach an annual run-rate of between $40 million and $45 million by end of 2019 * International Flavors & Fragrances Inc - qtrly earnings per share $1.00 * Sees FY 2017 sales up between 7.5 pct - 8.5 pct * Q4 earnings per share view $1.18 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * International Flavors & Fragrances - productivity program expected to result in cumulative, pre-tax charge of $35 million - $40 million in 2017 and 2018 * Sees fy 2017 earnings per share up between 6.5 pct - 7.5 pct * International Flavors & Fragrances Inc - expect to take approximately $10 million of the pre-tax charge in Q1 of 2017 * Qtrly net sales $762.6 million versus $715.7 million * Q4 revenue view $751.7 million -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * Sees FY 2017 adjusted earnings per share up between 4.0 pct - 5.0 pct * Fy2017 earnings per share view $5.86, revenue view $3.31 billion -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSASB0B0JO'|'2017-02-16T04:59:00.000+02:00' +'d044c1e97a5df44d5196805c914fedafd8c717b8'|'BRIEF-Apple considering legal options regarding Trump''s executive order on immigration - CNBC'|'Company News 51am EST BRIEF-Apple considering legal options regarding Trump''s executive order on immigration - CNBC Feb 1 (Reuters) - * Apple considering legal options regarding Trump''s executive order on immigration & company asking trump admin to reverse it - CNBC Next In Company News UPDATE 1-U.S. takes steps to review Dakota Access pipeline WASHINGTON, Feb 1 The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers on Wednesday said it had taken initial steps to review requests to approve the final permit to finish the controversial Dakota Access pipeline, which has been the focus of protests for months.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1FM0UC'|'2017-02-01T22:51:00.000+02:00' +'354b190d9ac26097efa844cb2063c989640b64bf'|'Private equity executive Feinberg in talks to join Trump administration'|'Feb 2 Cerberus Capital Management LP''s chief executive, Stephen Feinberg, is in talks to join U.S. President Donald Trump''s administration in a senior role, the private equity firm said on Thursday.The move would require Feinberg to provide "voluminous information" and disclosures to the Office of Government Ethics and take actions to comply with all applicable conflict-of-interest rules and regulations, Cerberus told its investors earlier on Thursday in a letter seen by Reuters.Cerberus also told its investors that it has a succession plan in place that would result in minimal changes to the current management and operation of the firm. (Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usas-trump-feinberg-idINL1N1FN1DD'|'2017-02-02T15:25:00.000+02:00' +'15c9b7993a78d854924f053e12c6ee2a3628ed1d'|'Tech industry braces for Trump''s visa reform'|'Tech industry braces for Trump''s visa reform by Sara Ashley O''Brien @saraashleyo February 5, 2017: 11:52 AM ET Jack Dorsey: ''We benefit from immigration'' As President Trump is fighting in court for his seven-nation travel ban , the tech industry is bracing for another executive order that could hit business hard. A draft proposal that''s been circulating for a few weeks would impact a range of visas -- including the H-1B, business visitor visas, investor visas and work visas for the so-called "dreamers." The White House''s plans for the possible executive order are unclear. But it''s a high-priority topic in the tech community. The H-1B visa program is particularly near and dear to tech. It''s a popular pathway that helps high-skilled foreigners work at U.S. companies. Many talented engineers -- along with other professions ranging from journalists, doctors and professors -- vie for one of the program''s 85,000 visas each year. More than 50% of U.S. "unicorns" -- or privately-held companies deemed to be worth $1 billion or more -- have at least one immigrant founder, according to the National Foundation for American Policy. And those founders have created roughly 760 U.S. jobs each. Related: Microsoft asks for travel ban exceptions The draft mandates that the Secretary of Homeland Security produce a report within 90 days reviewing regulations of all work visa programs, including the H-1B. It aims to find ways to make the program "more efficient" and ensure that it''s admitting "the best and the brightest," according to the draft. Currently, the visas are doled out by a lottery, and the number of applicants continues to swell each year. In 2016, demand was three times more than the quota. Related: Bipartisan bill aims to reform H-1B visa system Manan Mehta, founding partner at Unshackled Ventures, told CNNTech that he''s optimistic about the review process. "We actually believe there needs to be a closer look at a lot of the practices," said Mehta, whose early-stage fund invests in foreign-born entrepreneurs and sponsors their visas. "I''m hopeful that where we land puts preference on foreign nationals that are U.S.-educated and are truly irreplaceable talent." Thirteen of the top 15 H-1B filers are global outsourcing firms that feed foreign workers to U.S. companies. Cracking down on these employers will create more opportunities for a broader range of tech workers, Mehta said. While the visas are used to fill the U.S. skills gap , the Trump administration has spoken out about abuse of the program. Outsourcing firms flood the system with applicants, obtaining visas for foreign workers and then farming them out to tech companies. They take a sizable cut of the salary. There''s a common misconception that foreign workers are "cheaper" labor. While it''s true that outsourcing firms tend to pay workers less to fill American jobs, other companies that rely on H-1Bs do so because they need the talent, and they''re paying more as a result. OfferLetter.io, a startup that helps negotiate job offers, looked at 500 job offers from tech companies like Google ( GOOG ) , Twitter ( TWTR , Tech30 ) and Stripe. It found that for immigrants with zero to ten years of experience, the average salary is 10% greater than that of U.S. residents. Only after ten years does that decline. Related: Uber CEO drops out of Trump''s business advisory council There are many other programs mentioned in the draft that are also important to the tech community. Programs like the J-1, used by those on summer work travel, and the OPT, used by international students who stay in the U.S. after graduating, will be under review. Both were recently revised under the Obama administration. The E-2, an investor visa, is also subject to review. The draft order specifically calls for increased scrutiny of L-1 visas, which are given to foreign workers who transfer to the U.S. from a company''s office abroad. L-1 visa holders would be subject to site visits, according to the draft. Within six months, Homeland Security would start performing site visits for all L-1 holders. Within two years, the draft order proposes site visits for employment-based visa programs. Matthew Dunn, a business immigration partner at Kramer Levin, said he''s getting emails and calls "on a minute by minute basis" from clients ranging from tech companies to banks and hospitals, all of whom are worried about an executive order. Dunn said he''s concerned about any clampdown on foreign talent, especially if programs like the H-1B quota or OPT are downsized. "We will lose many future entrepreneurs who would create future jobs for Americans." If you''re an immigrant in the tech community and are worried about Trump''s proposed immigration policies, CNNMoney (New York) 5, 2017: 11:52 AM ET'|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/edition_business.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/05/technology/trump-h1b-visas-executive-order/index.html'|'2017-02-05T23:52:00.000+02:00' +'4a3a7c17cd677918f5463c46374f7efa62248b65'|'UPDATE 1-Freeport Indonesia mine grinds to complete halt -union'|'Commodities - Thu Feb 16, 2017 - 3:11am EST Freeport Indonesia mine grinds to complete halt: union FILE PHOTO: Trucks operate in the open-pit mine of PT Freeport''s Grasberg copper and gold mine complex near Timika, in the eastern region of Papua, Indonesia on September 19, 2015 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. REUTERS/Muhammad Adimaja/Antara Foto/File Photo By Fergus Jensen - JAKARTA JAKARTA All work has stopped at Freeport-McMoRan Inc''s giant copper mine in Indonesia, a worker union said on Thursday, just over a month after the country halted exports of copper concentrate to boost domestic industries. Freeport had said the suspension would require the Grasberg copper mine to slash output by 60 percent to approximately 70 million pounds of metal per month if it did not get an export permit by mid-February, due to limited storage. But a strike at Freeport''s sole domestic offtaker of copper concentrate, PT Smelting, expected to last at least until March, has limited Freeport''s output options, and Grasberg''s storage sites are now full. "Everything has stopped completely. It''s just maintenance now," Freeport Indonesia worker union chief Virgo Solossa told Reuters, stopping short of saying how many of an estimated 33,000 workers had been sent home. A spokesman for Freeport Indonesia could not immediately be reached for comment on the matter. Freeport estimated in January that sales of copper from Grasberg, the world''s second-biggest copper mine, would reach 1.3 billion pounds in 2017, up from 1.05 billion pounds in 2016, assuming operations were normal. Thousands of workers planned to stage a demonstration on Friday in Papua, the province where the mine is located, to demand that the government "make a wise decision" regarding their situation, Solossa said. "If they aren''t careful, this has and will impact (Freeport operations), both for workers as immediate beneficiaries and the broader community as recipients of benefits from Freeport''s presence." Solossa added that further action would be considered following the demonstration on Friday. Indonesia introduced rules earlier this year requiring Freeport and some other miners to shift from their current ''contracts of work'' to so-called ''special mining permits'', before being allowed to resume exports of semi-processed ores and concentrates. Phoenix, Arizona-based Freeport has said it would only agree to a new mining permit with the same fiscal and legal protection in its current contract. Mining ministry officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the matter. (Reporting by Fergus Jensen; Editing by Joseph Radford) Next In Commodities'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-freeport-output-idUSKBN15V0RO'|'2017-02-16T14:48:00.000+02:00' +'72e1c0adb62008a4525b2a62ed25725396c984f2'|'Canada stresses talks on NAFTA will involve all three members'|'By David Ljunggren - TORONTO TORONTO Any talks to renew the North American Free Trade Agreement would involve all three member nations, a top Canadian official said on Tuesday, dampening speculation the United States might seek to sit down with Canada first and then Mexico."We very much recognize that NAFTA is a three-nation agreement and were there to be any negotiations, those would be three-way negotiations," Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland told a conference on the future of North America.U.S. President Donald Trump - who says free trade treaties have cost countless thousands of American jobs - wants NAFTA to be renegotiated with a focus on cutting his country''s large trade deficit with Mexico.Trump says he needs only to tweak trade ties with Canada, prompting one Canadian official to suggest to a newspaper that Washington would want to negotiate with Ottawa first. Mexico opposes the idea, which trade experts say is almost unworkable."NAFTA is a three-party agreement and any conversation we have regarding that ... will be a three-party conversation; it has to be," Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray told reporters in Toronto after Freeland''s comments.Mexican Economy Minister Guajardo Ildefonso earlier told the conference that the bulk of the NAFTA talks would have to be carried out on a trilateral basis to give investors confidence that the same set of investment rules applied everywhere.Trump has revealed little about his intentions for NAFTA, which took effect in 1994, except that he wants large changes with Mexico. [nL1N1FY0SP]The Mexican government expects the talks to start this summer, said Guajardo, who stressed several times how well Canada and Mexico had worked together in the past on trade.Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, who helped launch the original NAFTA talks, dismissed the idea that Canada might abandon Mexico to its fate."This under-the-bus stuff is for losers, not for winners," he told the conference.Freeland noted that Trump''s choices for commerce secretary and trade representative had yet to be confirmed. "We all have to collectively be careful not to get ahead of ourselves," she said.One idea floating in Washington is that of a border tariff, which could hit Mexican exports."Nothing in the new NAFTA should be a step backward. We will definitely not include any type of trade management measures, like quotas, or open the Pandora''s box of tariffs," Guajardo said. "That will be disastrous in any process moving forward."(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Dan Grebler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-nafta-canada-idINKBN1602AK'|'2017-02-21T15:56:00.000+02:00' +'5cb7f1239b7c5f4dede6a98e96e4eb7e5f6ba3b4'|'BRIEF-KAR Auction Services Q4 earnings per share $0.33'|' 30pm EST BRIEF-KAR Auction Services Q4 earnings per share $0.33 Feb 21 KAR Auction Services Inc: * KAR Auction Services, Inc. Reports 2016 financial results and the fourth quarter repurchase of 1.9 million shares * Q4 earnings per share $0.33 * Q4 revenue $813.7 million versus I/B/E/S view $786.6 million * Q4 earnings per share view $0.48 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * Q4 adjusted operating earnings per share $0.45 * KAR Auction Services Inc sees 2017 net income per share $1.70 - $1.80 * Kar auction services inc - sees fy operating adjusted net income per share $2.15 - $2.25 * Sees 2017 capital expenditures of $145 million * Fy2017 earnings per share view $2.40 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-kar-auction-services-q4-earnings-p-idUSASB0B1EW'|'2017-02-22T05:30:00.000+02:00' +'2f85efc5b7e7d4c0aac584e295395884d9a935cf'|'Geely''s Volvo Car Group upbeat on 2017 after earnings jump'|' 51am GMT Geely''s Volvo Car Group upbeat on 2017 after earnings jump Hakan Samuelsson, president and CEO of Volvo Car Group, introduces the Volvo XC90T8 Inscription autonomous car during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., January 9, 2017. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook STOCKHOLM Volvo Car Group reported a jump in 2016 earnings and revenue on Wednesday and forecast higher sales this year helped by new models developed under Chinese owner Geely. Operating earnings rose to 11.0 billion Swedish crowns ($1.24 billion) from 6.6 billion a year earlier. The company was bought by China''s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. from Ford Motor Co. ( F.N ) in 2010. It has invested in new models and plants to secure a niche in the premium auto market which is dominated by Daimler''s ( DAIGn.DE ) Mercedes-Benz and BMW ( BMWG.DE ). Gothenburg-based Volvo reported record high sales of 534,332 cars in 2016. One of Sweden''s largest companies by sales and number of employees, Volvo has set an annual sales goal of 800,000 cars in the medium term. That is seen as a sufficient level to ensure its place in the market and to sustain future investments. "I foresee that 2017 will also be a record year in terms of sales," CEO Hakan Samuelsson said in a statement. Samuelsson told Reuters he expected profitability to stay at a "very strong level" this year as the automaker continued to replace older models with the likes of its new XC60 and XC40 SUVs. "This year will be a year with heavy industrial transformation," Samuelsson said. "Two new cars will come out and at the end of the year we will, for the first time, have an all-modern line-up of SUVs." Global auto markets, not least a Chinese premium segment where Volvo has made inroads since Geely''s acquisition, are seen helping sales of a model line-up that has added the new XC90 SUV and 90-series in recent years, he said. Volvo also said it was looking to hire an additional 700 to 800 employees at its Torslanda plant in Gothenburg in western Sweden. Last year Volvo also took steps toward an eventual listing, raising 5 billion crowns from Swedish institutional investors through the sale of newly issued preference shares, though Samuelsson repeated there were currently no plans for an IPO. [nL5N1EF0ZW] "This is something for the owner," he said. "We are focusing on improving the performance of the company and being transparent in our reporting." ($1 = 8.8868 Swedish crowns) (Reporting by Niklas Pollard; editing by Alistair Scrutton and Jason Neely) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-geely-volvocars-results-idUKKBN15N0PF'|'2017-02-08T14:51:00.000+02:00' +'7f69ef6e42bad415207251fc512d0cf0c6dad48c'|'Shell nears deals to sell $5 billion of assets - CFO'|'Business News - Thu Feb 2, 2017 - 9:51am GMT Shell nears deals to sell $5 billion of assets - CFO A logo of Shell is pictured at a gas station in the western Canakkale province, Turkey April 25, 2016. REUTERS/Murad Sezer LONDON Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) is nearing deals to divest $5 billion of assets, Chief Financial Officer Simon Henry said on Thursday, adding that the company was "selectively accelerating" shale oil production in the United States. (Reporting by Ron Bousso and Karolin Schaps; Editing by David Goodman) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-shell-results-divestments-idUKKBN15H0WE'|'2017-02-02T16:51:00.000+02:00' +'0985f1f18169cc2acb2ca78220912b28e49090af'|'Pepsi CFO: We''re an American company but also a global one'|'The two ways companies are responding to Trump Pepsi said that there''s no evidence of people around the world boycotting its beverages due to issues international consumers may have with President Trump. The soft drink and snack giant reported earnings for the fourth quarter that topped forecasts on Wednesday morning. Sales of its beverages, which also includes Aquafina water and Gatorade as well as its namesake sodas, rose most notably in its core market of North America. Ditto for sales of potato chips, pretzels and other food that is part of its Frito-Lay division. The company is continuing to do well in many international markets too. During a conference call with analysts, CEO Indra Nooyi said that she didn''t believe "political actions impacts consumption of our products and we''re not seeing any deterioration in activity." Trump has had tough words for Mexico, China, Japan and other U.S. trading partners. But CFO Hugh Johnston added during the call that he was recently in Mexico and the business there looks "terrific." "We''ve seen no meaningful business impact from some of the things happening in the political arena at all," he said. Johnston said in an interview with CNNMoney after the earnings call that he expected the strong sales to continue. "We haven''t seen any evidence of politics influencing customer decisions," Johnston said. Even though Pepsi generates a majority of its sales and profits from the U.S., the company is hopeful that it can continue to grow internationally. To that end, Pepsi bought Wimm-Bill-Dann, a Moscow-based maker of milk, juice and other beverages in 2011. And the company has continued to stress that markets outside of the U.S. are key to its overall success. "We are a U.S. company. We''re a Mexican company. We''re a Chinese company. We''re an Indian company. We''re a Russian company," Johnston told CNNMoney. Related: Trump supporters call for Pepsi boycott -- over comments that CEO never made This international exposure does have risks though. The U.S. dollar has strengthened since Trump''s win. A strong dollar eats into the sales and profits of multinational firms like Pepsi as well as its archrival Coca-Cola ( KO ) , which has an even bigger presence overseas. The rise in the greenback is one reason why Pepsi issued a somewhat cautious outlook for the rest of the year. Johnston added in the interview with CNNMoney that the strong dollar could be an issue for Pepsi, but he stressed that Pepsi is doing everything it can to focus on what it can control. That includes buying raw materials from local producers in markets outside the U.S. when possible. And Johnston said that''s not likely to change -- regardless of any political pressure. Still, Johnston was quick to play the jobs trump card (so to speak), telling me that Pepsi has created "a lot of good paying jobs" in the U.S. -- with more than 100,000 employees working in America in supply chain and customer service roles. Pepsi, like many U.S. companies, may need to tread cautiously in the brave new Trump world. The company may also have to occasionally fight back against the proliferation of fake news and "alternative facts" that have become a problem since the election. Nooyi was the subject of a fake news story last year that claimed she said Pepsi doesn''t want Trump supporters buying its products. That was a total lie. Related: Pepsi gets aggressive on cutting sugar What she did say was that some Pepsi employees (as well as her own daughters) were concerned about Trump and his immigration policies. Nooyi was born in India, but she is an American citizen. "I think we should mourn for those of us who supported the other side, but we have to come together and life has to go on," she said at a New York Times conference a week after the election. It appears that both Nooyi and the president recognize that working together might make more sense. Nooyi is now one of the CEOs on Trump''s advisory council. Johnston said he expects that his boss will stress to Trump that globalization is important -- and also remind the president that doing more business overseas is good for American workers too. "Our focus is on raising awareness that we have created a lot of good jobs," Johnston told CNNMoney. 08 PM ET'|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_news_companies.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/15/investing/pepsi-earnings-cfo-trump/index.html'|'2017-02-15T20:27:00.000+02:00' +'7ff5029e47b118a77f954e457be898661b884061'|'UPDATE 2-Elliott starts proxy fight with Arconic as it posts Q4 loss'|'(Adds details of results, CEO comment, Elliott Management statements)By Nick CareyCHICAGO Jan 31 Activist investor Elliott Management Corp on Tuesday launched a proxy fight against Arconic Inc, which makes engineered metal parts for the aerospace, automotive and other industries, campaigning for the ouster of the company''s chief executive and saying it had a plan to boost the company''s performance.The news came after Arconic reported a quarterly net loss following the market close, caused by charges related to the company''s separation from Alcoa Corp last November and said cost-cutting would help it boost margins in 2017.Elliott, which manages funds that own 10.5 percent of common stock and equivalents of Arconic, has nominated five independent candidates to the board.In a presentation Elliott said it could improve Arconic''s valuation to at least between $33 and $54 per share. The stock closed at $22.79 on Tuesday."We believe a change in CEO is needed for the Company to sustainably create maximum shareholder value," the presentation says.Elliott said it had engaged Larry Lawson, formerly CEO of Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc, as a consultant and that it believes he should be a leading candidate for CEO of Arconic.New York-based Arconic said tax valuation allowance charges related to the split with Alcoa, plus restructuring and other costs were behind its fourth-quarter loss.Alcoa retained the company''s legacy aluminum, alumina and bauxite smelting business, while Arconic focused on higher-end aluminum and titanium alloys used in planes and cars.Arconic shares fell 2 percent in after-hours trading."In 2017 we are squarely focused on operational improvements, margin expansion, and capital efficiency to drive shareholder returns," CEO Klaus Kleinfeld said in a statement. "We will continue to cut cost through productivity and corporate overhead reduction."The company said on Monday that Kleinfeld had the unanimous support of its board of directors despite reports some shareholders wanted to oust him.When asked about those efforts, Kleinfeld said that Alcoa shareholders have seen returns of 21 percent since the split in November and Arconic shares have gained roughly 19 percent."It''s clearly been very successful in unleashing value," he said.Arconic said it expects revenue in the first quarter to range from $2.8 billion to $3 billion, and full-year 2017 revenue to be between $11.8 billion and $12.4 billion.This would be flat to down versus revenue of $12.4 billion in 2016 and 2015.Analysts have predicted full-year revenue for Arconic of $12.1 billion.The company reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $1.2 billion, or $2.88 per share. Adjusted for one-time items, the company reported net income for the quarter of $71 million or 12 cents per share. Analysts had expected earnings per share on an adjusted basis of 13 cents. (Reporting By Nick Carey; Editing by Bill Rigby and Sandra Maler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/arconic-results-idINL1N1FL1ZT'|'2017-01-31T19:46:00.000+02:00' +'cb0482a05c4033621769b51d41250371e5627dc1'|'EU mergers and takeovers (Feb 15)'|'Company 08pm EST EU mergers and takeovers (Feb 15) BRUSSELS Feb 15 The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process: APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS -- China''s Weichai Power Co to raise its stake in German industrial vehicle and supply chain system maker Kion (approved Feb. 15) NEW LISTINGS -- Private equity firms Advent International Corp and Bain Capital to jointly acquire German payment group Concardis (notified Feb. 13/deadline March 20/simplified) EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES -- German cement producers Heidelbergcement and Schwenk to jointly acquire Mexican peer Cemex''s Croatian unit (notified Sept. 5/deadline extended to April 18 from March 23) FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE -- Apollo Management to acquire Dutch lighting products maker Lumileds Holding (notified Jan. 12/deadline Feb. 16/simplified) FEB 21 -- U.S. healthcare company Johnson & Johnson to acquire U.S. peer Abbot Laboratories'' eye-surgery unit (notified Jan. 17/deadline Feb. 21) -- Japanese electronics products maker Sharp, which is a unit of Taiwanese conglomerate Hon Hai, to acquire a majority stake in UMC from Skytec UMC (notified Jan. 17/deadline Feb. 21/simplified) FEB 23 -- U.S. technology products distributor Tech Data to acquire U.S. electrical components distributor Avnet''s IT business (notified Jan. 19/deadline Feb. 23) FEB 27 -- German engineering company Siemens to acquire U.S. software company Mentor Graphics (notified Jan. 23/deadline Feb. 27) -- Japan''s NKT Cables to acquire Swiss power and automation company ABB''s high voltage cable business (notified Jan. 23/deadline Feb. 27) MARCH 2 -- Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners to acquire Belgian aluminium products maker Corialis (notified Jan. 26/deadline March 2/simplified) -- Swiss-based chemicals group Ineos to acquire French chemical company Arkema''s Oxo-alcohols business (notified Jan. 26/deadline March 2) -- U.S. private equity firm KKR & Co LP to acquire Japanese conglomerate Hitachi''s power tools unit Hitachi Koki (notified Jan. 26/deadline March 2/simplified) -- Japanese brewer Asahi Group Holdings Ltd to acquire Anheuser-Busch InBev''s beer businesses in central and eastern Europe (notified Jan. 26/deadline March 2) MARCH 7 -- Investment group KKCG and Taiwanese technology company Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, which is also known as Foxconn, to set up a private equity fund (notified Jan. 31/deadline March 7/simplified) -- South Korean conglomerate Samsung Electronics to acquire U.S. car and audio systems maker Harman International Industries (notified Jan. 31/deadline March 7/simplified) MARCH 8 -- Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) to acquire minority stake and joint control along with Apax Partners over software development services provider GlobalLogic Holdings Ltd (notified Feb. 1/deadline March 8/simplified) -- UK tech company Micro Focus to acquire Hewlett-Packard Enterprise''s software business (notified Feb. 1/deadline March 8) MARCH 9 -- Private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) to acquire a stake in German market research firm GfK (notified Feb. 2/deadline March 9/simplified) -- U.S. aircraft component maker Rockwell Collins to acquire U.S. aircraft interior maker B/E Aerospace (notified Feb. 2/deadline March 9/simplified) MARCH 10 -- Denmark''s Dong Energy, Australian investment bank Macquarie Group Ltd and Taiwanese chemicals company Swancor Ind Co Ltd to jointly acquire a Taiwanese offshore wind farm Formosa 1 Wind Power Co Ltd (notified Feb. 3/deadline March 10/simplified) -- Slovenian energy group Petrol to take majority stake in natural gas wholesaler Geoplin (notified Feb. 3/deadline March 10) -- Fairfax Financial HOldings Ltd to acquired certain Latin American and eastern European operations of American International Group (AIG). (notified Feb. 3/deadline March 10/simplified) MARCH 13 -- Canada''s Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSPIB) and Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA) to acquire joint control of U.S. data centre operator Vantage Data Centers Holding Company (notified Feb. 6/deadline March 13/simplified) -- Finnish fibre materials company Ahlstrom to merge with Finnish specialty paper maker Munksjo (notified Feb. 6/deadline March 13) -- Private equity firms KKR and KSL Capital Partners IV to acquire joint control of U.S. hospitality operator Apple Leisure Group (notified Feb. 6/deadline March 13/simplified) -- French banking mutual group Credit Mutuel Arkea and private equity firm Bridgepoint to acquire joint control of French consultancy Groupe Primonial (notified Feb. 6/deadline March 13/simplified) -- Japan''s Mitsui Group to acquire a stake in UK train operator Group Anglia Rail Holdings from Dutch state-owned public transport firm Abellio (notified Feb. 2/deadline March 13/simplified) -- German engineering company Siemens to merge assets with Spain''s Gamesa to form the world''s largest wind turbine maker (notified Feb. 6/deadline March 13) MARCH 14 -- U.S. asset manager The Blackstone Group to acquire German property developer Officefirst Immobilien AG (notified Feb. 7/deadline March 14/simplified) -- Private equity firm HIG Capital to acquire IT security products maker Infinigate Holding AG (notified Feb. 7/deadline March 14/simplified) MARCH 16 -- Australian investment bank Macquarie Group and the UK''s National Grid to acquire joint control of National Grid''s gas distribution business (notified Feb. 9/deadline March 16) MARCH 17 -- U.S. wireless carrier AT&T to acquire U.S. broadcaster and TV studio Time Warner (notified Feb. 10/deadline March 17/simplified) MARCH 20 -- General Electric Co to acquire rotor blade maker LM Wind Power Holding Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/eu-mergers-idUSL8N1G06GR'|'2017-02-16T01:08:00.000+02:00' +'de2dc557276aa895fb79fdbcadc525ec7d9f80b7'|'UPDATE 1-Viola Davis wins first Oscar for ''Fences'''|'Company News - Sun Feb 26, 2017 - 9:59pm EST UPDATE 1-Viola Davis wins first Oscar for ''Fences'' (Adds details, quotes and background) LOS ANGELES Feb 26 Viola Davis won her first Oscar on Sunday for her supporting role as a long-suffering housewife in the African-American family drama "Fences." Davis, 51, had swept awards season in the role, taking home a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild statuette and numerous critics prizes. She had been nominated for an Oscar twice in the past. "I became an artist, and thank God I did, because we are the only profession that celebrates what it means to live a life," an emotional Davis said while accepting her statuette. In "Fences," the screen version of the prize-winning August Wilson play, Davis played Rose Maxson, a self-effacing wife whose modest life implodes when her charismatic husband insists on keeping a mistress. On stage, Davis heralded Wilson, whom she said "exhumed and exalted the ordinary people." Davis won a Tony Award in the same role on stage in 2010. A forceful and popular actress, Davis is known for playing strong women and for speaking out for better roles for women and people of color. On television, she became the first black woman to win a lead actress Emmy award when she took home the statuette in 2015 for playing a conflicted criminal attorney in drama "How To Get Away With Murder." Raised in an impoverished household in South Carolina and Rhode Island, Davis began acting as a teen at school and later trained at the Juilliard School in New York. She began work in the theater, winning early acclaim. After years of doing small parts in movies, she made her breakout with just one scene in the 2008 religious film "Doubt," earning her first Oscar nomination. Three years later she was nominated for best actress for "The Help," but lost out to Meryl Streep. (Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Sandra Maler) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/awards-oscars-supporting-actress-idUSL1N1FU1AO'|'2017-02-27T09:59:00.000+02:00' +'2a285656179b4c0f36ecc1b7d0a46faa81a601fe'|'Noble Group swings to small profit in 2016, reduces debt'|' 18am GMT Noble Group swings to small profit in 2016, reduces debt The company logo of Noble Group is seen at its headquarters in Hong Kong March 23, 2015. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo SINGAPORE Noble Group Ltd ( NOBG.SI ) reported a full year profit of $8.7 million in the year ending December 2016 versus a huge loss in the previous year when the Singapore-listed commodities trader restructured its business operations. The Hong Kong-headquartered company is slowly recovering after the restructuring, cutting debt and boosting liquidity amid a long-term downtrend in commodity prices. In 2015, it reported a loss of $1.67 billion, its first in nearly two decades. "Management continues to pursue the same goals that we laid out previously - to rationalise low return or loss making businesses while devoting resources to those core businesses in which we have a competitive advantage and where we expect to see continued strong returns over a cycle," Noble said in a statement on Monday. Noble''s revenue declined 30 percent to $46.5 billion last year. In line with the company''s efforts to cut leverage, net debt to capital fell to 42 percent from 55 percent a year ago. Noble''s troubles started two years ago when its accounts were questioned by Iceberg Research, sparking a dramatic collapse in its share price and ratings agency downgrades, forcing a sale of its assets and a fund raising to allay financing worries in a brutal commodities market. Noble has stood by its accounts. (Reporting by Anshuman Daga; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-noble-group-results-idUKKBN166144'|'2017-02-27T17:18:00.000+02:00' +'2c126f247d108f23cf0549ae119efbdb901eb41d'|'China fines nuclear component manufacturer over safety breaches'|'Global Energy 22am GMT China fines nuclear component manufacturer over safety breaches BEIJING China has fined a manufacturer of components used in nuclear power plants for safety breaches at two facilities, the environment ministry said. Dalian Teikoku Canned Motor Pump Co., Ltd , a wholly-owned unit of Japan''s Teikoku Electric Manufacturing Co., Ltd, ( 6333.T ), was found to have violated operating rules concerning unit welding at the Yangjiang Nuclear Power Station in Guangdong province, according to a statement posted on the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP)''s website on Feb. 14. The company also failed to register the design of a canned motor pump to be used in the Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Station in Liaoning Province, according to the MEP. Canned motor pumps are designed to offer greater protection against leaks compared with conventional pumps. The MEP demanded Dalian Teikoku immediately halt the unauthorized activities and pay a fine of 200,000 yuan ($29,064.28). It also revoked the qualification licence of a welder who undertook work at the Yangjiang facility. Safety in China''s nuclear industry has become increasingly important as the country seeks to increase exports of its nuclear technologies. Beijing has already signed agreements to build reactors in Argentina, Romania, Egypt and Kenya. China plans to build more than 60 nuclear plants in the coming decade and will see total domestic capacity rise to 58 gigawatts by the end of 2020. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released a report into China''s nuclear safety last year saying that China''s own nuclear safety record has been strong but needs "further work" in areas such as waste management and handling ageing plants. ($1 = 6.8813 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by Christian Schmollinger) Next In Global Energy News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-nuclear-idUKKBN1610J0'|'2017-02-22T13:22:00.000+02:00' +'b2d59bb84e1374c31a5c38a4ab267fe4614b3d1d'|'Christian Candy ''was hell bent on destroying'' former friend''s family - UK news'|'Property billionaires Nick and Christian Candy have been accused of frightening another businessmans wife so seriously that she took to sleeping in her childrens bedroom, while the family hired armed guards and installed CCTV to protect their home.The claims were made in court documents by Emma Holyoake, the wife of entrepreneur Mark Holyoake, who is suing the Candy brothers for 132m in damages over a business deal gone sour.It seemed as if Christian was hell bent on destroying Mark and us as a family, said Emma Holyoake in a witness statement released on Tuesday. At the time I remember crying and felt sick to my stomach at the risk that we appeared to be at.Her evidence included claims that Nick was bullied by his younger brother.The brothers are accused of making threats against Holyoake, with Nick saying his brother would involve Russians who would not think twice about hurting his family, and Christian telling him to be careful that his pregnant wife did not suffer another miscarriage.The Candys emphatically deny making threats . Their barrister raised questions on Tuesday about why the alleged threats had not at the time been reported to police in the UK or Spain.Emma Holyoake said the family were so worried that in 2012 they hired armed security professionals to guard their home in Ibiza. From the witness box in the high court in central London, she told the court that five years on guards still patrol the property. Cameras were installed in the childrens bedroom, and around the property.The threats made by Christian had and continue to have a very real impact on our lives ... for a period whilst I was pregnant in 2012, I started to sleep in the same room as my (then) two children at night to ensure that they were safe, Holyoake said in her statement. I remain very concerned about my childrens safety because of the legal action Mark has taken against Nick and Christian.In a case which has examined the financial and personal dealings of two of Britains best known property developers, Holyoakes evidence painted a picture of an unhappy relationship between the brothers. She claimed to have become close to Nicks wife. Before their falling out, Nick and Mark Holyoake had been close friends, often seeing each other weekly. After Nick met Holly, we began to see that perhaps the relationship between Nick and Christian was not as perfect as had been portrayed, Holyoake stated. Holly told me that Nick was bullied by Christian, that Christian was controlling and often spoke to Nick in a disrespectful and aggressive manner.Valance allegedly opened up to Holyoakes wife at a party in Ibiza in 2012. She allegedly claimed her husband was so distraught about his brothers behaviour towards him, he had lain down in a foetal position on the floor of a hotel room and wept inconsolably.Mark Holyoake alleges he was blackmailed by the brothers into making extortionate repayments on a loan. The Candys deny all charges, and allege serial dishonesty and fraud on the part of Holyoake. A spokesman for the Candys said: Emma Holyoake has accepted in evidence that her statement is based on information provided to her by her husband whose claims are denied in their entirety. The statement has the sole purpose of causing reputational damage to the defendants. The defendants remain committed to having these matters decided at trial by the judge.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Mark Holyoake arrives at the Rolls building in London to give evidence in his case against Christian and Nick Candy. Photograph: Philip Toscano/PA Another witness statement on Tuesday saw Nick Candy accused of acting like a gangster in order to wrest control of a multimillion-pound tech startup.The claims were made by Ian Roberts, who was ousted as chief executive of Crowdmix, a social music app which he founded, shortly before it was taken over by Candy last year. Roberts says he joined Holyoakes suit because he could not afford to bring his own legal action.Ending a nine-month silence over the circumstances of his departure from Crowdmix, the tech boss alleged in his statement that Candy had driven a once promising business off a cliff, and that he was capable of threats, blackmail and dishonesty to get what he wanted.Roberts claimed Candy had begun as a perfect backer, before turning against him. He said Candy and his venture fund Candy Capital acted with malice to force him out, initially by abusing the trust they had built up but then simply blackmailing themselves into a position of absolute power.Candy denies the claims, saying Crowdmix collapsed because of exorbitant and lavish spending. The company folded last summer after spending 14m of investors money, and without ever having launched its app.Roberts says he lost his life savings and his pension when Crowdmix folded. Nick Candy has invested 10m in the business. He first backed Crowdmix in 2015 and eventually became its biggest investor. Last summer, he bought the startup out of administration for 675,000.Crowdmix, which would allow members to create playlists using their accounts with music streaming services such as Spotify, had widespread backing from investors in the City, music industry professionals and media executives.By April last year Roberts was hoping to raise a further 15m and 25m from backers valuing the business at 100m. In order to tide the company over while negotiations continued, Roberts claims that in mid-April Candy offered a 5m bridging loan. He alleges the terms of the loan were verbally agreed.On the morning of 13 May, Crowdmix communicated the strategy to prospective investors. Roberts claims Candy Capitals path to power began that day. In a phone call, he and his co-founder Gareth Ingham were allegedly asked by a Candy representative to hand over 1.5m shares each roughly a third of their respective holdings. Roberts claims he was told he would receive no payment for his shares. If he refused, no further cash would be forthcoming. Crowdmix had no reserves and was dependent on loans from Candy to pay staff.Nick was acting like a gangster and he was playing us, Roberts claims. He alleges the promise of a 5m loan was a trick designed to engineer a situation where Crowdmix was entirely dependent on Candy for funding.On 30 May, Roberts says he was asked to leave Crowdmix. He felt there was no choice but to fall on his sword.Some weeks later, Crowdmix was placed into administration. In the summer of 2016, Candy bought the company from the receiver. The Crowdmix app has yet to launch to the public.For the Candys, Thomas Plewman QC dismissed the claim by Roberts that Candy Capital had engineered a takeover of Crowdmix.Candy Capital was your biggest funder and gave your dream extraordinary support, Plewman told the court. Candy Capital never wanted to own or manage Crowdmix. They bought some of the assets out of administration on a lawful, proper and competitive basis. The idea that this was a campaign to illegitimately take control is without any foundation at all.The case continues.UK news '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/feb/28/christian-candy-nick-court-case-mark-holyoake'|'2017-03-01T00:32:00.000+02:00' +'6302accbef24067577acd681222104ba7a14c19b'|'Oi nears new creditor proposal, regardless of Brazil telecom reform -CEO'|'Deals - Tue Feb 14, 2017 - 9:49am EST Oi nears new creditor proposal, regardless of Brazil telecom reform: CEO People walk in front of the headquarters of the Brazil''s largest fixed-line telecoms group Oi, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 22, 2016. REUTERS/Sergio Moraes BRASILIA Changes in Brazil''s telecom law currently under debate in the Senate are not being taken into account by debt-laden carrier Oi SA as it devises its in-court reorganization plan, Oi Chief Executive Marcos Schroeder said on Tuesday. Speaking at an industry event in Braslia, Schroeder said the imminent reforms will have no economic effect on the company''s reorganization in bankruptcy court. The bill had been scheduled to become law last December but was held up in the Senate after opposition legislators filed a motion to submit it to a vote by the full house. Poised to become law after passing committees in both chambers of Congress, the reform aims to update a concession-based model that had created uncertainty about the value of the industry''s fixed-line assets. Schroeder''s comments suggest that Oi will not let the reform''s current legal limbo slow negotiations with creditors to restructure about 65.4 billion reais ($21.1 billion) of bank debt, bonds and regulatory liabilities. Schroeder said Oi will present an amended debt restructuring plan next month and put it to a creditor vote between April and June. The company made its first proposal in September but a large group of lenders rejected it. [nIFR5V2VPK] Schroeder reiterated the plan will involve a reduction of the company''s debt as well as a debt-for-equity swap. He said the nominal value of the bond debt, about 32 billion reais, would be reduced by 70 percent while debt notes representing about 10 billion reais would be converted into Oi equity. Bank debt should be repaid in 17 years under the amended plan, he said. In the second half of this year, Oi also intends to start negotiations with potential international investors interested in providing capital to the company, Schroeder said. A stay of execution, which protects Oi from creditor suits while it devises a plan to avoid bankruptcy, will expire in May. ($1 = 3.095 reais) (Reporting by Leonardo Goy; Writing by Ana Mano; Editing by Bill Trott) Next In Deals Delays, confusion as Toshiba reports $6 billion nuclear hit and slides to loss TOKYO After a day of delays and confusion, Japan''s Toshiba Corp said on Tuesday it expected to book a $6.3 billion hit to its U.S. nuclear unit, a writedown that wipes out its shareholder equity and will drag the group to a full-year loss.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-oi-sa-restructuring-idUSKBN15T1YG'|'2017-02-14T21:47:00.000+02:00' +'7f35a504f21c2a01cc19ddaa6d84cd449b51b918'|'UPDATE 1-South Africa''s ANC attacks banks over forex rigging charges'|'Company News - 35am EST UPDATE 1-South Africa''s ANC attacks banks over forex rigging charges (Recasts with ANC statement, adds quotes, details, background) By Joe Brock JOHANNESBURG Feb 16 South Africa''s ruling ANC party called on Thursday for the toughest possible sanctions against more than a dozen local and foreign banks accused of rigging the rand currency, piling political pressure on lenders that have become a target for public anger. The Competition Commission said on Wednesday it had found the banks, including U.S., European, Japanese and Australian lenders, had colluded to coordinate their trading activities when dealing in the rand and U.S. dollar. South Africa''s banking index fell 1 percent on Thursday after the Commission, which has been conducting an investigation since April 2015, recommended heavy fines be imposed on the lenders. The ANC attacked the banks, which many South Africans view as a symbol of the stark racial inequality that persists 23 years after the fall of apartheid. "The African National Congress takes an extremely dim view of the activities of the listed banks. These acts of corruption have crudely exposed the ethical crisis in the South African banking sector," the party said in a statement. "It is further an indication of how the markets are and can be manipulated by dominant oligopolies to cripple its functioning to suit their nefarious agendas." Financial regulators are clamping down worldwide, with dozens of traders fired and big banks fined around $10 billion in total in separate cases for rigging the level of the Libor interest rates and other market benchmarks. The opposition Democratic Alliance accused the ANC of politicising the issue, saying ministers want "to do battle with the banks, regardless of the economic fallout". Michael Cardo, who speaks on economic development for the right-leaning party, said President Jacob Zuma''s State of the Nation Address last week had made clear "he intends using the competition authorities as a tool of his populist and destructive agenda of ''radical economic transformation''". Last year the ANC suffered its worst ever local election performance as the left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) won over many poor black South Africans with promises of radical redistribution of wealth. The EFF and sections of the ANC often criticise banks for keeping the wealth of the country in the hands of the white elite. This has turned up the heat on the banks, where a majority of executives are white despite black people making up 80 percent of the population. The investigation found that from at least 2007, banks had an agreement to collude on prices for bids, offers and bid-offer spreads for spot trades involving the rand - whose international market code is ZAR - and the U.S. dollar, the Commission said. Its inquiry centred on an instant messaging chat room called "ZAR Domination", which the Commission said was used to coordinate trading activities when giving quotes to customers who buy or sell currencies. Fines should amount to 10 percent of the banks'' annual revenues, the Commission recommended, without saying whether this should relate to global revenues or just their South African business. The banks and brokerages named in the case were Citigroup , Nomura, Standard Bank, Investec , JP Morgan, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse Group, Commerzbank AG, Standard New York Securities Inc, Macquarie Bank, Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML), ANZ Banking Group Ltd, Standard Chartered Plc and Barclays Africa (Absa) , part of the Barclays Plc. Investec and Barclays both said they would cooperate with the probe while Standard Bank, BAML, Nomura, Credit Suisse, ANZ and Standard Chartered declined comment. The others have yet to comment. (Addition reporting by Ed Cropley and Ed Stoddard; Editing by David Goodman and David Stamp) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/safrica-currencyrigging-idUSL8N1G12KR'|'2017-02-16T18:35:00.000+02:00' +'53da3b41bde392e32b1a602be364775569c788aa'|'METALS-London copper finds modest support after overnight rout'|' 35pm EST METALS-London copper finds modest support after overnight rout * LME copper finds modest support * Follows 3 pct fall overnight * China demand doubts counter supply pinch in Chile, Indonesia (Adds comment, details, updates prices) By James Regan SYDNEY, Feb 24 London copper prices found modest support on Friday after a big fall overnight amid fresh doubts over Chinese demand and some upward movement in the U.S. dollar, but were still on track for a weekly decline of around 2 percent Traders said worries persist about consumption levels in China after the country''s housing minister on Thursday suggested moves were afoot to stabilise the property market. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.3 percent at $5,875 a tonne by 0218 GMT after falling 3 percent in the previous session. "Copper is below $6,000 (a tonne) again, but the drop may be seen as a little overdone, explaining the uptick today," said a commodities trader in Sydney who did not want to be named. "But I don''t see all the losses being erased." Strike action at the Escondida copper mine in Chile, accounting for about 6 percent of world supply, was offering support, although the strike "at least in the short term" was largely factored into the market, the trader added. Operator BHP Billiton''s decision this week to delay its legal right to replace striking workers is seen a move aimed at sacrificing some output to undermine the union''s position. BHP made a surprise announcement on Tuesday, saying it would not seek to exercise its right to replace the 2,500 striking workers after 15 days - which would have been Friday. Instead, it said it would wait at least 30 days. A halt to the big Grasberg copper mine in Indonesia by Freeport McMoRan was also giving copper bulls solace. The row, which centres around the sanctity of Freeport''s 30-year mining contract, comes as Indonesia seeks to squeeze more revenue out of its mining industry through a shake-up of regulations over foreign ownership and ore processing. "Given their size, lengthy disruptions at either will eat into this year''s normal 5 percent disruption allowance," GFMS, a Thomson Reuters company providing independent specialist metals market content and analysis, said in a recent report. "But unless accompanied by other major disruptions they are still unlikely to prevent another year of surplus in the refined copper market." The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was down 2.2 percent at 47,490 yuan ($6,912) a tonne. The contract dipped by as much as 2.9 percent at the open. Lead, aluminium and zinc were largely flat after closing lower overnight. Zinc prices are still nearly double the levels seen in January 2016 due to deficits arising from mine closures and shutdowns. In Shanghai, aluminium was off 1.9 percent and zinc down 2.5 percent. PRICES'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/global-metals-idUSL4N1G91AB'|'2017-02-24T09:35:00.000+02:00' +'9de7e7bbe6a13abbdabe477529d285fe7fcfe1b7'|'Bank of India sees further improvement in bad loans in Q4'|' 10pm IST Bank of India sees further improvement in bad loans in Q4 A security guard reads a newspaper inside an ATM counter as a notice is displayed on an ATM in Guwahati, India, November 27, 2016. REUTERS/Anuwar Hazarika/Files By Devidutta Tripathy - MUMBAI MUMBAI Bank of India Ltd does not expect any additional bad loans in the current quarter on a net basis, its chief said on Thursday, as India''s sixth-biggest lender by assets reported its second consecutive quarter of profit after a stretch of losses. The state-run lender booked a net profit of 1.02 billion rupees ($15 million) for the three months to Dec. 31, compared with a net loss of 15.06 billion rupees a year earlier. Gross bad loans as a percentage of total loans as at the end of December eased to 13.38 percent from 13.45 percent as at September-end. For the fourth quarter through March, the bank expects gross bad loan additions of about 35 billion rupees but also recoveries and upgradations by an equal amount, effectively adding no bad loans on a net basis, Chief Executive Officer Melwyn Rego told Reuters after the results. A surge in bad loans had seen the lender report losses for four straight quarters to last June. Rego said the bank''s loans will likely grow 5-6 percent for the full year to March, adding it was increasing its share of retail loans and cutting exposure to companies as part of a strategy to check bad loans and accelerate growth. The bulk of bad loans in India are from industries led by metals and power. The bank''s share of loans to corporates has fallen to 52 percent from 56 percent when Rego took the helm in August 2015, he said, while retail loans have increased to 48 percent. Bank of India, which raised 5.4 billion rupees by selling a stake in a life insurance joint venture last year, was looking to raise another up to 3 billion rupees by March by selling assets it considers non-core, Rego said. ($1 = 66.9600 Indian rupees)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/bank-of-india-results-idINKBN15O153'|'2017-02-09T17:40:00.000+02:00' +'3c7515986fafab2285b77ea1ae4aa98803f849f6'|'UPDATE 1-TransCanada''s U.S. Keystone XL lawsuit suspended -arbitration court'|'(Adds details, background, TransCanada comment)CALGARY, Alberta Feb 28 TransCanada Corp has suspended a $15 billion suit filed against the United States over the Keystone XL pipeline after U.S. President Donald Trump approved the project last month.The monthlong suspension of the challenge under the North American Free Trade Agreement came after Trump signed orders smoothing the path for Keystone XL, inviting the company to reapply for a permit after the administration of former president Barack Obama had rejected the project.Environmentalists had campaigned against the pipeline for more than seven years.In an entry dated Monday, the website of the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes showed TransCanada''s legal challenge over the pipeline was suspended until March 27, pursuant to mutual agreement.TransCanada confirmed the challenge has been suspended but did not immediately offer additional comment.TransCanada Corp had sought $15 billion in damages, according to legal papers, seeking to recover what it says are costs and damages.The Keystone XL was designed to link existing pipeline networks in Canada and the United States to bring crude from Alberta and North Dakota to refineries in Illinois and, eventually, the Gulf of Mexico coast. (Reporting by Ethan Lou in Calgary, Alberta; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Bill Trott)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/canada-pipeline-lawsuit-idINL2N1GD0T8'|'2017-02-28T13:21:00.000+02:00' +'e694152b2a9feca67a4336585651de3cede40e64'|'Canada''s Sun Life sees benefits from Trump''s pro-growth agenda'|'TORONTO Sun Life Financial ( SLF.TO ), expects to benefit from a more favourable interest rate and economic environment under new U.S. President Donald Trump, the chief executive of Canada''s third-biggest insurer said.Shares in Sun Life have risen by 12 percent since Trump''s election win Nov. 8 and a subsequent rise in interest rates.The stock has benefited from market expectations that pro-growth policies pursued by the new administration, such as a $1 trillion infrastructure spending programme, will lead to higher employment and consumer spending and a return to a more inflationary environment following years of lacklustre growth.Higher interest rates are beneficial to insurance companies, which invest premiums they collect from customers in fixed income assets such as government bonds."Clearly, higher interest rates will benefit our business," CEO Dean Cooper said in an interview on Thursday after Sun Life reported quarterly results."More generally, assuming the economic climate continues to be positive in the States to the extent that it grows the employment base and payrolls, those are two drivers of growth in our group benefits business. The number of people we cover and the salaries that they''re covered for life insurance and disability grow and that would be a positive for us," he said.(Reporting by Matt Scuffham; Editing by Alan Crosby)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/sun-life-results-idINKBN15V2K6'|'2017-02-16T15:47:00.000+02:00' +'3000eda6db8c78776325ba1ff2a981d55c8c56f5'|'PSA says will honour existing Opel job guarantees'|'Deals 37pm GMT PSA says will honor existing Opel job guarantees A Peugeot car drives past the logos of French car maker Peugeot and German car maker Opel at a dealership in Villepinte, near Paris, France, February 20, 2017. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann By Edward Taylor and Laurence Frost - FRANKFURT/PARIS FRANKFURT/PARIS PSA Group ( PEUP.PA ) has pledged to respect existing Opel and Vauxhall job guarantees if it buys the European arm of General Motors ( GM.N ), though some analysts say thousands of jobs are eventually likely to go for the deal to work. As part of a broader charm offensive, PSA Chief Executive Carlos Tavares met with representatives of powerful German labor union IG Metall and Opel''s European works council on Monday to discuss the impact of any deal on existing sites. "PSA Group reaffirmed its commitment to respect the existing agreements in the European countries and to continue the dialogue with all parties," Peugeot maker PSA said in a statement on Tuesday. General Motors (GM) has pledged not to impose forced redundancies on some of its German workforce until the of end 2018, IG Metall said, while some existing agreements about building certain models at Opel stretch beyond 2020. However, some analysts say PSA will eventually need to make big cuts to turn around loss-making Opel and sister brand Vauxhall in a European car industry that has struggled for years with overcapacity. "Its about hard restructuring in Germany, the UK and in Spain resulting in at least 5,000 manufacturing job cuts. In the end, an integrated General Motors Europe will likely have 20 to 30 percent fewer workers," Evercore analysts said in a note. Germany accounts for about half of Opel''s 38,000 staff, while 4,500 are in Britain where Opel operates as Vauxhall. Two sources close to PSA told Reuters last week that job and plant cuts were part of the tie-up talks, with the two Vauxhall sites in Britain in the front line. Paris-based PSA said in an emailed statement it planned to work closely with Opel unions including IG Metall to "find a path to the creation of a European champion with Franco-German roots." "Tavares communicated convincingly in the talks that he is interested in a sustainable development for Opel/Vauxhall as an independent company," European works council chief Wolfgang Schaefer-Klug said in a separate statement. Britain''s Unite union has yet to receive assurances from PSA officials regarding the possible takeover of Vauxhall, with the first opportunity at the works council on Wednesday followed by a meeting between Tavares and union head Len McCluskey in London on Friday. (Additional reporting by Maria Sheahan in Frankfurt and Costas Pitas in London; Editing by Mark Potter) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-opel-m-a-psa-idUKKBN160100'|'2017-02-21T22:35:00.000+02:00' +'c04dfe651eae613280c736432ed015a82f344a1c'|'BRIEF-Pine Cliff Energy reports Q4 production was 21,525 BOE per day'|' 29pm EST BRIEF-Pine Cliff Energy reports Q4 production was 21,525 BOE per day Feb 13 Pine Cliff Energy Ltd : * Pine Cliff Energy Ltd announces 2017 guidance, 2016 bank debt reduction and year-end reserves * Board of directors has approved a capital budget of $18.5 million for 2017 * Is budgeting 2017 annual production volumes to range from 21,250 - 21,750 BOE per day * Pine Cliff''s Q4 2016 production was 21,525 BOE per day, weighted 93 pct to natural gas * Exited year with production of approximately 22,000 boe per day, weighted 94 pct to natural gas * Reduced its bank debt by $125 million from $155.9 million at December 31, 2015 to $30.9 million at December 31, 2016 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSASB0B01Z'|'2017-02-14T08:29:00.000+02:00' +'e497f7620ab855f41d173a72c7ac4f0e55fc58a5'|'Losses of 58bn since the 2008 bailout how did RBS get here?'|'Royal Bank of Scotland Losses of 58bn since the 2008 bailout how did RBS get here? Flawed takeover bids, bad lending, and a tower of legal bills have left the Royal Bank of Scotland deep in the red Since the taxpayer-funded bailout of 2008, the Edinburgh bank has only racked up more losses. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA View more sharing options Jill Treanor Friday 24 February 2017 18.23 GMT Sir Howard Davies, chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland, described the 7bn loss the bank rang up last year as stark. But it is just a fraction of the banks towering total losses of 58bn over the 9 years since it was bailed out by the taxpayer. And the bank will rack up even more losses this year. RBS braced for multi-billion-pound settlement for loan-misselling scandal Read more The reported losses hide the true extent of the problems inside the Edinburgh-based bank, because they have been offset by the cash RBS has continued to generate since its 45bn rescue. The total cost of disastrous lending, over-paying for takeovers, fines and legal bills actually tops 90bn. Some of the key causes of RBSs long period in the red are: Troubled takeovers which required more than 16bn of goodwill write downs in 2008. That was the year of the banking crisis and the year after RBS took over Dutch bank ABN Amro , which left the UK bank with inadequate capital levels. Fred Goodwin, who left at the time of the bailout, was famously dubbed a megalomaniac by an analyst . Included in the writedowns was 7.6bn for ABN and 4.3bn for buying the Charter One US bank in 2004. Restructuring charges have left the cost of shrinking the bank at 13bn, as RBS has sold businesses and slashed costs in an effort to stem losses. An estimated 90,000 jobs have gone from the business since 2008, when RBS had operations in 54 countries that spanned all areas of financing, from aircraft leasing to current accounts. As a penalty for the state aid required to keep the bank in business. the EU forced RBS to sell off businesses including commodity broker Sempra , the money transmission business WorldPay, insurer Direct Line and US bank Citizens . All these took thousands of staff with them. The EU also demanded RBS get rid of 300 UK branches. They were separated and RBS tried to sell them, but that effort has now been abandoned - at a cost of 2.5bn. Treasury plan may allow RBS to avoid selling 300 branches Read more Bad lending and other poor trading decisions caused impairment charges to cover loans that will never be repaid in full, or at all of more than 40bn. These peaked at 14bn in 2009, but have continued to gouge deep holes in the banks profits well into to 2014. Ulster Bank lending was a big source of these bad debts, along with loans made by Citizens in the US, and losses in the UK on mortgages, credit card losses and to major British companies. Fines and legal costs have amounted to 15bn. They started to bite in 2011 when RBS like other banks began setting aside bilions to compensate customers mis-sold payment protection insurance . Its bill for PPI has now reached almost 5bn, while the industrys has topped 30bn. In 2013 RBS was also fined 390m for rigging Libor and 800m for manipulating foreign exchange markets. The bank has just set aside a new 5.9bn to cover a settlement with the US Department of Justice over the decade-old scandal in the US over mis-selling residential mortgage backed securities. Credit losses some 7bn was lost on complicated credit derivatives trades in the 2007 credit crunch, which turned toxic.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/economics/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/feb/24/90bn-in-bills-since-2008-how-did-rbs-get-here-financial-crisis-'|'2017-02-25T01:23:00.000+02:00' +'b9a14f78075a450e17a584ee908f416e80ca6483'|'Daimler to build electric cars in existing Mercedes plants'|' 49am EST Daimler to build electric cars in existing Mercedes plants Daimler AG sign is pictured at the IAA truck show in Hanover, Germany, September 22, 2016. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo FRANKFURT German carmaker Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ) plans to build its new electric vehicles in existing Mercedes plants by integrating them with serial production of cars with combustion engines, the group said. "In this way, we are taking advantage of the opportunities offered by electric mobility and are significantly limiting the required investment," Mercedes-Benz Cars production chief Markus Schaefer said on Wednesday. Daimler has said its Mercedes-Benz and Smart brands planned to launch more than 10 electric cars by 2025, with zero-emission vehicles accounting for 15 to 25 percent of Mercedes sales. It has already said that it would build the first model under its new EQ electric vehicle brand in the northern German city of Bremen, and on Wednesday it made Sindelfingen the second plant designated to join the electric cars push. Daimler plans to invest up to 10 billion euros ($10.8 billion) in the development of electric vehicles, and labor representatives have been pushing for a large part of that investment to be made in the carmaker''s home country. The group said on Wednesday its factories in Germany''s Bremen, Rastatt and Sindelfingen as well as its Smart model plant in Hambach, France, would be competence centers for its electric vehicle production. Labor representatives welcomed the move as it gives existing German plants a stake in the shift to electric vehicles. "It must be clear that the jobs are safe despite all the challenges," works council chief Michael Brecht said. Daimler has agreed to keep on 125 temporary workers at its Sindelfingen plant, its biggest German factory with 25,000 workers, for another year and make it a center for car electronics. In return, workers'' representatives have agreed to discuss more flexible working hours. (Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach; Writing by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Louise Heavens) Apple defies Wall Street with strong revival in iPhone sales SAN FRANCISCO Apple Inc reclaimed the throne as the world''s top smartphone seller for the first time in five years on Tuesday, beating out rival Samsung in units shipped for the holiday quarter and boosting revenues with a strong showing for its new, top-of-the-line iPhone 7 Plus. Tech companies to meet on legal challenge to Trump immigration order SAN FRANCISCO A group of technology companies plans to meet on Tuesday to discuss filing an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit challenging U.S. President Donald Trump''s order restricting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, said a spokesperson for a company organizing the gathering. Facebook Inc is creating an app for television set-top boxes, including Apple Inc''s Apple TV, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-daimler-electric-idUSKBN15G4KZ'|'2017-02-01T20:49:00.000+02:00' +'7b2632986cc475f4f9fc98273f8a1fc56beed7dc'|'Foreign investment is not leaving China: commerce minister'|'Business News - Mon Feb 20, 2017 - 11:28pm EST Foreign investment is not leaving China: commerce minister China''s Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng attends a session during the 2016 G20 Trade Ministers Meeting in Shanghai, China July 10, 2016. REUTERS/Aly Song BEIJING China''s commerce minister on Tuesday sought to assuage concerns that foreign investment is leaving the country, saying claims to that effect were "biased." In comments made to reporters, Gao Hucheng didn''t elaborate on the ministry''s views though data over the past few months have shown a pick up in fund outflows. "In recent years some products have indeed moved offshore but at the same time many high-end industries have moved to China," Gao told reporters. Foreign direct investment to China fell 9.2 percent in January to 80.1 billion yuan. An annual survey from the American Chamber of Commerce in China released last month showed that more than 80 percent of its members felt less welcome in China than before and most had little confidence in China''s vows to open its markets. Since late last year, authorities have also been tightening restrictions on capital outflows, reining in what officials have called "irrational" outbound investment. The curbs probably explained a fall in outbound direct investment, which plummeted 35.7 percent in January to 53.27 billion yuan, the weakest in over a year. Gao added that consumption will continue to grow rapidly this year, while the foreign trade environment will remain complex. Cooperation is the only option for the U.S.-China trade relations as a healthy relationship is beneficial for both sides, he said. Although there have been disagreements between the two countries in the past, they were solved through negotiation, Gao added. Tensions between China and the United States have heightened since the start of the year after U.S. President Donald Trump criticized Beijing for harming American companies and consumers by devaluing its yuan currency. Throughout his election campaign, Trump threatened to levy punitive tariffs against China in order to bring down the U.S. trade deficit, keeping global markets on edge. (Reporting by Elias Glenn; Writing by Sue-Lin Wong; Editing by Shri Navaratnam) Next In Business News Snap arrives in London to woo skeptical investors ahead of IPO LONDON Snap Inc, owner of popular messaging app Snapchat, kicked off its first investor roadshow on Monday, looking to persuade London money managers to back its initial public offering in the face of concerns about its growth prospects, valuation and corporate governance.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-idUSKBN1600BP'|'2017-02-21T11:28:00.000+02:00' +'93f00d382472e5ba8b010a3e96c6f13ca4bc1e3a'|'Sharp swings to first quarterly net profit in over two years'|'Technology 52am GMT Japan''s Sharp raises forecast after first quarterly profit in over two years A logo of Sharp Corp is pictured at CEATEC (Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies) JAPAN 2016 at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan, October 3, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo TOKYO Sharp Corp lifted its full-year profit guidance after posting its first quarterly net profit in over two years as the Japanese liquid crystal display (LCD) maker pressed ahead with cost-cutting measures under the ownership of Taiwan''s Foxconn. Sharp, a major supplier of LCD panels to Apple Inc, raised its operating profit forecast to 37.3 billion yen ($329.85 million) for the year ending in March from an earlier forecast of 25.7 billion, the company said in a statement on Friday. Net profit was 4.2 billion yen for October-December, compared with a 24.7 billion yen loss in the same period a year earlier. It was the first profit on a net basis since July-September 2014. The result missed a Thomson Reuters Starmine SmartEstimate of 4.6 billion yen drawn from four analysts. SmartEstimates give greater weight to recent forecasts by top-rated analysts. The return to profit comes as Sharp tapped Foxconn''s massive parts procurement power, reviewed the lineup of products and implemented various measures to cut fixed costs. Sharp also benefited as production cutbacks by Korean rivals in LCD panels for television sets fueled an industry-wide shortage of panels and pushed up market prices. Its core display device unit posted an operating profit of 11 billion yen, against a 11 billion yen loss a year prior, swinging back to profit for the first time in two years. Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, bought two-thirds of Sharp for around $3.7 billion in August. (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman) Next In Technology News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-sharp-results-idUKKBN15I0J8'|'2017-02-03T13:21:00.000+02:00' +'b11e01d30ceda78d4534e8347c88e9f9cc4b9534'|'Qatar Airways expects Trump''s travel ban to be relaxed - report'|' 6:13am GMT Qatar Airways expects Trump''s travel ban to be relaxed - report Qatar Airways inaugural flight touches down on New Zealands Waitangi Day in Auckland, February 6, 2017. Qatar Airways/Handout via REUTERS SYDNEY Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker on Tuesday said he expected U.S. President Donald Trump would eventually relax a travel ban targeting seven predominantly Muslim countries, New Zealand media reported. The travel ban, Trump''s most controversial act since taking office last month, was halted temporarily on Friday following a ruling by a U.S. judge, but it affected some of the airline''s passengers. Al Baker said he expected Trump''s business talent would prevail when it came to trade between the U.S. and Gulf countries. "I think we still need to give him some time to see how it is to run a superpower country," Al Baker told media in New Zealand, according to a Fairfax Media report. He was speaking after the airline launched one of the world''s longest flights from Doha to Auckland. "I''m sure he will realise in the long run that the Gulf countries are contributing hugely to the economy of the United States." Al Baker has previously appeared at events with Trump and last year described him as "a friend" to CNN. "President Trump is trying to protect the interests of his country the same way I am trying to protect the interests of my country and my airline," Al Baker said on Tuesday. On Jan. 27, Trump suspended the entry of nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, and all refugees. The ban caught the airline industry off guard, with some carriers forced to re-roster flight crew. (Reporting by Jamie Freed)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-qatar-airlines-new-zealand-idUKKBN15M0DE'|'2017-02-07T13:13:00.000+02:00' +'39858a7d42ed4f1e8cc89192727db2acf78d89a9'|'CEE MARKETS-Stocks rise slightly, Polish bonds ease a shade'|'Company News 20am EST CEE MARKETS-Stocks rise slightly, Polish bonds ease a shade * Stocks rise slightly, Moneta Bank rise helps Prague * Serbian assets mixed after PM says will run for presidency * Polish bonds mildly softer after strong output data By Sandor Peto BUDAPEST, Feb 20 Prague led a cautious rise in Central European equities on Monday, mainly driven by the gains of Moneta Money Bank, while Central European assets were mostly moving sideways. Prague''s main index firmed 0.4 percent by 0929 GMT. Moneta shares rose 1.2 percent to 85.85 Czech crowns ($3.38), after JP Morgan raised its target price to 100 from 92 crowns. Earlier this month the stock rose to all-time highs after Moneta reported higher-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and proposed a high dividend payment to shareholders. Good earnings from Central European banks, coupled with a rally in international equities markets, helped the region''s main stock indexes reach their highest levels since 2015 - or in the case of Budapest, record highs - in the past weeks. Profit-taking pared those gains on Friday. Regional markets lacked momentum on Monday as U.S. markets remain closed due to the Presidents Day holiday. The forint and the zloty firmed 0.1 percent against the euro and the leu was flat. Serbian markets were mixed after Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic agreed late on Friday to run for the presidency in elections tentatively slated for April. Vucic as president instead of incumbent Tomislav Nikolic could mean a quicker advance towards EU accession and a further improvement of Serbia''s ties with NATO, despite its military neutrality. The dinar firmed slightly and Belgrade shares eased 0.3 percent. Polish government bond yields were flat or a touch higher. A surge in industrial output and retail sales in January increases the odds that the Polish central bank could start to lift interest rates before 2018 and that could weigh on bonds. But a rise in inflation in Poland has been fuelled by one-off factors, therefore the bank is unlikely to bring forward rate tightening, Raiffeisen analyst Stephan Imre said in a note. Erste analysts raised their inflation forecasts for Hungary and Slovakia, but said in a note that inflation, forecast at an average 1.6 percent in Central Europe for this year, does not threaten inflation targets in the region. "Therefore, monetary policy should not react quickly, apart from the Czech Republic, where the high inflation will likely prompt the CNB to exit the FX regime in April," they said. "In Romania and Poland, we see a likely tightening only next year, while in Hungary, as reinforced by recent central banker comments, the easing bias should remain rather strong," they added. CEE SNAPS AT 1029 MARKETS HOT CET CURRENCIES Lates Previ Daily Chang t ous e bid close chang in e 2017 Czech crown 27.02 27.02 +0.0 -0.05 10 10 0% % Hungary 308.2 308.3 +0.0 0.20% forint 000 950 6% Polish 4.329 4.332 +0.0 1.73% zloty 0 7 9% Romanian 4.526 4.524 -0.03 0.20% leu 0 9 % Croatian 7.448 7.439 -0.11 1.44% kuna 0 5 % Serbian 123.8 124.0 +0.1 -0.43 dinar 800 500 4% % Note: daily calculate previ close 1800 change d from ous at CET STOCK S Lates Previ Daily Chang t ous e close chang in e 2017 Prague 973.3 970.0 +0.3 +5.6 6 1 5% 2% Budapest 33912 33828 +0.2 +5.9 .05 .86 5% 7% Warsaw 2191. 2188. +0.1 +12. 11 30 3% 48% Bucharest 7768. 7745. +0.3 +9.6 94 39 0% 5% Ljubljana 761.4 762.6 -0.15 +6.1 7 3 % 1% Zagreb 2190. 2192. -0.08 +9.8 99 75 % 3% Belgrade <.BELEX15 707.6 709.8 -0.31 -1.35 > 6 9 % % Sofia 597.3 597.0 +0.0 +1.8 8 1 6% 7% BONDS Yield Yield Sprea Daily d (bid) chang vs chang e Bund e in Czech sprea Republic d 2-year 6 5 bps 5-year 3 bps 10-year bps Poland 2-year bps s 5-year bps 10-year bps s FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M inter bank Czech Rep < 0.27 0.3 0.35 0 PRIBOR=> Hungary < 0.36 0.55 0.69 0.24 BUBOR=> Poland < 1.765 1.805 1.895 1.73 WIBOR=> Note: FRA are for quotes ask prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets-idUSL8N1G51WE'|'2017-02-20T17:20:00.000+02:00' +'2d679234959a77ed24eef3b4a1f15334288b825c'|'BRIEF-SPX reports Q4 adj EPS $0.69'|' 55pm EST BRIEF-SPX reports Q4 adj EPS $0.69 Feb 23 Spx Corp * SPX reports fourth quarter and full-year 2016 results * Q4 adjusted earnings per share $0.69 * Q4 loss per share $0.07 from continuing operations * Q4 revenue $395.3 million versus I/B/E/S view $467.6 million * Q4 earnings per share view $0.65 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * Targeting 2017 core revenue in a range of $1.3 to $1.4 billion * Sees 2017 adjusted earnings per share is expected to be in a range of $1.55 to $1.70 * Sees 2017 core segment income margin of 12-13 pct * FY2017 earnings per share view $1.64, revenue view $1.47 billion -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-spx-reports-q4-adj-eps-idUSASB0B22O'|'2017-02-24T04:55:00.000+02:00' +'f853ad49d83cc8b3c71fbc9c9d3bd63d23946b9b'|'U.S. stock fund investors turning away from ''America First'''|'NEW YORK U.S. investors are favoring international stocks over domestic ones, in a shift away from the trend that followed Donald Trump''s presidential victory, Investment Company Institute data released on Wednesday show.U.S.-based equity funds invested internationally attracted $4.7 billion during the latest week, the most in a year, while funds that buy shares of companies in the United States gathered just $814 million, according to the trade group''s data.Foreign stock funds have absorbed more cash than their domestic counterparts in seven of the last eight weeks, the data show."I think you''re seeing some better opportunities internationally," said Jim Jasinski, managing principal at Cape Ann Capital Inc, a wealth management company in Manchester, Massachusetts. "The U.S. markets have been on such an incredible run."During President Trump''s inauguration last month, he declared "from this day forward it''s going to be only America First," and stocks responded in kind. He has touted a stew of tax cuts, domestic infrastructure spending, regulation cuts and recasting trade deals to boost U.S. jobs and economic growth.Investors spent the five weeks after his election buying U.S.-based domestic stock funds. World stock funds lagged behind, taking in just $4.2 billion over that period, $50.2 billion less than their domestic counterparts, ICI said.MSCI''s benchmark global equity index, which includes the United States, hovered near record territory on Wednesday.That obscures the fact that U.S. stocks have done far better. The S&P 500 index, a measure of U.S. stocks, has gained 9.5 percent in terms of price since the election, while a comparable MSCI gauge of 45 other countries gained just 5.1 percent. That may mean the foreign stocks are a relative bargain."Whether people like the new administration or not there''s a prevailing feeling that it will be a pro-business administration," said Jasinski. "That''s tending to prop that market up a bit more and rich valuations might be getting even richer."The relative safety of bonds and gold also drew interest from investors during the week through Feb. 8. Commodity funds, including those invested in gold, attracted $1.1 billion, their most since July 2016.Bond funds gathered $11.6 billion during the week, the most in more than a year.(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Richard Chang)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-mutualfunds-ici-idUSKBN15U2KZ'|'2017-02-15T23:21:00.000+02:00' +'f4fcdaaa3f80e9227ff14a9b3d00effec82ff33d'|'Tiffany CEO Frederic Cumenal steps down'|'Feb 5 Jeweler Tiffany & Co on Sunday said Frederic Cumenal has stepped down as chief executive officer, effective immediately.The retailer said its chairman and previous CEO, Michael Kowalski, would serve as interim CEO while the board of directors seeks a new CEO. Kowalski will continue as Chairman. (Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-tiffany-idINASB0AYLM'|'2017-02-05T19:34:00.000+02:00' +'c70298a7e12d3bf0aede3cb4c206629a948eaa50'|'Trump says he would like to speed up NAFTA talks'|'Business News - Thu Feb 2, 2017 - 5:18pm GMT Trump says he would like to speed up NAFTA talks U.S. President Donald Trump attends the National Prayer Breakfast event in Washington, U.S., February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his concerns about the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) deal on Thursday and said he would like to speed up talks to either renegotiate or replace the deal. "I would like to speed it up if possible. You''re the folks who can do it," Trump said in the Oval Office where he met with bipartisan lawmakers from the Senate and House of Representatives. Trump said Wilbur Ross, his pick for Commerce Secretary, would lead the negotiations. "We are working very, very hard and will be very soon, as soon as we get the go-ahead - we have the 90-day period that we have to think about," Trump said. Under U.S. law, Congress has 90 days to review trade deals before they are signed. (Reporting by Jeff Mason and Roberta Rampton; Editing by Alan Crosby) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-nafta-idUKKBN15H289'|'2017-02-03T00:18:00.000+02:00' +'61d531b7c13d8dfa1bd50ed6dc87e38cfebafc52'|'Canadians not feeling ''wealth effect'' as stock market nears high'|'By Fergal Smith - TORONTO TORONTO Feb 3 A rising domestic stock market will barely lift the confidence of ordinary Canadians, who are more concerned about job prospects in an economy threatened by a more protectionist United States, economists say.Canada''s S&P/TSX Composite index was up 34 percent as of Friday afternoon from its January 2016 trough and last week it briefly came within 11 points of its all-time high at 15,685.13.Stock market gains usually add to financial security and boost people''s spending. But economists expect the "wealth effect" to disappoint as Canadians grapple with a sluggish domestic economy and uncertainty over the implications of Donald Trump''s election as U.S. president."People on Bay Street and on Wall Street love to believe in the wealth effect on spending from what the equity market does and it is actually way down near the bottom of the list for what really drives consumer confidence," said David Rosenberg, chief economist and strategist at Gluskin Sheff & Associates Inc."What has a much more powerful impact on confidence is job creation and growth in the paycheck," Rosenberg added.Canadian consumer confidence fell in January to its lowest since October, a survey conducted by the Conference Board of Canada showed recently.Canada did add jobs in 2016, but it was mostly part-time and earnings growth has lagged inflation, data from Statistics Canada shows."I think Canadians will be taking more of their cues on how they feel about the economy with the results in the labor market" said Nick Exarhos, economist at CIBC Capital Markets.He thinks that the quality of jobs available in Canada has deteriorated over the past two years and that the TSX is a poor guide to the strength of the domestic economy due to its heavy concentration of resource stocks.Economists also doubt that stock market gains will lift business sentiment."If Donald Trump has his view that trade deficits with anybody have to be redressed that is a much bigger deal for Canada than the next few points on the TSX," Rosenberg said.Canada runs a merchandise trade surplus with the United States, while Trump plans to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement under which Canada sends 75 percent of its exports to the United States."If firms were thinking of investing with the idea of shipping to the U.S. ... they may just pause," said Craig Wright, chief economist at Royal Bank of Canada. (Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Tom Brown)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-economy-idINL1N1FH0XZ'|'2017-02-03T15:01:00.000+02:00' +'652f0da46d7d9c0f20548ec8c46073993e351dca'|'Electra to receive 203 million pounds from Audiotonix sale'|'Business News - Fri Feb 3, 2017 - 8:01am GMT Electra to receive 203 million pounds from Audiotonix sale LONDON Electra Private Equity ( ELTA.L ) is to receive 203 million pounds after its investment arm sold Audiotonix, a manufacturer of audio mixing consoles, to French buyout group Astorg. The sale comes as Electra is in the process of separating itself from the investment arm, which has renamed itself Epiris and is due to split from the firm in June. Epiris said the deal had generated a return close to five times the amount originally invested. "This has been a fantastic deal for Epiris and its investors, and clearly demonstrates our strategy in action," said Charles Elkington, a partner at Epiris. The Auditonix sale is expected to close in the first quarter of this year. (Reporting By Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Rachel Armstrong) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-electra-pvt-eqty-sale-idUKKBN15I0TQ'|'2017-02-03T15:01:00.000+02:00' +'d9c0a2aa8c03aff4aa85064f528fb44f4a53641c'|'UPDATE 1-Freeport Indonesia says could seek arbitration over mining contract violations'|' 41pm EST UPDATE 1-Freeport Indonesia says could seek arbitration over mining contract violations (Adds background, details) JAKARTA Feb 20 Freeport-McMoRan Inc''s Indonesian unit said on Monday it hoped to resolve a dispute with the government over its mining contract, but reserved the right to start arbitration against the government and seek damages. Freeport has submitted a notification to Indonesia''s mining ministry describing breaches and violations of its contract of work by the government, the company said. Freeport warned in a statement of "severe unfavourable consequences for all stakeholders" if the dispute is not resolved. The consequences could include "the suspension of capital investments, a significant reduction in domestic purchases of goods and services, and job losses for contractors and workers as we are forced to adjust our business costs to match constrained production," it said. Freeport has been negotiating with the Indonesian government over the terms of a special mining permit to replace its contract of work after halting its exports of copper concentrate due to new mining rules. On Friday, it said it could not meet contractual obligations for copper concentrate shipments from the mine following a five-week export stoppage. All mining work was stopped last week at its giant Grasberg mine in the eastern Indonesian province of Papua. The chief executive of Freeport''s Indonesian unit, Chappy Hakim, appointed in November to lead the company through a period of regulatory uncertainty, resigned on Saturday. Under its current contract signed in 1991, Freeport said on Monday it had invested $12 billion in Indonesia. But the company cannot make the $15 billion additional capital investment to develop underground mining without fiscal and legal guarantees from the government, Freeport-McMoRan''s CEO Richard Adkerson told a news conference in Jakarta. Indonesia''s mining minister, Ignasius Jonan, on Saturday warned Freeport that bringing the dispute to arbitration could harm the relationship between the company and the government, "but it would be a much better step rather than always using the issue of firing workers as a tool to pressure the government." Adkerson also said on Monday the company''s Indonesian unit has made its first lay-offs since the dispute over its mining contract started with the Indonesian government and may let go of more workers this week. (Reporting by Fergus Jensen and Wilda Asmarini; Writing by Gayatri Suroyo; Editing by Tom Hogue) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/indonesia-freeport-idUSL4N1G51S5'|'2017-02-20T11:41:00.000+02:00' +'87a50329f3015e3583eb280bce62d9f9d46cc2cd'|'Next chairman John Barton to retire in August'|' 22am GMT Next chairman John Barton to retire in August A woman walks under advertising outside a branch of clothing retailer Next in London, Britain September 30, 2014. REUTERS/Andrew Winning/File Photo LONDON British clothing retailer Next ( NXT.L ) said its chairman John Barton will retire in August and be succeeded by Michael Roney. Barton, 72, has been chairman since 2006. Roney, 62, will join the board as an independent non-executive director, as deputy chairman and chairman designate on Tuesday and take over from Barton as chairman on August 1. Roney is a former chief executive of Bunzl ( BNZL.L ) and is currently chairman of Grafton Group. (Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Susan Fenton) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-next-moves-idUKKBN15T0Q2'|'2017-02-14T14:22:00.000+02:00' +'1ce159c0c4c3fc72ed2063923739151b27a71191'|'U.S. investors brace for mounting political risks as they decode Trump'|'Company 1:04pm EST U.S. investors brace for mounting political risks as they decode Trump By David Randall and Jennifer Ablan - NEW YORK NEW YORK Feb 14 Barry James built up his $4 billion mutual fund largely by studying balance sheets, earnings and market share. In the last few weeks, however, he has realized that he must look at a new force in the market: U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump''s unpredictable governing style and stated desire to renegotiate trade agreements and punish companies that seek out lower-cost forms of labor are upending the classic notion of fundamental investing, said James, who manages the James Balanced Golden Rainbow fund. As a result, he said, his Xenia, Ohio firm is broadening the market research it follows. He is also moving more of his money into bonds and bracing for a significant decline in the U.S. stock market, just a few months after making a big bet on equities the day after the Nov. 8 presidential election. "We''re vulnerable to shocks," he said, "and we''ve got a shocker in the White House." With U.S. equities breaking record highs, other investors who have long shunned big-picture trends say they also are paying more attention to the effect of politics on asset prices, and that the high market valuation sets the scene for a steep sell-off. Fund managers are not just focusing on whatever company Trump mentions in his latest tweet. They say they are also worrying that he could increase global tensions and raise trade tariffs worldwide, hurting companies large and small. So far, Trump''s political proposals have largely helped the U.S. stock market. Markets are pricing in lower corporate taxes and an infrastructure spending bill, pushing the benchmark S&P 500 up about 9 percent since Election Day. The market trades at a trailing price-to-earnings ratio of 20.9, the high end of its historical range. Yet fund managers say they see markets as increasingly vulnerable to political risks as the new administration targets trade and immigration policies that could shift the balance of the global economy. At the same time, key elections scheduled for later this year in France and Germany could lead to further weakening of the European Union, a risk that fund managers say the global markets do not fully reflect. "We''re seeing fatigue in the market in reacting to political situations that would historically be very disruptive," said BMO Global Asset Management portfolio manager Lowell Yura. ONE SNEEZE Some fund managers are now calling in outside political risk experts whom they might have once ignored or expanding their networks of consultants to determine the effects of Trump''s policies on the U.S. market and abroad. Political risk firms are reporting a significant increase in business since Election Day. Consultant Business Environment Risk Intelligence said investor inquires were up more than 50 percent since November, and it has been telling clients not to be complacent despite the market rally. "It takes one sneeze from the Trump administration that can spread flu to these markets," said Chief Executive Officer Saruhan Hatipoglu. Ian Bremmer, president of New York-based political risk research firm Eurasia Group, said his business had increased significantly since Trump''s election as well as Britain''s vote to leave the European Union, emerging market scandals and the French presidential campaign. This has led him to increase hiring at his 150-person firm. "Clients are asking about all of the moving pieces," he said. "It''s suddenly: ''Are we going to be in a much more protectionist world? Is the global marketplace going to fragment?''" TRADING TRUMP Fund managers say they are trying to take advantage of an anticipated spike in volatility, even as the VIX, Wall Street''s main measure of equity market turbulence, remains near two-year lows. "Donald Trump clearly is showing that he wants to be a disrupter of the status quo, so political risk is probably the single biggest known driver of potential future volatility that exists now," said Conventus Capital partner Nicholas Young. Young said his firm had bought options to hedge against market declines for that reason as well as "the unknown drivers that catch people completely by surprise and cause volatility to spike quickly." Thyra Zerhusen, co-chief investment officer of Fairpointe Capital in Chicago, said she had been trimming positions in some stocks and was holding more cash than usual as she expects market declines. Among her worries is that a move to deregulate the banking industry could lead to something like the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009. "I am trying to batten down the hatches," she said. "I''m more concerned about politics now than I''ve ever been." (Reporting by David Randall and Jennifer Ablan; Editing by Megan Davies and Lisa Von Ahn) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/funds-politicalrisk-trump-idUSL1N1FT1H2'|'2017-02-15T01:04:00.000+02:00' +'ef800dffcd8c63cc05c2b79356fe6141c6889187'|'Siemens set to win EU approval for $4.5 billion Mentor deal - sources'|'Business News - Thu Feb 23, 2017 - 3:20pm GMT Siemens set to win EU approval for $4.5 billion Mentor deal - sources Siemens AG headquarters are seen in Munich, Germany August 15, 2016. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle - By Foo Yun Chee and Arno Schuetze - BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT German engineering group Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ) is set to gain unconditional EU antitrust approval for its $4.5 billion (4 billion pound) bid for U.S. software company Mentor Graphics, its biggest deal in this area in a decade, two people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Siemens unveiled the deal in November last year, aiming to boost its presence in a sector with faster growth and bigger margins than other areas. The German company''s move comes in response to growing customer demand for more complex software for smart connected products such as aeroplanes, trains and cars. Siemens is targeting a rise in its software revenue by about a third from the deal. Mentor Graphics'' software helps semiconductor companies design and test their chips before they manufacture them. The European Commission, which is scheduled to decide on the deal by Feb. 27, declined to comment. Siemens also declined to comment. Mentor Graphics competes with Synopsys ( SNPS.O ) and Cadence ( CDNS.O ). (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee in Brussels and Arno Schuetze in Frankfurt, additional reporting by Jens Hack in Munich. Editing by Jane Merriman) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mentor-graphics-m-a-siemens-eu-idUKKBN1621U5'|'2017-02-23T22:20:00.000+02:00' +'088dde3060066f7c46e23ed847bcc8b13a620568'|'Asia stocks seen looking overvalued at 19-month highs, Aussie dollar shines'|' 3:36am GMT Asia stocks seen looking overvalued at 19-month highs, Aussie dollar shines A man walks past an electronic board showing Japan''s Nikkei average (top L), the Dow Jones average (top R) and the stock averages of other countries'' outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon By Saikat Chatterjee - HONG KONG HONG KONG Asian stocks edged to new 19-month highs on Thursday with gains underpinned by an ongoing rally on Wall Street while the dollar came in for a bout of profit-taking after its recent bounce. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.2 percent to its highest since July 2015. It is up by a tenth this year thanks to more optimistic earnings expectations and an unwinding of bearish emerging market bets. Wall Street pushed relentlessly into record-high territory on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 notching a seven-session winning streak. Some investors said markets were looking slightly overvalued from a technical perspective after the bounce in recent weeks. For example, on a relative strength index (RSI), the MSCI Asia-ex Japan index was at its most overbought levels since 2015. "We are seeing some profit-taking at these levels and unless there is a big correction, the broader uptrend in the Hong Kong market seems broadly intact," said Alex Wong, Hong Kong-based director of Ample Finance Group. Though latest regional exports data confirmed an upswing in economic activity in Asia was gathering pace, political uncertainty and anti-globalization rhetoric from the U.S. made investors cautious of adding big positions. "In light of these risks, we remain cautiously optimistic on Asian equities, having set a 12-month target for the MSCI Asia ex-Japan of 550 a 7 percent increase from current levels," said Tuan Huynh, Asia CIO for Deutsche Bank wealth management which manages 312 billion euros globally. Australian stocks gave up early gains and turned lower on the day after new full-time jobs fell sharply in January, a setback after a recent run of positive data. CAUTION Caution was also evident in the currency markets with the dollar''s recent bounce running out of steam as investors took profits -- even as fresh data showed a pick up in inflationary pressures. "Retail sales seemed to have been boosted by higher prices rather than an increase in the real consumption," said Shin Kadota, senior forex strategist at Barclays. "Investors also took profit as the dollar was trading high this week." Fed Chair Janet Yellen, in her second day of economic testimony before Congress, offered no additional insight on the timing of the central bank''s next rate hike after her comments a day earlier had hinted at a fairly hawkish policy stance. Traders may also be leaning towards the Fed delaying a rate increase beyond its March meeting, with the probability of three to four rate hikes by the end of year diminishing slightly, according to the CME FedWatch tool. The dollar index, which measures the currency against a trade-weighted basket of six major peers, slipped to 100.92. It rallied to a one-month high of 101.76 on Wednesday. The Australian dollar was the sole bright spot in Asian trade with the currency powering to multi-year peaks against the yen, Swiss franc and euro -- despite a mixed jobs report. It stood tall versus its U.S. counterpart at $0.7708, having broken key resistance at 77 cents. It briefly popped to a three-month high of $0.7732 after data showed a surprise dip in Australia''s unemployment rate. In commodity markets, oil prices softened as record high U.S. crude and gasoline inventories fed concerns about a global glut. U.S. crude was down 0.1 percent at $53.07 a barrel and Brent was flat at $55.75 a barrel. (Additional reporting by Yuzuka Oka in TOKYO; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Eric Meijer) Next In Business News Fed aims to hike rates, based on more growth and fiscal stimulus: Dudley NEW YORK The Federal Reserve aims to raise U.S. interest rates in the months ahead as long as the economy continues to grow a bit above its trend and if, as expected, fiscal policies provide a boost, an influential Fed policymaker said on Wednesday.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUKKBN15V026'|'2017-02-16T10:34:00.000+02:00' +'100825dc78f6a7d47f001a1279b6ce1d533f5fdb'|'Anthem sues Cigna to block termination of merger'|'By Michael Erman Anthem Inc ( ANTM.N ) said on Wednesday it filed a lawsuit to block smaller rival Cigna Corp ( CI.N ) from officially terminating their proposed $54 billion merger, a transaction already rejected by U.S. antitrust regulators.The deal would have created the largest U.S. health insurer. Rivals Aetna Inc ( AET.N ) and Humana Inc ( HUM.N ) had sought their own merger, representing an unprecedented consolidation among U.S. health insurers.In separate rulings, federal judges struck down both deals as anticompetitive, at the request of the Justice Department. Aetna and Humana said on Tuesday they were ending their deal, but Anthem filed an appeal of its ruling.Cigna, however, said on Tuesday it notified Anthem it had ended the deal and that Anthem was required to pay a $1.85 billion break-up fee under their agreement.Cigna also filed a lawsuit in Delaware, seeking legal sanction for its decision to end the deal and approval for $13 billion in damages for its shareholders who did not receive the takeover premium.Anthem''s lawsuit, which was also filed in Delaware, seeks a temporary restraining order to prevent Cigna from ending the deal, arguing there is still enough time to complete the transaction first announced in July 2015."Cigna''s lawsuit and purported termination is the next step in Cigna''s campaign to sabotage the merger and to try to deflect attention from its repeated wilful breaches of the Merger Agreement in support of such effort," Anthem said.Cigna said on Wednesday that it believed Anthem''s allegations were meritless.Anthem said it was pursuing an expedited appeal of the court decision and remained committed to complete the merger either through a successful appeal or through a settlement with the new leadership at the Justice Department under the Trump administration.Cigna maintains that Anthem had not done enough to reduce potential anticompetitive elements on its side of the transaction, and would not be able to make those changes in time to secure regulatory approval."Accordingly, there is no viable path to completing this transaction," Cigna said.Cigna had increased its share repurchase programme to $3.7 billion, but said on Tuesday it would limit the share repurchase amount to $250 million per quarter. Some analysts questioned whether this signalled a new intent by the insurer to seek an acquisition."We believe this suggests Cigna was looking to deploy the capital in another way, potentially M&A, but we are hesitant to suggest another public-public merger offer," Piper Jaffray analyst Sarah James said in a client note.(Reporting by Michael Erman in New York, Additional reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D''Couto and Tom Brown)FILE PHOTO -- A sign at the office building of health insurer Anthem is seen in Los Angeles, California February 5, 2015. REUTERS/Gus Ruelas/File Photo'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/cigna-m-a-anthem-lawsuit-idINKBN15U2E1'|'2017-02-15T15:29:00.000+02:00' +'2161998c9a8f3276bf61fa6660c25755da88f7d4'|'Mattel partners with parenting website to expand China presence - Reuters'|'Barbie maker Mattel Inc ( MAT.O ) said it would partner with Chinese parenting website Babytree to create an online learning platform for early childhood development, the latest in the No. 1 U.S. toymaker''s push into China.The partnership with Babytree announced on Thursday comes two days after Mattel said it would sell its products on Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd''s ( BABA.N ) online marketplace Tmall.Mattel said it would also work with Alibaba''s A.I. Lab to create products for child development through interactive learning as part of the deal.Mattel and Babytree will provide child development assessment tools and customized parenting content and development curriculum, based on Mattel''s early childhood development brand, Fisher-Price, the company said.Babytree, founded in 2006, provides families in China a platform to learn and exchange ideas on early education, child development tracking and nutrition.Mattel posted holiday-quarter sales well below analysts'' estimates last month, as the toymaker battles weak demand in North America and rising competition.(Reporting by Jessica Kuruthukulangara in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-mattel-babytree-idINKBN15V308'|'2017-02-16T21:07:00.000+02:00' +'181d17b5425abb45fbdd63d81d02777468b3e80f'|'French carmaker PSA discusses deal to buy GM''s Opel'|'By Pamela Barbaglia and Edward Taylor - LONDON/FRANKFURT LONDON/FRANKFURT PSA Group ( PEUP.PA ) is holding talks with General Motors ( GM.N ) about buying its European Opel division, the French carmaker said on Tuesday, a deal which would increase competition for market leader Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ).The maker of Peugeot, Citroen and DS cars is "exploring a number of strategic initiatives with GM with the aim of increasing its profitability and operating efficiency, including a potential acquisition of Opel," a spokesman said.The confirmation came after sources told Reuters earlier on Tuesday that the two companies were in advanced discussions to combine PSA with the U.S. carmaker''s Opel business.A deal may be announced within days, the sources said.GM and PSA already share production of SUVs and commercial vans, a relic of their last attempt to forge a broader alliance, which was unwound in 2013 with the sale of the U.S. carmaker''s stake in PSA.Together, PSA and Opel would command a 16.3 percent share of the European car market share compared with Volkswagen''s 24.1 percent, based on 2016 data.For GM, offloading Opel could mean giving up on the global sales volume race in which it is currently ranked third behind Volkswagen and Toyota ( 7203.T ), with just over 10 million vehicles delivered last year.The Detroit-based group would be likely to keep a stake in the combined entity, one of the sources told Reuters.Spokespeople for Opel and the French government, which owns 14 percent of PSA, had no immediate comment. A spokesman for the Peugeot family, which holds a matching stake in the carmaker, was not immediately available.Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares, PSA has rebounded from a 2013-14 brush with bankruptcy to reach record levels of earnings, posting a 6.8 percent automotive operating margin in the first half of last year.The carmaker sold 3.15 million vehicles last year. Tavares has signaled openness to a tie-up that would increase PSA''s scale and ability to meet growing investment demands in vehicle electrification, driving technology and connected services.GM has consistently struggled to make a profit at its Opel division, which includes Britain''s Vauxhall brand. It had previously discussed a sale to Canadian parts maker Magna in the aftermath of the financial crisis, before pulling the plug on the tentative deal in 2009.The company missed last year''s target of reaching breakeven in Europe, despite buoyant demand, and warned it would struggle to restore regional profitability before 2018..(Additional reporting by Gilles Guillaume and Laurence Frost; Writing by Laurence Frost; Editing by Keith Weir)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-opel-m-a-psa-confirm-idINKBN15T1G0'|'2017-02-14T09:43:00.000+02:00' +'0f728b2b54be42ea0367a983dbe04ebeefee6207'|'Germany, France want long-term prospects for workers in PSA/Opel merger'|' 11pm GMT Germany, France want long-term prospects for workers in PSA/Opel merger The logo of German car maker Opel is seen at a dealership in Marseille, France, February 22, 2017. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier BERLIN France and Germany on Thursday called on the management of General Motors ( GM.N ) and PSA Group ( PEUP.PA ) to give a "long-term perspective" for all production sites in the proposed acquisition of Opel from the U.S. carmaker. They also said that both Opel and Peugeot should keep their own brand names and separate management entities. "The merged company needs a sustainable strategy for the future with a long-term perspective for all production sites, development centres and staff," French Economy Minister Michel Sapin and his German counterpart Brigitte Zypries said in joint statement published after talks in Paris. "Workers from both companies need clarity quickly and have to be involved in further talks," the ministers said. Paris-based PSA and GM confirmed last week that they were in negotiations on a deal to create Europe''s second-largest carmaker by sales behind Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ), sparking criticism in Germany and Britain amid fears of possible job losses. (Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Madeline Chambers) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-peugeot-opel-m-a-ministers-idUKKBN1621O4'|'2017-02-23T21:11:00.000+02:00' +'c13a6c481f8602ff802e20b951b1a66011f61a5b'|'Exclusive: Burger King and Tim Horton''s owner in bid to buy Popeyes - sources'|'Restaurant Brands International Inc ( QSR.TO ), the owner of the Burger King and Tim Horton''s fast-food chains, has approached Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Inc ( PLKI.O ) to express interest in an acquisition, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.A deal would be a bet by Oakville, Ontario-based Restaurant Brands that it can use its international reach to introduce Atlanta, Georgia-based Popeyes'' famous Louisiana-style fried chicken and buttermilk biscuits to more diners globally.RBI and Popeyes have yet to agree on a deal price, and there is no certainty that negotiations will continue, or that they will lead to any agreement, the people said. Restaurant Brands has also been considering the acquisition of other companies, one of the people added.The sources asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential. Popeyes declined to comment, while Restaurant Brands did not immediately respond to a request for comment.(Reporting by Lauren Hirsch and Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/popeyes-m-a-rstrnt-brnd-idINKBN15S2DL'|'2017-02-13T17:30:00.000+02:00' +'ce59f6951eaee0dc1c32fea914c8683df7747c73'|'Ex-VW chairman refuses to testify in German emissions probe'|' 2:32pm GMT Ex-VW chairman refuses to testify in German emissions probe Ferdinand Piech, chairman of the supervisory board of German carmaker Volkswagen, arrives at the annual shareholders meeting in Hanover in this April 25, 2013 file photo. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/Files HAMBURG/BERLIN Ex-Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) Chairman Ferdinand Piech, who resigned after a showdown with former chief executive Martin Winterkorn, has refused to testify to German lawmakers investigating a possible government''s role in the VW emissions scandal, according to his lawyer. Piech, also VW''s former CEO who spearheaded the carmaker''s global expansion, gave testimony to lawyers of U.S. law firm Jones Day last April and to German prosecutors in Braunschweig near VW''s Wolfsburg headquarters in December, his lawyer said. "These comments were solely directed at the inquirers of Jones Day and the prosecutors respectively. They were not directed at the public media," Piech''s Hamburg-based lawyer, Gerhard Strate, said in an emailed statement. He said Piech has no intention "to comment in public on what is being circulated as the alleged content of the questioning". A German media report earlier this week said Piech had informed top directors at VW about potential cheating with diesel emissions tests in the United States six months before the scandal became public in September 2015. Piech has not commented on the report by Bild am Sonntag. The unsourced report said Piech raised the issue with Winterkorn and subsequently informed members of the supervisory board''s steering committee in March 2015 - a month before Piech was ousted as chairman. A person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday that Piech had raised the issue of excess diesel emissions of VW cars in the United States with Winterkorn in March 2015. The former CEO then replied to Piech that a recall of affected vehicles was already underway and that the problem would be resolved, the person said, adding that Winterkorn last year had given the same account to Jones Day. Winterkorn''s lawyer has said his client would not be commenting until he had been granted access to files held by Braunschweig prosecutors. VW has said it might take legal action against Piech over his reported assertions. The supervisory board''s labour representatives have since denied the reported allegations, as did Stephan Weil, a member of the steering committee and prime minister of Lower Saxony state, VW''s No. 2 stakeholder. Left Party lawmaker Herbert Behrens, who chairs the German parliamentary committee tasked with investigating the emissions irregularities, said earlier this week that the latest escalation required a Piech testimony. Behrens didn''t return calls seeking comment while fellow committee member Oliver Krischer, a Green Party lawmaker, criticised the refusal to testify. "This of course damages the (VW) brand and the entire German auto industry if those involved, even if they no longer belong to the company, do not manage to draw a line and clear the air," Krischer told broadcasting network Deutschlandfunk. The eight-member cross-party committee will question Weil and Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt over the scandal on Thursday. The panel was set up last April to clarify whether Germany''s federal government and regulators were involved in VW''s emissions manipulations or failed to contribute towards their disclosure. Last month it questioned Winterkorn, who denied early knowledge of the cheating. (Reporting by Jan Schwartz and Andreas Cremer; editing by Mark Heinrich and David Evans) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-volkswagen-emissions-piech-idUKKBN15Q0LL'|'2017-02-12T21:32:00.000+02:00' +'157accd89429c9b510ddb7a10cb9fef4ee7039eb'|'BRIEF-Mandalay Resources Q4 consolidated loss per share $0.06'|' 08pm EST BRIEF-Mandalay Resources Q4 consolidated loss per share $0.06 Feb 16 Mandalay Resources Corp * Mandalay Resources Corporation announces fourth quarter and full-year 2016 financial results, quarterly dividend, and updated guidance for 2017 * Consolidated net loss before special items of $10.8 million, or $0.02 loss per share before special items, for Q4 * Says cutting workforce by about 10 percent * Qtrly revenue $32.4 million versus $43.6 million * Qtrly consolidated loss per share $0.06 Source text for Eikon:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-mandalay-resources-q4-consolidated-idUSASB0B0YX'|'2017-02-17T10:08:00.000+02:00' +'b87100dc989b863dbf30f42124a185f2af9665a9'|'Big banks avoid hiring spree despite trading boom'|' 45am GMT Big banks avoid hiring spree despite trading boom Workers walk to work during the morning rush hour in the financial district of Canary Wharf in London, Britain, January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh By Jamie McGeever and Anjuli Davies - LONDON LONDON Market trading is booming at U.S. and European banks thanks to Donald Trump and Brexit, and yet the glory days of dealing rooms the size of football pitches remain as distant as ever. Scarred by the 2007-09 global financial crisis and a subsequent regulatory clampdown, cost-conscious banks aren''t taking on more traders, uncertain whether the revival will last. "There''s no hiring spree," Jason Kennedy, chief executive of recruitment firm Kennedy Group in London, told Reuters. "Management don''t know if the boom is real or not, if we''re in a bubble or not. The last thing they are doing is gear up, only to find there''s nothing behind it." Last year''s shocks of the British vote to leave the European Union and Trump''s U.S. presidential election victory fuelled a surge in market volatility and banks'' trading activity, revenue and profit. But that won''t mean more traders, with banks avoiding any return to dealing rooms staffed by hundreds like before the crisis, instead investing more in automated trading. Europe''s largest bank HSBC ( HSBA.L ) began cutting around 100 senior jobs last month in its investment banking division worldwide, according to sources with direct knowledge of the matter, without saying how many were traders. Germany''s largest lender, the troubled Deutsche Bank, ( DBKGn.DE ) is set to scrap roughly one in five equity trading jobs under a scheme to cut costs across the globe, according to sources, and will slash pay and bonuses. Even Wall Street''s big beasts, which have profited most from the boom, are cautious about how long it will continue, with some offering existing staff juicier bonuses to prevent departures of talent rather than expanding the payroll. "We''d always rather do more with less," said one senior source at a major Wall Street trading firm. "We are not looking to ramp up hiring. New technology will help," the source told Reuters. "We are always looking at productivity gains. Sometime saying you''re hiring a bunch of people is a sign of great stupidity." The biggest trading gains have been in fixed income, currency and commodities (FICC). The top five U.S. banks made $10.5 billion (8 billion pounds) in revenue from FICC trading in the fourth quarter, and $14.1 billion in the previous three month period. The $24.6 billion total for the second half of last year was up 37 percent from $17.9 billion from the same period in 2015. Only four of Europe''s biggest banks - Credit Suisse ( CSGN.S ), Deutsche Bank and France''s Societe Generale ( SOGN.PA ) and BNP Paribas ( BNPP.PA ) - have reported their fourth quarter earnings so far. They too said FICC trading revenue had increased, although not as strongly as at their Wall Street rivals, and their equity trading performance has been patchier. GRAPHIC: Big banks'' trading revenue reut.rs/2kp0D9g A LID ON COSTS In recent years, banks have hired heavily in two areas. One is regulatory compliance to handle a welter of new rules imposed by U.S. and European authorities, as well as to prevent a repeat of the pre-crisis misbehaviour that earned some banks huge penalties. The other is technology to improve efficiency. Trading is a different story. According to Coalition, an industry analytics firm, the total number of FICC front office staff - covering sales, trading and research - at the top 12 global banks fell to 17,479 last year from 18,755 the year before. That''s down 7 percent on the year and marks a decline of nearly 25 percent from 2012. Within that lies a deeper retrenchment at European banks, where FICC staffing levels have been slashed by 30 percent since 2012. That''s nearly twice the rate at U.S. banks. George Kuznetsov, head of research and analytics at Coalition, said banks are struggling to meet return on equity targets in their FICC trading operations. While he expects FICC trading revenue to rise 4-5 percent this year, banks will continue to keep a lid on costs wherever possible. In addition, it''s unclear if something similar to the Brexit and Trump effects last year will be replicated this year to keep markets volatile. "As a result, we think headcount will remain relatively stable this year compared to 2016. We don''t see any significant expansion," he said. Still, the outlook may be brightening for European banks. After years of savage cost cuts, scaling back operations and pulling out of some markets, the gap between them and U.S. banks both in terms of headcount and revenue will stop widening. "There''s only so much cost cutting you can do in the businesses you want to be in. Aside from one or two individual cases, the majority of strategic choice and restructuring in FICC has probably been done," Kuznetsov said. A senior manager in equities trading at a large Wall Street bank said all his hiring was done "three years ago". While investment is still being made, particularly in technology and the online trading platform, this year he will be looking to hire only "opportunistically" when talented individuals become available. The head of interest rates trading at another U.S. bank said automation plays an increasingly important role, and has affected up to 20 percent of headcount in his division. Banks continue to rely on the "juniorisation" of trading desks, where senior and more expensive traders are replaced with younger, less experienced and cheaper graduates and trainees, as a means of keeping costs down. "In the last three or four years, we''ve invested a lot in the ''junior population''. As a percentage of our trading business, it has materially increased," the head of rates trading said. (Graphic by Vikram Subhedar; Editing by David Stamp) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-banks-trading-idUKKBN15U1DA'|'2017-02-15T18:45:00.000+02:00' +'79c4c6384ccc5c9666c6c9ed61c1a5828aa54051'|'UPDATE 1-Google to help publishers find malicious comments on articles'|'Company 20pm EST UPDATE 1-Google to help publishers find malicious comments on articles (Adds details from Cohen interview, paragraph 13) By Julia Fioretti BRUSSELS Feb 23 Alphabet Inc''s Google and subsidiary Jigsaw launched on Thursday a new technology to help news organisations and online platforms identify abusive comments on their websites. The technology, called Perspective, will review comments and score them based on how similar they are to comments people said were "toxic" or likely to make them leave a conversation. It has been tested on the New York Times and the companies hope to extend it to other news organisations such as The Guardian and The Economist as well as websites. "News organizations want to encourage engagement and discussion around their content, but find that sorting through millions of comments to find those that are trolling or abusive takes a lot of money, labour, and time. As a result, many sites have shut down comments altogether," Jared Cohen, President of Jigsaw, which is part of Alphabet, wrote in a blog post. "But they tell us that isnt the solution they want. We think technology can help." Perspective examined hundreds of thousands of comments that had been labelled as offensive by human reviewers to learn how to spot potentially abusive language. CJ Adams, Jigsaw Product Manager, said the company was open to rolling out the technology to all platforms, including larger ones such as Facebook and Twitter where trolling can be a major headache. The technology could be expanded to identify personal attacks or off-topic comments too, Cohen said. Perspective will not decide what to do with comments it finds are potentially abusive; rather publishers will be able to flag them to their moderators or develop tools to help commenters understand the impact of their writing. Cohen said a significant portion of abusive comments came from people who were "just having a bad day." The initiative against trolls follows efforts by Google and Facebook to combat fake news stories in France, Germany and the United States after they came under fire during the U.S. presidential campaign when it became clear they had inadvertently fanned false news reports. The debate surrounding fake news has sparked calls from politicians for social networks to be held more liable for the content on their platforms. Jigsaw is offering the product to publishers for free and hopes to support languages other than English soon, Cohen said in an interview. While the technology is in its early days and could misinterpret language such as sarcasm, it will improve over time, Cohen said. (Additional reporting by Julia Love in San Francisco.) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/google-news-idUSL1N1G81ED'|'2017-02-24T01:20:00.000+02:00' +'19abf886cbc9da146f81508507448be7b9032f92'|'Discount broker shares tumble on price war fears'|'Business News - Thu Feb 2, 2017 - 7:18pm EST Discount broker shares tumble on price war fears A TD Ameritrade sign is seen outside a branch in Schaumburg, Illinois, U.S., October 24, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Young By Sinead Carew and Trevor Hunnicutt Shares in discount brokerages TD Ameritrade ( AMTD.O ), E*Trade ( ETFC.O ) and Charles Schwab ( SCHW.N ) fell as investors bet Schwab''s slashing of trading commissions would be the start of a price war. Schwab announced earlier on Thursday that it would reduce its online equity and ETF trade commissions to $6.95 from $8.95 and claimed to have the lowest commission among competitors. Shares in TD Ameritrade were hit the hardest as it derives about 42 percent of revenue from trading fees, the biggest exposure of the three companies. Its shares fell as much as 11 percent and were last down 9.3 percent at $41.79, on track for its biggest one-day percentage decline since Dec. 2008. Trading volume was 7.5 times the 10-day moving average. "You''re going to continue to see downward pricing pressure on transaction-based business," Matt Lynch, Managing Partner at Strategy & Resources LLC in Dayton, Ohio. "Throughout the industry I think there''s a heightened sensitivity to those fees." TD Ameritrade Chief Executive Tim Hockey told CNBC that he was not surprised by the Charles Schwab price move and that he would look and see what his company would do. "We think it''s much more around the tools, the capabilities and the experiences," Hockey said. Shares in E*Trade fell 9.7 percent to $33.97 after hitting a low of $33.33 earlier in the session. It was on track for its biggest one-day decline since June. Trading volume for E*Trade was 4 times its 10-day moving average. Schwab, which derives about 11 percent of its revenue from trading fees, saw its shares fall 4.9 percent at $39.33. Trading volume for Schwab was twice its 10-day moving average. William Katz, analyst at Citigroup, said in a research note that the move "raises commoditization risks for the online trading model as it could lead to a further round of price cuts." (Additional reporting By Elizabeth Dilts in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-markets-stocks-brokerages-idUSKBN15I013'|'2017-02-03T07:18:00.000+02:00' +'09684f21629b2a4212b66d66e620eae3f8dbfc20'|'Australia must charge royalties on natural gas or lose billions, says expert - Business'|'The petroleum resource rent tax has failed to collect billions of dollars in revenue and the Turnbull government should reintroduce royalties for natural gas projects off north-west Australia, a resource tax expert has said.Dr Diane Kraal from Monash University has warned flaws in the PRRT regime mean Chevrons giant Gorgon gas project off WA will not pay the tax until at least 2030, despite decades of operation.She said modelling showed $5bn in revenue would be raised from Gorgon by 2030 if royalties were reintroduced. She urged the Coalition to do just that to ensure Australians were properly remunerated for the exploitation of their gas resources.Fears Australia losing billions in liquefied natural gas tax sparks calls for inquiry Read more She said her research indicated other natural gas projects in commonwealth waters should also be subject to commonwealth royalties, including Chevrons Wheatstone, Woodsides Pluto LNG project, and Inpexs Ichthys project.The treasurer, Scott Morrison, announced a formal review of the PRRT regime in November following a rapid decline in revenues from the tax.He acknowledged revenues from the PRRT had halved since 2012-13, while crude oil excise collections had fallen by more than half. When he announced his inquiry into the tax, he said he wanted it to be completed in time for this years budget.It followed months of disquiet about the effectiveness of the tax and warnings from groups like the Tax Justice Network that Australia was set to blow another resources boom because the PRRT was failing to collect adequate revenue from the explosion in liquefied natural gas exports.Kraal has made six recommendations for reform of the tax. In her submission to the PRRT review , seen by Guardian Australia, she says the government ought to retain the PRRT legislation, but with significant modifications.She says the transferability of exploration expenses ought to be overhauled. Transferability of exploration expenditure was negotiated for oil back in 1990, and is not working as intended today for gas, her submission says.Gas projects only provide utility rates of return, not super profits as found in oil. Transferability of exploration expenses should be modelled for a fairer outcome from community resources.She also calls for an overhaul of the gas transfer price method, which is used to price gas feedstock used in LNG processing.There are alternatives, such as the use of the mid-stream breakeven price method, or the Net Back method alone, either of which would derive a fairer price, her submission says.Advance Pricing Arrangements should be made transparent to the public, much like the Australian Tax Office sanitised private rulings or interpretive decisions.Kraals submission is based on new research which she presented at the Australasian tax conference in New Zealand mid-January.She says the research is significant for its unique review of Australias petroleum taxation from the 1980s to the rise in the 2000s of natural gas projects for LNG export.According to the ATO, revenue from the PRRT plummeted by 32% in 2014-15, a decline of $576m, despite significant growth in export production.More than a third of big companies paid no tax in 2014-15, ATO reports Read more Last year, the Australian National Audit Office released a damning report revealing significant shortcomings with the way in which royalties were levied on offshore petroleum operations from the North West Shelf (NWS) off Western Australia.It found oil and gas companies operating in Australia may have wrongly claimed billions of dollars in tax deductions in recent years, leaving governments underpaid millions in royalties.In September, a letter cosigned by 21 union and left-leaning organisations, including the Australian Council of Social Service, the ACTU, Greenpeace, the Australia Institute, ActionAid, GetUp and the Uniting church, was sent to the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, and Morrison calling for a parliamentary inquiry into the PRRT.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/feb/09/australia-must-charge-royalties-on-natural-gas-or-lose-billions-says-expert'|'2017-02-09T02:00:00.000+02:00' +'518b6758200579d8fb9519ff645fb639c3950410'|'U.S. health insurer Humana''s quarterly revenue falls 3.6 pct'|'Feb 8 U.S. health insurer Humana Inc posted a 3.6 percent fall in quarterly revenue on Wednesday, hurt in part by a decline in premium revenue associated with fewer individual commercial members.Humana, whose $34 billion deal with Aetna Inc was blocked in court last month, said it would provide an update on the Aetna transaction no later than Feb. 16.Humana reported pretax loss of $486 million, or $2.68 per share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with pretax income of $246 million, or 67 cents per share, a year earlier.The loss primarily reflects a write-off of about $583 million, in receivables associated with the risk corridor premium stabilization program, Humana said.Revenue fell to $12.88 billion from $13.36 billion. (Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D''Couto)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/humana-results-idINL4N1FT3OQ'|'2017-02-08T08:45:00.000+02:00' +'1d40f4ce7326bd10abf7f2bbef0ed1e0f1733634'|'Nigeria''s biggest airline Arik Air goes into receivership'|'LAGOS Feb 9 Nigeria''s Arik Air is in receivership due to its inability to pay workers and creditors, prompting the government to take control of the country''s biggest airline, state-owned "bad bank" AMCON said on Thursday.Arik, which was founded a decade ago and is now west Africa''s biggest carrier by passenger numbers, has struggled with debt amid a currency crisis in Nigeria, as customers are invoiced in naira but fuel suppliers are paid in dollars.In 2012, a central bank document showed Arik owed 85 billion naira ($279 million) to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), set up by the state in 2010 to stem a financial crisis. AMCON had taken on more than 132 billion naira of debts from 12 Nigerian airlines, including Arik."Arik Airline has been in a precarious situation largely attributable to its heavy financial debt burden, bad corporate governance ... that required immediate intervention," AMCON said in a statement.Arik declined to comment.The airline, which handles more than half of domestic air traffic in Nigeria, flies across Africa''s most populous nation and to London, New York and Johannesburg.AMCON said Arik had temporarily suspended its operation to New York and grounded more than eight other planes, adding that the airline had also suffered from non-payment of leases. AMCON said it had appointed a new team to manage Arik, supervised by a receivership manager.The airline had been planning a private share placement to raise as much as $1 billion and then a possible initial public offering in Lagos and London, its managing director said in October.Arik had wanted to expand internationally both to bring in more hard currency, as well as to cushion the impact of the economic slowdown at home, and was looking for new investors to help it grow rather than using debt.Nigeria, Africa''s biggest economy, faces its worst recession in 25 years, brought on by the fall in oil prices, which has also triggered the currency crisis.Some international carriers such as United Air Lines and Iberia have cut or stopped flights to Nigeria because those services are no longer profitable.Others have complained about the difficulty of repatriating millions of dollars worth of fares sold in naira. ($1 = 304.2500 naira) (Reporting by Oludare Mayowa and Chijioke Ohuocha; editing by Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/nigeria-arik-air-bankruptcy-idUSL5N1FU5TX'|'2017-02-09T18:56:00.000+02:00' +'741974315940f0d10854d8d0adf529831ffea600'|'Exclusive: Japan considers buying more U.S. energy as Abe prepares to meet Trump'|'Business News - Thu Feb 2, 2017 - 7:57am GMT Exclusive: Japan considers buying more U.S. energy as Abe prepares to meet Trump left right FILE PHOTO - Snow covered transfer lines are seen at the Dominion Cove Point Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal in Lusby, Maryland March 18, 2014. REUTERS/Gary Cameron/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO - Japan''s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe makes a policy speech at the start of the ordinary session of parliament in Tokyo, Japan, January 20, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo 2/2 By Tomo Uetake and Nobuhiro Kubo - TOKYO TOKYO Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is considering increasing energy imports from the United States, two sources familiar with the plan told Reuters, as he prepares to meet President Donald Trump, who has complained about Japan''s trade surplus. Japan is putting together a package of plans for Japanese companies to invest in infrastructure and job-creation projects in the United States for Abe to take to the Feb. 10 meeting with Trump in Washington. Another idea is to offer to increase liquid natural gas (LNG) imports from the United States, a source in the ruling coalition told Reuters. Another option, if Abe determines that Trump is most concerned about the trade gap, is to increase imports of U.S. shale oil or gas on top of the investment package, according to a top executive at a major Japanese corporation who is close to Abe. Japanese officials have been scrambling to respond to Trump''s scattershot comments since he took office. He has threatened to impose a tax on car imports from Mexico, criticized Japan''s trade gap with the United States and most recently accused Japan, along with China and Germany, of devaluing their currencies to the detriment of U.S. companies. "(Abe) wants to know what''s the most important thing for Trump," said the executive, who declined to be identified. "If it is the trade surplus that Trump cares the most about, for instance, then we could come up with a few possible solutions," including importing more U.S. shale oil or gas. Abe''s approach toward Trump would be "not accommodating, not opposing", he said. Utilities would be resistant to buying more U.S. shale gas because they have already committed to buying large amounts and Japan''s demand for energy is falling, an executive at a Japanese gas importer told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Prices for LNG in Asia LNG-AS have fallen by almost a fifth this year amid a supply glut. Japan is the world''s biggest buyer of the gas cooled to liquid form for transport on ships and takes in nearly a third of global shipments. Once seen as a panacea for Japan''s energy crisis after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 led to the shutdown of most reactors in the country, U.S. shale gas is now just one of many options for Japan to meet its needs. Japan took in its first shipment of shale gas in liquid form this month and more shipments are likely to come as more export terminals start shipments this year and next. The Yomiuri newspaper said on Thursday Abe''s growth and jobs initiative would include a plan for Japan and the United States to jointly develop a $450 billion "infrastructure market", into which the Japanese government and companies would invest $150 billion over 10 years. (Writing and additional reporting by Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Robert Birsel) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-japan-lng-exclusive-idUKKBN15H0NJ'|'2017-02-02T14:54:00.000+02:00' +'16016ea3bf5327b7af03047aa5fc2849bab124c2'|'Japan fourth-quarter GDP grows 1.0 percent annualised on exports, capex'|' 07am GMT Japan fourth-quarter GDP grows 1.0 percent annualised on exports, capex Japan''s national flag is seen in front of containers and cranes at an industrial port in Tokyo, Japan, January 25, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon TOKYO Japan''s economy grew at an annualised rate of 1.0 percent in October-December, posting a fourth straight quarter of expansion, led by solid exports and firmer capital expenditure, government data showed on Monday. The preliminary reading for fourth-quarter gross domestic product compared with the median estimate of 1.1 percent growth in a Reuters poll of economists. It followed a revised 1.4 percent expansion in the prior quarter, the Cabinet Office data showed. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, GDP rose 0.2 percent, versus 0.3 percent growth expected by economists. To view the full tables, go to the Cabinet Office''s website: here (Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto, Stanley White and Chang-Ran Kim) Next In Business News VW says has no plans to retain large number of temporary staff BERLIN Volkswagen said it has no plans to keep a large number of temporary workers on its books following a media report saying management at the carmaker''s VW brand would retain about 2,000 of them as labour leaders and executives wrestle over the company''s turnaround plan.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-gdp-idUKKBN15S00C'|'2017-02-13T07:07:00.000+02:00' +'df03f46ff72b89968b1947a061a1f162e6ccc733'|'Don''t bank on users to rescue clearing houses top regulator warns'|'Wed Feb 1, 2017 - 3:06pm GMT Don''t bank on users to rescue clearing houses top regulator warns By Huw Jones - LONDON LONDON Customers of a failed clearing house should only be made to stump up cash as a "last resort", otherwise they risk being put off using the system, global regulators warned on Wednesday. Clearing of many derivatives was made compulsory to inject more transparency and safety following the financial crisis, when their opacity helped to accentuate the market fallout. This has prompted the expansion of firms like LCH ( LSE.L ), Eurex Clearing ( DB1Gn.DE ) and ICE Clear ( ICE.N ) which stand between two sides of a stock, bond or derivatives trade to ensure the transaction is completed, even if one side goes bust. To avoid them becoming "too big to fail", the Financial Stability Board (FSB), which coordinates financial rules for the Group of 20 economies (G20), has published draft guidance which sets out how regulators can close down a failing clearing house. It also lists the tools they should have to move swiftly in a crisis to avoid contagion. The European Union has already pushed ahead with a draft law on equipping regulators with tools to tackle failing clearers. Clearing houses already have a default fund, but if losses are greater than the fund, then "margin" cash posted by clients, such as asset managers, could be used to plug the hole. Fund managers have fiercely resisted this, saying this cash is owned by savers and pensioners and the FSB says such "haircuts" should be "limited to use as a last-resort-tool", with alternatives including members contributing more into a clearing house''s default fund. "Jurisdictions should take into due account the impact on financial stability and on incentives to centrally clear," the FSB says in its draft guidance. The financial sector has resisted attempts by regulators to set a fixed point beyond which closure of a clearing house starts automatically, saying attempts to keep them going should be given plenty of time. The FSB suggests several indicators that "should not be regarded as exhaustive or as fixed or automatic triggers", adding that national regulators should consider announcing publicly which ones shape their closure decision. The FSB said it will look further into the issue and may provide further guidance by the end of 2018. (Editing by Alexander Smith `)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-g20-clearing-regulations-idUKKBN15G4SQ'|'2017-02-01T22:05:00.000+02:00' +'ddfd83f215854ebb5580eea1b09c77f3e54b6741'|'Trump pick for China ambassador aims to boost trade ties - Chinese state media'|'Business News - Fri Feb 3, 2017 - 3:17am GMT Trump pick for China ambassador aims to boost trade ties - Chinese state media Governor of Iowa Terry Branstad exits after meeting with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., December 6, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid BEIJING U.S. President Donald Trump''s pick for ambassador to China, Terry Branstad, said he would help increase trade between the two countries, Chinese state media reported, amid concerns over protectionist talk from the new U.S. administration. Trump has railed against China''s trade practices, blaming them for U.S. job losses, and has threatened to impose punitive tariffs on Chinese imports. Beijing says it will work with Washington to resolve any trade disputes, but state media has warned of retaliation if Trump takes the first steps toward a trade war. Branstad, currently the governor of Iowa, said he would help to work out differences and that there was immense potential for more Chinese investment in the United States. "We want to continue to enhance the relationship and to increase trade between our two countries," Branstad told China''s official Xinhua news agency in an interview in the United States published late on Thursday. "I hope ... that I can play a constructive role trying to work out many of these differences in a way that makes it a win-win. It is beneficial to both of our countries, and also benefits the rest of the world," Xinhua cited Branstad as saying. "I think we have seen just the tip of the iceberg of the potential (Chinese) investments here," he said. Trump''s nomination of Branstad, a longtime Republican governor who has developed relationships with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders, was well-received, even among some Democrats. He still faces a confirmation hearing. Trump has moved to fill his administration with critics of China''s trade policies, including Wilbur Ross for Commerce Secretary, Robert Lighthizer for U.S. Trade Representative, and Peter Navarro, an economist and China hawk who will serve as a White House adviser. Free trade advocates worry the Trump trade team will be too quick to use tariffs to keep imports out, raising costs for manufacturers that rely on imported parts - or even sparking retaliatory trade wars. Xi made a vigorous defence of globalisation at the World Economic Forum last month, and presented China''s economy as a "wide open", despite complaints from the foreign business community that Beijing has not made good on pledges of economic liberalisation. (Reporting by Michael Martina; Editing by Nick Macfie) Next In Business News Leading indicator of London new home builds slumps by a third LONDON The number of new homes built in London fell 6 percent last year and a closely watched indicator of future supply dropped by a third, industry data showed on Friday, as the Brexit vote hit a market already coming off record highs. Bank of England, ramping up growth forecast, in no mood for rate hike LONDON The Bank of England made its latest sharp increase to forecasts for British economic growth in 2017 on Thursday, but appeared in no rush to raise interest rates, warning of "twists and turns" on the road out of the European Union. SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick quit President Donald Trump''s business advisory group on Thursday amid mounting pressure from activists and employees who oppose the administration''s immigration policies. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-china-trade-idUKKBN15I0BO'|'2017-02-03T10:17:00.000+02:00' +'0f978c307456ba6d62a6df32750dd351a96454a8'|'Starbucks to speed up hiring of veterans amid refugee blowback'|'Thu Feb 2, 2017 - 4:59pm GMT Starbucks to speed up hiring of veterans amid refugee blowback A Starbucks store is seen inside the Tom Bradley terminal at LAX airport in Los Angeles, California, United States, October 27, 2015. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson Starbucks Corp ( SBUX.O ), facing backlash from some customers over its plans to hire refugees, said it would speed up its previously stated goal of hiring 10,000 veterans and military spouses by 2018. Chief Executive Howard Schultz announced on Sunday the company''s plans to hire 10,000 refugees over the next five years, two days after U.S. President Donald Trump''s executive order put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travelers from Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries. It was one of the strongest commitments from a CEO of a major U.S. company against Trump''s order, after several other corporate bosses have stayed silent on Trump''s immigration curbs though the president is likely to face questions when he meets some of them on Friday. As part of the refugee hiring plan, Schultz said the Starbucks would initially focus on hiring those who have served with U.S. troops as interpreters and support personnel abroad. The world''s largest coffee chain soon after faced backlash on social media with several people using #BoycottStarbucks to urge customers to stay away from its stores. Some users also posted screenshots of them deleting the company''s app on their phones. However, users including actor Jessica Chastain tweeted in support of the company after it announced its refugee hiring plans. The world''s largest coffee chain said on Thursday it had already hired over 8,800 veterans and spouses so far and pledged to "keep going". Starbucks, along with former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, had announced plans in 2013 to hire 10,000 veterans and military spouses over the next five years. (Reporting by Abhijith Ganapavaram in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-immigration-starbucks-idUKKBN15H24F'|'2017-02-03T00:12:00.000+02:00' +'36c863cb48098394761f99f5327e6ef641475986'|'Ecopetrol extends force majeure on Vasconia crude to March exports -trade'|'Company News 13am EST Ecopetrol extends force majeure on Vasconia crude to March exports -trade Feb 23 A force majeure declared by Colombian state-run oil company Ecopetrol SA on some shipments of Vasconia crude has been extended to March deliveries, affecting at least seven cargoes of the medium grade, traders said on Thursday. Colombia''s second largest oil pipeline, the Cano Limon-Covenas, has been attacked by rebels more than a dozen times this year compared with 43 attacks for all of 2016 according to official figures, impacting exports of Vasconia. Ecopetrol declared force majeure in late January on up to five shipments for February delivery, according to traders who buy and sell that grade. After the line was halted two more times, the decision was extended to cargoes planned for March delivery. The most recent incident occurred last week, when pumping operations were halted due to a bomb attack by rebels. Ecopetrol said at the time production and exports had not been interrupted. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The 485-mile (780-km) pipeline can transport up to 210,000 barrels per day of crude from oil fields operated by U.S.-based Occidental Petroleum Corp to the Caribbean port of Covenas. An alternative pipeline, the Oleoducto Central (Ocensa), and trucks are often used to transport Vasconia crude when the Cano Limon-Covenas line is out of service. But when many consecutive attacks occur or the pipeline is interrupted for a long period of time, exporters of Vasconia including Ecopetrol and Occidental, declare force majeure on affected shipments as a means to keep exports flowing to as many customers as possible. A declining number of tankers willing to move to Caribbean waters for orders due to smaller offers of Venezuelan and Colombian grades for export also has recently caused shipment delays to load Vasconia and other crudes, one of the sources said. Exports of Vasconia from Covenas terminal in Colombia have declined so far in February to some 296,000 bpd versus 306,000 bpd in January, according to Thomson Reuters Trade Flows data. (Reporting by Florence Tan in Singapore and Marianna Parraga in Houston; editing by Gary McWilliams and Marguerita Choy) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/colombia-ecopetrol-forcemajeure-idUSL1N1G71L0'|'2017-02-23T22:13:00.000+02:00' +'13b3d341ad5c986d0f058d8e05f45a69f3821431'|'Goldman hedge fund folding London operations, shifting staff to U.S. - sources'|' 27am GMT Goldman hedge fund folding London operations, shifting staff to U.S.: sources A sign is displayed in the reception of Goldman Sachs in Sydney, Australia, May 18, 2016. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo By Maiya Keidan and Olivia Oran - NEW YORK/LONDON NEW YORK/LONDON Goldman Sachs Investment Partners (GSIP), which opened in 2008 with one of the biggest launches in hedge fund history, is folding its London operations into the United States and shifting staff members to New York, four sources told Reuters. About eight staff members who made up the London team were recently told to move to the Battery Park City headquarters of Goldman Sach Group Inc ( GS.N ) in lower Manhattan or find a new job internally, the sources said. A Goldman spokesman confirmed the move but not the details, adding that the reasons for the staff shift were not related to Brexit. "This is a discrete decision for reasons specific to GSIP, one investment team within Goldman Sachs, and shouldnt be construed as anything but that," he said. The move was triggered by managing director Nick Advani, who led the hedge fund''s London operations, the sources said. He said in June he would be stepping down from his role, they said, requesting anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media. Advani, now an advisory director at Goldman, did not respond to requests for comment. Advani is expected to leave the firm later this year, the sources said. Managing director Raluca Ragab, who had been formally leading the London-based team since Advani''s departure, will also leave Goldman once the move is complete, one of the sources said. Ragab''s departure is for personal reasons, one of the sources added. Multi-strategy hedge fund GSIP launched in November 2008 with $7 billion in assets, one of the largest hedge fund launches at the time. GSIP, run globally by co-heads Raanan Agus and Kenneth Eberts, sits within Goldman''s asset management division. But a focus on value investing with around 20 positions mainly in equities became more challenging in recent years, a former employee told Reuters. GSIP''s Global Long Short Partners Offshore fund posted losses of 8.2 percent in the year to end-September in 2016 after small gains of 1.5 percent in 2015, according to an investor letter reviewed by Reuters. Last September, three of the fund''s top five credit positions were in the Europe Middle East and Africa region, according to the letter. GSIP''s assets fell in 2014 after Goldman pulled out $2.8 billion in response to the U.S. Dodd-Frank financial reform law and the Volcker rule, which restricted banks'' proprietary trading. The fund now manages around $3.5 billion. Separately, Goldman may move up to 1,000 staff out of London in response to Britain''s vote to leave the European Union, it was reported last month. (Reporting by Maiya Keidan in London and Olivia Oran ia New York, additional reporting by Carolyn Cohn and Simon Jessop; Editing by Tom Brown and David Gregorio) Up Next Global automakers blame tax policy, Lunar New Year for China sales drop BEIJING China vehicle sales in January fell by the largest margin since 2015 for several global automakers, with General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co blaming the roll back of a tax cut on small-engined vehicles and the Lunar New Year holiday.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-hedgefunds-goldman-sachs-exclusive-idUKKBN15N2LZ'|'2017-02-09T16:10:00.000+02:00' +'88fc4d066c9198b6ff4ef51228d19d375379cb7c'|'Rheinmetall, Raytheon to cooperate in defence technology'|'Business News - Fri Feb 17, 2017 - 9:26am GMT Rheinmetall, Raytheon to cooperate in defence technology FRANKFURT German and U.S. defence groups Rheinmetall ( RHMG.DE ) and Raytheon ( RTN.N ) have signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate globally on defence technology, they said in a joint statement on Friday. The partnership should bring together Raytheon''s market-leading position in air-defence systems and guided missiles with Rheinmetall''s expertise in combat and defence systems, army weapons and munitions, they said. (Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Maria Sheahan) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-rheinmetall-raytheon-cooperation-idUKKBN15W0UT'|'2017-02-17T16:26:00.000+02:00' +'8442961fed3c12aa35f4f7d0b3d77217499936bb'|'Oil becoming a crowded as hedge funds pile in: Kemp'|'By John Kemp - LONDON LONDON Hedge funds have accumulated a record bullish position in crude futures and options, betting on further price rises, but the lopsided nature of the positioning has become a key source of risk in the oil markets.Hedge funds and other money managers had accumulated a record net long position in the three main Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures and options contracts equivalent to 885 million barrels by Jan. 31 ( tmsnrt.rs/2kiH2WU ).Fund managers added an extra 41 million barrels to their net long position in the seven days to Jan. 31, according to the latest reports published by regulators and exchanges.Funds now have long positions equivalent to almost 1 billion barrels across the three major contracts, while short positions amount to just 111 million barrels.The ratio of long to short positions has reached almost 9:1, the most bullish since May 2014, when Islamic State fighters were racing across northern Iraq and the Libyan civil war had halted crude exports ( tmsnrt.rs/2jTBZgO ).The crude market is starting to resemble the classic crowded trade in which speculators attempt to position themselves in the same direction in anticipation of a big price move.There has been no sign of profit-taking although Brent prices have risen close to the $55-60 region most energy market professionals expect to be the average for 2017.Hedge funds have continued to add long positions even though Brent prices have almost doubled over the last 12 months and are trading near the highest level since July 2015.And there is no evidence of any new wave of short sales. Combined short positions across Brent and WTI have fallen to the lowest level in seven months.Fund managers apparently believe output reductions by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other exporters will succeed in draining excess global inventories and pushing prices higher.Managers are also discounting the threat from renewed drilling in the United States and a likely increase in output from shale producers, at least in the near term.But every successful trade needs an exit strategy and in this case it remains unclear how and at what price fund managers will manage down positions and try to take profits.The enormous concentration of hedge fund long positions has emerged as an important source of price risk in the near term (Predatory trading and crowded exits, Clunie, 2010).One-way markets, when traders attempt to position themselves in the same direction, often precede sharp reversals in prices (Why stock markets crash: critical events in complex financial systems, Sornette, 2003).The previous record net long position in oil markets, set in June 2014, preceded the deepest and most prolonged slump in prices for almost 20 years ( tmsnrt.rs/2kiSP7t ).And in the last two years, large concentrations of short positions have normally preceded a sharp short-covering rally as managers raced to lock in profits when prices stopped falling.With so many fund managers now positioned in the same (long) direction, the risk of a rush for the exits, a disorderly liquidation of positions and a correction in prices has risen significantly ( tmsnrt.rs/2kiGlNm ).(Editing by Dale Hudson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/oil-hedgefunds-kemp-idINKBN15M06A'|'2017-02-06T23:45:00.000+02:00' +'8a46c4e6510c637922ea577636bc1d5392a06ee4'|'Snap''s older user base slowly growing ahead of IPO - analyst'|'By Tim Baysinger Snap Inc''s ( SNAP.N ) Snapchat lags far behind rival social media outlets Facebook Inc ( FB.O ), Instagram and Twitter Inc ( TWTR.N ) in reaching older users, but the soon-to-be public company has been growing that crucial audience, analysis by MoffettNathanson of a regulatory filing showed.As Snap prepares for its planned stock market debut in March, luring users older than 35 to the mobile app known for user-generated photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours is seen as key in driving its overall growth. While advertisers covet younger consumers, those 18- to 24-year-olds can be notoriously fickle when it comes to social media preferences, often moving on to the next big thing.Snap said in its S-1 filing on Thursday that its younger-skewing user base leaves the company more vulnerable than traditional media outlets to changing consumer tastes, and that it could have trouble reaching older demographics.Snapchat reaches 35 percent of all Americans, according to research firm MoffettNathanson''s report, but that reach is concentrated among younger users. During the fourth quarter of 2016, Snapchat reached 70 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds, but just 23 percent of people over 35.By comparison, Facebook reached 88 percent of people over 35 during the same period. Instagram reached 45 percent and Twitter 42 percent of that age group.Still, Snapchat''s reach for those older users is up from just 8 percent at the beginning of 2016, suggesting that segment is growing.Meanwhile 58 percent of Snapchats daily active users, a key metric for advertisers, are between the ages of 13 and 24, according to the MoffettNathanson report."We think if anything, Snapchat is closest to Instagram today in terms of demographic breakdown and growth profile. We dont think it will ever reach the penetration or 35+ saturation of a Facebook, nor will its ascent be as fast, however we also dont believe it will flame out and ultimately fail as spectacularly as Twitter either," analysts said in the report released on Tuesday.Twitter''s lack of user growth since it went public in 2013 has been a major reason for its falling stock price, which has tumbled from more than $69 a share at the end of 2013 to trade around $18 per share.Another potential source of concern for Snapchat and its investors is the amount of time older users spend on the platform. During the fourth quarter, users over 35 spent just three minutes per day on Snapchat, down from five minutes per day in the second quarter, its high point for the year among that age group.Since ads are placed between photos and videos that users scroll through, enticing them to stay on the mobile app for longer periods of time allows Snap to sell more to advertisers.Snap declined to comment beyond the information in its regulatory filings.When it comes to digital advertising, Facebook and Alphabets ( GOOGL.O ) Google dominate the market. Together, the two are expected to account for 60 percent of the U.S. market in 2017, according to eMarketer."We have to root for companies like Snapchat to bring alternatives, said Ian Schafer, founder and chairman of ad agency Deep Focus, noting a lack of revenue growth in 2016 for companies other than Facebook or Google. Everyone else was either flat or shrunk.Victor Pieiro, senior vice president of social media for digital agency Big Spaceship, compared Snapchats ascendance among younger users to how Viacom Incs ( VIAB.O ) MTV courted teens in the 1980s and 1990s.Theyve so squarely nailed that demographic. I think theres plenty of space for Snapchat in this coming year, said Pieiro. What Im curious to see is how it grows beyond the under-35 demographic.(Additional reporting by Jessica Toonkel; Editing by Anna Driver and Meredith Mazzilli)A billboard displays the logo of Snapchat above Times Square in New York March 12, 2015. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/snapchat-users-idINKBN15N2GH'|'2017-02-08T16:31:00.000+02:00' +'a07d2cc2047017a1c765f0c07fe3a9dadcda8f12'|'BRIEF-Evoke Pharma announces proposed public offering of common stock'|' 4:59pm EST BRIEF-Evoke Pharma announces proposed public offering of common stock Feb 15 Evoke Pharma Inc * Evoke Pharma announces proposed public offering of common stock * Evoke Pharma Inc says intends to offer and sell shares of its common stock in a "firm commitment" underwritten public offering * Evoke Pharma - Intends to use net proceeds from offering to fund clinical development, pre-approval and pre-commercialization activities for Gimoti Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSASB0B0JJ'|'2017-02-16T04:59:00.000+02:00' +'32c0276ace5cac0508a5231ee3b913d52c4f00a1'|'CEE MARKETS-Warsaw leads stocks rise but zloty eases'|'* Higher copper price, company earnings help Polish shares * Currencies and bonds ease By Sandor Peto BUDAPEST, Feb 13 Central European stocks were mostly firmer on Monday, led by Warsaw''s bluechip index which set a 17-month high on the back of higher copper prices and strong company earnings. The regional trend was in line with a global rise in shares due to expectations of economic stimulus in the United States. Prague''s main index was at its highest since late 2015. Budapest shares also touched a new record, helped by a rise in OTP Bank shares through the 9,000 forint ($31.06) mark to hit their highest point since 2007. Warsaw''s index rose 1.3 percent by 1105 GMT, with copper producer KGHM firming 2.4 percent, after the metal reached 20-month highs in London trade. Power group PGE rose 3.8 percent after reporting strong 2016 earnings. The Polish move extended a rally last week that was driven by banks, due to better than expected earnings and comments from the ruling party''s head, Jaroslaw Kaczynski. He said on Friday that mortgage-holders who had borrowed in Swiss francs should turn to the courts to seek redress for the pain of increased repayments rather than expect the government to impose a settlement on banks. The recovery in stocks has also helped the zloty strengthen in recent months, but it has become stuck this month around 4.3 to the euro. "Without any substantial long dollar risk to be unwound, EM (emerging markets) will need an improvement in the narrative around growth and profitability for capital flows to recover and for FX to meaningfully strengthen over the medium term," said Societe Generale analyst Jason Daw in a note. The zloty eased 0.25 percent on Monday. The forint and the leu also eased a shade. They have also been rangebound for weeks, except for a dip by the leu due to political jitters. The Romanian unit visited 7-month lows early this month amid huge street protests against a government decree to decriminalize some graft offences. The decree has since been withdrawn. On Sunday at least 50,000 people demonstrated against the government in Bucharest, but that was a much smaller crowd than the earlier rallies. Bucharest stocks eased 0.4 percent, giving up some ground after reaching a 19-month high last week. Government bonds eased slightly across the region, with Poland''s 10-year yield rising 3 basis points to 3.85 percent, tracking a rise in yields across Europe. International sentiment was unhelpful to bonds, with concerns over Greek debt and upcoming elections in France, one Budapest-based fixed income trader said. CEE SNAPS AT 1205 MARKETS HOT CET CURRENCIES Lates Previ Daily Chang t ous e bid close chang in e 2017 Czech crown 27.02 27.02 +0.0 -0.05 10 50 1% % Hungary 308.2 308.2 -0.01 0.18% forint 800 350 % Polish 4.318 4.307 -0.25 1.99% zloty 0 2 % Romanian 4.502 4.499 -0.06 0.73% leu 0 5 % Croatian 7.445 7.455 +0.1 1.48% kuna 0 5 4% Serbian 123.9 123.8 -0.09 -0.51 dinar 800 700 % % Note: daily calculate previ close 1800 change d from ous at CET STOCK S Lates Previ Daily Chang t ous e close chang in e 2017 Prague 965.0 964.3 +0.0 +4.7 4 1 8% 1% Budapest 33238 33156 +0.2 +3.8 .42 .09 5% 6% Warsaw 2182. 2154. +1.2 +12. 31 79 8% 03% Bucharest 7638. 7668. -0.40 +7.8 22 55 % 1% Ljubljana 758.2 755.4 +0.3 +5.6 8 9 7% 7% Zagreb 2149. 2163. -0.65 +7.7 01 03 % 3% Belgrade <.BELEX15 703.2 702.5 +0.1 -1.97 > 5 8 0% % Sofia 604.5 604.4 +0.0 +3.0 6 7 1% 9% BONDS Yield Yield Sprea Daily d (bid) chang vs chang e Bund e in Czech sprea Republic d 2-year 5 9 bps s 5-year 1 bps 10-year 6 bps Poland 2-year bps s 5-year bps s 10-year bps s FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M inter bank Czech Rep < 0.26 0.26 0.3 0 PRIBOR=> Hungary < 0.36 0.5 0.63 0.24 BUBOR=> Poland < 1.76 1.81 1.9 1.73 WIBOR=> Note: FRA are for Quote: s ask prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets-idINL8N1FY2DG'|'2017-02-13T08:18:00.000+02:00' +'5ffae165e73bf8179b2038e40622ee53b19894a7'|'BRIEF-Sutherland Asset Management Corp says on February 13, unit of co issued $75 million in aggregate principal amount of its 7.50% senior secured notes due 2022'|'United States 40pm EST BRIEF-Sutherland Asset Management Corp says on February 13, unit of co issued $75 million in aggregate principal amount of its 7.50% senior secured notes due 2022 Feb 13 Sutherland Asset Management Corp * Sutherland Asset Management Corp says on February 13, unit of co issued $75 million in aggregate principal amount of its 7.50% senior secured notes due 2022 Source text for Eikon: ( bit.ly/2lJC18r ) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1FY0YP'|'2017-02-14T05:40:00.000+02:00' +'24792d8f300ffc79115185f34e10f08ecd26bd72'|'Hundreds of Uber drivers in Qatar go on strike after price cuts'|'Business 50am EST Hundreds of Uber drivers in Qatar go on strike after price cuts FILE PHOTO: The Uber app logo is seen on a mobile telephone in this October 28, 2016 photo illustration. REUTERS/Toby Melville/Illustration/File Photo DOHA Hundreds of drivers with ride-hailing service Uber [UBER.UL] in Qatar went on strike on Monday for the second time in a year to protest against fare cuts. The U.S.-based company, which started operations in Doha in 2014, has in recent months cut fares by 15-20 percent for passengers amid growing competition from local firms. Uber drivers in Doha stayed home on Monday to protest the cuts and an "upfront" service launched by Uber in November that allows passengers to view the total fare before their journey. "The upfront [service] isn''t fair. If you get stuck in traffic or the passenger makes extra stops during the journey, we receive nothing for that," said John, an Ethiopian driver who declined to give his second name. "If they [Uber] don''t raise fares and treat drivers better we have many other platforms we can go to. I have a family to support," he said. Uber has tried to drive down taxi fares to win customers from local rivals in Qatar like Careem which has a larger market share than Uber in most of the 32 cities in the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan region in which it operates. An Uber spokesman in Dubai said the company was "committed to dialogue with partner drivers" and had made improving their experience a priority. "We are very proud of the high quality service they [drivers] offer to riders who want to get around Doha with a safe, efficient and affordable ride," said the spokesman in a statement. Thousands of Ethiopians, Indians and Nepalis work as Uber drivers in wealthy Qatar where unions and labor protests are banned and authorities penalize dissent with jail terms or immediate deportation. Some drivers say they have struggled since an oil slump in mid-2014 that has squeezed state finances and last year saw Doha raise the domestic price of gasoline by 30 percent.. (Reporting by Tom Finn; Additional reporting by Celine Aswad in Dubai; Editing by Janet Lawrence) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-qatar-strike-idUSKBN15S196'|'2017-02-13T18:47:00.000+02:00' +'9e024e21db0c4ef81389af8adb42dc96c1675964'|'Mongolia agrees economic bailout plan worth $5.5 billion with IMF, other partners'|'Business News - Sun Feb 19, 2017 - 3:38am GMT Mongolia agrees economic bailout plan worth $5.5 billion with IMF, other partners FILE PHOTO - An employee looks at the Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia''s South Gobi region June 23, 2012. REUTERS/David Stanway/File Photo ULAANBAATAR Mongolia has agreed with the International Monetary Fund and other partners for a $5.5 billion (4 billion pounds) economic stabilisation package, according to a statement from the IMF on Sunday. Asia Development Bank, World Bank and bilateral partners, including Japan and South Korea, will provide up to $3 billion, while People''s Bank of China will expand a swap line worth 15 billion yuan ($2.19 billion), the IMF said. IMF will offer three-year loans worth about $440 million. (Reporting by Terrence Edwards; Editing by Himani Sarkar) Next In Business News ECB''s Lautenschlaeger welcomes inflation rise but says too soon for rate move BERLIN European Central Bank board member Sabine Lautenschlaeger has said the ECB needs to wait to see if inflation stabilises in its target zone of just under 2 percent before interest rates can be raised, but that she hopes its bond-buying programme can be scaled down before year-end.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mongolia-imf-idUKKBN15Y02O'|'2017-02-19T10:38:00.000+02:00' +'3f0d1a46fcda7e436a8e89d1200ec6b7cf6c8477'|'Japanese stocks pare losses, heads for modest weekly gains'|' 33pm EST Japanese stocks pare losses, heads for modest weekly gains * Nikkei has added 0.6 pct for the week so far * Stocks with strong earnings prospects bought - analyst * Morinaga Milk and Morinaga & Co jump on merger report By Ayai Tomisawa TOKYO, Feb 24 Japanese stocks managed to steady from early falls on Friday as the yen weakened slightly during Asian trade, but political uncertainty abroad and U.S. tax policy kept most investors on the sidelines. The Nikkei edged down 0.1 percent to 19,347.97 in midmorning trade, crawling back from an intraday low of 19,219.58 hit at the open. For the week, the benchmark index has so far gained 0.6 percent. The broader Topix, meanwhile, was flat at 1,555.64. Traders said that investors were selective on a day of few catalysts. "Investors are cherry-picking stocks of companies which will likely outperform in the next fiscal year," said Norihiro Fujito, a senior investment strategist at Mitsubshi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. "It''s not like they are tilted towards defensive stocks or cyclical stocks... Even in cyclical stocks there are divided views and investors are cautious against increasing exposure to the auto sector now." Electronic components makers and industrial equipment makers with strong earnings prospects outperformed, with Alps Electric up 0.6 percent, Keyence Corp rising 1.1 percent and Advantest Corp adding 0.8 percent. Auto shares underperformed as investors fret over U.S. President Donald Trump''s protectionist stance. Toyota Motor Corp fell 0.6 percent and Mazda Motor Corp shed 0.3 percent. The transport equipment sector has fallen 2.7 percent so far this year, while the Nikkei has gained 1.3 percent. On Friday, the dollar rose 0.3 percent to 112.89 yen, compared to a two-week low of 112.55 plumbed overnight. Concerns over politics on both sides of the Atlantic helped the safe-haven yen overnight, with anti-EU French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen''s campaign and Trump''s timeline on various policies stoking demand for the yen. Also hurting the dollar was U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin''s comments to Fox Business Network that any policy steps the Trump administration takes would likely have a limited impact this year. He also told CNBC that he wanted to see tax reform passed before Congress'' August recess. Meanwhile, Morinaga & Co surged 6 percent and Morinaga Milk jumped 15 percent after the Nikkei reported that the two companies will integrate their businesses around April 2018. The JPX-Nikkei Index 400 was flat at 13,948.33. (Editing by Shri Navaratnam) Malaysian police looking for source of chemical used to kill N.Korean KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 Malaysian police are investigating whether the VX nerve agent used to kill Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half brother of North Korea''s leader, was brought into the country or produced in Malaysia, the country''s police chief said on Friday.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-midday-idUSL4N1G91H0'|'2017-02-24T09:33:00.000+02:00' +'73e2efcc314c462cfc4952369178a57dac4ef5ac'|'BRIEF-OCC says total cleared contract volume down 9 pct in January'|'Financials - Wed Feb 1, 2017 - 2:05pm EST BRIEF-OCC says total cleared contract volume down 9 pct in January Feb 1 OCC: * OCC announces total cleared contract volume down nine percent in January * OCC - Jan average daily volume at OCC was down 14 percent from January 2016 with 16.9 million contracts * OCC says total cleared futures volume in January was 9.7 million contracts, a 35 percent increase from January 2016 * OCC - exchange-listed options volume reached 328,683,559 contracts in January, down 10 percent from January 2016 Source text for Eikon: (Bengaluru Newsroom: +91 806 749 1136) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1FM13A'|'2017-02-02T02:05:00.000+02:00' +'c2b44015b013ff4464d09e09c7b11b33348647a8'|'Hong Kong union joins critics of McDonald''s HK, China sale, sees pay squeeze'|'Business News - Sun Feb 19, 2017 - 11:32pm EST Hong Kong union joins critics of McDonald''s HK, China sale, sees pay squeeze A man sleeps at a 24-hour McDonald''s restaurant in Hong Kong, China November 10, 2015. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu HONG KONG The Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) warned that McDonald''s Corp''s ( MCD.N ) up-to-$2.1 billion sale of its Hong Kong and China operations could hit workers'' pay, adding to growing criticism of the deal on the mainland and elsewhere. The fast-food giant said last month it had agreed to sell the bulk of its China and Hong Kong business to state-backed conglomerate CITIC Ltd and U.S. private equity firm Carlyle Group LP in a deal that will see the consortium act as the master franchisee for a 20-year period. The HKCTU''s statement on Monday comes just days after a Chinese consultancy, Hejun Vanguard Group, filed a formal complaint with China''s Ministry of Commerce also claiming the decision to move to a master-franchisee model may hurt its 120,000 workers in China, as well as consumers. The union group said the deal would put further pressure on pay at the U.S. company''s Hong Kong outlets, where many workers earn just above the current minimum wage of HK$32.5 ($4.20) per hour. The group represents 90 affiliate organizations and 170,000 members. "In other countries where McDonald''s has sold a large stake of its business, the resulting model has placed enormous pressure on franchisees, which has made it harder for franchise operators to provide adequate pay and conditions for their workers," HKCTU official Wong Yu Loy said in the statement. "If the buyers in Hong Kong get squeezed by McDonald''s as they have in other countries, workers here may get even less as a result," Wong said. McDonald''s did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but has said its franchise model globally is based on mutually beneficial partnerships. The sale has also been criticized by The Service Employees International Union, a U.S. labor organization, which warned in a statement last month that previous such transactions in markets - including Brazil and Puerto Rico - had hurt workers. (Reporting by Michelle Price; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell) Next In Business News SoftBank shares up; sources say company willing to cede control of Sprint TOKYO Shares in SoftBank Group Corp rose nearly 3 percent in morning trade on Monday after a Reuters report that the Japanese company is prepared to cede control of Sprint Corp to T-Mobile US Inc to clinch a merger of the two U.S. wireless carriers.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mcdonalds-m-a-unions-idUSKBN15Z0CG'|'2017-02-20T11:20:00.000+02:00' +'58439eb414a387fe48428295943f7e2aa05e97bf'|'Oi nears new creditor proposal, regardless of Brazil telecom reform: CEO'|'BRASILIA Changes in Brazil''s telecom law currently under debate in the Senate are not being taken into account by debt-laden carrier Oi SA as it devises its in-court reorganization plan, Oi Chief Executive Marcos Schroeder said on Tuesday.Speaking at an industry event in Braslia, Schroeder said the imminent reforms will have no economic effect on the company''s reorganization in bankruptcy court.The bill had been scheduled to become law last December but was held up in the Senate after opposition legislators filed a motion to submit it to a vote by the full house.Poised to become law after passing committees in both chambers of Congress, the reform aims to update a concession-based model that had created uncertainty about the value of the industry''s fixed-line assets.Schroeder''s comments suggest that Oi will not let the reform''s current legal limbo slow negotiations with creditors to restructure about 65.4 billion reais ($21.1 billion) of bank debt, bonds and regulatory liabilities.Schroeder said Oi will present an amended debt restructuring plan next month and put it to a creditor vote between April and June. The company made its first proposal in September but a large group of lenders rejected it. [nIFR5V2VPK]Schroeder reiterated the plan will involve a reduction of the company''s debt as well as a debt-for-equity swap. He said the nominal value of the bond debt, about 32 billion reais, would be reduced by 70 percent while debt notes representing about 10 billion reais would be converted into Oi equity.Bank debt should be repaid in 17 years under the amended plan, he said.In the second half of this year, Oi also intends to start negotiations with potential international investors interested in providing capital to the company, Schroeder said.A stay of execution, which protects Oi from creditor suits while it devises a plan to avoid bankruptcy, will expire in May.($1 = 3.095 reais)(Reporting by Leonardo Goy; Writing by Ana Mano; Editing by Bill Trott)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-oi-sa-restructuring-idINKBN15T1YG'|'2017-02-14T11:49:00.000+02:00' +'10b94337e8e3a3a586f41b566020a5aeed1d0a94'|'EQT Infrastructure to buy Lumos Networks in $950 mln deal'|'Deals 9:17am EST EQT Infrastructure to buy Lumos Networks in $950 mln deal Fiber-based service provider Lumos Networks Corp ( LMOS.O ) said on Monday it agreed to be bought by investment firm EQT Infrastructure in an all-cash deal with an enterprise value of about $950 million. The offer of $18 per share represents an 18.2 percent premium to Lumos'' closing price of $15.23 on Friday. (Reporting by Anya George; Editing by Leslie AdlerTharakan in Bengaluru) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-lumos-network-m-a-eqt-infrastructure-idUSKBN15Z1G1'|'2017-02-20T21:15:00.000+02:00' +'6de0f3c5352d2d2c294d6d88a362a8acd85834d8'|'Warren Buffett says investors should stick with index funds'|'Business News - Sat Feb 25, 2017 - 2:13pm GMT Warren Buffett urges investors to stick with index funds File Photo: Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett plays bridge during the Berkshire annual meeting weekend in Omaha, Nebraska May 3, 2015. REUTERS/Rick Wilking/File Photo By Trevor Hunnicutt - NEW YORK NEW YORK Billionaire Warren Buffett, whose stock picks over several decades have turned Berkshire Hathaway Inc ( BRKa.N ) into one of the most successful conglomerates, delivered another black eye to the investment management industry on Saturday, saying investors should "stick with low-cost index funds." "When trillions of dollars are managed by Wall Streeters charging high fees, it will usually be the managers who reap outsized profits, not the clients," Buffett, widely considered one of the world''s best investors, said in his annual letter to shareholders. "Both large and small investors should stick with low-cost index funds." Buffett has often said he believes most stock investors are better off with low-cost index funds than paying higher fees to managers who often underperform. During the financial crisis, Buffett bet a founder of the asset management company Protege Partners LLC $1 million that a Vanguard S&P 500 stock index fund would outperform several groups of hedge funds of over the 10 years through 2017. The index fund is up 85.4 percent, Buffett said, while the hedge fund groups are up between 2.9 percent and 62.8 percent. On Saturday, Buffett said the figures leave "no doubt" that he will win the bet. He plans to donate the money to Girls Inc of Omaha, a charity. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-berkshire-hatha-buffett-indexfunds-idUKKBN1640F1'|'2017-02-25T21:07:00.000+02:00' +'c2c0e0d2c6fc9157273e61f418471598a043c88f'|'Pimco sees upside in corn markets, cautious on soybeans, aluminium'|'Business News - Fri Feb 10, 2017 - 2:46am GMT Pimco sees upside in corn markets, cautious on soybeans, aluminium A Pacific Investment Management Co (PIMCO) sign is shown in Newport Beach, California August 4, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Blake SYDNEY Pacific Management Investment Co (Pimco), one of the world''s largest bond funds, believes corn prices will outperform soybeans and is cautious about aluminium markets. The California-based fund management group, which manages $1.5 trillion of assets, or more than the annual output of the Australian economy, uses commodities to protect against inflation. There is typically a close relationship between the value of natural resources and inflation over time. "We think that soybean prices will decline versus the prices of corn based on our valuations and the fact that we''ll probably see a really big switch of acreage in soybean planting in the U.S. this year," Nic Johnson, portfolio manager of Pimco''s $12 billion commodity fund, told Reuters in an interview. In December, the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast a reduction of 4.5 million planted corn acres for 2017. California-based Johnson said PIMCO was broadly neutral on commodities, but flagged potential price volatility should a border tax adjustment policy floated by Republicans in the United States go ahead. "We think commodity prices outside the U.S. could go down and commodity prices within the U.S. could go up," said Johnson, seeing a potential decline in prices of global oil LCOc1 versus U.S. crude CLc1. A border tax adjustment would likely increase the cost of imports into the U.S. and could encourage domestic production of natural resources. The portfolio manager said the fund "likes" iron ore but is cautious on aluminium markets. Iron ore prices MYSTL-RIIOI-IMP have surged 74 percent since October last year. Aluminium prices MAL3 remain subdued due to a glut of supply, mainly out of China. (Reporting by Cecile Lefort; Editing by Joseph Radford) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-pimco-commodities-idUKKBN15P09K'|'2017-02-10T09:46:00.000+02:00' +'765c6b05301da0c66fe89c11e1d4deef16a2066f'|'Trump''s view shouldn''t be hindrance to Bank of Japan easing - ex-IMF exec'|'Wed Feb 1, 2017 - 8:35am GMT Trump''s view shouldn''t be hindrance to BOJ easing: ex-IMF executive IMF Deputy Managing Director Naoyuki Shinohara gestures during a news conference in Montevideo February 28, 2014. REUTERS/Andres Stapff By Leika Kihara - TOKYO TOKYO The Bank of Japan should expand monetary stimulus if necessary and should not consider U.S. President Donald Trump''s accusation of currency manipulation as an obstacle to doing so, a former International Monetary Fund executive said. The central bank may not have much ammunition left to fight any abrupt rise in the yen, after more than three years of huge money printing, said Naoyuki Shinohara, an IMF deputy chief from 2010 to 2015. But Trump''s criticism over Japan''s monetary policy should not act as a hindrance if the BOJ sees the need to expand stimulus to support the economy, he told Reuters on Wednesday. "When necessary, the BOJ should take action," said Shinohara, formerly Japan''s top currency diplomat. The weak yen is among the few successful channels in which the BOJ''s stimulus helped the economy, though consumption and investment still lack momentum, said Shinohara, currently a University of Tokyo professor. "That''s why the BOJ''s policy may be interpreted as currency devaluation. But the BOJ''s policy is clearly aimed at beating deflation and the yen''s weakening is just a side-effect," he said. "It would therefore be puzzling for anyone to say the BOJ should stop easing." Asked whether yen-selling intervention could become an option if the yen keeps rising in the wake of Trump''s remark, Shinohara said: "Intervention probably won''t be too effective." Currency intervention is effective in addressing short-term, abrupt moves in exchange rates, which is not what is happening now, he added. The dollar was on the defensive after Trump and trade adviser Peter Navarro criticized China, Germany and Japan, saying they were devaluing their currencies to the disadvantage of the United States. Japanese policymakers hit back at Trump''s accusation, stressing that Tokyo was abiding by a Group of 20 agreement to refrain from competitive currency devaluation. Tokyo considers a strong yen as negative for Japan''s economy as it hurts exports, and worries that a reversal of the recent weak-yen trend could weigh on a fragile recovery. Japan has not intervened directly in the currency market since November 2011. However, the weak yen has been considered as one of the few successes of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe''s "Abenomics" stimulus policies aimed at pulling the economy out of deflation. (Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Richard Borsuk) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-japan-shinohara-idUKKBN15G3R9'|'2017-02-01T15:30:00.000+02:00' +'a9873c935b78cc738dd416903aa66b831f92d9c9'|'Hyundai Motor Group promotes fewer executives after flagship''s profit drop'|'Business News - Mon Feb 6, 2017 - 12:00am EST Hyundai Motor Group promotes fewer executives after flagship''s profit drop The logo of Hyundai Motor is seen at its dealership in Seoul, South Korea, December 15, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji SEOUL Hyundai Motor Group said on Monday that as part of its annual reshuffle it has promoted 348 executives, down 5 percent from last year, after flagship unit Hyundai Motor ( 005380.KS ) posted its fourth consecutive annual profit decline in 2016. Hyundai Motor Group is South Korea''s second-biggest conglomerate after Samsung Group in terms of assets, with 51 subsidiaries, including Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors ( 000270.KS ), Hyundai Mobis ( 012330.KS ) and Hyundai Steel ( 004020.KS ). (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-hyundai-motor-reshuffle-idUSKBN15L0E0'|'2017-02-06T12:00:00.000+02:00' +'cc7837529af315a2af472f2fec6631a1609323d4'|'Uber says will suspend its ride-hailing service in Taiwan from Feb. 10 - Reuters'|'TAIPEI Uber Technologies Inc said it will suspend its service in Taiwan from Feb. 10, the latest salvo in the wrangle between the island''s authorities and the global ride-hailing service company.Late last year, Taiwan''s legislature finalised regulations raising fines against unlicensed ride-sharing services, targeted at Uber, which said at the time that was the highest level for such fines globally."Today, we are announcing our intention to pause our Taiwan service starting Friday 10th February. We hope that pressing pause will reset the conversation and inspire President Tsai (Ing-wen) to take action," Uber said in a statement on its website.The statement did not specify what action Uber wanted the president to take.(Reporting by J.R. Wu; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/taiwan-uber-idINKBN15H0DA'|'2017-02-02T02:39:00.000+02:00' +'28ae2a5eb215db5474362460d53324a51c03153a'|'BRIEF-Ritter Pharmaceuticals files for offering of 3 mln shares by selling stockholders - SEC Filing'|' 14pm EST BRIEF-Ritter Pharmaceuticals files for offering of 3 mln shares by selling stockholders - SEC Filing Feb 9 Ritter Pharmaceuticals Inc * Ritter Pharmaceuticals Inc - Files for offering of 3 million shares by selling stockholders - SEC Filing Source text: [ bit.ly/2k8vaYN ] * Q4 earnings per share view $0.51 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories Reuters News Agency - Brand Attribution Guidelines - Careers Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters . Thomson Reuters is the world''s largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1FU16C'|'2017-02-10T05:14:00.000+02:00' +'8a3d6f33a3e5747fa2c99149fb09c3e5d13a1231'|'U.S. Treasury holds debt auctions steady, plans cyber test'|'WASHINGTON The U.S. Treasury said on Wednesday it will hold the size of coupon auctions steady in the upcoming quarter when it conducts a small "contingency auction" that an official said would test its ability to borrow following a cyber attack.The department plans to offer $62 billion in Treasury securities next week, raising approximately $17 billion in new cash, the Treasury''s acting assistant secretary for financial markets, Monique Rollins, said in a statement.Rollins said the contingency test was part of regular auction infrastructure testing. A Treasury official told reporters separately that the test would gauge the government''s ability to borrow money if a cyber attack disrupted normal auctions.On future coupon sizes, Rollins said the department "will continue to monitor projected financing needs and make appropriate adjustments as necessary."(Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Paul Simao)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-debt-refunding-idINKBN15G4K5'|'2017-02-01T10:34:00.000+02:00' +'d427c517de018741e1fa537668eb750ff562e483'|'AIRSHOW--Sikorsky sets sights on $500 mln Indian regional market'|'World 41am EST Sikorsky sets sights on $500 million Indian regional market BENGALURU, India, U.S. aircraft maker Sikorsky is in advanced talks with some Indian charter operators and other airlines for sales of its small passenger planes, one of its executives said on Wednesday. Sikorsky, which is part of Lockheed Martin, is offering the M-28 turboprop passenger airplane that can seat up to 19 people and costs $6 million to $7 million for what it estimates is a regional market worth some $500 million. India wants to boost regional aviation connectivity and reopen closed airports as part of its plans to improve passenger growth in one of the world''s most competitive aviation markets. Arvind Walia, Sikorsky''s regional executive for India and South Asia, said such connections would bring about 300 million people in India''s smaller cities into the air travel market. "We are in dialogue with potential operators for regional connectivity and it appears to us there is huge demand," Walia told Reuters on the sidelines of an air show in Bengaluru. "There are some with whom talks are in a very advanced stage and there are some who have sought additional clarification," he said. He estimated demand for smaller planes at 80 over the next two years. Meanwhile Dinesh Keskar, a senior vice president at Boeing said growth in India would come from the smaller airports and as more routes are added to the network this would drive demand for bigger jets. (Reporting by Sweta Singh and Rachit Vats; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Alexander Smith) Next In World News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-airshow-india-sikorsky-idUSKBN15U1UT'|'2017-02-15T21:35:00.000+02:00' +'c5fb6d724a5d5e84379f3a6e2e074381164427da'|'Dakota Access Pipeline to be completed by second quarter - Phillips 66 CEO'|'Business 12:21pm EST Dakota Access Pipeline to be completed by second quarter: Phillips 66 CEO An opponent of the Dakota Access oil pipeline is seen through concertina wire while snowmobiling toward the protest camp near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester NEW YORK The controversial Dakota Access Pipeline is expected to be completed by the second quarter, Phillips 66 Chief Executive Greg Garland said in the company''s earning call. Phillips 66 has a 25 percent stake in the pipeline project. (Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-north-dakota-pipeline-phillips-idUSKBN15I2H1'|'2017-02-04T00:18:00.000+02:00' +'b3a44c21ba8f53ab70128b9029cd45d3209a567b'|'Investors tiptoe back into Russia in toystore IPO'|'By Olga Sichkar and Maria Kiselyova - MOSCOW MOSCOW The owners of Russia''s largest toy retailer Detsky Mir raised $355 million in an initial public offering (IPO) of shares priced at the bottom of the expected range, in a sign investors are making a cautious return to Russian assets.The IPO was the highest-profile share sale by a Russian company since 2014, when Western sanctions over Russia''s annexation of Ukraine''s Crimea region combined with a slump in oil prices to bring most deal-making to a standstill.Detsky Mir sold shares at 85 rubles apiece, the bottom of the planned 85-87 rouble range. The company said the sale raised 21.1 billion rubles ($355 million) for the selling shareholders - Russian conglomerate Sistema ( SSAq.L ), which will retain a majority stake, and the Russia-China Investment Fund (RCIF).The deal valued Detsky Mir, which is Russian for "Children''s World," at 62.8 billion rubles. The stock will begin trading on the Moscow Exchange on Feb. 10."Investors are not feeling that sure yet and want to have an iron guarantee they will make money on a deal," a source with one of the banks organizing the IPO said, when asked why the offering priced at the bottom of the range.The company saw bids for more than 1.5 times the number of shares on offer, said another source close to the sale.More than 30 percent of demand came from U.S. investors, around 35 percent from Europe, more than 25 percent from the Middle East and Asia, and less than 10 percent from Russia.The source added there were "hedge funds, long-only investors including sovereign wealth funds" among the buyers and no single investor would take a dominant position.The Russian economy returned to growth late last year after seven quarters of contraction, helped by a recovery in oil prices."The IPO of Detsky Mir is a sign that the market is opening," said Jacob Grapengiesser, a partner at investment fund East Capital Group.The deal could encourage other Russian companies looking to tap equity capital markets. Sources have said fertilizer producer Phosagro ( PHOR.MM ) is considering a secondary share issue this week, while Sistema has said it may list its agriculture business this year.RCIF, set up by sovereign wealth fund the Russian Direct Investment Fund and China Investment Corp, bought into Detsky Mir slightly more than a year ago and its internal rate of return on the investment exceeded 90 percent, it said.RCIF sold a 10 percent stake, keeping a 13 percent holding, while Sistema ( AFKS.MM ) cut its stake to 50 percent plus one share from 72.57 percent.Sales at Detsky Mir, a 70-year-old brand set up under Soviet rule, rose 30 percent last year against a fall of 5 percent in overall retail sales in Russia. It plans to open around 250 stores through 2020, including 70 in 2017."It''s a good company: people will always buy toys and Detsky Mir is a price leader," said a Moscow-based fund manager who asked not be named.(Reporting by Maria Kiselyova, Olga Popova, Olga Sichkar; Writing by Maria Kiselyova; Editing by Christian Lowe and Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-russia-detsky-mir-ipo-price-idINKBN15N0ZJ'|'2017-02-08T06:53:00.000+02:00' +'e1402c48c16da7f811c3b37b75f8170a142a591e'|'French investigators refer Fiat Chrysler emissions case to prosecutor'|'Business News - Mon Feb 6, 2017 - 9:47pm GMT French investigators refer Fiat Chrysler emissions case to prosecutor A new Fiat Chrysler Automobiles sign is pictured after being unveiled at Chrysler Group World Headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan May 6, 2014. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook PARIS French investigators have referred carmaker Fiat Chrysler (FCA) ( FCHA.MI ) for possible prosecution over abnormal emissions of nitrogen oxide pollutants from some of its diesel engines, the government said on Monday. The referral makes FCA the third manufacturer to be referred to French prosecutors in the wake of a French investigation into emissions test cheating after Germany''s Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) and France''s Renault ( RENA.PA ). (Reporting by Gilles Guillaume and Laurence Frost; Editing by Kevin Liffey) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-fiat-chrysler-emissions-france-idUKKBN15L2I7'|'2017-02-07T04:47:00.000+02:00' +'ff0d74e060e219c42ace62ef32a0302934c6bd3d'|'Daimler to pick new trucks chief within days: sources'|'Business News - Mon Feb 27, 2017 - 12:40pm EST Daimler to pick new trucks chief within days: sources The Daimler AG management board L-R CEO Dieter Zetsche, CFO Bodo Uebber and Wolfgang Bernhard of Daimler Trucks & Buses pose behind a Mercedes EQ concept car before the car maker''s annual news conference in Stuttgart, Germany, February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle FRANKFURT Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ) will pick a new head for its truck operations in the coming days, sources close to the matter said, as the manufacturer aims to avoid a lengthy search for a successor to departed chief Wolfgang Bernhard. Bernhard, once seen as a candidate to succeed Daimler Chief Executive Diete Zetsche, stepped down a year before his contract was due to expire, the carmaker said this month. Stuttgart-based Daimler aims to decide on a successor to Bernhard before auto executives start gathering in Geneva next Monday for the city''s annual auto show, one of the sources said. The succession void left by the departure of Bernhard, who started working at Daimler in 1994 and moved through the ranks to top management, will be resolved soon, a second source said. Daimler declined to comment. Industry publication Automobilwoche reported earlier on Monday that Daimler''s supervisory board would appoint a new head of trucks operations this week. It named Hubertus Troska, head of Daimler''s China business, vans chief Volker Mornhinweg and Marc Llistosella, leader of truck operations in Asia, as the most promising candidates. (Reporting by Edward Taylor and Ilona Wissenbach; Writing by Andreas Cremer; Editing by David Goodman) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-daimler-management-idUSKBN166229'|'2017-02-28T00:40:00.000+02:00' +'8e77f8089f355247765dd0bbd28f4d58d1ece4c0'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Emerging stocks sail to new 19-month highs'|'LONDON Feb 22 Wall Street''s record run helped emerging stocks sail to new 19-month highs on Wednesday with year-to-date gains of over 10 percent, while the rand firmed ahead of a key budget speech by the finance minister.MSCI''s emerging equity index firmed half a percent , led by a 1 percent rise in Hong Kong after New York shares hit record highs and European bourses were boosted by upbeat factory data in Germany and France.The index has posted a daily loss only three times so far in February, buoyed also by recovering economic growth and stronger company earnings. Analysts expect earnings-per-share to grow this year by 13.5 percent, according to I/B/E/S, having upgraded expectations from 12.4 percent in November.Hong Kong on Wednesday said its economy grew a forecast-beating 1.9 percent last year and predicted 2-3 percent growth in 2017."The macro environment is still quite constructive for emerging markets despite the risk of further rate hikes from the Fed," said Phoenix Kalen, a strategist at Societe Generale."Also, the stabilising of commodity prices, the strong rebound in metals prices these are quite beneficial for EM exporters so we are seeing a cyclical pick up in trade performance alongside positive external rebalancing."Signs of improving growth have boosted central European shares this week, with Warsaw hitting 18-month highs, Budapest hovering at record highs and Bucharest on Wednesday touching a new nine-year high.Recent data showed the Polish economy, the region''s biggest, expanding at its fastest quarterly rate since 2007.The Polish zloty touched a new 10-day high versus the euro while Hungary''s forint traded just off five-week highs and the Romanian leu was at a one-week high.SOUTH AFRICA RATINGSThe South African rand firmed 0.4 percent to the dollar despite jitters over a 1200 GMT budget speech by finance minister Pravin Gordhan who is trying to prevent a ratings downgrade to junk for his country.Commerzbank analysts said the budget could see the conflict between Gordhan and President Jacob Zuma "enter the next round", referring to speculation that Zuma wants to remove Gordhan."So as to convince the rating agencies and ensure that South Africa''s rating will not be downgraded to junk status Gordhan has to demonstrate the government has got its spending under control," Commerzbank analysts wrote."Zuma on the other hand wants to rely on spending billions ... to fight racial injustice and poverty."SocGen''s Kalen said the fiscal commitment was not a risk as long as Gordhan remained in office."What worries the market is the political dynamics at this point. That does put rand on the back foot depending on how that shapes out and whether that impacts the ability of Pravin Gordhan to stay committed to a tight fiscal stance," she added.Nigeria''s naira steadied in the non-deliverable forward (NDF) market after Tuesday''s sharp falls triggered by a decision to effectively devalue the currency for private individuals needing to pay for foreign travel and school fees.Six-month NDFs are showing the naira trading around 390 per dollar versus the official rate around 305.Emerging bond issues continued to flood in, with Turkish bank Yapi Credit placing $600 million five-year debt at 5.75 percent, much tighter than initial guidance and Bahrain rushing in a $600 million deal before long-awaited Omani and Kuwaiti bonds arrive.Russian Rail was marketing a seven-year dollar issue on Wednesday, the latest Russian issuer to hit bond markets. More than $2 billion has been raised by Russian companies so far this year.Emerging sovereign bond yield spreads compressed to 312 basis points (bps), a one-week low, and having tightened around 15 bps since the start of February.For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2e7eoml For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2dZbdP5For CENTRAL EUROPE market report, seeFor TURKISH market report, seeFor RUSSIAN market report, see) Emerging Markets Prices from Reuters Equities Latest Net Chg % Chg % Chgon yearMorgan Stanley Emrg Mkt Indx 950.03 +4.39 +0.46 +10.18Czech Rep 974.71 +0.24 +0.02 +5.76Poland 2250.99 +2.47 +0.11 +15.56Hungary 34173.91 -151.08 -0.44 +6.78Romania 8000.12 +87.48 +1.11 +12.92Greece 653.40 -1.80 -0.27 +1.52Russia 1154.59 -7.06 -0.61 +0.20South Africa 45173.59 -382.39 -0.84 +2.90Turkey 88800.10 -165.04 -0.19 +13.64China 3260.94 +7.61 +0.23 +5.07India 28859.83 +98.24 +0.34 +8.39Currencies Latest Prev Local Localclose currency currency% change % changein 2017Czech Rep 27.00 27.01 +0.03 +0.02Poland 4.29 4.29 -0.00 +2.56Hungary 307.19 307.45 +0.08 +0.53Romania 4.52 4.51 -0.12 +0.39Serbia 123.76 123.73 -0.02 -0.33Russia 57.82 57.38 -0.77 +5.95Kazakhstan 314.79 316.09 +0.41 +5.99Ukraine 26.95 27.03 +0.30 +0.19South Africa 13.10 13.12 +0.18 +4.82Kenya 103.47 103.50 +0.03 -1.06Israel 3.71 3.70 -0.27 +3.82Turkey 3.62 3.62 +0.11 -2.45China 6.88 6.88 +0.04 +0.95India 66.97 66.96 -0.01 +1.46Brazil 3.10 3.09 -0.00 +5.11Mexico 20.07 20.01 -0.32 +3.21Debt Index Strip Spd Chg %Rtn IndexSov''gn Debt EMBIG 335 -1 .08 7 60.68 1All data taken from Reuters at 10:07 GMT. Currency percent change calculated from the daily U.S. close at 2130 GMT.(Additional reporting by Claire Milhench; editing by Richard Lough)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-idUSL8N1G72HP'|'2017-02-22T13:32:00.000+02:00' +'832a2eed7e2000ff35893b018038cd792fac004d'|'BRIEF-CommerceHub posts Q4 earnings per share $0.13'|' 4:54pm EST BRIEF-CommerceHub posts Q4 earnings per share $0.13 Feb 15 CommerceHub Inc * CommerceHub announces fourth quarter and full year 2016 financial results * Q4 earnings per share $0.13 * Q4 revenue $32.9 million versus I/B/E/S view $33.7 million * Q4 earnings per share view $0.17 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * Total customer count at December 31, 2016 was 10,094, up from 9,562 at December 31, 2015 Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSASB0B0HI'|'2017-02-16T04:54:00.000+02:00' +'46632d69a7579bd9c8341c67589537174da87e59'|'China January exports rise 7.9 percent, beating forecasts'|' 39am GMT China January exports rise 7.9 percent, beating forecasts A truck drives past shipping containers at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province January 23, 2015. REUTERS/China Daily BEIJING China''s January exports easily exceeded analysts'' expectations, rising 7.9 percent from a year earlier, while imports rose by 16.7 percent, also topping forecasts, preliminary data showed on Friday. That left the country with a trade surplus of $51.35 billion for the month, the General Administration of Customs said. But China watchers caution that trends in January and February can be distorted by the long Lunar New Year holidays, with business slowing down weeks ahead of time and many firms scaling back operations or closing. The holiday fell on January 28 this year, 11 days earlier than last year. Customs is due to release the final data for trade on Feb. 23. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected January shipments from the world''s largest exporter to have risen 3.3 percent, after a dismal 2016 that saw exports slump 7.7 percent as China lagged an export rebound enjoyed by some of its North Asian neighbours. Imports had been forecast to rise 10.0 percent, accelerating from 3.1 percent growth in December. Analysts were expecting China''s trade surplus to have risen to $47.90 billion in January, versus December''s $40.71 billion, with growing attention on its large trade surplus with the United States as new ramps up his protectionist rhetoric. (Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by Kim Coghill) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-trade-idUKKBN15P0C0'|'2017-02-10T10:39:00.000+02:00' +'cdd445a0de20b9334aea3a230686a8825a7d04b0'|'ECB to give "considerable attention" to cross-border deals - Dickson'|'Deals - Thu Feb 2, 2017 - 6:51am GMT ECB to give ''considerable attention'' to cross-border deals: Dickson left right The headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) are pictured in Frankfurt, Germany, September 8, 2016. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo 1/2 left right A woman walks past the London Stock Exchange building in the City of London, Britain, January 16 , 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville 2/2 FRANKFURT The European Central Bank would give "considerable attention" to any merger or takeover between banks in different European countries, a top supervisor said on Thursday, highlighting issues with deals involving a party from outside the European Union. Julie Dickson''s comments come as the ECB''s Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) is set to assess a proposed merger between the London Stock Exchange ( LSE.L ) and Germany''s Deutsche Boerse ( DB1Gn.DE ), because some of their units are licensed as banks. "Any pan European takeovers or mergers would receive considerable attention by the SSM," Dickson, who sits on the board of the SSM, said in slides accompanying a speech. She noted a European Commission proposal to require banks from outside the EU to establish an intermediate holding company in the bloc under SSM supervision. (Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Kim COghill) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-deutsche-boerse-lse-ecb-idUKKBN15H0HW'|'2017-02-02T13:49:00.000+02:00' +'c85543d3d38c176667f5079c957dcb86c09afa50'|'BUSINESS WATCH - Living in a ''bipolar world'''|'A daily selection of our best business coverage - Wed Feb 8, 2017 - 3:37pm EST BUSINESS WATCH - Living in a ''bipolar world'' A trader wearing a Trump hat works at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., January 20, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Yang ''We''re living in a bipolar world'' BlackRock Chief Executive Larry Fink added is voice to the choir of major figures in the financial world calling for a dose of caution after Trump''s election touched off a rally in U.S. stocks. "The markets are probably ahead of themselves, he said.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-businesswatch-idUSKBN15N29O'|'2017-02-09T03:37:00.000+02:00' +'0ca6759095f9befeeabf8d25a2855825f877dba9'|'CEE MARKETS-Warsaw stocks rise, led by banks, as earnings improve'|'* Warsaw equities index jumps to highest in more than 15 months * Poland''s Bank Pekao reports 13 percent annual rise in Q4 net * Expectations for central bank rate hike helps banks-analyst * Leu stays firmer than 4.5 vs euro as political conflict eases By Sandor Peto and Bartosz Chmielewski BUDAPEST/WARSAW, Feb 9 Banks stocks pushed Warsaw''s blue-chip stock index to its highest in more than 15 months on Thursday after fourth-quarter earnings from Bank Pekao beat forecasts. The index rose 1.3 percent by 0926 GMT, outperforming Central Europe''s other main indices as well as the main Western European stock markets. Pekao rose 2.5 percent to a seven-month high after reporting a 13 percent increase in annual net profits. Shares of Poland''s biggest bank, PKO BP, rose 1.5 percent. Gains by oil stocks after crude oil prices rose also helped the Warsaw index. PKN Orlen added 2.5 percent. Poland''s fourth-largest bank, mBank, also reported higher than-expected earnings on Wednesday, even though profits fell almost 6 percent in annual terms, reflecting the impact of a bank tax imposed in 2016. Poland''s government introduced less business-friendly policies than its predecessor, causing the stock exchange index to fall to seven-year lows last year. "Another solid report from a bank may provide some ground for optimism, but the strong upwards trend of Polish financial stocks can be observed for weeks, and that''s due to strong expectations of rate hikes," said Haitong analyst Kamil Stolarski. "Yesterday, NBP (the central bank) once again left interest rates unchanged, but tightening is a very hot topic among market players, and the majority expect that rates will be raised in 2018, with obvious benefit for Polish banks," he added. The biggest Czech bank, Komercni Banka, also reported bigger-than-expected in earnings. Hungarian banks surged as well last year. The Polish zloty eased 0.1 percent to 4.3165 to the euro, after a rebound to a four-month high at 4.2734 early this week, followed by profit-taking. Romania''s leu also eased a shade but remained on the stronger side of 4.5 to the euro, at around 4.49. Last week, it reached its weakest level in seven month, 4.554, amid mass protests over a government decree that would have decriminalised some graft offences. It recovered this week as the decree was rescinded. The Constitutional Court will look at the decree later on Thursday. "Given that we expect no escalation in the political conflict, we would project no additional strong reaction in EUR/RON (leu) for the near-term," Raiffeisen analyst Wolfgang Ernst said in a note. CEE SNAPS AT 1026 MARKETS HOT CET CURRENCIES Lates Previ Daily Chang t ous e bid close chang in e 2017 Czech crown 27.02 27.03 +0.0 -0.05 10 35 5% % Hungary 309.0 309.1 +0.0 -0.08 forint 800 750 3% % Polish 4.316 4.312 -0.09 2.02% zloty 5 4 % Romanian 4.490 4.488 -0.04 0.99% leu 5 6 % Croatian 7.468 7.461 -0.09 1.17% kuna 0 2 % Serbian 123.8 123.8 +0.0 -0.40 dinar 500 600 1% % Note: daily calculate previ close 1800 change d from ous at CET STOCK S Lates Previ Daily Chang t ous e close chang in e 2017 Prague 956.7 955.2 +0.1 +3.8 5 1 6% 1% Budapest 32744 32595 +0.4 +2.3 .98 .92 6% 2% Warsaw 2111. 2083. +1.3 +8.4 60 65 4% 0% Bucharest 7612. 7605. +0.1 +7.4 65 17 0% 5% Ljubljana 748.9 754.6 -0.75 +4.3 6 4 % 7% Zagreb 2184. 2184. +0.0 +9.5 93 58 2% 3% Belgrade <.BELEX15 700.8 699.6 +0.1 -2.30 > 8 3 8% % Sofia 603.0 603.6 -0.11 +2.8 0 5 % 3% BONDS Yield Yield Sprea Daily d (bid) chang vs chang e Bund e in Czech sprea Republic d 2-year 8 bps s 5-year bps s 10-year bps s Poland 2-year bps s 5-year bps s 10-year bps FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M inter bank Czech Rep < 0.26 0.25 0.27 0 PRIBOR=> Hungary < 0.38 0.47 0.61 0.25 BUBOR=> Poland < 1.79 1.815 1.885 1.73 WIBOR=> Note: FRA are for Quote: s ask prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets-idINL5N1FU392'|'2017-02-09T08:03:00.000+02:00' +'5de6e57a8e13e9d0b19628ff782912fa710d01cc'|'Peru to seek arrest of ex president Toledo in mega graft inquiry'|'LIMA Feb 4 Prosecutors in Peru were preparing to request the arrest of former president Alejandro Toledo on Saturday after uncovering evidence that implicates him in $20 million in bribes that the Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht has acknowledged distributing to win a contract during his government, a source said.Authorities searched a house owned by Toledo in Lima early on Saturday, the attorney general''s office said on Twitter without providing additional details.A source in the attorney general''s office who was not authorized to make public comments said the raid follows the detection of $11 million transferred to an associate of Toledo that prosecutors believe is part of $20 million in bribes that Odebrecht has said it gave to help secure an infrastructure contract during his 2001-2006 term.A representative of Toledo did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Toledo, reached by phone from Paris by the local daily El Comercio, denied taking any bribes, according to audio of the interview posted on the newspaper''s website.Peru already has imprisoned one of its former presidents for graft - ex-authoritarian leader Alberto Fujimori, who is serving a 25-year sentence for convictions that include human rights abuses.Toledo rose to power denouncing Fujimori and promising to usher in a democratic era free of corruption.In a settlement with U.S. prosecutors in December, Odebrecht acknowledged distributing $29 million in bribes to secure public work contracts in Peru over a period spanning three presidencies.The agreement said the family-owned engineering conglomerate made $20 million worth of corrupt payments between 2005 and 2008 to benefit an unnamed high-ranking official that offered to help the company win an infrastructure contract in 2005.Current President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski was Toledo''s finance minister and prime minister and has denied any involvement in Odebrecht''s kickback schemes."Justice must be the same for everyone," Kuczynski said on Twitter. "If someone committed acts of corruption, they must be penalized. I''ve ordered the executive to collaborate with whatever is necessary to guarantee the investigation is efficient. Corruption never again."Kuczynski is the subject of a separate preliminary investigation regarding a law he signed off on in 2006 that removed legal obstacles to highway contracts awarded to Odebrecht and other Brazilian companies. He has denied wrongdoing.Odebrecht has acknowledged doling out hundreds of millions in bribes to win public work contracts in Latin America, spurring inquiries from Peru to Panama that have shaken the region''s elites. (Reporting By Mitra Taj; Editing by Bill Trott)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/peru-toledo-idINL1N1FP0BC'|'2017-02-04T13:25:00.000+02:00' +'df670e827c738e890be2ba778c513ca2edfac6f7'|'BRIEF-Atwood Oceanics reports quarterly EPS $0.15'|' 23pm EST BRIEF-Atwood Oceanics reports quarterly EPS $0.15 Feb 3 Atwood Oceanics Inc - * Quarterly revenue $157.6 million versus $307.8 million * Quarterly earnings per share $0.15 * During quarter ended December 31, 2016, company did not recognize any impairment * Q1 earnings per share view $0.18, revenue view $156.9 million -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S Source text: [ bit.ly/2l5a4HG ] '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1FO12N'|'2017-02-04T04:23:00.000+02:00' +'8d7d74c722f8b5fd03d6776d91c716c239157439'|'TUI ordered to compensate customers delayed by staff sickness action'|' 23am GMT TUI ordered to compensate customers delayed by staff sickness action The logo of of German travel company TUI AG is seen outside of one of its branch offices in Vienna, Austria, December 27, 2016. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger FRANKFURT Travel and tourism group TUI ( TUIT.L ) must pay passengers compensation over disruptions to German flights because of crew members calling in sick in October, a court in Hanover ruled on Wednesday. The court found in favour of two parties who had sued over delays and a cancellation, ordering TUI to pay them 800 euros (679 pounds) and 2,000 euros respectively, plus interest. The staff shortages in October followed TUI''s announcement of plans to put its German TUIfly airline into a new leisure airline joint venture with parts of Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ), sparking employee concern over potential job cuts and worsening working conditions. Many pilots and crew called in sick, forcing TUIfly to cancel dozens of flights during what was a school holiday period for some German federal states, including the one in which TUIfly is based. TUI''s staff returned to work when the company offered to keep pay and conditions unchanged for three years. The company has refunded the cost of holidays that were cancelled but more than 600 complaints have been filed at the Hanover court by customers seeking additional compensation under European Union rules. TUI has said that the circumstances were beyond its control so it shouldn''t have to pay the compensation. The court said on Wednesday that TUIfly did not present sufficient evidence to prove that its workers had staged a wildcat strike and did not show that it took all reasonable measures to avoid flight delays. The ruling does not have any binding effect on the outstanding complaints against TUI. TUI said on Tuesday that it had incurred costs of 22 million euros as a result of the disruption from workers'' sick leave. It also said it was still in talks with Air Berlin shareholder Etihad and the authorities over the proposed venture and that it would hopefully start in time for the winter flying season from October. (Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by David Goodman) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-tui-court-idUKKBN15U14C'|'2017-02-15T17:23:00.000+02:00' +'cd47e68da0465f452b7f4c181845b4645ca522ae'|'PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Feb 21'|' 28pm EST PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Feb 21 Feb 21 The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. The Times Unilever Plc is facing calls to simplify its complex shareholder structure amid claims that its convoluted ownership could have helped scupper a proposed 115 billion pound deal with Kraft Heinz Co. bit.ly/2m68pSP The business secretary, Greg Clark, pledged the government''s "unbounded commitment" to protect jobs at Vauxhall on Monday amid fears for the British workforce if the business is sold. bit.ly/2m68GW3 The Guardian Greece''s bailout inspectors are returning to Athens to seek changes to the country''s tax, pensions and labour market laws in a sign that Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will give way to European pressure for deeper reforms. bit.ly/2m610CV Bovis Homes Group Plc is to pay 7 million pounds ($8.72 million) to repair poorly built new homes sold to customers, raising fresh questions about the standards of new-build properties across the country and the regulation of the market. bit.ly/2m60CV1 The Telegraph The European Commission wants Britain to be paying into EU projects for four years after it has signed a Brexit deal, with final payments continuing up until the end of 2023, the Daily Telegraph has learned. bit.ly/2m5Tx73 Volkswagen AG drivers affected by the "dieselgate" scandal have been left with no choice but to sue the company, according to lawyers acting for drivers. bit.ly/2m60apG Sky News Executives at Anglo American Plc, the FTSE-100 mining group, face the prospect of forfeiting millions of pounds in share awards following an investor revolt last year which helped provide impetus for a wider government crackdown on boardroom pay. bit.ly/2m5W410 The Independent Global sales of UK food and drink have hit the 20 billion-pound mark for the first time in history, as the government prepares to ramp up its focus on international trade following UK''s decision to leave the EU. ind.pn/2m5QT0S ($1 = 0.8030 pounds) (Compiled by Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-press-business-idUSL4N1G605B'|'2017-02-21T08:28:00.000+02:00' +'8f4137d895e0295039cd74f6093ae11360822c39'|'Indian airports face capacity crunch as market booms'|'By Aditi Shah - MUMBAI MUMBAI India''s aviation industry risks a capacity crunch as an expansion in landing slots and terminals fails to keep pace with the number of jets entering the market and rapid growth in demand from travellers, executives warned on Wednesday.Airlines including Interglobe Aviation''s IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir have 880 aircraft on order as they tap into a market growing 20 percent-plus per annum thanks to rising incomes and low-cost fares.Domestic passenger numbers topped 100 million last year, with most of the growth involving flights into and out of the biggest cities."The airport infrastructure at many airports is breaking at the seams because there is no more capacity," said Sanjiv Kapoor, chief strategy and commercial officer at Vistara, an Indian airline jointly owned by Singapore Airlines and Tata Sons."Everyone is scrambling to grab whatever little is left but what happens after that?" Kapoor told Reuters at an aviation conference in Mumbai.Most of India''s 40 largest airports will exceed their design capacity within a decade based on projected growth rates, consultancy CAPA estimates, with Mumbai and Chennai fast approaching saturation.Kapil Kaul, CEO for South Asia at CAPA, said India could run out of capacity within three to five years. "We are not ready beyond 2020-2021," he said.India''s government plans to open 50 disused airports by 2020, and has given approval for 18 greenfield airports.Junior aviation minister Jayant Sinha said this week India would need to triple capacity within 15 years at a cost of up to 3 trillion rupees ($45 billion), mostly from private sources.Delays in acquiring land, as well as the inability of debt-laden domestic airport operators such as GMR Group and GVK to invest, have stymied expansion proposals."No one will invest in airports till you open investment in airlines," Manish Sinha at GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd said, referring to a 49 percent cap on foreign ownership of Indian carriers.Capacity constraints are most acute in Mumbai, where aircraft can wait for landing spots for 45 minutes, according to Martin Consulting.The government wants to build a new airport - under discussion for 20 years - outside the city but has repeatedly delayed plans, with initial bids due this year.ORDER BOOKSNewer Indian carriers are set to swell aircraft order books further.Vistara could order 50 narrow-body and 50 wide-body aircraft this year, Kaul at CAPA said. AirAsia India plans to grow its fleet to 20 aircraft by mid-2018.In an attempt to lure firms, India last year allowed foreign investors to invest 100 percent in brownfield airport projects.Operators such as Singapore''s Changi Airport have expressed interest, although questions remain about the government''s revenue sharing model.The looming capacity crunch adds to the worries of Indian carriers, which last year reported their first combined profit in a decade.CAPA estimates airlines will lose $250 million to $300 million this year amid intensifying competition."There is a need to look at profitable growth and not just capacity deployment," said Amitabh Malhotra, managing director at Rothschild Global Advisory in India.Malhotra said it would be tough to maintain a 20 to 25 percent growth rate as rising fuel costs bite.($1 = 67.3125 Indian rupees)(Writing by Tommy Wilkes; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/india-airlines-idINKBN15N171'|'2017-02-08T08:26:00.000+02:00' +'e4b06ea661038e14e4cddaa9a324c5a05757e963'|'BRIEF-Hainan Airlines says will launch new nonstop service from Los Angeles international airport to Chengdu and to Chongqing'|'United States 18pm EST BRIEF-Hainan Airlines says will launch new nonstop service from Los Angeles international airport to Chengdu and to Chongqing Feb 21 Hainan Airlines Co Ltd * Hainan airlines says will launch new nonstop service from los angeles international airport to chengdu and to chongqing '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-hainan-airlines-says-will-launch-n-idUSFWN1G60S8'|'2017-02-22T01:18:00.000+02:00' +'b543f4280746c9612116bc7271fd2bd52aa5634f'|'Canada open to more aid for future Bombardier planes -source'|'Company 1:10pm EST Canada open to more aid for future Bombardier planes -source OTTAWA Feb 8 The Canadian government would be open to providing more aid to planemaker Bombardier Inc if it developed new aircraft and asked for help, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday. The government announced C$372.5 million ($283 million) in repayable loans for two of Bombardier jet programs on Tuesday but the funding was well short of the $1 billion that Bombardier was seeking. The source declined to be identified as the discussions were confidential. (Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Denny Thomas and Nick Zieminski) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/bombardier-investment-idUSL1N1FT18L'|'2017-02-09T01:10:00.000+02:00' +'2c4108c21e22f5a46f8883d80258c64c7af918ac'|'A horrendous notion: small firms object to tourist tax proposals - Guardian Small Business Network'|'C heap headline-grabbing and noise-making by local authorities. Thats how one vexed owner of a 29-bedroom hotel in Bath described the Bath and North East Somerset councils proposals to introduce a tourist tax in the area.Laurence Beere, co-owner of the Queensberry Hotel wasnt the only hotelier frustrated by the potential tax. In Bath, 20 local operators have written an open letter calling for the plans to be axed.The idea of a tourist tax isnt new - there are existing models in European cities such as Paris, Barcelona and Amsterdam. They tend to be collected from accommodation providers by local authorities. In Paris, businesses are required to charge the tax per guest, per night. The tax goes up to 4.40 (3.80) with the rate depending on the type of accommodation.Brexit and tourism: ''We have devalued the Union Jack as a brand'' Read moreBut Beere argues that the proposals for Bath are unfair: How is it fair to target one sector [accommodation] with a tourist tax when multiple sectors benefit? Also, how are they going to collect from Airbnb renters when its such an unregulated area?In Paris , Airbnb pays the tax to the city, but charges its users. Previously home owners were responsible for collecting the tax from guests.Beere fears that a tax might reduce the number of guests staying in Bath. If a tourist has to pay up to 5 a night more, it becomes a tipping point.The Guardian contacted Bath council for an interview, but it declined. However, it did send a statement (which it has issued elsewhere) indicating that a tourist tax was being considered. As Bath welcomes such a large number of tourists [...] it is sensible to consider the potential for increasing the councils income to help support local services, invest in the local area and address the financial challenges it faces, says the statement.The idea of the original levy was to increase income and support investment in the city and surrounding area. The council has recently started to discuss the matter again with the government, and is exploring the feasibility with other local authorities.Last month London mayor Sadiq Khan also called for a tourist tax. He said he wanted to ensure that tourists who come to London contribute to the city. The proposed plan would add up to 5% extra to hotel bills.But with small accommodation businesses already battling high business rates and facing competition from Airbnb, many are left unimpressed. Patrick Williams, co-founder of Berdoulat & Breakfast in Bath described a tourist tax as a horrendous notion.He added: Any tourist, whether theyre on a world tour or escaping London for a night, is likely to contribute to the city via going out for dinner or whatever they may be doing. It doesnt seem right to itemise a tax [as well].He doesnt believe a small amount of 1 to 2 a night would deter guests, but adds: If its more than 5 a night it would just sort of leave a horrible bitter taste to someone booking a room. Plus, he adds: Ive definitely got enough paperwork already.There are reports that Edinburgh council is also considering a tourist levy. Four out of five Scottish small firms are against a plan to introduce such a tax, according to a Federation of Small Businesses poll published last June.A spokeswoman for Edinburgh council says: A form of tourism tax in Edinburgh is purely at the negotiation stages, so [there is] no confirmation of mechanisms or costs to share.Not all small businesses are against such as tax, however. Louise Clelland, co-owner of bed and breakfast Millers64 in Edinburgh, says: I am all for it as long as it is not a prohibitive amount and the taxes are spent in areas that improve the visitor experience and are not used to fill the gap in local services, which government cuts have created.Rates revaluation could finish off high street, warn small businesses Read moreAt present, tourists visiting France pay a compulsory tourist tax, which varies according to the hotel classification and the town. Jean-Luc Marchand is co-owner of Parisian bed and breakfast Bonne Nuit Paris . The business, which was founded in 2008, was subject to the tax from the beginning and it has always been incorporated in guest rates. Marchand doesnt believe it has put off tourists from visiting the city. He adds that the tax only creates a small amount of paperwork for any business that is properly organised.Last July, a tourism tax came into effect in the Balearic Islands, varying depending on the length of stay, whether it was high or low season and the style of accommodation. In one local report, president of the Balearics, Francina Armengol, declared the tax a social and political success, with 32m (27.6m) raised within two months of its introduction.Jos Carretero, founder of the Group El Carme , which manages a hotel, apartments and holiday homes in the old town of Ciutadella in Menorca, says he was always in favour of this tax. It was previously in place from 1999 to 2003. In his hotel, the tax is 1.50 (1.29) per person, per night during the summer season.It has not had any impact at all, since our hotels are of high quality and our customers do not choose us for the price, he says. Although it is true that we [are living in] very good years for tourism in Spain . He says the vast majority of hotels pay a fixed annual amount to the local government.Still, the success abroad wont appease the UKs critics. This will make it even harder for a small independent to compete against a very chain-led industry, says Sally Shalam, a small hotels and B&B consultant . [Will the tax be] the same for an independent that has 20 rooms or less and a global chain that has 200?Either way, Shalam believes a tourist tax could have a negative impact on domestic tourists. Added to VAT, theyll see it as more expensive to stay in the UK than go abroad.What will Beere and his peers do if city councils introduce a tourist tax?Beere says: Inevitably well end up paying it. We will have to disclose to the guest what their bill is and that they have to pay the extra tax. But I can see us reducing room prices to accommodate it.Sign up to become a member of the Guardian Small Business Network here for more advice, insight and best practice direct to your inbox.'|'theguardian.com'|'https://www.theguardian.com/uk/business'|'https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/feb/08/horrendous-notion-small-firms-tourist-tax-proposals-oppose'|'2017-02-08T15:15:00.000+02:00' +'caef69edbf4b086fbc23d6293732addd51d38a08'|'Exclusive: Endeavor, giant of West Texas oil industry, mulls public offering'|'Commodities - Wed Feb 1, 2017 - 2:11pm EST Exclusive: Endeavor, giant of West Texas oil industry, mulls public offering By Ernest Scheyder - MIDLAND, Texas MIDLAND, Texas Endeavor Energy Resources LP, a privately-held Texas oil producer, is considering an initial public offering of stock to expand operations on more than 330,000 acres of land it controls in the booming Permian Basin. Endeavor is among the largest leaseholders in the biggest U.S. oil field, where acreage is coveted by the world''s top energy firms. Exxon Mobil ( XOM.N ) last month spent as much as $6.6 billion to double its holdings in the Permian. Firms last year spent more than $28 billion acquiring land here, and are now pumping about a quarter of all daily U.S. oil output. The IPO "is one of our options" for financing, Chief Executive Chuck Meloy told Reuters in an interview at Endeavor''s Midland, Texas, headquarters. The company has also been courting the bond market, he added. Meloy declined to give further details on the pricing target for an IPO, the timing, or the amount of capital that Endeavor is seeking to raise. A procession of companies have launched IPOs to fund a quick increase in activity in the Permian and capitalize on a rebound in U.S. oil prices from a 12-year low hit in February 2016. One of the latest was Jagged Peak Energy Inc Jag.N, which raised nearly half a billion dollars despite pricing below its target. [L1N1F91PM] Meloy, who retired from Anadarko Petroleum Corp P.ACN in 2015, was hired to run Endeavor last February by Autry Stephens, the company''s founder and a famed wildcatter. Stephens was featured in the reality TV show, "Black Gold," which aired on Time Warner''s ( TWX.N ) TruTV from 2008 through 2013. QUESTIONABLE DEALS When Meloy was hired, Endeavor was mired in debt and selling off some of its lease holdings for cash. Meloy sold about 10 percent of the company''s acreage for $1.3 billion to reduce that debt to below $500 million. The ensuing rally in land prices in the Permian Basin has made some of those transactions look like poor deals. Endeavor sold some acreage last January for an undisclosed amount to private equity-backed Luxe Energy LLC, which flipped the land a few months later for $560 million. "If we didn''t have to do it, we wouldn''t have done it," Meloy said of the land sales. "Thankfully, we had a currency we could use to rebuild our balance sheet." The company still has around 334,000 acres in the eastern Permian, known as the Midland Basin. Endeavor has strengthened its team of geologists and engineers in the past six months to help plan drilling on the land that remains. The company estimates its land holds crude, condensate and gas reserves that combined are the equivalent of 96 million barrels of oil. The company is bringing in a fifth drilling rig to its patch next week, having added a fourth in January, Meloy said. The goal for 2017 is to bring 75 horizontal wells online, adding to its existing 5,000 vertical wells and 45 horizontal wells. Endeavor is profitable with oil prices CLc1 of about $40 per barrel, Meloy said. The current price is about $53. (Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Simon Webb and Brian Thevenot) Next In Commodities Royal Mint bullion coin sales surge on wave of political turmoil LLANTRISANT, Wales In a warehouse a dozen miles to the northwest of Cardiff, the Royal Mint is running its machines through the night to keep up with demand for one of the big beneficiaries of the last year''s political turmoil - gold and silver bullion.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/news/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-oil-permian-endeavor-exclusive-idUSKBN15G5DZ'|'2017-02-02T02:11:00.000+02:00' +'9a0adcccae413dddc8bd4e0b1b02443eb03878c9'|'Trump aide says endorsement of Ivanka''s brand was ''light-hearted'''|'(Adds comments from Cummings, background)By Julia HarteWASHINGTON Feb 12 A top aide to U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday defended his colleague, Kellyanne Conway, after she was widely criticized for her public endorsement of the fashion line of Trump''s daughter, Ivanka.Speaking on ABC''s "This Week" program, White House aide Stephen Miller said Trump adviser Conway was making a "light-hearted, flippant" comment when she urged Americans to buy Ivanka Trump''s products.Conway''s comments prompted criticism from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, as well as some legal experts who said she may have violated ethics rules that prohibit using a public office to endorse products or advance personal business gains.In comments to the Associated Press last week, Republican Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House of Representatives Oversight committee, said Conway''s statement was "clearly over the line, unacceptable."Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the same committee, said on Sunday that Miller''s characterization of Conway''s remarks was incorrect. "This was a textbook case of a violation of the law," he said on "This Week."Cummings said he was troubled by the fact that Trump is the authority who will ultimately decide how to punish Conway, if at all, after the Office of Government Ethics issues its recommendation on the matter.Conway made the comments after retailer Nordstrom said it would stop selling Ivanka Trump''s clothing line, a move that had prompted a tweet from the president blasting Nordstrom.Nordstrom said it had made the decision to drop the brand because sales had steadily declined, especially in the last half of 2016, to where carrying the line "didn''t make good business sense."Nordstrom shares initially fell after the president''s criticism last Wednesday, but closed up 4 percent on the New York Stock Exchange that day.On Saturday, a spokesman for major U.S. retailers Sears and Kmart said they had removed 31 Trump Home items from their online product offerings in order to focus on more profitable merchandise. (Reporting by Julia Harte; Editing by Andrea Ricci)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-trump-nordstrom-idINL1N1FX0DQ'|'2017-02-12T15:37:00.000+02:00' +'af2df544b2c664af5a16acba5e6e7980b612a48b'|'Shareholders want miner Freeport to get tough with Indonesia - CEO'|' 32pm GMT Shareholders want miner Freeport to get tough with Indonesia - CEO Freeport McMoRan Inc''s chief executive Richard Adkerson speaks during a news conference in Jakarta, Indonesia, February 20, 2017. REUTERS/Beawiharta HOLLYWOOD, Fla. Shareholders are pressuring miner Freeport-McMoRan Inc ( FCX.N ) to stand up to the Indonesian government over changes the southeast Asian country wants to make in the U.S. miner''s contract, Freeport''s chief executive officer said on Monday. Rio Tinto Plc ( RIO.L ), which is a partner in Freeport''s massive Grasberg copper and gold mine in Indonesia, is also supportive of Freeport''s tougher approach towards Jakarta, CEO Richard Adkerson said. In some of his strongest language yet on the issue, Adkerson said the new regulations that Indonesia wants the company to accept were "in effect a form of expropriation of our assets and we are resisting it aggressively." "Many of our shareholders feel that we have been too nice. Now we are in the position of standing up for our rights under the contract," Adkerson told a mining conference in Hollywood, Florida. He said Freeport had held talks with its large shareholders but did not name them. Freeport, the world''s biggest publicly listed copper producer, warned last week it could take the Indonesian government to arbitration and seek damages over a contractual dispute that has halted operations at Grasberg, the world''s second biggest copper mine. The row, which centers around the sanctity of Freeport''s 30-year mining contract, comes as the Indonesia government seeks to squeeze more revenue out of its mining industry through a shake-up of regulations over foreign ownership and ore processing. (Reporting by Nicole Mordant in Hollywood, Florida; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Jeffrey Benkoe) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mining-bmo-freeport-mcmoran-idUKKBN1661S6'|'2017-02-27T22:32:00.000+02:00' +'5d4ba08de864a43d7befb168dd7abb54192aa705'|'Exclusive: KKR prepares IPO of Gardner Denver - sources'|'Buyout firm KKR & Co LP ( KKR.N ) is preparing an initial public offering (IPO) of Gardner Denver Inc that could value the U.S. industrial machinery maker at between $6 billion and $7 billion including debt, according to people familiar with the matter.Gardner Denver''s IPO would underscore the company''s recovery after energy prices edged up slightly last year. A plunge in oil and other commodity prices had hit its sales by reducing demand and capital expenditures by its energy and industrial customers.Gardner Denver may register its IPO with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as early as next week, the people said on Friday. The IPO could then come later this year, the people added.The sources asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential. KKR declined to comment, while Gardner Denver did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Founded in 1859, Gardner Denver manufactures industrial compressors, blowers, pumps, loading arms and fuel systems used in the energy, general industrial and medical sectors.KKR took the Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based company private in 2013 for $3.9 billion.In the aftermath of a slump in energy prices in 2014, Gardner Denver took proactive restructuring actions to counterbalance some of the downward pressure on earnings, according to credit ratings agency Moody''s Investors Service Inc.A successful IPO would represent the latest successful investment of KKR''s industrials team, following the private equity firm''s sales of fall protection and rescue equipment maker Capital Safety and drug capsule manufacturer Capsugel. KKR scored a profit of around $4.25 billion on these two deals.(Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-kkr-ipo-idUSKBN1632IE'|'2017-02-25T01:16:00.000+02:00' +'faacc292c1f33513b931a37f0acd2624ae16c8de'|'Germany''s Stuttgart set to ban some diesel cars from city centre'|' 5:56pm GMT Germany''s Stuttgart set to ban some diesel cars from city centre Cars pass the respirable dust measuring station at Neckartor in Stuttgart, Germany, January 31, 2017. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle BERLIN Stuttgart, home to Germany''s Mercedes-Benz ( DAIGn.DE ) and Porsche ( PSHG_p.DE ), said on Tuesday it will ban from next year diesel cars which do not meet the latest emissions standards from entering the city on days when pollution is heavy. Only around 10 percent of diesel cars in use on German roads at the start of 2016 conformed with the "Euro 6" standard, which is the latest EU anti-pollution rule. Engines which adhere to the standard produce fewer nitrogen oxide fine particle emissions, which cause respiratory disease. Diesel emissions are in particular focus following the Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) scandal involving cheating mechanisms in some of its cars which made them appear less polluting than they actually were during routine testing. Particulates often exceed thresholds set by the European Union in at least 90 German towns, including Stuttgart, which is particularly affected because it is in a valley. Germany has already been sued by the EU for exceeding those thresholds for more than a maximum of 35 days per year. Exceptions to the ban in Stuttgart, which is the capital of the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg and governed by a coalition of the environmental Greens and Chancellor Angela Merkel''s conservatives, could be granted for goods vehicles. The regional government has also been sued by the German environmental organisation Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) for failing to do enough to tackle pollution. As well as diesel exhaust emissions, oil-fired heaters, chimneys and tyre abrasion also contribute to the particulates problem, which is exacerbated by certain weather. The World Health Organization (WHO) said last year that outdoor air pollution in both cities and rural areas was estimated to cause 3 million premature deaths worldwide per year in 2012, due to exposure to small particulate matter which cause cardiovascular and respiratory disease and cancers. (Reporting by Markus Wacket in Berlin; Additional reporting by Edward Taylor in Frankfurt; Writing by Michelle Martin; Editing by Alexander Smith) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-autos-diesel-idUKKBN16028J'|'2017-02-22T00:56:00.000+02:00' +'8ecb6b75ba4d71cab1a43145621b8fb7f962f2f6'|'Daimler to focus Smart brand on electric cars in U.S., Canada - report'|'Business News - Mon Feb 13, 2017 - 9:53pm GMT Daimler to focus Smart brand on electric cars in U.S., Canada: report left right Mercedes introduces the 2017 Smart electric car at the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles, California, U.S November 16, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson 1/2 left right The Daimler AG sign with raindrops is pictured before the company''s annual news conference in Stuttgart, Germany, February 4, 2016. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle/File Photo 2/2 FRANKFURT Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ) will stop selling cars under the Smart brand with combustion engines to focus on electric cars, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported, citing a letter that Mercedes-Benz USA sent to dealerships. Dietmar Exler, head of Mercedes-Benz USA, said in his letter that the sale of Smart cars with combustion engines would stop in September, the paper reported in its Tuesday edition. It added that the carmaker would sell battery-powered versions of its Fortwo and Fortwo convertible models. Daimler was not immediately available for comment. Mercedes-Benz USA sold 6,211 Smart cars last year, compared with global sales of Smart branded vehicles of 144,479. Daimler''s group deliveries, including its premium Mercedes brand, stood at 2.1 million in 2016. (Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Additional reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Tom Heneghan) Next In Business News Apple hits record high but leaves some investors in dust SAN FRANCISCO Apple shares cruised to a record-high close Monday, helping catapult the S&P 500 stock index over the $20 trillion mark in what amounts to a victory for plain-vanilla mutual funds over a bevy of hedge fund managers who recently backed away from the iPhone maker. U.S. inflation expectations at highest level since 2015: NY Fed NEW YORK A measure of U.S. inflation expectations rose for a second straight month in January to its highest level since mid-2015, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey released on Monday that reinforced the view that interest rates would keep climbing. NEW YORK Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan on Monday said the U.S. central bank should act soon to raise rates, or risk having to abandon its plan to do so slowly. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-daimler-usa-idUKKBN15S2I0'|'2017-02-14T04:53:00.000+02:00' +'39c018deb4b8fc64233968f24872048ea03528d6'|'UPDATE 1-Sika posts 21.8 pct rise in 2016 profit, to propose higher dividend'|'(Adds details, background)Feb 24 Speciality chemicals maker Sika on Friday posted a 21.8 percent rise in net profit for 2016 and said it will propose an increased dividend for 2016.Zurich-based Sika said net profit rose to 566.6 million Swiss francs ($563.22 million), beating a forecast of 558 million francs in a Reuters poll.Sika, which makes chemicals used in the construction and automotive industries, has been embroiled in a takeover battle with construction materials company Saint-Gobain for more than two years.Saint-Gobain has been trying to take control by buying the controlling stake of Sika''s founding family - an attempt that has been resisted by Sika''s management and many of its other shareholders.Sika won an important round in the court battle in October, but the founding family has appealed to a higher court in the Swiss canton of Zug, with a decision expected later this year.Sika said it aimed to increase sales by 6 percent to 8 percent in 2017 and achieve overall revenue of 6 billion francs for the first time.At the annual general meeting, the board of directors will propose a 31 percent increase in dividend for 2016 to 102 francs per bearer share and 17.00 francs per registered share, Sika said.The company, which aims to boost profit at a higher rate than sales, said it plans to open eight new factories and set up three national subsidiaries in 2017. ($1 = 1.0060 Swiss francs) (Reporting by John Revill in Zurich and Vishal Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/sika-results-idINL4N1G91Z4'|'2017-02-24T02:03:00.000+02:00' +'01196e7c09069c8c1c99fbadb911ff0703f2080f'|'Exclusive - Trump calls Chinese ''grand champions'' of currency manipulation'|'Business News - Thu Feb 23, 2017 - 10:32pm GMT Exclusive: Trump calls Chinese ''grand champions'' of currency manipulation U.S. President Donald Trump is interviewed by Reuters in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst By Steve Holland and David Lawder - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON President Donald Trump declared China the "grand champions" of currency manipulation on Thursday, just hours after his new Treasury secretary pledged a more methodical approach to analyzing Beijing''s foreign exchange practices. In an exclusive interview with Reuters, Trump said he has not "held back" in his assessment that China manipulates its yuan currency, despite not acting on a campaign promise to declare it a currency manipulator on his first day in office. "Well they, I think they''re grand champions at manipulation of currency. So I haven''t held back," Trump said. "We''ll see what happens." During his presidential campaign Trump frequently accused China of keeping its currency artificially low against the dollar to make Chinese exports cheaper, "stealing" American manufacturing jobs. But Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin told CNBC on Thursday he was not ready to pass judgment on China''s currency practices. Asked if the U.S. Treasury was planning to name China a currency manipulator any time soon, Mnuchin said he would follow its normal process of analyzing the currency practices of major U.S. trading partners. The Treasury is required to publish a report on these practices on April 15 and Oct. 15 each year. "We have a process within Treasury where we go through and look at currency manipulation across the board. We''ll go through that process. We''ll do that as we have in the past," Mnuchin said in his first televised interview since formally taking over the department last week. "We''re not making any judgments until we go continue that process." A formal declaration that China or any other country manipulates its currency requires the U.S. Treasury to seek negotiations to resolve the situation, a process that could end in punitive tariffs on the offender''s goods. The U.S. Treasury designated Taiwan and South Korea as currency manipulators in 1988, the year that Congress enacted the currency review law. China was the last country to get the designation, in 1994. The current situation is complicated because China''s central bank has spent billions of dollars in foreign exchange reserves in the past year to prop up the yuan to counter capital outflows. The International Monetary Fund said last year that the yuan''s value was broadly in line with its economic fundamentals. The U.S. Treasury also said in its last currency report in October that its view of China''s external imbalances had improved somewhat. Trump''s pronouncements about the yuan could also complicate matters for Mnuchin as he prepares for his first meeting next month with his Group of 20 finance minister counterparts in Baden Baden, Germany. (Reporting by David Lawder and Steve Holland, Writing by David Lawder; Editing by Paul Simao) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-china-currency-exclusive-idUKKBN1622PJ'|'2017-02-24T05:32:00.000+02:00' +'24eab53cb32a6be396ad3f1fd0dc3f3ecf6872c4'|'BRIEF-Golar LNG partners LP preliminary fourth quarter and financial year 2016 results'|' 51am EST BRIEF-Golar LNG partners LP preliminary fourth quarter and financial year 2016 results Feb 28 Golar LNG Partners LP * Golar LNG Partners LP preliminary fourth quarter and financial year 2016 results * Q4 revenue $114.9 million versus I/B/E/S view $114.5 million * Golar LNG Partners LP says Golar Tundra will also not contribute to operating earnings during 1Q 2017 * Golar LNG Partners LP says operating expenses are expected to be slightly higher in 1Q 2017 Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-golar-lng-partners-lp-preliminary-idUSASB0B2QW'|'2017-02-28T20:51:00.000+02:00' +'9d4078cfa0a0eeeb014cc776aae5985dfe87e190'|'Pub operator Greene King comparable sales up on Christmas boost'|' 59am GMT Pub operator Greene King comparable sales up on Christmas boost Pub operator Greene King Plc ( GNK.L ) said its comparable sales over the key three Christmas weeks were up 4.5 percent on strong sales growth in London. The company, which brews ales such as Old Speckled Hen, said like-for-like sales for the 40 weeks to Feb. 5 rose 1.1 percent. Its pub group notched up a record Christmas Day sales of 7.4 million pounds ($9.25 million), up 6 percent from a year earlier. The Suffolk-based brewer, which operates around 3,029 pubs, restaurants and hotels across England, Wales and Scotland, said it planned to dispose 50-60 pubs this year, raising proceeds of about 30-40 million pounds ($37-$50 million). ($1 = 0.8000 Rahul B Gopakumar Warrier) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-greene-kin-outlook-idUKKBN15P0PU'|'2017-02-10T14:59:00.000+02:00' +'e9be3ba7b6fef3de3d039f84903083bf6c555248'|'BRIEF-Valeant says Co, J. Michael Pearson, Pershing Square and William Ackman entered litigation management agreement'|' 24pm EST BRIEF-Valeant says Co, J. Michael Pearson, Pershing Square and William Ackman entered litigation management agreement Feb 13 Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc * Says co, j. Michael pearson and pershing square capital management and william ackman entered into a litigation management agreement * Valeant - pursuant to litigation management agreement, valeant parties and pershing square parties agreed to certain provisions with respect to management of a litigation * Valeant - litigation relates to the putative class action pending in the united states district court for the central district of california * Valeant - agreement will terminate on nov 1, 2017 if stipulation of settlement with regards to california action has not been executed by that date * Valeant - litigation agreement to terminate on nov 1, 2017 if stipulation of settlement related to california action has not been executed by that date * Valeant - in addition to agreements set out with respect to allergan litigation, litigation management agreement includes undertaking by pershing square parties * Valeant- first $10 million in legal fees, litigation expenses after date of litigation management deal for allergan litigation to be paid 50% by valeant, 50% by pershing square * Valeant - undertaking by pershing square parties to forbear from commencing action that arise out of, or relate to, claims alleged or facts asserted in allergan litigation * Valeant - pershing square capital management is the investment advisor to funds that beneficially owned 7.8% of common stock as of feb. 13, 2017 * Valeant - in connection with entrance into litigation management agreement, valeant parties and pershing square parties entered into mutual release of claims Source text ( bit.ly/2kDUaDC ) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1FY10O'|'2017-02-14T05:24:00.000+02:00' +'af564d62c4bcd39975c9d99c0988c8ebe8a7da24'|'UPDATE 1-Portugal to flesh out terms of Novo Banco sale with Lone Star'|'(Adds Lone Star statement)LISBON Feb 20 The Bank of Portugal will hold a final round of exclusive negotiations with U.S. private equity firm Lone Star as it seeks to flesh out the terms of the potential sale of state-rescued lender Novo Banco, the central bank said on Monday.The start of exclusive talks with Lone Star, which reaffirmed its commitment to reaching a deal, comes as Portugal faces an August 2017 deadline to sell the bank that was carved out of Banco Espirito Santo after its 2014 collapse."The Bank of Portugal has decided to select potential investor Lone Star for a concluding round of exclusive negotiations, with a view to finalising the possible terms of the sale," the central bank said in a short statement, without providing more details.Olivier Brahin, president of Lone Star for Europe, said in a separate statement his firm was "committed to confirming a final agreement with the Bank of Portugal to support Novo Banco" with capital and expertise and ensure it remains a strong player in the local banking sector."We are deeply confident in Novo Bancos future. Having conducted a thorough analysis of the bank over the last several months, we are convinced of Novo Bancos value to the strong future of the Portuguese economy."Lone Star said that upon reaching an agreement with the Bank of Portugal, it would work with the current Novo Banco management to strengthen the bank''s capital position and launch new financial products and services.The central bank last month picked Lone Star ahead of other prospective buyers including China''s Minsheng Financial Holding and U.S. fund Apollo.It said then that Lone Star had set conditions that could have an impact on public accounts, which the state sought to minimise via further talks.The first attempt to sell Novo Banco, which in 2014 received an injection of 3.9 billion euros in public funds, failed in 2015 after the state considered bids as too low.Even now, it is only expected to recover a portion of that money. The government has said that no option, including nationalisation, is ruled out for Novo Banco, but anything other than a sale would be a last-resort measure and would have to be discussed with European authorities. (Reporting by Andrei Khalip; Editing by Louise Heavens and Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/portugal-novobanco-lone-star-idINL8N1G544N'|'2017-02-20T14:07:00.000+02:00' +'fae0369d89e609ebce05a2b431e8894d33e48228'|'UPDATE 2-Norway proposes new mix and spending cap for $900 billion oil fund'|'Company News - Thu Feb 16, 2017 - 10:38am EST UPDATE 2-Norway proposes new mix and spending cap for $900 billion oil fund (Recasts with confirmation, adds economist, background) By Ole Petter Skonnord and Camilla Knudsen OSLO Feb 16 Norway''s $900-billion sovereign wealth fund, the world''s largest, should shift more of its investments into equities and away from bonds to counter the effects of ultra-low interest rates, the government said on Thursday. And in a major shift in policy, Norway''s minority right-wing government recommended cutting the amount of money it is allowed to spend each year from the fund to three from four percent. Norwegians have built up the fund from oil revenues and it is regarded as an insurance policy for when oil and gas reserves run out. Its value is the equivalent of $171,000 for every Norwegian man, woman and child. In recent years, the fund has diversified its investments away from Europe, and into the United States and Asia, and begun investing in real estate, raising its risk appetite in an attempt to increase long-term returns. Changing the country''s fiscal spending rule, in place since 2001, is a major policy departure. Until very recently, any suggestions of changing the rule have been rejected by successive prime ministers. But in October last year Prime Minister Erna Solberg raised the possibility that the guideline should be changed, due to the lower expected return of the fund. Finance Minister Siv Jensen told Reuters on Thursday she had consulted with parties outside government on the question ahead of the announcement. "We have been in a dialogue with other parties about this," she said in an interview, declining to say whether she believed she had a majority in parliament for the proposals. "My impression is that there is broad agreement for setting a good framework for the management of the fund," she said. ACCEPTABLE RISK Although any reallocation is expected to take several years, if the proposed change from 60 percent to 70 percent in equities was made today, the fund would move about $90 billion away from government bonds, which are dragging on its performance. At present the fund''s overseas investments are limited to 60 percent stocks, 35 percent bonds and five percent real estate. Under existing rules, governments can spend an average four percent of the wealth fund per year, but ultra-low global interest rates and other market conditions make it unlikely that the fund can earn returns of this magnitude, economists say. "All in all, the government considers an equity share of 70 per cent to carry acceptable risk. The downwards revision of the return estimate underpins the long investment horizon of the fund, a prerequisite for holding a high share of equities," Jensen said in a statement. The change to three percent from four percent will constrain the current and future governments'' ability to increase annual spending, and would be a tightening compared to forecasts made by the central bank, Nordea Markets economist Erik Bruce said. "In other words it opens the room for more expansionary monetary policy," he wrote in a research note, while adding that in the current situation the central bank was still likely to keep rates on hold. Solberg''s right-wing minority coalition government plans a record 2017 deficit of 225 billion Norwegian crowns ($27.03 billion) to be covered by the fund, corresponding to exactly three percent of the fund. (Additional reporting by Gwladys Fouche and Terje Solsvik; Writing by Gwladys Fouche; Editing by Alexander Smith) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/norway-swf-idUSL8N1G15K2'|'2017-02-16T22:38:00.000+02:00' +'ed71dbe95f78d32ff9df7881f57bd8c067f4e66a'|'Facebook CEO warns against reversal of global thinking'|'Business 2:25am GMT Facebook CEO warns against reversal of global thinking By David Ingram - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Facebook Inc ( FB.O ) Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg laid out a vision on Thursday of his company serving as a bulwark against rising isolationism, writing in a letter to users that the company''s platform could be the "social infrastructure" for the globe. In a 5,700-word manifesto, Zuckerberg, founder of the world''s largest social network, quoted Abraham Lincoln, the U.S. president during the country''s 19th century Civil War known for his eloquence, and offered a philosophical sweep that was unusual for a business magnate. Zuckerberg''s comments come at a time when many people and nations around the world are taking an increasingly inward view. U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to put "America first" in his inaugural address in January. That followed Britain''s decision last June to exit the European Union. "Across the world there are people left behind by globalisation, and movements for withdrawing from global connection," Zuckerberg wrote, without naming specific movements. The question, the 32-year-old executive said, was whether "the path ahead is to connect more or reverse course," adding that he stands for bringing people together. Quoting from a letter Lincoln wrote to Congress in the depths of the Civil War, he wrote to Facebook''s 1.9 billion users: "The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present." Zuckerberg said that Facebook could move far beyond its roots as a network for friends and families to communicate, suggesting that it can play a role in five areas, all of which he referred to as "communities," ranging from strengthening traditional institutions, to providing help during and after crises, to boosting civic engagement. In comments on Facebook, some users praised Zuckerberg''s note for staying positive, while others declared "globalism" dead. Facebook has been under pressure to more closely police hoaxes, fake news and other controversial content, although the concerns have had little impact on its finances. The company reported 2016 revenue of $27.6 billion, up 54 percent from a year earlier. One area where Zuckerberg wrote that Facebook would do better would be suggesting "meaningful communities." Some 100 million users are members of groups that are "very meaningful" to them, he wrote, representing only about 5 percent of users. Facebook is also using artificial intelligence more to flag photos and videos that need human review, Zuckerberg wrote. One-third of all reports to Facebook''s review team are generated by artificial intelligence, he wrote. Zuckerberg''s letter was "a bit more ambitious and a bit more of the 30,000-foot view than I see from most tech company CEOs," Peter Micek, global policy and legal counsel at Access Now, an international digital rights group, said in a phone interview. But Zuckerberg stayed away from certain subjects on which Facebook could be vulnerable to criticism, mentioning the word "privacy" only once, Micek said. (Reporting by David Ingram; Editing by Leslie Adler) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-facebook-zuckerberg-idUKKBN15W05D'|'2017-02-17T09:25:00.000+02:00' +'86b40eb82f3c3a7aab3b443bf0df5a8c29e33403'|'EU capital rules treat insurers like traders, trade body says'|' 14am GMT EU capital rules treat insurers like traders, trade body says LONDON New European Union capital rules treat insurers like traders making risky short-term bets and require them to set aside too much capital, trade body Insurance Europe said on Wednesday. Fifteen years in the making, the Solvency II regulations came into force in Europe in this month, with the aim of ensuring that companies have enough capital to cover underwriting, investment and operational risk. British insurers Prudential ( PRU.L ) and Legal & General ( LGEN.L ) have complained that the rules make it harder for them to compete with insurers globally. "The many layers of conservativeness built into the design of Solvency II and its tendency to treat insurers like traders instead of long-term investors could harm consumers, long-term investment and the economy," Insurance Europe said in a statement. "Policymakers need to take action to make the framework more reflective of reality." Insurers have to calculate the level of assets they need today to pay future liabilities such as pensions on the basis that interest rates will stay low for the next 20 years, which Insurance Europe described as "an unlikely scenario". The European Commission is due to review the Solvency II rules in 2018. (Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; Editing by David Goodman) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-insurance-regulations-idUKKBN15G3L6'|'2017-02-01T14:14:00.000+02:00' +'194c68e1340265d79668844fb225e7857a2d2e93'|'Arriva Rail North staff to consider strike action over role of train guards - Business'|'Disputes over the role of train guards are set to spread to another rail company after a new strike ballot was announced.The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said it was in dispute with Arriva Rail North, which runs the Northern franchise, and its members will vote on whether to take action.The union said the company failed to provide any assurances about the future of guards roles.The RMT is embroiled in a long-running row with Southern Railway and recently announced a ballot of its members on Merseyrail over the same issue.The RMT general secretary, Mick Cash, said its position on driver-only operation (DOO) was clear, adding: We will not agree to any extensions of DOO and will fight to retain the safety-critical role of the guard and to keep a guard on the train.Is Britains rail network getting worse? Read more We asked Arriva North whether they were prepared to guarantee a second person on all passenger services operated by the company and whether that second person would retain full operational responsibility, for train despatch, platform train interface and current rule book requirements for dealing with contingency arrangements, such as evacuation and protection of the train.The response from the company was we are not in a position to offer either of these guarantees at this present time. This has been particularly disappointing as Arriva North have reneged on their previous position when they stated they were prepared to offer guarantees around a second person on board trains in addition to the driver.This dispute, and the ballot for industrial action, were entirely preventable if the company had listened to the unions deep-seated safety concerns, had taken them seriously and had put passenger safety before profit. The union remains available for talks. An Arriva Rail North spokesman said: We are in the early stages of developing our modernisation plans to bring customers a better railway, so we believe the RMT is extremely premature in calling a ballot for strikes. During our discussions this week we offered commitments to consult fully with our people, customers and key stakeholders. We want to protect jobs and pay as we work together to provide safe, secure and accessible services for our customers. We want to continue talking with the RMT.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/feb/09/arriva-rail-north-staff-strike-action-role-train-guards-rmt'|'2017-02-10T00:08:00.000+02:00' +'017994c8dfad9ad6a750acdcad7d887a183f45a3'|'BRIEF-Petrus Resources announces increase to previously announced private placement'|' 13pm EST BRIEF-Petrus Resources announces increase to previously announced private placement Feb 17 Petrus Resources Ltd: * Petrus resources announces increase to previously announced private placement * Petrus Resources - increased size of non-brokered private placement to up to 4.35 million shares at a purchase price of $2.53 per common share '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-petrus-resources-announces-increas-idUSASB0B135'|'2017-02-18T07:13:00.000+02:00' +'1e4582573e3c552291e4088f9d9c0de746052ab6'|'Peugeot sees Trump''s Iran stance boosting market lead'|'Business News 10pm EST Peugeot sees Trump''s Iran stance boosting market lead A Peugeot car logo is seen on media day at the Paris auto show, in Paris, France, September 29, 2016. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier PARIS France''s PSA Group ( PEUP.PA ) is pushing ahead with an Iranian plant investment and production ramp-up in the face of a hardened U.S. stance against Tehran under President Donald Trump that could play to the carmaker''s advantage, a senior executive said. The group''s Peugeot brand is about to begin production with local partner Iran Khodro, while PSA is also preparing to invest more than 100 million euros ($106 million) in a new Citroen plant with partner SAIPA, PSA Middle East chief Jean-Christophe Quemard told a press call on Monday. Peugeot returned to Iran last year after an international deal to lift sanctions in return for curbs on Tehran''s nuclear activities, and has reclaimed its place as the country''s top-selling car brand with a 32 percent market share last year, according to IHS Automotive data. The carmaker inked a 400 million euro ($424 million) Peugeot production agreement last June and a 300 million deal for Citroen four months later. The renewed pressure from Washington will probably extend PSA''s lead as rivals hold back from re-entering Iran, Quemard told the press call from a Tehran automotive conference. "This is our opportunity to accelerate," he said. "It will become even harder for American companies to operate, that''s for sure. We''ve opened up a lead and we plan to hold on to it." Within two weeks of his inauguration, Trump responded to an Iranian missile test with fresh U.S. sanctions, warning that Tehran was "playing with fire". General Motors ( GM.N ) and other American-owned brands last had a significant Iranian presence before the country''s 1979 Islamic Revolution. Other western and Japanese carmakers that had avoided Iran under recent sanctions are now eyeing its potential. IHS expects the market to grow 8 percent to 1.35 million vehicles this year and to 1.8 million by 2024. German brands may be treading carefully because - unlike French rivals - Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ), Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ) and BMW ( BMWG.DE ) have extensive U.S. sales and production. Daimler and VW''s Scania have unveiled Iranian deals in trucks and buses but have been slower to commit to new car production investments. Mansour Moazami, Iran''s deputy industry minister, told the Tehran conference that VW may soon finalize a production deal with an Iranian company. VW had no immediate comment when contacted by Reuters. Renault ( RENA.PA ), PSA''s larger domestic rival, is also adding production and new models with Iranian partners and may overtake Peugeot''s sales by 2019 thanks to its low-cost vehicle architectures, IHS predicts. ($1 = 0.9433 euros) (Reporting by Laurence Frost and Gilles Guillaume; Additional reporting by Andreas Cremer in Berlin and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin in Beirut; Editing by David Holmes) Next In Business News Dollar index hits three-week high on hopes of U.S. tax cuts NEW YORK The dollar rose to a near three-week high against a basket of currencies on Monday, lifted by hopes of U.S. tax cuts to stoke corporate profits and investments as well as bets on whether the Federal Reserve might raise interest rates more quickly.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-peugeot-iran-idUSKBN15S215'|'2017-02-14T00:06:00.000+02:00' +'63662466d604380f8f97bfbf061f264112e15266'|'Advertisings old guard face new brand of change'|'Advertisings old guard face new brand of change Publicis reshuffle raises questions about succession at WPP, Omnicom and IPG Read next Former ARM chairman delays joining board of tech unicorn Ve Interactive Friday, 3 February, 2017 Digital disruption to the ''Mad Men'' age of advertising, along with decades-long tenures of the bosses at the leading agencies, makes serious change inevitable FT montage by: David Bond in London, Matthew Garrahan in New York and Harriet Agnew in Paris A generational changing of the guard at the worlds biggest and most powerful marketing agencies began last week after the head of Frances Publicis , Maurice Lvy, finally bowed out as chief executive after three decades at the helm. Mr Lvy is one of a small clique of rival advertising executives to have steered the advertising world through its transition from Mad Men -like decades of boozy creativity to take in digital disruption from the ad-blocking, algorithms and big data of recent years. Mr Lvy, who will become chairman of the supervisory board of Publicis, and rivals Sir Martin Sorrell at WPP , John Wren at Omnicom and Michael Roth at Interpublic boast a combined total of 92 years at the top. Between them, and their many satellite agencies around the world, they have a strong claim to have shaped what people eat, watch and wear. David Kershaw, who has run London agency M&C Saatchi since 1994, says Mr Lvys move has renewed the focus on what rivals do next when it comes to leadership. Maurice Lvys departure was easy to predict, he says. Its much harder to see at WPP but it will inevitably mean more questions will be asked about other companies. The advertising industry has changed fundamentally during their tenures, and not just in the end of the long lunches that used to define the working day until relatively recently. As technology upends the buying and selling of advertising, there are new questions facing the big four communications groups and they are likely to be settled not in Londons Soho or on Madison Avenue in New York but in Silicon Valley. Technology is a new tool for creative people. If youre a painter, its like youre discovering new colours Yannick Bollor, Havas chairman and chief executive Digital advertising is growing much faster than spending on television, which is largely flat around the world. In the UK, digital advertising grew from 224m in 2000 to an estimated 10bn in 2016 half of the total UK spend on advertising, according to the Advertising Association and Warc Expenditure. In the US, digital spending in the third quarter of 2016 hit $17.6bn, according to the Internet Advertising Bureau. But about two-thirds of this total is going to two companies: Google and Facebook. You have two dominant companies Facebook and Google and that will cause extraordinary transformation in advertising going forward, says Claire Enders, head of media research firm Enders. As an example of the growing power of the online groups, WPP, the worlds largest advertising agency, says that in 2016 it spent approximately $5bn on advertising for its clients with Google, the companys number one platform by spend. In second place were two companies controlled by Rupert Murdoch 21st Century Fox and News Corp with $2.5bn. Facebook was next with $1.7bn. The increasing market power of Google and Facebook has led some media executives to ask whether brands would be better served by dealing directly with the technology companies and cutting out the agencies altogether. The concern for some investors is that, in a world where effectively the purchase of advertising is becoming automated, dealing directly with an online group might be better for the client, says Thomas Singlehurst, an analyst with Citi. The dominance of Google and Facebook could have big implications for media buying groups the companies that buy ad space on behalf of clients. But the two Silicon Valley companies have shown no sign yet of encroaching into the other side of the ad industry: creating the campaigns that persuade consumers to dip into their wallets. There is no substitute for brilliant, bold creativity, says Neil Hughston, chief executive of Duke, an independent agency that has worked for Rolls-Royce and Britains Imperial War Museum. Marc Pritchard, chief brand officer at P&G, used a speech at this weeks IAB annual leadership meeting to call for improvements in digital advertising practices, describing some marketing online as crappy. His words give strength to the belief that there will always be a central role for creative talent and marketing savvy. Yannick Bollor, chairman and chief executive of Frances Havas Group , argues that technology has opened up creative opportunities because platforms such as Facebook, Snap and Instagram represent new avenues to bring creative content to consumers. Technology is a new tool for creative people. If youre a painter, its like youre discovering new colours. You have a bigger palette, says Mr Bollor. This bigger palette may mean that the next generation of industry leader will need a different set of tools, however. Sir Martin, Mr Wren and Mr Roth all come from an accountancy or management consultancy background perfect for a period characterised by agency acquisitions and deal making. At Publicis the responsibility for grappling with the industrys digital future now rests with Arthur Sadoun, who is succeeding Mr Levy, having previously headed its creative agencies. The companys rivals have yet to make public any future plans, even if questions are being asked among investors and analysts. Related article Maurice Lvy stepping down from French advertising agency marks changing of guard Friday, 3 February, 2017 At WPP, in particular, succession is a question that has dogged Sir Martin Sorrell for almost a decade. At 71 and with the added challenge of a new baby to deal with, he has yet to show any sign of slowing down. I will carry on as long as I can or as long as people will have me, he once told the FT. The big four holding companies face other challenges beyond succession and digital disruption. An investigation last year by the US-based Association of National Advertisers alleged that US agencies were using non-transparent business practices to enrich themselves on the back of their clients advertising budgets. Each of the big four holding companies have also been contacted by the US Department of Justice in connection with an investigation into bidding for video production contracts . Mr Pritchard of P&G also used his speech this week to call on the marketing industry to tackle transparency. We have an antiquated media buying and selling system that was clearly not built for this technology revolution, he said. We have a media supply chain that is murky at best and fraudulent at worst. Whoever succeeds the current generation of advertising leaders, they will have to adapt to a rapidly changing advertising world. And yet for all the digital mayhem, creativity is still key. What will remain as indispensable are the ideas, Mr Levy told the Financial Times last week. The sparkle of an idea that the brain and the heart can generate. Michael Roth, Sir Martin Sorrell, Maurice Lvy and John Wren (left to right) FT montage / Bloomberg The modern day Mad Men Sir Martin Sorrell, WPP In the 32 years since Sir Martin Sorrell, 71, first invested in the shopping basket company Wire and Plastic Products he has turned the advertising upstart into the worlds largest media and communications conglomerate. With annual revenues of 12bn and a market capitalisation of 23.6bn, WPP now has 200,000 employees in 113 countries around the world and Sir Martin has become one of the UKs best known and best paid chief executives. From his first (hostile) acquisition of J Walter Thompson in 1987 to the purchases of the globes biggest media buying agency GroupM and creative networks such as Ogilvy and Mather, WPP has been at the centre of the advertising industrys two decades long drive for consolidation and scale. Maurice Lvy, Publicis The French-Moroccan businessman who transformed Publicis from a French leader to the third-largest advertising agency in the world by revenues will step down as chief executive in May to become chairman of the supervisory board. Although a proposed $35bn megamerger between Publicis and Omnicom eluded him, Mr Lvy, 74, who began his 45-year career at Publicis as computer programmer, is credited with recognising early the value of digital. In three decades of aggressive dealmaking since Mr Lvy took over as chief executive in 1987, Publicis has grown from making 220m in revenues to 9.6bn in 2015, and doubling revenues in the past decade alone. Michael Roth, IPG As highly acquisitive rivals have left the advertising market increasingly concentrated, Interpublic the fourth largest of the big four agencies has been tipped as a target. However Michael Roth, chief executive since 2005, has shied away from selling, saying the plan for IPG was keeping our heads down and delivering. The bet has paid off: under Mr Roth, 71, IPG has powered a turnround in fortunes, posting 6 per cent revenue growth in 2015, outpacing its competitors. However, sales growth at IPG slowed last year, which Mr Roth, a Brooklyn native, attributes to uncertainty surrounding Brexit and the macroeconomy. John Wren, Omnicom As fierce competition has roared between the heads of rival networks, Omnicom chief executive John Wren has stayed on the sidelines. Mr Wren, a 64-year-old former accountant from Brooklyn who took the helm in 1997, has kept a low profile in an industry awash with colourful personalities until, in 2014, coming close to striking a $35bn merger with Publicis that would have put him in pole position to succeed Maurice Lvy. He said after the deal collapsed that it was never about me or my ego, but about Omnicoms 70,000 employees. Instead, Mr Wren has continued to quietly steer the New York-based agency, which makes $15bn in revenues a year, into the digital era, emphasising data and analytics as more advertising migrates online. Further reading'|'ft.com'|'http://www.ft.com/rss/companies/europe'|'https://www.ft.com/content/405f8ad2-e869-11e6-967b-c88452263daf'|'2017-02-02T12:01:00.000+02:00' +'2166ddc2e8a5f70df20e3f32b122a08e55a67d1e'|'Japan Inc signals boost to domestic capex but less keen on the U.S. -Reuters poll'|' 11:11pm GMT Japan Inc signals boost to domestic capex but less keen on the U.S. -Reuters poll People cross a street in a business district in central Tokyo, Japan, December 8, 2015. REUTERS/Thomas Peter By Tetsushi Kajimoto - TOKYO TOKYO One third of Japanese firms are looking to lift business investment at home in the next financial year, but companies are less bullish about capital spending in the United States due to uncertainty over the Trump administration''s policies, a Reuters poll showed. Japanese auto firms, however, were responsive to President Donald Trump''s campaign to put ''America First'' with nearly a third looking to boost local procurement and others planning to raise factory utilisation rates. The Reuters Corporate Survey found 33 percent of companies expect to boost domestic capital spending while 57 percent aim to maintain the previous year''s levels - a hopeful sign for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe''s efforts to engineer a sustainable economic recovery. It is the first broad poll to gauge Japan Inc''s business investment plans for the year beginning in April. Japanese firms tend to be very cautious in their initial capital spending forecasts and revise up as the year progresses. "This is a positive sign," said Hidenobu Tokuda, senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute, who reviewed the survey results. "Japanese manufacturers have taken a wait-and-see approach about capital expenditure due to slack overseas demand but they are easing this stance," he said. Any overall rise in domestic capital spending would follow a 5.5 percent increase projected for big firms during the current fiscal year which comes after a 3.4 percent increase in the previous year, according to central bank data. In contrast to plans for Japan, only nine percent of firms which took part in the Jan. 31-Feb. 14 survey currently want to boost capital spending in the United States while 79 percent saw it flat. The nine percent was also far less than the 21 percent which aim to boost capital expenditure overseas in countries other than in the U.S. The monthly survey, conducted for Reuters by Nikkei Research, polled 531 big and mid-size firms and between 190 and 240 firms answered questions on capital spending. Around 13-14 auto firms, including carmakers and their suppliers, responded to questions about their U.S. business plans. Just over half of Japanese firms said they believe U.S. demand will expand over the next year or two with many respondents saying they believed Trump''s policies would create jobs and spur consumer spending. Twenty-seven percent see demand flat while the rest predicted a contraction. But when asked if there had been any change in stance towards their U.S.-related businesses given Trump''s statements and actions since becoming president, 85 percent said there had been none. "We don''t know yet what the U.S. is going to do," wrote a manager at chemicals company, an answer echoed by many other respondents who said they were taking a wait-and-see stance. Japanese companies are weighing both negative factors such as border tax and higher tariffs as well as positive factors such as deregulation and tax cuts, all of which remain unclear, said Tokuda at Mizuho Research. Japanese auto firms were more cautious about the outlook for U.S. demand than other sectors. After record sales of more than 17.5 million vehicles in 2016, many auto executives believe the market is peaking although some consultancies are now calling for a new record to be set this year due to Trump''s policies. But the Japanese auto industry was the most responsive sector to Trump''s ''America First'' campaign with nearly a third of the 13 auto firms responding looking to boost local procurement and a fifth saying they planned to lift factory utilisation. Automakers in particular have come under fire from Trump for not creating sufficient U.S. jobs. That compares with just 4 percent of Japanese firms overall planning to boost U.S. procurement and 3 percent planning to increase capacity utilisation. To view a graphic, click tmsnrt.rs/2kCnBtZ (Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto and Izumi Nakagawa; Additional reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-companies-idUKKBN15Y0XT'|'2017-02-20T06:11:00.000+02:00' +'4e016579f01a04215cac77f2b1c90717f62e20fe'|'Daimler chief Zetsche''s pay drops 21 percent in 2016'|'FRANKFURT Daimler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche''s total pay including bonuses dropped 21 percent to 7.6 million euros ($8 million) last year, when the group reported a slight decline in annual operating profit, the company''s annual report showed on Tuesday.Zetsche, who has for years been one of Germany''s best-paid CEOs, pocketed a total of 13.8 million euros in 2016 once share awards are included, but this was also down on the year before''s total of 14.4 million euros, the report showed.($1 = 0.9416 euros)\(Reporting by Maria Sheahan and Patricia Uhlig; Editing by Adrian Croft and David Holmes)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/daimler-chief-idINKBN15T1MC'|'2017-02-14T09:59:00.000+02:00' +'adb74aea35439e1c0a32c04b6c63642507ae63f5'|'Greece should be able to borrow on markets from mid-2018, ESM head says'|'Business 9:29pm GMT Greece should be able to borrow on markets from mid-2018, ESM head says European Stability Mechanism Managing Director Klaus Regling speaks during a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents'' Club of Japan in Tokyo, Japan, January 26, 2016. REUTERS/Yuya Shino BERLIN Greece will probably be able to borrow money on the markets from the middle of next year, the head of the euro zone bailout fund told German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung. In comments due to be published on Wednesday, Klaus Regling said he expected that from mid-2018 Greece would "stand on its own feet and be able to get money on the markets by itself". He also said: "If the next 18 months are used well, I''m optimistic that this is the last programme that Greece will need to do." (Reporting by Michelle Martin; Editing by Robin Pomeroy) Next In Business News Chancellor Hammond closes in on budget goal LONDON Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond appears to be on track to meet his target for improving the country''s weak public finances this year, potentially giving him a bit of room to ease the squeeze on spending in a budget plan next month. Oil rises 1 percent as OPEC sees higher compliance with cuts NEW YORK Oil prices ended about 1 percent higher after touching three-week highs on Tuesday on OPEC''s optimism for greater compliance with its deal with other producers including Russia to curb output in an effort to clear a glut that has weighed on the market. Verizon Communications Inc said on Tuesday it would buy Yahoo Inc''s core business for $4.48 billion (3.9 billion), lowering its original offer by $350 million in the wake of two massive cyber attacks at the internet company. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-greece-regling-idUKKBN1602LR'|'2017-02-22T04:29:00.000+02:00' +'04b007e740865101744b0b7f8a7b205cc923fc73'|'Aldi overtakes Co-op to be Britain''s fifth biggest supermarket - Kantar Worldpanel'|'Business News - Tue Feb 7, 2017 - 8:25am GMT Aldi overtakes Co-op to be Britain''s fifth biggest supermarket - Kantar Worldpanel A company logo is pictured outside a branch of an Aldi supermarket in Manchester, Britain, March 17, 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo LONDON Discounter Aldi [ALDIEI.UL] has overtaken the Co-operative ( 42TE.L ) to become Britain''s fifth biggest supermarket chain, industry data showed on Tuesday. Market researcher Kantar Worldpanel said Aldi sales rose 12.4 percent year-on-year in the 12 weeks to Jan. 29, taking its market share to 6.2 percent, ahead of the Co-op''s 6.0 percent. Sales at market leader Tesco ( TSCO.L ) rose 0.3 percent and at No. 4 Morrisons ( MRW.L ) they were up 1.9 percent. They were flat at No. 2 Sainsbury''s ( SBRY.L ) but fell 1.9 percent at No. 3 Asda ( WMT.N ). Grocery inflation for the 12 week period was 0.7 percent. (Reporting by James Davey, Editing by Paul Sandle) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-grocers-kantar-idUKKBN15M0OT'|'2017-02-07T15:25:00.000+02:00' +'ea76caf7e3796da20077060c2914d591edecf856'|'Nikkei falls to 2-1/2 week lows on strong yen; financials weak'|' 1:12am EST Nikkei falls to 2-1/2 week lows on strong yen; financials weak TOKYO Feb 27 Japan''s Nikkei share average fell to 2-1/2 week lows on Monday as the yen strengthened and as financial stocks dropped on lower U.S. yields. The Nikkei ended down 0.9 percent at 19,107.47 points, its lowest closing level since Feb. 9. The broader Topix fell 1.0 percent to 1,534.00 and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 declined 1.1 percent to 13,741.44. (Reporting by Ayai Tomisawa; Editing by Kim Coghill) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-close-idUSL3N1GC2EY'|'2017-02-27T13:12:00.000+02:00' +'02f33e2c5eae2b1151e825efc91bb2a2d7da2b2c'|'SoftBank-backed Indian e-tailer Snapdeal predicts profits in 2 years'|' 13am EST SoftBank-backed Indian e-tailer Snapdeal predicts profits in 2 years * Snapdeal taking steps to cuts costs, boost efficiency * CEO says no need for immediate capital unless any acquisition * Logistics arm Vulcan to turn profitable next month By Sankalp Phartiyal and Euan Rocha MUMBAI, Feb 6 Indian e-commerce firm Snapdeal expects to turn profitable in the next two years, its CEO said, as the company cuts costs and boosts efficiency in a market currently dominated by homegrown Flipkart and U.S. internet giant Amazon. Kunal Bahl, who co-founded Snapdeal in 2010, also told Reuters in an interview that the online marketplace provider backed by Japan''s SoftBank Group did not immediately need to raise capital unless it makes an acquisition. A burgeoning Indian middle class'' rapid uptake of wireless high-speed internet has prompted buyers to shop online, boosting sales at e-tailers and making the country''s internet services market one of the world''s fastest growing. The value of goods sold online in India is expected to jump tenfold to $188 billion by 2025, according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch note last September. High competition and steep discounting, has however meant most big online retailers are losing money. Snapdeal was valued at $6.5 billion after a fund-raising last year. But valuations of Indian e-commerce firms are generally believed to have softened since then. Fidelity Investments has marked down the value of its holding in Flipkart ( IPO-FLPK.N ) by around 36 percent. Snapdeal reported a loss of 29.6 billion rupees ($441 million) in the financial year to March 31, 2016, according to regulatory filings, but Bahl said they were steadily improving. "I see a relatively clear line of sight to (profit) and we''ve been making great progress in that direction also," Bahl said on Monday. "We needed capital to build the infrastructure which we have, now we have to take control of our destiny." Snapdeal''s EBIDTA, or earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, for the nine months of the current financial year has improved by about 40 percent from a year earlier, while commissions have grown 3.5 times, he said. Marketplace providers like Snapdeal earn commissions from sellers on their platform as a percentage of value of goods sold. Snapdeal, with 12 percent share of the so-called gross merchandise value, lags Flipkart''s 43 percent and Amazon''s 28 percent, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch''s estimates for 2016. Bahl said while Snapdeal, which also counts Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding and Taiwan''s Foxconn as investors, did not look at gross merchandise value as a metric for growth, its focus was on getting good-quality products and on-time delivery at the lowest possible cost. Snapdeal''s captive logistics arm Vulcan Express will turn profitable next month, Bahl said, thanks to significant investment over the past two years. Vulcan has helped Snapdeal make inroads into the far-flung corners of India and building the unit "thoughtfully" without excess capacity has helped, he said. Snapdeal, which also uses third-party logistics services to deliver products to customers, has plans to allow Vulcan to seek external business in the coming months, Bahl said. "I just don''t think today that it''s viable to build a 500-city network in India with only one customer as a logistics company." ($1 = 67.1650 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal and Euan Rocha; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/snapdeal-ceo-idUSL4N1FR2XI'|'2017-02-06T18:13:00.000+02:00' +'d27dae27d4f0340b45b8c869124b6e2d594e046f'|'Euro zone, IMF reach agreement on a common stance on Greece - official'|' 53am GMT Euro zone, IMF reach agreement on a common stance on Greece - official Dutch Finance Minister and Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem looks down during a eurozone finance ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium, January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Vidal BRUSSELS Euro zone lenders and the International Monetary Fund have reached an agreement between themselves on a common stance they will present to Greece, a senior euro zone official said. A meeting between the lenders and Greek officials is scheduled for later on Friday, the head of euro zone finance ministers Jeroen Dijsselbloem said in The Hague. "There is agreement to present a united front to the Greeks," the euro zone official said, adding that the outcome of Friday''s meeting with the Greeks was still unclear and it was unclear if Athens would accept the proposals. "What comes out of it, we will see," the official said. A united stance among euro zone governments and the IMF is a breakthrough because they have differed for months on the size of the primary surplus Greece should reach in 2018 and maintain for years later as well as the issue of debt relief. Those differences have hindered efforts to unlock further funding for Greece under its latest euro zone bailout programme. (Reporting By Jan Strupczewski; Editing by Alastair Macdonald) Next In Business News Unrealistic to see UK/EU trade deal in two years - EU representative EDINBURGH It is unrealistic for Britain to expect to negotiate its exit from the European Union and reach a free trade agreement in two years and both will probably need an implementation phase, the head of the European Commission''s office in Britain said.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-greece-stance-idUKKBN15P15H'|'2017-02-10T17:53:00.000+02:00' +'70c74674126e80b83cecb8484cf2fb26baca9907'|'Thyssenkrupp expects CSA sale to lead to net loss'|'FRANKFURT Thyssenkrupp ( TKAG.DE ) expects the sale of CSA to Ternium ( TX.N ) to lead to a net loss as it takes a 900 million euro ($946.5 million) writedown on the Brazilian steel mill.Thyssenkrupp has agreed to sell CSA to Ternium for an enterprise value of 1.5 billion euros ($1.58 billion). The deal will result in a cash inflow with closing, expected by the end of September, while the writedown is taken at signing.Thyssenkrupp previously said it expected net income for its financial year through the end of September to clearly improve from the year-earlier level of 296 million euros.(Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Victoria Bryan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-csa-m-a-ternium-idINKBN1610Y2'|'2017-02-22T06:50:00.000+02:00' +'56f92570b9ae176cdc2eb3221329c6f5847bfd44'|'Arris nears deal to acquire Brocade''s networking business - sources'|'Business News - Wed Feb 22, 2017 - 4:40am GMT Arris nears deal to acquire Brocade''s networking business - sources By Liana B. Baker Set-top box maker Arris International Plc ( ARRS.O ) is nearing a deal to acquire Brocade Communications Systems Inc''s ( BRCD.O ) networking equipment business for roughly $1 billion, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. An acquisition of the Brocade unit, which makes equipment that boost high-speed internet service for consumers and businesses, would add a suite of products to Arris'' portfolio that can serve areas with high demand for bandwidth, such as universities and airports. The deal could be announced as early as Wednesday, the sources said, cautioning there was always a chance for the negotiations to end without a deal. The sources asked not to be identified because the discussions were confidential. Arris and Brocade, which is set to be acquired by chipmaker Broadcom Ltd ( AVGO.O ) in a $5.5 billion deal that is pending regulatory approval, declined to comment. The divestiture of Brocade''s networking unit, if completed, would be the first sale of assets that Broadcom is aiming to complete, and likely the most valuable, the sources said. Broadcom has said that it plans to sell Brocade''s networking business to avoid competing with its top customers such as Cisco Systems Inc ( CSCO.O ). Broadcom declined to comment. Most of the unit, known as the "network edge" business, was obtained by Brocade as part of its $1.5 billion acquisition of Ruckus Wireless last year. Reuters reported last month that Suwanee, Georgia-based company Arris was one of the bidders for the unit. Arris, which has a market capitalization of $5.6 billion, makes electronics such as modems and set-top boxes used by cable and satellite companies. It closed a deal last year to buy British rival Pace Plc for $2.1 billion, and incorporated itself in Britain in a deal structured as a corporate tax inversion. (Reporting by Liana B. Baker in New York; Editing by Himani Sarkar) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-brocade-networking-arris-idUKKBN1610DR'|'2017-02-22T11:40:00.000+02:00' +'96a6a134f65973127f52244acc34f626f4181227'|'China will step up anti-money laundering supervision - central bank'|'Business News - Fri Feb 17, 2017 - 11:43am GMT China will step up anti-money laundering supervision - central bank People walk past the headquarters of the People''s Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank, as two paramilitary police officials patrol around it in Beijing November 20, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo BEIJING China will strengthen anti-money laundering supervision activities and improve mechanisms to prevent money laundering, the central bank said on Friday. Financial risks remain and there are still challenges to financial stability, the People''s Bank of China said on its website. China added new rules on cross-border capital flows in December as part of what it said were measures to prevent money laundering. (Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by Richard Borsuk) Next In Business News Britain, China pledge to promote free trade SHANGHAI China and Britain have pledged to promote free trade and cooperate on building a open world economy, fanning efforts to shore up what the two governments have called a "golden era" in their relationship, the Xinhua news agency reported on Friday.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-cenbank-idUKKBN15W15T'|'2017-02-17T18:43:00.000+02:00' +'81b1c8090d5607cba7476a109e5c2d4a2496b557'|'Asia stocks ease, dollar steadies after Fed-led losses'|'By Nichola Saminather - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Asian stocks pulled back from a 19-month high on Thursday, while the dollar tried to steady from losses suffered in the wake of the U.S. Federal Reserve minutes indicating a cautious approach to more interest rate increases.MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was fractionally lower.Japan''s Nikkei slid 0.1 percent, while Australian shares retreated 0.3 percent.Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up almost 0.2 percent, its ninth straight record-close.That optimism however, didn''t flow through to other indexes, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both closing about 0.1 percent lower.The dollar advanced in early trade as investors parsed the Fed''s January meeting minutes, which said that it may be appropriate to raise rates again "fairly soon" should jobs and inflation data be in line with expectations. [nL1N1G71HL]Nonetheless, markets focused on policymakers'' uncertainty due to a lack of clarity on President Donald Trump''s economic program, and voting members generally saw only a "modest risk" of inflation increasing significantly and believed the Fed would have "ample time" to respond if it did."These minutes reflect this mindset of a moderate path. They dont see a smoking gun for them to speed up. Theres way too much uncertainty about the content and timing on fiscal stimulus and their impact," said Robert Tipp, chief investment strategist at PGIM Fixed Income in Newark, New Jersey.The dollar edged up slightly to 113.32 yen, after tumbling as much as 0.7 percent on Thursday.The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of trade-weighted peers, added almost 0.2 percent to 101.39.The euro eased 0.1 percent to $1.05495. On Wednesday, it fell below $1.05 for the first time in six weeks on concern anti European Union candidate Marine Le Pen could win France''s presidential election in May.The common currency closed up 0.2 percent as the threat f higher U.S. rates eased following the Fed minutes, and on news of the offer of an alliance from veteran centrist Francois Bayrou to independent candidate Emmanuel Macron that could give the latter a boost in the election. [nL8N1G760G]In commodities, oil prices gained in early Asian trade after data from the American Petroleum Institute showed a surprise drop in U.S. crude stocks last week. Official data from the U.S. Department of Energy''s Energy Information Administration is expected on Thursday.U.S. crude added 0.8 percent to $54.02.The stronger dollar dragged gold lower, with the precious metal slipping 0.1 percent to $1,236.90 an ounce.(Reporting by Nichola Saminather; Additional reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idINKBN16203E'|'2017-02-22T21:50:00.000+02:00' +'7684a5571b2cc7bda94acde0e0532f28c132e127'|'BRIEF-Barrick Gold Corp files for mixed shelf of up to $4 bln'|'Company 33pm EST BRIEF-Barrick Gold Corp files for mixed shelf of up to $4 bln Feb 16 (Reuters) - * Barrick Gold Corp files for mixed shelf of up to $4 billion - SEC filing Source text: ( bit.ly/2kO39C5 ) Next In Company News UPDATE 1-U.S. mortgage rates fall in latest week -Freddie Mac (Recasts first paragraph; adds background, table, graphics) NEW YORK, Feb 16 U.S. mortgage rates fell in the latest week even as bond yields rose on upbeat U.S. economic data and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen''s hint of a possible faster pace of interest rate increases, according to mortgage finance agency Freddie Mac on Thursday. The borrowing cost on 30-year mortgages, the most widely held type of U.S. home loan, averaged 4.15 percent in the week ended Feb. 16, down MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1G10VI'|'2017-02-17T00:33:00.000+02:00' +'eaa58d085a78fb5e18d5fcf8c501bb42d5198d20'|'Gilead challenges GSK with strong HIV drug data'|'Business News - Tue Feb 14, 2017 - 8:52am GMT Gilead challenges GSK with strong HIV drug data LONDON Gilead Sciences ( GILD.O ) has thrown down a challenge to GlaxoSmithKline ( GSK.L ) with good clinical trial results for an experimental HIV drug that works in the same way as the British group''s successful dolutegravir. Gilead''s bictegravir, another so-called integrase inhibitor drug, delivered 97 percent virus suppression, making it just as effective as GSK''s product, data presented at a medical meeting in Seattle late on Monday showed. Importantly, there were no cases of resistance emerging to the new medicine in the 98-patient Phase II study and no patients discontinued treatment due to kidney problems, which can be an issue with HIV treatments. Potential drug resistance is a key consideration for the new drug because dolutegravir is valued by doctors for its excellent resistance profile. Berenberg analyst Laura Sutcliffe said the results were good news for Gilead but the data was not yet conclusive, since findings from larger Phase III tests are due later in the year. Gilead is pinning its hopes on bictegravir to stay competitive with GSK and the U.S. company has been testing the new medicine alongside two older drugs. GSK, meanwhile, is working on a dolutegravir-based two-drug treatment regimen for controlling the virus behind AIDS, a development that marks a departure from conventional triple drug cocktails. Detailed findings from two Phase III trials testing the new two-drug combination were presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Seattle. GSK already said in December that these studies were successful. GSK sells its HIV drugs through its majority-owned ViiV Healthcare unit, in which Pfizer ( PFE.N ) and Japan''s Shionogi ( 4507.T ) hold minority stakes. GSK shares were 0.6 percent lower by 0830 GMT. (Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Keith Weir) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-hiv-gilead-gsk-idUKKBN15T0X6'|'2017-02-14T15:52:00.000+02:00' +'ad554b5785246131a86df58527ea107d44359a03'|'Boeing expects 737 MAX-9 to fly in April as larger version takes shape'|'By Alwyn Scott - SEATTLE SEATTLE Boeing Co ( BA.N ) said on Tuesday it plans to fly its new 737 MAX-9 aircraft for the first time in April, a further sign the company will start delivering the large version of the workhorse plane in 2018.Delivery of the single-aisle 737 MAX models, which replace the current 737 "NG" introduced in 1997, is crucial for Boeing to hit the financial targets it has promised investors and to offset slowing output of some of its largest jets such as the 777 and 747. Airlines want the MAX because it burns significantly less fuel than current models.The world''s largest plane maker is creating up to five MAX versions, while planning to increase output to 57 planes a month in 2019, from 42 a month at present.The first MAX model in production, known as the MAX-8, is on track to reach customers by mid-year."We are anticipating our certification of the airplane within a matter of days-weeks," Keith Leverkuhn, 737 general manager, said at a Monday briefing embargoed until Tuesday.The stamp of approval by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration would come about a year after the MAX-8''s first flight and allow Boeing to begin delivering the $110 million, 162-seat jetliner in the second quarter, he said.Deliveries trigger the bulk of airline payments. Norwegian Air Shuttle ( NWC.OL ) will be one of the first airlines to fly the plane commercially, likely ahead of launch customer Southwest Airlines Co ( LUV.N ), which was first to order the MAX but is taking longer to put it into service.Boeing expects the MAX to account for as much as 15 percent of the 500 or more 737s it expects to deliver in 2017, rising to nearly 100 percent by 2020.Boeing on Monday showed off the first 737 MAX-9 sitting near the end of the assembly line at its factory in Renton, Washington. The nearly completed jet, which carries a list price of $116.6 million and seats 178, will undergo about nine months of testing after first flight in April.MAX-10 TAKES SHAPEBoeing is mulling an even larger version, the 737 MAX-10, to take on rival Airbus ( AIR.PA ), which has had strong sales of its A321neo that is a larger competitor to the MAX-9.The MAX-10 would be 66 inches (1.68 m) longer than the MAX-9, with the same engine thrust. The major change will be the landing gear, which must be taller to accommodate the longer fuselage.Boeing expects to test various landing gear designs this year "to see which one ... is going to be the best solution," Leverkuhn said.Boeing is about 90 percent finished with design drawings for the smallest version, the 737 MAX-7. A high-density MAX-200, with seating for 200 passengers, rounds out the model line.Sales of Boeing''s larger twin-aisle planes have slowed sharply and the company is cutting output of the profitable 777 by 40 percent this year. It will rely on the 737 and 787 to make up a large part of the financial difference.Introducing new models while increasing production rates requires Boeing to solve any factory issues quickly. So far, Leverkuhn said, "the hours to build the MAX are meeting our expectation."(Editing by Matthew Lewis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-boeing-idINKBN15T2FB'|'2017-02-14T15:07:00.000+02:00' +'a320237325fab6f952df028bf13f0761dff99018'|'TCI says Safran is flying blind on Zodiac bid valuation'|'LONDON/PARIS Hedge fund TCI Fund Management, locked in a war of words with Safran SA ( SAF.PA ) over the aerospace firm''s proposed bid for Zodiac Aerospace SA ( ZODC.PA ), said on Thursday the company had no proof that its valuation of the deal made sense.Safran, responding earlier on Thursday to TCI''s criticisms of the deal, said its board had valued the offer at 13 times operating earnings based on Zodiac''s recent margin guidance for 2019-20 and considered this to be in line with similar deals.Commenting on the letter from Safran Chairman Ross McInnes, TCI said the valuation was based on fragile assumptions given a recent spate of Zodiac profit warnings and Safran''s inability to carry out due diligence at Zodiac''s aircraft seat factories."The multiple he is quoting, he has no certainty whatsoever that he will be able to achieve it. If Zodiac failed to achieve that multiple, why would he be able to achieve it?", Jonathan Amouyal, a partner at UK-based TCI, told Reuters in response to the rebuttal by Safran''s McInnes.Safran, a leading aero engine maker, says it can apply state-of-the-art project skills to ensure Zodiac hits its goals.Amouyal cited a report by Bernstein analysts who valued the transaction at closer to 40 times operating earnings, among the sector''s highest for a decade, based on current performance.Safran says that Zodiac has to be valued on a medium-term perspective because it is in the midst of a turnaround.(Reporting by Maiya Keidan, Tim Hepher; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-zodiac-aero-m-a-safran-tci-fund-mgmt-idINKBN1622T6'|'2017-02-23T20:22:00.000+02:00' +'186fc0e8f5754a2283e059b8655d896046b4538c'|'Underwriter Hiscox considers two EU countries ahead of Brexit'|'Business News - Mon Feb 27, 2017 - 7:29am GMT Underwriter Hiscox considers two EU countries ahead of Brexit Lloyd''s of London underwriter Hiscox Ltd ( HSX.L ) is in talks with regulators in two European Union countries over setting up a new legal insurance base as it looks to continue servicing EU clients after Britain leaves the bloc. Hiscox, which underwrites a range of risks from oil refineries to kidnappings, said it expected to begin the process of incorporating the legal entity in the first half of the year, so that it could write new business using the new entity before the end of 2018. (Reporting by Esha Vaish and Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; editing by Susan Thomas) Next In Business News Exclusive - Wal-Mart launches new front in U.S. price war, targets Aldi in grocery aisle Wal-Mart Stores Inc is running a new price-comparison test in at least 1,200 U.S. stores and squeezing packaged goods suppliers in a bid to close a pricing gap with German-based discount grocery chain Aldi and other U.S. rivals like Kroger Co , according to four sources familiar with the moves.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-hiscox-idUKKBN1660QP'|'2017-02-27T14:29:00.000+02:00' +'f49dedc7faac6d93ddef228a94a1dfec71ac185f'|'UPDATE 1-UK union fears grow over future of GM''s Vauxhall plants - source'|' UPDATE 1-UK union fears grow over future of GM''s Vauxhall plants - source (Adds details, quotes) By Costas Pitas LONDON Feb 20 The head of Britain''s biggest trade union is likely to meet the CEO of PSA Group on Friday amid growing concerns over the future of Vauxhall plants if the French carmaker buys the business from General Motors, a union source told Reuters. Peugeot-maker PSA is in talks to buy GM''s loss-making European business, which operates under the Vauxhall and Opel brands, with overcapacity at existing sites, Britain''s move to leave the European Union and pension liabilities all likely to influence any deal and possible restructuring. PSA boss Carlos Tavares is also due to meet business minister Greg Clark "towards the end of the week," a government source said, in a key test of Britain''s ability to retain investment after its Brexit vote in June. German media reports over the weekend suggested PSA had told Berlin it would continue production at all four of Opel''s German sites, although Germany''s deputy economy minister said on Monday there had been no binding assurances. "We are increasingly concerned after reports that German plants are safe," the trade union source told Reuters, adding the head of the Unite trade union, Len McCluskey, was likely to meet Tavares in London on Friday. The pensions deficit at GM''s British division is up to 1 billion pounds ($1.25 billion), a separate source familiar with the matter told Reuters. Many multinational companies are trying to rein in rising pension liabilities. Britain''s overwhelmingly foreign-owned car industry has been lauded as a success story by politicians and is set to hit record production levels by the turn of the decade, but any tariffs following Britain''s departure from the EU would hit margins and could see output cut. Last year, Japanese carmaker Nissan asked for a pledge of compensation if its plant was hit by Brexit, but went on to invest in two new models after what a source described as a government promise of extra support to counter any loss of competitiveness. Prime Minister Theresa May also plans to speak with Tavares and is determined to protect Britain''s car industry, her spokesman said on Monday. "It''s going to be a private conversation. There''s been a request for a meeting and we will try to make that meeting happen, but I am not going to go into what the nature of that conversation will be," he told reporters, adding the timing of the meeting depended on "diary compatibility". (Additional reporting by Elizabeth Piper in London and Edward Taylor in Frankfurt; Editing by Kate Holton and Mark Potter) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/opel-ma-psa-britain-idUSL8N1G52JG'|'2017-02-20T20:18:00.000+02:00' +'8ce87ae785fd6df2d73547f81f8f3bbf350031ad'|'MOVES-SocGen, eVestment, Marketaxess'|'Company 10:44am EST MOVES-SocGen, eVestment, Marketaxess Feb 27 The following financial services industry appointments were announced on Monday. To inform us of other job changes, email moves@thomsonreuters.com. SOCIETE GENERALE The French bank said it appointed Rajat Kohli as head of global markets for India. MARKETAXESS HOLDINGS INC The U.S. financial information provider said it would appoint Christophe Roupie as head of Europe and Asia for its Europe and Trax divisions. EVESTMENT The investment data and analytics firm named Gabriel Gilarranz as vice president of business development in its London office. (Compiled by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru) Next In Company News CANADA STOCKS-TSX flat as banks weigh, gold miners gain TORONTO, Feb 27 Canada''s main stock index was barely lower in morning trade on Monday, with investors pulling back from major banks ahead of their earnings later in the week, while gold miners and energy stocks gained with higher commodity prices.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/financial-moves-idUSL3N1GC4R8'|'2017-02-27T22:44:00.000+02:00' +'6f1a595b87e330dc79e278bd257e565e80baef75'|'BRIEF-Sanderson Farms says received antitrust civil investigative demand from office of Attorney General, Department of Legal Affairs, Florida'|'United States 14pm EST BRIEF-Sanderson Farms says received antitrust civil investigative demand from office of Attorney General, Department of Legal Affairs, Florida Feb 22 Sanderson Farms Inc * Sanderson Farms says on Feb 21, received antitrust civil investigative demand from office of Attorney General, Department of Legal Affairs, Florida * Sanderson Farms Inc says investigative demand seeks information related to Georgia Dock Index - SEC filing * Sanderson Farms says investigative demand also seeks information on poultry, poultry products published by Georgia Department of Agriculture ( bit.ly/2lqCZIt ) Further '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-sanderson-farms-says-received-anti-idUSFWN1G70WF'|'2017-02-23T05:14:00.000+02:00' +'94d618232b1bb7d25e3ab4a68b8c830586128870'|'Con Edison reaches $153 mln settlement over deadly 2014 Harlem blast'|'World News - Thu Feb 16, 2017 - 3:31pm EST Con Edison reaches $153 million settlement over deadly 2014 Harlem blast NEW YORK Con Edison Inc has reached a $153.3 million settlement with New York State stemming from a fatal 2014 natural gas explosion in the East Harlem section of Manhattan, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday. Cuomo said the settlement includes a more than $25 million fund to benefit gas customers, and an agreement by Con Ed not to seek reimbursement from customers for more than the $125.5 million it has spent on gas leak response activities since the March 12, 2014 blast, which killed eight people. The accord is the largest gas safety-related settlement in New York history, Cuomo said. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York, editing by G Crosse) Next In World News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-new-york-conedison-idUSKBN15V2Q8'|'2017-02-17T03:28:00.000+02:00' +'848e77195ab839cc0e3b01c7b27f22a06de887d6'|'Citi says U.S. regulators are investigating its hiring practices'|'Business News - Fri Feb 24, 2017 - 7:38pm EST Citi says U.S. regulators are investigating its hiring practices A view of the exterior of the Citibank corporate headquarters in New York, New York, U.S. May 20, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar/Files Citigroup Inc ( C.N ) on Friday said that U.S. government and regulatory agencies are investigating the bank''s hiring practices. U.S. agencies, including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, are looking into whether or not the bank hired candidates "referred by or related to foreign government officials" over other candidates, the filing said. ( bit.ly/2mmiCe4 ) "Citigroup is cooperating with the investigations and inquiries," the company said in the filing with the SEC. JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ) agreed to pay $264 million in November to resolve allegations that it hired relatives of Chinese officials in order to win banking deals. (Reporting by Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; editing by Grant McCool) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-citigroup-probe-sec-idUSKBN16400M'|'2017-02-25T07:33:00.000+02:00' +'9a840f6142a6ed29512c518d214151044b736f56'|'Aramco IPO could push other Gulf states to list oil assets: economist'|'KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia Saudi Aramco''s initial public offering (IPO) could encourage other Gulf countries to list their oil assets, a leading regional economist said, but the oil giant must clear uncertainties over taxation, OPEC policy and ownership of crude.Nasser Saidi, a former economy minister of Lebanon, told Dubai Eye Radio in an interview broadcast on Wednesday that Aramco has to address how the company will separate its assets and liabilities from those of the state."Many countries could follow in the region. (The) UAE I think could potentially be attracted to this," Saidi said."We have long discussed the possibility that well-performing state enterprises could be listed, and potentially this could open the road for that," Saidi, also a former chief economist and head of external relations at the Dubai International Financial Centre, added.While Aramco is the world''s largest oil firm, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar also hold major oil assets that are managed by state companies.The listing of Aramco IPO-ARMO.SE, expected to be the world''s biggest IPO and raise tens of billions of dollars, is a centerpiece of the Saudi government''s ambitious "Vision 2030" plan to diversify the economy beyond oil.When the plan was announced in June last year, it pledged to "transform Aramco from an oil-producing company into a global industrial conglomerate", although Saudi officials still debate the shape the company should take.The Saudi government plans to list up to 5 percent of Aramco next year on the local bourse and international stock markets.The proceeds will be used to invest in other sectors likely to create jobs for young Saudis.But for the plan to succeed, Saidi said Aramco must address issues related to governance, transparency and "who owns the natural resource wealth of Saudi Arabia"."The big issue really is one of public finances and separating out private ownership from public and state ownership," he added.Saidi also pointed to questions concerning the 20 percent royalty and 85 percent tax that Aramco pays to the government, which many investors believe could lower its value in an IPO."There is a lot of uncertainty as to what sort of taxation regime will be applied to Aramco, whether or not resources under the ground will be included and how do you separate out those from those above and other activities," he said.This could lead to other questions on Saudi Arabia''s leading role in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which sets production targets and allocates them among members."What happens if you have a board? Are you going to separate out political decision-making ... from that which is in the best interest of Aramco?" he said.(Reporting by Reem Shamseddine and Katie Paul; Editing by Sami Aboudi and Dale Hudson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-aramco-ipo-economist-idUSKBN16219C'|'2017-02-23T14:44:00.000+02:00' +'5d25828185221d4e5284c0568aff260de563aed5'|'Time Warner to sell TV station as it seeks AT&T merger OK'|'Business News 1:06pm EST Time Warner to sell TV station as it seeks AT&T merger OK Signage that reads Time Warner is seen at the Time Warner Center in New York City, U.S. on October 23, 2016. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith/File Photo By David Shepardson - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Time Warner Inc ( TWX.N ) said on Thursday it plans to sell a broadcast station in Atlanta to Meredith Corp ( MDP.N ), which could help speed the company''s planned merger with AT&T Inc ( T.N ). In January, AT&T said it expected to be able to bypass the Federal Communications Commission in its planned $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner because it would not seek to transfer any Time Warner licenses. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai on Thursday declined to say if he would seek to use the proposed TV station license transfer as a way to examine the AT&T Time Warner merger. About a dozen senators have urged him to review the deal. The station that Time Warner is selling, WPCH-TV in Atlanta, is its only FCC-regulated broadcast station. But it has other, more minor FCC licenses. Meredith has operated WPCH-TV for Time Warner since 2011. It was previously know as WTBS. Time Warner said last month that since it does not plan to transfer any FCC licenses to AT&T, it would likely not need FCC approval and would only need the consent of the U.S. Justice Department. The Justice Department has to prove a proposed deal harms competition in order to block it. But the FCC has broad leeway to block a merger it deems is not in the "public interest" and can impose additional conditions. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) Next In Business News Trump again vows to bring back U.S. jobs, but offers few details WASHINGTON President Donald Trump told about two dozen chief executives of major U.S. companies on Thursday he plans to bring millions of jobs back to the United States, but offered no specific plan on how to reverse a decades-long decline in factory jobs.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-timewarner-att-idUSKBN16228P'|'2017-02-24T00:57:00.000+02:00' +'29e93807c5fce487fa2f92cb9d9473ae36a87b80'|'Japan January industrial output falls 0.8 percent month/month - government'|' 08am GMT Japan January industrial output falls 0.8 percent month-on-month: government FILE PHOTO - Smoke rises from a factory during sunset at Keihin industrial zone in Kawasaki, Japan, January 16, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo TOKYO Japan''s industrial output unexpectedly fell 0.8 percent in January, posting the first decline in six months, The month-on-month fall compared with of a 0.3 percent rise and a revised 0.7 percent gain in December, data by (METI) showed. Manufacturers surveyed by the ministry expect output to rise 3.5 percent in February but fall 5.0 percent in March, it showed. For the full tables on METI''s website: here (Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-output-idUKKBN16700M'|'2017-02-28T06:59:00.000+02:00' +'73907b777302be272224faf0103cbd77e009ee8f'|'OPEC aims for higher compliance, sees 2017 stock fall'|'Business News - Tue Feb 21, 2017 - 10:51am GMT OPEC aims for higher compliance, sees 2017 stock fall A flag with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) logo is seen before a news conference at OPEC''s headquarters in Vienna, Austria December 10, 2016. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader LONDON OPEC countries are aiming to boost compliance with agreed oil output curbs further from January''s high levels in a bid to clear a supply glut that has weighed on prices, the group''s secretary general said on Tuesday. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is curbing its output by about 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) from Jan. 1, the first cut in eight years. Russia and 10 other non-OPEC producers agreed to cut half as much. OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo said that the production data for January in OPEC''s most recent monthly report showed conformity from participating OPEC nations with agreed output curbs above 90 percent. "All countries involved remain resolute in the determination to achieve a higher level of conformity," he said in a speech in London, according to a copy of the text. The supply cut deal is helping to support oil prices, which at close to $57 a barrel LCOc1 are up from the low $30s a year ago, but still-rising U.S. inventories and expectations the OPEC cut will revive U.S. shale drilling have limited the rally. Barkindo said that oil inventories were expected to decline this year. "It was evident in the last quarter of 2016 that total OECD commercial oil stocks were falling, and it is expected that we will see a further drop during 2017," he said. "We will continue to focus on the level of inventory drawdown to bring the level closer to the five-year industry average." (Reporting by Alex Lawler and Rania El Gamal, editing by Louise Heavens) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-opec-oil-idUKKBN16013K'|'2017-02-21T17:51:00.000+02:00' +'9c4f246c687b08d1de9abacb04136070409c012c'|'Pfizer subpoenaed in U.S. over patient assistance plans'|'Health News - Fri Feb 24, 2017 - 6:43pm EST Pfizer subpoenaed in U.S. over patient assistance plans A man walks past Pfizer''s world headquarters in New York April 28, 2014. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo Pfizer Inc on Thursday said it received subpoenas from the U.S. Attorney''s Office for the District of Massachusetts related to the drugmaker''s support for organizations that provide financial help to Medicare patients. In a regulatory filing, Pfizer said it received subpoenas in December 2015 and July 2016 related to groups that help cover patient co-payments for prescription drugs. Pfizer said it has been "providing information to the government in response to these subpoenas." Medicare is the U.S. government healthcare plan for seniors. (Reporting By Deena Beasley; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) Next In Health News Most Americans want U.S. to keep funding expanded Medicaid: poll WASHINGTON A majority of Americans say it is important to keep federal funding for an expansion of the Medicaid program for the poor under Obamacare, even as Republicans work on repealing and replacing former President Barack Obama''s healthcare law, according to a poll released on Friday.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-pfizer-subpoena-idUSKBN1632M3'|'2017-02-25T06:41:00.000+02:00' +'678c7f6b1b9b106fe9c6021356d2572cfbf09b47'|'Subsea affiliate of Singapore''s Ezra files for U.S. bankruptcy'|'Company 53pm EST Subsea affiliate of Singapore''s Ezra files for U.S. bankruptcy By Tom Hals Feb 28 A subsea and offshore contractor affiliate of Ezra Holdings Ltd, a struggling Singaporean oilfield services firm, filed for U.S. bankruptcy as it ran short of cash due to a lingering downturn in the oil-and-gas industry. The affiliate, Emas Chiyoda Subsea Ltd, said in court papers filed in Houston that the company was suffering from weak demand for its subsea contracting work and tightening credit conditions. Ezra has said it may have to take a $170 million writedown on the value of its investment in Emas Chiyoda. Oilfield service firms have been turning to bankruptcy to shed debt and raise cash after years of hunkering down after energy prices tumbled from the recent peak in 2014. Emas Chiyoda''s bankruptcy comes eight months after it teamed up with India''s Larsen & Toubro Ltd to land a $1.6 billion contract with Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia''s state-owned oil company, to expand the offshore Hasbah gas field. Onshore work has begun and the offshore phase of the Hasbah project will begin later this year, said Emas Chiyoda''s general counsel, Stephen McGuire, in a court filing. The company, which is based in Birmingham, United Kingdom, said it had about $550 million in debt. "As a result of the deteriorating market conditions in the oil and gas sector coupled with the company''s financial difficulties, the company''s lenders have frozen borrowing availability," McGuire said in a court filing. The company has requested court permission to borrow up to $90 million to allow it continue its current projects with minimal disruption. The company will seek access to $55 million of the proposed loan at a hearing on Wednesday in Houston. The proposed loan is being extended by Chiyoda Corp of Japan and Subsea 7 S.A. of the United Kingdom, according to court documents. The loan requires Emas Chiyoda to file a bankruptcy exit plan in 60 days and to have the plan confirmed by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Marvin Isgur, who was assigned to the case, in 120 days. Ezra of Singapore owns 40 percent of Emas Chiyoda, Chiyoda owns 35 percent and Nippon Yusen KK of Japan owns the remainder, according to court documents. A creditor of a subsidiary of Emas Chiyoda filed a court petition this month to liquidate the unit. (Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Noeleen Walder, Bernard Orr) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/ezra-hldgs-affiliate-bankruptcy-idUSL2N1GD118'|'2017-03-01T00:53:00.000+02:00' +'aa94fc04585c9fdb3a1a6d5136080996560bac3f'|'Commerzbank posts flat fourth-quarter earnings, aims for stable costs in 2017'|' 6:15am GMT Commerzbank posts flat fourth-quarter earnings, aims for stable costs in 2017 Three floors of Germany''s second largest business bank, Commerzbank, are pictured from a nearby tourist platform Frankfurt, Germany, January 31, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT Commerzbank ( CBKG.DE ) reported flat revenues and earnings for the fourth quarter on Thursday, hit by the impact of low interest rates coupled with weak loan demand from German companies. The 183 million-euro (156 million pounds) net profit of Germany''s second-largest lender after Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) was, however, ahead of analysts'' expectations for 154 million euro euros. Commerzbank stopped short of giving an earnings outlook for 2017 but said that it aims to keep its cost base stable and expects loan loss provisions for its retail and corporate bank to remain stable. ($1 = 0.9362 euros) (Reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Maria Sheahan) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-commerzbank-results-idUKKBN15O0IK'|'2017-02-09T13:15:00.000+02:00' +'51acbab067e2f03d903945071d538f222f37657e'|'JGBs dip on tepid liquidity-enhancing auction'|'TOKYO Feb 16 Japanese government bond prices dipped on Thursday as a subdued liquidity-enhancing auction dented investor sentiment, with the market also continuing to feel pressure from the recent retreat by U.S. Treasuries.Yields rose as an auction by the finance ministry to sell 400 billion yen ($3.51 billion) of off-the-run JGBs, intended to enhance market liquidity, drew tepid demand.The benchmark 10-year JGB yield rose 1 basis point to 0.095 percent and the 30-year yield climbed 1.5 basis points to 0.905 percent.The 30-year yield was within the reach of a one-year high of 0.915 percent hit earlier this month.Longer-dated yields have edged up recently as investors have been pondering how far the BOJ would go to attain its stated aims since last September, when the central bank adopted its "yield curve control" policy, under which it pledged to keep the 10-year yield around zero percent.($1 = 113.8700 yen) (Reporting by the Tokyo markets team; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/japan-bonds-idINL4N1G123P'|'2017-02-16T02:18:00.000+02:00' +'289564fc178ff6828ed4617d8070e0f852753fd2'|'Emerald abandons Punch bid, leaving Heineken unrivaled in pubs takeover'|'Deals 55am EST Emerald abandons Punch bid, leaving Heineken unrivaled in pubs takeover LONDON Emerald Investment Partners said on Wednesday it is not planning to make a takeover offer for Punch Taverns ( PUB.L ), reversing course and leaving Heineken ( HEIN.AS ) unrivaled in its bid to buy and break up the company. Emerald, the investment firm of Punch founder Alan McIntosh, made an approach to Punch late last year, around the same time brewer Heineken, and investment partner Patron Capital, agreed a deal for Punch. (Reporting by Martinne Geller, editing by Louise Heavens) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-emerald-punch-idUSKBN15G4LM'|'2017-02-01T20:52:00.000+02:00' +'3a48803ca43b62ce696256c1b6b666b78c1ec196'|'Puma upbeat for 2017 after strong quarter in Europe'|' 9:06am GMT Puma upbeat for 2017 after strong quarter in Europe Boards with Puma store logo are seen on a shopping center at the outlet village Belaya Dacha outside Moscow, Russia, April 23, 2016. REUTERS/Grigory Dukor/File Photo HERZOGENAURACH, Germany German sportswear firm Puma ( PUMG.DE ) reported strong sales growth in the fourth quarter, particularly in Europe, and gave a confident forecast for 2017 as it benefits from a trend for retro sneakers and partnerships with stars like Usain Bolt. Chief Executive Bjorn Gulden has led a gradual turnaround of a brand that had fallen far behind market leaders Nike ( NKE.N ) and Adidas ( ADSGn.DE ), sparking renewed speculation that majority owner Kering ( PRTP.PA ) might consider a sale. Puma reported on Thursday a quarterly net loss of 4.6 million euros ($4.9 million), with sales up 9 percent to 958 million. That was slightly ahead of average analyst forecasts for a 5 million net loss on sales of 947 million, according to a Reuters poll. Puma expects currency-adjusted net sales to increase at a high single-digit percentage rate in 2017 after a rise of 10 percent in 2016, while earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) should come in between 170 million and 190 million euros, up from 128 million in 2016. ($1 = 0.9346 euros) (Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Maria Sheahan) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-puma-de-results-idUKKBN15O0X2'|'2017-02-09T16:06:00.000+02:00' +'46d8f1a339f19d97e657e40eff8576b04665cf4b'|'Takata selects KSS as final bidder for restructuring deal: sources'|'TOKYO A steering committee for Takata Corp ( 7312.T ) has selected U.S.-based auto parts supplier Key Safety Systems as the final bidder to extend financial support for the Japanese air bag maker, three sources with knowledge of the process have told Reuters.The steering committee has told the Japanese air bag maker''s automaker clients that it has tapped Key Safety Systems, owned by China''s Ningbo Joyson ( 600699.SS ), to provide financial support for the company, three sources told Reuters.Takata is in the process of selecting a financial backer as it faces billions of dollars in costs to replace as many as around 100 million potentially defective air bag inflators that have been linked to at least 16 deaths globally.(Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Sandra Maler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-takata-restructuring-idINKBN15J00F'|'2017-02-03T21:11:00.000+02:00' +'560dcd1c9e0da0285b7cf90e9ae4379a75a97f8b'|'Retailer Perfumania explores strategic alternatives: sources'|'By Jessica DiNapoli Perfumania Holdings Inc ( PERF.O ), a U.S. retailer with exclusive distribution rights to several Trump-branded colognes, has hired advisers to explore strategic alternatives, including a debt restructuring, people familiar with the matter said.The move comes as Perfumania, a major U.S. fragrance retailer, looks to address its debt pile amid declining traffic at malls.The Bellport, New York-based company is working with legal and financial advisers to explore options, including addressing its capital structure, according to the sources.The sources asked not to be identified because the negotiations are confidential. Perfumania did not respond to a request for comment.Perfumania recorded debt of approximately $164 million at Oct. 29 and $2.1 million in cash and cash equivalents.The company also plans to negotiate with landlords to exit some of its 313 standalone Perfumania shops in the United States, the sources said.Perfumania''s wholesale businesses, Parlux, holds the exclusive distribution rights to U.S. President Donald Trump''s fragrances Empire and Success, as well as daughter Ivanka Trump''s fragrance. The company''s portfolio also includes fragrances from celebrities such as Rihanna, Jessica Simpson and Jay Z.The Parlux fragrances are sold through regional and national department store chains, including Belk, Bon-Ton ( BONT.O ) and Macy''s ( M.N ). Other Perfumania fragrances are sold at offprice retailers including Kmart, Burlington Coat Factory [BCF.UL] and Wal-Mart ( WMT.N ).Perfumania''s financial struggles reflect the woes facing the rest of the retail industry. This month, Eastern Outfitters LLC, the holding company for sporting goods chain Eastern Mountain Sports and Bob''s Stores filed for bankruptcy, as did teen retailer Wet Seal. Healthier retailers such as Macy''s have announced plans to close hundreds of stores.Perfumania traced its declining sales to heavy discounting by retailers and falling traffic at its retail locations in lower-quality malls and tourist-dependent areas such as Puerto Rico and Florida.Perfumania''s sales shrunk by nearly 12 percent to $125 million in the quarter ended Oct. 29, driven by declines in its retail shop division.The company has been trying to turn around its business by promoting e-commerce sales and boosting its technology.(Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in New York; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-perfumania-hol-debt-idINKBN15W1Z0'|'2017-02-17T14:28:00.000+02:00' +'cb214cc219a359c1f797e87546e87440b7b97e7b'|'Russia finmin will offer OFZ bonds for households in April'|'SOCHI, Russia Feb 27 Russia''s finance ministry will start selling rouble treasury bonds for households in April, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Monday.The finance ministry aims at raising up to 30 billion ($519 million) roubles a year by selling bonds, known as OFZ bonds for people, Siluanov said.The new three-year bonds will have a yield of 8.5 percent and will be issued every six months, available at offices of Russia''s largest lenders Sberbank and VTB, Siluanov said.($1 = 57.8160 roubles) (Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya; Writing by Andrey Ostroukh; editing by Vladimir Soldatkin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/russia-ofz-people-idINR4N1G101Z'|'2017-02-27T05:06:00.000+02:00' +'af7f7c564567d7beb6491fc0bb4f2979475bec50'|'CORRECTED-UPDATE 2-CSX calls for shareholder meeting over activist investor requests'|'(Corrects 2nd paragraph to remove date of meeting, which has not yet been scheduled. Inserts 3rd paragraph to explain that shareholders as of March 16 are eligible to vote in the special meeting.)Feb 21 U.S. rail operator CSX Corp said its board has called for a special meeting of its shareholders to discuss requests made by hedge fund Mantle Ridge LP, which is trying to install Hunter Harrison, outgoing chief executive of Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd as the company''s chief executive.CSX said the meeting will allow shareholders to vote on Harrison''s proposed pay package, which is estimated to exceed $300 million. Shareholders will also be allowed to vote on Mantle Ridge''s proposal for substantial representation on the company''s board.Shareholders as of March 16 are eligible to vote in the special meeting, which has not yet been scheduled."We are pleased that CSX agrees that change is needed," Mantle Ridge said in a statement. The hedge fund added that they have been in constructive dialogue with CSX''s board for several weeks.Activist investor Paul Hilal''s Mantle Ridge is seeking six seats on the board, with Hilal as chairman and Harrison as chief executive officer.The hedge fund also proposes that three incumbent CSX directors in addition to current CEO Michael Ward would retire from the board as of the company''s 2017 annual meeting.CSX''s board is made up of 12 members, which include Ward who also serves as chairman. Ward has previously signaled he plans to step down.Last week, CSX extended the director nomination deadline for its board, giving it more time to reach an agreement with Hilal and Harrison.Mantle Ridge LP recently became a CSX shareholder owning less than 5 percent of the company''s stock, CSX said on Tuesday.News of the Hilal-Harrison partnership broke on Jan. 18, when Canadian Pacific announced Harrison was leaving his CEO post early. (Reporting by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru and Michael Flaherty in New York; Editing by Bill Rigby and Sandra Maler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/csx-mantle-idINL1N1G7019'|'2017-02-21T21:29:00.000+02:00' +'f39de2f58e2e1cb6e04dcc24cb5a906a32c02bf8'|'Toyota says board to decide on Suzuki partnership Monday'|'Business News - Mon Feb 6, 2017 - 12:39am GMT Toyota says board to decide on Suzuki partnership Monday Toyota Motor Corp''s logo is pictured on a car in Tokyo, Japan, November 8, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon - TOKYO Toyota Motor Corp ( 7203.T ) said its board would make a decision on Monday regarding a partnership the automaker has been exploring with Suzuki Motor Corp ( 7269.T ) since last October. It gave no further details. The Nikkei business daily said on Saturday the two Japanese automakers could announce a wide-ranging partnership that would include the development of new technologies and procurement, and announce the deal as early as Monday. Both companies are set to announce third-quarter earnings later in the day. Shares in Toyota and Suzuki were both up about 1 percent, in line with the broader Tokyo market. (Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim and Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toyota-suzuki-motor-idUKKBN15L02I'|'2017-02-06T07:39:00.000+02:00' +'0bb96fc997a159d319ee89d09e058aaafa429fae'|'RPT-GRAPHIC-Swiss banks face withdrawals due to tax clampdown'|' 1:00am EST RPT-GRAPHIC-Swiss banks face withdrawals due to tax clampdown (Repeats story from Thursday) By Joshua Franklin ZURICH Feb 16 Wealthy clients in 2016 pulled out almost $30 billion of untaxed assets from three of the world''s biggest private banks, UBS, Credit Suisse and Julius Baer, taking advantage of government programmes letting them pay tax on undeclared money. With tax amnesty programmes in countries like Argentina, Brazil and Indonesia, these so-called regularisation outflows come from clients taking money out of their accounts to pay taxes and penalties. Those who decline to participate in amnesty programmes often have to move their accounts. Swiss banks are still recovering from European and U.S. clients withdrawing tens of billions of dollars following a post-financial crisis clampdown on tax dodging The tax clampdown has eroded Switzerland''s bank secrecy rules, which for decades pulled in money from the world''s super-rich. UBS and Credit Suisse flagged further withdrawals in 2017 due to these amnesty programmes as well as the introduction of the OECD''s Automatic Exchange Of Information, a financial data sharing initiative. "We expect Wealth Management''s net new money growth rate to remain around the lower end of our 3 percent to 5 percent target range for 2017," UBS Chief Financial Officer Kirt Gardner said last month. Credit Suisse CFO David Mathers said on Tuesday the bank expected gross outflows of around 9 billion Swiss francs ($9.01 billion) in 2017, though part of this will also come from a pruning of relationships with external asset managers at its Swiss business. These outflows at Julius Baer should tail off in 2018, the bank''s Chief Executive Boris Collardi said earlier this month. ($1 = 0.9987 Swiss francs) (Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/swiss-banks-tax-idUSL8N1G16BC'|'2017-02-17T13:00:00.000+02:00' +'b9b69deed3c346e0cff36860286b79588de162d5'|'BRIEF-Karsten Energy announces shares transferred to NEX'|' 10am EST BRIEF-Karsten Energy announces shares transferred to NEX Feb 6 (Reuters) - * Karsten Energy announces shares transferred to NEX Source text for Eikon: * Cytori Therapeutics - FDA division of industry consumer education (DICE) has granted small business status to cytori therapeutics for fiscal year 2017 MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1FR0MF'|'2017-02-06T21:10:00.000+02:00' +'b9ac3dd023082b87920bfbd461433c3fa936323c'|'BRIEF-H.I.G. Capital acquires assets of Xtera Communications'|' 24am EST BRIEF-H.I.G. Capital acquires assets of Xtera Communications Feb 15 H.I.G. Capital - * H.I.G. Capital acquires assets of Xtera Communications, Inc. * H.I.G. Capital - Acquired substantially all assets of Xtera Communications; previously provided DIP financing to Xtera debtors in connection with chapter 11 case '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSASB0B0DT'|'2017-02-15T19:24:00.000+02:00' +'5649f4d737af79ba48ce30bbe50a5962a68a09ef'|'LME failed to report suspicious trade orders to FCA for three months - sources'|'Business News - Wed Feb 15, 2017 - 1:47pm GMT LME failed to report suspicious trade orders to FCA for three months - sources Men walk past the London Metal Exchange (LME) in London, July 22, 2011. REUTERS/Paul Hackett/File Photo By Pratima Desai - LONDON LONDON Following the introduction of new market abuse regulation last year, the London Metal Exchange did not submit any suspicious transaction order reports (STORs) for three months, setting off alarm bells at the UK regulator, metal industry sources said. Suspicion of a failure to ensure adequate surveillance processes caused the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to investigate and issue an informal warning, they added. The Market Abuse Regulation became effective across the European Union on July 3. Firms and trading venues in Britain can submit STORs through the FCA''s website. "The LME didn''t submit any STORs after the new regulation came in until after September," a source close to the matter said. The LME and FCA declined to comment. Some sources said the LME having to vacate its Finsbury Square offices between July 18 and Sept. 1 due to structural issues may have exacerbated the problem, but that the main issue was surveillance. There was also internal discord over the push to attract high-volume funds, brokers said. That, they said, was a concern for Charles Li, chief executive of parent Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing ( 0388.HK ), which bought the 140-year old exchange in 2012 for $2.2 billion. An average 31 percent fee increase at the start of 2015 prompted consumers and producers to abandon the exchange in favour of over-the-counter (OTC) trade, hitting LME volumes. The downtrend was reinforced last year by economic and demand slowdown in China, the world''s top consumer of industrial metals, which subdued prices and activity, triggering an exodus of funds to other markets with higher return potential. LME volumes overall in 2016 slid 7.7 percent after a fall of 4.3 percent in 2015. However a 5.6 percent drop in copper trading compared with a 26.7 percent surge in trade on the U.S. rival CME Group''s ( CME.O ) exchange, which sources say is easier and cheaper to use for funds. (Reporting by Pratima Desai; Editing by David Evans) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lme-stors-fca-idUKKBN15U1OL'|'2017-02-15T20:47:00.000+02:00' +'e8970ba522115bd152809ccb94a8dd053fed57e2'|'UPDATE 1-Puma kicks off 2017 with upbeat outlook after winning run'|' 00am EST UPDATE 1-Puma kicks off 2017 with upbeat outlook after winning run * Q4 net loss 4.6 mln euros vs consensus 5 mln euro loss * Q4 sales up 9 pct to 958 mln euros vs consensus 947 mln * Forecast for high single digit sales growth in 2017 (Adds details, background) By Emma Thomasson HERZOGENAURACH, Germany, Feb 9 Retro sneakers and endorsements by stars like Usain Bolt and Rihanna helped German sportswear firm Puma deliver strong sales growth in the fourth quarter and make a confident forecast for 2017 on Thursday. Puma Chief Executive Bjorn Gulden has led a gradual turnaround of a brand that had fallen far behind market leaders Nike and Adidas. "I feel extremely confident about 2017... I have seen the order book and the reaction from the trade," Gulden said. Shares in Puma, which rallied last month on analyst upgrades and renewed speculation that majority owner Kering might consider a sale, were up 0.6 percent by 0953 GMT. Like its bigger German rival Adidas, Puma is benefiting from a shift away from sports performance shoes and towards retro models, a trend that has hurt newer players like Under Armour and has also dampened Nike''s success. Puma posted a quarterly net loss of 4.6 million euros ($5 million) on sales of 958 million euros, a rise of 9 percent, both of which were slightly better than forecasts in a Reuters poll. By comparison, Under Armour last month saw its shares slide by a quarter after it reported a big drop in holiday-quarter sales growth and issued a glum forecast for the year, admitting that its products are not fashionable enough. Sales at Puma rose 10.4 percent in Europe and 9.9 percent in the Americas, with total footwear sales jumping 15.3 percent, helped by the popularity of lifestyle shoes like its women''s basketball Heart line, tied with a large ribbon bow. The German company had 6 percent of the U.S. casual sportswear market in December, more than tripling its share compared to a year ago, market intelligence firm NPD said. Puma expects currency-adjusted net sales to increase at a high single-digit percentage rate in 2017 after a rise of 10 percent in 2016, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of 170 million to 190 million euros, up from 128 million in 2016. Sales in 2016 were helped by the Olympic Games and the Euro 2016 soccer championship, whereas growth in the industry is traditionally slower when there are no major global events. ($1 = 0.9346 euros) (Editing by Maria Sheahan and Alexander Smith) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/puma-de-results-idUSL5N1FU2NJ'|'2017-02-09T17:00:00.000+02:00' +'1a53bd8bc8d11dcdeaf21ba944b59762c2b4b21a'|'BRIEF-Disney CEO Robert Iger may extend tenure again- WSJ, citing sources'|' 41am EST BRIEF-Disney CEO Robert Iger may extend tenure again- WSJ, citing sources Feb 6 (Reuters) - * Disney CEO Robert Iger may extend tenure again- WSJ, citing sources Source on.wsj.com/2kEpSUG Indian e-commerce firm Snapdeal to make profit in 2 years - CEO MUMBAI, Feb 6 Indian e-commerce firm Snapdeal expects to turn profitable in the next two years, its CEO said, as the company takes steps to cut costs and boost efficiency in a market currently dominated by homegrown Flipkart and U.S. internet giant Amazon. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1FR0C4'|'2017-02-06T17:41:00.000+02:00' +'04b9566d92306ba0326377bc457ee43407b001c0'|'UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Feb 6'|'Company 1:37am EST UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Feb 6 Feb 6 Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening down 1 point at 7,187 points on Monday, according to financial bookmakers. * The UK blue chip index closed 0.7 percent higher at 7,188.30 points on Friday, the biggest one-day percentage gain so far this year, with a rally in energy and banking stocks eclipsing weaker miners. * BARCLAYS: Barclays Plc is about to overhaul its back office operations under a restructuring to help it comply with new post-crisis rules forcing British banks to ring-fence their retail operations from their riskier business. * IHG: InterContinental Hotels Group Plc on Friday confirmed a data breach from payment cards used at 12 of its hotels in the United States, a little over a month after it said it was investigating claims of a possible breach. * LIBERTY HOUSE/IPO: Liberty House Group, an industrial and commodities group, which has been buying up British steel assets, could list parts of the company in London by 2018, its executive chairman told Reuters on Friday. * LSE/DEUTSCHE BOERSE: Deutsche Boerse and the London Stock Exchange should have their combined headquarters in Frankfurt not London because of Brexit, an influential German minister told Reuters in the clearest public demand for control of the group in Germany. * BRITAIN HOUSING: Britain''s housing market is too dependent on large homebuilders, housing minister Gavin Barwell said on Sunday, speaking ahead of the launch of the government''s latest attempt to fix a chronic shortage of new homes. * BRITAIN TRADE: Sterling''s sharp fall against the U.S. dollar and euro since June''s Brexit vote has so far hurt almost as many exporters as it has aided, the British Chambers of Commerce said on Monday. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets * UK CORPORATE DIARY: Randgold Resources Ltd Q4 Earnings Release TODAY''S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idUSL4N1FR23K'|'2017-02-06T13:37:00.000+02:00' +'5544c5b70103dd1fa05a3d076b914ee7a9f4a14f'|'Apple closes at record high for first time since 2015'|'Business News - Mon Feb 13, 2017 - 9:21pm GMT Apple closes at record high for first time since 2015 FILE PHOTO - The new iPhone 7 smartphone goes on sale inside an Apple Inc. store in Los Angeles, California, U.S., September 16, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo By Noel Randewich - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Shares of Apple rose to a record high close on Monday, buoyed by Wall Street''s expectations that the release of a 10th-anniversary iPhone and pent-up customer demand will shore up lacklustre sales. The largest component of the S&P 500 and a core holding on Wall Street, Apple''s stock climbed 0.9 percent to end at $133.29, breaking above its record high close of $133.00 hit on Feb. 23, 2015 and giving it a market value of about $699.3 billion (559.44 billion pounds). Its increase helped balloon the S&P 500''s market capitalization on Monday beyond $20 trillion for the first time. Apple has climbed 50 percent from lows in the first half of last year and is up 15.1 percent so far in 2017. It was still short of its all-time intraday high of $134.54, set on April 28, 2015. Monday''s gain came after Goldman Sachs analyst Simona Jankowski raised her price target for Apple to $150. She said she is more confident that an upcoming 10th anniversary iPhone will feature augmented-reality technology, which could help boost demand in a saturated smartphone market. (Reporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by James Dalgleish) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-markets-apple-idUKKBN15S2G5'|'2017-02-14T04:21:00.000+02:00' +'3b94dcfa484b1a436f5edc86e6136050d24b899e'|'MOVES-Oordeoo Oman appoints new CFO'|' 02am EST MOVES-Oordeoo Oman appoints new CFO DUBAI Feb 1 Ooredoo Oman announced the appointment of Abdul Razzaq al-Balushi as chief financial officer on Wednesday. Al-Balushi takes over from Jorgen Latte, who retired on Feb. 1, according to a bourse statement. Al-Balushi has previously served as Ooredoo Oman''s deputy financial officer. (Reporting by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/ooredoo-oman-moves-idUSL5N1FM0M1'|'2017-02-01T13:02:00.000+02:00' +'ce11876cc1cc48da7c6ce7f61a70582c6cbd047f'|'Deutsche Boerse says clears CEO after analysis of talks with LSE'|' Deutsche Boerse says clears CEO after analysis of talks with LSE Carsten Kengeter, CEO of Deutsche Boerse talks to the media during the presentation of FinTec start-up facilities provided by Deutsche Boerse in Frankfurt, Germany, February 24, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT Deutsche Boerse''s ( DB1Gn.DE ) supervisory board backed its Chief Executive Carsten Kengeter, who is the focus of an insider trading investigation, saying it had found that talks with the London Stock Exchange had not yet started in 2015. German police and prosecutors have searched Kengeter''s office and apartment as they investigate whether secret merger talks with LSE were under way when Kengeter bought shares in his company in December 2015. Deutsche Boerse said on Tuesday that "extensive conversations with external experts and a renewed analysis of the processes in the year 2015" had cleared Kengeter, adding the board unanimously expressed its full confidence in him. (Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deutsche-boerse-investigation-board-idUKKBN15M0G6'|'2017-02-07T13:50:00.000+02:00' +'4e37186dd31a159a5eb61849034d89705b05ef8a'|'Sequoia Fund wins dismissal of lawsuit over huge Valeant stake'|'By Jonathan Stempel - NEW YORK NEW YORK A New York state judge has dismissed a lawsuit accusing the Sequoia Fund, known for its ties to Warren Buffett, of recklessly making a huge, disastrous investment in Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc ( VRX.TO ), causing billions of dollars of losses.Justice O. Peter Sherwood of the State Supreme Court in White Plains, New York, said Sequoia shareholders failed to show it would have been futile, prior to suing in January 2016, to demand that the mutual fund''s directors step in to unwind the investment because of their alleged conflicts of interest.The judge said the shareholders could try to amend their complaint, but that this appeared to be "a fool''s errand."Sherwood issued his ruling during a Feb. 15 hearing. A transcript was made public eight days later.Sequoia shareholders had sued Sequoia''s investment adviser Ruane, Cunniff & Goldfarb; portfolio managers Robert Goldfarb and David Poppe; and three directors including author and chairman Roger Lowenstein.The defendants were accused of gross negligence for letting Sequoia plough nearly one-third of its assets into Valeant, despite a policy capping its stake at 25 percent.Lawyers for the shareholders did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.Valeant shares have tumbled 93 percent in the last 1-1/2 years amid criticism of the Canadian drug company''s pricing and business practices, and regulatory and congressional probes.Goldfarb, who co-managed Sequoia for 36 years, retired as Ruane, Cunniff''s chief executive last March.Sequoia sold its last Valeant shares in June, but its losses have left it still trailing 98 percent of its peers over five years, while assets have shrunk by more than half to $4.2 billion, Morningstar said on Friday.Amy Roy, a lawyer at Ropes & Gray, which represents Sequoia, said its independent directors were gratified that Sherwood "recognised the central oversight role of mutual fund boards."Poppe, who remains at Sequoia, told shareholders last July that the fund had experienced "interesting times," and that "our goal is to be much less interesting" in the future.Ruane, Cunniff''s late founder, William Ruane, was a friend and classmate of Buffett. When Buffett shut his investment partnership in 1969 to focus on Berkshire Hathaway Inc ( BRKa.N ), he recommended that clients invest with Ruane.Sequoia''s largest current investment is Berkshire. Buffett last April called Valeant''s business model "enormously flawed," and Berkshire Vice Chairman Charlie Munger last week called Valeant''s story "too good to be true."The case is Epstein et al v. Ruane, Cunniff & Goldfarb Inc et al, New York State Supreme Court, New York County, No. 650100/2016.(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/sequoia-valeant-idINKBN16326W'|'2017-02-24T15:44:00.000+02:00' +'d16464e0a56ab2ee32507c84489e4ecd2d0b3df1'|'BRIEF-Ecobalt announces C$13 million bought deal financing'|'Company 21am EST BRIEF-Ecobalt announces C$13 million bought deal financing Feb 16 Ecobalt Solutions Inc * Ecobalt announces C$13 million bought deal financing * Entered into an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters led by Canaccord Genuity Corp. * Underwriters agreed to purchase, on a bought deal basis, 13 million units of company at a price of C$1.00 per unit Source text for Eikon:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSASB0B0NI'|'2017-02-16T17:21:00.000+02:00' +'20f13c923fc91afec2cae5995c466063de120c14'|'CEE MARKETS-Warsaw leads stocks rise, bonds ease as inflation rises'|'* Higher copper price, company earnings help Polish shares * Bonds ease, Polish 10-year paper leads yield rise * Polish CPI above forecasts, central bankers say no worry (Adds Polish inflation figures, dealer and analyst comments) By Sandor Peto BUDAPEST, Feb 13 Central European stocks mostly firmed on Monday, led by Warsaw''s bluechip index which set a 17-month high on the back of higher copper prices and strong company earnings. The regional trend was in line with a global rise in shares due to expectations of economic stimulus in the United States. Prague''s main index was at its highest since late 2015. Budapest shares also touched a record high, helped by an 1.1 percent rise in OTP Bank shares, though the 9,000 forint ($31.06) mark, to hit the highest point since 2007. Warsaw''s index rose 0.9 percent by 1405 GMT, with copper producer KGHM firming 3.1 percent, after the metal reached 20-month highs in London trade. Power group PGE rose 3.6 percent after reporting strong 2016 earnings. The Polish move extended a rally last week that was driven by banks, due to better than expected bank earnings in the region and comments from the ruling party''s head, Jaroslaw Kaczynski. He said on Friday that mortgage-holders who had borrowed in Swiss francs should turn to the courts to seek redress for the pain of increased repayments rather than expect the government to impose a settlement on banks. Regional currencies were mixed and rangebound. "Without any substantial long dollar risk to be unwound, EM (emerging markets) will need an improvement in the narrative around growth and profitability for capital flows to recover and for FX to meaningfully strengthen over the medium term," said Societe Generale analyst Jason Daw in a note. Bucharest stocks eased a third of a percent, giving up some ground after reaching a 19-month high last week. Government bonds mostly eased, tracking other European markets. Poland''s 10-year bonds underperformed most European peers, with their yield rising 5 basis points to 3.87 percent. The yield rose a bit further after Poland reported 1.8 percent annual inflation for January, above analysts'' 1.6 percent forecasts. Low market liquidity caused the yield rise rather than the data, one Warsaw-based trader said. Central bank rate setters Jerzy Zyzynski and Jerzy Kropiwnicki said the inflation rise was not worrying. Citigroup analyst Eszter Gargyan was expecting a sharp rise in January CPI in Hungary as well, but said in a note the central bank would not "tighten monetary conditions as long the inflation remains within the 2-4 percent target range". Hungary will release inflation figures on Tuesday. Annual inflation picked up to 1.8 percent in December. CEE SNAPS AT 1505 MARKETS HOT CET CURRENCIES Lates Previ Daily Chang t ous e bid close chang in e 2017 Czech crown 27.02 27.02 +0.0 -0.05 00 50 2% % Hungary 308.3 308.2 -0.02 0.17% forint 000 350 % Polish 4.311 4.307 -0.09 2.15% zloty 0 2 % Romanian 4.502 4.499 -0.06 0.72% leu 4 5 % Croatian 7.449 7.455 +0.0 1.42% kuna 0 5 9% Serbian 123.9 123.8 -0.09 -0.51 dinar 800 700 % % Note: daily calculate previ close 1800 change d from ous at CET STOCK S Lates Previ Daily Chang t ous e close chang in e 2017 Prague 969.4 964.3 +0.5 +5.1 4 1 3% 9% Budapest 33327 33156 +0.5 +4.1 .13 .09 2% 4% Warsaw 2174. 2154. +0.9 +11. 68 79 2% 64% Bucharest 7642. 7668. -0.34 +7.8 41 55 % 7% Ljubljana 760.9 755.4 +0.7 +6.0 6 9 2% 4% Zagreb 2155. 2163. -0.35 +8.0 48 03 % 5% Belgrade <.BELEX15 703.5 702.5 +0.1 -1.93 > 2 8 3% % Sofia 605.1 604.4 +0.1 +3.1 5 7 1% 9% BONDS Yield Yield Sprea Daily d (bid) chang vs chang e Bund e in Czech sprea Republic d 2-year 5 9 bps 5-year 1 bps 10-year 8 bps Poland 2-year bps s 5-year bps s 10-year bps s FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M inter bank Czech Rep < 0.26 0.26 0.3 0 PRIBOR=> Hungary < 0.35 0.5 0.63 0.24 BUBOR=> Poland < 1.77 1.81 1.895 1.73 WIBOR=> Note: FRA are for Quote: s ask prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets-idINL8N1FY47S'|'2017-02-13T11:52:00.000+02:00' +'190ebc2ccd9360332eb0418ea58051a690cb372f'|'Starbucks to speed up hiring of veterans amid refugee blowback'|'U.S. - Thu Feb 2, 2017 - 11:59am EST Starbucks to speed up hiring of veterans amid refugee blowback A Starbucks store is seen inside the Tom Bradley terminal at LAX airport in Los Angeles, California, United States, October 27, 2015. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson Starbucks Corp ( SBUX.O ), facing backlash from some customers over its plans to hire refugees, said it would speed up its previously stated goal of hiring 10,000 veterans and military spouses by 2018. Chief Executive Howard Schultz announced on Sunday the company''s plans to hire 10,000 refugees over the next five years, two days after U.S. President Donald Trump''s executive order put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travelers from Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries. It was one of the strongest commitments from a CEO of a major U.S. company against Trump''s order, after several other corporate bosses have stayed silent on Trump''s immigration curbs though the president is likely to face questions when he meets some of them on Friday. As part of the refugee hiring plan, Schultz said the Starbucks would initially focus on hiring those who have served with U.S. troops as interpreters and support personnel abroad. The world''s largest coffee chain soon after faced backlash on social media with several people using #BoycottStarbucks to urge customers to stay away from its stores. Some users also posted screenshots of them deleting the company''s app on their phones. However, users including actor Jessica Chastain tweeted in support of the company after it announced its refugee hiring plans. The world''s largest coffee chain said on Thursday it had already hired over 8,800 veterans and spouses so far and pledged to "keep going". Starbucks, along with former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, had announced plans in 2013 to hire 10,000 veterans and military spouses over the next five years. (Reporting by Abhijith Ganapavaram in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta) Next In U.S.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-immigration-starbucks-idUSKBN15H24F'|'2017-02-02T23:55:00.000+02:00' +'09391fbab8a803ae59eb15735dc347137641340c'|'Channel Nine apologises to Gina Rinehart over House of Hancock miniseries - Business'|'Channel Nine has apologised to billionaire Gina Rinehart for its depiction of her in its 2015 miniseries The House of Hancock, and agreed not to circulate the program again.Rinehart had instigated legal action against Nine and the production company responsible for the program, Cordell Jigsaw, over the two-part miniseries recounting the family drama of one of Australias wealthiest mining dynasties.The northern Australia plan is good for Gina Rinehart, but is it good for the future? - Jason Wilson Read more Nine and Cordell Jigsaw apologised to Rinehart in a statement on Friday that clarified the program was a drama, not a documentary, and certain matters were fictionalised for dramatic purposes.Nine and Cordell Jigsaw accept that Mrs Rinehart had a very loving and close relationship with her mother, father and husband, and has with [her children] Hope and Ginia ...Nine and Cordell Jigsaw accept that Mrs Rinehart found the broadcast to be inaccurate. That was certainly not the intention of Nine or Cordell Jigsaw, and each unreservedly apologises to Mrs Rinehart and her family for any hurt or offence caused by the broadcast and its promotion.The statement also acknowledged Rineharts significant contribution to Australias industry and economy, as well as her longstanding support of elite sport and numerous worthwhile charities.The program makers agreed to pay Rineharts legal costs, likely to be a six-figure sum, and confirmed that the miniseries would not be sold to streaming channels, foreign markets or released on DVD.The first episode attracted more than 1.4 million viewers when it aired on the Nine network in February 2015.Rinehart won the right to see the second episode before it was broadcast in an out-of-court settlement, and ordered Nine edit parts of it out. She later took legal action against the network and subsequently the production company for defamation.Rineharts solicitor, Mark Wilks, said at the time the House of Hancock was twisted and offensive, and that some scenes were entirely false.In a statement Rinehart said she was pleased to receive a public apology for such an inaccurate and distorted mini series.This case was not about money. It was about Mrs Rinehart standing up for her deeply loved family members to try to stop the further spreading of unfair and grossly disgraceful falsehoods about her family, especially when certain of her family members are no longer here able to defend themselves.She called on politicians to activate long overdue reform to protect public figures from unfair representations in the media.In January, an Oxfam report found Rinehart to be among the wealthiest 1% of Australians.Gina Rinehart Channel Nine Australian media Television industry news Share Reuse this content'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/feb/24/channel-nine-apologises-to-gina-rinehart-over-house-of-hancock-miniseries'|'2017-02-24T14:02:00.000+02:00' +'8e21f9f8e80844eb140f6e3dd128426d3dbb5ccc'|'PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Feb 8'|'Company News - Tue Feb 7, 2017 - 8:39pm EST PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Feb 8 The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. The Times - Developers that do not build homes quickly enough could have their land seized by local authorities, in plans being proposed by UK government. bit.ly/2kk32OD - The government could demand that the Bank of England blocks the London Stock Exchange Group Plc and Deutsche Brse AG''s merger, under powers granted to the Treasury when the central bank was nationalised 71 years ago. bit.ly/2kkcrWz The Guardian - Britain could lose 30,000 finance sector jobs as a result of Brexit, but EU rivals need to act to avoid importing banking risk to the continent, according to an influential thinktank with close ties to the European commission. bit.ly/2kjPQt6 - British government is on course to impose steep cuts in public spending and increase taxes by the end of the decade to their highest level in 30 years to combat its persistent budget deficit. bit.ly/2kjPZNa The Telegraph - The EU faces a crisis which could threaten the sustainability of the eurozone as the International Monetary Fund has warned Greece''s debts are on an "explosive" path despite years of attempted austerity and economic reforms. bit.ly/2kjPAKE - Jeremy Corbyn could be forced to sack one of his closest allies as he faces a Brexit rebellion by more than 50 Labour MPs. The Labour leader has imposed a three-line whip requiring his MPs to support legislation that will enable the Government to trigger Brexit. bit.ly/2kk2ckJ Sky News - Britain''s Co-operative Group released a statement on Tuesday afternoon that said its CEO Richard Pennycook would hand over the reins of the food-to-funerals group to Steve Murrells, the head of its retail business. bit.ly/2kjZTOA - Lloyds Banking Group Plc is to review all customer cases that may have been affected by a corruption scam involving managers at its HBOS subsidiary. bit.ly/2kjVqvA The Independent - The British Government has been accused of "conning" parliamentarians into backing their plans for Brexit without offering them a meaningful vote on any deal to leave the European Union. ind.pn/2kk4T68 - Islamist hackers linked to ISIS carried out an attack on a series of NHS websites in a cyber-attack exposing serious flaws in security systems meant to protect sensitive information. ind.pn/2kk2sAt (Compiled by Bhanu Pratap in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Cooney) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-press-business-idUSL1N1FT02R'|'2017-02-08T08:39:00.000+02:00' +'ab08795e6f0637503d43b7da5b963044f329531f'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Emerging stocks at new 19-mth highs before Yellen'|'Company 31am EST EMERGING MARKETS-Emerging stocks at new 19-mth highs before Yellen By Sujata Rao - LONDON LONDON Feb 14 Emerging stocks inched to new 19-month highs on Tuesday and most currencies rose against the weaker dollar but the possibility of a March U.S. rate rise and Chinese inflation at multi-year highs kept gains in check. The rouble enjoyed its fifth straight day of gains on the back of stable oil prices and a central bank that has signalled its intention of keeping interest rates high, while the dollar easing off three-week highs after the resignation of a key U.S. presidential adviser supported most emerging assets. MSCI''s emerging equity index rose 0.2 percent, tracking world stocks higher, though markets remain wary before a testimony by U.S. Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen later in the day, in case she makes a case for a rate rise in March. Gains were also capped by data showing Chinese consumer inflation quickening to the fastest pace since May 2014 while factory prices rose at the quickest rate since mid-2011. While this shows China is at no risk of a big slowdown, it will confirm Beijing''s recent shift to a tighter monetary policy stance. Chinese stocks were flat on the day, both on the mainland and in Hong Kong . "This (inflation data) is important in that it continues a trend we have seen and fits in with this global reflation theme. 2.5 percent is still short of the 3 percent target that the central bank has but if this trend continues, the central bank will have to consider tightening monetary policy," said Jakob Christensen, chief emerging markets analyst at Danske Bank. India''s wholesale prices also rose at the fastest pace in two-and-a-half years in January, reinforcing the central bank''s decision last week to move to a neutral policy stance as inflation risks grow. The weak dollar boosted the rouble more than half a percnt to a new 19-month high while earlier in the day Asian currencies surged, led by the Korean won, which jumped more than 1 percent. The rand jumped around 1 percent. The Turkish lira firmed 0.5 percent to a one-month high , helped also by data showing a smaller-than-forecast current account deficit in December. Christensen said however that some of the improvement was down to seasonal factors and there was reason to believe recent lira weakness would not translate into a significant improvement in the deficit, which is considered Turkey''s Achilles heel. "There are some structural factors we should keep in mind - one is the impact of the fear of terrorism on tourism, and trade with Russia is also slow to pick up," he added. In central Europe, stock markets fell and currencies were unchanged against the euro, with Warsaw stocks retreating from 17-month highs after Hungary and the Czech Republic reported lower-than-expected economic growth for the last quarter of 2016. Romania however posted above-forecast 4.7 percent growth. Hungary also showed a rise in the annual inflation to 2.3 percent in January, above a 2 percent forecast. The data came after Czech and Polish figures earlier this week also showed a pick up in inflation. The Serbian dinar was slightly firmer against the euro before a central bank meeting that is likely to keep interest rates steady. For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2e7eoml For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2dZbdP5 For CENTRAL EUROPE market report, see For TURKISH market report, see For RUSSIAN market report, see ) Emerging Markets Prices from Reuters Equities Latest Net Chg % Chg % Chg on year Morgan Stanley Emrg Mkt Indx 936.61 +1.16 +0.12 +8.62 Czech Rep 968.56 -3.63 -0.37 +5.09 Poland 2167.26 -12.40 -0.57 +11.26 Hungary 33345.12 -11.07 -0.03 +4.19 Romania 7580.94 -59.95 -0.78 +7.00 Greece 623.68 -5.46 -0.87 -3.10 Russia 1169.69 -3.48 -0.30 +1.51 South Africa 45454.49 -487.32 -1.06 +3.54 Turkey 87846.47 -731.84 -0.83 +12.42 China 3218.38 +1.55 +0.05 +3.70 India 28343.80 -7.82 -0.03 +6.45 Currencies Latest Prev Local Local close currency currency'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-idUSL8N1FZ25Q'|'2017-02-14T16:31:00.000+02:00' +'a9b436fa67b08238d938620a46338398820fc41e'|'Drax earnings fall on weak power prices, loss of green scheme revenue'|'Business News - Thu Feb 16, 2017 - 7:32am GMT Drax earnings fall on weak power prices, loss of green scheme revenue A generator is seen inside Drax power station in Drax, northern England, February 16, 2011. REUTERS/Nigel Roddis LONDON British power producer Drax ( DRX.L ) reported a 17 percent fall in core annual earnings to 140 million pounds ($175 million), slightly below analysts'' estimates, citing weak power prices and the loss of revenue from a green energy scheme. Full-year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were 140 million pounds, against 169 million pounds in 2015 and consensus analysts'' forecast of 143 million pounds, the company said on Thursday. The power producer, which is converting its huge Yorkshire coal-fired power station to run on biomass, made three times more revenue from providing back-up power supply services than the previous year, with revenue of 47 million pounds. ($1 = 0.8019 pounds) (Reporting by Karolin Schaps; Editing by David Goodman) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-drax-group-results-idUKKBN15V0O8'|'2017-02-16T14:32:00.000+02:00' +'92a86988eaece0873f84ee1c493d604b5c5fd753'|'Europe lifts ban on Iraqi Airways entering airspace'|' 4:01am EST Europe lifts ban on Iraqi Airways entering airspace AirExplore charter aircraft, operating Iraqi Airways Flight IA264 to Erbil is pictured during take off at Tegel airport in Berlin, Germany, January 27, 2016. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch BAGHDAD The European Aviation Safety Agency has lifted a ban on Iraqi Airways entering European airspace, Iraq''s transport minister Kadhim al-Hamami told state television on Thursday. The national carrier was banned from flying to Europe in 2015 because it did not meet International Civil Aviation Organization safety standards. "Iraqi Airways were removed from the black list and put under monitoring by the European Aviation Safety Agency, Hamami said. (Reporting by Saif Hameed; Editing by Louise Ireland) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-aviation-idUSKBN15H0RR'|'2017-02-02T15:56:00.000+02:00' +'0a27379421c466e0527365285d95318b20185daf'|'UPDATE 1-Investments boost profit at Buffett''s Berkshire'|'(New throughout, adds details from results)Feb 25 Warren Buffett''s Berkshire Hathaway Inc on Saturday said fourth-quarter profit rose 15 percent from a year earlier, as gains from investments and derivatives offset lower profit from the BNSF railroad and other operating units.Net income rose to $6.29 billion, or $3,823 per Class A share, from $5.48 billion, or $3,333 per share, in the comparable quarter the previous year.Quarterly operating profit fell 6 percent to $4.38 billion, or $2,665 per share, from $4.67 billion, or $2,843 per share.Analysts on average had forecast operating profit of $2,716.60 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.Book value per share, which reflects assets minus liabilities and which Buffett considers a good yardstick for Berkshire''s intrinsic worth, was $172,108 at the end of the year, up 5 percent from three months earlier and 11 percent for the year.For all of 2016, profit was virtually unchanged, dropping to $24.07 billion from $24.08 billion.Operating profit rose just 1 percent to $17.58 billion, despite January''s $32.1 billion purchase of aircraft parts maker Precision Castparts Corp, Berkshire''s largest acquisition.Buffett, 86, has run Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire since 1965.He has transformed it from a failing textile company into a conglomerate with more than 90 businesses in such areas as insurance, railroads, industrial products, energy, food, apparel and real estate.Quarterly results benefited as investment and derivative gains more than doubled, to $1.9 billion from $805 million.Profit from Berkshire''s insurance operations, including Geico and General Re, rose 7 percent to $1.44 billion.The insurance units ended 2016 with $91.6 billion of float, the amount of premiums held before claims are paid, and which Buffett uses to fund acquisitions and other investments.Profit at the BNSF railroad unit fell 8 percent to $993 million. The railroad has been hurt by falling volumes for coal and industrial products.In Friday trading, Berkshire''s Class A shares closed at $255,040, and its Class B shares closed at $170.22. Both were record closing highs.The shares outperformed the Standard & Poor''s 500 including dividends by 11.4 percentage points in 2016, after lagging by 13.9 percentage points in 2015. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David Gregorio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/berkshire-hatha-results-idINL1N1GA08K'|'2017-02-25T11:18:00.000+02:00' +'8348847a97f3380597131160736bc3df169e5f2f'|'Trump Threatens to Undo Naftas Auto Alley'|'In his first week in office, President Trump made good on his campaign promise to overhaul U.S. trade policy. On Jan. 23 he signed a memorandum to pull out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and made clear his desire to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico.The next day Trump summoned executives from the Big Three U.S. automakers, Ford, Fiat Chrysler, and General Motors, to the White House. He set the tone with a tweet saying he wants new plants to be built here for cars sold here. Its impossible to know what benefits may have been lost with TPP, which died before it ever came into force. What is certain, however, is that Nafta has benefited the auto industry in North America, and unraveling it may cut more jobs than it brings back.Under Naftas common market, a supply chain of automotive assembly lines and parts makers has developed over the past 20 years, stretching some 2,500 miles, from Toronto through Detroit and the U.S. Midwest and south to the Mexican border states. This auto alley employs more than 1.5 million people; and though it encompasses three countries, it functions as one integrated production region, says Thomas Klier, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.Theres been so much investment in Mexico, intertwining both assembly lines and parts suppliers with U.S. and Canadian operations, that bringing final assembly back to the U.S. would be like taking eggs out of an omelet. A new car can contain upwards of 10,000 parts, says Klier, many of which move back and forth across borders as theyre combined into dashboards or transmissions, before being installed as a car rolls off the line. Labor-intensive parts such as a wiring harness or seats can be made in lower-cost Mexico, while more complex parts are made in the U.S.As carmakers have standardized their operations, using the same chassis for multiple models, its become easier to shift production. If Trump levies a big tax on Mexican-made cars, its not completely certain that assembly and parts production will return to Michigan. Carmakers may instead shift production to a cheaper offshore site. Then you have to play whack-a-mole with every low-cost country, says Bernard Swiecki, senior analyst with the Center for Automotive Research in Michigan.If that happens, the U.S. could lose about 31,000 jobs, according to CAR. Heres why: About 40 percent of the parts in all Mexican-made products come from U.S. plants. The share is even more pronounced for the U.S. carmakers. GM gets more than 70 percent of its parts from the U.S. for its Mexican factories, says Alan Batey, the companys North America president. Start building those cars in low-cost Asian plants to avoid tariffs, and the parts would likely follow, Swiecki says.Crucially, its not only GM, Ford, and Fiat Chrysler that make cars in Mexico for the U.S. market. Volkswagen, Nissan, Honda, and Toyota do, too. If they all move production to their home countries, theyd have less reason to buy U.S. parts. In a 2016 working paper, Thierry Mayer, an economist at SciencesPo in Paris, and Keith Head of the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia looked at two policy scenarios: 35 percent tariffs and countertariffs at the U.S.-Mexico border (as Trump threatened during the campaign) and the complete dissolution of Nafta. Using data on auto-part sourcing by brand and model, they estimate that Mexicos share of global auto production would plummet under both scenarios.As a negotiating threat, the tariff is effective. Its less effective as policy. Mayer and Head estimate that the U.S. would win only a small share of global production with a 35 percent tariff and lose a small share with the end of Nafta. Winners in both cases: Germany, South Korea, and particularly Japan, which would simply bring their Mexican production home.The bottom line: Renegotiating Nafta by putting tariffs on Mexican imports could result in the auto industry losing 31,000 U.S. jobs.'|'bloomberg.com'|'https://www.bloomberg.com/businessweek'|'http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-26/trump-threatens-to-undo-nafta-s-auto-alley'|'2017-01-27T03:39:00.000+02:00' +'ec86be8e7f42658846ef14edfc389bf23bb7333a'|'UPDATE 1-Argos says independent committee predicts trial failure, shares slump'|'Health 05am EST Argos says independent committee predicts trial failure, shares slump Argos Therapeutics Inc said on Wednesday that an independent data monitoring committee concluded that the company''s experimental treatment for metastatic renal cell carcinoma would likely fail. The company''s share plunged about 72 percent in premarket trading. Argos said the committee had recommended discontinuing the late-stage study, saying that a planned interim data analysis showed the combination treatment was unlikely to demonstrate a statistically significant improvement in patients'' overall survival. The company said it is analyzing the trial data and plans to discuss it with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and would then decide the next steps for the clinical program. (Reporting by Akankshita Mukhopadhyay in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza) Next In Health News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-argos-study-idUSKBN1611PA'|'2017-02-22T20:57:00.000+02:00' +'aca52831534d1d743af3f7506c05b04e21fcf013'|'FTC to focus on consumer injury, minimizing paperwork requests to companies'|'By Diane Bartz - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Feb 2 The Federal Trade Commission will focus on fraud and be judicious in making paperwork requests when it opens an investigation into a company, acting FTC Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen said in a speech on Thursday.Ohlhausen called fighting fraud the "core of the FTC''s consumer protection mission.""These cases may not forge new legal ground or prompt huge headlines but such actions defend the consumer harmed by an unscrupulous con artist," she said at an American Bar Association Consumer Protection Conference in Atlanta, according to an advance text of her speech.Taking a cue from President Donald Trump''s interest in cutting red tape, Ohlhausen said that she would push to streamline agency information requests. "Such requests impose large compliance costs on legitimate companies," she said.During the Obama administration, the FTC was aggressive in going after companies such as Wyndham Hotels that it alleged were sloppy with consumer data and also pursued companies like POM Wonderful that made health claims the agency felt were inadequately substantiated.That said, she said she supported the FTC''s decision to go after the infidelity-dating website Ashley Madison after a 2015 data breach resulted in a leak of details on 36 million user accounts. She noted that people committed suicide after they were found to have used the site."Although monetary injury has been our primary focus, we have seen substantial injury arise from the exposure of more than just financial information," she said.But she disagreed with other assessments of harm, including the agency''s $20 million settlement with ride-hailing company Uber last month over allegations it exaggerated earnings claims to attract drivers. "It was an order of magnitude higher than our best evidence of consumer harm," she said.But John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog, which has pushed the FTC to be more aggressive, strongly supported the Uber settlement. "Disgorgement seems to be the only way to get the attention of these companies," he said.Alden Abbott of the conservative Heritage Foundation called the acting chairman''s priorities "good steps forward. She''s careful, she''s judicious and focused on consumer injury."The FTC normally has five members but two seats are vacant. A third becomes vacant next week when former Chairwoman Edith Ramirez steps down, leaving just Ohlhausen and Democrat Terrell McSweeny at the agency. It is not known when Trump will name a permanent chair or fill the three empty seats. (Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/ftc-ohlhausen-idINL1N1FN1B8'|'2017-02-02T15:34:00.000+02:00' +'ec860b8d250715f6ace4d50a3f2161469bf83a0a'|'Revamping Dodd-Frank is a ''this-year priority'': U.S. Rep. Hensarling'|'Politics - Tue Feb 7, 2017 - 3:51pm EST Revamping Dodd-Frank is a ''this-year priority'': U.S. Rep. Hensarling U.S. Representative Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) speaks to members of the media after meeting with U.S. President Elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S., November 17, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar WASHINGTON The chairman of the U.S. Financial Services Committee on Tuesday told CNBC that revamping the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law remains a "this-year priority" for President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Paul Ryan. The chairman, Texas Republican Jeb Hensarling, said he would soon re-introduce his legislation that gives banks a choice between complying with Dodd-Frank and holding more capital. While the bill is expected to easily pass the Republican-led House, it will face resistance in the Senate, where Democrats hold enough seats to fillibuster. Pence is also the most powerful member of the Senate, and can cast votes in order to break ties on legislation. (Reporting by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli) Next In Politics'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-congress-financial-idUSKBN15M2EW'|'2017-02-08T03:51:00.000+02:00' +'12bebdeb3a6b07e9fd6c8c226791e35870f570a2'|'UK''s appeal court cuts jail term for Libor trader'|'Business UK''s appeal court cuts jail term for Libor trader Former Barclays trader Jay Merchant arrives for sentencing at Southwark Crown Court in London, Britain July 7, 2016. REUTERS/Neil Hall By Kirstin Ridley - LONDON LONDON A former Barclays ( BARC.L ) trader had his jail term for conspiring to rig global Libor interest rates cut by one year to five-and-a-half years by the Court of Appeal in London on Wednesday. Jay Merchant, a former New York-based derivatives trader, was convicted by a jury last year in the third case brought to trial by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in an investigation into alleged Libor (London interbank offered rate) manipulation. Merchant is the second person to have a Libor-related sentence reduced by London''s Court of Appeal. Tom Hayes, a former UBS ( UBSG.S ) and Citigroup ( C.N ) derivatives trader, had his initial 14-year sentence cut to 11 years on appeal in 2015. Hayes, the first person convicted worldwide by a jury of Libor-rigging offences, launched a last-ditch attempt in January to overturn his conviction by lodging an appeal with the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which looks at miscarriages of justice. Hayes is also challenging a plan by the UK regulator to ban him from working in the UK financial services industry, according to one source familiar with the situation. Hayes''s challenge was received by London''s Upper Tribunal, which hears appeals on cases brought by the regulator, on Dec. 23, according to official listings. Hayes''s lawyer requests for comment and the FCA But it is standard practice for the FCA to seek to bar individuals from working in financial services after a criminal conviction. Libor, designed to reflect the cost of bank-to-bank borrowing, is a benchmark for rates on around $450 trillion (361 trillion pound) worth of financial contracts and loans worldwide. (Reporting by Kirstin Ridley; editing by Susan Thomas) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-court-libor-britain-idUKKBN1611VY'|'2017-02-22T22:13:00.000+02:00' +'61f8df0b9660405793491ef69a352030bba3f1fb'|'Britain''s Rolls-Royce posts record reported loss'|'Business News 45am EST Britain''s Rolls-Royce posts record reported loss left right FILE PHOTO - Rolls Royce Trent XWB engines, designed specifically for the Airbus A350 family of aircraft, are seen on the assembly line at the Rolls Royce factory in Derby, November 30, 2016. REUTERS/Paul Ellis/Pool/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO - A Rolls-Royce logo is seen at the company''s aerospace engineering and development site in Bristol, Britain, December 17, 2015. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo 2/2 LONDON Rolls-Royce ( RR.L ) posted a record reported loss of 4.6 billion pounds ($5.8 billion) on Tuesday as a fine to settle bribery charges and the collapse in the pound from Brexit capped a difficult few years for the British aero engine maker. In restructuring mode following a string of profit warnings, Rolls said more costs needed to be taken out of the business after its 2016 profit fell by 49 percent to 813 million pounds on an underlying basis - an outcome that did, however, exceed analysts'' expectations. The group said it would maintain, rather than raise, its final dividend in order to retain a degree of financial flexibility. "While we have made good progress in our cost cutting and efficiency programs, more needs to be done to ensure we drive sustainable margin improvements within the business," Chief Executive Warren East said. "Over the next few months we will conclude our review of our strengths and investment opportunities and set out an appropriate vision for the business and the best way we can deliver sustainable shareholder value." Rolls-Royce has faced challenges across its business in recent years, weighing on its revenue and profit. That has prompted East, who took the job in 2015, to restructure the company to respond to changes in civil aviation and other sectors. The group said it expected "modest performance improvements" this year. (Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Kate Holton and James Davey) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-rolls-royce-hldg-results-idUSKBN15T0Q5'|'2017-02-14T14:45:00.000+02:00' +'74623f91d8ce0e13d0e0cd396630ada4989a4a13'|'Northern Trust buys UBS Asset Management administration units'|'ZURICH U.S.-based Northern Trust ( NTRS.O ) is buying UBS Group''s ( UBSG.S ) UBS Asset Management fund administration servicing units in Luxembourg and Switzerland, UBS said in a statement on Monday.Financial terms were not disclosed.Northern Trust will become the fund administration services provider for UBS funds with about 420 billion Swiss francs($418.91 billion)in assets.UBS clients will continue to work with their existing relationship management teams, it said.Northern Trust is expanding in Europe, while UBS said shifting the administration of its funds to another company would boost efficiency.In 2015, UBS sold its Alternative Fund Services (AFS) business in the Cayman Islands to Mitsubishi UFG Financial Group ( 8306.T ).Analysts from Zuercher Kantonalbank said fund administration is a "commodity business" where size is the most important factor."It makes no sense for UBS to tie up resources in this business," analyst Javier Lodeiro wrote in a note to investors. "Even so, Monday''s transaction has neither the dimensions nor the strategic significance to have an impact on UBS shares."(Reporting by John Miller; editing by Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-ubs-group-m-a-nthern-trust-idINKBN15Z0NC'|'2017-02-20T05:07:00.000+02:00' +'3de2fb2723a7c2b350c6d53724504876dc373d9b'|'FTSE boosted by banks and insurers'|'Business News - Wed Feb 15, 2017 - 10:16am GMT FTSE boosted by banks and insurers People walk through the lobby of the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain November 30, 2015. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett By Helen Reid - LONDON LONDON Britain''s major share index gained on Wednesday, as investors bet on banking stocks after Federal Reserve Chief Janet Yellen''s hawkish tone on Tuesday suggested U.S. interest rates would rise. RBS ( RBS.L ), Standard Chartered ( STAN.L ), Barclays ( BARC.L ) and Lloyds ( LLOY.L ) were among top gainers, up 1.5 to 2.2 percent, buoyed by Yellen saying the Fed would likely need to raise interest rates at its next meeting. The FTSE 350 banking index .FTNMX8350 was the top sectoral gainer, up 1.5 percent. Higher interest rates translate into higher margins for banks, which have been under pressure from a "lower for longer" interest-rate environment. "In focus today will likely be the second day of Fed Chair Janet Yellens testimony, day one having been digested as hawkish, sending the dollar to levels last seen on Jan. 20," said Michael van Dulken from Accendo Markets. "While the euro has since sold off, note sterling remains rather resilient holding the FTSE back from bettering Mondays highs." Construction company Ashtead ( AHT.L ) was the top gainer, up 2.5 percent, and insurers Prudential ( PRU.L ) and Legal & General ( LGEN.L ) also gained along with miners BHP Billiton ( BLT.L ) and Anglo American ( AAL.L ). Tour operator TUI ( TUIT.L ) was the biggest loser on the index, down 5.7 percent after its results prompted exuberance on Tuesday. The stock erased its gains in the previous session. The mid-cap index .FTMC hit an all-time high of 18,847.76 points at the open, maintaining momentum from Tuesday''s session, and was last up 0.1 percent. Acacia Mining ( ACAA.L ) was among top gainers, up 4.2 percent after Credit Suisse raised its rating on the stock to "outperform". Gambling companies Ladbrokes ( LCL.L ) and William Hill ( WMH.L ) were under pressure, however, down 3.7 and 2.5 percent after HSBC cut its ratings on both stocks to "reduce" from "hold". NEX Group ( NXGN.L ), a brokerage which reported higher earnings on volatile markets after Donald Trump''s election as U.S. president, was also down 3.8 percent. (Reporting by Helen Reid, additional reporting by Kit Rees; Editing by Janet Lawrence) Next In Business News ECB can force hand of banks that fail to cut bad loans - Donnery FRANKFURT The European Central Bank can set binding requirements if it thinks a bank is not cutting its pile of unpaid loans fast enough, the ECB official in charge of tackling non-performing loans (NPL) in the euro zone said on Wednesday.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks-idUKKBN15U13I'|'2017-02-15T17:16:00.000+02:00' +'8e5ad8e7aa76963e1ba166d2f6ca5be9d0e58825'|'BRIEF-ServiceNow names John Donahoe president and CEO'|' 16am EST BRIEF-ServiceNow names John Donahoe president and CEO Feb 27 ServiceNow Inc: * ServiceNow names John Donahoe president and CEO * ServiceNow Inc - current president, CEO and chairman of board, Frank Slootman to remain as chairman * ServiceNow - Donahoe was formerly president and chief executive officer of Ebay Inc * ServiceNow - current president, CEO Frank Slootman will continue as chairman upon stepping down from his management role on April 3, 2017 Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-servicenow-names-john-donahoe-pres-idUSASB0B2FM'|'2017-02-27T21:16:00.000+02:00' +'e763dee07d419f0e7bd59c810ac0f078c33e48ba'|'KKR succeeds with Gfk stake purchase, clears way for turnaround'|'FRANKFURT/BERLIN Private equity firm KKR ( KKR.N ) has acquired a 18.54 percent stake in German market researcher GfK ( GFKG.DE ), GfK said, allowing it to drive strategic change with top shareholder GfK Verein.Shareholders in GfK, best known for its consumer confidence indices, have tendered their holdings to KKR by a Friday midnight deadline, a spokeswoman said on Saturday. Together, KKR and GfK Verein now control at least 75 percent of the company.On Friday, shareholders had only tendered 14.5 percent of stock in GfK, still short of the minimum threshold of 18.54 percent.New York-based KKR, known for successfully turning around media companies, has said it sees opportunities to transform GfK into a technology-based market research leader.Its 43.50 euros a share offer for GfK was contingent upon reaching a 18.54 percent threshold. Shareholders in GfK who have not yet taken the offer will continue to be able to sell stock at the same price between Feb. 16 and March 1."We now have strong partners at our side to implement our growth strategy quickly and consistently," company executive Gerhard Hausruckinger said in an emailed statement, adding the players will make GfK "fit for the future."Adjusted operating profit plunged almost a fifth last year at Nuremberg-based GfK which has struggled to keep up with digital competition.U.S. businessman Michael Dell, founder of Dell Technologies ( DVMT.N ), has also been building a stake in GfK. Dell''s MSD Capital fund manages more than $12 billion in assets, the company says on its website, which lists merger arbitrage as one of its investment strategies.(Reporting by Alexander Huebner and Andreas Cremer; Editing by Clelia Oziel)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-gfk-m-a-kkr-idINKBN15Q0I1'|'2017-02-11T11:26:00.000+02:00' +'c69385936b836865a5870625d27e4f3e8918a718'|'Pharma industry shuns Trump push for radical shift at FDA'|'Business News - Wed Feb 15, 2017 - 1:07am EST Pharma industry shuns Trump push for radical shift at FDA A view shows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland August 14, 2012. REUTERS/Jason Reed/File Photo By Deena Beasley U.S. President Donald Trump''s vow to roll back government regulations at least 75 percent is causing anxiety for some pharmaceutical executives that a less robust Food and Drug Administration would make it harder to secure insurance coverage for pricey new medicines. The prospect of big change at the regulatory agency comes as drugmakers are under fire for high prices, including Marathon Pharmaceuticals LLC, which said Monday it was "pausing" the launch of its Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug after U.S. lawmakers questioned its $89,000 a year price. Industry trade group Biotechnology Innovation Organization told Reuters that during high-level discussions with Trump advisors, lobbyists urged the administration not to name a new commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration who would act rashly to speed up the agencys approval of new medicines. That sentiment was echoed by executives at more than a dozen pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms, who told Reuters that the FDA is already adopting new drug development models and warned that a looser review process would put patients at risk. "People often argue that the FDA is too restrictive," said Roger Perlmutter, head of research and development at Merck & Co Inc ( MRK.N ). "We have the sense that the balance is pretty right ... you have to have a well-characterized risk/benefit profile." That stance underscores the unique position the drug industry finds itself in when it comes to regulating its products. While most sectors welcome less oversight, drugmakers say a robust review process is critical in convincing physicians and insurers that a pricey new medicine has value. Otherwise, the time and money it takes to get a new drug to market - estimates run as high as $2.6 billion - would be lost if insurers are not willing to pay for the product. "It is great that the administration is seeking deregulation ... to make sure the private sector can be more competitive," said John Maraganore, chief executive officer at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc ( ALNY.O ) and co-chair of BIO''s regulatory committee. "But payers are looking for evidence of value." He said the FDA should speed the approval of lower cost generic versions of drugs that have lost patent protection, but warned that allowing novel products to be launched without extensive testing could be dangerous. "Any change at the FDA that allows drugs to be tried out on patients without clinical evidence is a damaging approach," said Jeremy Levin, chief executive officer at Ovid Therapeutics Inc., which is developing drugs for rare diseases. Health insurers are pushing back against high-priced drugs. Sales of expensive new cholesterol drugs from Amgen Inc ( AMGN.O ) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc ( REGN.O ) have stalled as insurers limit coverage until they see results of trials designed to prove that the drugs significantly lower the risk of heart attack and other cardiovascular crises. "It is one thing to get a drug approved, but you have got to get reimbursed," said Paul Perreault, CEO at biotech company CSL Ltd ( CSL.AX ), adding that won''t happen unless payers see proof that a new drug is better than what is already available. To be sure, some pharmaceutical executives have been vocal about the need for deregulation. Reducing regulation "will help with drug prices, because it will induce more competition," Pfizer Inc ( PFE.N ) CEO Ian Read said on a recent conference call. After top executives at Merck, Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ.N ) and others met at the White House last month with Trump, who pledged to streamline the FDA, industry trade group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America said the meeting found common ground such as tax reform, and removal of outdated regulations. The trade group declined to comment on changes at the FDA. The prospect of a shake-up at the FDA is being welcomed by a new class of investor with ambitions to disrupt the current drug development model, in which larger pharmaceutical players often buy or license early-stage medicines, and reap the bigger rewards if they succeed. "The system we have now has its roots 50, 60 even 70 years ago ... it has become incredibly expensive," said Tim Shannon, of venture capital firm Canaan Partners. He supports the notion that some prescription medications could reach the market, possibly at discounted prices, once testing shows they are safe. If such controlled usage indicates that they are also effective, prices could then be raised. "We want to make healthcare itself more efficient," he said. "Let the marketplace decide how valuable a drug is." The fate of deregulating the FDA will be driven by its next commissioner. President Trump said last month he has a "fantastic person" lined up for the role. Candidates, according to sources close to the administration, include former FDA staffer Scott Gottlieb, and Jim O''Neill, a colleague of Trump supporter Peter Thiel who has advocated for allowing some medicines to reach the market once they are shown to be safe, even if there is scant evidence that they work. A recent survey of drug company executives conducted by Mizuho Securities found that 72 percent said Gottlieb should be Trump''s pick to head the FDA. "There is no groundswell of movement for change," said attorney Jim Shehan, head of Lowenstein Sandler''s FDA regulatory practice. "The industry likes certainty." (Editing by Edward Tobin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-healthcare-regulation-analy-idUSKBN15U0GP'|'2017-02-15T13:07:00.000+02:00' +'a5e1c25454a7fc64979d968c0a928e97dbf20124'|'Banks fight for $40 million fee pot in advising on Vodafone India merger'|'Business News - Wed Feb 15, 2017 - 7:20am GMT Banks fight for $40 million fee pot in advising on Vodafone India merger FILE PHOTO: A man casts silhouette onto an electronic screen displaying logo of Vodafone India after a news conference to announce the half year results in Mumbai, India, November 10, 2015. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade/File Photo By Sumeet Chatterjee and Devidutta Tripathy - HONG KONG/MUMBAI HONG KONG/MUMBAI BofA Merrill Lynch, UBS and Standard Chartered are among banks scrambling to win advisory roles in a potential merger involving Vodafone in India, sources said, as they chase a rare big deals-related payday in the country. Britain''s Vodafone Group said last month it was in talks to merge its Indian subsidiary with Idea Cellular in an all-share deal. The merger will create India''s largest mobile operator with about $12 billion (9.6 billion pounds) in sales. The banks picked to advise on the deal could end up sharing as much as $40 million, according to Freeman Consulting. That is about 10 percent of the total investment banking fee pool last year in India, where advisory fees are among the lowest when compared to other major global markets. Vodafone is in talks with Merrill Lynch, UBS and M&A boutique firm Rothschild for advisory roles, three sources with direct knowledge of the development, told Reuters. Merrill and UBS had earlier been hired by Vodafone on a planned Indian listing. Morgan Stanley has already been picked for the advisory role in the proposed merger, the sources added. Idea Cellular, part of India''s metals to financial services Aditya Birla conglomerate, is likely to rope in StanChart and some Indian boutiques to work on the transaction, said the sources. They said the talks for hiring the advisers have not been completed and the list could change. Morgan Stanley, StanChart, UBS and Rothschild declined to comment, while BofA Merrill Lynch, Vodafone and Idea did not respond to a request for comment. The sources declined to be named as procedures related to the merger talks are not public. In India, total fee earned from investment banking services, including M&A, equity and bonds, fell to $462.6 million in 2016, from $491 million a year ago, according to Thomson Reuters data, as equity capital market volume nearly halved. The $40 million estimated fee pot in the potential Vodafone India deal is small when compared to the payouts from multi-billion M&A deals in advanced markets. But it is big by standards in India, where M&A advisory fees tend to be 25-50 percent lower compared to the United States, Hong Kong and Singapore, as per industry estimates. Foreign bankers in India privately grumble about the lack of a substantial number of M&A and equity underwriting deals worth more than $1 billion, making it harder for them to justify costs to their headquarters. As a result, all large private investment banking deals see tough competition for winning advisory mandates, with global investment banks also vying with a host of local and well-connected boutique banks. About half a dozen foreign banks had been roped in last year to manage Vodafone''s highly-anticipated IPO in India, which was set to raise as much as $3 billion. But with the Vodafone unit now in merger talks with listed Idea, that IPO plan is now off the table, and so is the rare opportunity to earn as much as $60 million in underwriting fees, the sources told Reuters. (Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee and Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-india-vodafone-banks-idUKKBN15U0LV'|'2017-02-15T14:20:00.000+02:00' +'a76abb1b4f57bf50d899c24580744e43d7490641'|'FTSE up as Barclays, RSA gains outweigh ex-divs'|' 10:23am GMT FTSE up as Barclays, RSA gains outweigh ex-divs A red London bus passes the Stock Exchange in London, Britain, February 9, 2011. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/File Photo By Helen Reid - LONDON LONDON Britain''s blue-chip index .FTSE edged up on Thursday as strong showings from Barclays, Intu and RSA outweighed losses through companies going ex-dividend. Barclays ( BARC.L ) was the third listed British lender to report earnings this week, surprising investors and analysts with an increase in its core capital ratio, a measure of financial security. "The capital ratio increase is rather important for Barclays, because this is a bank that had lagged peers in terms of its capital and hadn''t performed well in last year''s stress tests, so any improvement in capital is well-received," said Jefferies banking analyst Joseph Dickerson. Lloyds ( LLOY.L ), which reported yesterday, was also up 1.9 percent. HSBC ( HSBA.L ) was down 1.8 percent. Insurer RSA ( RSA.L ) was a top gainer, up 4.3 percent after it posted a 2016 profit beat and increased its target for return on equity. CEO Stephen Hester said customers had benefited ''significantly'' from RSA''s not having been sold to Zurich Insurance ( ZURN.S ), which withdrew a takeover attempt in September 2015. "We like what Stephen Hester is doing at RSA and view the recent announcement of the disposal of the UK legacy book as a great deal but, in our view, this good news is now all in the share price," says Panmure Gordon analyst Barrie Cornes. The broker has a ''hold'' rating on the stock. Intu Properties ( INTUP.L ), which owns and manages shopping centres, was top FTSE gainer, up 6.7 percent and headed for its best day in six years after its earnings beat expectations and it increased its dividend. Intu was one of the most shorted stocks before its earnings report this week, according to figures from HIS Markit, with 11.9 percent of its shares outstanding on loan. Defence company BAE Systems gained 2.4 percent after it reported a better-than-expected rise in sales. BAE, which had its best day in over four years on Nov 10, the day after President Donald Trump''s election, said it stands to gain from increased defence spending in many of its markets. Miner Glencore ( GLEN.L ) gained 2.8 percent after it posted an 18 percent rise in core profit on a rebound in global commodity prices. Centrica CAN.L was losing 3.6 percent despite returning to profit growth and flagging the possibility of a dividend rise after two years of shareholder payout cuts . "Today''s dividend announcement of no growth in 2016 was a surprise," Jefferies analysts said, adding Centrica''s pension deficit ballooning to 1.1 billion in 2016 could be the reason for this. "Centrica is clearly prioritising secure credit metrics in the near term; consensus had expected 3 percent dividend growth in both 2016 and 2017." EasyJet ( EZJ.L ) and Rio Tinto ( RIO.L ) were top fallers due to going ex-dividend, down 4.8 and 3.7 percent. Companies going ex-dividend took an estimated 12.3 points off the index. Travel and leisure company Carnival ( CCL.L ) gained 2 percent despite going ex-dividend. A hike in target price from Credit Suisse from 4860p to 5380p could have been supporting the stock. (Reporting by Helen Reid, editing by Larry King) UK inflation expectations steady for year ahead, rise further out LONDON The British public''s expectations for inflation over the coming year held at their highest level in more than three years last month but rose for inflation further ahead, a monthly survey by bank Citi and polling firm YouGov showed on Thursday.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks-idUKKBN16212D'|'2017-02-23T17:23:00.000+02:00' +'424d4017f4e13cfe59988051fe3e60d75c9c6ef9'|'Stock futures dip as Wall Street rally loses momentum'|'Business News - Fri Feb 17, 2017 - 7:44am EST Stock futures dip as Wall Street rally loses momentum Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., February 7, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid By Yashaswini Swamynathan U.S. stock index futures fell for the second straight day on Friday, after a record-setting few days on Wall Street, as investors await clarity on economic policy and ahead of a long weekend. The S&P 500 has rise about 5 percent so far in 2017, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 4 percent, mainly on signs of an improving economy and promises by President Donald Trump to cut corporate taxes and reduce financial regulations. Now, with a strong fourth-quarter earnings season mostly complete, many investors say they need concrete signs of progress from Trump to justify more gains. Trump used his first solo news conference on Thursday to lash out at reporters on what he viewed as unfair coverage of his first few weeks in office. The Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to close at a record high for the sixth straight session on Thursday, but losses in energy shares caused the S&P to snap a seven-day winning streak. The lack of key economic data and a long weekend due to the Presidents Day holiday on Monday is also likely to keep investors from taking new positions. Banks stocks, which have outperformed other sectors in the so-called "Trump trade", dropped in premarket trading as investors booked profits. Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ), Wells Fargo ( WFC.N ) and Citigroup ( C.N ) were the biggest losers, falling more than 1 percent. Dow component UnitedHealth ( UNH.N ) slipped 3.1 percent to $158.50 after the Justice Department joined a whistleblower lawsuit against the health insurer. Kraft ( KHC.O ) jumped 4.4 percent after it offered to buy Unilever ( ULVR.L ). Despite rejecting the offer, Unilever''s U.S.-listed shares ( UL.N ) jumped 11 percent. Mondelez ( MDLZ.O ), rumored to be a Kraft acquisition target, dropped more than 6 percent. Futures snapshot at 7:06 a.m. ET: Dow e-minis 1YMc1 were down 40 points, or 0.19 percent, with 23,975 contracts changing hands. S&P 500 e-minis ESc1 were down 4.5 points, or 0.19 percent, with 116,905 contracts traded. Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQc1 were down 6.25 points, or 0.12 percent, on volume of 21,148 contracts. (Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks-idUSKBN15W1AV'|'2017-02-17T19:44:00.000+02:00' +'5042bb5eaa08ff74481d66a17d220ff68cb0577c'|'BRIEF-Paradice Investment Management reports 5.1 percent passive stake in Crawford & Co as of December 31, 2016'|' 19pm EST BRIEF-Paradice Investment Management reports 5.1 percent passive stake in Crawford & Co as of December 31, 2016 Feb 6 Paradice Investment Management * Paradice Investment Management reports 5.1 percent passive stake in Crawford & Co as of December 31, 2016- SEC filing Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1FR0T9'|'2017-02-07T02:19:00.000+02:00' +'07603076316704ed10e4cf0223bddad2dd7a5d7f'|'PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - Feb 21'|' 1:00am EST PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - Feb 21 Feb 21 The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. - Deal talks between Kraft Heinz and Unilever are dead, but both consumer-goods giants now find themselves under heightened pressure to make bold moves to accelerate growth. on.wsj.com/2lpm6wk - President Trump selected Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, an active duty Army officer, now director of a key military integration and operations center, as his next national security adviser. on.wsj.com/2lpgWjT - Defense Secretary Jim Mattis appears to be at odds with President Trump on Russia and other key issues, setting up potential discord but also helping to nudge the White House toward more conventional policy stances. on.wsj.com/2lpcS36 - Russia''s ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, died unexpectedly Monday, according to an announcement at the U.N. and Russia media reports. on.wsj.com/2lp1VOV - Toys "R" US Inc recently laid off between 10 percent and 15 percent of its corporate employees, the latest retailer to cut jobs as shopping rapidly shifts from physical stores to online ones. on.wsj.com/2lpd4PZ - Uber Technologies Inc said it is investigating claims by a former employee that the company failed to discipline a manager who mistreated female employees and ignored complaints of sexual harassment. on.wsj.com/2lpjtKP - Saudi Arabia IPO-ARMO.SE is leaning toward listing its giant, state-run oil company in New York, London or Toronto and has soured on the prospect of floating the firm on an Asian stock exchange. on.wsj.com/2lpg4vn - China''s suspension of coal imports from its ally North Korea gives Beijing more leverage to press the U.S. for fresh diplomatic efforts in curbing Pyongyang''s nuclear ambitions. on.wsj.com/2lpqOu1 (Compiled by Vishal Sridhar in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/press-digest-wsj-idUSL4N1G625E'|'2017-02-21T13:00:00.000+02:00' +'26c3cea05df6e95f3e3ac70a1b114f7ab4b2b095'|'PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Feb 7'|'Feb 7 The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.The TimesIsraeli PM insists Britain must get tough with IranThe Israeli prime minister urged Theresa May to follow the United States in imposing fresh sanctions against Iran as the two met for the first time on the steps of No 10. bit.ly/2lith90Stay away from parliament, Bercow tells ''sexist, racist'' TrumpIn an intervention that will bring embarrassment for Theresa May, John Bercow told Members of Parliament that the US president should be denied the honour of addressing the House of Commons or Lords during a state visit this year. bit.ly/2liooN2The GuardianUber driver tells MPs: I work 90 hours but still need to claim benefitsUber drivers have told Members of Parliament they felt trapped in a job that forced them to work long hours just to cover costs including the purchase of their cars. bit.ly/2lixAkxCut beer duty to beat price hikes after Brexit vote, says CamraThe Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) is stepping up its push to keep the price of a pint down for millions of UK pub-goers, calling on the Treasury to reduce beer duty by 1p a pint in next month''s budget. bit.ly/2livst0The TelegraphECB''s Mario Draghi warns on liquidity shock as tapering nearsThe European Central Bank is bracing for a painful ''taper tantrum'' as it reins in emergency stimulus and slows the pace of bond purchases next month, all too aware that market liquidity could dry up suddenly. bit.ly/2lipcByHong Kong''s Li dynasty trade UK assets as Three buys Relish wireless broadband for 250 mln stgTwo arms of one of Asia''s richest families have agreed the 20 mln stg sale of UK Broadband, the operator behind the Relish wireless brand, to the mobile operator Three. bit.ly/2litt8cSky NewsBuy-to-let lender plots float after Brexit fears halted saleSky News has learnt that Charter Court Financial Services, the owner of the Exact and Precise mortgage brands, has drafted in investment bankers to work on an initial public offering later this year. bit.ly/2litnO5Wonga strikes 60 mln stg deal to sell European unit to Swedish suitorWonga, Britain''s best-known payday lender, will this week announce the sale of a big chunk of its European operations, underlining its continuing international retrenchment in the wake of a torrid period for the business. bit.ly/2liuZHsThe IndependentBrexit will not affect UK economy''s long term future, a new study suggestsBrexit will prove to be little more than a bump in the road for the UK economy in the long run and the country will successfully defend its spot as one of the world''s fastest growing developed economies in decades to come, according to predictions published in a new study. ind.pn/2liq8py (Compiled by Shalini Nagarajan in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-press-business-idINL1N1FS00V'|'2017-02-06T21:28:00.000+02:00' +'7b65e044c5b0e4091f5b81e4ed14cf11b434d52c'|'REFILE-UPDATE 2-Perrigo adds three directors in deal with activist Starboard'|'(Adds dropped word ''operating'' in Alford''s title, paragraph 2)By Michael Flaherty and Greg RoumeliotisFeb 7 Drugmaker Perrigo Co Plc struck a deal on Tuesday with Starboard Value LP, agreeing to add three directors to the board as the activist hedge fund ramps up pressure on the company.Starboard''s CEO and founder Jeffrey Smith, Advent International operating partner Bradley Alford and Lux Capital partner Jeffrey Kindler were appointed to the board on Tuesday.The agreement also allows Starboard, which owns 6.7 percent of Perrigo, to recommend two additional independent directors to the board. Prior to the deal, Perrigo''s board was comprised of seven members.Starboard announced its stake last September, saying at the time that Perrigo should explore the sale of its prescription pharma business, known as Rx Pharmaceuticals, and the sale of its royalty stream from the drug Tysabri, used to treat multiple sclerosis.Two months later, Perrigo said it was reviewing Tysabri''s sale, with Morgan Stanley acting as its adviser.Tysabri''s sale process is ongoing, according to a person familiar with the matter. Perrigo is not currently seeking the sale of Rx Pharmaceuticals, the person added.Starboard has also criticized the company for walking away from a $205-per-share offer from generic drug maker Mylan NV in late 2015.Perrigo''s stock was up 0.6 percent at $78.54 per share on Tuesday, roughly half the price it was trading a year ago and in line where it traded when Starboard arrived.The company, which specializes in generic and over-the-counter drugs, said directors Herman Morris, Shlomo Yanai, Michael Jandernoa and Gary Kunkle will step down, effective immediately.Perrigo is Starboard''s largest stock holding, according to the firm''s quarterly filing, worth around $550 million as of Sept. 30 of last year. Its second largest is Internet company Yahoo Inc., where it has around a $500-million position and where Smith was made a director last year after agitating for the company''s sale.Perrigo''s deadline for nominating directors expires on Feb. 15, according to its annual proxy statement.(Additional reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Nick Zieminski)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/perrigo-company-starboard-idINL4N1FS410'|'2017-02-08T14:25:00.000+02:00' +'044cd4bb7936b9f2571e23ec7962a52b8b849600'|'UPDATE 1-Iran tested nuclear-capable cruise missile-German newspaper'|'World News - Thu Feb 2, 2017 - 4:51am EST Iran tested nuclear-capable cruise missile: German newspaper BERLIN Iran has tested a cruise missile called "Sumar" that is capable of carrying nuclear weapons in addition to test-firing a medium-range ballistic missile on Sunday, German newspaper Die Welt reported Thursday, citing unspecified intelligence sources. No comment was immediately available from Germany''s BND foreign intelligence agency or from Iranian authorities. The newspaper said the Sumar cruise missile was built in Iran and traveled around 600 km in its first known successful test. The missile is believed to be capable of carrying nuclear weapons and may have a range of 2,000 to 3,000 km, the paper said, citing intelligence sources. Cruise missiles are harder to counter than ballistic missiles since they fly at lower altitudes and can evade enemy radar, confounding missile defense missiles and hitting targets deep inside an opponent''s territory. But the biggest advantage from Iran''s point of view, a security expert told Die Welt, was that cruise missiles are not mentioned in any United Nations resolutions that ban work on ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons. International sanctions on Tehran were lifted in January last year under a nuclear deal brokered in 2015 by Britain, France, Germany, China, Russia and the United States. Under the nuclear deal Iran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for lifting of most sanctions. According to a 2015 U.N. resolution endorsing the deal, Iran is still called upon to refrain from work on ballistic missiles designed to deliver nuclear weapons for up to eight years. News of Iran''s reported cruise missile test came hours after Washington said it was putting Iran "on notice" for its ballistic missile test and signaled that it could impose new sanctions. Iran confirmed on Wednesday that it had test-fired a new ballistic missile, but said the test did not breach the Islamic Republic''s nuclear agreement with world powers or a U.N. Security Council resolution endorsing the pact. (Writing by Andrea Shalal, Addirional reporting by Parisa Hafezi in Ankara; editing by Ralph Boulton) Next In World News Trump''s defense chief, in Seoul, takes stock of North Korea threat SEOUL U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said he would sound out ally South Korea on efforts to address North Korea''s nuclear and missile programs as he arrived in Seoul on Thursday, including plans to deploy a U.S. missile defense system there. For hardline West Bank settlers, Jared Kushner''s their man BET EL, West Bank For many in the Israeli settlement of Bet El, deep in the occupied West Bank, Donald Trump''s choice of Jared Kushner as his senior adviser on the Middle East is a sign of politics shifting in their favor. SYDNEY U.S. President Donald Trump labeled a refugee swap deal with Australia "dumb" on Thursday after a Washington Post report of an acrimonious telephone call with Australia''s prime minister threatened a rare rift in ties between the two staunch allies. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/industrialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-missiles-cruise-idUSKBN15H0WR'|'2017-02-02T16:49:00.000+02:00' +'eb04c2c5b63308e74e6195af07c09f120b628af7'|'BRIEF-Humana enters into stock repurchase agreement with Goldman, Sachs & Co'|' 24pm EST BRIEF-Humana enters into stock repurchase agreement with Goldman, Sachs & Co Feb 27 Humana In: * On Feb. 22, co entered into accelerated stock repurchase agreement with Goldman, Sachs & Co to repurchase $1.5 billion of its common stock * Humana - on Feb. 27, made payment of $1.5 billion to goldman sachs from available cash on hand, received initial delivery of 5.8 million shares from goldman sachs Source text: ( bit.ly/2lZxtgy ) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-humana-enters-into-stock-repurchas-idUSFWN1GC144'|'2017-02-28T05:24:00.000+02:00' +'06331a155c08bf0b9eff1078b61a6109bebd96b1'|'Emerald abandons Punch bid, leaving Heineken unrivalled in pubs takeover'|'Deals - Wed Feb 1, 2017 - 2:48pm GMT Emerald abandons Punch bid, leaving Heineken unrivaled in pubs takeover LONDON Emerald Investment Partners said it has decided not to make a takeover offer for Punch Taverns ( PUB.L ), leaving Heineken ( HEIN.AS ) unrivaled in its bid to buy and break up the UK pub company. Shares of Punch, the country''s second-biggest operator with more than 3,000 pubs, fell 6.3 percent on Wednesday to 176.25 pence, on dashed expectations of a raised offer. Dutch brewer Heineken and investment partner Patron Capital struck a deal in December to buy Punch for 180 pence per share, or 403 million pounds ($509.27 million), and break up its estate. Emerald, the investment firm of Punch founder Alan McIntosh, said at the time that it had proposed a 185 pence-per-share offer for Punch, but the offer was conditional on financing and due diligence. Punch''s management, board of directors and top three shareholders all endorsed the Heineken bid. Emerald said on Wednesday that it does not plan to make an offer for Punch. Punch said its shareholders will meet on Feb. 10 to vote on the deal with Heineken and Patron, and that it expects the deal to close in the first half of this year. (Reporting by Martinne Geller, editing by Louise Heavens) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-emerald-punch-idUKKBN15G4LM'|'2017-02-01T21:47:00.000+02:00' +'a5867ce2a8780b07b3285efe3ed462e672b56a11'|'Stada receives 3.6 billion euro offer from private equity group Cinven - FT'|'Business News - Sun Feb 12, 2017 - 7:27pm GMT Stada receives 3.6 billion euro offer from private equity group Cinven - FT FILE PHOTO - The logo of the pharmaceutical company Stada Arzneimittel AG is pictured at its headquarters in Bad Vilbel near Frankfurt March 14, 2012. REUTERS/Alex Domanski German generic drugmaker Stada ( STAGn.DE ) has received a 3.6 billion euro takeover offer from private equity group Cinven, the Financial Times reported. Cinven''s offer follows a year-long activist campaign to improve Stada''s profitability by Active Ownership Capital, one of its largest shareholders, and is believed to be pitched at close to 58 euros a share, the Financial Times reported, citing sources. on.ft.com/2klkdOM Cinven declined to comment. Stada was not immediately available to comment. Advent, Bain Capital, CVC and Permira are all assessing the bidding war closely and could make a bid, the FT sources said. In August last year, Stada''s CEO Matthias Wiedenfels promised a more modern, dynamic approach to running the company, saying it had to improve its transparency, flexibility, hierarchies and communication, although it had no need to change its strategy. AOC put forward four candidates for Stada''s supervisory board for election at the AGM, including former Novartis ( NOVN.S ) manager Eric Cornut for chairman, and said it also supported two of the four candidates proposed by Stada. Another activist investor, Guy Wyser-Pratte, who has a stake of just under 3 percent, said in July that buyout firm CVC Capital Partners was interested in buying the drugmaker and that would be a better plan than AOC''s suggested board overhaul. (Reporting by Shalini Nagarajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrea Ricci) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-stada-m-a-cinven-idUKKBN15R0XN'|'2017-02-13T02:27:00.000+02:00' +'5651b41b092edcf4f27f985569384af23248bfeb'|'Exclusive - GM''s Opel and PSA Group in merger talks: sources'|'Business News - Tue Feb 14, 2017 - 11:02am GMT Exclusive - GM''s Opel and PSA Group in merger talks: sources left right Cars are lined up on a parking lot of French car maker PSA Peugeot-Citroen, Europe''s No. 2 automaker by volume, in Markolsheim, near Colmar, eastern France, September 7, 2012. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler 1/2 left right The GM logo is seen in Warren, Michigan, U.S. on October 26, 2015. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File Photo - 2/2 By Pamela Barbaglia and Edward Taylor - LONDON/FRANKFURT LONDON/FRANKFURT General Motors ( GM.N ) and PSA Group ( PEUP.PA ) are in advanced discussions to combine the French carmaker with GM''s European Opel business, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. If concluded successfully, the talks could lead to a merger of German-based Opel with PSA, the sources said. A deal may be announced within days, the sources said. GM and PSA, the maker of Peugeot, Citroen and DS cars, already share production of SUVs and minivans, a relic of a previous attempt to forge a broader alliance that was unwound in 2013 with the sale of GM''s stake in the French carmaker. A PSA spokesman confirmed that the company was in talks with the U.S. carmaker to deepen their partnership. "We are in discussions with Opel to expand upon our existing projects," Bertrand Blaise said. He declined further comment. Spokespeople for Opel and the French government, which holds 14 percent of PSA, had no immediate comment. A spokesman for the Peugeot family, which holds a matching stake in the comment, was not immediately available. (Additional reporting by Gilles Guillaume and Laurence Frost; Writing by Laurence Frost; Editing by Keith Weir) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-opel-m-a-psa-exclusive-idUKKBN15T1AJ'|'2017-02-14T18:02:00.000+02:00' +'5be749c55e8572e2e18212669d8a2e5ced271ac1'|'UK offers Peugeot assurances on post-Brexit auto industry: FT'|'LONDON Britain has offered Peugeot manufacturer PSA Group ( PEUP.PA ) assurances on post-Brexit trade and supply chains in an attempt to protect Vauxhall car plants after a possible takeover, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.Business minister Greg Clark met French politicians and PSA executives in Paris on Thursday to discuss their plan to buy General Motors'' ( GM.N ) European unit, Opel, which include Vauxhall plants in Britain.The talks have set political alarm bells ringing in Britain and Germany, where there are fears that a sale to the French company could lead to heavy job losses.Clark said on Friday, after the meeting, that PSA executives had "stressed that they valued highly the enduring strength of the Vauxhall brand, underpinned by its committed workforce".The FT reported on Saturday, citing a person with knowledge of the meeting, that Clark had also made commitments similar to those he gave Nissan ( 7201.T ) last year before it announced it would build two new models in Britain.Clark promised Nissan that he would ensure more car part suppliers were based in Britain, support training and research into electric and low-emission vehicles, and push for "free and unencumbered" access to European Union markets for carmakers after Britain leaves the EU.The government has declined to give exact details of its promises to Nissan, citing commercial confidentiality, though government auditors who saw the letter said it did not make the government liable for Brexit-related costs incurred by Nissan.Britain''s business ministry declined to comment on Saturday on whether Clark had made similar commitments to PSA.The FT Quote: d Clark as saying that he and PSA executives had "talked generally about our commitments and enthusiasm for research in electric vehicles and batteries", but added that the minister did not give further detail.(Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Helen Popper)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-opel-m-a-psa-britain-idINKBN15X0EB'|'2017-02-18T10:39:00.000+02:00' +'961cc58eda1a08ae5906e7e1f962721427f3523e'|'Ontario Teachers to sell minority stakes in two British airports - source'|'Business News 3:45pm GMT Ontario Teachers to sell minority stakes in two British airports - source LONDON Canada''s Ontario Teachers'' Pension Plan (OTPP) is looking to sell minority stakes in Britain''s Bristol and Birmingham airports, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday. OTPP, which manages around $130 billion ( 105 billion) and is a big investor in British infrastructure projects, currently owns 100 percent of Bristol Airport and around 50 percent of Birmingham Airport, the source said. While keen to remain invested in the assets, the group is looking to take advantage of strong demand from pension funds and other long-term investors for the often-attractive returns on offer from high-quality infrastructure, the source said. OTPP would retain its share in London''s 2 billion pound City Airport, which it bought in February 2016 in partnership with two other Canadian pension funds and the Kuwait Investment Authority. No further details were immediately available. The news was reported earlier by Dow Jones Newswires. (Reporting by Simon Jessop, editing by Rachel Armstrong and David Evans) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-funds-britain-airports-canada-idUKKBN15W1PC'|'2017-02-17T22:45:00.000+02:00' +'ab1bf0a0d9a0b09443c72d8de965756f4aa50947'|'NBC buys stake in Euronews, names new president'|'Deals 5:41pm EST NBC buys stake in Euronews, names new president The NBC and Comcast logo are displayed on top of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, formerly known as the GE building, in midtown Manhattan in New York July 1, 2015. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo NBCUniversal, the U.S. media conglomerate owned by Comcast Corp ( CMCSA.O ), has made an investment in European broadcaster Euronews and named Noah Oppenheim as the president of NBC News, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Tuesday. Financial details of the investment were not disclosed in the memo. However, Reuters, citing sources, reported in November that NBC would buy a stake of between 15 percent and 30 percent. The investment will allow NBC to reach out to 277 million new households in 13 languages across Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Euronews was created in the wake of the 1990 Gulf War as a "European CNN" and used to be owned by a consortium of state-owned European channels before Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris took a 53 percent stake in the broadcaster. The memo said Oppenheim, the executive in charge of NBC''s morning show "Today", will replace Deborah Turness, president since 2013. Turness will be named as the first president of NBC News International. Both Oppenheim and Turness will report to NBC News Chairman Andy Lack. (Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel) Next In Deals Delays, confusion as Toshiba reports $6 billion nuclear hit and slides to loss TOKYO After a day of delays and confusion, Japan''s Toshiba Corp said on Tuesday it expected to book a $6.3 billion hit to its U.S. nuclear unit, a writedown that wipes out its shareholder equity and will drag the group to a full-year loss.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-euronews-comcast-nbcuniversal-idUSKBN15T30F'|'2017-02-15T05:41:00.000+02:00' +'fa6d6438323b5bca3181fb70cfec1c5164806bc3'|'Index funds to surpass active fund assets in U.S. by 2024 -Moody''s'|'Funds News - Thu Feb 2, 2017 - 6:00am EST Index funds to surpass active fund assets in U.S. by 2024 -Moody''s By Trevor Hunnicutt - NEW YORK NEW YORK Feb 2 Index funds will grab more than half the assets in the investment-management business by 2024 "at the latest," Moody''s Investors Service Inc said in a research note on Thursday. Investors are increasingly buying relatively cheap funds that mimic benchmarks, while shunning active portfolio managers who strive to beat the market and often come up short. Passive funds currently account for 29 percent of the U.S. market, according to Moody''s. "We estimate that passive investments will overtake active market share between 2021 and 2024," the credit rating company said, noting the changes "will continue irrespective of market environments." "The main driver of flows out of active funds into passive funds has been investors'' growing awareness that, by definition, actively managed investments, in aggregate, cannot deliver above average performance, and that investing is therefore a zero-sum game - for every winner, there must be a loser." In 2016, passive funds in the United States attracted $506 billion, and actively managed funds posted $341 billion in withdrawals, according to Morningstar Inc. Some index-tracking exchange-traded funds charge as little as $3 annually for every $10,000 they manage, while the average charged by U.S. stock mutual fund managers is $131, according to data for 2015 from the Investment Company Institute trade group. U.S. regulators have pushed for more fee disclosure and attempted to reduce conflicts of interest among brokers who sell funds. One such measure, the Obama administration''s "fiduciary" rule covering retirement accounts, is being fought by the industry in court. The rise of passive investments has caused indigestion within the asset management industry, squeezing famously lush profit margins and rewarding a small group of companies with large index fund businesses, such as Vanguard Group, BlackRock Inc and State Street Corp. Some analysts have argued that the loss of investors who study and bet on individual companies is distorting the ability of markets to set the appropriate prices for stocks and bonds. Others have warned that index funds cannot protect investors from otherwise avoidable market selloffs. A widely discussed report last year by the broker-dealer Sanford C. Bernstein & Co LLC, for instance, described passive investing as promoting a system of capital allocation worse than both capitalism and Marxism. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; editing by Diane Craft) Next In Funds News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/funds-passive-idUSL1N1FN01O'|'2017-02-02T18:00:00.000+02:00' +'aa6d6072d138edafe6c6dc931580d3b996a4fc15'|'Austria says prosecutors open fraud probe on fighter deal'|' 2:03pm GMT Austria says prosecutors open fraud probe on fighter deal By Shadia Nasralla and Kirsti Knolle - VIENNA VIENNA Austria said on Friday that Vienna prosecutors had initiated a formal criminal investigation against Airbus and the Eurofighter consortium over alleged fraud, widening the potential fallout from a $2 billion (1.59 billion pound) combat jet order more than a decade ago. Defence Minister Hans Peter Doskozil said he had been notified that the two companies had been listed as defendants by Vienna prosecutors following a recent ministry complaint. "The criminal procedure thus enters a new phase," he said in a statement. The defence ministry has alleged Airbus and the Eurofighter consortium in 2003 illegally charged nearly 10 percent of the purchase price of 1.96 billion euros for so-called offset deals. Such deals, which involve work being given to local companies, were part of the agreement, but their cost should have been reported separately, the ministry has said. Airbus has denied the accusations. "We have no comment on investigations by Austrian prosecutors," an Airbus spokesman said on Friday. Under the legal system used in Austria and several European countries, opening an investigation is a potentially significant step that falls short of filing charges but which indicates that sufficient evidence is available to warrant a formal probe. Vienna prosecutors declined to confirm opening an investigation, but said one was in preparation - a step that usually leads to the launch of such a probe. "Investigative steps are being prepared in connection with the defence ministry''s statement of the facts," a spokeswoman for the Vienna prosecutors said. The new investigation would come on top of ongoing Austrian and German investigations of the controversial aircraft purchase. Munich prosecutors have said they expect to complete separate preliminary proceedings by mid-year. The Vienna prosecutor''s office said it was co-operating with the German probe. Austria filed a criminal complaint against Airbus and the Eurofighter consortium last week, alleging wilful deception and fraud linked to the order, claiming the damage incurred could amount to 1.1 billion euros ($1.2 billion). The defence ministry said it might also seek to involve the U.S. and British authorities in the investigation. "There are indications that the jurisdiction of the English and U.S. authorities could be justified due to the many offset deals with U.S. parties," a spokesman said. Airbus is already under investigation in the UK over two cases including a Saudi security contract and suspected fraud and bribery in commercial airplane sales. It has pledged full co-operation with these and other pending legal investigations. (Reporting by Shadia Nasralla and Kirsti Knolle; Editing by Larry King and Keith Weir) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-austria-airbus-group-idUKKBN1630LI'|'2017-02-24T21:03:00.000+02:00' +'2509a46dfb70191b4c74a1ca08149c06c565cf37'|'Samsung Group chief appears at South Korea special prosecutor''s office'|'Business News - Mon Feb 13, 2017 - 12:40am GMT Samsung Group chief appears at South Korea special prosecutor''s office File Photo: Samsung Group chief, Jay Y. Lee, leaves after attending a court hearing to review a detention warrant request against him at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea, January 18, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji SEOUL Samsung Group leader Jay Y. Lee appeared at the South Korean special prosecutor''s office on Monday for questioning as part of a wider investigation into an influence-peddling scandal that could topple President Park Geun-hye. Lee, the third-generation leader of South Korea''s top conglomerate, has been identified as a suspect on suspicions that he paid bribes to Park''s friend, Choi Soon-sil, to pave the way for a controversial 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates. "I will once again tell the truth to the special prosecution," he told reporters. (Reporting by Se Young Lee; Editing by Paul Tait) Next In Business News Dollar gains after Trump-Abe meet, Asian shares firm TOKYO The dollar rose against the yen on Monday on relief that U.S. President Donald Trump set aside tough campaign rhetoric over security and jobs in a smooth meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with no mention of currency policy. Australian banks narrow focus of Apple Pay collective bargaining request SYDNEY Australian banks seeking permission from the country''s competition regulator to bargain collectively with Apple Inc over its mobile payment system said on Monday they will focus on gaining access to the U.S. tech company''s contactless payment function, removing the fees Apple charges as a bone of contention. VW says has no plans to retain large number of temporary staff BERLIN Volkswagen said it has no plans to keep a large number of temporary workers on its books following a media report saying management at the carmaker''s VW brand would retain about 2,000 of them as labour leaders and executives wrestle over the company''s turnaround plan. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-southkorea-politics-samsung-group-idUKKBN15S022'|'2017-02-13T07:40:00.000+02:00' +'4ae0f522a70bbebace3695c01009129a323e3c24'|'Media unit of Canada''s BCE cuts workforce in restructuring'|'TORONTO Bell Media, a unit of Canadian telecom company BCE Inc ( BCE.TO ), said on Tuesday it is reducing its radio and television industry workforce in more than two dozen locations across the country by an unspecified number."The restructuring is the result of the challenges Bell Media and other Canadian media companies are facing due to increasing international competition, the evolution of broadcast technologies, and advertising and regulatory pressure," spokesman Scott Henderson said in an email.Canadian television providers have struggled to deal with competition from online streaming services such as Netflix Inc ( NFLX.O ) since its launch in 2010, as well as a migration of advertising to online sources, where Google and Facebook dominate.He said Bell Media owns 30 local TV stations and radio stations in 54 markets. The cuts started on Monday and are continuing, Henderson said.The restructuring charges will be booked in the first quarter and reflected in the 2017 outlook BCE is expected to release along with its fourth-quarter results on Thursday.(Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Alan Crosby)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-bce-media-idINKBN15F2W8'|'2017-01-31T20:35:00.000+02:00' +'892bd3255f3a3dfce5efb3820f046e7a4ea6debf'|'Rosneft becomes first oil major to pre-finance Kurdish crude'|'Business News - Tue Feb 21, 2017 - 7:08am GMT Rosneft becomes first oil major to pre-finance Kurdish crude FILE PHOTO: The company logo of Rosneft is seen outside a service station in Moscow, Russia, November 12, 2013. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo LONDON Russian state oil firm Rosneft ( ROSN.MM ) has become the firstmajor oil firm to pre-finance crude exports from Iraq''sKurdistan, joining trading houses in the race for crude from thesemi-autonomous region. "We look forward to developing new markets forKurdish crude oil," a statement by Rosneft quotes chiefexecutive Igor Sechin as saying. The contract is due for 2017-2019, Rosneft said. Sechin said Rosneft would be taking Kurdish barrels to thecompany''s growing refining system. In Europe, Rosneft owns alarge refinery system in Germany. Rosneft also said it was looking to cooperate with Kurdistanin upstream and logistics. Kurdistan''s natural resources minister Ashti Hawrami said the deal was opening up new possibilities for cooperation between Rosneft and Kurdistan. Kurdistan has started independent crude exports from thecentral government in Baghdad in the past three years as itargued it was not getting its share of Iraq''s budget revenuesand needed money to fund its war against Islamic State. But as oil prices crashed, the region had to borrow as muchas $3 billion from trading houses such as Vitol, Petraco,Glencore ( GLEN.L ) and Trafigura as well as neighbouring Turkey,repayable by future crude sales. Baghdad has first pledged to sue buyers of Kurdish oil as itinsisted the central government was the only legal exporter ofbarrels both from southern and northern Iraq. But Baghdad has lately softened its stance on the companiesand traders working in Kurdistan with the barrels being sold inboth Europe and Asia. (Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov; editing by Katya Golubkova) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-rosneft-kurdistan-idUKKBN1600K4'|'2017-02-21T14:08:00.000+02:00' +'50e362cf11cb9a9eac17bbd1491524442bff2bcb'|'Struggling European banks see light at end of low-rates tunnel'|' 2:15am EST Struggling European banks see light at end of low-rates tunnel FILE PHOTO: Offices in the financial district of Canary Wharf in London, Britain, January 19, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs/File Photo By John O''Donnell and Maya Nikolaeva - FRANKFURT/PARIS FRANKFURT/PARIS Rock-bottom interest rates hurt more big European banks in 2016 than in the previous year, but the worst could soon be over with the prospect of rising borrowing costs rippling from the United State to Europe. Low rates, money printing and a penalty charge for hoarding cash have been at the heart of attempts to reinvigorate the 19-country euro zone economy in the wake of the 2008-09 debt crisis. But the policy has been politically divisive, prompting fierce criticism from famously thrifty Germans as the returns on savings in Europe''s biggest economy dwindled to nothing. It also imposed a heavy cost on still fragile banks, turning deposits into a hot potato that many would rather avoid so as not to pay charges to their central bank for storing them. Last year marked a low ebb, according to a survey by Reuters of 20 large European banks conducted in mid-February. While seven in that group saw net interest income fall during 2015, that number increased to 12 in 2016, with the average dip more than 7 percent. That was steeper than the roughly 5 percent slip on average in 2015. Such income is the difference between interest charged on, say, a loan, and the cost of holding a deposit. It is a bellwether of earning power, closely watched by investors, and its decline bodes ill for the sector. TRUMP''S PROMISED STIMULUS BUOYS HOPES Many executives are now pinning their hopes on a change in direction for central banks given that rate hikes appear to be on the cards in the United States this year - and ultimately a paring back of easy-money policies in Europe. "It''s usually the U.S. that leads the pack," said Charles Goodhart of the London School of Economics, a former member of the Bank of England''s Monetary Policy Committee. "If (U.S. President Donald) Trump does manage to get an expansionary fiscal policy, there will be increases in interest rates," he said, adding that the effect would also be felt in Europe. Trump has pledged to stimulate growth in the world''s largest and most influential economy through a combination of heavy infrastructure investment and deep corporate tax cuts. In December, the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates and signaled a faster pace of increases in 2017. For European banks, the shift in rates cannot happen soon enough. Lars Machenil, chief financial officer of France''s BNP Paribas ( BNPP.PA ), one of Europe''s biggest lenders, said the difference could be hundreds of millions of euros of extra income. "The lowering of interest rates has had a negative effect on the top line. If that would be reversed, we would see something similar back ... but it will take time," he said. Low rates cost BNP 1 billion euros of lost revenue between 2013 and 2016. In 2016, Switzerland''s Credit Suisse ( CSGN.S ) saw interest income dip by about 19 percent, while at Germany''s Commerzbank ( CBKG.DE ) and Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ), it fell by about 13 and 8 percent respectively, the Reuters survey found. UniCredit''s ( CRDI.MI ) interest income dipped by about 6 percent. Spain''s Bankia ( BKIA.MC ) saw a drop of about one fifth. While successful in helping a brittle euro zone economy gradually revive from the debt crunch in the short term, zero or negative rates have, in the eyes of critics, struck at a central tenet of banking - lending on the back of deposits - and turned the principle of saving for retirement on its head. There are signs that the struggle of frustrated lenders is being noticed in Frankfurt, seat of the European Central Bank. Yves Mersch, a member of the ECB''s executive board, the nucleus of euro zone policy-setting, recently said it needed to take interest rate cuts off the table, which would mark a retreat from its policy of cheap money. "How much longer can we continue to talk about ''even lower rates'' as being a monetary policy option?" Mersch said. PENALTY DEPOSITS Penalizing banks for storing money makes holding deposits, traditionally the bedrock of any lender, more expensive, and this prompts some to steer savers toward fund products for which a fee can be charged. UBS ( UBSG.S ) CEO Sergio Ermotti has warned that the world''s biggest wealth manager could pass on the cost to depositors if sub-zero rates persist. So far, only one Swiss bank, Alternative Bank Switzerland, has imposed such charges. Another way around the problem is keeping deposits low and bolstering lending. Sweden has generally done better in this respect than most. That is something that Barclays analyst Mike Harrison attributes to a lower average level of deposits, which cost a bank money if it cannot lend and must pay a penalty for storing them at the country''s central bank. The ECB imposes a so-called negative rate equivalent to 4 euros annually on each 1,000 euros that lenders deposit with the central bank. Banks in Sweden and Switzerland, outside the neighboring euro zone, pay a similar charge. "Swedish banks have managed best to avoid the impact of zero rates due to the fact that they held fewer deposits," said Harrison. "That made it easier to earn a healthy margin on their loans." Swedbank, for instance, boosted its lending last year by 7 percent to about 1.5 trillion crowns, while its deposits from the public were roughly half that and rose more slowly. The Netherlands'' ING ( INGA.AS ) and Sweden''s Swedbank ( SWEDa.ST ), where lending outpaced the inflow of deposits, posted a roughly 9 and 3 percent increase respectively in such interest income, the Reuters study found. Germany''s Commerzbank tried a broadly similar strategy, cutting deposits from corporate customers by about 22 billion euros. But the cost of penalty or negative rates still squeezed its income by more than 200 million euros in 2016 - roughly a third less than its net profit for the full year. Michael Heise, chief economist with giant German insurer Allianz and a long-standing critic of cheap-money policies, believes relief is at hand. "There is finally hope of a change in interest rates," he said. "The tone among policymakers has changed. The evidence is clear. I think we could see rates rise next year." (Additional reporting by Joshua Franklin in Zurich and Jesus Aguado in Madrid; writing by John O''Donnell; editing by Mark Heinrich) Samsung chief Lee arrested as South Korean corruption probe deepens SEOUL Samsung was arrested early on Friday corruption scandal rocking the highest levels of power in South Korea, dealing a fresh blow to the world''s biggest maker of smartphones and memory chips. Auto WASHINGTON A U.S. appeals court on Thursday said it would rehear a challenge to the Securities and Exchange Commission''s use of in-house judges. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-banks-rates-analysis-idUSKBN15W0JW'|'2017-02-17T14:15:00.000+02:00' +'f9fc0955a25593e9bb94f3598bd929473609a5ac'|'Heineken closes in on Punch Taverns pub acquisition'|'BRUSSELS Heineken NV ( HEIN.AS ) is closing in on its acquisition of some 1,900 pubs in Britain after an investment vehicle linked to the Dutch brewer increased its stake in Punch Taverns ( PUB.L ).Heineken and partner Patron Capital agreed to buy and break up Punch at 180 pence per share for a total of 403 million pounds ($502 million) and have already won over Punch''s board and its top three shareholders representing 52.3 percent of its shares.Heineken said in a statement on Monday that Vine Acquisitions Ltd, the bid vehicle of Heineken and Patron, had built up a stake of about 28.5 percent of Punch by Feb. 3.Heineken is paying some 305 million pounds for its shares and assumed intercompany debt and will take on some 1,900 pubs. Real estate investor Patron will have more than 1,300 sites.Heineken and Patron''s joint bid appeared a near certainty last week after potential rival Emerald Investment Partners said it had decided not to make a takeover offer.Punch shareholders will meet on Feb. 10 to vote on the deal, which is seen closing in the first half of the year.(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Adrian Croft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-punch-taverns-m-a-heineken-nl-idUSKBN15L0X6'|'2017-02-06T12:49:00.000+02:00' +'e3ec8ea84b8a891c8351a2e15d0b73fa191ba769'|'Vietnam targets 2017 credit growth at 18 percent - central bank'|' 37am EST Vietnam targets 2017 credit growth at 18 percent - central bank HANOI Feb 2 Vietnam is targeting credit growth in 2017 to expand at the same rate as last year of 18 percent, the State Bank of Vietnam, the country''s central bank said in a statement on Thursday. Money supply this year is targeted to grow 16 percent to 18 percent from the end of 2016, the statement said. (Reporting by Mai Nguyen; Editing by Jacqueline Wong) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/vietnam-banks-idUSL4N1FN1GO'|'2017-02-02T13:37:00.000+02:00' +'13e56b4f16155676ba9c66f7c0deadb7f32837f1'|'BRIEF-Xura to change company name to Mavenir Systems upon completion of Mitel Mobile acquisition'|'Company News - Wed Feb 8, 2017 - 2:06am EST BRIEF-Xura to change company name to Mavenir Systems upon completion of Mitel Mobile acquisition Feb 8 Xura: * Xura to change company name to Mavenir Systems upon completion of Mitel Mobile acquisition Source text for Eikon: FRANKFURT, Feb 8 German lighting group Osram is confident the sale of its traditional Lamps business to a consortium of Chinese buyers will go through as planned this year, Chief Financial Officer Ingo Bank told CNBC television on Wednesday. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSASB0AZ35'|'2017-02-08T14:06:00.000+02:00' +'da5e03131291fb8cf072bbc6f254388547d1e0b2'|'Trump says will be ''tweaking'' outstanding trade relationship with Canada'|' 12pm GMT Trump says will be ''tweaking'' outstanding trade relationship with Canada Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (L) and U.S. participate in a joint news conference at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 13, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria WASHINGTON said on Monday the United States will be "tweaking" its trade relationship with Canada, unlike its trade ties with Mexico where it faces a more severe situation. "We have a very outstanding trade relationship with Canada. We''ll be tweaking it," Trump said at a joint news conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the White House. "It''s a much less severe situation than what''s taking place on the southern border. On the southern border, for many, many years the transaction was not fair to the United States." (Reporting by Andrea Hopkins; Writing by Washington Newsroom) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-canada-trade-idUKKBN15S2C7'|'2017-02-14T03:12:00.000+02:00' +'4ce4949404b1fea5c0a658bb5ee989a17ffe5919'|'Sri Lankan rupee up on exporter dollar sales, remittances'|'Financials 51am EST Sri Lankan rupee up on exporter dollar sales, remittances COLOMBO Feb 1 The Sri Lankan rupee ended slightly firmer on Wednesday due to dollar inflows from remittances and greenback sales by exporters after the dollar weakened overnight against major currencies globally, dealers said. The dollar could recover only a little ground on Wednesday against key currencies, after recording its worst start to the year in three decades on concerns the United States was poised to ditch a two-decade old "strong dollar" policy. Dealers said foreign outflows from government securities and importer demand for the greenback continued to pressure the rupee. The Sri Lankan central bank revised the spot rupee reference rate to a record-low of 150.50 from 150.25 on Tuesday. "The rupee ended firmer today due to some inward remittances following the salary season and some exporter conversions due to strengthening of euro and other currencies (against dollar)," a currency dealer said, requesting anonymity. Rupee forwards were active, with two-week forwards trading steady at 151.00/10 per dollar, dealers said. The rupee will also face depreciation pressure due to seasonal importer dollar demand, they said. The rupee has been under pressure due to rising imports and net selling of government securities by foreign investors, while the central bank has said defending the currency was not sensible. Foreign investors net sold 21.1 billion rupees ($140.6 million) worth of government securities in the three weeks to Jan. 25, according to latest central bank data. (Reporting by Ranga Sirilal; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/sri-lanka-forex-idUSL4N1FM2G7'|'2017-02-01T18:51:00.000+02:00' +'2de4d2949bb2d714276b2359ef63c3ebd97cf08e'|'BRIEF-Colony Starwood Homes REPORTS Q4 loss per share $0.10'|' 26pm EST BRIEF-Colony Starwood Homes REPORTS Q4 loss per share $0.10 Feb 27 Colony Starwood Homes: * Colony Starwood Homes announces fourth quarter and full year 2016 financial and operating results * Q4 core FFO per share $0.47 * Q4 revenue $146.4 million versus I/B/E/S view $143.7 million * Q4 FFO per share $0.37 * Q4 loss per share $0.10 * Q4 earnings per share view $-0.06 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * Occupancy was 95.5pct for quarterly same store cohort of 28,146 homes * Sees 2017 core FFO/share $1.85 - $1.95 * Quarterly same store noi increased 15.5pct over Q4 2015 * Quarterly same store core noi margin was 66.2pct * Sees 2017 same store revenue growth up 4pct - 5pct * Sees 2017 same store core noi up 63pct - 65pct * Fy2017 FFO per share view $1.90 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-colony-starwood-homes-reports-q4-l-idUSASB0B2KA'|'2017-02-28T05:26:00.000+02:00' +'04ebd00d46b0b87a440e35d9c378193e741fd1fb'|'PSA boss gives Merkel assurances on Opel jobs - German spokesman'|'BERLIN Feb 21 PSA Group''s chief executive gave guarantees to Germany''s Angela Merkel in a phone call that Opel would remain independent in a merged company with PSA and also gave jobs and investment assurances, the chancellor''s spokesman said on Tuesday."PSA Chief (Carlos) Tavares stressed that both companies would complement each other well," spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement."He stressed to the chancellor that PSA would preserve the independence of Opel in a merged company and would give plant, investment and job guarantees," Seibert added. (Reporting by Andreas Rinke; Writing by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Michelle Martin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/opel-ma-germany-merkel-idINB4N1FH000'|'2017-02-21T12:17:00.000+02:00' +'16663de67b02be8dd21f06e9b0ea309041c7e873'|'NBA star Stephen Curry opposes Under Armour chief''s Trump comment'|'By Angela Moon - NEW YORK NEW YORK Feb 9 National Basketball Association star Stephen Curry joined a number of other athletes to speak up against President Donald Trump, opposing a comment made by Under Armour Chief Executive Kevin Plank that the president is "a real asset" to the country.On Tuesday, Plank expressed support for Trump on CNBC, saying: "To have such a pro-business president is something that is a real asset for the country."In an interview with The San Jose Mercury News on Wednesday, Curry, one of Under Armour''s most-visible athletes, said, "I agree with that description (of asset made by Plank), if you remove the ''et.''"A number of NBA players including Cleveland Cavaliers superstar Lebron James, who is endorsed by Nike Inc, have recently expressed concerns over Trump''s policies. But Curry is the first player to directly oppose comments made by their sponsor.Plank''s comments immediately drew backlash on social media with many using hashtags #boycottUnderArmour and #Grabyourwallet to spread a campaign against pro-Trump companies.Under Armour has since released a statement saying Plank''s comments were in regard to Trump''s business policies, not his social viewpoints."We believe in advocating for fair trade, an inclusive immigration policy that welcomes the best and the brightest and those seeking opportunity in the great tradition of our country, and tax reform that drives hiring to help create new jobs globally, across America and in Baltimore." Under Armour is based in Baltimore.Under Armour was not immediately available for comment on Thursday.Curry, who has a multi-million dollar contract that includes an equity stake in Under Armour that runs through 2024, said in the interview that Plank working with Trump is not a deal-breaker, but he is more concerned about Under Armour adopting Trump''s values.Curry endorsed Hilary Clinton, Trump''s Democract opponent, in the Nov. 8 election.Shares of Under Armour rose 3.7 percent to $21.86 on Thursday.(Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Alan Crosby)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/underarmour-nba-trump-idINL1N1FU1DB'|'2017-02-09T15:24:00.000+02:00' +'ec99c214866028f9e84f93461d5e90f09fc4d6ac'|'Instagram generation is fuelling UK food waste mountain, study finds - Business'|'A generation gap in attitudes towards cooking and eating is helping to fuel the UKs food waste mountain, research reveals, driven by time-poor millennials who do not understand the value of the food on their plate. In contrast to savvy older consumers familiar with post-war rationing, the study suggests, those aged 18 to 34 are preoccupied by the visual presentation of food to photograph and share on social media while failing to plan meals, buying too much and then throwing it away. UK throwing away 13bn of food each year, latest figures show Read more The UK churns out 15m tonnes of food waste a year of which 7m tonnes come from households. The estimated retail value of this is a staggering 7.5bn, and the governments waste advisory body, Wrap, calculates that a typical family wastes 700 of food a year.A national supermarket study of the food waste patterns of 5,050 UK consumers, published on Friday, reveals nearly two-fifths of those aged over 65 say they never waste food, compared with just 17% of those under 35.The research by Sainsburys found more than half (55%) of 18- to 34-year-olds had a live to eat attitude to food more about pleasure than necessity but with higher shopping bills and more waste. Older generations were more likely to eat to live with lower grocery bills and reduced waste.Millennials those born in or after the mid-1980s were also the most likely to try unusual recipes to create Instagram -friendly dishes, involving exotic ingredients that are harder to reuse. A post-war increase in household food waste is due to changes in how we value choice, time and money in relation to food, said food historian and broadcaster Dr Polly Russell . Gone are the days of eating the same food, on the same days of the week, week in, week out. Most people today, particularly younger generations, demand variety. However, with a menu which changes often, it is more challenging to control waste and plan ahead.The over-55s are the most comfortable in the kitchen, the survey found, with just 18% wishing they knew more about managing and cooking food. In contrast, more than half of those aged 18 to 34 admit a lack of culinary know-how. When it comes to throwing away leftovers, 18- to 34-year-olds are the most likely culprits, with 17% of them leaving leftovers three or more times a week. Younger consumers also fail to plan ahead. Some 20% of those under 35 admit to wasting the most food after a big shopping trip, compared with 8% of 55- to 64-year-olds and just 7% of the 65-plus age group.The findings are part of Sainsburys 10m waste less, save more scheme to help households save money by cutting food waste. It is awaiting the results of a year-long trial in the Derbyshire market town of Swadlincote, which was chosen as a testbed for reducing household food waste.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/feb/10/instagram-generation-fuelling-uk-food-waste-mountain-study-sainsburys'|'2017-02-10T02:00:00.000+02:00' +'414192b21c072a361eb8e59480ce907a852432f7'|'Barclays to overhaul back office operations to cope with ring-fencing'|'Company News - Sun Feb 5, 2017 - 5:42am EST Barclays to overhaul back office operations to cope with ring-fencing * UK banks must separate retail, investment banking operations * New Barclays unit will support both sides after ring-fencing * Could operate smoothly even if one operation got into trouble * Staff unclear who they will work for, fear job cuts - sources * Overhaul to soak up much of 1 bln pound cost of ring-fencing By Lawrence White LONDON, Feb 5 Barclays Plc is about to overhaul its back office operations under a restructuring to help it comply with new post-crisis rules forcing British banks to ring-fence their retail operations from their riskier business. It has formed a new company that will operate as a standalone unit providing support services to both of its two main operations when they are formally separated - retail and investment banking, the bank said. The ring-fencing rules seek to avoid a repeat of the 2008 crisis, when banks'' bad bets threatened depositors'' cash. While Barclays was not among those that needed a UK taxpayer-funded bailout, the new rules apply to all lenders in Britain that have retail and commercial or investment banking activities. At Barclays, the aim is that critical support functions could continue to operate smoothly if either of its two main businesses were to run into trouble, while also keeping costs down by not having several separate back-office units, sources involved in the project said. The overhaul - including the creation of the new company known internally as ServCo - will affect most of the more than 10,000 people who work in Barclays back offices operations in 17 countries around the world. It will group together the bank''s huge operations in India and South Africa that provide technology support and data management, along with functions such as compliance with regulatory requirements, corporate relations, legal affairs and human resources. While for some staff this will simply involve a change in the name of the legal entity they work for, the sources said it was also likely to lead to some job losses. Barclays declined to comment on the possible staff cuts or the cost of the restructuring. However, sources with direct knowledge of the project said it would soak up much of the 1 billion pounds ($1.25 billion) that Barclays has said it will cost to comply with the ring-fencing rules. UPHEAVAL The structural change shows the upheaval that British banks face to meet the rules that come into force in 2019. Other British lenders are working on similar models. HSBC transferred 18,000 employees to a UK-based service company in 2015, according to a company filing, as part of a move to insulate its back-office functions to comply with the new regulations. HSBC plans to base its ring-fenced British retail and commercial banking business in Birmingham, shifting about 1,000 staff to the central English city from London. Barclays, however, will keep both main operations headquartered at its building in the capital''s Canary Wharf district. Paul Compton, Barclays'' chief operating officer, is overseeing the creation of the new company, which will formally be called Barclays Services Ltd. "From the outset, we''ve been keen to use the incoming ringfencing regulations to enhance the banking experience for our customers and clients, and the establishment of the service company is a great example of how we can put this into practice," Compton told Reuters in an email. He declined to comment on how many people will work in the new unit. Some back office workers are confused about which entity they will end up working for and concerned about losing their jobs, two of the sources said. ServCo''s management structure will be formalised by April with a view to it beginning operations by September, they added. Compton joined the bank in May 2016, one of many high-profile former JPMorgan bankers recruited by Barclays Chief Executive Jes Staley, who himself ran the U.S. lender''s investment banking division until 2013. ($1 = 0.7988 pounds) (editing by David Stamp) Next In Company News WRAPUP 13-Trump: U.S. will win appeal of judge''s travel ban order * Passengers from 7 affected countries can fly to U.S. again * Trump calls ruling blocking his travel ban ''ridiculous'' * Some fear new travel window may not last long * Iraqi refugee says family''s plans ''in God''s hands'' By Yeganeh Torbati and Steve Holland WASHINGTON/PALM BEACH, Fla, Feb 4 U.S. President Donald Trump said the Justice Department will win an appeal filed late Saturday of a judge''s order lifting a travel ban he had imposed on citizens of seven mainl Immigration chaos and long nights led to Washington''s court win SEATTLE/WASHINGTON, Feb 4 When Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson arrived in Seattle last Saturday after a trip to Florida, public outrage over the immigration order issued the previous day by President Donald Trump was quickly growing. He went home, greeted his family and then went to work. UniCredit agrees job cuts with unions ahead of cash call start MILAN, Feb 4 Italy''s biggest bank UniCredit said on Saturday it had signed a deal with trade unions to cut 3,900 jobs in the country as it prepares to launch a record 13 billion euro ($14 billion) share issue next week. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/barclays-restructuring-idUSL4N1FM2VR'|'2017-02-05T17:42:00.000+02:00' +'9d70ef8c7b7da21909507358c0a7dcd4718ede2a'|'Oil sold out of tanker storage in Asia as market slowly tightens'|'Money 8:21am IST Oil sold out of tanker storage in Asia as market slowly tightens Shipping vessels and oil tankers line up on the eastern coast of Singapore July 22, 2015. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo By Mark Tay - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Traders are selling oil held in tankers anchored off Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia in a sign that the production cut led by OPEC is starting to have the desired effect of drawing down bloated inventories. Yet in the short-term, the crude released from tankers will weigh on markets and possibly undermine OPEC''s goal of achieving a balanced market by mid-2017. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers outside the group, including Russia, announced late last year that they would cut output by almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half of 2017, looking to drain a glut that pulled down prices from over $100 per barrel in 2014 to around $56.50 currently. "OPEC''s strategy is targeting inventories given the scale of the overhang, the market won''t rebalance in six months we expect an extension into (the second half of 2017)," said Energy Aspects analyst Virendra Chauhan. As OPEC''s cuts start to leave some demand unmet, a hefty 6.8 million barrels of crude has been taken out of tanker storage from Linggi, off Malaysia''s west coast, in February, shipping data in Thomson Reuters Eikon shows. An additional 4.1 million barrels and another 1.2 million barrels have been taken out of storage on tankers in Singaporean and Indonesian waters, the data shows. DANCING CONTANGO In the short-term, the flood of crude from floating storage will add to supplies coming into Asia from as far away as the Americas and Europe. In the longer-term, however, clearing oil out of inventories like tankers is part of OPEC''s goal to rebalance markets. "Inventories will continue to decline driven by the combination of production cuts and the strong demand growth," U.S. bank Goldman Sachs said this week in a note to clients, adding that it expected Brent prices to rise slightly in the second quarter, to $59 per barrel. Traders charter supertankers like Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC), in which they can store up to 2 million barrels of oil for extended periods of time, when a market situation known as contango is in place, with prices for later delivery higher than those for immediate dispatch. The January to June 2017 contango in the forward curve was almost $3 per barrel, compared to a June premium of under half a dollar now. With prices further out into 2018 and beyond even falling, the curve has fallen into what traders call backwardation, which makes it unattractive to store oil on chartered tankers. "Dancing contango is now not a profitable thing to do, so we''ve sold out," said one oil trading manager who, until recently, held crude stored in a tanker. He spoke on condition of anonymity due to the commercial sensitivity of the issue. (Reporting by Mark Tay; Editing by Henning Gloystein and Joseph Radford) Next In Money News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/asia-oil-floating-storage-idINKBN16309G'|'2017-02-24T09:51:00.000+02:00' +'6b1dafb4546868daaeeeb54938b3c5074a906f5c'|'Strong iPhone 7 sales ''a bridge'' to Apple''s next upgrade'|'Business News - Wed Feb 1, 2017 - 3:29pm GMT Strong iPhone 7 sales ''a bridge'' to Apple''s next upgrade A visitor takes pictures as customers gather at a store selling Apple products during the launch of the new iPhone 7 sales at the State Department Store, GUM, in central Moscow, Russia September 23, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin By Supantha Mukherjee and Rishika Sadam "Things don''t have to change the world to be important," Apple Inc co-founder Steve Jobs said in an interview in 1996. His words rang true, two decades later, as sales of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus - similar in design to their predecessor - surpassed expectations to reinstate Apple as the world''s biggest smartphone seller after a five-year gap. This has only built expectations, however, that the 10th-anniversary iPhone will need to offer revolutionary new features if it is to trigger a substantial uptick in sales. "This is really the last (quarter) that anybody is going to care about iPhone until the launch this fall," Cowen & Co analysts wrote in a note. "It can be said that iPhone 7/7+ ''did its job'' as a bridge to get to the supercycle in 2017." Apple''s shares rose as much as 5.8 percent to $128.30 early on Wednesday, their highest in 18 months, a day after the company dethroned Samsung Electronics Co Ltd as the world''s top smartphone seller based on units shipped. At the day''s high, more than $36 billion was added to the company''s market value. Apple sold 78.29 million iPhones in its fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 31, up from 74.78 million a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected sales of 77.42 million. The sales reflected the first full quarter of iPhone 7 sales and come at a time when global demand for smartphones is slowing and cheaper Android alternatives are flooding the market. Apple may also have benefited from Samsung''s much-publicized recall of its fire-prone Galaxy Note 7. Apple''s strong sales set the stage for the 10th-anniversary iPhone, which analysts say is expected to feature better touchscreen display, wireless charging and a shift to a higher-resolution OLED display. The company typically launches new iPhones in September. A big jump in sales usually follows in the holiday quarter, before demand tapers over the next few quarters as customers hold back in anticipation of the next launch. Existing iPhone users tend to upgrade their devices when the new model has significant design changes. Apple last saw a significant uptick in sales with the introduction of iPhone 6 in 2015. "We see pent-up demand heading into a significant form factor change that is likely to accelerate iPhone unit growth," Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a note. At least twelve brokerages raised their price targets on Apple. Stifel Nicolaus & Co and RBC Capital Markets - the most bullish brokerages - raised their price targets by $15. No brokerage changed their rating on the stock. Of the 48 analysts covering Apple''s stock, 39 have a "buy" rating or higher. Eight have a "hold" rating and one a "sell". Their median price target is $139. To Tuesday''s close of $121.35, Apple''s shares had risen nearly 25 percent in the past 12 months. (Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee and Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Abdul Nishad in Bengaluru; Editing by Robin Paxton) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-apple-results-research-idUKKBN15G4UN'|'2017-02-01T22:29:00.000+02:00' +'edd79370f0b92219ae90e8c4b403690fc5272c47'|'Chipmaker TowerJazz Q4 profit jumps, tops estimates'|'Company News 4:39am EST Chipmaker TowerJazz Q4 profit jumps, tops estimates JERUSALEM Feb 13 Israeli chipmaker TowerJazz reported a doubling of quarterly net profit that beat estimates, boosted by robust demand from existing and new customers. TowerJazz said on Monday it earned 52 cents per diluted share excluding one-time items in the fourth quarter, up from 27 cents a share a year earlier. Revenue grew 34 percent to a record $340 million. The company was forecast to earn 48 cents a share ex-items on revenue of $339.9 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. It projects first-quarter 2017 revenue of $330 million, plus or minus 5 percent, for a 19 percent annual gain. (Reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by Tova Cohen) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/towerjazz-results-idUSL8N1FY1XL'|'2017-02-13T16:39:00.000+02:00' +'883ab4756e92d070ec70264678efc6ee0a429316'|'Centrica creates new global consumer division in strategy overhaul'|' 40pm GMT Centrica creates new global consumer division in strategy overhaul LONDON Britain''s Centrica ( CNA.L ) has created a new global division to focus on end-consumers in a strategy shift away from its core energy production business that will also merge its British and North American segments, the company said on Wednesday. The division, Centrica Consumer, will be led by Mark Hodges, currently Centrica''s chief executive of energy supply and services in the UK and Ireland, including the utility''s British Gas energy supplier brand. Hodges will also assume responsibility for Centrica''s North America Home division following the departure of Badar Khan, Centrica''s head of energy supply and services in North America. Khan is taking up a role on National Grid''s executive committee, Centrica said. The utility is in the middle of a strategic turnaround spearheaded by former BP executive Iain Conn who is shifting the company away from energy production to supplying services to end-consumers. "This reorganization enables a more coherent strategy built around the end-customer and gives us the ability to ensure capability is developed globally and efficiently in support of that strategy," Conn said in a statement. Centrica''s head of energy generation and trading, Mark Hanafin, will take charge of a second new division, called Centrica Business, which will also include the North American business segment, the company said. (Reporting by Karolin Schaps, editing by David Evans) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-centrica-strategy-idUKKBN15N225'|'2017-02-08T23:37:00.000+02:00' +'ae32cd37070701cfc2af3928de1bd99c77f686bc'|'U.S. says Trump order will not undermine data transfer deals with EU'|'Politics 54am EST U.S. says Trump order will not undermine data transfer deals with EU U.S. President Donald Trump walks after speaking during the Governor''s Dinner in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 26, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts By Julia Fioretti - BRUSSELS BRUSSELS An executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump to crack down on illegal immigration will not undermine two data transfer agreements between the United States and the EU, Washington wrote in a letter to allay European concerns. An executive order signed by Trump on Jan. 25 aiming to toughen enforcement of U.S. immigration law rattled the European Union as it appeared to suggest Europeans would not be given the same privacy protections as U.S. citizens. The order directs U.S. agencies to "exclude persons who are not United States citizens or lawful permanent residents from the protections of the Privacy Act regarding personally identifiable information." Securing equal treatment of EU citizens was key to agreeing the Umbrella Agreement which protects law enforcement data shared between the United States and the EU. And the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield - which makes possible about $260 billion of trade in digital services - was only clinched after Washington agreed to protect the data from excessive surveillance and misuse by companies. In the first written confirmation since the executive order stoked uncertainty over transatlantic data flows, the U.S. Department of Justice said the executive order did not affect either the Umbrella Agreement or the Privacy Shield. "Section 14 of the Executive Order does not affect the privacy rights extended by the Judicial Redress Act to Europeans. Nor does Section 14 affect the commitments the United States has made under the DPPA (Umbrella Agreement) or the Privacy Shield," Bruce Swartz, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, wrote to the European Commission in a letter seen by Reuters. EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova, who will travel to the United States at the end of March, said she was "not worried" but remained vigilant. The EU-U.S. Privacy Shield is used by almost 2,000 companies including Google ( GOOGL.O ), Facebook ( FB.O ) and Microsoft ( MSFT.O ) to store data about EU citizens on U.S. servers. Its predecessor was struck down in 2015 by the EU''s top court for allowing U.S. agents unfettered access to Europeans'' data, forcing an acceleration of difficult talks to find a replacement. (Reporting by Julia Fioretti; Editing by Mark Potter) Next In Politics'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-dataprotection-usa-idUSKBN1661G7'|'2017-02-27T19:49:00.000+02:00' +'5b15c7d93daef27324e588e259856430f5186560'|'Tesla shares slip as cash-burn raises concerns'|'Technology News 41am EST Tesla shares slip as cash-burn raises concerns FILE PHOTO - A Tesla Supercharger station is shown in Cabazon, California, U.S. May 18, 2016. REUTERS/Sam Mircovich/File Photo Tesla Inc''s ( TSLA.O ) shares fell nearly 6 percent as the electric car maker''s freewheeling cash burn deepened concerns that the company would need to raise more capital as it pushes ahead with the production of its mass-market Model 3 sedan. Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Wednesday the company was considering a number of options but "it probably makes sense to raise capital to reduce risk." Analysts have estimated that Tesla would need to raise $1 billion-$2 billion in capital ahead of the launch of the Model 3 to minimize the risk of cash on hand running too low. The company''s shares fell as much as 5.8 percent to $257.55 in morning trading - their biggest intraday percentage fall in 8 months. The stock rose 3 percent in post-market trading on Wednesday after the company reported better-than-expected results. Tesla said it plans an additional $2 billion to $2.5 billion in capital expenses before the launch and has $3.4 billion cash on hand. Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas estimates that the company will have spent about $10 billion in capital expenditures and R&D from 2014 through the first half of 2017. "We''re about to find out where this invested capital is going," Jonas added. (Reporting by Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty) Next In Technology News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-outlook-idUSKBN1621W5'|'2017-02-23T22:41:00.000+02:00' +'fdf9a951c8c1c424ca5957c7fcdad7590e2c96c9'|'UPDATE 1-Puerto Rico oversight board taps ex-Cleary lawyer as general counsel'|'(Adds details about El Koury''s appointment, background about Puerto Rico''s crisis)By Nick BrownFeb 23 The federally appointed board tasked with managing Puerto Rico''s finances hired retired attorney Jaime A. El Koury, formerly of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, as its general counsel, it announced on Thursday. El Koury, a graduate of Yale Law School, will lead the board''s role in helping the U.S. territory restructure some $70 billion in debt. Cleary was counsel to the Puerto Rican government during much of ex-Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla''s 2013-2017 administration, which ended on Jan. 2. El Koury retired from Cleary in 2014 and it was not immediately clear whether he worked for the administration while at the law firm.New Governor Ricardo Rossello, who criticized Garcia Padilla''s fiscal policies and legislative initiatives during last year''s campaign, fired Cleary when he took office.El Koury will advise the oversight board, which is separate from the island''s government, though the sides will work closely in the coming months as Puerto Rico tries to restructure debt and stave off economic crisis characterized by a 45 percent poverty rate and near-insolvent public health and pension systems.Under a 2016 federal rescue law known as PROMESA, the board must approve Puerto Rico''s budgeting and financial turnaround strategies, a source of some tension among locals and lawmakers in Puerto Rico who see it as encroaching on the island''s self-governance.El Koury, born and raised in Puerto Rico, worked on myriad corporate matters at Cleary, including mergers and acquisitions, restructuring deals and other financial transactions, the oversight board said in its statement on Thursday.We are very pleased to be able to count on Jaimes legal expertise, negotiating abilities, understanding of economics and impeccable ethical and professional credentials," Jos Carrin, the board''s chairman, said in the statement.El Koury said he welcomed the chance to help revitalize his island. "PROMESA is a tool provided by Congress to help get the island back on the path of fiscal balance," he said in the statement. "And I will do my very best to help the Oversight Board achieve those goals." (Reporting by Nick Brown; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Andrew Hay)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/puertorico-debt-oversightboard-idINL1N1G81T5'|'2017-02-23T17:34:00.000+02:00' +'768672231c1f3a658bb9249a284b988da075d6bb'|'Goldman, shareholders sell South Korea''s Daesung Industrial Gases'|'Company 10am EST Goldman, shareholders sell South Korea''s Daesung Industrial Gases SEOUL Feb 24 Goldman Sachs and other shareholders said on Friday they had sold 100 percent of South Korea''s second-largest producer of industrial gases to Asian private equity firm MBK Partners. The shareholders of Daesung Industrial Gases, including Goldman and Daesung Group Partners Co Ltd, did not disclose the sale price. The sale price is about $2 billion, South Korean online media Money Today reported this week, citing unnamed industry sources. That would be a record high price for a private equity-to-private equity buyout deal in South Korea. A Goldman Sachs spokesman declined to comment on price. Daesung Industrial Gases makes more than half of its revenue from industries such as display, semiconductors and petrochemicals. It reported an operating profit of 53.9 billion Korean won ($47.71 million) on revenue of 581.1 billion. ($1 = 1,129.75 won) (Reporting by Joyce Lee; editing by Jason Neely) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/daesung-ma-mbk-partners-idUSL4N1G93P9'|'2017-02-24T19:10:00.000+02:00' +'e906d90d8679649c05309d8395347411671989af'|'Vale scraps controlling bloc, merges shares in major transparency move'|' 18pm GMT Vale scraps controlling bloc, merges shares in major transparency move By Guillermo Parra-Bernal - SAO PAULO SAO PAULO Vale SA ( VALE.N ) plans to become a company with no defined controlling shareholder as soon as possible, in a landmark step aimed at enhancing transparency and equal rights for all shareholders in the world''s largest iron ore producer. In a Monday statement, Vale said controlling shareholders grouped under holding company Valepar SA agreed to renew an accord that keeps them together for three and a half years. The controlling shareholders will have to soon present a proposal to merge the company''s several classes of stock into a single, common one by November. The existing 20-year accord governing Valepar, which expires in May, will be extended through November to guarantee a transition to Vale''s new structure. Holders of Vale''s Class A preferred shares ( VALE5.SA ) will receive 0.9342 common share ( VALE3.SA ) based on the 30-day average through last Friday, as part of the process. After that step is completed, Vale would pay owners of Valepar a 10 percent premium for their shares. That step, which should dilute minority shareholders by 3 percent, is a pre-condition to the rest of the process, the statement said. The change represents a milestone in a country long hobbled by corporate governance abuses and reorganizations that hampered minority investors in most cases. Reuters reported on Jan. 19 the planned to make Vale a company with dispersed share ownership and the listing of a single type of stock. "The transaction seems to be a win-win for both controlling and minority shareholders," said Rodolfo de Angele, a senior basic materials analyst with JPMorgan Securities. People Reuters at the time that Bradespar SA ( BRAP4.SA ) and pension fund Previ Caixa de Previdncia [PREVI.UL] sought the plan to boost Vale''s appeal among investors. Once the accord expires, no shareholder could own more than 25 percent of Vale or else will have to buy out other shareholders. The partners in Valepar include Previ - currently Vale''s largest shareholder, - Bradespar, Japan''s Mitsui & Co ( 8031.T ), an arm of state development bank BNDES, and pension funds Petros Fundao [PETROS.UL], Funcef [FUNCEF.UL] and Fundao Cesp. "BRUTAL CHANGE" Vale''s management plans to discuss the accord with investors at a conference call later on Monday. The transitional agreement needs backing from the equivalent of 20 percent of Vale''s voting shares, guaranteeing the necessary governance to implement the diluted ownership plan, the statement said. The 3.073 billion-real (795.5 million) goodwill generated by Vale''s incorporation of Valepar will be split equally among all shareholders, the statement said. The plan will also help limit government meddling in Vale - an aspect that weighed down the company''s stock during President Dilma Rousseff''s five years in office. Improved governance stemming from the move could help Vale''s stock cut the valuation gap relative to its global mining peers. Currently, Vale''s American depositary receipts ( VALE.N ) trade at the equivalent of 10.5 times estimated earnings for this year, below Rio Tinto Plc''s ( RIO.L ) 10.7 times and BHP Billiton Plc''s ( BLT.L ) 15.9 times, according to Thomson Reuters data. The implications of Monday''s announcement on investor perception about Vale''s governance should translate into a faster convergence of Vale and Rio Tinto share prices, Banco BTG Pactual''s trading desk said in a client note, adding that the move could help unleash 21 percent more value for Vale shareholders. "It''s a brutal change of governance for the company," the note said. Brad Haynes and Paula Arend Laier in So Paulo; Editing by Leslie Adler) UK '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-vale-sa-equity-agreement-idUKKBN15Z1BV'|'2017-02-20T20:18:00.000+02:00' +'7b7283b23506dc43d381e87af884f6cf8ef0cbcd'|'UPDATE 3-Fillon scandal, Frexit fears force up French borrowing costs'|'* Investors fret over political risk before election* Poll shows Fillon not making it to second round* French 10-year yields hit 17-month high* France/Belgium yield gap widest since at least 2008* Euro zone periphery govt bond yields tmsnrt.rs/2ii2Bqr (Updates prices, adds Quote: )By Abhinav RamnarayanLONDON, Feb 1 The premium investors demand to hold France''s government debt compared to that of its main euro zone peers hit multi-year highs on Wednesday, with bonds under pressure from political risks ahead of presidential elections.All euro zone bonds have fallen out of favour recently as global growth and inflation signals feed investor appetite for riskier investments like stocks.But French debt has been particularly badly hit, with the election in April and May a major factor.Investors fear the possibility of a win for Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Front (FN). In an interview with Reuters on Tuesday, the FN said it would put leaving the euro at the heart of its economic platform.Le Pen is not expected to win in polls, but the campaign of the former favourite, conservative Francois Fillon, has suffered from allegations his wife was paid for work she did not seem to have done.France''s 10-year bond yield rose to a near 17-month high on Wednesday of 1.13 percent.The gap, or spread, to its German equivalent hit an almost three-year high of 64 basis points (bps). Compared with similarly-rated Belgium, it was the highest since at least April 2008 at 26 bps."The France spread to Belgium is the gauge we use for political risk, and that has widened further after an adviser to Le Pen fleshed out their Frexit plans," said ING strategist Martin van Vliet."And with Fillon under the microscope as well, France is definitely underperforming."A poll on Wednesday showed an increase in support for both Le Pen and centrist Emmanuel Macron, with Fillon, the candidate of The Republicans, not making the second round."French government bonds are trading purely on election fears, and the polls this morning showed increased support for Le Pen so that adds to it," BBVA strategist Jaime Costero Denche said."I think the market is going to react to every poll from this point on."Most other euro zone yields were up 3-4 bps on Wednesday on the back of strong euro zone economic data.Data on Wednesday showed euro zone factories started 2017 by ramping up activity at the fastest rate for nearly six years.That came on the back of data on Tuesday showing inflation in the euro zone hit 1.8 percent last month, just below the European Central Bank''s target, putting pressure on the bank to wind down stimulus sooner rather than later.Investors also had an eye on the U.S. Federal Reserve''s first meeting of 2017 due later on Wednesday, waiting for hints on how aggressive a stance the world''s most important central bank will take on interest rate increases. (Additional reporting by John Geddie; Editing by Andrew Roche)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/eurozone-bonds-france-idINL5N1FM1PT'|'2017-02-01T13:47:00.000+02:00' +'ce6ffb7dff04386d3ab3f59ad72b35887eef04cb'|'MOVES-SocGen names Rajat Kohli head of global markets for India'|' 07am EST MOVES-SocGen names Rajat Kohli head of global markets for India Feb 27 Societe Generale said on Monday it appointed Rajat Kohli as head of global markets for India. Kohli, who has more than 14 years of experience, is charged with developing SocGen''s markets activities, including derivatives, foreign exchange and INR products, in the country. Kohli, based in Mumbai, will replace Gopal Bhattacharya. (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/ste-generale-moves-rajat-kohli-idUSL3N1GC3RX'|'2017-02-27T18:07:00.000+02:00' +'8b22256bb2d11f23111292463146014ae7df6ea3'|'Dubai''s Emaar to recover 1.22 billion dirhams for hotel fire insurance claim'|'Business News - Mon Feb 6, 2017 - 5:52am GMT Dubai''s Emaar to recover 1.22 billion dirhams for hotel fire insurance claim The Address Downtown Dubai hotel and residential block is seen engulfed by fire near the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, during the New Year celebrations in Dubai January 1, 2016. REUTERS/Hassan Al Rasi DUBAI Dubai''s Emaar Properties EMAR.DU said on Monday it will recover 1.22 billion dirhams (265.89 million pounds) from an insurance claim for the Address Downtown hotel which caught fire on New Year''s Eve 2015. The insurance claim, signed with Orient Insurance, will result in a write back of the 301 million dirhams provision created in 2015 to cover the incident. The write back will be recorded as income in the quarter ending Dec. 31 2016, according to a bourse statement. ($1 = 3.6726 UAE dirham) (Reporting by Alexander Cornwell; Writing by Tom Arnold) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-emaar-properties-address-downtown-ins-idUKKBN15L0FK'|'2017-02-06T12:52:00.000+02:00' +'8d9a6e595ae99dd4bc54f6493bdfbd0589dd2c8a'|'Bosch Ltd profit down about 20 pct'|'Feb 10 Bosch Ltd* Dec quarter net profit 2.18 billion rupees* Dec quarter total income from operations 28.64 billion rupees* Net profit in dec quarter last year was 2.73 billion rupees as per Ind-AS; total income from operations was 26.58 billion rupees* Says special payout in form of interim dividend of INR 75 per share Source text - ( bit.ly/2lqxVVK ) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/idINFWN1FV0BJ'|'2017-02-10T05:06:00.000+02:00' +'c194bcd2579c289390d74e97ef992b85c751378e'|'BRIEF-Nelnet board approves dividend'|' 21pm EST BRIEF-Nelnet board approves dividend * Sets quarterly cash dividend of $0.14 per share Source text for Eikon: NEW YORK, Feb 3 With a swipe of his pen, U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday started killing off a retirement advice rule that wealth managers from Wall Street to Wisconsin have spent the last six years lobbying against. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1FO12O'|'2017-02-04T04:21:00.000+02:00' +'4e5b172425f786b9fcf35da8df621bf175080042'|'UPDATE 1-U.S. FERC delegates authority to staff in absence of a quorum'|'Business 12:15pm EST FERC delegates authority to staff in absence of a quorum The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Friday issued an order delegating further authority to its staff in absence of a quorum on the Commission starting Feb. 4. FERC needs at least three of the five commissioners to have a quorum. It will only have two commissioners, Cheryl LaFleur and Colette Honorable, once commissioner Norman Bay leaves on Friday. Last week, President Donald Trump appointed LaFleur as acting chairman, which prompted Bay, the former chairman, to announce he would step down on Feb. 3. Changes at the top of FERC prompted several energy firms to request the agency make decisions this week on proposed natural gas pipelines to avoid potential construction delays. FERC on Thursday approved construction of Energy Transfer Partners LP''s ( ETP.N ) Rover gas pipeline from Pennsylvania to Ontario. Other companies hoping for decisions this week include units of Spectra Energy Corp ( SE.N ) ( SEP.N ) on the Nexus pipeline, Williams Cos Inc ( WMB.N ) ( WPZ.N ) on Atlantic Sunrise, TransCanada Corp ( TRP.TO ) on Leach and National Fuel Gas Co ( NFG.N ) on Northern Access. As part of the delegation to the staff, FERC said the Director of the Office of Energy Market Regulation can accept and suspend rate filings, take action on uncontested filings and can accept settlements not contested by any party. The Commission said on Friday it "anticipates that it will lack a quorum for an indeterminate period in the near future." The Commission said the additional authority granted to agency staff will last until the Commission again has a quorum and moves to lift the delegation order. When regulated entities make rate filings that, in the absence of Commission action, would take effect without suspension, refund protection or the ability for protesting parties to appeal, the Commission said its general practice has been not to allow that to happen. By issuing the order Friday, the Commission said it intends to ensure that FERC staff has authority to prevent such filings from taking effect during the no-quorum period. FERC also said staff can extend the time for action on matters where it is permitted by statute. (Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Chris Reese) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-ferc-quorum-idUSKBN15I2GB'|'2017-02-04T00:12:00.000+02:00' +'8dc16022952c24806569d4b998fbe8e2f60fea10'|'BRIEF-Curtiss-Wright Q4 sales $566 million'|' 4:54pm EST BRIEF-Curtiss-Wright Q4 sales $566 million Feb 15 Curtiss-Wright Corp * Curtiss-Wright reports fourth quarter and full-year 2016 financial results and issues 2017 guidance * Curtiss-Wright Corp - new orders of $497 million in Q4 decreased 47% as prior year period * Q4 earnings per share $1.58 * Q4 sales $566 million versus I/B/E/S view $598.9 million * Q4 earnings per share view $1.49 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * Curtiss-Wright Corp sees FY total sales including TTC $2.17 - $2.21 billion * Curtiss-Wright Corp sees FY free cash flow $260 - $280 million * Curtiss-Wright corp sees FY diluted earnings per share $4.30 - $4.40 * Curtiss-Wright Corp says backlog of $2.0 billion increased 1% from December 31, 2015, primarily due to growth in naval defense businesses * FY2017 earnings per share view $4.51, revenue view $2.20 billion -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSASB0B0IR'|'2017-02-16T04:54:00.000+02:00' +'11f7216879130ef975bb601aef565be13688f36c'|'BRIEF-TeamHealth Holdings to pay $60 mln to settle Medicare, Medicaid False Claims Act allegations'|' 17pm EST BRIEF-TeamHealth Holdings to pay $60 mln to settle Medicare, Medicaid False Claims Act allegations Feb 6 U.S. Department of Justice: * Says TeamHealth Holdings to pay $60 million to settle Medicare and Medicaid false claims act allegations * As part of settlement, TeamHealth entered into five-year corporate integrity agreement covering company''s Hospital Medicine division Source text - ( bit.ly/2keOHCY ) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1FR0T8'|'2017-02-07T02:17:00.000+02:00' +'8846a04539f58beaf77620a9877fd1c26912f5c3'|'L''Oreal eyes Body Shop sale, posts higher revenue, profit - Reuters'|'By Sudip Kar-Gupta and Martinne Geller - PARIS/LONDON PARIS/LONDON French cosmetics giant L''Oreal ( OREP.PA ) is weighing a possible sale of The Body Shop retail chain, it said on Thursday as it posted higher sales and profits.L''Oreal said in a statement that it had decided to "explore all strategic options regarding The Body Shop''s ownership in order to give it the best opportunities and full ability to continue its development."It said no final decision had been taken on the British chain, which it bought over a decade ago.Founded in 1976 by social and environmental activist Anita Roddick, the brand was a pioneer in the ethical beauty business, but has since suffered from heavy competition as many other brands adopted similar philosophies."Given the uninspiring performance of the brand, we suspect it shouldn''t come as a big surprise," said RBC Capital Markets analysts.L''Oreal is being advised by Lazard, according to an earlier report in the Financial Times, which said some private equity suitors had already expressed interest in buying the brand and it could fetch 1 billion euros.L''Oreal said 2016 sales had risen 2.3 percent from a year ago to 25.84 billion euros ($27.6 billion), slightly ahead of the mean average forecast for sales of 25.75 billion euros according to a Reuters consensus conducted with Inquiry Financial.Earnings per share for 2016 also rose 4.6 percent.Looking ahead, L''Oreal said that despite "an economic context that is still volatile and uncertain", it was "confident it will once again outperform the beauty market in 2017" with another year of growing sales and profits.L''Oreal, whose brands include Maybelline New York, Kiehl''s and Redken, issued its statement after the Paris stock market had closed with the stock up 0.4 percent after marginal gains so far this year on top of a roughly 12 percent gain in 2016.L''Oreal has been very active lately in terms of deal-making, announcing the $1.2 billion acquisition of IT Cosmetics last July and the $1.3 billion purchase of three brands from Valeant last month. It said the possible sale of The Body Shop was part of a related "brand portfolio optimisation".(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Andrew Callus/Ruth Pitchford)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/loreal-results-idINKBN15O2KR'|'2017-02-09T15:50:00.000+02:00' +'b2b32eb1fecc6334ceab3e1d307ab4a089ca0300'|'LPC - Bankers ready 2.6 billion debt deal for potential Stada sale'|' 02am GMT LPC - Bankers ready 2.6 billion debt deal for potential Stada sale The logo of the pharmaceutical company Stada Arzneimittel AG is pictured at its headquarters in Bad Vilbel near Frankfurt March 14, 2012. REUTERS/Alex Domanski By Claire Ruckin - LONDON LONDON Bankers are preparing a debt financing of around 2.6bn (2 billion) backing a potential private equity buyout of publicly listed German generic drugs and consumer care group Stada ( STAGn.DE ), banking sources said on Tuesday. Stada said on Monday that it had started talks with potential bidders Cinven Partners and Advent International, after the private equity firms showed interest. Banks are eager to underwrite a large and profitable debt deal, which would give lenders a welcome break from the low-earning task of repricing and refinancing existing loans. Every bank is looking at Stada. You dont get a jumbo trade very often so as soon as something hits the screen like this, you get on it, one source said. Around 2.6bn of debt financing would give a total leverage ratio of around 6x-6.5 times, based on Stadas approximate Ebitda of 400m, sources said. The debt is likely to be denominated in euros and the large size of the financing means that it could be split between leveraged loans and high-yield bonds, they added. Europes leveraged loan market could have the upper hand, sources said, as public to private acquisitions can take a long time to close. Loans are more flexible and have less rigid accounting standards than bonds and can be arranged either as a bridge financing or syndicated to investors with a ticking fee. LIQUID MARKET While the liquid loan market has the capacity to bank a jumbo deal, several other large loans are also on the horizon, including the potential sale of German metering groups Techem and rival Ista. The two potential sales would require around 2bn of financing each and, if successful, could quickly reverse technical market factors that have seen demand outstrip supply for around a year. Europes leveraged loan market could go to feast from famine very quickly, the first source said. Stada said that Cinven was offering 56 euros per share, which values the company at almost 3.5bn. It did not disclose the price proposed by Advent. Other cash-rich buyout firms including Bain, BC Partners, CVC and Permira are also interested in Stada, sources said. Stada was not immediately available to comment. Bain, BC Partners, CVC and Permira declined to comment. Founded in 1895 in Dresden as a pharmacists'' cooperative, Stada is seeking to expand its non-prescription consumer care business. Its generic drug business is under price pressure as medical insurers in Germany, its largest market, seek bulk procurement deals at low prices. (Editing by Tessa Walsh) Britain, China pledge to promote free trade SHANGHAI China and Britain have pledged to promote free trade and cooperate on building a open world economy, fanning efforts to shore up what the two governments have called a "golden era" in their relationship, the Xinhua news agency reported on Friday.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-stada-loans-idUKKBN15W118'|'2017-02-17T18:02:00.000+02:00' +'bbffa3f02eace617b04930d508ea2499773f043b'|'EU to take more legal action against nations soft on carmakers'|'Business News 04am GMT EU to take more legal action against nations soft on carmakers EU Industry Commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska holds a news conference in Brussels, Belgium November 30, 2016. REUTERS/Eric Vidal BRUSSELS Brussels will soon take more legal action against governments who have failed to crack down on car industry cheating, Europe''s industry commissioner said on Thursday, accusing them of obstructing the European Union''s own efforts. Speaking to European Parliament, Commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska urged lawmakers to back her draft proposal to overhaul rules on authorising new vehicles to prevent a re-run of the Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) emissions scandal. The draft law is going to a vote in a Parliament Committee on Thursday. "Member states really failed to enforce the law," Bienkowska told members of Parliament. "I feel they are still playing for time. ... We are seeing delay, after delay." Amid mounting frustration over what EU regulators see as governments colluding with carmakers, the EU executive is using its only tool to force action. It began legal cases against Germany, Britain and five other EU members in December. Bienkowska said there were a lot more cases to come in the coming months. "But these are very limited tools," she added. "We need a new type approval system." FIXING THE SYSTEM After VW admitted to using software to mask the levels of health-harming exhaust on its cars, several European countries ran their own investigations. They revealed on-road nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions as high as 15 times the regulatory limits, as well as the widespread use of defeat devices to reduce exhaust treatment. The use of such devices is illegal under EU law, but car manufacturers have invoked a legal loophole designed to allow them when necessary to protect car engines. [L5N1FS7HM] Seeking to close this loophole, the Commission issued guidance last month on how members of the 28-nation bloc should apply the rules. The draft regulation before MEPs would bolster EU oversight of government testing authorities to address perceived conflicts of interest when they inspect and certify the cars of their own national manufacturing champions. Brussels would get powers to carry out vehicle spot-checks and allow national authorities to peer-review one another''s decisions. Under current rules, a vehicle certification is valid EU-wide but can be revoked only by the country that issued it. Lawmakers on the European Parliament''s internal market committee are expected to approve the draft with only minor amendments on Thursday, setting the stage for a plenary vote. (Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel, editing by Ed Osmond) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-volkswagen-emissions-eu-idUKKBN15O17J'|'2017-02-09T18:04:00.000+02:00' +'5fe4da2d17f6a4978ee0e335c66767d93267993c'|'Things looking up in euro zone? Someone should tell the consumers'|' 18pm GMT Things looking up in euro zone? Someone should tell the consumers Customers shop at Swedish retailer IKEA in Taufkirchen near Munich January 22, 2013. REUTERS/Michael Dalder By Jeremy Gaunt - LONDON LONDON Monday''s release of euro zone business and consumer sentiment roughly mirrored what was seen earlier this month in Germany: businesses are relatively bullish, consumers no so much. As the following graphs - bit.ly/2mCiW7K - show, business-conditions sentiment in the 19-member euro zone EUBUSC=ECI rose in February to its highest level since mid-2011. The same could be said for Germany''s ZEW index of economic conditions DEZEWC=ECI. Despite dipping slightly month on month, it was just off highs not seen for nearly 6 years. But consumers have another view. The euro zone final consumer confidence index EUCONS=ECI took a dive in February, as did the GfK German consumer confidence index DECONS=ECI looking ahead at March. If this disconnect were to continue, it would quickly undermine what appears to have been a robust start to the euro zone economy''s year. The cause is probably inflation and wages. Rabobank''s head of macro strategy, Elwin de Groot, says is bubbling along as the U.S. and Chinese economies grow. But euro zone consumers are looking at rising inflation, which they are not used to, and stagnant wages. Consumer price inflation for the euro zone is expected to have hit 2 percent when its is reported on Thursday. Perhaps even more dampening to sentiment, however, is wage growth. In the fourth quarter of last year, the European Central Bank''s indicator of negotiated wage rates was at its lowest since the euro was created - and extrapolated back beyond that to 1991. (Editing by Louise Ireland)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-economy-sentiment-idUKKBN1661M8'|'2017-02-27T21:18:00.000+02:00' +'a9cf2205f32508f161d92d6d168df29f9ec3c823'|'Whiting Petroleum posts bigger quarterly loss'|'Tue Feb 21, 2017 - 4:12pm EST Whiting Petroleum posts bigger quarterly loss A trader waits for the opening of Whiting Petroleum''s stock at the post where it is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange March 24, 2015. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Whiting Petroleum Corp ( WLL.N ), North Dakota''s largest oil producer, posted a bigger quarterly loss as production fell and expenses rose. The company''s net loss available to common shareholders widened to $173.3 million, or 59 cents per share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 from $98.7 million, or 48 cents per share, a year earlier. Production fell 23.4 percent to 118,890 barrels of oil equivalent per day. (Reporting by Komal Khettry and Diptendu lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-whiting-petrol-results-idUSKBN1602L0'|'2017-02-22T04:08:00.000+02:00' +'5b8a66e41d52f111384edad6960abdf3bdb3985f'|'Morocco threatens to cut EU ties if farm deal founders'|'Money 7:56pm IST Morocco threatens to cut EU ties if farm deal founders By Aziz El Yaakoubi - RABAT RABAT Morocco''s government said on Monday it would end economic cooperation with the European Union if the bloc does not honour a farming deal, weeks after an EU court ruled that trade accords do not apply to the disputed Western Sahara region. In a statement to MAP state news agency, the agriculture ministry said the EU should resist any attempts to block Moroccan products entering into the European market but did not explain why the pact might be at risk. "In the absence of a frank commitment from the European Union, Morocco will have to make a decisive choice whether to continue with EU trade or to undo it without looking back, and focus on building new trade routes," the ministry said. The European Court of Justice ruled in December that deals involving trade of agricultural products, processed agricultural products and fisheries between the EU and Morocco did not apply to Western Sahara. The ruling was claimed as a victory by the Polisario group seeking independence for Western Sahara, which Morocco calls its own. Last month, Polisario sought to have the EU apply the ruling to block a shipment of fish oil to a French port from the territory. Rabat had said the European court ruling would not impact current trade deals in any way. The agriculture ministry said on Monday that current agreements with EU ensured thousands of jobs and could trigger migrant flows if their implementation fails. An EU diplomatic source told Reuters the ministry''s statement came after Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete referred in a written reply to a question in the EU parliament to the "separate and distinct" status of Western Sahara. Moroccan agriculture minister Aziz Akhannouch said Monday''s statement was not a response to Canete''s remarks, but that his comments reflected an attitude seen within EU institutions. "It is about what the European court decision means," the minister told Reuters by telephone. "For Morocco it means the deals should be implemented like they have been since their signature." Akhannouch said European officials have not yet started official talks on the meaning of the ruling but that Morocco has been preparing for its potential effects. "We are reasonable people, we know that we need Europe and Europe needs us. But we want them to see all the efforts Morocco does to make the partnership work," he said. Without going into details of the trade deals, the court had signalled some EU fisheries in disputed coastal waters would be in violation of the ruling. It said agreements signed with Morocco could not include Western Saharan resources because the region''s inhabitants had not agreed to that. Western Sahara, which has significant phosphate reserves and offshore fishing, has been contested since 1975 when Spain, the former colonial power, withdrew. Morocco fought a 16-year war with Polisario, which established a self-declared Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. A 1991 ceasefire was meant to be followed by a U.N.-backed referendum on self-determination including the question of independence. The vote has never happened mainly because of disagreements on who could take part and Morocco since 2006 has promoted its own autonomy proposal. The two sides often engage in diplomatic sparring but tensions on the ground have also increased since August last year, when UN peacekeepers were forced to deploy after Morocco forces and a Polisario unit faced off in a buffer zone between Morocco-controlled area and territory held by Polisario. Last month, Morocco rejoined the African Union, having left decades ago because it had allowed Polisario recognition. Analysts expect Morocco to try use its position inside the AU to promote its own autonomy plan for Western Sahara against Polisario. (Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi; Writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Catherine Evans) Next In Money News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/eu-morocco-idINKBN15L1ME'|'2017-02-06T21:26:00.000+02:00' +'6493d94740ea93e89081d232c64742cb506cc41b'|'S.Korea prosecutor to summon Samsung''s Lee again on suspicion of bribery - Reuters'|'SEOUL South Korea''s special prosecutor said its investigation team would again summon Samsung Group scion Jay Y. Lee on Monday to question him on suspicion of bribery, as part of its investigation into a political corruption scandal.Lee Kyu-chul, spokesman for the special prosecutor, told a news briefing the office would decide later whether to seek another arrest warrant for Lee after his questioning on Monday. The special prosecution team would also question two other Samsung executives on Monday, the spokesman said.A South Korean court last month dismissed an arrest warrant against the head of Samsung Group, the country''s largest conglomerate, who is embroiled in the graft scandal that has led parliament to impeach President Park Geun-hye, a decision that must be upheld or overturned by a court.(Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/southkorea-politics-samsung-idINKBN15R08A'|'2017-02-12T03:22:00.000+02:00' +'eeb2d4617fd492304dc7dd3d835df311054c868c'|'Kraft withdraws offer to merge with Unilever'|'Business News - Sun Feb 19, 2017 - 6:03pm GMT Kraft withdraws offer to merge with Unilever Bottles of salad dressing, made by food conglomerate Kraft Heinz, are seen on a supermarket shelf in Seattle, Washington, U.S., February 10, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Helgren Kraft Heinz Co ( KHC.O ) has agreed to withdraw its proposal for a $143 billion merger with larger rival Unilever Plc ( ULVR.L ), the companies said on Sunday. U.S.-based Kraft had made a surprise offer for Unilever in a bid to build a global consumer goods behemoth, although it was flatly rejected on Friday by Unilever, the maker of Lipton tea and Dove soap. (Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe) Next In Business News ECB''s Lautenschlaeger welcomes inflation rise but says too soon for rate move BERLIN European Central Bank board member Sabine Lautenschlaeger has said the ECB needs to wait to see if inflation stabilizes in its target zone of just under 2 percent before interest rates can be raised, but that she hopes its bond-buying program can be scaled down before year-end. China says policies unaffected by Trump plan to bring factories back to U.S. SHANGHAI China is closely following U.S. President Donald Trump''s plans to create more domestic jobs by encouraging U.S. companies to bring home or "reshore" their overseas production, but the government will not change its overall strategy, Industry Minister Miao Wei said on Friday. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-unilever-nv-m-a-kraft-heinz-idUKKBN15Y0RR'|'2017-02-20T01:03:00.000+02:00' +'1a236fc2e291aa025f27fe36b7c6325f02e483a5'|'Cigna, Humana could still combine despite anti-trust rulings: analysts'|'By Carl O''Donnell Although judges shot down Anthem Inc''s ( ANTM.N ) $54 billion acquisition of Cigna Corp ( CI.N ) and Aetna Inc''s ( AET.N ) $35 billion takeover of Humana Inc ( HUM.N ) on anti-trust grounds, the rulings left scope for a possible combination of Cigna and Humana, industry insiders said.Cigna would have both the motives and finances to pursue an acquisition of Humana, these experts suggested. Because of its much smaller Medicare Advantage business, Cigna may have a better shot at winning a regulatory green light, they added."They may have blocked the merger (with Aetna), but that''s not the end of the song," said Randal Schultz, an attorney at Lathrop & Gage LLP focusing on the healthcare sector.Cigna and Humana did not respond to requests for comment. Aetna declined to comment.A merger of Cigna and Humana would allow them to save money by cutting back administrative costs in overlapping markets and holding down healthcare costs by boosting the combined company''s bargaining power with healthcare providers and drug makers.To be sure, further industry consolidation is not seen as imminent following the scuppering of two mega deals in the sector. Anthem has said it wants to appeal the court ruling and Cigna is still weighing how to proceed. Aetna and Humana have yet to announce their plans.When asked whether a big deal is out of the question right now, Cigna CEO David Cordani left the door open in a conference call last week with analysts discussing fourth-quarter earnings, saying "never say never, in terms of large versus small."Moreover, U.S. President Donald Trump''s intention to repeal and replace his predecessor''s signature healthcare law, the Affordable Care Act - also known as Obamacare - will not remove the incentives for health insurers to consolidate, and could even bolster them.With Republican lawmakers and policymakers in control of Washington, Humana''s Medicare Advantage assets could become even more valuable.U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan has argued for more privatization of Medicare, the government-run insurance program for the elderly and disabled. While the White House does not yet back Ryan''s proposal for government-sponsored vouchers for private insurance plans, analysts say such a policy is likely to spur more growth and profits in privately run Medicare Advantage plans.For Cigna, a deal with Humana could help offset its slower- growing business managing insurance plans for large companies, which makes up 85 percent of its revenues and is considered more vulnerable to economic downturns.Cigna''s Medicare Advantage footprint is less than half that of Aetna''s, giving it a stronger footing with antitrust regulators, investors and analysts said."There would be a lot fewer (antitrust) objections to a Cigna buyout of Humana than there were with Aetna, and I think Humana could get a higher price," said Jeff Jonas, a portfolio manager at GAMCO Investors, which owns shares in all five big U.S. health insurers, including Humana.The terms of any new deal would need to reflect the fact that some aspects of Humana''s business has improved since it agreed to sell itself to Aetna in 2015, Jonas said.That includes Humana''s decision to largely withdraw from the online exchanges for individual plans set up by the Affordable Care Act last year, Jonas said. Following losses it suffered on these exchanges, Humana said this week its individual membership participation was down 70 percent.A NEW RACE FOR HUMANAHumana emerged as a coveted acquisition target in 2015, when an approach by Cigna triggered a sale process for the company in which Aetna prevailed. Bidders were attracted to Humana''s robust presence in the fast-growing Medicare Advantage market, where it has more than 3 million customers."We see real potential for Cigna to re-engage, and possibly Anthem as well to be a factor," Justin Lake of Wolfe Research wrote in a January note.Cigna would likely be "much more willing" than Aetna was to simply divest all of its Medicare Advantage business for antitrust reasons, which is much smaller and is growing more slowly than Aetna''s, Lake said.In total, Aetna provides Medicare Advantage services to around 1.2 million people. Aetna had agreed to sell insurance plans serving nearly 300,000 Medicare Advantage customers to smaller peer Molina Healthcare Inc ( MOH.N ). But that was only about half of the roughly 600,000 customers that JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ) said it would have needed to sell to get a green light from regulators.Anthem could also potentially take an interest in acquiring Humana, analysts said. However, it would likely face considerably greater antitrust scrutiny. With more than $80 billion in expected annual sales, Anthem is roughly twice the size of Cigna. It also has a larger Medicare Advantage business, serving around 1.2 million people, compared with Cigna''s roughly 500,000.While this would make it more difficult for Anthem to compete against Cigna as a suitor for Humana from an antitrust perspective, it could give Cigna grounds to argue that competition would not be stifled were it to acquire Humana, given Anthem''s major presence in the market.Humana could also attract interest from less obvious players, including pharmaceutical benefits managers (PBMs) such as Express Scripts Holding Co ( ESRX.O ) or CVS Health Corp. ( CVS.N ), said Leerink Partners LLC analyst Ana Gupte.CVS had no immediate comment. Express Scripts declined to comment. The model of combining PBMs, which negotiate drug prices on behalf of insurers, with insurance companies themselves was pioneered by UnitedHealth Group Inc ( UNH.N ). It doubled down on the strategy in 2015 with the $12.8 billion acquisition of Catamaran Corp.That business, now part of its existing OptumRX unit, outperformed analyst expectations during the latest quarter and has won some large contracts away from competitors. The company says owning the business helps it better assess customer health costs, a key component of premium pricing and profits.(Reporting by Carl O''Donnell in New York; Additional reporting by Caroline Humer in New York and Diane Bartz in Washington, D.C.; Editing by Greg Roumeliotis and Dan Grebler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-humana-m-a-cigna-idINKBN15O2DU'|'2017-02-09T14:44:00.000+02:00' +'3d074b24be84ddf3710df62cac22410001808ffa'|'UFO Moviez India Dec-qtr consol profit falls'|'Feb 2 UFO Moviez India Ltd :* Dec quarter consol net profit 135.9 million rupees versus 160.3 million rupees year ago* Dec quarter consol net sales 1.48 billion rupees versus 1.44 billion rupees year ago* Demonetization has slowed down growth in second half of fiscal 2017 making it difficult to achieve advertisement growth target Source text: ( bit.ly/2jG7Pst ) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/idINFWN1FN0EI'|'2017-02-02T05:47:00.000+02:00' +'0857b09a803881684cbe036b20f9cbc6d282203a'|'Brussels Airport being prepped for sale as Macquarie seeks exit - sources'|'Company News 3:57am EST Brussels Airport being prepped for sale as Macquarie seeks exit - sources By Arno Schuetze and Dasha Afanasieva - LONDON LONDON Feb 23 Brussels airport is being prepared for a potential sale as one of its owners is planning an exit from Belgium''s main hub, several people close to the matter said. Brussels is Europe''s 26th largest airport and serves as hub for Brussels Airlines, which is being fully taken over by Lufthansa. It saw passenger numbers drop 7 percent last year to 21.8 million as a result of the attacks in March, which forced the closure of the airport for 12 days. Australian Macquarie''s infrastructure fund, which owns a 36 percent stake, is currently in talks with co-owner Ontario Teachers'' Pension Plan (OTPP), which has 39 percent, on whether the Canadian investor wants to increase its stake, the people said. If those negotiations fail to come to a successful end, an auction will be started to find a third party investor, they said, adding that JP Morgan has been tasked with overseeing the process. Macquarie and JP Morgan declined to comment. (Additional reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Maria Sheahan) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brusselsairport-sale-idUSL8N1G258S'|'2017-02-23T15:57:00.000+02:00' +'8d6e2e3b507e07d82c0f429f4a27013fd032cadc'|'First big German customer sues Volkswagen in diesel affair - Reuters'|'HAMBURG, Germany Fish distributor Deutsche See is suing Volkswagen for misrepresenting a fleet of vehicles it leased as environmentally friendly, becoming the first major German customer to sue Europe''s biggest carmaker over its diesel-test cheating.Volkswagen already faces numerous lawsuits from individual owners, regulators, states and dealers, many of them in the form of class-action cases in the United States. This is the first case brought by a corporate customer in its home market.Bremerhaven-based Deutsche See, which leases about 500 vehicles from Volkswagen, said it had been unable to reach an out-of-court settlement. Talks had broken down after Volkswagen replaced the relevant managers with lawyers and PR managers.German tabloid Bild am Sonntag said Deutsche See was suing for 11.9 million euros ($12.8 million). Deutsche See was not immediately reachable to comment on the sum."Deutsche See only went into partnership with VW because VW promised the most environmentally friendly, sustainable mobility concept," said a statement from Deutsche See, which won a sustainability prize in 2010.Volkswagen said on Sunday it had not yet seen the charge and so could not comment on it.Deutsche See said it had filed its complaint for malicious deception at the regional court in Braunschweig, near Volkswagen''s Wolfsburg headquarters. The court was not reachable on Sunday to confirm it had received the case.Volkswagen admitted in September 2015 it had used software to cheat diesel-emissions tests in the United States.The legal fallout has cost the company over 20 billion euros ($21.6 billion) so far and its former chief executive is being investigated by German prosecutors for suspected fraud and market manipulation.($1 = 0.9276 euros)(Reporting by Jan Schwartz; Writing by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/volkswagen-emissions-lawsuit-idINKBN15K0MS'|'2017-02-05T13:18:00.000+02:00' +'889dbba54f1a547cb75d50a9809929a31e8aefd3'|'Berkshire Hathaway gains $1.6 bln from its huge bite of Apple'|'NEW YORK Feb 25 Berkshire Hathaway Inc''s gain on its investment in Apple Inc. stands at more than $1.6 billion after shares of the iPhone maker surged.The stake of 61.2 million shares was acquired last year for $6.75 billion, an average of about $110.17 apiece, according to the annual report Saturday from Berkshire, which is led by billionaire chairman Warren Buffett.The holding was valued at more than $8.3 billion as of Friday''s $136.66 closing price.Berkshire became one of the top 10 Apple investors in 2016, taking a stake of more than 9 million shares in the first quarter and then accelerating purchases in the last three months of the year.The Apple investment appears to reflect much of the $12 billion of stock that Buffett said he had bought between the Nov. 8 Presidential election and the end of January. (Reporting By Jennifer Ablan; Editing by David Gregorio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/berkshire-hatha-buffett-apple-idINL1N1GA08Q'|'2017-02-25T10:57:00.000+02:00' +'bbe74f1ebc6058f1a91baa2c785f02d7a9d8edec'|'China, U.S. help Pernod beat estimates, India lags'|' 35am GMT China, U.S. help Pernod beat estimates, India lags FILE PHOTO - A barman of French drinks maker Pernod Ricard group prepares drinks for clients at the '''' Club Pernod'''' in Marseille, France, April 27, 2016. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier/File Photo By Dominique Vidalon - PARIS PARIS Pernod Ricard ( PERP.PA ) beat first-half earnings forecasts on Thursday helped by higher Chinese demand for its Martell cognac and U.S. sales of Jameson Irish whiskey but kept its outlook unchanged as Indian sales growth slowed. The world''s second-biggest spirits group behind Britain''s Diageo ( DGE.L ) said sales growth in India, which accounts for about 10 percent of Pernod''s revenue, slowed to 3 percent in the first half as an Indian government ban on high-value bank notes held back local whisky consumption. The situation was likely to continue until the end of the third quarter, Pernod said. "We are not changing our guidance despite this headwind in India which is offset by a better-than-expected performance in China," Chief Executive Alexandre Ricard told Reuters by phone. The owner of Absolut vodka, Martell cognac and Mumm champagne kept its target for a rise of 2 to 4 percent in profit from recurring operations for the year to June 30. First-half profit from recurring operations rose 4 percent to 1.5 billion euros on group sales of 5.06 billion, also up 4 percent. That was broadly in line with analysts'' forecasts in a Reuters poll which called for a profit of 1.48 billion on sales of 5.02 billion. Second quarter sales rose 4 percent, beating estimates of 3.2 percent growth, and reflecting an increase of 6 percent in America, 5 percent in Asia and 1 percent in Europe. At 0835 GMT Pernod shares were down 0.09 percent at 108.35 euros. "Management is doing the right things and there are signs of success across the U.S., Europe and China. However some markets and channels remain challenged and will take time to improve," Liberum analysts said in a note, keeping a "hold" rating. STRONGER CHINA In China, sales rose 4 percent in the first half, an acceleration from 1 percent growth in the first quarter, helped by cognac shipments ahead of the Chinese New Year in January. This reflected a 10 percent rise in Martell cognac sales and the recovery of luxury cognac brand Cordon Bleu although scotch whiskies continued to suffer. Hit like other spirits makers by a sales downturn in China sparked by a government clampdown on extravagant spending, Pernod Ricard has launched a sales drive there. It has set up two sales teams in the country, one focused on high-end brands such as Martell and Cordon Bleu and the other on mid-range brands such as Noblige cognac and Ballantine''s Finest whisky to better address demand from an emerging middle class. Pernod''s peers have confirmed China was returning to growth with Remy Cointreau ( RCOP.PA ) and Hennessy ( LVMH.PA ) reporting robust sales. [nP6N1A500V][nL5N1FG6SV] In the United States, where sales grew 5 percent, Jameson whiskey continued to grow at a double-digit rate but Absolut vodka - Pernod''s leading brand - was still down in value terms amid increasing price competition. "Absolut remains difficult. It''s more complicated than expected due to a price war in vodka," Ricard told Reuters. Absolut has been struggling as trendy drinkers turn to brown spirits such as bourbon and niche vodkas such as Texas-based Tito''s Handmade Vodka. ($1 = 0.9366 euros) (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; editing by Leigh Thomas and Jason Neely) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-pernod-results-idUKKBN15O0MM'|'2017-02-09T16:35:00.000+02:00' +'271a66c3bd42d244249a78e1773a859a4d73a22a'|'Sterling hits lowest in a week as Brexit jitters return'|'Foreign Exchange Analysis - Mon Feb 27, 2017 - 5:21am EST Sterling hits lowest in a week as Brexit jitters return A bank employee counts pound notes at Kasikornbank in Bangkok, Thailand October 12, 2010. REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang/File Photo LONDON Sterling fell broadly against major currencies on Monday, as the prospect of another Scottish independence vote and signs a major merger was unlikely to go through renewed fears about Britain''s future as it prepares to leave the European Union. A report in the Times newspaper said British prime minister Theresa May is preparing for Scotland to call a fresh independence referendum in March. The Telegraph newspaper meanwhile reported that May is planning to curb freedom of movement for EU citizens as soon as she triggers Article 50 - Britain''s formal notification to leave the European Union. The London Stock Exchange on Sunday all but ended a planned merger with Deutsche Boerse by ruling out meeting a European anti-trust demand, saying it has strong prospects alone. Sterling slid by as much as 0.7 percent to $1.2384, its lowest in nearly a fortnight. It last traded down 0.3 percent at $1.2431. It also fell 0.5 percent to 85.15 pence per euro. "One of the reasons [sterling is down], is the announcement that the merger between LSE and Deutsche Boerse may be off the table and I think that''s flagged sentiment," said Richard Cochinos, European head of G10 currency strategy at Citi. An adviser to the devolved Edinburgh government said last week that it is increasingly convinced it can win a new independence referendum and is thinking seriously about calling one next year as Britain leaves the EU. The pound had its strongest week last week since January on Friday, as a lack of major domestic developments in Britain saw investors'' attention drawn to the U.S. economy and European politics, giving sterling some respite. "On top of soft data from the UK recently ... these fresh signals of a ''hard Brexit'' and the risk of another Scottish referendum, enhances our view that the broader outlook for sterling remains negative," analysts from retail broker IronFX said in a note to clients. "Our favourite proxy for any potential sterling softness in the foreseeable future is still sterling/yen, considering that the looming political risks in Eurozone could strengthen the yen due to its safe haven status." (Editing by Catherine Evans) Sterling dips at end of strongest week since January LONDON Sterling slid from a 2-week high to the dollar on Friday but was still on track for its strongest weekly showing in a month as concerns about politics in the United States and Europe took investors'' focus off immediate Brexit worries.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-sterling-idUSKBN16614J'|'2017-02-27T17:15:00.000+02:00' +'e167d610bf9ae37b708cccab28c46f73ee62399a'|'Venezuela to charge ex-PDVSA port boss over alleged corruption'|'Company News - Tue Feb 7, 2017 - 6:54pm EST Venezuela to charge ex-PDVSA port boss over alleged corruption CARACAS Feb 7 Venezuela will charge a former manager of state oil company PDVSA''s main crude exporting port with corruption over suspected overpricing in equipment purchases, the public prosecutor''s office said in a statement late on Tuesday. Jesus Osorio will be charged in the coming hours following complaints lodged by colleagues at PDVSA, which exports much of its oil from the Jose terminal, over the purchase of two monobuoys costing $76.2 million, the statement added. Further information was not immediately available. Caracas-based PDVSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Venezuela''s opposition parties say PDVSA has been crippled by financial malfeasance and blames corruption for some of Venezuela''s deep economic recession. A congressional probe in October said $11 billion was missing from PDVSA, and critics say arrests linked to corruption are perfunctory and do not tackle the roots of the problem. PDVSA says it is taking steps to combat corruption, which has affected oil-rich Venezuela for decades. The company has also said in the past that it is victim of a right-wing campaign, led by the United States and international media, to sabotage socialism. (Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer; Editing by Bernard Orr) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/venezuela-pdvsa-idUSL1N1FS280'|'2017-02-08T06:54:00.000+02:00' +'4b97ad390f0a3610d6d6943737b14c15cfdb3ea3'|'BRIEF-Terraform Global says Q3 loss per class A share was $0.12'|' 18am EST BRIEF-Terraform Global says Q3 loss per class A share was $0.12 Feb 21 Terraform Global Inc: * Terraform Global reports 3Q 2016 financial results and files form 10-Q * Q3 loss per class a share was $0.12 * Q3 net revenue was $55 million versus $56 million in Q2 * Q3 adjusted net revenue was $55 million versus $57 million in Q2 * Does not expect to be able to file its form 10-K for 2016 by SEC deadline of March 16, 2017 * Does not expect to be able to file its form 10-Q for 1Q 2017 by SEC filing deadline of May 10, 2017 Further '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-terraform-global-says-q3-loss-per-idUSL8N1G62Z8'|'2017-02-21T18:18:00.000+02:00' +'0d7484915c74e006fa776b12f8c5bdd5b33ab146'|'BRIEF-Immune Pharmaceuticals reports preliminary data with bertilimumab in an open label phase 2 study'|' 50am EST BRIEF-Immune Pharmaceuticals reports preliminary data with bertilimumab in an open label phase 2 study Feb 28 Immune Pharmaceuticals Inc * Immune Pharmaceuticals reports encouraging preliminary data with bertilimumab in an open label phase 2 study in the rare dermatological auto-immune disease, bullous pemphigoid * Says no significant adverse events were reported. * Immune Pharmaceuticals - based on these preliminary results, company has also submitted a request for orphan drug designation for bertilimumab in BP Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-immune-pharmaceuticals-reports-pre-idUSFWN1GD0VH'|'2017-02-28T20:50:00.000+02:00' +'1344da14e0a716b44256e9fb5c12668685bd8789'|'Co-op ''saviour'' Richard Pennycook to step down as CEO'|' 5:07pm GMT Co-op ''saviour'' Richard Pennycook to step down as CEO LONDON Britain''s Co-operative Group ( 42TE.L ) said Richard Pennycook, its CEO who played a key role in steering the group through a 2013 crisis, is to step down on March 1 and be succeeded by Steve Murrells, the current boss of the group''s food business. The mutually-owned supermarkets to funeral services group said on Tuesday that Pennycook, who has since led its rebuilding, would remain as an adviser to the group, primarily focusing on its relations with the Co-operative Bank ( 42RQ.L ). The Co-op nearly collapsed in 2013 after a 1.5 billion-pound funding "hole" was found in the banking operation. But it has recovered under Pennycook, aided by the shift in Britons'' grocery shopping habits towards more frequent trips to smaller convenience stores. "Richard Pennycook saved our Co-op," said Co-op Chair Allan Leighton. "In three short years he has rescued and rebuilt our business and restored pride to our 70,000 colleagues and 4.5 million members. We owe Richard a huge debt of gratitude and his place in Co-op history is secured." Former Morrisons ( MRW.L ) finance chief Pennycook, who joined the Co-op on an interim basis having put on hold a planned portfolio career, has signalled that he now wishes to return to that plan, said the Co-op. Murrells joined the Co-op to run its food business in 2012. In other changes Pippa Wicks, currently group chief operating officer, becomes deputy CEO, while Jo Whitfield, currently finance director of the food business, will become CEO of Co-op Food on an interim basis. Last month the Co-op said it enjoyed strong trading in the final quarter of 2016, helped by the positive impact of a new membership scheme. (Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Adrian Croft) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-co-operative-grp-moves-idUKKBN15M207'|'2017-02-08T00:03:00.000+02:00' +'0805badca3b6f9bc1e1648b7f9da5a70a1fba84d'|'ECB policymakers call for steady hand, patience - minutes'|' 35pm GMT ECB policymakers call for steady hand, patience - minutes European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi addresses a news conference at the ECB headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, January 19, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT The European Central Bank needs to maintain a ''steady hand'' approach to reassure markets and should look through the current inflation surge, policymakers agreed at the bank''s January 19 meeting, the minutes of the discussion showed on Thursday. The surge in energy prices is temporary and has not increased the price of other goods and services, so substantial ECB stimulus was still needed to revive persistently weak underlying inflation, rate setters agreed. Although Executive Board member Yves Mersch recent called on the bank to remove the prospect of lower rates from its guidance, policymakers at the meeting widely agreed to keep the guidance intact, the ECB said in a document that did not show evidence of serious disagreement. "The Governing Council was seen as well advised to remain patient and maintain a ''steady hand'' to provide stability and predictability in an environment still characterised by a high level of uncertainty," the ECB said. "The recent increases in energy prices had thus far not translated into indirect or second-round effects on broader inflation," it added. Inflation has surged this year, essentially hitting the ECB''s target of almost 2 percent last month. This has fuelled calls from traditionally conservative policymakers in places like Germany for the bank to curtail stimulus. ECB President Mario Draghi has rebuffed those calls, pleading for patience and arguing that the surge is temporary and mostly due to a blip in oil prices, not the type of sustained rise that would warrant action. Having already extended asset buys until the end of the year, the ECB did not change its policy last month and even kept the door open to more stimulus in case of unexpected shocks. Market see an unchanged policy stance for most of this year. (Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Francesco Canepa) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-idUKKBN15V1IQ'|'2017-02-16T19:35:00.000+02:00' +'0e01b4521ab331082767e5aecda16bb17a33757e'|'BRIEF-Health Canada approves Otsuka and Lundbeck''s REXULTI as a treatment for schizophrenia in adults'|' 5:09pm EST BRIEF-Health Canada approves Otsuka and Lundbeck''s REXULTI as a treatment for schizophrenia in adults Feb 17 H Lundbeck A/S * Health Canada approves Otsuka and Lundbeck''s REXULTI(tm) (brexpiprazole) as a treatment for schizophrenia in adults * Lundbeck Canada - REXULTI will be co-marketed by two companies and is expected to become commercially available in Canada this spring Source text: [ bit.ly/2kxY0C9 ] UPDATE 3-Enbridge CEO says Canada only needs two more export pipelines CALGARY, Alberta, Feb 17 Two new crude oil export pipelines will provide enough capacity to ship Canadian production to market until at least the mid 2020s, Enbridge Inc Chief Executive Al Monaco said on Friday, making clear his company''s Line 3 should be one of them. * Reached a confidential agreement to settle the proceedings filed by the minority shareholders in court MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-health-canada-approves-otsuka-and-idUSFWN1G210E'|'2017-02-18T05:09:00.000+02:00' +'0e3982d2bd6bd2869997891a6030b040f91261a0'|'EU''s Katainen hopes to revive EU-U.S. free trade talks under Trump - Reuters'|'BERLIN The European Union could revive talks on a free trade deal with the United States under the administration of President Donald Trump, European Commission Vice President Jyrki Katainen said on Tuesday.The two sides failed to conclude negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) before former president Barack Obama left office last month."TTIP has not been mentioned by the new US-administration," Katainen said at a business conference in Berlin. "So we still expect that it will be possible to relaunch discussions and to create a sustainable business environment."(Reporting by Gernot Heller; Writing by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Madeline Chambers)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-trade-europe-idUSKBN15M181'|'2017-02-07T14:45:00.000+02:00' +'64d1ff962750c43aa0a45b79d142261077872a72'|'Japanese investors unwind U.S., French bonds positions in Dec'|'TOKYO Feb 8 Japanese investors dumped U.S. and French bonds in December, government data showed on Wednesday, as the post-U.S. election global bond sell-off prompted market participants to unwind aggressive holdings of these two countries'' debt.Japanese investors sold 2.262 trillion yen ($20.1 billion) of U.S. bonds in December, data from Japan''s Ministry of Finance showed. This is their biggest net selling since May 2013, when U.S. bonds crashed on suggestions from then Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that the central bank could taper its bond buying programme.U.S. bond prices have plunged since U.S. President Donald Trump''s election victory in November, forcing Japanese investors to do an about-face after massive buying of dollar debt products that ranged from U.S. Treasuries to corporate debt.Still, despite the big sell-off in December and smaller net selling in November, last year saw their U.S. bonds buying hit a record high of 15.4 trillion yen ($137 billion) as they hunted yield in U.S. bonds after the Bank of Japan''s aggressive monetary policy diminished returns on domestic bonds.Japanese investors also sold 232 billion yen (1.94 billion euros) in French bonds in December, logging their biggest net selling since June 2015.Early last year, Japanese investors gobbled up French bonds as alternatives to German bunds, whose yields have fallen into negative territory due to the European Central Bank''s stimulus.For the whole of 2016, they bought 3.839 trillion yen (32 billion euros) of French bonds, their biggest net buying since 2012. ($1 = 112.27 yen) (1 euro = 119.88 yen) (Reporting by Hideyuki Sano; Editing by Sam Holmes)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/japan-bonds-idINL4N1FT2AT'|'2017-02-08T04:43:00.000+02:00' +'2eae86c9ca19b436e70211265cb0b03410831053'|'German industry orders rise at strongest pace in 2-1/2 years'|' 7:10am GMT German industry orders rise at strongest pace in 2-1/2 years FILE PHOTO - A steel-worker is pictured at a furnace at the plant of German steel company Salzgitter AG in Salzgitter, Lower Saxony on March 21, 2012. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo BERLIN Higher demand for capital goods at home and abroad drove the biggest monthly increase in German industrial orders in around 2-1/2 years in December, data showed on Monday. Contracts for goods ''Made in Germany'' were up by 5.2 percent on the month, the Economy Ministry said. That was the biggest monthly increase since July 2014 and was far stronger than the Reuters consensus forecast for a rise of 0.5 percent. Domestic demand jumped by 6.7 percent while foreign orders increased by 3.9 percent, with bookings from euro zone countries soaring by 10.0 percent. The data for November was revised down to a fall of 3.6 percent from a previously reported drop of 2.5 percent. (Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Michelle Martin) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-economy-orders-idUKKBN15L0JO'|'2017-02-06T14:03:00.000+02:00' +'521364e97dd4f16df60d6a428fe3757a0ff7fca8'|'Insurer RSA shows resilience after failed Zurich bid'|'By Carolyn Cohn - LONDON LONDON Forecast-beating 2016 results show British insurer RSA ( RSA.L ) can thrive on its own, two years after rival Zurich Insurance ( ZURN.S ) walked away from a bid, it said on Thursday.Shares in the home and motor insurer, best known in Britain for its More Than brand, rose more than 5 percent after it reported a strong performance last year across most of its main businesses in Britain, Ireland, Canada and Scandinavia.Chief Executive Stephen Hester, the former boss of British bank RBS ( RBS.L ), has cut costs and sold assets since joining RSA in 2014 with a brief to turn it around following an accounting scandal at its Irish division.Zurich pulled out of a 5.6 billion pound ($7 billion) bid for the company in September 2015, due to problems in its own business, and Hester said RSA was doing fine alone."Our shareholders are benefiting significantly from not having sold to Zurich," he told a media call.He added there were no bids on the table for RSA, and the firm "does not need a deal"."If something came along, it would need to be additive to be of interest, rather than a substitute for what we are doing," he said.Merger and acquisition talk has been swirling around European insurance markets due to strong competition in the sector and low interest rates, which have hit investment income.Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo has said it is studying a possible combination with Assicurazioni Generali ( GASI.MI ), Italy''s biggest insurer.RSA has no plans to sell more of its businesses, Hester told Reuters by phone, after a recent deal to offload legacy business - closed to new policyholders - to Enstar ( ESGR.O )."There''s nothing meaty on the stocks," Hester said.RSA posted a 25 percent rise in 2016 operating profit to 655 million pounds and raised its target for return on tangible equity to 13-17 percent from a previous range of 12-15 percent.Its shares were the second best performer in the FTSE 100 index .FTSE at 1320 GMT, up 5.5 percent at 609 pence, after earlier hitting 617.5 pence, their highest since July 2011.RSA "has again shown real progress", RBC analysts said in a note, reiterating their "perform" recommendation on the stock.The insurer said it would pay a final dividend of 11 pence per share and total dividend of 16 pence, up 52 percent from a year earlier and above a forecast 15.1 pence.($1 = 0.8042 pounds)(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; Editing by Keith Weir and Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-rsa-results-idINKBN1621M9'|'2017-02-23T10:52:00.000+02:00' +'e5ac3d939b802e698e70db0f8a1b149b603f28a5'|'Victoria''s Secret weighs on L Brands Feb comp sales forecast'|'Wed Feb 22, 2017 - 10:36pm GMT Victoria''s Secret weighs on L Brands February comparable sales forecast A director chair is seen backstage before the Victoria''s Secret Fashion Show at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, November 30, 2016. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier L Brands ( LB.N ) forecast a steeper drop in February comparable sales as its biggest brand, Victoria''s Secret, faces slowing demand, sending the company''s shares down nearly 13 percent in after-market trading on Wednesday. L Brands forecast a mid-to-high teens decline in total comparable sales, above the mid-single digit drop it had estimated previously. The company said it expected a fall of about 20 percent in February comparable sales at Victoria''s Secret and a mid-single digit decline at Bath & Body Works. L Brands has restructured its business to focus on its core brands and exited certain product categories last year, including swim and apparel business of Victoria''s Secret. The exit lowered the company''s total comparable sales for the fourth quarter by 2 percentage points, L Brands said on Wednesday. Ongoing weakness in core lingerie could be more difficult to repair as management continues to employ various incentives to rejuvenate traffic, Mizuho Securities analyst Betty Chen said in a pre-earnings note. The company''s net income fell to $631.7 million, or $2.18 per share, in the fourth quarter ended Jan. 28 from $636 million, or $2.15 per share, a year earlier. Excluding a tax settlement, L Brands earned $2.03 per share, above the average analysts'' estimate of $1.90 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Earlier this month, L Brands reported a 2 percent rise in sales, its slowest quarterly sales growth in three years. The company''s shares were trading at $50.60 after the bell. Up to Wednesday''s close, they had fallen 31 percent in the past 12 months. (Reporting by Jessica Kuruthukulangara in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-l-brands-results-idUKKBN1612WB'|'2017-02-23T05:36:00.000+02:00' +'3dcb09f3dce7fd189f2672b8782d840e6c966581'|'Rolls-Royce loss lies heavy on FTSE 100'|' 12am GMT Rolls-Royce loss lies heavy on FTSE 100 People walk through the lobby of the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 25, 2015. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File photo - RTSS1J0 By Kit Rees - LONDON LONDON Britain''s top share index traded flat on Tuesday, pausing after a five-day winning streak as Rolls-Royce ( RR.L ) tumbled after reporting a record loss. The blue chip FTSE 100 .FTSE index was flat in percentage terms at 7,279.54 points by 0946 GMT in choppy trade, having hit its highest level since mid-January in the previous session. Shares in engineering firm Rolls-Royce ( RR.L ) dropped 4.9 percent after the company announced a 4.6 billion pound loss, hit by a fine to settle bribery charges and by losses on its currency hedges. The stock was the most actively traded on the FTSE 100, with more than 87 percent of its 30-day average volume traded in the first hour of the session. Fellow defence firm BAE Systems ( BAES.L ) also fell nearly 2 percent. Analysts cited concerns about Rolls-Royce''s outlook as putting pressure on the shares. "Some investors may also have a restive reaction to the rather dry and narrow outlook comments, projecting only ''modest performance improvements'' and similar free cash flow generation as in 2016," said Ken Odeluga, market analyst at City Index. Improved earnings, however, buoyed shares in travel firm TUI ( TUIT.L ), which jumped 4.8 percent and was on track for its best day since early July 2016. TUI reported a narrower loss for the first quarter of 66.7 million euros, a 17 percent improvement on last year, and said it aimed to start offering holidays to customers from countries such as China, India, Spain and Italy. Analysts cited the sale of its specialist holiday arm Travelopia to KKR ( KKR.N ) in a $407 million deal as a further boost to its shares. "While we have reservations about the outlook for source markets, we are attracted to the increased diversification and the steps TUI that has taken to drive growth elsewhere in the business," analysts at Berenberg said in a note. Among smaller companies, a solid set of results boosted shares in Acacia Mining ( ACAA.L ), which rallied 6.7 percent and was the biggest mid cap gainer .FTMC . The gold miner said that production in 2017 would rise 40 percent, and proposed more than doubling its dividend. (Reporting by Kit Rees; Editing by Mark Trevelyan) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks-idUKKBN15T14L'|'2017-02-14T17:12:00.000+02:00' +'eb3c06a4e059087bacd90496d3eda70f837fc5a1'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Mexican peso strengthens on reassurance from Mnuchin'|'Company News - 21pm EST EMERGING MARKETS-Mexican peso strengthens on reassurance from Mnuchin (Recasts, adds table) By Bruno Federowski SAO PAULO/MEXICO CITY, Feb 23 Mexico''s peso strengthened to its highest level in more than three months on Thursday after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that any policies enacted by U.S. President Donald Trump would have a limited impact this year. In an interview with Fox Business Network, Mnuchin said he did not see any changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in the short-term and said the Trump administration has concerns about certain aspects of a border adjustment tax. The peso strengthened more than 1.5 percent to 19.61 per dollar before paring gains. In a Reuters interview with Trump later on Thursday, the U.S. president said he supported some form of an adjustment tax, without offering details. In Brazil, the real strengthened 0.45 percent, a day after central bank policymakers voted to cut the benchmark Selic rate by 75 basis points for the second straight time to 12.25 percent. In a statement, the bank said the future pace of loosening will hinge on the evolution of economic activity and inflation. Traders said U.S. data on Thursday showing a slight rise in weekly jobless claims reinforced expectations the Federal Reserve will increase interest rates at a gradual pace throughout the year. The Fed failed on Wednesday to provide a clear signal of a rate hike in March in the minutes from its latest policy meeting. A gradual pace of U.S. rate tightening would be good news for emerging market assets, which tend to lure investors seeking higher yields. Key Latin American stock indexes at 2200 GMT: Stock indexes Latest Daily pct YTD pct change change MSCI Emerging 952.12 0.12 10.42 Markets MSCI LatAm 2.668.48 -0.42 14.01 Brazil Bovespa 67.461.39 -1.64 12.01 Mexico IPC 47.206.36 0.02 3.43 Chile IPSA 4.359.13 -0.38 5.00 Chile IGPA 21.797.22 -0.34 5.13 Argentina MerVal 19.538.09 -1.89 15.49 Colombia IGBC 10.015.94 0.87 -1.11 Venezuela IBC 34.933.43 0.18 10.18 (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-latam-idUSL1N1G8226'|'2017-02-24T05:21:00.000+02:00' +'0c3a84a2c745c961088563a0e7b6d27f04ba1112'|'PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - Feb 22'|'Feb 22 The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.HeadlinesLSE and D Boerse set to offer more concessions to secure merger on.ft.com/2m8X1pnHammond warns ''no pot of money'' for extra budget funds on.ft.com/2llcrscBank of England not able to forecast next recession, it admits on.ft.com/2llelckOverviewDeutsche Boerse AG and the London Stock Exchange Group Plc are planning further concessions from their fixed-income clearing businesses to satisfy the European antitrust watchdogs''s concerns about their planned merger.British finance minister Philip Hammond has told MPs that "there is no pot of money under my desk," adding that any extra spending must be paid for through higher taxes or savings elsewhere.Gertjan Vlieghe, an external member of the BoE''s Monetary Policy Committee, warned on Tuesday that the bank will not be able to forecast the next financial crisis or recession. "Our models are just not that good," Vlieghe said. (Compiled by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-press-ft-idINL1N1G702U'|'2017-02-21T22:26:00.000+02:00' +'1edf7bfeffe989465afd59317a0cb772b245b8a1'|'Nissan says Brexit-induced fall in pound left it slightly worse off'|'Business News - Wed Feb 22, 2017 - 2:53pm GMT Nissan says Brexit-induced fall in pound left it slightly worse off People walk past a Nissan Motor Co''s showroom in Tokyo, Japan February 9, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai - LONDON Japanese carmaker Nissan ( 7201.T ) said on Wednesday that the Brexit-induced fall in the pound, which dropped by some 15 percent against the euro after the June 23 referendum, had left it slightly worse off. When asked whether exporting cars from its north of England plant, which are now cheaper due to the depreciation in sterling, outweighed the extra cost of importing euro-denominated parts, Senior Vice President in Europe Colin Lawther said the overall effect was marginally negative. "We''re exposed to not having enough GBP pounds, so we are slightly worse off than we were in January, February the year before the currency changed dramatically," he told a conference in London on Wednesday. Nissan said last year that it would build two new models at its Sunderland plant in North East England after what a source said was a government pledge for extra support to counter any loss of competitiveness caused by Britain leaving the EU. (Reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Maytaal Angel) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-nissan-idUKKBN1611TN'|'2017-02-22T21:49:00.000+02:00' +'8f528f7189fc588c6642285de7a96eb356cc48b9'|'Appliance retailer hhgregg to explore strategic alternatives'|'Deals 22pm EST Appliance retailer hhgregg to explore strategic alternatives Appliance retailer hhgregg Inc ( HGG.N ) said it had hired Stifel Financial Corp ( SF.N ) to advise it on strategic and financial transactions, as the company struggles with sales declines. Stifel Financial''s subsidiaries, Stifel Nicolaus & Co and Miller Buckfire & Co, have been engaged as hhgregg''s financial adviser and investment banker. Hhgregg''s shares surged 21 percent to 52 cents in extended trading. The stock had lost 77.4 percent of its value in the last 12 months. The company, which has a market value of about $12 million, last month reported a 23.8 percent fall in sales for the third quarter. "We are committed to improving our results through our business strategy, including investments made to shift our focus to appliances and furniture, and additional expected cost reductions," Chief Executive Robert Riesbeck said in a statement on Wednesday. (Reporting by Ahmed Farhatha in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-hhgregg-restructuring-idUSKBN15U2WT'|'2017-02-16T06:19:00.000+02:00' +'7d78d63db251444cb615e1f2a5e2b38ba4bfd068'|'Russia''s Sberbank to supply 20-25 tonnes of gold to India in 2017'|'Money 30pm IST Russia''s Sberbank to supply 20-25 tonnes of gold to India in 2017 A worker paints the facade of a branch of Sberbank in central Moscow, Russia, August 17, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/Files MOSCOW Sberbank CIB, the investment and corporate banking unit of Russia''s largest bank Sberbank, plans to supply a total of 20-25 tonnes of gold to India this year, the bank said in a statement on Friday. Sberbank CIB started gold supplies to Indian corporate clients, who have the right to hold import operations with precious metals, on Jan. 27. The bank plans to start exporting silver to Indian clients at the end of the first quarter. Sberbank CIB plans to supply a total of 50-60 tonnes of gold to Asia in 2017, it added. (Reporting by Katya Golubkova; editing by Polina Devitt) Next In Money News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/russia-sberbank-gold-india-idINKBN15I0TI'|'2017-02-03T15:00:00.000+02:00' +'e3935d0859a2eeae6e0f7d8b60a245005a607dec'|'BRIEF-Moody''s acquires structured finance data and analytics business of SCDM'|' 19am EST BRIEF-Moody''s acquires structured finance data and analytics business of SCDM Feb 15 Moody''s Corp * Moody''s acquires structured finance data and analytics business of SCDM * Says terms of transaction were not disclosed * Moody''s-Acquisition was funded from international cash on hand and is not expected to have a material impact on moody''s earnings per share in 2017 Source text for Eikon:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1G0050'|'2017-02-15T17:19:00.000+02:00' +'d29b35df2d8e10fb27104da869a89648ac5aace4'|'UPDATE 1-Airbus strategy chief Lahoud to leave European group'|'Business 11pm EST Airbus strategy chief Lahoud to leave European group Airbus Group Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer Marwan Lahoud speaks during a news conference on the aerospace group''s annual results, in London, Britain February 24, 2016. REUTERS/Hannah McKay PARIS Airbus strategy chief Marwan Lahoud, one of the founders of Europe''s largest aerospace group and its M&A czar for the past decade, is leaving the company at the end of February, Airbus said on Tuesday. His successor was not announced but was "subject to further notice," Airbus said in a statement, suggesting no decision had yet been taken on how to replace him or with what kind of structure as the company goes through a reorganization. Lahoud, 50, was one of a handful of strategists involved in a sequence of mergers that led to the creation in 2000 of what was then called EADS, an aerospace group with diverse interests that included the existing Airbus planemaking business. He was later seen as the architect of an attempted merger with UK defense giant BAE Systems ( BAES.L ) in 2012. The deal was called off amid German government opposition, but Lahoud was credited with salvaging corporate reforms from the deal that reduced the role of the French and German governments. EADS was later renamed Airbus Group, which in turn merged with its dominant planemaking subsidiary in January, leading to a shake-up of senior roles. A person familiar with Lahoud''s decision said earlier that he had decided in late 2016 not to renew his mandate as the company completed the latest in a series of reorganizations as he had concluded that his role was no longer necessary. "With the creation of one single Airbus, we finally accomplished the ultimate merger. Now, it''s time for me to move on and I am now looking forward to embracing new challenges," Lahoud said in a company statement. The statement did not say what Lahoud, who is also president of France''s GIFAS aerospace industry lobby, planned to do next. (Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Michel Rose and Adrian Croft) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-airbus-management-lahoud-idUSKBN15M29Q'|'2017-02-08T04:08:00.000+02:00' +'14687e326f82426606fdab7b638f0bac433d9275'|'BRIEF-CAPREIT says board of trustees approve 2.4 pct rise in monthly cash distributions'|' 18pm EST BRIEF-CAPREIT says board of trustees approve 2.4 pct rise in monthly cash distributions Feb 27 Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust: * CAPREIT - board of trustees had approved a 2.4% increase in monthly cash distributions to $0.1067 per unit, or $1.28 per unit on an annualized basis Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-capreit-says-board-of-trustees-app-idUSFWN1GC15Y'|'2017-02-28T05:18:00.000+02:00' +'dfdf3665cc4d3ceb649ffe2978c6a14faad5fc4c'|'METALS-London copper edges up as supply worries simmer'|' 18pm EST METALS-London copper edges up as supply worries simmer MELBOURNE Feb 27 London copper prices inched towards the key level of $6,000 a tonne on Monday, with supply concerns simmering amid production stoppages at the world''s two biggest copper mines. FUNDAMENTALS * Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange had risen 0.2 percent to $5,940.50 a tonne by 0203 GMT, building on 1.2-percent gains from the previous session. LME copper hit a 20-month high of $6,204 a tonne on Feb. 13. * Shanghai Futures Exchange copper rose 0.8 percent to 48,130 yuan ($6,998) a tonne. * U.S. mining giant Freeport-McMoRan Inc last week warned that it could take the Indonesian government to arbitration and seek damages over a contractual dispute that has halted operations at the world''s second-largest copper mine. * BHP Billiton''s decision this week to give up its legal right to replace striking workers at the Escondida copper mine in Chile is a move aimed at sacrificing some output to undermine the union''s position, analysts said Wednesday. * New U.S. single-family home sales rose less than expected in January, likely held back by heavy rains and flooding in California, but continued to point to a strengthening housing market despite higher prices and mortgage rates. * A strike at Noranda Income Fund''s zinc processing plant in Quebec stretched into a 13th day on Friday, with no talks scheduled between management and the United Steelworkers of America union. * Hedge funds and money managers cut their net long position in copper futures and options, data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, showed, slashing it by 9,796 contracts to 78,511 - the lowest level in just over a month. * For the top stories in metals and other news, click or MARKETS NEWS * Asian stocks look set to edge lower for a second day on Monday as weak cues from U.S. share markets and declining European government bond yields on political worries push investors to take profits after a recent rally. DATA AHEAD (GMT) 1000 Euro zone Business climate Feb 1000 Euro zone Consumer confidence final Feb 1330 U.S. Durable goods Jan 1500 U.S. Pending homes sales Jan PRICES'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/global-metals-idUSL3N1GC1G0'|'2017-02-27T09:18:00.000+02:00' +'f5cdbfd370720718a5c8555d19cabd55b801ab16'|'Glencore reports 18 percent 2016 core profit rise on commodity rebound'|'Business News - Thu Feb 23, 2017 - 7:30am GMT Glencore reports 18 percent 2016 core profit rise on commodity rebound FILE PHOTO - The logo of commodities trader Glencore is pictured in front of the company''s headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, September 30, 2015. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo LONDON Miner and trader Glencore ( GLEN.L ) reported an 18 percent increase in core profits for 2016 on Thursday and said the company had never been so well positioned, although an ill-timed coal hedge had eaten into energy profits. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amorisation (EBITDA) were $10.3 billion, up 18 percent after a commodity price rebound in 2016 boosted income. Marketing Adjusted EBIT was $2.8 billion, up 14 percent and above previous guidance of $2.5-$2.7 billion. The decision to hedge a portion of coal production led to what Glencore labelled an "opportunity cost" of $980 million. (Reporting by Barbara Lewis and Sanjeeban Sarkar; editing by Susan Thomas) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-glencore-results-idUKKBN1620NR'|'2017-02-23T14:30:00.000+02:00' +'660e71a092a02102e6d00a3f1085207e43ad5efc'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Emerging stocks at 19-month high, currencies ease'|'Company News - Thu Feb 16, 2017 - 5:28am EST EMERGING MARKETS-Emerging stocks at 19-month high, currencies ease By Claire Milhench - LONDON LONDON Feb 16 Emerging equities rose to a 19-month high on Thursday, tracking gains in developed markets, while the Russian rouble held at 1 1/2-year highs, but other currencies eased after recent solid gains. The benchmark emerging stocks index climbed 0.3 percent and is up almost 10 percent so far this year. Asian outperformers included Hong Kong, up 0.5 percent to a five-month high, Chinese mainland shares which rose 0.5 percent, and Philippines stocks which jumped 1.5 percent. Gains extended to some European markets, with Turkish shares up 0.5 percent and Bucharest stocks up 0.2 percent to touch their highest since July 2015, after recent underperformance. An outlier was South Africa''s banking index, which fell as much as 1 percent, a day after the country''s competition watchdog recommended heavy fines against lenders it accused of colluding to rig trading in the rand. Per Hammarlund, chief emerging markets strategist at SEB, said emerging stocks were being pulled up by developed markets to some extent, as they looked better value. "There''s a risk appetite component to it as well. Portfolio flows to emerging markets have stayed strong," Hammarlund said. "Given the momentum in the market, it seems the rally has some legs." World stocks hit a record high on Thursday after the latest signs of strength in the U.S. economy, with retail sales rising more than expected in January and gains in manufacturing output. Hammarlund said the fact that U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen had signalled no major changes in monetary policy in testimony to lawmakers this week was also providing support. "The Fed is still signalling a very gradual increase in interest rates, and emerging markets can handle a gradual and predictable tightening of U.S. monetary policy," he said. The Russian rouble held steady near a 1 1/2-year high, supported by oil prices near $56 a barrel and monthly tax payments, which prompt export-focused Russian companies to convert dollars into roubles. Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Wednesday the rouble would be strengthening even faster if foreign currency purchases were not being carried out with the aim of stabilising the market. Other emerging currencies were mostly a touch weaker after strong performance in recent days. The South African rand slipped 0.8 percent against the dollar, easing off a 17-month high, while the Turkish lira slipped 0.6 percent from a five-week high. The Indonesian rupiah was steady ahead of a central bank meeting at which it is expected to keep rates on hold at 4.75 percent. Indonesian exports rose at the fastest pace in more than five years in January, giving the economy a solid start to the year after a sluggish 2016. Malaysia also posted 4.5 percent growth in fourth quarter GDP, but this failed to lift the ringgit, which weakened 0.2 percent against the dollar. Tim Condon, an analyst at ING, said increased political uncertainty had made the ringgit an underperformer. Other Asian currencies did better, with the Taiwan dollar climbing to a 20-month high. The Egyptian pound was 0.5 percent firmer ahead of a central bank meeting expected to keep rates on hold at 14.75 percent, although inflation skyrocketed to 30.86 percent in January. For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2e7eoml For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2dZbdP5 For CENTRAL EUROPE market report, see For TURKISH market report, see For RUSSIAN market report, see ) Emerging Markets Prices from Reuters Equities Latest Net Chg % Chg % Chg on year Morgan Stanley Emrg Mkt Indx 944.97 +3.19 +0.34 +9.59 Czech Rep 967.55 -5.28 -0.54 +4.98 Poland 2195.38 +11.05 +0.51 +12.70 Hungary 33727.36 -254.14 -0.75 +5.39 Romania 7681.31 +5.30 +0.07 +8.42 Greece 623.97 -2.32 -0.37 -3.06 Russia 1173.69 +1.10 +0.09 +1.85 South Africa 45482.10 +71.39 +0.16 +3.60 Turkey 88091.90 +209.94 +0.24 +12.74 China 3229.41 +16.43 +0.51 +4.05 India 28295.04 +139.48 +0.50 +6.27 Currencies Latest Prev Local Local close currency currency'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-idUSL8N1G120V'|'2017-02-16T17:28:00.000+02:00' +'dfb11371114d1f8670ff15723e03321e6b4f1ca7'|'Top gold ETF gets Islamic finance certification to tap new markets'|' 24pm EST Top gold ETF gets Islamic finance certification to tap new markets Feb 15 The world''s largest physically-backed gold fund said on Wednesday it has been certified as sharia compliant, the latest effort aimed at spurring demand for bullion from investors across majority-Muslim countries. The SPDR Gold Trust, an exchange-traded fund which holds 836.7 tonnes of bullion worth $33 billion, now falls in line with rules from the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI). World Gold Trust Services, a subsidiary of the World Gold Council (WGC), said in a statement to Reuters that the ETF had received the certification from Malaysia-based Islamic advisory firm Amanie Advisors. (Reporting by Bernardo Vizcaino; Editing by Richard Pullin) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/islamic-finance-gold-idUSL4N1G003J'|'2017-02-15T07:24:00.000+02:00' +'ddb8f52ce091c37fdd82e294d7fce8564a6ccbb2'|'Takata pleads guilty to U.S. fraud charge linked to faulty air bags'|'Business News - Mon Feb 27, 2017 - 9:16pm GMT Takata pleads guilty to U.S. fraud charge linked to faulty air bags DETROIT Japan''s Takata Corp ( 7312.T ) on Monday pleaded guilty to a felony charge as part of an expected $1 billion (803.47 million pounds) deal with the U.S. Justice Department that includes compensation funds for automakers and victims of its faulty airbag inflators. After Takata''s guilty plea, a federal judge in Detroit was hearing objections on Monday to the settlement raised by lawyers for some victims of Takata inflator ruptures, who argue the settlement will be used by automakers to avoid liability, a court clerk said. Takata hopes to wins court approval of the settlement, a key hurdle to securing the backing of an investor or acquirer that can fund a turnaround effort and help it grapple with billions of dollars in costs related to the auto industry''s biggest-ever recall. (Reporting By David Shepardson in Washington and Joseph White in Detroit; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-takata-settlement-idUKKBN1662EO'|'2017-02-28T04:16:00.000+02:00' +'a872106358ef5b75cdcb28d10a97f52d9e582da1'|'''Overpaid'' CEOs a risk for investors, study finds'|'Business News - Mon Feb 13, 2017 - 7:26pm GMT ''Overpaid'' CEOs a risk for investors, study finds By Ross Kerber - BOSTON BOSTON Executive pay that is disproportionate to a company''s past performance may also signal that poor returns are coming, according to a study set for release on Monday by shareholder activist group As You Sow. The Oakland, California non-profit found the average returns for the 100 S&P 500 .SPX companies it had previously identified as having the most questionable pay went on to underperform the index by 2.9 percentage points over a roughly two-year period ended on Jan. 31. As You Sow flagged as "overpaid" a number of chief executive officers known for high compensation despite the mixed performance of their companies'' shares over the period. For example, Discovery Communications Inc ( DISCA.O ) CEO David Zaslav received $32.4 million in 2015, according to the company''s most recent proxy filing. During the study period, Discovery shares fell 12 percent. Discovery representatives did not respond to requests for comment. Study lead author Rosanna Landis Weaver said investors could have used the findings of a similar report from 2015 to short the shares of companies giving their CEOs outsized rewards. "If you have a CEO whose primary interest is increasing his own wealth, that''s not going to be good for shareholders," she said in an interview. High executive pay has been controversial at a time of rising inequality. But investors routinely approve compensation at most large U.S. companies, with boards often saying they have linked it to performance metrics. As You Sow used two broad measures to judge if S&P 500 CEOs are overpaid. First, the group looked at factors that raised questions about how a board set compensation, such as whether pay exceeded that of peers, or whether it accounted for a relatively high share of total revenue. Second, As You Sow made a financial prediction of what each CEO might have been paid based on shareholder returns. Companies with the most red flags and biggest gaps between their actual and predicted compensation were judged the most overpaid. (Reporting by Ross Kerber in Boston; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn) Next In Business News Oil down two percent as dollar firms, OPEC compliance rate shrugged off NEW YORK Oil on Monday declined by about 2 percent, the most since mid January, as a stronger dollar and signs of rising U.S. crude output pressured prices while an OPEC report showing high compliance with last year''s production-cut deal underwhelmed investors.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-ceopay-investors-idUKKBN15S29C'|'2017-02-14T02:26:00.000+02:00' +'a5b13a274e6b5ac50600ee6c8eda2109de29d09d'|'BRIEF-Honeywell says Darius Adamczyk named CEO, effective March 31'|' 52pm EST BRIEF-Honeywell says Darius Adamczyk named CEO, effective March 31 Feb 10 Honeywell International Inc : * Says Mr Adamczyk appointed CEO * Honeywell - on February 10, 2017, elected Darius Adamczyk as chief executive officer - SEC filing * Honeywell - board does not intend to backfill role of chief operating officer when Adamczyk becomes CEO on March 31, 2017 Source text: ( bit.ly/2lzXzEz ) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1FV1BD'|'2017-02-11T04:52:00.000+02:00' +'80e30a8f720bdcb04cdc8d0f29c4c8d105b7c71a'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'(Adds Aon, Eurobank, Six Flags Entertainment, GfK, Trafigura, Immunomedics and Hospitality Property Fund; Updates Rathbone Square, Walt Disney and Unite Students)Feb 10 The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1430 GMT on Friday:** Europe''s top utilities are planning to invest tens of billions of euros over the next three years to catch up with the green energy revolution, driving a flurry of takeovers by tech and engineering firms of niche, smart-energy innovators.** French asset manager Amundi said it was aiming to raise financing for the acquisition of rival Pioneer Investments from UniCredit by April, and reported a 10 percent rise in assets under management to 1.1 trillion euros ($1.17 trillion) in 2016.** Reckitt Benckiser has agreed to buy U.S. baby formula maker Mead Johnson Nutrition for $16.6 billion, giving the British consumer goods company a new product line and expanding its presence in developing markets.** Great Portland has agreed to sell Rathbone Square, a mixed-use development that houses Facebook''s new London headquarters, to German rival WestInvest Gesellschaft and asset manager Deka Immobilien for 435 million pounds ($542 million).** ArcelorMittal is still interested in acquiring Italian steel plant Ilva, the chief financial officer of the world''s largest steelmaker said.** Spain''s Telefonica has received several offers for a stake in its telecom masts subsidiary Telxius, the telecoms company said in a statement, adding it was negotiating and analyzing the different options available.** British specialty chemicals maker Elementis Plc said it would buy U.S.-based SummitReheis from an affiliate of private equity firm One Rock Capital Partners LLC for an enterprise value of $360 million to expand its personal care business.** Renault and alliance partner Nissan are ready to forge closer capital ties but will only do so if France sells its Renault stake, Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said.** Walt Disney Co is to seek full control of Euro Disney after raising its stake in the underperforming operator of Disneyland Paris through a deal with Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.** Unite Students, the student accommodation unit of Unite Group Plc, and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC have bought Birmingham-based student housing provider Aston Student Village for 227 million pounds ($283 million).** Poland''s Deputy Energy Minister Grzegorz Tobiszowski said that the signing of a contract to take over the Polish assets of French power group EDF should take place early in the second quarter.** South Africa''s Hospitality Property Fund is in talks with Tsogo Sun to buy approximately 3.3 billion rand ($247 million) worth of hotel assets, the company said.** Insurance broker Aon Plc said it agreed to sell its employee benefits outsourcing business to private equity firm Blackstone Group LP for up to $4.8 billion.** Greek lender Eurobank is looking for a strategic partner to buy a stake in its fully-owned Romanian unit Bancpost as it tries to reduce its exposure to non-Greek assets, sources at the bank told Reuters.** The Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia''s top sovereign wealth fund, said it is not considering the acquisition of a stake in North American amusement park operator Six Flags Entertainment Corp.** Shareholders in GfK have tendered 14.5 percent of stock in the German market researcher to private equity firm KKR, still short of a minimum threshold only hours before KKR''s offer expires, a regulatory filing showed.KKR has offered 43.50 euros per share for GfK, valuing the group at around 1.59 billion euros ($1.7 billion).KKR is seeking to acquire control over at least 75 percent of the group together with GfK Verein, which already owns 56.46 of shares.** Commodity trader Trafigura will take a 15.5 percent stake in Finland''s nickel and zinc mine Terrafame, it said, which will help the mine ramp up operations following years of losses and production problems.** South Africa''s Hospitality Property Fund said it is in talks with hotel and gambling firm Tsogo Sun to buy hotel assets for about 3.3 billion rand ($247 million). (Compiled by Divya Grover in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/deals-day-idINL4N1FV3C2'|'2017-02-10T11:40:00.000+02:00' +'6b678c9bee4eeb78c9ce263d85e38a06ece53780'|'U.S. reversal on transparency could sting Canadian, European oil companies'|'Commodities - Fri Feb 3, 2017 - 1:13am EST U.S. reversal on transparency could sting Canadian, European oil companies Filled oil drums are seen at Royal Dutch Shell Plc''s lubricants blending plant in the town of Torzhok, north-west of Tver, November 7, 2014. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin By Ernest Scheyder and Nia Williams - HOUSTON/CALGARY HOUSTON/CALGARY Canadian and European oil companies will find themselves at a competitive disadvantage to their American rivals if U.S. lawmakers scrap tighter transparency requirements on the industry, as expected, according to company executives, legal experts and trade groups. The U.S. Senate is poised to overturn the so-called "resource extraction rule", a regulation requiring U.S. natural resources companies to disclose taxes and other payments to foreign governments, in a vote that could come as early as Friday. The rule is among a handful of regulations ushered in during the final months of Barack Obama''s presidency that Republican lawmakers - who now control Congress - have targeted as being overly burdensome and bad for the U.S. economy. Democrats have no way to keep the law in place as Republicans need only a simple majority to kill the measure. But overturning the regulation, set to take effect next year, would leave Canadian and European natural resource companies with the most-stringent reporting standards in the world for payments to foreign governments - as U.S. behemoths like Exxon Mobil Corp ( XOM.N ) and Chevron Corp ( CVX.N ) get a reprieve. Certain details of contract negotiations and terms of bids to access reserves are currently required under regulations now in place in both Canada and Europe. Such information could reveal to competitors negotiating tactics and other metrics that many companies consider proprietary, observers say. "It definitely could put Canada at a disadvantage because we are fairly stringent on our rules, both domestically and internationally, on how our companies operate," said Mark Salkeld, chief executive officer of the Petroleum Services Association of Canada, an industry trade group. European oil company Royal Dutch Shell Plc ( RDSa.L ), meanwhile, pointed out that a reversal in the United States would go against the broader global trend toward transparency in the notoriously murky industry. "The trend that we have, with access to information, with bringing distant countries into our space all the time, we will have to live with that. I dont think any single political system can turn that around," CEO Ben van Beurden told reporters when asked about the proposed change in U.S. regulation. "BANG FOR THEIR BUCK" Required by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission''s extraction rule was finalized last summer. Canadian and European regulations were modeled after the Dodd-Frank efforts. But the rule was quickly targeted by Congressional Republicans after victories in the November election that brought President Donald Trump and his anti-regulation, pro-energy agenda into the White House. Trump has signaled a sweeping reduction in regulation to bolster the American drilling and mining industries, including by undoing Obama''s initiatives to combat climate change. Vivek Warrier, a partner at Bennett Jones, a law firm in Calgary, said that could put Canadian companies at an even steeper disadvantage. "When a potential investor comes in, they will look at the additional regulatory compliance costs that will impact Canadian companies and probably conclude there''s better bang for their buck south of the border," he said. Suncor Energy Inc ( SU.TO ), Canada''s largest oil and gas producer, said reporting on payments to foreign governments is a minor administrative burden. "But generally speaking we support reporting payments to governments as it contributes to greater transparency," said Sneh Seetal, a Suncor spokeswoman. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd ( CNQ.TO ) and Cenovus Energy Inc ( CVE.TO ), two Canadian oil producers, declined to comment. American oil companies, including Exxon Mobil, meanwhile, say that the regulation had threatened to put them at a competitive disadvantage to huge state-controlled oil companies like Russia''s Rosneft Ltd and China''s CNOOC Ltd ( 0883.HK ). "As publicly traded companies, we have to compete globally with state-owned companies who hold a large majority of proved reserves and have no similar transparency or reporting obligations," Exxon spokesman William Holbrook said. Stephen Comstock, director of tax policy for the American Petroleum Institute, said revoking the U.S. extraction rule is "a necessary step by Congress to establish sensible regulations that balance increasing transparency without diminishing our industry''s competitive advantage." Exxon and the API said they support an alternative scheme whereby a host country would report to its citizens at a regular interval how much money in total was generated from extractive industries, without breaking out company details. The U.S. oil industry also said that the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act would still remain in effect, prohibiting bribery of foreign officials. (Reporting by Ernest Scheyder in Houston and Nia Williams in Calgary; Additional reporting by Lisa Lambert and Sarah Lynch in Washington, D.C., Ron Bousso in London; Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Lisa Shumaker) Next In Commodities'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-resources-transparency-idUSKBN15I0ID'|'2017-02-03T13:00:00.000+02:00' +'d48e3726545ce980d7430c544aed693b4368951a'|'Fund manager Hermes wants better governance for private infrastructure'|'Business News - Mon Feb 13, 2017 - 11:00am GMT Fund manager Hermes wants better governance for private infrastructure LONDON British fund manager Hermes Investment Management on Monday called for improvements to the corporate governance code for private infrastructure assets, to ensure better outcomes for investors and other stakeholders. Among the suggestions made by Hermes, which manages 28.6 billion pounds across a range of assets, were for periodic board ''effectiveness reviews'', as well as an independent chairman and a minimum number of independent directors. Hermes also suggested a range of solutions aimed at ensuring the long-term interests of all stakeholders are protected, including the creation of a stakeholder committee. Pay should also be more closely aligned to ''non-financial'' issues such as health and safety, it said, adding it backed better transparency and disclosure of such information to help boost accountability and best-practice. "Few asset classes are as necessary, or significant, to the daily lives of individuals as infrastructure," said Peter Hofbauer, head of infrastructure, Hermes Investment Management. However as more of the assets are transferred from the public to the private sector, some of the principles of the corporate governance code for listed companies may not be appropriate or accepted in a private market environment. "The result, therefore, may not always be a consistent, or optimal, outcome for investors, employees and other stakeholders," Hofbauer said. (Reporting by Simon Jessop, Editing by Lawrence White) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hermes-governance-idUKKBN15S142'|'2017-02-13T18:00:00.000+02:00' +'45294942196fd522352e029d99fb59db3614456c'|'UK services PMI falls for first time in four months - Markit'|'By David Milliken Growth in Britain''s services sector slowed for the first time in four months in January, dipping just below its long-run average, as businesses battled the sharpest rise in costs in more than five years, a closely watched survey showed on Friday.Britain''s economy unexpectedly outpaced all its major peers last year, wrong footing those who expected an immediate hit from June''s Brexit vote, and the spotlight is now on how resilient it will prove this year as price rises start to bite more.On Thursday the Bank of England sharply revised up its growth forecast for 2017 to 2.0 percent - far stronger than most economists expect - after it highlighted a stronger global economy and more resilient consumers.Friday''s data suggest any slowdown is likely to be gradual.The Markit/CIPS services purchasing managers'' index (PMI) dropped to a three-month low of 54.5 last month from December''s 15-month high of 56.2, at the bottom end of a range of forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists.This follows drops in PMIs for the smaller manufacturing and construction sectors earlier this week. Nonetheless, Markit said that together they still pointed to growth of 0.5 percent in the first three months of 2017, matching the BoE''s latest forecast."Optimism about the coming year has risen to its highest in one-and-a-half years, improving across the board in all sectors to suggest that January''s slowdown may only be temporary," HIS Markit economist Chris Williamson said.Services businesses said they were feeling more upbeat due to new orders, products and markets, as well as continued low interest rates and what they saw as more clarity about Britain''s exit from the European Union.Britain''s parliament has given Prime Minister Theresa May an initial green light to start Brexit talks, though BoE Governor Mark Carney predicted many twists and turns in the negotiations over future trading arrangements with the EU, Britain''s biggest export market.The BoE may take less comfort from the price pressures facing businesses.Manufacturers had previously reported the sharpest rise in raw material costs on record, and services businesses on Friday said their costs were rising at the fastest since March 2011 due to sterling''s fall since the referendum."Anecdotal evidence widely attributed cost pressure to fuel, salaries, freight charges and imports," Markit said. Businesses in turn raised the prices they charged, keeping up the rapid increases seen in December, which were the most widespread since April 2011."The degree to which costs are rising threatens to test the tolerance of some policymakers in terms of their willingness to ''look through'' what''s likely to be a marked upturn in inflation in 2017," Williamson said.The BoE on Thursday forecast that inflation, which jumped to 1.6 percent in December, would reach 2.7 percent by the end of this year - fractionally lower than it expected three months ago, as a partial recovery in the pound mildly eased pressure.(Reporting by David Milliken; editing by John Stonestreet)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-economy-pmi-idINKBN15I10Q'|'2017-02-03T06:37:00.000+02:00' +'c55db698deac7e5196d802285680d16b281353ed'|'BRIEF-BSM Technologies Inc reports Q1 loss per share $0.006'|' 14pm EST BRIEF-BSM Technologies Inc reports Q1 loss per share $0.006 Feb 9 BSM Technologies Inc : * BSM Technologies Inc reports fiscal 2017 first quarter results * Q1 revenue rose 17 percent to c$18.4 million * BSM Technologies Inc - qtrly loss per share $0.006 Source text for Eikon: * Q4 earnings per share view $0.51 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories Reuters News Agency - Brand Attribution Guidelines - Careers Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters . Thomson Reuters is the world''s largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSASB0AZOI'|'2017-02-10T05:14:00.000+02:00' +'93e2556c75457ad64ab57be7dd9ea111dd703115'|'JPMorgan, DRW, others back fintech company OpenFin'|' 3:16pm GMT JPMorgan, DRW, others back fintech company OpenFin By Anna Irrera - NEW YORK NEW YORK Financial services software developer OpenFin has raised $15 million (12 million) in a funding round that included JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ) and the venture capital arms of high-speed trading firm DRW Trading Group and interdealer broker NEX Group Plc ( NXGN.L ), the company said on Thursday. Other investors include venture capital firms Bain Capital Ventures, Nyca Partners and a group of financial industry executives, OpenFin said in a statement. NEX and DRW invested through their respective venture capital arms Euclid Opportunities and DRW Venture Capital. OpenFin''s software helps financial institutions create and upgrade trading applications using programming language HTML5 as quickly and frequently as technology companies update apps on smartphones. It currently takes between six to 18 months for new applications or even updates to existing programs to reach a trader''s computer at major banks, OpenFin said. HTML5 has become popular on Wall Street because it allows software to run on different devices. It is also popular with fresh computer science graduates, who banks are finding harder to attract away from technology firms. OpenFin''s software also allows different applications, such as those for real-time market data, news and research, to interact. Firms can also use it to redesign more complex applications in phases, as it allows newer parts of the applications to work with the components that have yet to be redesigned. OpenFin, whose clients include Tullett Prebon Group Holdings Plc [TLPRH.UL], Citadel LLC, NEX and JPMorgan, said it planned to use the new funding to expand its New York and London teams to a total of 50 people over the year. The latest funding round brings the total raised by the seven-year-old company to $22 million. (Reporting by Anna Irrera; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-openfin-investment-idUKKBN15V213'|'2017-02-16T22:16:00.000+02:00' +'4d876859f4d612de849f65058d9441d1241119e8'|'UPDATE 2-Freeport warns of Indonesian cuts if export approval delayed'|'Commodities 50am EST Freeport warns of Indonesian cuts if export approval delayed By Susan Taylor - TORONTO TORONTO Freeport-McMoRan Inc, the world''s biggest public-listed copper miner, said on Friday it will need to cut staff and development spending in Indonesia if the government there continues to delay export approval of its copper concentrates. The Phoenix-based miner said it has the right to export copper concentrate from its Grasberg mine without restriction or export duties under its current contract, and was considering alternatives to enforce its rights. Freeport said it continues to work with the Indonesian government to resolve the issue. Exports of its copper concentrate were halted Jan. 12, when a ban on shipping semi-processed ore out of the Southeast Asian country came into effect to boost the local smelter industry. Freeport shares dropped nearly 2.9 percent in early trade on Friday to $16.33. Last week, the stock shed nearly 6 percent after the company reported disappointing financial results and cut its 2017 copper and gold production forecast. For every month that it awaits export approval, Freeport said its share of production will be reduced by about 70 million pounds of copper and 70,000 ounces of gold. Bolstering a warning it made last week, Freeport said if the export delay continues, it would need to make "near-term" production cuts to match capacity at its smelter, which processes about 40 percent of its concentrate production. The company said it also would need to "significantly adjust its cost structure," reduce staffing, investments on underground development projects and a new smelter, and spending with suppliers. Delays for another new export license, for anode slimes required in smelter operations, could further hurt operations, Freeport said. To gain a new special mining license, Freeport must agree to pay taxes and royalties that it is currently exempt from and divest up to 51 percent of its Indonesian unit, up from 30 percent under current rules. To date, it has divested only 9.36 percent. (Reporting by Susan Taylor; Editing by Bernadette Baum) Next In Commodities Indian authorities impound ships, detain crew over oil spill Port authorities in Chennai have impounded a BW LPG vessel and a local ship carrying heavy fuel oil, and detained their crews, a spokesman for the port said on Friday, after their collision last week caused an oil spill affecting marine life and local fishing.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-freeport-mcmoran-idUSKBN15I1YZ'|'2017-02-03T22:49:00.000+02:00' +'25ef3c5e4482282c4d03b2f6f832cc6e35d8a282'|'BRIEF-Pegasystems reports Q4 gaap earnings per share $0.43'|' 54pm EST BRIEF-Pegasystems reports Q4 gaap earnings per share $0.43 Feb 23 Pegasystems Inc- * Pegasystems announces financial results for fourth quarter and full year 2016 * Sees FY 2017 non-gaap earnings per share $1.00 * Sees FY 2017 gaap earnings per share $0.43 * Sees FY 2017 revenue $860 million * Q4 gaap earnings per share $0.43 * Q4 revenue $860 million * Q4 revenue view $231.6 million -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * Q4 earnings per share view $0.37 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * FY2017 earnings per share view $1.01, revenue view $873.0 million -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-pegasystems-reports-q4-gaap-earnin-idUSASB0B231'|'2017-02-24T04:54:00.000+02:00' +'05cb532b7b6bc8f60331c49f7441d9535267dc13'|'Institutional investors pull $469 bln from equities in 2016 - report'|'By Claire Milhench - LONDON LONDON Institutional investors pulled $468.8 billion out of equities in 2016, a report by the research firm eVestment showed on Tuesday, notwithstanding a rally late in the year that drove stock markets to record highs.Investors piled into stocks after Donald Trump was elected as U.S. President in early November, betting that his much-touted tax cuts and spending plans would stimulate growth.Both U.S. and world stocks have powered to record highs, with the S&P 500''s market capitalisation climbing past $20 trillion this month for the first time ever.But in the fourth quarter of 2016, institutional investors continued to pull money from external asset managers, with equities suffering $147.9 billion of net outflows, the latest data from eVestment showed.The tide may be turning - international equity strategies are attracting the most searches in eVestment''s database, a clue to future asset flows. But it takes time to implement investment decisions, so the trend will not be clear for several quarters, eVestment said.The firm, which tracks more than $37 trillion in institutional money globally, aggregates data from asset managers overseeing money for pension funds, insurers, sovereign wealth funds and foundations.The fourth-quarter selling was broad-based, with client accounts domiciled in the United States, Europe, Britain, Canada, Africa, the Middle East and Australia all seeing redemptions.Emerging market equities suffered heavy net redemptions of $742.5 million in the fourth quarter, U.S. equity strategies reported outflows of $98.9 billion, and global stocks recorded outflows of $26.5 billion, the data showed.However, the selling was mainly from active equity strategies, which had net outflows of $155.8 billion in the fourth quarter. Passive equity mandates attracted $6.6 billion, eVestment said.Fixed income had net outflows of $4.9 billion, after attracting a revised $126.2 billion of net inflows in the third quarter. Emerging markets fixed income reported net outflows of $15.1 billion.By client type, corporate accounts, public funds, insurance accounts, foundations and endowments and sovereign wealth funds were all net sellers in the fourth quarter. Defined contribution pension plans bucked the trend, attracting $4.9 billion, bringing net inflows for 2016 to $2.5 billion.(Reporting by Claire Milhench, editing by Larry King)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-investment-flows-idINKBN1601GN'|'2017-02-21T10:00:00.000+02:00' +'975a14d3c8c853e0c09d696f7fc0fe6216e5be77'|'Electric car boom spurs investor scramble for cobalt'|'Commodities 33am EST Electric car boom spurs investor scramble for cobalt left right Excavators and drillers at work in an open pit at Tenke Fungurume, a copper and cobalt mine northwest of Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, January 29, 2013. REUTERS/Jonny Hogg/File Photo 1/2 left right An electric car charging sign is seen at a PTT Pcl''s commercial EV (Electric Vehicle) charging station in Bangkok, Thailand, August 15, 2016. REUTERS/Jorge Silva/File Photo 2/2 By Pratima Desai - LONDON LONDON Investors are buying up physical cobalt anticipating that shortages of the metal, a key component of lithium-ion batteries used in electrical cars, will spur prices to their highest levels since the 2008 financial crisis. Prices for cobalt metal have climbed nearly 50 percent since September to five-year peaks around $19 a lb as stricter emissions controls boost demand for electric vehicles, especially in China, struggling with ruinous pollution levels in some cities. (For a graphic on how Lithium-ion battery works click tmsnrt.rs/2kOUBNQ ) Consultants CRU Group say electric car and plug-in hybrid vehicle sales could hit 4.4 million in 2021 and more than six million by 2025, from 1.1 million last year. By 2020, 75 percent of lithium-ion batteries will contain cobalt, whose properties allow electric cars to extend their range between charges, according to eCobalt Solutions, which produces battery grade cobalt salts. Some 98 percent of cobalt is produced as a by-product of copper and nickel output, so for investors pure equity exposure to cobalt is tricky. "Cobalt isn''t going to massively impact share prices. The funds looked at LME (London Metal Exchange) cobalt contracts, but they aren''t liquid enough for the millions they want to invest," a Europe-based cobalt trader said. "So they are buying cobalt with the intention of sitting on it until prices rise, looking for $25 (a lb) or more." Swiss-based Pala Investments, a fund focused on the mining sector, and Shanghai Chaos Investment, one of China''s largest commodities funds, bought cobalt last year, industry sources familiar with the matter said, declining to specify amounts. Pala Investments declined to comment, while calls to Shanghai Chaos went unanswered. "Future demand for cobalt from the EV (electric vehicle) sector is looking tangible and is more positive than originally expected," one commodity-focused fund manager said. "China has some aggressive plans in terms of electric vehicles...It will be a major driver behind cobalt consumption growth." (For a graphic on cobalt prices vs light vehicle sales click bit.ly/2lfrkMW ) China''s State Reserves Bureau, in charge of building the country''s stocks of commodities from oil to rare earth minerals, bought 5,000 tonnes of cobalt metal last year and in 2015, traders said. It is expected to buy more this year. Highlighting the metal''s importance, the U.S.''s Defense Logistics Agency deemed lithium cobalt oxide and lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide compounds as strategic and has been stockpiling since 2014. Cobalt is also widely used for superalloys in turbines, space vehicles, rocket engines and power plants. HOARDING After seven years of surplus and overcapacity the market will move into a deficit this year, exacerbated by an insecure supply chain. Almost 60 percent of the world''s cobalt lies in politically risky Democratic Republic of Congo. At the same time, many traders are hoarding cobalt, most of it bought when the price was around $10 a lb in Dec. 2015 due to a market surplus of more than 2,000 tonnes. They are waiting for higher prices. On Monday, trader and miner Glencore tightened its grip on Congo''s copper and cobalt resources by buying the remaining stake in one mine and upping its share in another for $960 million. It said the complex had the potential to become the world''s largest cobalt producer. Other copper and cobalt producers include privately owned Eurasian Resources Group, Canada''s Sherritt International and China Molybdenum. Canadian small-cap LiCo Energy Metals, which is exploring for materials used in lithium-ion batteries, could appeal to investors looking for exposure to reliable sources of cobalt from a politically stable country. Global total demand for cobalt last year was around 100,000 tonnes, of which around half was used in batteries to power electric cars, as well as mobile phones, laptops, digital cameras and cordless drills. "In terms of overall demand, EVs (electric vehicles) only consumed around 6.5 percent of refined cobalt in 2016. This will increase to 16.9 percent in 2021 helping lift demand to nearly 130,000 tonnes," CRU senior consultant Edward Spencer said. "We expect a deficit in the region of 900 tonnes this year. However, a far larger deficit could open quickly if mine and refinery capacity growth fails to keep pace." Analysts at Macquarie Research expect deficits of 885 tonnes next year, 3,205 in 2019 and 5,340 in 2020. "Cobalt has limited new supply projects coming through. Meanwhile refined output in key supply countries such as Australia, Russia and Zambia are well down on levels seen a decade ago," Macquarie analyst Colin Hamilton said. "The global cobalt market is becoming ever more dependent on supply from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where geopolitical risk is again rising...with a transfer of presidential power due next year, a process which has not gone smoothly over history." (Additional reporting by Vijaykumar Vedala and Eileen Soreng in Bengaluru and Hallie Gu in Beijing; Editing by Veronica Brown and Susan Thomas) Next In Commodities'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cobalt-demand-investors-idUSKBN15T1VR'|'2017-02-14T21:33:00.000+02:00' +'5e546c292a795112d739f4be2278a518694e9a5e'|'India maintains 2016/17 fiscal deficit target at 3.5 percent of GDP'|'NEW DELHI India retained its fiscal deficit target of 3.5 percent of gross domestic product for fiscal year to March 2017, as against 3.2 percent mentioned incorrectly in the budget document, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das clarified on Wednesday.The government aims to bring down its fiscal deficit to 3.2 percent of GDP in the financial year starting April 1, Das said.As economists polled by Reuters had expected, Jaitley raised the target for the fiscal deficit to 3.2 percent of gross domestic product in 2017/18 - effectively postponing the goal of bringing it down to 3 percent.(Reporting by Malini Menon; Editing by Swati Bhat)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/india-budget-deficit-idINKBN15G454'|'2017-02-01T07:59:00.000+02:00' +'b0317bf21b27b03418f7dd5710017f3b8da30d8a'|'BRIEF-B&G Foods Q4 sales $413.7 million'|' 54pm EST BRIEF-B&G Foods Q4 sales $413.7 million Feb 23 B&G Foods Inc * B&G Foods reports financial results for fourth quarter and full year 2016 * Q4 adjusted earnings per share $0.29 * Q4 sales $413.7 million versus I/B/E/S view $426 million * Sees FY 2017 adjusted earnings per share $2.13 to $2.27 * Q4 earnings per share $0.20 * Sees FY 2017 sales about $1.64 billion to $1.68 billion * Q4 earnings per share view $0.39 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-bg-foods-q4-sales-4137-million-idUSASB0B219'|'2017-02-24T04:54:00.000+02:00' +'32856e8b215a999c059a12efec75985819361fc2'|'BRIEF-Bioceres S.A files to withdraw U.S. IPO plans'|'Feb 1 (Reuters) -* Bioceres S.A files to withdraw u.s. Ipo plans - sec filing* Bioceres S.A says it does not intend at this time to pursue the contemplated public offering* Bioceres S.A had filed for U.S. IPO of up to $80.5 million of its ordinary shares in Sept 2015 Source text: ( bit.ly/2kSPB8X )'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/idINFWN1FM131'|'2017-02-01T15:30:00.000+02:00' +'2e18be342b0d2f5deed8a82c637e5b2cc8958cf7'|'South Korea to strengthen battery safety rules after Note 7 fires'|'Technology 09am GMT South Korea to strengthen battery safety rules after Note 7 fires FILE PHOTO - An exchanged Samsung Electronics'' Galaxy Note 7 is seen at company''s headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, October 13, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo SEOUL South Korea said on Monday it will strengthen lithium-ion battery safety requirements and conduct regular inspections to avoid repeats of fires which forced Samsung Electronics Co Ltd to withdraw its premium Galaxy Note 7 handset. Manufacturers of lithium-ion batteries, commonly used in portable devices, would be subjected to greater oversight and regular inspections, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a statement. Devices using lithium-ion batteries also would be subjected to more regular safety tests, it added. "We ask that the industry shares the view that making efforts to ensure safety is equally as critical as developing new products through technological innovation," Vice Minister Jeong Marn-ki said in the statement. Samsung was forced to scrap the near-$900 Note 7 smartphones in October after some of the devices caught fire due to faulty batteries, wiping out about $5.4 billion in operating profit over three quarters. Samsung and independent investigators said in January that different battery problems from two suppliers - Samsung SDI Co Ltd and Amperex Technology Ltd - caused some Note 7s to combust. A separate probe by the Korea Testing Laboratory also found no other cause for the Note 7 fires other than a combination of manufacturing and design faults with the batteries, the trade ministry said. The government also said it would monitor Samsung''s efforts to improve battery safety, such as x-ray testing and stricter standards during the design process. It would strengthen recall-related requirements by broadening the types of serious product defects that manufacturers should report to the government, and seek legal changes to allow the government to warn consumers to stop using certain products even if they had not been recalled. (Reporting by Se Young Lee; Editing by Stephen Coates) Next In Technology News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-batteries-idUKKBN15L05Z'|'2017-02-06T09:05:00.000+02:00' +'7f65464d265359f2eb739881b4acd59cb2f3d3b0'|'TREASURIES-Yields hit 3-week lows as Trump reflation trade wanes'|'* Investors worry Trump''s pro-growth agenda could be derailed* 10-year Treasury yields slip further below 50-day moving average* Solid 3-year auction boosts buying (Updates to afternoon trading)By Dion RabouinNEW YORK, Feb 7 U.S. Treasury yields fell to their lowest in nearly three weeks on Tuesday, drifting past significant technical levels, as fixed-income investors worried that President Donald Trump''s pro-growth policies could be hamstrung by his focus on other issues.Traders have worried that Trump''s promises to cut corporate taxes and boost infrastructure spending have yet to be fleshed out and could fade further into the background or face more significant resistance with time.Trump''s nominee for Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos, was confirmed Tuesday in a contentious 50-50 vote by the U.S. Senate, largely along party lines, that Vice President Mike Pence had to break by voting in favor.Benchmark 10-year note yields fell to 2.37 percent, their lowest since Jan. 18, with other Treasury yields falling broadly to their weakest levels since mid-January. Prices on the 10-year were last up 7/32 to yield 2.38 percent."The market is still giving the benefit of the doubt to the Trump administration, but the longer it takes for the market to see a real nexus on the policy front - those things that had expectations running high after the Republican sweep - the less convinced the market''s going to be that Trump is going to really deliver on those," said Bruno Braizinha, interest rates strategist at Societe Generale.Yields on the 10-year note fell below its 50-day moving average on Monday and continued to slip further past 2.40 percent on Tuesday. That added to the downward pressure, giving the markets a direction after a choppy early trading session, analysts said.The yield on 2-year notes hit the lowest since Jan. 17. They were last little changed in price to yield 1.16 percent.A solid 3-year note auction also helped increase buying, raising prices and pushing yields lower. The government sold $24 billion worth of 3-year notes at a high yield of 1.423 percent. The 3-year note was last yielding 1.413 percent. (Reporting by Dion Rabouin; Editing by Andrea Ricci and Diane Craft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-bonds-idINL1N1FS1F2'|'2017-02-07T16:45:00.000+02:00' +'01690781161d2e817d2d4807c64f0bbe9bf4b277'|'Israel''s Delek agrees to buy Canada''s Ithaca Energy'|'Deals 35am GMT Israel''s Delek agrees to buy Canada''s Ithaca Energy A Delek petrol station is seen near the southern city of Ashdod July 27, 2011. REUTERS/Amir Cohen Israel''s Delek Group ( DLEKG.TA ) said it had offered $524 million for the 80 percent of shares in Canadian oil producer Ithaca Energy Inc ( IAE.TO ) it does not already own in an agreed takeover bid. North Sea producer Ithaca said its board had recommended the Israeli conglomerate''s cash offer of C$1.95 per share. The offer, which represents a premium of about 12 percent to Ithaca''s closing price of C$1.74 on Friday, implies an enterprise value of about $1.24 billion, Ithaca said. Delek, with natural gas exploration and production activities in the eastern Mediterranean, already owns 19.7 percent of Ithaca. The bid values the entire company at $646 million. (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru and Tova Cohen in Jerusalem; Editing by Adrian Croft) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ithaca-energy-m-a-delek-group-idUKKBN15L0QO'|'2017-02-06T15:30:00.000+02:00' +'32202c6439067ebdaff13a6d2f70f8d1f2d5722b'|'Essilor sees stronger growth, profits in second-half'|'Business News - Fri Feb 17, 2017 - 6:55am GMT Essilor sees stronger growth, profits in second-half Lens producers Essilor'' s logo is seen in an optician shop in Paris, France, March 15, 2016. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer PARIS Essilor ( ESSI.PA ), the world''s largest maker of ophthalmic lenses, forecast 2017 revenue growth of between 3 and 5 percent at constant exchange rates and predicted a higher level of growth and profitability in the second half of the year. The Paris-based company said the planned launch of products under brands of corrective lenses such as Varilux, Crizal and Transitions would support performance along with the development of its sunwear activities and online sales. Essilor and Italy''s Luxottica ( LUX.MI ) unveiled earlier this year a 46 billion euros ($48.88 billion) merger to create a global eyewear powerhouse with annual revenue of more than 15 billion euros. Essilor, which published its 2016 results on Friday, said the transaction was still subject to the approval of its shareholders and clearance from various regulators. It gave no other details. The group said fourth-quarter revenue rose 3 percent at constant exchange rates to 1.809 billion euros. Analysts polled by Reuters in partnership with Inquiry Financial had on average been expecting sales of 1.787 billion euros. Contribution from operations, a revenue figure that strips cost of sales and operating expenses, stood at 18.6 percent of total sales for the full year compared with 18.8 percent in 2015. Essilor said this indicator was expected at around 18.5 percent in 2017. "The group expects a higher level of growth and profitability in the second half of the year versus the first half," Essilor said in a statement. The board will propose a dividend of 1.5 euros per share, up 35.1 percent. ($1 = 0.9411 euros) (Reporting by Matthias Blamont; Editing by Maya Nikolaeva and Biju Dwarakanath) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-essilor-results-idUKKBN15W0HT'|'2017-02-17T13:55:00.000+02:00' +'719a45becd9420803009a4ef2c7dc7e7fb5a00fb'|'Journey to running top hotels started with rigorous first jobs'|'Money - Thu Feb 2, 2017 - 9:28am EST Journey to running top hotels started with rigorous first jobs Marriott Chief Executive Arne Sorenson speaks during an interview with Reuters in a hotel in Berlin, March 3, 2015. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch By Chris Taylor - NEW YORK NEW YORK No matter your politics, it''s the middle of winter and most Americans would be happy to take a vacation right about now. Want a nice room on a beach somewhere? Many of the hotels around the globe, by the way, are part of large chains overseen by just a handful of people. For the latest in Reuters'' "First Jobs" series, we talked to a few of those high-powered hoteliers about the gigs that got them started in life. Arne Sorenson President & CEO, Marriott International First job: Motel night cleaner I was assistant foreman of the night cleaning crew at the Ambassador Motor Lodge in Wayzata, Minnesota. It was not a fancy job, so it didn''t take extraordinary connections to get it. The shift was from around 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., and we were responsible for cleaning all the public areas - vacuuming the carpets, mopping the bathrooms. The night shift is an interesting collection of folks, working for all sorts of different reasons. Everyone came from their own unique circumstances, but we all had to learn how to work together. One of the life lessons from it was that there is pride and dignity in every single job - even the ones you literally don''t see, because they take place in the middle of the night. I even volunteered to clean the bathrooms myself. That was because no one else wanted to do it, I could get it done relatively quickly - and it let me get some reading done. Allen Smith President & CEO, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts First job: Brickmason''s helper The summer I turned 16, I got a job at a construction site in Lexington, South Carolina earning $1.85 an hour. I was the youngest person on the jobsite, and I was tested very early by the more experienced workers on the crew. They wanted to see if I was really up for backbreaking work in the intense South Carolina heat. I guess I passed the test, mixing mortar and hauling bricks up scaffolding to where the masons were working. Over the course of the summer I graduated to become a ''concrete finisher.'' In the context of manual labor, that was a big move up. That job is something I reflect on quite a bit, and made me appreciate that kind of hard work. Herve Humler President & COO, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company First job: Busboy My first job while at school and growing up as a teenager was working in a restaurant and bar in the South of France. My position was the all-around boy mostly the busboy, clearing the food station, making sure the glasses and silverware were polished, and vacuuming the restaurant after every shift. I was eligible for a very small portion of the tip pool, and a small base salary. What did I do with that money growing up in the South of France? At that time there was no restriction for teenagers to drink alcohol, so I spent some of this money on a beer after work, and the rest on gas for my moped. My first ''real'' job came after my military service in Abidjan in the Ivory Coast, where I remained and worked at the Hotel Ivoire, which was part of InterContinental. As the night auditor, I had no supervisor - and I liked roaming the hotel by myself at night. Sheila Johnson Founder & CEO, Salamander Hotels & Resorts First job: Music teacher I had been a violinist since I was 9 years old, playing in the Chicago Youth Symphony and winning state competitions. So my first job out of college was as orchestra director for five district schools in New Jersey. I lived in Princeton, New Jersey, and traveled up and down Route 1. After that I went to teach at Sidwell Friends school in Washington, D.C., making $7,200 a year. That was too little to live on, so I had to supplement that by getting a job as an actress. What I learned is that everyone has to be resourceful in life. Work hard, stay focused, and just do what you have to do. (The writer is a Reuters contributor. The opinions expressed are his own.) (Editing by Beth Pinsker and Frances Kerry) Next In Money'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-money-firstjobs-hoteliers-idUSKBN15H1PC'|'2017-02-02T21:00:00.000+02:00' +'740de762364346451b1f79b109bc3ff89328b64b'|'South Africa grants Barclays Africa some immunity in FX rigging probe'|' 24am GMT South Africa grants Barclays Africa some immunity in FX rigging probe CAPE TOWN South Africa''s competition watchdog has granted Barclays Africa ( BGAJ.J ) conditional immunity from prosecution in return for its continuing cooperation in the rand currency rigging probe, the head of Competition Commission said on Tuesday. "We have a conditional agreement with them on immunity but this is subject to confirmation depending on the extent of their cooperation," Tembinkosi Bonakele told a committee meeting of parliament on Tuesday. (Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by James Macharia) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-safrica-rand-rigging-idUKKBN1600PS'|'2017-02-21T15:24:00.000+02:00' +'138a8ffcff34c50103837104542cda72668cc663'|'Foreign investment in Egyptian treasuries doubles in January'|'CAIRO Feb 7 Foreign investment in Egyptian treasuries doubled to $500 million in January from December, helping to reduce yields by about 1 percent last week, the country''s deputy finance minister said on Tuesday.The central bank''s decision in November to abandon a peg of 8.8 Egyptian pounds per dollar and freely float the currency, which has since halved in value, has helped to revive foreign demand but it is still far from pre-2011 levels. (Reporting by Abdel Rahman Adel; writng by Amina Ismail)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/egypt-economy-treasuries-idINC6N1BK01U'|'2017-02-07T13:07:00.000+02:00' +'9c607065626448cf7551e043677d419f4e4b717d'|'Collapse of Kraft-Unilever tie-up extends run of failed mega-deals'|'By Dasha Afanasieva - LONDON LONDON Kraft Heinz''s ( KHC.O ) dropped bid to buy Unilever ( ULVR.L ) is the third-largest M&A deal to collapse, according to Thomson Reuters data, adding to a recent run of failures that highlights the appetite for the pursuit of audacious mega-mergers.The abrupt U-turn by U.S. foods giant Kraft at the weekend pushed the value of deals withdrawn this year to $205.2 billion, compared with $53.6 billion at the same point in 2016.The effect of proposed big deals on those numbers is clear, with the 87 deals to have collapsed this year significantly lower than the 111 that fell through in the corresponding period last year.The value of failed deals is likely to continue, bankers say, with companies still likely to seek ambitious acquisitions."There has been no punishment by the market or investors if a deal does not close. The overall context has been shareholder support for trying to get deals done and that has been an engine of growth in the M&A market," said Severin Brizay, head of M&A for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Swiss bank UBS ( UBSG.S )Kraft had pursued Unilever as part of its strategy to become a global consumer goods giant, but it received a hostile reception from the Anglo-Dutch company and cited a lack of "strategic" merit for its withdrawal from a deal that would have had a value of $162.2 billion based on the offer price plus Unilever''s debt.Yet the complexity of such huge deals can throw up multiple obstacles.The biggest withdrawn deal came last April when U.S. drugmaker Pfizer''s ( PFE.N ) attempt to buy Ireland-based Allergan ( AGN.N ) for $160 billion floundered on the introduction of U.S. Treasury rules to curb tax-cutting inversion deals.Honeywell International''s ( HON.N ) attempt to buy United Technologies for $90.7 billion ended in failure last February after United Tech rejected the deal on expectations that it would be blocked by antitrust regulators.Those helped to lift the value of withdrawn deals last year to an eight-year high, with transactions worth $808 billion withdrawn or rejected, compared with $538 billion in 2015.Another to fall by the wayside on competition concerns was the proposed $6.3 billion merger of office supply chain Staples ( SPLS.O ) with smaller rival Office Depot ( ODP.O )."When you are No.1 and No.2 in your sector it''s difficult for the regulator to approve," said Raj Karia, of global corporate and financial law firm Norton Rose Fulbright.Thomson Reuters classifies a deal as withdrawn if there is a public announcement by the buyer that the offer is withdrawn or financial and legal advisers agree that it has been withdrawn.(Editing by David Goodman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-global-m-a-withdrawals-idINKBN15Z22C'|'2017-02-20T16:45:00.000+02:00' +'b655cacd398f208cb864d1854004ee933ba7b562'|'US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-Wall St hits records, Fed comments boost bank stocks'|'Feb 14 Major U.S. stock indexes established record highs on Tuesday, led by bank stocks after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said it would be unwise to wait too long to raise interest rates.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 91.43 points, or 0.45 percent, to 20,503.59, the S&P 500 gained 9.21 points, or 0.40 percent, to 2,337.46 and the Nasdaq Composite added 18.62 points, or 0.32 percent, to 5,782.57. (Reporting By Sinead Carew; Editing by Nick Zieminski)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-idINZXN0RY52I'|'2017-02-14T18:02:00.000+02:00' +'450e4c22913204b6ab121730f22bacc328b5de6b'|'UPDATE 1-Chinese buyer tipped as British Land seeks to sell London''s ''Cheesegrater'''|'(Adds media reports, analyst comments, details)Feb 28 British Land and Oxford Properties are in advanced talks to sell the "Cheesegrater" skyscraper in London, with some media reports naming China''s CC Land as the potential buyer in a billion pound ($1.2 billion) deal.A sale of the distinctive central London office building will give an indication of the health of the UK commercial property market following last June''s Brexit vote."It is not certain that these discussions will lead to a sale of the building," British Land said in a statement on Tuesday on the future of The Leadenhall Building, as the office block is formally known.For British Land, the sale would allow the company to accelerate its transition toward campus-orientated office portfolios, while disposing of a building that is now fully let.CC Land, a company run by the Chinese property magnate Cheung Chung-kiu, was seeking to buy the entire building for 1.02 billion pounds, having seen off rival bids from Korea Investment Corp and Temasek Holdings, specialist property website CoStar said.That valuation would make it the second most expensive building sold in London behind the HSBC tower in the Canary Wharf financial district.British Land had hoped to fetch about 500 million pounds for its 50 percent stake in the Cheesegrater, although it could fetch a premium due to the building''s status in London, a source told Reuters in November.CC Land was not immediately available to comment, while British Land and Cushman & Wakefield, which are managing the sale for British Land, declined to comment.The market has speculated that an overseas group would buy the building as the pound''s slide to multi-year lows since the Brexit vote has drawn in foreign buyers, especially from China.Oxford Properties, which invests in real estate for one of Canada''s largest pension plans, had also been thought of by analysts as a potential buyer. ($1 = 0.8053 pounds) (Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Michelle Price in Hong Kong; editing by Jason Neely/Keith Weir)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/british-land-cheesegrater-idUSL5N1GD45O'|'2017-02-28T17:26:00.000+02:00' +'6ba0cf35f50f04093b034252a1bf2db1e5ffd634'|'BAT looks to double number of vaping products markets'|'Business News - Thu Feb 23, 2017 - 8:02am GMT BAT looks to double number of vaping products markets FILE PHOTO - People walk past the British American Tobacco offices in London, Britain October 21, 2016. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth/File Photo British American Tobacco ( BATS.L ) wants to double the number of countries where it sells vaping products this year and again in the next, it said on Thursday, after the world''s second-largest tobacco company saw full-year sales volumes rise only slightly. BAT and its rivals, including Philip Morris International ( PM.N ) and Japan Tobacco International ( 2914.T ), have been investing in cigarette alternatives as a growing health consciousness reduces smoking rates, and economic instability curbs consumer spending. BAT is preparing to buy its U.S. peer Reynolds American Inc ( RAI.N ) for $49.4 billion, a takeover that will create the world''s biggest listed tobacco company and boost BAT''s position in the small but growing market for e-cigarettes and other cigarette alternatives. [nL5N1F7184] BAT said on Thursday it now has the biggest "vapour" business in the world outside of the United States and is present in 10 markets, with almost 40 percent of the market in Britain and around 50 percent in Poland. The company plans to double the number of markets where it offers cigarette alternatives this year, and again next year, its Head of Corporate Affairs Jerry Abelman said. "In the future we expect to see a much bigger percentage coming from next generation products," he told Reuters on Thursday, but declined to give any figures. The maker of Dunhill and Lucky Strike cigarettes said cigarette volume grew 0.2 percent to 665 billion in 2016, adding that although it fell 0.8 percent on an organic basis as more people around the world cut back on smoking, it outperformed the industry which estimated a roughly 3 percent decline. Revenue grew 12.6 percent to 14.751 billion pounds ($18.35 billion), helped by the weakness of the British pound. Organic revenue was up 6.9 percent, driven by good pricing. [nRSW6106Xa] Adjusted profit from operations also rose 9.8 percent to 5.480 billion pounds. ($1 = 0.8037 pounds) (Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru, Emma Thomasson in Berlin and Martinne Geller in London. Editing by Jane Merriman and Susan Thomas) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bat-results-idUKKBN1620PZ'|'2017-02-23T15:02:00.000+02:00' +'64a7862ada23165024c37df78da1afba15892960'|'Mexico''s Jose Cuervo prices IPO at 34 pesos per share'|'MEXICO CITY The initial public offering for tequila maker Jose Cuervo priced at the top of an expected range at 34 pesos per share, the company said on Thursday, kicking off the first Mexican IPO since Donald Trump won the U.S. presidency in November.The share price confirmed a report by sources familiar with the matter consulted by Reuters on Wednesday, who said there was strong investor demand for the offering.The company, officially known as Becle, put its IPO on hold twice last year, as Trump''s march to the White House gathered strength, sending the peso currency to a string of record lows.(Reporting by Dave Graham)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-josecuervo-idINKBN15O1NL'|'2017-02-09T10:41:00.000+02:00' +'f081701e565b0a3f7a3fe09e26c927cf059df1f3'|'Rocket Internet shares tumble after Kinnevik sells half of stake'|'BERLIN Shares in Rocket Internet ( RKET.DE ) fell more than 9 percent on Thursday after Swedish investment company Kinnevik ( KINVb.ST ) sold half of its 13 percent stake in the German e-commerce company late on Wednesday.Rocket shares were down 9.3 percent at 19.35 euros at 0833 GMT (3:33 a.m. ET) after Kinnevik sold 6.6 percent of Rocket''s share capital to institutional investors at 19.25 euros per share. It committed to a lock-up period of 90 days for its remaining stake.Kinnevik was one of the first investors in Rocket and was the firm''s biggest shareholder after the Samwer brothers who founded it and who have a 37 percent stake. Kinnevik also has stakes in a number of Rocket''s major start-ups.Founded in 2007, Rocket has built up dozens of businesses from fashion e-commerce to food delivery, but its shares have slid in the last year as many investors have become concerned over heavy losses and falling valuations for its key start-ups.(Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Maria Sheahan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-rocket-internet-kinnevik-idINKBN1620V0'|'2017-02-23T05:54:00.000+02:00' +'8f76d615e5ae4224734dc68fae58e6cf8d3571d8'|'How one Chinese region shows risks of relying on heavy borrowing'|'Money News - Wed Feb 22, 2017 - 11:17am IST How one Chinese region shows risks of relying on heavy borrowing Residential buildings are seen shrouded in haze in Shenyang, Liaoning province, November 8, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer/Files By David Stanway - SHENYANG, China SHENYANG, China A flurry of construction in the Chinese city of Shenyang belies a regional economy in crisis, a striking example of the increasingly diminishing returns from a policy of investing heavily in infrastructure to prop up economic activity. A new exhibition centre has just opened its doors in the city, the capital of Liaoning province in northeastern China, and the skyline is dotted with cranes working on high-end shopping malls and apartments. But beyond Shenyang''s building sites, the real Liaoning is different. After years of investment in infrastructure, some of it encouraged by the central government, Liaoning is China''s only shrinking provincial economy, its population is in decline and its debt is almost three times annual revenues. Liaoning highlights the risks of relying on repeated borrowing to invest in infrastructure and fuel economic activity - a regular fall-back policy China has used when GDP risks missing annual targets, including in 2016. It also points to the urgency for China to move away from a reliance on state firms, which for decades provided Chinas economic backbone. Most other provinces have reduced their reliance on state-firms to a much greater extent than Liaoning and its neighbours, Heilongjiang and Jilin. But they still wield considerable influence nationwide. Traditionally, state-raised investment funds have been channelled through state-owned enterprises (SOEs) because they are big tax payers and employers. This has provided a life support mechanism for many dying state industries while crowding out the private sector on which China is staking its future. Some local authorities have provided all sorts of preferential support to state firms, said Han Liang, a section-chief in the Liaoning government pricing bureau, over protecting them and making them lose their motivation to innovate. Liaoning''s provincial government, and its local development and reform commission, declined repeated requests for comment. HOPES REST ON GOVERNMENT SPENDING Nowhere are Liaoning''s challenges more evident than in Benxi, a city 29 miles (46 km) from Shenyang and dominated by a single SOE: the struggling Benxi Iron and Steel Group (Bengang). Like Liaoning, Bengang is well past its economic heyday. Its chimneys, smelters and stockyards stretch nearly a mile along the banks of the Taizi river flowing through Benxi. It provides around 60,000 jobs and most tax income for the city government, but it is struggling to compete with coastal plants because they have better access to markets and cheaper foreign feedstock. In 2015, it reported its first net loss since the global financial crisis in 2009. The firm is being squeezed by central government efforts to reduce steel production nationwide and so has branched out into real estate investment, in turn crowding out private players. General manager Chen Jizhuang said in a pep talk delivered at a meeting with company employees in December that its indomitable, evergreen genes would enable it to overcome all its difficulties. But the firm appears to be resting its hopes on yet another round of government spending. The year 2017 is a new round of the central governments Rejuvenate the Northeast projects and it is also a key year for Bengang to set off on a new road and seize new opportunities, Chen told staff, according to the firm''s website. Bengang declined several requests seeking interviews with senior officials. LEGACY Liaoning, Heilongjiang and Jilin were once powerful industrial bases responsible for much of the coal, steel and heavy industry that underpinned China''s economy in the 1960s and 1970s. That legacy keeps the investment flowing into the region today under a programme called Rejuvenate the Northeast originally designed to head off unrest after punishing national economic restructuring almost two decades ago laid off millions of workers and sparked strikes, protests and a surge in organised crime. "We have to consider historical context," Zhou Jianping, a senior government official at the state planning agency in charge of the Rejuvenate the Northeast project, told Reuters in an interview. "Northeast China made big contributions to China''s economic development." But the provinces have struggled to adapt to another central government push - reducing the influence of heavy state industry and provide room for private firms to thrive. "What does the government want Liaoning to do?" asked the manager of a joint venture manufacturer in Shenyang, who declined to be identified because he was not authorised to talk with the media. "It''s all very well pumping money into the economy but if you''re not pumping it into the right places, it is just good money after bad," he said. Liaoning''s economy shrank 2.5 percent in 2016, the only Chinese province to contract, while growth nationwide hit 6.7 percent. While the decline was partly attributed to corrections in 2015 data following a crackdown on statistical fraud, the province remains riddled with debt and dependent on the sluggish state sector. Liaoning government debts are 287 percent of revenues. State-owned firms in the northeast provinces hold around half of the industrial assets, compared to a 10 percent national average, the China Institute for Reform and Development said. The result is a region dependent on "big but weak" state firms, said Li Kai, vice-president of the Northeast Rejuvenation Research Institute, a government think-tank. Nicholas Zhu, a senior analyst at Moodys Investors Service, provides a bleaker assessment. "It''s a vicious circle just like Detroit," he said, referring to the U.S. city that filed for bankruptcy in 2013 following a long-term economic and population decline. "Detroit defaulted not because of short-term events but because 20-30 years ago people started leaving, corporations started leaving, and then there is hollowing out. Eventually you get to the point where they couldn''t finance themselves." (Reporting by David Stanway; Additional reporting by Elias Glenn in BEIJING; Editing by Neil Fullick) Next In Money News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/china-debt-liaoning-idINKBN1610G6'|'2017-02-22T07:34:00.000+02:00' +'abd8e5ddc493e6c85d14d1ff62c712d05b861136'|'UPDATE 1-Germany sees encouraging signs on jobs in Opel talks'|'(Adds comments by government, economy ministry spokespeople)BERLIN Feb 20 Initial talks between the German government and carmakers PSA and General Motors have led to some encouraging signals that jobs at Opel factories will be preserved, but no guarantees have been made yet, a top official said on Monday.Europe''s car industry has been dogged by overcapacity for years, and the planned sale of GM''s European Opel/Vauxhall arm to Peugeot-maker PSA has raised the spectre of cutbacks in the wake of a deal.GM and PSA so far have not given binding guarantees to preserve German jobs and factories at Opel, Deputy Economy Minister Matthias Machnig said when asked to comment on media reports, but he added there had been some encouraging signals."This is why speculation is premature at this point," Machnig told German television station ARD. He expressed hope that a combination with France''s PSA could form the basis of a better future for Opel.German newspaper Bild am Sonntag had reported that PSA had pledged to continue operating all four of Opel''s German production sites.Germany is heading towards a federal election in September and any major job cuts at Opel could weaken the chances of Chancellor Angela Merkel getting re-elected for a fourth term.Merkel is constantly being updated on the progress of talks between the government and the management of the carmakers, government spokesman Steffen Seibert said during a regular news conference in Berlin on Monday.An economy ministry spokesman reiterated the government''s main goal was to preserve jobs.He added Berlin was also in contact with the British government and that both countries would not let themselves being played off against each other.Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries will discuss the planned deal in talks with her French counterpart Michel Sapin during her visit in Paris on Thursday, the ministry spokesman said.Zypries, a senior member of Germany''s co-governing Social Democrats, said last Thursday she expected the deal to go ahead.Germany accounts for half of GM Europe''s 38,000 staff, while there are 4,500 in Britain where the company operates under the Vauxhall brand.Two sources close to PSA said last Thursday that job and plant cuts were part of the tie-up talks, with the two Vauxhall sites in Britain in the front line. (Reporting by Gernot Heller and Michael Nienaber; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/opel-ma-psa-germany-idINL8N1G52RC'|'2017-02-20T10:26:00.000+02:00' +'52f2256824b6717d46e3f4d17acc8698e4d98be1'|'Bain joins bidding for Germany''s Stada with higher offer - sources'|' 34pm GMT Bain joins bidding for Germany''s Stada with higher offer: sources The logo of the pharmaceutical company Stada Arzneimittel AG is pictured at its headquarters in Bad Vilbel near Frankfurt March 14, 2012. REUTERS/Alex Domanski By Alexander Hbner and Ludwig Burger - FRANKFURT FRANKFURT German generic drugs company Stada ( STAGn.DE ) has received a new takeover approach which values it at 3.6 billion euros ($3.8 billion), raising the stakes in a three-way bidding war and pushing its shares to a new record. Two people familiar with the matter identified the new bidder on Friday as buyout group Bain Capital. That followed Stada''s statement late on Thursday which disclosed a proposed price of 58 euros per share from an unnamed suitor. Bain and Stada declined to comment. A meeting of the Stada supervisory board has been arranged for Friday at short notice, a source close to the board said, with the bidding process expected to be on the agenda. The company said earlier this week that buyout group Cinven had offered 56 euros per share, valuing it at about 100 million euros less than the latest approach. Private equity firm Advent International had emerged as the second prospective bidder though a price has not been disclosed. Advent is expected to submit a bid next week, two sources in the financial industry said. Advent declined comment. Stada shares gained 1.9 percent to 57.29 euros at 1250 GMT, poised to close at a fresh record high, having advanced 15 percent so far this week. Seeking investments in stable healthcare businesses, cash-rich buyout firms -- also including Permira and CVC -- have been working on offers for months and approached Stada about a deal, people familiar with the situation have told Reuters. The tussle vindicates the strategy of activist investor Active Ownership Capital (AOC), which built a stake of about 7 percent in shares and options before May last year when the shares were trading at around 30 euros apiece. AOC at the time pushed for a management shakeup, calling for non-executive directors with more international experience. In the wake of the investor''s campaign, Chief Executive Hartmut Retzlaff stepped down for health reasons last year after more than two decades at the helm, and long-serving Chairman Martin Abend was replaced by Carl Ferdinand Oetker, member of the family behind the unlisted German food group. Founded in 1895 in Dresden as a pharmacists'' cooperative, Stada is seeking to expand its non-prescription consumer care business. Its generic drug business is under price pressure as medical insurers in Germany, its largest market, are seeking bulk procurement deals at low prices. It has also suffered from a weak Russian rouble and British pound, two markets where it has considerable operations. Monthly Manager Magazin earlier named Bain as the third suitor. ($1 = 0.9371 euros) Patricia Weiss and Arno Schuetze. Writing by Ludwig Burger and Andreas Cremer; Editing by Keith Weir) Election risks, retail sales hurt pound and euro LONDON Falls for the euro and the pound dominated trade in the major global currencies on Friday, hit by a combination of nerves over upcoming French elections and signs British consumers are beginning to struggle in the face of the Brexit effect.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-stada-m-a-idUKKBN15V2ZH'|'2017-02-17T20:26:00.000+02:00' +'3610b8f2dbb2f6102cefd4d02df7640d9e321cb6'|'Hyundai may source car batteries from China amid political tension'|'Wed Feb 8, 2017 - 8:29am GMT Hyundai may source car batteries from China amid political tension The logo of Hyundai Motor is seen on a steering wheel at its dealership in Seoul, South Korea, December 15, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji By Hyunjoo Jin - SEOUL SEOUL Hyundai Motor ( 005380.KS ) said on Wednesday it may procure electric vehicle batteries from Chinese companies for a planned China model after South Korean battery makers failed to make a list of approved vendors last year. The decision comes at a time of growing concern in South Korea that Beijing may be retaliating over Seoul''s decision to deploy a U.S. anti-missile system. China argues the defense system could undermine its security. Hyundai Motor said it was now considering a Chinese battery for a plug-in hybrid version of its Sonata sedan to be sold in China. "Considering various factors in Chinese market and price competitiveness, Hyundai Motor Company is also looking at cooperation with Chinese battery suppliers," the company said in a statement to Reuters. It declined to comment on reports that its decision was due to tension with Beijing over the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system. The news came on the same day that South Korea''s Lotte Group said Chinese authorities have halted construction at a multi-billion dollar real estate project in the northeastern city of Shenyang after a fire inspection - a move that has also fueled concerns about retaliation. Beijing last year declined to award certification to LG Chem Ltd ( 051910.KS ) and Samsung SDI Co Ltd ( 006400.KS ), both among the world''s largest players, potentially excluding them from state subsidies and eroding their price competitiveness. "As a company which has to sell vehicles in China, we have no choice but to consider a China battery maker under the current conditions," said a Hyundai source, who was not authorized to speak to the media and declined to be identified. The current Sonata Plug-In Hybrid, sold in South Korea and the United States, uses a battery made by South Korea''s LG Chem ( 051910.KS ). Hyundai also said it now plans to launch the Sonata Plug-In Hybrid in China in 2018, a year later than previously planned, without elaborating on the reason for the delay. (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Tony Munroe and Edwina Gibbs) Up Next Exclusive: White House eying executive order targeting ''conflict minerals'' rule - sources WASHINGTON President Donald Trump is planning to issue an executive order targeting a controversial Dodd-Frank rule that requires companies to disclose whether their products contain "conflict minerals" from a war-torn part of Africa, according to sources familiar with the administration''s thinking. Disney CEO Iger says he is open to extending his term Chief Executive Bob Iger said on Tuesday he is open to extending his term as the head of Walt Disney Co , offering investors a sign of potential stability at the media company as it reported a dip in quarterly advertising at ESPN. Japan''s Sharp may break ground on $7 billion U.S. plant in first half: source TOKYO Japanese display maker Sharp Corp may start building a $7 billion plant in the United States in the first half of 2017, taking the lead on a project initially outlined by its Taiwanese parent Foxconn, a person with knowledge of the plan said. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-hyundai-motor-china-idUKKBN15N0S3'|'2017-02-08T15:26:00.000+02:00' +'960c9a6485df3b39b7005c5d6813427290fb0ace'|'Swiss group MSC acquires Hanjin''s stake in U.S. ports operator'|'Deals - Wed Feb 1, 2017 - 10:54am EST Swiss group MSC acquires Hanjin''s stake in U.S. ports operator An MSC employee is seen during a press visit of the MSC Meraviglia class ship at the STX Les Chantiers de l''Atlantique shipyard site in Saint-Nazaire, France, September 2, 2016. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe LONDON A unit of Swiss shipping group MSC has bought a stake in U.S. ports operator Total Terminals International (TTI) from Hanjin ( 117930.KS ), MSC said on Wednesday, having overcome objections from the South Korean line''s U.S. creditors. Privately owned MSC, the world''s no.2 global shipping line, said in a statement its subsidiary Terminal Investment Ltd. (TiL) had completed the acquisition in conjunction with South Korea''s Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM), which would see TiL assuming an 80 percent stake and HMM having the remaining 20 percent in TTI. Last month, a U.S. judge gave the green light for the sale of failed Hanjin''s stake in TTI despite objections from container companies owed money by Hanjin, concerned whether the shipping group was getting the best price. The TTI sale included Terminal Investment forgiving $54.6 million in debt owed by Hanjin. The U.S. judge said the sale was supported by the ports of Seattle and Long Beach. TTI leases and operates container terminals in Long Beach and Seattle on the West Coast of the United States. "Our focus throughout the acquisition consultation has been, and will continue to be, rebuilding the business and servicing the needs of our affiliated shipping line MSC, its 2M partner Maersk, and our new joint venture partner HMM," Til president Alistair Baillie said in a statement. Container lines are battling their worst ever downturn due to a glut of ships and weaker demand - prompting rivals to form vessel sharing arrangements including the 2M alliance between MSC and the world''s number one player Maersk ( MAERSKb.CO ). Heavily indebted South Korean line HMM said in December it had agreed to form a co-operative relationship with the 2M shipping alliance that fell short of full-fledged membership. TTI saw a steep drop in its container traffic after Hanjin, the world''s seventh-largest container line, filed for court protection from its creditors in August last year. The sale includes all of Hanjins equity interests and shareholder loans, in both TTI and the associated terminal equipment leasing company, Hanjin TEC Inc, MSC said. (Reporting by Jonathan Saul; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/mergersNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-hanjinshipping-assetsale-idUSKBN15G4X8'|'2017-02-01T22:49:00.000+02:00' +'664bcf96788594313029f117aff98289ac40f868'|'U.S. oil rises after report shows drop in stockpiles'|' 34am GMT U.S. oil rises after report shows drop in stockpiles A driver fills up with fuel at a Shell petrol station in London May 15, 2013. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor TOKYO U.S. oil futures rose nearly 1 percent on Thursday after data released by an industry group showed a surprise decline in U.S. crude stocks as imports fell, lending support to the view that a global glut is ending. The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude April contract CLc1 added 41 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $54.00 a barrel at 0011 GMT. Brent crude LCOc1 was yet to trade. It ended 82 cents, or 1.5 percent, lower at $55.84 a barrel on Wednesday. Crude inventories fell by 884,000 barrels in the week to Feb. 17 to 512.7 million, compared with analysts'' expectations for an increase of 3.5 million barrels, data from industry group the American Petroleum Institute showed on Wednesday. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub were down by 1.7 million barrels and U.S. crude imports fell last week by 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) to 7.398 million bpd, according to the API. Refinery crude runs fell by 182,000 bpd, the data showed, while gasoline stocks dropped by 893,000 barrels, largely in line with analysts'' expectations in a Reuters poll. Official data from the U.S. Department of Energy''s Energy Information Administration (EIA) is scheduled to be released at 11 a.m. EST (1600 GMT) on Thursday, a day later than normal because of a holiday Monday. (Reporting by Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Richard Pullin) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-oil-idUKKBN16201W'|'2017-02-23T07:34:00.000+02:00' +'0dfda9d8490837d87e5943c72aedc2abc643dd93'|'Drug maker Sobi eyes sale of Partner Products unit'|'STOCKHOLM Swedish drug maker Swedish Orphan Biovitrum (Sobi) ( SOBIV.ST ) said on Friday it was in talks with a private equity firm regarding a possible sale of its Partner Products business area."We have noted specific information in the market regarding a possible sale of Sobi Partner Products. We confirm that we are in discussions which may or may not lead to an agreement," Sobi CEO Geoffrey McDonough said in a statement.Sobi, which has Investor AB ( INVEb.ST ) as its biggest owner, said the talks did not include drugs Kineret and Orfadin.Partner Products had sales of 617 million Swedish crowns ($70 million) in the January-September period 2016, while Sobi''s total sales were 3.9 billion crowns.Sobi rose 2.1 percent at 1402 GMT after an earlier trading halt was lifted. The share was flat before the trading halt.(Reporting by Johannes Hellstrom; editing by Niklas Pollard)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-swedish-orphan-m-a-idUSKBN15I1VO'|'2017-02-03T17:13:00.000+02:00' +'ebf6cc2dfef40e6964651b9b3181993825903786'|'UPDATE 1-Ex-Barclays traders put money before honesty, UK court hears'|'Company 51pm EST UPDATE 1-Ex-Barclays traders put money before honesty, UK court hears (Adds details) By Kirstin Ridley LONDON Feb 28 Two former Barclays traders showed scant regard for honesty and integrity when they conspired to rig global Libor interest rates, a lawyer for the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) told a London jury trial on Tuesday. Greek national Stylianos Contogoulas and Ryan Reich, an American, deny one count of dishonestly skewing Libor, a benchmark for interest rates on about $450 trillion of financial contracts and loans worldwide, to boost profits and defraud others between June 2005 and September 2007. Emma Deacon, prosecuting for the SFO, said the men "essentially cheated" others when they schemed with London-based Libor submitters, responsible for sending the bank''s daily cost of borrowing estimates to a Libor administrator, to try to nudge dollar Libor rates to bolster their trading positions. "So this case concerns traders at Barclays bank rigging, to their own advantage, or that of the bank ... a global benchmark interest rate," she told the jury on the first day of a six-week trial. "In doing so, they were driven by money. Their singular goal was to make more profit on their trading and you will see, insofar as they stood in the way, honesty and integrity were matters which were entirely expendable." Deacon said Contogoulas, 45, was the London end of a team of New York-based traders who were part of an alleged scam that started in the summer of 2005, with the first evidence of New York-based Barclays traders requesting Libor rates from London-based rate submitters. Two former London-based submitters, Peter Johnson and Jonathan Mathew, have been convicted of conspiracy to defraud in a separate Libor trial, the jury were told. Presenting the jury with a cache of emails detailing trader rate requests, Deacon said Contogoulas was well placed in London to help to lobby submitters when his New York colleagues were not in the office, because of the time difference. Between December 2005 and February 2006, the prosecutor said there was "clear evidence" that traders and submitters were ignoring the proper basis for setting Libor rates. Reich and Contogoulas are expected to lay out their defence later this week. Allegations that banks and brokerages attempted to rig rates such as Libor (the London interbank offered rate), the average rate at which major banks say they can borrow funds from each other in different currencies over various time frames each day, first emerged during the global financial crisis in 2008. Barclays was the first bank to settle regulatory allegations of rate fixing in 2012, paying a then-record $450 million fine. Contogoulas and Reich were employed at different times by Barclays. The Greek former trader left Barclays in 2006 shortly before New York-based Reich, 35, joined the bank the same year. Contogoulas earned a salary of 60,000 pounds ($74,530) and a bonus of 140,000 pounds in 2005 and Reich, for 2007, earned a salary of $110,000 and a bonus of $690,000, the court heard. ($1 = 0.8050 pounds) (Reporting by Kirstin Ridley. editing by Jane Merriman) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-libor-court-idUSL5N1GD6VU'|'2017-03-01T00:51:00.000+02:00' +'2b6cfaf531eff4626bc765366fb5cd5d16f0c467'|'UPDATE 1-New Zealand''s Spark partners with Netflix - Reuters'|'(Adds CEO comment, context)WELLINGTON Feb 27 New Zealand telecommunications company Spark said on Monday it was partnering with U.S. video streaming giant Netflix in an arrangement that was the first of its kind.Spark''s broadband customers would receive a year of Netflix''s standard plan at no extra cost, the first time the video service had been bundled with broadband in New Zealand, Spark said in a statement to the stock exchange.The deal comes at a time when New Zealand telecommunications providers are shifting towards becoming media providers.The arrangement with Netflix "is also consistent with our shift towards becoming a digital services provider, rather than just a traditional telco," said Simon Moutter, Spark''s chief executive.On Thursday New Zealand''s competition regulator ruled against pay-TV provider Sky Television''s purchase of Vodafone''s New Zealand unit.Spark had vociferously opposed the deal, gaining a temporary stay in a New Zealand court if the regulator had ruled in favour of the transaction, arguing that it would create a monopoly on premium sport content.(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/spark-netflix-newzealand-idINL3N1GB0E9'|'2017-02-26T17:11:00.000+02:00' +'e04e0fc6192180a4fe4366d3c3ab949fd49b5ae4'|'AXA says 2016 net income rises, on track to achieve targets'|'Business News - 12am GMT AXA says 2016 net income rises, on track to achieve targets FILE PHOTO - Logo of France''s biggest insurer Axa is seen in front the compagny headquarter in Paris, France, August 4, 2016. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen/File Photo PARIS AXA ( AXAF.PA ), France''s biggest insurer, posted a 4 percent increase in 2016 net income, as stronger earnings from property insurance coverage and a recovery in its life and savings business helped to offset weakness in asset management. Net income rose to 5.83 billion euros in 2016, compared with 5.62 billion (4.95 billion pounds) in the same period last year, AXA said on Thursday. This was slightly below the average of analyst estimates of 5.86 billion in a Reuters poll. In the face of falling yields on its investments, AXA aims to increase earnings per share by 3 to 7 percent a year over the 2016-2020 period, seeking to lift profitability through tariff hikes and higher-margin products while reducing its costs. AXA said underlying earnings per share rose 4 percent, "despite continued low interest rates and market volatility". "We are on track on the headline targets of our Ambition 2020 plan," the insurer said in a statement. ($1 = 0.9465 euros) (Reporting by Maya Nikolaeva and Matthieu Protard; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-axa-results-idUKKBN1620FV'|'2017-02-23T13:12:00.000+02:00' +'3f7bfd83387260fa4459ad3116e96efe5330d622'|'PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - Feb 16'|'Feb 16 The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.HeadlinesDBS net profit drops 9 per cent in Q4 as bad loans growon.ft.com/2kLrrNiSpotify to add 1,000 jobs in New York, move U.S. HQ to World Trade Centre siteon.ft.com/2kry4IwAnger in Berlin over GM plans to sell Opel to Peugeoton.ft.com/2krIbgiBritain''s oldest steelmaker receives fresh granton.ft.com/2krtNVoOverviewDBS Group Holdings Ltd saw net profit drop markedly in the quarter ended December as bad loans increased and net interest margin shrank for the Singaporean banking and financial services company.Spotify is set add 1,000 jobs in New York by 2018 and move its U.S. headquarters to the World Trade Centre site as part of its ongoing expansion in the United States.Berlin is furious it received no prior notification that General Motors Co planned to sell its ailing European business to French rival Peugeot SA, as concerns grow that a sale could lead to heavy job losses in Germany just months before an election.Sheffield Forgemasters, Britain''s oldest steelmaker, received a fresh grant from the government to support its 6.5 million pound investment in new machinery as the lossmaking company attempts to reduce its reliance on sluggish oil and gas markets. (Compiled by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-press-ft-idINL1N1G101I'|'2017-02-15T21:46:00.000+02:00' +'2996fa24c89c70e7e178c3eb11a2c652ca035582'|'Fidelity puts British boardroom paymasters on notice'|'Company News - Thu Feb 16, 2017 - 11:08am EST Fidelity puts British boardroom paymasters on notice LONDON Feb 16 Fidelity International, one of the biggest investors in British companies, has proposed making powerful remuneration committee heads more accountable to shareholders. Such a move would ratchet up pressure on company boards to rein in excessive pay after rebellions at a number of firms'' shareholder meetings in recent years, including BP and WPP, and comes ahead of the bulk of this year''s votes. Fidelity has recommended the chair of the committee which sets company directors'' pay be replaced if more than a quarter of shareholders oppose its plans. The suggestion forms part of a response to a British government review of governance and executive pay, seen by Reuters on Thursday and earlier reported by Sky News, ahead of a deadline for responses to the consultation on Feb. 17. Trelawny Williams, who heads up governance at Fidelity, said he supported keeping the annual vote on a company''s remuneration report as advisory only, but wanted investors to have a binding vote on a firm''s pay policy every year instead of every three. If less than 75 percent of votes cast backed either the report or policy, the chairman "should step down from that role and be replaced by another director as we believe this will make individuals more accountable", he wrote. Fidelity holds shares in Britain''s FTSE 350 companies worth more than $15 billion, Reuters data showed. (Reporting by Simon Jessop; Editing by Alexander Smith) Next In Company News GRAPHIC-Swiss banks face withdrawals due to tax clampdown ZURICH, Feb 16 Wealthy clients in 2016 pulled out almost $30 billion of untaxed assets from three of the world''s biggest private banks, UBS, Credit Suisse and Julius Baer, taking advantage of government programmes letting them pay tax on undeclared money.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/funds-governance-companies-fidelity-idUSL8N1G1647'|'2017-02-16T23:08:00.000+02:00' +'ba6dae05fce87d44a90addcb3820ea5821d548c6'|'De Beers to hold diamond exploration spend steady in 2017'|' 6:12pm IST De Beers to hold diamond exploration spend steady in 2017 Diamonds are displayed during a visit to the De Beers Global Sightholder Sales (GSS) in Gaborone, Botswana, November 24, 2015. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo CAPE TOWN Anglo American''s diamond unit De Beers will keep its diamond exploration budget steady at $35 million in 2017, the company said, although it has turned to new technology to try to improve the rate of discoveries. Many mining companies cut exploration spending because of a slump in commodity prices in 2015, as well as a widening gap between expenditure and the value of resources found as the best quality ores are depleted. "Our exploration spend this year is likely to be in line with last year''s, around $35 million," De Beers said in an email. De Beers, however, is employing a high-tech detection method that measures the tiny magnetic field shifts that indicate the presence of a kimberlite pipe, where diamonds are found, well below the surface of the earth. The industry as a whole invested around $7 billion on exploration between 2000 and 2013, De Beers figures show. The results of this spending have been meagre. De Beers says only one diamond deposit of significant size has been discovered Bunder in India, which Rio Tinto found in 2004. Last year De Beers also brought on a new mine in Canada, saying it was the world''s largest new diamond mine but would not result in a supply surge because it was only helping to replace diamonds that have been sold. Some analysts talk about peak diamonds and De Beers has a policy of balancing production and demand to maintain its position as the biggest producer by value. Russia''s Alrosa is the biggest diamond producer by volume. Anglo American has placed diamonds, along with copper and platinum, at the core of a business it wants to focus on increased margins rather than bulk. Diamond sales recovered in 2016 as the entire industry bounced back from a slump in 2015. Sales of smaller grades, however, were hit late last year by India''s decision to phase out higher denomination bank notes, constraining consumer spending in a largely cash economy. (Reporting by Barbara Lewis, editing by David Evans) Next In Money News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/africa-mining-debeers-idINKBN15L1CX'|'2017-02-06T19:42:00.000+02:00' +'5784062663066cbb8f1c8a21fca8e4ff2e41e4bc'|'Stock futures little changed amid earnings rush'|'U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Wednesday as investors focused on quarterly earnings, a day after the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq hit record highs.More than half of the S&P 500 companies have reported results so far, with their combined earnings estimated to have risen 8.2 percent - the most in nine quarters.Key companies scheduled to report results on Wednesday include Goodyear Tire ( GT.O ), life insurer Prudential Financial ( PRU.N ) and grocer Whole Foods ( WFM.O ).The dollar edged up 0.3 percent, but gold rose to a three-month high as political uncertainty ahead of European elections kept the safe-haven asset in favor.Oil prices fell 0.3 percent, extending losses to the third day as an increase in U.S. crude inventories and a slump in Chinese demand implied that global oil markets remain oversupplied despite OPEC-led efforts to cut output. [O/R]Among stocks, Gilead ( GILD.O ) dropped 6.7 percent to $68.25 premarket after the drugmaker projected disappointing sales for its hepatitis C drugs this year.Cognizant ( CTSH.O ) slipped 1.4 percent to $53.05 in light trading. The IT services provider named three directors to its board, bowing to pressure from activist shareholder Elliott Management.Oreo cookie maker Mondelez ( MDLZ.O ) was down 2.1 percent at $43 following a quarterly sales and profit miss.No key economic report is scheduled for the day.Futures snapshot at 6:49 a.m. ET:Dow e-minis 1YMc1 were up 13 points, or 0.06 percent, with 17,196 contracts changing hands.S&P 500 e-minis ESc1 remained unchanged, with 83,224 contracts traded.Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQc1 were up 4.25 points, or 0.08 percent, on volume of 16,883 contracts.(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks-idUSKBN15N1C1'|'2017-02-08T15:32:00.000+02:00' +'2c734e846cd473536eb8b88ab2b3cd26bb544798'|'Brexit will cost UK 30,000 finance jobs, says Brussels thinktank'|'The UK could lose 30,000 finance sector jobs as a result of Brexit, but EU rivals need to act to avoid importing banking risk to the continent, according to an influential thinktank with close ties to the European commission.The City of London stands to lose 10,000 banking jobs and 20,000 roles in accountancy, law and consulting, as EU clients move business worth 1.8tn (1.6tn) to the continent after Brexit, according to Brussels-based Bruegel. According to the economics thinktanks model, Frankfurt would be the biggest winner, with Paris, Amsterdam and Dublin also making gains. But the researchers warn that having a more geographically diverse spread of financial institutions, without stronger oversight of banks, would heighten the risk of a banking meltdown in the event of an acute financial crisis.UK home to 80% of top-earning European bankers Read more These risks could be reduced and benefits shared more evenly, the authors argue, if the EU takes a common approach to investment banks rather than 27 national systems in a regulatory race to the bottom to steal Londons crown. The analysis is based on the assumption the UK will leave the single market, as set out in Theresa Mays Brexit speech last month .Brexit involves risks for market integrity and stability, because the EU including the UK has been crucially dependent on the Bank of England and the UK Financial Conduct Authority for oversight of its wholesale markets, states the report. Without the UK, the the EU27 must swiftly upgrade its capacity to ensure market integrity and financial stability. Nicolas Vron, a co-author, said the EU faced a mix of risks and opportunity, but had barely started discussing post-Brexit financial regulations. What is important is for the EU27 to find its feet in the new financial system of the post Brexit landscape, he said. Rather than creating 27 clones of the FCA and Bank of England, the EU should instead design a more centralised consistent architecture, with central authorities for banking regulation and conduct, Vron added. The City could be a flashpoint in Britains EU exit , given Londons outsized role as Europes financial centre. Twice as many euros are traded in London as in the 19 countries of the single currency combined.Bruegel was an early advocate of banking union the eurozones shared, but unfinished, system of banking rules and its reports are closely read within the EU institutions. Vron expressed optimism that the EU would act despite the loss of political momentum that many people expect in 2017 as a result of elections in the Netherlands, France and Germany.Barring an upset, by October 2017, governments would be in place, which would create a fairly favourable context for decision-making, he said.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/feb/07/brexit-uk-finance-brussels-thinktank-city-banking-eu-bruegel'|'2017-02-07T02:00:00.000+02:00' +'548d1eac2a649343f0522ea1e012e6464828ca92'|'BRIEF-Quad/Graphics says Q4 gaap earnings per share $0.73'|' 56pm EST BRIEF-Quad/Graphics says Q4 gaap earnings per share $0.73 Feb 21 Quad/Graphics Inc- * Quad/Graphics reports fourth quarter and full-year 2016 results * Q4 gaap earnings per share $0.73 * Q4 sales fell 8.8 percent to $1.2 billion * Quad/Graphics Inc sees 2017 net sales $4.1 billion - $4.3 billion * Quad/Graphics Inc sees 2017 adjusted ebitda of $440 million to $480 million * Quad/Graphics Inc sees 2017 free cash flow $225 million - $275 million * FY2017 revenue view $4.20 billion -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-quad-graphics-says-q4-gaap-earning-idUSASB0B1ER'|'2017-02-22T04:56:00.000+02:00' +'099a9dcb2e239bb647246af9e8a570979641afca'|'Exclusive: Business communications services provider 8x8 explores sale - sources'|'8x8 Inc ( EGHT.O ), a U.S. provider of internet-based voice and communication services to businesses, is exploring a potential sale of the company, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.8X8 has been working with Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) to field interest from other companies and private equity firms, the people said. There was no certainty that these talks will continue or that they will lead to a deal, the people added.The sources asked not to be identified because the negotiations were confidential. 8x8 and Morgan Stanley did not immediately respond to requests for comment.The company''s market capitalization as of Friday was $1.34 billion.(Reporting by Liana B. Baker in San Francisco and Greg Roumeliotis in New York)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-8x8-m-a-idINKBN1632DL'|'2017-02-24T17:43:00.000+02:00' +'4d24eb072258692e74cd40eda14b0d3788992b17'|'Asda says fourth-quarter underlying sales fall 2.9 percent'|' 12:32pm GMT British supermarket Asda stems rate of sales decline Shoppers leave the Asda superstore in High Wycombe, Britain, February 7, 2017. Picture taken February 7, 2017. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh LONDON Asda, the British supermarket arm of the world''s largest retailer Wal-Mart ( WMT.N ), reported on Tuesday a tenth straight quarter of falling underlying sales, although the rate of decline did ease significantly. The UK''s third largest grocer, which brought in a new chief executive last July in an attempt to revive its fortunes, said sales at stores open over a year fell 2.9 percent, excluding fuel, in the three months to Dec. 31, its fiscal fourth quarter. That compared to analysts'' forecasts of a fall of 2-3 percent and declines of 5.8 percent and 7.5 percent in the previous two quarters respectively. "We have a lot of work to do in this market, but we''re encouraged by some early signs of traction with improvements in the customer value proposition," said Wal-Mart''s Chief Financial Officer Brett Biggs. Of Britain''s big four grocers, which also includes market leader Tesco ( TSCO.L ), Sainsbury''s ( SBRY.L ) and Morrisons ( MRW.L ), Asda has been most exposed to the advance of the German discounters Aldi [ALDIEI.UL] and Lidl [LIDUK.UL]. While the other three traditional groups have upped their game in recent years, Asda was slower to respond. It has lost over 1 percentage point of UK grocery market share since 2014, according to researcher Kantar Worldpanel. Its share currently stands at 15.6 percent, versus more than 28 percent for Tesco. Last June David Cheesewright, CEO of Walmart International, said Asda would shift from protecting profit to protecting market share and brought in Wal-Mart veteran Sean Clarke as Asda''s chief executive to sort the business out. Clarke has focused on making Asda more competitive, on improving the look and feel of stores as well as enhancing the quality and availability of product lines. (Reporting by James Davey; editing by Kate Holton) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-asda-outlook-idUKKBN1601BZ'|'2017-02-21T19:15:00.000+02:00' +'b0fe44e971b904d285588f131b0a23d58e374a70'|'DuPont settles lawsuits over Teflon-making chemical leak'|'Business 47am EST DuPont settles lawsuits over Teflon-making chemical leak FILE PHOTO -- The Dupont logo is displayed on a board above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the opening bell in New York, U.S. on December 22, 2015. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo DuPont said on Monday it agreed to pay $670.7 million in cash to settle several lawsuits related to a chemical leak from a plant in West Virginia. The company said it settled about 3,550 personal injury claims arising from the leak of perfluorooctanoic acid, also known as PFOA or C-8, from DuPont''s Parkersburg, West Virginia, plant. The leak allegedly contaminated local water supplies and has been linked to six diseases, including testicular and kidney cancers. DuPont has used C-8 at the West Virginia plant since the early 1950s. The chemical is used to make Teflon. Titanium dioxide maker Chemours Co,which was spun off from DuPont, said it will pay half of the settlement. Both companies denied any wrongdoing. (Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D''Couto) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-du-pont-lawsuit-west-virginia-idUSKBN15S18U'|'2017-02-13T18:41:00.000+02:00' +'a1416f79ed78459359008af7053c56012f73439a'|'EU trade chief backs China in fight against protectionism'|' 25pm GMT EU trade chief backs China in fight against protectionism File photo: European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom holds a news conference on Commission''s proposal for a new methodology for anti-dumping investigations, at the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium November 9, 2016. REUTERS/Yves Herman BRUSSELS The European Union is ready to join China in fighting protectionism worldwide but Beijing also needs to show it can play fair on trade and investment, the bloc''s trade chief said on Monday. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose punitive tariffs on Chinese imports, blaming China''s trade practices for U.S. job losses. Beijing says it will work with Washington to resolve any trade disputes, but state media have warned of retaliation if Trump takes the first steps towards a trade war. "If others around the world want to use trade as a weapon, I want to use it as a tonic, a vital ingredient for prosperity and progress," Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom told a business conference on EU-China relations, without explicitly mentioning Trump or the United States in her comments. "If others are closing their doors, ours are still open - as long as the trade is fair. And we will give China every opportunity to uphold its pledge against protectionism, and towards a multilateral agenda, too," she said. But Malmstrom added that "many barriers and irritants" remained to EU-China trade and said economic relations were far from balanced. Trade with China was worth one fifth of EU imported goods but only one tenth of its goods exports. Chinese investment flows into the EU rose to a record high of almost 40 billion euros (34.5 billion) last year, while EU investment into China fell to a 10-year low of less than 8 billion. Malmstrom said she hoped the latter issue could be addressed with an EU-China investment agreement, currently under negotiation. She said she hoped for a "new impulse" in talks this year. The EU commissioner praised Chinese President Xi Jinping''s speech at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos last month that portrayed China as the leader of a globalised world where only international cooperation can solve the big problems. Malmstrom said she agreed with Xi that a trade war would be catastrophic for all parties, adding that the Chinese leader''s big challenge this year would be to match rhetoric with reform. (Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Gareth Jones) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-china-trade-idUKKBN15L259'|'2017-02-07T01:25:00.000+02:00' +'82aba2f4a5b0b1e6c6a0eaf07b82ccb2abde71c5'|'Health insurer Cigna''s operating revenue rises 3 pct'|'Market News - Thu Feb 2, 2017 - 6:10am EST Health insurer Cigna''s operating revenue rises 3 pct Feb 2 Health insurer Cigna Corp, which is waiting for a ruling on the U.S. government''s lawsuit to block its acquisition by Anthem Inc, reported a 3 percent rise in quarterly operating revenue on Thursday, as it added new members. Cigna manages insurance plans for large corporations and sells health plans on the government exchanges created under Obamacare. The company said net income fell to $382 million, or $1.47 per share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, from $426 million, or $1.64 per share, a year earlier. Consolidated operating revenue increased to $9.89 billion from $9.58 billion. (Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D''Couto) Next In Market News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/cigna-results-idUSL4N1FN2GN'|'2017-02-02T18:10:00.000+02:00' +'2f2612a17f491cbd11df55599364398993069e4b'|'Banco do Brasil misses estimates as provisions climb'|'Company News - Thu Feb 16, 2017 - 4:40am EST Banco do Brasil misses estimates as provisions climb SAO PAULO Feb 16 Banco do Brasil SA, the country''s largest bank by assets, missed fourth-quarter profit estimates on Thursday as a bigger-than-expected jump in loan-loss provisions offset resilient interest and fee income. The Brasilia-based, state-controlled lender earned 1.747 billion reais ($572 million) in recurring net income, below the average consensus estimates of 1.927 billion reais compiled by Thomson Reuters. The measure of profit before one-time items dropped 25 percent from the third quarter. Recurring return on equity slumped to 7.2 percent, the lowest in at least seven years. It came in at below the 8.2 percent consensus estimate for ROE in the fourth quarter. ($1 = 3.0565 reais) (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; editing by John Stonestreet) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/banco-do-brasil-results-idUSE6N18202O'|'2017-02-16T16:40:00.000+02:00' +'af15aed0710963e9a5c4c3cacb772d830f1358de'|'SoftBank willing to cede control of Sprint to entice T-Mobile-sources'|'Business News - Fri Feb 17, 2017 - 10:32pm GMT Exclusive : SoftBank willing to cede control of Sprint to entice T-Mobile - sources SoftBank Corp. Chief Executive Masayoshi Son speaks as the logo of their U.S. unit Sprint is backgroud in Tokyo May 11, 2015. REUTERS/Issei Kato By Liana B. Baker - NEW YORK NEW YORK Japan''s SoftBank Group Corp ( 9984.T ) is prepared to give up control of Sprint Corp ( S.N ) to Deutsche Telekom AG''s ( DTEGn.DE ) T-Mobile US Inc ( TMUS.O ) to clinch a merger of the two U.S. wireless carriers, according to people familiar with the matter. SoftBank has not yet approached Deutsche Telekom to discuss any deal because the U.S. Federal Communications Commission has imposed strict anti-collusion rules that ban discussions between rivals during an ongoing auction of airwaves. After the auction ends in April, the two parties are expected to begin negotiations, the sources told Reuters this week. Two and a half years ago, SoftBank abandoned talks to acquire T-Mobile for Sprint amid opposition from U.S. antitrust regulators. That deal would have put SoftBank in control of the merged company, with Deutsche Telekom becoming a minority shareholder. T-Mobile was worth around $30 billion at the time, but its market value has since risen to more than $50 billion as it overtook Sprint as the No. 3 wireless carrier by subscribers. Sprint''s market value is around $36 billion (28.94 billion pounds), roughly the same as in 2014. Deutsche Telekom Chief Executive Tim Hoettges has said in recent months that the German company is no longer willing to part with T-Mobile, prompting SoftBank to explore a new strategy towards a potential combination, the people said. Deutsche Telekom owns about 65 percent of T-Mobile. SoftBank, which owns about 83 percent of Sprint, has been frustrated with its inability to grow significantly on its own in the U.S market, which is dominated by Verizon Communications Inc ( VZ.N ) and AT&T Inc ( T.N ), the two largest U.S. carriers. While SoftBank is still open to discussing other options, it is now willing to surrender control of Sprint and retain a minority stake in a merger with T-Mobile, the sources said. They asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential. The Reuters report sent shares of T-Mobile surging as much as 7.9 percent before they eased back to close up 5.5 percent at $63.92. Shares of Sprint ended 3.3 percent higher at $9.30. Investors have said a merger between T-Mobile and Sprint, ranked third and fourth respectively, would still face antitrust challenges, but made strategic sense as the industry moves to fifth-generation wireless technology. Carriers will need to spend billions of dollars to upgrade to 5G networks that promise to be 10 times to 100 times faster than current speeds. SoftBank, Sprint, Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile all declined to comment. "We may buy, we may sell. Maybe a simple merger, we may be dealing with T-Mobile, we may be dealing with totally different people, different company," SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son told analysts on the company''s latest quarterly earnings call earlier this month. With the advent of 5G, Deutsche Telekom may receive offers for T-Mobile from other U.S. companies, such as DISH Network Corp ( DISH.O ) and Comcast Corp ( CMCSA.O ). Sprint could also be an acquisition target for other companies, the sources said. Dish declined to comment and Comcast did not immediately respond to a request for comment. DISCOUNTING PLANS Under CEO John Legere, T-Mobile has rolled out unlimited data plans and international roaming packages. Combined with aggressive marketing, this has boosted T-Mobile customer base at the expense of its rivals. T-Mobile said it had 71.5 million total customers while Sprint had 59.5 million at the end of 2016. T-Mobile is now almost as big as Deutsche Telekom''s German business. "We are not in the mood of selling the business," Hoettges told investors last November. While Sprint''s customer base has also grown under CEO Marcelo Claure and financials have improved, the growth was primarily driven by heavy price discounts. Despite new investment, the company''s network is still viewed by many consumers as weaker than its rivals. Reuters could not determine how much of a premium SoftBank may want Deutsche Telekom to pay for control of Sprint. Barclays analysts wrote in a note in December that a merger of T-Mobile and Sprint could result in $25 billion to $30 billion in synergies but said, "it is not imminently clear to us that the various regulatory agencies would reverse course having already blessed the outcome of a four-player market." The FCC and the U.S. Department of Justice sent strong messages in 2014 that they did not want Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile to merge among themselves. Since then, AT&T acquired satellite television provider DirecTV and signed an agreement to buy media giant Time Warner Inc ( TWX.N ), though that deal is still under regulatory review and has attracted criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump. Verizon has also been exploring other acquisitions. Antitrust experts said it was difficult to predict how the Trump administration would view a T-Mobile-Sprint merger since key antitrust appointments at the Justice Department have not been made. It is also not clear how such a combination would be viewed by the FCC, whose new chairman Ajit Pai is viewed as more business-friendly than his predecessor. "I am of the camp that that will not happen even in a Trump administration," Christopher Marangi, co-chief investment officer at GAMCO Investors Inc, said on the prospects of a T-Mobile-Sprint combination. "That kind of merger means lots of job cuts in the U.S." Craig Moffett, an analyst at MoffettNathanson, said price wars between Sprint and T-Mobile have driven down overall wireless prices for consumers. "Antitrust regulators could well argue that this is precisely the dynamic they would want to preserve," Moffett added. Son has said he expects his company to benefit from Trump''s promised deregulation of the U.S. economy. After meeting Trump in early December, Son pledged to invest $50 billion and create 50,000 jobs in the United States. (Reporting by Liana B. Baker in New York; Additional reporting by Sophie Sassard in London, Harro Ten Wolde and Arno Schuetze in Frankfurt, Anjali Athavaley in New York and Diane Bartz in Washington; Editing by Greg Roumeliotis and Tiffany Wu) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sprint-corp-m-a-t-mobile-us-exclusive-idUKKBN15W26I'|'2017-02-18T05:04:00.000+02:00' +'ee497a20c9de62253cba16dd7dc69479f53c95c2'|'Bondholders in Brazil''s Oi to appeal Dutch court ruling on Oi units'|'SAO PAULO Feb 10 A group of bondholders in Oi SA appealed on Friday a ruling by a Dutch court last week that refused to declare insolvent two of the Brazilian phone''s subsidiaries in the country.In an emailed statement, the International Bondholder Committee group said it "remains committed to finding a consensual solution" to restructure the debt of the two Oi subsidiaries. Both units have outstanding debt of about $6.2 billion. (Reporting by Ana Mano)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/oi-sa-restructuring-idINE6N1DF01Y'|'2017-02-10T13:16:00.000+02:00' +'007480ab8998d3cd1cc54e8617353d9078329257'|'U.S. Senate expected to confirm Mnuchin as Treasury secretary'|' 6:05am GMT U.S. Senate expected to confirm Mnuchin as Treasury secretary FILE PHOTO: Steven Mnuchin testifies before a Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing on his nomination to be Treasury secretary in Washington, U.S., January 19, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo By David Lawder - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The U.S. Senate is expected to confirm former Goldman Sachs banker and Hollywood financier Steven Mnuchin as Treasury secretary on Monday, returning a Wall Street veteran to the top U.S. economic and financial job for the first time in eight years. Mnuchin''s appointment to Treasury signals the Trump administration''s trust in bankers and other senior business executives after Democrat Barack Obama launched his presidency with career regulator Timothy Geithner running Treasury and a mandate to rein in Wall Street for its role in the 2007-2009 financial crisis. Democrats, who boycotted Mnuchin''s approval by the Senate Finance Committee, are expected to vote against Mnuchin. But no Republicans have declared opposition, setting the stage for a party-line 52-48 vote. The vote is set for around 7 p.m. EST (0000 GMT). Mnuchin''s focus will shift from defending his foreclosure record in the aftermath of the financial crisis to tackling major issues such as tax reform, financial services deregulation and international economic diplomacy as major trading partners fret over President Donald Trump''s "America First" strategy. Mnuchin, 54, will need to build a team of officials quickly to handle a Group of 20 finance ministers meeting in March and make decisions on how far to roll back the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law enacted during the Obama administration with the aim of preventing a repeat of the financial crisis. Treasury and White House representatives did not respond to requests for comment late on Sunday on a Bloomberg report that Trump would soon nominate David Malpass, a former economist at failed Wall Street bank Bear Stearns, as Treasury undersecretary for international affairs. Malpass, a Trump campaign adviser who had been leading Treasury transition efforts, was seen as a leading candidate for the job, with experience from international economic posts in the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations. His role at Bear Stearns could set off a new round of protests from Democrats over his forecasts in 2007 dismissing the hazards building in credit markets that fueled the U.S. housing collapse. Bear Stearns was the first major financial failure of the financial crisis in 2008. FORECLOSURE RECORD UNDER FIRE Mnuchin, who left Goldman Sachs in 2002, has come under fire over his investor group''s 2009 acquisition of another failed lender, IndyMac Bank, a deal in which the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp agreed to absorb most of the losses on IndyMac foreclosures. The bank, rebranded as OneWest, subsequently foreclosed on more than 36,000 homeowners, drawing charges from housing advocates that it was a "foreclosure machine." Mnuchin grew OneWest into Southern California''s largest lender and sold it for $3.4 billion in 2015. He has also helped finance Hollywood blockbusters such as "Avatar," "American Sniper" and this past weekend''s box office champion, "The Lego Batman Movie," which took in $55.6 million. In a last-ditch effort to derail Mnuchin''s nomination, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren charged on Friday that Mnuchin "flat-out lied" to senators about OneWest''s use of so-called robo-signings, a practice in which signings of court documents are automated without adequate review by bank officials. But Mnuchin, who joined Trump''s campaign as finance chairman in May 2016, has been well-received by Republicans because of his extensive finance experience. "Objectively speaking, I dont believe anyone can reasonably argue that Mr. Mnuchin is unqualified for the position," Republican Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch said at Mnuchin''s confirmation hearing in January. (Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Peter Cooney) Yen '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-congress-mnuchin-idUKKBN15S0HA'|'2017-02-13T13:05:00.000+02:00' +'35fc2799ffedad5c78752e1b7537fc338fc59ff6'|'Hastor family says not seeking a hostile takeover of Grammer'|'Financials 51am EST Hastor family says not seeking a hostile takeover of Grammer FRANKFURT Feb 2 Bosnia''s Hastor family said its demand to replace nearly half of German automotive interiors maker Grammer''s supervisory board should not be construed as an aggressive move to gain control of the company. "Intensified supervision in the face of ... deficits should not be misunderstood as a hostile takeover," Hastor''s investment vehicle Cascade International Investment GmbH said in a statement on Thursday. The Hastor family, which controls automotive supplier Prevent that was in dispute with Volkswagen last year, has built a stake of just over 20 percent in Grammer. Grammer earlier this week rebuffed its efforts to push for an extraordinary general meeting to replace five of the company''s 12 supervisory board members, saying the demand was "completely unexpected and not comprehensible". (Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Christoph Steitz) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/grammer-ma-hastor-idUSFWN1FN0SR'|'2017-02-02T20:51:00.000+02:00' +'545862ac415f71d84bbf68a3b693995767ccf4d4'|'Nikkei edges up in light trading on U.S. holiday'|'TOKYO Feb 20 Japanese shares eked out small gains on Monday in a choppy session marked by low volumes as investors stayed on the sidelines with the U.S. markets closed for a holiday.The Nikkei edged up 0.1 percent to 19,251.08, after trading in the negative territory in the morning.The broader Topix rose 0.2 percent at 1,547.01, with only 1.497 billion shares changing hands, the lowest since Jan. 16. Turnover was 1.7 trillion yen, the lowest level since Dec. 20.The JPX-Nikkei Index 400 advanced 0.2 percent to 13,875.93. (Reporting by Ayai Tomisawa; Editing by Vyas Mohan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-close-idINL4N1G52BK'|'2017-02-20T03:30:00.000+02:00' +'38d2faa4216503427a27590b8722f412ea5dedf8'|'Toshiba wants funds not peers to buy chip stake-source'|'TOKYO Feb 7 Toshiba Corp wants investment funds including Bain Capital to buy a stake in its flash memory business rather than industry peers such as Micron Technology Inc because doing so will speed up the planned sale, a source said.Toshiba needs to raise funds by the end of March to offset an imminent multi-billion dollar writedown on its U.S. nuclear power business. There may not be enough time to conclude a deal with another chipmaker, said the source plan.Micron Technology, SK Hynix Inc and Toshiba''s current memory partner Western Digital Corp have submitted initial bids for a stake that Toshiba says will be less than 20 percent of its NAND flash unit, two other sources familiar with the bidding told Reuters. (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki, Kentaro Hamada, Junko Fujita and Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Stephen Coates)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/toshiba-ma-sk-hynix-funds-idINL4N1FR2XA'|'2017-02-07T01:53:00.000+02:00' +'e2a108118bd3ae635903531bdb8acc2a406ee106'|'Nigeria''s biggest airline Arik Air goes into receivership'|'LAGOS Feb 9 Nigeria''s Arik Air is in receivership due to its inability to pay workers and creditors, prompting the government to take control of the country''s biggest airline, state-owned "bad bank" AMCON said on Thursday.Arik, which was founded a decade ago and is now west Africa''s biggest carrier by passenger numbers, has struggled with debt amid a currency crisis in Nigeria, as customers are invoiced in naira but fuel suppliers are paid in dollars.In 2012, a central bank document showed Arik owed 85 billion naira ($279 million) to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), set up by the state in 2010 to stem a financial crisis. AMCON had taken on more than 132 billion naira of debts from 12 Nigerian airlines, including Arik."Arik Airline has been in a precarious situation largely attributable to its heavy financial debt burden, bad corporate governance ... that required immediate intervention," AMCON said in a statement.Arik declined to comment.The airline, which handles more than half of domestic air traffic in Nigeria, flies across Africa''s most populous nation and to London, New York and Johannesburg.AMCON said Arik had temporarily suspended its operation to New York and grounded more than eight other planes, adding that the airline had also suffered from non-payment of leases. AMCON said it had appointed a new team to manage Arik, supervised by a receivership manager.The airline had been planning a private share placement to raise as much as $1 billion and then a possible initial public offering in Lagos and London, its managing director said in October.Arik had wanted to expand internationally both to bring in more hard currency, as well as to cushion the impact of the economic slowdown at home, and was looking for new investors to help it grow rather than using debt.Nigeria, Africa''s biggest economy, faces its worst recession in 25 years, brought on by the fall in oil prices, which has also triggered the currency crisis.Some international carriers such as United Air Lines and Iberia have cut or stopped flights to Nigeria because those services are no longer profitable.Others have complained about the difficulty of repatriating millions of dollars worth of fares sold in naira. ($1 = 304.2500 naira) (Reporting by Oludare Mayowa and Chijioke Ohuocha; editing by Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/nigeria-arik-air-bankruptcy-idINL5N1FU5TX'|'2017-02-09T12:56:00.000+02:00' +'760da7f7e919d7ef612cd8c6e2def68bf4309b50'|'CSX calls for special meeting of shareholders'|'Feb 14 U.S. rail operator CSX Corp said its board has called for a special meeting of its shareholders to discuss requests made by hedge fund Mantle Ridge LP, which is trying to install Hunter Harrison, outgoing chief executive of Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd as the company''s chief executive.CSX said it will allow shareholders to vote on Harrison''s proposed pay package, which is estimated to exceed $300 million. Shareholders will also be allowed to vote on Mantle Ridge''s proposal for substantial representation on the company''s board.Mantle Ridge LP, run by ex-Pershing Square Partner Paul Hilal, became a CSX shareholder recently owning less than 5 percent of the company''s stock.News of the Hilal-Harrison partnership broke on Jan. 18, when Canadian Pacific announced Harrison was leaving his CEO post early. (Reporting by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Rigby and Sandra Maler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/csx-mantle-idINL4N1G000S'|'2017-02-14T22:13:00.000+02:00' +'5467e0bad2d9bf1ebf012f4b79054023e12c981f'|'UK car production reaches nine-year high in January'|' 25am GMT UK car production reaches nine-year high in January An employee works on a 2013 Mini at BMW''s plant in Oxford, southern England November 18, 2013. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett LONDON British car production rose by an annual 7.5 percent in January to hit its highest since 2008, as strong demand for exports compensated for a decline in demand at home, an industry body said on Thursday. Overall output hit 147,922 vehicles due to a 10.8 percent increase in sales to overseas markets, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) However, there are concerns about the future of production at General Motors'' ( GM.N ) British car plant after French carmaker Peugeot ( PEUP.PA ) said it was considering a takeover of GM''s European operations, which are branded as Vauxhall in Britain and Opel on the continent. Vauxhall''s Ellesmere Port plant in northern England built nearly 120,000 vehicles out of a UK total of 1.72 million cars last year. Politicians and unions are seeking guarantees from Peugeot over future output. Britain''s overwhelmingly foreign-owned car industry, which backed remaining in the European Union, is also worried about any potential tariffs as a result of Brexit which could make production at their plants uncompetitive. "Future growth will depend upon maintaining our competitiveness, not least in terms of securing a future trade deal with the EU that allows us tariff-free access to our biggest market," SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes said. (Reporting by Costas Pitas; Editing by Mark Potter) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-autos-production-idUKKBN16201C'|'2017-02-23T07:25:00.000+02:00' +'5b1d8e142b1e62f74177cf4bbde6cf5d150f2cfe'|'Australian banks narrow focus of Apple Pay collective bargaining request'|'Technology 5:59pm EST Australian banks narrow focus of Apple Pay collective bargaining request An Apple iPhone 6 with Apple Pay is shown in this photo illustration in Encinitas, California, U.S. June 3, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo By Jamie Freed - SYDNEY SYDNEY Australian banks seeking permission from the country''s competition regulator to bargain collectively with Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) over its mobile payment system said on Monday they will focus on gaining access to the U.S. tech company''s contactless payment function, removing the fees Apple charges as a bone of contention. Commonwealth Bank of Australia ( CBA.AX ), Westpac Banking Corp ( WBC.AX ), National Australia Bank Ltd ( NAB.AX ) and Bendigo & Adelaide Bank Ltd ( BEN.AX ) command two-thirds of Australia''s credit card market but have yet to allow use of their cards with Apple Pay which was introduced to the country last year. Under Australian law, bargaining cartels can be formed with the approval of authorities. A cartel would strengthen the banks in negotiating the ability to offer their own digital wallets for Apple''s iPhones - the first major challenge to Apple Pay of its kind globally. Apple Pay allows users to register credit cards on iPhones, and pay for goods and services by swiping the devices over contactless payment terminals. Apple charges card providers for transactions made using Apple Pay and does not allow companies to develop their own mobile wallets, which would allow banks to circumvent transaction fees and get customers to engage more frequently with their own apps. In the banks'' initial application lodged in July, they sought to negotiate with Apple over fees as well as access to the contactless payments function. In a draft decision issued in November, which it described as "finely balanced", the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) proposed to deny the collective bargaining application. At the time, ACCC Chairman Rod Sims told Reuters that if fees were at the heart of the banks'' application, then it would be difficult for them to win approval. But if the issue was more about access to Apple''s contactless payment technology, then the banks had a stronger case, he said. In a statement ahead of a final decision from the regulator, the banks on Monday said they had narrowed the application to focus on contactless payments and halved the collective bargaining authorization term to 18 months. "It is about the consumer having the choice of multiple wallets," said Lance Blockley, a spokesman for the banks. In a submission to the competition regulator on Jan. 31, Apple said there were no public benefits to providing the banks access to its contactless payment system, and that doing so would give them a "free-ride" on Apple''s investment in technology. Among other banks, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd ( ANZ.AX ) has offered Apple Pay to customers since April, while Macquarie Group Ltd ( MQG.AX ) and ING Groep NV''s ( INGA.AS ) ING Direct on Friday said they would introduce Apple Pay this month. (Reporting by Jamie Freed; Editing by Bill Rigby) Next In Technology News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-australia-idUSKBN15R11I'|'2017-02-13T05:59:00.000+02:00' +'da94c464f877e6017cb54510d0046ba4ce8b9e55'|'Generali to hold meeting on Monday on Intesa stake - source'|'Deals - Sun Feb 5, 2017 - 1:52pm GMT Generali to hold meeting on Monday on Intesa stake: source left right FILE PHOTO: A view of Generali headquarters in Rome, Italy, April 6, 2011. REUTERS/Remo Casilli/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: A man takes a picture in front of Intesa Sanpaolo bank in downtown Rome, Italy, July 23, 2010. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo 2/2 MILAN Italy''s top insurer Generali ( GASI.MI ) will hold a meeting on Monday to discuss the 3 percent stake it bought in Intesa Sanpaolo ( ISP.MI ) in January to fend off unwanted interest from the bank, a person familiar with the matter said on Sunday. Generali''s investment committee is due to meet on Monday to discuss ways of maintaining the stake but on more favorable terms, the person said, confirming a report in Sunday''s Il Sole 24 Ore. In January Generali, whose biggest investor is influential investment bank Mediobanca ( MDBI.MI ), bought around 3 percent of Intesa as a defensive move to stop Intesa building a stake. Italy''s biggest retail bank is looking at a possible tie-up with Generali but has said any such move should not jeopardize its capital base or dividend policy. On Friday Intesa CEO Carlo Messina said the bank would take all the time it needed to make up its mind on any possible move on Generali. According to Sole 24 Ore, Generali management and board members might also discuss on Monday bringing on board a second adviser, alongside Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ), to help build a defense against any Intesa move. Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) and JPMorgan ( JPM.N ) could be approached, the paper said. (Reporting by Stephen Jewkes; editing by John Stonestreet) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-generali-m-a-intesa-sp-idUKKBN15K0HZ'|'2017-02-05T20:38:00.000+02:00' +'42c08e8c2cc73c127f344aed2a661e5b2f177ed0'|'Abraaj acquires Middlesex University''s Dubai campus-sources - Reuters'|'DUBAI Feb 26 Emerging markets-focused private equity firm Abraaj Group acquired Middlesex University''s overseas campus in Dubai, sources familiar with the matter said, in a sign of increased interest from buyout firms in the Middle East''s education sector.In June, Abraaj was chosen by shareholders of the university campus, which is owned by individual investors in the United Arab Emirates and operated by London''s Middlesex University, as a preferred bidder and was invited to conduct due diligence.The deal closed at the end of January, sources told Reuters, with Abraaj paying 11 times earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization. The deal value was not disclosed.Dubai-based Abraaj declined to comment when contacted by Reuters, while Middlesex University Dubai did not respond to queries for comment.Middlesex University Dubai''s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were about $6.8 million last year, the sources said in September. The deal would have closed at about $74.8 million, according to Reuters calculations.Private universities in Dubai are beginning to attract the attention of private equity players. Investors in recent years have acquired schools, a fast growing sector amid a wealthy and growing population.The Dubai campus opened in 2005 and has more than 2,500 students, offering a variety of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, according to its website.(Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh; Editing by Saeed Azhar and Kim Coghill)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/emirates-abraaj-middlesex-university-idINL5N1GB01L'|'2017-02-26T03:27:00.000+02:00' +'f6228362eb0a1f2ba4e9a87193a28b2f3b91e78f'|'Brexit could count against U.K. as base for electric Mini - source'|'Business News - Mon Feb 27, 2017 - 3:45pm GMT Brexit could count against U.K. as base for electric Mini - source left right The car interior is pictured as BMW AG introduces the 2017 electric Mini Countryman at the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles, California, U.S November 16, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson 1/2 left right BMW AG introduces the 2017 electric Mini Countryman at the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles, California, U.S November 16, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson 2/2 FRANKFURT Uncertainty about post-Brexit tariffs makes it harder for BMW ( BMWG.DE ) to choose Britain as a production hub for an electric Mini, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday. The source said BMW would review potential production locations in Germany, Britain and the Netherlands for manufacturing a fully battery-powered electric version of its Mini hatch, which is already being produced in Born, the Netherlands, and Oxford, England. German daily Handelsblatt had reported earlier that BMW was considering producing an electric version of its Mini compact car in Germany, rather than Britain. BMW confirmed that a decision about an electric Mini is due this year, but declined to say where the vehicle would be made. "We always consider a wide range of factors to make sure we choose the most appropriate location in each case," a spokeswoman for BMW said, adding that factors such as the availability of qualified staff and a capable supplier base were key determinants. BMW reiterated that Britain''s exit from the European Union had made long-term planning more difficult for the group. "The Brexit vote creates uncertainty for the automotive sector and uncertainty is not helpful when it comes to making long-term business decisions," BMW said. It added that it was too early to comment on what Brexit would mean for business given that formal negotiations between the U.K. and the EU have not even begun. "Whats important for us is that the U.K.s negotiations with the EU result in uncomplicated, tariff-free access to the EU single market in future," BMW said. (Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Ruth Pitchford) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-bmw-mini-idUKKBN1661SR'|'2017-02-27T22:45:00.000+02:00' +'9e39b8ee770e4f81f8bdff620445076497d18b5e'|'BRIEF-Delight Restaurant Group announces acquisition of 30 Wendy''s restaurants from The Wendy''s Company'|' 54am EST BRIEF-Delight Restaurant Group announces acquisition of 30 Wendy''s restaurants from The Wendy''s Company Feb 20 Delight Restaurant Group : * Delight Restaurant Group announces acquisition of 30 Wendy''s restaurants from The Wendy''s Company as part of the company''s previously announced system optimization initiative '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-delight-restaurant-group-announces-idUSASB0B13Y'|'2017-02-20T21:54:00.000+02:00' +'873cf230b22dd090767eb3b584731ebbef2339cd'|'Inside Uber: How the company attracts top talent despite its reputation 14,'|'No massages? Why Uber''s workplace is different than other tech companies Silicon Valley lures top-tier talent from all over the world. High salaries, free food and laundry on campus are just a few of the benefits. But six-year-old "startup" Uber -- valued at an estimated $68 billion -- doesn''t rely on fun, quirky perks to attract employees. In fact, despite its reputation for for long hours and a limited work-life balance, Uber has enticed some of the most brilliant minds in tech to leave cushy jobs at Google, Facebook and Twitter. The breakneck pace can be grueling, employees admit, but they say Uber offers unique opportunities: "rocket ship" growth, the chance to solve real-world problems and a culture that frees them to experiment with radical solutions in a burgeoning field. "I like to use the analogy of diamonds, which are compressed with heat and pressure for thousands of years," Uber CTO Thuan Pham told CNNTech. "Those who can actually survive and thrive from it come out as diamonds." Related: The world''s most valuable startups Uber''s San Francisco headquarters is dotted with one-year anniversary balloons tied to worker desks -- a sign that the company is adding an enormous amount of new employees. Uber now employs 10,000 full-time (non-driver) workers and operates in more than 500 cities in 70 countries. "If you''re going to leave, people do so within the first year because the pace isn''t what they expected or what they''re used to," said Neal Narayani, Uber''s head of people analytics. Reception at Uber''s San Francisco headquarters Among those who left within the first 12 months is Melanie Curtain, who worked at Uber''s Washington, D.C., office as a community manager in 2013. She compared the company''s culture to ducks swimming on a pond: seemingly calm from above and working tirelessly under water. "It wasn''t unusual to sign online and see people working after midnight and on weekends," she said. "The culture isn''t imposed; it just exists. I knew what I was getting into, but it wasn''t for me." Narayani agrees: "You have to be a bit of an adrenaline junkie to work here." He himself skydives in his free time. What''s more, people with successful backgrounds -- valedictorians and those who have always done well in their careers -- often fail, "possibly for the first times in their lives," Narayani said. Uber''s San Francisco headquarters Still, Uber can''t keep up with job applications, according to Narayani. It has a 4.2 rating on job review site Glassdoor, compared to the average company rating of 3.3. (However, drivers give Uber a 2.9 rating.) Tech companies in general maintain a high approval rate on the site: Facebook ( FB , Tech30 ) earns a 4.5 and Google ( GOOGL , Tech30 ) a 4.4. The rocket ship When CEO Travis Kalanick launched Uber in March 2009, the company faced a steep learning curve. Challenges ranged from dealing with local city regulations and hiring reliable drivers to developing a loyal rider base and scaling at an astronomical rate. Critics have also called Uber''s ethics into question. Staffers allegedly posed as Lyft customers to cancel rides and poach drivers, and an executive revealed plans to dig up personal dirt on reporters critical of Uber. More recently, a lawsuit claimed employees misused the platform to track high-profile politicians and celebrities. Travis Kalanick, cofounder and CEO of Uber But Uber''s popularity on the ground continues to grow. Although it has emerged from its DIY roots, insiders say the culture and pace have remained relatively intact since the beginning. For example, not long after Andi Pimentel -- chief of staff to chief business officer Emil Michael -- joined Uber in 2012, she was approached by Kalanick, who knew she was from Mexico City. He wanted her to help him launch there. Related: Uber CEO drops out of Trump''s advisory council Along with four colleagues, she booked a one-way ticket to Mexico City. In a sort of grassroots effort, the group explained to individual riders how Uber worked, recruited drivers and translated the app into Spanish. Mexico City soon became the company''s first Latin American market. "We are much more sophisticated now, but it''s things like this that attract people to Uber," Pimental said. "My grandmother, who can''t drive, now uses it every Sunday to go to the grocery store in Mexico City. What you work on will have a direct impact on people''s lives." When Pham, the Uber CTO, joined from cloud management firm VMware in 2013, he had one mission: Re-engineer the app''s code so it could handle extreme growth. Because the app was originally developed by engineers with only a few years of experience, the foundation wasn''t suitable for scaling quickly. "What Uber has on top of pace, speed and the cutting-edge aspect of what we do is the compressed timeline -- it forces us to learn quickly and perform at a very high level," Pham said. "A normal [year] here doesn''t compare to years somewhere else." As the company has grown, Kalanick keeps his hands in almost every department. He''s described as "an approachable leader," but Pham said he also gives autonomy to those he trusts. "[Travis] drives things really hard and has impossibly high expectations," Pham said. "But if he sees the team and an individual make progress -- and there is a history of that -- he pulls back. That is the only way a company can grow this fast." Work-life balance At Uber''s start, the company''s mostly millennial workforce wasn''t married and didn''t have children, allowing for more time in the office. That changed as the company expanded -- and grew up. Pham -- who endures a five-hour commute each day traveling to and from San Jose -- tries to make it home by 9 p.m. to see his 10-year-old daughter before bedtime. "I sometimes get back online after," said Pham, who explained his family can''t move because his wife''s medical practice is based in San Jose. "It takes a village to make it work. I take my daughter to school in the morning and my wife does the afternoon activities." An area for workers to hang out at Uber''s headuqarters Janelle Sallenave, Uber''s head of North America support operations, said her most difficult moment at the company happened this past fall, not long after the relaunch of the rider app. After she flagged the app''s slow customer service to Kalanick, the company determined the process needed to be 50 times faster. "T.K. being T.K. said, ''I totally get these issues. Let''s get it solved next week,''" she said. "It was like redesigning it from scratch. It was exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. In one week, we had to do something that would have taken four to five months to do somewhere else." Seven days later, Sallenave''s team was getting customer inquiries to the right expert within a few minutes, regardless of which office they worked in. "Uber is like dog years ... it''s a rocket ship," she said. "When we see something that could move the platform forward, we take the opportunity to do it." Sallenave will soon celebrate her first work anniversary after leaving a consulting job at Charles Schwab. Colleagues were shocked when they learned she was taking a job at Uber. Before taking the job, she discussed with her husband what the role might mean for her home life. Now, she misses dinner with her family a few times a month, but she maintains balance by focusing on work when at work, and home when at home. A conference room at Uber''s headquarters "When I''m here, I am not stopping to chit chat with a girlfriend," she said. "I wonder how much Cyber Monday was happening at Uber. Probably very little." She also discovered a different Uber on the inside. "Uber is actually warm, friendly and wonderful," she said. "It''s not an intense man cave -- that''s what people [from the outside] were telling me. These people are smart and they make me want to be smarter." Still, the most common "con" listed on Uber''s Glassdoor page is the lack of work-life balance. A former San Francisco-based Uber employee, who spoke to CNNTech on the condition of anonymity, said many engineers complained about being burned out -- and it was hard to be "off the clock" when messages rolled in late. "Uber is going through considerable growing pains as it attempts to transition from a largely decentralized company that knows how to sprint into new markets to one that''s more mature, centralized and needs to support its people better," he said. "[Travis''] libertarian ethos runs deep in the culture: Your success is largely contingent on your ability to elbow other people in the face on your way to success." Finding the right fit Uber is especially interested in hiring former entrepreneurs; it currently employs about 200. Before joining the company, Ed Baker -- VP of growth -- founded two dating sites, one of which was acquired by Facebook in 2011 for an undisclosed amount. Baker later spent two years at Facebook focused on growing competitive markets such as Japan and Russia. "I wasn''t planning to leave Facebook, but I was attracted to Uber because it''s a place for entrepreneurs to be entrepreneurs," said Baker, who met Kalanick at one of the CEO''s famous "idea jam sessions" at his home. "Uber today probably feels how Facebook felt years ago," he said. "It''s small and chaotic because we are growing so quickly and there is so much going on. You have to be comfortable with that uncertainty." Related: Uber passes Starbucks as business travelers'' no. 1 expense Uber''s offices in San Francisco To pick candidates with the right background and personality, Uber built an internal algorithm for the recruiting team that it couples with an extensive vetting process. "I like raw answers. I walk away from people who are too polished," said Komal Mangtani, director of engineering. While employees at other companies may work hard because a manager encourages them to do so, Mangtani said the mentality and approach is different at Uber. "These are real-world problems that need to be solved, whether it''s looking into a safety incident or making sure drivers get paid on time so they can pay rent," said Mangtani. Uber''s cafeteria at its San Francisco headquarters But Curtain, the early employee who left just shy of a year, said Uber''s desire to "win" in all areas included attracting and keeping talent. "Years ago, someone close to the top discussed Uber''s health care policy in a meeting," Curtain said. "He said, ''We would never want to lose talent to another company because they had better healthcare.''" "My impression wasn''t so much that it was about keeping employees healthy but about getting and maintaining the best people. Yes, they want to make sure its staff is taken care of, but they want to also win at everything." Taking it personally Despite Uber''s success, it''s never too far from controversy. Maya Choksi, senior product manager on the driver app, has seen Uber face mountains of issues since she joined in 2012. "The hardest moments [for me] involve negative media attention," she said. "[It] doesn''t feel at all reflective of what is happening at the office or what people are trying to do. The intentions can get misconstrued." Recent bad press includes an outcry over Uber''s response to Trump''s immigration ban . The company turned off surge pricing during a protest at JFK airport in New York City, a move the company said was meant to help protesters get a ride home. But many users assumed it was to capitalize on a taxi stoppage, and #DeleteUber trended widely on social media as people deleted the app from their phones. Immigration activists stage a protest against President Donald Trump''s 90-days ban of entry on 7 Muslim-majority countries in JFK airport in New York, U.S.A on January 28, 2017. Choksi said Uber''s teams take these incidents personally. Choksi cited one early example: Uber planned to charge riders a fee when drivers were kept waiting, in an effort to ensure drivers were fairly compensated. But users weren''t happy, and negative headlines followed. "Those negative moments don''t feel good," she said. "I get calls from my family saying, ''Is Uber really like this?'' And you feel like you have to defend yourself." But Choksi, like other Uber employees who shared their stories with CNNTech, said both internal and public failures aren''t looked down upon at the company. "Because we are solving problems without having other examples to look at, we are encouraged to fail fast and learn and keep tackling," Choksi said. CNNMoney (New York) 14, 2017: 10:07 AM ET'|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_technology.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/14/technology/uber-corporate-culture/index.html'|'2017-02-14T17:07:00.000+02:00' +'0d58668956e16dcb1731e2e822b29040f4c70cbc'|'PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - Feb 14'|'Company News - Mon Feb 13, 2017 - 7:55pm EST PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - Feb 14 Feb 14 The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. Headlines on.ft.com/2lJVw0D Overview GlaxoSmithKline Plc said its new HIV treatment would be "less harmful" than current therapies, as it unveiled clinical trial results for a two-drug cocktail designed to reduce the amount of medicine that patients must take each day. Glencore Plc announced a $960 million deal to buy Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler out of two of the mining-cum-trading company''s copper and cobalt operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo. BAE Systems Plc is set to confirm that Ian King will be succeeded as chief executive this year by Charles Woodburn, the former oil services executive hired by the defence company in 2016 as chief operating officer. The United States said Venezuelan Vice President Tareck El Aissami was an international drug trafficker who had facilitated multiple one-ton narcotics shipments to Mexico and the United States, and it froze millions of dollars worth of his U.S.-based wealth. (Compiled by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-press-ft-idUSL4N1FZ05M'|'2017-02-14T07:55:00.000+02:00' +'93e57de7760771d65a5232ed8a5004211c0b73b7'|'Trump issues orders to review banking law and retirement advice rule'|'Business News - Fri Feb 3, 2017 - 6:44pm GMT Trump issues orders to review banking law and retirement advice rule left right U.S. President Donald Trump speaks before signing an executive order rolling back regulations from the 2010 Dodd-Frank law on Wall Street reform at the White House in Washington February 3, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque 1/3 left right After signing, U.S. President Donald Trump holds up an executive order rolling back regulations from the 2010 Dodd-Frank law on Wall Street reform at the White House in Washington February 3, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque 2/3 left right U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order rolling back regulations from the 2010 Dodd-Frank law on Wall Street reform at the White House in Washington, U.S. February 3, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque 3/3 By Sarah N. Lynch and Suzanne Barlyn - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday ordered a review of banking regulations introduced after the 2008 financial crisis, including a review of a rule on retirement advice. Trump pledged during his campaign to replace the Dodd-Frank law introduced under the Obama administration which raised capital requirements for banks, restricted their trading by means of the "Volcker Rule", and also created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A presidential order also imposed a 180-day delay on the implementation of a "fiduciary rule" for brokers offering retirement advice, according to a draft memo seen by Reuters. During that time the U.S. Labor Department is to conduct an economic and legal analysis of the regulation and rescind the rule if it is inconsistent with Trump administration priorities, according to the memo, which is not final. Originally slated to take effect in April, the rule requires brokers to act as "fiduciaries," or in their clients'' best interests, when advising them about retirement plans. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other trade groups are seeking to have the fiduciary rule overturned in court and a federal judge reviewing the case signalled in a court filing on Thursday that she plans to issue a decision no later than Feb. 10. Democrats and consumer rights groups say the rule is necessary to protect individuals against potential conflicts of interest that brokers may have when guiding them to invest for the future. U.S. Republicans on Friday also repealed a rule aimed at curbing corruption at oil, gas and mining companies and voted to axe emissions limits on drilling operations, part of a push to remove Obama-era regulations on the energy industry. DODD-FRANK MOVE LARGELY SYMBOLIC Trump''s order on reviewing the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform regulations may be largely symbolic though because only Congress can rewrite the legislation, but Wall Street embraced the possibility of simpler bank regulations by pushing financial stocks up in morning trade. [.N] "The first thing that we are going to attack is regulation, over-regulation. It''s not just in the financial markets, it''s in all markets," said White House National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn on Fox Business Network on Friday. "So today you''re going to start seeing the beginning of some of our executive actions to roll back regulation in the financial services market," he said. Dodd-Frank, the biggest Wall Street regulatory overhaul in decades, set out a long list of rules intended to keep the financial system from a repeat of the 2007-2009 crisis. The rules included strict new capital standards on banks, called for annual stress tests for banks considered "too big to fail", provided more oversight of derivatives trading, and restricted trading on their own account by means of the so-called "Volcker rule". The legislation also created new consumer protection watchdog to guard against predatory lending. Analysts said Trump could make many changes without involving lawmakers, such as by appointing new personnel or simply choosing not to enforce rules already enacted. "A lot of the regulations of Dodd-Frank required a bit of a cop-on-the-beat if you will, to ensure enforcement and if you have a different cop-on-the-beat, they enforce different rules, or they enforce the rules differently," said FBR & CO financial policy analyst Edward Mills. Trump cannot fire heads of independent agencies, including the three top bank regulators: Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman Martin Gruenberg. In addition, the terms of Melvin Watt, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ( FM.N ), and Richard Cordray, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director, extend beyond the end of this year. Republican lawmakers are pushing Trump to fire Cordray, but a federal court''s decision giving him power to do so has been stayed pending appeal. Many prominent U.S. financial leaders support the Dodd-Frank law. Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said on Friday Dodd-Frank "has largely been helpful" and the stress tests have led to a banking system with "more and better capital." Republican Congressman Sean Duffy said earlier this week that House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling is expected to advance his CHOICE Act legislation to weaken Dodd-Frank later this month. One Dodd-Frank provision ripe for Republican action is the "Volcker rule" that greatly restricts how banks can make bets with their own money. (Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn and Sarah N. Lynch; additional reporting by Ayesha Rascoe, Richa Naidu, Lisa Lambert and Ann Saphir; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Clive McKeef) Next In Business News Deutsche Boerse, LSE to offer small antitrust concessions - sources FRANKFURT Deutsche Boerse and the London Stock Exchange will offer the European Commission to make small adjustments to their combined business in the area of derivatives clearing in a bid to win antitrust approval of their planned merger, two people familiar with the matter said.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-banks-idUKKBN15I2OD'|'2017-02-04T01:44:00.000+02:00' +'9bc49675d2ae9e6d32d65da330c98f0c11540572'|'Ansell says sale of condom business is progressing, posts flat profit'|'SYDNEY Australian rubber products maker Ansell Ltd ( ANN.AX ) said on Monday it had received several expressions of interest for its condom business, as it reported flat profits for the half-year ended Dec. 31.Ansell in August flagged the possible sale of its profitable condom-making business, sending shares soaring, despite an earnings hit then from foreign exchange fluctuations."We have received multiple expressions of interest with several parties now advancing in a process supported by Goldman Sachs," Ansell Chairman Glenn Barnes said in a statement.Half-year profit was $69.8 million, Ansell said on Monday in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange. That compared with $69.6 million previously. Earnings per share were 47.7c, tracking slightly behind full-year guidance of between $1 and $1.12, although the company reaffirmed that guidance.The company declared an interim dividend of 20.25c, edging higher than 20c a year ago.The company reports in U.S. dollars, so all figures are in that currency.(Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Peter Cooney)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-ansell-ltd-results-idINKBN15R110'|'2017-02-12T19:32:00.000+02:00' +'24e250bc5d4682d8959f134b2cb07ba658305174'|'Italy''s Stefanel in talks to cede majority stake to Oxy, Attestor'|'MILAN Feb 17 Struggling Italian clothing company Stefanel said on Friday it was in talks with private equity funds Oxy Capital and Attestor Capital over a deal that would hand them majority ownership of the group.In a statement, the company said that its creditor banks had raised no objections so far to a possible deal, although an agreement had not been finalised yet. The banks would also become shareholders in the company through a debt-to-equity swap, it said.The fashion group accumulated over 170 million euros 181 million) in losses over the last decade while attempting to reach out to mid-range clients while surviving competition from high-street brands like H&M and ITX.MC.Stefanel said the accord would only go through if the Italian market watchdog would lift Oxy Capital and Attestor Capital from having to launch a full takeover bid on the Treviso-based company. ($1 = 0.9397 euros) (Reporting by Giulia Segreti, editing by Silvia Aloisi)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/italy-stefanel-investors-idUSI6N1FU000'|'2017-02-17T14:51:00.000+02:00' +'8d17d639c4d34b9944329b89d5053157ed034cd5'|'Late-2016 pick up sees Julius Baer hit asset goal'|'By Joshua Franklin - ZURICH ZURICH Swiss private bank Julius Baer ( BAER.S ) hit the bottom of its target range for attracting cash from wealthy clients in 2016, providing some relief to investors after larger rival UBS ( UBSG.S ) suffered withdrawals at the end of the year.Wealthy clients have been pulling billions of dollars out of banks to take part in tax amnesty programs and register previously undeclared assets.These programs, which have spread from western Europe to Latin America and Asia, resulted in a net outflow of assets in the fourth quarter at UBS, the world''s biggest private bank.But Baer said on Wednesday it had attracted 12 billion Swiss francs ($12.1 billion) in net new money in 2016, up 4 percent on the year before and at the bottom end of its 4-6 percent medium-term target range. After 10 months of last year, the bank had said growth was "close to" 4 percent.Net new money is a closely watched indicator of future earnings in private banking. Overall, Baer''s assets under management reached 336 billion francs in 2016.The Zurich-based bank posted 2016 adjusted net profit of 705.5 million francs, ahead of the average estimate of 679 million in a Reuters poll. Net profit under IFRS accounting standards was 619 million francs.Analysts said the bank''s gross margin of 91 basis points compared favorably with UBS."The solid gross margin reading is particularly noteworthy, since the peer UBS''s WM (wealth management) unit has disappointed on that metric in both 3Q and 4Q," Baader Helvea analyst Tomasz Grzelak wrote in a note. He rates Baer shares as a "buy".At 1211 GMT, the shares were up 1.1 percent, slightly higher than the European banking sector index .SX7P.After making a string of acquisitions in the recent years, Baer mostly focused in 2016 on hiring relationship managers (RMs), or private bankers, to attract new clients, adding a net 116 RMs. The bank expects to hire around 80 RMs per year.There is a typical lag of around 18 months for a new private banker to break even, but Baer expects its recruitment drive to pay dividends."With this number we expect to be well within our target net new money range in the years to come," Chief Executive Boris Collardi said in a call with reporters.The bank said it would propose a dividend of 1.20 francs per share, compared with 1.10 francs last year.(Editing by Michael Shields and Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-julius-baer-results-capital-idINKBN15G40K'|'2017-02-01T09:57:00.000+02:00' +'d049c944d94a5408268e9760511d2739064dee90'|'BRIEF-OSI Systems announces sale of its automated external defibrillator (AED) product line'|' 51pm EST BRIEF-OSI Systems announces sale of its automated external defibrillator (AED) product line Feb 22 OSI Systems Inc * OSI Systems announces sale of its automated external defibrillator (AED) product line * OSI Systems Inc says deal for approximately EUR 11.7 million in cash. * OSI Systems Inc says sale of its German healthcare subsidiary, Metrax GmbH, Source '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-osi-systems-announces-sale-of-its-idUSFWN1G711M'|'2017-02-23T05:51:00.000+02:00' +'29a817bba49779a042021a456dd33b7cf1345a80'|'BRIEF-EIV Capital closes $450 mln Midstream Energy Private Equity Fund'|'Funds 29am EST BRIEF-EIV Capital closes $450 mln Midstream Energy Private Equity Fund Feb 1 EIV Capital: * EIV Capital - final closing of EIV Capital Fund III, LP and its affiliates at its hard cap of $450 million, surpassing original $350 million target Source text for Eikon: Next In Funds News * Blackrock acquires energy infrastructure franchise from First Reserve MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories Reuters News Agency - Brand Attribution Guidelines Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters . Thomson Reuters is the world''s largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1FM0XK'|'2017-02-01T21:29:00.000+02:00' +'a1a04ef5a8ed3c114d800153eee1749f28b8123b'|'French 2017 deficit reduction target ''hard to achieve'' - state auditing body'|' 49am GMT French 2017 deficit reduction target ''hard to achieve'' - state auditing body French President Francois Hollande delivers a speech during a visit at the High Court of Pontoise as part of the inauguration of the new ''''Streamlined Judicial Service for Citizens'''' (Service d''Accueil Unique du Justiciable - SAUJ) in Pontoise, near Paris, France, February... REUTERS/Kamil Zihnioglu/Pool PARIS The French government''s public deficit reduction target for 2017 will be "very difficult" to achieve, as it underestimates a rise in public spending and sets overly optimistic tax income forecasts, France''s auditing court said on Wednesday. "For 2017, the government targets a reduction in the public deficit to 2.7 percent of GDP. This target will be very difficult to achieve," the court said in its annual report. The state''s payroll bill will rise by more than 3 percent this year, as much in one year as in the whole 2011-2016 period, the court added. President Francois Hollande''s Socialist government had to increase spending on security following deadly Islamist attacks in Paris and Nice in 2015 and 2016, and it has raised public sector workers'' salaries as the presidential election looms. The court also offered a less than rosy assessment of the government''s past efforts to cut France''s public deficit, the fourth-largest in the EU after Spain, Portugal and Britain. "The unambitious 2016 deficit target of 3.3 percent should be met," the court said, noting that it was for the most part the result of rock-bottom borrowing costs due to the European Central Bank''s bond-buying programme. Over the 2012-2016 period, more than 40 percent of France''s public deficit reduction was attributable to the drop in interest rates, the court said. In a written response added to the court''s report, the government said it did not share the court''s view and had included in its budget plans the risks flagged by the court, including a 75 basis points increase in interest rates. (Reporting by Michel Rose; Editing by Richard Balmforth) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-economy-auditor-idUKKBN15N0OL'|'2017-02-08T14:49:00.000+02:00' +'82a3bb552dc9a43bbca006cb6226995fb05e1565'|'Italy''s Stefanel in talks to cede majority stake to Oxy, Attestor'|'MILAN Feb 17 Struggling Italian clothing company Stefanel said on Friday it was in talks with private equity funds Oxy Capital and Attestor Capital over a deal that would hand them majority ownership of the group.In a statement, the company said that its creditor banks had raised no objections so far to a possible deal, although an agreement had not been finalised yet. The banks would also become shareholders in the company through a debt-to-equity swap, it said.The fashion group accumulated over 170 million euros 181 million) in losses over the last decade while attempting to reach out to mid-range clients while surviving competition from high-street brands like H&M and ITX.MC.Stefanel said the accord would only go through if the Italian market watchdog would lift Oxy Capital and Attestor Capital from having to launch a full takeover bid on the Treviso-based company. ($1 = 0.9397 euros) (Reporting by Giulia Segreti, editing by Silvia Aloisi)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/italy-stefanel-investors-idINI6N1FU000'|'2017-02-17T08:51:00.000+02:00' +'f73702cec899dcc851d2125cc2ea0ca893144087'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX sets record high as oil prices, bond yields climb'|'Company News - Tue Feb 14, 2017 - 4:09pm EST CANADA STOCKS-TSX sets record high as oil prices, bond yields climb TORONTO Feb 14 Canada''s main stock index reached a record high on Tuesday as higher oil prices and bond yields supported energy and financials, while auto suppliers benefited from U.S. President Donald Trump''s warm words for Canadian trade the day before. The Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index unofficially closed up 29.45 points, or 0.19 percent, at 15,786.03, rising for the sixth straight day. Five of the index''s 10 main groups ended higher. (Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Phil Berlowitz) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-close-idUSL1N1FZ20R'|'2017-02-15T04:09:00.000+02:00' +'59a06b422e609865a334c7dd1ad9e3d8d70e6c28'|'Exclusive - Goldman Sachs hedge fund folding London operations, shifting staff to U.S.'|'Business News - Wed Feb 8, 2017 - 8:51pm GMT Exclusive - Goldman Sachs hedge fund folding London operations, shifting staff to U.S. left right FILE PHOTO - A view of the Goldman Sachs stall on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, U.S. on July 16, 2013. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO - A sign is displayed in the reception of the Sydney offices of Goldman Sachs in Australia, May 18, 2016. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo 2/2 By Maiya Keidan and Olivia Oran - NEW YORK/LONDON NEW YORK/LONDON Goldman Sachs Group Inc''s hedge fund Goldman Sachs Investment Partners (GSIP), which was one of the largest-ever hedge fund launches in history, is closing its London operations and shifting staff members to New York, four sources told Reuters. About eight staff members who made up the London team were recently told to move to Goldman''s Battery Park City headquarters or find a new job internally, said the sources. The move was triggered by managing director Nick Advani, who led the hedge fund from London and said in June he would be stepping down from his role, the sources said. Advani, now an advisory director at Goldman, did not respond to requests for comment. Advani is expected to leave the firm later this year, the sources said. Managing director Raluca Ragab, who had been formally leading the London-based team since Advani''s departure, will leave Goldman once the move is complete, one of the sources said. Multi-strategy hedge fund GSIP launched in November 2008 with $7 billion (5.6 billion) in assets, making it one of the largest hedge fund launches at the time. GSIP, run globally by co-heads Raanan Agus and Kenneth Eberts, sits within Goldman''s asset management division. But a focus on value investing with around 20 positions mainly in equities became more challenging in recent years, a former employee told Reuters. Goldman''s Global Long Short Partners Offshore fund posted losses of 8.2 percent in the year to end-September in 2016 after small gains of 1.5 percent in 2015, according to an investor letter reviewed by Reuters. Last September, three of the fund''s top five credit positions were in the Europe Middle East and Africa region, according to the letter. Assets fell in 2014 after Goldman pulled out $2.8 billion in response to the U.S. Dodd-Frank financial reform law and the Volcker rule, which restricted banks'' proprietary trading. The fund now manages around $3.5 billion. Separately, Goldman may move up to 1,000 staff out of London in response to Britain''s vote to leave the European Union, it was reported last month. (Reporting by Maiya Keidan in London and Olivia Oran ia New York, additional reporting by Carolyn Cohn and Simon Jessop) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hedgefunds-goldman-sachs-exclusive-idUKKBN15N2LV'|'2017-02-09T03:51:00.000+02:00' +'07c6c0c91f459b8675885663c72fcda43201fc73'|'Energy Future begins bankruptcy exit hearing with key deal'|'By Tom Hals - WILMINGTON, Del. WILMINGTON, Del. Energy Future Holdings Corp outlined on Tuesday a deal that resolved the biggest disputes hanging over the company as it opened a trial to confirm its plan to exit bankruptcy and be acquired by NextEra Energy Inc for about $18 billion.Dallas-based Energy Future indirectly owns Oncor, the largest distributor of power in Texas, and is using the sale to NextEra to finance its plan to repay creditors.A lawyer for Energy Future told the court at the start of Tuesday''s hearing that its noteholders had agreed to a discount of what they were owed to settle a dispute that erupted in the wake of a November ruling by a U.S. Appeals Court.The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia had ruled that the company owed noteholders hundreds of millions of dollars in unanticipated payments for the early redemption of their securities, upsetting a prior exit plan.Energy Future''s lawyer told the court the first-lien noteholders agreed to accept a 5 percent discount of the early redemption payment and second-lien noteholders agreed to a 12.5 percent discount. That freed up cash for junior creditors."That drops away 90 percent of what we planned to address over next four days," said Energy Future''s lawyer Chad Husnick, of Kirkland & Ellis, during opening arguments.Energy Future still faces objections relating to asbestos personal injury lawsuits, and from the U.S. Trustee, a government bankruptcy watchdog, regarding the payment of fees.Energy Future will begin presenting evidence to confirm its plan on Wednesday.The company filed for bankruptcy in 2014 to cut its $42 billion in debt. It has already spun off its power generation business, known as Luminant, and its TXU retail utility to senior lenders who were owed $24 billion.Energy Future was created from the record $45 billion leveraged buyout of TXU Corp in 2007, a deal led by KKR & Co and TPG Capital.(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Alan Crosby)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-energy-future-hd-bankruptcy-idINKBN15T2SR'|'2017-02-14T17:51:00.000+02:00' +'c5975b11a582e95539c05b9c6488dbd34d3bc758'|'Twenty-First Century Fox revenue rises 4.2 percent'|'Business News - Mon Feb 6, 2017 - 4:12pm EST Twenty-First Century Fox revenue rises 4.2 percent The flag of the Twenty-First Century Fox Inc is seen waving at the company headquarters in the Manhattan borough in New York June 11, 2015. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo Twenty-First Century Fox Inc ( FOXA.O ) reported a 4.2 percent rise in quarterly revenue, as its television unit benefited from hosting the baseball World Series and its cable news channel enjoyed strong ratings during the U.S. presidential campaign. The Rupert Murdoch-controlled company''s revenue increased to $7.68 billion in second quarter ended Dec. 31 from $7.38 billion a year earlier. Net income attributable to shareholders jumped to $856 million, or 46 cents per share, from $672 million, or 34 cents per share. (Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru and Jessica Toonkel in New York; Editing by Savio D''Souza) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-twenty-first-fox-results-idUSKBN15L2G5'|'2017-02-07T04:12:00.000+02:00' +'fdce2859d81b54ba73989fa6a02f5f1c34ac1115'|'Sanofi nears deal to sell some over-the-counter drugs to Ipsen - Bloomberg'|'Health Sanofi nears deal to sell some over-the-counter drugs to Ipsen: Bloomberg FILE PHOTO - The logo of French drugmaker Sanofi is seen in front of the company''s headquarters in Paris, France, October 30, 2014. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann/File Photo Drugmaker Sanofi ( SASY.PA ) is close to selling some over-the-counter products to Ipsen SA ( IPN.PA ), in a deal that could be valued at nearly 100 million euros ($106.18 million), Bloomberg reported. The deal between the French drugmakers may be announced as early as Monday, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. bloom.bg/2kAJLsp Ipsen emerged as the preferred bidder after a competitive sale process involving other pharmaceutical companies, Bloomberg reported. Both Ipsen and Sanofi could not be immediately reached for comments outside regular business hours. Sanofi and German drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim confirmed last month the closing of a $20 billion asset swap, under which Sanofi bought Boehringer''s consumer health division, and the German firm purchased Merial animal health business. (Reporting by Vishal Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri) Next In Health News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sanofi-fr-m-a-ipsen-idUSKBN15S08J'|'2017-02-13T09:48:00.000+02:00' +'c065300f84ef247bae77f4343e27f6f57e701394'|'Nokia offers to buy Comptel for $370 million'|'HELSINKI Finnish telecoms network equipment maker Nokia ( NOKIA.HE ) said on Thursday it is seeking to buy company Comptel ( CTL1V.HE ) for about 347 million euros ($370 million) to expand its software services business.Nokia and its rivals, Sweden''s Ericsson ( ERICb.ST ) and China''s Huawei [HWT.UL] have struggled recently as demand for faster 4G mobile broadband equipment has peaked and the move to the next-generation 5G networks are still years away.Nokia said its customers were now turning to software to make their networks more intelligent."The planned acquisition is part of Nokia''s strategy to build a standalone software business at scale by expanding and strengthening its software portfolio and go-to-market capabilities with additional sales capacity and a strategic partner network," Nokia said in a statement.The cash offer, 3.04 euros per share, represents a premium of 29 percent compared with Comptel''s last closing price.Comptel, which had sales of about 100 million euros in 2016, said its board of directors, and shareholders that hold about 48 percent of the shares backed the offer.Last year, Nokia bought Franco-American group Alcatel-Lucent in a 15.6 billion-euro all-share deal and is cutting thousands of jobs as it seeks to reduce annual costs by 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) by 2018.(Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl; Editing by Terje Solsvik, Greg Mahlich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-comptel-m-a-nokia-idINKBN15O0OT'|'2017-02-09T04:43:00.000+02:00' +'c8f1eae88072191a1d86d38191d0096542b02c6f'|'Norway oil directorate authorises Ormen Lange plant expansion'|'Company News - Fri Feb 10, 2017 - 2:53am EST Norway oil directorate authorises Ormen Lange plant expansion Feb 10 Shell and partners will be able to expand the plant processing gas from the giant Ormen Lange field off Norway, the Norwegian oil directorate said on Friday. The decision, which had been expected, paves the way for increasing the plant''s export capacity to 84 million standard cubic metres per day from 70 million today. Ormen Lange can provide up to 40 percent of Britain''s gas needs. (Reporting by Gwladys Fouche, editing by Camilla Knudsen) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSO9N17B02G'|'2017-02-10T14:53:00.000+02:00' +'701bcca1c782e317f518d8356f171ee261f5d581'|'Motor racing-Brawn to meet teams, says there''s no quick fix for F1'|'Company 13am EST Motor racing-Brawn to meet teams, says there''s no quick fix for F1 By Alan Baldwin - LONDON LONDON Feb 17 Liberty Media wants to steer Formula One towards a "better place" but there are no quick fixes for the sport''s evident problems, newly-appointed motorsport head Ross Brawn has said ahead of talks with teams. "There are some straightforward issues that we recognise, but the solutions are going to take some time," the former Honda, Brawn GP and Mercedes team principal, who was Ferrari technical director before that, told BBC radio. The 62-year-old Briton, appointed as managing director for motorsport after Liberty''s Formula One takeover last month, said the teams, governing FIA and commercial rights holder all had their own priorities. "The commercial rights holder...is going to also focus on making the show as good as it can be and the entertainment and the sport as good as it can be," said Brawn, who will attend the first pre-season test in Barcelona at the end of the month. "Every decision that''s going to be made in the future...all have to tick some boxes and those boxes will be ''does it make the sport better? Does it make it more entertaining? Does it make it more economic?''." Brawn said he was confident the sport would be steered in the right direction ultimately. Liberty Media says it wants better marketing and digital growth identified as clear priorities along with expansion in the Americas. The 10 teams, FIA and commercial rights holders are locked into contractual agreements that govern the distribution of revenues, and grant special payments to some of the biggest teams like Ferrari and Mercedes, until 2020. Liberty wants a more level playing field, with a more competitive grid that would give smaller teams a chance. "I think the message is that we are fighting the corner to make the sport as entertaining and as viable and as economic as we can for the future," said Brawn. "I hope with the continued pressure that we can apply, we can steer the sport into a better place." Brawn said he would continue talks with teams at the Circuit de Catalunya from Feb. 27. "The teams I have spoken to have been very positive about the changes, and very optimistic about the future," he said. "So it''s encouraging." Formula One has already revamped the rules for 2017, with bigger tyres and changed aerodynamics that should make the cars more aggressive, harder to handle and quicker through the corners. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Jon Boyle) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/motor-f1-brawn-idUSL4N1G23F6'|'2017-02-17T19:13:00.000+02:00' +'7298a0f08ff39941338274b0c1fbfaabaff99f42'|'Trump protectionism puts question mark over German export forecast - BGA'|'Business News - Tue Feb 7, 2017 - 9:46am GMT Trump protectionism puts question mark over German export forecast - BGA U.S. President Donald Trump walks from Marine One upon his return to the White House in Washington February 6, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque BERLIN German exports could grow less than expected this year due to the threat of protectionism under U.S. President Donald Trump, the head of the BGA trade and wholesale association said on Tuesday. Anton Boerner said in Berlin that Trump''s first actions in office were "alarming" and that his protectionist agenda was posing a threat to both the U.S. and German economies. "There is much as stake for us due to the close economic links between our country and the United States," Boerner said, adding Trump''s protectionism was adding to a long list of trade-related risks, including Britain''s decision to leave the European Union and the development of the euro zone debt crisis. Therefore, there is a "big question mark" over BGA''s export growth forecast of 2.5 percent in 2017, Boerner added. It sees exports hitting a new record of 1.235 billion euros (1.06 billion) this year. (Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Madeline Chambers) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-economy-trade-idUKKBN15M0VG'|'2017-02-07T16:46:00.000+02:00' +'c16a0083813600f5fe44bde5ca1ec9184df245b4'|'U.S. judge says Trump order could impact HSBC executive''s UK trip'|'Business News - Wed Feb 8, 2017 - 8:29pm GMT U.S. judge says Trump order could impact HSBC executive''s UK trip FILE PHOTO -- Mark Johnson, a British citizen who at the time of his arrest was HSBC''s global head of foreign exchange cash trading, exits following a hearing at the U.S. Federal Court in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., August 29, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo By Nate Raymond - NEW YORK NEW YORK A federal judge in Brooklyn on Wednesday signalled that President Donald Trump''s stance on immigration may justify rejecting a HSBC Holdings Plc executive''s request to return to England while awaiting a U.S. trial on fraud charges. Mark Johnson, a British citizen who at the time of his arrest in July was HSBC''s global head of foreign exchange cash trading, had been allowed to return to England from December to January, and sought permission to travel there again in March. But U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis said that while he would prefer to let Johnson visit his wife and five children, the current environment might complicate his return. The judge cited Trump''s Jan. 27 order temporarily banning entry to people from seven Muslim-majority countries, which is now being reviewed by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. "My problem is I don''t know what is going on down in Washington," Garaufis said. Trump, a Republican who took office on Jan. 20, has defended the directive as necessary to prevent attacks by Islamist militants. Under a plan proposed by Johnson''s lawyer, Garaufis would order his bail to be extended to include the United Kingdom, and Johnson would seek a type of visa he has used before to allow for his return. During a hearing that sometimes drew laughter in the courtroom, Garaufis said would wait for a 9th Circuit ruling before deciding Johnson''s bail conditions. He said countries such as the United Kingdom, which he said has a "large suspect population," could be added to Trump''s list of targeted countries, perhaps preventing Johnson''s return to face the U.S. government''s case. "We''re in an extremely volatile situation in terms of immigration," Garaufis said. "We just don''t know." Prosecutors said Johnson and another executive, Stuart Scott, in 2011 misused information from a client that hired HSBC to convert $3.5 billion to British pounds in connection with a planned sale of the client''s foreign subsidiaries. The executives then used their insider knowledge to trade ahead of the transaction, causing a spike in the price of the currency that hurt the client, prosecutors said. Johnson has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud charges. Prosecutors have said they plan to seek Scott''s extradition from the United Kingdom. The case is U.S. v. Johnson et al, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, No. 16-cr-00457. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Marguerita Choy) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hsbc-usa-crime-idUKKBN15N2KD'|'2017-02-09T03:29:00.000+02:00' +'eed37f4c6db1a33c7e933f88ed0de6f905cbcb4a'|'Copper jumps on trader talk of force majeure at Escondida'|' 17pm GMT Copper jumps on trader talk of force majeure at Escondida A sign adorns the building where mining company BHP Billiton has their office in Perth, Western Australia, November 19, 2015. REUTERS/David Gray/File photo LONDON Copper prices on the London Metal Exchange jumped on Friday to their highest level since June 2015, on talk of BHP Billiton ( BLT.L ) ( BHP.AX ) declaring force majeure on shipments from its Escondida mine in Chile, traders said. Benchmark copper CMCU3 rose 4 percent to a session high of $6,056 a tonne. It was trading at $6,042 a tonne at 1451 GMT. A BHP spokesman said he was unable to immediately confirm that force majeure had been declared. (Reporting by Peter Hobson and Pratima Desai) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-copper-escondida-bhp-idUKKBN15P1VT'|'2017-02-10T22:17:00.000+02:00' +'61d8cc1caa3bf58be44fc83f5d53f73d4cb6d854'|'Serco''s full-year trading profit falls 14 percent, outlook unchanged'|'Global Energy 42am GMT Serco''s full-year trading profit falls 14 percent, outlook unchanged A Serco flag is seen flying alongside a Union flag outside Doncaster Prison in northern England in this December 13, 2011 file photograph. REUTERS/Darren Staples/Files EDINBURGH British outsourcer Serco SRL.L posted a 14 percent fall in underlying trading profit to 82 million pounds ($102 million) in the year to December, meeting targets as it emerges from an overhaul. Order intake was up 40 percent in the year, giving a glimpse of better things to come, while the pipeline of larger new bid opportunities ended the year at 8.4 billion pounds, up 30 percent. Serco, which provides transport, health, justice, defence and security services in public departments and gets half of its revenues from the UK, left its 2017 outlook unchanged versus an update given in December. "Our guidance is for margins to reduce in 2017, but we would expect to show some modest improvement year-on-year in 2018," the company said on Wednesday. Revenues from continuing operations fell to 3.01 billion pounds, in line with forecasts, as Serco continued to whittle down its portfolio to concentrate on those which make money. Serco also estimated closing net debt at end 2017 could increase to between 150 million pounds and 200 million pounds. UK outsourcers have been suffering delays in contracting decisions in public departments as government officials concentrate on steering Britain out of the European Union and developing new policy. ($1 = 0.8004 pounds) (Reporting by Elisabeth O''Leary, Editing by Paul Sandle) Next In Global Energy News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-serco-results-idUKKBN1610OS'|'2017-02-22T14:42:00.000+02:00' +'7bc6b9bb906195ba6a2e7bbcdd07cea452336d9f'|'BRIEF-India estimates 675.3 billion rupees in dividend receipts in 2017/18'|'Financials - Wed Feb 1, 2017 - 2:43am EST BRIEF-India estimates 675.3 billion rupees in dividend receipts in 2017/18 Feb 1 India estimates 675.3 billion rupees in dividend receipts in 2017/18, the country''s finance minister said on Wednesday. For more details and other highlights from Jaitley''s budget for the 2017/18 fiscal year that begins on April 1, see . Next In Financials UPDATE 1-UK house price growth weakest since Nov 2015 - Nationwide LONDON, Feb 1 British house prices rose at their slowest annual rate in more than a year last month, and the prospect of weaker jobs growth and higher inflation is likely to weigh further on their prospects in 2017, mortgage lender Nationwide said on Wednesday.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSD8N1AX01C'|'2017-02-01T14:43:00.000+02:00' +'3d75ef6bacf45643c4f28a995d93a6d9c3430c2a'|'UPDATE 1-South Africa''s Premier fishing unit to list in March on JSE'|'Financials 40am EST UPDATE 1-South Africa''s Premier fishing unit to list in March on JSE (Adds CEO quotes, details) CAPE TOWN Feb 1 South Africa''s African Equity Empowerment Investments Ltd. will list its fishing and food unit on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on March 2 to grow its market share, its chief executive said on Wednesday. Khalid Abdulla said the firm expected the Initial Public Offering (IPO) to value the unit at around 1.2 billion rand ($90 million) and that the cash "war chest" from the IPO will be used for further growth and acquisitions. "We will be raising about 550 million rand with the listing and obviously we will use that money to grow the business further, to buy other fishing and food-related businesses," Abdulla told Reuters in an interview. "We will have a nice war chest to go and build this business to another level," he said. He said the company, South Africa''s largest black-owned and managed fishing and food firm, will be placing about 45-49 percent of Premier''s share on the market, with each share selling for approximately 4.50 rand. Headquarted in Cape Town, Premier Food and Fishing said during its 2016 end-of-year results that operating profit rose by 37 percent to 74 million rand on the back of higher sales and good catch rates. Abdulla said the firm would initially be looking for acquisition opportunities in the fishing sector that complement Premier''s existing portfolio of species - where it holds medium to long-term quotas for west coast rock lobster, squid, pilchards and hake. He said Premier''s empowerment credentials, part of government policy to spread wealth to the majority of blacks excluded during white-minority rule, should stand it in good stead when buying other companies. (Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by James Macharia) Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/safrica-premier-ipo-idUSL5N1FM3P0'|'2017-02-01T19:40:00.000+02:00' +'2e10dec5cf8513278d2c297a08778f0744c048b8'|'China considers faster IPO approval to lure large tech deals - sources'|' 21pm IST China considers faster IPO approval to lure large tech deals - sources An advertising board (L) showing a Chinese stone lion is pictured near an entrance to the headquarters (R) of China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), in Beijing, China, September 7, 2015. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo By Julie Zhu and Elzio Barreto - HONG KONG HONG KONG China''s securities regulator is considering offering a shortcut for some of the country''s largest technology companies to list their shares, allowing them to jump a long queue of applicants and boost domestic bourses, according to six people with knowledge of the proposals. The sources said companies being considered for the shortcut could include Alibaba Group''s Ant Financial affiliate, the world''s most valuable financial technology company; Zhong An Online Property and Casualty Insurance, and security software maker Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ant Financial, valued at $60 billion at its most recent funding round last year, is expected to be one of 2017''s largest initial public offerings (IPOs). While Ant hasn''t specified a preferred listing venue, analysts and bankers have previously said the deal will likely take place in Hong Kong, given the queue in the mainland. China has been losing out to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq on key technology listings, so more IPOs at home could mean millions of yuan in revenue for Chinese investment banks, who dominate domestic stock issuance. There are about 700 companies waiting for a green light from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to go public in Shanghai or Shenzhen. Though the regulator has increased the pace of approvals in recent months, that still leaves a typical 18-month wait or longer before companies are able to raise funds, making the domestic market unattractive to fast-growing technology companies in need of funds to fuel their expansion. In September the CSRC tweaked the rules to let companies in some impoverished Chinese regions skip the queue, sharply reducing the vetting period for those issuers. In January, companies in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region that borders Russia and Mongolia were among those benefiting from faster approvals. The sources said the CSRC had held talks with the technology companies for months, but no final decision had yet been reached on whether to allow the faster approval. Ant Financial, Zhong An and Qihoo declined to comment. The CSRC has yet to reply to a request for comment. GOING WEST Over recent years the United States has been a popular destination for listings by Chinese internet startups and software makers, given a larger pool of analysts familiar with the sector and fund managers used to investing in fast-growing companies who have yet to generate profits. The $25 billion record IPO of e-commerce giant Alibaba in New York in 2014 was a high-profile loss for mainland China and Hong Kong, where the company initially intended to list. More recently, however, some Chinese companies have opted to quit New York and relist back home, where valuations are several times higher than in international markets. Qihoo took its New York shares private in a $9.3 billion deal last July and has said it wants to relist in China in due course. By listing at home, Ant Financial, Zhong An and Qihoo would benefit from those high valuations, while also standing out because of their size compared with locally-listed peers. Domestic equity markets are dominated by massive state-owned enterprises (SOEs), including banks, real estate developers and conglomerates. While there are almost 400 tech companies listed in Shenzhen and Shanghai, the vast majority are small firms, with an average valuation of $1.9 billion, dwarfed by the likes of Ant Financial. The two largest-listed technology companies in China, video surveillance camera maker Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology and display maker BOE Technology Group, have market values of $25.7 billion and $16.9 billion. (Additional reporting by Watson Zhang in BEIJING; Editing by Will Waterman) Next In Money News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/china-regulator-ipo-idINKBN1630OA'|'2017-02-24T14:51:00.000+02:00' +'420c8eb140600181967ad620de0f86051a2ce328'|'With Samsung chief in jail, one-time mentor seen taking charge'|'* Group strategy head Choi seen taking caretaker role-insiders* Longer-term strategy, investment plans likely hampered* Crown jewel Samsung Elec under control of "Mr Chip"By Se Young Lee and Miyoung KimSEOUL, Feb 17 The arrest of Samsung Group scion Jay Y. Lee on bribery charges could hamper decisions on strategic investments and acquisitions at the sprawling conglomerate, insiders and former executives say, even with a strong leadership bench at its many businesses.Although business at flagship Samsung Electronics is humming along, big calls will need to be made and the man most likely to be called upon to make them is Choi Gee-sung, the No.2 lieutenant at Samsung Group and a mentor to Lee."Choi is very experienced and has done a good job. He is the one best placed to manage group-level affairs in Lee''s absence," said one Samsung insider.While Samsung Electronics is still smarting from the debacle of its exploding Galaxy Note 7 smartphone batteries, its semiconductor business is in rude health. Its share price is up around 60 percent in the past year.But the wide-ranging probe, part of a corruption scandal that led parliament to impeach South Korean President Park Geun-hye, has been a major distraction for the country''s largest conglomerate, or chaebol."Everything has virtually stopped," said a second executive at Samsung Group''s powerful strategy office that Choi heads. "We''re mainly focusing on the prosecutor''s investigation (into Lee and Samsung)... We''ll be running an emergency plan and everything will be under Choi''s control for now."But some others say even Choi''s role could be limited and Samsung may have to rely more on each affiliate''s top management, with Choi also under investigation by special prosecutors."Since we''ve decided to dismantle group strategy office, Choi''s role is likely to gradually decrease, although we can''t say for how much and when," another Samsung executive said.A fourth group insider said: "We have a system in place with professional management teams, so in terms of the day-to-day operations things should be fine."None of the Samsung individuals wanted to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter."It''s not like Samsung businesses will grind to a halt. There are many smart people at the company," said Kim Yong-serk, a former Samsung Electronics executive who is now a professor at Sungkyunkwan University.But arrest of Lee, 48, will have an impact on longer-term investment decisions at the sprawling conglomerate."Samsung presidents are evaluated on an annual basis, so they can''t make bold bets about the future. They need a chairman for that," Kim said.Samsung declined to comment on its management plans or Choi''s role.BEATING APPLEWhen Samsung Electronics still trailed Nokia in mobile phones - just five years ago - Choi, then CEO, set his sights on a different rival."Competition is coming from elsewhere. There''s a company more profitable than us and we should change our target," he told Reuters in January 2012, referring to Apple Inc.That year, Samsung ended Nokia''s 14-year domination of the mobile market, ultimately also overtaking Apple as the world''s biggest smartphone maker.In a Samsung career spanning more than three decades, Choi has worked in all the main businesses, from semiconductors and home appliances to TVs and telecoms, before taking over as chief executive.As head of strategy, 66-year-old Choi has acted as Jay Y. Lee''s mentor and been closely involved in preparing the path for him to take over from his father, who was incapacitated by a heart attack in 2014.Under Choi''s guidance, Lee has moved closer to succeeding his father in a well-choreographed long-term plan, including a restructuring of the conglomerate to cement the Lee family''s control.However, that plan included a controversial $8 billion merger of two Samsung units that has been central to prosecutors'' case against the group, and Lee.Prosecutors accuse Samsung of paying bribes totalling 43 billion won ($37.74 million) to organizations linked to South Korean President Park Geun-hye''s friend, Choi Soon-sil, to secure government backing for the merger.Choi Gee-sung and his deputy Chang Choong-ki were quizzed by prosecutors over their role in the deal.STEP UP FOR ''MR CHIP'', TOO?Lee''s absence, ahead of what could be a lengthy trial, could also see a bigger role for Kwon Oh-hyun, Samsung Electronics'' vice chairman and current CEO.Known as "Mr Chip", Kwon has overseen the growth of Samsung''s component business, which now generates much of the firm''s profits."Kwon is very practical manager. Like many Samsung managers in the component business, he doesn''t feel comfortable (in the limelight)," said an executive who worked with him.Kwon, who studied electrical engineering at Seoul National University and at Stanford, cemented Samsung''s position in memory chips and expanded the contract chip manufacturing business, producing chips that power the Apple iPhone.But, for all the experience and qualities these senior managers bring, Lee''s absence will still be felt.Lee had been instrumental in seeking to drive growth through new businesses, including signing off on South Korea''s biggest outbound deal: an $8 billion acquisition of U.S. auto electronics maker Harman International Industries."The biggest problem is that Lee is the one who sets the direction of Samsung as a whole," the fourth group insider said."He doesn''t get into every business decision, but he''s the one who has to sign off on major investments or acquisitions... That''s why he can''t easily be replaced." (Additional reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Writing by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Ian Geoghegan and Lincoln Feast)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/southkorea-politics-samsung-group-choi-idINL4N1F71RP'|'2017-02-17T00:45:00.000+02:00' +'4c808148e4b99a1e7531505f9e78e65915e01035'|'Cree ends Wolfspeed deal with Infineon over U.S. security concerns'|'Feb 16 U.S. LED lighting maker Cree Inc said it would terminate a deal to sell its Wolfspeed Power and RF division to German chipmaker Infineon Technologies AG , citing security concerns raised by the U.S. government.Cree and Infineon have not been able to identify alternatives to address the security concerns, Cree said on Thursday.The Wolfspeed division makes devices using gallium nitride, a sensitive powdery compound with military applications whose use by other companies has led the United States to block deals.Infineon, which agreed to buy Wolfspeed in July last year for $850 million, said earlier in the day that it did not expect to be able to salvage the purchase.Infineon will pay a termination fee of $12.5 million, Cree said. (Reporting by Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/wolfspeed-ma-infineon-technol-idINL4N1G15FJ'|'2017-02-16T18:54:00.000+02:00' +'c31e84e7c93e63eaf25a65abf0311ed666aaae14'|'Rio Tinto boosts dividend on commodities recovery'|' 18am GMT Rio Tinto boosts dividend on commodities recovery FILE PHOTO - A sign adorns the building where mining company Rio Tinto has their office in Perth, Western Australia, November 19, 2015. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo SYDNEY Global miner Rio Tinto ( RIO.AX ) ( RIO.L ) said on Wednesday it will pay a bigger-than-expected annual dividend of $1.70 per share on the back of a strong recovery in mineral commodities markets in 2016 and cost-cutting. Underlying earnings for the world''s second-biggest mining house rose by 12 percent to $5.1 billion, beating analysts'' estimates for around $4.87 billion, according to an externally compiled consensus. The result marks a turnaround from 2015, when the world''s No. 2 miner posted its worst underlying earnings in 11 years and scrapped its generous payout policy amid tumbling commodity prices. "We enter 2017 in good shape. Our team will deliver $5 billion of extra free cash flow over the next five years from our productivity programme," Chief Executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques said in a statement. The market had been expecting a dividend of about $1.33 a share, according to the external consensus. The annual payout is still below 2015''s dividend which partly included the previous payout policy of never cutting payments year to year. Analysts are mixed on whether Rio Tinto will increase returns to shareholder in 2017 or hold on to more cash amid forecasts for a retraction in commodities prices. The price of iron ore surged 81 percent last year and now sells for around $80 a tonne, despite analysts'' expectations for a retreat to around $55. The concern is that millions of tonnes of additional low-cost supply from Australia and Brazil will overwhelm demand in 2017 and send prices into retreat. (Reporting by James Regan; Editing by Richard Pullin) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-rio-tinto-results-idUKKBN15N0HG'|'2017-02-08T13:18:00.000+02:00' +'e67bf82cda7cd82aef9a1591e686d01fa71aa7e9'|'Indonesia Freeport to reduce mining activities -smelter official'|'JAKARTA Feb 8 Freeport-McMoRan Inc said it will scale back activities at its Indonesian copper mine, an official at Indonesia''s main copper smelter, PT Smelting, said on Wednesday, amid a worker strike and other issues."Freeport has just issued a notice this morning that they will reduce (mining) activities in stages," Smelting director Prihadi Santoso told reporters."We are trying to meet our commitments to our clients," he said, declining to comment on what had sparked the strike.PT Smelting is 60.5 percent owned by Mitsubishi Materials Corporation. Freeport Indonesia holds 25 percent. (Reporting by Wilda Asmarini; Writing by Fergus Jensen; Editing by Tom Hogue)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/indonesia-freeport-idINJ9N1EZ00N'|'2017-02-08T02:53:00.000+02:00' +'55ab845ecbf5e1bfca2298695771adb807386c34'|'China''s PBOC to skip open market operations for 4th straight trading day - statement'|'Business News 24am GMT China''s PBOC to skip open market operations for 4th straight trading day - statement SHANGHAI China''s central bank said it would skip open market operations for a fourth straight trading day on Wednesday in order to keep liquidity stable in the country''s banking system. "The overall liquidity in the banking system is staying at a relatively high level," the PBOC said in a statement on its website. In order to "keep liquidity basically stable in the banking system", the central bank decided to skip the reverse repurchase agreement operations on Tuesday, it added. The PBOC has drained a net 395 billion yuan ($57.40 billion) so far this week. In early trade on Wednesday, the volume weighted average of the seven-day repo rate CN7DRP=CFXS was at 2.35 percent, down 8.47 basis points from the previous closing average rate. The PBOC surprised financial markets on Friday by increasing the interest rates on open market operations by 10 basis points, on the first day back from the long Lunar New Year holidays. ($1 = 6.8821 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by the Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Sam Holmes) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-openmarket-repo-idUKKBN15N04Z'|'2017-02-08T08:24:00.000+02:00' +'33e79ef62b9b3d9fe18e7be1323af60a0d23e994'|'PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Feb 9'|'Company News - Wed Feb 8, 2017 - 8:30pm EST PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Feb 9 Feb 9 The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. The Times Energy suppliers to face tough new finance tests New energy suppliers could face strict financial checks and existing companies could be subjected to stress tests, under a regulatory shake-up being considered by Ofgem. bit.ly/2llPSVs McLaren races into Sheffield McLaren Automotive, the Surrey-based supercar maker and sister company to the Formula One team, is opening a factory in the industrial north. bit.ly/2lm6bBF The Guardian Trump envoy says Greece is now more likely to leave the euro Donald Trump''s administration has put itself on a fresh collision course with the European Union after the president''s candidate to be ambassador in Brussels said Greece should leave the euro and predicted the single currency would not survive more than 18 months in its present form. bit.ly/2llQ9aW Hundreds of Waitrose jobs may go as retailer plans six store closures Waitrose is planning to close six stores and remove a level of management in its supermarkets, putting 600 jobs at risk. bit.ly/2lm5w3i The Telegraph Property developer brothers accused of threatening business partner with selling debt to Russian gangsters Property developers Nick and Christian Candy have been accused of threatening the pregnant wife of a former university friend and warning they would sell his debt to Russian gangsters, a court in London heard on Wednesday. bit.ly/2lm7eBH Mervyn King: MPs'' attitude made Brexit inevitable British politicians have "lost touch" with voters and elitist bids to suppress the EU debate made the referendum on membership that led to the Brexit vote "inevitable", Mervyn King said. bit.ly/2lm4dkC Sky News Walmart to help Asda mount market share fightback A top executive at Asda''s parent company has pledged greater support to the chain''s recovery efforts after admitting it was slow to respond to the challenge posed by discounters in the UK. bit.ly/2lmb1P8 GSK boss seeks ''sensible'' Brexit deal on migrant workers The chief executive of the UK''s biggest pharmaceutical company, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, has told Sky News that Britain needs to be "open minded and sensible" about allowing skilled workers to come from abroad. The Independent Government accused of trying to kill off UK solar industry before it can become cheapest form of electricity The Government has been accused of trying to kill off Britain''s solar energy industry just as it is about to become one of the cheapest suppliers of electricity - with no need for any kind of state subsidy. ind.pn/2lm570u (Compiled by Shalini Nagarajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler; Editing by Sandra Maler) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-press-business-idUSL1N1FU024'|'2017-02-09T08:30:00.000+02:00' +'c4b9e7ce6d92484bd51d04055b331b449b35c36c'|'Restoring jobs at Canadian GM plant key to new contract -union'|'Company News 1:06pm EST Restoring jobs at Canadian GM plant key to new contract -union By Allison Lampert - TORONTO TORONTO Feb 17 General Motors Co must restore hundreds of jobs being cut at a profitable southern Ontario assembly plant or risk failing to reach a new contract with the factory''s workers this fall, the president of Canada''s largest auto workers union said on Friday. In an unexpected decision, General Motors is cutting 625 jobs at its CAMI auto assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ontario, by the end of July as it phases out production of two current generation vehicles and moves some work to Mexico. The move to shift some jobs to Mexico comes at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump has urged auto executives to build more American plants and invest less in Mexico. Securing jobs will be key to a collective agreement to replace the one expiring in September between GM and its 2,800 CAMI workers, said Unifor president Jerry Dias by phone. While Dias expects Ingersoll negotiations to begin in late summer, Unifor is already raising pressure on GM to restore the jobs at the plant, which built 310,000 vehicles last year. "We''re going to have to find a solution," said Dias. "And we''re going to have to find a solution now, as opposed to waiting for September." Dias has blamed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and Mexico''s lower labor costs for the job losses, which it called unjustified given strong sales of the Chevrolet Equinox crossover and GMC Terrain sport utility vehicle assembled at the plant. The next-generation Equinox will be built at CAMI, while the new Terrain will be manufactured in Mexico. CAMI is the plant which produces the most Equinoxes, GM''s top-selling crossover, said Joe McCabe, president of AutoForecast Solutions LLC. "If they strike there and the majority of Equinoxes come out of CAMI, that gives Unifor some power," he said. Ingersoll was not part of a four-year labor deal the union negotiated with GM Canada last September, which secured C$554 million ($422.6 million) of investments for other plants. Steve Carlisle, managing director of General Motors of Canada, said Ingersoll jobs would be discussed with Unifor in the runup to bargaining. "Obviously, any time there are job losses, there are concerns about that and how we might offset those," he said. "We expect to have conversations about those things when the time comes." ($1 = 1.3110 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Allison Lampert; Editing by Denny Thomas and and Jonathan Oatis) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/gm-canada-mexico-idUSL1N1G128O'|'2017-02-18T01:06:00.000+02:00' +'32de038eeecb1006934b6f1b86ca60f2419c863e'|'Germany says IMF participation in Greek bailout indispensable'|'Business News - Fri Feb 17, 2017 - 11:26am GMT Germany says IMF participation in Greek bailout indispensable The moon rises next to a fluttering Greek national flag in Athens, Greece February 9, 2017. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis BERLIN Germany insisted on Friday it was essential that the International Monetary Fund participate in Greece''s bailout programme after a German lawmaker in the European Parliament said IMF involvement was no longer crucial. "We have always said the participation of the IMF is indispensable," a Finance Ministry spokeswoman told a regular government news conference. "We are hearing about the good progress in the talks within the institutions and also progress in the talks with Greece," she added. "We have a convergence. But we are not so far technically that on Monday a final decision on the conclusion of the review can take place." (Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Michelle Martin) Next In Business News Britain, China pledge to promote free trade SHANGHAI China and Britain have pledged to promote free trade and cooperate on building a open world economy, fanning efforts to shore up what the two governments have called a "golden era" in their relationship, the Xinhua news agency reported on Friday.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-greece-germany-idUKKBN15W144'|'2017-02-17T18:26:00.000+02:00' +'6dd71ba6eb0aa930512c75971c98e1996bf4bde1'|'China''s overseas investment, property purchases slump as capital controls bite'|' 4:56am GMT China''s overseas investment, property purchases slump as capital controls bite A company logo of Fosun International is seen at the Fosun Fair held alongside the annual general meeting of the Chinese conglomerate in Hong Kong, China May 28, 2015. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo By Yawen Chen and Elias Glenn - BEIJING BEIJING China''s non-financial outbound direct investment (ODI) slumped in January and its offshore property purchases plunged after authorities tightened restrictions on capital outflows to support the ailing yuan currency and ease pressure on the country''s foreign exchange reserves. China''s non-financial ODI slid 35.7 percent in January to 53.27 billion yuan ($7.77 billion) -- the weakest in 16 months -- compared with the same period a year earlier, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday. Chinese investment in offshore property - which has helped fuel sharp and often contentious home price rises from Vancouver to London - fell by an even sharper 84.3 percent. Data earlier this month showed China''s foreign exchange reserves unexpectedly fell below the closely watched $3 trillion level in January for the first time in nearly six years. But the drop was less than expected, suggesting tighter regulatory controls are making some progress in slowing capital flight. Following China''s moves to close loopholes on money leaving the country and step up checks on the types of overseas investment, ODI in December fell to $8.41 billion, down 39.4 percent on-year and the lowest monthly tally for 2016. "Risk warnings from regulators and short-term controls have achieved results. Based on their own situation, domestic firms have been more orderly and rational in undertaking overseas direct investment," China''s State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said in a statement to Reuters last week. Regulators have warned they will pay close attention to "irrational" overseas investment in property, entertainment, sports and other sectors. "Although ODI dropped in January, the overall structure is improving," said ministry of commerce spokesman Sun Jiwen. In addition to the decline in property, investment in culture, sports, and entertainment industries fell 93.3 percent in January. Showing authorities were indeed being more selective, investment in overseas manufacturing and information technology sectors bucked the trend, rising 79.4 percent and 33.1 percent, respectively. No absolute value figures were released by sector. The government says it supports legitimate overseas investment, and that policies to support outbound investment will not change, though some officials have expressed concern about the rapid increase in overseas investment last year. "(Regulators are also paying close attention to) hidden risks in overseas investments. . . Related firms should be prudent," the SAFE statement said. At least three regulators in the last month have strengthened oversight of outbound investment or warned against reckless foreign investment. Large companies such as Fosun, China''s largest private conglomerate, say that new restrictions will not impact their investment plans because they already have sufficient funds overseas. But several overseas deals by Chinese firms have been canceled or delayed in recent months after being unable to get approval from Chinese regulators. A Chinese investment group''s deal to purchase Italian soccer club AC Milan has been postponed to March 3 after struggling to get approval and funding, and copper-processing firm Anhui Xinke New Materials in December withdrew its bid to buy a controlling stake in a Hollywood studio. Outbound investment rose to $170.1 billion in 2016, up 44.1 percent from 2015, and a commerce industry spokesman said in December that it was likely to increase again in 2017. Economists expect more forceful policing of existing regulatory controls after the latest slide in FX reserves, though China''s financial system is notoriously porous, with speculators quickly able to find new channels to get funds out of the country. "I think the impact (of capital controls) is probably limited. It will probably stem outflows for a few months but over the long-term with the Chinese economic fundamentals still poor there is still a great desire for people to try to bring their money out," said Chua Han Teng, senior analyst at Fitch''s BMI Research in Singapore. "Therefore in the long term it seems like outflows are likely to persist." FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN CHINA ALSO FALLS Foreign direct investment (FDI) into China also fell in January, dropping 9.2 percent on-year to 80.1 billion yuan ($11.68 billion), the ministry said. Commerce ministry spokesman Sun Jiwen said the decline in FDI was mainly due to a high base last year and the long Lunar New Year holiday falling earlier this year. Last year, FDI into China increased 4.1 percent to 813.22 billion yuan, while December FDI rose 5.7 percent to 81.42 billion yuan. (Reporting by Yawen Chen and Elias Glenn; Editing by Sam Holmes and Kim Coghill) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-fdi-idUKKBN15V0DG'|'2017-02-16T11:56:00.000+02:00' +'f03b145ca5ee077891d0698aa64c7cbd7e7a0d9c'|'BRIEF-Restaurant Brands International says 2 units entered into a second amendment to credit agreement'|' 31pm EST BRIEF-Restaurant Brands International says 2 units entered into a second amendment to credit agreement Feb 17 Restaurant Brands International Inc : * Restaurant Brands International - on February 17, 2017, two indirect subsidiaries entered into a second amendment to credit agreement * Restaurant Brands International - second amendment amends credit agreement to, among other things, reduce interest rate applicable to term loan facility * Restaurant Brands - borrowers repaid $146.1 million of outstanding principal, reducing outstanding under term loan facility to $4,900.0 million Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-restaurant-brands-international-sa-idUSFWN1G210K'|'2017-02-18T05:31:00.000+02:00' +'80f483f31c5b559e39df8c9aef31837f71f68e43'|'Global stocks up slightly, U.S. dollar flat before Trump speech'|'By Sinead Carew - NEW YORK NEW YORK Wall Street rose slightly on Monday and U.S. Treasury yields were higher as investors held their breath a day ahead of a key speech by U.S. President Donald Trump.Oil futures'' gains were capped by rising U.S. production even as a global supply glut appeared to ease, while the S&P 500''s energy sector .SPNY saw the biggest percentage increase among benchmark index sectors.While many investors were hoping Trump would unveil details on pro-business policies including tax reform, cash repatriation or infrastructure spending during his address to Congress Tuesday night, others were not ready to make new bets as they worried that the speech would disappoint."The markets are just going to do nothing until they get into the address tomorrow night," said Jeffrey Saut, chief investment strategist at Raymond James Financial in St. Petersburg, Florida."Investors want something concrete on corporate taxes or repatriation. They''re more focused on that than the affordable care act, but the first focus of the administration is ACA."The dollar .DXY was up 0.06 percent against a basket of major currencies after Trump said Monday that tax reform details would not be revealed until after the administration''s proposal on healthcare.Investors had hoped for "more clarity around tax reform sooner rather than later" said Bipan Rai, senior macroeconomic strategist at CIBC Capital Markets in Toronto.At 2:50 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was up 26.14 points, or 0.13 percent, to 20,847.9, the S&P 500 .SPX had gained 3.04 points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,370.38 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC had added 10.37 points, or 0.18 percent, to 5,855.67.U.S. 10-year Treasury notes US10YT=RR were last down 14/32 in price to yield 2.367 percent, from a yield of 2.317 percent late Friday. Two-year notes US2YT=RR were last down 3/32 in price to yield 1.204 percent, from a yield of 1.145 percent late Friday.MSCI''s benchmark world stock index was up 0.1 percent .MIWD PUS after it hit a record high Thursday. Europe''s benchmark index of leading 300 shares .FTEU3 fell 0.2 percent.MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS fell 0.3 percent, while Japan''s Nikkei .N225 fell 0.9 percent for its lowest close since Feb. 9 on concerns that a stronger yen would crimp corporate earnings.The Dow Jones Industrial Average scaled its 11th consecutive record high on Friday, the longest such run since 1987, leading some to suggest it could be prone for a correction.In commodities, Brent crude LCOc1 was down 0.04 percent at $55.97 per barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate CLc1 settled up 0.1 percent at $54.05 per barrel as a global supply glut appeared to ease.(Additional Reporting by Sam Forgione and Karen Brettell in New York, and Jamie McGeever in London; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Nick Zieminski)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-markets-idINKBN1661YM'|'2017-02-27T17:15:00.000+02:00' +'f36cd918fe753f69f45a3e070b97e274c4a4ff02'|'Brazil''s BM&FBovespa mulls sharing Cetip cost savings with clients'|'Company News - Fri Feb 3, 2017 - 10:11am EST Brazil''s BM&FBovespa mulls sharing Cetip cost savings with clients SAO PAULO Feb 3 BM&FBovespa SA, Brazil''s sole financial exchange, is considering passing along to clients part of the cost savings from the acquisition of rival clearinghouse Cetip SA Mercados Organizados. In a Friday securities filing, BM&FBovespa said the matter was being discussed preliminarily and no decision had been made. Newspaper Valor Econmico said earlier in the day, citing an investor letter from a fund manager, that BM&FBovespa could share up to 30 percent of the cost savings from Cetip''s acquisition with clients. (Reporting by Brad Haynes; Editing by Bernadette Baum) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/cetip-ma-bmf-bovespa-prices-idUSE6N1CB01X'|'2017-02-03T22:11:00.000+02:00' +'45498e2041a7f1e4c59eb913e172adc0da301dd7'|'Northern Trust uses blockchain for private equity record-keeping'|'By Anna Irrera - NEW YORK NEW YORK Feb 22 Northern Trust Corp has deployed a new blockchain-based system built with International Business Machines Corp to record information on transactions involving private equity funds, in one of the first commercial deployments of the nascent technology.The program is currently being used to manage the administration of a private equity fund run by Switzerland-based asset manager Unigestion, Northern Trust and IBM said on Wednesday.The new blockchain system records documents and information connected to transactions involving the fund, such as investments by limited partners, a process which is currently highly manual. Other than providing a central record for fund managers, investors and administrators, the program also allows regulators to access the information when required.Blockchain, which first emerged as the system underpinning cryptocurrency bitcoin, is an immutable shared ledger of transactions that is maintained by a network of computers, rather than a centralized authority. As it creates a shared golden source of data it can reduce errors and the need for reconciliation.Financial institutions have been ramping up their investment in blockchain, also known as distributed ledger technology, in the hopes that it can help make some of their processes more efficient and cheaper to manage.The new system, built using blockchain code from the Linux Foundation-led Hyperledger project, could provide greater transparency, efficiency and security to an asset class that has remained largely paper-based, Northern Trust and IBM executives told Reuters."We decided to focus on the private equity market because the marketplace is very manual today," said Peter Cherecwich, president of corporate and institutional services, at Northern Trust. "Benefits should include a reduction in cost."The Chicago-based asset management and fund administration company plans to roll out the platform to other clients selectively, it said.While financial firms have announced numerous blockchain experiments over the past year, the vast majority still have to move into real implementations, leading skeptics to question whether the technology''s potential has been over-hyped.Private equity was an ideal market for early blockchain adoption because it involved lower volumes of transactions than other asset classes but would benefit from more automation, Northern Trust and IBM executives said. (Reporting by Anna Irrera; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/nthern-trust-ibm-blockchain-idINL1N1G61TX'|'2017-02-22T02:01:00.000+02:00' +'10ca7c3fd4758adf985e653767d7e18825a6ca41'|'MOVES-MUFG Securities names Anne Gebuhrer executive director of EMEA'|' 46am EST MOVES-MUFG Securities names Anne Gebuhrer executive director of EMEA Feb 6 Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) hired Anne Gebuhrer to head its European Financial Institutions Debt Capital Markets (DCM). Gebuhrer, who joins MUFG Securities EMEA as an executive director, will be based in London and report to Anthony Barklam, head of DCM. Prior to joining MUFG, Gebuhrer worked at Royal Bank of Scotland as head of financial institutions DCM origination, with primary responsibility for French, Belgian and Luxembourg banking and insurance groups. (Reporting by Divya Grover in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/mufg-moves-anne-gebuhrer-idUSL4N1FR3A8'|'2017-02-06T17:46:00.000+02:00' +'3f9cc4f51202b62233d0cc6d2cbddaaf04f4c28d'|'One in four UK families have less than 95 in savings, report finds - Society'|'The gap between rich and poor in the UK is growing, as savings and home ownership decline among the poorest families but rise among the richest, a report by insurer Aviva shows.In a sign of growing financial strain, low-income families had just 95 of savings and investments, excluding pensions, this winter, compared with 136 in the same period last year. That figure jumps to 62,885 among high-income families, up from 50,208 a year earlier.Millions of people fall below the UK''s minimum income standard in data Read more It means the savings gap between the richest and poorest has grown by 25% over the past year, from 50,072 to 62,790.The gulf between low- and high-income families is showing signs of widening, in a worrying indication that those less fortunate are finding their finances increasingly stretched, said Paul Brencher of Aviva UK. While high income families have been able to increase their savings pots, those with low incomes have seen theirs fall to less than 100.One in four families in the UK are classed as low income, according to Aviva, with net monthly earnings below 1,500. Less than one in 10 (8%) fall under the high income classification of net monthly earnings of 5,001 or more.Across all families, savings fell to the lowest level in 18 months. Home ownership in the UK was at the lowest level in four years, at 64% of families. Low-income families were the least likely to own their homes at 41% down from 43%. Home ownership rose among high-income families to 90% from 88%.Aviva said declining rates of home ownership could be a sign of difficulties getting a mortgage for first-time buyers or families not considered prime borrowers. Brencher said: Although mortgage rates are at record lows, qualifying for these deals and getting a deposit can be difficult for those with limited household income or unusual circumstances. Britains broken housing market means becoming a homeowner is a distant dream for many families and government plans must swiftly be turned into action to stem the tide of inequality.Inflation was a growing concern among families, with 43% saying that significant increases in the price of basic necessities was one of the biggest threats to their standard of living in the next three months, up from 36% last summer.''I borrowed money from my mum to buy food'': life on universal credit Read more Economists have warned that households will come under increased pressure in 2017 , as inflation rises while wage growth remains weak. The headline rate of annual inflation rose to 1.8% in January from 1.6% in December , the highest in more than two years. It is expected to rise to about 3% early next year, as the sharp fall in the pound since the Brexit vote pushes up the price of goods imported from overseas. Brencher said: With inflation climbing fast, families are understandably concerned about the impact of rising prices on the household purse. Poor returns on savings and rising inflation means families could well see their safety net eroded if they dont keep up regular contributions and try to boost savings pots whenever possible.Average debt, tracked by Aviva since 2011, has now surpassed its previous peak of 14,950 in the summer of 2013 to reach 17,630 in winter 2016-17. Personal loans are the single biggest contributor to household debt, with families owing an average of 2,770.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/feb/20/one-in-four-uk-families-have-less-than-95-in-savings-report-finds'|'2017-02-20T14:01:00.000+02:00' +'105beb35e646087cbae13ca2b8a56a7833a0ce4b'|'Asia shares notch 19-month highs, dollar firm'|' 12:38am GMT Asia shares notch 19-month highs, dollar firm A man looks at a stock quotation board outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, April 18, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai By Wayne Cole - SYDNEY SYDNEY Asian shares inched to 19-month highs on Tuesday as the potential for economic stimulus in the United States lifted the dollar, bond yields and Wall Street stocks. The dollar was also bolstered by speculation the head of the Federal Reserve would underline the prospects of more U.S. rate hikes when she testifies to Congress later on Tuesday. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS edged up 0.1 percent, trying for its fifth straight session of gains. Japan''s Nikkei .N225 also added 0.1 percent but is bumping up against stiff chart resistance that has held since mid-December. Wall Street indexes hit historic peaks on Monday, with the benchmark S&P 500''s market value topping $20 trillion as investors bet tax cuts promised by President Donald Trump would boost the economy. The Dow .DJI rose 0.7 percent, while the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.52 percent and the Nasdaq .IXIC 0.52 percent. Apple ( AAPL.O ), a component of all three indexes, rose 0.9 percent to close at a record high for the first time since 2015. The dollar gained on a basket of currencies 100.950, near its strongest since Jan. 20, while the euro was down for the fourth session in a row at $1.0597 EUR= . The dollar scored a two-week top on the yen following reports that Trump did not discuss the currency or its strength during weekend talks with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The dollar was last at 113.72 yen JPY= . All eyes are now on Fed Chair Janet Yellen''s semi annual testimony on policy due on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tom Porcelli, chief U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets, believes Yellen will outline the case for at least three rate rises this year, rather than the two the market implies. One thing to be watched was how forceful Yellen was in keeping alive the risk of a hike in March, something the market has priced as a distant chance <0#FF:>. Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan on Monday argued it should move soon to avoid falling behind the curve, especially as fiscal policy could drive faster growth and inflation. "Given the uncertainty of timing on the fiscal agenda and the relatively modest uptick in inflation thus far this year, we think it will be difficult for the committee to get enough members onboard for a hike in March," said Porcelli at RBC. "But Yellen could certainly move the ''perception'' needle on this." In commodity markets, metals were on a tear thanks to supply disruptions and strong Chinese demand. Copper CMCU3 hit its highest since May 2015 after shipments from the world''s two biggest copper mines were disrupted. [MET/l] Iron ore climbed to its since August 2014 amid reports China plans to cut steel capacity by at least half in 28 cities across five regions during the winter heating season. Oil, in contrast, was pressured by a stronger dollar and signs of rising U.S. crude output. U.S. West Texas crude CLc1 was up 12 cents at $53.05 a barrel, having shed 1.7 percent overnight. Brent futures LCOc1 had lost $1.11 on Monday to stand at $55.59 a barrel. (Editing by Sam Holmes) Exclusive: Retail CEOs head to Washington to try to kill U.S. border tax - sources WASHINGTON Chief executives of some of America''s largest retailers, including Target Corp and Best Buy Co Inc , are headed to Washington this week to make their case that a controversial tax on imports would raise consumer prices and hurt their businesses, according to people familiar with the plan.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUKKBN15T025'|'2017-02-14T07:35:00.000+02:00' +'36c83ff7fe66db3c0edace1ccafcec5a301f580c'|'SK Hynix CEO says will consider fresh bid for Toshiba chip unit stake'|'Business News - 02am GMT SK Hynix CEO says will consider fresh bid for Toshiba chip unit stake FILE PHOTO - The logo of Toshiba is pictured on its flash memory factory, seen during a media tour in Yokkaichi, western Japan September 9, 2014. REUTERS/Reiji Murai/File Photo SEOUL SK Hynix Inc ( 000660.KS ) will consider making a fresh bid for Toshiba Corp''s ( 6502.T ) flash memory chip business should the Japanese conglomerate offer more of it for sale, the chief executive of the South Korean chipmaker said on Thursday. Toshiba initially put up almost 20 percent of the business for sale, to help it work through financial problems. It has since said it is considering selling most or all of the business. People familiar with the matter told Reuters that Toshiba aims to raise at least 1 trillion yen (7.10 billion pounds) SK Hynix said earlier that it had submitted a non-binding bid for a stake in the business on Feb. 3, without specifying the size of the stake. It will consider a fresh bid should Toshiba make another offer, CEO Park Sung-wook told reporters on the sidelines of an industry event in Seoul. SK Hynix trails in a NAND flash memory chip market led by Samsung Electronics Co Ltd ( 005930.KS ) and second-ranked Toshiba. (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Christopher Cushing) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting-sk-hynix-idUKKBN16208F'|'2017-02-23T10:02:00.000+02:00' +'954665a339fd26808e16b5945dadf34ca2a97ff0'|'Population trends deliver boost for Japan''s micro M&A boutiques'|'By Junko Fujita - TOKYO TOKYO Boutique advisers specialising in micro-M&A for mostly family-run firms are enjoying a boom in Japan, as an ageing, shrinking population brings in the boundaries on the country''s small business landscape.There are no industry-wide figures for deals between 500 million and 1 billion yen ($4.4-$8.8 million), but boutique advisers say they are benefiting as owners look to merge their businesses to cope with dwindling demand or as they reach retirement without a successor.Japan''s population, already the oldest among developed economies, is projected to shrink by a third by 2060.Nihon M&A Center Inc, the largest of the three publicly listed boutique advisors, said on Jan. 30 nine-month profit to end-December had risen 34 percent to a record 5.3 billion yen on sales of 15 billion yen."Japan''s population is shrinking ... Ultimately none of the small companies will be able survive by itself," said Yasuhiro Wakebayashi, chairman and founder of the company."They have to be part of larger firms to grow. That is going to be a trend in this country, so the M&A market will only become bigger."Nihon M&A brokered 406 deals in the first nine months of the financial year ending in March, comfortably on the way to beating the previous year''s 420 total.Smaller rivals Strike Co and M&A Capital Partners are also capitalising on the trend, brokering a combined 106 deals in the last financial year, up 23 percent on the previous year and 74 percent on the year before that.Reuters has previously reported that private equity firms in Japan have had a similar boost to business after a long period of torpor, based on the same demographic imperatives."We are in a niche overlooked by big institutions," said Kunihiko Arai, president of Strike.M&A activity among bigger businesses, arranged by financial heavyweights such as conducted has been Nomura Holdings, Daiwa Securities Group Inc and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc, grew only 4.3 percent to 2,137 last year, while deal value fell 10 percent to 6.2 trillion yen, Thomson Reuters data show.SHARE GAINSInvestors in the advisors have also benefited.Shares in Nihon M&A Center gained 56 percent in the past year and M&A Capital Partners shares almost tripled, outperforming a 48 percent gain in the Tokyo Stock Exchange''s Topix Securities Index. Strike shares have more than doubled since listing in June.Nobuko Inui, 59, who owned four dispensing pharmacies in Osaka, western Japan, was among those helped by Nihon M&A.Last year Inui sold the business she set up in 1994 to Tokyo-based, privately held Kraft Inc, which operates 630 pharmacies nationwide. Inui found it hard to stay competitive as the government cut drug prices to reduce mounting healthcare costs."Drugs stores are under pressure to improve and diversify our services, but a small company like mine could not afford to hire more pharmacists, so I decided to sell my business," said Inui, who runs the pharmacies for their new owner.Strike says more consolidation is likely in the 7.8 trillion yen dispensing pharmacy market, where a big player like Ain Holdings Inc, with about 1,100 outlets, controls just 3 percent.Small firms are the backbone of Japan''s economy, accounting for 99.7 percent of its 3.8 million companies and employing about 70 percent of the workforce, according to government data, but many are closing their doors as owners age.Last year a record 29,583 companies closed, up 8.2 percent on the previous year, according to Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd.The boutiques largely get deals through referrals from regional banks and local accountants."There are cases where companies can keep their operations by conducting M&As. That means jobs are protected, which is good for revitalising local economies," said Tomoharu Sato, assistant manager in the corporate banking department for Toho Bank Ltd in Fukushima city."We rely on the small boutiques'' networks to respond to the needs of clients seeking merger partners from further afield and in a limited time."Such deals also provide a fillip to larger companies struggling to find organic growth.Tokyo-based construction materials maker S E Corp is predicting a decline in net profit for the year ending March on rising labor costs, but one bright spot is a steel-frame construction firm it bought for 230 million yen in 2015 from Hiroshi Morita.Morita, 47, still runs the firm, based in Yonago city in western Japan, under its new name S E Tekken.The unit''s sales have grown about 40 percent to around 850 million yen since the acquisition."Small companies play a vital role for bigger firms by for example supplying key product parts," said Masashi Seki, manager for Tokyo Shoko Research.($1 = 113.5500 yen)(Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Will Waterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/japan-m-a-idINKBN15S0RQ'|'2017-02-13T05:30:00.000+02:00' +'1c0c7cbbb170730788c041c2b184d5a7f3dfb79a'|'PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Feb 13'|'Company 7:37pm EST PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Feb 13 Feb 13 - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. The Times Don''t invest in Britain, European firms urged Continental companies should avoid investing in Britain because of uncertainty surrounding withdrawal from the EU, Europe''s largest management consultancy has warned. bit.ly/2km7Sdv Made in Britain label threatened by trade deals, exporters fear The CBI is calling on the government to ensure that exporters can take full advantage of free trade deals after Brexit by maintaining their "Made in Britain" label. bit.ly/2km4vTV The Guardian UK offshore wind ''will lower energy bills'' more than nuclear Offshore windfarms could provide cheaper power than Britain''s new wave of nuclear power stations, Hugh McNeal, the chief executive of trade body RenewableUK has claimed. bit.ly/2kmaOqj Foreign billionaires in London choosing to rent to avoid stamp duty Foreign billionaires are renting rather than buying luxury homes in London following increases in tax bills on upmarket properties. Lettings that cost more than 3,000 stg ($3,746.10) a week - 156,000 stg ($194,797.20) a year - increased by 28% in the last three months of 2016, according to research by the property data service LonRes. bit.ly/2km76x8 The Telegraph RBS plays down claim it will cut 15,000 jobs Royal Bank of Scotland Group is preparing to cut more costs and chop more workers, but played down reports it will cut 15,000 staff in the next round of shrinking. bit.ly/2km1mDy Mattress retailer SIMBA Sleep raises 9 mln stg from raft of new City investors including husband of Heineken heir SIMBA Sleep, the online mattress retailer, has raised 9 million stg from a raft of new investors including fund manager Henderson, broker Numis and Citi banker Michel de Carvalho, whose wife Charlene is the sole heir to the Heineken family fortune. bit.ly/2km5Bie Sky News Barclays outlines plans to freeze Staley''s 8 mln stg-a-year pay deal Barclays Plc is proposing to freeze its chief executive''s maximum pay package for the next three years in a bid to avert a repetition of the remuneration rows which dogged one of Britain''s biggest lenders. bit.ly/2km1Idm M&S targets former Next star to spearhead clothing revival Marks & Spencer Group has approached the architect of Next Plc''s transformation into one of Britain''s top fashion retailers about a key role at the helm of its perennially struggling clothing division. bit.ly/2km2erK The Independent Brexit: Labour''s Lords leader pledges not to delay triggering of Article 50 Labour''s leader in the House of Lords has pledged not to hold up or "frustrate" the triggering of Article 50 - as the Government''s bill moves to the House of Lords for scrutiny. ind.pn/2klTUZa ($1 = 0.8008 pounds) (Compiled by Shalini Nagarajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Cooney) Next In Company News GLOBAL MARKETS-Dollar gains after Trump-Abe meet, Asian shares firm TOKYO, Feb 13 The dollar rose against the yen on Monday on relief that U.S. President Donald Trump set aside tough campaign rhetoric over security and jobs in a smooth meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with no mention of currency policy. Toshiba prepares to unveil nuclear hole, other perils threaten TOKYO, Feb 13 Toshiba Corp will on Tuesday detail a writedown of close to $6 billion after bruising cost overruns at its U.S. nuclear arm, turning investor attention to the Japanese group''s efforts to fix that and other balance sheet headaches. Australian banks narrow focus of Apple Pay collective bargaining request SYDNEY, Feb 13 Australian banks seeking permission from the country''s competition regulator to bargain collectively with Apple Inc over its mobile payment system said on Monday they will focus on gaining access to the U.S. tech company''s contactless payment function, removing the fees Apple charges as a bone of contention. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-press-business-idUSL1N1FY00L'|'2017-02-13T07:37:00.000+02:00' +'3430ccec6e3e51849160ad0f0b109c3df5928cb4'|'RPT-Wall St Week Ahead-Energy stocks look for catalyst out of doldrums'|'(Repeats Friday story with no changes)By Chuck MikolajczakNEW YORK Feb 10 Buoyant oil prices since Donald Trump''s election have provided no lasting halo effect for energy stocks as the sector''s profit rebound has lacked vigor, but that could change in the week ahead with a fresh crop of quarterly scorecards.Helped by OPEC output cuts, oil prices are up roughly 20 percent since Trump''s victory, and U.S. crude has held above $50 a barrel since mid-December. U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission positioning data shows hedge funds and other speculators hold near-record-high net long positions in U.S. crude futures and options.But the S&P energy index, one of the key drivers to the stock market rally in the early days following the Nov. 8 election, has not kept pace. It has slumped nearly 4 percent for the year."We are seeing a little bit of a difference of opinion between equity investors and commodity investors," said David Lefkowitz, senior equity strategist at UBS Wealth Management Americas in New York."Equity investors seem a little bit more worried about the outlook for the commodity and the actual commodity investors themselves don''t seem to be reflecting that."Should those opinions converge and energy stocks rebound, stocks could see more pronounced moves than have been seen in recent weeks, with the S&P 500 unable to register a move of more than 1 percent in either direction since Dec. 7.The relationship between the energy sector and U.S. crude has also tightened recently, with the 10-correlation at 0.61, its highest in three weeks.Part of the underperformance in the sector looks to be attributable to a disappointment in quarterly results. Energy companies were expected to benefit from easy comparisons with last year, when the price of oil sank below $30 a barrel, but so far they''ve under-delivered against those expectations.Thomson Reuters data through Friday morning shows energy sector earnings for the fourth quarter are on pace for a fractional decline. A month ago they were seen rising by nearly 5 percent.Moreover, the group has so far posted a beat rate of only 58 percent, as measured by the number of companies in the sector posting better-than-expected results, well below the 68 percent rate for the S&P as a whole."Understand when you think about the energy patch in general, you have to separate out what the fully integrated guys were doing," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities in New York."What drags the group down is when you lump in the majors, and they were spotty."That should put the focus on the next leg of earnings from energy companies next week, when names such as Marathon Oil , Devon Energy and a host of smallcap companies in the group report results.Devon is forecast to post a modest profit after a massive loss a year earlier, while Marathon is expected to cut its loss by nearly 90 percent, according to estimates compiled by Thomson Reuters StarMine. Both posted substantial upside earnings surprises in their previous reports for the third quarter, and shares of both have outperformed their peers since the election, with Devon up 8.3 percent and Marathon up 13.6 percent."Definitely we are going to need to see some proof in earnings to play catch-up here," said Jeff Zipper, managing director at the U.S. Bank Private Client Reserve in Palm Beach, Florida."Now we are going to see some clarity from when these companies report, at least in the sector, to see some follow through here." (Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Dan Burns and James Dalgleish)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-weekahead-idINL1N1FV1WD'|'2017-02-12T15:00:00.000+02:00' +'1f5b43c77a3fe156222a9b6db4ab82de71de2bc0'|'UPDATE 1-AccorHotels 2016 profit beats forecasts, French market improved in Q4'|'Company News 2:01am EST UPDATE 1-AccorHotels 2016 profit beats forecasts, French market improved in Q4 * Operating profit beats forecasts * Appoints ex-President Sarkozy to board * French market under pressure but some signs of recovery (Adds detail, background) By Dominique Vidalon PARIS, Feb 22 AccorHotels, Europe''s largest hotelier, reported a forecast-beating 3.8 percent rise in operating profit for last year, helped by restructuring efforts and robust demand in most markets. The French company said earnings for its core, domestic market had been impacted as a result of weak demand following a spate of deadly, Islamist militant attacks in France, although the French market had started to recover in the fourth quarter. AccorHotels, which has more than 4,000 hotels ranging from the budget Ibis to the luxury Sofitel brand, also recruited former French President Nicolas Sarkozy as a board member to chair an international strategy committee. The group, which competes with InterContinental, Marriott and Starwood, is undergoing a reorganisation under Chief Executive Sebastien Bazin, who took over in August 2013. The overhaul has entailed cutting costs, expanding in China and strengthening its presence in the luxury hotels market, with the acquisition of FRHI Holdings, owner of prestigious hotels such as London''s Savoy and New York''s Plaza. AccorHotels has also struck several deals in order to strengthen its online and Internet offerings. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose to 696 million euros ($732 million) in 2016. This compared with Accor''s own guidance for EBIT between 670-690 million euros, while analysts polled by Financial Inquiry for Reuters expected 676 million. Revenues also rose 2.2 percent on a like-for-like basis to 5.631 billion euros for 2016. In France, which makes 30 percent of group profit, revenues fell 2.8 percent while EBIT also declined 13 percent on a like-for-like basis. Business was very challenging in Paris where a key measure of revenue per available room (REvPar) fell 13.2 percent, although hotel demand outside the French capital was stronger. In the Paris region alone, hotel owners welcomed 1.5 million fewer tourists in 2016 compared to 2015, costing local tourism 1.3 billion euros in lost revenue, the regional tourism committee said this week. In July, AccorHotels announced a plan to turn property unit HotelInvest - whose assets are worth 6.6 billion euros - into a subsidiary in 2017 ahead of then selling the majority of its capital to institutional investors. AccorHotels reiterated on Wednesday that the plan would give it significant headroom for expansion. ($1 = 0.9504 euros) (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/accorhotels-results-idUSL8N1G70TX'|'2017-02-22T14:01:00.000+02:00' +'b1836a2f9168b5716de204ea9b76f3388f686580'|'Actelion says J&J''s $280 per share offer to start March 3'|' 22am EST Actelion says J&J''s $280 per share offer to start March 3 ZURICH Feb 16 Actelion said on Thursday that Johnson & Johnson''s agreed tender offer for the Swiss biotechnology company''s shares is expected to start on March 3 and to run to March 30. The price is $280 per share, valuing Actelion at $30 billion. Shares of the new research and development company being spun out of Actelion for a Swiss listing will be distributed to Actelion shareholders as a stock dividend prior to settlement of tender offer, it said. (Reporting by John Miller; Editing by Michael Shields) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/actelion-results-idUSASM0009HQ'|'2017-02-16T13:22:00.000+02:00' +'4d07ba00c237e6aab1d233eabf03ed76a3cf21f5'|'Exclusive - Mubadala in talks to buy stake in Brazil''s Invepar, inject capital, sources say'|'By Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Tatiana Bautzer - SAO PAULO SAO PAULO Mubadala Development Co PJSC [MUDEV.UL] is in talks to buy a minority stake in Invepar SA ( IVPR4B.SO ) and inject fresh capital into the Brazilian infrastructure company to kick-start projects and reduce debt, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.According to two of the people, Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala is in advanced talks to buy 24.4 percent of the company from a group of investment firms that obtained it in the in-court reorganization of OAS SA, one of Invepar''s founding partners. OAS [OAEP.UL] surrendered the Invepar stake late last month.A deal, which could be announced around late February or early March, would trigger a reworking of the shareholder accord between OAS and the three Brazilian pension funds that own a combined 75.6 percent of Invepar, said the people, who requested anonymity as talks remain under way.As part of the plan, Mubadala would agree to pump fresh capital into Invepar to rework that accord, the people said. The capital injection would dilute the stakes that Previ Caixa de Previdncia [PREVI.UL], Petros Fundao Petrobras [PETROS.UL] and Funcef Fundao [FUNCEF.UL] have in Invepar, two of the people said.In a statement to Reuters, Mubadala said it is "always looking for opportunities in sectors and geographies with strong potential."OAS and representatives for the creditor group declined to comment.Previ declined to comment, while Petros and Funcef did not have an immediate response.The deal underscores growing interest in infrastructure firms among global private equity firms and sovereign wealth funds, which want to take advantage of depressed valuations to plant flags in Brazil ahead of an expected economic recovery.PREVIOUS INTERESTMubadala first ventured into Brazil in 2012 through a partnership with former tycoon Eike Batista, from whom it bought a stake and extended a loan to his mining, energy and logistics conglomerate Grupo EBX.The collapse of EBX left Mubadala with stakes in several EBX-controlled companies, property and a $300 million stake that he held in Burger King Holdings Inc [BKWXK.UL].Formally known as Investimentos & Participacoes em Infraestrutura SA, Invepar operates toll road, airport and urban mobility licenses, including So Paulo''s GRU international airport and the MetrRio and VLT Carioca urban transport projects in Rio de Janeiro.The company had previously been the target of interest from global firms including Canada''s Brookfield Asset Management Inc ( BAMa.TO ) and France''s Vinci SA ( SGEF.PA ), Reuters reported in June 2015. Brookfield scrapped plans to acquire the stake from OAS and creditors over strategic disagreements.A new partner would help Invepar cut debt and jumpstart investments that snagged amid Brazil''s harshest recession ever, surging borrowing costs and the involvement of OAS in the nation''s worst corruption scandal.The creditor group could sell the stake for a value "north of" 2 billion reais ($642 million), the people said. The creditors took control of the stake in exchange for their redemption of 1.25 billion reais worth of OAS debt.($1 = 3.1174 reais)(Additional reporting by Stanley Carvalho in Abu Dhabi; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/invepar-m-a-mubadala-exclusive-idINKBN15O2K2'|'2017-02-09T15:43:00.000+02:00' +'de6034cc1b95107b7f52d55cc5aba971a628d206'|'MEG Energy posts larger quarterly loss'|'Feb 9 Canadian oil sands producer MEG Energy Corp reported a bigger quarterly loss as it recorded an impairment charge of C$80.1 million ($61.04 million).The Calgary, Alberta-based MEG''s net loss widened to C$305 million or C$1.34 per share, for the three months ended Dec. 31, from C$297 million, or C$1.32 per share, a year earlier.Revenue rose 27.2 percent to C$566 million. ($1 = 1.3119 Canadian dollars) ($1 = 1.3122 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/meg-energy-results-idINL4N1FU3HD'|'2017-02-09T07:08:00.000+02:00' +'88b952ecbdbf56426c2685e3ffc27605c3d12a5d'|'MOVES-Credit Suisse, HSBC, UBS, Aldermore, HighVista Strategies'|'Company News 07am EST MOVES-Credit Suisse, HSBC, UBS, Aldermore, HighVista Strategies Feb 22 The following financial services industry appointments were announced on Wednesday. To inform us of other job changes, email moves@thomsonreuters.com. RIVERNORTH CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC The U.S.-based boutique investment management firm appointed Greg Uythoven as an institutional portfolio specialist. CREDIT SUISSE GROUP AG The bank appointed Christoph Schumacher as head of global real estate in its asset management unit, effective June 1. ALDERMORE GROUP PLC The British bank appointed Graeme Elliot as a business development manager in its invoice finance team. HSBC HOLDINGS PLC The bank named Tony Cripps as chief executive of HSBC Singapore, effective April 3. HIGHVISTA STRATEGIES LLC The Boston-based investment firm appointed Edmund Hajim as its chairman. NN INVESTMENT PARTNERS The asset manager has made a trio of hires to form a new Responsible Investment team, which will support all NN IP investment teams. WHIRELAND GROUP PLC The UK corporate broking and wealth management firm has appointed Adam Pollock head of its corporate advisory and broking division. CHINA MINSHENG BANKING CORP LTD Alex Lee rejoined the bank''s syndicated finance team in Hong Kong earlier this month after a brief stint at Hengfeng Bank in Shanghai. UBS AG Yuki Ikuno, managing director and head of global syndicate finance, and Haruto Tsutsumi, executive director of syndicate finance have left UBS in Tokyo. (Compiled by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/financial-moves-idUSL4N1G74HJ'|'2017-02-22T22:07:00.000+02:00' +'d8e8221bcda73389fc9b8faa17ead180445765f0'|'UPDATE 2-Euronext to pursue alternatives if LCH deal falls through'|'* Euronext says to focus on reinforcing clearing* Euronext eyes "suitable acquisition" in commodities* Exchange to launch pan-EU block trading platform (Recasts after media call, adds Quote: s)By Noor Zainab Hussain and Huw JonesFeb 15 Pan-European exchange Euronext may still buy a clearing house for derivatives if its planned purchase of LCH SA, which it uses, from London Stock Exchange falls through.Euronext has agreed to buy Paris-based LCH SA for 510 million euros ($538 million), but the deal can only go ahead if LSE Group succeeds in merging with Deutsche Boerse, a tie-up regulators will rule on by the end of June."If the merger ... is not completed for whatever reason, we will pursue alternatives to offer the best clearing services to our clients," Euronext Chairman and CEO Stephane Boujnah said on Wednesday after reporting stable full-year earnings.A clearing house ensures a stock, bond and derivatives trade is completed even if one side of the transaction goes bust.LCH SA is authorised to clear derivatives, an activity that is set to grow sharply, and Euronext''s contract expires in 2018.Other derivatives clearing houses in Europe include those operated by CME and ICE. Setting up a new derivatives house from scratch would be a lengthy undertaking.Euronext, which operates bourses in Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, London and Lisbon, would be dwarfed by an Deutsche-Boerse-LSE tie-up and has opposed the combination.Asked if he still opposed the merger, Boujnah said that "whatever has to be said has been said", and it was now a question of getting the best for Euronext shareholders.Euronext said its full-year core earnings were stable, as reduced costs offset a drop in listing and trading volumes following Britain''s vote to leave the European Union.Total capital raised in primary activity fell to 3.73 billion euros ($3.95 billion) from 28 new listings, against 12.40 billion euros a year earlier from 52 listings, it said.Trading activity for the year was "marked by lower volumes" due to uncertainty after the Brexit vote and lower volatility.BLOCK TRADESEuronext said it would launch a pan-European platform in mid-2017 aimed at shielding trading of blocks of shares from so-called high frequency traders, who have been criticised by other market participants as having an unfair speed advantage.Rivals like the LSE have already set up similar platforms ahead of new EU rules in January 2018 that allow asset managers to trade blocks of shares off the public market.Euronext also announced a new electronic platform called Chequers to help customers back their commodity, bond and stock trades with collateral in case of default.It also plans to become a content provider of reference on agricultural products and other commodity markets by seeking a "suitable acquisition target".Euronext said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were stable at 283.9 million euros for 2016, slightly ahead of analysts'' expectations.Operating expenses for the year fell 9.4 percent to 212.5 million euros from 234.7 million euros a year earlier. The company''s EBITDA margin rose to 57.2 percent, up from 54.7 percent a year ago. (Editing by Gopakumar Warrier/Sunil Nair/Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/euronext-results-idINL4N1G02JA'|'2017-02-15T07:22:00.000+02:00' +'6f179acb0b62c6003a0961561c82ce5eff64b133'|'Euro zone economy still needs ECB support - Draghi'|' 38pm GMT ECB won''t act on temporary inflation spikes - Draghi BRUSSELS The European Central Bank will not tighten policy to counter surging inflation as the rise is temporary and due almost entirely to rising oil prices, ECB President Mario Draghi said on Monday, brushing aside calls for the ECB to reduce stimulus. The currency bloc''s recovery is gaining strength but labour market slack remains large, productivity growth is weak and risks remain tilted to the downside, requiring the ECB''s continued help, Draghi told the European Parliament''s committee on economic affairs. With inflation surging to the ECB''s target last month, calls, particularly from Berlin, have increased for the bank to claw back stimulus and start phasing out its 2.3 trillion euro asset buying programme, which has kept borrowing costs at record lows for years. Echoing the message of Peter Praet, his chief economist, Draghi said the ECB would not react to short term and temporary swings in data, suggesting that any tapering, or winding down the asset buys is far into the future. "Support from our monetary policy measures is still needed if inflation rates are to converge towards our objective with sufficient confidence and in a sustained manner," Draghi said. "Our monetary policy strategy prescribes that we should not react to individual data points and short-lived increases in inflation," Draghi said. "We therefore continue to look through changes in (harmonised) inflation if we believe they do not durably affect the medium-term outlook for price stability. The ECB''s asset buys will be reduced by a quarter from April but are set to continue at least until the end of the year. Euro zone inflation hit 1.8 percent in January and is likely to exceed the ECB''s target of almost 2 percent in the coming months, firming resistance in Germany, the euro zone''s biggest economy, to the ECB''s policy of easy cash. But core inflation, which excludes energy and food prices, is still low and Draghi pointed to weak underlying trends as a key reason for continued monetary support. "So far underlying inflation pressures remain very subdued and are expected to pick up only gradually as we go on," he said. "This lack of momentum in underlying inflation reflects largely weak domestic cost pressures." (Reporting by Balazs Koranyi, Francesco Canepa and Andreas Framke Editing by Jeremy Gaunt) FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi testifies before the European Parliament''s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee in Brussels, Belgium, February 15, 2016. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo Next In Business News British '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-idUKKBN15L1LV'|'2017-02-06T21:31:00.000+02:00' +'572db9272b11fe1b5f6c45295b85e76a830428e6'|'84 Lumber''s controversial Super Bowl ad steals social media spotlight'|'Internet News - Mon Feb 6, 2017 - 1:35pm EST 84 Lumber''s controversial Super Bowl ad steals social media spotlight By Angela Moon - NEW YORK NEW YORK Relatively unknown U.S. building materials supplier 84 Lumber set social media ablaze with its Super Bowl ad on a migrant Hispanic mother and daughter''s journey to the United States, a commercial initially rejected by Fox Television for being too controversial. The TV version of the ad tapped into the political climate under U.S. President Donald Trump, showing portions of the difficult journey and asking viewers to watch the full version online. The 90-second spot ended up crashing the company''s website during the National Football League championship game between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. The online version, about 195 seconds long, showed the mother and daughter arriving at a high wooden gate in a concrete wall. As they enter through the wall, the commercial ends with a tagline "The will to succeed is always welcome here." www.84lumber.com/ It was among Super Bowl ads that tackled Trump policies on immigration and other issues that have split the U.S. population. 84 Lumber was among the top 10 ads mentioned on Sunday and Monday, along with big names such as Coca Cola Co, Anheuser-Busch Budweiser and Pepsi, according to social data intelligence company Talkwalker. www.talkwalker.com/ On Monday, 84 Lumber was the most talked about subject on Facebook with over 100,000 mentions since Sunday evening. On YouTube, the hit was close to 3 million with 1 million views on the company''s Facebook page. Many who commented on the commercial on YouTube linked the wall to the one proposed by Trump along the U.S.-Mexico border. While the majority of the comments praised 84 Lumber''s ad, some criticized it for being too pro-immigration. 84 Lumber was not immediately available for comment. The commercial had to be reworked after Fox rejected an initial version that featured the border wall, according to the Brunner ad agency which created the spot for 84 lumber. "We were creating a message that had a lot of symbolism in it. It''s very easy for it to be viewed in the way Fox chose to view it," said Michael Brunner, chairman and CEO of Brunner. "We had to alter the structure of what we were doing but we didnt alter the meaning or the message." 84 Lumber, headquartered in the town of Eighty Four, Pennsylvania, has over 250 stores across the United States with revenue of $2.5 billion in 2015, according to the company''s website. (Additional reporting by Tim Baysinger; Editing by Andrew Hay) Next In Internet News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-nfl-superbowl-advertising-84lumber-idUSKBN15L26K'|'2017-02-07T01:21:00.000+02:00' +'8cd0916023ae332e217207470456ab2574a9b760'|'BRIEF-Sanatana Resources upsizes private placement'|' 14am EST BRIEF-Sanatana Resources upsizes private placement Feb 27 Sanatana Resources Inc * Sanatana upsizes private placement * Sanatana resources - increased private placement to 17.5 million flow-through units at $0.05 per ft unit, 2.5 million non-flow-through units at $0.05 per unit Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-sanatana-resources-upsizes-private-idUSASB0B2FN'|'2017-02-27T21:14:00.000+02:00' +'23362ba33158aba01cbf7ea2213d757e9ed9652d'|'Bombardier reports smaller quarterly loss'|'Thu Feb 16, 2017 - 6:04am EST Bombardier reports smaller quarterly loss A plane flies over a Bombardier plant in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on January 21, 2014. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi/File Photo Canadian plane and train maker Bombardier Inc ( BBDb.TO ) reported a smaller quarterly loss compared to a year earlier, when the company recorded impairment charges. Net loss attributable to Bombardier shareholders narrowed to $251 million, or 12 cents per share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, from $679 million, or 31 cents per share, a year earlier. The company took charges of $30 million in the quarter compared to $673 million a year earlier. Montreal-headquartered Bombardier, which is in the middle of a 5-year turnaround plan to improve results, reported a 12.7 percent fall in revenue to $4.38 billion. (Reporting By Allison Lampert and Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-bombardier-results-idUSKBN15V19G'|'2017-02-16T18:00:00.000+02:00' +'06e96301d4ca6ba22f0b8604c94fb11dd87ecc2e'|'Freeport says no agreement with Indonesia, export ban remains'|' 6:02pm GMT Freeport says no agreement with Indonesia, export ban remains By Wilda Asmarini and Susan Taylor - JAKARTA/TORONTO JAKARTA/TORONTO Freeport-McMoRan Inc ( FCX.N ) said on Friday an export ban remains in place on its copper mine in Indonesia, the world''s second-biggest, because it has not yet reached agreement with the government on a new mining permit. Government officials had earlier told reporters they issued a new mining permit to Freeport and the world''s biggest publicly-listed copper miner could now apply for an export permit. The southeast Asian country banned copper concentrate exports Jan. 12 to try and boost the local smelter industry. Freeport says the suspension will reduce output from its Grasberg mine by around 70 million pounds of copper per month. Freeport shares were up 4.1 percent on Friday, after the company told Reuters there was no agreement, easing off an earlier 7.5 percent gain, as the government announcement signalled a possible end to the export suspension. Phoenix, Arizona-based Freeport said it will continue to work with the government, but only agree to a new mining permit if it has the same fiscal and legal protection in its current contract, said spokesman Eric Kinneberg. "These conditions are necessary and critical for (Freeport Indonesia''s) long-term investment plans," he said in an email, adding that export restrictions contravene the company''s legally-binding contract. It is expected that terms of the new permit will require Freeport to pay taxes and royalties it was previously exempt from and divest up to 51 percent of its Indonesian unit, from 30 percent previously. To date, it has divested nearly 9.4 percent. Last week, Freeport repeated a warning that it would have to slash Grasberg production and reduce its 30,000-plus work force if it did not get a new export permit by mid-February. Rio Tinto ( RIO.L ) ( RIO.AX ), in a joint venture with Freeport in Indonesia since 1995, said Thursday that it was might exit its interest in Grasberg due to the uncertainties. Freeport''s new mining permit, signed by Indonesia''s Energy and Mineral Resources Minister on Friday, would be valid until 2021, with an extension option, said Coal and Minerals Director General Bambang Gatot. "Whether they agree or not, we''ll see," Gatot said. "Whether there are incentives, we can work on this." Freeport said last month the government had given "indications" it would allow the miner to resume exports while negotiating the new mining permit. A similar permit was issued on Friday to Indonesian copper miner Amman Mineral Nusa Tenggara ( MEDC.JK ), which said it was awaiting more information. (Reporting by Wilda Asmarini in Jakarta and Susan Taylor in Toronto; Writing by Fergus Jensen and Susan Taylor; Editing by Susan Fenton and Tom Brown) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-indonesia-freeport-permit-idUKKBN15P1V8'|'2017-02-11T01:02:00.000+02:00' +'8f4352ea8a4b9c298a525decca97511e69bdc3c9'|'BRIEF-Titan International enters credit and security agreement'|' 01pm EST BRIEF-Titan International enters credit and security agreement Feb 23 Titan International Inc: * Titan International - on Feb. 17, 2017, co entered credit and security agreement with respect to a new $75 million revolving credit facility * Titan International - credit facility replaces $150 million revolving credit facility which was previously scheduled to terminate in Dec. 2017 * Titan International-new credit facility includes maturity of earlier of 5 years or 6 months prior to maturity of 6.875pct senior secured notes due in Oct. 2020 Source text: ( bit.ly/2leRfl2 ) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-titan-international-enters-credit-idUSFWN1G819Z'|'2017-02-24T06:01:00.000+02:00' +'0e47118f2f38ab9324dda03c2b721cbfb6ee0c58'|'Nordstrom winds down relationship with Ivanka Trump brand -Bloomberg report'|'Feb 2 Nordstrom Inc is winding down its relationship with the Ivanka Trump brand, Bloomberg reported, citing a person with knowledge of the matter.The department store operator will be reducing the amount of Ivanka Trump merchandise it stocks, though some inventory could remain for now, Bloomberg said, citing the person.An Ivanka Trump brand spokesperson declined to comment and Nordstrom did not respond to requests seeking comment outside regular business hours. (Reporting by Sangameswaran S in Bengaluru; editing by Grant McCool)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/nordstrom-ivanka-trump-idUSL1N1FO00D'|'2017-02-03T03:11:00.000+02:00' +'304525e70f81854f2c29502669c70bff16a4d5bf'|'Refugees turned entrepreneurs: I needed to think about the future - Guardian Small Business Network'|'I t was nearly five years ago when Razan Alsous fled Syria with her husband and three children and arrived in Huddersfield with all their belongings squeezed into one suitcase. Ambitious and determined to carve out a new, and better, life, Alsous sought to find a job. But despite her scientific background and pharmacy degree, it was a massive battle; companies demanded references and a history of working in the UK that she simply didnt have.At the same time, Alsous was starting to make her own halloumi from scratch using local milk. We used to eat halloumi on a daily basis but here it wasnt as good as it used to be back home, she says. Searching both in English and Arabic online, her microbiology background enabled Alsous to grasp the basics of making the cheese. Enthused by the outcome, she realised that there was a gap in the market for a new style of tasty halloumi. Securing a startup loan of 2,500 from the Local Enterprise Agency, Alsous set up Yorkshire Dama Cheese in 2014, showcasing the brand at trade shows and food festivals. In Syria, I used to be active, I never sat down, says Alsous. When I arrived here, instead of focusing on what we had lost, I needed to think about the future.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Princess Anne making a royal visit to the Yorkshire Dama Cheese factory. Photograph: Robert Ducker 2015 Now a five-strong team, Yorkshire Dama Cheese is sold in farm shops and delis nationwide. And theres no sitting still for Alsous shes currently in talks with a supermarket to stock her brand and is working on a move to a new factory. Well have a window where people can watch it being made and buy it.Alsous and her family are among more than 117,000 refugees thought to be living in the UK , many of whom have fled countries due to war or human rights abuses (a refugee, by definition, has proven that they would be at risk if returned to their home country). Like Alsous, many are working hard to adapt to the circumstances they find themselves in. But they face serious challenges.Around the world, refugees face significant restrictions on their economic lives, says Alexander Betts, professor of forced migration and international affairs, and director of the Refugee Studies Centre at Oxford University.Most of the worlds refugees are not allowed to work. For those that are, there are other challenges: language, non-recognition of foreign qualifications, discrimination all pose barriers to finding a job. Refugees also face additional challenges in registering businesses and accessing banking facilities. But in spite of this, many refugees do set up small businesses, sometimes in the informal sector [self-employment].Edin Basic, co-founder of gourmet pizza company Firezza , was studying civil engineering in Bosnia when civil war broke out and he was forced to leave in 1992. He arrived in London not speaking a word of English. That was the hardest challenge at first, along with the lack of money, as I had no help from my parents or other relatives, he says. He worked in restaurant kitchens, learning how to cook pasta and pizza, and worked his way up as an area manager for Caff Uno and later, Starbucks. Every step of the way was a challenge, but I am kind of grateful of that. The struggle made me who I am. Being busy meant I didnt have time to think too much about what had happened.It was his time spent working in restaurants that sparked the idea for good quality pizzas. Faced with a lack of savings, along with business partner, fellow Bosnian refugee Adnan Medjedovic, Basic called in favours from contacts. We were lucky to have friends including an architect, builder and graphic designer who helped us to develop the site and create a brand for Firezza. We also had an investor who saw the potential of what we were doing. After opening its Wandsworth site in the early 2000s, Firezza received a 250,000 investment from private equity business YFM.Success ensued and the duo sold the company, which now has 24 locations, to Pizza Express last year for an undisclosed sum.Betts describes refugees as natural entrepreneurs. For any migrant, it takes a certain amount of enterprise to be able to leave your home and travel to a new country. But for refugees there is the additional need to adapt: when people are forced to flee they have to adapt to new social networks, new markets, and new regulation. As the old adage suggests, necessity is the mother of invention.Robert Rajeswaran, chief executive of coding bootcamp GoCode , was forced to leave Jaffna, Sri Lanka with his family when he was a child.It took around two years of his family living as refugees before they were granted asylum in the UK. He says the whole experience of being a refugee gave him the hunger to make his business work. There was standoffish behaviour towards refugees and immigrants in parts of society [...] This gave me a drive to succeed and prove that a refugee too can make it in this country through sheer hard work and perseverance.To help refugees in self-employment and setting up their own company in the UK, Charlie Fraser co-founded The Entrepreneurial Refugee Network (TERN). Many refugees have been successful entrepreneurs, says Fraser. But when they arrive, refugees are often put in areas where there is a labour surplus, and it can take a long time accessing finance because they have no credit history.Facebook Twitter Pinterest A TERN programme in action. Photograph: Peter Smith/PAWS Designs Refugees are forced to take jobs at much lower skill levels than they previously held, he says. To help empower refugees, TERN runs regular programmes offering access to business mentoring and expert advice.The programmes run for 12 weeks with the targets set by the refugees taking part in them. The common aim is to identify key challenges facing their businesses, or business idea, such as market research, business planning, customer engagement, and work towards overcoming these such that they become financially viable by the end of the programme (upon which they can access finance through TERNs lending network).During the programme, participants meet with their mentors for one to two hours once a week. While there is no obligation for mentors to keep up with mentees following the programme, Fraser says frequently mentors check-in with mentees afterwards.We want to make sure they are no longer marginalised, Fraser says. An example of a former participant on a three-month TERN programme is a former engineer from Syria who is setting up a software company that creates tools for verifying images on media sites. He was matched with a mentor from a tech venture capital firm who advised him on marketing material for his new business, says Fraser.Despite the growing awareness of refugee entrepreneurship, with initiatives like Techfugees organising hackathons and connecting refugees to entrepreneurs and networks like TERN, Betts says the government needs to do more to create an auspicious environment for budding business owners. Startup capital, funding for business education, regulating against discrimination by banks, and supporting business incubators, for instance, could all help refugees to better help themselves.But for many refugees, theres an ingrained fear that motivates them to succeed. You have to work hard to survive when you find yourself in another country with no one to depend on but yourself, says Basic. Failure is not an option.Sign up to become a member of the Guardian Small Business Network here for more advice, insight and best practice direct to your inbox. Accessing expertise Small business Entrepreneurs Work & careers features '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/feb/28/refugees-turned-entrepreneurs-future-business-perserverance'|'2017-02-28T14:15:00.000+02:00' +'a857493c508890ca9a98a6ed0bae4e382d410921'|'New York court approves Verizon settlement over ''merger tax'' objections'|'By Jonathan Stempel - NEW YORK NEW YORK A New York state appeals court on Thursday said its door remains open for settlements of merger litigation where shareholders receive no money, approving an accord tied to Verizon Communications Inc''s ( VZ.N ) $130 billion buyout of Vodafone Group Plc''s ( VOD.L ) stake in their Verizon Wireless venture.The Appellate Division, First Department in Manhattan said a lower court judge erred in rejecting a class-action settlement requiring Verizon to disclose more information to shareholders who thought it overpaid, and get a "fairness opinion" if it sold some of the venture''s assets. It also entitled the shareholders'' lawyers to up to $2 million for fees and expenses."Disclosure-only" settlements have lost favor in recent years, with critics saying they provide little benefit to shareholders and companies, while forcing companies to pay fees of shareholders'' lawyers in a so-called "merger tax."Judges in Delaware courts routinely approved such settlements for many years but have in recent decisions made clear those days are over, causing lawyers to file dozens of merger-related lawsuits in other courts instead.The Verizon settlement drew objections from two shareholders, and was rejected in December 2014 by New York State Supreme Court Justice Melvin Schweitzer.He said the accord failed to materially boost shareholder knowledge about the merger, which had closed in February 2014, and could impede the New York-based phone company''s ability to sell assets.But in Thursday''s decision, a four-judge appellate division panel said the added disclosures provided at least "some benefit" to shareholders, while the fairness opinion requirement could help insure good prices for asset sales.The panel also tightened its nearly 27-year-old test for approving such settlements, adding requirements that they be in shareholders'' and companies'' best interests. It said the Verizon settlement achieved both."Given the changing circumstances and concerns surrounding nonmonetary settlements of class actions," the Verizon case offered an opportunity "to address present day concerns," Justice Marcy Kahn wrote.The appellate division returned the case to the lower court to determine legal fees."We are pleased," Juan Monteverde, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in an email. "Litigation that provides enhanced corporate disclosures and corporate governance will continue to play a vital role in protecting public shareholders."A lawyer for one of the objecting shareholders did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The other objector, Gerald Walpin, a former inspector general under President George W. Bush, died last year.The case is Gordon et al v. Verizon Communications Inc et al, New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, 1st Department, No. 653084/2013.(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-verizon-settlement-idINKBN15H2NO'|'2017-02-02T17:15:00.000+02:00' +'94b3c050803fbcd57c9088857fb27e163ef82cf3'|'Hotelier M&C rooms revenue hit as militant attacks, competition bite'|'Business News 30am GMT Hotelier M&C rooms revenue hit as militant attacks, competition bite Millennium & Copthorne Hotels ( MLC.L ) said on Friday rooms revenue fell in 2016 as militant attacks across Europe hurt tourism, while more rooms in major cities and increased competition from non-traditional services hit business elsewhere. Hoteliers are facing rising competition from online holiday rental startups such as Airbnb, just as there has been an increase in supply of rooms in major cities. Additionally, attacks in Europe have hurt travel demand. The operator of the Millennium, Grand Millennium, Copthorne and Kingsgate hotels said revenue per available room (RevPar), a key industry measure, fell 2.3 percent in constant currency terms in the year ended Dec. 31. M&C said the London business was impacted by the Paris attacks of November 2015 and reduced corporate business travel in the second half of the year. The hotelier said its New York business was hit by refurbishment to a hotel tower, while corporate business at its Singapore unit was dampened by shorter average length of customer stay and a rate strategy that was not well suited to market conditions. RevPar, however, increased by 6.6 percent on a reported basis, boosted by a fall in the value of sterling GBP= against major currencies following the June 23 Brexit vote. Full-year revenue grew 9.3 percent to 926 million pounds ($1.16 billion), it said, while pretax profit fell marginally to 108 million pounds. M&C also said Tan Kian Seng, who joined as interim president of Asia in October, would take charge as interim group chief executive officer from March 1 following current head Aloysius Lee''s retirement at the end of this month. M&C, majority-owned by Singaporean businessman Kwek Leng Beng''s property company, has focused on expanding into "gateway cities" such as London, Singapore and New York. ($1 = 0.8008 pounds) (Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mill-cop-hotels-results-idUKKBN15W0QO'|'2017-02-17T15:30:00.000+02:00' +'18c722bb71af4d31bc00395f1cb454977232533d'|'Italy busts crime ring that laundered 300,000 euros in gold per week'|'Business News - Tue Feb 14, 2017 - 5:04pm GMT Italy busts crime ring that laundered 300,000 euros in gold per week ROME Italy arrested 11 people for running an international gold laundering ring on Tuesday that melted down and sold some 300,000 euros (255,146.68 pounds) worth of the stolen metal each week, Italian finance police said. They were accused of buying and reselling stolen goods. Police in Italy, Hungary and Slovenia also searched about 60 homes and businesses. Police picked up one of the group''s leaders, who was not named, at the Italy-Slovenia border carrying 200,000 euros in cash obtained by selling stolen gold, finance police official Filippo Ivan Bixio told Reuters. The group, which was based in the northern industrial city of Turin, bought stolen objects from a network of contacts, paying them in cash at a discount of about 30 percent compared with market prices, Bixio said. A company set up in Budapest issued fake purchase receipts without ever taking possession of the gold. It then sold the precious metal to the countries'' largest jewellers at market prices. The Italian companies paid the Hungarian company by bank transfer, so each week one of the group''s leaders drove from Turin to Budapest to pick up 200,000 to 300,000 euros in cash to pay for more stolen gold. "They paid their suppliers in cash," Bixio said. "Then they melted it down into small bars and sold it to Italy''s three or four top buyers, who thought they were buying gold from Hungary, but in reality it was Italian." During the investigation, police documented the purchase of 750 kg (1,700 lb) and the laundering of some 25 million euros in stolen gold, police said. Eurojust, the European Union''s judicial cooperation agency, helped Italian authorities coordinate the operation with their counterparts in Hungary and Slovenia. (Reporting by Steve Scherer; Editing by Alison Williams) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-italy-crime-gold-idUKKBN15T2A1'|'2017-02-15T00:04:00.000+02:00' +'eb645df3258ea09966ff45b7f44f7f2f28504e63'|'Canada''s MacDonald Dettwiler to buy DigitalGlobe: Dow Jones'|'Canadian satellite company MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd ( MDA.TO ) is in talks to buy U.S.-based DigitalGlobe Inc ( DGI.N ) for about $2 billion to $3 billion, Dow Jones reported, citing sources.Financial conditions of the deal couldn''t be learned and it is also possible that talks might fall apart before a decision is reached, the Dow Jones report said.Shares of satellite imagery provider DigitalGlobe were up 20 percent at a near three-year high of $35.90. The company has a market value of about $1.84 billion.DigitalGlobe''s services are used by companies such Facebook Inc ( FB.O ), Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] and U.S. defense contractor Harris Corp ( HRS.N ).MacDonald Dettwiler''s shares were down 1.5 percent at C$72.31 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.(Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-digitalglobe-m-a-macdonald-dettwiler-idUSKBN15W2AJ'|'2017-02-18T00:02:00.000+02:00' +'8677b1ba5f2a2d7bae91f5ec18b942e573195d44'|'Exclusive: China mulls radical steps targeting metals, coal in war on smog - document'|'Commodities 36am EST Exclusive: China mulls radical steps targeting metals, coal in war on smog - document left right FILE PHOTO: People walk along a village road on a polluted day after the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays on the outskirts of Langfang, Hebei province, China, February 3, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: Residential buildings under construction are pictured on a polluted day after the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays on the outskirts of Langfang, Hebei province, China, February 3, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo 2/2 By Meng Meng and Josephine Mason - BEIJING BEIJING China is considering forcing steel and aluminum producers to cut more output, banning coal in one of the country''s top ports and shutting some fertilizer and drug plants as Beijing intensifies its war on smog, a draft policy document shows. The Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) has proposed the measures in a draft policy document seen by Reuters. If implemented, they would be some of the most radical steps so far to tackle air quality in the country''s most polluted cities. The move comes after China''s northeast has battled some of the worst pollution in years as emissions from heavy industry, coal burning in winter and increased transport have left major cities including Beijing blanketed in thick smog. The document outlines plans to cut steel and fertilizer capacity by at least half and aluminum capacity by at least 30 percent in 28 cities across five regions during the winter heating season, which normally lasts from late November to late February. By July, it would stop Tianjin, one of the nation''s busiest ports, handling coal, with shipments diverted to Tangshan, 130 kms (80 miles) to the north. Last year, the port accounted for 17 percent of China''s coal imports. By September, ports in Hebei province would not be allowed to use trucks to carry coal from railways to ships. A source with direct knowledge of the proposal said the environmental watchdog has distributed the draft to seek opinion from relevant local governments and companies. The Ministry declined to comment on the draft. The Ministry of Transportation did not respond to requests for comment. It''s not known when the Ministry expects to decide on whether to implement the plan, one of the most extreme since the government launched its offensive on pollution three years ago. If introduced, the steps would likely add further fuel to rallies in aluminum, steel and coal prices, which have been buoyed by China''s efforts to shut excess capacity and clean up polluting sectors. Still, prolonged cuts in capacity will reignite worries about demand for raw materials like iron ore. They will also cause major upheaval for utilities, miners and traders, as they seek alternative routes for their coal. The five regions affected are Beijing, the port city of Tianjin and the neighboring province of Hebei, as well as Shandong, Shanxi and Henan. Located along China''s east coast, they are some of the top steel and coal producing regions, as well as among the most populated and most plagued by smog. The Ministry also plans to close pesticide and pharmaceutical factories and fertilizer plants that use urea unless the chemicals and drugs are critically needed for the population, according to the document. The news comes as the country''s northern regions braces for more heavy smog this week. On Monday, state media reported Chinese cities that sit on three pollution "highways" have been told to coordinate efforts to reduce emissions. (Reporting by Meng Meng and Josephine Mason; Editing by Richard Pullin) Next In Commodities'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-pollution-idUSKBN15S0ET'|'2017-02-13T12:27:00.000+02:00' +'6edcbeba1cb2e9d39e82cb2ee90d480c007bb617'|'Just as neoliberalism is finally on its knees, so too is the left - Josh Bornstein'|'Friday 24 February 2017 19.30 GMT Last modified on Friday 24 February 2017 19.32 GMT T he 10th anniversary of the global financial crisis looms this year, which means its almost a decade since neoliberal economics began to fall apart. The crisis spawned a global recession, the near collapse of global finance and the subsequent eurozone crisis as governments incurred huge debts amid efforts to rescue the hapless banking industry. The then Australian prime minister, Kevin Rudd , observed in the immediate aftermath: The current crisis is the culmination of a 30-year domination of economic policy by a free-market ideology that has been variously called neoliberalism, economic liberalism, economic fundamentalism, Thatcherism or the Washington consensus. The central thrust of this ideology has been that government activity should be constrained, and ultimately replaced, by market forces. The global recession that followed was the worst in 70 years and its effects continue to be felt in many developed countries. Australia was one of the fortunate few to avoid a recession, thanks to enormous government-funded stimulus packages and the continuation of an unprecedented mining boom. Nevertheless, economic activity has been sluggish ever since, job growth has stalled, wage growth has collapsed and inequality is on the rise. We are unlikely to spot next financial crisis, Bank of England official says Read more And yet in 2017, just as neoliberalism is on its knees, so too is the left. It matters not whether we are describing social democrats, socialists, the hard left or the moderate left. A swath of populist extreme rightwing forces is sweeping through many developed countries. Europe now resembles a graveyard for social democracy. How did it come to this? First and foremost, there is incompetence. Neoliberal economics, a creation of the right and embraced to varying degrees by social democrats, has dominated western politics for nigh on four decades. Its mantras of deregulation, privatisation and cutting tax for the wealthy and corporations have been exhausted, if not discredited. There are only so many assets that can be privatised and, as the head of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Rod Sims, has noted, replacing a public-sector monopoly with a private-sector monopoly has simply driven up prices . The fetish for deregulation and tax cutting has caused immense harm for consumers, for workers and for governments seeking to provide services demanded of them but hampered by inadequate revenue. It is not just Pope Francis who has called for major reform of the economic system. The World Economic Forum, which met in January, advocated fundamental reforms to market capitalism to tackle inequality. In doing so, it echoed statements of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, formerly strong advocates of the neoliberal agenda. Neoliberalism the ideology at the root of all our problems Read more The growth of income and wealth inequality meticulously documented by the French economist Thomas Piketty is economically harmful and politically unsustainable. Extreme concentration of wealth undermines the economy, particularly by depressing demand for goods and services. It corrodes democracy as the wealthiest few exercise a disproportionate effect on the political process. The consistent smashing of climate records across the globe, wiping out species and disrupting industry, the mounting losses caused by extreme weather and the increasing numbers of climate refugees do not militate for more of the invisible hand. When it comes to the climate crisis, neoliberalism has nothing to offer. Progressive politicians and political parties have had decades to develop alternative policies and programs and then prosecute them. Overwhelmingly, they have failed. In fact, they have lagged behind conservative institutions and politicians in recognising the failings of neoliberalism and moving away from marketdominated politics. Ideological commitment to small government and cutting red tape did not rob George W Bush of any sleep when he administered a massive US$152bn stimulus to the American economy in the form of the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008. The Conservative British prime minister, Theresa May, did not pine for Margaret Thatcher when she proclaimed that there is more to life than individualism and self-interest and that government must correct injustice and unfairness wherever it is found. In contrast, the left has been leaden. Among progressives, the financial crisis and the climate change crisis should have spawned a broad debate and a reimagining of the role of regulation, a robust and dynamic state working alongside the private sector. Even more fundamentally, the political and economic events of recent decades compel an evaluation of the gaming of the political system by vested interests manifested by the alarming influence of vast sums of dark money. Like many other progressives, Kevin Rudd was better at diagnosing the problem than charting a new course. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP Democracy and the institutions that support it need an overhaul. When any system is gamed, the rules must change. The left needs to promote new protections to restore integrity and protect information, transparency and accountability. But for many social democrats, the R word, regulation, like its cousin the T word, taxation, remains barely utterable. Like many other progressives, Rudd was better at diagnosing the problem than charting a new course. Well after the financial crisis, the Rudd government continued to sport a minister for deregulation. It is not as though we have not seen this before. Many historians and economists have drawn compelling parallels between the gilded age and the modern era. The emergence of all-powerful global monopolies and oligopolies including Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon thumbing their noses at tax and employment laws mirrors the egregious abuses of the steel, transport and oil monopolies in the US of the late 19th century. During the gilded age, it was a Republican president, Theodore Roosevelt, who led the progressive charge to save capitalism from itself by imposing strong government regulation on a rampaging private sector. In 2017 it is another Republican president who has shaken up the status quo. Donald Trump has repudiated some of the orthodoxies of the last 40 years, notably by rejecting what are often misleadingly described as free trade agreements. He has also put an end to the outsourcing of US jobs, not by legislation, but by threatening tweets. Then there is division. The financial crisis constituted an assault on conservative ideology. Paradoxically, it has triggered a crisis of belief for the left. Instead of seizing the moment and embracing a Rooseveltian resurgence, the left remains hopelessly divided on what should replace neoliberal economics. At the heart of the divide is a fundamental disagreement about the role of the state in regulating markets. Exhibit one: the extraordinary dysfunction of the British Labour party. Amid its own interminable existential crisis, it is hopelessly divided between Blairites and Corbynites, and will continue to decline until that changes. Youre witnessing the death of neoliberalism from within - Aditya Chakrabortty Read more The preselection process for the ruling French Socialist party shone an industrial-strength torch on the profound ideological split in the party. If the pundits are right, that process is otherwise irrelevant as the left is unlikely to feature in the presidential runoff. A similar ideological division marred the Democratic primaries between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. That division may now be masked by the presence of a common and highly dangerous enemy. And, finally, there is that quality that we perpetually underestimate in human endeavour luck. The crises of the past decade, both economic and ecological, have been accompanied by other remarkable phenomena that have engendered enormous anxiety and anger. The combination of dysfunctional economic inequality, a business and technological tsunami that is perceived to threaten secure employment, an unprecedented global refugee crisis and the spectre of Islamofascist terrorism has offered political reward for a ruthless, agile and unprincipled conservatism. The rights capacity to jettison its principles, exploit racism and xenophobia, and to attack other minority groups, cannot be matched. This era is throwing up popular firebrand rightwingers, including Nigel Farage and Trump. By contrast, for many in the electorate, listening to a modern progressive politician is like taking a tepid bath. The era of technocrats seeking to impress and persuade by their mild-mannered mastery of evidence-based policy is well and truly redundant.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/economics/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/commentisfree/2017/feb/25/just-as-neoliberalism-is-finally-on-its-knees-so-too-is-the-left'|'2017-02-25T02:30:00.000+02:00' +'3da72f5e72fb902773fe8730b2ecf98b77cc3135'|'Venezuela falls behind on oil-for-loan deals with China, Russia'|' 11pm GMT Venezuela falls behind on oil-for-loan deals with China, Russia FILE PHOTO: Oil workers weld a pipeline at PDVSA''s Jose Antonio Anzoategui industrial complex in the state of Anzoategui, Venezuela, April 15, 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo By Marianna Parraga and Brian Ellsworth - HOUSTON/CARACAS HOUSTON/CARACAS Venezuela''s state-run oil company, PDVSA, has fallen months behind on shipments of crude and fuel under oil-for-loan deals with China and Russia, according to internal company documents reviewed by Reuters. The delayed shipments to such crucial political allies and trading partners - which together have extended Venezuela at least $55 billion (43.9 billion) in credit - provide new insight into PDVSA''s operational failures and their crippling impact on the country''s unravelling socialist economy. Because oil accounts for almost all of Venezuela''s export revenue, PDVSA''s crisis extends to a citizenry suffering through triple-digit inflation and food shortages reminiscent of the waning days of the Soviet Union. The total worth of the late cargoes to state-run Chinese and Russian firms is about $750 million, according to a Reuters analysis of the PDVSA documents. At the end of January, PDVSA was late on nearly 10 million barrels of refined products that the company owes the firms - with shipments delayed by as much as 10 months, according to the documents. It also failed to make timely deliveries of another 3.2 million barrels of crude shipments to China''s state-run China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). For a graphic detailing the delayed cargoes, see: tmsnrt.rs/2keq9Kr Shipments to China and Russia are critical for PDVSA''s financial health because firms from the two countries purchase about a third of the PDVSA''s total oil and fuel exports. The administration of Venezuela president Nicolas Maduro has for years relied on credit from the two nations, particularly China, to finance infrastructure and social investment in Venezuela. PDVSA did not respond to requests for comment. Venezuela''s Petroleum Ministry declined to comment. During the decade-long oil boom that ended in 2014, Venezuela borrowed nearly $50 billion from China that it agreed to pay back in crude and fuel deliveries to state-run Chinese firms. Venezuela was the seventh largest crude supplier to China in 2016 and the largest in Latin America. Russia''s state-run Rosneft ( ROSN.MM ) lent at least $5 billion under similar arrangements, but the details of those deals have not been disclosed. Now, PDVSA is struggling to make good on those promises. A total of 45 cargoes bound for Russian and Chinese companies are late for a variety of reasons, according to internal operational reports about shipments of crude and refined products. The problems include operational mishaps, such as refining outages and delayed cleaning of tanker hulls, and financial disputes with service providers owed money by PDVSA. The backlog of delayed or cancelled fuel cargoes represents about three months of the 88,000 barrels per day (bpd) of jet fuel and diesel that PDVSA must deliver under financing deals to Russia''s Rosneft ( ROSN.MM ), China''s PetroChina ( 601857.SS ) and ChinaOil. Rosneft, the Kremlin and the Russian Energy Ministry declined to comment. PetroChina did not respond to requests for comment, and ChinaOil, a unit of PetroChina, declined to comment. The Chinese foreign and commerce ministries did not respond to requests for comment. OPERATIONAL, FINANCIAL STRUGGLES The delayed deliveries suggest that PDVSA will struggle this year to meet a planned increase in shipments to China and other countries, as laid out in a broad strategy document seen by Reuters. That document said PDVSA aims to boost crude deliveries to China by 55 percent in 2017, in part by reducing exports to India by 15 percent. Last year, the company produced about 2.5 million barrels a day, lowest in 23 years, and this year''s production projections are virtually unchanged, according to the PDVSA strategy document. An internal PDVSA email exchange from Nov. 21, between PDVSA executives in charge of loading operations, details a myriad of operational and financial problems that are delaying the cargoes it owes Chinese and Russian customers. In one of the emails, a company official said PDVSA was unable to deliver a 1.8 million-barrel cargo of fuel oil to PetroChina because Bahamas terminal Borco, where PDVSA rents storage space, has intermittently prevented the firm from using the tanks since 2016 due to lack of payment. Another 2 million-barrel cargo of fuel oil bound for China in November was postponed because of stained crude tankers, which cannot navigate international waters due to environmental regulations. The emails also discussed potential delays to a fuel oil cargo for Rosneft, also because of dirty tankers and unpaid bills. Separately, four cargoes of Venezuelan Boscan crude owed to China''s CNPC have also been postponed this year. FALLING OIL PRICES MEAN HEAVIER DEBTS The fall in crude prices has made the oil-for-loan agreements more onerous. Because loan payments were negotiated when crude prices were higher, the agreements require PDVSA to ship more oil in order to continue servicing the debts at the same rate. That saps its ability to ship to other customers - such as India, or customers in the United States - who would pay in cash, which PDVSA desperately needs. "PDVSA is taking a legal risk by postponing cargoes to key customers and a financial risk if it also delays deliveries to customers who pay by cash," said Francisco Monaldi, fellow in Latin American energy policy at Baker Institute in Houston. The top buyer of Venezuelan crude in India is Reliance Industries ( RELI.NS ), operator of the world''s biggest refining complex. The company imported 353,000 bpd of Venezuelan crude in 2016, 5 percent less than a year ago. To replenish its heavy sour Venezuelan crude supplies, it has stepped up imports from Mexico, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. If PDVSA can''t meet its obligations to Russia and China, Monaldi said, the countries could recover money through projects or assets outside the oil sector, he added. The Chinese and Russian financing schemes, however, offer Venezuela and PDVSA more repayment flexibility than they get from the holders of $50 billion in bonds they have sold to investors. Because of default concerns, yields on those bonds are currently among the world''s highest, paying an average of 21 percentage points more than benchmark U.S. Treasury bonds. China and Russia, which have provided unwavering support for Venezuela in diplomatic forums, have stayed quiet about any misgivings with Caracas. The problem of delayed cargoes would most likely be discussed discreetly through diplomatic channels, analysts said. An escalation into a commercial dispute, with Chinese or Russian firms demanding prompt payments, could affect Venezuela by triggering default clauses on bonds, or lead PDVSA to lose control of U.S. subsidiary Citgo, almost half of which was pledged to Russia as collateral. While that scenario is unlikely, PDVSA clearly does not have enough oil or money to satisfy its many creditors, said a trader who works at a company that regularly buys Venezuelan oil. "At this point, everybody is trying to collect pending debts from PDVSA by receiving cargoes," said the trader, speaking on condition of anonymity. "But production is not enough." (Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard, Elias Glenn and Meng Meng in Beijing, Florence Tan in Singapore, Nidhi Verma in New Delhi, and Vladimir Soldatkin in Moscow; Editing by David Gaffen and Brian Thevenot) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-venezuela-oil-insight-idUKKBN15O2A7'|'2017-02-10T00:11:00.000+02:00' +'4af36f59fe61116e416aa0d7930df507e4164736'|'Beazley to hire staff for Irish insurance business as Brexit looms'|' 39am GMT Beazley to hire staff for Irish insurance business as Brexit looms By Noor Zainab Hussain Lloyd''s of London insurer Beazley Plc BEZG.L will hire additional staff in Ireland to establish a European insurance company in Dublin after the Brexit vote, its chief executive told Reuters. The underwriter, which provides marine, casualty and property insurance and reinsurance, also reported a 3 percent rise in full-year pretax profit, defying analyst estimates for a decline. It pointed to "significant" growth opportunities in the United States and other markets outside London amid a challenging environment for insurers. Shares in Beazley surged as much as 10 percent on Friday, making the stock the top performer on the FTSE Midcap Index .FTMC and the pan-European Stoxx 600 Index . Higher investment returns and a strong underwriting performance helped to lift profit, the company said. Beazley has been working to get European insurance licences for its existing Irish reinsurance business to allow it to operate on a broader basis throughout the EU. Many London-listed insurers are drawing up plans to set up regulated subsidiaries in the EU due to the expected loss of rights to sell products across the bloc after Brexit and Beazley appears to be in the vanguard. DUBLIN CALLING The insurer, which has offices in Oslo, Munich and Paris, said it applied to set up an insurance subsidiary in Dublin in November and regulators were reviewing its application . "We''re hopeful because we''ve been in Ireland for seven years... We hope we''re are at the front of the queue," CEO Andrew Horton told Reuters. "We are establishing our insurance company (in Dublin) irrespective of when the Brexit application goes in. We were already starting to do that even before we had the referendum in June," Horton said He added Beazley chose Dublin as it was easier to make changes to an already existing business. Industry observers say all insurers looking to set up EU subsidiaries have included Dublin among their options, attracted by its language, location and tax and regulatory systems. Lloyd''s of London''s SOLYD.UL, Neon Underwriting Ltd and Admiral ( ADML.L ) have pointed to Ireland as a possible new centre. Horton said that the insurer was not planning to move jobs from Britain or anywhere else to Ireland but would hire locally. "We''re expecting to add jobs in Dublin because it will need more people to manage a live insurance company than a reinsurance company," he said, without specifying how many new jobs could be created. Beazley''s pretax profit rose 3 percent to $293.2 million for the year ended Dec. 31, higher than the $243 million expected by analysts according to company-supplied consensus estimates. (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri/Keith Weir) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-beazley-results-idUKKBN15I1FG'|'2017-02-03T18:39:00.000+02:00' +'d5375f89582a4ac04b9ce50c113e57820faf957a'|'BRIEF-India budget halves import tax on LNG to 2.5 percent'|'Financials - Wed Feb 1, 2017 - 3:15am EST BRIEF-India budget halves import tax on LNG to 2.5 percent Feb 1 India''s finance minister Arun Jaitley unvieled a budget for recovery in parliament on Wednesday. For more details and other highlights from Jaitley''s budget for the 2017/18 fiscal year that begins on April 1, see . Next In Financials * Said that due to mandatory squeeze-out of Aplitt shares it resolved to suspend trading of Aplitt shares on WSE main market as of Feb. 1 MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories Reuters News Agency - Brand Attribution Guidelines Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters . Thomson Reuters is the world''s largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSD8N1EA05I'|'2017-02-01T15:15:00.000+02:00' +'46a3f3ddded8dd68a4955153aafb97a02300ce33'|'Facebook''s quarterly revenue surges 50.8 percent'|'Technology News - Wed Feb 1, 2017 - 4:17pm EST Facebook''s quarterly revenue surges 50.8 percent left right The Facebook logo is displayed on their website in an illustration photo taken in Bordeaux, France, February 1, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau 1/2 left right A Facebook logo is displayed on the side of a tour bus in New York''s financial district July 28, 2015. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo 2/2 Facebook Inc''s ( FB.O ) quarterly revenue surged 50.8 percent as the world''s largest social network continues to benefit from its aggressive push into mobiles and video. Mobile ad revenue accounted for 84 percent of company''s total advertising revenue of $8.63 billion in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with 80 percent a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected total ad revenue of $8.31 billion, according to research firm FactSet StreetAccount. The strong results allay some concerns after the company warned in November that ad growth would likely slow "meaningfully" due to limits on "ad load" - the total number of ads Facebook can show to each user. Facebook is expected to generate about $29.71 billion in mobile ad revenue in 2017, according to research firm eMarketer, up about 35.2 percent from 2016. Net income attributable to Facebook shareholders rose to $3.56 billion, or $1.21 per share, from $1.56 billion, or 54 cents per share, a year earlier. Total revenue rose to $8.81 billion from $5.84 billion. (Reporting by Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty) Next In Technology News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-results-idUSKBN15G5MR'|'2017-02-02T04:17:00.000+02:00' +'6d1c23d95aa926944a10779bf8413802cd8092da'|'Nikkei rises to more than 2-week highs on weaker yen, Trump relief'|' 1:11am EST Nikkei rises to more than 2-week highs on weaker yen, Trump relief TOKYO Feb 13 Japan''s Nikkei share average rose to more than two-week highs on Monday, helped by Wall Street breaking records, a weaker yen and relief that talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Japan''s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe yielded no negative surprises. The Nikkei gained 0.4 percent to 19,459.15, its highest closing since Jan. 27. The broader Topix gained 0.5 percent to 1,554.20, while the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 rose 0.5 percent to 13,946.05. (Reporting by Lisa Twaronite and Ayai Tomisawa; Editing by Shri Navaratnam) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-close-idUSL4N1FY247'|'2017-02-13T13:11:00.000+02:00' +'4c880aab2301c1c74de043aed9fa3578e26ed472'|'BRIEF-Insurer CNP cancels earlier deal to buy Pan Seguros, Pan Corretora stakes'|' 55am EST BRIEF-Insurer CNP cancels earlier deal to buy Pan Seguros, Pan Corretora stakes Feb 2 Cnp Assurances : * CNP says in statement that conditions needed to complete the previously agreed deal have not been met * "As indicated in the press release dated April 21, 2016, the completion of such acquisition was subject to the fulfilment of various conditions precedent. In view of the fact that some of these conditions precedent have not been met, both CNP Assurances and BTGP acknowledged that the acquisition agreements ceased to be effective," CNP says in statement * CNP had previously struck a deal in 2016 to buy 51 percent stakes in Pan Seguros and Pan Corretora for around R$700 million. Next In Financials'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1FM18F'|'2017-02-02T14:55:00.000+02:00' +'d5d3efb86daf2d250cef37e7b1e323aff7b14008'|'Why Uber-style public services are not the answer to the burden of bureaucracy - Guardian Sustainable Business'|'I n the film I, Daniel Blake , a middle-aged man is rendered unfit for work by a heart condition. As he undertakes the tortuous process of navigating the welfare system, the film captures the way in which the privatised bureaucracies of the modern neoliberal state are every bit as awful, soul-destroying and Kafkaesque as the government bureaucracies they replaced.As it stands, too much of what bureaucracy concerns itself with is the monitoring and punishing of ordinary citizens, and modern technologies can make matters worse. Just ask all the Australian Daniel Blakes harassed by Centrelink for debts they didnt owe because of the introduction of an algorithm that cross-referenced government benefits with peoples tax records. The idea was to detect any undeclared income but, because the data wasnt adequately cleansed checked for errors in format, duplications and the like it produced a large number of false positives. This meant people were sent letters demanding they pay back money they hadnt received.Senator Jenny McAllister described one example in parliament this month , in which a 67-year-old pensioner was falsely billed $36,000 and had her pension cancelled. The mistake was corrected but it is an error that will keep on happening as long as technology is imposed thoughtlessly in bureaucracies designed to discipline rather than help.The rsum is dead: your next click might determine your next job Read more It is a good reminder of something the scholar Mark Fisher argued in his book Capitalist Realism namely, that any sort of leftwing populism likely to challenge the rising tide of rightwing populism needs to be committed to getting rid of this sort of dehumanising bureaucracy.But how do you do that?Technology could help, if implemented properly. A report released by the UK thinktank Reform suggests that robots and other forms of artificial intelligence might be able to replace up to 250,000 bureaucrats within the next 15 years. It makes the point that the demands on public services are changing rapidly and that an ageing population, with increased prevalence of chronic conditions, requires a new way of delivering health and social care.All true but, as the Centrelink example exposes, some scepticism is warranted.For all its quite reasonable analysis, the report exhibits the worst sort of techno boosterism, with a good dash of neoliberal groupthink thrown in for good measure. Not only does it presume job losses are sexy efficient! streamlined! empowering! the report is soaked in the hubris that assumes matters of governance can be reduced to something neat and clean like a new online platform. As noted in an article in Politico , this is a pathology straight out of Silicon Valley: Whenever the tech world turns its attention to politics, theres always the hint of this nerdish fascination for system: an inattention to what politics actually is or does but a fetishisation of efficiency, the latent notion that all these 18th-century structures really should just be replaced with something you can download on your phone.Minister defends Centrelink over welfare debt compliance system Read more This nerdish fascination for system is nowhere more apparent than in the reports suggestion that we introduce Uber-type platforms into government processes.Contingent labour platforms, it suggests, may suit hospitals and schools as an alternative to traditional agency models. It may also suit organisations who face seasonal peaks of demand Using such platforms in the public sector would show its commitment to delivering working practices fit for the 21st century.Well, yes, but what is neatly skipped over is that with the rise of contingent labour comes a concomitant loss of wages and conditions. Do we really want hospitals and police forces staffed with Uber nurses and cops (or support staff) struggling to earn a living as they string together various gigs?The report also leans towards more privatisation, suggesting for example that the efficiencies they recommend will likely require strong leaders drawn from the private sector, to change organisational culture. But Australia has seen the logic of this approach, where privatisation of employment services has already gone further than it has in Britain. In the book Getting Welfare to Work , the authors note successive Australian governments introduced into the system private agencies who were thought to have better links to employers. Those agencies would also have greater scope to decide how to assist each individual in a model designed to give the jobseeker more choice.But there was a hitch: because neither the government nor the agencies themselves can guarantee someone a job, they use the only metric of success they have, which is to ensure that the unemployed are actively seeking work. As the book notes: [Job]seeker motivation was to be viewed as the primary driver of outcomes. In other words, far from being more efficient, such changes merely enabled the sort of insanity dramatised in I, Daniel Blake and in Centrelinks robo-call debacle, a system of monitoring and control that becomes draconian.Latest job statistics: full-time work is disappearing for women, but not for men - Greg Jericho Read more There is no doubt employment conditions are changing. As the structure of the economy shifts, traditional models of work are being rendered irrelevant, something reflected in the growing levels of under- and over-employment distorting the traditional labour market. Under such circumstances, there is an argument a leftwing argument to embrace technologies as a way of improving services. But it has to be done in a way that doesnt leave workers worse off and airy-fairy notions of turning governments into Uber risk just that. Still, a system that combined better technologies with a reduction in compliance rules would help and the most obvious way of achieving that is by introducing a universal basic income .A UBI takes away the endless layers of compliance now demanded ( la Daniel Blake) for anyone applying for welfare. It reduces, almost at a stroke, not just the intrusiveness of the state but the need for an army of bureaucrats to administer payments.Sure, it cant simply be used as a way of replacing other social benefits including those around housing, education and health. But, as economist John Quiggin argued : Social democratic parties need to break with their current role as the responsible managers of the status quo and offer a radical vision for the future. An expanded, and ultimately universal, basic income is such a vision.There is no panacea here. Technology alone will not solve our problems. But we need to call the bluff on the neoliberal promise that privatisation and other anti-state measures reduce bureaucratic sclerosis. They dont, they just change its form, emphasising monitoring and control in the name of efficiency. A system that actually used technology (and a UBI) to reduce this bureaucratic burden would go a long way to empowering ordinary people in a way that leftwing populism takes as axiomatic.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/feb/22/why-uber-style-public-services-are-not-the-answer-to-the-burden-of-bureaucracy'|'2017-02-22T05:52:00.000+02:00' +'dcc7ca35d5bf89ceae88f3cba1ed9f9aa8449f0b'|'Staffing firm Hays reports 3 percent rise in first half net fees'|'Business 7:28am GMT Staffing firm Hays reports 3 percent rise in first half net fees British recruiting company Hays ( HAYS.L ) said it remained confident for the rest of its financial year after reporting a 3 percent rise in first-half net fees at constant currencies on growth in Europe, Australia and Asia. The company, which places workers in areas such as finance and IT, has seen the UK market stabilise after stumbling in the immediate aftermath of last June''s referendum about Britain leaving the EU, Chief Executive Alistair Cox said in a statement. The UK private recruitment market showed signs of improvement towards the end of the first half and that continued into the second half, he said. Net fees rose to 465.5 million pounds in the six months ended Dec. 31, up from 396.9 million a year earlier, Hays said in its trading update. (Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; editing by Jason Neely) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hays-results-idUKKBN1610N9'|'2017-02-22T14:28:00.000+02:00' +'7decddecbc2c0fa34fdefe22045fd7972c36c604'|'UK insurer esure Group sees 2016 profit ahead of expectations'|' 29am GMT UK insurer esure Group sees 2016 profit ahead of expectations British insurer esure Group Plc ( ESUR.L ) said it expected 2016 group profit to be ahead of market expectations, helped by strong investment return. The company, which provides insurance to drivers and home owners across the UK, said its gross written premium for 2016 rose 19 percent to 655 million pounds ($812.3 million). Underlying profit after tax for 2016 is expected to be 73.4 million pounds, according to a company-compiled consensus. Separately, Britain on Monday changed the rate at which compensation payments are calculated in personal injury claims, a move likely to increase the size of lump sum pay outs and potentially hit UK motor insurers'' profit, including that of esure Group. The company said the discount rate announced was lower than it had allowed for as at Dec. 31, 2016 and that the group would see a further net impact of 1 million pounds in 2017. ($1 = 0.8063 pounds) (Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-esure-group-outlook-idUKKBN1660VV'|'2017-02-27T15:29:00.000+02:00' +'2f8b222e97f3679ee3d37892ecdc2bbe83a22862'|'Secret aid worker: Men have as many issues as women, we just dont know what they are - Global Development Professionals Network'|'T he word gender has become meaningless in the humanitarian sector. And I say this as a gender adviser. Im one of the converted and I speak with experience when I say that the word has become a beast. After many years and thousands of toolkits on how to integrate gender into aid work, people still dont get it. And if they dont get it by now, there is a problem with the word and whats behind it.When I tell people that I am a gender adviser, they ask what it means. My mum imagines me running across a war zone, scooping up women in my arms and dodging bombs while I carry them to safety. My brother thinks I advise people about gender reassignment. My friend thinks I work with battered women. Secret aid worker: development work broke a piece of me Read more Gender , to them, is about women or transgender people and its the same in the aid sector. Despite cries that gender is as much about men as it is about women, most project proposals or documents referring to gender will mention women, but little about men. If they do talk about men, they do so in terms of their relations with and respect for women.This focus on women is necessary when women are impacted more overtly by gender inequality than men. But the problem is that men also have serious challenges. They are different to womens and in some contexts not so severe, but they are there. And the aid sector, as a result of this word gender, is ignoring them. And thats why it is dangerous.Actually aid workers dont really understand what problems and capacities men have. We dont know much about sexual violence against men, labour exploitation, high rates of depression and suicide, or forced recruitment into armed groups. And lets face it, we have limited time in which we are already expected to do so much. No wonder gender becomes about women because we know so much more about their issues and the whole system is geared towards their needs. Its actually funny because if you mention men and boys in meetings you get big nods of approval and a chorus of yes we must not forget about them. But they promptly do get forgotten because we dont actually know what to do. I saw a funding proposal where the words women and children were interchangeable with vulnerable people, so the only people who were not vulnerable were men. So, gender is women.Of course gender is just one of many buzzwords in humanitarian speak. My personal favourite is the field which has become synonymous with any place outside of the US, Europe, Australia and Canada. Calling people who have been raped survivors and not victims is another example. By calling someone a survivor, we risk losing the fact that something criminal has happened and we reinforce ideas that rape is not on the same level as other types of crimes. We dont call people who have undergone robbery or human trafficking a survivor. Yes, I understand the huge emotional implications around rape but rape is still a crime, which has its victims as any other crime and for which persecutors should be prosecuted.Secret aid worker: ''the field'' is not a lab where you can experiment without consequence Read more Dont get me wrong, I love my job and I am passionate about what I do. But I cant accept that we are doing a good job of addressing womens and mens needs. Instead, we are perpetuating stereotypes by refusing to acknowledge the issues men experience in any meaningful way.I propose new terminology. And lets keep it simple. Humanitarian impact on women. Humanitarian impact on men. Within that will be different age ranges. It can include protection and participation but it will do what gender has been trying to do all this time, which is to address the actual different needs of women and men. Its not catchy but we are not here to be catchy.Do you have a secret aid worker story youd like to tell? You can contact us confidentially at globaldevpros@theguardian.com please put Secret aid worker in the subject line. If youd like to encrypt your email to us, here are instructions on how to set up a PGP mail client and our public PGP key . Join our community of development professionals and humanitarians. Follow @GuardianGDP on Twitter. Global development professionals network Secret aid worker Men''s health Feminism features Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Google+ Share on WhatsApp Share on Messenger'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2017/feb/14/secret-aid-worker-men-have-as-many-issues-as-women-we-just-dont-know-what-they-are'|'2017-02-14T19:14:00.000+02:00' +'007821d1b12e59afec3d6a14e1fb759d0722c690'|'EU founders speak of possible ''multispeed'' future after Brexit - Reuters'|'VALLETTA German Chancellor Angela Merkel and leaders of other founding states of the European Union spoke on Friday of some countries moving ahead faster than others with further integration.After a summit in Malta at which all national leaders discussed plans for a formal declaration in March on the future of the bloc following Britain''s departure, Merkel and others offered endorsements of a so-called "multispeed Europe", which some governments fear could damage EU unity in the wake of Brexit.Though they disagree on details, Berlin, Paris and many of the 17 other states which use the euro currency are keen to bind the euro zone closer together after years of crisis in which investors have doubted the currency''s survival. But some countries around the periphery of the bloc fear creating a system in which a hard core of states pushes the EU into policies they do not want.The last few years, Merkel told reporters, showed "that there will be an EU with different speeds, that not everyone will take part in the same levels of integration".One area in which governments are divided over the degree of integration is defence. With the departure of long-time sceptic Britain, France and Germany are keen to develop closer EU ties.The 27 leaders are due to meet without British Prime Minister Theresa May on March 25 in the Italian capital to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding Treaty of Rome.French President Francois Hollande said he thought that the Rome statement could mention "several speeds" as a possible way forward, though he stressed: "European unity is essential."In a reminder of divisions in the bloc, Hollande, who will step down in May, took a dig at East European states which Paris complains fail to honour commitments -- such as taking in asylum-seekers -- while accepting big subsidies from Brussels:"Europe isn''t a cash-box, not a self-service restaurant, a Europe where you come and take what you need, where you take your structural funds or get access to the internal market and then show no solidarity at all in return," he told reporters."Europe was built to be stronger together and it''s that rule, that principle, which should be driven home in March."In a paper offering proposals for the Rome declaration, the three Benelux neighbours said "different paths of integration and enhanced cooperation could provide for effective responses to challenges that affect member states in different ways".(Reporting by Andreas Rinke, Elizabeth Pineau and Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Hugh Lawson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/eu-future-idINKBN15J028'|'2017-02-03T22:20:00.000+02:00' +'bba05797c54820b94ea31d6b9a8eb74ae3321c2d'|'BRIEF-MGM Resorts International posts Q4 earnings $0.04/shr'|' 25am EST BRIEF-MGM Resorts International posts Q4 earnings $0.04/shr Feb 16 MGM Resorts International * MGM Resorts International reports fourth quarter and full year financial and operating results; announces quarterly dividend * Q4 earnings per share $0.04 * Q4 same store sales rose 4 percent * Q4 earnings per share view $0.21 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * MGM Resorts International says initiated a quarterly dividend program * MGM Resorts International - domestic resorts casino revenue for Q4 of 2016 increased 33 pct compared to prior year quarter * MGM Resorts International - dividend of $0.11 per share will be payable on March 15, 2017 * Qtrly domestic resorts rooms revenue increased 10 pct compared to prior year quarter * Qtrly REVPAR growth of 3 pct over prior year quarter * Qtrly revenues $2.46 billion versus $2.19 billion * Q4 revenue view $2.46 billion -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * MGM Resorts International- board of directors approved a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share * MGM Resorts International- MGM China net revenues of $500 million, a $1 million increase compared to prior year quarter '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSASB0B0Q9'|'2017-02-16T20:25:00.000+02:00' +'2a3fd5d3233decc60ecc47be2ed4272ce934fb53'|'Treasury''s Mnuchin says wants ''very significant'' tax reform passed by August'|'Business News - Thu Feb 23, 2017 - 3:47pm GMT Treasury''s Mnuchin says wants ''very significant'' tax reform passed by August U.S.Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin speaks at a press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 14, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque By David Lawder and Sweta Singh U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Thursday that he wants to see "very significant" tax reform passed before Congress'' August recess but the Trump administration is still studying the merits of a proposed border tax system. "We are committed to pass tax reform, it will be very significant, it''s going to be focused on middle income tax cuts, simplification and making the business tax competitive with the rest of the world," Mnuchin told CNBC in his first television interview since taking office last week. ( cnb.cx/2mg9Kq7 ) "We want to get this done by the August recess," he added, acknowledging later on Fox Business Network that such a timeline was "very aggressive." Mnuchin said did not say when the plan would be rolled out. President Donald Trump has promised announcement of a "phenomenal" plan by early March to cut business taxes, which helped push equity markets to record highs in recent weeks. But some Republican senators have criticized a House Republican plan to levy a 20 percent tax on imports aimed at encouraging more U.S. production and exports and raising $1 trillion (0.79 trillion pounds) in revenue over a decade to offset lower business tax rates. Mnuchin said the plan was still being studied. "We''re looking at it seriously, there are certain aspects of it that we''re concerned about, there are certain aspects that we like," Mnuchin told Fox Business Network of the border tax adjustment plan. "It''s going to be something that''s focused on growth, and we will have listened to people''s concerns and we will have taken them into account." Mnuchin told both networks that he believed the tax reform plan would help the United States boost economic growth above 3 percent by late 2018 from 1.6 percent in 2016. Growth effects from tax reform and less business regulation would not likely start to take hold until next year, he added. He told CNBC the Trump administration would use "dynamic scoring" models that would likely assume more growth than those assumed by Congress'' Joint Committee on Taxation. This would have the effect of boosting assumed revenues from tax reform and relaxation of regulations. Given the still-low interest rate environment he said it "makes sense" for the Treasury to examine whether to issue long-term debt of 50 to 100 years "at a very slight premium", but said he was not ready to make any announcements on this topic. Mnuchin added to recent comments in the Wall Street Journal regarding the strong dollar, telling Fox Business Network that short-term increases in the dollar''s value "are a reflection of the optimism of the economic plans" of the Trump administration. Trump had pledged to declare China a currency manipulator on his first day in office, but Mnuchin told CNBC he would pursue the normal Treasury process of examining currency practices by major trading partners. Treasury is required by law to report on these findings by April 15. He added that Treasury was also studying the effects of expanding the size of loans that the U.S. Export-Import Bank can make since it is currently limited by a lack of board members to loans under $10 million. He said the Trump administration was not interested in simply subsidizing large corporations. (Reporting by Sweta Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza and Chizu Nomiyama) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-treasury-mnuchin-idUKKBN1621WJ'|'2017-02-23T22:47:00.000+02:00' +'57b4035a40c6714c5921c801ea5b270f1d119ab3'|'UPDATE 1-Russia approves privatisation plan aimed at raising 17 bln rbls'|'Big Story 10 - Thu Feb 2, 2017 - 11:10am EST Russia approves privatization plan aimed at raising 17 billion roubles A picture illustration shows Russian rouble banknotes of various denominations on a table in Warsaw, Poland, January 22, 2016. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel By Darya Korsunskaya - MOSCOW MOSCOW The Russian government on Thursday approved a privatization program for 2017-2019 aimed at plugging holes in the state budget, which has been hurt by weak oil prices and the impact of Western sanctions, a government spokesman said. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, speaking at a government meeting, said he expected the budget to receive 17 billion roubles ($285.30 million) over the 2017-19 period thanks to the privatization of state assets. The plan envisages the state reducing its stake in VTB, Russia''s No. 2 bank, to 25 percent plus one share within three years. The state currently holds a 60.9 percent stake in VTB and plans to sell a 10.9 percent minus one share in 2017. According to the privatization program, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters, the state would only press ahead and reduce its stake in VTB to below 50 percent plus one share at the same time as it cuts its stake in Sberbank. Sberbank is Russia''s largest lender by assets. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said last year that selling off a stake in Sberbank, which is controlled by the central bank, was not on the agenda. According to the privatization program, Russia is also set to reduce its stakes in Sovcomflot, a state shipping company, to 25 percent plus one share, and its stake in state diamond miner Alrosa to 29 percent plus one share. Details of Russia''s privatization plans are available here:. (Reporting by Peter Hobson and Denis Pinchuk; Writing by Denis Pinchuk; Editing by Polina Devitt/Andrew Osborn) Next In Big Story 10'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/financialsNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-budget-privatisation-idUSKBN15H1Z7'|'2017-02-02T23:01:00.000+02:00' +'eb2f03dad2d3542f78919b42a2712414fb627720'|'EU, Mexico accelerate talks to update free trade pact'|'Business News - Wed Feb 1, 2017 - 12:37pm GMT EU, Mexico accelerate talks to update free trade pact left right European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom holds a news conference on Commission''s proposal for a new methodology for anti-dumping investigations, at the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium November 9, 2016. REUTERS/Yves Herman 1/2 left right Mexico''s Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo speaks about U.S. President Donald Trump, during the Plenary Meeting of Senators of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), at the Senate of the Republic''s building in Mexico City, Mexico January 30, 2017. REUTERS/Henry Romero 2/2 BRUSSELS The European Union and Mexico have set two new rounds of trade talks in the first half of 2017, an acceleration of negotiations to deepen economic ties in the wake of Donald Trump''s inauguration as U.S. president. The European Commission said on Wednesday that EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom and Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo had scheduled subsequent rounds for April 3-7 and June 26-29. "Together, we are witnessing the worrying rise of protectionism around the world. Side by side, as like-minded partners, we must now stand up for the idea of global, open cooperation," the two said in a joint statement. European leaders have said Brussels should take advantage of a more protectionist U.S. leader, who has already withdrawn from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, to step up negotiations with would-be partners. Mexico faces the prospect of a renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and possibly higher U.S. import duties. The EU and Mexico have a free trade pact dating from 2000 that they began to update last year, holding talks in June and November. The EU has said a new deal would seek to include public tenders, trade in energy products and raw materials, broader protection of intellectual property, more flexible rules on what products can benefit from lower customs tariffs and greater benefits for smaller companies. It could also lead to more liberalized trade in meat, dairy products, cereals and certain fruits and vegetables. The European Union is Mexico''s third largest trading partner after the United States and China. EU-Mexico trade in goods more than doubled from 2000 to 53 billion euros ($57.23 billion) in 2015. The EU is particularly focused on trade deals with Asian countries, including those that had signed up to the TPP before Trump entered office. (Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Tom Heneghan) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-mexico-trade-idUKKBN15G4FQ'|'2017-02-01T19:37:00.000+02:00' +'a84c69cba7566bf5235ba9da941f19b364c24161'|'Dish Network profit tops estimates on surprise subscriber additions - Reuters'|'By Anjali Athavaley U.S. satellite TV provider Dish Network Corp ( DISH.O ) reported a better-than-expected profit and added pay-TV subscribers in the fourth quarter as more customers signed up for its lower-priced Sling TV streaming service.Dish said it added about 28,000 net subscribers to its satellite TV and Sling TV services in the three months ended Dec. 31. That compared to a loss of approximately 12,000 subscribers in the same period in 2015.Analysts on average had estimated Dish would lose 87,000 subscribers, according to market research firm FactSet StreetAccount.Shares rose 1 percent to $63.42 in afternoon trading.Dish''s results are closely watched because in recent years, the company has amassed spectrum, or radio frequencies that carry the growing amounts of data flowing through devices, and is widely considered by industry watchers to be an acquisition target.On the company''s post-earnings conference call, Chief Executive Charlie Ergen said a new presidential administration could create a more favorable environment for consolidation."I would imagine that we''re not the biggest company and we''re not going to drive that process, but obviously many of the assets we hold probably could be involved in that mix," he said.Dish also said on the call that it was seeing Sling TV''s demographics broaden. The service, launched in 2015, initially targeted younger consumers who had never subscribed to cable TV or already cut the cord."It''s not quite as male as it used to be," said Roger Lynch, CEO of Sling TV. "We''re getting people of all age groups."Analysts said the company''s subscriber additions were driven by Sling TV but noted that Dish''s satellite business had underperformed.Craig Moffett, an analyst at MoffettNathanson, estimated that Dish lost 245,000 satellite subscribers in the fourth quarter. "Once again, the overall picture of Dish''s video business is rather disquieting," he wrote. "Churn continues to tick higher."Churn, or the rate of customer defections, was 1.83 percent during 2016, compared to 1.71 percent in 2015.Net income attributable to Dish was $343 million, or 70 cents per share, in the quarter, compared with a loss of $125 million, or 27 cents per share, a year earlier.Revenue fell to $3.72 billion from $3.78 billion.Analysts on an average were expecting Dish to earn 66 cents per share on revenue of $3.76 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.(Additional reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza and Nick Zieminski)FILE PHOTO - A satellite dish from Dish Network is pictured in Los Angeles, U.S., April 20, 2016. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/dish-network-results-idINKBN1612OB'|'2017-02-22T17:41:00.000+02:00' +'a7cee42e2c1331b9e3c9308736a5a978b8bdb73d'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX posts record high as Restaurant Brands jumps on acquisition'|'Company News 12:09pm EST CANADA STOCKS-TSX posts record high as Restaurant Brands jumps on acquisition * TSX up 73.86 points, or 0.47 percent, to 15,912.49 * Index touches a new intraday all-time high at 15,943.09. * Nine of the TSX''s 10 main groups rise TORONTO, Feb 21 Canada''s main stock index reached a new record high on Tuesday, led by Restaurant Brands International Inc after it announced an acquisition, while heavyweight financial and energy shares also gained as oil prices rose. The Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index gained as data showed the fastest pace of growth in euro zone business activity for six years, while Wall Street also reached record-highs as investors cheered strong results of top U.S. retailers. Shares of Restaurant Brands International Inc surged nearly 7 percent to C$75.58. The owner of the Burger King and Tim Hortons fast-food chains said it would acquire Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen for $1.8 billion in cash. ECN Capital Corp jumped 11.6 percent to C$3.56 after it said it would sell its U.S. commercial and vendor finance business to PNC Financial Services Group for about $1.25 billion in cash. The overall financials group rose 0.3 percent, while the energy group climbed 0.9 percent as oil prices rose. U.S. crude prices were up 1.8 percent at $54.35 a barrel after OPEC said it was sticking to its agreement to cut production and hoped compliance with the deal would be even higher. At 11:43 a.m. ET (1643 GMT), the TSX rose 73.86 points, or 0.47 percent, to 15,912.49. The index has surged 38 percent since hitting a three-year trough in January last year and touched a new intraday all-time high on Tuesday at 15,943.09. Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Inc surged more than 13 percent to C$45.91 after it reported fourth quarter and 2016 annual results. The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 0.3 percent. Teck Resources Ltd rose nearly 4 percent to C$29.09 but Goldcorp Inc retreated 1.3 percent to C$22.46. Gold futures fell 0.1 percent to $1,236.3 an ounce and copper prices advanced 0.1 percent to $6,073.5 a tonne. Telecoms was the only one of the index''s 10 main groups which failed to gain ground but it fell less than 0.1 percent. Domestic data on Monday, when the index was closed for a market holiday, showed that wholesale trade rose for the third straight month in December. (Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-idUSL1N1G60ZD'|'2017-02-22T00:09:00.000+02:00' +'dfa835390cf977918fc09c073b9fadb9418a96ad'|'UPDATE 1-Actelion, being bought by J&J, says FY core net income rose 27 pct'|'(Adds core net income figures, comment from CEO)ZURICH Feb 14 Swiss drugmaker Actelion''s 2016 core net income rose 27 percent on accelerating sales of its newer medicines to treat deadly pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), it said on Tuesday.Core net income rose to 881 million Swiss francs ($877.8 million) from 693 million francs in the previous year, the company said in a statement.Sales rose 18 percent to 2.42 billion francs, in line with the 2.41 billion francs expected in a Reuters poll.Actelion reported that sales of its new drug Opsumit for PAH rose 57 percent to 831 million francs, while Uptravi booked 245 million francs in its first year after launch, more than making up for slumping sales of its once-mainstay Tracleer after patent expiration.Europe''s biggest biotech sold itself for $30 billion to U.S. healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson this year, in a deal that will also create a new research and development company to be overseen by Actelion Chief Executive Jean-Paul Clozel."Our current PAH portfolio and our late-stage pipeline will have expanded potential as part of Johnson & Johnson," Clozel said. "With the creation of a new R&D company we also have the opportunity to realize the value potential we have created with our discovery engine and early-stage pipeline."($1 = 1.0037 Swiss francs) (Reporting by John Miller; Editing by Michael Shields)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/actelion-results-idINL8N1FZ0W4'|'2017-02-14T03:48:00.000+02:00' +'fa148c58a617d27d1eef87f894fc564f57ade298'|'BRIEF-Stanley furniture reports 29 pct fall in Q4 sales'|' 52pm EST BRIEF-Stanley furniture reports 29 pct fall in Q4 sales Feb 22 Stanley Furniture Company Inc * Stanley furniture announces 2016 results * Q4 sales fell 29 percent to $9.8 million * Q4 loss per share $0.02 from continuing operations * Expect modest profits beginning with Q2 results and for total year * Stanley Furniture Company Inc - "sourcing delays continue to impact company''s ability to introduce new product at retail" Source '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-stanley-furniture-reports-29-pct-f-idUSASB0B1QK'|'2017-02-23T05:52:00.000+02:00' +'732bccfc953c06fb4851d396c95a454410626364'|'Ex-Wall Street banker gets 3 years prison for insider trading'|'U.S. 3:28pm EST Ex-Wall Street banker gets three years prison for insider trading NEW YORK A former Wall Street investment banker was sentenced to three years in prison on Friday after he was convicted of engaging in insider trading by repeatedly tipping his father off to unannounced healthcare mergers. Sean Stewart, who previously worked at Perella Weinberg Partners and JPMorgan Chase & Co, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain in Manhattan. Prosecutors had sought up to 6-1/2 years in prison for Stewart, a Yale University graduate they said engaged in a brazen, multi-year scheme to help his father, Robert Stewart, profitably trade ahead of deals being worked on at the investment banks. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Bernard Orr) Next In U.S.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-insidertrading-idUSKBN15W29E'|'2017-02-18T03:23:00.000+02:00' +'4f1aa99dda8afcc3c6c222601bb96ad04a8ca1e4'|'Unilever shares tumble 8 percent after Kraft ditches bid'|'Business News - Mon Feb 20, 2017 - 8:16am GMT Unilever shares tumble 8 percent after Kraft ditches bid FILE PHOTO - The company logo for Unilever is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., February 17, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo LONDON Shares in Anglo-Dutch consumer goods group Unilever ( ULVR.L ) ( UNc.AS ) dropped 8 percent on Monday after U.S. rival Kraft Heinz Co ( KHC.O ) abruptly ditched its surprise $143 billion merger proposal. Backed by Warren Buffett and the private equity firm 3G, Kraft had wanted to buy Unilever to build a global consumer goods giant but its offer was flatly rejected on Friday by the maker of Lipton tea and Dove soap. According to people familiar with the matter, Kraft had not expected to encounter the resistance it received from Unilever Chief Executive Paul Polman, who dismissed the offer as having no financial or strategic merit. Concerns had also been raised about political scrutiny in Britain where Prime Minister Theresa May had indicated she would be more proactive in vetting foreign takeovers when she took office last year. May had previously singled out Kraft''s 2010 acquisition of another British household name, Cadbury Plc, as an example of a deal that should have been blocked. The Financial Times said May had ordered officials to see if the proposed deal raised any concerns for the wider British economy and merits government intervention. 3G made its name in corporate America by orchestrating large debt-laden acquisitions and then slashing costs dramatically to drive profits. Unilever''s London-listed shares, which jumped 13 percent on Friday when the approach was made public, fell 8 percent in early trading on Monday. A combination of the two firms would have been the largest acquisition of a UK-based company, according to Thomson Reuters data. It would have brought together some of the world''s best known brands, from toothpaste to ice creams, and combine Kraft''s strength in the United States with Unilever''s in Europe and Asia. But the premature exposure of Kraft''s bid left the aggressive acquisition machine scrambling to craft an appetizing message for shareholders, the press, Unilever''s rank and file, and British and Dutch leaders. (Reporting by Kate Holton; editing by Guy Faulconbridge) Next In Business News RBS shares up 5 percent on alternative plan to Williams & Glyn sale LONDON Royal Bank of Scotland Group shares rose 5 percent on Monday, after the lender said on Friday evening it had proposed abandoning the disposal of its Williams & Glyn business after a seven-year struggle to sell the unit to meet European Union state aid demands.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-unilever-m-a-kraft-idUKKBN15Z0NO'|'2017-02-20T15:16:00.000+02:00' +'2b49b7774dd8d8aceca76e35d6366f800599f238'|'British Airways owner IAG to buy back shares after solid results'|' 26am GMT British Airways owner IAG to buy back shares after solid results British Airways aircraft taxi at Heathrow Airport near London, Britain October 11, 2016. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth LONDON British Airways owner IAG ( ICAG.L ) reported operating profit in line with expectations on Friday, and said it would increase cash returns to shareholders through a stock buyback. IAG said operating profit before exceptional items for 2016 was 2.5 billion euros, up 8.6 percent and roughly in line with expectations. The airline group, which also owns Spain''s Iberia, said it intended to carry out a share buyback of 500 million euros during the course of 2017. (Reporting by Alistair Smout, Editing by Paul Sandle) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iag-results-idUKKBN1630MA'|'2017-02-24T14:26:00.000+02:00' +'79187ab9bc19ffb83e3a4fb067cc0afa5eba6f7e'|'U.S. oil rig count rises to highest since October 2015 -Baker Hughes'|'Big Story 11 - Fri Feb 3, 2017 - 1:20pm EST : Baker Hughes An oil well pump jack is seen at an oil field supply yard near Denver, Colorado, U.S., February 2, 2015. REUTERS/Rick Wilking/File Photo 467 active oil rigs. Since crude prices first topped $50 a barrel in May after recovering from 13-year lows last February, drillers have added a total of 267 oil rigs in 32 of the past 36 weeks, the biggest recovery in rigs since a global oil glut crushed the market over two years starting in mid 2014. Baker Hughes oil rig count plunged from a record 1,609 in October 2014 to a six-year low of 316 in May as U.S. crude collapsed from over $107 a barrel in June 2014 to near $26 in February 2016. U.S. crude futures were trading around $54 a barrel on Friday and set for a seventh weekly increase in the last eight as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC producers follow through on plans to reduce production in an effort to end a global oil glut and raise prices. [O/R] Analysts said they expect U.S. energy firms to boost spending on drilling and pump more oil and natural gas from shale fields in coming years now that energy prices are projected to keep climbing. Futures for the balance of 2017 were trading around $55 a barrel, while calendar 2018 was fetching almost $56. Analysts at Simmons & Co, energy specialists at U.S. investment bank Piper Jaffray, this week forecast the total oil and gas rig count would average 795 in 2017, 911 in 2018 and 1,022 in 2019. Most wells produce both oil and gas. That compares with an average of 692 so far in 2017, 509 in 2016 and 978 in 2015, according to Baker Hughes data. Analysts at U.S. financial services firm Cowen & Co said in a note this week that its capital expenditure tracking showed 31 exploration and production (E&P) companies planned to increase spending by an average of 36 percent in 2017 over 2016. That spending increase in 2017 followed an estimated 45 percent decline in 2016 and a 37 percent decline in 2015, Cowen said according to the 65 E&P companies it tracks. (Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Chizu Nomiyama) Next In Big Story 11'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-rigs-baker-hughes-idUSKBN15I2MN'|'2017-02-04T01:09:00.000+02:00' +'2e9739415e17e1d45230de7235b372402741dd0a'|'BRIEF-Pershing Square Holdings releases weekly net asset value'|' 19pm EST BRIEF-Pershing Square Holdings releases weekly net asset value Feb 22 Pershing Square Holdings Ltd- * Pershing Square Holdings Ltd releases regular weekly net asset value as of 21 February 2017 * Pershing Square Holdings Ltd - psh nav per share as of close of business on 21 february 2017 was usd 18.58. Further '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-pershing-square-holdings-releases-idUSASB0B1OJ'|'2017-02-23T05:19:00.000+02:00' +'256b9221c9b480d70104c69315838a996f24f661'|'BRIEF-Toscafund Asset Management takes share stake in AerCap, Athene Holding, E*Trade'|'Feb 14 (Reuters) -* Toscafund Asset Management LLP takes share stake of 400,000 shares in AerCap holdings - SEC filing* Toscafund Asset Management LLP takes share stake of 400,000 shares in Athene Holding* Toscafund Asset Management takes share stake of 850,000 shares in E*Trade Financial* Toscafund Asset Management - Change in holdings are as of Dec 31, 2016 and compared with the previous quarter ended as of Sept 30, 2016Source text for quarter ended Dec 31, 2016: bit.ly/2ksShc3 Source text for quarter ended Sept 30, 2016: bit.ly/2lLJdAV'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/idINFWN1FZ0WG'|'2017-02-14T11:48:00.000+02:00' +'42fd98b20ab0cf2588921cd188782b758f73108e'|'TLF loans due Thursday at some Chinese banks won''t be rolled over - sources'|'Business News - Thu Feb 16, 2017 - 3:32am GMT TLF loans due Thursday at some Chinese banks won''t be rolled over - sources SHANGHAI Temporary liquidity facility (TLF) loans maturing on Thursday at some major Chinese commercial banks will not be rolled over, two banking sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. One of the sources, who requested anonymity, said the absence of the rollover would not impact market liquidity, as funds injected by the central bank through other channels, including reverse repurchase agreements, were sufficient. The People''s Bank of China (PBOC) introduced the TLF loans in mid- January to help several major commercial banks flush with funds ahead of Lunar New Year holiday. It was not immediately clear if other TLF loans maturing on Thursday and on Friday would be treated the same way. Investors and companies are watching the central bank''s liquidity operations even more intently than usual after the PBOC surprised traders on Feb. 3 by raising short-term interest rates, in a further sign of policy tightening as the economy shows signs of steadying. (Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Kim Coghill) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-tlf-idUKKBN15V0AA'|'2017-02-16T10:32:00.000+02:00' +'d9cecac8fcadba4040553d962124096d261bdf54'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Naira forwards fall on devaluation expectations'|'Company News 44am EST EMERGING MARKETS-Naira forwards fall on devaluation expectations By Claire Milhench - LONDON LONDON Feb 21 Nigeria''s naira currency weakened on Tuesday against the dollar in the non-deliverable forwards market as expectations of a devaluation grew, while the rand slipped too before a key budget speech by the finance minister. Emerging equities held steady near 19-month highs, while currencies such as the rouble and the Turkish lira were also more or less unchanged against the firmer dollar . Earlier in the day, the Philippine peso plumbed a 10-year low. The spotlight was on Africa, with most attention focused on the naira after Nigeria''s central bank effectively devalued the currency for private individuals while holding the official exchange rate at 305 per dollar. People can now access hard currency at a rate of 366 per dollar to pay for foreign school fees and travel, though the black market rate is around 520. Three-month naira-dollar NDFs weakened almost 6 percent while one-month NDFs traded 4 percent lower - their weakest levels since November, according to Reuters data . The naira also slipped 6 percent in the six-month NDF market, showing a rate of 395 per dollar. Nigeria has tried to make the exchange rate more flexible before, leading to a 30 percent devaluation last year, only to reimpose a quasi-currency peg. "The story of a possible devaluation has come back as the latest moves seem to show a small entry towards to a weaker exchange rate," said William Jackson at Capital Economics. "My worry is that they are not moving to a fully floating rate but to a more complex system of parallel rates, which will add to the confusion but won''t help exporters." Nigerian five-year credit default swaps traded at a one-year high of 618 basis points, according to Markit. The rand, which has gained 5 percent against the dollar this year on the back of firmer commodity prices, slipped 0.7 percent on jitters before Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan''s speech. Gordhan, respected by markets, has pointed to "green shoots" of growth in the economy but warned of a "difficult political year". Investors still fear that President Jacob Zuma wants to replace Gordhan in mooted cabinet changes. "The markets will be looking to see what fiscal tightening will be undertaken to reduce the budget deficit, stabilise debt ratios and maintain the investment grade rating," Jackson said. "What people also want to see is a realistic growth forecast as the consensus is increasingly bearish." The South African central bank''s leading business cycle indicator rose by 0.7 percent month-on-month in December as the price of dollar-based commodity exports rose but this failed to lift stocks, which slipped 0.3 percent. Bank stocks fell 1.3 percent as South Africa''s competition watchdog warned it would seek maximum penalties in a probe into alleged rand rigging. Some other emerging market currencies were able to make gains, with the recently devalued Egyptian pound trading just off three-month highs. The Kazakh tenge firmed 0.7 percent to its strongest since December 2015, after gaining over 5 percent so far this year. The tenge has been buoyed by stronger oil prices -- so much so that the central bank cut interest rates by 100 basis points on Monday. Eastern European bourses enjoyed strong gains, with Warsaw up 1.4 percent and Bucharest up 0.8 percent to its highest level since June 2008. The lower house of Romania''s parliament will vote today on withdrawing a decree on graft prosecution rules which caused huge street protests three weeks ago. The government has already agreed to scrap the degree. The gains carry on from strong performance in Asia earlier in the day when Chinese mainland stocks closed near three-month highs, helped by reports that pension funds will begin pumping money into the market. South Korean stocks also closed near 20-month highs. For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2e7eoml For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2dZbdP5 For CENTRAL EUROPE market report, see For TURKISH market report, see For RUSSIAN market report, see) Emerging Markets Prices from Reuters Equities Latest Net Chg % Chg % Chg on year Morgan Stanley Emrg Mkt Indx 943.76 +0.18 +0.02 +9.45 Czech Rep 974.05 +0.73 +0.07 +5.69 Poland 2221.69 +28.90 +1.32 +14.05 Hungary 34091.25 +117.66 +0.35 +6.53 Romania 7861.35 +65.21 +0.84 +10.96 Greece 656.10 +10.15 +1.57 +1.94 Russia 1158.76 +8.37 +0.73 +0.56 South Africa 45370.25 -135.95 -0.30 +3.34 Turkey 88933.73 +346.07 +0.39 +13.82 China 3253.25 +13.29 +0.41 +4.82 India 28722.31 +60.73 +0.21 +7.87 Currencies Latest Prev Local Local close currency currency'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-idUSL8N1G61IC'|'2017-02-21T17:44:00.000+02:00' +'a739de60e47bcb7b1e15826fdb68f83d803bad27'|'GLOBAL MARKETS-Wall St hits record, dollar climbs after Yellen remarks'|'Company News - Tue Feb 14, 2017 - 4:16pm EST GLOBAL MARKETS-Wall St hits record, dollar climbs after Yellen remarks * Financials power Wall Street to record * Yellen warns about delaying rate hike * Dollar reverses course in wake of Yellen comments (Updates with U.S. markets close, oil settlement prices) By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK, Feb 14 Financial stocks lifted the S&P 500 to a record closing high for a fourth consecutive session on Tuesday and the dollar strengthened as U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen struck a hawkish tone on the timing of an interest rate hike. Yellen told the U.S. Senate Banking Committee the central bank will likely need to raise interest rates at an upcoming meeting, although she expressed caution about the considerable economic policy uncertainty under the Trump administration. Financial stocks moved higher following her remarks and closed up 1.2 percent as the best performing sector of the S&P 500. Utilities and real estate, which tend to weaken in a rising rate environment, ended down 0.7 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively. The Fed signaled in December that it expected to raise rates three times in 2017. The dollar reversed course after Yellen''s comments and was up 0.3 percent after touching a three-week high of 101.38 against a basket of major currencies. "It''s actually a very wise move to try to get the rate hikes going sooner rather than later to cut off the potential for inflation, although I really don''t see inflation picking up all that much over the next year or so," said Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment Counsel in Charlottesville, Virginia. Thomson Reuters data shows traders see a 17.7 percent chance of a 25-basis-point hike in rates at the Fed''s March meeting. The greenback was initially under pressure following the resignation of President Donald Trump''s national security adviser, Michael Flynn, over revelations he had discussed U.S. sanctions against Moscow with the Russian ambassador to the United States before Trump took office. Yellen''s hawkish tone dovetailed with recent comments from other Fed officials. Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan on Monday argued the Fed should move soon to avoid falling behind the curve, especially as fiscal policy could drive faster growth and inflation. Earlier on Tuesday, Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker said the central bank will likely have to raise interest rates more rapidly than financial markets currently expect. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 92.25 points, or 0.45 percent, to 20,504.41, the S&P 500 gained 9.33 points, or 0.40 percent, to 2,337.58 and the Nasdaq Composite added 18.62 points, or 0.32 percent, to 5,782.57. Along with the S&P, the Dow notched its fourth straight record, while the Nasdaq closed at a high for a sixth consecutive day. MSCI''s all-country world index edged up 0.08 percent. Europe''s broad FTSEurofirst 300 index slipped 0.04 percent to snap a five-session winning streak. Yields on benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury notes climbed to 2.4734 percent, down 11/32 in price, after hitting a high of 2.502 percent. Oil pared earlier gains, settling slightly higher as concerns about rising supply from U.S. shale output overshadowed an OPEC-led effort to cut global output, which has supported oil prices in a higher range. Brent crude settled up 0.7 percent at $55.97 and U.S. crude settled 0.5 percent higher at $53.20 a barrel. (Additional reporting by Lewis Krauskopf; Editing by Dan Grebler and Nick Zieminski) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/global-markets-idUSL1N1FZ20S'|'2017-02-15T04:16:00.000+02:00' +'84f51120cec49adf579e044ff1fd60a2d2937ed7'|'Stada receives 3.6 billion euro offer from private equity group Cinven: FT'|'German generic drugmaker Stada ( STAGn.DE ) has received a 3.6 billion euro ($3.83 billion) takeover offer from private equity group Cinven, the Financial Times reported.Cinven''s offer follows a year-long activist campaign to improve Stada''s profitability by Active Ownership Capital, one of its largest shareholders, and is believed to be pitched at close to 58 euros a share, the Financial Times reported, citing sources.Cinven declined to comment. Stada was not immediately available to comment.Advent, Bain Capital, CVC and Permira are all assessing the bidding war closely and could make a bid, the FT sources said.In August last year, Stada''s CEO Matthias Wiedenfels promised a more modern, dynamic approach to running the company, saying it had to improve its transparency, flexibility, hierarchies and communication, although it had no need to change its strategy.AOC put forward four candidates for Stada''s supervisory board for election at the AGM, including former Novartis ( NOVN.S ) manager Eric Cornut for chairman, and said it also supported two of the four candidates proposed by Stada.Another activist investor, Guy Wyser-Pratte, who has a stake of just under 3 percent, said in July that buyout firm CVC Capital Partners was interested in buying the drugmaker and that would be a better plan than AOC''s suggested board overhaul.(Reporting by Shalini Nagarajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrea Ricci)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-stada-m-a-cinven-idINKBN15R0XL'|'2017-02-12T16:26:00.000+02:00' +'b40b338203ff0a7c5bf4e62722d3415266628e8e'|'Fed''s message on portfolio trimming: prepare, don''t fret'|'Business 6:15am GMT Fed''s message on portfolio trimming: prepare, don''t fret The Federal Reserve Building stands in Washington April 3, 2012. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo By Ann Saphir and Richard Leong - SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK Federal Reserve policymakers are putting markets on notice that the central bank''s $4.5 trillion balance sheet is back on the agenda in an apparent effort to give investors time to prepare for changes rather than to signal any action is imminent. Policymakers want to minimize any volatility that slimming the Fed''s massive balance sheet might cause, and have said they will only do so after interest rate increases are "well underway." The central bank is expected to keep that line in its statement on Wednesday following this year''s initial policy meeting and the first one under Donald Trump''s administration. The Fed amassed the bonds during and after the financial crisis to inject cash into the economy and put downward pressure on long-term rates, and has been keeping its portfolio steady since December 2013. While the Fed has only raised rates twice since the crisis, a number of Fed policymakers are already voicing support for allowing the debt holdings to shrink by letting bonds mature without reinvesting the proceeds. Some have argued the process, or at least the debate over how to proceed, should begin later this year. Only a few months ago, several voices from within the Fed suggested the balance sheet could remain big for many years to come. [nL1N1B80IP] But with labour markets continuing to tighten and Trump promising tax cuts and more spending, inflation and rates may rise faster than last year. Trimming the balance sheet would be the Fed''s next step in normalizing monetary policy. Most Wall Street investors do not expect it until mid-2018, policymakers are playing it safe, keen to avoid a repeat of the 2013 "taper tantrum", when bond yields surged after then-Fed Chair Ben Bernanke hinted at cutting the pace of bond buying. "They don''t want to shock the market," said Robert Tipp, chief investment strategist at Prudential Fixed Income. "They want to prepare the market," he said, commenting on a slew of comments from Dallas Fed''s Robert Kaplan, San Francisco Fed''s John Williams and Philadelphia Fed''s Patrick Harker. WEAKER ANCHOR The Fed is also putting investors on notice in case the slimming "could come up faster if the rate hikes were faster," said Tim Duy, a professor at the University of Oregon. While giving markets plenty of time, the Fed is also laying out evidence why they do not need to be unduly concerned. As Fed Chair Janet Yellen pointed out in a speech in January, one reason is that the average maturity of the securities in the Fed''s portfolio has declined, while that of the overall Treasury market has increased. (Graphic: reut.rs/2knWguk ) Essentially, that means the Fed''s portfolio has become less influential as an anchor for long-term rates than in the past. In addition, the overall bond market has grown, reducing the relative size and impact of the Fed''s holdings. Bernanke, for one, argues the economy is "growing into" the Fed''s expanded portfolio and there is no need to bring it back to pre-crisis levels of around $800 billion. In fact, several Wall Street banks suggest the Fed only needs to cut its bond holdings by $1 billion to $1.5 billion. One tricky question the Fed will face is what to cut first. The Fed''s $1.76 trillion mortgage-backed securities holdings account for about a quarter of that market, compared to the Fed''s 12 percent share of the Treasury market. Any marked change in the Fed''s MBS ownership could have a greater impact on that market and consequently housing borrowing costs. On top of that, in contrast to the Fed''s $2.46 trillion of Treasuries which mature according to a set calendar, the pace at which mortgage bonds mature can vary substantially. It slows down when rates rise and homeowners stick with current loans and accelerates when rates fall and borrowers rush to refinance debt, which increases the technical challenge for the Fed in engineering a wind-down. Some analyst argue that shrinking the Treasury portfolio would be the least disruptive, given its diminished share of the overall market. Others, like Morgan Stanley, say the Fed should trim MBS because it wants to return to a Treasuries-only portfolio anyway and its size would cease to be an issue over time. "The economy should grow into the Fed''s Treasury portfolio within about a decade," the bank''s analysts wrote in a note on Friday. (Reporting by Ann Saphir and Richard Leong; Editing by Dan Burns and Tomasz Janowski) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-fed-analysis-idUKKBN15G3G3'|'2017-02-01T13:15:00.000+02:00' +'70fec229b5c24b226f8e7ce4e4a23b2249fa3c09'|'About 11 StanChart''s Hong Kong-based private bankers to leave'|' 39am BST About 11 Standard Chartered''s Hong Kong-based private bankers to leave Passersby walk in front of the main branch of Standard Chartered in Hong Kong, in this January 8, 2015 file photo. REUTERS/Bobby Yip HONG KONG About 11 Hong Kong-based bankers from Standard Chartered Plc''s ( STAN.L ) ( 2888.HK ) private banking unit, including one managing director, are leaving the bank, a spokeswoman for the lender said on Tuesday. Teresa Lee, managing director of Standard Chartered private banking in Hong Kong, and about 10 relationship managers on her team were leaving, the spokeswoman said, after Asian Private Banker first reported the development. The spokeswoman for Standard Chartered did not elaborate on the matter. But a source with knowledge of the move said that those who were leaving the bank were part of the bank''s Greater China private banking team. Lee could not immediately be reached for a comment. (Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Randy Fabi) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-stanchart-asia-wealth-idUKKBN16Z0V7'|'2017-03-28T16:33:00.000+03:00' +'98aee2f41c318b7a350c39e22fce2b205a1292c9'|'Amazon.com agrees in principle to buy Middle East''s Souq.com -sources'|'Company News 41am EDT Amazon.com agrees in principle to buy Middle East''s Souq.com -sources DUBAI, March 22 Amazon.com Inc has agreed in principle to buy 100 percent of Middle Eastern online retailer Souq.com from its shareholders, sources familiar with the deal told Reuters on Wednesday. Amazon declined to comment and a spokesperson for Souq.com could not immediately be reached for comment. Goldman Sachs helped to arrange the deal, the sources said. (Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh and Tom Arnold; Writing by Andrew Torchia; editing by David Clarke) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/souqcom-ma-amazoncom-idUSL5N1GZ4HM'|'2017-03-22T21:41:00.000+02:00' +'9fe2b43d8f7c1569172b24e9b49d146543fb7183'|'BRIEF-Insignia Systems Q4 loss per share $0.06'|' 8:02am EST BRIEF-Insignia Systems Q4 loss per share $0.06 March 3 Insignia Systems Inc * Q4 loss per share $0.06 * Insignia Systems Inc - total net sales decreased 22.8% to $5.7 million in Q4 2016 * Insignia Systems Inc - expecting a net loss in Q1 driven by reduced revenues * Insignia Systems Inc - current pops bookings for Q1 2017 are $4.4 million, compared to $5.6 million for Q1 2016 * Insignia Systems Inc - total bookings for pops programs set to run in final three quarters of 2017 is $8.6 million versus $8.4 million * Insignia Systems Inc - "company decided to discontinue sales of like machine, effective March 31st, 2017" * Insignia Systems Inc - in 2017, reducing overall costs and implementing a $1 million cost reduction plan * Insignia Systems Inc - Q1''17 revenue projecting to be below q1''16 - SEC filing * Insignia Systems Inc - expects new sales opportunities in back half of 2017 * Insignia Systems Inc - projecting a loss for 2017 due to investments necessary to restart revenue growth Source text for Eikon: ( bit.ly/2lBSfis ) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-insignia-systems-q4-loss-per-share-idUSFWN1GG0DG'|'2017-03-03T20:02:00.000+02:00' +'d8fb5e115f87c2b653b283842eb4cd8e015102a3'|'Mr, Mrs, Mx or Misc? Banking giant HSBC introduces gender neutral titles'|'By Emma Batha LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Banking giant HSBC announced on Friday that it is introducing a range of gender neutral titles for transgender customers and others who do not identify as male or female.The process for people wishing to change their gender on their bank account has also been simplified, the bank said in a statement on Transgender Day of Visibility.Instead of using the conventional honorifics Mr, Mrs or Ms, customers can choose from 10 gender neutral titles - Mx, Ind, M, Mre, Msr, Myr, Pr, Sai, Ser and Misc."Gender neutral titles allow people who don''t identify as a particular gender, or who don''t want to be identified by gender, to choose the title that works for them," the bank said in a statement.The titles, available to its high street customers in Britain, will be applied across their account including bank cards and correspondence. Training is to be given to all UK branch and contact centre staff.Customers who are transitioning can now change their gender on their account by taking a passport, driving license or birth certificate that supports the change of gender into a branch.Stuart Barette, trans lead of HSBC''s UK Pride Network, which advised on the new services, recalled how he was "terrified" the day he went into his branch in order to change his name and gender."Coming out to anyone is difficult, as you don''t know how people are going to react," Barette said in a statement."That''s why the changes we''ve been making are so important, so that our trans customers can feel confident that they''re going to have a good experience and be speaking with someone who has been trained to better understand them."The titles are also being introduced for people who do not feel their gender to be that of a woman or man.Ind is an abbreviation of individual, Mre for mystery, Msr is a combination of Miss and Sir, Pr an abbreviation of person.International Transgender Day of Visibility marked on March 31 aims to raise awareness of discrimination faced by transgender people.(Editing by Ros Russell; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, which covers humanitarian news, women''s rights, trafficking, corruption and climate change. Visit news.trust.org to see more stories.)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-bank-lgbt-idINKBN1721JF'|'2017-03-31T09:58:00.000+03:00' +'86741f63fe2cce7a6444745bcf088629a325dbcf'|'Banks could earn $332 million from wave of financial services deals'|' 13pm GMT Banks could earn $332 million from wave of financial services deals The offices of international finance companies are seen in the the financial district of Canary Wharf in London, Britain, January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh By Pamela Barbaglia - LONDON LONDON A spate of big deals by financial services companies in Europe could earn investment banks an estimated $332 million (271 million pounds) in advisory fees, with Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) set to take the lion''s share of the pot. In the past two days, revealed plans to buy ) and Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) said it would raise 8 billion euros (6.9 billion pounds) from investors, potentially generating a big payday for investment banks working on those transactions. Earlier, British bank Shawbrook Group ( SHAW.L ) said it had received a $1 billion bid from two private equity firms. Goldman Sachs, which secured a major role in all three deals, has pocketed the highest fees from investment banking in the first two months of 2017 and pushing usual top dog JPMorgan ( JPM.N ) into third place. The U.S. bank could earn between $18 and $24 million for advising Standard Life while an additional $13 to $18 million could come from its advisory work with Shawbrook, according to estimates from Freeman Consulting. Aberdeen''s corporate brokers, JPMorgan and Credit Suisse ( CSGN.S ), which advised the Scottish asset manager on its sale, could share proceeds of between $23 and 30 million. But the biggest boost to investment banks'' fees will come from Deutsche Bank''s 8 billion euro share sale which could pay advisers up to 260 million euros, according to Freeman Consulting, based on underwriting fees of between 2 and 3.25 percent of the total raised. Goldman Sachs is one of eight banks underwriting Deutsche''s the rights issue alongside Credit Suisse, Barclays ( BARC.L ), BNP Paribas ( BNPP.PA ), Commerzbank ( CBKG.DE ), HSBC ( HSBA.L ), Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) and UniCredit ( CRDI.MI ). The German bank will also pay more fees to a pool of banks underwriting the public offering of part of its asset management business, estimated at between 2.75 and 3.5 percent of the amount of money raised, according to Freeman. Appetite for big takeovers and fundraising deals in the financial services industry remains strong even if some have run up against regulatory and political hurdles. The long-awaited 29 billion euro merger of ( LSE.L ) with German rival Deutsche Boerse ( DB1Gn.DE ) was expected to pay a combined $184 million in advisory fees. But this deal is hanging by a thread after LSE turned down demands from European antitrust regulators to sell a trading platform in Italy. Since the start of the year, nearly $10 billion of financial services takeover deals have been announced in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), with Britain accounting for almost half of the value, according to Thomson Reuters data. Equity capital markets deals across EMEA have almost doubled since the start of the year, with $36.7 billion of equity fundraisings since January compared with $21.3 billion in the same period last year. Italy''s biggest bank UniCredit, which tapped investors in February, is expected to pay about $450 million to Goldman Sachs and other banks who worked on its 13 billion euro share sale, according to Freeman Consulting. ($1 = 0.9439 euros) (Reporting By Pamela Barbaglia. Editing by Jane Merriman) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-investment-banking-fees-idUKKBN16D22E'|'2017-03-07T00:13:00.000+02:00' +'469a58a5bf30abff0a7882de53d3952e1b1dbf00'|'Stocks, dollar recover as markets try to move past Trump''s policy stumble'|' 2:16am BST Stocks, dollar recover as markets try to move past Trump''s policy stumble Investors look at an electronic board showing stock information on the first trading day after the New Year holiday at a brokerage house in Shanghai, China, January 3, 2017. REUTERS/Aly Song - RTX2XB9T By Nichola Saminather - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Asian stocks pulled ahead on Tuesday after Wall Street steadied and the dollar bounced from a four-month-low, as concern over Donald Trump''s setback on his healthcare reform bill gave away to tentative hopes for the U.S. President''s planned stimulus policies. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS added 0.3 percent in early trade. Japan''s Nikkei .N225 jumped 1.1 percent, its biggest one-day gain in more than two weeks, while Australian stocks advanced 0.9 percent. South Korean stocks .KS11 climbed 0.4 percent after data showed the domestic economy grew at a slightly faster pace than initially thought in the fourth quarter of 2016, supported by strong construction activity. Overnight, the S&P 500 .SPX and the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJIA closed lower but had narrowed their losses from earlier in the session, when both hit near-six-week lows. The Nasdaq .IXIC ended higher. Risk appetite had evaporated after Trump''s failure to garner enough support last week to pass a bill repealing the Affordable Care Act, former President Barack Obama''s signature health care bill, even with a Republican-controlled Congress. That blow for Trump spooked global risk assets on concerns about the president''s ability to enact stimulus policies. The MSCI World index .MIWD PUS, which had stumbled last week, managed to recover, as confidence returned that the Trump administration will corral Congressional support for other pro-growth policies. "Markets appear reluctant to take the Trump disappointment too much further at this stage," Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, wrote in a note. "With U.S. economic growth showing signs of improvement and the (Federal Reserve) clearly embarked on a monetary tightening cycle, the significant correction that has already occurred in bonds and the U.S. dollar may already reflect an adequate wind-back of the markets Trump exuberance." The U.S. 10-year bond yield US10YT=RR, which hit a one-month low on Monday, recovered to trade higher at 2.3782 on Tuesday. The dollar added 0.1 percent to 110.75 yen JPY=D4 after touching its lowest level since November on Monday. The dollar index .DXY inched up to 99.233 after slumping to a 4-1/2-month low on Monday. The euro EUR=EBS was steady at $1.08655 on Tuesday, after touching its highest level since November on Monday. In commodities, the return of risk appetite helped lift oil from a level close to the 3-1/2-month low seen last week, despite lingering concerns about whether producers will extend an OPEC-led output cut beyond the end of June to ease a global glut. U.S. crude CLc1 gained 0.5 percent to $47.96 a barrel, after dropping as much as 1.9 percent on Monday. Gold XAU= was little changed at 1,253.06 early on Tuesday, after pulling back from the one-month-high hit earlier on Monday. (Reporting by Nichola Saminather; Editing by Shri Navaratnam) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets-idUKKBN16Z04Q'|'2017-03-28T09:16:00.000+03:00' +'476ed99eb49bd466258784067ac62dd7815e05ab'|'UPDATE 1-Hansteen to sell German, Dutch industrial properties for $1.4 bln'|'Company News - Mon Mar 20, 2017 - 5:01am EDT UPDATE 1-Hansteen to sell German, Dutch industrial properties for $1.4 bln (Adds details, background, share movement) March 20 Britain''s Hansteen Holdings has agreed to sell its German and Dutch industrial property portfolios for 1.28 billion euros ($1.38 billion) to a venture between Blackstone Group LP and M7 Real Estate. The price represents a premium of about 6 percent, or roughly 76 million euros, to the assets'' valuations at the end of 2016, Hansteen said in a statement on Monday. Hansteen''s shares rose more than 6 percent, before paring gains to trade up 3 percent at 125.55 pence at 0850 GMT. They were the top gainers on London''s midcap index. "This is a compelling opportunity to crystallise both the revaluation gains from these German and Dutch assets achieved by our active asset management and the gains from foreign exchange movements," Hansteen joint chief executives Morgan Jones and Ian Watson said. Last year, the industrial market outperformed all other European real estate sectors, including offices and retail, data from property consultant CBRE showed, as the sector benefited from higher demand for warehouses from retailers expanding their online operations. Over the fourth quarter, European commercial real estate deals reached a record high of 86.8 billion euros, boosted largely by a buoyant Germany market and growth in the Netherlands, according to the data. Hansteen, a UK real estate investment trust, said that the sale was expected to complete before the end of June and that it was advised by property consultant JLL. The sale leaves Hansteen with its UK business, where the market has seen some turbulence after Britain voted to leave the European Union. However, Hansteen said it had not noticed any significant effect on demand for industrial space following the June 23 vote. "Across the UK, we are experiencing pockets of rental growth and shorter incentives being offered to tenants as demand intensifies," the company said. ($1 = 0.9288 euros) (Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by Jason Neely and Alexander Smith) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/hansteen-divestiture-idUSL5N1GX0ZS'|'2017-03-20T16:01:00.000+02:00' +'685bdac4accbe45f86b8a2ff7027918f4f4a6f00'|'Exclusive: Ferromex''s owner nears deal to acquire Florida East Coast Railway - sources'|'By Greg Roumeliotis The owner of Ferrocarril Mexicano (Ferromex), Mexico''s largest railroad operator, is nearing a deal to acquire Florida East Coast Railway for more than $2 billion, including debt, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.The potential deal shows that Ferromex''s parent, Mexican mining conglomerate Grupo Mexico ( GMEXICOB.MX ), is now seeking to apply its railroad operating expertise to foreign assets after dominating the railway freight sector.The acquisition would come at a sensitive time for relations between the United States and Mexico, following a pledge by U.S. President Donald Trump to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement and tighten immigration controls.Grupo Mexico has prevailed in an auction for Florida East Coast Railway and is now negotiating final terms with the U.S. regional railroad''s owner, Fortress Investment Group LLC ( FIG.N ), two people said.If the negotiations are completed successfully, a deal could be announced as early as this week, the people added, asking not to be identified because the sale process is confidential.Fortress declined to comment. Ferromex, Grupo Mexico and Florida East Coast Railway did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Based in Jacksonville, Florida East Coast Railway operates a 351-mile (565-km) freight rail system located along the east coast of Florida.Fortress took Florida East Coast Railway private in 2007 for $3.5 billion. Fortress, an investment firm with $69.6 billion in assets under management as of the end of December, agreed last month to sell itself to Japan''s SoftBank Group Corp ( 9984.T ) for $3.3 billion.Grupo Mexico, one of the world''s largest copper producers, together with Kansas City Southern de Mexico and Ferrovalle, control more than 72 percent of the Mexican rail freight market. Grupo Mexico and Kansas City Southern de Mexico together have a 75 percent stake in Ferrovale.Earlier this month, Mexico''s antitrust watchdog criticized Grupo Mexico and Kansas City Southern de Mexico for using their rail freight market share to fix prices, restrict supply and impede access to their networks.(Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Additional reporting by Gabriel Stargardter in Mexico City; Editing by David Gregorio and Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-floridaeastcoastrailway-m-a-ferromex-idINKBN16Y297'|'2017-03-27T17:16:00.000+03:00' +'06c701742c278841988301fde987cbc3b1b665e1'|'Danone says to sell Stonyfield unit as part of WhiteWave deal'|'Deals 04am EDT Danone says to sell Stonyfield unit as part of WhiteWave deal left right FILE PHOTO: Yoghurt by French foods group Danone are seen at a Casino supermarket in Mouans Sartoux, France, October 27, 2016. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: Franck Riboud (R), Chairman of French food group Danone, and Gregg Engles, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of WhiteWave Foods Company, talk before the start of a news conference in Paris, France, July 7, 2016. REUTERS/John Schults 2/2 PARIS French food group Danone ( DANO.PA ) said on Friday it had decided to sell its U.S. subsidiary Stonyfield to facilitate the rapid closing of its acquisition of U.S. organic food producer WhiteWave foods Co ( WWAV.N ). Danone said in a statement the decision to sell Stonyfield, which had a 2016 turnover of around $370 million, stemmed from an agreement in principle it had reached with the anti-trust department of the U.S. Department of Justice. The WhiteWave acquisition is expected to close "promptly" Danone said, reiterating all its value-creating targets expected from the WhiteWave acquisition. (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by GV De Clercq) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-danone-whitewave-idUSKBN1720IV'|'2017-03-31T13:58:00.000+03:00' +'4fbe68d9bb24afe594d637fef9b0665ee3933cc5'|'Activist hedge fund opposes Walt Disney''s move on Disneyland Paris'|'LONDON/PARIS An activist hedge fund has clubbed together with other minority shareholders to object to plans by Walt Disney ( DIS.N ) to take full control of the debt-laden Paris theme park operator, Euro Disney ( EDLP.PA ), according to a letter seen by Reuters.Paris-based CIAM, which owns 1.4 percent of Euro Disney shares, has written to the board of the French company to object to what it believes are plans by Walt Disney to force out minority shareholders. It said it has the support of more than 5 percent of Euro Disney shareholders, together with its holding."The Walt Disney Company seeks to force out the remaining minority shareholders by offering them a new public offer, under penalty of having to undergo a strong dilution later," said the letter, dated March 6.Euro Disney defended the terms of the Walt Disney takeover."Given the financial challenges faced by Euro Disney, The Walt Disney Company has developed a long-term solution that takes into account all stakeholders," it said in a statement."We believe such an operation will provide Euro Disney with a strong financial footing to continue its strategy, while providing minority shareholders the opportunity to exit at a significant premium," it added.Last month, Walt Disney announced plans to take full control of Euro Disney, after raising its stake in the underperforming operator of Disneyland Paris through a deal with Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.Minority shareholders will be offered 2 euros ($2.13) a share to sell their stake to Walt Disney - a 67 percent premium to Euro Disney''s share price on Feb 9, which was the day before the offer was announced.Disneyland Paris opened in 1992 and has struggled financially for much of that time, after making overly optimistic visitor projections and taking on too much debt.Minority shareholders have long complained about the way the company was run and Disney could face resistance to the offer despite the premium.Deadly attacks in Paris in 2015 by Islamist militants also hit the broader French tourism sector, and Euro Disney racked up a net loss of 858 million euros in 2016.As part of its takeover, Walt Disney will also support a recapitalization of Euro Disney of up to 1.5 billion euros, helping cut debt and improve Euro Disney''s financial position.($1 = 0.9405 euros)(Reporting by Maiya Keidan and Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Simon Jessop and Louise Heavens)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-hedgefunds-eurodisney-idINKBN16L0XH'|'2017-03-14T11:31:00.000+02:00' +'f05e2c810b6e3ee3b0486f480b670745be692227'|'UPDATE 1-Citi applies for capital markets licence in Saudi Arabia-sources'|'(Adds detail, Quote: , context)By Reem Shamseddine, Saeed Azhar and Tom ArnoldKHOBAR/DUBAI, March 28 Citigroup has formally applied for a licence to conduct capital markets business in Saudi Arabia, two sources familiar with the matter said, in a move to return to the country after an absence of nearly 13 years.The application has been made with Saudi Arabia''s Capital Market Authority (CMA), whose primary role is to regulate and develop the capital market in the oil-rich kingdom, the sources said.Investment opportunities in the kingdom are opening up as the government diversifies its economy away from oil under its National Transformation Plan. The government is also preparing to list up to 5 percent of oil giant Saudi Aramco in an initial public share offering that could raise as much as $100 billion.Citi declined to comment on its Saudi plans. No one at the CMA was immediately available to comment.Citi is "positive" that it will gain a licence this year, a third source said.If successful, Citi could also pursue with the Saudi central bank permission for a full bank branch licence, potentially joining other banks such as JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank .After operating in the oil-rich kingdom for five decades, Citigroup pulled out of Saudi Arabia in 2004 when it sold its 20-percent stake in Samba Financial Group, saying then it was reallocating capital to core investments.In 2015 it won permission from the Saudi Arabian regulator to invest directly in the local stock market, the first step towards returning to the country.Citi had approached bankers about potential jobs in anticipation of the bank gaining a licence and building a team in the kingdom, one of the sources said.Citi is not the only global bank looking to expand in Saudi Arabia. Credit Suisse is also seeking a banking licence, as it wants to build a fully-fledged onshore private banking business there, the bank told Reuters in an email in late February.Goldman Sachs is also exploring the possibility of gaining a licence from the CMA to conduct share sales and trading in Saudi Arabia, a source briefed on the plan said.The Wall Street bank has held preliminary talks with regulators, the source said. Bloomberg earlier reported Goldman''s plans. Goldman declined to comment on that report. Saudi Arabia has ambitious plans to establish industries and privatise companies led by the Aramco initial public offering, which attracts a lot of attention of banks," said Reinhold Leichtfuss, senior partner and managing director at The Boston Consulting Group''s Middle East office. "Saudi Arabia is also the biggest market in the Gulf in terms of population and corporates so it makes sense for banks to be there.There are 13 licensed foreign bank branches in the kingdom, including Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, JPMorgan Chase and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, according to the central bank''s website.Citi chief executive Michael Corbat met with Saudi Arabias Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman earlier this month on a visit to the kingdom, in addition to Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, a shareholder in the bank. (Reporting by Reem Shamseddine in Khobar, Saeed Azhar and Tom Arnold in Dubai; Additional reporting by Marwa Rashad in Riyadh; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/citi-saudi-idINL5N1H522W'|'2017-03-28T07:26:00.000+03:00' +'d8e23a3c96ac0bb0b4dddb0e96a20dfd4f1f310b'|'Britain''s small companies hoard cash as Brexit looms'|'Business News - Fri Mar 3, 2017 - 12:18am GMT Britain''s small companies hoard cash as Brexit looms By Andrew MacAskill and Lawrence White - LONDON LONDON Britain''s smaller companies are hoarding cash and cutting investment, bankers say, a sign of business confidence starting to wobble as the government sets off down the uncertain path of leaving the European Union. Companies with revenue of less than 1 million pounds ($1.23 million) expect to invest an average of 21,690 pounds in their businesses in the next six months a fall of 74 percent compared with July, Lloyds Banking Group ( LLOY.L ) said on Friday following the latest results of its six-monthly survey. This is the biggest drop since the bank added the question about investment plans in 2015 to its long-running Business in Britain survey of small businesses. "Businesses need to be careful that in cutting back on investment to boost resilience they don''t put the brakes on too hard," said Jo Harris, a managing director at Lloyds, one of Britain''s largest business lenders. Sitting on cash could help companies weather any economic slowdown, but bankers say that reduced spending also threatens to dampen growth prospects for the economy. The head of commercial lending at another major bank said the last time that he saw smaller companies hoarding money to a similar extent was during the 2008 global financial crisis. The banker said companies were paying off overdrafts and other loans amid concerns that the economy may suffer after Prime Minister Theresa May seeks to begin the formal process of negotiating a divorce settlement with the EU later this month. "Customers are nervous ... they are worried that as the news of Brexit negotiations begins to filter through then sentiment will dip," the banker said. Lloyds said economic uncertainty was identified as the main threat over the next six months, followed by weaker UK demand and political uncertainty. Britain''s businesses and banks have largely defied expectations that the economy would suffer an immediate blow from the referendum result in June last year, but in recent weeks there have been signs of mounting concerns as the real Brexit process gets underway. Aldermore Group ( ALD.L ), a specialist lender to small and medium-sized businesses, said a survey of 1000 such companies conducted in the last financial quarter showed cashflow was their biggest concern. About a fifth of companies said they missed an opportunity to expand their business because of a lack of available finance, Chief Executive Phillip Monks told Reuters. (Editing by Greg Mahlich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-cash-idUKKBN16A016'|'2017-03-03T07:18:00.000+02:00' +'08ab755fb38eae9ab6f5cf8f5aab9781ef1e58d2'|'Uber prohibits use of ''Greyball'' technology to evade authorities'|'Technology 1:02am GMT Uber prohibits use of ''Greyball'' technology to evade authorities FILE PHOTO - A man arrives at the Uber offices in Queens, New York, U.S., February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo By Heather Somerville - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] has prohibited the use of its so-called "Greyball" technology to target regulators, ending a program that had been critical in helping Uber evade authorities in cities where the service has been banned. Uber is reviewing the different ways the technology has been used and is "expressly prohibiting its use to target action by local regulators going forward," Uber Chief Security Officer Joe Sullivan said in a blog post on Wednesday. The ride-hailing company last week confirmed the existence of the "Greyball" program, which uses data from the Uber app and other methods to identify and circumvent officials who aimed to ticket or apprehend drivers in cities that opposed Uber''s operations. (Reporting by Heather Somerville, editing by G Crosse) Next In Technology News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-uber-greyball-idUKKBN16G041'|'2017-03-09T08:08:00.000+02:00' +'76767b3ba63b69b5ac7ff4dc1c872ead56d1e814'|'Dominion Diamond puts itself up for sale after $1.1 billion approach'|'Dominion Diamond Corp ( DDC.TO ) ( DDC.N ), the target of an unsolicited $1.1 billion approach by U.S. billionaire Dennis Washington, said on Monday that it will launch a formal sales process for the company, boosting the company''s share price.The stock rose 3.4 percent on market speculation that global miners including Rio Tinto ( RIO.L ) ( RIO.AX ) and Anglo American''s ( AAL.L ) De Beers unit may now enter the fray and make a bid for Dominion, the world''s third-largest diamond producer by value.Neither Rio, which is a partner of Dominion''s in the Diavik mine in northern Canada with a 60 percent stake, nor Anglo, immediately responded to a request for comment.A source close to Rio said last week that the diversified miner was not interested in selling its stake in Diavik, if Washington was interested in acquiring it.Dominion said earlier that it had formed a special committee to explore, review and evaluate a range of alternatives, including the sale of the company.Four company directors - Trudy Curran, David Smith, Josef Vejvoda and Chairman Jim Gowans - would sit on the committee.Dominion said on March 19 that it had considered and rebuffed a $13.50 a share takeover proposal from The Washington Companies as the terms to advance talks were unacceptable and the "opportunistic" bid undervalued the company.Montana-based Washington is a group of privately held North American mining, industrial and transportation businesses founded by Dennis Washington.M&G Investments, Dominion''s biggest shareholder with a stake of about 11 percent, told Reuters last week that in the wake of the Washington approach Dominion should run a formal sales process, opening its books to other potential suitors.Small Canadian producer Stornoway Diamond Corp ( SWY.TO ) has also held merger talks with Dominion in recent months, and one source told Reuters last week that those talks were ongoing.Analysts have also speculated that Russian diamond producer Alrosa and private equity players could be interested in Dominion, which owns the Ekati diamond mine in Canada''s Northwest Territories.Dominion''s stock was last up 3.4 percent at $13.15 on the New York Stock Exchange.(Reporting by John Benny in Bengaluru. Additional reporting by Nicole Mordant in Vancouver.; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Bernard Orr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-dominion-diamond-m-a-strategic-option-idINKBN16Y138'|'2017-03-27T14:06:00.000+03:00' +'7c5032cd47775eb51dfc91446e7e652192cbc310'|'San Francisco university lays off IT workers, jobs head to India'|'Company News - Tue Feb 28, 2017 - 8:38pm EST San Francisco university lays off IT workers, jobs head to India By Rory Carroll - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Feb 28 The University of California, San Francisco on Tuesday laid off 49 information technology (IT) employees and outsourced their work to a company based in India, ending a year-long process that has brought the public university under fire. The university announced the plan last July as a way to save $30 million over five years. The University of California system, which includes health care and research-focused UCSF, has been struggling to raise revenue and cut expenses. Globalization and outsourcing have become hot-button political issues in the United States, as more employers cut costs by farming out work to low-cost workers in far-flung parts of the world. President Donald Trump campaigned on promises to restore lost U.S. jobs and to penalize companies that move factories overseas. This was the University of California''s first outsourcing, said a spokeswoman who added that the layoffs were necessary due to rising costs of technology. In addition to the 49 staff layoffs, another 48 positions that were vacant or filled by contractors were eliminated. California Senator Dianne Feinstein last year said the university had a responsibility to keep jobs in the United States and pledged to seek reforms to stop domestic jobs being outsourced. Kurt Ho, 58, a laid off systems administrator, carried a box of his personal items with an American flag draped over it, and said the university''s decision will hurt service for a medical staff that relies on a smoothly running and secure computer network. "It''s a downgrading of services and a slap in the face for the customers," said Ho, who has worked in IT in the Bay Area for 25 years. He said he plans to look for a job but worries that outsourcing of IT services is a growing trend. Last year UCSF entered into a $50 million contract over five years with India-based HCL Technologies Ltd to do the work. (Reporting by Rory Carroll, editing by Peter Henderson and David Gregorio) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-outsourcing-university-of-california-idUSL2N1GD21U'|'2017-03-01T08:38:00.000+02:00' +'4978bb14dd43ed9b84d040566488ac6bd0b2427e'|'UK financial sector proposes untested system to keep EU access'|'Business News - Wed Mar 29, 2017 - 9:11am EDT UK financial sector proposes untested system to keep EU access FILE PHOTO: The Canary Wharf financial district is seen at dusk in London, Britain November 7, 2014. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo By Huw Jones - LONDON LONDON Britain''s financial sector is drawing up proposals on how it could still serve EU clients after Brexit, even as firms begin establishing new operations on the continent to keep access to the European market. Regulatory and banking experts working for the City of London and lobby group TheCityUK are basing their ideas on a ''mutual recognition'' system. Under this, the European Union and Britain would broadly accept firms in each other''s financial markets because their home regulatory systems apply similar standards. Such a system might limit what is likely to be a flow of business and jobs from the London financial center, by far Europe''s biggest, to countries that remain in the EU. However, skeptics say mutual recognition is largely untested globally and would struggle to win approval within the EU, where there are already calls to make it harder for British financial firms to operate in the bloc, not easier, after Brexit. Undaunted, the experts on the International Regulatory Strategy Group (IRSG) will set out their proposals in a forthcoming paper. This aims to provide ideas for British negotiators after Prime Minister Theresa May formally notified Brussels on Wednesday of her country''s intention to seek a divorce from the remaining 27 EU member states. "You are saying the outcomes from the UK and EU27 regulatory systems are broadly comparable and this is the way to go forward," IRSG Chairman Mark Hoban told Reuters. Some British financial firms - and foreign banks using London as a European base - are already working on plans to move jobs to centers such as Frankfurt, Dublin, Paris and Luxembourg for after Britain loses its blanket "passporting" rights to sell financial services in the EU single market. Germany, however, says they will not be offered any special exemption from regulations. GRAPHIC - Banks'' Brexit dilemma tmsnrt.rs/2mQI774 GRAPHIC - Britain''s banking economy tmsnrt.rs/2nrufUG A BETTER BASIS Firms from outside the EU are already allowed some access to the single market under an ''equivalence'' system, provided the European Commission deems their home rules and supervision to be equivalent in strictness. Britain could therefore technically qualify as a "third country" under this system after Brexit. In practice the system is cumbersome. It operates firm-by-firm, does not cover all activities, has no fixed timetable for approvals and authorizations can be canceled at short notice, bankers say. It took four years for the EU to deem just one set of U.S. derivatives clearing rules to be equivalent as talks got bogged down over technical details. "It''s very clear that the third country model doesn''t work for the UK. There has to be a new basis on which trade is done cross-border between the UK and EU27," said Hoban. "The focus on mutual recognition of regulatory outcomes is a much better basis for continuing to trade cross-border." The hope is that a mutual recognition deal with the EU would be much more comprehensive, encompassing large numbers of firms and business areas rather than the current piecemeal approach. May told parliament on Wednesday she wanted a "bold and ambitious" trade deal covering economic affairs with the bloc within the two-year period of negotiations. PILOT Hoban said mutual recognition would avoid Britain becoming a "rule taker", as equivalence in practice means cutting and pasting EU rules into domestic law without any say in their framing, as Switzerland has to do. It would also be flexible enough to cope with two evolving regulatory systems over time, said Hoban, a former junior finance minister. Past attempts at mutual recognition have achieved little. In 2008 the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission struck a pilot deal with its Australian counterpart ASIC, but this expired after five years and has not been renewed. The EU opened talks on a similar Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) with the United States but these fizzled out without a deal after the global financial crisis. "We started exploring the legal complexities, which were considerable," said David Wright, a senior European Commission official at the time. "Many of the problems back then would be faced by a UK-EU MRA as well." Regulators and lawmakers in the EU say the focus should be on toughening up the equivalence system as this will need to cater for London, which will lie on its doorstep but outside its control, in contrast to smaller centers further afield. "For the EU27, the key question will be how to deal with relevant risks from what will have to be thought of as a very large offshore financial center," said Jakob von Weizsaecker, a German Social Democrat. "Controlling those risks will require a more robust third country equivalence regime," said von Weizsaecker, a member of the European Parliament which will have a veto on any new trade deal with Britain. Gerard Rameix, who chairs French markets regulator AMF, wants a more demanding equivalence system with Britain, given potentially huge volumes of financial transactions. "Thus the third country regime must be carefully re-assessed within the Brexit context," Rameix said. Hoban said there was an appetite in the EU to talk about financial services trading models like mutual recognition. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has promised the Brexit negotiations will be conducted fairly, without seeking punishment of Britain for leaving. Dan Waters, managing director of ICI Global, a funds industry body, was optimistic Britain could get a special deal with the EU. But he said: "The worry is that the review of third country arrangements could be a smokescreen for introducing a more demanding third country regime to punish the UK." Kay Swinburne, a British Conservative member of the European Parliament, said that while there was no appetite in the EU for the terminology of mutual recognition in financial services, there was an interest in how to find a platform that encourages future regulatory convergence. "There is a need for a formal regulatory forum with possibly an arbitration service alongside," Swinburne said. (editing by David Stamp)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-banks-financial-idUSKBN1701RV'|'2017-03-29T21:11:00.000+03:00' +'9130f09e3a7eeee6a0be8eebc6bf4a0222efa87b'|'UPDATE 1-Alexion Pharma names former Baxalta head Ludwig Hantson CEO'|'Company News 28am EDT UPDATE 1-Alexion Pharma names former Baxalta head Ludwig Hantson CEO (Adds details) March 27 Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc on Monday named former Baxalta head Ludwig Hantson chief executive officer as the rare-disease drug maker looks to steady the ship following the exit of its top management. Hantson will take over from David Brennan, who was named interim chief last year following the departure of Alexion''s top executives in the aftermath of a sales practices investigation. Hantson, who has also worked at Novartis AG, previously served as chief executive of rare disease drugs specialist Baxalta, which was bought by Shire Plc in a $32 billion deal last year. Alexion said in November it was probing allegations related to sales practices associated with its flagship drug, Soliris. Chief Executive David Hallal and Alexion''s finance chief Vikas Sinha stepped down in December amid speculation that the board had lost confidence in them. Alexion said in January its internal probe had found no instances of improper revenue recognition related to Soliris, but the company said it identified a material weakness in internal controls over financial reporting for previous quarters. New Haven, Connecticut-based Alexion''s 2017 revenue forecast reassured investors last month, even as Soliris'' slowing sales growth and looming competition had been causes for concern. Outgoing interim chief Brennan will remain on Alexion''s board, the company said. (Reporting by Natalie Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva and Sai Sachin Ravikumar) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/alexion-pharms-moves-ceo-idUSL3N1H43SE'|'2017-03-27T19:28:00.000+03:00' +'f4032647bedcb029d634c2b78f89638863e1e9e5'|'Japan inflation following forecasts, ''curve control'' smooth - BOJ''s Masai'|'Business News - Wed Mar 8, 2017 - 4:21pm GMT Japan inflation following forecasts, ''curve control'' smooth - BOJ''s Masai Bank of Japan''s (BOJ) new board member Takako Masai attends a news conference at the BOJ headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, June 30, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai LONDON Japanese inflation remains in line with the central bank''s most recent forecasts, one of its key policymakers Takako Masai said on Wednesday, adding that its efforts to keep key government bond yields on a tight leash have been smooth. The BOJ said in January it expected inflation of 1.5 percent for the 2017 fiscal year which starts in April and that its 2 percent target would be hit by March 2019. "The negative impact of the oil price has been diminished, so it (inflation) is in line with our previous expectations," Masai told reporters on the sidelines of an ICMA event in London. Masai added that efforts to control the shape of the government bond yield curve which include keeping 10-year yields pinned near zero had been "smooth", and that recent policy measures had not accelerated a drop in liquidity in its bond market. (Reporting by Marc Jones and John Geddie) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-boj-idUKKBN16F22B'|'2017-03-08T23:21:00.000+02:00' +'cf51f75dd2602a2dd47530b19fe3ff921210f075'|'ECB''s Nouy says some banks may need to be unwound'|'Business 21am EDT ECB''s Nouy says some banks may need to be unwound Daniele Nouy, chair of the Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank, speaks at a Thomson Reuters newsmaker event at Canary Wharf in London November 28, 2014. REUTERS/Neil Hall FRANKFURT Some euro zone banks may need to be unwound if they become unviable, the European Central Bank''s top supervisor said on Thursday, just as the Italian government seeks to bail out two regional lenders. "In specific cases consolidation may also take the form of the unwinding of banks if they become unviable," Daniele Nouy told a committee of the European Parliament. Nouy also called for the ECB''s supervisors to be given greater discretion when deciding how much capital banks must hold. (Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Balazs Koranyi) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ecb-banks-bailout-idUSKBN16U0QT'|'2017-03-23T15:12:00.000+02:00' +'7cd8ff0e1cb03bd6cd80d742f225d24468fe120c'|'BRIEF-Teledyne Technologies enters into an amendment to restated credit agreement'|' 16am EDT BRIEF-Teledyne Technologies enters into an amendment to restated credit agreement March 21 Teledyne Technologies Inc * Co entered into an amendment to its amended and restated credit agreement dated as of March 1, 2013- SEC filing * Amendment to increases priority indebtedness that may be incurred by units of Co from 15 pct of consolidated net worth to 20 pct of consolidated net worth * Also, on March 17, 2017, Co and units , entered into a term loan credit agreement * Pursuant to term loan credit agreement, lenders have committed to make unsecured term loans of up to $100 million Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-teledyne-technologies-enters-into-idUSFWN1GY07I'|'2017-03-21T17:16:00.000+02:00' +'34d30f0153fadfb75404172afc89652c28178552'|'Chinese toy factories open summer camp for migrant workers'' children - Guardian Sustainable Business'|'N ow I dont have to worry about my little son not recognising me when I go back home for Spring Festival, says Yang Dongmei, a 26-year-old worker in one of the southern Chinese factories that manufactures toys for companies including Disney, Mattel and Toys R Us.Yangs two boys, aged two and four, live with their grandparents in Henan province, more than 1,000km away. But they spent last years summer holidays in the factory where Yang works, under an initiative that hopes to improve family life for migrant workers in Guangdong province. The Family Friendly Factory Spaces (FFFS) scheme, run by ICTI Care, an NGO, hosts, entertains and educates factory employees children during the school summer holidays while their parents work on production lines nearby. It launched in two Guangdong factories last year, with 85 children aged between four and 13, and plans to expand to more sites this year.In the pilot schemes, the children were supervised by carers funded by ICTI Care in separate dormitory buildings and kept occupied with books, games, DVDs and other activities. When shifts were over, the families could spend time together, something previously restricted to rare hometown visits.We got the chance to be together as a family, says Yang, who earns about 3,000 yuan (350) a month and whose husband works in another factory in Guangdong. Working, then eating as a family afterwards. We never had that before.The scheme can also offer business benefits, according to Mark Robertson, director of communications and stakeholder relations at ICTI Care. Robertson says both factories reported improvements in retention rates among workers who participated, higher levels of trust and better employee-management relationships.Left-behind children Long periods away from their children and fractured family bonds have become the norm for millions of Chinas migrant workers, who leave their rural homes to find work in the countrys industrial hubs.Workers rights NGO China Labour Bulletin estimates there are about 277 million Chinese workers whose households are registered in rural areas of the country but who work in urban areas equivalent to one third of the countrys entire workforce. Since Chinas restrictive hukou , or household registration, system means citizens can usually only access services like education in the place where they were born, many migrant workers leave their children behind with other family members. A government survey published in 2016 suggested there were 9.02 million left-behind children, aged 16 or under, in Chinas countryside.In poor areas parents can often only afford to come back once a year, or even once every two years, says Brise Lee, a manager at ICTI Care. Their children have few chances to communicate with and stay with their parents. So the parents relationships with their children are weak.Workers the Guardian spoke to were positive about the impact of the scheme on their families. However, the interviewees were selected by the factories, and it is not possible to know how representative their views were.Wang Yuanyuan, a 32-year-old worker from Hunan province, had already managed to move her 10-year-old son to Guangdong by the time the FFFS started. The scheme made it possible for her younger son to join them for the summer. We were so much closer than before [the FFFS], she says. Although ICTI also offers migrant workers advice on how to better communicate with their children remotely, Wang was determined to bring her family together. There are certain feelings that cant be delivered by phone or messages, she says. Social reform While reuniting parents and children for summer holidays is a positive move, only comprehensive social reform can provide the long-term solution migrant worker families need, says Cara Wallis, an associate professor in communications at Texas A&M University with a focus on Chinas rural-urban divide. There needs to be deep structural reforms regarding the hukou , more development of rural areas, and more equitable social resources such as quality education for migrant children for migrant workers and their families in Chinas cities, she says.The Chinese government has started to reform the hukou system, and promises to ease life for migrant workers over the next five years. But Wallis says the changes made to date are failing to benefit those most in need: Particularly in larger cities, the reforms privilege those who have more education and money, not the labour migrants whose children are left behind in the countryside.Meanwhile, workers like 41-year-old Lei Mei continue to believe that their employment does more good for their children than harm. Its a shame I cant see them grow day by day, says Lei, whose children participated in the FFFS pilot. But my choice is for a better future for them. I sent them to private schools instead of public schools Im paying 20,000 yuan (2,350) a year for it.Additional reporting by Paula Jin. The names of the factory workers interviewed for this article have been changed. Sign up to be a Guardian Sustainable Business member and get more stories like this direct to your inbox every week. You can also f ollow us on Twitter . Topics Guardian sustainable business Business and the sustainable development goals Employment Children features '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/mar/10/china-toy-factories-migrant-workers-disney-mattel-toysrus'|'2017-03-10T07:05:00.000+02:00' +'38e5a541cd1b57eec5b6e9aec67de360956ed462'|'Elliott to help Chinese investors buy AC Milan with 300 million euros'|'MILAN U.S. private equity fund Elliott is helping a struggling Chinese consortium buy Italian storied soccer club AC Milan with a 253 million euro investment, lawyers representing Elliott said on Monday.In a statement, the lawyers said Elliott would provide 180 million euros to complete the acquisition, and another 73 million euros to help the club face short-term payments.A source close to the matter said Elliott would provide an additional 50 million euros to be invested in the club, bringing its total exposure to the deal to around 300 million euros ($326.49 million).In August a group of Chinese investors signed a deal to buy the Serie A team from former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi - its owner for the last three decades - in what would be the biggest Chinese investment in a European club.The deal, which values the club at 740 million euros including 220 million in debt, was originally supposed to close in December. But that deadline has been postponed twice to April 14 as the Chinese investors - whose identity remains largely unknown - failed to gather the necessary funds for the deal.(Reporting by Giulia Segreti, Elvira Pollina, Maria Pia Quaglia)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-acmilan-m-a-elliott-idUSKBN16Y1CC'|'2017-03-27T16:14:00.000+03:00' +'cc449a8145271237b32568c8bf80fac9ce0371bd'|'BRIEF-ReneSola provides outlook for project business'|' 43am EST BRIEF-ReneSola provides outlook for project business March 8 ReneSola Ltd - * Currently has approximately 335 mw of projects that are under construction and plans to construct over 550 mw in 2017. * In U.K., company intends to construct approximately 14 mw of projects this year * During construction phase, projects will be financed by construction loans * In U.S., company plans to construct 108 mw of projects in 2017, of which 70 mw are community solar projects * ReneSola Ltd - "Now anticipate fewer external module shipments in q1 of 2017 as we had redirected more module sales to our own downstream projects" * During construction phase, projects will also be funded by payment installments from buyers * Expect project sales to pick up in q2 * Continue to gain traction in domestic Chinese distributed generation market * In Canada, company plans to construct about 9 mw of small-scale utility projects under feed-in tariff 3.0 in current calendar year Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-renesola-provides-outlook-for-proj-idUSFWN1GL089'|'2017-03-08T18:43:00.000+02:00' +'60a37f7548d4c201946cdfdb3ee42bc119c4c47e'|'BRIEF-Delbrook Capital "continues to evaluate any and all options available to hold entrenched management & board to account for breach of fiduciary duty"'|'United States 01am EDT BRIEF-Delbrook Capital "continues to evaluate any and all options available to hold entrenched management & board to account for breach of fiduciary duty" March 27 Rapier Gold Inc: * Delbrook Capital- "continues to evaluate any and all options available to hold entrenched management & board to account for breach of fiduciary duty" '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-delbrook-capital-continues-to-eval-idUSFWN1H40HP'|'2017-03-27T21:01:00.000+03:00' +'77fd57ffb3becfef2bbe67c2bcc02da8cfed4476'|'Facebook takes aim at GoFundMe, crowdfunding sites with personal fundraising tool 30,'|'Why PolitiFact is helping Facebook flag "fake news" stories and hoaxes Watch out, GoFundMe. You have some big new competition in the fundraising space. Facebook ( FB , Tech30 ) announced Thursday to expand its charitable giving tools to include personal fundraisers. The campaigns will allow people 18 and older to raise money for themselves, a friend -- or someone or something not on Facebook, like a pet. Previously, the company allowed users to raise money only for nonprofits . Personal fundraisers will launch in the United States over the next few weeks. One big question: It''s unclear if Facebook takes a portion of the proceeds raised. It''s also not known whether people can view and support these causes if they don''t have a Facebook account, and whether the money is immediately released to the person raising the funds. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on these aspects of the tools. Related: Facebook to start putting warning labels on ''fake news'' Facebook will start with six categories including education (such as tuition and books), medical, pet medical, crisis relief, personal emergencies (like a car accident or theft), and funeral and loss. Initially there will be a 24-hour fundraiser review process before each campaign is posted. Eventually Facebook plans to expand the campaign categories and automate more of the review process. The social network''s foray into personal fundraising is in direct competition with cause-focused sites like GoFundMe and YouCaring, which also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Related: Why Facebook tracks internet outages around the world Facebook first tested its "fundraisers" feature in 2015 with 37 charities, including Mercy Corps, National Multiple Sclerosis Society and World Wildlife Fund. The top of a nonprofit''s page includes a "donate" button, where users can make a contribution with a credit card or through PayPal ( PYPL , Tech30 ) . CNNMoney (New York) 30, 2017: 12:53 PM ET'|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_technology.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/03/30/technology/facebook-personal-fundraising/index.html'|'2017-03-30T20:53:00.000+03:00' +'37a70f82c2b3de1e9c16543c7c220099dae3f31b'|'BRIEF-Skywest reports combined Feb. 2017 traffic for Skywest Airlines, Expressjet Airlines'|' 17pm EST BRIEF-Skywest reports combined Feb. 2017 traffic for Skywest Airlines, Expressjet Airlines March 10 Skywest Inc: * Skywest Inc reports combined February 2017 traffic for Skywest Airlines and Expressjet airlines * In feb 2017, dual class aircraft represented approximately 48% of total block hour production for month compared to about 41% * Skywest generated 2.43 billion available seat miles (asms) for February 2017, compared to 2.67 billion ASMS for February 2016 Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-skywest-reports-combined-feb-idUSASB0B4ZL'|'2017-03-11T04:17:00.000+02:00' +'784c96750ee5b04cd0839beb5e01ca991b69ee9c'|'PricewaterhouseCoopers settles with MF Global over collapse'|'Business News - Thu Mar 23, 2017 - 1:29pm GMT PricewaterhouseCoopers settles with MF Global over collapse The logo of PricewaterhouseCoopers is seen in front of the local offices building of the company in Luxembourg, April 26, 2016. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler NEW YORK PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP has settled a $3 billion (2 billion pound) lawsuit in which the bankruptcy administrator of MF Global Holdings Ltd accused the auditor of malpractice that led to the collapse of the brokerage run by former New Jersey governor Jon Corzine. Terms were not disclosed, but the case was "settled to the mutual satisfaction of the parties," representatives for PwC and the administrator said in separate statements on Thursday. The accord ends a trial that had begun on March 7 in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mf-global-hldg-pricewaterhouse-idUKKBN16U1QV'|'2017-03-23T20:29:00.000+02:00' +'8e89298327bdc078bd88ee2e7d1343cc59b7b9f6'|'Post-Fed boost for small-cap stocks may be limited'|'Business News - Fri Mar 17, 2017 - 7:21pm EDT Post-Fed boost for small-cap stocks may be limited FILE PHOTO: A street sign for Wall Street is seen outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City, U.S. December 28, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo By Caroline Valetkevitch - NEW YORK NEW YORK Small-cap stocks benefited from a dovish lining to the U.S. Federal Reserve''s decision to raise interest rates this past week, but strategists warn it will take more to make these pricey stocks outperform their larger brethren in the long haul. The Fed on Wednesday raised rates by a quarter of a percentage point, as expected, but did not flag any plan to accelerate the pace of monetary tightening. A less aggressive monetary policy may benefit small-caps, which tend to get hit harder as borrowing costs increase when rates rise. Stocks in the small-cap space rallied after the Nov. 8 election that put Donald Trump in the White House as investors bet Trump''s plans to cut back on regulations and taxes would especially help small companies. That hasn''t panned out in the new year, as they have underperformed the S&P 500 year-to-date. Their near-term performance hinges on how much the profit picture improves, but so far small-cap earnings have yet to rebound in the same way that large caps have. Investors consider small-cap stocks comparatively expensive. "We''re in a show-me state for small caps," said Steve DeSanctis, equity strategist at Jefferies. "We''ve gotten (price-to-earnings) multiple expansion, so you need earnings growth." Fourth-quarter earnings for companies in the small-cap S&P 600 .SPCY were down 1.0 percent from a year ago, while the benchmark S&P 500''s earnings .SPX rose 7.8 percent, Thomson Reuters data show. Analysts expect profit growth for the S&P 600 in the first quarter of 2017, but at a rate still well below that of the S&P 500. The S&P 600 is up just 1.4 percent since Dec. 31, after rising 24.7 percent in 2016. The S&P 500 by comparison has gained 6.2 percent since the start of the year. At 20.4 times forward earnings estimates, the S&P 600 looks expensive compared with its long-term average of 17, Thomson Reuters data showed. The S&P 500 trades at about 17.8 times forward earnings, also above its long-term average. The Russell 2000 , a widely used gauge for small-caps, has a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 25.4, brushing against its highest level since 2009. Its 10-year average sits at 20.7. "Growth and the interest rate trajectory are going to be two key factors," said Dan Suzuki, senior U.S. equity strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York. He thinks small caps may have more room to gain in the short run, especially if earnings surprise to the upside, but that valuations remains a negative. On the flip side, rising rates also tend to boost the U.S. dollar, which would have a bigger negative impact on large-cap multinationals as a stronger dollar weighs on offshore revenues when they are translated into the U.S. currency. Investors also worry that any tax reductions under the Trump administration may not come for many months, or even until 2018. "Small-caps generally pay more in terms of U.S. corporate taxes," said Nicholas Colas, chief market strategist at Convergex, a global brokerage company based in New York. "You can somewhat view small-caps as a bit of a proxy for confidence in the tax reduction piece of the Trump economic plan." (Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by Daniel Bases and Leslie Adler) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks-weekahead-idUSKBN16O2VF'|'2017-03-18T06:21:00.000+02:00' +'922cb517096c77db2ffb9793b00901cf040eb15c'|'UPDATE 1-Argentina delays Avianca''s market entry to avoid conflict of interest'|' 23pm EST UPDATE 1-Argentina delays Avianca''s market entry to avoid conflict of interest (Adds transport minister quote, background) BUENOS AIRES, March 6 Argentina will delay approval of Avianca Holdings SA''s entry into the local market until a new norm governing business conflicts of interest is approved, Transportation Minister Guillermo Dietrich said on Monday. Last week, a federal prosecutor asked a judge for permission to investigate President Mauricio Macri and others over allegations he favored the Colombian airline in a plan to open more routes. His father''s company sold another airline to Avianca last year. "Regarding Avianca, we have decided to tie the approval process to a new rule that will be published soon and seeks to prevent possible conflict of interest," Dietrich told a news conference. At the start of the month, Macri vowed to issue decrees to crack down on conflicts of interest as prosecutors push to investigate his family''s business ties, including the deal between Avianca and the president''s father. The elder Macri, Franco, is one of Argentina''s richest men. Last month, the president was criticized over a deal his government reached to resolve a 15-year old debt the postal service incurred when it was owned by Franco Macri, with prosecutors claiming the deal benefited his family. The president said at the time that the deal had been handled legally, but apologized for a lack of transparency and revoked the agreement. (Reporting by Luc Cohen; Writing by Hugh Bronstein; editing by Grant McCool and Jonathan Oatis) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/argentina-airlines-argentina-idUSL2N1GJ1IN'|'2017-03-07T04:23:00.000+02:00' +'6acde3962a8420ec9929adab5bac5e6faafe136d'|'Dubai''s Souq.com to make announcement on Amazon.com bid: sources'|'DUBAI Middle Eastern online retailer Souq.com will make an announcement later on Tuesday about Amazon.com Inc''s ( AMZN.O ) bid to buy 100 percent of the company from its shareholders, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.One of the sources, declining to be identified ahead of the announcement, said the statement would say that Souq.com''s shareholders had accepted the bid.Souq.com declined to comment. Amazon officials could not immediately be reached for comment.Dubai''s Emaar Malls EMAA.DU, operator of some of the region''s most glitzy shopping malls, said on Monday it had made an $800 million offer for Souq.com. Sources said that bid was higher than Amazon''s offer.Reuters reported last week that Amazon had agreed in principle to buy Souq.com, which was founded 12 years ago by Syrian-born entrepreneur Ronaldo Mouchawar.Souq.com has raised $425 million since its founding in 2005, according to CrunchBase. It was reported to be valued at $1 billion at the time of its latest funding round last year, but sources said at the time the deal was worth less than that.Amazon bid $580 million for Souq.com, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday. The Financial Times reported Amazon would pay between $650 and $750 million, quoting two sources familiar with the matter.Emaar Malls bid had so far not been accepted by Souq.com shareholders, the Dubai-listed firm said on Monday.Souq.com would have to break an exclusivity agreement with Amazon if it is to accept the Emaar Malls offer at this stage, a source said.(Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh and Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Andrew Torchia and Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-souq-com-m-a-amazon-com-idINKBN16Z0Q1'|'2017-03-28T05:30:00.000+03:00' +'7d46a4fce98d2d70afb38cae6cceacff724bd969'|'Ex-JPMorgan employee pleads guilty to $5 million fraud'|'Company News - 43pm EST Ex-JPMorgan employee pleads guilty to $5 million fraud By Brendan Pierson - March 2 March 2 A former JPMorgan Chase & Co employee who has been ordered to attend counseling for gambling has pleaded guilty to criminal charges that he stole more than $5 million from his employer to pay personal debts, New York prosecutors said. Lawrence Obracanik, 42, pleaded guilty to wire fraud affecting a financial institution on Thursday before U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams in Manhattan, according to an announcement from U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine, according to Bharara''s office. Obracanik is scheduled to be sentenced by Abrams on July 7. A lawyer for Obracanik did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday evening. Obracanik, a resident of Fort Worth, Texas, turned himself in to authorities in New York in December. Following a court appearance on the day of his arrest, he was released on a $100,000 bond. He was instructed as part of his bail conditions to seek employment and attend counseling for gambling, according to court records. The criminal complaint against Obracanik did not identify JPMorgan by name. But a profile for him on LinkedIn said that he had worked for the New York-based bank in Texas. A spokesman for JPMorgan declined to comment at the time of Obracanik''s arrest. Representatives of the bank could not immediately be reached on Thursday. Prosecutors say that, between July 2014 and February 2016, Obracanik was responsible for wire transfers of more than $5 million from an account at the bank where he worked to an account at another bank belonging to an unnamed individual. The complaint said that during an interview with two Federal Bureau of Investigation agents in August, Obracanik admitted wiring the money to that person''s account and said that he had done so to pay personal debts. The case is U.S. v. Obracanik, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 16-mj-7732. (Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; additional reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Bernard Orr) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/jpmorgan-court-idUSL2N1GF281'|'2017-03-03T06:43:00.000+02:00' +'29839a3ef6324df07e4163b2ec0c08a18c8f4b8b'|'Bank of England to check banks ready for disorderly Brexit'|' 6:53pm IST Bank of England to check banks ready for disorderly Brexit FILE PHOTO: City workers walk past the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain, March 29, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo By David Milliken and Huw Jones - LONDON LONDON Britain-based banks should take steps to ensure they do not have to curb lending suddenly if the country leaves the European Union in a disorderly way, the Bank of England said on Monday as Prime Minister Theresa May prepares to start Brexit talks. May has said she is prepared to walk away from the Brexit talks with no deal if only bad terms are offered, and the government has said it is making contingency plans for this "unlikely" scenario. BoE Governor Mark Carney said in January that the Brexit process was a bigger financial stability risk to EU countries whose businesses relied on raising finance via London than it was to Britain itself. Just two days before May formally notifies the EU that Britain wants to start two years of exit talks, the BoE asked banks to provide copies of contingency plans to reassure it that they are ready for "a range of possible outcomes". "Risks to financial stability will be influenced by the orderliness of the adjustment to the new relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union," the BoE''s Financial Policy Committee said in its quarterly policy statement. Carney has said both Britain and the rest of the EU would benefit from a transitional period after Brexit when British-based banks could continue to serve clients elsewhere in Europe on broadly similar terms as at present. But many banks operating out of London fear they will lose easy access to the EU''s single market. Some like Goldman Sachs have already said they will beef up their presence in continental Europe. The central bank''s Financial Policy Committee is asking lenders to show how they can avoid their continental customers being abruptly cut off after Brexit, which could also damage the British economy. "Sudden adjustment could disrupt the provision of market liquidity and investment banking services," the BoE said. Longer-term changes to bank business models after Brexit - as well as more complex legal structures - could reduce the resilience of the UK financial system. Kirsty Barnes, a partner at law firm Gowling WLG, said Britain-based banks could face major restrictions if they did not achieve preferential access to the EU. "Banks will either have to shift certain operations or business units to the EU or we will see the closure of lines of business and products due to the increased costs or associated inefficiencies that may arise," she said. ROBUST RULES The BoE said it was launching a review into consumer lending standards, which it now believes pose a greater risk than buy-to-let lending to landlords, which has cooled recently. While unsecured consumer lending is not a big part of British banks'' activity, it could bring heavy losses and the BoE said it was growing particularly rapidly. The FPC also set out the scenario for this year''s annual stress tests of top lenders. For the first time, they face a biennial parallel ''exploratory'' test of their ability to cope with latent risks outside the usual financial cycle. The cyclical test covers a five-year period of shocks, while the exploratory version will span seven years. The BoE said this month the outlook for global economic growth had improved, partly due to market expectations of tax cuts and looser regulation in the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered a review of banking rules - many based on global standards - saying they hamper lending. The FPC said it would apply "robust" capital rules and if there was not consistent cooperation from other countries'' supervisors it would need to "assess how best to protect the resilience of the UK financial system". The committee has set a target for banks to have an aggregate Tier 1 capital buffer of 13.5 percent, versus an actual 15.1 percent last December. The FPC said the target will be reviewed in light of a new rule from January 2018 requiring banks to set money aside far sooner to cover possible loan defaults, and for refinements at the global level to how banks add up risks from loans. A more accurate system of adding up risks could even prompt the BoE to lower the aggregate target. (Editing by Hugh Lawson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-boe-idINKBN16Y1IG'|'2017-03-27T21:23:00.000+03:00' +'7e90504c4cced51086fee3837bba6353811075b4'|'BRIEF-WD-40 says effective March 9, co became obligated to incur costs under contract for construction of improvements to new office located at San Diego'|'United States 14pm EDT BRIEF-WD-40 says effective March 9, co became obligated to incur costs under contract for construction of improvements to new office located at San Diego March 14 Wd-40 Co * Wd-40 co - effective march 9, co became obligated to incur costs under contract for construction of improvements to new office located at san diego * Wd-40 - co, contractor executed change order 1 to agreement to finalize cost summary exhibit, to establish maximum price for project of $4.23 million * Wd-40 co - project is scheduled to be completed no later than july 14, 2017 - sec filing ( bit.ly/2mp90xO ) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-wd-40-says-effective-march-9-co-be-idUSFWN1GR0LN'|'2017-03-15T03:14:00.000+02:00' +'a3969f2f0c2bff29959240b69066741812d44f71'|'Keep it in the family: running a business with mum - Guardian Small Business Network'|'Wed be lying if we said wed never had an argument When Katy Alstons husband bought her an ice cream van for Christmas, she thought hed gone mad. Shed taken time out of a 15-year-long nursing career to look after her son and was debating what her next career move would be. He sounds like hes really exciting and creative but hes actually not, Katy says of her husband. I wasnt happy. But he said, dont look at this like an old van, look at this as a business. So she did. Shes now spent as long running Pinks Vintage Ice Cream as Mrs Whippy, as she did working as a nurse. Five years ago, her daughter Georgia (aka Little Miss Whippy) came on board after leaving university. But Katy didnt give her an easy ride. Mum requested a full business plan demonstrating how I could grow the business to increase profit margins, Georgia says. Think Dragons Den meets The Apprentice, but to your mum. I worked very hard to prove myself.Katy admits she had conflicting views on the best thing to do for her business and her daughter. As a mother you go through real guilt that you should be encouraging your children to fly, so that was why I put Georgia through that grilling. My heart knew there was no one better to work with me but my head was saying I should be encouraging her to go off and do amazing things. But it was the best thing I could ever have done both for the business and as a mother, she adds. There have been disagreements in the past (wed be lying if we said wed never had an argument, Georgia admits), but both say defining their roles with a business coach was a key step towards harmony as co-directors. Both still go out in the ice cream vans but Georgia also spends time working on PR and marketing.When you work with anyone, you have ups and downs and clashes of personalities and ideas but when youre mother and daughter, you purposefully work through them early on, Katy says. To begin with, I thought I had to carry on doing everything, or if I wasnt doing it, I had to check what Georgia was doing. But actually, once you start to let other people do things, thats when the growth occurs. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Scott McMullan set up Maid Up North so his mum Kerry Patton could slow down a bit. Its been quite a journey When Kerry Pattons sons were just seven, three and a year old, she was diagnosed with Hodgkins disease (a type of lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system). Kerry survived and her sons grew up and moved away from home in Northern Ireland. But five years ago, her health deteriorated again. Id noticed a definite decline. Id reached that point in my life where I thought where am I going? says Kerry. Meanwhile, Scott McMullan, Kerrys eldest son, had been encouraging her to move to Newcastle, where he lived. Scott phoned me one day and said, mum, I have created a business plan that will allow you to lead a lifestyle where you can live at your own pace. The plan was Maid Up North , a cleaning service that was quick to book online and would fit around customers busy lifestyles. Scott, who has a computing degree, built the platform and would look after the technical side while Kerry would hire and oversee the cleaners. She was taken with the idea. Scott says: I was sitting in an Uber one night and I thought, I wonder what else you can do with this [model]? We wanted to make it really easy and convenient for anyone to use.As Kerrys health fluctuates and another of her sons has had to step in to run Maid Up North at times (Scott still has a full-time marketing job elsewhere), Kerry and Scott are enjoying working on their joint enterprise and have learned a lot from each other. Its been quite a journey, says Kerry. For Scott, its been a lesson in soft skills. Mum is much more personable than I would be. Ive learned that side of things is important. Im more straight to the point. The business is performing well, with both mother and son keen to take on more staff. The only point of contention is Scott not wanting his mum to work too much. But theyll be taking a break from business for Mothers Day. I usually take her somewhere, says Scott. She enjoys going out into the countryside for a good ramble. Kerry adds: I intend to make a lot more memories, thats all I want.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Surinder Bellamy and Safia Hothi-Bellamy have grown the business to know offer online cookery courses. Photograph: Jay Williams My big motivation is my daughters future When Safia Hothi-Bellamy found herself without a job in 2013 after working as an international conference producer in London, her mother Surinder Bellamy offered her two products and 5,000 to see what she could do with them. Surinder, who already owned a post office and fine food shop, had made her own garam masala and tandoori masala a few years before under the Pure Punjabi brand. Other than stocking them in the shop, she had not done any real marketing. Within a year, shed won us a Gold Taste award for the tandoori masala, Surinder says about daughter Safia. She was also in the top three finalists for the young entrepreneur awards, run by Enterprise Wiltshire.The business has diversified into offering Indian cookery lessons online and in person, as well as running a pop-up restaurant. Surinder is still involved in the strategy and administrative side of the business she has since sold the shop and also works as a personal trainer.But she says her aim for the business is to secure financial independence for her daughter. Im always looking to Safias future, thats my big motivation. You want to work and you want to have a career but maybe you want to stay home and raise the children. I think its nice as a woman to give that gift to your daughter, to know that if we can get [the business] to a good position before Safia is a mum herself, she will hopefully be free to have those choices. Safia, who does a lot of networking, events and marketing for the business, says people are always curious about what its like to work with her mother. Its often the first thing people ask me. It always confuses me I think they expect me to say its really difficult but its quite nice. Weve always been very close. Weve had to learn to change the way we interact so were a little bit more productive. We chat like friends, its easy to slip into that. We now have two separate offices because we distract each other.On Mothers Day, the pair will be away in Cyprus with Surinders other two children. Surinder says shes trying to make more of an effort to take regular time off from work. Its important that if you have a family business, you dont flog yourselves into the ground.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Joanna and Jo Hansford run Jos London salon together. Its lovely to see how admired she is In 1993, while men were dominating the hairdressing business, Jo Hansford set up a salon in her name in Londons Mayfair. There were the John Friedas, Charles Worthingtons and Nicky Clarkes of the world, to compete with, but I felt I had a niche in the market. Jo is a specialist in hair colour. Over her time in business she started as a hairdressing apprentice aged 15 and worked in top salons including Vidal Sassoons shes built up a strong customer base, including celebrity clients. At the time, her daughter, Joanna, was 17 and uninterested in her mums business. Initially, I probably felt a bit resentful towards it, she says. Why did they [Jos husband also worked on the management side of the business] need to [launch a business]. I felt it was taking my family away from me I was probably being a bit of a spoiled teenager.After college, Joanna wanted to go travelling. To save some money, she did a stint as a receptionist at her mums salon. I suddenly realised what it was all about, says Joanna. It then started to get under my skin a bit. In between her travels Joanna returned to the salon and found she had a knack for managing products, HR and PR. Then, Jos husband and Joannas dad, David, who oversaw the businesss finances, was diagnosed with cancer. He brought in an ex-bank manager to help out, who stayed on when David sadly died. Joanna worked alongside him, eventually taking over as managing director.Over almost 20 years of working together, she and Jo have formed a solid partnership. They live near one another and Jo picks up Joanna on the way to work each morning, which gives them time to chat about how things are going. The most important thing we have for each other is respect, says Jo.Joanna says of her mum: Its lovely to see how admired she is in the industry and how fantastic she is at what she does. Sign up to become a member of the Guardian Small Business Network here for more advice, insight and best practice direct to your inbox.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/mar/22/keep-it-in-the-family-running-a-business-with-mum'|'2017-03-22T02:00:00.000+02:00' +'7322cb6d287c38a420712bbbbd839c70235124da'|'Chinese automaker Geely doubles profit on next-gen car sales boost'|'Business 45am GMT Chinese automaker Geely doubles profit on next-gen car sales boost The logo of Geely Automobile Holdings is pictured at the Auto China 2016 auto show in Beijing, China April 25, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo BEIJING China''s Geely Automobile Holding Ltd ( 0175.HK ), whose unlisted parent owns Sweden''s Volvo, on Wednesday said net profit more than doubled in 2016, the biggest rise in eight years as sales of its next-generation of vehicles outstripped expectations. The Hangzhou-based automaker said in a stock exchange filing that net profit for 2016 rose 126 percent to 5.1 billion yuan ($741.15 million), beating consensus expectations of 4.6 billion yuan in a Reuters poll of analysts. Geely''s revenue rose 78 percent to 53.7 billion yuan from a year earlier. It previously reported sales increased 49 percent to 765,851 vehicles for the year. Geely has transformed itself from a no-frills domestic brand into an automaker with upmarket aspirations, using its 2010 acquisition of Volvo to up its game with models such as the recently launched GC9 sedan and Boyue sport-utility vehicle. Geely will launch the first cars on a jointly-developed platform with Volvo under new brand name Lynk & Co later this year with plans for the marque to go on sale in Europe next year and the U.S. in 2019. (Reporting by Jake Spring; Editing by Christopher Cushing) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-geely-results-idUKKBN16T0DU'|'2017-03-22T11:45:00.000+02:00' +'3b46d502a5ca09b0cd206b1da172ced2d2322784'|'Poll - UK consumers to feel the pinch as inflation outpaces wage rises'|' 53pm IST Poll - UK consumers to feel the pinch as inflation outpaces wage rises FULL COVERAGE: By Jonathan Cable - LONDON LONDON British wage growth won''t keep up with soaring inflation this year, according to economists in a Reuters poll who were concerned a consumer spending slowdown was underway. Shoppers have been one of the main drivers of economic growth since Britain voted in June to leave the European Union and any signs they are reining in spending will be a worry for policymakers. Prices are expected to climb 2.6 percent this year, the poll of 60 economists taken this week found, yet wages will only rise 2.4 percent, crimping household budgets. Twenty-four of 33 economists who answered an extra question said they were concerned a consumer spending slowdown was underway while six were very concerned. Only three were not concerned. "While at least some pick-up in wage growth looks as though it is in prospect, we don''t think nominal wage growth will rise as quickly as inflation, suggesting that real earnings growth will probably be fairly subdued," said Ruth Gregory at Capital Economics. "There are growing signs that the post-referendum strength in consumer spending is fading." British consumers are cutting back on non-essential spending as the impact of last year''s Brexit vote pushes up the cost of their day-to-day shopping, two surveys showed on Tuesday. At the end of 2016 the economy sped up, data showed last month, but over the whole year it was weaker than previously thought amid signs the Brexit vote will increasingly act as a brake on growth. Gross domestic product will expand 1.6 percent this year and just 1.2 percent next year, the poll found. It will grow 0.4 percent this quarter but only 0.2-0.3 percent for the remaining quarters of 2017. SAVING FOR A RAINY DAY After the referendum, the Bank of England cut interest rates to a record low of 0.25 percent and expanded its asset purchase programme. Now policymakers are watching closely to see if households curtail spending as they decide whether the economy needs more monetary stimulus to spur demand or an interest rate hike to curb inflation. None of the 60 economists polled expect any change to policy when the Bank announces its latest decision on March 16 and few forecast any change in Bank Rate until 2019 at least, despite inflation exceeding the Bank''s 2 percent target. Only a couple expect the quantitative easing programme to be tweaked. "It is unlikely the BoE will tighten monetary policy in a time of elevated political uncertainty. We think we need to see slower growth and/or higher unemployment before easing becomes likely again," said Mikel Milhoj at Danske Bank. Finance minister Philip Hammond is due to announce an annual budget statement on Wednesday and has signalled he will keep money in reserve in case the economy needs help to get through a slowdown as Britain leaves the EU. "We expect the Chancellor to bank the great majority of any borrowing undershoot rather than spend it, though there may be some small net giveaways," said John Hawksworth at PwC. The Office for Budget Responsibility will revise down its forecast for government borrowing over the next five years, nearly all of the economists polled who answered an extra question said. They gave a median reduction of 25 billion pounds and forecasts ranged from 5 billion to 80 billion pounds ($97.5 billion). (For other stories from the global poll:) ($1 = 0.8205 pounds) (Polling by Indradip Ghosh and Vivek Mishra; editing by Ken Ferris) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/boe-policy-poll-idINKBN16E1MF'|'2017-03-07T20:23:00.000+02:00' +'941d2fc555e6425719735b1bd1fa919c9c7e7713'|'UK markets regulator wins ''London Whale'' identity case in top court'|'Business 11:09am GMT UK markets regulator wins ''London Whale'' identity case in top court LONDON The UK''s markets regulator did not wrongfully identify a former JPMorgan ( JPM.N ) executive in a landmark case over what details it can publish when it fines banks for breaching rules, the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday. The ruling will set a precedent for seven similar cases in which traders say they were criticised in Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) penalty notices and were not given the chance to contest findings before they were published. "The FCA is pleased that there is now a final ruling and is considering the impact of the Supreme Court''s judgment on other third party (cases) currently before the tribunal," a FCA spokeswoman said. The FCA had challenged lower court rulings that it identified Greek national Achilles Macris, without naming him, when it fined JPMorgan 138 million pounds ($172 million) in 2013 over the "London Whale" scandal. Macris was the former chief investment officer of JPMorgan''s synthetic credit portfolio team in London, which ran up $6.2 billion in losses in 2012 in the "London Whale" trades, so-called because of their magnitude. The bank was fined $1.0 billion by U.S. and UK regulators for management failings. (Reporting by Kirstin Ridley; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-court-fca-londonwhale-idUKKBN16T19O'|'2017-03-22T18:09:00.000+02:00' +'9aa60cef122ecfc6d1be4b71b92dee5446d7c5db'|'Funds expect Saudi Aramco to be valued around $1-1.5 trillion -survey'|' 02am EST Oil tanks seen at the Saudi Aramco headquarters during a media tour at Damam city November 11, 2007. REUTERS/ Ali Jarekji/File Photo By Celine Aswad and Andrew Torchia - DUBAI The valuation of Aramco IPO-ARMO.SE, the world''s biggest oil firm, has been the focus of intense speculation since the Saudi government last year announced plans to sell up to 5 percent of it and list the shares in Riyadh and at least one foreign stock exchange. Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who oversees the kingdom''s economic policy, has said the sale is expected to value Aramco at $2 trillion or more, making it by the far the world''s largest initial public offer. The EFG Hermes survey, conducted at an investment conference organized by the bank in Dubai, found 39 percent of respondents predicted the market would value Aramco at between $1 trillion and $1.5 trillion. Thirty-six percent expect a valuation below $1 trillion, and 24 percent a figure above $1.5 trillion, the bank said. EFG Hermes said it polled 510 international fund managers and investors from 260 institutions at the conference, as well as 147 other companies. It did not say how many of them had replied to the question on Aramco. The company''s ultimate valuation will depend on decisions that are expected to be made by Saudi authorities in coming months, including the tax rate that Aramco will pay as a public company, and the portion of Aramco''s huge and diverse array of assets that is included in the listed entity. Saudi officials have given no concrete indication of how they will decide these questions, so any estimate of Aramco''s value remains tentative. The EFG Hermes survey suggests a higher valuation than some estimates by private analysts. Last year Foreign Reports, a Washington-based oil industry consultancy, calculated Aramco could have a market value of $250-460 billion, excluding the value of refining assets and guaranteed access to oil and gas. Aramco''s valuation is important for Saudi Arabia because it will determine how much money the government makes from the IPO and the size of foreign fund flows that are expected to enter the country to buy the shares. The huge IPO looks likely to strengthen the case for Saudi Arabia to join the emerging markets indexes of international index compilers such as MSCI, a step which could attract tens of billions of dollars of fresh foreign money to the kingdom. The EFG Hermes survey found 16 percent of respondents expected Saudi Arabia to join MSCI''s emerging markets index next year, 34 percent in 2019, 22 percent in 2020 and 27 percent at a later date. (Editing by Louise Heavens) China''s '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-aramco-ipo-value-idUSKBN16D14Y'|'2017-03-06T17:58:00.000+02:00' +'5257aa99a45f2f288cf78cbf1b59c6c22080a825'|'Brazil''s watchdog asks Petrobras to restate financial reports from 2013-2015'|' 29am GMT Brazil''s watchdog asks Petrobras to restate financial reports from 2013-2015 The logo of state-run oil company Petrobras is pictured in the company headquarters in Vitoria, Espirito Santo, Brazil, February 10, 2017. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker SAO PAULO Brazil''s stock market regulator CVM has asked state controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA ( PETR4.SA ) to restate its annual financial statements for 2013, 2014 and 2015 to include the impact of currency rate hedges. In a securities filing late on Tuesday, Petrobras said the CVM also requested the restatement of financial results from the second and third quarters of 2013, and to the years of 2014, 2015 and 2016 to account for impairments related to certain hedging transactions. Petrobras said it can appeal against the request which is preliminary and could still be overturned by a CVM panel. (Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Greg Mahlich) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-petrobras-regulation-idUKKBN16F1AK'|'2017-03-08T18:29:00.000+02:00' +'79ab190d3f27608dcf9c3631fc9483ad701c8289'|'Yingde Gases "accidental win" for minorities fans sparks of activism'|'Deals 6:04am EDT Yingde Gases ''accidental win'' for minorities fans sparks of activism By Elzio Barreto - HONG KONG HONG KONG The messy battle to control China''s largest producer of industrial gases has turned into a serendipitous victory for minority investors that could encourage more shareholder activism in Asia. Though far less common than in the United States, open campaigns seeking better returns or a change in business strategy have risen sharply in Asia, with the number of targeted companies rising to 77 in 2016 from 55 the previous year, according to data from research firm Activist Insight. That is still well short of the 456 cases in the United States, underscoring the room for further growth as investors feel more emboldened and markets in the region expand. The decision by Yingde Gases Group''s ( 2168.HK ) shareholders earlier in March to oust five directors ended a four-month battle for control of the $1.6 billion company''s board in a clash over how to improve its finances and business. It is expected to speed up a strategic review that could include an outright sale of the company. The increase in public activist campaigns also highlights how investors including Elliott Management Corp, BlackRock Inc ( BLK.N ) and Hong Kong-based hedge fund Oasis Management are becoming more public as they try to rally other minority shareholders to boost returns from laggard stocks. "This case with Yingde had the potential of disenfranchising shareholders, but people went and they voted. It only happened because the insiders split and that gave a real voice to minority shareholders here," said Seth Fischer, chief investment officer at Oasis, which holds a 4.5 percent stake in Yingde. "It was a bit of an accidental win." As Yingde co-founders Sun Zhongguo and Trevor Strutt, who prevailed in the vote, battled with Zhao Xiangti, another co-founder and major shareholder, the company received takeover approaches from asset manager StellarS Capital (Hong Kong) Ltd and U.S. industrial gas maker Air Products and Chemicals Inc ( APD.N ) worth $1.1 billion and as much as $1.5 billion in cash, respectively. If successful, the Air Products purchase would be the biggest takeover by a U.S. company in China. The takeover battle took another twist when Hong Kong-based private equity firm PAG agreed to buy the combined 42.1 percent stakes of Zhao, Sun and Strutt for $616 million. The offer''s only condition was that PAG and parties acting in concert with the fund hold more than 50 percent of Yingde. Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), which advises pension plans and mutual funds, had called in the beginning of March for a fully independent board, as that would give "the most objective assessment of any offers to acquire" Yingde. The call for more independence was also voiced by Oasis. Speaking to Reuters last week, Strutt and Sun said they believed Zhao had destroyed value for shareholders and were now focusing on trying to secure a higher bid for the company. They said they were also trying to bring in another board member with expertise in the gas sector to help the process go smoothly. While one UK fund manager described the Yingde case as a "somewhat unique situation, rather than the dawn of a brave new world of activism in Hong Kong," since it depended on a split among the top shareholders, there is nevertheless at least a noticeable whiff of change. In a region with many family-owned businesses and listed companies with few people holding the vast majority of shares, investors are increasingly asking boards to act in the interest of all shareholders, not just majority owners. In a rare public campaign last year, ultimately unsuccessful, BlackRock, the world''s largest asset manager, called on the board of Hong Kong-listed G-Resources Group Ltd ( 1051.HK ) to "honour its obligations to all shareholders". While the number of companies targeted by activist investors was unchanged at 14 in 2016 from 2015 in Hong Kong, it rose to 15 from nine in Japan and to 11 from eight in China, while also rising in South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia, according to Activist Insight. Asia has seen vast improvement in corporate governance over the past two years as regulators and securities exchanges tighten rules to boost company performance, raise investor confidence and guard their reputations. Markets including Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand have been getting tough on rogue firms and introduced stewardship codes to encourage engagement between companies and investors. Hong Kong and Singapore, two of the region''s largest financial centers, have tightened listing and takeover requirements, and stepped up enforcement after instances of erratic price movements sparked fear of manipulation. (Additional reporting by Michelle Price in Hong Kong and Anshuman Daga in Singapore; Editing by Will Waterman) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yingde-gases-m-a-idUSKBN16V142'|'2017-03-24T17:59:00.000+03:00' +'68f70ef5c8c2c0fde45bebe2b9097b8cfcce9845'|'PepsiCo to close British plant, threatening nearly 400 jobs'|' 10pm GMT PepsiCo to close British plant, threatening nearly 400 jobs General view of Limited Edition Jamie Vardy Walkers crisps outside the King Power Stadium before the Leicester City v Chelsea match on 14/12/15Action Images via Reuters / Carl Recine/Livepic LONDON Food and drink firm PepsiCo plans to shut a Walkers crisp factory in northern England, the company said on Wednesday, putting almost 400 jobs at risk. PepsiCo, whose UK products include Walkers crisps, Pepsi Max soft drinks and Quaker porridge, said the plant closure at Peterlee, in County Durham in northern England, would affect 380 jobs. The company said the decision was nothing to do with Britain''s vote to leave the European Union last year, and that crisps currently produced at the site would be manufactured at other sites in Britain. "The changes we are proposing present significant productivity and efficiency savings crucial for ensuring the long-term sustainable growth of our business in the UK," Tracey Foster, Peterlee Manufacturing Director at PepsiCo UK said in a statement. She added that "no decisions will be made without first consulting employees and their representatives." The company employs almost 5,000 workers across 11 sites in Britain, including a factory in Leicester that producers Walkers crisps -- known in the United States as potato chips -- which is the largest crisp factory in the world. (Reporting by Alistair Smout, editing by Estelle Shirbon) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-pepsico-britain-jobs-idUKKBN1684M4'|'2017-03-01T21:10:00.000+02:00' +'64df4d615441bb29b8ca27f5b873f5b26ad36c94'|'Hotel booking platform HotelTonight raises $37 million'|'By Lauren Hirsch - March 22 March 22 Last-minute U.S. hotel booking app HotelTonight said on Wednesday it raised $37 million in a funding round as it seeks to expand its international hotel network and invest in marketing campaigns.The Series E funding round, which was led by venture capital firm Accel Partners and valued the San Francisco-based company at roughly $500 million, brings it one step forward to an eventual initial public offering, though the company has yet to outline such plans.HotelTonight had $500 million in sales last year and is turning a profit.Users of HotelTonight can use the app to book hotels up to a week in advance, often at a discount. It has 25,000 hotel partners in more than 30 countries, which unload their unused rooms onto the platform.HotelTonight is counting on its sleek mobile interface to compete against its much larger booking competitor, Expedia Inc .Earlier this year, HotelTonight secured a partnership with U.K. soccer team Chelsea F.C.The company''s other investors include Battery Ventures, US Venture Partners, GGV Capital, Coatue Management and First Round Capital, which also invested in the most recent round. (Reporting by Lauren Hirsch in New York; Editing by James Dalgleish)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/hoteltonight-fundraise-idINL2N1GX14K'|'2017-03-22T08:00:00.000+02:00' +'b94d4ef95427c935c4261f8e037f35f66fc354cf'|'Exclusive: Metals recycling group Befesa eyes stock market listing - sources'|'FRANKFURT/MADRID European private equity-owned metals recycling group Befesa is preparing a stock market listing in a deal potentially valuing the group at up to 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion), people close to the matter said.Buyout group Triton has asked Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) and Citi ( C.N ) to organize the listing as so-called global coordinators later this year, the people said, adding that stock including new shares worth about 300 million euros may be sold.Befesa, which is headquartered in Luxembourg, could reach a market capitalization of 1-1.2 billion euros in the initial public offering, they said.Triton and Goldman Sachs declined to comment, while the Citi was not immediately available for comment.Befesa specializes in recycling steel dust from the steel and galvanizing industry and salt slags from the aluminum industry and is a former unit of Abengoa ( ABG.MC ), which sold the company to Triton in 2013 for 850 million in cash, or 1.1 billion euros including debt.(Editing by Georgina Prodhan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-befesa-ipo-idUSKBN1721YY'|'2017-03-31T18:19:00.000+03:00' +'1d657b0089a3768358e6d7981acfae9fc1ea22d3'|'China February service sector growth slows to four-month low as competition gets fierce - Caixin PMI'|' 50am GMT China February service sector growth slows to four-month low as competition gets fierce - Caixin PMI A basket vendor walks past red lanterns serving as decorations to celebrate the new year outside a shopping mall in Kunming, Yunnan province January 6, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer BEIJING, March 3 Activity in China''s services sector expanded at the slowest pace in four months in February, with new business still growing at a solid rate but increasing competition making it harder for companies to raise prices, a private survey showed. The findings echoed a similar softening in growth in China''s official services activity survey released on Wednesday, and contrasted with an unexpected pick-up in growth in its manufacturing sector as export orders rebounded. The February services PMI dipped to 52.6 in February on a seasonally adjusted basis, from 53.1 in January, the Markit/Caixin services purchasing managers'' index (PMI) showed. While it remained well above the 50-mark that separates expansion in activity from contraction on a monthly basis, it was the slowest rate of expansion since October. Any signs of flat-lining in services sector growth, which is more dependent on domestic demand, could indicate a slowdown in momentum for the economy overall. Some analysts say domestic demand growth already may have plateaued. That could put policymakers in a dilemma on how to meet ambitious growth targets while also containing financial risks created by years of debt-fuelled stimulus. The central bank has gradually moved to a tightening bias in recent months, as a string of data showed the world''s second-largest economy was on steadier footing. The Chinese government will hold annual parliamentary meetings starting this weekend, where leaders will announce an economic growth target and other policy priorities, including potentially a slightly lower target for economic and money supply growth and an emphasis on managing debt risks. Though inflation in January rose to multi-year highs, the Caixin survey found that prices Chinese firms were able to charge their customers were little changed. Survey respondents said increased competition had restricted their pricing power, even as their input prices continued to rise, albeit at a slower pace. "Inflationary pressures seemed to have started to ease as price increases in both manufacturing and services continued to weaken," said Zhengsheng Zhong, Director of Macroeconomic Analysis at CEBM Group, in a note with the data. Service companies continued to add job at a solid pace, and remained optimistic about growth in the next 12 months. Caixin''s composite PMI covering both the manufacturing and services sectors rose to 52.6 in February from the previous month''s 52.2 as growth in the manufacturing sector accelerated. "The Chinese economy is expected to maintain the growth momentum in the first quarter of this year. But signs of weakening may emerge from the second quarter," said Zhong. (Reporting by Elias Glenn; Editing by Kim Coghill) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-pmi-factory-caixin-idUKKBN16A07V'|'2017-03-03T08:50:00.000+02:00' +'f1abad0f01dff8da8f31a856750950a5234f59b4'|'Fed, in shift, may move to faster pace of rate hikes'|'Business News - Tue Mar 14, 2017 - 5:02am GMT Fed, in shift, may move to faster pace of rate hikes FILE PHOTO - A police officer keeps watch in front of the U.S. Federal Reserve building in Washington, DC, U.S. on October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque//File Photo By Ann Saphir and Lindsay Dunsmuir - SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON The Federal Reserve, which has struggled to stoke inflation since the financial crisis and up until now raised rates less frequently than it and markets expected, may be about to hit the accelerator on rate hikes. On Wednesday, the U.S. central bank is almost universally expected to raise its benchmark interest rates, a move that just a few weeks ago was viewed by the markets as unlikely. And with inflation showing signs of perking up, Fed policymakers may signal there could be more than the three rate rises they have forecast for this year. "They do not have as much room to be patient as they did before," said Tim Duy, an economics professor at the University of Oregon, who expects Fed policymakers to lift their rate forecasts this week. Policymakers have their eyes on achieving full employment and 2-percent inflation. The faster the economy approaches those goals, Duy said, the quicker the Fed will want to tighten policy to avoid getting behind the curve. "That''s an acceleration in the dots," he said, referring to forecasts published by the Fed that show policymakers'' individual rate-hike forecasts as dots on a chart. The economy already appears closer to its goals than the Fed had expected in December, the last time it released forecasts. The jobless rate, at 4.7 percent, is below what policymakers see as the long-run norm, and inflation, at 1.7 percent, is already in the range they had expected by year end. THE LONG-WISHED FOR RETURN OF INFLATION As Fed policymakers prepare to raise rates this week for the second time in three months, the inflation terrain they face looks steeper than it has been since the financial crisis when one of the central bank''s policy aims was to generate inflation. There are signs of more inflation globally, the dollar is pushing down less on U.S. prices, domestic inflation expectations have picked up and Friday''s closely watched monthly jobs report showed wages rising 2.8 percent year-on-year in February, with payrolls rising a sturdy 235,000. The Fed''s preferred inflation measure, the so-called core PCE price index, recorded its biggest monthly increase in five years in January and was up 1.7 percent year-on-year after a similar gain in December. Most Fed policymakers say such data gives them increasing confidence that inflation will eventually reach the Fed''s goal after years of undershooting. Inflation in the euro zone jumped to a four-year high of 2.0 percent in January, above the European Central Bank''s target rate of just below 2 percent. Oil prices have also moved higher, with the price of Brent crude oil [LC0c1] up about 30 percent from January 2016. The 5-year forward inflation expectation rate, a market gauge tracked by the Fed, currently stands at 2.14 percent, up from 1.60 percent one year ago. And the 10-year TIPS breakeven rate, another measure of inflation expectations tracked by the Fed, last month reached its highest levels since September 2014. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said earlier this month she doesn''t believe the Fed is behind the curve on inflation. To inflation hawks like Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker, the Fed is already in danger of falling behind. But even centrist policymakers like the San Francisco Fed''s John Williams see receding risks of persistently too-low inflation and the potential need for swifter rate hikes. "The inflation risks are pretty clearly tilted to the upside," said Eric Stein, a portfolio manager for Eaton Vance in Boston. (Reporting by Ann Saphir and Lindsay Dunsmuir; Additional reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by David Chance and Andrea Ricci) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-inflation-analysis-idUKKBN16L0E3'|'2017-03-14T12:02:00.000+02:00' +'5c735a0f28c0e603bef30323784727013563bf2a'|'Sainsbury''s says quarterly sales edge lower'|' 35am GMT UK supermarket Sainsbury''s highlights cost price pressure as sales edge lower A Sainsbury''s supermarket sign is seen in Brighton, Britain, January 7, 2010. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/File Photo LONDON Britain''s Sainsbury''s on Thursday reported a slight fall in underlying quarterly sales in its core supermarkets business and cautioned over uncertainty regarding cost pressures. All of Britain''s supermarket chains are having to deal with higher import costs, given the pound''s devaluation since last June''s Brexit vote and some commodity price rises. "The market remains very competitive and the impact of cost price pressures remains uncertain," said Chief Executive Mike Coupe. But he said Sainsbury''s remained well placed to navigate the external pressures. The firm, which last year purchased Argos-owner Home Retail, said sales at supermarket stores open over a year fell 0.5 percent, excluding fuel, in the nine weeks to March 11, its fiscal fourth quarter. That compared to analysts'' forecasts ranging down 1 percent to up 0.3 percent Sainsbury''s said that after adjusting for this year''s later fall of Easter the outcome was in line with its third quarter when like-for-like sales rose 0.1 percent. The results showed a strong performance from Argos, where like-for-like sales increased 4.3 percent, a slight acceleration from growth of 4.0 percent in the previous quarter and ahead of analysts'' expectations. No. 4 player Morrisons and market leader Tesco have been setting the recent pace in sales growth terms in a sector where inflation has returned this year. However, Morrisons and Tesco are both in turnaround mode after going through disastrous periods while Sainsbury''s market share has remained broadly stable over the last five years. Its profits have still fallen however. Prior to Thursday''s update analysts were on average forecasting a 2016-17 pretax profit of 578 million pounds ($710 million). That would be a third straight year of decline, despite the boost to earnings from the Argos deal. Shares in Sainsbury''s, up 9 percent so far this year, closed Wednesday at 271.4 pence, valuing the business at about 5.86 billion pounds. (Reporting by James Davey; editing by Kate Holton) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sainsbury-s-outlook-idUKKBN16N0P6'|'2017-03-16T14:15:00.000+02:00' +'4ba3094f1aaeddd959ea8a2e7dadecda83cf4a33'|'Shami Chakrabarti: austerity is a feminist issue video'|'In my Opinion Shami Chakrabarti: austerity is a feminist issue video Women are massively more affected by budget cuts than men, says Labour peer. They are more likely to be single parents, earn less and work part time than their male counterparts. She argues the government must replace gender-neutral budgeting with economic policies that put women first View '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/economics/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/video/2017/mar/08/shami-chakrabarti-austerity-is-a-feminist-issue-video'|'2017-03-08T13:34:00.000+02:00' +'4892b44536cdca74127881c697a6766fb11e044e'|'Mobileye deal to fuel investment in late-stage Israeli start-ups'|'Technology News - Wed Mar 22, 2017 - 12:25pm EDT Mobileye deal to fuel investment in late-stage Israeli start-ups The logo Israeli driverless technology firm Mobileye is seen on the building of their offices in Jerusalem March 13, 2017. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun By Tova Cohen and Steven Scheer - TEL AVIV TEL AVIV Intel''s $15.3 billion acquisition of Mobileye has catapulted Israeli hi-tech into the global league, and is likely to stimulate investment in the sector''s other late-stage startups, where funds are most needed. Fundraising in late-stage startups - more mature firms that are already selling products rather than just the bright but unexploited ideas of entrepreneurs - has begun to increase. According to the Israel Venture Capital (IVC) Research Center, it rose to $2.9 billion in 2016 from $2.4 billion in 2015 as investors search for a higher yield on their investments. Venture capitalists believe the U.S. semiconductor giant''s purchase last week of Mobileye, which specializes in technology for driverless cars, should accelerate the trend. "A concern over the years has been that compared to the U.S., Israel cannot produce outsized returns," said Adam Fisher, a partner who manages the Israel office for California-based venture capital fund Bessemer. "Mobileye is a perfect example of how a big business can be built in Israel and how a large corporate will not hesitate to pay a strategic premium for the business despite its location." The price was about 21 times Mobileye''s expected 2017 revenue, or more than six times more expensive than the semiconductor industry''s three-year deal average. Until recently, many Israeli tech firms failed to grow enough to stay independent. Global companies, keen to tap into the skills of workers trained in the military and intelligence sectors, often bought them before they floated on the share market or when they were still small-cap stocks on the Nasdaq exchange. This was the case with Waze, the Israeli map app, which Google bought in 2013 for $1.15 billion. That same year, Wix, an Israeli startup which helps people build websites, made its market debut on New York''s Nasdaq, raising $127 million seven years after the company was founded. Only a few, such as cyber security firm Check Point Software Technologies, which has a market valuation of almost $18 billion, have succeeded in remaining independent. Defense tech specialists such as Elbit Systems are largely off limits to foreign investors for Israeli national security reasons. Michael Eisenberg, a partner at the Aleph VC, said the Mobileye sale signaled to late-stage financiers that they can expect much more significant returns on their investments. "It''s an accelerant and a belief that there is no glass ceiling for Israeli companies," said Eisenberg, who also manages the portfolio of U.S. VC Benchmark in Israel. Autotalks, a provider of vehicle-to-vehicle communication for improving road safety, said on Wednesday it raised $30 million in late-stage funding from investors including Samsung''s Catalyst Fund, bringing to $70 million its total raised to date. Venture capitalists typically seek returns of 3-10 times their overall investment over time, with those investing at an early stage expecting a higher multiple than at the later stage. Long known as the "startup nation", Israel is maturing into a "scale-up nation", said Steven Schoenfeld, founder of BlueStar Indexes, which develops indexes and exchange traded-funds (ETF) that track Israeli stocks. However, Israelis are largely missing out on their own success as local institutions shy away from investing in technology companies, especially those listed abroad. Israeli institutions, which are typically conservative, tend to stick with indexes and benchmarks from the Tel Aviv exchange, he said. Mobileye now accounts for 16 percent of BlueStar''s Israeli technology index. The ETF that tracks the index has gained 13.8 percent so far this year to an all-time high, while the Nasdaq is up 9.6 percent. Schoenfeld pointed to software provider Amdocs and Wix as examples of other companies "going the distance" by staying independent for longer. Cyber security firm CyberArk, which is traded on Nasdaq, is another with strong growth potential. AUTOMOTIVE CENTRE Mobileye understood it could grow only so much on its own. The company has expanded rapidly in the two years since its New York share offering into mapping, systems building and intelligence of driving. "All of these take time to build and time to get resources and Intel already has these resources," said Mobileye co-founder Amnon Shasuha. "If we want to ... be the key player in autonomous driving, we need to think about it as an industry and not as a product." With more than 200 startups Israel is a growing center for automotive technology. Last year startups in the sector raised $681 million, nearly double the amount in 2015, according to the IVC. Due to Mobileye, car manufacturers and their suppliers have been "making the pilgrimage" to Israel for the last several years and met with other startups, Fisher said. The sector is already enjoying robust pricing for M&A and the Mobileye deal will continue that, he said. Potential acquirers "will more likely be the traditional tech companies that have a declared interest in the automotive sector rather than car companies themselves, but the latter wouldnt surprise me either," Fisher said. Bessemer has invested in depth sensor technology company Oryx Vision as well as Otonomo, which developed a connected car data exchange, and Vayyar, a provider of 3D imaging sensors. Argus Cyber Security, which has raised $30 million and collaborates with Qualcomm, is linking the automotive sector with another of Israel''s most vibrant sectors - cyber security - helping to prevent connected cars from being hacked. The Mobileye deal, said Argus CEO Ofer Ben-Noon, could accelerate his company''s growth. "There is no doubt there will be more investments in Israel for automotive, and a lot more M&A," he said. Car makers General Motors, Daimler, Volvo and Honda have all opened research and development centers in Israel. Josh Kram, senior director for Middle East Affairs at theU.S. Chamber of Commerce, noted that about 300 American companies have R&D centers in Israel, including Intel. "Now they are moving into the autonomous space and purchasing Mobileye has catapulted them to the next level," he said. "It''s a win-win for both companies." (editing by David Stamp)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-tech-israel-idUSKBN16T29E'|'2017-03-22T23:25:00.000+02:00' +'feb687039cabc8387f3c5c27f9191984fbb74dc1'|'Global stocks, dollar recover as markets try to move past Trump''s policy stumble'|'By Nichola Saminather - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Asian stocks pulled ahead on Tuesday after Wall Street steadied and the dollar bounced from a four-month-low, as concern over Donald Trump''s setback on his healthcare reform bill gave away to tentative hopes for the U.S. President''s planned stimulus policies.MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.3 percent in early trade.Japan''s Nikkei jumped 1.1 percent, its biggest one-day gain in more than two weeks, while Australian stocks advanced 0.9 percent.South Korean stocks climbed 0.4 percent after data showed the domestic economy grew at a slightly faster pace than initially thought in the fourth quarter of 2016, supported by strong construction activity.Overnight, the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower but had narrowed their losses from earlier in the session, when both hit near-six-week lows. The Nasdaq ended higher.Risk appetite had evaporated after Trump''s failure to garner enough support last week to pass a bill repealing the Affordable Care Act, former President Barack Obama''s signature health care bill, even with a Republican-controlled Congress.That blow for Trump spooked global risk assets on concerns about the president''s ability to enact stimulus policies. The MSCI World index, which had stumbled last week, managed to recover, as confidence returned that the Trump administration will corral Congressional support for other pro-growth policies."Markets appear reluctant to take the Trump disappointment too much further at this stage," Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, wrote in a note."With U.S. economic growth showing signs of improvement and the (Federal Reserve) clearly embarked on a monetary tightening cycle, the significant correction that has already occurred in bonds and the U.S. dollar may already reflect an adequate wind-back of the markets Trump exuberance."The U.S. 10-year bond yield, which hit a one-month low on Monday, recovered to trade higher at 2.3782 on Tuesday.The dollar added 0.1 percent to 110.75 yen after touching its lowest level since November on Monday.The dollar index inched up to 99.233 after slumping to a 4-1/2-month low on Monday.The euro was steady at $1.08655 on Tuesday, after touching its highest level since November on Monday.In commodities, the return of risk appetite helped lift oil from a level close to the 3-1/2-month low seen last week, despite lingering concerns about whether producers will extend an OPEC-led output cut beyond the end of June to ease a global glut.U.S. crude gained 0.5 percent to $47.96 a barrel, after dropping as much as 1.9 percent on Monday.Gold was little changed at 1,253.06 early on Tuesday, after pulling back from the one-month-high hit earlier on Monday.(Reporting by Nichola Saminather; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-markets-idINKBN16Z071'|'2017-03-28T00:23:00.000+03:00' +'97de75201975c448b368070c70640b7bfda7f4e8'|'Indian billionaire Agarwal targets Anglo in early sign of mining M&A revival'|'Deals - Asia - Thu Mar 16, 2017 - 4:54pm IST Indian billionaire targets Anglo in early sign of mining M&A revival FULL COVERAGE: left right FILE PHOTO: A cow is seen near the Anglo American sign board outside the Mogalakwena platinum mine in Mokopane, South Africa, May 18, 2016. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: A pit head is seen at the Tumela platinum mine, an Anglo American open pit mine in South Africa, June 9,2016. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo 2/2 By Barbara Lewis and Zandi Shabalala - LONDON LONDON Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal said he was buying a 2 billion pound ($2.45 billion) stake in Anglo American ( AAL.L ), sending the global miner''s shares sharply higher and signaling a possible return to large-scale dealmaking in the sector. Agarwal, who has majority control of Hindustan Zinc Ltd ( HZNC.NS ) through Vedanta Ltd ( VDAN.NS ) ( VED.L ), will make the investment via his family trust Volcan Holdings, Volcan said in a statement after the market close on Wednesday. Anglo American, which has a market value of around 16.75 billion pounds ($20.55 billion), refused to comment. It has also declined comment on reports that it has rebuffed previous approaches for a tie-up with Agarwal''s Hindustan Zinc. Wednesday''s announcement of Agarwal''s plans said neither Volcan nor Vedanta intended to make an offer for Anglo American. Anglo''s shares were up nearly 10 percent by 1015 GMT, outperforming the broader sector .FTNMX1770, which rose 6 percent. Vedanta''s ( VED.L ) shares in London also rose around 6 percent. Last year, Anglo American''s shares gained nearly 300 percent, making it the best performer on the London FTSE as the mining industry recovered from a slump in commodity prices in 2015 and early 2016. In February, it said would resume paying dividends and slow down asset sales as it was no longer under financial pressure. Analysts are cautiously optimistic about the sector''s recovery, although some commodities have stronger supply-demand fundamentals than others. Zinc is potentially one of the strongest and is also a focus of miner-trader Glencore ( GLEN.L ), which this week increased its control of the market through a deal with Canada''s Trevali. ( TV.TO ) Christopher LaFemina, analyst at Jefferies, said the mining sector, which spent last year putting its balance sheets in order, might be making an early return to M&A activity. Many had not expected that until next year. "Our expectation has been that the mining sector recovery would comprise three separate phases," LaFemina said, referring to balance sheet recovery, then improved cash flow and finally M&A. "It is possible that Phase 3 is beginning now." Agarwal, who has four decades of experience as an entrepreneur, is founder and chairman of Vedanta, which has copper operations in Zambia and a zinc mine in South Africa, Anglo American''s heartland. One industry source who has worked with him in the past, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Agarwal had been looking at Anglo American for at least five years. "His dream is to have Vedanta as one of the big diversified miners at some point," the source said. A full-scale takeover of Anglo American would be difficult as Vedanta, with a market capital of around 2 billion pounds, is much smaller than Anglo American. Analysts see Agarwal''s move as a new attempt to fulfil his ambition to have a major footing in South Africa as well as in his native India, which he has aired in the Indian press. "We see this move as potentially forcing either Anglo''s, or a rival bidder''s, hand," Paul Gait, analyst at Bernstein, wrote. "From a strategic point of view, some kind of deal could potentially hand Anglo a solution to their problem of perceived ''overweighting'' towards South Africa," he said. INNOVATIVE FINANCING Another industry sources said Agarwal was limiting any risk by using a convertible bond rather than cash to finance the deal. The mandatory exchangeable bond for 2 billion pounds is due in 2020 and is led by J.P. Morgan. ( JPM.N ) Volcan will issue the bond to fund the share purchase and it will be secured by the purchased shares. One of the sources said it was an efficient way to buy a sizeable stake as acquiring around 12 percent of a company could be difficult to achieve without attracting attention. The structure of the bond limits any downside, the sources said, adding the advantage of buying into Anglo American, whose portfolio includes diamonds and platinum, was to diversify Agarwal''s holdings. "This is an attractive investment for our family trust ... I am delighted to become a shareholder in Anglo American plc," Agarwal said in Wednesday''s statement. (additional reporting by Clara Denina in London and Sanjeeban Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by James Dalgleish and Jane Merriman) Next In Deals - Asia'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-anglo-american-investment-idINKBN16M2SC'|'2017-03-16T18:16:00.000+02:00' +'170162d6bd17bce466920bda7fc479027973f39e'|'EU says considering lower requirements for fintech services'|' 49am GMT EU says considering lower requirements for fintech services BRUSSELS The European Commission is considering lowering regulatory requirements for emerging financial technology services in a bid to spur innovation and cut costs, the EU executive''s vice president suggested on Thursday. "Fintech" firms use modern technology to compete with traditional financial services providers, offering banking products such as payments or deposits more cheaply online. Lower legal or capital requirements would reduce costs for fintech companies, but are likely to increase pressure on banks that are already squeezed in Europe by low interest rates and stiff competition. The Commission is considering how to regulate the fintech sector to encourage its development in Europe, while protecting consumers from risks that may emerge. "We will have to answer many fundamental questions," Commission vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis told a conference in Brussels. "For instance, shall we introduce new licensing categories for fintech activities?" A special licence would imply lower capital requirements for fintech firms providing less risky services. Regulators in other regions have said they are considering similar measures. A three-month-long public consultation launched by the Commission on Thursday will gather information on the subject from market actors and other interested parties, and will be followed by possible legislative proposals. (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Catherine Evans) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-fintech-regulations-idUKKBN16U184'|'2017-03-23T17:49:00.000+02:00' +'9fb4aa21d82c7297099f449c7aa40b821e3b334c'|'GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian shares near 15-month high, dollar soft on less hawkish Fed'|'Business News - Mon Mar 20, 2017 - 9:02pm EDT Asian shares near 15-month high, dollar soft on less hawkish Fed Pedestrians are reflected on an electronic board showing Japan''s Nikkei average (top L), the Dow Jones average (top R) and the stock averages of other countries outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon By Hideyuki Sano - TOKYO TOKYO Asian shares clung to their 15-month highs on Tuesday while the dollar and U.S. bond yields were on the back foot on the prospects of a less-hawkish Federal Reserve policy trajectory. In early trade, MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.1 percent, staying near a 15-month high it touched on Monday, with South Korean shares .KS11 hitting two-year highs. Japan''s Nikkei .N225 dropped 0.8 percent, weighed by financial stocks, which were hurt by lower U.S. yields and exporter stocks, which fell on the yen''s gains against the dollar. While Asian shares have been supported by signs of strong global economic growth, concerns about protectionism cast a shadow after financial leaders of the world''s biggest economies dropped a pledge to keep global trade free and open, acquiescing to an increasingly protectionist United States Wall Street shares drifted lower on Monday as investors worried that President Donald Trump''s plan to cut taxes and boost the economy could take longer than previously expected. "Any fiscal spending by the Trump administration will not come until August at earliest and probably much later. So any economic benefit of that will show up only next year," said a senior trader at a European bank. "So the markets are gradually pricing that in, winding back their initial rally after the elections." Although Trump promised in early February to deliver a "phenomenal" tax plan within a few weeks, no such details have been released yet. "U.S. stocks valuations are getting really expensive, so I expect the market to be capped for now. That also means Japanese shares are unlikely to gain further," said Tatsushi Maeno, senior strategist at Okasan Asset Management. Expectations that the Federal Reserve will have to step up rate hikes to counter inflationary pressure from Trump''s stimulus are also waning after the Fed dropped no hints of an acceleration in credit tightening last week. Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans, in one of the first official comments after the Fed raised rates as expected last week, reiterated that message on Monday. He said that two more interest rate hikes this year are likely, disappointing investors who had anticipated a faster path of rate increases. His comments helped to bring down the 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield US10YT=RR to 2.463 percent, its lowest level in two weeks. Lower yields undermined the greenback''s allure, softening the dollar to three-week lows near 112.485 yen JPY= . The dollar''s index against a basket of six major currencies .DXY =USD stood at 100.37, after hitting a six-week low of 100.02 on Monday. The euro EUR= traded at $1.0737, off Friday''s high of $1.07825, which was its highest level since early February. The spectre of slower U.S. rate hikes has been helping high-yielding currencies. The Australian dollar AUD=D4 traded at $0.7725, after hitting a 4-1/2-month high of $0.7748 on Monday. It has risen 2.2 percent since the Fed''s policy meeting last week. The South African rand ZAR=D4 has gained 4.0 percent since then to a near 1-1/2-year high while the Brazilian real rose 3.2 percent BRL= . Oil prices stayed under pressure, though they hovered above their 3-1/2-month lows touched a week ago, as investors continue to grapple with worries about growing U.S. oil output and high inventories. Brent crude futures LCOc1 settled at $51.62 a barrel on Monday, down 14 cents but above last week''s low of $50.25. U.S. crude futures CLc1 traded at $48.30 per barrel in early Asian trade, up slightly from late U.S. levels but down 1.1 percent so far this week. (Editing by Sam Holmes)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUSKBN16S030'|'2017-03-21T07:46:00.000+02:00' +'2cb35ccc79f5355316bd03b1a4bf77c9468498f9'|'China''s property speculators make a dangerous bet in Hefei'|'Business News - Thu Mar 9, 2017 - 11:11pm GMT China''s property speculators make a dangerous bet in Hefei left right A residential compound is seen in Hefei, Anhui province, China, February 19, 2017. Picture taken February 19, 2017. REUTERS/Yawen Chen 1/4 left right Cars drive past residential buildings along a street in Hefei, Anhui province, China, February 19, 2017. REUTERS/Yawen Chen 2/4 left right Residential buildings are seen along a street in Hefei, Anhui province, China, February 19, 2017. REUTERS/Yawen Chen 3/4 left right Cars drive past residential buildings along a street in Hefei, Anhui province, China, February 19, 2017. REUTERS/Yawen Chen 4/4 By Yawen Chen and Elias Glenn - HEFEI, China HEFEI, China In 2016, Hefei, a manufacturing hub of about 8 million people in China''s east, was one of the world''s hottest property markets and a prime target for price curbs designed to knock speculative heat out the sector. Analysts say restrictions introduced last year and subsequent rhetoric from policymakers should have sent a very clear signal to investors that authorities would tighten further in Hefei and elsewhere. Instead, speculators in Anhui''s provincial capital are betting just the opposite - that the government will ease curbs to support growth. Investors like Zhou Xiansheng say they are in no rush to sell their holdings. "Prices have only gone up in the past... The government will not let the market correct as long as property is still the pillar of economic growth," said Zhou, a businessman who owns multiple homes in Hefei. Analysts say such views, based on observations of past cycles, are a major miscalculation of government intent and that future curbs will be harsher than previous measures, bad news for highly-leveraged investors. Nowhere else in China are speculative forces more apparent than they are in Hefei. Last year, new home prices rose 48.4 percent, the fastest rise in the world, according to a report by China''s Hurun Research Institute and real estate agency Global House Buyer. With home prices hitting records, policymakers have been rolling out restrictions. Sales and price growth in Hefei - one of 16 cities slammed by curbs since October - have slowed, hitting speculators who had made up more than 80 percent of its market at the height of last year''s buying frenzy. But investors appear less easily frightened than they were in the past: a recent poll by local property commentator Zhang Xian showed only 21 percent of the total 5,036 people surveyed believed Hefei prices would fall this year. China''s "seesaw" approach over past three major cycles of property tightening - capping price growth when a boom becomes too concerning and releasing the brake quickly to prevent a market collapse - has cemented the bullish mentality of investors seeking to reap big profits over a short period of time. "I''d buy another one if I could," said Duan, a Hefei local who just bought a house in the city and who only gave his family name. Elly Chen, a Hong-Kong based property analyst at Nomura, notes in past cycles, the government only began to relax curbs once prices started falling. "The government is definitely willing to let prices fall," said Chen. Property consultancy Centaline''s research arm said upward market momentum in the hottest cities, including Hefei, is yet to be contained, based on its sales figures for January and February. "If it persists, the government will be pressured to tighten credit," Centaline said in a Reuters poll conducted in late February. PROPERTY TAX Analysts say the signals from political leaders are unambiguous. In uncharacteristically pointed remarks made in December, Beijing''s new mayor, Cai Qi, said that prices in the Chinese capital will not rise this year but stopped short of outlining any new curbs. And Chinese President Xi Jinping last week singled out property market stability as one of the key policy areas to focus on this year. China''s historic pattern of tightening and easing measures has been designed to avoid prolonged corrections such as those seen in Japan in the 1990s. But last year''s furious price increase in the nation - the fastest since 2011 - and speculators'' resilience to curbs underscored the urgency to implement alternative measures. Establishing a long-term mechanism is Xi''s priority in 2017 as he looks to promote the healthy development of the property market, based on the belief that "houses are for living in, not for speculating", though details have been thin. China has for years mulled a property tax, which could deter speculation in real estate, though little progress has been made due to resistance from local governments who rely heavily on land sales for revenue. In 2012, China was close to expanding a property tax trial from two to 10 cities, says Joyce Man, professor of economics and public policy at Indiana University, who worked with government officials to study the implementation of the tax and prepare for the rollout. While the process of introducing a property tax would be politically challenging - and arguably more difficult now than it was in the past - analysts say the case for such a policy is growing. "China was very close to moving forward on property tax reform, but they''ve lost momentum and the political will until very recently," Man said. "(There is a) newly-found urgency due to sky-rocketing housing price in big cities." (Reporting by Yawen Chen and Elias Glenn; Editing by Sam Holmes) Next In Business News Oil prices slump amid ample supply, gold falls NEW YORK Crude oil extended a slump on Thursday on news of record-high U.S. stockpiles, dragging on equity markets as energy stocks slid, while bets the Federal Reserve will raise U.S. interest rates next week weighed on gold and industrial metals.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-property-idUKKBN16G37J'|'2017-03-10T06:11:00.000+02:00' +'139ce98d8f28b2e5060d51bf6246fe1fd2983bb7'|'AC Milan deal closing pushed to April 14 after further payment: source'|'MILAN Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, owner of Italian storied soccer club AC Milan, has agreed to postpone the closing of the deal by an extra six weeks after being granted a further 100 million euros in cash and securities, a source told Reuters.The accord - originally inked in August and expected to be signed off first in December and then in March - is now due to be finalised on April 14, two sources said.The Chinese consortium which has committed to buying AC Milan has, in exchange for the delay, paid 50 million euros in cash to Berlusconi''s family investment vehicle Fininvest this week, the first source said. A further 50 million euros have been guaranteed through securities, the source added.The investors have already paid 200 million euros and are now due to pay a final 220 million euro instalment. They have also committed to inject a further 100 million euros into the team.The full composition of the Chinese group is still unknown and is due to be revealed at the closing.The agreement values the club at 740 million euros ($780 million) including 220 million euros of debt.($1 = 0.9252 euros)(Reporting by Elvira Pollina, writing by Giulia Segreti, editing by Paola Arosio and Valentina Za)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-acmilan-m-a-closing-idINKBN16V275'|'2017-03-24T14:17:00.000+03:00' +'ad0f8db117a4ae79ba3a0f1189c6068cb1b30898'|'Peakon raises 6.1 mln euro in funding round led by EQT Ventures - Reuters'|'STOCKHOLM, March 27 Peakon, a provider of employee engagement and people analytics software, has completed a 6.1 million euro ($6.62 million) funding round led by EQT Ventures, the venture capital arm of Swedish private equity giant EQT, the company said on Monday.* Peakon, founded in 2014, will use the money primarily to triple staff to over 100 people over the next 12 months, expanding its teams in machine learning, data-science, and engineering.* AI is tipped as one of the key tech sectors for investors this year, and the team have had an impressive start, demonstrating strong revenue growth and product adoption," said Lars Jornow, managing partner at EQT Ventures.* Other investors in the round were existing owners IDInvest and Sunstone, as well as angel investor Tommy Ahlers.* The company counts publisher Trinity Mirror and Delivery Hero among its clients.* It has offices in Copenhagen and London, as well as in Raleigh in the United States.* Peakon offers a product where the collection of employee feedback is automated and analysed using machine learning techniques to generate insights to improve the clients business* The funding brings Peakon''s total capital raised over the past year to 10.1 million euro.($1 = 0.9221 euros) (Reporting by Johannes Hellstrom; editing by Niklas Pollard)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/peakon-funding-eqt-idINL5N1H4158'|'2017-03-27T06:00:00.000+03:00' +'a82597b532e27620d23241549aa3c33ebeb62741'|'Zalando buys streetwear retailer Kickz, outlook dents shares'|'By Emma Thomasson - BERLIN BERLIN Germany''s Zalando ( ZALG.DE ) announced the acquisition of streetwear retailer Kickz on Wednesday, bolstering its plans to shift from being a pure fashion e-commerce player to becoming a provider of logistics, technology and marketing to key brands.The company''s shares, however, were dented by a relatively conservative outlook for 2017 as heavy investment in infrastructure and software keeps a lid on profitability.Founded in Berlin in 2008, Zalando has grown rapidly to become Europe''s biggest online fashion retailer, delivering 1,500 brands in 15 countries from huge out-of-town warehouses.It now wants to complement that business by offering more services to brands and retailers, including delivering items directly from their stores - a field analysts say should be more profitable than pure e-commerce.Zalando said the purchase of Munich-based Kickz, which runs 15 stores in Germany and websites that deliver worldwide, fits into that strategy, combining Kickz'' expertise in basketball and lifestyle with Zalando''s technology and logistics.Zalando, which did not disclose the sum paid for Kickz, will integrate the brand into its online shop and help it to expand to more countries while retaining the Kickz stores, situated in prime locations in major German cities."Zalando customers will get access to the newest products, which are otherwise only available at selected retailers, as well as exciting content in a basketball world curated by Kickz," said David Schneider, Zalando managing board member.SPORTSWEAR PUSHThe move fits with Zalando''s push into the booming sportswear market, including last year''s launch of the Ivy Park label co-founded by pop star Beyonce and its work on a pilot project to deliver directly from Adidas ( ADSGn.DE ) stores in Germany.Amazon ( AMZN.O ), which is expanding rapidly in fashion and is seen as the biggest threat to Zalando, has also been experimenting with physical retail, albeit mostly in food and books so far.Zalando forecast sales growth of 20-25 percent in 2017, against 23 percent in 2016. Its estimate for the margin on adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) was 5-6 percent, compared with 5.9 percent in 2016, in line with its medium-term guidance.However, that was below analyst forecasts for a 2017 EBIT margin of 6.2 percent, according to Thomson Reuters SmartEstimates, sending Zalando shares down 2.7 percent to 36.75 euros by 1028 GMT, the biggest drop among European retail stocks .SXRP.Zalando said it expected to invest 200 million euros ($211 million) in 2017, up from 182 million in 2016, primarily in infrastructure, increased automation and software, with new warehouses planned in France, Sweden and Poland.It plans to add 2,000 jobs in 2017 to its 12,000-strong workforce, having already added 1,000 positions to its tech team in 2016.British rival ASOS ( ASOS.L ) in January lifted its expectations for sales growth to 25-30 percent for its financial year to Aug. 31, saying it would accelerate infrastructure investment, while adding 1,500 jobs at its London headquarters.Zalando, which reported preliminary fourth-quarter results in January, said that sales in the period rose 26 percent to 1.09 billion euros. It said that adjusted EBIT came in at 96 million euros, ahead of average analyst forecasts.(Editing by David Goodman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-zalando-results-idINKBN1683JF'|'2017-03-01T07:39:00.000+02:00' +'5b2cf0d1e754f4d8c8594e198a743fbd4ddb19ee'|'UPDATE 1-Two Ohio coal-fired plants to close, deepening industry decline'|'Company News 45pm EDT UPDATE 1-Two Ohio coal-fired plants to close, deepening industry decline (Adds details about closures, quotes from Sierra Club, background on coal-fired power plants, byline) By Emily Flitter NEW YORK, March 20 Electricity company Dayton Power & Light said on Monday it would shut down two coal-fired power plants in southern Ohio next year for economic reasons, a setback for the ailing coal industry but a victory for environmental activists. The announcement came as Republican President Donald Trump follows through on a campaign promise to restore U.S. coal jobs that he says have been destroyed by green regulations ushered in by his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama. Dayton Power & Light, a subsidiary of The AES Corporation , said in an emailed statement that it planned to close the J.M. Stuart and Killen plants by June 2018 because they would not be "economically viable beyond mid-2018." Coal demand has flagged in recent years due to competition from cheap and plentiful natural gas. The plants, located along the Ohio River in Adams County, employ some 490 people and generate about 3,000 megawatts of power for coal. The closure follows negotiations between Dayton Power & Light, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and stakeholders like the environmental group the Sierra Club over whether the company should be allowed to raise electricity prices to pay for upgrades to keep the plants open. The Sierra Club, which has been advocating coal plant closures for years to help combat pollution and climate change, argued that the plants were a bad investment. The Sierra Club''s "Beyond Coal" campaign director, Bruce Nilles, cheered the closure plans, saying it brought the total number of U.S. coal plants scheduled to be retired to 250. "This milestone is a testament to the commitment Americans have to cleaner air and water - and the power of grassroots action to create healthier communities," Nilles said in an email. The plants sit at the heart of a region Trump vowed to revitalize with more jobs and greater economic security during his 2016 campaign. As part of his pledge to reinvigorate the area, Trump also said he would "bring back coal." A White House spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Cheap natural gas from record shale production over the past several years has kept power prices low, making it uneconomical for generators to upgrade older coal plants to meet increasingly strict environmental rules. As a result, U.S. power companies retired or converted over 14,000 MW of coal-fired plants in 2016 after shutting over 17,000 MW in 2015, the most in any year, according to Thomson Reuters data. In 2015, coal used to produce electricity fell to its lowest level since 1984, according to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission data. That year, coal-fired generators produced 33 percent of the nation''s total generation, down from over 50 percent in 2003. The Sierra Club said it would try to help the plant workers find new jobs. "We advocate for equitable transition when this type of thing happens," Sierra Club "Beyond Coal" campaigner Dan Sawmiller said in a telephone interview. (Reporting by Emily Flitter; Additional Reporting by Scott DiSavino in New York and Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Richard Chang) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-coal-closures-idUSL2N1GX12Z'|'2017-03-21T02:45:00.000+02:00' +'78b9d9e5bbf0991a39e6393b56548c0904cebfa1'|'GM, Ford beat February sales expectations; industry sales seen down'|'Business 10:17am EST GM, Ford beat February sales expectations; industry sales seen down A woman sits inside the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, on display during The Economic Club event in Washington, DC, U.S. February 28, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas By Bernie Woodall and Nick Carey - DETROIT DETROIT February U.S. auto sales, an early-month indicator of consumer spending, fell slightly but remained strong as pickup trucks and SUVs continued a robust showing based on the first three automakers that reported on Wednesday. General Motors Co ( GM.N ), the top automaker in the U.S. market by sales, said the industry will show a 1 percent decline but still post a robust 17.5 million in sales on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis. That is less than the 17.7 million expected by 38 economists polled by Thomson Reuters. GM beat most analysts'' expectations with a 4.2 percent gain in new vehicle sales. Ford Motor Co ( F.N ), No. 2 in the U.S. market by sales, said sales declined by 4 percent, but still beat most analysts'' expectations. Sales for its F-Series pickup trucks rose 9 percent, SUVs were up 6 percent but car sales fell 24 percent from a year ago, the automaker said. Nissan Motor Co ( 7201.T ) also beat expectations, showing a 3.5 percent gain, led by a 54 percent surge for its Rogue small SUV. Consumer discounts, which cut into corporate profits, rose in February, third-party industry watchers said, but the average new car selling price also was higher. However, J.D. Power pointed out that the percentage of consumer discounts to the average selling price was 10.3 percent. It was the first time the measure topped 10 percent in February since the industry''s worst year in 2009, J.D. Power said. GM said retail sales for trucks and crossovers were up 18 percent and 15 percent, respectively. For its primary pickup, the Chevrolet Silverado, total and retail sales both jumped 17 percent, its best showing in February since 2007. (Reporting by Bernie Woodall and Nick Carey; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe) Next In Business News Fed trumps Trump as dollar, U.S. Treasury yields jump LONDON The dollar jumped and short-term U.S. Treasury yields hit the highest since 2009 on Wednesday, as investors focused on growing chances of a U.S. interest rate hike this month, rather than on U.S. President Donald Trump''s first speech to Congress.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-autos-idUSKBN1684TF'|'2017-03-01T22:08:00.000+02:00' +'25f5cc1f332eacf0b1e136e1ce8191320c4d33f7'|'German investor morale improves less than expected in March'|' 10:38am GMT German investor morale improves less than expected in March BERLIN The mood among German investors improved less than expected in March, a survey showed on Tuesday, as uncertainties about the outcome of major European elections and their effect on the growth outlook for Europe''s biggest economy remained high. Mannheim-based ZEW said its monthly survey showed its economic sentiment index rose to 12.8 from 10.4 points in the previous month. This undershot the Reuters consensus forecast for rise to 13.1. A separate gauge measuring investors'' assessment of the economy''s current conditions edged up to 77.3 points from 76.4 in February. This was also slightly weaker than the Reuters consensus forecast which predicted a reading of 78.0. ZEW President Achim Wambach said the fact that sentiment only improved slightly reflected the current uncertainty surrounding future economic development. "With regard to the economic situation in Germany, no clear conclusions can be drawn from the most recent economic signals for January 2017," Wambach said. "The political risks resulting from upcoming elections in a number of EU countries are keeping uncertainty surrounding the German economy at a relatively high level," Wambach added. Far-right parties are expected to make a strong showings in elections in the Netherlands on Wednesday and in France next month. (Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Joseph Nasr) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-germany-economy-zew-idUKKBN16L15I'|'2017-03-14T17:37:00.000+02:00' +'78cf764555f92264108effa4c3c27395f913e869'|'BRIEF-Kinsale Capital reports Q4 earnings per share $0.32'|' 57pm EST BRIEF-Kinsale Capital reports Q4 earnings per share $0.32 March 1 Kinsale Capital Group Inc: * Kinsale Capital Group Inc reports 2016 fourth quarter and year-end results * Q4 earnings per share $0.32 * Q4 earnings per share view $0.27 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * Kinsale Capital Group Inc qtrly net written premiums $50.2 million versus $29.3 million Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-kinsale-capital-reports-q4-earning-idUSASB0B39S'|'2017-03-02T04:57:00.000+02:00' +'0c235cbadbc820c675abbf66dd2ad50709c7720d'|'Netflix and Tesla overrated? Yes, in this mad, mad world'|'I love Netflix I watch it more now than any broadcast TV channel. I love Tesla cars, though I doubt Ill ever be able to afford one. But according to one of the UKs top fund management groups, both are among the most overpriced shares on Wall Street, a stock market that under President Trump is to use a phrase he rather likes one of the most overrated in the world.We are at a strange juncture in financial history, with a madman in the White House, Britain breaking itself into pieces, interest rates on the march up (in the US at least), the economy barely bigger than it was a decade ago, Greece in desperate straits and global debt at eye-watering levels. Yet almost every day the S&P 500 and the FTSE 100 break new records.You could buy shares in Netflix for $8 in 2012, a year before I first subscribed. Today those shares are trading at an all-time high of $145, meaning the company is worth $63bn. (Sadly, I only subscribed to catch up on The Good Wife, not to buy the shares.)Meanwhile, Tesla has electrified investors, soaring from $35 five years ago to $265 today, giving it a total market worth of $42bn. Yet its total car production last year was just one-fifth of the number that rolled out of just one Nissan factory in Sunderland.In a highly unusual move, investment group Jupiter this week revealed the stocks that it is shorting, which means placing a bet that a companys share price will fall. Normally, shorting is the preserve of secretive hedge funds, or the absolute return funds currently popular among small investors and rarely are we told which stocks they are betting are about to tank. But James Clunie, who runs Jupiters 1bn Absolute Return fund, is refreshingly transparent even blogging on Whats going down. He is currently shorting 110 stocks and 70 are in the US. Almost none are in the UK, which he regards as a cheap market.But its important to caveat what shorting means. Its not that Clunie reckons Teslas electric cars are going the same way as DeLoreans. Or that Netflixs new series are going to flop. Its just that investors get overexuberant about some companies, pushing their shares up to stratospheric levels. Sometimes they are worth it, and are able to deliver on ambitious expectations. Others still deliver, just not quite what the market expects, and the shares then lose their buzz.Wall Street has been buzzing because speculators reckon a combination of Trump tax cuts, plus big spending on infrastructure, will pump up the economy. But it may not take much to blow that story off course.A growing number of investment managers I speak to are nervous that the bull market in US shares, now eight years old, is on its last legs. As Clunie points out, during bull runs companies find it easy to borrow to acquire other companies known as leveraging. Its how Sun Edison, once a darling of the stock market, saw its share price soar from $1.50 in 2012 to $31 by mid 2015 then go bankrupt.Trump may have problems pushing his infrastructure spending through Congress. He may have some of his tax reforms pushed back. The risk (to the stock market) is that almost everything on Wall Street is priced for a positive outcome.The good news is that despite the FTSE 100 hitting new records, a lot of fund managers regard it as cheap or fair value, and certainly not excessively priced like Wall Street. Much of the run-up in the FTSE has been down to the mining and resources companies, which have benefited because of the fall in sterling. But a lot of domestically focused companies have lost international support and are on cheap valuations.*An apology to regular Guardian Money readers. Last week we published acres of coverage on what the budget means to you. This week we learnt it meant nothing.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/blog/2017/mar/18/tesla-netflix-share-wall-street-overpriced'|'2017-03-18T02:00:00.000+02:00' +'a582bf25c25bf4273009a7ea8e5b35bf7d3feaa7'|'RBS says to close more than 150 bank branches in Britain'|'Thu Mar 23, 2017 - 3:27pm GMT RBS says to close more than 150 bank branches in Britain People walk past a Royal Bank of Scotland office in London, Britain, February 6, 2013. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo By Andrew MacAskill State-backed Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ) said on Thursday it plans to close more than 150 bank branches in Britain and 770 roles are at risk in the latest round of cuts and closures at the lender. The bank said in a statement it plans to close about 128 NatWest and 30 Royal Bank of Scotland branches. RBS said there may be a net reduction of about 360 jobs when newly created roles are included. Chief Executive Officer Ross McEwan has been cutting thousands of jobs to reduce expenses in a bid to boost earnings after nine years of straight annual losses. RBS, which is more than 70 percent owned by the government, said the job cuts and branch closures were due to customers increasingly banking online. "As customers change the way they bank with us, we must change the way we serve them," the bank said in a statement. RBS is struggling to return to health nine years after requiring the world''s largest bank bailout at the height of the financial crisis. (Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Lawrence White) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-royal-bank-scot-branches-idUKKBN16U22Y'|'2017-03-23T22:23:00.000+02:00' +'529f700e81373afb0dc230236d259214d7c901e0'|'Ex-divs to take 5.4 points off FTSE 100 on March 9'|'Company News 43am EST Ex-divs to take 5.4 points off FTSE 100 on March 9 LONDON, March 6 The following FTSE 100 companies will go ex-dividend on Thursday, after which investors will no longer qualify for the latest dividend payout. According to Reuters calculations at current market prices, the effect of the resulting adjustment to prices by market-makers would take 5.36 points off the index. COMPANY (RIC) DIVIDEND STOCK IMPACT (pence) OPTION BHP Billiton 40 (U.S. cents) 2.72 CRH 46.2 (euro cents) Yes 1.31 Hargreaves Lansdown 8.6 0.08 Land Securities Group 7.16 0.22 Persimmon 25 0.30 Shire 20.64 0.73 Among FTSE 250 companies going ex-dividend are: COMPANY (RIC) DIVIDEND (pence) Ashmore 4.55 Alliance Trust 3.274 Dechra Pharm 6.11 F&C Commercial Property Trust Limited 0.5 Jupiter Fund Management 22.7 Kennedy Wilson 12 Perpetual Income & Growth Investment Trust 3 Personal Assets 1.4 Renishaw Plc 12.5 Safestore HLD 6.44 St. Modwen 4.06 Thomas Cook Group 0.5 Temple Bar Invesmtent 16.18 (Reporting by Helen Reid) Next In Company News CANADA STOCKS-TSX falls as cheaper commodities weighs on resource stocks TORONTO, March 6 Canada''s main stock index fell in early trade on Monday, with heavyweight banks, miners and other resource stocks weighing as oil prices softened as lower Chinese economic growth targets sparked renewed worries over excess supply and copper also slipped.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-exdiv-idUSL5N1GJ44I'|'2017-03-06T21:43:00.000+02:00' +'fd0fa6a0212e7ed042279b772ef72bb2ee6a10b4'|'New World Bank CEO defends globalisation, warns against protectionism'|'Money News 27pm IST New World Bank CEO defends globalisation, warns against protectionism Kristalina Georgieva, CEO of the World Bank attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland January 20, 2017. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich/Files By Matthew Miller - BEIJING BEIJING The World Bank''s newly appointed chief executive gave a spirited defence of globalisation during her first official visit to China, saying it had helped richer and poorer countries, and economic integration made it hard for any nation to walk away. Kristalina Georgieva, a Bulgarian who took up her post at the multilateral development lender at the start of this year, also praised China for its commitment to economic reforms and open markets. "Open markets, trade, division of labour has worked extremely well for the poorer countries," she told Reuters in an interview late on Monday. But wealthier countries also have benefited from rising middle classes, which are demanding more exports from advanced economies, said Georgieva, a former vice president of the European Commission. In Germany over the weekend, finance ministers and central bankers from 20 rich nations dropped a former pledge in their communique to keep global trade free and open, acquiescing to an increasingly protectionist U.S. administration. Georgieva called for an "intelligent, calm conversation" about sharing the benefits of globalisation more broadly. Warning against protectionist policies, she said every country would be hurt if decades of integration and interdependence were unravelled. "It''s impossible to say, now we are in this boat, but it is only your end of the boat that is sinking," said Georgieva. Rather than erect trade barriers, economies should encourage competition which boosts innovation and raises productivity, she said. Georgieva called for China''s government to continue opening up the domestic market to competition, and move forward with reforms to create "a more dynamic economy". "In 2016, 35 percent of growth in the world came from China," she said. "While this contribution is going to gradually decline somewhat, it is very significant." China has said it is targeting economic growth of about 6.5 percent, after it reported growth of 6.7 percent last year. The World Bank, through the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, is now providing about $2 billion annually in lending to China, and is involved in projects ranging from pollution controls to urban and rural development. Georgieva said the biggest challenges facing the World Bank remain in those countries torn apart by conflict and facing famine. "It is horrible to have the shadow of famine in the 21st century," she said, pointing to situations in South Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and northern Nigeria. "Our biggest fear is related to that kind of devastation combining the force of nature with the evil of men." (Reporting by Matthew Miller; Editing by Ryan Woo and Simon Cameron-Moore) Next In Money News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/china-worldbank-idINKBN16S0VN'|'2017-03-21T15:57:00.000+02:00' +'543705bb500f1516d60c915988c298ca89ff7847'|'Brazil to auction off three major highways ahead of license end'|' 4:58pm EST Brazil to auction off three major highways ahead of license end BRASILIA, March 7 The Brazilian government plans to auction off rights to operate three major highways before their licenses expire, in order to maximize capital spending and reduce toll rates, Transport Minister Maurcio Quintella said on Tuesday. Concessionaires of the highways Via Dutra, Concer and CRT, such as CCR SA and Triunfo Participaes e Investimentos SA, will be allowed to participate in the auction, Quintella said at a presentation. The government program aims to raise 45 billion reais ($14.43 billion) from the sale of rights to build and operate roads, port terminals, railways and power transmission lines. (Reporting by Leonardo Goy; Writing by Tatiana Bautzer; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-auction-infrastructure-idUSL2N1GK1Y7'|'2017-03-08T04:58:00.000+02:00' +'c2ed8cba476f438cd4fd9f6f82ac428a8ef514f5'|'Group with Jahm Najafi,Pamplona Capital bid for Time Inc -WSJ'|'Company News - Thu Mar 9, 2017 - 7:38pm EST Group with Jahm Najafi,Pamplona Capital bid for Time Inc -WSJ March 9 A group that includes Jahm Najafi, chief executive of the Phoenix-based investment firm Najafi Companies, and private-equity firm Pamplona Capital Management has emerged as a bidder for Time Inc, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Reuters reported on Thursday that an investor group led by former music executive Edgar Bronfman Jr dropped out of bidding for Time, according to a source familiar with the matter. Time, the publisher of People and Sports Illustrated magazines, could not be immediately reached for comment. The presence of Najafi and Pamplona indicates the process is still competitive, even after the Bronfman-led investment group scrapped its bid. ( on.wsj.com/2n5chXZ ) Time, which was spun off from Time Warner Inc two and a half years ago, has been exploring its strategic alternatives in recent weeks and has been working with investment banks on fielding indications of interest from potential buyers. The company has struggled like many publishers to offset declines in print ad sales as advertisers spend more on other media. (Reporting by Vishaka George in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Hay) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/time-ma-najafi-idUSL2N1GN00Y'|'2017-03-10T07:38:00.000+02:00' +'a8a49bb13d76a2b2c9dfe0d83b2fb0f96521d579'|'China opposes trade protectionism, supports free trade - vice premier'|'Business News - Sun Mar 19, 2017 - 6:08am GMT China opposes trade protectionism, supports free trade - vice premier Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli speaks at the inaugural ceremony of Beijing organizing committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic winter games at Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China December 15, 2015. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon Picture Supplied by Action Images BEIJING China opposes various forms of trade protectionism and supports free trade, Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli said on Sunday, reaffirming Beijing''s stance amid worries over weak global demand. "China is willing to work with other countries to oppose various forms of trade and investment protectionism," Zhang told the China Development Forum in Beijing. "We should unwaveringly push forward economic globalisation ... we cannot stop our footsteps because of temporary difficulties." Zhang said world policymakers should make the globalisation process more "inclusive" by putting more emphasis on equality. "The world economy is in a deep adjustment, growth is weak and trade protectionism is rising," Zhang said. Beijing is struggling to cope with weak global demand and faces risks from growing U.S. trade protectionism as the administration under new President Donald Trump shows an aversion to globalisation. In January, Chinese President Xi Jinping, as a keynote speaker at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, offered a vigorous defence of globalisation and signalled Beijing''s desire to play a bigger role on the world stage. (Reporting by Kevin Yao; Editing by Himani Sarkar) Next In Business News G20 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-forum-trade-idUKKBN16Q05R'|'2017-03-19T13:08:00.000+02:00' +'7da3064413168aa9f6f2cf83471c1294b7a2e3cf'|'REFILE-CLO self-syndication still considered a bridge too far'|'(Fixes typo in paragraph 10)* Buoyant CLO market has scope for disintermediation* Cutting out banks entirely is difficult, however* Managers weigh up extra costs and burdensBy Robert SmithLONDON, March 14 (IFR) - Red-hot demand for CLO debt has triggered talk that disintermediation could become a trend in structured credit, although few believe full-blown self-syndication by CLO managers is on the horizon any time soon.It is easier than ever to find buyers for new CLO issues, with intense demand for paper in recent months squeezing European Triple A spreads inside 100bp for the first time since the financial crisis.It is because of this environment, according to one former structured finance banker, that "serial CLO issuers" would be less willing to pay banks to "replicate their investor base"."Managers can easily have their own people do that. It''d be an expansion of investor relations, having somebody who not only manages their investor base on a performance reporting basis, but also goes out to them in new issues," he said.Self-syndication has been a growing trend across all manner of debt markets, as growing demand for credit has coincided with new regulatory constraints on banks in both primary and secondary markets.Several private equity firms that frequently issue CLOs are already cutting out banks to syndicate leveraged loans themselves, a phenomenon KKR spearheaded on its Mills Fleet Farm buyout at the end of 2015."You want an arranger to bring in new people. You don''t want them paying their bond salesman to make the same call that''s been made 15 times already," the ex-banker said.WAREHOUSE ISSUESIf managers wanted to cut out banks entirely, there is nothing technically stopping them. Franz Ranero, a partner at Allen & Overy, said that most managers have the regulatory capacity to arrange and distribute their own CLOs."I still think we''d only ever see it very selectively, however, perhaps on smaller tightly held club deals," he said."There are some effectively funding transactions, where friends and family type accounts are willing to provide the leverage on an existing fund, where perhaps some managers may be able to arrange on their own."While CLO managers can legally sell their own deals, it is harder than in many other markets to extricate banks entirely from the new issue process.This is because arranging banks not only spend long hours structuring deals, but they also provide the warehouse - leverage used to purchase the CLO''s underlying loans before it prices.And banks are likely to be resistant to attempts to unbundle the services they provide during the formation of a CLO."If you go to the bank and say ''I need a credit line, but by the way I''m not giving you any fees for structuring and syndicating the CLO, as I''m doing that myself'', the warehouse terms will probably not be optimal," said Gauthier Reymondier, managing director at Bain Capital Credit."At the same time, the team financing the warehouse equity will usually feel a lot more confident that the CLO is actually going to get printed if they see a top-tier bank taking the debt risk."Some of the largest managers have permanent lines of capital on their balance sheet that they could use to ramp their CLOs, but several people in the market said there are less than a handful of CLO issuers with this capability.IS IT WORTH IT?While some managers have the capacity to self-syndicate CLOs, the key question is whether the fees saved would outweigh the extra administrative burden and costs.Furthermore, investors may require an incentive to participate in trades executed without banks for the first time."It would only work if the economics were passed on to both parties, so effectively it would save the deal money whether that be upping credit enhancement or offering the deal at a better price," said Jonathan Bowers, a partner and senior portfolio manager at CVC Credit Partners."And then it''s quite difficult to apportion those economics across the whole structure how would a Double A holder benefit versus an equity guy?"Another portfolio manager at a frequent CLO issuer said anyone who thought they could gain from arranging their own deals had "delusions of grandeur"."We just don''t have anything like the resources that a bank would have in terms of modelling, process, dealing with the ratings agency, et cetera," he said. "If I''m going to pay someone 50 or 60bp for that, that''s money well spent."Reymondier said that whenever the market is extremely active people ask themselves whether they could self-syndicate deals."At the moment, if you issue a notice for a CLO refi or reset, you actually have people ringing you directly to ask if you have paper for them," he said."But when market conditions turn, that''s when you need the banks to go the extra mile to find the less frequent and obscure buyers, or maybe even take some paper on their own balance sheet to sell down later."The European CLO market was in a much more difficult place little over a year ago. BlackRock had to widen spreads and jettison a Single B tranche to finally clear its debut European CLO in February 2016, for example."It''s almost like an insurance policy - when everything is going right, you may question why you are paying for it," Reymondier said. "But if you''re taking a long term and prudent view, you know there''ll come a point when it''ll be worthwhile. (Reporting by Robert Smith; editing by Alex Chambers, Julian Baker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/debt-clo-idUSL5N1GQ21S'|'2017-03-14T16:56:00.000+02:00' +'5f7b95795a9bfb68b52d792ebb7f539ce7d726ce'|'From crepes to cocktails: can Grand Marnier''s new owner make the leap?'|'Business News - Fri Mar 24, 2017 - 11:44am EDT From crepes to cocktails: can Grand Marnier''s new owner make the leap? left right Bartender Isaac Flores mixes a cocktail at Dick & Janes bar in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, U.S., March 22, 2017. Picture taken March 22, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid 1/4 left right Bartender Isaac Flores poses at Dick & Janes bar in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, U.S., March 22, 2017. Picture taken March 22, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid 2/4 left right Bartender Isaac Flores mixes a cocktail at Dick & Janes bar in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, U.S., March 22, 2017. Picture taken March 22, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid 3/4 left right A bartender serves cocktails at Dick & Janes bar in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, U.S., March 22, 2017. Picture taken March 22, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid 4/4 By Francesca Landini and Maria Pia Quaglia - MILAN MILAN Italian drinks group Davide Campari ( CPRI.MI ) has a tall order to fulfill: take a neglected old liqueur out of the kitchen, where it is used as a dessert topping, and turn it into a hot new cocktail trend. Grand Marnier, a 137-year-old French brand that Davide Campari bought for 652 million euros ($700 million) last year, was once a drink for the wealthy, a meld of cognac and oranges that was sipped by first-class passengers on the Titanic. Today, in its European home market, it is more often tucked away in kitchen cabinets than featured prominently in trendy bars, and its return to the cocktail circuit is not assured, even for a company that has a record of reviving faded brands. Grand Marnier sales have fallen around 2 percent in the past three years and Davide Campari expects them to flatline for two years before picking up in 2019. Based on the latest six-month data, annual sales of the brand are running at around 160 million euros, making it the company''s fifth biggest brand. The stakes are high for the world''s sixth largest premium spirit maker, which bought the French liqueur last June in its biggest-ever acquisition. The price included assumed debt and represented more than a tenth of Davide Campari''s market value. Industry analysts say they are confident the company can restore Grand Marnier''s fortunes but say it could be costly and take time, a brake on profit margins. A prolonged stagnation of Grand Marnier sales could also slow down the company''s acquisition strategy, vital to compete with much bigger rivals. The group''s debts, in proportion to core earnings, are manageable but higher than the average of its main rivals after making more than 2 billion euros in acquisitions in 22 years. Euromonitor analyst Jeremy Cunnington thinks it should take a break from acquisitions and develop its newly acquired brands. That all adds up to pressure to revive Grand Marnier, the biggest challenge yet for Chief Executive Bob Kunze-Concewitz. He must shake off the liqueur''s reputation in Europe as a fancy dessert topping and introduce it to more drinkers in America, its biggest market even though it is relatively little known there. "In Europe the challenge is making the leap from the kitchen to the glass, while in the Unites States the issue is more of increasing the glasses drunk," Kunze-Concewitz told Reuters. The CEO declined to give his target for Grand Marnier but the company aims to grow sales across all its brands by 5 percent in the medium term. Investment bank Barclays says that implies Grand Marnier reaching around 5 percent growth by 2020. However, it took Kunze-Concewitz six years to shift the group''s signature red aperitif, Campari, up a gear and accelerate the drink''s growth from 3.5 percent in 2007, when he took the helm, to the high single digits by 2013. "Someone says Grand Marnier is an old brand but ... three out of four consumers have never tasted it. This is a great opportunity, like it was for the re-launch of Campari," he told Reuters, adding that the company''s last brand makeover, of Appleton rum, took just three years. Kunze-Concewitz, a multi-lingual Austrian who was actually born in Turkey, expects Grand Marnier''s sales to rise in value but not in volumes this year in the United States, while a return to growth in Europe will take longer. BANKING ON THE B-52 Davide Campari will start its offensive in America''s biggest cities this year, with young drinkers and also bar managers such as 32-year-old Isaac Flores of Dick & Janes, a trendy cocktail bar in Brooklyn, New York. Flores rarely uses Grand Marnier and says brand recognition is just one of the problems to tackle. Retailing at $47 a bottle, it makes for an expensive cocktail. "Cocktails including it should cost at least $15-16 compared to $13 I charge the cocktails I craft," said Flores. "Grand Marnier is a beautiful liqueur, which is best drunk on its own." Since he was appointed CEO at the family-controlled spirit company, CEO Kunze-Concewitz has bought 14 brands, boosting sales by 80 percent in 10 years. But debt has trebled over that time to more than 1 billion euros, or 2.9 times its core profit against an average of 2.6 for Campari''s main rivals. The company plans to launch new long drinks and capitalize on the revival of classic cocktails that feature the liqueur, such as Grand Margarita and B-52. It has tightened its grip on Grand Marnier''s distribution, strengthening ties with Southern Glazer''s Wine and Spirits in the United States, and dropping third-party distributors and rivals Moet Hennessy ( LVMH.PA ) and Diageo ( DGE.L ). Davide Campari did not say how much it would spend on marketing Grand Marnier but the CEO said, overall, advertising and promotion expenses would rise by 20-25 basis points to just over 18 percent of sales, a level above the sector average. Grand Marnier''s main rival in the United States is Remy Cointreau''s ( RCOP.PA ) eponymous liqueur which has a smaller market share but has long set a faster pace in terms of sales. Davide Campari plans to hold tasting events in bars to show drinkers the difference between the two. But food and beverage expert Vittoria Veronesi, of Milan''s Bocconi University, says it should not take Grand Marnier out of the kitchen altogether. "It would be fun to create new dishes and match them to a Grand Marnier-based aperitif, putting together the work of the chef with that of the barman." (Editing by Mark Bendeich/Keith Weir) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-campari-marnier-analysis-idUSKBN16V208'|'2017-03-24T23:44:00.000+03:00' +'b287bd6af69d2efcab264b4090dcf5b7ce9e8412'|'Swiss stocks - Factors to watch on March 17'|'ZURICH, March 17 The following are some of the main factors expected to affect Swiss stocks on Friday:COMPANY STATEMENTS* Syngenta has received German approval for its fungicide Solatenol, allowing the group to introduce its Elatus Era and Elatus Plus products to the German cereals market for the 2017 season.* Kuehne und Nagel said on Thursday evening it has agreed to buy Turkish pharmaceutical logistics firm Zet Farma, with 400 employees, and Italian firm Ferlito Pharma Logistics. Terms for the two deals were not disclosed.* lastminute.com will propose another share buyback at its AGM on April 28 of up to 1,462,263 company shares. The group returned to profit of 7.5 million euros ($8.08 million) in 2016 and increased revenues 4.7 percent to 261.5 million euros.* Valiant Holding announced its offer to purchase Swiss regional bank Triba for a price of 1,450 Swiss francs ($1,455.24) per share in cash.* ams agreed to buy Princeton Optronics without disclosing deal terms.Bachem Holding said it''s confident of growing local-currency revenues by 6 - 10 percent annually in coming years and proposed a dividend of 2.50 francs after growing 2016 net profit 29.4 percent to 41.2 million Swiss francs.* Luzerner Kantonalbank will propose Doris Russi Schurter as new chairwoman of its board after Mark Bachmann steps down from the role at the cantonal bank''s annual general meeting on April 12.* Galenica shareholder Patinex, the investment firm of Martin and Rosmarie Ebner, upped its stake in the pharmaceutical group to 20.38 percent.ECONOMY($1 = 0.9282 euros) ($1 = 0.9964 Swiss francs) (Reporting by Zurich newsroom)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/markets-swiss-stocks-idINL5N1GT63Y'|'2017-03-17T03:28:00.000+02:00' +'2e5deca34b679618bbdb867e456839a5a71ac82d'|'Brazil police allege biggest meatpackers engaged in widespread fraud'|' 17am EDT Brazil police allege biggest meatpackers engaged in widespread fraud CURITIBA, Brazil, March 17 Brazil''s federal police on Friday said the meatpackers including JBS and BRF engaged in widespread fraud to cover-up selling dangerous products rife with bacteria and that had passed their for-sale date. JBS is the world''s biggest largest meat producers and BRF is the globe''s biggest poultry exporter. The police operation, the largest ever carried out in Brazil, is alleging that company employees paid bribes to inspectors to keep open processing plants where salmonella was found. They also said the bad meat was exported to Europe and other areas. (Reporting by Sergio Spagnuolo and Brad Haynes in Sao Paulo) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-corruption-meatpacking-idUSE6N1FG00O'|'2017-03-17T21:17:00.000+02:00' +'5709ad247a898e01d6df9e60d1d6acbc0c5730fd'|'PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - March 14'|' 10pm EDT PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - March 14 March 13 in the Financial Times. Headlines Lords give way to clear path for May to trigger Brexit on.ft.com/2mlfWfn Sturgeon throws down gauntlet on independence on.ft.com/2mlmyu8 Employers hold back on jobs as Brexit uncertainty grows on.ft.com/2mlcDVD Charlotte Hogg''s role at Bank of England in the balance on.ft.com/2mljXAt Wood Group agrees to buy Amec Foster Wheeler for 2.2 bln stg on.ft.com/2mluagt Redrow eager to continue pursuit of Bovis on.ft.com/2mlrwr1 Overview is on track to start Brexit negotiations in the last week of March after parliament passed legislation on Monday that gives her the power to do so and the Lords balked at picking a fight over their own efforts to soften it. Scotland''s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Monday demanded a new independence referendum in late 2018 or early 2019, handing Theresa May the challenge of keeping the UK united just as she grapples with the country''s plans to leave the European Union. UK hiring is expected to slow down in the second quarter of this year according to Manpower''s quarterly survey of about 2,000 employers that found corporate Britain in a slightly less bullish mood in the second quarter compared with the first. A parliamentary committee preparing a report about Charlotte Hogg''s suitability for the post of the Bank of England''s new deputy governor is waiting to see whether Hogg will tough it out or abandon her candidature, according to those involved in the discussions. British oilfield services company John Wood Group Plc agreed to buy its struggling rival Amec Foster Wheeler Plc in a 2.2 billion pounds ($2.68 billion) all-share deal that highlights the pressure on the UK North Sea oil industry from weak crude prices. British homebuilder Redrow Plc said on Monday it will continue its pursuit of rival Bovis Homes Plc, despite discussions having been "terminated" while its target is in separate talks with another suitor, Galliford Try Plc . ($1 = 0.8195 pounds) (Compiled by Ismail Shakil Sandra Maler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-press-ft-idUSL2N1GR01B'|'2017-03-14T08:10:00.000+02:00' +'b18ba1f856cb29d33eda3a94352b9cc58c836223'|'Nikkei hits 15-month closing high; volume thin'|'Company News - Mon Mar 13, 2017 - 2:23am EDT Nikkei hits 15-month closing high; volume thin TOKYO, March 13 Japan''s Nikkei share average ticked up on Monday to a 15-month closing high as investors picked up defensive shares while exporter shares were shunned due to the yen''s gains, though volume was subdued ahead of key global events later this week. The Nikkei rose 0.2 percent to 19,633.75, its highest close since December 2015. The broader Topix rose 0.2 percent to 1,577.40, also a 15-month high. However, trading volume on the main board was the third lowest so far this year at 1.47 trillion yen. (Reporting by Tokyo Markets Team; Editing by Sunil Nair) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-close-idUSL3N1GQ2BD'|'2017-03-13T13:23:00.000+02:00' +'117d758d5735e869f2b94834346c7264d6a18dfa'|'Brazil''s Odebrecht O&G mulls out-of-court workout: sources'|'By Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Alusio Alves - SAO PAULO SAO PAULO Odebrecht leo & Gs SA, the offshore oil drilling firm owned by Brazil''s Odebrecht SA [ODBES.UL], could seek an out-of-court reorganization with creditors to speed up the restructuring of $5 billion in debts, two people familiar with the plan said on Monday.According to the people, an out-of-court workout would help the company known as OOG bind minority creditors to a restructuring that is accepted by a relevant majority of banks, bondholders and suppliers. Filing for bankruptcy protection is not an option for OOG, the people said.The one-year-old process, which is in advanced stages, could drag on for longer because of OOG''s difficulty contacting hundreds of individual bondholders, the first person said. Sources told Reuters last month that parent Odebrecht hoped to conclude the driller''s restructuring plan in March.A workout usually sets a limit on the influence of those investors in the upcoming rounds of a company''s debt restructuring plan. The people spoke under condition of anonymity, because terms of the restructuring remain private.In a statement, OOG declined to confirm whether it is considering an out-of-court workout, noting that it "remains in constructive talks with creditors to bolster the company''s short- and long-term financial positions amid a challenging oil and gas industry environment."By opting for such a solution, OOG would aim to gain an edge in coordinating disparate groups of creditors, discussing contractual and default terms with them, and keeping all creditors engaged in a voluntary restructuring process, one of the people said.The price on OOG''s 6.625 percent dollar bond due in October 2022 BR103995655= shed 0.5 cent to 30.375 cents on the dollar on Monday. Since restructuring talks began in around April last year, price on the note have more than doubled from an all-time low of 12 cents.In recent months, OOG and bondholders discussed putting off payments on principal and interest, as well as amortization payments on OOG''s notes maturing in 2021 and 2022.OOG raised over $3 billion from bond sales to fund the construction of offshore drilling ships that are now leased to state-controlled Petrleo Brasileiro SA ( PETR4.SA ).Over the past few years, OOG has issued debt through special purpose vehicles such as Odebrecht Offshore Drilling Finance Ltd [OODF.UL], Odebrecht Drilling Norbe VIII/IX Ltd [ODBCT.UL] and Odebrecht Oil & Gas Finance Ltd [OOAG.UL].(Editing by Daniel Flynn and Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-odebrecht-oil-restructuring-idINKBN16Y2QZ'|'2017-03-27T21:34:00.000+03:00' +'63d95b7c489b5a2a77a59aec6db822f6a57902d3'|'Greek consumer prices ease in February, led by durables, apparel costs'|' 30am GMT Greek consumer prices ease in February, led by durables, apparel costs A woman buys products in a grocery market in Athens July 2, 2013. REUTERS/John Kolesidis ATHENS Greece''s annual EU-harmonised inflation rate slowed in February, statistics service data showed on Friday, with the reading coming in slightly below market expectations. The reading in February was 1.4 percent from 1.5 percent in January. Consumer prices were led lower by apparel, footwear, durable household goods and healthcare costs. Economists polled by Reuters were forecasting a 1.5 percent print. The data also showed the headline consumer price index rose to 1.3 percent year-on-year, from 1.2 percent in the previous month, when it emerged from a protracted deflation trend. For years an inflation outlier in the euro zone, Greece had been in a protracted deflation mode since March 2013 based on its headline index, as wage and pension cuts and a multi-year recession took a heavy toll on Greek household incomes. Deflation in Greece, which signed up to its first international bailout in 2010, hit its highest level in November 2013, when consumer prices registered a 2.9 percent year-on-year decline. Euro zone inflation surged to a four-year high last month, zooming past the European Central Bank''s target and piling pressure on rate setters to open talks about when and how extraordinary stimulus measures will be scaled back. Inflation in the 19 countries sharing the euro accelerated to 2.0 percent from 1.8 percent in January, the highest since the start of 2013 and just above the ECB''s target of a rate just below 2 percent. (Reporting by George Georgiopoulos)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-greece-inflation-idUKKBN16H16N'|'2017-03-10T17:30:00.000+02:00' +'79b36897c13587bff32fe501fb4cadf4b251a36e'|'TREASURIES-Bonds gain as fiscal stimulus seen unlikely near term'|'(Adds Quote: s, updates prices) * Bonds gain as fiscal stimulus seen delayed * Investors focusing on Washington reforms * Oil price declines lowers inflation expectations By Karen Brettell NEW YORK, March 22 U.S. Treasury yields fell on Wednesday as investors reduced expectations that the Federal Reserve is likely to adopt a faster path in raising interest rates and any new fiscal stimulus is seen as unlikely in the near-term. President Donald Trump and Republican congressional leaders appeared on Wednesday to be losing the battle to get enough support in the House of Representatives to pass their Obamacare rollback bill. Delays in passing domestic reforms including healthcare are seen as likely to push back any new fiscal stimulus, which investors had anticipated would boost growth and possibly lead to faster than previously expected rate increases. People are losing confidence in a swift moving set of congressional reform, said Ian Lyngen, head of U.S. rates strategy at BMO Capital Markets in New York. Benchmark 10-year notes gained 11/32 in price to yield 2.40 percent, down from 2.43 percent on Tuesday. The 10-year yields earlier dropped to 2.37 percent, the lowest since Feb. 28. They have fallen from 2.63 percent on March 14. The bond market had repriced higher in terms of yields looking at what the Fed reaction function might be given that we might have fiscal stimulus down the road, said Chirag Mirani, head of U.S. rates strategy at UBS. Now, the market is going through a realization that this may take some time or that it may not be the version it was expecting, Mirani said. Oil prices also dipped on Wednesday as rising crude stocks in the United States underscored an ongoing global fuel supply overhang despite an OPEC-led effort to cut output. That has also reduced inflation expectations, which is also seen as delaying further Fed tightening. Oil prices have been declining and thats helped push market-based inflation expectations lower, said Mirani. Speeches by Fed officials are in focus this week for any new indications about future interest rate policy. Fed Chair Janet Yellen is due to speak at a community development conference on Thursday. Durable goods data and manufacturing data on Friday will also be a focus for investors. (Editing by Nick Zieminski) )'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-bonds-idINL2N1GZ1J4'|'2017-03-22T16:17:00.000+02:00' +'b6c31d90bd760ec368ab6fbbc74877d853de81f1'|'EU''s competition watchdog says a few merger candidates may have misled'|'BRUSSELS A "small handful" of companies may have given misleading information when they sought approval for their mergers, Europe''s competition commissioner said on Monday, putting the companies at risk of sanctions and fines should regulators find proof of wrongdoing.The comments by Margrethe Vestager came as she weighs up Facebook''s ( FB.O ) response to charges of giving misleading data during its $22 billion bid for phone messaging service WhatsApp in 2014.Facebook said that it was unable reliably to match the two companies'' user accounts but regulators said this was incorrect and that it was technically possible to do that.The European Commission has to date identified "a small handful, which is less than five but more than one and probably doesn''t qualify as several" companies which might have given misleading information, Vestager told a news conference.She said the cases were brought to her attention by people who spotted some inconsistencies in what merging companies said and what appeared in newspapers.It was not clear if the anomalies would trigger further investigations. Companies found to have given misleading information can be fined up to 1 percent of their global turnover.(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Greg Mahlich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-eu-m-a-vestager-idINKBN16Y215'|'2017-03-27T14:12:00.000+03:00' +'ca0c1a1314d0dd15f925ab0afa670609415e1c0c'|'Suez buys GE Water in 3.2 bln euro deal, considers capital increase'|'Company News - Wed Mar 8, 2017 - 11:47am EST Suez buys GE Water in 3.2 bln euro deal, considers capital increase PARIS, March 8 French waste and water group Suez said in a statement it and Canada''s Caisse de dpt et placement du Qubec (CDPQ) have agreed to buy GE Water from General Electric for an enterprise value of 3.2 billion euros ($3.37 billion). Suez and CDPQ will set up a 70/30 joint venture to buy 100 percent of GE Water in an all-cash transaction, after which Suez will contribute its existing industrial water activities to the new Industrial Water business unit. Suez said it had a fully underwritten bridge financing in place for the transaction, and is considering refinancing it through a capital increase of about 750 million euros. It said its main shareholders, Engie, CriteriaCaixa and Caltagirone Group have confirmed their intention to participate in the capital increase for their pro rata share. ($1 = 0.9483 euros) (Reporting by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Adrian Croft) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/suez-ge-idUSL5N1GL5FY'|'2017-03-08T23:47:00.000+02:00' +'9627513053b24ffd397977b957ebe3cb342992ca'|'Halfway into 2017''s oil supply cut, Asia remains awash with fuel'|'Money News - Fri Mar 17, 2017 - 8:35am IST Halfway into 2017''s oil supply cut, Asia remains awash with fuel FULL COVERAGE: By Florence Tan and Henning Gloystein - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Halfway into an OPEC-led oil supply cut, Asia remains awash with fuel in a sign that the group''s efforts to rein in a global glut have so far had little effect. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other suppliers including Russia have pledged to cut production by almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half of this year to rein in oversupply and prop up prices. Yet almost three months into the announced cuts, oil flows to Asia, the world''s biggest and fastest growing market, have risen to near record highs. The Asian surplus will pressure global oil prices and weigh on the budgets of major oil producing nations but may also help spur growth in demand needed to soak up the excess. Thomson Reuters Oil Research and Forecasts data shows around 714 million barrels of oil are being shipped to Asia this month, up 3 percent since December when the cuts were announced. Responding to rising production, benchmark crude prices are down 10 percent since January, and analysts warn that more falls could follow. "Cuts are not enough to re-absorb the world''s excess supply. So, unless oil demand growth rebounds to record levels in 2017, oil prices could head for another substantial fall," said Leonardo Maugeri, senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School''s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Not only are supplies from the Middle East and Russia to Asia still high despite the pledge to cut, but record volumes are flooding into Asia from the Americas and Europe. The result is a market awash with fuel. More than 30 supertankers are sitting off the coasts of Singapore and southern Malaysia filled with oil, despite a price structure that makes it unattractive to buy oil now and store it for sale at a later date. Crude for delivery in January 2018 is only 70 cents more expensive than that for delivery next May, making those floating storage vessels unprofitable. OPEC''S DILEMMA The ongoing glut poses a predicament for OPEC. Its members need higher oil prices to balance government budgets, but cutting back production to prop up prices means losing market share as other suppliers step in to fill the gap. OPEC''s cuts early in the year pushed up Middle East Dubai crude price against the international benchmark Brent, allowing oil from outside the Middle East to head to Asia. Traders are shipping competitively priced crudes such as Russian Urals, Kazakhstan''s CPC Blend, North Sea Forties and U.S. West Texas Intermediate to replace Middle East staples from Oman to Abu Dhabi. A record 10.5 million barrels of Russian Urals will arrive in Asia between April and June, Eikon data shows. Oil from Kazakhstan, the North Sea, Brazil, and the United States arriving in Asia in March is expected to reach 45 million barrels, double the volume in the same month a year ago. "The uptick in arbitrage has not gone unnoticed by the large Middle Eastern (OPEC) producers," analysts from consultancy JBC Energy said in a note to clients this week. In a move to beat off competition but which contradicts the announced cuts, OPEC''s de-facto leader Saudi Arabia unexpectedly cut light crude prices last week. State-owned Saudi Aramco has also given additional supplies to Asian customers in April, trade sources said. Stiff competition and ample supplies have depressed prices for Middle East and Asia-Pacific grades, some of them to multi-month lows. May-loading for Qatar Marine crude sold at discounts to its official selling price for the first time in four months while spot premiums for Russian and Malaysia''s flagship Kimanis crude have also hit lows. With few signs that producers will cut supplies deeply enough to end the glut, and indicators that output is rising in the United States, traders say only strong demand can eventually rein in the surplus. "Demand growth in Asia is about 700,000 bpd, so the glut will eventually clear," said Oystein Berentsen, managing director for oil trading company Strong Petroleum in Singapore. Not all are as confident. "Enduring excess supply could be eased by a robust demand growth," said Maugeri of the Belfer Center. "But preliminary data and analyses do not portend such a development, especially because of a significant slowdown in demand growth in China and India - the two major engines of world oil consumption growth." (Reporting by Florence Tan and Henning Gloystein; Additional reporting by Mark Tay; Editing by Lincoln Feast) Next In Money News Fed rate hikes could spell end to global easing SINGAPORE/WASHINGTON The Federal Reserve''s return to higher interest rates could lend a hand to beleaguered counterparts in Japan and Europe and signal the end of a long cycle of monetary stimulus across Asia, as central banks from Beijing to Ankara to London reacted on Thursday to the U.S. policy change.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/asia-oil-idINKBN16O0AY'|'2017-03-17T10:05:00.000+02:00' +'c11e7996b5e287e506ab4c814ed29661ee361b7b'|'IG Group''s revenue falls 3.8 percent on weakness in UK, Ireland'|' 41am GMT IG Group''s revenue falls 3.8 percent on weakness in UK, Ireland IG Group Holdings Plc ( IGG.L ), a British online trading company, reported a 3.8 percent fall in quarterly revenue as it earned less per client, especially in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company, which provides online stockbroking and trading services to retail investors, said revenue fell to 117.4 million pounds ($146.84 million) for the three months ended Feb. 28, from 122 million pounds a year earlier. Average revenue per client fell 15 percent with the United Kingdom and Ireland down 23 percent, partly as current clients traded less, IG said. However, IG''s active client numbers rose 13 percent in the quarter. The company, which was founded in 1974 as the world''s first spread-betting firm, said the fourth quarter had started better and that client recruitment remains strong. (Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair) Most UK employers do not plan to raise pay to match rising inflation - XpertHR LONDON Most British companies do not expect to offer more generous pay deals to employees this year compared with 2016, adding to signs that higher inflation will gnaw at Britons'' living standards in the months ahead, a survey showed on Thursday. LONDON British car production hit a 17-year high in February, extending a recent trend of surging output as a strong rise in exports once again compensated for a slump in demand at home, an industry body said on Thursday. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ig-grp-hldgs-results-idUKKBN16U0NC'|'2017-03-23T14:41:00.000+02:00' +'1f876d4ab1404a9268b6550fc36a3416f39767c0'|'After strategy shifts, Deutsche Bank taps investors again'|'Business 1:03pm EDT After strategy shifts, Deutsche Bank taps investors again The logo of Germany''s largest business bank, Deutsche Bank is seen in front of one of the bank''s office buildings in Frankfurt, Germany, October 27, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) announced details of its latest bid for cash on Sunday, as it turned for the fourth time to investors, many of whom have privately expressed exasperation with its strategic shifts and heavy losses in recent years. Here are key points in Deutsche Bank''s strategy shifts since 2010: tmsnrt.rs/2mMpPUl The rights issue represents an increase of about 50 percent in Deutsche Bank''s current shares and puts the bank on course to have raised more than its 25 billion euro ($27 billion) market value in the last seven years. Since the financial crisis, the lender has been forced to change tack on strategy, most conspicuously in the case of Postbank, a German retail lender it bought in 2010, the same year it tapped investors for more than 10 billion euros. Less than five years later, management announced that Postbank would be sold, unveiling what they described as the "next milestone in the journey". Roughly two years later, under new Chief Executive John Cryan the sale has been canceled. Deutsche also announced in 2015 a reorganization to separate its markets and investment banking business, only to recombine them two years later. (Writing by John O''Donnell; editing by Susan Thomas) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-deutsche-bank-strategy-idUSKBN16R20T'|'2017-03-21T00:03:00.000+02:00' +'dc70d4a36431911d062a77f3edd369820b24b8fe'|'Puerto Rico offers new PREPA debt restructuring, bond insurers suffer'|'By Nick Brown and Daniel Bases - NEW YORK NEW YORK Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, the island''s ailing power utility, on Tuesday reopened a long-agreed debt restructuring deal that drew ire from bondholders and put the stock of credit insurers under further selling pressure.The new restructuring proposal alters the 15 percent reduction in creditor principal, removes the requirement for an investment grade credit rating on restructured debt and decreases the size of a reserve fund put in place to insure payments are made on the bonds."That (investment grade) was never a realistic ask. I would love to say that we would have investment grade bonds, but it is just not true," Elias Sanchez, an official in Governor Ricardo Rossello''s office, told Reuters on Tuesday.Puerto Rico has struggled to pull itself out of a financial death spiral for several years, burdened by unsustainable debt, a 45 percent poverty rate and citizens leaving for the mainland.In 2015, PREPA hammered out a restructuring deal with creditors that was seen as a potential roadmap for a broader restructuring of the U.S. commonwealth''s crippling $70 billion debt load. PREPA alone has more than $8 billion in debt to restructure.The new proposal comes a day before a U.S. congressional hearing on the PREPA restructuring plan. Rossello is scheduled to testify as are the chairman of the federally appointed Financial Oversight and Management Board created under the PROMESA law last June, the chairman of PREPA and a representative of major creditors.Under the new deal 80 percent of the original debt would move into securitization bonds backed by a dedicated charge on customer bills. This essentially keeps the debt ringfenced from PREPA''s operations.In addition, creditors will receive 5 percent of their original investment in the form of a new bond backed by PREPA. That brings them to their 15 percent cut in principal.One group of PREPA creditors said the new proposal fundamentally changes the terms of the original deal."The modifications would undermine the value and structural integrity of the new PREPA securitization debt," the group said in a statement on Tuesday.BROADER FALLOUTPREPA''S original deal served as a bellwether. Its potential unraveling dovetails with the acceptance of a revised island-wide financial restructuring plan by the oversight board that sets aside less money for paying out debt.Under the newly certified plan, debt service would be $800 million per year versus $1.2 billion a year over a 10-year period. That puts the recovery rate for bondholders, in aggregate, around 30 cents on the dollar, according to analysts.Benchmark Puerto Rico general obligation (GO) debt has suffered in the wake of the decision. GO bonds maturing in 2035 and carrying an 8 percent coupon, traded at 61.575 on Tuesday, down from Monday''s closing price of 63.3, according to Thomson Reuters data..The bond is down 11.175 points in price since the plan was certified on March 13 and hit an all-time low on Monday at 61.35 before rising. Defaulted debt trades more like an equity and is not typically Quote: d with a yield.The debt has been in default since last year when U.S. Congress passed the PROMESA rescue law that suspended debt payments.Compounding the negative sentiment is a brewing civil war between various camps of Puerto Rico''s creditors.On Sunday, so-called COFINA bondholders, whose debt is backed by sales tax revenue, asked a federal judge in San Juan to deny the GO bondholder group''s effort to stop the island''s government from making payments on COFINA debt.Late Monday, a federal appeals court in Boston ordered that lawsuit frozen under PROMESA, which bars litigation over Puerto Rico debt defaults until May 1, to give the island and creditors time to work out a consensual restructuring without worry about lawsuits.GO debt traditionally is considered senior to all other debt obligations as it is backed by the good faith and credit of a municipality, but COFINA creditors have argued that the tax revenue stream guaranteeing their debt is off limits to the government.Bond insurers involved in Puerto Rico have seen their stock prices hammered by the uncertainty created by the lower debt service, growing legal rancor between creditor groups and now the reopening of the PREPA restructuring. The last element is particularly hard on Assured Guaranty Ltd and MBIA Inc which have exposure to PREPA.On Tuesday afternoon, Assured''s stock was down 1.9 percent at $37.05 and MBIA shares were down 1.8 percent at $8.28. Since March 13, Assured shares are down nearly 9 percent while MBIA''s are off more than 12 percent."All of these names had been performing well since PROMESA because there was an expectation of what would come from the deal," said Mark Palmer, financial equity analyst at BTIG in New York."Now with the PREPA deal being renegotiated ... there is a question about whether a higher level of losses for the insurers is going to occur. If it does occur, a lot of the pain is now baked in to the share price," he said.(Editing by Matthew Lewis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-puertorico-debt-prepa-idINKBN16S2MD'|'2017-03-21T17:06:00.000+02:00' +'dae3f514e6cf287a7f5c14f758bf815cb17a060d'|'Shell reluctant to part with California refinery amid asset sale'|'By Jessica Resnick-Ault and Ron Bousso - NEW YORK NEW YORK Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) is in talks with several potential buyers for its refinery outside of San Francisco, but the Anglo-Dutch oil giant is reluctant to part with its last asset in California, three people familiar with the process say.The company is in the midst of a massive asset sale, shedding properties from Thailand to the North Sea to pay down debt following its $54 billion purchase of smaller British rival BG Group last year.Shell, Europe''s largest oil company, has sold around $15 billion of assets over the past year as part of a planned $30 billion in asset sales to trim debt incurred from the transaction.Bidders for Shell''s 158,000 barrel-per-day Martinez refinery, located 30 miles (48 km) northeast of San Francisco, include PBF Energy ( PBF.N ) and NTR Partners III LLC.Still, sources familiar with the issue say the company wants to sell for a higher price, with one saying the plant could be valued at about $900 million.Shell, which barred potential buyers from hiring advisors during a first round of the auction, has since allowed third parties to review materials related to a sale, according to one person familiar with the negotiations.Shell declined to comment. PBF referenced its quarterly calls with analysts, where it has said it considers all refining and logistics assets that come on the market, but declined to comment on interest in the specific plant. NTR did not respond to requests for comment.Shell retained Lazard last year to advise on the overall asset sale program. In the fall, Shell retained Deutsche Bank to find a buyer for the Martinez facility.EXIT FROM CALIFORNIA?Over the past 15 years, Shell has sold refineries in Bakersfield and Wilmington, California. Selling the Martinez plant would mark its exit from the state.While state-specific emissions regulations and fuel standards make it more expensive to operate a refinery in California, the plant still drew interest because of its location and ability to process local crude.Among the bidders, PBF bought a refinery in Torrance, California last year, while privately held NTR Partners has bid on other California plants.California''s environmental regulations and pipeline connections make the state an island, with few sources for gasoline imports.As a result, when one plant in California is shuttered, margins at other refineries in the state surge.Most operators in the state own more than one plant. PBF, one of the only California refiners with a single operation, would consider buying a second to hedge against disruptions at its troubled Torrance refinery, Jeff Dill, PBF''s president for West Coast operations said last month.The Martinez refinery, which has been operating since 1915, processes crude into gasoline, jet fuel, diesel and other refined products and has a coker unit for processing heavy crude.The potential sale would include a pipeline that brings crude produced in California''s San Joaquin Valley to the refinery.(Reporting By Jessica Resnick-Ault in New York and Ron Bousso in London; Additional reporting by Jarrett Renshaw and David French in New York and Liz Hampton in Houston; Editing by Bernadette Baum)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-shell-refinery-sale-idINKBN16U1GJ'|'2017-03-23T08:56:00.000+02:00' +'ccc91f0f097cc0dfcd1256a4adcf797f81631530'|'Spooked by yield rise, ECB wary of changing message again - sources'|'Business News - Wed Mar 29, 2017 - 12:59pm BST Spooked by yield rise, ECB wary of changing message again - sources FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) are illuminated with a giant euro sign at the start of the ''''Luminale, light and building'''' event in Frankfurt, Germany, March 12, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo By Balazs Koranyi - FRANKFURT FRANKFURT European Central Bank policymakers are wary of making any new change to their policy message in April after small tweaks this month upset investors and raised the spectre of a surge in borrowing costs for the bloc''s indebted periphery. One ECB source said the bank has been overinterpreted by markets at its March 9 meeting. Taken aback when markets started to price in an interest rate hike early next year, policymakers are keen to reassure investors that their easy-money policy is far from ending, suggesting reluctance change message before June, six sources in and close to the Governing Council indicated. While the current level of bond yields remains acceptable, a further increase would be problematic, particularly in places like Italy, Spain and Portugal, where debt payments are a major cost item and rising yields would curb spending and thwart growth. With the euro zone economy on its best run in almost a decade and conservative policymakers# keen to start winding down stimulus, the ECB gave a small nod to improvement with a tweak of its guidance in early March, axing a reference to being ready to act with all available instruments. But that message did not come across as hoped. "We wanted to communicate reduced tail risk but the market took it as a step to the exit," one of the sources said. "The message was way overinterpreted." Indeed, yields surged and investors quickly priced in a rate hike for the first quarter of 2018, even as policymakers tried in vain to play down those expectations. The market move was exacerbated when Austrian central bank chief Ewald Nowotny openly discussed another possible change in bank''s guidance, hinting at a major debate under the surface, a speculation the sources dismissed. ECB chief economist Peter Praet has been in damage control since, arguing that there is "strong logic" backing up the guidance, which stipulates that asset buys would have to end before any interest rate hike. The ECB declined to comment. With inflation below the ECB''s target for four straight years until recently, the bank has cut rates deep into negative territory and plans to buy at least 2.3 trillion euros worth of bonds, all in the hope of cutting borrowing costs enough to revive growth and with it inflation. NIGHTMARE Some have argued that with the economy on more solid footing, the ECB could soon eliminate the punitive interest rate charge, raising the deposit rate to zero, even as asset buys continue. "That would be a communication nightmare," one of the sources said. "If you raise rates, you can''t communicate that it''s a one off, only back to zero, then we stop again." "The market would immediately price in a new rate path, pushing the entire curve sharply higher," the source added With the euro zone government debt at 91.3 percent of GDP, not far below the 94.5 percent peak in 2014, governments can hardly afford big rise in borrowing costs as a yield rise could cap public spending, thwarting investment and growth. The sources also argued that the market may not be accurately pricing risks related to the new U.S. administration, like the possibility of trade wars, protectionism, financial deregulation or President Donald Trump''s difficulty in pushing his agenda through Congress. Banks, the biggest losers from negative rates, have meanwhile benefited from the steepening of the yield curve this year so there is no urgency to give them a hand, the sources added. Inflation having hit 2 percent last month, essentially meeting the ECB''s target, also put some pressure on policymaker as German criticism of loose monetary policy heated up. "Inflation has peaked for now and the oil price is down 10 percent so we are far having to worry about too much inflation," a third source said. While the sources acknowledged unexpected strength in the underlying economy, they said it was difficult to communicate this through its policy statements, especially with underlying inflation showing few signs of moving up. "A small change in the wording can easily be blown out of proportion," one of the sources said. "There is a communication risk and I would argue for stability." (Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-idUKKBN1701I8'|'2017-03-29T19:59:00.000+03:00' +'614f0f00d601e8624eca5b7b1e0ce517928ed418'|'Wall St Week Ahead-Some bank bulls grow wary on policy uncertainty'|' 09pm EST Wall St Week Ahead-Some bank bulls grow wary on policy uncertainty By Sinead Carew - March 10 March 10 Bank shares have been the runaway winners of the post-election U.S. stock market boom as investors wagered that higher interest rates, lighter regulation, lower taxes and faster economic growth would boost profits for lenders. Up 32 percent since the election of Donald Trump, the S&P 500''s bank index has outpaced the wider market''s gain by roughly 3-to-1. Now, however, a changing dynamic in the bond market as the U.S. Federal Reserve gears up to raise interest rates at a faster pace than many had previously expected is beginning to give pause to some early bank stock bulls. With another strong U.S. jobs report in the books, the Fed is widely expected to raise overnight interest rates on Wednesday, and is now seen delivering three rate hikes in 2017. Rising rates can boost bank profits, but bank profitability also hinges on the difference between short-term rates, like those set by the Fed and which tend to mark the cost for banks to acquire their funds, and long-term rates, which serve as benchmarks for what banks charge their customers for loans. When that difference, or spread, is large, bank profits can rise rapidly. When it narrows, or flattens, profit growth can suffer. At issue now is what some investors see as a growing risk of a flattening yield curve under a more aggressive rate-hike path by the Fed. Forwards pricing for 2- and 10-year Treasury yields suggests the spread between them will narrow to about 93 basis points by year-end from the current 122 points. That is why Jeffrey Gundlach, chief executive officer at DoubleLine Capital and an early buyer of the Trump rally, said he has sold his financial stocks. "When the Fed tightens more than once a year, historically it is very consistent with a flatter curve," Gundlach said. "The yield curve won''t help the sector." In the month after the Nov. 8 U.S. Presidential election the S&P 500 bank index rose 24 percent. Since then the stocks have risen 5.7 percent as many investors awaited concrete signs of regulatory and tax reform. "Post-election, that was the easy money on financials right there," DoubleLine''s Gundlach said. MORE THAN JUST THE CURVE To be sure, the bank rally has been grounded on more than just rate hike expectations and yield curve forecasts. Investor interest has also been stoked by assumptions about Trump''s agenda in Washington. Investors have been betting that Trump''s promises of tax cuts would boost consumer spending and company profits, which would drive loan demand. Meanwhile, his promise to slash regulations could also cut compliance costs and allow banks to expand their loan portfolios more rapidly than possible under restrictions imposed following the financial crisis. That is among the reasons why David Lebovitz, global market strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, still expects more gains for financial stocks. Even if regulatory and tax reform looks like it will take a long time, investors will likely be patient as long as Trump''s administration provides more specifics on its plans including timetables, Lebovitz said. But he cautioned that "disappointment on the policy front is the biggest risk" to stocks right now as investors have priced in policy changes already. Paul Nolte, portfolio manager at Kingsview Asset Management in Chicago, said that the bank sector''s outperformance may be "done" but stopped short of calling for a correction. "I''m not sure investors are looking at the shifting yields and market conditions. It seems to be buy and worry about the ''why'' later," he said. (Additional reporting by Jennifer Ablan and Richard Leong in New York.; Editing by Dan Burns and Meredith Mazzilli) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-weekahead-idUSL2N1GM25Y'|'2017-03-11T05:09:00.000+02:00' +'5ffdb6c5e8e998a294545625d4d1594d038642cf'|'Comcast''s Fandango Media to launch online merchandise store'|'Entertainment 9:05am EDT Comcast''s Fandango Media to launch online merchandise store Fandango Media LLC, a Web-based movie ticketing platform owned by Comcast Corp, said it would launch an online merchandise store next month. Fandango FanShop will offer curated wearables, collectibles, "experiences and events" tied to theatrical releases and movie franchises. FanShop''s initial offerings will feature gear from upcoming movies "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2", "Wonder Woman", "Despicable Me 3", Fandango Media said on Thursday. (Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel) Next In Entertainment News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-fandango-fanshop-idUSKBN16N1Q7'|'2017-03-16T20:03:00.000+02:00' +'64c6436869e1beee798b1a41b4850fc7a5438a24'|'Oil dips as rising US drilling offsets talk of an OPEC-led cut extension'|'By Henning Gloystein - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Oil prices dipped on Monday as rising U.S. drilling activity outweighed talks that an OPEC-led production cut initially due to end in mid-2017 may be extended.Prices for front-month Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil, eased 7 cents from their last close to $50.73 per barrel by 0145 GMT.In the United States, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 14 cents at $47.83 a barrel.Traders said that prices received some support from talks over the weekend between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers, including Russia, aimed at extending a production cut beyond the middle of the year in order to prop up the market."OPEC and non-OPEC decided to get ahead of the game this weekend, announcing they are reviewing whether the output curb deal should be extended," said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at futures brokerage OANDA in Singapore, adding that this had given crude some support.But the OPEC-led cuts were offset by rising drilling activity and oil production in the United States, which traders said contributed to financial traders reducing their long positions in crude futures to the lowest level since early December."The U.S. oil rig count continued its surge ... Since its trough on May 27, 2016, producers have added 336 oil rigs (+106 percent) in the U.S.," Goldman Sachs said in a note to clients.The U.S. bank said that should the rig count stay at the current levels and the impact of a backlog of previously closed rigs returning to production was considered, then U.S. oil production would rise by 235,000 bpd between the fourth quarter of 2016 and the first half of 2017.Since mid-2016, U.S. oil production has risen by 700,000 bpd, or 8.3 percent, to 9.13 million bpd, government data shows.(Reporting by Henning Gloystein; Editing by Richard Pullin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-oil-idINKBN16Y059'|'2017-03-27T00:21:00.000+03:00' +'1729f33e3bec92f981c192679d0feaaf32fa6da6'|'Asian shares advance, dollar supported by March rate hike bets'|'Business 23am IST Asian shares advance, dollar supported by March rate hike bets FULL COVERAGE: INDIA ELECTIONS 2017 FILE PHOTO: People are seen behind an electronic board showing stock prices after the New Year opening ceremony at the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), held to wish for the success of Japan''s stock market, in Tokyo, Japan, January 4, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon By Hideyuki Sano - TOKYO TOKYO Asian shares rose on Thursday as investors were encouraged by President Donald Trump''s measured tone in his first speech to Congress, which sent Wall Street stocks sharply higher, while growing bets on a U.S. rate hike this month buoyed the dollar. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.2 percent, led by rebound in Australian shares . Japan''s Nikkei .N225 rose 1.3 percent to a 14-month high. MSCI''s broadest gauge of the world''s stocks covering 46 countries .MIWD PUS rose nearly 1 percent to a record high, after posting its biggest daily gain in almost three months. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI blasted through the 21,000-point mark for the first time. Both the Dow and the S&P 500 .SPX rallied around 1.4 percent. Trump pledged to deliver "massive" tax relief to the middle class and corporate tax cuts, to spend heavily on infrastructure and to ease regulations -- steps that have helped to push U.S. stocks higher since his election victory in November. While Trump gave few new details on his tax or spending plans, investors were encouraged by what they saw as a less confrontational tone as he tries to push his agenda through a Congress reluctant to widen the government''s budget deficit. A rate hike by the Federal Reserve later this month also would signal policymakers'' growing confidence in U.S. and global economic expansion, as indicated by generally upbeat factory activity surveys on Wednesday. The S&P financial index .SPSY soared 2.84 percent after a few key Federal Reserve officials including New York Fed President William Dudley and San Francisco Fed President John Williams, hinted at an interest rate hike this month. Usually-dovish Fed Governor Lael Brainard also joined the chorus, saying an improving global economy and a solid U.S. recovery mean it will be "appropriate soon" for the Fed to raise rates. Government data indeed showed on Wednesday the largest monthly increase in inflation in four years eroded households'' purchasing power, supporting the case for a rate hike. "The U.S. economy is strong enough to allow the Fed to raise rates. And then we are going to have one trillion dollar public spending," said a trader at a European bank. "Under such conditions, we are likely to see a gradual rise in U.S. stocks, with volatility remaining low, until the Fed overkills the economy," he said. U.S. Treasuries yield jumped, with the two-year yield hitting a more than seven-year high of 1.308 percent US2YT=RR. Fed Funds rate futures FFH7 FFJ7 are now pricing in about an 80 percent chance that the Fed will bump up interest rates by 0.25 percentage point at its policy meeting on March 14-15, compared to around 30 percent at the start of this week. More Fed policy-setters, including Chair Janet Yellen and Vice Chair Stanley Fischer, will speak on Friday, likely providing further signals on the Fed''s policy path. In Europe, the premium investors demand for holding French bonds over German bonds shrank to the smallest in a month after scandal-hit French presidential candidate Francois Fillon vowed to stay in the election fight. That is perceived to contribute to limiting the chance of a victory by far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen, who could pull the country out of the euro zone and the European Union. In the currency market, the dollar benefited from rising expectations of a Fed rate hike. The dollar''s index against a basket of six major rivals .DXY rose to its highest level in seven weeks. The U.S. currency rose to 114.05 yen JPY= , its highest in two weeks, while the euro dipped to $1.0539 EUR= . The British pound sank to a six-week low of $1.2270 GBP=D4 as disappointing UK economic data added to political nerves that have begun to weigh on the currency again after last year''s Brexit vote. Oil prices CLc1 loitered within a familiar range, as record high U.S. crude supplies tempered support from evidences that OPEC producers are complying with an agreement to cut production. (Editing by Kim Coghill) U.S. stock investors say don''t worry, be happy NEW YORK The latest leg of the relentless rally in U.S. stocks since Donald Trump was elected president has all the hallmarks of being driven more by sentiment than sense, but that doesn''t mean the ride is over, although it could well be a bumpier one from here.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idINKBN16903T'|'2017-03-02T07:50:00.000+02:00' +'7bf6b6f7a1f75e20dc2c250c185087019e0e67b6'|'Exclusive: Novo Nordisk in bid for Global Blood Therapeutics - sources'|'Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk A/S ( NOVOb.CO ) has approached Global Blood Therapeutics Inc ( GBT.O ), a U.S. biotechnology company focused on serious blood disorders, to discuss a potential acquisition, people familiar with the matter said.Global Blood Therapeutics is now working with an investment bank to review its options, and there is no certainty that it will enter into negotiations with Novo Nordisk or that it will explore a sale, the people said this week.The sources asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential. Global Blood Therapeutics declined to comment, while Novo Nordisk did not respond to requests for comment.(Reporting by Carl O''Donnell and Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Additional reporting by Pamela Barbaglia in London and Arno Schuetze in Frankfurt; Editing by Nick Zieminski)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-globalbloodtherapeutics-m-a-novo-nord-idINKBN16F1ZI'|'2017-03-08T12:50:00.000+02:00' +'3a3186600a67d80203287d6103884fd10566ea13'|'Toshiba says not true it is considering selling shares in Toshiba Tec'|'Technology News - Sun Mar 12, 2017 - 8:27pm EDT Toshiba says not true it is considering selling shares in Toshiba Tec Reporters raise their hands for a question during a news conference by Toshiba Corp CEO Satoshi Tsunakawa and other senior sompany officials at the company''s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan February 14, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai TOKYO Toshiba Corp said on Monday it is not true that it is considering selling shares in its Toshiba Tec Corp unit. The Japanese industrial conglomerate denied a Nikkei business daily report that it was looking to sell shares in Toshiba Tec, a maker of cash register systems, as it seeks to plug an upcoming $6.3 billion writedown for its U.S. nuclear unit. Toshiba has selected an advisory firm to help find a buyer soon for Toshiba Tec, the paper said. The sale price for the entire 50.02 percent stake in Toshiba Tec would likely be around 100 billion yen ($870 million), the Nikkei said. (Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Stephen Coates) Next In Technology News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-toshiba-tec-idUSKBN16K00W'|'2017-03-13T07:27:00.000+02:00' +'25148a38782e47ad1dc6846275d0e7585055b387'|'John Lewis broke UK advertising rules by pulling Apple Watch deal - Business'|'John Lewis has been reprimanded by the advertising watchdog for running a Black Friday promotion offering the Apple Watch on sale, only to pull it from its website until the next day when it was marked up to full price.The ruling is a blow to the reputation of John Lewis , which prides itself on its clean corporate image. The retailer argued that the breach of the UK advertising code was a misunderstanding. In November, a promotion ran on johnlewis.com advertising the Apple Watch at 249 as part of its promise to match competitors prices.The company, which has used the strapline never knowingly undersold since 1925, ran the Apple Watch promotion at the same time as pushing a four-day Black Friday sales event promising that weve lowered hundreds of prices this weekend. The Advertising Standards Authority received a complaint from a shopper, who found that the Apple Watch was listed as out of stock when she tried to buy it but that it was made available the following day at full price. John Lewis posts record 200m sales week thanks to Black Friday Read more John Lewis said the Apple Watch deal had proved so popular that a decision was made to pull it from the price match sale over concerns they would not have enough stock to fulfil all orders. The company said it had boosted the Apple Watch back to full price the next day because the competitor had stopped running its promotion, and listed it as out of stock online until after the separate four-day Black Friday sale ended. John Lewis admitted that it might have stopped selling the discounted Apple Watch online sooner than it could have done. The company said that removing stock from sale was not a decision we would take lightly and that it had been done in good faith because Black Friday is the biggest retailing day of the year. The department store group reported its best ever weekly revenues of almost 200m last year thanks to Black Friday. The ASA said the advertising code states that promotions must be run equitably, promptly and efficiently and be seen to deal fairly and honourably with participants.It added: We considered John Lewiss action to make a product unavailable on their website while their competitors promotion was still running denied online consumers the opportunity to purchase at the price-match price, despite John Lewis still having stock available. We told John Lewis Partnership to ensure they dealt fairly with consumers in future. We told them to avoid causing unnecessary disappointment and not to withhold availability of promotional stock.A spokeswoman for the retailer said the issue had arisen because of a mix-up in interpretation of two different deals and the very limited stock of Apple Watches. Were disappointed by the ASAs decision, said the spokeswoman. We believe this is due to a misunderstanding of the difference between a one-day unplanned price match applied because of our never knowingly undersold policy and planned John Lewis four-day Black Friday promotions. The company said the breach of the UK ad code had prompted it to review how it advertises multiple promotions and deals to avoid any possible confusion happening again. We had very limited stock and continued to sell the watches in our shops, matching the competitors promotion for the one day that it ran, the spokeswoman said. Removing stock from sale is not a decision we would take lightly.John Lewis Retail industry Black Friday Apple Watch Apple Computing news Share Reuse this content'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/mar/08/john-lewis-uk-apple-watch-black-friday-online'|'2017-03-08T14:01:00.000+02:00' +'301e44c9c7a8d77c16eba0e392bd3a57610fcad4'|'Important progress on Greek bailout talks - euro zone fund'|' 29pm GMT Important progress on Greek bailout talks - euro zone fund BRUSSELS Greece and its international creditors made progress on talks to disburse new loans to Athens under a bailout programme but new meetings are necessary next week to reach a deal, the euro zone bailout fund said on Thursday. "Important progress has been made on a balanced fiscal package for the post-programme period and a number of key reforms, notably in the financial sector," a spokesman for the European Stability Mechanism said after meetings in Athens that involved euro zone creditors, the Internal Monetary Fund and the Greek government. But the spokesman added that other meetings will be necessary and have been scheduled for next week. The aim is to "rapidly" reach a technical agreement that could lead to a political deal at the next monthly meeting of euro zone finance ministers, scheduled in Brussels on March 20. The IMF participated in the talks "in the context of the negotiations of its own programme", the ESM spokesman said. The IMF has not yet decided whether to take part in the current 86-billion-euro bailout programme, the third since 2010 for the Mediterranean country. (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Mark Trevelyan) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-greece-esm-idUKKBN16G2NY'|'2017-03-10T01:29:00.000+02:00' +'4875b86a0bd5638e7853a4bc61d1a00c9dd21700'|'Oil majors still years from repairing balance sheets after price war'|'Global Energy News - Wed Mar 8, 2017 - 4:57pm GMT Oil majors still years from repairing balance sheets after price war left right A BP logo is seen at a petrol station in London, Britain January 15, 2015. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/File Photo 1/2 left right A Shell oil and gas sign is pictured near Nowshera, Pakistan''s northwest Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province September 8, 2010. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl/File Photo 2/2 By Ernest Scheyder and Gary McWilliams - HOUSTON HOUSTON Financially strapped oil producers are spending billions to boost production before it''s clear that recent crude price gains brought on by OPEC output cuts can be sustained. Five of the largest publicly traded oil companies - BP ( BP.L ), Chevron ( CVX.N ), Exxon Mobil ( XOM.N ), Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ), and Total ( TOTF.PA ) - are trying to work down debts that totalled $297 billion at the end of December. That nearly doubled the companies'' 2012 debt levels. But even with oil prices about 70 percent higher than a year ago, most companies have yet to reach the point where their cash flow covers annual shareholder payouts and expansion projects vital to the industry''s long-term survival. Add other expenses, such as the interest on debt, and the break-even point is pushed out until at least 2020, industry analysts from Citigroup ( C.N ) estimated. "For the entire oil and gas industry, balance sheets have never been worse," said Fadel Gheit, an Oppenheimer & Co oil industry analyst. Producers, he said, "were in critical condition and have been upgraded to guarded." For a graphic on oil majors'' debt, cash flow and capital spending, see: tmsnrt.rs/2mzgTVc For now, U.S. producers are taking advantage of the price increase spurred by OPEC''s production cuts to boost their output. Some of the oil they are pumping would not have been profitable at $40 a barrel, but is with prices holding steady above $50. The industry is betting that prices will maintain a delicate balance - high enough to repair balance sheets and finance new projects, but not so high that it creates a new glut. If crude LCoC1 maintains a price in the mid-$50s per barrel, the biggest oil producers could see their cash flows increase by 71 percent on average over 2016, according to Citigroup. The danger is that too many wells could come back online too soon, undercutting OPEC''s effort to reduce global inventories. That could send prices back to the 12-year lows of early 2016. U.S. shale producers in March are forecast to pump 79,000 barrels a day (bpd) more than in February, when shale contributed about 4.75 million bpd to U.S. output, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency, reversing production declines last year. Shale output could rise more than 500,000 bpd by the end of the year, said Daniel Yergin, vice chairman of analysis firm IHS Markit ( INFO.O ) and an oil historian. "U.S. shale has demonstrated that it''s still a player," Yergin said in an interview. "It''s going to continue to be a major factor in the global market." SPENDING AGAIN Most majors are planning strong production growth until at least 2021, a Reuters analysis of the latest investor presentation and corporate plans showed. The firms - Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, BP, Total, Statoil ( STL.OL ) and Eni ( ENI.MI ) - plan to grow output by a combined 15 percent in the next five years. It could take another year before the biggest companies'' cash from operations exceeds their combined capital spending and dividends, Citigroup estimated. It projects the major oil producers will need to sell their oil for between $55 and $60 per barrel this year just to cover those two big costs. Chevron Corp, which expects positive cash flow this year, says it could generate an additional $3.5 billion selling its oil at $55 a barrel, a figure predicted to be 2017''s average price in a Reuters poll of analysts and economists. [O/POLL] Exxon Mobil Corp and BP have signalled they will spend more on expansion projects this year than in 2016, a sign of optimism about stronger pricing. Higher production could deliver fresh money that can be used to hire workers, reduce debt or boost shareholder payouts. It would also be a welcome turn for an industry that has been spending more cash than it generates and borrowing to pay dividends that shareholders expect, regardless of the state of the industry. John Watson, Chevron''s chief executive, said in late January he wants to "maintain and grow" the oil giant''s dividend, calling it his top priority. Chevron is winding down construction of several big projects, helping to stem its past spending rate and generate more revenue as new operations come online. France''s Total SA ( TOTF.PA ) is raising its dividend by 1.6 percent this year, the first time in three years, and says it expects to cover its capital spending and cash dividend with oil above $50 a barrel. The gains are driven largely by the OPEC output cut in November - the first in eight years. The agreement to reduce supply by about 1.8 million barrels a day runs through June, and OPEC and Russia are expected to review the cut in May. Some analysts expect the agreement to be extended, but the cartel could just as easily resume higher production, squelching the industry''s nascent financial recovery. Torgrim Reitan, head of U.S. operations for Statoil - Norway''s state-owned firm - said he has "stopped guessing" what OPEC might do in crafting the company''s plans. We need to be prepared for volatility," he said in an interview at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston. "This is the time for leadership in the oil industry, the time for making the right decisions that will fuel growth." THE SHALE ADVANTAGE Unlike the major producers, U.S. shale companies are better equipped to live with volatility. When prices rise, they ramp up drilling and lock in returns with price hedges, which Chevron, Exxon and other large producers typically don''t do. When prices fall, shale producers can more easily cut spending than the majors because of their small size. Shale producers'' ability to pour more of their new cash into production is feeding technology developments that allow them to squeeze more oil out of existing wells and at a faster pace than a few years ago. "Those who withstood the storm and survived have learned just how nimble they can be," said Avi Mirman, chief executive of Lilis Energy Inc ( LLEX.PK ), a shale oil producer in west Texas. Similar approaches are belatedly being adopted by the biggest producers. Chevron is embracing a short-cycle approach to investing in projects that can go into production in months, not years. However, Alastair Syme, who tracks global oil and gas companies for Citigroup, cautions the continued cost reductions by shale producers could thwart OPEC''s ability to prop oil prices through production cuts, undercutting the cash flows needed to rebuild. "If shale producers can grow U.S. supply at between 1 million and 1.5 million barrels a day, it''ll be a challenge for everyone to respond to that," he said in an interview. (Editing by Simon Webb and Brian Thevenot) Next In Global Energy News UPDATE 1-Kurds, Baghdad agree to keep Kirkuk crude flowing to Turkey, official says SULAIMANIYA, Iraq, March 8 The Kurdish group that controls Iraq''s Kirkuk oilfields has agreed with Baghdad to keep crude flowing from the region through a pipeline to a Turkish export terminal on the Mediterranean, a Kurdish official told Reuters on Wednesday. Jailhouse shock: Taiwan prison aims to jump-start island''s solar power dream PINGTUNG, Taiwan On Pingtung jail''s sunlit roof, prisoner no. 24 has a view of a brighter future. Ex-cop Chen, serving time for bribery, is learning how to install solar panels in a program that''s part of Taiwan''s shimmering vision of a future without nuclear power. Jailhouse shock: Taiwan prison aims to jump-start island''s solar power dream PINGTUNG, Taiwan, March 8 On Pingtung jail''s sunlit roof, prisoner no. 24 has a view of a brighter future. Ex-cop Chen, serving time for bribery, is learning how to install solar panels in a programme that''s part of Taiwan''s shimmering vision of a future without nuclear power. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ceraweek-spending-idUKKBN16F26D'|'2017-03-08T23:57:00.000+02:00' +'432a61a88222d283497305be45fd8375e4462aad'|'UPDATE 1-Co-op in talks with multiple bidders but break-up seen inevitable- sources'|'* Bidders keen to pick assets rather than full takeover - sources* Virgin Money, OneSavings Bank among industry bidders - sources* Cerberus, Apollo among investors eyeing assets - sources (Adds details on bidders, context)By Pamela Barbaglia and Rahul BMarch 24 Britain''s Co-operative Bank said on Friday its ongoing sales process has drawn interest from multiple bidders after the ailing British lender put itself up for sale in February.Sources close to the process told Reuters that most bidders are interested in specific assets only as they see little value in buying the whole group. Others like Spain''s Banco Sabadell have ruled out making a move for Co-op.The lender, which has four million customers, urgently needs to raise capital to avoid the risk of being wound down. It has not made a profit since 2011 and needs to repay 400 million pounds worth of bonds that mature in September.On Feb. 13 it announced plans to find a new owner after it struggled to meet regulatory capital requirements.Its advisers Bank of America and UBS have asked interested parties to submit non-binding offers ahead of a deadline of Apr. 3, one of the sources said.The bidding field includes rival lender Virgin Money as well as private equity-backed OneSavings Bank, which is held by JC Flowers, the sources said.A spokesman at Virgin Money declined to comment, while OneSavings Bank could not immediately be reached.A plethora of investment firms have set their sights on Co-op''s bad debt and are hoping for a break-up of the Manchester-based lender into a good and bad bank.These investors, often dubbed "vulture funds", include Cerberus, Fortress and Apollo among others, the sources said.Cerberus declined to comment while representatives at Fortress and Apollo were not immediately available for comment.Co-Op Bank, rescued from the brink of collapse by a group of hedge funds in 2013, said it would provide additional information to selected parties to proceed with their offers.But sources said there''s lukewarm interest in buying the whole bank and bidders are fairly confident that the ailing lender will be chopped up and sold in pieces."The upcoming round of bids is irrelevant because no one will come close to matching price expectations," one of the sources said. "A break-up of the bank is inevitable."The bank, which is being closely watched by UK regulators, said it would continue to negotiate an equity raising plan from existing and new capital providers as an alternative to the sale process.It expects to make a "significant loss" for last year despite making progress in implementing a turnaround plan and cutting its cost base by a fifth since 2014. (Additional reporting by Lawrence White; Editing by Susan Thomas and Elaine Hardcastle)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/co-operativ-bank-sale-idINL5N1H11W5'|'2017-03-24T11:35:00.000+03:00' +'3b926d84d1836501a9f945d45e113a597dbffeeb'|'BRIEF-Maiden Holdings announces brief 10-K filing delay'|' 55pm EST BRIEF-Maiden Holdings announces brief 10-K filing delay March 1 Maiden Holdings Ltd: * Maiden Holdings announces brief 10-K filing delay for completion of final audit procedures; no material weaknesses in internal controls identified * Says company plans to file a form 12B-25 with securities and exchange commission Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-maiden-holdings-announces-brief-idUSFWN1GE18W'|'2017-03-02T04:55:00.000+02:00' +'2b4b9d33b221185cf5a1f1dd8b5a0b395ca2c2cc'|'French prosecutor opens Fiat Chrysler emissions investigation-source'|'Company News 35pm EDT French prosecutor opens Fiat Chrysler emissions investigation-source PARIS, March 21 A French prosecutor has opened an investigation into Fiat Chrysler over allegations that the carmaker cheated in diesel emission tests, a judicial source said on Tuesday. "I can confirm that a judicial investigation has been opened into aggravated cheating," the source said. (Reporting by Chine Labbe and Laurence Frost; Writing by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Greg Mahlich) Next In Company News UPDATE 1-Brazil strives to quell meat scandal as Hong Kong bans imports LAPA, Brazil, March 21 Brazilian authorities on Tuesday began scouring meat plants closed after a probe into corruption by health inspectors and the alleged sale of rotten products, as Hong Kong dealt a blow to the world''s top beef and poultry exporter with an import ban.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/france-fiat-chrysler-diesel-idUSP6N1EW00L'|'2017-03-22T00:35:00.000+02:00' +'caf16601b6a53e747bc9d3a27ac0df44eed8e389'|'CEE MARKETS-Assets retreat ahead of Romanian bond auction'|'* Zloty, forint off multi-week highs * Leu near multi-year low, IMF warns over budget deficit * Romania holds bond auction, two previous auctions failed * Equities also retreat after post-Fed gains By Sandor Peto BUDAPEST, March 20 Central European currencies and stocks gave up ground on Monday after Friday''s warning from the International Monetary Fund about a rise in Romania''s budget deficit and ahead of a government bond auction in Bucharest. Regional assets had firmed last week as risk appetite rose after the Federal Reserve suggested that future U.S. rate hikes will not come as quickly as expected. That change mainly helped regional currencies and stocks, while the prospect of rising U.S. interest rates keeps bond yields in Central Europe near their highest levels for months. The leu and Romanian government bonds have underperformed regional peers this year due to huge protests against corruption last month and concerns that the budget deficit will overshoot targets under the new leftist government. The IMF warned on Friday that the shortfall could far exceed targets this year and next, bloated by tax cuts and wage hikes, unless the government takes adjustment measures. The leu fell 0.2 percent against the euro on Monday to 4.562, piercing the 4.56 line at which the central bank intervened several times in the past years to defend the currency. The forint and the zloty eased 0.1 percent, but they stayed near the multi-week highs, which they reached on Friday, while the leu is near its weakest levels for almost 4 years. Romania, which rejected all bids at two bond tenders earlier this month, offers 10-year bonds at an auction on Monday. A long-duration paper like that may not be the best offer amid expectations for a global yield rise, but its high coupon and the relatively good liquidity of the bond may counterbalance the duration risk somewhat, Raiffeisen analyst Stephan Imre said in a note. "Verbal interventions by the central bank hinting at its readiness to defend the RON in line with its earlier practice when the currency was breaking levels slightly above 4.55/EUR would be definitely a catalyst for a successful auction," he added. Hungarian and Polish government bonds were treading water near their highest levels for months. "Inflation figures released in the region recently may have shifted expectations for the yield trajectories towards higher levels," one Budapest-based fixed income trader said. Hungarian short-term debt and money market yields, meanwhile, hover near zero, kept low by the policy of the Hungarian central bank which will hold a meeting next week. "Due to the improving growth and inflation trends, it will become difficult for the central bank to justify loose monetary policy," said Monika Kiss, analyst of Equilor brokerage. CEE SNAPS AT 1047 MARKETS HOT CET CURRENCIES Lates Previ Daily Chang t ous e bid close chang in e 2017 Czech crown 27.02 27.02 +0.0 -0.05 00 35 1% % Hungary 308.6 308.4 -0.05 0.06% forint 500 850 % Polish 4.285 4.282 -0.06 2.77% zloty 0 6 % Romanian 4.562 4.554 -0.17 -0.59 leu 0 1 % % Croatian 7.407 7.410 +0.0 2.00% kuna 0 2 4% Serbian 123.8 123.9 +0.1 -0.38 dinar 200 900 4% % Note: daily calculate previ close 1800 change d from ous at CET STOCK S Lates Previ Daily Chang t ous e close chang in e 2017 Prague 979.4 980.7 -0.14 +6.2 5 9 % 8% Budapest 32434 32778 -1.05 +1.3 .87 .00 % 5% Warsaw 2278. 2296. -0.82 +16. 18 97 % 95% Bucharest 7966. 7969. -0.03 +12. 95 41 % 45% Ljubljana 801.8 801.7 +0.0 +11. 2 2 1% 74% Zagreb 2163. 2177. -0.64 +8.4 31 24 % 5% Belgrade <.BELEX15 745.7 744.2 +0.1 +3.9 > 2 9 9% 5% Sofia 635.6 634.9 +0.1 +8.3 2 8 0% 9% BONDS Yield Yield Sprea Daily d (bid) chang vs chang e Bund e in Czech sprea Republic d 2-year 7 bps ps 5-year 2 bps 10-year bps s Poland 2-year 3 bps s 5-year bps 10-year bps FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M inter bank Czech Rep < 0.29 0.32 0.42 0 PRIBOR=> Hungary < 0.32 0.42 0.59 0.23 BUBOR=> Poland < 1.78 1.81 1.87 1.73 WIBOR=> Note: FRA are for Quote: s ask prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets-idINL5N1GX1XQ'|'2017-03-20T07:35:00.000+02:00' +'ff268f49bcd006adf0948f6da4a8ed0b67bd4fba'|'Sears raises doubts about ability to continue as going concern'|'Business News - 25pm EDT Sears raises doubts about ability to continue as going concern A Sears department store is seen in New Hyde Park, New York, U.S., January 5, 2017. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton Beleaguered retailer Sears Holdings Corp ( SHLD.O ) on Tuesday warned about its ability to continue as a going concern. "Our historical operating results indicate substantial doubt exists related to the company''s ability to continue as a going concern," Sears said in the annual report for the fiscal year ended Jan. 28. ( bit.ly/2mRUcce ) However, Sears said actions taken to boost liquidity during the year, including the sale of the Craftsman tool brand to power tool maker Stanley Black & Decker Inc ( SWK.N ), could mitigate the going concern doubt. (Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sears-going-concern-idUSKBN16S2WG'|'2017-03-22T05:12:00.000+02:00' +'287fea78db5388bbf12c69e49218f4d6862158dd'|'EU adopts rules to curtail executive pay, avoid short-term investing'|' 34pm GMT EU adopts rules to curtail executive pay, avoid short-term investing A woman walks past the European flag outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium March 1, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman BRUSSELS Shareholders in listed European Union companies will have a greater say in setting executive pay under new rules adopted by EU lawmakers on Tuesday. Investors in the more than 8,000 listed companies on EU markets will be able to issue binding votes on remuneration policies, although EU states are free to make this advisory and will have about two years to enact them in national law. The Parliament''s vote came after a deal reached in December with representatives of the 28 EU states on measures which are also meant to encourage long-term investment in listed firms by asset managers, insurers and pension funds and avoid short-termism. "For a stable European economy, it is essential to look beyond fast profits and focus on long-term success," Vera Jourova, the EU commissioner in charge of the dossier, said. The rules were proposed in 2014 in the wake of the global financial crisis and the euro zone debt crisis which put the short-term practices of the financial sector under scrutiny. It also drew attention to what managers were paid, which was often "perceived as undue in the light of the weak performance of the director or the difficult situation of the company", the Commission said in a note. "There will be a more direct link between directors'' pay and companies'' results," said Sergio Cofferati, the center-left lawmaker who steered the new rules through the EU legislature. To counter short-termism, insurers and pension funds, which hold most of the shares of listed companies, will have to show their investment strategy, without revealing sensitive details. The increased transparency is expected to extend the average shareholding period from eight months, the Commission said. (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Alexander Smith) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eu-markets-pay-idUKKBN16L1G0'|'2017-03-14T19:33:00.000+02:00' +'aac963ee9abeb84438f9e357105350c5b040fbbb'|'Snapchat said to be valued at nearly $24 billion - Mar. 1, 2017'|'Pondering Snap''s IPO over laser tag and paintball Even concerns about Snapchat''s slowing user growth aren''t stopping investors from clamoring for its stock. Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, priced its initial public offering at $17 a share on Wednesday, according to multiple reports . It had previously proposed a range of $14 to $16 a share. At that price, Snap would have a market value of nearly $24 billion, making it the largest U.S. tech IPO since Facebook ( FB , Tech30 ) . Reps for Snap did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "The demand for the Snap IPO has been very, very strong," says Jeff Zell, an analyst with IPO Boutique, a research firm. "Even the original naysayers and detractors from the deal have pretty much softened their negativity." Snap is scheduled to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday. Related: Snapchat''s $4 billion man The young company saw user growth slow to a halt in the final months of last year, according to its original IPO filing last month. The slowdown coincided with Facebook''s Instagram launching a Snapchat copycat feature. Snap''s sales are growing at a fast pace, rising to more than $400 million in 2016 from just $58.7 million in 2015. Most analysts expect Snap to report around $1 billion in sales this year. But Snap continues to struggle to make money -- and it signaled a profit may not be coming soon. The company suffered losses of $515 million in 2016, up from a loss of $373 million the year before. Some of the IPO demand can be chalked up to Snapchat being a well-known consumer brand -- and one of the only billion-dollar tech startups going public. "It''s going to be bringing a different type of investor to the table," Zell says. "Everyone has heard of it." The company will take in more than $3 billion from the public offering. Those funds will give Snap greater ability to compete for talent and acquisitions against larger Internet companies like Facebook. "We may also use a portion of the net proceeds to acquire complementary businesses, products, services, or technologies," Snap said in its filing. "However, we are not contemplating any material acquisitions at this time." Related: Snapchat''s IPO has a Twitter problem The Snapchat app launched in 2011 and set itself apart from other messaging services with a focus on disappearing messages. It initially developed a reputation as a service for sending salacious pictures, but has since moved far beyond that. Snapchat''s success has forced larger tech services like Facebook, Twitter ( TWTR , Tech30 ) and Instagram to clone its features, with mixed success. Facebook famously tried to acquire the company for $3 billion in 2013. The sum sounded outlandish at the time -- now, not so much. CNNMoney (New York) First published March 1, 2017: 5:00 PM ET'|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_technology.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/03/01/technology/snap-ipo-final-pricing/index.html'|'2017-03-02T00:00:00.000+02:00' +'89f173581ea06b1a9b803572ab3b09471b1f85c0'|'RWE weighs options as utility M&A talk picks up'|'ESSEN, Germany German utility RWE ( RWEG.DE ) is considering options including tie-ups with rivals and the sale of a stake in its Innogy ( IGY.DE ) business, its chief executive said, raising the prospect for large M&A deals in the crisis-hit sector."We are in regular contact with a large number of market participants. We are constantly examining all strategic options our company is faced with," RWE Chief Executive Rolf Martin Schmitz told journalists at a news conference on Tuesday to present the company''s annual earnings.His remarks follow a report by Bloomberg saying that French energy group Engie ( ENGIE.PA ) was weighing a bid for its networks, renewables and retail unit Innogy, in which RWE holds a 76.8 percent stake after a separate listing last year.When asked specifically about speculation that RWE could be a suitor for smaller peer Uniper ( UN01.DE ), spun off by rival E.ON ( EONGn.DE ) last year, Schmitz said: "We are examining all options. And all options means all options."The talk of interest in German utilities reflects efforts by RWE and E.ON to restructure after Germany''s focus on promoting renewable energy virtually destroyed their established business model of selling power from fossil-fuel plants.Shares in RWE and Innogy were up 8.7 and 7.4 percent respectively, with traders pointing to the possibility of wider consolidation in the sector should a bid materialize. Uniper shares gained 4.4 percent while Engie''s traded 1.5 percent lower.ENGIE''S AIMSAnalysts at Morgan Stanley said a takeover of Innogy by Engie would make sense, adding it would give Engie access to customers in Britain, networks in Germany and raise its share of regulated profits.Engie Chief Executive Isabelle Kocher is pushing a strategy shift to focus the former French monopoly gas utility more on grids and renewables, but she has given no indication that she wants a transformative deal.The French company''s shares are down more than 70 percent from their 2008 highs and are trading well below book value, which would make financing such a big acquisition with a capital increase very expensive.Analysts at HSBC do not expect Engie to make a bid for Innogy, they said in a report, adding the German company''s mix of assets did not meet the French group''s "growth ambitions where energy efficiency and solar play a large part".Innogy and Engie, in which the French state holds a 28.65 percent stake, declined to comment.Innogy has a market valuation of almost 20 billion euros ($21.3 billion). Its shares listed at a price of 36 euros last October in Germany''s largest listing since 2000, and traded at 35.93 euros on Tuesday."There should also be a positive read across for E.ON, who could be an equally attractive (and cheaper) acquisition target for Engie, if RWE were to reject its offer," Bernstein analyst Deepa Venkateswaran said.RWE has previously said it wanted to remain a majority shareholder in Innogy in the long-term. It said on Tuesday that a supervisory board decision was in place that enabled RWE to cut it stake in Innogy to 51 percent.RWE last month canceled its dividend for ordinary shares for the second year in a row, and Schmitz said on Tuesday it would not be a good idea to pay out dividends by going into debt or selling Innogy shares.(Additional reporting by Vera Eckert and Geert De Clercq in Paris; Editing by Keith Weir)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-innogy-m-a-engie-idUSKBN16K2IB'|'2017-03-14T15:09:00.000+02:00' +'da09927f5858e1c9a68c271e0ab2db1c816587dc'|'Goldman to move hundreds of staff from London pre-Brexit: Europe CEO'|'By Anjuli Davies - LONDON LONDON Goldman Sachs will begin moving hundreds of people out of London before any Brexit deal is struck as part of its contingency plans for Britain leaving the European Union, the Wall Street firm''s Europe CEO said."We are going to start to execute on those contingency plans," Richard Gnodde, chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs International, the European arm of the Wall Street bank, told CNBC on Tuesday."For this first period, this is really the period as we put in place contingency plans, this is in the hundreds of people as opposed to anything greater than that," he said.British Prime Minister Theresa May will trigger EU divorce proceedings on March 29, launching two years of negotiations that will shape the future of Britain and Europe.Leading financial firms warned for months before last year''s June referendum that they would have to move some jobs if there was a leave vote, and have been working on plans for how they would do so for the past several months.More details are emerging after May confirmed Britain would leave the European single market, ending banks'' hopes they might retain "passporting" rights that let them sell services across the EU from their London hubs.The bulk of Goldman''s European operations are in Britain, where it has around 6,000 employees, providing services including broking and market-making in securities, foreign-exchange trading and corporate finance across Europe.Gnodde said that the big question for contingency planning is whether Britain and the EU will agree on transitional arrangements as they try to hammer out a Brexit deal, which some fear could last beyond the two-year negotiation period."We can''t bank on them so we have to have contingency plans and that''s what are going to start to execute on."Initially, the Wall Street bank will start hiring people inside Europe and also moving some people out of London as well as investing in infrastructure and technology over the next 18 months to ensure that operations to service clients are up and running by the time Britain leaves the EU, said Gnodde.He declined to say which locations would benefit, though stated that the firm had banking licenses in France and Germany and offices in several European cities."In the next 18 months we will upgrade those facilities, we will be taking extra space in a number of them, and we will be increasing headcount and capability and infrastructure around those facilities.""What our eventual footprint will look like depends on the outcome of negotiations and what we''re obliged to do because of them. Whatever the scenario, whatever the outcome, London will remain for us a very significant regional hub and a very significant global hub," he added.(Editing by Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-goldman-sachs-idINKBN16S1C5'|'2017-03-21T08:59:00.000+02:00' +'497758cfc8ef80db34c2ef9737906c84c35915a2'|'Judge says Reuters story would breach Brevan Howard''s right to confidentiality'|'Business 36am EDT Judge says Reuters story would breach Brevan Howard''s right to confidentiality LONDON A story by Reuters about Brevan Howard Asset Management would breach the British hedge fund manager''s right to confidentiality and is not of sufficient public interest to justify it being published, a British court has ruled. Brevan Howard was granted an injunction last week to stop Reuters publishing a story that it said was based on confidential and "highly sensitive" information that had been sent out to 36 potential investors. The full judgment released on Tuesday found that while the story might have undermined Brevan Howard''s reputation, it lacked "weightier public interest" such as exposing hypocrisy or incompetence. "Publication would not be for the purposes of demonstrating any behavior which is even arguably behavior deserving of moral censure," judge Andrew Popplewell said in a redacted copy of his ruling. The judge said there was a public interest to protect sensitive commercial material that is given to potential investors. "If a financial institution could not provide such information with adequate protection of its confidentiality, it would be forced to be less candid with investors who would be less well informed in making their investments," he wrote. Reuters argued that hedge fund managers, such as Brevan Howard, invested on behalf of institutional investors including public pension funds, which affect the finances of millions of people globally. A Reuters spokeswoman said: "Our objective is to publish news and information which is in the public interest, which we believe outweighs the confidentiality concerns put forward in this matter. "We are therefore deeply disappointed by this ruling and are reviewing the court''s decision". A spokesman for Brevan Howard, one of Europe''s biggest hedge fund managers, said that the firm "welcomes the decision of the court that supports the importance of its ability to communicate with its investors in a candid and responsible manner". Reuters news agency is part of the Thomson Reuters media and information group. (Reporting by Rachel Armstrong; Editing by Pravin Char) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-brevan-howard-injunction-idUSKBN16Z1Y5'|'2017-03-28T22:29:00.000+03:00' +'1e790ecea4fc52753cf5a45aab6aab788a46e2ec'|'Brazil approves $3.9 billion BM&FBovespa-Cetip tie-up'|'BRASILIA/SAO PAULO Brazil''s antitrust watchdog Cade on Wednesday approved BM&FBovespa SA''s takeover of rival Cetip SA Mercados Organizados, and will not require any antitrust measures beyond those the exchange and clearinghouse firms proposed themselves.Three of four Cade board members decided to endorse the 12 billion-real ($3.9 billion) deal, which will involve independent pricing monitoring and platform access to rivals in terms previously proposed by the companies to the agency. Cristiane Alkmin, the case''s rapporteur, had sought tougher restrictions beyond those the companies agreed to.Ultimately, the plenary of Cade voted four-to-nil on approval to the deal, with the self-imposed restrictions. Shares of both companies surged.The spike in shares was "mainly due to the approval of the deal with remedies that were not very onerous," said Tito Labarta, an analyst with Deutsche Bank Securities in New York.The deal will give BM&FBovespa control of Cetip ( CTIP3.SA ), Latin America''s largest securities clearinghouse, with almost full control of Brazil''s market for registration and custody of local fixed-income instruments and over-the-counter derivatives.Currently BM&FBovespa enjoys a near monopoly on all trading, clearing and settlement services for locally traded shares and bourse-traded derivatives. Trading transactions in Brazil are settled through a central counterparty clearinghouse, a complex and capital-intensive venture that for years has helped drive newcomers away from BM&FBovespa''s turf.The so-called concentration control accord that BM&FBovespa presented to Cade agreed to create a committee to monitor pricing on some products and analyze requests from potential market newcomers to pay for the use of clearing and payment settlement platforms within the next 120 days.Terms of self-imposed remedies will remain in place for five years.Shares of BM&FBovespa ( BVMF3.SA ) closed 3.1 percent higher at 18.94 reais, after jumping as much as 7.1 percent during the session. Cetip''s stock added 1.4 percent to 48.30 reais.BM&FBovespa announced the deal in April, following repeated attempts to buy Cetip. The transaction would create the largest market structure player in Latin America, with stakes in Mexican, Colombian, Peruvian and Chilean counterparts.The accord has four main legs: implementing rules to access the combined entity''s post-trading capabilities in the equities segment; rules to treat clients equally; a compliance code for pricing for products and services, and; terms of access to the clearings and payment settlement platform.COMPETITORSPotential rivals demanded close monitoring of fulfillment of approval terms."Today''s historic ruling by Cade approves the BM&FBovespa-Cetip agreement but imposes important obligations on the firms that must be fulfilled in order to finalize their merger," exchange operator ATS Brasil said in a statement.ATS Brasil, which is still waiting for regulatory permission to start operations, said Cade''s ruling recognizes the shortcomings of Brazil''s market structure, such as high transactions costs. In September, ATS Brasil and parent company Americas Trading Group filed a complaint before Cade, alleging BM&FBovespa cut fees on cash equities trading and raised them for clearing and settlement services to discourage competition.Alkmin argued against BM&Bovespa''s self-imposed remedies for the deal."The problem is not competition, but the significant entry barriers that the deal poses," Alkmin said as she prepared to cast her vote on the deal in Brasilia. "By eliminating a competitor in a different market, in this case Cetip in the fixed income market, entry barriers will rise as a whole."The entity resulting from the combination of BM&FBovespa and Cetip is expected to generate some of the best operating readings among global exchanges, with margins and profit growth surpassing 70 percent and 10 percent a year, respectively, according to UBS Securities estimates.Fee-related income at the combined entity could rise to 50- percent of revenues, from BM&FBovespa''s current 20 percent, with trading-related income representing the other 50 percent, UBS analyst Frederic de Mariz said in a February client note.BM&FBovespa''s takeover of Cetip still requires regulatory approval by securities and exchange industry watchdog CVM, a decision that is highly expected.($1 = 3.0949 reais)(Additional reporting by Alberto Alerigi Jr and Bruno Federowski in So Paulo; Editing by David Gregorio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cetip-m-a-bm-f-bovespa-antitrust-idUSKBN16T35M'|'2017-03-23T01:11:00.000+02:00' +'1e560d8c15f08bd6e48648773edb51bc296a0e2d'|'Alcoa merges business units, names new aluminum unit head'|'Aluminum producer Alcoa Corp ( AA.N ) named a new head for its aluminum business on Thursday and said it would consolidate its business units into three divisions from six, to increase efficiency and cut costs.The three units will focus on aluminum, alumina and bauxite.The aluminum smelting, cast products and rolled products businesses, along with the majority of its energy business assets, will be combined into the new aluminum unit, Alcoa said.The company said Tim Reyes, who has since 2015 been president of Alcoa cast products - a unit that produces differentiated aluminum products - will head the new aluminum business.Martin Briere, who has been president of the aluminum unit focused on smelting since 2014, will leave the company, Alcoa said.Alcoa last year split into two entities. One company kept the Alcoa name and focuses on the traditional smelting business. The other, Arconic Inc ( ARNC.N ), specializes in higher-end aluminum and titanium alloys for the automotive, aerospace and construction industries.Alcoa expects a 4 percent growth in global aluminum demand this year, even as the market remains modestly over supplied, while bauxite and alumina markets are expected to be relatively balanced.The company''s shares were largely unchanged at $37.93 in morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange.(Reporting by Swetha Gopinath in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-alcoa-restructuring-idINKBN1691Z1'|'2017-03-02T12:43:00.000+02:00' +'ad6581390fe51a4fbb916e56e987df34d0d07264'|'BRIEF-Cohen & Steers announces preliminary assets under management Feb 28'|' 40am EST BRIEF-Cohen & Steers announces preliminary assets under management Feb 28 March 8 Cohen & Steers Inc * Cohen & Steers announces preliminary assets under management February 28, 2017 * Cohen & Steers Inc - Preliminary assets under management of $59.1 billion as of February 28, 2017, an increase of $1.5 billion from January 31, 2017 Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-cohen-steers-announces-preliminary-idUSASB0B4BZ'|'2017-03-08T18:40:00.000+02:00' +'f3a6e09bacb7eb241568fbb625cba9f97aded874'|'Euro zone more willing to change after Brexit - top official'|' 8:48am BST Euro zone more willing to change after Brexit - top official left right European Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen is interviewed by Reuters on the fringe of a European People Party (EPP) summit in St Julian''s, Malta, March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi 1/3 left right European Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen is interviewed by Reuters on the fringe of a European People Party (EPP) summit in St Julian''s, Malta, March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi 2/3 left right European Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen is interviewed by Reuters on the fringe of a European People Party (EPP) summit in St Julian''s, Malta, March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi 3/3 By Robin Emmott ST JULIAN''S, Malta The next steps in euro zone integration after Brexit could include greater investment in poorer members of the currency area, but only if they reduce the risky links between governments and banks, a top EU official said. Britain''s pending departure from the European Union has reignited the debate on how to reinvigorate the bloc and make the euro zone stronger and more sustainable, despite different views held by France and Germany. European Commission Vice President Jyrki Katainen said his political family, the powerful European People''s Party (EPP) that includes German Chancellor Angela Merkel, was ready to consider funding investment to weak members of the euro zone. That falls well short of long-held French demands, quashed by Germany, to coordinate economic policy across the euro zone and preside over fiscal transfers between its 19 members. But the centre-right EPP, whose lawmakers hold the most seats in the European Parliament, is more open to what Katainen called an "investment capacity", potentially backing projects through the EU''s new infrastructure investment fund via the European Investment Bank. "It''s understandable that in economics there are cycles and in order to keep a currency union as stable as possible, there''s a need to level the peaks and troughs," Katainen told Reuters an interview on Friday after an EPP congress in Malta. "If there are shocks in some members that are cyclical in nature, it makes sense to help," he said. Following the euro zone''s near break-up during the 2010-2012 crisis, many economists argued the currency area could only survive as a proper monetary union like the United States. That would mean a new European economic governance, possibly with a euro finance minister who has the means to make fiscal transfers from richer to poorer euro zone states. The idea has been anathema to Germany''s ruling class, with Merkel''s government having rejected any form of permanent transfers to poorer countries, fearing Berlin would have to foot the bill and would lose control of reckless spenders. But Katainen, a former Finnish prime minister whose country was among those who allied with Germany on the issue during the crisis, said he sensed a change in northern politicians. "I see more willingness to consider what the ideal currency union would look like," said Katainen. "My own thinking has also changed. It doesn''t cost anything to be open minded." While Britain is not a member of the euro zone, its decision to trigger exit proceedings from the EU on Wednesday has left officials looking for ways to keep European integration alive. "NO TRUST" The European Commission, the EU executive, is expected to come forward with a so-called reflection paper on deepening euro zone integration in May, although Katainen is not involved in that work. He said he spoke only for the EPP on the matter. "Because of Brexit, the sentiment of the remaining 27 countries on reforming the EU has strengthened, with a focus on EMU," Katainen said, referring to Economic and Monetary Union. The euro zone, the economic core of the 60-year-old European project, tightened fiscal rules and created its own rescue fund and a common supervisor for banks during the heat of the crisis but is still considered by many as incomplete. However, Katainen cautioned that the biggest obstacle was the lack of trust between members of the euro zone. "We don''t trust each other as much as we should." One step proposed by the EPP is for the euro zone to establish limits on the amount of money governments can borrow from euro zone banks to avoid crises that would wipe out lenders if a country defaulted. Domestic debt in the euro zone averaged almost 120 percent of banks own funds at the end of 2013, according to the EPP. For banks, EU rules that consider sovereign debt as having a zero-risk weighting on balance sheets are a problem, Katainen said because bonds issued by euro zone governments are considered risk-free by their bankers. "This is a viscous circle that must be broken. We must be ready to defend countries but we must also address the root causes of any crisis," he said. (Reporting by Robin Emmott; Editing by Vin Shahrestani) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-integration-idUKKBN1720TF'|'2017-03-31T15:48:00.000+03:00' +'18b1b9f83735e42ed3b6195ae3f60c9c9c227772'|'KKR, CDPQ to buy insurance brokerage USI'|'Private equity firm KKR ( KKR.N ) and Canadian pension fund Caisse de dpt et placement du Qubec (CDPQ) agreed to buy USI Insurance Services from Onex Corp ( ONEX.TO ) in a $4.3 billion deal, including debt.USI delivers property and casualty, employee benefits, personal risk and retirement solutions.The Valhalla, New York-based company had net debt of about $1.82 billion as of Dec. 31 and generated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $353 million in 2016.Private equity firm Onex acquired USI in December 2012 for $2.3 billion from Goldman Sachs Group Inc''s ( GS.N ) private equity arm, funding $702 million of that through equity and borrowing the rest with debt placed on the company.Onex will receive proceeds of about $2.1 billion after the deal closes.(Reporting by Sweta Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-usiinsuranceservices-m-a-kkr-idINKBN16O1FT'|'2017-03-17T09:24:00.000+02:00' +'733d3c192522a72b8cf9ccffb3872e5adbd61731'|'INTTRA buys European container tracking firm Avantida'|'LONDON U.S. shipping technology company INTTRA has agreed to buy European container tracking firm Avantida to reduce costs by coordinating land and ocean container movements, it said on Tuesday.Belgium-based Avantida specializes in tracking empty containers and its technology helps cut costs for transport companies, enabling exporters to ship more efficiently."Avantida has products and customer bases that are highly complementary to those of INTTRA," its CEO John Fay said.INTTRA, which runs one of the largest electronic transaction software platforms in the shipping industry, said industry experts estimate that finding and repositioning empty containers costs the ocean shipping industry up to $20 billion a year, approximately 40 percent of handling costs.The deal will help INTTRA''s clients minimize miles driven, increase container velocity and lower costs for carriers and transport companies. It will also provide access to seven European markets where Avantida is active, including Germany, France, Italy and Spain.Terms of the deal were not disclosed.(Reporting by Pamela Barbaglia, editing by Louise Heavens)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-avantida-m-a-inttra-idINKBN16L0RS'|'2017-03-14T05:34:00.000+02:00' +'dc752c6dc88ed4897a0e0092f4387db5269e819f'|'Exclusive: HSBC to boost China staff by up to 1,000 in 2017, mostly in Pearl River Delta'|'Business News 4:29am EDT Exclusive: HSBC to boost China staff by up to 1,000 in 2017, mostly in Pearl River Delta left right People walk past a major branch of HSBC at the financial Central district in Hong Kong, China February 21, 2017. REUTERS/Bobby Yip 1/2 left right Logos of HSBC are displayed at a major branch at the financial Central district in Hong Kong, China February 21, 2017. REUTERS/Bobby Yip 2/2 By Sumeet Chatterjee - HONG KONG HONG KONG HSBC ( HSBA.L ) plans to add as many as 1,000 new employees to its Chinese retail banking and wealth management arm this year, the business''s regional head said, most of them in the Pearl River Delta, the heart of the bank''s growth strategy in China. If that target is hit, the new additions will mean HSBC will have hired twice as many people as it did last year for this part of the business. They will join an existing team for this unit of 2,400 employees in the world''s second-largest economy. HSBC has made the southern Pearl River Delta region - home to 11 industrial cities that are set to fuse into one megalopolis - its focus in China, betting on its growth and its own Hong Kong heritage. This region already has an economy larger than Indonesia''s and is shifting from a manufacturing base to a tech powerhouse. But since the strategy to reinvigorate profit growth after years of restructuring was announced in 2015, China''s economic growth has slowed, delaying the bank''s plans. HSBC makes more than half of its profit in Asia, the bulk of it in Hong Kong and China. "As of this point, we are very pleased with the progress in the Pearl River Delta. We certainly aren''t taking any backward steps," Kevin Martin, HSBC''s Asia Pacific head of retail banking and wealth management, told Reuters. HSBC''s latest numbers for China retail and wealth management business suggest growth remained strong, with its customer base as well as mortgage volume expanding by 51 percent in the Pearl River Delta last year. It issued over 100,000 credit cards since launching it in December across all cities in the Pearl River Delta and 30 other cities in the country, Martin said. "We have done a lot of things in the Pearl River Delta ... It remains one of the key opportunities for us." Of the total 2,400 staff for retail and wealth management in China, about 800 are in the Pearl River Delta, the bank said, adding 60 percent of the hiring last year was for the southern region that counts Shenzhen and Guangzhou among its biggest cities. HSBC Group Finance Director Iain Mackay said last month the bank''s operating profit in China in 2016 was about $200 million lower than the previous year. That was mainly due to investments to grow the Pearl River Delta business and in financial-crime risk-management standards in China, he said. CHINA CALLING The bank''s outgoing top management campaigned heavily to promote the region and its role in HSBC''s China strategy. Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver, took analysts and investors on a tour of its operations there a year ago, promoting the region''s role as a gateway to tech businesses like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd ( BABA.N ) and Tencent Holdings Ltd ( 0700.HK ) as well as new start-ups. Although investors have supported the plan, there has been increasing concern over the last few months about risks the lender faces in its Asia "pivot" strategy, due to the sluggish pace of China''s economic recovery and the patchy pace of development in the Pearl River Delta. Some sectors have struggled in the face of falling exports and tighter credit conditions. Gulliver said in February 2016 that the bank, which is facing downward pressure on its revenue in 2017 due to regulatory costs and lower rates in Britain, planned to hire 4,000 new staff in the region over five years instead of its initial three-year target. But Martin brushed aside concerns that HSBC''s investment could be scaled back as China''s economic growth slows, saying the bank remained committed to the region. HSBC''s newly appointed chairman, Mark Tucker, has also had an intense focus on Asia, most recently as head of insurer AIA Group Ltd ( 1299.HK ). "We will see and we have seen it already even at 6.5 percent growth rate, (there is) massive underlying growth for China," Martin said. "Clearly there''s real upside on that for us." (Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Randy Fabi) Next In Business News All drill, no frack: U.S. shale leaves thousands of wells unfinished NEW YORK U.S. shale producers are drilling at the highest rate in 18 months but have left a record number of wells unfinished in the largest oilfield in the country a sign that output may not rise as swiftly as drilling activity would indicate. SEATTLE A U.S. tax overhaul proposed by Republican leaders in Congress would deepen divisions between big manufacturers like Boeing Co and the thousands of smaller companies that supply them, according to suppliers and tax and trade experts. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-hsbc-china-exclusive-idUSKBN16V0VN'|'2017-03-24T16:29:00.000+03:00' +'ff610b9bbb25278b6badd21b0ac0cad7414be6f0'|'The SMEs cashing in on the weak pound Small Network -'|'F or the public, the price of Marmite was probably the most noticeable impact of the pound losing around 15% of its value since June last year. But the flipside of the coin is that many SMEs are reporting a boost in overseas sales caused by the weaker pound as well as improved sales on the high street as tourists are finding their currency goes much further.The phenomenon of new-found overseas success has even got its own name, with SMEs who are fuelling growth in foreign markets now referred to as Brexporters.A case in point is Wrendale Designs in Leicestershire. The five-year-old greetings card, home furnishings and giftware company began exporting to the US two and a half years ago. Co-founder Jack Dale explains the company has always dealt in dollars in the US and so fixed prices to assure a decent return when the exchange rate was around $1.60 to the pound. Now the rate has moved to around $1.20, margins are up considerably.Weve kept our prices constant but obviously the dollars were earning there convert in to around 15% more pounds, he says. Thats great news for us because we source nearly all our materials from inside the UK, which we buy in pounds. The US market is doing really well for us and its helping us to stay on track to grow turnover by 30% this year.Revealed: what small businesses want from Brexit negotiations Read more It will come as little surprise that tourist attractions are similarly claiming business is booming, even ahead of the traditionally busier summer period. Julie Trevisan Hunter, head of marketing at the Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh, reveals the attraction, which shows how whisky is made, has had its busiest year ever. Visitor levels are up 9% on last year and the number who take a tour is up 12%. She puts this down to two related developments.The weakness of the pound has made the Scotland an attractive holiday destination, particularly for short-haul travellers from Europe, she says. At the same time, the value of the pound versus the euro has made staycations much more attractive for people from the rest of the UK as well.Even when companies are not in a field you would readily associate with tourism, the weak pound can still have a major impact on the bottom line. That is certainly what fashion brand Gandys is finding.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Paul (left) and Rob Forkan, founders of sandal-making firm Gandys which is seeing a boost in sales from overseas visitors. Photograph: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images Co-founder Paul Forkan says that not only are online international sales up 21% in volume, and nearly 13% in the value, but in-store sales in London have seen a 14% boost in order value, largely due to shoppers from overseas.Were doing really well with tourists who are spending a lot more money in our flagship Spitalfields store in London because theyve effectively got a 15% discount, he says.Its far more noticeable than in our other store, in Tunbridge Wells, because of tourism levels. Were also seeing average basket values shoot up on international orders online for the same reason; when people choose to pay in pounds because their euros or dollars are going a lot further.This is exactly what Steve Sanger, founder of The Beard and the Wonderful , a male grooming brand that sells online through its own site and an eBay store, has been experiencing. It took a couple of months for the pound to weaken and for people abroad to realise what was happening but towards the end of last year, internationals sales just rocketed, he says, Before then around four-fifths of our business was in the UK but now its more like a 50/50 split. On a service like eBay youd be surprised how even on lower cost items a 15% discount may only bring your cost down by less than a pound but it gets you at the top of search results when people prioritise by price.London ''cheaper than New York or Tokyo'' after pound''s Brexit plunge Read more This emergence of Brexporters is not news to Michael McGowan, managing director of Bibby Foreign Exchange. He has seen a sharp rise in SMEs exporting and being more comfortable to deal in dollars and euros. His company allows hedging dollar and euro purchases, where an SME fixes a price a month or two in advance so they know they will have enough in the bank for an upcoming purchase. Similarly, business is brisk in turning dollars and euros earned abroad back in to pounds.A few years ago many British SMEs were resistant to selling in another currency but since the drop in the pound, theyre increasingly willing to deal in euros or dollars, he says.It makes perfect sense when youre effectively getting 15% more margin for the same transaction. Were finding theres a lot of uncertainty out there so people are hedging rates just a month or two in advance so theyve got enough in the bank for the short term without overcommitting. The ideal situation, right now, he believes, is to be a British SME sourcing materials and products in the UK but then charging dollars or euros when they are exported. Even if products are not sourced in the UK, if a company can earn dollars or euros abroad, the currency can be used to pay for imported materials to protect against any further variation in the pounds value. Article 50 is due to be triggered on 29 March, marking the start of formal proceedings for Britain to leave the EU. Nobody can accurately predict what will happen to the value of the pound as trade negotiations begin. However, McGowan believes the pound will strengthen against an overvalued euro at some point this year. As for the US, though, although the dollar generally has a record of maintaining its value, he points out that nobody can predict the impact of interest rate rises and Trumps America First trade mantra.Sign up to become a member of the Guardian Small Business Network here for more advice, insight and best practice direct to your inbox.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/mar/28/the-smes-cashing-in-on-the-weak-pound'|'2017-03-28T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'5ccbb2d04266be75567d87cde0bfdad4721c4f5d'|'Siemens issues $7.5 billion bond to fund Mentor acquisition'|'FRANKFURT German industrial group Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ) issued a $7.5 billion bond, its second-largest placement to date, to fund acquisitions including Mentor Graphics and to finance outstanding and matured debt, it said in a statement on Friday."Due to the high demand, the company obtained very good interest-rate conditions over all maturities," Siemens said.It said total investor demand was $15.1 billion, and about 83 percent was allocated to U.S. investors, with the rest placed with investors from Europe and Asia.(Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Arno Schuetze)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-siemens-bond-idINKBN16O1IJ'|'2017-03-17T09:19:00.000+02:00' +'9375999874c27444890c7cc688c9dd5a8ec11008'|'PRECIOUS-Gold steady near 5-week low ahead of U.S. jobs data'|'March 9 Gold prices held steady early on Thursday near a five-week low touched in the previous session, pressured by an uptick in the dollar ahead of U.S. non-farm payrolls data on Friday. FUNDAMENTALS * Spot gold was flat at $1,207.46 per ounce at 0030 GMT. The metal hit its lowest since Feb. 1 at $1,206.05 in the previous session. * U.S. gold futures edged down $1.80 or 0.1 percent to $1,207.60. The dollar index was up 0.1 percent to 102.14. * Investors are awaiting February non-farm payrolls data on Friday as a barometer of the U.S. economy after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said last week the central bank was poised to lift rates provided jobs and inflation data held up. Her comments were seen as cementing plans for an increase at the Fed''s March 14-15 meeting. * The ADP National Employment Report showed its biggest increase in more than a year in February, suggesting the U.S. economy remains on solid ground. * The European Central Bank is set to keep monetary policy on hold on Thursday as it casts a cautious eye ahead to high-risk elections in the Netherlands and France during an upsurge in populist, anti-establishment sentiment. * Holdings of the largest gold-backed exchange-traded-fund (ETF), New York''s SPDR Gold Trust GLD, remained unchanged on Tuesday from Monday. * The biggest risk facing the world''s top gold producers is their reluctance to hunt for big new discoveries in emerging markets, with most sticking to so called safe jurisdictions, said the head of Randgold Resources Ltd on Wednesday. * The Perth Mint''s sales of gold products dipped in February to the lowest in six months, while silver sales more than halved from the previous month, the mint said in a blog post on its website on Wednesday. * Precious metals miner Hochschild Mining Plc swung to a pretax profit in 2016, helped by strong output at its Inmaculada mine in Peru and a more favourable pricing environment. * Britain''s economy is likely to feel the pain of Brexit more sharply in the coming years despite holding up well so far, according to finance minister Philip Hammond''s latest plan to steer the economy through its split from the European Union. DATA/EVENT AHEAD (GMT) 0130 China Consumer prices Feb 0130 China Producer prices Feb 1245 European Central Bank interest rate announcement 1330 European Central Bank press conference 1330 U.S. Import prices Feb 1330 U.S. Export prices Feb 1330 U.S. Weekly jobless claims (Reporting by Arpan Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Pullin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-precious-idINL3N1GM07P'|'2017-03-08T21:55:00.000+02:00' +'eb69008472a60a7c7c625468c65e2847594f447e'|'DuPont to get $1.6 billion in asset swap deal with FMC Corp'|'DuPont ( DD.N ) said it would sell its crop protection business to FMC Corp ( FMC.N ) and buy FMC''s health and nutrition unit in an asset swap deal that will give DuPont about $1.6 billion.DuPont''s $130 billion merger with Dow Chemical Co ( DOW.N ), which was expected to close in the first half of 2017, is now expected to close between Aug. 1 and Sept. 1, Dupont said.The deal with FMC includes a cash portion of $1.2 billion and working capital of $425 million.(Reporting by Vishaka George in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D''Couto)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-du-pont-m-a-dow-fmc-idINKBN1721AS'|'2017-03-31T08:38:00.000+03:00' +'302ffdbad27473249f2f3938b17a0f3b6f8f73a3'|'Japan not considering support for Toshiba - govt spokesman'|'Company News 40pm EDT Japan not considering support for Toshiba - govt spokesman TOKYO, March 17 The Japanese government is not considering steps to support embattled conglomerate Toshiba Corp , Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Friday. Toshiba this week missed submitting audited third-quarter earnings for a second time and said it would consider selling a majority stake in the Westinghouse nuclear unit at the centre of its financial troubles. Sources have told Reuters that a fund backed by the government may invest as a minority stakeholder in Toshiba''s memory chip business, which the company is looking to sell to raise cash. (Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/toshiba-accounting-suga-idUST9N1FM01G'|'2017-03-17T08:40:00.000+02:00' +'45e8ac7123dd94da8a85442e82128b6b60a7ce5d'|'Bank of Ireland CEO Boucher to retire before year-end'|'Business News 3:38pm GMT Bank of Ireland CEO Boucher to retire before year-end Richie Boucher, gestures during an interview with Reuters at the company''s head office in Dublin, Ireland June 12,2009. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton By Padraic Halpin - DUBLIN DUBLIN Bank of Ireland ( BKIR.I ) Chief Executive Richie Boucher will retire before the end of the year after almost a decade in charge of the lender he guided from the brink of nationalisation to lead a revival across the sector. Boucher, who joined Ireland''s largest lender by assets in 2003, headed its corporate banking and retail divisions before being appointed CEO in February 2009, shortly after the bank, like all other Irish lenders, sought a state bailout. The bank, 14 percent owned by the state, did not name a new boss but said the succession process was under way. Under the matter-of-fact, Zambian-born banker, the bank became the only domestically owned lender to stay out of state control when it attracted 1.1 billion euros (1 billion pounds) of private investment at the height of the euro zone debt crisis in 2011. The bank returned to profitability three years later and after handing the state a profit on its rescue funds, it recently embarked on a four-year technology investment that Boucher said he would leave to someone else. "I will be 59 in August and I feel it best for the group that someone else leads the next stage of development," Boucher said in a statement, adding he would continue to lead the group while facilitating the transition to his successor. The bank has a former CEO of a major Irish stock market company among its ranks, deputy chairman Patrick Kennedy, who led bookmaker Paddy Power ( PPB.I ) from 2006 to 2014. Boucher, once described by an Irish lawmaker and current government minister as having "a hide like a rhino", had an egg flung at him in 2011 by an irate shareholder, one of many who lost out when Irish bank shares collapsed. He told a 2015 parliamentary inquiry that he had made mistakes in the run-up to the crash but that in the six-and-a-half years that followed had "put action behind words." Boucher, who joined Greek lender Eurobank ( EURBr.AT ) as a non-executive director in January, said last month that Bank of Ireland expected to pay its first dividend in a decade next year after Brexit forced it to delay plans by 12 months. "Mr Boucher assumed his role as Chief Executive Officer at a time of severe stress for the Bank of Ireland Group and indeed for the Irish banking sector in general," Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan said in a statement. "Under his stewardship, Bank of Ireland navigated its way successfully through these difficult times. I wish to thank him for his commitment, professionalism and drive." (Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Mark Potter/Keith Weir) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bankofireland-ceo-idUKKBN16V1WI'|'2017-03-24T23:38:00.000+03:00' +'5745f85a56be3b587a66d739d84313cb0ee055b1'|'Ireland finance ministry appoints bookrunners for AIB IPO'|'Ireland''s finance ministry said on Thursday it has appointed five banks to act as bookrunners for a potential share sale of state-owned Allied Irish Banks ( ALBK.I ), in a further signal it could launch an initial public offering in the coming weeks.In January, finance minister Michael Noonan raised the possibility that the government could try to return part of the bank to private ownership as early as May as markets improve.The government said on Thursday that Citigroup ( C.N ), Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ), Goodbody Stockbrokers, JPMorgan ( JPM.N ) and UBS ( UBSG.S ) have now been appointed as bookrunners for a potential sale.They will join Bank of America Merrill Lynch ( BAC.N ), Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) and Davy Stockbrokers who were appointed as global coordinators in December.Last year, Ireland pushed back the timetable for selling its stake, citing unfavorable market conditions, but Noonan has said rising bank share prices suggest he might get the value needed.The 99.9 percent state-owned bank became the first domestic-owned Irish lender to restart dividends since the financial crash almost a decade ago, when it proposed a 250 million euro payment earlier this month after reporting strong margin and capital growth during 2016.(Reporting by Rachel Armstrong; editing by Carolyn Cohn)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-aib-ipo-bookrunners-idINKBN16U2JB'|'2017-03-23T15:03:00.000+02:00' +'b0dffce7ec1c646bf0ad6dc586aecc4b85f67c00'|'MIDEAST STOCKS - Factors to watch - Mar 12'|'DUBAI, March 12 Here are some factors that may affect Middle East stock markets on Sunday. Reuters has not verified the press reports and does not vouch for their accuracy.INTERNATIONAL/REGIONAL* GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks rise as U.S. jobs data points to rate hike; crude slips* MIDEAST STOCKS-Ex-dividend banks weigh on Abu Dhabi; Qatar, Egypt outperform* Oil slumps to close out biggest 3-day loss in a year* PRECIOUS-Gold recovers from five-week low after U.S. jobs data* Middle East Crude-Dubai falls further; light sour grades pressured* Trump''s revised travel ban dealt first court setback* At least 40 killed in Damascus bombing targeting Shi''ites* Scars of looting, destruction all that remain at Mosul museum* Dutch PM bars Turkish minister as rally dispute escalates* Assad calls U.S. forces "invaders", but still hopeful on Trump* Saudi-led coalition air strike kills 22 in Yemen: official* Trump invites Palestinian leader Abbas to White House* Nigeria''s telecoms regulator sees deal in Etisalat debt talks* IranAir receives second jet under sanctions deal* Lebanon eyes three tranches for $1.5 bln Eurobond-official* Turkey seeks to build Syrian military cooperation with RussiaEGYPT* Egypt''s urban consumer price inflation hit 30-year high in Feb* Average yield on Egypt''s one year, six month T-bills drop at auction* INTERVIEW-Egypt reforms must focus on investment, World Bank saysSAUDI ARABIA* ANALYSIS-Trillion-dollar question looms as Aramco audits oil reserves* BREAKINGVIEWS-Aramco''s IPO merits social engineering discount* BUZZ-Saudi energy minister meets U.S. counterpart in Washington* EXCLUSIVE-Saudis tell U.S. oil: OPEC won''t extend cuts to offset shale - sources* Saudi''s Bank AlJazira proposes 30 pct capital increase* BRIEF-Credit Agricole says satisfied with business at Banque Saudi Fransi* MEDIA-Evercore said to win advisory role on record Aramco IPO* Wanted man killed after Saudi police raid - agency* Bahraini doctor freed after jail sentence on charges linked to 2011 uprising* Saudi Arabia tenders to buy 720,000 tonnes wheat - SAGO* BRIEF-Toyota Motor to launch feasibility study on building factory in Saudi Arabia - NikkeiUNITED ARAB EMIRATES* Etisalat Nigeria in talks over missed payment on $1.2 bln loan* UAE says to cut oil output by more than 139,000 bpd in March/April* UAE''s Union National Bank to open China branch, expand in Egypt -CEO* Emirates to launch Dubai-Athens-Newark route despite U.S. protests* Emirates eyes changes amid "gathering storm" of low-cost long-haul rivals* Emirates airlines concerned about latest U.S. travel order* Dubai Investments proposes 10 percent cash dividend; 5 percent bonus sharesQATAR* MEDIA-Qatar Airways'' India airline plan may face opposition from airlines lobby FIA - Mint* Top investors to back Deutsche Bank despite uncertain future* BRIEF-Qatar Insurance says unit places $450 mln tier 2 notesKUWAIT* Kuwait cuts April official selling price for crude to Asia -source* BRIEF-Warba Bank issues Tier 1 $250 million sukukOMAN* Omani firm Golden Group plans maiden sale of Islamic bonds* BRIEF-Omantel says Worldcall Services announces public offer to acquire co''s shares of WTL (Reporting by Dubai Newsroom)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/mideast-factors-idINL5N1GP01A'|'2017-03-11T23:37:00.000+02:00' +'e1734633024c5c9402e5ef286d0d4c6ee3ced1da'|'A laptop ban will hit Middle Eastern airlines and passengers: America and Britain prohibit large electronic devices in aircraft cabins on some routes'|'NEW intelligence appears to have prompted the decision of the authorities in both America and Britain to prevent the carrying of large electronic devices into the passenger cabins of aircraft flying from several Middle Eastern and North African countries. However, the announcements, which both came on March 21st, raise several unanswered questions. Passengers, and the affected airlines, may be concerned that there is an element of politics behind the new measure, coming as it does in the wake of Donald Trumps second attempt to ram through a highly controversial executive order restricting travel to America from some Muslim countries.Some speculate that the intelligence may have been gathered by a raid carried out by American special operations forces on al-Qaedas affiliate in Yemen, known as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). One such raid took place on January 29th and left a Navy SEAL and up to 30 civilians dead. Some reports suggested that the botched operation yielded no actionable intelligence. But administration officials maintained that material indicating future AQAP targets was seized. 35 minutes ago How Republicans new health plan would affect American incomes Graphic detail an hour ago Terrorist atrocities in western Europe Graphic detail 2 hours ago Life owes much of its existence to other films Prospero 2 hours ago How Republicans in Iowa are using their new strength Democracy in America 2 hours ago Why Catholic priests practise celibacy The Economist explains 9 AQAP has proved itself in the past to be technically innovative in finding new ways to plant explosives on airliners. There is also some evidence that it is spreading its expertise to other terrorist groups in the region, such as al-Shabab in Somalia, which managed to get an exploding laptop onto a plane leaving Mogadishu in February last year. It is possible that information has only recently become available about new AQAP plans to hide explosives in devices such as laptops, tablets and DVD players.One oddity of the new cabin ban is that America and Britain do not agree on which airports the new measure should apply to. The American version affects departing flights from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The British have added Tunisia and Lebanon to their list, while subtracting Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar and the UAE airports. There will be suspicion that Americas inclusion of the UAE and Qatar may not be entirely unconnected with complaints from Delta, American and United about unfair competition from the big Gulf carriers, Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways. The three have grown rapidly over the past decade by building up their local hubs and flying anywhere in the world from them.Emirates operates 17 daily flights to 11 American cities, carrying about 7,000 passengers. Between them, Qatar and Etihad have more than 5,500 daily seats to America. A vital part of their model is providing a high-quality business-class service. Firms pay for their employees to fly business class in the expectation that they will get some work done. Taking away their passengers laptops will place the affected airlines at a competitive disadvantage. They are already hit by reduced tourism and passenger traffic due to terrorism fears.Economy-class passengers will also suffer. Airlines increasingly charge passengers for baggage they place in the hold. From now on, if they fly from any of the listed airports, they will have no choice other than to pay up. The Gulf hub airports, which compete for international transit passengers, will lose some of their appeal. Passengers in all classes will inevitably have more possessions of high value either pilfered or damaged.A further concern is whether measures against terrorists are being pursued at the expense of basic safety. Most of the devices now destined for the hold are powered by lithium-ion batteries. Safety experts say that luggage acts as an insulator, increasing the likelihood of a faulty battery bursting into flames, igniting other batteries and generating explosive hydrogen gas. A self-immolating laptop in the cabin can be quickly extinguished by the crew. A fire that breaks out in the hold is far harder to deal with. Passengers will want to know whether proper risk analysis was carried out before these decisions were made.'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21719514-america-and-britain-ban-large-electronic-devices-aircraft-cabins-some-routes-america-and?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-03-23T22:43:00.000+02:00' +'0a538b22570ec28df16d55e7af94596d36d7604f'|'UPDATE 1-Transcanada''s Mainline helps Canadian natgas shippers compete'|'Company News 54pm EDT UPDATE 1-Transcanada''s Mainline helps Canadian natgas shippers compete (New throughout, adds details from government briefing note, interview with company executive) By Ethan Lou CALGARY, Alberta, March 13 Shippers have taken up Transcanada Corp''s sweetened offer to move natural gas on its Mainline pipeline, the company said on Monday, granting Canada''s remote western plays a boost against more easily accessible American counterparts. Western Canadian shippers have been increasingly squeezed out of the Ontario natural gas market by eastern U.S. shale basins like the Marcellus and Utica. They have comparable production costs to Canada''s remote Montney and Duvernay gas plays, but lower delivery costs. The resulting lack of movement on the Mainline in the last decade caused tolls to rise even more. That further raised the price of Canadian gas, causing more shippers to leave in what the industry calls a "death spiral," according to an internal government briefing note seen by Reuters obtained under access-to-information laws. In its latest terms, TransCanada offered lower tolls at a 10-year term for 1.5 petajoules of capacity per day on its Mainline system to southern Ontario. Such a move could have a "positive effect on the competitiveness" of Canadian natural gas, federal government officials told Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr in the November 2016 note, after TransCanada first offered its lower tolls. The Natural Resources Canada federal department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. TransCanada said it intends to file an application for approval with the National Energy Board (NEB) regulator in April and hopes to have an in-service date of Nov. 1, which would be before rival pipelines from U.S. shale basins come online. Energy Transfer Partners LP''s Rover and Spectra Energy Partners LP''s Nexus lines both have targeted in-service dates to Ontario''s Dawn hub in November. Energy infrastructure development has faced strong opposition in Canada among environmental and aboriginal groups, who may seek intervener status before the NEB to block TransCanada''s application. For its part, TransCanada will move "fairly quickly," said Tracy Robinson, the company''s senior vice president of Canadian natural gas pipelines. "There''s no requirement for any build, so our producers can access the market upon the NEB approval," she said in an interview. "We believe it puts them in there competitively, regardless of the various options." TransCanada''s current terms allow shippers to exit after five years, but they must temporarily pay higher tolls than the 77 Canadian cents per gigajoule offered. Robinson said the company does not yet know how many will trigger that option. (Editing by Bernadette Baum and David Gregorio) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/transcanada-gas-tolls-idUSL2N1GQ0LY'|'2017-03-14T00:54:00.000+02:00' +'3872f073c0660039402223caf2cc1bc2a3b063ee'|'Snapchat 2017 ad revenue forecast trimmed to $770 million - eMarketer'|' 08pm GMT Snapchat 2017 ad revenue forecast trimmed to $770 million - eMarketer The logo of messaging app Snapchat is seen at a booth at TechFair LA, a technology job fair, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson By Tim Baysinger The 2017 advertising revenue forecast for Snap Incs Snapchat has been trimmed by $30 million (24.74 million pounds) due to higher than expected revenue sharing with its partners, digital marketing firm eMarketer said in its latest ad spending forecast on Tuesday. While that still represents growth of more than 157 percent from last year, it is smaller than eMarketers prior forecast in September, which had predicted more than $800 million. Snap Inc disclosed the revenue sharing details in its SEC filing ahead of this months initial public offering. Snap depends on advertising dollars for the bulk of its overall revenue. The U.S. digital advertising market is expected to reach $83 billion, an increase of nearly 16 percent from last year. Following a surge in its stock price in its first two days of public trading, when it traded as high as $27 a share on the New York Stock Exchange, Snap''s stock price tumbled in the second week, and is now around $21 a share, as investor concerns about slowing user growth and a lack of profit persist. Facebook Inc''s share of the U.S. digital ad market is likely to increase to nearly 20 percent this year and Alphabet Inc''s Google will still command nearly 41 percent, eMarketer projected. On the other end of the spectrum, eMarketer forecasts more trouble for Twitter Inc, which has been grappling with stagnant user growth. Its U.S. ad revenue will decline by 4.7 percent to $1.3 billion, and Twitters market share of the U.S. digital ad market is expected to drop to 1.6 percent in 2017 from 1.9 percent last year. (Reporting by Tim Baysinger in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-snap-advertising-idUKKBN16L1JG'|'2017-03-14T20:08:00.000+02:00' +'5d22c5c7c1fa6ec93fccb53ed24b3cb09b3e6e35'|'Schaeuble says Germany can avoid new borrowing in next legislative period'|'BERLIN German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Thursday that the federal government has set up policies of sustainability that mean there will be no new debt in the next legislative period.Speaking in Berlin, Schaeuble also said that the question of whether the process of closing international tax loop holes is one of the greatest unresolved questions of the day.He also said that there is a danger of national borders returning around the world and a retreat from a more open world.(Reporting by Gernot Heller; writing by Erik Kirschbaum)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/germany-schaeuble-idINKBN16G33K'|'2017-03-09T19:10:00.000+02:00' +'ff9509942ebd4c668512164a4b88e1883e6af55d'|'Dollar hangs on for U.S. healthcare vote, Asia shares muted'|' 54am GMT Dollar hangs on for U.S. healthcare vote, Asia shares muted Pedestrians walk pass an electronic board showing the Japan''s Nikkei average (R) and other stock market indices outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, February 29, 2016. REUTERS/Yuya Shino By Wayne Cole - SYDNEY SYDNEY The dollar was living on borrowed time on Friday after U.S. lawmakers delayed a vote on a healthcare bill seen as crucial to President Donald Trump''s policy credibility. Asian share markets were in limbo as a vote on the American Health Care Act might not happen until later Friday or Monday, as it meets opposition from warring factions within the Republicans themselves. Some in the markets suspect a failure to pass such a high-stakes bill could endanger Trump''s promises of tax cuts and stimulus so beloved by Wall Street and U.S. corporates. "The Trump reflation trade - particularly the equity leg of it, which has seen U.S. equity indexes roar to record highs has arguably been long on optimism and short on substance for some time now," said analysts at ANZ in a note. "It comes at a sensitive time for the market, with the initial post-election exuberance having waned and as it weighs up political uncertainty, a strong U.S. economy and an increasingly hawkish Federal Reserve." Adding to the unease was a Reuters report that the Trump administration is preparing new executive orders to re-examine all 14 U.S. free trade agreements, including those in Asia, to aid American companies. All of this kept stock markets muted. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS edged up 0.2 percent, while South Korea .KS11 barely moved. Japan''s Nikkei .N225 added 0.3 percent. A Reuters poll published on Friday showed confidence among Japanese manufacturers rose for a seventh straight month to a three-year high. After falling sharply mid-week, Wall Street had lapsed into waiting mode on Thursday with the Dow .DJI down 0.02 percent. The S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.11 percent and the Nasdaq .IXIC 0.07 percent. DOLLAR STRUGGLES As stocks stalled, bonds rallied. Two-year Treasury yields US2YT=RR have fallen 15 basis points in the past week or so to stand at 1.256 percent. At the same time, German yields have risen on speculation the European Central Bank might begin the long process of rate normalisation this year. The central bank issued an upbeat outlook on the Euro zone economy overnight. The net result was a contraction in the dollar''s yield advantage over the euro, which has seen the single currency steady at $1.0777 EUR= after scoring a six-week top of $1.0828 earlier this week. The dollar was a fraction firmer on the yen at 111.11 JPY= , having hit a four-month low of 110.62. Against a basket of currencies, it was crouched at 99.843 .DXY having shed 1.5 percent in the past two weeks. "The dollar is likely to struggle as global investors gradually realise that the U.S, can still produce policy gridlock even with one party holding the White House, Senate and House," said Sean Callow, a senior currency analyst at Westpac. "Moreover, the euro is looking more appealing, with the growth gap with the U.S. not as wide as previously thought and the euro having lost some of its political risk premium as European voters edge away from local Trump wannabes." In commodity markets, safe-haven spot held at $1,245.61 an ounce after hitting three-week high of $1,253.12 XAU=. Oil prices idled near four-month lows on investor concerns that OPEC-led supply cuts were not yet reducing record U.S. crude inventories. U.S. crude CLc1 inched up 14 cents to $47.84 in early trade, while Brent crude LCOc1 added 12 cents to $50.68. [O/R] (Editing by Sam Holmes)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets-idUKKBN16V042'|'2017-03-24T08:54:00.000+03:00' +'f63b40972d11a27a74d764a92bcac8eb48a604fd'|'Japan February jobless rate falls to 2.8 percent'|' 00am BST Japan February jobless rate falls to 2.8 percent TOKYO Japan''s jobless rate fell to 2.8 percent in February and the availability of jobs was unchanged from the previous month, data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed on Friday. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate compared with economists'' median forecast of 3.0 percent. The jobs-to-applicants ratio was 1.43, unchanged from the prior month. For background, please see this PREVIEW A full table can be seen on the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications at: (Note: The jobs-to-applicants ratio and new job offers can be seen in Japanese on the labour ministry''s website.) (Reporting by Sumio Ito; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-jobs-idUKKBN1713DA'|'2017-03-31T08:00:00.000+03:00' +'9613569dfaa3fdb68387a361728b8270519a2cea'|'End-to-end encryption on messaging services is unacceptable-UK minister'|'Technology News - Sun Mar 26, 2017 - 5:11am EDT End-to-end encryption on messaging services is unacceptable: UK minister A photo illustration shows a chain and a padlock in front of a displayed Whatsapp logo January 13, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration LONDON British interior minister Amber Rudd said on Sunday end-to-end encryption of messages offered by services like Whatsapp are "completely unacceptable" and there should be no "secret place for terrorists to communicate". Local media have reported that shortly before launching an attack that killed four people including a policeman near Britain''s parliament in central London, Khalid Masood sent an encrypted message via Whatsapp. "That is my view - it is completely unacceptable, there should be no place for terrorists to hide. We need to make sure organizations like Whatsapp, and there are plenty of others like that, don''t provide a secret place for terrorists to communicate with each other," Rudd told the BBC''s Andrew Marr show. "We need to make sure that our intelligence services have the ability to get into situations like encrypted Whatsapp." (Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; editing by Susan Thomas) Next In Technology News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-security-rudd-idUSKBN16X0BE'|'2017-03-26T17:07:00.000+03:00' +'7052720deda63b1c32c8760e400388d1ae36c7de'|'Barclays executive Compton top earner with 7.5 million pounds share award'|'Business News - Thu Mar 9, 2017 - 4:26pm GMT Barclays executive Compton top earner with 7.5 million pounds share award FILE PHOTO: A Barclays logo is pictured outside the Barclays towers in Johannesburg, South Africa, December 16, 2015. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo LONDON Barclays ( BARC.L ) awarded its chief operating officer Paul Compton shares worth 7.5 million pounds, more than the bank''s chief executive was paid in 2016, according to regulatory filings on Thursday. The amount was almost as much as the total 8.7 million pounds awarded to its senior managers a year ago, and reflected a rise in Barclays'' share price and the large buyout fee it paid Compton for shares forfeited from his previous employment. Chief Executive Jes Staley received no new shares from awards granted in prior years, the bank said, but was awarded shares worth 198, 000 pounds in up front bonus for the year and role-based pay. Staley''s total compensation for 2016 was 4.2 million pounds, the bank previously disclosed in its annual report. This year the total value of shares awarded to the executives is 13.6 million pounds, Barclays said. Barclays shares have risen 43 percent in the year since its last annual payout to top executives, despite suffering a record single-day slump of 30 percent the day after Britain voted to leave the European Union. The shares are now worth 233 pence each compared with 163 pence a year ago. A spokesman for Barclays said the actual amount Compton receives will be substantially lower due to taxes on the bonus, and that he will not receive some 2 million pounds worth of the award for 5 years due to bonus deferral rules. Compton has been tapped to run the new back office service company that Barclays is creating, Reuters reported last month. Chief Executive Jes Staley confirmed the appointment when asked by Reuters at a media conference on Feb. 23. Most European investment bankers received smaller bonuses in 2016 as their employers cut costs and sought to meet shareholder demands for a greater share of profits. ($1 = 0.8232 pounds) (Reporting By Lawrence White, Editing by Anjuli Davies) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-barclays-pay-idUKKBN16G2CT'|'2017-03-09T23:26:00.000+02:00' +'d62439f1cd707840be4856a5cf07c2b8f7bef6ba'|'Nigeria''s crude oil exports to rise in May - loading plans'|'Company News 11:56am EDT Nigeria''s crude oil exports to rise in May - loading plans LONDON, March 28 Nigeria''s crude oil exports are set to rise to 1.66 million barrels per day (bpd) in May, according to a loading programme compiled by Reuters on Tuesday. The programme for the month is up from April''s revised loadings and also puts Nigeria just above Angola''s planned exports of 1.61 million bpd in May. While Nigeria had consistently been Africa''s largest oil exporter, its loadings have fallen below those of Angola several times over the past year as it dealt with militant attacks on oil infrastructure in the Niger Delta. The increase to 54 May cargoes from 52 in April, or 1.61 million bpd, came in part from rising exports of Bonga and Antan, both of which were hit earlier in the year by scheduled maintenance. Exports of Qua Iboe were expected to be either flat or lower. April''s export plans for Qua Iboe were uncertain, with some traders showing a programme with nine cargoes and others with eight. Field operator ExxonMobil has re-issued the Qua programme several times as it grappled with loading delays of as much as two weeks. Traders said the problem stemmed from pumping issues and metering issues on the export pipeline. Exxon has declined to comment. Grade May Barrels revised Barrels cargoes per day April per day cargoes Abo 1 23,000 1 23,000 Agbami 8 252,000 7 228,000 Amenam 4 123,000 2 63,000 Antan 2 42,000 0*** 0*** Bonga 6 184,000 4*** 127,000*** Bonny Light 6 189,000 8 232,000 Brass River 5 112,000 4 108,000 EA 1 31,000 1 32,000 Ebok 1 21,000 0 0 Erha 4 129,000 4 133,000 Escravos 5 153,000 6 190,000 Forcados** 0 0 0 0 Okono 1 29,000 Okwori 0 0 1 22,000 Oyo* Pennington* Qua Iboe 8 245,000 9 285,000 Usan 3 97,000 4 133,000 Yoho 1 31,000 1 32,000 Total 56 1.66 mln 52 1.61 mln *Not yet available **Grade under force majeure ***Field maintenance (Reporting by Libby George; editing by David Clarke) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/nigeria-oil-idUSL5N1H55DQ'|'2017-03-28T23:56:00.000+03:00' +'993ec84d9eae0ed4a28f5a13241d33f67be1bc29'|'TABLE- Top-20 selling vehicles in U.S. in February'|'March 1 The following are the 20 top-selling vehicles in the U.S. in February as reported by the automakers and ranked by total units. Top 20 selling vehicles in U.S. in February. RANK VEHICLE February 2017 February 2016 PCT CHNG 1 Ford F-Series P/U 65,956 60,697 +8.7 2 Chevy Silverado-C/K P/U 50,504 43,136 +17.1 3 Ram P/U 39,046 37,087 +5.3 4 Nissan Rogue 33,149 21,561 +53.7 5 Honda CR-V 31,898 25,250 +26.3 6 Ford Escape 27,637 23,854 +15.9 7 Toyota Camry 27,498 32,405 -15.1 8 Toyota Corolla 27,161 30,659 -11.4 9 Honda Civic 27,039 27,707 -2.4 10 Nissan Altima 26,543 28,320 -6.3 11 Toyota RAV4 26,351 25,523 +3.2 12 Honda Accord 23,455 25,785 -9.0 13 Chevrolet Equinox 22,464 19,825 +13.3 14 Ford Explorer 19,145 20,014 -4.3 15 Jeep Grand Cherokee 18,925 16,990 +11.4 16 GMC Sierra P/U 17,618 15,202 +15.9 17 Ford Fusion 16,512 25,442 -35.1 18 Nissan Sentra 16,010 20,599 -22.3 19 Hyundai Elantra 15,954 11,973 +33.2 20 Toyota Highlander 15,928 12,466 +27.8 Top 20 selling vehicles in U.S. through February. RANK VEHICLE YTD 2017 YTD 2016 PCT CHNG 1 Ford F-Series P/U 123,951 112,237 +10.4 2 Chevy Silverado-C/K P/U 86,057 80,999 +6.2 3 Ram P/U 72,815 69,651 +4.5 4 Nissan Rogue 61,909 41,323 +49.8 5 Honda CR-V 61,185 44,458 +37.6 6 Honda Civic 50,134 54,448 -7.9 7 Toyota Corolla 48,728 54,271 -10.2 8 Toyota RAV4 48,506 47,077 +3.0 9 Ford Escape 48,225 43,073 +12.0 10 Toyota Camry 47,811 59,253 -19.3 11 Nissan Altima 45,474 50,476 -9.9 12 Honda Accord 42,991 46,550 -7.6 13 Chevrolet Equinox 40,038 38,399 +4.3 14 Jeep Grand Cherokee 36,226 30,965 +17.0 15 Chevrolet Cruze 35,316 27,360 +29.1 16 Ford Explorer 34,439 34,280 +0.5 17 Ford Fusion 32,027 45,319 -29.3 18 GMC Sierra P/U 31,350 29,583 +6.0 19 Nissan Sentra 29,454 36,743 -19.8 20 Hyundai Elantra 29,139 21,858 +33.3 (Compiled by Bengaluru Newsroom)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/autosalesusa-top-idINL3N1GE5GE'|'2017-03-01T16:53:00.000+02:00' +'3d8d2eab2d397254a2b39a2cf6374687fea2f79b'|'Apple CEO visits China bike-sharing start-up ofo'|'Technology 4:01am EDT Apple CEO visits China bike-sharing start-up ofo Apple CEO Tim Cook attends the China Development Forum in Beijing, China, March 18, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter By Sijia Jiang - HONG KONG HONG KONG Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) chief executive Tim Cook paid a visit to Chinese bike-sharing company ofo on Tuesday, as the country''s ride-sharing start-ups fight aggressively for investor dollars and market share. Cook visited the office of the Beijing-based start-up, known for its yellow bikes, and met with founding members including CEO Dai Wei, according to Cook''s microblog and ofo. "Thanks for welcoming me today, ofo team! Great energy behind your mission to make commuting greener, more efficient and fun!" Cook said in his official Sina Weibo post, along with pictures of him riding an ofo bike. Cook''s visit comes amid a fierce contest for users and investors among China''s bike-sharing start-ups, which has drawn in large global tech investors. The competition is frequently compared to a similar battle for the ride-sharing market between Uber Technologies [UBER.UL] and local rival Didi Chuxing a year ago. Ofo, which counts Didi as an investor, said Cook came for a company visit on Tuesday and did not discuss investment or collaboration. It raised $450 million earlier this month and saw its valuation pass the $1 billion mark. Ofo and its main rival Mobike are among a growing number of bike-sharing services that have sprung up in China that allow users to find, unlock and pay to rent trackable bicycles through smartphone apps. It targets younger consumers seeking to get around congested roads and public transport. Ofo says it operates in 43 cities in China with 2.2 million bikes. It also claims pilot schemes in Singapore, London and California. Shanghai-based Mobike, which has raised more than $300 million so far this year from investors including Tencent Holdings ( 0700.HK ), Warburg Pincus, and Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings, said on Tuesday it was fully launching in Singapore. (Reporting by Sijia Jiang; Editing by Sam Holmes) Next In Technology News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-ofo-idUSKBN16S0PM'|'2017-03-21T15:01:00.000+02:00' +'1271fa62c06c7bfb02e3a002f5a3ad50203e09c5'|'Oh, Snap!: A volatile start for shares in Snap'|'WHEN Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, an app popular among teenagers for its disappearing messages, staged a public offering on March 2nd, Evan Spiegel, its 26-year-old boss, became a self-made billionaire. (Only John Collison of Stripe, an online payments startup, rivals him for such youthful tycoonery). Whether public-market investors will strike it rich remains to be seen. In its first day of trading Snaps shares rose by 44%; they have since fallen by 16% from their peak, meaning around $5bn of market value vanished in days.The volatility will probably continue. Optimists reckon that Snaps market value could increase more than fourfold from around $26bn today as it adds users and advertisers. Very few large internet companies have gone public recently, which gives it tremendous scarcity value, says Roger Ehrenberg of IA Ventures, an early-stage investment firm. 5 minutes ago Poland But sceptics are growing in number. Every analyst who has started covering Snaps stock has issued a negative rating. They question its high valuation and underline all the challenges. Snaps growth has slowed in recent months. Its total addressable market is estimated to be 80% smaller than that of Facebook, a social network, and it already has 50% penetration among its potential user base in America, reckons Laura Martin of Needham, an investment bank.Snap also has an unconventional structure that gives shareholders virtually no power. This week it emerged that a group of large institutional investors had lobbied stock-index providers such as MSCI not to include Snap in their benchmarks for that reason. That will not directly affect share-price performance yet, but being viewed as an outlier on corporate governance does not help.Analysts have also drawn attention to Snaps losses. These could well rise from $515m last year to a whopping $3.7bn in 2017, according to Pivotal Research Group, a research firm. And that does not include huge stock grants to employees. In 2016 Snap had stock-based compensation expenses of around $1.7bn, or roughly $1.4m per employee, compared with Facebooks average of $230,000 and Googles $144,000 per employee. These grants dilute investors.Before the offering, hopes had been high that Snap would spark a wave of public offerings by tech startups. Even if its shares sink further, many of them could still choose to go public, especially enterprise-software firms, which sell IT tools to other businesses. Their revenues are more reliable than those of Snap. One software company, MuleSoft, is likely to go public next week. Such companies do not attract the relentless public scrutiny that Snap and other tech stars do. Increasingly, that looks enviable.'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21718537-billions-quickly-disappeared-its-market-capitalisation-volatile-start-shares-snap?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-03-11T08:00:00.000+02:00' +'02b715ec77b50d861eac1120d19a70542ee95873'|'Interest rates too low - German Finance Minister Schaeuble'|'Business News - Tue Mar 14, 2017 - 2:51pm GMT Interest rates too low - German Finance Minister Schaeuble German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble attends the weekly cabinet meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, February 22, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch BERLIN Interest rates are too low, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Tuesday, adding that a rise would be preferable. "Interest rates are too low," Schaeuble said. "I would have preferred them not to be so low". (Reporting by Matthias Sobolewski; Writing by Joseph Nasr) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-schaeuble-idUKKBN16L1V9'|'2017-03-14T21:51:00.000+02:00' +'cb1ebf27efd3bb11a7615a62784431e573685c64'|'PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - March 2'|' 52am EST PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - March 2 March 2 The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. - Snap Inc. priced its initial public offering above expectations at $17 a share, giving the parent of popular disappearing-message app Snapchat a market value of nearly $24 billion. It was also above the $14 to $16 a share Snap had targeted, indicating strong demand for an IPO that has captivated investors and analysts since the company on.wsj.com/2mbUYDd - Bridgewater Associates LP''s billionaire founder Ray Dalio will step down as co-chief executive in the latest shake-up atop the world''s biggest hedge fund. The new setup unveiled Wednesday marks the fifth CEO at Bridgewater since the start of 2016. Bridgewater''s next co-CEO will be David McCormick, a Treasury Department official under President George W. Bush who recently interviewed for positions in the Trump administration. on.wsj.com/2mbKnZ8 - An internal White House review of strategy on North Korea includes the possibility of military force or regime change to blunt the country''s nuclear-weapons threat. While President Donald Trump has taken steps to reassure allies that he won''t abandon agreements that have underpinned decades of U.S. policy on Asia, his pledge that Pyongyang would be stopped from ever testing an intercontinental ballistic missile has some leaders bracing for a shift in American policy. on.wsj.com/2mbP9pA - U.S. investigators have examined contacts Attorney General Jeff Sessions had with Russian officials during the time he was advising Donald Trump''s presidential campaign. The outcome of the inquiry, and whether it is ongoing, wasn''t clear. The contacts were being examined as part of a wide-ranging U.S. counterintelligence investigation into possible communications between members of Trump''s campaign team and Russian operatives. on.wsj.com/2mbGWBu (Compiled by Sangameswaran S in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/press-digest-wsj-idUSL3N1GF2I3'|'2017-03-02T13:52:00.000+02:00' +'01d7f6d6418eb12fcdfb70361d235b96c501ae37'|'French group Suez says Brexit could boost its UK waste business'|' 9:08am BST French group Suez says Brexit could boost its UK waste business By Benjamin Mallet - PARIS PARIS Brexit could have a positive effect on the UK business of French utility Suez ( SEVI.PA ) as it could benefit Suez''s waste management activities in Britain, a leading Suez executive said on Thursday. Jean-Marc Boursier, joint chief executive for Suez''s European recycling and recovery business, said Britain would look to handle more of its waste management within the UK post-Brexit, which could boost Suez''s business in that area. "We are convinced it should lead to more opportunities for Suez in the years to come, which should allow us to continue to increase our footprint in the UK, and we will look to build some fine factories in the coming years," Boursier told Reuters. Prime Minister Theresa May formally began Britain''s divorce from the European Union on Wednesday, declaring there was no turning back and ushering in a tortuous exit process that will test the bloc''s cohesion and pitch her country into the unknown. "Speaking as a citizen who is committed to this continent, I regret their decision, but speaking as a Suez manager, it will no doubt have a positive impact on our business in Great Britain," added Boursier. Earlier this month, Suez sealed a 3.2 billion euro (2.77 billion pounds) acquisition of GE Water from General Electric ( GE.N ), in a deal which the company hopes will help to offset pressure on its margins in Europe. (Reporting by Benjamin Mallet; Writing by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Adrian Croft) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-suez-idUKKBN1710T8'|'2017-03-30T16:08:00.000+03:00' +'ee418c1094986a306271e0199c3777cbd6c06080'|'BRIEF-Peabody Energy Q4 diluted EPS net loss $11.13'|' 14am EST BRIEF-Peabody Energy Q4 diluted EPS net loss $11.13 March 10 Peabody Energy Corp * Peabody Energy Corp - qtrly diluted EPS net loss attributable to common stockholders $11.13 * Peabody Energy Corp - qtrly revenues $1.44 billion versus $1.31 billion * Peabody Energy Corp - qtrly tons sold 51.7 million versus 57.9 million - SEC filing ( bit.ly/2mPe1Eg ) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-peabody-energy-q4-diluted-eps-net-idUSFWN1GN0DL'|'2017-03-10T20:14:00.000+02:00' +'cd01f9b9088e7b26576a69cd203066099ad8dd59'|'G20 finance heads to repeat FX assurances, no deal yet on rejecting protectionism'|'Money News - Fri Mar 17, 2017 - 4:26pm IST G20 finance heads to repeat FX assurances, no deal yet on rejecting protectionism FULL COVERAGE: By Jan Strupczewski and Gernot Heller - BADEN BADEN, Germany BADEN BADEN, Germany The world''s financial leaders will renounce competitive devaluations and warn against exchange rate volatility, but they have not yet found a common stance on trade and protectionism, a draft statement of their meeting in Germany showed on Friday. The finance ministers and central bank governors of the world''s 20 largest economies may struggle to present a united front on protectionism after the new administration of U.S. President Donald Trump began considering imposing a border tax that would make imports more expensive. A G20 draft communique, which may still change and is to be published only on Saturday, also said that monetary policy will keep supporting growth and price stability but cannot alone lead to balanced economic growth. "We reiterate that excess volatility and disorderly movements in exchange rates can have adverse implications for economic and financial stability," the draft communique, seen by Reuters, said. "We will consult closely on exchange markets. We reaffirm our previous exchange rate commitments including that we will refrain from competitive devaluations and we will not target exchange rates for competitive purposes," it said. These sentences were missing from the earliest draft communique, but have been re-inserted on the insistence of several G20 governments and institutions so as not to alarm markets that a policy change was under way. "Monetary policy will continue to support economic activity and ensure price stability, consistent with central banks'' mandate, but monetary policy alone cannot lead to balanced growth," it said, also repeating the G20 stance from last year. But the draft, for now, makes no reference to trade and protectionism issues, breaking with a decade-old tradition of G20 communiques which have, over the years, used various formulations to endorse free trade and reject protectionism. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Thursday in Berlin that the Trump administration has no desire to get into trade wars, but certain trade relationships need to be re-examined to make them fairer for U.S. workers. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the G20 this year, told Reuters the protectionist U.S. stance could force the G20 to leave out trade from the statement altogether. "There are differing views on this subject," Schaeuble said, pointing to "America First" comments by U.S. President Donald Trump and other senior U.S. government officials. "It''s possible that we explicitly exclude the topic of trade in Baden-Baden and say that can only be resolved at the summit of the state and government leaders," he said. (Additional reporting by Michael Nienaber, Joseph Nasr and David Lawder; Editing by Balazs Koranyi and Hugh Lawson) Next In Money News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/germany-g-idINKBN16O1AG'|'2017-03-17T17:56:00.000+02:00' +'f559c481ba2efc3fbcdcf82b0e63080ce26dd100'|'Walmart invests billions to buy from women-owned businesses but is it enough? - Guardian Sustainable Business - The Guardian'|'Walmart announced Wednesday it has achieved its goal to buy $20bn worth of goods and services from women-owned businesses in the US over five years. The company also conceded that its failed to reach another goal set around the same time: to double the amount of products and services sourced from women-owned companies outside of the country.Why employers'' efforts to support pregnant workers can backfire Read more The mixed success shows the challenges for big companies to narrow the gaping gender gap. While Walmarts initiative has doubled the amount of money it spends with women-owned suppliers, its still only 2% of the retailers global purchases. Yet thats twice the global average retailers spend with women-owned businesses.The retail giant launched the Global Womens Economic Empowerment Initiative in 2011 to increase the number of its women-owned suppliers. The initiative also provided training and other services to female entrepreneurs.As the worlds largest retailer, Walmarts decision to take on gender equality or other sustainability work carries a significant weight among its competitors and suppliers.Promoting women-owned business reflects not just the companys values, its executives said. Its also good for business, said Kathleen McLaughlin, chief sustainability officer for Walmart and president of the Walmart Foundation, which spearheaded the initiative.Weve found that products from women-led companies have better sell-through rates and better margins, McLaughlin said. She believes women entrepreneurs do well because they tend to get involved in businesses especially food, apparel and toys that can make use of their personal experiences.Walmarts finding corresponds with data compiled by American Express , which shows that the number of women-owned businesses in the US has grown 45% from 2007 to 2016, compared with a 9% increase in businesses owned by men. During that same time period, women-owned businesses saw 35% higher revenue increases than men-owned businesses.The retail giant now buys products and services such as accounting and consulting from more than 1500 women-owned businesses worldwide, McLaughlin said. The company also has given out $134m of grants for training to 1 million women in its global supply chain and outside of it.The initiative taught some good lessons for Walmart.For example, the company underestimated the breadth of the challenges women entrepreneurs face in certain countries, McLaughlin said. It has managed to double the amount of money it spends with women-owned businesses in Mexico, but has otherwise struggled to increase international purchases from women-led companies.In China, for example, its taken us years just to identify the women-led businesses, McLaughling said, because, she explained, there was no private or government data to help with the research. In Japan, women havent traditionally been encouraged to start businesses, so we had to begin with pitch contests there to inspire women to participate.The company also has learned that creating a successful work environment for women involves more than just training female executives.About halfway through the factory program we realized we had to train men, too, to show them that they might need to change how theyre communicating with the women on their staffs, McLaughlin said.The struggle by large companies to close the gender gap internally or among their partners isnt surprising, said Barbara Annis, co-author of the forthcoming book, Results at the Top. Initiatives like Walmarts, although well intended, usually dont do enough to reduce gender disparity, she said.Companies tend to say, Lets create programs for women or networks or training, and all of that stuff does have an impact on engagement and feeling valued, so in that sense its great, Annis said. But it has zero correlation to advancement. And thats where a lot of times these sorts of initiatives end up being window dressing that has very little lasting impact.McLaughlin said Walmart understands the difficulties of creating a lasting change and seeks to intensify its effort to support women business leaders by asking its large, male-led suppliers to report on the gender makeup of employees on their key, internal teams.We didnt set any quotas or requirements, we just asked them to share the information, and just through that we saw the diversity of those teams increase, she said.Risky business: do companies pay a price for expressing political views? Read more Walmart also announced Wednesday that it will join eight other multinational companies Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Exxon-Mobil, General Mills, Campbells Soup, Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson and Mondoleez to commit to sourcing more from women-owned companies.These companies plan to report their progress each year to the Womens Business Enterprise National Council, a nonprofit in Washington DC that validates companies that are owned or operated by women, given that government agencies and the private sector run programs to promote women-owned businesses. The council will use the data to produce an annual report. McLaughlin said she hopes other companies will join the initiative as well.Ariela Balk, founder and CEO of Smart & Sexy, a lingerie company in New York City, mentored women as part of Walmarts initiative. She noted that the program opened the door, but it wasnt meant to guarantee success.No one is asking for any special privileges and advantages, said Balk, who has been selling her products to Walmart for more than a decade. Business is tough. The customer votes and the best product wins.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/mar/29/women-gender-gap-walmart-business'|'2017-03-29T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'393e866a0db8c7d4263dd61e9dcd9774f370c88c'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX rises as Canadian Natural Resources leads energy bounce'|' 11am EST CANADA STOCKS-TSX rises as Canadian Natural Resources leads energy bounce * TSX rises 31.02 points, or 0.2 percent, to 15,528.00. * Seven of the TSX''s 10 main groups climb TORONTO, March 9 Canada''s main stock index edged higher on Thursday as Canadian Natural Resources led a rebound in energy shares after sharp losses the day before, and the materials group gained ground. Royal Dutch Shell Plc agreed to sell its existing and undeveloped Canadian oil sands interests to Canadian Natural Resources and to cut its share in the Athabasca Oil Sands Project from 60 percent to 10 percent. Shares of Canadian Natural Resources rose more than 8 percent to C$42.64, while the overall energy group advanced 1.4 percent even as oil prices fell. U.S. crude was down 1.4 percent at $49.56 a barrel, extending recent losses as record inventories kept sentiment weak. Despite Thursday''s gains, the energy group has fallen nearly 11 percent since the start of the year. On Wednesday, it posted its lowest close since September. The materials group added 0.7 percent on Thursday as gains for fertilizer shares offset lower metal prices. Potash Corp of Saskatchewan Inc rose 4.3 percent to C$23.82, and merger partner Agrium Inc gained nearly 4 percent to C$132.59. Gold futures fell 0.2 percent to $1,205.60 an ounce, while copper prices declined 1.3 percent to $5,693.5 a tonne. At 11:09 a.m. EST (1605 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index was up 31.02 points, or 0.2 percent, at 15,528.00. Seven of the index''s 10 main groups advanced. The heavyweight financials group edged up 0.1 percent as bond yields climbed after upbeat comments by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi on the economy there. Higher bond yields reduce the value of insurance companies'' liabilities and increase net interest margins of banks. Dorel Industries Inc tumbled 9.6 percent to C$31.23 after the global consumer products company reported fourth-quarter results. Canada''s industrial capacity rose to its highest level in two years in the fourth quarter, lifted by gains in the mining and quarrying sector and a rebound in construction, data from Statistics Canada showed. (Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn) UPDATE UPDATE 1-U.S. SEC commissioner raises questions about unequal voting rights WASHINGTON/BOSTON, March 9 One of two current members of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday raised questions for companies that offer shareholders unequal voting rights, saying the regulator should "focus on how some innovations may prove detrimental to investors." * banks and insurance companies announce canadian business growth fund of up to $1 billion MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-idUSL2N1GM12Z'|'2017-03-09T23:11:00.000+02:00' +'14888bd7f94559b79b3ae429755d8f902b44eea6'|'Austria joins up charging points to boost electric car usage'|'Environment 2:56pm GMT Austria joins up charging points to boost electric car usage VIENNA Austria is creating a nationwide network of charging stations for electric cars, making it easier for drivers to charge up as part of the country''s efforts to promote the vehicles to reduce CO2 emissions. From April, 11 electricity suppliers will combine their charging stations into one network of 1,300 public points throughout the Alpine republic, Transport Minister Joerg Leichtfried said at a news conference on Monday. Majority state-owned hydropower producer Verbund, working with Germany''s Siemens, is the country''s largest provider of charging points, with around 400. The move means drivers can sign up with any one of the 11 suppliers and use all the stations within the combined network, rather than have separate contracts with each company. Austria has been supporting the use of electric cars with various initiatives over the last six years and saw a 130 percent jump in new registrations of electric cars last year, the biggest increase within the European Union. Since the beginning of the month, buyers in Austria can receive up to 4,000 euros ($4,300) in rebates to help offset the higher price of an electric vehicle. Neighboring Germany introduced a comparable premium last year. The share of electric cars is three times higher in Austria than the EU average and four times as high as in Germany. As well as investing in electric cars, auto manufacturers BMW, Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ), Ford and Daimler are planning to build about 400 next-generation charging stations in Europe that can reload an electric car in minutes instead of hours. Transport Minister Leichtfried said Austria''s network will comprise 2,000 stations by the end of the year, rising to 5,000 in 2020, adding the network will be connected with others in Europe within months. The new network will not cover all charging stations available in Austria but Juergen Halasz, the head of the federal electromobility association, said he expected others to join in the future. (Reporting by Kirsti Knolle; Editing by Victoria Bryan) Next In Environment'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-austria-environment-autos-idUKKBN16R1PJ'|'2017-03-20T21:53:00.000+02:00' +'81caa1e7cc6f4a380d6cdd18862b5415b73b650c'|'Bridgepoint picks Solebury as Pret a Manger listing adviser: sources'|'By Dasha Afanasieva , Lauren Hirsch and Arno Schuetze - LONDON/NEW YORK LONDON/NEW YORK Fast food chain Pret a Manger''s private equity owners have chosen Solebury Capital to advise on a planned New York stock market listing, people close to the situation said.The U.S. capital markets advisory firm will also help Bridgepoint select investment banks for an initial public offering, which could come before the end of the year, they added."Our longstanding investment in Pret regularly prompts speculation about our intentions. We expect to remain a significant investor for the foreseeable future," a spokesman for Bridgepoint said.Solebury declined to comment.Launched more than three decades ago, Pret A Manger has around 400 branches globally, serving fast food made onsite to more than 300,000 customers in Britain, the United States, Paris, Hong Kong and Shanghai. It is aiming to expand store numbers by around 15 percent per year.Bridgepoint bought the chain, best known for its coffee, pastries and sandwiches, at the height of the buyout boom in 2008 for 500 million euros ($539 million).Although the majority of Pret a Manger''s stores are in Britain, the company is expected to pursue a listing in the U.S., where the pool of investors is deeper and valuations potentially higher.Pret generated 84 million pounds in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization on sales of 676 million in 2015, according to the company''s latest financial results.(Editing by Keith Weir)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-pretamanger-ipo-idINKBN16U26L'|'2017-03-23T13:17:00.000+02:00' +'ef31e57aebb48f240e265b53c6033f7c6eb2596c'|'Canadian fintech DH Corp to be taken private in C$4.8 billion deal'|'Investment firm Vista Equity Partners said on Monday it would buy Canada''s DH Corp ( DH.TO ) in a deal valued at C$4.8 billion ($3.6 billion), in the latest sign of interest in companies specializing in financial technology.Fintechs, or companies that use technology to revamp everything from banking to fraud security, globally draw billions in investment annually.Private equity firms as well as major financial institutions have invested in fintechs in the expectation that new innovations will transform the financial services industry in decades to come.Venture capital-backed investment in Canadian financial technology companies hit its highest level in almost two decades last year, even as the flow of funds into major fintech markets like the United States declined, according to sector data.Vista offered C$25.50 in cash for each DH Corp share, an 11 percent premium to the stock''s Friday closing price.Vista also said it would combine DH with one of its portfolio companies, UK-based Misys ( IPO-MISY.L ), a software provider for retail and corporate banking, lending, treasury and capital markets.Formerly Davis + Henderson Corp, DH has transformed itself from a cheque printing company into a provider of payment and lending services. Its customers include banks and credit unions.DH has close to 8,000 customers, including Canada''s five biggest lenders and more than half of the world''s 50 largest banks.The deal follows DH''s appointment of a special committee in December to assess expressions of interest to buy the company.DH shares, which dropped to a record low last November, have since risen over 64 percent in anticipation of an acquisition.Credit Suisse and RBC Capital Markets are financial advisers to DH while Stikeman Elliott LLP and Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP provided legal counsel.Morgan Stanley, Barclays and Citi are financial advisers to Vista Equity Partners. Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Goodmans LLP provided legal counsel.(Reporting by Ahmed Farhatha in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza and Sai Sachin Ravikumar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-dh-m-a-idINKBN16K1EY'|'2017-03-13T09:59:00.000+02:00' +'d01ccfbfbe1f59c5eb3572cc3abc47cd17c655ee'|'UPDATE 2-Puerto Rico sees $1.2 bln a year in debt service spending'|'(Adds detail from plan)By Nick BrownMarch 1 Puerto Rico''s fiscal turnaround plan shows about $1.2 billion a year available to service debt, 50 percent more than an earlier projection by the federally appointed board overseeing the U.S. territory''s finances.The plan, which the island''s government released on Wednesday, is meant to serve as a blueprint for Puerto Rico''s ascent out of fiscal crisis and as the basis for upcoming restructuring talks with holders of some $70 billion in debt.The government is expecting higher baseline revenues and lower expenses than the board''s projection. However, it falls short of some spending cuts recommended by the board, such as on healthcare funding.The plan cites the possibility of a debt restructuring that could include new tradable securities or a structure that ties creditor recoveries to economic growth.The 10-year fiscal plan, which Governor Ricardo Rossello delivered to the board late on Tuesday night, is a requirement of federal Puerto Rico rescue legislation, known as PROMESA and passed last year.The island is trying to fend off economic catastrophe, facing a 45 percent poverty rate and nearly insolvent public pensions and healthcare systems.The plan needs approval by the board, which is under no obligation to rubber-stamp it and can develop its own plan. The board has said it wants to approve a plan by March 15.Rossello would save as much as $550 million on healthcare and about $89 million in pension spending. While this is below the board''s targets, the governor has cited the need to protect Puerto Rico''s poorest residents.The board had recommended $1 billion a year in spending cuts to healthcare and $200 million to pensions.Rossello''s plan still manages to increase the projected figure available for debt service, to $1.2 billion from the board''s figure of $800 million, by using a higher forecast for baseline revenues and a lower one for expenses.According to the plan, a debt restructuring could include creating additional tradable securities or series of cash flow notes. It could also rely on a structure that ties creditor recoveries to economic growth on the island.Citing internal data, the governor''s plan said Puerto Rico''s COFINA bonds, which are backed by sales tax revenue, trade at about 69 cents on the secondary market, while general obligation bonds, guaranteed by the island''s constitution, trade around 67 cents. (Reporting by Nick Brown; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Lisa Von Ahn)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/puertorico-debt-fiscalplan-idINL2N1GE0ZL'|'2017-03-01T12:01:00.000+02:00' +'580fbcf77372bced20e4e2c6c3498a12a6a8e08b'|'Benchmark JGBs firm, superlong zone slips after 30-year sale'|'TOKYO, March 7 Benchmark Japanese government bonds firmed slightly on Tuesday, though superlong maturities slumped after an uninspiring 30-year JGB sale.The benchmark 10-year JGB yield fell 0.5 basis point (bp) to 0.065 percent, while 10-year JGB futures ended up 0.11 point at 150.70.But the 20-year yield rose 1 bp to 0.650 percent.The 30-year JGB yield added 2 bps to 0.855 percent, up from an earlier session low of 0.825 percent.At the Ministry of Finance''s sale of 800 billion yen ($7.02 billion) of 30-year JGBs with a 0.8 percent coupon, 97.5395 percent of the bids were accepted at the lowest price of 99.30, which was somewhat lower than some market participants had expected.The tail between the average and lowest accepted prices narrowed to 0.19 compared with that of last month''s offering at 0.27. But the sale drew bids of 3.14 times the amount offered, down from the previous sale''s bid-to-cover ratio of 3.23 times, indicating somewhat weaker demand for the bonds.With inflation still stagnant and economic recovery fragile, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda has no plan to tighten monetary policy any time soon.But he wants to ensure the BOJ''s stimulus programme is made sustainable by laying the grounds for a gradual slowdown in its bond purchases, sources familiar with the BOJ''s thinking say -- with just months before the departure of two key board members who want to slow an unsustainable pace of bond purchases.($1 = 113.9400 yen) (Reporting by Tokyo markets team; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/japan-bonds-idINL3N1GK2O1'|'2017-03-07T04:12:00.000+02:00' +'307a490eac9fd981d439557b96f7633ba5b466bd'|'Porsche SE has no information about Piech''s stake sale talks'|'STUTTGART, Germany Porsche SE ( PSHG_p.DE ), Volkswagen''s majority shareholder, said it has no information about former VW chairman Ferdinand Piech''s talks with the carmaker''s controlling families about a possible sale of his stake."We are only informed about the fact that talks are happening," Porsche SE chief executive Hans Dieter Poetsch said on Tuesday at the company''s earnings press conference."We cannot even say whether there will be a result."Should the negotiations of the Porsche and Piech families to buy a substantial part of Piech''s 14.7 percent stake in Porsche SE succeed, such a move would have no impact on the holding company''s ownership structure, Poetsch said."There will be no change to the fact that the voting shares will be held by the Porsche and Piech families," the CEO said.Porsche SE is the group through which the billionaire Porsche and Piech families control 52.2 percent of the voting shares in Volkswagen (VW), which is still dealing with the effects of its diesel emissions scandal.Separately, VW chief executive Matthias Mueller said he has had no discussions to date with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles ( FCHA.MI ) boss Sergio Marchionne about a possible tie-up.Last week, the VW CEO left the door open to a potential merger with Fiat Chrysler, saying Europe''s biggest automotive group was more open to partnerships than in the past.(Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Harro ten Wolde)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-porschese-piech-idINKBN16S17I'|'2017-03-21T08:19:00.000+02:00' +'cb9e2a6b0e54d2c5adc1cd6998f568aa39c75f07'|'Turkey''s Arcelik working on deals to expand abroad'|'LONDON Arcelik ( ARCLK.IS ), the home appliances arm of Turkey''s biggest industrial conglomerate Koc Holding ( KCHOL.IS ), is working on acquisitions to speed up its international expansion, particularly in Asia, its chief executive said on Monday.The company, which sells washing machines, dryers and refrigerators under labels including Beko and Grundig, wants more such "white goods" brands, but could also look at small appliances such as coffee makers and food processors."(M&A) is important because we have global ambitions," CEO Hakan Bulgurlu told Reuters in an interview in London.He forecast "significant demand growth" in southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, including Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines, as well as Bangladesh, Pakistan and India."They''re all focus areas for us," he said.Geography is a much more important factor than price, Bulgurlu added. Arcelik could easily do another deal like last year''s roughly $250 million purchase of Pakistan''s Dawlance, but could also do something several times bigger, he said."We''re opportunistic. We''re not restricted on size in any way."Bulgurlu said international markets should account for 65 percent of Arcelik''s sales this year, up from 60 percent in 2016, reaching 80 percent in a few years.Europe currently accounts for the large majority of international sales, though the company has a growing presence in Africa through its 2011 purchase of South Africa''s Defy Appliances.GLOBAL UNCERTAINTYBulgurlu stood by Arcelik''s forecast for revenue to grow 20 percent this year from 16.10 billion Turkish lira ($4.43 billion) in 2016, even though its overall home market could grow faster than the 3 percent it had previously forecast.The stronger market in Turkey is due to a recent government move to reduce a tax on white goods in order to spur demand. Still, the weak lira has made raw materials such as oil, steel and plastic more expensive, impacting profitability."There''s a lot of uncertainty in the world," Bulgurlu said, also citing the weak pound that has caused inflationary pressure in Britain, which accounts for 10 percent of sales.The company had to raise prices on some UK products and expects that to temper demand, especially after there was a surge due to expectations of future price rises."I think demand will taper off a little," Bulgurlu said, noting however that Arcelik still aimed to double its business in Britain in the next five years, even as the country''s exit from the European Union raises questions about the economy and the future of foreign workers."It will continue to be our most important market outside Turkey," he said.Arcelik opened a research and development center in Cambridge, eastern England, last year, in an effort to take advantage of a British tradition for scientific innovation."We want to tap into that and take that pure research and make it applicable to appliances," Bulgurlu said, citing potential for smart appliances such as refrigerators that know when food is going bad and ovens that can keep food cool until its time to cook.(Reporting by Martinne Geller; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-arcelik-strategy-idUSKBN16R202'|'2017-03-20T19:56:00.000+02:00' +'5098d750dfc1429b94f6b4fe5915c7d8a0d08f29'|'China airlines cut some S.Korea routes amid political standoff'|'SHANGHAI, March 10 Airline operators cut some routes between China and South Korea as the fallout spread on Friday from a diplomatic row over Seoul''s plans to deploy a U.S. missile defense system regardless of Beijing''s objections.In a statement on its website Korea''s Easter Jet Inc said it was stopping flights between the South Korean cities of Cheongju and the tourist hotspot Jeju with various Chinese cities including Ningbo, Jinjiang and Harbin.This followed Carnival Corp''s Costa Cruises and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd cancelling South Korean port visits by their China-based cruises. Royal Caribbean cited "recent developments regarding the situation in South Korea".A South Korean government document seen by Reuters said China recently gave a "7-point" verbal instruction to travel firms to curtail or ban trips to South Korea.The crackdown has sent a chill across South Korea''s retail and tourism sectors, which rely heavily on China trade, and prompted South Korea to say it will consider filing a complaint against China to the World Trade Organization over what it described as trade retaliation over the THAAD deployment issue.According to searches of their websites on Friday, China Eastern Airlines Corp Ltd and Spring Airline Co Ltd have stopped selling tickets for mid-next week onwards for flights between the eastern Chinese city of Ningbo and popular South Korean tourist island Jeju.The two airlines did not respond to requests for comment.Princess Cruises, also owned by Carnival, said in a statement to Reuters on Friday it would changes its routes to remove visits to South Korea, which it said would give passengers more time on the boat and at Japanese sites."Due to the current situation, Princess Cruises'' China team has been in close dialogue and prudent discussions with relevant departments," the firm said. "All routes which involve South Korea have been altered."South Korea relies heavily on Chinese tourists, who make up nearly half of all foreign visitors, official Korean data show.(Reporting by Adam Jourdan and Muyu Xu in BEIJING)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/southkorea-china-idINL3N1GN213'|'2017-03-10T02:01:00.000+02:00' +'351bd2474014e75bd8bb31a4f2e434b72e1f5ae8'|'UPDATE 1-Ahold Delhaize Q4 boosted by U.S. performance'|' Ahold Delhaize Q4 boosted by U.S. performance (Writes through with shares, company comment) By Alan Charlish March 1 Supermarket operator Ahold Delhaize reported fourth quarter earnings at the top end of estimates as its American business delivered a strong performance with volume growth offsetting price deflation. The U.S. market, where the company runs supermarket chains Stop & Shop, Giant, Hannaford and Food Lion, accounted for over 60 percent of Ahold Delhaize''s net sales in 2016. However, supermarkets there have been faced with the worst food deflationary environment in over 20 years, Morgan Stanley analysts said. Chief Executive Dick Boer told jounalists during a call he expects a return to inflation in the second half of the year. The company reported fourth quarter pro forma underlying operating income of 608 million euros, down 3.9 percent from the same period a year ago due to the impact of a 53rd week in 2015. Analysts polled for Reuters had seen underlying operating income at 605 million euros. "The results surprised positively overall...they are ahead in regions that matter, those being the U.S. and the Netherlands," said KBC analyst Alan Vandenberghe. Formed by the merger last year of Dutch Ahold and Belgian Delhaize, the company proposed a dividend of 0.57 euro, up 9.6 percent compared to the Ahold dividend for the previous year. Ahold Delhaize shares rose 3.3 percent by 0855 GMT. The company confirmed its target for 2017 of 220 million net synergies from the Ahold-Delhaize merger, including 22 million euros realized in 2016. It sees free cash flow of 1.6 billion euros for 2017. On the subject of synergies, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Carr told journalists that the company had made good progress on national brand negotions in Europe and the U.S. "We''ve also made good progress in the U.S., specifically in the U.S., in terms of own brands and discussions with suppliers on own brands," he added. (Reporting by Alan Charlish; Editing by Thyagaraju Adinarayan/Keith Weir) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/ahold-delhaize-results-idUSL5N1GE1BN'|'2017-03-01T15:58:00.000+02:00' +'acc24304b11f7bc8cf1adcf64a71426abc991b6f'|'Dumping complaint could kill Argentine biodiesel exports, groups says'|'Commodities 37pm EDT Dumping complaint could kill Argentine biodiesel exports, groups says By Maximiliano Rizzi - BUENOS AIRES BUENOS AIRES Argentina''s biodiesel exports could be devastated if the U.S. government imposed anti-dumping duties on the country based on a complaint by the U.S. National Biodiesel Board, the heads of two local industry chambers said. The board last week asked the U.S. government to impose anti-dumping duties on imports of biodiesel from Argentina and Indonesia after two years of tension between U.S. and foreign producers over soaring imports. "If a sanction is applied against Argentina in the U.S. market, our exports will no longer be viable. At this point, there is no alternative market," Claudio Molina, executive director of the Argentine Biofuels Association said on Friday in an interview. The United States is Argentina''s No.1 biodiesel export market and U.S. sanctions would large exporters such as Cargill [CARG.UL], Bunge, Louis Dreyfus [AKIRAU.UL] and COFCO Agri, part of China''s state-run COFCO Group Argentine biodiesel exports to its previous No. 1 client, the European Union, were suspended due to complaints and counter claims pending before the World Trade Organization. Peru, another buyer of Argentine biodiesel, has also placed tariffs on Argentine biodiesel based on dumping complaints. The Argentine market, where biodiesel is mixed with diesel fuel, is not nearly big enough to absorb the excess should exports to the United States be blocked. Of the 1.6 million tonnes of biodiesel that Argentina exported in 2016, 90 percent went to the United States, according to Energy Ministry data. A hearing will be held in the United States next month to evaluate the U.S. board''s request, Molina said Argentina taxes biodiesel at a variable rate, at 6 percent this month. But producers pay significantly less for soy oil, the main ingredient of biodiesel, than international competitors because they do not have to pay a 27 percent tax on exports. Local industry representatives say Argentina has an added advantage because its soy fields and crushing plants are located near the country''s ports. "We have much more access to raw materials and we are more oriented toward exporting than the United States is," said Victor Castro, executive director of the Argentine Biofuels Chamber. "The system (for resolving dumping complaints) is so bureaucratic and it takes so long that it can leave you out of the market for years without a ruling," Castro added. The WTO ruled last year in favor of several claims by Argentina against anti-dumping duties imposed by the European Union but the adjudication continues and the duties remain. (Editing by Maximiliano Rizzi; Writing by Hugh Bronstein; Editing by Andrew Hay) Next In Commodities'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-biodiesel-argentina-idUSKBN1722HP'|'2017-04-01T01:32:00.000+03:00' +'0fc07685dcf928774392094720f633f65fc867ae'|'Julius Baer says 2016 pay for CEO Collardi rises to 6.49 million Swiss francs'|' 6:17am GMT Julius Baer says 2016 pay for CEO Collardi rises to 6.49 million Swiss francs Chief Executive Boris Collardi of Swiss private bank Julius Baer smiles as he addresses a news conference to present the bank''s full-year results in Zurich, Switzerland February 1, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann ZURICH Julius Baer ( BAER.S ) Chief Executive Boris Collardi received 6.49 million Swiss francs ($6.52 million) in total compensation for 2016, the Swiss private bank said in its annual report on Monday. This was up from 6.16 million francs in 2015. The Zurich-based bank''s share price fell 7.1 percent last year. (Reporting by Joshua Franklin; Editing by Michael Shields) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-julius-baer-ceo-salary-idUKKBN16R0CG'|'2017-03-20T13:17:00.000+02:00' +'26bb8346cd439042706f1555e917645b3679173f'|'MIDEAST STOCKS - Factors to watch - Mar 20'|'DUBAI, March 20 Here are some factors that may affect Middle East stock markets on Monday. Reuters has not verified the press reports and does not vouch for their accuracy.INTERNATIONAL/REGIONAL* GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia stocks mixed, dollar slips as Fed continues to weigh* MIDEAST STOCKS-Insurance shares buoy Saudi, weak currency aids Egypt* Oil prices drop on rise in U.S. drilling* PRECIOUS-Gold hits 2-wk high as Fed rate hike guidance weighs on dollar* Air strike kills 42 refugees off Yemen, Somalia demands investigation* Hundreds of Lebanese protest proposed tax rise* EXCLUSIVE-Libya''s NOC says expects to regain Es Sider, Ras Lanuf oil ports* Iraqi forces close in on Mosul mosque as residents flee* Iran''s South Pars field has begun oil production -SHANA* Germany supports group behind Turkish coup attempt- Erdogan spokesman* U.S. base rises from the rubble for Mosul push* Egypt''s Sisi to visit Washington on April 3 - White House* UAE summons Swiss ambassador over UN Bahrain statement* Syrian forces and rebels fight fierce clashes in northeast Damascus* Saudi-led coalition calls for U.N. supervision of Yemen port* Lebanon''s Jumblatt affirms son as political heirEGYPT* Egypt targets around 5 pct growth rate in FY 2017-18* BRIEF-Union National Bank Egypt board approves capital increase* Average yields rise on Egyptian three and nine-month T-bills* Egyptian budget to assume exchange rate of 16 pounds/dollar* Egypt received two cargoes of diesel fuel from Saudi AramcoSAUDI ARABIA* BRIEF-Saudi''s Chemanol says Saudi''s SIDF approves restructuring remaining installments of co''s loanUNITED ARAB EMIRATES* Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank issues $230 million Formosa bond* UAEs Aster DM Healthcare seeks loan change to offset payment delayssources* Top real estate tycoon appointed Dubai Holding chairman* UAE central bank foreign assets rise in February* MEDIA-Uber rivals from Dubai, China team up for ride-hailing allianceQATAR* Commercial Bank of Qatar considers international bond issue sources* BRIEF-Ooredoo Qatar announces group chief strategy, M&A officers appointment* Deutsche Bank to issue 687.5 mln new shares at 11.65 euros eachBAHRAIN* Bahrain''s GFH appoints new chairman, to focus on M&A (Reporting by Dubai Newsroom)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/mideast-factors-idINL5N1GW0GX'|'2017-03-20T01:27:00.000+02:00' +'cc141e3ec3d7651aa7588bffc742283248319324'|'BRIEF-Veritone Inc files for IPO of up to $15 mln'|'March 15 Veritone inc* files for ipo of up to $15.0 million - sec filing* Veritone inc says have applied to list common stock on the nasdaq capital market under the symbol veri* Veritone inc - wunderlich and Craig-Hallum capital group underwriters to the ipo* Veritone inc - proposed ipo price is an estimate solely for purpose of calculating sec registration fee Source text for Eikon:'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/brief-veritone-inc-files-for-ipo-of-up-t-idINFWN1GS0RB'|'2017-03-15T18:37:00.000+02:00' +'fbf5f47824acb28fd0935ca8b244e98a92b909ee'|'Prudential posts record operating profit in 2016, shares rise'|' 56am GMT Prudential posts record operating profit in 2016, shares rise The logo of British life insurer Prudential is seen on their building, in London October 21, 2008. REUTERS/Stephen Hird/File Photo LONDON British insurer Prudential ( PRU.L ) reported record 2016 operating profit of 4.3 billion pounds on Tuesday, led by growth in its Asian business and sending its shares higher. Analysts were expecting operating profit of 4.1 billion pounds, a company-compiled poll showed. Prudential, which has large operations in Britain, the United States and Asia, has been focussing on expanding its Asian business. The firm saw a 15 percent rise in Asian operating profit, to 1.6 billion pounds. The insurer, which is listed in London and Asia, said it would pay a second interim dividend of 30.57 pence per share and total dividend of 43.5 pence, up 12 percent from a year earlier and compared with a forecast 41.62 pence. Prudential''s shares were trading at 1,694.5 pence at 0847 GMT, up 1.8 percent at around a two-year high and at the top of the FTSE 100 index .FTSE . (Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; editing by Simon Jessop) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-prudential-results-idUKKBN16L0TI'|'2017-03-14T15:56:00.000+02:00' +'8d95e708a8598e0be09c77d0342b814f0628e34c'|'UPDATE 1-Transcom shares drop after Altor says it won''t raise bid'|'(Adds detail, background)March 1 Swedish private equity firm Altor said on Wednesday it would not hike its offer for call-center firm Transcom, sending Transcom shares, which had been trading above the bid level, lower.* Altor says will not raise offer for Transcom* Private equity firm Altor announced a recommended 2.29 billion crown cash bid of 87.50 SEK/share in December* Altor said last week it was extending the acceptance period in its bid for Transcom Worldwide to March 10 after failing to reach the 90 percent threshold needed to complete the offer in the initial period.* Both Maven Securities and Sand Grove Capital have disclosed Transcom holdings of more than 5 pct each since the bid was made.* Transcom shares drop 4.6 pct to 88 SEK at 1225 GMT Source text for Eikon: (Reporting by Johannes Hellstrom)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/transcom-bid-altor-idINL5N1GE4DN'|'2017-03-01T09:30:00.000+02:00' +'d2c7ce8f0ade808396dab3805ce872ffc1c6eca4'|'Israel Aerospace puts IPO, foreign acquisitions in its sights'|'BEN GURION AIRPORT, Israel State-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) believes the need for a public share offer is becoming urgent as the country''s largest defense contractor wants to make acquisitions abroad to enable it to better compete in foreign markets.The 64-year-old company, which helped pioneer the development of military drones and also produces satellites, missiles and radar systems, is already planning to acquire companies and set up subsidiaries in countries like India and the United States, where protectionist policies demand that defense spending increasingly benefits local industry.Chief Financial Officer Eyal Younian said that to help finance acquisitions the government should move ahead soon with plans to sell a 20 percent stake in IAI on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.He said IAI currently needs to issue bonds or borrow money from banks and pay interest of 3-4 percent. An IPO would raise new capital, reducing the need to borrow."We cannot support the line of credit that we need for our businesses. The regulations in the banks in Israel and around the world limit us and we cannot support our backlog (of orders)," Younian told Reuters.In addition, many private contractors in Israel and overseas receive government subsidies but being state-owned IAI is ineligible and the rules should be changed, Younian said, pointing out that local rival Elbit Systems ( ESLT.TA ) pays corporate tax at a rate of 6 percent while IAI pays 24 percent.A senior government source with knowledge of the matter estimated IAI''s equity value at $3-$4 billion but said an IPO could not take place until a new chairman is appointed. The timing of that remains unclear, but the source said the earliest there could be an IPO was in 2018.IAI has annual sales of about $3.7 billion and its backlog of orders exceeds $9 billion.While the share offer will be in Tel Aviv, the next step could be a dual listing for the shares in the United States, Younian said.IAI must already submit financial reports to the bourse, where its bonds trade , as well as report to the government''s Companies Authority.Accounting for up to half of Israel''s defense exports, IAI had mostly grown internally over the last decade, but that is set to change."Now we will have to face the fact that countries are protecting their industries, like in India, like in Brazil, like in the USA," Younian said, adding that acquisitions would allow it to strengthen its foothold.He noted that in many countries only local companies can bid as a prime contractor. As a result IAI, which exports 80 percent of its production, is limited to being a subcontractor.FOREIGN DEALSIAI already has a U.S. subsidiary but it does not contribute significantly to the company''s production."I think our subsidiaries in the States and around the world should contribute much more in the coming decade. This is the strategic directive from the board of directors that we as management need to execute," he said.Younian said IAI, which employs 15,000 people, will carry out two "important and material" deals in the next few years related to its target markets of the United States and India, but he declined to elaborate.With Asia a focus for IAI, the company in February formed a joint venture in India with Kalyani Strategic Systems to build air defense systems and lightweight munitions.Indian media last week reported that India''s government had given the go-ahead for a $2.5 billion deal in which IAI and India would jointly develop a medium-range surface-to-air missile system.Eli Alfassi, IAI''s executive vice president for marketing, said IAI was awaiting official confirmation from India but declined to say how much the deal was worth.IAI is also waiting for Israel''s government to decide on whether to progress with a long-term satellite program after its Amos-6 communications satellite was destroyed when a SpaceX launcher exploded in Florida in September."We are hoping to build Amos-8," said Ofer Doron, head of IAI''s space division. "It''s under discussion right now."Talks also involve Spacecom ( SCC.TA ), the operator of the Amos satellites. Amos-8 would cost hundreds of millions of dollars and be ready for launch in about four years.(Editing by Greg Mahlich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-aerospace-strategy-idUSKBN1684KU'|'2017-03-01T16:52:00.000+02:00' +'b29b8784a2332420b4bff7f6e70dcd67eaed0de5'|'UPDATE 1-Indonesia in tentative deal for Airbus A400M military planes'|'Company News 21am EDT UPDATE 1-Indonesia in tentative deal for Airbus A400M military planes (Adds Airbus comments) PARIS, March 29 Indonesia has signed a letter of intent to buy Airbus A400M military aircraft, French President Francois Hollande''s office said on Wednesday. The provisional agreement was signed during a visit to Indonesia by Hollande and covers an unspecified number of aircraft, according to a list of deals issued by his office. If completed, it would provide the troubled European military programme with a second export customer after Malaysia. A previous deal to export A400M airplanes to South Africa was cancelled in 2009. Chile was also at one time seen as an export partner for the aircraft, which has run into billions of euros of cost overruns and years of development delays. Hinting at industrial work as part of any deal, the head of Airbus Military Aircraft, Fernando Alonso, said the aircraft would form the basis of further industrial co-operation and could eventually boost the Indonesian Air Force''s Mobility Arm - a type of unit which typically handles troop transport. At present Indonesia operates Lockheed Martin C-130 transporter planes and Spanish CASA planes built under licence. Airbus said the letter of intent was signed by Pelita Air, representing a consortium consisting of state-owned companies. "Future discussions will address, among other things, the number of aircraft to be encompassed in an eventual contract and possible industrial cooperation arrangements," Airbus added. (Reporting by Cyril Altmeyer, Tim Hepher; editing by Alexander Smith) Next In Company News UPDATE 11-''No turning back'': PM May triggers ''historic'' Brexit LONDON, March 29 Prime Minister Theresa May formally began Britain''s divorce from the European Union on Wednesday, declaring there was no turning back and ushering in a tortuous exit process that will test the bloc''s cohesion and pitch her country into the unknown. EMERGING MARKETS-Mexico peso strengthens on oil, rate hike bets SAO PAULO, March 29 The Mexican peso strengthened on Wednesday, supported by rising oil prices and bets that the central bank will increase interest rates this week. The peso firmed 1 percent after losing 1.4 percent in the previous two days. Traders expect Mexico''s central bank to raise its benchmark interest rate this week for the fifth meeting in a row but at a slower pace following the peso''s recent rally. Bets that U.S. President Donald Trump will not impose big MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/airbus-indonesia-a400m-idUSL5N1H65IF'|'2017-03-29T23:21:00.000+03:00' +'e8f18cb23e06f0e0397841819776399f9032cb94'|'All aboard: Can a railway legend deliver at Americas CSX?'|'E. HUNTER HARRISON, a veteran railway executive, tried retiring in 2010, after he made Canadian National (CN), a formerly state-owned company, the best-performing of the large railways in North America. But once he pocketed the gold watch and attended the retirement party he faced a void that raising and training horses for showjumping did not fill. By mid-2012 he was back at the helm of another railway, Canadian Pacific (CP), whose glory days were long past. Once he had turned around CP, he didnt make the same mistake again. On January 18th the 72-year-old Tennesseean both announced his departure and entered negotiations with Florida-based CSX to become that railways CEO.Just the rumour that Mr Harrison might be moving to CSX caused the share price to rise by 23% in 24 hours. It continued to rise when the negotiations became public. At last, on March 6th, CSX appointed Mr Harrison as CEO and met the condition set by Mantle Ridge, an activist hedge fund with which he has partnered, to name five new board directors. Mr Harrison made long-term shareholders in CP and CN rich, tripling profits at both during his tenures. CSX shareholders expect the same. 14 Will he deliver? CSX is different from the railways Mr Harrison has run in the past. Its 21,000-mile network is concentrated, spaghetti-like, in heavily-populated eastern America, unlike the linear, continent-spanning networks of roughly similar total length that are operated by CN and CP. And he faces two new and potentially damaging headwinds: the decline of coal, a mainstay of railway-freight volumes; and Donald Trumps views on trade. Both could seriously disrupt business on North American railways.Mr Harrison certainly knows the industry inside and out. He reportedly started out lubricating the undercarriage of railcars for $1.50 an hour and worked his way up at Burlington Northern before leaving to work for Illinois Central. He joined CN when it bought Illinois Central in 1998. Along the way he became an evangelist for precision railroading, his concept that freight trains should run on a strict schedule regardless of whether they are near-empty or full. This went against the prevailing trend of adding more locomotives and cars and leaving their schedules flexible. Operating fewer trains, but on time, Mr Harrison showed, meant greater efficiency and better service for customers, who know when their shipments will arrive.Another part of precision railroading is ditching old equipment and slashing staff. Mr Harrison retired 700 locomotives, or two-fifths of the fleet, at CP; about 6,000 of 20,000 jobs disappeared, largely through attrition. This earned him the ire of some unions, which also questioned the impact on safety of time-saving measures like allowing staff to jump on and off (slow-)moving trains or insisting that managers drive trains if no other staff were available. This reduced some managers to tears, says a former employee: They werent afraid of driving the train, they were afraid of crashing it. Mr Harrison thought the hands-on experience would help them do their desk jobs better.CSX is in better shape than either of his previous two charges. CN was government-owned until 1995 and was hobbled by bureaucracy. CP, created to tie Canada together with a line extending to the west coast, was the laggard among the big North American railways when Mr Harrison arrived. Its operating ratio (operating expenses as a percentage of revenues) was 81.3 at the end of 2011. By 2016 it had been driven down to around 60, although some people quibble that one-off sales may have flattered the ratio. CSX had an operating ratio of 69.4 in 2016, and is already making many of the moves Mr Harrison has used elsewhere, like increasing the ratio of cars to locomotives and cutting staff.As for coal, revenues from the commodity fell by nearly $2bn to $1.7bn between 2011 and 2016. Further falls are expected. The main replacement as a source of revenue is intermodal container freight carrying all manner of goods. Here Mr Trump is a problem. His proposed renegotiation of the North American Free-Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is creating alarm in the industry. Re-imposing borders in the North American market would have a tremendously negative effect, says William Vantuono, editor-in-chief of RailwayAge .Accepting the job, Mr Harrison confirmed that he will bring precision railroading to CSX. Might he have grander ambitions? Mr Vantuono believes that his ultimate goal is to arrange one of the mergers that eluded him in the past and to create a transcontinental railway. Others think he just wants to showagainthat his way is the right way. There isnt a railroad that Hunter Harrison couldnt improve, says Anthony Hatch, a New York-based analyst. But it will be difficult to repeat his previous successes or to match sky-high shareholder expectations.'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21718551-hunter-harrisons-precision-railroading-method-requires-trains-run-time-can-railway?fsrc=rss'|'2017-03-11T12:00:00.000+02:00' +'6035ef9fbece53099fcbafc2211413cfdc61f54f'|'BRIEF-Cintas Corp says G&K Services enters amended and restated note purchase agreement'|' 06pm EDT BRIEF-Cintas Corp says G&K Services enters amended and restated note purchase agreement March 21 Cintas Corp : * 3.73% series a senior notes due April 15,2023, 3.88% series B senior notes due April 15,2025 were deemed to be amended,restated * On March 21, 2017, G&K Services, Inc. entered into an amended and restated note purchase agreement * Interest on each tranche of notes is payable semiannually - SEC filing * Effective March 21, 2017, note purchase agreement, dated april 15, 2013, among G&K Services and Purchasers, replaced by A&R purchase agreement Source text - ( bit.ly/2nHaDfw '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-cintas-corp-says-gk-services-enter-idUSL5N1GY6JG'|'2017-03-22T05:06:00.000+02:00' +'6ffcc91e2b86d3748fc47f49a6dbd52322c24c10'|'BRIEF-Delta Air Lines files for resale of common stock of up to 15.32 mln shares by the Delta Master Trust - SEC filing'|'United States 35pm EDT BRIEF-Delta Air Lines files for resale of common stock of up to 15.32 mln shares by the Delta Master Trust - SEC filing March 30 Delta Air Lines Inc * Delta Air Lines Inc - files for resale of common stock of up to 15.32 million shares by the Delta Master Trust - SEC filing Source text: ( bit.ly/2nQkoHu ) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-delta-air-lines-files-for-resale-o-idUSFWN1H70Y3'|'2017-03-31T05:35:00.000+03:00' +'8a492fc3b6d073b5d827d3928b4609d43ab2efb5'|'U.S. 2-year notes sold at highest yield since December'|'NEW YORK, March 27 The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday sold $26 billion of two-year notes at a yield of 1.261 percent, the highest at an two-year auction since December, Treasury data showed.The ratio of bids to the amount offered was 2.73, below the 2.82 at the prior two-year auction in February but above its 12-month average, Treasury data showed. (Reporting by Richard Leong; editing by Diane Craft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-auction-2year-idINL2N1H40XH'|'2017-03-27T15:15:00.000+03:00' +'ceb541d66851017c8adee5c078db4a3f0fa20c6a'|'Satellite group Inmarsat''s earnings boosted by governments, airlines'|' 10pm GMT Satellite group Inmarsat''s earnings boosted by governments, airlines A technician looks at a solar panel on the Inmarsat S-Band/Hellas-Sat 3 satellite in the clean room facilities of the Thales Alenia Space plant in Cannes, France, February 3, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/File Photo By Paul Sandle - LONDON LONDON British satellite company Inmarsat ( ISA.L ) said strong demand from governments and aviation customers in the final quarter of 2016 helped core earnings for the year to rise 9.5 percent to $795 million (654.16 million pounds), sending its shares to a two-month high. Chief Executive Rupert Pearce said a large part of the group''s outperformance in the final quarter was down to a one-off contract from the U.S government. "It shows that governments are using us for operation deployments, and in particular they like GX," he said, referring to the company''s new global satellite network. He said demand from airlines boosted revenue at the end of the year, helping to offset continued weakness from maritime customers, which has long been the largest part of its business. Inmarsat is building a network with Deutsche Telekom ( DTEGn.DE ) in Europe that will provide high-speed broadband to passengers on short-haul flights. The satellite company said on Wednesday that BA and Iberia owner International Airlines Group ( ICAG.L ) would be the launch customer for the network, which it aims to have in place later this year. IAG planned to connect more than 300 of its aircraft to the network, allowing customers to browse the internet and stream video, and have 90 percent of its short-haul fleet equipped by early 2019, Inmarsat said. The satellite group said it expected growth to come from its new networks, but it warned that its markets "continued to be challenging, with sustained pressure on customer expenditure, increasing competition and the arrival of new satellite capacity." It said the outlook for the next two years was difficult to predict, though it said it expected revenue of $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion this year, in line with market expectations. In 2018, it sees revenue increasing to $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion next, an up to 10 percent downgrade to its previous expectations, although the new numbers are in line with analysts'' forecasts. Chief Financial Officer Tony Bates said the guidance had been lowered because of satellite launch delays and uncertainty over the timing of some airline deals. Revenue in 2016 rose 4.3 percent to $1.33 billion, the company said. Shares in Inmarsat were trading up 6.5 percent at 729 pence at 1142 GMT. (Editing by David Clarke and Jane Merriman) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-inmarsat-results-idUKKBN16F0SY'|'2017-03-08T19:10:00.000+02:00' +'2af188146baaec6ee41176e2e9a08eaf2aac1648'|'BRIEF-Xoma board approved salary increases for CEO James Neal, CFO Thomas Burns on March 2, 2017'|' 11pm EST BRIEF-Xoma board approved salary increases for CEO James Neal, CFO Thomas Burns on March 2, 2017 March 8 Xoma Corp * Xoma -on March 2, 2017, board approved salary increases for James Neal, chief executive officer, and Thomas Burns, chief financial officer Source text ( bit.ly/2mkguDP ) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-xoma-board-approved-salary-increas-idUSFWN1GL0UN'|'2017-03-09T05:11:00.000+02:00' +'8ca260a2666c4297c76a90e7a3e809e239afcb14'|'Politics ''tightening grip'' on financial market behaviour - BIS'|'Business 05am EST Politics ''tightening grip'' on financial market behavior: BIS The headquarters of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) are seen in Basel, Switzerland, December 15, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann By Marc Jones - LONDON LONDON Investors are focusing more on politics and have become more selective in what they buy, the Bank for International Settlements said on Monday in its latest signal that markets may be breaking free from a dependence on central bank support. The BIS said in its quarterly report that there had been increased discrimination across asset classes, regions and sectors, in contrast to the cross-asset "herd behavior" that has characterized recent years. "Politics tightened its grip over financial markets in the past quarter, reasserting its supremacy over economics," the head of the BIS'' monetary and economic department, Claudio Borio, said. The BIS, often referred to as the "central banks'' central bank", acts as a forum for the world''s major monetary authorities. Its commentaries on global markets and economics give an insight into policymakers'' thinking. Borio called the drop in correlation between asset classes a "precipitous" one. Donald Trump''s U.S. presidential election win had triggered so-called reflation trades that have seen Wall Street surge and both the dollar and U.S. government bond yields stay high. "It was as if, after an unexpectedly rich meal, investors had to take their time to digest it. As a result, central banks once more stepped back from the limelight." The report also touched on the political uncertainty in Europe, where upcoming French, Dutch, German and potentially Italian elections are influencing sentiment. Euro zone government bond spreads, such as those between France and Germany, have widened. This has also drawn attention to the growing imbalances between weaker and stronger euro zone members in the European Central Bank''s TARGET2 payment system. However, the BIS found that the latter had more to do with the mechanical effect of ECB''s large-scale asset purchases and that there was no such relationship with credit default swap spreads that investors buy as a protection against default. Research by two BIS economists, meanwhile, struck a note of caution about the degree to which consumer-led growth was driving key economies like Canada, China, France, India, Italy, South Africa, Britain and the United States. "Consumption-led expansions tend to be significantly weaker than when growth is driven by other components of aggregate demand, often because of the build-up of imbalances." It can also be a sign that growth is likely slow in the future, particularly if consumption-led growth goes hand in hand with rising debt. ROCK AND A HARD PLACE Higher bond yields and a stronger dollar also pose risks, especially to emerging markets, though the report acknowledged that many EM equity and credit markets have seen sentiment improve in recent months. Nevertheless Borio said: "These countries have been caught between a rock and a hard place, the rock being the prospect of a tightening of U.S. monetary policy (even if gradual), an appreciating dollar and their FX currency debt, and the hard place the threat of rising protectionism." There had been a slight increase in dollar debt in emerging markets. U.S. dollar credit to non-bank borrowers outside the United States, a key gauge of global liquidity climbed $420 billion to $10.5 trillion in the six months to the end of September. Emerging market borrowers accounted for about a third, or $3.6 trillion. For the first time, the total includes dollar credit extended by banks in China and Russia. At the same time global U.S. dollar funding for banks outside the United States rose to a new high of $9 trillion in September, driven by a $531 billion increase in offshore deposits of dollars since the start of the year. "These structural changes highlight the increasing role of offshore dollar funding in the global banking system," said Hyun Song Shin, the BIS'' economic adviser and head of research. For full report click www.bis.org/ (Reporting by Marc Jones; Editing by Toby Chopra) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-bis-markets-report-idUSKBN16D15E'|'2017-03-06T18:00:00.000+02:00' +'a49d1268652f8872e502b5abad1cfc22c0866ab0'|'Sterling slips as Brexit talks get green light, stocks subdued before Fed'|'Business 24am IST Sterling slips as Brexit talks get green light, stocks subdued before Fed FULL COVERAGE: By Nichola Saminather - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Sterling slipped on Tuesday after Britain''s parliament paved the way for Prime Minister Theresa May to launch divorce talks with the European Union, while stocks were subdued ahead of an expected U.S. interest rate later in the week. The pound GBP=D4 retreated 0.1 percent to $1.2201 after both houses backed the so-called Brexit bill, opening the door for May to start the clock on the required two-year negotiation period by the end of this month. The euro EUR=EBS hovered at $1.06545, failing to regain any of Monday''s 0.2 percent loss. On Monday, sterling had jumped 0.36 percent after Scotland''s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon demanded a new independent referendum in late 2018 or early 2019, once the terms of the UK''s exit from the EU are clearer. The MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was flat in early trade, while Japan''s Nikkei .N225 dropped 0.1 percent. Investors in Asia were also awaiting manufacturing, retail sales and investment data out of China at 0200 GMT for a reading on the strength of the world''s second-largest economy, after strong gains in import and producer price reports last week. On Monday, Goldman Sachs upgraded Chinese stocks to "overweight" on better growth prospects and a bullish view on the country''s banking sector. Strategists cited rising producer prices and easing credit stress, and a brighter credit outlook and loan pricing for banks. Overnight, Wall Street was mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI down 0.1 percent, while Nasdaq .IXIC rose 0.24 percent and the S&P .SPX was little changed. With an interest rate hike this week by the Federal Reserve fully priced in, markets are focused on signals from the central bank about the pace of future rises. Elsewhere in currencies, the dollar was steady at 114.84 yen JPY= , after touching a seven-week high on Monday on expectations of a Fed move at the end of a two-day meeting on Wednesday. It fell back to close slightly lower in the previous session. The dollar index .DXY was fractionally higher at 101.37, extending Monday''s gains following a bout of profit taking at the end of last week. Markets are also awaiting a meeting of the Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers in the German town of Baden Baden starting on Friday, their first meeting since Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will be "pushing hard" to advance U.S. interests in his debut G20 meeting, including reaffirming commitments to avoid competitive currency devaluations, a senior Treasury official said on Monday. In commodities, oil prices dipped 0.1 percent. They touched a 3-1/2-month low in the previous session as concerns about rising U.S. production offset optimism about supply cuts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The looming U.S. rate increase weighed on gold XAU=. The precious metal inched down 0.1 percent to $1,201.91 in early trade, adding to Monday''s losses. (Reporting by Nichola Saminather; Editing by Kim Coghill) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idINKBN16L046'|'2017-03-14T07:46:00.000+02:00' +'0bbbb67cb311b83de6e6377c48ecfcbcc01663f7'|'Exclusive - Glencore in talks to sell global oil storage stakes: sources'|'Fri Mar 31, 2017 - 11:36am BST Exclusive: Glencore in talks to sell global oil storage stakes - sources The logo of commodities trader Glencore is pictured in front of the company''s headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, November 20, 2012. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo By Julia Payne - LONDON LONDON Swiss-based commodities trading and mining giant Glencore is in advanced talks to sell a bundle of its global oil storage stakes, sources familiar with the matter said, following a boom period for storage companies. If the sale reaches completion, Glencore will likely end up with minority stakes in the assets. The company owns much of its storage terminal interests via joint ventures and is selling half of these stakes, the sources said. A spokesman for Glencore declined to comment. "It''s an exotic combination of assets with a variety of functions, mainly storage. It''s most, if not all, of Glencore''s global liquid storage," one source said. The portfolio includes assets in Argentina, Belgium and Madagascar, the source said. "As a bundle it would appeal to someone looking for an entry point to certain countries," the source added. (Additional reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Dale Hudson) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-glencore-assets-sales-idUKKBN1721AK'|'2017-03-31T18:35:00.000+03:00' +'75bc27306fe48d69061c55f6ccb78a86e6b3517e'|'Trump administration would ignore WTO rulings it sees as anti-U.S.: FT'|' 57pm EST Trump administration would ignore WTO rulings it sees as anti-U.S.: FT U.S. President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he addresses Congress. REUTERS/Carlos Barria WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump''s administration is preparing to ignore any rulings by the World Trade Organization that it sees as an affront to U.S. sovereignty, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing a report prepared by officials. The draft document, due to be sent to the U.S. Congress on Wednesday, marks the first time the new administration has laid out its trade plans in writing, the Times said. "Ever since the United States won its independence, it has been a basic principle of our country that American citizens are subject only to laws and regulations made by the U.S. government -- not rulings made by foreign governments or international bodies," the report said, according to the Times. "Accordingly, the Trump administration will aggressively defend American sovereignty over matters of trade policy," the report said, according to the Times. The Wall Street Journal, which also said it reviewed the document, said the policy represents a dramatic departure from the Obama administration, which emphasized international economic rules and the authority of the WTO, a body that regulates trade and resolves disputes among its members. By contrast, the Trump administration will more assertively defend U.S. sovereignty over trade policy, ramp up enforcement of U.S. trade laws, and use "all possible sources of leverage to encourage other countries to open up their markets," the document said, according to the Journal. The White House did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Congress requires the president to submit the administration''s trade policy annually by March 1. In the face of Republican concerns, a congressional aide said language in the draft challenging the WTO could still be toned down in a final, public version, the Journal reported. Washington is facing several important WTO decisions, particularly involving China. Potentially the most important is a WTO complaint filed in December by Beijing against the EU and the United States for blocking China''s request to be treated as a "market economy" under the institution''s rules. A final ruling could still be years away. But were the U.S. to ignore a finding in China''s favor it could have major consequences for the WTO as a venue for resolving trade disputes before they fester into destructive trade wars, the Times said. (Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Sandra Maler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-wto-idUSKBN16832U'|'2017-03-01T09:57:00.000+02:00' +'7cb8ea8b2552196729c2b0fa3cf17bfb6f53939f'|'Indian billionaire targets Anglo in early sign of mining M&A revival'|'Business News - Wed Mar 15, 2017 - 10:22pm GMT Indian billionaire Agarwal to invest up to two billion pounds in Anglo American The Anglo American logo is seen in Rusternburg October 5, 2015. Picture taken October 5, 2015. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo LONDON Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal said on Wednesday he would buy a stake of up to 2 billion pounds in Anglo American ( AAL.L ), but had no intention of trying to take control of the global miner. Agarwal, who has majority control of Hindustan Zinc Ltd ( HZNC.NS ) through Vedanta Ltd ( VDAN.NS ) ( VED.L ), will make the investment via his family trust Volcan Holdings, Volcan said in a statement. Anglo, which has a market value of around 16.75 billion pounds ($20.55 billion), declined to comment. Two industry sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Agarwal was investing for his family trust and not in connection with Vedanta, and rather than using cash to finance the deal he is using a financial instrument that is a first of its kind. The official statement describes it as a mandatory exchangeable bond. The 2 billion pound bond is due in 2020 and is led by J.P. Morgan. One source said it was an efficient and innovative manner to buy a sizeable stake as acquiring around 12 percent of a company could be very difficult without attracting attention and potentially very expensive. The structure of the bond limits any downside, the sources said, adding the advantage of buying into Anglo American, whose portfolio includes diamonds and platinum, was to diversify Agarwal''s holdings. "This is an attractive investment for our family trust ... I am delighted to become a shareholder in Anglo American plc," Agarwal said in the statement. Anglo, along with other mining companies, has recovered from a slump in commodity prices in 2015. The company''s shares soared nearly 300 percent last year and it said in February it would resume paying dividends and slow down its asset sales as it was no longer under financial pressure. Wednesday''s statement also said that neither Volcan nor Vedanta intended to make an offer to acquire Anglo American. (Reporting by Zandi Shabalala and Barbara Lewis in London and Sanjeeban Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Potter and James Dalgleish) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-anglo-american-investment-idUKKBN16M2T7'|'2017-03-16T18:26:00.000+02:00' +'07766c4c02388c65cc9fb4dcc52df7d63e3072ec'|'Toshiba approves Chapter 11 filing for nuclear unit Westinghouse -Nikkei'|'Deals 10:01pm EDT Toshiba approves Chapter 11 filing for nuclear unit Westinghouse: Nikkei TOKYO The board of Japan''s Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) has approved a Chapter 11 filing for its U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse, the Nikkei business daily reported on Wednesday. A Toshiba spokeswoman said the company cannot comment on issues discussed at its board meetings. (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-board-idUSKBN17006K'|'2017-03-29T09:53:00.000+03:00' +'3854aac533f4a61f556af85e52732f9bc6c5168c'|'Profits rise six percent at Li Ka-shing''s CK Hutchison, beats forecast'|' 18pm GMT Profits rise six percent at Li Ka-shing''s CK Hutchison, beats forecast Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing smiles at he attends a news conference announcing CK Hutchison Holdings company results in Hong Kong, China March 17, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby Yip By Donny Kwok and Venus Wu - HONG KONG HONG KONG CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd ( 0001.HK ), the ports-to-telecoms arm of billionaire businessman Li Ka-shing, beat forecasts on Wednesday with a 6 percent rise in 2016 net profit and said it was cautiously optimistic about the group''s prospects. Li has increased the pace of overseas acquisitions in recent years, which has helped lift group profits, with growth in its European telecoms business providing a significant boost despite the impact on the value of its British business from the country''s decision to leave the European Union. Looking ahead, the outlook was uncertain due to the political changes but Li said whatever the impact it would be manageable and the group''s fundamentals remained solid. "The impact of Brexit negotiations, new U.S. presidential policies and upcoming elections across Europe remain unknown and could affect the economic environment of countries in which the group operates," he said in the results statement. Net profits last year rose to HK$33.01 billion ($4.25 billion), ahead of the HK$32 billion average of 11 estimates given by analysts in a Reuters poll and up from the HK$31.17 billion made in 2015. Total revenue fell 6 percent to HK$372.69 billion. CK Hutchison has significant investments in Britain and elsewhere in the European Union. Most recently its Hutchison 3G UK (Three) subsidiary agreed to buy fixed wireless Internet service provider UK Broadband for 300 million pounds ($370 million) from PCCW Ltd ( 0008.HK ), which is controlled by Li''s son Richard. Last year the European Commission blocked Hutchison''s deal to buy UK rival O2 UK from Spain''s Telefonica ( TEF.MC ) for 10.3 billion pounds due to competition concerns. But in September it won EU approval to merge its Italian mobile business 3 Italia, with VimpelCom''s ( VIP.O ) Wind, after pledging to help French maverick Iliad SA ( ILD.PA ) bring new competition to the Italian market. RETAIL Regarding CK Hutchison''s separate retail business division, Li said at a results news conference that the group did not plan to spin off the division in the next two years. The division had more than 13,300 stores across 25 markets as of Dec. 31, 2016. Net additions for the year were 931 stores. The retail division plans net openings of more than 1,000 stores in 2017, with 65 percent under the health and beauty format in mainland China and Asia, the company said. Also on Wednesday, Li''s Cheung Kong Property Holdings Ltd ( 1113.HK ) reported a 16 percent rise in 2016 full-year core profit due to a solid performance across the group''s property businesses. Hong Kong property prices hit a record high in January despite government attempts to cool the market. Li told the news conference he did not expect Hong Kong property prices to fall in the next one to two years. Mainland Chinese developers have been aggressively bidding for land sold in the financial hub, and the buying frenzy is set to drive property prices up even further. On the political front, Li spoke of his concerns of political tensions weighing on Hong Kong''s economy. He said that Hong Kong''s next leader that will be chosen on Sunday by a 1200-person election committee stacked with pro-Beijing loyalists, would be someone able to foster closer co-operation and communication with Beijing. In a veiled reference to the turbulence seen over the past five years under unpopular and pro-Beijing leader Leung Chun-ying, including massive pro-democracy protests in 2014, Li said there couldn''t be a repeat of this period. "If the new chief executive can have better communication as well as cooperation, and is trusted by the central government, there can be a miracle (to turn around Hong Kong)," Li added. Li, however, declined to name which candidate he supported, with the frontrunners being former top officials John Tsang and Carrie Lam. (Reporting by Donny Kwok and Venus Wu, James Pomfret, Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Greg Mahlich) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ckh-holdings-results-idUKKBN16T0X1'|'2017-03-22T20:18:00.000+02:00' +'5c43750e15e6ff413af876bfd790f54deea6ce83'|'UPDATE 1-Net1 shareholder Allan Gray may push for board''s removal - report'|'(Adds details)JOHANNESBURG, March 17 Investment company Allan Gray said on Friday its 16 percent stake in Net1 allowed it to call a shareholders'' meeting over the payment technology provider''s handling of the scandal over a South African welfare contract, local media reported."Sixteen percent allows us to call a shareholders'' meeting," Allan Gray Chief Operating Officer Rob Dower told Talk Radio 702.Allan Gray could push for the removal of the Net1 board, Chief Investment Officer Andrew Lapping was Quote: d in the Business Day newspaper.South Africa''s Constitutional Court was set to rule on Friday in a case concerning the unlawful tender of a contract to Net1 unit Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) to manage welfare benefits to 17 million people.The stakes are high as the welfare system is a lifeline for South Africa''s most vulnerable and includes more than 11 million child support grants.The chaos in South Africa''s social security agency comes three years after the Constitutional Court ruled that the tender won by CPS was illegal.The government was given time until April 1 to take responsibility for social service payments or find a new provider, but it has so far failed to do so.Friday''s looming judgment by the country''s top court stems from a case brought by applicants who want it to take oversight of a new contract.South African President Jacob Zuma said in parliament on Thursday there was no "crisis". Earlier this week the country''s chief justice placed the blame for the debacle squarely on the shoulders of Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini, calling her inaction incomprehensible. (Reporting by Ed Stoddard; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Amrutha Gayathri)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/safrica-welfare-court-idUSL5N1GU0M4'|'2017-03-17T09:48:00.000+02:00' +'ffc011f914e09633e2b34be689bd9394c0b2d95f'|'Lufthansa sees profit falling slightly in 2017'|' 54am GMT Lufthansa sees profit falling slightly in 2017 A flight information board shows cancelled flights during a pilots strike of German airline Lufthansa at Frankfurt airport, Germany, November 30, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo MUNICH German airline Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) expects its profit to fall slightly this year due to pressure on ticket revenues and a rising fuel bill, it said on Thursday after reporting annual results in line with expectations. Chief Financial Officer Ulrik Svensson said the year had started well, with unit revenues even improving in Asia compared with last year. But revenues were under pressure in Europe, he said. Many analysts have expressed concern that European airlines are engaging in a damaging battle for customers, putting more seats onto the market than there is demand for, which will lead to lower profits this year. Lufthansa has said it would increase capacity by 12 percent this year. Of that, 8 percent is thanks to the takeover of Brussels Airlines and a deal to lease 38 planes and crew from Germany''s Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ). The fuel bill is expected to increase by about 350 million euros ($375.7 million) this year to 5.2 billion euros, and Lufthansa said efforts to reduce costs would not be enough to offset the rising fuel bill and pressure on ticket prices. It therefore expects 2017 adjusted earnings before interest and tax to be slightly lower than the 1.75 billion euros reported for 2016. Lufthansa reduced unit costs, not including fuel or currency, by 2.5 percent last year and is targeting a similar figure for this year. It achieved a major step towards reducing costs with a deal on pay and pensions with pilots'' union Vereinigung Cockpit on Wednesday. ($1 = 0.9315 euros) (Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Maria Sheahan) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lufthansa-results-idUKKBN16N0LE'|'2017-03-16T13:38:00.000+02:00' +'82d967216e2ea2140e97dc15b7fc7ae892d652de'|'BRIEF-Noodles & Co Q4 adjusted loss per share $0.04'|' 19pm EST BRIEF-Noodles & Co Q4 adjusted loss per share $0.04 March 1 Noodles & Co: * Qtrly comparable restaurant sales decreased 1.3% system-wide, decreased 1.8% for company-owned restaurants * Incurred $2.2 million of pre-tax ongoing costs related to restaurants closed in q4 of 2015 during 2016 * Sees flat to slightly negative comparable restaurant sales in 2017 * Sees adjusted net income of $1.0 million to $2.0 million for 2017 * Q4 adjusted loss per share $0.04 * Q4 revenue $129.4 million versus I/B/E/S view $130.2 million * Q4 earnings per share view $-0.06 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * Sees FY 2017 revenue $465 million to $475 million * Fy2017 earnings per share view $-0.11, revenue view $490.0 million -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-noodles-co-q4-adjusted-loss-per-sh-idUSASB0B38K'|'2017-03-02T04:19:00.000+02:00' +'a585b61de623875aae099053dfcf179c86a1fb58'|'Brazil''s Renova to finalize wind farm sale to AES unit Monday - sources'|'SAO PAULO, March 31 Brazil''s renewable power generation company Renova Energia SA will finalize the sale of wind farm Alto Sertao II to the Brazilian unit of AES Corp for about 700 million reais ($223 million) as early as Monday, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said.The project sale is a condition for Brookfield Asset Management Inc''s plan to enter Renova''s controlling bloc in a deal valued at about 1 billion reais, said the people, who requested anonymity because the matter remains private.Renova and the AES unit did not have an immediate comment. Brookfield declined to comment.($1 = 3.1342 reais) (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/renova-energia-ma-brookfield-asset-idINL2N1H81BW'|'2017-03-31T15:04:00.000+03:00' +'7a8d3756a84b3775a4eecbefea8969becfbab9ad'|'Audi''s unions demand electric model for main German plant'|'Internet News - 07pm BST Audi''s unions demand electric model for main German plant The logo of German car manufacturer Audi is seen at a building of a car dealer in Duebendorf, Switzerland November 22, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann BERLIN Labor leaders at Volkswagen''s ( VOWG_p.DE ) luxury Audi brand have asked top management to assign production of an all-electric model to the carmaker''s main plant in Germany, concerned they might lose out as electric cars gain in importance. Audi will next year start building its first mass-produced electric model, the e-tron quattro sport-utility vehicle, at a plant in Brussels, together with batteries that will also be used in other VW group electric vehicles (EVs). Volkswagen''s (VW) main profit contributor plans to launch three all-electric models by 2020 and workers at Audi''s main plant in Ingolstadt don''t want to be left behind in the race for production. "Our core factory must be prepared further for the future," Audi''s top labor representative, Peter Mosch, told a gathering of 7,000 workers on Wednesday at the Ingolstadt plant which employs about 43,000 people. "None of our colleagues must fall off the conveyer belt as we move into the future," deputy works council chief Max Waecker said. Chief Executive Rupert Stadler has previously said Audi''s smaller German plant in Neckarsulm where 16,000 workers assemble the higher-end A6, A7 and A8 models, will start making battery-only vehicles from about 2020. Mosch, who sits on parent VW''s supervisory board, asked top management to provide specific information as to how the growing shift to electric cars and digital services will affect employment at Audi, which has 88,000 workers globally. Audi has previously been reluctant to embrace all-electric drive technology but the success of Tesla and arch rival BMW''s "i" series of electric cars has convinced Audi there is a market for electric luxury vehicles after all. Daimler on Wednesday also said it was accelerating its electric car program. Audi''s e-tron quattro, powered by three electric engines, is expected to run for over 500 km (311 miles) per charge based on a 95 kWh battery pack that can be fully recharged in about 50 minutes. (Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Victoria Bryan) Next In Internet News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-audi-board-idUKKBN1701YQ'|'2017-03-29T22:06:00.000+03:00' +'6885852e853bd8924a4a6dd81d900970f3b2927b'|'Jeweler Tiffany posts 1.3 pct rise in quarterly sales'|' 49am EDT Jeweler Tiffany posts 1.3 pct rise in quarterly sales March 17 Tiffany & Co reported a 1.3 percent rise in quarterly sales on Friday as strong demand for its high-end jewelry in Japan and China helped offset weak holiday sales in the Americas. Net sales rose to $1.23 billion in the fourth quarter ended Jan. 31, from $1.21 billion a year earlier, the second straight rise this year. Net income fell to $157.8 million, or $1.26 per share, from $163.2 million, or $1.28 per share, a year earlier. (Reporting by Jessica Kuruthukulangara and Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D''Couto) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/tiffany-results-idUSL3N1GS4TV'|'2017-03-17T17:49:00.000+02:00' +'ef9223597e86b7316176f82174e1f53ff70e649d'|'Workers to end strike at Peru''s top copper mine Cerro Verde'|' 29pm EDT Workers to end strike at Peru''s top copper mine Cerro Verde LIMA, March 30 Workers at Peru''s biggest copper mine, Freeport-McMoRan Inc''s Cerro Verde, will resume work on Friday after voting to end a nearly three-week strike, the union said on Thursday. The union reached an agreement for better benefits with the company late on Wednesday, union leader Jesus Revilla said. (Reporting by Marco Aquino; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/peru-copper-strike-idUSP3N1EP00J'|'2017-03-31T01:29:00.000+03:00' +'301dec4f9aeaa4b56bc252a0ad7357e4a6a46e7f'|'EU mergers and takeovers (March 13)'|'Company News 46pm EDT EU mergers and takeovers (March 13) BRUSSELS, March 13 The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process: APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS -- German engineering company Siemens to merge assets with Spain''s Gamesa to form the world''s largest wind turbine maker (approved March 13) -- Finnish fibre materials company Ahlstrom to merge with Finnish specialty paper maker Munksjo (approved March 13) -- Slovenian energy group Petrol to take majority stake in natural gas wholesaler Geoplin (approved March 10) -- UK tech company Micro Focus to acquire Hewlett-Packard Enterprise''s software business (approved March 8) -- Private equity firm HIG Capital to acquire IT security products maker Infinigate Holding AG (approved March 7) NEW LISTINGS -- U.S. aircraft component maker Rockwell Collins to acquire aircraft interior maker B/E Aerospace (notified March 8/deadline April 12) -- U.S. car part supplier Lear to acquire Grupo Antolin''s automotive seating business (notified March 8/deadline April 12/simplified) -- Private equity firm Partners Group to acquire European operator of clinical pathology laboratory operator Cerba Healthcare from PAI Partners (notified March 7/deadline April 11/simplified) -- Engie Group French banking group BPCE to acquire a 49.9 percent stake in renewable energy companies LCS 4 and LCS (notified March 3/deadline April 7/simplified) EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES -- Dutch insurer NN Group to acquire Dutch rival Group Delta Lloyd (notified Feb. 22/deadline extended to April 12 from March 29 after the Dutch competition regulator asked to examine the deal) FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE MARCH 16 -- Australian investment bank Macquarie Group and the UK''s National Grid to acquire joint control of National Grid''s gas distribution business (notified Feb. 9/deadline March 16) MARCH 17 -- U.S. wireless carrier AT&T to acquire U.S. broadcaster and TV studio Time Warner (notified Feb. 10/deadline March 17/simplified) MARCH 20 -- General Electric Co to acquire rotor blade maker LM Wind Power Holding Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/eu-mergers-idUSL5N1GQ5PI'|'2017-03-14T00:46:00.000+02:00' +'11cdfe3f3c096f9553b573a5b5cbbcfb480114a0'|'BRIEF-SANCHEZ PRODUCTION PARTNERS LP SAYS BOARD ELECTED PATRICIO SANCHEZ AS PRESIDENT'|' 17pm EDT BRIEF-SANCHEZ PRODUCTION PARTNERS LP SAYS BOARD ELECTED PATRICIO SANCHEZ AS PRESIDENT March 28 Sanchez Production Partners LP * BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF GENERAL PARTNER OF SPP HAS ELECTED PATRICIO SANCHEZ AS PRESIDENT WASHINGTON, March 28 The U.S. Commerce Department will remove Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp from a trade blacklist after the company admitted to violating sanctions on Iran, the Commerce Department said in a notice made public on Tuesday, MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-sanchez-production-partners-lp-say-idUSFWN1H50P8'|'2017-03-29T03:17:00.000+03:00' +'c218afb1e247b88e8ab4e7fc0289cd613c493b14'|'Philippine court denies regulator chance to review $1.5 billion telco deal'|'MANILA A Philippines appeals court has affirmed its order preventing the competition regulator from reviewing a $1.5 billion telecoms deal, a move that could strengthen the telecoms duopoly and further stymie foreign interest in the sector.The country''s two largest telecom firms, PLDT Inc and Globe Telecom Inc, last year acquired from San Miguel Corp a 700 megahertz spectrum network, prized for its wider reach and compatibility with fourth-generation (4G) telecommunications services.The Court of Appeals in August agreed to a request by PLDT, which runs cellphone operator Smart, to stop the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) from reviewing the sale. The PCC said the deal did not follow correct procedures.The PCC filed a petition, but the court said it lacked merit, according to its Feb. 17 decision, news of which came out on Friday.The move against the PCC casts doubts on whether tough-talking President Rodrigo Duterte will deliver on his pledge to liberalize telecoms, which he has identified as among several sectors controlled by oligarchs with firms offering substandard services to consumers at high prices.Mid last year Duterte singled out the telecoms duopoly for failing to improve their services and gave them a year to shape up, or he would open the sector up.But that is complex, as telecoms is subject to a constitutional clause that limits foreigners to only 40 percent ownership of domestic telecoms company, a disincentive for foreign firms to invest in a fast-growing market of 100 million people.Critics say the $1.5 billion spectrum purchase by Globe and PLDT was more about keeping out competition than improving bandwidth. The two companies vehemently reject that and say they welcome competition and are making every effort to boost services.The Philippines is considered by experts to have some of the world''s worst telecoms services and businesses and consumers complain about intermittent data, dropped calls and poor cellular coverage, even in cities.To get around the problems, many Filipinos carry two phones, one for Globe and another Smart. Though there are two other operators, budget outfits TM and TNT are owned by Globe and Smart respectively, and use their parents'' networks.PCC said it could not comment on the decision due to a gag order the court had enforced.(Editing by Martin Petty and Stephen Coates)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-pldt-globe-telecom-antitrust-idUSKBN16A0FE'|'2017-03-03T08:29:00.000+02:00' +'a77b15166125e5860e8fbf4b42116f97bcc68f7e'|'Board of Brazil''s Oi approves changes to recovery plan'|'Deals 44pm EDT Board of Brazil''s Oi approves changes to recovery plan People walk in front of the headquarters of the Brazil''s largest fixed-line telecoms group Oi, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 22, 2016. REUTERS/Sergio Moraes SAO PAULO The board of Oi SA ( OIBR3.SA ), the Brazilian phone carrier currently under bankruptcy protection, approved changes to its recovery plan, according to a Wednesday securities filing. The changes included reducing the grace period on several classes of bonds to a maximum six years and giving creditors rights half of revenue from asset sales and operational cash flow, while guaranteeing a minimum cash position for the company equal to a fifth of net revenue. (Reporting by Brad Haynes; Editing by Sandra Maler) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-oi-sa-restructuring-idUSKBN16T3AF'|'2017-03-23T06:41:00.000+02:00' +'1ee395055935408042910a006438d3ebf9f07e5c'|'Alinda puts Canada''s Reliance Comfort on the block-sources'|'By John Tilak - TORONTO, March 7 TORONTO, March 7 U.S. investment firm Alinda Capital Partners is seeking buyers for Reliance Comfort L.P., a Canadian provider of heating and cooling systems, in a deal that could value the company C$3 billion to C$4 billion, according to people with knowledge of the process.Alinda has hired Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Goldman Sachs as financial advisers for the sale, the people added.The sale is seen attracting interest from Canadian pension funds and U.S. private equity firms, said the people, who declined to be identified as the process is confidential.A CIBC spokeswoman declined comment. Alinda Capital and Goldman Sachs did not respond to requests for comment.Bloomberg reported the news earlier on Tuesday. ($1 = 1.3412 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by John Tilak; Editing by Sandra Maler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/reliancecomfort-alinda-ma-idINL2N1GC19T'|'2017-03-07T19:32:00.000+02:00' +'9b279240f6a918d72ebe2e18790cac6e7ad4272c'|'EU''s competition watchdog says a few merger candidates may have misled'|'Business News 5:48pm BST EU''s competition watchdog says a few merger candidates may have misled European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager holds a news conference after Dow Chemical gained conditional EU antitrust approval on Monday for their $130 billion merger by agreeing to significant asset sales, one of a trio of mega mergers that will redraw the... REUTERS/Yves Herman BRUSSELS A "small handful" of companies may have given misleading information when they sought approval for their mergers, Europe''s competition commissioner said on Monday, putting the companies at risk of sanctions and fines should regulators find proof of wrongdoing. The comments by Margrethe Vestager came as she weighs up Facebook''s ( FB.O ) response to charges of giving misleading data during its $22 billion (17.50 billion pounds) bid for phone messaging service WhatsApp in 2014. Facebook said that it was unable reliably to match the two companies'' user accounts but regulators said this was incorrect and that it was technically possible to do that. The European Commission has to date identified "a small handful, which is less than five but more than one and probably doesn''t qualify as several" companies which might have given misleading information, Vestager told a news conference. She said the cases were brought to her attention by people who spotted some inconsistencies in what merging companies said and what appeared in newspapers. It was not clear if the anomalies would trigger further investigations. Companies found to have given misleading information can be fined up to 1 percent of their global turnover. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Greg Mahlich) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-m-a-vestager-idUKKBN16Y23U'|'2017-03-28T00:48:00.000+03:00' +'e2900946b05c2a0a31734b826c5c0371c977a0d5'|'"Phased approach": How to read EU Brexit guidelines'|'Economic 35pm IST "Phased approach": How to read EU Brexit guidelines EU Council President Donald Tusk holds British Prime Minister Theresa May''s Brexit letter, which was delivered by Britain''s permanent representative to the European Union Tim Barrow (not pictured) that gives notice of the UK''s intention to leave the bloc under Article 50 of... REUTERS/Yves Herman By Alastair Macdonald - BRUSSELS BRUSSELS European Council President Donald Tusk sent draft Brexit negotiating guidelines to leaders of Britain''s 27 EU partners on Friday, hoping to agree them on April 29 so that negotiations on British withdrawal can begin. These are key points of the 8-page draft, seen by Reuters: "PHASED APPROACH" If "sufficient progress" towards agreeing the terms of an "orderly withdrawal" on March 29, 2019, is made in a first phase of talks starting in early June, the EU27 could launch talks on how a long-term future free trade relationship could work, the draft says. That represents a compromise between the position of EU hardliners, who want no trade talks until the full Brexit deal is agreed, and British calls for an immediate start. Tusk told reporters the EU could assess as early as this autumn if progress was "sufficient". But it is unclear how it will arrive at that judgment. If leaders need unanimity, some could block trade talks. Eastern states with many expats in Britain may want more certainty on their rights, while western powers are more keen on talking about trade. "TRANSITIONAL ARRANGEMENTS" Britain could have a few years after March 2019 when it does not have to give up all benefits of membership, to ease the shift for people and businesses. But in that case it would have to accept EU rules, e.g. on free migration, and submit to supervision by the European Court of Justice and other EU authorities. "Any such transitional arrangements must be clearly defined, limited in time, and subject to effective enforcement mechanisms," the draft says. STICKING TOGETHER The EU 27 will stick together against British efforts to divide and conquer and is prepared to play hardball against Prime Minister Theresa May''s threat to walk out without a deal. Brussels thinks Britain needs a deal more than the EU. "The Union will act as one. It will be constructive throughout and will strive to find an agreement. This is in the best interest of both sides. The Union will work hard to achieve that outcome, but it will prepare itself to be able to handle the situation also if the negotiations were to fail." "NO DUMPING" Free trade will be a good outcome but Britain should not expect to get that if it seeks competitive advantages for its companies by state subsidies or by tearing up EU environmental or labour standards or setting itself up as a tax haven. "Any free trade agreement should be balanced, ambitious and wide-ranging. It cannot, however, amount to participation in the Single Market or parts thereof, as this would undermine its integrity and proper functioning. It must ensure a level playing field in terms of competition and state aid, and must encompass safeguards against unfair competitive advantages through, inter alia, fiscal, social and environmental dumping." RIGHTS AND BENEFITS Britain cannot have a better deal outside than inside the EU -- that would be a slippery slope to others leaving the Union. Tusk welcomes May''s acknowledgement she cannot "cherry pick" single market membership without accepting freedom of movement for EU workers but warns against her suggestion that Brussels open technical talks on trade in specific sectors. "Preserving the integrity of the Single Market excludes participation based on a sector-by-sector approach. A non-member of the Union, that does not live up to the same obligations as a member, cannot have the same rights and enjoy the same benefits as a member." "BREXIT BILL" Britain must pay up on its share of potential losses from guarantees given by the EU, among other things. Until it leaves, the actual bill probably can''t be calculated with accuracy. The main thing for the EU is to agree a "methodology" this year. "A single financial settlement should ensure that the Union and the United Kingdom both respect the obligations undertaken before the date of withdrawal. The settlement should cover all legal and budgetary commitments as well as liabilities, including contingent liabilities." "BORDER TROUBLE" The EU doesn''t want to disturb peace in Northern Ireland, where there will be a new EU land border. It is also paying attention to British military bases in Cyprus and is giving Spain a special say on the fate of the British territory of Gibraltar, which is not part of the UK but is in the EU. "In view of the unique circumstances on the island of Ireland, flexible and imaginative solutions will be required, including with the aim of avoiding a hard border, while respecting the integrity of the Union legal order." (Reporting by Alastair Macdonald; @macdonaldrtr; Editing by Mark Trevelyan) Next In Economic News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-eu-guidelines-idINKBN1721D6'|'2017-03-31T19:05:00.000+03:00' +'890e5bd6986afd0748f5910f468d8fcada74e853'|'Volkswagen trucks division targets strong profitability gain in 2017'|'MUNICH Volkswagen''s truck division aims to significantly increase its profitability this year as deepening cooperation between the MAN and Scania brands and improving overseas markets spur business, it said on Monday.Volkswagen (VW), which launched a new truck & bus division in 2015 to challenge global rivals Daimler and Volvo, is targeting a long-term operating margin target of 9 percent, up from 6.1 percent last year."We are not striving to become a volume champion, we want to be the most profitable ones," chief executive Andreas Renschler told journalists, referring to improving markets in Western Europe, Russia and China.But finance chief Matthias Gruendler made clear a financial results requires a rebound in the key Brazilian market where the VW division commands a 37-percent share of the country''s commercial-vehicles market.Overall truck and bus sales in Brazil have been falling for four years but demand is expected to rebound slightly in the second half of the year amid the improving economy with a chance for stronger growth in 2018, Gruendler said."Brazil has always been an important market and is characterized by a high degree of cyclicality," chief executive Andreas Renschler said.Under Renschler, who ran Daimler Trucks before joining VW in February 2015, Europe''s largest automotive group has also been seeking to expand its footprint in international truck markets.Last year, VW announced a stake purchase in U.S. truck maker Navistar International Corp which may earn the German group access to the vast North American truck market, and is also in talks about finding a new partner in China."We are currently in discussions about different opportunities," Renschler said. "All options are open" including a possible increase in MAN''s stake in China''s Sinotruk and finding a new partner.(Reporting by Andreas Cremer and Irene Preisinger; Editing by Maria Sheahan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/volkswagen-outlook-trucks-idINKBN16R1K5'|'2017-03-20T11:17:00.000+02:00' +'0e9959bb4998a593b9186d3c6d3a63cdabfc94db'|'Exclusive: Real estate investment trust Carter Validus up for sale - sources'|'Carter Validus Mission Critical REIT Inc, a nontraded U.S. real estate investment trust focused on data centers and medical properties, is exploring a sale that could value it at more than $3.5 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.Unlike publicly traded REITs, nontraded REITs such as Carter Validus require investors to lock up their money. In exchange, they promise a steady stream of cash distributions and, eventually, return of capital in the form of a public listing or a sale.To cash out its investors, Carter Validus is considering two separate transactions to divest its assets: one for its portfolio of data centers and one for its medical properties, the people said this week.Carter Validus is looking for buyers for its data center assets, which could fetch more than $1 billion, the people said. It is also reviewing options, including a potential sale, for the remainder of the portfolio, the people added.The sources cautioned no deal is certain and asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential. Carter Validus did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Based in Tampa, Florida, Carter Validus was launched in 2010 as a vehicle for investors to gain exposure to healthcare and data center properties. Through acquisitions, the company had amassed 49 real estate investments as of the end of September.In 2015, Carter Validus hired investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc ( GS.N ) to review strategic alternatives, but subsequently announced, after assessing its options, that it had decided against a sale.Healthcare real estate has been caught up in the same U.S. post-election tumult that has challenged the wider industry, as lawmakers debate healthcare reforms that could greatly alter many hospitals and medical facilities.In recent years, data centers have been a source of steady dealmaking activity, as technology companies seek to scale up data operations to keep pace with U.S. businesses'' burgeoning demand for data and video.Private equity firms or companies that specialize in data centers, such as Equinix Inc ( EQIX.O ) and Digital Realty Trust Inc DLR.O, have been active buyers of assets.Carter Validus was created by a parent company of the same name that also sponsors other REITs. It created Carter Validus Mission Critical REIT II in 2014.(Reporting by Carl O''Donnell and Liana B. Baker in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cartervalidus-m-a-idUSKBN16A1YU'|'2017-03-03T19:33:00.000+02:00' +'9548346f454e398da2201c73f095da6cbd6fe09f'|'Japan''s Nikkei falls as yen steadies; focus on G20 meeting'|'TOKYO, March 17 Japan''s Nikkei share average fell on Friday as the yen held steady against the dollar after the U.S. Federal Reserve signalled fewer interest rate hikes than some investors had expected.The Nikkei shed 0.4 percent to 19,521.59. For the week, the benchmark index dropped 0.4 percent, before Japan''s three-day weekend. Markets are closed on Monday for a national holiday.Markets are focused on the G20 gathering of finance ministers and central bankers in the German town of Baden-Baden on Friday and Saturday.The broader Topix dropped 0.4 percent to 1,565.85 and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 declined 0.5 percent to 14,019.31. (Reporting by Ayai Tomisawa; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-close-idINL3N1GU2AD'|'2017-03-17T03:24:00.000+02:00' +'c167cf5b95d55c6858f9840f72d95f3b1e17de46'|'UK retail sales suffer biggest three-monthly drop since 2010 as fuel costs bite'|' 39am GMT UK retail sales suffer biggest three-monthly drop since 2010 as fuel costs bite Customers shop at a Primark store on Oxford Street in London June 20, 2014. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor LONDON, British retail sales in the three months to February recorded their biggest slide in nearly seven years as higher fuel prices eroded shoppers'' disposable income, official data showed on Thursday. British inflation is starting to climb rapidly in the wake of the hefty slide in sterling seen after June''s vote to leave the European Union - something economists expect to eat into consumer demand, the main motor of British economic growth. Sales volumes in February alone beat all economists'' expectations in a Reuters poll, jumping by 1.4 percent from January, but this was too little to offset a drag from weak demand in previous months, the Office for National Statistics said. Looking at the three months to February as a whole, sales volumes were down by 1.4 percent after a 0.5 percent decline in the three months to January, their biggest fall since March 2010. A drag on overall first-quarter economic growth now looks all but certain unless March sees an unprecedentedly large jump in sales, the ONS said. Official data earlier this week showed consumer price inflation jumped to 2.3 percent, its highest in more than three years, and the narrower measure of inflation used by the ONS to calculate retail sales growth rose to its highest since March 2012 at 2.8 percent. "The underlying trend suggests that rising petrol prices in particular have had a negative effect on the overall quantity of goods bought over the last three months," ONS statistician Kate Davies said. Compared with a year earlier, February sales volumes were up 3.7 percent - beating forecasts for a 2.6 percent rise - after growing just 1.0 percent on the year in January. The outlook for consumer spending is key for policymakers gauging the outlook for Britain''s economy as it gears up to leave the European Union. Spending by shoppers was robust in the months following June''s Brexit vote, but more recently there have been signs retail spending is starting to wilt as inflation rises - fuelled partly by the pound''s plunge since the referendum. Retailers have reported shoppers were buying less in response to higher prices, though the picture is mixed and other areas of consumer spending such as eating out have been growing robustly, a Bank of England report showed on Wednesday. On Thursday one of Britain''s biggest clothing retailers, Next ( NXT.L ), said it was "extremely cautious" about the year ahead after it reported a 4 percent fall in annual profits. The retailer blamed a long-term shift in Britons'' appetite for new clothing, as well as cost pressures and shoppers having less disposable income. By contrast, a day earlier the finance chief of home improvements retailer Kingfisher ( KGF.L ), Karen Witts, said she had not yet seen any big change in customer behaviour, despite concerns about the outlook. Lead indicators of demand such as the number of tradesmen buying costly power tools and work wear were holding up "very well", Witts said after Kingfisher released annual earnings on Wednesday. (Reporting by David Milliken and Alistair Smout) Most UK employers do not plan to raise pay to match rising inflation - XpertHR LONDON Most British companies do not expect to offer more generous pay deals to employees this year compared with 2016, adding to signs that higher inflation will gnaw at Britons'' living standards in the months ahead, a survey showed on Thursday. UK exporters in ''sweet spot'' before Brexit, may not last - BoE''s Broadbent LONDON British exporters, who have been boosted by sterling''s fall but are still able to trade as before the Brexit vote, are in a "sweet spot" that is unlikely to last indefinitely, a top Bank of England official said on Thursday. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-retail-idUKKBN16U0YT'|'2017-03-23T16:35:00.000+02:00' +'ad9b7d38b62eed8ad845d5b8b330f7878612b1f4'|'Russia''s Novak says talk of global oil output cuts extension premature'|' 36pm GMT Russia''s Novak says talk of global oil output cuts extension premature FILE PHOTO: Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak attends the National Oil and Gas Forum in Moscow, Russia, April 20, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo By Olesya Astakhova and Darya Korsunskaya - SOCHI, Russia SOCHI, Russia It is too soon to say if a global deal on oil output cuts will be extended later this year, but the current agreement envisages such a possibility, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told Reuters in an interview. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC producers, led by Russia, in December reached their first deal since 2001 to jointly curtail oil output, by around 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd). The deal is effective until the end of June. OPEC sources told Reuters last month that the group could extend the pact with non-members or even apply deeper cuts from July if global crude inventories fail to drop to a targeted level. OPEC''s next meeting is planned for May 25. "It is premature to talk of what we will discuss in April-May. The technical possibility of the deal extension is envisaged by the agreements," Novak said in an interview cleared for publication on Thursday. Officials in the 13-member OPEC, including Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, have said global oil stocks need to fall near to their five-year average for the group to say markets are becoming balanced. Novak said further action would depend on the size of stocks and how output in other producers, notably in the United States, China and Norway, which did not join the pact, would affect the global balance of supply and demand. End-December stocks of crude, natural gas liquids and oil products in OPEC member countries had fallen below 3 billion barrels, but were still 286 million barrels above the five-year average, the International Energy Agency said last month. Stocks also continued to build in China and volumes of oil stored at sea increased. Novak said Moscow was unlikely to cut more than it had already pledged if other non-OPEC producers failed to comply with their own promises. "Each country is responsible for its production. In particular, oil companies in Russia voluntarily defined their output plans for 2017 and we can only bear responsibility for our own figures," he said. Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bolivia, Brunei, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Sudan and South Sudan are the other non-OPEC producers party to the deal. Novak said oil production in the United States may rise by between 400,000 bpd and 500,000 bpd this year. That is slightly above a previous forecast of a 300,000 to 400,000 bpd increase. Russia itself has pledged to cut output by 300,000 bpd in the first half of the year via a gradual strategy that would see output cut by 200,000 bpd in the first quarter. So far, Russia''s cuts have amounted to around 100,000 bpd. If the output cut deal is not extended, overall Russian oil output for 2017 might rise to 548 million to 551 million tonnes (11.01-11.07 million bpd) from 547.5 million tonnes last year, said Novak. He forecast an average Brent LCOc1 oil price for 2017 of $55-60 per barrel and said the price of Russia''s flagship Urals blend would likely be $2-$3 per barrel below that. (Writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Katya Golubkova/Andrew Osborn/Susan Thomas) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-oil-opec-interview-idUKKBN1691LC'|'2017-03-02T19:36:00.000+02:00' +'3e839cef17885f53163663abfd74e7c041a2cc0f'|'Fraport, Vinci, Zurich Airport win rights to four Brazil airports'|'SAO PAULO, March 16 German airport operator Fraport AG won the rights to operate Brazil''s Fortaleza and Porto Alegre airports on Thursday, beating out French group Vinci SA and Zurich Airport with bids of 425 million reais ($137 million) and 291 million reais, respectively, at a government auction.Zurich won the operating license for the Florianopolis airport with a bid of 83 million reais, beating out Vinci, which took the concession for the Salvador airport with the lone bid of 661 million reais.($1 = 3.1117 reais) (Reporting by Gabriela Mello; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/brazil-infrastructure-airports-idINE6N1FG00L'|'2017-03-16T12:01:00.000+02:00' +'64e7175abe48bce2a0e018349db61384b07e98db'|'Google sister company Jigsaw offers free security tools to election groups'|'Technology 07am GMT Google sister company Jigsaw offers free security tools to election groups A Google search page is seen through a magnifying glass in this photo illustration taken in Berlin, August 11, 2015. REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski/Files By Eric Auchard and Toby Sterling - FRANKFURT/AMSTERDAM FRANKFURT/AMSTERDAM Google and its sister company Jigsaw, are stepping up efforts to help keep elections free of online interference after helping to defend one of two important voter information websites that came under cyber attack during last week''s Dutch national election. As campaigns have moved online over the past decade, so too have online attacks escalated against civic institutions -- from candidates, parties, activist volunteers, election monitors and independent media - that are vital to fair elections. Google parent Alphabet Inc''s Jigsaw subsidiary, which supplies security tools to civic groups, is working with Google to safeguard elections globally. A Jigsaw spokesman said on Tuesday that it plans to offer a free suite of security tools called Protect Your Election for upcoming national votes in France, South Korea and Germany, then subsequent elections as they occur. (Editing by David Goodman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-cyber-election-idUKKBN16S166'|'2017-03-21T18:04:00.000+02:00' +'838067f454c746dbe8e0424c94c0c8c5786144c2'|'BRIEF-Korea Aerospace Industries selects Triumph for kf-x airframe'|' 56pm EST BRIEF-Korea Aerospace Industries selects Triumph for kf-x airframe March 1 Triumph Group Inc * Triumph awarded contract with korea Aerospace Industries for kf-x airframe mounted accessory drive * Selected by Korea Aerospace Industries, ltd to provide airframe mounted accessory drives (amad) on new kf-x fighter aircraft Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-korea-aerospace-industries-selects-idUSASB0B39Y'|'2017-03-02T04:56:00.000+02:00' +'89eb07459a21002f754e1d4fc8ece392e9ed77fa'|'Toshiba shares slide as crisis deepens, fate of Westinghouse unclear'|'Business News - Wed Mar 15, 2017 - 2:23am GMT Toshiba shares slide as crisis deepens, fate of Westinghouse unclear A logo of Toshiba Corp is seen outside an electronics retail store in Tokyo, Japan, January 19, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo TOKYO Shares in Toshiba Corp tumbled on Wednesday after it said it would consider a sale of Westinghouse but did not offer any clarity on whether it would proceed with a Chapter 11 filing for the U.S. nuclear unit - a move that could stem losses. Toshiba''s failure to submit audited third-quarter earnings on Tuesday and its announcement of an expanded probe into Westinghouse also contributed to broad disappointment as did the Tokyo Stock Exchange''s placing of the stock on its supervision list. While the bourse''s move was an automatic one that follows Toshiba''s failure to clear up concerns about its internal controls a year and a half after a 2015 accounting scandal, it increases the risk of a delisting. Market participants said the bourse''s action meant that the was now "untouchable" for institutional investors who cannot invest in the stock due to compliance reasons. Toshiba would be delisted if the bourse is not satisfied with a report on internal controls that Toshiba submitted on Wednesday. The report, required since the 2015 accounting scandal, must also address internal control lapses since then. "Crucial details about Westinghouse won''t be there. Toshiba is already in trouble for delaying the filing of its quarterly earnings twice, and without the complete report, the exchange is unlikely to find its report satisfactory," said Fumio Matsumoto, a senior fund manager at Dalton Capital Japan. Chief Executive Satoshi Tsunakawa sidestepped questions about a potential Chapter 11 filing for Westinghouse on Tuesday, saying only there were various options. Sources have said bankruptcy lawyers have been hired as an exploratory step. Shares in the TVs-to-construction conglomerate slid 7.5 percent in early trade. They have plunged by more than half since December, slashing the company''s market value to $7.4 billion. Masayuki Doshida, senior market analyst at Rakuten Securities, said too much uncertainty surrounded the firm. "For how much can it sell the chip business? When will it release its earnings? Will it remain listed? And can it sell Westinghouse? We are just getting more questions," he said. Toshiba will meet with creditor banks later on Wednesday to explain the situation, sources familiar with the matter said. (Reporting by Ayai Tomisawa and Hideyuki Sano; Writing by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting-idUKKBN16M097'|'2017-03-15T09:23:00.000+02:00' +'3f8b60d53d9135f1fc12f538d3601f9ebe971b1e'|'Firms stack up Brexit warnings as May triggers divorce talks'|'Wed Mar 29, 2017 - 12:27pm BST Firms stack up Brexit warnings as May triggers divorce talks left A Ryanair aircraft taxis at Fraport airport in Frankfurt, Germany, November 2, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach 1/2 left right A new car is displayed on the forecourt of a Ford dealership at Portslade near Brighton in southern England January 7, 2014. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor 2/2 By Costas Pitas - LONDON LONDON Ford ( F.N ) and Ryanair ( RYA.I ) warned on Wednesday of the risks of Brexit including disruption to flights and tariffs on cars which could hurt Britain and damage businesses, on the day the prime minister was launching divorce proceedings from the EU. U.S. carmaker Ford, Britain''s biggest automotive engine-maker, low-cost airline Ryanair and German media group Bertlesmann ( BTGGg.F ) issued warnings as Britain began two years of formal EU talks. Ford ( F.N ), a major beneficiary of free trade across the continent where it builds cars in Germany and vans in Turkey, warned that Theresa May must retain unfettered trade. "Any deal must include securing tariff-free trade with the wider Customs Union and not just the EU27, whilst retaining access to the best talent and resources," Ford of Europe president Jim Farley said. "It also is critical that a transitional period is put in place to ensure that customers are not penalized and to maintain free trade." Turkey is not part of the EU but is in the EU customs union. Most international firms which publicly expressed an opinion ahead of last June''s referendum backed Britain remaining in the European Union, fearful of extra costs, trade barriers and unpredictable currency swings. May has said she will take Britain out of the European single market but will seek the best possible access to the European markets and establish better trade ties with other nations. Since the Brexit vote, some firms have announced major investments in Britain with Facebook ( FB.O ) saying it would hire more staff and Google announcing a new flagship building in London. But others are concerned that trading conditions vital to their operations could be lost. Irish airline Ryanair ( RYA.I ) said flights between Britain and the European Union risk being suspended in 2019 if Britain does not prioritize a new aviation deal. Britain will have to renegotiate access to the single aviation market, whereby airlines based in the EU have the right to fly to and from any country in the bloc or even within other member states. German media conglomerate Bertelsmann ( BTGGg.F ) said on Tuesday it may have to reconsider London as the base for its intellectual property operations. "We have made an impact analysis," Chief Executive Thomas Rabe said. "In about a year''s time we will have to come to a decision, when the impact of the Brexit will become more clear." (Additional reporting by Conor Humphries in Dublin and Harro Ten Wolde and Jrn Poltz in Berlin; editing by Stephen Addison) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-companies-idUKKBN1701D7'|'2017-03-29T19:24:00.000+03:00' +'b144f4c1047f21f101e3033291e3acd0efc3eb2b'|'Developer of Trump Tower in Toronto faces class action lawsuit'|'TORONTO, March 10 A class-action lawsuit seeking the return of deposits has been launched against the developer of a downtown Toronto hotel bearing the name of U.S. President Donald Trump, the lawyer who won an earlier test case for disgruntled investors said on Friday.The lawsuit filed against Talon International Inc in the name of Ashleka Persaud can be joined by as many as 210 other purchasers who paid deposits to buy hotel units in the tower but did not close their transactions, the filing said.A lawyer for Talon was not immediately available to comment.The Trump International Hotel & Tower has been beset by troubles since opening its doors in 2012, and ownership of the tower itself looks set to fall to its main debt holder after a court-run sale process received no bids last month.Talon, which licensed the Trump brand and hired a Trump-owned company to manage it, was ordered in October to pay damages to one buyer for "negligent misrepresentation" and for another sale to be rescinded. Those buyers were represented by Mitchell Wine, the same lawyer handling the new case.The Supreme Court of Canada earlier this week dismissed Talon''s request for it to hear an appeal of the lower court ruling.The expansion of similar payouts to all buyers of the tower''s hotel units, which were placed into a pool of rooms to be rented out at luxury rates, could amount to a total of C$25 million, the filing said.The case is: Persaud v Talon; Ontario Superior Court of Justice file no: CV-17-569023-00CP (Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/canada-trump-toronto-idINL2N1GN20E'|'2017-03-10T20:07:00.000+02:00' +'cb0bec1d0a3325b26c296bf923f532fc11d87be7'|'UPDATE 1-GTCR-backed Cision to merge with blank-check firm Capitol'|'Deals 44am EDT GTCR-backed Cision to merge with blank-check firm Capitol The parent of media communications firm Cision, and Capitol Acquisition Corp III ( CLAC.O ), a blank-check company, on Monday agreed to merge in a deal valuing the combined company at about $2.4 billion. Chicago-based Cision, which owns press release distributor PR Newswire and media communications firms Gorkana, PRWeb and Help a Reporter Out, will become publicly listed. Cision, which is controlled by U.S. private equity firm GTCR LLC, will become a unit of Capitol Acquisition. Cision shareholders will own about 68 percent of the new company while Capitol Acquisition will own the rest. Cision''s management and GTCR will retain all of their equity stake in the company. Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse were financial and capital markets advisers to Capitol Acquisition, while PJT Partners was Cision''s financial adviser. (Reporting by Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza and Sai Sachin Ravikumar) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cision-m-a-capital-acquisition-idUSKBN16R11J'|'2017-03-20T18:42:00.000+02:00' +'6786d0358583b18c93e05c7203317ad9caf8821c'|'Mester sees more Fed hikes as economy rebounds from first quarter'|'Business News - Thu Mar 30, 2017 - 9:48am EDT Mester sees more Fed hikes as economy rebounds from first quarter Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester takes part in a panel convened to speak about the health of the U.S. economy in New York November 18, 2015. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson A Federal Reserve policymaker on Thursday repeated her call for further rate hikes and a trimming of the central bank''s balance sheet later this year, as the U.S. economy is expected to rebound from what looks like a weak first quarter. "If economic conditions evolve as anticipated, I believe further removal of accommodation via increases in the fed funds rate will be needed," said Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, a hawkish policymaker who regains a vote on interest rates next year. "I would (also) be comfortable changing our reinvestment policy this year." The Fed raised rates in mid-March, its second policy tightening in three months. The central bank has also been topping up a $4.5 trillion portfolio of bonds amassed in the wake of the financial crisis, but plans to eventually begin shrinking it by letting the assets mature. While the economy has been expanding at a 2-percent rate over the last few years, the Atlanta Fed''s GDPNow forecast predicts it dipped to 1 percent in the first three months of the year. Yet the "underlying fundamentals supporting the economic expansion are sound," Mester added in prepared remarks to a financial risk conference in Chicago. "While growth in the first quarter may come in on the weak side, I think this largely reflects transitory factors and residual seasonality in the data." (Reporting by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-mester-idUSKBN1711XZ'|'2017-03-30T21:48:00.000+03:00' +'a90bc01b78aca253865ddf8d0dc444bbc8cba385'|'Schumpeter: Americas shale firms dont give a frack about financial returns'|'INSIDE the boardrooms and bars of Houston, the spiritual capital of Americas energy industry, the swagger is back. The oil price may only be at $48, or half the level it was three years ago. But shale frackingthe business of getting oil and gas out of rocks by blasting them with water and sandis booming once again after the crash of 2014-16. Exploration and production (E&P) companies are about to go on an investment spree. Demand is soaring for the industrys raw materials: sand, other peoples money, roughnecks and ice-cold beer.Shales second coming is testament to Texan grit. But the industrys never-say-die spirit may explain why it has done next to nothing about its dire finances. The business has burned up cash for 34 of the last 40 quarters, according to figures on the top 60 listed E&P firms collected by Bloomberg, a data provider. With the exception of airlines, Chinese state enterprises and Silicon Valley unicornsprivate firms valued at more than $1bnshale firms are on an unparalleled money-losing streak. About $11bn was torched in the latest quarter, as capital expenditures exceeded cashflows. The cash-burn rate may well rise again this year.Meanwhile, the prospect of rapidly rising production is rattling global energy markets. In particular it worries OPEC, a cartel of producers led by Saudi Arabia that aims to restrain output and keep prices stable and fairly high. Khalid al-Falih, Saudis energy minister, warned of irrational exuberance on March 7th during an energy-industry conference in Houston. When oil prices halved in just 16 weeks starting in late 2014, panic hit Texas, followedfor a whileby grim austerity. The number of drilling rigs in America dropped by 68% from peak to trough. Companies slashed investment. Over 100 firms went bankrupt, defaulting on at least $70bn of debt. Shales retrenchment helped to stabilise the global oil price. Production in the lower 48 states (ie, excluding Alaska and Hawaii), and excluding federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico, has dropped by 15% over the past 21 months, equivalent to 1m bpd, or 1% of global output.The partial recovery in the oil price, which at one point fell as low as $26, is only one factor behind renewed enthusiasm for shale. Houstons optimists also argue that the full geological potential of Texass Permian basin has only just become apparent. Some experts think it could in time produce more barrels each day than Saudi Arabia does. That has offset gloom about falling production from other shale basins, such as the Bakken formation in western North Dakota. The industry has also lifted productivity. Drilling is faster, more selective and more accurate, and leakage rates are lower. Wells are being designed to penetrate multiple layers of oil that are stacked on top of each other.But the fact that the industry makes huge accounting losses has not changed. It has burned up cash whether the oil price was at $100, as in 2014, or at about $50, as it was during the past three months. The biggest 60 firms in aggregate have used up $9bn per quarter on average for the past five years. As a result the industry has barely improved its finances despite raising $70bn of equity since 2014. Much of the new money got swallowed up by losses, so total debt remains high, at just over $200bn.Oil bosses like to show off their newest wells in the Permian basin, which, they say, can now make internal rates of return of more than 50% over their working lives. But most firms have mediocre wells too, as well as corporate overheads, so their overall efficiency improvement has not been great. For the ten largest listed E&P firms, aggregate cash operating costs per barrel fell by $13 between 2014 and 2016; not enough to offset a $50 drop in the oil price. Because shale-energy fields run out far faster than traditional ones, firms must reinvest heavily to keep production flat.It is instructive to compare shale with another natural-resources business that has had to cope with a collapse in commodity prices. In 2016 the mining industrys biggest companies ground out profits, produced cashflow after capital investments and made a decent return on capital. Yet despite this unflattering contrast, capital investment by American E&P companies will probably soar over the next year, by perhaps 50% or more.There are two theories for why this is happening. One is that the way in which executives are paid, together with lenders incentives, means that Houston is always vulnerable to investment mania. Not one of the ten biggest E&P firms, for example, puts significant emphasis in its pay scheme on how much return on capital it produces. Low interest rates make it easy for shale firms to borrow, and fee-hungry banks cheer on the spectacle. But the only way that the mania will end well is if oil prices rise sharply, bailing out the industry, or if E&P firms are bought by bigger energy firms. That is possible, but companies such as Exxon and Shell are too seasoned to pay a lot for small, unprofitable firms.Houston, we still have a problem The second explanation is oil executives belief in increased output from the Permian, and higher productivity. Most E&P firms reckon they can expand production at an annual rate of 10-20% over the next few years. But to justify their market values, and make an adequate return on their cumulative capital invested, listed E&P firms would over time need to make about $60bn of free cashflow each year. Assuming that both energy prices and capital spending stay flat, that would require them roughly to double production from current levels.The trouble is that this is a circular argument. If achieved across the whole shale industry it would mean that output would be twice as high as it is now, leading to a 5% increase in global supply, which might in turn lower the oil price. There is something heroicand bafflingabout Americas shale firms. They are the marginal producer in a cyclical industry, and that is usually an unpleasant place to be. The oil bulls of Houston have yet to prove that they can pump oil and create value at the same time.'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business-and-finance/21719436-exploration-and-production-companies-are-poised-go-another-investment-spree-americas?fsrc=rss'|'2017-03-22T07:00:00.000+02:00' +'df3dc3cc70b7fb9fb7cf57e215de9771e9f9b953'|'Daimler has no plans to buy Aston Martin: CEO'|'FRANKFURT Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ) has no plans to raise its minority stake in loss-making luxury carmaker Aston Martin, the German company''s Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche said on Tuesday."We had all opportunities to increase our stake in Aston Martin. We do believe that for a company of that size, independence and a focused management is a recipe for success," Zetsche told reporters gathered at the Geneva motor show.Last month, Aston Martin reported its sixth consecutive annual loss, but said the DB11, a new model equipped with Mercedes electronics, caused a surge in sales at the end of 2016.The British luxury marque faces steep bills to keep its range of sportscars compliant with new emissions rules, increasing its dependency on larger corporations to act as suppliers for things like clean engines.Daimler, which owns luxury brand Mercedes-Benz, struck a deal in 2013 to receive a 5 percent stake in Aston Martin in exchange for supplying engines and electronic components.The deal helps Aston Martin, the only global luxury carmaker not attached to a larger manufacturer, spread the cost of developing new fuel-efficient vehicles.Zetsche however ruled out Mercedes taking a bigger stake in Aston. "I think just the way we are working together is the perfect way for both sides and we have no plan of changing that, he said.(Reporting by Edward Taylor; editing by Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-autoshow-geneva-astonmartindaimler-idINKBN16E22H'|'2017-03-07T12:46:00.000+02:00' +'c32ef82be25f5b19a9499f17ec784c670ace7499'|'Lower pension costs could drive Brazil rates to record lows -economists'|'Company 9:00am EDT Lower pension costs could drive Brazil rates to record lows -economists By Luiz Gerbelli and Claudia Violante SO PAULO, March 16 Interest rates in Brazil could drop to record lows as soon as next year if inflation keeps slowing and Congress passes fiscal austerity measures, providing relief for a nation struggling to emerge from recession, some economists said. While record-low rates are not yet a majority view, an increasing number of economists have started to consider that possibility, provided President Michel Temer gets congressional approval of a pension cost cuts this year to plug a widening budget gap. Passage is far from assured, however, since the measure would set a minimum retirement age for the first time and reduce payouts in one of the world''s most generous pension systems. Brazils benchmark interest rate of 12.25 percent is far above an all-time low of 7.25 percent set between October 2012 and April 2013. A weekly central bank survey of more than 100 economists shows expectations that policymakers will accelerate the pace of cuts at their next meeting in April and drive rates down to an average 8.75 percent by the end of 2018. Ita Unibanco Holding SA economist Felipe Salles said he expected interest rates to fall to 8.25 percent by then, although he did not rule out a drop to as low as 7.25 percent. With inflation expectations anchored and high unemployment because of Brazil''s harshest recession ever, "the passage of the pension reform should help rates go to single digits and stay there for a long time," Salles added. Some economists already have record-low rates as their likeliest scenario for 2019 and 2020, according to the weekly survey. The lowest forecasts for Brazil''s benchmark Selic rate are 7 percent for 2019, two percentage points below the consensus forecast, and 6.50 percent for 2020, versus a consensus view of 8.75 percent, according to the survey. "We are optimistic about monetary policy," said BNP Paribas SA economist Gustavo Arruda. "Inflation is reacting well, and we would not be surprised to see interest rates going below 8 percent." Inflation has fallen rapidly, in part because of the severity of Brazil''s recession. Price rises have undershot market expectations for seven straight months, according to Reuters polls. As a result, most economists expect the government to reduce its inflation target later this year for the first time in more than a decade. The approval of new pension laws is a crucial condition for that scenario, economists say, because it would assuage investors'' fears over a potential debt crisis. However, workers unions and some lawmakers from Temer''s coalition have demanded changes to the proposal, which Temer hopes will pass later this year. "If Congress does not approve (the plan), there will be a significant reversal in the Selic rate this year," said economist Jos Mrcio Camargo of asset management firm Opus Gesto de Recursos. "Reforms are a necessary condition for a continued drop in interest rates." (Writing by Silvio Cascione; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-rates-idUSL2N1GS1EE'|'2017-03-16T20:00:00.000+02:00' +'251616f8513d0327ed89f2ad3b55876f096da7e2'|'Britain''s Good Energy to buy offshore wind power from Dong'|'Business 52am GMT Britain''s Good Energy to buy offshore wind power from Dong LONDON British green energy supplier Good Energy ( GOODG.L ), one of the small players snapping up market share from big providers, said it had signed a one-year deal to buy electricity from a Dong Energy ( DENERG.CO ) wind farm off the Yorkshire coast. Good Energy, which also announced a near 40 percent jump in core profit for last year, said it will buy 12 percent of the electricity produced by Dong Energy''s 210-megawatt (MW) Westermost Rough wind farm, with a view to expanding the deal in terms of length and volume. Denmark''s Dong Energy, the largest offshore wind operator in Britain, said the deal marked the first time a British supplier will buy electricity directly from one of its offshore wind farms. "We have an ambition to ... become one of the UK''s leading energy suppliers to industrial and commercial customers and independent retailers," said Dong Energy''s head of trading, Soeren Scherfig. Announcing its full-year results, Good Energy said its electricity customer base grew by 5 percent last year to 71,486 and its gas customer base by 14 percent to 44,107, helping core profit jump to 10.1 million pounds. Smaller energy suppliers now account for around 18 percent of the dual-fuel British energy market, up from just one percent in 2012, as customers leave big suppliers which the competition watchdog found to have overcharged consumers billions of pounds. (This refiled version of the story includes missing word ''power'' in headline). (Reporting by Karolin Schaps; Editing by Susan Fenton) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-good-energy-dong-energy-britain-windf-idUKKBN16S0ZT'|'2017-03-21T16:52:00.000+02:00' +'e80b1f1f001def380b2742a6009277e8180ba1f9'|'S.Africa''s Banking Association concerned for fiscal discipline after finance minister axed'|'Company News 10am EDT S.Africa''s Banking Association concerned for fiscal discipline after finance minister axed JOHANNESBURG, March 31 South Africa''s Banking Association said on Friday that changing the finance minister and deputy finance minister raised "alarming concerns" for fiscal discipline issues. President Jacob Zuma replaced Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan with Malusi Gigaba in a cabinet reshuffle late on Thursday and appointed Sfiso Buthelezi as deputy finance minister, replacing Mcebisi Jonas, along with various other changes of ministers and their deputies. (Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg; Editing by Susan Fenton) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/safrica-politics-bankingassociation-idUSJ8N1GY00X'|'2017-03-31T14:10:00.000+03:00' +'6e3181c62f5772d9043e29a48d926b549e8405ac'|'Maersk, Danish state could land North Sea oil deal within days: sources'|'COPENHAGEN Oil and shipping conglomerate A.P Moller-Maersk could land a deal with the Danish government on oil and gas operations in the North Sea within days, several political sources with access to negotiations told Reuters on Tuesday.The Danish state has agreed to improved fiscal terms, the sources said. That would allow Maersk to continue operations at Denmark''s largest gas field, Tyra.However, Maersk would have to agree that if the oil price goes above $75 per barrel the company would have to pay 5 percent more of its profit to the state. If the oil price rises above $85 per barrel it would be 10 percent. The current tax rate is 52 percent.(Reporting by Erik Matzen, writing by Teis Jensen, editing by Louise Heavens)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-maersk-denmark-idINKBN16E1QI'|'2017-03-07T10:51:00.000+02:00' +'3130e0cf3e39a2c1035eaba5f71f49f09a603c29'|'UK Stocks-Factors to watch on March 1'|' 53am EST UK Stocks-Factors to watch on March 1 March 1 Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening up 23.1 points on Wednesday, according to financial bookmakers. * The UK blue chip index closed 0.1 percent higher at 7263.44 on Tuesday, as gains by GKN Plc and Pearson Plc outweighed losses from basic resources stocks. * UNILEVER: Unilever is proposing changes to how it pays executives and directors in order to make them think more like owners of the business, less than two weeks after seeing off a $143 billion takeover pursuit by U.S. rival Kraft Heinz. * VODAFONE: Sky Network Television will not yet cancel its agreement to buy Vodafone''s New Zealand unit after the country''s competition regulator rejected the proposal, the firms said. * 21ST CENTURY FOX/SKY: Rupert Murdoch''s Twenty-First Century Fox Inc could formally notify the European Commission of its 11.7 billion pound ($14.47 billion) takeover offer for Sky as soon as Thursday, after which the UK culture secretary will decide whether to launch a probe into the extent of Murdoch''s control of UK media, the Guardian reported on Tuesday. ( bit.ly/2m55zjf ) * FORD: U.S. carmaker Ford Motor Co plans to cut 1,160 jobs at its at its engine plant in Bridgend by 2021, ITV News reported on Tuesday. ( bit.ly/2lRIMqG ) * UK PRICES: Prices in British shops showed the smallest annual decline in over three years last month, adding to signs of growing inflation pressures after last year''s post-referendum fall in the pound, data showed on Wednesday. * UK INDUSTRY: Prime Minister Theresa May''s flagship industrial strategy lacks "clear actions and milestones", the head of the Confederation of British Industry will say on Wednesday, challenging ministers to set out what exactly they plan to do, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. ( on.ft.com/2mIXKgz ) * SCOTLAND: The "sheer intransigence" of the British government over Brexit could lead to a second Scottish independence referendum, the head of the devolved Scottish government said on Tuesday. * GLOBAL MARKETS: U.S. stock futures pared gains on Wednesday on disappointment that President Donald Trump did not offer further details on his plans for infrastructure spending and tax reforms, but the dollar firmed rate hike this month. * OIL: Crude oil prices rose on Wednesday as the dollar trimmed gains and a speech by U.S. President Donald Trump offered little on plans by his administration to boost U.S. oil production. * FEDERAL RESERVE: A handful of Federal Reserve policymakers on Tuesday jolted markets into higher expectations for a March U.S. interest rate increase, with comments that suggested rate-setters are worried about waiting too long in the face of pending economic stimulus from Washington. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets * UK CORPORATE DIARY: BBA Aviation PLC Full Year 2016 BBA Aviation PLC Earnings Release Carillion PLC Full Year 2016 Carillion PLC Earnings Release EVRAZ plc Full Year 2016 EVRAZ plc Earnings Release Inchcape PLC Full Year 2016 Inchcape PLC Earnings Release Elementis PLC Full Year 2016 Elementis PLC Earnings Release Man Group PLC Full Year 2016 Man Group PLC Earnings Release ITV PLC Full Year 2016 ITV PLC Earnings Release Inmarsat PLC Preliminary 2016 Inmarsat PLC Earnings Release International Full Year 2016 International Personal Personal Finance Finance PLC Earnings Release PLC TODAY''S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com ($1 = 0.8085 pounds) (Reporting by Abhijith Ganapavaram in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idUSL3N1GE2R3'|'2017-03-01T13:53:00.000+02:00' +'f72fc66b4599bb5f6ca4da6d5a1e54a1d59cbcda'|'Siemens pledges commitment to post-Brexit UK'|'Business News - Mon Mar 27, 2017 - 1:37pm BST Siemens pledges commitment to post-Brexit UK FILE PHOTO: People covered with umbrellas walk next to a Siemens building in Munich, Germany, November 13, 2008. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle/File Photo FRANKFURT German engineering group Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ) said it was committed for the long term to Britain, which will begin the formal process of leaving the European Union on Wednesday. The trains-to-turbines group employs more than 15,000 people in Britain, has played an important role in London''s Thameslink and Crossrail rail projects and is investing 160 million pounds ($201 million) in a wind turbine-blade factory in Hull. "While the exact terms of the UK''s exit from the European Union are unclear, we are committed to London in the long-term," Siemens'' UK Chief Executive Juergen Maier said in a statement. Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) also gave a vote of confidence in Britain''s capital by choosing a new office for its London headquarters last week. Google GOOGL.L, Facebook ( FB.O ), Apple ( AAPL.O ), Snap ( SNAP.N ) and Amazon ANZN.O have also announced investments in London, although entrepreneurs have warned that the city risks its status as a start-up destination if the government does not clarify how it plans to keep the best talent. Siemens did not detail its UK investment plans on Monday. ($1 = 0.7942 pounds) (Reporting by Georgina Prodhan, editing by Louise Heavens) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-siemens-idUKKBN16Y1EJ'|'2017-03-27T20:34:00.000+03:00' +'528c65310b367439d96d2140f9af8860a9c15383'|'BlackBerry''s M&A head Mackey says left company in February'|' 20pm EST BlackBerry''s M&A head Mackey says left company in February TORONTO, March 2 Jim Mackey, the head of corporate development and strategy at BlackBerry Ltd , left the company in mid-February, he told Reuters on Thursday. "It is true I left BlackBerry as of Feb. 13," Mackey, who held the title of executive vice president, executive operations, said in a message. Mackey, who joined the Canadian company in late-2013, worked directly with BlackBerry Chief Executive Officer John Chen, navigating the purchase and integration of a string of acquisitions and the signing of major partnership agreements. BlackBerry did not offer an immediate comment. (Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Denny Thomas and Jeffrey Benkoe) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/blackberry-mackey-idUSL2N1GF1IL'|'2017-03-03T02:20:00.000+02:00' +'e396b1bc2512252d7dc96bb9e36bb9a62f77caf6'|'Oil trading giant Vitol bets on fuel retail for growth'|'* Vitol invests in gas stations from Turkey to Pakistan* Increases presence in growing consumer markets* Being end-user strengthens position with fuel suppliersBy Julia Payne and Dmitry ZhdannikovLONDON, March 10 From Pakistan to Turkey, the world''s largest independent oil trader Vitol is betting on a spike in gasoline and diesel demand in young and growing nations by snapping up filling stations that disappointed oil companies are prepared to sell.With the sharp drop in global oil prices, major integrated oil companies have been shedding assets, including the marginally profitable retail outlets, to cut costs.But privately-held Vitol, which trades 6 million barrels per day of crude oil and refined products, says these assets present an opportunity to strengthen its presence in end-markets and in up-and-coming hubs.This month, Vitol secured more than 23 percent of Turkey''s retail market after it agreed to buy Petrol Ofisi from Austrian oil firm OMV for $1.45 billion."The volume we trade means integration into the distribution chain makes sense. Retail also allows you to participate in markets on an on-going basis, so it''s not always ad hoc or spot," Chris Bake, a top Vitol executive, told Reuters."It allows us to have different kinds of discussions with our suppliers," said Bake, who sits on Vitol''s executive committee and is the chairman of retail unit Vivo Energy.The purchase will add another 1,700 outlets to Vitol''s portfolio of 3,000 stations acquired through investments in the last few years in Viva Energy in Australia, Vivo Energy in Africa, Varo in central Europe and OVH in Nigeria.It has also consolidated its initial investments such as by buying Royal Dutch/Shell''s stake in Vivo and Viva and its aviation business in Australia last year.The eastern Mediterranean is a major import market and Vitol sees Turkey as a good destination because of its proximity to transport routes from the Mediterranean, Black Sea and Red Sea."With fuel and non-fuel retailing, we can optimize the system. We are able to look closely at how to streamline the assets and we are willing to invest capital. With Vivo, we have added around 100 new service stations per year," Bake said.Of its main trading competitors, only Trafigura is also vying for a piece of the retail pie. It has a large presence in Africa through its subsidiary Puma Energy and is set to acquire a large stake in India''s Essar Oil.Glencore, Gunvor and Mercuria have favoured upstream or midstream assets. Last year, Gunvor bought a refinery in Rotterdam, Mercuria bought oil and gas marketing and distribution assets in the United States and Glencore invested in oil deposits in Chad.Vitol''s retail investments fit in with its view that transport will be the major driver of fuel demand growth, with aviation demand to outstrip that for cars, which is slated to peak in about 10 years time."Global demand for gasoline and diesel will peak but you can''t apply the macro picture to individual countries that have high growth prospects like Pakistan where the Chinese are investing tens of billions of dollars in the CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor), so demand will grow compared with developed economies," Bake said.Last year, Vitol increased its stake in Pakistan''s Hascol Petroleum Ltd that runs around 450 service stations from 15 to 25 percent.Like Turkey, apart from its own growth prospects, Pakistan will become even more a gateway to the rest of Asia as CPEC will see the Chinese government invest $57 billion, mainly in a network of rail, road and pipeline projects, to connect Western China to Pakistan''s sea port of Gwadar. (Editing by Peter Graff)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/vitol-oil-retail-idINL5N1GN28P'|'2017-03-10T10:24:00.000+02:00' +'5dfac06f19e7b7dc15600f9cf377899045f29aa4'|'Lone Star seeks to inject $1 billion into Novo Banco for 75 percent stake: sources'|'By Sergio Goncalves and Arno Schuetze - LISBON LISBON U.S. private equity firm Lone Star is closer to taking control of Portugal''s Novo Banco with an offer to inject up to 1 billion euros ($1.07 billion) into the bank in return for a 75 percent stake, sources told Reuters.Lone Star had initially sought to take control of all of the state-owned bank''s capital as well as requesting a state guarantee covering up to 2.5 billion euros in potential losses on its non-performing assets and assets slated for sale.Although Lisbon is desperate to offload Novo Banco, which it rescued in 2014, the government turned down Lone Star''s initial offer as it refused to provide any guarantees. The proposal envisaged an immediate 750 million euro injection plus 750 million at a later stage."Under a new agreement that is being finalised and is likely to be sealed this month, Lone Star will inject 1 billion euros of capital into the bank, giving them a 75 percent ownership, while the remaining 25 percent should stay with the (Portuguese) resolution fund," one of the sources told Reuters.The bidding price itself "is almost irrelevant as the main action will be the 1 billion euro capital injection".Portugal injected 4.9 billion euros in Novo Banco, which was carved out of Banco Espirito Santo, which collapsed under a mountain of debt built up by its founding family.The money was injected via the country''s bank resolution fund, meaning that it is the common responsibility of all banks operating in Portugal, who have to foot the bill for any difference between the rescue funds and the selling price.Last year, the government agreed to extend the maturities of the loan to the resolution fund for as long as needed so as to guarantee that banks keep paying what they currently pay in fund contributions regardless of the final Novo Banco deal.The finance ministry and Bank of Portugal officials declined to comment. Lone Star also declined to comment.Finance Minister Mario Centeno said last week the sale of Novo Banco should be concluded in coming weeks.Aside from the Portuguese authorities, the negotiations now involve the European Central Bank and the European Commission, particularly Directorate-General for Competition."The negotiations with DG Comp are intensive and evolving well," another source familiar with the talks said.Under the revised offer, Lone Star has no firm obligation to inject further capital in Novo Banco, but one of the sources said they may possibly inject more capital at a later stage, "as any shareholder looking after their investment would do".Both sources said that Lone Star is negotiating with some Portuguese entities, who could take 5 to 10 pct of Novo Banco, lowering Lone Stars investment by that amount, to help Lone Star understand the Portuguese market and manage relationships with various local players.One of the sources said talks with Brussels were needed to specify where to park the remaining 25 percent stake - the resolution fund or some public entity - while avoiding any impact on public accounts or competition in the banking sector.The 25 percent stake should later be sold off to private investors, to meet Portugal''s commitments taken at the time of the rescue to fully offload its stake in the bank.(Writing by Andrei Khalip; Editing by Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-portugal-novobanco-lonestar-idINKBN16N1D6'|'2017-03-16T08:17:00.000+02:00' +'638b9ac4c03fbf3f5bf93db6cc140d9c82cb0d6f'|'UK''s John Lewis cuts staff bonus for fifth straight year'|'Business 9:52am GMT UK''s John Lewis cuts staff bonus for fifth straight year John Lewis and Waitrose employees wait for the announcement of their 2015 bonus in central London, March 12, 2015. REUTERS/Neil Hall LONDON British retailer the John Lewis Partnership cut its annual staff bonus for a fifth consecutive year on Thursday as 2016-17 trading profit at both its department stores and Waitrose supermarket chain fell, it said on Thursday. The employee-owned group said its staff, known as partners, would receive a bonus of 6 percent, equivalent to over three weeks pay, down from 10 percent last year. It totals 89.4 million pounds. The percentage payout was the lowest since 1954 when 4 percent was paid. John Lewis had cautioned in January that the bonus was likely to be "significantly lower" this year due to the need to invest heavily in its online business as well as import cost pressures from a weaker pound since last June''s Brexit vote. The group said profit before the partnership bonus, tax and exceptional items increased 21.2 percent to 370.4 million pounds. However, a large part of this profit increase was due to lower pension accounting charges. There were also a number of exceptional items in the results. After including these exceptional items, the operating profit in both Waitrose and John Lewis department stores was below last year. Last month the department stores business said it would cut hundreds of jobs in a reorganisation of its soft furnishings business and changes to the way it operates its in-store restaurants. ($1 = 0.8233 pounds)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-john-lewis-results-idUKKBN16G12I'|'2017-03-09T16:52:00.000+02:00' +'abfdc6c95f4337107bf09fbea4c269b2a7cdff31'|'UPDATE 1-UK government ''minded'' to refer Fox''s Sky deal to regulator'|' 57am EST UPDATE 1-UK government ''minded'' to refer Fox''s Sky deal to regulator (Adds Minister quote, details) By Paul Sandle LONDON, March 3 The British government said on Friday it was inclined to investigate Rupert Murdoch''s planned takeover of Sky to see whether it was in the public interest, the first step of what is likely to be a politically charged process. Murdoch''s Twenty-First Century Fox, which owns 39 percent of Sky, notified the European Commission of its agreed 11.7 billion pounds ($14.3 billion) offer to buy the rest of the European pay-TV group. The deal, announced in December, came five years after a political and criminal scandal at Murdoch''s British newspaper business derailed an earlier bid. On Friday, Media Secretary Karen Bradley said she was minded to intervene on two grounds: first, to see if any one company would control too much of Britain''s media, and second, whether the new owners would have a genuine commitment to broadcasting standards. "This is not an announcement of my final decision in relation to intervention, but an indication of what I am presently inclined to do," she said. Analysts and lawyers had expected the bid to be referred to media regulator Ofcom. Shares in Sky were flat after the news. The Murdoch family has long wanted to control Sky, a pay-TV group with operations in Germany and Italy as well as Britain, to unite a media empire across two continents. Some opposition lawmakers have already voiced their concern, saying Murdoch, the owner of The Times and The Sun newspapers, would wield too much power if he had full control of a pay-TV group present in more than 12 million British and Irish homes. Murdoch''s son James, who is CEO of Fox and chairman of Sky, has said he expects the deal to pass regulatory muster. He said on Thursday the media environment had radically changed in the last five years, giving consumers more choice than ever before in the TV market. The notification to Brussels gives Britain''s Department of Media 10 working days to decide whether the bid should be examined by Ofcom. Bradley said she had invited representations from the companies involved, and would aim to come to a final decision on whether to intervene in the next 10 days. ($1 = 0.8171 pounds) (Reporting by Paul Sandle and Kylie MacLellan; editing by David Clarke and Elaine Hardcastle) BRIEF-Bioscrip Q4 loss per share $0.06 * Bioscrip reports fourth quarter and full-year 2016 financial results'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/sky-ma-twenty-first-fox-idUSL5N1GG2WH'|'2017-03-03T19:57:00.000+02:00' +'f04d2be118c5ba42df0e593bb2081f01c272ecc4'|'Britain awards 25 oil exploration licences in frontier tender'|' 32am GMT Britain awards 25 oil exploration licences in frontier tender LONDON Britain has awarded 25 licences for oil and gas exploration in previously untapped waters and announced a new licensing round for mature areas to be held in late May or June, the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) said on Thursday. Seventeen companies received exploration licences in a tender that closed in October. The tender attracted the lowest interest in 14 years as appetite for finding new oil in the North Sea has waned amid high costs and weak oil prices. In a bid to boost interest the OGA had cut rental fees by up to 90 percent. The upcoming licensing round for mature areas will be the "most significant" in decades, the OGA said, because companies will be able to bid for licences relinquished since the previous tender for the area in 2014. It will be the 30th licensing round offering acreage in those areas and other mature parts of the basin. Despite being an old basin, Britain''s North Sea is estimated to have billions of barrels of oil left for extraction, worth around 200 billion pounds ($250 billion) to British government coffers. However, drilling activity in Britain''s North Sea has been at a record low for two years due to high costs and the fall in oil prices, which forced companies to focus on producing assets. This year, Britain''s oil lobby group expects 16 exploration wells to be drilled, a slight uptick from 14 last year. Analysts at Wood Mackenzie expect exploration costs to fall another 10 percent this year because of oversupply in equipment, which could help make exploration work more economic. (Reporting by Karolin Schaps; Editing by Susan Fenton) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-oil-exploration-idUKKBN16U01Y'|'2017-03-23T07:32:00.000+02:00' +'b5b4ef2496b901c4806800a9e2b6b97979813902'|'If healthcare vote fails, would jeopardize ''Trump trades'' - Gundlach'|'By Jennifer Ablan - NEW YORK, March 22 NEW YORK, March 22 If the U.S. healthcare legislation overhaul is not passed, or is postponed, it will put "a lot of doubt" on the "Trump trades," which include higher U.S. equities and bond yields, DoubleLine Capital Chief Executive Jeffrey Gundlach said on Wednesday."Surveys show that people believe the (Obamacare) repeal is the most likely part of Trumps agenda to be passed," said Gundlach, who oversees more than $101 billion in assets at DoubleLine, told Reuters. "So if you cant pass the repeal, everything else is in doubt for sure."Investors have been bracing for Thursday''s floor vote scheduled in the U.S. House of Representatives, with safe-haven securities including Treasuries and gold seeing price gains on Wednesday. Trump and Republican congressional leaders appeared on Wednesday to be losing the battle to get enough support to pass the Obamacare rollback bill.Gundlach repeated his recommendation that investors would do better selling U.S. equities into any kind of stock rally and diversifying into emerging markets. He noted that the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has outperformed the Standard & Poor''s Index by over 4 percentage points since early March.Gundlach said Tuesday''s stock-market slump illustrated how "investors are questioning whether the pro-growth U.S. policies are really going to happen." (Reporting by Jennifer Ablan; Editing by James Dalgleish)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/funds-doubleline-gundlach-idINL2N1GZ1KT'|'2017-03-22T16:51:00.000+02:00' +'f2a49a07193a5b9831f34775f6a2fc954630546b'|'TREASURIES-Bonds steady as U.S. healthcare vote in focus'|'* Dudley and other Fed officials speak on Friday By Karen Brettell NEW YORK, March 24 U.S. Treasuries were steady on Friday as investors waited on a highly anticipated vote in Washington on healthcare reform, which is being seen as an indicator of whether the Trump administration will be able to pass fiscal stimulus. U.S. Republican lawmakers struggling to overcome differences over new healthcare legislation confronted a stark choice after President Donald Trump delivered an ultimatum: pass the bill on Friday or keep Obamacare in place. Delays in passing domestic legislation, including healthcare, are seen as likely to push back any new fiscal stimulus, which investors had anticipated would boost growth and possibly spur a quicker pace of interest-rate hikes. This is being seen as a good litmus test of the rest of Trumps agenda, said Gennadiy Goldberg, an interest rate strategist at TD Securities in New York. Benchmark 10-year notes were unchanged in price to yield 2.42 percent. The 10-year yields fell to 2.375 percent on Wednesday, their lowest since Feb. 28. They are down from a three-month high of 2.63 percent on March 14. Speeches by Federal Reserve officials on Friday will also be in focus for investors hoping for clues on when the U.S. central bank is next likely to raise interest rates. Investors have lowered expectations for a more aggressive Federal Reserve as doubts about the pace of change in Washington increase. The U.S. central bank raised interest rates last week as expected but took a more dovish tone on future hikes than some investors had anticipated. The U.S. central bank should begin allowing its massive portfolio to run off, even as it keeps its target policy rate low to maintain inflation and unemployment at current levels, St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard said on Friday. New York Fed President William Dudley is due to speak later on Friday. Data on Friday showed that new orders for key U.S.-made capital goods unexpectedly fell in February, but a surge in shipments amid demand for machinery and electrical equipment supported expectations for an acceleration in business investment in the first quarter. (Editing by Bernadette Baum) )'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-bonds-idINL2N1H10LK'|'2017-03-24T11:29:00.000+03:00' +'6e2749f5fd11387560c38d222024d49dc21f2028'|'UPDATE 1-China consumer day show skewers Nike shoes, Muji foods'|'(Recasts, adds details)By Jackie Cai and Adam JourdanSHANGHAI, March 15 China''s annual consumer rights day TV show turned its spotlight on U.S. sports brand Nike Inc for false advertising and Japanese brand Muji for selling food products allegedly sourced from part of Japan affected by radiation.The state-run China Central Television (CCTV) show - which can have brands and their corporate PR teams scurrying to take evasive action - said certain Nike shoes sold in China did not have "Zoom Air" cushions despite advertising that suggested they did.Similar to CBS network''s "60 Minutes" in the United States, the CCTV show - known as "315" in reference to global consumer rights day on March 15 - has previously named and shamed firms from Apple Inc to Volkswagen AG.The two-hour show - a mix of undercover reports and song-and-dance - also highlighted Japanese brands including Muji, owned by Ryohin Keikaku Co, which it said sold food products in China from an area of Tokyo where high levels of radiation were detected in 2015.Reuters could not immediately reach Nike or Muji for comment.The show also took aim at fake eye doctors for scamming patients, animal breeders for over-using medicines to make animals grow faster, and China''s Wikipedia-like Baike.com.The 315 show can hit a firm''s reputation if singled out for bad corporate behaviour. Apple was forced into a rare apology in 2013 after criticism on the show of its China after-sales service."Pretty much all the big corporations have their PR machines ready to jump into action because they''ve seen what happens when companies are not prepared," said James Feldkamp, Shanghai-based CEO of independent China consumer watchdog Mingjian.While the annual programme has lost some of its bite in recent years, Wednesday''s version was harder hitting than last year''s, which criticised local food delivery apps, fake online sales and dodgy false teeth, but didn''t take aim at any major international firms.Ahead of the show, some Chinese shoppers told Reuters they would probably not watch it, but would check the next day to see who had been targeted."What I pay attention to is food safety. After all, what you eat has a direct affect on your health," said Maple Zhu, a 27-year-old media professional in Shanghai."The impact, though, on consumers is usually short-lived. After a little while most people just forget." (Reporting by Adam Jourdan and Jackie Cai; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/china-consumerday-idINL3N1GS43C'|'2017-03-15T12:22:00.000+02:00' +'c2d532a354a9d6d59a48116b3ad5958014625d00'|'Brazil''s Fibria malls local CRA notes sale, CFO says'|'Company News 3:44pm EDT Brazil''s Fibria malls local CRA notes sale, CFO says By Tatiana Bautzer - NEW YORK, March 31 NEW YORK, March 31 Fibria SA, the world''s largest eucalyptus pulp producer, is considering selling up to 1 billion reais ($319 million) worth of notes backed by agricultural receivables in Brazilian domestic debt markets, Chief Executive Officer Guilherme Cavalcanti said. Selling so-called CRA debt, as the notes are commonly known, allows Fibria to raise funds at cheaper borrowing costs than Brazil''s overnight lending rate because of their tax-exempted nature, he said. Fibria can invest the proceeds in investments yielding higher returns, generating a financial gain, he said. The company has yet to decide whether selling CRAs, and has not hired any banks to explore or underwrite a sale, Cavalcanti added. Fibria has about 1 million hectares (2.47 million acres) of land, giving it enough assets that could be used as collateral for future CRA sales, he added. Companies with large swaths of land or receivables from crops already sold use CRAs as a powerful fundraising tool, because of strong demand from wealthy families and other individual investors that want to take advantage of 15 percent tax exemption the securities enjoy. The market for asset-backed debt has offered farming and real estate companies the chance to tap much-needed financing at a time when Brazil undergoes the harshest bank loan retraction in at least two decades. The income-tax exemption for retail bond investors means corporate borrowers can offer paying 4 percentage points to 5 percentage points below the Selic overnight rate, which now runs at 12.25 percent. Economists expect the Selic to end this year below 10 percent. ($1 = 3.1309 reais) (Editing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Marguerita Choy) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/fibria-bonds-idUSL2N1H81S3'|'2017-04-01T03:44:00.000+03:00' +'f9abeb7221f38bd6c3b915201cbdf640268d6c7f'|'BHP''s Escondida mine says negotiations dissolved; will return to production'|'Company News 45am EDT BHP''s Escondida mine says negotiations dissolved; will return to production SANTIAGO, March 23 The negotiation process between BHP Billiton and striking workers at its Escondida mine in Chile has ended unsuccessfully, Escondida mine president Marcelo Castillo said on Thursday, and the company will try to restart operations. The company will also evaluate an option of the Chilean labor code that would allow miners to work under the previous contract for 18 months, if miners present the option, Castillo said. He added that that option, known as Article 369, would create a complex scenario for both parties. (Reporting by Felipe Iturrieta; Writing by Gram Slattery; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/chile-copper-escondida-idUSC0N1FM02H'|'2017-03-23T20:45:00.000+02:00' +'81be27466443289eb72209539945d8fc694b9261'|'Capital Bank Financial explores sale: Bloomberg'|'Capital Bank Financial Corp ( CBF.O ) is working with advisers to consider selling itself after receiving an unsolicited approach, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.Shares of the Charlotte, North Carolina-based parent of Capital Bank rose nearly 10 percent in morning trade and hit a record high of $44.97.Capital Bank Financial had a market value of about $2.1 billion, according to Thomson Reuters data.The company has begun reaching out to potential buyers, but talks are at an early stage and no final decisions have been made, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. bloom.bg/2msqwC5Capital Bank Financial declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.Capital Bank operates in the southeastern United States and has 196 branches across Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, according to its website.The regional lender began operations in 2010, when it bought about $1.2 billion in assets and $960 million in deposits of three failed banks from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.The company had long-term debt and other borrowings of $116.5 million as of Dec. 31.(Reporting by Diptendu Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-capital-bk-fin-m-a-idINKBN16M1WI'|'2017-03-15T11:26:00.000+02:00' +'b723a778cf8d0854626ac3cf684c3944546ecc4c'|'CORRECTED-40 North Management and Standard Industries raises stake in GCP Applied Technologies'|'Big Story 10 7:15pm EDT 40 North Management and Standard Industries raises stake in GCP Applied Technologies 40 North Management LLC and Standard Industries, shareholders of GCP Applied Technologies Inc, raised their stake in the construction products and packaging maker as they view the stock as undervalued and an attractive investment. 40 North and Standard Industries reported a combined stake of 9 percent in GCP Applied Technologies as of March 2, up from 3.56 percent on Dec. 31. ( bit.ly/2mFnf4U ) (This version of the story corrects the headline and story throughout to add reference to Standard Industries, which along with 40 North, raised combined stake in GCP. It also corrects to show combined stake is 9 percent, not 6.5 percent) (Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel) Next In Big Story 10'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-gcp-applied-tech-stake-idUSKBN16K2SV'|'2017-03-14T06:05:00.000+02:00' +'317f1c6028054aab2307e2e5acb4a56ef2407a66'|'Swiss watchmakers expect challenging U.S. market this year'|'Company 14pm EDT Swiss watchmakers expect challenging U.S. market this year By Silke Koltrowitz - BASEL, Switzerland, March 23 BASEL, Switzerland, March 23 Swiss watchmakers expect the market to stay challenging this year with the United States, their second-biggest market, showing no signs of recovering, executives told Reuters at an industry fair in Basel. Swiss watchmakers are grappling with declining sales in their biggest markets -- Hong Kong and the United States -- and have been hit by tourist shoppers avoiding Europe for fear of extremist attacks. The trend for shopping online has also kept buyers out of stores, said Efraim Grinberg, chairman and chief executive of Movado Group Inc. (MGI). "We see a significant retail shift, especially in the U.S. The acceleration of the digital shift over the last five years has led to less traffic to retailers," he told Reuters in an interview on Thursday. "You''re seeing some adjustments, but they''ll take time to materialise. Retailers have to up their game to make venues more exciting and there''s also a shift to online sales," he said, adding he didn''t see that resolving very quickly. Shipments of Swiss watches fell 8 percent in January and February, dragged down notably by a 12.4 percent decline in the United States, where shipments also dropped 9 percent last year. U.S.-based MGI, whose brands include Swiss labels Movado and Ebel, on Monday reported a decline in sales and profits for the fiscal year to Jan. 31 and said it expected a mid single-digit drop in sales this year. Ricardo Guadalupe, head of LVMH''s Hublot brand, said U.S. sales were flat for the brand so far this year. "The Americans don''t have the same luxury watch culture, it''s not like in China where people love mechanical watches," he said. Laurent Dordet, at the helm of Hermes'' watch business, said sales were improving at Hermes boutiques, but multibrand retailers were still facing difficulties in many markets, notably the United States, due to excess stock. Industry major Swatch Group gave a more optimistic forecast last week, forecasting a 7-9 percent rise in sales for 2017. (Reporting by Silke Koltrowitz; Editing by Victoria Bryan) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/swiss-watches-idUSL5N1GZ1PA'|'2017-03-24T00:14:00.000+02:00' +'f4cd812fcee11e99824b1c9341ede4af75afea62'|'BRIEF-Blackberry reports Q4 GAAP loss per share $0.09'|' 15am EDT BRIEF-Blackberry reports Q4 GAAP loss per share $0.09 March 31 Blackberry Ltd: * Blackberry reports Q4 fiscal 2017 results above analyst consensus revenue and EPS estimates * Q4 non-GAAP earnings per share $0.04 * Q4 revenue $297 million versus I/B/E/S view $288.4 million * Blackberry Ltd - expect to be profitable on a non-GAAP basis and to generate positive free cash flow for full year * Q4 GAAP loss per share $0.09 * Q4 earnings per share view $0.00 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * Blackberry Ltd qtrly non GAAP total revenue $297 million versus $487 million last year * Blackberry - Q4 non-GAAP company total software and services revenues of $193 million; Q4 GAAP company total software and services revenues of $182 million * Qtrly GAAP gross margin of 60pct * Says Q4 non-GAAP gross margin of 65pct * Blackberry Ltd - total cash, cash equivalents, short-term, long-term investments increased by $89 million to approximately $1.7 billion as of Feb 28, 2017 * Blackberry Ltd -"looking ahead to fiscal 2018, we expect to grow at or above overall market in our software business" * Says expect to be profitable on a non-GAAP basis and to generate positive free cash flow for full year 2018 * Blackberry Ltd qtrly GAAP total revenue $286 million versus $464 million last year * FY2018 earnings per share view $0.02, revenue view $976.7 million -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * Q4 earnings per share view $0.00, revenue view $288.8 million -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-blackberry-reports-q4-gaap-loss-pe-idUSASB0B7W0'|'2017-03-31T19:15:00.000+03:00' +'8f225d79e4f67370a00f2823773b3830e05be7d0'|'EURO DEBT SUPPLY-Four euro zone states to sell debt in coming week'|'LONDON, March 31 Austria, Germany, France and Spain are the four euro zone sovereigns scheduled to sell debt at auction in the coming week.* Austria will issue 1.32 billion euros in bonds by reopening 2027 and 2023 issues in an auction on Tuesday.* Also on Tuesday, Germany will sell 1 billion euros of an inflation-linked bond maturing in 2026.* Germany returns on Wednesday to sell 4 billion euros of a fixed-rate five-year bond.* On Thursday, France will sell 7-8 billion euros in an auction of 10-year bonds and a bond maturing in 2031. Spain will also sell debt, with details to be announced later on Friday.(Compiled by John Geddie; Editing by Dhara Ranasinghe)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/eurozone-bonds-outlook-idINL5N1H82IB'|'2017-03-31T07:39:00.000+03:00' +'27c54f3328ab6e0573fd8ac4f9ef43ee4cf065cb'|'Kangaroo care why keeping baby close is better for everyone - Global Development Professionals Network'|'C armela Torres was 18 when she became pregnant for the first time. It was 1987 and she and her now-husband, Pablo Hernndez had just moved to Colombias capital, Bogot, in search of a better life. One December afternoon, suddenly out of nowhere, her body began to convulse with sharp contractions. It was more than two months before her due date. She rushed to the Instituto Materno Infantil (Mother and Child Hospital) in the east of the city. Not long after arriving she gave birth naturally to a baby boy weighing just 1,650 grams (3lb 10oz).Before she had a chance to hold him, her baby was whisked off to a neo-natal intensive care unit. Torres was simply told to get dressed and go home. I didnt even get to touch him, she says. They said I could come back and see him but the visiting times were very restricted just a couple of hours a day. When I did visit I was allowed to look but not touch.On the third day she was at home preparing for her next visit when the phone rang. It was the hospital, she says. They called to say my baby was dead. They didnt tell me the cause of death or give me any diagnosis. Just that he was dead. I hadnt even named him yet.A decade passed before Torres was ready to become pregnant again. A couple of months before her due date those familiar, severe contractions ripped through her body, stopping her in her tracks.I was petrified, she says. I didnt want another premature baby. I was taken to the exact same ward where I had my baby which died. I was extremely stressed.At one oclock the next morning Torres gave birth to another boy. She named him immediately, calling him Julian. He weighed almost the same as her firstborn and just like then, he was whisked straight into intensive care.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Kangaroo care unit at the San Ignacio University Hospital, Bogot. Photograph: Juliana Gmez/Mosaic ScienceI spent a very frightening night panicking that I was about to lose another baby, she says. But the next morning a doctor came to see me. She told me about a thing called Kangaroo Mother Care how I could act as a human incubator and carry my own baby and take it home with me.That day Torres was taught how to hold her baby under her clothing, upright between her breasts with his airways clear. She was taught how even the finest layer of fabric between her and her baby wasnt allowed it had to be continuous and direct skin-to-skin contact. She was taught how to breastfeed, how to sleep on her back propped up by cushions, and strictly never to bathe him as this would waste his precious energy. Remarkably, the very next afternoon, with her tiny baby strapped to her chest under a blanket, Torres walked out of hospital.Julian was very small and fragile but I was much happier taking him home with me than leaving him there, where my other baby had died, she says. Feeding him wasnt easy, but I had a lot of help. I carried him for a month, 24 hours a day, sharing shifts with my husband, until he hit his target weight of 2,500g. Once hed reached that we didnt have to do it any more and finally he got his first bath.Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) is the brainchild of Colombian paediatrician Edgar Rey, who introduced it to the Instituto Materno Infantil in 1978. It was an idea born out of desperation. The institute served the citys poorest people. At the time this was the biggest neonatal unit in Colombia, responsible for delivering 30,000 babies a year. Overcrowding was so bad that three babies would have to share an incubator at a time, and the rate of cross-infection was high. Death rates were spiralling and so too was the level of abandonment as young, impoverished mothers, who never even got to touch their babies, found it easier just to take off.Rey happened upon a paper on the physiology of the kangaroo. It mentioned how at birth kangaroos are bald and roughly the size of a peanut very immature, just like a human pre-term baby. Once in its mothers pouch the kangaroo receives thermal regulation from the direct skin-to-skin contact afforded by its lack of hair. It then latches onto its mothers nipple, where it remains until it has grown to roughly a quarter of its mothers weight, when finally it is ready to emerge into the world.This struck a chord with Rey. He went back to the institute and decided to test it out. He trained mothers of premature babies to carry them just as kangaroos do. The results were remarkable. Death rates and infection levels dropped immediately. Overcrowding was reduced because hospital stays were much shorter, incubators were freed up, and the number of abandoned babies fell.Its 8am and already the shiny new KMC unit at the San Ignacio University Hospital in central Bogot is packed to the rafters. Rows of women, and a surprisingly high number of men, too, squeeze together a sea of colourful knitted hats and chunky coats, protection against the citys unpredictable cycle of hail, rain and heat. They sit on narrow pews with the tiniest little heads peeping skyward on their chests. Its warm, there is a buzz, and it is a million miles away from the sterile atmosphere of a typical neonatal intensive care unit.Facebook Twitter Pinterest A baby receiving kangaroo care at the San Ignacio University Hospital, Bogot. Photograph: Juliana Gmez/Mosaic ScienceMany seem to have settled in for the day one woman has her knitting out and another has her extended family in tow. Five paediatricians stand in a row behind a bench examining baby after baby.Traditional units are closed and have very restrictive visiting hours, says Nathalie Charpak, the French paediatrician who heads the unit. An important element of KMC is that the unit is open and parents have access so they can sit with their infants, connect with each other and gain confidence seeing others with very small babies doing the same thing.In 1989 Charpak did a study on a sample of babies from two of the very poorest hospitals in the city and proved that KMC was safe. In 1994, with funding from a Swiss NGO, a larger randomised trial proved conclusively that not only were babies dying less, but breastfeeding rates were up, hospital stays were shorter and infection was down. Charpak is also director of an NGO that researches and promotes KMC, the Fundacin Canguro the Kangaroo Foundation.It is clear KMC is about much more than just saving the babys life, says Charpak. I have fought all my life to show that KMC has nothing to do with comfort or massage or anything fluffy like that. It is difficult to do and each baby is carefully followed up every six weeks for the first year, but the benefits are extraordinary.One of the very first countries to investigate what was going on in Bogot was Venezuela. In 1994 a small team came to witness KMC for themselves. Others came too: Brazil in 1995, Ethiopia in 1996, followed shortly by Madagascar, India, Cameroon and many more.Many of the resulting KMC programmes are very successful. In Malawi, which has the highest rate of premature births in the world (181 babies out of 1,000), there is now a KMC centre in every district. Over the 10 years to 2015, the number of babies dying before their first birthday fell from 72 out of 1,000 to 43. I have seen a significant drop in mortality, says Indira, a midwife at Zomba Central Hospital in southern Malawi. It has also helped reduce congestion in the ward as babies are cared for at home. And it has helped reduce costs, because electricity is being saved as the mother is a perfect heat source for the baby.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Baby receiving kangaroo care at the San Ignacio University Hospital, Bogot. Photograph: Juliana Gmez/Mosaic ScienceThe World Health Organisation has estimated that KMC has the potential to save as many as 450,000 lives a year.Resistance, however, has come from where you might least expect it. For some health professionals, nurses and even paediatricians, Charpak says, it can be difficult to accept that care by mothers is better than anything they can offer themselves, especially if they have fought hard to bring shiny rows of incubators to their hospitals. There is also the prevailing idea that things are done better in westernised countries.Charpak and colleague Julieta Villegas now struggle to convince the world that it isnt just an option for poor women. Its not something just to be done in poor countries, says Charpak. There is a cost to it. Its a proper neonatal care with advantages that are clinically proven.Undeniably, though, it is cheaper. The estimated cost of neonatal care for premature babies in the US is up to $5,000 (4,000) a day. In low-income countries, a KMC programme can cost as little as $4.60 a day.Last November Charpak unveiled the most ambitious study yet into KMC aiming to track down the 716 families who took part in the original 1994 study. The original kangaroo babies were subjected to a series of rigorous checks including MRIs, neuroimaging, blood tests, psychosocial tests and physical evaluations. Each was measured for self-esteem, depression, hyperactivity, aggressiveness and more. So were the grown-up babies from the original control group, who had received traditional care. The full results were published in Pediatrics journal at the end of last year.The findings are groundbreaking, says Villegas. We found the kangaroo babies were less hyperactive, less antisocial, and they even earned higher wages. This is especially significant because these were babies who were the most fragile to begin with and who came from a lower socioeconomic background ... This is why we say with kangaroo care, we fight inequality. We dont just save lives, we change lives.This article first appeared on Mosaic Science and is republished here under a Creative Commons licence.Global development professionals network Maternal health Premature birth features '|'theguardian.com'|'https://www.theguardian.com/uk/business'|'https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2017/mar/03/kangaroo-care-the-radical-skin-to-skin-approach-to-saving-premature-babies'|'2017-03-03T17:46:00.000+02:00' +'ad4810e048f30b4454ae60b4155a4e96a916937b'|'''Lots of nurses have already left'': EU workers head for exit - Politics'|'S ince news of the UKs looming departure from the European Union hit, lots of industries have spoken out about fears of losing European workers. On Monday academics from Oxford University said staff would go if they were not reassured about their future. It comes amid news that EU citizens working in the NHS are thinking of leaving in the next five years.We asked you about how the loss of European workers may affect, or is already affecting, your sector. We heard from a variety of people, including professors and doctors, who expressed concern that workers are already leaving. Here are a selection of your stories.Construction worker John, 51: The unwelcome atmosphere is turning people away from construction I am an Irish national who has lived and worked in London for nearly 30 years. Ive made my life and family here. Ive added to the community and to the industry. Throughout the UK, there is a lack of adequate training or interest from many in joining the construction industry. There has always been a strong interest from migrant communities. In my experience, the unwelcome atmosphere is turning people away and we do not train or encourage people into this industry. We need migrant workers.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Photograph: Martin Dalton/REX/Shutterstock Financial consultant Andy, 39: We had a large number of Europeans working here but now they are nearly all goneI work for a medium-sized financial provider who deals with a very diverse client base from around Europe. I am an EU citizen myself, but I am still in the UK. At work we had a large number of Europeans working in our customer support and sales teams but now they are nearly all gone (they have either progressed somewhere else in London or have left the country). We have now two non-Europeans who both can speak French in customer support. Only one guy in the sales department speaks German. He now does everything for the German client base. If he is sick or on holiday we have no German front office. We have no more Spanish or Italian speakers. The sad part is that overall we have actually increased the number of EU employees, just not in the UK. Around 40-50% of the overall workforce has left as we moved technical departments and finance functions (even director positions) abroad to keep access to our European markets. Most of those who lost their jobs were English. And with every job that moves abroad the London office loses relevance.The doctorMay, 43: I predict many doctors will leave, especially those now in training EU nationals working in the NHS express significant concerns regarding their right to stay and their careers. London used to be a world-open and liberal place, welcoming and supportive. Working in the NHS was stimulating and exciting. The outlook for the future is bleak. And there is zero reassuring communication from the UK government. I predict many doctors especially in training will leave. I have worked for the NHS 16 years. I have personally spoken to many doctors and midwives who are strongly considering leaving. I know of people who did not renew research contracts but I have not met anyone who has left already.European people working for the NHS feel utterly disappointed and disillusioned.MayThe team spirit in the NHS was and is stimulating. However, it is mainly created by the multinational teams that have in common a love and dedication to their specialty and medicine in general. British people hugely benefited. With the Brexit vote it feels that this effort, hard work and dedication is completely unappreciated and ignored. It is no surprise European and non-European people working for the NHS feel utterly disappointed and disillusioned. They will go where their work is appreciated.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA The entrepreneur Gerard, 31: I plan to shut down operations in London for Berlin. I dont want to deal with BrexitI work for an internet startup across London and Berlin. I see both cities competing already for tech talent. London will definitely lose that battle long-term. I havent left yet, but I plan to shut down operations in the UK when article 50 is triggered. Im lucky enough to have clients in Europe or unlucky enough to have them there whatever the case I dont want to deal with Brexit.Since then Ive been taking fewer UK clients knowing I will leave. I just feel sadly unwelcome now.GerardI loved London and I will always remember refreshing the Guardian website while counting the referendum results. It was like everything I was building fell apart. Since then Ive been taking [fewer] UK clients knowing I will leave. I just feel sadly unwelcome now.The professorSimon, 51: I am moving to another EU country to take up another university post I work in the university sector and the lifeblood of our work is provided by academics and researchers from all over the world, particularly from the EU. In addition, many of our students come to the university to study from abroad. The European Unions framework funding programmes including Horizon 2020 have been key to ensuring that the UK punches well above its weight in research and development. The loss of EU workers and access to the networks provided by the EU will have a devastating effect on the UK higher education sector.I am a UK national who has decided to leave. I am moving to another EU country to take up another university post. Although Brexit was not the only reason for this move (the new role will be an advancement in my career), it was a decisive factor in making me apply for the job given the future uncertainties in the UK higher education sector.The nurse Karen, 40: Five nurses have left alreadyBefore [the] Brexit [vote] we used to have hundreds of applicants in nursing. Now we hardly see 50. All staff are tired and worried about what will come next. In my department 60% of nurses are EU citizens and already five of them have handed in their notice. I am an EU citizen myself and Im already making plans to leave UK for good. The healthcare sector will collapse and I dont want to be part of it.Web designer Ben, 25: A European worker recently left. It was a big loss for the team I work in web design and development. Weve benefited greatly from the expertise of EU workers in our team. But now one of our main designers, responsible for delivering engaging websites, print media, presentations etc for clients has left. Her husband is in research of some sort (Im not sure exactly what it is) and his funding was moved out of the UK. Given that she wasnt feeling welcome in the UK any more, it was a no-brainer for them to simply move. It is a big loss for the team.Some names have been changed Topics EU referendum and Brexit NHS European Union Health features '|'theguardian.com'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/all'|'https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/mar/14/lots-of-nurses-have-already-left-eu-workers-head-for-exit'|'2017-03-14T19:26:00.000+02:00' +'144f542c73b054b73a0ffb7673a2a8f90afb72dd'|'Revealed: what small businesses want from Brexit negotiations - Guardian Small Business Network'|'Research released by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) reveals a trade deal with Europe is top of the list for small businesses post Brexit. The survey, completed by 1,758 members, found 63% of exporters would prioritise a deal with Europe first, followed by the US (49%), Australia (29%) and China (28%). Nine out of 10 (92%) exporting small businesses and 85% of importers trade with the EU. It is also the first foreign market many small firms go to: exporters are twice as likely to have exported to the EU for the first time, than another market. More than half (58%) of exporting small firms say it is easier to trade with the EU, compared to non-EU countries. A small proportion (6%) find it harder. The poll also found small businesses are concerned about tariffs imposed once the UK leaves the single market. A third (34%) of exporting firms say they would be deterred from trading with the EU if a tariff of between 2-4% was applied. This has been the EUs average range under World Trade Organisation rules over the past few years. Lord Marland: People are obsessed with free trade agreements Read more A large proportion (39%) of those that trade exclusively with the EU (21% of small firms surveyed) say any tariff rate above 0% would deter them from doing business with the trading bloc. More than three quarters (76%) of potential exporters also expect tariffs to play a significant role in their future plans. The cost of increased administrative burdens are a concern for more than half of all small businesses surveyed. Small firms that operate a global supply chain are also considering changes. One in five (20%) say they are thinking about relocating more, or all, of their supply chain to the EU. Only 9% are thinking about a move to the UK.But there is some hope for expanding business opportunities in other markets. The majority (72%) of exporting small businesses and 53% of importers trade both inside and outside of the single market. Almost one in five (19%) of exporters trade with at least one of the top four emerging markets China, India, United Arab Emirates and South Africa. China and India also feature in the top 10 global priority markets. Trading with emerging markets can be good for business the average turnover of small firms that export to China is 1.5m. Those that export to the EU have an average turnover of 893,203. A number of UK small firms expect very little or no change to their levels of trade after the country leaves the single market (42% of exporters, and 55% of importers). However 49% of exporters expect material change 20% believe they will export more and 29% expect to trade less. Only 7% of importers believe they will import more, compared to 31% who expect volumes to fall. FSB chair, Mike Cherry, said about the findings: Small firms trade with countries based on ease, cost and value and any future trade deal must deliver on these key aspects both with the EU single market and non-EU markets.The reality is that the EU single market is still a crucial market for smaller firms and cannot be undervalued. Compared to larger companies, small businesses typically work to tighter margins with limited resources, meaning changes to the trading landscape will hit them disproportionately hard. We call on the government to ensure that a sensible phased implementation arrangement is put in place to avoid a cliff edge, once we have left the EU.Sign up to become a member of the Guardian Small Business Network here for more advice, insight and best practice direct to your inbox. Topics Guardian Small Business Network Small business Entrepreneurs Article 50 European Union news '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/mar/21/revealed-what-small-businesses-want-from-brexit-negotiations'|'2017-03-21T14:00:00.000+02:00' +'dd6edc1b0bbd6779a4c6c12f40745e4e53dbdfcb'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'March 28 The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1015 GMT on Tuesday:** Barclays is in exclusive talks to sell its stake in Barclays Bank of Zimbabwe to Malawi''s First Merchant Bank, First Merchant Bank said in a statement on its website.** Aviva Plc is exploring a sale of its Friends Provident International unit, which offers life assurance and investment products, in a deal that could raise between $500 million and $700 million, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said.** Bain Capital Private Equity has decided not to proceed with the acquisition of Belgian packaging company Resilux due to an anti-trust ruling in Germany, the investment company said.** Amazon.com has agreed to buy Middle East online retailer Souq.com, thwarting a last minute bid by Dubai billionaire Mohamed Alabbar''s Emaar Malls.** Japanese beer maker Asahi Group Holdings Ltd said it will take on 7.4 billion euros ($8 billion) in bank loans to finance its acquisition of European assets from Anheuser-Busch InBev SAC NV.** China Southern Airlines Co Ltd said it will sell a small stake to American Airlines Group Inc in a $200 million deal that will give the carriers better access to the world''s two largest travel markets.** British housebuilder Redrow said it did not intend to make an offer for rival Bovis just over two weeks after its approach was rejected as too low, leaving one potential bidder for the ailing firm.** Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (Tepco) and Chubu Electric Power Co said they had signed an agreement to integrate their fossil fuel power plants under their JERA Co joint venture.** Akzo Nobel, the Dutch paints and coatings maker trying to avoid being taken over by larger U.S. rival PPG Industries, said it would detail its strategy to remain independent on April 19.** The new head of Spain''s Banco Popular, Emilio Saracho, is in talks to sell the lender''s property portfolio and also a stake to Libra Group, online newspaper El Confidencial reported.** Schlumberger, the world''s top oil services provider, has bought a stake in upstart rig operator Borr Drilling.** Strauss Coffee has agreed to buy back a 25.1 percent stake in the company held by buyout firm TPG Capital Management for 257 million euros ($279 million), its parent company Strauss Group said.** Australian sandalwood plantation group Quintis Ltd said its managing director has resigned and will consider making a takeover offer for the company together with an unnamed international group.** Brazilian miner Vale SA said on Monday it has wrapped up the sale of a stake in Mozambique''s Moatize coal project to Japan''s Mitsui & Co Ltd and received an initial payment of $733 million, the company said in a security filing.** Investment management firm Red Mountain Capital Partners LLC said in a letter on Monday that it is pushing apparel and accessories maker Deckers Outdoor Corp''s board to explore a sale of the company.** Russia''s biggest bank Sberbank is selling its subsidiary in Ukraine to a consortium of investors, which include Norvik Bank (Latvia) and a Belarussian private company, Sberbank said in a statement on Monday.** Olive Garden owner Darden Restaurants Inc said on Monday it would buy Cheddar''s Scratch Kitchen for $780 million in an all-cash transaction.** Bank holding company Home BancShares Inc said it would acquire regional lender Stonegate Bank in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $778.4 million. ($1 = 0.9208 euros) (Compiled by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/deals-day-idINL3N1H53HE'|'2017-03-28T08:19:00.000+03:00' +'36a5b83e49802eb04df3a512af8c27575dc41b31'|'CERAWEEK-Mexico eyes U.S. market for Trion project''s crude, natural gas'|'Commodities 20pm EST Mexico eyes U.S. market for Trion project''s crude, natural gas Vehicles are seen next to fuel pumps at a Pemex gas station in Mexico City, Mexico, February 18, 2017. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez By Marianna Parraga - HOUSTON HOUSTON A pipeline network with spare capacity could allow Mexico to export oil and gas from its flagship offshore Trion project to the United States, the head of Mexico''s oil regulator said on Thursday. The deep water Trion development, with prospective reserves of almost 500 million barrels of oil, was farmed out in December by state-run Pemex [PEMEXF.UL] to Australia''s BHP Billiton, which became the operator of the $11 billion project. The ailing Mexican oil firm, which kept a 40-percent stake, jointly shares for the first time the risks and rewards of a potentially lucrative project with a private producer. Although a development plan has yet to be submitted, the consortium could use a cheaper and quicker option of getting production to the United States by using pipelines that serve the neighboring Great White field on the U.S. side of the Gulf of Mexico, Juan Carlos Zepeda, head of the national hydrocarbons commission (CNH), said on the sidelines of CERAWeek energy conference in Houston. The Great White field, which is operated by Royal Dutch Shell Plc, BP Plc and Chevron Corp, is producing around 70,000 barrels per day (bpd), leaving 50 percent available capacity in a crude line and a gas line connected to the U.S., Zepeda said. "There are only 39 kilometers (24 miles) from the Trion field to the Great White''s facilities," Zepeda told Reuters, noting that building a pipeline to Mexico''s shore would be more expensive and would take more time. The pipelines from Great White field on the U.S. side of the Perdido Fold Belt, the world''s second-deepest oil and gas production hub, are operated by U.S.-based Williams Companies as part of its 1,370-mile (2,200-km) network of gas and crude lines in the Gulf of Mexico. Other options for Trion production include building pipelines to the nearest ports, most likely Mexico''s Tampico or Brownsville in Texas, or setting up a Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility to handle the output. Another block awarded to Pemex and China''s state-controlled offshore oil producer CNOOC, which in December gained a foothold in Mexico''s deepwater, is even closer to Great White. "The (Pemex and BHP) consortium must submit an appraisal in the coming 180 days, including test wells, to confirm the field''s extension and then a development plan must also be submitted," Zepeda said. Early production of light crude from Trion is expected for 2023, Pemex''s director Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya said earlier this week in Houston. "For Pemex this is historic deal. For 80 years, Pemex never had a partner with whom to share risks or equity," he said. The project had been put aside in early 2016 due to the company''s budget cuts and resumed nine months later as part of Mexico''s long-waited oil reform. MORE LICENSES COMING The CNH, which oversees contracts and runs oil auctions in Mexico, is offering 15 blocks for exploration and production in shallow water under profit sharing agreements and 26 onshore blocks under licenses, with results expected in June and July. A new deep water bidding round in the coming months is expected to offer blocks mostly in the same basins of Perdido and Salina. As in previous offshore auctions, licenses will be offered by the government to operate these blocks, Zepeda detailed. The last bidding round in the short term will be the first for so-called unconventional resources. Onshore blocks with shale oil and shale gas reserves close to the Eagle Ford basin in Texas will be offered, as well as areas in the Tampico Misantla formation, which is estimated to hold some 35 billion barrels of oil, mostly in shale rock. (Reporting by Marianna Parraga in Houston. Additional reporting by David Alire in Mexico City; Editing by Marguerita Choy) Next In Commodities'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ceraweek-mexico-idUSKBN16G2R4'|'2017-03-10T02:11:00.000+02:00' +'384814b973d83754f1be53b267aec1214afc8e29'|'Abu Dhabi aims to close $872 million solar plant financing in April'|'ABU DHABI Abu Dhabi''s government-owned power utility aims to close a financing package for a 3.2 billion dirham ($872 million) solar power plant, which will be the world''s largest, in April, a senior official at the utility said on Sunday.Last week, Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (ADWEA) said it had selected a consortium of Japan''s Marubeni Corp and China''s JinkoSolar Holding to build and operate the 1,177 megawatt plant. The duo were selected from six bids received by ADWEA in September.The project is ADWEA''S first foray into renewable energy. Abu Dhabi aims to generate 7 percent of its energy from renewables by 2020; the government''s green energy firm Masdar has launched renewable energy projects including solar plants.The plant, to become operational in 2019, will be funded 25 percent by equity and 75 percent by debt, Adel al-Saeedi, acting director of privatization at ADWEA, told Reuters. ADWEA would contribute the equity while local and international banks would fund the debt.The winning bidders offered to provide electricity for 2.42 U.S. cents per kilowatt hour, one of the most competitive prices seen to date in the solar industry, Saeedi said.A special-purpose company would be formed to operate the project; ADWEA would own 60 percent of the company while Marubeni and Jinko would hold 40 percent. Power generated would be sold to Abu Dhabi for 25 years.Initially the plant at Sweihan, east of the city of Abu Dhabi, was to have a capacity of 350 MW, but ADWEA increased the capacity because additional land became available, said Saeedi.(Reporting by Stanley Carvalho; Editing by Andrew Torchia)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-emirates-renewables-idUSKBN16C0FL'|'2017-03-05T14:08:00.000+02:00' +'bc34a69aa12cbaa613827069745c3f51492f2d39'|'South Africa''s Zuma says no crisis over grants payment system'|'CAPE TOWN, March 16 South African President Jacob Zuma said on Thursday there was no "crisis" as doubts mount over the government''s ability to make welfare payments in April to 17 million needy people because of a service-provider dispute."There is no crisis," Zuma said in response to a question from the opposition. South Africa''s top court on Wednesday blamed Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini for the saga, which it described as a crisis. (Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Writing by Ed Stoddard; Editing by James Macharia)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/safrica-zuma-welfare-idINJ8N1GE00P'|'2017-03-16T10:00:00.000+02:00' +'aad6a23d1daeb4e6537224304dbeadac3663a0f6'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Lira falls 1 pct as emerging markets feel pre-Fed heat'|'Company News - Wed Mar 8, 2017 - 5:26am EST EMERGING MARKETS-Lira falls 1 pct as emerging markets feel pre-Fed heat By Sujata Rao - LONDON, March 8 LONDON, March 8 A rise in U.S. Treasury yields weighed on emerging assets on Wednesday, with the Turkish lira shrugging off central bank pledges for more monetary tightening to slump one percent against the dollar. Investors in most markets have retreated to the sidelines before Friday''s U.S. jobs data which may offer clues as to the pace of monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve, though a rate rise next week has been more or less priced in. However 10-year Treasury yields inched to six-week highs. Emerging equities seesawed around flat, though Hong Kong-listed Chinese stocks rose 0.3 percent. Chinese local markets shrugged off data showing the country''s first trade deficit in two years. Turkey is one of the markets that will likely be worst hit in event of a more hawkish Fed, given its current account deficit and low domestic policy credibility. South Africa too could suffer, especially after data showing a surprise growth contraction towards end-2016, highlighted its sluggish economy. The lira has slipped almost 5 percent in the past 10 days as the likelihood rose of a Fed move this month and did not receive any support from governor Murat Cetinkaya who signalled more monetary tightening was on the way if needed. Simon Quijano-Evans, EM strategist at Legal & General said that while an upswing in U.S. yields was negative for the emerging markets asset class, "you are bound to get bigger moves on higher-beta EM stories such as Turkey and South Africa." While Cetinkaya has lifted the central bank funding rate to a near five-year high over 10.6 percent, he failed to mention plans to shift to more orthodox monetary policy. Quijano-Evans noted, however, the central bank had managed to tighten policy in recent weeks without verbal interference from the government and that has helped calm lira markets. "That should show (Turkey''s) leadership an independent central bank is the most important policy tool they can have," he added. The South African rand fell 0.5 percent to the dollar , deepening its losses as data showed business confidence fell in February. The Polish zloty slipped 0.2 percent before a central bank meeting that will likely hold rates unchanged. The Czech crown eased in forward markets, extending falls from Tuesday when data showed authorities had bought a record 14.4 billion euros in January, tripling its reserves since 2013. The exchange rate implied in six-month forwards contracts eased to a one-month low at 26.865 per euro. SEB predicted more speculative pressure on the crown, with this week''s inflation data likely surprising to the upside. The Czech National Bank has pledged not to end its policy of capping the currency''s strength before the second quarter. "We expect the central bank to remove the floor after the French election to avoid potential volatility...Euro/crown will stabilize around 25.5 (after cap exit)," they said. In bond news, emerging borrowers raced to raise money before the Fed move, with Kuwait on a roadshow for its long-awaited issue and Russian sub-sovereign Gazprom hoping to follow peers such as Evraz and Polyus to tap markets. For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2e7eoml For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2dZbdP5 For CENTRAL EUROPE market report, see For TURKISH market report, see For RUSSIAN market report, see) Emerging Markets Prices from Reuters Equities Latest Net Chg % Chg % Chg on year Morgan Stanley Emrg Mkt Indx 936.18 -0.32 -0.03 +8.57 Czech Rep 973.54 +1.84 +0.19 +5.63 Poland 2213.97 +12.99 +0.59 +13.66 Hungary 32621.27 +179.07 +0.55 +1.93 Romania 7914.03 +8.46 +0.11 +11.70 Greece 652.27 +9.11 +1.42 +1.34 Russia 1097.44 -13.02 -1.17 -4.76 South Africa 44333.80 -6.53 -0.01 +0.98 Turkey 90130.06 -683.55 -0.75 +15.35 China 3241.18 -1.22 -0.04 +4.43 India 28914.39 -85.17 -0.29 +8.59 Currencies Latest Prev Local Local close currency currency'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-idUSL5N1GL2A9'|'2017-03-08T17:26:00.000+02:00' +'39e6bbd458e518e0ace77097c2f4f04bdbd5fa15'|'German, U.S. finance ministers to meet in Berlin next week'|'Business News - Tue Mar 7, 2017 - 12:40pm GMT German, U.S. finance ministers to meet in Berlin next week German Finance Minister German Wolfgang Schaeuble attends a news conference following a meeting at the Bercy Ministry in Paris, France, February 22, 2017. REUTERS/Charles Platiau BERLIN German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Tuesday he would meet his U.S. counterpart Steven Mnuchin on Thursday next week to prepare for a broader G20 meeting in Baden-Baden. Speaking to foreign press correspondents in Berlin, Schaeuble rejected U.S. criticism of Germany''s record-high current account surplus and criticism that the German government was exploiting a weaker euro to boost its exports. "Nobody can claim that we are achieving these surpluses through manipulation," Schaeuble said, adding that the European Central Bank was in charge of the euro and that the central bank is independent. He added Germany''s current account surplus was a result of the high competitiveness of its companies. (Story refiles to remove extraneous word from second paragraph.) (Reporting by Michael Nienaber and Joseph Nasr; Editing by Madeline Chambers) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-germany-g20-schaeuble-idUKKBN16E1GM'|'2017-03-07T19:39:00.000+02:00' +'282a27770046bc541a7f93c88150e0140f05aa68'|'Facebook adds camera features, moving closer to Snapchat'|'Technology News - Tue Mar 28, 2017 - 8:05am EDT Facebook adds camera features, moving closer to Snapchat Facebook logo is seen on a wall at a start-up companies gathering at Paris'' Station F in Paris, France, January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer By David Ingram - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Facebook Inc ( FB.O ) is giving the camera a central place on its smartphone app for the first time, encouraging users to take more pictures and edit them with digital stickers that show the influence of camera-friendly rival Snapchat. With an update scheduled to take effect on Tuesday, Facebook will allow users to get to the app''s camera with one swipe of their finger and then add visual details like a rainbow or a beard of glitter. Users will be able to share a picture privately with a friend, rather than to the user''s entire list of friends, and add a picture to a gallery known as a "story," similar to a feature on the Snapchat app. Snapchat, owned by Snap Inc ( SNAP.N ), popularized the sharing of digitally decorated photographs on social media, especially among teenagers, and exposed a weakness of Facebook as the companies battle for eyeballs and leisure time. Snap, which went public this month, has recently emphasized its ambitions to build gadgets and has called itself a camera company rather than a social media firm. Facebook, the world''s largest social network with some 1.86 billion users, denies it took its camera ideas from Snapchat and says it got them from Facebook users. "Our goal here is to give people more to do on Facebook and that''s really been the main inspiration," Connor Hayes, a Facebook product manager, said in a briefing with reporters. In a glimpse of how the features could tie in with other businesses, one of the first camera effects will be the ability to morph someone in a photograph into a yellow, cartoon "Minion." The latest Minion movie, "Despicable Me 3," is due out in a few months from Comcast Corp''s ( CMCSA.O ) NBC Universal. Facebook has deals to license content from six film studios, as well as from two artists, said Kristen Spilman, design director at Facebook. Another visual effect that can be added to pictures allows someone in a picture to "become a laser cat with super powers," Spilman said. The effects will vary by location. Spilman said that when Facebook tested the ability to add the phrase "LOL" - the acronym for "laugh out loud" - to a picture, users in Ireland were confused by what it meant. (Reporting by David Ingram; Editing by Bill Trott) Next In Technology News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-camera-idUSKBN16Z1GT'|'2017-03-28T20:05:00.000+03:00' +'37448de1bfa2834b5500fc611aee86d0414516d8'|'Caterpillar is sued by a shareholder after federal raid'|'March 3 Caterpillar Inc was sued on Friday for allegedly deceiving shareholders about its business, one day after federal law enforcers raided three of its buildings in connection with a probe into the heavy machinery manufacturer''s offshore tax practices.In a complaint filed in Chicago federal court, Jacob Newman accused Caterpillar of defrauding him and other shareholders in regulatory filings by touting its commitment to good ethics, while concealing how it "unlawfully used foreign subsidiaries" to avoid paying billions of dollars of U.S. taxes.Caterpillar did not immediately respond to requests for comment after business hours.Shares of Caterpillar fell 4.3 percent on Thursday, wiping out more than $2.4 billion of the Peoria, Illinois-based company''s market value.The company said it believed the raid by officials from agencies including the Internal Revenue Service''s criminal investigation division, the Department of Commerce and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp was connected with an IRS probe related to a Swiss parts unit, Caterpillar SARL.Caterpillar has been fighting an IRS demand that it pay $2 billion in taxes and penalties for shifting profit to the Swiss unit to lessen its U.S. tax bill.Newman is seeking unspecified damages in his proposed class-action lawsuit on behalf of Caterpillar investors from Feb. 19, 2013 through March 1.The lawsuit also names Caterpillar Chief Executive Jim Umpleby, Chairman Douglas Oberhelman and Chief Financial Officer Bradley Halverson as defendants. Oberhelman preceded Umpleby as chief executive.Companies often face U.S. lawsuits accusing them of securities fraud shortly after unexpected negative news causes a decline in their stock prices. It is unclear how many lawsuits Caterpillar might face.The case is Newman v. Caterpillar Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, No. 17-01713. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/caterpillar-lawsuit-idINL2N1GG1T9'|'2017-03-03T20:51:00.000+02:00' +'7b0291956f43781b7df0baf1e571c42f9ba2b7eb'|'Credit Suisse set to decide in April on Swiss bank IPO - sources'|'Business News - Fri Mar 17, 2017 - 7:51pm GMT Credit Suisse set to decide in April on Swiss bank IPO - sources Credit Suisse logo is pictured on their office in Warsaw Poland, March 15, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel By Joshua Franklin and Pamela Barbaglia - ZURICH/LONDON ZURICH/LONDON Credit Suisse''s ( CSGN.S ) board of directors is set to decide in April whether to go ahead with a partial initial public offering of its Swiss bank, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters, with alternative options being considered. Zurich-based Credit Suisse announced plans to sell 20-30 percent of its highly profitable Swiss business back in October 2015, partly in an effort to raise up to 4 billion Swiss francs ($4 billion) and bolster the group''s capital position. However, group Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam cast doubt on the project last month when he said Credit Suisse was open to alternative options to strengthen the group''s balance sheet "if there are ways to reach a more attractive risk/reward outcome for our shareholders". No final decision has yet been made on whether or not go ahead with the IPO, the people said. Credit Suisse has pencilled in the IPO for the second half of this year, market conditions permitting and subject to board approval. A Credit Suisse spokesman said the bank has nothing to add to what was said last month and it does not comment on market speculation. Credit Suisse staff, one of the people said, are continuing to prepare for the IPO, which could be Switzerland''s biggest stock market listing in more than a decade if it goes ahead. However, there is a growing sense inside the bank and among investment bankers hoping to work on the listing that the IPO will be cancelled. "Our internal language has changed," said one Credit Suisse executive, who declined to be named absent authorisation to speak publicly on the subject. "The nuance has changed to put more question marks around it." Investors have also raised concerns about selling a stake in such a profitable business. David Herro, chief investment officer for international equities at Harris Associates, one of Credit Suisse''s biggest shareholders, said last month that the case for the IPO had become less convincing. To boost its balance sheet, Credit Suisse could instead opt for a 5 billion franc rights issue, Bernstein analysts predicted in a note last week. In a note this month, Citi analysts said Credit Suisse could raise funds through an accelerated bookbuild. Under Swiss securities law, companies are not required to draw up a listing prospectus if it is increasing its share capital by less than 10 percent. "The IPO, rights issue or accelerated book-build are all possible options at this stage," one of the people familiar with the matter said. ($1 = 0.9976 Swiss francs) (Additional reporting by Arno Schuetze in Frankfurt and Oliver Hirt in Zurich; Editing by Michael Shields) Next In Business News World stocks at record highs, dollar slide deepens NEW YORK A global stock market index hovered near record highs on Friday, wrapping up a week when many of the world''s biggest economies either raised interest rates or signalled they might do so, underlining confidence about economic growth and inflation.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-credit-suisse-ipo-swiss-idUKKBN16O2LO'|'2017-03-18T02:51:00.000+02:00' +'935a04add34649e2a963a14b605e9a1fc1b2433d'|'EU top court upholds sanctions against Russia''s Rosneft'|'By Julia Fioretti - LUXEMBOURG LUXEMBOURG Europe''s top court on Tuesday upheld European Union sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine conflict, including on its largest oil group Rosneft, in a ruling that asserts the court''s jurisdiction over the bloc''s foreign policy.The EU slapped sanctions on Russia after it annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and stepped them up as Moscow went on to support a separatist rebellion in Ukraine''s industrial east.Rosneft''s head, Igor Sechin, is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.The European Court of Justice (ECJ) said "restrictive measures ... in response to the crisis in Ukraine against certain Russian undertakings, including Rosneft, are valid."With the ruling, the ECJ established its jurisdiction to rule on matters of the EU''s common foreign and security policy, an area of fierce contention between Brussels and national governments seeking to maintain sovereignty.A lawyer for Rosneft told reporters he was disappointed with the outcome."I would also say it is a setback for judicial protection in the EU in the area of sanctions because the court accepts (...) the fact that a company is partially state-owned is sufficient for it to be a target of sanctions," Lode van den Hende said.The court said it believed encroaching on Rosneft''s right to do business was in proportion with the severity of sanctions imposed on Russia over the Ukraine crisis."The Court holds that the importance of the objectives pursued by the contested acts is such as to justify certain operators being adversely affected," it said in its judgment.Rosneft called the decision "illegal, baseless and politicised." "The ruling shows that the rule of law in Europe is being replaced by the rule of political situation," it said in a statement."Rosneft continues to insist that it has not committed any illegal actions in any jurisdictions where it conducts its business, including Ukraine, and has nothing to do with the Ukrainian crisis." Vladimir Soldatkin in Moscow; Writing by Robert-Jan Bartunek; Editing by Alissa de Carbonnel and Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/eu-russia-rosneft-court-idINKBN16Z16V'|'2017-03-28T08:30:00.000+03:00' +'cc43b3b07da930eeee9a9ff0c307080090241dd3'|'U.S. jobless claims fall to 44-year-low as labour market tightens'|' 41pm GMT U.S. jobless claims fall to 44-year-low as labour market tightens Legal firm Hogan Lovells representative Nina LeClair (2nd R) talks to U.S. military veteran applicants (L) at a hiring fair for veteran job seekers and military spouses at the Verizon Center in Washington April 9, 2014. REUTERS/Gary Cameron WASHINGTON - The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell to near a 44-year-low last week, pointing to further tightening in the labour market even as economic growth appears to have remained moderate in the first quarter. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 19,000 to a seasonally adjusted 223,000 for the week ended Feb. 25, the lowest level since March 1973, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Data for the prior week was revised to show 2,000 fewer applications received than previously reported. It was the 104th straight week that claims remained below 300,000, a threshold associated with a healthy labour market. That is the longest stretch since 1970, when the labour market was much smaller. The labour market is at or close to full employment, with the unemployment rate at 4.8 percent. Labor market tightness, combined with rising inflation, could encourage the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates at its March 14-15 policy meeting. A survey from the U.S. central bank on Wednesday showed the labour market remained tight in early 2017, with some of the Fed''s districts reporting "widening" labour shortages. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast new claims for unemployment benefits dipping to 243,000 in the latest week. A Labor Department analyst said there were no special factors influencing last week''s claims data. Only claims for Oklahoma were estimated. The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labour market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, fell 6,250 to 234,250 last week, the lowest reading since April 1973. Data this week showed tepid growth in consumer spending in January, weak equipment and construction spending and a wider goods trade deficit, suggesting the economy struggled to gain momentum early in the first quarter after slowing in the final three months of 2016. Thursday''s claims report also showed the number of people still receiving benefits after an initial week of aid increased 3,000 to 2.07 million in the week ended Feb. 18. The four-week average of the so-called continuing claims edged up 750 to 2.07 million. The continuing claims data covered the survey week for February''s unemployment rate. The four-week moving average of claims fell 21,500 between the January and February survey periods, suggesting an improvement in the jobless rate. (Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-economy-unemployment-idUKKBN1691T6'|'2017-03-02T20:41:00.000+02:00' +'4e06d941512547affa1804f3319243fcff8ef60e'|'German imports soar in January, current account surplus shrinks'|' 47am GMT German imports soar in January, current account surplus shrinks Loading cranes are seen at a shipping terminal at the harbour in Hamburg April 4, 2015. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer By Michael Nienaber - BERLIN BERLIN German imports soared more than expected in January, outperforming an also surprisingly strong rise in exports, data showed on Friday, in a further sign that Europe''s biggest economy was firing on all cylinders at the start of 2017. The figures, released by the Federal Statistics Office, also showed the wider current account surplus fell sharply on the month, suggesting that Germany''s vibrant domestic demand is helping to re-balance its traditionally export-driven economy. "After their lacklustre performance in the past year, exports are rebounding in 2017," DIHK economist Volker Treier said, adding demand from emerging markets such as China, Brazil, Russia and India was rising. Seasonally adjusted imports rose by 3.0 percent on the month, while exports increased by 2.7 percent, the data showed. Both figures came in much stronger than expected. A Reuters poll had forecast imports to rise by 0.5 percent and exports to increase by 1.85 percent. The seasonally adjusted trade surplus edged up to 18.5 billion euros ($19.6 billion) from 18.3 billion euros in December. The January reading was above the Reuters consensus forecast of 18.0 billion euros. The wider current account surplus plunged to 12.8 billion euros after a revised 24.8 billion euros in December, the data showed. In 2016, German exports rose 1.2 percent on the year to hit a record 1.2 billion euros while imports edged up 0.6 percent to reach an all-time high at 955 billion euros. This propelled the German trade surplus to 252.9 billion euros, also a record high. WAR OF WORDS The European Commission and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have repeatedly urged Germany to take advantage of record-low borrowing costs and increase investment as a measure to reduce the country''s large trade and current account surpluses. The United States last year flagged concerns over economic policies in Germany and put Europe''s biggest economy on a new monitoring list together with other countries such as China and Japan, mostly due to their large surpluses. U.S. President Donald Trump''s trade adviser on Monday described the U.S. trade deficit with Germany as "one of the most difficult" issues, calling for bilateral discussions to reduce it outside of European Union restrictions. Peter Navarro''s comments followed his complaints that Germany was exploiting a weak euro to gain a trade advantage. The criticism was firmly rejected by Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble on Tuesday who said Germany''s trade surplus was the result of high demand for its products and this had nothing to do with any form of currency manipulation. The war of words has set the stage for a heated debate on trade and tax policies when G20 decision-makers meet in the German town of Baden-Baden next week. ($1 = 0.9442 euros) (Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Dominic Evans) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-economy-trade-idUKKBN16H0WL'|'2017-03-10T15:47:00.000+02:00' +'e41d9278f7352e3cca36358e70fbff9517a9f27a'|'White men an "endangered species" in UK boardrooms - Tesco chairman'|' 30am IST White men an "endangered species" in UK boardrooms - Tesco chairman FULL COVERAGE: INDIA ELECTIONS 2017 LONDON The chairman of Britain''s biggest retailer Tesco has said he was joking after telling an audience of aspiring non-executive directors (NED) that white men were "an endangered species" in UK boardrooms. John Allan, who became Tesco chairman in 2015, told the Retail Week Live conference earlier this week that women and people from an ethnic background were in an "extremely propitious period" when it came to getting top jobs in business. "For a thousand years, men have got most of these jobs, the pendulum has swung very significantly the other way now and will do for the foreseeable future, I think," British newspapers quoted Allan as saying. "If you are a white male, tough. You are an endangered species and you are going to have to work twice as hard." Allan later told the Guardian his comments, made the day after International Women''s Day, were not meant to be taken at face value and that they had amused his mainly female audience. "It was intended to be humorous, a bit hyperbolic. Clearly, white men are not literally an endangered species, but I was actually wanting the make the reverse point, which is that it is a great time for women and people of ethnic minorities who want to get on in business." In a statement on Saturday, Allan said he was a strong advocate of greater diversity and regretted if his remarks had given the opposite impression. "The point I was seeking to make was that successful boards must be active in bringing together a diverse and representative set of people," he said. "There is still much more to be done but now is a good time for women to put themselves forward for NED roles." The proportion of female directors among FTSE 100 companies is 26 percent, according to the Guardian, while only 10 percent of executives at those same firms are women. Allan had told the conference that Tesco had appointed an almost entirely new board in the last 18 months and that three of the six new non-executive directors were women. However, Tesco''s board still only has three women and all its members are white. According to the Cranfield School of Management''s 2016 "Female FTSE Index" of the top 100 UK companies, Tesco ranked 33rd. (Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Alexander Smith) Next In Money News India '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-tesco-women-idINKBN16K06R'|'2017-03-13T10:00:00.000+02:00' +'6244da35dd6a504853589eb3e1c54060acb03a0c'|'UPDATE 1-Dominion Diamond should open books to potential suitors -top shareholder'|'Company 47pm EDT UPDATE 1-Dominion Diamond should open books to potential suitors -top shareholder (Adds comment from Washington Cos president, share reaction, context) By Nicole Mordant March 21 Dominion Diamond , target of a $1.1 billion unsolicited bid, should run a formal sales process for the company and open its books to what could be several interested parties, Dominion''s biggest shareholder told Reuters on Tuesday. The board of Dominion, the world''s third-largest diamond producer by value, has a responsibility toward its shareholders to consider the proposal from U.S.-based The Washington Companies, as well as possible other bids, Jamie Horvat, fund manager at M&G Investments said. M&G owns around 11 percent of Dominion, Horvat said. "The best outcome for the owners right now is to do a proper strategic review, have people sign up who are interested," London-based Horvat said by phone. "Maybe others will come out of the woodwork," he said. Dominion was not immediately available for comment. On Sunday, The Washington Companies, a group of privately held North American mining, industrial and transportation businesses founded by billionaire Dennis Washington, revealed it had made a $1.1 billion all-cash proposal for Dominion. In response, Dominion said its board had considered Washington''s proposal, but that the terms of the proposed talks were unacceptable. Dominion shares were up 2.0 percent at $12.45 on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, still below the $13.50 a share offer price that Washington proposed. Washington said on Sunday that the talks with Dominion had ended. On Tuesday, Larry Simkins, Washington''s president, told Reuters it was up to Dominion and its shareholders to make the next move. "We''re absolutely waiting for the board of directors and the shareholders on determining what our next steps are," Simkins said in an interview. He declined to say whether Washington may take a formal bid directly to shareholders. Washington currently owns no shares in Dominion, Simkins said. M&G''s Horvat said Dominion should allow Washington and others to do due diligence on the miner under proper terms and then "go ahead with the best offer." He said he expected this would happen. "I think the board is going to do the right thing. They have good advisors, they are smart people," he said. Analysts said on Monday that there were several "logical" potential suitors for Dominion including global mining giant Rio Tinto and Anglo American-owned diamond giant De Beers. Anglo and Rio declined to comment late on Monday. Reuters reported on Monday that smaller Canadian diamond miner Stornoway Diamond Corp had held merger talks with Dominion in recent months (Reporting by Nicole Mordant in Vancouver; Editing by Denny Thomas and Leslie Adler) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/dominion-diamond-ma-shareholder-idUSL2N1GY1F2'|'2017-03-22T02:47:00.000+02:00' +'57686aacda7644a8f6de8580ca0c29a316b90319'|'German court names lead plaintiff in VW diesel test case'|' 12:53pm GMT German court names lead plaintiff in VW diesel test case The Volkswagen logo is seen at the company''s display during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., January 10, 2017. REUTERS/Mark Blinch FRANKFURT A German court named Frankfurt-based Deka Investment on Wednesday as lead plaintiff for 1,470 damages claims against Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) totalling 1.9 billion euros (1.65 billion pounds). The plaintiffs say they lost money on a drop of almost a quarter in Volkswagen''s share price when it admitted cheating U.S. diesel-emissions tests in September 2015. They say Volkswagen should have warned the market earlier of the risk. The claims represent just a fifth in value of the investor cases pending at the Braunschweig higher regional court and a small fraction of the legal headaches that Volkswagen faces worldwide from investors, consumers and regulators. The claims are being gathered in Germany''s closest equivalent to a class-action case, in which one case is picked as representative and the outcome applied to all the others. In all, around 1,540 investor cases are pending at the court with a total claims volume of 8.8 billion euros. A court spokesman said most of the other claims were from foreign institutional investors. Other existing plaintiffs can apply to join the test case proceedings for the next six months but new plaintiffs cannot come forward to join. The court said it would set a date for a first hearing within the next three months. ($1 = 0.9473 euros) (Reporting by Sabine Wollrab; Writing by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Keith Weir) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-volkswagen-emissions-court-idUKKBN16F1I3'|'2017-03-08T19:53:00.000+02:00' +'1a38c26fd67ed4933a6a73f3548f8fe6b637383c'|'UPDATE 1-Ethanol train derails, bursts into flames in Iowa'|'Company 11pm EST UPDATE 1-Ethanol train derails, bursts into flames in Iowa (Adds NTSB details) By Jarrett Renshaw NEW YORK, March 10 More than two dozen tank cars hauling ethanol derailed Friday morning in northwestern Iowa, causing some to catch fire and sending an unknown volume of the biofuel into a nearby creek, according to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. There were no reported injuries, according to the NTSB, which is sending a 15-member team to Iowa to investigate the incident. The derailment occurred around 1 a.m. (0700 GMT), on a Union Pacific Corp rail line near Graettinger and along Jake Creek, about 160 miles northwest of Des Moines, the NTSB said in a press release. The train included three locomotives and 101 cars, 100 of which were ethanol, the NTSB said, an ingredient in U.S. gasoline. The tank cars were DOT 111 models, which the NTSB has long criticized as puncture-prone and unfit for U.S. rails. U.S. regulators have given ethanol shippers until 2023 to remove DOT 111s from the rails. Crude oil shippers were given a much shorter timeline. The train left Green Plains Inc''s Superior, Iowa, facility, a company spokesperson said. (Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Andrew Hay) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/ethanol-rail-idUSL2N1GN1CM'|'2017-03-11T02:11:00.000+02:00' +'194efd3709c2ccef68a116359584f6be4e185e98'|'UK car production hit 17-year high in February'|' UK car production hit 17-year high in February LONDON, March 23 British car production hit a 17-year high in February, extending a recent trend of surging output as a strong rise in exports once again compensated for a slump in demand at home, an industry body said on Thursday. Overall production rose 8 percent to 153,041 cars last month, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), boosted by a 13 percent increase in sales to overseas markets. The roughly 15 percent fall in the pound against the euro since the Brexit vote has helped to make British exports cheaper to many foreign buyers, although it has increased the cost of importing parts from the continent for UK-assembled models. Britain''s overwhelmingly foreign-owned car industry backed remaining in the European Union and is worried about the possible end to tariff-free business with Europe, its biggest export market, despite reassurances from Prime Minister Theresa May. "We must avoid barriers to trade, whether tariff, customs or other regulatory obstacles, at all costs," said SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes. "To do otherwise would damage our competitiveness and threaten the continued success of UK automotive manufacturing," he added. (Reporting by Costas Pitas; Editing by Keith Weir) Malaysia * Keysight Technologies announces pricing of public offering of common shares in connection with pending acquisition of ixia MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-autos-production-idUSL5N1GZ49C'|'2017-03-23T07:01:00.000+02:00' +'56dc329d13159c4b2cdd1b5115a6c174e3d63dcb'|'BOJ tankan seen showing manufacturers'' mood strongest since mid-2015'|'Business News - 10am BST BOJ tankan seen showing manufacturers'' mood strongest since mid-2015 Men walk toward the Bank of Japan (BOJ) building in Tokyo, Japan, September 21, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai By Kaori Kaneko - TOKYO TOKYO Japanese manufacturers'' business outlook likely improved for a second straight quarter in March to its strongest since mid-2015, a Reuters poll found on Friday, buoyed by a weak yen and a pickup in exports. The Bank of Japan''s quarterly tankan business sentiment survey will likely show the headline index for big manufacturers'' sentiment improved by four points to plus 14 in March from plus 10 in December, the poll of 19 economists found. It would be the highest reading since the June 2015 survey when the index of big manufacturers'' mood was at plus 15. The poll found the sentiment index for big non-manufacturers would likely rise to plus 20 from plus 18 three months ago, improving for the first time in six quarters and hitting its highest level since March 2016 when it stood at plus 22. But the outlook of both manufacturers'' and non-manufacturers will likely worsen slightly in the short term as uncertainty over the Trump administration''s trade policies and an unstable political situation in Europe invite companies to be cautious. "We expect big manufacturers'' mood improved broadly, helped by export recovery and continued yen weakness," said Tsuyoshi Ueno, senior economist at NLI Research Institute. "But the situation is extremely fluid, such as the prospects for President Trump''s policy management and political risks in Europe." Ueno added that prices were expected to rise in coming months, which would likely raise firms'' worries about negative effects on consumers. The poll found the sentiment of big manufacturers will worsen to plus 13 in the coming three months and that of non-manufacturers will deteriorate to plus 18. Big corporations were seen trimming their capital spending plans by 0.1 percent for the coming fiscal year from April, according to the poll. "We expect firms'' capital spending plan will be upgraded steadily later due to their ample cash flow on favorable profits," said Hideaki Kikuchi, an economist at Japan Research Institute. "In addition, there is solid demand for investment to renew aging facilities and increase efficiency." The BOJ will release the tankan quarterly sentiment survey at 8:50 a.m. on April 3 (2350 GMT on April 2). A separate Reuters'' monthly poll, which tracks the BOJ''s quarterly tankan, showed last week that confidence among Japanese manufacturers rose for a seventh straight month in March to a three-year high, while the service sector''s mood was steady. (Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Eric Meijer) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-preview-idUKKBN1720E5'|'2017-03-31T13:01:00.000+03:00' +'cbe4749f1243f81f84b83fd6f9d30bca5bb4ea2b'|'China''s AgBank says building anti-money laundering centre after $215 million fine'|'Business News - Fri Mar 24, 2017 - 4:16am GMT China''s AgBank says building anti-money laundering centre after $215 million fine A view outside an Agricultural Bank of China building in Beijing, China, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo By Shu Zhang and Engen Tham - SHANGHAI SHANGHAI Agricultural Bank of China (AgBank) 601288.HK( 1288.HK ), the country''s third-biggest lender, said it will spend three years building an anti-money laundering (AML) centre to improve and centralize AML control, according to a statement circulated late on Thursday. The move comes after U.S. regulators fined the lender $215 million for inadequate compliance and days after Reuters revealed an AgBank account had been used by Myanmar rebels to collect funds. "Compliance management for anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing and sanctions-related work has become increasingly important for all countries around the world," AgBank said in a press statement emailed late on Thursday. AgBank suspended an account used to fund ethnic rebels fighting government troops in Myanmar. The suspension came after Reuters sent AgBank a list of questions about its rebel-linked transactions, which compliance experts said could point to weakness in financial controls aimed at stopping terrorism. AgBank said it will spend three years building a team of AML professionals, a set of effective AML tools, and a complete AML internal control system to bring AgBank''s compliance management up to a "first-class level by international standards". The AML centre will be the "hub and core" for AgBank''s AML strategy, planning and management for its headquarters and branches at home and abroad, the bank said. AgBank Governor Zhao Huan said at a recent AML training session that employees should increase their monitoring of reports of suspicious transactions and fully implement the rules to "avoid touching the red line of international sanctions" its statement said. (Reporting by Shu Zhang in Beijing and Engen Tham in Shanghai; Editing by Eric Meijer) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-agbank-compliance-idUKKBN16V0FZ'|'2017-03-24T12:16:00.000+03:00' +'370408bd384be893fc88c90e7fbd84cd00f630e7'|'BRIEF-Founders Advantage entered into amended credit facility with Alberta treasury branches'|' 22pm EST BRIEF-Founders Advantage entered into amended credit facility with Alberta treasury branches March 1 Founders Advantage Capital Corp * Completes acquisition of a majority interest in impact radio accessories; announces increase to atb credit facility * Entered into amended credit facility with Alberta treasury branches to increase revolving credit facility to $28.0 million * Entered into amended credit facility with Alberta treasury branches to cancel non-revolving $5.0 million credit facility '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-founders-advantage-entered-into-am-idUSASB0B3BK'|'2017-03-02T07:22:00.000+02:00' +'a8911817c54bf9c6d4ea38dbef0918e4dad6439b'|'BRIEF-Dish Network says plans to issue and sell $1 bln aggregate principal amount of convertible notes'|' Dish Network says plans to issue and sell $1 bln aggregate principal amount of convertible notes March 10 Dish Network Corp * Dish network announces convertible notes placement * Dish network corp- plans to issue and sell $1 billion aggregate principal amount of convertible notes * Dish network corp - net proceeds of placement are intended to be used for strategic transactions '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-dish-network-says-plans-to-issue-a-idUSASB0B4WO'|'2017-03-10T19:16:00.000+02:00' +'3675fc183b9fc1e7eb90070f2e90b213ca461a71'|'Newcomer Borr scoops up Transocean rigs for $1.4 billion as dealmaking heats up'|'By Terje Solsvik and Jonathan Saul - OSLO/LONDON OSLO/LONDON Borr Drilling, founded by former executives of financially troubled Seadrill, has snapped up Transocean''s fleet of shallow-water drilling rigs for $1.35 billion.The rig market deal is Borr''s biggest since it was set up last year by Tor Olav Troeim and other executives who had left Seadrill, once the jewel in the crown of Norwegian-born shipping tycoon John Fredriksen but now battling with $14 billion in debt and liabilities.After years at Fredriksen''s side, Troeim split with him in 2014.Since then Troeim has re-established himself as an independent player in the global shipping market with a high profile and a reputation for successful capital raising.Transocean, executives at Borr Drilling and Troeim were not immediately available for comment.Fredriksen''s private investment vehicle Seatankers bought the new West Mira rig from the Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries shipyard for an undisclosed sum just a week ago.As the price of crude has fallen by more than 50 percent since 2014, oil firms have cut back on rig hires, leaving many vessels idle and prompting owners to restructure operations to preserve cash.Transocean shares were down 4.8 percent at 1403 GMT, lagging a European oil and gas index down 1 percent.Borr, founded with the aim of picking up cheap assets as rig firms sell during the industry downturn, said it would issue $800 million in new shares to help finance the purchase of the 15 rigs.The deal comprises 10 high-specification jack-up rigs and five more that are under construction, Borr said in a statement. Swiss-based Transocean will retain a fleet of about 50 larger rigs used for exploration in deeper waters.Borr, which currently owns just two rigs, will pay $90 million on average for each of the 15 Transocean rigs."That''s half the construction cost, so it''s a pretty attractive deal," said Carnegie brokerage analyst Frederik Lunde.Borr, which is listed on Oslo''s over-the-counter board, said a group of investors had agreed to the $800 million share issue to help fund the deal. The new shares will be sold at $3.5 each, a discount to Borr''s current share price of 35 Norwegian crowns ($4).Boor says it expects the acquisition to be completed by the end of May.In addition to the 15 shallow-water rigs, Transocean owns 30 ultra-deepwater units and has four more under construction, as well as seven harsh-environment rigs, three deepwater rigs and six mid-water units, according to its website. Keppel Corporation, which is building the five rigs that are under construction, said in a separate statement it had agreed to transfer the ownership to Borr from Transocean.Transocean had originally agreed to pay $219 million for each of the five rigs, Keppel said, adding that this would be only slightly reduced, to $216 million per unit under the amended deal.(Additional reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis and Ole Petter Skonnord; Writing by Gwladys Fouche; Editing by Susan Fenton/Ruth Pitchford)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-transocea-borr-drilling-idINKBN16R0KB'|'2017-03-20T12:58:00.000+02:00' +'4fed58add345eadb1ac61393a5788c957b21d8c5'|'Egypt aims to resume Saudi Aramco oil product imports'|'Business News - Thu Mar 16, 2017 - 10:58am GMT Egypt aims to resume Saudi Aramco oil product imports A Saudi Aramco employee sits in the area of its stand at the Middle East Petrotech 2016, an exhibition and conference for the refining and petrochemical industries, in Manama, Bahrain, September 27, 2016. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/Files CAIRO Egypt aims to resume importing oil products from Saudi Aramco by the end of March or early April, the country''s petroleum minister told Reuters on Thursday. Tarek El Molla said that a deal to import crude from Iraq would remain in place as it was not a replacement for Saudi oil shipments which were halted late last year. Saudi Arabia agreed in April 2016 to provide Egypt with 700,000 tonnes of refined oil products per month for five years but the cargoes stopped arriving in early October. Saudi Aramco declined to comment on the report. Egypt''s Petroleum Ministry said on Wednesday that it was working with Aramco on a timetable for the resumption of imports and that the reasons behind the October cut-off were purely commercial. Though officials from both sides have denied the existence of tensions or disagreements between the two countries, the two have been at odds on a number of political issues. Egypt voted in favour of a Russian-backed but Saudi-opposed U.N. resolution on Syria in October, which excluded calls to stop bombing Aleppo. In January an Egyptian court rejected a government plan to transfer two uninhabited Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia. (Reporting by Ehab Farouk; writing by Asma Alsharif; editing by Jason Neely) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-egypt-saudi-oil-idUKKBN16N1AG'|'2017-03-16T17:58:00.000+02:00' +'9dc9a2e5af325d687502949d8ba07263e2309d3c'|'BRIEF-HomeStreet announces departure of Chief Financial Officer'|' 13pm EDT BRIEF-HomeStreet announces departure of Chief Financial Officer March 28 Homestreet Inc * HomeStreet Inc. announces departure of Chief Financial Officer * HomeStreet Inc says company will announce plans to fill Chief Financial Officer on an interim basis in near term * HomeStreet Inc - Melba Bartels, senior executive vice president and chief financial officer, has given notice that she will be leaving company * HomeStreet Inc says will be conducting a search to find a replacement for CFO Bartels Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-homestreet-announces-departure-of-idUSASB0B7E1'|'2017-03-29T06:13:00.000+03:00' +'0fd15ac0be40a9013ed39e7619aca7d49668d8c6'|'India steel minister says he hopes SAIL, ArcelorMittal resolve JV issues by May'|'Business News - Fri Mar 17, 2017 - 9:29am GMT India steel minister says he hopes SAIL, ArcelorMittal resolve JV issues by May India''s Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh speaks during an interview with Reuters in New Delhi, India, December 9, 2016. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi NEW DELHI India''s steel minister said he hoped state-owned Steel Authority of India Ltd ( SAIL.NS ) and ArcelorMittal SA ( ISPA.AS ) would resolve differences over building an $897 million automotive steel plant before the deadline in May to close the deal. SAIL is banking on the proposed joint venture with the world''s number 1 steel producer, ArcelorMittal, to help it move to higher grades of steel in the automotive segment. A collapse of the proposal would further hamper its efforts to recover from seven straight quarters of losses. "Before the May deadline, some solution should come, some good news should come," Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh told reporters. Reuters reported last month that talks between SAIL and ArcelorMittal were at a standstill, with the two companies disagreeing on key terms. (Reporting by Neha Dasgupta; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-india-sail-arcelormittal-idUKKBN16O103'|'2017-03-17T16:29:00.000+02:00' +'afce8cc2d829599281a370a60da96bed2219e8e0'|'Factbox: Details of GM''s sale of Opel to PSA'|'DETROIT France''s PSA Group ( PEUP.PA ) said on Monday it agreed to buy Opel and its British Vauxhall brand from General Motors ( GM.N ) in a deal valuing the business at 2.2 billion euros ($2.3 billion).Below is a summary of some details of the transaction, which is expected to close in 2017:- GM will receive 1.32 billion euros for the Opel manufacturing business in the form of 650 million euros in cash and 670 million in PSA share warrants.- PSA and BNP Paribas ( BNPP.PA ) will pay 900 million euros for Opel''s financing arm, to be operated jointly and consolidated by the French bank.- PSA says it will return Opel and its British Vauxhall brand to profit, with an operating margin of 2 percent within three years and 6 percent by 2026.- PSA says profit can be achieved in part through 1.7 billion euros in joint cost savings. In a client note, Barclays equity research analysts said this was below the 2 billion euros in savings targeted by GM and Opel in 2012.- The Opel sale cuts GM''s cash balance requirement by $2 billion, allowing it to accelerate share repurchases.- GM will record a special, non-cash charge of $4 billion to $4.5 billion.- GM will retain $6.5 billion in underfunded pensions at Opel.- The U.S. automaker will also issue $3 billion in debt toward covering some $3.2 billion in underfunded pensions that will be transferred to the German government.- GM says that without Opel, its adjusted earnings per share in 2016 would have been $6.40, versus its reported total of $6.12. The company''s adjusted margin would have been 8.6 percent, versus the 7.5 percent the Detroit-based company reported.- Opel has six assembly plants, five component plants and around 40,000 employees.($1 = 0.9432 euros)(Reporting By Nick Carey; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-opel-m-a-psa-details-factbox-idUSKBN16D1QP'|'2017-03-06T18:00:00.000+02:00' +'43d2d650f8e5dc4c42ee7d28faf5fa81116c9da2'|'BRIEF-Wecast Network reports FY 2016 basic and diluted loss per share $0.72'|' 18am EDT BRIEF-Wecast Network reports FY 2016 basic and diluted loss per share $0.72 March 31 Wecast Network Inc * Wecast Network announces Q4 and full year 2016 results * Wecast Network Inc - basic and diluted loss per share for 2016 was $0.72 as compared to a $0.34 loss per share in in 2015 * Wecast Network - raising full-year revenue guidance form $280 million to $300 million based on current visibility of, and internal projections for, 2017 * Wecast Network Inc - Q1 2017 revenue will be based on approximately 5 weeks of revenue from our new businesses * Wecast Network Inc - "expect revenues to ramp in Q2, Q3 & Q4" Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-wecast-network-reports-fy-2016-bas-idUSASB0B7W9'|'2017-03-31T19:18:00.000+03:00' +'855ad03120c38a7b708edb197f991f65da2edd8d'|'BRIEF-T. Rowe Price CEO William Stromberg''s FY 2016 compensation $9.1 mln vs $8.45 mln'|' 32pm EDT BRIEF-T. Rowe Price CEO William Stromberg''s FY 2016 compensation $9.1 mln vs $8.45 mln March 17 T. Rowe Price Group Inc * Ceo william stromberg''s fy 2016 total compensation $9.1 million versus $8.45 million in fy 2015 - sec filing * Vice chairman edward bernard''s fy 2016 total compensation $7.2 million versus $6.9 million in fy 2015 - sec filing Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-t-rowe-price-ceo-william-stromberg-idUSFWN1GU0PR'|'2017-03-18T03:32:00.000+02:00' +'a50291c85bd687d6a55db3a2d9dd4b993862e024'|'Head in the cloud: What Satya Nadella did at Microsoft'|'A DECADE ago, visiting Microsofts headquarters near Seattle was like a trip into enemy territory. Executives would not so much talk with visitors as fire words at them (one of this newspapers correspondents has yet to recover from two harrowing days spent in the company of a Microsoft brand evangelist). If challenged on the corporate message, their body language would betray what they were thinking and what Bill Gates, the firms founder, used often to say: Thats the stupidest fucking thing Ive ever heard.Today the mood at Microsofts campus, a sprawling collection of more than 100 buildings, is strikingly different. The word-count per minute is much lower. Questions, however ignorant or critical, are answered patiently. The firms boss, Satya Nadella (pictured), strikes a different and gentler tone from Mr Gates and Steve Ballmer, his immediate predecessor (although he, too, has a highly competitive side). 9 Both these descriptions are caricatures. But they point to an underlying truth: how radically the worlds biggest software firm has changed in the short time since Mr Nadella took charge in early 2014. Back then everything at Microsoft revolved around Windows, the operating system that powered most computers. It was a franchise the company believed needed to be extended and defended at almost any price.Windows has since retreated into a supporting role; sometimes it is little more than a loss-leader to push other products. At the heart of the new Microsoft is Azure, a global computing cloud. It is formed of more than 100 data centres around the world, dishing up web-based applications, bringing mobile devices to life and crunching data for artificial-intelligence (AI) services. Along with this shift in strategy has come a less abrasive, more open culture.Microsofts transformation is far from complete. Windows, Officethe once equally dominant package of applications for personal computersand other PC-related products together still generate about two-fifths of its revenues and three-quarters of its profits. But even those who have watched Mr Nadellas actions with a high degree of scepticism reckon the firm is moving on from its cash-cows.The firms transformation did not begin with Mr Nadella. It launched Azure and started to rewrite its software for the cloud under Mr Ballmer. But Mr Nadella has given Microsoft a new Gestalt , or personality, that investors appear to like. The firms share price has nearly doubled since he took over (see chart).Dethroning Windows was the first task. Previously, new products were held back or shorn of certain features if these were thought to hurt the program (something known internally as the strategy tax). One of Mr Nadellas early decisions was to allow Office to run on mobile devices that use competing operating systems. He went so far as to use a slide that read Microsoft loves Linux. Mr Ballmer had called the open-source operating system a cancer.The downgrading of Windows made it easier for Mr Nadella to change the firms culturewhich is so important, he believes (along with Peter Drucker), that it eats strategy for breakfast. Technologies come and go, he says, so we need a culture that allows you to constantly renew yourself. Whereas Mr Ballmer was known for running across the stage and yelling I love this company, Mr Nadella can often be seen sitting in the audience, listening. When, in 2016, internet trolls manipulated Tay, one of Microsofts AI-powered online bots, into spewing racist comments, people waited for heads to roll. Mr Nadella sent around an e-mail saying Keep pushing, and know that I am with you(the) key is to keep learning and improving.Employees are no longer assessed on a curve, with those ending up at the lower end often getting no bonus or promotion. For the firms annual executive retreat in 2015, Mr Nadella included the heads of companies Microsoft had recently acquired, such as Mojang, the maker of Minecraft, a video game, and Acompli, an e-mail app, breaking with the tradition that only longtime executives can attend.The book of NadellaSending such signals matters more than ever in the tech industry. Well-regarded firms find it easier to recruit top-notch talent, which is highly mobile and has its pick of employers. A reputation for aggression can attract the attention of regulators and lead to a public backlash, as Microsoft itself knows from experience and Uber, a ride-hailing unicorn, is finding out.Mr Nadella has changed the firms organisation as well as its culture. It is now more of a vertically integrated technology firmfull stack, in the jargon. It not only writes all kinds of software, but builds its own data centres and designs its own hardware. Mr Nadella points out that it now even develops some of the chips for its data centres.His imprint can be seen on three businesses in particular: the cloud, hardware and AI. Microsoft does not break out by how much it has increased investment in the cloud, but building data centres is expensive and its capital expenditure is soon expected nearly to double, to $9bn a year, from when Mr Nadella took over. If you take only basic services, such as data storage and computing, Microsofts cloud is much smaller than Amazon Web Services, the leader in cloud computing, which is owned by Amazon, an e-commerce giant. But if you add Microsofts web-based services, such as Office 365 and other business applications, which are only a negligible part of AWSs portfolio, the two firms are of comparable size. Both AWSs and Microsofts cloud businesses boast an annual run rate (the latest quarterly revenues multiplied by four) of $14bn. Microsoft hopes to reach $20bn by its 2018 financial year, a fifth of total expected revenues.In terms of scale, then, there has been much progress. Yet in stark contrast to AWS, which supplies the bulk of Amazons profits, Azure is still loss-making. Some analysts are optimistic that this could change. Mark Moerdler of Sanford C. Bernstein, a research firm, thinks that once Microsoft tapers its investments in data centres and their utilisation goes up, it could approach the margins enjoyed by AWS, which reached more than 30% in the last quarter.Scott Guthrie, who heads Azure, admits that the margins for cloud-based services will probably be lower than for conventional software. But when applications are delivered online, he points out, Microsoft can capture a bigger slice of the overall pie. As well as offering its existing software as services in the cloud, it also takes care of components of IT systems, such as storage and networking, that used to be provided by other vendors. The firms addressable market is far bigger, he says.Perhaps. But however well Microsoft performs, life in the cloud will always be far tougher than it was in the realm of personal computers, argues David Mitchell Smith of Gartner, a consultancy. Microsoft will not only have to compete with Amazon, but with Google, which intends to go after business customers.Although the cloud is the core of the new Microsoft, hardware is another important bet. The firm has shed its ailing mobile-phone division, which it had bought from Nokia, but on its campus in Redmond hundreds of employees are busy developing new devices. Its prototyping lab offers all that a designer of mobile gadgets could want, such as 3D printers to churn out overnight new models of a hinge, for example, or machines to cut the housing of a new laptop from a block of aluminium.Failing faster is the purpose of the new equipment, says Panos Panay, who is in charge of Microsofts hardware business. Designers can test ideas more quickly in pursuit of the firms goal to develop new categories of product. Hardware, software and online services are meant to be bundled into a single product to create what the firm gratingly calls an experience.One example is the Surface Book, a high-end laptop. It features a detachable screen which doubles as a computing tableta combination that has already found a following, and according to some, offers better value than comparable laptops from Apple. More daring still is HoloLens, an augmented-reality device in the form of a wireless head-mounted display. It is capable of mixing real and virtual reality for business purposesfor example, by projecting new parts on a motorcycle frame so a designer can easily see what works. (It is currently only available for developers.)HoloLens, its designers hope, will also be a device where people use artificial-intelligence servicesMr Nadellas third big bet. In September Microsoft formed a new AI unit, combining all its efforts in the field, including its basic-research group of more than 1,000 people and the engineering team behind Bing, its search engine.Every single business application is going to be disrupted by AI, says Harry Shum, who is in charge of the new unit. Algorithms trained by reams of data could tell sales staff which leads to spend most time on, and help identify risky deals where, for instance, the customer might not fulfil contract terms. This, he explains, is also a big reason why Microsoft spent a whopping $26bn to buy LinkedIn, a professional social network that has 467m users. The deal adds to the data the firm needs to train its new AI applications.AI is a growing part of Azure, too. In recent months Microsoft has introduced two dozen cognitive services to Azure. Some understand language and can identify individual speakers, others recognise faces and can tap into academic knowledge. The idea is for other firms to be able to use these offerings to make their own products smarter, thus democratising AI. Schneider Electric, which makes gear to manage energy systems, for instance, uses some of Microsofts AI services to monitor its equipment.It is easy to be impressed by what Mr Nadella has achieved in only three years. But it is far from certain that his technology bets will play out as planned. To run a computing cloud profitably you need hyper-efficient operations; something that Amazon, in contrast to Microsoft, has grown up with. Although Microsoft has expertise in AI, others, such as Google and IBM, got a far earlier start. Nor is designing integrated devices part of Microsofts DNA in the way it is for Apple. Augmented reality is an extremely promising field but HoloLens may turn out to be no more than an expensive toy for developers.Success or failure in the new areas will of course continue to be cushioned for some time by the revenues and profits from Windows and Office. Yet there, too, lie risks. If the PC market, whose secular decline has slowed since last year, take another turn for the worse, the companys finances would suffer badly, warns John DiFucci of Jefferies, an investment bank.Mr Nadella doesnt seem to be worried by such unknowns, which are to be expected in a fast-changing industry. Instead, he frets about too much success. When you have a core thats growing at more than 20%, that is when the rot really sets in, he says. It remains to be seen whether or not the firm can ever again achieve such velocity. For now, though, its share price is showing plenty of speed.'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21718916-worlds-biggest-software-firm-has-transformed-its-culture-better-getting-cloud?fsrc=rss'|'2017-03-16T22:54:00.000+02:00' +'2a35bfa125d71a35b4ee1e067714ba18529221a4'|'Rio Tinto chairman to step down for BT job - FT'|'Business 32am GMT Rio Tinto chairman to step down for BT job - FT Jan du Plessis, the Chairman of Rio Tinto, attends the mining company''s AGM at the QEII centre in central London April 18, 2013. REUTERS/Andrew Winning MELBOURNE Rio Tinto Chairman Jan du Plessis is set to step down and take up the chairmanship of BT Group Plc, with the announcement to be made by Britain''s top mobile and broadband operator on Thursday, the Financial Times reported. Rio Tinto, the world no.2 miner, declined to comment on the report. Du Plessis, chairman since 2009, has led Rio Tinto through a volatile period, as it scrambled to pay down $39 billion in debt from its Alcan takeover, scrapped a controversial tie-up with China''s Chinalco, sacked a chief executive after over-priced acquisitions and fended off a bid from Glencore. He would be leaving just as the company faces investigations in Australia, the United Kingdom and United States over an alleged bribe in 2010 tied to a massive iron ore project in Guinea, expected to take years to resolve. Du Plessis, 63, was also until last year the chairman of SABMiller, which was taken over by Anheuser-Busch InBev in one of the largest corporate mergers in history. (Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Richard Pullin) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bt-group-chairman-rio-tinto-idUKKBN16G05Z'|'2017-03-09T08:32:00.000+02:00' +'bdee03bfaad6d0932a3ba32c23c000e7d178d0bb'|'German private sector growth strongest in 70 months in March - PMI'|'Fri Mar 24, 2017 - 8:39am GMT German private sector growth strongest in 70 months in March: PMI A steel-worker is pictured at a furnace at the plant of German steel company Salzgitter AG in Salzgitter, Lower Saxony late November 10, 2011. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer Germany''s private sector grew at the fastest pace in nearly six years in March, a survey showed on Friday, driven mainly by strong demand for manufactured goods from the United States, China, Britain, and the Middle East. The reading suggests that growth in Europe''s largest economy will accelerate in the first quarter. Markit''s flash composite Purchasing Managers'' Index (PMI), which tracks activity in the manufacturing and services sectors that account for more than two-thirds of the economy, rose to 57.0 from 56.1 in February. The reading, a 70-month high, overshot the consensus forecast in a Reuters poll of economists and was above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction. The survey showed that activity among manufacturers accelerated to a 71-month high and in the services sector it was the highest rate of growth in 15 months. "The PMI data strongly suggest that economic growth will accelerate in the first quarter," said Markit economist Trevor Balchin. Companies responded to the rising demand by speeding up hiring: the rate of job creation almost matched a record set six years ago. Inflationary pressures rose again with steel, oil and the strong U.S. dollar cited as key sources of cost pressures, Markit said, forcing companies to partially pass on the higher costs to customers. Germany''s inflation rate rose to 2.2 percent in February from 1.9 percent a month earlier, driven mainly by rising energy and food costs. Markit said it forecasted headline inflation to reach 2.1 percent in 2017. Output expectations also strengthened in March and in the services sector sentiment was strongest in more than six years. "The March flash PMI results rounded off a strong first quarter for the Germany economy," Balchin said. Detailed PMI data are only available under license from Markit and customers need to apply to Markit for a license. To subscribe to the full data, click on the link below: www.markit.com/Contact-Us Up Next Exclusive: HONG KONG HSBC '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-germany-economy-pmi-idUKKBN16V0WB'|'2017-03-24T16:34:00.000+03:00' +'ce5524c713779e4edb6aa6bc8a62009c809897cb'|'U.S. favours free but fair and balanced trade - Mnuchin'|'BADEN BADEN, Germany The United States continues to believe in free trade but wants to re-examine certain agreements and correct some excesses, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Saturday after G20 finance chiefs backtracked on past commitments about trade."What was in the past communique is not necessarily relevant from my standpoint," Mnuchin told a news conference in Baden Baden after his first meeting with the finance chiefs of the world''s 20 biggest economies."We believe in free trade, we are in one of the largest markets in the world, we are one of the largest trading partners in the world, trade has been good for us, it has been good for other people," Mnuchin said. "Having said that, we want to re-examine certain agreements."(Reporting by Balazs Koranyi and David Lawder; editing by David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/g20-germany-mnuchin-idINKBN16P0MS'|'2017-03-18T13:17:00.000+02:00' +'b024e999979eb04b13176fc6d0b62b5fcc1659ba'|'Shareholders in British builder Crest Nicholson vote down executive pay report'|'Business News - Thu Mar 23, 2017 - 4:58pm GMT Shareholders in British builder Crest Nicholson vote down executive pay report Shareholders in British housebuilder Crest Nicholson ( CRST.L ) voted down the directors'' pay report at the company''s annual general meeting on Thursday, another sign of growing discontent about executive pay levels in Britain. The vote, however, was only advisory and will not change the remuneration. Investors'' concerns about executive pay at UK companies are growing, but have had little public success so far in forcing company boards to change pay arrangements by accepting their guidance. Often their complaints about excessive handouts have fallen on deaf ears. Crest Nicholson, which operates in London, southern and eastern England and south Wales, said in a statement that it was "disappointed" by the results of Thursday''s vote. Around 58 percent of votes cast opposed the pay report for the year ended October 2016, its statement showed. British Prime Minister Theresa May, on taking office last June, vowed to bridge the gap between those at the top of society and those at the bottom by forcing companies to disclose pay ratios and put workers on boards to curb excessive behaviour. But she has been forced to tone down her initial plans as she works to keep big business on side during Brexit. A report this week showed that the heads of Britain''s top 100 listed companies earn on average almost 400 times more than a worker on the minimum wage. Institutional Shareholder Services, the world''s largest proxy voting adviser, had recommended that investors vote down Crest Nicholson''s remuneration plans over concerns that its profit targets increasingly were becoming too easy to meet. The builder, a mid-cap company, defended its pretax profit per share targets for achieving its long-term share incentive plan (LTIP) for 2017-2019, which it said had been investors'' main concern in talks ahead of the AGM. "The committee believes that this combination of measures presents a sufficiently stretching LTIP," the company said. It cited an uncertain economic backdrop and competitive environment against which to deliver its target of pretax profit per share growth of 5 percent to 8 percent by 2019. Shareholders in other housebuilders have raised concerns over LTIP pay for senior executives in the past. Rival Persimmon Plc ( PSN.L ) was called on to scale back an executive pay plan last year by fund manager Royal London Asset Management. (Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by Susan Fenton) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-crest-hold-pay-idUKKBN16U2CG'|'2017-03-23T23:58:00.000+02:00' +'7758b25495ae9896a822e2be33b85141b56f6d21'|'Suez buys GE Water in $3.37 billion deal, considers capital increase'|'Business 13pm GMT Suez buys GE Water in $3.37 billion deal, considers capital increase By Geert De Clercq - PARIS PARIS French waste and water group Suez ( SEVI.PA ) and Canadian fund Caisse de dpt et placement du Qubec (CDPQ) will buy GE Water from General Electric ( GE.N ) for an enterprise value of 3.2 billion euros (2.77 billion pounds),Suez said in a statement. In an all-cash deal, Suez and CDPQ will buy 100 percent of GE Water through a 70/30 joint venture, to which Suez will contribute its existing industrial water activities. The new business will operate under the Suez brand. Chief executive officer Jean-Louis Chaussade told reporters the industrial water market is more important than Suez''s traditional municipal water markets because industry accounts for 15 to 20 percent of global water consumption compared to just 5 to 8 percent for human consumption in cities. The industrial water market is worth about 95 billion euros globally and grows by about 5 percent per year, he said. "This is a strategic acquisition for Suez," Chaussade said. Suez said it had fully underwritten bridge financing in place for the transaction, and is considering refinancing it through a capital increase of about 750 million euros. It said its main shareholders, Engie ( ENGIE.PA ), CriteriaCaixa and Caltagirone Group have confirmed their intention to participate in the capital increase for their pro rata share. Lead shareholder Engie said in a separate statement it would subscribe to the capital increase to the full extent of its 32.6 percent stake in Suez at a cost of about 240 million euros. Suez will also issue a 1.1 billion euro long-term senior bond and 600 million worth of hybrid bonds. CDPQ will contribute 700 million euros of equity to the venture. The new business unit will have revenue of about 2 billion euros, compared to Suez''s current 15 billion euros, and will employ 10,000 people, of which 7,500 will come from GE Water. Chaussade said Suez expects 200 million euros worth of revenue synergies per year in the group''s water business, but had not included possible synergies between its water and waste business. "Cross-selling between our water and waste units will be reinforced, as clients increasingly want environment services that include water and waste treatment," he said. ($1 = 0.9483 euros) (Reporting by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Adrian Croft) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-suez-ge-idUKKBN16F2E1'|'2017-03-09T01:13:00.000+02:00' +'a3f4a271b39f7e27a9e8342354e11d4c1b5df534'|'Oil jumps on Libyan disruption, OPEC deal extension hopes'|' 27pm BST Oil jumps on Libyan disruption, OPEC deal extension hopes FILE PHOTO: A worker walks past a pump jack on an oil field owned by Bashneft in Bashkortostan, Russia, January 28, 2015. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo By Devika Krishna Kumar - NEW YORK NEW YORK Oil prices surged as much as 2 percent on Tuesday after a severe disruption to Libyan oil supplies and as officials suggested OPEC could extend its production cuts deal to the end of the year. Armed factions have blocked production at the western Libyan oilfields of Sharara and Wafa, reducing output by 252,000 barrels per day (bpd), about a third PRODN-LY, said a source at the National Oil Corp (NOC). NOC has declared force majeure on crude loadings from those oilfields. Brent crude futures LCOc1 rose 65 cents, or 1.3 percent to $51.40 per barrel by 1:00 p.m. EDT. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 rose 78 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $48.51 a barrel. Both benchmarks were up about 2 percent at their session highs. "The closure of two Libyan oil fields ... is supporting the market today with the timing of a potential restart uncertain after militias in western Libya shut key pipelines," Tim Evans, an energy futures specialist at Citi Futures said in a note. "Past outages have ranged from a few days all the way up to two years, although the need for oil revenues will be a strong incentive to negotiate a pipeline restart sooner rather than later." Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said the deal between OPEC and non-OPEC producers to cut output and reduce the global crude glut is likely to be extended beyond June. Russia, a non-OPEC member, is seen as a wild card. However, Russia and Iran signed a joint statement saying they will keep cooperating to reduce output. Non-OPEC member Azerbaijan also said it was ready to join an extension of the deal. Major oil traders gathered in Switzerland this week said they expected OPEC and non-OPEC producers to extend the pact, providing Russia complies. Still, resurgent U.S. oil production and record domestic crude inventories have kept pressuring oil prices. Analysts polled by Reuters predicted that data will show U.S. crude oil stocks rose 1.2 million barrels in the latest week. [EIA/S] Data from the American Petroleum Institute is due at 4:30 p.m. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Saxo Bank Head of Commodity Strategy Ole Hansen said "an increase of more than 322,000 barrels will see Cushing hit a record". Rising stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, storage site and delivery point for WTI tend to depress the price of the U.S. benchmark, widening its discount to Brent CL-LCO1=R. U.S. crude exports are poised to pick up, analysts and traders said, as rising domestic production has pushed WTI''s discount to Brent to its steepest since the United States lifted a ban on exports in late 2015. (Additional reporting by Sabina Zawadzki in London, Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy and David Gregorio) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUKKBN16Z05G'|'2017-03-29T01:25:00.000+03:00' +'70c960e2720fbd0976458e999f9403627ae3c0d4'|'Snap shares hit new low in choppy trading as valuation concerns mount'|' 2:34pm GMT Snap shares hit new low in choppy trading as valuation concerns mount Traders gather at the post where Snap Inc. is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., March 6, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Shares in Snap Inc hit a fresh low on Wednesday, falling as much as 2.6 percent before clawing back some losses in choppy trading as analysts questioned the company''s prospects. In its tenth day of trading after its $3.4 billion (2.8 billion pounds) public listing, the owner of the Snapchat messaging app was last down 0.9 percent at $20.40 after hitting a low of $20.05 in the first few minutes of trade. Snap has raised some eyebrows on Wall Street, with analysts flagging the company''s slowing user growth, widening losses and lack of voting rights for outside investors. Cantor Fitzgerald kicked off its coverage of Snap with an underweight rating and a price target of $18, just a dollar above its initial public offering pricing. Trading in Snap''s newly launched options has largely leaned towards defensive bets, but the sharp declines after a flashy market debut have started to draw some bets on shares stemming their losses in the near term. Snap''s current valuation is "rich under most scenarios" for an unproven model that marketers see as experimental, Youssef Squali, analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald, said in a research note. Squali also cited an untested management team and an intense competitive landscape. Snap shares priced at $17 and opened at $24 in their March 2 public debut. The stock hit an intraday high of $29.44 on March 3. If the stock closes down on Wednesday it would mark Snap''s fifth straight session of declines. (Reporting By Sinead Carew and Saqib Ahmed; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-snap-stocks-idUKKBN16M23N'|'2017-03-15T21:34:00.000+02:00' +'a04689c26b03933bb85237a48c2435ef175ab741'|'Brazil court rules in favour of Petrobras in tax deduction case'|'Commodities 44am EDT Brazil court rules in favor of Petrobras in tax deduction case The logo of Brazil''s state-run Petrobras oil company is seen on a tank in Sao Caetano do Sul, Brazil, September 28, 2016. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker/File Photo SAO PAULO A Brazilian tax court ruled that state-controlled oil company Petrleo Brasileiro SA did not break the law by deducting expenses related to the development of oil and gas field from its 2009 income taxes. According to a Friday securities filing, the Finance Ministry could still appeal against the ruling by the tax auditing court, known as CARF. The Finance Ministry is seeking 5.1 billion reais ($1.6 billion) from Petrobras in compensation for the deduction, newspaper Valor Econmico reported on Thursday. (Reporting by Gabriela Mello; Writing by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Daniel Flynn) Next In Commodities All drill, no frack: U.S. shale leaves thousands of wells unfinished NEW YORK U.S. shale producers are drilling at the highest rate in 18 months but have left a record number of wells unfinished in the largest oilfield in the country a sign that output may not rise as swiftly as drilling activity would indicate. MANILA The Philippines'' environment ministry has allowed eight suspended nickel ore miners to ship out stockpiles of mined ore, sources told Reuters, temporarily boosting supply from the world''s top exporter of the raw metal after a major crackdown. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-petrobras-tax-idUSKBN16V1KD'|'2017-03-24T20:30:00.000+03:00' +'c2b29ac843b311b707a97ebcd61e36519219a656'|'AB InBev raises merger savings after weak year end'|'Business 6:25am GMT AB InBev raises merger savings after weak year end A bartender serves a beer produced by brewing company SAB Miller at a bar in Cape Town, September 16, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/File Photo BRUSSELS Anheuser-Busch InBev ( ABI.BR ), the world''s largest brewer, raised its forecast for savings from its near $100 billion takeover of SABMiller after weaker than expected earnings as beer sales suffered in Brazil. The company, now more than double the size of nearest rival Heineken ( HEIN.AS ), increased its cost savings and synergy target to $2.8 billion from $2.45 billion. This includes $1.05 billion that SABMiller had previously announced before the merger. The brewer of Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona, which makes more than a quarter of the world''s beer, said it had already captured $829 million of savings. The balance of about $2 billion would come in the next three to four years. (Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; editing by Robert-Jan Bartunek) Next In Business News Fed tees up March rate hike as key policymaker shifts tone BOSTON/SAN FRANCISCO The Federal Reserve is setting the stage for a U.S. interest-rate increase later this month, with the central bank''s leading voice on international economics saying the global economy seems to have turned a corner, clearing the way for a hike "soon." DBS CEO says wealth management to account for a fifth of bank''s revenue SINGAPORE DBS Group Holdings Ltd expects to expand its wealth management operations as Asia''s wealth grows, accounting for as much as 20 percent of the bank''s total income over the next few years, Piyush Gupta, the CEO of Southeast Asia''s largest bank by assets, said. TOKYO Ask the president of Japan''s largest daycare chain what his biggest headache is, and Kazuhiro Ogita doesn''t hesitate: workers and wage costs. Not enough of one, too much of the other. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-abinbev-results-idUKKBN1690K6'|'2017-03-02T13:25:00.000+02:00' +'18b636e8f0478877b4a37c896102ff3ffbbe212d'|'DAX nears record high as European shares march on'|' 27pm EDT DAX nears record high as European shares march on * STOXX 600 up 0.5 pct to nearly 16-month high * Germany''s DAX 1.1 pct away from all-time high * Commodity stocks, industrials provide support * H&M drops after results (Writes through, adds closing prices) By Danilo Masoni and Andrea Lentz MILAN/FRANKFURT, March 30 European shares climbed on Thursday, helped by gains among industrials and commodity stocks, while German blue chips came within striking distance of their all-time highs. The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.5 percent to 380.4 points, its highest level in nearly 16 months, while Germany''s DAX added 0.4 percent to 12,256 points, just 1.1 percent below a record high hit almost two years ago. Traders said investors were growing confident about prospects for the region''s stocks as the economy improves, offsetting political jitters ahead of elections in France and Germany and Britain''s divorce from the European Union. "Chances of a new all-time high is attracting investors and luring them into buying more shares," said QC Partners wealth manager Thomas Altmann, referring to the steady gains seen in the German blue chip index. "Risks are completely ignored. At the same time, Brexit negotiations can lead to unpleasant surprises at any time," he cautioned. European shares have risen more than 18 percent since the lows hit in June last year in a rally that has been supported by improving economic data, brighter earnings and expectations of a big fiscal stimulus in the United States. "Several factors have combined to convince us that it would be wise to reinvest in European equities and to do so immediately," Geoffroy Goenen, Head of Fundamental Europe Equity Management at Candriam, said in a note. Goenen said that once the French elections are over he expects global investors to reinvest massively in the region. Europe''s basic resources index was the biggest gainer on Thursday, up 1.6 percent, supported by higher metal prices and gains among heavyweight miners Glencore, Rio Tinto and Anglo American, which rose between 1 percent and 2.3 percent. The oil and gas index also rallied, up 1.2 percent, after crude oil prices jumped after Kuwait gave its backing for an extension of OPEC production cuts in an attempt to reduce global oversupply. The index has been the worst performer in Europe so far but some investors believe the sell-off is overdone. UK oil explorer firm Tullow Oil was the biggest gainer in its sector and on the broader STOXX index, ending up 7.7 percent. Gains among industrial stocks also provided support with Germany''s Siemens up 1.5 percent, France''s Saint Gobain and Schneider Electric up 2.1 and 1.1 percent respectively. Among the fallers was H&M, which fell more than 4 percent, close to 4-years lows, following a strong open. The retailer posted a smaller-than-expected fall in pretax profit for the first quarter but analysts voiced concerns over its rising inventory levels, as well as a revolving credit facility. (Additional reporting by Kit Rees and by Anika Ross; Editing by Gareth Jones) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/europe-stocks-idUSL5N1H765C'|'2017-03-31T01:27:00.000+03:00' +'074ba5c44bfd855f15bc7f1c28f8f578b5cfe8d4'|'METALS-London copper edges up as demand view brightens'|'* Strike continues at Noranda zinc processing plant in Canada* Workers at Chile''s Escondida block a highway* Coming up: euro zone inflation for Feb at 1000 GMT (Adds comment, detail; updates prices)By Melanie BurtonMELBOURNE, March 2 London copper defied a strong dollar on Thursday to climb towards its highest in more than a week, buoyed by improving manufacturing reports out of Asia and the United States that brightened the outlook for demand.China''s factory activity expanded faster than expected in February as domestic and export demand picked up, while South Korea''s industrial production surged at its quickest pace in over seven years in January."Positive economic data and further supply-side issues should see metal prices well supported today," ANZ said in a report.London Metal Exchange copper had risen 0.2 percent to $6,025.50 a tonne by 0222 GMT, adding to 0.7-percent gains from the previous session when prices marked their strongest since Feb. 21 at $6,090 a tonne.Shanghai Futures Exchange copper was up 0.9 percent at 48,720 yuan ($7,077) a tonne.A three-week-long strike at Chile''s Escondida, the world''s biggest copper mine, turned ugly on Wednesday when a group of striking workers blocked a highway, provoking confrontations with the police.U.S. consumer spending cooled in January as demand for automobiles and utilities fell, but inflation recorded its biggest monthly increase in four years, raising the probability of an interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve this month.Expectations of a rate hike propelled the dollar higher and dampened some interest in metals, making them more expensive for buyers holding other currencies.Supply concerns pushed up LME zinc by 0.4 percent to $2,872 a tonne, with around 50,000 tonnes of the metal reserved to be taken out of warehouses in the past week MZNSTX-TOTAL.Elsewhere, Noranda Income Fund said it was deferring its 2017 zinc production and sales forecasts due to an ongoing strike by workers at its Quebec processing plant, the second-largest in North America.Meanwhile, China has ordered steel and aluminium producers in 28 cities to slash output during winter, outlined plans to curb coal use in the capital and required coal transport by rail in the north, as Beijing intensifies its war on smog, a policy document shows.LME aluminium prices rallied 1.3 percent on Wednesday to hit the highest in more than 20 months at $1,957 a tonne. Prices on Thursday retraced some of those gains to $1,941.50.PRICESThree month LME copperMost active ShFE copperThree month LME aluminiumMost active ShFE aluminiumThree month LME zincMost active ShFE zincThree month LME leadMost active ShFE leadThree month LME nickelMost active ShFE nickelThree month LME tinMost active ShFE tin($1 = 6.8817 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Richard Pullin and Joseph Radford)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-metals-idINL3N1GF1K1'|'2017-03-02T00:03:00.000+02:00' +'8ba37bf2eb980944da8b0d1a30bc6a2d36d64fed'|'UPDATE 1-Brazilian police raid offices in corruption probe'|'World 31am EDT Brazilian police raid offices in corruption probe BRASILIA Brazil''s federal police raided the offices of people close to several prominent senators on Tuesday in the latest phase of a sweeping, three-year-old corruption probe, according to authorities and local media. The 14 search and seizure warrants were issued by the Supreme Court based on information provided by executives of engineering conglomerate Odebrecht SA [ODBES.UL] in their plea bargain deals, police said in a statement. The raids took place in the cities of Braslia, Macei, Recife, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador. Police did not provide details on the targets, nor did prosecutors in a similar statement. Globo News TV said the investigation targeted people closely associated with Senate President Euncio Oliveira and senators Renan Calheiros, Valdir Raupp and Humberto Costa. Oliveira, who is a key ally of President Michel Temer in his efforts to pass fiscal reforms, denied receiving illegal donations in his 2014 campaign for governor of Cear. "The Senator is convinced the truth will prevail," a statement issued by his lawyer said, commenting on police raids in the morning. Other senators mentioned in the media did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In December, Odebrecht signed the world''s largest leniency deal with Brazilian, U.S. and Swiss prosecutors and admitted bribing politicians across Latin America and in Africa. The Supreme Court is expected to disclose details in coming weeks of the 950 depositions given by 77 Odebrecht executives. Carlos Lima, a federal prosecutor who has helped lead the probe, told Reuters this month he thinks upward of 350 new investigations could stem from the Odebrecht testimony. The scandal has reached into Temer''s inner circle and threatens the fate of proposed reforms to curb an untenable budget deficit and pull Brazil out of its worst recession. (Reporting by Silvio Cascione and Anthony Boadle; Editing by W Simon and Frances Kerry) Next In World News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-corruption-idUSKBN16S17G'|'2017-03-21T21:30:00.000+02:00' +'c181cc6955b6d60937505c09c8ce2f60f58cf36c'|'U.S. oil prices rise supported by OPEC output cut compliance'|'Business News - 46am GMT U.S. oil prices rise supported by OPEC output cut compliance FILE PHOTO - Pump jacks drill for oil in the Monterey Shale, California, U.S. on April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo By Jane Chung - SEOUL SEOUL U.S. oil prices rose in Asian trade on Thursday as high compliance with OPEC''s production cuts lent support, although U.S. record crude inventories weigh on market sentiment. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed 33 cents, or 0.66 percent, to $50.61 a barrel at 0032 GMT (7.32 p.m. ET), after plummeting 5.38 percent to $50.28 per barrel in the previous session, hitting the lowest level since December. International Brent crude futures were yet to trade after closing 5 percent lower at $53.11 a barrel. Crude inventories in the United States, the world''s top oil consumer, surged last week by 8.2 million barrels, handsomely beating the forecast of a 2 million barrel build. [EIA/S] "When combined with the huge speculative long positions in the market, its not surprising that prices sold off so strongly," ANZ said in a note. "However, there is increasing talk of extending the OPEC production cut agreement." Kuwait Oil Minister Essam Al-Marzouq said on Wednesday that OPEC''s compliance with an oil output cut exceeded a target, standing at 140 percent in February, while non-OPEC embers compliance was 50-60 percent. Kuwait is set to host a ministerial meeting on March 26, attended by both OPEC and non-OPEC members to review compliance with crude oil production cuts. OPEC and other major oil producers including Russia reached a landmark agreement last year to cut output by almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half of 2017. (Reporting by Jane Chung; Editing by) Next In Business News Oil plunges after record stockpile data, dollar gains NEW YORK Crude prices plunged more than 5 percent on Wednesday on a spike in U.S. oil stockpiles, while the dollar gained on increased expectations the Federal Reserve will raise U.S. interest rates next week after a robust report on private sector jobs. UK faces tougher Brexit challenge after better 2017 LONDON Britain''s economy is likely to feel the pain of Brexit more sharply in the coming years despite holding up well so far, according to finance minister Philip Hammond''s latest plan to steer the economy through its split from the European Union. Oil prices dive 5 percent as U.S. crude inventories balloon NEW YORK Oil prices plunged 5 percent to their lowest levels this year on Wednesday as record high, stoking concerns a global glut could persist even as OPEC tries to prop up prices with output curbs. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUKKBN16G02Y'|'2017-03-09T07:44:00.000+02:00' +'7a7128a37043045ebd8671581bec84a885bdaca6'|'Japan February core consumer inflation edges up, hits two-year high'|' 05am BST Japan February core consumer inflation edges up, hits two-year high A woman looks at items outside an outlet store at a shopping district in Tokyo, Japan, February 25, 2016. REUTERS/Yuya Shino By Leika Kihara - TOKYO TOKYO Japan''s core consumer prices rose 0.2 percent in February from a year earlier, government data showed on Friday, marking the fastest annual pace in nearly two years but still distant from the central bank''s ambitious 2 percent target. With the increase driven largely by a rebound in fuel costs, the data underscores the challenges the Bank of Japan faces in generating sustained price rises backed by steady wage growth. The rise in the core consumer price index (CPI), which includes oil products but excludes volatile fresh food costs, matched a median market forecast. It followed a 0.1 percent increase in January and was the biggest rise since April 2015, when the index rose 0.3 percent. Separate data showed Japan''s jobless rate stood at 2.8 percent in February, down 0.2 percentage point from the previous month and hitting the lowest level since June 1994. But household spending fell 3.8 percent in February from a year earlier, a bigger decline than the median market forecast for a 1.7 percent drop, highlighting weakness in private consumption. Japan''s long-stagnant economy has shown signs of life in recent months, with exports and factory output benefiting from a recovery in global demand. Analysts expect consumer inflation to accelerate near 1 percent later this year as the base effect of last year''s oil price falls dissipate. That has led to a dramatic shift in market expectations, with a majority of analysts polled by Reuters predicting the BOJ''s next move would be to start scaling back its stimulus. With inflation far from his 2 percent target, however, BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda has stressed that he sees "no reason" to dial back the bank''s massive stimulus programme anytime soon. BOJ officials have stressed that they would look at various data, not just the core CPI figure, in determining whether underlying trend inflation is accelerating backed by solid economic growth. They argue that wage rises must accompany price gains for inflation to sustainably hit 2 percent. In a sign of the fragile nature of the inflation pick-up, core consumer prices in Tokyo, available before the nationwide data, fell 0.4 percent in March from a year earlier. (Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Eric Meijer) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-prices-idUKKBN172003'|'2017-03-31T08:05:00.000+03:00' +'5a1c2f779de5999fff18d858ebc019c89d8190e6'|'Italy - Factors to watch on March 6'|'Company 36am EST Italy - Factors to watch on March 6 The following factors could affect Italian markets on Monday. Reuters has not verified the newspaper reports, and cannot vouch for their accuracy. New items are marked with (*). For a complete list of diary events in Italy please click on . POLITICS A criminal investigation involving several people close to Matteo Renzi, including his father and his right-hand man, is muddying the image of the former Italian prime minister and threatening his prospects of a return to power. COMPANIES ALITALIA The head of Etihad, the controlling shareholder of Italy''s struggling airline, met with Italian manager Luigi Gubitosi on Saturday, La Stampa newspaper reported on Sunday. Italian banks that hold shares in the airline, which is seeking to slash jobs and ground planes to keep flying, are pushing for Gubitosi to take on the role of chairman during the restructuring, the newspaper said. FIAT CHRYSLER AUTOMOBILES Fiat''s head of operations in Europe, Middle East and Africa, Alfredo Altavilla, said in interview with Corriere della Sera on Sunday that Peugot''s plans to buy Opel would not affect the company''s business plan. (*) PSA Group has agreed to buy European rival Opel from General Motors in a deal valuing the business at 2.2 billion euros ($2.3 billion), the companies said on Monday, creating a new regional car giant to challenge market leader Volkswagen. BANCA CARIGE Insurance Amissima, controlled by U.S. private equity firm Apollo, said on Friday it rejected the accusations by the board of Banca Carige related to its acquisition of the bank''s insurance assets and that it has filed a request for damages for over 200 million euros. FERRARI Chief executive and chairman Sergio Marchionne is expected to stay at the helm of the company until 2021, Italian newspapers reported on Saturday, citing a pay package for him that was detailed in the company''s 2016 earnings report. Marchionne, who is also CEO of Ferrari''s parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, would receive performance share units now valued at more than 28 million euros if he stays until February 2021. He received no remuneration from Ferrari in 2016, newspapers said. INTESA SANPAOLO Italy''s biggest retail bank will focus on growing its business organically, Chief Executive Carlo Messina said according to newspapers on Saturday, after the lender ditched plans at the end of February to join forces with insurer Assicurazioni Generali. (*) CATTOLICA ASSICURAZIONI Banking foundation Cariverona may be interested in Popolare di Vicenza''s 15 percent stake in Cattolica were the bank forced to sell the holding to finance the purchase of bancassurance assets from the insurer under a put option that allows Cattolica to exit their joint-venture after early May, Il Sole 24 Ore reported on Sunday. (*) BANCA IFIS, PRELIOS, CERVED INFORMATION SOLUTIONS The small bank specialising in non-performing loans, the real estate group and the information provider are three of seven investors interested in the bad loan portfolio that Veneto Banca and Popolare di Vicenza are preparing to sell, CorrierEconomia reported on Monday. Other possible bidders are Credito Fondiario, Fortress, Lone Star and Pimco. ILVA Two purchase offers for Italy''s biggest steel factor are due to be opened on Monday, company sources told Reuters on Friday. One offer is being put forward by ArcelorMittal and Italy''s Marcegaglia group, while another is expected from a consortium that includes India''s JSW Steel Ltd and Italy''s state holding company Cassa Depositi e Prestiti . STEFANEL Deadline to file request for a debt restructuring deal with creditors with a court in Treviso. SNAM Board meeting on FY results (press release on March 7). For Italian market data and news, click on codes in brackets: 20 biggest gainers (in percentage) 20 biggest losers (in percentage) FTSE IT allshare index'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/italy-factors-march-idUSL5N1GF5EP'|'2017-03-06T14:36:00.000+02:00' +'7621368112265979022c7bb3048391210bc42145'|'Brazil government sees strong interest for airport auction -sources'|'By Leonardo Goy - SAO PAULO, March 10 SAO PAULO, March 10 Brazil is confident of strong investor turnout at an auction next week for the rights to run four airports, two government sources said on Friday, with at least nine operators showing appetite for one of the first in a wave of privatizations.Spanish operators Aena SA, Obrascon Huarte Lain SA and Ferrovial SA, Germany''s Fraport AG and AviAlliance, France''s Vinci SA, Argentina''s Corporacion America, Brazil''s CCR SA and Zurich Airport have all expressed interest recently, they said.Both sources said Vinci, Fraport and AviAlliance would likely bid on all four airports at the auction.The auction, scheduled for Thursday at the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange, will determine the operating rights for airports in Porto Alegre, Florianopolis, Fortaleza and Salvador. Sealed bids are due on Monday.The results will be an important gauge of President Michel Temer''s efforts to spur infrastructure spending with private capital, helping to lift Brazil''s economy from a deep recession and bolstering the federal budget with concession fees.Temer''s government launched last week a programme of privatizations and infrastructure concessions aimed at raising 45 billion real ($14.32 billion) in private investment.A source close to Ferrovial said the Spanish company was not planning to participate in next week''s auction, but it would continue analyzing other opportunities in Brazil.Aena confirmed to Reuters that it was studying the airports up for auction but had not decided whether to participate.Vinci, AviAlliance, Corporacion America, OHL and CCR did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Fraport and Zurich Airport declined to comment on the auction. ($1 = 3.1425 reais) (Reporting by Leonardo Goy; Writing by Brad Haynes; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/brazil-infrastructure-airports-idINL2N1GN1K5'|'2017-03-10T17:33:00.000+02:00' +'c49d7ecd77760f9b344f07762084670679482547'|'No Brexit ''Armageddon'' for London''s financial district - policy chief'|' 4:39pm BST No Brexit ''Armageddon'' for London''s financial district - policy chief left right FILE PHOTO: Pedestrians walk near City Hall and Tower Bridge in London, Britain January 24, 2016. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: A pedestrian walks past a City of London dragon boundary marker in London, Britain, September 23, 2015. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo 2/2 By Huw Jones and Andrew MacAskill - LONDON LONDON The City of London should emerge largely unscathed from Brexit even though thousands of banking and insurance jobs could move to the continent, the financial district''s policy chief said. The "City" or "Square Mile", home to over 250 foreign banks and the Lloyd''s of London insurance market, faces upheaval as firms decide whether to shift jobs to continental Europe to keep serving customers there after Britain leaves the EU in 2019. Mark Boleat, head of policy at the City of London, the local government that administers Europe''s biggest financial centre, said talk of a massive exodus has been mistaken. "If it was going to be Armageddon, we would have noticed it by now," Boleat told Reuters in an interview in a room off the local government''s seat of power in the medieval Guildhall. "They are never all going to up sticks and leave ... We expect the steady flow of new business coming in." This contrasts with harsher predictions, such as a report from EY consultancy forecasting a loss of 232,000 jobs financial jobs in Britain as result of Brexit, though with many of those from other parts of the country. Boleat steps down in May after five years in the job that included confronting protests against corporate greed and being at the heart of industry efforts to respond to Brexit, which threatens to cut off London from mainland Europe. He predicts even in the worst-case Brexit scenario resulting in tens of thousands of financiers moving from Britain in a decade, the City - where 360,000 people are employed - will end up with the same number of jobs. "Our projection for employment in the City is that in the next 10 years there will be another 50,000 jobs or more," Boleat said, mainly in IT and professional services such as accounting and law. "If with Brexit we lose 50,000 jobs, we end up where we started." He said the commercial property market was a bellwether of the City''s resilience and that it was "holding up pretty well". He pointed to a decision taken since the referendum to go ahead with a 59-storey skyscraper. "What is significant is they are building it. It is a building without a tenant. A building of that size is clearly quite risky," he said. Boleat does not speak for all of London''s financial sector, however. The capital''s other main financial area, Canary Wharf, is home to about 112,000 jobs. CHANGE IN TONE Boleat spoke of a rollercoaster ride of emotions for banks since June 23, when Britain voted to leave the EU. Initially, the sector hoped to keep "passporting" rights to offer services across the bloc from a single base in London. But after a few months it became clear that Britain would give up unfettered access to single market to restrict immigration. He said the low point was at the ruling Conservative Party''s annual conference in October when Prime Minister Theresa May criticised big business and "citizens of nowhere", widely interpreted as an attack on an international-minded elite. "That speech was aimed at the Conservative Party and it was a pity that other people heard it," Boleat said. May''s letter to the EU on Wednesday to kick off formal divorce talks set a more "helpful tone" by singling out financial services and the need for transitional arrangements, he said. He senses the government is becoming more pragmatic ahead of what are likely to be tough negotiations with the EU. "Maybe there is an increasing recognition that ... the other side can be bolshy and we need good relationships to get the right result," Boleat said. "We have found the Treasury very good indeed. No complaints at all ... The issue is whether they can get their voice heard in Number 10 (the PM''s office), where any trade-offs are needed," he added. Attempts to encourage European companies to warn their own governments about the economic impact of loss of access to the London''s financial sector have made little headway, Boleat said. "One thing I have learnt is that we shouldn''t be looking a great deal of help from European corporates. They are as committed to the EU project as their governments." A company like BMW is far more worried about supply chains and tariffs, rather than market fragmentation or more expensive derivatives, he added. (Reporting by Huw Jones and Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Pravin Char) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-city-idUKKBN17227O'|'2017-03-31T23:39:00.000+03:00' +'b7ef0335f9b2ff9d07c921e1de3343b4668a58e2'|'Schaeuble criticises foreign minister for saying Germany should pay more to EU'|'Money 1:29pm IST Schaeuble criticises foreign minister for saying Germany should pay more to EU German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble addresses a news conference at the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Baden-Baden, Germany, March 18, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach BERLIN German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble on Friday criticised Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel for saying Germany should provide more money for Greece and the European Union overall. Debt-laden Greece has struggled to implement reforms in return for financial support, much of which has come from the EU. Germany, a major contributor to the EU''s aid for Athens, holds elections in September. Gabriel, vice chancellor and a senior member of the Social Democrats (SPD) - junior partner in Chancellor Angela Merkel''s ruling coalition - said on Twitter: "In the next debate on Europe''s finances we could do something ''outrageous'' - namely signal willingness to pay more." And during a visit to Greece he held out the prospect of more aid for the troubled country. Schaeuble, a veteran member of Merkel''s Christian Democrats (CDU), told Deutschlandfunk radio that Gabriel''s suggestion to give the EU and Greece more cash "goes in the wrong direction completely" and sent the wrong message. "I was annoyed that while in Greece Mr Gabriel gave the Greeks a message that doesn''t help the Greeks but rather makes it more difficult for them to make the right decisions," Schaeuble said. He said that saying Germany must give more money to the EU would not solve the problem and would give countries the wrong incentive. He added that the problem in Europe, like in Greece, was not money but rather using it correctly. On whether Greece can stay in the euro zone, Schaeuble said: "Greece can only do that if it has a competitive economy." He said the country needed to carry out structural reforms and Greece would need time for that, which it would be granted. "But if the time is not used to carry out reforms because that''s uncomfortable, then that''s the wrong path," Schaeuble said. Disagreements among Greece, the EU and the IMF, which has yet to decide whether it will participate in the country''s current bailout, have delayed a crucial review of the aid programme. (Reporting by Michelle Martin and Gernot Heller; Editing by Hugh Lawson) Next In Money News Carlyle Group takes minority stake in logistics firm Delhivery NEW DELHI The Carlyle Group has acquired a minority stake in Indian logistics firm Delhivery, while existing investor hedge fund Tiger Global also raised its stake, for a combined investment of more than $100 million, the buyout fund said on Friday.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/eurozone-greece-germany-idINKBN16V0TN'|'2017-03-24T15:59:00.000+03:00' +'0268c18da02d31199357a3be0a80b5cfdb31fab3'|'Investors add to bullish U.S. bond bets after Fed meeting -JPM'|'Business News 26am EDT Investors add to bullish U.S. bond bets after Fed meeting: JPM NEW YORK Investors picked up their bullish bets on longer-dated U.S. Treasuries as Federal Reserve signaled it will remain on a gradual path in raising interest rates after its two-day policy meeting last week. The share of "long" investors, who said they were holding more longer-dated Treasuries than their benchmarks, increased to 23 percent in the week of March 20 from 18 percent in the preceding week, J.P. Morgan showed in its latest Treasury client survey. J.P. Morgan surveyed clients, including bond fund managers, central banks and sovereign wealth funds. U.S. policymakers, as expected, increased key borrowing costs by a quarter percentage point to a range of 0.75 percent to 1.00 percent. Meanwhile, their outlook on growth and inflation was unchanged from December and showed no upward shift in the median view on three rate increases for 2017. In the days prior to the March 14-15 policy meeting, the perceived hawkish rhetoric from a group of Fed officials including Chair Janet Yellen stoked speculation the U.S. central bank might consider raising rates four times this year. U.S. yields have fallen in reaction to the Fed''s "dovish hike" last week as investors have moved money back into Treasuries, analysts said. The benchmark 10-year Treasury''s yield US10YT=RR was 2.488 percent early Tuesday, down from 2.595 percent a week ago. The share of "short" investors who said they were holding fewer longer-dated U.S. government securities than their portfolio benchmarks held at 23 percent for a second week. Short investors equaled long investors on Monday, compared with net shorts of five percentage points last week. The share of "neutral" investors, who said on Monday they were holding amounts of longer-dated Treasuries that match their benchmarks, fell to 54 percent from 59 percent the previous week, the survey showed. Active clients that include market makers and hedge funds, who are seen to take on speculative bets in Treasuries, dialed back their bullish bets, the latest J.P. Morgan survey showed. Thirty percent of them said they were long, unchanged from the prior week, while 20 percent said they were short, also unchanged on the week. The share of active neutrals remained at 50 percent. (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Nick Zieminski) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-treasuries-jpmorgan-idUSKBN16S1KL'|'2017-03-21T20:21:00.000+02:00' +'425820bdb440749d4277767ae7bbb89f848ab664'|'BOJ''s Kuroda says there''s no reason to withdraw monetary stimulus now'|' 17am GMT BOJ chief Kuroda says no reason to withdraw monetary stimulus now left right Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda speaks during a Reuters Newsmaker event in Tokyo, Japan March 24, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 1/5 left right Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda speaks during a Reuters Newsmaker event in Tokyo, Japan March 24, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 2/5 left right Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda speaks during a Reuters Newsmaker event in Tokyo, Japan March 24, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 3/5 left right Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda speaks during a Reuters Newsmaker event in Tokyo, Japan March 24, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 4/5 left right Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda speaks during a Reuters Newsmaker event in Tokyo, Japan March 24, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 5/5 By Leika Kihara and Stanley White - TOKYO TOKYO Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Friday there is "no reason" to withdraw the bank''s massive monetary stimulus now as inflation remains far from its 2 percent target. Kuroda also dismissed financial market concerns that at some point in the future the BOJ will lose its ability to control long-term interest rates under its yield-curve-control framework. "While some improvements have been observed in economic and price developments, there is still a long way to go to achieve our price target," Kuroda said in a speech at a Reuters Newsmaker event. Kuroda added that the BOJ won''t increase its bond yield target just because overseas long-term interest rates are rising, a scenario some traders believe is inevitable. The BOJ maintained its short-term interest rate target of minus 0.1 and a pledge to guide the 10-year government bond yield JP10YT=RR at around zero percent after a policy meeting on March 16. It also kept intact a loose pledge to maintain the pace of its annual increase in Japanese government bond (JGBs) holdings, which is 80 trillion yen ($718.78 billion). Japan''s long-stagnant economy has shown signs of life in recent months, with exports and factory output benefiting from a recovery in global demand. Core consumer prices rose for the first time in over a year in January and analysts expect them to continue to pick up slowly but steadily. That has led to a dramatic shift in market expectations, with a majority of analysts polled by Reuters predicting the BOJ''s next move would be to start scaling back its ultra-easy policy, likely beginning by raising its bond yield target. Japan''s domestic demand remains sluggish, however. Household spending fell 1.2 percent in January from a year earlier. (Reporting by Leika Kihara and Stanley White; Editing by Chris Gallagher and Kim Coghill) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-boj-kuroda-idUKKBN16V0FH'|'2017-03-24T12:13:00.000+03:00' +'43fcb2ebbb0ed5a018284efd21294712000a8105'|'Marriott to add up to 300,000 rooms by 2019'|'Business News - Tue Mar 21, 2017 - 8:12am EDT Marriott to add up to 300,000 rooms by 2019 Signage for the New York Marriott Marquis is seen in Manhattan, New York, November 16, 2015. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly Marriott International Inc ( MAR.O ) said on Tuesday it planned to add up to 300,000 rooms worldwide by 2019, as part of a three-year growth plan, ahead of the No. 1 hotel chain''s investor day. The owner of Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis luxury hotel brands said it would earn $675 million in stabilized fees from hotel rooms added to its system. Earlier this month, Marriott said it would speed up expansion of its Starwood brand in Europe by 2020. Marriott bought Starwood for about $12.41 billion in September, adding names such as Sheraton, W and Aloft to create the world''s largest hotel chain with more than 6,000 properties in 122 countries. The hotel chain said it expects non-property related franchisee fees, mainly credit card branding fees, to increase by $100 million by 2019. (Reporting by Rachit Vats in Bengaluru; Martina D''Couto) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-marriott-intnl-outlook-idUSKBN16S1DP'|'2017-03-21T19:12:00.000+02:00' +'2c61e1f92298349a40578ebd6712d9d04ea4683c'|'Nifty hits record, rupee hits 17-month high'|'MUMBAI The NSE Nifty hit a record high while the rupee rose to its strongest level in nearly 17-months on Thursday after the raised interest rates as expected but signalled no pick-up in the pace of tightening.The NSE Nifty rose as much as 0.64 percent to a record high of 9,143 points, and was up 0.59 percent as of 0350 GMT. The benchmark BSE Sensex was up 0.55 percent.The partially convertible rupee hit as much as 65.2250 per dollar, its strongest since Oct. 30, 2015. It was last trading at 65.32/33 compared to its 65.71/72 close.Meanwhile the benchmark 10-year bond yield fell 4 basis points to 6.79 percent.(Reporting by Swati Bhat; Editing by Rafael Nam)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/india-nifty-sensex-rupee-markets-idINKBN16N0E7'|'2017-03-16T01:29:00.000+02:00' +'9b5bfa3e8819a91ad7b4577fe0772a7689c428a2'|'World stocks seen as most overvalued in 17 years - BAML survey'|'By Jamie McGeever - LONDON LONDON World stocks are their most expensive in 17 years, but bond yields will need to be much higher than they are currently to trigger an equity bear market, a monthly fund manager survey showed on Tuesday.Bank of America Merrill Lynch''s (BAML) poll of investors managing $592 billion worldwide was conducted from March 10-16, a period that saw Wall Street''s recent string of record highs fizzle out and the Federal Reserve raise U.S. interest rates.Global investors'' allocation to stocks hit a two-year high, according to the poll, with a net 48 percent now overweight the market.A net 34 percent of fund managers now thing equities are overvalued, the highest proportion since 2000, BAML said.Regionally, the U.S. stock market is the most overvalued, according to 81 percent of respondents. A net 44 percent think emerging market stocks are undervalued, while a net 23 percent say the same about euro zone equities.The biggest risk to the equity bull market will come from higher interest rates, reckon 35 percent of respondents, rather than weak company earnings (21 percent).A net 36 percent said the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield will have to rise above 3.5 percent before a bear market in stocks ensues. The yield has risen sharply since mid-2016 but has struggled to rise above 2.5 percent. The last time it was higher than 3.5 percent was six years ago.The Fed raised rates last week and is on course to tighten further this year. But investors are sceptical growth and inflation will be strong enough to warrant a sustained series of hikes, and longer-fated yields have slipped as a result.The drift lower in yields has pulled the dollar down with it. A key measure of the dollar''s trade-weighted value hit a six-week low on Tuesday.According to BAML''s survey, the dollar is its most overvalued since June 2006 and long dollar positions were once again far and away the most ''crowded trade'' in world markets.Despite the extreme pricing in stocks and the dollar, investors are confident neither is in bubble territory, and that economic growth and profits will continue to rise.A net 57 percent of those polled said global profits will improve over the coming year, up from 55 percent in the last month''s poll and close to a seven-year high, BAML said.European elections leading to euro zone disintegration remained the biggest ''tail'' risk to world markets followed by a global trade war, although both risks diminished from February. The proportion of those polled who think a global bond market crash is the biggest risk rose to 18 percent from 13 percent.(Reporting by Jamie McGeever; Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/funds-survey-baml-idINKBN16S1X7'|'2017-03-21T12:57:00.000+02:00' +'a9c6736d0540704843f741c9372cd07a9afa59e1'|'Finland''s Amer Sports buys U.S. ski maker Armada'|'Company News - Wed Mar 29, 2017 - 2:28am EDT Finland''s Amer Sports buys U.S. ski maker Armada HELSINKI, March 29 Finland''s Amer Sports , which makes Wilson tennis rackets and Salomon skis, will buy U.S. ski maker Armada for $4.1 million, the company said on Wednesday. Armada, which has annual sales of approximately $10 million, will be combined with Amer''s winter sports business. Amer Sports, whose other brands include Arc''teryx outdoor clothing and Atomic ski gear, said the acquisition had no financial impact on company results this year. (Reporting by Tuomas Forsell, editing by Louise Heavens) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/armada-ma-amer-sports-idUSASN00069I'|'2017-03-29T14:28:00.000+03:00' +'67e04ffed8ed465eea2a0de4c49176164a18446b'|'Taiwan stocks rise tracking regional shares as Fed maintains outlook'|' 51pm EDT Taiwan stocks rise tracking regional shares as Fed maintains outlook TAIPEI, March 16 Taiwan stocks rose on Thursday, largely tracking regional gains after the indicated it won''t accelerate the pace of the rate hikes and stuck to its outlook. As the Fed raised the target overnight interest rate by 25 basis points to a range of 0.75 percent to 1 percent, Asian investors sighed a breath of relief that the Fed stuck to its outlook instead for two more hikes this year and three more in 2018. As of 0144 GMT, the main TAIEX index rose 0.91 percent to 9,828.79 points, after closing down 0.04 percent on Wednesday. The index surpassed the 9,800 point benchmark which was the top of its range in the past month. The majority of sub-indexes rose, led by the plastics and semiconductor indexes that gained 1.4 percent each. Additionally, the electronics subindex was up 1.07 percent, while the financial subindex was up 0.05 percent. Among actively traded shares, electronics manufacturer Pegatron that makes Apple Inc products, rose 2.06 percent despite posting a lower-than-expected 2016 4Q net profit earlier this week. As the dollar lost broadly against Asian currencies, the Taiwan dollar hit a 21-month high since late May 2015, at 30.564 per U.S. dollar, after closing at 30.840 in the last session. The Taiwan dollar softened a touch by midday, but was still trading T$0.190 higher at T$30.650 to the U.S. dollar. (Reporting by Jess Macy Yu; Editing by Vyas Mohan) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/taiwan-stocks-idUSL3N1GT1LZ'|'2017-03-16T09:51:00.000+02:00' +'a28b3962f13efcf2685f227baba8b3c74e17a670'|'Brazil''s Oi burns through $49 mln in cash in January'|'Company 11pm EDT Brazil''s Oi burns through $49 mln in cash in January SAO PAULO, March 15 Oi SA, the Brazilian phone carrier operating under bankruptcy court protection, burned through 153 million reais ($49 million) in cash in January, according to a securities filing on Wednesday. Oi said the negative free cash flow was due to seasonal factors, which caused receivables from clients to fall by 12 percent to 1.8 billion reais in the period. The company also reported an 18 percent rise in payments, to 2.5 billion reais, citing more disbursements to service providers in January. The information was compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers Assessoria Empresarial Ltda and law firm Advocacia Arnoldo Wald, which are the trustees of the bankruptcy proceeding. Oi will release fourth-quarter results on March 22 after the market''s close. Rio de Janeiro-based Oi, which made Brazil''s largest bankruptcy filing last June, ended January with 7.095 billion reais of cash on hand, a 2.7 percent drop from December. ($1 = 3.103 reais) (Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Leslie Adler) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/oi-sa-debt-idUSL2N1GS2FS'|'2017-03-16T06:11:00.000+02:00' +'d02be11ef803be6a2d2b1b3c822339c66e38901a'|'BlackBerry''s profit beats expectations, shares surge'|'BlackBerry Ltd reported better-than-expected adjusted earnings for the sixth straight quarter, as the smartphone pioneer''s shift to the higher-margin software business paid off, sending shares soaring more than 15 percent.The Canadian firm also said on Friday it expects to be profitable on an adjusted basis for the second year in a row, and generate positive free cash flow in the year ending February 2018.Waterloo, Ontario-based BlackBerry has focused on building a robust software business after scrapping production of its once-iconic smartphones, which lost favor with the arrival of sleek and fully-touchscreen handsets.The company outsourced the development of its smartphones last year, signing a deal with Indonesia''s BB Merah Putih to make and distribute new BlackBerry-branded devices. It has also signed similar deals with China''s TCL and India-based Optiemus Infracom Ltd.Adjusted revenue from the software and services unit, which includes mobile device management products and the QNX industrial operating system, rose 12.2 percent to $193 million in the fourth quarter ended Feb. 28, from the preceding quarter.QNX is crucial to BlackBerry''s efforts in the self-driving vehicle industry. The company already has a partnership with Ford Motor Co to develop autonomous driving software, and CEO John Chen hopes to forge such deals with carmakers around the world.Gross margin jumped to 60.1 percent in the quarter from 43.3 percent last year.BlackBerry received more than 3,500 enterprise customer orders in the quarter, an increase of 16 percent from the last quarter."Looking ahead to fiscal 2018, we expect to grow at or above the overall market in our software business," Chen said in a statement.The company''s net loss narrowed to $47 million or 10 cents per share in the fourth quarter, from $238 million or 45 cents per share, a year earlier.The prior-year quarter included a loss of $127 million related to the sale of certain assets.Excluding one-time items, the company earned 4 cents per share. Analysts on average had expected the company to break even, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.Operating expenses nearly halved to $229 million.Revenue fell about 38 percent to $286 million. On an adjusted basis, revenue was $297 million, beating analysts'' average expectation of $289.3 million.BlackBerry''s shares were up 16 percent at $8.06 on the Nasdaq in morning trading. The company''s Toronto-listed stock was up 15.4 percent at C$10.70.(Reporting by Vishaka George and Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-blackberry-results-idUSKBN1721GG'|'2017-03-31T18:27:00.000+03:00' +'654343800524bad24a309889987431c808a628ed'|'Amazon to expand counterfeit removal program in overture to sellers - Reuters'|'LAS VEGAS Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) is expanding a program to remove counterfeit goods from its website this spring as part of a broader push to assure brand owners that the online retailer is an ally rather than a threat.As early as next month, any brand can register its logo and intellectual property with Amazon so the e-commerce company can take down listings and potentially seller accounts when counterfeits are flagged, Peter Faricy, vice president of Amazon Marketplace, said in an interview on Monday.The so-called brand registry, which had been in a test phase, will be widely available for free in North America, Faricy said ahead of his presentation on Tuesday at the Shoptalk commerce conference in Las Vegas.The move reflects Amazon''s efforts to court increasingly important third-party sellers. The Seattle-based company takes a commission for retail transactions it enables, and it sells lucrative fulfillment and advertising services to third parties.Counterfeiters have sold faulty or discounted versions of authentic goods on Amazon, prompting lawsuits, including one from Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ), against merchants on the site.Other retailers have said they fear Amazon controls too much of the sales process and creates its own private-label copies of top-selling items to sell to customers at a lower price."The data doesn''t support it," Faricy said of the allegation that Amazon is jeopardizing sellers. Third parties have grown to account for about 50 percent of units sold on Amazon, he said.Access to Amazon''s more than 300 million customers allowed 100,000 sellers to generate at least $100,000 each through the company last year, Faricy said, and its fulfillment services have made once costly daily delivery affordable for small retailers.Shoppers, brands or Amazon itself can flag counterfeit goods via the brand registry, which the company developed in 2016.Amazon is also offering brands a program called "Transparency," which lets them label packages with a code so shoppers can cross-check their purchase against official information.Faricy said efforts against counterfeit products are at an early stage."I dont think its the kind of thing where you ever feel like theres a clear ending," he said. "Its a journey.(Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin in Las Vegas; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-com-counterfeit-idUSKBN16S2EU'|'2017-03-21T21:31:00.000+02:00' +'9dd9e08c8243fe9e369e20cdebcf63f2d091da5d'|'Shawbrook shares climb on hopes of buyout funds raising offer'|'British bank Shawbrook Group Plc ( SHAW.L ) rejected an 842 million pound ($1.05 billion) buyout bid from a consortium of private equity firms, but its shares climbed on Friday on hopes of a higher offer.The bank had already spurned the 330 pence a share approach from Marlin Bidco, co-owned by buyout funds Pollen Street Capital and BC Partners, earlier in March.However, analysts saw Friday''s formal bid as a means of leaving the door open for a higher offer, pushing shares up 11 percent to 338p, above the offer price and the highest in more than a year."It is our opinion that Marlin Bidco launched an offer for Shawbrook in order to buy time, as it faced a 5pm deadline to make an offer or walk away for at least six months," RBC Capital Markets analyst Peter Lenardos said, referencing UK Takeover Code''s "put up or shut up" rules."We believe that a marginally higher offer is likely, as both parties have nothing to gain and much to lose by the failure to come to a successful agreement."In January, the consortium made an offer of 307 pence per share, which it increased to 330 pence in March.Pollen Street currently owns 38.8 percent of Shawbrook and the joint private equity groups said they have received letters of intent from other shareholders representing 6 percent.In its statement, Shawbrook also noted the change in the deal structure to a takeover offer that is subject to the consortium receiving more than 50 percent of acceptances, from a scheme of arrangement.Under the revised deal structure the company would be delisted if 75 percent of its shareholders accept the offer, with those who do not accept the offer remaining holders of shares in an unlisted company.Shares in the company were floated at a price of 290 pence two years ago.Britain''s smaller challenger banks have been increasingly seen as ripe for takeovers in recent months as a prolonged period of low interest rates has squeezed earnings and the pound''s fall has made them cheaper for foreign buyers.Morgan Stanley is acting as financial advisor for the bidding party. The bank''s board is being advised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs.(Reporting By Justin George Varghese and Rahul B from Bengaluru; Editing by Dasha Afanasieva and Keith Weir)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-shawbrook-buyout-idUSKBN1721Z3'|'2017-03-31T18:20:00.000+03:00' +'19fefbd824ccedd9009b9dd92dd18215cd8a45f7'|'Nikkei falls to 1-1/2-week low as Softbank slides, financials drag'|'Company 2:17am EDT Nikkei falls to 1-1/2-week low as Softbank slides, financials drag TOKYO, March 21 Japan''s Nikkei share average fell to a 1-1/2-week low on Tuesday as financial stocks underperformed after U.S. yields fell, while index-heavyweight SoftBank tumbled. The Nikkei dropped 0.3 percent to 19,455.88, the lowest closing level since March 9. SoftBank Group Corp dropped 1.9 percent and contributed a hefty negative 18 points to the Nikkei index after the Wall Street Journal reported that the company scrapped a planned $100 million investment in a smartphone startup founded by the creator of Google''s Android software, citing people familiar with the matter. The broader Topix dropped 0.2 percent to 1,563.42 and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 shed 0.2 percent to 13,987.00. (Reporting by Ayai Tomisawa)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-close-idUSL3N1GY2E8'|'2017-03-21T13:17:00.000+02:00' +'41822b6fe1a4f06080b53b3336e99d1ffd28ca70'|'Council tax bills to rise in nine out of 10 English local authorities - Money'|'Households across the country are facing inflation-busting council tax hikes with nine out of 10 local authorities in England expected to increase rates from April.Residents in some areas will see their bills go up by as much as 5%, with councils taking full advantage of new powers to top up their charges with fees ringfenced for social care.Only 22 of Englands 353 local authorities are to freeze council tax in the coming year and just one, East Hampshire, is to reduce the bill. The figures mark a stark contrast to rate changes five years ago, when 90% of local authorities froze or cut council tax and just 35 raised it. In 2015-16, seven councils cut their council tax rates. This is the first time that many councils have been able to add 3% to bills to help fund adult social care for their communities. The extra cash can only be spent on social care and cannot be used for other services. Last year the maximum councils could add was fixed at 2%.The government has said that raising the social care precept to 3% has given councils the ability to raise an additional 208m in 2017-18, but critics have called the levy a sticking plaster that is unlikely to meet even the basic needs of communities.Of the 152 local authorities able to raise bills by up to an extra 3% to fund social care, more than two-thirds are implementing the full amount. The Local Government Association said councils had found themselves unable to turn down the chance to raise desperately needed money for local services and warned that increases were unlikely to prevent further cutbacks.However, the Department for Communities and Local Government said councils had almost 200bn available to them over four years and should be able to deliver sensible savings to protect frontline services and keep bills down.In East Hampshire, where the local authority is due to reduce its charge from April by 2.6%, the leader of the council said he hoped the decision would encourage others to think completely outside the box. Ferris Cowper said the local authority had taken balanced risks in bucking the national trend and proving there is a completely different way of running the public sector.He said East Hampshire had been able to make savings in part by making large investment in commercial property including the pursuit of a 35m investment programme. Cowper said the council was also negotiating a further 200m loan with City brokers to increase its number of commercial properties.He said: I really hope that what were doing here gives the government a head-scratching problem to solve. I want them to start noticing there is a completely different way of running the public sector.Cowper said council tax could be scrapped altogether in East Hampshire by 2021 or at least reduced to a token amount to supplement wider public services such as social care. Meanwhile Breckland council in Norfolk reported the highest percentage rise of council tax in England at 6.6%.Among the 22 local authorities to freeze the rate of tax were South Oxfordshire, the London borough of Newham and Wyre Forest in Worcestershire, where the council leader, Marcus Hart, said putting up rates should be a last resort. He said the council was able to freeze the tax by increasing other fees and charges including car parking and bulky waste collections.Our narrative is, broadly, council tax payers we wont just be using you by putting up council tax just to subsidise other services, explained Hart. A lack of local provision to care for elderly residents is one of the causes of so-called bed blocking in NHS hospitals , which has been at record levels this winter. Now the majority of councils are hoping to help alleviate such pressures by adding the 3% social care precept to their bills.But Tim Roache, general secretary of the public sector GMB union, said the levy was a sticking plaster on a gaping wound. He added: That almost every local authority is being forced to raise council tax to meet even the basic needs of communities up and down the country shows just how far the government have gone in abdicating responsibility for public services.Claire Kober, chair of the Local Government Association resources board, said many councils found themselves unable to turn down the chance to raise desperately needed money for local services. She went on: Council tax rises are unlikely to prevent the need for continued cutbacks to local services. Cost pressures associated with homelessness and temporary accommodation, and childrens and adult social care, remain particularly acute. The chancellor, Philip Hammond, used his budget speech in March to announce a further 2bn additional funding for social care for councils in England between 2017-18 and 2019-20. The government has said it will also publish a green paper outlining proposals to put the social care system on a more secure and sustainable long-term footing.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/mar/27/council-tax-bills-rise-english-local-authorities'|'2017-03-27T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'505881c727dfe14d5108e2094dfb7b33a1b9e175'|'Will the GOP Finally Crush Class Actions?'|'Republicans and their business allies perennially push tort-reform bills aimed at restricting whats sometimes called the litigation industry. They havent had much luck of late. Its been 12 years since one of those measures succeeded. But with Donald Trump in the White House, pro-business groups see an opening for a series of bills moving through the House that would discourage class actions and generally make it harder to sue businesses.Its an issue the president has some experience with. Only days after his election, Trump agreed to pay $25 million to settle claims that his defunct Trump University cheated more than 6,000 students with false promises of teaching them his real estate secrets. On the other hand, Trump has frequently initiated suits against business adversaries, so its tricky to predict what position hell take. The White House did not respond to requests for comment.Three bills, each of which would make life tougher for plaintiffs lawyers, were scheduled for votes by the full House on March 9 and 10. Several more are in the legislative pipeline. While House passage is a virtual certainty, the Senate presents a bigger challenge. With a 52-48 majority, Republicans would need to find eight Democratic votes to reach 60 and avoid a potential filibuster. Lisa Rickard, president of the Institute for Legal Reform, the U.S. Chamber of Commerces legal arm, says the chamber and other business advocates are focusing attention on 10 Democrats in red states who are up for reelection in 2018, including Bob Casey Jr. of Pennsylvania, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, and Joe Manchin of West Virginia.Plaintiffs advocates predict the legislation will stall in the Senate with little or no Democratic support. These bills are driven by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the largest corporations, who want to escape responsibility for hurting people or other businesses, says Pamela Gilbert, a consumer attorney in Washington.The broadest bill, sponsored by Virginia Republican Bob Goodlatte, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, would make it harder in several ways to bring class actions. The measure would bar plaintiffs firms from repeatedly representing the same client in class actions. The most obvious targets are prominent law firms that represent plaintiffs in securities suits. Such firms routinely represent institutional investors in multiple cases over time. Professor John Coffee Jr. of Columbia Law School wrote on his Blue Sky Blog that the restriction seems either a death sentence for the large plaintiffs firm or the end of large public pension funds serving as lead plaintiff.Statistics on class actions are sparse, partly because theres no central clearinghouse for state cases. But numbers are gathered for federal securities cases. Plaintiffs filed a record 270 federal class-action securities cases in 201644 percent more than the historical average of 188 filings from 1997 to 2015, according to Cornerstone Research.Another part of Goodlattes bill would allow class actions to move forward only when a judge certifies that all plaintiffs have suffered the same type and scope of injury. Imposing such obligations at the outset of a case would encourage more preliminary skirmishing and deter some class actions from ever getting off the ground.The most important business stories of the day. Get Bloomberg's daily newsletter. Sign Up Yet another section of Goodlattes bill would restrict plaintiffs attorneys fees to a percentage of the amount actually distributed to the class. That could effectively kill off suits that seek a change in corporate behavior and pay class members little or nothing in damages. The idea is to eliminate class actions that dont make any sense from the start, says John Beisner, a partner with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, a large corporate law firm. Of course, lawsuits that dont make sense to a defendant are often the height of reasonableness to the other side.The bottom line: A series of tort-reform bills seeks to curtail the litigation industry by limiting class-action suits and making it harder to sue businesses.'|'bloomberg.com'|'https://www.bloomberg.com/businessweek'|'http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-09/will-the-gop-finally-crush-class-actions'|'2017-03-10T03:57:00.000+02:00' +'f2cc27c4442386423d541e4dc11bcdeb969abc24'|'BASF, on the sidelines of merger wave, eyes generic pesticides'|'Business News 3:00pm GMT BASF, on the sidelines of merger wave, eyes generic pesticides FILE PHOTO - Flags of the German chemical company BASF are pictured in Monheim, Germany April 20, 2012. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender/File Photo By Patricia Weiss and Ludwig Burger - FRANKFURT FRANKFURT With rivals joining forces all around, Germany''s BASF ( BASFn.DE ) has been eyeing a surprise foray into generic pesticides, although the issue is on hold while it looks to snap up assets being spun off in those mergers. With an internal debate raging about how to react to the mega-mergers, the world''s third-largest crop chemicals supplier last year looked into acquiring U.S. pesticides peer FMC Corp ( FMC.N ), according to three people familiar with the deliberations. While considerations did reach a concrete stage, BASF for now feels such a move would needlessly complicate its examination of several billions in assets put on the block by rivals to allay antitrust concerns. But the strategic rationale is intact and can be revisited, the sources told Reuters. BASF is the only player left among the top six in a global seeds and pesticides market worth over $100 billion that has not paired up with a major peer. Like most of its large rivals in crop protection, it has mostly focussed on developing new patent- protected compounds to command premium prices. One reason to branch out into cheaper pesticides that have lost patent protection would be faster access to emerging markets such as Africa and China, where most farmers cannot afford the latest generation of Western crop chemicals, the sources said. "In some of these markets, the prices of patent-protected products are beyond what''s affordable by a factor of 10," said one source. Companies such as FMC primarily use off-patent active ingredients or acquire the rights to novel substances from others. They focus development efforts on improving the application of a given compound in the field, or identifying new crops or geographic regions that can benefit. This could, for instance, mean preventing spray from evaporating or drifting away with the wind to harm wildlife or neighbouring fields; it can take the form of making sure droplets stick to the target leaves and are absorbed or released at the optimum rate. MARKET INSIGHT AND ACCESS FMC declined to comment. A BASF spokeswoman said in a written statement that the group - which is also active in areas such as oil and gas, industrial petrochemicals, engineering plastics and vitamins - was constantly looking into possible takeovers and divestments. Meanwhile, Bayer ( BAYGn.DE ) and Monsanto ( MON.N ), Dow ( DOW.N ) and DuPont ( DD.N ), and ChemChina and Syngenta ( SYNN.S ) are all seeking regulatory approval for mergers. The sources said that FMC''s market insight could help BASF compete better as the industry rushes to bypass wholesale trade and sell direct to growers with the help of digital tools. FMC''s sales to farmers - expected to be around $2.2-2.4 billion this year - would help BASF to spread the costs of new direct-marketing channels across a wider revenue base. Even though BASF Chief Executive Kurt Bock has said "big and fancy" deals do not always create value, discussions are in full swing at the 152-year-old company about how to cope with the emergence of much larger rivals in agriculture, the sources said. With a considerable premium required on top of FMC''s stock market value of about $8 billion, the mooted transaction would be the largest in BASF''s history. A foray into generic chemicals would offer investors an alternative strategic vision from that of its major rivals, which seek to link up seed and crop protection offerings. BASF has taken the view that the benefits do not justify the tens of billions going into the mega-mergers. So far, it has avoided seed assets and instead pursued research into plant characteristics such as drought tolerance, which it sells or licenses out to seed breeders. But investors are still keen for reassurance. "It is good to have somebody at the helm who doesn''t feel pressured to follow just any trend. But if everyone around BASF is consolidating, there is a risk that, over the long term, the question will be: Why didn''t it join in?" said one fund manager holding shares in BASF, who asked not to be named. NEW USES FOR OLD CHEMICALS Other players in the off-patent industry are ChemChina''s Adama, with about $3.1 billion in sales; and Platform Specialty Products Corp''s ( PAH.N ) Agricultural Solutions unit with about $1.8 billion in sales, made up mainly of Arysta LifeScience Corp. FMC in 2014 boosted its off-patent crop chemicals operations with the $1.8 billion acquisition of Denmark''s Cheminova, paying about 13 times core earnings. But the sub-sector has received little attention during last year''s unprecedented slew of major deals. Still, growing consumer concerns about toxicity have prompted environmental regulators around the globe gradually to raise the bar for approving new crop protection substances. This has encouraged the industry to find new uses for decades-old substances. The discovery of a genetic tweak that makes field crops survive the generic weed killer dicamba, for instance, has prompted the industry to develop more environmentally friendly dicamba versions that evaporate less when sprayed. BASF''s executive directors have for their part pointed to the opportunities to snap up assets being sold off in the course of the mega-mergers. Sources familiar with the process say BASF is primarily eyeing herbicides and insecticides businesses from Dow and DuPont''s planned $130 billion merger and three-way split, but also seeds and herbicides businesses expected to be sold by Bayer as part of its $66 billion takeover of Monsanto. CEO Bock said a month ago that, even though the crop protection unit was performing very well, he would like it to be bigger. Excluding expected asset sales, the Monsanto-Bayer deal will create an undisputed market leader with 27 percent of global seeds and pesticides business. Even the 17 percent accounted for by Dow and DuPont, before asset sales, would dwarf BASF''s 7 percent share. FMC derives about two-thirds of its sales from crop protection, with food and drug ingredients and lithium chemicals accounting for the rest. BASF''s spokeswoman said that its acquisition strategy focussed on businesses that meet criteria such as innovative strength, above-average growth, a focus on attractive regions such as emerging markets, and shielding the portfolio against cyclical swings. (Additional reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Kevin Liffey) Next In Business News Britain-based banks moving to Europe may get easier entry, ECB says FRANKFURT Banks looking to move from Britain to the euro zone after Brexit may be given an expedited entry, with supervisors willing to spare them from a lengthy initial test of their risk models, a top European Central Bank official said on Wednesday. UK economy growing solidly despite inflation hit - BoE report LONDON Britain''s economy looks set to defy a slowdown again this year as the country moves closer to leaving the European Union, with the hit to shoppers from surging inflation partly offset by more investment and exports, a Bank of England report suggested. Barclays MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-basf-genericpesticides-idUKKBN16T1YD'|'2017-03-22T22:00:00.000+02:00' +'16cea624e822e3e621f306ddd81a42aecd7fa742'|'Goldman Sachs to move hundreds of staff out of London due to Brexit - Business'|'Goldman Sachs is to start moving hundreds of staff out of London before a Brexit deal is struck, the banks European boss has confirmed.Richard Gnodde, chief executive of Goldman Sachs International, said on Tuesday the decision to relocate staff was part of the banks contingency plan for the UK leaving the EU. We are going to start to execute on those contingency plans, he told CNBC.Gnodde said the bank, which currently employs 6,000 staff in London, would take extra office space in Frankfurt and Paris . Speaking a week before Theresa May will formally being the UKs exit from the EU by triggering article 50, Gnodde said: We start with a significant European footprint, we are licensed with banks in Germany and in France.Over the next 18 months or so we are going to upgrade those facilities, well be take extra space in a number of them and be increasing our headcount and infrastructure around those facilities, said Gnodde.He s aid the numbers involved were in the hundreds of people as opposed to anything much greater than that.Gnodde added that no final decisions had yet been made about how many staff would eventually work in which locations. This is all in the context of continency planning, he said. What our eventual footprint will look like will depend on the outcome of [the Brexit] negotiations and what we are obliged to do because of them.In January, the bank was the subject of speculation it could shift half of its 6,000-strong workforce out of London , with 1,000 of the jobs relocated to Frankfurt.At the time Goldman insisted no decisions had been made and on Tuesday Gnodde did not indicate which of the EU hubs might be the greatest beneficiary of any moves out of London. Goldman currently has some 200 staff in Frankfurt and about 100 in Paris.He said: Whatever the outcome [of the Brexit talks], London will remain for us a very significant regional hub and a significant global hub. London will remain a very significant important centre.Other banks have also warned that roles will have to go as a result of Brexit. HSBCboss Stuart Gulliver has said that 1,000 roles will move to Paris in about two years time, when Brexit becomes effective. Swiss bank UBS has acknowledged that 1,000 of its 5,000 staff could shift, possibly to Frankfurt or Madrid. US bank JP Morgan hassaid that 4,000 UK jobs are at risk . Estimates of the impact of Brexit on the City vary widely. Xavier Rolet, chief executive of the London Stock Exchange, has warned that 230,000 finance jobs could disappear while Mark Carney, governor of the bank of England, has played down the risks. He described the City as Europes investment banker and said European economies could be damaged if their access is disrupted after Britain leaves the EU. Goldman Sachs chief executive, Lloyd Blankfein, admitted in January that the bank was holding back from moving new activities into London, as had been previously planned. However, the bank is continuing to press on with building its new nine-storey London HQ, with the aim of moving in in 2019. The bank could take all the floors or subletto tenants. Topics Goldman Sachs Banking Financial sector EU referendum and Brexit European Union news '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/mar/21/goldman-sachs-staff-london-brexit-frankfurt-paris'|'2017-03-22T00:26:00.000+02:00' +'b17ea6aa716a7fdacd2264c02ce9930ee2de101f'|'German government worried a ''hard Brexit'' would cause market turbulence - report'|' 1:59am BST German government worried a ''hard Brexit'' would cause market turbulence - report German, British and European Union flags fly in front of the Reichstag building in Berlin, Germany July 20, 2016. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke/File Photo BERLIN The German Finance Ministry is worried there will be turbulence on the financial markets if there is a ''hard Brexit'', a German newspaper reported on Monday - two days before Britain triggers divorce proceedings with the European Union. Handelsblatt daily cited a risk analysis from the Finance Ministry as saying that if Britain and the EU do not strike a deal about Britain''s exit in time, it could threaten the stability of financial markets. The ministry is also worried that the two-year negotiation period between Britain and the EU will not suffice to conclude a free trade deal with Britain and that would mean there are "significant" risks for the financial markets, it said. For that reason, there should be interim solutions, said the analysis, which talked about "phasing out". An abrupt exit could "trigger dislocations", with British banks no longer able to offer their services in the EU and banks in the EU finding they no longer have access to the financial centre in London, the report said. That would result in "grave economic and systemic consequences" for Europe, the newspaper added. It said that Germany had a strong interest in having an "integrated financial market" with Britain but for that London would need to fulfil conditions such as accepting the EU''s basic freedoms as well as strict regulatory standards. The German government is taking a tough line on the EU budget and wants Britain to promise, at the start of negotiations, that it will meet all of its obligations, including after quitting the EU, and Britain should pay to have access to the European Single Market, the newspaper said. (Reporting by Michelle Martin; Editing by Ken Ferris) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-germany-idUKKBN16Y26U'|'2017-03-28T08:59:00.000+03:00' +'39e2f6bdecd9111104f2d6a8abf200b730d3b892'|'Tesla''s Musk discusses energy proposal with South Australian government'|'Sat Mar 11, 2017 - 7:12am GMT Tesla''s Musk discusses energy proposal with South Australian government left right FILE PHOTO: Tesla Chief Executive, Elon Musk enters the lobby of Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York, U.S., January 6, 2017. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: A Tesla logo hangs on a building outside of a Tesla dealership in New York, U.S., April 29, 2016. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo 2/2 By Harry Pearl - SYDNEY SYDNEY Tesla Inc boss Elon Musk spoke with the premier of South Australia on Saturday after the tech entrepreneur offered to install $25 million of battery storage within 100 days to prevent recurring blackouts that have disrupted the state. The proposal follows a string of power outages, including a blackout that left industry crippled for up to two weeks and stoked fears of more outages across the national electricity market due to tight supplies. "Just spoke with Premier of South Australia (Jay Weatherill). Very impressed. Govt is clearly committed to a smart, quick solution," Musk wrote on Twitter on Saturday. Weatherill said in a statement on Saturday the conversation about the battery proposal was "positive". Musk made the offer on Twitter on Friday, saying if the work was not completed in 100 days it would be free. His proposal made headlines in Australia, which is in the midst of a heated debate about the national electricity market and energy security. Musk proposed the battery storage fix in response to a comment on social media by Mike Cannon-Brookes, the co-founder of Australian software maker Atlassian Corp. Cannon-Brookes said he would be willing to line up funding and political support if Tesla could supply batteries that would solve South Australia''s problems. Musk responded by tweeting: "Tesla will get the system installed and working 100 days from contract signature or it is free. That serious enough for you?" He quoted a price of $250 per kilowatt hour for 100 megawatt hour systems, which would imply a price of $25 million for the battery packs. (Reporting by Harry Pearl; Editing by Sam Holmes) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-australia-power-tesla-idUKKBN16I06J'|'2017-03-11T14:04:00.000+02:00' +'e0de2a41ddc0f8d72a06d49b45a020eb02fbf39d'|'Jack Ma to launch Alibaba''s regional distribution hub in Malaysia: sources'|'By Liz Lee - KUALA LUMPUR KUALA LUMPUR Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Limited plans to set up a regional distribution hub in Malaysia to cater to its fast-growing business in the region, two sources aware of the discussions said.The hub would be sited within KLIA Aeropolis, a 24,700-acre development led by airport operator Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) that is expected to generate more than 7 billion ringgit ($1.58 billion) worth of domestic and foreign investments.Alibaba executive chairman Jack Ma and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak are expected to announce the plans at an event in Kuala Lumpur next week, the sources said.The hub will be set up with the help of Malaysian state-linked agencies. It was not clear whether Alibaba would invest any funds in the project."Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) has existing facility for Alibaba Group to pilot their distribution services here, and if (Alibaba) decide to expand in the future, there is the option to build more on other (undeveloped) sites in KLIA Aeropolis," one source said.Alibaba and the Malaysian prime minister''s office did not respond immediately to requests for comment.Najib appointed Ma as his government''s digital economy adviser during an official trip to China in November.Malaysian media reported that Ma, whose Alibaba owns Chinese online shopping business Taobao, would help steer Malaysia''s e-economy development with the implementation of online payment and banking."Many people see Malaysia as an emerging hub next to Singapore. Malaysia may not be able to take all of Singapore''s business but it is a good choice (logistically)," one source said.This would mark Alibaba''s first investment in Malaysia. The company invested $1 billion last year to control Singapore-based e-commerce platform Lazada, Southeast Asia''s largest online shopping platform. It also increased its shareholding in Singapore Post to 14.4 percent from the 10.2 percent acquired in 2014 and bought a 20-percent stake in Thai e-payment service, Ascend Money.Ties between Malaysia and Beijing have blossomed in recent months with a surge of investments from China.China agreed to buy assets of troubled state fund 1MDB for $2.3 billion in December 2015.Najib returned from November''s Beijing visit with 14 agreements amounting to $34.4 billion, which included an agreement to buy four Chinese naval vessels and collaboration to build rail projects in Malaysia.Sources said the distribution hub would be part of Malaysia''s Digital Free Trade Zone (DFTZ), also slated to be launched during Ma''s visit next week."KLIA Aeropolis includes many components and the DFTZ is likely a new component to be added into the development," one source said.Plans to establish the DFTZ were announced in the national budget last October.(Reporting by Liz Lee; Additional reporting by Anshuman Daga in SINGAPORE and Adam Jourdan in SHANGHAI; Editing by Paul Tait)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-malaysia-alibaba-idINKBN16P041'|'2017-03-18T00:28:00.000+02:00' +'1da4c14364ada0c7abad8a514d3f5926c8863767'|'Alexion to cut 7 pct of workforce'|'Big Story 10 26pm EDT Alexion to cut 7 percent of workforce Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc said on Monday it has initiated a company-wide restructuring that will affect about 7 percent of its workforce. The rare-disease drug maker, which has been looking to steady the ship following the exit of its top management, had 3,121 employees as of Dec. 31. Alexion''s chief executive and chief financial officer resigned in December after the board had lost confidence in them. "We are investing our resources in key growth drivers, including our portfolio of marketed products," the company said in an emailed statement. The U.S. biotech''s flagship drug, Soliris, has fueled much of the company''s growth, but slowing sales in recent quarters and looming competition have made investors jittery. (Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta) Next In Big Story 10'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-alexion-pharms-redundancies-idUSKBN16K2Q7'|'2017-03-14T05:17:00.000+02:00' +'a82332495381fb2fefbc30a57295d2a112770231'|'Aviva eyes sale of Friends Provident unit for $500-$700 million - source'|'Deals 51am BST Aviva eyes sale of Friends Provident unit for $500-$700 million: source A man walks past an AVIVA logo outside the company''s head office in the city of London March 5, 2009. REUTERS/Stephen Hird HONG KONG Aviva Plc ( AV.L ) is exploring a sale of its Friends Provident International unit, which offers life assurance and investment products, in a deal that could raise between $500 million and $700 million, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said. The British insurer has received preliminary interest from about half a dozen Chinese firms and European funds for the business, said the source, declining to be named as the process was not public. An Aviva spokeswoman declined to comment. The news was earlier reported by the Wall Street Journal. (Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Clara Ferreira-Marques and Mark Potter) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-aviva-gb-m-a-friendsprovident-idUKKBN16Z12E'|'2017-03-28T17:43:00.000+03:00' +'fb839b6e51ce7acd389fc73524e8a6e18da709f3'|'Cevian''s stake in Bilfinger rises to nearly 30 percent'|'FRANKFURT Activist investor Cevian''s stake in German industrial services group Bilfinger ( GBFG.DE ) grew to 29.5 percent from 25.6 percent, a regulatory filing by Bilfinger showed on Friday.That brings it close to the 30 percent threshold at which investors are forced under German law to make a full takeover offer.Cevian, which has a policy of buying stakes in companies whose parts it sees as being more valuable than the whole, started buying shares in Bilfinger in 2011.It instigated a management overhaul in 2015, after the group issued six profit warnings in a year, having run into difficulties in a shift from construction into services.(Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Christoph Steitz)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-bilfinger-m-a-cevian-idINKBN16O255'|'2017-03-17T12:57:00.000+02:00' +'c3cf38e31c0a3d04347dba43c081bd036b330aba'|'BHP tries again to get Chile''s Escondida union back to table'|'Business News - Mon Mar 13, 2017 - 4:57pm GMT BHP tries again to get Chile''s Escondida union back to table File Photo: A view of the BHP Billiton''s Escondida, the world''s biggest copper mine, in northern Chile, in Antofagasta, Chile March 31, 2008. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado/File Photo By Fabian Cambero - SANTIAGO SANTIAGO BHP Billiton ( BLT.L )( BHP.AX ) on Monday invited striking workers at its Escondida copper mine in Chile, the world''s largest, to return to the negotiating table, after they rejected a similar approach on Saturday. Escondida''s 2,500-member union has been on strike since Feb. 9 after new contract talks fell apart, and the mine has produced no copper since then. On Friday, the company invited the union to return the negotiating table. However, the union rejected the invitation, saying that it did not respect core non-negotiable conditions. In a letter sent to the union on Monday and released to media, BHP addressed the workers'' claims and proposed a meeting for Tuesday afternoon. "The only form of resolving those points that distance the two sides will be sitting down for dialogue and having a face-to-face conversation," the company said. The union is currently analysing the content of the letter to determine its response, a union source told Reuters. Escondida, which is majority-controlled by BHP, produced slightly more than one million tonnes of copper in 2016. Rio Tinto ( RIO.L )( RIO.AX ) and Japanese companies including Mitsubishi ( 8058.T ) hold minority interests in the mine. (Reporting by Fabian Cambero; Writing by Gram Slattery; Editing by Marguerita Choy) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-chile-copper-escondida-idUKKBN16K268'|'2017-03-13T23:57:00.000+02:00' +'883d27752c51466f4cd6760e6a2c3c1845ae300f'|'Oil, biofuels groups urge U.S. EPA deny refiner requests to tweak RFS program'|' 56pm EST Oil, biofuels groups urge U.S. EPA deny refiner requests to tweak RFS program NEW YORK, March 2 A coalition of trade groups representing oil, biofuels and other interests pressed the U.S. government on Thursday to deny requests to tweak the country''s biofuels program, the latest in a series of political maneuvers that have roiled markets. Some 15 trade groups including the American Petroleum Institute (API), Biotechnology Innovation Organization and the Association of American Railroads wrote a letter urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency''s (EPA) new chief Scott Pruitt to deny requests to tweak the program. Those requests came from groups including Valero Energy Corp and Delta Air Lines Inc''s Monroe Energy LLC. Some industry groups have been concerned that the Trump administration may be reviewing potential changes in the program to shift the onus of blending biofuels into gasoline away from refiners further down the supply chain to gasoline marketers. The change could require companies such as retailers who sell gasoline to shoulder that load, which would provide relief to refiners including Valero and CVR Energy Inc. The change is opposed by biofuels companies and integrated oil companies, which say it will complicate the program. The letter came from a broad coalition of groups that have otherwise been at odds over the country''s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), the controversial program that requires fuel companies use increasingly volumes of renewable fuels each year. "The one issue that brings us all together is our belief that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should deny petitions to change the point of obligation for RFS compliance," the groups said in the letter. Speculation has mounted that the new administration under Republican President Donald Trump would consider the change, after Trump named billionaire and RFS critic Carl Icahn as a special advisor on regulations. Icahn has been advocating for this change. He owns a majority stake in CVR Energy, which has to comply with the program as it''s currently designed. The EPA''s public comment period on the so-called "point of obligation" closed last week. A regulatory change from the agency on the issue could take years and cause delays in announcing annual volume requirements, say critics of the change. Proponents say it would reduce costs for merchant refiners, which do not have capacity to blend biofuels and have to buy paper compliance credits from companies that have. (Reporting by Chris Prentice; Editing by David Gregorio) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-biofuels-idUSL2N1GF1N2'|'2017-03-03T03:56:00.000+02:00' +'77619a236bb71a94d6feb9cdf4aadb3e4fc6311a'|'Exclusive - Toshiba''s Westinghouse calls in U.S. bankruptcy lawyers - sources'|'Technology 41am GMT Exclusive - Toshiba''s Westinghouse calls in U.S. bankruptcy lawyers: sources Reporters raise their hands for a question during a news conference by Toshiba Corp CEO Satoshi Tsunakawa and other senior sompany officials at the company''s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan February 14, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai By Jessica DiNapoli and Tom Hals Westinghouse Electric Co LLC, the U.S. nuclear power plant developer owned by troubled Japanese electronics giant Toshiba Corp, has brought in bankruptcy attorneys from law firm Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. The move comes after a $6.3 billion writedown at Westinghouse last month wiped out Toshiba''s shareholder equity and caused it to seek divestments to create a buffer for any fresh financial problems. A Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by Westinghouse in the United States could help limit Toshiba''s losses, two people said, cautioning that the retainment of the debt restructuring lawyers from Weil is just an exploratory step, and that no decision about a bankruptcy filing had yet been taken. A Westinghouse spokeswoman declined to comment on Weil''s role, but said that Westinghouse has hired Lisa Donahue of advisory firm AlixPartners LLP as its chief transition and development officer, to lead "an operational restructuring and financial rebuilding." Toshiba said it is not aware of any intention for Westinghouse to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. AlixPartners declined to comment, while Weil did not respond to a request for comment. Donahue last ran restructuring efforts at debt-laden Puerto Rico utility Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA). Westinghouse already has a working relationship with Weil, having tapped it as legal adviser last year on its acquisition of engineering services firm CB&I Stone & Webster Inc from Chicago Bridge & Iron Company NV (CB&I). Toshiba last week asked a Japanese law firm to help estimate the potential financial impact it would face if Westinghouse files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, sources told Reuters at the time. Westinghouse is overseeing the construction of four nuclear power plants in South Carolina and Georgia, the first to be built in the United States in more than 30 years. However, these projects, owned by U.S. utility companies Scana Corp and Georgia Power Co, respectively, have been plagued by cost overruns and delays. The plants were first approved by regulators in 2012, but they required changes to the plans so that they could withstand the impact of a commercial aircraft in a possible hijacking. "While we cannot speculate on what may happen in the future with Toshiba or Westinghouse and their overall business, we will continue to hold them, as the contractor for the Vogtle project, accountable for their responsibilities under our agreement. Progress at the Vogtle site is happening today and will continue in the future," a Georgia Power spokesman said on Wednesday, referring to the Georgia project. Scana said in February that Toshiba and Westinghouse are committed to finishing the plants, and will have them in service by 2020. Adding to the woes of Pittsburgh-based Westinghouse, which was acquired by Toshiba in 2006 for $5.4 billion, is its legal row with CB&I. CB&I has argued in court that it expected a relatively small payment from Westinghouse of only $161 million when the Stone & Webster deal closed, on the understanding that the latter was taking on a challenged business. However, Westinghouse has said that it is actually owed $2 billion by CB&I. (Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in New York and Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) Next In Technology News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-westinghouse-restructuring-idUKKBN16G04G'|'2017-03-09T08:04:00.000+02:00' +'ed727e75cf60ffa71688093109aa14a1b68b1a4c'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|' 27am EDT Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions March 21 The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1030 GMT on Tuesday: ** Telecom tower infrastructure company Bharti Infratel said Nettle Infrastructure Investments would buy about 21.63 percent of its stake from company''s promoter Bharti Airtel Ltd. ** China''s Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has fully acquired online ticketing platform Damai.cn, the e-commerce giant said, marking a further push into entertainment by the firm as it expands beyond its core online retail business. ** Market rumors that U.S. activist hedge fund Elliott Management Corp has acquired a stake in South Korea''s Hyundai Motor Co are not true, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. ** Japan''s Panasonic Corp said it has agreed to become majority owner of Spanish auto parts maker Ficosa International SA as it bolsters its push into the automotive field. ** Egypt aims to raise 6 billion pounds ($329 million) from the sale of stakes in state companies in the 2017/18 financial year, Finance Minister Amr El Garhy told Reuters, part of government efforts to generate revenue and attract investors. ** Polyus, Russia''s largest gold producer, has agreed to sell its 82.34 percent stake in a joint venture with Polymetal which holds rights to develop the Nezhdaninskoye gold deposit, Polyus said in a statement. (Compiled by Divya Grover in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/deals-day-idUSL3N1GY325'|'2017-03-21T17:27:00.000+02:00' +'fcbae1764b0d897f3fb32cc44960dbbbaa1e239a'|'German discounter Aldi to start online sales in China'|'Business 33am GMT German discounter Aldi to start online sales in China A company logo is pictured outside a branch of an Aldi supermarket in Manchester, Britain, March 17, 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo BERLIN German discount supermarket chain Aldi is planning to start online sales in China this month, hoping to appeal to Chinese consumers interested in German brands with a selection of wine, snack and breakfast products. The company will sell its own brand products via online platform Tmall Global, operated by Alibaba, and will use its Australian suppliers to serve the Chinese market, it said in a statement on Thursday. An initial "soft launch" on March 20, which typically sees a product offered to a limited audience, will be followed by a full launch event in Shanghai on April 25, Aldi said. Alibaba Europe manager Terry von Bibra said the Chinese middle-class was becoming more and more interested in "Made in Germany" products. The German discount chains are increasingly expanding abroad, with rival Lidl saying last month it would open its first stores in the United States this summer. The Chinese foray is being run by Aldi South, which also owns Aldi US and runs the chain in Britain. It entered the Australian market more than 15 years ago. (Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Keith Weir) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-aldi-china-idUKKBN1691E3'|'2017-03-02T18:33:00.000+02:00' +'dcf5a59983cc20772715576e7af0605b3744dd50'|'The Wizard of Lies trailer: see Robert de Niro in HBOs Bernard Madoff drama video - Television & radio'|'The Wizard of Lies trailer: see Robert de Niro in HBOs Bernard Madoff drama video Play Video Watch the trailer for HBOs latest TV drama The Wizard of Lies , starring Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer. De Niro plays Bernard Madoff, the former stockbroker and fraudster as his Ponzi scheme slowly unravels around him, dragging his family into the spotlight. The Wizard of Lies premieres on HBO on 20 May View more sharing options Share Close Wednesday 22 March 2017 10.57 GMT Last modified on Wednesday 22 March 2017 11.04 GMT Topics Television Bernard Madoff HBO Robert De Niro Television industry US television industry'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/video/2017/mar/22/the-wizard-of-lies-trailer-hbos-bernard-madoff-drama-video'|'2017-03-22T17:57:00.000+02:00' +'09fceb112b2edbf6b88611c85127ee2acd14b1c6'|'Brazil''s Oi sees vote on updated debt plan by end of June: CEO'|'By Ana Mano - SAO PAULO SAO PAULO Brazilian telephone operator Oi SA ( OIBR4.SA ) expects a new in-court reorganization plan to go to a creditor vote by the end of June, Chief Executive Officer Marco Schroeder said on Thursday.Changes to the plan revealed late on Wednesday would offer Oi''s financial creditors 25 percent of its equity and convertible bonds to be called in three years, at which point they could own up to 38 percent of the company''s shares.A proposal submitted in September did not include an immediate debt-for-equity swap.In a conference call with investors and analysts, Schroeder said the updated plan has not yet been submitted to the Rio de Janeiro court where the debt-laden company filed in June for relief on 65 billion reais ($21 billion) of debt. It was Brazil''s biggest-ever bankruptcy protection case.Oi''s common shares ( OIBR3.SA ) rose 11 percent in midday trading on Thursday, on track for their biggest intraday gain in nearly three weeks.The updated proposal is part of Oi''s efforts to fight off proposals from outside bidders, some of whom have the backing of key creditors."Though we are happy investors are interested in Oi, showing the company has value, we feel our proposal is a balanced one," Schroeder said, adding that the plan should be submitted to the court in its current form.In December, Oi received a binding proposal from a group of bondholders supported by Orascom TMT Holdings SAE to inject up to $1.25 billion into the carrier.The Orascom-backed option also entails a debt-for-equity swap involving 24.82 billion reais worth of bond debt, which would be exchanged for a 95 percent stake in the carrier.On March 1, the group gave Oi another month to respond to the offer. Schroeder said alternative reorganization strategies are welcome as long as they have the support of current stakeholders in the company.Cerberus Capital Management and Paul Singer''s Elliott Management Corp are also said to be in talks with Oi.A court-appointed administrator for Oi will publish an updated list of claims by the end of April, Schroeder said.Creditors will have 30 days to challenge the revised claims list, after which the judge may call a creditor assembly to vote on the plan, Schroeder added.Oi lost 3.3 billion reais in the final quarter of 2016, a narrower loss from the comparable quarter in 2015 due to cost cutting and lower financial expenses.(Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Paul Simao)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-oi-sa-restructuring-idINKBN16U22M'|'2017-03-23T13:20:00.000+02:00' +'fc0c7c541ecabbfba8d55fbc4cc7a997a822e25b'|'ECB''s Nouy says some banks may need to be unwound'|'FRANKFURT Some euro zone banks may need to be unwound if they become unviable, the European Central Bank''s top supervisor said on Thursday, just as the Italian government seeks to bail out two regional lenders."In specific cases consolidation may also take the form of the unwinding of banks if they become unviable," Daniele Nouy told a committee of the European Parliament.Nouy also called for the ECB''s supervisors to be given greater discretion when deciding how much capital banks must hold.(Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Balazs Koranyi)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-ecb-banks-bailout-idINKBN16U0QT'|'2017-03-23T05:21:00.000+02:00' +'daf99350dc0829b3528069f1abffeab0cc3aab3a'|'METALS-Copper steady despite Escondida strike ending'|'Company 55pm EDT METALS-Copper steady despite Escondida strike ending * Work to resume at world''s top copper mine * Strike lasted 43 days, copper steady (Updates throughout, changes dateline from MELBOURNE) By Zandi Shabalala LONDON, March 23 Copper steadied on Thursday, but was still near one-week lows on news that operations at the world''s top producing copper mine in Chile would resume. Workers at BHP Billiton''s Escondida mine agreed to go back to work on Saturday, ending a 43-day stoppage. Supply disruptions have underpinned copper as two other large mines had shut due to labour disputes. "There might have been some anticipation to this outcome as talks started this week, so it was largely already in the price," said Nitesh Shah, base metals analyst at ETF Securities. FUNDAMENTALS * COPPER: Copper up 0.1 percent at $5,815 a tonne at 1616 GMT, after briefly touching a session low of $5,768. It hit the lowest since March 10 at $5,715 the previous session. * ZINC touched a one-week low, down 1.4 percent at $2,818.50 a tonne despite a spate of mine disruptions. * CHINA PREMIUMS: Premiums for copper and zinc deliveries in Shanghai fell. Zinc premiums fell $10 to $105-$115, the lowest since August 2015, while Shanghai copper premiums have fallen to around $45, traders and analysts said, the lowest in around a year. * PERU: Brazilian group Votorantim has halted operations at its zinc smelter Cajamarquilla in Peru while miner Milpo , declared force majeure on Wednesday due to the floods. * ZINC STRIKE: A 3-1/2-week strike at Noranda Income Fund''s zinc processing facility in Quebec is showing no signs of ending, with no talks set between workers and management. * LEAD: eased 0.2 percent, after touching its highest in more than five weeks, adding to the previous sessions gains following a large draw in stocks. * NICKEL: added 0.2 percent to $10,045 a tonne, while aluminium firmed 0.1 percent to $1,924.50 * TIN: was down 0.5 percent at $20,330 a tonne. PRICES'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/global-metals-idUSL3N1H04M9'|'2017-03-23T23:55:00.000+02:00' +'724041b5d0f00e3811540f84ecd6518527e17a46'|'Four more sign up as clearing members of LME''s precious contracts'|' 10am GMT Four more sign up as clearing members of LME''s precious contracts A Commerzbank logo is pictured before the bank''s annual news conference in Frankfurt, Germany, February 9, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski By Jan Harvey - LONDON LONDON Four more financial firms, including Bank of China, have agreed to participate as clearing members in the London Metal Exchange''s new suite of precious metals contracts when they launch on June 5, the LME said on Thursday. Bank of China International ( 601988.SS ), Commerzbank ( CBKG.DE ), Marex Financial and Macquarie Bank have all agreed to take part in the LMEprecious suite of gold products, including spot, futures and options contracts, that the LME announced in August. The LME ( 0388.HK ) is already partnering LMEprecious with the World Gold Council, proprietary trader OSTC, and five banks - ICBC Standard Bank ( 601398.SS ), Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ), Natixis ( CNAT.PA ), Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) and Societe Generale ( SOGN.PA ). The exchange has a 50:50 revenue sharing agreement with EOS Precious Metals formed by these partners. The new clearing members are not a part of EOS. All eight banks, plus Marex, will act as clearing members when the contracts launch in June. "The presence of strong, large Chinese financial institutions is hugely important as part of the LMEPrecious business case," the LME''s interim Chief Executive Matthew Chamberlain said. "We''ve always said this is about strengthening London as the global precious metals centre, it''s about working sympathetically with the over-the-counter market, and we''re really pleased to see those names." The LME said it is in advanced talks with other potential clearing members ahead of the launch. Each clearing member will have to provide a minimum of $1 million to the LMEprecious default fund. "The fact that people are willing to meet that additional default fund contribution further (validates) the potential of LMEPrecious," Chamberlain said. The exchange also outlined fees which will be reviewed annually along with other contracts, but for LMEprecious the first review will not be until December 2018. For contracts ranging from spot to monthly delivery on the LMESelect platform, the LME will charge a transaction fee of between 40 and 50 U.S. cents to members trading and clearing in-house business, depending on the term of the contract. Clients of members will be charged a maximum of 90 U.S. cents. There is a 25 percent discount on fees for business conducted over the telephone, the LME said, adding there were reductions for tom/next -- buying tomorrow and selling the day after. LMEPrecious joins a raft of new products in the gold market, with InterContinental Exchange (ICE), which runs the LBMA Gold Price benchmark, and CPM Group also launching new contracts this year. (Additional reporting by Pratima Desai; Editing by ) South Korea''s Lotte Duty Free says China cyber attacks crashed website SEOUL A cyber attack from China has crashed the website of Lotte Duty Free, a company official said on Thursday, at a time when South Korean firms are reporting difficulties in China following the deployment of a U.S. missile defence system on their home soil.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-gold-lmeprecious-members-idUKKBN1690YH'|'2017-03-02T16:10:00.000+02:00' +'3e03dd9aeaf5a051543024b3ab650b0d3d47cba7'|'PM May wants to see Brexit bill approved without changes - spokesman'|'World 24am EST PM May wants to see Brexit bill approved without changes: spokesman Britain''s Prime Minister Theresa May waits to greet Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahayan at Number 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth LONDON Prime Minister Theresa May wants to see legislation giving her the right to trigger talks for Britain to leave the European Union approved by parliament''s upper house without any changes, her spokesman said on Wednesday. May''s Brexit plan is facing its first major setback, with the House of Lords set to vote later on Wednesday in favor of forcing her to guarantee the future rights of EU nationals living in Britain. "We would hope to see the bill progress unamended," May''s spokesman told reporters. The government has said it wants to guarantee conditions for EU nationals, but says it will only do so when all other member states agree to a reciprocal arrangement for Britons living abroad. "The prime minister has been clear on many occasions that it is an important area for us and it is one that she would hope to see dealt with as a priority once the negotiations get underway," he said. (Reporting by Kylie MacLellan, writing by William James, editing by Elizabeth Piper) Next In World News Iraqi army controls main roads out of Mosul, trapping Islamic State MOSUL, Iraq U.S.-backed Iraqi army units on Wednesday took control of the last major road out of western Mosul that had been in Islamic State''s hands, trapping the militants in a shrinking area within the city, a general and residents said.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-may-idUSKBN1684YU'|'2017-03-01T23:14:00.000+02:00' +'cb218fcdfe54a0f58868c3af6af8bdf7222da1ca'|'PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - March 15'|'March 15 The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.- The reputation of Roundup, whose active ingredient is the world''s most widely used weed killer, took a hit on Tuesday when a federal court unsealed documents raising questions about its safety and the research practices of its manufacturer, the chemical giant Monsanto. nyti.ms/2nDaohj- President Trump rounded out his financial regulatory team on Tuesday, announcing plans to select J. Christopher Giancarlo to run the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. nyti.ms/2n8l9f9- Another Goldman Sachs executive is being hired for a senior government role in Washington this time at the Treasury Department. James Donovan, a longtime Goldman banking and investment management executive, has been named to be the deputy to the Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin. nyti.ms/2mYfFTM- Neiman Marcus, the struggling high-end retailer, is in talks to sell itself to the Hudson''s Bay Company, the Canadian retail giant, according to a person briefed on the discussions. A deal would put Neiman Marcus under the same umbrella as Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor. nyti.ms/2mHHKMS (Compiled by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/press-digest-nyt-idINL3N1GS1ZQ'|'2017-03-15T01:09:00.000+02:00' +'0bac8952567121b1aae372711419c26af98f6d04'|'Dyson plays down hard Brexit concerns as company posts 2.5bn record sales - Business'|'Sir James Dyson , the billionaire investor, has played down concerns that a hard Brexit could harm the UK economy by claiming that World Trade Organisation tariffs have not prevented his technology company from achieving record financial results.Dyson said that WTO tariffs which range from 5% to 10% had not held us back at all and were a tiny penalty to pay for trading with Europe.Other business leaders have warned that the UK economy would be hurt by a hard Brexit from the single market and the introduction of WTO tariffs on trading with Europe. They have claimed that the extra cost of importing and exporting goods would make businesses uncompetitive. Dyson was speaking as his technology company published record annual financial results for 2016. Sales rose 45% year-on-year to 2.5bn for 2016 while underlying profits rose 41% to 631m. The results include a 244% rise in sales in China while UK sales rose by a third. Popular products included Dysons new V8 cordless vacuum cleaner its fastest-selling vacuum cleaner ever and its first hairdryer, the supersonic, which was the second most sold item on John Lewiss website before Christmas, behind chocolate coins.Dyson pays WTO tariffs because it manufactures products in Singapore then exports them around the world, including to Europe.Dyson, a prominent supporter of Brexit before last years referendum , said: They have not held us back at all. It is clearly not a barrier to exporting into Europe.The investor said that the tariffs were a tiny penalty to pay compared to other taxes such as corporation tax.However, he also said that he did not expect the UK to have to fall back on WTO tariffs. I dont believe it will get to that, its not in Europes interests, he said.As part of any Brexit deal Dyson wants Theresa May, the prime minister, to remove foreign students from official immigration figures and particularly protect those studying maths, engineering and science.I wouldnt want the government to target that area. We should make maths, science and engineering students that come to stay in this country welcome here, he said.The tycoon said that the drop in the value of sterling since the referendum has led to Dyson putting up the price of some of its products, although he said the increases varied product-by-product and declined to provide further details.It [the drop in the value of sterling] is not good news for anyone who imports products, he said.Dyson is planning further expansion by opening 25 new shops around the world, including one on Fifth Avenue in New York. The company, which employs 3,500 engineers and scientists, has also committed to a significant expansion in the UK by opening a new 517-acre campus near its base in Wiltshire. The campus is part of a 2.5bn investment into developing new battery technologies and robotics. The size of the campus and the companys work on batteries, robotics and artificial intelligence, has increased speculation that Dyson is developing a driverless electric car , but Dyson has declined to comment on this.Topics Annual results Dyson Ltd James Dyson Retail industry EU referendum and Brexit news Share '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/mar/27/dyson-plays-down-hard-brexit-concerns-as-company-posts-25bn-record-sales'|'2017-03-27T14:00:00.000+03:00' +'19fed20dd6450d1050c782b4b9dd4c1c8f5762cb'|'South Africa''s Gordhan to arrive back home on Tuesday morning - Treasury'|'Company News 31am EDT South Africa''s Gordhan to arrive back home on Tuesday morning - Treasury JOHANNESBURG, March 27 South Africa''s Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan will arrive in the country on Tuesday morning after President Jacob Zuma asked him to return home immediately from an investor roadshow abroad, the Treasury said on Monday. Zuma''s office gave no reason for the decision. Gordhan is currently in London on the first leg of a no-deal investor roadshow. (Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by James Macharia) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/safrica-gordhan-treasury-idUSJ8N1GE02R'|'2017-03-27T22:31:00.000+03:00' +'99abf3c80da968c7edc9bc6d12a24ac6d1a42f3a'|'Packaging group Ardagh surges 19 percent in New York debut'|'By Conor Humphries and Graham Fahy - DUBLIN DUBLIN (Reuters/IFR) - Packaging company Ardagh Group ( ARD.N ) surged 19 percent in its New York debut on Wednesday, valuing the firm at about $5.3 billion after it raised $307.8 million in an initial public offering to help to pay down debt.Shares in the Luxembourg-based supplier of glass and metal containers hit $22.55 at 1622 GMT, 19 percent above their $19 IPO price.Chairman Paul Coulson, who owns about a third of the group, said there were no plans to follow up the IPO with additional issuance."We think weve priced it at the right level," Coulson told Reuters in an interview. "We were very focused on bringing on the right type of investor, and we got a fantastic investor base."He declined to name any investors but said "all the big guys were there" including a couple of large European investors.Coulson has transformed Ardagh from a small, single plant operation to a company that operates out of over 100 facilities in 22 countries.Ardagh, which has been making Dutch brewer Heineken''s ( HEIO.AS ) green beer bottles for over 25 years, has said it will use the proceeds of the IPO to pay down debt which stood at $7.2 billion or over five times its annual earnings last year.Coulson said investors were "extremely comfortable" with the Ardagh''s debt levels and they had not been prescriptive about the rate of deleveraging.The 16.2 million class A common shares issued represented approximately 6.9 percent of Ardagh''s share capital.Ardagh opted for a relatively modest IPO as the group was keen avoid dilution, Coulson said."There may be issuance in the future associated with an acquisition, but not now," he said.The packaging producer, which also counts L''Oreal ( OREP.PA ) and Coca-Cola among its clients, has grown its annual revenue to 7.7 billion euros through a series of acquisitions.It will continue to keep an eye out for acquisition opportunities, Coulson said, but there is "nothing in the traps" at the moment.While the IPO provides a route to public market liquidity for smaller investors in the company, Coulson said he had no plans to offload any of his own shares.(Reporting by Conor Humphries. Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-ardagh-pkg-gr-ipo-idINKBN16M2MM'|'2017-03-15T14:29:00.000+02:00' +'2dd0a293afd2f064b94f309c84ee36fdb72ac644'|'BRIEF-Pilot Gold reports initial 2017 exploration budget at Goldstrike at $5.98 mln'|' 37am EDT BRIEF-Pilot Gold reports initial 2017 exploration budget at Goldstrike at $5.98 mln March 31 Pilot Gold Inc: * Pilot Gold reports year-end financial and operating results * Pilot Gold Inc - initial 2017 exploration program and budget at Goldstrike is $5.98 million * Pilot Gold Inc - appointment of Dr. Joanna Bailey as chief financial officer and corporate secretary, effective April 4, 2017 * Pilot Gold Inc - Bailey will replace john wenger * Pilot Gold - in Feb 2017, co applied for an additional notice of intent for a further 1.8 acres of disturbance in property''s mineral mountain area * Pilot Gold Inc - company''s share of budgeted expenditures at Kinsley for 2017 program is $0.42 million * Expect to receive approval on a full plan of operations in response to NOI by end of Q2 2017 * Pilot Gold Inc - 2017 budget for Black Pine Property is approximately $0.39 million Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-pilot-gold-reports-initial-2017-ex-idUSASB0B7VQ'|'2017-03-31T18:37:00.000+03:00' +'864a0fbc69f18e5c5ce5696a0563644f21c6f5d5'|'Uber president Jeff Jones quits as turmoil continues'|' 51pm GMT Uber president Jeff Jones quits as turmoil continues FILE PHOTO - A taxi is reflected in a window at the office of taxi-hailing service Uber Inc in Hong Kong, China August 12, 2015. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo By Heather Somerville - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Ride services company Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] has been thrust deeper into turmoil with the departure of company president Jeff Jones, a marketing expert hired to help bolster its reputation. Jones quit less than seven months after joining the San Francisco company, an Uber spokesman said on Sunday. The reasons for his departure were not immediately clear, but Jones'' role was put into question after Uber earlier this month launched a search for a chief operating officer to help run the company alongside Chief Executive Travis Kalanick. Jones had been performing some of those COO responsibilities. He joined Uber from Target, where he was chief marketing officer and is credited with modernizing the retailer''s brand. "We want to thank Jeff for his six months at the company and wish him all the best," an Uber spokesman said in an emailed statement. Jones is the latest in a string of high-level executives to leave the company. Last month, engineering executive Amit Singhal was asked to resign amid a sexual harassment allegation stemming from his previous job at Alphabet Inc''s Google. Earlier this month, Ed Baker, Uber''s vice president of product and growth, and Charlie Miller, Uber''s top security researcher, departed. Technology news site Recode first reported Jones'' departure on Sunday. Uber, while it has long had a reputation as an aggressive and unapologetic startup, has been battered with multiple controversies over the last several weeks that have put Kalanick''s leadership capabilities and the company''s future into question. A former Uber employee last month published a blog post describing a workplace where sexual harassment was common and went unpunished. The blog post prompted an internal investigation that is being led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. Then, Bloomberg released a video that showed Kalanick berating a Uber driver who had complained about cuts to rates paid to drivers, resulting in Kalanick making a public apology. And earlier this month Uber confirmed it had used a secret technology program dubbed "Greyball," which effectively changes the app view for specific riders, to evade authorities in cities where the service has been banned. Uber has since prohibited the use of Greyball to target local regulators. Jones joined Uber in August and was widely expected to be Kalanick''s No. 2. Jones was tasked with overseeing the bulk of Uber''s global operations, including leading the ride-hailing program, running local Uber services in every city, marketing and customer service, and working with drivers. (Reporting by Heather Somerville; Editing by Alistair Bell) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-uber-jeffjones-idUKKBN16Q0X5'|'2017-03-20T05:51:00.000+02:00' +'ee6b57848fc4d68fae770c541223ab368a8e4cde'|'Oil prices hit three-month low on expanding U.S. inventories'|'Wed Mar 22, 2017 - 9:59am GMT Oil prices slide on bulging U.S. crude inventories An oil pump jack can be seen in Cisco, Texas, August 23, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Stone By Edmund Blair - LONDON LONDON Oil prices slipped back to three-month lows on Wednesday after data showed U.S. crude inventories rising faster than expected, piling pressure on OPEC to extend output cuts beyond June. A deal between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and some non-OPEC producers to reduce output by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in the first half of 2017 has had little impact on bulging global stockpiles of oil. Benchmark Brent crude was down 82 cents at $50.14 per barrel at 0936 GMT (5:36 a.m. ET), after dropping to $50.05, its lowest level since OPEC announced on Nov. 30 its plan for cuts. The deal with non-OPEC states was reached in December. U.S. light crude was down 70 cents at $47.54 a barrel, also slipping toward a three-month low. "The lower the price goes, the higher the pressure on OPEC to extend cuts," Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch said. Sources have said OPEC is inclined to extend but wants backing from non-OPEC producers, including Russia, even though such countries have yet to deliver fully on existing cuts. On Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute reported U.S. inventories climbed by 4.5 million barrels to 533.6 million last week, a bigger rise than the 2.8 million analysts forecast. Investors now want to see whether Wednesday''s figures from the Energy Information Administration, a unit of the Department of Energy (DoE), confirm the rise. "A look below $50 (for Brent) is quite possible today if DoE data show a similar pattern, but it''s impossible to say how far below $50," Commerzbank''s Fritsch said. U.S. shale oil producers have been adding rigs, pushing up the country''s oil production to about 9.1 million bpd, from around 8.5 million bpd in late 2016. "OPEC''s market intervention has not yet resulted in significant visible inventory drawdowns, and the financial markets have lost patience," U.S. bank Jefferies said in a note. The bank said OPEC-led cuts would start having an impact in the second half of 2017, but added that U.S. crude production was expected to grow by 360,000 bpd in 2017 and 1 million bpd in 2018. U.S. bank Goldman Sachs warned its clients in a note this week that a U.S. shale-led production surge "could create a material oversupply in 2018-19". (Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Dale Hudson) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUKKBN16T03H'|'2017-03-22T18:22:00.000+02:00' +'d8c413c71f4edc54deb7e9305c6a832919e1c5d7'|'Cargill says Macquarie Group to buy its petroleum business'|'Cargill Inc [CARG.UL] on Thursday said Australian bank Macquarie Group Ltd will buy its petroleum business with the transaction expected to close later this year.The global commodities trader will continue to operate in the energy industry.Cargill has spent the past year streamlining its business amid a nearly three-year slump in global commodity prices. In January, sources said that Cargill sold its U.S. gas and power business to commodities trader and investor TrailStone Group.J.P. Morgan acted as exclusive financial advisor to Cargill on this transaction.(Reporting by Eileen Soreng and Vijaykumar Vedala in Bengaluru; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-cargill-inc-divestiture-macquarie-gro-idINKBN16N20A'|'2017-03-16T11:22:00.000+02:00' +'c4535a72306f119ac28fb2280aa24358b0a216bb'|'BRIEF-Merus Labs responds to Reuters News article'|' 49pm EST BRIEF-Merus Labs responds to Reuters News article Feb 28 Merus Labs International Inc * Merus Labs responds to Reuters News article * Currently using Rothschild to provide investment banking and financial advisory services * Merus Labs International - Aware of a news story from Reuters suggesting that it has hired Rothschild & Co. to explore strategic alternatives * Merus Labs-Rothschild supporting Co in evaluation of broad range of options related to capital structure, product acquisitions, corporate deals * Merus Labs International - Does not intend to comment further except as required by applicable securities laws or policies of Toronto Stock Exchange Source text for Eikon: Uber CEO says he must ''grow up'' after argument with driver SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 28 Uber Technologies Inc Chief Executive Travis Kalanick on Tuesday said it was time for him to "grow up" and get help after a video was published showing him getting into an argument with a driver for the ride service who complained about pay rates. Feb 28 General Motors Co on Tuesday said it plans to sell its majority ownership stake in General Motors East Africa to its Japanese partner Isuzu Motors Ltd, as the U.S. carmaker continues to streamline by exiting non-core operations. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-merus-labs-responds-to-reuters-new-idUSFWN1GD1AI'|'2017-03-01T10:49:00.000+02:00' +'1c747789c164b3e2165bab1d24418c3e1d345e0b'|'Car shopping site CarGurus hires banks for U.S. IPO -sources'|'Deals 2:42pm EDT Car shopping site CarGurus hires banks for U.S. IPO: sources By Liana B. Baker - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO CarGurus, a popular website where consumers go to browse cars, has tapped investment banks for an initial public offering later this year, according to people familiar with the matter. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company is aiming to go public in the fourth quarter of the year at a valuation of more than $1 billion, the people said on Tuesday. CarGurus has hired bookrunners to lead the IPO, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential. The timing of the IPO could still change, they added. Online news provider Axios, which first reported on the IPO plans earlier on Tuesday, said the company hired Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) and Allen & Co to lead the offering. CarGurus and Allen & Co could not be reached for comment. Goldman Sachs declined to comment. Allen & Co investment banker Ian Smith sits on CarGurus'' board, according to its website.CarGurus joins a growing list of private tech companies looking to go public this year following the IPO of messaging app Snapchat''s owner, Snap Inc ( SNAP.N ). Enterprise software firms MuleSoft Inc ( MULE.N ) and Alteryx Inc ALYX.N have also made successful offerings in the past few weeks. The move comes as more consumers grow comfortable with online used-car purchases. Shares of one of CarGurus'' competitors, TrueCar Inc ( TRUE.O ), a car-shopping service that went public in 2014, have surged 184 percent in the last 12 months. Earlier this month, Reuters reported that Carvana LLC, which allows customers to pick up cars they buy on the internet from vending machine-like towers, has tapped investment banks for an initial public offering. Langley Steinert, who co-founded travel reviews website TripAdvisor, started CarGurus in 2006 with about $5 million in funding from individual investors. While it is mostly focused on the United States and Canada, it has started a push to expand into Europe. The company makes money from the network of car dealers who pay to post their inventory on the website. Demand for cars, sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks has remained robust among U.S. consumers, even as it dipped slightly in February to an annualized pace of 17.6 million vehicles, compared with 17.7 million a year earlier, according to Autodata Corp. (Reporting by Liana B. Baker in San Francisco; Editing by Matthew Lewis) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cargurus-ipo-idUSKBN16Z2MR'|'2017-03-29T02:38:00.000+03:00' +'22998aad72e07a669edf48cfa1232ff6b0c2a9d9'|'EU Commission regrets ''artificially inflated'' U.S. steel duties'|'Business News - Fri Mar 31, 2017 - 11:55am BST EU Commission regrets ''artificially inflated'' U.S. steel duties A red-hot steel plate passes through a press at the ArcelorMittal steel plant in Ghent, Belgium, July 7, 2016. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir/File Photo BRUSSELS The European Commission said on Friday it regretted a U.S. decision to impose anti-dumping measures on steel plate exported from Europe, adding that the duties were "artificially inflated". The U.S. Department of Commerce set duties of up to 148 percent on cut-to-length plate from seven producers from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, prompting Germany to urge the EU to file a WTO complaint. The Commission had been active during the procedure supporting the European exporters concerned, a spokesman said. "Unfortunately, our comments and notably those concerning the use by the US of methodologies which artificially inflate the preliminary dumping margins have not been given expected consideration," the spokesman said. The final duties were in many cases higher than the preliminary duties set in November. "We will look now into the detail of the decision taken by the US and consider the appropriate steps," he continued. (Reporting By Philip Blenkinsop; editing by Robert-Jan Bartunek) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-steel-plate-eu-idUKKBN1721BX'|'2017-03-31T18:55:00.000+03:00' +'c28c149d9af776fe5ddbd3498cf3888b23cda80d'|'Post-Fed boost for small-cap stocks may be limited - Reuters'|'By Caroline Valetkevitch - NEW YORK NEW YORK Small-cap stocks benefited from a dovish lining to the U.S. Federal Reserve''s decision to raise interest rates this past week, but strategists warn it will take more to make these pricey stocks outperform their larger brethren in the long haul.The Fed on Wednesday raised rates by a quarter of a percentage point, as expected, but did not flag any plan to accelerate the pace of monetary tightening. A less aggressive monetary policy may benefit small-caps, which tend to get hit harder as borrowing costs increase when rates rise.Stocks in the small-cap space rallied after the Nov. 8 election that put Donald Trump in the White House as investors bet Trump''s plans to cut back on regulations and taxes would especially help small companies.That hasn''t panned out in the new year, as they have underperformed the S&P 500 year-to-date. Their near-term performance hinges on how much the profit picture improves, but so far small-cap earnings have yet to rebound in the same way that large caps have.Investors consider small-cap stocks comparatively expensive."We''re in a show-me state for small caps," said Steve DeSanctis, equity strategist at Jefferies. "We''ve gotten (price-to-earnings) multiple expansion, so you need earnings growth."Fourth-quarter earnings for companies in the small-cap S&P 600 .SPCY were down 1.0 percent from a year ago, while the benchmark S&P 500''s earnings .SPX rose 7.8 percent, Thomson Reuters data show.Analysts expect profit growth for the S&P 600 in the first quarter of 2017, but at a rate still well below that of the S&P 500.The S&P 600 is up just 1.4 percent since Dec. 31, after rising 24.7 percent in 2016. The S&P 500 by comparison has gained 6.2 percent since the start of the year.At 20.4 times forward earnings estimates, the S&P 600 looks expensive compared with its long-term average of 17, Thomson Reuters data showed. The S&P 500 trades at about 17.8 times forward earnings, also above its long-term average.The Russell 2000 , a widely used gauge for small-caps, has a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 25.4, brushing against its highest level since 2009. Its 10-year average sits at 20.7."Growth and the interest rate trajectory are going to be two key factors," said Dan Suzuki, senior U.S. equity strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York. He thinks small caps may have more room to gain in the short run, especially if earnings surprise to the upside, but that valuations remains a negative.On the flip side, rising rates also tend to boost the U.S. dollar, which would have a bigger negative impact on large-cap multinationals as a stronger dollar weighs on offshore revenues when they are translated into the U.S. currency.Investors also worry that any tax reductions under the Trump administration may not come for many months, or even until 2018."Small-caps generally pay more in terms of U.S. corporate taxes," said Nicholas Colas, chief market strategist at Convergex, a global brokerage company based in New York."You can somewhat view small-caps as a bit of a proxy for confidence in the tax reduction piece of the Trump economic plan."(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by Daniel Bases and Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-weekahead-idINKBN16O2VH'|'2017-03-17T20:32:00.000+02:00' +'5c9dfd6cb21358afbdc780fc9ec74c0030739280'|'Exclusive - EIB asks French diesel inquiry to probe Renault''s use of loans'|' 12pm GMT Exclusive - EIB asks French diesel inquiry to probe Renault''s use of loans FILE PHOTO: An entrance sign is seen at French car manufacturer Renault''s research centre, the Technocentre, in Guyancourt, near Paris, France, January 14, 2016. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/File Photo By Laurence Frost and Gilles Guillaume - PARIS PARIS The European Investment Bank has asked French investigators to find out whether 800 million euros (693 million pounds) of EU-backed loans to Renault ( RENA.PA ) could have been used to develop test-cheating diesel engines, according to documents seen by Reuters. The European Union lending arm wrote to judges leading a fraud investigation into preliminary findings that Renault diesel engines - like Volkswagen''s ( VOWG_p.DE ) - had been configured to manipulate nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions tests. Renault, which has consistently denied breaking any laws or emissions rules, had no immediate comment on Friday. The Luxembourg-based European Investment Bank (EIB) and Paris prosecutor''s office did not respond to requests for comment. Since 2009, the EIB has granted more than 8 billion euros in preferential loans to back development of vehicles with lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by carmakers including VW, exposed in 2015 for using software "defeat devices" to dupe U.S. regulatory tests. Technologies funded by the EIB have included diesel engines, because they emit less CO2 than gasoline equivalents. More recently, however, diesels have been shown to produce many times the legal limit of toxic NOx in real driving. "The EIB has granted Renault several loans to finance projects including research and development to reduce vehicle CO2 emissions (amounting to more than 800 million euros)," the bank''s chief fraud investigator told the French judges. The Jan. 30 letter also proposes a follow-up meeting "in order to establish whether our financing is implicated in your investigations and to offer you all possible assistance." It adds: "The EIB enforces a zero-tolerance policy towards fraud and corruption and strives to ensure that no illegal activity tarnishes its business." MARKET FALLOUT Renault shares fell 7.8 percent in three days to end last week at 78.65 euros after excerpts of a November report by France''s DGCCRF consumer fraud watchdog appeared in newspapers, wiping 2 billion euros off the company''s value. The stock has since recovered some ground to 80.37 euros, as of 1210 GMT. Based on the agency''s findings, prosecutors opened an investigation in January into fraud allegations against Renault and its Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn. If found guilty, the group could be fined up to 10 percent of annual revenue, or 3.58 billion euros. The DGCCRF report, also seen by Reuters, cites engine software parameters from Renault''s own technical documentation that partially or entirely deactivate anti-pollution functions such as exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and "lean NOx traps" (LNT) outside predictable regulatory test conditions. "The use of software in the (engine) calculator to limit the effectiveness of anti-pollution devices mainly or exclusively to vehicle approval tests is a strategy that Renault has implemented," the DGCCRF concluded. Renault has argued in press briefings that the limits on emissions control were necessary to protect its engines while maintaining driving performance and fuel efficiency, and therefore allowed under current EU rules. The carmaker has nonetheless recalled almost 11,500 cars to tweak engine calibrations and reduce NOx emissions - a handful of the 900,000 sold in France with the controversial software. Changes will include extending the narrow range of air intake temperatures within which the EGR is programmed to work. In France''s climate, the calibration renders the anti-pollution device virtually useless for seven months of the year, Renault itself concedes in company documents also seen by Reuters. The EIB, the world''s biggest multilateral lender with almost 80 billion euros granted each year, has faced scrutiny over its funding to carmakers in light of the "dieselgate" scandal and subsequent investigations in France and other countries. VW, which has set aside 22.6 billion euros to cover its U.S. criminal settlement and other costs, was awarded 400 million euros by the bank in 2009 to develop "green technologies". The German carmaker''s use of EIB funds has been "very thoroughly" investigated, bank President Werner Hoyer was quoted as saying at a January news conference. "We have not found any indication that our loans might have been used for fraudulent purposes." (Reporting by Laurence Frost; Editing by Mark Potter) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-renault-diesel-eib-exclusive-idUKKBN16V1N5'|'2017-03-24T21:12:00.000+03:00' +'be9e48ce46f24938bc0877c7435082b7d834dde4'|'UBS says facing trial in French tax case'|' 47am GMT UBS faces French trial over long-running tax case FILE PHOTO: The logo of Swiss bank UBS is seen on a branch office in Zurich, Switzerland November 8, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo ZURICH UBS ( UBSG.S ) and its French subsidiary face a trial in France after authorities laid out charges against the Swiss bank, marking an escalation of a long-running probe into allegations they helped wealthy clients avoid taxes. "We will now have the possibility to respond in detail in a court of law," UBS said in an emailed statement on Monday. "UBS has made clear that the bank disagrees with the allegations, assumptions and legal interpretations being made." A spokesman for UBS said the bank could not comment on the date of the trial. French magistrates have ordered that UBS stand trial for aggravated tax fraud and money laundering as well as illegally offering related services, a judicial source said. Magistrates were expected this week to order a trial in the case, Reuters reported on Sunday, after negotiations failed to produce a settlement in the long-running probe into allegations UBS helped clients avoid taxes. French newspaper JDD said UBS had rejected a 1.1 billion euro ($1.18 billion) settlement proposed by prosecutors. The JDD quoted Markus Diethelm, UBS''s group general counsel, as saying a 1.1 billion euro payment was "unthinkable" and out of line with similar settlements reached in other countries. UBS settled a tax case with German authorities in 2014 for around 300 million euros. (Reporting by Joshua Franklin in Zurich and Laurence Frost in Paris; Editing by Michael Shields and Alexander Smith) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-ubs-group-taxavoidance-idUKKBN16R0T2'|'2017-03-20T17:08:00.000+02:00' +'b2e6d82579f8c17311c683618720269e542a7ac0'|'Unilever review covers costs, deals, balance sheet - FT'|'Business News - Wed Mar 15, 2017 - 10:39am GMT Unilever review covers costs, deals, balance sheet - FT The company logo for Unilever is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., February 17, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid LONDON Unilever ( ULVR.L ) ( UNc.AS ) is considering returning cash to shareholders, making medium-sized acquisitions and more aggressive cost cuts as part of its business review, the Financial Times reported. The Anglo-Dutch maker of Knorr soups, Dove soap and Ben & Jerry''s ice cream rebuffed a surprise $143 billion (117.4 billion pounds) takeover offer from Kraft Heinz ( KHC.O ) last month. Chief Financial Officer Graeme Pitkethly said at a conference the week after the bid was made public that Unilever would review its options including examining its portfolio, organisation, cost structures, balance sheet and uses of cash. "We do see it as an inflection point," Pitkethly said at the conference in Florida. Unilever declined to comment on possible outcomes of the review, whose results will be announced in April. Separating the company''s food business from its home and personal care businesses is unlikely, the FT said, citing people close to the company, though it is accelerating efforts to dispose of its struggling spreads division. Unilever is also considering raising its net debt to 2.5 or 3 times earnings before interest, tax and depreciation, from 1 times now, the FT said. At 2.5 times, Unilever would have 29 billion euros to spend by 2020, according to Andrew Wood, analyst at Bernstein, who suggested mid-sized deals such as Reckitt Benckiser''s ( RB.L ) home business could be a good fit. Unilever''s division heads have been told to review their operations with the aim of boosting shareholder returns, the FT said. The company has already announced a program to save 1 billion euros by 2018. (Reporting by Martinne Geller; editing by Jason Neely) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-unilever-review-idUKKBN16M1BH'|'2017-03-15T17:39:00.000+02:00' +'8fdf05c4c102a7a9da4f45cde64e1d029d91ac45'|'Stung by widespread criticism, BT vows to up its game'|'Business 52am GMT Stung by widespread criticism, BT vows to up its game The logo for the British Telecom group is seen outside of offices in the City of London, Britain, January 16 , 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON BT ( BT.L ), Britain''s biggest telecoms group, vowed to improve its customer service for both the millions of residential consumers and the other telecoms companies that rely on its network after being stung by widespread criticism. Chief Executive Gavin Patterson said the company had been taken aback by the criticism it received in a regulatory review of the industry which focused on BT''s Openreach unit that runs the national broadband network. "Around the DCR (Digital Communications Review), I think it is fair to say we underestimated the degree of criticism in our service and in our levels of investment, this has eroded trust in our brand," he said at the Deloitte and Enders Analysis Media & Telecoms conference on Thursday. "We have listened to that criticism and we hope to agree a settlement that protects the millions of UK households, businesses and service providers that rely on our infrastructure." He said Openreach was "completely open to a more engaged industrial debate about the future of our network with all Openreach customers". "When it comes to our (consumer and business) customers, let me be absolutely clear, our service must get better." (Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Kate Holton) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bt-group-ceo-customers-idUKKBN16919R'|'2017-03-02T17:52:00.000+02:00' +'efd9cb3502ac830786953c9cf9e8ab94ae81d6f2'|'Fallout: Westinghouse files for bankruptcy'|'THERE are few more storied innovators than Westinghouse. Founded in 1886, it is the company that brought electricity to the masses. When you plug in your toaster or flip your light switch, you have George Westinghouses alternating-current system to thank. In the 21st century the firm seemed poised to unleash a new revolution in nuclear energy. Its AP1000 pressurised water reactor was supposed to make nuclear plants simpler and cheaper to build, helping to jump-start projects in America and around the world.But those nuclear ambitions have gone awry. On March 29th the firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New York. Its troubles have been a running sore at Toshiba, its Japanese parent, a headache for its creditors, and the latest bad tidings for a nuclear industry beset with problems.Latest updates South Africas president sacks the finance minister in a cabinet reshuffle Middle East and Africa an hour ago South Koreas ex-president is arrested on charges of bribery and abuse of power Asia 4 hours ago A 4 hours ago The 6 hours ago Democrats 17 19 Toshiba was triumphant in 2006 when it paid $5.4bn for Westinghouse after a bidding war, beating out General Electric (founded by George Westinghouses archrival, Thomas Edison). Around the same time, Southern and SCANA, two big utilities based in Georgia and South Carolina, respectively, chose the AP1000 design for new nuclear plants.But these American projects soon faced the problems that have long plagued nuclear construction. In Westinghouses bankruptcy filing, the company explains a dismal chain reaction. Unexpected new safety and other requirements from American regulators caused delays and additional costs. That sparked a fight between the utilities, Westinghouse and its construction contractor, a subsidiary of Chicago Bridge & Iron (CB&I), about who should bear them. The brawl exacerbated delays.In an attempt to push the projects forward, Westinghouse acquired CB&Is subsidiary, then became mired in litigation over the terms of the deal. It also signed new contracts with consortia led by Southern and SCANA, agreeing to shoulder unanticipated costs. Those costs mounted. Construction continued swallowing more time and labour than Westinghouse had hoped. In February Toshiba announced a $6.1bn write-down for the two American projects. Stephen Byrd of Morgan Stanley, a bank, anticipates that the total costs of the plants, if completed, would be about twice Westinghouses original estimate.The nuclear business has imperilled Toshiba itself. The companys health had improved in the aftermath of a huge accounting scandal in 2015, but its nuclear unit dragged it back down. Toshiba now appears desperate to shrink as a way to grow. It was eager for Westinghouse to file for bankruptcy before the end of its financial year. It also intends to sell its lucrative chip business. Shrinking might indeed help Toshiba focus on its strengths, as a specialist in the design and production of heavy machines such as turbines, coolers, motors and control systems.But the Westinghouse bankruptcy is unlikely to be neat. Southern and SCANA may go to court to seek payment from Toshiba: the Japanese company has guaranteed 650bn ($5.9bn) against the spiralling cost of the projects. Any suggestion that Toshiba is bilking the utilities would anger Donald Trump. The AP1000 projects future was recently discussed in a meeting of officials from America and Japan.The degree of diplomatic friction depends on what happens to the projects. Westinghouse expects to continue working on the reactors in Georgia and South Carolina as bankruptcy proceedings go on, but the utilities may abandon the plants or seek another firm to build them. There have been rumours that Korea Electric Power, a state-controlled utility, might take over, but Westinghouses steep losses may keep it away. This has bankrupted Westinghouse, says Mr Byrd. Why would another firm step into that situation?The future for other AP1000 reactors looks bleak. A plant in China is years behind schedule. In America, the troubles in Georgia and South Carolina may bolster support for more modest nuclear projects, says Tyson Smith, a nuclear-energy expert at Winston & Strawn, a law firm. On March 15th the countrys nuclear regulator said it would review an application for Americas first small modular nuclear reactor (SMR), from a company called NuScale, in Oregon. The SMR technology has been touted as a cheaper, easier way to build nuclear capacity. But it will have to compete with inexpensive natural gas, wind farms and solar plants. Those hoping for an American nuclear resurgence may have to wait a long time yet.'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21719836-global-nuclear-power-industry-beset-problems-westinghouse-files-bankruptcy?fsrc=rss'|'2017-04-01T08:00:00.000+03:00' +'c532e49cfbc77534c318f68b100c8c4a42a5ac90'|'RPT-North Korean hacking group behind recent attacks on banks -Symantec'|'Company 2:05am EDT RPT-North Korean hacking group behind recent attacks on banks -Symantec (Repeats with no changes in text) By Jim Finkle BOSTON, March 15 A North Korean hacking group known as Lazarus was likely behind a recent cyber campaign targeting organizations in 31 countries, following high-profile attacks on Bangladesh Bank, Sony and South Korea, cyber security firm Symantec Corp said on Wednesday. Symantec said in a blog that researchers have uncovered four pieces of digital evidence suggesting the Lazarus group was behind the campaign that sought to infect victims with "loader" software used to stage attacks by installing other malicious programs. "We are reasonably certain" Lazarus was responsible, Symantec researcher Eric Chien said in an interview. The North Korean government has denied allegations it was involved in the hacks, which were made by officials in Washington and Seoul, as well as security firms. U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation representatives could not immediately be reached for comment. Symantec did not identify targeted organizations and said it did not know if any money had been stolen. Nonetheless, Symantec said the claim was significant because the group used a more sophisticated targeting approach than in previous campaigns. "This represents a significant escalation of the threat," said Dan Guido, chief executive of Trail of Bits, which does consulting to banks and the U.S. government. Lazarus has already been blamed for a string of hacks dating back to at least 2009, including last year''s $81 million heist from Bangladesh''s central bank, the 2014 hack of Sony Pictures Entertainment that crippled its network for weeks and a long-running campaign against organizations in South Korea. Guido, who reviewed Symantec''s finding, said that it was troubling to see a hacking group focus on attacking banks using increasingly sophisticated techniques. "This is a dangerous development," he said. Symantec, which has one of the world''s largest teams of malware researchers, regularly analyzes emerging cyber threats to help can defend businesses, governments and consumers that use its security products. The firm analyzed the hacking campaign last month when news surfaced that Polish banks had been infected with malware. At the time, Symantec said it had "weak evidence" to blame Lazarus. Reuters has been unable to ascertain what happened in that attack. Polands biggest bank lobbying group, ZBP, in February said the sector was targeted in a cyber attack, but did not provide further details. Government authorities declined comment on the incident. Authorities in Poland could not be reached for comment late on Wednesday. Symantec said the latest campaign was launched by infecting websites that intended victims were likely to visit, which is known as a "watering hole" attack. The malware was programmed to only infect visitors whose IP address showed they were from 104 specific organizations in 31 countries, according to Symantec. The largest number were in Poland, followed by the United States, Mexico, Brazil and Chile. (Reporting by Jim Finkle; Additional reporting by Pawel Florkiewicz in Warsaw; Editing by David Gregorio) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/cyber-northkorea-symantec-idUSL2N1GT09O'|'2017-03-16T13:05:00.000+02:00' +'8b08b42df0e318136bdc6b1c4957b18b4dbddedf'|'Semiconductor firm X-FAB to raise 250 mln euros in IPO in Paris'|'Semiconductor firm X-FAB Silicon Foundries plans to raise 250 million euros ($265 million) in an initial public offering (IPO) on Paris Euronext to fund acquisitions and strengthen its capital structure.The listing looks set to be the biggest in Paris so far this year and one of the largest in Europe by proceeds, according to Thomson Reuters data.The intended IPO will consist of the issuance of primary shares totaling approximately 250 million euros and a secondary offer consisting of shares currently held by minority shareholders, a statement from the company said.(Reporting by Dasha Afanasieva; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-xfab-ipo-idINKBN16E0NQ'|'2017-03-07T04:15:00.000+02:00' +'a76476affaffc73575658e4fef7b2cad76913738'|'ECB''s Villeroy warns against Le Pen''s euro exit plans'|' 10:18am GMT ECB''s Villeroy warns against Le Pen''s euro exit plans Governor of the Bank of France Francois Villeroy de Galhau in Berlin, Germany, September 23, 2016. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt PARIS Ditching the euro to return to the franc would harm the purchasing power of the French and increase government borrowing costs, European Central Bank policymaker Francois Villeroy de Galhau said in an interview on Saturday. In a veiled warning against far-right party leader Marine Le Pen''s euro-exit plans, Villeroy said the euro had brought low borrowing costs and protection against inflation. Villeroy, who is also the head of France''s central bank, did not mention Le Pen by name. "Exiting the euro and devaluating our currency by 20 percent would mean that the cost of imported goods would increase by the same amount," he told the Ouest France newspaper in an interview published on the 60th anniversary of the European Union''s founding treaty. Euro membership has allowed France to benefit from lower borrowing costs, leading to savings of 30-60 billion euros per year, Villeroy said, adding that ditching the currency would mean giving up those savings. Some 72 percent of French voters oppose a return to the franc, an Ifop poll published in Le Figaro daily showed. But there is a sharp difference between people who plan to vote for Le Pen in the April 23 first round of the presidential election and others. Some 67 percent of Le Pen voters back ditching the euro, the survey showed. Le Pen has said she would seek to renegotiate France''s EU membership with the aim of returning to the franc and cutting back the bloc to a loose cooperative of nations. She would put the outcome of the talks to a referendum. Opinion polls see her qualifying for the May 7 presidential election run-off but losing it to the centrist, pro-EU Emmanuel Macron. But there are many undecided voters. (Reporting by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Mark Potter) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-election-villeroy-euro-idUKKBN16W0CI'|'2017-03-25T18:18:00.000+03:00' +'9051266e32f6d6f44fc74d4f15899f436ef481d0'|'Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen announces an interest rate increase video - Business'|'Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen announces an interest rate increase video The Federal Reserve chair, Janet Yellen, announced on Wednesday that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates. This raise is the second hike in three months, a move Yellen said was spurred by steady economic growth, strong job gains and confidence that inflation was rising to the central banks targetStocks rise but dollar slides after Federal Reserve raises US interest rates live updates View more sharing options Share Close Source: ReutersWednesday 15 March 2017 21.02 GMT Topics Federal Reserve Janet Yellen US economy Economics'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/video/2017/mar/15/federal-reserve-chair-janet-yellen-interest-rates-video'|'2017-03-16T04:02:00.000+02:00' +'a91d60ad924450b7a765b43e9a237f6a4a496575'|'The death of the mortgage salesman is unfortunately premature - Money'|'W e thought the commission hungry salesman had been consigned to the museum of financial horrors, next to the exhibits on Equitable Life and endowment mortgages. But are these relics in fact still alive and crawling back into the mainstream?On the quiet the major mortgage lenders have begun making retention payouts to brokers, alongside the procuration fees they have long paid. If you have no idea what this means then thats probably the idea to keep you in the dark.The procuration fee is the commission a lender pays to the mortgage broker who procures the business of a first-time buyer or mover. Historically, the fee has been around 0.35%-0.4% of the sum borrowed, which means bonuses all round as house prices (and mortgage sizes) have gone up. On a 200,000 mortgage, for example, it means the broker pockets around 800. Some firms, such as London & Country, consider that enough, but other brokers will additionally charge either a flat-rate fee of around 500, or a percentage-based fee of around 0.25%, which means they make a total of around 1,300 from you.On buy-to-let mortgages the commission rates paid by the banks and building societies are higher, usually around 0.5%, which may explain why they are promoted so heavily. And remember, you have to pay the separate arrangement fee (aka the booking or completion fee) to the lender as well, which is usually around 500-1,000 on a fixed-rate deal. All in all it means you are parting with as much as 2,300 in fees when you take out a mortgage and then face paying it all again when the deal period comes to an end.Around 60% of mortgages in the UK go through brokers, so the commission sums paid out by the lenders are vast. Last year, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, new lending was around 245bn, so we can assume the brokers cut is at least 500m.But none of this is new, if barely understood by most homebuyers. What has emerged in recent months is the number of lenders who have introduced retention fees. Until now, commissions have largely only been paid to brokers arranging new mortgages for first-time buyers and landlords, or for existing homeowners and landlords remortgaging to a new lender.Now, however, lenders are paying commissions to brokers who simply roll you over from one two-year deal to another at the same lender. This month, Santander starting paying them, with a minimum cost of 400. Nationwide, which had long held out against them, is introducing them from this summer. NatWest and TSB have also agreed to start paying retention fees.The commission rate is lower than for standard business mostly around 0.2% but brokers are rubbing their hands in glee. Retention business is huge at 80bn-100bn a year it is the largest slice of the mortgage market. If half of that goes through brokers its worth around 200m a year. Thats 200m that wasnt being paid out in the past, and will have to be found from somewhere. Will it (a) mean shareholders of the banks will receive lower dividends; or (b) be passed on to the customer? Ill leave you to work that one out.Brokers argue the commission should be seen as an administration fee, as they now carry out a lot of the legwork traditionally done by the lender from affordability checks to regulatory and compliance paperwork. They also say Halifax has always paid retention fees, which hasnt distorted the market.But commissions always create incentives to behave in particular ways. Should a mortgage broker recommend you take a five-year fix or a 10-year fix? Or will they say that a two-year fix is in your best interest when it might actually be in the best interests of the broker, who can earn commission again in 24 months time?Topics Mortgages On reflection Financial advisers Family finances comment '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/blog/2017/mar/25/death-salesman-premature-mortgage-lenders-brokers-retention-fees'|'2017-03-25T15:00:00.000+03:00' +'e1013577dbb834a7d98d284a4d5673599dee6f87'|'Dollar crunched, bonds boosted as Fed goes gradual'|'Business News - Wed Mar 15, 2017 - 11:27pm GMT Dollar crunched, bonds boosted as Fed goes gradual left right Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen speaks during a news conference after a two day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in Washington, U.S., March 15, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas 1/2 left right A man counts U.S dollars at a money exchange office in central Cairo, Egypt, March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany 2/2 By Wayne Cole - SYDNEY SYDNEY The dollar nursed bitter losses in Asia on Thursday while sovereign bonds savoured their biggest rally in nine months after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates as expected but signalled no pick up in the pace of tightening. The euro got an added bonus when exit polls showed the anti-EU party of Geert Wilders won fewer seats than expected in Dutch elections, soothing fears that public opinion was swinging inexorably towards a break-up of the union. The sigh of relief was heard across Asia as investors had feared faster U.S. hikes and more political upheaval in Europe could spook funds out of emerging markets. "The Fed makes the world safe for risk until June," said CitiFX strategist Steven Englander. "Buy emerging market FX, equities, commodities." Somebody seemed to be listening as gold, copper and oil all rallied as the dollar dropped. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.7 percent to its highest since mid-2015. The Dow had ended Wednesday with gains of 0.54 percent, while the S&P 500 added 0.84 percent and the Nasdaq 0.74 percent. Japan''s Nikkei looked set to go the other way as a jump in the yen pressured exporters. Futures pointed to an opening drop of more than 100 points. The Fed lifted its funds rate by 25 basis points to a range of 0.75 percent to 1.00 percent, but said further increases would only be "gradual." Crucially, officials stuck to their outlook for two more hikes this year and three more in 2018, when many had expected an accelerated spate of moves. Rather, the Fed said its inflation target was "symmetric," indicating that after a decade of below-target inflation it could tolerate a quicker pace of price rises. That was painful news for bond bears who had built up huge short positions in Treasuries in anticipation of a hawkish Fed. DOLLAR DOLDRUMS Yields on two-year notes were down at 1.30 percent, having fallen 8 basis points overnight in the biggest daily rally since June last year. They had been at their highest since June 2009. The drop pulled the rug out from the dollar, which sank to a three-week low of 100.540 against a basket of currencies. The euro was taking in the view at $1.0735, having climbed 1.2 percent overnight in its steepest rise since June. The dollar suffered similar losses on the yen to huddle at 113.37 in early trade. Richard Franulovich, a forex analyst at Westpac, noted history showed a strong positive correlation between the dollar and yields one week after a Fed meeting and the direction and magnitude of the change in the dots from meeting to meeting. "The absence of any overt hawkish guidance from the Fed and their dots should leave the dollar trading on the back foot over the next month," he said. The yen and the Swiss franc tended to move the most in the first week, he added, but the impact tended to be longer lasting on the Australian and Canadian dollars. Indeed, the Aussie currency rose a rousing 2 percent on Wednesday to stand at $0.7710. A protracted bout of weakness for the U.S. dollar would be seen as positive for commodities priced in the currency. Spot gold was up at $1,218.46 an ounce, after enjoying its biggest daily jump since September. U.S. crude futures rose 25 cents to $49.11 per barrel, adding to a 2.4 percent gain on Wednesday. Brent stood at $52.00, after rising more than a dollar overnight. (Editing by Richard Borsuk)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets-idUKKBN16M3CE'|'2017-03-16T06:27:00.000+02:00' +'54251973237aae6f4f39c050b4f7f02553e73240'|'HNA raises Deutsche Bank stake to 4.76 percent'|'FRANKFURT Chinese conglomerate HNA Group ( 0521.HK ) has hiked its stake in Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ), which is in the midst of an 8 billion euro ($8.62 billion) capital increase, to 4.76 percent from 3.04 percent, Germany''s flagship lender said on Thursday.HNA, which holds the stake via investment vehicle C-Quadrat, is the bank''s third-biggest shareholder after Qatar, which has close to 10 percent of stock, and BlackRock ( BLK.N ), which owns 6.1 percent.Although HNA has said that its investment in Deutsche Bank is passive, the desire to boost its holding suggests HNA may have strategic ambitions.The Chinese group has been on a acquisition spree that has seen it expand from its traditional business of aviation and logistics into financial services, betting on asset managers and consumer finance for growth at home and overseas.The moves reflect a broader push by China into financial services globally as Beijing encourages its corporate sector to expand overseas, although it faces increased regulatory scrutiny in the United States and Europe.(Reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Harro ten Wolde)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-deutsche-bank-hna-idINKBN16U26Y'|'2017-03-23T12:50:00.000+02:00' +'e7232235be710a3d01b08714a8cd21b0b5e65c67'|'China hopes EU drops anti-dumping, anti-subsidy measures on its solar panels'|' 47am GMT China hopes EU drops anti-dumping, anti-subsidy measures on its solar panels A worker climbs over a solar panel at a solar factory in Longyou county, Zhejiang province, June 24, 2014. REUTERS/William Hong Late in February, the EU won backing from Europe''s second highest court to slap hefty anti-dumping duties on Chinese solar panel imports, an issue that nearly triggered a trade war with China four years ago. (Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) TOKYO Ask the president of Japan''s largest daycare chain what his biggest headache is, and Kazuhiro Ogita doesn''t hesitate: workers and wage costs. Not enough of one, too much of the other. '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-eu-trade-idUKKBN1690M0'|'2017-03-02T13:47:00.000+02:00' +'b3b36122bfbd6a5d60994f97f6650374892fad71'|'Novo Nordisk''s new CEO turns to deals to help revive growth'|'Novo Nordisk''s ( NOVOb.CO ) new chief executive is looking at making acquisitions to broaden the Danish drugmaker''s product line-up, in a change of tack that reflects a need for fresh sources of growth at the world''s biggest diabetes company."Across our business we need to increasingly look for external innovation," Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen, who took over in January, said in an interview on Thursday.Reuters reported on Wednesday that Novo had approached Global Blood Therapeutics ( GBT.O ), a U.S. biotechnology company focused on serious blood disorders, valued at close to $1.5 billion, to discuss a potential takeover.Jorgensen declined to comment on his interest in the Californian firm but confirmed Novo''s biopharmaceuticals business, which includes blood products, was one area where complementary acquisitions were being considered."We have strong relationships with hematologists and there could be other products that would be relevant for us to acquire and we are looking for that," he said.Any deals would most likely be "bolt-ons" rather than anything very large. "In my view we should do smaller deals; low single-digit billions of dollars," he said.Novo has sat out a rash of deal-making that has gripped the rest of the drugs industry in recent years. Instead, under previous chief executive Lars Rebien Sorensen the company had focused on its market-leading position in making insulin and other diabetes treatments.But the company''s core insulin business has deteriorated recently, with increasing competition squeezing prices, particularly in the United States, sending Novo shares down nearly 40 percent in the past 12 months.Last month the Danish group warned that sales and profits might actually slip in 2017, a remarkable change in fortune for a company that was previously renowned for its sector-beating growth.Jorgensen, who began his Novo career more than 25 years ago as a graduate, acknowledges he faces a challenge to reassure investors.While he believes Novo''s existing drug line-up remains strong, in these tougher times the Danish group may increasingly operate like other big drugmakers that routinely make acquisitions to boost growth as key medicines lose momentum."We will more and more have to do deals like any other company to make sure we have a broader platform to grow on," Jorgensen said.Novo''s already dominant position in diabetes probably means there are few interesting deal opportunities in that particular area but hemophilia and other blood products is a field of interest, along with obesity.Novo already has one treatment for obesity, Saxenda, and Jorgensen sees an opportunity to broaden this with further acquisitions, bearing in mind that type 2 diabetes is closely linked to obesity.Finding such adjacent businesses that will not see Novo stray too far from its core therapy areas is an important consideration, Jorgensen said."It is not my ambition to go out and do deals where we would not be bringing significant value in terms of disease understanding, commercial infrastructure or manufacturing. The more of those boxes you can tick the better."(Editing by Greg Mahlich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-novo-nordisk-ceo-idUSKBN16G2DH'|'2017-03-09T19:36:00.000+02:00' +'09a9ddb0584c6afd0bd98dea2f531581e5c8c2d7'|'UPDATE 1-UK bank Shawbrook rejects improved $1 bln buyout proposal'|'(Adds details, background, results)March 7 British bank Shawbrook Group Plc said on Tuesday it had rejected an improved proposal be bought by two private equity firms for 825 million pounds ($1 billion).Shawbrook''s largest shareholder, Pollen Street Capital, together with BC Partners, have offered to buy Shawbrook for 330 pence per ordinary share in cash and allow shareholders to keep a final dividend of not more than 3 pence per share.The proposal, disclosed on Friday, is 22 percent above Shawbrook''s closing share price on Thursday.Shawbrook said on Tuesday it had rejected a 307 pence per share offer in January from the consortium but engaged in talks with the two private equity firms about a revised proposal."Taking into account the terms of the revised proposal, the confidence the board has in Shawbrook''s strategy and plan and the feedback from Shawbrook''s major institutional shareholders, the board has concluded that it is not willing to recommend the consortium''s revised proposal," Shawbrook said in a statement.Shawbrook is one of a number of so-called challenger banks in Britain that aim to break into a market dominated by traditional players such as HSBC, Lloyds, Barclays and RBS.However, bankers have said such groups are ripe for takeovers as low interest rates has squeezed earnings and the pound''s fall has made them cheaper for foreign buyers.Shawbrook reported on Tuesday a 14.1 percent rise in full-year underlying pretax profit to 91.4 million pounds, compared with a year earlier.The bank''s loans and advances to customers rose 22 percent to 4.05 billion pounds.($1 = 0.8183 pounds) (Reporting by Abhijith Ganapavaram in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/shawbrook-group-ma-idINL5N1GK18J'|'2017-03-07T04:39:00.000+02:00' +'515fb1ea7ae8daafc8bac6bfb47c40f7e5318f62'|'Smart condo conundrum: Talk to appliances, or text them?'|'Technology News - Sun Mar 12, 2017 - 7:44pm EDT Smart condo conundrum: Talk to appliances, or text them? left right CEO of Unified Inbox Toby Ruckert demonstrates how he uses his smartphone to control electrical appliances in a simulation software in Singapore March 3, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su 1/3 left right CEO of Unified Inbox Toby Ruckert demonstrates how he uses his smartphone to control electrical appliances in a simulation software in Singapore March 3, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su 2/3 left right CEO of Unified Inbox Toby Ruckert demonstrates how he uses his smartphone to control electrical appliances in a simulation software in Singapore March 3, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su 3/3 By Jeremy Wagstaff - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE In today''s so-called smart home, you can dim the lights, order more toothpaste or tell the kids to go to bed simply by talking to a small Wifi-connected speaker, such as Amazon''s ( AMZN.O ) Echo or Google''s ( GOOGL.O ) Home. This voice-first market - combining voice with artificial intelligence (AI) - barely existed in 2014. This year, Voice Labs, a consultancy, expects 24.5 million appliances to be shipped. Other big tech firms have their own plans: Apple ( AAPL.O ) is taking its Siri voice assistant beyond its mobile devices to PCs, cars, and the home; Baidu ( BIDU.O ) last month bought Raven, billed as China''s answer to Amazon''s Alexa intelligent personal assistant; and Samsung Electronics ( 005930.KS ) plans to incorporate Viv, its newly acquired virtual assistant, into its phones and home appliances. But not everyone thinks the future of communicating with the Internet of Things needs to be vocal. Facebook ( FB.O ) founder Mark Zuckerberg, for example, was working on Jarvis, his own voice-powered AI home automation, and found he preferred communicating by text because, he wrote, "mostly it feels less disturbing to people around me." And several major appliance makers have turned to a small Singapore firm, Unified Inbox, which offers a service that can handle ordinary text messages and pass them on to appliances. With your home added to the contacts list on, say, WhatsApp, a quick text message can "start the coffee machine"; "turn on the vacuum cleaner at 5 p.m."; or "preheat the oven to 200 degrees at 6.30 p.m." "Think of it as a universal translator between the languages that machines speak ... and us humans," said Toby Ruckert, a German former concert pianist and now Unified Inbox''s CEO. The company is just a small player, funded by private investors, but Ruckert says its technology is patent-backed, has been several years in the making, and has customers that include half of the world''s smart appliance makers, such as Bosch [ROBG.UL]. Unified Inbox connects the devices on behalf of the manufacturer, while the consumer can add their appliance by messaging its serial number to a special user account or phone number. It so far supports more than 20 of the most popular messaging apps, as well SMS and Twitter ( TWTR.N ), and controls appliances from ovens to kettles. Other home appliances being tested include locks, garage openers, window blinds, toasters and garden sprinklers, says Ruckert. "People aren''t going to want a different interface for all the different appliances in their home," says Jason Jameson, of IBM ( IBM.N ), which is pairing its Watson AI supercomputer with Unified Inbox to better understand user messages. They will this week demonstrate the service working with a Samsung Robot Cleaner. "The common denominator is the smartphone, and even more common is the messaging app," Jameson notes. "TROJAN HORSE" There''s another reason, Ruckert says, why more than half of the world''s smart appliance manufacturers have signed up. They''re worried the big tech companies'' one-appliance-controls-all approach will relegate them to commodity players, connecting to Alexa or another dominant platform, or being cast aside if Amazon moves into making its own household appliances. "Our customers are quite afraid of the likes of Amazon," Ruckert said. "Having a Trojan horse in a customer''s home, like Echo, that they must integrate with to stay competitive is a nightmare for them." An Amazon spokesperson said the company was "excited by the early response by smart home device manufacturers and even more excited by the customer response," but declined to speculate about future plans. A spokesperson for Bosch said no single company can knit the Internet of Things together, so "there is a need to collaborate and establish ecosystems," such as working with Unified Inbox. Already the race is on to incorporate other services into these home hubs. Amazon allows third parties to develop apps, or "skills", for Alexa. It has more than 10,000 of these, with many added in just the past three months. Most are developed by firms using Amazon''s software toolkit, and range from telling jokes to ordering food. And Amazon makes it easy for other hardware makers to incorporate Alexa into their appliances, increasing its reach. Chinese device maker Lenovo ( 0992.HK ) has embedded Alexa in its speakers, while General Electric ( GE.N ) has it in a lamp - meaning users can control these devices by voice, and use them to order products from Amazon. LG Electronics ( 066570.KS ) and Huawei are also working on Alexa-enabled devices, Amazon said. Text messaging, though, may yet break down those walls. As Zuckerberg noted, the volume of text messages is growing much faster than the number of voice calls. "This suggests that future AI products cannot be solely focused on voice, and will need a private messaging interface as well," he says. EVEN SMARTER Some companies are already looking further ahead, and doing away with the need for any human instruction - whether by voice or text - by making machines smarter at learning our habits and anticipating them. LG, for example, is using deep learning to make its appliances understand and avoid objects in a room, or fill an ice-tray based on a user''s cold drink habits. At Unified Inbox, Ruckert looks ahead to being able to communicate not only with one''s own appliances, but with machines elsewhere. Bosch executives in Singapore, for example, have demonstrated how a user could ask a smart CCTV camera how many people were in a particular room. Ruckert is also working with Singapore''s Nanyang Polytechnic to send updates to family members or staff direct from hospital equipment attached to patients. And smart appliance entrepreneur James Dyson said in a recent interview that the future lies in what he calls "highly intelligent automation". "For me, the future is making everything happen for you without you being particularly involved in it." For a graphic on How Unification Engine works, click here (Reporting by Jeremy Wagstaff; Editing by Ian Geoghegan) Next In Technology News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-tech-iot-messaging-idUSKBN16J116'|'2017-03-13T06:44:00.000+02:00' +'7132072fc1510c5056c3b9e529d3b7d79beaebdc'|'German gummy bear maker Haribo plans to produce candy in U.S.'|' 42pm GMT German gummy bear maker Haribo plans to produce candy in U.S. Picture shows jelly babies (Gummibaerchen) made by the German manufacturer Haribo in Dortmund August 25, 2013. Ina Fassbender / Reuters BERLIN German candymaker Haribo, famous for its fruit-flavoured gummy bears, plans to build its first production facility in the United States and start making confectionery there from 2020. Family-owned Haribo, which employs 7,000 people worldwide at 16 sites in ten countries, said on Thursday it has decided to acquire property in Wisconsin for the factory. Haribo, a model of Germany''s successful "Mittelstand" firms which make up the backbone of Europe''s largest economy, was founded in 1920. It gave Germany one of its most famous advertising slogans, promising to make kids and adults happy. Expansion in the U.S. pits the Bonn-based company against North America''s top candymakers, including Mars Chocolate, Mondelez International ( MDLZ.O ) and Hershey Foods Corp. "Haribo of America is the fastest-growing candymaker in the U.S.," Hans Guido Riegel, Haribo''s managing partner said in an emailed statement. "That is why the step to start with local production from 2020 is important to us," Riegel said, adding the firm has been looking for a U.S. manufacturing site for several years. (Reporting by Andreas Cremer and Matthias Inverardi. Editing by Alexander Smith) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-haribo-usa-idUKKBN16U2MX'|'2017-03-24T01:42:00.000+02:00' +'f224067ae22b8cac22be52235ba0040ef6a412fc'|'Homes with balconies in pictures - Money'|'Homes with balconies in pictures View more sharing options Share Close Wherefore art those properties perfect for acting out Romeo and Juliet? Why, in Chester, Hove and Morpeth Anna Tims Friday 3 March 2017 23.45 GMT Chester, Cheshire The development of an old lead works is built around one of three surviving shot towers, once used for making lead shot. This three-bedroom, glass-walled duplex has a balcony overlooking the canal. However, you have to wait till spring next year before you can move in. Guide price: 400,000. Savills , 01244 323232 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Morpeth, Northumberland The two balconies off the master suite, living room and kitchen overlook the River Wansbeck, on which you have fishing rights. Theres magazine-style glamour in the large, wood-floored interior. The master suite is on the ground floor away from the other three bedrooms. Guide price: 520,000. Sanderson Young , 0191 213 0033 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Hove, East Sussex From the balcony you can gaze across the English Channel, while this Regency flat boasts high ceilings, bay window and ornate plasterwork. Theres only one bedroom and the original fireplace has been lost. Price: 375,000. Hamptons , 01273 803 191 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Homes Snooping around Property Fishing holidays'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/gallery/2017/mar/03/homes-with-balconies-in-pictures'|'2017-03-04T06:45:00.000+02:00' +'57a056d5748eff10d663df7736a23703f62e805a'|'Bankers await Intesas 5.2billion loan for Rosneft buy'|' 4:50pm BST Bankers await Intesas 5.2billion loan for Rosneft buy FILE PHOTO: The company logo of Rosneft is seen outside a service station in Moscow, Russia, November 12, 2013. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo By Sandrine Bradley - LONDON LONDON Syndicated loan bankers are still waiting for details of a 5.2bn (4.43 billion pounds) loan that has been underwritten by Intesa Sanpaolo and finances the purchase of a 19.5% stake in Russian energy giant Rosneft ( ROSN.MM ), banking sources said. To syndicate the loan, Intesa ( ISP.MI ) will have to give banks full details of the facility to allow lenders to get internal credit approvals as Russia is still subject to economic sanctions. Sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority and oil trading company Glencore ( GLEN.L ) bought the stake for 10.5bn in December in one of the biggest transfers of Russian state assets into private hands since the 1990s. QIA and Glencore provided 2.8bn and Intesa, Italy''s biggest retail bank, provided a loan for the bulk of the purchase price, Reuters reported on January 17. It remains unclear how the balance of 2.2bn was financed. Antonio Fallico, chairman of Banca Intesa Russia, told Reuters in February that it was talking to 14 banks to syndicate the loan with the aim of choosing two to three banks to take up 2.5bn-3bn. Intesa initially held talks with lenders after the acquisition was announced, but further details have not been forthcoming and bankers are questioning whether the deal will now be syndicated. Intesa said they would launch the deal when the time is right when is that? one banker said. Intesa Sanpaolo declined to comment. The Italian government approved the 5.2bn loan on March 20. The deal was subject to regulatory scrutiny due to the size of the loan and its potential for entanglement in EU sanctions on Russia. Rosneft, its boss Igor Sechin and Russias main state banks are all subject to sanctions imposed after Russias annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Europe''s top court on Tuesday upheld EU sanctions on Russia, including Rosneft. Intesa could chose not to syndicate the loan and keep it on its balance sheet, bankers said, adding that a fully underwritten loan of this size would be challenging for any bank to hold, given the banking industrys constraints on capital, bankers said. Its a huge amount to take and hold I havent seen any fully underwritten loans like this which havent then gone out to syndication banks are encouraged to do this. I thought it would be done and dusted by now, a third banker said. Bankers contacted Intesa and parent bank IMI for more information after Fallicos statement in February, but none has been forthcoming and lenders are wondering whether to release resources that have been reserved for the deal. The longer they leave it, the less appetite there will be - we need to see the nuts and bolts of the deal before the heat goes out of it, the third banker said. Time may not be pressing for Intesa, which received a 19.5% stake in Rosneft as collateral for the loan on January 3, according to Reuters, and in February Fallico told Reuters that there was no rush in closing the syndication. (Additional reporting by Stephen Jewkes in Milan. Editing by Tessa Walsh) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-rosneft-loans-idUKKBN17228F'|'2017-03-31T23:50:00.000+03:00' +'40d6b2962ad44c4919e355f982c9a50112a1e262'|'Brussels hopes to reap further Brexit rewards after luring Lloyd''s'|'Big Story 10 - Thu Mar 30, 2017 - 5:11am EDT Brussels hopes to reap further Brexit rewards after luring Lloyd''s By Robert-Jan Bartunek - BRUSSELS BRUSSELS Brussels expects to lure other financial players after convincing Lloyd''s of London, the world''s largest specialty insurance market, to make the city its post-Brexit European hub. While Lloyd''s choice on Thursday surprised some, lower rental prices and its proximity to Britain could help other financial firms choose the multilingual home of the European Union over Dublin, Frankfurt, Paris and Luxembourg. [L5N1H71H8] Lloyd''s is expected to move fewer than 100 people, but other insurers needing an EU subsidiary to keep access to the single market after Britain leaves the bloc may follow. Lloyd''s has long been a magnet for insurance underwriters, most of which are clustered around its landmark building in the City of London. "From our contacts with consultancy firms we have learned that several companies are interested in Belgium," a spokeswoman for Belgium''s financial sector federation Febelfin said, without specifying which companies or sectors had expressed an interest. Brussels suffered as a banking center during the financial crisis in which its three largest banks required state-led bailouts from which only one has really recovered and employment in Belgium''s financial sector has been in steady decline, shrinking some 20 percent since 2007. Fortis, once one of Europe''s largest banks, now only exists as a pared-down insurer, Ageas, after its banking operations were sold to France''s BNP Paribas. Dexia, once the world''s largest lender to municipalities, is being wound down, with Belgium, France and Luxembourg guaranteeing 71 billion euros ($77 billion) of the group''s borrowings. Nevertheless, Belgium still hosts the headquarters of payment messaging provider Swift and clearing house Euroclear and some 82 banks have an office in the country. Being in the vicinity of European institutions also allows for easy access to high-level decision makers. For employees cosmopolitan Brussels offers rents which are about a third of those in London, high-speed rail services reaching the UK capital in less than two hours and good food. "What people really like here is the international community that definitely is the number one reason to come here," Edgar Hutte of the Brussels Expat Club, which helps new arrivals settle in, said. The negatives include hefty income taxes, among the highest in the OECD group of developed countries, bureaucratic red tape and world record traffic jams. ($1 = 0.9264 euros) (Editing by Philip Blenkinsop and Alexander Smith) Next In Big Story 10'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-lloydsoflondon-brussels-idUSKBN1710ZA'|'2017-03-30T17:06:00.000+03:00' +'39240c9be49eee85d2f3902dc64723641c8881e8'|'Treasury''s Mnuchin to ''push hard'' for U.S. interests at G20 - official'|'WASHINGTON U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will be "pushing hard" to advance U.S. interests in his first meeting with international counterparts this week, including reaffirming commitments to avoid competitive currency devaluations, a senior Treasury official said on Monday.Mnuchin, who will attend a meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of 20 major economies on Friday and Saturday in Germany, will also press countries to use all available tools to strengthen global growth, the official told reporters."The G20 can play a helpful role in advancing U.S. interests. The secretary will be pushing hard to make that come to pass, whether it''s on macroeconomic policies, exchange rate policies etcetera," the official said.(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Richard Chang)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/g20-usa-idINKBN16K2MO'|'2017-03-13T18:28:00.000+02:00' +'ca3e301eba4fdbcac92c67aacca4a6e17352569a'|'UPDATE 1-Seattle Genetics to resume trials as FDA lifts clinical hold'|'Company 48am EST UPDATE 1-Seattle Genetics to resume trials as FDA lifts clinical hold (Adds details) March 6 Seattle Genetics Inc said on Monday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration lifted a clinical hold on several early stage studies testing its experimental cancer drug. The FDA imposed the clinical hold in December after the company reported the deaths of four people in trials testing the experimental cancer drug, vadastuximab talirine. Seattle Genetics said on Monday the clinical hold was resolved through a comprehensive study evaluating more than 300 patients and amendments to further enhance safety. The company said it would resume two early-stage trials and initiate a mid-stage trial of vadastuximab talirine in 2017, in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a type of blood cancer. The drug would continue to be tested in an ongoing late-stage study in older AML patients, the company said. AML is a type of cancer in which the bone marrow makes abnormal myeloblasts (a type of white-blood cell), red blood cells, or platelets. Vadastuximab talirine, which has an orphan drug status from both the U.S. FDA and European regulators for the treatment of AML, is also being tested in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome, another form of blood cancer. Last month, Seattle Genetics entered into a development and licensing deal worth up to $2 billion with Immunomedics Inc to bolster its cancer drug pipeline. Up to Friday''s close, Seattle Genetics'' shares had risen about 15 percent since the deal with Immunomedics. (Reporting by Akankshita Mukhopadhyay in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila) Next In Company News UPDATE 2-Trump uncertainty slowing U.S. travel bookings - report BERLIN, March 6 Demand for travel to the United States over the coming months has flattened out following a positive start to the year, with uncertainty over a possible new travel order likely deterring visitors, travel analysis company ForwardKeys said on Monday.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/seattle-genetics-fda-idUSL3N1GJ3TW'|'2017-03-06T19:48:00.000+02:00' +'6ce70742c554d5885bfacaba7b24eb3eec4415cb'|'CRH earnings up as Trump infrastructure boost seen in medium term'|'* Shares up almost 3 percent as FY earnings top 3.1 bln eur* "Significant firepower" for deals as net debt tumbles-CEO* Sees Trump infrastructure boost emerging in medium termBy Padraic HalpinDUBLIN, March 1 Strong earnings growth and cash generation last year drove shares in building materials group CRH higher on Wednesday as it awaited a further, medium-term boost to infrastructure under U.S. President Donald Trump.Ireland''s CRH is the United States'' biggest producer of asphalt for highway construction and third biggest supplier of readymixed concrete and construction aggregates. North America accounted for 60 percent of its full-year earnings last year.In his first Congressional address on Tuesday, Trump repeated a campaign promise of a $1 trillion infrastructure programme but gave few specifics other than to say it would be financed through both public and private channels."There''s really a long tail on these, so whatever may evolve with regard to future infrastructure spending, that''s going to evolve more in the medium term than the short term," CRH Chief Executive Albert Manifold told Reuters in a telephone interview."We are the largest buildings materials business in North America so we''re well positioned to benefit in any uplift."CRH''s shares, which jumped to a nine-year high the day after the U.S. election last November, were up 2.9 percent at 2,800 pence by 0825 GMT after it beat its net debt and earnings forecasts for 2016.The world''s third-biggest building group''s core earnings, or earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), rose 10 percent year-on-year on a pro-forma basis to 3.13 billion euros ($3.30 billion). It had forecast that full year earnings would be "in excess of" 3 billion euros.That helped push its net debt to 1.7 times EBITDA, well below a goal to reduce it to less than 2-times by year-end. Davy Stockbrokers said such strong cash generation best placed it among the sector to pursue further acquisitions.CRH, transformed by a 6.5 billion euro acquisition of assets from rivals Lafarge and Holcim in 2014, has already doubled last year''s spend by dishing out 500 million euros on eight transactions since January, all in North America where it sees continued momentum in construction. ($1 = 0.9494 euros) (Editing by Louise Heavens)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/crh-results-idINL5N1GD7ZF'|'2017-03-01T05:45:00.000+02:00' +'8a55a4e69ca11cdb0dbc613b7653e34e4a55cfa7'|'BRIEF-Galapagos initiates Phase 1 study with novel CF potentiator GLPG3067'|' 40am EDT BRIEF-Galapagos initiates Phase 1 study with novel CF potentiator GLPG3067 March 22 Galapagos NV: * Initiates Phase 1 study with novel CF potentiator GLPG3067 * Triggers a $7.5 million milestone payment from AbbVie * Third potentiator in growing portfolio of cystic fibrosis drug candidates * Aim of the phase 1 study is to evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of oral single and multiple ascending doses of GLPG0367 * Safety and tolerability of the combination of GLPG3067 and GLPG2222 will also be evaluated. * "we plan to initiate multiple studies within our cf portfolio in the course of this year, as we get closer to our goal of initiating a patient evaluation of a triple combination therapy by mid-2017." - CSO (Gdynia Newsroom) CORRECTED-GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian stocks slide as fresh Trump jitters damage risk sentiment HONG KONG, March 22 Asian stocks posted their biggest drop in two weeks on Wednesday as growing doubts about Donald Trump''s economic growth agenda prompted investors to dump risky assets and rush to safe havens such as gold and government debt. UPDATE MORE '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-galapagos-initiates-phase-1-study-idUSL5N1GZ0R6'|'2017-03-22T13:40:00.000+02:00' +'2e3c0f982270859935e1b7b0ef0b91e9a79e0e61'|'METALS-London copper supported by dollar, supply concerns'|'Company News - Sun Mar 5, 2017 - 9:20pm EST METALS-London copper supported by dollar, supply concerns * Comex copper speculators cut long position in latest week * Coming Up: U.S. Factory orders Jan at 1500 GMT (Adds comment, detail, updates prices) By Melanie Burton MELBOURNE, March 6 London copper edged up Monday, supported by protracted disruptions at the world''s two biggest copper mines and a decline in the recent strength of the dollar. Indonesia will not back down from new rules requiring Freeport-McMoran to divest a majority stake in its local unit, its Energy and Mineral Resources Minister said late last week in a dispute over rights to the world''s second-biggest copper mine that has frozen exports. Meanwhile, Chile expects economic activity growth to be hit by around one percentage point in February because of a strike at world no.1 copper mine Escondida, as copper output slides 12 percent year-on-year. "We expect copper to move into a deficit this year, the key drivers being a dramatically slowing rate of mine supply growth ... and a stabilizing demand picture," Citi said in a report. "We do think we can see price peaks of close to $7,000 a tonne this year." London copper rose 0.5 percent to $5,944 a tonne by 0017 GMT, after closing a tad softer in the previous session. Prices have been trading around $5,800-$6,200 a tonne for most of the past month, having jumped to a 20-month top at $6,204 on Feb. 13 after disruptions worsened at Escondida. Shanghai Futures Exchange copper edged up 0.3 percent to 48,210 yuan ($6,992) a tonne. Despite falling mine supply, China exchange inventory trends suggest there is still an overhang of copper stocks. Shanghai copper stocks jumped in the latest week by 23,974 tonnes to 313,873 tonnes, the highest in nearly 11 months. The dollar declined from recent strength on profit taking, after the Federal Reserve''s long-stalled ''liftoff'' of interest rates looked to finally get airborne this year as policymakers from Chair Janet Yellen on Friday to regional leaders across the United States signalled that the era of easy money is drawing to a close. Activity in China''s services sector expanded at the slowest pace in four months in February, with new business still growing at a solid rate but increasing competition making it harder for companies to raise prices, a private survey showed. Elsewhere, the biggest conference for explorers and developers kicked off in Canada, with some industry experts predicting that recovering mineral and metal prices will further improve the fortunes of small miners. Speculators cut their bullish position in Comex copper futures and options by 7,851 lots to 70,660 lots, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday. PRICES'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/global-metals-idUSL3N1GJ1B7'|'2017-03-06T09:20:00.000+02:00' +'4a05cec7e0a87def4176ba4143fcf1f4465c8648'|'U.S. financial firms embrace cloud, ''fat fingers'' notwithstanding'|'Fri Mar 17, 2017 - 5:10am GMT U.S. financial firms embrace cloud, ''fat fingers'' notwithstanding FILE PHOTO: The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Lauwin-Planque, northern France on February 20, 2017. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo By Anna Irrera - NEW YORK NEW YORK Only two years ago, an outage similar to the one that struck Amazon''s cloud services last month would have reinforced U.S. financial firms'' view that shifting data and systems onto the public cloud was just too risky. The fact that the Feb. 28 shutdown had no visible impact on the industry''s use of cloud services goes to show how far it has progressed since then in embracing the cloud after nearly a decade of hesitation. That change of heart came after providers Amazon Inc, Microsoft Corp and Alphabet Inc''s Google took steps to assure financial firms and regulators that the cloud not only made tech systems cheaper and faster, but also more reliable and secure than their own server-filled warehouses. The benefits are so unquestionable that last month''s outage caused by an employee who typed in a wrong code was barely a bump on the road to the cloud and merely a reminder that no technology is foolproof, financial executives, Silicon Valley vendors and analysts who work with them said. "You can''t just say if you use Amazon you get the magic cloud sauce and everything will work perfectly," said Yevgeniy Brikman, the co-founder of Gruntwork, a startup that helps big companies deploy cloud services. "And similarly that if you use your own data center that somehow magically everything will work perfectly. These are just tools." The payoffs of using the cloud are clear for an industry engaged in rounds of relentless cost-cutting. Calculations performed for Reuters by research firm IDC Financial Insights show the biggest global banks saving $15 billion by 2019 from cloud adoption, cutting technology infrastructure costs by 25 percent. About two thirds of global financial firms will be using cloud services in a significant way by next year, IDC predicts. (Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/2nrpRoG ) Developing an application on the cloud can help reduce the time it takes to launch from 89 days to 15 days, according to consultancy McKinsey & Company. JPMorgan Chase & Co, Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Capital One Financial Corp and Liberty Mutual Insurance Co are already using shared cloud services from large technology vendors, executives and spokespeople said. So are institutions such as Nasdaq Inc, The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the brokerage industry watchdog. State Street Corp is considering the same. Amazon is the biggest provider with 40 percent of public cloud business, according to Synergy Research. That market totaled $7 billion in the fourth quarter, and is growing at an annual rate of 50 percent. FINRA now runs 90 percent of its critical applications, including market surveillance, on Amazon''s cloud, saving $20 million annually. The recent outage did not affect its satisfaction. "The capability and flexibility to recover quickly is much greater, and it is far more cost-efficient than operating your own geographically dispersed data centers," said spokesman Ray Pellecchia. TRUCKING DATA Cost savings alone would not have been enough to lure big financial firms. For years, the industry sat on the sidelines due to concerns about data security and regulatory compliance as other corporations took advantage of the cloud''s benefits. Silicon Valley took notice and made changes. For instance, Amazon has expanded its number and locations of data centers around the world to allow customers to choose a particular center to comply with different countries'' privacy rules. Customers can also get dedicated servers to avoid sharing them, or can access information through private networks. In late-November Amazon introduced the "Snowmobile," a tamper-resistant 45-foot (13.72 m) container pulled by a semi-trailer truck that securely transports customers'' servers to its own data centers. Amazon customers can also set up systems to automatically shift to another data center within its 16 global regions if an outage occurs. That minimized the impact of the recent outage, four financial customers said. George Brady, who heads shared technology operations at Capital One, told Reuters the bank believed big tech companies had "controls for public cloud that are as good or better than capabilities we would provide." He was speaking before the outage, but later said the bank had factored in occasional glitches and remained committed to the cloud. Capital One builds all new applications on the cloud and plans to reduce its data centers from eight to three by next year. John Madsen, co-head of technology at Goldman Sachs, said his bank has worked with vendors to ensure cloud networks were secure and reliable, and was satisfied with the results. "We''ve had a lot of success with those efforts," he said. Customers, regulators and lawyers acknowledge that cloud failures could, in theory, wreak havoc. That is why large financial institutions have mostly kept highly sensitive data off the cloud and have back-up plans, like using multiple vendors. An apocalyptic scenario where many data centers fail at the same time is highly unlikely, they say. At a conference this month, Scott Mullins, the Amazon executive responsible for generating new cloud business from financial firms, said security has given way to other issues as financial customers'' top concern when making the decision to move. "About four years ago when we began in earnest talking to financial institutions...security was the No. 1 topic," he said. "Today we don''t spend as much time talking about security." (Reporting by Anna Irrera; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Tomasz Janowski) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-finance-cloud-analysis-idUKKBN16O0FO'|'2017-03-17T12:04:00.000+02:00' +'4dbaaadb772a6c7d07451ea83a54c42efae00f81'|'Embattled Samsung Group chief paid $1 million by flagship affiliate in 2016-filing'|' 4:40am EDT Embattled Samsung Group chief paid $1 million by flagship affiliate in 2016-filing FILE PHOTO: Samsung Group chief, Jay Y. Lee arrives at the office of the independent counsel team in Seoul, South Korea, February 19, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo SEOUL Samsung Electronics Co Ltd ( 005930.KS ) said on Friday it paid Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee, the third-generation leader of Samsung Group [SAGR.UL], 1.135 billion won ($1.02 million) last year, disclosing his compensation for the first time. Lee is currently on trial for bribery, embezzlement and other charges amid a corruption scandal that has rocked South Korea. Lee''s compensation package includes 476 million won in wages equivalent to three months'' pay as director. South Korean companies are required to disclose compensation for executives who sit on the board and are paid at least 500 million won on an annual basis. (Reporting by Se Young Lee; Editing by Randy Fabi) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-samsung-elec-management-idUSKBN1720XX'|'2017-03-31T16:40:00.000+03:00' +'3e135eeca6352a5a2346647c1076c460b194e931'|'Buyout funds line up bids for The Body Shop amid pricing challenges - sources'|' 6:53pm GMT Buyout funds line up bids for The Body Shop amid pricing challenges - sources The logo of British cosmetics and skin care company The Body Shop is seen outside a store in Vienna, Austria, June 4, 2016. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger By Pamela Barbaglia and Martinne Geller - LONDON LONDON L''Oreal''s ( OREP.PA ) sale of British retailer The Body Shop has drawn interest from a series of private equity investors who are lining up indicative bids ahead of a mid-April deadline, sources familiar with the matter said on Monday. L''Oreal, which bought the company in 2006, sent out information packages earlier this month to a large number of bidders, hoping for a valuation of close to 1 billion euros (877 million pounds). Yet most investors have valued The Body Shop at less than 700 million euros, two of the sources said. Bain Capital, BC Partners, CVC and Advent are among those planning to make an offer for the business which prides itself on offering "naturally-inspired products," the sources said. The Body Shop pioneered the ethical beauty products industry four decades ago, but has recently been challenged by weakening sales and profits, making it tricky for large buyout funds to match L''Oreal''s price expectations, sources said. Spokesmen for L''Oreal, Bain Capital, BC Partners, Advent and CVC declined to comment. Other heavyweight buyout funds including KKR, CD&R and PAI Partners are also currently exploring a possible bid for the maker of beauty products such as Body Butter and white musk perfumes. Last year The Body Shop, which has more than 3,000 stores across the world, saw its operating profit fall to 33.8 million euros from 54.8 million euros in 2015 while its revenues dropped to 920.8 million euros in 2016 from 967.2 million in 2015. CD&R and PAI declined to comment while KKR was not immediately available. Most industry players have snubbed the auction, led by investment bank Lazard, the sources said, while Chinese investors have signalled interest in making an offer for the business which has yet to crack the Chinese market. One source said the Chinese practice of animal testing would clash with the company''s position. When Dame Anita Roddick launched The Body Shop in 1976, a stance against animal testing, and strong support of environmental and animal protection were unusual. But several decades later, that unique positioning has become commonplace with a raft of competitors including Lush and Origins. The Body Shop, which employs more than 22,000 people in over 60 countries, has struggled to grow, prompting L''Oreal''s decision to sell it. Private equity funds are best placed to revamp its brand and boost global growth, but they are wary about how much to pay, saying turnaround work is required, the sources said. Companies such as CVC and Advent have all recently invested in large European retailers. In 2015 CVC bought a majority stake in German beauty retailer Douglas from Advent in a deal worth almost 3 billion euros. (Reporting by Pamela Barbaglia; Editing by Anjuli Davies/Ruth Pitchford) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-l-oreal-the-body-shop-m-a-idUKKBN16R298'|'2017-03-21T01:53:00.000+02:00' +'d8437d79315ac2a1f806b84cb137ce079c8d8db6'|'Exclusive: Westinghouse''s clients gear up for bankruptcy fight - sources'|'Technology News - Wed Mar 22, 2017 - 10:45pm EDT Exclusive: Westinghouse''s clients gear up for bankruptcy fight - sources FILE PHOTO - Visitors look at a nuclear power plant station model by American company Westinghouse at the World Nuclear Exhibition 2014, the trade fair event for the global nuclear energy sector, in Le Bourget, near Paris October 14, 2014. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo By Jessica DiNapoli The U.S. utilities that are clients of Toshiba Corp''s nuclear power plant construction subsidiary, Westinghouse Electric Co LLC, have hired advisers to prepare for its potential bankruptcy, according to people familiar with the matter. The move comes as Toshiba sees Westinghouse''s bankruptcy as increasingly likely. The Japanese conglomerate has hired restructuring consulting firm Berkeley Research Group LLC and law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP to help defend it against bankruptcy claims, the people said on Wednesday. Scana Corp and Southern Co, the power utilities which hired Westinghouse to build the first nuclear power plants in the United States in more than 30 years, have also hired restructuring advisers, the people said. This is because, in a potential Westinghouse bankruptcy, Scana and Southern Co would be among Westinghouse''s largest creditors, owed the cost overruns on the projects, which tally in the billions of dollars, one of the people added. The utilities are hoping to recover these costs in a bankruptcy process for Westinghouse, according to the sources. Scana has hired restructuring experts from advisory firm Ducera Partners LLC, while Southern Co is working with investment bank Rothschild & Co, the people said. Scana owns the South Carolina plant under construction, while Georgia Power, a subsidiary of Southern Co, will own plants in Georgia. "Whether or not Westinghouse files for Chapter 11 (bankruptcy) is ultimately a decision for its board, and must take into account the various interests of all of its stakeholders, including Toshiba and its creditors," Toshiba said in a prepared statement. "It is not appropriate for Toshiba to comment prematurely." The conglomerate has also said bankruptcy is one of several options for Westinghouse, which it acquired for $5.4 billion about 10 years ago. The sources asked not to be identified because preparations for a potential Westinghouse bankruptcy are confidential. "We''re continuing to monitor the situation with Westinghouse and are prepared for any potential outcome," Georgia Power said in a prepared statement. Spokespeople for Berkeley Research Group, Scana and Skadden did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Ducera and Rothschild declined to comment. Toshiba has said it would take a $6.3 billion writedown related to Westinghouse, and gained an extension from Japanese regulators until April 11 to submit its latest quarterly financial results or face having its public shares delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Reuters reported earlier this week that Westinghouse was reviewing proposals for a debtor-in-possession loan exceeding $500 million to help finance its potential bankruptcy. Westinghouse has already hired restructuring counsel, Reuters reported earlier this month. (Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in New York; Editing by Stephen Coates) Next In Technology News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-westinghouse-bankruptcy-idUSKBN16U07Y'|'2017-03-23T09:45:00.000+02:00' +'1bd96ac3244fc913dd4c9c1169e80b8284aa40e8'|'British regulator to investigate Sky takeover by Murdoch''s Fox'|'By Paul Sandle - LONDON LONDON The British government has referred Rupert Murdoch''s planned 11.7 billion pound ($14.4 billion) takeover of European pay-TV group Sky to regulators to decide if the deal is in the public interest.Media Secretary Karen Bradley told parliament it was important to seek advice from the regulator Ofcom on whether the deal would give Murdoch and his companies too much control of Britain''s media, and whether the new owner would be committed to broadcasting standards.Murdoch''s U.S. TV business Twenty-First Century Fox already owns 39 percent of Sky. Murdoch and his family have long coveted full control of Sky, despite the damaging failure of a previous attempt in 2011 when their British newspaper business became embroiled in a phone-hacking scandal.Bradley has given Ofcom a 40-day timetable to investigate, and expects to receive its report by May 16.She said Ofcom, as an independent regulator, would assess in the same time frame whether Murdoch''s company was a "fit and proper" holder of a broadcasting licence.Twenty-First Century Fox said it was looking forward to working with British authorities in their reviews of the deal, and it believed it would be approved."We are confident that a thorough review of our track record over 30 years will underscore our commitment to upholding high broadcast standards, and will demonstrate that the transaction will not result in there being insufficient plurality in the UK," the company said on Thursday.POLITICAL OPPOSITIONSome opposition lawmakers oppose the deal, saying Murdoch, the owner of The Times and The Sun newspapers, would wield too much influence if he had full control of a pay-TV group present in more than 12 million British and Irish homes."Many of us believe if you look at the conduct of the Murdochs and the untrammelled power they already have it is not in the public interest for them to take over Sky and have full control," Ed Miliband, former leader of the opposition Labour Party, said on Thursday.Miliband was a prominent critic of the deal the last time it was proposed.Murdoch''s son James, who is chief executive of Fox and chairman of Sky, was criticised by Ofcom in 2012 over his handling of the phone hacking scandal.The regulator said his management of the group''s UK newspapers at the time "repeatedly fell well short of the conduct to be expected of as a chief executive and chairman", although it said Sky remained a fit and proper owner of broadcast licenses.Twenty-First Century Fox, which owns cable, film and pay-TV assets around the world, said the media market had changed dramatically in recent years as broadcasters face new challenges from streaming services.The Murdoch family''s newspaper businesses have been split from its television and film assets in a move that helped pave the way for another tilt at Sky.Sky has also combined its businesses in Britain, Germany and Italy since the previous bid.James Murdoch has sought industry backing for the deal by recently praising the quality and creativity of British television and the positive contribution made by Sky.He said a Fox-owned Sky would spend at least 700 million pounds a year on original British production.Shares in Sky were largely unaffected by the decision, which had been widely expected after Bradley said earlier this month she was minded to intervene.They were trading up 0.4 percent at 9.89 pounds. The buyout offer is priced at 10.75 pounds. ($1 = 0.8100 pounds)(Editing by Kate Holton/Keith Weir)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/sky-plc-m-a-twenty-first-fox-idINKBN16N1G2'|'2017-03-16T11:56:00.000+02:00' +'b883f8cc55909108617a2ebf9b621ae521da0116'|'UPDATE 1-Canada''s TD Bank launches review of sales practices'|'Company 39pm EDT UPDATE 1-Canada''s TD Bank launches review of sales practices * Bank hires firm to help with review * CEO does not believe bank has widespread problem * Reports said staff under pressure to hit targets * Expects to conclude review in less than 6 months (Recasts, adds comments from CEO) By Matt Scuffham TORONTO, March 30 Toronto-Dominion Bank is reviewing its sales practices following reports that staffers were pressured to meet targets, Chief Executive Officer Bharat Masrani said on Thursday at the bank''s annual meeting. Canada''s financial watchdog is investigating sales practices at the country''s banks and expects to conclude its investigation by the end of the year. TD branch staffers have said they moved customers to higher fee accounts and raised their overdraft and credit card limits without their knowledge, CBC News, Canada''s public broadcaster, reported on March 10. Masrani told around 400 shareholders that the bank has hired a professional services firm, which was not named, to assist with the review. He expects it to be concluded in less six months. He maintained that he did not believe the bank had a widespread problem with its sales practices. "People behaving unethically in order to achieve these (sales) goals would be inconsistent with who we are as an institution, and I don''t believe we have a widespread problem with that type of behavior," Masrani said. He said experiences described by some TD employees of facing pressure to sell to customers "go against the very fiber of our culture." Employees at Canada''s other big banks have said they were similarly pressured, CBC News subsequently reported on March 15, raising questions about whether the industry was being properly scrutinized by regulators. The issue has prompted debate on television and radio call-in programs over the past three weeks. One TD shareholder raised the issue at the meeting, offering support to management and praising staff at his local TD branch in Hamilton, Ontario. "Whenever I enter that branch they say ''Welcome Mr. Saunders. Can we help you today?''... I think TD is doing a very good job, both as a shareholder and a depositor," the shareholder said, sparking a round of applause. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Masrani declined to name the firm that would assist in the review. "If there are opportunities to enhance our existing processes we will do so," he said. "I want to make sure that it is done thoroughly and that we do it right but I also want to see it done over a reasonable period of time." Masrani said he was not sure if the bank would use ''mystery shopping'' exercises, using undercover checks where inspectors pose as regular customers to see if staffers were using questionable sales practices. (Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe) Next In Company News UPDATE 1-Mexico cenbank slows pace of hikes after peso surge MEXICO CITY, March 30 Mexico''s central bank raised its benchmark interest rate for the fifth time in a row on Thursday, taking borrowing costs to an eight-year high but policymakers slowed the pace of hikes on the back of a rally in the peso. March 30 The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Thursday: MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/tdbank-accounts-idUSL2N1H70QZ'|'2017-03-31T03:39:00.000+03:00' +'2d99cf21ddbc014023eebe7adf6e4bb6e9405e72'|'Third Avenue in $14.25 mln settlement over junk bond fund collapse'|'Deals 59pm EDT Third Avenue in $14.25 million settlement over junk bond fund collapse NEW YORK Third Avenue Management, its founder Martin Whitman and other defendants have reached a $14.25 million settlement of a lawsuit by investors in a junk bond mutual fund they oversaw that collapsed in December 2015. The preliminary accord resolves claims the defendants failed to ensure that the Third Avenue Focused Credit Fund had enough liquidity to avert a demise, and the fund misrepresented its ability to properly value securities it owned. Affiliated Managers Group Inc, which holds a majority stake in Third Avenue, previously set aside money to cover the settlement, which requires court approval. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-thirdavenue-settlement-idUSKBN1722N4'|'2017-04-01T02:46:00.000+03:00' +'027ce6cff144efd5799258030cea85898b917748'|'UPDATE 1-U.S. appeals court revives Fosamax warning claims against Merck'|'Company 32am EDT UPDATE 1-U.S. appeals court revives Fosamax warning claims against Merck (Adds details from decision, background, case citation) March 22 A federal appeals court on Wednesday revived hundreds of claims by plaintiffs who accused Merck & Co of failing to adequately warn about the risks of thigh bone fractures associated with its osteoporosis drug Fosamax. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia said the plaintiffs may proceed to trial and a lower court judge erred in finding their state law claims pre-empted by federal law, based on actions of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Circuit Judge Julio Fuentes said the plaintiffs produced sufficient evidence for a jury to conclude that the FDA would have approved "a properly worded warning about the risk of thigh fractures - or at the very least, to conclude that the odds of FDA rejection were less than highly probable." Merck and its law firm did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A lawyer for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to a similar request. The decision overturned a March 2014 ruling by U.S. District Judge Joel Pisano, who has since retired from the bench. Pisano had ruled that all claims by plaintiffs who were injured prior to Sept. 14, 2010, were pre-empted, leaving only about 20 active cases. Fosamax has been prescribed to treat or prevent bone loss in post-menopausal women since 1995. Merck''s sales of the drug totaled $3.05 billion in 2007, the last year before the Kenilworth, New Jersey-based company lost patent exclusivity. Fosamax is now available as a generic. The plaintiffs claimed to suffer thigh fractures stemming from long-term use of Fosamax and said Merck knew about the risk for more than a decade before adding a warning label. The case is In re: Fosamax (Alendronate Sodium) Products Liability Litigation, 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 14-1900. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Bill Trott) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/merck-fosamax-idUSL2N1GZ0FW'|'2017-03-22T20:32:00.000+02:00' +'6c39e4688a647fb73ebfff94dc8b8c1f7b75e099'|'Morning News Call - India, March 23'|'Company News - Wed Mar 22, 2017 - 11:22pm EDT Morning News Call - India, March 23 To access the newsletter, click on the link: here If you would like to receive this newsletter via email, please register at: here FACTORS TO WATCH 09:30 am: Trade Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at an event in New Delhi 09:45 am: Junior Finance Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal at an event in New Delhi 11:00 am: Budget session of Parliament continues in New Delhi LIVECHAT- CHINESE BANK EARNINGS Agricultural Bank of China will be the first of the country''s biggest lenders to report 2016 full-year earnings starting next week. Reuters senior correspondent Sumeet Chatterjee will discuss the market expectations of the results and outlook of the sector amid a gradual tightening environment engineered by the Pboc, at 09.00 am. To join the conversation, click on the link: here INDIA TOP NEWS India eases rules for old oil, gas blocks; to unlock $21 bln reserves India approved a policy on Wednesday allowing extra time to contractors of old blocks to unlock oil and gas reserves of more than 426 million barrels, worth over $21 billion, as it seeks to cut its dependence on imports. Indian e-commerce firm Snapdeal says not in talks for sale Indian e-commerce marketplace Snapdeal on Wednesday denied it was in talks for a potential sale, after the Mint newspaper reported the company was in discussions with domestic rivals for a potential sale. Indian regulator says Dow, duPont deal likely to hurt competition India''s competition regulator said the proposed merger between Dow Chemical and duPont was likely to hurt competition, a government statement said on Wednesday. India tries to fix Iran trade payments as Trump hardens line India is exploring setting up a new payments mechanism for trade with Iran, after its old sanctions workaround broke down, as state banks remain fearful of handling payments from Tehran in case the United States imposes a fresh financial embargo. U.S. bans Indian drugmaker Divi''s factory, shares hit 3-year low U.S. health regulators have banned a drug production site in India belonging to Divi''s Laboratories Ltd due to manufacturing violations, sending the company''s shares down to a near three-year low on Wednesday. GLOBAL TOP NEWS Five dead, around 40 injured in UK parliament ''terrorist'' attack Five people were killed and about 40 injured in London on Wednesday after a car ploughed into pedestrians and a suspected Islamist-inspired attacker stabbed a policeman close to Britain''s parliament. Private placement curbs set to raise corporate China''s debt risks New rules to rein in a surge in private share sales by Chinese companies are pushing more cash-strapped firms to borrow instead, bankers and analysts say, adding to a corporate debt burden already at its highest since the global financial crisis. Trump Tantrum looms on Wall Street if healthcare effort stalls The Trump Trade could start looking more like a Trump Tantrum if the new U.S. administration''s healthcare bill stalls in Congress, prompting worries on Wall Street about tax cuts and other measures aimed at promoting economic growth. LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK (As reported by NewsRise) The SGX Nifty Futures were trading at 9,081.00, trading up 0.36% from its previous close. The Indian rupee will likely open little changed to slightly higher against the dollar, helped by gains across regional indices after a rebound on Wall Street, even as uncertainty about U.S. President Donald Trumps economic growth agenda dominates sentiment. Indian government bonds will likely rise in early trade, as U.S. Treasury yields fell for a fourth consecutive session yesterday, making emerging-market debt attractive for investors. The yield on the benchmark 6.97 pct bond maturing in 2026 is likely to trade in a 6.78 pct-6.83 pct band today. The bond had closed at 101.09 rupees, yielding 6.81 pct, yesterday -NewsRise. GLOBAL MARKETS Wall Street ended mixed after a choppy session on Wednesday as investors focused on President Donald Trump''s struggle to push through a healthcare bill and snapped up stocks after a steep drop the day before. Asian stocks rose, taking their cues from a Wall Street bounce, while the dollar crawled up from a four-month low but remains clouded by concerns about U.S. President Donald Trump''s pro-growth policies. The dollar nudged up from four-month lows against the yen early, although U.S. President Donald Trump''s struggle to push through a healthcare bill could weigh on any recovery in the greenback. U.S. Treasury yields fell on Wednesday as investors reduced expectations that the Federal Reserve is likely to adopt a faster path in raising interest rates and any new fiscal stimulus is seen as unlikely in the near-term. Oil prices recovered from losses chalked up the session before, but the market remained under pressure as bloated U.S. crude inventories and rising output dampen OPEC-led efforts to curb global production. Gold prices held below a 3-week peak hit in the prior session, as the dollar recovered from seven-week lows and markets looked to see if U.S. President Donald Trump could push through a healthcare bill. CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT PNDF spot 65.36/65.39 March 22 $3.78 mln $679.40 mln 10-yr bond yield 7.13 pct Month-to-date $3.01 bln $2.43 bln Year-to-date $4.56 bln $3.75 bln For additional data: India govt bond market volumes Stock market reports Non-deliverable forwards data Corporate debt stories [IN CORPD] Local market closing/intraday levels [IN SNAPSHOT] Monthly inflows [INFLOWS RTRS TABLE IN] ($1 = 65.4500 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Pradip Kakoti in Bengaluru) )) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/india-morningcall-idUSL3N1H019W'|'2017-03-23T10:22:00.000+02:00' +'65136b1ed66131f1aef5a02ac94535139da26462'|'VW board recommends discharging top management, supervisory panel'|'Business News - Tue Mar 28, 2017 - 12:07pm EDT VW board recommends discharging top management, supervisory panel The Volkswagen logo is seen at the company''s display during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., January 10, 2017. REUTERS/Mark Blinch BERLIN Volkswagen''s ( VOWG_p.DE ) supervisory board has recommended shareholders to discharge the carmaker''s top management and the supervisory panel from liability for actions taken last year. "The supervisory board is expressing its faith in the entire top management to continue to promote the comprehensive reorientation of the group," VW said on Tuesday. The carmaker said the recommendation to clear top executives from responsibility for actions does not imply waiving possible compensation claims against members of management. U.S. law firm Jones Day and fellow law firm Gleiss Lutz have been investigating the carmaker''s diesel emissions test-cheating scandal. (Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Michael Nienaber) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-board-idUSKBN16Z29E'|'2017-03-29T00:07:00.000+03:00' +'828874bdc2800eb4467cd726487f64886a6d8997'|'French advertising group Havas denies it wants to pull adverts from Google'|'Technology News - Fri Mar 17, 2017 - 8:57pm GMT French advertising group Havas denies it wants to pull adverts from Google PARIS French advertising group Havas denied on Friday that it would pull advertising from Google platforms, contradicting comments attributed to the head of its British business after Britain raised concerns over government advertising on the U.S. company''s YouTube website. The British government had been expected to question Google executives on Friday over why advertisements marketing the government''s services were appearing alongside videos carrying hate speech and extremist content on its YouTube website. The Guardian newspaper reported that Havas had decided to pull all its advertising spend from Google and YouTube, citing Havas UK chief Paul Frampton. A spokeswoman for the French group told Reuters that pulling advertising from Google was not the group''s position, and Havas CEO Yannick Bollore said on Twitter that he had been unaware of its British unit''s decision. "I will investigate what happened before making an official statement," he added. Google said in a statement that it worked hard to prevent advertisements from appearing on pages or videos with "hate speech, gory or offensive content" and said it had launched a review to give brands more control over where their advertisements appeared. (Reporting by Gwenaelle Barzic and Michel Rose; Editing by David Goodman) Next In Technology News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-google-havas-idUKKBN16O2OY'|'2017-03-18T03:46:00.000+02:00' +'85f3d248d0e4406b18bc5de5e03172b0d6c82651'|'Murdoch''s Fox seeks EU okay for $14.4 billion Sky takeover bid'|'Business News - Fri Mar 3, 2017 - 12:15pm GMT Murdoch''s Fox seeks EU okay for $14.4 billion Sky takeover bid File Photo: Rupert Murdoch, Executive Chairman News Corp and Chairman and CEO 21st Century Fox speaks at the WSJD Live conference in Laguna Beach, California October 29, 2014. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson BRUSSELS Rupert Murdoch''s Twenty-First Century Fox ( FOXA.O ) has asked EU antitrust regulators to approve its $14.4 billion (11.7 billion pound) takeover bid for European pay-TV company Sky ( SKYB.L ), a filing on the European Commission showed on Friday. The EU competition enforcer will decide by April 7 whether to clear the deal, demand concessions or kick off a five-month long investigation. Fox chief executive James Murdoch has said no "meaningful concessions" would be required. The acquisition of the remaining 61 percent of Sky would help Fox better compete with rivals such as Netflix ( NFLX.O ). (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Julia Fioretti) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sky-plc-m-a-twenty-first-fox-eu-idUKKBN16A1CG'|'2017-03-03T19:15:00.000+02:00' +'5df785f85852bdf31bdf5e847b0a148898081fb6'|'After Brexit, Israel senses a chance to boost trade with UK'|'F rom a hilltop in Masaada on the Israeli side of the Syrian border in the Golan Heights, Faried al-Said Ahmed surveys his cherry and apple trees 80 feet below. Barbed wire surrounds the steep hillside, preventing people entering a minefield planted when the Six-Day War ended 50 years ago.Currently, the trees are bare. Cherry-picking season is May and June, while 45,000 tons of apples will leave this co-operative farm after they ripen in September and October.Although Syrians are fighting less than three miles away and theres the danger of being blown up underfoot, Ahmed has a more pressing concern: the European Union .The co-operative sells fruit across Israel , but Ahmed claims the EUs protection of its member states farms makes exports to Europe all but impossible. If it were possible to sell in England then, my God, yes, we would, he says.The 52-year-old might soon get his wish. When article 50 is triggered in the coming days, the UK will be only two years away from negotiating its own trade deals. The focus has been on an agreement with the US, but given the probable complications of negotiating with self-proclaimed master dealmaker Donald Trump, Israel might be first to sign on the dotted line.After talks in No 10 last month, Theresa May and Israels prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, announced a joint working group charged with preparing the ground for a trade deal.The trade relationship between Israel and Britain is already worth 4.9bn, and on Wednesday foreign secretary Boris Johnson told press in Jerusalem as he stood beside Netanyahu: We are ... building a global identity as a Britain thats coming out of the EU and we want to build on our trading partnership with you. We are the biggest European trading partner with Israel We have the largest, fastest-growing Aston Martin dealership anywhere in the world here in Israel.Facebook Twitter Pinterest The foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, visited the West Bank and Israel last week. Photograph: Ilia Yefimovich/Getty Images At his official residence on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, the British ambassador, David Quarrey, points to a growing economic relationship between the countries in the past 18 months. This included the biggest UK-Israel trade deal in history: Rolls-Royce landed a 1bn contract to service and maintain its Trent 1000 engines for airline El Al and, in the other direction, Israeli defence firm Elbit Systems is in a consortium that provides the Ministry of Defence with training aircraft and simulators.Quarrey says: Were seeing trading bilateral relationships between the UK and Israel, in science and trade for example, doing better than ever. But theres the potential to do even better, particularly in the context of Brexit. I was with Theresa May and Benjamin Netanyahu in London and it was clear there was the determination for this.Most businesspeople in Israel look at the UK as a great place to do business, because of its culture, language, and the predictability of the regulatory and tax systems.Britain, in effect, outsourced trade negotiations to European bureaucrats in the 1970s, so the way the newly formed Department for International Trade (DIT) thrashes out the Israel deal could provide a template for other business agreements.It is understood the first meeting of the working group will take place by the end of this month. Two to four people will represent each side, including officials from the DIT and Israels Ministry of Economy.They will set the parameters for future discussions, expected to take place two or three times a year. Regulatory and industry experts will be brought in on an ad hoc basis thereafter.At present, UK-Israel trade is covered by the latters association agreement with the EU. James Sorene, the chief executive at the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre, says the first priority will be to establish what preferential trade terms the UK is prepared to offer.Israelis are required to have work permits in the UK, though many are dual EU citizens and work freely in Britain. Given that this right would end on Brexit, Sorene points out: If the UKs exit arrangements with the EU involve restricted movement for EU nationals this could indirectly cut the flow of Israeli tech workers to the UK, unless the UK designs a special arrangement for Israel.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Peppers being picked in an Israeli greenhouse. Photograph: Alamy Technology is booming in Israel: Google, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft all have research centres there, and there are 300,000 hi-tech workers in a country of only 8.5 million people. The tech sector is likely to be prioritised during negotiations, alongside defence and pharmaceuticals not least because one in seven NHS drugs come from Israel.Ron Atzmon, managing director of ID authentication tech company Au10tix, wants the UK-Israel relationship to replicate aspects of the EU, with harmonisation of VAT rates and intellectual property regulations.Coupled with more relaxed immigration rules, Atzmon says this would ensure Israeli tech firms will come to a UK where tech knowledge is not overflowing outside of London. Israels phenomenal expertise in cybersecurity will particularly interest British negotiators, given the National Crime Agency confirmed last year that cybercrime is costing the UK economy billions of pounds per annum.Sharren Haskel, a member of the Israeli parliament from the ruling Likud party, says: One of the main areas we can co-operate is cybersecurity, where Israel is receiving 20% of worldwide investments huge for such a small country.In turn, the UKs growing expertise in major infrastructure projects, such as high-speed rail, could benefit an Israel that is struggling to keep up with population growth because of a shortage of 10,000 engineers.Back on the ground, the Kibbutz Nirim is overflowing with sweet potatoes and radishes. It is also covered with bomb shelters, because this green paradise in southern Israel is only two kilometres from the border of the Hamas-controlled Gaza strip.Should the Israel-Hamas conflict of 2014 have a sequel, as many Israelis fear will happen, an automated voice repeating the words tzeva adom colour red will be played if mortars are fired on the kibbutz. This will give the 400 residents a seven-second warning to reach those shelters.But the eyes of Nirims general secretary, Anat Heffetz, light up at the prospect of exporting all those vegetables to the UK. Yes, of course, we would love to sell to Britain, she says. We have excellent avocadoes because my husband grows them!Other contenders Canada, Australia and New Zealand are top of the list of countries Brexit ministers believe will be willing and able to sign a trade deal soon after the UK quits the EU.Canada sealed a deal with the EU last year that covers goods and services from agriculture to banking. The UK will be excluded, but could quickly demolish trade barriers by simply adopting the deal itself, should premier Justin Trudeau believe it worth his while.The Brexit ministry is known to be scouting former Canadian negotiators to help get talks started. And more negotiators are crucial after 40 years without any, other than a handful of UK officials at the European commission. If cloning were an option, former trade minister Peter Mandelson might find himself duplicated several times, if only to fill meetings with more experienced heads than the UK has at the moment.Brexit ministers are keen to approach Donald Trumps administration to negotiate a trade deal, but will find it is more productive talking to Australia and New Zealand. Both countries have said they are interested in talks; they share the same legal system and much the same approach to trade.Australia is attempting to resurrect Barack Obamas Trans Pacific Partnership free trade deal without the US now that Donald Trump has killed it off, but should still be keen to open its market to the UK. Phillip Inman Topics Food & drink industry The Observer Trade policy Israel Middle East and North Africa EU referendum and Brexit European Union '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/mar/11/israel-farmers-programmers-sense-chance-to-grow-in-britain-brexit-trade-deal'|'2017-03-11T23:00:00.000+02:00' +'6fb724a626855b6f60dd0704d6e06a3762018bea'|'UPDATE 1-Bank of America shareholders revive chairman debate'|'Company News 24pm EDT UPDATE 1-Bank of America shareholders revive chairman debate (Adds details on the chairman proposal) NEW YORK, March 15 Bank of America Corp Chairman and Chief Executive Brian Moynihan will once again face a shareholder vote on whether he should maintain both roles, according to the bank''s proxy filing on Wednesday. A shareholder proposal calls on the bank''s board to install an independent chairman, while it allows for the board''s discretion to only apply the policy to the next CEO. Shareholders also successfully submitted proposals on whether the second-largest U.S. bank should toughen claw-back provisions for executive pay, consider divesting some of its assets and prepare a report examining gender pay equity. The four proposals will be put up for vote at the bank''s annual general meeting on April 26. In the proxy, Bank of America''s board advised shareholders to reject each of the shareholder proposals, as they have in the past. A proposal in 2015 to split the chairman and CEO roles was unsuccessful, as were previous proposals to strengthen claw-back rules. (Reporting by Tina Bellon; editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Jonathan Oatis) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/bank-of-america-proxy-idUSL2N1GS1BV'|'2017-03-16T00:24:00.000+02:00' +'5c792858fd919835dbfa4fb012476e68ac633bde'|'China Southern Airlines to sell $200 million shares to American Airlines'|'HONG KONG/SHANGHAI China Southern Airlines Co Ltd said on Tuesday it would issue HK$1.55 billion ($199.6 million) worth of shares to a subsidiary of American Airlines Group Inc, giving the U.S. airline a stake in China''s largest carrier.The deal would make American Airlines the second U.S. carrier to own part of a Chinese airline after Delta Air Lines Inc bought 3.55 percent of China Eastern Airlines Corp for $450 million in 2015.In a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange, China Southern said it would issue 270.61 million Hong Kong-listed H-shares, representing 2.68 percent of the enlarged share capital of the airline.The shares would be issued at HK$5.74 apiece, or at a 4.6 percent premium to the previous close.Among other things, the deal would help China Southern improve its governance, strengthen management, boost its competitiveness and help "achieve the strategic goal of building a world-class aviation industry group", the filing said.It said the two airlines may also increase cooperation in code-sharing and other areas, including staffing, sales, passenger loyalty programmes and airport facilities sharing.China Southern''s Hong Kong-listed shares jumped as much as 5.3 percent in early morning trading on Monday before closing at HK$5.49, while its mainland-listed shares remained suspended.The airline is China''s biggest in terms of passenger numbers. It is a member of the SkyTeam airline alliance and is based in the southern city of Guangzhou.The tie-up comes as Beijing has vowed to shake up Chinese airlines by implementing mixed-ownership reforms and introducing private capital and strategic investment into its state-owned enterprises in a bid to improve efficiency and competitiveness.Chinese airlines have been aggressively expanding their fleet and increasing the number of their international routes as they seek to capitalise on strong growth in outbound Chinese travel that has far outpaced tourism at home.For American Airlines, the deal could widen access to China, one of the biggest sources of tourists to the United States, and will help it compete with rival Delta, which has invested in foreign carriers in Mexico, Brazil and Britain in recent years. ($1 = 7.7676 Hong Kong dollars)(Reporting by Donny Kwok in HONG KONG and John Ruwitch in SHANGHAI; Editing by Stephen Coates)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/china-southern-american-airline-idINKBN16Z07J'|'2017-03-28T00:33:00.000+03:00' +'22cc1744fd07193f193f2f39122b237dfbe3750b'|'Credit Agricole watching M&A opportunities in Italy'|'MILAN Credit Agricole ( CAGR.PA ) is watching for opportunities in Italy''s banking consolidation as it pursues plans to acquire Unicredit''s asset manager Pioneer.Credit Agricole has sold assets and pulled out of markets such as Greece to meet tougher post-crisis regulation and combat tougher economic conditions, while focusing on activities in France and Italy.Italy''s government has sought to spur mergers among its lenders to help them cut costs and boost profitability, after a deep recession lifted problem loans to one fifth of domestic output."Obviously, we are looking at opportunities and we do not exclude some possible adjustments," Credit Agricole''s deputy chief executive Xavier Musca said when asked if the bank planned to participate in the wave of mergers and acquisitions in Italy.He added that "any adjustments" should be aligned with the group''s capital targets."We are not a national Italian bank. We are a regional bank, present in various regions, mostly in the North of Italy. This is a model that fits us perfectly."Credit Agricole, the third-biggest French-listed bank, has increased its exposure to Italy after Amundi struck a 3.6 billion euro ($3.8 billion) deal to buy Pioneer Investments."We have confidence in Italy, we are committed to it," Yves Perrier, chief executive of asset manager Amundi told journalists during a press conference.Amundi said it will launch its cash call to finance the deal next week. It will pay for Pioneer using a 1.4 billion euro share issue, selling 0.6 billion euros in debt and paying cash.This follows an expansion spree in retail banking which started in 2007 when Credit Agricole bought its key Italian assets, Cariparma, Friuladria, as well as some of Banca Intesa branches in 2007.Credit Agricole targets 3 percent annual revenue growth in Cariparma over the next three years. Asked if the bank plans to review the target to adjust for Pioneer''s acquisition, Perrier said it would present adjusted figures later this year.(Reporting by Maya Nikolaeva; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-credit-agricole-italy-idINKBN16H1X1'|'2017-03-10T12:18:00.000+02:00' +'3dc2e29dcc0dcb9f2d72e7c7d81121e045e5f736'|'Bain Capital walks away from Resilux deal after German anti-trust ruling'|'Bain Capital Private Equity has decided not to proceed with the acquisition of Belgian packaging company Resilux ( RESI.BR ) due to an anti-trust ruling in Germany, the investment company said on Tuesday.Bain Capital said Germany''s anti-trust authority had informed it the combined acquisition of Resilux and UK peer Petainer Topco had not received a so-called phase I clearance and would need to have a phase II review.The phase I review takes roughly a month. The regulator typically opens a phase II investigation of up to a further three months if it has serious concerns a deal may harm consumers and rivals.This made the transaction difficult to pursue as a result of the timeline for delisting Resilux, Bain Capital said."The decision not to pursue the acquisition does not reflect any change in opinion on the strengths of either Resilux NV or Petainer, nor is it the result of adverse due diligence findings," Bain Capital said in a statement.Resilux shares have risen 15 percent to 187.25 euros since it was announced in early February that Bain Capital was considering a 195 euros per share bid. That valued the company at about 386 million euros ($419 million).Resilux was not immediately available for comment.Shares in the company were suspended on Tuesday morning.($1 = 0.9211 euros)(Reporting by Alan Charlish; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-resilux-m-a-baincapital-idINKBN16Z0R3'|'2017-03-28T05:52:00.000+03:00' +'0930a7973da0bca4b8eb00ed41e6278a08becb78'|'Top Avianca shareholder Efromovich says deal with United ''will happen'''|'Deals - Thu Mar 2, 2017 - 5:05pm EST Top Avianca shareholder Efromovich says deal with United ''will happen'' An airplane of Colombian airline Avianca takes off from El Dorado Airport in Bogota, Colombia, February 1, 2017. REUTERS/Inaldo Perez Avianca Holdings SA top shareholder, German Efromovich, said on Thursday that a deal between Avianca and United Continental Holdings Inc. "will happen," despite a lawsuit filed by Avianca''s No.2 shareholder this week. A suit brought in New York by Kingsland Holdings alleges that the deal for Avianca with United is "an egregiously one-sided proposed transaction that Efromovich secretly negotiated with United for his own benefit at the expense of Avianca and all of its other shareholders." Efromovich said during a news conference in New York on Friday that the deal with United was just "an extension of an already existing relationship" and was the best possible deal for Avianca''s shareholders. He also insisted that reports of higher bids for Avianca from Delta and other airlines "are not accurate and are not correct." (Reporting by Dion Rabouin; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-colombia-avianca-holding-idUSKBN1692YA'|'2017-03-03T04:51:00.000+02:00' +'452b6dd6cd1c6fd106bf43b864e017ffb40f4b66'|'Washington Post software deal a double win for Bezos'|'Technology 56pm EDT Washington Post software deal a double win for Bezos Jeff Bezos, founder of Blue Origin and CEO of Amazon, speaks about the future plans of Blue Origin during an address to attendees at Access Intelligence''s SATELLITE 2017 conference in Washington, U.S., March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts By Jeffrey Dastin Billionaire Jeff Bezos scored a double win this week as the Washington Post, the newspaper he bought in 2013, signed its biggest contract to date to sell web publishing tools mostly hosted by Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ), the company he founded and runs. The deal, with Los Angeles Times-parent tronc Inc ( TRNC.O ), is a boost for the Washington Post as it looks to branch out from its core news business against a backdrop of falling advertising revenue for traditional media. The newspaper''s year-old service, called Arc Publishing, now has about a dozen clients and is aiming for $100 million in annual revenue. Bezos bought the Washington Post for $250 million four years ago in a private deal not related to Amazon. "Thanks LA Times for choosing WaPo''s Arc Publishing for your digital platform, and kudos to tech team at The Post!" Bezos posted on Twitter on Monday, when the deal was announced. The deal indirectly benefits Amazon Web Services (AWS), the world''s biggest cloud-computing business and Amazon''s fastest-growing unit, which posted a 55 percent jump in sales last year to $12.2 billion. For AWS, Arc represents a new opportunity to extend its reach into the publishing world, where a host of software companies serve both news media and corporate clients that increasingly publish material on the web to directly reach customers. AWS already counts publishers Hearst and the Guardian as customers. Despite the Bezos connection, the choice of using AWS is not automatic, said the Washington Post. "We will host with whatever cloud service gives us the maximum value," the company''s Chief Information Officer Shailesh Prakash said in an email, noting it uses alternative vendors Instart Logic Inc and Akamai Technologies Inc ( AKAM.O ) for certain features. The Washington Post pays for AWS, he added. "There''s no doubt that this could prove to be a terrific source of captive clientele for Amazon Web Services and an interesting new market for them," said Jim Friedlich, CEO of the Lenfest Institute for Journalism and a former Wall Street Journal executive. "If it succeeds, as I suspect it will, it will be a game-changer for The Washington Post," he said. Analysts said the Post has taken a leaf out of the Bezos playbook, making money out of tools originally built for internal use, as Amazon did with the data centers that now form the backbone of AWS. Gene Munster, a veteran equity analyst and now head of research at Loup Ventures, said Arc revenue will be small for AWS but "is the type of thing that (helps one become) smart in a vertical, that adds skills and features, that basically attracts clients." The Washington Post''s revenue goals for Arc will not be easy to achieve. In years past editorial technology has not been immune to the wider problems facing the print media industry, which has suffered plummeting revenue. "Many brands are evolving (into) publishers including financial institutions, and all of them need modern story-telling tools," Prakash said. Revenue "could be significantly less if we fail to grow this nascent (and technologically challenging) business." (Reporting By Jeffrey Dastin in San Francisco; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Bill Rigby) Next In Technology News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-com-aws-washington-post-idUSKBN16M04B'|'2017-03-15T07:53:00.000+02:00' +'a10965d816755503ac5f6f9641a809cf3323bc48'|'Toshiba approves Chapter 11 filing for nuclear unit Westinghouse - Nikkei'|' Toshiba approves Chapter 11 filing for nuclear unit Westinghouse: Nikkei left right The Vogtle Unit 3 and 4 site, being constructed by primary contactor Westinghouse, a business unit of Toshiba, near Waynesboro, Georgia, U.S. is seen in an aerial photo taken February 2017. Georgia Power/Handout via REUTERS 1/4 left right The Vogtle Unit 3, being constructed by primary contactor Westinghouse, a business unit of Toshiba, near Waynesboro, Georgia, U.S. is seen in an aerial photo taken March 2017. Georgia Power/Handout via REUTERS 2/4 left right The Voglte Unit 3 nuclear island and turbine building are seen during their construction by primary contactor Westinghouse, a business unit of Toshiba, near Waynesboro, Georgia, U.S. in an undated handout photo. Georgia Power/Handout via REUTERS 3/4 left right The logo of Toshiba Corp is seen at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan January 23, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 4/4 TOKYO The board of Japan''s Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) has approved a Chapter 11 filing for its U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse, the Nikkei business daily reported on Wednesday. A Toshiba spokeswoman said the company cannot comment on issues discussed at its board meetings. (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-board-idUKKBN17006K'|'2017-03-29T10:03:00.000+03:00' +'879e85f31476905d127861aede1b5b1330633204'|'UPDATE 1-U.S. VP Pence to tour Asia next month amid security crises'|'(Recasts)JAKARTA, March 13 U.S. Vice President Mike Pence will visit Japan and Indonesia next month, sources said on Monday, as part of an Asian tour amid concerns the Trump administration is rolling back Barack Obama''s "pivot to Asia".U.S. President Donald Trump has already withdrawn from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement, which was seen as an economic pillar of the strategy.The tour will also include South Korea and Australia, the Nikkei Asian Review reported, with North Korea''s missile and nuclear programmes and South Korea''s political crisis likely topics for discussion.China has been infuriated by South Korea''s plan to deploy a U.S. missile defence system, targeted at the North Korean threat, and South Korea is going through political turmoil after the dismissal of its president in a corruption probe.Pence is also expected to visit Tokyo for the U.S.-Japan economic dialogue, according to a source familiar with the matter.The visit comes after North Korea''s latest missile launches and the assassination in Malaysia of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un''s estranged half-brother added urgency to the region''s security.It will also follow this month''s trip by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to Japan, South Korea, and China.The TPP had been the main economic pillar of the Obama administration''s pivot to the Asia-Pacific region in the face of a fast-rising China.Proponents of the pact have expressed concerns that abandoning the project, which took years to negotiate, could further strengthen China''s economic hand in the region at the expense of the United States.Indonesia''s chief security minister said Pence would meet President Joko Widodo to discuss terrorism and other security issues on his visit.Indonesia has the world''s largest Muslim population and has recently grappled with a series of low-level militant attacks inspired by Islamic State. ."We discussed the planned visit of U.S. vice president Mike Pence to Indonesia and the strategic problems that can be on the agenda to discuss with our president," chief security minister Wiranto told reporters after meeting the U.S. ambassador to Jakarta.He added that no dates had been finalised.In Indonesia, Pence is also expected to discuss a brewing contract dispute between the government and American mining giant Freeport McMoran Inc, said two Indonesian government sources.Freeport has threatened to take the Indonesian government to court over newly revised mining regulations that have prompted a major scale-back in its operations in the eastern province of Papua. (Reporting by Agustinus Beo Da Costa and Kanupriya Kapoor; Additional reporting by Malcolm Foster in TOKYO; Writing by Kanupriya Kapoor; Editing by Nick Macfie)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-pence-asia-idINL3N1GQ2I1'|'2017-03-13T04:39:00.000+02:00' +'7527ca7409dd83186510e75324407e9b4a565e49'|'European airports call on EU, Britain to agree back-up plan for aviation'|' 22pm GMT European airports call on EU, Britain to agree back-up plan for aviation A British Airways passenger aircraft flies through low cloud as it prepares to land at Heathrow airport in west London, Britain, January 7, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville By Julia Fioretti and Victoria Bryan - BRUSSELS/LONDON BRUSSELS/LONDON European airports on Tuesday called on Britain and the EU to agree a back-up plan for post-Brexit flying should they fail to agree a new relationship before Britain quits the bloc, saying a return to decades-old traffic rights deals should be avoided. European Union-based airlines have the right to fly to and from any country in the bloc or even within other member states thanks to the single aviation market created in the 1990s. Britain''s vote to leave the EU means it has to renegotiate that access, but the ruling out of sectoral deals by EU officials has rattled the aviation industry, which has to plan flight schedules well in advance and cannot rely on World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, unlike other sectors. ACI Europe - the trade association representing Europe''sairports - said it was concerned about the lack of back-up or transitional plan should Britain and the EU fail to agree a new relationship within the two-year time frame provided for in EU treaties. British Prime Minister Theresa May has said that no deal is better than a bad deal with the EU, but for aviation, in the worst case scenario the uncertainty could ground planes. "As responsible businesses, at this stage we simply cannot rule out a cliff-edge scenario for Brexit and aviation," ACI Europe Director General Olivier Jankovec said in a statement. "This means that adequate contingencies need to be established promptly in case the UK would exit the EU without any agreement on its future relationship with the bloc." Airlines last week called on Britain to provide clarity on post-Brexit flying arrangements given that flight schedule planning for summer 2019, when Britain is due to be out of the EU, will begin in a year''s time. The absence of a deal governing flying rights between the EU and Britain after the 2-year negotiating period ends could mean airlines having to rely on older, more restrictive bilateral provisions between the United Kingdom and the other 27 EU member states, ACI Europe said. "We would prefer not to fall back on those bilaterals, but to get some sort of transition agreement that what we have today can be safeguarded. But what we are hearing is that if there is no agreement, there is also no transitional agreement," Jankovec told journalists in London. Britain said on Monday it would send Brussels its official exit notification on March 29, triggering two years of negotiations. (Editing by Ruth Pitchford)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-airports-idUKKBN16S27J'|'2017-03-22T00:22:00.000+02:00' +'0b1232d63af93b6c027fbfb148e8378113cbd680'|'Oil prices drop on rise in U.S. drilling'|'Global Energy News 52am GMT Oil prices drop on rise in U.S. drilling FILE PHOTO: An oil tanker drives through desertified land in Hengshan county, northwest China''s Shaanxi province June 1, 2011. REUTERS/Rooney Chen/File Photo By Henning Gloystein - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Oil prices fell on Monday as rising U.S. drilling activity and steady supplies from OPEC countries despite touted production cuts pressured already-bloated markets. Prices for front-month Brent crude futures LCOc1, the international benchmark for oil, were 20 cents below their last settlement at 0025 GMT, at $51.56 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 28 cents at $48.50 a barrel. Traders said that prices were under pressure due to rising U.S. drilling activity and ongoing high supplies by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) despite its pledge to cut output by almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) together with some other producers like Russia. "Crude oil has attempted to break out of the trading range that formed last year ... However, this uptrend has stalled," futures brokerage CMC Markets said in a note on Monday. "Now there is good, strong momentum to the downside." U.S. drillers added 14 oil rigs in the week to March 17, bringing the total count up to 631, the most since September 2015, energy services firm Baker Hughes Inc ( BHI.N ) said on Friday, extending a recovery that is expected to boost shale production by the most in six-months in April. nL2N1GR0OP As a result, U.S. oil output has risen to over 9.1 million bpd from below 8.5 million bpd in June last year. C-OUT-T-EIA Reacting to the ongoing glut in markets, financial oil traders cut their net long U.S. crude futures and options positions in the week to March 14, the third consecutive cut, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday. Defying rising sentiment that oil markets remain oversupplied, some analysts say markets will tighten soon, arguing that the OPEC-led cuts will only start to bite from April, just as demand picks up as refineries return from current maintenance outages. "The cuts in OPEC production from the start of 2017 should start to show up between mid-March (now) and mid-April. Over the coming weeks we expect a sharp reduction in imports and increase in refining runs which should lead to impressive crude inventory draws," analysts at AB Bernstein said on Monday in a note to clients. "The combination of falling imports and stronger crude runs should lead to substantial inventory cuts over the coming months," they said. (Reporting by Henning Gloystein; Editing by Joseph Radford) Next In Global Energy News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-oil-idUKKBN16R01D'|'2017-03-20T07:52:00.000+02:00' +'c8ebdcc1a0f48c21a71daa0f520e05c6b4e91988'|'Exclusive: EIB asks French diesel inquiry to probe Renault''s use of loans'|'Business News - Fri Mar 24, 2017 - 9:06am EDT Exclusive: EIB asks French diesel inquiry to probe Renault''s use of loans Logo is seen at a Renault store in Minsk, Belarus June 9, 2016. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko By Laurence Frost and Gilles Guillaume - PARIS PARIS The European Investment Bank has asked French investigators to find out whether 800 million euros ($863 million) of EU-backed loans to Renault ( RENA.PA ) could have been used to develop test-cheating diesel engines, according to documents seen by Reuters. The European Union lending arm wrote to judges leading a fraud investigation into preliminary findings that Renault diesel engines - like Volkswagen''s ( VOWG_p.DE ) - had been configured to manipulate nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions tests. Renault, which has consistently denied breaking any laws or emissions rules, had no immediate comment on Friday. The Luxembourg-based European Investment Bank (EIB) and Paris prosecutor''s office did not respond to requests for comment. Since 2009, the EIB has granted more than 8 billion euros in preferential loans to back development of vehicles with lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by carmakers including VW, exposed in 2015 for using software "defeat devices" to dupe U.S. regulatory tests. Technologies funded by the EIB have included diesel engines, because they emit less CO2 than gasoline equivalents. More recently, however, diesels have been shown to produce many times the legal limit of toxic NOx in real driving. "The EIB has granted Renault several loans to finance projects including research and development to reduce vehicle CO2 emissions (amounting to more than 800 million euros)," the bank''s chief fraud investigator told the French judges. The Jan. 30 letter also proposes a follow-up meeting "in order to establish whether our financing is implicated in your investigations and to offer you all possible assistance." It adds: "The EIB enforces a zero-tolerance policy toward fraud and corruption and strives to ensure that no illegal activity tarnishes its business." MARKET FALLOUT Renault shares fell 7.8 percent in three days to end last week at 78.65 euros after excerpts of a November report by France''s DGCCRF consumer fraud watchdog appeared in newspapers, wiping 2 billion euros off the company''s value. The stock has since recovered some ground to 80.37 euros, as of 1210 GMT (8:10 a.m. ET). Based on the agency''s findings, prosecutors opened an investigation in January into fraud allegations against Renault and its Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn. If found guilty, the group could be fined up to 10 percent of annual revenue, or 3.58 billion euros. The DGCCRF report, also seen by Reuters, cites engine software parameters from Renault''s own technical documentation that partially or entirely deactivate anti-pollution functions such as exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and "lean NOx traps" (LNT) outside predictable regulatory test conditions. "The use of software in the (engine) calculator to limit the effectiveness of anti-pollution devices mainly or exclusively to vehicle approval tests is a strategy that Renault has implemented," the DGCCRF concluded. Renault has argued in press briefings that the limits on emissions control were necessary to protect its engines while maintaining driving performance and fuel efficiency, and therefore allowed under current EU rules. The carmaker has nonetheless recalled almost 11,500 cars to tweak engine calibrations and reduce NOx emissions - a handful of the 900,000 sold in France with the controversial software. Changes will include extending the narrow range of air intake temperatures within which the EGR is programmed to work. In France''s climate, the calibration renders the anti-pollution device virtually useless for seven months of the year, Renault itself concedes in company documents also seen by Reuters. The EIB, the world''s biggest multilateral lender with almost 80 billion euros granted each year, has faced scrutiny over its funding to carmakers in light of the "dieselgate" scandal and subsequent investigations in France and other countries. VW, which has set aside 22.6 billion euros to cover its U.S. criminal settlement and other costs, was awarded 400 million euros by the bank in 2009 to develop "green technologies". The German carmaker''s use of EIB funds has been "very thoroughly" investigated, bank President Werner Hoyer was quoted as saying at a January news conference. "We have not found any indication that our loans might have been used for fraudulent purposes." (Reporting by Laurence Frost; Editing by Mark Potter) Next In Business News All drill, no frack: U.S. shale leaves thousands of wells unfinished NEW YORK U.S. shale producers are drilling at the highest rate in 18 months but have left a record number of wells unfinished in the largest oilfield in the country a sign that output may not rise as swiftly as drilling activity would indicate. WASHINGTON, March 24 - New orders for key U.S.-made capital goods unexpectedly fell in February, but a surge in shipments amid demand for machinery and electrical MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-renault-diesel-eib-idUSKBN16V1MR'|'2017-03-24T21:06:00.000+03:00' +'f48f491ccc484ece1490acf8eb5837a1c3960765'|'Options exchanges resume routing to CBOE after connectivity issue'|'By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed - NEW YORK NEW YORK Several U.S. options exchanges, including those run by Nasdaq Inc ( NDAQ.O ) and the New York Stock Exchange, declared "self-help" alerts against CBOE Holdings Inc''s ( CBOE.O ) CBOE Options Exchange for a short time on Monday, signaling problems processing trades.A "self-help" alert is a notification issued by a trading exchange when another exchange is dealing with internal problems processing trades and orders are routed through alternate venues.CBOE, which opened on time at 9:30 a.m. EDT, faced connectivity issues with a number of firms, said Suzanne Cosgrove, a company spokeswoman.As of 10:08 a.m. EDT, connectivity was re-established, but CBOE was still working with some firms regarding their remaining individual issues, she said. Trading on CBOE was not halted, she said.MIAX Options and MIAX PEARL options exchanges declared "self-help" on the CBOE Options Exchange as of 9:38 a.m. EDT. These were soon followed by Nasdaq-operated options exchanges, including the NASDAQ Options Market and the PHLX.NYSE Amex Options and NYSE Arca Options suspended routing to the CBOE, the NYSE said in a status message.By 11:48 a.m. EDT, all the exchanges had resumed routing trades to the CBOE.The CBOE is the operator of the largest U.S. stock options market, and the CBOE Volatility Index .VIX and the S&P 500 Index .SPX options trade exclusively on the CBOE.Trading volume in VIX and SPX options did not appear to be affected, said Fred Ruffy, analyst at New York-based options analytics firm Trade Alert.(Editing by Dan Grebler and Matthew Lewis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-options-cboe-idINKBN16Y223'|'2017-03-27T14:26:00.000+03:00' +'a5cc9d288797b9f5dca5ff6c26527d6d786f33eb'|'Catholic diocese in Minnesota files for bankruptcy over sex abuse'|'By Jim Christie - March 3 March 3 A Catholic diocese in Minnesota filed for bankruptcy on Friday, joining more than a dozen other U.S. Catholic districts and religious orders driven to seek protection from creditors by the church''s clergy sex abuse scandal.The Roman Catholic Diocese of New Ulm, which is southwest of Minneapolis, said in a statement it will use Chapter 11 bankruptcy to reorganize its finances and produce a plan to pay creditors.The rural diocese is defending 101 lawsuits involving alleged sex abuse by clergy mostly from the 1950s through the 1970s. Minnesota had lifted the civil statute of limitations for a period of three years ending May 25, 2016, allowing claims from prior decades to be brought."It is unknown how long this will take, but we seek to complete the reorganization process as promptly and efficiently as possible," the diocese said.Bishop John LeVoir in a statement said reorganization would allow the diocese "to fulfill its obligation, as much as possible, to victims and survivors of clergy sexual abuse of minors, while continuing to carry out its ministry."Bankruptcy provides a way for debtors and creditors to resolve claims. The broader work within the Catholic Church of rooting out sex abuse is being overseen by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, set up by Pope Francis in 2014.The diocese is the third in Minnesota to file for bankruptcy in recent years over claims of clergy sex abuse.Reports of sex abuse by priests and coverups by the Catholic hierarchy exploded in U.S. media in 2002 and have pushed prominent dioceses like Milwaukee''s into bankruptcy and have led to about $3 billion in settlements.The Diocese of New Ulm in court papers proposed the appointment of U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Gregg Zive of Nevada to serve as a mediator. The diocese said it has already been in negotiations with lawyers for individuals who have brought sex abuse claims."The diocese intends to continue these negotiations and believes that a structured mediation setting would best facilitate a resolution for all of the interested parties in these cases," the diocese said in its court papers.Zive oversaw mediation of similar claims in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Stockton, California. The Stockton diocese received court approval for its bankruptcy reorganization in January.(Reporting by Jim Christie in San Francisco; Editing by Matthew Lewis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/minnesota-church-sexcrimes-idINL2N1GG0YS'|'2017-03-03T16:06:00.000+02:00' +'e3ed4834893983f417fa7cd80e68a8d6db9c2c4c'|'Italy to test EU rules again with Veneto banks bailout'|'By Stefano Bernabei and Francesco Guarascio - ROME/BRUSSELS ROME/BRUSSELS Italy''s plans to bail out two regional banks pose a tough dilemma to European regulators, who are still considering whether Monte dei Paschi qualifies for state aid, three months after giving a preliminary green light.Banca Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca said on Friday they had requested a so-called precautionary recapitalization by the state - a mechanism that exploits an exception to European rules meant to prevent the use of taxpayer money to save banks.Italy is already seeking to use the scheme for its fourth biggest bank Monte dei Paschi ( BMPS.MI ), where the state is expected to inject 6.6 billion euros to fill an 8.8 billion euro capital shortfall.The rest of the money needed by the Tuscan bank is due to come from holders of its junior debt, but retail investors in its subordinated bonds will be compensated by the government, on the grounds that they were mis-sold the securities.Rome wants to replicate that framework to inject an estimated 5 billion euros in the two unlisted Veneto-based banks, already rescued once, last year, by government-sponsored, privately funded bank bailout fund Atlante.The government is keen to avoid imposing unpopular losses on tens of thousands of ordinary Italians who put their savings in the banks. It also wants to spare senior bond investors and big current account holders - who would otherwise have to take a hit under a strict interpretation of European bail-in rules.Those rules say state aid can be allowed on a temporary basis to banks that have failed regulatory stress tests but are still deemed solvent, if refusal would risk seriously disturbing the economy and financial stability of a member state.The European Central Bank decided not to disclose the outcome of stress tests on smaller banks - so there is a question mark over the Veneto banks'' exact state of health.The ECB will have to assess whether they are viable and determine the size of their capital shortfall, while the European Commission will decide whether Italy''s public support for the two banks is in line with EU state aid rules.Some analysts question whether the two banks can be considered systemic, given that their combined assets are around 70 billion euros - less than half Monte dei Paschi''s total.GERMAN CONCERNTwo sources familiar with Italy''s position said Rome argues in private that the two banks'' failure would send shock waves through the wider Italian financial industry. It would also boost anti-euro political forces such as the 5-Star Movement at the next national election, scheduled for 2018.The Italian treasury declined to comment.The ECB and the European Commission that governs the bloc are under pressure not to allow Italy to sidestep the rules, which critics say would undermine their credibility.Germany, the euro zone''s largest economy, raised concerns about the Monte dei Paschi plan in December. After weeks of negotiations, Italian Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said on Tuesday there was no date set for a final decision by European regulators on whether it ticked all the boxes.Asked whether the request for state aid by the Veneto banks was stretching EU rules, an EU source said overuse of the precautionary recapitalization scheme could set an unhealthy precedent for countries seeking to avoid winding down weak banks."If the instrument is used often, and therefore loses its extraordinary nature, as foreseen by the rules, that could be interpreted as an attempt to avoid banking resolution," the source said.A European Commission spokesman said only that the commission had ongoing contacts with Italy over its banking sector. The ECB declined to comment.SHAREHOLDERS DECIDEA further problem for the Veneto lenders is that government bailouts cannot cover losses already incurred or likely in the near future - such as those stemming from bad loan writedowns.In Italy, lenders are saddled with 360 billion euros of gross problematic debts, a third of the euro zone''s total.The market is pricing in doubts over whether the two Veneto banks fit the bill. Senior bonds in both lenders fell last week on concerns they could be hit should the state aid scheme not come to pass, although they partly rebounded this week.As neither bank has published full-year results for 2016, investors are in the dark about their real capital needs.Based on the latest available figures for the first half of last year, problematic loans at the two lenders after writedowns totaled 10.2 billion euros at end-June, almost double their combined equity capital of 5.7 billion euros.Last October the head of Atlante, which owns more than 97 percent of each bank, said their cost-income ratio stood at around 100 percent, a level which he said would make it impossible for any bank to stand on its feet.A source close to the two banks said they should just about be able to offset expected loan loss charges by using their existing capital, imposing losses on junior debt holders and selling assets. The source however said this course of action still needed to be discussed with regulators.Spokespeople for both banks declined to comment.With a criminal investigation underway over fraud allegations, the banks are offering to settle with around 170,000 shareholders who were in many cases persuaded to buy their shares in exchange for loans. The aim is to shield the banks from future lawsuits and further losses.The two lenders said initially they were aiming for an 80 percent take-up. As of Friday both stood at around 50 percent.The source close to the two banks said that if they can reach a take-up of 60-70 percent by the time the offer ends on Wednesday, this should be enough to convince European authorities that legal risks have been greatly reduced.(additional reporting by Giselda Vagnoni in Rome and Valentina Za in Milan, writing Silvia Aloisi, editing by Philippa Fletcher)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-banks-italy-veneto-idINKBN16T0HE'|'2017-03-22T03:07:00.000+02:00' +'6585fb5fba347f533d7c6aae5f98dad1fe2a7478'|'Saudi in ''serious discussions'' with NYSE for Aramco IPO listing: foreign minister'|'WASHINGTON Saudi Arabia is having "serious discussions" with the New York Stock Exchange about having the NYSE as one of the exchanges for state oil giant Saudi Aramco''s IPO, the Saudi foreign minister told Fox News on Thursday."Our objective is to try to complete the IPO sometime in 2018. There are serious discussions with the New York Stock Exchange about having the NYSE be one of the exchanges for the Aramco IPO and I believe the decision will be made on the financial merits," Adel al-Jubeir told Fox News.(Reporting by Eric Walsh; Writing by Yara Bayoumy; Editing by James Dalgleish)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-aramco-idINKBN16U35D'|'2017-03-23T20:02:00.000+02:00' +'26e64a942084c48bae9b9edac1c4f1c12490cc84'|'Trillion-dollar question looms as Aramco audits oil reserves'|' 55am GMT Trillion-dollar question looms as Aramco audits oil reserves FILE PHOTO: Logo of Saudi Aramco is seen at the 20th Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference (MOES 2017) in Manama, Bahrain, March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo By Reem Shamseddine , Rania El Gamal and Alex Lawler - KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia/DUBAI KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia/DUBAI When Saudi Aramco [IPO-ARMO.SE] reveals a Western audit of its oil reserves, investors will be looking for two answers: How much oil and how much detail? Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih has hinted at a surprise on the upside on reserve volumes ahead of Aramco''s 2018 share listing, but industry sources say detail on individual deposits which investors have long sought - will be thin. Saudi Arabia''s reserves of easily recoverable oil have long been the world''s largest. But there also have long been questions about the volume and quality of those reserves. For nearly 30 years - despite rising production, wild swings in oil prices and improved technology - Riyadh has annually reported the same number for reserves of 261 billion barrels, according to BPs statistical review. Firms listing in New York are required to have a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission audit. Last year, the SEC launched a probe into why the world''s largest listed oil company, ExxonMobil ( XOM.N ), reported virtually unchanged reserves for years despite a plunge in prices. Exxon revised its reserves down last month. Having an internationally recognized reserves audit has become a key task for Aramco as it seeks to become the world''s most valuable company when it lists shares in an initial public offering (IPO) for 5 percent of the firm''s value. An industry source told Reuters that Aramco aimed to have one of its two reserves auditors wrap up the review this year, long before the share listing. Dallas-based DeGolyer and MacNaughton, and Gaffney, Cline and Associates, part of Baker Hughes ( BHI.N ), are involved in the auditing, sources have said. When the reserves are confirmed by the auditors, the results are likely to be similar to the levels of disclosure by international peers such as BP BP.L. and Royal Dutch/Shell ( RDSa.L ), sources familiar with the process said. "What Aramco will do in the IPO is try to report in a similar way to other companies," a senior source with knowledge of the plans said. Listed majors'' reserves reports "vary a bit in detail and some give a greater breakdown. Aramco probably hasn''t decided that yet," the source said. Over a decade ago, Shell''s stock price collapsed after the company said it had overstated its reserves by 20 percent. No listed oil major has seen its stated deposits stay unchanged for the past 30 years. Aramco declined to comment. "Saudi Aramco does not comment on rumor or speculation," a company spokesman said. Gaffney, Cline and Associates also declined to comment, while DeGolyer did not respond to a request for comment. A reserves total that is significantly above or below the 261 billion figure is likely to affect Aramco''s potential value. Earlier phases of the audit have supported Aramco''s statements on the total size of deposits. Aramco is showing all its data to the auditors, the sources said, and is using two firms rather than one in an effort to bolster confidence that the process is not a rubber-stamping of Aramco figures. "Our reserves have been partially audited and are bigger than we actually booked," Falih said this week. "On every metric, Aramco will surprise analysts on the upside - lowest cost, highest cash flow, solid reserves that will be certified by third-party agencies." WHAT''S IN THE GROUND? Historically Aramco has provided little detail publicly on its reserves other than total volume. Publicly traded oil companies such as BP and Shell with assets distributed globally give more detail than just a headline figure, including reserves by geographic location and whether they are developed or undeveloped. However, they do not give reserves by individual field - and for Aramco that is precisely what investors want, because its oil is concentrated in one country, Saudi Arabia. Sadad al-Husseini, a former Aramco senior executive and now energy consultant, said Aramco has extensive details on its reserves in every field but it was not common practice for national oil companies to identify their deposits on that basis. "What it might do initially is give a corporate summary and break it down by crude grade with more data to follow," he said. Aramco''s precise level of disclosure has yet to be decided, the source familiar with the plans said. He noted that Western majors do not list reserves by field. "There is no way Aramco will be giving field-by-field detailed reserves," another industry source familiar with the plans said, adding that the firm considers reserves decline rates and field maturity as sensitive, non-public data. The question of how much oil is left at the biggest Saudi field, Ghawar, has long intrigued market watchers. "What they need to offer is a package of assets with value-chain, operating and financial detail comparable to that made available by integrated oil companies," said Jason Kenney, head of European oil and gas research at Santander. "I doubt you''re going to get a full breakdown of the 261 billion barrels - but maybe the IPO is not about a full upstream offering either. To attract the investors, youve got to offer the same level of transparency as alternative investments." (Reporting by Reem Shamseddine in Khobar, Rania El Gamal in Dubai and Alex Lawler in London; Editing by Dmitry Zhdannikov and Dale Hudson) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-aramco-ipo-reserves-analysis-idUKKBN16H190'|'2017-03-10T17:51:00.000+02:00' +'b181012330ee368ea94f2baca513ca8d5a335005'|'French court takes financial penalty from law protecting workers safety'|' 27pm GMT French court takes financial penalty from law protecting workers safety PARIS France''s constitutional court took the financial sting out of a new law requiring big companies to make sure their subsidiaries and subcontractors around the world respect human rights and environmental rules, striking down its power to levy fines. The law was intended to improve factory conditions and workers'' rights after the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory complex in Bangladesh four years ago, when 1,136 people were killed. The disaster brought demands for greater safety in the world''s second-largest exporter of readymade clothes and put pressure on companies buying clothes from Bangladesh to enforce standards. The French law, passed this year after years of negotiation, requires companies with more than 5,000 employees, or 10,000 including their foreign subsidiaries, to publish plans to prevent violations of human rights and environmental regulations in their supply chains. They could have been fined up to 30 million euros (25.61 million pounds) if they failed to put the plans in place. The court on Thursday left intact the requirement for companies to draw up the plans, but ruled that the law was too vague to require fines. Socialist lawmakers pushed the law through parliament in the face of opposition from conservatives and then economy minister Emmanuel Macron, who feared it could make French companies less competitive. Macron, running as an independent, is now favourite to win presidential elections held over two rounds in April and May. Economy Minister Michel Sapin said in a statement that the law should be revised to be made clearer. However, parliament is out of session until a June legislative election in which the ruling Socialists are likely to lose their majority. (Reporting by Emile Picy; writing by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Adrian Croft and Elaine Hardcastle) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-business-idUKKBN16U2QZ'|'2017-03-24T03:27:00.000+03:00' +'895ea4071a45b968c2ec5cb2c5b7cb1bef454836'|'Italy to test EU rules again with Veneto banks bailout'|' 6:07am GMT Italy to test EU rules again with Veneto banks bailout left right FILE PHOTO: The logo of Veneto Banca bank is seen in Venice, Italy, January 31 2016. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: Banca Popolare di Vicenza headquater is seen in Vicenza, Italy, March 5, 2016. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini/File Photo 2/2 By Stefano Bernabei and Francesco Guarascio - ROME/BRUSSELS ROME/BRUSSELS Italy''s plans to bail out two regional banks pose a tough dilemma to European regulators, who are still considering whether Monte dei Paschi qualifies for state aid, three months after giving a preliminary green light. Banca Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca said on Friday they had requested a so-called precautionary recapitalization by the state - a mechanism that exploits an exception to European rules meant to prevent the use of taxpayer money to save banks. Italy is already seeking to use the scheme for its fourth biggest bank Monte dei Paschi ( BMPS.MI ), where the state is expected to inject 6.6 billion euros to fill an 8.8 billion euro capital shortfall. The rest of the money needed by the Tuscan bank is due to come from holders of its junior debt, but retail investors in its subordinated bonds will be compensated by the government, on the grounds that they were mis-sold the securities. Rome wants to replicate that framework to inject an estimated 5 billion euros in the two unlisted Veneto-based banks, already rescued once, last year, by government-sponsored, privately funded bank bailout fund Atlante. The government is keen to avoid imposing unpopular losses on tens of thousands of ordinary Italians who put their savings in the banks. It also wants to spare senior bond investors and big current account holders - who would otherwise have to take a hit under a strict interpretation of European bail-in rules. Those rules say state aid can be allowed on a temporary basis to banks that have failed regulatory stress tests but are still deemed solvent, if refusal would risk seriously disturbing the economy and financial stability of a member state. The European Central Bank decided not to disclose the outcome of stress tests on smaller banks - so there is a question mark over the Veneto banks'' exact state of health. The ECB will have to assess whether they are viable and determine the size of their capital shortfall, while the European Commission will decide whether Italy''s public support for the two banks is in line with EU state aid rules. Some analysts question whether the two banks can be considered systemic, given that their combined assets are around 70 billion euros - less than half Monte dei Paschi''s total. GERMAN CONCERN Two sources familiar with Italy''s position said Rome argues in private that the two banks'' failure would send shock waves through the wider Italian financial industry. It would also boost anti-euro political forces such as the 5-Star Movement at the next national election, scheduled for 2018. The Italian treasury declined to comment. The ECB and the European Commission that governs the bloc are under pressure not to allow Italy to sidestep the rules, which critics say would undermine their credibility. Germany, the euro zone''s largest economy, raised concerns about the Monte dei Paschi plan in December. After weeks of negotiations, Italian Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said on Tuesday there was no date set for a final decision by European regulators on whether it ticked all the boxes. Asked whether the request for state aid by the Veneto banks was stretching EU rules, an EU source said overuse of the precautionary recapitalization scheme could set an unhealthy precedent for countries seeking to avoid winding down weak banks. "If the instrument is used often, and therefore loses its extraordinary nature, as foreseen by the rules, that could be interpreted as an attempt to avoid banking resolution," the source said. A European Commission spokesman said only that the commission had ongoing contacts with Italy over its banking sector. The ECB declined to comment. SHAREHOLDERS DECIDE A further problem for the Veneto lenders is that government bailouts cannot cover losses already incurred or likely in the near future - such as those stemming from bad loan writedowns. In Italy, lenders are saddled with 360 billion euros of gross problematic debts, a third of the euro zone''s total. The market is pricing in doubts over whether the two Veneto banks fit the bill. Senior bonds in both lenders fell last week on concerns they could be hit should the state aid scheme not come to pass, although they partly rebounded this week. As neither bank has published full-year results for 2016, investors are in the dark about their real capital needs. Based on the latest available figures for the first half of last year, problematic loans at the two lenders after writedowns totaled 10.2 billion euros at end-June, almost double their combined equity capital of 5.7 billion euros. Last October the head of Atlante, which owns more than 97 percent of each bank, said their cost-income ratio stood at around 100 percent, a level which he said would make it impossible for any bank to stand on its feet. A source close to the two banks said they should just about be able to offset expected loan loss charges by using their existing capital, imposing losses on junior debt holders and selling assets. The source however said this course of action still needed to be discussed with regulators. Spokespeople for both banks declined to comment. With a criminal investigation underway over fraud allegations, the banks are offering to settle with around 170,000 shareholders who were in many cases persuaded to buy their shares in exchange for loans. The aim is to shield the banks from future lawsuits and further losses. The two lenders said initially they were aiming for an 80 percent take-up. As of Friday both stood at around 50 percent. The source close to the two banks said that if they can reach a take-up of 60-70 percent by the time the offer ends on Wednesday, this should be enough to convince European authorities that legal risks have been greatly reduced. (additional reporting by Giselda Vagnoni in Rome and Valentina Za in Milan, writing Silvia Aloisi, editing by Philippa Fletcher) Next In Business News Fed''s Kaplan sees three rate hikes in 2017, no rush on balance sheet SAN FRANCISCO With the U.S. workforce nearly fully employed and inflation heading toward 2 percent, the Federal Reserve should raise interest rates two more times this year and continue work on a plan to gradually trim its massive balance sheet, Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan said.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-banks-italy-veneto-idUKKBN16T0HE'|'2017-03-22T13:02:00.000+02:00' +'384d5de6c83aca1c6188c01d82c1bb15f8191cc9'|'Grupo Mexico says Florida railroad purchase offers U.S. exposure'|'MEXICO CITY Mexican mining, rail and infrastructure firm Grupo Mexico said on Wednesday its planned takeover of Florida East Coast Railway would allow the company to expand its exposure to the U.S. rail freight and dollarized markets.In an analyst call, Grupo Mexico executives said they expected the $2.1 billion deal, which is subject to government approval, to close within 60-90 days.They added that the company was always open to new acquisition opportunities, but had no imminent plans for a long-delayed initial public offering of its rail unit.(Reporting by Gabriel Stargardter and Veroinca Gomez)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-floridaeastcoastrailway-m-a-grupo-mex-idINKBN1702Q9'|'2017-03-29T16:20:00.000+03:00' +'f1f22e635bb6986266e2e384819f84bfd8c86f74'|'South Africa''s Ramaphosa told Zuma he disagreed with Gordhan sacking'|'Company News 26am EDT South Africa''s Ramaphosa told Zuma he disagreed with Gordhan sacking JOHANNESBURG, March 31 South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Friday he told President Jacob Zuma that he disagreed with his decision to sack Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan. "I told the President so, that I would not agree with him on his reasoning to remove the minister of finance," Ramaphosa told reporters. (Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg; Writing by Ed Stoddard; Editing by Joe Brock) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/safrica-politics-deputypresident-idUSJ8N1GY01F'|'2017-03-31T17:26:00.000+03:00' +'0b43be0b44c916f68bed25389998c771082a4b4e'|'UK car industry body says no Brexit deal is not an option'|'LONDON, March 29 No deal in Brexit talks between Britain and the European Union is not an option, the country''s car industry body said as Prime Minister Theresa May formally triggered divorce proceedings from the European Union.In January, May said: "I am equally clear that no deal for Britain is better than a bad deal for Britain", but carmakers fear that without a formal agreement, UK-built cars would face export tariffs of up to 10 percent, risking the future of plants."We will continue to work with government and our European counterparts but no deal is not an option," the Chief Executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Mike Hawes said on Wednesday. (Reporting by Costas Pitas, editing by Paul Sandle)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-eu-smmt-idINL9N1FN01C'|'2017-03-29T10:39:00.000+03:00' +'cd744e126edff7f3178b880cf059f2d58d93f240'|'UK retail sales suffer biggest three-monthly drop since 2010 as fuel costs bite'|'British retail sales in the three months to February recorded their biggest slide in nearly seven years as higher fuel prices eroded shoppers'' disposable income, official data showed on Thursday.British inflation is starting to climb rapidly in the wake of the hefty slide in sterling seen after June''s vote to leave the European Union - something economists expect to eat into consumer demand, the main motor of British economic growth.Sales volumes in February alone beat all economists'' expectations in a Reuters poll, jumping by 1.4 percent from January, but this was too little to offset a drag from weak demand in previous months, the Office for National Statistics said.Looking at the three months to February as a whole, sales volumes were down by 1.4 percent after a 0.5 percent decline in the three months to January, their biggest fall since March 2010. A drag on overall first-quarter economic growth now looks all but certain unless March sees an unprecedentedly large jump in sales, the ONS said.Official data earlier this week showed consumer price inflation jumped to 2.3 percent, its highest in more than three years, and the narrower measure of inflation used by the ONS to calculate retail sales growth rose to its highest since March 2012 at 2.8 percent."The underlying trend suggests that rising petrol prices in particular have had a negative effect on the overall quantity of goods bought over the last three months," ONS statistician Kate Davies said.Compared with a year earlier, February sales volumes were up 3.7 percent - beating forecasts for a 2.6 percent rise - after growing just 1.0 percent on the year in January.The outlook for consumer spending is key for policymakers gauging the outlook for Britain''s economy as it gears up to leave the European Union.Spending by shoppers was robust in the months following June''s Brexit vote, but more recently there have been signs retail spending is starting to wilt as inflation rises - fuelled partly by the pound''s plunge since the referendum.Retailers have reported shoppers were buying less in response to higher prices, though the picture is mixed and other areas of consumer spending such as eating out have been growing robustly, a Bank of England report showed on Wednesday.On Thursday one of Britain''s biggest clothing retailers, Next, said it was "extremely cautious" about the year ahead after it reported a 4 percent fall in annual profits.The retailer blamed a long-term shift in Britons'' appetite for new clothing, as well as cost pressures and shoppers having less disposable income.By contrast, a day earlier the finance chief of home improvements retailer Kingfisher, Karen Witts, said she had not yet seen any big change in customer behaviour, despite concerns about the outlook.Lead indicators of demand such as the number of tradesmen buying costly power tools and work wear were holding up "very well", Witts said after Kingfisher released annual earnings on Wednesday.(Reporting by David Milliken and Alistair Smout)((uk.economics@reuters.com, Tel: +44 20 7542 5109))'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-economy-retail-idINKBN16U13T'|'2017-03-23T07:11:00.000+02:00' +'21ab5c0145121e8c250b75ae70377d442d603c42'|'FTSE drops as Trump trade sours, ''fiscal frustration'' takes hold'|' 18am GMT FTSE drops as Trump trade sours, ''fiscal frustration'' takes hold Britain''s Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond (3rd L), opens the London Stock Exchange with Xavier Rolet, CEO (L) and joined by a banking and financial delegation from China, 10, 2016. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls - RTX2SYXC By Helen Reid - LONDON LONDON British shares pulled back on Wednesday, weighed by bankers and miners as a global risk-off mood combined with a stronger pound conspired against the UK stock market. Britain''s blue-chip FTSE 100 index .FTSE was down 0.9 percent, hitting a two-week low and set for its biggest daily drop since late January. Investors globally were growing concerned that much-anticipated reflationary policies from the new U.S. administration would take longer to materialise than hoped. Banking and mining, which had seen the greatest gains from the ''Trump trade'' as investors bet on reflation and infrastructure spending, were the biggest sector fallers. "There''s a degree of fiscal frustration - what''s been driving markets is the hope and promise of fiscal stimulus, tax cuts and deregulation, and investors were expecting many more details than what we have by this point," said Alex Dryden, global market strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management. "Markets have been very tranquil so far this year, and that suggests to me that any sort of move was going to cause some shockwaves," he added. A pound strengthened by a jump in inflation was also putting pressure on Britain''s major index, whose constituents mainly earn foreign currency. Rio Tinto ( RIO.L ), BHP Billiton ( BLT.L ) and Ashtead ( AHT.L ) were among top fallers, down 2.6 to 3.5 percent, as lower copper prices dragged on the miners. Barclays ( BARC.L ), Standard Chartered ( STAN.L ) and RBS ( RBS.L ) were down 2.7 to 3.3 percent, Home improvement retailer Kingfisher ( KGF.L ) was the top faller, down 5.4 percent after it said it was cautious on demand in its markets. Kingfisher said it was concerned uncertainty around French and British politics could hit future demand, after it beat 2016 profit forecasts thanks to solid performance in its home market. As investors turned to safe haven assets and dividend-yielding stocks, gold miners Randgold Resources ( RRS.L ) and Fresnillo ( FRES.L ) were among a handful of companies making timid gains, along with telecoms group BT ( BT.L ) and consumer giant Unilever UKVR.L. "This is a classic risk-off move - people fly to safety, to the names that they know, as they reprice their fiscal policy outlook," said Dryden. British Airways owner International Consolidated Air ( ICAG.L ) was also among top fallers, along with Easyjet ( EZJ.L ). Both airlines would be affected by Britain joining the U.S. in imposing restrictions on carry-on electronic devices on planes coming from certain airports in the Middle East and North Africa. The mid-caps index .FTMC was set for its biggest fall since early November, down 1.2 percent and set for its second day of losses. Miners were the top fallers among mid-caps too, with Vedanta Resources ( VED.L ) and Acacia Mining ( ACAA.L ) down 5.4 and 5.3 percent. (Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Tom Heneghan) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks-idUKKBN16T134'|'2017-03-22T17:18:00.000+02:00' +'f00e60e67f695e2c27c1288ff70f275ef9b0cc6c'|'Henkel offers $1.05 bln to buy Darex Packaging from GCP'|'Deals 08am EST Henkel offers $1.05 billion to buy Darex Packaging from GCP A logo of consumer goods group Henkel is pictured before its annual news conference in Duesseldorf March 8, 2012. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender/File Photo FRANKFURT German consumer products group Henkel said it had submitted a binding offer to buy the global Darex Packaging Technologies business from GCP Applied Technologies for $1.05 billion on a cash and debt free basis. In connection with this binding offer, GCP will begin consultations with workers'' representatives, Henkel said in a statement on Thursday. "Upon completion of that process, it is intended to enter into a definitive purchase and sale agreement in respect of the proposed sale," it said. (Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Shadia Nasralla) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-darex-m-a-henkel-kgaa-idUSKBN1690IJ'|'2017-03-02T13:06:00.000+02:00' +'8c127ff3d7c630bd8ddba926026cd77ef5b4bf9c'|'Exclusive: Impax Laboratories taps Morgan Stanley for strategic review - sources'|'Generic drugmaker Impax Laboratories Inc ( IPXL.O ) has asked investment bank Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) to help it conduct a strategic review, as it tries to cope with a tougher drug pricing environment, people familiar with the matter said.The past year has seen mounting pressure on generic drugmakers, as speedier approvals of generic products by U.S. regulators ratchets up competition in the sector, squeezing smaller players such as Impax that lack bargaining power.The review will consider multiple options available to Impax, including the possibility of it participating in the industry''s consolidation wave through an acquisition or a sale of the company, the people said on Tuesday.No decision to pursue a course of action will be made, however, until Impax appoints a new chief executive officer, after Fred Wilkinson abruptly stepped down from the post in December, the people said. The new CEO''s appointment is expected to be announced as early as April, the people added.The sources asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential. Impax did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Morgan Stanley declined to comment.Impax shares jumped as much as 11 percent on the news, and were trading up 3.5 percent at $8.70 on the Nasdaq in afternoon trading on Tuesday, giving the Fort Washington, Pennsylvania-based company a market capitalization of around $700 million.In its most recent earnings call, Impax said that its sales in 2016 declined 4 percent compared to the previous year, to around $825 million, largely driven by pricing pressure on its generics drugs. It also has a smaller business focused on the specialty pharmaceuticals.That decline disappointed investors, who had come to expect robust annual sales growth. Going into 2016, management had said it expected revenues to grow by at least 15 percent."Our business was impacted by new and aggressive competition on several of our generic products as the FDA accelerated the rate of (new generic drug) approvals," interim chief executive Kevin Buchi said during the company''s latest quarterly earnings call.U.S. President Donald Trump said in January that some drugmakers are "getting away with murder," and vowed to use new negotiating tactics to reign in price hikes.Meanwhile, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been implementing new rules that are designed to speed up approval of new generic drugs that analysts say will continue to put considerable pressure on generics drug makers in the coming years.(Reporting by Carl O''Donnell and Greg Roumeliotis in New York; editing by Phil Berlowitz, Bernard Orr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-impax-labs-m-a-idUSKBN16E2FY'|'2017-03-07T22:13:00.000+02:00' +'2dd932334c5a66f720e965803fdbde13cbb54403'|'Credit Agricole picks JPMorgan for Banque Saudi Fransi sale -sources'|'Company News - Wed Mar 8, 2017 - 3:53am EST Credit Agricole picks JPMorgan for Banque Saudi Fransi sale -sources DUBAI, March 8 French bank Credit Agricole has picked JPMorgan to help in a potential sale of its 31 percent stake in Banque Saudi Fransi, valued at nearly $2.4 billion, sources familiar with the deal said. The sale would be an opportunity for a foreign buyer to gain a foothold in the kingdom''s banking sector, in which 12 commercial lenders share total assets worth around 2.22 trillion riyals ($592 billion). Credit Agricole''s move comes as banks around the world are shedding minority stakes in other banks as new global rules mean they now have to hold more capital against those holdings. Credit Agricole and Banque Saudi Fransi declined to comment, while JPMorgan was not immediately available to comment. The sources declined to be identified because the details of the deal are not public. Bloomberg earlier reported that Credit Agricole was weighing the sale of its stake in the Saudi lender. ($1 = 3.7503 riyals) (Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh, Saeed Azhar and Tom Arnold; additional reporting by Maya Nikolaeva in Paris; Editing by Jason Neely and Alexander Smith) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/credit-agricole-saudi-idUSL5N1GL1GQ'|'2017-03-08T15:53:00.000+02:00' +'f0de7cc4656d8717fd8958a65c8f1c9587369d4f'|'Sterling slips as Brexit talks get green light, stocks advance before Fed'|' 6:55am GMT Sterling slips as Brexit talks get green light, stocks advance before Fed left right A pile of one pound coins is seen in a photo illustration shot June 17, 2008. REUTERS/Toby Melville/Illustration/File Photo 1/2 left right Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen testifies before a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on the Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 14, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo 2/2 By Nichola Saminather - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Sterling dropped on Tuesday after Britain''s parliament paved the way for Prime Minister Theresa May to launch divorce talks with the European Union, while stocks advanced ahead of an expected U.S. interest rate later in the week. European stocks were set for a mixed start, with financial spreadbetters expecting Britain''s FTSE 100 .FTSE and Germany''s DAX .GDAXI to dip in early trade, while France''s CAC 40 .FCHI was seen inching up. The pound GBP=D4 weakened 0.5 percent to $1.2155 after both houses of parliament backed the so-called Brexit bill, opening the door for May to start the clock on the required two-year negotiation period by the end of this month. The euro EUR=EBS lost almost 0.1 percent to $1.0645, extending Monday''s 0.2 percent loss. On Monday, sterling had jumped 0.36 percent after Scotland''s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon demanded a new independent referendum in late 2018 or early 2019, once the terms of the UK''s exit from the EU are clearer. The MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was up 0.2 percent, while Japan''s Nikkei .N225 closed down 0.1 percent. Shares of Toshiba Corp. ( 6502.T ) closed up 0.5 percent after plunging as much as 8.8 percent, their biggest one-day loss in almost a month. The company said it would "aggressively consider" a sale of most of Westinghouse and announced it had received approval from regulators to extend for a second time the Tuesday deadline for its official third-quarter earnings. Its statement earlier in the session that it had requested the extension to expand a probe into problems at its U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse sent the shares tumbling. Chinese shares reversed early gains after data showed retail sales cooled more than expected in the first two months of the year. [.SS] Other China data on Tuesday was more upbeat and positive for the global economy, with investment and industrial output expanding more than expected, but investors feared those signs of strength may not be sustainable. China has cut this year''s economic growth target to about 6.5 percent to give policymakers more room to push through painful reforms to contain financial risks. The economy grew 6.7 percent in 2016, the slowest pace in 26 years. On Monday, Goldman Sachs upgraded Chinese stocks to "overweight" on better growth prospects and a bullish view on the country''s banking sector. Its strategists cited rising producer prices and easing credit stress, and a brighter credit outlook and loan pricing for banks. Overnight, Wall Street was mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI down 0.1 percent, while Nasdaq .IXIC rose 0.24 percent and the S&P .SPX was little changed. With an interest rate hike this week by the Federal Reserve fully priced in, markets are focussed on any clues from the U.S. central bank about the pace of future rises. "On one hand, the market ponders a surprise hold, in which massive unwinding of positions could take place with the hike already priced in," Jingyi Pan, market strategist at IG in Singapore, wrote in an note. "On the other hand, concerns have also been paid to an acceleration in the Feds path to normalisation, where the likelihood of four Fed hikes has been raised, up from the current projection of three," she said. "The immediate reaction is likely to be seen in the dollar and upsides towards Decembers high on the dollar index may be eyed." The dollar index .DXY was 0.2 percent higher at 101.49, extending Monday''s gains following a bout of profit taking at the end of last week. The dollar gained 0.1 percent to 114.92 yen JPY=D4 , but remains below the seven-week high touched on Friday on expectations of a Fed move at the end of a two-day meeting on Wednesday. Markets are also awaiting a meeting of the Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers in the German town of Baden Baden starting on Friday, their first meeting since Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will be "pushing hard" to advance U.S. interests in his debut G20 meeting, including reaffirming commitments to avoid competitive currency devaluations, a senior Treasury official said on Monday. In commodities, oil prices dipped after touching a 3-1/2-month low in the previous session as concerns about rising U.S. production offset optimism about supply cuts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. U.S. crude CLc1 fell 0.1 percent to $48.36 a barrel, while global benchmark Brent LCOc1 was flat at $51.35. Gold XAU= slipped 0.1 percent to $1,202.52 ahead of the Fed decision. (Reporting by Nichola Saminather; Editing by Kim Coghill and Richard Borsuk) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets-idUKKBN16L03S'|'2017-03-14T13:55:00.000+02:00' +'299e34e8d59dff8f91de428b5f1426569b2bae79'|'EXCLUSIVE: Delta hires consultant to study refinery options - sources'|'By Jarrett Renshaw and Jessica Resnick-Ault - NEW YORK NEW YORK Delta Air Lines has hired a consultant to assess the impact on jet fuel prices if the carrier sells or closes the Philadelphia-area refinery it purchased five years ago to keep fuel affordable, two sources familiar with the process said. They said the consultant will also study other scenarios involving jet fuel prices and the refinery sector, including the impact if other refineries close. The U.S. East Coast refining industry is fighting a battle to survive, with concerns about a second wave of plant closures after four refineries shuttered in the past decade due to the rising costs of acquiring crude. Dallas-based consultancy Baker & OBrien Inc was asked to perform a financial valuation of the refinery''s assets and study other scenarios, such as other regional refineries closing and the financial impact of new emissions regulations, the sources said. Baker & O''Brien did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Delta, the worlds largest airline, shocked the industry in 2012 when it rescued the 185,000 barrel-per-day Trainer, Pennsylvania, refinery from near-closure, arguing in part that jet fuel prices in the region would spike if the plant closed. In a statement to Reuters, the airline confirmed that it had hired a consultant to look at the refinery business, but it did not name the consultant and added that it was a routine assessment and not a precursor to selling or closing the plant. Delta has said publicly many times that we are committed to the refinery and that position hadnt changed," Delta spokesman Trebor Banstetter said, in a statement. "The study was commissioned as a routine evaluation of our investment five years after the refinery was purchased." The refinery continues to perform as expected as part of the company''s broad fuel management strategy, he added. After profitable years in 2014 and 2015, Delta''s refinery lost $125 million last year as refinery industry margins collapsed. The company reported overall net income of $4.01 billion for the year, so the refinery''s loss was miniscule for its balance sheet. Skeptics argued in 2012 that Delta''s purchase subsidized competitors, who could enjoy the benefits of lower jet fuel prices without the burden of running a refinery. The plants manager told employees last year that refinery losses were offset by savings for the airline in jet fuel prices, saying the company was going to continue to maximize jet fuel production in the New York market to keep pressure on prices. "This negatively impacts our refinery economics, but greatly helps reduce Deltas fuel cost," refinery manager Jeff Warmann wrote then. As of December, Delta had decided to start marketing its own gasoline and diesel fuel produced at the refinery, rather than swap it under existing contracts. It was a signal the airline was trying to find ways to mitigate losses at the refinery. Baker & O''Brien is one of several firms that bid for the work, according to people familiar with the process. Several consultancies based in Texas focus on helping companies navigate strategy related to their refining operations. Often, these consultancies work with companies that do not have the capacity to do such studies in-house. The work was authorized by Delta from its Atlanta headquarters, not by Monroe Energy, the refining subsidiary, sources said. Ed Hirs, an energy economics professor at the University of Houston and a skeptic of Delta''s refinery purchase, said the company''s board was willing to overlook the refinery''s issues when it was making money, but losses will now draw more scrutiny. "From everything I''ve seen, the refinery has not been able to pay for itself," Hirs said. (Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw and Jessica Resnick-Ault; Editing by David Gregorio) Next In Money News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/delta-air-refineries-monroe-idINKBN16L29Z'|'2017-03-15T00:47:00.000+02:00' +'e76a2a0a2f5e86ca867f241eaeca4629c8c46bca'|'Oil major Total starts up production at Congo''s Moho Nord site'|' 12am EDT Oil major Total starts up production at Congo''s Moho Nord site PARIS, March 15 French oil major Total has started up production from the Moho Nord site off the coast of the Republic of Congo, with the facility set to have a production capacity of 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. "Moho Nord is the biggest oil development to date in the Republic of the Congo," Arnaud Breuillac, president of exploration and production at Total, said in a statement on Wednesday. "Moho Nord will contribute to the reinforcement of the cash flow of the group and to its production growth," he added. Total has a 53 percent stake in the site. Chevron Overseas (Congo) Ltd has a 31.5 percent stake while Societe Nationale des Petroles du Congo owns a 15 percent stake. Last month, Total reported some of the biggest profits for 2016 in the oil industry and raised its dividend. (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Matthias Blamont) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/total-congo-idUSFWN1GS01Y'|'2017-03-15T14:12:00.000+02:00' +'479c6dafc025e04b786d8e426d9c14042c3f4cf5'|'Taiwan''s Cathay Financial in talks to buy Bank of Nova Scotia''s Malaysia unit'|'TAIPEI, March 9 Taiwan''s Cathay Financial Holding Co said on Thursday that it is in exclusive talks to acquire the Malaysian unit of Canada''s Bank of Nova Scotia.The Taiwanese group''s bank and life insurance units plan to jointly purchase all of Bank of Nova Scotia Berhad in Malaysia, according to the filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.(Reporting by J.R. Wu and Emily Chan; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/cathay-holdings-ma-idINL3N1GM1FX'|'2017-03-08T23:19:00.000+02:00' +'1ebbc73f1d342fb95b3fd6e99f37a867f7e208fb'|'UPDATE 1-Switzerland''s ECOM buys insolvent German cocoa grinder Euromar'|'(Adds detail from paragraph three)HAMBURG, March 13 Swiss commodities trading group ECOM has agreed to buy the factory of German cocoa grinder Euromar Commodities GmbH which declared insolvency in December, Euromar''s insolvency administrator said on Monday.ECOM plans to resume production at Euromar''s plant at Fehrbellin near Berlin, insolvency administrator Rolf Rattunde said in a statement.No one was available for comment at ECOM''s Swiss head office.Rattunde said a sale contract for Euromar''s factory, equipment and site has been signed with ECOM and approved by Euromar''s interim committee of creditors. German cartel authorities must still approve the purchase.Some 25 groups had expressed interest in Euromar and four had been involved in the final round of negotiations, he said. Observers said last week a sale was thought to be imminent.Euromar had suffered liquidity problems caused by exchange rate fluctuations in the British pound, in which cocoa is traded, and swings in cocoa prices.A U.S. associate company, Transmar Commodity Group Ltd, also filed for bankruptcy protection in December.ECOM is a supplier of commodities to chocolate manufacturers, coffee roasters and cotton mills, the company''s website says, with cocoa trading operations and cocoa processing plants in the Netherlands, Malaysia and Mexico."After completion of the purchasing contract of the assets and with new equipment purchases, ECOM will realign the factory and resume production," Rattunde said.The factory grinds cocoa to produce cocoa butter and powder, ingredients for chocolate and confectionery. It has been undertaking "emergency production" since December, Rattunde said.It is expected that Euromar''s 125 personnel will be taken on by ECOM."I am confident the last hurdles in the sale will be crossed," Rattunde said.German traders estimate the Euromar grinding plant in Fehrbellin can crush 150 tonnes of cocoa beans a day, which with full 365-day production means around 54,700 tonnes a year. Germany grinds about 400,000 tonnes of cocoa annually.Euromar''s problems were a factor in a sudden fall in European cocoa grindings in the fourth quarter of 2016. Euromar has never given official production figures. (Reporting by Michael Hogan; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/euromar-cocoa-idINL5N1GQ4JN'|'2017-03-13T12:20:00.000+02:00' +'e42b3680520ae421d6842f82023e6f58fdf7eedc'|'BMW China venture''s vehicle sales to rise 20 percent in 2017'|'Business 12:17pm GMT BMW China venture''s vehicle sales to rise 20 percent in 2017 A man takes a look at BMW cars at a dealer shop in Beijing, China, September 11, 2015. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon By Raffaele Huang - HONG KONG HONG KONG Sales for German automaker BMW AG''s ( BMWG.DE ) China venture are expected to rise at least 20 percent year-on-year in 2017, the premium automaker''s local joint venture partner said on Friday. The full-year estimate is based on a 44 percent year-on-year rise in the first two months of 2017, Chairman Wu Xiaoan of Brilliance China Automotive Holdings ( 1114.HK ), BMW''s 50-50 joint venture partner, told reporters in Hong Kong. Global automakers must form local JVs in order to manufacture cars in China. In 2017, premium vehicle sales are predicted to outperform China''s overall auto market, which is expected to slow as a tax cut on small-engined cars is rolled back and the economy continues to slow. China''s auto market, the world''s largest, is entering a "tiny growth era", Brilliance Chief Executive Qi Yumin said at the briefing. He estimated the overall market would grow more than 5 percent. BMW, whose China sales grew 11.3 percent last year, is the country''s second-largest premium brand after Volkswagen AG''s ( VOWG_p.DE ) Audi AG and is racing to stay ahead of third-place Daimler''s ( DAIGn.DE ) Mercedes-Benz, which recorded 26.6 percent growth in 2016 China sales thanks to a fresher model lineup. (Reporting by Raffaele Huang; Writing by Jake Spring; Editing by Susan Thomas) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-brilliance-china-bmw-idUKKBN16V1I3'|'2017-03-24T20:17:00.000+03:00' +'a131ed0fcc75a911e9975f4d78a203ff0c6ddbe9'|'Exclusive: Johnson Controls explores sale of Scott Safety - sources'|'By Greg Roumeliotis Johnson Controls International Plc ( JCI.N ), a manufacturer of products ranging from car batteries to heating equipment, is exploring a sale of its safety gear unit, Scott Safety, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.The sale, which sources said could fetch as much as $2 billion, would free Johnson Controls from a non-core business and allow it to strengthen its balance sheet following its $14 billion merger last year with Tyco International Plc.Johnson Controls is working with investment bank Centerview Partners Holdings LP, and is in the advanced stages of negotiations with potential acquirers, including Honeywell International Inc ( HON.N ) and 3M Co ( MMM.N ), the people said.Should the negotiations prove successful, a deal could be announced as early as this month, the people added.The sources asked not to be identified because the negotiations are confidential.Johnson Controls declined to comment, as did Honeywell. 3M and Centerview did not respond to requests for comment.Scott Safety manufactures respiratory and protective equipment and safety devices for firefighters, industrial workers, police squads and the military.Safety equipment makers are emerging as popular assets in the eyes of investors and industrial conglomerates, as a pick-up in economic activity is expected to increase spending for such gear.Shares of MSA Safety Inc ( MSA.N ), for example, a manufacturer of safety equipment such as supplied air respirators, have risen 55 percent in the last 12 months, versus a 19 percent rise in the S&P 500 Index .INX.The largest acquisition in 3M''s history was in the safety sector. 3M acquired safety equipment maker Capital Safety from private equity firm KKR & Co LP ( KKR.N ) in 2015 for about $2.5 billion.Honeywell also has a division dedicated to protection equipment.Johnson Controls said last month its latest quarterly organic sales growth fell short of its estimate, hurt by weakness in its building technologies and solutions business.Last October, Cork, Ireland-domiciled Johnson Controls completed the spin-off of its automotive seating business, now known as Adient Plc ( ADNT.N ).(Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-johnsoncontrols-scottsafety-idINKBN16H2L1'|'2017-03-10T17:43:00.000+02:00' +'5e2e1859cf8d61ebff7cd396ae23e900eaa0a201'|'METALS-London copper steady; zinc disruptions climb'|'Company News 08pm EDT METALS-London copper steady; zinc disruptions climb MELBOURNE, March 23 London copper was steady on Thursday, holding above two-week lows hit the previous session as broader investor sentiment revived, while disruptions piled up in the zinc market. FUNDAMENTALS * LME COPPER: London Metal Exchange copper edged up 0.1 percent to $5,818 a tonne at 0154 GMT, adding to a 0.6 percent gain from the previous session when prices plumbed their lowest since March 10 at $5,715 a tonne. * SHANGHAI COPPER: Shanghai Futures Exchange copper rose 0.6 percent to 47,150 yuan ($6,844) a tonne. * LME ZINC traded down 0.1 percent at $2,854 a tonne, while LME lead fell 0.4 percent, having rallied more than 4 percent on Wednesday following a large draw in LME stocks. * PERU: A railway used by copper, zinc and silver mines to transport their concentrates from Peru''s central Andes to port is likely be out of action for at least two to three weeks following "important" damage from floods and mudslides, the transportation minister said on Wednesday. * PERU: Brazilian group Votorantim has halted operations at its zinc smelter Cajamarquilla in Peru as a precaution amid flooding and mudslides that have disrupted transportation and restricted running water in the Andean country. * PERU: Peruvian zinc, copper and lead miner Milpo, controlled by Brazilian group Votorantim, declared force majeure on Wednesday after roads to its mines El Porvenir and Atacocha in the Andes were blocked by the deadly downpours. * ZINC STRIKE: A 3-1/2-week strike at Noranda Income Fund''s zinc processing facility in Quebec is showing no signs of ending, union officials said on Wednesday, with no talks set between workers and management. * For the top stories in metals and other news, click or MARKETS NEWS * Asian stocks rose on Thursday, taking their cues from a Wall Street bounce, while the dollar crawled up from a four-month low but remains clouded by concerns about U.S. President Donald Trump''s pro-growth policies. DATA/EVENT AHEAD (GMT) 0700 Germany GfK consumer sentiment Apr 0745 France Business climate Mar 0930 Britain Retail sales Feb 1200 Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen gives opening remarks at event 1230 U.S. Weekly jobless claims 1400 U.S. New home sales Feb 1500 Euro zone Consumer confidence Feb PRICES'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/global-metals-idUSL3N1H01C6'|'2017-03-23T09:08:00.000+02:00' +'a36db4d504ee25c77bf316285a9bad69e0bf209f'|'Shippers subpoenaed in U.S. price-fixing investigation - WSJ'|'Company News - 23pm EDT Shippers subpoenaed in U.S. price-fixing investigation - WSJ March 21 U.S. Justice Department investigators have subpoenaed top executives of several container shipping companies as part of an investigation into price fixing, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Maersk Line, a unit of Danish shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk, confirmed that it was issued a subpoena related to a probe into the container shipping industry on March 15. "The subpoena does not set out any specific allegations against Maersk Line," a Maersk Line spokesman said, adding that the company will fully cooperate with the authorities in their investigations. The subpoenas were issued during a meeting of the world''s 20 biggest container shipping operators in San Francisco, the Journal reported. German container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd AG also confirmed it was given a subpoena by Justice Department investigators, the report said. ( on.wsj.com/2mMnQyJ ) Hapag Lloyd could not be immediately reached for comment. (Reporting by Komal Khettry in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-shippers-idUSL3N1GY4S8'|'2017-03-22T02:23:00.000+02:00' +'60b2b6677728504e17ab300d3a741bf59465ca4e'|'Intesa sets April 4 deadline for bad loan sale, expects 3 bids-sources'|'Company 50am EDT Intesa sets April 4 deadline for bad loan sale, expects 3 bids-sources MILAN, March 20 Intesa Sanpaolo has set an April 4 deadline to submit binding offers for a bad loan portfolio worth 2.5 billion euros ($2.7 billion) it has put up for sale and for which it expects to receive three bids, two sources familiar with the matter said. The portfolio, dubbed "Beyond the clouds", is made up of corporate loans and backed by real estate assets for about 30 percent. The sources said the bank was expected to receive three binding bids from the following teams of investors and servicers: Christofferson Robb & Company and Bayview Asset Management, Apollo Global Management and Credito Fondiario, Cerberus Capital Management and Cerved. All the interested parties declined to comment. ($1 = 0.9301 euros) (Reporting by Massimo Gaia, writing by Valentina Za,) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/intesa-sp-bad-loans-bids-idUSI6N1GT00I'|'2017-03-20T22:50:00.000+02:00' +'f2f24cff24ab006b5bb5e82496fc5a2c4c2a374c'|'Luxury goods group Hermes delivers record 2016 profit margin'|'Business News - Wed Mar 22, 2017 - 7:39am GMT Luxury goods group Hermes delivers record 2016 profit margin The front of the Hermes store is seen along Madison Avenue in New York, U.S., March 20, 2017. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton By Dominique Vidalon - PARIS PARIS French luxury goods group Hermes ( HRMS.PA ) said on Wednesday it was starting 2017 on a solid footing after delivering record 2016 profits, providing further evidence of a broader recovery in the luxury goods industry. Chief Executive Axel Dumas nevertheless struck a cautious note for the year given underlying global political and economic uncertainties. "We did better than we expected in 2016 and we are entering 2017 on a solid base but remain cautious in view of an uncertain environment," Dumas told a conference call. Hermes, known for its $10,000 Birkin bags and $400 printed silk scarves, said net profits had risen by 13 percent rise to a record 1.1 billion euros ($1.19 billion). Its operating margin hit an historic high of 32.6 percent of sales against 31.8 percent in 2015, while the company also increased its dividend by 12 percent. Hermes added it was keeping an "ambitious" medium-term goal for revenue growth at constant exchange rates. The company''s sales growth had mainly stemmed from a strong performance at its leather goods arm, which makes 50 percent of group sales, while other divisions also performed well although its watches unit lagged. Hermes joined other luxury companies such as LVMH ( LVMH.PA ) and Kering ( PRTP.PA ) in reporting an improvement in the sector, which has suffered from slowing demand in China, while Islamist militant attacks in France have also deterred tourists from Europe. Several analysts expect the luxury goods sector to benefit in 2017 from improved consumer sentiment in China, tax cuts under the new U.S. administration and robust Middle Eastern demand due to firmer oil prices. (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hermes-intl-results-idUKKBN16T0MU'|'2017-03-22T14:39:00.000+02:00' +'e3d838ff51618b33d7d8fe78a1bf3bbf6c949cd6'|'Italy to test EU rules again with Veneto banks bailout'|'Deals 2:07am EDT Italy to test EU rules again with Veneto banks bailout left right FILE PHOTO: The logo of Veneto Banca bank is seen in Venice, Italy, January 31 2016. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: Banca Popolare di Vicenza headquater is seen in Vicenza, Italy, March 5, 2016. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini/File Photo 2/2 By Stefano Bernabei and Francesco Guarascio - ROME/BRUSSELS ROME/BRUSSELS Italy''s plans to bail out two regional banks pose a tough dilemma to European regulators, who are still considering whether Monte dei Paschi qualifies for state aid, three months after giving a preliminary green light. Banca Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca said on Friday they had requested a so-called precautionary recapitalization by the state - a mechanism that exploits an exception to European rules meant to prevent the use of taxpayer money to save banks. Italy is already seeking to use the scheme for its fourth biggest bank Monte dei Paschi ( BMPS.MI ), where the state is expected to inject 6.6 billion euros to fill an 8.8 billion euro capital shortfall. The rest of the money needed by the Tuscan bank is due to come from holders of its junior debt, but retail investors in its subordinated bonds will be compensated by the government, on the grounds that they were mis-sold the securities. Rome wants to replicate that framework to inject an estimated 5 billion euros in the two unlisted Veneto-based banks, already rescued once, last year, by government-sponsored, privately funded bank bailout fund Atlante. The government is keen to avoid imposing unpopular losses on tens of thousands of ordinary Italians who put their savings in the banks. It also wants to spare senior bond investors and big current account holders - who would otherwise have to take a hit under a strict interpretation of European bail-in rules. Those rules say state aid can be allowed on a temporary basis to banks that have failed regulatory stress tests but are still deemed solvent, if refusal would risk seriously disturbing the economy and financial stability of a member state. The European Central Bank decided not to disclose the outcome of stress tests on smaller banks - so there is a question mark over the Veneto banks'' exact state of health. The ECB will have to assess whether they are viable and determine the size of their capital shortfall, while the European Commission will decide whether Italy''s public support for the two banks is in line with EU state aid rules. Some analysts question whether the two banks can be considered systemic, given that their combined assets are around 70 billion euros - less than half Monte dei Paschi''s total. GERMAN CONCERN Two sources familiar with Italy''s position said Rome argues in private that the two banks'' failure would send shock waves through the wider Italian financial industry. It would also boost anti-euro political forces such as the 5-Star Movement at the next national election, scheduled for 2018. The Italian treasury declined to comment. The ECB and the European Commission that governs the bloc are under pressure not to allow Italy to sidestep the rules, which critics say would undermine their credibility. Germany, the euro zone''s largest economy, raised concerns about the Monte dei Paschi plan in December. After weeks of negotiations, Italian Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said on Tuesday there was no date set for a final decision by European regulators on whether it ticked all the boxes. Asked whether the request for state aid by the Veneto banks was stretching EU rules, an EU source said overuse of the precautionary recapitalization scheme could set an unhealthy precedent for countries seeking to avoid winding down weak banks. "If the instrument is used often, and therefore loses its extraordinary nature, as foreseen by the rules, that could be interpreted as an attempt to avoid banking resolution," the source said. A European Commission spokesman said only that the commission had ongoing contacts with Italy over its banking sector. The ECB declined to comment. SHAREHOLDERS DECIDE A further problem for the Veneto lenders is that government bailouts cannot cover losses already incurred or likely in the near future - such as those stemming from bad loan writedowns. In Italy, lenders are saddled with 360 billion euros of gross problematic debts, a third of the euro zone''s total. The market is pricing in doubts over whether the two Veneto banks fit the bill. Senior bonds in both lenders fell last week on concerns they could be hit should the state aid scheme not come to pass, although they partly rebounded this week. As neither bank has published full-year results for 2016, investors are in the dark about their real capital needs. Based on the latest available figures for the first half of last year, problematic loans at the two lenders after writedowns totaled 10.2 billion euros at end-June, almost double their combined equity capital of 5.7 billion euros. Last October the head of Atlante, which owns more than 97 percent of each bank, said their cost-income ratio stood at around 100 percent, a level which he said would make it impossible for any bank to stand on its feet. A source close to the two banks said they should just about be able to offset expected loan loss charges by using their existing capital, imposing losses on junior debt holders and selling assets. The source however said this course of action still needed to be discussed with regulators. Spokespeople for both banks declined to comment. With a criminal investigation underway over fraud allegations, the banks are offering to settle with around 170,000 shareholders who were in many cases persuaded to buy their shares in exchange for loans. The aim is to shield the banks from future lawsuits and further losses. The two lenders said initially they were aiming for an 80 percent take-up. As of Friday both stood at around 50 percent. The source close to the two banks said that if they can reach a take-up of 60-70 percent by the time the offer ends on Wednesday, this should be enough to convince European authorities that legal risks have been greatly reduced. (additional reporting by Giselda Vagnoni in Rome and Valentina Za in Milan, writing Silvia Aloisi, editing by Philippa Fletcher) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-banks-italy-veneto-idUSKBN16T0HE'|'2017-03-22T13:00:00.000+02:00' +'364cc4dd196a5c2734ed302c57a80b69d333a3b2'|'Morning News Call - India, March 2'|'Company News 24pm EST Morning News Call - India, March 2 To access the newsletter, click on the link: here If you would like to receive this newsletter via email, please register at: here FACTORS TO WATCH 9:30 am: Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu to launch freight sector initiatives via video conference in New Delhi. 10:00 am: Trade Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian at conference on Economics of Competition Law in New Delhi. LIVECHAT-CMC MARKETS OUTLOOK CMC Markets'' chief market analyst Michael Hewson joins us at 3.30 pm for a look at what''s likely to drive direction in the coming month. To join the conversation, click on the link: here INDIA TOP NEWS Freight and fridge sales: Indian economists seek GDP clues amid data doubts Surprised again by India''s strong official growth statistics, economists are relying increasingly on high-frequency indicators like bank credit and rail freight to gauge the real health of Asia''s third-largest economy. TCS says founders to participate in share buyback Tata Consultancy Services, which plans to buy back shares worth up to 160 billion rupees, said on Wednesday the founder group of the company intended to participate in the proposed buyback. Singapore''s GIC in talks to take stake in Indian property firm owned by DLF Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC is in talks to buy a 40 percent stake in a property rental company owned by India''s biggest listed real estate developer DLF Ltd, DLF said on Wednesday. India factory activity expands at a slightly faster pace in February Indian factory activity expanded for a second straight month in February, while an increase in raw material costs pushed firms to raise prices at the fastest rate in nearly three and a half years, a business survey showed on Wednesday. Avenue Supermarts sets price range for up to $280 mln IPO Avenue Supermarts Ltd will sell shares in its initial public offering of up to 18.7 billion Indian rupees in a price range of 295-299 rupees a share, it said in a public notice on Wednesday. India considers reinstating 25 pct wheat import tax -sources India could impose a 25 percent import tax on wheat by the middle of March, two government sources said on Wednesday, reinstating the tariff after a gap of nearly three months in response to recent large purchases from overseas. San Francisco university lays off IT workers, jobs head to India The University of California, San Francisco on Tuesday laid off 49 information technology (IT) employees and outsourced their work to a company based in India, ending a year-long process that has brought the public university under fire. GLOBAL TOP NEWS Trump administration has found only $20 mln in existing funds for wall -document President Donald Trumps promise to use existing funds to begin immediate construction of a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border has hit a financial roadblock, according to a document seen by Reuters. Fed tees up March rate hike as key policymaker shifts tone The Federal Reserve is setting the stage for a U.S. interest-rate increase later this month, with the central bank''s leading voice on international economics saying the global economy seems to have turned a corner, clearing the way for a hike "soon." China Feb factory growth beats expectations as global demand improves China''s factory activity expanded faster than expected in February as domestic and export demand picked up, adding to signs that the global economy is regaining momentum even as fears grow of a surge in trade protectionism. LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK (As reported by NewsRise) The SGX Nifty Futures were trading at 9,009.50, trading up 0.4 pct from its previous close. Indian rupee is poised to open higher against the dollar, helped by expectations that local shares will track gains in other Asian markets after Wall Street indices soared to fresh record highs. Indian government bonds are poised to open lower tracking a rise in U.S. Treasury yields, as investors fret over growing possibility of an interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve this month. The yield on the benchmark 6.97 pct bond maturing in 2026 is likely to trade in a 6.91 pct-6.96 pct band today. The paper had settled at 100.69 rupees, yielding 6.93 pct, yesterday. GLOBAL MARKETS The Dow on Wednesday blasted through the 21,000 mark for the first time after U.S. President Donald Trump''s measured tone in his first speech to Congress lifted optimism and investors viewed a looming interest rate hike as a glass half full. Asian shares rose as investors were encouraged by President Donald Trump''s less combative tone in his first speech to Congress, which sent Wall Street stocks sharply higher, while growing bets on a U.S. rate hike this month buoyed the dollar. The dollar stood tall near a seven-week high on growing signs the Federal Reserve is seriously considering raising interest rates this month, boosting the U.S. currency''s yield allure. U.S. Treasury yields rose broadly on Wednesday, with the 2-year''s hitting a more than seven-year high, on increased expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise U.S. overnight interest rates at its March meeting. Crude oil fell for a third consecutive session as a record build-up in U.S. stockpiles weighed on the market, with producers boosting shale oil production. Gold prices slipped after the dollar firmed on hawkish comments from U.S. Federal Reserve officials that stoked expectations of a U.S. interest rate hike in March. CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT PNDF spot 66.68/66.71 March 1 -$29.62 mln $46.24 mln 10-yr bond yield 7.24 pct Month-to-date $1.56 bln - Year-to-date $1.56 bln $1.36 bln For additional data: India govt bond market volumes Stock market reports Non-deliverable forwards data Corporate debt stories [IN CORPD] Local market closing/intraday levels [IN SNAPSHOT] Monthly inflows [INFLOWS RTRS TABLE IN] ($1 = 66.83 Indian rupees) (Erum Khaled in Bengaluru) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/india-morningcall-idUSL3N1GF1L3'|'2017-03-02T10:24:00.000+02:00' +'b2e23d8e03fd5fe935787dfcc7e356583901f02b'|'Instagram - Banned! 11 things you won''t find in China - CNNMoney'|'China''s leaders have promised a decisive role for markets in its huge economy, and a litany of economic reforms are underway. But in many areas, the country is still relatively closed off.Try using Instagram, for example. No snaps allowed!China banned the photo-sharing platform after pro-democracy protests rocked Hong Kong in 2014.The social media platform now can''t be accessed from anywhere within the so-called Great Firewall of China, a censorship project operated for more than a decade by the Communist Party.NEXT: Twitter'|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_technology.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/gallery/technology/2016/05/23/banned-china-10/index.html'|'2017-03-18T02:00:00.000+02:00' +'2aa685c3b8fddb53dcc6a6f88eadd30c0b35bfa3'|'Penalty rates cut could cost budget $650m over four years, thinktank says - Business'|'Penalty rate cuts could cost the commonwealth budget $650m over four years, according to progressive thinktank the Australia Institute.Last month the Fair Work Commission decided to cut Sunday and public holiday penalty rates for workers covered by four awards (fast food, retail, pharmacy and hospitality).The impact on workers will be diverse, with different workers employed at different levels under each award, though not all workers will be affected.Why Scott Morrison needs to ignore armchair treasurers before the budget - Greg Jericho Read more But the Australia Institute warns the cut in penalty rates will see personal income tax receipts decline and a rise in claims for welfare payments with the budgetary impact worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year.The institutes chief economist, Richard Denniss, has written a briefing note, seen by Guardian Australia, estimating the budgetary impact of the decision.He has modelled different scenarios, but his central scenario assumes 285,000 workers will lose an average of $2,744 a year from Sunday penalty rate cuts (the impact of lower penalty rates on public holidays has not been estimated).He assumes those workers will be in the 19% tax bracket (where they earn between $18,201 and $37,000 a year, and get taxed 19 cents for every dollar earned over $18,200).He choose the figure of 285,000 workers to match the governments lowest estimate.To simplify the estimate of the impact of the FWC decision on the budget, the scenarios used assume that a smaller number of people experience all of the loss of income rather than the more realistic assumption that a larger group of people share some of the loss of income, Denniss says in the report.Denniss warns the Sunday penalty rate cuts will necessarily flow through to income tax receipts, with a reduction in tax revenue for the government worth $164.2m per year, or $656.8m over four years.He says the cutting of wages for low paid workers may also lead to a significant increase in welfare spending.He estimates if 20% of those 285,000 workers already receive welfare payments, the increase in welfare spending could be $78.2m a year. He said his estimates of the budgetary impact could be conservative because they did not include a number of possible economic effects, such as: state government payroll tax revenues declining with lower wage payments; a possible fall in consumer spending in line with the cut in disposable income and the related decline in GST revenue; and a fall in labour productivity.Jim Chalmers, the shadow minister for finance, told the ABCs Insiders on Sunday morning that he knew the Australia Institute was going to be releasing an analysis of the penalty rate cuts.These penalty rate cuts wont just cost people up to $77 a week, they will also cost the budget hundreds of millions of dollars, Chalmers said.I think it speaks volumes about Malcolm Turnbull that he is so keen to attack the take-home pay of ordinary people around Australia, that he is prepared to smash the budget to do it, he said.Labor attacks Coalition''s abolition of deficit levy as a tax cut for millionaires Read more Malcolm Turnbull has repeatedly reiterated the governments support for the independent FWC, saying it is reckless for parliament to set penalty rates.He said he supported the FWCs decision because it supported small business. I have been very clear about that, he told radio 3AW interviewer Neil Mitchell this month. The Fair Work Commission decided to back small business and we back small business.It is important to remember this was not a decision from the government, it was an independent considered decision of the independent umpire of the Fair Work Commission, every member of which was appointed by a Labor government, three of who were appointed by Bill Shorten.Topics Australian economy Australian budget 2017 Australian politics Business (Australia) Australian trade unions Scott Morrison news Share Reuse this content'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/mar/26/penalty-rates-cut-could-cost-budget-650m-over-four-years-thinktank-says'|'2017-03-26T15:57:00.000+03:00' +'e085987ecb928ef255514c8cc1ab8d3f511baa40'|'BRIEF-Impax announces favorable ruling regarding patent validity for Zomig Nasal Spray'|' 37pm EDT BRIEF-Impax announces favorable ruling regarding patent validity for Zomig Nasal Spray March 30 Impax Laboratories Inc * Impax announces favorable ruling regarding patent validity for Zomig (zolmitriptan) Nasal Spray * Impax Laboratories - judge found U.S. patents protecting zomig Nasal Spray not invalid and are infringed by Lannett Holdings Inc and Lannett Co ANDA Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-impax-announces-favorable-ruling-r-idUSFWN1H70X5'|'2017-03-31T05:37:00.000+03:00' +'160b98892c6abcb058a48a2585a4a6fcd4fc19f9'|'Exclusive: Brazil conglomerate Odebrecht mulls IPO after overhaul'|'By Alusio Alves - SAO PAULO SAO PAULO Odebrecht SA, the family-controlled engineering conglomerate ensnared in Brazil''s worst corruption scandal ever, is considering going public once it finalizes a thorough overhaul of corporate governance practices, a senior executive told Reuters on Thursday.An initial public offering remains one of several options the group and the namesake family that controls it are analyzing as part of a process to implement stricter ethical and operational procedures, said board member Sergio Foguel, who also presides over Odebrecht''s compliance council.While declining to discuss alternatives aside from the IPO, Foguel said tougher compliance standards have prepared several of Odebrecht''s business divisions to weather a potential dearth of state contracts, which might translate into slower growth."This year we''ll be more focused on re-examining and reinforcing our corporate values, which were not strong enough before," Foguel said in an interview at Odebrecht''s So Paulo headquarters.Odebrecht is the largest of Brazilian building groups accused of colluding to overcharge Petrleo Brasileiro SA ( PETR4.SA ) and other state-controlled firms for contracts, then using part of that to channel donations and bribes into Brazil''s former ruling Workers Party and domestic and international allies.Rapidly resolving legal obligations related to the scandal, as well as paving the way for the partial exit of the Odebrecht family from the business will be key for Odebrecht to win new projects, raise cash and cut the group''s 76 billion reais ($24 billion) in net debt. The conglomerate is restructuring and reworking more than 40 billion reais in bank loans.A 6.7 billion-real leniency deal that was signed off late last year stipulated that Odebrecht admitted guilt and offered information on bribes paid. Seventy-seven executives, including family patriarch and Chairman Emilio Odebrecht and his jailed son and the group''s former chief executive, Marcelo Odebrecht, agreed to make plea deals.The group, which was founded in the mid-1940s by German-Brazilian engineer Norberto Odebrecht, is also negotiating graft-related fines with several Latin American countries.Such negotiations, which the group wants to conclude by June, would help Odebrecht prevent upcoming elections across the region from slowing planned asset sales, Reuters reported on Feb. 22.To weather fallout from the scandal and the impact of a three-year economic slowdown throughout Latin America, Odebrecht has also cut costs and refinanced obligations at some cash-strapped subsidiaries.Talks with creditors to restructure oil drilling firm Odebrecht leo & Gs SA''s obligations could be concluded as early as April, sources told Reuters this week.The group is also selling assets and projects including Per''s Chaglla power dam, Colombia''s Ruta del Sol highway project, several subway and toll road licenses as well as a stake in Rio de Janeiro''s international Galeo airport.(Editing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Richard Chang)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-odebrecht-ipo-idINKBN1712TN'|'2017-03-30T16:33:00.000+03:00' +'d563c95cb2c6ddedbe9f3e80e38519517a39e97e'|'BRIEF-RELM Wireless says Kyle Cerminara appointed chairman of board'|' 32pm EDT BRIEF-RELM Wireless says Kyle Cerminara appointed chairman of board March 17 Relm Wireless Corp * Relm wireless announces kyle cerminara appointed chairman of the board * Says kyle cerminara appointed chairman of the board * Says tim o''neil resigned from the board * Relm wireless corp - relm wireless named charles lanktree, ryan turner, john struble and michael dill to board of directors, effective immediately Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-relm-wireless-says-kyle-cerminara-idUSASB0B645'|'2017-03-18T03:32:00.000+02:00' +'eaa1b594d937e0d59c45263308433a3a7444c41e'|'Intel bets on selling Mobileye data, with maps a first test'|' 3:00pm GMT Intel bets on selling Mobileye data, with maps a first test left right The logo Israeli driverless technology firm Mobileye is seen on the building of their offices in Jerusalem March 13, 2017. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO -People walk under Intel logo at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, on February 27, 2017. REUTERS/Paul Hanna/File Photo 2/2 By Alexandria Sage - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO To understand Intel''s $15.3 billion (12.6 billion pounds) proposed acquisition of Israel''s Mobileye, imagine the data created and compiled by a self-driving car scanning the road and objects around it as a potential source of revenue. That data, says Intel Corp ( INTC.O ) Chief Executive Brian Krzanich, is the key to the deal, and may see its first tangible revenue stream through mapping technology. Self-driving car data could bring in $450-$750 billion globally by 2030, according to McKinsey & Company, with such wide-reaching applications as shopping inside cars, vehicles as entertainment centres, or better city planning based on data. "Tech firms are hunting for ever more data. Miles = data," wrote Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas in a note on Monday to clients after Intel announced the deal. To be sure, before self-driving cars dominate the road, unresolved debates over who owns the data, how it can be shared and whether drivers can opt out over privacy concerns need to be ironed out. It is also too early to gauge whether Mobileye will win a data race that has barely begun. Still, Mobileye says it has 80 percent of the market of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) that can automatically apply brakes or keep a car in its lane, and Intel sees that as a start. "That definitely helps fill the revenue opportunity for the next few years while the industry and carmakers move to full automation," Kathy Winter, general manager of Intel''s automated driving unit, told Reuters. "When we look forward, everything we do together will be learning from the data coming off these vehicles." Mobileye is working on its first commercial map application, Road Experience Management (REM), which feeds data about a vehicle''s surroundings into a system that updates existing maps in real time. Mobileye already has deals with BMW and Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ), which mean those carmakers'' vehicles can help source the data beginning in 2018, and share in the revenue. Intel already owns 15 percent of HERE, a digital map consortium made up of Germany''s automakers, which makes the high-definition maps that are updated by Mobileye''s REM. Given there are already 15 million cars with its cameras on the road, Mobileye has "significant early mover advantage" in the high definition mapping space, Jefferies analyst David Kelley wrote to investors last month. "This purchase validates that this data layer is valuable," Stefan Heck, the CEO of Nauto, a Silicon Valley start-up also using a car vision system to collect and process data, told Reuters. Needham and Co, which sees a total ADAS market of $8.5 billion by 2022, surmised mapping data could be paid per mile by an autonomous car provider, while real-time data on traffic, hazards, or parking spots could be sold to mapping companies. PLAYING CATCH-UP? Given the expense and complicated nature of autonomous driving systems, most carmakers rely heavily on suppliers like Mobileye for key technology. Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ), however, once a buyer of Mobileye''s camera system, has developed an in-house integrated vision-based system more reliant on radar than cameras, part of its push to be less reliant on suppliers. Traditional suppliers like Germany''s Continental ( CONG.DE ) or Sweden''s AutoLiv ( ALV.N ), who have steered clear of the advanced navigation systems inside cars, may be too late to play "catch-up" to Intel, said Evercore''s Chris McNally in a note. One issue still to be hammered out is who owns the data a self-driving car collects and whether the passenger has a privacy right. While drivers may not be spooked by access to their aggregated mapping and navigation data, they may balk at sharing personal data and preferences, McKinsey wrote last year. Some data deserves to be shared, Winter argued in a February blog. "Every autonomous car out there shouldn''t have to find the same pothole and log it," she wrote. (Reporting By Alexandria Sage; editing by Peter Henderson, Bernard Orr) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-intel-mobileye-data-idUKKBN16M0DV'|'2017-03-15T22:00:00.000+02:00' +'56bad91fec2b58cebc4eabc43f701ba683cbc395'|'Barclays aims for bigger share of euro clearing business in Middle East'|'Foreign Exchange Analysis 2:45pm GMT Barclays A Barclays sign is seen outside a branch of the bank in London, Britain, February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth By Tom Arnold and Saeed Azhar - DUBAI Barclays is already one of the largest clearers of transactions in sterling and has stepped up efforts in euro clearing in the past few years. "It is about gaining market share in the euro clearing right now," KP Sunil Rao, director of the financial institutions group in MENA, said. "We are in lower double digit. I think it could increase to 25 percent market share, hopefully in the next three years." Rao also said the bank had reassured clients in the region that the bank would retain the capacity to clear euros after Brexit. In Britain, there is uncertainty over whether London will be able to clear euros after Brexit but big British banks like Barclays will continue to be able to clear euros through their offices in the euro zone. Clearing is the process of settling transactions between banks and is big business for large global lenders. Barclays'' share of the sterling clearing business within its targeted countries in MENA has risen to 40 percent from 9 percent in 2009, a time when some other British banks such as Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group have scaled back in the region. Some international banks have cut correspondent banking ties to lenders in the region as they seek to shed risks. "We have 40 percent of the market share for sterling clearing and our market share for euro clearing is growing, so we have not backed away from this region," David Scola, global head of financial institutions at Barclays, said. Barclays last year trimmed nearly 150 staff from its corporate banking arm in Dubai as part of a wide-ranging restructuring following the appointment of Jes Staley as chief executive in December 2015. (Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-barclays-forex-idUKKBN16T1X2'|'2017-03-22T21:45:00.000+02:00' +'f760fbbe6bf12356f013abbb57ba3eed35a5b13b'|'U.S. says Walt Disney subsidiaries to pay $3.8 mln in back wages'|'U.S. 28pm EDT U.S. says Walt Disney subsidiaries to pay $3.8 million in back wages A part of the signage at the main gate of The Walt Disney Co. is pictured in Burbank, California, May 7, 2012. REUTERS/Fred Prouser WASHINGTON Two Florida subsidiaries of Walt Disney Co have agreed to provide $3.8 million in back wages to comply with federal law, the U.S. Labor Department said in a statement on Friday. The wages will be paid to 16,339 employees at the two units -- the Disney Vacation Club Management Corp and the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S. Inc -- after U.S. officials found violations regarding minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping, the department said. (Reporting by Susan Heavey; editing by Diane Craft) Next In U.S. Trump ramps up fight for votes on U.S. healthcare overhaul WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday stepped up his fight for support on Republicans'' plan to dismantle Obamacare, wooing some conservative lawmakers at the White House ahead of an expected vote on the legislation in the House of Representatives next week.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-walt-disney-usa-labor-idUSKBN16O2CG'|'2017-03-18T00:22:00.000+02:00' +'2920bc52ffad2c28ea8d4e37998a964be9ceeaba'|'EBA''s Enria confident of agreement on bank models soon'|' 35am GMT EBA''s Enria confident of agreement on bank models soon Chairperson of European Banking Authority (EBA) Andrea Enria attends a debate with the European Parliament''s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee in Brussels, Belgium September 26, 2016. REUTERS/Yves Herman FRANKFURT Europe''s top bank regulator expects a global agreement "soon" over the models that large banks use to measure risk, the main hurdle to finalising global rules designed to avoid a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis, he said on Wednesday. "Weve done a lot of work (on internal models), were very close to an agreement and Im confident well get there soon," Andrea Enria, the chairman of the European Banking authority, said at an event in Frankfurt. (Reporting by Francesco Canepa; Editing by Alison Williams) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-banks-regulation-idUKKBN16T1CA'|'2017-03-22T18:35:00.000+02:00' +'68fb6e90bd4a01084aff3ab34b6de95056ec9ae9'|'Domino''s feels the heat as Pizza Hut takes a slice out of sales - Business'|'Dominos Pizza suffered a sharp slowdown in sales growth in early 2017 as rival Pizza Hut cut prices and consumers reined in spending.David Wild, the Dominos chief executive, said Pizza Hut was very aggressive in January and that consumers were more cautious about spending.Looking forward, the UK consumer environment is more difficult, he said. Our research tells us that customers are worried about rising prices. Theyre not worried about job security but they are worried about prices.Over the first nine weeks of the year, sales growth at Dominos stores open for more than a year dropped to 1.5%, down from 10.5% in the same period a year earlier.Wild added that consumer have seen things like petrol rise in price, theyre reading in the newspaper that food and energy prices are going up, and theyre factoring that into spending.He said that Dominos could gain from that because it sits neatly in the middle and could gain from customers opting for a takeaway rather than eating out. This is a more value-conscious environment, he added.Family finances are expected to come under increasing pressure in 2017 from rising inflation and weak wage growth .Investors lost their appetite for Dominos Pizza on Thursday, with shares plunging 16%. Wild played down the large share price fall, saying shares had performed well over the past two weeks. Share prices go up and down, he said. I think weve got to be careful about getting carried away by a very short period, just nine weeks.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Dominos chief David Wild says consumers are getting spooked by rising prices. Photograph: Newscast / Alamy/Alamy City analysts at N+1 Singer said a number of factors were behind the slowdown. We understand this reflects a combination of heightened competition from Pizza Hut, market softness and [Dominos] winter survival promotion campaign being relatively unsuccessful, they wrote in a research note.Sales growth also slowed over 2016 as a whole, to 7.5% on a like-for-like basis, from 11.7% in 2015. Total sales were up 14.5% at just over 1bn.Wild said the business would continue to grow through expansion both in the UK and abroad. The company expects to open at least 80 new outlets in the UK in 2017, creating up to 3,000 new jobs.Dominos also announced the purchase of Dolly Dimples, Norways third largest pizza company, for 4m. Dolly Dimples 42 stores will be integrated into Dominos startup venture in Norway, where it has 12 stores.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/mar/09/dominos-feels-heat-pizza-hut-slice-sales'|'2017-03-09T02:00:00.000+02:00' +'bb5f64eac423d2dc24d3ec3eaf1a9f0eb8d74dd9'|'UPDATE 1-Several states jointly sue to block Trump''s revised travel ban'|'(Rewrites with details on legal arguments)By Mica RosenbergMarch 13 A group of states renewed their effort on Monday to block President Donald Trump''s revised temporary ban on refugees and travelers from several Muslim-majority countries, arguing that his executive order is the same as the first one that was halted by federal courts.Court papers filed by the state of Washington and joined by California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and Oregon asked a judge to stop the March 6 order from taking effect on Thursday.An amended complaint said the order was similar to the original Jan. 27 directive because it "will cause severe and immediate harms to the States, including our residents, our colleges and universities, our healthcare providers, and our businesses."A Department of Justice spokeswoman said it was reviewing the complaint and would respond to the court.A more sweeping ban implemented hastily in January caused chaos and protests at airports. The March order by contrast gave 10 days'' notice to travelers and immigration officials.Last month, U.S. District Judge James Robart in Seattle halted the first travel ban after Washington state sued, claiming the order was discriminatory and violated the U.S. Constitution. Robarts order was upheld by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.Trump revised his order to overcome some of the legal hurdles by including exemptions for legal permanent residents and existing visa holders and taking Iraq off the list of countries covered. The new order still halts citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from entering the United States for 90 days but has explicit waivers for various categories of immigrants with ties to the country.Refugees are still barred for 120 days, but the new order removed an indefinite ban on all refugees from Syria.Washington state has now gone back to Robart to ask him to apply his emergency halt to the new ban.Robart said in a court order Monday that the government has until Tuesday to respond to the states'' motions. He said he would not hold a hearing before Wednesday and did not commit to a specific date to hear arguments from both sides.PROVING HARMSeparately, Hawaii has also sued over the new ban. The island state, which is heavily dependent on tourism, said the executive order has had a "chilling effect" on travel revenues.In response to Hawaii''s lawsuit, the Department of Justice in court papers filed on Monday said the president has broad authority to "restrict or suspend entry of any class of aliens when in the national interest." The department said the temporary suspensions will allow a review of the current screening process in an effort to protect against terrorist attacks.There is a hearing in the Hawaii case set for Wednesday, the day before the new ban is set to go into effect.The first hurdle for the lawsuits will be proving "standing," which means finding someone who has been harmed by the policy. With so many exemptions, legal experts have said it might be hard to find individuals who would have a right to sue, in the eyes of a court.To overcome this challenge, the states filed more than 70 declarations of people affected by the order including tech businesses Amazon and Expedia, which said that restricting travel hurts their revenues and their ability to recruit employees.Universities and medical centers that rely on foreign doctors also weighed in, as did religious organizations and individual residents, including U.S. citizens, with stories about separated families.But the Trump administration in its filings in the Hawaii case on Monday said the carve-outs in the new order undercut the state''s standing claims."The Order applies only to individuals outside the country who do not have a current visa, and even as to them, it sets forth robust waiver provisions," the Department of Justice''s motion said.The government cited Supreme Court precedent in arguing that people outside the United States and seeking admission for the first time have "no constitutional rights" regarding their applications.If the courts do end up ruling the states have standing to sue, the next step will be to argue that both versions of the executive order discriminate against Muslims."The Trump Administration may have changed the text of the now-discredited Muslim travel ban, but they didn''t change its unconstitutional intent and effect," California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement on Monday.While the text of the order does not mention Islam, the states claim that the motivation behind the policy is Trump''s campaign promise of "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States." He later toned down that language and said he would implement a policy of "extreme vetting" of foreigners coming to the United States.The government said the courts should only look at the text of the order and not at outside comments by Trump or his aides. (Reporting by Mica Rosenberg in New York; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Grant McCool)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-immigration-idINL2N1GQ0YF'|'2017-03-13T17:23:00.000+02:00' +'3089f72a04d41eb3354e13abf7926ba7d01c5189'|'UK budget cold comfort for sterling, boosts building firms'|'By Patrick Graham - LONDON LONDON Britain''s 2017 budget gave some meagre support on Wednesday to domestic stock and currency markets suffering from nerves over its plans to leave the European Union and the fallout for increasingly hard-pressed consumers.While finance minister Philip Hammond announced a rise in official growth forecasts for this year and cut predicted rates of public debt from November estimates, it was not enough to turn either the pound or the FTSE index positive on the day.Britain''s construction & materials index hit a high for the day, up 0.3 percent, and shares in Costain Group rose 0.8 percent.But hampered by a bumper U.S. jobs number that boosted the dollar, the pound fell half a percent on the day against the greenback, hitting a seven-week low of $1.2139, and another 0.2 percent against the euro."Chancellor Hammonds budget has done little to ease the pressure on the pound, despite the improvements in growth and borrowing forecasts," said Jake Trask, a currency analyst with retail broker OFX.Strong consumer spending made Britain the second-fastest growing economy in the Group of Seven rich nations in 2016 and Hammond raised his forecast for growth this year to 2.0 percent from the 1.4 percent predicted last November.But markets are more concerned by signs that the 20 percent fall in the pound and worries over what is to come as the Brexit talks that get under way this month are finally having an impact on UK household spending.Sterling''s fall against the dollar and the basket that measures its broader strength was its eighth in the past nine days."Theres been some optimism over the upward revision to growth this year, and the lower budget deficit forecasts over the period is obviously favourable for the fundamental picture," said Lee Hardman, an economist with MUFG in London."But overall the main message is yes, that the budget deficit is coming in below their previous forecasts, but theyre choosing to save the improvement in the budget deficit rather than to spend those funds, so for the economy thats fairly neutral."Gilt yields hit a two-week high after official plans showed the government would sell more bonds than the market had expected, despite Hammond largely sticking to his existing fiscal plans.The Debt Management Office (DMO) said it intended to sell 115.1 billion pounds ($139.9 billion) of bonds in the 2017/18 financial year starting in April, down sharply from 146.5 billion pounds in the current year.That was still 5 billion pounds more for 2017/18 than primary dealers polled by Reuters had expected and 10-year gilt yields hit a two-week high of 1.251 percent."Market reaction was consistent with a mild disappointment," said RBC analysts Sam Hill and Vatsala Datta in a note after the budget."Going forward, we believe it is worth bearing in mind that a combination of 30 billion pound fall in gross issuance and a 10 billion pound increase in gilt redemptions will offset the impact of pause in QE to a large extent."(Additional reporting by Andy Bruce, Helen Reid, Jemima Kelly and Ritvik Carvalho; Editing by Nigel Stephenson, Alison Williams and Pritha Sarkar)Britain''s Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond stands outside 11 Downing Street before delivering his budget to the House of Commons in London, March 8, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-markets-idINKBN16F2EI'|'2017-03-08T15:24:00.000+02:00' +'d24b694cf18489dbf2807f78c59c4f6b925309e3'|'BRIEF-Oil-Dri Q2 earnings per share $0.58'|' 21pm EST BRIEF-Oil-Dri Q2 earnings per share $0.58 March 10 Oil-Dri Corporation Of America: * Oil-Dri announces second quarter and first six months of fiscal 2017 results * Q2 earnings per share $0.58 * Oil-Dri Corporation Of America - net sales for quarter were $65.2 million compared to net sales of $65.4 million * Oil-Dri Corporation Of America - in back half of year, plan to reallocate some of anticipated spending, reducing overall advertising & increasing trade promotions * Oil-Dri Corporation - in back half of year expect general marketing expense to continue to be significant, but slightly less than total spend in fiscal 2016 * Oil-Dri Corporation Of America - "look forward to continuing to expand distribution of our newest animal health products, varium and neoprime" Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-oil-dri-q2-earnings-per-share-idUSASB0B4ZP'|'2017-03-11T04:21:00.000+02:00' +'863e3ca3401707f8266379908a8be602c7002414'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Brazil stocks fall; JBS, BRF slump on police raids'|'By Bruno Federowski SAO PAULO, March 17 Brazilian stocks fell on Friday as shares of meatpackers JBS SA and BRF SA slumped after federal police targeted their offices as part of an investigation into alleged bribery of food inspectors and politicians. The probe, known as "Operation Weak Flesh," uncovered about 40 cases of meatpackers who had paid officials to overlook unsanitary practices such as processing rotten meat and running plants with traces of salmonella, police said. Common shares in JBS fell nearly 8 percent, the biggest decline since Oct. 26, when a government agency vetoed a program to move some operations outside Brazil. Shares in BRF slumped to an almost five-year low. Shares of education companies Kroton Educacional SA and Estcio Participaes SA also fell sharply on a report that top managers at Estcio were attempting to block a sale to its larger rival Kroton. Brazil''s benchmark Bovespa stock index fell 1.8 percent. Still, the Brazilian real strengthened 0.3 percent, reflecting expectations of inflows stemming from a successful airport auction on Thursday. Other Latin American currencies were mostly stronger, extending gains into a third day as traders predicted that the U.S. Federal Reserve would only increase interest rates at a gradual pace in coming months. The Mexican peso firmed 0.7 percent, while the Colombian peso strengthened 0.2 percent. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1550 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % Latest change change MSCI Emerging Markets 966.56 0.35 11.71 MSCI LatAm 2614.88 -0.37 12.13 Brazil Bovespa 64694.10 -1.66 7.42 Mexico IPC 48190.54 0.28 5.58 Chile IPSA 4633.99 0.38 11.63 Chile IGPA 23245.80 0.35 12.11 Argentina MerVal 19543.70 -0.29 15.52 Colombia IGBC 9954.07 -0.1 -1.72 Venezuela IBC 37802.37 0.05 19.23 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.1014 0.38 4.77 Mexico peso 19.1350 0.65 8.41 Chile peso 661.1 0.17 1.45 Colombia peso 2911.72 0.20 3.08 Peru sol 3.247 0.15 5.14 Argentina peso (interbank) 15.5400 -0.06 2.16 Argentina peso (parallel) 16.02 0.12 4.99 (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Tom Brown)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/latam-emergingmarkets-idINL2N1GU10K'|'2017-03-17T13:02:00.000+02:00' +'bb2ca6d3aeafecd8f956885cf00d59ced040887a'|'Intel bets on selling Mobileye data, with maps a first test'|'Technology News - Wed Mar 15, 2017 - 4:06am GMT Intel bets on selling Mobileye data, with maps a first test FILE PHOTO: The logo of Intel, the world''s largest chipmaker, is seen at their offices in Jerusalem, April 20, 2016. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo By Alexandria Sage - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO To understand Intel''s $15.3 billion proposed acquisition of Israel''s Mobileye, imagine the data created and compiled by a self-driving car scanning the road and objects around it as a potential source of revenue. That data, says Intel Corp Chief Executive Brian Krzanich, is the key to the deal, and may see its first tangible revenue stream through mapping technology. Self-driving car data could bring in $450-$750 billion globally by 2030, according to McKinsey & Company, with such wide-reaching applications as shopping inside cars, vehicles as entertainment centers, or better city planning based on data. "Tech firms are hunting for ever more data. Miles = data," wrote Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas in a note on Monday to clients after Intel announced the deal. To be sure, before self-driving cars dominate the road, unresolved debates over who owns the data, how it can be shared and whether drivers can opt out over privacy concerns need to be ironed out. It is also too early to gauge whether Mobileye will win a data race that has barely begun. Still, Mobileye says it has 80 percent of the market of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) that can automatically apply brakes or keep a car in its lane, and Intel sees that as a start. "That definitely helps fill the revenue opportunity for the next few years while the industry and carmakers move to full automation," Kathy Winter, general manager of Intel''s automated driving unit, told Reuters. "When we look forward, everything we do together will be learning from the data coming off these vehicles." Mobileye is working on its first commercial map application, Road Experience Management (REM), which feeds data about a vehicle''s surroundings into a system that updates existing maps in real time. Mobileye already has deals with BMW and Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ), which mean those carmakers'' vehicles can help source the data beginning in 2018, and share in the revenue. Intel already owns 15 percent of HERE, a digital map consortium made up of Germany''s automakers, which makes the high-definition maps that are updated by Mobileye''s REM. Given there are already 15 million cars with its cameras on the road, Mobileye has "significant early mover advantage" in the high definition mapping space, Jefferies analyst David Kelley wrote to investors last month. "This purchase validates that this data layer is valuable," Stefan Heck, the CEO of Nauto, a Silicon Valley start-up also using a car vision system to collect and process data, told Reuters. Needham and Co, which sees a total ADAS market of $8.5 billion by 2022, surmised mapping data could be paid per mile by an autonomous car provider, while real-time data on traffic, hazards, or parking spots could be sold to mapping companies. PLAYING CATCH-UP? Given the expense and complicated nature of autonomous driving systems, most carmakers rely heavily on suppliers like Mobileye for key technology. Tesla Inc, however, once a buyer of Mobileye''s camera system, has developed an in-house integrated vision-based system more reliant on radar than cameras, part of its push to be less reliant on suppliers. Traditional suppliers like Germany''s Continental or Sweden''s AutoLiv, who have steered clear of the advanced navigation systems inside cars, may be too late to play "catch-up" to Intel, said Evercore''s Chris McNally in a note. One issue still to be hammered out is who owns the data a self-driving car collects and whether the passenger has a privacy right. While drivers may not be spooked by access to their aggregated mapping and navigation data, they may balk at sharing personal data and preferences, McKinsey wrote last year. Some data deserves to be shared, Winter argued in a February blog. "Every autonomous car out there shouldn''t have to find the same pothole and log it," she wrote. (Reporting By Alexandria Sage; editing by Peter Henderson, Bernard Orr) Next In Technology News Toshiba shares slide as crisis deepens, fate of Westinghouse unclear TOKYO Shares in Toshiba Corp tumbled on Wednesday after it said it would consider a sale of Westinghouse but did not offer any clarity on whether it would proceed with a Chapter 11 filing for the U.S. nuclear unit - a move that could stem losses.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-intel-mobileye-data-idUKKBN16M0E5'|'2017-03-15T11:03:00.000+02:00' +'37fc8b1e54bff48267c4f3de770a716c5792f385'|'Uber prohibits use of ''Greyball'' technology to evade authorities'|'Business 08am GMT Uber prohibits use of ''Greyball'' technology to evade authorities People outside the Uber offices in Queens, New York, U.S., February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid By Heather Somerville - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Uber Technologies Inc has prohibited the use of its so-called "Greyball" technology to target regulators, ending a program that had been critical in helping Uber evade authorities in cities where the service has been banned. Uber is reviewing the different ways the technology has been used and is "expressly prohibiting its use to target action by local regulators going forward," Uber Chief Security Officer Joe Sullivan said in a blog post on Wednesday. The ride-hailing company last week confirmed the existence of the "Greyball" program, which uses data from the Uber app and other methods to identify and circumvent officials who aimed to ticket or apprehend drivers in cities that opposed Uber''s operations. (Reporting by Heather Somerville, editing by G Crosse) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-uber-greyball-idUKKBN16G04N'|'2017-03-09T08:08:00.000+02:00' +'bd67a44c8f2ffab09beefafde4ad398e620f2526'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX falls with oil as energy and financials decline'|' 11pm EDT CANADA STOCKS-TSX falls with oil as energy and financials decline TORONTO, March 20 Canada''s benchmark stock index retreated on Monday as oil prices fell and heavyweight energy and financial shares lost ground, while the prospect of higher U.S. interest rates pressured defensive sectors, such as telecoms. The Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index unofficially closed down 48.17 points, or 0.31 percent, at 15,442.32. Eight of the index''s 10 main groups ended lower. (Reporting by Fergal Smith) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-idUSL2N1GX1HA'|'2017-03-21T03:11:00.000+02:00' +'d1e98c83b7d60b104e48d7adf196451286c765b5'|'Mexico''s governors tap investors in China, elsewhere'|'Business News - Thu Mar 30, 2017 - 1:13am BST Mexico''s governors tap investors in China, elsewhere Xiang Xingchu, JAC Motors General Manager, shakes hands with Omar Fayad Meneses, Governor of Hidalgo State, during the presentation of an SUV model built in Mexico by the Chinese state-owned automaker, in Mexico City, Mexico March 28, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido By Anthony Esposito - MEXICO CITY MEXICO CITY Mexico''s states are turning to Asia and beyond as some U.S. companies put investment plans on hold south of the border following President Donald Trump''s calls to bring jobs back home. A delegation of three Mexican state leaders, headed by the National Confederation of Governors (Conago), travelled to China this week to meet with business leaders and discuss investment opportunities. "Conago is developing an agenda with China''s provinces to build investment projects in our country," Conago tweeted on Wednesday. "China and Conago agree on building bridges for business, not walls." Fears of a hit to foreign investment ran high when Ford Motor Co ( F.N ) cancelled a $1.6 billion (1.28 billion pounds) plant in Mexico''s central state of San Luis Potosi in January. Trump, who had railed against U.S. manufacturers investing in Mexico, hailed the decision as a major victory, but Ford put it down to declining demand for small cars. "We''re not going to sit here with our arms crossed. We''re going to turn to Asia, like we''ve been doing. We want the Chinese to come invest in Hidalgo," state Governor Omar Fayad said in an interview. "We want the Japanese to invest here." Fayad was speaking on the sidelines of an event organised by China''s Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Co Ltd (JAC Motors) ( 600418.SS ) and Mexico''s Giant Motors, which presented a new line of passenger vehicles that will be assembled in Mexico. The Hidalgo government is also reaching out to European, Canadian, South American and Middle Eastern companies, and expects to announce several more investments this year, he said. Fayad said the Hidalgo investment plans of some U.S. companies, which he declined to name, had recently been suspended indefinitely. "Obviously other countries are seeing this as an opportunity in Mexico," he said. In February, JAC Motors and Giant Motors, along with distributor Chori Co Ltd ( 8014.T ), said they would invest some $210 million in an existing plant to build SUVs in Hidalgo. "Mexico is a strategic market for JAC," David Zhang, head of international markets for JAC, said on the sidelines of the company''s event. "If the products and service are accepted by customers and there is a lot of market demand of course we will increase production capacity." JAC, which aims to produce 10,000 commercial and passenger vehicles in Mexico over the next three years, will initially concentrate on selling in the local market, Zhang said. (Reporting by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Richard Chang) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mexico-china-autos-idUKKBN17100N'|'2017-03-30T08:13:00.000+03:00' +'69262c2d3b31f1084931f3857185f732579e42f3'|'Ruby Tuesday to explore strategic alternatives, including sale'|'Restaurant operator Ruby Tuesday Inc ( RT.N ) said on Monday it would explore strategic alternatives, including a potential sale or merger sending its shares up after the bell.The company''s shares rose about 14 percent to $1.99 in extended trading.The company, which also expects third-quarter comparable sales to decline 4 percent, retained UBS as its financial adviser to assist in the process.(Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-ruby-tuesday-strategic-alternatives-idINKBN16K2KD'|'2017-03-13T17:34:00.000+02:00' +'5907b32730a09864e6e3001239fabd04d69bae13'|'PetroChina 2016 profit sinks 78 percent on lower crude prices'|' 45am BST PetroChina 2016 profit sinks 78 percent on lower crude prices FILE PHOTO: PetroChina''s petrol station is pictured in Beijing, China, March 21, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo BEIJING China''s largest oil and gas producer, PetroChina ( 601857.SS ), on Thursday reported a drop of 78 percent in 2016 annual net profit, to its lowest since at least 2011, as it was hit by lower prices for crude oil and natural gas. The shrinking profits posted by China''s state oil and gas producers for last year have highlighted their growing challenges from falling output at ageing wells and excess supply in domestic fuel oil markets. PetroChina''s net profit sank to 7.86 billion yuan ($1.14 billion) from 35.7 billion yuan in 2015, while revenue fell 6.3 percent to 1.62 trillion yuan ($235 billion), based on IFRS accounting standards. PetroChina''s crude oil production fell 5.3 percent to 920.7 million barrels in 2016 - still the highest among global oil producers including BP ( BP.L ) and Shell ( RDSa.L ) - but marking the lowest for PetroChina since 2012, according to Reuters data. The state company''s crude oil output peaked in 2015 at 972 million barrels. PetroChina''s total oil and gas output for the year was 1.47 billion barrels of oil equivalent, down 1.8 percent from 2015. PetroChina had 7.44 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves, down 12.7 percent from 2015, it said. In its annual report, the company said domestic gasoline demand was lower than expected, while diesel consumption fell. "The situation of excessive supply in domestic refined products became severe" last year, it said. "The quantity of imported and processed crude oil, operating capacity, and market shares of local refineries (all) increased significantly, leading to fiercer market competition." PetroChina''s smaller upstream competitor CNOOC ( 0883.HK ) - a specialist in offshore operations - earlier reported its worst result since 2011, but forecast its output to rise this year. Profits at Sinopec ( 600028.SS ) - Asia''s largest refiner - rose 44 percent from a year earlier on the back of strong performances in refining and chemicals. Sinopec''s oil and gas production in 2016, however, fell 8.6 percent to 431.29 million barrels of oil equivalent versus 471.91 million a year earlier. ($1 = 6.8895 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Josephine Mason and Meng Meng; Editing by Tom Hogue) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-petrochina-results-idUKKBN17117T'|'2017-03-30T18:45:00.000+03:00' +'ff52ee9b53c742946e5d6264b9bfbc39f1157d0c'|'Books over 1.5bn for Caixa Geral de Depositos AT1 bond'|'By Alice Gledhill LONDON, March 23 (IFR) - Books have passed 1.5bn for Caixa Geral de Depositos'' 500m no-grow perpetual non-call five-year Additional Tier 1 bond, according to a market source.Initial price thoughts remain at 11% to 11.5% coupon.The deal, expected to be rated B- by Fitch, will price later on Thursday via joint leads managers Barclays, Caixa - Banco de Investimento, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan.The bonds will be written down on a temporary basis should the bank''s Common Equity Tier 1 fall below 5.125%. (Reporting by Alice Gledhill; editing by Sudip Roy)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/caixa-geral-dep-bonds-idINL5N1H02OI'|'2017-03-23T08:06:00.000+02:00' +'5c531a66be9452e0854d2f1085766f1180e31a11'|'NY jury convicts ex-law firm partner of insider trading on Pfizer-King deal'|'By Brendan Pierson and Jonathan Stempel - NEW YORK NEW YORK A former partner at a major law firm was convicted on Wednesday of insider trading charges for having tipped a Long Island, New York investment adviser about Pfizer Inc''s ( PFE.N ) plan to buy King Pharmaceuticals Inc in 2010.Robert Schulman, who worked at the time at Hunton & Williams in Washington, D.C., was convicted of securities fraud and conspiracy jurors in Brooklyn federal court after about 4-1/2 hours of deliberations.Prosecutors said Schulman, who had represented King in patent litigation since 2009, tipped his friend Tibor Klein, the owner of Valley Stream-based Klein Financial Services, about the $3.6 billion Pfizer takeover in advance.Klein then allegedly bought King securities for himself, Schulman and clients, and passed the tip to his friend Michael Shechtman, a Florida stockbroker, resulting in more than $400,000 of overall illegal profit, prosecutors have said.A lawyer for Schulman was not immediately available for comment.Schulman, of McLean, Virginia, was a partner at the law firm Arent Fox in Washington, D.C. at the time of his arrest last August, and was later put on leave."Robert Schulman is no longer a member of this firm," an Arent Fox spokesman said on Wednesday after the conviction. "Arent Fox is committed to exceeding the industry standards for ethical and professional conduct."Klein, of Melville, New York, was arrested with Schulman, and faces a Sept. 18 trial.Shechtman, a former Ameriprise Financial Inc ( AMP.N ) stockbroker, pleaded guilty in Brooklyn in November 2014 to a conspiracy charge, and has cooperated with prosecutors. He has not been sentenced.The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a related civil lawsuit in September 2013 against Klein and Shechtman in the federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida. That case was later put on hold until the criminal case was resolved.Though the SEC did not sue Schulman, it alleged that he became intoxicated on several glasses of wine while dining at home with his wife and Klein in August 2010, and blurted out, "It would be nice to be King for a day."Klein took the hint and bought 60,600 King shares, including 800 for himself and 3,000 for Schulman, on the next trading day, the SEC said.(Reporting By Brendan Pierson and Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bernard Orr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-insidertrading-pfizer-idINKBN16M31Y'|'2017-03-15T18:21:00.000+02:00' +'81ec5f03d5e3042f7de00723aa9e84050290dac2'|'Sour Lululemon results may signal squeeze for athletic leisure lines'|'Business News - Thu Mar 30, 2017 - 4:55pm EDT Sour Lululemon results may signal squeeze for athletic leisure lines left right People walk past a store by yogawear retailer Lululemon Athletica in New York City, U.S., March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid 1/4 left right People walk past a store by yogawear retailer Lululemon Athletica in New York City, U.S., March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid 2/4 left right Clothes are displayed in a Lululemon Athletica retail store in New York, U.S., March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid 3/4 left right Clothes are displayed in a Lululemon Athletica retail store in New York, U.S., March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid 4/4 By Gayathree Ganesan and Sruthi Ramakrishnan The steep drop in Lululemon Athletica''s ( LULU.O ) stock price, following a sales warning that resulted from poor color choices in the company''s spring collection, turns the spotlight on slowing growth in the athleisure category pioneered by the Canadian yogawear retailer. Shares of rivals Nike Inc ( NKE.N ) and Under Armour ( UAA.N ) also were down on Thursday, raising questions of whether athletic leisure wear can maintain its torrid growth amid competition from denim and possible shopper fatigue with the now decade-old fashion category. In the age of fast fashion, when trends change overnight, athletic leisure wear is showing signs of age. Industry-wide sales in North America have grown 39.2 percent to $26.05 billion in the last five years, according to Euromonitor. However, sales in the category are expected to grow at 5.2 percent in 2017, slower than the average 6.9 percent rate at which the category had grown in the last five years. The latest quarterly results have also indicated a slowdown from the marquee manufacturers. The last few years have seen a surge in the number of retailers offering athleisure clothes, ranging from mass-market products sold by retailers such as Gap Inc ( GPS.N ) to $1,000 leggings from designers such as Alexander McQueen. "There is no more the growth that was there before and there are way more competitors for the brand (Lululemon) compared to when they''d started 10 years ago," Jan Rogers Kniffen, chief executive of consulting firm J. Rogers Kniffen WWE, said. A hash of celebrity brand launches, including Beyonce''s Ivy Park line in April last year, has also competed for sales at the traditional retailers. "Nordstrom ( JWN.N ) has got a private label on athleisure, (J.C.) Penney ( JCP.N ) has also got a private label on athleisure, Kohl''s ( KSS.N ) has got a private label on athleisure. Everybody is doing it at every price point," Kniffen said. A comeback in denim, led by 1970s-inspired wider leg denim pants and higher waist jeans from Forever 21 and H&M ( HMb.ST ), is also eating into demand for athleisure wear. "We continue to believe trend shifts away from athleisure to denim will present stiffening headwinds to LULU," Canaccord Genuity analyst Camilo Lyon said. The stock market is giving the industry little room for error. Nike''s shares fell as much as 7.3 percent after the company reported lower-than-expected quarterly revenue last month, while Under Armour''s shares fell 28 percent in January after it forecast 2017 sales well below analysts'' estimates. "Over the past 12-24 months, other athletic wear bellwethers such as NKE and UA have seen meaningful multiple contraction once sales started slowing and margins stopped expanding," said Ike Boruchow, analyst with Wells Fargo, in a research note. The market on Thursday showed little patience for Lululemon''s disappointing results, too. The company''s shares closed down 23.4 percent at $50.76. (Additional reporting by Anya George Tharakan and Jessica Kuruthukulangara in Bengaluru; Editing by David Greising) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-lululemon-stocks-athleisure-idUSKBN17132I'|'2017-03-31T04:55:00.000+03:00' +'d9990348079c1023a091025ed514a8c3d6a296d0'|'Glock Defeats Ex-Wifes $500 Million Shotgun Racketeering Suit'|'A legal feud between pistol tycoon Gaston Glock and his ex-wife, Helga, has ended with a resounding victory for the legendary gunmaker. A federal judge in Atlanta dismissed a racketeering lawsuit filed by Helga Glock in which she accused her former husband of siphoning off millions of dollars from the family firearm empire.Before getting into the details of the ruling, heres some background. The Austrian company Glock GmbH, operating through its U.S. subsidiary, Glock Inc., supplies two-thirds of American law enforcement agencies with durable, large-capacity semiautomatic pistols. Glocks are also popular in the lucrative U.S. civilian gun market.Since they were introduced to America in the mid-1980s, Glock handguns have made their inventor, Gaston Glock, 87, a very rich manalthough just how rich isnt publicly known because the company is closely held and highly secretive.Gaston Glock (center) and current wife Kathrin Glock at a sporting event in Velden am Wrthersee, Austria, on Aug. 2, 2008.Photographer: Blondel/Knipserbande via Zuma Press In 2011, Gaston and Helga Glock divorced acrimoniously, raising the question of how much of the family fortune, including ownership of the gun company, Helga should get. Fierce disagreement on this point led to litigation in Austria and, eventually, in the U.S.. In 2014, Helga sued Gaston in Atlanta (near the headquarters of Glock Inc.) under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).She sought $500 million, plus unspecified punitive damages and legal fees. Helga Glock, who helped her ex-husband get the company aloft in the early 1980s, accused Gaston of using a variety of illicit strategies to move money from the international corporation into his own pocket. She also alleged he had rearranged ownership of the family company in such a way as to deny her and their three adult children any control over the firm.U.S. District Judge Thomas Thrash Jr. dismissed the RICO suit last week as unsubstantiated and nebulously stated. Thrash criticized the complaint as a shotgun pleading, meaning one replete with conclusory, vague, and immaterial facts not obviously connected to any particular cause of action.Without concluding that Gaston had committed any wrongdoing, the judge said in his March 20 decision that, if there had been an illegal scheme, it had been directed solely at ripping off the Glock companiesnot Helga Glock as an individual.A lawyer for Helga Glock told the Daily Report , an Atlanta legal trade publication, that she intends to appeal.'|'bloomberg.com'|'https://www.bloomberg.com/businessweek'|'http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-30/glock-defeats-ex-wife-s-500-million-shotgun-racketeering-suit'|'2017-03-31T03:05:00.000+03:00' +'d51e858e8f8afab895d23af0b9acb368f264347a'|'Wilcon prices IPO at low end of range in Philippines'' first 2017 listing'|'MANILA Wilcon Depot Inc, a Philippine construction materials retailer, is set to raise 7 billion pesos ($139.50 million) in the Southeast Asian nation''s first listing this year, pricing its shares at the low end of its guided range.Wilcon is aiming to ride on Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte''s pledge to raise spending on infrastructure to help lift the country''s economic growth trajectory.It priced its IPO at 5.05 pesos per share, near the bottom end of the 5.00-5.68 pesos suggested range announced last week, to allow potential post-IPO upside, Eduardo Francisco, president of underwriter BDO Capital and Investment Corp, said in a mobile text message.Proceeds from the sale of 1.39 billion shares would be used to nearly double the company''s network to 65 stores in the next five years from the current 37 stores that sell local and foreign brands of building and finishing materials.Wilcon''s flotation was more than three times oversubscribed, Justino Ocampo, first vice president of another underwriter, First Metro Investment Corp, said in a mobile phone message.The company, owned by the Belo family, will have a public float of 34 percent following the listing on Mar. 31.Robust domestic demand and higher spending helped spur full-year 2016 growth to a three-year high of 6.8 percent, beating China''s 6.7 percent and cementing the Philippines'' position as one of the world''s fastest-growing economies.The Philippines'' broader stock index is up 6.4 percent so far this year, making it the third best-performing bourse in Southeast Asia.(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-wilcon-depot-ipo-pricing-idINKBN16O0DX'|'2017-03-17T01:21:00.000+02:00' +'c40ca91582cdcca3bdcfde483ba41ed54e26efdb'|'IT services firm stocks dip after government suspends fast tech visas'|'Money News - Tue Mar 7, 2017 - 2:25am IST IT services firm stocks dip after government suspends fast tech visas FULL COVERAGE: By Noel Randewich - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Technology services company shares dipped on Monday after the Trump administration announced it would temporarily suspend expedited applications for H-1B visas widely used by foreign tech workers. U.S. shares of Indian IT company Infosys Ltd ( INFY.NS ) ( INFY.N ) fell 1.2 percent and Wipro Ltd ( WIPR.NS ) ( WIT.N ) edged down 0.2 percent after the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said on Friday that it would suspend "premium processing" of the visas for up to six months. New York-based Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp ( CTSH.O ) dipped 1.7 percent. Following President Donald Trump''s election in November, Infosys and Wipro sold off due to concerns he would keep promises to crack down on immigrants who he said were taking jobs from U.S. citizens. But the companies'' shares have mostly recovered due to growing expectations among investors that any potential change to the H-1B visa program would happen via a lengthy legislative process and not through a quick executive order. "The longer time it takes, the longer the regulators and politicians will have to do their homework to understand the impact of their acts," said Wedbush Securities analyst Moshe Katri. Infosys, Wipro and other Indian IT companies serving U.S. corporations are among the largest sponsors for H-1B visas, using them to employ programmers and other technology workers. Banks are key customers of those IT companies and could increase spending if Trump makes good on promises to cut corporate taxes and reduce financial regulation, Katri added. Short interest in Infosys in mid-February rose to 2.8 percent of outstanding shares, its highest level in about two years, according to Thomson Reuters data. USCIS said that suspending premium processing will allow it to reduce a backlog of long-pending visa petitions and thus reduce overall H-1B processing times. (Reporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) Next In Money News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-markets-visas-idINKBN16D2IY'|'2017-03-07T03:55:00.000+02:00' +'2b60eaedf63226bce2405be4f6513a4ca2945bdd'|'China''s foreign trade faces lots of risks - commerce minister'|'Business News - Sat Mar 11, 2017 - 8:57am GMT China''s foreign trade faces lots of risks - commerce minister BEIJING China''s foreign trade outlook faces lots of risks and uncertainties, Commerce Minister Zhong Shan said on Saturday on the sidelines of China''s annual meeting of parliament. (Reporting by Sue-Lin Wong; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Sam Holmes) Next In Business News Lloyds, two others dismissed from yen Libor litigation in U.S. NEW YORK A U.S. judge on Friday dismissed Lloyds Banking Group Plc , ICAP Europe Ltd and Tullett Prebon Plc as defendants from litigation alleging a conspiracy among many financial services companies to manipulate the yen Libor and Euroyen Tibor benchmark interest rates. BERLIN Airlines need Britain to hurry up with plans for aviation following its vote to leave the European Union, because the deadline for preparing flight schedules in a post-Brexit Europe is fast approaching, a Ryanair executive said on Friday. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-parliament-trade-idUKKBN16I09M'|'2017-03-11T15:57:00.000+02:00' +'829818d73571718972704a33a8d2147f49e1d80f'|'UPDATE 1-Aberdeen, Standard Life in talks over 11 bln stg merger'|'* Firms discussing all-share merger* Standard Life investors would own two thirds of new firm* Combined firm would have assets of 660 bln pounds (Adds detail)By Alistair Smout and Simon JessopLONDON, March 4 Aberdeen Asset Management and insurer Standard Life said on Saturday they were in talks over a possible 11 billion pound ($13.5 billion) merger that would put them among the world''s largest active investment managers."Further to the recent press speculation the Boards of Standard Life and Aberdeen confirm that they are in discussions in relation to a possible all-share merger of Standard Life and Aberdeen," they said, confirming an earlier Sky News report."The potential merger represents an excellent opportunity to leverage Standard Life and Aberdeen''s combined strengths to create a world class investment company," they said.Under the terms of the proposed deal, Aberdeen shareholders would own 33.3 percent of the combined group under the terms of the potential merger, with Standard Life shareholders owning the other 66.7 percent, the companies said.Standard Life has a market cap of 7.5 billion pounds, with Aberdeen roughly half the size.Under the deal, Aberdeen shareholders would receive 0.757 of a new Standard Life ordinary share for each Aberdeen ordinary share. Other terms of the proposed deal were still being discussed, they said.The combined firm would manage assets of about 660 billion pounds.Standard Life Chairman Gerry Grimstone would become Chairman of the Board of the Combined Group, with Aberdeen Chairman Simon Troughton becoming Deputy Chairman. Keith Skeoch, chief executive of Standard Life, and Martin Gilbert, his counterpart at Aberdeen, would share the role in the new company. ($1 = 0.8134 pounds) (Editing by Hugh Lawson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/aberdeen-asset-standard-life-idINL5N1GH0I8'|'2017-03-04T16:17:00.000+02:00' +'7ba7c18d49dd27cf8aa7a15de17bf0ad977119ea'|'Champagne producers blame Brexit for 2016 sales decline'|' 32am GMT Champagne producers blame Brexit for 2016 sales decline Bottles of champagne are displayed December 21, 2016 at a Nicolas French wine specialist store in Paris, France. Picture taken December 21, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Platiau PARIS Sales of champagne fell last year as a weaker pound weighed on British demand in the wake of the Brexit referendum vote, France''s main champagne industry body said on Monday. Sales to Britain, still the biggest export market by volume, fell 8.7 percent to 31.2 million bottles, the CIVC industry association said. By value, British exports tumbled 14 percent to 440 million euros (381.16 million pounds). Britain''s June vote to leave the European Union caused sterling to fall against the euro and to its lowest level against the dollar since 1985, although it has since edged back from those lows. Global champagne sales fell 2.1 percent by volume to 306 million bottles in 2016, while order value fell 0.6 percent to 4.71 billion euros. The decline also reflected continued economic weakness in France, where sales fell 2.5 percent to 157 million bottles, the CIVC said. However, champagne shipments to the United States, the second-largest export market, rose 6.3 percent by volume and 4.9 percent by value. (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Laurence Frost) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-champagne-sales-idUKKBN16R0TP'|'2017-03-20T17:32:00.000+02:00' +'7cb5e36ace7cc6f7026bdd3e84d1d23847910c9a'|'Exclusive: Metals recycling group Befesa eyes stock market listing - sources'|'By Arno Schuetze and Andrs Gonzlez - FRANKFURT/MADRID FRANKFURT/MADRID European private equity-owned metals recycling group Befesa is preparing a stock market listing in a deal potentially valuing the group at up to 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion), people close to the matter said.Buyout group Triton has asked Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) and Citi ( C.N ) to organize the listing as so-called global coordinators later this year, the people said, adding that stock including new shares worth about 300 million euros may be sold.Befesa, which is headquartered in Luxembourg, could reach a market capitalization of 1-1.2 billion euros in the initial public offering, they said.Triton and Goldman Sachs declined to comment, while the Citi was not immediately available for comment.Befesa specializes in recycling steel dust from the steel and galvanizing industry and salt slags from the aluminum industry and is a former unit of Abengoa ( ABG.MC ), which sold the company to Triton in 2013 for 850 million in cash, or 1.1 billion euros including debt.(Editing by Georgina Prodhan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-befesa-ipo-idINKBN1721YY'|'2017-03-31T12:19:00.000+03:00' +'1d31277d8cda4378aeb2efb236646e5349487e97'|'NBCUniversal invested $500 million in Snap Inc during IPO: CNBC'|'Business News - Fri Mar 3, 2017 - 8:44am EST NBCUniversal invested $500 million in Snap Inc during IPO: CNBC Specialist Trader Glen Carell (R) gives a price for Snap Inc. during the company''s IPO on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., March 2, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid NBCUniversal, a unit of Comcast Corp ( CMCSA.O ), invested $500 million in Snap Inc ( SNAP.N ) during its IPO as part of a strategic investment and partnership, CNBC reported on Friday, citing sources familiar with the matter. Snap and NBCUniversal did not immediately respond to requests for comment. (Reporting by Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-snap-inc-ipo-nbcuniversal-idUSKBN16A1K6'|'2017-03-03T20:44:00.000+02:00' +'04b4b90c3b388017ed256d9384cce92d5c5bf815'|'German engineering group Aumann rise in stock market debut'|'Company News - Fri Mar 24, 2017 - 4:34am EDT German engineering group Aumann rise in stock market debut FRANKFURT, March 24 German engineering group Aumann rose 15 percent in its stock market debut on Friday, in the country''s first initial public offering this year. The maker of parts for electric car and bicycle engines reaped 63 million euros ($67.94 million) in proceeds from the sale of new shares, which it wants to spend on additional production capacity. Private equity owner MBB reduced its stake to 53.6 from 93.5 percent in the flotation, which valued Aumann at 588 million euros. It had bought Aumann only last year and merged it with its portfolio company Claas. Aumann, founded in 1936 and specialising in winding technology needed in building electric motors, posted sales of 156 million euros and an adjusted EBIT margin of 12.4 percent last year. Berenberg, Citi and Hauck & Aufhaeuser organised the deal. ($1 = 0.9273 euros) (Reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Harro ten Wolde) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/aumann-ipo-idUSF9N1GT007'|'2017-03-24T16:34:00.000+03:00' +'e0736ad9026be8c83b571c1f58a8e2037f461614'|'Nestle close to signing off on $50 million-$60 million factory in Cuba'|'By Sarah Marsh - HAVANA HAVANA Swiss firm Nestle ( NESN.S ) is close to reaching a deal with Cuba on forming a new joint venture to build a $50 million to $60 million factory to produce coffee, biscuits and cooking products, company Vice President Laurent Freixe said on Wednesday in Havana.Freixe, head of Nestle''s Americas division, was visiting the Communist-ruled island to negotiate the new investment in the Mariel special development zone west of Havana as well as to renew for another 20 years an existing joint venture producing ice cream.Cuba has upped its drive to attract foreign funds in a bid to stimulate the economy in recent years, introducing a new investment law and creating the Mariel zone, which offers companies significant tax and customs breaks.Nestle has been one of the largest investors in the country since it opened the door to Western capital in the 1990s after the fall of former benefactor the Soviet Union."The idea is to create a new joint venture to produce and distribute these products mainly for the Cuban market but also with the idea of exporting some products," Freixe said in an interview.Coffee in particular is ideal for export, he said, pointing to the success of a limited edition of Cuban coffee by Nestle''s Nespresso last year - the first Cuban coffee sold in the United States in more than 50 years."Talks are very advanced, now it is more a question of finalizing them and completing the issue of financing," Freixe said, adding that Nestle would have a 51 percent share in the company.That is comparable to Nestle''s share in its two other Cuban factories, one producing ice cream and the other bottled water and other beverages, he said. Nestle also imports food products for sale in Cuban stores.Cuba said last November it had approved 19 ventures so far in Mariel, which is centered around a container terminal that the country hopes will become a regional hub.The development zone is part of Cuba''s drive to update the centrally planned economy under President Raul Castro, who took over from his brother, the late Fidel Castro, in 2008.Nestle''s new factory, set to begin operations in the second half of 2019, will cater to growing demand after a surge in tourism and help replace imports with locally made products, Freixe said. It will employ around 300 people."Tourism is going to double in the coming years, meanwhile demand is today only partially covered by local production," he said, adding that Nestle was considering expanding its two other factories in Cuba.Nestle''s sales in Cuba grew last year, in tandem with its revenues throughout Latin America, Freixe said."It was single-digit growth, so not spectacular because there are also liquidity limitations that limit potential, but demand is there and we are growing," he said.Cash-strapped Cuba has struggled to pay providers on time recently as revenues decline due to a drop in exports and the crisis in key trading partner Venezuela. Its economy shrank 0.9 percent last year, according to the government.(This story has been refiled to fix day in first sentence to Wednesday.)(Reporting by Sarah Marsh; Editing by Christian Plumb and Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-nestle-idINKBN16F2LG'|'2017-03-08T20:43:00.000+02:00' +'fd61c2cc02e8b6f11d5f5d0d278859316304f2f4'|'EU''s Vestager warns companies against abusing algorithms'|' 42am GMT EU''s Vestager warns companies against abusing algorithms European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager holds a news conference at the EU Commission''s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium March 13, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir By Foo Yun Chee - BERLIN BERLIN Europe''s antitrust chief on Thursday warned companies against using algorithms to block rivals or form cartels, saying she may slap heftier fines on them if they use such software to commit wrongdoing. European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who is poised to fine U.S. technology giant Google ( GOOGL.O ) in the coming months for using its algorithm to unfairly demote rival shopping services in internet search results, said she was vigilant to such illegal practices. "I don''t think competition enforcers need to be suspicious of everyone who uses an automated system for pricing. But we do need to be alert," Vestager said at a conference organised by the German cartel office Bundeskartellamt. She pointed to the challenge of tackling sophisticated cartels which use software to fix prices and allocate markets among themselves to the detriment of customers and the economy, saying sanctions should reflect and deter this new tool used by companies. "So as competition enforcers, we need to keep an eye out for cartels that use software to work more effectively. If those tools allow companies to enforce their cartels more strictly, we may need to reflect that in the fines that we impose," Vestager said. The European Commission can penalise companies up to 10 percent of their global turnover for breaching EU antitrust rules. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Robert-Jan Bartunek) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-antitrust-idUKKBN16N18W'|'2017-03-16T17:42:00.000+02:00' +'00c221d5acfe2eabe6de80fbac67659464875c13'|'BRIEF-Bayer confirms planning to raise about $19 bln in equity'|' 32am EDT BRIEF-Bayer confirms planning to raise about $19 bln in equity March 15 Bayer presentation slides * Confirms planning to raise total of approx. $19 billion in equity to fund Monsanto deal * Confirms 2018 margin targets Trump won''t seek to roll back California vehicle authority WASHINGTON, March 15 President Donald Trump will announce the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will revive a review of the feasibility of strict fuel efficiency standards through 2025, but will not seek to withdraw California''s authority to set its own vehicle rules, a White House official said late on Tuesday. * Evolva secures equity financing of up to CHF 30 million and provides further preliminary financials for 2016 MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-bayer-confirms-planning-to-raise-a-idUSL5N1GS27Z'|'2017-03-15T16:32:00.000+02:00' +'56129c4acb72cd904567aea93f1c9849962f8db5'|'China''s Guangzhou rolls out fresh curbs on flipping houses'|'Business News - Fri Mar 31, 2017 - 2:19am BST China''s Guangzhou rolls out fresh curbs on flipping houses The sun sets behind a construction site in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, January 3, 2014. REUTERS/Alex Lee SHANGHAI The southern Chinese city of Guangzhou has put fresh curbs on homeowners selling their homes quickly after purchasing in an attempt to cool the property market, the official Xinhua news agency reported. Homeowners will only be able to resell a property two years after they obtain an ownership certificate, according to the new rules that go into effect on Friday. These apply to both new and second-hand homes, Xinhua said. The new restrictions come two weeks after the city said it would allow unmarried people and non-local residents to buy only one home in the city, and raised the minimum down payment on second homes to 50 percent. China''s red-hot property market has been resisting cooling measures and purchase restrictions - first imposed by big cities but now adopted by smaller cities. Nationwide home sales surged in the first two months of the year despite such government measures, data showed. (Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-property-idUKKBN172040'|'2017-03-31T09:19:00.000+03:00' +'10374cfed63b6396c16a96451751520601ab8d24'|'RPT-Snap to price long-awaited IPO on Wednesday amid signs of brisk demand'|'(Repeats with no changes)By Lauren HirschMarch 1 Snap Inc, owner of popular messaging app Snapchat, will price its initial public offering after the U.S. stock market closes on Wednesday in the most eagerly awaited technology IPO since Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba went public in 2014.The pricing will be the first test of investor appetite for a social-media app beloved by teenagers and 20-somethings but which has yet to turn a profit. The company''s losses widened last year, and it is experiencing decelerating user growth in the face of intense competition from larger rivals such as Facebook.Despite the challenges in converting "cool" into cash, Snap is targeting a valuation of between $19.5 billion and $22.3 billion from listing on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, the richest valuation in a U.S. tech IPO since Facebook in 2012.Snap is looking to price 200 million shares on Wednesday night at a range of $14 to $16 dollars a share.The sale, which aims to raise around $3 billion, has the advantage of favorable timing. The market for technology IPOs hit the brakes in 2016, the slowest year for such launches since 2008, and investors are keen for fresh opportunities.A successful launch could encourage debuts by other unicorns, the moniker given to tech start-ups with private valuations of $1 billion or more.Early indications for selling shareholders and the company have been positive. The IPO book is said to be over-subscribed with orders coming in at the high end of the range or higher. At least one new investor indicated it was willing to buy a large chunk of the IPO and not sell it for a year, a rare commitment to make.The company cut its price range last month from an original target of between $19.5 billion and $22.3 billion after investor concern over its unproven business model. It had been valued at up to $20 billion in nine separate private funding rounds over the past five years.HAVE FAITH IN SPIEGELAlthough Los Angeles-based Snap is going public at a much earlier stage in its development than social media giants Twitter Inc or Facebook Inc, the five-year-old company is valuing itself at roughly 49 times revenues at the top of its suggested range, nearly double the 27 times revenue Facebook fetched when it went public in 2012.To justify its suggested valuation and fend off concerns about slowing user growth, Snap has highlighted how much time its users spend on the app and the revenue potential of the emerging trend for young people to communicate with video rather than text.The company has been vague on its specific plans to lead and monetize image-driven conversations, but it has suggested investors have faith in the vision of its co-founder Evan Spiegel, whom it introduced in its investor roadshow as a "once in a generation founder."The 26-year-old will walk away with a roughly 17 percent stake valued at as much as $3.8 billion.Spiegel and co-founder Bobby Murphy will each be selling 16 million shares in the IPO that could earn them $256 million apiece. Spiegel will also receive a bonus equivalent to 3 percent of its market capitalization or up to $669 million.Dozens of other Snap investors could become overnight millionaires.Spiegel and Murphy will maintain tight control over Snap''s stock through a unique three-share class structure. The structure will give Spiegel and Murphy the right of 10 votes for every share. Existing investors will have one vote for each of their shares, while new investors will have no voting rights. (Editing by Carmel Crimmins and Cynthia Osterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/snap-ipo-idINL2N1GD21V'|'2017-03-01T09:00:00.000+02:00' +'4247108aa72c4f4e4c473bb58440d28abdf3ba5e'|'PSA CEO - Vauxhall plants an opportunity if there is hard Brexit'|'Money News - Mon Mar 6, 2017 - 1:46pm IST PSA CEO - Vauxhall plants an opportunity if there is hard Brexit FULL COVERAGE: INDIA ELECTIONS 2017 A Vauxhall dealership advertises a sale on its vehicles near the Vauxhall plant in Luton, Britain February 17, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Cziborra/Files FRANKFURT PSA Group''s Chief Executive Carlos Tavares said Vauxhall''s factories are an asset for the French carmaker if Britain exits the European common market in a so-called "Hard Brexit" scenario. Tavares told analysts and investors on Monday that a proposed combination of PSA Group with the European operations of General Motors, presents an opportunity. "Opel Vauxhall was prevented until now to sell overseas. There is an export potential opportunity for us. There is also the Brexit and the risk and the opportunity to have inside of the U.K. some manufacturing plants in case we have a hard Brexit. All of this represents opportunities that we want to tackle," Tavares said. Automakers fear that a complete departure from the European common market could result in the imposition of tariffs for exporting and importing vehicles into Great Britain. Having a car plant in Britain would help Peugeot overcome such tariffs. Vauxhall has a plant in Ellesmere Port and in Luton. (Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Harro ten Wolde) Next In Money News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/opel-m-apsa-britain-eu-idINKBN16D0Q4'|'2017-03-06T15:16:00.000+02:00' +'343fc4982c243ca9185f069c74d29cdff474463e'|'Snap to price long-awaited IPO on Wednesday amid signs of brisk demand'|'By Lauren Hirsch Snap Inc, owner of popular messaging app Snapchat, will price its initial public offering after the U.S. stock market closes on Wednesday in the most eagerly awaited technology IPO since Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba went public in 2014.The pricing will be the first test of investor appetite for a social-media app beloved by teenagers and 20-somethings but which has yet to turn a profit. The company''s losses widened last year, and it is experiencing decelerating user growth in the face of intense competition from larger rivals such as Facebook.Despite the challenges in converting "cool" into cash, Snap is targeting a valuation of between $19.5 billion and $22.3 billion from listing on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, the richest valuation in a U.S. tech IPO since Facebook in 2012.Snap is looking to price 200 million shares on Wednesday night at a range of $14 to $16 dollars a share.The sale, which aims to raise around $3 billion, has the advantage of favorable timing. The market for technology IPOs hit the brakes in 2016, the slowest year for such launches since 2008, and investors are keen for fresh opportunities.A successful launch could encourage debuts by other unicorns, the moniker given to tech start-ups with private valuations of $1 billion or more.Early indications for selling shareholders and the company have been positive. The IPO book is said to be over-subscribed with orders coming in at the high end of the range or higher. At least one new investor indicated it was willing to buy a large chunk of the IPO and not sell it for a year, a rare commitment to make.The company cut its price range last month from an original target of between $19.5 billion and $22.3 billion after investor concern over its unproven business model. It had been valued at up to $20 billion in nine separate private funding rounds over the past five years.HAVE FAITH IN SPIEGELAlthough Los Angeles-based Snap is going public at a much earlier stage in its development than social media giants Twitter Inc or Facebook Inc, the five-year-old company is valuing itself at roughly 49 times revenues at the top of its suggested range, nearly double the 27 times revenue Facebook fetched when it went public in 2012.To justify its suggested valuation and fend off concerns about slowing user growth, Snap has highlighted how much time its users spend on the app and the revenue potential of the emerging trend for young people to communicate with video rather than text.The company has been vague on its specific plans to lead and monetize image-driven conversations, but it has suggested investors have faith in the vision of its co-founder Evan Spiegel, whom it introduced in its investor roadshow as a "once in a generation founder."The 26-year-old will walk away with a roughly 17 percent stake valued at as much as $3.8 billion.Spiegel and co-founder Bobby Murphy will each be selling 16 million shares in the IPO that could earn them $256 million apiece. Spiegel will also receive a bonus equivalent to 3 percent of its market capitalization or up to $669 million.Dozens of other Snap investors could become overnight millionaires.Spiegel and Murphy will maintain tight control over Snap''s stock through a unique three-share class structure. The structure will give Spiegel and Murphy the right of 10 votes for every share. Existing investors will have one vote for each of their shares, while new investors will have no voting rights.(Editing by Carmel Crimmins and Cynthia Osterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/snap-ipo-idINKBN1683EN'|'2017-03-01T03:33:00.000+02:00' +'ecd467c83b463902e4750064359209993fa1c12d'|'Hong Kong corporate disclosure criticised amid high fees and privacy fears'|'Money News - Fri Mar 10, 2017 - 6:30am IST Hong Kong corporate disclosure criticised amid high fees and privacy fears FULL COVERAGE: By Michelle Price - HONG KONG HONG KONG Hong Kong is beefing up corporate disclosure laws following the Panama Papers scandal, but unlike many other financial centres it is not making it any easier to access the information, transparency campaigners and private investigators say. Instead it charges high fees to access the territory''s corporate registry, a tool transparency activists say is vital to prevent white-collar crime and promote a fair business environment as it contains information on company directors, shareholders and financial holdings. The future of private company registries has been in the spotlight this week at the Corporate Registers Forum in Hong Kong, which gathers representatives of company registers globally, along with the World Bank and the United Nations. Since the Panama Papers exposed how opaque shell companies can be used to conceal ill-gotten gains or avoid tax, several countries including Japan, Israel, Bulgaria and France have largely made their company databases freely available, while Britain became the first country globally to provide free access to data showing real company owners, rather than their nominees. However, critics say Hong Kong is dragging its feet. "At a time when an ever-increasing number of countries are making their company registers available as free, open data, it''s saddening to see Hong Kong go against the direction of travel and undermines confidence in Hong Kong companies around the world," said Chris Taggart, chief executive of OpenCorporates, an online database of corporate registries that has been campaigning for company data transparency. It scores Hong Kong 25 out of 100 in its global registry rankings, placing the territory well behind rival financial hubs London and New York, and even the likes of Russia, Niger, Samoa, and Myanmar. The Panama Papers showed Hong Kong was the most active centre in the world for the creation of shell companies. In response, Hong Kong quietly pushed through proposals on anti-money laundering laws and company disclosure legislation, including a requirement that companies reveal the identity of their true owners. NO DETERRENCE But in Hong Kong, home to more than 1.3 million private companies, access to the information comes at a cost. Private investigators said the corporate registry fees make it increasingly expensive to conduct investigations into potential crimes amid increasingly complex corporate structures. "The pay wall is cumbersome and expensive. For larger investigations where a company may have hundreds of subsidiaries or associated companies, the process can be prohibitively expensive," said Jane Moir, director at Princedale Advisory, a Hong Kong corporate investigations firm. An investigation into a large company could easily rack up fees of HK$100,000 ($13,333), a Reuters analysis shows. A spokeswoman for the registry though said fees are "minimal" and do not constitute a pay wall deterring the public from conducting searches. She said the fees are set on the basis that they can be recovered as a business cost but David Webb, a corporate governance activist, said there is no justification for recovering costs for information searches. In fact, the Hong Kong government could stop charging fees for searching the registry and still make HK$166 million in profit from fees it charges new companies to incorporate as legal entities and make annual filings, his analysis shows. Last Friday alone, 855 companies were incorporated in Hong Kong, according to his eponymous Webb-site.com which tracks the public part of the registry data. Last year, the government also required users to declare a reason for searching the registry - a move to protect the privacy of company directors and shareholders. However, the box-ticking declaration does not explicitly include news gathering or publishing, making it legally risky for some users such as journalists or others that publish reports based on the information. The move to protect privacy was seen by rights groups as another example of creeping censorship in the former British colony, under the influence of Beijing. The aim of the privacy law though was to strike a balance between upholding the freedom of the press and protecting personal information, Hong Kong''s privacy commissioner for personal data, Stephen Kai-yi Wong, said in a statement. Exemptions for news outlets may apply in certain circumstances, he said. Still, some see the move as an attempt by Hong Kong''s rich and powerful to suppress information on their affairs. "There was nothing to suggest that privacy was a major concern," said Moir. "The requirement did, however, seem to coincide with a number of reports by investigative journalists into the financial affairs of the political elite." (Reporting by Michelle Price; Editing by Neil Fullick) Next In Money News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/hongkong-corporate-disclosure-idINKBN16H03H'|'2017-03-10T08:00:00.000+02:00' +'bf5dd7b8c6377e5ff8550f2335835885f8522cbd'|'British engineer Smiths posts higher first-half profit, reaffirms FY outlook'|' 7:37am GMT British engineer Smiths posts higher first-half profit, reaffirms FY outlook British engineering firm Smiths Group ( SMIN.L ) stuck to its full-year outlook as growth in its detection unit, which makes security sensors, offset declines in other areas of its business and boosted first-half profit. The diversified supplier of hospital equipment, industrial services and sensors to detect explosives, said headline operating profit rose 27 percent to 277 million pounds ($346 million) in the six months ended Jan. 31. On an underlying basis, profit rose 8 percent. Six-month headline revenue grew 18 percent to 1.62 billion pounds, Smiths said, adding that it was flat on an underlying basis, in-line with expectations. "Overall, the outlook for 2017 is unchanged," Chief Executive Andy Reynolds Smith said in a statement. (Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-smiths-group-results-idUKKBN16V0R5'|'2017-03-24T15:37:00.000+03:00' +'ac14caec2abc51d952458b189fd7e3b41d22fb11'|'At the Fed, spring comes early with return to new ''normal'''|'Mon Mar 13, 2017 - 5:12am GMT At the Fed, spring comes early with return to new ''normal'' FILE PHOTO - A police officer keeps watch in front of the U.S. Federal Reserve in Washington, DC, U.S. on October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo By Howard Schneider - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. household wealth has hit record levels. U.S. stock prices recently hit all-time highs. Inflation is nearing the Federal Reserve''s 2.0 percent goal, and the world economy including the once-sick eurozone has skirted the risk of a deep new downturn. When Fed Chair Janet Yellen holds her first press conference of 2017 on Wednesday she can arguably declare a victory of sorts with an expected interest rate rise that will leave monetary policy looking increasingly normal. The rate increase expected on March 15 will be the second in four months, a pace unseen since the peak of the U.S. housing boom in 2006. A rate hike will also bring the Fed''s target rate to between 0.75 - 1.00 percentage points, near the bottom of the range within which the Fed operated before the 2007-2009 financial crisis. "You don''t need any intrigue or fundamental shifts in beliefs about the economy to realize why a rate increase might be likely," Johns Hopkins University professor and former Fed adviser Jon Faust said of the central bank''s plans. "The Fed would just as soon be back to normal...Unless something really bad happens they will raise rates in March and that gets them on a path to raise rates more this year." U.S. February employment data published on Friday further cleared the way to an interest rate rise, with the economy adding another 235,000 jobs. The unemployment rate held roughly steady at 4.7 percent. For Faust and others, the conversation is now focused on whether the Fed, when it releases new economic forecasts this week, could even raise its forecast for rate rises also. The month of March has been cruel to Yellen in the past. At the Fed''s March meetings in 2015 and 2016 the central bank downgraded its economic forecasts after inflation expectations plunged two years ago and after last year''s meltdown in the benchmark S&P 500 stock index. A year on, world stock markets have surged and even global economic laggards like Japan and the euro zone are looking better. European Central Bank president Mario Draghi gave his own mission accomplished declaration last week saying that "...our monetary policy has been successful." If anything, market analysts, economists, and Fed officials tout the possibility of stronger economic growth, resulting from the possible impact of U.S. tax cuts and infrastructure spending, or the run-up in household wealth from rising stock and real estate values. As a multiple of disposable income, the $92 trillion in net worth recorded among American families at the end of 2016 is the highest on record, JP Morgan economist Michael Feroli noted last week, More comforting for the Fed, markets have not just anticipated the path of interest rate rises by setting prices in markets in line with the number of rate increases for the year that policymakers expect to deliver, but reacted sanguinely to it. As has been typical of prior monetary policy tightening cycles, the Fed''s moves have been felt mostly in short-dated bond yields, with less effect on the mortgage markets or other long-term financing important to economic growth. That''s a relief for a Fed still anxious about events like the 2013 "taper tantrum", when then Fed chair Ben Bernanke said the central bank would begin reducing purchases of bonds, triggering a global bond market selloff. When Fed officials unexpectedly rallied behind a March interest rate increase in recent weeks, the unusually blunt message was easily accepted. Investor expectations changed and short-term rates rose. But the overall yield curve, the range of interest rates from short to long term debt maturities, showed little sign investors thought the Fed was becoming worried about inflation. Yellen has long made job growth the priority, hoping wage growth would follow, while assuming the Fed could always tame inflation if it rose too quickly. While in recent remarks she has emphasized the risk of rising prices, she has also remained committed to raising rates at only a "gradual" pace in order to leave loose policy in place a while longer. IHS chief economist Nariman Behravesh said the latest job report may leave the Fed in a sweet spot, able to move ahead with its rate hike plans as employment and modest wage growth continue. "We can expect to see the recent strength in jobs growth continue for a while longer," Behravesh said. At an annual rate of 2.8 percent, "while...wage growth...is nothing to cheer about, it is not bad either." (Reporting by Howard Schneider; editing by Clive McKeef) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-preview-analysis-idUKKBN16K0DB'|'2017-03-13T12:06:00.000+02:00' +'be2969a8db4fd95b9e55cd6b792aa7604ca9af48'|'JGBs edge higher on BOJ buying, stronger Treasuries'|'TOKYO, March 21 Japanese government bond prices edged higher on Tuesday, lifted by a regular debt-purchasing operation by the Bank of Japan and overnight gains by U.S. Treasuries.The benchmark 10-year yield and the 30-year yield were both half a basis point lower at 0.065 percent and 0.830 percent, respectively.June 10-year futures added 0.13 point to 150.26.The BOJ on Tuesday bought a total of 1.15 trillion yen ($10.2 billion) of JGBs ranging from the short-end to the super-long maturities as part of its regular debt-buying scheme.In a move that could reduce risk for bond brokers, Japan''s Ministry of Finance is considering shortening the period between the auction and the issuance of some JGBs, sources with knowledge of the matter said.JGB brokers have long wanted such a step because the BOJ, by far the largest buyer of JGBs because of its massive bond purchase scheme, does not accept the bonds that have been auctioned but are yet to be issued, compelling brokers to hold a large number of bonds over the interim period."It has been the case that some new JGBs, like the 10-year maturities, auctioned at the end of each quarter, were not eligible to be sold at the BOJ''s ''rinban'' outright buying operations," said Takafumi Yamawaki, chief bond strategist at JP Morgan Securities in Tokyo."The change, if realised, would help reduce risk for the bond holder."A large amount of JGBs reached maturity on Tuesday, and the market was also supported by investors reinvesting their funds back into government debt.Treasuries gained on Monday as Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans reiterated the U.S. central bank''s view that two more interest rate hikes this year are likely, disappointing investors who had anticipated a faster path of rate increases.($1 = 112.7300 yen) (Reporting by the Tokyo markets team; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/japan-bonds-idINL3N1GY1YB'|'2017-03-21T01:37:00.000+02:00' +'577c0b9d5896fac47eb9f1b519e3afeb25556fa8'|'U.S. judge deals PwC a setback at MF Global malpractice trial'|'Business News - Wed Mar 15, 2017 - 12:58pm EDT U.S. judge deals PwC a setback at MF Global malpractice trial The logo of PricewaterhouseCoopers is seen on the local offices building of the company in Luxembourg, April 26, 2016. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler By Jonathan Stempel - NEW YORK NEW YORK A federal judge has rejected PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP''s bid to sharply restrict how the bankruptcy plan administrator for Jon Corzine''s defunct brokerage MF Global Holdings Ltd pursues its $3 billion malpractice case against the auditor. Ruling eight days after the trial began, U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero in Manhattan refused to force the administrator, which is seeking money for MF Global creditors, to stick to what PwC called its original theory of why MF Global went bankrupt on Oct. 31, 2011. PwC said the administrator has in three years of litigation blamed the bankruptcy on a $6.3 billion European sovereign debt wager that the futures and commodities brokerage would not have made but for its negligent accounting advice. But PwC said it was blindsided when the administrator at trial began blaming confusion and a lack of trust among customers, investors and lenders in MF Global''s financial statements, which in turn were caused by PwC''s advice. The auditor sought to exclude all evidence supporting that theory, including testimony from Corzine, or get a mistrial. But the judge said the administrator had blamed PwC before for the loss of confidence in MF Global, including during its lawyer''s March 7 opening statement. "Although PwC may well be surprised that some of the prior allegations in the case may differ from theory of causation the plan administrator has advanced up to this point at trial, because that theory has been disclosed before, PwC cannot at this late stage claim to be prejudiced," Marrero wrote. Corzine, a former New Jersey governor and senator and Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) co-chairman, has testified that the European debt wager was low-risk and ultimately paid in full, but the market did not understand it. PwC has blamed Corzine''s risky trading and business strategy for MF Global''s collapse, and expects to win at trial "regardless of the causation theory," Rich Marooney, a lawyer for PwC, said in a statement after Marrero ruled. The trial is expected to last five weeks. The case is MF Global Holdings Ltd as Plan Administrator v PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 14-02197. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bernard Orr) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mf-global-hldg-pricewaterhouse-idUSKBN16M2JH'|'2017-03-15T23:58:00.000+02:00' +'4cb28bd55f1660655de487baf40ac84e1971c538'|'BRIEF-Anchor Capital announces extension of time to complete deal with Mark One Lifestyle'|' 26pm EDT BRIEF-Anchor Capital announces extension of time to complete deal with Mark One Lifestyle March 15 Anchor Capital Corp : * Anchor Capital Corporation announces extension of time to complete qualifying transaction and update to proposed qualifying transaction * TSXV has granted an extension for completion of Corporation''s transaction with Mark One Lifestyle, to September 7 Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-anchor-capital-announces-extension-idUSFWN1GS0PB'|'2017-03-16T02:26:00.000+02:00' +'0c41cc51b628b077ea269cf823ccdd8bc1d36e3c'|'British regulator to focus more on protecting insurance policyholders'|'Money News 33pm IST British regulator to focus more on protecting insurance policyholders Pedestrians walk past the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain, May 15, 2014. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/Files By Huw Jones - LONDON LONDON The Bank of England said it will devote greater effort to ensuring more consistent protection for those who would suffer most if their insurance policies do not pay out as promised. The move follows a review by the central bank''s Independent Evaluation Office (IEO), published on Monday, which looked into how the BoE''s supervisory arm, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), ensures that policyholders are properly protected. PRA work on the issue had been "crowded out" by "live supervisory issues" and the need to implement European Union capital rules known as Solvency II by January 2016, the IEO said in its report. The PRA''s "articulation of its policyholder protection responsibilities appears to be unfinished business", although there was no evidence that PRA supervisors were falling short of their duties, the IEO said. BoE Deputy Governor and PRA Chief Executive, Sam Woods, said the PRA does not seek to protect all policyholders equally and will direct more resources to those who would suffer greater financial hardship if their policies do not pay out as promised. "Some of the oldest and most vulnerable in our society have invested their life savings into long-term annuity contracts," Woods said in a speech to the London Business School. "So when we talk about promoting insurers safety and soundness, and protecting their policyholders, this is what we have in mind." Any reform to policy protection would be in place by the first quarter of next year. "I don''t expect this to lead to a radical change," Woods said. The Association of British Insurers said the PRA should consider the price and availability of insurance products, in addition to the solvency of provider firms when it comes to policy protection. "There is a trade-off and we do not believe that the right balance has been struck," Hugh Savill, the insurers'' association''s director of regulation, said. Britain''s exit from the European Union has raised hopes in the sector that Solvency II will be overhauled, but Woods reiterated there would be tweaks, but no wholesale changes. "We are expecting to begin post-Brexit with the same framework that we have now," Woods said. "We expect a framework of this kind for the foreseeable future." The debate about Solvency II has become a "cacophony of acronyms" emanating from a "magic circle of insurance enthusiasts", he said. "But strip this back and youll see there is an essential, irreducible human core to it all," Woods said, referring to the need to protect the most vulnerable. JPMorgan Cazenove analysts said Wood''s comments showed that the regulator was comfortable with capital levels at UK life insurers "and there aren''t any near-term headwinds for the insurers from a PRA regulation perspective". The IEO said the PRA should also ensure there is appropriate coordination with its sister regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority. (Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Alexander Smith and Susan Fenton) Next In Money News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/boe-insurance-regulations-idINKBN16R1VG'|'2017-03-20T23:03:00.000+02:00' +'fb374765dfdfb9b88a62f726c200501b57999c3c'|'Asian stocks pull back on fresh doubts about Trump policies'|'Money News 51am IST Asian stocks pull back on fresh doubts about Trump policies A man walks past an electronic board showing Japan''s Nikkei average (top L), the Dow Jones average (top R) and the stock averages of other countries'' outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon By Saikat Chatterjee - HONG KONG HONG KONG Asian stocks fell on Wednesday as a sharp pullback in Wall Street on doubts about Donald Trump''s economic agenda prompted investors to rush to safe haven assets such as gold and government bonds. Both the S&P 500 .SPX and the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI lost more than one percent on Tuesday in frantic trading, their biggest one day slide since before Donald Trump''s election victory in November. [.N] MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was down 0.5 percent in early trades after it hit its highest level since June 2015 in the previous session. Early Asian market openers such as Japan .N225 and Australia fell more than a percent. "Nerves about implementation of the Trump agenda will remain the focus for markets with the Obamacare repeal vote in U.S. congress on Thursday," ANZ strategists wrote in a daily note. With valuations stretched -- U.S. stocks are trading at the upper end of their historical valuation ranges -- investors see the Trump administration''s struggles to push through the healthcare overhaul as a sign he may also face setbacks delivering promised corporate tax cuts. Expectations of those tax cuts have been a major driver behind the 10-percent surge in the S&P 500 since Trump''s election. With investor mood decidedly risk-off, the Japanese yen scored some chunky gains against the U.S. dollar JPY= , rising to a four-month high. The greenback fell below a key level of 100 .DXY against a trade-weighted basket of its peers. Bonds gained with yields on two-year U.S. debt US2YT=RR falling to 1.27 percent in overnight trades, retreating further from a 7-1/2 year high of 1.38 percent hit last Wednesday when the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates. Gold XAU= was on track to extend its overnight strong performance with the precious commodity perched comfortably at a two-week high of $1,248 per ounce. Oil prices declined as concerns about new supply overshadowed the latest talk by OPEC that it was looking to extend output cuts. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 fell 1.8 percent to its lowest level since late-November to settle at $47.34 per barrel. Contracts were yet to be traded in Asia. (Reporting by Saikat Chatterjee; Editing by Sam Holmes) Next In Money News Off the pulse - India farmers switch crops as lentil prices plunge LATUR, India/NEW DELHI Millions of Indian farmers look set to switch from growing pulses and oilseeds after a government campaign to boost output became a victim of its own success by flooding markets with the crops, used in everything from fragrant curries to sticky desserts.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-markets-idINKBN16T019'|'2017-03-22T07:21:00.000+02:00' +'c34c9f57c211622eec9059783038c459bd74d8f2'|'GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia stocks edge higher, dollar up before U.S. payrolls'|'Business 53pm EST Asia stocks edge higher, dollar up before U.S. payrolls People are seen behind an electronic board showing stock prices after the New Year opening ceremony at the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), held to wish for the success of Japan''s stock market, in Tokyo, Japan, January 4, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon By Shinichi Saoshiro - TOKYO TOKYO Asian stocks edged up and the dollar rose to 1-1/2-month highs versus the yen on Friday ahead of the U.S. non-farm payrolls report due later in the day. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS added 0.1 percent, taking cues from a modest bounce in Wall Street overnight. Japan''s Nikkei .N225 climbed 1 percent on the back of a weaker yen and Australian stocks added 0.4 percent. Wall Street was marginally higher, underpinned by speculation the widely-anticipated labor market report on Friday would show U.S. payrolls growth in February was far more than economist forecast. The nonfarm payrolls report is expected to show 190,000 jobs were added in the U.S. private and public sectors in February. The employment figures are drawing particular interest as chances of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates several times this year could improve if the data underlines U.S. economic strength. Also of key concern to the broader risk asset markets were the developments in crude oil, which saw prices fall to more than three-month lows overnight as record U.S. crude inventories fed doubts about the effectiveness of OPEC''s recent deal to curb a global glut. U.S. crude CLc1 was up 0.6 percent at $49.57 a barrel after sliding to $48.59 overnight, the lowest since the end of November. Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, said that OPEC''s recent cartel-like deal to limit output was working so far, but that the incentive within this hastily assembled deal to cheat was going up as prices were declining. "So if the U.S. inventory glut extends, or even just persists, the odds will rise that the cartel will fall apart. That eventuality - we are inclined to think of it as a likelihood - will set oil prices tumbling again," he wrote. In currencies, the dollar rose to 115.200 yen JPY= , its highest since Jan. 27, as benchmark U.S. Treasury yields rose to three-month highs on expectations that Friday''s jobs report could seal expectations for the Fed to hike rates next week. Cementing views of tighter U.S. policy was also a report on Thursday that showed the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose to 243,000 last week, rebounding from a near 44-year low, but continuing to point to a tightening labor market. The dollar did not fare as well against the euro. The common currency gained the previous day after European Central Bank head Mario Draghi suggested it was less necessary to prop up the market through ultra-loose monetary policy. The euro was slightly higher at $1.0588 EUR= after rising 0.4 percent overnight. The dollar index against a basket of major currencies was up 0.1 percent at 101.960 .DXY after losing 0.2 percent overnight. (Editing by Jacqueline Wong)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUSKBN16H02U'|'2017-03-10T07:45:00.000+02:00' +'2cc343d813ee23e192d07f7e3808ff97a89e214d'|'Dec. North Dakota crude spill larger than initially estimated -report'|'Company News 12:10pm EDT Dec. North Dakota crude spill larger than initially estimated -report March 24 A crude oil spill in western North Dakota in December is now believed to have leaked about 530,000 gallons of oil, much larger than initially anticipated, according to an Associated Press report published on a local news website on Friday. This is among the biggest spills in the state''s history, the AP report said quoting Health Department environmental scientist, Bill Seuss. ( bit.ly/2nMkb8B ) A crude transmission line was shut after a leak was discovered in a six-inch pipeline operated by Belle Fourche Pipeline Company. The spill was earlier estimated to have leaked 4,200 barrels of crude. The incident led to U.S. pipeline regulators ordering the company to improve leak detections, along with other actions. (Reporting by Nithin Prasad in Bengaluru; Editing by James Dalgleish) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/north-dakota-pipeline-idUSL3N1H14YJ'|'2017-03-25T00:10:00.000+03:00' +'b6432f88495ca6d5a3c60b4d16030e12bf4efcc5'|'Ladbrokes Coral 2016 operating profit rises 22 percent'|'Business News - Tue Mar 28, 2017 - 7:39am BST Ladbrokes Coral 2016 operating profit rises 22 percent A taxi passes a branch of Ladbrokes in central London, Britain, May 17, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville British bookmaker Ladbrokes Coral Group ( LCL.L ) said on Tuesday 2016 operating profit rose about 22 percent despite paying out heavily on a number of gambler-friendly sports results towards the end of the year. The company, created when Ladbrokes joined forces with Coral in a $3.4 billion merger last year, said operating profit rose to 264.3 million pounds ($331.5 million), helped by growth in its digital and European retail businesses. Revenue rose 11 percent to 2.3 billion pounds. The company upgraded its cost synergy guidance for the merger to 100 million pounds from 65 million. (Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Potter) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ladbrokes-coral-results-idUKKBN16Z0LT'|'2017-03-28T14:39:00.000+03:00' +'a33a8f8604f7fc3b0246e5b396841ea51c7a6718'|'IEA says oil prices will not jump sharply, despite OPEC supply cuts'|'Global Energy 26pm BST IEA says oil prices will not jump sharply, despite OPEC supply cuts Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland January 19, 2017. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich By Nidhi Verma and Neha Dasgupta - NEW DELHI NEW DELHI The International Energy Agency (IEA) does not expect a major increase in global oil prices despite efforts by OPEC and non- OPEC members to reduce output, its executive director Fatih Birol told Reuters. OPEC and 11 other producers including Russia agreed in December to cut their combined output by almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in the first half of the year in an effort to eradicate a stubborn supply glut and boost prices. That agreement, which provided an initial boost to crude prices, could be extended for six months, but Birol does not believe that prices would receive a significant boost. "There is a tremendous amount of stock in the markets and to expect a major increase in the price is not very realistic," he said, adding that downward price pressure will come from other producers. "If we see the prices go up as a result of any push from the producers ... we will see more oil coming to the market, not just from the U.S.; we will also see Brazilian and Canadian oil coming to the market." U.S. shale oil production using fracking technology has turned the world''s largest oil consumer into an exporter of crude and products, while Canada is developing its vast oil sands deposits and Brazil is working on huge offshore fields. The IEA estimates that global oil demand will grow by 1.4 million bpd this year. Birol was in Delhi to announce ''Association'' status for India with the IEA, which through its 29 members controls about 70 percent of world energy consumption. The IEA sees India as the most important driver of global energy demand growth in the years to come, with its oil consumption expected to rise to about 10 million bpd by 2040. (Editing by David Goodman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-oil-iea-idUKKBN1712I8'|'2017-03-31T00:26:00.000+03:00' +'9889b50556e1736f5ca8f2c0aea36e2a2902ed3a'|'MoneyGram board says Euronet offer could result in superior proposal'|'U.S. electronic payments company MoneyGram International Inc said on Monday that peer Euronet Worldwide Inc''s offer could result in a superior proposal compared to the one from China''s Ant Financial Services Group.Euronet had offered $15.20 per share in cash to buy MoneyGram last week, topping the $13.25 per share offer from Ant Financial, the financial services affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.However, MoneyGram said on Monday that its board continues to recommend the Ant Financial offer and that it is not making any recommendation with respect to the Euronet proposal.MoneyGram had offered to share confidential information with Euronet, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter, to help firm up its bid.Euronet has argued that MoneyGram''s focus on large retailers and national post offices, combined with Euronet''s strong position with independent agents and its broad set of consumer payment solutions, would create a more valuable business.While a deal with Euronet would bring cost synergies, a combination of Ant Financial''s technological expertise and MoneyGram''s brand had been seen as a game-changer for the international payments industry, with scope for more consumers to use online transfer services rather than taking cash to store fronts.(Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-moneygram-intl-m-a-euronet-worldwid-idINKBN16R1R2'|'2017-03-20T12:15:00.000+02:00' +'5a1081c9bca704601d8f15de517a80bd99a5e57c'|'China''s Sinopec nears deal to buy Chevron''s South African oil assets - sources'|'Money News 48pm IST China''s Sinopec nears deal to buy Chevron''s South African oil assets - sources FULL COVERAGE: left right The Chevron Oil Refinery is seen in Cape Town, South Africa, June 30, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/File Photo 1/2 left right A Sinopec sign displayed at its gas station is seen behind a Chinese New Year lantern installation in Hong Kong February 5, 2013. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo 2/2 NEW YORK/SINGAPORE China Petroleum and Chemical Corp (Sinopec) is nearing an agreement to buy a majority stake in Chevron Corp''s South African assets, which are estimated at $1 billion, two people familiar with the transaction said. The sources said that Sinopec, Asia''s largest oil refiner, was the last bidder remaining, and close to completing a deal with the U.S. oil major. If the deal is finalised, it will be Sinopec''s first refinery asset in Africa, forming a part of the Chinese major''s global fuel distribution network. Sinopec declined to comment. Chevron first announced plans in January 2016 to sell the stake in the business unit, which includes a 110,000-barrels-per-day refinery in Cape Town, South Africa. Chevron spokesman Braden Reddall said "the process of soliciting expressions of interest in the 75 percent shareholding is ongoing." The remaining 25 percent interest is held by a consortium of Black Economic Empowerment shareholders and an employee trust. A second bidding round closed on Sept. 30, additional sources Jessica Resnick-Ault in NEW YORK and Florence Tan in SINGAPORE; Additional reporting by Ron Boussa in NEW YORK, Dmitry Zhdannikov in LONDON, Joe Brock in JOHANNESBURG and Chen Aizhu in BEIJING; Writing by Anshuman Daga; Editing by Richard Pullin) Next In Money News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/chevron-m-a-sinopec-idINKBN16O0OS'|'2017-03-17T14:18:00.000+02:00' +'b208aa99f16681824626dc7e133d2e1c02b4f3a1'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'(Adds Innogy, OneWeb, COFCO Group, Pertamina and Global Logistic Properties)Feb 28 The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1400 GMT on Tuesday:** Saudi oil giant Aramco will buy an equity stake in Malaysian firm Petronas'' major refining and petrochemical project, the companies said, pumping in $7 billion in its biggest downstream investment outside the kingdom.** Innogy has signed a deal with Israeli company OurCrowd that will give the German utility access to the crowdfunding firm''s pipeline of start-ups in return for providing access to its customer base, Innogy CEO Peter Terium said.** OneWeb Ltd, a U.S. satellite venture backed by Japan''s SoftBank Group Corp, and debt-laden satellite operator Intelsat SA agreed to merge in a share-for-share deal.** Chinese trading house COFCO Group said it had completed the takeover of Dutch grain trader Nidera.** Indonesia''s state oil company Pertamina expects to find a partner to take a majority stake in a proposed refinery to cost more than $10 billion in Bontang, East Kalimantan, by April, senior company officials said.** Private equity firms Warburg Pincus, Blackstone Group LP and Hopu Investment were among the bidders short-listed to present a potential offer for Singapore-listed Global Logistic Properties, people familiar with the process said.** The Russian subsidiary of Intesa Sanpaolo is considering the purchase of a Russian bank, its chairman, Antonio Fallico, said.** Swedish buyout firm EQT has launched the sale of Danish packaging group Faerch Plast in a potential 700 million euro ($741 million) deal, hoping to benefit from high sector valuations, three people close to the matter said.** India''s Tata Sons has agreed to pay NTT DoCoMo $1.18 billion to buy out the Japanese firm''s stake in a telecoms joint venture, paving the way for the settlement of a long-standing dispute days after a new chairman took charge at the Indian conglomerate.** Tanker firm Frontline said it had made a higher and final offer for rival DHT Holdings, which was rejected.** British Land and joint venture partner Oxford Properties are in advanced talks to sell the "Cheesegrater" skyscraper in London, the company said.** Swiss insurance group Baloise Holding has joined forces with digital financial services venture capital and advisory firm Anthemis Group to invest in insurance and risk management technology startups, the latest sign of large, traditional insurers seeking to become more tech-savvy.** Dubai-based engineering firm Dar Group said it had taken a 13.4 percent stake in WorleyParsons Ltd, months after a failed takeover approach, sending shares in the Australian engineering company up 30 percent.** Drugmaker Perrigo Co Plc said on Monday it agreed to sell the royalty stream from its multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri to privately held Royalty Pharma for up to $2.85 billion.(Compiled by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/deals-day-idINL3N1GD3SC'|'2017-02-28T11:02:00.000+02:00' +'02f9a1631db4ca89098186b8c14585da159194e0'|'Tired but satisfied, Escondida miners pack up after historic strike'|' 25pm GMT Tired but satisfied, Escondida miners pack up after historic strike left right A graffiti that reads ''Till die'' is seen at a workers'' camp outside BHP Billiton''s Escondida, the world''s biggest copper mine, at the company''s gates after a strike, in Antofagasta, Chile March 24, 2017. REUTERS/Magaly Visedo 1/6 left right A banner that reads ''First the people. To BHP we only are a number'' is seen at a workers'' camp outside BHP Billiton''s Escondida, the world''s biggest copper mine, at the company''s gates after a strike, in Antofagasta, Chile March 24, 2017. REUTERS/Magaly Visedo 2/6 left right Bonfire remains are seen at a workers'' camp outside BHP Billiton''s Escondida, the world''s biggest copper mine, at the company''s gates after a strike, in Antofagasta, Chile March 24, 2017. REUTERS/Magaly Visedo 3/6 left right Miners pick up the workers'' camp outside BHP Billiton''s Escondida, the world''s biggest copper mine, at the company''s gates after a strike, in Antofagasta, Chile March 24, 2017. REUTERS/Magaly Visedo 4/6 left right A structure of the workers'' camp is burned outside BHP Billiton''s Escondida, the world''s biggest copper mine, at the company''s gates after a strike, in Antofagasta, Chile March 24, 2017. REUTERS/Magaly Visedo 5/6 left right Miners carry bags at the workers'' camp outside BHP Billiton''s Escondida, the world''s biggest copper mine, at the company''s gates after a strike, in Antofagasta, Chile March 24, 2017. REUTERS/Magaly Visedo 6/6 By Felipe Iturrieta - ESCONDIDA MINE, Chile ESCONDIDA MINE, Chile With no bonus, and no salary rise, it was not the ending the 2,500 workers at Chile''s Escondida, the world''s largest copper mine, wanted. But keeping their benefits was still a victory of sorts for them after the longest strike in the country''s mining history. As they packed up the camp on the mine''s outskirts in the dusty, high altitude desert that has been their home for the last 44 days, workers said in interviews on Friday they were satisfied with the outcome. "It''s been tiring, the showers were cold and obviously we missed home comforts, but here we were all the same, standing firm," supply operator Luis Varas said, as he took down his tent and shook out the dust. The strike at Escondida, which produced over 1 million tonnes of copper, or 5 percent of the world''s supply, last year, began on Feb. 9, after mine operator BHP Billiton ( BLT.L ) ( BHP.AX ) and the union failed to agree on new contract terms. Key points of disagreement focussed on changes the company wanted to make to benefits and work shifts and whether new employees should earn the same benefits, such as comprehensive private healthcare, as existing ones. A two-tier benefits system might have wound up weakening the union, one of Chile''s most powerful. On Thursday, after repeated attempts at returning to negotiations failed, the workers ended the deadlock after they triggered a rarely used legal provision that will allow them to extend their old contract for 18 months. That means they will enjoy existing benefits and working conditions and hold the next talks under an upcoming labour law that strengthens their hand. But they will also lose out on any pay raise and on a bonus typically paid when the contract is signed. The union had asked for a bonus of $38,000. "You can spend the bonus in a few days, but we have some people with health problems. ... That (health insurance) benefit is much more important and it wasn''t lost," said equipment maintenance worker Jorge Salinas. "It''s not all about money." On Saturday, miners will return to their posts, with initial work focussing on safety procedures and rehabilitation of shared spaces. Escondida President Marcelo Castillo said on Thursday that it could take as long as eight months to get operations back to how they were before the strike began. The miners striking camp said it was a dignified exit. "We''re happy to be going home, to be with our families," said Varas. "Now a new stage begins." (Reporting by Felipe Iturrieta; Writing by Rosalba O''Brien; Editing by Richard Chang) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-chile-copper-escondida-idUKKBN16V2TA'|'2017-03-25T05:25:00.000+03:00' +'a0ea6afd91c1e699c8a03c2af120999ccbff29be'|'OMV agrees to sell Turkish unit Petrol Ofisi to Vitol for $1.45 billion'|'FRANKFURT Austrian oil and gas group OMV ( OMVV.VI ) said it had agreed to sell its Turkish fuel supply and distribution unit OMV Petrol Ofisi to Vitol Investment Partnership for 1.37 billion euros ($1.45 billion).Based on the purchase price, it will record an impairment of 186 million euros in its fourth-quarter financial accounts, in addition to the 148 million euros recorded as of end-December when it reclassified OMV Petrol Ofisi as asset held for sale, OMV said late on Friday.(Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Shadia Nasralla)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-omv-m-a-turkey-idINKBN16A2KI'|'2017-03-03T18:50:00.000+02:00' +'ea86a32ca8be225d907633d2cbd4e84ea09ef33d'|'U.S. suspends Obama airline transparency review'|'Company News 11pm EST U.S. suspends Obama airline transparency review WASHINGTON, March 3 The Trump administration said Friday it is suspending action on an Obama administration decision in October to probe a long-time practice by some airlines of preventing various travel websites from showing their fares. The U.S. Transportation Department said in a notice Friday it is suspending a public comment period on the review of the practice to "allow the presidents appointees the opportunity to review and consider this action." An airline trade group said last year that requiring airlines to disclose fares on all travel websites would only benefit sellers, not travelers. (Reporting by David Shepardson) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-airlines-idUSL2N1GG0W9'|'2017-03-04T00:11:00.000+02:00' +'0a60767dacbca1529692f3ffbf4773ed73bbf070'|'BoE to focus more on protecting insurance policyholders'|'Money 11:15am GMT BoE to focus more on protecting insurance policyholders The Bank of England is seen in the City of London, Britain, February 14, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay By Huw Jones - LONDON LONDON The Bank of England will spell out more clearly what insurers should be doing to protect policyholders such as the elderly after a report called for clearer safeguards. The BoE''s Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) looked at how the central bank''s supervisory arm, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), ensures policyholders are properly protected. The IEO said on Monday that the PRA''s "articulation of its policyholder protection responsibilities appears to be unfinished business". PRA work on policyholder protection had been "crowded out" by "live supervisory issues" and the need to implement European Union capital rules known as Solvency II by January 2016, the IEO said in a report. The BoE''s supervisors need to articulate fully their approach to protecting policyholders, though there was no evidence that PRA supervisors were falling short of their duties, the IEO said. The PRA should also ensure there is appropriate coordination with its sister regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority. BoE Deputy Governor and PRA Chief Executive, Sam Woods, said the IEO''s assessment was informative and balanced, and that the PRA has agreed a set of actions in response. The PRA will be clear that it does not seek to protect all policyholders equally, but will direct more of its resources to those who would suffer greater financial hardship if their policies did not pay out as promised, Woods told the London Business School in a speech. Britain''s exit from the EU has also raised hopes in the sector that Solvency II will be overhauled, but Woods reiterated there would be tweaks, rather than a broad overhaul. Woods said the debate about Solvency II has become a "cacophony of acronyms" emanating from a "magic circle of insurance enthusiasts". "But strip this back and youll see there is an essential, irreducible human core to it all," Woods said. "Some of the oldest and most vulnerable in our society have invested their life savings into long-term annuity contracts," Woods said. "So when we talk about promoting insurers safety and soundness, and protecting their policyholders, this is what we have in mind." (Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Alexander Smith) Next In Money'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-boe-insurance-regulations-idUKKBN16R0YO'|'2017-03-20T18:15:00.000+02:00' +'a87fd516f0b794fef5d9f4d6a4c655389e115d83'|'UPDATE 1-Japan''s GPIF posts record $92 bln quarterly gain thanks to stock rally'|'* GPIF posts record quarterly gain* Stock rally boosts returns* GPIF''s domestic bond underweights target for 1st time (Adds Quote: s, details on investments)By Junko FujitaTOKYO, March 3 Japan''s Government Pension Investment Fund, the world''s largest pension fund, posted a record quarterly gain of $92 billion thanks to a rally in the country''s stock market.GPIF on Friday reported a return of 7.98 percent in its fiscal third quarter, which ended in December.Its paper gain totalled 10.5 trillion yen. The fund managed 144.8 trillion yen worth of assets as of December."We had a big gain in the quarter but there are many complex issues in the world economy so we will be carefully manage the assets going forward," said GPIF spokesman Shinichiro Mori at a media briefing on Friday.Japan''s benchmark Nikkei share index rallied 16 percent in the quarter on expectations of stronger global economic growth and as the yen weakened in the face of a surging U.S. dollar following the election of President Donald Trump.It edged up another 2 percent in January-March this year.In 2014 GPIF made an historic policy shift, increasing its investments in riskier assets such as stocks for higher returns, while it reduced its reliance on low-yielding domestic bonds.Of all the pension reserve, which also included 2.5 trillion yen pooled at Japan''s health ministry, 23.76 percent was allocated to Japanese stocks.GPIF''s domestic bond holdings accounted for 33.26 percent of its assets, underweighting its allocation target set in 2014 for the first time as yields rose.GPIF allocated 13.37 percent of its assets to foreign bonds and 23.16 percent to foreign stocks. The remaining 6.3 percent was mainly cash GPIF holds.Its Japanese stock holdings returned 15.18 percent, while the domestic bond holdings had a negative return of 1.07 percent.GPIF directly invests only in a portion of bonds, while it asks other financial institutions to manage most of the bonds and all the stocks.GPIF also is trying to boost its investments in alternative assets, such as infrastructure and private equity. But such investments accounted for only 0.07 percent of its total assets in the quarter, versus a target of 5 percent.At the end of 2015 financial year, GPIF had invested 81.4 billion yen in infrastructure, while it injected 1.9 billion yen in private equity assets, said Mori.GPIF does not have any investments in U.S. infrastructure, he added.($1 = 114.0900 yen) (Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Kim Coghill)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/japan-gpif-results-idINL3N1GG2FH'|'2017-03-03T04:55:00.000+02:00' +'b285629410fd5d095f117ae4a63f2739a66e6332'|'SEC nominee Clayton vows separation from his Wall Street law firm'|'Business News - Wed Mar 8, 2017 - 11:46am EST SEC nominee Clayton vows separation from his Wall Street law firm The seal of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission hangs on the wall at SEC headquarters in Washington, June 24, 2011. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst By Amanda Becker - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Wall Street attorney Jay Clayton, President Donald Trump''s pick to head the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, has vowed to recuse himself from agency matters involving his law firm and former clients, according to an ethics agreement made public on Wednesday. Under the agreement, the Sullivan & Cromwell attorney will not participate in SEC matters involving the firm for one year. He will also recuse himself from matters involving his former clients for one year after he last provided them legal services. Clayton also promised to divest, within 90 days of confirmation, from 176 assets collectively worth millions of dollars. Clayton indicated he will seek to take advantage of a tax benefit that allows government officials to defer paying capital gains taxes on assets they sell to satisfy ethics requirements, according to a March 3 letter Clayton wrote to ethics officials. As a Wall Street attorney, Clayton has worked on notable deals including the initial public offering of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. The SEC is an independent federal agency tasked with enforcing securities laws and regulating the country''s stock and options exchanges. Agency nominees are reviewed by the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, which is set to hold Clayton''s initial confirmation hearing on March 23. Clayton is widely expected by SEC watchers to win confirmation by the full Senate by a comfortable margin. But he is likely to face grilling by some of the more liberal-leaning Democrats on the banking panel. Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio is the senior Democrat on the committee. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts also serves on the panel. Both are skeptical that people with close ties to Wall Street should run the SEC. Clayton''s wife, Gretchen Butler Clayton, works at Goldman Sachs & Co and holds stock, restricted stock and restricted stock units in the bank. Those assets will also be divested if Clayton is confirmed to head the SEC. (Reporting By Amanda Becker; Editing by Tom Brown) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sec-nominee-idUSKBN16F24W'|'2017-03-08T23:46:00.000+02:00' +'f205cb0c24d1f187bc3dd901ab033e5b203ee624'|'Greek economy flat last year, statistics service says'|' 13am GMT Greek economy flat last year, stats service says FILE PHOTO - A tourist makes her way past a Greek national flag (L) and a European Union flag on the islet of Saint George, part of the municipality of Kastellorizo, Greece''s easternmost island July 30, 2015. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis/File Photo ATHENS Greek economic growth was flat last year, the country''s statistics service ELSTAT said on Wednesday, releasing its first estimate of full-year 2016 gross domestic product. It said gross domestic product in volume terms and measured at constant prices was 184.5 billion euros last year, unchanged from 2015. ELSTAT''s estimate, based on seasonally unadjusted data, showed the economy performed worse than the country''s official creditors were expecting based on their recent forecasts. The European Commission, in its winter forecast published in February, projected GDP growth of 0.3 percent in 2016 while the International Monetary Fund''s upwardly revised estimate saw GDP growth of 0.4 percent. Both expect Greece''s economy to recover this year with GDP growing by 2.7 percent. ELSTAT said its second estimate of 2016 GDP growth will be released on October 17. (Reporting by George Georgiopoulos)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-greece-economy-gdp-idUKKBN16F138'|'2017-03-08T17:12:00.000+02:00' +'80a08308d84bcea06bb6dd96416896c703a41d7d'|'BOJ keeps policy steady, maintains upbeat economic view'|' keeps policy steady, maintains upbeat economic view kept Thursday and maintained a cautiously optimistic view on the economy, signalling that no expansion of monetary stimulus was forthcoming in the near future. In a widely expected move, the BOJ maintained the 0.1 percent interest it charges on a portion of excess reserves that financial institutions park at the central bank. At the two-day policy meeting that ended on Thursday, it also kept its yield target for 10-year Japanese government bonds around zero percent. will hold a news conference at 3:30 p.m. (0630 GMT) to explain the policy decision. After more than three years of huge asset purchases failed to its 2 percent target, the BOJ revamped its policy framework last September to one targeting interest rates. (Reporting by Leika Kihara, Stanley White, Kaori Kaneko and Minami Funakoshi; Editing by Chris Gallagher) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-boj-policy-idUKKBN16N0A8'|'2017-03-16T10:03:00.000+02:00' +'44830b943caa420e095fdd60b7af950b25609c85'|'Credit Suisse considers stock sale instead of Swiss unit IPO - sources'|'Deals 43pm GMT Credit Suisse considers stock sale instead of Swiss unit IPO: sources Credit Suisse logo is pictured on their office in Warsaw Poland, March 15, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel By John O''Donnell and Pamela Barbaglia - FRANKFURT/LONDON FRANKFURT/LONDON Credit Suisse ( CSGN.S ) is considering an accelerated bookbuilding to raise capital instead of selling a minority stake in its Swiss banking division, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam said last month the bank was examining alternatives to the IPO, which was penciled in for the second half of this year. "They need more capital," said one of the people. "They realise they can do this without doing an IPO." Credit Suisse declined to comment. Its shares fell more than 3 percent by 1418 GMT, the biggest decliner in the Stoxx European bank sector index .SX7P. The likelihood of the IPO going ahead is now low but the team behind it is continuing work on the project because there has not yet been an official decision, the second person said, adding a rights issue was another possible option. Reuters reported on Friday that the bank''s board of directors was set to decide in April whether to go ahead with the IPO. Through an accelerated bookbuilding, a company can sell shares in a short period of time to institutional investors. The sale can be launched overnight with a tight timetable. Under Swiss securities law, companies are not required to draw up a listing prospectus if it is increasing its share capital by less than 10 percent. In the case of Credit Suisse, that would allow the bank to raise around 3 billion Swiss francs ($3 billion). ($1 = 0.9928 Swiss francs) (Writing by Joshua Franklin; Editing by Michael Shields) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-credit-suisse-gp-ipo-swiss-idUKKBN16U1VX'|'2017-03-23T21:41:00.000+02:00' +'53eb70380ba2aa5e980d755bbc184ab56e15bd17'|'Ireland finance ministry appoints bookrunners for AIB IPO'|'Ireland''s finance ministry said on Thursday it has appointed five banks to act as bookrunners for a potential share sale of state-owned Allied Irish Banks ( ALBK.I ), in a further signal it could launch an initial public offering in the coming weeks.In January, finance minister Michael Noonan raised the possibility that the government could try to return part of the bank to private ownership as early as May as markets improve.The government said on Thursday that Citigroup ( C.N ), Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ), Goodbody Stockbrokers, JPMorgan ( JPM.N ) and UBS ( UBSG.S ) have now been appointed as bookrunners for a potential sale.They will join Bank of America Merrill Lynch ( BAC.N ), Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) and Davy Stockbrokers who were appointed as global coordinators in December.Last year, Ireland pushed back the timetable for selling its stake, citing unfavorable market conditions, but Noonan has said rising bank share prices suggest he might get the value needed.The 99.9 percent state-owned bank became the first domestic-owned Irish lender to restart dividends since the financial crash almost a decade ago, when it proposed a 250 million euro payment earlier this month after reporting strong margin and capital growth during 2016.(Reporting by Rachel Armstrong; editing by Carolyn Cohn)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-aib-ipo-bookrunners-idUSKBN16U2JB'|'2017-03-23T21:03:00.000+02:00' +'0afc7874da32d495fe668141541c282dc5c02e79'|'CEE MARKETS-Czech crown eases in forwards on CPI rise, Polish stocks retreat'|'* Czech CPI highest since 2012, above forecasts * Data fuel speculation for early crown cap exit * Forward deals reflect uncertainty over crown''s outlook * Profit-taking continues in Warsaw stocks, zloty eases (Adds fall of Polish equities and zloty, new trader comments) By Sandor Peto and Jason Hovet BUDAPEST/PRAGUE, March 9 The Czech crown exchange rate implied in six-month forward contracts eased to a two-month low on Thursday, even as stronger-than-expected February inflation fed expectations that the central bank would soon abandon its cap on the currency. The Czech central bank said in late 2013 it would not let the crown strengthen below 27 per euro, in a bid to fend off deflation, meaning the spot exchange rate has been stuck around that level. But inflation is quickly rebounding in Central Europe, reaching the Czech central bank''s 2 percent target by December and potentially giving it room to lift the cap. In February, annual inflation hit 2.5 percent, above analysts'' 2.4 percent forecast and the central bank''s estimate. "(This) creates space for an end to the intervention regime earlier than the middle of the year," said Patrik Rozumbersky, economist at UniCredit in Prague. The bank has pledged to keep the cap through the first quarter of this year, however, and only abandon it in "mid-2017" - so potentially any time after April 1. But rather than expect a surge in the crown after the bank lifts the cap, the market is uncertain which way it will go due to the pile-up in crown buying in the market, and the corresponding accumulation of central bank forex reserves. The central bank has boosted its forex reserves by 25 percent in the first two months of 2017 alone. It has warned that the crown is heavily overbought and may fall rather than firm up once the cap is lifted. The recent gradual weakening in crown six- and 12-month forward contracts reflects market uncertainty, even though the implied rates are still firmer than the cap level. The six-month implied rate touched a two-month low at 26.9 after the inflation figures, and the 12-month rate set a three-month low of 26.776. "We have seen some unwinding of speculative positions because of fear that the trade is overcrowded and thus spoiled," one Prague-based trader said. "Speculators were a bit frightened by the size of buying from the side of central bank and they became more aware of the missing counterparty problem," the trader added. The yield on one-year Czech bonds fell 10 basis points to -0.699 percent, indicating persistent strong demand, while the yield is up from January''s record lows at -1.268 percent. Elsewhere in the region, profit-taking after a regional rally early this year abated in Hungary''s stock market, allowing Budapest''s index to rise 0.9 percent, but continued in Warsaw where the index fell 1.5 percent. The zloty shed 0.3 percent against the euro. CEE SNAPS AT 1603 MARKETS HOT CET CURRENCIES Lates Previ Daily Chang t ous e bid close chang in e 2017 Czech crown 27.02 27.02 +0.0 -0.05 00 45 2% % Hungary 311.2 311.1 -0.04 -0.79 forint 800 500 % % Polish 4.318 4.302 -0.39 1.97% zloty 9 0 % Romanian 4.550 4.541 -0.19 -0.33 leu 0 6 % % Croatian 7.434 7.427 -0.09 1.63% kuna 0 5 % Serbian 123.8 123.7 -0.04 -0.40 dinar 400 900 % % Note: daily calculate previ close 1800 change d from ous at CET STOCK S Lates Previ Daily Chang t ous e close chang in e 2017 Prague 974.8 972.2 +0.2 +5.7 1 4 6% 7% Budapest 32851 32547 +0.9 +2.6 .14 .37 3% 5% Warsaw 2180. 2213. -1.48 +11. 42 24 % 94% Bucharest 7880. 7899. -0.24 +11. 13 41 % 22% Ljubljana 788.5 785.0 +0.4 +9.8 8 2 5% 9% Zagreb 2216. 2226. -0.44 +11. 67 37 % 12% Belgrade <.BELEX15 736.0 739.1 -0.42 +2.6 > 0 3 % 0% Sofia 621.0 622.4 -0.22 +5.9 8 7 % 1% BONDS Yield Yield Sprea Daily d (bid) chang vs chang e Bund e in Czech sprea Republic d 2-year 9 bps s 5-year 6 bps 10-year bps Poland 2-year E! 2 E! 5-year E! E! 10-year E! E! FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M inter bank Czech Rep < 0.3 0.33 0.41 0 PRIBOR=> Hungary < 0.3 0.42 0.58 0.23 BUBOR=> Poland < 1.77 1.775 1.84 1.73 WIBOR=> Note: FRA are for Quote: s ask prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets-idINL5N1GM2RO'|'2017-03-09T12:28:00.000+02:00' +'16b4fad189bc4fdb1166ddb3441de32cb7411177'|'Vintage Western phone brands resurrected by Chinese players'|'Company News 27am EST Vintage Western phone brands resurrected by Chinese players * Chinese firms counting on retro Western brands * Nokia 3310 and BlackBerry return at Barcelona fair * Flip-top Motorola Razr could be next revival By Harro Ten Wolde and Eric Auchard BARCELONA, March 2 Once famous mobile phones such as Nokia''s classic 3310 from the turn of the century have been given a new lease of life as Chinese manufacturers revive Western brands to get an edge in an increasingly cut-throat handset market. Apple and Samsung lead the smartphone pack worldwide but impressive growth in the Chinese market has left room for a host of home-grown manufacturers to come to the fore, with China''s Huawei now third in the world. Within China, Oppo surged to become market leader last year and it is expanding rapidly in Asia to stand fourth in the world rankings, even if its brand is little known in developed and increasingly stagnant Western markets. A closely related Chinese brand, Vivo, has muscled its way into fifth place globally. What this means, though, is that former Chinese market leaders, such as Lenovo and TCL Communications , are losing ground, and some are counting on retro Western brands to revive their fortunes at home and abroad. Emerging from a sea of indistinguishable smartphones, the showstopper at this year''s main European technology trade fair was a revival of the Nokia 3310, its brightly coloured cases and month-long battery life tugging at the heartstrings of erstwhile fans in search of a digital detox. The new phone was launched by Finnish firm HMD Global, led by former Nokia executives and backed financially by Chinese electronics giant Foxconn, which makes devices for Apple and Sony, among others. Priced at 49 euros, the 3310 is meant to appeal to old fans in the West as well as finding a new generation of younger users in emerging markets looking for a good-looking reliable phone. The BlackBerry made a splash at the Barcelona trade fair too thanks to China''s TCL Communication , which unveiled a BlackBerry-licensed handset with the physical keyboard many professionals clung onto even as Apple''s iPhone revolutionised the smartphone market. BlackBerry Ltd supplies the phone''s security software. TCL, which is part of a group that makes appliances ranging from TVs to washing machines, has kept France''s Alcatel brand alive for a decade. TCL-Alcatel is now the world''s 10th biggest smartphone maker, according to research firm Strategy Analytics. INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION Lenovo, the world''s third largest mobile phone supplier in 2014 when it acquired U.S. cellphone pioneer Motorola, has subsequently sunk to ninth globally but is counting on Motorola as its premium smartphone brand to battle back. The Chinese firm is even open to following in Nokia''s footsteps and reviving the retro, flip-top Motorola Razr, which was the second best selling phone in the world in 2004 and 2005. Lenovo Chief Executive Yang Yuanqing told CNBC this week that launching a revamped Razr could be a way of bringing customers back to the Motorola brand as it tries to drive into developed markets such as the United States. The Philips handset brand also lives on in India and China after the Dutch firm licenced its brand to Sang Fei, a subsidiary of TPV Technology, which also makes Philips television sets. For now, though, the top Chinese phone makers such as Huawei , Oppo and Vivo, look set on developing their own brands in a domestic market that is still growing even as demand in developed economies plateaus. China accounted for more than a third of the world''s mobile phones shipped last year and domestic firms still had 90 percent of sales, according to a government report. But as the market becomes overrun with me-too smartphones and margins evaporate, rivals may spot more opportunities to leapfrog rivals by capitalising on familiar Western brands, said Strategy Analytics analyst Neil Mawston. "As the Chinese market peaks and organic growth becomes harder, these brands may consider takeovers as the fastest way to speed up their expansion," he said, refering to moves overseas. "At some point, either Huawei, Vivo or Oppo may come to the point where buying an existing international brand is their best way to expand," Mawston said. Analyst say possible targets could include famous phone brands fallen on hard times including Japan''s Sony or Taiwan''s HTC. "It could well be that we see more brands of yesteryear picked up by Chinese brands," said phone industry analyst Ben Wood of CCS Insight. (Additional reporting by Georgina Prodhan; editing by David Clarke) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/telecoms-mobileworld-vintage-idUSL5N1GE61V'|'2017-03-02T21:27:00.000+02:00' +'dba2e5c7c2ed4a34394203d03fbf6d91738de805'|'SAP pushes to patch risky HANA security flaws before hackers strike'|'Company News 29am EDT SAP pushes to patch risky HANA security flaws before hackers strike By Eric Auchard - FRANKFURT, March 14 FRANKFURT, March 14 Europe''s top software maker SAP said on Tuesday it had patched vulnerabilities in its latest HANA software that had a potentially high risk of giving hackers control over databases and business applications used to run big multinational firms. While hacks on phones, websites and computers that consumers rely on every day grab headlines, vulnerabilities in big business software are more lucrative to attackers as these tools store data and run transactions which are the lifeblood of businesses. The latest security weaknesses, known in industry parlance as "zero day" vulnerabilities, rank among the most critical ever found in HANA, the engine that runs SAPs latest database, cloud and other more traditional business apps, according to Onapsis, the security company which uncovered these issues. SAP software acts as the corporate plumbing for many multinationals and the company claims 87 percent of the top 2,000 global companies as customers. Onapsis said vulnerabilities lay in a HANA component known as "User Self Service" (USS) which would allow malicious insiders or remote attackers to fully compromise vulnerable systems, without so much as valid usernames and passwords. It reported 10 HANA vulnerabilities to SAP less than 60 days ago, which the German software maker fixed in near-record time, according to interviews with executives of both companies. The resulting patch issued by SAP on Tuesday was rated by it as 9.8 on a scale of 10, "very high" in terms of relative risk to its customers. SAP is releasing five HANA patches this week to fix a range of vulnerabilities uncovered in recent months. "SAP has done a great job by releasing fixes much faster than in past situations," Onapsis Chief Executive Mariano Nunez told Reuters in an interview. Customers must in turn choose when to apply such patches to software that runs their most critical corporate functions, a process that may take months or years, in rare cases. They must balance security risks against operational demands. SAP executives urged security managers working for its customers to patch relevant systems. "There has not been one case where a customer who applied the recommended patches has been affected," Siddhartha Rao, vice president of SAP Product Security Response, said of the six years he has been on the job. "We currently expect there will not be that many customers affected by these issues," he said. Last May, however, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued an alert advising SAP customers they needed to urgently plug holes for which SAP already had offered patches in 2010, but which some customers failed to adopt, leaving dozens exposed to hacker break-ins afterward. ( reut.rs/2mkTVgI ) Three dozen enterprises were found to have telltale signs of unauthorised access due to outdated or misconfigured SAP NetWeaver Java systems, Onapsis said at the time. Onapsis helps secure more than 200 SAP customers ranging from Schlumberger to Sony Corp, Westinghouse and the U.S. Army. It also identifies security vulnerabilities for corporate customers in rival systems from Oracle. Giving HANA customers breathing room, the USS component first offered by SAP in October 2014 is not activated by default, but must be specially enabled, Onapsis said. It has identified two companies an energy company and a retailer where vulnerabilities were found and fixed. Companies which are not using USS features are unaffected, Onapsis said. Technical details can be found on SAPs security blog ( goo.gl/11Dz5w ). There is no evidence hackers have taken advantage so far, the companies said. Last year, the company issued more than 160 patches in all, SAP said. Ten percent of these were HANA related, Onapsis added. (Reporting by Eric Auchard; Editing by Stephen Coates) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/cyber-sap-idUSL5N1GQ701'|'2017-03-14T13:29:00.000+02:00' +'a49173c9553b58ba8d9551f029bb44a2f1f54528'|'BBVA to invest $1.5 bln in Mexico over next four to five years'|' 48pm EST BBVA to invest $1.5 bln in Mexico over next four to five years MEXICO CITY, March 2 Spanish lender BBVA will invest $1.5 billion in Mexico over the next four to five years, its chairman, Francisco Gonzalez, said on Thursday at an event in Mexico City. (Reporting by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Paul Simao) MEXICO * Oil falls for third day; copper and gold down (Updates to late afternoon New York trading) MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/bbva-mexico-idUSE1N1FF021'|'2017-03-03T02:48:00.000+02:00' +'d43f94b561fe98105e70a5e5d236d5d485bcca5b'|'Weed killer?: Americas pot industry shrugs off Donald Trumps harder line on drugs'|'THESE are high times for Americas marijuana industrial complex. More than half the countrys states have legalised medical cannabis, often rather loosely defined. Eight have voted to legalise the drug for recreational purposes. The industry was worth about $6bn last year, a figure that is likely to rise sharply in 2018 when recreational sales begin in California.Yet in Washington, DC, the mellow mood has soured. Donald Trump said in 1990 that You have to legalise drugs to win that war, but in politics he became more conservative. Campaigning for the presidency he called Colorados legal cannabis market a real problem. His press secretary, Sean Spicer, recently said he expected to see greater enforcement of the laws that still ban cannabis at the federal level. an hour ago Where others gawked, John Samson looked with genuine curiosity Prospero 2 hours ago Donald Trumps America First budget would make deep cuts to domestic programmes Graphic detail 2 hours ago Hundreds of thousands of people have fled South Sudan for Uganda Middle East and Africa 2 hours ago An array of churches opposes Donald Trumps proposed cuts to foreign aid Erasmus 4 hours ago South Koreans are fighting over their flag Asia 5 hours ago See all updates That worries pot-pedlars. The fact that they are in breach of federal law means that in theory their profits are criminal proceeds, subject to forfeiture. In 2013 the deputy attorney-general of the day, James Cole, published a memo reassuring states that had legalised cannabis that federal agents would not interfere unless the states allowed the industry to cross certain red lines, such as selling to minors, funding crime or leaking their product into jurisdictions that had not chosen to legalise.Mr Trumps attorney-general, Jeff Sessions, has made clear that he sees things differently. In his confirmation hearings before the Senate he refused to endorse the Cole memo, saying: I wont commit to never enforcing federal law. A letter from the Department of Justice is all it takes to shut any cannabis firm.This has given some investors an attack of paranoia. An index of 50 cannabis stocks kept by Viridian Capital Advisors, a pot-industry consultancy, slid by about a tenth in the week after Mr Spicer issued his warning on February 23rd. The worst-hit were those companies dealing directly with the drug, which are on shakier legal ground than those providing ancillary products and services, such as chemical-extraction machinery or security.But most investors have kept calm. Viridians index is still up by 18% this year. Medical marijuana, which accounts for the bulk of the industry, is expressly protected by a federal law that bans federal agents from interfering in states where it is legal. Mr Trump backs medical cannabis 100%, as do most Americans. And although only a smallish majority of people favour legalising recreational weed, a large one (including most Republicans) support the right of states to set their policy on the matter, says a poll by Quinnipiac University.For now the main impact of Mr Trumps harder line may be to make entrepreneurs stick extra-carefully to state regulations, rather than pushing the boundaries of the law, says Sam Kamin, a professor of marijuana law and policy at the University of Denver. Some have bypassed rules outlawing interstate commerce, for instance, by trading as intellectual-property companies. That sort of thing looks a bit riskier now. But cannabis backers are hardly strangers to risk, Mr Kamin notes. If youve invested your personal fortune in a product thats prohibited by the federal government, youre comfortable with a certain amount of uncertainty.'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business-and-finance/21718826-business-well-used-risk-sees-greater-opportunities-ahead-americas-pot-industry?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-03-18T07:00:00.000+02:00' +'70be0bfa366a69fac1d25ab2a7172d07591f4ca9'|'Trump''s Nominee for Air Force Secretary backs stealth of F-35 jets'|'March 30 President Trump''s U.S. Air Force Secretary nominee Dr. Heather Wilson, a former congressional representative from New Mexico, told senators on Thursday that other jets did not have the stealth capability of Lockheed Martin Corp''s F-35 fighter jet.During a U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on her nomination Wilson said she believed that F-15, F-16 and F-18 fighter jets could not retroactively be given the stealth capabilities of Lockheed Martin Corp''s F-35 fighter jet. (Reporting by Mike Stone)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-defense-airforce-idINL2N1H7101'|'2017-03-30T13:26:00.000+03:00' +'efb6fcd360653d7c77f6d7b5fbd657f40b2d00e8'|'Exclusive: Taiwan wins over $200 million in legal claims against African states - Reuters'|'By Emma Farge and J.R. Wu - DAKAR/TAIPEI DAKAR/TAIPEI A state-run Taiwanese bank has successfully sued two African countries for $212 million in unpaid loans and brought a claim against a third, court documents showed, in a possible warning to allies who switched sides in Taiwan''s spat with China.The three claims brought by the Export-Import Bank of the Republic of China EXIMC.UL before a U.S. district court against Guinea Bissau, Central African Republic and Democratic Republic of Congo amount to a total of at least $261.4 million including loans and interest.The first case is pending and the other two Eximbank won."We see this as a commercial loan case," Johnson C.T. Liao, vice president and spokesman for Eximbank, told Reuters. He said most of Eximbank''s loans are international and are repaid."Usually there is a long period of negotiation. Then when we can''t find a way, we have to go through the legal process to protect the debt claims," Liao said.But analysts say the legal action by Eximbank, which falls under Taiwan''s finance ministry, is likely to be a warning about the costs of forging diplomatic ties with China.Guinea Bissau and Central African Republic have withdrawn support for Taiwan since the loans were disbursed and Congo did not ditch China even after receiving the money.Taiwan''s foreign ministry said it could not comment on the matter because the case involves commercial loans. A Guinea Bissau official said the government was committed to responding to this claim under the rule of law but that its first priority is the welfare of its people and stability of the country.Officials in Congo and Central African Republic did not respond to requests for comment."It is not surprising that Taiwan would seek repayment from nations that switched allegiance," said The Atlantic Council''s Robert Manning, noting new tensions in China-Taiwan relations since the election of Tsai Ing-wen as president last year.Tsai is also the leader of a ruling party that traditionally advocates independence for Taiwan, a red line for Beijing."It is in part about getting their money back, but in no small part, a bit of retribution," Manning said.DEBT RELIEF CONTROVERSYAll the claims filed at a district court New York State and seen by Reuters are for loans dating back to the early 1990s -- a period when Taiwan and China used "dollar diplomacy" to attract allies in Africa after the end of the Cold War.The borrowers each failed to repay any principal and most of the interest on the loans, the filings showed.Taiwan has competed with China for recognition since defeated Nationalists fled there in 1949 at the end of China''s civil war, but the tables turned in Beijing''s favor in the 1970s when the United Nations and United States switched sides.Only 21 mostly small and poor countries recognize Taiwan, and a person familiar with government thinking says maintaining allies is difficult since they can always ask for a better deal or go to China instead.In the last two decades Taiwan, whose economy is 20 times smaller than China, has struggled to compete with Beijing''s billions of dollars in aid and debt annulments. In Africa, only Burkina Faso and Swaziland still recognize Taiwan.As recently as December, Sao Tome and Principe broke ties with Taiwan in favor of China, a decision the west African nation''s prime minister, Patrice Trovoada, explicitly linked to development aid expected from Beijing.All of the Taiwanese bank''s cases have been brought since December 2015, according to the filings which are lodged in a public database whose existence few are aware of.Judges found in favor of the bank in the cases of Congo and Central African Republic for $57.3 million and $154.9 million respectively in two separate rulings in January 2017.It is unclear how the countries will settle the claims. The case brought in June last year against Guinea Bissau adds up to at least $49.2 million, or nearly a fifth of its last budget.Bissau is arguing that the time frame for proceedings has expired, according to a memo submitted this month. The official said he hoped a resolution could be reached by year-end.Claims against some of the poorest, most unstable countries in Africa are controversial as many states have been granted debt relief under an International Monetary Fund and World Bank initiative after extensive campaigns to relieve Third World debt.However, Taiwan has not been admitted as a full member of either body."The coffers are virtually empty and paying the attorneys in New York is a lot for them," said a Western diplomat, referring to the case against Guinea Bissau, which has experienced coups, and a civil war since taking the money and is now in the middle of a political crisis.No defense lawyer details are listed for Central African Republic, where more than three-quarters of the population lives in poverty, or for Democratic Republic of Congo, in a possible sign of a lack of money or expertise.Former Taiwan ally Niger managed to cut a claim by Eximbank to $20 million from $183 million in a 2015 deal.(Additional reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York, Liang-sa Loh in Taipei, Alberto Dabo in Bissau, Crispin Dembassa-Kette in Bangui and Aaron Ross in Kinshasa; Editing by Tim Cocks and Giles Elgood)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-taiwan-bank-idINKBN1712PT'|'2017-03-30T15:47:00.000+03:00' +'33024b4fe90007cca30f6be7c97ac8658eb47c06'|'Vice Media takes its edgy journalism to the Middle East'|'By Alexander Cornwell - DUBAI, March 29 DUBAI, March 29 Vice Media is bringing its edgy style of journalism to the Middle East to tap what it believes is an underserved market of young, digital hungry consumers.Vice announced its arrival with a party on Wednesday at the glitzy Armani Hotel in the world''s tallest tower, the Burj Khalifa, in Dubai, the global trade hub where the New York-based company will set up its regional headquarters.Vice reckons the region''s youthful population coupled with some of the highest smartphone penetration rates in the world in countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates make it an ideal market to expand into."That''s just a tremendous opportunity and we think that this is the time that we come in and steal a lot of market share," Vice Co-Founder and Chief Executive Shane Smith told Reuters in an interview in Dubai on Wednesday.Vice, which is aiming for 50 staff in Dubai by the end of the year, will launch a website and digital channel this summer and is in active discussions about a 24-hour regional cable channel to be broadcast from the emirate.It will produce news and lifestyle content in multiple languages including Arabic, English, Farsi, Turkish and Urdu.Vice has documented migrant worker abuses in Dubai, won acclaim for a documentary while embedded with Islamic State and garnered widespread attention when it took former National Basketball Association star Dennis Rodman to North Korea."We''re always going to be looking at social justice, we''re always going to be looking at environmental justice, we''re always going to be looking at being on the right side of history, especially with millennials and our audience," Smith said.Vice is likely to run into the same obstacles it has faced elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa, "where journalists are most subjected to constraints of every kind", according to global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders.Worth $4.2 billion at its last valuation, Vice has transformed in 23 years from a punk magazine in Montreal, Canada, into a global multimedia brand.Its regional partner is Afghan media company Moby Group, whose Dubai offices are a few kilometres (miles) from the Trump International Golf Club which featured in a 2016 VICE episode on U.S. cable channel HBO about migrant worker exploitation.Vice and Moby share a common shareholder in 21st Century Fox and the Afghan company holds a license from the U.S. Treasury''s OFAC allowing it to expand into Iran - a market Vice wants to tap. (Editing by David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/mideast-vicemedia-expansion-idINL5N1H61KX'|'2017-03-29T15:03:00.000+03:00' +'8fb8d772984632971aba6ed65613858cdba097d4'|'Romania bids to host EU drug agency after Brexit'|'Health News - Wed Mar 22, 2017 - 1:18pm GMT Romania bids to host EU drug agency after Brexit BUCHAREST Romania wants the European Union to relocate its pan-European drug regulator EMA to Bucharest from London after Brexit, the government said on Wednesday. "We are bidding for the agency''s move to Romania. It''s going to be a tough race but we''re prepared for that. The government just approved a memorandum in this sense," EU Affairs Minister Ana Birchall told reporters after a cabinet meeting. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) employs 890 staff and acts as a one-stop-shop for drug approvals across the EU, but its future location is unclear after Britain''s decision to leave the bloc. Other countries vying to host the agency include Denmark, Sweden, Spain, France, Ireland and Poland. As well as creating jobs, the EMA also has the potential to act as a hub for pharmaceuticals, one of Europe''s most important industries. (Reporting by Radu Marinas Editing by Jeremy Gaunt) Next In Health News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-romania-eu-pharmaceuticals-idUKKBN16T1NG'|'2017-03-22T20:05:00.000+02:00' +'a0ae813535082dbee46a7bafe2a345ee74fe615f'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Brazil shares rise after Vale taps veteran executive as CEO'|'Company News 12:10pm EDT EMERGING MARKETS-Brazil shares rise after Vale taps veteran executive as CEO SAO PAULO, March 28 Brazilian shares rose on Tuesday, supported by rising shares of Vale SA after the world''s No. 1 ore producer tapped a commodities industry veteran as its next chief executive officer. Preferred shares in Vale rose 1.7 percent, adding the most points to the benchmark Bovespa stock index, following the appointment of Fabio Schvartsman, who has been CEO of Klabin SA, Brazil''s largest paper and cardboard producer, for the past six years. Klabin units, a blend of common and preferred shares, were the biggest gainers on the index. The company has not yet announced his replacement. Klabin''s "succession plan will have to be expedited, but the issue was already on the radar," Ita BBA analysts led by Marcos Assumpo wrote in a note to clients. The Brazilian real was nearly flat, in line with other Latin American currencies. After a recent selloff, traders have erred on the sign of caution as the await further clues over whether U.S. President Donald Trump will manage to carry out promised tax cuts and infrastructure stimulus. Doubts over his ability to get those plans off the ground grew following his failure gather support from his own party to a planned overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system. Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1550 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % Latest change change MSCI Emerging Markets 970.46 0.49 12 MSCI LatAm 2636.24 0.36 12.23 Brazil Bovespa 64453.77 0.23 7.02 Mexico IPC 49444.71 0.27 8.33 Chile IPSA 4833.14 1.55 16.42 Chile IGPA 24169.07 1.42 16.57 Argentina MerVal 19859.79 0.29 17.39 Colombia IGBC 10093.76 0.21 -0.34 Venezuela IBC 40165.30 1.37 26.68 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.1283 0.00 3.86 Mexico peso 18.8650 0.15 9.96 Chile peso 665.7 -0.23 0.75 Colombia peso 2909.01 0.41 3.18 Peru sol 3.244 0.25 5.24 Argentina peso (interbank) 15.5100 0.39 2.35 Argentina peso (parallel) 16.02 0.56 4.99 (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; editing by Grant McCool) Next In Company News Grupo Mexico to buy Florida East Coast Railway $2.1 billion MEXICO CITY, March 28 Mexican miner Grupo Mexico said on Tuesday it had acquired Florida East Coast Railway for $2.1 billion, a rare acquisition that comes as U.S. President Donald Trump has been trying to renegotiate trade ties between the two countries. TOKYO, March 29 U.S. nuclear developer Westinghouse Electric Co plans to seek bankruptcy protection from creditors on Tuesday as it struggles with losses that have thrown its Japanese parent Toshiba Corp into crisis, people familiar with Toshiba''s thinking said. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/latam-emergingmarkets-idUSL2N1H513U'|'2017-03-29T00:10:00.000+03:00' +'d59e77d14388870bc2227f36b4af026f85d85782'|'Nasdaq CEO says tech partnership can help win $100 billion Saudi Aramco IPO'|'Business News 5:36pm GMT Nasdaq CEO says tech partnership can help win $100 billion Saudi Aramco IPO Incoming CEO of the Nasdaq Stock Market Adena Friedman speaks ahead of the initial public offering of Trivago (TRVG), the hotel search platform, at the Nasdaq Market Site in New York, U.S., December 16, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar By John McCrank - BOCA RATON, Fla. BOCA RATON, Fla. Nasdaq Inc ( NDAQ.O ) is touting its technology credentials in its effort to win the listing of Saudi Aramco''s upcoming initial public offering, the exchange operator''s chief executive said in an interview. Financial centres around the globe, including New York, London and Tokyo, have been making a special effort to win the oil giant''s $100 billion (82.1 billion pounds) listing, which is expected to be the largest IPO ever. Nasdaq is already the technology provider to Saudi Arabia''s exchange, and will use that relationship to promote the idea of a dual listing in Riyadh and another global market, Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman said. Nasdaq is based in New York, where its exchange operates, but offers technology services to other global exchanges. "Every exchange in the world right now is competing to be considered as an exchange for the Aramco listing, including us," Friedman said in an interview at the FIA''s International Futures Industry Conference on Tuesday. "We''re very active in finding opportunities to work with the Aramco team and demonstrate that we are the natural place for them." Saudi authorities plan to list up to 5 percent of the world''s largest oil producer on the Saudi stock exchange in Riyadh, the Tadawul, and also one or more international markets. Exchanges also vying for the listing include markets in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Toronto. (Reporting by John McCrank in Boca Raton, Florida; Writing by Lauren Tara LaCapra; Editing by Bernard Orr) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-nasdaq-saudiaramco-interview-idUKKBN16M2NE'|'2017-03-16T00:36:00.000+02:00' +'f373eb692e10f9b43968b008c31b70d36495141c'|'Business leaders urge G20 to put climate change back on agenda'|' 3:11pm GMT Business leaders urge G20 to put climate change back on agenda left right FILE PHOTO: Children play amid icebergs on the beach in Nuuk, Greenland, June 5, 2016. REUTERS/Alister Doyle 1/2 left right Buildings are seen in heavy smog during a polluted day in Jinan, Shandong province, China, December 20, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer 2/2 BERLIN Business executives and scientists on Tuesday urged the world''s leading economies to put global warming back on the G20 agenda after finance ministers and central bankers failed to reaffirm their readiness to finance measures against climate change. The G20''s outreach organizations for business (B20), think tanks (T20) and civil society groups (C20) urged the Group of 20 leading economies in a joint statement to take fast and fundamental action to counter rising temperatures. "Climate change represents one of the largest risks to sustainable development, inclusiveness, equitable economic growth and financial stability," the statement said. "We need to be sure that (G20 leaders) will fulfill existing international climate-related commitments, foremost the Paris Agreement," it said. The statement was signed by B20 chair Kurt Bock, who is also CEO of chemicals group BASF BASF.DE, and several leading scientists, including Ottmar Edenhofer from the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change. It came after G20 financial leaders - under pressure from the United States - dropped from their communique a reference about willingness to finance measures to combat climate change as agreed in Paris in 2015. The business leaders and scientists welcomed Germany''s continued leadership on the issue as rotating president of the G20. U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested global warming is a "hoax" concocted by China to hurt U.S. industry and vowed during his election campaign to scrap the Paris climate accord aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions. Trump''s administration has proposed a 31 percent cut to the Environmental Protection Agency''s budget. (Reporting by Gernot Heller and Michael Nienaber; editing by Ralph Boulton) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-g20-climatechange-idUKKBN16S1W3'|'2017-03-21T22:09:00.000+02:00' +'9a29a1bf51eb397275b3848a889ff60840e33847'|'Co-op Bank attracts multiple expressions of interest'|'Business News - Fri Mar 24, 2017 - 9:58am GMT Co-op Bank attracts multiple expressions of interest A sign hangs outside of a branch of The Co-operative Bank in London, Britain, February 13, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay Britain''s Co-operative Bank ( 42RQ.L ), up for sale after struggling to meet UK regulatory capital requirements, said it had received multiple expressions of interest. Co-Op Bank, rescued from the brink of collapse by a group of hedge funds in 2013, said it is evaluating information on the bank and would provide additional information to selected parties to proceed with the offer. It put itself up for sale in February. Co-op Bank, which has 4 million customers, said it would continue to negotiate an equity raising plan from existing and new capital providers, as an alternative to the sale process. (Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; editing by Susan Thomas) Next In Business News Schaeuble - Trying to keep disadvantages for Britain as small as possible in Brexit BERLIN German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Friday that the European Union was trying to limit the negative effects of Brexit for Britain but stressed that countries wanting to get the benefits related to the bloc had to make commitments, too. LONDON Deutsche Bank has chosen a new office for its London headquarters, signalling a vote of confidence in Britain''s capital despite the country''s decision to leave the European Union. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-co-operativ-bank-sale-idUKKBN16V12L'|'2017-03-24T17:58:00.000+03:00' +'0712ebb41de7e5382e6d51e1d4ceb4a319a0e639'|'ArcelorMittal, Marcegaglia make offer for Italy''s Ilva steel plant'|'Money 56pm IST ArcelorMittal, Marcegaglia make offer for Italy''s Ilva steel plant A red-hot steel plate passes through a press at the ArcelorMittal steel plant in Ghent, Belgium, July 7, 2016. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir/File Photo ROME ArcelorMittal and Italy''s Marcegaglia have made an offer to buy Italy''s beleaguered Ilva steel plant, promising to invest 2.3 billion euros ($2.4 billion) and boost production, ArcelorMittal said on Monday. Italy took over the loss-making Ilva plant, Europe''s largest by capacity, in 2015 to save thousands of jobs and clean up the polluted site in the southern Italian city of Taranto. Large portions of the factory were sequestered by magistrates in 2013 on accusations that owners were responsible for an environmental disaster. A rival offer by a consortium that includes India''s JSW Steel and state holding company lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti is expected to be announced later on Monday. The government is expected to say which offer it will accept in about a month''s time. The government wants a buyer that will restore the factory''s fortunes by cleaning it up and investing to make it economically viable in a region with soaring unemployment. Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy''s biggest retail bank, signed a letter of intent along with ArcelorMittal, the world''s largest steelmaker, and Marcegaglia, a family-run steel processing group. The value of the offer was not given. The consortium said it would boost output with low-carbon steel-making technologies, ultimately up to 9.5 million tonnes of finished products from less than 6 million tonnes now. It also said it would create a research and development centre with an initial investment of 10 million euros. "It has been sad to watch the decline of this great company in recent years and we are excited to have the chance to contribute to a new renaissance of this Italian steel icon," Marcegaglia''s chairman and chief executive, Antonio Marcegaglia, said in a statement. ($1 = 0.9436 euros) (Reporting by Steve Scherer, editing Money News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/ilva-italy-idINKBN16D1ZC'|'2017-03-06T23:26:00.000+02:00' +'220f05d2b67f7513d5570618f50d77bbc3e09952'|'Vale minority shareholders nominate candidate to board'|'Company News 37pm EDT Vale minority shareholders nominate candidate to board SAO PAULO, March 29 Brazil''s mining company Vale SA on Wednesday said Aberdeen Asset Management PLC, on behalf of minority shareholders, nominated Isabella Saboya to join the company''s board. Vale said in a securities filing that Sandra Guerra was also nominated by the minority shareholders as a substitute board member for Saboya in the election scheduled for April 20. (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Marcelo Teixeira; Editing by Diane Craft) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/vale-sa-board-idUSL2N1H626U'|'2017-03-30T06:37:00.000+03:00' +'68bfe67c6f3402849666c279f33027a5447066e1'|'John Lewis eyes "flight to quality" in UK consumer downturn'|' 5:13pm BST John Lewis eyes "flight to quality" in UK consumer downturn FILE PHOTO: Pedestrians walk past a John Lewis store on Oxford Street, London, Britain, December 15, 2013. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo LONDON John Lewis, Britain''s largest department store operator, is hopeful any downturn in consumer spending will see history repeat itself with a "flight to quality" rather than consumers opting to trade down, its new boss said on Thursday. Managing Director Paula Nickolds said that in Britain''s last recession at the time of the financial crisis in 2008 its shoppers did not necessarily trade down to cheaper alternatives but sought fewer, better quality products, helping the retailer gain market share. John Lewis, as with all British retailers, is having to deal with rising costs due to the pound''s depreciation in the wake of last year''s vote to leave the European Union, intense competition and the continuing shift of trade from shops to online. There have also been some signs recently that shoppers are now feeling the impact of rising inflation eroding earnings growth. "What we saw in 2008 was quite an interesting shift for our customers - it was more a flight to quality than it was a trading down," Nickolds told reporters on Thursday, noting the firm had won market share every year since 2008. "It remains to be seen what will happen this time round but my suspicion is people will be much more thoughtful about buying once and buying well and retailers will have to work harder to entice people to spend," she said. "In many respects ... thats a good thing. It forces retailers to really up their game." Nickolds, a 23-year John Lewis veteran and the first woman to run the 152-year old, employee-owned, chain, succeeded Andy Street as managing director in January. Street, MD for a decade, quit the post to contest the election of the mayor of the West Midlands, a region of central England, for the ruling Conservative Party. For the eight weeks to March 25 John Lewis'' sales were up 0.6 percent, which analysts estimate equates to a like-for-like sales fall of 1.5 percent, partly reflecting the earlier fall of Mothers Day and Easter this year compared to last year. "I don''t think it will be until the early and middle of May before we''re really able to tell what''s happening at an underlying level," said Nickolds. She said higher input costs should not be taken to mean automatically higher prices for shoppers, due to the competitive nature of the market. She also noted that John Lewis'' ''Never Knowingly Undersold'' price-matching pledge meant it would be "the last to move on pricing." Detailing her plans for the chain she set a target of 50 percent of what John Lewis sells being exclusive to the retailer or own brand, up from "high 30s" currently. By 2020 the retailer expects half of its sales to be made online. Nickolds also warned there would be more job losses at John Lewis but declined to provide any numbers. (Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Greg Mahlich) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-john-lewis-outlook-md-idUKKBN1712FF'|'2017-03-31T00:00:00.000+03:00' +'2319fee6e287f73d40ccb60fc3c50c3ef136a097'|'LVMH buys Maison Francis Kurkdjian stake in luxury perfume push'|'PARIS French luxury goods company LVMH ( LVMH.PA ) has agreed to buy a majority stake in French independent perfume house Maison Francis Kurkdjian as it expands in fast-growing niche luxury fragrances.LVMH did not disclose financial terms of the deal with Maison Francis Kurkdjian, which was founded in 2009 by perfumer Francis Kurkdjian and its Chief Executive Officer Marc Chaya."The acquisition by LVMH of a majority interest in Maison Francis Kurkdjian will allow the fragrance house to pursue its growth, in particular in international markets," LVMH said in a statement announcing the purchase on Monday.Chaya told a conference call the perfume label, whose largest market is the United States, wanted to develop in China and Russia, and accelerate its digital expansion. Chaya and Kurkdjian will continue in their roles and remain shareholders.Maison Francis Kurkdjian, with estimated annual sales of between 15 and 20 million euros, has two stores in Paris, four in Taiwan, one in Malaysia and another in Dubai.Its perfumes, which cost up to 1,200 euros ($1,290) for 70 millimeters, are sold in more than 500 select locations in more than 40 countries, including Bergdorf Goodman, Aedes Perfumery, C.O. Bigelow Apothecary and Neiman Marcus in New York.The global perfume market is growing at an annual rate of 2 percent to 3 percent, but sales of niche perfume brands have surged 15 percent as consumers increasingly favor rare and upmarket fragrances.Estee Lauder, which bought labels such as By Killian and Editions de Parfums Federic Malle, and L''Oreal ( OREP.PA ), which bought IT Cosmetics, have been very active in snapping up these fast-growing brands in recent years.The perfume and cosmetics brands division at LVMH had 2016 sales of 4.953 billion euros, a reported year-on-year rise of 6 percent. The division notably includes Parfums Christian Dior, Guerlain, Givenchy Parfums, Acqua di Parma and Kenzo Parfums.(Editing by David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-lvmh-perfume-idUSKBN16R22R'|'2017-03-20T21:27:00.000+02:00' +'bd6bc00793a03fe465110d9cbd7f202e6a634c09'|'PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - March 23'|'March 23 The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.- Federal prosecutors are investigating North Korea''s possible role in the theft of $81 million from the central bank of Bangladesh in what security officials fear could be a new front in cyberwarfare. nyti.ms/2nfjR11- AT&T and Johnson & Johnson, among the biggest advertisers in the United States, were among several companies to say on Wednesday that they would stop their ads from running on YouTube and other Google properties amid concern that Google is not doing enough to prevent brands from appearing next to offensive material, like hate speech. nyti.ms/2nEPwKs- Akzo Nobel, the Dutch paint and chemicals company that makes Dulux paint, said on Wednesday that it had rejected a second takeover bid from PPG Industries, turning away a $24 billion deal that would have created an industry behemoth. nyti.ms/2mSvzeG- President Trump''s second pick to lead the Labor Department told senators on Wednesday that he would not allow partisan political considerations or conservative ideologues to shape his department, pushing back against accusations by Democrats that he had looked away as subordinates at the Justice Department stacked his office with ideological allies during the George W. Bush administration. nyti.ms/2npSNwr (Compiled by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/press-digest-nyt-idINL3N1H020B'|'2017-03-23T01:35:00.000+02:00' +'1568051a83afd543b3a09a22202ffa6e3c2de2c0'|'Euro zone industry output rises less than expected in January'|' 09am GMT Euro zone industry output rises less than expected in January Robots assemble Renault and Nissan automobiles on the production line at the Renault SA car factory in Flins, near Paris, France, February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier BRUSSELS Euro zone industrial output increased less than expected in January as firms'' higher investment in machinery was partially offset by a drop in the production of consumer goods, estimates from the European Union statistics office showed on Tuesday. Eurostat said industrial production in the 19-country single currency bloc rose in January by 0.9 percent compared to the previous month, and by 0.6 percent year-on-year. Both figures were lower than market expectations. A Reuters poll of economists had forecast an average monthly rise of 1.3 percent and a 0.9 percent increase year-on-year. The lower-than-expected January figures were partly counterbalanced by upwardly revised data for December when industrial production fell by 1.2 percent on the month, less than the 1.6 percent drop initially estimated by Eurostat. On a yearly basis output went up by 2.5 percent in December, more than the 2.0 rise previously estimated. The monthly output rise in January was mostly due to a surge in production of capital goods, like machinery, which went up by 2.8 percent, fully offsetting an equal drop in the previous month, in a sign of firms'' improved prospects of future sales. Energy output also rose by 1.9 percent on the month. But production of durable and non-durable consumer goods decreased. Output of durable goods, such as cars or refrigerators, went down by 0.4 percent in January, after a 3 percent surge in December. Production of non-durable consumer goods was down by 0.7 percent, compounding a 0.2 percent December fall. Output of intermediate goods went also down by 0.4 percent. At national level, a 3.3 percent surge in the monthly output of Germany, the bloc''s largest economy, was partly offset by production falls in France (-0.3 percent) and Italy (-2.3 percent), respectively the second and third biggest economies in the euro zone. (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; editing by Robert-Jan Bartunek) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-economy-production-idUKKBN16L11V'|'2017-03-14T17:09:00.000+02:00' +'26258b3a430d9a52363b887d3ab1f9afb8a575a5'|'Up in smoke: the VW emissions fix has left our car undriveable - Money'|'M ysterious rattles, poor fuel consumption, difficulties in starting, low power, weak acceleration. It has emerged that many drivers who have been through the dealer upgrade following the Volkswagen scandal are complaining that their once-trusty vehicles are a shadow of their former selves.So far almost 500,000 of the 1.2m affected VW, Audi, Seat and Skoda diesel cars have been returned as part of the official dealer recall. Most require a simple software upgrade, but some those with the 1.6 litre diesel engine have required major work.With growing numbers of returnees complaining their cars have since suffered serious problems, others are questioning whether they want to take the risk and have the work done too.Volkswagen says the number of affected drivers is tiny, although with reports of problems on some websites growing fast, the drivers argue that it cant just be a coincidence.Some owners yet to do the recall are questioning if they can avoid having to do it, and whether it is a legal requirement. But this week the Department for Transport confirmed that the emissions recall is entirely voluntary, and there are no personal ramifications for not having the work done. Environmentalists, though, are likely to disagree.The four brands within the Volkswagen group (VAG) are collectively recalling 20,000 cars a week, but drivers may first want to examine a long thread on the HonestJohn motoring website in which owners have chronicled their experience. In a vast stream of comments, VW, Audi, Skoda and Seat owners complain about problems following the upgrade. There is a similar thread on Facebook . Many owners say their cars were working perfectly before the recall; others that their vehicles broke down soon after their visit to the dealer. Some drivers have significant repairs bills and are furious at their treatment. Many say this will be their last VAG vehicle. One poster on the HonestJohn thread, who claims to be an ex-VW service manager, advises owners to take their cars to a specialist to reverse the software update with a re-map.This week Guardian Money was contacted by reader James Harrison who says the recall has ruined his car. His familys 2010 Golf 1.6 diesel required a significant change to the engine. However, Harrison claims the car, which has done 50,000 miles, has become almost undriveable since the work was done. The car has begun to stall intermittently, and is difficult to restart. It used to go into regeneration mode [whereby soot collected in a filter is burnt off at high temperature to leave only a tiny ash residue] a few times a year, but now does it on almost every journey. This is my wifes car and is used to transport our two children. As far as I can see they have ruined a perfectly working car.Facebook Twitter Pinterest The four brands in the VW group are collectively recalling 20,000 cars a week. Photograph: Armin Weigel/EPA The Sheffield-based electronics engineer says he was given to understand that the work was mandatory, but has since learned this is not the case. Some dealers have even been automatically doing the work on any car brought in to be serviced sometimes against the owners explicit instructions. I am concerned at the long-term impact this will have. If the car is regenerating every day, what will this do to the lifespan of the EGR [exhaust gas recirculation] valve and the rest of the exhaust system, which cost thousands to fix if they go wrong? Harrison says. I am in the process of fighting with the dealership that completed the modification to get it to accept that there is a fault with the car but all Im getting is denials. We have a Skoda that is also affected by the recall. At the moment I wont be taking it anywhere near the dealer when the recall letter arrives, he says.HonestJohn has became a focal point for affected owners. The website says VW engineers have assured it, at a specially arranged meeting, that problems persist only for a tiny number of owners that had the work done. VAG says that out of 480,000 fixes applied, there have only been 3,600 complaints. It says that only 150 cases of problems after the fix remain outstanding. All we can now do is monitor the situation,says the man behind HonestJohn. Asked whether he would recommend that others accept the recall, he said: I wouldnt have it done unless I had to.Thousands join UK legal case against VW over emissions scandal Read more All this will only heap more pressure on VAG to end what critics say is a culture of denial, and to start compensating affected owners. This week it emerged that more than 35,000 motorists have joined a class action lawsuit against VW in England and Wales over the emissions scandal. The size of the group is increasing at a rate of 500 drivers a day, and lawyers are confident the action will eventually involve 100,000. Lawyers claim British drivers should be compensated because they paid more for what they thought were clean diesel cars. Each motorist is seeking thousands of pounds in compensation.Earlier this month VW pleaded guilty to criminal charges in the US, admitting to a scheme to sidestep pollution rules on around 600,000 vehicles. It admitted conspiracy and obstruction of justice in a scheme which used software called a defeat device to suppress emissions of nitrogen oxide during tests. The firm has agreed to pay $4.3bn (3.5bn) in civil and criminal penalties in the US, but in the UK the government has not taken the carmaker to court over the scandal.A spokesman for VW denied there is a problem, restating that the number of complaints is less than 0.02% of the 540,000 completed cases. We have engaged constructively with our customers. They are our top priority, and the vast majority are satisfied. He said the firm would not compensate owners on the basis that the issue hasnt caused any loss of engine performance, fuel economy or an increase in running costs. In response to Harrisons claims he said: Weve advised the customer to arrange to have his concerns investigated, which is taking place at his local dealer. We will continue to offer support.Driven to distraction Facebook Twitter Pinterest Photograph: Simon Stuart-Miller (commissioned) Had the emissions update on my Audi A4 2.0 TDi and wish I hadnt! The judder from the engine when cold was appalling. The dealers had it for three weeks and done numerous tests, but Audi said theres no way the update could have caused this, as it only removes a piece of software! Apparently its pure coincidence my car drives like an old tank when the engine is cold! Had the software update, our Passat spluttered and died on us . After the update my 2012 Passat Estate 2.0 TDI is a sluggish, underpowered donkey . VW becomes world''s No 1 carmaker despite diesel emissions scandal Read more My 2 litre 140BHP Seat Exeo had the update a couple of weeks ago. Ive not noticed any difference in the way it drives but the MPG is down 5%-10% . The DPF [diesel particulate filter] is regenerating three or four times a week and filling the car with fumes. Also lots of smoke coming from the exhaust didnt happen before the upgrade . Our 2012 Tiguan 2.0 TDi BlueMotion was returned with obvious loss of power at 1,000-2,000 RPM. First (VW) mechanic that tested it confirmed the motor lacked power. After the update our car was returned with the engine light on. At first they couldnt figure out why, then said an air intake actuator would need to be replaced and would cost me 600. This is the reason I left Volkswagen. My conscience would not let me carry on telling loyal customers that the new version of engine management software was not causing the problems you all seem to be suffering. If any of the customers who I had contact with are reading this forum I can only apologise. You dont legally have to get the recall done, it is not safety related. It causes more harm than it cures . Source: HonestJohn.co.uk . All postings since September 2016 Topics Money Consumer rights Volkswagen (VW) features '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/mar/25/vw-volkswagen-audi-skoda-seat-emissions-fix-left-car-undriveable'|'2017-03-25T15:00:00.000+03:00' +'8be104989897a9874cdf2240d396c0165c1df0ac'|'Britain''s Mitie agrees sale of healthcare business for 2 pounds'|'March 1 Britain''s Mitie has agreed to sell its loss-making home healthcare business to specialist healthcare investor Apposite Capital for 2 pounds and will take a larger charge in full-year results to writedown the value of the business, it said on Wednesday.The company, which in November announced its decision to withdraw from the low-margin home healthcare services market, said its total writedown on the business including operating losses would be 36.8 million pounds ($45.5 million) in the current year, on top of the 115.3 million pounds noted in the first half.Mitie, a provider of pest control to property cleaning, security and healthcare services, has experienced a difficult past year and issued three profit warnings in four months on Brexit-related uncertainty and announced an overhaul of its management structure. ($1 = 0.8094 pounds) (Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by David Goodman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/mitie-group-disposal-idINL3N1GE30J'|'2017-03-01T04:38:00.000+02:00' +'41d908ea2a0130660cc6cf50377655cf466c07ab'|'China''s ZTE Corp pleads guilty in U.S. court in sanctions case'|'Technology News 5:58pm EDT China''s ZTE Corp pleads guilty in U.S. court in sanctions case FILE PHOTO: ZTE''s logo on its R&D center is seen in Beijing, China, in this March 22, 2016 file photo. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo By Karen Freifeld - NEW YORK NEW YORK Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp on Wednesday pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court in Texas for illegally shipping U.S. goods and technology to Iran. The guilty plea was part of an agreement the company reached earlier this month with U.S. authorities that also called for nearly $900 million in fines and other penalties. The company admitted to three charges: conspiring to export American-made items to Iran without a license from the U.S. government, obstructing justice, and making a material false statement. A five-year investigation had found ZTE conspired to evade U.S. embargoes by buying U.S. components, incorporating them into ZTE equipment and illegally shipping them to Iran. ZTE, which devised elaborate schemes to hide the illegal activity, agreed to the guilty plea after the U.S. Commerce Department took actions that threatened to cut off the gear maker''s global supply chain. The investigation, spearheaded by the U.S. Department of Commerce, followed reports by Reuters in 2012 that ZTE had signed contracts to ship millions of dollars worth of hardware and software from some of the best-known U.S. technology companies to Iran''s largest telecoms carrier. (Reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) Next In Technology News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-zte-idUSKBN16T33Y'|'2017-03-23T04:58:00.000+02:00' +'d5213d0f84eb3548d610b6edc70f938c7470bbb0'|'Juno ends development of high-profile leukemia drug after deaths'|'Company 09pm EST Juno ends development of high-profile leukemia drug after deaths March 1 Juno Therapeutics Inc on Wednesday said it decided to shut down development of an experimental leukemia treatment from a highly promising new class of immunotherapy following an investigation into toxicity that led to a handful of patient deaths. The drug, JCAR015, uses a technology known as CAR-T being pursued by other companies as well. CAR-T therapy removes a key component of the immune system called T cells from a patient''s blood and re-engineers them to more efficiently attack cancer before returning them to the patient. JCAR015 was being tested in adults with relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a rare and deadly blood cancer. The company''s Phase II program was twice halted last year by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and remained on hold due to severe neurotoxicity that led to five patient deaths from cerebral edema. "Juno, in collaboration with partner Celgene, has made a strategic decision to cease development of JCAR015 at this time," Juno said in a statement, adding that it would redirect resources to development of another product for relapsed or refractory ALL. Juno said its internal investigation identified multiple factors that increased the risk of severe toxic reactions, including "factors related to the product." The biotechnology company announced the decision in conjunction with release of its fourth quarter financial results. Other companies developing CAR-T therapies against blood cancers include Kite Pharma Inc and Swiss drugmaker Novartis. Kite this week released highly promising early data for its CAR-T drug against non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Juno shares fell about 2 percent to $24.64 in extended trading. (Reporting by Bill Berkrot; Editing by Sandra Maler) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/juno-leukemia-idUSL2N1GE294'|'2017-03-02T05:09:00.000+02:00' +'1f31a6224f6129b0ace7f0c43d0838340c353da7'|'Gold miners must invest in emerging markets for future - Randgold'|'Business 07pm GMT Gold miners must invest in emerging markets for future - Randgold FILE PICTURE: The KCD open pit gold mine, operated by Randgold, at the Kibali mining site in the Democratic Republic of Congo, May 1, 2014. REUTERS/Pete Jones/File Photo By Susan Taylor - TORONTO TORONTO The biggest risk facing the world''s top gold producers is their reluctance to hunt for big new discoveries in emerging markets, with most sticking to so called safe jurisdictions, said the head of Randgold Resources Ltd ( RRS.L ) on Wednesday. The industry has since 2000 been mining gold at a faster rate than it finds new reserves and must intensify exploration and development in emerging markets to address supply problems, said Rangold Chief Executive Mark Bristow. "What I''m preaching to the industry is the big guys have to go back to the emerging markets and invest long-term," he said, following an investor presentation in Toronto. "It''s got to go beyond the comfort zone of the depleted and mature mining destinations of the past." Randgold, which built and operates five mines in Mali, the Ivory Coast and the Democratic Republic of Congo, produced 1.25 million ounces of gold in 2016. Annual profit increased 38 percent over 2015, to $294.2 million, and production costs declined. Global gold mine production is forecast to fall more than 7 percent between 2015, its peak year, and 2019, according to Thomson Reuters GFMS. The scarcity of quality gold assets is the industry''s top issue for 2017, Macquarie Research analysts say, given the "essentially bare" cupboard of large, new deposits. Despite recent declines in mining equities, there is "a lot of money still wanting to be deployed in this sector," said Egizio Bianchini, the co-head of BMO''s global metals and mining practice, at a Toronto mining conference. "There is no shortage of money," he said, adding that "there is more capital than brains to deploy it." For the past five years, the industry has discovered about 10 million ounces of gold annually, Bristow said, while producing 90 million ounces. To change that equation, miners must invest more in emerging countries, he added. Miners must also shift their focus from short-term financial performance, measured and reported every three months, to sustained investments in partnerships and skills in host countries. Bristow said gold mining was a key part of the global economy but the industry must make improvements to such areas as efficiency. "We''ve got so much to do, I believe, to be able to play a proper role in the economy. And we have a real role to play given the outlook, the supply-demand equation with gold and the inherent risk the global currencies are facing," Bristow said. (Reporting by Susan Taylor; Editing by Andrew Hay) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-mining-gold-randgold-rsrcs-idUKKBN16F2D5'|'2017-03-09T01:07:00.000+02:00' +'b0e3cee03b230e487fe0f76f4170201b0f8da3d2'|'Cost of U.S. car fuel standards could be 40 percent lower - report'|' 10:33pm GMT Cost of U.S. car fuel standards could be 40 percent lower - report Rush-hour traffic passes through Washington, U.S., December 20, 2016. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts By Nick Carey - DETROIT DETROIT The cost to implement tough fuel-efficiency standards for cars imposed by the Obama administration for the first half of the next decade could be up to 40 percent lower than previously estimated using existing conventional technologies, according to a report from a nonprofit group released on Wednesday. If accurate, the report could present a challenge to automakers which have lobbied strongly against the implementation of the standards largely on the grounds of excessive cost. Technologies like turbo-chargers, advanced transmissions and use of lighter weight materials - such as aluminium instead of steel - could reduce compliance costs by 34 percent to 40 percent per vehicle from 2022 through 2025, according to the report by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), an independent research group. "All of those evolutionary changes, just getting a few percent here and a few percent there from those allow more cost-effective implementation of the regulations, said the report''s principal author Nic Lutsey. Instead of an average cost of $875 per vehicle for incremental technology needed to meet the new standards, as compared with 2021 standards, estimated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the ICCT''s analysis of available data is for an additional cost of $551. Under former Democratic President Barack Obama the EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in cooperation with the California Air Resources Board (CARB), negotiated the rules with automakers in 2012. They were aimed at doubling average fleet-wide fuel efficiency to 54.5 miles per gallon (mpg) by 2025, although the real-world mileage figures would be much lower - the ICCT report assumes 35 mpg in 2025 versus a fleet average of 26 mpg today. Republican U.S. President Donald Trump, who took office in January, last week ordered a review of those standards which many in the industry expect will lead to a relaxation of the fuel-efficiency targets or a slowdown in their implementation. Automakers, through their lobbying groups, have said the Obama rules were too expensive and could cost American jobs. California is expected to press forward with the Obama administration rules at a CARB meeting being held this Thursday and Friday. The ICCT, which has offices in Washington, San Francisco and Berlin, has worked closely with CARB and the EPA before and played a key role in revealing that German automaker Volkswagen AG ( VOWG_p.DE ) installed secret software in vehicles to beat diesel emissions tests. The new ICCT report also finds that further emissions reductions are possible on a similar pace from 2025 to 2030, assuming a higher percentage of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles on the road. (Reporting by Nick Carey; Editing by Bill Rigby) Next In Business News Verizon, '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-autos-emissions-idUKKBN16T36W'|'2017-03-23T05:33:00.000+02:00' +'91ecc8d461f2fc16bf0ca7cac93ccf32768e3052'|'BRIEF-Hudson Pacific Properties sells Santa Monica asset'|' 08am EDT BRIEF-Hudson Pacific Properties sells Santa Monica asset March 27 Hudson Pacific Properties Inc: * Hudson Pacific Properties sells Santa Monica asset * Hudson Pacific Properties- 50,687-square-foot office redevelopment and related development land sold for $35 million before credits, prorations and closing costs * Hudson Pacific Properties Inc - intends to use net proceeds from sale towards its pending acquisition of Hollywood center studios '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-hudson-pacific-properties-sells-sa-idUSASB0B72J'|'2017-03-27T21:08:00.000+03:00' +'3e06c23714fcadd254d253e0cd77107c0fcedfbc'|'Nissan''s Infiniti names former BMW executive as new design chief'|' 43am GMT Nissan''s Infiniti names former BMW executive as new design chief An Infiniti Project Black S is displayed at Nissan Design Europe, ahead of being shipped to the Geneva Motor Show, in London, Britain, February 28, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth BEIJING Infiniti, Nissan Motor Co''s ( 7201.T ) premium brand, named Karim Habib, former global design chief for BMW ( BMWG.DE ), as the brand''s new chief designer, effective July 1. Habib will replace Alfonso Albaisa, who will be promoted to lead Nissan''s global design, according to a press release seen by Reuters. Habib will report to Albaisa. Habib who has worked for several premium automotive brands, including BMW and Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ), will be based in Nissan''s technical centre in Atsugi, Japan, and lead Infiniti''s design teams in Japan, Beijing, San Diego and London. (Reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu and Beijing Monitoring Desk) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-nissan-infiniti-china-idUKKBN16L0SJ'|'2017-03-14T15:43:00.000+02:00' +'e9e2e143dd87e70006f6a354a942013a81bc3098'|'WORLD NEWS SCHEDULE AT 2200 GMT/1700 ET - Reuters'|'Editor: Dan Grebler + 1-646-223-6200Picture Desk: Toronto + 1 416 941 8082Graphics queries: + 65 6870 3595(All times GMT/ET)TOP STORIESObama denies Trump claim he wiretapped him during campaignWASHINGTON - A spokesman for Barack Obama rejects claims by U.S. President Donald Trump that the then-president had wiretapped Trump in October during the late stages of the presidential election campaign, saying it was "simply false." (USA-TRUMP/OBAMA (UPDATE 8, PIX, TV), moved, by David Shepardson, 917 words)Trump administration to propose ''dramatic reductions'' in foreign aidWASHINGTON - The White House budget director confirms that the Trump administration will propose "fairly dramatic reductions" in the U.S. foreign aid budget later this month. (USA-BUDGET/ (moved), by David Shepardson, 327 words)Canada: No plans to clamp down at border to deter migrantsTORONTO - Canada will not tighten its border to deter migrants crossing illegally from the United States in the wake of a U.S. immigration crackdown because the numbers are not big enough to cause alarm, a government minister said on Saturday. (USA-IMMIGRATION/CANADA-BORDER (UPDATE 1), moved, 423 words)Twelve treated for chemical weapons agents in Mosul since March 1, UN saysBAGHDAD - Twelve people, including women and children, are being treated for possible exposure to chemical weapons agents in Mosul, where Islamic State is fighting off an offensive by U.S.-backed Iraqi forces, the United Nations says. (MIDEAST-CRISIS/IRAQ-CHEMICALWEAPONS), moved, 307 words)France''s Fillon under fire as party chiefs bring forward crisis meetingPARIS - Embattled French presidential candidate Francois Fillon is under growing pressure to quit the race as his party leaders bring forward a meeting to discuss the situation and former allies shied away from a planned rally to support him. (FRANCE-ELECTION/FILLON (UPDATE 1, TV, PIX), moved, by Sophie Louet and John Irish, 609 words)EUROPETight deadline for talks after nationalist surge in Northern IrelandDUBLIN - Northern Irish leaders prepare for three weeks of challenging talks to save their devolved government after a snap election that could have dramatic implications for the politics and constitutional status of the British province. (NIRELAND-POLITICS/ (UPDATE 1, PIX, TV), moved, by Ian Graham, 795 words)Peugeot poised to buy GM''s Opel, creating European car giantPARIS/LONDON - France''s PSA Group is set to announce a deal to buy Opel from General Motors on Monday after striking an agreement with the U.S. carmaker and winning the blessing of its board for the acquisition. (OPEL-M&A/PSA (UPDATE 1, PIX), moved, by Laurence Frost, Gilles Guillaume and Pamela Barbaglia, 547 words)Rows over reforms, election bog down Albania''s EU accession talksTIRANA - Albania''s political parties snuff out hopes for a compromise that would keep open the Balkan state''s path to European Union membership after Brussels warned that an opposition boycott of parliament put accession talks at risk. (ALBANIA-EU/PROTESTS (TV, PIX), moved, by Benet Koleka, 442 words)Turkey plans more pro-Erdogan rallies, German concerns mountISTANBUL/BERLIN - Turkey says it would keep holding rallies in Germany and the Netherlands to urge Turks living there to back a vote to boost President Tayyip Erdogan''s powers, despite opposition from authorities in both countries. (TURKEY-REFERENDUM/GERMANY-NETHERLANDS (moved), by Ralph Boulton and Andrea Shalal, 396 words)ASIAMalaysia expels North Korean ambassador after Kim Jong Nam murderKUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia expels the North Korean ambassador, declaring him "persona non grata" and asking the envoy to leave Malaysia within 48 hours. (NORTHKOREA-MALAYSIA/KIM (UPDATE 1), moved, 334 words)MH370 families launch campaign to fund search for missing jetKUALA LUMPUR - Families of passengers on board missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 launch a campaign to privately fund a search for the aircraft. (MALAYSIA-AIRLINES/ (moved), 395 words)China''s 2017 defense budget rise to slow againBEIJING - Defying pressure for a strong increase in defense spending, China says its military budget this year would grow about 7 percent, its slowest pace since 2010. (CHINA-PARLIAMENT/DEFENCE (UPDATE 4, TV, PIX), moved, by Michael Martina and Philip Wen, 579 words)MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICAAt least 2 killed in new drone strikes on al Qaeda in Yemen - residentsADEN - Drones fired missiles at suspected al Qaeda targets in two separate attacks in Yemen, local sources say, in what appeared to be a third successive day of U.S. strikes against militants in the Arab country. (YEMEN-SECURITY/ (moved), 315 words)Syrian army takes more villages from militants in northwestAMMAN - The Syrian army has expanded its control over former Islamic State-held villages in northwest Syria, gaining more territory as it pushes back the jihadists from more pockets in Aleppo province, state media says. (MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-MILITANTS (moved), 310 wordsSee also: MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-AIRPLANE (UPDATE 2), movedEast Libyan forces target rivals with air strikes to regain oil portsBENGHAZI - East Libyan forces carried out air strikes around major oil ports as they sought to regain control of the area from a rival faction, a military spokesman says. (LIBYA-SECURITY/OIL (UPDATE 3), moved, by Ayman al-Warfalli, 508 words)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/world-news-schedule-at-2200-gmt-1700-et-idINL2N1GH0M5'|'2017-03-04T19:00:00.000+02:00' +'50ba24b8250aaf28c83a8b7bb74b2c467dcd0d58'|'U.S. proposes awarding five air carriers new Mexico City slots'|'Company 12pm EST U.S. proposes awarding five air carriers new Mexico City slots WASHINGTON March 2 The U.S. Transportation Department on Thursday proposed awarding 24 slot-pairs at Mexico Citys Benito Juarez International Airport to Alaska Airlines, JetBlue Airways Corp, Southwest Airlines Co, Volaris, and Grupo Viva Aerobus SAB de CV. The tentative allocation of 24 slot-pairs at Mexico City will result in new or additional low-fare service to 15 U.S. cities, including Chicago OHare, Denver, Houston Hobby, Los Angeles, New York-JFK, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington Dulles. The department also proposed awarding four slot-pairs at New York-JFK to Interjet, Volaris, and VivaAerobus that will provide new service to Mexico City. The slot-pairs were required to be divested by Grupo AeroMexico SAB de CV and Delta Air Lines Inc in December as a condition of antitrust immunity for the airlines'' joint venture covering air transportation between the United States and Mexico. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-mexico-airlines-idUSL2N1GF1T1'|'2017-03-03T04:12:00.000+02:00' +'b10798a7b4763932f5b4a1d5157d1ea3a3e1aa5c'|'BRIEF-Satori Resources announces up to $1 mln private placement'|' 7:06am EST BRIEF-Satori Resources announces up to $1 mln private placement March 3 Satori Resources Inc * Satori Resources announces up to $1.0 million non-brokered private placement * Pursuant to offering, company intends to issue up to 5.88 million units at a price of $0.17 per unit * Satori Resources Inc - company intends to issue up to 5.9 million units at a price of $0.17 per unit * Satori Resources Inc - proceeds from private placement will be used to advance company''s Tartan Lake gold mine project, in Flin Flon, Manitoba, Canada Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-satori-resources-announces-up-to-idUSASB0B3MZ'|'2017-03-03T19:06:00.000+02:00' +'9715a9d7f1e6d9fcfec50198a78c61f432359f2c'|'Mantle Ridge nears deal to install Harrison as CSX CEO -sources'|'March 3 CSX Corp is nearing a deal with one of its largest investors, activist hedge fund Mantle Ridge LP, to sign up veteran railroad executive Hunter Harrison as the U.S. railroad company''s CEO, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.Talks between CSX''s board and Mantle Ridge have been advancing, the people said, getting closer to a deal that could be announced as early as next week. Final details, however, are still being worked out, and the talks may end unsuccessfully, the people added.The sources asked not to be identified because the negotiations are confidential. CSX, Mantle Ridge and Harrison all declined to comment.CSX and Mantle Ridge have been locked in a battle over Harrison''s contract as well as the investor''s intent on shaking up the company''s board.Mantle Ridge owns 4.9 percent of the company, according to a letter the firm published last month.CSX announced last month that CEO Michael Ward was stepping down, effective on May 31. CSX''s stock has surged more than 30 percent since January, when news first appeared that Harrison was planning to leave his CEO slot at Canadian Pacific to seek the top job at CSX.Harrison would become CEO under a four-year contract, Bloomberg News reported earlier on Friday - which would mark a victory for Mantle Ridge, whose founder Paul Hilal had argued that the company''s preference of a two-year deal was not long enough.Reuters first reported in late January that a portfolio manager at Neuberger Berman LLC, which owned 1.2 percent of CSX shares as of Sept. 30 and is the company''s tenth-largest shareholder, had thrown her support behind a plan to put Harrison into CSX''s CEO chair with the help of Mantle Ridge.CSX has called for a special meeting for shareholders to vote on Harrison''s proposed compensation package and for the board seats that Mantle Ridge is seeking. Bloomberg said on Friday that the company still planned to hold the vote even if Harrison is installed next week. (Reporting by Michael Flaherty in New York, editing by G Crosse)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/csx-shareholders-ceo-idINL3N1GG4UM'|'2017-03-03T19:40:00.000+02:00' +'5bad6214446a8f28458b03da35c78afd42b181cd'|'Reuters poll - Oil price seen struggling as U.S. output weighs against OPEC cuts'|' 11pm BST Reuters poll - Oil price seen struggling as U.S. output weighs against OPEC cuts By Swati Verma Oil analysts have grown more unsure that OPEC''s supply cut will be enough to offset the increase in U.S. production and do not believe prices will reach $60 a barrel until early next year, according to a Reuters poll on Friday. Brent crude LCOc1 is expected to average $57.25 per barrel in 2017, slightly lower than last month''s forecast of $57.52, the poll of 32 economists and analysts showed. Forecasts for Brent in 2017 range from a high of $73 by Raymond James to a low of $51 by Commerzbank. Growing U.S. supply is expected to partly offset cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their partners, said Rahul Prithiani, director at CRISIL Research. "If U.S. producers keep on increasing output at the same pace then rebalancing in the oil markets is expected to get delayed beyond 2017," he said. U.S. shale production is expected to rise by 109,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 4.96 million bpd in April, its biggest monthly increase since October, according to a U.S. Energy Information Administration report this month. Analysts said OPEC''s first accord on supply curbs since 2008 could be challenged by poor adherence from participants outside the group, even as OPEC states have been broadly compliant. "Poor commitment from outside the group could threaten the remainder of the agreement as Saudi Arabia is pulling most of the weight, while Russia, which in many cases is a direct competitor, has failed to deliver the promised cuts," said Giorgos Beleris, analyst at Thomson Reuters Oil Research and Forecasts. OPEC oil output is likely to fall for a third straight month in March, a Reuters survey found on Wednesday, as the United Arab Emirates made progress in trimming supplies. Meanwhile, maintenance and unrest have hampered output from Nigeria and Libya, which are both exempt from the supply deal. OPEC, which meets on May 25 in Vienna, pledged last year to reduce output by about 1.2 million bpd for the first half of 2017. Non-OPEC producers agreed to cut about half that amount. Brent crude has fallen about 5 percent so far this month, the biggest percentage decline since July. Record high U.S. stocks have led speculators to cut holdings of U.S. crude oil futures and options to the lowest since December. "The initial liquidation in net long positions is a concern; it reflects weaker market confidence in oil prices, amid rising U.S. shale investment and production," said Cailin Birch, an analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit. The risk of an even faster sell-off will be seen as a major risk by most oil-producing countries, providing further motivation for the OPEC deal to be extended, Birch added. The Reuters survey forecast U.S. WTI crude futures CLc1 would average $55.29 a barrel in 2017, marginally lower than last month''s forecast of $55.66. (Additional reporting by Vijaykumar Vedala in Bengaluru; Editing by Amanda Cooper and Edmund Blair) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-oil-prices-poll-idUKKBN1721E2'|'2017-03-31T19:11:00.000+03:00' +'98de289b6d4362165ad920677ac92acdc30e7cff'|'UBS to introduce charge on accounts with more than 1 million euros'|'Business News 53am GMT UBS to introduce charge on accounts with more than 1 million euros FILE PHOTO: The offices of Swiss bank UBS are seen in the financial district of the City of London, Britain October 31, 2012. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo ZURICH UBS ( UBSG.S ) will impose a charge on wealthy clients for cash they hold in euros, a reaction to the negative interest rate environment in the euro zone. The Swiss bank, the world''s largest wealth manager, will introduce from May an annual fee of 0.6 percent on accounts with more than 1 million euros ($1.1 mln). The charge will apply to total amounts held by individual customers and be calculated on a daily basis. It comes in response to the ultra-low or negative European Central Bank rates, in the wake of the financial crisis, which have eaten into banks'' margins. UBS currently imposes an individual deposit charge for large account balances held in Swiss francs by corporate, institutional and certain very wealthy clients, as it deals with negative interest rates charged by the Swiss National Bank. "UBS will apply an individual deposit charge on large euro cash balances for European clients," a UBS spokesman said, confirming an earlier report by Bloomberg. "This charge reflects the increasing costs seen across the industry of re-investing cash from deposits in money and capital markets, the continued extraordinarily low and negative interest rates in the euro area and increased liquidity regulations." (Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Susan Fenton) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ubs-charges-idUKKBN16T17Q'|'2017-03-22T17:53:00.000+02:00' +'ffbb69eade021a781c63dd35f75b5432f4ad8627'|'Volkswagen says U.S. approves sale of modified diesel vehicles'|'Thu Mar 30, 2017 - 2:59am BST Volkswagen says U.S. approves sale of modified diesel vehicles FILE PHOTO - An American flag flies next to a Volkswagen car dealership in San Diego, California, U.S. on September 23, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo Volkswagen AG ( VOWG_p.DE ) said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved its request to sell up to 67,000 diesel vehicles from the 2015 model year, including about 12,000 currently in dealer inventory with approved emissions modifications. The vehicles in inventory were held when the company issued a stop sale in September 2015, Volkswagen spokeswoman Jeannine Ginivan told Reuters. Ginivan said the company was finalizing details of the program. The EPA approved a fix for about 70,000 Volkswagen diesel vehicles in January. An EPA spokeswoman declined to comment on the matter. (Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and Bhanu Pratap in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie Adler and Gopakumar Warrier) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-idUKKBN17102C'|'2017-03-30T09:55:00.000+03:00' +'e5aa4577d7b6394cbacc0c4cdcc029a14d22efa8'|'Investment banks ditch the diet and look to expand - study'|'Business News - Fri Mar 17, 2017 - 12:13pm EDT Investment banks ditch the diet and look to expand: study Lower Manhattan including the financial district is pictured from the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S. June 1, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo By Anjuli Davies - LONDON LONDON After several years of restructuring and regulatory pressure, investment banks have reached a turning point after Donald Trump became American president and can look to grow again, according to a study published on Friday. "The world has turned upside down post the U.S. elections," said the joint annual study by Morgan Stanley and management consultants Oliver Wyman. "This is the first year since we''ve been producing this paper that we''re looking to see a significant shift to the positive in terms of revenue growth, operational leverage and return on equity," said Magdalena Stoklosa, head of European financials research at Morgan Stanley. Globally, investment banks have been on an "intensive diet" since 2011 and have shrunk their balance sheets on aggregate by a third, according to the analysis produced in the 7th edition of the "Blue Paper". With the global economy appearing to be on a stable footing, the Federal Reserve raising interest rates and political rhetoric pointing to a pause on new banking regulation, growth beckons for an industry reshaped by the global financial crisis. In three years'' time, return on equity could reach 13 to 14 percent across the industry from 10 to 11 percent currently, the study said. Regulatory costs are expected to peak in 2017 and decline by as much as 40 percent by the end of 2020. However, European banks, lagging in their restructuring programs, are expected to continue to underperform their rivals on the other side of the Atlantic. U.S. banks could see return on equity rising to 15 percent from 11 percent currently, from a combination of revenue growth and removing costs over the next three years. European banks are forecast to improve their return on equity to 11.5 percent from 7.5 percent currently, with 75 percent of that uptick driven by cost cutting and only 25 percent by revenue growth. U.S. banks are sitting on $83 billion of excess capital, which could be used to invest in profitable business lines or paid out in share buybacks or dividends, whilst European banks have a mere $1 billion of excess capital to play with. Fixed income, currencies and commodities revenues, which faced the brunt of regulation, are forecast to grow 2 percent over the next five years to $119 billion after shrinking to $109 billion from $140 billion over the previous five. "Unlocking excess capital and collateral turns secular headwinds to tailwinds, powering a sustainable inflection in the global FICC pool for the first time in a decade," the study said. "Our bull case "Dares to Dream". If the US administrations tax reform, fiscal stimulus, and deregulation agenda is achieved, we would expect much stronger revenue growth and more capital release," the study said. (Reporting by Anjuli Davies; Editing by Keith Weir) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-investmentbanks-outlook-idUSKBN16O268'|'2017-03-17T23:08:00.000+02:00' +'1055985da1b02caa5fbc3826fbf8a22f338ae4d9'|'Brazil''s Estcio probes CEO''s boycott of sale to Kroton -paper'|'Deals 58am EDT Brazil''s Estcio probes CEO''s boycott of sale to Kroton: paper SAO PAULO The board of Brazilian for-profit education company Estcio Participaes SA ( ESTC3.SA ) has removed Chief Executive Officer Pedro Thompson from a group discussing merger terms with rival Kroton Educacional SA ( KROT3.SA ) on allegations that he is boycotting the deal, Valor Econmico reported on Friday. According to Valor, which cited unnamed people familiar with the matter, the board opened a formal probe into an anonymous tip suggesting that Thompson is working against Kroton''s takeover of Estcio. Former Estcio CEO Rogrio Melzi quit last year for opposing the 28-billion-real ($9 billion) deal. The source of the anonymous tip sent Estcio''s board an exchange of emails in which Thompson suggested a lawyer accuse Kroton of interfering in Estcio''s affairs before antitrust approval, Valor said. Last month, officials at antitrust watchdog Cade said Kroton''s takeover of Estcio could hamper competition in Brazil''s education market. Media representatives of Kroton, Estcio and Demarest Advogados, Estcio''s legal advisor on the deal, did not immediately respond to calls and messages seeking comment. The report comes as Kroton tries to convince regulators and consumer advocate groups that the deal would not be detrimental to the industry or lead to excessive market concentration. The combination would create the world''s largest education company by market value and number of students. Thompson''s strategy of focusing on student loyalty has paid off, helping Estcio report higher-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday. Under Thompson, Estcio''s selling, general and administrative expenses have slumped; student enrollment has climbed; and higher tuition fees have pushed revenue above analysts'' estimates. (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Gabriela Mello; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-estacio-part-m-a-kroton-idUSKBN16O1GH'|'2017-03-17T18:52:00.000+02:00' +'8abe5827c0d434edda1994347c99b86840cc41ec'|'Meet the entrepreneurs shaking up the art world - Guardian Small Business Network - The Guardian'|'A nother year, another record-breaking art auction. Just this month, Klimts Bauerngarten sold for 48m , making it the third most expensive painting ever to be sold in Europe. In 2016, a Picasso sold for 43.2m, the highest price ever paid for a Cubist work, and in 2015, Gerhart Richters Abstraktes Bild sold for 30.4m, a record for a living artist.Activism may be fashionable, but is it good for business? Read more The global art industry, valued at $63.8bn (51.6bn), is still dominated by bricks-and-mortar auction houses and private sales through galleries or dealers. But like many other industries it is diversifying, presenting a major opportunity for a new generation of artrepreneurs.One company leading the charge is Rise Art . Set up in 2011 by Scott Phillips and Marcos Steverlynck, it is an online gallery offering new works largely from emerging artists. Unlike other industries which have been overtaken by e-commerce, online purchases make up just 7% of private art sales. But for Rise Art business is booming. Id say over the past eight months, we have been growing at about 30% month on month, says Phillips.The business opens up the art world to people who might be limited by their location or the time they can spend looking for art. It takes a lot of time, energy and research to immerse yourself in all the galleries to find something, he says.Scott Phillips, Rise Art co-founder. Photograph: Rise Art So why arent more collectors buying online? Art always looks better in the flesh, Phillips says. People have issues online with sizing, and knowing whether it will be perfect, an important factor when we consider the high-ticket value of art.For this reason, Rise Art introduced an art rentals and flexible returns service, whereby you can live with art in your home before you purchase it. If you love it, you can use the rental towards the purchase and if not, you can just return it, he explains.A report from insurer Hiscox , released in June last year, showed that online art sales reached a record high of $3.27 billion in 2015, which would put the market on track for sales of $9.58 billion by 2020.Jeffrey Boloten, co-founder and managing director of ArtInsight Ltd and leader of the art and business semester programme at Sothebys Institute, says the online art world is seen by both the auction and dealer sectors as providing a much welcomed expansion of the global collecting community.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ian and Joe Syer, co-founders, MyArtBroker. Photograph: MyArtBroker Boloten notes that while the expansion of the art market can present challenging shifts in how the traditional art market has historically operated, it has, he says, increased the growth of innovative and creative new business models and relationships.One of these new models is MyArtBroker , an online platform facilitating art dealer sales. Founded by Ian and Joey Syer, it focuses on the resale of art works, known as the secondary market. MyArtBroker connects owners of artworks directly with dealers actively looking to sell those pieces. It has sold work by Banksy, Picasso and Warhol.The idea for the business came to Ian Syer while he was working in a gallery. We would sell artwork from our artists, but then at some point, someone would come back in to resell, he recalls. As traditional high street galleries need to make a certain margin, art owners faced reselling at a loss. We would end up just pointing people towards the internet but theres not really anything out there other than eBay.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Gyr King, co-founder, King & McGraw. Photograph: King & McGraw To help art owners avoid the drawbacks of selling on eBay and the steep fees of an auction house, Syer set up MyArtBroker. Sellers can upload their artwork to the platform and the company passes on the inquiries they get from interested buyers to a suitable broker. MyArtBroker works with a dedicated team of dealers who handle all aspects of the sale, including framing, authenticity checks and shipping. MyArtBroker takes an introduction fee of 12.5%, which alongside the brokers fee of 12.5% brings the total deductions from the sale to 25%.Along with individual buyers, many businesses are looking for new ways to purchase art work affordably. King & McGaw is an art prints company supplying artwork for offices, stores, healthcare, hospitality and interior design companies, including prints of iconic paintings and movie posters.Prints can be seen as a poor relation in the art world but the latest printing technology allows designs to be printed in smaller batches, meaning print sellers dont have to stick to safe or inoffensive designs to ensure they sell them all and make a return. In this way, King & McGaw has been able to introduce the work of young, emerging print artists to market, much like a dealer in a gallery. The company even has its own artist-in-residence programme.Social media is key to King & McGraws operation. Social media has become absolutely crucial for how we sell our work. It is perfect for attracting the audience we want - often young people interested in getting their first bit of art, says co-founder Gyr King.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Emma Lanman, founder, Van Girls. Photograph: Nina Sologubenko Technology has brought the art world to a bigger and broader audience but once you have found your perfect treasure, how do you get it delivered safely? Van Girls , an all-female removals company with a specialism in art transit, is among the companies springing up to service this expanding market.Founder Emma Lanman first started moving art on her days off from her former job as a firefighter. One of my earliest customers was a street art print gallery in North London, called Jealous Gallery. And I did, in a former life, do a history of art degree and work in galleries, so immediately I was excited by the idea of art moving, she says.In such a flourishing sector, Lanman says there is plenty of work to go around. You dont have to have giant, expensive art collections to have art anymore, she says. The Affordable Art Fair and others like it are for normal people who might spend 1000 on something thats going to be in their living room. And, theres definitely a whole world of moving for that.Sign up to become a member of the Guardian Small Business Network here for more advice, insight and best practice direct to your inbox.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/mar/27/meet-the-entrepreneurs-shaking-up-the-art-world'|'2017-03-27T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'df3e9b39b16df83d5f0c79a9c696ed2decc5eee4'|'EU clears GE acquisition of Danish rotor blade maker LM Wind Power'|'Money News 34pm IST EU clears GE acquisition of Danish rotor blade maker LM Wind Power BRUSSELS The European Commission said on Monday it had cleared General Electric Co''s $1.65 billion acquisition of Danish rotor blade maker LM Wind Power as the merged entity would continue to face effective competition in Europe. General Electric produces onshore and offshore wind turbines, but only has a relatively small market share, the Commission said in a statement. LM Wind Power designs and manufactures blades that are sold to General Electric and competitors as a component for the wind turbines. GE would continue to face competition from rivals such as Siemens, Vestas, Nordex and Senvion, who would either make their own blades or find suppliers other than LM Wind Power, the Commission said. (Reporting By Philip Blenkinsop)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/lm-wind-power-m-a-ge-eu-idINKBN16R1VN'|'2017-03-20T23:04:00.000+02:00' +'de4f26c038e94b0252b7537f5e415f5b19b6eab8'|'Taiwan''s Fubon to sell out of Dutch insurer Delta Lloyd'|'By Faith Hung - TAIPEI TAIPEI Fubon Financial Holding Co ( 2881.TW ) is planning to take a cash offer for its entire stake in Delta Lloyd ( DLL.AS ) from NN Group ( NN.AS ) amid concerns about the outlook for the two Dutch insurers'' merger.The move follows Delta Lloyd''s agreement to be taken over by its larger rival NN, after NN nudged up its earlier unsolicited offer by 1.9 percent to 2.5 billion euros ($2.61 billion).Fubon, the parent company of Taiwan''s second-biggest life insurer, said it would accept the offer even though it would result in a loss of about 90 million euros. "The synergies remain unknown as NN Group faces the uncertainty of problems associated with completing the merger," it said in a statement late on Thursday."So we''d like to cash in our stake now to avoid that uncertainty."Fubon is a major stake-holder of Delta Lloyd, although the company declined to say exactly how many shares it owned.Delta Lloyd missed market forecasts in February for its full-year profit and said its solvency had fallen towards the bottom of its target range.Fubon stocks were down 0.6 percent at about 0325 GMT, trailing the broader market''s .TWII 0.1 percent dip.(Reporting by Faith Hung; Editing by Stephen Coates)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-fubon-financial-delta-lloyd-idINKBN1720AK'|'2017-03-31T01:36:00.000+03:00' +'776b1255defc52f6b2a1e50adf9819729acd57e4'|'Engie CEO says no interest in minority stake in Innogy'|'Business News - Wed Mar 15, 2017 - 11:34am GMT Utility Engie not interested in Innogy and not seeking transformative deal Isabelle Kocher, CEO of ENGIE attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland January 19, 2017. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich PARIS Engie ( ENGIE.PA ) has no plans to put in place a major transformative deal and has no interest in taking a minority stake in German grids and renewables group Innogy ( IGY.DE ), Engie chief executive Isabelle Kocher said on Wednesday. Kocher declined to comment on a report by Bloomberg News which said Engie was weighing a bid for Innogy, in which utility RWE holds a 76.8 percent stake. Asked whether she would be interested in taking a minority stake in Innogy, Kocher told reporters: "we have no interest". "Our priority is to implement our strategic transformation plan. Our priority is not at all to realise a transformative deal," Kocher said. Engie is in the second year of a three-year strategic plan to focus the group more on regulated and contracted businesses. These activities made up 75 percent of Engie''s business at the end of 2016, and Engie''s target is to boost that to 85 percent by 2018. (Reporting by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Adrian Croft and Sudip Kar-Gupta) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-innnogy-m-a-engie-idUKKBN16M1FG'|'2017-03-15T18:15:00.000+02:00' +'0eded7fb5b20f30643e71fc310b8e8d523570a0c'|'Daishi Bank, Hokuetsu Bank say considering integrating operations'|'TOKYO Japan''s Daishi Bank ( 8324.T ) and Hokuetsu Bank ( 8325.T ) are considering integrating operations, the banks said on Thursday, in another move that would consolidate regional lenders amid a shrinking population, but had not yet decided anything.The banks, based in Niigata prefecture on the north coast, seek to form a joint holding company by around next spring to bolster their operational bases, public broadcaster NHK had said earlier on Thursday, without citing its sources."It is true that we are considering merging operations but nothing has been decided," the banks said in separate statements.Japan has roughly 100 regional banks, but the falling population and the central bank''s negative interest-rate policy are putting the squeeze on many lenders, prompting a few to begin merging, besides taking steps to shore up operations.The two banks combined under the holding company would control 51 percent of the lending in Niigata prefecture, according to an industry publication, the Financial Journal Co.Fukuoka Financial Group Inc ( 8354.T ), the largest banking group on Japan''s southern island of Kyushu, plans to buy Eighteenth Bank Ltd ( 8396.T ), and merge it with Shinwa Bank Ltd, which is already under Fukuoka''s control.The plan, announced a year ago, has been suspended for a review by the Fair Trade Commission, as the two banks would control more than 70 percent of the lending in Nagasaki prefecture, where they are based.(Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Clarence Fernandez)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-japan-banks-daishi-bank-hokuetsu-bank-idINKBN16N11C'|'2017-03-16T07:29:00.000+02:00' +'2ac80f382068a700ce0e2dc3394a881ab4fab262'|'Piech Porsche SE stake may be sold by end May - Bild am Sonntag'|' 11:26pm GMT Piech Porsche SE stake may be sold by end May - Bild am Sonntag The logo of German carmaker Porsche AG is seen before the company''s annual news conference in Stuttgart, Germany, March 17, 2017. REUTERS/Lukas Barth FRANKFURT A large Porsche SE ( PSHG_p.DE ) stake owned by former Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) chairman Ferdinand Piech may be bought by other members of the Porsche and Piech clans before May 30, German weekly Bild am Sonntag said. Porsche SE said on Friday that Piech wanted to sell his 14.7 percent stake in the family-controlled holding company, which is worth at least 1.1 billion euros ($1.2 billion). It said that although the Porsche and Piech families were in talks to buy much of that stake, it was not clear if a deal would go ahead. The Porsche and Piech families control 52 percent of Volkswagen Group''s common stock through their holding company Porsche SE, and have a right of first refusal to buy Piech''s stake, which equates to a 7.35 percent economic stake in Volkswagen. The share package could change hands before the Porsche SE annual general meeting on May 30, Bild am Sonntag said, citing a person familiar with the deliberations. If Piech, who turns 80 next month, were to sell his stake, it would mark the end of an era for Volkswagen which he dominated for decades. He transformed VW from a regional manufacturer into a global powerhouse, which owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Ducati, Lamborghini, Porsche, Seat and Skoda brands. ($1 = 0.9310 euros) (Reporting by Edward Taylor; editing by David Clarke) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-porsche-volkswagen-piech-idUKKBN16P0VW'|'2017-03-19T06:26:00.000+02:00' +'4242003ba915bcb14e86b7bc43bd44eb0d35b7c1'|'Toshiba banks push for quick Westinghouse bankruptcy filing - Nikkei'|'Global Energy 22am GMT Toshiba banks push for quick Westinghouse bankruptcy filing - Nikkei FILE PHOTO: The logo of Toshiba Corp. is seen at the company''s facility in Kawasaki, Japan February 13, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo TOKYO Toshiba Corp''s ( 6502.T ) main lenders are asking it to submit a bankruptcy filing for U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse Electric Co LLC by the end of this month, the Nikkei business daily reported on Friday, without citing sources. Such a move would pile further pressure on the embattled conglomerate to make a quick decision over a Chapter 11 filing after Finance Minister Taro Aso also called for a decision to be made by the end of this month. Toshiba is grappling with a multibillion dollar financial maelstrom stemming from Westinghouse''s ill-fated purchase of a U.S. nuclear power plant construction company in 2015. It has flagged a $6.3 billion writedown and is also looking at selling a majority stake in Westinghouse, in addition to the sale of its memory chip unit. Shares in Toshiba, however, rose 8 percent in Friday morning trade after Singapore-based fund Effissimo, established by former colleagues of Japan''s most famous activist investor, became its largest shareholder with an 8.14 percent stake. Separately the Japanese government said it would conduct rigorous screening of any potential buyer of Toshiba''s chip unit based on foreign exchange and trade laws if needed. "Toshiba''s chip business is highly competitive globally and it plays a key role for the nation''s employment," Trade Minister Hiroshige Seko said at a media briefing on Friday. "The seller needs to consider these issues before the buyer is decided if the business is going to be sold to foreigners," he added. Reuters reported earlier the Japanese government is prepared to block the sale to bidders it deems a risk to national security. (Reporting by Junko Fujita and Ami Miyazaki; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) Next In Global Energy News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting-idUKKBN16V05J'|'2017-03-24T10:22:00.000+03:00' +'af8234aeeb82e5bf9c7942bb0461ced5a9bf25f7'|'U.S. Justice Department to announce indictments in massive Yahoo hack - source'|'Business News - Wed Mar 15, 2017 - 1:15am GMT U.S. Justice Department to announce indictments in massive Yahoo hack - source A photo illustration shows a man in front of a Yahoo logo seen through a magnifying glass in front of a displayed cyber code on December 16, 2016. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo By Joseph Menn - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO U.S. Justice Department officials are expected to announce indictments on Wednesday against suspects in at least one of a series of hacking attacks on Yahoo Inc, according to a source briefed on the matter. The accused men live in Russia and Canada, the source said, with the Canadian far more likely to face arrest. Russia has no extradition treaty with the United States. It could not immediately be learned whether the group was suspected in the hacking of data about 1 billion Yahoo users, or a separate hack of 500 million email accounts. The indictments were first reported by Bloomberg News. Yahoo and the Justice Department declined to comment. The two largest hacks, and Yahoo''s much-criticized slow response and disclosure, forced a discount of $350 million in what had been a $4.83 billion deal to sell Yahoo''s main assets to Verizon Communications Inc. (Reporting by Joseph Menn in San Francisco and Dustin Volz in Washington; Editing by Peter Cooney) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-yahoo-hack-indictments-idUKKBN16M05V'|'2017-03-15T08:15:00.000+02:00' +'ec1299447b042778b53fd73449e7409ee2dc4e9e'|'''Sweet spot'' in European M&A puts floor under valuations'|'By Helen Reid and Vikram Subhedar - LONDON LONDON A boom in European deal-making activity -- a sign better growth prospects are boosting confidence in European corporate boardrooms -- is helping support stock market valuations which, on some measures, appear stretched.A brighter outlook for the global and regional economy, buoyant stock markets and low borrowing costs have underpinned merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in Europe, which is enjoying its best three-month period since 2007, Reuters calculations show.Moreover, rising share prices of both acquirer and target companies when deals are announced suggest shareholders are willing to back mergers, a shift from recent years when they preferred dividends and cautious spending."Doing deals in the peak of a market is also unwise as you could end up paying more so what you want is the sweet spot where companies aren''t trading on very expensive multiples," said Sharon Bell, a strategist at Goldman Sachs."We are at that sweet spot now."European equities trade at just under 15 times forward earnings, slightly above the long-term average of about 14 times. But they are well below peaks seen over the past 15 years, and underpinned by the best earnings outlook for regional companies since 2010. reut.rs/2nrVMW6The broad sweep of sectors involved in M&A, from global food and personal goods giants to UK industrials and oil services firms, is also seen as a healthy sign and is spurring a rethink of valuations."There was nothing for a few years, so all the activity that was bottled up is bubbling up now," said Goldman Sachs''s Bell.The surprise $143 billion takeover bid by Warren Buffett-backed Kraft Heinz KFT.O for Unilever ( ULVR.L ), while rejected, has reset some assumptions about stocks, market participants say."The size of the proposed transaction was a wake-up call for corporations all over the world - and their investors," star UK fund manager Nick Train wrote in his latest letter to investors.Shares of large consumer staples companies have lagged the recent stock market rally as investors preferred faster growing sectors in the markets."Towards the end of last year there was a lot of bearish talk about rich valuations in consumer staples like Unilever," said Mark Martin, a fund manager at Neptune Investment Management, who manages a portfolio of mid-sized UK companies."Now you''ve got sensible investors including Buffett still finding as much as 20 percent upside for Unilever," he said.BRICK BY BRICKWhile the earnings outlook in Europe has brightened significantly from the lackluster growth seen since 2010, both corporate profits and margins remain well below prior peaks and have significantly lagged those in the United States. reut.rs/2553txNTotal annual profits for European firms, of about $616 billion, are about half what they were in 2008, according to Thomson Reuters data. reut.rs/2mx3Wrm"While management waits for European earnings to catch up with the U.S., in a much more wholesale growth environment, M&A is likely," said Dylan Ball, a portfolio manager Templeton Global Equity Group.Meanwhile, weaker currencies, particularly sterling, have made acquisitions in Europe more tempting for offshore buyers."U.S. companies with large offshore cash balances and maxed-out stock buy-back programs are looking to take advantage of the U.S. dollar strength," Ball added.One group of companies on the radar for investors is UK industrials, on which a combination of Brexit-related worries and exposure to beaten-down oil and mining had dented sentiment.Neptune''s Martin, whose fund has comfortably beaten peers'' performance on a three- and five-year basis, had nearly half his fund in UK industrials at the end of February.Martin, whose fund owns shares in oil services firm Amec Foster Wheeler ( AMFW.L ), which recently agreed to be bought by peer Wood Group ( WG.L ), said he would back companies buying others in a bid to grow market share."A lot of companies are doing it (M&A) to drive down costs. So there isn''t the same euphoric growth-at-all-costs mentality we saw in 2007," Martin said, playing down concerns over whether a flurry of deal-making is a harbinger of market tops.Instead, investors see the uptick in mergers as a sign of a long-awaited revival of corporate confidence in Europe, which has been hamstrung by worries including sovereign debt crises, sluggish growth and, more recently, political risks.After four years of underperforming developed market peers, European stocks are catching up, with M&A one more prop to valuations and investor interest."The wall of worry is being taken down brick by brick," said Neptune''s Martin.(Reporting by Vikram Subhedar and Helen Reid; Editing by Toby Chopra)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-markets-stocks-m-a-idINKBN16O1IR'|'2017-03-17T09:23:00.000+02:00' +'bf1edee9a05b774b372f6bcfa1507337ce550bae'|'Canada''s Endeavour Mining ends merger talks with Acacia'|'Commodities 23pm EDT Canada''s Endeavour Mining ends merger talks with Acacia Canadian gold miner Endeavour Mining Corp said on Tuesday it had ended discussions with London-based Acacia Mining Plc regarding a potential merger. Endeavour, which operates mines in West Africa, had held talks with Acacia earlier in January. (Reporting by John Benny in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta) Next In Commodities Shell to drill new wells by end-2018 to shore up Australia gas supply MELBOURNE Royal Dutch Shell said on Tuesday it will drill 161 new gas wells at its Queensland operations by the end of 2018, helping to underpin its promise to continue supplying 10 percent of the domestic gas market to help prevent a shortage. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-endeavour-mining-acacia-mining-idUSKBN16S280'|'2017-03-22T00:22:00.000+02:00' +'1a62475c1b948072970aa0c00936b173abd251fe'|'BRIEF-Village Farms announces year end 2016 results'|' 16am EDT BRIEF-Village Farms announces year end 2016 results March 31 Village Farms International Inc * Village Farms announces year end 2016 results * Village Farms International - sales for 3 months ended Dec 31, 2016 increased by $2,187, or 6%, to $37,308 from $35,121 for 3 months ended Dec 31, 2015 * Village Farms International Inc - net income for 3 months ended Dec 31, 2016 decreased by $2,033 to $453 from $2,486 for 3 months ended Dec 31, 2015 Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-village-farms-announces-year-end-idUSASB0B7W8'|'2017-03-31T19:16:00.000+03:00' +'45c247fea738f77395d18f149db03fca919669f7'|'UPDATE 1-Oracle reports better-than-expected profit, revenue'|' 24pm EDT UPDATE 1-Oracle reports better-than-expected profit, revenue (Adds details, shares) March 15 Business software maker Oracle Corp reported better-than-expected rise in quarterly adjusted revenue and profit as the company benefits from its transition to cloud-based products. Oracle''s shares rose 3.3 percent to $44.45 in extended trading on Wednesday. Sales of the company''s cloud-computing software and platform service rose nearly 62 percent to $1.19 billion, while its software licensing business fell nearly 16 percent. "The increase in revenue from our cloud business is starting to overtake our new software license business decline," Safra Catz, Oracle chief executive had said during the second quarter earnings call. The company''s shift to cloud-based products to tackle the shrinking licensing business was strengthened with its $9.3 billion NetSuite acquisition in July. The deal helped the company to take on nimbler rivals such as Workday Inc and Salesforce.com Inc. Net income rose to $2.24 billion, or 53 cents per share, in the third quarter ended Feb. 28, from $2.14 billion, or 50 cents per share, a year earlier. The company''s total adjusted revenue rose to $9.27 billion from $9.01 billion. Excluding items, Oracle earned 69 cents per share. Analysts on average had expected revenue of $9.26 billion, and a profit of 62 cents per share according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. (Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/oracle-results-idUSL3N1GS5IW'|'2017-03-16T03:24:00.000+02:00' +'d9f7a5d1096e189d5fef3bfa4f2ebcf624ae307d'|'Gina Rinehart''s daughter Bianca gets go-ahead to sue mother'|'Bianca Rinehart has been given the go-ahead to sue her mining-magnate mother over her handling of the familys multibillion-dollar trust.Rineharts eldest daughter who was granted control of the trust in 2015 after a lengthy legal battle sought judicial advice from the NSW supreme court about whether she could take action regarding the alleged underpayment of dividends.In a judgement released on Wednesday, Justice Nigel Rein advised Rinehart she would be justified in starting the proceedings, in which she claims her mothers company Hancock Prospecting failed to pay dividends to the trust.Gina Rinehart''s eldest daughter Bianca made trustee of $4bn trust fund Read more It will also be alleged Gina Rinehart breached fiduciary duties when she was the trustee by failing to ensure dividends were paid to the trust and actively taking steps to deny appropriate payments.Rinehart further claims her mother, Australias richest woman, breached her duties to Hancock Prospecting by improperly spending company money on personal expenses.It is claimed that company executives Ted Watroba and Jay Newby were complicit in some of the alleged breaches.In handing down his judgement, Justice Rein said he was not expressing a view as to whether any of the allegations would be made out.He also found Rinehart would be justified in defending a federal court proceeding brought against her in relation to the long-running dispute.The application is one of a multitude of legal battles involving the daughter of mining magnate Lang Hancock and her four adult children over the Hope Margaret Hancock Trust, which is thought to be worth more than $4bn.Gina Rinehart has long argued she managed the trust appropriately and her childrens claims are invalid.Topics Gina Rinehart New South Wales Business (Australia) '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/mar/22/gina-rineharts-daughter-bianca-gets-go-ahead-to-sue-mother'|'2017-03-22T09:45:00.000+02:00' +'4b41bed21e6e2d06dc0f72b166620c8d450f0605'|'Nikkei drops to over 7-wk closing low as investors lock in gains'|'Company News 41am EDT Nikkei drops to over 7-wk closing low as investors lock in gains TOKYO, March 31 Japanese stocks dropped to more than seven-week closing lows on Friday in choppy trade as investors locked in gains on the last trading day of the fiscal year, led by selling in futures and bellwether stocks such as exporters. The Nikkei share average fell 0.8 percent to 18,909.26, the lowest close since Feb. 9. The benchmark index declined 1.8 percent for the week and 1.1 percent for the month. For the quarter, it dropped 1.1 percent. Much of the demand for Japanese stocks has been influenced by the yen''s moves and broad sentiment around U.S. President Donald Trump''s early efforts to change domestic policies. Trump''s failure to push through a healthcare bill triggered sharp selling in Japanese equities on Monday as investors fretted about his ability to push through economic stimulus measures. As the dollar-yen levels have been volatile recently, investors will remain cautious for a while, traders say. All sectors but the utility were in negative territory. Exporters lost ground, with Toyota Motor Corp falling 1.1 percent and Honda Motor Co dropping 1.3 percent. The broader Topix shed 1.0 percent to 1,512.60, with 2.2 billion shares changing hands, the biggest since March 10. The JPX-Nikkei Index 400 dropped 0.9 percent to 13,522.45. (Reporting by Ayai Tomisawa; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-close-idUSL3N1H82TP'|'2017-03-31T14:41:00.000+03:00' +'7fc1c96ae8b1d6b080e32b922e9f29018319ef44'|'VW Trucks open to exploring new alliance in China: Manager Magazin'|'FRANKFURT Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) is ready to consider a new trucks partnership, for example with FAW [SASACJ.UL] in addition to Sinotruck ( 3808.HK ), as a way to push its expansion in China, trucks chief Andreas Renschler told Manager Magazin."We are thinking about how we can better establish ourselves in China," Renschler told the magazine, adding that FAW is a strong player there.Asked about VW''s existing alliance with Sinotruck, in which VW''s MAN division holds a 25.1 percent stake, Renschler said: "This partnership has existed for what seems like forever, with few ups and lots of downs."(Reporting by Edward Taylor, editing by David Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-trucks-idINKBN1684BI'|'2017-03-01T09:22:00.000+02:00' +'4635215e4f38e16b5e48c0ec05040907789503e8'|'The richest seam: Mining companies have dug themselves out of a hole'|'FOR mining investors there is something sinfully alluring about Glencore, an Anglo-Swiss metals conglomerate. It is the worlds biggest exporter of coal, a singularly unfashionable commodity. It goes where others fear to tread, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which has an unsavoury reputation for violence and corruption. It recently navigated sanctions against Russia to strike a deal with Rosneft, the countrys oil champion.Yet Glencore could still acquire a halo for itself. It is one of the worlds biggest suppliers of copper and the biggest of cobalt, much of which comes from its investment in the DRC. These are vital ingredients for clean-tech products and industries, notably electric vehicles (EVs) and batteries.The potential of green metals and minerals, which along with copper and cobalt include nickel, lithium and graphite, is adding to renewed excitement about investing in mining firms as they emerge from the wreckage of a $1trn splurge of over-investment during the China-led commodities supercycle, which began in the early 2000s. The most bullish argue that clean energy could be an even bigger source of demand than China has been in the past 15 years or so.Optimism about the mining industry is a remarkable turnaround in itself. In the past four years the business has endured a slump that Sanford C. Bernstein, a research firm, judges to have been as deep as in the Depression. In 2014-15 the four biggest London-listed minersBHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Glencore and Anglo Americanlost almost $20bn of core earnings, or EBITDA, as commodities plunged. Glencore, which was hit hardest, scrapped its dividend and issued shares to rescue its balance-sheet.Commodity valuations rebounded last year, and again led by Glencore, mining-company share prices rallied. Recent results show that the four biggest firms not only swung from huge losses to profits but also cut net debt by almost $25bn in 2016. BHP and Rio made unexpectedly large payouts to shareholders. Ivan Glasenberg, Glencores tough-talking boss, says the company is now in its strongest financial position in 30 years. What a difference a year makes, he exclaims.Underpinning the turnaround have been curbs on supplyboth voluntary, to push up commodity prices, and involuntary, such as strikes and stoppages. Capital expenditure has fallen by over two-thirds since 2013 (see chart). All the firms are reluctant to embark on big new mining projects. Mr Glasenberg says the industrys pipeline of new copper projects, for example, is shorter than it was before the China boom. Rios giant Oyu Tolgoi copper site in Mongolias Gobi Desert is a rare exception. The main focus at all the mining firms is on rebuilding balance-sheets and rewarding shareholders who kept the faith.Even as they promise capital discipline, however, demand for green metals and minerals is tempting them to spend. Last year BHP declared that 2017 could be the year when the electric-car revolution really gets started. A recent surge in the prices of battery ingredients, such as copper, cobalt and lithium, has added to the excitement. China, the worlds biggest manufacturer of EVs, is gobbling up supplies. In November China Molybdenum, which is listed in Shanghai, became the majority owner of Tenke Fungurume, a vast copper and cobalt mine in the DRC. Tellingly, the price of platinum, which is used in catalytic converters in internal combustion engines, has lagged behind.BHP, which has looked closely at EV-related demand, estimates that an average battery-powered EV will contain 80 kilograms of copper, four times as much as an internal-combustion engine. This is split between the engine (the largest share), the battery and the wiring harness. It forecasts that by 2035 there could be 140m EVs on the road (8% of the global fleet), versus 1m today. Manufacturing them could require at least 8.5m tonnes a year of additional copper, or about a third extra on top of todays total global copper demand.According to Sanford C. Bernstein, which uses a bold estimate that almost all new cars will be electric by 2035, global copper supplies would need to double to meet demand by then. Finding and digging up all the metals that stand to benefit, plus new smelting and refining capacity, could require up to $1trn in new investment by mining companies, it says. Hunter Hillcoat of Investec, a bank, says the transition could require the addition of a copper mine the size of Chiles Escondida, the worlds biggest, every year.Therein lies the rub. By one estimate, it takes at least 30 years to go from finding copper deposits to producing the metal from them at scale. Some of the big ones in operation today were discovered in the 1920s. Because of declining ore grades, community resistance, lack of water and other factors, copper supply will be overtaken by demand in the next year or two. But prices would have to rise considerably to spur the necessary investment in mines.Sharply higher prices for copper could, however, spur the search for alternative battery and EV materials such as aluminium. When prices of nickel, an additive in stainless steel, soared a decade ago, stainless-steel manufacturers found ways to make products less nickel-dependent.Another difficulty in supplying a future electric-vehicle revolution is the often inhospitable location of some of the most promising minerals. Cobalt, for instance, is a by-product of copper and nickel. Total volumes are about 100,000 tonnes, and about 70% lies in the DRC. Unregulated artisanal miners produce a lot of it, which has led to worries about conflict cobalt.Indeed, the DRC is likely to be the main source of many of the minerals needed for EVs and batteries. Paul Gait of Sanford C. Bernstein calls it the Saudi Arabia of the EV boom, referring to the kingdoms role in oil markets. But firms such as BHP and Rio are thought to be reluctant to invest there because of concerns about the countrys stability, transparency and governance.In the short term the mining industry remains gun-shy about new investments. As Glencores Mr Glasenberg notes, it has been fooled before by estimates that demand for copper will doublethe latest such misjudgment came as recently as 2008. The very biggest firms, BHP and Rio, have an additional reason to hesitate before splurging on battery materials. Their cash cows are iron ore and coking coal, the raw materials of steel, which are used more heavily in petrol and diesel engines than in EVs. BHP also produces oil, demand for which could one day be affected by battery-powered vehicles. Anglo American has a large platinum and palladium business, feeding demand for diesel and petrol catalytic converters.All the firms insist that such diverse mineral exposures in fact provide them with a hedge whichever way the vehicle fleet develops (though they play up the copper in their portfolio as possibly the best bet of all). Rio is unique among them in also having a lithium-borate project, in Serbia, which it is developing as an option on a batteries boom.For an unhedged bet, it may be small miners such as Canada-based Ivanhoe that are best placed for a surge in EVs and batteries. Ivanhoe recently said it planned to develop the Kamoa-Kakula deposit in the DRC (pictured on previous page), which it calls the biggest copper discovery ever, containing the highest-grade copper that the worlds big mines produce. Zijin, a Chinese miner, sees the same opportunity and is paying Ivanhoe $412m for half of its majority stake in Kamoa-Kakula. Ivanhoes founder, billionaire Robert Friedland, speaks of the metal as the king of them all. Based on world ecological and environmental problems, he says, every single solution drives you to copper. Business "The richest seam"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21718532-electric-vehicles-and-batteries-are-expected-create-huge-demand-copper-and-cobalt-mining?fsrc=rss'|'2017-03-09T23:29:00.000+02:00' +'87f6cb8adfbbe6be73d31f369d6c37b7058a4b88'|'Hugo Boss sees sales stabilising in 2017 as China recovers'|' 6:42am GMT Hugo Boss sees sales stabilising in 2017 as China recovers The logo of German fashion company Hugo Boss is seen at a store in Vienna, Austria, November 23, 2016. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger BERLIN Hugo Boss ( BOSSn.DE ) said it expected sales to stabilise in 2017 and profitability to start to recover as the struggling German fashion house managed to turn its business around in China after slashing prices there. Hugo Boss said it expected currency-adjusted sales to be stable in 2017 after it reported a 4 percent fall in 2016 to 2.69 billion euros (2.33 billion pounds), in line with average analyst forecasts. It forecast a change in earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) before special effects of somewhere between positive 3 percent and negative 3 percent, after a 17 percent fall in 2016 to 493 million. Mark Langer, who took over as chief executive last May, is returning Hugo Boss to its roots selling smart men''s suits, reversing the course of predecessor Claus-Dietrich Lahrs, who sought to make the premium label more of a luxury brand and invested heavily in promoting its womenswear. ($1 = 0.9494 euros) (Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Maria Sheahan) Next In Business News UK faces tougher Brexit challenge after 2017 resilience - Hammond LONDON Britain''s economy is likely to feel the pain of Brexit more sharply in the coming years despite holding up well so far, according to Chancellor Philip Hammond''s latest plan to steer the economy through its split from the European Union.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hugo-boss-results-idUKKBN16G0JT'|'2017-03-09T13:42:00.000+02:00' +'3b5f87d477bb7f8d9feff39cbe94e89ba924731b'|'Germany''s Merck well advanced in talks to sell biosimilars unit'|'DARMSTADT, Germany Germany''s Merck KGaA on Thursday said it was seeking a buyer for its biosimilars unit, confirming a Reuters report in October.The chief executive of the maker of drugs, lab supplies and high-tech chemicals, Stefan Oschmann, said negotiations were far advanced but complex, speaking at a press conference after the release of full-year results.Merck has been working since 2012 with Dr Reddy''s of India in developing cheaper versions of blockbuster biotech drugs such as AbbVie''s Humira, Roche''s Rituxan and Amgen''s Neulasta but has not yet brought products to market.The lineup of prospective suppliers of these compounds - called biosimilars because they are equivalent to the original drug in efficacy and safety but not exact replicas - is expected to see a shakeout amid harsh competition.When asked about the future of Merck''s Consumer Health division, Oschmann said it was developing well, but added that every one of the group''s units would have to prove itself and would be under review on an ongoing basis.The business with 860 million euros ($908 million) in 2016 sales is seen by many industry experts as lacking critical mass to compete with much larger rivals, which are seeking to further consolidate the non-prescription treatments industry.($1 = 0.9471 euros)(Reporting by Patricia Weiss; Writing Ludwig Burger; Editing by Harro ten Wolde)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/merck-results-biosimilars-idINKBN16G1EQ'|'2017-03-09T08:13:00.000+02:00' +'715ebb2d48b8a8597f48d5ea3a38db5b075d91f8'|'Greek privatisation agency says disused airport project to go ahead'|'Business News - Sat Mar 4, 2017 - 4:50pm GMT Greek privatisation agency says disused airport project to go ahead Disused aircrafts are seen on the tarmac of the old Athens'' airport at Hellenikon suburb, southwest of Athens June 20, 2011. The Greek government plans to develop the site of the capital''s old airport, which officials said could raise 5-7 billion euros (7-9 billion). REUTERS/Yiorgos Karahalis ATHENS A 7.9 billion euro (6.82 billion pounds) plan to turn a derelict former Athens airport into one of Europe''s biggest coastal resorts, included in Greece''s latest international bailout, will go ahead despite recent delays, a senior privatisation agency official said on Saturday. Under the deal signed in 2014 and revised last year, investors lead by Lamda Development ( LMDr.AT ) will pay 900 million euros for a 99-year lease to turn the Hellenikon site, a wasteland of decaying terminals and rusting airplanes, into a seaside town of hotels and residences. That project is expected to cost 7 billion euros. Lamda, which will be backed by China''s Fosun ( 0656.HK ) and Arab funds, had hoped excavations at the site would begin in the first half of the year. But the investment has been delayed due to licensing hurdles. "A project where (privatisation agency) HRADF has been involved since 2012 has faced problems and delays. But we believe that we are at the final stage so that it can be set in motion," the agency''s executive director Lila Tsitsogiannopoulou told an economic forum in Delphi. She said that all parties involved have been working together to sort out the remaining issues. Privatisations have been a key plank of Greek international bailouts since 2010, but have reaped only 4 billion euros ($4.3 billion) so far versus an original target of 50 billion euros due to political resistance and red tape. "We are not dreamers but there is a glimmer of optimism at HRADF because we meet interested investors everyday and we see our projects moving ahead," she said. (Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Hugh Lawson) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-greece-privatisations-idUKKBN16B0HN'|'2017-03-04T23:50:00.000+02:00' +'ecb3e8c5ac61ce4c4cd999dda65abcb0f502a292'|'Real estate in Brazil''s biggest market to rebound in 2017 -industry'|' 55pm EDT Real estate in Brazil''s biggest market to rebound in 2017 -industry SAO PAULO, March 14 Real estate activity in the greater So Paulo area, Brazil''s largest market, should rebound this year as interest rates fall and the government pushes through key economic reforms, a construction industry group said on Tuesday. Housing starts and sales should grow between 5 percent and 10 percent, Secovi-SP chief economist Celso Petrucci said, adding that those figures may be revised upwards by mid-year. The group expects home prices to rise 10 percent in the period. The forecasts underscore newfound optimism in an industry that has struggle in recent years with scarce credit, high unemployment and sales cancellations amid a harsh recession. The improved outlook would be good news for Cyrela Brazil Realty SA, MRV Engenharia e Participaes SA and Eztec Empreendimentos e Participaes SA , some of Brazil''s largest home builders. An index gauging performance of listed real estate companies at the So Paulo Stock Exchange is up 26 percent over the past three months. Analysts expect Latin America''s largest economy to recover by year-end albeit at a gradual pace as President Michel Temer advances with sweeping pension, labor and tax reforms. In 2016, housing starts in the greater So Paulo area fell 30 percent from a year earlier to just below 27,000 units, while sales of new residential property dropped 24 percent to roughly 25,000 units, according to Secovi-SP, the weakest performance since records began in 2004. In recent months, construction companies have lowered prices to reduce inventories after a rash of cancelled sales. (Reporting by Gabriela Mello; Writing by Ana Mano; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-realestate-outlook-idUSL2N1GR0X0'|'2017-03-15T01:55:00.000+02:00' +'5ac1a99f28c05441116dae6334152c58533d6f82'|'Roche says drug combo cuts breast cancer deaths in key trial'|'ZURICH Combining Roche''s ( ROG.S ) Perjeta and Herceptin drugs with chemotherapy reduced recurrence of aggressive breast cancer or death compared to Herceptin and chemo, the Swiss drugmaker said on Thursday.Roche hopes the important trial outcome will help shield its oncology franchise from cheaper copies."These results from the positive Aphinity study represent an important addition to the body of data for Perjeta in the treatment of people with HER2-positive early breast cancer," Sandra Horning, Roche''s chief medical officer, said.Analysts from Deutsche Bank have estimated around $2 billion in annual sales in 2018 hinged on the Aphinity trial''s outcome.Herceptin brought in $6.75 billion in sales last year for Roche but is losing patent protection, exposing it to competition from a biosimilar version that Mylan ( MYL.O ) and its partner Biocon ( BION.NS ) may introduce in Europe later this year.By showing Herceptin, Perjeta and chemo helped people who had undergone surgery live longer without their disease returning compared with the previous regimen of Herceptin and chemotherapy, the Basel-based drugmaker aims to make the case for doctors to switch to this new combination.Herceptin was initially approved in 1998, while follow-on Perjeta won the U.S. Food and Drug Administration''s blessing in 2013.The drugs are already approved in combination for those suffering from metastatic disease, but Aphinity tested Perjeta''s ability to keep cancer from returning in women who had undergone surgery.Roche has said its 2017 guidance of sales and profit rising at a low- to mid-single digit percentage rate was issued irrespective of the Aphinity outcome, but analysts including those at Jefferies contend this trial will likely be a catalyst for shares."We estimate a positive top line result could drive stock price upside of about 15-20 francs versus downside of about 25-35 francs if the study fails," Jefferies'' Jeffrey Holford wrote earlier this year.(Reporting by John Miller; Editing by Michael Shields)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/roche-trial-aphinity-idINKBN1690NN'|'2017-03-02T03:59:00.000+02:00' +'56561acfbab8360a73274ed0ddbb5e1e45315262'|'UPDATE 1-Toronto firm may pursue lawsuit over Enron bond sales -U.S. judge'|'Company News 4:02pm EDT UPDATE 1-Toronto firm may pursue lawsuit over Enron bond sales -U.S. judge (Adds comment from plaintiff''s lawyer, paragraph 9) By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK, March 31 A Toronto investment firm that has spent 15 years suing Enron Corp''s banks to recoup losses on bonds it bought shortly before the energy company went bankrupt may pursue a lawsuit seeking damages from three of those banks, a U.S. judge ruled on Friday. Silvercreek Management Inc claimed to suffer heavy losses on more than $100 million of Enron bonds it bought less than two months before Dec. 2, 2001 bankruptcy. It sought to hold Credit Suisse Group AG, Deutsche Bank AG, Bank of America Corp''s Merrill Lynch unit, and former Enron Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Skilling liable for overseeing many sham and off-balance-sheet transactions that fueled Enron''s demise. In a 43-page decision, U.S. District Judge Paul Oetken in Manhattan said Silvercreek and its affiliates may pursue claims that the banks aided Enron''s fraud and conspired to commit fraud. He cited "specific and wide-ranging" allegations that the banks knew Houston-based Enron was hiding billions of dollars of debt and using sham transactions to bolster its bottom line. Though Silvercreek''s allegations "do not plead a formal, back-room agreement among all defendants and Enron," they are "sufficient to state a conspiracy claim," Oetken wrote. Some claims were dismissed. The judge said Silvercreek may also pursue a fraud claim against Skilling, citing his alleged knowing and direct involvement in Enron''s financial misconduct. Credit Suisse and Skilling''s lawyer Jeffrey Barker declined to comment. Lawyers for Deutsche Bank and Bank of America did not immediately respond to requests for comment. "Given that the banks'' motions to dismiss were largely denied, the clients are pleased with the outcome," Scott Hessell, a lawyer for Silvercreek, said in an email. Silvercreek''s case began in Manhattan, but was moved to a Houston court that handled -- and has completed -- most post-bankruptcy Enron litigation. A panel of federal judges moved it back to Manhattan at Silvercreek''s request last June. Enron once ranked seventh on the Fortune 500 list of large U.S. companies, and its demise was the basis for the 2005 Oscar-nominated documentary "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room." Several executives went to prison. Skilling is serving a 14-year prison term for fraud and other offenses, and eligible for release in February 2019, federal prison records show. The case, which originally named Citigroup Inc as a defendant, is Silvercreek Management Inc et al v Citigroup Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 02-08881. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) Next In Company News UPDATE 1-Third Avenue in $14.25 mln settlement over junk bond fund collapse NEW YORK, March 31 Third Avenue Management and its founder Martin Whitman have reached a $14.25 million settlement of a lawsuit by investors who accused the well-known value investment firm of mismanaging a junk bond mutual fund that collapsed in December 2015. * Sama Resources Inc - Non-brokered private placement of up to 13.33 million units at a price of CAN$0.15 per unit MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/enron-lawsuit-idUSL2N1H81VT'|'2017-04-01T04:02:00.000+03:00' +'45046a5022c9e6eccd62b18e9b8a48ed9af34a72'|'Aberdeen exploring options for tie-up with Standard Life: Sky'|'LONDON Scottish fund manager Aberdeen Asset Management ( ADN.L ) is exploring possible options for a tie-up with insurer Standard Life ( SL.L ), Sky News reported on Saturday, in a deal which could total 11 billion pounds ($13.52 billion).The deal could involve a full merger or a tie-up between Aberdeen and Standard Life Investments, the insurer''s asset management arm, according to unnamed sources cited by Sky.Standard Life declined to comment, while Aberdeen could not be immediately reached for comment.A competitive environment and the need to cost-cuts is fuelling merger activity in the fund management sector, with London-based asset manager Henderson Group ( HGGH.L ) agreeing to buy U.S. rival Janus Capital Group Inc ( JNS.N ) last year in an all-share $6 billion deal.Both Aberdeen and Standard Life Investments'' flagship GARS multi-asset funds saw outflows last quarter, and Standard Life Chief Executive Keith Skeoch said the firm was "continually scanning the horizon to see what''s available" when it came to M&A.Standard Life has a market cap of 7.5 billion pounds, with Aberdeen roughly half the size.(Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-aberdeen-asset-m-a-standard-life-idINKBN16B0EU'|'2017-03-04T11:37:00.000+02:00' +'8f4625f5017ec9db18ee60038613d7240c53c27c'|'Deutsche Boerse blames Britain for failed LSE tie-up: chairman in paper'|'BERLIN Deutsche Boerse ( DB1Gn.DE ) Chairman Joachim Faber has put the blame for a failed tie-up with the London Stock Exchange ( LSE.L ) on Britain and its vote to leave the European Union.The London Stock Exchange last week effectively scuppered a planned merger with Deutsche Boerse to create Europe''s biggest exchange, by rejecting an EU demand to sell a trading platform in Italy.Faber, who chairs Deutsche Boerse''s supervisory board, told a German newspaper the Brexit vote had created strong headwinds for the 29 billion euro ($30.8 billion) deal."We didn''t know for months what the British wanted. And in the end, the dual headquarters that we wanted was an absolute no-go," he told Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.Sources had previously told Reuters that the question over the location of the headquarters worried LSE executives.Faber also told the paper that Deutsche Boerse CEO Carsten Kengeter had his backing."He is and remains the right person to head the company, the right CEO, in order to drive the growth of Deutsche Boerse," Faber said. "That''s why we got him on board and we will work on it together."(Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Clelia Oziel)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-deutsche-boerse-m-a-lse-idINKBN16B0HJ'|'2017-03-04T13:47:00.000+02:00' +'a173a15d8d2342eac451fb7e8aba7309087a9322'|'Government raises 11.8bn with Bradford & Bingley mortgage sale'|'Chancellor Philip Hammond has triggered the sale of an 11.8bn package of Bradford & Bingley loans bought by the taxpayer at the height of the financial crisis.The loan book will be sold to the insurer Prudential and US private equity firm, Blackstone, after what the Treasury described as a highly competitive sale process.Hammond said the deal delivered value for money for UK taxpayers. The sale of these Bradford & Bingley assets for 11.8bn marks another major milestone in our plan to get taxpayers money back following the financial crisis.London will remain Europes financial capital despite Brexit - Nils Pratley Read more We are determined to return the financial assets we own to the private sector and todays sale is further proof of the confidence investors have in the UK economy.The Treasury said it would be the first in a series of sales that will allow Bradford & Bingley to repay its 15.65bn debt to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) and corresponding loan from the Treasury. It expects the process to be concluded before the end of the 2017-18 fiscal year.Any further sales will be subject to market conditions and ensuring value for money, the Treasury said.Bradford & Bingley was effectively nationalised by the then Labour government in 2008 in a series of bailouts as banks and financial institutions were engulfed by the global financial crisis.B&Bs mortgage book and investment portfolios were transferred to government control, while Spanish bank Santander bought its network of branches and deposits.UK Asset Resolution (UKAR), established in 2010, manages Bradford & Bingleys loan books on the Treasurys behalf. The latest deal will leave UKAR with a 22bn balance sheet, down from 37bn in September 2016 and 116bn in 2010.The Treasury is also pressing ahead with plans to fully offload its stake in Lloyds Banking Group, which now stands at below 3%. When the bank was bailed out in 2008, the taxpayer owned a 43% stake. More than 19.5bn has been returned to the public purse since the original 20.3bn state rescue.While the government is selling off its stake in Lloyds, it retains a 73% stake in Royal Bank of Scotland which it also bailed out during the financial crisis.Hammond said in October that the time was not right to sell its stake in the Edinburgh-based bank.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/mar/31/bradford-bingley-mortgage-sale-philip-hammond-financial-crisis'|'2017-03-31T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'acdcc522e65724ca98ccf339ed0b0f1b4919b025'|'China debt risk ''very much under control'' - vice fin min'|'Fri Mar 24, 2017 - 6:12am GMT China debt risk ''very much under control'': vice fin min BOAO, China China''s debt risk is "very much under control", Vice Finance Minister Liu Wei said at the Boao Forum for Asia in southern Hainan province. Liu was appointed the vice finance minister post in late February. Chinese leaders have pledged to contain debt risks after years of credit-fueled expansion. Corporate debt has soared to 169 percent of gross domestic product, data from the Bank for International Settlements shows. (Reporting by Elias Glenn; Writing by Ryan Woo; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-boao-debt-idUKKBN16V0L6'|'2017-03-24T14:10:00.000+03:00' +'231e80b10aa3b1d0edbf77181a297135444c85c1'|'Toshiba asks for second third-quarter extension, expands Westinghouse probe'|'Global Energy News - Tue Mar 14, 2017 - 3:17am GMT Toshiba asks for second third-quarter extension, expands Westinghouse probe FILE PHOTO: The logo of Toshiba Corp. is seen at the company''s facility in Kawasaki, Japan February 13, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo By Makiko Yamazaki and Taiga Uranaka - TOKYO TOKYO Japan''s Toshiba Corp said it has asked regulators to extend its Tuesday deadline for official third-quarter earnings for a month, as its expands a probe into problems at its U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse. Requesting its second extension, the company said its auditing committee had confirmed that certain Westinghouse senior managers had exerted ''inappropriate pressure'' in the accounting for an acquisition of a U.S. nuclear power plant construction company in its third-quarter earnings. It now needs to check whether any pressure was exerted in preceding quarters as it would also be filing nine-month results and has requested an extension until April 11, it said in a statement to the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Toshiba will also expand the scope of the probe to see if ''other inappropriate pressures'' were also exerted, it said without elaborating on what they could be. The extension request, which comes after the beleaguered TVs-to-construction conglomerate first postponed the release of audited earnings a month ago, sent Toshiba''s shares sliding 8 percent in morning trade. The request only underscores deepening woes for the deeply troubled TVs-to-construction conglomerate. Plagued by cost overruns at U.S. projects in Georgia and South Carolina, Westinghouse has hired bankruptcy lawyers as an exploratory move, sources have said - an option that could help Toshiba limit future losses. Those projects are being handled by the ill-fated U.S. nuclear power plant construction company that Westinghouse bought from Chicago Bridge & Iron in 2015. Toshiba has already flagged a $6.3 billion writedown in preliminary third-quarter estimates due to the cost overruns. To offset the upcoming writedown, Toshiba is also rushing to sell most or even all its prized memory chip business, which it values at at least $13 billion. Chief Executive Satoshi Tsunakawa will hold a news conference at 4:00 p.m. Tokyo time (0700 GMT). A source with direct knowledge of the matter said a one-month extension should be enough to work out differences with auditors. "I understand auditors'' skittishness but at the same time I don''t think they want to be the reason for Toshiba''s failure by keeping refusing to sign off," said the person, who was not authorised to discuss the matter publicly. If it fails to gain approval for an extension, it has to submit the earnings by March 27 or it could face a delisting. Financial regulators declined immediate comment on Toshiba''s request. Toshiba is also due to submit this week a report to the Tokyo Stock Exchange on its internal controls in the wake of its latest financial woes as well the 2015 accounting scandal. That could eventually also lead to a delisting if the bourse finds Toshiba''s efforts unsatisfactory. (Reporting by Taiga Uranaka and Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) Next In Global Energy News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting-idUKKBN16K11R'|'2017-03-14T10:17:00.000+02:00' +'0ab173a77f5f5dcbbbd3f621a1d8dd209d3effc6'|'G20 trade wording considered a setback for export champion Germany'|'Sun Mar 19, 2017 - 8:49am GMT G20 German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble addresses a news conference at the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Baden-Baden, Germany, March 18, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach By Michael Nienaber - BADEN-BADEN Acquiescing to an increasingly protectionist United States after a two-day meeting in the German town of Baden-Baden, the finance ministers and central bank governors of the 20 biggest economies dropped a pledge to keep global trade free and open. Instead, they only made a token reference to trade in their main communique by saying the G20 would work together to strengthen the contribution of trade to their economies. "The weak wording on trade is a defeat for the German G20 presidency," Ifo economist Gabriel Felbermayr told Reuters. "This is particularly true in the light of the fact that Germany is one of the world''s strongest export nations and relies on open markets to maintain its prosperity like hardly any other country." Private consumption and state spending have become the main growth drivers of Europe''s biggest economy, but exports still account for roughly 45 percent of its gross domestic product. "The lack of a rejection of protectionism is a clear breach of tradition. Now everything is possible," Felbermayr said. The future would probably bring a weakening of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and a more aggressive use of protectionist policies, he added. The Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) said the token reference to trade was a serious setback for the multilateral trade order. "The result is a warning shot for every trading nation and this means also for the German economy," DIHK foreign trade economist Volker Treier told Reuters. "The German economy has to adapt itself to the fact that ''America First'' will also mean a loss for us. So instead of a win-win situation, there will probably be a lose-lose situation." German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel has suggested that the European Union should refocus its economic policy toward Asia, should the Trump administration pursue protectionism. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble tried to play down the lack of a clear rejection of protectionism on Saturday, saying some delegations did not have a mandate to support far reaching commitments on commerce. U.S. President Donald Trump has already pulled out of a key trade agreement and proposed a new tax on imports, arguing that certain trade relationships need to be reworked to make them fairer for U.S. workers. Germany managed to rescue some of the previously common G20 language supporting free trade and open markets in a separate document adopted by policymakers in Baden-Baden. The list of principles summarizes reform recommendations for governments to boost the resilience of their economies against future shocks, including the advice to strengthen policy frameworks to reap the benefits of open markets. A senior G20 official said the resilience principles were probably more important than the main communique because the list would also be adopted at the G20 leaders summit in Hamburg in July while Baden-Baden was only a "snapshot of today". "The German G20 presidency is not over yet. Now it''s up to the state and government leaders at the G20 summit in Hamburg to send a clear signal," Treier said. (Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-g20-germany-idUKKBN16Q09D'|'2017-03-19T15:47:00.000+02:00' +'13c0906a719d62bfcb7aa7571f8dcf82695aa711'|'BRIEF-Platform Specialty Products files for non-timely 10-K'|' 36pm EST BRIEF-Platform Specialty Products files for non-timely 10-K March 1 Platform Specialty Products Corp : * Platform Specialty Products Corp files for non-timely 10-K * Platform Specialty-due to some acquisitions, expects form 10-K to reflect significant changes for year ended December 31, 2016 versus 2015 as on gaap basis Source text: ( bit.ly/2ldXtpB ) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-platform-specialty-products-files-idUSFWN1GE14W'|'2017-03-02T04:36:00.000+02:00' +'42a343f37f84457e509b8bb86a810a07b9b7d696'|'Linde says Praxair merger on track, outlook seen strong'|'MUNICH, Germany German industrial gases group Linde said its planned merger with U.S. rival Praxair was on track and it aimed to raise its profitability this year, lifting its shares to the top of the German blue-chip DAX on Thursday.The Munich-based group said it still aimed to finalize an agreement with Praxair on combining their businesses by the end of April or beginning of May. The all-stock merger of equals would create a market leader worth around $65 billion.Linde said it aimed for flat to 7 percent higher operating profit helped by cost cuts, compared with a 3 percent increase in 2016.The company said it sought to increase 2017 revenue by 3 percent, although it could see a decrease of up to 3 percent due to a "challenging market environment", especially in its plant-engineering division, which is vulnerable to oil and gas prices."Our efforts to make Linde even more profitable are already having an impact," Chief Executive Aldo Belloni said in a statement. "We will be able to operate even more successfully in the market in the future."Praxair is almost twice as profitable as Linde, while the German company is seen as the technology leader.Linde shares rose 1.2 percent by 0822 GMT, outperforming a 0.2 percent-weaker DAX.DZ Bank analyst Peter Spengler described the company''s guidance as "a big surprise and above our expectations".Linde reported flat 2016 revenue of 16.9 billion euros ($17.8 billion) and 3 percent higher operating profit of 4.1 billion euros from continuing operations - within its forecast range - excluding logistics unit Gist, which it plans to sell.Results were lifted by U.S. healthcare unit Lincare, compensating for another difficult year for the plant-engineering business, which has been hit by investment caution due to persistently low oil and gas prices.(Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Maria Sheahan and Edmund Blair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-linde-results-idINKBN16G0KD'|'2017-03-09T05:44:00.000+02:00' +'0d4e3fad6ffb2e38f9eab9ba9d420ca000c0669c'|'PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - March 21'|'Company News 8:15pm EDT PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - March 21 March 21 The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. Headlines * Uber faces legal challenge on paying VAT on.ft.com/2nga8Il * Career spy Jeremy Fleming named head of UK''s GCHQ on.ft.com/2n1Rxxj * Vodafone opts to merge India unit amid price war on.ft.com/2nXSl5x * Elliott calls for probe into Arconic vote deal with Oak Hill on.ft.com/2mOmsMH * Google apologises to advertisers for extremist content on YouTube on.ft.com/2nCR2wZ Overview * Uber is facing a new legal challenge in London''s high court over its payment of value added tax. * Jeremy Fleming, the deputy director general of Britain''s internal security service, will become the new head of intelligence eavesdropping service GCHQ. * Britain''s Vodafone Group and Idea Cellular agreed on Monday to merge their Indian operations in a $23 billion deal, creating the country''s biggest telecoms business after the entry of a new rival sparked a brutal price war. * Hedge fund Elliott Management Corp, which is in the throes of a proxy battle with Arconic Inc, demanded on Monday an independent review of the company''s voting agreement with private equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners. * Google apologised on Monday for allowing ads to appear alongside offensive videos on YouTube as more high-profile firms such as Marks & Spencer and HSBC pulled advertising for British markets from Google sites. (Compiled Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-press-ft-idUSL3N1GY024'|'2017-03-21T07:15:00.000+02:00' +'d411fa64822ad9eb7c6fa32cc3eb2b1d7ea803c3'|'How the collapse in full-time work for men is fuelling record underemployment - Greg Jericho - Business'|'T he latest unemployment rate figures brought the bad news that the unemployment rate is again rising, but perhaps more concerning is that February saw a record level of underemployment. With weak full-time employment growth, underemployment is in many ways now a better indicator of the health of the economy than the unemployment rate.Before the 1990s recession, underemployment wasnt really a thing. During the 80s the underemployment rate was rarely above 4%; after it, and the destruction it wrought on full-time work, it was rarely below 6%:The global financial crisis also had a significant impact. Before the GFC, at the height of the mining boom, 5.9% of the labour force were underemployed; last month this figure hit 8.7% and hasnt been below 7% for more than five and a half years.The rise in underemployment has been a big factor in the dislocation of the unemployment rate from the real-world experience of the labour market. Traditionally, underemployment and unemployment are closely linked. When unemployment rises that is usually a sign that the economy is weakening and businesses cut the hours of workers, which increases underemployment. When things are going well, the opposite usually occurs not only are businesses employing more people they also increase the hours worked by those already employed ie, reducing underemployment.But in the middle of 2014, the relationship between the unemployment and underemployment broke down:The reason (as I have noted a few times ) is the lack of full-time work compared with part-time. Since May 2014, 329,000 new part-time jobs have been created compared with just 152,000 full-time ones. That is a massive change given that two-thirds of all jobs are full time.And as I have also noted the hardest hit have been the youth, and not surprisingly they are the ones who have the highest level of underemployment.Nearly 20% of women in the labour force aged 15 to 24 are underemployed, and 16.2% of men that age both records. Since May 2014, the rates of underemployment for both genders under 25 have risen by more than any other age group:And while it would be easy to think it is a just an issue of youth and thus might be something that is quarantined from the broader economy the reality is that underemployment is now affecting workers of all ages at record levels.A comparison of the unemployment and underemployment rates for workers aged 25 to 54 shows a similar disconnect occurring in 2014:The impact of weak full-time employment growth is evident when we compared the percentage of adults aged 25 to 64 who are employed and those employed full time.A decade ago 74.7% of 25- to 64-year-olds were employed; that has now risen to a near record 75.9%. By contrast the percentage of this prime-working aged group of adults who are employed full time has fallen from 56.7% to 55.7%:The last time so few prime-working aged adults were working full time was in 2005.The big reason is the absolute collapse of male full-time work since the GFC.Despite weak economic growth, women have continued to find more full-time work than in the past. Currently, 39.5% of women aged 25 to 64 work full time just down on the record of 39.8% reached in the middle of last year.By contrast the proportion of prime-working aged men in full-time jobs has fallen in the past 10 years from 75% to a new record low in February of 72.4%:One difficulty in comparing underemployment with the past is that there are two reasons why people want more hours one negative and one positive. Mostly with men the issue is a negative men want more hours because they are seeking full-time work or more part-time hours. But for women the issue is not completely negative. There are more women underemployed now than ever before despite there also being more women working full time than ever before. Women not only are working full time more than ever before there are also more women than ever before desiring to work full time. That is not necessarily a bad thing but it does still indicate that there is a lot of spare capacity in the labour force.And that spare capacity is a big driver of the current record low wages growth.I noted last month that wages and unemployment normally are in sync when one falls the other rises but over the past two years the relationship has broken down. Wages growth has fallen even while the unemployment rate has fallen:But if instead of the unemployment rate we use the underemployment rate, we see the relationship remains in sync:While we still have wage growth slightly below what we would expect, it is not out as whack as it seems when comparing it with the unemployment rate.And the bad news is that given we have just hit a record high rate of underemployment, it suggests that for those hoping for an improvement in wages growth will probably have to wait a bit longer.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/mar/23/how-the-collapse-in-full-time-jobs-for-men-is-fuelling-record-underemployment'|'2017-03-23T02:00:00.000+02:00' +'6b7c3b91f890e530c8477939f8b0fbe124b017a4'|'SpaceX defeats Boeing-Lockheed partnership for GPS launch contract'|'Science News 43pm EDT SpaceX defeats Boeing-Lockheed partnership for GPS launch contract A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket (in center, in a horizontal position), is readied for launch on a supply mission to the International Space Station on historic launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., February 17, 2017. REUTERS/Joe Skipper By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Elon Musk''s Space Exploration Technologies has won a GPS satellite launch contract over rival United Launch Alliance, a partnership of the top two U.S. aerospace companies Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co., the U.S. Air Force said on Tuesday. The contract, worth $96.5 million, is the second GPS satellite launch contract awarded by the Air Force to Musk''s rocket company, known as SpaceX. United Launch Alliance, however, did not bid for the first GPS launch contract, which was awarded in April 2016. At the time, the Air Force said SpaceX''s $83 million bid was about 40 percent less than what the military had been paying United Launch Alliance for previously awarded contracts. The GPS launch contracts won by SpaceX cover production of a Falcon 9 launch vehicle, mission integration, launch operations and spaceflight certification, the Air Force said in a statement. The launch, slated for February 2019, is intended to put the third member of the next-generation GPS satellite network into orbit. SpaceX won certification from the Air Force in 2015 to compete for military and national security space launches, breaking United Launch Alliances 10-year monopoly. (Reporting by Irene Klotz; Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Diane Craft) Next In Science News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-space-spacex-military-idUSKBN16L2UQ'|'2017-03-15T06:40:00.000+02:00' +'25f65ae1d9ac287bbecd987ac3263e71703f8b2d'|'UPDATE 1-South Africa''s Gordhan confident welfare benefits to be paid April 1'|'World South Africa''s Gordhan confident welfare benefits to be paid April 1 Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan delivers his 2017 Budget Speech to Parliament in Cape Town, South Africa, February 22, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings CAPE TOWN South Africa''s Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Tuesday he was "fairly confident" social security payments will be paid on April 1 despite a service-provider dispute that has cast doubt over the welfare benefits. The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) is scrambling to ensure that as many as 17 million people continue to receive their money, despite concerns that retaining the existing service provider is both unlawful and costly. "I am fairly confident grants will be paid," Gordhan told parliament''s public accounts committee, referring to April 1. The existing contract, run by Cash Paymaster Services, a unit of technology company Net1 unit, has been in doubt since South Africa''s highest court ruled in 2014 that the tender process to acquire its services was unlawful. It ordered that a new contract to be negotiated. SASSA officials have said the agency had opted to renew the deal with Cash Paymaster Services despite the court order. A new deal has not yet been made public. The Constitutional Court, which ruled the original contract invalid in 2014, will on Wednesday hear an application by non-government bodies, Black Sash and Freedom Under Law, for the court to play a supervisory role in any new contract agreed. The Treasury has expressed misgivings about SASSA retaining Cash Paymaster Services, a move also criticized by members of parliament''s committee on public accounts. "We are trying to be careful not to preempt the court in anyway, and the court will finally determine the shape and direction of many of the issues we are looking at," Gordhan said. (Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by James Macharia) Next In World News One month on, Malaysia embalms Kim Jong Nam''s body, awaiting next of kin KUALA LUMPUR The body of the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was embalmed this week in Kuala Lumpur, with no family member coming forward to claim the remains and as a diplomatic spat with Pyongyang drags on. South Korean prosecutors to summon ousted president Park SEOUL South Korean prosecutors will summon ousted president Park Geun-hye for questioning as a suspect in a corruption case that led to her impeachment, a prosecution official said on Tuesday, amid a political crisis that has gripped the country for months. SEOUL The South Korean politician expected to become its next president, Moon Jae-in, called on China on Tuesday to stop economic retaliation against South Korean firms over the deployment of a U.S. missile-defense system. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-safrica-welfare-idUSKBN16L0PX'|'2017-03-14T15:36:00.000+02:00' +'37411d674bc27888e72cc65590a939de2ca2b7e8'|'Porsche SE has no information about Piech''s stake sale talks'|'Deals - Tue Mar 21, 2017 - 7:31am EDT Porsche SE has no information about Piech''s stake sale talks left right A logo is seen on a wheel of a Porsche car during the company''s annual meeting in Stuttgard, Germany, May 13, 2015. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: Ferdinand Piech, chairman of the supervisory board of German carmaker Volkswagen, gives a thumbs-up during his visit to the IAA truck show in Hanover, Germany September 18, 2012. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/Files 2/2 STUTTGART, Germany Porsche SE ( PSHG_p.DE ), Volkswagen''s majority shareholder, said it has no information about former VW chairman Ferdinand Piech''s talks with the carmaker''s controlling families about a possible sale of his stake. "We are only informed about the fact that talks are happening," Porsche SE chief executive Hans Dieter Poetsch said on Tuesday at the company''s earnings press conference. "We cannot even say whether there will be a result." Should the negotiations of the Porsche and Piech families to buy a substantial part of Piech''s 14.7 percent stake in Porsche SE succeed, such a move would have no impact on the holding company''s ownership structure, Poetsch said. "There will be no change to the fact that the voting shares will be held by the Porsche and Piech families," the CEO said. Porsche SE is the group through which the billionaire Porsche and Piech families control 52.2 percent of the voting shares in Volkswagen (VW), which is still dealing with the effects of its diesel emissions scandal. Separately, VW chief executive Matthias Mueller said he has had no discussions to date with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles ( FCHA.MI ) boss Sergio Marchionne about a possible tie-up. Last week, the VW CEO left the door open to a potential merger with Fiat Chrysler, saying Europe''s biggest automotive group was more open to partnerships than in the past. (Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Harro ten Wolde) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-porschese-piech-idUSKBN16S17I'|'2017-03-21T18:19:00.000+02:00' +'299c2d760ab087e88de77f798934a289ec1125e6'|'Saving is now up to Trump'|'Trump''s health care plan that won''t be Next move on Obamacare? It''s up to President Trump. Minutes after House Republicans shelved their bill that was supposed to save the nation''s health care, Trump repeated that Obamacare was on the verge of collapse. "Bad things are going to happen to Obamacare," said Trump, calling out the large premium increases and insurer defections that plagued the exchanges this year. "There''s not much you can do about it. It''s not sustainable." While Trump is trying to shift the responsibility to the Democrats, it''s his administration that will largely have to decide whether 20 million people who gained coverage under the sweeping 2010 health reform law will remain insured. It''s not at all clear that Obamacare is in a death spiral, but there''s no question the program is troubled. Insurers have found themselves with sicker and costlier customers than they expected, forcing them to raise rates and exit certain markets. But carriers say it''s now largely in the hands of the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers as to whether they will participate next year. Over the past several months, insurers have urged officials to provide clarity on several key measures that they say will help shore up the exchanges. "If Republicans want to stabilize the market, they have the tools to do so," Dr. Mario Molina, chief executive of Molina Healthcare ( MOH ) , which has just under 1 million exchange enrollees in nine states, told CNNMoney. "If they don''t act, they can''t say Obamacare exploded. They made the decisions that led to people losing their coverage. They can''t shift the blame anymore." Insurers must decide in coming weeks whether they''ll participate on the exchanges next year. At least one, Humana ( HUM ) , has already said it won''t. Molina said he will decide in May. Among the top priorities is having Congress fund the cost-sharing subsidies that reduce the deductibles for millions of low-income enrolleee. Lawmakers have delayed their decision at least until April. Related: Insurers worry GOP bill will leave low-income Americans without coverage Also, insurers want the Department of Health & Human Services to clamp down on special enrollment periods so that people can''t sign up when they become sick. And carriers want the agency to continue the Obama administration''s efforts to bolster the risk programs that insulate them from costly policyholders. "There''s still a lot that can be done for market stability," said Kristine Grow, spokeswoman for America''s Health Insurance Plans, a main trade association for insurers. Trump officials have already started taking steps to stabilize the market, which they have had to do to fulfill their pledge not to have millions of people lose coverage as they tried to move to the Republican plan. At the same time, some of their moves -- and certainly their rhetoric -- have damaged Obamacare. Enforcing the individual mandate, which remains the law of the land since the GOP repeal bill failed, is one of the keys to keeping younger, healthier consumers in the market. The Internal Revenue Service has loosened its oversight slightly, citing Trump''s executive order to lift Obamacare''s financial burdens on Americans where possible. Whether to step back more on the mandate is up to Trump. "It''s a decision that can be traced directly to the White House," said Molina, whose company is one of the few to have prospered in the exchanges. 58 PM ET'|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_news_economy.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/03/24/news/economy/trump-obamacare-collapse/index.html'|'2017-03-25T02:58:00.000+03:00' +'66f49639e4137c231c12067bbf705d0e5d915f25'|'Mitsubishi Materials faces glitch in restart of Indonesia copper smelter'|'Company News - Wed Mar 1, 2017 - 4:34am EST Mitsubishi Materials faces glitch in restart of Indonesia copper smelter TOKYO, March 1 A minor technical glitch forced Japan''s Mitsubishi Materials Corp to stop operations at Indonesia''s main copper smelter, briefly resumed on Wednesday after a strike had halted all but the refining process since Jan. 19, a spokesman said. "We expect to fix the technical problem and resume operation in a short period," the spokesman said, without giving a specific timeframe. The Gresik smelter, owned by PT Smelting, produced about 190,000 tonnes of copper cathode in the year to March 2016 and had planned to produce 260,000 tonnes this financial year through March 31, before accounting for the strike''s impact. The spokesman declined to give the latest output plan for this year. PT Smelting is 60.5 percent owned by Mitsubishi Materials, while Freeport-McMoRan Inc''s Indonesian unit holds 25 percent. (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/mitsubishi-ma-indonesia-idUSL3N1GE2LU'|'2017-03-01T16:34:00.000+02:00' +'4045099ae7adbda963aca80c488436af6269cea2'|'Glencore to sell 51 percent of oil products storage business'|'LONDON Swiss-based trading and mining giant Glencore has agreed to sell a 51 percent stake in its oil products and logistics business for $775 million to China''s HNA Innovation Finance Group Ltd, the company said on Friday.Reuters earlier exclusively reported that Glencore was in talks to sell a bundle of its global oil storage stakes, following similar moves by rivals as a boom period for storage shows signs of nearing to an end.Glencore said the deal was expected to close in the second half of 2017 and that the transaction would result in a new company called HG Storage International Ltd with a presence across Europe, Africa and the Americas.Dutch bank ING was the sell-side adviser to the deal, a spokeswoman for the bank said.(Reporting By Julia Payne, editing by David Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-glencore-assets-oil-idINKBN172251'|'2017-03-31T13:16:00.000+03:00' +'171a7184270b367246070b48ed1fadde5e22319c'|'BRIEF-Sears says historical operating results raise doubt over co''s going concern ability - SEC filing'|' 04pm EDT BRIEF-Sears says historical operating results raise doubt over co''s going concern ability - SEC filing March 21 Sears Holdings Corp: * Historical operating results indicate substantial doubt exists related to the company''s ability to continue as a going concern- SEC filing * If co continues to experience operating losses, co may not be able to access additional funds under amended domestic credit agreement * "Failure to generate additional liquidity could negatively impact our access to inventory or services" - SEC filing Source text: ( bit.ly/2n5avn3 (Bengaluru Newsroom: +91 806 749 1136) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-sears-says-historical-operating-re-idUSFWN1GY0R4'|'2017-03-22T05:04:00.000+02:00' +'f7dc92a25c8c13e425706bee0f087c09ec7366ba'|'HIGHLIGHTS-The Trump presidency on March 13 at 9:05 p.m. EDT/March 14 0105 GMT'|'March 13 Highlights of the day for U.S. President Donald Trump''s administration on Monday: HEALTHCARE Fourteen million Americans would lose medical insurance by next year under a Republican plan to dismantle Obamacare, the nonpartisan U.S. Congressional Budget Office says in a report that dealt a potential setback to Trump''s first major legislative initiative. A Republican plan to repeal taxes set under Obamacare would benefit the wealthiest U.S. households at more than five times the rate for middle-income families, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. WIRETAPPING ALLEGATION The U.S. Department of Justice asks for more time to respond to a request from lawmakers for evidence about Trump''s allegation that then-President Barack Obama wiretapped him during the 2016 election campaign. TRAVEL BAN A group of states renew their effort to block Trump''s revised temporary ban on refugees and travelers from several Muslim-majority countries, arguing that his executive order is the same as the first one that was halted by federal courts. GERMANY Trump''s meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been pushed back from Tuesday until Friday because of the winter storm bearing down on the northeastern United States, the White House says. Ahead of her trip to Washington, Merkel tells business leaders in Munich that free trade is important for both the United States and Germany. CHINA Trump is planning to host Chinese President Xi Jinping at a two-day summit next month, according to media reports, as his administration seeks to smooth relations with the world''s second-largest economy. ISRAEL/PALESTINIANS Trump''s Middle East envoy and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet in Jerusalem as the new administration tries to restart peace talks with the Palestinians. AUTO STANDARDS Trump is set to formally announce a review of vehicle fuel efficiency rules locked in at the end of the Obama administration when he meets with automaker chiefs this week, according to two sources briefed on the matter. BUDGET Trump on Thursday unveils his 2018 budget emphasizing a military buildup, and some Republicans are concerned they will be forced to choose between opposing the president or backing reductions in popular programs such as aid for disabled children and hot meals for the elderly. ADMINISTRATION The U.S. Senate confirms Trump''s pick to run the government health programs for the elderly, poor and disabled, Medicare and Medicaid, filling a critical role as Republicans fight to repeal and replace Obamacare. (Compiled by Bill Trott, Jonathan Oatis and Peter Cooney; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Sandra Maler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-trump-highlights-idINL2N1GQ0DT'|'2017-03-13T22:05:00.000+02:00' +'2a5dbb9b3044f5560c5b19b42e829289a8a8d77d'|'MOVES-Lazard taps Dimension Fund exec for activist defense team -sources'|'By Michael Flaherty - NEW YORK, March 23 NEW YORK, March 23 Lazard Ltd has tapped a portfolio manager at investment firm Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) to bolster its expanding activist shareholder defense team, according to people familiar with the matter.Lazard has hired DFA''s Sunil Suri, who played a key role in the firm''s committee that decided how it voted on proposals at portfolio companies'' annual meetings, the sources said on Thursday. Investment banking defense teams are hired by companies that are being targeted by activist hedge funds.The sources asked not to be identified because the move has not been announced. DFA declined to comment. Lazard spokeswoman Judi Mackay did not return a message seeking comment.DFA, based in Austin, Texas, managed $445 billion in assets as of last September, and has a large portfolio of index funds. The influence of proxy voting teams at passive managers such as DFA is growing as they put more pressure on corporate management teams and boards to demonstrate strong performance results.Suri''s move to Lazard is the latest high-profile hire by the bank''s activist defense team, known formally as the corporate preparedness group.In November, the group, led by managing director Jim Rossman, hired Mary Ann Deignan, who was previously the co-head of global equity capital markets at Bank of America.Lazard also said at the time it had hired Andrew Whittaker, the founder of a merger arbitrage hedge fund who previously worked at Goldman Sachs Asset Management.The building of Rossman''s team follows a five-year surge in activist shareholder campaigns amid a wave of investor agitation over poor stock returns and corporate strategies.Activist investors launched 429 campaigns aimed at U.S. companies last year, according to Thomson Reuters data, a nearly fivefold increase from a decade earlier. (Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/moves-lazard-activist-idINL3N1H04Q6'|'2017-03-23T16:04:00.000+02:00' +'2e2f4a5bd3815cc7d2471e283ff470990a0647cf'|'AstraZeneca wins approval for lung cancer pill in China'|' 7:22am BST AstraZeneca wins approval for lung cancer pill in China The logo of AstraZeneca is seen on a medication package in a pharmacy in London April 28, 2014. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth LONDON AstraZeneca ( AZN.L won approval for its lung cancer pill Tagrisso in China, a key market for the potential blockbuster medicine. Tagrisso is designed to help cancer patients with certain genetic mutations that are very common in China and other parts of east Asia. (Reporting by Ben Hirschler; editing by Kate Holton) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-astrazeneca-cancer-china-idUKKBN16Y0IG'|'2017-03-27T14:22:00.000+03:00' +'4a212c9028ba22363ca11d4fe87f34d11eae1c1f'|'Retailer Casino''s 2016 core profits rise as France improves'|' 35am GMT Retailer Casino''s 2016 core profits rise as France improves A customer stands in an aisle near a shopping trolley in a Casino supermarket in Nice, France, January 16, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard By Dominique Vidalon - PARIS PARIS ( CASP.PA ) expressed confidence on Tuesday of boosting sales and earnings this year after delivering a promised rise in profits and cash flow in its core French market, and cutting back on its debt burden last year. For 2017, Casino predicted growth of at least 10 percent in group operating profit at current exchange rates, having achieved a 3.7 percent rise in 2016 despite a weak performance in Brazil, its second-largest market after France. Casino, whose credit rating was cut to junk by Standard & Poor''s in March 2016 and has been criticised by U.S. activist fund Muddy Waters, is under pressure to show it can revive profits in France at a time of slower growth in Brazil. Operating income rose to 1.034 billion euros ($1.1 billion)against a restated figure of 997 million euros for 2015, broadly in line with analysts expectations of 1.046 billion euros in a Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S poll. Its 2015 data have been restated to take into account the sale of Asian assets while Brazil appliance retailer Via Varejo ( VVAR11.SA ), which Casino has put up for sale, is deconsolidated from the 2016 accounts. Casino said its French operations achieved operating profits of 508 million euros in 2016 against 337 millions in 2015. This was in line with the company''s guidance for profits of slightly over 500 million euros. For 2017, Casino said it aimed to grow operating profit of its food retail operations in France by 15 percent and forecast a contribution of its property development operations of 60 million euros against 87 million euros in 2016. The French turnaround reflected a solid performance at the Monoprix and Franprix convenience stores, and a return of the discount LeaderPrice stores to profitability while the Geant hypermarkets reduced their losses. Casino also benefited from various buying agreements with Intermarche and Dia as well as cost reductions from store closures and the transfer of convenience stores to franchises. In recession-hit Brazil, where Casino controls retailer Grupo Pao de Aucar ( PCAR4.SA ), operating profit fell to 314 million euros from 434 million as promotional spending to boost sales at the Extra hypermarkets weighed on profits. Casino''s shares were hit hard in December 2015 when activist investor Muddy Waters said the group was "dangerously leveraged" and managed for the short-term. The company has rejected the criticism and cut debt by selling assets in Asia while improving performance in France and simplifying the group''s complex structure, and Casino predicted a further improvement in its gearing ratio in 2017. ($1 = 0.9449 euros) (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-casino-results-idUKKBN16E0UP'|'2017-03-07T15:35:00.000+02:00' +'9295705cea50b31cecc2ebbfcb553ab8d54724d8'|'MOVES-Peel Hunt names James-Duff director of equity capital markets'|'Company 46am EST MOVES-Peel Hunt names James-Duff director of equity capital markets March 2 UK-based brokerage firm Peel Hunt said it appointed Rory James-Duff as director of equity capital markets, effective immediately. James-Duff joins from Canaccord Genuity where he worked for almost seven years on UK small & mid-cap institutional equity sales. (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/peel-hunt-moves-rory-james-duff-idUSL3N1GF3JK'|'2017-03-02T17:46:00.000+02:00' +'dd5132bb1e83c9e546e7d68ede0b453593db1c38'|'PageGroup''s profit rises 11.7 percent on overseas growth'|' 18am GMT PageGroup''s profit rises 11.7 percent on overseas growth British recruitment firm PageGroup Plc ( PAGE.L ) reported an 11.7 percent rise in full-year profit as overseas growth more than offset a continued cooling in the UK hiring market ahead of the country''s planned exit from the European Union. "Our businesses in Continental Europe, Australasia and Latin America, excluding Brazil, all performed well," Chief Executive Steve Ingham said in a statement. "In the UK, client and candidate confidence levels were impacted by the EU Referendum result, with activity levels reduced," Ingham said. The company, which mainly finds candidates to fill permanent positions, said gross profit rose to 621 million pounds ($757.7 million) in the year ended Dec. 31, from 556.1 million pounds, a year earlier. ($1 = 0.8196 pounds) (Reporting by Arathy S Nair and Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-pagegroup-results-idUKKBN16F0OO'|'2017-03-08T14:18:00.000+02:00' +'181a5a344afd0f80b385dca3c6ebfed7bf7f3680'|'James Murdoch praises British TV, seeking Sky deal approval'|' 21pm EST James Murdoch praises British TV, seeking Sky deal approval By Paul Sandle - LONDON, March 2 LONDON, March 2 James Murdoch, the chief executive of Twenty-First Century Fox, lauded the quality of Britain''s television industry on Thursday as the company makes a fresh attempt to gain control of European TV business Sky. Fox, which is controlled by the Murdoch family, launched a 11.7 billion pound ($14.4 billion) bid to take full control of Sky in December, seeking to fulfil an ambition that was thwarted in 2011 by a phone-hacking scandal at their British newspapers. Murdoch, who was previously CEO and is currently chairman of Sky, said the sector had changed radically since his company''s previous attempt to buy Sky in 2011. The deal, which has been recommended by Sky''s board, is set to be referred to European regulators imminently. Some opposition UK lawmakers are opposed to Fox taking full control of Sky by buying the 61 percent it does not already own. They want the bid rejected on competition grounds, saying it would concentrate too much media power in the family''s companies. "We are in an era of ultimate plurality, where choices, sources, and access are multiplied, even from where we were only five years ago," Murdoch said at the Deloitte-Enders Analysis Media and Telecoms conference. In the past, Murdoch has been highly critical of how Britain''s TV market was regulated, saying in a 2009 speech that the reach and ambition of the publicly-funded BBC was "chilling". But on Thursday he said Britain''s creative economy "stood tall on the world stage", and its television and film content had a global resonance, with storytelling that was "smart, often a touch off-centre, but always on point". "It is this country''s balanced creative economy, with strong public service output, a vibrant commercial sector, and a diverse and independent tradition of impartial news that adds up to an environment for innovation and growth that we believe out-punches many larger markets," he said. "And Sky, of course, is an important part of this rapidly evolving sector." Asked about his conversion to backing public sector broadcasting, he said there was now "real clarity" about the role and remit of public sector broadcasters, which did "a lot of great work". The industry as a whole had become "super competitive", he said, warning of new entrants armed with capital and a "predisposition for disruption". Sky was an important player in the industry, he said, and committed to spending at least 700 million pounds a year on original British production. "Because the U.K. creative economy has such potential we believe it is the best place to be proposing a nearly 12 billion pound investment which will be a significant driver of the U.K. creative industry''s long-term success in a global market," he said. ($1 = 0.8147 pounds) (Editing by Ruth Pitchford) Moody''s whistleblower loses lawsuit, cannot share in $864 mln settlement NEW YORK, March 2 A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a whistleblower lawsuit by a former Moody''s Investors Service managing director and said he deserves none of the $863.8 million that Moody''s agreed to pay to settle claims it inflated mortgage ratings prior to the 2008 financial crisis.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/twenty-first-fox-ceo-idUSL5N1GF5Q9'|'2017-03-03T01:21:00.000+02:00' +'645b8a833fa63586225f1b4083e55dbcd299419b'|'Carrefour to open 70 new mini-markets in Brazil in 2017 - paper'|' 12:12pm GMT Carrefour to open 70 new mini-markets in Brazil in 2017 - paper The logo of France-based food retailer Carrefour is seen in Paris, France, June 2, 2016. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen SAO PAULO French retailer Carrefour SA ( CARR.PA ) will open 70 new Express mini-markets in Brazil this year, newspaper Valor Econmico reported on Friday from Paris, citing Chief Executive Officer Georges Plassat. Plassat said Carrefour''s initial public offering in Brazil, expected to take place around the middle of the year, will strengthen its presence in the company''s second largest market and "provide the necessary financial means to fund its expansion," Plassat was quoted as saying in Valor. Carrefour posted its first drop in annual operating profits since 2012 on Thursday, following the weak results of its French operations. Carrefour''s press officers in So Paulo were not immediately available to comment on Plassat''s remarks. (Reporting by Ana Mano Editing by W Simon) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-carrefour-brazil-idUKKBN16H1FQ'|'2017-03-10T19:12:00.000+02:00' +'3d808b56b938500f972399ad2a267263379b6dbf'|'Adecco CEO - less permanent hiring in Britain as firms wait and see'|' 41am GMT Adecco CEO - less permanent hiring in Britain as firms wait and see Alain Dehaze, Chief Executive Officer of Swiss Adecco Group gestures during an interview with Reuters in Glattbrugg, Switzerland August 30, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann ZURICH British firms, especially financial groups, are filling fewer permanent positions as they wait to see what happens once the country triggers its exit from the European Union, staffing group Adecco''s ( ADEN.S ) CEO said on Thursday. "We see companies waiting to make decisions on new hiring, as they expect (Brexit) Article 50 to be triggered in the coming months. They want to have more clarity about the future," Alain Dehaze told Reuters after releasing fourth-quarter results. A 15 percent fall in Britain''s permanent placement business in the fourth quarter -- accelerating from a 5 percent drop in the third quarter -- was especially related to a decrease in financial services in London, he said, as well as some savings made in government auditing. Dehaze also said it was premature to note any jump in U.S. infrastructure hiring under U.S. President Donald Trump. "We''re all waiting to get more clarity about what kind of investment will be done and when," he said. (Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi; Editing by Michael Shields) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-adecco-results-britain-idUKKBN1690XM'|'2017-03-02T17:41:00.000+02:00' +'0e95343039036b5d796e20f3fbb2ee9495522043'|'UBS CEO says little change since fourth-quarter outlook statement'|'Business News - Wed Mar 22, 2017 - 9:01am GMT UBS CEO says little change since fourth-quarter outlook statement CEO Sergio Ermotti of Swiss bank UBS smiles before an annual news conference in Zurich, Switzerland February 2, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo ZURICH A raft of global political and economic uncertainties mean wealthy investors remain cautious in their investment strategies, UBS ( UBSG.S ) Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti said on Wednesday. "Of course the geopolitical and macroeconomic questions still go on, from the U.S. to Europe to Asia, and are still keeping our clients quite careful about how to invest," Ermotti said in a conference presentation in London. "Frankly speaking, nothing has really changed from our outlook statement in Q4." UBS is the world''s biggest wealth manager in terms of assets. (Reporting by Joshua Franklin, editing by John Revill) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ubs-group-oulook-ceo-idUKKBN16T0W1'|'2017-03-22T16:01:00.000+02:00' +'b9f65a79c3a99baf6a8a975d539aba13fca39c10'|'Nestle, Coca-Cola to end tea joint venture - Nestle'|'ZURICH, March 3 Nestle and The Coca-Cola Company have agreed to dissolve their tea joint venture Beverage Partners Worldwide (BPW) as of the start of 2018, Nestle announced on Friday.Created in 2001, BPW offers ready-to drink tea, in particular Nestea, in Canada and Europe. "The ready-to-drink tea market has evolved, and Nestle believes the time is right to develop Nestea independently," it said in a statement.Nestle is granting Coca-Cola a license to manufacture and distribute Nestea in Canada, Spain, Portugal, Andorra, Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria. The Nestle Waters division, which manages the Nestea brand in several countries including the United States, will also manage Nestea in all European countries not concerned by the licensing agreements, it added. (Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by John Revill)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/nestle-coca-cola-idINZ8N1GF002'|'2017-03-03T09:18:00.000+02:00' +'b71e54ce757e163eb462930d2834f511d498e5e5'|'China''s MOFCOM says opposes U.S. sanctions on its firms under U.S. laws'|'HONG KONG, March 9 China''s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said on Thursday it is opposed to the United States sanctioning Chinese firms under its domestic laws, and that it hoped that country would handle ZTE Corp''s $892 million settlement case "appropriately".The comment comes after Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE earlier this week agreed to plead guilty and pay the record fine to settle charges that it violated U.S. export restrictions to Iran and North Korea."We hope the U.S. would protect overall Sino-US trade relations, handle this matter appropriately so as to create a favourable atmosphere for the development of stable and healthy bilateral trade ties," the official Xinhua news agency reported commerce ministry spokesman Sun Jiwen as saying.Sun''s comments followed remarks from Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on Wednesday who had said China''s government "consistently opposes foreign governments putting unilateral sanctions on Chinese companies."ZTE did not respond to a request for comment on Sun''s remarks. Its chairman and CEO Zhao Xianming said in a statement after the settlement that "ZTE has created strong partnerships with many U.S. suppliers that support nearly 130,000 high-tech jobs." (Reporting by Sijia Jiang; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-china-zte-reaction-idINL3N1GM2AB'|'2017-03-09T05:04:00.000+02:00' +'d4d1f0c01f56b8f64ae2bdcd6c942c026b62bfa4'|'Australia''s Fairfax Media shares jump on report of potential TPG bid'|'SYDNEY U.S. private equity group TPG Capital is weighing whether to make a takeover offer for Australia''s Fairfax Media Ltd ( FXJ.AX ) as the target proceeds with plans to spin off its real estate classified advertising arm, The Australian Financial Review reported on Wednesday.Shares in Australia''s Fairfax Media, which has a market value of A$2.4 billion ($1.83 billion), rose as much as 7.5 percent to the highest level since 2011 following the newspaper report.The newspaper, which is owned by Fairfax, said TPG was believed to have amassed shares in the company and was weighing whether to make a full bid. It did not say where it received the information.Representatives of Fairfax and TPG declined to comment.Fairfax owns the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia, The Sydney Morning Herald, as well as other publications and a real estate classified division, Domain Group.On Feb. 22, Fairfax said it planned to demerge Domain, which runs the second-biggest property listing website in Australia and is valued by analysts at about A$2 billion.With soaring property prices fuelling advertising income, investors have long called for Domain to be listed as a separate entity and freed of its more traditional news media stable-mates, which have been losing advertising revenue for years.While unlocking value for shareholders, a demerger would make Fairfax more reliant on newspapers in structural decline, as advertising migrates online and foreign rivals like The New York Times boost their online presence in Australia.(Reporting by Jamie Freed; Editing by Stephen Coates)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-fairfax-media-m-a-tpg-idINKBN16Z336'|'2017-03-28T21:51:00.000+03:00' +'7b044f9140293422616eacc02cc6c86e4c90d062'|'SWIFT messaging system says bans North Korean banks blacklisted by U.N.'|'Business News - Wed Mar 8, 2017 - 7:23am GMT SWIFT messaging system says bans North Korean banks blacklisted by U.N. FILE PHOTO: Swift code bank logo is displayed on an iPhone 6s among Euro banknotes in this picture illustration January 26, 2016. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo By Jeremy Wagstaff - HONG KONG HONG KONG Belgium-based SWIFT said on Wednesday it has stopped providing financial services to all North Korean banks under U.N. sanctions, as international tensions rise over Pyongyang''s increasingly aggressive military behavior. The financial messaging system said it stopped providing services to the North Korean banks after Belgian authorities withdrew authorization that had enabled SWIFT to serve the banks. The withdrawal of the authorization came in response to the "current international" situation relating to North Korea and ongoing discussions in the U.N. Security Council, said the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT). The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday condemned North Korea''s recent ballistic missile launches and expressed concern over the country''s increasingly destabilizing behavior and defiance of the 15-member body. "As a result, SWIFT suspended access of U.N.-designated North Korean entities to the SWIFT financial messaging service," it said. SWIFT did not say exactly when the services were suspended or how many banks were affected. SWIFT''s move follows a U.N. panel report last week that found evidence North Korea was relying on continued access to the international banking system to flout sanctions. The Feb. 27 report by the U.N. Security Council''s Panel of Experts said SWIFT had continued to provide financial messaging services to seven North Korean banks, three of them blacklisted. The three blacklisted banks named by the U.N. panel as being in the SWIFT network were Bank of East Land, Korea Daesong Bank and Korea Kwangson Banking Corp. Bank of East Land was blacklisted in 2013, while the other two were blacklisted last year. The banks could not immediately be reached for comment. "At the time of writing, Democratic People''s Republic of Korea circumvention techniques and inadequate compliance by Member States are combining to significantly negate the impact of the resolutions," the report said. SWIFT told the U.N. panel that it received payment for services to North Korean banks with the authorization of Belgium, the U.N. report said. Belgium told the panel that under national and European law, the receipt of fees from a blacklisted bank can be authorized provided certain European Union provisions are complied with and the authorizations related to amounts of less than 15,000 euros. On Wednesday, however, SWIFT said Belgium had recently stopped providing these authorizations. The payment messaging system added that it had no authority to make sanction decisions. "Any decision to lift or impose sanctions on countries or individual entities rests solely with the competent government bodies and legislators," it said. Some cyber security companies have attributed several attacks on financial institutions via fraudulent SWIFT messages to a group called Lazarus, which has been linked to a cyber attack on Sony''s Hollywood studio in 2014. The U.S. government publicly blamed the Sony hack on North Korea. North Korea has denied involvement. (Additional reporting by Michelle Price; Editing by Randy Fabi) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-banks-swift-idUKKBN16F0NI'|'2017-03-08T14:15:00.000+02:00' +'2fbd6d5e5318f7c4fc05f9c74d2618227141032f'|'UPDATE 1-Spain''s Isolux starts proceedings to avoid insolvency'|'(Adds details from the company''s statement, background)MADRID, March 31 Spanish engineering company Isolux said on Friday it had activated the formal process aimed at avoiding insolvency, as it battles to secure enough money to remain in business.Under Spanish law, companies can enter into debt restructuring proceedings that give them up to four months to reach an agreement with creditors to avoid a full-blown insolvency process and a potential bankruptcy.Isolux has over 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion) in restructured debt, according to an update on its restructuring process published in December.Spanish engineering companies have been struggling to meet debt obligations and shrink their businesses after more than a decade of debt-fueled expansion projects worldwide.Renewable energy firm Abengoa narrowly avoided filing for Spain''s biggest ever bankruptcy last year after it secured backing from creditors for a restructuring plan to cut its debt of over 9 billion euros.Isolux said on Friday the decision taken by the board would not affect its capacity to carry out operations, in particular any projects started in recent months.Last December, Isolux agreed to a debt restructuring deal with bondholders and banks, such as Banco Santander, Caixabank and Bankia, taking 95 percent of the company in a debt for equity swap.Isolux said on Friday it was trying to sell its concession assets and had begun to look for an investor for the holding company that groups the engineering and construction business.The company, which has over 5,200 workers, carries out infrastructure and energy projects in 35 countries. It has delayed the publication of its results until negotiations are concluded.($1 = 0.9360 euros) (Reporting By Andrs Gonzlez; Writing by Jess Aguado; Editing by Angus Berwick and Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/isolux-restructuring-idINL5N1H83J2'|'2017-03-31T10:43:00.000+03:00' +'0925f34e5e02d28e05da9c599c21dc1e4eff3e3f'|'Spain''s Banco Popular in talks with Libra Group for possible asset sale: report'|'MADRID The new head of Spain''s Banco Popular ( POP.MC ), Emilio Saracho, is in talks to sell the lender''s property portfolio and also a stake to Libra Group ( LIGL.SI ), online newspaper El Confidencial reported on Tuesday.The talks with the Greek conglomerate, which has its origins in shipping, are at an advanced stage, the paper said, citing unnamed sources close to the bank. bit.ly/2osPbY2Libra could invest at least between 350 million and 400 million euros ($380-435 million) in cash.Banco Popular and Libra Group officials were not immediately available for comment.Popular, considered a weak link in Spanish banking due to its high exposure to troubled real estate assets, posted a record 3.5 billion-euro loss in 2016 while soured property loans eroded the bank''s capital position.(Reporting by Paul Day; Editing by Vyas Mohan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-popular-m-a-libra-idINKBN16Z0KB'|'2017-03-28T04:24:00.000+03:00' +'a9654a0a0a6ca1b607fc9e8610dac65c5f19e01b'|'Exclusive: Westinghouse''s clients gear up for bankruptcy fight - sources'|'Thu Mar 23, 2017 - 2:45am GMT Exclusive: Westinghouse''s clients gear up for bankruptcy fight - sources FILE PHOTO - Visitors look at a nuclear power plant station model by American company Westinghouse at the World Nuclear Exhibition 2014, the trade fair event for the global nuclear energy sector, in Le Bourget, near Paris October 14, 2014. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo By Jessica DiNapoli The U.S. utilities that are clients of Toshiba Corp''s nuclear power plant construction subsidiary, Westinghouse Electric Co LLC, have hired advisers to prepare for its potential bankruptcy, according to people familiar with the matter. The move comes as Toshiba sees Westinghouse''s bankruptcy as increasingly likely. The Japanese conglomerate has hired restructuring consulting firm Berkeley Research Group LLC and law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP to help defend it against bankruptcy claims, the people said on Wednesday. Scana Corp and Southern Co, the power utilities which hired Westinghouse to build the first nuclear power plants in the United States in more than 30 years, have also hired restructuring advisers, the people said. This is because, in a potential Westinghouse bankruptcy, Scana and Southern Co would be among Westinghouse''s largest creditors, owed the cost overruns on the projects, which tally in the billions of dollars, one of the people added. The utilities are hoping to recover these costs in a bankruptcy process for Westinghouse, according to the sources. Scana has hired restructuring experts from advisory firm Ducera Partners LLC, while Southern Co is working with investment bank Rothschild & Co, the people said. Scana owns the South Carolina plant under construction, while Georgia Power, a subsidiary of Southern Co, will own plants in Georgia. "Whether or not Westinghouse files for Chapter 11 (bankruptcy) is ultimately a decision for its board, and must take into account the various interests of all of its stakeholders, including Toshiba and its creditors," Toshiba said in a prepared statement. "It is not appropriate for Toshiba to comment prematurely." The conglomerate has also said bankruptcy is one of several options for Westinghouse, which it acquired for $5.4 billion about 10 years ago. The sources asked not to be identified because preparations for a potential Westinghouse bankruptcy are confidential. "We''re continuing to monitor the situation with Westinghouse and are prepared for any potential outcome," Georgia Power said in a prepared statement. Spokespeople for Berkeley Research Group, Scana and Skadden did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Ducera and Rothschild declined to comment. Toshiba has said it would take a $6.3 billion writedown related to Westinghouse, and gained an extension from Japanese regulators until April 11 to submit its latest quarterly financial results or face having its public shares delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Reuters reported earlier this week that Westinghouse was reviewing proposals for a debtor-in-possession loan exceeding $500 million to help finance its potential bankruptcy. Westinghouse has already hired restructuring counsel, Reuters reported earlier this month. (Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in New York; Editing by Stephen Coates) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-westinghouse-bankruptcy-idUKKBN16U07Y'|'2017-03-23T09:43:00.000+02:00' +'0a9f6c1a906d7325c56b9b1a86c9fa6a92bf15c5'|'A new breed of sovereign wealth fund - without the wealth'|'Business News - Mon Mar 20, 2017 - 9:55am GMT A new breed of sovereign wealth fund - without the wealth By Claire Milhench - LONDON LONDON Once the preserve of rich oil exporters or nations with trade surpluses, like Norway, Kuwait and Singapore, an unlikely new breed of sovereign wealth fund is emerging - in countries with large deficits and deep debt. Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), which first emerged in the 1950s, are traditionally associated with huge financial firepower. They control about $6.5 trillion (5.23 trillion pounds), according to data provider Preqin, and have transformed the global investment landscape by snapping up stakes in multinational companies and landmark real estate in cities from London to Melbourne. Now Turkey, Romania, India and Bangladesh are launching sovereign funds - but for very different reasons than usual, and with very different methods. Traditionally, wealthy nations use SWFs to invest their surplus billions overseas to prevent inflation at home, diversify income streams and accumulate savings for the day when commodity revenues run out. In stark contrast, the countries launching the new funds, burdened by large current account deficits or external debt, are using them as vehicles to get their economies moving in the face of a global slowdown and lower trade volumes. And rather than splashing cash abroad, the plan is to attract finance from overseas and invest it at home to stimulate growth. "Sovereign wealth fund is a term that''s used very loosely in the labelling of some of these new entities, they are more like sovereign holding companies," said Elliot Hentov, head of research for official institutions at asset management firm SSgA. "They need to lever up they need private sector co-investment to work." There are both potential benefits and risks to this strategy - and only time will tell whether it will be effective. One of the advantages of having an SWF, apart from the cachet it bestows, is the fact it opens the door to industry associations and peer group networks that offer guidance and - crucially - contacts in the investment world. SCRUTINY Turkey runs an annual external financing deficit of around $30 billion, so it must attract foreign money to plug the gap. By putting the government''s stakes in big companies into a sovereign fund, Turkey hopes to attract external funding, by borrowing against the companies and tapping other SWFs for money. Similarly, Romania plans to finance roads and hospitals by raising debt against the value of the government''s company stakes, or selling them via public listings. India and Bangladesh want to kick-start infrastructure projects via new sovereign funds, with India seeking co-investors amongst SWFs and pension funds for its National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF). Other funds have been mooted in countries like Lebanon Guyana, but have yet to be established. Such plans have had a varied reception depending on the country. Economists and industry experts have also warned of potential pitfalls that need to be avoided. Critics worry that domestic-focused funds in general can fall prey to a misallocation of resources or outright corruption, citing the example of Malaysia''s 1MDB, which is the focus of money-laundering probes in at least six countries. "The danger with (this model) is that in many cases normal budgetary procedures don''t apply, so they are a way of getting around parliamentary oversight and ministry scrutiny of projects," said Andrew Bauer, senior economic analyst at the Natural Resource Governance Institute. Any lack of transparency can mean there is little way to verify how the money is spent, he added. One risk is that unviable "vanity projects" get funded. PERFORMANCE However in many ways it is in the interests of countries to ensure funds are free of political interference, have a robust legal framework, a clear mandate and professional management - as these are likely to improve decision-making and, ultimately, returns. Grouping state company holdings into a professionally managed fund can improve the performance of the assets - with, for example, Bahrain''s Mumtalakat considered a success in this regard. Abu Dhabi''s Mubadala is also cited as a fund that has helped diversify the UAE economy by developing industries in different sectors. In Romania, separating company ownership from policy-making should improve transparency and accountability, said Greg Konieczny, fund manager of Fondul Proprietatea FP.BX, a Romanian investment fund created by the state to compensate those who lost property under the former communist regime. "Right now these companies are under line ministers that also set policy and strategy for the sectors they are responsible for - that never works," Konieczny said. Similarly, in India, where infrastructure projects are hobbled by red tape, a dedicated state fund may offer a way to accelerate the process, said Nikhil Salvi, a manager at Aranca, an investment research and analytics firm. A major sticking point will be assessing performance - railways and ports may boost economic growth, but won''t show up on the fund''s balance sheet. The social benefits of new schools and hospitals can take years to come through. "Many of these (inward-focused) funds do not publish a return benchmark," said Sven Behrendt, managing director of consultancy GeoEconomica. "Whether or not investments are profitable ... often remains unclear." The new funds also need to avoid the fate of those in poor countries such as Suriname and Zimbabwe, which failed to get off the ground due to a lack of capital. India''s NIIF has been allocated $150 million for the 2017/2018 fiscal year, and plans to tap strategic partners to raise $1.2 billion in the coming fiscal year. Bangladesh''s planned $10 billion fund will be seeded from foreign exchange reserves over the next five years. "The fund will be used for mega projects, including repayment of any loans taken by the government in dollars," said Jalal Ahmed, additional secretary at the ministry of finance. Turkish fund head Mehmet Bostan told Reuters last month he would finalise a strategy plan and present it to the cabinet soon. The government has already transferred company stakes worth billions to the fund, and hopes it will be managing $200 billion soon. (Additional reporting by Ruma Paul and Rajesh Kumar Singh) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-emerging-swf-investment-idUKKBN16R0RA'|'2017-03-20T16:55:00.000+02:00' +'2b3d3fce155d450d6f0ff58cb177eb0052ab3a05'|'Bernstein expects Credit Suisse 2017 cap hike, no Swiss unit listing'|'ZURICH Credit Suisse ( CSGN.S ) could opt for a 5 billion Swiss franc ($4.9 billion) capital increase instead of floating a minority stake of its Swiss business, Bernstein analysts predicted in a note on Thursday.Such a move would make Credit Suisse the latest major European bank to tap the market for cash following recent capital hikes by Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) and UniCredit ( CRDI.MI ).Credit Suisse faces a 6.4 billion franc shortfall to reach a 14 percent CET1 ratio of which Swiss peer UBS ( UBSG.S ) is just shy and that European rival Deutsche Bank expects to achieve with its upcoming cash call, Bernstein analysts wrote. A bank''s Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio is a closely-watched measure of balance sheet strength.To boost its balance sheet, Credit Suisse has said it plans to raise up to 4 billion francs by selling 20 to 30 percent of its Swiss Universal Bank (SUB) in an initial public offering.However, Bernstein analysts expect Credit Suisse will instead issue new shares at group level."Post Q4 results, CS has clearly signaled that they''re shying away from a SUB listing. That leaves you with a rights issue which we model in for this year," analysts Chirantan Barua, Mark Burrows and Daniel Lasry wrote.Asked for comment, the bank referred to remarks by Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam last month when he said Credit Suisse was still preparing for the IPO but left the door open to alternative options to strengthen the group''s balance sheet.Chief Financial Officer David Mathers said on Wednesday the bank is looking at the merits of going ahead as planned with the IPO.Zurich-based Credit Suisse is currently targeting a CET1 ratio of more than 13 percent by 2019, for which the bank faces a shortfall of around 3.7 billion francs, Bernstein wrote.Under Thiam, who joined the bank almost two years ago, Credit Suisse already raised around 6 billion francs at the end of 2015 through a rights offering and a private placement.(Reporting by Joshua Franklin; editing by Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-credit-suisse-capital-ipo-idUSKBN16G1CF'|'2017-03-09T13:57:00.000+02:00' +'a1d62c8b91c78492827e0ad68a8af97bfd907669'|'Flush with cash, global miners promise prudence, dividends'|' 13pm GMT Flush with cash, global miners promise prudence, dividends A sign adorns the building where mining company BHP Billiton has their office in Perth, Western Australia, November 19, 2015. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo By Nicole Mordant - HOLLYWOOD, Fla. HOLLYWOOD, Fla. For the first time in four years, the world''s biggest miners are awash in cash, riding a wave of cost cuts and a recovery in raw material prices from coal to zinc last year. But instead of using their newfound bounty to unveil lavish growth plans, as they did in 2012 just as metals prices started plummeting, the cash is going to more sober uses this time: paying dividends and slashing debt. Spending on growth projects ranks third in priority, delegates and companies said at a mining industry conference in Florida this week. That raised the prospect of limited mine production increases that could support commodity prices especially for copper and zinc. "Companies who said they are going to spend more on capital (projects) or do not have a clear dividend policy, they''ve all been penalized (in the stock market)," said Charl Malan, senior analyst at New York-based fund management firm Van Eck Associates. The world''s four biggest diversified miners, including BHP Billiton Plc ( BLT.L ) and Rio Tinto Plc ( RIO.L ), last year raked in more than $20 billion (16.26 billion pounds) in free cash flow before dividends and share buybacks, said Clarksons Platou analyst Jeremy Sussman. That left them with about $30 billion in cash and cash equivalents. They were helped by deep cost cuts and a rally in metals such as steelmaking coal that tripled while zinc surged 60 percent. Those miners were able to reduce gross debt - racked up during the last big cycle of mergers and acquisitions and new mine projects - by more than $20 billion in 2016, Sussman said. Memories of ill-timed acquisitions and a mine build spending spree just as metal prices peaked in 2011, are still fresh in the minds of miners and their shareholders. ''DIVIDEND FRONT AND CENTRE'' Teck Resources Ltd ( TECKb.TO ) shares slumped 10 percent on Feb. 15 even as the company reported better-than-expected earnings. Shareholders were disappointed by a lack of clarity on its dividend policy. Chief Executive Officer Donald Lindsay tried to clear things up this week at the Florida conference, saying that while debt reduction is the top priority, targets will be met soon, likely by the end of June. "Thereafter the dividend is going to be front and centre for the board," he said in a presentation at the conference. In recent earnings reports, BHP and Rio both rewarded shareholders with bigger-than-expected dividend payouts while Glencore Plc ( GLEN.L ) said it was in a good position to pay a special dividend. For Chilean copper miner, Antofagasta Plc ( ANTO.L ), excess cash will first go to sustain existing operations, then to dividends and lastly to growth, CEO Ivn Arriagada told Reuters on the sidelines of the conference. The miner is focussed on expanding two of its existing operations rather than big, new projects, he added. Still, some commodity prices, notably for uranium and fertiliser, remain stubbornly low, forcing some big producers to cut production and dividends. "Today we''re not investing even one dime in any kind of new production," Cameco Corp ( CCO.TO ) CEO Tim Gitzel said at the conference. Uranium spot prices touched 13-year lows late last year, and further production cuts even at low-cost mines are possible, he said. "That''s the toboggan ride we''ve been on," Gitzel said. Rod Nickel in Winnipeg; Editing by Denny Thomas and Jeffrey Benkoe) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mining-bmo-outlook-idUKKBN16853D'|'2017-03-02T00:13:00.000+02:00' +'886376af6d530f2e65f3509d771fb84a3d899a48'|'Latin America may step up bond sales as Trump fears fade'|'Business News 12am EDT Latin America may step up bond sales as Trump fears fade Pedestrians walk by the main entrance of the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange, Argentina, April 18, 2016. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci - RTX2AHAB By Tatiana Bautzer - NEW YORK NEW YORK Latin American governments and companies could soon step up bond sales, seizing on an increased appetite for deals as a regional economic recovery gains steam and concerns about aggressive U.S. policy changes ease, bankers and investors said this week. Returns on Latin American bonds remain attractive and the new openness to deals has already allowed Brazil''s government to raise funds at a record low yield. Argentine''s Santa F province also recently returned to the capital market after a long hiatus. Brazil''s Suzano Papel e Celulose SA''s ( SUZB5.SA ) is one example of the warmer reception for Latin American debt. Its recent sale of a 30-year junk global bond - the first of its kind by a Brazilian company - underscored investors'' receptiveness to less traditional structures, bankers said. Brazilian logistics firm JSL SA ( JSLG3.SA ) could be next in line, two people familiar with the plans said. Concerns that U.S. President Donald Trump would lure capital out of Latin America have subsided, according to bankers, who spoke on background on the eve of Brazilian bank Itau BBA''s annual debt capital markets conference in New York. That, coupled with market stability after the U.S. Federal Reserve''s single rate hike so far this year, is fueling inflows, the bankers added. Emerging market funds registered a $6.5 billion net inflow in the week ending March 22, their highest in nearly four years, Institute of International Finance data showed. About $4.5 billion of that total went to bonds. "We''ll still see a lot of debt refinancing deals, but there are a few first-time issuers tapping the market," said Felipe Wilberg, global head of fixed income for Ita BBA, Brazil''s largest corporate and investment bank. Cheaper funding for the region''s borrowers largely hinges on governments'' ability to push ahead with key reforms ahead of a busy Latin America election calendar, Wilberg said. Investors had initially expected Trump-related turmoil to slam the brakes on access to capital markets in Latin America, which has struggled with the end of a decade-long commodities boom. The premium that investors demand to own Latin American bonds over U.S. Treasuries now stands at about 7.6 percentage points, compared with about 7.1 points at the start of the year, according to JPMorgan''s EMBI Diversified Latin America bond index .JPMEGDLAT. DIFFERENT INVESTOR REACTION However, the pushback has been minor relative to prior U.S. tightening cycles that triggered violent swings in Latin American issuers'' borrowing costs. "Although conventional wisdom states that U.S. rate hikes lead to pressure on asset prices in emerging markets, we are seeing a different reaction from investors," said Marc Nachmann, head of Latin America for Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Western Asset Management Co has raised the Latin America share of its emerging markets debt positions to 47 percent from 40 percent over the past year, as prices turned attractive and the outlook improved, said Mark Hughes, who helps oversee $40 billion in bonds for the firm. The ramp-up has been gradual though, Hughes said, noting that bonds from Brazilian exporters now offer a better entry point than those of domestic-oriented companies. Latin American sovereign and corporate borrowers have raised $34 billion from sales of global debt this year, Ita BBA data showed. Last year, bond borrowing in the region reached $102 billion. Bankers are raising their estimates for new Latin American bond supply this year to $80 billion from as low as $60 billion in November as initially negative sentiment on Mexico has recovered. In the case of Brazil, President Michel Temer''s progress in pushing reforms is fueling demand for bonds like Suzano''s. "When the deal hit the road, we sensed that investors were in general more optimistic about fiscal consolidation than they were a year earlier," Marcelo Bacci, Suzano''s chief financial officer, said in an interview. (Editing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal, Christian Plumb and Tom Brown) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-latam-debt-outlook-idUSKBN1710BQ'|'2017-03-30T12:01:00.000+03:00' +'ec7425e3d5ad2d37bfdeda660142594a1286e57a'|'Linde revives Iran contracts, waits for banking system'|'FRANKFURT German industrial gases group Linde ( LING.DE ) has revived plant-engineering contracts in Iran that lay dormant for years under sanctions but cannot act on them until there is a way to transfer money out of the country, its chief executive said."We have already signed engineering contracts to resuscitate projects from years ago but the banking system has to be fixed first before we can start performing on these contracts," Aldo Belloni told analysts on a conference call on Thursday.(Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Arno Schuetze)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-linde-results-iran-idUSKBN16G1YJ'|'2017-03-09T17:15:00.000+02:00' +'bfa756f504ce32871a85e5953254c3cc816d90d6'|'Cyxtera adds protection against looming U.S. tax changes'|'NEW YORK Data center operator Cyxtera is the first leveraged loan issuer to try to protect itself from moves by the US government to cut tax deductibility on interest payments that would make buyout financing more expensive.The proposed changes will penalize heavily indebted companies, including many private equity-owned firms, which have benefitted to date from effectively being able to subsidize debt interest payments.A US$1.3bn leveraged loan that backs Cyxteras buyout by BC Partners, Medina Capital Advisors and Longview Asset Management is the first deal to try to limit increased costs if tax deductibility ceases. Citigroup is leading the deal.The financing, which includes an US$815m first-lien loan, a US$310m second-lien term loan and a US$150m revolving credit facility, also offers call protection, a standard feature that helps investors to keep assets by making it more expensive for companies to repay loans early.The company is asking lenders to allow it to call or repay its more expensive second-lien loans at a lower price than it would otherwise have to pay, if the tax changes come into effect.Cyxtera, the data center business of telecommunications company CenturyLink, was bought by the private equity consortium for US$2.8bn in a deal announced last November.The companys first-lien loan is being sold with traditional six months call protection at 101 cents on the dollar and its second-lien debt has a higher penalty of 102 for the first year and 101 for the second year.Cyxtera is, however, asking lenders for permission to buy back the second-lien loan at the lower price of 101 in the first year if the US government shuts the tax deductibility loophole for interest payments.THINKING TWICEThe prospect of higher debt interest payments is making companies and private equity firms think twice about lining up expensive loans or come up with ways of getting out of steeper interest payments if tax deductibility disappears, particularly on large leveraged loans.I would not be surprised to see this springing up more often, especially in the large cap deals and cov-lite deals, which tend to include more bond-like terms and provide maximum flexibility for sponsors and borrowers to pursue growth initiatives and incur additional debt, said Samantha Koplik, partner at Dechert LLP.Covenant-lite loan issuance is expected to break a quarterly record volume this year after intense repricing and refinancing activity in the first quarter, according to Thomson Reuters LPC.The language is expected to crop up more often on second-lien loans, several lawyers said. Second-lien debt is also rising with US$4.2bn of volume so far this year, more than double last years first quarter total. Fourth quarter was even stronger at US$8.6bn.Higher costs could also prompt companies to use debt more carefully and focus on rapid repayment and deleveraging during the life of a term loan instead of constantly refinancing loans.It may mark the beginning of a swing back to a model where companies are really looking to de-lever over the course of a term loan facility, Koplik said.Cyxteras request to refinance its second-lien loan in the first year with a lower prepayment penalty if the tax changes are passed is anticipating a significant shift in the cost of debt that could alter the entire capital structure, Koplik said.Lenders are being asked to agree to provide this repayment flexibility at closing, which allows borrowers to avoid having to negotiate later when the outcome and impact of the tax changes are clear.INVESTORS LISTENInvestors are considering Cyxteras request before a commitment deadline of March 14 and are open to similar requests - as long as they are compensated.Its something that we would consider, said Joe Mayo, managing director and head of investment research at asset manager Conning.Investors that bought the loan in the secondary market above the level that it could be called could be impacted. This is more of an issue for bonds than loans, which typically do not trade higher than 101.If youre going into it with full knowledge, and youre buying in the new-issue market, youre aware of that potential risk and youre not going to be facing a significant downside if it does get called away from you, Mayo added.Some investors and leveraged loan lawyers are wondering what other concessions private equity firms may demand if Cyxteras request is passed as they seek to recoup higher costs and whether they will be limited to the year of any tax change or the full maturity of the loan.Is there going to be pressure from companies, or private equity sponsors to push the redemption price down to par? a lawyer said.BC Partners declined to comment. Medina, Longview and Citigroup did not return request for comment.(Reporting by Jonathan Schwarzberg and Lynn Adler; Editing By Tessa Walsh)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cyxtera-protection-idUSKBN16H287'|'2017-03-10T20:28:00.000+02:00' +'0e8507ef75861eb41032bef97d8750b76f132176'|'KPMG names Bill Michael UK chairman'|'Business News - Thu Mar 2, 2017 - 12:01pm GMT KPMG names Bill Michael UK chairman The KPMG logo is seen at their offices at Canary Wharf financial district in London,Britain, March 3, 2016. REUTERS/Reinhard Krause Accounting and consulting firm KPMG [KPMG.UL] named Bill Michael its new chair-elect in the UK. Michael will succeed Simon Collins, whose term ends in September this year. Michael, a 30-year KPMG veteran, is currently the firm''s global head of banking and capital markets. (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-receivingfirm-moves-individualname-idUKKBN1691HP'|'2017-03-02T19:01:00.000+02:00' +'144a7c70609003b90aa5febf7a190dc090bc863d'|'Corporates launch funding frenzy in busiest day of year'|'* Corporates raise debt ahead of political noise* Cheap euro funding lures more US borrowersBy Laura BenitezLONDON, March 7 (IFR) - Corporate borrowers are piling into the European bond market this week, in a bid to capitalise on the insatiable demand for paper from the region''s investors before political uncertainty sours momentum.Seven companies are seeking to raise a mixture of euro and sterling-denominated financing today, making it the busiest day by transaction volume so far this year for the European market.This follows a busy starting session on Monday, where corporates sold 2.25bn across three euro deals.Both domestic and cross-border companies have been eager to raise debt ahead of looming political risk, namely from the French presidential election, as well as potential QE tapering talk from the ECB."We''re having one of the busiest weeks, there''s a lot going on," said Frazer Ross, managing director on the global risk syndicate desk at Deutsche Bank."But at the same time there are risks on the horizon, such as the ECB meeting in Europe, while the US is factoring in a 90% (probability of a) rate hike from the Fed,""So, issuers are overall getting as much done while everything is so well bid. The market is bullet proof right now, so there''s a definite feeling of frontloading."Credit has been well bid due to high investor cash reserves, with some accounts having as much as 500m a week to use on new issues, bankers say.Higher risk credit Nokia (Ba1/BB+), for example, attracted 6.5bn of demand for a 1.25bn dual-tranche bond on Monday, while French companies received blowout demand for their transactions last week, demonstrating the solid support for the asset class despite the upcoming election risk."Investors have all this cash they need to use, particularly the French, who are the driving forces behind most of the deals right now," one banker said."But elsewhere, buyers are actually becoming more and more selective and price-sensitive. It''s becoming an overheated market and we''ve been talking about the risks here for a while now, the ECB namely, which is why we''re telling issuers to get in now."Bankers are busy speculating about whether ECB President Mario Draghi will hint at further changes to the corporate sector purchase programme on Thursday, following the central bank''s latest meeting.The programme is already set to reduce to 60bn a month from 80bn from April this year, leaving credit investors grappling with what is expected in the longer term."I think there could be some pressure on Draghi to hint to how they are thinking about QE, although he will, in my view, be cautious saying too much," the second banker said."He isn''t going to want the market to taper tantrum so close to French elections."US COMPANIES RUSH INToday''s deals include German auto company Daimler, Italy''s Italgas, UK mobility service Motability and Finnish telecommunications company Elisa.US corporate borrowers also made a significant dent in Europe''s market on Tuesday, with Molson Coors, Thermo Fisher and Priceline raising euro funds for repayment of debt as well as acquisitions.The former also raised US$1bn across a dual-tranche bond in the US dollar market on Monday.Today''s trio follow multi-billion deals from Coca-Cola and Pfizer last week, which both broke new ground with floating-rate notes sold above par.Despite Coca-Cola and Pfizer''s paltry coupons offering investors little, if any, return, demand for the transactions sky-rocketed as investors protect their portfolios ahead of the looming political risk.Reverse Yankees have made their mark on the European market this year so far, with Avery Dennison, Parker-Hannifin and McKesson selling their debut euro deals in 2017.The US investment-grade bond market is also firing on all cylinders.Monday saw US$22.65bn print across 11 deals, four from corporate issuers, the second largest day of 2017 so far, as borrowers looked to get ahead of a looming rise in rates.(Reporting By Laura Benitez,; Editing by Philip Wright and Robert Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/corporates-launch-funding-frenzy-in-busi-idINL5N1GK2D9'|'2017-03-07T09:44:00.000+02:00' +'c6b5db0aff895ca5c470bb9683906d9b65e94360'|'BC Partners in lead to buy National Surgical Hospitals: sources'|'By Carl O''Donnell and Greg Roumeliotis Private equity firm BC Partners LLP is in advanced talks to acquire U.S. surgical center operator National Surgical Hospitals Inc, in a deal that could value it at close to $1 billion, including debt, people familiar with the matter said.The acquisition would underscore the continued appetite of buyout firms for deals in the healthcare sector, despite uncertainty over the future of the U.S. Affordable Care Act and government insurance programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.BC Partners has outbid other private equity firms in the auction for National Surgical Hospitals, and is now negotiating final terms with the company''s owner, buyout firm Irving Place Capital, the people said on Monday. It is still possible that these negotiations end without a deal, the people cautioned.BC Partners declined to comment, while National Surgical Hospitals and Irving Place Capital did not respond to requests for comment.Founded in 1998, Chicago-based National Surgical Hospitals now spans 20 surgical facilities in 12 states. Irving Place acquired National Surgical Hospitals in 2011 for an undisclosed amount.Under Irving Place''s ownership, National Surgical Hospitals made three add-on acquisitions, including Savannah, Georgia-based Optim Healthcare in 2015.The majority of the company''s revenue comes from surgical centers that treat the musculoskeletal system. About 20 percent comes from a variety of other operations, including for the eyes and the gastrointestinal tract.Based in London, BC Partners focuses on buyouts in Europe and the United States. It has several investments in the healthcare sector, including Elysium Healthcare and Pharmathen.(Reporting by Carl O''Donnell and Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Andrew Hay)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-national-surgical-partners-m-a-bc-par-idINKBN16R1UU'|'2017-03-20T12:55:00.000+02:00' +'5afe357ddbc612d083a2eef016ed75aa76b0cc8e'|'Brazil''s Angra III nuclear project to be auctioned by 2018 -deputy minister'|'Company 11:54am EDT Brazil''s Angra III nuclear project to be auctioned by 2018 -deputy minister RIO DE JANEIRO, March 21 Brazil''s government wants to auction the Angra III nuclear plant project by 2018, its deputy energy minister said on Tuesday, adding that Russian and Chinese investors are interested in finishing it. The deputy minister, Paulo Pedrosa, expects Angra III to be completed by 2023. He also announced that the government has decided to retake Cia Energtica de Minas Gerais''s power dams and put them up for auction. The contracts on the dams expired in 2015. (Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Writing by Tatiana Bautzer; Editing by Paul Simao) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-auction-angra-iii-idUSL2N1GY0V1'|'2017-03-21T22:54:00.000+02:00' +'001e9ec05f2a189311de8878ecc53e8260a8204d'|'Minority Avianca shareholder demands investigation of Synergy deals'|'BOGOTA, March 8 Kingsland Holdings Limited, a minority shareholder in Colombian flagship airline Avianca , has formally requested shareholders vote on whether to appoint an auditor to examine transactions between the airline and controlling shareholder Synergy, Kingsland said on Wednesday.Synergy is controlled by investor German Efromovich, who along with United Continental Holdings Inc is being sued by Kingsland for "clandestinely" negotiating an $800 million loan and strategic alliance behind the backs of other shareholders.Synergy holds 78 percent of Avianca voting shares, while Kingsland holds 22 percent.Kingsland, controlled by El Salvador''s Kriete family, said in a statement on Wednesday that it has been requesting for several months that Avianca retain an independent auditor to review transactions with Synergy."To date, Synergy has caused Avianca to deny these requests, leaving Kingsland no choice but to take all actions necessary to protect the interests of Avianca''s minority shareholders," the statement said."In the event that, at the extraordinary shareholders meeting, Synergy uses its controlling position in Avianca''s voting shares to again deny an impartial review of its related party transactions with Avianca, Kingsland intends to request that a civil court in Panama appoint independent auditors."Avianca could not immediately be reached for comment. (Reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Bernard Orr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/colombia-avianca-holding-idUSL2N1GL240'|'2017-03-09T02:06:00.000+02:00' +'07e2d47da6cddb7c77714295a1b69ebc72d405d8'|'SoftBank-backed Snapdeal in deal talks with rivals Flipkart, Paytm - Mint'|'Indian online marketplace Snapdeal is in talks with domestic rivals Paytm E-Commerce Pvt Ltd and Flipkart ( IPO-FLPK.N ) for a potential sale, Indian daily business newspaper Mint reported on Wednesday, citing sources.However, a Snapdeal spokesperson denied the report of sale talks with Paytm and Flipkart, according to the newspaper."Your information is incorrect and without basis. We are making decisive progress in our journey towards profitability and all our efforts are aligned in this direction", the spokesperson said in an email to Mint.Japan''s Softbank Group ( 9984.T ), an investor in Snapdeal, is leading the sale talks, and the deal could value the online retailer at less than the total equity raised by parent Jasper Infotech Pvt Ltd, the newspaper reported. bit.ly/2nPJKmaSoftbank is expected to inject up to $50 million in bridge financing until a deal is finalised, the newspaper reported.Snapdeal, Flipkart and Paytm were not immediately available for comment after regular business hours in India.In a bid to turn a profit in the intensely competitive market, which is dominated by homegrown Flipkart and U.S. internet giant Amazon ( AMZN.O ), Snapdeal said last month that it would lay off 600 employees and its founders would forego their salaries.Snapdeal reported a loss of 29.6 billion rupees ($14.93 million) in the financial year to March 31, 2016, according to regulatory filings.Indian e-commerce, which is one of the world''s fastest growing internet services market, has largely been driven by steep discounts, resulting in investor markdowns due to concerns about profitability.(Reporting by Vishal Sridhar Michael Perry)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/snapdeal-m-a-idINKBN16T01D'|'2017-03-21T21:25:00.000+02:00' +'34d77e4a4070af4f16b99a323a70094f142e8811'|'Mexico''s America Movil has 65 days to propose separation plan: IFT'|' 18am EST Mexico''s America Movil has 65 days to propose separation plan: IFT The America Movil logo is seen on the wall of the reception area in the company''s corporate offices in Mexico City August 12, 2015. REUTERS/Henry Romero MEXICO CITY Mexico''s telecoms regulator said on Thursday that billionaire Carlos Slim''s America Movil ( AMXL.MX ) has 65 working days to present a proposal for the legal separation of a part of its fixed-line unit Telmex. The Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT) has stepped up antitrust rules against the company, ordering it to create an independent entity from fixed-line unit Telmex to offer competitors access to infrastructure. (Reporting by Christine Murray)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-americamovil-telmex-idUSKBN16G2C4'|'2017-03-09T23:18:00.000+02:00' +'4a0bea5b87dae61a6ce05007a188dfc0ff198a2e'|'Shell CEO urges switch to clean energy as plans hefty renewable spending'|' 39pm GMT Shell CEO urges switch to clean energy as plans hefty renewable spending Ben van Beurden, chief executive officer of Royal Dutch Shell, speaks during a news conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, February 15, 2016. Royal Dutch Shell, Europe''s largest oil company, believes that investment in Brazil''s subsalt offshore areas will remain robust, Chief... REUTERS/Sergio Moraes HOUSTON The oil and gas industry risks losing public support if progress is not made in the transition to cleaner energy, Royal Dutch Shell Plc ( RDSa.L ) Chief Executive Ben van Beurden said on Thursday. The world''s second largest publicly-traded oil company plans to increase its investment in renewable energy to $1 billion a year by the end of the decade, van Beurden said, although it is still a small part of its total annual spending of $25 billion. The CEO said that the transition to a low carbon energy system will take decades and government policies including putting a price on carbon emissions will be essential to phase out the most polluting sources of energy such as coal and oil. "If we''re not very careful, with all the good intentions and advocacy that we have, we may, as a sector and society, not make the progress that is needed," van Beurden said at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston. He said the "biggest challenge" the company faces is maintaining public acceptance of the energy industry. "I do think trust has been eroded to the point that it is becoming a serious issue for our long term future," he continued. "If we are not careful, broader public support for the sector will wane." The Anglo-Dutch company is one of the most vocal supporters of a carbon tax and has invested heavily in bringing on new supplies of natural gas, a cleaner burning fuel source. "This is the biggest challenge as we have at the moment as a company ... The fact that societal acceptance of the energy system as we have it is just disappearing." Shell said on Thursday that its directors will from this year be rewarded in part on how well the company manages its greenhouse gas emissions and how much free cash flow it generates. (Reporting by Ron Bousso; editing by Gary McWilliams and Marguerita Choy) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ceraweek-shell-shell-idUKKBN16G2E0'|'2017-03-09T23:39:00.000+02:00' +'6ae9b4a56bc4f2bb2bdccb43a04e720d36a18eb5'|'Aldermore''s full-year profit jumps 34 percent'|' 37am GMT Aldermore''s full-year profit jumps 34 percent Aldermore Group Plc ( ALD.L ) reported a 34 percent jump in full-year profit as the British bank issued more mortgages and loans to homeowners as well as small and medium enterprises. The bank, founded in 2009 by former Barclays executive Phillip Monks with backing from AnaCap, said underlying pretax profit rose to 133 million pounds for the year ended Dec. 31, from 99 million pounds a year earlier. Loan originations - the process by which a borrower applies for a new loan - grew 24 percent to 3.2 billion pounds from the previous year, resulting in a total loan growth of 22 percent at 7.5 billion pounds, Aldermore said. "We were able to deliver such a strong performance despite the uncertainty presented by the UK''s referendum on EU membership," Aldermore Chief Executive Phillip Monks said in a statement. "While the full political and economic implications of this decision are as yet unknown, the UK economy has remained resilient to date, and we continue to closely monitor our operating environment for any change," he added. Esha Vaish and Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier) DBS CEO says wealth management to account for a fifth of bank''s revenue SINGAPORE DBS Group Holdings Ltd expects to expand its wealth management operations as Asia''s wealth grows, accounting for as much as 20 percent of the bank''s total income over the next few years, Piyush Gupta, the CEO of Southeast Asia''s largest bank by assets, said.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-aldermore-group-results-idUKKBN1690RK'|'2017-03-02T14:37:00.000+02:00' +'94c053e8410cdf375ebb1b6acef07ed36cefc2e2'|'Higher heart risk seen with Abbott dissolving stent after 2 years -study'|'Health 10:48am EDT Higher heart risk seen with Abbott dissolving stent after two years: study By Bill Berkrot - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Patients who received Abbott Laboratories'' novel dissolving vascular stent had a significantly higher rate of serious adverse heart events than those treated with the company''s widely used Xience drug-coated metal stent two years after implantation, according to data presented on Saturday. New guidelines for blood vessel size and proper implantation techniques put in place for the new Absorb stent since the study began, however, should lead to better results, researchers said. They reported that 19 percent of those who received Absorb in the 2,008-patient trial had it implanted in blood vessels now deemed too small for the device, hurting overall results. "The difference between Absorb and Xience when they''re both implanted in properly-sized vessels with good procedural technique is likely to be quite modest and possibly not clinically important," said Dr. Stephen Ellis, who presented the data at the American College of Cardiology scientific meeting in Washington. Ellis is director of interventional cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic. Stents are tiny tubes used to prop open diseased arteries that have been cleared of blockages. The two stents demonstrated similar safety between one and two years, but a difference turned up by the end of year two. Absorb, which is larger than traditional metal stents, is made of a plastic designed to fully dissolve over the course of about three years, leaving a naturally flexible blood vessel. After two years in the trial, called Absorb III, 10.9 percent of Absorb patients had experienced target lesion failure, versus 7.9 percent of those in the Xience group, a statistically significant difference. TLF is defined as a combination of heart-related death, heart attack related to the treated vessel and need for repeat procedure due to reclogging of the treated part of the artery. The result was driven by a higher rate of target vessel heart attacks - 7.3 percent versus 4.9 percent for Xience. The difference between the two stents declined and was no longer statistically significant when the smaller-vessel patients were excluded, researchers reported. Absorb won U.S. approval last July, but longer-term data may be needed to assess its true value. All of the benefit of using the larger, more-difficult-to- place stent, "if there is going to be a benefit, will come after it has been fully absorbed," said Ellis. "We await long-term outcomes," he said. "If this device doesn''t produce better long-term outcomes, there''s no point in using it." (Reporting by Bill Berkrot; Editing by Dan Grebler) Next In Health News Amgen cholesterol drug cuts heart attack, stroke risk but shares fall WASHINGTON Amgen Inc''s $14,000 cholesterol drug Repatha cut the risk of heart attack and stroke by over 20 percent in patients with heart disease, but results from a highly anticipated study fell short of investor expectations and shares dropped 6 percent.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-heart-abbott-stent-idUSKBN16P0IV'|'2017-03-18T21:45:00.000+02:00' +'40c7fc77a531d38d9d5a3930c280668b95f59029'|'Inflation, crown and ECB weigh on Sweden''s Riksbank'|' 27pm BST Inflation, crown and ECB weigh on Sweden''s Riksbank FILE PHOTO:Sweden''s Riksbank building is seen in downtown Stockholm December 4, 2008. REUTERS/Bob Strong/File Photo LONDON Sweden''s Riksbank has a problem: rising inflation, a strengthening crown but interest rates pretty much stuck at just below zero. As the following graphic - bit.ly/2nqGZba -shows, the spread between the repo rate and inflation has blown out over the past two years, even if the latter is still below a comfortable 2 percent. The European Central Bank is pretty much to blame. The Riksbank cannot afford to raise rates until the ECB does because the crown would likely become stronger than it is now. The Swedish currency has been much stronger against the euro in the past, but a jump would risk a slide back towards deflation seen two years ago. The central bank is already worried that recent price rises have been driven by temporary factors and wants to see inflation on firmer ground before it acts. Until then it is likely to ignore surging GDP, falling unemployment and an ever hotter housing market, signals that in more normal times would have already triggered tighter policy. (Reporting by Jeremy Gaunt and Simon Johnson; Editing by Susan Fenton) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sweden-economy-dilemma-idUKKBN16Z24U'|'2017-03-28T23:27:00.000+03:00' +'418d9a97163ca8b5a616d141d1987a54f0ad8dbe'|'LSE launches 200 million pound share buyback'|'Thu Mar 30, 2017 - 7:22am BST LSE launches 200 million pound share buyback FILE PHOTO: A worker shelters from the rain under a Union Flag umbrella as he passes the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain, October 1, 2008. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo London Stock Exchange ( LSE.L ) said it will buy back 200 million pounds($248.74 million) of its shares, as it tries to placate shareholders following the collapse of its merger with Deutsche Boerse ( DB1Gn.DE ). The British exchange made the announcement late on Wednesday, hours after the European Commission formally blocked the deal with its German rival. The Commission said the deal would have resulted in a monopoly in the processing of bond trades. LSE said in February it would face costs of around 175 million pounds for the deal and it will still have to pay a significant portion of that despite the merger not going ahead. The buyback will happen in two tranches, with the first beginning on Thursday and consisting of up to 100 million pounds of shares. Barclays and RBC will be managing the buyback. (Reporting by Rachel Armstrong, Editing by Lawrence White) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-lse-buyback-idUKKBN1710KN'|'2017-03-30T14:20:00.000+03:00' +'7676277130d073db7e2925d5edbd5db482ac7834'|'Germany urges U.S. to rethink finding on EU steel dumping'|' 4:51pm GMT Germany urges U.S. to rethink finding on EU steel dumping Steel rolls are pictured at the plant of German steel company Salzgitter AG in Salzgitter, Lower Saxony, Germany March 3, 2016. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo BERLIN Germany urged the United States on Friday to rethink a report, commissioned under Barack Obama''s administration, that said some European Union countries were dumping steel. Global steel prices have slumped as Chinese producers, which account for about half of worldwide steel supply, have flooded export markets, bringing protests and anti-dumping complaints by the United States and the European Union among others. In November, the U.S. Commerce Department said in a preliminary finding that nine exporters, including Germany and four other EU member states, had dumped certain imports of carbon and alloy steel cut-to-length (CTL) plate. German steel producers were assigned dumping margin of 6.56 percent by the U.S. Commerce Department while companies from other countries face anti-dumping duties of up to 130.63 percent. Among the German companies accused of dumping were Dillinger Huette [AGD.UL] and Salzgitter ( SZGG.DE ). The November preliminary report has been criticised for appearing to use alternative methods for calculating dumping margins, which breaks World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. Germany''s Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel is worried the report, which is expected to be finished soon, will be used by U.S. President Donald Trump''s administration to disrupt international trade. "It is to be feared that ... the new U.S. government might be prepared to allow U.S. firms to conduct unfair dumping competition, even if this violates international law," Gabriel said on Friday. "We Europeans must not accept this," Gabriel said, adding that he underlined his concerns in a letter to European Union trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom and urged her to take a firm stance in talks with U.S. counterparts on the matter. The European Commission, the EU''s executive arm, is in charge of trade matters in the 28-member bloc. Gabriel said both Europe and Germany wanted the U.S. to stick to established WTO rules when calculating dumping margins, adding companies could have a disadvantage when other calculation methods were applied. He said German officials had contacted U.S. counterparts on various levels to insist that "established, fair rules" had to be applied in the case. The dumping case is likely to be the first to be concluded in the steel sector under Trump who has said he will bring back manufacturing jobs by putting "America first" and punishing imports through a border tax. (Reporting by Michael Nienaber,; Editing by Vin Shahrestani) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-steel-germany-eu-idUKKBN16V2A6'|'2017-03-25T00:51:00.000+03:00' +'2b271db99b24d357dee6a550ad4c87f3ede307bb'|'If healthcare vote fails, would jeopardize ''Trump trades'' - Gundlach'|'Money 57pm EDT If healthcare vote fails, would jeopardize ''Trump trades'': Gundlach File photo: Jeffrey Gundlach, chief executive and chief investment officer of DoubleLine Capital, speaks during the Sohn Investment Conference in New York May 4, 2015. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid By Jennifer Ablan - NEW YORK NEW YORK If the U.S. healthcare legislation overhaul is not passed, or is postponed, it will put "a lot of doubt" on the "Trump trades," which include higher U.S. equities and bond yields, DoubleLine Capital Chief Executive Jeffrey Gundlach said on Wednesday. "Surveys show that people believe the (Obamacare) repeal is the most likely part of Trumps agenda to be passed," said Gundlach, who oversees more than $101 billion in assets at DoubleLine, told Reuters. "So if you cant pass the repeal, everything else is in doubt for sure." Investors have been bracing for Thursday''s floor vote scheduled in the U.S. House of Representatives, with safe-haven securities including Treasuries and gold seeing price gains on Wednesday. Trump and Republican congressional leaders appeared on Wednesday to be losing the battle to get enough support to pass the Obamacare rollback bill. Gundlach repeated his recommendation that investors would do better selling U.S. equities into any kind of stock rally and diversifying into emerging markets. He noted that the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF ( EEM.P ) has outperformed the Standard & Poor''s Index by over 4 percentage points since early March. Gundlach said Tuesday''s stock-market slump illustrated how "investors are questioning whether the pro-growth U.S. policies are really going to happen." (Reporting by Jennifer Ablan; Editing by James Dalgleish) Next In Money'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-funds-doubleline-gundlach-idUSKBN16T2V0'|'2017-03-23T02:51:00.000+02:00' +'40026bd674178f4b0b15c04d83a5828314a62402'|'BoE''s Hogg resigns over failure to flag conflict of interest'|' 58am GMT BoE''s Hogg resigns over failure to flag conflict of interest LONDON The Bank of England said Charlotte Hogg had resigned as its deputy governor for banking and markets and as its chief operating officer after she failed to declare a potential conflict of interest about her brother''s role at Barclays. "While I fully respect her decision taken in accordance with her view of what was the best for this institution, I deeply regret that Charlotte Hogg has chosen to resign from the Bank of England," BoE Governor Mark Carney said in a statement. Earlier on Tuesday, a committee of lawmakers said Hogg could no longer be considered suitable for her role. (Reporting by Andy Bruce and Alistair Smout; Writing by William Schomberg) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-boe-resignation-idUKKBN16L10Q'|'2017-03-14T16:58:00.000+02:00' +'ed8ecc3d5a9a4da221d96cf4ec05309a4fc5318d'|'U.S. oil refiners push for biofuels overhaul at White House'|'NEW YORK U.S. oil refining executives met with a senior official in President Donald Trump''s administration at the White House last week to argue their position for an overhaul of the nation''s biofuels program, two people in the meeting told Reuters.While it is not unusual for the White House to meet with stakeholders on key issues, the meeting is a sign the Trump administration is actively considering possible changes to the wide-reaching program.Executives from Valero Energy Corp, Delta Airlines'' refiner Monroe Energy, CVR Energy Inc. and several others met with Michael Catanzaro, Trump''s senior energy policy aide, on March 16, the two attendees said.The executives argued that Trump should change the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program to lift the onus of blending biofuels into gasoline away from refiners, placing it instead further down the supply chain to gasoline marketers. They said the program was costing the oil refining industry money and jobs."The policy needs to adapt to a changing market," said Roy Houseman, a legislative representative for the United Steelworkers union, who was in the meeting. "We wanted to highlight the larger issue: We represent 30,000 workers in the refining industry."It was not clear who initiated the meeting.The RFS, a 2005 policy ushered in by former Republican President George W. Bush, requires that energy companies use increasing volumes of biofuels like ethanol each year with gasoline and diesel. It was designed to boost the use of ethanol and other renewables in gasoline and diesel in a bid to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil and cut greenhouse gas emissions.The policy is a boon for the agriculture industry, particularly corn growers that produce the feedstock for biofuels like ethanol, but some independent oil refiners have said it is threatening their operations.The debate over shifting the point of obligation for blending fuels intensified in recent weeks after Trump''s informal adviser on regulatory issues, billionaire Carl Icahn, said in February that he believed Trump would issue an order revamping the biofuels policy. The White House has denied that any executive order on biofuels is in the works.Icahn owns a majority stake in CVR Energy.Bill Douglass, head of the Small Retailers Coalition, who was also at the meeting, said Catanzaro spoke with the group for about 40 minutes and spent half that time asking how fuel retailers are being affected by the biofuels program.Douglass, whose trade group represents small, independent petroleum retailers and convenience stores, said Catanzaro did not say what the White House was planning to do with the policy.Catanzaro could not be reached for comment.Other companies represented in the meeting included HollyFrontier Corp, Philadelphia Energy Solutions, PBF Energy, Douglass said.A spokeswoman for Philadelphia Energy Solutions declined to comment while the review process is underway. Officials for the other companies did not respond to requests for comment.Biofuels advocates, including ethanol producers and Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa - the country''s biggest corn-producing state - oppose changes to the program, saying they could overcomplicate it. Large, integrated oil companies also oppose the change, saying it would be more effective to reform or repeal the legislation.(Reporting by Chris Prentice; Editing by Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-biofuels-trump-idUSKBN16V2TQ'|'2017-03-25T01:29:00.000+03:00' +'63a1c1701fd12f7ab968aa53f1931054d16500df'|'EU regulators to clear Dow and ChemChina deals next week - sources'|'Global Energy News - Thu Mar 23, 2017 - 7:54pm GMT EU regulators to clear Dow and ChemChina deals next week - sources The company logo of China National Chemical Corp, or ChemChina, is seen at its headquarters in Beijing, China February 3, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter By Foo Yun Chee - BRUSSELS BRUSSELS EU antitrust regulators are set to clear the $130 billion (104.07 billion pounds) Dow Chemical ( DOW.N ) and DuPont ( DD.N ) merger and ChemChina''s [CNNCC.UL] $43 billion bid for Syngenta ( SYNN.S ) next week, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The European Commission could announce its approvals for both companies at the same time either on Monday or Tuesday, the people said. It is rare for the Commission to announce joint merger decisions but it probably makes sense in this case as both companies are in the agrochemicals sector, the sources said. Both mega deals in the agrochemicals industry and another one involving Bayer ( BAYGn.DE ) and Monsanto ( MON.N ) have triggered fears among regulators and farmers that the merged companies may slow down the pipeline of new herbicides and pesticides. Commission spokesman Ricardo Cardoso declined to comment. Dow did not immediately respond to an email for comment. A Syngenta spokesman said the Swiss company and ChemChina were confident of closing the deal in the second quarter of the year. The EU antitrust enforcer has set an April 4 deadline for the Dow and DuPont deal, and April 12 for the ChemChina and Syngenta deal. U.S. chemical companies Dow and DuPont managed to address EU competition concerns with a revised package of concessions which included asset sales and transfer of research and development activities to a rival, sources told Reuters last month. ChemChina, which is making the largest foreign acquisition by a Chinese company, won over regulators with its pledge to divest a couple of national product registrations, including existing products and a few in the pipeline, in more than a dozen EU countries, other sources have told Reuters. (Additional reporting by Michael Shields in Zurich, editing by David Evans) Next In Global Energy News UPDATE 4-U.S. State Dept to approve Keystone pipeline permit Friday -sources WASHINGTON, March 23 The U.S. State Department will approve on Friday the permit needed to proceed with construction of the Canada-to-United States Keystone XL oil pipeline, a project blocked by former President Barack Obama, according to two government sources familiar with the process. BOSTON President Donald Trumps White House has said his plans to slash environmental regulations will trigger a new energy boom and help the United States drill its way to independence from foreign oil. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-m-a-dow-chemchina-idUKKBN16U2SX'|'2017-03-24T03:54:00.000+03:00' +'ddd83e4b7c5b912447cdbc52e9913df554423f91'|'Oil stable on falling Libyan output, but bloated US market still weighs'|'Global Energy 1:56am BST Oil stable on falling Libyan output, but bloated US market still weighs Rigging equipment is pictured in a field outside of Sweetwater, Texas June 4, 2015. REUTERS/Cooper Neill By Henning Gloystein - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Oil prices were steady on Thursday, supported by falling crude output in Libya and declining gasoline stocks in the United States, although bloated U.S. crude inventories are still weighing on markets. Prices for front-month Brent crude futures LCOc1, the international benchmark for oil, were at $52.42 per barrel at 0040 GMT, unchanged from their last close. In the United States, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were up 5 cents at $49.57 a barrel. ANZ said on Thursday that prices were supported by Libyan oil output falling to about 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) due to the shutdown of pipelines from its biggest field. And while a rise in U.S. crude inventories weighed on markets, ANZ said that "the market got excited" about a drawdown in gasoline stockpiles. "The big falls in gasoline inventories, coming near the end of the refinery maintenance season, suggest crude oil inventories are on the cusp of declining," it said. U.S. crude inventories USOILC=ECI rose 867,000 barrels in the week ending March 24, compared with analyst expectations for an increase of 1.4 million barrels. Total inventories were at a record of nearly 534 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday. Gasoline stocks USOILG=ECI fell 3.7 million barrels, compared with expectations for a 1.9-million barrel drop. Key for the direction of oil prices will be whether an initiative led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut oil production during the first half of the year will be extended, and how high compliance with the reduction targets will be. OPEC, along with other producers including Russia, aims to cut output by almost 1.8 million bpd during the first half of the year. OPEC compliance with its targets is expected to be 95 percent this month, up from 94 percent in February, according to Reuters surveys. However, compliance is lower by non-OPEC members like Russia, who have officially agreed to participate in the cuts. "Russia''s 300,000 bpd cut commitment particularly has been called into question," Eurasia Group said this week in a research report. "While it remains possible Russia can scrape together a combination of outages and natural decline at some west Siberian brownfields and spin this as a 300,000-bpd output cut, it is highly unlikely Russia will achieve an absolute 300,000 bpd reduction during the tenure of the current agreement," it added. As markets remain bloated halfway into the cuts, there is a broad expectation that the supply cuts will be extended into the second half of the year. (Reporting by Henning Gloystein; Editing by Joseph Radford) Next In Global Energy News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-oil-idUKKBN17103I'|'2017-03-30T08:56:00.000+03:00' +'0b1b8a0df6f12c6d42ef491a2c4a31444cadc460'|'WH Group chief cautious over Smithfield China expansion due to pork glut'|'By Dominique Patton - BEIJING BEIJING China''s WH Group Ltd ( 0288.HK ) will be cautious about expanding Smithfield''s pork processing operations in China due to over-capacity in the world''s biggest pork market, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Wan Long said in an interview on Tuesday.Speaking on the sidelines of parliament''s annual meeting, Wan said he expects pork prices to fall to an average of 14 yuan to 15 yuan ($4.20) per kilogram this year after hitting a record high in 2016.WH Group bought U.S.-based Smithfield Food Inc [SFII.UL], the world''s biggest pork producer, in 2013 for almost $5 billion."Over-capacity in China is not only in heavy industry, but also the food industry suffers from this problem, so we will expand according to the Chinese market situation," Wan said.He said he expects WH Group''s imports of U.S. pork to China to increase this year from 300,000 tonnes in 2016.(Reporting by Dominique Patton; Writing by Josephine Mason; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-china-pork-whgroup-idINKBN16E12C'|'2017-03-07T07:09:00.000+02:00' +'960af1600861d5e4a6728a3fff68efc677b63226'|'PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - March 13'|'March 13 The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.- Facing lackluster sales in the world''s fifth-largest consumer market, Wal-Mart Stores Inc is making a contrarian bet in Brazil, investing heavily to revamp its U.S.-style big-box stores even as shoppers increasingly flock to smaller, cheaper options. on.wsj.com/2ne32Vl- Less than three years after Etihad Airways saved Alitalia SpA from bankruptcy, the Italian airline is once again on the brink. After spending 400 million euros ($427.84 million) to buy effective control of Alitalia in 2014, the Abu Dhabi-based carrier launched a much-ballyhooed effort to improve the Italian airline''s service, expand its international routes and make the domestic business leaner. on.wsj.com/2nec98z- Tesla Inc''s Elon Musk has set his sights on Australia, betting his company''s battery technology can help solve the country''s energy problems and save it from a repeat of the blackouts that struck households and businesses in the south for several days last year. on.wsj.com/2nedYCD- HSBC Holdings PLC named AIA Group Ltd. Chief Executive Mark Tucker as its next chairman, the first time the bank has hired an outsider for the role in its 152-year history. on.wsj.com/2necfNt- "Kong: Skull Island" made a muscular $61 million debut at the North American box office over the weekend, but the monster movie will nonetheless need to sustain momentum to reach profitability. "Kong," released by Time Warner Inc''s Warner Bros, grossed an estimated $81.6 million overseas. on.wsj.com/2nejrta($1 = 0.9349 euros) (Compiled by Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/press-digest-wsj-idINL3N1GQ1QG'|'2017-03-13T01:05:00.000+02:00' +'f10bf5258c8ac8c7d6a208824199f415ed8bb729'|'Vivendi, Mediaset seek damages from each other for defamation - source'|' 39pm GMT Vivendi, Mediaset seek damages from each other for defamation - source The Mediaset tower is seen at the headquarter in Cologno Monzese, near Milan, Italy, April 8, 2016. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini MILAN French media group Vivendi ( VIV.PA ) and Italian broadcaster Mediaset ( MS.MI ) are suing each other for alleged defamation, a legal source involved in the case said on Tuesday, escalating a dispute over a failed pay-TV accord. A trial opened in Milan on Tuesday over the collapsed deal, after Mediaset sought court enforcement of an April 2015 contract to sell its Premium pay-TV unit to Vivendi. The French group pulled out of the accord in July and went on to build a 28.8 percent stake in Mediaset in a move that angered both the media group controlled by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and the Italian government. The source said that in the course of the trial on Tuesday Vivendi filed a suit against Mediaset for alleged defamation, without quantifying the damages sought. In turn Mediaset is also now seeking damages for comments made in the media by Vivendi''s Chief Executive Arnaud de Puyfontaine, the source said. Representatives for Vivendi and Mediaset declined to comment on the matter. (Reporting by Giulia Segreti and Giancarlo Navach; Editing by Paola Arosio, Greg Mahlich) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mediaset-vivendi-damagesrequest-idUKKBN16S1G9'|'2017-03-21T19:39:00.000+02:00' +'e16d0fa7b38c2dd9dcc8ae95b30b14c790aa7664'|'Akzo shareholder Elliott says 25 percent of owners want talks: FD newspaper'|'Deals - Wed Mar 29, 2017 - 12:44am EDT Akzo shareholder Elliott says 25 percent of owners want talks: FD newspaper FILE PHOTO: AkzoNobel''s logo is seen in Amsterdam, Netherlands, February 16, 2012. REUTERS/Robin van Lonkhuijsen/United Photos/File Photo AMSTERDAM Elliott Advisors, the hedge fund with a 3.25 percent stake in Dutch paintmaker Akzo Nobel ( AKZO.AS ), has identified shareholders representing 25 percent of the company''s owners who want it to engage in takeover talks with PPG Industries ( PPG.N ), according to Dutch newspaper FD. Akzo has rebuffed a 24.4 billion euro ($26.4 billion)takeover proposal from PPG and declined "engaging" with the U.S. company, saying it will detail plans to spin off its chemicals division instead. (Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Stephen Coates) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-akzo-nobel-m-a-ppg-inds-shareholders-idUSKBN1700DA'|'2017-03-29T12:44:00.000+03:00' +'f1bbcc3023454d6daa35720585b536117c189ce4'|'Markets fret as Trump agenda shows signs of cracks'|'Business 1:18am IST Markets fret as Trump agenda shows signs of cracks left right 1/2 left right Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) shortly after the opening bell in New York, U.S., March 21, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson 2/2 By Rodrigo Campos - NEW YORK NEW YORK The steepest pullback in stocks since the U.S. presidential election reveals investor angst about President Donald Trump''s ability to push through major reforms, leaving stocks vulnerable to a long-anticipated correction. The S&P 500, in its second longest bull market ever, has risen close to 10 percent since the Nov. 8 election on optimism about Trump''s pro-growth agenda. With valuations at their highest in over a decade, investors have been expecting a pullback even if its catalysts haven''t been clear. Trump, looking to score the first major political win of his presidency, on Tuesday warned Republican lawmakers that if a healthcare bill he backs fails to pass, it would cause "political problems." Stocks fell alongside the U.S. dollar, while Treasuries and gold rallied. "It''s like the Trump agenda getting kind of slapped in the face," said Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment Counsel in Charlottesville, Virginia. Investors saw the health bill vote, expected on Thursday, as testing optimism that the Trump administration and Republican leaders will implement tax cuts, deregulation and infrastructure spending expected to boost economic growth. The muddled view on the healthcare bill "carries over to what will happen with the infrastructure plan and the tax reform plan and the reduced regulation plan," Tuz said. Adding to the angst, FBI Director James Comey on Monday confirmed that the bureau is investigating possible ties between Trump''s presidential campaign and Russia as Moscow sought to influence the 2016 U.S. election. The investigation, he said, could last for months. Comey''s testimony "pointed to the fact that there could be a lot of drawn-out political infighting that could delay some of the pro-business ideas from being passed," said Rick Meckler, president of LibertyView Capital Management in Jersey City, New Jersey. He said he doesn''t expect to see a correction unless the S&P 500, currently down about 2 percent from the record high set March 1, retreats another 1.5 to 2 percent in the next few days. "That would cause investors to maybe take a pause in what has been a buy-the-dip mentality since the election," Meckler said. The S&P forward price to earnings ratio has jumped to above 18 from 16.6 on Election Day, making U.S. equities the most expensive level since 2004. At the same time, the index''s dividend yield sits just above 2 percent, losing some of its allure against the 10-year Treasury note. SKITTISH INVESTORS The S&P 500 has not posted a daily decline of more than 1 percent since Oct. 11. Tuesday''s move in stocks underscores trends in other markets already pricing in a risk that plans could be delayed. The Mexican peso MXN= , which weakened during the presidential campaign with rising prospects of a Trump win, traded last week at its strongest versus the dollar since the November election. It had hit a historic low in mid-January. The yen JPY= , up against the dollar for a sixth straight session, was on track to close below 112 per $1 for the first time since Feb. 8. Junk bond investors also pounced earlier this month. The spread between the Bank of America Merrill Lynch U.S. High Yield index .MERH0A0 and benchmark bottomed on March 1 and has since widened by about 40 basis points. Ten-year Treasury yields fell below 2.43 percent Tuesday, the lowest in about three weeks, partly reflecting traders scaling back their view on the domestic economy in the absence of any fiscal stimulus this year. "Republicans should have prioritized tax reform ahead of health care reform," said Brian Jacobsen, chief portfolio strategist at Wells Fargo Funds Management in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. "Theyre coming across as a motley crew rather than a party that can get things done." Richard Leong, Lewis Krauskopf, Caroline Valetkevitch and Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks-analysis-idINKBN16S2LR'|'2017-03-22T02:47:00.000+02:00' +'b7ea8dff9437a5092df23f95fd4e2ebe9e4a451c'|'The Ronald, the Donald and a hamstrung Hammond - Business'|'F or the first few months after his election, Donald Trump was cast by many in the financial markets as the reincarnation of Ronald Reagan . His plans for deep and widespread tax cuts and a bonfire of regulations would, they said, spark a business renaissance akin to that credited to the stetson-wearing president who dominated the 1980s.Stock market investors lapped up Trumps speeches and tweets, and sent the main New York share indices to fresh highs. Last October, before the US election, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was chugging sideways below 18,000. By the first week of March, its value had topped 21,000, a rise of almost 17%.Now the market is moving sideways again and for the simple reason that, after watching and listening to Trump since his inauguration, it has priced in most of the gains investors believe he can make for them, which over the next few years will still be bountiful, but decidedly more modest than first predicted.Thats why Americas central banker, Janet Yellen, the head of the Federal Reserve, made it clear last week that US interest rates would rise to at most 1.5% this year. The Federal Reserve increased its base rate range to between 0.75% and 1% at its March meeting, and Yellen said there would probably be just two more quarter-point rises this year.She was under pressure from Republicans to signal a more rapid increase, but was clear in her view that a Trump boom is still just a twinkle in the former property developers eye.A study by consultancy Oxford Economics illustrates why the markets have joined the Fed in adopting a more cautious stance. It argues that Reagan entered office in a deeper hole and therefore had more room to expand. To boost growth, Reagan could also pull levers that are beyond Trumps grasp.In 1981, the global economy was adjusting to the two oil price shocks of the 1970s. The US was in recession and unemployment and inflation were high. Reagans cabinet spent much of its time talking about tax cuts and a radical overhaul of corporate and labour laws to set business free, but, as Oxford Economics point out, they mostly switched on the public spending taps.It was a Keynesian boost that put money in peoples pockets and invited them to spend it. From 1982 to 1986, says the report, the budget deficit rose from 1.8% of GDP to around 4.5% of GDP an overall stimulus approaching 3% of GDP, which was sustained over four years. Government investment growth hit double digits in 1984-85, including a major rise in defence spending.Jobs were created and imports rocketed. The budget deficit and the balance of trade worsened. The dollar soared. Paul Volker, Reagans Fed chief, increased interest rates to quell domestic inflation.To emphasise how different things are now, the Fed raised rates last week, aware that, like the stock markets, the dollar had already run out of steam. It hit a 14-year high against a basket of currencies in November, but has since tracked downwards.The prospects for dollar gains on a similar scale to the 1980s look thin, the report goes on. The dollar was weak in 1980 but has seen strong gains since 2014 and may be moderately overvalued. And while we think the dollar is more sensitive to small rises in rate [differences with other economies] than previously, that sensitivity cuts both ways and quite a lot is arguably already priced into markets in terms of Fed rate hikes. So we expect dollar gains from here to be modest.Oxford Economics argues that a cap on the dollar is not only a boon for US consumers, who will see imported inflation peak at a lower level, but will also help economies such as Brazil, Turkey and Indonesia, which must borrow in dollars at rates set by the Fed. Much of the pain created by Reagans policies was exported to countries that relied on selling commodities to the west. Turkey will still suffer from higher borrowing costs, but its finance ministry will be relieved to find that the extremes of the Reagan era can be avoided.The lesson for the UK is that Tory claims for deregulation as a route to riches have no precedent, not even from the Reagan era. Tax cuts can help, but both this government and the last have found themselves imposing more taxes than they cut, to a point where the ratio of tax income to GDP is at its highest in 30 years.Reagan borrowed to spend, much to the disappointment of his free market friends, adding 3% of GDP to the US budget deficit. Such generosity with borrowed money is not an option for Philip Hammond, at least not on the scale used in 1980s America.All Hammond can hope for is that the assessment of recent weeks that Trump is a benign force, who will neither emulate Reagan nor be a disaster, turns out to be true. Given the parlous state of the UKs public finances after eight years of austerity, he needs all the help he can get.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/mar/19/ronald-reagan-donald-trump-us-economics-hammond'|'2017-03-19T02:00:00.000+02:00' +'6e88cb0c55b649befca8f58f38bac9bbcae43b8e'|'John Menzies in talks to sell distribution unit to DX Group'|' 9:05am BST John Menzies in talks to sell distribution unit to DX Group Scottish firm John Menzies ( MNZS.L ) said it was in talks to sell its distribution business to British mail delivery firm DX Group ( DXDX.L ), responding to calls by top investors to separate the unit from its airport services business. DX Group proposed to pay 60 million pounds in cash and issue of new ordinary shares, which would represent 80 percent of DX''s issued share capital after the deal closes, the companies said in a statement on Friday. John Menzies''s shares rose as much as 11.2 percent to 706 pence on the London Stock Exchange, touching their highest since November 2013. The company has been under pressure to revamp its business as a string of warnings and departures of top executives drew criticism from three investors who advocated separating its aviation services and print media distribution units. Activist investor Shareholder Value Management (SVM) took a 7 percent stake in Menzies last year and urged the company to break up its businesses saying they would be worth more if split. John Menzies has been aiming to expand the aviation support business, which provides cargo and baggage handling and freight forwarding services and brings in most of its profits, as its once core newspaper and magazine distribution business continues its decline. The merger deal will see Greg Michael, the managing director of John Menzies'' distribution unit, take over as the chief executive of DX Group, and Paul McCourt, the unit''s finance director, become DX Group''s chief financial officer. The companies said the deal would constitute a reverse takeover by DX and its ordinary shares are expected to be suspended from trading on London''s Alternative Investment Market, effective Friday. The deal would generate cost synergies of 8 million-12 million pounds each year and complete in the summer, they added. Rothschild is the financial adviser to John Menzies and Zeus Capital is advising DX Group. (Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-dx-group-m-a-john-menzies-idUKKBN1720N9'|'2017-03-31T16:05:00.000+03:00' +'fca8b46841081e5b91255d0dc2f29274b3f0c42d'|'India''s TCS says founders to participate in share buyback'|'MUMBAI India''s Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) ( TCS.NS ), which plans to buy back shares worth up to 160 billion rupees ($2.39 billion), said on Wednesday the founder group of the company intended to participate in the proposed buyback.TCS, the country''s top software services exporter, is part of the salt-to-software Tata conglomerate, whose holding company is Tata Sons Ltd.Tata Sons owned 73.26 percent of TCS as of the end of December, according to stock exchange data.TCS last month approved the buyback of up to 56.1 million shares at 2,850 rupees apiece.(Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-tcs-buyback-founders-idUSKBN1684N8'|'2017-03-01T17:17:00.000+02:00' +'4e5317f27e5c0ab462e21610cefd95595e9523af'|'Dollar firm in Asia, bonds and oil nurse losses'|' 44am GMT Dollar firm in Asia, bonds and oil nurse losses A man stands in front of electronic boards showing stock prices and exchange rate between Japanese Yen and U.S dollar outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, January 20, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon By Wayne Cole - SYDNEY SYDNEY The dollar stood firm in Asia on Thursday and bond yields spiked after super-strong U.S. jobs data made a rate hike a near certainty, while oil nursed bruising losses as U.S. stockpiles swelled past all expectations. With energy stocks on the run, MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS slipped 0.25 percent. Australia''s main index eased 0.1 percent, while its resources sector fell almost 2 percent. Japan''s export-heavy Nikkei .N225 took heart from a softer yen and added 0.3 percent. Oil plunged 5 percent on Wednesday to the lowest this year as record, offsetting OPEC''s attempts to limit its output. [O/R] There was a risk the retreat could squeeze speculators out of long positions, which are near a record, and lead to a downward spiral in prices. If sustained, that could put downward pressure on inflation globally and endanger the entire "reflation" trade. In early trading, U.S. crude CLc1 edged up 11 cents to $50.39, having shed $2.86 overnight. Brent crude LCOc1 was yet to trade after losing $2.81 to $53.11 a barrel. Wall Street was sideswiped by the rout in oil, with energy stocks .SPNY losing 2.5 percent in their worst performance since mid-September. The Dow .DJI fell 0.33 percent, while the S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.23 percent and the Nasdaq .IXIC added 0.06 percent. Interest rate-sensitive real estate stocks .SPLRCR also took a hit after the ADP employment report showed private payrolls surged by 298,000 last month, far above expectations. Tom Porcelli, chief U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets, said the report was so strong it meant the payrolls report on Friday would have to be unbelievably dire to deter the Fed from hiking next week. "There is almost no number that would stop them," said Porcelli. "It would take an extreme event for the Fed to take a pass at this point." Indeed, he noted the ADP surprise meant there was a real chance payrolls could beat expectations, perhaps by a lot. "On the face of it, ADP is consistent with private payrolls of about 340,000," he said. The current median forecast is for a rise of 190,000. With a hike seemingly certain, and more likely over the year, yields on two-year Treasury notes US2YT=RR climbed to 1.378 percent, the highest since August 2009. That widened its premium over German debt to a meaty 220 basis points, the largest gap since early 2000. That is a burden for the euro that is likely to only get heavier as the European Central Bank seems wedded to its super-easy policy. The central bank meets later Thursday and is considered unlikely to tighten until the latter part of this year or early 2018, a Reuters poll found last week. The single currency was stuck at $1.0538 EUR= in Asia on Thursday, well off a $1.0640 top hit early in the week. The dollar index .DXY was last up 0.1 percent at 102.150, close to a March 2 peak of 102.26. The dollar edged up to 114.52 yen JPY= , having been as high as 114.75. The firmer dollar pressured a host of commodities from copper to iron ore. Spot gold XAU= was nursing a grudge at $1,207.71 having struck a five-week low as higher interest rates raised the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding metal. (Editing by Jacqueline Wong)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUKKBN16G02F'|'2017-03-09T07:39:00.000+02:00' +'ca80e920afcaacc3231cffd705b31afd830386e5'|'Italy continues talks with EU on Monte Paschi rescue, no deadline seen'|' 46pm GMT Italy continues talks with EU on Monte Paschi rescue, no deadline seen The main entrance of the Monte dei Paschi bank headquarters is seen in Siena, Italy March 13, 2012. REUTERS/Max Rossi/File photo BRUSSELS Italy''s finance minister said he had had a good discussion with EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager on Tuesday on plans to support ailing bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena ( BMPS.MI ) with public money, but indicated there was no date set to reach a deal. "The meeting with Commissioner Vestager went very well", Pier Carlo Padoan said after the talks in Brussels. "We keep working on how to apply the measure of precautionary recapitalization launched by the government" for Monte Paschi, Padoan told reporters, stressing that no deadline is foreseen to reach a deal with Brussels. The Commission has to assess whether Italy''s public support for Monte Paschi, the country''s fourth largest bank, is in line with EU state aid rules. Padoan said that a similar request of public aid from two non-listed smaller Veneto banks, Banca Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca, being scrutinized by the European Central Bank, which has to assess the viability of the two lenders. (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; editing by Philip Blenkinsop) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-italy-banks-eu-montepaschi-idUKKBN16S1GQ'|'2017-03-21T19:34:00.000+02:00' +'1efd9569b155bcddbaf81924796bd79bbb00e4f7'|'Britain does not expect 50 billion pounds Brexit bill - Davis'|' 7:57am BST Britain does not expect 50 billion pounds Brexit bill - Davis Britain''s Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union David Davis arrives in Downing Street, London March 29, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay LONDON Brexit minister David Davis said he did not expect Britain to have to pay 50 billion pounds to the European Union as part of the Brexit process and said the era of huge sums being paid to Brussels was coming to an end. British media reports have suggested that Britain could have to pay around 50 to 60 billion pounds in order to honour existing budget commitments as it negotiates its departure from the bloc. "We haven''t actually had any sort of submission to us from the Commission. But our view is very simple, we will meet our obligations, we are a law abiding country," Davis told broadcaster ITV on Thursday. "We''ll meet our responsibilities but we''re not expecting anything like that," he said. "The era of huge sums being paid to the European Union is coming to an end, so once we''re out, that''s it." (Reporting by Kate Holton; editing by Guy Faulconbridge) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-davis-idUKKBN1710MH'|'2017-03-30T14:42:00.000+03:00' +'687d8691dd2fb3f837c0058f520884a2cd7eeb9a'|'JPMorgan Chase names new head of retail brokerage'|'By Elizabeth Dilts - NEW YORK, March 16 NEW YORK, March 16 JPMorgan Chase & Co named the head of its Latin America Private Bank as the new chief executive of its New York-based retail brokerage, JPMorgan Securities, the bank said on Thursday.Chris Harvey takes over the post from Greg Quental, who will retire at the end of the year.Harvey will oversee the boutique-style wealth management firm''s roughly 420 financial advisers and the $110 billion in client assets they manage.The bank said in an emailed statement that Harvey will manage overall strategy and growth for the brokerage division.Quental, who joined JPMorgan from Bear Stearns in August 2010, had set a goal of growing the firm''s adviser base to roughly 650 advisers by around 2016, according to an interview Quental gave Reuters in 2012.JP Morgan Chase declined to answer questions beyond what was in the press release.(Reporting By Elizabeth Dilts; editing by Diane Craft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/jpmorgan-wealth-quental-idINL2N1GT280'|'2017-03-16T19:46:00.000+02:00' +'7a3ba7ec8b18bf2c9c85f5eef361b3e382ad0d16'|'Japan final February manufacturing PMI shows activity expands most in 35 months'|'Business News - Wed Mar 1, 2017 - 12:42am GMT Japan final February manufacturing PMI shows activity expands most in 35 months Steam is emitted from factories at sunset in Keihin industrial zone in Kawasaki, Japan February 13, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato TOKYO Japanese manufacturing activity expanded in February at the fastest pace in almost three years, a private survey showed on Wednesday, a sign that domestic and overseas demand is improving. The Markit/Nikkei Final Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) was a seasonally adjusted 53.3 in February, just below the flash reading of 53.5 and above a final 52.7 in January. The index remained above the 50 threshold for the sixth consecutive month and marked the fastest expansion since March 2014. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector while a reading below 50 indicates contraction. The index for new orders, which measures both domestic and external demand, was 54.2, less than a preliminary 54.7 but still higher than a final 54.0 in January. The final reading showed new orders grew at the fastest since December 2015. The final index for new export orders was 54.3, higher than a preliminary 54.2 and 53.1 in the previous month to indicate the fastest growth since December 2013. The latest PMI survey suggests that exports and domestic demand have started strongly this year, though uncertainty lingers amid rising protectionism in the United States. Indeed, January exports growth slowed and data on Tuesday showed factory output unexpectedly fell for the first time in six months. That underscored the persistent slack in the overall economy and anaemic inflation, underscoring the challenge for policy makers in the year ahead. Japan''s core consumer prices marked the 10th straight month of annual declines in December despite more than three years of aggressive money printing by the Bank of Japan. Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-pmi-idUKKBN1682TU'|'2017-03-01T07:42:00.000+02:00' +'963b3e315ef940026db64e23459bef16bb094ddb'|'Oil prices drop on rise in U.S. drilling'|'Business 52pm EDT Oil prices drop on rise in U.S. drilling A pump jack operates at a well site leased by Devon Energy Production Company near Guthrie, Oklahoma September 15, 2015. REUTERS/Nick Oxford By Henning Gloystein - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Oil prices fell on Monday as rising U.S. drilling activity and steady supplies from OPEC countries despite touted production cuts pressured already-bloated markets. Prices for front-month Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil, were 20 cents below their last settlement at 0025 GMT (8:25 p.m. ET on Sunday), at $51.56 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 28 cents at $48.50 a barrel. Traders said that prices were under pressure due to rising U.S. drilling activity and ongoing high supplies by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) despite its pledge to cut output by almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) together with some other producers like Russia. "Crude oil has attempted to break out of the trading range that formed last year ... However, this uptrend has stalled," futures brokerage CMC Markets said in a note on Monday. "Now there is good, strong momentum to the downside." U.S. drillers added 14 oil rigs in the week to March 17, bringing the total count up to 631, the most since September 2015, energy services firm Baker Hughes Inc said on Friday, extending a recovery that is expected to boost shale production by the most in six-months in April. As a result, U.S. oil output has risen to over 9.1 million bpd from below 8.5 million bpd in June last year. Reacting to the ongoing glut in markets, financial oil traders cut their net long U.S. crude futures and options positions in the week to March 14, the third consecutive cut, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday. Defying rising sentiment that oil markets remain oversupplied, some analysts say markets will tighten soon, arguing that the OPEC-led cuts will only start to bite from April, just as demand picks up as refineries return from current maintenance outages. "The cuts in OPEC production from the start of 2017 should start to show up between mid-March (now) and mid-April. Over the coming weeks we expect a sharp reduction in imports and increase in refining runs which should lead to impressive crude inventory draws," analysts at AB Bernstein said on Monday in a note to clients. "The combination of falling imports and stronger crude runs should lead to substantial inventory cuts over the coming months," they said. (Reporting by Henning Gloystein; Editing by Joseph Radford) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUSKBN16R017'|'2017-03-20T07:41:00.000+02:00' +'c7af97199190c29b7364f2d39e999e225f8854fa'|'ECB policy reassessment not warranted by inflation - Praet'|' 49am GMT ECB policy reassessment not warranted by inflation: Praet European Central Bank executive board member Peter Praet attends the 2016 Institute of International Finance (IIF) Spring Membership meeting in Madrid, Spain, May 25, 2016. REUTERS/Susana Vera FRANKFURT The euro zone economy is picking up strength but growth has yet to translate into a sustained recovery of inflation so the European Central Bank should not yet reassess its policy stance, ECB chief economist Peter Praet said on Wednesday. "The recovery has yet to translate into a durable and self-sustained pick-up in inflation," Praet told a conference in Frankfurt. "Looking through recent volatility, the inflation outlook does not at this stage warrant a reassessment of the current monetary policy stance." "We still need to build sufficient confidence that inflation will indeed converge to this aim over a medium-term horizon and will remain there even in less supportive monetary policy conditions," Praet added. (Reporting by Francesco Canepa; Editing by Balazs Koranyi) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ecb-policy-praet-idUKKBN16M16N'|'2017-03-15T16:44:00.000+02:00' +'bd99d36cc4a82ad8754f0102a09c33bdacc49b5f'|'Toshiba shares rise 6 percent after Effissimo increases stake'|'Business News - Fri Mar 24, 2017 - 12:32am GMT Toshiba shares rise 6 percent after Effissimo increases stake People look on at the Toshiba booth during preparations at the CeBit computer fair, which will open its doors to the public on March 20, at the fairground in Hanover, Germany, March 18, 2017. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer TOKYO Shares in Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) rose as much as 6 percent on Friday morning trade after Singapore-based fund Effissimo, established by former colleagues of Japan''s most famous activist investor, became its largest shareholder. Effissimo Capital Management, set up by Yoshiaki Murakami, owns an 8.14 percent stake in Toshiba, according to a regulatory filing showed on Thursday. The activist fund''s emergence as the biggest shareholder came as the electronics conglomerate struggles with huge losses stemming from its U.S. nuclear business. (Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Richard Pullin) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-shareholders-idUKKBN16V022'|'2017-03-24T08:32:00.000+03:00' +'d247c0a843838ef51b6e26a7f3514d2501e06cf5'|'Opel works council must be involved in PSA plans - Germany'|'Company 4:00am EST Opel works council must be involved in PSA plans - Germany BERLIN, March 6 The works council of Opel and its British Vauxhall brand must be fully involved in talks with PSA Group on how to turn around the struggling carmaker, German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said on Monday. "The agreements must be intensively studied, especially by the representatives of the workers," Zypries said in a joint statement with the premiers of three German states where Opel has plants. "Transparency must be ensured in the process to come. It must be guaranteed that the European management of Opel/Vauxhall, the general works council and the European workers union of Opel/Vauxhall are fully included in further talks," the statement said. (Reporting by Gernot Heller; Writing by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Andrea Shalal) Next In Company News Opel labour bosses say approval of sale depends on plans for future FRANKFURT, March 6 Opel''s European works council and labour union IG Metall will make their approval of a deal by General Motors to sell the carmaker to France''s PSA Group dependent on details of their plans for Opel''s future, they said in joint statement on Monday.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/opel-ma-psa-germany-idUSB4N1E3024'|'2017-03-06T16:00:00.000+02:00' +'6134ee1cd28e1dea5ad42b2c447387b62b8882a9'|'CEE MARKETS-Czech bonds firm as CNB meets, crown cap seen staying for now'|'Company News - Thu Mar 30, 2017 - 5:14am EDT CEE MARKETS-Czech bonds firm as CNB meets, crown cap seen staying for now * Czech central bank not expected to remove crown cap * Czech 2-year bonds trade at 2-week low yields * Good auction seen in Hungary on loose central bank policy * Croatian stocks tumble on concerns over food group Agrokor By Sandor Peto and Jason Hovet BUDAPEST/PRAGUE, March 30 Czech short-term government debt firmed on Thursday as the country''s central bank (CNB) holds its last meeting before the end of its "hard commitment" to keep its cap on the crown''s value. The bank has pledged to maintain the cap, which has been keeping the crown weaker than 27 to the euro since late 2013, at least until the end of the first quarter. It is not expected to change its record low interest rates or to abandon the cap at the meeting. It is due to publish its decisions at 1200 GMT. The CNB has tripled its forex reserves since 2013 to defend the cap and speculative buying of the crown and Czech government debt, mainly short-term papers, has surged this year. The yield on 2-year Czech bonds was bid at a 2-week low -0.58 percent on Thursday, down 9 basis points. "I am expecting a confirmation of the end of the (central bank''s) firm commitment but a continuation of interventions for the time being and (a message of) the possibility to stop when the CNB sees appropriate," one Prague-based fixed income trader said. Fundamentals should strengthen the crown, but accumulated crown buying positions worth tens of billions of euros make it uncertain how Czech markets will behave after the cap is removed, probably in April or May, analysts have said. "We would not regard the exit of the FX regime as the start of a one-way CZK (crown) appreciation streak, but would rather expect significant volatility possibly well into Q3 2017," said Raiffeisen analyst Wofgang Ernst in a note. The crown''s implied euro exchange rate was near multi-month highs in forwards contracts. Elsewhere in Central Europe, Zagreb''s stock index fell as much as 4.5 percent in early trade due to a plunge of the units of unlisted Agrokor, the biggest food producer and retailer in the Balkans. The decline followed news that the Croatian government may propose a law on shielding the economy from troubles involving big firms and about a possible repayment freeze deal with Agrokor creditors. In Hungary, government bond yields dropped further by a few basis points, with 3-year bonds trading at 1.18 percent, at 2-month lows, as Thursday''s bond auction in Budapest is expected to draw strong demand. "The Hungarian central bank''s dovish stance (after its meeting on Tuesday) surprised many foreign investors, so this will be a good auction," one trader said. The stock of Hungarian oil group MOL fell as much as 2.5 percent after Czech electricity company CEZ conditionally sold its 7.5 percent stake in MOL. CEE SNAPS AT 1052 MARKETS HOT CET CURRENCIES Lates Previ Daily Chang t ous e bid close chang in e 2017 Czech crown 27.02 27.02 +0.0 -0.05 00 15 1% % Hungary 310.0 309.8 -0.04 -0.38 forint 000 750 % % Polish 4.228 4.221 -0.15 4.16% zloty 0 8 % Romanian 4.542 4.554 +0.2 -0.17 leu 8 7 6% % Croatian 7.453 7.434 -0.25 1.37% kuna 0 2 % Serbian 123.8 123.8 +0.0 -0.36 dinar 000 900 7% % Note: daily calculate previ close 1800 change d from ous at CET STOCK S Lates Previ Daily Chang t ous e close chang in e 2017 Prague 982.6 982.7 -0.01 +6.6 5 1 % 2% Budapest 31923 32232 -0.96 -0.25 .74 .95 % % Warsaw 2210. 2214. -0.16 +13. 82 45 % 50% Bucharest 7975. 7942. +0.4 +12. 91 76 2% 57% Ljubljana 767.3 777.5 -1.31 +6.9 8 8 % 4% Zagreb 1952. 2015. -3.12 -2.14 23 12 % % Belgrade <.BELEX15 734.6 737.4 -0.38 +2.4 > 4 7 % 1% Sofia 634.5 633.3 +0.1 +8.2 0 4 8% 0% BONDS Yield Yield Sprea Daily d (bid) chang vs chang e Bund e in Czech sprea Republic d 2-year 7 6 bps 5-year 6 bps s 10-year 8 bps Poland 2-year bps s 5-year 3 bps 10-year bps s FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M inter bank Czech Rep < 0.28 0.32 0.38 0 PRIBOR=> Hungary < 0.21 0.27 0.37 0.2 BUBOR=> Poland < 1.755 1.777 1.819 1.73 WIBOR=> Note: FRA are for quotes ask prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets-idUSL5N1H71ZW'|'2017-03-30T17:14:00.000+03:00' +'aa0f72af2722a078296eaa2a053622232b6cbf04'|'BRIEF-Whitestone REIT reports Q4 earnings per share $0.01'|' 36pm EST BRIEF-Whitestone REIT reports Q4 earnings per share $0.01 March 1 Whitestone REIT: * Whitestone REIT sees 2017 ffo and ffo core to range from $1.00 to $1.05 and $1.34 to $1.39 per share, respectively * Whitestone REIT qtrly funds from operations $0.34 per share * Whitestone REIT reports strong fourth quarter results * Q4 earnings per share $0.01 * Q4 earnings per share view $0.07 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * Q4 FFO per share view $0.34 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * Fy2017 FFO per share view $1.35 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-whitestone-reit-reports-q4-earning-idUSASB0B38D'|'2017-03-02T04:36:00.000+02:00' +'c6555e42b3847b1916fb8321fddb6ee4c5f2158a'|'Retailers urge business rates rethink as high street spending slides - Business'|'Britains hard-pressed retailers have urged Philip Hammond to rethink government plans for revamping business rates amid signs that rising inflation has led to the weakest high street spending in more than five years.A report from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG found that the spurt in consumer spending seen in the run-up to Christmas had come to an abrupt halt, with the result that non-food sales are falling for the first time since the economy was flirting with a double-dip recession in November 2011.Further evidence that consumers are becoming more cautious was provided by the the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, which released figures on Monday showing a drop of more than 4% in private car sales last month.Business chiefs tell chancellor: reform business rates now to avert high street crisis Read more Some City analysts believe households brought forward purchases of big-ticket items in 2016 because they were fearful that the fall in the value of the pound since last Junes Brexit vote would mean having to pay more for the same goods later. The annual inflation rate as measured by the consumer prices index doubled to 1.8% between October and January.The BRC/KPMG report found that non-food sales were 0.2% lower in the three months to February than in the same period a year earlier and 0.4% lower once allowance had been made for the expansion of retailers floorspace over the past year.Supermarkets fared better, with food sales up by 2% in the three months to February despite the impact of the decline in sterling on the cost of imported produce.Helen Dickinson, the BRC chief executive, said there had been some distortion caused by the later timing of Mothering Sunday this year, which meant that some categories of spending such as womens accessories and health and beauty failed to benefit from the build-up of gift purchases as they did last year.But looking beyond this distortion, the persistent weak sales performance of several non-food categories points to an undeniable trend of cautious spending on non-essential items, she said. Tougher times are expected ahead. The impact of inflation on consumer spending will add further intensity to an already fiercely competitive environment in which the ability to adapt and innovate will be key to survival. Looking to the budget this week, we hope to see a commitment from government to lay a path to a truly sustainable business rates system that will give retailers the flexibility needed to invest and support their local communities.Online spending held up better than spending in stores, although the pace of growth has eased to 8% from the double-digit increases seen in previous years.Paul Martin, the UK head of retail at KPMG, said: Retailers will be paying close attention to the upcoming spring budget in the hope of seeing some measures to ease the pressure being placed on margins. For some bricks and mortar retailers, a hike in business rates may well be the straw that breaks the camels back.The SMMT said new car registrations were broady stable in February, with demand down just 0.3% to 83,115 vehicles sold. Rising fleet sales, up 3.3% on a year earlier, masked a 4.4% decline in sales to private buyers.Februarys dip followed a stronger performance in January; for the first two months of 2017, total and private sales were 1.8% up on the same months of 2016.Mike Hawes, the SMMT chief executive, said: February is traditionally one of the quietest months of the year and a steady performance was expected following another year of record growth in 2016. We expect to see the market bounce back in March as buyers take advantage of the new 2017 plate, as well as the last chance to buy a car eligible for current lower VED [vehicle excise duty] rates before they change on 1 April.Howard Archer, the chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight, said: Consumers are now seeing their purchasing power increasingly diluted and this squeeze looks certain to intensify over the coming months as inflation rises further and earnings growth is muted. Furthermore, a likely weakening economy and more uncertain outlook may well make businesses more circumspect in their car purchases perhaps taking longer to replace fleets. Meanwhile, the sharp weakening of the pound makes it more difficult for car dealers to offer attractive deals on imported cars with the result that some car manufacturers have raised prices and more increases seem inevitable during 2017.Retail industry Automotive industry Budget 2017 Inflation Economics news '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/mar/07/retailers-business-rates-high-street-inflation-car-sales'|'2017-03-07T14:01:00.000+02:00' +'b5379391fac2a78927c99676877b809a5acd66f9'|'FTSE edges lower ahead of U.S. healthcare vote; Smiths Group jumps'|' 38am GMT FTSE edges lower ahead of U.S. healthcare vote; Smiths Group jumps A worker shelters from the rain under a Union Flag umbrella as he passes the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain, October 1, 2008. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo - RTSS1IU By Kit Rees - LONDON LONDON Britain''s top share index dipped on Friday ahead of a delayed U.S. vote on a key healthcare bill, though gains among Smiths Group ( SMIN.L ) and Provident Financial ( PFG.L ) capped losses. The vote has been seen test of President Donald Trump''s his other priorities such as tax spending, the promise of which have boosted shares since his election. The blue chip FTSE 100 .FTSE index was down 0.1 percent at 7,334.50 points by 1007 GMT, slightly outperforming a broader decline among European indexes. The FTSE 100 was set to post its biggest weekly decline in two months. Engineering firm Smiths Group ( SMIN.L ) was the top gainer, rising 3.3 percent and hitting a record high after posting higher first-half profit and maintaining its full-year outlook. "Profits are almost 12% above our forecast (helped by R&D capitalisation) and guidance remains for a stronger 2H17. It is still arguably early days," Sandy Morris, equity analyst at Jefferies, said. Shares in Provident Financial ( PFG.L ) were also among top gainers, up almost 2 percent after RBC raised its rating on the stock to "outperform" from "sector perform", citing the likelihood of consensus upgrades on expected increases in forward forecasts as well as "sector-leading" capital returns. Overall gains were muted among blue chips as caution set in ahead of the vote on Trump''s healthcare bill. Trump and his fellow Republicans have pledged to scrap Obamacare, but have failed to close the deal on time for the planned Thursday vote. "This is the first real hurdle (Trump) faces, and any resistance could suggest that (he) would face similar resistance to other policies down the road," Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, said. "The current rally has gone so far on promises, the markets are starting to ask for a lot more proof." So far the FTSE 100 has gained more than 7 percent since Trump won the U.S. presidential election, with stocks driven by a global reflation trade on hopes of increased fiscal spending and tax reforms. Oil stocks .FTNMX0530 were the biggest weights among the large caps, with BP ( BP.L ) and Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) down 0.7 percent and 0.3 percent respectively. Outside of the blue chips, shares in Restaurant Group ( RTN.L ) declined 1.4 percent after Berenberg cut its rating on the Frankie and Benny''s operator to "sell" from "hold", saying that it is difficult to have confidence that management''s strategy will lead to a strong recovery. (Reporting by Kit Rees; Editing by Toby Chopra) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks-idUKKBN16V17X'|'2017-03-24T18:38:00.000+03:00' +'d6a1be0978033f7db03fde2a45497176747d2680'|'Spanish bank Unicaja eyes listing amid flurry of IPOs'|' 10:49am GMT Spanish bank Unicaja eyes listing amid flurry of IPOs Women use ATM machines at a Unicaja bank branch at La Bola street in downtown Ronda, near Malaga January 29, 2014. REUTERS/Jon Nazca MADRID Mid-sized Spanish lender Unicaja is moving ahead with a long-mooted stock market listing, joining a rush of initial public offerings (IPO) in Spain in the first few months of the year. Unicaja, which put off listing its shares last year when market conditions were tougher and Spain was mired in political instability, said in a statement late Friday it would ask for shareholder approval on April 26 to issue new stock. It said it aimed to issue 625 million new shares with a nominal value of one euro each, with the final price of the offer depending on demand. Unicaja added the timing of its listing was not yet set in stone. A stock market rally this year has encouraged more Spanish companies to go public after a hiatus for much of 2016 when the country was without a proper government for 10 months following two inconclusive elections. The Ibex .IBEX index of blue chip Spanish companies is up 10.4 percent so far in 2017. Earlier in March, cash-in-transit security firm Prosegur Cash ( CASHP.MC ) became the first Spanish company to list on the country''s main exchange since shares in Coca Cola European Partners were admitted for trading last June. Home builder Neinor is due to list next Wednesday, and car parts maker Gestamp is due to make its stock market debut in early April in one of the biggest IPOs in Europe this year. Unicaja''s looming listing also adds to signs of life in Spain''s banking sector as the government tries to recoup some of the funds spent on bailing out lenders crippled by a real estate crash, which forced it to request a European aid package for the weakest banks in 2012. Unicaja was not rescued but benefited from funding injected into smaller CEISS bank, which it bought in 2014. It had been due to list as a condition of its merger with CEISS, but obtained a grace period from Europe. State-controlled lender Bankia ( BKIA.MC ), the biggest beneficiary of the European bailout funds, is now due to be merged with a smaller rescued bank, BMN. A privatisation of those banks, which together hold 230 billion euros (196 billion pounds) of assets, would mark one of the final steps in cleaning up Spain''s banking sector. (Reporting by Sarah White; Editing by Mark Potter) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-unicaja-ipo-spain-idUKKBN16W0EG'|'2017-03-25T18:49:00.000+03:00' +'43b92bf669b1eea1697bcf75435c65d9c1e450f1'|'Wall Street set to open higher, tracking European markets'|'By Tanya Agrawal U.S. stocks looked set to open higher on Tuesday, reversing losses from a day earlier, tracking buoyant European and Asian markets and as oil prices rebounded.French centrist Emmanuel Macron''s performance in a television debate raised expectations that he would win the presidential election over the far-right''s Marine Le Pen, boosting sentiment across Europe, with shares edging up towards 15-month highs.Global investors have been worried about increasing protectionism, following the Brexit vote and President Donald Trump''s election. Last week, the G20 leaders dropped a pledge to keep global trade free and open."U.S. equity markets are expected to open a little higher on Tuesday, tracking broad gains in Europe," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at online forex broker Oanda in London.Investors will keep an eye on speeches by several Federal Reserve officials for clues on the path of future interest rate hikes after the central bank last week raised rates for the first time this year.The Fed stuck to its outlook for two more hikes this year, instead of the three expected by the market.Bank of Kansas City President Esther George and Cleveland Fed chief Loretta Mester are scheduled to speak later in the day, while Boston Fed head Eric Rosengren will release the text of his speech.The Fed is on track to raise interest rates twice more this year and it could be more or less aggressive depending on inflation and fiscal policies from the Trump administration, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said on Monday."Investors continue to expect two more rate hikes this year, although the odds have slipped slightly since last week. That said, I still expect the Federal Reserve tightening cycle to be much more aggressive than other central banks over the next couple of years," said Erlam.Dow e-minis were up 10 points, or 0.05 percent, with 17,182 contracts changing hands at 8:27 a.m. ET (1227 GMT).S&P 500 e-minis were up 3.5 points, or 0.15 percent, with 97,235 contracts traded.Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 10.25 points, or 0.19 percent, on volume of 20,677 contracts.Oil prices climbed on Tuesday, helped by expectations that an OPEC-led output cut would be extended beyond June but gains were pegged back by concerns about persistently high crude inventories.Wall Street drifted lower on Monday as investors worried that Trump''s plan to cut taxes and boost the economy could take longer than previously expected.The U.S. stock market has been on a record-setting spree since the election of Trump, but the rally has faltered in recent weeks as investors fret about a lack of clarity on his proposals to reform taxes and cut regulation.Shares of General Mills fell 1.8 percent to $59.20 in premarket trading after the Cheerios maker''s quarterly sales missed expectations.Apple rose 0.45 percent to $142.09 after the company unveiled a new version of its iPad tablet.Esperion Therapeutics was up 3.1 percent at $42.50 and Nektar Therapeutics gained 3.4 percent to $22.80 after J.P. Morgan raised its price targets on the stocks.FedEx and Dow-component Nike, which are due to report quarterly results after markets close, both edged up.(Reporting by Tanya Agrawal; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-idINKBN16S1JJ'|'2017-03-21T10:09:00.000+02:00' +'1adb42fe3d8bf4a4d82e1ab0af545fa0933b6d20'|'Britain to fire starting gun on Brexit talks'|' 11:02am GMT Britain to fire starting gun on Brexit talks left right FILE PHOTO: A traffic sign is seen in front of European and Union flags in London, Britain, March 20, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth/File Photo 1/3 left right FILE PHOTO: Britain''s Prime Minister Theresa May is seen on a television screen next to a mounted bull''s head during a prime time news broadcast at a restaurant in Fuengirola, southern Spain, delivering her keynote speech on Brexit at Lancaster House in London, January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Jon Nazca/File Photo 2/3 left right FILE PHOTO: A journalist poses with a copy of the Brexit Article 50 bill, introduced by the government to seek parliamentary approval to start the process of leaving the European Union, in front of the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo 3/3 By Padraic Halpin - DUBLIN DUBLIN The nine-month Brexit "phoney war" is set to come to an end next week when British Prime Minister Theresa May notifies the European Union of Britain''s intention to leave, starting two years of unprecedented negotiations. May will send a letter to European Council President Donald Tusk on Wednesday to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. Tusk will then send draft negotiating guidelines to the 27 other member states within 48 hours. That means it will finally be down to business after an at times painstakingly slow drawing of battle lines. Britain appears to have set its course for a "hard Brexit", where a clean break is favored to regain control over immigration, while the EU''s chief negotiator this week spelled out its need for early agreements on citizens'' rights, money and borders. But May has revealed little of her strategy to secure what she calls "the best possible deal" for the world''s fifth-largest economy. Her letter next week and Tusk''s reply may offer markets keen for details some hints at how rocky the path ahead may be. "The tone of this process might have implications for sterling markets," said Investec economist Chris Hare. May has other domestic political issues to tackle as well, including Monday''s deadline to form a new regional government in Northern Ireland or risk having its decision-making moved back to London, and a Scottish Parliament vote on Tuesday on whether to second a second independence referendum. On Friday, revised fourth-quarter GDP data will outline how Britain will come to the Brexit negotiating table with a far healthier economy than most predicted last June. After retail sales suffered their biggest squeeze in nearly 7 years on Thursday as higher inflation begins to bite, timelier indicators next week including mortgage approvals, house prices and consumer confidence may be worth watching more closely. TRUMP''S TEST The potential economic implications of 2016''s other major earthquake at the ballot box - the election of U.S. President Donald Trump - could play out at a much faster pace with Friday''s do-or-die rescheduled vote on a new healthcare bill. The vote has been billed by financial markets as a crucial test of Trump''s ability to work with Congress to deliver on pro-growth policies like tax cuts and infrastructure spending. Leaders from Trump''s Republican party postponed what was supposed to have been his first legislative victory because of opposition from two flanks in the party on Thursday. Even if it gets approval from the House, the legislation could face an even tougher fight in the Senate, the other chamber of Congress. A raft of speeches from top Federal Reserve officials - ten days after the bank raised interest rates for the second time in three months - may pale in comparison to the political drama, as could GDP revisions and key manufacturing surveys. In a date-heavy week around the world, euro zone flash inflation readings for March stand out after annual price rises surged to a four-year high of 2.0 percent in February, zooming up to the European Central Bank''s target of "below but close to 2 percent". Rising inflation across the 19-country bloc has put pressure on rate setters to say when and how extraordinary stimulus measures could be scaled back, although still weak underlying figures have limited discussions so far. "We expect that run to have come to an end this month," wrote economists at RBC Capital Markets, referring to the six consecutive months of year-on-year headline inflation rate rises. "With the oil price effect abating and underlying inflation still weak, we see headline inflation continuing to moderate from here and falling to 1.5 percent year-on-year by year-end." Next week also brings a string of emerging central bank policy meetings with Czech rate setters set to hold their last meeting before the bank''s self-imposed deadline for lifting a 3-1/2-year old currency cap. Mexico''s central bank meets on Thursday after a spike in inflation to an eight-year high prompted its chief to hint at more interest rate hikes following one just last month. Mexican rates are now at their highest in almost eight years. (Editing by Hugh Lawson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-economy-weekahead-idUKKBN16V169'|'2017-03-24T19:02:00.000+03:00' +'951219811b56485fd05177497a0b0715a0e5378a'|'Wall Street bonuses may show first uptick since 2009, firm says'|' 00pm GMT Wall Street bonuses may show first uptick since 2009, firm says A souvenir license plate is seen outside the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., December 21, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly By Olivia Oran Wall Street bonuses this year may climb as much as 15 percent in their first meaningful uptick since 2009, compensation firm Johnson Associates Inc said on Friday. An increase in market volatility since the election of U.S. President Donald Trump may boost trading profits, the firm said in a presentation to an industry group. It described the forecast for financial services pay as "upbeat." The improved outlook for the banking industry is a shift from 2016, when bankers and traders received slightly lower bonuses on average. Bankers may also see more creativity with their pay packages as a result of less financial regulation. While today, most bankers are paid heavily in restricted stock, Johnson Associates expects a move to more stock options and unique products. (Reporting by Olivia Oran in New York; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-banks-bonus-idUKKBN16O1YH'|'2017-03-17T22:00:00.000+02:00' +'0244280d8404ee02a98aefd00f49f17937babe44'|'Chesnara sees more UK acquisition opportunities ahead'|' 37am BST Chesnara sees more UK acquisition opportunities ahead Chesnara Plc ( CSN.L ), an insurance-focused takeover specialist, said on Friday it was "optimistic" that the UK acquisition market would become more active as uncertainty caused by regulatory changes and Solvency II capital rules reduces. The company said it had noted a recent gradual increase in closed book market activity in the UK, with larger finance companies looking to potentially shed capital intensive life and pension businesses and refocus on their core activities. "We have the flexibility to accommodate a wide range of potential target books," said Chesnara, which mainly buys life insurance funds closed to new customers. The company posted a nearly 5 percent fall in 2016 IFRS pretax profit to 40.7 million pounds ($50.74 million), hurt by lower interest rates and the absence of gains from its acquisition of Dutch company Waard Group in 2015. (Reporting by Esha Vaish and Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-chesnara-results-idUKKBN1720MA'|'2017-03-31T14:37:00.000+03:00' +'897b1155eadedfd7306c10c40c96deb89b04e0f2'|'Allan Gray says stake in Net1 allows it to call shareholder meet - reports'|'Company News - Fri Mar 17, 2017 - 2:11am EDT Allan Gray says stake in Net1 allows it to call shareholder meet - reports JOHANNESBURG, March 17 Investment company Allan Gray said on Friday its 16 percent stake in Net1 allowed it to call a shareholders'' meeting over the company''s handling of the South African welfare contract, local media reported. "Sixteen percent allows us to call a shareholders'' meeting," Allan Gray Chief Operating Officer Rob Dower told Talk Radio 702. Chief investment officer Andrew Lapping was quoted in the Business Day newspaper as saying Allan Gray could push for the removal of the Net1 board. South Africa''s Constitutional Court was set to rule on Friday in a case concerning the unlawful tender of a contract to Net1 unit Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) to manage welfare benefits to 17 million people. (Reporting by Ed Stoddard; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/safrica-welfare-court-idUSJ8N1GE00Y'|'2017-03-17T13:11:00.000+02:00' +'9a1c77932a5094ed840bb6aae1299c8ac5e12101'|'UPDATE 1-Profit of UAE airlines will likely fall this year: IATA'|' 5:33am EDT UPDATE 1-Profit of UAE airlines will likely fall this year: IATA (Adds quotes, context) By Alexander Cornwell ABU DHABI, March 14 The profitability of airlines in the United Arab Emirates, one of the Middle East''s two big aviation hubs, is expected to fall this year, the director-general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) told reporters on Tuesday. "The UAE carriers will have a year that is probably below 2016," IATA Director General and Chief Executive Alexandre de Juniac told reporters in Abu Dhabi, adding that low-cost, long-haul service could also soon start to take hold in the region. IATA previously said Middle East airlines are likely to see profits fall to $300 million in 2017 from $900 million last year in part due to high capacity and limited demand growth. It did not elaborate. The UAE is home to Emirates, the world''s largest long-haul airline, as well as rapidly expanding Etihad Airways and low cost carriers flydubai and Air Arabia. Its carriers have often been some of most profitable from the region. Half-year profit fell 75 percent at Emirates and the airline''s President Tim Clark said last week that while yield declines had halted it was still a tough year. Air Arabia and flydubai reported lower full-year profit for 2016 and while Etihad has not yet reported its results it has said it is undertaking a review of its business. Airlines in the Gulf for years benefited from high oil prices that spurred government spending and regional growth. But demand has softened and travel budgets have tightened after more than two years of depressed oil prices, exposure to weaker markets and currency fluctuations. Emirates and Etihad are both reviewing their workforce, while Emirates has agreed with Airbus to delay the delivery of 12 A380 jets over the next two years. Both airlines have hundreds of aircraft on order from Airbus and Boeing and neither has signalled further delays to deliveries. But the growth of low-cost, long-haul airlines like Norwegian Air Shuttle is expected to continue to pressure established trans-Atlantic carriers with its expansion using longer-range single-aisle aircraft to fly between smaller, cheaper local airports. "The way people travel, their decisions for travelling, the amount of money they''re prepared to pay, new entrants coming to market, long-range single aisles, it''s all changing," Clark said on March 9. Growth of low-cost, long haul is "starting to accelerate" in Europe and Asia and is likely to eventually develop in other markets such as the Middle East, de Juniac said. (Editing by Jason Neely) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emirates-airlines-outlook-idUSL5N1GR1RX'|'2017-03-14T16:33:00.000+02:00' +'8864f8455b3ec643e0a3d2c053b364703913849f'|'Chinese court rules in favour of Apple in local design patent disputes'|' 2:49pm GMT Chinese court rules in favour of Apple in local design patent disputes A man holds Apple smartphone outside an Apple store in Beijing, China, September 16, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Peter BEIJING A Chinese court has ruled in favour of Apple ( AAPL.O ) in design patent disputes between the Cupertino, California company and a domestic phone-maker, overturning a ban on selling iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus phones in China, Xinhua news agency reported. Last May, a Beijing patent regulator ordered Apple''s Chinese subsidiary and a local retailer Zoomflight to stop selling the iPhones after Shenzhen Baili Marketing Services lodged a complaint, claiming that the patent for the design of its mobile phone 100c was being infringed by the iPhone sales. Apple and Zoomflight took the Beijing Intellectual Property Office''s ban to court. The Beijing Intellectual Property Court on Friday revoked the ban, saying Apple and Zoomflight did not violate Shenzhen Baili''s design patent for 100c phones. The court ruled that the regulator did not follow due procedures in ordering the ban while there was no sufficient proof to claim the designs constituted a violation of intellectual property rights. Representatives of Beijing Intellectual Property Office and Shenzhen Baili said they would take time to decide whether to appeal the ruling, according to Xinhua. In a related ruling, the same court denied a request by Apple to demand stripping Shenzhen Baili of its design patent for 100c phones. Apple first filed the request to the Patent Reexamination Board of State Intellectual Property Office. The board rejected the request, but Apple lodged a lawsuit against the rejection. The Beijing Intellectual Property Court on Friday ruled to maintain the board''s decision. It is unclear if Apple will appeal. (Reporting by Ryan Woo, editing by David Evans) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-apple-china-idUKKBN16W0KX'|'2017-03-25T22:49:00.000+03:00' +'ee4277598112a3227e725743310a8a9d7f58be0a'|'BRIEF-Summit Industrial Income REIT to acquire new class a property in Sherbrooke, Quebec'|' 10pm EDT BRIEF-Summit Industrial Income REIT to acquire new class a property in Sherbrooke, Quebec March 28 Summit Industrial Income REIT * Summit Industrial Income REIT to acquire new class a property in Sherbrooke, Quebec * Summit Industrial Income REIT- Property will be acquired for $14.8 million in cash from REIT''s credit line Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-summit-industrial-income-reit-to-a-idUSFWN1H50OA'|'2017-03-29T06:10:00.000+03:00' +'52aea885331eae7b6145a826701bdae2ac85ffb0'|'Disney extends CEO Iger''s contract to July 2019'|' 11:14am EDT Disney extends CEO Iger''s contract to July 2019 left right Disney''s Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger holds a news conference at Shanghai Disney Resort as part of the three-day Grand Opening events in Shanghai, China, June 15, 2016. REUTERS/Aly Song 1/2 left right Walt Disney Company President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger (R) and wife Willow Bay (L) pose at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) Art+Film Gala in Los Angeles, October 29, 2016. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok 2/2 Walt Disney Co ( DIS.N ) said on Thursday it extended Chief Executive Bob Iger''s term by more than a year to July 2, 2019. Iger''s previous contract was due to end in June 2018. Iger became CEO of Disney in 2005. (Reporting by Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles and additional reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal Savio D''Souza) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-disney-ceo-idUSKBN16U23I'|'2017-03-23T22:14:00.000+02:00' +'1f852d5e06b8158f138c1a72d424780caf2a2c02'|'Qatar wealth fund CEO says sees post-Brexit investment opportunities'|'LONDON There will still be opportunities for the Qatar Investment Authority, the Gulf Arab state''s acquisitive sovereign wealth fund, to invest in Britain after it leaves the European Union, its chief executive said on Monday.Qatar is one of the most high-profile investors in London, owning landmarks such as the Shard skyscraper, Harrods department store and Olympic Village, as well as luxury hotels.It has also sought to diversify its UK investments beyond real estate, including buying stakes in retailer J Sainsbury Plc and London Heathrow airport."I am still looking, even after Brexit there will be opportunities QIA can really hunt for," Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Saud al-Thani told an investment conference in London.Asked what sectors in Britain he was particular looking at, he said: "Our aim now in the future is really to focus on infrastructure, and we will be focusing also on healthcare and IT."(Reporting by Kylie MacLellan and Tom Finn; editing by William James)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-qatar-qia-brexit-idINKBN16Y12G'|'2017-03-27T08:21:00.000+03:00' +'0f95cd3dfb6ebe806f647c8424bd69accddd5ce0'|'TIMELINE-How Canyon Bridge''s deal with Lattice was put together'|'Company 10:00am EDT TIMELINE-How Canyon Bridge''s deal with Lattice was put together By Liana B. Baker and AteeqUr Shariff - March 24 March 24 Canyon Bridge Capital Partners LLC refiled its proposed $1.3 billion acquisition of Lattice Semiconductor Corp with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), sources said on Friday. Here is how the deal was put together: April 8, 2016: Financial advisers for China Reform Fund Management Co contact Lattices advisers to express interest in discussing "a strategic transaction involving Lattice." May 5, 2016: Lattice CEO Darin Billerbeck and the company''s financial adviser Morgan Stanley meet with Benjamin Chow, a representative of China Reform to discuss a potential deal. August 22, 2016: Lattice and China Reform discuss China Reforms most recent deal proposal. During those talks, Chow states that, after discussions with China Reform, he was considering leaving China Reform to form a new private equity fund, which one of China Reforms affiliates, CVC, had agreed to invest in. This fund eventually became Canyon Bridge. October 2016: Cypress Semiconductor Corp executive chairman Ray Bingham reaches an understanding with Ben Chow about how they would work together, according to a statement by Canyon Bridge. November 2, 2016: Lattice''s board holds a meeting with its advisers where they discuss the proposed merger agreement at length, including the experience and reputations of Canyon Bridges co-founders, Bingham and Chow. Morgan Stanley informs Lattice that the $8.30 per share offer from Canyon Bridge is a fair price to the companys shareholders. November 3, 2016: Deal is announced. Bingham is quoted in the press release as a co-founder of Canyon Bridge praising the transaction. December 2016: Bingham joins Canyon Bridge as a partner, according to the letter by Skadden attorney Kenton King on behalf of Cypress. January 27, 2016: T.J. Rodgers, founder and former CEO of Cypress, files a lawsuit against Bingham alleging he had an "irreconcilable conflict of interest" in joining Canyon Bridge, which he says competes "head-to-head" with it. March 24, 2017: Lattice and Canyon Bridge seek more time to secure U.S. approval of the deal with CFIUS beyond the standard period of 75 days. Source unless otherwise specified: Lattice''s proxy statement to shareholders. (Reporting by Liana B. Baker in San Francisco; editing by Edward Tobin) Next In Company News CANADA STOCKS-TSX rises as TransCanada climbs after Keystone approval TORONTO, March 24 Canada''s main stock index rose on Friday, led by financial and energy shares as oil prices gained and after TransCanada Corp said the U.S. Department of State issued a presidential permit for the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. * Sphere 3D announces registered direct equity offering and concurrent private placement MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/lattice-ma-canyonbridge-idUSL2N1H01GJ'|'2017-03-24T22:00:00.000+03:00' +'7aac33d64814d4d3631ae0e4431684358530e747'|'Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank issues $230 million Formosa bond'|'By Tom Arnold - DUBAI, March 19 DUBAI, March 19 Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), the emirate''s second largest bank by assets, raised $230 million through the sale of a five-year Formosa bond, its second issuance sold in Taiwan this quarter, sources told Reuters on Sunday.At least two other Gulf banks have made similar forays into the Formosa market in the past year as they look to diversify their funding sources.Formosa bonds are sold in Taiwan by foreign issuers and denominated in currencies other than the Taiwanese dollar.ADCB''s five-year issue, which was placed with institutional investors, was arranged by JPMorgan Chase & Co, the sources said.ADCB declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.Earlier this quarter, the bank raised around $750 million through a five-year Formosa bond, which was also placed with institutional investors, one of the sources said. That issue was arranged by Morgan Stanley.National Bank of Abu Dhabi raised $885 million through the sale of a 30-year Formosa bond in January after issuing a $696 million public Formosa bond in October.Qatar National Bank in July printed $330m of five-year Formosa floating-rate notes, two months after issuing three-year floating-rate notes of $1.1 billion.(Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/adcb-bonds-idINL5N1GW0DM'|'2017-03-19T09:37:00.000+02:00' +'169abc7d91131498136250223510a67ddd0bed2a'|'UK financial sector proposes untested system to keep EU access'|' 2:31pm BST UK financial sector proposes untested system to keep EU access FILE PHOTO: The Canary Wharf financial district is seen at dusk in London, Britain November 7, 2014. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo By Huw Jones - LONDON LONDON Britain''s financial sector is drawing up proposals on how it could still serve EU clients after Brexit, even as firms begin establishing new operations on the continent to keep access to the European market. Regulatory and banking experts working for the City of London and lobby group TheCityUK are basing their ideas on a ''mutual recognition'' system. Under this, the European Union and Britain would broadly accept firms in each other''s financial markets because their home regulatory systems apply similar standards. Such a system might limit what is likely to be a flow of business and jobs from the London financial center, by far Europe''s biggest, to countries that remain in the EU. However, skeptics say mutual recognition is largely untested globally and would struggle to win approval within the EU, where there are already calls to make it harder for British financial firms to operate in the bloc, not easier, after Brexit. Undaunted, the experts on the International Regulatory Strategy Group (IRSG) will set out their proposals in a forthcoming paper. This aims to provide ideas for British negotiators after Prime Minister Theresa May formally notified Brussels on Wednesday of her country''s intention to seek a divorce from the remaining 27 EU member states. "You are saying the outcomes from the UK and EU27 regulatory systems are broadly comparable and this is the way to go forward," IRSG Chairman Mark Hoban told Reuters. Some British financial firms - and foreign banks using London as a European base - are already working on plans to move jobs to centers such as Frankfurt, Dublin, Paris and Luxembourg for after Britain loses its blanket "passporting" rights to sell financial services in the EU single market. Germany, however, says they will not be offered any special exemption from regulations. GRAPHIC - Banks'' Brexit dilemma tmsnrt.rs/2mQI774 GRAPHIC - Britain''s banking economy tmsnrt.rs/2nrufUG A BETTER BASIS Firms from outside the EU are already allowed some access to the single market under an ''equivalence'' system, provided the European Commission deems their home rules and supervision to be equivalent in strictness. Britain could therefore technically qualify as a "third country" under this system after Brexit. In practice the system is cumbersome. It operates firm-by-firm, does not cover all activities, has no fixed timetable for approvals and authorizations can be canceled at short notice, bankers say. It took four years for the EU to deem just one set of U.S. derivatives clearing rules to be equivalent as talks got bogged down over technical details. "It''s very clear that the third country model doesn''t work for the UK. There has to be a new basis on which trade is done cross-border between the UK and EU27," said Hoban. "The focus on mutual recognition of regulatory outcomes is a much better basis for continuing to trade cross-border." The hope is that a mutual recognition deal with the EU would be much more comprehensive, encompassing large numbers of firms and business areas rather than the current piecemeal approach. May told parliament on Wednesday she wanted a "bold and ambitious" trade deal covering economic affairs with the bloc within the two-year period of negotiations. PILOT Hoban said mutual recognition would avoid Britain becoming a "rule taker", as equivalence in practice means cutting and pasting EU rules into domestic law without any say in their framing, as Switzerland has to do. It would also be flexible enough to cope with two evolving regulatory systems over time, said Hoban, a former junior finance minister. Past attempts at mutual recognition have achieved little. In 2008 the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission struck a pilot deal with its Australian counterpart ASIC, but this expired after five years and has not been renewed. The EU opened talks on a similar Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) with the United States but these fizzled out without a deal after the global financial crisis. "We started exploring the legal complexities, which were considerable," said David Wright, a senior European Commission official at the time. "Many of the problems back then would be faced by a UK-EU MRA as well." Regulators and lawmakers in the EU say the focus should be on toughening up the equivalence system as this will need to cater for London, which will lie on its doorstep but outside its control, in contrast to smaller centers further afield. "For the EU27, the key question will be how to deal with relevant risks from what will have to be thought of as a very large offshore financial center," said Jakob von Weizsaecker, a German Social Democrat. "Controlling those risks will require a more robust third country equivalence regime," said von Weizsaecker, a member of the European Parliament which will have a veto on any new trade deal with Britain. Gerard Rameix, who chairs French markets regulator AMF, wants a more demanding equivalence system with Britain, given potentially huge volumes of financial transactions. "Thus the third country regime must be carefully re-assessed within the Brexit context," Rameix said. Hoban said there was an appetite in the EU to talk about financial services trading models like mutual recognition. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has promised the Brexit negotiations will be conducted fairly, without seeking punishment of Britain for leaving. Dan Waters, managing director of ICI Global, a funds industry body, was optimistic Britain could get a special deal with the EU. But he said: "The worry is that the review of third country arrangements could be a smokescreen for introducing a more demanding third country regime to punish the UK." Kay Swinburne, a British Conservative member of the European Parliament, said that while there was no appetite in the EU for the terminology of mutual recognition in financial services, there was an interest in how to find a platform that encourages future regulatory convergence. "There is a need for a formal regulatory forum with possibly an arbitration service alongside," Swinburne said. (editing by David Stamp) Fed''s Evans says he supports one or two more rate hikes this year FRANKFURT One of the Federal Reserve''s most consistent supporters of low interest rates on Wednesday said he is with the majority of his colleagues in supporting further rate hikes this year, given progress on the U.S. central bank''s goals of full employment and stable inflation. U.S. stocks'' rally may be near peak, but some gains ahead NEW YORK A U.S. stock rally fueled by optimism President Donald Trump will boost the economy may be near its peak, according to a Reuters poll of strategists who forecast U.S. shares will gain less than 3 percent between now and year-end. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-banks-financial-idUKKBN1701RV'|'2017-03-29T21:06:00.000+03:00' +'e750b485d8d902baa1f484fa2f0ccc7ea2acaca9'|'Factbox: Impact on banks from Britain''s vote to leave the EU'|'Global banks have warned they could move thousands of jobs out of Britain to prepare for the expected disruption caused by the country''s exit from the European Union, endangering London''s status as a major financial center.Leading financial firms warned for months before last June''s Brexit referendum that they would have to move some jobs if the "Leave" side won, and have been working on plans for how they would do so for the past six months.More details are starting to emerge after Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed Britain would leave the European single market, ending banks'' hopes they might retain "passporting" rights that let them sell their services across the EU out of their London hubs.Below are comments and reports on banks about their potential Brexit plansHSBCStuart Gulliver, CEO of HSBC ( HSBA.L ), Europe''s biggest bank, said it would relocate staff responsible for generating around a fifth of its UK-based trading revenue, or around 1,000 people, to Paris.BARCLAYSBarclays ( BARC.L ) Chief Executive Jes Staley told BBC Radio in an interview in Davos that the bank would keep the bulk of its activities in Britain after the UK leaves the EU, and said any changes to how the bank operates will be small and manageable.However, Barclays is preparing to make Dublin its EU headquarters for when Britain quits the EU, according to a source familiar with the matter.UBSSwiss bank UBS''s ( UBSG.S ) Chairman Axel Weber said at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January that about 1,000 of its 5,000 employees in London could be affected by Brexit.Separately, Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti said that UBS has a degree of flexibility if its UK outpost looks set to lose its ability to operate across the EU once Britain leaves the bloc.The world''s biggest wealth manager has also set up a bank in Frankfurt to consolidate most of its European wealth management operations, after the Brexit vote dashed London''s chances of being the host city.CREDIT SUISSECredit Suisse''s ( CSGN.S ) Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam said in September that his bank was relatively well placed to deal with the impact of Brexit and that only around 15-20 percent of volumes in the investment bank would be impacted.LLOYDSLloyds Banking Group ( LLOY.L ), Britain''s largest mortgage lender and the only major British retail bank without a subsidiary in another EU country, is close to selecting Berlin as a European base to secure market access to the EU after Britain withdraws.[nL8N1FY5HM]GOLDMAN SACHSU.S. bank Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) is considering moving up to 1,000 staff from London to Frankfurt because of concerns over Brexit, Germany''s Handelsblatt newspaper reported in January, citing financial sources.Goldman Sachs will begin moving hundreds of people out of London before any Brexit deal is struck as part of its contingency plans, the Wall Street firm''s Europe CEO said in March.Three people familiar with the matter told Reuters in November that Goldman Sachs is considering shifting some of its assets and operations from London to Frankfurt.MORGAN STANLEYU.S. bank Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) has identified many of the roles that will need to be moved from Britain after Brexit, sources involved in the processes told Reuters.Morgan Stanley, which bases the bulk of its European staff in Britain, will have to move up to 1,000 jobs in sales and trading, risk management, legal and compliance, as well as slimming the back office in favor of locations overseas, one source told Reuters.Morgan Stanley may initially shift 300 staff from Britain following its exit from the European Union, and is scouting for office space in Frankfurt and Dublin, Bloomberg News reported in February.CITIGROUPCitigroup ( C.N ), which has also identified roles that will need to be moved out of the UK and has a large banking unit in Dublin, will need to move 100 posts in its sales and trading business, sources with knowledge of the matter said.Separately, Citigroup''s European chief said the U.S. bank would make a decision on its Brexit contingency plans in the first half of the year and choose from a number of potential EU countries to relocate some investment banking business.JPMORGANChase & Co ( JPM.N ) could be forced to move 4,000 of its 16,000 staff currently based in Britain if the country loses access to the single market, bank CEO Jamie Dimon warned in June."It looks like there will be more job movement than we hoped for," Dimon told Bloomberg TV in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January.BOFABank of America Corp ( BAC.N ) said in August that its businesses and results could be adversely affected and it may have to incur additional costs if Brexit limits the ability of its UK entities to conduct business in the EU.Dublin is Bank of America''s default option for a new base within the EU, but other centers are on the table and no decision has yet been made, an executive said in Germany on March 14.(Compiled by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; editing by Mark Heinrich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-banks-factbox-idINKBN16Y1YM'|'2017-03-27T14:03:00.000+03:00' +'9fbb2a2d7ba0d9163eed04592d3df74f9b279a08'|'German firms doubt good business conditions will last - Ifo chief'|'Business News - Sun Mar 26, 2017 - 3:46pm BST German firms doubt good business conditions will last - Ifo chief The famous skyline with its banking district is pictured in early evening next to the Main River in Frankfurt, Germany, January 19, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach BERLIN Many German companies doubt the good conditions in Europe''s largest economy will last as they fear disruption from new technologies, the head of the Munich-based Ifo economic institute told the Suedkurier newspaper. German business morale was buoyant in February, Ifo''s survey of business sentiment showed. Ifo is due to release the results of the March survey on Monday and no change is expected in the reading, supporting expectations for a robust start to 2017. Yet Ifo chief Clemens Fuest said businesses saw disruption on the horizon. "Many firms doubt whether the current good situation will last," Fuest told the Suedkurier, adding that businesses believed new technologies like electric cars and digitalisation would lead to "structural upheaval". He said the German economy was growing well and that Ifo expects it to expand by 1.5 percent in real terms this year. (Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Catherine Evans) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-economy-ifo-idUKKBN16X0PR'|'2017-03-26T22:46:00.000+03:00' +'f0ead2984cc889a4311bb9ae315a23d801a0f3af'|'Effissimo says Toshiba stake purchase aimed at longer term price gain'|'TOKYO Singapore-based fund Effissimo said on Friday it had bought its 8.14 percent stake in Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) because it expects its share price to gain and produce returns though a longer-term increase in corporate value.Effissimo, established by former colleagues of Japan''s most famous activist investor, Yoshiaki Murakami, has become the largest shareholder in Toshiba with its stake, a regulatory filing showed on Thursday.Effissimo''s purchase of Toshiba shares is worth about 65 billion yen ($584 million), based on its closing price on March 15, the date of ownership shown in the filing.(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-effissimo-idINKBN16V0IT'|'2017-03-24T03:21:00.000+03:00' +'bf883606388c50706e0f1f05ee30c6653a7710ae'|'RBS raises settlement offer to last claimants over 2008 cash call'|' 23am BST RBS raises settlement offer to last claimants over 2008 cash call FILE PHOTO: A woman uses an ATM at a Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) branch in London, Britain, February 25, 2010. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo LONDON Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ) has nudged up an offer to the final group of claimants seeking damages over an emergency cash call in 2008, a source familiar with the situation said on Tuesday. The Edinburgh-based bank, which is more than 70 percent owned by taxpayers, has offered an additional 2 pence per share to 43.5 pence a share to a group of claimants, which includes former and current RBS employees and institutional investors. The person said the increase would amount to under 10 million pounds. A spokesman for the claimants was not immediately available. (Reporting By Andrew MacAskill. Editing by Kirstin Ridley) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-rbs-lawsuit-settlement-idUKKBN16Z16C'|'2017-03-28T18:23:00.000+03:00' +'e97e1f419456021185ff752f6756994cdb25eb0d'|'About 17,000 AT&T workers in California and Nevada go on strike'|'U.S. 52pm EDT About 17,000 AT&T workers in California and Nevada go on strike Signage for an AT&T store is seen in New York October 29, 2014. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo By Anjali Athavaley About 17,000 AT&T Inc workers in California and Nevada went on strike on Wednesday, alleging that the company violated contract terms by forcing employees to do work outside their areas of expertise. The employees, who work in the company''s phone, landline and cable services businesses, have been working without a contract for almost a year. Last year, the workers, who are represented by the Communications Workers of America, voted to authorize a strike. AT&T had 268,000 employees as of Jan. 31, according to a filing. The company said it was prepared to continue serving customers. "A walkout is not in anybodys best interest, and its unfortunate that the union chose to do that," AT&T said in a statement. "Were engaged in discussion with the union to get these employees back to work as soon as possible." (Reporting by Anjali Athavaley; Editing by Marguerita Choy) Next In U.S.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-at-t-strike-idUSKBN16T2PJ'|'2017-03-23T01:48:00.000+02:00' +'19abd9793421025303fbdbcf60a905e94f077143'|'London''s reputation slips on Brexit but European rivals lag: survey'|'Business News - Mon Mar 27, 2017 - 9:15am EDT London''s reputation slips on Brexit but European rivals lag: survey The Canary Wharf business district is seen at dusk in London, Britain December 11, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville By John O''Donnell - FRANKFURT FRANKFURT London has seen its standing as a financial center slip as Britain prepares to trigger its departure from the European Union, according to a survey released on Monday, although rival European cities still lag far behind. The Z/Yen global financial centers index (GFCI), which ranks 88 financial centers, still puts London in first place, followed by New York and three cities in economically powerful Asia - Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo. It also shows that banks and others are increasingly worried by Brexit and a drift toward protectionism in the United States and Europe. "Brexit is a major source of uncertainty for all centers - not just London," said the report''s authors, citing what they said was a common complaint among those surveyed. "London slipping is not to the benefit of continental Europe," said Michael Mainelli of Z/Yen Group. "That is largely due to perceptions of Europe. The notion that we are a tired old continent is raised quite a bit," he said, referring to the survey. London''s rating, based on answers from industry players on reputation, infrastructure or business environment, nonetheless fell sharply since last September. This may worsened further since then. The survey was conducted before Prime Minister Theresa May said in January that Britain would not remain in the single market, setting course for a clean break with the world''s largest trading bloc. Politicians in Germany and France would like to seize on Brexit to build up their own centers of Frankfurt and Paris. Frankfurt, where promoters have even sent a nightclub owner with a London delegation to vouch for the city''s often lackluster night life, and Paris, where many banks have balked at strict labor laws, are still struggling. The global ranking of Paris, in 29th place, only held steady compared with September, while Frankfurt, Luxembourg and Dublin, in 23rd, 18th and 33rd place, received a lower position than in the earlier survey. (Reporting By John O''Donnell; editing by Richard Lough) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-london-idUSKBN16Y1HQ'|'2017-03-27T21:15:00.000+03:00' +'34a82633a99dadcd20d8c34c131dd7f07b90609a'|'Brazilian retailer GPA plans $384 mln capital spending plan this year'|'Mon Mar 27, 2017 - 6:42pm EDT Brazilian retailer GPA plans $384 million capital spending plan this year SAO PAULO GPA SA, Brazil''s largest diversified retailer, plans to invest as much as 1.2 billion reais ($384 million) this year to bolster growth in supermarket, cash-and-carry and real estate. In a securities filing on Monday, the board of GPA ( PCAR4.SA ) said they would propose shareholders approve this year''s budget for capital spending, which would earmark 539 million reais for multiple retailing formats and 596 million reais for the chain''s Assai cash-and-carry operation. (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; editing by Diane Craft) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-p-acucar-cbd-outlook-investment-idUSKBN16Y2NO'|'2017-03-28T06:41:00.000+03:00' +'87897162b4a82b92baff8fe346e3d1c4946b14d2'|'Toshiba''s Westinghouse brings in bankruptcy lawyers; disclosure deadlines loom'|'Business News 18am GMT Toshiba''s Westinghouse brings in bankruptcy lawyers; disclosure deadlines loom By Jessica DiNapoli and Makiko Yamazaki - NEW YORK/TOKYO NEW YORK/TOKYO U.S. nuclear firm Westinghouse Electric Co LLC has hired bankruptcy attorneys, in a sign that owner Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) is more seriously weighing a Chapter 11 filing as an option to help it rein in a multibillion dollar financial maelstrom. People familiar with the matter said the nuclear engineering company had brought in law firm Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP as an exploratory step, and had not yet taken a decision on a bankruptcy filing. The news comes as the Japanese conglomerate faces huge pressure to meet a Tuesday deadline to publish audited earnings, postponed a month ago so that it could probe potential problems at Westinghouse further. It is also pushing forward with the sale of most or even all of its prized flash memory chip business, as it seeks to plug not only an upcoming $6.3 billion (5.2 billion pounds) writedown for Westinghouse but also to create a buffer against future financial problems. Toshiba said it was not aware of any intention for Westinghouse to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Sources familiar with the company have said, however, it is one of several options being considered as it struggles to limit losses in the United States where it is facing cost overruns at two projects. It has also hired a Japanese law firm to help estimate the impact of a U.S. bankruptcy for the broader group, those sources said. Japanese Trade Minister Hiroshige Seko said on Wednesday that a Chapter 11 filing would not necessarily be a negative step and that Westinghouse was one topic that he may discuss with U.S. officials when he visits in the near future. "If the U.S. side raises the issue, it will be necessary to discuss it," he told a parliamentary committee. One complication may be financing guarantees given by the U.S. government to help fund the construction of reactors at the Vogtle plant in Georgia, one of the two projects at the core of Westinghouse''s problems. According to a 2014 statement on the U.S. Department of Energy Website, the loan guarantees totalled $8.3 billion. CRUNCH WEEK NEXT WEEK The most immediate challenge for newly appointed Chief Executive Satoshi Tsunakawa - who comes from the healthcare side of Toshiba''s business and has no direct nuclear experience - is to get third-quarter earnings over the line. One source with direct knowledge of the matter said the likelihood of Toshiba meeting its March 14 deadline was ''fifty-fifty'' as Westinghouse auditors and lawyers were fussing over details. If it fails to meet that deadline it has until March 27 to file or it could face a delisting. Toshiba''s shares slid to end down 7 percent, giving it a market value of just $7.5 billion, hurt both by investor concern it may not make the deadline and Westinghouse''s hiring of bankruptcy lawyers. The TVs-to-construction conglomerate must also submit next week a report to the Tokyo Stock Exchange on its internal controls in the wake of its latest financial woes as well as a separate 2015 accounting scandal. That could eventually also lead to a delisting if the bourse finds Toshiba''s efforts unsatisfactory. Even with all those items on its plate, it needs to proceed with the sale of much of its flash memory chip unit - a business it values at least 1.5 trillion yen ($13.1 billion), with bids due at the end of the month. Toshiba has sent invitation letters to around 10 potential bidders, a source said. Taiwan''s Foxconn ( 2317.TW ), the world''s largest contract electronics maker, is so far the only suitor to acknowledge publicly its plans to bid. SK Hynix Inc ( 000660.KS ) has said it is considering a bid. Sources have said other potential bidders include Taiwan''s TSMC ( 2330.TW ), the world''s largest contract chip manufacturer, data storage firm Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ) which operates a Japanese chip plant with Toshiba, rival Micron Technology Inc ( MU.O ), as well as financial investors such as Bain Capital. While Foxconn has said it is very confident it can buy into Toshiba, sources with direct knowledge of the deal said it is not a favoured bidder due to Japanese government''s opposition to its close ties with China. Desperate for cash, Toshiba is also hiving off peripheral assets, from a $2 billion smart meter unit to minority stakes in smaller affiliates, like molding machine maker Toshiba Machine. ($1 = 114.4800 yen) (Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in New York and Makiko Yamazaki in Tokyo; Additional reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware, Kentaro Hamada in Tokyo and JR Wu in Taipei; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting-idUKKBN16G1F5'|'2017-03-09T18:18:00.000+02:00' +'cd1f0843cc7d50d5772dfe0bcbe87d936c6c0db8'|'MOVES- Aurelius Equity, Standard Life Investments, JPMorgan Chase'|'Company News - Tue Mar 21, 2017 - 4:25pm EDT MOVES- Aurelius Equity, Standard Life Investments, JPMorgan Chase March 21 The following financial services industry appointments were announced on Tuesday. To inform us of other job changes, email moves@thomsonreuters.com. AURELIUS EQUITY OPPORTUNITIES SE & CO. KGAA The investment firm said it hired four people to its UK team. MARKEL INTERNATIONAL LTD The insurer, a unit of Markel Corp, appointed Monica Novella as assistant cargo underwriter in its marine, energy and property business. NORTHERN TRUST CORP The company announced five management changes following the appointment of Peter Cherecwich as president of its Corporate & Institutional Services (C&IS) unit. STANDARD LIFE INVESTMENTS Investment management firm Standard Life Investments, a unit of Standard Life Plc, named Larry Carlson director of strategic relationships. BTIG LLC Financial services firm appointed Dennis King managing director in its debt capital markets division in New York. JPMORGAN CHASE & CO The no.1 U.S. bank has named Andrew Kresse to head small business banking, succeeding Jennifer Piepszak who was put in charge of card services last month, the bank said. (Compiled by Divya Grover and Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/financial-moves-idUSL3N1GY3LX'|'2017-03-22T03:25:00.000+02:00' +'e2cf2cf7db80a4e887399f861fc618d72d910212'|'Fed''s Powell says case for a March rate hike ''has come together'''|' 4:42pm GMT Fed''s Powell says case for a March rate hike ''has come together'' Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell attends the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City''s annual Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming August 28, 2015. REUTERS/Jonathan Crosby WASHINGTON The case at the Federal Reserve for an interest rate increase in March has gained support and will be on the table when policymakers meet later this month, Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell said on Thursday. Several Fed policymakers have made the case this week that the U.S. central bank is drawing closer to another rate hike and investors widely expect the move will come at the March 14-15 policy meeting. "The case for a rate increase in March has come together," Powell told U.S. broadcaster CNBC, adding that he felt three rate increases would likely be needed in 2017. Powell pointed to price data released on Wednesday as supporting the view that the Fed was close to meeting both its inflation and employment mandates. The data showed consumer prices in January posted their biggest monthly gain in four years and left the 12-month increase in prices at 1.9 percent, just below the Fed''s 2 percent target. "We''re getting very close to our goal," Powell said. (Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Dan Grebler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-fed-powell-idUKKBN1692BO'|'2017-03-02T23:29:00.000+02:00' +'2ef551fc4fa8d59b1dbce0eb743d47e80b7699da'|'Brazil''s BRF says collaborating with authorities after police raids'|'Company 50pm EDT Brazil''s BRF says collaborating with authorities after police raids SAO PAULO, March 17 Brazilian meatpacker BRF SA said on Friday it is collaborating with authorities investigating alleged bribery of food inspectors and politicians. Brazilian federal police had earlier raided dozens of offices of meatpackers, including BRF and rival JBS SA . In a statement, BRF said it complies with all rules and regulations governing production and sale of its products. (Reporting by Bruno Federowski) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-corruption-food-brf-idUSE6N1FG00Q'|'2017-03-17T23:50:00.000+02:00' +'0cfa01d7cf27537ee29fa58f050dc4beadfb512a'|'Dollar, Treasury yields jump on Fed jolt as Trump speech looms'|' 05pm EST Dollar, Treasury yields jump on Fed jolt as Trump speech looms FILE PHOTO - A man stands in front of electronic boards showing stock prices and exchange rate between Japanese Yen and U.S dollar outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, January 20, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon By Nichola Saminather - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE The dollar and Treasury yields jumped on Wednesday after Federal Reserve officials jolted traders by suggesting an interest rate rise may be imminent even as markets remained on tenterhooks ahead of a looming speech by U.S. President Donald Trump. Stock markets in Asia were also pulled lower on concerns Trump''s address to a joint session of Congress may lack the details investors are seeking, though those worries were partially offset by official data showing Chinese manufacturing sector expanded faster than expected in February. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS were down about 0.2 percent, while Chinese stocks .CSI300 .SSEC were little changed. Japan''s Nikkei .N225 soared 1.2 percent, buoyed by a weaker yen and data showing manufacturing activity expanded in February at the fastest pace in almost three years. Australian shares were off 0.2 percent, paring losses as gross domestic product data confirmed the economy returned to growth in the fourth quarter. U.S. 2-year Treasury yields US2YT=RR jumped to 1.3039, their highest level since Dec. 15, after New York Fed President William Dudley, among the most influential U.S. central bankers, said overnight on CNN that the case for tightening monetary policy "has become a lot more compelling" since Trump''s election. John Williams, president of the San Francisco Fed, added to the hawkish message, saying he saw no need to delay a rate hike with the economy at full employment, inflation headed higher, and upside risks from potential tax cuts waiting in the wings. Williams doesn''t have a vote this year but remains influential among his colleagues. U.S. 10-year Treasury yields US10YT=RR also climbed to 2.4239 on Wednesday. "Yesterdays speeches from Fed (policymakers) reinforced market suspicions that a rate hike at the Feds March meeting is a live option," Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, in Sydney, wrote in a note. Traders now see a better than 62 percent chance of a rate increase in March from the current level of 0.5 to 0.75 percent, a surge from 31 percent earlier, according to CME Group''s FedWatch tool. The sharp shift came despite disappointing U.S. fourth-quarter gross domestic product growth, as downward revisions to business and government investment offset robust consumer spending. With a March rate hike now appearing more likely despite the slowdown, markets are focusing on Trump''s address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday evening in the United States, watching for details on his fiscal stimulus, tax cuts and deregulation plans. Trump''s speech is slated to begin at 0200 GMT. "The key still remains Donald Trumps planned policies... The market has so far remained patient with little actual details of these policies revealed," James Woods, global investment analyst at Rivkin in Sydney, wrote in a note. "In the near-term the biggest threat to new all-time highs for equity markets is failure to provide further details on these policies." Nervousness about what details, if any, will be forthcoming have weighed on U.S. markets, with Wall Street posting losses on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI snapped a 12-day winning streak to close down 0.1 percent, while the S&P 500 .SPX ended down 0.26 percent and the Nasdaq .IXIC dropped 0.6 percent. The dollar index .DXY, which tracks the greenback against a basket of trade-weighted peers, jumped 0.4 percent to 101.55 on Wednesday. The dollar also advanced 0.5 percent on the yen to 113.325 yen JPY=D4 . The Australian dollar AUD=D4 briefly reversed earlier losses but fell back down to trade fractionally lower at $0.7653 after data showed gross domestic product beat expectations to grow 2.4 percent from a year earlier. In Asia, markets are still awaiting data on manufacturing activity for February in Indonesia and India. Data releases later in the session include German unemployment for February, and U.S. personal consumption expenditure, inflation and manufacturing activity. In commodities, oil prices were mixed as markets tussled between concerns about rising U.S. crude inventories and optimism over supply cuts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. U.S. crude CLc1 inched down to $54.00 a barrel. Global benchmark Brent LCOc1, however, jumped 1.6 percent to $56.58. The stronger dollar weighed on gold XAU=, which slid 0.5 percent to 1,242.60 an ounce, extending Tuesday''s 0.3 percent decline. (Reporting by Nichola Saminather; Editing by Shri Navaratnam) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUSKBN1682W0'|'2017-03-01T09:05:00.000+02:00' +'97ef8275681ccf12fa33f09499c27f98603f70f5'|'UPDATE 2-Italy proposes Profumo as new Leonardo CEO, confirms Eni, Enel chiefs - Reuters'|'(Adds proposed new CEO of Terna)By Gavin JonesROME, March 18 The Italian Treasury on Saturday proposed that veteran banker Alessandro Profumo be named the new chief executive of defence and aerospace company Leonardo , in a round of new appointments at state-controlled firms.Profumo, who stepped down as chairman of troubled lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena in August 2015, takes over from Mauro Moretti, who has cut debt and streamlined the company''s business to focus on core activities.However, Moretti''s position was undermined when he was sentenced in January to seven years in prison after being held responsible for one of Italy''s worst train accidents while he was head of the state railways.The CEOs of oil firm Eni and utility Enel , respectively Claudio Descalzi and Francesco Starace, were both confirmed for a new mandate, while Roberta Neri was also confirmed as the head of air traffic controller Enav .The Treasury proposed that Matteo Del Fante, head of power grid company Terna, be appointed CEO of the Post Office , replacing Francesco Caio.Caio, a former McKinsey manager, was appointed as CEO of the Post Office in May 2014 to orchestrate the turnaround and privatisation of the company as part of the reform agenda of former prime minister Matteo Renzi.However, while the government sold a 35 percent stake in October 2015, plans to sell another minority stake, initially due in autumn last year, have made no progress due to disagreements within the ruling Democratic Party.Sources also told Reuters the government was unhappy that a consortium led by Poste Italiane pulled out of the race to buy UniCredit''s asset manager Pioneer, which has big holdings of Italian government debt and ended up being sold to France''s Amundi.Del Fante will be replaced as CEO of Terna by Luigi Ferraris, who is currently the chief financial officer at the Post Office and previously held the same position at Enel.Most of the appointments were widely expected after leaks to the press, and will all need to be confirmed by upcoming shareholder meetings at the companies, but this is considered a formality. (Editing by Silvia Aloisi and Stephen Powell)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/italy-treasury-chiefexecutives-idINL5N1GV0DR'|'2017-03-18T15:59:00.000+02:00' +'0925dd889033c07a7ddce24ddd7ea44ce04f3fce'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX slips as industrials offset gains in energy'|'Company News 21am EDT CANADA STOCKS-TSX slips as industrials offset gains in energy * TSX down 23.82 points, or 0.15 percent, to 15,574.75 * Six of the TSX''s 10 main groups were lower TORONTO, March 29 Canada''s main stock index declined on Wednesday as weakness in the industrial sector helped offset a rise in energy stocks that was supported by higher oil prices. At 10:01AM EDT (1401 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index was down 23.82 points, or 0.15 percent, at 15,574.75. Of the index''s 10 main groups, six were in negative territory. The energy group rose 0.2 percent. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd gained 0.3 percent to C$42.95, and Encana Corp advanced 2.3 percent to C$15.24. U.S. crude prices were up 0.4 percent at $48.54 a barrel, while Brent crude added 0.4 percent to $51.54. The financials group rose 0.1 percent. Bank of Nova Scotia gained 0.3 percent to C$79.27, but Manulife Financial Corp declined 0.5 percent to C$23.56. Industrials fell 0.4 percent. Canadian National Railway Co gave back 0.6 percent to C$98.23, and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd was down 0.7 percent at C$196.07. The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, was unchanged. (Reporting by John Tilak; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/markets-stocks-canada-idUSL2N1H60SC'|'2017-03-29T22:21:00.000+03:00' +'d48e102fd17f486ac72b671a8f4600962c0e8b03'|'BRIEF-Oceaneering International says "projecting a further decline in profitability for the full year 2017"'|'UPDATE 2-Wells Fargo to pay $110 mln to settle lawsuit over account abuses March 28 Wells Fargo & Co said it agreed in principle to pay $110 million to settle a lawsuit by customers challenging its opening of accounts without their permission, a practice that led to a scandal that cost the bank''s chief executive his job. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-oceaneering-international-says-pro-idUSFWN1H50O2'|'2017-03-29T05:36:00.000+03:00' +'15511a415b7875dd4e784586aa6300925faa6b5a'|'FDA lifts hold on Seattle Genetics drug trials'|'Health 10am EST FDA lifts hold on Seattle Genetics drug trials FILE PHOTO - A view shows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland August 14, 2012. REUTERS/Jason Reed/File Photo Seattle Genetics Inc said on Monday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had lifted the clinical hold on several early stage studies testing its experimental cancer drug. The FDA imposed the clinical hold following the deaths of four people in trials testing the company''s experimental cancer drug, vadastuximab talirine, Seattle Genetics said on Dec. 27. (Reporting by Akankshita Mukhopadhyay in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila) Next In Health News Bird flu found in Tennessee chicken flock on Tyson-contracted farm A strain of bird flu has been detected in a chicken breeder flock on a Tennessee farm contracted to U.S. food giant Tyson Foods Inc, and the 73,500 birds will be culled to stop the virus from entering the food system, government and company officials said on Sunday. LONDON A quarter of all global deaths of children under five are due to unhealthy or polluted environments including dirty water and air, second-hand smoke and a lack or adequate hygiene, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-seattle-genetics-fda-idUSKBN16D1CD'|'2017-03-06T19:03:00.000+02:00' +'61f066d70a9028da82ee61ca74f81c05603eb5d2'|'The learners who are out of pocket as Drive Dynamics stalls over lessons - Money'|'When Nicole Dunn paid for 10 lessons with driving school franchise Drive Dynamics the company took 111.50 and told her she would be contacted by an instructor. She heard nothing more.Two weeks later she called to find out what was happening. I was told that the individual assigned to me no longer worked for the company, and that they would pass my details on to another instructor who would contact me, Dunn says. Again this never happened. I called customer services and was advised the original instructor does in fact still work for the company and they would get him to contact me. He didnt.Dunn, 21, who is from Sunderland, requested a refund but was refused as she was outside the companys 14-day cooling-off period. Over the ensuing weeks she made 14 calls asking to speak to a manager but was told none were available. Her attempts to make contact via the companys webform also failed. Exactly a year on she has received neither lessons nor her money back.Dunn is one of scores of customers who have been left out of pocket by Drive Dynamics, which describes itself as the UKs most liked driving school on Facebook. After The Observer featured a similar case featuring the firm in April last year , more than 100 would-be learners complained, all with the same problem: the promised lessons never took place and the refunds didnt materialise. Web forums tell a similar story.Bradford-based Drive Dynamics, which offers 10 beginner lessons for 99, is a franchise with a network of self-employed instructors who pay a monthly fee to use the name, plus a commission for each pupil referred to them. Given that the average cost of a driving lesson in the UK is 24, the firms cut-price deals and national reach are a lure for learners on a tight budget. Equally appealing is the suggestion made by sales staff that lessons can be swiftly arranged since a national shortage of qualified instructors means waiting lists at most driving schools are long.We are in the perfect storm, says Blaine Walsh, an industry adviser who runs the support and training website Driving-Instructor.tv. The number of instructors has decreased by nearly 15% over the past four years, while there has been an increase of nearly 7% of pupils sitting the test.''I was promised an instructor, which never happened, then a refund which never came''Linda Worger The trouble is that Drive Dynamics cant cope with the demand it generates. Its website claims it has more than 400 instructors, but spokesman David Simister puts the number at just under 300. With 6,000 customers currently on its books, rising to 15,000 at peak times (its automated customer service line boasts that the number is 115,000), it is unsurprising that many of them never get the lessons they pay for, especially with a customer service team that has only recently increased from four to nine staff.Linda Worger of New Malden, Surrey, bought the 99 package for her sons birthday present in December. Eighteen days later, after she had chased the company three times, she was texted a list of dates, but when she replied she was told they were all unavailable. That was the last she heard. I rang numerous times in January and was promised an instructor, which never happened, then promised a refund which never came, and then told that I couldnt have my money back, she says. I have had to pay another instructor at a time when I cant really afford it.Abdi Duale from Hull did finally get his money back, but only after hours on the phone and a string of false promises. He paid 312 in November and was promised that his lessons would start the following weekend. I was surprised because the other driving schools Id tried had waiting times of up to six weeks, but the sales adviser was so cheery and confident that I was sold, he says. But when his instructor got in touch he was told he would have to wait nine weeks. He demanded a refund from Drive Dynamics and was told it would take 14 days. A month later he was still waiting.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Abdi Duale spent hours on the phone before he finally got his money back. Photograph: Gary Calton for the Observer Drive Dynamics terms and conditions state that although it handles payments, a customers contract is with the instructor assigned to them, and it is the instructor who is responsible for issuing refunds. A payment will only be refunded by Drive Dynamics if it fails to allocate an instructor within 14 days. The small print makes no provision for customers who never hear from their instructor. Moreover, staff cant easily tell who has and hasnt got lessons arranged because, as Simister admits to The Observer , theres no incentive for instructors to use the centralised online diary.The company acknowledges it has a problem. In 2015, following exposure by BBC Watchdog, the then 10-year-old business, registered as Kan Kan Ltd, went into liquidation owing more than 500,000 to creditors. In the same year a company with the same directors was registered under the name Dynamic Franchises Ltd. Although it is legally a different company, its website, which looks indistinguishable from the old one, declares that the family-run business was founded in 2005, the date Kan Kan Ltd was launched. The Kan Kan name lives on as a website for one of the UKs largest all-female driving schools with the same phone number as Drive Dynamics, and with equally dismal reviews. The customer service operative who answered The Observers call claimed it no longer exists. Simister insists it does.We are a month away from launching a new centralised diary that will help iron out a lot of issuesDavid Simister, Drive Dynamics When Watchdog investigated Drive Dynamics the firm blamed its appalling customer service on its computer system. Nearly two years on the excuse is the same. We invested a lot of time and money into a bespoke customer relationship management system, but before it was completed the company we had paid to deliver the project went into administration, Simister says. We are now just a month away from launching a new centralised diary system that will help iron out a lot of the issues we have been experiencing.The problems experienced by Drive Dynamics customers expose a loophole in the law. Individual professional driving instructors must be on the Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) register or licensed by the ADI Registrar, which are regulated by the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), but anyone can set up a driving school provided they use qualified instructors. Its an issue that damages the reputation of the profession, according to the Driving Instructors Association . There is merit in considering how we regulate driving school businesses, says spokeswoman Carly Brookfield. When companies act in an unprofessional manner clearly it impacts the customer, but it also impacts the professional reputation of the instructors working for them who are not necessarily part of the problem.However unsatisfactory a driving school, the regulators hands are tied. The agency is only empowered to regulate the conduct of individual driving instructors, and is not empowered to regulate the conduct of corporate bodies, says a DVSA spokesperson. Instead, complaints often fall to overstretched Trading Standards offices run by local councils. West Yorkshire Trading Standards says it is aware of Drive Dynamics. Weve been trying to work with them to resolve some of the ongoing issues that continue to generate complaints, a spokesperson says.Drive Dynamics says those customers whose complaints were passed on by The Observer have since been refunded, but many more are still waiting. Anyone who has received neither lessons nor a refund should also complain to their local Trading Standards office, which can take enforcement action.THE KEY TO FINDING A GOOD INSTRUCTOR Cheap lessons and availability should not determine which instructor to use, according to Carly Brookfield of the Driving Instructors Association. Make sure you choose a fully qualified and licensed approved driving instructor (ADI). Some schools use trainees known as PDIs (provisional driving instructors) who have less experience, she says. Check what grade they are. Driving instructors are assessed by the Driving & Vehicle Standards Agency every four years. Grade A signifies the top performers.Instructors should have signed up to the ADI code of conduct, which governs all aspects of their business from teaching practices to financial management. Ask the trainer about their ongoing training. Continuing professional development is something good instructors invest in to update their skills and knowledge. Its a worrying sign if they are not doing this.Training instructor Blaine Walsh says the best instructors tend to have long waiting lists, so the first lesson should be booked several months before the driver wants to start.Dont pay upfront for a block booking until you have had a couple of lessons to see if the teaching style suits you, he advises.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/mar/19/learner-drivers-out-of-pocket-drive-dynamics-lessons-failed'|'2017-03-19T02:00:00.000+02:00' +'3524591a624f84ca195b93e3e9afe12e70f41f0a'|'Fox takes issue with UK government analysis of Sky deal'|'Business News - Wed Mar 8, 2017 - 6:22pm GMT Fox takes issue with UK government analysis of Sky deal Rupert Murdoch, Executive Chairman News Corp and Chairman and CEO 21st Century Fox speaks at the WSJD Live conference in Laguna Beach, California October 29, 2014. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo LONDON Rupert Murdoch''s Twenty-First Century Fox ( FOXA.O ) said it was not surprised the British government wanted to scrutinise its takeover of Sky ( SKYB.L ), but disputed the analysis that led to the view the deal may not be in the public interest. The company, which already owns 39 percent of Sky, agreed in December to buy the rest of the pay-TV group for 11.7 billion pounds ($14.2 billion), triggering a regulatory review of the politically sensitive deal. Media Secretary Karen Bradley said on Friday she was likely to intervene to see if any one company would control too much of Britain''s media, and whether the new owners would have a genuine commitment to broadcasting standards. The deal came five years after a political and criminal scandal at Murdoch''s British newspaper business derailed an earlier bid. In a letter to the Department of Media made public on Wednesday, Fox took issue with what it said were serious flaws in the process that led to the minister saying she was "minded" to refer the deal for a full investigation. While Fox said it would welcome a thorough regulatory review, it questioned the government''s analysis of Murdoch''s influence on the media market, saying the circulation of his newspapers had fallen and they were now held in a separate company. It also rejected any suggestion Fox had a weaker record than Sky when it came to broadcasting standards and said it had learnt from the mistakes made in the past, when Murdoch''s British newspaper arm admitted that some journalists at the News of the World had hacked into phones. "Twenty First Century Fox takes compliance matters extremely seriously and is proud of the transformation of its corporate governance and of the arrangements it has put in place since that time," it said in the letter. Fox said it would welcome a decision whether to refer the bid to regulators as soon as possible, adding it was prepared to begin working with the regulatory bodies at the earliest opportunity ($1 = 0.8228 pounds) (Reporting by Paul Sandle and Kate Holton; Editing by Mark Potter) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sky-plc-m-a-fox-letter-idUKKBN16F2B0'|'2017-03-09T00:40:00.000+02:00' +'6fb1647c456cdf76c79f77ed7851b60b5d9b76fa'|'UK braces for another pounding from Brexit talks'|'Foreign Exchange Analysis 11:16pm GMT UK braces for another pounding from Brexit talks A food seller holds a new polymer five pound note at Whitecross Street Market in London, Britain September 13, 2016. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth By Patrick Graham - LONDON LONDON After eight months of discounting a plethora of UK political risks, sterling''s relaxed reaction to the prospect of the launch of Brexit talks and a new Scottish independence referendum may be understandable, but the worst may not be over yet. Declared the official opposition to the government''s drive for a "hard Brexit" when it sank last year, the pound barely moved on Monday as the Scotland''s first minister demanded a new vote and the government saw off the last pieces of parliamentary opposition. That stability may have been some measure of how far sterling has fallen - more than 20 percent in a year - and how cheap it now seems to big financial investors. But for the past three weeks it has looked more like the calm before a gathering market storm that may be launched by a combination of a weakening economy and an EU summit in early April that will establish ground rules for the talks. Several of the currency world''s top 10 banks, who were more cautious on the pound at the end of last year, have been aggressive again in the past fortnight in advocating more declines. Sterling has been the worst performer against the dollar among the major developed-world currencies as a result. Net "short" bets against the pound on the regulated U.S. futures market took their biggest jump in six months last week, a fifth rise in a row taking them to the highest since November. They remain short of the record highs reached after a "flash crash" last October, suggesting there may be more room to fall. An alternative measure of investor movements run by Citi, the world''s biggest currency trader, says nothing in the past month''s flows suggests there is a barrier to more selling. "The focus on sterling has definitely reduced significantly this year and that does suggest the moves down may be slower and more of a grind," said Josh O''Byrne, a strategist on the G10 group of major currencies with the U.S. bank. "But a move below $1.20 by the end of the year wouldn''t surprise us at all, and you probably have a bit more room, towards $1.15. Positioning isn''t too heavy and the politics may represent a bit of a catalyst for the wider economic picture." IT''S THE ECONOMY... The pound sank after the Brexit vote last June largely on the assumption that consumers and investors would spend less in the uncertain environment that followed and that economic growth in general would suffer. In the event, the British economy has stood up well. Yet in contrast to the euro, it now heads into a time of unprecedented constitutional uncertainty with a record current account shortfall as well as more than $2 trillion of public debt that needs servicing annually and which is still climbing. A number of leading data indicators have turned lower and economists point to the arrival of hefty price increases caused by sterling''s depreciation so far as possible turning points for household spending. That may come as EU officials deliver the first blows in the talks after an EU summit next month. "In the medium term, there is clearly pretty large headline risk to the pound and we are starting from a fairly weak position on the deficits, both fiscal and external," said James Binny, State Street Global Advisors'' EMEA head of currencies. "We do not have that underlying support that the euro has had." Like others, Binny also said sterling''s longer-term fair value is probably around $1.50 and wonders when its weakness will tempt foreign multinationals and investment managers to invest heavily in UK assets. But for now the doubt over what deal ministers will emerge with in 18 months time should override such thoughts, he said. "If you are going to make a big strategic purchase in the UK, it would seem extremely risky to do so before you know what deal they are getting," he said. "If you are thinking of buying the pound, you would tend to think that you will still get a better opportunity." STEADY All that said, some teams of bank strategists have also begun to ask what political risks are not yet provided for. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been indicating for weeks that she was liable to demand a referendum and the pound barely budged when she did on Monday, gaining almost half a percent on the day. Likewise, Prime Minister Theresa May signalled months ago she would launch Article 50 talks on leaving the bloc by the end of March and has made clear the government is on course for a "hard Brexit" that imposes immigration and other controls at the expense of membership of the EU''s lucrative single market. "To me the market has put a lot of Brexit into the price," says Peter Gorra, Head of G10 Trading at Nomura in New York. "The market always looks far ahead and the pound is down so much in the last year. I dont know if I would call the bottom, but we are certainly getting near." (Writing by Patrick Graham)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-sterling-analysis-idUKKBN16K2NM'|'2017-03-14T06:16:00.000+02:00' +'606d1c43bc3b4c5d9416172e654136ff6f9734a8'|'Japan Aso calls on G20 to reconfirm warning vs excess FX volatility'|'BADEN BADEN, Germany Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Friday it was "very important" for the Group of 20 economies to reconfirm its warning that excess currency volatility was undesirable for economic stability."I told my G20 counterparts that while the global economy was recovering gradually, downside risks existed so it was important to reconfirm a G20 commitment to use all available tools, individually and collectively, to ensure economic stability," Aso said.Aso said he also told the G20 finance leaders that Japan was ready to mobilize monetary and fiscal policy tools to end deflation.On global trade, Aso said he stressed the importance of having "free and fair rules" on global trade, which have brought prosperity to many economies.Aso made the remarks to reporters after the first day of a two-day gathering of the Group of 20 finance leaders in Baden Baden, Germany.(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-g20-germany-japan-aso-idINKBN16O2VR'|'2017-03-17T20:36:00.000+02:00' +'dbf25234c26775255ee6b8796fb9f58c2875cd32'|'Alinda puts Canada''s Reliance Comfort on the block: sources'|'By John Tilak - TORONTO TORONTO U.S. investment firm Alinda Capital Partners is seeking buyers for Reliance Comfort L.P., a Canadian provider of heating and cooling systems, in a deal that could value the company C$3 billion to C$4 billion, according to people with knowledge of the process.Alinda has hired Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce ( CM.TO ) and Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) as financial advisers for the sale, the people added.The sale is seen attracting interest from Canadian pension funds and U.S. private equity firms, said the people, who declined to be identified as the process is confidential.A CIBC spokeswoman declined comment. Alinda Capital and Goldman Sachs did not respond to requests for comment.Bloomberg reported the news earlier on Tuesday.(Reporting by John Tilak; Editing by Sandra Maler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-reliancecomfort-alinda-m-a-idINKBN16E2WU'|'2017-03-07T20:10:00.000+02:00' +'e6f9a9bef80a389e38a52b141322da7b6211e02b'|'Britain and U.S. tell NATO allies to "raise their game" on defence spending'|'Company 7:03am EDT Britain and U.S. tell NATO allies to "raise their game" on defence spending LONDON, March 31 Britain and the United States said on Friday that NATO allies needed to commit to increase defence spending every year, calling on countries who do not meet the alliance''s 2 percent spending target to "raise their game". "Secretary Mattis and I have agreed that others must now raise their game, and those failing to meet the 2 percent commitment so far should at least agree to year on year real terms increases," British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said during a joint news conference with U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. (Reporting by Kylie MacLellan and Phil Stewart; Writing by William James; editing by Guy Faulconbridge) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-us-nato-idUSL9N1GK03A'|'2017-03-31T19:03:00.000+03:00' +'270a6846065915a03df4878d328b526b6dd84627'|'LNG projects must control costs to stay competitive at current prices - JERA'|'Money News - Wed Mar 8, 2017 - 3:51am IST LNG projects must control costs to stay competitive at current prices - JERA FULL COVERAGE: By Osamu Tsukimori - TOKYO TOKYO Global liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects must control their costs to be profitable at current LNG prices to compete against coal and renewable power, the president of the world''s biggest buyer of the fuel told Reuters. Projects should be profitable below $10 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) or the assumption that emerging market demand for LNG will rise could be called into question, said JERA Co President Yuji Kakimi in an interview on Friday drawing from remarks he will give on Wednesday to the CERAWeek conference in Houston. "It is a must to have the industry that can sustain itself at current LNG prices," Kakimi said. JERA is joint venture of Chubu Electric Power ( 9502.T ) and Tokyo Electric Power ( 9501.T ) "Last year''s spot prices ranged from around $5 to $10 per mmBtu, and we have to have projects that are economical even at the low end of those prices." "Otherwise the expected golden age of LNG in the mid 2020s may not come because it is questionable whether developing and emerging nations would significantly increase LNG purchases if the price keeps rising," Kakimi said. Companies struggled to move towards final investment decisions (FID) last year as lower LNG prices combined with rising costs in addressing environmental concerns put a question mark on project viability. Costs for the Gorgon project in Australia that started up in March last year were initially pegged at $37 billion and then ballooned to $54 billion. The Ichthys project slated to begin in the third quarter has experienced a 10 percent rise in costs since FID in January 2012. Natural gas prices have traditionally been higher in Asia because of the lack of a pipeline network so gas has to be liquefied for transport on ships. Producers have typically insisted on long term contracts for expensive projects to convince banks to fund them, along with a link to oil prices. While LNG prices surged in the aftermath of Japan''s Fukushima disaster in 2011, which led to the shutdown of most of the country''s nuclear reactors, a two-year decline in oil prices has pushed the spot price of LNG in Asia down 70 percent from its 2014 highs LNG-AS. JERA has led the way in pushing for changes in contracts that restrict the resale of LNG cargoes and the linkage to oil prices. JERA received Japan''s first LNG cargo derived from U.S. shale gas in January but paid nearly twice as much for fuel as its cheapest imports. Paradoxically, Kakimi says that helped pushed down prices in Asia substantially, as sellers now offer a milder LNG price slope for oil-linked contracts. A milder slope, used to calculate the link between oil and LNG prices, puts a cap on the impact of higher oil to LNG prices. "Conscious of U.S. LNG, the sellers of oil-linked LNG have lowered the slope to crude prices to court customers," he said. "We have achieved big success in significantly lowering Asian LNG prices," he said. "When oil prices rise, will LNG become more expensive? I don''t think such an age will return." (Editing by Aaron Sheldrick and Christian Schmollinger) Next In Money News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/lng-jera-idINKBN16E2VY'|'2017-03-08T05:21:00.000+02:00' +'0007438b00637af4292c4897ec72ffc26457500f'|'EXCLUSIVE: With India visit, Westinghouse CEO keeps nuclear project alive'|'Technology Photos - Wed Mar 8, 2017 - 7:09pm IST Exclusive: With India visit, Westinghouse CEO keeps nuclear project alive FILE PHOTO - Visitors look at a nuclear power plant station model by American company Westinghouse at the World Nuclear Exhibition 2014, the trade fair event for the global nuclear energy sector, in Le Bourget, near Paris October 14, 2014. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo By Douglas Busvine - NEW DELHI NEW DELHI A deal to build six Westinghouse nuclear reactors in India is still alive, but to be viable must be ring-fenced from a financial crisis at the U.S. reactor maker and its Japanese parent Toshiba Corp, people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Westinghouse would only provide reactors for the six AP1000 units to be built in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. It would not carry out civil engineering work to build the entire project - an approach that led to cost overruns at its projects in the United States. Toshiba last month booked a $6.3 billion charge arising from those overruns, forcing it to put its core flash-memory chip business up for sale and pull out of building nuclear power plants abroad. Despite the financial crisis, Westinghouse CEO Jose Gutierrez flew in to India last week for talks with state-run National Power Corp of India Ltd (NPCIL) and the Department of Atomic Energy that reports to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said two people who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We still have daily meetings and things are going to plan," said one, echoing comments to Reuters on Feb. 17 by India''s atomic energy secretary Sekhar Basu. Westinghouse and NPCIL did not respond to calls and emails requesting comment. U.S.-INDIA NUCLEAR COOPERATION Modi and former U.S. President Barack Obama made finalizing the multi-billion-dollar reactor deal by mid-2017 the centerpiece of their Washington summit last June. That deadline will probably slip but, in an industry inured to lengthy talks, some participants now suggest a final agreement would still be possible by the end of this year. Closing the deal would crown a U.S.-India civil nuclear accord championed by George W. Bush that had been slow to advance because of teething troubles over liability in the event of a nuclear accident. Now, existential doubts over the viability of nuclear power at a global level threaten Modi''s ambitious goal of tripling India''s nuclear capacity by 2024 to wean Asia''s third-largest economy off polluting fossil fuels like coal. Toshiba has asked a Japanese law firm to estimate the potential financial impact if Westinghouse files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to protect itself from creditors and allow it to continue operating. Indian engineering group Larsen & Toubro, a potential partner that has signed a memorandum of understanding with Westinghouse to supply nuclear plant elements and do civil works, still views the India project as viable. "As long as the guarantees are in place, I see no reason why this won''t go ahead," Shailendra Roy, head of L&T''s power business, told Reuters, without elaborating on the nature of any such guarantees. "I don''t think the financial crisis at Westinghouse will affect the execution of the project," he added. "The project is on, it is viable and that is what the government has intimated to us." "SAFEST AND MOST ECONOMICAL" Westinghouse advertises its AP1000 pressurized water reactor, with a generation capacity of 1,110 megawatts, as "the safest and most economical nuclear power plant available". Yet it was the same reactor that was the source of its financial problems in the United States, and construction of a fleet of AP1000s in China has also faced delays. Critical to managing costs is ensuring that any overruns on the construction side of the project would be borne by contractors and not Westinghouse, as is the norm in India, one of the sources said. And, while technical negotiations have reached an advanced stage, more work is needed on the commercial side of the deal that would include financing from the Export-Import Bank of the United States. U.S. ExIm, though, has lacked a quorum on its board of directors, preventing it from issuing loans over $10 million, and the attitude of new President Donald Trump''s administration to the India reactor deal remains unclear. Those are grounds enough for scepticism, say some nuclear industry experts and sources in India. "I doubt that NPCIL will finalize a deal until there is clarity about Toshiba''s exit, and who the new project manager would be," said Rakesh Sood, a former disarmament negotiator and now a distinguished fellow at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi. For a Graphic on "Nuclear power plants in India", click: here (Additional reporting by Tommy Wilkes and Aditya Kalra; Editing by Ian Geoghegan) Next In Technology Photos'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-india-idINKBN16F1LH'|'2017-03-08T20:31:00.000+02:00' +'451523c7f2b466e3331aa10ef520c9e3ef351085'|'Fed to hold rate policy meeting as planned despite weather'|'Business News - Tue Mar 14, 2017 - 7:47am EDT Fed to hold rate policy meeting as planned despite weather The Federal Reserve Building stands in Washington April 3, 2012. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts WASHINGTON The U.S. Federal Reserve will hold an interest rate policy meeting as planned on Tuesday and Wednesday, the central bank said in a statement that might dispel any doubts over whether policymakers would brave a snowstorm hitting Washington on Tuesday morning. The Fed is expected to raise rates at the meeting''s conclusion on Wednesday. (Reporting by Jason Lange) Boeing, aerospace manufacturers back U.S. tax overhaul SEATTLE Boeing Co and about 90 other aerospace companies are urging Congress to overhaul the U.S. tax system, saying a set of changes Republicans proposed last year - including a big cut in the corporate tax rate - will make them more competitive globally and help create U.S. jobs.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-meeting-idUSKBN16L1BJ'|'2017-03-14T18:47:00.000+02:00' +'b514d412af53f049b7d34dd93be2f83b589ba3b0'|'New Taxes Could Trigger a Japanese Craft Beer Renaissance'|'In Japan, a nation of epicures, the local beers arent always palate pleasers. Connoisseurs blame the taxman. The Finance Ministry imposes higher taxes on drinks with greater malt content. So the biggest breweries, including Asahi Group Holdings Ltd. and Kirin Holdings Co., sell knockoffs, called happoshu (meaning bubbly spirits), or third beer, that may use peas, corn, or soybeans to reduce the amount of flavorful malt. A lot of time, energy, and money has been wasted coming up with some really bad drinksand its because of the tax system, says Tatsuo Aoki, owner of the Tokyo bar Popeye.Craft brewers, which account for about 2 percent of beer sales in Japan, say the tax incentives have given bigger companies an advantage and allowed the substitutes to dominate the market, because they cost a lot less. Meanwhile, some expensive-to-make special brews with exotic ingredients must be advertised as the cheap stuff because their recipes dont meet official definitions of beerwhich regulations define, in part, as having at least 67 percent malt content. I view the entire beer-tax regime in Japan as a colossal bad joke, says Bryan Baird, a co-founder of Baird Brewing Co., one of 265 craft brewers in Japan.Cans of Yo-Ho Brewings Tokyo Black beer.Photographer: Noriko Hayashi/Bloomberg The Finance Ministry, in an effort to boost the competitiveness of Japanese beers in the international market, will change the tax rates for beer and the substitutes starting in 2020, continuing through 2026. In 2018 it will expand the list of ingredients allowed inside the can. Leveling the taxes and removing the happoshu stigma could mean fast growth for the nations craft brewers.Changing the code to encourage more craft brewing could also help revitalize regional economies, according to the ministrys tax bureau, something Prime Minister Shinzo Abe promotes as a key part of his development program. Domestic shipments of all beer have declined for 12 straight years, according to the Brewers Association of Japan. Revenue is projected to continue falling through 2021, according to Tokyo-based market researcher Fuji Keizai Co.The current tax regime is a relic of the 19th century, when beer was a luxury imbibed primarily by foreigners. It was seen as a way to raise money without putting a tax burden on Japanese consumers. Japans five big brewersAsahi, Kirin, Suntory Holdings Ltd., Sapporo Holdings, and Orion Brewerieshave long argued the taxes are too high and make beer too expensive for average drinkers. The tax on a can of beer equals 77 yen (68), which is 9 times greater than that in the U.S. and 19 times greater than Germanys, according to a 2016 report by a lobby group representing the brewers. If the malt content is lowered enough, the tax could fall to 28 yen. Too much attention has been given to winning market share through price wars, and we have left behind what is most importantthe customer, says Yoshinori Isozaki, Kirins chief executive officer.Beer startups are also hindered by a regulation that prohibits malt beverages containing fruit extracts, spices, and other ingredients from being sold as real beer. As such, some craft beers have been lumped in with the cheaper, low-malt brews, lessening their appeal.Jars of hops, pale malt, caramel malt, coriander, and orange peel on display.Photographer: Noriko Hayashi/Bloomberg Executives at Japans largest craft beer maker, Yo-Ho Brewing Co., are toasting the governments changes. Yo-Ho, which is one-third owned by Kirin, makes a wheat beer with coriander and orange peel, accordingly labeled happoshu.Customers have been under the mistaken impression that just because the label says happoshu, it doesnt taste good, says Yo-Ho CEO Naoyuki Ide. We definitely see things going in a positive direction for craft beer.With Maiko TakahashiThe bottom line: Japans new tax laws may bring about a beer boom that could boost the production of craft brews.'|'bloomberg.com'|'https://www.bloomberg.com/businessweek'|'http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-02/new-taxes-could-trigger-a-japanese-craft-beer-renaissance'|'2017-03-02T08:00:00.000+02:00' +'e7e321b0751648cf109dc9ccc620a3cff7b5a035'|'Admiral full-year profit hit by cut in injury discount rate'|' 31am GMT Admiral full-year profit hit by cut in injury discount rate LONDON Car insurer Admiral ( ADML.L ) on Wednesday posted a 25 percent fall in full-year pretax profit after the British government lowered the discount rate used to calculate personal injury payouts. Pretax profit in the period was 284.3 million pounds ($346.99 million), it said in a statement, down from 376.8 million pounds in 2015. Stripping out the impact of the discount rate cut to minus 0.75 percent from 2.5 percent, which will see lump-sum payouts rise, the firm said profits were up 3 percent. However, the firm said revenues over the 12 months to end-December rose 22 percent to 2.6 billion pounds, helped by strong sales to international customers. The company said it would pay a final dividend of 51.5 pence, made up of a normal dividend of 15 pence per share and a special dividend of 36.5 pence. ($1 = 0.8193 pounds) (Reporting by Simon Jessop, editing by Maiya Keidan) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-admiral-group-results-idUKKBN16F0P4'|'2017-03-08T14:31:00.000+02:00' +'bcb91dfabb63508d3fbf7bb8f10ab6d21b8ecf92'|'Toshiba shares rise after report Westinghouse may file bankruptcy Tuesday'|'TOKYO Shares in Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) rose on Monday morning after a report that U.S. unit Westinghouse Electric Co could file for bankruptcy protection as early as Tuesday and is seeking support from South Korea''s Korea Electric Power Corp ( 015760.KS ).Toshiba''s shares were last up 0.5 percent at 224 yen after earlier rising as high as 232 yen, against the backdrop of a broader market downturn. The Nikkei stock average .N225 was down 1 percent.Toshiba said on Monday that whether or not Westinghouse files for bankruptcy is ultimately a decision for its board.(Reporting by Tokyo markets team; Editing by Stephen Coates)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-westinghouse-idINKBN16Y00R'|'2017-03-27T12:47:00.000+03:00' +'3f15c1289a2dbcdd9474fb24262c7d2d0d975553'|'New World Bank ceo defends globalisation, warns against protectionism'|'Business 56am GMT New World Bank CEO defends localization, warns against protectionism Kristalina Georgieva, CEO of the World Bank attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland January 20, 2017. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich By Matthew Miller - BEIJING BEIJING The World Bank''s newly appointed chief executive gave a spirited defense of globalization during her first official visit to China, saying it had helped richer and poorer countries, and economic integration made it hard for any nation to walk away. Kristalina Georgieva, a Bulgarian who took up her post at the multilateral development lender at the start of this year, also praised China for its commitment to economic reforms and open markets. "Open markets, trade, division of labor has worked extremely well for the poorer countries," she told Reuters in an interview late on Monday. But wealthier countries also have benefited from rising middle classes, which are demanding more exports from advanced economies, said Georgieva, a former vice president of the European Commission. In Germany over the weekend, finance ministers and central bankers from 20 rich nations dropped a former pledge in their communique to keep global trade free and open, acquiescing to an increasingly protectionist U.S. administration. Georgieva called for an "intelligent, calm conversation" about sharing the benefits of globalization more broadly. Warning against protectionist policies, she said every country would be hurt if decades of integration and interdependence were unraveled. "It''s impossible to say, now we are in this boat, but it is only your end of the boat that is sinking," said Georgieva. Rather than erect trade barriers, economies should encourage competition which boosts innovation and raises productivity, she said. Georgieva called for China''s government to continue opening up the domestic market to competition, and move forward with reforms to create "a more dynamic economy". "In 2016, 35 percent of growth in the world came from China," she said. "While this contribution is going to gradually decline somewhat, it is very significant." China has said it is targeting economic growth of about 6.5 percent, after it reported growth of 6.7 percent last year. The World Bank, through the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, is now providing about $2 billion annually in lending to China, and is involved in projects ranging from pollution controls to urban and rural development. Georgieva said the biggest challenges facing the World Bank remain in those countries torn apart by conflict and facing famine. "It is horrible to have the shadow of famine in the 21st century," she said, pointing to situations in South Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and northern Nigeria. "Our biggest fear is related to that kind of devastation combining the force of nature with the evil of men." (Reporting by Matthew Miller; Editing by Ryan Woo and Simon Cameron-Moore) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-worldbank-idUKKBN16S0V3'|'2017-03-21T15:53:00.000+02:00' +'0102fd6607a97bb625a5a82e004868dc3751510a'|'Cousin of Argentina''s Macri sells company to avoid conflicts'|'BUENOS AIRES, March 17 Argentine businessman Angel Calcaterra, a cousin of President Mauricio Macri, sold his construction company to avoid any conflicts of interest, a spokesman for the company told Reuters on Friday.Calcaterra''s Iecsa construction company was bought by a group of investors who own Pampa Energia SA, one of Argentina''s main electricity companies. In a statement sent to journalists, the company''s new board said the company would be renamed Strategic Construction and Development Group of Argentina, or Sacde by its Spanish acronym.The move comes as Macri''s government is taking steps to prevent further complaints about the first-term leader''s business ties. Earlier this month, the administration delayed approving the local market entry of Colombian airline Avianca Holdings SA until it could finalize new rules governing business conflicts of interest.That came after a federal prosecutor asked a judge for permission to investigate Macri over allegations he favored the airline in a plan to open more routes. A company owned by his father, Franco Macri, one of Argentina''s richest men, sold another airline to Avianca last year. Last month the president was criticized over a deal his government reached to resolve a 15-year-old debt the postal service incurred when it was owned by Franco Macri, with prosecutors claiming the deal benefited his family.Calcaterra sold Iecsa, which had bid on government contracts, "to avoid any more possible conflicts of interest," the company spokesman said.Macri''s government is expected to launch billions of dollars in public works contracts this year as part of a major infrastructure push. (Reporting by Nicolas Misculin; Writing by Hugh Bronstein and Luc Cohen; Editing by Matthew Lewis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/argentina-president-idINL2N1GU1NY'|'2017-03-17T19:17:00.000+02:00' +'32fd0fb9678a116a16e449bd2239f860e7563c4e'|'UK union says Ford confirms plan to axe 1,100 jobs in Wales'|'Company 57am EST RPT-UK union says Ford confirms plan to axe 1,100 jobs in Wales (Repeats with no change to text) LONDON, March 1 British trade union GMB said on Wednesday that company bosses from Ford had confirmed plans to cut 1,100 jobs at its engine plant in Wales. GMB said the losses, which had been flagged by another union earlier on Wednesday, had been confirmed during meetings at the plant in Bridgend. The company''s plan was to cut 1,100 jobs over a five-year period, leaving a workforce of just 600 at the plant. "The nightmare for our members at Bridgend has unfortunately come true," said Jeff Beck from the GMB. (Reporting by Michael Holden, editing by Estelle Shirbon) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/ford-britain-gmb-idUSL5N1GE6E3'|'2017-03-01T22:51:00.000+02:00' +'233b9c96c81975f5062d16706c551eebde7efc56'|'UPDATE 2-United Airlines bars teenage girls in leggings from flight'|'(Recasts with comment from United Airlines)By Dan WhitcombMarch 26 Two teenage girls wearing leggings were barred from boarding a United Airlines flight on Sunday because they did not meet a dress code for special pass travelers, a company spokesman said amid a furor on social media.The two girls, who were traveling with a companion, would not have been turned away for wearing leggings had they been paying customers, United spokesman Jonathan Guerin said as the airline responded to the backlash."(The two girls) were instructed that they couldn''t board until they corrected their outfit. They were fine with it and completely understood," Guerin said, adding that all three passengers missed the flight. He did not know if they had boarded a later plane or made alternate travel arrangements.Though the three passengers did not complain about their treatment, another traveler, Shannon Watts, who overheard the discussion touched off a firestorm on social media with a series of tweets describing a policy she suggested was unfairly targeting women and girls."This behavior is sexist and sexualizes young girls," Watts said on Twitter. "Not to mention that the families were mortified and inconvenienced."United pass travelers are typically company employees or their friends or family members.Watts'' tweets and United''s defense of it touched a raw nerve for many women and girls who have made leggings a staple in their wardrobes.The popularity of leggings has sparked criticism that they are inappropriate attire under certain circumstances. Some schools have barred girls from wearing them to class.Social media lit up with outrage against the policy and the airline for its response to the initial outcry. Celebrities chimed in with humorous protests."I have flown united before with literally no pants on. Just a top as a dress. Next time I will wear only jeans and a top," model Chrissy Teigen tweeted.United later put out a statement titled: "To our customers ... Your leggings are welcome!" that explained the policy for passholders in greater detail.That policy also bars midriff-baring tops, attire that reveals undergarments or is designated as sleepwear or swimwear, mini-skirts, shorts that fall less than 3 inches above the knee or dirty or torn clothing.Guerin conceded that the airline, in its initial response to the flap, could have done a better job of explaining the situation and countering apparently inaccurate information about the incident that appeared on Twitter."We''ll definitely take something away from today, but we''ll continue to engage with our customers (on social media)," he said. (Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Edited by Mary Milliken)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/unitedairlines-leggings-idINL2N1H4005'|'2017-03-27T00:26:00.000+03:00' +'5d5aa247921ed42f0f30ec9516dfc3209500ac7c'|'Shell ties bonuses to emissions management, free cashflow'|' 7:59am GMT Shell ties bonuses to emissions management, free cashflow Filled oil drums are seen at Royal Dutch Shell Plc''s lubricants blending plant in the town of Torzhok, north-west of Tver, November 7, 2014. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo LONDON Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) directors will from this year be rewarded depending on how well the company manages its greenhouse gas emissions and how much free cashflow it generates, it said on Thursday. Ten percent of directors'' bonuses will be calculated according to the management of emissions such as methane and carbon dioxide from its refining, chemical and upstream assets, Shell said. Chief Executive Ben van Beurden spoke of the plans in December. Free cashflow will also replace the earnings per share measure in directors'' long-term incentive plans, Shell said, as it has embarked on a $30 billion divestment drive to pay down debt that has reached new highs following the BG Group acquisition. (Reporting by Karolin Schaps; editing by Susan Thomas) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-shell-salary-idUKKBN16G0RG'|'2017-03-09T14:59:00.000+02:00' +'9fceb38b45289faa8772165ccc05acc873485914'|'CANADA STOCKS-Futures indicate higher open as oil rebounds'|' 34am EDT CANADA STOCKS-Futures indicate higher open as oil rebounds March 15 Futures pointed to a higher opening for Canadian stocks on Wednesday as oil prices rebounded from three-month lows, a day after the S&P/TSX composite index tumbled to its lowest this year. March futures on the index were up 0.25 percent at 7:15 a.m. ET. The rebound in oil prices was due to a surprise drawdown in U.S. inventories and the International Energy Agency''s figures suggesting OPEC cuts should push the crude market into deficit in time. The market was also weighed down on Tuesday by a 10 percent slump in Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc''s stock, after activist investor William Ackman sold his entire stake in the struggling drugmaker. Dow Jones Industrial Average e-mini futures were up 0.16 percent at 7:15 a.m. ET, while S&P 500 e-mini futures were up 0.21 percent and Nasdaq 100 e-mini futures were up 0.18 percent. (Morning News Call newsletter here ; The Day Ahead newsletter here ) TOP STORIES Lending activity to small Canadian businesses edged down in January, though borrowing by larger firms accelerated, data showed on Wednesday, pointing to an economy that is still recovering from an oil price shock two years ago. Manulife Financial Corp has been granted a licence that will allow it to launch investment products in China through a wholly-owned local subsidiary, as Beijing further liberalises its capital markets. ANALYST RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS Halogen Software Inc : Raymond James cuts rating to "market perform" from "outperform" TransCanada Corp : GMP cuts target price to C$68 from C$70 Alimentation Couche Tard : Canaccord Genuity cuts target price to C$72 from C$78 COMMODITIES AT 7:15 a.m. ET Gold futures : $1201.9; 0 percent US crude : $48.65; +1.89 percent Brent crude : $51.78; +1.69 percent LME 3-month copper : $5869.5; +0.85 percent U.S. ECONOMIC DATA DUE ON WEDNESDAY 08:30 Core CPI mm, SA for Feb: Expected 0.2 pct; Prior 0.3 pct 08:30 Core CPI yy, NSA for Feb: Expected 2.2 pct; Prior 2.3 pct 08:30 CPI Index, NSA for Feb: Expected 243.28; Prior 242.84 08:30 Core CPI Index, SA for Feb: Prior 250.78 08:30 CPI mm, SA for Feb: Expected 0.0 pct; Prior 0.6 pct 08:30 CPI yy, NSA for Feb: Expected 2.7 pct; Prior 2.5 pct 08:30 Real weekly earnings mm for Feb: Prior -0.4 pct 08:30 NY Fed Manufacturing for Mar: Expected 15.00; Prior 18.70 08:30 Retail sales ex-autos mm for Feb: Expected 0.2 pct; Prior 0.8 pct 08:30 Retail sales mm for Feb: Expected 0.1 pct; Prior 0.4 pct 08:30 Retail ex gas/autos for Feb: Prior 0.7 pct 08:30 Retail control for Feb: Expected 0.2 pct; Prior 0.4 pct 10:00 Business inventories mm for Jan: Expected 0.3 pct; Prior 0.4 pct 10:00 Retail Inventory Ex Auto (R) for Jan: Prior 0.0 10:00 NAHB Housing Market Index for Mar: Expected 65; Prior 65 12:00 Cleveland fed CPI for Feb: Prior 0.3 pct 14:00 Fed funds target rate: Expected 0.875 pct; Prior 0.625 16:00 Net L-T flows, ex swaps for Jan: Prior -12.9 bln 16:00 Foreign buying, T-bonds for Jan: Prior -21.9 bln 16:00 Overall net capital flow for Jan: Prior -42.8 bln 16:00 Net L-T flows, including swaps for Jan: Prior -29.4 bln FOR CANADIAN MARKETS NEWS, CLICK ON CODES: TSX market report Canadian dollar and bonds report Reuters global stocks poll for Canada Canadian markets directory ($1 = C$1.35) (Reporting by Nayyar Rasheed in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-idUSL3N1GS3XG'|'2017-03-15T18:34:00.000+02:00' +'b9abd64f460a9c2709b01043c440e17a80fc2a06'|'French prosecutor opens Fiat Chrysler emissions investigation - source'|' 40pm GMT French prosecutor opens Fiat Chrysler emissions investigation - source PARIS A French prosecutor has opened an investigation into Fiat Chrysler ( FCHA.MI ) over allegations that the carmaker cheated in diesel emission tests, a judicial source said on Tuesday. "I can confirm that a judicial investigation has been opened into aggravated cheating," the source said. (Reporting by Chine Labbe and Laurence Frost; Writing by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Greg Mahlich) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-fiat-chrysler-diesel-idUKKBN16S299'|'2017-03-22T00:40:00.000+02:00' +'655031d9dd07728ec2ec2a9679a2bd4238cc152c'|'Luxottica sells former Milan headquarters for 100 mln euros'|'Big Story 10 - Thu Mar 2, 2017 - 11:05am EST Luxottica sells former Milan headquarters for 100 million euros FILE PHOTO: Sunglasses from Ray Ban, a Luxottica owned brand, are on display at an optician shop in Hanau, Germany, March 18, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo MILAN Italian eyewear group Luxottica has sold its former Milanese headquarters to the local unit of U.S. property firm Hines for around 100 million euros ($105 million), a source familiar with the matter said. The 12,000 square meter building, located near the central Duomo square, housed Luxottica until the summer of 2014, when the group moved into new offices owned by Beni Stabili, a property firm in which Luxottica''s founder Leonardo Del Vecchio has an indirect stake. Hines said in a statement BNP Paribas had organized funding for the deal which brought to 800 million euros the investments it has carried out in the past 15 months to buy historic buildings in Milan and Florence. Luxottica declined to comment. (Reporting by Valentina Za, editing by David Evans) Next In Big Story 10'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-luxottica-headquarters-sale-idUSKBN16929T'|'2017-03-02T23:02:00.000+02:00' +'ec5db00bcfe05018613735c7f24f1c05d8b6b8ed'|'Peso and Poland lead emerging markets'' Q1 charge'|'Company 01pm EDT Peso and Poland lead emerging markets'' Q1 charge * Global Assets in 2017 reut.rs/2ne9sjH * World FX rates in 2017 tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh * EM stocks in 2017 tmsnrt.rs/2hn5N02 * EM currencies in 2017 tmsnrt.rs/2hniYya * EM bonds tmsnrt.rs/2ih2QQ9 By Marc Jones LONDON, March 30 Emerging markets have had a stellar start to the year, with equities delivering world-beating returns in the first 2017 quarter and the Mexican peso topping currency gains with a 10 percent bounce against the dollar. There have been the odd laggard - Turkey has seen the lira slump and some Latin American commodity plays have retreated as oil prices have toppled back again - but for the most part it has been a bumper few months. "We have been in an unloved asset class for a long time and because we had good year last year a lot of people are now coming back in," said Aberdeen Asset Management EM portfolio manager Viktor Szabo. As this Reuters checklist shows tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh Mexico''s peso has recouped almost all of ground it lost after Donald Trump''s U.S. election. Other strong emerging currency performers so far this year include the rouble and the zloty. The FX tailwinds have helped MSCI''s emerging equity index rise a tidy 13 percent, outperforming developed peers. The strongest performers have been Polish stocks, having risen 20 percent in dollar terms after years of underperformance, helped by a 6-percent jump in the zloty . Chilean, Mexican, Indian, Chinese, Brazilian and Turkish stocks have taken off, climbing somewhere between 18 and 10 percent in dollar terms. tmsnrt.rs/2hn5N02 Bonds denominated in emerging currencies have also had a blinder returning 7 percent as major economies like Brazil have chopped down interest rates, the global growth outlook has improved and investors'' worries have stayed largely dormant. That compares to a paltry 0.8 percent for U.S. Treasuries and just 1.4 percent for German Bunds reut.rs/2ne9sjH "Some of the concerns around the policies of the new Trump administration, on trade and on China, have not been put to rest necessarily but they have been mitigated some what," said PIMCO emerging market portfolio manager Yacov Arnopolin. "A stabilisation of China''s economy and the renminbi has also been a positive," he added, saying it had created something of a "virtuous cycle". Emerging sovereign dollar bonds have returned 4 percent, led by an 8 percent gain by Egypt after it secured an IMF deal late last year. Even South Africa has rallied strongly despite worries about the future of its finance minister and investment grade sovereign credit rating. NEXT QUARTER BACK? The coming few months have plenty in store, starting with a meeting between U.S. and Chinese presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping next week that will set the tone on issues from trade protectionism and currency manipulation to North Korea. Czech central bankers hope to avoid Swiss franc-style chaos as they remove their 27-per-euro cap on the crown, Indonesia could be lifted to investment grade by S&P not to mention Turkey voting on U.S.-like presidential powers for Tayyip Erodogan. PIMCO''s Arnopolin says EM is looking "in pretty decent shape on a cyclical horizon" and is likely to be less volatile than some of world''s developed markets, but others sense the recent pace of the rally may require a breather. Brazilian oil and mining giant''s Petrobras and Vale have already seen near 20 percent corrections from their peaks of the year. The IMF is expected to downgrade growth forecasts for large parts of Latin America and Reuters data shows there are currently twice as many puts - or bearish bets - on the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets exchange-traded fund, as bullish ones. here What''s more, asset correlations have started to break down, most notably in the dollar''s inverse relationship with commodities. Normally, a rising dollar means lower commodity prices, and vice versa. But both have fallen in recent weeks. "We are at a crucial stage of this EM rally now, said Rabobank''s Matys. "What is really vital though is that the Trump administration provide some concrete details on its big fiscal plans. Promises and pledges are not enough any more." (Reporting by Marc Jones; Editing by Andrew Heavens) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-q-idUSL5N1H64IL'|'2017-03-31T01:01:00.000+03:00' +'26626ba666526d114b156f47ba5c0b7c69c998df'|'UK annual house price growth slows to weakest since July 2013 - Halifax'|'Business News - Tue Mar 7, 2017 - 9:10am GMT UK annual house price growth slows to weakest since July 2013 - Halifax A Union flag flies over a house in Whitehaven, Britain February 13, 2017. REUTERS/Phil Noble LONDON Annual British house price growth cooled to its weakest since July 2013 in February, hurt by increasingly squeezed consumer finances, mortgage lender Halifax said on Tuesday. House prices rose 5.1 percent in the three months to February compared with the same period a year ago, down from 5.7 percent in January and weaker than a Reuters poll forecast for growth of 5.3 percent. In February alone, house prices edged up 0.1 percent after a 1.1 percent drop in January, Halifax said. "A sustained period of house price growth in excess of pay rises has made it increasingly difficult for many to purchase a home," Halifax housing economist Martin Ellis said. "This development, together with signs of reduced momentum in the jobs market and squeezed consumer spending power, is expected to curb house price growth during 2017." (Reporting by Andy Bruce; editing by Michael Holden) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-houseprices-idUKKBN16E0V4'|'2017-03-07T15:50:00.000+02:00' +'2359eb9210f190471e05e84a7eb245f3d9db7696'|'Wall Streets love affair with Trump cools as healthcare bill sows welcome doubts - Business'|'W all Streets uncritical love affair with Donald Trump is over. For five months, traders have swallowed whole the idea that the president would swiftly get a package of tax cuts through a Republican-dominated Congress, giving a boost to growth and corporate profits in the process.Yet the first real test of Trumps ability to get lawmakers to do his bidding the repeal of Obamacare has been a disaster. The resistance on Capitol Hill has left the financial markets wondering when and indeed whether Trump will be able to deliver on his fiscal boost.This dose of reality is long overdue. The initial market reaction to Trump was negative but brief. Within 24 hours, Wall Street banished all its doubts and bet everything on the notion that the new man in the White House would lift the US economy out of its low-growth rut.Yet the initial doubts were valid. Trump lacks political experience and so does the team around him. The new presidents bully-boy tactics have gone down badly on Capitol Hill and not just with Democrats. There are plenty of Republicans who find Trump and his methods odious.So, when it became clear last week that the repeal of Obamacare was not going to be legislative plain sailing, there was a predictable response on Wall Street: traders dumped shares. The relentless rise in the stock market since last Novembers election the Trump bump came to an abrupt halt. Up until now, the markets have taken on trust that the president will deliver on his election pledges. And after Trumps humiliating defeat in Congress on Friday, there is no doubt the mood has changed.Thats not to say Wall Street is going to see all the gains of the past few months wiped out. But while shares could continue to rise, markets look certain to be a lot more volatile than they have been since November.There are three reasons for this. The first is that it may be some time before Trump gets agreement for tax cuts and infrastructure spending. It could easily be delayed until 2018.The second is that the presidents ambitions may well have to be scaled down. Trump wants to use the savings from replacing Obamacare with something cheaper to fund his fiscal boost, but the Congressional Budget Office said last week that the impact on the budget deficit would be substantially less than originally estimated: a reduction of $150bn (120bn), rather than $336bn. Fiscal conservatives in Congress will probably demand that Trump finds savings elsewhere.Finally, corporate profits are set to be squeezed by a combination of rising wages, higher interest rates and a stronger dollar. Trumps fiscal package assuming it is approved would reinforce those pressures, because stronger growth would lead to greater demand for labour.With unemployment below 5%, earnings are already starting to pick up. The Federal Reserve, Americas central bank, has raised interest rates twice since Trumps victory and will accelerate the pace of future increases if there is evidence that tax cuts are leading to wage inflation.Higher US interest rates at a time when no other major central bank the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan or the Bank of England is contemplating a move will make it more attractive for investors to hold dollars. The US currency will go up, making American exports dearer.Until now, the markets have focused solely on the upside from Trumps economic strategy the stronger growth without taking into consideration any of the potential downsides: higher inflation, dearer borrowing costs and an overvalued currency.Those downsides will become more evident as time goes by. It is too early to say that Wall Street has fallen out of love with Donald Trump . But the whirlwind romance is over. The relationship is entering a new and more difficult phase.We still need the Co-op Bank Hundreds of staff in high street banks have had a challenging few days. Royal Bank of Scotland announced that it was closing 158 branches, mostly NatWest sites, while the Co-operative Bank is battling to find a buyer amid fears about its future. Customers are shifting from banking in high-street branches to organising payments and direct debits on the internet and via smartphones, which is obviously putting pressure on traditional bricks-and-mortar sites. However, despite this, it is essential that a place is found for Co-op Bank.The bank has been riddled with problems since its disastrous takeover of Britannia building society in 2009, which saddled it with bad loans. It nearly collapsed in 2013 when a 1.5bn black hole was discovered in its balance sheet, but was eventually bailed out through a deal with hedge funds.This bailout never looked like a permanent solution to Co-op Banks problems, and so it has proved. The hedge funds have put the bank up for sale to raise more capital, with a deadline of mid-April for preliminary expressions of interest. Banking sources are now talking about the possibility of a break-up of Co-op Bank, and the Bank of England is understood to be monitoring the situation carefully.It would send an unfortunate message about British banking if the Co-op brand, which still maintains its ethical policy, were to disappear from the market. This ethical policy means, among other rules, that the bank does not invest in companies selling arms to oppressive regimes, does not support organisations offering payday loans, and has a strict approach to gambling.Despite its problems, the bank still has about 4 million customers and 105 branches. It remains a substantial player. Unfortunately, its financial problems are also substantial. It slumped to a 477m loss for 2016, its fifth consecutive year in the red. A rescue deal will not be easy, so the Co-ops owners and Bank of England must do all they can to help. A break-up would be bad for the industry.A bonus for the Pearson boss who got it wrong? Consider these facts about Pearson , worlds biggest educational publisher and 47% owner of Penguin Random House books. Last year it crashed 2.6bn into the red, the biggest loss in its history. It has issued five profit warnings in two years, the last of which, in January, wiped 2bn off its value. It has scrapped its profit targets and put its stake in Penguin up for sale in the hope of bolstering its balance sheet. Its net debt climbed from 654m to 1.1bn last year. 4,000 jobs were axed last year and the company is rebasing which means cutting its dividend payout to shareholders.Chief executive John Fallon said earlier this year: I am accountable ... I fully accept that accountability for the fact that we got two big calls wrong last year. So why has Fallon (paid 6m in his four years in the job) just been handed a 345,000 bonus? On top of his 780,000 salary. Could be because executive pay is truly in la la land.Topics US economy Business leader Economics Donald Trump Pearson Co-operative Group Republicans comment Share Reuse this content'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/mar/26/wall-street-love-affair-trump-healthcare-sows-doubts'|'2017-03-26T16:02:00.000+03:00' +'2f0948e51ff58d69c3be3e6853bafcac74b704a6'|'UPDATE 1-Macau signals rebound as gambling revenues hit 2-year high in Feb'|'Company News - Wed Mar 1, 2017 - 12:29am EST UPDATE 1-Macau signals rebound as gambling revenues hit 2-year high in Feb * Macau revenues showing sustained uptick, up 18 pct in Feb * Overnight visitors increasing, VIP demand rising * Shift towards mass market still key focus (Adds milestone, Galaxy, other details) HONG KONG, March 1 Gambling revenue in the Chinese territory of Macau hit a two-year high in February, recovering steadily from a prolonged anti-corruption drive and slowing economic growth that dragged on the world''s biggest casino hub over the past three years. Analysts have already called a bottom to Macau''s gaming industry slump with revenues rising over the past seven months. New casino resorts have helped drive business by attracting mass gamblers as well as VIP spenders - who have stayed away since Chinese President Xi Jinping rolled out his campaign in 2014 against shows of wealth by public officials. In February, Macau raked in a revenue of 23 billion patacas ($2.9 billion), up almost 18 percent from 19.5 billion patacas a year ago and the highest since January 2015, government data showed on Wednesday. Results were also buoyed by a higher number of visitors over the national new year holiday at the start of the month. Overnight Chinese visitation has grown since the start of 2017, following the opening of multi-billion dollar casino resorts in the third quarter of 2016 by Sands China Ltd and Wynn Macau Ltd. Casino operator Galaxy Entertainment said that for the first time in a decade, overnight visitors to Macau this year had exceeded same-day visitor arrivals thanks to new hotel capacity. It reported a better-than-expected 51 percent rise in 2016 net profit on Tuesday and forecast double-digit gaming growth for this year. Macau''s large junket operators have reported improving revenues since the second half of 2016. These firms, which act on behalf of casino operators like MGM China to bring in high-rollers, had been slammed by the corruption crackdown but broad consolidation has helped strengthen their positions. However, casino executives are betting more on the durability the mass market segment due to the steady growth of leisure visitors and the government''s aim to shift away from casinos towards more family friendly activities. Macau - a former Portuguese colony and now a special administrative region belonging to China - is the only place in the country where citizens are legally allowed to gamble. The casino hub is set to see more new resorts - owned by the 13 Holdings and MGM - come online this year, followed by SJM Holdings'' casino in 2018. These come at a time when Macau is facing mounting competition from emerging Asian casino hubs, including Japan that legalised casinos in December. ($1 = 7.9810 patacas) (Reporting by Farah Master; Editing by Himani Sarkar) Next In Company News U.S. Commerce secretary says Trump did not endorse border tax plan WASHINGTON, Feb 28 New U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said President Donald Trump did not endorse a proposed border tax system on Tuesday in his first speech to Congress on Tuesday, despite a vow to level the tax playing field for U.S. companies that export.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/macau-gambling-revenues-idUSL3N1GE2ET'|'2017-03-01T12:29:00.000+02:00' +'f6ceb8309ecf2c17d827608e0f46364e9712b398'|'Bedbugs, peacocks add to uptick in U.S. animal insurance claims'|'U.S. 09am EDT Bedbugs, peacocks add to uptick in U.S. animal insurance claims FILE PHOTO - Male and female adult bedbugs in comparison to apple seeds is shown in this handout photo provided by the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), in Washington, February 2, 2016. REUTERS/L. Sorkin/AMNH/Handout via Reuters By Suzanne Barlyn Bedbugs in hotel rooms and aggressive peacocks are some of the creatures behind an uptick in animal-related insurance claims filed by U.S. businesses, according to a study published on Thursday by insurer Allianz SE. U.S. claims involving bedbugs increased 50 percent between 2014 and 2015, from 66 to 99, according to Allianz. The insurer has already counted 70 bedbug claims through September 2016, heading for a total that could surpass the previous year''s, said Larry Crotser, the chief claims officer for the insurer''s Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty unit. The findings were included in a global report by the Allianz unit, which analyzed more than 100,000 corporate liability claims from roughly 100 countries paid by Allianz and other insurers between 2011 and 2016, totaling $9.3 billion. The claims involved everything from aviation to cyber security. The analysis included nearly 1,880 U.S. animal-related business liability claims, representing about 2 percent of all commercial claims in the study. Animal claims increased 28 percent between 2011 and 2015, from 287 to 365, according to Allianz. The average animal-related liability claim is about $10,400, with all animal claims totaling nearly $20 million. Bedbugs accounted for 21 percent of U.S. business liability claims. Some claims, however, were peculiar, such as a hotel guest whose room was invaded by a flying squirrel and another whose hearing aid and slippers were destroyed by a rodent. Two claims involved people who were attacked by aggressive peacocks, according to the study. Bedbugs, found on every continent except Antarctica, have been biting people for thousands of years. Widespread insecticide use in homes after World War Two eliminated them from many regions, but bedbugs developed pesticide resistance and rebounded, thriving in heated homes and hitching rides in luggage in international travel. Hotel companies typically file insurance claims to cover costs of reimbursing guests who encountered bedbugs during their stays and inadvertently brought the insects home in their suitcases, causing infestations, Crotser said. Those guests then look to the hotel company to pay for fumigating their homes. Commercial bedbug claims averaged $5,660, an Allianz spokeswoman said. Deer incidents, such as collisions with farm vehicles, were the most common involving animals, accounting for 58 percent of U.S. animal-related liability claims insurers received. Other business claims involved damage from dogs, roaming cattle, horses, cats, rodents, snakes and sheep. (Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn; Editing by Leslie Adler) Next In U.S.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-insurance-bedbugs-idUSKBN1710BK'|'2017-03-30T12:01:00.000+03:00' +'4def560fc7f8cebb71b9f26ee0b5b6ad998a2443'|'Recasting steel: New technologies could slash the cost of steel production'|'ALTHOUGH he is best known for developing a way to mass-produce steel, Henry Bessemer was a prolific British inventor. In the 1850s in Sheffield his converters blasted air through molten iron to burn away impurities, making steel the material of the industrial revolution. But Bessemer knew he could do better, and in 1865 he filed a patent to cast strips of steel directly, rather than as large ingots which then had to be expensively reheated and shaped by giant rolling machines.Bessemers idea was to pour molten steel in between two counter-rotating water-cooled rollers which, like a mangle, would squeeze the metal into a sheet. It was an elegant idea that, by dint of having fewer steps, would save time and money. Yet it was tricky to pull off. Efforts to commercialise the process were abandoned.Until now. Advances in production technology and materials science, particularly for new types of high-tech steel, mean that Bessemers twin-roll idea is being taken up successfully. An alternative system that casts liquid steel directly onto a single horizontally moving belt is also being tried. Both techniques could cut energy consumptionone of the biggest costs in steelmakingby around 80%. Other savings in operating and capital costs are also possible. If these new processes prove themselves, steelmaking could once again be transformed.On a rollSteelmakers are cautious about new technologies. It was not until the 1960s that the industry ventured from casting ingots to building giant integrated plants for the continuous casting of steel. This involves pouring molten steel through a bottomless mould which, being cooled by water, partially solidifies it. The steel is then drawn down through a series of rolls to form sheet steel or other shapes required by factories and construction companies. Most of the 1.6bn tonnes of steel produced annually worldwide is now made this way.Continuous casting, however, still takes a lot of rolling to reduce slabs cast 80-120mm thick to the 1-2mm required by many producers, such as carmakers. Casting any thinner causes quality problems and flaws in the steels microstructure. One reason for that is the bottomless mould has to be oscillated to ensure molten steel does not stick to its sides. The new techniques of twin-roll and single belt-casting are, in effect, moving mouldsthe rollers and the belt move with the steel as it cools and solidifies. This allows direct casting to a thickness of just a few millimetres, requiring only minimal rolling thereafter.The new techniques are particularly good for making higher-value, specialist steels, says Claire Davis, a steel expert with the Warwick Manufacturing Group at the University of Warwick in Britain. Ms Davis and her team are developing new high-tech steels especially for belt casting, including advanced low-density steels that are stronger, lighter and more flexible than conventional steel.A twin-roll process, much as Bessemer conceived, is already employed by Nucor, a giant American steelmaker. Called Castrip, it is producing steel in two of its plants. A big advantage of twin-roll and belt-casting is compactness. Nucor reckons a Castrip plant needs only 20 hectares (50 acres) and provides a good investment return from the production of only 500,000 tonnes of steel a year. A conventional steel plant, by comparison, may sprawl over 2,000 hectares and need to produce some 4m tonnes a year to turn a profit.Other firms are licensing Castrip as well. Shagang, a large Chinese steelmaker, is replacing a less energy-efficient plant with the new technology. The numbers look compelling enough to encourage a startup, too: Albion Steel is talking to investors about building a 300m ($370m) Castrip plant in Britain. The plant would be fed by a low-cost mini-mill that melts scrap and produces steel for galvanising, mostly for the construction industry, says Tony Pedder, one of Albions founders. Mr Pedder is the chairman of Sheffield Forgemasters, an engineering company, and a former boss of British Steel (which later became Corus). Britain has a surplus of scrap but imports galvanised steel. The plant would employ only about 250 people; traditional integrated operations need a thousand or so. We believe in the technology, says Mr Pedder. In our view it is past the point of being experimental.Salzgitter, a German steelmaker, opened the first commercial single belt-caster at Peine, near Hanover, in 2012. It began by making construction steel but has progressed to more specialist steels. The trick is to keep the water-cooled belt perfectly flat, says Roderick Guthrie of McGill University in Canada, one of the pioneers of the technology. Salzgitter uses a vacuum under the belt to do that, whereas Mr Guthrie employs powerful magnets to the same effect on a pilot plant at the university. His research group is working with a number of companies, including a big carmaker. Whereas twin-roll casting is constrained by practical limitations, such as the size of the rollers, horizontal single belt-casting is less so, argues Mr Guthrie.The techniques may end up being complementary. Their spatial efficiency and low cost would also allow production to be located closer to customers. Mr Guthrie thinks it is not inconceivable for such a plant to be integrated within a car factory. If we can make the quality as good as the big slab-casting plants, it would change the face of the steel industry, he says. New technologies might just blast a dose of fresh air through an old industry, much as Bessemers converter did 150 years ago. Business "Recasting steel"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21718545-150-year-old-idea-finally-looks-working-new-technologies-could-slash-cost-steel?fsrc=rss'|'2017-03-09T23:29:00.000+02:00' +'98baa9d8682ce32137a71bf2d712004892d6a97e'|'UPDATE 1-Options exchanges resume routing to CBOE after connectivity issue'|'Business News 12:26pm EDT Options exchanges resume routing to CBOE after connectivity issue By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed - NEW YORK NEW YORK Several U.S. options exchanges, including those run by Nasdaq Inc ( NDAQ.O ) and the New York Stock Exchange, declared "self-help" alerts against CBOE Holdings Inc''s ( CBOE.O ) CBOE Options Exchange for a short time on Monday, signaling problems processing trades. A "self-help" alert is a notification issued by a trading exchange when another exchange is dealing with internal problems processing trades and orders are routed through alternate venues. CBOE, which opened on time at 9:30 a.m. EDT, faced connectivity issues with a number of firms, said Suzanne Cosgrove, a company spokeswoman. As of 10:08 a.m. EDT, connectivity was re-established, but CBOE was still working with some firms regarding their remaining individual issues, she said. Trading on CBOE was not halted, she said. MIAX Options and MIAX PEARL options exchanges declared "self-help" on the CBOE Options Exchange as of 9:38 a.m. EDT. These were soon followed by Nasdaq-operated options exchanges, including the NASDAQ Options Market and the PHLX. NYSE Amex Options and NYSE Arca Options suspended routing to the CBOE, the NYSE said in a status message. By 11:48 a.m. EDT, all the exchanges had resumed routing trades to the CBOE. The CBOE is the operator of the largest U.S. stock options market, and the CBOE Volatility Index .VIX and the S&P 500 Index .SPX options trade exclusively on the CBOE. Trading volume in VIX and SPX options did not appear to be affected, said Fred Ruffy, analyst at New York-based options analytics firm Trade Alert. (Editing by Dan Grebler and Matthew Lewis) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-options-cboe-idUSKBN16Y223'|'2017-03-28T00:22:00.000+03:00' +'7fcac44769d8df4c4bb59863c6a9c58f856856ef'|'French Connection reports loss for fifth year in a row'|' 8:07am GMT French Connection reports loss for fifth year in a row A person walks past a French Connection store in London, Britain, 14 March, 2016. REUTERS/Hannah McKay By Arathy S Nair British fashion retailer French Connection Group Plc ( FCCN.L ) reported a loss for the fifth straight year, prompting activist investor Gatemore Capital Management to suggest splitting up the company. French Connection has closed stores and hired new management and design teams as it struggles to compete with fast-fashion rivals such as ASOS Plc ( ASOS.L ), Forever 21 and Inditex''s ( ITX.MC ) Zara. However, Chief Executive Stephen Marks reiterated on Tuesday his commitment to turn the group profitable and said the reaction to 2017 collections had been very strong with higher sales in stores and to wholesale customers. French Connection''s current position is a far cry from its heady days of 2004, when the huge success of its FCUK logo boosted the company''s shares to more than 500 pence. The stock has plummeted since, closing at 34.88 pence on Monday. The company has been under pressure from Gatemore, which owns an 8 percent stake, to improve shareholder value. French Connection should be broken up as the sum of its parts is around two to three times greater than the whole, Liad Meidar, managing partner and chief investment officer at Gatemore, told Reuters on Tuesday in an email. Gatemore urged the company in January to replace two of its non-executive directors and to split the role of chairman and CEO. The investment manager also said the company could alternatively look to engage an investment bank to explore a sale. Last month, Mike Ashley''s Sports Direct took a 11.2 percent stake in French Connection, becoming its second-largest shareholder, second only to Marks. French Connection said underlying operating loss narrowed to 3.7 million pounds ($4.5 million), for the year ended Jan. 31, from 4.7 million pounds a year earlier. [nRSN3699Za] Sales at stores open for more than a year in the UK and Europe were up 4.4 percent. The two regions accounted for more than three quarters of the company''s revenue. Marks said the retail business in the UK and Europe was improving, but it was being held back by wholesale and licensing divisions. French Connection''s full-year revenue fell 6.7 percent to 153.2 million pounds. ($1 = 0.8239 pounds) (Reporting by Arathy S Nair and Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri) UK braces for another pounding from Brexit talks LONDON After eight months of discounting a plethora of UK political risks, sterling''s relaxed reaction to the prospect of the launch of Brexit talks and a new may be understandable, but the worst may not be over yet.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-french-connectn-results-idUKKBN16L0QB'|'2017-03-14T15:07:00.000+02:00' +'9244537e8c22188229d819e4807b2932e29b5cd0'|'EU to decide on relocation of banking body from London before Brexit'|' 2:56pm GMT EU to decide on relocation of banking body from London before Brexit European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis addresses a news conference on the European Semester Winter Package in Brussels, Belgium February 22, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir BRUSSELS The European Commission wants a decision on the relocation of the European Banking Authority from London before the end of Britain''s EU divorce talks, the EU executive vice president said on Tuesday. "We need to take this decision relatively quickly, and not to wait for the end of the (Brexit) negotiations, because it takes quite a lot of time of practical preparations for the movement from London to another place," Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters. (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-regulations-eba-idUKKBN16S1U2'|'2017-03-21T22:28:00.000+02:00' +'14bf9282c016145866ade620f9b0194f38dc779e'|'BAT says strong demand for ''glo'' smokeless tobacco'|' 30am GMT BAT says strong demand for ''glo'' smokeless tobacco A staff of British American Tobacco Japan displays its new tobacco heating system device ''glo'' after a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, November 8, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon TOKYO British American Tobacco (BAT) ( BATS.L ) said demand for its "glo" tobacco heating device overwhelmed supply in its Japan test marketing, as global cigarette giants shift focus to the new product category amid declining smoking population. The "heat but not burn" tobacco is rapidly gaining popularity in Japan. Philip Morris International ( PM.N ) said earlier this month that it has more than doubled the supply of IQOS tobacco device but it was not enough to cover the demand. BAT and Philip Morris were the first of the big tobacco firms to invest in cigarette alternatives a few years back, as growing health consciousness reduces traditional smoking. Both glo and IQOS use cigarette-shape tobacco leaves. But instead of burning, the battery-powered devices heat the sticks to generate steams. The companies said the products emit far less smell than conventional cigarettes. Global tobacco companies see Japan as a fertile test ground for these products since e-cigarettes, which use nicotine-laced liquid, are not permitted under the country''s pharmaceutical regulation. "We are seeing very strong sales. It''s much beyond our expectations," Nami Uehara, brand marketing official at BAT Japan, told Reuters. BAT, known for Kent and Lucky Strike cigarettes, started the sale of glo in the northeastern city of Sendai in December. The device is priced at 8,000 yen ($70.52). The device is sold at about 600 convenience stores in the city and the glo flagship store. Uehara said in the first week of the sale, some people waited overnight in front of the flagship store to get the device. BAT said the daily supply of devices at the flagship store is 100 for weekdays and 250 on weekends. But there were already more people waiting than day''s supply three hours before the store''s 10 a.m. open. "We were giving purchase tickets at 7 a.m. but all of them were gone instantly," Uehara said. Given the long lines of people waiting in front of the store every morning, the company switched from first-come-and-first served to on-line reservation since this month, with daily supply assigned by lottery. BAT said it plans to start selling glo in the rest of Japan later this year. Japan Tobacco Inc ( 2914.T ), which commands a more than 60 percent share in the domestic cigarette market, said last month that it expected its domestic cigarettes sales volume to decline by 9.6 percent this year, partly because of the growing popularity of tobacco e-cigarettes. Japan Tobacco has said it will begin selling Ploom Tech tobacco-based electronic cigarettes in some parts of Tokyo from June. ($1 = 113.4500 yen) (Reporting by Taiga Uranaka and Ritsuko Shimizu; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-ecigarettes-idUKKBN16O08R'|'2017-03-17T09:30:00.000+02:00' +'18281beeb335ab58639bed237624aad1e2363e02'|'U.S. stocks'' rally may be near peak, but some gains ahead: Reuters poll'|'Business News 59am EDT U.S. stocks'' rally may be near peak, but some gains ahead: Reuters poll Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., March 27, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson NEW YORK A U.S. stock rally fueled by optimism President Donald Trump will boost the economy may be near its peak, according to a Reuters poll of strategists who forecast U.S. shares will gain less than 3 percent between now and year-end. The run up since the Nov. 8 U.S. election has left the S&P 500 .SPX at levels many consider overvalued, and some strategists say a lot depends this year on whether the new administration will be able to push through tax reform or other changes. Republican leaders late on Friday pulled their legislation to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system, dealing a setback to Trump in his first legislative initiative. Some investors have seen the failure of the bill as a way to move forward action on tax reform, but last week''s wrangling over the bill caused stocks to stumble. In its post-election rally, the S&P 500 rose as much as 12 percent, hitting an intraday high of 2,400 on March 1. It is now up around 9 percent since the election. Based on the median forecast of over 40 strategists polled by Reuters over the past week, the S&P 500 will hit 2,355 by mid-2017 and finish the year at 2,425, just 2.8 percent above where the index closed on Tuesday but up about 8 percent from 2016. The S&P 500 is already up about 5 percent in 2017. Julian Emanuel, executive director of U.S. equity and derivatives strategy at UBS Securities in New York, said stocks have been pricing in a "strongly" pro-growth agenda. "But it has yet to be fully implemented, and the devil is in the details of implementation," said Emanuel, who sees the S&P 500 ending this year at 2,300 and said he is "cautious" on stocks near term. At the same time, the poll''s median forecast is up from the December poll''s 2,350, and some banks have bumped up targets substantially. Credit Suisse raised its year-end 2017 S&P target to 2,500 from 2,300. Some strategists remain upbeat on some of the biggest beneficiaries of the Trump rally including financials, and many expect stronger economic growth to help earnings more than anything else. The S&P 500 is trading at nearly 18 times expected earnings, well above its long-term average of 15, according to Thomson Reuters data. While analysts expect S&P 500 profit growth of 11 percent this year - a big increase over 2016''s 1.4-percent growth - investors worry whether it will be enough to justify current prices. Of all Trump''s election promises, tax reform could have the biggest impact on earnings, so "if we get corporate tax reform light, that could disappoint," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia. Interest rates are expected to continue to rise this year, which could be another factor limiting stock gains if the pace of rate hikes is faster than Wall Street is planning. The U.S. Federal Reserve raised rates this month, and Wall Street''s top banks see two additional rate hikes this year, a separate Reuters poll showed. Most respondents in the stocks poll said a 10-percent S&P correction before mid-year is unlikely, while they were roughly split over whether there will be one by year-end. The last 10-percent correction in the S&P 500 was at the start of 2016. The Dow Jones industrial average is projected to end 2017 at 21,250, about 3 percent above Tuesday''s close, the poll showed. (Additional reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak, Noel Randewich, Sinead Carew, Lewis Krauskopf and Rodrigio Campos; Editing by Nick Zieminski) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks-poll-idUSKBN1701UJ'|'2017-03-29T21:59:00.000+03:00' +'a413b6b106d597f15bd7dff3d204cec87476f92d'|'UPDATE 1-Banks reporting platform sees continuity on regulations post-Brexit'|'(Adds more Quote: s)By Patrick GrahamLONDON, March 9 Electronic trading heavyweight NEX Group launched a new regulatory reporting platform for banks on Thursday that assumes Britain will stick to European regulations on reporting financial market transactions long after leaving the EU in 2019.The platform, run by fintech startup Abide Financial in which NEX has invested, streamlines the processing of millions of transactions daily for major banks and will take another step up next year under Europe''s new MiFID II regulations.Abide is already a reporting partner to more than 120 banks, asset managers, hedge funds, and other trading firms and eventually expects to be one of only a handful of providers with around 40 percent of daily transactions.Chief Executive Collin Coleman said the system assumed Britain would stick closely to the MiFID rules after it leaves the EU."We believe that there will be something that looks a lot like MiFID in place after Brexit. Our customers need certainty so we are making a decision to move on with that assumption," he said, arguing that MiFID''s implementation through UK law will provide a high barrier to changing it after Britain leaves the trading bloc."(British regulator) the FCA has been so heavily involved in the drafting of all of these regulations and MiFID II fundamentally supports so much of its mandate," Coleman said."MiFID II is an EU directive, and as such needs to be implemented in UK law. This national law will persist post-Brexit unless specifically repealed, and the bar for retracting financial regulatory law ... should be pretty high." (Reporting by Patrick Graham; Editing by Dominic Evans and Gareth Jones)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/banks-regulation-reporting-idINL5N1GM462'|'2017-03-09T09:28:00.000+02:00' +'636e56b45caa458930e17cc9993b237687c6ab76'|'Morning News Call - India, March 27'|'Company News - Sun Mar 26, 2017 - 11:17pm EDT Morning News Call - India, March 27 To access the newsletter, click on the link: here If you would like to receive this newsletter via email, please register at: here FACTORS TO WATCH 11:00 am: Budget session of Parliament continues in New Delhi. 06:00 pm: RBI Deputy Governor S. S. Mundra to speak at an event in Mumbai. 07:45 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak at Economic Times event in New Delhi LIVECHAT- INVESTOR BEHAVIOUR We take a look at the psychology of financial planning with Victor Ricciardi, author of "Investor Behaviour" and Assistant Professor of Financial Management at Goucher College at 8.30 pm. To join the conversation, click on the link: here INDIA TOP NEWS Vedanta to invest $1 billion in Zambian copper mine Indian mining company Vedanta Resources said on Friday it will invest $1 billion in its Zambian mining unit Konkola Copper Mines, creating 7,000 jobs. Short of track, Indian Railways eyes private suppliers in blow to state steel firm Indian Railways is considering ending state-owned Steel Authority of India Ltd''s virtual monopoly on supplying steel for standard rail tracks, opening up annual purchases worth up to $700 million to the private sector, people close to the matter told Reuters. State Bank of India says to begin process for life insurance arm IPO State Bank of India, the nation''s top lender by assets, said on Friday it would begin the process for an initial public offering of its life insurance arm, with plans to sell a 10 percent stake. India''s market regulator accuses Reliance of wrongful share trading India''s market regulator accused Reliance Industries on Friday of having committed a "fraud" in taking a short trading position at the time of selling a stake in a subsidiary in 2007, ordering it to surrender 4.5 billion rupees plus interest in "unlawful gains". India''s Shankara Building Products up to $53 mln IPO sees strong demand India''s Shankara Building Products Ltd''s initial public offering to raise up to 3.45 billion rupees was subscribed more than 41 times, stock exchange data showed on Friday. Indian airlines push for no-fly list to ban unruly passengers Several Indian airlines, including the country''s biggest carrier IndiGo, on Friday proposed creating a no-fly list to ban unruly passengers, a day after a lawmaker admitted assaulting an official from state-owned carrier Air India. GLOBAL TOP NEWS OPEC, non-OPEC to look at extending oil-output cut by six months A joint committee of ministers from OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers has agreed to review whether a global pact to limit supplies should be extended by six months, it said in a statement on Sunday. White House looks past conservatives on tax reform - to Democrats Fresh off a defeat on U.S. healthcare legislation, the White House warned rebellious conservative lawmakers that they should get behind President Donald Trump''s agenda or he may bypass them on future legislative fights, including tax reform. Japanese companies plan lower pay hike this year - Reuters poll An overwhelming majority of Japanese companies say they will raise wages at a slower pace than they did last year, a Reuters poll found, stymieing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe''s attempts to boost the sluggish economy through higher wages and consumption. LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK (As reported by NewsRise) The SGX Nifty Futures were trading at 9,104.50, trading down 0.08 pct from its previous close. The Indian rupee will likely open higher against the dollar, as the defeat of U.S. President Donald Trumps healthcare bill fuelled doubts about prospects of his economic plans, hurting demand for the greenback. Indian sovereign bonds are likely to edge lower in early trade ahead of an auction of state government debt. The yield on the benchmark 6.97 pct bond maturing in 2026 is likely to trade in a 6.80 pct-6.86 pct band today, a dealer with a state-run bank said. The bond had closed at 100.97 rupees, yielding 6.83 pct, on Mar. 24. Indias money markets will be shut tomorrow for a local holiday. GLOBAL MARKETS U.S. equity index futures fell to a six-week low on Sunday in a sign Wall Street would start the week defensively after Republicans pulled legislation to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system in a stunning setback for President Donald Trump. U.S. stock futures and the dollar fell while Asian markets struggled as President Donald Trump''s failure on healthcare reform raised questions about his ability to push through tax cuts and fiscal spending to boost the economy. The dollar slid to a near two-month low against a basket of currencies early as concerns mounted about the chances of U.S. fiscal stimulus after the stinging defeat of President Donald Trump''s healthcare package. U.S. 10-year Treasury note futures prices were higher at the open on Sunday, after President Donald Trump''s stunning political setback on Friday when Republican leaders pulled legislation to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system. Oil prices dipped as rising U.S. drilling activity outweighed talks that an OPEC-led production cut initially due to end in mid-2017 may be extended. Gold rose to a near one-month high as the dollar slid after President Donald Trump''s failure to pass healthcare reform raised doubts over his ability to push through his economic agenda. CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT PNDF spot 65.41/65.44 March 24 $83.03 mln $428.37 mln 10-yr bond yield 7.12 pct Month-to-date $3.21 bln $2.93 bln Year-to-date $4.76 bln $4.25 bln For additional data: India govt bond market volumes Stock market reports Non-deliverable forwards data Corporate debt stories [IN CORPD] Local market closing/intraday levels [IN SNAPSHOT] Monthly inflows [INFLOWS RTRS TABLE IN] ($1 = 65.4000 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Pradip Kakoti in Bengaluru) )) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/india-morningcall-idUSL3N1H418G'|'2017-03-27T11:17:00.000+03:00' +'b6c3049e24a93f71f727d99b9efc9de088d61460'|'Airbnb embarks on China push with more staff, local name'|'Business 2:12am EDT Airbnb embarks on China push with more staff, local name Brian Chesky, CEO and Co-founder of Airbnb, speaks to the Economic Club of New York at a luncheon at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S. March 13, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Segar SHANGHAI U.S. short-term rental giant Airbnb Inc will triple its China staff this year as it targets the country''s millennial consumers, its chief executive said on Wednesday, even as the Silicon Valley firm faces competition from local rivals. Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky said China was a key market for the firm to achieve its global ambitions. He was talking at an event in Shanghai to launch the brand''s Chinese name "Aibiying", literally "welcome each other with love". "Chinese millennials, they are a huge market - nearly half a billion people, 400 million Chinese millennials and they represent 80 percent of our business here in China," he said. "Our idea is to bring people together from every country in the world and that must start from the biggest country on earth, right here in China." The firm, valued at $30 billion in a round of fundraising last year, has seen strong growth from Chinese tourists, with outbound travelers from the country staying at its properties globally growing 142 percent last year, the firm said. Within China, the government has been ramping up pressure on foreign tech firms operating in the country, forcing many to find ways to bring Beijing on-side. Airbnb told Chinese users in November it would store their personal data locally and announced a series of agreements with local city authorities including Shenzhen, Chongqing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Beyond regulation, Airbnb is facing a handful of highly funded local rivals, including Tujia.com and Xiaozhu.com, often dubbed China''s Airbnb clone. Chesky added the firm had looked closely at the successes and failures of other companies operating in the country. Many international firms, especially in tech, have faced hurdles in China from ride-hailing firm [UBER.UL] to Microsoft Corp ( MSFT.O ). "To get things right in China we''ve tried to learn from other companies, what they did right and what they did wrong," he said. "The first thing is we''ve built a local team that is tripling in size this year." The firm now has around 80,000 homes listed in China, a number growing at over 160 percent year-on-year, while its business is being driven by Chinese millennials, loosely defined as adults under 35 years old. Chesky said this group was "moving away from mass tourism" of their parents and looking for authentic, local experiences: "(It''s) a new generation that is traveling very differently." (Reporting by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Christopher Cushing) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-airbnb-china-idUSKBN16T0HY'|'2017-03-22T13:12:00.000+02:00' +'4898a460d50ee59813267869831b240c936ca575'|'Apple CEO Tim Cook calls for more global trade with China'|'BEIJING Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook expressed support for globalization and said China should continue to open its economy to foreign firms, while speaking at a forum in Beijing on Saturday."I think it''s important that China continues to open itself and widens the door if you will," said Cook, speaking at the government-sponsored China Development Forum.Cook''s comments come amid rising tensions between the U.S. and China, with protectionist rhetoric from U.S. President Donald Trump sparking concern of increased trade friction between the two countries."The reality is countries that are closed, that isolate themselves, it''s not good for their people," said Cook, in a rare public speech.Apple said on Friday it will set up two new research and development centers in Shanghai and Suzhou in China.It has pledged to invest more than 3.5 billion yuan ($508 million) in research and development in China.Apple has been singled out in Chinese media as a potential target for retaliation in the event of a trade war.The Global Times warned last November if Trump triggered a trade war with China, Beijing would then target firms from Boeing to Apple in a "tit-for-tat" approach.(Reporting by Shu Zhang and Matthew Miller; Writing by Elias Glenn; Editing by Julia Glover)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-china-forum-apple-idINKBN16P0BG'|'2017-03-18T07:47:00.000+02:00' +'628255d1547fc5557beeb1408a6a9af1c1d7e918'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'(Adds PPG)March 23 The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Thursday:** Abu Dhabi investment firm Waha Capital PJSC is in talks with potential partners in Saudi Arabia as it looks to diversify investment in some key sectors outside the United Arab Emirates (UAE), its chairman said.** French finance minister Michel Sapin did not rule out France reducing its stake in Renault, but added any sale would have to take place at the best possible market conditions.** Japan''s Toyota Industries Corp said it agreed to buy privately-held Vanderlande Industries of the Netherlands, a maker of package and baggage handling equipment and software, for about 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion).** Singapore-based fund Effissimo, established by former colleagues of Japan''s most famous activist investor, Yoshiaki Murakami, has become the largest shareholder in Toshiba Corp with an 8.14 percent stake, a regulatory filing showed.** British energy supplier SSE said it had increased its share in the Dogger Bank offshore wind development to 37.5 percent after acquiring a stake from former consortium partner Statkraft.** U.S. aluminium wheel maker Superior Industries International has launched an offer to buy Uniwheels for around $715 million after winning the support of the Warsaw-listed company''s biggest shareholder.** Anglo American''s diamond specialist De Beers has bought the 50 percent stake held by French luxury goods group LVMH in De Beers Diamond Jewellers for an undisclosed amount, taking full ownership of the retail operation.** The chief executive of U.S. paint maker PPG won the backing of Akzo Nobel''s largest shareholder after flying to Amsterdam to press the Dutch company to open talks on a 22.7 billion euro ($24.5 billion)takeover.** Fund manager Elliott Advisors, which owns 3.2 percent of Akzo Nobel, criticized the Dutch paint maker for disregarding the views of an "overwhelming margin" of its shareholders by refusing to meet with U.S. suitor PPG.** Telecommunications company Bharti Airtel said it would buy internet services provider Tikona Digital Networks'' 4G business in a deal worth 16 billion rupees ($244.20 million).** Royal Dutch Shell is in talks with several potential buyers for its refinery outside of San Francisco, but the Anglo-Dutch oil giant is reluctant to part with its last asset in California, three people familiar with the process said.** Liberty House, the industrial and commodities group that is buying up steel assets around the world, is considering investing in the troubled Italian Piombino mill as the global market picks up from a slump, two sources close to the matter said.** Czech downstream oil group Unipetrol said its acquisition of Spolana chemicals company would support achieving its strategic aims and add shareholder value.** Indian online retailer Snapdeal is seeking investment to shore up its finances after unsuccessful talks with Chinese funds and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd as it battles to remain competitive, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.** South African hotelier Tsogo Sun said it could increase its stake in Hospitality Property Fund to as much as 60 percent as part of an exchange if it reaches agreement to sell more hotel assets to the fund.** Italy''s communications authority (AGCOM) will make a decision with regards to Vivendi''s stakebuilding in Italian broadcaster Mediaset by the end of April, a source at the regulator told Reuters.** Bulgaria''s Socialist party will look at options for the country to buy back the Bulgarian assets of Czech power utility CEZ if it wins the national election on Sunday, its leader Kornelia Ninova said.** Privately-owned shipping firm BW Group became the top shareholder in tanker firm DHT Holdings, in a surprise move that will probably end Frontline''s ambitions to take full control of DHT. (Compiled by Divya Grover and Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/deals-day-idINL3N1H039C'|'2017-03-23T17:06:00.000+02:00' +'91bf05da1ab77cb0e88131cce9ed8adeae5b8274'|'Hansteen to sell German, Dutch industrial properties for $1.4 billion'|'Business News - Mon Mar 20, 2017 - 9:03am GMT Hansteen to sell German, Dutch industrial properties for $1.4 billion Britain''s Hansteen Holdings ( HSTN.L ) has agreed to sell its German and Dutch industrial property portfolios for 1.28 billion euros ($1.38 billion) to a venture between Blackstone Group LP ( BX.N ) and M7 Real Estate. The price represents a premium of about 6 percent, or roughly 76 million euros, to the assets'' valuations at the end of 2016, Hansteen said in a statement on Monday. Hansteen''s shares rose more than 6 percent, before paring gains to trade up 3 percent at 125.55 pence at 0850 GMT. They were the top gainers on London''s midcap index .FTMC . "This is a compelling opportunity to crystallise both the revaluation gains from these German and Dutch assets achieved by our active asset management and the gains from foreign exchange movements," Hansteen joint chief executives Morgan Jones and Ian Watson said. Last year, the industrial market outperformed all other European real estate sectors, including offices and retail, data from property consultant CBRE ( CBG.N ) showed, as the sector benefited from higher demand for warehouses from retailers expanding their online operations. Over the fourth quarter, European commercial real estate deals reached a record high of 86.8 billion euros, boosted largely by a buoyant Germany market and growth in the Netherlands, according to the data. Hansteen, a UK real estate investment trust, said that the sale was expected to complete before the end of June and that it was advised by property consultant JLL ( JLL.N ). The sale leaves Hansteen with its UK business, where the market has seen some turbulence after Britain voted to leave the European Union. However, Hansteen said it had not noticed any significant effect on demand for industrial space following the June 23 vote. "Across the UK, we are experiencing pockets of rental growth and shorter incentives being offered to tenants as demand intensifies," the company said. (Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by Jason Neely and Alexander Smith) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hansteen-divestiture-idUKKBN16R0MZ'|'2017-03-20T16:03:00.000+02:00' +'ba705e85380256d7c57aa9374f8cd62f039cf64d'|'METALS-Copper slips on dollar but supply concerns underpin'|'* Comex copper speculators cut long position in latest week* Lead lowest since Jan 13 (Updates throughout, changes MELBOURNE dateline)By Zandi ShabalalaLONDON, March 6 Copper prices fell to a more than one-week low on Monday on concerns the metal had risen too far and as the dollar resumed its rally on expectations of an interest rate increase later this month.Supply disruptions at the world''s two biggest copper mines provided support for the commodity used in power and construction."The super enthusiastic reception to Donald Trump and a wider positive attitude for risky assets has gone a bit too far. Things need to be put in that context of markets being overbought," said Oxford Economics head of commodities research, Dan Smith.Copper has risen about 15 percent since President Donald Trump was elected in November after he pledged to increase spending on infrastructure which would benefit commodities.On Monday, three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 1 percent at $5,852.50 tonne by 1206 GMT, its lowest since Feb. 24.Adding to pressure on the copper price were comments from Fed Chair Janet Yellen on Friday who said the U.S. central bank was set to lift its benchmark interest rate this month, provided economic data held up.The dollar index rose 0.1 percent, close to seven-week highs scaled last week.In supply news, Indonesia will not back down from new rules requiring Freeport-McMoran to divest a majority stake in its local unit, its mines minister said late last week in a dispute over rights to the world''s second-biggest copper mine which has frozen exports.Meanwhile, Chile expects economic activity growth to be hit by around one percentage point in February because of a strike at world no.1 copper mine Escondida, as copper output slides 12 percent year-on-year.Citi said it expects copper to move into a deficit this year, due to the slow rate of mine supply growth."We do think we can see price peaks of close to $7,000 a tonne this year," it said in a report.China, which is copper''s biggest consumer, cut its growth target this year as the world''s second-largest economy pushes through painful reforms to address a rapid build-up in debt, and erects a "firewall" against financial risks.Speculators cut their bullish position in Comex copper futures and options by 7,851 lots to 70,660 lots, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday.Lead fell to its lowest in more than seven weeks, down 1.6 percent to $2,212.50 a tonne.Aluminium slipped 1.5 percent to $1,864 a tonne. The commodity hit a two-year high of $1,957 a tonne last week as China pressed on with plans to cut output by 30 percent over the winter heating season.PRICESThree month LME copperMost active ShFE copperThree month LME aluminiumMost active ShFE aluminiumThree month LME zincMost active ShFE zincThree month LME leadMost active ShFE leadThree month LME nickelMost active ShFE nickelThree month LME tinMost active ShFE tin ($1 = 6.8954 Chinese yuan) (Additional reporting by Melanie Burton in Melbourne; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-metals-idINL3N1GJ300'|'2017-03-06T09:52:00.000+02:00' +'84173fe49e6ce4ffc96c19b655aaf65db3ca96cb'|'Abu Dhabi''s Aabar top investor in UniCredit with 5 pct after cash call'|'Company News 2:19pm EDT Abu Dhabi''s Aabar top investor in UniCredit with 5 pct after cash call ROME, March 22 Abu Dhabi''s investment firm Aabar is the top investor in UniCredit with a stake of 5.04 percent after the Italian bank raised 13 billion euros in a share sale earlier this year, the lender''s website showed on Wednesday. Prior to the share issue, UniCredit''s top shareholder was Los Angeles-based fund Capital Research and Management Company with a stake of 6.7 percent. Italian press had reported Capital Research had boosted its position as top investor by buying into the cash call. However, a regulatory filing dated Feb. 28 showed the U.S. fund had cut its stake to 4 percent outside of the cash call. Investors are obliged to disclose significant holdings, but sometimes do not provide frequent updates. (Reporting by Valentina Za, editing by Isla Binnie) Next In Company News UPDATE 2-Canada''s Enbridge to cut 1,000 jobs after buying Spectra CALGARY, Alberta, March 22 Canada''s Enbridge Inc said on Wednesday it would cut about 1,000 positions, or 6 percent of its work force, after buying Spectra Energy Corp of Houston, the first layoffs for the combined energy infrastructure company, the biggest in North America.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/unicredit-shareholding-aabar-idUSL5N1GZ5WP'|'2017-03-23T01:19:00.000+02:00' +'6fc7d99fb61a745a4f38a3cf7a48f4d82e62de2b'|'Nikkei drops on strong yen, N.Korea missile launches; defense stocks rise'|'TOKYO, March 6 Japanese shares fell on Monday in thin trade as the yen firmed and as global geopolitical tensions rose after North Korea fired four missiles, three of which landed in Japan''s exclusive economic zone.The Nikkei share average fell 0.5 percent to 19,379.14 points.Defense-related stocks outperformed on speculation that North Korea''s latest launch will spur more Japanese spending on arms.Landmine maker Ishikawa Seisakusho jumped 5.1 percent, while Mitsubishi Heavy Industries rose 0.2 percent and Kawasaki Heavy Industries 0.3 percent.The broader Topix shed 0.2 percent to 1,554.90, with only 1.409 billion shares changing hands, the lowest volume since Dec. 28. The JPX-Nikkei Index 400 declined 0.3 percent to 13,918.68.The Nikkei Jasdaq index rose for a 17th day, hitting its record closing high of 3,039.86. (Reporting by Ayai Tomisawa; Editing by Richard Borsuk)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-close-idINL3N1GJ2A8'|'2017-03-06T03:24:00.000+02:00' +'60088b3917789788a47c4a510249d2f03a8f0909'|'Russia''s Putin to meet ExxonMobil President: Kremlin spokesman'|'Commodities - Thu Mar 9, 2017 - 5:35am EST Russia''s Putin to meet ExxonMobil President: Kremlin spokesman left right Darren Woods, Chairman & CEO of Exxon Mobil Corporation attends a news conference at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., March 1, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid 1/2 left right Russia''s President Vladimir Putin speaks during a meeting dedicated to the Winter Universiade 2019 in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, March 1, 2017. Sputnik/Aleksey Nikolskyi/Kremlin via REUTERS 2/2 MOSCOW Russia''s President Vladimir Putin was scheduled to meet president of oil major ExxonMobil ( XOM.N ) Darren Woods on Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. The meeting was set to take place at the end of the day in Moscow, Peskov told reporters on a conference call without giving further details. (Reporting by Dasha Afanasieva; Editing by Andrey Ostroukh) Next In Commodities'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-exxonmobil-russia-idUSKBN16G18P'|'2017-03-09T17:35:00.000+02:00' +'7aaf603f4e4150d783495e4ae086fc515f125d8e'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|' 00am EST Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions March 2 The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1100 GMT on Thursday: ** Kazakhstan''s biggest lenders by assets, Kazkommertsbank (KKB) and Halyk Bank, have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding on a potential acquisition of a controlling interest in KKB by Halyk, KKB said. ** Aurubis AG, Europe''s biggest copper smelter, plans a new corporate strategy involving expansion into production of other non-ferrous metals alongside its traditional copper business, new CEO Juergen Schachler said. ** Spain''s carmaking plants were "well-placed" in the takeover talks between PSA Group and General Motors'' European arm, Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said after speaking to a senior executive at PSA. ** Park Square Capital and SMBC are setting up a new euro 3 billion direct lending fund which will be a joint venture between the two firms, banking sources said. ** German consumer products group Henkel has made a binding offer to buy Darex Packaging Technologies from GCP Applied Technologies for $1.05 billion. ** BPER Banca said it had agreed to buy small lender Nuova Carife for 1 euro, helping Italy solve one of its banking headaches by selling the last one of four small lenders it rescued from bankruptcy in November 2015. (Compiled by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/deals-day-idUSL3N1GF3IR'|'2017-03-02T18:00:00.000+02:00' +'098f06fc72a19e3067c02840b1ff94f514895fa6'|'UPDATE 1-Latin America to step up bond sales as Trump fears fade'|' 12:02pm EDT UPDATE 1-Latin America to step up bond sales as Trump fears fade (Adds price performance, details on upcoming sales in paragraphs 3-7) By Tatiana Bautzer NEW YORK, March 30 Latin American governments and companies could soon step up bond sales, seizing on increased deal appetite as a regional economic recovery gains steam and concerns about potential aggressive U.S. policy changes ease, bankers and investors said this week. Attractive returns on Latin American debt and demand for less traditional structures have allowed the Brazilian government to sell debt at record low yields. Suzano Papel & Celulose SA subsequently placed a 30-year junk bond, the first of its kind for a Brazilian firm, this month. Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc, the world''s largest McDonald''s restaurant franchisee, and Chile''s Empresas CMPC SA are offering 10-year bond deals on Thursday that could fetch them $765 million in total. Brazilian logistics firm JSL SA could be next in line soon, two people familiar with the plans said. Concerns that U.S. President Donald Trump''s policies would lure capital away from Latin America have subsided, bankers and executives said. Inflows are also being fueled by market stability after the U.S. Federal Reserve''s single rate hike so far this year. Emerging market funds had $6.5 billion in net inflows in the week ended March 22, their most in nearly four years, Institute of International Finance data showed, with about $4.5 billion going to bonds. "We''ll still see a lot of debt refinancing deals, but there are a few first-time issuers tapping the market," said Felipe Wilberg, global head of fixed income for Ita BBA SA, which is hosting an annual Latin American debt capital markets conference in New York. According to other bankers, who asked for anonymity to speak freely about market trends, cheaper funding for the region''s borrowers largely hinges on the ability of several governments, like Brazil''s, to get congressional approval for key fiscal reforms ahead of a busy Latin America election calendar. Investors initially expected Trump-related turmoil to slam the brakes on access to capital markets in Latin America, which has struggled with the end of a decade-long commodities boom. The premium that investors demand for Latin American bonds over U.S. Treasuries stands at about 7.59 percentage points, compared with about 7.14 points at the start of the year, according to JPMorgan''s EMBI Diversified Latin America bond index. ''DIFFERENT REACTION'' However, the pushback has been minor compared to prior U.S. tightening cycles that triggered violent swings in Latin American issuers'' borrowing costs. Spreads have tightened somewhat across the region, said Baruc Sez, Ita BBA''s managing director of international fixed income. "Although conventional wisdom states that U.S. rate hikes lead to pressure on asset prices in emerging markets, we are seeing a different reaction from investors," said Marc Nachmann, head of Latin America for Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Pulpmaker CMPC aims to sell $500 million of so-called Green bonds later Thursday, according to IFR, a Thomson Reuters market intelligence service. Arcos Dorados could pay 6.5 percent interest to place $265 million in bonds, with proceeds going to repay maturing debt, sources said. JSL, the logistics firm, is discussing a potential $300 million global bond deal with banks that will have to be fully hedged against currency fluctuations because the company''s revenues are all denominated in Brazilian reais, a person with direct knowledge of the transaction said. Western Asset Management Co has raised the Latin American share of its emerging markets debt positions to 47 percent from 40 percent over the past year, as prices turned attractive and the outlook improved, said Mark Hughes, who helps oversee $40 billion in bonds for the firm. The ramp-up has been gradual though, Hughes said, noting that bonds from Brazilian exporters now offer a better entry point than those of domestic-oriented companies. Latin American sovereign and corporate borrowers have raised $34 billion from bond sales this year, according to Ita BBA data. Last year, bond borrowing in the region reached $102 billion. Bankers are raising their estimates for new Latin American bond supply this year to $80 billion from as low as $60 billion in November as the initial negative sentiment on Mexico has recovered. In the case of Brazil, President Michel Temer''s progress in pushing reforms has fueled demand for bonds like Suzano''s. "When the deal hit the road, we sensed that investors were in general more optimistic about fiscal consolidation than they were a year earlier," Marcelo Bacci, Suzano''s chief financial officer, said in an interview. (Additional reporting by Paul Kilby in New York; Editing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal, Christian Plumb and Tom Brown) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/latam-debt-outlook-idUSL2N1H70R6'|'2017-03-31T00:02:00.000+03:00' +'b68aef4320cd5ecaa9f6ae5e7069839154297179'|'German automakers top U.S. magazine brand rankings'|' 28am GMT German automakers top U.S. magazine brand rankings By David Shepardson - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON German automakers dominated Consumer Reports'' annual ranking of automotive brands released on Tuesday, with Volkswagen AG''s ( VOWG_p.DE ) Audi ( NSUG.DE ) leading the pack, while U.S. brands continued to lag despite gains for many. Jake Fisher, director of auto testing at the magazine, said German automakers rose largely due to improvements in reliability. "Building one or two great vehicles is achievable, but making a whole lineup of excellent ones is much more difficult, Fisher said. Volkswagen''s Porsche unit and rival BMW AG ( BMWG.DE ) came in second and third. General Motors Co''s ( GM.N ) Buick brand was the highest-ranked U.S. mainstream brand in 10th, down from seventh in 2016, while Ford Motor Co''s namesake brand fell from 16th to 21th. GM''s Chevrolet brand moved up to 17th from 20th and its Cadillac brand moved up to 18th from 24th. Toyota Motor Corp''s ( 7203.T ) flagship brand fell from eighth to 11th place, falling out of the top 10 for the first time in recent years, after the magazine said its Tacoma pickup had reliability issues. Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ) was ranked eighth among auto brands after previously not having enough models to be ranked. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles'' ( FCHA.MI ) Chrysler brand jumped from 26th to 19th. GM''s Chevrolet Cruze was named best compact car, while its Impala won best large sedan. Other top picks included the Honda Ridgeline as best compact pickup, Kia Optima best midsized sedan and Audi Q7 best luxury SUV. The Fiat brand remained last again among all brands rated, and FCA''s Jeep brand remained second-lowest overall. Consumer Reports does not recommend any Fiat Chrysler vehicles, while it recommends all Porsche, Mazda and BMW vehicles. Fiat Chrysler said in a statement it welcomed feedback from Consumer Reports "as it helps guide our product improvements." The company added it is "aggressively pursuing both product and launch-quality improvements." Fisher said Fiat Chrysler models suffered from serious reliability problems. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-autos-idUKKBN1682Z2'|'2017-03-01T08:28:00.000+02:00' +'a7e45200bb672e8d87407dc405d1dc59b423a059'|'Japan PM Abe seeks Saudi support for Aramco listing in Tokyo'|'TOKYO Japan''s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe asked Saudi Arabia''s King Salman on Monday to support a listing of oil giant Aramco''s shares in Tokyo, as financial centers in Asia and elsewhere step up efforts to win the coveted $100 billion listing.Abe made the request for support on the Aramco listing to the Saudi monarch, who responded by saying the kingdom would look into the request because he wants Japanese investors to buy Aramco shares, Japan''s Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kotaro Nogami told reporters.The two leaders met on Monday, the second day of the king''s visit to Japan, part of a month-long Asian tour.Separately, the governments of Japan and Saudi Arabia said in a joint statement that Aramco and the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) are considering setting up a joint group to study a Japan listing for the Saudi oil giant.Saudi authorities plan to list up to 5 percent of the world''s largest oil producer on the Saudi stock exchange in Riyadh, the Tadawul, and also one or more international markets. Besides Tokyo, markets in New York, London, Hong Kong, Singapore and Toronto, are vying for what could be the world''s largest IPO, potentially raising as much as $100 billion.While the Japanese government is keen to have Aramco shares trade in Tokyo, bankers and lawyers say the Tokyo market is unlikely to get the nod because of strong competition and due to Japanese investors being less receptive to energy companies than some other sectors such as technology. Yen volatility is another factor.The Saudi monarch arrived in Japan on Sunday after a visit to Malaysia and Indonesia that included a holiday stay in Bali. Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih and Aramco executives were scheduled to travel with him to Japan, sources told Reuters earlier.Saudi officials are keen to court Asian investors for the sale of the Aramco stake in 2018, and have solicited financial advice from banks with links to China.The IPO is the centerpiece of the Saudi government''s ambitious plan, known as Vision 2030, to diversify the economy away from oil.Japanese and Asian banks and companies are expected to play major roles in the kingdom''s plans to develop non-oil industries and expand its international investments.Saudi Arabia is Japan''s biggest oil supplier and Japanese refineries and other oil importers bought about $2.2 billion worth of Saudi oil in January.The two countries on Monday also signed economic cooperation agreements in industry, energy and finance and on setting up a possible special economic zone in Saudi Arabia.They also agreed to start a feasibility study on vehicle production in the Middle Eastern country. The Nikkei on Saturday reported that Toyota Motor Corp ( 7203.T ) is looking into building a plant in Saudi Arabia.(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori, Kiyoshi Takenaka, Emi Emoto, Hiroko Yoneda and Ami Miyazaki; Writing by Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-japan-aramco-idUSKBN16K13O'|'2017-03-13T15:09:00.000+02:00' +'cdb165b0470bdef6b45b63838288b32d980b50a0'|'White House tax reform may begin in late spring - Spicer'|'Business News - Sun Mar 19, 2017 - 9:29am GMT White House tax reform may begin in late spring - Spicer White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer holds his daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S. March 16, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst DUBLIN President Donald Trump may begin his overhaul of the U.S. tax code as early as late spring, White House spokesman Sean Spicer has told Ireland''s Sunday Independent newspaper. "We are going to have tax reform after we get healthcare completed... I think we are looking at late spring to summer," Spicer told the newspaper in an interview during Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny''s visit to Washington late last week. Trump has vowed to deliver major tax cuts to the middle-class and the business community this year but deepening Republican divisions over a House Republican healthcare bill which has spawned concern that action on tax reform may be delayed. In a survey released last week, only 16 percent of about 1,000 business, tax and financial executives polled by accounting and advisory firm KPMG said they expected to see tax reform in 2017. (Reporting by Conor Humphries; editing by Jason Neely) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-tax-idUKKBN16Q0AD'|'2017-03-19T16:29:00.000+02:00' +'389b8ad5081f75cb31f66fcdba244bf1b8095ecd'|'Porsche SE has no information about Piech''s stake sale talks'|'Tue Mar 21, 2017 - 11:19am GMT Porsche SE has no information about Piech''s stake sale talks left right A logo is seen on a wheel of a Porsche car during the company''s annual meeting in Stuttgard, Germany, May 13, 2015. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: Ferdinand Piech, chairman of the supervisory board of German carmaker Volkswagen, gives a thumbs-up during his visit to the IAA truck show in Hanover, Germany September 18, 2012. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/Files 2/2 STUTTGART, Germany Porsche SE ( PSHG_p.DE ), Volkswagen''s majority shareholder, said it has no information about former VW chairman Ferdinand Piech''s talks with the carmaker''s controlling families about a possible sale of his stake. "We are only informed about the fact that talks are happening," Porsche SE chief executive Hans Dieter Poetsch said on Tuesday at the company''s earnings press conference. "We cannot even say whether there will be a result." Should the negotiations of the Porsche and Piech families to buy a substantial part of Piech''s 14.7 percent stake in Porsche SE succeed, such a move would have no impact on the holding company''s ownership structure, Poetsch said. "There will be no change to the fact that the voting shares will be held by the Porsche and Piech families," the CEO said. Porsche SE is the group through which the billionaire Porsche and Piech families control 52.2 percent of the voting shares in Volkswagen (VW), which is still dealing with the effects of its diesel emissions scandal. Separately, VW chief executive Matthias Mueller said he has had no discussions to date with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles ( FCHA.MI ) boss Sergio Marchionne about a possible tie-up. Last week, the VW CEO left the door open to a potential merger with Fiat Chrysler, saying Europe''s biggest automotive group was more open to partnerships than in the past. (Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Harro ten Wolde) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-porschese-piech-idUKKBN16S17I'|'2017-03-21T18:13:00.000+02:00' +'f0ab5d9631d0ff3721881d93761c601524398302'|'Nikkei ekes out small gains after Fed; Fast Retailing falls - Reuters'|'TOKYO, March 16 Japanese stocks eked out small gains in choppy trade on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve hiked U.S. interest rates, but signalled no pick-up in the pace of tightening.The Nikkei rose 0.1 percent to 19,590.14 points, after trading in negative territory earlier in the session.Financial stocks languished as U.S. yields fell after the Fed raised interest rates for the second time in three months, but did not flag any plans to accelerate the pace of monetary tightening. Exporters were also weak after the dollar fell against the yen.Fast Retailing, the operator of Uniqlo clothing chain, fell 1.9 percent after the Nikkei Business Daily reported that its rivals were planning to expand aggressively to new markets.The loss contributed a hefty 27 negative points to the benchmark index.On the other hand, mining shares rose after crude oil prices extended gains from the previous session after official government data showed U.S. stockpiles had eased from record highs. Inpex Corp rose 1.0 percent and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co gained 0.8 percent.The market largely shrugged off the Bank of Japan''s decision on Thursday to keep its monetary policy steady, an announcement widely expected.The broader Topix gained 0.1 percent to 1,572.69 and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 added 0.1 percent to 14,087.07. (Reporting by Ayai Tomisawa; Editing by Randy Fabi)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-closer-idINL3N1GT2LP'|'2017-03-16T03:43:00.000+02:00' +'e569a7a50cdfdc45a078b3a4ee7fe72c0a97a5ea'|'UPDATE 1-Canada''s Couche Tard posts 4.7 pct rise in profit'|' 21am EDT UPDATE 1-Canada''s Couche Tard posts 4.7 pct rise in profit (Adds details) March 14 Canadian convenience store operator Alimentation Couche Tard reported a 4.7 percent increase in quarterly profit on Tuesday, largely boosted by acquisitions. Couche Tard, one of Canada''s most acquisitive companies, has been expanding through deals in Europe, Canada and the United States. Last year, the owner of the Circle K chain of convenience stores struck its biggest deal to date, with the $4.4 billion acquisition of U.S. retailer CST Brands Inc. Revenue from the company''s fuel retail business rose 27 percent to $7.97 billion in the quarter ended Jan. 29. The business made up nearly 70 percent of total revenue. Same-store merchandise revenue in the U.S. climbed 1.9 percent and rose 2.5 percent in Europe, but fell 0.9 percent in Canada, the company said. Laval, Quebec-based Couche Tard''s net income rose to $287 million or 50 cents per share in the third quarter ended Jan. 29, from $274 million or 48 cents per share, a year earlier. Total revenue jumped 22.3 percent to $11.42 billion. (Reporting by Ahmed Farhatha in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/couche-tard-results-idUSL3N1GR43V'|'2017-03-14T20:21:00.000+02:00' +'bf5f2478c96cb87cb9fd55c898cb536baab1db73'|'Emirates rejects Lufthansa, Air France-KLM claims in letter to EU'|'Money News - Thu Mar 2, 2017 - 8:13pm IST Emirates rejects Lufthansa, Air France-KLM claims in letter to EU FULL COVERAGE: INDIA ELECTIONS 2017 An Emirates plane is seen next to fire truck at Lisbon''s airport, Portugal June 24, 2016. REUTERS/Rafael Marchante/Files BRUSSELS Emirates has rejected claims by Lufthansa and Air France-KLM in a letter to the EU that competition from Gulf airlines had forced them to terminate services to Asia. The letter from the CEOs of the French and German carriers this week asked the European Union executive to act over what they say are unfair practices by the Gulf airlines that have caused them to scrap flights to destinations in the Middle East, Asia and India. "It is baffling why two of the largest legacy airlines in Europe are alleging that Gulf carriers have caused them to contract their Asian services when the opposite is true," an Emirates spokeswoman said. "OAG (Official Airline Guide) data shows that between 2007 to 2017, the 6 European carriers combined actually grew capacity from Europe to Asia in terms of seats (17 percent), and flight frequencies (6 percent)," she added. The letter to EU Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc said Lufthansa, Air France, KLM, Brussels Airlines, Swiss and Austrian Airlines have together had to halt services to over 30 destinations in the Middle East, Asia and India in recent years. The European Commission is preparing a law enabling the EU to impose duties on non-EU airlines or suspend their flying rights if it finds they have harmed European airlines through unfair subsidies or discriminatory practices. European legacy carriers have been hit by the rapid growth of the main Gulf airlines - Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways - and shifting traffic flows to Asia. They have long accused the Gulf airlines of receiving illegal state subsidies - which the companies deny - and have asked the EU to do more to tackle the challenge. "We have repeatedly disproved all allegations of subsidies, and demonstrated that we operate on a fully commercial basis," the Emirates spokeswoman said. (Reporting by Julia Fioretti; Editing by Keith Weir) Next In Money News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/emirates-letter-lufthansa-airfrance-klm-idINKBN16920F'|'2017-03-02T21:43:00.000+02:00' +'f86cb6822ced69cf4d8cec430e8aa9c4b5cd7d49'|'Stada CEO says bidding process fully intact'|'BAD VILBEL, Germany German drugmaker Stada ( STAGn.DE ), at the center of a takeover battle between two private equity consortia, said the bidding process was developing well, after delays earlier this month."The bidding process that we have initiated is intact in every respect," Chief Executive Matthias Wiedenfels told journalists at a press conference at the group''s Bad Vilbel headquarters after the release of detailed 2016 results.The takeover battle for Stada pits a combination of Advent and Permira against Bain and Cinven. Both have made takeover offers at 58 euros per share, valuing the company at 4.7 billion euros ($5.1 billion) including debt, according to people familiar with the matter.Stada postponed the bidding process this month to give the competing suitors a chance to improve their offers.(Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Victoria Bryan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-stada-results-bidding-idINKBN1700UM'|'2017-03-29T06:36:00.000+03:00' +'f8e418a4fbdca12ba85b38fec17067198cb77884'|'Volkswagen settles 10 U.S. state diesel claims for $157 million'|'U.S. 10:26am EDT Volkswagen settles 10 U.S. state diesel claims for $157 million A U.S. flag flutters in the wind above a Volkswagen dealership in Carlsbad, California, U.S. May 2, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo WASHINGTON Volkswagen AG said Thursday it has agreed to settle environmental claims from 10 U.S. states over its excess diesel emissions for $157.45 million as the world''s largest automaker looks to move past the scandal. The German automaker settlement covers states including New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Washington and also covers some consumer claims. In 2016, VW reached a $603 million agreement with 44 U.S. states, but that settlement didn''t cover claims resolved Thursday. In total, VW has now agreed to spend up to $25 billion in the United States to address claims from owners, environmental regulators, states and dealers and to make buyback offers. (Reporting by David Shepardson) North Carolina lawmakers to vote on repeal of transgender bathroom law WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. North Carolina legislators were set to vote on Thursday on a deal to repeal a law prohibiting transgender people from using restrooms in accordance with their gender identities, a measure that has prompted boycotts by companies and sports leagues. HONOLULU A federal judge in Hawaii indefinitely extended on Wednesday an order blocking enforcement of President Donald Trump''s revised ban on travel to the United States from six predominantly Muslim countries. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-idUSKBN17123C'|'2017-03-30T22:26:00.000+03:00' +'f8cf6e78b83233d9c4bc54516cde5af019b6663f'|'Exclusive - BlackRock vows new pressure on climate, board diversity'|'Business News - Mon Mar 13, 2017 - 5:04am GMT Exclusive - BlackRock vows new pressure on climate, board diversity FILE PHOTO - The BlackRock logo is seen at the BlackRock Japan headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, October 20, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo By Ross Kerber - BOSTON BOSTON BlackRock Inc( BLK.N ), which wields outsized clout as the world''s largest asset manager, planned on Monday to put new pressure on companies to explain themselves on issues including how climate change could affect their business as well as boardroom diversity. The move by BlackRock, a powerful force in Corporate America with $5.1 trillion (4.18 trillion) under management, could bolster efforts like climate-risk disclosure practices developed by the Financial Stability Board, the international body that monitors and makes recommendations about the global financial system. BlackRock, which holds stakes in most major U.S. corporations, identified its top "engagement priorities" for meetings this year with corporate leaders in documents to be posted on its website on Monday, with climate risk and boardroom diversity on the list. Reuters received advance copies of the materials. Michelle Edkins, set to oversee the outreach effort as head of a 30-person team, said BlackRock might want to hear from companies about how they are assessing the risk that climate change may pose to their operations. Edkins cited the example of how rising ocean levels could swamp a real estate company''s valuable beachfront property. Some companies have shown leadership on the areas BlackRock considers priorities, Edkins said, while others need improvement. "There are firms where we think they''re probably not moving fast enough given the risks to the business," Edkins said in a telephone interview on Sunday. The action marked a step-up in BlackRock''s advocacy with boards and executives, and comes after the fund giant was criticized by environmental and labour activists for not backing proxy resolutions dealing with climate change and other topics more often at shareholder meetings. BlackRock stopped short of pledging to vote more often against companies'' management. It said it still prefers private meetings with executives and casts critical proxy votes only as a last straw. "We can''t micromanage," Edkins said. Activists said BlackRock deserves credit for making climate change a central focus. "They have made a turn in the road. They are looking at their proxies differently," said Tim Smith, who leads shareholder engagement efforts at Walden Asset Management in Boston. Outlining its priorities, BlackRock urged some companies to be ready to discuss concerns such as how they could use climate-risk disclosure practices developed by a Financial Stability Board task force. BlackRock also said it will expect that at companies in sectors associated with climate risk such as oil producers, miners or real estate companies, all directors should "have demonstrable fluency in how climate risk affects the business" and how a given company will address it. As a result of BlackRock''s new initiative, Smith said Walden and others including a Seattle city employees'' retirement system have withdrawn a proposal calling for the fund giant to review its proxy-voting process and record on climate change. Smith said BlackRock''s new approach could make a difference such as on resolutions urging energy giants to report on the impact that public policies aimed at curbing climate change could have on their business. One such resolution at Exxon Mobil ( XOM.N ) last year received support from around 38 percent of votes cast. BlackRock opposed the resolution and owned about 6 percent of the company at the time, securities filings show. Edkins said BlackRock''s votes on such measures in the future would depend on circumstances like how they are worded. An Exxon spokesman declined to comment ahead of the company''s proxy statement due next month. BOARDROOM DIVERSITY BlackRock also said it will look to understand how companies are working to increase boardroom diversity, such as adding more women. "Diverse boards, including but not limited to diversity of expertise, experience, age, race and gender, make better decisions," BlackRock said in the documents. Some companies wrongly believe they already possess a diverse board of directors, Edkins said. "A guy from Yale and a guy from Harvard does not count as diversity," Edkins said. BlackRock''s guidance marks the latest investor call for corporate executives to pay more attention to matters to which they might have given little thought in the past. New deposits into funds that invest according to environmental, social or responsible governance criteria have been a rare bright spot for active fund managers lately. Big fund firms have taken notice. State Street Corp( STT.N ), a BlackRock rival, used International Women''s Day last week to urge companies to improve their board diversity. BlackRock Chief Executive Larry Fink has advocated governance reforms in annual letters to other CEOs, such as urging them to avoid too much focus on short-term results. BlackRock said it also plans to press boards about worker issues in light of matters such as uneven wage growth. Edkins pointed to Wal-Mart Stores Inc ( WMT.N ) as an example of a company that embraced the idea that higher wages can lead to a more-engaged workforce. "Pay that doesn''t seem to achieve some sense of equity within a company is likely to make an unattractive place to work," Edkins said. (Reporting by Ross Kerber in Boston; Additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in New York; Editing by Will Dunham) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-blackrock-climate-exclusive-idUKKBN16K0CP'|'2017-03-13T12:04:00.000+02:00' +'96749e4cdb4bf960c31ab88d95d58435c49b9677'|'Trial, bond hearing dates set for VW emissions scandal executive in U.S.'|'Business News - 08pm GMT Trial, bond hearing dates set for VW emissions scandal executive in U.S. By Bernie Woodall - DETROIT DETROIT A federal judge on Wednesday set for April 18 in Detroit the trial of a former Volkswagen AG ( VOWG_p.DE ) U.S.-based executive charged with crimes related to the company''s massive diesel emissions scandal, but the defence indicated it may seek a postponement. Oliver Schmidt, who was the chief of Volkswagen''s environmental and engineering centre in Michigan, faces charges that could put him in prison for up to 169 years if he is convicted. Volkswagen is set to plead guilty on March 10 in Detroit to three felony counts under a plea agreement to resolve U.S. charges it installed secret software in vehicles to enable it to beat emissions tests. The scandal became known to the public in the fall of 2015. The U.S. Justice Department has said that the company realized in 2006 that it could not meet tougher U.S. emissions rules. Schmidt was one of six former or current VW executives indicted in January but the only one in the United States at the time of the indictments. He was arrested on Jan. 7 in Florida. Schmidt would be the first VW employee or executive to go on trial in the scandal. A U.S. VW employee, James Liang, was charged in September. He pleaded guilty at the time to misleading regulators about diesel emissions and agreed to cooperate with the investigation. Schmidt''s attorney, George Donnini, asked U.S. District Judge Sean Cox if he could argue for another trail date because, he said, there was much discovery work to be done before trial, but Cox sternly disallowed the request. If the defence wants a change in the trial date, it should file a motion with the court, Cox said. Donnini would not comment after Wednesday''s brief hearing. Cox also set a bond hearing requested by the defence for March 16. Schmidt is being held without bond. Schmidt appeared at the hearing in a bright orange jail jumpsuit with "SANILAC COUNTY" printed on back. He is being held at a jail in the county north of Detroit. The former executive was shackled at the ankles and waist, which a court official said was the policy of the federal courthouse in Detroit. According to court documents, Schmidt''s lawyers have argued that he is just a small player in a large scandal and that he has cooperated with authorities. German prosecutors on Jan. 20 searched Schmidt''s house, which could indicate that he may face charges in that country as well. VW has agreed to spend up to $25 billion in the United States to address claims from owners, environmental regulators, states and dealers and to make buyback offers of its diesel-powered vehicles involved in the scandal. (Reporting by Bernie Woodall; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) Next In Business News U.S. '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-volkswagen-emissions-idUKKBN1685TL'|'2017-03-02T06:08:00.000+02:00' +'dc1ca8b5aabcc242ff14f42e36fc6118fca5628d'|'Uber board backs CEO Kalanick, still looking for chief operating officer'|'Technology Photos - Wed Mar 22, 2017 - 4:27am IST Uber board backs CEO Kalanick, still looking for chief operating officer Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, addresses a gathering at an event in New Delhi, India, December 16, 2016. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi By Heather Somerville - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] plans to keep co-founder Travis Kalanick as chief executive following a series of damaging events at the ride services company, a member of its board said on Tuesday in a rare call with reporters. "The board has confidence in Travis," said Arianna Huffington, co-founder of news site Huffington Post and one of seven voting Uber board members. The possibility of him resigning has not "come up and we don''t expect it to come up," she said. But she added that Kalanick, 40, needed to change his leadership style from that of a "scrappy entrepreneur" to be more like a "leader of a major global company." The privately held company, valued at $68 billion, is pushing ahead in its search for a chief operating officer to help Kalanick run the business, but gave no hints on possible candidates or timing of an appointment. Huffington and three Uber executives on the call said they were working on repairing the company''s tarnished image and improving its culture and leadership after a series of embarrassing setbacks, including allegations of sexual harassment from a former employee and the recent departure of its president, Jeff Jones, who cited deep misgivings about the company. Kalanick was not on the call. Uber expects to conclude an internal investigation into the sexual harassment allegations by the end of April, Huffington said The investigation was prompted by a former Uber employee who last month published a blog post describing a workplace where sexual harassment was common and went unpunished. Huffington is part of a committee - along with Uber board members David Bonderman of TPG Capital and Bill Gurley, a venture capitalist at Benchmark and close adviser to Kalanick - that will review the findings of the investigation. Huffington pledged to make those findings public. Meanwhile, the search for a COO - announced two weeks ago by Kalanick - is continuing, Huffington said, without mentioning any candidates by name or saying when the job would be filled. She said the COO, a role that has not previously existed at Uber, will be a "true partner" to Kalanick. "This is the first time that Travis has really understood the importance of having a partner," said Liane Hornsey, Uber''s chief human resources officer, on the call. News service Bloomberg last month released a video that showed Kalanick berating an Uber driver who had complained about cuts to rates paid to drivers, resulting in Kalanick making a public apology and admitting he needed leadership training. (Reporting by Heather Somerville; Editing by Bill Rigby) Next In Technology Photos'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-uber-ceo-idINKBN16S2Y0'|'2017-03-22T05:49:00.000+02:00' +'93c9e71aa5ae553c9fa2ad03cd8d771aa3f891eb'|'Volkswagen says U.S. approves sale of modified diesel vehicles'|'Business News - Thu Mar 30, 2017 - 1:40am BST Volkswagen says U.S. approves sale of modified diesel vehicles The logo of Volkswagen is seen during the 87th International Motor Show at Palexpo in Geneva, Switzerland March 8, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann Volkswagen AG ( VOWG_p.DE ) said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved its request to sell up to 67,000 diesel vehicles from the 2015 model year, including about 12,000 currently in dealer inventory with approved emissions modifications. The vehicles in inventory were held when the company issued a stop sale in September 2015, Volkswagen spokeswoman Jeannine Ginivan told Reuters. Ginivan said the company was finalising details of the programme. The EPA approved a fix for about 70,000 Volkswagen diesel vehicles in January. The EPA did not immediately to a request for comment. (Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and Bhanu Pratap in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie Adler) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-volkswagen-emissions-idUKKBN17102M'|'2017-03-30T08:40:00.000+03:00' +'9fedf3d8eedaabcf668980f7bc49b9b82e3dc76b'|'Japan Aso calls on G20 to reconfirm warning vs excess FX volatility'|'BADEN BADEN, Germany Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Friday it was "very important" for the Group of 20 economies to reconfirm its warning that excess currency volatility was undesirable for economic stability."I told my G20 counterparts that while the global economy was recovering gradually, downside risks existed so it was important to reconfirm a G20 commitment to use all available tools, individually and collectively, to ensure economic stability," Aso said.Aso said he also told the G20 finance leaders that Japan was ready to mobilise monetary and fiscal policy tools to end deflation.On global trade, Aso said he stressed the importance of having "free and fair rules" on global trade, which have brought prosperity to many economies.Aso made the remarks to reporters after the first day of a two-day gathering of the Group of 20 finance leaders in Baden Baden, Germany.(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/g20-germany-japan-aso-idINKBN16O2UP'|'2017-03-17T19:56:00.000+02:00' +'b9c43bf323a3ca9556134b8fcc8d516601d9550a'|'LPC: Valeant seeks US$3bn loan to support refinancing effort'|' 56am EST LPC: Valeant seeks US$3bn loan to support refinancing effort By Jonathan Schwarzberg and Kristen Haunss - NEW YORK, March 6 NEW YORK, March 6 Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc plans to line up a US$3.06bn incremental term loan as part of a debt restructuring, sources said. In addition to the new debt offering, the company paid down about US$1.1bn of senior secured term loans with proceeds from the sale of its skincare products assets on March 3, according to a Monday regulatory filing. Valeant is also repaying a portion of its 6.75% senior notes due in 2018 and extending the maturity date of its revolving credit facility. "This debt repayment further enhances the company''s confidence in meeting its goals, and it is taking this opportunity to refinance and amend additional portions of its outstanding debt to further create operating flexibility," the company said in the filing. The new loan is scheduled to launch during a lenders call late Monday morning. Commitments are due March 10. Barclays leads the deal with Goldman Sachs. As part of the transaction, Valeant is seeking to remove maintenance covenants from its term B loans and modify its revolver maintenance covenants. The new debt will be fungible with the company''s term loan F due in April 2022. The proceeds will allow Valeant to extend the maturity of three separate term loans by combining them with the term loan F. Pricing is expected to be 475bp over Libor with a 0.75% floor, which is the same as the existing term loan F. Valeant is offering lenders an original issue discount of 99.75 cents on the dollar. The company is proposed to pay its existing term loan F lenders an amendment fee of 25bp. Barclays declined to comment. A representative from Goldman Sachs was not immediately available for comment. A spokesperson for Valeant did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment. (Reporting by Jonathan Schwarzberg and Kristen Haunss; Editing By Lynn Adler and Jon Methven) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/valeant-debt-idUSL2N1GJ0JI'|'2017-03-06T21:56:00.000+02:00' +'1a30e8ae666883b0a76b8e622f094a78b964c0e5'|'China February factory growth beats expectations as orders pick up'|' 2:58am GMT China February factory growth beats expectations as orders pick up An employee works on an assembly line producing automobiles at a factory in Qingdao, Shandong Province, China, March 1, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo BEIJING China''s factory activity expanded faster than expected in February as domestic and export demand picked up, adding to signs that the global economy is regaining momentum even as fears grow of a surge in trade protectionism. Growth in both output and orders accelerated last month, according to official and private factory surveys on Wednesday, giving the government more room to focus on tackling financial risks to the economy as debt continues to rise. "This is the 7th consecutive month that Chinas official manufacturing PMI stayed within expansionary territory, suggesting that industrial activity remains buoyant," said Zhou Hao, emerging markets economist at Commerzbank AG in Singapore. Zhou said it was "very likely" that China''s central bank would raise short-term interest rates by a another 10 basis points in March -- which would mark the third such move in as many months -- as authorities grow more confident that the economy is on steadier footing. Facing growing risks from explosive growth in debt, China''s central bank has cautiously shifted its stance in recent months to a tightening bias after years of super-loose policy to stave off the risk of a hard landing for the world''s second-largest economy. The official Purchasing Managers'' Index (PMI) released on Wednesday rose to a three-month high of 51.6 in February, compared with the previous month''s 51.3, and above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis. Analysts had expected a reading of 51.1 in February. China''s industrial sector has benefited from a construction boom since the middle of last year that has spurred demand and prices for building materials from cement to steel, boosting sales and profits. Output rose at a faster pace of 53.7, compared to 53.1 in January, while overall new order growth also picked up. A private survey which focuses more on small and mid-sized firms also showed factory activity picked up more than expected last month. The Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers'' index (PMI) rose to 51.7, up from 51.0 in January and beating analysts'' forecasts of 50.8. New export orders grew at the fastest pace since September 2014. EXPORT OUTLOOK CLOUDY Stronger readings on export orders would build on China''s better-than-expected trade numbers in January, but worries of a rise in U.S. trade protectionism are clouding the outlook longer-term. Still, China''s domestic demand appears solid for now, and is becoming more broad-based. A separate reading on the services sector showed growth remained robust in February, though the pace of growth slowed slightly from January. The official non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers'' Index (PMI) stood at 54.2 in February, down from 54.6 in January, and well above the 50-point mark. China''s services sector has been a bright spot as the government tries to transition its economic growth model from a heavy reliance on investment and exports to being more consumer-focused. The services sector accounted for over half of China''s economy last year and for the majority of growth, as rising wages give Chinese consumers the opportunity travel and eat out more. Improving business conditions in China are giving an welcome boost to its Asian neighbours, which have seen their economic growth ebb in recent years as China slowed. South Korea said on Wednesday that its exports grew at the fastest pace in five years in February, with shipments to China surging 28.7 percent on-year, the best growth since late 2010. (Reporting by China monitoring desk and Elias Glenn; Editing by Kim Coghill) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-pmi-factory-official-idUKKBN1682YQ'|'2017-03-01T09:58:00.000+02:00' +'5eaa543b298ced0d39c4e2be310599e0a6c299d9'|'BRIEF-Art''s Way Manufacturing reports Q1 loss per share $0.06 from continuing operations'|' 19am EDT BRIEF-Art''s Way Manufacturing reports Q1 loss per share $0.06 from continuing operations March 31 Art''s Way Manufacturing Co Inc * Art''s Way Manufacturing announces first quarter fiscal 2017 financial results * Q1 loss per share $0.06 from continuing operations * Art''s Way Manufacturing Co Inc - consolidated corporate sales of continuing operations for three month period ended February 28, 2017 was $4.4 million versus $5.7 million Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-arts-way-manufacturing-reports-q-idUSASB0B7WB'|'2017-03-31T19:19:00.000+03:00' +'ce2effefdab3336c825b0477b1151b8c8aee93a9'|'ECB rate hike by March 2018 now fully priced into money markets'|'Business News - Fri Mar 10, 2017 - 9:05am GMT ECB rate hike by March 2018 now fully priced into money markets European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, July 29, 2016. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo LONDON Investors now expect the European Central Bank to raise interest rates by March 2018, according to money market pricing. Forward Eonia bank-to-bank rates dated for the ECB meeting on March 8 next year have risen to around minus 0.25 percent, some 10 basis points above the overnight rate of minus 0.35 percent. ECBWATCH Analysts say this gap suggests markets are pricing in a 10 basis point hike in the ECB''s deposit rate by next March, shortly after the scheduled end of the ECB''s current bond-buying scheme. The ECB''s deposit rate is currently minus 0.40 percent These money market rates also suggest there is around an 80 percent chance of a 10-basis point hike by the meeting on January 25, 2018. (Reporting by John Geddie; Editing by Jamie McGeever) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-moneymarket-ecb-idUKKBN16H0XJ'|'2017-03-10T16:05:00.000+02:00' +'acae2cdcd269c99862e5bbd903af600613302977'|'UK supermarket Asda offers pay rise for flexible working'|' 4:13pm GMT UK supermarket Asda offers pay rise for flexible working Shoppers leave the Asda superstore in High Wycombe, Britain, February 7, 2017. Picture taken February 7, 2017. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh LONDON Asda, the British supermarket owned by Wal-Mart ( WMT.N ), is offering staff in its stores a 14 percent rise in hourly pay, if they sign a contract requiring more flexible working. Britain''s No. 3 supermarket said on Monday it will offer its 135,000 store staff a base rate of 8.50 pounds ($10.39) an hour from October, up from 7.44 pounds. The new rate is 1 pound above the government mandated National Living Wage increase which comes into effect April 1. The new contract will require Asda staff to work in different parts of stores and different days or hours, including public holidays. All breaks will also move to being unpaid. Asda''s move comes as the Bank of England is closely watching a pick-up in inflation for signs it might fuel higher pay settlements. Asda said that 95 percent of current employees will be better off if they move to the new contract. If they do not, their base rate will move up to the minimum national rate of 7.50 pounds and they will retain their existing contract. Asda, which trails market leader Tesco ( TSCO.L ) and Sainsbury''s ( SBRY.L ) by annual sales, has been the sector laggard for the last two years. However, a trading update last month showed it had stemmed the pace of sales decline, suggesting new CEO Sean Clarke''s focus on pricing and product quality was starting to have an impact. ($1 = 0.8181 pounds) (Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Alexander Smith) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-asda-pay-idUKKBN16K22T'|'2017-03-13T23:13:00.000+02:00' +'7c04e27ab50c3e2129eefba36313cd5420799d47'|'Exclusive - Japan''s Toshiba prepares $2 billion sale of Landis+Gyr - sources'|'Business News - Fri Mar 3, 2017 - 1:03am GMT Exclusive - Japan''s Toshiba prepares $2 billion sale of Landis+Gyr - sources Workers prepare the New Year''s eve numerals above a Toshiba sign in Times Square in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., December 26, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly By Christoph Steitz , Arno Schuetze and Oliver Hirt - FRANKFURT/BERLIN/ZURICH FRANKFURT/BERLIN/ZURICH Japan''s Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) is preparing a potential $2 billion divestment of smart metre group Landis+Gyr, hoping to rake in capital after a major writedown on its U.S. nuclear unit last month, three people familiar with the matter said. The group has hired UBS ( UBSG.S ) to explore a potential sale or initial public offering of the Swiss-based business, which could take place as early as after the European summer, they added. Toshiba said in a statement the company "is consequently studying all options to strengthen profitability and its capital base, but no decisions have been made in respect of selling stakes or IPO of individual businesses." UBS declined to comment. Smart metre makers have seen a wave of M&A activity, with three major manufacturers up for sale in Germany alone, highlighting their significance as the energy industry goes digital and depends on live consumption data to a much greater extent. Landis+Gyr, in which Toshiba owns a 60 percent stake, employs more than 5,700 staff and is active in over 30 countries. It said last week that sales would grow by nearly 5 percent to $1.64 billion in the fiscal year ending this month, adding it was "unaffected by Toshiba''s challenges". Toshiba announced a $6.3 billion writedown on its U.S. nuclear business last month, wiping out its shareholder equity and causing it to seek divestments to create a buffer for any fresh financial problems. It is expected to approach buyout groups including CVC, Cinven, Advent, KKR ( KKR.N ), Blackstone ( BX.N ), Onex ( ONEX.TO ) and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice as potential buyers of Landis+Gyr, one of the sources said, adding that industrial conglomerates were not expected to enter the fray. Toshiba bought Landis+Gyr in 2011 for $2.3 billion jointly with state-backed Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), which holds the remaining 40 percent in the company. The deal would value Landis+Gyr at 10-11 times its annual core earnings (EBITDA), two of the people said, in line with the 10.7 times that U.S. water technology company Xylem ( XYL.N ) paid for Sensus USA Inc last year. Toshiba will try to position Landis+Gyr as a Swiss industrial group, hoping to reach EBITDA multiples similar to those of Geberit ( GEBN.S ), Sulzer ( SUN.S ) or Belimo ( BEAN.S ), which trade at between 12-19 times. (Editing by Susan Fenton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-landis-gyr-m-a-exlcusive-idUKKBN16A04C'|'2017-03-03T08:03:00.000+02:00' +'512657dd0a4dd06be774ef8a77baccfd0fa5b033'|'Westinghouse set to win UK reactor approval'|'Thu Mar 30, 2017 - 12:32pm BST Westinghouse set to win UK reactor approval The logo of the American company Westinghouse is pictured at the World Nuclear Exhibition 2014, the trade fair event for the global nuclear energy sector, in Le Bourget, near Paris October 14, 2014. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier By Susanna Twidale - LONDON LONDON Toshiba''s ( 6502.T ) Westinghouse, which filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday, is on track to win approval for its AP1000 reactor design by the end of March, Britain''s nuclear regulator said. The approval is necessary before the reactor can be used at NuGen''s Moorside new nuclear project in north west England, which could generate around 7 percent of Britain''s electricity. Westinghouse''s bankruptcy filing has raised questions over whether it will be able to complete capital intensive projects, although it does not affect Westinghouse''s operations in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, according to a company statement. "We are still expecting to close out the AP1000 GDA (Generic Design Assessment) by the end of the month, according to the long-standing timeline," a spokeswoman for Britain''s Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) said in an email on Thursday. All new nuclear plants in Britain need ONR approval through its GDA process, which typically takes around four years. Westinghouse''s AP1000 approval however, has taken much longer since assessment first began in 2007. It was paused by the ONR at the end of December 2011 while it asked for some design modifications, but was resumed in 2014. Britain needs to invest in new infrastructure to replace aging coal and nuclear plants set to close in the next decade, but has struggled to get large projects built, especially nuclear, due to the costs involved. EDF''s ( EDF.PA ) 18 billion pound ($22.5 billion) Hinkley Point C nuclear project in southwest England got the final go-ahead in 2016 after several years of delay, but only after securing backing from the French government. NuGen, a joint venture between Toshiba and French utility Engie ( ENGIE.PA ) has also come under doubt since Japan''s Toshiba said last month it planned to pull out of the construction work at the British plant after posting a $6.3 billion writedown on Westinghouse, which has been hit by billions of dollars in cost overruns at new nuclear plants. A spokesman for NuGen said it could not comment on specific financial issues relating directly to Toshiba or Westinghouse and that it will continue "business as usual" to gain the necessary permits and licenses to build the project. Britain''s GMB trade union has called on the government to offer reassurances that the project, which it says could provide thousands of jobs, will still go ahead. "The UK Government is committed to new nuclear," a spokeswoman for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said. "The UK is one of the most attractive countries to invest in new nuclear and we engage regularly with the developers of proposed new nuclear projects," she said. (Additional reporting by Nina Chestney; editing by Alexander Smith) Up Next Corporate Americas top shareholder referee gets tougher on activists NEW YORK Institutional Shareholder Services Inc, the world''s top proxy advisory firm, is making activist investors work harder than ever to earn its backing in corporate control battles in a shift being led by the new man in charge of its recommendations. TOKYO Toyota Motor Corp on Thursday said it was recalling a total of about 2.9 million vehicles in Japan, China, Oceania and other regions including its Corolla Axio sedan and RAV4 SUV crossover due to potentially faulty airbag inflators. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-westinghouse-britain-idUKKBN1711E6'|'2017-03-30T19:30:00.000+03:00' +'14d647f53168400a6d81ac1fc9d4f3494417e1da'|'G20 ministers give Mnuchin space to define Trump trade agenda'|' 6:08am GMT G20 ministers give Mnuchin space to define Trump trade agenda left right U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin addresses a news conference at the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Baden-Baden, Germany, March 18, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach 1/2 left right A general view shows the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Baden-Baden, Germany, March 17, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach 2/2 By David Lawder - BADEN BADEN, Germany BADEN BADEN, Germany Wary of their first official encounter with U.S. President Donald Trump''s blustery trade agenda, the world''s top finance officials were relieved to find new Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin polite and business-like over the weekend. But they yielded ground to the newcomer''s push for the Group of 20 major economies to abandon a decade-old pledge to resist protectionism and to delete communique language on financing the fight against climate change. According to G20 officials who interacted with Mnuchin at the meeting in the spa and casino town of Baden-Baden, Germany, many opted not to challenge Mnuchin on protectionism language. Instead they chose to give some space to him and Trump''s new administration to refine their trade views in the hopes for moderation by the time Germany hosts a G20 leader''s summit in July. Five weeks into his new job, the former Goldman Sachs and commercial banker is currently the only Senate-confirmed Trump appointee working at Treasury. And the Trump administration has not yet decided on the specific policies it will use to make good on campaign pledges to shrink U.S. trade deficits and grow American manufacturing jobs. Options under consideration range from more aggressive anti-dumping enforcement efforts to renegotiating trade deals and enacting a proposed border tax levied on imports. During his campaign, Trump threatened unilateral tariffs on Mexican and Chinese goods and said he would quit the North American Free Trade agreement unless it is renegotiated to his liking. "We have a new administration in Washington which still has to define precisely its narrative, especially in the context of what was said in the campaign," said Pierre Moscovici, European Commission Economic Affairs Minister. "I think Mnuchin is an articulate, constructive and pragmatic man," Moscovici said. "More work needs to be done to find common ground. It was not ready here. It is not a total surprise." FIRST IMPRESSIONS Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso, who tangled with Mnuchin''s predecessor, Jack Lew, last year over dollar-yen exchange rate volatility, said he was impressed with Mnuchin''s understanding of economics and financial markets. "Thats why I think we can do good business together," Aso told reporters. In the G20 plenary sessions, Mnuchin took to the floor only once, reading from a prepared statement, according to a G20 official, while counterparts from China and France argued forcefully in favour of keeping the anti-protectionism pledge. While Mnuchin concentrated on making good first impressions with his G20 counterparts, U.S. negotiators behind the scenes insisted that they could no longer accept previous language vowing "to resist all forms of protectionism." This was replaced with a watered-down pledge to "strengthen the contribution of trade to our economies" - language viewed by some participants as preserving U.S. flexibility on trade policy. German Finance Minster Wolfgang Schaeuble, who met with Mnuchin in Berlin before the Baden Baden meeting, said consensus could not be reached on the meaning of protectionism.. He suggested at a news conference that Mnuchin may not have had a clear mandate to negotiate on trade issues. Asked about this, Mnuchin said he knows Trump''s desires on trade and negotiated them from Baden Baden, adding: "the new language makes sense." RITUALISTIC PHRASE The deletion of a "ritualistic phrase" in the G20''s core language could over time diminish U.S. influence, said Eswar Prasad, a former International Monetary Fund official and trade policy professor at Cornell University. "The U.S. may have won this battle by forcefully imposing its will on the rest of the G20, but the outcome represents a step backward in U.S. global leadership on issues such as the promotion of free trade and tackling climate change," said Prasad. But the Baden Baden meeting established Mnuchin as a pragmatic operator in the Trump administration''s drive for a more level playing field on trade, said Domenico Lombardi, another former IMF official now with the Centre for International Governance Innovation, a Canadian think-tank. "It''d be in the interest of Germany and Europe to establish a strong, bilateral relationship with the new Treasury secretary rather than questioning his authority," Lombardi said. "The alternative for them would be to negotiate directly with Trump and that would be worse." (Additional reporting by Jan Strupczewski and Leika Kihara; Editing by Mary Milliken) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-g20-germany-usa-analysis-idUKKBN16R09F'|'2017-03-20T13:08:00.000+02:00' +'bad16ab8e44be4ed80a46ca77d0198291f1b8879'|'House panels to launch fight in Congress over Obamacare replacement'|' 6:00am EST House panels to launch fight in Congress over Obamacare replacement By David Lawder - WASHINGTON, March 8 WASHINGTON, March 8 A potentially lengthy U.S. legislative fight over replacement of the Obamacare health law gets underway on Wednesday as two House of Representatives committees begin negotiating over changes to a Republican plan backed by President Donald Trump. Both Democrats and Republicans are expected to try to reshape legislation that dismantles key provisions of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, Democratic former President Barack Obama''s signature domestic policy achievement. The Republican plan unveiled on Tuesday would scrap Obamacare''s requirement that most Americans obtain medical insurance and replace its income-based subsides with a system of fixed tax credits of $2,000 to $4,000 to coax people to purchase private insurance on the open market. The plan faces significant hurdles in Congress. Conservative Republican lawmakers and lobbying groups slammed it for looking too much like the Obamacare program they have been trying to kill for years. Democrats criticized it as rolling back health insurance coverage gains for millions of Americans while benefiting the rich by repealing healthcare-related taxes. Meanwhile, insurers questioned the assumptions underlying Republicans'' claims that the plan will reduce premiums, while some experts said it would encourage younger, healthier people to forgo coverage. On Wednesday, The House Ways and Means Committee, with jurisdiction over taxes, and the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees health issues, will each pursue separate "mark-up" sessions to consider amendments to the plan. House Speaker Paul Ryan has pledged that he will deliver a 218-vote majority needed for passage in the House. But further changes could be made in the Senate, where Republicans can only afford to lose two votes from their thin majority in the face of unified opposition from Democrats. Conservative Republican Senator Rand Paul on Tuesday declared the plan "dead on arrival" in broadcast interviews and said he wanted a repeal-only option. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady told Fox News Channel late on Tuesday that he would "listen to good ideas to improve it" but said the plan achieves the party''s goals. "It repeals all the taxes, all the mandates, all the penalties, all the subsidies. This is Obamacare gone and there''s no arguing about that," Brady said. But he also said that much of the bill''s fate was in the Senate''s hands and he was "counting on" Senate Republicans to support it without major changes. Trump, who praised the Republican healthcare plan but said it was "out for review and negotiation," plans to meet conservative congressional leaders to discuss it on Wednesday, according to a schedule released by the White House. In an evening Twitter message, Trump said he was "sure" that Senator Paul would "come along with the new and great healthcare program because he knows Obamacare is a disaster!" (Writing by David Lawder; Editing by Nick Tattersall, Robert Birsel) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-obamacare-idUSL2N1GL03G'|'2017-03-08T18:00:00.000+02:00' +'275ca6a88cf06636639f3f067ed334da8293e599'|'''This is grossly unfair'': self-employed readers react to NICs increase - UK news - The Guardian'|'The bigger fish are being left off the hookIll pay more NI overall probably about 30 to 35 per year I think. Its said its to level the playing field with those in employment but I already lack sick pay, holiday pay, and employer pension contributions and my work can get cancelled at any point with no compensation.Its not a huge increase if the 60p-a-week figure is accurate and I dont begrudge paying my share to improve services. But I cant help feeling its taken the easy target while avoiding the harder, real issue of self-employment. Using self-employed staff has been on the up in the past five years, meaning employers dont have to meet the obligations listed above which saves them huge amounts of money and associated administration. They also avoid paying the share of NI associated with the employer. The business saves all round while the employee gets hit again. Its a typical, quick and dirty policy to raise some funds and as usual it comes at the expense of the easy target the individual while letting the businesses that exploit these conditions get away with it. Self-employed hit by national insurance hike in budget Read more The past five years have been pretty tough keeping the work coming in as people have been hanging onto budgets due to economic uncertainty so any additional expense is unwelcome however small. As I say, Im happy to pay my share but not when the bigger fish are being let off the hook.Justin Desyllas, 44, graphic designer, Bristol Tax policies seem to be entirely in favour of very high earners I will end up paying more in national insurance, which could push my tax bill to the point where I will have to make payments on account against the following years tax bill (this is a bizarre convention only self-assessment taxpayers are subject to) What Hammond forgets is that the self-employed have no paid holidays or paid sick leave, and rarely access statutory sick ay. Personally my biggest concern regarding changes to NI is regarding maternity/paternity benefit.With this and Making Tax Digital on the horizon, the chancellor and the current government are making self-employment and founding small and medium-sized enterprises a less attractive and accessible option every single year. Tax policies seem to be entirely in favour of very high earners and very large corporations which have the budgets and manpower to navigate the constantly changing legislation. Ethne Tooby, accountant, Leicester I dont think that self-employment is good for societyI believe it is unfair, I wont have any serious issue personally but we have to consider that most self employed workers belong to the so-called precariat. We take all the risk and we have a very frail safety net. I have had tremendous changes in my income over the years depended on the available projects (for example: 2013, 13,000 gross; 2014, 42,000; 2015, 25,000; 2016, 46,000). It is difficult to plan ahead or save money and we take risks. I dont think that self-employment is good for society, it just temporarily postpones the problem with pensions and social care by almost getting people out of the system. So if you support that kind of work as a government, the stance should be to give us sick leave and maternity leave paid by the state and an increase in taxation, but mostly by corporation tax or a financial transaction tax. Why on earth should I be happy to pay extra tax when Google pays so little?Alex, 40, 3D designer, London Increasing NICs is grossly unfairIncreasing NICs for the self employed is grossly unfair. I have not been entitled to any unemployment benefit for over 25 years, because I manage my savings to be able to ride out the peaks and troughs of self-employment. I would only be entitled to benefits in a lean period if I depleted my savings, which would not be the case for an employee who loses her job. Paying the same NICs is therefore unfair. It is also unfair to have come up with this idea off the back of more people being self-employed. Although for someone like me self-employment is part of the career I have chosen and I have no desire to be employed lots of the newly self-employed are on zero-hours contracts. These people, who deserve proper employment and protection from businesses who squeeze ever more profit out of workers misery, would rather be employed. Furthermore they may well have limited savings, so are likely to be needing to claim benefits due to the limited income they are able to earn. It is perhaps because of this that Hammond has seen this as a good reason to raise NICs: because a new raft of people will be needing benefits, so he figures they should pay for them.Wendy Lloyd, 47, voiceover actor/broadcaster This increase is going to sap the extra income I make I have had to start working part time as a self-employed contractor due to the cost of living in this area, and the lack of suitable alternative jobs. I work 40 hours per week on PAYE, and about 12 as a self-employed contractor, while this does allow me a degree of flexibility, I have legal obligations to spend a certain number of hours with my customers which I have to fit in. If I dont do this extra work, I can barely afford to survive.This tax increase is going to sap the extra income I make, possibly making it not work the aggro, then what do I do? As far as Im concerned, May has broken all her promises of an economy that works for everyone, and her Brexit car crash is only going to make it worse. Right now Im hoping for interest rate hike from the Bank of England and a housing crash so I stand a chance. Its the only way this is going to work for me.Simon Wilson, 35, transport manager and consultant, Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire The move is short-sighted I work as a locum radiographer both for the private sector and for the NHS. Last year the NHS quite rightly audited the cost of temporary workers and made significant reductions in the hourly rate offered. In itself, this move did not affect earnings to the point where it became uneconomical but it did restrict how far we could travel due to fuel and accommodation costs eating into gross pay. In addition to last years changes, the budget has stated that self-employed people, working for government institutions, will be taxed as permanent employees as well as having to pay both employee and employer NIC. How we can be considered permanent is beyond me as it is not uncommon for me to work at two NHS hospitals and a private site in a single week. Traveling and subsistence allowances have been disallowed adding further costs, which means it is not economically viable to continue working as a locum. Many workers are now considering permanent positions which, on the face of it, is in the governments favour. I believe the move is short-sighted because it has demoralised temporary workers to the point where they are focusing on moving away from the NHS and in some cases away from the profession altogether. I believe the fallout from this will be staff shortages. Institutions and companies of any reasonable size are reliant on temporary workers to cover skills shortages, holidays, illness and pregnancy leave. The cynical among us might think that the government are deliberately sabotaging the NHS for its own ends.Anonymous, radiographer, south east England'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/mar/09/self-employed-nics-increase-budget'|'2017-03-09T02:00:00.000+02:00' +'e637a16b5d9feabf074474b33acfe1f4193913f3'|'BRIEF-Fission 3 announces private placement financing'|' 04am EST BRIEF-Fission 3 announces private placement financing March 7 Fission 3.0 Corp: * Fission 3 announces private placement financing * announces non-brokered private placement financing to sell on best efforts basis, up to C$2.0 million in units at price of C$0.07 per unit UPDATE 3-Asian nations restrict U.S. poultry imports over bird flu SEOUL/CHICAGO, March 6 South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong have limited imports of U.S. poultry after the United States detected its first case this year of avian flu on a commercial chicken farm, South Korea''s government and a U.S. trade group said on Monday. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-fission-3-announces-private-placem-idUSASB0B40V'|'2017-03-07T15:04:00.000+02:00' +'2fbea0e3200ed2429be66531cba2b9296f007fa3'|'Greece gets three bids for Thessaloniki Port'|'ATHENS, March 25 Greece has received three binding bids for a majority stake in its second-largest port in Thessaloniki, the country''s privatisations agency said on Saturday.Phillipines-based International Container Terminal Services (ICTS), Dubai-based P&O Steam Navigation Company (DP World) and German private equity firm Deutsche Invest Equity Partners submitted offers, it said.The sale of a 67 percent stake in Thessaloniki Port , which was launched in 2014 and is a key part of the country''s international bailouts, has been beset by delays and political resistance. (Reporting by Karolina Tagaris; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/greece-privatisations-ports-idINL5N1H205D'|'2017-03-25T06:50:00.000+03:00' +'c06d53b359851d147dd362b98df406df9e4a9d58'|'UPDATE 1-Orascom gives Brazil''s Oi another month to amend plan, sources say'|'(Adds Oi declines comment, share performance, background)By Ana ManoSAO PAULO, March 1 Orascom TMT Holdings SAE is giving Brazilian telephone carrier Oi SA another month to amend a reorganization plan that would help accelerate its exit from bankruptcy protection, three people involved in the matter said on Wednesday.Orascom released suggestions in December for the plan that included a proposal to exchange bond debt for Oi''s equity. The suggestions expired on Feb. 28. Orascom and a creditor group that jointly made the proposals to Oi could unveil the extension later in the day, two of the people said.Media representatives for Orascom and the bondholder group did not have an immediate comment. Oi''s press office declined to comment.Under terms of the December proposal, Orascom and the bondholders, who are represented by Moelis & Co, vowed to pump as much as $1.25 billion into Oi, take immediate control of the carrier and reorganize the company. Other creditor groups have lashed out at the proposal, saying it only seeks to favor one, smaller class of Oi bondholders.Extending the deadline should buy time for the bond firms and billionaire Naguib Sawiris, who controls Orascom, to discuss the fate of the carrier with shareholders, trumping rival offers for Oi.The Oi reorganization process, which began in June, has been marked by a series of disputes between creditors and shareholders over the fate of Brazil''s No. 4 wireless carrier. The government has threatened to intervene should Oi stakeholders fail to reach an agreement.Preferred shares, Oi''s most widely traded class of stock, gained 1.5 percent to 3.49 reais in early afternoon trading in So Paulo. The stock is up 62 percent this year.The Orascom-bondholder group has committed to underwriting the entire capital injection if no other investors step forward. In exchange, the new money providers would be entitled to a 7.5 percent backstop fee.As part of the Orascom-backed plan, Oi was asked to agree to a debt-for-equity swap involving 24.82 billion reais ($7.9 billion) worth of bond debt, which would be exchanged for a 95 percent stake in the debt-laden carrier.Orascom would also gain two of nine seats on Oi''s board should the offer be accepted, Karim Nasr, the executive who is leading the talks at Orascom, told Reuters in late December.($1 = 3.1168 reais) (Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Grant McCool)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/oi-sa-restructuring-otmt-idINL2N1GE17M'|'2017-03-01T14:11:00.000+02:00' +'a545ea07c36d6fd456084a86accc114cd9c9a048'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Halkbank in Turkish spotlight; South African assets weaken on political concerns'|' 23am EDT EMERGING MARKETS-Halkbank in Turkish spotlight; South African assets weaken on political concerns By Sujata Rao - LONDON, March 29 LONDON, March 29 The Turkey stock market spotlight was on Halkbank on Wednesday, with its shares set for their biggest one-day fall after the arrest of the company''s deputy CEO, while South African assets weakened further on political concerns. Halkbank deputy CEO Mehmet Hakan Atilla was arrested in New York, accused of conspiring to conduct illegal transactions through U.S. banks on behalf of Iran''s government and other entities Shares in Halkbank dropped 14.3 percent -- the biggest daily fall in percentage terms since it was listed in 2007. The broader Istanbul index lost 1.3 percent and Turkey''s banking index shed 2.8 percent. Halkbank dollar bonds also fell, with issues maturing 2021 and 2020 down by more than 0.7 cent in the dollar, according to Tradeweb data, hitting six-week lows. The 2019 issue slipped by 0.66 cents. Turkish credit default swaps inched to a one-week high of 240 basis points, IHS Markit said. "The arrest is undeniably highly contentious, given that Halkbank is a majority state-owned bank," analysts at MUFG Securities said. South African assets, meanwhile, extended losses as the rand and government bond prices fell for a third straight day. The rand was down 0.7 percent, bringing this week''s losses against the dollar to 5 percent after the sudden recall of Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan from a London investor roadshow. This has reignited fears that his long-running power struggle between Gordhan -- seen by investors as a guarantor of fiscal prudence and South Africa''s investment grade rating -- and President Jacob Zuma is coming to a head. "Fair to say that if Zuma manages to successfully remove Gordhan it would produce a seismic and very negative move in South African markets, ratings et al. It would suggest ... a more aggressive and confiscatory black empowerment agenda," said Tim Ash, sovereign strategist at BlueBay Asset Management. Benchmark government bond yields were just off two-month highs, having shot up 70 basis points this week. Five-year credit default swaps inched to 215 bps, a 2-1/2 month high, according to IHS Markit. Broader emerging equities were flat and currencies mostly weakened after upbeat U.S. data and hawkish policymaker comments boosted the dollar and Treasury yields. Hungarian bond yields slipped further after the central bank struck a dovish note in a Wednesday policy meeting at which it tried to squeeze more cash out of short-term deposits. Three-year yields eased 7 bps to 1.23 percent. For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2e7eoml For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2dZbdP5 For CENTRAL EUROPE market report, see For TURKISH market report, see For RUSSIAN market report, see) Emerging Markets Prices from Reuters Equities Latest Net Chg % Chg % Chg on year Morgan Stanley Emrg Mkt Indx 969.22 -1.10 -0.11 +12.40 Czech Rep 984.55 +1.33 +0.14 +6.83 Poland 2234.76 +9.35 +0.42 +14.73 Hungary 32438.63 +144.60 +0.45 +1.36 Romania 7956.14 +2.26 +0.03 +12.29 Greece 665.61 +1.09 +0.16 +3.41 Russia 1122.17 -3.41 -0.30 -2.62 South Africa 45300.13 +84.77 +0.19 +3.18 Turkey 89118.60 -1063.13 -1.18 +14.05 China 3241.31 -11.63 -0.36 +4.44 India 29482.51 +72.99 +0.25 +10.73 Currencies Latest Prev Local Local close currency currency'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-idUSL5N1H623C'|'2017-03-29T18:23:00.000+03:00' +'7879eb02f581fcc9e99adce4439f1f216f78a87d'|'UPDATE 1-Brazil''s Camargo selling cement unit -Globo newspaper'|'(Adds Cemex declining comment, paragraph 7)RIO DE JANEIRO, March 19 Camargo Correa SA, the Brazilian family-owned conglomerate that exited several businesses over the past year, has put a cement unit up for sale, a column in newspaper O Globo reported on Sunday.According to Globo columnist Lauro Jardim, Camargo Correa values the unit known as InterCement SA at about 20 billion reais ($6.47 billion).The conglomerate has received offers from Mexico''s Cemex SAB and another, unnamed Latin America-based cement producer, the column said.Jardim''s column did not specify if the bids for InterCement were non-binding or how advanced the process may be.A Camargo spokesman declined to confirm the report and said in an emailed statement that "the group is not pursuing any asset divestitures."The spokesman said its sale last June of a controlling stake in power holding company CPFL Energia SA was "the end of a process of repositioning the group''s asset portfolio."A Cemex spokesman said the company did not comment on speculation.In order to reduce debt, the billionaire family that controls Camargo Correa has been quickly disposing of business lines it no longer wants.As part of those efforts, the Camargos in recent years have discussed fully or partially selling InterCement. The CPFL sale and a December 2015 sale of fashion brand Alpargatas SA raised about $2.8 billion for the group.Reuters reported on Dec. 8 that Camargo Correa was considering disposing of a partial stake in Loma Negra Cia Industrial SA, Argentina''s No. 1 cement producer and part of InterCement.InterCement is Brazil''s No. 2 cement producer and a leading producer in Portugal, Mozambique and Cape Verde.Two people familiar with Camargo Correa''s strategy told Reuters in August that the conglomerate tried to sell a minority stake in InterCement a couple of years ago and also considered a listing of the company outside Brazil.Camargo Correa, whose engineering unit was one of several big Brazilian builders ensnared in a massive corruption probe related to business with state companies, has been recovering rapidly from the adverse effects of the scandal, in which it sought a plea deal. (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal in Sao Paulo; Additional reporting by Gabriel Stargardter in Mexico City; Editing by Phil Berlowitz and Peter Cooney)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/camargo-brazil-cement-idINL2N1GW0HP'|'2017-03-19T16:32:00.000+02:00' +'12bfab13b092c63d64667dcd7c1e63ae1c659380'|'Trump to order trade abuses study, improve import duty collection'|'Business News - Fri Mar 31, 2017 - 4:05am BST Trump to order trade abuses study, improve import duty collection left right U.S. President Donald Trump speaks between Vice President Mike Pence (L) and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt prior to signing an executive order on ''Energy Independence,'' eliminating Obama-era climate change regulations, during an event at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headquarters in Washington, U.S., March 28, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria 1/2 left right U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross holds a news conference at the Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C., U.S. March 10, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Thayer 2/2 By David Lawder - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump will sign executive orders on Friday aimed at identifying abuses that are causing massive U.S. trade deficits and clamping down on non-payment of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on imports, his top trade officials said. The orders, which underscore China''s position as the biggest contributor to the $734 billion U.S. goods trade deficit last year, comes as Trump prepares for his first face-to-face meeting with Chinese President Xi next week in Florida, where trade issues promise to be a major source of tension. The directives allow Trump to focus on meeting his campaign promises to combat the flow of unfairly traded imports into the United States just a week after his pledge to repeal and replace Obamacare imploded in Congress. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told reporters that one of the orders directs his department and the U.S. Trade Representative to conduct a major review of the causes of U.S. trade deficits, from unfair trade "cheating" to "currency misalignment" to "asymmetrical" treatment of tax systems by the World Trade Organization. It also will study effects of trade deals that have failed to produced forecast benefits. Ross said he aims to complete the study and report the findings to Trump in 90 days -- a time frame that coincides with the expected start of negotiations to revamp the U.S.-Canada-Mexico North American Free Trade Agreement. The study''s findings will underpin the Trump administration''s future trade policy decisions, Ross said, and will be the first "systematic analysis" of the trade deficit''s causes, "country-by-country, product-by-product." "It will demonstrate the administration''s intention not to hipshoot, not to do anything casual, not to do anything abruptly," Ross told a White House briefing. Ross has promised tougher enforcement of U.S. trade laws and more anti-dumping and anti-subsidy cases initiated by the Commerce Department, rather than relying on companies to claim injuries from imports. He said the study would focus on those countries that have chronic goods trade surpluses with the United States. China tops the list, with a $347 billion surplus last year, followed by Japan, with a $69 billion surplus, Germany at $65 billion, Mexico at $63 billion, Ireland at $36 billion and Vietnam at $32 billion. The second trade order to be signed by Trump is aimed at halting the non-payment and under-collection of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties the United States slaps on many foreign goods. White House National Trade Council Director Peter Navarro said that some $2.8 billion in such duties went uncollected between 2001 and the end of 2016 from companies in some 40 countries. Navarro said the order directs the Commerce and Homeland Security departments to close these gaps by imposing tougher bonding requirements to ensure duty collections and new legal requirements for assessing risks associated with importers. Navarro, a harsh critic of China''s trade practices, insisted that the orders were not aimed at sending a message ahead of Xi''s visit. "Nothing we are saying tonight is about China," he said. "This is a story about trade abuses, this is a story about under-collection of duties, this is a story about 40 countries that basically subsidise their products unfairly and send them into our country or dump their products." (Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-trade-idUKKBN17208W'|'2017-03-31T11:05:00.000+03:00' +'7656e5ddc6d8fd2a4b8d5cd3f80697e0801f701c'|'Oil executives cautiously optimistic about Trump policies'|'HOUSTON Oil executives cautioned it is too soon to gauge the impact of President Donald Trump''s policy proposals on their businesses, but they are looking forward to hearing more about plans for energy regulation, trade and taxation.Tougher environmental regulations under the Obama administration stymied energy infrastructure projects like the Keystone XL crude pipeline and Dakota Access Pipeline, and required automakers and refiners to spend more to reduce pollutants.Spirits at the CERAWeek conference this year have been buoyed by higher energy prices after a bruising two years for the oil and gas industry. Crude fell by more than 70 percent from mid-2014 to early-2016 amid a global supply glut.Trump has vowed to bolster U.S. infrastructure spending and slash regulations, pledges welcomed by business leaders attending the annual energy event."We have a unique president today," Continental Resources Inc Chief Executive Harold Hamm said on Wednesday, "unique in that he keeps his promises." Hamm, an early supporter of the president, said: "It is a good start."Pro-energy policies and regulatory roll-backs anticipated from the new administration could lure more investment to the industry, but so far the details of Trump''s plans and a potential border adjustment tax remain unclear."Political rhetoric has to translate into tangible policy," Vimal Kapur, president of Honeywell Process Solutions, said in an interview with Reuters."We''re exporting gas, so we''re very happy," said Charif Souki, chairman of Tellurian Inc, which recently received approval to export liquefied natural gas to free trade agreement countries from its Driftwood project near Lake Charles, Louisiana.But he added, "It''s too soon to say where the Trump administration is going to go on the long-term basis. We have to give them a chance to start articulating policy."Formerly the head of LNG exporter Cheniere Energy, Souki was a high-profile supporter of Democrat Hillary Clinton, donating to her presidential campaign and the Hillary Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee with the Democratic National Committee.TRADE POLICIES IN LIMBOFeelings toward proposed Trump administration policies were mixed among international energy officials, which could see their businesses and economies impacted by renegotiated trade policies.Mexico, which imports over 800,000 barrels per day of fuels from the United States and supplies crude to U.S. refineries, has had a rocky relationship with the new administration, largely driven by a dispute over a proposed border wall.But executives from Mexico stressed the importance of continued cooperation between the neighbors."There are large exchanges of services we contract from each other back and forward. It''s in our best interest to continue to construct and build on it, to make it stronger," said Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya, chief executive of state-run oil firm Pemex.Trump''s desire to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has also drawn concern from Canada, which exports around 3.5 million barrels per day of crude to the United States."The NAFTA situation is yet to be determined. I think everyone is anxious to get after it," said Al Monaco, chief executive of Canadian pipeline company Enbridge Inc.For its part, Saudi Arabia, the world''s largest oil producer and a long-time ally of the United States, struck a tone of optimism toward Trump''s support for the energy industry."We welcome the new administration''s attention to strategic energy issues. I personally look forward to working with the new administration," said Saudi Oil Minister Khalid al-Falih.Oil executives in the United States and abroad are closely watching a Republican proposal for a border adjustment tax, which would tax imports in a bid to spur U.S. production of goods and resources. Exported goods would be exempt from the tax."There''s a lot of speculation," said Monaco, stressing the importance of getting heavy Canadian oil to U.S. refiners that rely on it.While opponents of the border tax have said it could drive up the cost of gasoline and other fuels, refining executives have been hesitant to draw conclusions about its impact.Dan Romasko, chief executive of Motiva Enterprises LLC, said it is hard to believe U.S. consumers would accept higher fuel prices due to a proposed border tax on imports.(Reporting by Liz Hampton and Marianna Parraga; Additional reporting by Erwin Seba in Houston and Richard Valdmanis in Washington, D.C.; Editing by Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ceraweek-trump-idUSKBN16G0IU'|'2017-03-09T09:25:00.000+02:00' +'59e1aa166bf423251d26d818f55ec2ae87b4bc98'|'EU set to block HeidelbergCement, Schwenk''s Cemex Croatia deal - sources'|'Company 11:17am EDT EU set to block HeidelbergCement, Schwenk''s Cemex Croatia deal - sources BRUSSELS, March 28 EU antitrust regulators are set to block German cement producers HeidelbergCement and Schwenk''s joint bid for Mexican peer Cemex''s Croatian unit barring a last minute change of mind, two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The European Commission, which opened an investigation into the deal in October last year, has not been convinced so far by the companies'' offer to lease a terminal on the Dalmatian coast to a rival to address its concerns, the sources said. The EU competition authority has said the deal may eliminate a significant player in a concentrated regional market, boost Cemex Croatia''s market power in southern Croatia and lead to price hikes in grey cement. HeidelbergCement and Schwenk want to buy Cemex Croatia through their Hungarian joint venture Duna Drava Cement (DDC) in a deal worth about 250 million euros. DDC is the largest importer in the area while Cemex Croatia is the biggest producer. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/cemex-ma-heidelbgcement-eu-idUSL5N1H557P'|'2017-03-28T23:17:00.000+03:00' +'5e0c6c89fb0ab929be67a4d607f964e9ab6680b7'|'Asian currencies rise as dollar falls across the broad'|'By Patturaja Murugaboopathy Most Asian currencies hit multi-month highs on Monday as the dollar declined across the board after U.S. President Donald Trump failed to push through a healthcare reform bill.The collapse of the healthcare legislation has raised doubts about Trump''s ability to deliver on other key campaign pledges such as tax cuts and massive infrastructure spending.However, after his setback, Trump said he would turn his attention to getting "big tax cuts" through Congress.The Taiwan dollar surged to a 30-month high at 30.244 per dollar, while the Thai bhat rose to a 20-month high at 34.429 per dollar.The Indian rupee and the South Korean won also touched multi-month highs on Monday.Emerging Asian currencies were also supported by a fall in U.S. Treasury yields. The 10-year U.S Treasury yield stood at 2.3675 percent on Monday, the lowest in nearly a month."Generally (the healthcare defeat) is a disappointment for the ''Trump trade''. But in terms of impact on risk sentiment, it is mixed given the Trump administration now says it will move on and focus on tax reform, which is relevant to the market," said Sim Moh Siong, FX strategist at Bank of Singapore.He also said the fall in U.S treasury yields would encourage carry trades in the emerging Asian currencies."There is still desire to reach for yield, that''s keeping the Asian currencies supportive", Sim said.Reuters calculations showed the carry trade in Indian rupee has yielded more than 5 percent this year.However, most of the Asian currencies'' gains were linked to the region''s rallying equity markets this year.The MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS has risen around 12 percent so far in 2017. Hencem equity inflows into the region would determine the Asian currencies'' movements in the short term, some analysts said."Our sense is that caution creeping in via equity market impact will act as the initial backstop for USD/AXJ." Mizhuo Senior Economist Vishnu Varathan said in a note.CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLARChange on theday at 0633GMTCurrency Latest bid Previous Pct MovedayJapan yen 110.160 111.3 +1.03Sing dlr 1.394 1.3980 +0.31Taiwan dlr 30.246 30.488 +0.80Korean won 1112.800 1122.6 +0.88Baht 34.439 34.591 +0.44Peso 50.140 50.325 +0.37Rupiah 13308.000 13326 +0.14Rupee 65.080 65.41 +0.50Ringgit 4.410 4.423 +0.29Yuan 6.873 6.8850 +0.18Change so farCurrency Latest bid End 2016 Pct MoveJapan yen 110.160 117.07 +6.27Sing dlr 1.394 1.4490 +3.97Taiwan dlr 30.246 32.279 +6.72Korean won 1112.800 1207.70 +8.53Baht 34.439 35.80 +3.95Peso 50.140 49.72 -0.84Rupiah 13308.000 13470 +1.22Rupee 65.080 67.92 +4.36Ringgit 4.410 4.4845 +1.69Yuan 6.873 6.9467 +1.08(Reporting by Patturaja Murugaboopathy; Editing by Eric Meijer and Kim Coghill)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/asia-forex-emerging-idINKBN16Y0KA'|'2017-03-27T04:52:00.000+03:00' +'8118eb990a830891eb0864be81e3f844a94ee35a'|'Why Scott Morrison needs to ignore armchair treasurers before the budget - Greg Jericho - Business - The Guardian'|'Who is under greater pressure the coach of a footy team at the beginning of a season, or the treasurer putting together a budget?This weekend many across the nation will be filled with a sense of promise of things to come. The AFL mens season has begun, and those like me who spend rather inordinate amounts of time thinking about footy now join their NRL and rugby brethren wondering if the hopes of summer will transform into reality by spring.For AFL fans, this off-season has been wonderfully amended. By the time you are reading this, the first AFL womens grand final will have been decided. As an Adelaide Crows fan, I am for the first time ever hoping the Crows will be known as March Premiers.Are Turnbull''s Freedom warriors battling soft power or settling old scores? - Katharine Murphy Read more But with the womens final over, the switch to the mens competition and with it desires for a premiership will begin again. With that desire comes the pressures on those running the clubs. Thre is already talk of which coaches are most in need of success. Does two years without playing in the finals mean Port Adelaides Ken Hinkley is in trouble? Can Nathan Buckley go six years without winning a premiership and survive? The pressure is on the coaches to deliver, and deliver soon. In the NRL, Wests Tigers coach Jason Taylor was dumped after just three rounds . Scott Morrison may not be under the pump to quite the same level, but you dont see reports about looming cabinet reshuffles and talk of him being sidelined when all is going well. And it comes in the run up to a rather odd budget. It is Morrisons second budget, so in a sense a continuation of his economic narrative, but it is the fourth of the Abbott-Turnbull government, so at a point where there should be signs of good progress being made. It is also the first budget of this election cycle.The standard tactic after winning an election is to deliver a tough budget one that is full of hard choices that need to be made for the good of the economy, and which will deliver benefits before the government next faces the polls.But this was the formula Joe Hockey and Tony Abbott followed in 2014 and it ended disastrously. It was a budget so poorly designed, framed and argued that it set both Hockey and Abbott along the path to their demise.And this is the problem for governments when dealing with budgets. Too easily they (and indeed the media) can fall into the trap of seeing them as political statements which are supposed to conform with the narrative of being a tough budget or perhaps one that brings home the bacon.The narrative is a seductive thing almost as seductive as footy fans reassuring themselves that early losses with a young team are fine because they are building for the future and all will come good eventually.Politicians and political journalists can be seduced by the budget narrative and get carried away with whether or not a budget has delivered the goods to set it on a path to re-election. But such thinking leads to the belief, such as that expressed by Joe Hockey in his valedictory speech about the 2014 budget, that the Abbott government was good at policy but struggled with politics.In reality, it struggled with politics because it was bad at policy.For Scott Morrison the pressure in this budget pre-season has been to deliver (as ever) for families, with the greatest focus on housing affordability.Already the waters have been tested with suggestions such as allowing first-home buyers dip into their superannuation a policy that has met with rather tepid response (to say the least), and yet appears to still be a chance to feature in the budget .But as do footy coaches, treasurers also have to deal with armchair experts those who played in years past and who still think the old ways are the best. Morrison has no shortage of advice from those on his side of politics such as former Howard government adviser, Niki Savva , who this week suggested the way to tackle housing affordability was to dump the $40bn worth of company tax cuts and instead cut income taxes.If there is one reason to have sympathy for Morrison it is that the conservative side of both politics and the media still believe that the style of budgets delivered by Howard and Costello during a mining boom remain good politics and policy. As such, he is set the task of cutting taxes and spending, reducing the deficit and also delivering a political win.To tackle housing affordability Scott Morrison must get more homes built - Stephen Koukoulas Read more But as even Donald Trump is finding out, talk of winning is all nice and well, but once you introduce a policy that affects peoples livelihoods, they dont care so much about the sales job or the narrative.Cutting government services under the guise of cutting waste works a lot better when peoples incomes are rising and job security is high. At the moment, we have record low wage growth, full-time employment lower now than it was 12 months ago and the unemployment rate rising .The government will attempt to write a narrative for this budget, but it must be, above al,l focused on good policy. A housing affordability policy is no good if it is there only to fit the narrative rather than actually fix the problem.And it would do well to remember that the mining boom years are over, and what amounts to good policy regardless of what the old warriors might think has changed.A budget that treats growth as though thats all that matters and ignores inequality is bad policy that will, as was the case for Joe Hockey, see Morrison quickly take on a new narrative that of a coach under pressure to keep his job.Topics Business Grogonomics Australian politics comment Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Google+ Share on WhatsApp Share on Messenger Reuse this content'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2017/mar/26/why-scott-morrison-needs-to-ignore-armchair-treasurers-before-the-budget'|'2017-03-26T05:00:00.000+03:00' +'ac5496e6278c45d6feacd467e849487177934286'|'Big Tesco shareholders oppose $4.7 billion Booker deal'|'LONDON Two of Tesco''s ( TSCO.L ) biggest shareholders have called on the supermarket group to withdraw its 3.7 billion pound ($4.7 billion) agreed offer for wholesaler Booker ( BOK.L ), potentially casting doubt on the deal''s progress.Schroder Investment Management ( SDR.L ) and Artisan Partners, Tesco''s third and fourth largest investors with stakes of 4.49 and 4.48 percent respectively, both said on Monday they were against the transaction.In a letter to Tesco Chairman John Allan, Schroders fund manager Nick Kirrage and the asset manager''s global head of stewardship Jessica Ground called on investors who share their view to speak out against the deal announced on Jan. 27."All management teams believe that their acquisitions will create value. However, there is compelling academic and empirical evidence that, on average, acquisitions destroy value for acquiring shareholders," they wrote in the letter, seen by Reuters."We believe that the high price being paid for Booker makes the destruction of value even more likely."No comment from Tesco was immediately available.Daniel O''Keefe, lead portfolio manager of Artisan''s Global Value funds, told Reuters buying Booker was a distraction for Tesco''s management and a risk not worth taking."Booker is a new business for Tesco, it''s going to involve a lot of distraction for management, unforeseen risk, and unforeseen issues," he said.O''Keefe said Artisan had expressed its concern over the merits of the deal to Tesco management."They are still in favor of the transaction, we''re not," he said.The stances of Schroders and Artisan were first reported by the Financial Times.Richard Cousins, CEO of Compass ( CPG.L ), the world''s biggest catering firm, resigned as Tesco''s senior independent director on Jan. 3 because he did not support the deal."This demonstration of integrity delivers a powerful message about his concerns around the merits of the deal," said Schroders.By buying Booker, Tesco is looking to increase its exposure to Britain''s 85 billion pound "out of home" food market, including cafes, restaurants and takeaways, which is growing at a greater pace than the 110 billion pounds "eat at home" market.Share prices in both companies rose sharply when the deal was announced. However, Tesco''s shares have since fallen on concerns the deal faces a lengthy competition investigation.Tesco shares are down 8 percent so far this year while Booker''s are up 14 percent.Though Tesco and Booker maintain they have a compelling competition case the deal is expected to face intense scrutiny from Britain''s antitrust authorities as it will add to Tesco''s more than 28 percent share of the overall UK grocery market and, more specifically, its influence in the convenience, confectionery and tobacco markets.(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn, James Davey and Rachel Armstrong; editing by William Schomberg and David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-booker-group-m-a-tesco-idINKBN16Y251'|'2017-03-27T16:54:00.000+03:00' +'fe4a9cf34ad3dcc51235bf385de6945b048298fc'|'Shell to drill new wells by end-2018 to shore up Australia gas supply'|'Business News - Tue Mar 21, 2017 - 5:38am GMT Shell to drill new wells by end-2018 to shore up Australia gas supply Filled oil drums are seen at Royal Dutch Shell Plc''s lubricants blending plant in the town of Torzhok, north-west of Tver, November 7, 2014. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo MELBOURNE Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) said on Tuesday it will drill 161 new gas wells at its Queensland operations by the end of 2018, helping to underpin its promise to continue supplying 10 percent of the domestic gas market to help prevent a shortage. The project at its QGC operations in the Surat Basin in southeast Queensland has been planned for some time as existing wells decline, with the new wells due to be drilled this year and next. The wells will help sustain Shell''s 75 petajoules of gas supplies a year to eastern Australia''s gas market. The new drilling will not affect exports from Shell''s Queensland Curtis liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant. The announcement came a week after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull hauled in Australia''s gas producers, led by Shell Australia and ExxonMobil Corp ( XOM.N ), to discuss how to boost supplies in face of warnings from the nation''s energy market operator of a looming shortage within the next two years. Gas supply has become a hot issue, following blackouts and brownouts in Australia''s eastern states over the past year, and as growth in LNG exports has led to soaring gas prices for manufacturers. Thanks to onshore production in Queensland, businesses there will pay less than rivals further south, where onshore drilling has been banned or restricted due to opposition from landowners and green groups, said Shell Australia Chairman Andrew Smith. "This is a competitive advantage for Queensland business in attracting manufacturing jobs from Victoria, where gas customers will be forced to pay more for political reasons," Smith said. (Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Randy Fabi) Next In Business News Best-paid former BHS executives gain most from Green''s pension deal - UK lawmakers LONDON British retail tycoon Philip Green''s deal with the regulator to plug a hole in the pension schemes of collapsed department store BHS will see a small number of the highest-paid former managers benefit the most, a parliamentary committee said on Tuesday.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-australia-gas-shell-idUKKBN16S0EC'|'2017-03-21T12:38:00.000+02:00' +'651b32f782b94d76db6d8192b39a6b181755b1b7'|'Japan''s Nikkei rises to 2-week high; focus shifts to U.S. rates'|' 52am EST Japan''s Nikkei rises to 2-week high; focus shifts to U.S. rates TOKYO, March 1 Japanese stocks rose on Wednesday to two-week highs as investors covered positions with the focus shifting to U.S. monetary policy after President Donald Trump''s speech to Congress offered no details or surprises on the policy front. The Nikkei share average ended 1.4 percent higher at 19,393.54, its highest close since Feb. 15, as investors covered their positions, with the lack of negative factors in Trump''s speech providing some relief. Trump pledged to overhaul the U.S. immigration system, improve jobs and wages, and promised "massive" tax relief to the middle class and tax cuts for companies. Meanwhile, the dollar gained U.S. interest rate hike this month, and traders said market attention has shifted to future U.S. monetary policy. "Japanese stocks will likely take cues from U.S. yield moves and dollar-yen levels in the next few weeks," said Chihiro Ohta, general manager of investment research at SMBC Nikko Securities. The broader Topix gained 1.2 percent to 1,553.09 and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 rose 1.2 percent to 13,917.46. (Reporting by Ayai Tomisawa; Editing by Sunil Nair) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-close-idUSL3N1GE2QQ'|'2017-03-01T13:52:00.000+02:00' +'bbf3cc3fd140a2e53ab040ee0afc029a56c5564a'|'BUZZ-Coal India shares fall over 2 pct; dividend fails to cheer markets'|'** Coal India Ltd falls as much as 2.5 pct; stock among top pct losers on the broader NSE index** State-owned miner on Sunday announced second interim dividend of 1.15 rupees per share for current financial year bit.ly/2nqTViU** "Dividend amount declared slightly less than market expectations although fundamentally, core business of company remains intact," says Rahul Modi of Antique Stock Broking Ltd** Up to Friday''s close, stock had declined about 0.72 pct this year'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/buzz-coal-india-shares-fall-over-2-pct-d-idINL3N1H424N'|'2017-03-27T03:22:00.000+03:00' +'ba71ae69ba28e9035a425fa311708102b5c1552a'|'Investor group seeks to bar Snap from indexes over voting rights'|'Technology 26pm EST Investor group seeks to bar Snap from indexes over voting rights A stuffed ghost rests on a trader''s screen above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) after Snap Inc. listed their IPO in New York, U.S., March 2, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson By Ross Kerber - BOSTON BOSTON A group representing large institutional investors has approached stock index providers S&P Dow Jones Indices and MSCI Inc, looking to bar Snap Inc and any other company that sells investors non-voting shares from their stock benchmarks. Both index providers have said they are reviewing Snap''s inclusion. Were Snap to be added to indexes such as the S&P 500 Index or the MSCI USA Index, then managers of stock index portfolios will have to buy its shares and other investors, whose performance is tracked against such indexes, would likely follow suit. Some big money managers worry about buying Snaps Class A shares because they have no voting rights, meaning shareholders will have no voice on matters like the companys future strategy or the pay of its executives. "They''re tapping public markets but giving shareholders no say," said Amy Borrus, deputy director of the Council of Institutional Investors, which represents big pension funds and other large asset owners, in an interview. In reaching out to both index providers, she said, "What we would like to see at the least is for the indexes to exclude new no-vote companies." Meetings with both index providers are scheduled this week, she said. David Blitzer, managing director of S&P Dow Jones Indices and chair of a committee overseeing its indexes, said they would not add a new stock like Snap for 6 to 12 months after its IPO in any case, and will use the time to study Snap''s structure. While the index provider does not have a hard requirement about a company''s voting structure, the committee needs to think through how much influence investors should have, Blitzer said in an interview on Monday. " ''Who Votes?'' is the issue right now," he said. MSCI said on March 2 that Snap would qualify for indexes including the MSCI USA Index but then said on March 3 that after additional analysis Snap did not meet all requirements. Snap''s inclusion into the MSCI USA Index will be re-assessed in May, MSCI said in a statement on its website. MSCI is seeking feedback from investors about whether companies without voting rights should be included in indexes, according to the March 3 statement. A spokesman did not immediately provide further details. A spokesman for Snap declined to comment. Snap''s $3.4 billion initial public offering of stock last week marked the hottest technology IPO in three years as investors snapped up shares of the Venice, California company, even though its two co-founders retained near total control. The situation alarms some big investors who fear other companies might copy Snap''s structure. Other big S&P 500 companies like Facebook and Google parent Alphabet also have non-voting shares but still grant voting rights with other widely-traded shares. After the council raised concerns about Snap''s lack of voting rights last month, Snap''s chairman Michael Lynton wrote back on Feb. 21 to point out a section of its prospectus stating the voting structure "prolongs our ability to remain a founder-led company" and that Snap will have a majority-independent board, including himself. Index inclusion requirements vary. For the S&P 500 a stock typically needs a market capitalization of around $5.5 billion and to have been profitable over the past four quarters, for instance, Blitzer said. (Reporting by Ross Kerber in Boston. Additional reporting by Lauren Hirsch in New York. Editing by Bernard Orr) Next In Technology News Alphabet lawsuit against Uber cements end of uneasy marriage SAN FRANCISCO When Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] was raising venture capital in 2013, it was one of the hottest deals around and no one was more eager to write a check than Bill Maris and David Krane of Google''s venture capital arm. South Korea prosecutor paves way for charges against Park if impeachment upheld SEOUL South Korean President Park Geun-hye colluded with a friend to take bribes from Samsung Group aimed at cementing Samsung Chief Jay Y. Lee''s control of the conglomerate, the special prosecutor''s office said on Monday, paving the way for Park to be prosecuted if removed from office. ANKARA Turkey''s Competition Board said on Monday it had opened an investigation to determine whether Google had violated the country''s competition law. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-snap-ipo-indexes-idUSKBN16D2D6'|'2017-03-07T02:24:00.000+02:00' +'cc0cc92cae82419c79e91cd1edc23ef2e321eddb'|'MOVES-Citi names new head for ASEAN corporate, investment banking'|'HONG KONG, March 10 Citigroup Inc has named David Biller as its new corporate and investment banking head for the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) as part of its enhanced focus on the region, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters.Biller, who joined Citi in 2000, will take up the new role in Singapore with immediate effect, and will continue to hold his existing position of head of diversified industrial for Asia Pacific, said the memo.In the new role, Biller will replace Will McLane, who remains the bank''s head of financial institutions group in Asia, and the memo said additional responsibilities for him will be announced shortly.A spokesman for Citi in Hong Kong confirmed the content of the memo.The bank also named Jonathan Quek as the head of investment banking for Singapore, in addition to his current role as co-head of real-estate investment banking for Asia Pacific, the memo said. (Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/citigroup-asean-moves-idINL3N1GN1WT'|'2017-03-10T01:15:00.000+02:00' +'7493045c7e5500fb11679a58c9ce54bc1f2e9fa2'|'Euro zone 2017 inflation likely to be far higher than projected - Bundesbank''s Weidmann'|'Business News - Wed Mar 1, 2017 - 1:38pm GMT Euro zone 2017 inflation likely to be far higher than projected: Bundesbank''s Weidmann German Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann speaks during the G20 Germany 2017 Conference in Wiesbaden, Germany, January 25, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski FRANKFURT Euro zone inflation is likely to be sharply higher in 2017 than projected but will still dip towards the end of the year, Bundesbank president Jens Weidmann said on Wednesday, arguing that accommodative monetary policy remains appropriate. With inflation surging on higher oil prices, and criticism of the European Central Bank (ECB) mounting in Germany ahead of September''s elections, pressure has increased on the ECB to at least start a discussion about when and how it would scale back its extraordinary stimulus measures. But the ECB has so far pushed back, arguing that growth is fragile, upcoming elections cloud the outlook, and the rise in inflation is temporary, still requiring years to rise sustainably towards its target of just under 2 percent. "Assuming that oil prices do not rise any further ... inflation this year is likely to be well in excess of the figure projected to date; for Germany, an upward revision of around one-half percentage point is expected, and this might also be the case for the euro area as a whole," he said in Ljubljana. Preliminary data from several German states showed inflation in the euro zone''s economy probably surpassed the ECB''s target of a rate just under 2 percent for the first time in more than four years in February. The ECB sees inflation in the euro zone at 1.3 percent this year, a projection bound to rise when the bank publishes new forecasts next Thursday as oil prices LCOc1 are 17 percent above the assumptions that went into that number. Weidmann, an ECB critic who has voted against many of the bank''s easing measures, also acknowledged that underlying inflation is still weak, so the question is not whether loose monetary policy is needed but when the outlook would firm enough to justify a change in communication and eventually the policy stance. Euro zone inflation is expected to have hit 2 percent last month and may still rise further in the first half before easing back toward the end of the year. Weidmann stopped short of calling for any particular measures but argued that keeping borrowing costs low for too long risked getting budgets addicted to cheap cash, making eventual tightening even harder. "Monetary policy has to avoid the markets'' perception that the central bank is only willing to counter downward pressure on financial markets with an accommodative policy stance but refrains from tightening the reins in times of higher price stability risks due to the fear of triggering market turbulences," he said. (Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Francesco Canepa and Louise Ireland) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ecb-policy-weidmann-idUKKBN1684HV'|'2017-03-01T20:38:00.000+02:00' +'6affef6d34db845a96f6b8b80eb74ebe77584b2e'|'Bombardier to supply 70 trams to Zurich'|'March 3 Canadian plane and train maker Bombardier Inc said on Friday it had signed a deal to deliver 70 trams to Zurich''s public transport authority at a base price of about 300 million Swiss francs ($297.06 million).The contract includes an option for Zurich to buy 70 more of Bombardier''s Flexity-branded trams, the company said.The first vehicles will be delivered at the end of 2019.Bombardier has so far sold about 1,600 Flexity trams worldwide, the company said. ($1 = 1.0099 Swiss francs) (Reporting by John Benny in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/bombardier-contract-idINL3N1GG3WM'|'2017-03-03T11:43:00.000+02:00' +'6b01ab7e72291b2bda0d58a34c1fa7b68107d083'|'UPDATE 1-China says Westinghouse bankruptcy won''t have big impact on nuclear plans'|'Company News - Thu Mar 30, 2017 - 1:15am EDT UPDATE 1-China says Westinghouse bankruptcy won''t have big impact on nuclear plans * China says no "substantial impact" on nuclear plans * Two sides promise to give priority to joint projects * Completion of world''s first AP1000 reactor still on track (Adds detail, background) By David Stanway SHANGHAI, March 30 China''s State Power Investment Corp said Westinghouse''s bankruptcy filing would not have a "substantial impact" on the country''s nuclear plans and the two sides would ensure a key AP1000 reactor project would be completed on schedule this year. The project is the world''s first Westinghouse-designed AP1000 reactor project, being built at Sanmen on China''s eastern coast, and is one of four reactors planned with State Power. "The two sides were fully aware of the importance of the Chinese AP1000 project and agreed to continue to make the project a common priority and increase investment to ensure that the target of putting the reactor into operation this year is met," it said in a statement on Thursday. The first AP1000 was due to be completed in 2014, but construction was subject to delays as a result of design problems as well as a nationwide review of the nuclear industry following the Fukushima disaster in 2011. Westinghouse hoped the AP1000 would become the centrepiece of China''s ambitious nuclear strategy, and expected to win dozens of new projects. But industry sources said the Pittsburgh-based firm underestimated China''s ability to develop its own home-brand third-generation designs, with China''s own "Hualong 1" reactor selected over the AP1000 for a number of domestic nuclear projects. A senior Chinese nuclear industry official said earlier this month that the reactor was still scheduled to go into full operation in the second half of 2017. The restructuring application by Westinghouse will not have a substantial impact on third generation reactor work such as the construction of the AP1000, the subsequent construction of a batch of CAP1000 reactors or the CAP1400 demonstration project, the company said, referring to its homegrown third-generation reactor designs. Westinghouse, owned by Japanese conglomerate Toshiba , filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday as a result of billions of dollars of cost overruns at four reactors under construction in the United States. (Reporting by David Stanway; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) Next In Company News METALS-London copper slips in thin trade on stronger dollar (Adds comment, detail, updates prices) MELBOURNE, March 30 London copper slipped on Thursday in low-volume trade as the dollar held gains on brighter economic signals from the United States and traders waited for further U.S. and China economic cues for direction. With the U.S. economy having now "largely attained" a full recovery from recession, the Federal Reserve can raise interest rates three or more times this year, a centrist Fed policymaker said on Wednesday, helping North Dakota oil output set to rise as controversial pipeline opens HOUSTON, March 30 North Dakota oil production will get a shot in the arm next month as a pipeline comes online despite opposition by environmental groups and Native Americans, allowing the energy industry to save at least $540 million in annual shipping costs. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/china-nuclear-westinghouse-idUSL3N1H71Y8'|'2017-03-30T13:15:00.000+03:00' +'25a45e3329d9e1055bcbf34de715299e04753765'|'China prepares to counter any U.S. trade penalties - sources'|'Business News - Mon Mar 20, 2017 - 10:27am GMT China prepares to counter any U.S. trade penalties - sources left right FILE PHOTO: China''s President Xi Jinping meets U.S. State of Secretary, Rex Tillerson at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, March 19, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: China''s Premier Li Keqiang arrives for a news conference after the closing ceremony of China''s National People''s Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, March 15, 2017. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj/File Photo 2/2 By Kevin Yao - BEIJING BEIJING China''s government has been seeking advice from its think-tanks and policy advisers on how to counter potential trade penalties from U.S. President Donald Trump, getting ready for the worst, even as they hope for business-like negotiations. The policy advisers believe the Trump administration is most likely to impose higher tariffs on targeted sectors where China has a big surplus with the United States, such as steel and furniture, or on state-owned firms. China could respond with actions such as finding alternative suppliers of agriculture products or machinery and manufactured goods, while cutting its exports of consumer staples such as mobile phones or laptops, they said. Other options include imposing tax or other restrictions on big U.S. firms operating in China, or limiting their access to China''s fast-growing services sector, they added. Beijing was a particular target of Trump''s rhetoric during last year''s election campaign, and officials see some friction as inevitable due to China''s large trade surplus, according to several sources involved in the internal discussions. China''s State Council Information Office, the government public relations arm, and the Ministry of Commerce did not return requests for comment. "There is still room for both sides to resolve problems through co-operation and consultation, rather than just resorting to retaliation," said a policy adviser who spoke on condition of anonymity. "But we should have plans in case things go wrong." Premier Li Keqiang said last week that Beijing did not want to see a trade war with the United States and urged talks between both sides to achieve common ground. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also said last week that the Trump administration did not want trade wars, but that certain trade relationships needed re-examining to make them fairer for U.S. workers. No major U.S. measures have been announced, and there were no public indications of Washington''s intentions on trade at the weekend when Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visited China. Trump is expected to host President Xi Jinping next month. A glimpse of the uncertain future, however, came on Saturday in a communique after a meeting of finance ministers at the G20 in Germany, which dropped a pledge to keep global trade free and open, acquiescing to an increasingly protectionist United States after the two-day meeting failed to yield a compromise. GOODWILL GESTURE The sources said China could step up some imports from the United States and boost its investment there to help create more jobs as a goodwill gesture, but would not meekly accept any unilateral U.S. action. "We will have contingency plans to cope with the worst policies from Trump," said a second policy adviser. Trump has previously threatened a 45 percent tariff on China''s exports and frequently said on the campaign trail that he would label China a currency manipulator, even though Beijing has not been actively weakening the yuan in recent years. In an interview with Reuters on Feb. 23, he declared China the "grand champions" of currency manipulation. "It''s hard to say his views have changed or he has become more pragmatic," said the first adviser. Mnuchin has pledged a more methodical approach to analysing Beijing''s foreign exchange practices. Under the three criteria set by the U.S. Treasury to determine whether a country is manipulating its currency for a trade advantage, China only meets one: running a trade surplus of more than $20 billion with the United States. The U.S. Treasury''s next report on the issue is due in April. China''s surplus with the United States fell by $20.1 billion to $347 billion in 2016, the U.S. Commerce Department said on Tuesday, while Chinese data put it somewhat lower. One of the sources said he thought it unlikely that Trump would label China a currency manipulator. "If he does that, China will let the yuan go, and the yuan will fall sharply," the source said. Weakening the yuan or dumping some of China''s massive holdings of U.S Treasuries could be considered only when trade relations deteriorate sharply, the sources said. Earlier this month, former commerce minister Gao Hucheng said during the annual meeting of parliament that China was not afraid of a trade war, though it hoped to avoid one. "We are willing to deal with it properly, but we are not afraid. Once the U.S. side take certain measures, we will evaluate and analyse such measures, and take actions when necessary," Gao said. (Additional reporting by Elias Glenn; Editing by Will Waterman) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-usa-trade-idUKKBN16R0PQ'|'2017-03-20T16:32:00.000+02:00' +'df081275856d6fac35c93d39fd932b7d7a4cea26'|'Funds expect Saudi Aramco to be valued around $1-1.5 trillion - survey'|'Money News - Mon Mar 6, 2017 - 4:34pm IST Funds expect Saudi Aramco to be valued around $1-1.5 trillion - survey FULL COVERAGE: By Celine Aswad and Andrew Torchia - DUBAI DUBAI Fund managers and institutional investors expect oil giant Saudi Aramco to have a market capitalisation of $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion when it sells shares to the public next year, a survey by regional investment bank EFG Hermes showed on Monday. The valuation of Aramco, the world''s biggest oil firm, has been the focus of intense speculation since the Saudi government last year announced plans to sell up to 5 percent of it and list the shares in Riyadh and at least one foreign stock exchange. Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who oversees the kingdom''s economic policy, has said the sale is expected to value Aramco at $2 trillion or more, making it by the far the world''s largest initial public offer. The EFG Hermes survey, conducted at an investment conference organised by the bank in Dubai, found 39 percent of respondents predicted the market would value Aramco at between $1 trillion and $1.5 trillion. Thirty-six percent expect a valuation below $1 trillion, and 24 percent a figure above $1.5 trillion, the bank said. EFG Hermes said it polled 510 international fund managers and investors from 260 institutions at the conference, as well as 147 other companies. It did not say how many of them had replied to the question on Aramco. The company''s ultimate valuation will depend on decisions that are expected to be made by Saudi authorities in coming months, including the tax rate that Aramco will pay as a public company, and the portion of Aramco''s huge and diverse array of assets that is included in the listed entity. Saudi officials have given no concrete indication of how they will decide these questions, so any estimate of Aramco''s value remains tentative. The EFG Hermes survey suggests a higher valuation than some estimates by private analysts. Last year Foreign Reports, a Washington-based oil industry consultancy, calculated Aramco could have a market value of $250-460 billion, excluding the value of refining assets and guaranteed access to oil and gas. Aramco''s valuation is important for Saudi Arabia because it will determine how much money the government makes from the IPO and the size of foreign fund flows that are expected to enter the country to buy the shares. The huge IPO looks likely to strengthen the case for Saudi Arabia to join the emerging markets indexes of international index compilers such as MSCI, a step which could attract tens of billions of dollars of fresh foreign money to the kingdom. The EFG Hermes survey found 16 percent of respondents expected Saudi Arabia to join MSCI''s emerging markets index next year, 34 percent in 2019, 22 percent in 2020 and 27 percent at a later date. (Editing by Louise Heavens)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/saudi-aramco-ipo-value-idINKBN16D159'|'2017-03-06T18:04:00.000+02:00' +'ad038ccf5c29231f6ad373323ae38e86e5e65dcc'|'UPDATE 1-CERAWEEK-Foreign buyers eye U.S. pipeline investments in hunt for steady yields'|'* Investors from Asia, Mideast, Australia, eye pipelines* Attracted by pipelines'' steady cash flows, dollar assets* Trump''s promised policies could stir buying (Adds more details about tax considerations, paragraph 12)By David FrenchHOUSTON, March 9 Foreign institutional investors, including sovereign wealth funds, are studying investments in the U.S. interstate oil and gas pipeline network as a way to obtain recurring returns in a low interest-rate environment.Dealmakers said they are advising funds, including from Asia, Australia and the Middle East, about potential investments that could bring billions of dollars of new capital to the sector.Other infrastructure areas also have attracted institutional investors. Drawn to the potential for steady long-term incomes, they have purchased stakes in companies operating toll roads, airports and utilities.Peter Bowden, co-head of energy investment banking at Jefferies Group LLC, said major pipelines with long-term contracts structured as take-or-pay deals from creditworthy shippers are most attractive to foreign buyers.Under take-or-pay, a firm wanting to use the pipeline agrees to move a certain amount of hydrocarbons for a fixed price but pays a separate penalty price for every barrel of oil equivalent not subsequently transported."These assets are dollar-denominated, so if youre a non-dollar-denominated fund looking for dollar assets and infrastructure with a return that will beat inflation, they are the equivalent of the best bond you can buy," Bowden added.The entry of deep-pocketed foreign institutional investors to pipeline sale processes has added heightened competition to domestic capital already chasing a finite pool of assets, according to dealmakers."When assets come up, there is usually a bit of a frenzy that puts upward pressure on the acquisition premium," said one energy attorney who spoke on condition of anonymity.These funds are exploring two main investment routes. One approach is to buy a project directly through a joint venture with other partners.The preferred option, however, is providing funds to projects and their developers, typically energy or private-equity firms. This approach helps to overcome two potential hurdles to such transactions: tax liability, and a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) for non-American owners.CFIUS is a government body that adjudicates on deals when there are potential national security implications for an overseas party owning an American company. Such national security objections prompted China National Offshore Oil Corp to withdraw its $18.5 billion bid for California''s Unocal Corp in 2005.Outright purchases by foreigners also raise tax considerations, since pipelines fall under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA). Non-American owners are unable to minimize their tax bill by structuring a deal as a Master Limited Partnership (MLP). Foreign companies may have to pay an income tax of up to 15 percent on the asset, in addition to other taxes that an MLP company would not have to pay.IMPROVED FLOWDealmakers said more foreign entities could start buying directly into pipeline projects as a number of factors converge to eliminate such obstacles.Structuring an investment to address the tax implications is already fairly straightforward, according to an energy lawyer.The election of President Donald Trump, and his promised wave of deregulation, is expected to reduce CFIUS objections to transactions. One dealmaker noted the pending purchase of the Port Arthur refinery, the largest in the United States, by Saudi Aramco had not triggered any CFIUS actions. That deal is on course to close in the second quarter.Infrastructure needs in certain regions of the country should also provide opportunities for further capital deployment, said Osmar Abib, global head of oil and gas, global energy investment banking, at Credit Suisse who spoke on the sidelines of the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston.Trump has pledged to spend $1 trillion on infrastructure, with much of the capital coming from the private sector.One area of focus, dealmakers said, could be in the U.S. Northeast, where a bottleneck in the pipeline network prevents gas generated by shale fields including the Marcellus from being moved elsewhere. (Reporting by David French; Editing by David Gregorio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/ceraweek-funds-pipeline-idINL2N1GM2DW'|'2017-03-09T19:45:00.000+02:00' +'0bd21b3a0720067153efda1cc6b82bab286d540b'|'Last RBS investor group held settlement talks over 2008 cash call - sources'|' 43am GMT Last RBS investor group held settlement talks over 2008 cash call - sources The logo of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is seen at an office building in Zurich March 27, 2015. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/Files By Andrew MacAskill and Kirstin Ridley - LONDON LONDON Lawyers representing tens of thousands of Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ) shareholders have held tentative talks to settle a 1.2 billion pound damages claim over the lender''s 2008 rights issue that was launched shortly before a state bailout, two sources said. The two sources, who are familiar with the situation, said RBS and the RBoS Shareholder Action group, which includes 27,000 private investors, former and current RBS staff and about 100 institutions, had discussed an out-of-court deal. But in a move highlighting the difficulties of rallying such a vast group -- the last of five shareholder claims yet to settle with the bank -- one source warned that some retail investors were determined to take the case to trial in May. A settlement would end one of the most complex and costly litigation battles in English legal history. It would also spare RBS, which is still more than 70 percent owned by the state, a lengthy and potentially embarrassing court case that would put its disgraced former chief executive Fred Goodwin and other former senior staff in the witness box. RBS last year struck an out-of-court deal with four other investor groups, who also accused the bank of omissions and misrepresentations about its financial strength when it launched the 12 billion pound rights issue at the height of the credit crisis. But the RBoS Shareholder Action Group rejected its share of RBS''s 800 million pound offer. RBS, which has said it would welcome a deal with the action group, declined to comment on any talks. When asked by Reuters at the end of February, Chief Executive Ross McEwan there had been "some conversations" but no resolution. RBoS Shareholder Action Group declined to comment, while Signature Litigation, the legal firm representing the claimants, referred requests to the action group. QUESTIONS ASKED The bank has been applying pressure on the shareholder group, which has been questioned persistently about the adequacy of its funding, switched legal teams three times and saw some institutions break away in 2015 to launch separate litigation. In a move described as bullying by claimants, the group was forced to reveal the names of its latest third-party litigation funders after RBS asked for details of its After The Event (ATE) insurance while threatening to file an application for security for costs. ATE insurance policies cover the risk of losing and paying the other side''s costs in litigation. Last week, High Court Judge Robert Hildyard also warned claimants against the "serious consequences" of a funding gap or shortfall. He was also "increasingly troubled" by inconsistent statements about ATE cover and other statements by the group. The action group has told the court that its current third-party litigation funders include asset recovery and private equity firm Hunnewell Partners (BVI), which says on its website it has a separate and ring-fenced litigation funding business. Hunnewell, which did not respond to requests for comment, is not listed as a member of the Association of Litigation Funders, an independent body that ensures members abide by a code of conduct and maintains a complaints handling procedure. RBS has estimated its legal costs, from the December settlements to the end of the May trial, at 25 million pounds. Shareholders lost around 80 percent of their investments when RBS collapsed just months after the 2008 cash call, forcing the government to step in with a 45 billion pound-plus bailout. Former RBS chief executive Goodwin was stripped of his knighthood but kept an annual pension of 342,500 pounds. ($1 = 0.8160 pounds)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-rbs-lawsuit-investors-idUKKBN16O1F0'|'2017-03-17T18:43:00.000+02:00' +'cf651d3ccc270fad3a248660a4227304eb12221d'|'Fed may have to accelerate rate rises to accommodate Trump policies - ECB''s Visco'|'Business News - Mon Mar 13, 2017 - 9:58am GMT Fed may have to accelerate rate rises to accommodate Trump policies - ECB''s Visco Bank of Italy Governor Ignazio Visco attends the session ''Recharging Europe'' in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos January 23, 2015. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich ROME The economic policies of U.S. President Donald Trump could hurt global trade and could speed up an increase in U.S. interest rates, European Central Bank policy maker Ignazio Visco said on Monday. "Given the current situation of the U.S. economy, which is close to full employment, strong fiscal expansion risks having a pro-cyclical impact," Visco said in a speech at the Italian foreign ministry. "In such a case, the process of normalising monetary conditions undertaken by the Federal Reserve could be less gradual," said Visco, who sits on the ECB Governing Council and is the governor of the Bank of Italy. "The consequent appreciation of the dollar and increase in medium-to-long-term interest rates, which up until now have been contained, could accentuate and reverberate their impact on international markets," he said, adding that this could hurt emerging markets. (Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte, writing by Crispian Balmer) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-visco-fed-idUKKBN16K0YE'|'2017-03-13T16:58:00.000+02:00' +'852bea9bb746fe320c7a2ad336618ceb3854a3da'|'Oil dips as rising U.S. drilling offsets talk of an OPEC-led cut extension'|'Business News - Mon Mar 27, 2017 - 3:16am BST Oil dips as rising U.S. drilling offsets talk of an OPEC-led cut extension Oil rig pumpjacks, also known as thirsty birds, extract crude from the Wilmington Field oil deposits area where Tidelands Oil Production Company operates near Long Beach, California July 30, 2013. REUTERS/David McNew By Henning Gloystein - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Oil prices dipped on Monday as rising U.S. drilling activity outweighed talks that an OPEC-led production cut initially due to end in mid-2017 may be extended. Prices for front-month Brent crude futures LCOc1, the international benchmark for oil, eased 7 cents from their last close to $50.73 per barrel by 0145 GMT. In the United States, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were down 14 cents at $47.83 a barrel. Traders said that prices received some support from talks over the weekend between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers, including Russia, aimed at extending a production cut beyond the middle of the year in order to prop up the market. "OPEC and non-OPEC decided to get ahead of the game this weekend, announcing they are reviewing whether the output curb deal should be extended," said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at futures brokerage OANDA in Singapore, adding that this had given crude some support. But the OPEC-led cuts were offset by rising drilling activity and oil production in the United States, which traders said contributed to financial traders reducing their long positions in crude futures to the lowest level since early December. "The U.S. oil rig count continued its surge ... Since its trough on May 27, 2016, producers have added 336 oil rigs (+106 percent) in the U.S.," Goldman Sachs said in a note to clients. The U.S. bank said that should the rig count stay at the current levels and the impact of a backlog of previously closed rigs returning to production was considered, then U.S. oil production would rise by 235,000 bpd between the fourth quarter of 2016 and the first half of 2017. Since mid-2016, U.S. oil production has risen by 700,000 bpd, or 8.3 percent, to 9.13 million bpd, government data shows C-OUT-T-EIA. (Reporting by Henning Gloystein; Editing by Richard Pullin) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-oil-idUKKBN16Y04U'|'2017-03-27T10:16:00.000+03:00' +'e5134dfb6a2325ccf502f0972ad263967d9c4a9f'|'Euro zone current account surplus falls to one-year low'|'Business News - Wed Mar 22, 2017 - 9:22am GMT Euro zone current account surplus falls to one-year low A picture illustration taken with the multiple exposure function of the camera shows a one Euro coin and a map of Europe, January 9, 2013. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT The euro zone''s current account surplus fell to its lowest in a year in January as exports fell and transfer payments to outside the bloc rose slightly, data from the European Central Bank showed on Wednesday. The euro zone recorded a current account surplus of 24.1 billion euros in the first month of this year after adjusting for seasonal and other calendar affects. This was down from 30.8 billion euros one month earlier and the lowest reading since January 2016. (Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Balazs Koranyi) Next In Business News Fed''s Kaplan sees three rate hikes in 2017, no rush on balance sheet SAN FRANCISCO With the U.S. workforce nearly fully employed and inflation heading toward 2 percent, the Federal Reserve should raise interest rates two more times this year and continue work on a plan to gradually trim its massive balance sheet, Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan said.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-currentaccount-idUKKBN16T0Y1'|'2017-03-22T16:07:00.000+02:00' +'2b5f517ab1b2e6a0fe7d143af7d370c9fed056b0'|'Russia''s biggest steelmaker NLMK can withstand anti-dumping duties'|' 3:41pm GMT Russia''s biggest steelmaker NLMK can withstand anti-dumping duties Molten iron is loaded into a ladle at the NLMK Kaluga steel mill in Vorsino outside Kaluga, Russia, July 21, 2016. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov By Peter Hobson and Barbara Lewis - LONDON LONDON Russia''s largest steelmaker NLMK ( NLMK.MM ) is well-placed to weather the impact of European Union and U.S. anti-dumping duties and may expand into new markets such as Turkey and Asia to secure greater profits, it said on Monday. The steelmaker, which is Russia''s largest by output, predicts prices will stay volatile as oversupply continues for the foreseeable future, but it said the markets where it is present -- the United States and Europe, including Russia -- would outperform. Earlier on Monday it said its core earnings rose in the fourth quarter as steel prices recovered from a two-year slump. NLMK sees 3 percent growth in the United States this year and 1.5 percent in Europe, compared with global growth of one percent for the next decade. These markets have also been boosted by anti-dumping duties that make low-cost imports more expensive and less likely to take market share from domestic producers. "We''ve positioned ourselves as a strong player in a weak industry," Grigory Fedorishin said in an interview. Previously, chief financial officer, Fedorishin was made senior vice president in charge of strategy on Monday. The duties target major exporters, including China and Russia, following concerns they were exporting at unfairly low prices. Because NLMK has operations in the United States and Belgium, for instance, it benefits from the duties alongside the domestic manufacturers. "On the U.S. side, we benefit more than we lose," Fedorishin said. NLMK has also sent exports formerly destined for Europe to other markets. "That was one of the ideas behind this model to hedge steelmaking supply and to make sure we are close to final customers and the markets where our steel is consumed," he said. "It''s a more or less unique model. We don''t know any other companies which have this sort of model on this sort of scale." Russia has appealed to the World Trade Organization over EU anti-dumping duties, but NLMK said it had no update on the case. Fedorishin said the prime target was China, the world''s biggest steel exporter, and NLMK had been unfairly "bundled with the Chinese". Although cautious about acquisitions, preferring organic growth, NLMK is considering both. "We are in the market, put it that way, but we are not desperate for an acquisition," Fedorishin said. NLMK could expand in, for instance, Turkey, which is a major export market for the company, Fedorishin said, adding that North Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia could also make sense. (Additional reporting by Polina Devitt in Moscow, editing by Louise Heavens) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-nlmk-results-tariffs-idUKKBN16D1V5'|'2017-03-06T22:41:00.000+02:00' +'53bf410ad421131b350b30a04da2defee3baefe4'|'EXCLUSIVE: Iran''s biggest cargo line looks at London IPO; thwarted so far -sources'|'By Jonathan Saul and Parisa Hafezi - LONDON/ANKARA LONDON/ANKARA Iran''s top cargo shipping company has held meetings in London to discuss a possible listing on the London Stock Exchange, but has so far been thwarted by U.S. sanctions that still scare banks off Iranian business, four Iranian and two Western sources said.Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) was removed from international sanctions blacklists last year and after years of isolation aims to raise funds to modernise its fleet. It has already placed an order for new ships estimated to be worth $626 million.A floatation on the LSE would make it the first Iranian company to list on Britain''s main exchange since the Islamic revolution in 1979.But the difficulty in achieving such a landmark shows how far Tehran still remains from its goal of integrating fully with the global economic mainstream, since its 2015 deal with world powers to lift international sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.President Hassan Rouhani, who faces a campaign for re-election in May, has struggled so far to demonstrate to voters real economic benefits from the deal. He won office in a landslide in 2013 on a promise to reduce Iran''s isolation, and the nuclear deal is his crowning achievement.Most international sanctions on Iran were lifted last year as a result of the nuclear deal. But the United States still has separate sanctions in place over Iran''s missile programme and the administration of new President Donald Trump has signalled it would take a tough line.The four Iranian officials and two Western financial sources told Reuters the Iranian company had expressed interest in an LSE listing. Two of the Iranian sources, both senior officials in Tehran, said meetings had already been held with the LSE in London about a possible float for IRISL.IRISL officials could not be reached for comment. The LSE declined to comment.All six Western and Iranian sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an initiative that has not officially been made public.U.S. SANCTIONSExperts on sanctions say any Iranian IPO in London would run up against the impact of the remaining U.S. measures, which have deterred British-based banks from clearing payments or facilitating transactions for Iranian companies.Even the UK subsidiaries of Iranian banks with British licenses have yet to offer payment clearing services in sterling."In the current climate, I believe it is wholly unrealistic for IRISL to expect to pull off a listing in London," said Nigel Kushner, a leading London-based sanctions lawyer."In circumstances where no UK clearing bank is willing to become involved and when Iranian banks that may legitimately trade in London are still not able to clear their transactions in London, how on earth is a listing going to happen?"The sources did not say how much capital IRISL was seeking to raise in a potential initial public offering.During the height of sanctions, the United States and European Union blacklisted the shipping firm, accusing it of involvement in nuclear proliferation efforts, which it denied. A European Union court ruled in 2015 that the EU had not given valid reasons for the allegations against IRISL.IRISL''s ambitions to become a big global cargo carrier are constrained by the age of its fleet. It operates 26 ships, worth just $166 million, according to ship valuation company VesselsValue. IRISL placed an order in December for 10 ships with South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd. Those ships would be worth $626 million, according to VesselsValue.If it is still too difficult to hold an IPO in London, Iranian companies, including from the telecommunications sector, could turn instead to Italy''s stock exchange for a potential listing, Iranian sources said.The Italian stock exchange, Milan''s Borsa Italiana, is part of LSE Group. Borsa Italiana declined to comment.For Iran, pressures to show more progress are mounting ahead of the country''s presidential election in May. Hardline opponents say Rouhani has failed to win an economic windfall from his nuclear deal, and some voters are losing patience."Despite Rouhani''s and his government''s efforts, almost all banking transactions are blocked," said one senior Iranian banking official."This will impact the upcoming election and as you see hardliners have been using it against Rouhani in the past few weeks. Without foreign investment and the financial backing of major international banks, Iran''s economy cannot recover."(Editing by Peter Graff)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/iran-lse-banks-idINKBN16K2AK'|'2017-03-13T14:58:00.000+02:00' +'c5f63fcc24bca82f7affe9591421236fe2b0992c'|'Atos-owned Wordline preparing bid Ingenico: report'|'PARIS Worldline, a maker of payment terminals owned by Atos ( ATOS.PA ), is preparing an offer for rival Ingenico ( INGC.PA ), La Lettre de L''Expansion reported on Monday, without citing sources.According to the business newsletter, Worldline intends to propose an agreed acquisition worth 7.5 billion euros to 8 billion euros ($8.1 billion-$8.6 billion).Atos and Ingenico spokespeople could not be reached and did not immediately return calls and messages seeking comment.(Reporting by Laurence Frost; Editing by GV De Clercq)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-m-a-ingenico-group-atos-idINKBN16R0H4'|'2017-03-20T04:24:00.000+02:00' +'c22b5383f08f6eedb5141473da80d9e29462bca3'|'Exclusive: MGM in talks to acquire entirety of Epix - sources'|'By Jessica Toonkel and Liana B. Baker MGM Holdings Inc is in talks to acquire the 81 percent of Epix it does not already own from two of its partners in the premium U.S. channel, Viacom Inc ( VIAB.O ) and Lionsgate LGFA.N, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.The deal would give MGM, a privately held U.S. movie studio best known for its classic film library, control of Epix and would be a boon to its TV business, as it seeks to build a stronger platform to distribute its content.Viacom is looking to sell its 50 percent stake in Epix to help pay down its $12 billion debt load, the sources said.Lionsgate has already said it is exploring options for its close to 32 percent stake in Epix following its $4.4 billion acquisition of pay TV network Starz Entertainment LLC.Under the terms being discussed, Paramount and Lionsgate would continue to distribute their shows and movies through Epix for several years, according to one of the sources, cautioning that there is no certainty an agreement will be reached.Any deal would likely value Epix, which comes with an online streaming service, between $1 billion to $2 billion, the sources added.The sources asked not to be identified because the negotiations are confidential. Representatives for MGM, Epix, Lionsgate and Viacom declined to comment.Famous for its library that includes James Bond, Rocky and other classic movies, MGM co-produces and distributes television shows such as Teen Wolf on MTV, Vikings on A&E and Fargo on FX. It also owns MGM-branded U.S. channels that largely play its films and international networks.Viacom CEO Robert Bakish, who took over as CEO late last year, is looking to turn around the media company''s business, which has underperformed due to lackluster ratings and ad revenue.Bakish told investors at Deutsche Bank''s media and telecommunications conference this week that he is looking to make Viacom''s debt investment grade, and that the company will sell non-strategic assets.Epix, whose shows include "Berlin Station" and "Graves," has about 14 million subscribers, according to research firm SNL Kagan. MGM has been exploring its options for some time following its emergence from bankruptcy six years ago. It is controlled by hedge funds including Anchorage Capital Partners and Highland Capital Partners.(Reporting by Jessica Toonkel in New York and Liana B. Baker in San Francisco; Editing by James Dalgleish)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-viacom-epix-sale-exclusive-idINKBN16G35Y'|'2017-03-09T19:56:00.000+02:00' +'9a807d49d9d9b253370ee96a27565bd7430385a1'|'Exclusive: Neiman Marcus hires debt restructuring adviser - sources'|'Deals - Fri Mar 3, 2017 - 11:04am EST Exclusive: Neiman Marcus hires debt restructuring adviser - sources File Photo: A customer walks by the Neiman Marcus Last Call store in Golden, Colorado January 23, 2014. REUTERS/Rick Wilking U.S. high-end department store chain Neiman Marcus has hired investment bank Lazard Ltd ( LAZ.N ) to explore ways to bolster its balance sheet as it seeks relief from a $4.9 billion debt pile, people familiar with the matter said on Friday. The sources asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential. Neiman Marcus did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while Lazard declined to comment. (Reporting by Lauren Hirsch in New York; Editing by Bernadette Baum) Next In Deals Exclusive: Hudson''s Bay''s bid for Macy''s stumbles - sources Canada''s Hudson''s Bay Co , owner of the Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue retail chains, has yet to line up equity financing for a bid for Macy''s Inc , over a month after approaching its U.S. peer, people familiar with the matter said.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-neimanmarcus-debt-restructuring-idUSKBN16A1VC'|'2017-03-03T23:04:00.000+02:00' +'a8e10799429458c44a040a9643f8cd6006004c59'|'Shares slide and pound rallies as Trump''s healthcare failure rattles markets - business live - Business'|'The City of London, including Tower 42, The Cheesegrater and The Gherkin. Photograph: Tim Robberts/Getty Images Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email View more sharing options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Google+ Share on WhatsApp Share on Messenger Close Graeme Wearden Monday 27 March 2017 07.55 BST First published on Monday 27 March 2017 07.50 BST Key events Show 7.44am BST 07:44 The agenda: Is the Trump trade ailing? Live feed Show 7.44am BST 07:44 The agenda: Is the Trump trade ailing? Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business. World stock markets are starting the new week on the back foot, after Donald Trumps attempts to shake up Americas healthcare system faltered.Investors across the globe are disconcerted by the Republican partys failure to get enough support for its proposal to repeal and replace Obamacare.A crucial vote on the American Health Care Act ( AHCA ) was dramatically postpone on Friday night, after it became clear that it didnt have enough support from Republicans. That has left Trump lashing out at his own side, as well as Democrats, and forced financial traders to reconsider the presidents ability to force through other policies -- such as his pledge of tax cuts and infrastructure spending.Trump blames everyone but himself for failure of GOP healthcare legislation Read more Markets are rattled by the thought that Trump doesnt have the political capital for a deficit-funded tax cuts, says Ben Gutteridge , head of fund research at Brewin Dolphin , on Bloomberg TV a moment ago.Shares have already suffered in Asia, where Japans Nikkei has fallen by 1.5% and Hong Kongs Hang Sent has lost 0.75%.Safe-haven assets such as the Japanese yen, and precious metals, are in demand, as the US dollar takes a hit.The Trump Trade -- bets on a strong US economic recovery and higher inflation -- are under pressure. And European and US stock markets are expected to follow suit today, adding to last Fridays selloff (when the wheels started to come off AHCA).IGSquawk (@IGSquawk) Our European opening calls: $FTSE 7286 down 51$DAX 12007 down 57$CAC 4991 down 30 $IBEX 10260 down 49 $MIB 20081 down 107March 27, 2017 Joe Weisenthal (@TheStalwart) S&P futures are below the lows on Friday when it first started to look like the bill was doomed. https://t.co/dhmbBgMZhG pic.twitter.com/51U91lhbhd March 26, 2017 Also coming up today: We get a new healthcheck on the German economy at 9am, when the latest IFO business confidence survey is released.The European Central Bank is holding its annual press conference on banking supervisionIn the UK, telecoms group BT has just been fined 42m for failing to give its rivals fair access to its network, and for not fairly compensating them for delays:BT fined 42m over delays to high-speed cable installation Read more Updated at 7.55am BST Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close Topics Stock markets Business live Sterling Currencies '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2017/mar/27/shares-slide-pound-rallies-us-dollar-trump-healthcare-failure-rattles-markets-business-live'|'2017-03-27T15:55:00.000+03:00' +'6f9c54c59f530d94aa21fb094ff6eb3cf0cf91d0'|'Canada''s Hydro One in talks to buy Toronto Hydro - sources'|' 10:15pm GMT Canada''s Hydro One in talks to buy Toronto Hydro - sources By John Tilak - TORONTO TORONTO Canada''s Hydro One Ltd ( H.TO ) is in talks to buy municipal electricity distributor Toronto Hydro Corp for about C$3 billion (1.82 billion pounds) as the city of Toronto explores options to finance various infrastructure projects, people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The two companies have been in discussions about the deal for the past few months but the talks have not entered final stages, one of the people said. They cautioned the talks could fall apart. The combined company could generate potential synergies of about C$1 billion, the people added. The city of Toronto, which owns 100 percent of Toronto Hydro, is also exploring other ways to monetize its assets, including by publicly listing Toronto Hydro, as well as by selling its Green P parking business or other real estate assets, one of the people added. The Green P parking asset, which includes a popular app, is likely worth more than C$1 billion, that person said. Toronto Mayor John Tory denied the sales talks are taking place. "I can confirm that no discussions are taking place with respect to the sale of Toronto Hydro to anyone," Tory said in an emailed statement. Canada''s most populous city needs a massive infrastructure upgrade to meet the growing demands of residents. But the city has struggled to raise sufficient funds to finance its rail and road networks. Toronto Hydro has also been under financial pressure as it attempts to make infrastructure investments surrounding its electricity grid. Last November, it cut its dividend to the city of Toronto. A deal would also help Hydro One''s growth ambitions as a public company after it raised C$1.8 billion in one of Canada''s biggest IPOs in 2015. Hydro One, backed by the province of Ontario, has a market value of C$14 billion. Under one proposal, Hydro One would pay about half the deal value in cash and the rest in stock, one of the people said. A cash-and-stock transaction with Hydro One would allow the city to benefit from Hydro One''s dividend as well, the people said. Spokesmen for Hydro One and Toronto Hydro declined to comment. The people declined to be identified as the talks are confidential. The discussions involve Toronto Hydro Chief Executive Anthony Haines, Hydro One CEO Mayo Schmidt, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and Mayor Tory, one of the people said. While the talks are making progress, a successful deal faces significant hurdles as it requires approval of the city council. It would also have to overcome potential opposition from unions. ($1 = 1.3375 Canadian dollars) (Reporting John Tilak in Toronto; Editing by Denny Thomas and Chris Reese) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toronto-hydro-m-a-hydro-one-idUKKBN16B0QR'|'2017-03-05T05:15:00.000+02:00' +'547d4dd71cd000deadebce8dad2a880e896b7cc7'|'H&M first-quarter profit tops forecast, to launch new brand in second half'|'Business News - Thu Mar 30, 2017 - 7:19am BST H&M first-quarter profit tops forecast, to launch new brand in second half FILE PHOTO: People walk past the windows of an H&M store in Barcelona, Spain, December 30, 2016. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo STOCKHOLM Swedish fashion retailer H&M ( HMb.ST ) reported on Thursday a smaller than expected fall in pretax profit for its fiscal first quarter and said it would launch a new separate brand in the second half of the year. Pretax profit in the December-February period fell to 3.21 billion crowns (291 million pounds) from a year-earlier 3.33 billion, against a mean forecast 2.87 billion seen in a Reuters poll of analysts. H&M said local-currency sales increased 7 percent year-on-year in the March 1-28 period. ($1 = 8.8786 Swedish crowns) (Reporting by Anna Ringstrom; editing by Niklas Pollard) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-h-m-results-idUKKBN1710K1'|'2017-03-30T14:19:00.000+03:00' +'a3ae69c48a7dce37fc1988d27df0a20272362fb2'|'Sears warns of ''going concern'' doubts'|'By Ankit Ajmera and Nathan Layne Sears Holdings Corp ( SHLD.O ), once the largest U.S. retailer, warned on Tuesday about its ability to continue as a going concern after years of losses and declining sales."Our historical operating results indicate substantial doubt exists related to the company''s ability to continue as a going concern," Sears said in the annual report for the fiscal year ended Jan. 28. ( bit.ly/2mRUcce )The company said an inability to generate additional liquidity might limit its access to new merchandise or its ability to procure services. Continued operating losses also could restrict access to new funds under its domestic credit agreement, according to the filing.The warning comes less than six weeks after the company announced what it called the "next phase of its strategic transformation," in which it hoped this year to reduce costs by $1 billion and cut its debt and pension obligations by at least $1.5 billion. Sears also is considering selling some of its businesses, such as the Kenmore appliances and DieHard car battery brands.The Sears catalog was an emblem of the post-World War II consumer boom in the United States but the company was unable to adjust the changing retail landscape and rising competition from Wal-Mart Stores ( WMT.N ), Target Corp. ( TGT.N ) and others.The company lost $2.22 billion in the year ended Jan. 28.Since 2013 it has accumulated $7.4 billion in losses and seen revenue fall 44 percent to $22.1 billion. During that time, Sears cut the number of its U.S. stores by nearly a third, reduced holdings in Sears Canada, and spun off the Lands'' End clothing chain.Its total liabilities stand at $13.19 billion.In recent years, Sears has placed some of its stores into a real estate investment trust, sold its Craftsman line of tools, and repeatedly raised debt from billionaire Chief Executive Edward Lampert''s hedge fund.Lampert owned nearly 10 percent of the real-estate investment trust that paid Sears $2.6 billion in 2015 for stores that it purchased, many of which were then leased back to the retailer.The announcement of Sears'' potential demise is a blow to Lampert, a hedge fund investor who took control of Sears after merging it with Kmart, which he controlled, in 2004. He soon published a 15-page manifesto, in which he stated that conventional measures of retail success, such as same-store sales, were no longer relevant. Sears would regain its health by closing struggling stores and focusing instead on profitable sales, he wrote.Sears last turned an annual profit in 2011.The company said last month it would cut costs by $1 billion and reduce debt and pension obligations by at least $1.5 billion this year.Sears said on Tuesday actions taken during the year to boost liquidity, including the $900 million sale of the Craftsman tool brand to power tool maker Stanley Black & Decker Inc ( SWK.N ) early this year, could satisfy its capital needs for the current fiscal year.But the filing also makes clear that additional asset sales could prove problematic.As part of the Craftsman sale, Sears Holdings reached an agreement with the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp. That puts a claim on some Sears'' assets in an effort to protect pensions of retired employees.The agreement "contains certain limitations on our ability to sell assets, which could impact our ability to complete asset sale transactions or our ability to use proceeds from those sales to fund our operations," the company said.Already, the pension board agreement requires Sears to make a $250 million cash payment to its pension plan by March of 2020, and the pension board has a 15-year lien on revenue owed to Sears from future sales of Craftsman products. Sears Holdings Corp ( SHLD.O ), once the largest U.S. retailer, warned on Tuesday about its ability to continue as a going concern after years of losses and declining sales."Our historical operating results indicate substantial doubt exists related to the company''s ability to continue as a going concern," Sears said in the annual report for the fiscal year ended Jan. 28. ( bit.ly/2mRUcce )The company said an inability to generate additional liquidity might limit its access to new merchandise or its ability to procure services. Continued operating losses also could restrict access to new funds under its domestic credit agreement, according to the filing.The warning comes less than six weeks after the company announced what it called the "next phase of its strategic transformation," in which it hoped this year to reduce costs by $1 billion and cut its debt and pension obligations by at least $1.5 billion. Sears also is considering selling some of its businesses, such as the Kenmore appliances and DieHard car battery brands.The Sears catalog was an emblem of the post-World War II consumer boom in the United States but the company was unable to adjust the changing retail landscape and rising competition from Wal-Mart Stores ( WMT.N ), Target Corp. ( TGT.N ) and others.The company lost $2.22 billion in the year ended Jan. 28.Since 2013 it has accumulated $7.4 billion in losses and seen revenue fall 44 percent to $22.1 billion. During that time, Sears cut the number of its U.S. stores by nearly a third, reduced holdings in Sears Canada, and spun off the Lands'' End clothing chain.Its total liabilities stand at $13.19 billion.In recent years, Sears has placed some of its stores into a real estate investment trust, sold its Craftsman line of tools, and repeatedly raised debt from billionaire Chief Executive Edward Lampert''s hedge fund.Lampert owned nearly 10 percent of the real-estate investment trust that paid Sears $2.6 billion in 2015 for stores that it purchased, many of which were then leased back to the retailer.The announcement of Sears'' potential demise is a blow to Lampert, a hedge fund investor who took control of Sears after merging it with Kmart, which he controlled, in 2004. He soon published a 15-page manifesto, in which he stated that conventional measures of retail success, such as same-store sales, were no longer relevant. Sears would regain its health by closing struggling stores and focusing instead on profitable sales, he wrote.Sears last turned an annual profit in 2011.The company said on Tuesday actions taken during the year to boost liquidity, including the $900 million sale of the Craftsman tool brand to power tool maker Stanley Black & Decker Inc ( SWK.N ) early this year, could satisfy its capital needs for the current fiscal year.But the filing also makes clear that additional asset sales could prove problematic.As part of the Craftsman sale, Sears Holdings reached an agreement with the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp. That puts a claim on some Sears'' assets in an effort to protect pensions of retired employees.The agreement "contains certain limitations on our ability to sell assets, which could impact our ability to complete asset sale transactions or our ability to use proceeds from those sales to fund our operations," the company said.Already, the pension board agreement requires Sears to make a $250 million cash payment to its pension plan by March of 2020, and the pension board has a 15-year lien on revenue owed to Sears from future sales of Craftsman products.(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru and Nathan Layne in New York; editing by Jason Neely and Louise Heavens)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-sears-going-concern-idINKBN16S2WG'|'2017-03-22T08:59:00.000+02:00' +'0dedc410984948cc04b6cb9e2ca23d940d00661a'|'Exclusive: Norway''s wealth fund may blacklist firms over emissions, corruption risk'|'By Gwladys Fouche - LYSAKER, Norway LYSAKER, Norway The ethics watchdog for Norway''s $900-billion sovereign wealth fund will recommend this year that the fund exclude or put on a watch list several firms in the oil, cement and steel industries for emitting too much greenhouse gas.Carbon emissions are a new criteria for the fund, which was built up from the proceeds of Norway''s own large oil industry and operates under ethical guidelines set by parliament.The world''s largest sovereign wealth fund, it has shares in 9,000 companies, 1.3 percent of the entire world''s listed equity, giving the decisions it takes to drop or reinstate shareholdings or warn firms considerable weight among investors.The chairman of the fund''s independent Council on Ethics, Johan H. Andresen, acknowledged in an interview what he called the "duality" of a fund based on oil divesting over emissions, but said his job was to execute rather than set a mandate.The fund may also exclude several firms in the defense, telecoms and arms industries this year over the risk of corruption, he said.The council''s recommendations go to the board of the central bank, which usually follows its advice.Speaking in an interview ahead of publication of the council''s annual report on Thursday, Andresen said it was already working on the first recommendation over emissions, expected to come by July."It will be a company either in the oil or concrete industry ... We have to start with the worst and make our way through the industries," he said, adding that there would be a "small handful" of recommendations to the board in 2017.The 55-year-old Norwegian, who also owns private investment vehicle Ferd, said the ethics panel would open a probe into the risk of corruption in the pharmaceuticals sector and investigate possible human rights abuses among firms recruiting staff for work in the Gulf States - including a "well known Western" firm.It will also investigate reported abuses in the textile industry in India and Bangladesh.The fund has stakes of more than 2 percent in 1,158 companies, more than 5 percent in 28 companies and an average stake holding in Europe of 2.3 percent. Such a wide spread makes it difficult to identify which companies it is investigating."BAD APPLES"The ethics procedure was launched at the start of the millennium and 65 companies are presently excluded on recommendations by the Council on Ethics, on various grounds. Another 69 companies are excluded directly by the central bank based on their dependence on thermal coal.The fund sells shares in any company it wishes to drop gradually, before any announcement, but being dropped or named as a source of concern can damage a company''s investment image. Andresen said the main aim was to remove the ethical risk.The fund is forbidden by law from investing in firms that produce nuclear weapons or landmines, or are involved in serious and systematic human rights violations, among other criteria.Following a three-year study on the risk of corruption in the telecoms, defense and energy industries, the council has sent up several recommendations to the board of the central bank to either exclude or observe companies in these sectors."They have the same type of risk elements: large contracts, government as a counterpart, lack of transparency/desire to keep things secret and a large number of middlemen. When you add them, they constitute a greater risk of corruption," Andresen said.The pharmaceuticals industry has the same elements of risk, he said. "We have received indications that there is a risk of corruption. We have enough indications to take a strong look."The council will also look into reports by rights groups of slavery-like conditions for North Koreans employed by companies in Eastern Europe, mostly in the manufacturing of heavy goods.On the issue of recruitment for work in the Gulf States from other parts of Asia, Andresen said he was optimistic over the process of talks with the Western company he mentioned."I am hopeful that they see it in their interest to change their practices and that it may be an impetus for other companies to follow. It is a well-known actor. It would be a great signal to others that this practice ended."Last year the council looked into the construction industry in Qatar - host of the 2022 soccer World Cup - and neighboring countries, after reports of abuse by human rights groups."Authorities in Qatar have issued new regulations forcing companies to better their practices, with more decent living and working conditions and the ability for a worker to keep his/her passport," he said. "I had anticipated a larger number of exclusions, but several companies show some progress."Andresen cited one unnamed firm which he said had reported reducing its corruption risk and also saving money by cutting the number of middlemen."Others are much more, ''let''s just see what happens, we don''t think we are guilty, these were some bad apples''."(Editing by Philippa Fletcher)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-norway-swf-ethics-idINKBN16G0YQ'|'2017-03-09T06:39:00.000+02:00' +'385065208240e6eb01dff6d8f6ffb522372626bb'|'U.S. 30-year mortgage rate falls to four-week low - Freddie Mac'|'NEW YORK, March 30 U.S. 30-year mortgage rates declined to their lowest in four weeks in step with Treasury yields, which fell on concerns about the ability of U.S. President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress to enact tax reforms, according to mortgage finance agency Freddie Mac on Thursday.The borrowing cost on 30-year mortgages, the most widely held type of U.S. home loan, averaged 4.14 percent in the week ended March 30, which was the lowest since 4.10 percent in the March 2 week. This compared with the prior week''s 4.23 percent, it said. (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-mortgages-freddiemac-idINW1N1GZ2A3'|'2017-03-30T12:20:00.000+03:00' +'9c5ccdb11395e5b7583b4b8090deb990b1fe74fa'|'Exclusive: Norway''s wealth fund may blacklist firms over emissions, corruption risk'|'Business News - Thu Mar 9, 2017 - 4:14am EST Exclusive: Norway''s wealth fund may blacklist firms over emissions, corruption risk Norwegian investor Johan H. Andresen, the head of the Council on Ethics for the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund, poses for a picture at the Councils office in Oslo, Norway March 8, 2016. REUTERS/Gwladys Fouche By Gwladys Fouche - LYSAKER, Norway LYSAKER, Norway The ethics watchdog for Norway''s $900-billion sovereign wealth fund will recommend this year that the fund exclude or put on a watch list several firms in the oil, cement and steel industries for emitting too much greenhouse gas. Carbon emissions are a new criteria for the fund, which was built up from the proceeds of Norway''s own large oil industry and operates under ethical guidelines set by parliament. The world''s largest sovereign wealth fund, it has shares in 9,000 companies, 1.3 percent of the entire world''s listed equity, giving the decisions it takes to drop or reinstate shareholdings or warn firms considerable weight among investors. The chairman of the fund''s independent Council on Ethics, Johan H. Andresen, acknowledged in an interview what he called the "duality" of a fund based on oil divesting over emissions, but said his job was to execute rather than set a mandate. The fund may also exclude several firms in the defense, telecoms and arms industries this year over the risk of corruption, he said. The council''s recommendations go to the board of the central bank, which usually follows its advice. Speaking in an interview ahead of publication of the council''s annual report on Thursday, Andresen said it was already working on the first recommendation over emissions, expected to come by July. "It will be a company either in the oil or concrete industry ... We have to start with the worst and make our way through the industries," he said, adding that there would be a "small handful" of recommendations to the board in 2017. The 55-year-old Norwegian, who also owns private investment vehicle Ferd, said the ethics panel would open a probe into the risk of corruption in the pharmaceuticals sector and investigate possible human rights abuses among firms recruiting staff for work in the Gulf States - including a "well known Western" firm. It will also investigate reported abuses in the textile industry in India and Bangladesh. The fund has stakes of more than 2 percent in 1,158 companies, more than 5 percent in 28 companies and an average stake holding in Europe of 2.3 percent. Such a wide spread makes it difficult to identify which companies it is investigating. "BAD APPLES" The ethics procedure was launched at the start of the millennium and 65 companies are presently excluded on recommendations by the Council on Ethics, on various grounds. Another 69 companies are excluded directly by the central bank based on their dependence on thermal coal. The fund sells shares in any company it wishes to drop gradually, before any announcement, but being dropped or named as a source of concern can damage a company''s investment image. Andresen said the main aim was to remove the ethical risk. The fund is forbidden by law from investing in firms that produce nuclear weapons or landmines, or are involved in serious and systematic human rights violations, among other criteria. Following a three-year study on the risk of corruption in the telecoms, defense and energy industries, the council has sent up several recommendations to the board of the central bank to either exclude or observe companies in these sectors. "They have the same type of risk elements: large contracts, government as a counterpart, lack of transparency/desire to keep things secret and a large number of middlemen. When you add them, they constitute a greater risk of corruption," Andresen said. The pharmaceuticals industry has the same elements of risk, he said. "We have received indications that there is a risk of corruption. We have enough indications to take a strong look." The council will also look into reports by rights groups of slavery-like conditions for North Koreans employed by companies in Eastern Europe, mostly in the manufacturing of heavy goods. On the issue of recruitment for work in the Gulf States from other parts of Asia, Andresen said he was optimistic over the process of talks with the Western company he mentioned. "I am hopeful that they see it in their interest to change their practices and that it may be an impetus for other companies to follow. It is a well-known actor. It would be a great signal to others that this practice ended." Last year the council looked into the construction industry in Qatar - host of the 2022 soccer World Cup - and neighboring countries, after reports of abuse by human rights groups. "Authorities in Qatar have issued new regulations forcing companies to better their practices, with more decent living and working conditions and the ability for a worker to keep his/her passport," he said. "I had anticipated a larger number of exclusions, but several companies show some progress." Andresen cited one unnamed firm which he said had reported reducing its corruption risk and also saving money by cutting the number of middlemen. "Others are much more, ''let''s just see what happens, we don''t think we are guilty, these were some bad apples''." (Editing by Philippa Fletcher) Samsung Group chief denies all charges as ''trial of the century'' begins SEOUL The head of South Korea''s Samsung Group, Jay Y. Lee, denies all charges against him, his lawyer said on Thursday, at the start of what the special prosecutor said could be the "trial of the century" amid a political scandal that has rocked the country.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-norway-swf-ethics-idUSKBN16G0YQ'|'2017-03-09T16:14:00.000+02:00' +'62b3a7fde62b87107d8c3a27e7bd35804eca3bc8'|'EU''s Vestager says analysing Facebook reply to WhatsApp probe'|' 57pm GMT EU''s Vestager says analysing Facebook reply to WhatsApp probe A 3D printed Whatsapp logo is seen in front of a displayed stock graph in this illustration taken April 28, 2016. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration The European Commission in December last year said Facebook''s statements during the regulator''s scrutiny of the $22 billion (17.65 billion pounds) deal in 2014 were incorrect when it said that it was unable reliably to match the two companies'' user accounts. However, this was technically possible at that time, the EU Competition Commissioner said, giving Facebook until Jan. 31 to defend itself. "We have now got the reply from Facebook and we are now analysing it," Vestager told lawmakers during a European Parliament hearing. The company faces a fine of as much as 1 percent of its global turnover, or about $179 million based on 2015 revenues. Microsoft was hit with a 561 million euro (487.15 million pounds) penalty in 2013 for breaking an antitrust promise to regulators, underlining how serious the Commission views procedural breaches. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Ken Ferris) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-whatsapp-m-a-facebook-eu-idUKKBN16T25S'|'2017-03-22T22:57:00.000+02:00' +'639c85fed5827496e233d8faa49e7d79451e1475'|'British bonds buoyed by Brexit risks, but prone to inflation burn'|'Business News - Tue Mar 28, 2017 - 7:21am EDT British bonds buoyed by Brexit risks, but prone to inflation burn FILE PHOTO: City workers walk past the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain, March 29, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo By Dhara Ranasinghe and Andy Bruce - LONDON LONDON Fast-rising inflation and growing talk of tighter monetary policy from the Bank of England may spell the end of a winning streak for British gilts, among the best performers in major government bond markets this year. Yields on 20- GB20YT=RR and 30-year gilts GB30YT=RR neared five-month lows on Monday, contrasting with short-dated yields which last week notched up their biggest one-week rise since early January as inflation sailed past the BoE''s 2 percent target. Such low yields -- resulting from bond price rises -- for long-dated paper in part reflect doubt about how Britain''s economy will perform after the country leaves the European Union and therefore the ultimate outlook for inflation and interest rates. Only Japan, still struggling to generate sustained inflation, has a flatter yield curve than Britain''s among major economies. Britain''s yield curve is at its flattest since October, with the gap between two- and 30-year gilt yields standing at around just 157 basis points. But many strategists think the inflation burn is being underestimated and that yields will rise. Real or inflation adjusted long-term yields, assuming the BoE meets its 2 percent target over that time, are negative out to 50 years. The latest Reuters poll of economists predicts consumer price inflation will near 3 percent late this year -- but previous bouts of high inflation in 2008 and 2011 suggest this may be a conservative estimate. "The gilts market is the biggest (yield) steepening trade we could bet on right now," Kevin Gaynor, head of international research at Nomura, told a fixed income roundtable earlier this month. "The inflation picture is going to be much worse than expected." Rising inflation is usually bad news for bonds, which fall in value as interest rates rise. A Reuters poll published last week suggested the 10-year gilt yield GB10YT=RR will rise to around 1.67 percent in a year''s time from 1.175 percent now. But some strategists thought 2.0 percent or higher is likely. [US/INT] One Bank of England policymaker, Kristin Forbes, voted to raise rates this month because of growing inflationary pressures and others said they were close to joining her -- although the majority view was to tolerate above-target inflation for now. Britain isn''t the only advanced economy where economic data and inflation numbers are prompting investors to reassess the monetary policy outlook. The European Central Bank has said its sense of urgency to prop up euro zone growth is over and money markets have started to factor in a rate rise in the bloc by year-end. The U.S. Federal Reserve hiked rates on March 15 after a string of hawkish comments from officials that triggered a rapid turnaround in expectations for a move this month. But the inflation outlook for Britain looks particularly acute, with a rise in energy prices compounded by the pound''s near-20 percent fall against the dollar since June''s Brexit vote. Last month consumer prices rose 2.3 percent year-on-year, faster than expected. VULNERABLE Gilts are one of the only major bond markets globally to deliver positive returns this year. Ten-year yields GB10YT=RR are down 7 basis points this year. That compares with a rise of almost 20 bps in German and Swiss yields, while U.S. and Japanese yields are little changed from where they ended 2016. For some bond fund managers, Brexit risks and the uncertainty hanging over the economy remain a reason to hold onto gilts. Bonds often benefit from an environment where investors view economic growth prospects as weak. "I do think they offer a good hedge to Brexit risks," said David Zahn, a portfolio manager who runs Franklin Templeton''s European fixed income strategies, which total around 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion). But some temporary factors that have supported gilt prices recently are likely to fade. The BoE has completed its gilt purchases as part of its "sledgehammer" stimulus plan designed to counter the shock of June''s Brexit vote. Overseas central banks and sovereign wealth funds devoured gilts late last year to top up sterling portfolios battered in dollar terms by the pound''s post-Brexit vote plunge, but BoE data for January hinted at a reversal of this trend. Pension funds have also been big buyers of gilts recently. Official data show gilt holdings by insurers and pension funds stood at about 28 percent of the total in the third quarter of 2016 - the highest proportion since the final quarter of 2011. But such funds, which need a fixed income stream to match payouts, typically make extra purchases of gilts to invest unallocated funds ahead of the end of the British financial year in April. "The BoE has finished buying and we''re coming out of Q1 - which potentially means (pension fund) buying is set to tail off," said Societe Generale rates strategist Jason Simpson. "This, to me, leaves long-dated gilts looking vulnerable". (Graphics by Nigel Stephenson and Alasdair Pal; Editing by Jeremy Gaunt) Next In Business News Exclusive: Citigroup to seek bids for Asia general insurance distribution deal - source SINGAPORE Citigroup Inc will seek bids from global insurers keen to sell general insurance products across the U.S. bank''s Asia-Pacific markets, in a deal that could be worth at least $500 million, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. DUBAI Amazon.com has agreed to buy Middle East online retailer Souq.com, thwarting a last-minute bid by Dubai billionaire Mohamed Alabbar''s Emaar Malls . MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-bonds-analysis-idUSKBN16Z1C0'|'2017-03-28T19:21:00.000+03:00' +'39b128a171241e0263c06dfbfc04fad4a114b2cc'|'VW has spent $2.9 billion on U.S. buybacks: court document'|'U.S. - Tue Feb 28, 2017 - 6:53pm EST VW has spent $2.9 billion on U.S. buybacks: court document FILE PHOTO: A Volkswagen logo is pictured at Volkswagen''s headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany, April 22, 2016. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke/File Photo - RTS10726 By David Shepardson - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Volkswagen AG has paid $2.9 billion to repurchase nearly 138,000 U.S. diesel vehicles through Feb. 18 in the wake of its emissions scandal, a court document made public on Tuesday shows. The report by an independent claims supervisor said the German automaker is buying back and terminating leases on about 15,000 vehicles a week. VW has made offers to buyback vehicles or cancel leases to 323,179 U.S. consumers totaling $5.86 billion, it said. VW agreed last year to spend up to $10.03 billion to buy back up to 487,000 polluting 2.0-liter vehicles that have software that allowed them to evade emissions rules in testing. Earlier this month, a federal judge granted preliminary approval to a plan for Volkswagen to pay at least $1.22 billion to fix or buy back a separate group of vehicles - nearly 80,000 polluting 3.0-liter diesel vehicles. The 3.0 liter vehicles have an undeclared auxiliary emissions system that allowed the vehicles to emit up to nine times allowable limits. Volkswagen could be forced to pay up to $4.04 billion if regulators do not approve fixes for all 3.0-liter luxury Porsche, Audi and VW diesel vehicles in the settlement. U.S. Judge Charles Breyer will hold a hearing on May 11 on whether to grant final approval to the proposal. In total, VW has now agreed to spend up to $25 billion in the United States to address claims from owners, environmental regulators, states and dealers and to make buyback offers. Volkswagen is set to plead guilty on March 10 in Detroit to three felony counts under a plea agreement to resolve U.S. charges it installed secret software in vehicles to allow them to emit pollution up to 40 times the legal limit. As part of a $4.3 billion settlement with U.S. regulators, VW agreed to sweeping reforms, new audits and oversight by an independent monitor for three years to resolve diesel emissions-cheating investigations. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Alan Crosby) Next In U.S.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-idUSKBN1672RV'|'2017-03-01T06:53:00.000+02:00' +'87983a626daebe07896827c8478ed9ca0324fb90'|'Best-paid former BHS executives gain most from Green''s pension deal - UK lawmakers'|'Business News - Tue Mar 21, 2017 - 12:06am GMT Best-paid former BHS executives gain most from Green''s pension deal - UK lawmakers left right A woman walks past the Wood Green branch of department store chain BHS, after its final closure, in London, Britain August 28, 2016. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO:British billionaire and CEO of the Arcadia Group Philip Green smiles as he attends the opening ceremony of a Topshop flagship store in Hong Kong June 6, 2013. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo 2/2 LONDON British retail tycoon Philip Green''s deal with the regulator to plug a hole in the pension schemes of collapsed department store BHS will see a small number of the highest-paid former managers benefit the most, a parliamentary committee said on Tuesday. A report by the lower House of Commons'' Work and Pensions Committee also found billionaire Green could receive a 15 million pound ($18.6 million) refund from the 363 million pounds payment he made to the BHS pension schemes last month. Green owned BHS for 15 years before he sold the loss-making 180-store chain to Dominic Chappell, a serial bankrupt with no retail experience, for one pound in 2015. BHS went into administration in April 2016. Some 11,000 jobs were lost. In a July report, lawmakers accused Green of greed and disregard for corporate governance that led to the collapse of BHS. Green said the report was biased and unfair. Green''s deal with the pensions regulator gave the 19,000 members of the BHS pension schemes the option of the same starting pension they were originally promised by BHS, and higher benefits than they would get from the lifeboat scheme, the Pension Protection Fund (PPF). Alternatively, scheme members could opt for a lump sum payment if eligible or remain in their current scheme and receive benefits from the PPF. The lump sum option is available to members with small pots of up to 18,000 pounds in value. On Tuesday, lawmakers said their analysis showed those who did best were the 16 people with the best pensions, while some pensioners would receive less than 80 percent of what they would have received under BHS scheme rules. They also found that, if there was a 90 percent take-up of the lump sum payment option, Green gets a 15 million pound refund. I hope Sir Philip will recycle any refund back into the scheme as BHS pensioners will still be facing cuts in the benefits for which they paid," said Frank Field, chair of the committee and long time critic of Green. It is also clear that Sir Philip prioritised his loyal senior managers, who have had the PPF cap on high pension benefits completely removed," he said. A spokesman for Green declined to comment on the report. ($1 = 0.8078 pounds) (Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Edmund Blair) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-retail-bhs-pensions-idUKKBN16S001'|'2017-03-21T07:06:00.000+02:00' +'ee7bab0c47aa009f31b21ab4eb2b4fc7cc42faef'|'OPEC leans towards oil cut extension, but non-members need to be in - sources'|'Global Energy News - Mon Mar 20, 2017 - 2:56pm GMT OPEC leans towards oil cut extension, but non-members need to be in - sources FILE PHOTO - A flag with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) logo is seen before a news conference at OPEC''s headquarters in Vienna, Austria, December 10, 2016. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader/File Photo By Rania El Gamal and Alex Lawler - DUBAI/LONDON DUBAI/LONDON OPEC oil producers increasingly favour extending beyond June a pact on reducing crude supply to balance the market, sources within the group said, although Russia and other non-members need to remain part of the initiative. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is curbing its output by about 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) from Jan. 1 for six months, the first reduction in eight years. Russia and other non-OPEC producers agreed to cut half as much. The deal has lifted oil prices LCOc1, but inventories in industrial nations are rising and higher returns have encouraged U.S. companies to pump more. A growing number of OPEC officials believe it may take longer than six months to reduce stocks. "An extension is needed to balance the market," an OPEC delegate said. "Any extension of the cut agreement should be with non-OPEC." OPEC sources told Reuters in February that the group could extend the supply-reduction pact, or even apply deeper cuts from July, if inventories fail to drop to a targeted level. The group wants stocks in the industrialised world to fall to the average of the past five years. According to the most recent data, for January, inventories of crude and refined products stood 278 million barrels above this level. Five other OPEC sources said it was increasingly clear that the market needed more than six months to stabilise but added that all producers - in OPEC plus non-members - had to agree. "The ministers will meet in May to decide, but everyone has to be on board," an OPEC source from a major producer said. OPEC next meets to decide output policy on May 25 in Vienna. There will also be a gathering in May of OPEC and non-OPEC producers, OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo said last month. "Hard negotiations are on the way," another one of the sources said. Russia, the largest of the 11 outside producers working with OPEC, has not publicly said whether it supports extending the supply cut, but is wary about the revival of U.S. shale output due to higher oil prices. "It''s too early to know whether everyone will agree to this," a source from a non-OPEC participant in the deal said, referring to prolonging the output curb. The revival of shale oil production - whose growth added to the oversupply that battered oil prices in mid-2014 - has restrained the rally this year and may worry OPEC leaders. OPEC ministers and sources, however, have said they don''t see a large rebound in 2017. One OPEC source said shale production was expected to grow by about 300,000 bpd this year - a level the market could accommodate. "OPEC heavyweights such as Saudi Arabia are not happy with the return of shale oil in full force and have to make a hard choice between losing part of their market share or steady income," said a source from a major non-Gulf OPEC producer. "They will more likely opt for income and will push to get help from non-OPEC." (Editing by Dale Hudson) Saudi king''s Asia tour trumpets Aramco''s moves downstream SINGAPORE Saudi King Salman''s lavish tour of Asia, arriving in each country on a golden escalator with 400 tonnes of luggage, had a hardnosed marketing mission - to cement the kingdom''s place as leading oil supplier to the world''s biggest consumer region.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-opec-cuts-extension-idUKKBN16R1PC'|'2017-03-20T21:56:00.000+02:00' +'49670233b100c85a927e50d911cf6b2a3991c257'|'UPDATE 1-WH Group chief cautious over Smithfield China expansion due to pork glut'|'Deals - Tue Mar 7, 2017 - 5:09am EST WH Group chief cautious over Smithfield China expansion due to pork glut File Photo: Some of the products of WH Group are displayed in front of maps of China (L) and the United States at a news conference on the company''s IPO in Hong Kong April 14, 2014. REUTERS/Bobby Yip By Dominique Patton - BEIJING BEIJING China''s WH Group Ltd ( 0288.HK ) will be cautious about expanding Smithfield''s pork processing operations in China due to over-capacity in the world''s biggest pork market, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Wan Long said in an interview on Tuesday. Speaking on the sidelines of parliament''s annual meeting, Wan said he expects pork prices to fall to an average of 14 yuan to 15 yuan ($4.20) per kilogram this year after hitting a record high in 2016. WH Group bought U.S.-based Smithfield Food Inc [SFII.UL], the world''s biggest pork producer, in 2013 for almost $5 billion. "Over-capacity in China is not only in heavy industry, but also the food industry suffers from this problem, so we will expand according to the Chinese market situation," Wan said. He said he expects WH Group''s imports of U.S. pork to China to increase this year from 300,000 tonnes in 2016. (Reporting by Dominique Patton; Writing by Josephine Mason; Editing by Christian Schmollinger) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-pork-whgroup-idUSKBN16E12C'|'2017-03-07T17:02:00.000+02:00' +'1c8b6e7cda83ffa06fc8e6d5d181f3ab97298062'|'Fiat Chrysler still trying to resolve U.S. diesel emissions issue'|'Business News - Tue Mar 7, 2017 - 9:53pm GMT Fiat Chrysler still trying to resolve U.S. diesel emissions issue A screen displays the ticker information for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV at the post where it''s traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., January 12, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid By Agnieszka Flak and David Shepardson - GENEVA/WASHINGTON GENEVA/WASHINGTON Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV ( FCHA.MI ) is still trying to win U.S. approval to sell 2017 diesel models as the U.S. government decides whether to take legal action, Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said on Tuesday. In January, the Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board (CARB) accused the Italian-American automaker of illegally using hidden software to allow excess diesel emissions from 104,000 U.S. trucks and SUVs. The EPA has refused to grant Fiat Chrysler (FCA) approval to sell 2017 diesel models. "We have been dealing with the EPA and CARB, we have engaged legal counsel. The only thing I can tell you is that we continue to work with the agencies to try and resolve this," Marchionne told reporters at the Geneva auto show. "We continue to offer full cooperation to the agency to try get this issue resolved. I think my main objective now is to get certification for the 2017 models," he said. Last week, the U.S. Justice Department told a judicial panel in a previously unreported filing that the government "continues to consider whether to commence judicial proceedings in connection with the violations alleged" by the EPA. The filing said Fiat Chrysler''s actions "may have violated other federal laws as well. The United States may well become involved in litigation with FCA regarding this matter to vindicate important environmental and other federal interests." The EPA is continuing to "evaluate certification of new model year 2017 vehicles," the filing said. Marchionne said Tuesday if the automaker wins certification for the 2017 models, then "I think we can take that solution and apply it back to the 2014''s to 2016 cars." Marchionne said he did not raise the company''s diesel emissions issue with President Donald Trump when he met with auto CEOs in January. Fiat Chrysler said it faces at least nine civil lawsuits in five states related to the emissions issue. A judicial panel will hold a March 30 hearing to decide whether the cases should be consolidated before a single judge. Last week, FCA disclosed that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and some state attorneys general are investigating emissions issues. Reuters reported the Justice Department has been investigating FCA for more than six months. A person briefed on the matter said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman issued a subpoena to FCA and is leading a multi-state investigation. Marchionne in January rejected the EPA''s allegations, saying there was no wrongdoing and the company never attempted to create software to cheat emissions rules. The EPA announcement followed closer scrutiny of automakers after Volkswagen AG ( VOWG_p.DE ) admitted to cheating diesel emissions tests in 580,000 U.S. vehicles. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Leslie Adler) Next In Business News Global stocks slip, U.S. dollar firm on Fed outlook NEW YORK A measure of major stock markets around the globe slipped on Tuesday, with the Dow and S&P 500 on pace for their first back-to-back losses in more than a month, while expectations the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates supported the U.S. dollar. Confronted by market doubts, Federal Reserve drove March rate rise expectations NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO Early last week, financial markets saw just a 30 percent chance of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates in March; but by Friday after a striking series of comments from Fed officials, including Chair Janet Yellen, traders saw an 80 percent chance. BRUSSELS The European Union cannot yet assess how much Britain should be asked to pay Brussels when it quits the bloc, as much will have to be settled by negotiation, the EU''s chief auditor has told European lawmakers. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-fiat-chrysler-emissions-idUKKBN16E2UB'|'2017-03-08T04:53:00.000+02:00' +'15e1720dc551abcf72f213a6e6b97714d341bcad'|'U.S.-Japan talks should avoid fiscal, monetary policy: Amari'|'Business News 48am EST U.S.-Japan talks should avoid fiscal, monetary policy: Amari Japan''s Economics Minister Akira Amari speaks during a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, January 28, 2016. REUTERS/Yuya Shino By Kaori Kaneko and Ami Miyazaki - TOKYO TOKYO Japan and the United States should avoid trying to interfere with each other''s fiscal and monetary policies when they start bilateral economic talks next month, former Japanese economy minister Akira Amari said on Monday. Amari, who led Japan''s negotiation team on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which was essentially scuttled when President Donald Trump pulled the United States out, said the two nations needed to conduct talks with an eye towards emerging markets and the world as a whole. Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed last month to launch a bilateral economic dialogue to discuss trade and infrastructure investment. Japan, concerned about Trump''s strident comments about trade and currencies, hopes to use the talks to seek ways to avoid trade friction and ensure Washington is engaged in the Asia-Pacific region. Asked about the possibility that the U.S. may make demands regarding Japan''s fiscal and monetary policy, Amari told Reuters in an interview: "One nation should not meddle with another nation in areas where sovereign and independent rights exist." (Reporting by Kaori Kaneko and Ami Miyazaki, additional reporting by Takashi Umekawa, Editing by William Mallard) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-usa-economy-idUSKBN16D0JV'|'2017-03-06T13:48:00.000+02:00' +'ea3acb19ad0240de72687f31d27c38a6323fb7fa'|'China''s first-quarter GDP growth seen at 6.8 percent: government think tank'|'Business News 11:05am EDT China''s first-quarter GDP growth seen at 6.8 percent: government think tank A Chinese flag is seen near a construction site in Beijing''s central business area, China, January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee HONG KONG China''s economy, the world''s second largest, will likely expand 6.8 percent in the first quarter of 2017, the official Xinhua agency quoted a government think tank as saying on Wednesday. The expected pace is on par with the 6.8 percent growth logged in the fourth quarter, which was better than market expectations due to higher government spending and record bank lending. The National Academy of Economic Strategy attributed the first-quarter expansion to a strong rise in factory-gate prices, rebounding corporate profits and increasing imports, Xinhua said. "The focus of macro-economic policies should be in supply-side structural reforms to boost potential output in the long run," Wang Hongju, a researcher at the academy, was quoted by Xinhua as saying. In the first half of the year, GDP will grow by 6.7 percent. Industrial production is likely to increase moderately in the second quarter, while investment sees slightly slower growth, according to the think tank. It warned that the government should guard against risks in the property and financial sectors by properly managing monetary and land supply "floodgates", Xinhua said. (Reporting by Meg Shen in Hong Kong and Lee Chyen Yee in Singapore; editing by Andrew Roche) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-gdp-idUSKBN170275'|'2017-03-29T23:05:00.000+03:00' +'19ab35aa2383f65eb5f47cc16ee9cfcb57050b93'|'Tata Consultancy says plans to step up local hiring in U.S.'|'Money News - Thu Mar 23, 2017 - 8:43pm IST Tata Consultancy says plans to step up local hiring in U.S. Logos of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) are displayed at the venue of the annual general meeting of the software services provider in Mumbai, June 29, 2012. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash/Files By Elias Glenn - BOAO, China BOAO, China India''s top software services exporter Tata Consultancy Services will step up local hiring in the United States and has no plans to cut investments there as it continues to expect robust growth from its biggest overseas market. "In the last four or five years, we have been recruiting heavily in the U.S.," Girish Ramachandran, head of Asia Pacific region of TCS, told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia in China''s Hainan province. "We are planning to increase the number of recruitments we have in these markets." TCS, which earns about 50 percent of its revenue from the United States, continues to remain bullish about its prospects in the country as the consumption of IT services remains very high. "U.S. is the largest market and we expect that to continue to be the largest market," Ramachandran said. India''s $150 billion information technology (IT) sector has been bracing for a reform of the distribution of H1-B visas required for the United States under President Donald Trump''s administration. Indian IT firms use H-1B visa to fly engineers and developers to the United States temporarily to service clients. Companies see increased local hiring and acquisitions as way to beat any immigration challenge. On China, Ramachandran said large Chinese enterprises with global ambitions presented a good opportunity for software services companies such as TCS as they scout for IT partners. Traditionally TCS has worked for China''s multinationals but domestic businesses have given the company good business, he said, without giving details. "The last few years, China has had growth rates that are better that what weve been doing globally," Ramachandran said. "And we expect that trend to continue." (Writing by Sankalp Phartiyal. Editing by Jane Merriman) Next In Money News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/china-boao-tcs-idINKBN16U23E'|'2017-03-23T22:13:00.000+02:00' +'8400ebc10db658b01466022296754a0a1fd00ebd'|'Brexit leads cosmetics firm Lush to look for expansion outside UK'|'Lush has threatened to focus its planned expansion outside the UK because of the governments lack of clarity over Brexit.The British cosmetics firm said it is exploring options for growth abroad, blaming the government for not having a viable exit plan. It also revealed that more than 80 of its staff took up an offer to move to its new factory in Germany as a direct reaction to the result.The company, based in Poole, Dorset, said last years referendum sent shockwaves through the business, in particular the 20% of its staff who do not hold British citizenship who suddenly felt unwelcome and understandably upset.Lush, known for its fizzing bath bombs and ethical approach, offered those wishing to leave the country after the vote positions in its new factory in Dusseldorf, with more than 80 staff to date having taken the opportunity to move.In a statement, the company said its focus in 2017 is to look after and invest in its staff, particularly in the current political climate. The group also warned that leaving the EU would mean higher taxes and could jeopardise expansion in Britain.The statement said: To date Lush has flourished from the freedom of movement of people and goods, and now we face uncertainty in both of these areas. The negotiation of new trade agreements could take years, but the risk is that we will be paying more import duties across the business.With Britain close to full employment and with a severe skills shortage we are concerned that restrictions on free movement of people will impact the availability of both the skilled and the unskilled restricting future growth in both our UK manufacturing and buying facilities.Having opened our new Germany manufacturing facility during the year we will be reviewing other options for growth outside of the UK. With little clarity on the governments approach to the implementation of Brexit this remains a key uncertainty for the business going forward.In Poole, where Lush is headquartered, 58% of voters opted to leave. The company employs around 1,400 people in the Dorset town and 4,057 in the UK as a whole. About a third of those employed in Poole and 20% of its UK employees (782) are not British citizens.Immediately following the vote, co-founder Mark Constantine expressed grave concern and a sense of sadness at the loss of opportunity.The company, which has 928 stores across 49 countries globally, has not suffered so far as a result of the vote. Its annual results continued to show growth in both sales and profits.Brand turnover rose 26% to 723.3m and group turnover rose 21% to 394.9m in the year ended 30 June 2016. Lush said pre-tax profit for the year to 30 June rose 76% to 43.2m, despite troubles in its Japan operations.In terms of trading it said it had not noticed a material impact on UK revenues since the Brexit vote, and higher costs of raw material imports a result of sterling weakness were being offset by the cheaper cost of exports.It also confirmed it would be paying the living wage, as set by the Living Wage Foundation, for all UK permanent staff from April 2017, and would be increasing parental leave and childcare funding benefits.Topics Business Makeup EU referendum and Brexit European Union Trade policy Living wage '|'theguardian.com'|'https://www.theguardian.com/uk/business'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/mar/13/brexit-leads-cosmetics-firm-lush-to-look-for-expansion-outside-uk'|'2017-03-14T03:00:00.000+02:00' +'abfd1d7e218cfacead03a0578c4b41bf93c1c404'|'Is an Isa the best home for your nest egg? - Money'|'Y ou only have until 5 April to take advantage of your 15,240 Isa allowance. So should you be investing your cash in an Isa? And if so, what type should go for cash, investment or the more risky innovative option? Read on for the what, how, where and why of IsasIsas are accounts on which you will never have to pay tax . During the current tax year you can put 15,240 into an Isa and leave it there forever, and the interest or capital gains are free from tax. In extreme cases, some husband-and-wife couples have been able to build up 1m in Isas , with all the money they generate being tax-free.There are three types of Isas cash, investment, and innovative. The cash ones are deposit accounts paying interest; the investment ones allow you to put the money into shares or funds; while the innovative finance Isa is new and lets you put the money into higher-risk peer-to-peer platforms. You dont have to put all the money with one provider, and you can save up to 15,240 in one type of Isa account or split the allowance across two or three types.Your money could be at risk . Cash Isas are the safest, with deposits up to 85,000 protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). If investment Isas go down in value its bad luck, there is no safety net. The innovative finance Isas, meanwhile, do not have any FSCS protection.If you are a first-time buyer aged 18-40, the new Lifetime Isa , launching on 6 April, is great news. You can put in up to 4,000 a year and the government will add a 25% bonus on top. So if you save the full 4,000 youll have 5,000. If youre a couple that equates to 10,000 for an 8,000 deposit. Nothing beats it but you can only spend the money on buying a home, and must never have owned a home before.You can open an Isa with a whole range of financial institutions banks, building societies, fund managers and so on. You can take your money out of an Isa at any time, and with some you can take out cash then put it back in during the same tax year without reducing the current years allowance.You can transfer your Isa at any time. So if the bank where you opened a cash Isa a few years ago has cut its interest rates, youre free to move the money all or part of it to another provider.One reason not to open a cash Isa is that interest on all savings is now automatically paid tax-free. You can earn up to 1,000 interest per year without paying tax if you are a 20% taxpayer, or 500 if you are a 40% taxpayer. So unless you are a very serious saver at the bank (with more than 20,000 to put away), cash Isas arent attractive in the way they once were.Interest rates on cash Isas are also (inexplicably) lower than rates on standard deposit accounts. For many people, the best rates of interest they will earn will be on money kept in a current account in one of the deals from the likes of Santander, Nationwide and Lloyds. But if you have a large amount of cash savings, or want to invest significant amounts in the stock market, Isas can still make sense.You can stash 70,000 away tax-free in the next fortnight alone, as the 2017-18 limit will be 20,000. Anyone aged over 16 (for cash Isas) and 18 (share Isas) can take out an Isa, so a couple can have one each and buy one each tax year.Best for cash Facebook Twitter Pinterest Coventry building society has the top-paying variable rate cash Isa. Photograph: Alamy Cash Isa rates may have been decimated in recent months, but there are still a few stand out deals for those wanting to keep their Isa money in cash. Coventry building society has the top-paying variable rate cash Isa which pays 1.05%.Bank of Cyprus , meanwhile, offers the highest rate for one-year fixed-rate bonds 1.1%, while if you prefer a home-grown bank, Virgin Money is paying 1.05% again fixed for a year.Principality has the highest-paying two-year bond 1.26%, while Coventry is paying 1.7% if you are happy to lock your money away for five years. Be aware, tying your money up for that long could look like a mistake if and when interest rates finally start rising.All the above deals allow savers to transfer in previous Isa allowances held at other banks, which if you havent moved them recently could well be earning as little as 0.35%.Another option is the so-called innovative finance Isa which allow investors to offer peer-to-peer loans, which are held within the Isa wrapper. There are a host to choose from, but there is no protection if it all goes wrong and the lender defaults although the rates are very attractive.LandlordInvest , which lets people invest in residential buy-to-let mortgages and bridging loans, is holding out the prospect of returns of up to 12%. LendingCrowd , which matches investors with small- and medium-sized businesses seeking loans, is offering a target rate of return of 6% a year.Best for shares The choice is phenomenal there are thousands of individual shares and investment funds to pick from, and with exchange traded funds (ETFs) you can track dozens of indices and commodities. Most beginners opt for a fund, which is a basket of shares, usually of 50-60 different companies, so if any one goes bust it doesnt hit you too hard.But which fund? Index trackers, which promise to match the gains (and falls) of indices such as the FTSE 100, are the cheapest over the long term. Conventional funds charge at least 1% of your pot every year, often much more, while the trackers may take 0.1% or less.FTSE 100 trackers match the performance of the 100 biggest shares on the London stock exchange. The BlackRock 100 UK Equity fund charges 0.07% of your assets every year. L&Gs UK 100 index fund is 0.1%, but thats discounted to 0.06% by some sellers.FTSE All Share trackers match the FTSE 100, but also include small- and medium-sized companies. BlackRocks UK Equity Tracker costs 0.06%, while HSBCs FTSE All Share Index is 0.07%. Fidelitys Index UK costs 0.08%, but 0.06% if bought directly from Fidelity.Vanguard offer funds which invest in a range of trackers such as its Life Strategy fund, which tracks bond and equity indices around the world, with a fee of 0.22%.Or you can choose to have your money managed actively, where the fund manager picks and chooses the shares, buying and selling when he or she thinks the time is right.Brokers TD Direct Investing recently issued its Best of British Fund Managers list, detailing which has performed most strongly over a 10-year period. The winner is Mark Slater, whose MFM Slater Growth fund has generated an average annual return of 12.6% a year over the past decade, compared to 5.6% on the FTSE. The fund is predominantly invested in small- and medium-sized companies rather than the giants that dominate the FTSE 100 index.Other top funds over 10 years include Lindsell Train UK Equity and Liontrusts Special Situations fund. Schroders was the only group to have two funds in the top 10 over a 10-year period. Schroders says that a saver who put 1,000 into a cash Isa when they were launched in 1999 would now have 1,204. If the same 1,000 had been put into a stocks and shares Isa and invested in the UK stock market it would be worth 1,663, or 38% more.Where to buy Facebook Twitter Pinterest If you want to deposit cash into an Isa you can go direct to the bank or building society. But its not so simple when you want to invest in a stocks and shares Isa. You cant just ring BP and say Can I buy 100 shares in your company, or go to Vanguard and say Can I put 1,000 into your fund. You have to use a broker, or to use the modern parlance a platform, where you buy the fund and can watch how it is getting along.Basically, you send your money to the platform, it puts it into a fund (or individual shares) and keeps you updated. For this they charge a fee, which is on top of the fee that goes to the underlying fund manager. For example, you pay 0.1% a year for the cheapest index fund, then another 0.5% a year to the platform, so thats 0.6% in total. Or you pay 0.75% for an actively managed fund, plus the 0.5% fee to the platform provider, making a total of 1.25% a year. Then there are the hidden charges, such as for the turnover within the fund, which means you can easily be frittering away 2% a year of your investment.The Lang Cat consultancy, which monitors platform charges, has created a table of fees (see right) which show that it can cost as little as 13 to put 5,000 into an Isa. The full table can be found at langcatfinancial.co.uk/guardian . Steven Nelson from Lang Cat warns that what you pay reflects the amount of services on offer. The cheapest providers are almost entirely DIY, where you pick the funds yourself. Cavendish is probably the best-known, charging just 0.25% a year.Then there are the do it with you providers who offer loads of tools to help you choose, often with recommended fund lists, but which dont make the choice for you such as Hargreaves Lansdown, which charges 0.45% on a 5,000 investment.Alternatively, there are the do it for you providers who make the investment choices for you. Many are new digital offerings, which manage a range of funds tailored to your risk level, at a relatively low cost. Names here include Nutmeg, MoneyFarm and NetWealth. Nutmeg says a 5,000 Isa would cost from 0.7% to 1.1% a year, which includes the underlying fee for the funds it invests in.Case study: Not-so-filthy lucre Facebook Twitter Pinterest Wildlife cameraman Doug Allan invests with Triodos. Photograph: Triodos Bank Wildlife cameraman Doug Allan has filmed orca whales, polar bears and emperor penguins in some of the worlds most extreme environments, for BBC TV series including Blue Planet and Frozen Planet. And he is determined his own money doesnt contribute to the destruction of the habitats he has spent his life filming.He recently finished a documentary called The Missing Fish, and is putting together a film on climate change at the poles and says he invests with Triodos to make sure his money does not harm the oceans or other wildlife.I do genuinely believe we need to change the worlds financial management. Its not as if there are not plenty of money-making opportunities from investing in a sustainable way, especially in renewable energy.A new Isa is offering tax-free returns of 12% so whats the catch? Read more Triodos is one of a number of providers that now offer an ethical option for your cash or shares Isa, and you dont necessarily need to accept lower returns if you want to keep to your principles. Like every bank, interest rates are low Triodos pays 0.75% on its cash Isa but thats actually double the rate paid by Lloyds Bank on its instant access cash Isa. Whats more, it accepts balances as low as 10. It also has an investment Isa, into which Allan has placed his money.When Triodos takes depositors money, it makes sure it is lent only to businesses having what it sees as a positive impact on society. It also invites customers to inspect the companies it is lending to an opportunity taken up by Marion Mackonochie in Brighton. She visited hiSbe, an ethical supermarket, and spoke to founder and co-owner Ruth Anslow. Triodos Bank helped finance the shop with money from its Isa savers.Its important to me that my money is not used to finance arms, tobacco or the oil trade. I get a brochure twice a year telling me about the projects they are financing, and I can see the good my money is doing. When I first set up an account I did look around to make sure that I wasnt being taken for a fool. I found that while the rates on offer werent the very best, they were certainly not the worst either.There are numerous other ethical Isa providers. Abundance offers an Isa paying a projected 2% rate by investing in renewable energy. Ecology building society is currently not accepting new deposits due to high demand, but hopes to open again soon. Charity Bank has an ethical Isa paying 0.9%, while Co-operative Bank pays between 0.37% and 1.05% on its range of Isas.Topics Isas Savings Savings rates Banks and building societies Family finances features '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/mar/25/is-isa-best-home-nest-egg-shares-cash-doug-allan'|'2017-03-25T15:00:00.000+03:00' +'7bdacd641100cd6ae0f3ab268262dd44c4978cc3'|'New 1 coin: Tesco to unlock every trolley as it misses deadline - Money'|'Every supermarket trolley at Tesco estimated to number hundreds of thousands are to be unlocked after the grocery giant revealed it has not converted all its carts in time for the launch of the 12-sided 1 coin on Tuesday.A Tesco spokesperson said: Were replacing the locks on our trolleys to accept old and new pound coins as well as existing trolley tokens. We will unlock all our trolleys while this process takes place so customers will not be affected by the changes.Councils across the country are already dealing with a surge in abandoned carts discarded on streets and canals following the introduction of the plastic bag tax, as some shoppers take trolleys home rather than pay the charge. The unlocking of Tescos trolleys at its 2,500 stores across the UK could provoke a fresh surge of trolley abuse, with shoppers having no financial incentive to return them. How much will the new 1 coin cost the UK? Read more Other supermarket groups contacted by the Guardian, including Sainsburys, Asda, Morrisons, Aldi and Lidl, said their trolleys are fully converted. The new 1 coin could also pose serious problems for drivers, with an estimated one in ten meters and parking machines around Britain not yet ready. KitKat chaos also looms, with 15% of Britains 500,000 vending machines unable to accept the new coin, despite the industry spending 32m to upgrade machines. However, all parking meters and vending machines will continue to accept the old 1 coins until they are withdrawn from circulation and cease to be legal tender on 15 October. Jonathan Hart of the Automatic Vending Association said: On 28 March, when the new 1 coin goes into circulation, we estimate that 85% of machines will be able to accept the new 1 coin while all will still accept the original 1 coin which remains in circulation until 15 October.Vending engineers are working hard to complete the upgrades as fast as possible and prioritising vending machines that are most visible to the public, such as those on retail sites, he said.Dave Smith of the British Parking Association said some parking meters are more than 20 years old and are still waiting to be converted or replaced. The majority will be updated in time for the launch of the new 1 coin, but a few of the older ones cannot be converted. It will be up to councils to replace them or go cashless. Quids in: why its time to get rid of your 1 coins Read more He added that the changeover has been a massive programme but that around 10% of machines will not be fully readyDrivers should keep a mix of the old and new 1 coins in their cars while the changeover takes place, said Smith. The rollout of the new coins begins on 28 March, with the Royal Mint already distributing the first of the 1.5bn worth of coins to secret distribution centres around the UK. The switch has happened because the old round one has grown increasingly vulnerable to counterfeiters . The Royal Mint reckons one in 30 1 coins is fake. You should continue to spend any of the current 1 coins you carry as normal, says the Mint. In fact, the public will be urged to spend their round pounds as soon as possible before 15 October, as they will be melted down to make the new coins. Families who have lots of 1 coins saved in a money box , jam jar or giant whisky bottle, should spend them or take them to a bank before 15 October. But the Mint says that after that deadline most high street banks will continue to allow people to pay round pounds into their account. The deadline for the withdrawal of the paper 5 note also looms in just six weeks time. The paper 5 note will cease to be legal tender status from 5 May. Despite the rise of the cashless society, coins remain popular and mintage figures are stable. There are nearly 29bn coins (of all denominations) in circulation in the UK, with a face value of more than 4bn. Topics Money Retail industry Supermarkets Motoring news '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/tesco/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/mar/24/new-1-pound-coin-tesco-unlock-every-trolley-misses-deadline'|'2017-03-24T21:37:00.000+03:00' +'53b90812c23a26b93c95c457f90a8bf606658abc'|'UPDATE 1-Andrew Puzder to step down as CKE fast-food CEO in April -company'|'Business 52pm EDT Andrew Puzder to step down as CKE fast-food CEO in April: company File photo: Andrew Puzder takes part in a panel discussion titled ''''Understanding the Post-Recession Consumer'''' at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California April 30, 2012. REUTERS/Fred Prouser Andrew Puzder, who withdrew as nominee for U.S. Labor Secretary in the new Trump administration, is stepping down as chief executive of CKE Restaurants Holdings Inc in April, the parent of the Carl''s Jr and Hardee''s restaurant chains said on Tuesday. "I expressed my desire to have CKE plan for succession approximately a year ago," said Puzder, 66, who has served as chief executive officer since 2000. Puzder will be succeeded by Jason Marker, who most recently was president of Yum Brands Inc''s ( YUM.N ) KFC chain. Puzder pulled his name from consideration for labor secretary in February, amid concerns that he could not garner enough U.S. Senate votes to be confirmed following a swirl of controversies, complaints and potential conflicts. Puzder admitted that he and his wife had employed an undocumented person as a housekeeper. He also faced a flurry of complaints and legal cases brought by workers against his business and its franchises. And, a decades-old Oprah Winfrey tape raising allegations of domestic abuse by his ex-wife resurfaced, although those allegations had been withdrawn. (Reporting by Lisa Baertlein; editing by Grant McCool) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cke-restaurants-puzder-idUSKBN16S2XE'|'2017-03-22T05:50:00.000+02:00' +'6a6fafbd689db9d3aa30255eb3c507666db96e9c'|'Bailed out German bank HRE''s former CEO deceived markets, prosecutor alleges'|'Business News 5:21pm GMT Bailed out German bank HRE''s former CEO deceived markets, prosecutor alleges Georg Funke, former CEO of German lender Hypo Real Estate, awaits the start of his trial in a Munich courtroom, Germany, March 20, 2017. REUTERS/Michael Dalder MUNICH The former chief executive of German lender Hypo Real Estate (HRE) covered up liquidity problems just weeks before its near collapse almost a decade ago, a public prosecutor alleged in a Munich court on Monday. Georg Funke and former chief financial officer Markus Fell are both facing charges of falsifying the bank''s earnings reports in 2007 and 2008. Fell is also facing a charge of market manipulation. Fell denied the charges on Monday, and Funke will present his defence on Tuesday. Both former managers have previously denied any wrongdoing. Germany bailed out HRE in 2008 and nationalised it in 2009 after the bank faced huge writedowns on its mortage-backed securities exposure, which collapsed in the aftermath of Lehman Brothers bankruptcy. The ensuing global financial crisis also squeezed the bank''s liquidity position. The government injected capital of 10 billion euros (8.74 billion pounds) into the stricken bank and offered 145 billion euros in liquidity guarantees, of which it used 124 billion. Prosecutors alleged on Monday that Funke and Fell had known since 2007 the bank was facing liquidity problems and its state financing subsidiary Depfa, bought in the same year, had been nearly illiquid as early as September 2007. Despite some HRE staff and external auditors describing the bank''s liquidity as critical, the managers had assured up until just weeks before the bank''s near-collapse that there were no serious problems with its liquidity position, the prosecutors alleged in court. (Reporting by Jrn Poltz; Writing by Arno Schuetze; editing by Susan Thoma) Next In Business News Vodafone, Idea in $23 billion deal to create new Indian telecom leader MUMBAI Britain''s Vodafone Group and Idea Cellular agreed on Monday to merge their Indian operations in a $23 billion (18.55 billion pounds) deal, creating the country''s biggest telecoms business after the entry of a new rival sparked a brutal price war. Exclusive - Iran struggles to coax Bank of England to open clearing accounts: sources LONDON/ANKARA Iran has asked the Bank of England to set up special clearing accounts for its banks, but has so far been rebuffed in its effort to resolve an impasse that has left it excluded from banking in London more than a year after sanctions were lifted. BRUSSELS Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos said on Monday he planned to stay in Brussels for further consultations with the country''s creditors towards finalising a bailout review. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hypo-real-estate-litigation-idUKKBN16R22T'|'2017-03-21T00:21:00.000+02:00' +'75341a6ecb019f6019e1af75eabf33d67e7466b0'|'MOVES-Tim Gardener joins Aon Hewitt''s investment consulting team as partner'|'Company 32am EST MOVES-Tim Gardener joins Aon Hewitt''s investment consulting team as partner March 2 Aon Hewitt, a unit of Aon Plc, said on Thursday Tim Gardener joined its investment consulting team as a partner. Gardener joined Aon Hewitt after seven years with AXA Investment Managers, where he was the global head of the institutional client group. He previously worked at consultancy firm Mercer for 24 years, leaving the firm as a worldwide partner and global chief investment officer. (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/aon-plc-moves-tim-gardener-idUSL3N1GF3Y2'|'2017-03-02T19:32:00.000+02:00' +'d246f1ba4b0e4c7f25f84d6ad13ff4a5f1cabc42'|'BRIEF-Twitter says is aware of an issue affecting number of account holders'|' 39am EDT BRIEF-Twitter says is aware of an issue affecting number of account holders March 15 Twitter Inc: * Twitter spokesperson says "are aware of an issue affecting a number of account holders this morning" * Twitter spokesperson says "quickly located the source which was limited to third party app. We removed its permissions immediately" Next In Company News Trump won''t seek to roll back California vehicle authority WASHINGTON, March 15 President Donald Trump will announce the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will revive a review of the feasibility of strict fuel efficiency standards through 2025, but will not seek to withdraw California''s authority to set its own vehicle rules, a White House official said late on Tuesday. * Evolva secures equity financing of up to CHF 30 million and provides further preliminary financials for 2016 MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-twitter-says-is-aware-of-an-issue-idUSL3N1GS3H1'|'2017-03-15T16:39:00.000+02:00' +'65d90bd50ae0dd29d05dd59c1483834a00cca0ff'|'BRIEF-Alexandria Real Estate Equities prices 6.1 mln share offering at $108.55 per share'|' 42pm EST BRIEF-Alexandria Real Estate Equities prices 6.1 mln share offering at $108.55 per share March 9 Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc : * Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. announces pricing of public offering of 6,100,000 shares of common stock * Says offering 6.10 million common shares * priced its public offering of 6.1 million shares of common stock at a price of $108.55 per share Source '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-alexandria-real-estate-equities-pr-idUSASB0B4VD'|'2017-03-10T10:42:00.000+02:00' +'04634daffcc4ba8bd9c2d0792977a9d8f2e92977'|'Cobham to raise more than 500 million pounds in rights issue'|' 32am BST Cobham to raise more than 500 million pounds in rights issue Aerospace and defence company Cobham ( COB.L ) said on Tuesday it would raise about 512.4 million pounds ($642.6 million) through its rights issue to pay down debt. The 2 for 5 rights issue of 683.1 million shares was priced at 75 pence per share, a 40.9 percent discount to its Monday close of 126.8 pence. Cobham, which expects the right issue to be completed in the second quarter, also maintained its 2017 expectations. (Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Potter) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-cobham-equity-idUKKBN16Z0L1'|'2017-03-28T14:32:00.000+03:00' +'02cf3226f3a28d6f482ca7ca7134b71879de1388'|'Digital asset exchange ShapeShift raises $10.4 million in funding'|'Switzerland-based ShapeShift, a digital currency exchange, said on Wednesday it has raised $10.4 million in capital from both U.S. and international venture capital investors to fund future expansion.ShapeShift instantly exchanges digital currencies such as bitcoin for other online tokens without using conventional currencies such as dollars or euros. The company has grown an average of 48 percent per month since launching just under three years ago, it said in a statement.The Series A funding was led by Berlin-based Earlybird. Other new investors include Lakestar, Access Venture Partners, Pantera Capital and Blockchain Capital. Previous ShapeShift backers FundersClub and Digital Currency Group also participated. So did the digital asset exchange''s founder and chief executive officer, Erik Voorhees.The funds will be mainly used for further expansion of the company to keep up with its growth and to release two exchange products this year, the company said.ShapeShift''s Series A funding represents the largest capital raised for a financial exchange that is not based on conventional currencies, the company said."When we started ShapeShift, a future world of natively digital assets was very theoretical," Voorhees said in a statement."Yet this world is quickly arriving; one in which millions of forms of digital value, from access keys to tokenized derivative contracts to video game items, will trade between people and machines all over the world, every second of every day."The ShapeShift platform supports more than 40 digital currencies and assets, including bitcoin, ethereum, dash, litecoin, Augur''s REP token, and Monero. Any of these assets may be sold for any other, with more than 1,080 direct trading pairs."ShapeShift''s team built a compelling crypto exchange engine which can be easily integrated into third-party products," said Christian Nagel, partner at Earlybird.(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-bitcoin-funding-shapeshift-idINKBN1702FQ'|'2017-03-29T14:38:00.000+03:00' +'2008455d53395e8412c8858aa6b1dc81cfcc4084'|'US STOCKS-Futures higher; all eyes on healthcare vote'|'Company 25am EDT US STOCKS-Futures higher; all eyes on healthcare vote * Futures up: Dow 24 pts, S&P 1.5 pts, Nasdaq 6.25 pts By Tanya Agrawal March 24 U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Friday, helped by higher oil prices, and ahead of a closely watched vote on a healthcare bill seen as a test of President Donald Trump''s ability to pass his legislative agenda through Congress. * It was not clear late on Thursday evening that Trump and Republican leaders had enough support to pass the bill, with Trump warning lawmakers from his party that he will leave Obamacare in place if they do not rally around him. * Investors fear that if Trump fails to get the bill through the Republican-controlled Congress, it would mean his pro-growth agenda of tax reform, infrastructure spending and capital repatriation will face setbacks. * Those fears pushed Wall Street on Tuesday to its worst one-day loss since before the U.S. presidential election. All three major indexes are on track to post their first monthly declines since October. * The CBOE Volatility index, Wall Street''s "fear gauge", closed at its highest level since Jan. 19 on Thursday. * The S&P has risen about 10 percent since Trump''s election as U.S. president. * Chicago Fed President Charles Evans and St. Louis Fed Chief James Bullard are scheduled to make appearances later this morning and their comments will be closely watched for clues on the future path of interest rate hikes. The U.S. central bank raised rates by 25 basis points last week. * Economic data expected on Friday includes durable goods orders for February that is expected to dip to 1.2 percent from a 2.0 percent rise in the previous month. The data is expected at 8:30 a.m. ET (1230 GMT). * Markit is scheduled to release its PMI numbers for March at 9:45 a.m. ET. * Shares of Micron Technology jumped 11.9 percent to $29.61 in premarket trading, a day after the chipmaker''s current-quarter revenue and profit forecast beat expectations. * Twitter was up 1.1 percent at $15.10 after the company said it is considering whether to build a premium version of its popular Tweetdeck interface aimed at professionals. Futures snapshot at 6:56 a.m. ET: * Dow e-minis were up 24 points, or 0.12 percent, with 18,920 contracts changing hands. * S&P 500 e-minis were up 1.5 points, or 0.06 percent, with 95,163 contracts traded. * Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 6.25 points, or 0.12 percent, on volume of 18,080 contracts. (Reporting by Tanya Agrawal in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-idUSL3N1H140P'|'2017-03-24T19:25:00.000+03:00' +'27b3a4fdf7b4024abd0a6e825405b0ad3315bed1'|'BA owner IAG to launch low-cost flights from Barcelona in June'|' 6:24pm GMT BA owner IAG to launch low-cost flights from Barcelona in June British Airways owner IAG ( ICAG.L ) said it will launch a new low-cost, long-haul airline with flights from Barcelona to the Americas, in response to rising budget competition on transatlantic routes. Long-established airlines like American Airlines Group Inc ( AAL.O ) and Delta Air Lines Inc ( DAL.N ) are finding their formerly lucrative transatlantic routes tougher amid rising competition from budget newcomers like fast-expanding Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA ( NWC.OL ), WestJet Airlines Ltd ( WJA.TO ) and Wow Air. IAG''s new airline, Level, will start in June with flights from Barcelona to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Buenos Aires and Punta Cana, it said in a statement on Friday. ( bit.ly/2mQ9mPO ) As well as British Airways and Vueling, IAG also owns Spain-based Iberia and Ireland-based Aer Lingus. Level will start flying with two new Airbus A330 aircraft and initially will be operated by Iberia''s flight and cabin crew. (Reporting By Justin George Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iag-lowcost-idUKKBN16O2H5'|'2017-03-18T01:24:00.000+02:00' +'93e72613f379ef4f14679decbed79a353b342c32'|'Exclusive: Delta hires consultant to study refinery options - sources'|'Business News - Tue Mar 14, 2017 - 4:34pm GMT Exclusive: Delta hires consultant to study refinery options - sources Passengers check in at a counter of Delta Air Lines in Mexico City, Mexico, August 8, 2016. REUTERS/Ginnette Riquelme By Jarrett Renshaw and Jessica Resnick-Ault - NEW YORK NEW YORK Delta Air Lines has hired a consultant to assess the impact on jet fuel prices if the carrier sells or closes the Philadelphia-area refinery it purchased five years ago to keep fuel affordable, two sources familiar with the process said. They said the consultant will also study other scenarios involving jet fuel prices and the refinery sector, including the impact if other refineries close. The U.S. East Coast refining industry is fighting a battle to survive, with concerns about a second wave of plant closures after four refineries shuttered in the past decade due to the rising costs of acquiring crude. Dallas-based consultancy Baker & OBrien Inc was asked to perform a financial valuation of the refinery''s assets and study other scenarios, such as other regional refineries closing and the financial impact of new emissions regulations, the sources said. Baker & O''Brien did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Delta ( DAL.N ), the worlds largest airline, shocked the industry in 2012 when it rescued the 185,000 barrel-per-day Trainer, Pennsylvania, refinery from near-closure, arguing in part that jet fuel prices in the region would spike if the plant closed. In a statement to Reuters, the airline confirmed that it had hired a consultant to look at the refinery business, but it did not name the consultant and added that it was a routine assessment and not a precursor to selling or closing the plant. Delta has said publicly many times that we are committed to the refinery and that position hadnt changed," Delta spokesman Trebor Banstetter said, in a statement. "The study was commissioned as a routine evaluation of our investment five years after the refinery was purchased." The refinery continues to perform as expected as part of the company''s broad fuel management strategy, he added. After profitable years in 2014 and 2015, Delta''s refinery lost $125 million last year as refinery industry margins collapsed. The company reported overall net income of $4.01 billion for the year, so the refinery''s loss was miniscule for its balance sheet. Sceptics argued in 2012 that Delta''s purchase subsidized competitors, who could enjoy the benefits of lower jet fuel prices without the burden of running a refinery. The plants manager told employees last year that refinery losses were offset by savings for the airline in jet fuel prices, saying the company was going to continue to maximize jet fuel production in the New York market to keep pressure on prices. "This negatively impacts our refinery economics, but greatly helps reduce Deltas fuel cost," refinery manager Jeff Warmann wrote then. As of December, Delta had decided to start marketing its own gasoline and diesel fuel produced at the refinery, rather than swap it under existing contracts. It was a signal the airline was trying to find ways to mitigate losses at the refinery. Baker & O''Brien is one of several firms that bid for the work, according to people familiar with the process. Several consultancies based in Texas focus on helping companies navigate strategy related to their refining operations. Often, these consultancies work with companies that do not have the capacity to do such studies in-house. The work was authorized by Delta from its Atlanta headquarters, not by Monroe Energy, the refining subsidiary, sources said. Ed Hirs, an energy economics professor at the University of Houston and a sceptic of Delta''s refinery purchase, said the company''s board was willing to overlook the refinery''s issues when it was making money, but losses will now draw more scrutiny. "From everything I''ve seen, the refinery has not been able to pay for itself," Hirs said. (Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw and Jessica Resnick-Ault; Editing by David Gregorio) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-delta-air-refineries-monroe-exclusive-idUKKBN16L24X'|'2017-03-14T23:34:00.000+02:00' +'acb02292cd58a2372a3529c6bb1f472ffc4b3457'|'PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - March 28'|'March 28 The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.- President Trump on Monday named Makan Delrahim, a former government antitrust enforcer and corporate lobbyist, to lead the Justice Department''s review of mergers and acquisitions. nyti.ms/2nuIg2G- Carl Icahn, a billionaire investor and an unpaid adviser to President Trump, has been pulled into a high-profile insider trading trial taking place in federal court in Manhattan. nyti.ms/2nuIvuC- Saudi Arabia announced a sharp tax cut for its state oil company Saudi Arabian Oil Co IPO-ARMO.SE on Monday, part of an effort to make it more appealing to international investors in preparation for its promised initial public offering. nyti.ms/2nGAKCA- American Airlines is set to become the second big carrier in the United States to buy its way into capturing more of the big and growing business of flying to China. China Southern, the biggest airline in China, said on Tuesday morning in Hong Kong that it had reached a deal to sell a $200 million minority stake to American as the airlines move forward with a strategic cooperation. nyti.ms/2nGw27A(Compiled by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/press-digest-nyt-idINL3N1H520L'|'2017-03-28T02:38:00.000+03:00' +'4d5899369a91480027e0664724771cb504e955c1'|'Ericsson hit by bill of up to $1.7 billion as new CEO sets out overhaul'|'Technology News 59am BST Ericsson hit by bill of up to $1.7 bln as new CEO sets out overhaul left right A general view of an office of Swedish telecom giant Ericsson is seen in Lund, Sweden, September 18, 2014. REUTERS/Stig-Ake Jonsson/TT News Agency/File Photo 1/2 left right Borje Ekholm, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ericsson, delivers his speech at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, February 27, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard 2/2 By Helena Soderpalm and Olof Swahnberg - STOCKHOLM STOCKHOLM Sweden''s Ericsson ( ERICb.ST ) will book up to $1.7 billion in provisions, writedowns and restructuring costs in the first quarter as its new CEO outlined his strategy to lead the telecom equipment maker out of its worst crisis in a decade. The sweeping measures mapped out by Borje Ekholm include exploring options for its loss-making media arm as well as restructuring its business designing, building and managing networks for operators. The Swedish business insider and veteran board member took over as CEO in January and investors have been keen to hear how he plans to deal with shrinking markets and mounting competition from China''s Huawei and Finland''s Nokia ( NOKIA.HE ). "Restoring profitability is key and we will start by focusing the portfolio to fewer areas and securing effectiveness and efficiency in operations," Ericsson said in a statement on Tuesday. The company said it would take provisions of 7-9 billion crowns ($797 million-$1.02 billion) in the first quarter "triggered by recent negative developments related to certain large customer projects." Ekholm declined to name those contracts in a conference call, but said they were few and isolated, and not related to the group''s strategy change. "What has happened in the first quarter that makes them take provisions of 7 to 9 billion? It''s a lot of money. It seems very strange to me," said Inge Heydorn, fund manager at Sentat Asset Management, who has a short position in Ericsson. Ericsson''s shares fell as much as 4.6 percent, but were down a more modest 0.7 percent by 0926 GMT (5:26 a.m. ET). Ericsson shares have fallen 26 percent over the past year. The company said it would write down intangible assets within the Media and IT & Cloud businesses in the first quarter, with an estimated impact on operating income of 3-4 billion crowns, and that it would "explore strategic opportunities" in those businesses. It estimated restructuring charges would amount to 6-8 billion crowns in 2017, up from an earlier estimate of 3 billion crowns, of which it would book 2 billion in the first quarter. The company said it did not see a change of its previous forecast for the mobile infrastructure market to decline by 2 to 6 pct in 2017 and Ekholm said on the call with investors he didn''t foresee any big announcements on job cuts. Ekholm said he expected significant improvements from the actions already in 2018. "Beyond that I am convinced that Ericsson, on a sustainable basis, can at least double the 2016 Group operating margin, excluding restructuring charges," he said. (Writing by Johannes Hellstrom; editing by Niklas Pollard and Louise Heavens) Next In Technology News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ericsson-strategy-idUKKBN16Z0JJ'|'2017-03-28T17:59:00.000+03:00' +'7b3f1564c642e95637d5b81aecd6aa6cc4dd2103'|'Savanna accepts Western Energy''s raised offer, rejects Total Energy''s'|'March 15 Savanna Energy Services Corp said it accepted a higher offer from fellow Canadian oilfield services provider Western Energy Services, while again rejecting a hostile bid from Total Energy Services Inc.Western Energy''s bid has been revised to include a cash portion of 21 Canadian cents per share, in addition to the original offer of 0.85 Western Energy''s stock for each share held, Savanna said on Wednesday.The new offer values Savanna at about C$386 million ($287 million), up from about C$348 million earlier.Total Energy''s current offer stands at 20 Canadian cents in cash and 0.13 per share for each Savanna share held, valuing the company at about C$225 million.The company first offered 0.1132 of its shares in November, before raising the bid and taking it directly to Savanna''s shareholders in December.Savanna had then rejected Total Energy''s offer, saying it "significantly" undervalued the shares of the company.Savanna provides oil and gas exploration and well preparation and well maintenance services across Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Manitoba. It also operates in Canada, the United States and Australia.Western Energy provides contract drilling services through Horizon Drilling in Canada and Stoneham Drilling Corp in the United States. ($1 = 1.35 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Ahmed Farhatha in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/savanna-energy-ma-western-enrgy-idINL3N1GS455'|'2017-03-15T09:58:00.000+02:00' +'daece30899164e8b48224b4530c7f2d36a81bb98'|'Retailer Carrefour''s 2016 operating profits fall, with France a weak spot'|' 6:57am GMT Retailer Carrefour''s 2016 operating profits fall, with France a weak spot FILE PHOTO: The logo of France-based food retailer Carrefour is seen on the roof of Tbilisi Mall in Tbilisi, Georgia, April 22, 2016. REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili/File Photo PARIS Carrefour ( CARR.PA ), the world''s second-largest retailer, on Thursday vowed to grow its sales by 3-5 percent this year and to further increase free cash flow, as it pares back on investments to renovate its stores. The company also said it was ready to float its Carmila property unit and its Brazilian business this year, market conditions permitting. Europe''s biggest retailer kept its 2016 dividend unchanged at 0.70 euros per share after recurring operating profit fell 3.8 percent to 2.351 billion euros (2.06 billion pounds) in 2016, below an average of 2.37 billion euros in a Reuters poll. In the group''s biggest market of France, operating profit fell 13.4 percent to 1.031 billion euros, with margins down by 40 basis points to 2.9 percent. This reflected costs tied to the integration of the loss-making Dia discount stores and increased promotional activity at French hypermarkets amid cut-throat competition in the sector. Elsewhere in Europe, however operating profits rose, driven by a continued recovery in Spain and improved profitability in Italy. In Latin America, Brazil put in a strong performance in spite of difficult market conditions but China, which makes 5 percent of sales, was still a loss-making area. Carrefour said it would invest 2.4 billion euros in 2017 on renovating and expanding its stores, less than 2.5 billion euros last year. (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-carrefour-results-idUKKBN16G0LM'|'2017-03-09T13:57:00.000+02:00' +'6a4750c4927adfeeaa269b8504f30ee4bed54269'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Brazil rate futures fall on bets of steeper rate cut'|' 14pm EST EMERGING MARKETS-Brazil rate futures fall on bets of steeper rate cut By Bruno Federowski SAO PAULO, March 10 Yields on Brazilian interest rate futures fell sharply on Friday as slower-than-expected inflation data fueled bets that the central bank will increase the magnitude of interest rate cuts next month. Brazil''s official inflation index rose at its tamest pace since 2010 in the 12 months through February, below expectations of all 24 economists polled by Reuters. Rate future yields indicated a 60 percent probability that Brazil''s central bank would cut rates by 100 basis points at its monetary policy meeting in April, traders said, with a 40 percent chance of a 75 bps cut. The central bank has said the size of the rate cut will hinge on inflation expectations and economic data. The bank cut the benchmark Selic overnight lending rate by 75 bps each in January and February. It currently stands at 12.25 percent. The prospect of lower rates also supported Brazil''s benchmark Bovespa stock index, which rose 0.3 percent. The Brazilian real strengthened 1 percent, leading gains among Latin American currencies, after it slipped over 2 percent in the first four days of the week, its sharpest four-session percentage drop in three months. Strong U.S. jobs figures consolidated expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will increase interest rates next week. While that could reduce the allure of high-yielding emerging market assets, traders said markets had anticipated the result. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1615 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % change change Latest MSCI Emerging Markets 926.35 0.37 7.04 MSCI LatAm 2538.08 0.62 7.77 Brazil Bovespa 64803.80 0.34 7.60 Mexico IPC 47250.20 -0.03 3.52 Chile IPSA 4470.15 0.05 7.68 Chile IGPA 22461.25 0.05 8.33 Argentina MerVal 18815.66 0.16 11.22 Colombia IGBC 9910.70 0.31 -2.15 Venezuela IBC 38687.33 -0.66 22.02 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.1637 0.96 2.70 Mexico peso 19.7025 0.65 5.29 Chile peso 663.7 0.20 1.05 Colombia peso 2988.2 0.23 0.45 Peru sol 3.285 0.06 3.93 Argentina peso (interbank) 15.4600 0.58 2.68 Argentina peso (parallel) 16 0.12 5.13 (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by W Simon) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/latam-emergingmarkets-idUSL2N1GN13D'|'2017-03-11T00:14:00.000+02:00' +'e7385c28732df113850cd858635a72e9ee7cbe48'|'Deutsche Bank board to meet Sunday to discuss capital hike: sources'|'Business News - Sat Mar 4, 2017 - 6:14am EST Deutsche Bank board to meet Sunday to discuss capital hike: sources The head quarters of Germany''s Deutsche Bank are photographed early evening in Frankfurt, Germany, January 31, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT Deutsche Bank''s ( DBKGn.DE ) supervisory board will meet on Sunday to discuss plans for a potential capital increase of around 8 billion euros ($8.5 billion), two sources familiar with the matter said on Saturday. Germany''s biggest bank said on Friday it was also examining several strategic measures including an initial public offering of a minority stake in its asset management business as well as retaining its Postbank unit and integrating it into its other German retail business. The meeting on Sunday is expected to take place around noon, the sources said. (Reporting by Kathrin Jones and Alexander Huebner; Writing by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Alexander Smith) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-deutsche-bank-capital-idUSKBN16B0AC'|'2017-03-04T18:14:00.000+02:00' +'49e79b74b821392794ba3876fd489318c254530e'|'WhatsApp, Telegram patch flaws in instant messaging applications'|'By Joseph Menn - SAN FRANCISCO, March 15 SAN FRANCISCO, March 15 WhatsApp and Telegram patched flaws in their popular instant messaging applications after security researchers showed that they could seize control of user accounts.Researchers with Check Point Software Technologies Inc discovered problems with the way the two apps process some types of files without verifying that they do not contain active code that could be malicious.Flaws in popular instant messaging applications are less common than traditional desktop software. The apps are often used because of their heavy encryption, which has been criticized by some in laws enforcement.They were able to send files to the web-based versions of the products with malicious code while making it seem to be something else, such as a picture. In WhatsApp''s case, once opened by the recipient, the code allowed the researchers to get into the local storage of the user and then access the user''s account. From there, they could have sent the same malicious attack to all of the users'' contacts.Telegram''s flaw was much more subtle and required "very unusual" behavior by the victim, such as right-clicking on a video and opening a new tab, said spokesman Markus Ra.There is no evidence that any similar attacks were actually used in the wild against either company''s products, he said."When Check Point reported the issue, we addressed it within a day and released an update of WhatsApp for web," said Anne Yeh, a spokeswoman for that Facebook Inc unit. "To ensure that you are using the latest version, please restart your browser. (Reporting by Joseph Menn; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/tech-messaging-idINL2N1GS03X'|'2017-03-15T10:00:00.000+02:00' +'2efffbf99dafddb36be551e3654036969bad06a3'|'UPDATE 1-Brazil says to launch new benchmark BNDES loan rate in 2018'|' 17am EDT UPDATE 1-Brazil says to launch new benchmark BNDES loan rate in 2018 (Adds details) BRASILIA, March 31 Brazil''s government will overhaul in 2018 the benchmark interest rate that state development bank BNDES uses for long-term corporate loans in a bid to reduce costly subsidies, it said in a statement on Friday. The so-called TJLP lending rate, currently set on a quarterly basis by the National Monetary Council, will be replaced by a new rate based on yields paid by inflation-linked NTN-B bonds, according to a joint statement sent by the presidential office, the central bank, ministries and BNDES. BNDES, the largest source of long-term corporate loans in Brazil, uses the TJLP rate as a benchmark for subsidized loans. Under the current system, BNDES charges the TJLP plus a spread for most disbursements of corporate loans. For decades, the TJLP rate has run below the benchmark overnight lending rate, partly because of an effort by politicians to boost growth and create jobs. However, the implicit subsidy in these loans contributed to a sharp increase in public debt, which cost Brazil its investment-grade rating. The TJLP is currently at 7 percent, whereas the central bank''s benchmark interest rate stands at 12.25 percent. The new BNDES rate will be called TLP and will be valid for new loans starting in January 2018. Old loans will continue to be pegged to the TJLP rate, the statement said. (Reporting by Silvio Cascione; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Bernadette Baum) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-bndes-loans-idUSL2N1H80GS'|'2017-03-31T20:17:00.000+03:00' +'f0454555962adedc9e59da454505149cbbe00dcd'|'U.S. bank stocks surge on optimism of March rate hike'|' 6:01pm GMT U.S. bank stocks surge on optimism of March rate hike A trader works by the post where JPMorgan Chase & Co is traded on the floor of New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) February 24, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid By Sweta Singh Shares of large U.S. banks touched new highs on Wednesday, buoyed by comments from several Fed policymakers that stoked expectations for a March interest rate hike. President Donald Trump''s measured and inclusive tone in his first speech to a joint session of Congress since taking office added to the optimism in the market. JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ) Goldman Sachs Group Inc ( GS.N ) and Wells Fargo & Co ( WFC.N ) touched record highs, while Bank of America Corp ( BAC.N ) and Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) rose to their highest levels in more than eight years. Gains in financial stocks pushed the S&P financial index .SPSY to its highest level since December 2007. Bank stocks have been on a tear since the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential elections on hopes that the lenders will benefit from lighter regulation, rising interest rates and lower taxes under Trump administration. New York Fed President William Dudley, among the most influential U.S. central bankers, said on Tuesday that the case for tightening monetary policy "has become a lot more compelling" since the election of Trump as president and a Republican-controlled Congress. Traders have now priced in a nearly 70 percent chance of a rate hike when the Fed''s policy-setting body meets on March 14-15, according to Thomson Reuters data. "Chances are that rate hikes are coming through faster and the President''s speech yesterday showed that tax reform, which will hugely benefit the banks, is a key policy item for the administration," Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Brian Kleinhanzl said. "Faster interest rate hikes would come as a relief to banks that have been reeling under pressure to grow their revenue over the last several years." Overall, revenue at the top six U.S. banks fell 0.9 percent in 2016, compared with a 0.5 percent fall in 2015. The Fed hinted at three rate hikes in 2016 but held back till December, when it raised the interest rate by 25 basis points. At that time, it also signalled a faster pace of rate hikes in 2017. JPMorgan also struck a positive note at its investor day on Tuesday. Chief Executive Jamie Dimon, a lifelong Democrat, said he remained confident about the U.S. economy, adding that the outlook will be even better if the federal government overhauls corporate taxes, thins out redundant regulation and boosts spending on public infrastructure. "The future is bright," he said. (Reporting by Sweta Singh and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-bank-stocks-idUKKBN168583'|'2017-03-02T01:01:00.000+02:00' +'cfe76aa9f80cce7142253b3dfea3ce82bf6ea62e'|'BRIEF-Engility Holdings reports Q4 revenue of $506 mln'|' 49am EST BRIEF-Engility Holdings reports Q4 revenue of $506 mln March 9 Engility Holdings Inc * Engility reports fourth quarter and full year 2016 results; establishes 2017 guidance * Q4 revenue $506 million versus I/B/E/S view $511.5 million * Q4 adjusted earnings per share $0.51 * Q4 GAAP earnings per share $0.18 * Q4 earnings per share view $0.50 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * Total backlog at end of Q4 of 2016 was $3.6 billion, an increase of 18% from Q4 of 2015 * Sees 2017 revenue $1.95 billion - $2.05 billion * Sees 2017 GAAP diluted earnings per share $0.75 - $0.85 * FY2017 earnings per share view $2.04, revenue view $2.06 billion -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-engility-holdings-reports-q4-reven-idUSASB0B4LA'|'2017-03-09T18:49:00.000+02:00' +'989b2a921d3a8909922b2e083eeea9e128d1b055'|'Downer launches $1 bln bid for Spotless Group'|'Deals 7:01pm EDT Downer launches $1 billion bid for Spotless Group MELBOURNE Downer EDI Ltd ( DOW.AX ) launched a bid for Spotless Group ( SPO.AX ) on Tuesday valuing the cleaning and catering firm at A$1.27 billion ($981 million), in a move to expand its services beyond engineering and construction. Downer is offering A$1.15 a share in cash for stock it does not already own in Spotless, a 59 percent premium to its close on Monday. Downer, which acquired a 19.9 percent stake in its target in a raid late on Monday, said it would fund the deal mostly through the sale of A$1 billion worth of new shares to its existing shareholders. "The acquisition of Spotless is a significant investment in Downer''s strategy to expand its capabilities and strengthen its position as a leading provider of services to customers in Australia and New Zealand," Downer Chief Executive Grant Fenn said in a statement. (Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Bernard Orr) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-spotless-group-m-a-downer-edi-idUSKBN16R2OH'|'2017-03-21T05:59:00.000+02:00' +'4df32617376054bcd9f7c4e4b25c5addd23408ea'|'China house price growth to slow to 2 percent in 2017 on tighter credit, government curbs'|' 46am GMT China house price growth to slow to 2 percent in 2017 on tighter credit, government curbs Residential buildings are seen in Beijing, China, January 10, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo By Yawen Chen and Nicholas Heath - BEIJING BEIJING China''s house price growth will slow significantly on continuing government curbs and tighter credit conditions this year, dampening land sales that hit record highs in 2016, but views diverge on whether prices will correct sharply, a Reuters poll showed. Home prices across the nation are expected to rise a median 5 percent in the first half of the year and 2 percent for the full year, the poll estimated. Analysts expect a lag between official tightening steps and the deceleration in price growth. Prices of new homes in China surged 12.4 percent last year, the fastest rate since 2011, prompting more than 20 cities to introduce property curbs to cool the market since October. The red-hot land market, widely regarded as one of the main reasons for a sharp rise in house prices last year, is also seen coming off the boil this year as developers'' financing channels, such as property bond issuance, have also been tightened. Most analysts expect Beijing''s cautious policy tone and tighter credit conditions to continue to weigh on the property market this year, as Chinese leaders have pledged to stem the growth of asset bubbles and prevent financial risks in 2017. "From our sales figure in January and February, the upward momentum in the market is not contained yet. If it persists, the government will be pressured to tighten credit," said property consultancy Centaline''s research arm. The central bank has raised interbank lending rates in recent weeks, as part of efforts to implement a "neutral and stable" monetary policy to control the amount of money in the market. Despite a more bearish view of the property market, only three of 11 analysts polled predicted that prices would fall this year. Inventories remain low in the biggest cities and cash-rich developers who made lucrative profits last year have little incentive to lower prices on new units, analysts said. But half of those polled said some second-tier cities could be at risk of a sharp price correction. These cities include Zhengzhou, Wuxi, Hefei, Suzhou and Hangzhou, which posted double-digit price growth in 2016 except for Wuxi, which is not included in the 70 cities monitored by the National Bureau of Statistics. China''s housing market has become increasingly polarised, with prices skyrocketing in the biggest cities - Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen - while smaller cities are grappling with large housing gluts. The central government has had to rely more on local governments to implement city-based housing policies to address the imbalances. Data from the Housing Ministry shows residential property inventory dropped 11 percent in 2016, but still totalled 403 million square metres by year-end. A cooling property market would also drag property investment growth to a median 3 percent in 2017, according to the poll. China depended heavily on the property market and record government lending to drive growth last year, as real estate investment rose 6.9 percent in 2016, official data showed. Chinese banks extended a record 12.65 trillion yuan ($1.84 trillion) of loans in 2016, half of which were mortgage loans. Poll respondents still see Chinese home prices as expensive. On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is extremely cheap and 10 is extremely over-valued, the median reply was 7, lower than the 8 in the last poll, though some analysts have pointed out smaller cities are much more affordable than the biggest cities. (Additional Reporting by Jenny Su; Editing by Jacqueline Wong) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-property-poll-china-idUKKBN1683JQ'|'2017-03-01T14:46:00.000+02:00' +'8450ab4c0bd6940800dc968bf25e02ce33645483'|'EU''s Vestager to announce merger decision at noon'|'Deals - Mon Mar 27, 2017 - 9:56am BST EU''s Vestager to announce merger decision at noon left right European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager holds a news conference at the EU Commission''s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium March 13, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir 1/3 left right The Dow logo is seen on a building in downtown Midland, Michigan, in this May 14, 2015 file photograph. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook 2/3 left right A DuPont logo is pictured on the research center in Meyrin near Geneva August 4, 2009. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse 3/3 BRUSSELS EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager will announce a decision on a merger case at around noon, the European Commission said on Monday, without giving further details. Last week, sources told Reuters that Vestager would give the green light to the $130 billion Dow Chemical ( DOW.N ) and DuPont ( DD.N ) merger this week. Approval could also be granted to ChemChina''s [CNNCC.UL] $43 billion bid for Syngenta ( SYNN.S ) at the same time although the timing could still change, the people said. Both deals gained EU antitrust clearance after pledges to sell assets to address competition concerns, the sources said. Vestager is also set this week to block the fifth attempt by Deutsche Boerse ( DB1Gn.DE ) and London Stock Exchange ( LSE.L ) to join forces and create Europe''s biggest exchange. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Philip Blenkinsop) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eu-m-a-idUKKBN16Y0TO'|'2017-03-27T16:53:00.000+03:00' +'dd9ffb4d0c004488c3b0f18e850bae166413d0d5'|'RPT-U.S. Senate panel to weigh confirmation for SEC nominee Clayton'|'(Repeats with no change in text)By Sarah N. LynchWASHINGTON, March 23 Jay Clayton, the Wall Street attorney tapped by President Donald Trump to lead the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, will face questions on his vision for the agency at his confirmation hearing on Thursday before the Senate Banking Committee.A partner at Sullivan & Cromwell who is not registered with any political party, Clayton has worked on high-profile initial public offerings like Alibaba Group Holding Inc and is widely expected to focus his efforts on ways the SEC can foster economic growth and help companies raise capital.Clayton will pledge to be tough on fraudsters in his opening statement to the committee, according to his prepared remarks."Bad actors undermine the hard-earned confidence that is essential to the efficient operation of our capital markets," he plans to say.The SEC enforces securities laws and regulates U.S. stock, options and bond markets.Clayton is expected to win confirmation easily. But he can expect sharp questioning from Democrats such as Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who is expected to ask about his professional ties to Wall Street, particularly with Goldman Sachs, a bank he represented during the financial crisis and that employs his wife, Gretchen.Clayton''s client list has included Barclays, Deutsche Bank and the Royal Bank of Canada, as well as Bill Ackman''s hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management, and William Erbey, former executive chairman of mortgage servicer Ocwen Financial Corp, who was forced to resign as part of a settlement stemming from an investigation into improper foreclosures.Clayton will recuse himself from matters in which he has a financial interest, according to his disclosures with the Office of Government Ethics.His wife is expected to resign her post at Goldman if he is confirmed by the full Senate.Committee Republicans led by Chairman Mike Crapo of Idaho are likely to press Clayton for some of his ideas on how to engender capital formation, a goal the Trump administration has embraced.Cindy Fornelli, executive director at the Center for Audit Quality, a nonprofit whose board includes corporate chief executives and audit firms, said she hoped Clayton would continue a project started by his predecessor, Mary Jo White, to streamline corporate disclosures."I would be surprised if he didn''t," she told Reuters in an interview before the hearing. "He is a transactional lawyer and knows very well the complexities and arcane nature of our disclosure regime."(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Linda Stern and Peter Cooney)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-sec-clayton-idINL2N1GZ1SJ'|'2017-03-23T08:00:00.000+02:00' +'1ff6076791aaf6ad63ace4b7f9937f80d6c97bec'|'Mexico says has less space than U.S. for tax reform'|'MEXICO CITY Mexico''s Finance Minister Jose Antonio Meade said on Monday that Mexico was analysing how to respond to U.S. tax proposals, including a border adjustment tax, but that Mexico has less fiscal space than the United States to enact reforms.Mexico''s debt levels have risen sharply in recent years and the government has promised to cut spending this year and reach a primary surplus."The United States has more possibility to issue debt than Mexico," Meade said on local TV.He said that there were currently no plans to raise taxes in Mexico, but that the government was still analysing how to react to potential U.S. tax measures."So far all we know are just sketches of (U.S.) proposals. So in front of each draft proposal we are evaluating what the impact might be," Meade said.Meade said that a proposed border adjustment tax (BAT) "would be like a tariff on all goods entering the United States" but that it was not Mexico-specific.Since such a tax would effect the whole world, Mexico would have to study how it could respond to such a move, he said.Meade reiterated that Mexico had been clear that it would not accept Mexico-specific tariffs or import quotas in talks with the United States to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that also includes Canada.Meade said that U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross''s comments that the U.S. was looking at making changes on the rules that determine how much of a product must be sourced within North America as well as dispute resolution rule.Meade said that, based on Ross''s comments, it did not appear that the United States was thinking in terms of Mexico-specific measures such as tariffs or quotas.(Reporting by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Bernard Orr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-mexico-tax-idINKBN16K2D7'|'2017-03-13T15:34:00.000+02:00' +'d319158bbe95a5cf56be45e47368eb3c6c3f439f'|'Ford, Fiat-Chrysler report higher February sales in Canada'|'Company 1:47pm EST Ford, Fiat-Chrysler report higher February sales in Canada TORONTO, March 1 Ford Motor Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles on Wednesday reported higher Canadian sales for February, with truck sales a particular strength for Ford and fleet sales boosting Chrysler''s numbers. Ford said it sold 18,985 vehicles in Canada in the month, its best February performance since 2000 and a 3.2 percent increase from the 18,403 it sold in the same month a year ago. That included 16,800 truck sales, with its F-Series notching its best ever February sales, the company said in a statement. Chrysler said it sold 19,115 vehicles in the month, a 2 percent increase from a year ago, with higher fleet sales helping offset a slip in retail activity. After several years of record vehicle sales in Canada and Mexico, purchases are expected to edge lower in 2017, according to Scotiabank analyst Carlos Gomes. U.S. auto sales fell slightly in February but remained strong as pickup trucks and SUVs continued a robust showing, based on the first three automakers to report monthly numbers on Wednesday. (Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Frances Kerry) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-autos-idUSL2N1GE1N4'|'2017-03-02T01:47:00.000+02:00' +'67afb64d9e805c35d7ac978c34e84c75ca3a0b72'|'Snap shares rise as underwriters start coverage with ''buy'''|'Business News - Mon Mar 27, 2017 - 2:05pm BST Snap shares rise as underwriters start coverage with ''buy'' A billboard displays the logo of Snapchat above Times Square in New York March 12, 2015. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson By Rishika Sadam Snap Inc ( SNAP.N ), owner of messaging app Snapchat, received top ratings from a number of its IPO underwriters on Monday, sending its shares up more than 3 percent in premarket trading. Snap had a red-hot debut on March 1 in what was the largest listing by a technology firm in three years. However, many investors have been critical of the company''s lack of profitability and decelerating user growth. At least six brokerages, including Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, rated the stock "buy" or higher, citing the company''s long-term growth in a highly competitive market. As of Friday''s close, the stock had risen nearly 34 percent from its $17 initial public offering price. The stock was trading at $23.52 before the bell on Monday. The Los Angeles-based company''s app, which allows users to share short-lived messages and pictures, is popular with young people but faces intense competition from larger rivals such as Facebook Inc''s ( FB.O ) Instagram. Snap has warned it may never become profitable. "SNAP''s engaged/hard-to-reach millennial users and unique video offerings should attract significant ad dollars," said Morgan Stanley analysts, who started the stock with an "overweight" rating. The analysts also said that Snap''s ad monetization was still in its infancy. Among other underwriters, Jefferies, RBC, Cowen & Co and Credit Suisse rated the stock a "buy". RBC was the most bullish with a $31 price target. "The big question is whether SNAP''s user base can "age up"," analysts at Cowen & Co said in a note. However, JP Morgan, also an underwriter, started with a "neutral" rating. "(The) neutral rating is driven by an increasingly competitive social media landscape which includes Facebook and others implementing successful Snap features across a broader user base, potentially weighing on user growth, and lack of profit until 2019E," JP Morgan analysts said. Including the latest actions, Snap now has eight "buy" or higher ratings, six "sell" and seven "neutral" ratings, according to Thomson Reuters data. (Reporting by Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-snap-stocks-idUKKBN16Y1GV'|'2017-03-27T21:04:00.000+03:00' +'d58ff7221366c554c948a539586f65fcb0a4b680'|'CEE MARKETS-FX, stocks jump, PMIs signal robust growth'|'* Hungary PMI at record high, Czech at almost 6-year high * Stock indices rebound after profit-taking slump * Currencies firm vs euro, which weakens versus dollar By Sandor Peto BUDAPEST, March 1 Central European currencies and stocks surged and government bonds eased on Wednesday after Czech, Hungarian and Polish manufacturing indices showed robust economic growth. Hungary''s Purchasing Managers'' Index jumped to a record-high of 59.5 in February from 57 in January, far above the 50 line that separates economic growth from contraction. The Czech figure, at 57.6, was the highest in almost six years, while the Polish index slowed somewhat to 54.2, but still indicated growth. Central Europe''s main stock indices rose, led by a 2 percent jump in Budapest''s main index. The rebound came after a week of profit-taking, which had knocked regional indices down following a rally that lasted several weeks, tracking a rise in global equities markets due to expectations for economic stimulus in the United States. While U.S. President Donald Trump did not provide new details on those plans in a speech on Tuesday, the dollar still firmed against the euro. "Central European currencies, which have been trading on low turnover, did not track the euro''s weakening against the dollar," one Budapest-based dealer said. The forint firmed 0.2 percent to 307.78 against the euro by 0921 GMT, approaching 4-month highs. The leu also firmed 0.2 percent and the zloty crossed the 4.3 psychological line, gaining 0.3 percent. "The forint (debt instruments) still provide higher interest rates than elsewhere (in Europe)," the dealer said. Hungarian and Polish government bond yields rose by about 4 basis points, tracking a rise in U.S. Treasuries yields after New York Fed President William Dudley said the case for tightening monetary policy "has become a lot more compelling". Polish 10-year papers traded at a yield of 3.84 percent and Hungary''s corresponding bonds at 3.45 percent, compared with 2.42 percent in the U.S. and 1.68 percent in Spain. A rise in inflation in Central Europe and the prospect of economic pick-up have not worried the region''s central banks so far and they are unlikely to start to lift interest rates this year. Hungary''s central bank reiterated its dovish policy bias on Tuesday. Dealers said the surge in the PMI did not change expectations about monetary policy in Hungary. The dollar''s firming contributed to the rebound in regional stock indices, improving the revenue prospects of some listed firms. "The stronger dollar benefits (oil group) MOL or (drug maker) Richter," Erste analysts said in a note released in Budapest. The Czech crown remained steady after the PMI figures in its euro exchange rates implied in forward deals. CEE SNAPS AT 1021 MARKETS HOT CET CURRENCIES Lates Previ Daily Chang t ous e bid close chang in e 2017 Czech crown 27.02 27.02 +0.0 -0.05 00 40 1% % Hungary 307.7 308.2 +0.1 0.34% forint 800 450 5% Polish 4.299 4.311 +0.2 2.44% zloty 0 0 8% Romanian 4.518 4.526 +0.1 0.37% leu 5 4 7% Croatian 7.428 7.435 +0.1 1.70% kuna 5 8 0% Serbian 123.6 123.7 +0.0 -0.25 dinar 600 400 6% % Note: daily calculate previ close 1800 change d from ous at CET STOCK S Lates Previ Daily Chang t ous e close chang in e 2017 Prague 960.7 953.9 +0.7 +4.2 5 2 2% 5% Budapest 32697 32061 +1.9 +2.1 .28 .33 8% 7% Warsaw 2228. 2191. +1.6 +14. 28 25 9% 39% Bucharest 8016. 7969. +0.5 +13. 21 94 8% 14% Ljubljana 788.1 791.4 -0.42 +9.8 4 4 % 3% Zagreb 2212. 2221. -0.38 +10. 49 02 % 91% Belgrade <.BELEX15 717.2 718.7 -0.22 -0.02 > 1 7 % % Sofia 605.1 611.1 -0.97 +3.2 8 2 % 0% BONDS Yield Yield Sprea Daily d (bid) chang vs chang e Bund e in Czech sprea Republic d 2-year 6 bps 5-year bps s 10-year bps Poland 2-year bps 5-year bps s 10-year bps s FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M inter bank Czech Rep < 0.26 0.29 0.33 0 PRIBOR=> Hungary < 0.31 0.5 0.61 0.23 BUBOR=> Poland < 1.775 1.795 1.875 1.73 WIBOR=> Note: FRA are for Quote: s ask prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets-idINL5N1GE305'|'2017-03-01T07:27:00.000+02:00' +'34b24426612e71b55bbbb62539f039454da8b9c6'|'Exclusive - Embraer sees new E195 first flight sooner than expected'|'Business News - Tue Mar 7, 2017 - 8:00pm GMT Exclusive - Embraer sees new E195 first flight sooner than expected left right The the E195-E2 commercial jet''s first prototype is pictured in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Roosevelt Cassio 1/5 left right Embraer''s commercial aviation chief John Slattery attends the launch of the E195-E2 commercial jet''s first prototype in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Roosevelt Cassio 2/5 left right The the E195-E2 commercial jet''s first prototype is pictured in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Roosevelt Cassio 3/5 left right Embraer''s commercial aviation chief John Slattery poses for picture during the launch of the E195-E2 commercial jet''s first prototype in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Roosevelt Cassio 4/5 left right Embraer''s employees attend the launch of the E195-E2 commercial jet''s first prototype in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Roosevelt Cassio 5/5 By Brad Haynes - SAO PAULO SAO PAULO Embraer SA ( EMBR3.SA ) is on track to fly its next-generation E195-E2 commercial jet by June after an earlier-than-expected rollout of its first prototype on Tuesday, a senior executive at the Brazilian planemaker said. Embraer''s original timeline for the aircraft had projected a rollout in the first half of 2017 and first flight in the second half of the year, John Slattery, the company''s commercial aviation chief, said in an interview with Reuters. "Given our current trajectory ... I would be surprised if it took until the second half of this year to fly the prototype," he said before the rollout with thousands of employees in Brazil. "I do expect we''ll fly ahead of schedule." In a statement after the rollout, Embraer said the first flight of the new E195 was "scheduled for the coming months." Embraer shares rose 1 percent in Sao Paulo, while the benchmark Bovespa index .BVSP slipped 0.5 percent. The swift development of Embraer''s re-engined regional jet line-up, which Slattery said was on budget and in-line with performance specifications, has bolstered hopes for new sales in the company''s biggest division. Slattery said improved capacity, range, maintenance costs and fuel efficiency for the new E195 had drawn interest both from current European operators and from low-cost carriers around the world, especially in Southeast Asia. That could boost the firm order backlog for the new jet, which is currently composed of two leasing companies and two airlines: Brazil''s Azul Linhas Aereas Brasileiras SA and Indian low-cost carrier Air Costa Aviation Pvt Ltd ( ACOA.BO ). Air Costa suspended flights last week and has stopped taking bookings after failing to make aircraft lease payments, according to business news publication Mint. The airline''s press officers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Slattery said he was following Air Costa''s situation closely and its orders remain in Embraer''s backlog, adding that the airline was scheduled to receive a number of jets "in the low single digits on an annual basis." "No single operator in the backlog would affect our production schedule," Slattery said, declining to comment further on implications of Air Costa''s financial health. In Brazil, where airlines have cut back flights in a deep recession, Slattery said he was "starting to see green shoots." In Europe, where operators of Embraer''s E-Jets include Air France KLM SA ( AIRF.PA ), Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) and LOT Polish, Slattery said he expected "a lot" of sales activity in the second half of 2017 as airlines look to upgrade their fleets. (Reporting by Brad Haynes; Editing by Bernard Orr and Leslie Adler) Next In Business News Global stocks slip, U.S. dollar firm on Fed outlook NEW YORK A measure of major stock markets around the globe slipped on Tuesday, with the Dow and S&P 500 on pace for their first back-to-back losses in more than a month, while expectations the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates supported the U.S. dollar.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-embraer-rollout-idUKKBN16E2MU'|'2017-03-08T03:00:00.000+02:00' +'33cc022fc9bd8450aec642ca8c7f4ddd5f6aa394'|'SAP to offer its business apps on Google Cloud'|'FRANKFURT, March 8 Germany''s SAP is teaming up with Silicon Valley giant Google to allow customers to run SAP''s big business applications on Google''s cloud while offering Google''s suite of web-based desktop apps to users, the company said on Wednesday.Appearing on stage at Google''s Cloud Next conference in California, Bernd Leukert, SAP''s executive board member in charge of products and innovation, is set to announce the two companies also are working on joint machine learning initiatives to be unveiled at the company''s own user conference in May.SAP has moved in recent years to encourage the multinational base of corporate customers using its financial planning and other business applications to switch from traditional packaged software running on clients'' own computers to cloud delivery. (Reporting By Eric Auchard)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/sap-google-idINL5N1GL5S1'|'2017-03-08T14:20:00.000+02:00' +'17b9433a1ff0a5aec9dbcd60d376f9d890836372'|'BRIEF-Sucampo reports Q4 EPS $0.34'|' 45am EST BRIEF-Sucampo reports Q4 EPS $0.34 March 8 Sucampo Pharmaceuticals Inc - * Sucampo reports fourth quarter and full year 2016 financial results * Q4 adjusted earnings per share $0.68 * Q4 gaap earnings per share $0.34 * Q4 revenue $73 million versus I/B/E/S view $66 million * Q4 earnings per share view $0.48 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * Sees fy 2017 adjusted earnings per share $1.35 to $1.50 * Sees fy 2017 revenue $220 million to $230 million * Reiterated its guidance for full year ending December 31, 2017 * Fy2017 earnings per share view $1.60, revenue view $228.2 million -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * Andrew Smith, chief financial officer, will be leaving co; Peter Pfreundschuh, will become new CFO effective on March 20 Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-sucampo-reports-q4-eps-idUSASB0B4C3'|'2017-03-08T18:45:00.000+02:00' +'b9af2c7803980f7715d6a59f287c35433b5e51a8'|'RPT-UPDATE 1-Last RBS investor group held settlement talks over 2008 cash call -sources'|'Company 6:04am EDT RPT-UPDATE 1-Last RBS investor group held settlement talks over 2008 cash call -sources (Repeats story that ran late Friday) * Talks over settlement with hold-out shareholder group * Four groups have settled with RBS over 2008 cash call * Millionaire businessman Hemmings backs claimants * Case scheduled to come to court in May By Andrew MacAskill, Kirstin Ridley and Lawrence White LONDON, March 17 Lawyers representing tens of thousands of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) shareholders have held tentative talks to settle a 1.2 billion pound ($1.5 billion) damages claim over the lender''s 2008 rights issue that was launched shortly before a state bailout, two sources said. The sources, who are familiar with the situation, said RBS and the RBoS Shareholder Action group, which includes 27,000 private investors, former and current RBS staff and about 100 institutions, had discussed an out-of-court deal. In a move highlighting the difficulties of rallying such a vast group -- the last of five shareholder claims yet to settle with the bank -- one source warned that some retail investors were determined to take the case to trial in May. One of the investors backing those retail claimants is multimillionaire businessman Trevor Hemmings, according to court documents seen by Reuters. His involvement will go some way to answering questions by RBS and a judge as to whether the claimants have adequate funding. The bank has been applying pressure on the shareholder group to reveal its backers and sources of funding after it switched legal teams three times and some institutions broke away in 2015 to launch separate litigation. A settlement would end one of the most complex and costly litigation battles in English legal history. It would also spare RBS, which is still more than 70 percent owned by the state, a lengthy and potentially embarrassing court case that would put its disgraced former chief executive Fred Goodwin and other former senior staff in the witness box. A spokesman confirmed that Hemmings is part-funding the litigation through his private vehicle London and Northern Capital Partners. SEEKING REDRESS Mr Hemmings was a supportive investor in RBS for many years and backed the rights issue. However, like many other investors, he feels the basis on which he participated in the rights issue was misleading and is rightfully seeking redress," the spokesman added. "Mr Hemmings stands shoulder to shoulder with thousands of private shareholders seeking to hold the company to account. Hemmings lost "a considerable amount of money" as a result of the collapse in RBS''s share price in 2009, according to comments made by his spokesman to the Lancashire Post newspaper at the time, though he denied it was as much as the 700 million pound ($868 million) reported by the Sunday Times. With net wealth estimated at 725 million pounds, Hemmings owns Preston North End FC, which plays in the second tier of English soccer, as well as pub company Trust Inns and property investment business Northern Trust Group. His horses have won the prestigious Grand National race on three occasions. RBS last year struck an out-of-court deal with four other investor groups, who also accused the bank of omissions and misrepresentations about its financial strength when it launched the 12 billion pound rights issue at the height of the credit crisis. But the RBoS Shareholder Action Group rejected its share of RBS''s 800 million pound offer. RBS, which has said it would welcome a deal with the action group, declined to comment on any talks. When asked by Reuters at the end of February, Chief Executive Ross McEwan there had been "some conversations" but no resolution. RBoS Shareholder Action Group declined to comment, while Signature Litigation, the legal firm representing the claimants, referred requests to the action group. QUESTIONS ASKED In a move described by claimants as bullying, the group was forced to reveal the names of its latest third-party litigation funders after RBS asked for details of its After The Event (ATE) insurance while threatening to file an application for security for costs. ATE insurance policies cover the risk of losing and paying the other side''s costs in litigation. High Court Judge Robert Hildyard last week warned claimants against the "serious consequences" of a funding gap or shortfall. He was also "increasingly troubled" by inconsistent statements about ATE cover and other statements by the group. The action group has told the court that its current third-party litigation funders include asset recovery and private equity firm Hunnewell Partners (BVI), which says on its website it has a separate and ring-fenced litigation funding business. Hunnewell, which did not respond to requests for comment, is not listed as a member of the Association of Litigation Funders, an independent body that ensures members abide by a code of conduct and maintains a complaints-handling procedure. RBS has estimated its legal costs, from the December settlements to the end of the May trial, at 25 million pounds. Shareholders lost about 80 percent of their investments when RBS collapsed only months after the 2008 cash call, forcing the government to step in with a 45 billion pound-plus bailout. Former RBS chief executive Goodwin was stripped of his knighthood but kept an annual pension of 342,500 pounds. ($1 = 0.8068 pounds) (Editing by Keith Weir and David Goodman) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/rbs-lawsuit-investors-idUSL5N1GV08R'|'2017-03-18T17:04:00.000+02:00' +'95d6354a4c3e7a69d52d39defd24e4a61782b328'|'Brazilian court grants PDG Realty bankruptcy protection'|'SAO PAULO, March 2 A So Paulo court granted Brazilian homebuilder PDG Realty SA bankruptcy protection on Thursday, the company said in a securities filing.PDG sought protection from creditors last week to enable it to restructure its debt, Brazil''s second publicly listed builder to do so in less than six months.PDG''s gross debt was 5.4 billion reais ($1.75 billion) at the end of September, according to a quarterly earnings report. The company had 235 million reais of cash on hand at the time.Weak demand, growing sales cancellations, stalled construction projects and lawsuits from clients and contractors dogged PDG''s efforts to deal with its debt burden. (Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/pdg-realty-sa-bankruptcy-idINL2N1GG006'|'2017-03-02T21:06:00.000+02:00' +'59f9097540a7646114c8c516434c893a340966d2'|'BRIEF-Corium reports progress in Corplex Donepezil candidate study'|' 52am EDT BRIEF-Corium reports progress in Corplex Donepezil candidate study March 20 Corium International Inc * Corium reports positive progress in pilot bioequivalence study of once-weekly Corplex Donepezil patch * Reported that pilot study is on track for completion of third and final treatment period in april * Expects to report on results from entire study in may '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-corium-reports-progress-in-corplex-idUSFWN1GX0FE'|'2017-03-20T19:52:00.000+02:00' +'a514a89fd02cafcef52c867a403078688250e54e'|'BRIEF-ExactEarth reports qtrly revenue of $3.3 mln'|' 41am EST BRIEF-ExactEarth reports qtrly revenue of $3.3 mln March 8 ExactEarth Ltd - * ExactEarth reports q1 fiscal 2017 financial results * Qtrly revenue of $3.3 million * Qtrly order bookings were $8.9 million compared to $4.2 million in q1 2016 * Qtrly loss per share $0.09 Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-exactearth-reports-qtrly-revenue-o-idUSASB0B4C5'|'2017-03-08T18:41:00.000+02:00' +'ec0d85b6c5b3a760f0c736ef432c753675c9c64a'|'Kingfisher beats forecasts for year profit, cautious on France'|' 7:18am GMT Kingfisher beats forecasts for year profit, cautious on France Signs outside the B&Q and Screwfix stores in Loughborough, Britain March 23, 2016. REUTERS/Darren Staples LONDON Home improvement retailer Kingfisher ( KGF.L ) beat forecasts with an 8.3 percent rise in annual profit, with a resilient sales performance in Britain outweighing a softer French market which it remains cautious about. The firm, which trades as B&Q and Screwfix in Britain and Castorama and Brico Depot in France and other markets, said on Wednesday it made an adjusted pretax profit of 743 million pounds ($928 million) in the year to Jan. 31 2017. That compares to analysts'' average forecast of 714 million pounds and 686 million pounds made in 2015-16. Total adjusted sales rose 8.7 percent to 11.2 billion pounds. "Looking forward, the EU referendum has created uncertainty for the UK economic outlook and we remain cautious on the outlook for France, especially in light of the forthcoming presidential elections," said Chief Executive Vronique Laury. The firm did, however, reaffirm its five year financial targets. (Reporting by James Davey; editing by Kate Holton) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-kingfisher-results-idUKKBN16T0NI'|'2017-03-22T14:18:00.000+02:00' +'240f84d17a2dd4c4829ae1440b48978eb0cb27ab'|'Neiman Marcus says exploring alternatives, including sale'|'Luxury fashion retailer Neiman Marcus Group Ltd LLC [NMRCUS.UL] said on Tuesday it was exploring strategic alternatives, including a sale of the company.The move, which comes about two months after the company pulled its IPO, highlights the struggles faced by department store operators as they look to reduce costs amid sliding sales.Neiman Marcus also reported a 6.1 percent drop in second-quarter revenue as issues in its new merchandising and distribution system forced the company to take additional markdowns.The retailer has hired investment bank Lazard Ltd ( LAZ.N ) to explore ways to bolster its balance sheet as it seeks relief from $4.9 billion in debt, Reuters reported this month.Neiman Marcus, which also operates the Bergdorf Goodman and MyTheresa brands, was acquired by private equity firm Ares Management LP ( ARES.N ) and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for $6 billion in 2013.(Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-neiman-marcus-gp-sale-idINKBN16L1N1'|'2017-03-14T11:02:00.000+02:00' +'db475f8154a3587e072539d4b4a397f0be7ff210'|'Sensex, Nifty edge up on GST hopes; financials extend rally'|'Money News - Thu Mar 30, 2017 - 11:56am IST Sensex, Nifty edge up on GST hopes; financials extend rally A man looks at a screen across a road displaying the Sensex on the facade of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai, India, June 29, 2015. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/Files By Aby Jose Koilparambil Indian shares rose in thin trade on Thursday after the country moved a step closer to implementing a nationwide goods and services tax (GST) from July. Four bills related to GST, passed by the lower house of parliament, would next be presented before the upper house. The new sales tax regime will subsume a slew of central and state levies, transforming a nation of more than 1.2 billion population into a single market. [nL3N1H63LX] Broader gains in the market were capped due to caution ahead of the expiration of March futures & options later in the day. "Right now, I don''t see a scenario in the market where a fall that would frighten you would happen. All the macro factors are conducive for the country," said Dharmesh Kant, head, retail research at Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd. The Nifty was up 0.18 percent at 9,159.95 by 0555 GMT, while the benchmark Sensex was 0.28 percent higher at 29,614.09. Logistics shares were trading higher after the passage of the GST bills. Allcargo Logistics Ltd rose as much as 4.4 percent while VRL Logistics Ltd shot up as much as 4.3 percent and GATI Ltd gained as much as 2.5 percent. Financial shares extended a recent rally with the Nifty Finance and Nifty Bank indexes gaining for the fifth session in six. Banking behemoth State Bank of India rose as much as 1.8 percent to its highest in a little over 22 months and was among the top percentage gainers on the NSE. Kotak Mahindra Bank rose as much as 1.7 percent after the private lender said it would focus on building stressed assets business and double its customer base. Meanwhile, auto stocks including Hero MotoCorp Ltd and Ashok Leyland Ltd recovered from steep losses after the country''s top court banned sale of new vehicles with older Euro III fuel technology from April 1. Two-wheeler manufacturer Hero MotoCorp rose as much as 1.4 percent while Ashok Leyland rose as much as 1.2 percent. (Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier) Next In Money News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/india-stocks-sensex-nifty-gst-idINKBN1710L7'|'2017-03-30T14:26:00.000+03:00' +'ab3115cbdd450cd812a37f86f967bfa4b78656cb'|'Canada''s Trican to buy Canyon Services in C$637 million deal'|'Canadian oilfield services provider Trican Well Service Ltd ( TCW.TO ) said it would buy smaller rival Canyon Services Group Inc ( FRC.TO ) in a deal valued at about C$637 million ($475.5 million), including debt.Canyon shareholders will receive 1.7 shares of Trican for each share they own. That translates to an offer price of C$6.63 per Canyon share, representing a 32 percent premium to the stock''s Tuesday close.Trican will also assume about $40 million in debt.A more than 50 percent fall in global crude prices since 2014 has triggered a wave of consolidation in the oilfield services industry, which has been battered by a sharp drop in service prices.General Electric Co ( GE.N ) has agreed to merge its oil and gas business with Baker Hughes Inc ( BHI.N ) to create the world''s No. 2 oilfield services business, while other large players such as Schlumberger NV ( SLB.N ) and Technip TECF.PA have bought smaller rivals.Trican shareholders are expected to own about 56 percent of the combined company, while Canyon shareholders will own the rest.RBC and Scotiabank were financial advisers to Trican while Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP provided legal counsel.Peters & Co Ltd was Canyon''s financial adviser. Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP was its legal adviser.(Reporting by Vishaka George and Ahmed Farhatha in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-canyon-services-m-a-trican-well-idINKBN16T1AO'|'2017-03-22T09:04:00.000+02:00' +'1b09384072a806154a834be27efa199b7f911760'|'E.ON shares up after $1.4 billion capital raising'|'By Edward Taylor - FRANKFURT FRANKFURT Shares in E.ON rose 1.7 percent early on Friday, a day after the German utility raised 1.35 billion euros ($1.4 billion) by selling 200 million new shares.The cash-strapped company needs to pay nearly 10 billion euros by mid-year into a fund set up to pay for the German nuclear sector''s long-term liabilities.E.ON has said 2 billion euros of that amount will be raised via capital measures, which could include the sale of shares and issuance of hybrid bonds."Capital measure was thoroughly flagged and traders had enough time to position themselves. Shares should recover quickly," a Frankfurt-based trader said.E.ON shares rose 1.7 percent to 6.95 euros apiece, among the biggest gainers in Germany''s blue-chip index and among top European utilities.The share sale suggests a price of about 6.75 euros apiece.The company reported a record 2016 net loss of 16 billion euros on Wednesday.The new shares were issued as part of E.ON''s authorized capital and were sold to institutional investors, with Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Citigroup acting as joint bookrunners."In view of the impact from the payment of the risk surcharge to Germany''s state-run nuclear fund in mid-2017, the purpose of the capital increase is to strengthen the equity and liquidity basis of E.ON," the company said.(Additional reporting by Tom Kaeckenhoff and Christoph Steitz; editing by Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-eon-newissue-idINKBN16O0YW'|'2017-03-17T06:51:00.000+02:00' +'9d83ece5127323aac69edd5ae2740793bcfd0993'|'Clouds over Trump tax plan may curb appetite for U.S. stocks'|'Business News 4:44pm EDT Clouds over Trump tax plan may curb appetite for U.S. stocks A trader wearing a Trump hat works at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., January 20, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Yang By Megan Davies and David Randall - NEW YORK NEW YORK Wall Street has tempered its expectations for sweeping U.S. tax cuts in the wake of President Donald Trump''s stinging healthcare defeat, a move that could push investors to embrace cheaper global stocks after the heady U.S. rally of recent months. The White House turned its attention to an overhaul of the tax code after Republicans were forced on Friday to pull legislation that would have begun dismantling the Obama administration''s 2010 healthcare law. Trump made tax cuts, including a lowering of the rates paid by corporations, a pillar of his 2016 presidential campaign. His Nov. 8 victory whetted the appetite of business and investors who saw passage of a tax bill as a virtual slam dunk. But the Republican infighting that doomed the healthcare bill in the House of Representatives and the evaporation of the savings that it was seen generating have made the endeavor more problematic. "Now it appears some of the initiatives in the tax bill will have to be scaled back or even eliminated," said Robert Willens, an independent tax analyst. "It clearly has to be less ambitious." Others are even less optimistic. "Getting corporate tax relief done in 2017 has gone from a decent chance to remote," said Michael Purves, chief global strategist at Weeden & Co. "That''s a huge contributor to potential earnings." Economists at investment bank Goldman Sachs see "some downside risk" to their original expectation for a tax cut of around $1.75 trillion over 10 years, though they still see a deal passing. Trump has said he wants to cut corporate taxes to a range of 15 percent to 20 percent, from 35 percent. A watered-down version of his tax goals could rattle the concern among money managers that U.S. equities'' valuations are stretched. Analysts expect S&P 500 profit growth of 11 percent this year according to Thomson Reuters data - with many analysts not yet baking a tax cut into that estimate - a big increase over 1.4 percent growth in 2016. "What (the healthcare bill failure) does in my mind is further emphasize the case for international and emerging market equities," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank. ''SUBSTANTIALLY OVERVALUED'' On a forward price-to-earnings basis, the U.S. market is around the most expensive it has been in years compared with the United Kingdom, Europe and emerging markets. Against Japan, it is at its most expensive in at least six months. Investors in U.S. stocks are paying almost $18 for every dollar expected in earnings over the next 12 months, compared with just above $14 for stocks on the London, Tokyo and European exchanges, and near $12 for those on emerging market exchanges. More upside is seen in European markets this year. Reuters polls on Wednesday predicted a gain of under 3 percent in U.S. stocks between now and the end of the year versus a rise of between about 5 percent and 6 percent for the STOXX 600. and Euro STOXX 50 .STOXX50E . "Making an argument for Europe over the U.S. is very easy at this point," said Matt Burdett, a portfolio manager at Thornburg Investment Management, which has $49 billion in assets under management. Dave Wright, a co-portfolio manager of the Sierra Strategic Income fund, which manages $2.3 billion in assets, said the U.S. market looks "substantially overvalued." Reflecting the growing appetite U.S. investors have for overseas assets, U.S.-based European stock funds attracted $636 million over the latest week ended March 22, the largest inflows since December 2015, according to Lipper data. The four-week moving average of inflows for these funds totaled $328 million in the latest week, the highest amount since January 2016. For the same period, U.S.-based equity funds posted net cash withdrawals of more than $1 billion, Lipper data showed. Still, investors are unlikely to bail out of U.S. equities based on the fate of the Trump tax plan alone. Jason Ware, chief investment officer at Albion Financial Group, said "whether or not they hit 20 percent corporate tax rate or 25 percent is immaterial when you look at the big picture." (Additional reporting by Jennifer Ablan and Rodrigo Campos, Chuck Mikolajczak and Caroline Valetkevich; Editing by Paul Simao) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-tax-stocks-analysis-idUSKBN170306'|'2017-03-30T04:39:00.000+03:00' +'2c79c570251cb47a73926935a6caa22296459112'|'Free WiFi and meditation as airlines grapple with laptop ban'|' 04pm GMT Free WiFi and meditation as airlines grapple with laptop ban A Turkish Airline plane stands on the runway at JFK International Airport in New York, U.S., March 21, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson ISTANBUL/DUBAI Turkish and Gulf airlines are touting free WiFi and better in-flight connectivity for smart phones as they scramble to mitigate the impact of a ban on laptops in plane cabins bound for the United States. The restrictions could deal a blow to fast-growing Gulf airlines, which depend on business-class flyers stopping over in Dubai or Doha for far-flung destinations, and to Turkish Airlines ( THYAO.IS ) with its high volume of transit passengers. A Turkish Airlines official said it was working on rolling out a system to allow passengers to use 3G data roaming on mobile phones to connect to the Internet in-flight, and planned to make WiFi freely available on some aircraft from next month. "We''ve sped up infrastructure work after the latest developments ... If the work is complete, we''re planning on switching to free WiFi services in our Boeing 777 and Airbus 330 aircraft in April," the official told Reuters. Emirates [EMIRA.UL] said on Thursday it was introducing a "laptop and tablet handling service" for U.S.-bound flights which would allow passengers to use their devices until just before they board. The devices would be "carefully packed into boxes" and returned on arrival in the United States, it said. Emirates passengers can access limited free WiFi or pay $1 (0.80 pounds) for 500 MB. Fellow Gulf carrier Etihad encouraged passengers to pack their electronics in check-in luggage but said it would also allow devices to be handed over at boarding, a spokesman said. Turkish said it had introduced a similar measure. Qatar Airways did not respond to questions on how it planned to mitigate the impact of the new security measures, but in a Facebook posting this week it said its in-flight entertainment was "the only entertainment you''ll need on board". Royal Jordanian also took a tongue-in-cheek approach, listing on Twitter "12 things to do on a 12-hour flight with no laptop or tablet", including reading, meditating, saying hello to your neighbour, or "reclaiming territory on your armrest." (Reporting by Ceyda Caglayan in Istanbul and Alexander Cornwell in Dubai; Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Tuvan Gumrukcu and Mark Potter) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-airlines-electronics-measures-idUKKBN16V1SU'|'2017-03-24T22:04:00.000+03:00' +'cf83bcbeae8f50b7951e8299ccbc001f6d9ce065'|'Poland expects to sign deal for 8 Patriot missile defence systems by end-2017'|'World 38am EDT Poland expects to sign deal for eight Patriot missile defense systems by end-2017 Poland''s Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz speaks during a news conference in Tallinn, Estonia, March 14, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins WARSAW Poland expects that it will sign a deal with U.S. defense firm Raytheon to buy eight Patriot missile defense systems by the end of this year, Polish Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz said on Friday. "We hope that we will sign the contract by more or less the end of the year," Macierewicz told reporters. Macierewicz also said that the first of the eight systems, which he said would all be equipped with built-in army battle command system (ABCS) radars, will likely arrive in Poland two years after the contract is signed. (Reporting by Lidia Kelly; Writing by Marcin Goettig) Next In World News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-poland-defence-raytheon-patriots-idUSKBN1720X3'|'2017-03-31T16:29:00.000+03:00' +'ef7a8c29cd194b67adb261ce15338ed50a88d43c'|'Union at BHP Billiton''s Escondida will meet with company - document'|'Business News - 31pm GMT Union at BHP Billiton''s Escondida will meet with company - document Workers from BHP Billiton''s Escondida, the world''s biggest copper mine, demonstrate during a strike, in Antofagasta, Chile March 1, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Ricardo SANTIAGO Striking workers at BHP Billiton''s Escondida mine in Chile have decided to accept an invitation by the company to restart negotiations, but the meeting will only concern the union''s three key points, according to a document seen by Reuters on Monday. Union members have also given union leaders authority to walk away from negotiations and force a temporary, 18-month contract, as permitted under Chilean law, the document said. (Reporting by Fabian Cambero; Writing by Gram Slattery; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) Next In Business News Fed to wait at least until June to decide next hike - Evans NEW YORK The Federal Reserve will likely wait at least until a June policy meeting to decide whether to lift U.S. interest rates again, giving it time to digest economic and financial market data as well as any clarity on the Trump administration''s fiscal policy plans, a top rate-setter said on Monday. Vodafone, Idea in $23 billion deal to create new Indian telecom leader MUMBAI Britain''s Vodafone Group and Idea Cellular agreed on Monday to merge their Indian operations in a $23 billion (18.55 billion pounds) deal, creating the country''s biggest telecoms business after the entry of a new rival sparked a brutal price war. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-chile-copper-escondida-idUKKBN16R2C0'|'2017-03-21T02:31:00.000+02:00' +'6d44ba1feedf28360b10cf17bed8d52169797d46'|'UPDATE 1-Tesla raises $1.2 bln, tapping market again for funding'|'(Recasts; adds company details, analyst comment, background, dateline)By Alexandria SageSAN FRANCISCO, March 17 Tesla Inc''s $1.2 billion share and convertible debt offering on Friday demonstrates once again the unflagging ability by the luxury electric carmaker and its high-profile head, Elon Musk, to tap Wall Street for sorely needed cash.In its second such capital raise in the past 12 months, the Silicon Valley company offered stock and convertible notes, roughly 20 percent more than it planned but less than what investors had generally been expecting, ahead of the launch of its crucial Model 3 sedan,Tesla''s stock was up slightly to $262.42 in afternoon trade on the Nasdaq.The capital raise removed "an overhang on the stock," in the eyes of investors, wrote analyst Jamie Albertine of Consumer Edge Research, given uncertainty over how Tesla would meet its robust spending needs, from the Model 3 to its massive battery factory in Nevada.More broadly, the successful offering underscores the ability of Musk to convince Wall Street over and over of his long-term vision - that Tesla will someday become a carbon-free energy and transportation heavyweight.Despite facing major financial hurdles, and the dilutive nature of stock sales, the triumphant offering confounds Tesla skeptics, who point to the loss-marking company''s $42.37 billion market capitalization - greater than that of Nissan Motor Co Ltd , which reported a profit of $4.7 billion last year.Tesla''s plan to spend $2 billion-$2.5 billion in the first half of 2017 in capital expenditures ahead of the July Model 3 launch left little cushion with $3.39 billion on the books in cash and cash equivalents at the end of 2016."Liquidity and cash burn remain key near-term risks, and investors may grow weary of continued raises as this is the second capital raise in a year," wrote UBS analyst Colin Langan.The bulk of Friday''s offering, or $850 million, came from convertible senior notes due 2022, with $350 million raised from the sale of 1.3 million common shares at $262 apiece. ( bit.ly/2n5Bf8C )That was higher than the $250 million in stock and $750 million in notes the company said it expected to sell.Musk, already the company''s top shareholder with a stake of about 21 percent as of December, bought 95,420 common shares for $25 million in the latest stock sale, Tesla said.The 1.3 million shares sold represents about 0.8 percent of Tesla''s outstanding shares as of Dec. 31. (Reporting by Alexandria Sage in San Francisco and Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza, Bernard Orr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/tesla-offering-idINL3N1GU4JR'|'2017-03-17T16:27:00.000+02:00' +'86dabc06d1197229759401be4a76900db2d527dd'|'UPDATE 1-Corzine points to PwC role ahead of MF Global collapse'|'* MF Global administrator eyes $3 billion damages from PwC* Corzine was New Jersey governor, Goldman co-chairman (Adds more Corzine testimony)By Jonathan StempelNEW YORK, March 10 Former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine on Friday resisted accepting blame for the October 2011 collapse of his brokerage MF Global Holdings Ltd, repeatedly stressing his reliance on judgments by the auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.Corzine was testifying for a second day for MF Global''s bankruptcy administrator in federal court in Manhattan in its $3 billion malpractice case against PwC.Under cross-examination from PwC''s lawyer, Corzine rejected suggestions that the collapse stemmed not from PwC''s negligence, but from MF Global''s own business decisions.These included Corzine''s $6.3 billion wager on sovereign debt from five European countries, which spooked nervous markets after a recent near-shutdown of the U.S. government.It also included a delay in Corzine''s plan to transform MF Global into a full-service broker-dealer that led to a large, surprise tax loss for the futures and commodities brokerage."I relied on my team, and on the advice they were receiving and I was receiving, from our outside public accountants," Corzine said.While never blaming PwC directly, Corzine had testified on Thursday that he trusted PwC because of its strong reputation, and had no reason to believe MF Global''s accounting was wrong.He said PwC''s decision to change its advice on accounting for "deferred tax assets," and MF Global''s decision to reveal more than PwC had required about the European debt to calm jittery markets, prompted "confusion" and a "loss of confidence and trust."PwC''s lawyer James Cusick on Friday tried to show through emails and other evidence that the auditor was not at fault, including for the European debt financed through "repurchase-to-maturity" transactions."They didn''t advise you on whether to embark on this Euro RTM strategy?" Cusick asked."They did not," Corzine replied."These were all business decisions, that belonged to yourself, your management team and your board of directors?""Correct."Cusick got Corzine to agree that volatile capital markets and some other concerns flagged in a Moody''s Investors Service downgrade of MF Global a week before the bankruptcy were, in the lawyer''s words, "not PricewaterhouseCoopers'' fault."Corzine has been cooperating with the administrator, and testified that in his five or six recent meetings with its lawyers it became "pretty clear the types of themes" to be discussed at trial, including "trust and confidence."On Monday, Corzine is expected to face more questions from Cusick, followed by questions from the administrator''s lawyer, Stephen Sorensen.Corzine, 70, has kept a low profile since testifying in December 2011 before Congress about MF Global.In January, he agreed to a $5 million fine to settle a U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission lawsuit over MF Global, without admitting wrongdoing.PwC in 2015 settled with MF Global investors for $65 million, and denied wrongdoing.The expected five-week trial began on Tuesday.The case is MF Global Holdings Ltd as Plan Administrator v PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 14-02197. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Tom Brown)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/mf-global-hldg-pricewaterhouse-idINL2N1GN1ME'|'2017-03-10T18:27:00.000+02:00' +'c065e5ad17c95eecc5069f80a64c4219d57ce4e5'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Mexico peso firms as Trump adopts restrained tone'|'SAO PAULO, March 1 xx The Mexican peso strengthened on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump took a conciliatory stance in a key speech, backing away from his harsh campaign rhetoric. The peso has weakened sharply since Trump''s unexpected Nov. 8 election victory as he vowed to curtail trade and financial flows with Mexico. In a prime-time televised address to the country on Tuesday, Trump offered a more restrained tone than during his election campaign, telling Congress he was open to immigration reform. The peso firmed 1 percent, outperforming other mostly flat Latin American currencies. Demand for emerging market currencies was muted after a handful of U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers signaled the possibility of a March interest rate increase. Higher U.S. rates could drain investments away from high-yielding assets. Still, Brazil''s benchmark Bovespa stock index rose 0.7 percent, supported by rising shares of state-controlled oil company Petrleo Brasileiro SA. Petrobras, as the company is known, announced late on Friday that it would cut prices for diesel and gasoline at domestic refineries. In a client note, analysts at Credit Suisse Securities led by Andr Natal said the spread between local gasoline prices and import prices remains at attractive levels, at roughly 13 percent. Brazilian markets did not open on Monday and Tuesday due to a local holiday. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1700 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % change change Latest MSCI Emerging Markets 937.93 0.17 8.59 MSCI LatAm 2627.30 1.05 11.08 Brazil Bovespa 67154.20 0.74 11.50 Mexico IPC 47438.71 1.24 3.93 Chile IPSA 4382.14 0.51 5.56 Chile IGPA 21918.07 0.49 5.71 Argentina MerVal 19358.68 1.26 14.43 Colombia IGBC 9909.00 0.2 -2.16 Venezuela IBC 36228.78 1.45 14.27 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.1039 0.25 4.68 Mexico peso 19.9050 1.00 4.22 Chile peso 650.5 -0.05 3.11 Colombia peso 2933.16 -0.32 2.33 Peru sol 3.255 0.18 4.88 Argentina peso (interbank) 15.4500 0.19 2.75 Argentina peso (parallel) 16.2 0.49 3.83 (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-latam-idINL2N1GE1EJ'|'2017-03-01T14:09:00.000+02:00' +'3e5440ca3d920b8e03966a42c88f33aaeb371750'|'Daewoo Shipbuilding sees order cancellations if enters court receivership'|'SEOUL South Korea''s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co Ltd 0042660.KS is expected to receive considerable calls from shipowners for "builder''s default" if the company goes into court receivership, its CEO Jung Sung-leep said on Friday.Shipowners can call builder''s default, which is cancelling existing orders for ships, in the event of a shipyard entering court receivership.South Korean state banks on Thursday said they were preparing a fresh $2.6 billion bailout for Daewoo Shipbuilding, which has built up huge losses from offshore projects and risks missing debt repayments.(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Himani Sarkar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-economy-daewoo-idINKBN16V0L0'|'2017-03-24T04:10:00.000+03:00' +'205318a69bf20b222a6be8f6e219b1058b68f0dc'|'Goldman Sachs reassures staff over Brexit in voicemail'|' 38am BST Goldman Sachs reassures staff over Brexit in voicemail Pedestrian pass the offices of Goldman Sachs in London April 20, 2010. REUTERS/Toby Melville By Anjuli Davies - LONDON LONDON Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) sought to reassure London-based staff over potential disruption to its business as Britain prepares to leave the European Union, in a voicemail to staff sent by the Wall Street firm''s Europe CEO. British Prime Minister Theresa May will trigger formal EU divorce proceedings on Wednesday, launching two years of negotiations that will shape the future of Britain and Europe as well as London''s place as a global financial centre. The move will also mark the point when investment banks, whose priority will be to ensure they can continue servicing their clients across Europe after March 29, 2019, begin taking concrete steps to prepare for Britain being outside the bloc. Those steps could involve moving London-based staff to outposts on the continent or paying them off and hiring employees locally. Richard Gnodde, CEO of the European arm of Goldman Sachs, said last week it would begin by moving hundreds of people out of London as part of its "contingency plans" for the first phase. In a voicemail sent to all London employees'' phones on Friday, Gnodde sought to reassure staff that despite "intensively" preparing for a range of possible outcomes, no big changes were imminent. "All of this work leads us to conclude that although Brexit may well bring some changes to our footprint, a lot will continue to operate as it does today." Gnodde said that the Wall Street firm would only be able to make long-term decisions on its future footprint once negotiations between Britain and the EU were complete. "We also understand that you will have many questions regarding the implications of Brexit," Gnodde said in the voicemail. "We are sensitive to those concerns, and want you to know that we will share any information on changes that will impact our European footprint as quickly as we can." Banks are treading carefully, enacting two-stage contingency plans, to avoid losing nervous London-based staff as they work out how many jobs will have to move to continental Europe as Britain exits the European Union. This first phase involves relatively small numbers to make sure the requisite licences, technology and infrastructure are in place, while the next requires longer-term thinking on what their European business will look like in the future, which is when bigger moves might take place. (Reporting By Anjuli Davies; Editing by Susan Fenton) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-banks-idUKKBN1700Y6'|'2017-03-29T17:13:00.000+03:00' +'76ae4caa933311879d0afea7d412e97c5f5a69c0'|'Toshiba Machine to buy back 22 percent of shares held by Toshiba for 17.2 billion yen'|'TOKYO Toshiba Machine Co said on Thursday it would buy back 22.37 percent worth of its own shares held by Toshiba Corp for up to 17.2 billion yen ($150.8 million).Toshiba Machine will conduct the buybacks before the Tokyo stock market opens on Friday, at Thursday''s closing price of 506 yen per share, the company said.Toshiba has been scrambling to fill the balance sheet hole left by a $6.3 billion hit to its U.S. nuclear operations.(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-idINKBN1690T9'|'2017-03-02T04:59:00.000+02:00' +'0ec32b6e3f303f97ecd9df11d38a916f19fa59bf'|'Asia shares creep up to near two-year peak, dollar firms'|'Business News - Wed Mar 29, 2017 - 9:00pm EDT Asia shares creep up to near two-year peak, dollar firms A woman walks past electronic board showing stock prices and Japanese Yen''s exchange rate outside a brokerage at a business district in Tokyo, Japan, January 23, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon TOKYO Asian shares edged up to near their highest in two years on Thursday, while the dollar benefited from waning expectations that the European Central Bank was poised to end its easy policy. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was 0.2 percent higher in early trade, pushing against its loftiest levels since June 2015. Japan''s Nikkei stock index .N225 was down 0.2 percent, while Australian shares firmed, helped by gains in oil prices. Strong energy shares had helped the U.S. S&P 500 .SPX end higher overnight. The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. currency against a basket of six major rivals, was steady on the day at 100.030 .DXY. It was lifted to a one-week high overnight as the euro slipped on concerns about the impact of Brexit as well as news that European Central Bank policymakers are keen to reassure investors that their easy-money policy is far from ending. The euro was down 0.1 percent at $1.0752 EUR= , after Reuters reported ECB policymakers were wary of changing their policy message after tweaks this month upset investors and raised chances of a surge in borrowing costs. Prime Minister Theresa May formally began Britain''s exit from the European Union on Wednesday, launching a two-year negotiation process before the divorce comes into effect in late March 2019. Sterling edged up slightly on the day to $1.2439 GBP= after skidding to a one-week low of $1.2377 overnight. "Brexit, to some extent, has been covered in the market already. People went short, covered, and went short again," said Kaneo Ogino, director at foreign exchange research firm Global-info Co in Tokyo. "As for the dollar, demand is still steady from pure commercial orders, but the Japanese fiscal year ends this week and Tokyo investors don''t want to take new positions," Ogino said. Against the yen, the dollar added 0.2 percent to 111.25 JPY= , well above this week''s low of 110.110, its lowest since Nov. 18, in the wake of last week''s failure to pass a U.S. healthcare reform bill. That had raised fears that President Donald Trump might face challenges in getting his promised stimulus and tax reform policies passed as well, which pressured the greenback. But underpinning the dollar, Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans, a voter on the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee, said on Wednesday he supports further interest rate hikes this year given progress on the Fed''s goals of full employment and stable inflation. Comments from Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren and San Francisco Fed President John Williams also backed multiple rate hikes, though those officials are non-FOMC voters. U.S. crude futures CLc1 were up 0.1 percent at $49.56 a barrel in early Asian trading, while Brent crude futures LCOc1 were steady at $52.42 after adding 2.1 percent on Wednesday. Oil prices surged on Wednesday as U.S. crude inventories grew less than expected, supply disruptions continued in Libya and the OPEC-led output cut looked likely to be extended. [O/R] (Reporting by Tokyo markets team; Editing by Eric Meijer) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUSKBN17103R'|'2017-03-30T09:00:00.000+03:00' +'cd8b08cc6da2f83e96639470ba9016a4212e94cd'|'Chevron suspends production at Gorgon Train Two LNG project'|'Commodities 32am EDT Chevron suspends production at Gorgon Train Two LNG project The logo of Dow Jones Industrial Average stock market index listed company Chevron (CVX) is seen in Los Angeles, California, United States, April 12, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo SINGAPORE Chevron has temporarily suspended production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) at its Gorgon Train Two production line in Australia, a company spokesman said in an email statement on Monday. "Production at Gorgon Train 2 is being temporarily suspended for a planned turnaround to enhance the train''s reliability in alignment with previously arranged strategies," he added, without saying when Chevron plans to restart the production line. "The remainder of the plant production continues to be steady," he added. (Reporting by Mark Tay; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) Next In Commodities'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-lng-chevron-gorgon-idUSKBN16Y13D'|'2017-03-27T18:21:00.000+03:00' +'9b276851fbf82dc64563bcd80fb943db0c44dd10'|'Asia refiners snap up cheap light oil to reap higher fuel profits'|'Commodities - Mon Mar 27, 2017 - 4:06am EDT Asia refiners snap up cheap light oil to reap higher fuel profits A worker cycles past part of the structure of a ship at Hyundai Heavy Industries'' Shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea, May 13, 2015. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji By Florence Tan and Jane Chung - SINGAPORE/SEOUL SINGAPORE/SEOUL As the cost of light crude drops, some refiners in Asia are snapping up cargoes of the oil that is easier and cheaper to process than their usual diet of heavy crude, chasing profits from making diesel and gasoline. As a result of the OPEC production cuts, the world''s oil supply has become more light and those oil types yield more diesel and gasoline, the fuels that command the highest margins, when processed in a crude distillation unit, the most basic unit a refinery uses to make fuels. Since purchasing the lighter oil makes it easier to extract diesel and gasoline, Asian refiners have jumped on the crude supply trend by buying light oil from Russia, Africa and even from as far as the United States to bolster their profits. "Korean buyers are buying light crude because its price competitiveness is improving," a local South Korean refining source said on the condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk publicly about trading. "Light crude used to be pricey and now as it''s oversupplied, it''s great for refiners. We can buy it at cheaper prices, save costs and produce more high value-added products like light naphtha and gasoline. We''re hoping this trend will continue." South Korean refiner Hyundai Oilbank bought Sakhalin Blend crude for April and May, several market traders said, using the light oil to blend with its typically heavy crude slate. Taiwanese refiner CPC added up to two more light oil cargoes in the second quarter and bought Algeria''s Saharan Blend to partly replace heavier Angolan oil and for processing at its new splitter, said a company spokesman. Meanwhile, Thai Oil bought Sakhalin Blend and U.S. Eagle Ford crude for the first time ever in the second quarter, while Thailand''s PTT also bought the Russian grade. Refiners typically measure the relative difference between light and heavy oil grades by looking at the premium of Arab Light crude from Saudi Arabia to Arab Heavy. That spread is at $2.45 a barrel in April, according to the latest official selling prices the country has released, the narrowest in seven months. The production cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) mainly reduced the supply of medium heavy crude grades from the Middle East that yield more residual fuel oil that needs further and more costly upgrading into light transportation fuels. "NICE PROBLEM TO HAVE" U.S. production of light oil has stepped in to fill the gap from the OPEC cuts and Asian refiners are buying light grades they have stayed away from in the past. U.S. output, mainly of light oil, is up by 670,000 barrels per day since October, data from the Energy Information Administration showed, with traders are moving some of the lighter supply to Asia. The turn to light crudes is a bit of a headache for many Asian refiners, who have spent millions of dollars installing cokers, crackers and other upgrading units that can process residual fuel oil into higher-value fuels. "The world has gotten awfully light. It''s a nice problem to have, but if you have a coker, the last thing you want is to have a stranded asset," said Jamie Webster, a fellow at Columbia University''s Center on Global Energy Policy. (Reporting by Florence Tan in SINGAPORE and Jane Chung in SEOUL; Additional reporting by Osamu Tsukimori in TOKYO; Editing by Christian Schmollinger) Next In Commodities'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-asia-oil-idUSKBN16Y0PQ'|'2017-03-27T16:01:00.000+03:00' +'e9c4b6c7a03d3e54b89cb199b243b34e4ee9110e'|'BNP Paribas to cut investment bank staff in France, UK and Luxembourg'|' 22pm GMT BNP Paribas to cut investment bank staff in France, UK and Luxembourg A man walks past a BNP Paribas bank sign on an office building in Paris, March 3, 2016. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann PARIS France''s BNP Paribas ( BNPP.PA ) plans to cut investment banking staff in France, the United Kingdom and Luxembourg by the end of 2018, although staffing levels at the business should remain stable in Europe overall, it said in its annual report. Many European banks from HSBC ( HSBA.L ) to Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) are cutting costs to boost profitability, with mounting compliance and regulatory pressures weighing on higher risk activities such as investment banking. In Europe, BNP Paribas'' corporate and institutional banking (CIB) workforce should remain stable up to the end of 2018, France''s largest bank said, as it hires in lower cost countries, such as Poland, Portugal and Spain. "In France, the United Kingdom and Luxembourg, reductions in employment levels are planned," the bank added, citing a presentation made to its European Works Council in May and November 2016. BNP Paribas added in the report that its overall headcount rose to 192,419 by the end of 2016 from 189,077 a year earlier. The bank said that the number of employees overseeing internal control rose 47 percent to 9,786, as banks around the world beef up their compliance departments to meet onerous regulatory demands aimed at fighting financial fraud. BNP planned to cut its investment banking staff in Britain by around 5 percent in 2016, according to a source familiar with the matter. (Reporting by Maya Nikolaeva, editing by Louise Heavens) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bnp-paribas-redundancies-idUKKBN16S1R2'|'2017-03-21T21:22:00.000+02:00' +'e92c3dbe3f8adba80c64de78d0c623cf26bd5c41'|'Oil prices edge up as drop in U.S. crude stocks eases glut worries'|'Commodities - Thu Mar 16, 2017 - 8:44pm EDT Oil prices edge up as drop in U.S. crude stocks eases glut worries An oil derrick and wind turbines stand above the plains north of Amarillo, Texas, U.S., March 14, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson SEOUL Oil prices edged up on Friday as a drawdown in U.S. crude inventory eased concerns about a global supply glut. Brent crude was up 7 cents, or 0.14 percent, at $51.81 per barrel at 8.21 p.m. ET, after closing the previous session down 7 cents at $51.74. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) was up 11 cents, or 0.23 percent, at $48.86 a barrel. Official data showed crude inventories in the United States, the world''s top oil consumer, fell last week as imports plunged, dropping after nine consecutive increases. [EIA/S] Crude stockpiles fell by 237,000 barrels in the week to March 10, beating analyst expectations for an increase of 3.7 million barrels. "Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih continued to express concern about high global inventories," ANZ said in a note. "However, he did reiterate that the market is currently going in the right direction and fundamentals had improved." If crude inventories remain high, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) could extend its oil output cut deal, the Saudi energy minister said on Thursday. OPEC and non-OPEC members including Russia reached a landmark agreement last year to cut output by almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in the first half of 2017. But OPEC''s monthly report showed global oil inventories increased in January to 278 million barrels above the five-year average. (Reporting by Jane Chung; Editing by Joseph Radford) Next In Commodities'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUSKBN16O024'|'2017-03-17T07:44:00.000+02:00' +'7b455f867af66a2f045831856f4408a53374428f'|'BRIEF-Slam acquires former producing copper-lead-zinc mine'|' 11am EST BRIEF-Slam acquires former producing copper-lead-zinc mine March 3 Slam Exploration Ltd * Slam acquires former producing copper-lead-zinc mine * Slam Exploration Ltd - Has acquired former producing Wedge mine property * Slam Exploration Ltd - Wedge claim covers 100 hectares of mineral land property located in Bathurst Mining Camp ("bmc") of New Brunswick, Canada * Slam Exploration Ltd - Will pay a finders fee of 100,000 shares in connection with acquisition of Wedge * Slam Exploration Ltd - Will also pay finders fee of 100,000 shares in connection with acquisition of lower 44 property Further '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-slam-acquires-former-producing-cop-idUSASB0B3O6'|'2017-03-03T21:11:00.000+02:00' +'6d6ec4168aac28e6cd57fa3de6aa5585fd05c067'|'ECB to sit tight ahead of potential election upsets'|'Economy News - Wed Mar 8, 2017 - 11:15pm GMT ECB to sit tight ahead of potential election upsets European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, July 29, 2016. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski By Balazs Koranyi and Francesco Canepa - FRANKFURT FRANKFURT The European Central Bank is set to keep monetary policy on hold on Thursday as it casts a cautious eye ahead to high-risk elections in the Netherlands and France during an upsurge in populist, anti-establishment sentiment. Although economic growth and inflation are both picking up, the ECB is expected to resist calls to tighten policy, pointing to political risks, weak underlying price growth and a still fragile recovery nearly a decade after the bloc''s economic woes began. For once, the outlook is improving. Economic sentiment is at a six-year high, trade is rebounding, services and manufacturing output are rising, and unemployment is at its lowest since 2009, suggesting the economy is in its best shape in all that time. Even inflation, the ECB''s key objective, has rebounded, essentially hitting the bank''s target last month. For ECB President Mario Draghi, it will be walking a tightrope. While acknowledging the positive economic developments, he is likely to keep arguing that the inflation surge is temporary, growth is fragile, and the outlook is clouded with risks. These include -- within weeks -- the Dutch and French elections and the first meeting of G20 finance leaders since U.S. President Donald Trump took office. Economists in a Reuters poll said the ECB''s next move will be either a tweak of its guidance in the second half of this year or a gradual reduction in its asset-buying next year. "An important reason for not taking any hasty action is the ECB''s own track record of jumping the gun," ING economist Carsten Brzeski said. "In 2007/8 and 2011, the ECB hiked rates, the first based on German wage increases and the second when the worst of the euro zone debt crisis seemed to be over. "Both times, the ECB was taught a lesson. It seems unlikely that the ECB would want to jump the gun for a third time, particularly not on the eve of two important elections in the euro zone." The central bank will announce its policy decisions at 7.45 a.m. ET, and Draghi holds a news conference at 8.30 a.m. ET. The bank''s deliberations may be heated. The rebound in inflation particularly has fueled calls in Germany, the 19-member currency bloc''s biggest economy, to scale back its 2.3 trillion euro bond-buying program or at least start drawing up plans to wind it down. But at best the central bank may bump up some economic forecasts, particularly for inflation. It may also drop its reference to downside economic risks and let an ultra-cheap borrowing facility for banks expire as scheduled. It may also debate but likely reject calls to give up a reference to lower rates or higher bond buying if necessary. FRANCE The French election is likely to be particularly concerning, even if Draghi may be reluctant to admit it. With far-right candidate Marine Le Pen wanting to take France out of the euro zone, markets are already bracing for a shock. Indeed, the cost of insuring French government debt against default is up sharply, with five-year credit default swaps FRGV5YUSAC=MG on French debt doubling since the start of the year. And the spread between five-year French and Germany bonds rose to its highest since 2013 last month. Any turmoil would likely hit the periphery just as hard, and spreads in places like Italy and Portugal are also on the rise, even as the ECB''s main indicator of stress in the financial system is trending downwards. Next weekend''s G20 meeting in the German town of Baden-Baden may complicate policy further. The world''s top finance ministers and central bankers may no longer explicitly reject protectionism or competitive currency devaluations, according to an early draft of the communique, after the U.S. has accused some trade partners, particularly Germany, of exploiting a weak currency. Nevertheless, policymakers have so far suggested that the ECB is only likely to begin discussing its next policy move in June, with the first actual move perhaps not coming until after German elections in September. "From the current levels, financial markets are more vulnerable to a hawkish than a dovish tilt," Tuuli Koivu at Nordea said. "However, the recently seen favorable economic development probably starts shifting the discussion towards slightly more hawkish comments in the coming meetings." (Editing by Hugh Lawson) Oil plunges after record stockpile data, dollar gains NEW YORK Crude prices plunged more than 5 percent on Wednesday on a spike in U.S. oil stockpiles, while the dollar gained on increased expectations the Federal Reserve will raise U.S. interest rates next week after a robust report on private sector jobs. UK faces tougher Brexit challenge after better 2017 LONDON Britain''s economy is likely to feel the pain of Brexit more sharply in the coming years despite holding up well so far, according to finance minister Philip Hammond''s latest plan to steer the economy through its split from the European Union. Oil prices dive 5 percent as U.S. crude inventories balloon NEW YORK Oil prices plunged 5 percent to their lowest levels this year on Wednesday as U.S. crude inventories surged much more than expected to a record high, stoking concerns a global glut could persist even as OPEC tries to prop up prices with output curbs. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ecb-policy-idUKKBN16F2TP'|'2017-03-09T06:09:00.000+02:00' +'372e3610a772297dc18468f1d661eb527ad7c8b7'|'U.S. 30-year bond sold at highest yield since 2014'|'NEW YORK, March 9 The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday sold $12 billion of an older 30-year bond issue to average demand at a yield of 3.170 percent, the highest yield at a 30-year auction since September 2014, according to Treasury data.The ratio of bids to the amount of 30-year issue offered was 2.34, up from 2.25 at the prior 30-year bond sale in February and the strongest level in three auctions. (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-auction-30year-idINL2N1GM1JV'|'2017-03-09T15:19:00.000+02:00' +'c65fd3829ad10dd4f732ab55a38a6ec4ae2f55d4'|'Retailer Ted Baker''s profit rises on strong UK, Europe sales'|'Business News - Thu Mar 23, 2017 - 8:18am GMT Retailer Ted Baker''s profit rises on strong UK, Europe sales Ted Baker goods are displayed in a store in London, Britain October 06, 2015. REUTERS/Neil Hall Fashion retailer Ted Baker ( TED.L ) reported on Thursday a 4.4 percent rise in annual pretax profit, as retail sales surged in Britain and the rest of Europe by more than 10 percent. The company, which trades from 490 stores and concessions globally, said group pretax profit rose to 61.3 million pounds ($76.5 million), with retail sales in its UK and Europe business rising 10.7 percent to 279.5 million pounds. Total retail sales jumped 15 percent to 400.7 million pounds for the 52 weeks ended Jan. 28, while group revenues - including wholesale sales - were up 16.4 percent to 531 million pounds. The company, which opened its first store in Glasgow in 1988, sells suits, shirts and dresses, often sporting quirky details, helping it to stand out from rivals. Retail sales in its U.S. and Canada business jumped 28.3 percent to 103.4 million pounds, the company said. (Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Potter) Next In Business News Most UK employers do not plan to raise pay to match rising inflation - XpertHR LONDON Most British companies do not expect to offer more generous pay deals to employees this year compared with 2016, adding to signs that higher inflation will gnaw at Britons'' living standards in the months ahead, a survey showed on Thursday. LONDON British car production hit a 17-year high in February, extending a recent trend of surging output as a strong rise in exports once again compensated for a slump in demand at home, an industry body said on Thursday. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ted-baker-results-idUKKBN16U0QR'|'2017-03-23T15:18:00.000+02:00' +'fbc524584d7d80f8e8e36854394fadca91b1a694'|'Ford warns Brexit deal must include tariff-free access to customs union'|'Business 44am EDT Ford warns Brexit deal must include tariff-free access to customs union The logo of Ford is seen during the 87th International Motor Show at Palexpo in Geneva, Switzerland March 8, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann LONDON U.S. carmaker Ford ( F.N ) said on Wednesday that Britain must secure a Brexit deal which includes full tariff-free access to the entire customs union of European countries, not just the 27 other members of the European Union. Ford builds vans in Turkey, which is not part of the EU but is in the EU customs union. "Any deal must include securing tariff-free trade with the wider Customs Union and not just the EU27, whilst retaining access to the best talent and resources," a spokesman said ahead of the formal triggering of divorce talks. (Reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Stephen Addison) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-ford-idUSKBN17011M'|'2017-03-29T17:32:00.000+03:00' +'364a5310f2e469462982f55b9eb320424c068500'|'Oil bounces off November lows, but bloated U.S. stockpiles pressure market'|'Global Energy 12:56am GMT Oil bounces off November lows, but bloated U.S. stockpiles pressure market An oil rig (rear) and infrastructure of D Island, the main processing hub, are pictured at the Kashagan offshore oil field in the Caspian sea in western Kazakhstan August 21, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo By Henning Gloystein Oil prices on Thursday recovered from losses chalked up the session before, but the market remains under pressure as bloated U.S. crude inventories and rising output dampen OPEC-led efforts to curb global production. Prices for front-month Brent crude futures LCOc1, the international benchmark for oil, were at $50.95 per barrel at 0033 GMT, up 31 cents from their last close. That came after Brent briefly dipped below $50 a barrel the previous session for the first time since November. In the United States, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were up 33 cents at $48.38 a barrel, after testing support at $47 a barrel overnight. Despite the bounce on Thursday, traders said that prices remained under pressure, largely due to a bloated U.S. market and doubts that an effort led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut output were having the desired effect of reining in a global fuel supply overhang. Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at futures brokerage AxiTrader, said OPEC was "underwriting the investment plans and returns of their competition in U.S. shale oil". McKenna said there was a risk of oil prices dropping further due to U.S. output and a lack of compliance by some producers who said they would cut production. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) said U.S. inventories climbed almost 5 million barrels to a record 533.1 million last week, far outpacing forecasts of a 2.8 million-barrel build. The high inventories come as U.S. oil production C-OUT-T-EIA has risen over 8 percent since mid-2016 to more than 9.13 million barrels per day (bpd) to levels comparable in late 2014, when the oil market slump started. (Reporting by Henning Gloystein; Editing by Joseph Radford) Next In Global Energy News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-oil-idUKKBN16U03O'|'2017-03-23T07:56:00.000+02:00' +'9a68835eaf75a4f44ef94b551c3c14b070113d67'|'UK builder Redrow walks away from Bovis bid'|' 33am BST UK builder Redrow walks away from Bovis bid The company logo of construction company Redrow is pictured on a flag at a new housing development near Manchester northern England, April 7, 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble LONDON British housebuilder Redrow ( RDW.L ) said on Tuesday it did not intend to make an offer to buy fellow builder Bovis ( BVS.L ) just over two weeks after its approach was rejected as too low. Bovis, whose CEO quit in January following a profit warning resulting from a failure to build enough homes on time, has been subject to takeover speculation since a major shareholder wrote to another builder suggesting a tie-up earlier this year. "The Board of Redrow has determined that it is not in its shareholders'' best interests to increase its proposal to Bovis above the level which was rejected by the Board of Bovis," the firm said in a statement. "Given this, Redrow confirms that it does not intend to make an offer for Bovis." Redrow''s withdrawal leaves a bid on the table from Galliford Try ( GFRD.L ) which was also rejected by Bovis although the firms are still carrying out discussions. (Reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Kate Holton) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bovis-m-a-redrow-idUKKBN16Z0LD'|'2017-03-28T14:33:00.000+03:00' +'8f1ae00030946e9cc29cdcbd7e48b7a17b130e10'|'Brazil''s XP aims at $6.4 bln valuation in IPO, sources say'|'Deals 53am EDT Brazil''s XP aims at $6.4 billion By Tatiana Bautzer - SAO PAULO SAO PAULO Depending on investor demand in the run-up to the offering, shareholders, led by U.S. buyout firm General Atlantic LLC, could sell an undetermined stake in a private placement prior to the IPO, the people said, asking not be identified since talks on the matter remain private. There is interest in a private sale from a group of so-called anchor investors, said one of the people, declining to elaborate. XP is targeting a free-float rate, or a ratio of shares in circulation, equivalent to 30 percent of capital, the people added. Letting other investors enter XP before the IPO could provide support for valuations, one of the people said. Proceeds will go towards fueling XP''s growth into asset management, banking and other financial services, the people said. The media office of XP declined to comment, citing a quiet period relating to the transaction. General Atlantic, which has a 49 percent stake in the firm, also declined to comment. Founded in 2001 by partner and Chief Executive Officer Guilherme Benchimol as an independent stock brokerage, XP has expanded into securities trading and custody, money management and financial advisory as peers shrunk dramatically in the face of tumbling fees and a declining client base. Rising volatility and reduced activity in equities and other financial products have triggered years of losses for independent broker-dealers, or brokers with no links to commercial baking groups, according to central bank data. One of the people said XP earned net profit of about 500 million reais last year. The figure could not be independently verified by Reuters. XP hired the investment banking units of Morgan Stanley & Co ( MS.N ), Grupo BTG Pactual SA ( BBTG11.SA ), JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ) and Ita Unibanco Holding SA ( ITUB4.SA ) to lead the offering''s underwriting, the people said. The So Paulo-based securities firm, whose brokerage unit is headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, is in the process of picking other banks to work on the deal, the people said. An announcement will come within a month, they said. The banks declined to comment. (Editing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Bernadette Baum) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-xp-investimentos-ipo-idUSKBN16O1XN'|'2017-03-17T21:52:00.000+02:00' +'1c4c30562799ad81967251394f7578f1b3adee67'|'Exclusive - Airbus may ditch A380''s grand staircase as sales tumble'|' 25am GMT Exclusive: Airbus may ditch A380''s grand staircase as sales tumble FILE PHOTO: Interior view shows the stairs between two decks in the Airbus A380 at Frankfurt Airport, Germany, March 22, 2007. REUTERS/Alex Grimm/File Photo By Tim Hepher Airbus is considering doing away with one of the hallmarks of its A380 superjumbo, a "grand staircase" echoing the era of cruise ships, as it looks to revive sales of the world''s largest airliner, industry sources said. The idea of a slimmed down staircase, as well as adding fuel-saving wingtips, is aimed at lowering the huge double-decker''s operating costs and boosting its fuel efficiency. The provisionally dubbed A380-Plus makeover would add 40-50 seats to increase the standard interior''s capacity to more than 600 seats which would help airlines reduce their costs per passenger. To make room for those extra passengers, the A380 would do away with the double staircase at the front of the plane in favor of something more compact. The narrower spiral staircase at the back would also be modified. Airbus officials declined to comment on the plans, which have yet to be finalised and approved. "Airbus is always studying opportunities to improve our aircraft," a spokesman said. The sweeping staircase is one of the first features passengers see on boarding an A380 and captured attention when the A380 was first rolled out as a ''cruise ship of the skies'' in 2005. However, sales have fallen in recent years due to advances in smaller twin-engined jets, which cost less to fly and maintain. To help on the A380, the addition of vertical wingtips, more typically seen on smaller narrow-body jets, would cut fuel consumption by reducing drag. The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the makeover would improve fuel efficiency by around two percent. They said the changes may also be available as retrofits to existing A380s, but that this had not yet been decided. The design changes would add about three tonnes to the A380''s maximum take-off weight, leaving more room for payload or fuel. Airbus recently shelved plans for a bolder upgrade of the A380 involving new engines due to cost, and announced plans to cut output to one a month due to poor sales. Beyond the new tweaks, the health of the program depends on getting costs low enough so that Airbus can keep output ticking over at 12 a year without losing money, while it waits for what it hopes will be a rise in demand as air travel grows. "The time will come for the A380," Airbus sales chief John Leahy told the ISTAT Americas air finance conference this week. Airbus was due to unveil a dedicated online booking system for A380 flights at a Berlin show on Wednesday. The European company''s U.S. rival Boeing argues the time for very large four-engined jets, such as the A380 and its own slow-selling 747-8, is ending. In the short term, Airbus faces another challenge: helping investors find homes for five A380s due to be released by Singapore Airlines after their lease expires. So far there is no second-hand market for the jets, which entered service in 2007, and several ISTAT delegates said it would not be easy to find takers due in part to the high costs of converting the interiors to suit the needs of a new airline. (Editing by Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-airbus-a-idUKKBN16F0YR'|'2017-03-08T16:17:00.000+02:00' +'018390720b7d8e658d702077191b79db40727b9e'|'U.S. FCC blocks stricter broadband privacy rules from taking effect'|' 24pm EST U.S. FCC blocks stricter broadband privacy rules from taking effect NEW YORK, March 1 The U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday blocked some Obama administration rules approved last year that would have subjected broadband providers to stricter scrutiny than websites, a victory for internet providers such as AT&T Inc , Comcast Corp and Verizon Communications Inc . The FCC blocked rules aimed at protecting personal consumer data that had been scheduled to take effect on Thursday. The FCC said in a statement the move would "provide time for the FCC to work with the (Federal Trade Commission) to create a comprehensive and consistent framework for protecting Americans online privacy." (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Leslie Adler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-fcc-privacy-idUSL2N1GE1XM'|'2017-03-02T03:24:00.000+02:00' +'b574642d0ae8d74301fa9a005f1b60f97863bd88'|'Fed rate moves could spell end to Asian easing'|' 20am GMT Fed rate moves could spell end to Asian easing A police officer keeps watch in front of the U.S. Federal Reserve building in Washington, DC, U.S. on October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque//File Photo By Vidya Ranganathan - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE The long cycle of falling interest rates in Asia could be over after the U.S. Federal Reserve''s third rate rise in 15 months was followed quickly by monetary tightening in the world''s second-biggest economy, China. The Fed''s widely anticipated rise of 25 basis points on Wednesday was also only its third since the global financial crisis, having reined in earlier temptations to raise rates out of concern for the impact on fragile emerging economies that still needed looser monetary conditions. But the Fed signalled again that such reticence is over, repeating its projections for at least two more rate rises this year as the U.S. economy strengthens. "At the very least, the Fed''s desire to step up the pace of policy normalisation has changed the conversation at many central banks globally," said Sean Callow, an economist with Westpac in Sydney. "Further monetary easing is now largely seen as only if needed to ''break the glass'', not a plausible baseline." The People''s Bank of China promptly raised the rates on the short-term funding operations it conducts for the country''s banks for a third time this year on Thursday. The Fed''s move would otherwise make it harder for China to stop its currency weakening and arrest a persistent outflow of capital. China also wants to cool a run-up in debt and the risk of a property bubble. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) announced the verdict of its regular policy meeting on Thursday, opting to stand pat with its 0.1 percent short-term interest rate target and a loose commitment to keep buying bonds, though core inflation is far below its ambitious 2 percent target. Some analysts expect the BOJ will in due course have to raise its zero percent yield target for 10-year Japanese government bonds. Broader evidence of the shift in central bank thinking will be on hand later in the day as central banks in Indonesia, Norway, Switzerland and Britain review policy. (To see graphic of the fed''s target rate and future projections, click tmsnrt.rs/1RzUE7v ) THE CURRENCY CHALLENGE The Fed''s new policy path is a sea change for global markets used to a decade of easy money. And while emerging markets are showing some signs of strength, with a recovery in commodity prices and growth in exports, they are struggling to fire up domestic demand. But their freedom to fit domestic rates to local demand conditions is constrained by the need to keep hold of the foreign capital that flooded in seeking higher yields when developed world rates were at rock bottom. And they also need to prevent their currencies from tumbling against a rallying dollar .DXY. "Even if domestic conditions warrant a cut, fears about exacerbating financial market volatility will keep central banks cautious," said Tim Condon, ING''s chief Asia economist. "It definitely complicates life for those central banks that either needed to or wanted to cut rates." Condon was expecting Indonesia''s central bank to cut rates twice this year, but says he is now "uneasy" about that call. (For graphic on Asia interest rates, click tmsnrt.rs/1U5hc2W ) "To the extent that U.S. rate hikes do put pressure on Asian central banks to tighten policy, it will be through currency movements," Gareth Leather, senior Asia economist at Capital Economics, said in a note. Emerging markets have already had a dress rehearsal for such circumstances in 2013, when the threat of Fed policy tightening triggered a "taper tantrum" of volatility, prompting central banks in India, Indonesia and elsewhere to defend their currencies via higher rates. South Korea is also juggling competing pressures. Its policy rates are barely above the Fed''s, it wants to avoid unsettling a highly indebted housing sector, but it also has a huge amount of foreign money in its bond market that could take off for greener pastures. The Fed''s raise was not the only piece of news that could encourage the world''s central banks to a firmer stance. Elections in the Netherlands, where the anti-EU party of Geert Wilders won fewer seats than expected, came as a relief to markets, though next month''s presidential election in France is still hanging over the continent, with the far-right Front National candidate Marine Le Pen showing strongly. For Switzerland, uncertainty has the opposite effect on its safe-haven currency, driving it higher despite negative interest rates. The Swiss National Bank is not expected to change its rates later in the day. Its negative rate policy, in place since 2015, is aimed at curbing demand for the currency in a period of destabilising elections across Europe that could boost anti-establishment parties. The Norwegian central bank, while keen to start raising rates, is likely to keep rates on hold, too, after a tumble in inflation as it worries about a strong currency. The dilemma for the world''s central banks is that markets driven by the Fed''s lead will force them to respond, regardless of domestic conditions. Callow at Westpac said the domestic logic, "in any country or zone where wages growth is weak and core inflation not on a clear self-sustaining uptrend", would otherwise be to ease policy. "Which is actually most of the world," he said. (Rreporting by Vidya Ranganathan; Editing by Will Waterman) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-economy-idUKKBN16N0OA'|'2017-03-16T14:20:00.000+02:00' +'d434a2d285099570c03d0a5ad64a09a903764791'|'China raises short-term interest rates for third time in as many months'|'Business News 2:37am GMT China raises short-term interest rates for third time in as many months FILE PHOTO: A Chinese national flag flutters outside the headquarters of the People''s Bank of China, the Chinese central bank, in Beijing, China April 3, 2014. REUTERS/Petar Kujundzic/File Photo SHANGHAI China''s central bank raised short-term interest rates for the third time in as many months on Thursday, a day after the end of the annual session of parliament where leaders warned that tackling debt risks would be a top policy priority this year. The move came hours after the U.S. Federal Reserve raised its benchmark policy rate, as had been widely expected. The People''s Bank of China (PBOC) raised interest rates by 10 basis points on both medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans and its open market operation reverse repurchase agreements. Some analysts had expected such a move in coming months as authorities look to contain raises from a rapid build-up in debt. The move brought the rate on MLF loans to 3.05 percent and 3.20 percent, respectively, the PBOC said in an online statement. The PBOC also said it had lent 113.5 billion yuan ($16.47 billion) of six-month MLF loans and 189.5 billion yuan of one-year MLF loans to 17 financial institutions on Thursday. The MLF is a supplementary policy tool the central bank uses to manage conditions and medium-term interest rates in the banking system and money markets. The central bank also raised the rate on open market operation reverse repos for seven-day, 14-day and 28-day tenors, bringing them to 2.45 percent, 2.60 percent and 2.75 percent, respectively. China has cut its economic growth target this year as the world''s second-largest economy pledges to push through painful reforms to address a rapid build-up in debt, and erects a "firewall" against financial risks. (Reporting by Winni Zhou and John Ruwitch; Editing by Kim Coghill) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-rates-idUKKBN16N08F'|'2017-03-16T09:30:00.000+02:00' +'c8bec2c5fa58af8ffa8094a6127f9ceb9a8faa28'|'German January industry orders post biggest fall in eight years'|' 7:21am GMT German January industry orders post biggest fall in eight years The sun rises behind the billowing chimneys of a power station in Berlin, Germany, November 27, 2013. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo BERLIN A sharp fall in domestic and euro zone demand drove the biggest monthly slump in German industrial orders in eight years in January, data showed on Tuesday. Contracts for ''Made in Germany'' goods were down by 7.4 percent on the month, the Economy Ministry said. That was the biggest monthly drop since January 2009 and was almost three times below the Reuters consensus forecast for a fall of 2.5 percent. The Economy Ministry said high demand in the fourth-quarter of 2016 resulted in the weak start to 2017. It expects industrial orders to rebound later this year. In December, orders rose by 5.2 percent, the highest increase since July 2014. A breakdown of the January data, showed that domestic demand fell by 10.5 percent, foreign orders by 4.9 percent, driven by a 7.8 percent fall in demand from the euro zone. (Reporting by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Madeline Chambers) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-economy-orders-idUKKBN16E0OE'|'2017-03-07T14:21:00.000+02:00' +'4c719a4e09d6865e9b97acbb9db944d88f00ee1e'|'UPDATE 1-BlackBerry''s profit beats expectations'|'Company 8:03am EDT UPDATE 1-BlackBerry''s profit beats expectations (Adds details, shares) March 31 Canada''s BlackBerry Ltd, reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Friday, as operating costs nearly halved, and said it expects to be profitable on an adjusted basis in 2018. The company''s U.S.-listed shares were up nearly 5 percent at $7.29 before the bell. BlackBerry has shifted away from making its once-iconic smartphones to building a software business, which includes mobile device management products and the QNX industrial operating system. The company''s adjusted revenue from software and services rose 12.2 percent to $193 million in the fourth quarter ended Feb. 28, from the preceding quarter. BlackBerry said it received more than 3,500 enterprise customer orders in the quarter. "Looking ahead to fiscal 2018, we expect to grow at or above the overall market in our software business," Blackberry Chief Executive John Chen said in a statement. Chen said BlackBerry expected to be profitable on an adjusted basis and generate positive free cash flow for the year ending February 2018. The Waterloo, Ontario-based company''s net loss narrowed to $47 million or 10 cents per share in the fourth quarter, from $238 million or 45 cents per share, a year earlier. The prior-year quarter included a loss of $127 million related to the sale of certain assets. Excluding one-time items, the company earned 4 cents per share. Analysts on average had expected the company to break even, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Operating expenses fell about 49 percent to $229 million. Revenue fell about 38 percent to $286 million. On an adjusted basis, revenue was $297 million, beating analysts'' average expectation of $289.3 million. (Reporting by Vishaka George and Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/blackberry-results-idUSL3N1H84L9'|'2017-03-31T20:03:00.000+03:00' +'3fe18c95d35a3d82aaa826852dda5b14c1926ca1'|'Reckitt Benckiser reduces CEO pay - annual report'|'Business News - Fri Mar 31, 2017 - 9:38am BST Reckitt Benckiser reduces CEO pay - annual report Reckitt Benckiser CEO Rakesh Kapoor speaks during the Reuters Global Consumer and Retail Summit in London, Britain September 11, 2013. REUTERS/Benjamin Beavan/File Photo LONDON British consumer goods maker Reckitt Benckiser Group ( RB.L ) will not pay Chief Executive Rakesh Kapoor an annual bonus for 2016, and will reduce the number of performance shares awarded to his long-term incentive plan, it said on Friday. The maker of Durex condoms and Scholl footcare products also said it will strip out any earnings growth attributable to the impending takeover of Mead Johnson ( MJN.N ) from calculations for the plan for 2017. (Reporting by Martinne Geller; Editing by Susan Fenton) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-reckitt-benc-grp-compensation-idUKKBN1720XV'|'2017-03-31T16:38:00.000+03:00' +'a9154b54289473fb1cd19d2c766ee11fca1f18c1'|'U.S. retail sales weakest in six months; inflation firming'|' 19pm GMT U.S. retail sales weakest in six months; inflation firming A shopper carries bags with purchases through Quincy Market in downtown in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder By Lucia Mutikani - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. retail sales recorded their smallest increase in six months in February as households cut back on motor vehicle purchases and discretionary spending, the latest indication that the economy lost further momentum . Other data on Wednesday showed a steady increase in inflation, with the consumer price index posting its biggest year-on-year increase in nearly five years in February. Firming inflation could allow the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates on Wednesday despite signs of slowing domestic demand. "Nothing here to suggest the Fed shouldn''t raise interest rates at the policy meeting that concludes later today," said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics in Toronto. The Commerce Department said retail sales edged up 0.1 percent last month, the weakest reading since August. January''s retail sales were revised up to show a 0.6 percent rise instead of the previously reported 0.4 percent advance. Sales were likely held back by delays in issuing tax refunds this year as part of efforts by the government to combat fraud. Compared to February last year retail sales were up 5.7 percent. February''s retail sales gain was in line with economists'' expectations. Excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services, retail sales rose 0.1 percent after an upwardly revised 0.8 percent jump in January. These so-called core retail sales, which correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of gross domestic product, were previously reported to have increased 0.4 percent in January. In a separate report, the Labor Department said its Consumer Price Index ticked up 0.1 percent last month as a drop in gasoline prices offset increases in the cost of food and rental accommodation. That was the weakest reading in the CPI since July and followed a 0.6 percent jump in January. In the 12 months through February, the CPI accelerated 2.7 percent, the biggest year-on-year gain since March 2012. The CPI rose 2.5 percent in the year to January. Inflation is firming in part as the 2015 drop, which was driven by lower oil prices, fades from the calculation. The so-called core CPI, which strips out food and energy costs, increased 0.2 percent last month as new motor vehicle prices fell and apparel prices moderated after spiking in January. The core CPI increased 0.3 percent in January. In the 12 months through February, the core CPI increased 2.2 percent after advancing 2.3 percent in January. It was the 15th straight month the year-on-year core CPI remained in the 2.1 percent to 2.3 percent range. The Fed has a 2 percent inflation target and tracks an inflation measure which is currently at 1.7 percent. ECONOMY SLOWING The U.S. central bank is expected to raise its overnight benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to a range of 0.75 percent to 1.00 percent on Wednesday. It increased borrowing costs last December and has forecast three rate hikes in 2017. U.S. financial markets were little moved by the data as traders awaited the outcome of the Fed''s meeting. The Fed will announce its decision on interest rates at 2 p.m. (1800 GMT) February''s retail sales added to January''s weak reports on trade, construction and business spending that have pointed to sluggish economic growth . The Atlanta Fed is forecasting GDP rising at a 1.2 percent annualised rate . With the labour market near full employment, slowing growth probably understates the health of the economy. In addition, GDP growth tends to be weaker because of calculation issues that the government has acknowledged and is working to resolve. Tightening labour market conditions, which are steadily lifting wages, continue to underpin consumer spending. In February, motor vehicle sales fell 0.2 percent after declining 1.3 percent the prior month. Receipts at service stations slipped 0.6 percent, reflecting lower gasoline prices. Sales at electronics and appliances stores fell 2.8 percent, the biggest decline since December 2011, after climbing 1.1 percent in January. Receipts at building material stores increased 1.8 percent. Sales at clothing stores fell 0.5 percent. Retailers including J.C. Penney Co Inc ( JCP.N ), Abercrombie & Fitch ( ANF.N ) and Macy''s Inc ( M.N ) are scaling back on brick-and-mortar operations amid increased competition from online retailers, led by Amazon.com ( AMZN.O ). Sales at online retailers jumped 1.2 percent last month after increasing 0.5 percent in January. Receipts at restaurants and bars dipped 0.1 percent, while sales at sporting goods and hobby stores fell 0.4 percent. (Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-economy-idUKKBN16M1VX'|'2017-03-15T20:19:00.000+02:00' +'e0b1cf639299ef2cb0f39e26a97815edeb4cda4a'|'UK watchdog proposes IPO research shake-up to level playing field'|'LONDON, March 1 Investors in planned stock market flotations will get independent research about the company sooner under proposals made by Britain''s Financial Conduct Authority on Wednesday.Under existing rules, the prospectus, which gives in-depth information about the company that plans to list, is only made available late in the initial public offering process.Analysts at banks who are not involved in the IPO also have little access to the information they need to produce research to rival that from banks "connected" to the float."This is of particular concern given the conflicts of interest that arise during the production of connected research, including analysts coming under pressure to produce favourable research on an offering if their bank is to secure a place on the book-running syndicate," the FCA said in a statement.Under the proposed rules, the prospectus would be published before the "connected" research.Providers of independent research would also have access to the company''s management before connected research is published."The proposals we have outlined in today''s consultation paper are designed to improve the range, and timeliness of higher quality information that is available to investors during the process," Christopher Woolard, the FCA''s executive director of strategy and competition, said in a statement.(Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-ipo-regulations-idINL5N1GE25V'|'2017-03-01T05:42:00.000+02:00' +'ae7824a7ed81ba5622a7d603cd788819854de0d9'|'Kabbage looks to raise money for acquisitions: sources'|'By David French and Anna Irrera Small U.S. business online lender Kabbage Inc is in talks to raise a new round of equity funding that could be used for potential acquisitions at a time when many of its peers face funding challenges, people familiar with the matter said.The move comes as online lenders are increasingly encroaching on the turf of traditional banks. However, growth in the industry has slowed as some online lenders have struggled to offload loans many institutional investors view as risky.Privately held Kabbage is holding talks with investment firms about raising a few hundred million dollars in the new round, the sources said this week.Kabbage, based in Atlanta, could not immediately be reached for comment.One of the acquisition targets under consideration by Kabbage is rival On Deck Capital Inc, which has market capitalization of $321 million, according to one of the sources.The sources cautioned that no decisions have been taken and asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential.New York-based On Deck Capital declined to comment.Kabbage runs a platform that provides loans to small businesses in minutes. Its existing investors include Reverence Capital Partners, SoftBank Capital, Thomvest Ventures, Mohr Davidow Ventures, BlueRun Ventures, the UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund, ING, Santander InnoVentures, Scotiabank and TCW/Craton.Banco Santander SA partnered with Kabbage last year to provide loans to small businesses in Britain, while JPMorgan Chase & Co works with On Deck.On Deck shares have fallen more than 80 percent since it went public in December 2014. On Deck posted its fifth consecutive quarterly loss last month, and said it had to set aside more money for future losses after determining its calculations in its internal models were off.As a private company, Kabbage does not report earnings publicly.Earlier this month, it said it priced the largest asset-backed securitization of small business loans in the online lending industry, packaging and selling $525 million worth of loans to investors. Kabbage said this would allow its volume of lending to exceed $2.7 billion.On Deck said earlier on Wednesday that it had amended its asset-backed revolving credit facility with Deutsche Bank to extend its maturity date to March 2019 and to increase its borrowing capacity by $52 million, to a total of up to $214 million.(Reporting by David French and Anna Irrera in New York)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-kabbage-funding-idINKBN16U042'|'2017-03-22T22:04:00.000+02:00' +'e98ee86ffbe6478c97530b47d73a283cf666439e'|'Deutsche Bank shares drop on capital hike plan'|' 9:14am GMT Deutsche Bank shares drop on capital hike plan The head quarters of Germany''s Deutsche Bank are photographed early evening in Frankfurt, Germany, January 31, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT Shares in Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) fell almost 7 percent in early trading on Monday after the lender announced an 8 billion-euro ($8.48 billion) capital increase that Chief Executive John Cryan had previously declared a last resort. The capital hike is its fourth since 2010. Together with a partial listing of the asset-management unit and a sale of other assets, the move should take its core capital ratio - a key measure for regulators - above 13 percent from 11.9 percent at end-2016. Germany''s biggest lender, weighed down by litigation costs and writedowns, has fallen behind Wall Street rivals. It has spent the last 18 months trimming its portfolio, throwing out bad clients and trying to get its technology into shape. "The question is whether this will be the last capital hike or whether the bank will need more yet again in a few years. Until now, none of the restructuring measures have borne fruit," Stefan de Schutter, a trader at Frankfurt-based Alpha, said. The new shares represent a dilution of a third for existing shareholders, who include 10 percent owner Qatar. Deutsche Bank shares had already fallen by more than 1 percent on Friday on media reports it was considering raising fresh capital. By 0857 GMT on Monday, the shares were trading 5.4 percent lower at the bottom of the German blue-chip DAX .GDAXI , which was down 0.7 percent. On Sunday, Deutsche Bank sketched out a strategy that included a reorganisation of some of its businesses, the scrapping of a plan to sell its Postbank German retail bank and the promotion of two executives as deputy CEOs. "We await more detail," wrote analyst Magdalena Stoklosa of Morgan Stanley, which does not have a formal recommendation on Deutsche Bank stock because it is one of the underwriters of the rights issue. "A credible integration of Postbank, further clarity of progress on investment banking restructuring... stabilisation of outflows and restoring confidence in wealth and asset management businesses are all issues management would need to address." ($1 = 0.9432 euros) (Reporting by Hakan Ersen and Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Maria Sheahan) Next In Business News Samsung Group repeats it did not pay bribes, seek improper favours SEOUL South Korean conglomerate Samsung Group [SAGR.UL] reiterated on Monday that it did not pay bribes or seek illicit favours in response to the special prosecutor''s announcement accusing the group''s leader of paying money to curry favour from President Park Geun-hye.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deutsche-bank-capital-idUKKBN16D0VB'|'2017-03-06T16:14:00.000+02:00' +'01d9f6fb1e550c85e3fb22658ee9f00813c05fd1'|'UPDATE 2-Nigeria raises $500 mln via 15-year Eurobond with 7.5 pct yield'|'(Adds Quote: , details)By Felix Onuah and Chijioke OhuochaABUJA/LAGOS, March 29 Nigeria raised $500 million by issuing a 15-year Eurobond on Wednesday with a yield of 7.5 percent, the finance ministry said, helping it plug a huge budget deficit in Africa''s largest economy.To revive the economy, which slipped into recession last year for the first time in 25 years, the government plans to increase spending by almost 20 percent this year, leaving it with a budget shortfall of 2.36 trillion naira ($7.7 billion).The money from the new bond, which follows an oversubscribed $1 billion Eurobond issue last month, will help fund infrastructure development work outlined in last year''s budget, Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun said."The proceeds from this additional note issuance will go towards funding capital projects in the 2016 budget," she said.Nigeria has been hit by a slump in global oil prices, which has reduced government revenues and battered its naira currency .The government plans to spend a record 7.3 trillion naira ($24 billion) this year to help get the country out of recession. It planned to spend 6.1 trillion naira last year, but struggled to fund its budget.Nigeria''s February $1 billion Eurobond issue, set to mature in 2032, priced at 7.875 percent and was almost eight times oversubscribed.The slightly lower yield the government will pay on Wednesday''s issue may be an indication of the strength of demand for Nigerian debt overseas.The country has registered a $300 million Diaspora bond programme, targeted at Nigerians abroad, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and is seeking at least $1 billion in loans from the World Bank and a $1.3 billion loan from China to fund railway projects.The country is also planning a 20 billion naira "green bond" next month after a new savings bond this month targeted at retail investors to broaden its funding base. ($1 = 306.6500 naira) (Writing by Paul Carsten and Alexis Akwagyiram; Editing by Hugh Lawson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/nigeria-eurobond-idINL5N1H65SR'|'2017-03-29T17:29:00.000+03:00' +'4d8bac325b991eb4328e609abc9564fd1c389643'|'Brazil''s Lojas Americanas raises $759 million in share offering -source'|'SAO PAULO, March 8 Lojas Americanas SA , Brazil''s largest discount retailer, has raised 2.4 billion reais ($759 million) through the sale of new common and preferred shares, one source with direct knowledge of the matter said.The company has priced its preferred shares at 16 reais and its common shares at 12.71 reais, the source added. Lojas Americanas has sold 9.3 million new common shares and 142.9 million new preferred shares.($1 = 3.1625 reais) (Reporting by Paula Laier; Writing by Tatiana Bautzer)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/lojas-americanas-stocks-offering-idINE6N14A04P'|'2017-03-08T21:07:00.000+02:00' +'387ccb07ac730d0f68087d3ab609aeeb6f86cbef'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Latam currencies weaken slightly ahead of expected U.S. rate hike'|'Company News 20pm EDT EMERGING MARKETS-Latam currencies weaken slightly ahead of expected U.S. rate hike (Adds final prices) By Bruno Federowski SAO PAULO, March 14 Most Latin American currencies weakened slightly on Tuesday as traders avoided big bets ahead of a widely expected U.S. interest rate increase on Wednesday. A batch of stronger-than-expected U.S. economic data and policymaker remarks have made investors all but certain that the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates. Higher U.S. rates could drain capital away from high-yielding emerging markets, weighing on their currencies. Still, many believe markets have already anticipated the hike, with price reaction hinging on the tone of the policy statement to be released after a two-day meeting. Against the dollar, Mexico''s peso slipped 0.2 percent, while the Brazilian real fell 0.5 percent. Brazil''s benchmark Bovespa stock index declined 1.3 percent, hit by falling shares of state-controlled oil company Petrleo Brasileiro SA, which fell more than 5 percent. Stock in Petrobras, as the firm is known, tracked a decrease in crude futures after a rise in U.S. oil inventories. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 2200 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % Latest change change MSCI Emerging Markets 939.97 0.16 9.01 MSCI LatAm 2538.26 -1.13 8.44 Brazil Bovespa 64699.46 -1.27 7.43 Mexico IPC 47087.97 -0.03 3.17 Chile IPSA 4527.59 -0.33 9.06 Chile IGPA 22740.33 -0.28 9.68 Argentina MerVal 19062.24 -0.65 12.68 Colombia IGBC 9792.19 -1.85 -3.32 Venezuela IBC 37860.87 -0.51 19.42 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.1693 -0.54 2.52 Mexico peso 19.662 -0.23 5.50 Chile peso 669.0 -0.32 0.25 Colombia peso 2999.5 -0.52 0.07 Peru sol 3.279 0.15 4.12 Argentina peso (interbank) 15.535 0.00 2.19 Argentina peso (parallel) 16.04 -0.06 4.86 (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by W Simon and Sandra Maler) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/latam-emergingmarkets-idUSL2N1GR1LI'|'2017-03-15T05:20:00.000+02:00' +'42c093cad29bf51c93264d96ae4b7e2e02656561'|'Israel''s Netafim hires Goldman Sachs to handle possible sale'|'JERUSALEM, March 27 Israeli irrigation specialist Netafim said on Monday it has hired Goldman Sachs to handle the possible sale or public offering of the company."Following Netafim''s good results from the past years, and given the positive forecast ahead, the company is exploring a number of strategic options including a share offering or sale," Netafim said in an emailed statement without elaborating.Netafim, which has 4,300 employees and 17 factories, said it hired Goldman at the start of the first quarter to lead the process, along with Bank of America Merrill Lynch and CenterView.Private equity firm Permira owns 61 percent of Netafim, a pioneer of drip irrigation. (Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Steven Scheer)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/netafim-goldman-sachs-idINL5N1H439N'|'2017-03-27T10:11:00.000+03:00' +'f124f57ce56d16c99f7cdb3f9b48b443d5a3d320'|'Renault CEO Ghosn targeted in French diesel probe'|'Environment 8:13pm GMT Renault CEO Ghosn targeted in French diesel probe left right Renault Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn delivers a speech during the official presentation of the new Renault RS16 car at the company''s research center, the Technocentre, in Guyancourt, near Paris, France, February 3, 2016. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier 1/3 left right A Renault logo covered with mud and dust is seen on a car in Paris, France, March 15, 2017. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes 2/3 left right A Renault logo covered with mud and dust is seen on a car in Paris, France, March 15, 2017. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes 3/3 By Gilles Guillaume and Laurence Frost - PARIS PARIS France''s consumer fraud watchdog told prosecutors that Renault boss Carlos Ghosn should be held responsible for the carmaker''s suspected diesel emissions cheating, a judicial source said on Wednesday. The comments were included in a dossier submitted last November by the finance ministry''s DGCCRF anti-fraud body, the source said. The agency announced at the time it had found "suspected breaches" of French law by Renault, and prosecutors opened a formal investigation two months later. Renault shares fell 3.7 percent on Wednesday after more details of the watchdog''s allegations were published by daily Liberation. The carmaker has consistently denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with any offence. It was not immediately available to comment on Wednesday and Ghosn could not be reached for comment. The finance ministry declined to comment. Following Volkswagen''s ( VOWG_p.DE ) exposure in 2015 for U.S. diesel test-cheating, several European countries launched their own investigative test programs. They found on-road nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions more than 10 times above regulatory limits - for some GM, Renault and Fiat Chrysler models - and widespread use of devices that reduce exhaust treatment in some conditions. The French test program, overseen by an investigating committee, has so far led to action against Renault and three others: PSA Group, Fiat Chrysler and VW. In its Renault submission, the DGCCRF emphasized Ghosn''s managerial responsibility, the judicial source said, confirming other French media reports on Wednesday. While Renault''s "entire chain of command" was responsible, the dossier said, the chief executive was directly accountable because "no delegation of powers had been established by Carlos Ghosn regarding the approval of engine control strategies". Carmakers including Renault have broadly invoked an EU legal loophole designed to allow so-called "defeat devices" only when they are necessary for safety or engine protection. Renault and several of its peers told the French hearings that devices in their vehicles were legal under the EU exemption. But the panel concluded that the technical justifications "remained to be proven". Renault had explained the NOx-cutting exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) technology in its top-selling diesel engines had been found to cause serious turbo clogging problems. Engineers responded by programming the EGR to shut down outside a narrow range of air intake temperatures, 17-35 degrees Celsius (63-95 degrees Fahrenheit). While passing regulatory tests carried out near room temperature over short periods, the protocol sends NOx emissions sky-high on the road. (Reporting by Laurence Frost; Editing by Adrian Croft and Mark Potter) Next In Environment'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-renault-diesel-idUKKBN16M2VN'|'2017-03-16T02:46:00.000+02:00' +'5010d1f4feff025d8122e47e1e3eae84fede6e96'|'US STOCKS-Futures dip ahead of Yellen''s speech'|' 39am EST Futures dip ahead of Yellen''s speech A trader works inside a post February 28, Sweta Singh U.S. stock index futures were down for the second straight day since January on Friday, ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen''s speech, which is expected to give further clarity on the possibility of an interest rate hike later this month. Yellen is set to speak at 1:00 p.m. ET (1800 GMT) at the Executives Club of Chicago. Her speech comes after several other Fed officials this week stoked market expectations for a March rate hike. Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer, who has backed raising interest rates, is scheduled to give a keynote address on monetary policy in New York at 12:30 a.m. ET. Traders have priced in a 76 percent chance of a rate hike this month, compared with roughly 30 percent at the start of the week, according to Thomson Reuters data. U.S. stock markets closed down on Thursday as financials declined after surging a day earlier on increased expectations of a rate hike in March. Investors also await report from the Institute of Supply Management on its non-manufacturing index for February, which is expected to remain unchanged at 56.5. The data is expected at 10:00 a.m. ET (1500 GMT). The dollar index, which measures the greenback''s strength against a basket of six major currencies, was poised for its fourth straight weekly gain, though it was about 0.1 percent lower on Friday. Among stocks, shares of Snap Inc ( SNAP.N ), which closed up more than 40 percent in their much-awaited market debut on Thursday, were up 1.3 percent at $24.80 premarket. World''s largest advertising group WPP''s U.S.-listed shares were down 7.3 pct at $108.42 after it cut its 2017 net sales forecast. Firearm maker American Outdoor Brands'' ( AOBC.O ) shares were down 7.5 percent at $17.93 after weaker-than-expected full-year forecast on Thursday. Futures snapshot at 6:53 a.m. ET: Dow e-minis 1YMc1 were down 3 points, or 0.01 percent, with 26,777 contracts changing hands. S&P 500 e-minis ESc1 were down 2.75 points, or 0.12 percent, with 126,491 contracts traded. Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQc1 were down 7.25 points, or 0.14 percent, on volume of 22,299 contracts. (Reporting by Sweta Singh in Bengaluru) Investors see Snap''s IPO as ''too big to fail'' NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO Institutional investors anxious not to be left out of this year''s marquee initial public offering helped Snap Inc pull off the biggest U.S.-listed technology share sale this week since Chinese e-commerce juggernaut Alibaba Group Holding Inc smashed records in 2014.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks-idUSKBN16A1EI'|'2017-03-03T19:32:00.000+02:00' +'e6ecbc5d56e6bc7a5d0e14ba59718b9acd7b19cb'|'Akzo shareholder Elliott says 25 percent of owners want PPG talks: FD newspaper'|'AMSTERDAM Elliott Advisors, the hedge fund with a 3.25 percent stake in Dutch paint maker Akzo Nobel ( AKZO.AS ), has identified shareholders representing 25 percent of the company''s owners who want it to engage in takeover talks with PPG Industries ( PPG.N ), according to Dutch newspaper FD.Akzo has rebuffed a 24.4 billion euro ($26.4 billion)takeover proposal from PPG and declined "engaging" with the U.S. company, saying it will detail plans to spin off its chemicals division instead.Elliott, which has been a vocal advocate of talks with PPG, commissioned Boudicca Proxy to poll 300 institutional investors representing approximately half of Akzo''s total shareholder base, the FD report said.Half of those investors responded, representing 24.6 percent of Akzo''s outstanding share capital, and virtually all wanted Akzo to engage with PPG, the report said.Elliott and Akzo could not immediately be reached for comment early Wednesday.(Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Stephen Coates)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-akzo-nobel-m-a-ppg-inds-shareholders-idINKBN1700DA'|'2017-03-29T02:51:00.000+03:00' +'11a57b2239be9e101e3d31995a5185af40fb7ee5'|'The DNA of oil wells - U.S. shale enlists genetics to boost output'|'Commodities 08am EDT The DNA of oil wells: U.S. shale enlists genetics to boost output A pump jack and pipes are seen on an oil field near Bakersfield on a foggy day, California January 18, 2015. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson By Ernest Scheyder - HOUSTON HOUSTON A small group of U.S. oil producers has been trying to exploit advances in DNA science to wring more crude from shale rock, as the domestic energy industry keeps pushing relentlessly to cut costs and compete with the world''s top exporters. Shale producers have slashed production costs as much as 50 percent over two years, waging a price war with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Now, U.S. shale producers can compete in a $50-per-barrel oil market, and about a dozen shale companies are seeking to cut costs further by analyzing DNA samples extracted from oil wells to identify promising spots to drill. The technique involves testing DNA extracts from microbes found in rock samples and comparing them to DNA extracted from oil. Similarities or differences can pinpoint areas with the biggest potential. The process can help cut the time needed to begin pumping, shaving production costs as much as 10 percent, said Ajay Kshatriya, chief executive and co-founder of Biota Technology, the company that developed this application of DNA science for use in oilfields. The information can help drillers avoid missteps that prevent maximum production, such as applying insufficient pressure to reach oil trapped in rocks, or drilling wells too closely together, Kshatriya said. "This is a whole new way of measuring these wells and, by extension, sucking out more oil for less," he said. Biota''s customers include Statoil ASA, EP Energy Corp and more than a dozen other oil producers. Kshatriya would not detail Biota''s cost, but said it amounts to less than 1 percent of the total cost to bring a well online. A shale well can cost between $4 million and $8 million, depending on geology and other factors. Independent petroleum engineers and chemists said Biota''s process holds promise if the company can collect enough DNA samples along the length of a well so results are not skewed. "I don''t doubt that with enough information (Biota) could find a signature, a DNA fingerprint, of microbial genomes that can substantially improve the accuracy and speed of a number of diagnostic applications in the oil industry," said Preethi Gunaratne, a professor of biology and chemistry at the University of Houston. Biota has applied its technology to about 80 wells across U.S. shale basins, including North Dakota''s Bakken, and the Permian and Eagle Ford in Texas, Kshatriya said. That is a tiny slice of the more than 300,000 shale wells across the nation. EP Energy, one of Biota''s first customers, insisted on a blind test last year to gauge the technique''s effectiveness, asking Biota to determine the origin of an oil sample from among dozens of wells in a 1,000-square foot zone. Biota was able to find the wells from which the oil was taken and to recommend improvements for wells drilled in the same region, said Peter Lascelles, an EP Energy geologist. "If you''ve been in the oilfield long enough, you''ve seen a lot of snake oil," said Lascelles, using slang for products or services that do not perform as advertised. Lascelles said DNA testing helps EP Energy understand well performance better than existing oil field surveys such as seismic and chemical analysis. The testing gives insight into what happens underground when rock is fractured with high pressure mixtures of sand and water to release trapped oil. Biota''s process is just the latest technology pioneered to coax more oil from rock. Other techniques include microseismic studies, which examine how liquid moves in a reservoir, and tracers, which use some DNA elements to study fluid movement. Venture capitalist George Coyle said his fund Energy Innovation Capital had invested in Biota because it expected the technique to yield big improvements in drilling efficiency. He declined to say how much the fund had invested. "The correlations they''re going to be able to find to improve a well, we think, are going to be big," he said. -For graphic on ''DNA sequencing in the oil industry'' click: tinyurl.com/ma8ypwd (Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Gary McWilliams, Simon Webb and David Gregorio) Next In Commodities'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-oil-dna-idUSKBN16Z0EZ'|'2017-03-28T13:00:00.000+03:00' +'3ecd10c569bf1f19bbf139a0874a25047cf11ab3'|'Profiting from the wall: The battle to build Donald Trumps wall'|'FEW slogans were chanted with as much passion by Donald Trumps supporters in the presidential campaign as Build that wall!. The construction industry is almost as enthusiastic. Last week Americas Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP) issued two invitations for companies to bid to build the wall on the border with Mexico, which is expected to cost anywhere between $12bn and $25bn. The deadline for designs falls on March 29th. One request is for a solid concrete border wall, and the other for a wall using alternatives to reinforced solid concrete, suggesting the government has yet to decide what the barrier should be made of.More than 700 companies, from big general contractors to firms selling materials to niche providers of lighting and surveillance systems, have registered to try to become suppliers. To the surprise of some, about one in ten of the firms bidding are local ones with Hispanic owners, drawn by the scale of the earnings on offer. Cemex, a Mexican cement giant that has plants on both sides of the border, said it would not sell cement for the project, though it had earlier expressed interest in joining the bidding. Another, tiny, Mexican firm has offered lighting. 4 14 Other foreign firms muscling in include SA Fence & Gate from South Africa and Quickfence from Spain, although they may not get far: the governments tender mentions a Buy American preference. Skanska, a Swedish firm that is one of the construction industrys largest, publicly snubbed the project. We believe in openness and equality, declared its chief executive, Johan Karlstrom.The big American bidders try to downplay the politics. Howard Nye, the boss of Martin Marietta, a materials giant based in North Carolina, says simply that his company has a general interest in large infrastructure projects. Its shares and that of other construction firms have risen as a result of Mr Trumps pledge to lavish $1trn on infrastructure across the country. Those plans may be delayed, but not, it seems, the wall. For some smaller bidders, business and personal views are aligned. Michael McLaughlin of Greenfield Fence, a contractor based near San Diego, says the barrier is needed to keep dangerous drug dealers out of the country.The general requirement is for a wall that is at least 5.5 metres high, preferably 9 metres, with anti-climb and anti-tunnelling features, and whichon the American side, at leastis aesthetically pleasing. The few dozen firms that make it to the second round will later present detailed drawings and technical specifications as well as their best price. At the end of the process a still unknown number of winners will each be awarded a contract with a maximum value of $300m.The rules of the game clearly favour large engineering and construction firms such as KBR, which helped build the detention camp at Guantnamo Bay and which will probably bid, or Kiewit, from Nebraska. These companies have the best design expertise, top-notch construction-management teams and the ability to strong-arm materials suppliers. But smallish players could still turn a profit by signing up to be subcontractors to bigger, prime contractors. Andrew Dorfschmidt of McDirt Excavation, a family-owned business in South Dakota, hopes to sell digging services to whichever companies are awarded the government contract.Other firms are not interested in building the wall itself but are looking to sell border-wall accessories that are known as tactical infrastructure and technology. These include lighting, standing platforms and remote video-surveillance systems. One such firm, 2020 Surveillance, assumes there will be cameras placed every 60 metres along the wall. At a licensing fee of a few hundred dollars per camera per year it would expect to make $10m in revenue every year the wall is in place, if it supplied surveillance for the whole length required, or about 1,000 miles (1,610km).Despite the strong expression of interest from potential bidders, the construction schedule could be unpredictable. For one thing, company bosses note that the wall will run through many parcels of private land. Although eminent-domain laws, which force the transfer of private property into public hands, may be invoked by the government, agreeing on adequate compensation for evicted landowners often becomes a legal headache.Receiving payment could also take time. Only a small fraction of the estimated total cost of building the wall has been ring-fenced under Mr Trumps skinny budget proposal. Mexico has disobligingly ruled out paying for it. Delay may not matter to everyone, however. Working on Mr Trumps pet project is probably a good way to get a slice of a broader infrastructure splurge, if and when it comes.'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21719520-more-700-companies-are-vying-business-many-them-are-local-hispanic-owners?fsrc=rss'|'2017-03-23T22:43:00.000+02:00' +'b6e1c88c314afc714868c1d35d277e84e2ae93e7'|'Swiss stocks - Factors to watch on March 31'|'Company News - Fri Mar 31, 2017 - 1:22am EDT Swiss stocks - Factors to watch on March 31 ZURICH, March 31 The following are some of the main factors expected to affect Swiss stocks on Friday: ACTELION Johnson & Johnson declared its $30 billion tender offer for Swiss biotechnology company Actelion successful on Friday, reporting it controlled 77.2 percent of the voting rights after the main offer period. The price of the offer, which J&J announced on Jan. 26, was $280 per share for Actelion. It said it expected the transaction to close in the second quarter. For more click on COMPANY STATEMENTS * Zurich Insurance is redeeming $1 billion worth of trust preferred securities early. The securities, issued in 2007 by ZFS Finance (USA) Trust V are expected to be redeemed on May 9, 2017 at par plus accrued interest, Zurich said. The net amount outstanding is $501 million. An Australian court has approved an arrangement under which Zurich Insurance will acquire all shares in travel insurer Cover-More. Cover-More expects to lodge the approval with Australia''s Securities and Investment Commission April 3. * Helvetia has placed a 500 million euros ($536.25 million) subordinated hybrid-bond on the EUR capital market. The bond bears a fixed coupon of 3.375 percent until its first optional call date in September 2027. * Credit Suisse said it plans to suspend further issuance of its exchange-traded notes. The plan does not affect investors'' ability to offer the bank ETNs for repurchase, Credit Suisse said. * VAT Group expects to grow sales at least 20 percent in 2017 in constant currency after net income jumped to 67 million francs in 2016. The group nominated Martin Komischke to succeed Horst Heidsieck as chairman of the board. * Sika appointed six managers to new positions within the firm, which its CEO said would help the group achieve its growth strategy and 2020 targets. ECONOMY (Reporting by Zurich newsroom) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/markets-swiss-stocks-idUSL5N1H763J'|'2017-03-31T13:22:00.000+03:00' +'c4da98473d280111f87b3bb3ca449e77b1831672'|'OPEC says oil stocks keep rising despite supply cut deal'|' 06pm GMT OPEC says oil stocks keep rising despite supply cut deal A flag with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) logo is seen before a news conference at OPEC''s headquarters in Vienna, Austria December 10, 2016. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader LONDON OPEC on Tuesday said oil inventories had continued to rise despite the start of a global deal to cut supply and raised its forecast of production in 2017 from outside the group, suggesting complications in the effort to clear a supply glut. In a monthly report, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries also pointed to a increase in compliance by members with their deal to cut output from Jan. 1, based on figures it collects from secondary sources. But the report revised up its estimate of oil supply from producers outside the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries this year, including from U.S. shale drillers. While the OPEC secondary sources said Saudi output fell in February, Saudi Arabia reported to OPEC that it increased. (Reporting by Alex Lawler, editing by Louise Heavens) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-opec-oil-idUKKBN16L1DN'|'2017-03-14T19:06:00.000+02:00' +'95369b6adf261b4e021e56de180c52fe6b5f9d4a'|'Crooked business as usual in Angola, activists say, after Brazil firm admits bribes'|'* Odebrecht admitted paying bribes to local authorities* Payments made to secure large infrastructure contracts* Corruption also recorded in MozambiqueBy David Lewis and Brad BrooksNAIROBI/SAO PAULO, March 20 Angola''s authorities have ignored the admission by a Brazilian firm that it paid $50 million in bribes to secure contracts in the country, activists say, despite demands from watchdogs that it join international investigations into the corruption.Brazilian engineering conglomerate Odebrecht admitted to the illegal payments in Angola as one part of a guilty plea in December in New York court, in which it confessed to paying $788 million in bribes, mostly across Latin America.The company has been at the centre of vast corruption investigations in its home country and eight other Latin American states where it has admitted making the illegal payments. CEO Marcelo Odebrecht was jailed for 19 years in 2016 for paying bribes.But in Angola, which along with Mozambique is the only country outside of Latin America on the list of places where it has admitted paying bribes, "there has been absolute silence," said anti-corruption campaigner Rafael Marques de Morais.Marques de Morais demanded an investigation in Angola in January after the U.S. court published the plea deal detailing the company''s admissions, but said he was not surprised to receive no response from the authorities."The point is that there is no official interest in fighting corruption. Or even pretending that there is an interest in fighting corruption. The Angolan judicial system wants this to go away because of the involvement of senior officials."Over the past two decades Angola has experienced some of the fastest economic growth in the world thanks to an offshore oil boom. But most of its 21.5 million people remain in abject poverty, while a small elite have prospered.Odebrecht grew to become Angola''s largest private-sector employer as it won contracts for projects ranging from construction and agro-processing to mining, including the 2,000 MW Lauca hydroelectric project on the Kwanza river.In Angola, it employs 7,300 people directly and a further 3,500 sub-contractors. The company said the bribery case had no impact on its operations in Angola."Odebrecht continues operating normally in the country," a spokesman in Brazil said.Angola has no government spokesman. Attempts to obtain comment from the office of President Jose Eduardo dos Santos were unsuccessful.When asked to for comment, Norberto Garcia, head of the UTIP government agency that handles major private investments in the country, said he didn''t know anything about the issue."I barely heard references about it somewhere," he told Reuters."BENEFITS"Global anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International describes Angola as one of the most corrupt states on earth, ranked 164th out of 176 countries on its index of perceived corruption.The watchdog has called upon the 11 countries where Odebrecht admitted paying bribes -- nine in Latin America plus Angola and Mozambique -- to work together to establish a joint investigation into the company''s confessed crimes.In one example cited in the plea agreement filed with a court in the Eastern District of New York, someone identified only as "Odebrecht Employee 6" was responsible for the company paying one Angolan official $8 million to secure an infrastructure project. The Angolan official was not named.In another example, a top official in an Angolan state-owned and state-controlled firm received $1.19 million from Odebrecht to push business the company''s way.In return, Odebrecht secured some $261.7 million in "benefits" from the payments, the document said.The plea agreement also detailed bribery in Mozambique, another former Portuguese colony in southern Africa, but the amounts described were far smaller: $900,000 in corrupt payments made by Odebrecht officials between 2011 and 2014. As in Angola, the case is little discussed in Mozambique. Government officials there declined to comment.Paula Cristina Roque, an Oxford University-based Angola analyst, said Odebrecht projects in Angola were often secured without having to go through a public tender process."Many Angolans believe the company enjoyed close ties to President dos Santos," she said.Odebrecht is seeking plea agreements with various Latin American governments aggressively investigating its activities after details of the plea agreement were made public in December. Brazil''s former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is facing five separate trials related to the investigations.One accuses him of corruption charges related to Odebrecht winning Angola contracts and receiving low-interest loans from Brazil''s state development bank to finance the work.Angola''s leader Dos Santos, a Soviet-trained oil engineer, has been in charge since 1979 but is not running in a presidential election this year.However, his family is expected to maintain considerable influence over politics and the economy. His daughter Isabel was appointed chairwoman of the state oil firm last year, while his son Jose Filomeno runs Angola''s sovereign wealth fund. (Additional reporting by Joe Brock in Johannesburg, Herculano Coroado in Luanda, Manuel Mucari in Maputo and Tatiana Bautzer in Sao Paulo; Editing by Ed Cropley and Peter Graff)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/odebrecht-angola-idINL3N1GT4I7'|'2017-03-20T07:49:00.000+02:00' +'10059338286ade0349a53032a33b4c2581944803'|'''You have to keep fighting'' Confessions of a Small Business - Guardian Small Business Network'|'Photograph: Anna Gordon Subscribe via iTunes Download MP3 Podcast feed URL Supported by About this content View more sharing options Close Presented by Coco Khan and produced by Rowan Slaney Wednesday 1 March 2017 12.00 GMT Subscribe and review on iTunes , Soundcloud & Mixcloud and join the discussion on Facebook and Twitter . Arpana Gandhi, co-founder of Disarmco, appeared on the panel at the Guardian Small Business Networks Confessions of a Small Business Event on 6 February.Former business consultant Gandhi met her business partner and co-founder John Reid in 2008, after he had been asked by the Ministry of Defence to provide a solution for the safe disposal of unfused bombs. The duo spent a lot of time and money researching and developing numerous iterations of Disarmcos products, which had to comply with changing rules around transportation. Gandhi also ploughed a considerable amount of her own money into the business after failing to gain the interest of investors. Frustrated, she turned to crowdfunding two years ago and raised 120,000 to back the venture.A big contract with the UN was a turning point for the company, which now works with a broad range of clients. But its been a real fight to get a foot in the door. Ive done things the right way and Ive done things the wrong way, Gandhi says. Each experience is a learning curve. But if you have a passion for something, dont give up. Know that at some point, somewhere, somebody will help you. Guardian Small Business Network Adventures in Business Entrepreneurs'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/audio/2017/mar/01/keep-fighting-confessions-small-business-landmine-disposal-investment'|'2017-03-01T19:00:00.000+02:00' +'6debc245f921f6b6ceae6bf5e8ed13efd3ca4492'|'UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on March 13'|'Company 3:36am EDT UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on March 13 (Adds company news items, futures) March 13 Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening up 6 points at 7,349 on Monday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures up 0.1 percent ahead of the cash market open. * COMPUTACENTER: British IT services provider Computacenter said its full-year adjusted revenue rose 6.3 percent, helped by positive currency impact. * HSBC: HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe''s biggest bank, tapped an outsider for its top job on Monday, appointing insurance veteran and AIA Group boss Mark Tucker as chairman to replace Douglas Flint, who plans to step down in 2017. * LLOYDS: Lloyds Banking Group is expected to sign a contract with IBM for 1.3 bln stg that will shift more than 1,900 jobs to the US tech firm as it outsources many of its computer systems, the Financial Times reported. * VODAFONE: Mobile operator Vodafone will create 2,100 new customer service jobs across Britain in the next two years as part of an investment drive to improve operations in its home market. * BHP BILLITON: The striking union at BHP Billiton''s Escondida copper mine in Chile, the world''s largest, told Reuters on Saturday that it will not accept an offer from the company to return to the negotiating table, and it called on the company to clarify some of its negotiating positions. * LLOYDS: A U.S. judge on Friday dismissed Lloyds Banking Group Plc , ICAP Europe Ltd and Tullett Prebon Plc as defendants from litigation alleging a conspiracy among many financial services companies to manipulate the yen Libor and Euroyen Tibor benchmark interest rates. * MISYS: Misys ( IPO-MISY.L ) is nearing a deal to combine with DH Corp , the Financial Times reported, citing sources. on.ft.com/2mZ55MB * BOVIS-GALLIFORD TRY: British homebuilder Bovis has rejected a bid approach from rival Galliford Try but remains in negotiations about a possible deal, the firm said on Sunday, adding it had also rejected a proposal from another suitor, Redrow. * OIL: Oil prices dropped to their lowest in three months on Monday despite OPEC efforts to curb crude output, dragged down as U.S. drillers kept adding rigs. * The UK blue chip index FTSE 100 ended up 0.4 percent on Friday, led by BT as investors cheered the resolution of a long-running regulatory battle over its broadband unit. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets TODAY''S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Siju Varghese; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idUSL3N1GQ2KI'|'2017-03-13T14:36:00.000+02:00' +'54896079d816b1664165e9f600c774ec04c675ab'|'Activist investor urges French Connection to break up'|'An activist investor urged struggling British fashion retailer French Connection Group Plc ( FCCN.L ) to split itself or spin off its Toast brand, after the company posted its fifth straight annual loss on Tuesday.Gatemore Capital, which has been mounting pressure on French Connection since July, said the company should consider separating its retail and licensing businesses among other options.The investor urged the company in January to split the role of chairman and CEO and called for an outright sale.French Connection, which made a name for itself selling FCUK branded clothes, has been struggling to fend off competition from fast-fashion rivals such as ASOS Plc ( ASOS.L ), Forever 21 and Inditex''s ( ITX.MC ) Zara.Gatemore''s managing partner, Liad Meidar, said on Tuesday the firm would still prefer a sale of the company.The investment firm, which owns an 8 percent stake, estimated French Connection to be worth 80 million-100 million pounds ($97 million-$121 million).The company''s current market value is about 33.4 million pounds.Apart from Toast, French Connection owns the Great Plains and YMC brands. The company was not immediately available for comment.French Connection has closed stores and hired new management and design teams as it tries to return to a profit.Chief Executive Stephen Marks reiterated on Tuesday his commitment to turn the group profitable and said the response to the company''s 2017 collections had been very strong.Meidar said the company could turn a profit moving into 2018 or at least be on a run rate for profitability by then.Brokerage Numis Securities said it expected the company to return to profit in the year ending January 2019.British billionaire Mike Ashley''s Sports Direct International Plc ( SPD.L ) took an 11.2 percent stake in French Connection in February, becoming its second-largest shareholder. Sports Direct''s intentions were not clear.French Connection said pretax loss widened to 5.3 million pounds for the year ended Jan. 31, from 3.5 million pounds a year earlier.Sales at stores open for more than a year in the UK and Europe rose 4.4 percent. The two regions accounted for more than three-quarters of the company''s revenue.Marks said the retail business in the two regions was improving, but the company was being held back by the wholesale and licensing divisions.Full-year revenue fell 6.7 percent to 153.2 million pounds.The company''s stock was up 6.8 percent at 35.56 pence in light trading.($1 = 0.8247 pounds)(Reporting by Arathy S Nair and Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-french-connectn-results-idUSKBN16L1JP'|'2017-03-14T16:08:00.000+02:00' +'1bfd5f9b02bbe5b73f7903cbee51e791526e838a'|'Irish services sector slips back from post-Brexit high - PMI'|' 6:22am GMT Irish services sector slips back from post-Brexit high - PMI DUBLIN Growth in Ireland''s services sector slipped slightly in February but remained close to January''s post-Brexit high and confidence about the future continued to grow, a survey showed on Friday. Ireland is widely considered the European Union economy most at risk from its key trading partner''s decision to quit the bloc, and growth slowed in both the services and manufacturing sectors after the surprise referendum result. The Investec Services Purchasing Managers'' Index slipped to 60.6 in February from the seven-month high of 61.0 in January, as growth in prices charged slowed, but new export business improved. "While the rate of growth in activity across much of Ireland''s private sector has eased slightly from January, it remains well above the series average," Investec Ireland chief economist Philip O''Sullivan said. "Firms remain very optimistic on the outlook for the sector," he said. The services sector has not fallen below the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction since June 2012, when Ireland was halfway through a three-year international bailout. The economy has since recovered to be the best performing in the EU. The new export business sub-index climbed to 58.4 from 56.1, the highest rate since July. The survey showed growth increasing slightly in employment levels but slowing in prices charged and in the amount of outstanding business. A survey on Wednesday showed growth in Irish manufacturing slowed in February despite exports getting a boost from improved demand in Britain as sharply rising input costs dented profit margins. Detailed PMI data are only available under licence from Markit and customers need to apply to Markit for a licence. To subscribe to the full data, click on the link below: www.markit.com/Contact-Us For further information, please phone Markit on +44 20 7260 2454 or email economics@markit.com (Reporting by Conor Humphries; Editing by Toby Chopra; (conor.humphries@thomsonreuters.com; +35315001518; Reuters; Messaging: conor.humphries.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ireland-economy-pmi-idUKKBN16A0GT'|'2017-03-03T13:22:00.000+02:00' +'4f7d5832537925c6c534f02e2ef61e94172b97ea'|'EU has asked Brazil to suspend meat shipments -sources'|' 16pm EDT EU has asked Brazil to suspend meat shipments -sources BRASILIA, March 23 The European Union asked Brazil to voluntarily suspend all shipments of meat to its member countries to avoid imposing a ban that would take time to lift but the Brazilian government did not agree, EU diplomats in Brasilia told Reuters on Thursday. EU ambassadors have been seeking more information on the irregularities discovered in Brazil''s meat industry and they criticized the Brazilian government for failing to deal with the problem as a public health issue, according to one diplomat who attended an EU ambassadors meeting in Brasilia on Wednesday. (Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Daniel Flynn; Editing by Sandra Maler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-corruption-meat-eu-idUSL2N1H021S'|'2017-03-24T05:16:00.000+03:00' +'67e14962d4785b3d37f5eaa5f331f7976b6a4863'|'PSA strikes deal to buy Opel from GM, wins board approval: sources'|'By Laurence Frost , Gilles Guillaume and Pamela Barbaglia - PARIS/LONDON PARIS/LONDON France''s PSA Group ( PEUP.PA ) struck a deal with General Motors ( GM.N ) to buy the U.S. carmaker''s loss-making Opel division, two sources with knowledge of the matter said.The board of PSA, maker of Peugeot and Citroen cars, approved the deal on Friday with an announcement planned for Monday, one of the sources said.Spokespeople for PSA and Opel declined to comment.The two carmakers, which already share some production in an existing European alliance, confirmed last month they were negotiating an outright acquisition of Opel and its British Vauxhall brand by Paris-based PSA, sparking widespread concern over possible job cuts.Earlier on Friday, Opel managers had adjourned a town hall meeting with workers until Monday morning, saying they could not yet discuss details of the planned acquisition.PSA boss Carlos Tavares said last week a full acquisition of Opel offered an "opportunity to create a European car champion" and quickly exceed 5 million annual vehicle sales. The French carmaker also expects savings of up to 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion) from the tie-up, sources have said.(Additional reporting by Edward Taylor in Frankfurt; editing by Andrew Callus/Ruth Pitchford)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-opel-m-a-idINKBN16A240'|'2017-03-03T15:22:00.000+02:00' +'aa51ee2c5d4844241c846ce48678bc542fe11619'|'Banks reporting platform sees continuity on regulations post-Brexit'|' 8:03am GMT Banks reporting platform sees continuity on regulations post-Brexit Canary Wharf and the city are seen at sunset in London, December 14, 2016. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh LONDON Electronic trading heavyweight NEX Group launched a new regulatory reporting platform for banks on Thursday that assumes Britain will stick to European regulations on reporting financial market transactions long after leaving the EU in 2019. The platform, run by fintech startup Abide Financial in which NEX has invested, streamlines the processing of millions of transactions daily for major banks and will take another step up next year under Europe''s new MiFID II regulations. Abide is already a reporting partner to over 120 banks, asset managers, hedge funds, and other trading firms and eventually expects to be one of only a handful of providers with around 40 percent of daily transactions. Chief Executive Collin Coleman said the system assumed Britain would stick closely to the MiFID rules after it leaves the EU. "We believe that there will be something that looks a lot like MiFID in place after Brexit. Our customers need certainty so we are making a decision to move on with that assumption," he said. "(British regulator) the FCA has been so heavily involved in the drafting of all of these regulations and MiFID II fundamentally supports so much of its mandate. The bar for retracting financial regulatory law when we leave the EU should be pretty high." (Reporting by Patrick Graham; Editing by Dominic Evans) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-banks-regulation-reporting-idUKKBN16G0RK'|'2017-03-09T15:03:00.000+02:00' +'ccb80dfe9a80cd5f1a380b4106b83560cfde17d2'|'After UK, France opens probe into Airbus jet deals'|'Business News - Thu Mar 16, 2017 - 11:43pm GMT After UK, France opens probe into Airbus jet deals The logo of Airbus group is pictured in Colomiers near Toulouse, France, January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau By Tim Hepher and Cyril Altmeyer - PARIS PARIS Airbus''s ( AIR.PA ) legal entanglements deepened on Thursday when French authorities opened a preliminary investigation into suspected irregularities over the use of third-party agents to win jetliner contracts, expanding a UK corruption probe. The European planemaker said on Thursday it had been informed that France''s financial prosecutor, or Parquet National Financier, had teamed up with Britain''s Serious Fraud Office, which is investigating suspected fraud, bribery and corruption. "Airbus has now been informed ... that the two authorities will act in coordination going forward," the aerospace group said. "Airbus will cooperate fully with both authorities." The decision by the French and UK investigators to cooperate in their probes is unusual. It could provide a high-profile test of a 2016 anti-graft law which introduces for the first time into France the possibility of a "deferred prosecution agreement," a type of settlement often favoured in corruption probes and already used on occasion by Britain''s SFO. In January, UK engineering group Rolls-Royce Plc ( RR.L ) reached such a deal with the SFO and agreed to pay 497 million pounds plus interest plus SFO costs after a bribery probe. The SFO launched its Airbus investigation last August after the planemaker uncovered evidence of false declarations over the use of agents in its applications for UK export credits and reported its findings to UK Export Finance, a government agency. The UK agency last year suspended the issue of export credits to Airbus and France, and Germany followed suit, forcing Airbus to provide financing to some airlines in order to maintain aircraft deliveries. Earlier this month, the company''s sales chief told Reuters that some export credits could resume on a case-by-case basis this year. Airbus, Europe''s largest aerospace company, is headquartered in France. The company is shaking up its international marketing organisation amid the UK probe, people familiar with the matter said last month. The French and British investigations are separate from one initiated by Austrian prosecutors against Airbus and the Eurofighter consortium over alleged fraud. Airbus also faces a French probe over a helicopter deal with Kazakhstan and a longstanding UK probe over bribery allegations in a communications deal between its GPT unit and Saudi Arabia. (Additional reportnig by Kirsti Knolle and Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Susan Thomas and Leslie Adler) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-airbus-group-france-investigation-idUKKBN16N353'|'2017-03-17T06:43:00.000+02:00' +'9cf258f1fefcd9217e1dd15d32369b7df91f3e5e'|'UK unemployment is as low as 1975 but why aren''t wages rising? - Business'|'T he last time Britains unemployment rate was lower than it is today was in the summer of 1975. For those whose memories dont stretch that far back it was the time of the UKs first referendum on EU membership, Harold Wilson was prime minister and inflation was at at postwar peak of more than 25%.The contrast with todays labour market is stark. Joblessness stands at 4.7%, a level that many economists would consider close to full employment, yet there is not the glimmer of the upward pressure on wages that was so evident in the mid-70s.Back then, increases in the cost of living were matched by demands for higher pay, which in turn led to higher inflation. Eventually, governments of both left and right resorted to statutory incomes policies as they sought to bring inflation down.The latest data from the Office for National Statistics suggests that the UK now has a non-statutory incomes policy, enforced by employers rather than by Whitehall. Unemployment in the three months to January 2017 was 105,000 lower than in the previous quarter and employment was up by 92,000.Yet, wage pressure over the same period abated. Average earnings in the three months to January were 2.3% higher than a year earlier: in the three months to December 2016 they rose at an annual rate of 2.6%.These figures speak volumes about the modern labour market and in particular how the balance of power has shifted in the past four decades. Even when jobs are relatively plentiful and inflation is picking up, workers are unwilling or unable to press for higher pay.The reasons for this transformation is obvious: deindustrialisation and the growth of employment in the non-unionised service sector; curbs on the power of trade unions; an increase in labour supply. In addition, the one area where trade union density remains high the public sector is subject to a 1% pay cap. Here at least, statutory incomes policy lives on.While record levels of employment are welcome, the weakness of pay means that consumer spending is going to be squeezed hard over the coming months. Inflation is running at 1.8% and will soon overtake earnings growth. Most people will keep their jobs and they will still be able to afford their mortgages because the lack of any wage pressure means the Bank of England will keep interest rates ultra low. But the feelgood factor will be noticeable by its absence.Topics UK unemployment and employment statistics Economics comment '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/mar/15/uk-unemployment-wages-pay-growth'|'2017-03-15T18:18:00.000+02:00' +'ce1354aa42761575b0515f17d1be111288d16abc'|'Luxury cosmetic sales give L''Oreal a lift in mixed start to year'|'By Sarah White - PARIS PARIS A jump in luxury cosmetic sales at L''Oreal ( OREP.PA ) offset a weak first quarter for several of the French company''s other divisions, with overall like-for-like revenues 4.2 percent higher, slightly above forecasts.L''Oreal, which produces Maybelline make-up and Garnier shampoo, said that demand for its mass-market consumer products was slow to pick up in the first three months of the year.Sales in this unit rose 1.4 percent from a year earlier on a like-for-like basis, which strips out swings in currency exchange rates and acquisitions or disposals. They had grown 4.2 percent on an annual basis in the fourth quarter.Chief Executive Jean-Paul Agon told a conference call on Tuesday that this trend would likely be reversed in the rest of 2017, however, as the consumer division returned to healthier growth rates after a "strange" start to the year.Demand for L''Oreal''s luxury cosmetics was especially strong in Asia, with sales up 12.2 percent on a like-for-like basis."This part of the world is a fantastic opportunity for our luxury division," Agon said, adding that cosmetic brands like Lancome, Armani and Yves Saint Laurent were "on fire" in China and attracting young consumers.That contrasted with shrinking sales in the company''s professional unit, which makes products for salons.L''Oreal also said sales were particularly weak in its home market, which accounts for just under 8 percent of its revenues, although other parts of Europe such as Britain and Germany held up better and the United States performed well.Reported sales across the L''Oreal group were up 7.5 percent at 7.04 billion euros ($7.5 billion), slightly above analyst expectations. Analysts had forecast like-for-like sales across the group to rise 3.9 percent, according a compilation for Reuters by Inquiry Financial.L''Oreal said that it would decide on a possible sale of retailer The Body Shop, an ethical beauty pioneer that has struggled with rising competition, in the coming months.Shares in L''Oreal closed down 0.52 percent at 180.1 euros per share before the company released its earnings.(Additional reporting by Pascale Denis; editing by Bate Felix and Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/loreal-results-idINKBN17K28G'|'2017-04-18T16:24:00.000+03:00' +'11c2407f0c32a3abd989fe68e3e6dab101ea3def'|'Peru prosecutors open graft probe into ex-leader Garcia -source'|'By Teresa Cespedes - LIMA, March 31 LIMA, March 31 Public prosecutors in Peru have opened a preliminary probe into the country''s former President Alan Garcia as part of a far-reaching inquiry into bribes that Brazilian builder Odebrecht SA has acknowledged distributing to win local contracts, a source in the attorney general''s office said Friday.Prosecutors are investigating whether Garcia was involved in potential graft in the awarding of a $400 million contract for a metro line in the capital Lima during his second term, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment.Garcia''s representatives requests for comment but Garcia has previously denied any involvement in Odebrecht''s kickback schemes in Peru, saying he feels "ashamed" that corrupt officials might have been a part of his government."If the prosecutor deems it appropriate, I welcome any investigation and I will go to any summons to collaborate," Garcia said on Twitter after local daily El Comercio reported earlier on Friday that he was under investigation.In December, Odebrecht admitted publicly that it doled out hundreds of millions in bribes to unnamed authorities across Latin America, including $29 million to win contracts in Peru over a decade-long period spanning three presidencies.The former head of Odebrecht in Peru, Jorge Barata, is cooperating with prosecutors as a witness and the company has vowed to provide any relevant documents or statements.A special prosecutor in the justice ministry, Katherine Ampuero, had asked prosecutors in the attorney general''s office to include Garcia in its inquiry into Odebrecht''s bribes, saying evidence exists that could lead to a conviction.Garcia is a skilled orator and political heavyweight who has governed Peru twice, first in the 1980s as a protectionist and then as a free-market proponent from 2006-2011, when Odebrecht said it bribed a high-level government official in exchange for help winning a $400 million transportation contract.Garcia''s predecessor, Alejandro Toledo, is wanted in Peru for preventive jailing after prosecutors accused him of taking $20 million in bribes from Odebrecht in exchange for help winning two lucrative highway contracts.Toledo has denied wrongdoing and refused to turn himself in, saying he has not been given due process. Peru wants the United States, where Toledo is believed to be in California, to arrest and extradite him.(Reporting by Teresa Cespdes, Writing by Mitra Taj; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/peru-corruption-idINL2N1H824P'|'2017-03-31T22:29:00.000+03:00' +'2bf1a1cd3f96d54d1ccf075d1435614de703da49'|'Swapping notes: De La Rue rethinks its strategy'|'THOMAS DE LA RUE set up shop more than 200 years ago, printing newspapers, then playing cards and stamps. In 1860 a contract to print banknotes for Mauritius started a transformation. Today De La Rue is the largest commercial banknote and passport printer, involved in aspects of the production of currencies for 140 countries, and passports for over 40.The British firms chief executive, Martin Sutherland, is relatively relaxed about the much-heralded death of cash. Despite advances in payments technology, and a shift to cards in Europe, the total demand for cash has proven remarkably resilient. Transaction values are rising rapidly in emerging economies, where hard currency is still the norm. De La Rue expects world demand for banknotes to grow by 3-4% a year for the foreseeable future. 15 2 But there are problems nonetheless. Even at the best of times, note production, which accounts for over 70% of the companys revenues, is a volatile business. Contracts are lumpy. State-owned printers often call in commercial printers at short notice to manage spikes in demand, which are unpredictable. On top of that, national authorities are demanding better value. They are running cut-throat tendering processes rather than relying on existing relationships. Some are sourcing individual componentssuch as design, paper or security featuresfrom multiple suppliers, rather than buying the entire package from a single provider. Others have gone still further: thanks to the Indian governments Make in India campaign, for example, a former big customer of banknote paper is now making its own.The consequence of such trends has been falling prices and a build-up of excess capacity in the industry. De La Rue had to warn investors about its profits repeatedly in the years leading up to 2015 (since then, profits have exceeded expectations).The companys answer has been to try to expand its offerings of technology-led security products. Cash itself is getting more secure: polymer banknotes use complex holographic images to guard against forgers. They are longer lasting, so need to be replaced less frequently, but command a higher price. In 2012 De La Rue became the second of only two companies to produce the plastic (Innovia, based in Britain, is the other) and has printed notes for several authorities, including, most recently, the Bank of England. Demand for the material is forecast to rise by 10% a year in the near future (a kerfuffle over traces of animal fat in the new notes seems likely to be resolved by using palm oil instead).De La Rue also expects demand for passports and for other security identification to grow. A significant proportion of the worlds population remains unrecordedUNICEF estimates that a quarter of the worlds children under the age of five are unregistered, for example. But the market for physical tokens, broadly speaking, could consolidate over time, says John Nelson of Smithers Pira, a market-research firm. Driving licences, social-security documents and passports may be merged into a single ID. The market could even disappear altogether: from 2019 onwards the Australian government, for example, wants to speed up border checks by replacing passport control with biometric scans.De La Rue is responding to such threats by selling end-to-end services, not just physical products. It has new software packages that allow governments to manage the entire passport-issuing process, for example. It wants to help governments manage civil-registration data on births, marriages and deaths.The last prong of Mr Sutherlands strategy is to apply the companys anti-counterfeiting expertise to product authentication. The OECD estimates that the market for counterfeit goods was worth $461bn in 2013, with luxury goods, electronics and tobacco most likely to be faked. De La Rue currently sells secure stamps that help governments verify that the appropriate tax on, say, cigarettes, has been paid. Its labels are also used by Microsoft to track and verify software products. There should be room to expand. Mr Sutherland reckons that luxury brands, especially, will become good customers; some already authenticate their products. If so, money will not be the firms only cash cow. Business "Swapping notes"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21720342-governments-are-striking-hard-bargains-what-they-pay-cash-de-la-rue-rethinks-its-strategy?fsrc=rss'|'2017-04-06T22:41:00.000+03:00' +'530665ccd4be66a018abf32c28bac1824da1589f'|'BASF still out for agchem deals after missing out in auction'|'FRANKFURT, April 27 German chemicals giant BASF said it would continue to push for acquisitions to shore up its crop protection business, after the antitrust-related sale of assets from the merger of Dow Chemical and DuPont left it empty-handed."We are generally interested in strengthening our business further, acquisitions are part of that, that is very much part of our thinking. But it takes two to tango," Chief Executive Officer Kurt Bock told journalists on a call after the release of quarterly results on Thursday.He added deals were even more difficult when a third party in the form of an antitrust regulator posed additional hurdles.With rivals including Monsanto and Bayer joining forces all around, BASF has been eyeing a surprise foray into generic pesticides and cast an eye on U.S. pesticides peer FMC Corp , sources told Reuters on March 22.FMC in late March snatched up crop protection businesses put up for sale by DuPont to win European Union approval for its merger with Dow Chemical. These assets had been regarded by analysts as a good fit for BASF. (Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Maria Sheahan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/basf-results-cropprotection-idINL8N1HZ2JB'|'2017-04-27T06:24:00.000+03:00' +'ec3ac2638ee912ca4397e01f8b7a4cd5c0505b14'|'Driverless cars will make our roads safer, says Oxbotica co-founder - Guardian Sustainable Business'|'Paul Newman is a self-confessed positivist when it comes to autonomous driving.A professor of information engineering at Oxford University, he co-founded Oxbotica in 2014, a specialist provider of autonomous control system technologies, and believes driverless cars will make our roads safer and help an ageing population remain independent.Driving is hard. Its tiring. And its a bit dangerous its imperative we fix some of this stuff, he says. Plus, the amount of time we spend tied up in traffic, having to concentrate thats a criminal waste of humanity.Despite his entrepreneurial enthusiasm, Newman is not nave about the future. The days of autonomous vehicles zipping us all around as we lounge on the back seat remain, in his view, a long way down the line.Yet initial everyday applications are closer than we may think, he insists. Driverless trucks are already being deployed in ports and mines for short, repetitive trips, for example.Facebook Twitter Pinterest An Oxbotica trial in the London borough of Greenwich. Photograph: Oxbotica Itll be quite some time before you have autonomous vehicles that can take you from any place to any other place, at any time of day, whatever the weather [] but I can see mobility as a service kicking off quite rapidly.Uber suspends fleet of self-driving cars following Arizona crash Read more That could mean picking up groceries from the supermarket or driverless goods vehicles in warehouses or self-driving pods at airports, he says.That said, future business applications arent Oxboticas primary concern: designing autonomous software is. The company has developed a system called Selenium that uses patented algorithms to help cars understand their immediate environment and then navigate their way around in real time.Two key attributes set Oxboticas software solution apart. First, it doesnt necessitate building a whole new fleet. Assuming the right cameras, lasers, sensors and so forth are in place, Selenium can be uploaded into a standard vehicle and theoretically off it goes. Second, the system is self-learning. So use it in New York, say, and it will soon twig not to give an inch at the lights.The invention is currently being trialled in prototype shuttles in the London borough of Greenwich. Funded by the government-supported GATEway initiative , the six-month experiment sees the shuttles run on a 2km stretch shared by pedestrians, cyclists and other drivers. The trial also includes automated deliveries.Safety and CO2 emissions Newman is most optimistic about the potential social upsides of autonomous driving technology. Safety is the major win in his opinion. 90% of all accidents are caused by distraction, he notes. Distraction is the one thing that machines dont do. They have super human abilities to concentrate.Those who cant currently drive because of poor eyesight, epilepsy or some other kind of physical impairment stand to benefit enormously as well. Removing transport from people is not okay, he insists. Machines should be doing that for us.The environmental upsides excite him too. Self-drive cars will lead to steadier traffic and less unnecessary acceleration, both of which will help reduce transport-related emissions, he argues. More impactful still is the boost he believes autonomy will give to the electric car market the rationale being that the two technologies are part of the same process of reinventing vehicles.Twelve things you need to know about driverless cars Read more His optimism about autonomous driving isnt dewy-eyed. New types of accidents will emerge, he admits. Teslas experience substantiates that fear. Last year, the driver of a Model S died after his autopilot failed to register a tractor-trailer in bright light.Yet Newman is confident that such risks will continually reduce as self-learning software gets smarter and sensor technologies improve. In January, for instance, Oxbotica released a new component to Selenium called Dub4 that works entirely on visual clues rather than GPS, which can fail when underground or under tree cover.Nor does the autonomy advocate deny that mainstreaming driverless cars will be anything but a long and messy journey. Dont expect to be driving through central Athens in a driverless taxi any time soon, he says. But then dont be surprised, either, if you start seeing autonomous taxis on specific highways or on short stretches in towns.So whats holding things up? Hardware mostly, he says. The necessary sensors, lasers, radars and so forth are still not good enough nor cheap enough for mass adoption. Car manufacturers will want to bring the cost of those sensors right down and theyll want us to integrate it into the styling. All of that has to be done still.Given high manufacturing costs at present, the smart money initially is on shared ownership models and public transport. Autonomous cars will be too expensive for the average punter for a good while. But as a pay-to-use shuttle service, for example, the economics look more attractive.A Routemaster bus costs what? 1.5m. But if youre running it as a transport service then thats not the most important thing. What matters is the reliability. So as autonomous cars go through different price points, you can see how different people will decide to own them.Sign up to be a Guardian Sustainable Business member and get more stories like this direct to your inbox every week. You can also f ollow us on Twitter .'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/apr/13/driverless-cars-will-make-our-roads-safer-says-oxbotica-co-founder'|'2017-04-13T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'4e91457318395b66c7bbd6ac4844927cc1d516d5'|'British company finance chiefs more upbeat, still risk-averse - Deloitte'|'Business News - Mon Apr 3, 2017 - 12:08am BST British company finance chiefs more upbeat, still risk-averse - Deloitte The Canary Wharf business district is seen reflected in windows at dusk in London, Britain December 11, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON British company finance chiefs are their most optimistic in 18 months, but their risk appetite has recovered far less from the battering it took in the run-up to and aftermath of last year''s vote to leave the European Union, a survey showed on Monday. Britain''s economy enjoyed the second-fastest growth of any large advanced economy last year, but with consumer demand fading in the face of surging inflation, the Bank of England hopes business investment will keep growth going this year. Accountants Deloitte said the mood among chief financial officers who decide investment plans at some of Britain''s biggest companies was the most upbeat since June 2015. Some 31 percent of CFOs surveyed last month said they were more optimistic about the prospects for their company than three months earlier, up from 27 percent in December and just 3 percent immediately after the June 2016 referendum. "The UK corporate sector enters the negotiation phase of Brexit in far better spirits than seemed likely in the months after last year''s referendum vote," David Sproul, a senior partner at Deloitte, said. However, while business optimism is pretty much back to its level before the EU referendum started to weigh on corporate sentiment, risk appetite is far from having recovered. Some 26 percent of CFOs said they still expected to reduce capital spending because of Brexit and 30 percent plan to slow hiring - though this is down from an outright majority who planned to cut investment and jobs just after the referendum. Just 26 percent of CFOs think now is a good time to take a risk - up from 3 percent after the referendum, but far below the 51 percent who were prepared to add risk to their company''s balance sheet in June 2015. Last week Prime Minister Theresa May formally told the European Union that she wanted to start two years of exit talks. "Businesses will hope that the UK can secure the best possible deal on trade and market access, but must continue to plan for an exit in 2019, several years of trade negotiations, and a transitional phase to bridge the two," Sproul said. The Deloitte survey was conducted between March 8 and March 22 and was based on responses from 130 CFOs, including 25 of Britain''s 100 largest listed companies, and 53 mid-cap firms. Other participants included finance directors of large, privately held companies and British subsidiaries of foreign firms. (Reporting by David Milliken)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-cfo-idUKKBN1740YQ'|'2017-04-03T07:08:00.000+03:00' +'9a915370a781aa8549a435aea3820cf142b821f4'|'Boeing 737 MAX 9 jetliner takes off successfully on first flight'|'Business News 2:01pm EDT Boeing 737 MAX 9 jetliner takes off successfully on first flight FILE PHOTO: Boeing''s new 737 MAX-9 is pictured under construction at their production facility in Renton, Washington, U.S., February 13, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Redmond/File Photo SEATTLE A new version of Boeing Co''s ( BA.N ) 737 jetliner took off for the first time on Thursday, marking another step in Boeing''s revamp of its best-selling product line. Boeing''s 737 MAX 9, a fuel-efficient, long-range successor to the 737-900, took off at 1:52 p.m. ET (1752 GMT) from Renton Municipal Airport in Renton, Washington, on a test flight to help prepare the new version for delivery to customers next year. (Reporting by Alwyn Scott; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-boeing-7373-flight-idUSKBN17F2DF'|'2017-04-14T01:57:00.000+03:00' +'f0da4a4c611ea82d7a8e4cbb419f9bf77c66b761'|'More small housebuilders needed to fix UK''s ''broken'' market - report'|'Business 12:27am BST More small housebuilders needed to fix UK''s ''broken'' market - report Construction work is seen amongst residential and commercial buildings in east London, Britain, February 7, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON Britain will not fix its "broken" housing market unless it ends the dominance of the biggest housebuilders by supporting smaller providers to ramp up the rate of construction, a parliamentary committee warned on Saturday. Housing is a huge political issue in Britain where demand outstrips supply, pushing up prices and leaving large numbers of first-time buyers locked out of the market. A cross-party report by parliament''s Communities and Local Government Committee said more than half of all new homes were built by the eight largest firms, meaning the country is overly reliant on a small number of commercial providers. The report said there was little incentive for so-called volume builders to accelerate their rate of building and said changes needed to be made to help the small and medium-sized builders, who have been declining in number and output. "The housing market is broken, we are simply not building enough homes," said Clive Betts, the chair of the committee. "Smaller builders are in decline and the sector is over reliant on an alarmingly small number of high volume developers, driven by commercial self-interest and with little incentive to build any quicker." The report said that in order to increase competition, land should be made available in smaller portions to allow the smaller builders to secure space, and the government should look at making finance available to smaller groups which are seen as more risky. The report said around 190,000 net additional homes were built in Britain in 2015-16 but charities and industry consultants believe that figure is too low to meet demand. According to the committee, a quarter of all new homes in 2015 were built by the three largest companies - Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey and Barratt. Other listed housebuilders include Berkeley Group, Bellway Redrow, Crest Nicholson and Bovis Homes. The Home Builders Federation said it welcomed the report and supported the drive to support smaller providers. But it noted that demands around the planning process were also an issue. "The vast majority of the big increases in housing supply in recent years have come from the larger, mainstream builders - but we need more builders of all sizes and specialisms if we are to tackle our acute housing shortage," it said. (Reporting by Kate Holton, editing by David Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-housebuilding-idUKKBN17U343'|'2017-04-29T07:13:00.000+03:00' +'145268dc79b32875a56804a990c5f7376c9c316d'|'PPG says ready to address Akzo Nobel objections to offer'|'Deals 02am EDT PPG says ready to address Akzo Nobel objections to offer FILE PHOTO: The sign of AkzoNobel is pictured at its headquarters in Amsterdam, Netherlands, February 6, 2014. REUTERS/Toussaint Kluiters/United Photos/File Photo AMSTERDAM PPG Industries ( PPG.N ), the U.S. paints and coating makers that is trying to buy smaller Dutch peer Akzo Nobel ( AKZO.AS ), said on Wednesday it was ready to address various non-financial objections Akzo had raised about PPG''s offer. On Tuesday, Akzo repeated its opposition to PPG''s 24.5 billion euro ($26.1 billion) offer, saying it would face antitrust difficulties and would be bad for employees.. A large number of Akzo shareholders have urged the management to enter discussions. In a statement on Wednesday, PPG said it would address Akzo''s concerns, including commitments to research and development, employment terms, location of divisional headquarters, community investment and sustainability targets. "We once again invite AkzoNobel to meet with us ... We are prepared to address all of AkzoNobel''s concerns in a collaborative and substantive manner," PPG Michael McGarry said in a statement. (Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Edmund Blair) Next In Deals JAB Holding to buy bakery chain Panera Bread in $7.5 billion deal JAB Holdings, the owner of Caribou Coffee and Peet''s Coffee & Tea, said on Wednesday it would buy U.S. bakery chain Panera Bread Co in a deal valued at about $7.5 billion, including debt, as it expands its coffee and breakfast empire.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-akzo-nobel-m-a-ppg-inds-idUSKBN1771HK'|'2017-04-05T19:57:00.000+03:00' +'f2a54bfe97a73241ae88b91886673cb6dbf0d82f'|'BRIEF-GoPro prices $175 mln of 3.50 pct convertible senior notes due 2022'|' 43am EDT BRIEF-GoPro prices $175 mln of 3.50 pct convertible senior notes due 2022 April 7 GoPro Inc: * GoPro prices $175 million of 3.50% convertible senior notes due 2022 * Size of offering was increased from previously announced $150 million in aggregate principal amount Source text for Eikon: Morning News Call - India, April 7 To access the newsletter, click on the link: http://share.thomsonreuters.com/assets/newsletters/Indiamorning/MNC_IN_04072017.pdf If you would like to receive this newsletter via email, please register at: https://forms.thomsonreuters.com/india-morning/ FACTORS TO WATCH 10:00 am: Power Minister Piyush Goyal at an event in New Delhi. 10:00 am: Junior Shipping Minister ML Mandavia at an event in New Delhi. 11:00 am: Budget session of parliament continues in Ne MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-gopro-prices-175-mln-of-350-pct-co-idUSASB0B8Y8'|'2017-04-07T12:43:00.000+03:00' +'cf50b243ee1051a1a182149f6d95f1b43b7ab313'|'Lufthansa CFO says not interested in buying Alitalia'|'BERLIN Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) said it was not interested in buying Italian rival Alitalia, whose future is unclear after workers this week ruled out a rescue plan."I have no comment on Alitalia... But we are not there to buy Alitalia," Lufthansa Chief Financial Officer Ulrik Svensson said on a call with analysts and media after the carrier reported first-quarter results on Thursday.Italian media has repeatedly speculated that Lufthansa could take over Alitalia.Budget rival Norwegian Air Shuttle ( NWC.OL ) also said on Thursday it was not interested in buying any Alitalia assets.However, the CEO of Malaysia Airlines told Reuters on Wednesday he would be interested in leasing planes from Alitalia if it was wound up.(Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Maria Sheahan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-lufthansa-results-alitalia-idINKBN17T0ZZ'|'2017-04-27T06:12:00.000+03:00' +'5a6805a5d99b55ef5a7ae03f36b05f1a1278d851'|'Volkswagen recalls 2,340 Audi Q5 SUVs in Russia over sunroof water problems - standards agency'|'Business News 9:52am BST Volkswagen recalls 2,340 Audi Q5 SUVs in Russia over sunroof water problems - standards agency FILE PHOTO - A 2016 Audi Q5 2.0 is pictured during the opening of a new plant in San Jose Chiapa, in Puebla state, Mexico, September 30, 2016. REUTERS/Imelda Medina MOSCOW The Russian unit of Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) is recalling 2,340 Audi Q5 sports utility vehicles in Russia because of problems with water leaking through their sunroofs, Russia''s standards agency said in a statement on Wednesday. It said the recall affected vehicles made between 2010 and 2017. "The reason for the recall ... is a problem with water in the area of the panoramic sunroof not draining away properly," the agency said. "As a result water can get into the ceiling upholstery, and if there''s a large amount of moisture, this can soak into the polymer material which is next to the gas generator for the upper airbag. This can corrode the gas generator." (Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov; Writing by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Andrey Ostroukh)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-audi-recall-idUKKBN17L0WQ'|'2017-04-19T16:52:00.000+03:00' +'176e93300678ff8dd055a41fa6cde360e512f4d4'|'Japan''s GPIF starts recruiting managers for alternative assets'|'By Thomas Wilson - TOKYO TOKYO Japan''s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) on Tuesday began recruiting asset managers for investments in private equity, infrastructure and real estate, as the world''s largest pension fund''s embrace of riskier assets gathers pace.In its first recruitment of outside managers for investments in so-called alternative assets, GPIF is looking to hire an unspecified number of institutional investors to oversee bets in Japan and other developed countries.The fund in 2014 reduced its holdings of low-yielding domestic government bonds and invested more in stocks. The landmark move followed a government push to spur higher returns on pension investments and jolt Japan out of deflation.The scale of investment in the three asset classes would not be decided until after the fund has assessed candidates'' investment capacities, a GPIF spokesman said. Initial checks on applications are set to begin on June 1.As with GPIF''s current investments in stocks and bonds, the managers for alternative assets will oversee "fund of funds" products in accounts created especially for GPIF, according to an advertisement on the fund''s website.GPIF managed 144.8 trillion yen ($1.31 trillion) worth of assets as of December, and last month posted a third-quarter gain of $92 billion on the back of a rally in the Japanese stock market.GPIF''s upper limit on alternative investments was set at 5 percent of its total pension reserve fund, but as of the end of December it stood at 0.07 percent.(Reporting by Thomas Wilson; Editing by Randy Fabi)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-japan-gpif-alternative-assets-idINKBN17D0DR'|'2017-04-11T02:47:00.000+03:00' +'28935745126013c4f26783b15a3b0097abf5645d'|'Stressed shoppers calm down by learning how to peel a potato - Business'|'In a dimly-lit room, a dozen twenty-somethings gather around a large table to relax, reconnect and learn. But this group is not learning a new language, setting up a book club or planning a business venture. They are attending a workshop taking place in the basement of Selfridges , one of Londons swankiest department stores to learn how to peel potatoes. For most people, peeling spuds is an everyday chore. But for some of those attending the workshop it is apparently close to a religious experience. Ive never peeled a potato before in my life declares Antonio Pignone, as peel curls from the blade of his wooden-handled paring knife. Im from an Italian family so maybe thats not that surprising. But now I am finally doing it I am really enjoying it. Im finding it a very meditative experience.Andy Stanford, a 26-year-old who works in social media, was employing a deft right-hand style. Ive just lost sense of all time, he said. Ive really enjoyed it and forgotten about checking my emails because I cant.The potato peeling workshop is part of a new programme which aims to help stressed-out consumers calm down and reconnect with themselves.The peeling is supervised by food anthropologists and hosts Suzy Webb and Bea Farrell. Participants have the choice of a old-fashioned paring knife, or a traditional metal potato or vegetable peeler. Some people were clearly not used to using a knife so we have shown them how to use that safely said Webb. We have also shown how to peel carefully, without wasting too much of the potato. The key thing is to look carefully what you are doing. Once you have got the knack you can do it quite quickly.Workshop attendees could select from three types of potato: standard Maris Pipers, new potatoes which guests were helpfully informed could be lightly scrubbed rather than peeled and an exotic French purple variety.Selfridges goes bigger on bags as 300m London revamp begins Read more For one attendee the event rekindled happy memories. Jessica Swan from Australia recalled how she and her brother used to have a competition to peel an entire potato without breaking the peel. It reminded me of happy family times, she laughed. It all came flooding back to me. The peel-in is part of a project - dubbed Our House - that Selfridges says explores the subject of home and what it means to people now, given problems like the millions of people displaced across the world, spiralling house prices and increased homelessness. And its not just about potatoes. The department store reckons that people can find solace and contentment from other basic activities and rituals, so there are other group activities planned, like lessons in how to grind spices by hand, tie herb bundles, and even make tea, using leaves rather than a teabag. .It all takes place in a semi-darkened conceptual farmhouse in the shops basement. Participants gain admission by ringing a cow bell, and have to remove their shoes and put away their mobile phones. Those feeling a tad tired can lie down and have a nap on a straw bed.Obviously, there are also a few things on sale, and not potato peelers. The project is a collaboration with a neighbouring Mayfair shop called The New Craftsmen, which stocks the work of independent designers in the luxury homewares and furnishings sector, like ceramicists, textile designersand furniture makers.So newly competent spud bashers can snap up an incense stick for 20, or a decorative wooden bowl for 1,000. We are increasingly disconnected from crafts and making and doing things because the world is becoming more and more virtual said Catherine Lock, founder of The New Craftsmen, who helped curate the ambient activities on offer. At the same time goods being produced are homogenised and bland. We hope this project will show people that crafts are hands-on, visceral, sensory activities which are very satisfying and grounding. Linda Hewson, creative director of Selfridges, said the potato-peeling workshop was all about getting pleasure out of simple tasks: We are not expecting potato peeling to become a hobby. But the idea is to draw attention to those habitual tasks you would not normally notice or appreciate, and find a renewed value in them. Its about a simple enjoyment and awareness of daily life and taking the time appreciate it. Topics Retail industry London Food & drink news '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/apr/06/stressed-shoppers-calm-down-by-learning-how-to-peel-a-potato'|'2017-04-07T02:29:00.000+03:00' +'142e211ee1f424fca994825b5a55bbd87c0d08d9'|'Italy regulator to decide on Vivendi stakebuilding in Mediaset on April 18 - source'|' 49pm BST Italy regulator to decide on Vivendi stakebuilding in Mediaset on April 18 - source The Vivendi logo is pictured at the main entrance of the entertainment-to-telecoms conglomerate headquarters in Paris, March 10, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Platiau MILAN Italy''s communications authority (AGCOM) is set to decide on April 18 whether stake building by France''s Vivendi ( VIV.PA ) in Italian broadcaster Mediaset ( MS.MI ) breaches Italian antitrust regulations, a source close to the matter said on Tuesday. AGCOM opened an investigation into the French media company on Dec. 21, after Mediaset filed a complaint regarding Vivendi rapidly accumulating a 28.8 percent share. The source said the board of AGCOM started a discussion on its findings in the Mediaset-Vivendi case on Tuesday and was likely to reach a conclusion by April 18. The authority has to decide whether Vivendi, which also holds a 24 percent share in phone incumbent Telecom Italia ( TLIT.MI ), breaches a national law which prevents companies from having an excessive share in both the domestic telecommunications and media markets. Vivendi declined to comment. (Reporting by Francesca Piscioneri,; Gwenaelle Barzic in Paris,; Writing by Giulia Segreti,; Editing by Giselda Vagnoni)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mediaset-vivendi-regulator-idUKKBN17D24C'|'2017-04-12T00:49:00.000+03:00' +'3e05f6eaefe676a204495adbfa7f712e7408c6d9'|'Failed pay-TV sale to Vivendi hit Mediaset FY results by 341 million euros'|' 5:21pm BST Failed pay-TV sale to Vivendi hit Mediaset FY results by 341 million euros FILE PHOTO: The Mediaset tower in Cologno Monzese, near Milan, Italy, April 8, 2016. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini/File Photo MILAN Italian private broadcaster Mediaset ( MS.MI ) said on Wednesday the failed sale of its pay-TV unit Premium to France''s Vivendi ( VIV.PA ) hit the group''s 2016 accounts by 341.3 million euros ($365 million). In July 2016 Vivendi pulled out of a 800-million euro contract that would give it full control of Premium, claiming the unit''s business plan was unrealistic. Milan-based Mediaset said the U-turn by the French media group resulted in "a series of extraordinary one-off charges" amounting to 269.3 million euros at the operating profit level, bogged down further by an additional loss of 72 million euros. It did not elaborate further. Despite posting a 2016 operating loss of 189.2 million euros, the broadcaster, whose top shareholder is the family of former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, said it expected to return to profit in 2017. ($1 = 0.9341 euros)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mediaset-results-idUKKBN17L265'|'2017-04-20T00:21:00.000+03:00' +'bdcbd9719319d856acf336156181af6ab6ad5797'|'Bass Pro lowers price for Cabela''s under new merger terms'|'Business News 6:00pm EDT Bass Pro lowers price for Cabela''s under new merger terms The outdoor sign seen at the Cabela''s store in Denver February 16, 2017. REUTERS/Rick Wilking Cabela''s Inc ( CAB.N ) said it agreed to be bought by fellow outdoor goods retailer Bass Pro Shops for a lower price than agreed, and that it would sell its bank unit in a two-step deal as it seeks regulatory clearance for the transactions. Synovus Financial Corp ( SNV.N ) will buy certain assets of Cabela''s financial division and then resell the credit card portfolio within the unit to Capital One Financial Corp ( COF.N ), Cabela''s said in a statement on Monday. The unit, called World''s Foremost Bank, was supposed to be bought by Capital One last year, but the deal wasn''t able to get timely regulatory approval. The new merger terms come amid regulatory scrutiny of the deal, although Cabela''s did not offer a reason for the revised price. The company was not immediately available to comment on the lowered merger price. Bass Pro Shops will now buy Cabela''s for about $5 billion, $500 million lower than the price agreed upon last year. The deal, originally announced in October, will combine Cabela''s 85 stores, which have a stronger U.S. Northwest presence, with Bass Pro''s roughly 100 locations that are concentrated in the U.S. Southeast. The companies have an overlap across Texas, Missouri and Kansas. Cabela''s had warned of a delay in closing the deal, because of delays in regulatory approval. The Federal Trade Commission, which regulates and enforces antitrust laws, had sought more information from the companies about the deal. Cabela''s said on Monday it now expects the deal to close in the third quarter this year. Bass Pro will acquire Cabela''s for $61.50 per share, lower than the originally agreed upon $65.50-per-share price, Cabela''s said. Shares of Cabela''s were up 6.6 percent at $56.91 in after-market trade. (Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cabela-s-m-a-basspro-idUSKBN17J1QT'|'2017-04-18T05:52:00.000+03:00' +'ae53444123af9435717467ca310a4164237c4bb3'|'Gary Cohn supports splitting lending and investment banks - Bloomberg'|'Company News - Thu Apr 6, 2017 - 12:26am EDT Gary Cohn supports splitting lending and investment banks - Bloomberg April 5 White House economic adviser Gary Cohn said in a private meeting with lawmakers that he supports a policy that could revamp Wall Street''s biggest firms by separating their consumer-lending businesses from their investment banks, Bloomberg reported, citing sources. The National Economic Council director, also a former Goldman Sachs president, said he favors a system of banking where firms like Goldman Sachs focus on trading and underwriting securities, while companies like Citigroup Inc primarily issues loans, Bloomberg said. bloom.bg/2nZK5n1 The White House was not immediately available for comment. In the meeting which was arranged by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, Cohn had discussions on topics including financial regulations and overhauling the tax code. The meeting included lawmakers from both political parties and their staffs, Bloomberg reported. On Tuesday, President Trump said his administration is working on changes to the Dodd-Frank banking regulations that will make it easier for banks to loan money. Last month White House spokesman Sean Spicer said during a briefing with reporters that Trump still backs his campaign pledge to restore the Glass-Steagall Act. The law, which separated commercial and investment banking activities, was repealed in 1999 and, if reinstated, would mainly apply to larger banks. (Reporting by Vishal Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair) Next In Company News Morning News Call - India, April 6 To access the newsletter, click on the link: http://share.thomsonreuters.com/assets/newsletters/Indiamorning/MNC_IN_04062017.pdf If you would like to receive this newsletter via email, please register at: https://forms.thomsonreuters.com/india-morning/ FACTORS TO WATCH 11:00 am: Budget session of Parliament continues in New Delhi. 2:00 pm: Farm Minister Radha Mohan Singh at an event in New Delhi. 2:30 pm: RBI releases monetary policy statement in Mumbai.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/gary-cohn-policy-idUSL3N1HE1VQ'|'2017-04-06T12:26:00.000+03:00' +'54dcdf0eaf5bdf9d3396b9dfcb707b3234baa34d'|'PRESS DIGEST- British Business - April 4'|'April 4 The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.The TimesApple Inc launched a hiring raid on Imagination Technologies Group Plc in the months before it shocked the City on Monday by announcing that it planned to cut ties with the chip designer. bit.ly/2nVcUm1The groceries code adjudicator has said that she believes Tesco Plc''s proposed 3.7 billion pound ($4.62 billion) takeover of Booker Group Plc could be "positive" for independent shopkeepers and suppliers.The GuardianThe head of the International Monetary Fund has issued a stark warning that living standards will fall around the world unless governments take urgent action to increase productivity by investing in education, cutting red tape and incentivising research and development. bit.ly/2nV2inkLloyds Banking Group Plc is to shrink the size of hundreds of its branches so they have only two staff with tablet computers helping customers. bit.ly/2nUZdDKThe TelegraphA potential bidding war could be in prospect after British engineering giant WS Atkins Plc received a 2.1 billion pound bid from Canadian rival SNC-Lavalin Group Inc just two months after it rebuffed overtures from with U.S. rival CH2M Hill. bit.ly/2nVensxAmazon.com Inc has launched a new service to help it enter the business-to-business supply market in UK. The company''s Amazon Business brand, which has already been launched in the United States and Germany, will offer companies a specially curated selection of products online ranging from office stationery supplies to industrial tools. bit.ly/2nV3KpGSky NewsBP Plc has agreed to slash millions of pounds from its chief executive''s maximum pay deal for the next three years in a bid to head off the threat of a fresh shareholder revolt. bit.ly/2nV1yhONew rules governing the credit card market could see customers having their cards suspended while they work to pay off persistent debt. The changes suggested by the Financial Conduct Authority call on firms to take a more proactive approach with struggling customers. bit.ly/2nUXMVKThe IndependentChemicals giant Ineos has been accused of exploiting Brexit to pressure ministers to get rid of environmental legislation. ind.pn/2nUYiTG($1 = 0.8010 pounds) (Compiled by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-press-business-idINL3N1HC03J'|'2017-04-03T22:28:00.000+03:00' +'f971ad5a3719940af77aa37b8ffe0dd8655727f5'|'Infosys Q4 profit beats estimates on key client wins'|'Money 19am IST Infosys Q4 profit beats estimates on key client wins left right FILE PHOTO: An employee walks past a signage board in the Infosys campus at the Electronics City IT district in Bangalore, February 28, 2012. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: An employee is seen behind an Infosys logo at the company''s campus in Bangalore, India, September 23, 2014. REUTERS/Abhishek Chinnappa/File Photo 2/2 Infosys Ltd ( INFY.NS ), India''s second-biggest software services exporter, reported a slightly higher-than-expected fourth-quarter profit as the company added more clients in the $100 million-plus category. Consolidated net profit for the Bengaluru-based company rose 0.2 percent to 36.03 billion rupees ($557.01 million) in the quarter, while revenue grew 3.4 percent to 171.20 billion rupees. ( bit.ly/2oupjxB ) Analysts, on average, had expected Q4 consolidated profit of 35.67 billion rupees, according to Thomson Reuters data. The company, in the spotlight recently due to differences between founders and board members over governance issues, has beaten analysts'' profit estimates in seven of the last nine quarters. ($1 = 64.6850 Indian rupees)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/infosys-results-idINKBN17F0DV'|'2017-04-13T11:49:00.000+03:00' +'cfa6feb2120af8ef72ddb1ea74446a0c4cfca4e8'|'U.S. refiners bet on strong exports to balance market'|'NEW YORK U.S. refiners have come out of maintenance season betting that big exports to Mexico and South America will help alleviate high product inventories and boost margins as the critical summer driving season nears.The first wave of earnings results from several large independent U.S. refiners showed that they are not chasing U.S. gasoline profits, due to already high inventories and steady-but-not-spectacular demand. Instead, they are taking advantage of demand from places like Mexico and South America, where sputtering local refineries cannot meet customer needs. Marathon Petroleum Corp ( MPC.N ), which just completed its largest-ever quarter of turnaround projects at its three Gulf Coast refineries, expects to process more crude than ever in the second quarter, the company said in its earnings release on Thursday. "The export book continues to be strong," Marathon CEO Gary Heminger said Thursday, noting that he expects company exports to grow from about 200,000 bpd earlier this year to 300,000 bpd in the second quarter. It is expected to process about 1.82 million bpd in the second quarter.Valero Energy Corp ( VLO.N ), the largest U.S. independent refiner by capacity, said it expected its 15 refineries to run up to 96 percent of their combined capacity of 3.1 million barrels per day (bpd) in the second quarter.There is concern, however, that high run rates might exceed the ability of refiners to export products. U.S. gasoline inventories, which had been drawing down, have rebounded to uncommonly high levels for the season, sapping refining margins.Jack Lipinski, CEO of CVR Energy Inc ( CVI.N ), said he fears a repeat of last year, when high inventories crushed margins. The company''s two refineries are landlocked and have no direct access to export markets."Even though we are seeing exports increasing, the increase in production is offsetting that," Lipinski said on an earnings call Thursday. Refinery crude runs USOICR=ECI hit a record 17.3 million bpd last week and capacity utilization rates hit their highest level since November 2015. [EIA/S]"Right now, we are running at summer peak levels. If we stay at this level for several months, rising inventories will overwhelm exports," said Mark Broadbent, a refinery analyst at Wood Mackenzie. "If we stay at lower levels, then exports can help balance inventories."The four-week average for exports of finished motor gasoline jumped to 643,000 bpd from 395,000 bpd a year ago while exports of distillate fuel oil climbed to 1.11 million bpd versus 1.01 million bpd a year earlier, EIA data showed. However, March''s middle distillate export loadings were at an 11-month low, while gasoline export loadings to Latin America have been anchored in the 600,000-bpd range for the past couple of months, said Matt Smith, who tracks cargoes for New York-based Clipperdata.U.S. refiners, particularly in the Gulf Coast, have cashed in on soaring demand for refined products from Mexico, even as margins CL321-1=R have languished at the lowest levels in about seven years seasonally. The silver lining has been diesel markets. East Coast refiners are stepping up exports of diesel despite a regional deficit of the fuel as strong overseas demand, particularly in Europe, is proving more profitable."It''s a distillate world out there," said Scott Shelton, energy futures broker with ICAP in Durham, North Carolina. He said ultimately the narrowing in gasoline''s premium to diesel RBc1-HOc1 should prompt more diesel refining, tightening gasoline supplies. That spread hit a four-year seasonal low on Thursday.(Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar and Jarrett Renshaw in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-refiners-demand-idUSKBN17U0IA'|'2017-04-28T13:10:00.000+03:00' +'8660857c92fc937e143ca44827fa615353014d26'|'Nikkei slips as relief rally sputters, posts hefty weekly gains'|'TOKYO, April 28 Japan''s Nikkei share average ticked down on Friday as a relief rally driven by fading political worries in Europe fizzled, but the benchmark managed to score its largest weekly gain since early December.The Nikkei fell 0.3 percent to 19,196.74 , off five-week highs of 19,289.43 touched on Wednesday. But it was up 3.1 percent on the week.The broader Topix fell 0.3 percent to 1,531.80, with turnover of the main board hitting 2.546 trillion yen, its highest in three weeks and about 15 percent above the long-term average.Nintendo, the most heavily traded shares on Friday, rose 2.1 percent after its earnings suggested strong sales of its new Switch console. (Reporting by Hideyuki Sano; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-close-idUSL4N1I030M'|'2017-04-28T14:37:00.000+03:00' +'21901c8a8002e93a4a673606054bac95aeb8a05a'|'FTSE dips as Fed minutes, risk-off mood weigh'|'Business News 29am BST FTSE dips as Fed minutes, risk-off mood weigh People walk through the lobby of the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 25, 2015. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File photo By Helen Reid - LONDON LONDON British shares dropped on Thursday after minutes of the Federal Reserve''s last meeting indicated the bank would shrink its balance sheet later this year. The FTSE 100 .FTSE was down 0.6 percent in early trade, with financials the biggest weight as investors priced in smaller central bank balance sheets, after U.S. equities dipped on Wednesday. "There were two elements in the Fed minutes: the fact that some officials thought equities were overvalued; but the smarter money is looking at the fact balance sheet reduction seems to be indicated towards the end of this year," said Panmure Gordon chief economist Simon French. "Markets are taking their cue from the U.S. investors, saying the shrinking of balance sheets means less money sloshing around, which will weigh on asset prices," he added. Discounting a raft of stocks trading ex-div, banks Lloyds ( LLOY.L ) and RBS ( RBS.L ) were the top fallers, down 1.8 and 2.2 percent, tracking a broader sell-off in European banking stocks .SX7P. Pearson ( PSON.L ) was down 8.9 percent, trading ex-div and further weighed by a downgrade from Exane to ''underperform''. "Structural pressures in U.S. higher education courseware are now well documented in the share price. However, we raise fresh concerns on the sustainability of double-digit growth in Pearson''s U.S. virtual schools business, its fastest growing segment in North America, currently accounting for 6 percent of group revenues," the broker said. Real estate stocks were the top European gainers, and British Land Company ( BLND.L ) and Land Securities Group ( LAND.L ) were up 1.2 to 1.4 percent. Miners Fresnillo ( FRES.L ), Antofagasta ( ANTO.L ) and Anglo American ( AAL.L ) also rose 1.3 to 1.5 percent, with the price of gold firming ahead of a meeting between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. Intellectual property firm Allied Minds ( ALML.L ) was the top mid-cap faller, down 8.4 percent to a record low and trading below its IPO price for the first time, taking its year-to-date losses to 63 percent. The company, 28 percent owned by Woodford Investment Management, had its worst ever day on Wednesday after cutting funding for seven of its portfolio companies. Jefferies raised the stock to ''hold'' from ''underperform''. "Allied Minds'' new CEO has taken less than a month to cull the weaker companies in the portfolio," said the broker. "This has happened more quickly and broadly than we expected, but we see this $147 million hit as decisive rather than panicked or precipitated." Tullow Oil ( TLW.L ) traded without rights to its cash call and was up 6 percent, the top European gainer. Biotech company BTG ( BTG.L ) was up 3.8 percent, the second top European gainer after it set a bullish full-year forecast. (Reporting by Helen Reid, editing by Larry King) Next In Business News ECB to stick to policy plan despite calls for tightening: Draghi, Praet FRANKFURT The European Central Bank will stick to its policy plan including bond buying and record-low rates for some time to come as it is not yet convinced the euro zone economy is back to rude health, its president and chief economist said on Thursday.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks-idUKKBN178100'|'2017-04-06T17:29:00.000+03:00' +'b004ae8f20a6894cae0f2990fbe1f137907e0c10'|'RPT-South Africa''s Sibanye declares war on illegal gold miners'|'Economic News - Mon Apr 24, 2017 - 1:00am EDT RPT-South Africa''s Sibanye declares war on illegal gold miners (Repeating April 21 story with no changes to text) * Sibanye aims to clear out illegal miners by January 2018 * Thousands of "zama zamas" mine gold illegally in South Africa * Biometric access part of security roll out * Costs to industry, state coffers estimated at $1.5 bln annually By Ed Stoddard WESTONARIA, South Africa, April 21 Illegal gold mining has plagued South Africa''s mining companies for decades, robbing the industry and state coffers of billions of rand through smalltime pilfering as well as networks run by organised crime. Now, with unmined output dwindling and proving more diff cult to extract, one firm has had enough: diversified precious metals producer Sibanye Gold says that it will clear all illegal miners from its shafts by the end of January next year. "We will have them out then," Sibanye''s Chief Executive Neal Froneman told Reuters. His campaign slogan is "Zero Zama", after the Zulu for illegal miners, "zama zamas" or "taking a chance". A Gold Fields spin-off formed in 2013, Sibanye is the first company to set itself a deadline to stop the practice and has laid out 200 million rand ($15 million) to make it happen. The challenge is immense, however. Sibanye may win most of the battles but it will lose the war in a country beset by joblessness, poverty, crime and porous borders, experts say. Most zamas are undocumented immigrants from neighbouring countries that have long provided migrant labour for South Africa''s mines who are now being laid off. The syndicates who support them and traffic the illegal metals are well-funded, well-established and highly dangerous, security experts say. "Sibanye can get it down by 90 percent, but they will never eradicate it completely," Louis Nel, a security consultant who works on the fertile mining West Rand area near Johannesburg, told Reuters. "You must never underestimate the ability of an illegal miner." The stakes are high. Illegal gold mining costs South Africa''s government and industry more than 20 billion rand ($1.5 billion) a year in lost sales, taxes and royalties, the Chamber of Mines estimated in an unpublished document submitted to parliament in March. Areas around both abandoned shafts and working mines are also made unsafe by the theft of copper, power cables and other infrastructure, it said in the document, which was provided to Reuters. The operational security budget in Sibanye''s gold division alone is 400 million rand in 2017, equal to almost 20 percent of its headline earnings last year. "If they are able to resolve the issue, it will be a positive," said Hanre Rossouw, a portfolio manager with Investec, which holds shares in Sibanye. MULTI-PRONGED STRATEGY Sibanye''s strategy for eradicating the problem is multi-pronged: a tip-off and reward system to encourage employees to report suspicious activity, tactical security units that can go underground to make arrests, and access checks such as biometrics, also used by rivals such as Harmony, to ensure only authorised personnel gain entry. The tip-off system is aimed at employees who may be on the take, providing the zamas access to working shafts, the biometrics prevent zamas from gaining access and the tactical units are there to arrest the illegals if they do get through. A decade ago, virtually none of these systems existed. One front in Sibanye''s war is the Masimthembe mine 70 km (40 miles) west of Johannesburg, its most profitable gold operation, helping it offer a dividend of 4.856 percent compared to an local industry average of 2.1 percent, much to the envy of its peers. Masimthembe used to be the gateway to other shafts at nearby operations through a network of linked tunnels. Now it has been effectively cleared of zamas, Sibanye says. To gain access to elevator cages going down to the mine, visitors must negotiate a series of high-tech turnstiles which require a biometric reading of your index fingers and can trap you if you are not authorised to pass. This last is an upgrade from older models, which allowed illegal miners to "piggyback" behind employees. Underground, Sibanye miners and security workers showed a Reuters reporting team the kind of spot favoured by illegal miners, an area where ore blasted in legal mining operations has been scraped away from the rockface. There, zamas wash rocks that have been left behind over a metal plate wrapped in carpet. The gold-bearing material gets caught in the carpet, which is then washed out in a bucket of water. After mercury is added, presto: a nugget that may be 50 percent gold. The work is dangerous and hazards include rock falls. The chamber submission to parliament said the bodies of 76 zamas were recovered underground in 2016, compared to 73 fatalities in the country''s legal mining industry. The zamas can spend weeks underground, supported by criminal networks who provide tools, food and water. These syndicates plug into a murky network of buyers who, according to the Chamber of Mines and a U.N. report last year, pass the illicit gold to local and international distributors. Dubai and India are believed to be key end markets. Sometimes rivalries break out into violence. In March, 14 bodies of illegal miners shot or bludgeoned to death were uncovered in Benoni, a suburb east of Johannesburg, which is home to scores of abandoned shafts. "We believe this was part of a turf war over illegal mining," police spokeswoman Athlenda Mathe told Reuters. GUN BATTLES Nel, formerly in the South African military, has had hair-raising experiences. On one recent job for liquidators to clear a derelict mine, he and his teams regularly had gun battles with zama zamas on the surface. "In a five-month period, I was narrowly missed by bullets seven times," he said. He said they cleared the vast majority of the illegal miners from the area but when his contract ended, they returned en masse. Nash Lutchman, Sibanye''s head of security, said the problem of illegal mining only became a priority with the mass lay-offs. Industry data shows employment in South Africa''s gold sector has fallen to 116,000 in 2016 from a peak of over 540,000 in 1987. "Employees were stealing for themselves and are probably still stealing for themselves. Security was on the take, shift bosses were looking the other way, the mine overseer did not really worry," Lutchman told Reuters. "When people started losing their jobs, then it started becoming (known as) ''illegal mining''," he said. Returning to the surface at Masimthembe, visitors are frisked by security guards who do a thorough pat-down and check the inside of the big rubber boots worn underground, something that was not regular practice in the past. During a recent visit to one Sibanye mine, two foreign investors who innocently plucked rocks as keepsakes were startled when mine security tried to detain them, according to a company source who asked not to be named. Managers defused the situation. But it showed the upgraded security - to some extent - was working. (Editing by Sonya Hepinstall) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/safrica-mining-illegal-idUSL8N1HT4I0'|'2017-04-24T13:00:00.000+03:00' +'7a7ee1df6721ad77b4332761a4e262a447663a9b'|'Asia stocks slip, investors on edge for Trump/Xi meeting'|'Money News - Thu Apr 6, 2017 - 6:35am IST Asia stocks slip, investors on edge for Trump/Xi meeting A pedestrian stands to look at an electronic board showing the stock market indices of various countries outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, February 26, 2016. REUTERS/Yuya Shino By Wayne Cole - SYDNEY SYDNEY Stocks fell and bonds rose in Asia on Thursday, with risk appetite soured by signs the Federal Reserve might start paring its king-sized balance sheet later this year just as the chances of an early U.S. fiscal stimulus faded further. Investors were also wary ahead of a potentially tense meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, the first between the world''s two most powerful leaders. Topping the agenda at Trump''s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida will be whether he makes good on his threat to use U.S.-China trade ties to pressure Beijing to do more to rein in its nuclear-armed neighbour North Korea. Lingering fears of a possible trade war kept Asian markets on edge. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS dipped 0.2 percent. Japan''s Nikkei .N225 fell 1 percent and Australia''s ASX 200 eased 0.3 percent. Sentiment had already been bruised when U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said there was no consensus on tax reform and it would take longer to accomplish than healthcare. Markets have risen in recent months in part on speculation fiscal stimulus would boost U.S. growth and inflation. Minutes of the Fed''s last meeting also showed most policymakers thought the U.S. central bank should begin trimming its $4.5 trillion balance sheet later this year, much earlier than many had expected. "Central bank asset purchases and broader largesse have been a key support factor for markets for nearly a decade," said ANZ economist Felicity Emmett, who wondered if the global economy could cope with such a sea change. "Raising the fed funds rate a quarter of a point every now and then is tinkering at the edges compared to the elephant in the room that is the balance sheet." WHIPLASH The reaction was whiplash on Wall Street. The Dow posted its largest intra-day downside reversal in 14 months after shedding a gain of more than 198 points to end near the session low. The Dow .DJI ended down 0.2 percent, while the S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.31 percent and the Nasdaq .IXIC 0.58 percent. Stocks had initially rallied when data showed U.S. private employers added a surprisingly strong 263,000 jobs in March, spurring speculation that the official payrolls report on Friday would also impress. Treasuries had likewise eased at first, but rebounded late in the session as safe-havens were sought. Yields on 10-year paper came right back to 2.33 percent US10YT=RR, threatening a hugely important chart barrier at 2.30 percent. The drop in yields dragged the dollar down on the yen, where it was last at 110.42 JPY= and nearing chart support in the 110.11/27 zone. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar was off 0.15 percent at 100.410 .DXY. The euro EUR= was a shade firmer at $1.0681. In commodity markets, oil ticked lower after the U.S. government reported a surprise increase in U.S. crude inventories to a record high. U.S. crude CLcv1 was down 31 cents at $50.84 a barrel, while Brent LCOcv1 lost 30 cents to $54.06. Easily the biggest mover this week has been coking coal which surged 43 percent on Singapore-listed futures after Cyclone Debbie slammed into top supplier Australia, crippling exports of the steelmaking raw material. (Editing by Shri Navaratnam) Indian tractor sales seen rising as regions waive farm loans MUMBAI Tractor sales in India are likely to grows in double digits in the fiscal year that started on April 1, following a decision by at least two states to waive some loans to farmers, India''s biggest tractor maker said on Wednesday.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-markets-idINKBN178037'|'2017-04-06T09:05:00.000+03:00' +'b97ad411de2ba852e7861612c8def1a11bab25f5'|'Japan and U.S. aren''t discussing Westinghouse situation: Seko'|'Deals - Thu Apr 6, 2017 - 9:17pm EDT Japan and U.S. aren''t discussing Westinghouse situation: Seko Japan''s Minister of Trade and Industry Hiroshige Seko speaks at a news conference at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe''s official residence in Tokyo, Japan August 3, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo TOKYO Japanese trade minister Hiroshige Seko said on Friday it was not true that Japan and the United States were discussing the situation surrounding Toshiba Corp''s ( 6502.T ) troubled U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse Electric Co. A U.S. official said on Thursday the Trump administration and the Japanese government were in discussions to ensure that the bankruptcy of Westinghouse does not lead to U.S. technology secrets and infrastructure falling into Chinese hands. Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy last month hit by billions of dollars of cost overruns at four nuclear reactors under construction in the U.S. Southeast. (Reporting by Ami Miyazaki, writing by Kaori Kaneko, editing by Chris Gallagher)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-japan-westinghouse-seko-idUSKBN17902P'|'2017-04-07T09:17:00.000+03:00' +'6647a36c7f834c12a1c51b711759b3a35bde6e3f'|'Sudden collapse of Alitalia would be a shock to Italy''s economy - minister'|'Sun Apr 30, 2017 - 4:01pm BST Sudden collapse of Alitalia would be a shock to Italy''s economy-minister Alitalia''s flight attendant is seen at the Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy, April 28, 2017. REUTERS/Tony Gentile ROME A sudden collapse of loss-making national airline Alitalia [CAITLA.UL] would be a great shock for Italy''s economy, Industry Minister Carlo Calenda said on Sunday. Rome has thrown the crisis-hit airline a short-term lifeline, a bridging loan of up to 400 million euros ($436 million) to see it through a process whereby an administrator will decide if it can be sold as a going concern or should be liquidated. "It (sudden closure) would be a shock for GDP (economic output) much greater than the scenario that we are looking at: a brief period of six months covered by a bridging loan from the government so as to find a buyer who could provide services that Italians need as travelers," he said in an interview with Sky TG24 television. Rival airlines have shown little interest in buying Alitalia and creditors have refused to lend more money after workers last Monday rejected a rescue plan that would have reduced pay and cut 1,700 jobs. (Reporting By Philip Pullella; Editing by Greg Mahlich) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-alitalia-minister-idUKKBN17W0I7'|'2017-04-30T21:30:00.000+03:00' +'c5a8f397f086dffcd0f2591a504d2ff9d4767a49'|'BRIEF-Homestreet Inc announces appointment of interim CFO'|' 19am EDT BRIEF-Homestreet Inc announces appointment of interim CFO April 5 Homestreet Inc * Homestreet Inc announces appointment of interim chief financial officer * Mark Ruh has been appointed by company''s board of directors to serve as interim chief financial officer * Homestreet Inc - Homestreet is conducting a nationwide search to find a permanent chief financial officer * Homestreet Inc says Ruh''s appointment as interim CFO will be effective April 24, 2017 Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-homestreet-inc-announces-appointme-idUSASB0B8NT'|'2017-04-05T21:19:00.000+03:00' +'8c2026b2835d8a59c830cd019541a33270355c71'|'Morning News Call - India, April 26'|'To access the newsletter, click on the link: here If you would like to receive this newsletter via email, please register at: here FACTORS TO WATCH 10:00 am: Junior Shipping Minister M.L. Mandaviya at an event in New Delhi. 10:00 am: MNRE Secretary Rajeev Kapoor and REC MD PV Ramesh at Wind energy conference in New Delhi. 2:00 pm: Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu at an event in New Delhi. 5:15 pm: Axis Bank post earnings conference call in Mumbai. LIVECHAT - FX FOCUS with Mark Farrington, Potfolio Manager and Head of Macro Currency Group Global currency pairs continue to brace for severe volatility on a host of upcoming political events. Consensus trades of a strong USD and short EM currencies at the beginning of 2017 haven''t exactly followed textbook patterns. We speak to Mark Farrington who is Portfolio Manager at Macro Currency Group, at 12:30 pm. MCG won the currency manager of the year at the European Pensions Awards for 2016 and is nominated in three categories for the Pension Age Awards 2017. To join the conversation, click on the link: here INDIA TOP NEWS Wipro growth forecast hit by healthcare, weak retail Wipro Ltd, India''s third-biggest software services exporter, said cancellations of healthcare projects and weak retail spending in its key U.S. market would hit revenue growth. Indian farmers should pay tax, adviser says, challenging government A senior adviser to the Indian government proposed on Tuesday that farmers pay tax, in remarks that challenged government policy in a country of 1.3 billion people where there are only 37 million income tax payers. India''s IRB InvIT Fund seeks up to $724 million in IPO India''s IRB InvIT Fund is seeking to raise as much as 46.5 billion rupees ($723.6 million) in an initial public offering next week, kicking off the first-ever listing of an infrastructure investment trust in the country. IDFC Bank Q4 net profit rises on higher interest income India''s IDFC Bank Ltd reported a 7 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit on Tuesday, helped by an increase in interest income and a drop in provisions for bad loans. Falling demand to curb Indian sugar imports -ISMA Declining sugar sales in India, the world''s biggest consumer, has left the country with enough stocks until the next crop, the Indian Sugar Mills Association said on Tuesday, ruling out the need for more imports later in the year. Japan''s Otsuka aims to apply for TB drug approval in India in 90 days Japanese drugmaker Otsuka Pharmaceutical aims to apply for approval of its tuberculosis (TB) drug delamanid in India within three months, a senior company official said, as calls grow for expanded access to the life-saving medicine. Shapoor Mistry resigns from Indian Hotels board Shapoor Mistry, the elder brother of former Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry, has resigned as a director of the board of Indian Hotels Co, the company said on Tuesday. GLOBAL TOP NEWS U.S. moves THAAD to S.Korean site as N.Korea boasts fire power The U.S. military started moving parts of the controversial THAAD anti-missile defence system to a deployment site in South Korea amid high tensions over North Korea''s missile and nuclear programmes. U.S. judge blocks Trump order to restrict funding for ''sanctuary cities'' A U.S. judge on Tuesday blocked President Donald Trump''s executive order that sought to withhold federal funds from so-called sanctuary cities, dealing another legal blow to the administration''s efforts to toughen immigration enforcement. Trump to meet Australian PM, relations strained over asylum seekers U.S. President Donald Trump will meet with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on May 4 in New York City as the two nations seek to repair a relationship strained by a row over an asylum seeker resettlement deal. LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK (As reported by NewsRise) The Indian rupee is likely to open slightly lower against the dollar, in-line with most Asian currencies, as upbeat new U.S. home sales data and expectations that President Donald Trump will announce tax reforms later today boosted demand for the greenback. Indian government bonds will likely trade largely unchanged in early session amid a lack of fresh cues on interest rates, even as investors await developments on the Korean peninsula and the upcoming presidential polls in France. The yield on the benchmark 6.97 pct bond maturing in 2026 is likely to trade in a 6.90 pct - 6.96 pct band today. GLOBAL MARKETS The Nasdaq Composite hit a record high on Tuesday, while the Dow and S&P 500 brushed against recent peaks as strong earnings underscored the health of corporate America. Asian stocks extended gains for a fifth straight day as Wall Street hit new peaks while the euro consolidated recent gains as immediate concerns of political uncertainty in the euro zone receded. The yen edged lower, remaining under pressure as risk sentiment improved and safe haven demand eased, on relief over the first round of the French presidential election. U.S. Treasury yields rose on Tuesday in line with gains in stocks as investors awaited President Donald Trump''s announcement on tax reform on Wednesday and remained optimistic that the government would avert a shutdown. Oil prices resumed their downward trend as data showed a rise in U.S. crude inventories and record supplies in the rest of the world cast doubt on OPEC''s ability to cut supplies and tighten the market. Gold dipped to a two-week low after a near 1 percent decline in the previous session as increased investor appetite for risk boosted equities and dulled demand for safe-haven assets. CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT PNDF spot 64.26/64.29 April 25 $27.83 mln $2.96 mln 10-yr bond yield 7.16 Month-to-date -$208.49 mln $3.99 bln Year-to-date $6.57 bln $9.46 bln For additional data: India govt bond market volumes Stock market reports Non-deliverable forwards data Corporate debt stories [IN CORPD] Local market closing/intraday levels [IN SNAPSHOT] Monthly inflows [INFLOWS RTRS TABLE IN] ($1 = 64.26 Indian rupees) (Compiled by Sai Sharanya Khosla in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/india-morningcall-idUSL4N1HY1ME'|'2017-04-26T11:15:00.000+03:00' +'050c21dfb5529211a7b04337555f00315664c75d'|'Pump maker Busch seeks to win support for its Pfeiffer bid: letter'|'DUESSELDORF, Germany German pump maker Busch is promising to hold off changes to rival Pfeiffer Vacuum''s ( PV.DE ) strategy and to safeguard jobs, as it seeks to drum up support for its latest takeover offer, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Monday.Busch last week announced a new takeover offer for Pfeiffer, bidding 110 euros per share for the group, after a previous approach failed.Busch said in the business combination letter it sent to Pfeiffer management that it "has full confidence in the strategy communicated by the company''s management."Its takeover vehicle Pangea "commits to allowing the group to continue operating as an independent, stock-listed company", Busch said, adding the guarantees would be in place for two years.It also said it would respect existing labor agreements following any takeover and not push for job cuts.In return, it said it expected Pfeiffer''s management and supervisory boards to take a positive stance on the takeover offer.Pfeiffer has criticized Busch for still not offering a premium over the current share price. The new offer values it at around 1.1 billion euros ($1.17 billion), less than its market value of close to 1.2 billion.(Reporting by Anneli Palmen; Writing by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Victoria Bryan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-pfeiffer-vacuum-m-a-busch-idINKBN1751E7'|'2017-04-03T11:03:00.000+03:00' +'abb88d0ce61d45a0bd4edfa217e6dbb4aa68e9f6'|'Deutsche Boerse reluctant to extend CEO contract after failed merger - sources'|'Business News - Wed Apr 12, 2017 - 2:15pm BST Deutsche Boerse reluctant to extend CEO contract after failed merger - sources Carsten Kengeter, CEO of Deutsche Boerse attends the initial public offering of Scale at the Frankfurt stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany March 1, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski FRANKFURT Deutsche Boerse''s ( DB1Gn.DE ) supervisory board is reluctant to approve quickly an extension of Chief Executive Carsten Kengeter''s contract following the German exchange operator''s failed merger with the London Stock Exchange ( LSE.L ), two people close to the matter said. Carsten Kengeter''s contract as Chief Executive is due to expire in March 2018. German blue-chip firms usually renew board member contracts a year before they expire, but such a contract extension is not a priority for Deutsche Boerse''s directors, who are due to meet in late April, the sources said. Deutsche Boerse declined to comment on Kengeter''s possible contract extension. One of the main factors preventing Deutsche Boerse from giving Kengeter another full term is a pending investigation into insider trading, the sources said. German financial watchdog Bafin handed over the findings of an investigation into allegations of insider dealing against Kengeter to public prosecutors in February. Kengeter and Deutsche Boerse deny that a share purchase programme, awarded shortly before Deutsche Boerse announced merger talks with the LSE, amounted to anything improper. Some investors have already said that they would like Kengeter to be replaced if he is officially charged by public prosecutors. A spokeswoman for the Frankfurt prosecutor''s office on Wednesday said it remained unclear how long the insider trading investigation would take to be concluded. The merger, which was the exchanges'' fifth attempt to combine, would have created Europe''s biggest stock exchange, but was struck down by European regulators after LSE failed to comply with a small antitrust-related demand. Kengeter has been criticised for underestimating the political dimension of the merger and failing to assure political backing in Germany. (Reporting by Kathrin Jones and Hans Seidenstcker; Writing by Arno Schuetze. Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deutsche-boerse-management-idUKKBN17E1QF'|'2017-04-12T21:15:00.000+03:00' +'b6fc8ddbdd5c4a08d136cd309dc0146d594c61b9'|'White House''s Cohn says ''fair trade'' means reciprocal tariffs'|'WASHINGTON The Trump administration wants to tax imports from countries that put tariffs on the United States, said Gary Cohn, director of President Donald Trump''s National Economic Council."Fair means we treat our trading partners the way they treat us," Cohn told a conference on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank''s spring meetings in Washington on Thursday. "If you want to insist on having a tariff on a product, which we prefer you not, the president believes that we should treat you in a reciprocal fashion and that we should tax your product coming into the United States."(Reporting by Jason Lange and Lindsay Dunsmuir; Editing by Andrea Ricci)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/imf-g20-cohn-idINKBN17M2H0'|'2017-04-20T17:28:00.000+03:00' +'44e59ace1d65589c29196e32c1fe78bf81f123df'|'Self-driving start-up set to roll out first laser sensors'|'Technology News 8:03am EDT Self-driving start-up set to roll out first laser sensors By Alexandria Sage - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Luminar, a Silicon Valley start-up, is getting ready to manufacture its laser-based sensor for self-driving cars, a key component that would improve vehicle safety, the company said on Thursday. Founded in 2012 by two photonics experts, Luminar has kept a low profile in the race between automakers, startups and major technology companies to roll out self-driving cars for the masses. Luminar is ramping up a manufacturing facility in Orlando, Florida, for its first run of 10,000 Lidar sensors later this year, Chief Executive Austin Russell said in an interview. Lidar, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, shoots out light pulses that are reflected off objects, allowing self-driving cars to "see" their environment. Many self-driving experts regard it as a crucial component, along with other sensors such as cameras and radars. Lidar has been the subject of an ongoing trade secrets lawsuit between Alphabet Inc unit Waymo and Uber. [nL1N1HF12Y] Waymo alleges that a former employee stole intellectual property about its Lidar system that was later copied by Uber. Russell said Lidars for self-driving cars on the market were developed from hardware that existed before autonomous cars. Their limitations in range and resolution make them unfit for the safe rollout of self-driving cars, he noted. Luminar addresses those shortfalls by using a 1550 nanometer wavelength that provides 50 times greater resolution and 10 times the range of the best rival Lidars, Russell said. That means a car can "see" a black object with reflectivity of 10 percent clearly from 200 meters away, he said. By contrast, the so-called "Puck" Lidar from Velodyne, a company that makes most of the Lidar used in self-driving prototypes today, has a range of 100 meters. Russell said four companies, including automakers and technology firms which he did not identify, were testing their products on prototype driverless cars. Russell said manufacturers should focus on perfecting Lidar''s capabilities instead of lowering prices to make self-driving cars more affordable for the public. "As price comes down, performance comes down with it," he said. (Reporting by Alexandria Sage; Editing by Richard Chang)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-luminar-selfdriving-lidar-idUSKBN17F1H3'|'2017-04-13T20:00:00.000+03:00' +'07e6835fb5e416b6939fefba433b157ee0c454b1'|'Danone shareholders grant WhiteWave boss a board seat'|'Company 10am EDT Danone shareholders grant WhiteWave boss a board seat PARIS, April 27 Danone shareholders on Thursday voted to grant a board seat to Gregg Engles, the chairman and CEO of U.S. organic food producer WhiteWave Foods Co, which the French food group recently bought. His appointment was approved by over 96 percent of votes cast at Danone''s annual shareholder meeting. Danone''s Chief Executive Emmanuel Faber told shareholders that with WhiteWave''s acquisition, North America would become the group''s top market, accounting for around 25 percent of its sales against 13 percent before. Last week Danone, the world''s largest yoghurt maker, raised its forecast for earnings per share (EPS) growth in 2017, having closed its $12.5 billion acquisition of WhiteWave on April 12. (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon, Editing by Sarah White)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/danone-agm-board-idUSL8N1HZ6SE'|'2017-04-27T23:10:00.000+03:00' +'b85b9be808224976ce679857a0ef9118639631fe'|'Johnson & Johnson target Actelion could exit Swiss benchmark SMI index this month'|' 56pm BST Johnson & Johnson target Actelion could exit Swiss benchmark SMI index this month A Johnson & Johnson building is shown in Irvine, California, U.S., January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake By Rupert Pretterklieber - ZURICH ZURICH The composition of the top Swiss stock index is due to change as early as this month, with Actelion ( ATLN.S ) poised to fall out of the Swiss Market Index (SMI) ahead of the completion of the biotechnology company''s takeover by Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ.N ). Friday is the next deadline for Actelion shareholders to take J&J''s $30 billion, $280 per share offer. If more than 80 percent of shares are tendered, then Actelion''s free float would slip below the 20 percent threshold required for inclusion in not only the benchmark SMI but also the broader Swiss Performance Index, Stephan Meier, a spokesman for the SIX Swiss Exchange, said on Thursday. The chances of J&J''s stake topping 80 percent are good, since it held 77 percent of Actelion shares at the end of March when it declared the takeover a success. Should that happen, the SIX Swiss Exchange could make an announcement as early as Friday about future steps leading to another company filling Actelion''s place in the SMI. Candidates include drug ingredients maker Lonza ( LONN.S ), adhesives maker Sika ( SIK.S ) and asset manager Partners Group ( PGHN.S ), as well as hearing aid maker Sonova ( SOON.S ). There will almost certainly be further SMI changes later this year, after ChemChina''s CNNCC.UL takeover of Swiss chemicals maker Syngenta ( SYNN.S ) is completed. (Reporting by Rupert Pretterkleber; Writing by John Miller; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-actelion-m-a-j-j-idUKKBN17M1DJ'|'2017-04-20T19:56:00.000+03:00' +'c7dae0163f7af0eb108d879b296caae89ee2fecd'|'PepsiCo profit beats on demand for healthier snacks, drinks'|' 11:42am BST PepsiCo profit beats on demand for healthier snacks, drinks FILE PHOTO: Pepsi soda is shown on display in Compton, California, U.S., January 10, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo PepsiCo Inc ( PEP.N ) reported higher-than-expected quarterly revenue and profit as the company benefited from demand for its healthier drinks and snacks and kept a tight leash on costs. PepsiCo and other processed-food makers are investing heavily to develop products to meet consumers'' increasing preference for healthier snacks such as unsweetened tea and baked chips. The company has said it now gets about 45 percent of its net revenue from "guilt-free" products - beverages that have fewer than 70 calories per 12 ounces and snacks that have lower amounts of salt and saturated fat. Revenue from its North America beverage business, the company''s biggest, rose 2.3 percent to $4.46 billion in the first quarter ended March 25. Net income attributable to PepsiCo rose to $1.32 billion (1.03 billion pounds), or 91 cents per share, in the quarter, from $931 million, or 64 cents per share, a year earlier. The year-earlier period included a $373 million charge related to its transaction with Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding Corp. Excluding items, the company earned 94 cents per share. Revenue rose 1.6 percent to $12.05 billion, the second quarter of rising sales after eight quarters of decline. Analysts on average had expected earnings of 92 cents per share on revenue of $11.98 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Rival Coca-Cola ( KO.N ) on Tuesday reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit on higher costs of franchising its bottling operations and announced job cuts to boost savings. (Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-pepsico-results-idUKKBN17S16Z'|'2017-04-26T18:42:00.000+03:00' +'c24d62c0aed419d55dd7f3c9c8f87337fb87220f'|'Facebook finally makes a virtual reality world 18,'|'Facebook Spaces: Never see your friends IRL again Facebook just built a virtual reality version of ... Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg kicked off Facebook''s annual F8 developer conference on Tuesday. The two-day event, now in its tenth year, drew roughly 4,000 attendees to the San Jose Convention Center in California. This year, the company announced new augmented reality features for your smartphone camera, a cute VR version of the social network for Oculus and even more ways to talk to companies on Messenger. Zuckerberg tests out his standup routine The conference is a chance for Zuckerberg and his executives to wax poetic about all they ways they''re changing the world, while also getting brands excited to sell things on Facebook. Newish dad Zuckerberg tried out something different on stage: dad jokes. He made cracks about the other F8 trending this week, "The Fate of the Furious," and joked about his overly long community posts. "I wrote like six more of these, but I understand that some of you are here to see a tech keynote," said Zuckerberg. He reinforced Facebook''s commitment to building community, before speaking briefly about the Cleveland murder video that was uploaded to Facebook. Related: Mark Zuckerberg makes cursory mention of Facebook murder video at F8 Augmented reality is already on your phone He quickly pivoted to the main thrust of his keynote: augmented reality, but without the dorky glasses. Facebook is using its new camera tools to launch its own augmented reality platform. Instead of putting on goggles, you will hold up your smartphone and watch as it overlays graphics on the world in front of you in real time. You can add sharks swimming around your morning coffee, or a virtual mug to your table to feel less alone. Add effects to a room, like dripping paintings or rain clouds, and pop-up informational boxes for products or locations. It uses precise location detection, 3D effects and object recognition to make the moving effects work. The platform is available in a closed beta starting Tuesday. Facebook''s new camera update already uses some of this "augmented reality," like animated mustaches and glitter beards. Zuckerberg acknowledged that the company was late adding the camera effects to its apps, but said, "I''m confident that now we''re going to push this augment reality platform forward." Snapchat released similar features Tuesday morning -- the latest shot in the war between the two companies. Related: Facebook is still trying to make bots happen Facebook Spaces means you never have to leave your home again Last year, Facebook did a silly demo on stage of people hanging out in virtual reality, taking selfies. It was a rough draft for Facebook Spaces, a new virtual reality version of Facebook the company announced today. Facebook Spaces is an app for the Facebook-owned Oculus VR goggles. Facebook described it as "a magical canvas for shared experiences." When you can''t just chill on the couch with your bestie IRL, you can put on some goggles and do it as animated people in a virtual version of your living room. Or in a virtual park, Paris, maybe even outer space if you''re into that. Rachel Rubin Franklin, the former head of the Sims video game franchise, said it lets you spend time with people and gives "the essence that you''re really there together." The app ports in your Facebook profile, so it already knows who your friends are. If you don''t have Oculus (most people don''t), you can see a VR version of yourself talking to your friends'' VR versions. You can build a custom avatar based on your Facebook profile shot, like a 3D bitmoji. This is the future, folks. VR social networks and communities already exist, and they''re experiencing the same etiquette questions as social networks. For instance, one woman was sexually assaulted while playing a video game in VR. Facebook Spaces launches in beta for Oculus Rift Tuesday. Forgot your password? Facebook''s got your back Facebook is expanding its efforts to eliminate passwords. In January, the company began testing Delegated Account Recovery, a tool that lets you use your Facebook account to log in to another app if you forgot your password. Instead of answering security questions or receiving password reset emails, people can use Facebook to confirm their identity. The security tool is now rolling out to more apps as a closed beta test. New communities just for developers Facebook also announced a number of new tools just for developers. Since coding can be a lonely undertaking, Facebook is launching Developer Circles. They''re like Facebook Groups for developers, helping connect people living in the same area and offering educational options like special classes from Udacity. There are new analytics tools and more location information to draw from. Developers can now build simplified pages and apps for people who have slow internet connections. Year one of a 10-year plan A lot has changed since F8''s first installment. Over the past decade, Facebook ( FB , Tech30 ) has gone from a single website where people play Farmville to a public company that also owns Instagram, Oculus and What''sApp. At last year''s F8, Zuckerberg took a subtle swipe at then-candidate Trump, saying, "Instead of building walls, we can help build bridges." In the first few months of Trump''s presidency, Zuckerberg has expressed concern about Trump''s executive orders on immigration. COO Sheryl Sandberg has also criticized Trump on his abortion policies . On the heels of the campaign, Zuckerberg made it his New Year''s resolution to visit people from every state by the end of 2017 -- though he did not specifically mention Trump as a factor. The U.S. election also put fake news and its impact on real-life decisionmaking in the spotlight. Zuckerberg initially said it was "crazy" that Facebook could have impacted the election, though later backtracked on his comments. CNNMoney (San Jose) 18, 2017: 12:50 PM ET'|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_technology.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/04/18/technology/facebook-f8/index.html'|'2017-04-18T23:41:00.000+03:00' +'a35da06d9e1c03812f2b7dfb8a89dc18fb9cfd05'|'LeEco abandons $2 billion Vizio deal, citing ''Chinese policy factor'''|'Deals - Mon Apr 10, 2017 - 10:55pm EDT LeEco abandons $2 billion Vizio deal, citing ''Chinese policy factor'' FILE PHOTO: LeEco''s new Le Pro3 phone is on display during a press event in San Francisco, California, U.S. October 19, 2016. RETUERS/Beck Diefenbach/File Photo TAIPEI Chinese tech conglomerate LeEco ( 300104.SZ ), whose businesses stretch from smartphones to electric vehicles, has abandoned a $2 billion proposed acquisition of U.S. consumer electronics company Vizio ( VZIO.O ), the company said on Tuesday. A LeEco representative reached by Reuters on Tuesday cited a "Chinese policy factor" for abandoning the proposal, but declined to provide further details. The deal was first announced in July, with LeEco agreeing to acquire the Irvine-based manufacturer of LCD/LED flat panel TVs. In recent months, LeEco has faced financial troubles due to the rapid pace of growth of its various businesses, with founder and chairman Jia Yueting acknowledging in a staff letter that the firm faced a "big company disease." However, in March, the company successfully secured $2.2 billion for expansion from investors including property developer Sunac China Holdings Ltd ( 1918.HK ), whose investments went into LeEco''s smart internet TV subsidiary Leshi Zhixin, as well as its film production subsidiary, Le Vision Pictures. Late on Monday, LeEco''s listed unit Leshi Internet Information & Technology Corp Beijing ( 300104.SZ ) issued a profit alert for the first quarter, saying it sees net profit at 103 million-132 million yuan from 114.7 million yuan ($16.62 million) net profit a year earlier. (Reporting by Jess Macy Yu; Editing by Randy Fabi)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-tech-leeco-idUSKBN17D08U'|'2017-04-11T10:55:00.000+03:00' +'06e3a1b0500fe8518301c3b0c53ac3e7dad3400d'|'High in sky: Small flying cars come a bit closer to reality'|'YOU may smile, but it will come, said Henry Ford in 1940, predicting the arrival of a machine that was part-automobile and part-aeroplane. For decades flying cars have obsessed technologists but eluded their mastery. Finally there is reason to believe. Several firms have offered hope that flying people in small pods for short trips might become a reality in the next decade. These are not cars, as most are not fit to drive on land, but rather small vehicles, which can rise and land vertically, like quiet helicopters.A prototype of a small electric plane that is capable of flying up to 300 kilometres per hour, made by Lilium, a German startup, completed a successful test over Bavaria on April 20th. Lilium is starting work on a five-seat vehicle and hopes to offer a ride-hailing service. Another German company, e-volo, has been testing a flying vehicle for several years. It recently showed off the second version of its electric Volocopter (pictured), which could be certified for flight as soon as next year.Latest updates How liquor shops are getting around Indias latest booze ban The Economist explains 2 hours ago A new spin on why the travel ban is unconstitutional Democracy in America 13 hours ago Donald Trumps corporate tax plan doesnt add up Graphic detail 14 hours ago Casting JonBent offers a fresh take on true crime Prospero 15 hours ago United Airlines changes its policy on bumping passengers Gulliver 15 hours ago Have you thought about your final wishes? Graphic detail 16 hours ago See all updates There are at least a dozen firms experimenting with making small flying vehicles in different guises, including Airbus, an aerospace giant, in partnership with Italdesign Giugiaro, a division of Volkswagen, a carmaker. Many plan to have a certified pilot in command at the beginning and then move on to an autonomous set-up when regulations allow. Motorcycle-type vehicles, which you sit astride, are also in the works.No matter which manufacturer is quickest to gain velocity, Uber, a ride-hailing firm, aims to be at the centre of things. On April 25th it held an event in Dallas to announce its plan to offer a service where people can hail an electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle and ride it quickly to destinations that would otherwise take hours in heavy traffic. Uber does not want to build these aircraft or landing pads itself, just as it does not own its own cars. Instead, it plans to collaborate with other companies. But Jeff Holden, Ubers chief product officer, does not exclude the possibility that the firm may at the outset own some aircraft, which he estimates will cost around $1m each.The firm plans to have a prototype of its service ready by 2020. It will launch it first in Dallas and in Dubai, both cities where the authorities have deep aviation expertise and where people commute long distances. The firm rather optimistically promises that the cost per aerial mile for passengers will be roughly that of its low-cost car service, UberX.There is plenty for manufacturers and services like Uber to overcome beyond gravity. For battery-powered models, range is limited and the charging rate remains slow. Manufacturers will need to ensure that vehicles can take off and land quietly, if this new form of transport is to stand a chance in cities. How to oversee and license the new aircraft, which are subject to much tougher rules than cars, will be a subject of intense debate among rule-makers, who tend to move slowly and are just getting to grips with drones. Drivers of flying vehicles are also likely to require a pilots licence, albeit perhaps a simplified sports licence. The journey ahead will be a long one. "High in the sky"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21721339-german-firm-completes-test-and-uber-promises-prototype-2020-small-flying-cars-come?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-04-29T08:00:00.000+03:00' +'433c646f12e2d6842f8d0bcbec82d9d742ad2a96'|'RPT-INSIGHT-US South, not just Mexico, stands in way of Rust Belt jobs revival'|' 00am EDT RPT-INSIGHT-US South, not just Mexico, stands in way of Rust Belt jobs revival (Repeats for wider distribution) By Howard Schneider MOBILE, Ala., April 7 In the years since the 2008 financial crisis, this southern U.S. port city has attracted a new Airbus factory, seen its steel industry retool, and gained thousands of jobs building the Navy''s new combat vessel. Some 300 miles north in Huntsville, new businesses sprout in farm fields drawn by readily available land, low taxes, flexible labor rules and improving infrastructure. As President Trump faces pressure to deliver on his promise to revive manufacturing in the northern "rust belt" states that put him in the White House, his biggest challenge may not be Mexico or China, but the southern U.S. states that form the other pillar of his political base. States like Alabama have built a presence in the global supply chain in direct competition with the country''s Midwestern industrial heartland, and even if Trump coaxes jobs back to the United States they may well head south rather than north. Whether the "rust belt''s" expectations are met will be central to 2018 U.S. mid-term elections and likely frame the presidential race in 2020. The southern states are reliably Republican, but the party''s ability to repeat its success in Midwestern swing states, such as Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin, may hinge on whether the Trump administration delivers on its economic promises. For a decade now, nine southern states - North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas - together have accounted for a larger share of the U.S. economy than nine northern states that defined America as the 20th century''s industrial superpower, according to a Reuters analysis of federal data. The analysis compared gross domestic product, population and other factors among northern and Midwestern states that played a key role in Trump''s victory or are typically considered part of the industrial heartland, with those in the south and along the Gulf Coast that have become an emerging destination for auto and other investment. (Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/2nHSda5 ) Florida, a state whose population has boomed under an influx of retirees, many of them from the north, was excluded. FREE LAND AND DEGREES Economists and industrial site consultants say the reasons behind the trend have moved beyond lower wages and lower levels of unionization. Per capita income in the south has now almost caught up with that in the Midwest, and its skilled workforce continues to grow as college graduates move in. "Labor? Perceived advantages. Taxes? Some of these are fairly low (tax) states. Real estate? For big projects that are going to employ three, four, five thousand people, you can find free land - zero cost land," said Darin Buelow, an industrial site specialist with Deloitte Consulting. In the south, business executives and development officials interviewed by Reuters were less likely to call for new tariffs and trade deals than to worry about how any new regime may disrupt a system they have learned to work with. David Fernandes, president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama, said that of the roughly 700,000 engines the factory made last year, half went to Mexico and Canada. The facility also makes engines for cars assembled at a Toyota plant in Georgetown, Kentucky. "Anything that hinders the opportunity to provide product to a customer is what is concerning," he said. Plants in Kentucky and Indiana gave Toyota a U.S. foothold in the 1980s and 1990s, but in this century the Japanese carmaker turned to Alabama, Texas and Mississippi for expansion. Located on former cotton fields, the company''s Huntsville, Alabama, plant now employs more than 1,400 people and churns out about 3,000 engines a day. Gunmaker Remington Outdoor came to Huntsville lured by $110 million in tax and other concessions. Its factory here is expected to eventually employ 2,000, and it has already begun shifting employees from elsewhere, including 100 from the town in upstate New York where the company was founded two centuries ago. Jeremy Littlejohn moved his cloud computing start-up RISC Networks from Chicago to Asheville, NC, in 2012 for the less hectic pace, but has found the location a selling point as he grew from 6 to 33 employees. Many of those new workers came from out of state, contributing to North Carolina''s net annual influx of about 46,000 college degree holders. That migration of educated workers is the norm among the southern states. The rust belt by contrast saw a net outflow of more than 400,000 residents with college degrees between 2007 and 2014. The customers are heading south too. From 1990 to 2015, population in the nine southern and gulf states grew 43 percent, to more than 76 million, and passed that of the rust belt states in the late 1990s. Population in the rust belt grew 13 percent, to 63 million, over the same period. When the Minnesota-based Polaris Industries Inc. began planning a new facility for its line of outdoor vehicles, "there was no Minnesota play," said Eric Blackwell, director of operations at the company''s new factory outside Huntsville. The market for Polaris'' machines, popular for farm work, hunting and sport riding, was growing in the south. Open land was available, and Alabama had programs to help recruit and train a workforce expected to rise to 1,500. FROM LAGGARD TO A RISING TIDE Globalization hit both the north and the south hard. Between 2000 and 2010 each lost about a third of their manufacturing jobs. But employment rebounded faster and more broadly in the south. Between 2000 and 2015, combined private sector employment in nine southern and gulf coast states still grew 13.5 percent. In the nine northern states total private sector jobs as of 2015 remained 1.3 percent below their 2000 level, according to federal data. The transition dates back to the 1980s, when German and Japanese automakers began investing in what has become a sprawling, regional industry. Supplier networks followed, creating even stiffer competition in an industry already changing due to passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the growth of automaking in Mexico. New industries, such as aerospace, followed. Boeing opened a new factory in Charleston, South Carolina, while decades of federal spending on space and defense programs created a pool of engineers in Alabama. A surge in energy and locally important industries like wood products added to the employment gains. Judith Adams, vice president at the Alabama State Port Authority, speeds visitors through warehouses of wood fiber products, steel ingots and other goods ready to ship abroad. The port is spending $47 million to boost its capacity to 500,000 containers a year from 300,000. The longer-term the goal is to triple that to 1.5 million. "The vessel sizes are getting bigger. The market is getting bigger. The cargo is here," Adams said. When European aircraft maker Airbus scouted sites for its $600 million North American plant more than a decade ago it settled on a former Air Force base in Mobile. As it ramps up production, local officials say 20 suppliers have already arrived in Airbus'' wake, with firms like Ireland''s Maas Aviation looking to put 150 people to work painting planes. "We looked at transportation costs, labor costs, productivity, and it made sense," said Allan McArtor, chief executive of Airbus Group Inc. "We will be building single aisle airplanes (in Mobile) for a long, long time." (Reporting by Howard Schneider; Additional reporting by Jonathan Spicer in Cleveland; Editing by David Chance and Tomasz Janowski)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-trump-south-idUSL2N1HE1SS'|'2017-04-07T19:00:00.000+03:00' +'22d7213fa9d3cf2b3950ecd5a278e8f71e22a805'|'J&J target Actelion could exit Swiss benchmark SMI index this month'|'By Rupert Pretterklieber - ZURICH ZURICH The composition of the top Swiss stock index is due to change as early as this month, with Actelion ( ATLN.S ) poised to fall out of the Swiss Market Index (SMI) ahead of the completion of the biotechnology company''s takeover by Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ.N ).Friday is the next deadline for Actelion shareholders to take J&J''s $30 billion, $280 per share offer.If more than 80 percent of shares are tendered, then Actelion''s free float would slip below the 20 percent threshold required for inclusion in not only the benchmark SMI but also the broader Swiss Performance Index, Stephan Meier, a spokesman for the SIX Swiss Exchange, said on Thursday.The chances of J&J''s stake topping 80 percent are good, since it held 77 percent of Actelion shares at the end of March when it declared the takeover a success.Should that happen, the SIX Swiss Exchange could make an announcement as early as Friday about future steps leading to another company filling Actelion''s place in the SMI.Candidates include drug ingredients maker Lonza ( LONN.S ), adhesives maker Sika ( SIK.S ) and asset manager Partners Group ( PGHN.S ), as well as hearing aid maker Sonova ( SOON.S ).There will almost certainly be further SMI changes later this year, after ChemChina''s CNNCC.UL takeover of Swiss chemicals maker Syngenta ( SYNN.S ) is completed.(Reporting by Rupert Pretterkleber; Writing by John Miller; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-actelion-m-a-j-j-idINKBN17M1DG'|'2017-04-20T09:55:00.000+03:00' +'a0a5b1be7e5e440a7f886bacf69b2393808ef6d3'|'EXCLUSIVE: Ortega shields Inditex stake to maintain family control'|' 35pm IST EXCLUSIVE: Ortega shields Inditex stake to maintain family control Amancio Ortega, chairman of Spanish global fashion group Inditex, laughs during a visit of Spain''s Princess Letizia and Crown Prince Felipe to his factory in Coruna, northern Spain December 2, 2008. REUTERS/Miguel Vidal/Files By Sonya Dowsett - MADRID MADRID Amancio Ortega, founder of the world''s biggest clothing retailer Inditex and Europe''s richest man, has put a majority stake in the firm that owns the Zara fashion chain into a holding company to ensure family control remains unassailable after he dies. Corporate filings in Spain''s Mercantile Registry show the reclusive 81-year-old put a 50.01 percent shareholding into Pontegadea Investments in December 2015, along with more than 6 billion euros ($6.5 billion) in prime commercial real estate. Ortega''s heirs will now inherit stakes in Pontegadea, which groups assets worth around 57 billion euros, rather than Inditex shares which potentially could be sold, muddying prospects for the company''s direction. "The absolute priority for Ortega is to guarantee the future of the company, to ensure a controlling stake in Inditex that will not be diluted," a source close to Pontegadea told Reuters when asked about the reasoning behind the structure. The move aims to preserve continuity in ownership and management, said the source, who asked not to be named because of the sensitive nature of the issue. It also is likely to maintain the firm''s paternalistic presence in the northwestern region of Galicia, where Ortega lives. A former errand boy, Ortega built his empire in the mid-1970s from a Zara store in his hometown, the rainy fishing port of La Coruna, to a network of over 7,200 stores that employs tens of thousands globally. His success has had a huge knock-on effect on local businesses in Galicia, from Trison, which makes video displays for Zara stores, to Candido Hermida, a furniture maker which fits out Inditex stores worldwide. His charitable foundation, Fundacion Amancio Ortega, has invested millions in projects such as opening kindergartens in the region and training local schoolteachers. In setting up Pontegadea, Ortega aims to avoid the fate of businesses like chocolate maker Cadbury and fashion house Laura Ashley, whose founding families lost control of their empires as their shareholdings were diluted and they retreated from management. The family of Laura Ashley saw its stake in the firm progressively diluted after she died in 1985, and its connection with the company was cut entirely by 2001. Family representation on the board of Cadbury ended in 2000 when chairman Dominic Cadbury retired. U.S. food giant Kraft, now Mondelez, bought the company ten years later, closing a plant in the west of England shortly after the takeover despite protests from descendants of the founding family. Ortega also follows the example of other founders of successful corporate empires. Fashion designer Giorgio Armani set up a foundation last year to control the business empire he started in the 1970s. Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of luxury watch maker Rolex, in 1944 placed all of his shares in the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, which has owned and run the company since his death in 1960. "Depending on the terms of the trust, this should help alleviate any fears of shares being placed in the market on the event of his (Ortega''s) death," said Adam Cochrane, retail analyst at UBS. Independent retail analyst Richard Hyman said the move was a way of protecting the Inditex brands, which in addition to Zara include the upmarket Massimo Dutti label and teen fashion chain Bershka. "The most important asset that Inditex has are its brands and the biggest risk to branding is dilution," Hyman said. "It is hard to predict what is going to happen in the apparel industry, the most risky sector in retail. Protecting a majority stake reduces the chances of a takeover that could lead to cost cuts that end up damaging the brand." ALL IN THE FAMILY ... Ortega became a billionaire and Spain''s richest man at the age of 65, when Inditex was listed in 2001. He continues to live in La Coruna where he is often seen walking his dog. Funds from the listing were used at the time to set up Pontegadea, which is structured as a private limited company. A Pontegadea spokesman declined to comment for this article, and an Inditex spokesman said the company did not comment on any matter related to its shareholders. Corporate filings show that Ortega is Pontegadea''s chairman and his wife Flora Perez and close business partner Jose Arnau are vice-chairmen. Arnau, vice president of Inditex''s board of directors, is a former tax inspector and has been closely involved in the managing of Ortega''s personal wealth since 1997. He managed Inditex''s tax affairs from 1993 to 2001. Perez is Ortega''s second wife. He separated from his first wife Rosalia Mera, who died of a stroke in 2013, in the 1980s. Perez has a seat on Inditex''s board as the representative of Pontegadea''s 50.01 percent stake. Her brothers also hold key positions - Oscar Perez is director of flagship brand Zara while Jorge is the director of Massimo Dutti. Ortega has three children: his daughter with Perez, Marta, 33, who works at Zara, and two children from his first marriage, Sandra, 48, and Marcos, 46, neither of whom have pursued careers at Inditex. Sandra, the second-biggest Inditex shareholder with a 5.05 percent stake, works at a Galician charity focused on helping disabled people find work. Marcos was born with cerebral palsy and is severely disabled. ... EXCEPT FOR ONE Ortega split with Spanish tradition when he handed the roles of chief executive officer and chairman outside the family to Pablo Isla, 53, one of Spain''s elite squad of state lawyers, six years ago. Entrusting the day-to-day running of the company to Isla was widely seen as removing any uncertainty about succession plans. Poached from tobacco firm Aldatis in 2005, Isla has overseen a tripling of the company''s value during his tenure. Ortega still goes to work every day at the company''s headquarters in Arteixo, turning his hand to everything from fashion collections to shop floor design. He has made largely debt-free purchases of prime real estate around the world using the dividends from his total stake of just under 60 percent of Inditex, which have nearly doubled over the past five years to a record payout of 1.26 billion euros in the latest financial year ended January 2017, according to a source with knowledge of the matter. His property portfolio - roughly split equally between office and retail - include mining company Rio Tinto''s headquarters in London; Zara rival H&M''s flagship San Francisco store on Powell Street and a five-storey Primark store on Madrid''s Gran Via. Income at the real estate division that also sits under the Pontegadea holding company was 129 million euros in 2015, mostly from rental income, according to results available from that year. ($1 = 0.9260 euros)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/inditex-legacy-idINKBN1781UK'|'2017-04-06T22:05:00.000+03:00' +'5de1969c5011626f059ace1cb5aaa695d78285e7'|'Forget the property ladder. We need housing rights for all - Dawn Foster - Housing Network'|'A s far back as 2007, I remember more affluent peers confidently predicting that they would be clambering onto the property ladder shortly after graduation: purchasing a small flat, then upgrading to a small house before, with any luck, buying in their forties the kind of home featured in weekday evening property programmes.Then the financial crash hit while we were in university, and finding a job, let alone a mortgage, looked increasingly unlikely. House prices rose, while wages didnt and the dream looked more distant. Now, post-Brexit and Trump, with World War III threatening to result from Russia, Syria and the USs sabre-rattling, trying to get onto this increasingly mythical property ladder seems fruitless, since were essentially living in a society that resembles Threads more closely than Notting Hill .Now, even the Telegraph () is warning that so-called housing mobility, the ability to move from one home to another larger home, is declining. Yes, people who got into the market early, and onto the famous ladder, may be asset rich, but this benefit is offset by how much their children will have to pay to escape private renting. An increasing number of people are also paying the maximum they can on mortgages, with an increase in interest rates, or a redundancy threatening to upset the financial balancing act. Few young people now buy in most prime markets without parental help and in the areas where housing is most affordable, like Blaenau Gwent, Copeland and Port Talbot, jobs are scarce.And thats just the people who were ever likely to scale this ladder. The poorest never expected to be able to secure mortgages, but in the past were more likely to find a home in social housing, with security of tenure and affordable rents. That security has been attacked for decades, with council homes sold under right to buy, and now with the forced sale of high value council homes, the end of lifetime tenancies, and right to buy put on steroids: the right to buy discount has been raised to encourage sales, and government leaflets advertising the scheme are repeatedly posted through letterboxes.Home ownership in England at a 30-year low, official figures show Read moreThe concept of the property ladder is dead for all but a small minority of young people. It needs to be replaced with a campaign for housing rights. Homelessness should not happen in a country as wealthy as Britain. Ignore Conservative chancellors and their tendency to both claim Britain is bankrupt and that an economy is akin to a household budget. The government can always find money for vanity yachts and Buckingham Palace repairs, and could borrow extremely cheaply to build homes.Every person should have the right to housing and shelter, and if the market excludes people, the government should step in. Post-war, when millions of people faced living in slums, a national house building programme employed thousands to house millions, increasing life chances and expectancies as a result. In that era adequate housing was recognised as a basic right. Why not now?In the years since, housing has become completely commodified : even social housing is seen as ripe for flogging at a profit. Continuing to prop up an over-inflated housing market while denying housing to people at the bottom of this rickety ladder is a recipe for vast social division.England''s housing market is ''broken'', government admits in white paper Read moreBut while traditionally, the haves have outnumbered the have nots, now very few people have the sort of housing theyd like; not in terms of wild ambition, but even to meet their basic desires. A young professional earning an above-average salary should be able to afford a mortgage on a one-bed property without help. The market is broken . A family working full-time on minimum wage should be able to afford the rent on a council home; but again, they cant, without state help, because the employment market is broken.The days of the housing ladder are over: what we need now is a national conversation about housing rights for all, with a government willing to remove its fingers from its ears.Sign up for your free Guardian Housing network newsletter with news and analysis sent direct to you on the last Friday of the month. Follow us: @GuardianHousingTopics Housing Network Foster on Friday Communities Housing Housing market Real estate Social mobility comment '|'theguardian.com'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/all'|'https://www.theguardian.com/housing-network/2017/apr/14/property-ladder-dead-campaign-housing-rights'|'2017-04-14T15:05:00.000+03:00' +'ca845eb67c8b80648c1fae191ca54c2ffd666ae1'|'JPMorgan softens tone on Brexit jobs warning'|'Business News 48am EDT JPMorgan softens tone on Brexit jobs warning left right JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon speaks at an event at JP Morgan''s corporate centre in Bournemouth, southern Britain, June 3, 2016. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez/File Photo 1/2 left right A taxi driver holds a Union flag, as he celebrates following the result of the EU referendum, in central London, Britain June 24, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville 2/2 LONDON The head of U.S. bank JPMorgan Chase ( JPM.N ) said on Tuesday the bank is not planning to move many jobs out of Britain in the next two years in a softening of tone on the likely impact from Brexit. Jamie Dimon had said in a previous speech to employees in Bournemouth last year that as many as 4,000 of the bank''s 16,000 jobs based in Britain may have to move. Even though his stance appears to have moderated Dimon said on Tuesday the bank is preparing for a so-called "hard Brexit" in which Britain loses access to EU''s single market, disrupting access to its main trading partner. "This does not entail moving many people in the next two years," he said in a letter to the US bank''s shareholders. Dimon also said the likelihood that the EU could break up has increased, which he warned could have a "devastating" economic and political impact. He said that he hoped that Britain''s decision to leave the EU would have force the bloc to focus on "fixing its issues," such as immigration, bureaucracy and rigid labor rules. "Our fear, however, is that it could instead result in political unrest that would force the EU to split apart," he said. "We will keep a close eye on the situation in Europe over the next several years." (Reporting By Andrew MacAskill, Editing by Lawrence White) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-jpmorgan-idUSKBN1770W7'|'2017-04-05T16:39:00.000+03:00' +'c4c0630da9489340dde38de5c93d4a297d78e2b4'|'Mexico''s Bimbo plans expansion in China, Asia, Middle East'|'By Sheky Espejo - MEXICO CITY MEXICO CITY Mexican breadmaker Grupo Bimbo ( BIMBOA.MX ) plans to grow in China in the short term with acquisitions, while also expanding in the rest of Asia and entering Middle Eastern markets, the company''s food business chief said on Wednesday.Bimbo, which entered China in 2006 after buying the local assets of Spanish competitor Panrico, plans to expand in China through purchases of local companies, Bernardo Zermeno, the food business chief, told Reuters on the sidelines of an event in Mexico City."Bimbo will look for a consolidation that will allow for expansion," he said.Bimbo shares were up 0.60 percent in late afternoon trading at 45.44 pesos ($2.41).(Reporting by Sheky Espejo; Editing by Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-bimbo-china-idINKBN17L2LW'|'2017-04-19T23:26:00.000+03:00' +'73b5509c0a7846ae7e6db4288861eb8e07eeb50c'|'Exclusive - Volkswagen eyes options for motorbike brand Ducati: sources'|'Deals 4:06pm BST Exclusive: Volkswagen eyes options for motorbike brand Ducati - sources The logo of Italian motorcycle manufacturer Ducati is seen in Dietlikon, Switzerland October 11, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann FRANKFURT Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) is considering options for its motorcycle brand Ducati as it seeks to streamline its portfolio, two people familiar with the matter said. Europe''s largest carmaker has tasked investment banking boutique Evercore ( EVR.N ) with evaluating possible options including a sale of the thoroughbred brand, which VW unit Audi acquired in 2012, they added. While Volkswagen has started reaching out to potential buyers to sound out their interest, no decision has been taken on whether the firm will be divested, they added. Audi and Evercore declined to comment. (Reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Maria Sheahan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-ducati-sale-exclusive-idUKKBN17S23J'|'2017-04-26T23:05:00.000+03:00' +'c52d3f19f84df91d4c05eb2265db11fbad9f8f50'|'PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - April 6'|'Company News 13pm EDT PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - April 6 April 6 The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. Headlines * Steve Bannon removed from National Security Council role. on.ft.com/2oDqv32 * Trump signals tougher stance on Syria. on.ft.com/2oDuE79 * Pepsi withdraws Kendall Jenner ad after social media backlash. on.ft.com/2oDqmN1 Overview * U.S. President Donald Trump removed his chief strategist Steve Bannon from the National Security Council on Wednesday, reversing his controversial decision early this year to give a political adviser an unprecedented role in security discussions. * U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad''s government of going "beyond a red line" with a poison gas attack on civilians, but he declined to spell out how or whether his administration would respond. * PepsiCo pulled a commercial featuring model Kendall Jenner on Wednesday after the ad prompted outrage and ridicule from those who said it trivialized rights protests and public unrest in the United States. (Compiled by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-press-ft-idUSL2N1HD29X'|'2017-04-06T07:13:00.000+03:00' +'34044df2a26b7578994762c267f848ed7063d07c'|'Money Talks: Podcast: How will France''s election affect business?'|'As the presidential race narrows to two strongly contrasting candidates, we explore what a victory for each would mean for businesses. The digital revolution is making measuring GDP a bit trickier. Also, how a website that crowdsources algorithms for quantitative finance could disrupt the industry Latest updates The problems of family planning in Nigeria Middle East and Africa 12 minutes ago Alitalia is bankrupt again. This time perhaps its terminal Gulliver 15 minutes ago Small flying cars come a bit closer to reality Business and finance 2 hours ago The 3 hours ago Podcast: 6 10 '|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2017/04/money-talks-2?fsrc=rss'|'2017-04-26T01:05:00.000+03:00' +'e4e5b28cbeeac60c4e33bef065f2207078f52fa2'|'UPDATE 2-Overheated housing markets may hamper Canada''s growth -RBC'|'Company 40am EDT UPDATE 2-Overheated housing markets may hamper Canada''s growth -RBC * RBC CEO says single solution unlikely to be successful * RBC CEO calls for co-ordinated intervention * RBC CEO defends sales practices following media reports (Adds comments by RBC CEO) By Matt Scuffham TORONTO, April 6 Royal Bank of Canada Chief Executive Officer Dave McKay warned on Thursday that overheating housing markets could inhibit Canada''s economic growth, and he urged the federal and provincial governments to work together to address the issue. Toronto home sales and prices surged in March, an industry report showed on Wednesday, fueling fears of a real estate bubble in Canada''s largest city and raising expectations that the province of Ontario would soon act to cool the market. British Columbia enacted a 15 percent tax on foreign buyers last year, and some economists have suggested that similar measures may be necessary in Ontario. "Any single solution is unlikely to be successful on its own," McKay said at RBC''s annual meeting. "A complex problem like this requires a multi-faceted solution, which addresses supply constraints and speculative forces and is mindful of the rate environment, which can be a moderating force." With even mainstream Canadian economists calling the Toronto market a bubble and Finance Minister Bill Morneau saying national policies are not the best tool to tackle a local problem, the pressure is now on Ontario. "We would welcome any effort by the three levels of government to coordinate their interventions, and to do so reasonably quickly," McKay said. Owning a home has become "a distant dream" for many Canadians, particularly in Toronto and Vancouver, he said, citing "persistent" supply-and-demand imbalances in those areas as well as low interest rates and speculative activity. "All of these factors are mixing to push prices up to unsustainable levels, stressing household balance sheets and locking many people out of the housing market," he said. McKay defended the bank''s sales practices following media reports that staffers, pressured to meet targets, had opened accounts for consumers without their consent. "The media reports over the last few weeks characterize an environment that is not consistent with our experience, our culture, or our values," he said. "It is not the RBC that I know, that our clients know, or that I have grown up with for nearly three decades." Canada''s financial watchdog is investigating sales practices at the country''s banks and expects to conclude its probe by the end of the year. McKay said that of the 2.4 million accounts RBC opened last year, fewer than 0.05 percent of customers raised concerns about the way theirs were opened. (Reporting by Matt Scuffham; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Lisa Von Ahn)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/rbc-agm-idUSL2N1HE0PR'|'2017-04-06T22:40:00.000+03:00' +'5cf3387942b1a40799a438def0ecf274d5c3db0e'|'BRIEF-Artisan Partners Asset Management reports March 2017 assets under management'|' 27pm EDT BRIEF-Artisan Partners Asset Management reports March 2017 assets under management April 11 Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc - * Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc reports March 2017 assets under management * Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc - reported that its assets under management as of March 31, 2017 totaled $103.8 billion '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-artisan-partners-asset-management-idUSASA09IDE'|'2017-04-12T04:27:00.000+03:00' +'a10d1c9625c4587ebd6ab8314e3f210b8136b953'|'China urges Canada to relax curbs on high-tech exports - Xinhua'|' 25pm BST China urges Canada to relax curbs on high-tech exports - Xinhua OTTAWA Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday pressed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to relax curbs on high-tech exports to China and also suggested the two nations work together on clean energy, China''s official Xinhua news agency said. Trudeau wants to boost trade with China as a way of lessening dependence on exports to the United States, especially given protectionist signs from the administration of President Donald Trump. Canada, citing national security needs, places strict restrictions on the Canadian assets that China and other nations can buy. Reporting on a phone call between the two leaders, Xinhua said, "The Chinese premier hoped that Canada would relax the restrictions on high-tech exports to China, believing this would be helpful to a balanced growth of bilateral trade." Last month, Trudeau''s Liberals allowed Hong Kong-based O-Net Technologies Group Ltd ( 0877.HK ) to buy a Canadian technology company, reversing a 2015 decision by the former Conservative government to block the deal on national security grounds. Trudeau spokeswoman Andree-Lyne Halle confirmed the two men had spoken and said more details would be released later. China is looking to boost its global environmental role as Trump shows signs of pulling back from green commitments the United States made under previous President Barack Obama. Li also told Trudeau that the two nations should "strengthen cooperation on tackling climate change and cooperate in new areas such as clean energy", according to Xinhua. In September, during a visit by Li to Ottawa, Canada and China said they would start exploratory talks on a free trade pact. (This version of the story makes changes spokeswomen to spokeswoman in sixth paragraph ) (Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-canada-china-idUKKBN17K26U'|'2017-04-19T02:25:00.000+03:00' +'469d00aa60e652c6e9c51b63d4b59f6b8fa12563'|'Futures down on Trump''s dollar remark; bank earnings eyed'|'Business News 7:33am EDT Futures down on Trump''s dollar remark; bank earnings eyed Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in the Manhattan borough of New York, New York, U.S., April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid By Yashaswini Swamynathan U.S. stock index futures were slightly lower on Thursday following President Donald Trump''s remarks on the U.S. dollar and interest rates, while investors kept an eye on bank earnings. * The dollar, already suffering from a risk-off mode in the market amid geopolitical tensions, hit its lowest level this month after Trump told the Wall Street Journal that the dollar "was getting too strong" and that he would like to see interest rates stay low. * Gold XAU=, which has become the preferred asset in the past week as investors scurried to safety, was up 0.11 percent, continuing to hit levels unseen in over five months. * Wall Street ended lower on Wednesday, responding to Trump''s comments and as investors stayed away from making big bets ahead of the earnings season. * JPMorgan ( JPM.N ) shares were up 1.3 percent at $86.50 premarket after the biggest U.S. bank by assets reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit. * The results also lifted shares of other banks. Citigroup ( C.N ) and Wells Fargo ( WFC.N ), which are due to report premarket on Thursday, were marginally up. * Bank of America ( BAC.N ) and Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) trimmed earlier losses to trade little changed. * The results mark the beginning of the first-quarter earnings season, which investors will closely watch to justify lofty valuations in the market. * The combined profit of S&P 500 companies is estimated to have risen about 10 percent. However, the index is trading at about 18 times forward earnings estimate, compared with its historical average of 15, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. * Reports on weekly jobless claims and the March producer price index are expected at 8:30 a.m. ET. * The University of Michigan will release its consumer sentiment data for April at 10:00 a.m. ET. * Shares of Applied Optoelectronics ( AAOI.O ) jumped nearly 23 percent to $50.15 after the company said it expected first-quarter earnings to exceed its forecast . * Trading volumes could be lower than usual on Thursday ahead of the Good Friday holiday. Futures snapshot at 6:58 a.m. ET: * Dow e-minis 1YMc1 were down 39 points, or 0.19 percent, with 27,907 contracts changing hands. * S&P 500 e-minis ESc1 were down 7 points, or 0.3 percent, with 183,128 contracts traded. * Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQc1 were down 13.5 points, or 0.25 percent, on volume of 29,361 contracts. (Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks-idUSKBN17F1EZ'|'2017-04-13T19:33:00.000+03:00' +'9f064171676ba3ad68c9707a9a3049ba5fd36f59'|'Bank of Japan Kuroda - G20, IMF accept BOJ''s monetary policy'|' 01am BST BOJ''s Kuroda: G20, IMF accept BOJ''s monetary policy Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda attends a Reuters Newsmaker event in Tokyo, Japan March 24, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai TOKYO Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Tuesday that Group of 20 and International Monetary Fund officials accept the view that the central bank is conducting quantitative easing to achieve its inflation target. Kuroda, speaking in the lower house fiscal and monetary policy committee, also said a statement released after the IMF''s spring meeting showed agreement that monetary policy should support economic growth. He said currencies were not debated at the meeting. IMF members on Saturday dropped a previous pledge to fight protectionism amid a split over trade policy. (Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Sam Holmes)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-kuroda-idUKKBN17R0R6'|'2017-04-25T15:59:00.000+03:00' +'188167e9ec82aad7a52e61f800149bebee26a842'|'Ex-drug executive Shkreli wins separate fraud trial'|' 28pm BST Ex-drug executive Shkreli wins separate fraud trial FILE PHOTO - Martin Shkreli, former chief executive officer of Turing Pharmaceuticals and KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc, departs after a hearing at U.S. Federal Court in Brooklyn, New York, U.S. on October 14, 2016. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo By Brendan Pierson Martin Shkreli, the former drug company executive who drew public outcry when he raised the price of a life-saving drug by 5,000 percent, will be tried for securities fraud separately from a lawyer charged alongside him, a Brooklyn federal judge ruled Wednesday. Both Shkreli and lawyer Evan Greebel, who worked for Shkreli''s former company Retrophin Inc, had asked that their case be split. U.S. prosecutors had sought to try the two men together on charges that they schemed to defraud investors in a hedge fund Shkreli controlled. Greebel''s lawyer, Reed Brodsky, said at a hearing earlier this month before U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto that he aimed to prove that Shkreli was guilty and that he deceived Greebel. Brodsky said he would present evidence of wrongdoing by Shkreli even beyond what prosecutors claimed. Shkreli''s lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, said he would try to prove that Shkreli had no criminal intent and relied on Greebel''s advice. Brafman and other lawyers for Shkreli said in a joint statement that they were pleased with the decision. Brodsky and a spokesman for the prosecutors both declined to comment. Matsumoto wrote in Wednesday''s order that trying the two men together "would place on Shkreli an unfair and heavy burden in defending himself against both the government and Greebel." Shkreli is now set to go to trial on June 26. A trial date for Greebel has not been set, though Matsumoto earlier set aside Oct. 2 as a possible second trial date if the trial was split. After leaving Retrophin, Shkreli ran Turing Pharmaceuticals, where he sparked outrage among patients and U.S. lawmakers by raising the price of a drug used to treat a dangerous parasitic infection by more than 5,000 percent, to $750 a pill. The criminal charges, which are not related to Turing, involve Shkreli''s management of Retrophin and the hedge fund MSMB Capital Management from 2009 to 2014. Prosecutors claim that Shkreli engaged in a Ponzi-like scheme in which he defrauded investors in MSMB and took $11 million in assets from Retrophin to repay them. Shkreli faces charges of securities fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, while Greebel faces only conspiracy charges. Both have pleaded not guilty. The case is U.S. v. Shkreli, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, No. 15-cr-00637. (Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Bernard Orr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-crime-shkreli-idUKKBN17L2K7'|'2017-04-20T03:28:00.000+03:00' +'6399ccf72a8b2b7b3348a2af8900e5397c38929f'|'UK Stocks-Factors to watch on April 20'|'Market News - Thu Apr 20, 2017 - 1:57am EDT UK Stocks-Factors to watch on April 20 April 20 Britain''s blue chip FTSE 100 index is seen opening down 0.16 percent at 7103 points on Thursday, according to financial spreadbetters. * IHG: Global hotel chain InterContinental Hotels Group Plc said 1,200 of its franchised hotels in the United States, including Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza, were victims of a three-month cyber attack that sought to steal customer payment card data. * RIO TINTO: Global miner Rio Tinto, on Thursday said first-quarter iron production from Australia fell 3 percent from the same period a year ago due to wet weather at its mines, but kept its full-year guidance intact despite weakening ore prices. * OIL: Oil prices regained some ground on Thursday after steep losses the previous day, with a slight drop in U.S. crude inventories stoking hopes that a push to rein in global oversupply could be gathering at least some momentum. * GOLD: Gold held firm on Thursday, after falling as much as 1 percent the previous day, as tensions surrounding North Korea and the upcoming French presidential election offered support to the safe-haven asset amid a firmer dollar. Spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $1,280 per ounce as of 0107 GMT. * Copper: London copper rose on Thursday but was mired near its lowest for the year after China''s refined production surged in March, underlining ample stocks in the world''s biggest metals consumer. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose by 0.7 percent to $5593 a tonne by 0126 GMT. * EMA: The European Medicines Agency (EMA), Europe''s equivalent of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is preparing to leave its London headquarters in the wake of Brexit and its executive director is hoping for a quick decision on its new location. France offered the northern city of Lille as a candidate to host the European Union''s drug regulator to replace London after Britain leaves the bloc, the government said on Wednesday. * EX-DIVS: BAE Systems, Barratt Developments, Intu Properties, Mondi and Smurfit Kappa Group will trade without entitlement to their latest dividend pay-out on Thursday, trimming 3.1 points off the FTSE 100, according to Reuters calculations. * Britain''s top share index closed down 0.5 percent at 7,114.36 points as it came under pressure once again on Wednesday, giving up the gains it had made in 2017 as sterling held close to a six-and-a-half-month high after Prime Minister Theresa May called for a snap general election. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets * UK CORPORATE DIARY: Moneysupermarket.Com Group Q1 2017 Moneysupermarket.Com Plc Group PLC Trading Statement Release Man Group Plc Q1 2017 Man Group PLC Trading Statement Release Senior Plc Q1 2017 Senior PLC Trading Statement Release Go-Ahead Group Plc Q3 2016 Go-Ahead Group PLC Trading Statement Release Essentra Plc Essentra PLC Trading Statement Release Unilever Plc Q1 2017 Unilever PLC Trading Statement Release Sky Plc Q3 2017 Sky PLC Earnings Release Debenhams Plc Half Year 2017 Debenhams PLC Earnings Release Acacia Mining Plc Q1 2017 Acacia Mining PLC Earnings Release Hvivo Plc Full Year 2016 Hvivo PLC Earnings Release TODAY''S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Sanjeeban Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idUSL3N1HS2DU'|'2017-04-20T13:57:00.000+03:00' +'ff60ea474a3a3cbf2b0a7caa66b5e8c163be1d40'|'Lufthansa to receive fewer A320neos than expected this year'|' 1:55pm BST Lufthansa to receive fewer A320neos than expected this year The logo of German airline Lufthansa is seen before the company''s annual news conference at the airport in Munich, Germany, March 16, 2017. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle BERLIN Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) is due to receive five A320neo jets this year, a spokeswoman said on Thursday, half the number it originally expected, as delivery delays hamper the Airbus ( AIR.PA ) plane. Lufthansa, which was the first airline to operate the A320neo and took delivery of five of the jets in 2016, had said at the end of December that it expected 10 of the medium-haul planes this year. A spokeswoman said Lufthansa was now expecting five this year, with the next one slated to arrive in the summer. That could affect Lufthansa''s capex plans for this year. The airline said in March it expected to spend 2.7 billion euros (2.29 billion pounds) this year. Airbus delivered 12 A320neos in March to bring the 2017 total to 26, but deliveries remain behind schedule due mainly to problems with engines from Pratt & Whitney ( UTX.N ), one of two suppliers. Lufthansa Group has ordered 116 of the A320neo family jets in total, with around half to have Pratt engines and the other half engines made by CFM, a joint venture between GE ( GE.N ) and Safran ( SAF.PA ). (Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Christoph Steitz)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lufthansa-a320neo-idUKKBN17F1L1'|'2017-04-13T20:55:00.000+03:00' +'6868026ae35d960799f374e20cca20aa2bc7da23'|'Singapore first-quarter GDP contracts 1.9 percent qtr/qtr, in line with forecasts'|'SINGAPORE Singapore''s trade-reliant economy shrank 1.9 percent in the first quarter from the previous three months on an annualised basis, weighed by contractions in manufacturing and services, preliminary data showed on Thursday.That matched the median forecast in a Reuters survey of a contraction of 1.9 percent from the previous quarter on an annualised basis. In the fourth quarter GDP had jumped 12.3 percent quarter-on-quarter.(Reporting by Singapore bureau; Editing by Sam Holmes)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/singapore-economy-gdp-idINKBN17F027'|'2017-04-12T22:23:00.000+03:00' +'948ae0d82e0707f228af736deddc6a84f674a446'|'BRIEF-Gladstone Investment increases monthly cash distributions to common stockholders'|' 36pm EDT BRIEF-Gladstone Investment increases monthly cash distributions to common stockholders April 11 Gladstone Investment Corp * Gladstone Investment increases monthly cash distributions to common stockholders and announces cash distributions for April, May, and June 2017, including supplemental distribution to common stockholders * Gladstone Investment Corp - its board declared increasing distributions to common stockholders by more than 2 pct * Gladstone Investment Corp - announced it will pay a supplemental distribution of $0.06 per share to holders of its common stock in June 2017 * Gladstone Investment- anticipates paying semi-annual, supplemental distributions each fiscal year, with june 2017 payment being first payment in FY 2018 Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-gladstone-investment-increases-mon-idUSFWN1HJ0IT'|'2017-04-12T04:36:00.000+03:00' +'a5bde5c4e254055353ec469c74e8752f26bd66bd'|'German government lifts 2017 growth forecasts to 1.5 percent - sources'|'Tue Apr 25, 2017 - 10:39am BST German government lifts 2017 growth forecasts to 1.5 percent: sources A general view shows the old city skyline at Unter den Linden street with the construction site of the Berliner Schloss (Berlin City Palace) - Humboldtforum (C) in Berlin, August 28, 2014. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch BERLIN The German government has slightly raised its growth forecasts for Europe''s biggest economy for this year and next due to increased optimism about rising global demand, two senior government officials told Reuters on Tuesday. The government now expects gross domestic product (GDP) to expand by 1.5 percent in 2017 and by 1.7 percent in 2018, both up 0.1 percentage points from the previous forecasts in January, the officials said. The labor market is expected to add roughly 1 million new jobs this year and next which is likely to support domestic demand and boost tax revenues, they said. Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries will present the government''s updated forecasts on Wednesday. It will be the basis for the latest tax revenue estimates due in mid-May. (Reporting by Rene Wagner, Matthias Sobolewski, Michael Nienaber; Editing by Madeline Chambers)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-germany-economy-growth-forecast-idUKKBN17R10O'|'2017-04-25T17:36:00.000+03:00' +'623eef90465577e21139486443b4e9ea58bbb2fb'|'Exxon in talks to expand into Brazil - WSJ - Reuters'|'Exxon Mobil Corp is in talks to gain access to Brazil''s deep-water oil resources, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.Exxon, the world''s largest publicly listed oil company, has held talks about a joint venture through which it would invest in projects with Brazilian state-controlled Petrobras, the Journal reported.The talks also included discussions about potentially buying stakes in offshore tracts that the Brazilian government plans to lease out this year, the report said.Exxon is also working with U.S. oil producer Hess Corp to expand into Brazil after the country revised its regulations last year to attract more foreign investment, the Journal reported. on.wsj.com/2nApuE0Exxon and Petrobras declined to comment when contacted by Reuters, while Hess was not immediately available for comment.(Reporting by Komal Khettry in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/exxon-mobil-brazil-idINKBN1762DI'|'2017-04-04T15:43:00.000+03:00' +'1f76e16c44fd99729daeefca306ad31a59d77e18'|'Back to basics - global investment banks beef up transaction business in Asia'|'Business News - Thu Apr 20, 2017 - 12:19am BST Back to basics - global investment banks beef up transaction business in Asia By Sumeet Chatterjee - HONG KONG HONG KONG With dealmaking in Asia sluggish and Chinese investment banks taking market share from global rivals, some foreign banks are ploughing resources into transaction banking, the workaday business of financing trade, managing cash and facilitating payments. At a time of growing intra-regional trade in Asia, the largest trading region in the world, and expansion of supply-chain networks beyond China, transaction banking promises to offset slowing revenues elsewhere. While existing transaction banking powerhouses including Citigroup and HSBC are expanding sales and reach, firms who have traditionally focussed more on investment banking, such as JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank, are also bulking up. In its inaugural transaction banking league table, industry analytics firm Coalition this week ranked HSBC and JPMorgan as the two strongest performers in 2016 in Asia, based on revenue, versus a year earlier. "Across the board, we do see most of the traditional investment banks are investing in transaction banking," Eric Li, London-based research and analytics director at Coalition, told Reuters. "They realise the investment banking pool is more volatile, and secondly there is very limited room to further improve," he said, adding the top 12 foreign banks'' revenue concentration in investment banking was already above 60 percent. In contrast, these banks account for just 15 percent of the market for cash management in the region, Li said. As a result, the banks are gearing up to tap a likely pick-up in trade and using their investment banking platforms as a lever to pick up more transaction business, which consumes less capital and delivers more stable returns. "We contribute in terms of relationship, we contribute in terms of funding, and we contribute in terms of a steady source of business," said Lisa Robins, Asia Pacific head of global transaction banking at Deutsche Bank. "I won''t say (it) doesn''t use capital, because we do use capital, but it''s a relatively efficient business." Robins declined to give a business forecast, but the bank said in May last year that within transaction banking, the share of revenue coming from Asia could rise to a quarter in the coming years from 18 percent. BOOSTING HEADCOUNT While 2016 saw many foreign banks cutting investment banking headcount in Asia to cope with sluggish deals activity, staff additions for the transaction banking business was strong, headhunters and some bankers said. This year, global banks'' headcount for transaction banking in Asia could rise 5 percent, while investment banking is likely to be flat or fall 5 percent, said John Mullally, director of financial services at headhunter Robert Walters. JPMorgan, for instance, has added more people both on the sales side and the product side in transaction banking in Asia, helping it expand its share, said Muhammad Aurangzeb, head of its Asia Pacific corporate banking. Banks such as Deutsche and JPMorgan are also increasingly using their investment banking clout to win more bread-and-butter trade finance and cash management services to develop their client relationships. "We are saying (to investment banking clients) we want to go wider and deeper with you," said Aurangzeb. "We don''t want to just do an M&A trade, or your IPO or your block trade and forget about it till we meet again in a year and a half''s time." They will nevertheless face stiff competition to win market share from global rivals such as Citigroup and HSBC that have much bigger balance sheets and banking networks in the region. HSBC, for example, is looking to add around 500 new staff in commercial banking, which includes transaction banking, in Asia Pacific this year, to capitalise on initiatives such as China''s "One Belt, One Road" project, which aims to develop trade and connectivity with the rest of Eurasia. "Economic weight is shifting to Asian and Middle Eastern economies which are expected to grow their GDP threefold between now and 2050," said Ajay Sharma, HSBC''s regional head of global trade and receivables finance in Asia Pacific. "That''s the sweet spot for our customers and our global footprint." (Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Will Waterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-asia-transactionbanking-idUKKBN17L30J'|'2017-04-20T07:19:00.000+03:00' +'75d88957aee228350f8f73bbf04e57254c6053c3'|'UPDATE 1-U.S. 30-year mortgage rates rise from 5-month lows -Freddie Mac'|'Business 14am EDT U.S. 30-year mortgage rates rise from 5-month lows: Freddie Mac NEW YORK U.S. 30-year mortgage rates rose in the latest week, rebounding from five-month lows in step with a rise in bond yields, following the first round of the French presidential election on Sunday, according to mortgage finance agency Freddie Mac ( FMCC.PK ) on Thursday. The borrowing cost on 30-year mortgages, the most widely held type of U.S. home loan, averaged 4.03 percent in the week ended April 27, up from the prior week''s 3.97 percent, it said. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield US10YT=RR had risen earlier this week as investors scaled back their safe-haven bond holdings on expectations centrist Emmanuel Macron would beat anti-EU Marine Le Pen in the French presidential run-off on May 7. In early Thursday trading, the 10-year Treasury yield was down over 1 basis point at 2.296 percent after hitting a two-week peak at 2.350 percent on Wednesday, Reuters data showed. "Despite recent swings in mortgage rates, the housing market continues to show signs of strength," Freddie Mac''s chief economist Sean Becketti said in a statement. (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Bernadette Baum)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-mortgages-freddie-mac-idUSKBN17T28V'|'2017-04-27T23:13:00.000+03:00' +'c03884b6fa61734e468129e3b2409acfe7695fea'|'Anthem denies report of talks with Justice Dept regarding merger'|'WASHINGTON Health insurer Anthem Inc ( ANTM.N ) denied a report on Thursday that it was in negotiations with the Justice Department in an effort to save its merger with smaller rival Cigna Corp ( CI.N ).Cigna shares jumped as much as 2.4 percent early in the session on a spike in trading volume to hit their highest level since July 2015. Anthem was last up 1.3 percent to $168.95. Cigna was up 2.3 percent at $155.50.The companies are awaiting a decision from a federal appeals court, which had been asked to rule on whether the Justice Department could stop the $54 billion merger on antitrust grounds. The lawsuit was originally brought by the Obama administration and a federal judge agreed that the deal should be stopped.Asked about a report from CTFN, a service specializing in merger news, that Anthem was in talks with the Justice Department, spokeswoman Bonnie Jacobs said in an email: "Not accurate."The Justice Department declined to comment.An Anthem purchase of Cigna would create the largest U.S. health insurer. Rivals Aetna Inc ( AET.N ) and Humana Inc ( HUM.N ) had also sought to merge, but that deal collapsed amid opposition from the federal government and states.Adding to obstacles facing a deal, Anthem and Cigna, which have had difficult relations for months, are suing each other.(Reporting by Diane Bartz and Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Dan Grebler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-cigna-m-a-anthem-idINKBN17M269'|'2017-04-20T15:06:00.000+03:00' +'9405b4f3e85c36343f00efc1a36bb44163cd3939'|'Swiss stocks - Factors to watch on April 25'|'Market News - Tue Apr 25, 2017 - 2:05am EDT Swiss stocks - Factors to watch on April 25 ZURICH, April 25 The Swiss blue-chip SMI was seen opening little changed at 8,710 points on Tuesday, according to premarket indications by bank Julius Baer . Here are some of the main factors expected to affect Swiss stocks: NOVARTIS First-quarter core net income fell 4 percent as the Swiss drugmaker''s spending to kick start sales at its eyecare unit Alcon and for its heart failure drug Entresto weighed again on earnings For more news, click LONZA The drug ingredients maker will replace biotech company Actelion in Switzerland''s blue-chip SMI stock index as of May 3, the Swiss stock exchange said. It upgraded its 2017 outlook after a strong first quarter For more news, click ABB The engineering group has sealed a collaboration agreement with International Business Machines Corp, the latest step in its efforts to ramp up its presence in digital technology and the internet of things. For more news, click CREDIT SUISSE Chairman Urs Rohner faces his toughest shareholder meeting this week following an investor revolt over bonuses and losses totalling 5.65 billion Swiss francs ($5.7 billion) since 2015. SWISS LIFE The insurer holds its annual general meeting. For more news, click * Novartis said it had expanded commercial collaboration with Amgen for erenumab in treating migraine. [NOVN.S} * Biotelemetry Inc said it issued a prospectus for public tender offer to acquire Switzerland''s Lifewatch. * Schindler said first-quarter net profit slipped slightly to 179 million Swiss francs, down from 182 million francs. Orders rose 5.7 percent, as the company said it continues to expect full-year revenues to rise 3-5 percent in local currencies. * Kudelski said signed a patent license agreement with Advance Magazine Publishers Inc including Cond Nast. Financial terms were not disclosed. * ams posted a net result for Q1 of -16.2 million euros compared to 13.6 million euros in same period last year and said its mid-term revenue growth target is currently under upward revision. * Feintool International Holding AG said Q1 sales were 145 million Swiss francs ($145.61 million) * Phoenix Mecano AG says Q1 gross sales increased by 9.8% year-on-year to 161.2 million euros * Dufry AG renews its duty-free contract at Liverpool John Lennon Airport for additional 8 years * Ascom Holding AG announces the introduction of Ascom Telligence into Europe, Asia and growth markets ECONOMY '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/markets-swiss-stocks-idUSL8N1HW46T'|'2017-04-25T12:38:00.000+03:00' +'9c73a133a97cdd38b1a298bcb3ed34c4c55ad166'|'ADVISORY-Alerts on KSB Pumps Company Ltd March-qtr results withdrawn'|'April 26 The alerts on Pakistan''s KSB Pumps Company Ltd''s March-quarter results are wrong and are withdrawn. The alerts were inadvertently issued off a press release from India''s KSB Pumps Ltd.For alerts on India''s KSB Pumps Ltd''s quarterly results, clickSTORY_NUMBER: FWN1HY0D4STORY_DATE: 26/04/2017STORY_TIME: 0903 GMT'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/advisory-alerts-on-ksb-pumps-company-ltd-idINFWN1HY0D4'|'2017-04-26T07:34:00.000+03:00' +'653800f348e12dc2dd155e7633731fce7a6aefa1'|'In about-face, Trump nominates new head of export bank'|'Politics - Fri Apr 14, 2017 - 8:09pm EDT In about-face, Trump nominates new head of export bank Scott Garrett appears at the Reuters Financial Regulation Summit in Washington April 28, 2014. REUTERS/Gary Cameron WASHINGTON President Donald Trump nominated former Republican lawmaker Scott Garrett as president of the Export-Import Bank of the United States on Friday, completing an about-face over an institution he had denounced as "featherbedding" for big business. A White House statement also named Spencer Bachus, another Republican former congressman, to be a member of the board of directors of the bank. Both were named for four-year terms. Trump told the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday he would fill the two vacancies on the bank''s five-member board that have prevented it from having a quorum and being able to act on loans over $10 million. His picks must gain approval from the Senate, which blocked nominees by former President Barack Obama. The Export-Import Bank, an independent government agency, provides loans to foreign entities that enable them to purchase American-made goods. For example, it has been used by foreign airlines to purchase planes from Boeing Co ( BA.N ) and farmers in developing nations to acquire equipment. The bank has become a popular target for conservatives, who worked in Congress to kill the institution, arguing that it perpetuates cronyism and does little to create American jobs. Trump''s backing of the bank represents a victory for manufacturers like Boeing and General Electric Co ( GE.N ), which have overseas customers that use the agency''s government-backed loans to purchase their products. Trump told the Journal the bank benefits small businesses and creates jobs, a reversal of his earlier criticism of the bank as being "featherbedding" for wealthy corporations. Trump''s about-face followed a meeting on Tuesday with former Boeing Chief Executive Jim McNerney, who left the company last year but oversaw the corporation''s aggressive lobbying effort in support of the bank in 2015. Large American corporations that do significant amounts of exports say other countries have similar agencies and the export bank levels the playing field. A 2015 fight to shutter the bank led by conservatives in Congress allowed the bank''s charter to expire for five months. After overwhelming bipartisan support emerged to renew the bank''s charter, which is needed for it to operate, conservatives blocked nominees to the board, preventing it from financing large exports like aircraft and power turbines. (Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by Bill Rigby)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-eximbank-idUSKBN17H003'|'2017-04-15T08:03:00.000+03:00' +'09bb84e00c9b28fb98329cb7ad8399816266a719'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'(Adds Vopak, CEZ, Volkswagen, Henderson Global, Merchants Bancshares, EDP, Abertis; Updates CPPIB)April 26 The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Wednesday: ** Czech utility CEZ has received several offers for its assets in Bulgaria and some are interesting, a spokesman said. ** Frontline has made a fifth offer for tanker operator DHT Holdings and given its rival 24 hours to reconsider a deal which billionaire John Fredriksen hopes will forge the world''s largest tanker company. ** Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), the country''s largest pension fund manager, is exploring opportunities in India''s financial services, telecoms and logistics sectors to expand its bets in the South Asian economy, CPPIB''s Asia Pacific head Suyi Kim said. ** Penta Investments, the biggest shareholder in Czech betting company Fortuna Entertainment Group, does not plan to change the price of 98.69 crowns ($4.00) a share it has offered minority shareholders in a buyout. ** U.S. buyout firm KKR said on Wednesday it has agreed to buy Hitachi Ltd''s chip-making equipment and video solution unit in a deal valuing the company at 257 billion yen ($2.3 billion), its second purchase of a Hitachi unit. ** EDF Energies Nouvelles is looking to "repower" old wind parks and get into the German market through its planned 320 million euro ($350 million) acquisition of French wind developer Futuren,, EDF EN chief Antoine Cahuzac said on Tuesday. ** Nordic telecom operator Telia Company has agreed to sell its Tajik operations to the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, taking a step closer to withdrawing from its troubled Central Asian business. ** U.S. private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP launched a sell down of up to $446 million in railway firm Seibu Holdings, IFR reported on Wednesday, citing a term sheet of the transaction. ** Finnish utility Fortum will almost double its tally of retail electricity customers in the Nordics as part of a 240 million euro ($262 million) investment involving Norwegian power group Hafslund. ** Shares in Saudi Arabia''s Alawwal Bank rose 9 percent in early trading after it agreed to start talks with Saudi British Bank 1060.SE (SABB) about a merger that could create the kingdom''s third biggest bank with assets of nearly $80 billion. ** Logitech is looking at acquisitions to accelerate growth and help expand into new product categories, Chief Executive Bracken Darrell said, after the computer peripherals maker''s fourth-quarter results beat forecasts. ** Deckers Outdoor Corp said on Tuesday it was exploring strategic alternatives, including a sale of the company, a month after an activist investor urged the apparel and accessories maker to sell itself. ** Bankers are lining up to around 570 million euros ($620.79 million) of debt financing to back a potential sale of Danish packaging group Faerch Plast as the auction process progresses to the final round, banking sources said on Wednesday. ** Volkswagen is considering a possible sale of Italian motorcycle maker Ducati as Europe''s largest carmaker streamlines operations to help fund a strategic overhaul following its emissions scandal, two people familiar with the matter said. ** Spanish infrastructure group Abertis reported rising earnings and said it had received no concrete offer from Italian rival Atlantia after the companies held preliminary talks on a possible takeover. ** The board of directors of Portugal''s wind energy producer EDP Renovaveis said it considers an offer by its parent company EDP to buy out minority shareholders at 6.8 euros a share as adequate, despite complaints by some stockholders. ** The Federal Reserve said it had approved Merchants Bancshares Inc to be acquired by Community Bank System after deciding the tie-up would not harm competition. ** Shareholders of British asset manager Henderson Global Investors backed its $6 billion merger with U.S. fund firm Janus Capital, after Janus shareholders approved the deal earlier this week. ** European ride service Gett has bought U.S. rival Juno for $200 million in a deal that further consolidated the ride-hailing industry and that some said short-changed Juno drivers. ** Czech energy group Czech Coal has told rival electricity producer CEZ it will walk away from a deal to buy the 1,000 megawatt Pocerady power plant unless CEZ approves the transaction by the end of this month, a Czech Coal unit said in a letter to CEZ seen by Reuters. ** Dutch oil and chemical storage company Vopak and tanker operator Exmar said that they had decided not to pursue the acquisition by Vopak of Exmar''s participation in Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) assets. (Compiled by Tamara Mathias and Divya Grover in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/deals-day-idINL4N1HY4V3'|'2017-04-26T18:03:00.000+03:00' +'849ac7d617e574500fe4aeaaf2d14cb4ead76e03'|'UPDATE 1-Las Vegas sports gambler Walters convicted of insider trading'|'(Adds details from court hearing, background, bylines)By Nate Raymond and Brendan PiersonNEW YORK, April 7 Famed Las Vegas sports gambler William "Billy" Walters was convicted on Friday of insider trading charges in a scheme that prosecutors said enabled him to make more than $40 million and involved a stock tip to star professional golfer Phil Mickelson.Jurors found Walters guilty on all 10 counts he faced, including securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy, following a three-week trial in federal court in Manhattan.Walters, 70, who built a fortune as one of the most successful sports bettors in the United States, expressed disbelief to reporters after hearing the six-man, six-woman jury read its verdict."To say I was surprised would be the understatement of my life," Walters said. "If I had made a bet I would have lost - I just did lose the biggest bet of my life. Frankly I''m in total shock."Barry Berke, Walters'' lawyer, said his client would appeal. Walters is scheduled to be sentenced on July 14.Walters was charged after a high-profile probe focused on what prosecutors called his long-running scheme to obtain confidential tips about Dean Foods Co from its chairman, Thomas Davis.Prosecutors said that from 2008 to 2014, Walters generated $32 million of profit and avoided $11 million of losses by trading on inside information about Dean Foods from Davis.Walters generated another $1 million from trading on a tip about Darden Restaurants Inc, operator of the Olive Garden restaurant chain, they said.Davis, who testified against Walters as part of a plea deal, told jurors he passed tips ahead of Dean Foods'' earnings reports and a 2012 spinoff of part of its business, using "burner" phones to relay the information.Prosecutors said Walters at one point recommended to Mickelson that the golfer, who at the time owed him a gambling debt, buy Dean Foods stock.Mickelson, who has won three Masters golf titles, was not accused of wrongdoing and did not testify at trial.In 2016, Mickelson reached an agreement to pay back $1.03 million that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said he made by trading in Dean Foods stock. (Reporting by Nate Raymond and Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-insidertrading-walters-idINL1N1HF1AN'|'2017-04-07T16:47:00.000+03:00' +'b9c900a808ccecc5f438d0b3dcc47be7ec566d45'|'Belarus says Russia promises new loans of over $1 bln'|'Business 06am EDT Belarus says Russia promises new loans of over $1 billion Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Belarus'' President Alexander Lukashenko during their meeting at Konstantin palace in St. Petersburg, Russia April 3, 2017. REUTERS/Dmitri Lovetsky/Pool MINSK Moscow has promised over $1 billion in loans for Belarus after last week''s talks between the leaders of two countries, Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Semashko told the local ONT TV station late on Sunday. Moscow could also help Belarus tap into an additional $600 million from the Russia-led Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development, Semashko said. Last week, at a meeting in St Petersburg between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarussian leader Alexander Lukashenko, Russia agreed to refinance Belarus'' debt while Belarus will pay back more than $720 million in arrears for gas supplies. According to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich, Russia will also renew oil supplies to Belarus of 24 million tonnes a year and Russia''s Gazprom ( GAZP.MM ) will give Belarus discounts on gas supplies in 2018 and 2019. (Reporting by Andrei Makhovsky; Writing by Vladimir Soldtakin; Editing by Christian Lowe)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-belarus-russia-loans-idUSKBN17C0KY'|'2017-04-10T15:02:00.000+03:00' +'883e418688edd9614a332e5320d4fe0603f11815'|'BRIEF-Supremex announces appointment of Bertrand Jolicoeur as CFO'|' 23am EDT BRIEF-Supremex announces appointment of Bertrand Jolicoeur as CFO April 20 Supremex Inc * Supremex announces appointment of Chief Financial Officer and strengthens executive team * Says announced appointment of Bertrand Jolicoeur as Chief Financial Officer * Says Lyne Bgin, interim vice-president of finance, will return to her role as corporate controller Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-supremex-announces-appointment-of-idUSASA09JE1'|'2017-04-20T21:23:00.000+03:00' +'3c90383b7bbc07a4ac7fa0fcce0bc746e23decc1'|'European regulators offer Brexit sweeteners to investment banks'|' 2:11pm BST European regulators offer Brexit sweeteners to investment banks FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) are illuminated with a giant euro sign at the start of the ''''Luminale, light and building'''' event in Frankfurt, Germany, March 12, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo By Huw Jones , Rachel Armstrong and Jess Aguado - LONDON/MADRID LONDON/MADRID A gap in EU financial rules is allowing member countries to compete to host the trading operations of London-based investment banks after Brexit by offering looser regulatory standards. The European Central Bank is the euro zone''s banking supervisor but, under EU law, does not have direct responsibility for the divisions of banks that conduct most of their market trading broker-dealers even though they are some of the most complex and riskiest parts of their businesses. This is largely because when the ECB became responsible for euro zone supervision in 2014 the bulk of broker-dealers were in London and therefore not under its purview. This means banks now looking to relocate these operations, to continue to trade continental securities after Britain leaves the EU, will have businesses approved and supervised by the national markets regulator of whichever country they move to. Countries hoping to lure banks to their financial centres after Brexit are offering differing regulatory standards, raising fears at the ECB that they could be subject to light touch supervision and undermining its aim of making financial regulation consistent across the bloc. Such inconsistencies mean broker-dealers trading the same markets in Europe could be subject to different regulatory requirements and raise the prospect that some would take on more risks than other regulators would deem appropriate. "Regardless of balance sheet size, it''s currently the national regulators who will have the authority to approve and regulate the broker-dealers. That is raising concerns of inconsistencies emerging," said Vishal Vedi a partner at Deloitte who is advising banks on how they will need to reorganise as a result of Brexit. Across the euro zone, the likes of Frankfurt, Dublin, Luxembourg and Madrid are vying to lure banks, hoping to benefit from the tax revenues and jobs they would bring. Regulation is one way to differentiate themselves. One area in focus is the extent to which national regulators will allow broker-dealers to conduct "back-to-back" trading. This is where a bank would conduct trades - for example, buying European securities - out of its EU base but process and risk manage the transactions at its London office. This would minimise the and number of people a bank would have to move to Europe after Brexit as much of the trading and risk could continue to be overseen in London. But it would mean regulators in that country and the wider euro zone would not have supervisory control over the people and units that are conducting the trading and managing the risks, with minimal amounts of capital held locally at the EU unit. SPAIN, GERMANY Spain''s markets regulator CNMV has said it wants to make Madrid "the most appealing option for investment firms considering a move from the UK to another EU country". According to people advising investment banks on where to move, CNMV has said it would consider allowing broker-dealers to back-to-back 100 percent of their trades. Other regulators have also said they would allow some back-to-back trading, although will require a portion of the trades to be managed locally, those people said. "We can look into it, but we will see how this plays out and what the regulatory framework will look like in two years'' time," a CNMV spokesman said when asked whether it would allow 100 percent back-to-back trading. CNMV said in December that while it wanted to be the most welcoming place in Europe for UK financial firms, it would not accept "totally empty shells" or breaches to EU securities rules. Germany''s regulator Bafin has meanwhile said it would consider the limited and temporary use of back-back arrangements, according to an official there, but has indicated that it would expect banks to eventually establish a substantial operation in the country. The approach by some regulators to Brexit has created resentment among some countries. Last month Ireland complained to the European Commission that it was being undercut by rival cities competing to host financial firms looking for a European Union base outside London after Brexit. The EU''s European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has been studying ways to limit unfair competition among the bloc''s national securities regulators. It declined to comment for this article. So far, banks are showing no signs of flocking to Madrid, citing other factors such as Spain''s relatively low sovereign credit rating as a reason not to go there. Countries are also diverging in how banks'' risk models for their broker dealers would be assessed, with some saying they would be approved immediately if they were to use the same model to the one they use in Britain. "Regulators differ in their approach to risk models particularly around the level of reliance that they will be prepared to place on models which have already been approved in the existing UK entity and the amount of pre-assessment they will do themselves," said Deloitte''s Vedi. BANKS WARY Most banks - publicly at least - have yet to make a final decision on where they plan to set up their broker dealers after Brexit, and executives say they are sceptical about whether they will be allowed to use workarounds like back-to-back in the long term. "We do suspect that following Brexit, there will be constant pressure by the EU not to ''outsource'' services to the United Kingdom but to continue to move people and capabilities into EU subsidiaries," JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said in his annual letter to shareholders on Tuesday. The ECB has warned banks that if they try to cut corners by asking for back-to-back deals, they will be disappointed. But currently it does not have the legal authority to oversee broker-dealers, though sources say it is quietly trying to put pressure on countries they think are offering lower standards. The ECB declined to comment on Spain or ''back-to-back'' arrangements more broadly, but instead pointed to previous comments by its officials. Sabine Lautenschlaeger, an ECB executive board member, expressed her concerns on the issue in March when she said there could be changes to EU laws to bring broker-dealers under the ECB''s supervision. "Needless to say that I would certainly not accept banks booking all exposures with the euro area entity while having their risk management and internal control systems outside the euro area," she said. Regulators like CNMV are currently free to cut deals as long as they don''t breach EU securities rules, but the bloc''s regulatory landscape could change within a year or two and cast a shadow over any deals on regulation agreed now. The EU''s executive European Commission has proposed that non-EU banking firms with banking and broker-dealer operations with total assets of more than 30 billion euros in the EU, should set up an intermediate holding company inside the bloc. An intermediate holding company would come under direct ECB supervision in euro zone countries. (Additional reporting by John O''Donnell and Francesco Canepa in Frankfurt; Editing by Pravin Char)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-banks-idUKKBN17C1EX'|'2017-04-10T21:11:00.000+03:00' +'a80c589510015f33542780e3b4c6de1a6660b648'|'Linde rejects request to vote on Praxair merger at AGM'|'Deals 35am BST Linde rejects request to vote on Praxair merger at AGM FILE PHOTO: Linde Group logo is seen at company''s plant in Munich-Pullach, Germany, August 16, 2016. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle/File Photo FRANKFURT Germany''s Linde ( LING.DE ) has for a second time rejected a request for a shareholder vote at its annual general meeting next month on its planned $65 billion merger with U.S. industrial gases rival Praxair ( PX.N ). Linde said shareholders would in any case have to decide individually whether to accept a public offer from the new combined holding company, so a vote at the AGM on May 10 would not be appropriate. "Even if a qualified majority of Linde shareholders would accept the exchange offer, not a single Linde shareholder will be forced to exchange his shares," it said in a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Linde was responding to a renewed request from German private-investor association DSW, which came on behalf of shareholders Aberdeen Asset Management and BayernInvest. (Reporting by Georgina Prodhan and Jens Hack; Editing by Edward Taylor)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-linde-m-a-praxair-idUKKBN17D11F'|'2017-04-11T17:29:00.000+03:00' +'ad135ca8bd2f0a27fc82ff1f2ce9979178fb7bd3'|'BRIEF-Invesco reports preliminary month-end AUM of $834.8 bln'|' 33pm EDT BRIEF-Invesco reports preliminary month-end AUM of $834.8 bln April 12 Invesco Ltd * Invesco Ltd. announces March 31, 2017 assets under management and extension of foreign exchange hedges * Says reported preliminary month-end assets under management (AUM) of $834.8 billion, a decrease of 0.2% month over month Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-invesco-reports-preliminary-month-idUSASA09IDC'|'2017-04-12T04:33:00.000+03:00' +'812428b254773773675a083bd085fe8f41a34f0a'|'Greece calls for debt relief as bailout talks resume in Athens'|' 8:39pm BST Greece calls for debt relief as bailout talks resume in Athens left right FILE PHOTO: A Greek presidential guard performs a ceremonial march at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in front of the parliament building in Athens, Greece, September 15, 2015. REUTERS/Paul Hanna/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: A view of the Caryatids, the sculpted female figures supporting the porch of the ancient Erectheion temple, atop the Acropolis hill in Athens, Greece, October 23, 2016. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis/File Photo 2/2 By Renee Maltezou and Lefteris Papadimas - ATHENS ATHENS Greece''s prime minister held out for a commitment from lenders to debt relief on Tuesday, and said he was confident new talks in Athens over a long-stalled bailout review would reach a deal by a May 22 target. Talks over reforms in the energy and labor market and pension cuts and income tax increases have dragged on for months, mainly due to differences between EU lenders and the International Monetary Fund over fiscal targets. Athens and the lenders reached a preliminary deal this month in Malta on key elements of reforms to produce savings worth 2 percent of gross domestic product. Tsipras, who faces national elections in 2019 and whose popularity is sagging, said the country would legislate the additional measures sought by its lenders but implementing them was contingent on securing further debt relief. "We will obviously legislate (the measures) in order to secure a deal on debt relief," Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told ANT1 television. "They won''t be implemented ... unless we get a solution on debt." He added that a sovereign government had the right to back out of a deal if its interlocutors did not respect it. Greece wants to conclude the bailout review as soon as possible to qualify for inclusion in the European Central Bank''s quantitative easing program and return to bond markets. "Our aim is to conclude the bailout review and immediately after that to return to markets," Tsipras said. He was speaking two days after the seventh anniversary of Greece''s call for international aid to avert bankrupcty. Tsipras said the return to markets should be "sustainable" and not a "one-off", to help it emerge from crisis by 2018, when its third bailout expires. He added the country aimed to reach a deal by May 22, when euro zone finance ministers are expected to discuss the Greek issue. "On May 22, which I want to believe is a realistic target, we''ll also have a comprehensive deal, including debt," he said. IMF ROLE The date to conclude a deal on a so-called review of Greece''s bailout progress has been a moving target. It was supposed to have been wrapped up late last year. The talks, at a central Athens hotel, focused on energy reforms and a privatization fund on Tuesday. Concluding the review of Greece''s progress will also unlock funds which Athens needs to repay loans maturing in July. Greece has agreed to implement more austerity after the bailout expires in 2018, to persuade the IMF to participate in an 86 billion-euro bailout package, the third rescue plan since the debt crisis began. Greece attained a 4.2 percent of GDP primary surplus last year, significantly above the target set in its bailout. But the IMF says the country cannot maintain high fiscal surpluses and wants assurances from euro zone governments that Greek debt will be made sustainable, before it will join the bailout. Germany, which faces elections in September, wants the IMF on board to add credibility to the bailout, but it is also crucial for Tsipras who argues debt relief is needed for a nation which has suffered from years of austerity. Athens and its lenders are discussing a set of measures offsetting the impact of austerity in 2019 and 2020, on condition that Athens outperforms its targets. These measures include reducing taxes. (Editing by Andrew Roche)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-greece-bailout-idUKKBN17R146'|'2017-04-26T03:37:00.000+03:00' +'4c548a33f0157332389c92185801d36fdcdb57ca'|'Deutsche Bank''s 8 billion euro cash call marks end of era for cuts'|'Business News - Fri Apr 7, 2017 - 4:58pm BST Deutsche Bank''s 8 billion euro cash call marks end of era for cuts FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of Germany''s Deutsche Bank are seen early evening in Frankfurt, Germany January 31, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo By Arno Schuetze - FRANKFURT FRANKFURT Deutsche Bank''s ( DBKGn.DE ) chief executive said an era of cutbacks was over on Friday after completing an 8 billion euro (7 billion pound) capital increase to pay legal penalties, keep regulators happy and make fresh investments. "It is clear that we will not succeed by shrinking further," John Cryan said in a letter to staff after Deutsche Bank''s latest capital hike, which took its total capital raised over seven years to 30 billion euros, just below its market value. Cryan''s cash call was backed by top shareholders - a group of Qatari investors, U.S. fund Blackrock ( BLK.N ) and China''s HNA Group - whose stakes and influence over Germany''s biggest bank would otherwise have been diluted, one source said. "Our capital increase should eliminate any remaining doubt about Deutsche Bank''s stability. This is why it''s even more important to focus on a topic that has been in the background for quite some time: growth," the British CEO said. Deutsche Bank shares were down 1.8 percent at the bottom of a flat German blue-chip index .GDAXI by 1452 GMT. Deutsche Bank''s fourth capital hike since 2010, previously described by Cryan as a last resort, involved about 80 percent of shareholders buying new shares, while the rest sold their rights, sources told Reuters. Cryan, who has pledged to reward shareholders'' trust by seeing through a turnaround of Deutsche, acknowledged that recent feedback showed that while many investors and analysts in Europe were still sceptical about Germany''s biggest lender, U.S. investors were more positive. "They have seen first-hand how well banks are recovering in their home market and how profitable they can be. They expect us to turn the corner too," he said The high-margin U.S. market, which accounts for half of Deutsche Bank''s global investment banking revenues, will play an important role, he added, vowing to steer clear of business that could comes back to haunt it later in litigation costs. Deutsche Bank transformed itself into a major player on Wall Street over the past two decades, but extravagant bets and poor conduct has resulted in a litigation bill of 15 billion euros since 2009. Until now, Cryan has focused on damage limitation and cost-cutting since taking over first as co-CEO in 2015 and then becoming sole CEO last year. NEXT STEP The next big step in Deutsche''s reorganisation, announced last month, is a plan to list a minority stake of its asset management business, which includes its mainstay DWS retail asset management brand. While a listing is no longer needed to get capital in line with regulatory demands - its capital ratio will now rise to 14.1 percent compared with the ECB''s minimum requirement of 9.5 percent - it could help lift Deutsche''s valuation. European banks on average trade just below their book value and Deutsche trades at half of its book value, while listed asset managers such as Schroders ( SDR.L ), Henderson ( HGGH.L ) and Aberdeen ( ADN.L ) trade at more than twice book value. Although Deutsche Bank has vowed to carry out the initial public offering within two years, people close to the matter say that the listing, which could value the asset management business at up to 8 billion euros, may be launched this autumn. It will only pull off the expected listing of 10-20 percent of the asset management business if equity markets are buoyant and it is able to fetch an attractive price, the sources said. A listing would also give the asset management division a paper currency for potential acquisitions and shares which could be used to incentivise management. (Editing by Georgina Prodhan and Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deutsche-bank-capital-idUKKBN1791PA'|'2017-04-07T23:58:00.000+03:00' +'179086c6e1b41f7d7e2e4babff20c2c8b68eb3ef'|'Asia investors boost use of unorthodox data sources in battle to beat benchmarks'|'Business News - Tue Apr 25, 2017 - 8:00pm EDT Asia investors boost use of unorthodox data sources in battle to beat benchmarks An investor checks stock information on a mobile phone at a brokerage house in Shanghai, China November 9, 2016. REUTERS/Aly Song By Saikat Chatterjee - HONG KONG HONG KONG Sometime in the third quarter of 2016, Blackrocks ( BLK.N ) scientific active equity team, which manages $80 billion globally, began picking up increased signs of construction activity on the ground in China by using satellite imagery. Using that as a starting point and adding freight traffic and other data to the picture, the U.S.-based analysts determined that the worlds second-biggest economy was on the verge of a cyclical rebound. Their expectations were borne out when China reported last week that its economy grew a quicker than expected 6.9 percent in the first quarter, the fastest in six quarters. Blackrocks quantitative equities portfolios increased their exposure to China based on the data. The Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC gained about 11 percent between the end of September and early April, though it has lost some of those gains in recent days as regulators clamped down on speculative activity. We were picking up signals by simply looking at more metal on the ground and such unconventional data sources are very essential in an economy as large and diverse as China where data may not be very timely, said San-Francisco-based Jeff Shen, co-head of the scientific active equity team. The use of unconventional data sources to gather price-sensitive information about a company, or even an entire economy, before it is made public isnt a new phenomenon, especially among the hedge fund community in developed markets. But that behavior has now spread across the world, and to many more mainstream mutual funds. Faced with fierce rivalry from low-priced exchange traded funds and desperate to show that they can outperform market benchmarks, the mutual funds are now increasingly seeking alternative kinds of information in Asia. In the first two months of the year, actively managed equity mutual funds domiciled in Asia saw a net outflow of $1 billion compared to net inflows of $9.3 billion in all of 2016 and $40.3 billion in 2015. In contrast, exchange traded funds saw net inflows of $15.16 billion in the first two months of this year compared to $39.1 billion in all of 2016 and $21.7 billion in 2015, according to Morningstar data. That pressure is forcing fund managers to increasingly look at alternative sources of information about listed companies ranging from shipping logistics trends, and social media chatter, to payments data for unlisted private companies that supply parts to bigger listed companies. Robert Ciemniak, founder of Real Estate Foresight, a China-focused real estate data analytics firm, routinely analyses headlines from a variety of publicly available blogs, local news feeds and government bulletins in local cities and provinces to understand the ground-level shifts in the Chinese property sector before it garners attention from mainstream media. Last year, online searches related to buying property in Nanjing spiked a few months before prices in the city jumped, Ciemniak said referring to a property price surge of almost 40 percent in 2016 in the eastern Chinese city, with the authorities rolling out tightening curbs since August last year. "In a funny way, China is quite transparent as long as you employ reliable filters and know where to look, he said. THE SIGNAL AND THE NOISE Only the top asset managers in the world can afford to hire top notch data scientists to mine mountains of data to hunt for investment ideas. While a 40-member strong investment team at San-Francisco based Matthews Asia, which manages $26 billion in global assets, takes the conventional approach by conducting an average of 2,000 meetings on an annual basis in Asia, its investment strategists are looking at other data sources to supplement investment decisions. We look at various sources such as financial information released by multinationals with a big presence in China, tourist spending and visitor patterns by Chinese visitors abroad to get a grip on discretionary spending,, said Sherwood Zhang, who manages the Matthews China Dividend Fund. Some others rely on companies which aggregate data from a variety of unusual sources such as Toronto-based Quandl, though most of such companies are based in U.S and Europe for now. Still, getting such information fully integrated into daily workflow of investors is not easy. The quality, capture rate, the representativeness of the data and accuracy of prediction are only some of the problems, said Seth Fischer, founder of Hong Kong-based hedge fund Oasis Capital. Some investors say that the increasing push for an edge from unconventional sources is inevitable. Thirty years ago, the ability to rank 2,000 stocks on a price-to-earnings or a price-to-book ratio was considered pretty scientific but today the amount of information we process is larger than the U.S. Congress Library, said Blackrocks Shen. The challenge increasingly nowadays is to separate the signal from the noise. For graphic on ''Fund Flows'' click : reut.rs/2oPVrMd (Edited by Martin Howell)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-investment-asia-data-analysis-idUSKBN17R32L'|'2017-04-26T08:00:00.000+03:00' +'be3762224c3e49792bb3b4a6fb11a9df7e240ad1'|'Mnuchin says business tax rate at 15 percent in Trump tax plan'|'Politics - Wed Apr 26, 2017 - 10:00am EDT Mnuchin says business tax rate at 15 percent in Trump tax plan left right U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin departs from a meeting on tax reform with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) (not pictured) and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) (not pictured) on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., April 25, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts 1/2 left right U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin arrives for a meeting on tax reform with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) (not pictured) and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) (not pictured) on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., April 25, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts 2/2 WASHINGTON U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said the plan for "the biggest tax cut" in U.S. history due to be released later on Wednesday by the White House would cut the business tax rate to 15 percent, including for small businesses. "This is going to be the biggest tax cut and the largest tax reform in the history of our country," Mnuchin said at a news forum in Washington. He said there was fundamental agreement between President Donald Trump''s administration and the Congress on the goals of the tax reform, and the details would be worked out. Separately, House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said he had seen a "sneak preview" of the plan. "We like it a lot, it puts us on the same page, were in agreement on 80 percent and on the 20 percent were in the same ballpark," Ryan said. (Reporting by Amanda Becker and Ginger Gibson; Writing by Washington Newsroom)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-tax-mnuchin-idUSKBN17S1R1'|'2017-04-26T21:26:00.000+03:00' +'fb412ff7afbd3e8398f41876174331903e610a24'|'Futures rise on Trump tax talk; earnings in focus'|'Business News 4:08pm EDT Nasdaq breaches 6,000 as earnings power Wall Street higher Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., April 20, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid NEW YORK The Nasdaq Composite stock index hit a record high on Tuesday, while the Dow and S&P 500 brushed against recent peaks as strong earnings underscored the health of Corporate America. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 232.23 points, or 1.12 percent, to 20,996.12, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 14.46 points, or 0.61 percent, to 2,388.61 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 41.67 points, or 0.7 percent, to 6,025.49. The Nasdaq closed above 6,000 for the first time, more than 17 years after first breaching 5,000. (Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by James Dalgleish)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks-idUSKBN17R1D8'|'2017-04-25T19:44:00.000+03:00' +'87871e57c8b26a1f9d26ca69476fa8c7986daffe'|'Dassault Aviation not in favour of Thales-Alstom rail tie-up - CEO'|'PARIS, April 13 The head of Dassault Aviation , the biggest shareholder in Thales, said he was not in favour of pursuing a joint venture in railway operations between the French defence electronics firm and transport group Alstom.Analysts have suggested Thales could be a possible partner for Alstom at a time when rivals Siemens and Bombardier are eyeing a potential tie-up of their rail operations, according to sources close to the matter.Eric Trappier, chief executive of Dassault Aviation, told Reuters that he was "not at all" in favour of a similar joint venture between Alstom and Thales, which is specialised in rail signalling rather than in train parts."We''re still pursuing the same vision (...), which has been well defined for the past two or three years and which consists of consolidating the rail signalling unit within Thales," Trappier said on the sidelines of a news conference in Paris.A spokesman for Thales declined to comment. (Reporting by Cyril Altmeyer; Writing by Sarah White; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/thales-alstom-idINFWN1HL02M'|'2017-04-13T07:03:00.000+03:00' +'5f693e926a19e70f442f1f8d78b81738ee510297'|'Wood Group estimates higher cost savings from Amec Foster deal'|'Deals - Wed Apr 5, 2017 - 7:36am BST Wood Group estimates higher cost savings from Amec Foster deal Oil services company John Wood Group Plc ( WG.L ) said it expected about 36 percent more cost savings from its deal to buy Amec Foster Wheeler Plc ( AMFW.L ) for 2.2 billion pounds ($2.7 billion) than it first estimated when announcing the deal in March. Wood Group said it has been able to increase the expected level of pretax cost synergies from at least 110 million pounds to at least 150 million per annum by the end of the third year after the deal closes. Cost savings would come from operating, corporate and administration efficiencies, Wood Group said. Wood Group agreed to buy Amec Foster last month, seeking rewards from the fast-growing U.S. shale energy sector. Wood Group, a 35-year old company based in the Scottish city of Aberdeen, grew out of helping companies in the now declining North Sea oil basin. It said the deal would enable it to expand in areas best placed to benefit from an upturn in commodity prices, notably the U.S. onshore shale oil and gas sector. ($1 = 0.8039 pounds) (Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by David Holmes) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-amec-foster-m-a-john-wood-idUKKBN1770KF'|'2017-04-05T14:34:00.000+03:00' +'38fca04913cd3902322f76822169b42de55fdff8'|'Ryan Giggs divorce: ex-footballer to argue his genius before high court - Life and style'|'Ryan Giggs must follow in the footsteps of a bin-liner entrepreneur and convince a divorce hearing of something that Manchester United fans take for granted: that he is a genius.Giggs will argue in the high court that he should be awarded more than half of the 40m fortune he shares with his wife because of his special contribution to their marital millions. If the 43-year-olds legal team can convince a judge that this contribution possesses the spark of genius then he could prevail, under a precedent set by the man who earned his fortune from introducing black plastic bin liners to the UK.Giggss lawyers this week told the high court that they will call witnesses to prove that he is a genius and contributed far more to his 10-year marriage than his spouse Stacey Cooke. They argued this should trump law that states homebuilding and companionship are of equal importance to breadwinning.However, one legal expert warned that the strategy is high-risk. No judge likes the idea of people spending huge amounts to legally brag about their own self-imagined genius, said David Ruck, a partner and divorce specialist at law firm Gordon Dadd. The courts are very reluctant to describe what a special contribution is, adding that it has only been acknowledged in a handful of cases where the sums are massive.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Randy Work, who this week lost his claim to more than half of a 140m fortune. Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PAIf Giggs succeeds, he will be one of only a handful of men to have successfully convinced an English court that his financial contribution to marriage should overrule the yardstick of equality which means the lesser-earning spouse is entitled to half of the assets in a divorce.In the past fortnight, two other multimillionaire husbands American banker Randy Work and Laura Ashley chairman Khoo Kay Peng have failed to have their genius recognised by the courts. Work, 49, was forced to pay 72m to his ex-wife , while 78-year-old Khoo was required to settle for 64m .The precedent that Giggs is relying on was set in 2001 when the court of appeal judges ruled that Michael Cowan could keep 62% of the 12m bin liner fortune he shared with his wife because his contribution, in terms of entrepreneurial flair, inventiveness and hard work, was truly exceptional.Since that ruling, many wealthy men have also tried to claim they are geniuses and should also be able collect more than half of their familys finances, but few have succeeded in convincing judges that they are as exceptional as Cowan.Sir Martin Sorrell of advertising firm WPP was awarded 60% of the 75m joint assets in his 2005 divorce from Sandra, his wife of 33 years. Mr Justice Bennett ruled that Sorrell was regarded within his field and the wider business community as one of the most exceptional and most talented businessmen. Bennett said the true explanation for this extraordinary success story is that the husband does possess the spark or force or seed of genius. And with that the so-called genius clause was born.The next year, insurance magnate John Charman was awarded 63.5% of the 131m marital fortune because the wealth created is of extraordinary proportions from extraordinary talent and energy. In 2014, Jamie Cooper-Hohn, ex-wife of Chris Hohn, the billionaire founder of hedge fund The Childrens Investment Fund Management, was awarded just 36% of their $1.5bn fortune.But far more husbands have tried and failed to invoke the genius clause. This week, American private equity tycoon Work failed to convince the court of appeal to recognise his genius and grant him more than half of a 140m fortune, which included a 30m mansion in Kensington, west London, complete with swimming pool and fitness centre, and an 18m ski lodge in Aspen, Colorado.The court of appeal agreed with an earlier ruling that it would be unjustifiably gender-discriminatory to make an unequal award. This was a marriage of two strong and equal partners over 20 years.Ruling on their divorce in 2015, Mr Justice Holman told the businessman that his wealth contribution was not wholly exceptional and rejected his claim to be a financial genius. I personally find that a difficult, and perhaps unhelpful, word in this context, Holman said. To my mind, the word genius tends to be overused and is properly reserved for Leonardo da Vinci, Mozart, Einstein and others like them.In Cowans case, his legal team did not stint on claiming the word genius applied to their client. Speaking at a court of appeal hearing in 2001, Cowans lawyer compared his client to a popular musician who achieves worldwide success, or a novelist with international bestsellers. Michael Pointer QC added: These are people who have the spark of genius, the Midas touch, and Mr Cowan falls into that category. He was the man who introduced bin liners to this country. He realised the potential.Ruck said the more times the clause is defeated the harder it will become to convince judges that anyone is so much of a genius that they should be granted more than half the assets. There will be more, although it does require fairly litigious people, with money to pay the lawyers, he said. But, then again, if you have 175m, it may not matter a huge amount.London is widely regarded as the divorce capital of the world because of English laws regard for homebuilding as of equal value to financial earnings. But it has only been so since 2000, when a landmark divorce case was taken to the House of Lords. Pamela White complained that she had originally been granted just 800,000 of the 4.6m farming fortune she had made with her husband Martin White. The Lords said to family lawyers, look youve been getting this wrong, you should be starting at a 50/50 split and then looking to see if there is any good reason to depart from equality, said Jo Edwards, a partner and head of family law at London law firm Forsters.The biggest financial risk for women today? Embarking on a relationship Read moreEdwards said that before White v White, ex-wives of wealthy men could not hope for anything approaching parity. Settlements were based on so-called Duxbury tables, which calculate a wifes reasonable needs for the rest of her life.Lawyers handbook At a Glance shows that in Big Money Awards before White v White, wives were granted as little as 2.5% of the marital fortune. Katina Dart, wife of burger-box billionaire Robert Dart, was, in 1996, awarded just 10m of the couples 400m fortune after 15 years of marriage. Lady Caroline Conran was granted 12.3% of the 85.7m assets in her 1997 divorce from designer Sir Terence Conran.Edwards said she expected the super-rich to continue trying to play the genius card despite Works failure, as the financial benefits of succeeding can be so great. But Giggs is going to find it hard running, she said. And full and frank disclosure: Im a massive Manchester United fan, so I do think he is a geniusTopics Divorce Ryan Giggs Family law news '|'theguardian.com'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/all'|'https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/apr/15/ryan-giggs-to-argue-his-genius-before-high-court-divorce-law'|'2017-04-15T17:00:00.000+03:00' +'84e8e06b57c095e6e268101ed8ba5e2abfd9fbd8'|'Boro beat Sunderland for first victory of 2017'|'Business 12:35am BST Boro beat Sunderland for first victory of 2017 left right Britain Soccer Football - Middlesbrough v Sunderland - Premier League - The Riverside Stadium - 26/4/17 Sunderland''s Jermain Defoe in action Action Images via Reuters / Lee Smith 1/16 left right Britain Soccer Football - Middlesbrough v Sunderland - Premier League - The Riverside Stadium - 26/4/17 Sunderland''s Adnan Januzaj in action with Middlesbrough''s Adam Forshaw (L) and Adam Clayton (R) Action Images via Reuters / Lee Smith Livepic 2/16 left right Britain Soccer Football - Middlesbrough v Sunderland - Premier League - The Riverside Stadium - 26/4/17 Sunderland''s Jermain Defoe looks dejected Action Images via Reuters / Lee Smith Livepic 3/16 left right Britain Soccer Football - Middlesbrough v Sunderland - Premier League - The Riverside Stadium - 26/4/17 Sunderland''s Jermain Defoe in action Action Images via Reuters / Lee Smith Livepic 4/16 left right Britain Soccer Football - Middlesbrough v Sunderland - Premier League - The Riverside Stadium - 26/4/17 Sunderland''s Billy Jones in action with Middlesbrough''s Adam Clayton as referee Mike Dean falls over Reuters / Phil Noble Livepic 5/16 left right Britain Soccer Football - Middlesbrough v Sunderland - Premier League - The Riverside Stadium - 26/4/17 Sunderland''s Lee Cattermole in action with Middlesbrough''s Fabio Action Images via Reuters / Lee Smith Livepic 6/16 left right Britain Soccer Football - Middlesbrough v Sunderland - Premier League - The Riverside Stadium - 26/4/17 Middlesbrough''s Ben Gibson in action with Sunderland''s Victor Anichebe Action Images via Reuters / Lee Smith Livepic 7/16 left right Britain Soccer Football - Middlesbrough v Sunderland - Premier League - The Riverside Stadium - 26/4/17 Middlesbrough''s Brad Guzan in action with Sunderland''s Victor Anichebe Action Images via Reuters / Lee Smith Livepic 8/16 left right Britain Soccer Football - Middlesbrough v Sunderland - Premier League - The Riverside Stadium - 26/4/17 Middlesbrough''s George Friend and Sunderland''s Billy Jones challenge for a ball in the air Reuters / Phil Noble Livepic 9/16 left right Britain Soccer Football - Middlesbrough v Sunderland - Premier League - The Riverside Stadium - 26/4/17 Sunderland''s Didier Ndong in action with Middlesbrough''s Adam Clayton Reuters / Phil Noble Livepic 10/16 left right Britain Soccer Football - Middlesbrough v Sunderland - Premier League - The Riverside Stadium - 26/4/17 Sunderland manager David Moyes catches the ball Reuters / Phil Noble Livepic 11/16 left right Britain Soccer Football - Middlesbrough v Sunderland - Premier League - The Riverside Stadium - 26/4/17 Middlesbrough''s Ben Gibson in action with Sunderland''s Wahbi Khazri Action Images via Reuters / Lee Smith Livepic 12/16 left right Britain Soccer Football - Middlesbrough v Sunderland - Premier League - The Riverside Stadium - 26/4/17 Sunderland''s Victor Anichebe and Middlesbrough''s Calum Chambers challenge for the ball in the air Reuters / Phil Noble Livepic 13/16 left right Britain Soccer Football - Middlesbrough v Sunderland - Premier League - The Riverside Stadium - 26/4/17 Middlesbrough''s George Friend in action with Sunderland''s Wahbi Khazri Reuters / Phil Noble Livepic 14/16 left right Britain Soccer Football - Middlesbrough v Sunderland - Premier League - The Riverside Stadium - 26/4/17 Middlesbrough''s Marten de Roon celebrates scoring their first goal with Adam Clayton and team mates Reuters / Phil Noble Livepic 15/16 left right Britain Soccer Football - Middlesbrough v Sunderland - Premier League - The Riverside Stadium - 26/4/17 Middlesbrough''s Marten de Roon scores their first goal as Sunderland''s Jordan Pickford collides into him Action Images via Reuters / Lee Smith Livepic 16/16 April 26 - MIDDLESBROUGH 1 SUNDERLAND 0 Middlesbrough gave themselves a lifeline and virtually condemned north-east rivals Sunderland to relegation with Marten de Roon''s early goal earning a 1-0 win. The Riverside Stadium basement battle was a torrid affair and De Roon settled it after eight minutes when he stabbed a shot through the legs of Sunderland keeper Jordan Pickford. Second-bottom Boro hung on for their first league victory of 2017 to move to within six points of 17th placed Hull City. Sunderland are 12 points adrift of Hull with only five games remaining and their cause looking hopeless. Their 10-year stay in the top flight will come to an end at the weekend if they lose at home to Bournemouth and Hull pick up a point at Southampton. They would also drop down if they lose to Bournemouth and 18th-placed Swansea beat Manchester United on Sunday. "While there''s a chance, we''ll keep going. Good performances lead to results, that''s the way it goes. I think we''ve had a couple of pretty good performances in the last few games," Sunderland manager David Moyes said. "We know our position, we''re not daft, we know exactly where we are. We have to try and pick up every win." (Reporting by Martyn Herman,; Editing by Neville Dalton and Toby Davis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-england-mid-sun-idUKKBN17S2VM'|'2017-04-27T04:54:00.000+03:00' +'6473b518cfc5a5d9eb92de8a59487b74740e7f21'|'Asian shares retreat from highs after Trump tax plan'|' 57am BST Asian shares retreat from highs after Trump tax plan People walk past an electronic board displaying various Asian countries'' stock price index and world major index outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, August 21, 2015. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo By Hideyuki Sano - TOKYO TOKYO Asian shares ticked down from near two-year high on Thursday after a long-awaited U.S. tax plan failed to inspire investors, though sentiment remains supported by global growth prospects and receding worries about political risks in Europe. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS fell 0.1 percent after hitting its highest level since June 2015 on Wednesday. Japan''s Nikkei .N225 dipped 0.3 percent. U.S. President Donald Trump proposed slashing tax rates for businesses to 15 percent from the current 35 percent for public corporations and 39.6 percent for small businesses, and on overseas corporate profits returned to the country. But the one-page plan offered no specifics on how it would be paid for without increasing the deficit, which many analysts think would be difficult to achieve. "There were no specifics in terms of funding for the tax cuts. The announcement appeared many thins are still in flux," said Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 .SPX ended down 0.05 percent, failing to cling to earlier gains made on optimistic views on corporate earnings. Overall profits of S&P 500 companies are estimated to have risen 11.8 percent in the first quarter, the most since 2011, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. The world''s share markets have been bolstered by relief over the first round of the French presidential election and also by signs of solid global economic growth in recent months. The disappointment on the tax plan prompted fall in U.S. bond yields and the U.S. dollar. The 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield US10YT=RR slipped to 2.304 percent from two-week high of 2.350 percent touched earlier on Wednesday. The euro traded at $1.0908 EUR= , having bounced back from Wednesday''s low of $1.0856 and near its 4 1/2-month high of $1.09515 touched on Wednesday. The ECB is scheduled to hold a policy meeting on Thursday, with the focus on the potential for a scaling back of monetary stimulus in the months ahead. While no changes are expected, policymakers see scope for sending a small signal in June towards reducing monetary stimulus, according to sources, another factor underpinning the single currency. The dollar slipped to 111.18 yen JPY= from near one-month high of 111.78 yen scored earlier on Wednesday. The Bank of Japan is also expected to keep its policy on hold on Thursday though there is speculation it could drop its commitment to increase its bond holdings by 80 trillion yen per year, a promise it has not stuck to in recent months. The Canadian dollar and the Mexican peso remained under pressure as the United States was readying withdraw Agreement (NAFTA). The Canadian dollar stood at C$1.3616 per U.S dollar CAD=D4 , just above Tuesday''s C$1.3626, its lowest level in 14 months. The Mexican peso MXN=D2 , which earlier this month had recovered all its losses after the U.S. elections, slipped back to six-week low of 19.299 peso per dollar on Wednesday. Oil prices steadied for now after U.S. government data showed a larger-than-expected falloff in crude inventories, which encouraged buying after several days of selling on worries that a global crude glut was persisting despite output cuts by producing countries. [O/R] Brent futures LCOc1 dropped 0.4 percent to $51.63 per barrel in early Asian trade. (Editing by Sam Holmes)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUKKBN17T02N'|'2017-04-27T08:38:00.000+03:00' +'3320f5a16d015b30ea64d2812a3860506744dba5'|'UPDATE 1-Japan''s Aso says dialogue with Pence not limited to trade and currencies'|'* Japan proposed dialogue with new Trump administration* Some questions remain about agenda* Japan trying to avoid trade friction with U.S. (Adds direct Quote: , details of dialogue)By Stanley WhiteTOKYO, April 7 Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Friday that the agenda for his meeting with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence this month is not limited to trade and currencies.Aso said the meeting, known as the U.S.-Japan economic dialogue, will also discuss energy and infrastructure.Aso also said he does not expect the meeting to touch on Toshiba Corp, which is struggling due to large writedowns at its U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse.Pence will visit Japan April 18-19 for the meeting."From the beginning Japan has been talking about economic policy, energy, infrastructure investment, and the rules of trade," Aso told reporters after a cabinet meeting."This is not something that is limited to trade and currencies."The dialogue will be a major test of U.S. President Donald Trump''s confrontational approach to trade. Senior administration officials have signalled they would press Japan to remove non-tariff trade barriers and buy more U.S. products.Trump''s administration is also focusing more on "currency misalignment," which could leave Japan vulnerable to complaints about the value of the yen and how that affects its exports.A weaker yen tends to boost Japan''s exports to the United States, which could form the basis of complaints from U.S. officials and companies.Japan, which proposed the dialogue, had hoped to keep contentious issues like autos and agriculture trade out of the talks by proposing an agenda focused on infrastructure investment and energy.When asked on Friday, Aso said he was still unsure if other cabinet officials would accompany Pence.U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is expected to join, a Japanese government source told Reuters last month. This suggests that the U.S. delegation will try to make trade a major component of the dialogue. (Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Chris Gallagher)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/japan-economy-aso-idINL3N1HF060'|'2017-04-06T23:02:00.000+03:00' +'350808635bad61ab80889578b99745dd37599baa'|'UPDATE 1-Shell says it knew some payments for Nigeria oilfield would go to Malabu'|'Company News 5:11pm EDT UPDATE 1-Shell says it knew some payments for Nigeria oilfield would go to Malabu (Adds Eni statement, Global Witness report) By Libby George LONDON, April 11 Royal Dutch Shell was aware that some of the payments it made to Nigeria for rights to an oilfield under a 2011 deal would go to a company associated with former Nigerian oil minister and convicted money launderer Dan Etete, it said in a statement to Reuters. Shell spokesman Andy Norman said the group "always knew" the Nigerian government would compensate the company, Malabu Oil and Gas, "to settle its claim on the block". The admission came as the deal and what Shell and its partner on the block, Eni, knew about the payments made to secure it, are being investigated by courts in Milan and Nigeria. The licence had been awarded to Malabu in 1998 under then-President Sani Abacha, though a successive government revoked the licence. Malabu appealed that decision, and the status of the licence was uncertain at the time Shell finalised the deal with the Nigerian government in 2011. Shell''s acknowledgement that it always knew that the Nigerian government would pay some of the money to Malabu also follows a report released this week by campaign group Global Witness, which said it had proof that Shell executives were told payments would go not only to Malabu but also to a string of Nigerian business people. Reuters could not independently confirm these claims. Shell had previously said in statements to Reuters only that its payments from the deal went to the Nigerian government. "Over time it became clear to us that Etete was involved in Malabu and that the only way to resolve the impasse (over disputed ownership claims) through a negotiated settlement was to engage with Etete and Malabu, whether we liked it or not," Norman said. Etete was convicted of money laundering in a 2007 French case related to his time in the Nigerian government. Reuters has been unable to contact Etete to seek comment after Shell''s statement admitting it knew that part of its payment would go to Malabu. Norman added that the company believes the settlement was a fully legal transaction with the Nigerian government but did not provide further detail. Courts in Nigeria and Italy are investigating the purchase of the offshore block, known as OPL 245. Shell and Italy''s Eni paid $1.3 billion for the rights to the block, which industry estimates say could hold more than 9 billion barrels of oil. Italian prosecutors have asked for Eni chief Claudio Descalzi to be sent to trial over alleged corruption related to the purchase of the block. Eni has said that neither the company nor Descalzi were involved in any illicit conduct. A Nigerian court ordered the block temporarily seized in January at the request of the country''s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, but the move was overturned. An Eni spokesman on Tuesday again denied any wrongdoing by the company or its personnel. (Additional reporting by Alexis Akwagyiram in Lagos, Stephen Jewkes in Milan and Karolin Schaps in London; Editing by Dale Hudson and David Goodman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/shell-nigeria-idUSL8N1HJ4EN'|'2017-04-12T05:11:00.000+03:00' +'e610168aea973da01eb17f2f57015c73d5bf917c'|'Puerto Rico bondholders shun island''s debt-cutting offer - Reuters'|'By Nick Brown - NEW YORK, April 29 NEW YORK, April 29 Puerto Rico''s government presented a debt restructuring offer late on Friday that could repay as much as 77 percent of general obligation (GO) bonds and 58 percent of tax-backed bonds, but both bondholder groups quickly rejected it early on Saturday.The plan comes ahead of a Monday deadline to reach a debt-cutting agreement before creditors can sue Puerto Rico over defaults. The U.S. territory, shouldering $70 billion in debt it cannot pay, could also file an in-court debt workout akin to U.S. bankruptcy.The island''s largest and highest-priority debt classes, accounting for more than half the total, are GO debt guaranteed by Puerto Rico''s constitution, and so-called COFINA debt, backed by sales tax revenue.Both groups believe their legal protections to be sacrosanct, and are litigating against each other for top priority.Puerto Rico''s proposal would appear to treat GO debt more favorably, threatening COFINA holders with much smaller recoveries if they reject the plan.Under its proposal, Puerto Rico would issue $16.75 billion of new senior bonds and $10 billion in "cash flow bonds," essentially a growth bond, payable only if the island exceeds fiscal targets.GO holders would get $9.8 billion of the senior bonds, recouping them a guaranteed 52 cents on the dollar, as well as $4.7 billion of the conditional cash flow bond, which could up their recoveries to 77 cents.COFINA holders, meanwhile, would get $6.9 billion of the senior bond and $3.3 billion of the cash flow bond - a recovery of up to 58 percent - but only if they accept the deal. Otherwise, Puerto Rico would repay senior COFINA holders with $450 million in short-term notes, while junior COFINA holders would get nothing.Matt Rodrigue, a financial adviser to senior COFINA holders, called the plan "absurd," saying in an interview it disregards the priority of senior COFINA holders over junior ones, and could threaten the wellbeing of average Puerto Ricans because COFINA debt is widely held by locals."This is a misfire" by Puerto Rico''s government and its advisers, Rodrigue said.Andrew Rosenberg, a lawyer for a key GO bondholder group, said in a statement the plan was "not a credible starting point for negotiations."Debt from Puerto Rican public agencies, like its highway and infrastructure authorities, would recover less than 30 cents on the dollar under the plan, and only in the form of conditional cash flow bonds. (Reporting by Nick Brown, Editing by Franklin Paul)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/puertorico-debt-idINL1N1I109O'|'2017-04-29T13:26:00.000+03:00' +'328bf09d8df3386c9d25a01de11d8c2b6deb85d2'|'BOK keeps rates unchanged for 10th month, in line with forecasts'|'Business News - Thu Apr 13, 2017 - 2:04am BST BOK keeps rates unchanged for 10th month, in line with forecasts SEOUL South Korea''s central bank kept interest rates unchanged for a 10th straight month on Thursday, wary of geopolitical risks around North Korea and ahead of a much-anticipated U.S. Treasury report on foreign currency policy. The Bank of Korea''s monetary policy committee held its base rate KROCRT=ECI steady at 1.25 percent, a media official said without elaborating. Governor Lee Ju-yeol is due to hold a news conference from 11:20 a.m. (0220 GMT). All 21 analysts surveyed in a Reuters poll before the decision forecast the Bank of Korea would leave the base rate unchanged on Thursday, while a majority agreed the BOK would leave rates untouched through year-end. The BOK did not hold a rate-setting meeting in March as it has reduced the number of such meetings to eight from 12 starting this year. (Reporting by Christine Kim and Cynthia Kim; Editing by Eric Meijer)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-southkorea-economy-rates-idUKKBN17F042'|'2017-04-13T09:04:00.000+03:00' +'d80b781deebd1d7e38a6d74073a9f30a0f0561da'|'Suncor evaluates potential oil-sand deals as global majors exit'|'Commodities 41pm EDT Suncor evaluates potential oil-sand deals as global majors exit By Nia Williams - CALGARY, Alberta CALGARY, Alberta Suncor Energy, Canada''s largest energy producer, is still evaluating opportunities for oil sands acquisitions in northern Alberta as foreign oil majors exit the high-cost region, Chief Executive Steve Williams said on Thursday. However, the company has a high bar in terms of return on investments and did not feel any pressure to agree on another oil sands deal, Williams said. Calgary-based Suncor bought Canadian Oil Sands and Murphy Oil''s stake in the Syncrude project last year, making it the majority owner of the 350,000-barrel-per-day project. This year, Royal Dutch Shell, ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil Corp have dumped about $22.5 billion worth of oil sands assets. In addition, Reuters has reported that BP Plc and Chevron Corp are weighing selling their stakes in the sector. "The exodus from oil sands by a lot of the big international companies I don''t think is quite finished yet so there may well be some incredible opportunities," Williams said, speaking on Suncor''s first-quarter earnings call. "I don''t think there are many companies out there now with the balance sheet capable of purchase," he added, referring to potential buyers. Some Canadian energy industry players also say they see a limited pool of oil sands buyers and prices could move lower in response. International players are pulling out of the oil sands because of factors such as weak global oil prices, the higher cost of operations compared with U.S. shale plays, and limited export pipeline capacity out of western Canada. The sector is increasingly becoming concentrated in the hands of a few domestic companies, such as Suncor, Cenovus Energy and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. Oil sands bitumen is extracted through mining or underground reservoir steaming projects that last for decades but require high upfront capital investment. Williams said the sector required focused operators with deep expertise to develop technology and ensure global competitiveness, and consolidation would give producers more opportunities to leverage infrastructure, reduce costs and improve productivity. (Editing by Bernadette Baum)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-suncor-energy-oil-sands-idUSKBN17T2KG'|'2017-04-28T00:40:00.000+03:00' +'a5cda8a7f0eaf89146d70718fbdd58d74bfc55cc'|'BlackRock CEO Fink sees wave of M&A in asset management industry'|' 8:09pm BST BlackRock CEO Fink sees wave of M&A in asset management industry Larry Fink, Chief Executive Officer of BlackRock in New York, U.S., February 8, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson By Trevor Hunnicutt - NEW YORK NEW YORK BlackRock Inc ( BLK.N ) Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink, who runs the world''s largest asset manager, on Wednesday forecast a wave of mergers and acquisitions in asset management, but said his company may be limited for now to small deals. "I believe you''re going to see a consolidation in our industry," Fink told Reuters in a telephone interview, citing previous waves in industries such as banking. Even so, he said, "We''re not going to be a big participant" in M&A. He did say BlackRock is considering three or four small acquisitions that would be focussed on shoring up the company''s technology and its investment expertise in different assets and geographic regions. Started as a bond-focused fund manager in 1988, BlackRock later used acquisitions to add index-tracking exchange-traded funds and equities to its menu of offerings. Yet its traditionalist stock-picking unit has remained a source of frustration. BlackRock''s earnings reported on Wednesday showed it attracted nearly $65 billion in new cash from clients in the first quarter, while many of its peers have been trying to stanch outflows. BlackRock oversees $5.4 trillion in assets. The massive inflows at BlackRock raise the prospect that an industry that has nurtured dozens of brand names from Fidelity Investments to Pacific Investment Management Co is increasingly turning into a winner-take-all game. BlackRock, Vanguard Group and State Street Corp ( STT.N ) captured nearly 72 percent of the net cash collected globally last year by mutual funds, money market funds and exchange-traded funds, according to Morningstar Inc. "Asset managers historically benefited - in most cases, they benefited - from rising beta so you didn''t have this need for consolidation," said Fink, referring to how rising markets boosted asset managers'' earnings. The next leg of growth may be harder, including M&A and developing new business lines. Fink has placed an unusual emphasis on technology for an asset manager. BlackRock added revenue by licensing its Aladdin operating system for money managers to its rivals. The company is also exploring how computer models can improve stock picking while reducing costs. Last month, BlackRock announced plans to transfer some responsibilities from more traditionalist fund managers to an internal team known for data-driven approaches to picking stocks. In the interview, Fink said he has "100 percent confidence" that approach will help performance. The company''s overhaul of its active equities franchise includes doubling-down on niche geographic specialties, such as Asia, where it may have a greater chance to beat the market. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Jennifer Ablan and Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-blackrock-results-ceo-idUKKBN17L2JM'|'2017-04-20T03:09:00.000+03:00' +'e127b7d58ba34de0e1e7572facfaa668ed5b8b00'|'MOVES-UBS wealth management unit names new head of capital markets'|'Company 49pm EDT MOVES-UBS wealth management unit names new head of capital markets April 12 UBS Wealth Management Americas (WMA), a unit of UBS Group AG named Mark Sanborn as head of capital markets & sales, according to an internal memo obtained by Reuters. Sanborn currently chief risk officer of the company''s investment bank will be succeeding Tom Troy, who is retiring after 30 years in financial services. In addition, Peter Hill will be joining UBS WMA as head of public finance from Wells Fargo where he was U.S. head of public finance since 2009. The company also named Steven Genyk as WMA head of municipal trading. (Reporting by Elizabeth Dilts in New York and Komal Khettry in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/ubs-moves-mark-sanborn-idUSL3N1HK4VA'|'2017-04-13T01:49:00.000+03:00' +'745529a15942901b7e739dd71dfb92149dffd813'|'MOVES-JP Morgan hires Mallgrave as part of cash equities push'|'Company News 5:33am EDT MOVES-JP Morgan hires Mallgrave as part of cash equities push By Steve Slater LONDON, April 24 (IFR) - JP Morgan has hired Matt Mallgrave from Credit Suisse to head its cash equities trading in the Americas and made several other senior staff changes as part of a push to strengthen in cash equities. JP Morgan has said it wants to expand in cash equities, which is the only major area of investment banking it is not in the top three positions, according to analysis firm Coalition. Coalition ranks it between four and six in the business. JP Morgan said on Monday Mallgrave will join in June from Credit Suisse, where he was head of Americas equity flow trading since April 2016. He was previously at Goldman Sachs for 17 years, where he had senior roles in cash equities in the US and Asia. The bank said Dennis Fitzgerald, previously global co-head of cash equities trading, will become sole head of the business. His previous co-head, Luiz de Salvo, will relocate to London and become head of EMEA cash equity sales and trading. Tim Johnston will continue as head of EMEA Cash Equity Trading, reporting to de Salvo locally and to Fitzgerald globally. Mallgrave will report to Fitzgerald. JP Morgan had to adjust its senior equities team in September after Tim Throsby, its head of equities, left to run Barclays'' corporate and business bank. The US bank named Jason Sippel and Mark Leung as co-heads of equities, and made a series of other appointments, including making Fitzgerald and de Salvo co-heads of cash equities trading. Throsby built up JP Morgan''s equities business, including cash equities, where it was late to invest in its electronic trading platform. The bank is in the top three for equities, helped by leading positions in derivatives, but said it needs to continue its push in cash equities to break into the top three - - currently Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The bank announced other changes. Michael Bossidy, previously head of equities sales for the Americas, will expand his role to become head of cash equity sales globally. Ryan Holsheimer, previously head of cash equity sales for Asia-Pacific, will become head of cash equity sales and trading for the region. On the derivatives side, Bregje de Best and Sreenivas Jayaraman will expand their roles to become co-heads of APAC equity derivatives sales and marketing. (Reporting by Steve Slater)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/moves-jp-morgan-hires-mallgrave-as-part-idUSL8N1HW1ZM'|'2017-04-24T17:33:00.000+03:00' +'10c11222800788bd83bb1b9d67b225c75c2ec5eb'|'Political risk biggest concern for insurers globally - survey'|' 12:57am BST Political risk biggest concern for insurers globally - survey left right British Prime Minister Theresa May in the cabinet office signs the official letter to European Council President Donald Tusk invoking Article 50 and the United Kingdom''s intention to leave the EU on March 28, 2017 in London, England. REUTERS/Christopher Furlong 1/5 left right U.S. President Donald Trump reacts after signing an executive order on education during an event with Governors at the White House in Washington, DC, U.S. April 26, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria 2/5 left right Marine Le Pen, French National Front (FN) political party leader and candidate for French 2017 presidential election, celebrates after early results in the first round of 2017 French presidential election, in Henin-Beaumont, France, April 23, 2017. REUTERS/Charles Platiau 3/5 left right President-elect Donald Trump arrives for the inauguration ceremonies swearing him in as the 45th president of the United States on the West front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 20, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson 4/5 left right A workers counts ballots after polling stations closed in the Referendum on the European Union in Islington, London, Britain, June 23, 2016. REUTERS/Neil Hall 5/5 LONDON Political risk is the biggest concern this year for insurers globally, following several shock outcomes in 2016, a survey of insurers managing $10 trillion (8 trillion) in assets showed on Thursday. Political events have overtaken issues such as worries about an economic slowdown in the United States or China to become the top macro-economic risk for 2017, according to the survey by Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) of more than 300 insurers, which together manage about 40 percent of global insurance assets. "Political risk has risen to the top of the concerns of all insurers," Etienne Comon, GSAM''s EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) head of insurance asset management, told a media briefing. "That''s true globally and even more true in Europe." Britain''s vote to leave the European Union and the election of Donald Trump as U.S. President were both unexpected political events last year which have increased worries about protectionism and the reliability of trade deals. Insurers this year are particularly fretting over European elections such as France''s presidential vote, where favourite Emmanuel Macron is facing a run-off with anti-globalisation candidate Marine Le Pen next month. Elections later this year in Germany and a possible early Italian vote are also a concern, Comon said. Increasing volatility in some European government bond markets last year as a result of political upsets and uncertainty encouraged insurers to shift allocations towards safe-haven bonds in Northern Europe, he added. Insurers expect the biggest returns in 2017 to come from private equity, the fourth straight year they have called this asset class the highest-yielding bet. U.S. equities and emerging market equities are also expected to produce strong returns, the survey showed. However, concern over the capital costs of investing in some riskier asset classes mean those return expectations may not turn into more investment, Comon said. Insurers said they were most likely to increase asset allocation to corporate loans to mid-market firms, followed by infrastructure debt, and then private equity. (Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-insurance-report-goldman-idUKKBN17S36R'|'2017-04-27T07:41:00.000+03:00' +'147711a693b0397c615121b5c7f17e996ea19c6d'|'Trump aims to expand U.S. offshore drilling, despite low industry demand'|'Business News - Fri Apr 28, 2017 - 6:10pm BST Trump aims to expand U.S. offshore drilling, despite low industry demand U.S. President Donald Trump displays an Executive Order on ''''Offshore Energy Strategy'''' at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 28, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque By Valerie Volcovici - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday to extend offshore oil and gas drilling to areas that have been off limits, in a move to boost domestic production just as industry demand for the acreage nears the lowest in years. The order could lead to a reversal of bans on drilling across swathes of the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans and the U.S. Gulf of Mexico that former President Barack Obama had sought to protect from development in the wake of the huge BP ( BP.L ) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. "We''re opening it up ... Today we''re unleashing American energy and clearing the way for thousands and thousands of high-paying American energy jobs," Trump said as he signed the order. Trump had campaigned on a promise to do away with Obama-era environmental protections he said were hobbling energy development without providing tangible benefits, pleasing industry and enraging environmental advocates. The order, called the America-First Offshore Energy Strategy, directs the U.S. Department of Interior to review and replace the Obama administration''s most recent five-year oil and gas development plan for the outer continental shelf, which includes federal waters off all U.S. coasts. But the executive order comes as low oil prices and soaring onshore production have pushed industry demand for offshore leases near its lowest since 2012, raising questions over its impact. "The Trump administrations hasty move today towards expanding offshore oil drilling ... defies market realities and is as reckless as it is unnecessary," said David Jenkins, president of Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship, a non-profit conservation group. "Why on earth would someone choose to push drilling in the riskiest and most expensive places on the planet when the current oil glut will make such ventures unprofitable for the foreseeable future?" he said. The amount of money that oil companies spent in the central Gulf of Mexico''s annual lease sale dropped more than 75 percent between 2012 and 2017, according to government data. Dollars bid per acre and the percentage of acreage receiving bids both declined more than 50 percent. The figures were similar in the western Gulf of Mexico, the only other zone that got offers for leases during that period, according to the figures from the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. An official at trade group American Petroleum Institute did not respond to a request for comment about offshore lease demand. But API President Jack Gerard welcomed the executive order. "We are pleased to see this administration prioritising responsible U.S. energy development and recognising the benefits it will bring to American consumers and businesses," he said. Weeks before leaving office, Obama banned new oil and gas drilling in federal waters in the Atlantic and Arctic oceans, protecting 115 million acres (46.5 million hectares) of waters off Alaska and 3.8 million acres in the Atlantic from New England to the Chesapeake Bay. LEGAL BATTLE LOOMS In addition to requiring a new five-year drilling plan, the order reverses Obama''s decision to place parts of the Arctic permanently off limits to drilling. It also requires Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to review previous presidents'' designations of marine national monuments and sanctuaries. Jill McLeod, a partner at international law firm Dorsey & Whitney, said Trump''s order was a positive signal to the oil industry but was unlikely to trigger a surge in exploration in the near term given the costs. "The lifting of the ban does not necessarily make drilling in the Arctic a compelling proposition," she said. Environmental groups, including Oceana and the Center for Biological Diversity, criticized the order and promised to fight it in court. Democratic senators also opposed the order, saying it could threaten the fishing and tourism industries. Friday''s order came on the heels of a separate decree by Trump this week triggering a review of federally managed land to determine if they were improperly designated as national monuments by former presidents. The move is intended to expand federal areas available for development. (Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Jeffrey Benkoe)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-drilling-idUKKBN17U2I5'|'2017-04-29T01:10:00.000+03:00' +'47649a6789368315739eeb71da70668667dc99a6'|'China discovers Asia''s largest manganese ore reserve - Xinhua'|'Business News - Sat Apr 8, 2017 - 1:29pm BST China discovers Asia''s largest manganese ore reserve - Xinhua SHANGHAI China has discovered a reserve believed to contain 203 million tonnes of manganese ore which local authorities said was the largest in Asia, state news agency Xinhua reported on Saturday. The reserve in China''s southwest Guizhou was discovered by the province''s geology and mineral exploration bureau, Xinhua said citing the local government. The reserve has a potential value of more than 100 billion yuan (12 billion pounds), it said. Manganese is used in steel production and for making batteries. "The newly discovered ore deposits make up 60 percent of China''s total proven reserves and will greatly reduce the country''s reliance on imports," Chen Yuchuan, a geologist and academic at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, told Xinhua. (Reporting by Brenda Goh; editing by Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-manganese-idUKKBN17A0FE'|'2017-04-08T20:29:00.000+03:00' +'f0caf011c849e0474f526252d95b4cf4df24b0f4'|'UPDATE 1-UPS air maintenance workers threaten strike ahead of shareholders meeting - Reuters'|'(Adds UPS statement)By Luciana LopezApril 30 A union representing 1,200 U.S. air maintenance workers at United Parcel Service Inc turned up pressure on the company on Sunday to settle a three-year contract dispute, saying it would seek clearance to strike.The union is taking its grievances directly to UPS shareholders, running as an advertisement an open letter to David Abney, the companys chief executive, ahead of a Thursday shareholders meeting.The letter, which has been delivered to board members, was signed by nearly 78 percent of members of Local 2727 of the Teamsters union, asking the company to maintain air mechanics current health plan and not demand other concessions.Were not willing to back off of this and we will strike over it, said Tim Boyle, the local president.The company said that it continues to negotiate in good faith with the union."Talks continue under the control of the National Mediation Board, which has scheduled sessions several months out," said Mike Mangeot, a spokesman for UPS Airlines, in a statement."The unions talk about a job action is simply posturing and a common union tactic designed to pressure talks. Our mechanics are good people who do a good job of keeping our aircraft flying safely and reliably, and UPS continues to negotiate in good faith for an agreement thats good for them, the company and our stakeholders."Union members will also protest at the UPS shareholders meeting on Thursday in Wilmington, Delaware, with protests outside the meeting and, for union members who are also shareholders, questions to company officials inside.The local plans additional protests on Tuesday in Atlanta, where the company is headquartered.The union already voted in November to strike, but saw that request denied by federal authorities. The air maintenance workers are governed by the U.S. Railway Labor Act, which only allows strikes after it finds negotiations and mediation have failed.But if the company does not agree to keep members health plans intact at the next bargaining session, on May 11 and May 12, Boyle said the union would ask again for permission to strike.Even if the board grants permission, though, a strike would take at least another 30 days because of other procedural hurdles.A strike could ground the package delivery companys airplanes and disrupt packages sent by air, even as UPS and its rivals grapple with higher costs for surging e-commerce business.(Reporting by Luciana Lopez in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Nick Zieminski)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/united-parcel-strike-idINL1N1I209J'|'2017-04-30T13:35:00.000+03:00' +'7ef17865a9c717b8edcac2c60b22fcf480de10f2'|'Automakers charge ahead with electrics in China, even as policy drive slows'|'Tue Apr 18, 2017 - 11:55am BST Automakers charge ahead with electrics in China, even as policy drive slows FILE PHOTO: Employees work on an assembly line producing electronic cars at a factory of Beijing Electric Vehicle, funded by BAIC Group, in Beijing, China, January 18, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo By Jake Spring and Norihiko Shirouzu - SHANGHAI SHANGHAI China''s auto industry is charging ahead with aggressive plans to electrify cars even as policymakers scale back subsidies aimed at building sales from relatively low levels and consider tapping the brakes on sales quotas for plug-in cars. Industry executives will use the Shanghai Motor Show, which opens to the public on Friday, to show off numerous battery electric and plug-in hybrid models. But behind the scenes, many are worried that batteries capable of delivering the same driving range as gasoline cars are still too expensive. While green energy car sales have risen dramatically on the back of government policies, making China the world''s leading market in this segment, electric cars have otherwise generated little consumer interest. They make up less than 2 percent of China''s overall auto market of 28 million vehicles sold last year. The dominant players in China''s electric vehicle market are local, including state-owned Beijing Automotive Group, and Warren Buffett-backed BYD ( 1211.HK )002594.SZ. Most cars are relatively cheap with limited range. Beijing''s central government has floated proposals to require automakers to substantially boost sales of so-called "new energy vehicles" (NEVs), or risk being penalized. But at the same time, it is cutting subsidies on green cars by a fifth this year, a move that could deepen manufacturers'' losses on such models and discourage consumers from buying them. Policymakers say reducing subsidies gradually to 2020 will wean automakers off government support and create a self-sustained market for electric vehicles. Industry officials and experts reckon tightening fuel efficiency regulations through 2020 will compel car makers to rely more on electrification to boost average fuel efficiency despite the drop-off in subsidies. ACT NOW Industry executives say long term, they expect China will insist on more electric vehicles, and to be ready, they must invest in developing those vehicles now. "We''re not holding back anything. The requirements whether they get changed or adjusted or whatever, the bottom line is clear that electrification is going to play a bigger and bigger role ... in China and other markets as well," Ford Motor Co ( F.N ) CEO Mark Fields told reporters at a pre-show event this month. Industry executives expect Beijing to ask automakers operating in China ultimately to generate green car credits equivalent to 12 percent of annual sales volume with NEVs by around 2020, with each green vehicle getting a different number of credits depending on the level of electrification and driving range. Automakers and government officials have been bargaining over China''s electric vehicle policy for years. In the latest draft policy released in September, Beijing proposed a requirement that they generate credits equivalent to 8 percent of automakers'' sales next year by selling battery electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles, rising to 10 percent in 2019 and 12 percent in 2020. More recently, the government has indicated that timetable could slip. [nL3N1GL230] Whatever target the government sets, automakers would have little choice but to comply. China is the world''s biggest auto market by far, and growth is set to continue this year, albeit at a slower 5 percent, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. That is why even as automakers fight electric vehicle mandates in the United States, they are scrambling to develop more plug-in electric hybrids and electric battery cars for China. NEW MODELS Ford, for example, says that by 2018 it will launch in China a plug-in hybrid sedan called the Mondeo Energi, a version of the low-volume Ford Fusion Energi offered in the United States. It also plans to bring an all-electric sport-utility vehicle to China over the next five years. General Motors Co ( GM.N ), one of the largest automakers in the Chinese market, plans to launch at least 10 NEVs by 2020. To support the growth of its NEV line-up, GM has built a battery assembly plant in Shanghai which should be ready to deliver battery packs next year. Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) plans to have 13 additional NEVs by 2020 based on its current generation of technology, following on plug-in hybrid versions of the Phideon sedan, due to be unveiled later on Tuesday, and the Audi A6L sedan. The VW brand aims to further launch 10 electric vehicles between 2020 and 2025. The German manufacturer also hopes to form a joint venture just for NEVs with Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group (JAC) ( 600418.SS ), and any models from that partnership would be on top of those plans, a spokesman told Reuters. VW said in January the first VW-JAC car could be produced next year. China''s drive for electric vehicles, driven in part to combat often suffocating urban smog, has put pressure on Japan''s Toyota Motor Corp ( 7203.T ) to re-think its earlier scepticism about battery-electric technology. Toyota has said it will locally build plug-in hybrids and sell them in China, starting in 2018, although it has not said when all-electric car models would hit Chinese showrooms. To be sure, even as automakers renew commitments to produce more NEVs, it''s not clear how aggressively they would push those cars in the marketplace. "All automakers in China are still trying to understand the implications of the more stringent fuel efficiency regulations and whether to increase production of qualifying NEVs or purchase NEV credits from other automakers, including their partners," said James Chao, Shanghai-based Asia-Pacific chief of consulting firm IHS Markit Automotive. (Reporting by Jake Spring and Norihiko Shirouzu in SHANGHAI, with additional reporting and editing by Joe White in DETROIT/SHANGHAI; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-autoshow-shanghai-preview-idUKKBN17K15R'|'2017-04-18T18:54:00.000+03:00' +'b1789aa544a04cb83a5abdc8304eea33e0410293'|'New solar-powered device makes drinking water out of desert air 19,'|'New solar-powered device makes water out of desert air by Kaya Yurieff @kyurieff April 19, 2017: 11:35 AM ET Making scientists the new celebrities Scientists have a new solution for bringing clean water to remote areas. A team has created a solar-powered device that can produce drinking water out of air -- even in desert climates, according to the researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California, Berkeley. "I''m most excited about being able to realize a functioning device in these remote areas and to be able to provide clean water to all the people who need it," Evelyn Wang, associate mechanical engineering professor at MIT and co-author of the paper first published in the journal "Science," told CNNTech. While similar methods like atmospheric water generators already exist, the new project works in drier climates and uses less energy. The new device looks like a box. Inside the box is a layer of a custom metal-organic framework (also called a MOF), which is essentially a material that acts as a sponge to capture as much water as possible when the box is open.Water can be collected from the air and rain. Once the water is captured, the box is closedmanually and exposed to the sun. The sun heats up the material so it releases water from its surface in the vapor phase. The vapor is then converted to the liquid phase with a condenser -- which can cool the vapor even in hot climates -- to create clean drinking water. Related: This ''bee'' drone is a robotic flower pollinator It''s capable of collecting 2.8 liters of water per kilogram of metal-organic framework that is used. It can do this in areas where the humidity level is as low as 20%, compared to existing devices that work in 50% humidity. MOFs are one-, two- or three-dimensional compounds invented about 20 years ago by Berkeley professor Omar Yaghi, one of the researchers behind the new device. They are an extremely porous material and water molecules can easily attach to the framework. The MOF used in the new device is called MOF-801, which was first reported a few years ago. Related: Tesla solar panels are starting to power Hawaii island Right now, the new system is in the "proof of concept" phase to show it can work, Wang said. The key, she added, will be scaling up the prototype. The researchers have developed the materials in a lab environment and now will have to make them in larger quantities -- which Wang said will reduce costs. Companies like German manufacturer BASF have produced large-scale quantities of MOFs previously, she noted. The prototype is currently the size of a small tissue box, but the final product is expected to be about as big as a carry-on suitcase so it can produce enough water for a family of four.The researchers do not have a cost estimate yet, but they plan to work with not-for-profits and local governments in the developing world to distribute the device. It''s designed for places that are extremely dry, but that still have a lot of sun, such as North Africa and India. "We can deploy [the] devices in those types of regions, where all they need is this device and sun," Wang said. Two-thirds of the world''s population is experiencing water shortages, according to the researchers. CNNMoney (New York) First published April 19, 2017: 8:37 AM ET '|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_technology.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/04/19/technology/future/solar-powered-device-drinking-water/index.html'|'2017-04-19T19:35:00.000+03:00' +'ad14ac17d68f2d886247a51b01d0eb16d6043dfd'|'BRIEF-Ivanhoe Mines CEO says company has approved start of early-works construction for Shaft 2 at Platreef Mine in South Africa'|'United States 45am EDT BRIEF-Ivanhoe Mines CEO says company has approved start of early-works construction for Shaft 2 at Platreef Mine in South Africa April 12 Ivanhoe Mines Ltd * Ivanhoe Mines CEO Lars-Eric Johansson - company has approved start of early-works construction for Shaft 2 at Platreef Mine in South Africa * Ivanhoe Mines CEO Lars-Eric Johansson - Ivanplats, Ivanhoe''s unit, is expected to begin two-part, early-works program for shaft 2 in Q2 2017 * Ivanhoe Mines CEO Lars-Eric Johansson says early-works construction is expected to take approximately 12 months and cost about $5.5 million '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-ivanhoe-mines-ceo-says-company-has-idUSFWN1HK0H1'|'2017-04-12T19:45:00.000+03:00' +'854c9c582fd65cf695f0ea549b905dd34bb305f1'|'Analysis - Global pension funds warm to India''s solar power ambitions'|'Global Energy News - Sun Apr 30, 2017 - 11:05am IST Global pension funds warm to India''s solar power ambitions left right FILE PHOTO: Workers install photovoltaic solar panels at the Gujarat solar park under construction in Charanka village in Patan district of the western Indian state of Gujarat, April 14, 2012. REUTERS/Amit Dave/File Photo 1/3 left right FILE PHOTO: Workers carry a damaged photovoltaic solar panel at the Gujarat solar park under construction in Charanka village in Patan district of the western Indian state of Gujarat, April 14, 2012. REUTERS/Amit Dave/File Photo 2/3 left right FILE PHOTO: Workers carry photovoltaic solar panels for installation at the Gujarat solar park under construction in Charanka village in Patan district of the western Indian state of Gujarat, April 14, 2012. REUTERS/Amit Dave/File Photo 3/3 By Devidutta Tripathy and Sudarshan Varadhan - MUMBAI/NEW DELHI MUMBAI/NEW DELHI Some of the world''s biggest pension funds, seeking long-term returns on green investments, are scouting for deals in India''s solar power sector, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is targeting $100 billion in investment in the next five years. Power demand in Asia''s third-largest economy is set to surge as the economy grows and more people move into the cities. India estimates peak electricity demand will more than quadruple in the next two decades to 690 gigawatt (GW), which would require rapid growth in generation and transmission capacity. That potential, helped by cheaper solar material costs and government efforts to curb pollution, is drawing global investors, including Canada''s top pension fund managers - Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), Caisse de dpt et placement du Qubec (CDPQ), and Ontario Teacher''s Pension Plan (OTPP). Investors'' focus is primarily on solar power generation, funding large-scale solar parks. CDPQ, which has C$270.7 billion ($199 billion) in net assets, says it plans to invest in India''s solar sector with Azure Power, a New York-listed firm with about 1 GW of solar capacity under various stages of development. "We plan to do more with them. Our approach is really to pick the right partner and then build a platform that can be sustained over several years," said Anita George, CDPQ''s South Asia head, adding she wouldn''t rule out investing in other solar ventures in future. Other international investors have already entered India''s renewable energy sector, such as Dutch fund manager APG, Canada''s Brookfield Asset Management, the private equity arms of Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, and European utilities EDF, Engie and Enel. APG Asset Management, which last year agreed to jointly invest $132 million with India''s Piramal Enterprises into solar power, is looking for more deals. "We expect to be able to announce another investment in the Indian renewable energy sector in the coming months," said Hans-Martin Aerts, APG''s infrastructure head for Asia Pacific. Alok Verma, an executive director at Kotak Investment Banking, which has advised companies on renewable deals, said he expects at least 5 GW of solar power to be added from next year, most of it supported by overseas funds. AIMING HIGH Solar power generation capacity in India has more than tripled in less than three years to over 12 GW, helped by lower module prices and borrowing costs, and a government drive - but that is still only around 4 percent of total power capacity of about 315 GW. China, the world''s biggest solar producer, more than doubled its capacity last year, to 77.42 GW. Suyi Kim, Asia Pacific head at CPPIB, Canada''s largest pension manager, said solar appears more attractive in India than wind power. "In India, my impression is that solar seems to be more attractive. But it''s case by case," she said. India typically logs more than 300 days of sunshine a year. Kim declined to comment on any specific investment plans, but two people with knowledge of developments said CPPIB was scouting for deals. Funding and M&A in India''s solar sector amounted to around $1.6 billion in January-March, says research firm Mercom. While deal sizes have been relatively small, some companies such as Japan''s SoftBank, along with partners, have pledged to invest $20 billion in Indian solar power generation projects. SoftBank said the timeline for investments would depend on state and central governments. "We remain committed to building a GW-scale portfolio of solar projects in India," said Raman Nanda, CEO of SB Energy, a joint venture of SoftBank, Foxconn Technology Group and Bharti Enterprises. "We will do this through strategic partnerships." NOT ALL SUNSHINE None of this comes without risk, of course. Investors could face payment delays from India''s heavily-indebted power distribution firms, and some experts note that the bidding for projects in government auctions is too aggressive, with per unit prices slumping more than 70 percent since 2010. "Getting returns on investments ... and getting paid by distribution companies are the major risks being assessed by foreign investors," said Sumant Sinha, CEO at ReNew Power, a renewable energy firm backed by Goldman. Intermittency - power is only produced under bright sunlight - is another issue, as there are additional costs for using inverters or diesel generators to use solar power at night. "Based on current market conditions and policies, I see a path to 65-70 GW (solar capacity) by 2022, but not more," said Mercom CEO Raj Prabhu. That''s still some way short of the government pledge for 100 GW by 2022. "To reach 100 GW by 2022, distribution company finances need to improve drastically, power demand has to increase quickly, and transmission infrastructure needs to keep up," Prabhu said. (Additional reporting by Promit Mukherjee and Euan Rocha in Mumbai; Editing by Henning Gloystein and Ian Geoghegan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-india-solar-analysis-idINKBN17W051'|'2017-04-30T12:47:00.000+03:00' +'1082f3777d6d5d70ef49e5a4e8dbd58fa7645f1b'|'BRIEF-Facebook says more than 1.2 billion people use messenger every month'|'Company 33pm EDT BRIEF-Facebook says more than 1.2 billion people use messenger every month April 12 Facebook Inc: * Federal Home Loan Bank Of New York says reached an agreement in principle to settle all claims pending in United States bankruptcy court in case relating to 2008 Lehman Brothers MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-facebook-says-more-than-12-billion-idUSB8N1FM003'|'2017-04-13T04:33:00.000+03:00' +'f1112ce80d627f99f24681c3386a455aab3a2765'|'BRIEF-Williams Companies says CEO Alan Armstrong''s 2016 total compensation was $10.2 million'|' 33am EDT BRIEF-Williams Companies says CEO Alan Armstrong''s 2016 total compensation was $10.2 million April 7 Williams Companies Inc: * CEO Alan Armstrong''s 2016 total compensation was $10.2 million versus $7 million in 2015 - SEC filing Source text: ( bit.ly/2nSnisy ) WASHINGTON, April 7 U.S. job growth slowed sharply in March amid continued layoffs in the retail sector, but a drop in the unemployment rate to a near 10-year low of 4.5 percent suggested labor market strength remained intact. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-williams-companies-says-ceo-alan-a-idUSFWN1HF0U0'|'2017-04-07T22:33:00.000+03:00' +'3c12b93a996e688b7e55d42ef1cbd598df3d40af'|'Investors take another look at opinion polls after French vote'|'Business News - Tue Apr 25, 2017 - 7:03am EDT Investors take another look at opinion polls after French vote Company stock price information is displayed on screens as they hang above the Paris stock exchange, operated by Euronext NV, in La Defense business district in Paris, France, December 14, 2016. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier By Jamie McGeever - LONDON LONDON Pollsters picked the two candidates to make it into next month''s French presidential election run-off, going some way to restoring their reputation in financial markets before other important votes across Europe. Centrist Emmanuel Macron won Sunday''s first round vote with 23.91 percent. Far-right nationalist and anti-euro candidate Marine Le Pen came in second with 21.42 percent, almost exactly as polls predicted. Markets lost faith in polls after they failed to predict that Britain would vote to leave the European Union and that Donald Trump would become U.S. president. But the French vote, which followed accurate polling of the Dutch election in March, will go some way to restoring faith in them before the second round of the French vote and other major elections in Britain, Germany and Italy. "Investors who lost confidence in pollsters after they failed to predict the outcomes of the U.S. elections and Brexit vote are viewing them as credible sources of information again," said Hussein Sayed, chief market strategist at FXTM. Guided by the polls, the two biggest political events in the Western world last year wrongfooted investors. With that in mind, they took no chances ahead of the French vote, where the top four candidates were all within about 5 percentage points of each other going into polling day. The cost of buying protection against large swings in the euro''s exchange rate via the options market rose sharply last week, with one-week implied volatility posting its biggest weekly rise on record EURSWO=. But the polls were spot on so few investors now question leads of over 20 percentage points for Macron over Le Pen in the French runoff. They also have more faith in forecasts showing UK prime minister Theresa May''s ruling Conservative Party will command a substantial lead over the opposition Labour Party ahead of the snap June 8 election there. Italy must also hold a general election before May next year and the populist Five Star movement is neck and neck in polls with the ruling Democratic Party. "Markets won''t forget what happened with Brexit and Trump. They are still casting a shadow and will stick in peoples'' minds," said Teeuwe Mevissen, senior macro strategist at Rabobank. "It''s a case by case situation and very dependent on how polls are performed and how accepted populist parties are. But markets see less tail risk." NO NUMERICAL SHOCK Any investors who followed the polls and put money on the market''s favorite candidate Macron making it to the second round against Le Pen would have benefited from a post-vote surge in stocks, bonds and the euro. French stocks surged more than 4 percent on Monday .FCHI , the share price of big European banks like BNP Paribas BNP.PA and Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) added 8 percent, and the euro rose above $1.09, its best day in almost a year EUR= . The spread between French and German 10-year bond yields shrank more than 20 basis points FR10YT=RR EU10YT=RR, its biggest fall in years. The measure of euro volatility against the dollar over the coming month, which captures the May 7 runoff vote in France, fell to around 8 percent from nearly 13 percent on Friday. That marked the biggest fall in a single day since the euro''s inception over 17 years ago. EUR1MO= Other polls have also recently been accurate. The Dutch election last month, in which Prime Minister Mark Rutte saw off a challenge from far-right rival Geert Wilders to win re-election, was also forecast as the vote drew closer. And polling for the second round of the French vote should be more straightforward to predict as it is more "clean cut" than the first round, according to Oxford Economics. This is because there are only two candidates and clear differences between them. "It would take a numerical shock perhaps 5-10 times larger than Brexit or Trump for Le Pen to win," said Deutsche Bank market strategist Jim Reid. "The pre-first round polls have been relatively accurate, so Macron should rightly be red hot favorite now." Similarly, Theresa May''s nationwide lead over her opponents in Britain point to a thumping victory on June 8. Her Conservative Party hit 50 percent in one recent poll, and is projected to win a majority of 100 parliamentary seats or more. This means there is unlikely to be a significant selloff in UK stocks, bonds or sterling as the election draws closer, analysts say, and the cost of hedging should remain relatively well contained. Germany also holds its general election in September, when chancellor Angela Merkel could lose her 11-year grip on power. Investors'' fears over this shift have been tempered, however, by the fact that her main rival Martin Schulz is a staunch pro-European and the populist AfD party has registered the biggest drop in support of all the main parties this year. "The political agenda continues to dominate the headlines, but investors should not allow it to cloud their thinking on markets," Citi analysts wrote in a note on Monday. "Political uncertainty can create short-term spikes in risk premia, but it does not structurally re-price assets." (Editing by Anna Willard) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-election-markets-idUSKBN17R14T'|'2017-04-25T19:03:00.000+03:00' +'874bcb142441324867a73d996811246b242d0117'|'Dialog Semi slump, banks weigh on European shares; volatility up'|'Company News - Tue Apr 11, 2017 - 12:43pm EDT Dialog Semi slump, banks weigh on European shares; volatility up * STOXX 600 ends little changed * Apple worries smash Dialog, but big banks play down risks * Volatility index rises to more than 1-month high * Alstom hit after reports of rival rail merger talks * Autogrill rallies as spin-off move fuels M&A chatter (Adds details, closing prices) By Kit Rees and Danilo Masoni LONDON, April 11 A sharp drop in shares of Apple-supplier Dialog Semiconductor dominated trading in otherwise muted European stock markets on Tuesday as a shortened week and risk-off sentiment kept investors from making big bets. The pan-European STOXX 600 ended flat as gains in the luxury goods sectors offset weakness in chipmakers and financials. Better-than-expected quarterly sales at LVMH lifted shares of the world''s largest luxury goods maker to a record high. European shares have been treading water in recent sessions, with the benchmark index little changed so far this month on mounting political tensions in the Middle East and North Korea, above-average valuations and caution ahead of earnings season. Expectations that European stocks might see bigger swings in the short term rose to their highest since end-February, following a similar spike in volatility on Wall Street overnight. On the day, tech stocks were the worst sectoral performers, with a sub-index tracking top European tech firms down 1.2 percent. Losses were led by Dialog Semiconductor, which lost 14 percent after a German broker said the company risks losing business from Apple. Broker Bankhaus Lampe cut its rating on the chipmaker to "sell" from "buy", warning that Apple could be developing its own PMIC (power management integrated circuit). Dialog Semiconductor supplies power management chips to Apple. "We hear from the industry that about 80 engineers at Apple are already working on a PMIC with specific plans to employ it in the iPhone by as early as 2019," analysts at Bankhaus Lampe said in a note. Dialog sharespared some losses as big banks including Barclays, Morgan Stanley and BofA-ML cast doubts on views that the firm risked losing business from Apple and called the share slide an over-reaction. Dialog had lost one-third of its market value at one point. Last week, shares in Imagination Technologies lost two-thirds of their value after Apple, its biggest customer, said that it would stop using Imagination''s graphics technology. "(Dialog Semiconductor) could potentially go the same way as Imagination Technologies has recently. It just shows the risks associated with companies being very reliant on one key contract," Dafydd Davies, partner at Charles Hanover Investments, said. Industry peer AMS also came under pressure after UBS cut its rating to "neutral" from "buy", sending the stock down 9.5 percent, while STMicroelectronics fell 3.6 percent. Elsewhere, share price moves were driven by dealmaking expectations. French rail equipment maker Alstom fell 2.7 percent on reports that rivals Siemens and Bombardier were in talks to combine their rail operations. Italian restaurants firm Autogrill surged 8.2 percent to a record high after news that it plans to separate its food and beverage business fueled speculation of possible merger and acquisition activity. Banking stocks dropped 0.7 percent, with Banco Popular the biggest loser, down 9.7 percent and hitting fresh record lows. On Monday, the bank said that it was considering another capital hike to clean up its balance sheet and would consider a merger deal. (Reporting by Kit Rees and Danilo Masoni; Editing by Tom Heneghan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/europe-stocks-idUSL8N1HJ4XF'|'2017-04-12T00:43:00.000+03:00' +'f004840387ba70da16dfd5ec92f9198ac429302c'|'PRECIOUS-Gold hits 5-mth high on weaker dollar, geopolitical tensions'|'Company News 9:19pm EDT PRECIOUS-Gold hits 5-mth high on weaker dollar, geopolitical tensions April 13 Gold hit a five-month peak on Thursday as the U.S. dollar slid after President Donald Trump said he preferred lower interest rates with the greenback "too strong", and amid rising tensions over U.S. relations with Russia and North Korea. FUNDAMENTALS * Spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $1,286.80 per ounce by 0100 GMT, after hitting its strongest since Nov.10 at 1,287.31. * U.S. gold futures edged up 0.8 percent to $1,287.90. * The U.S. dollar took a heavy hit after President Donald Trump told the Wall Street Journal the dollar "is getting too strong" and that he would prefer the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates low. * Meanwhile, tensions continued over the United States'' relationship with Russia over Syria and in the Korean peninsula, while worries about the upcoming French presidential election also kept investors nervous. * Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday trust had eroded between the United States and Russia under President Donald Trump as Moscow delivered an unusually hostile reception to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in a face-off over Syria. * In another possible setback to a thaw with Moscow, Trump said on Wednesday that NATO is not obsolete, as he had declared during the election campaign last year. But he told a news conference at the White House with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that alliance members still need to pay their fair share for the European security umbrella. * Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday stressed the need for a peaceful solution for the Korean peninsula on a call with U.S President Donald Trump. * U.S. import prices recorded their biggest drop in seven months in March as the cost of petroleum declined, but the underlying trend pointed to a moderate rise in imported inflation as the dollar''s rally fades. * Barrick Gold , must take steps to safeguard investor confidence by ensuring there are no more operating mishaps at its mines after a third incident in 18 months at its big Argentina mine, analysts said. * Goldman Sachs on Wednesday maintained its near-term target for gold at $1,200 per ounce and 12-month target at $1,250 per ounce. DATA AHEAD (GMT) 1230 U.S. Initial Jobless Claims weekly 1230 U.S. PPI Final Demand Mar 1400 U.S. U Mich Sentiment Prelim Apr 1430 U.S. ECRI Weekly index (Reporting by Nallur Sethuraman in BENGALURU; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/global-precious-idUSL3N1HL0LL'|'2017-04-13T09:19:00.000+03:00' +'d578db787904aa01096f02ae6755458891fcc022'|'Top-20 Akzo Nobel investor backs talks with PPG over revised bid'|'LONDON, April 3 A top-20 investor in Akzo Nobel said on Monday he wanted the firm to engage with U.S. rival PPG Industries over a revised bid raising pressure on the Dutch paint maker to begin talks.Chief Executive Ton Buechner has so far refused to do so, saying PPG has yet to address "key stakeholder issues" - a position he reiterated on Monday in the face of growing opposition from shareholders led by activist investor Elliott Advisors.The investor said while Buechner had "done a fantastic job since he took over", the revised cash-and-share offer of around 90 euros a share was "at a level where the company''s got to engage; it''s a decent offer", given he valued Akzo at around 75 euros a share as a standalone firm.Valuation, and not politics or the governance structure, should be the only thing that prevented a deal from taking place, he added, and it was up to Buechner to show how he intended to close the valuation gap.Akzo is due to detail its plan to boost shareholder value on Apr. 19, including a spin-off of its chemicals division. The investor said the move would be unlikely to deliver much in terms of value accretion to shareholders, although it depended on the price. (Reporting by Simon Jessop; editing by Pamela Barbaglia)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/akzo-nobel-ma-investor-idINL5N1HB5N6'|'2017-04-03T15:22:00.000+03:00' +'55140f6121987f742196f9860367a7025b57632f'|'BRIEF-Kinder Morgan, DCP Midstream announce LoI for Gulf Coast Express Pipeline Project'|' 27pm EDT BRIEF-Kinder Morgan, DCP Midstream announce LoI for Gulf Coast Express Pipeline Project April 12 DCP Midstream LP * Kinder Morgan and DCP Midstream announce letter of intent on development of Gulf Coast express pipeline project * It is anticipated that DCP will be a partner and shipper on proposed pipeline * DCP midstream LP -project is designed to transport up to 1,700,000 dekatherms per day (dth/d) of natural gas from Waha, Texas area to Agua Dulce, texas * Says pipeline is expected to be in service in second half of 2019, subject to shipper commitments * DCP Midstream LP says sand hills pipeline is currently being expanded from 280,000 barrels per day (bbls/d) to 365,000 bbls/d * Says KMI will build and operate pipeline '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-kinder-morgan-dcp-midstream-announ-idUSFWN1HJ0IX'|'2017-04-12T04:27:00.000+03:00' +'381449061d8973dbc58e531d92975741633b2661'|'IMF raises global growth forecast, warns against protectionism'|'Economic 34pm IST IMF raises global growth forecast, warns against protectionism The International Monetary Fund logo is seen inside its headquarters at the end of the IMF/World Bank annual meetings in Washington, U.S., October 9, 2016. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/Files By David Lawder - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The International Monetary Fund raised its 2017 global growth forecast on Tuesday due to manufacturing and trade gains in Europe, Japan and China, but warned that protectionist policies threaten to halt a broad-based recovery. The IMF, whose spring meetings with the World Bank get underway in Washington this week, forecast that the global economy would grow 3.5 percent in 2017, up from its previous forecast of 3.4 percent in January. In its latest World Economic Outlook, the Fund said that chronically weak advanced economies are expected to benefit from a cyclical recovery in global manufacturing and trade that started to gain momentum last summer. "The economic upswing that we have expected for some time seems to be materializing," IMF chief economist Maurice Obstfeld wrote in the report. The IMF lifted Japan''s 2017 growth projection by 0.4 percentage point from January, to 1.2 percent, while the eurozone and China both saw a 0.1 percentage point growth forecast increase to 1.7 percent and 6.6 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, the IMF held its 2017 U.S. growth forecast steady at 2.3 percent, which still represents a substantial jump from 1.6 percent growth in 2016, partly due to expectations that President Donald Trump will cut taxes and increase government spending. The IMF also revised Britain''s growth forecast to 2.0 percent for 2017, up a half percentage point from January. The Fund said negative effects from the UK vote to leave the European Union are taking longer to materialize. For a table showing the IMF''s latest growth projections, see Although growth looks to be strengthening broadly among advanced and emerging market economies as well oil and commodity exporters that are starting to benefit from a commodity price recovery, including Russia, the IMF said the recovery remains fragile. The outlook faces headwinds from chronically weak productivity growth and policies that could constrict trade, the IMF said. It did not specifically mention the Trump administration''s "America First" trade agenda aimed at reducing U.S. trade deficits and turning away more unfairly traded imports. "One salient threat is a turn toward protectionism, leading to trade warfare," Obstfeld said, adding this "would result in a self-inflicted wound that would lead to higher prices for consumers, lower productivity and therefore, lower overall real income for households." The case against trade protectionism is expected to be a major theme of the semi-annual gathering of finance officials from the IMF, the World Bank and the Group of 20 major economies later this week. IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde warned last week that a "sword of protectionism" hung over a brightening global outlook. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross pushed back in a Financial Times interview published on Sunday, saying such warnings were aimed at the Trump administration and were "rubbish." He told the newspaper that the United States was far less protectionist than China and Europe, "and every time we do anything to defend ourselves, even against the puny obligations that they have, they call that protectionism. Its rubbish." The IMF also said that risks to the global outlook also could come from a faster-than-expected pace of interest rate hikes in the United States, which could trigger a sharp rise in the dollar and disruptive capital outflows from emerging markets. The Fund also said China''s strong growth was clouded in the medium term by "growing vulnerabilities" associated with its reliance on policy easing and credit-financed investment. This could prompt a sharp tightening of financial conditions that could cause spillovers to many other countries. (Reporting by David Lawder; editing by Diane Craft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/imf-g20-outlook-idINKBN17K1JB'|'2017-04-18T21:04:00.000+03:00' +'589e8e7228d8a299c9806f0297886f8692086239'|'LeEco abandons $2 billion Vizio deal, citing ''Chinese policy factor'''|'Business News - Tue Apr 11, 2017 - 3:13am BST LeEco abandons $2 billion Vizio deal, citing ''Chinese policy factor'' FILE PHOTO: LeEco''s Le Pro3 phone is on display during a press event in San Francisco, California, U.S. October 19, 2016. RETUERS/Beck Diefenbach/File Photo TAIPEI Chinese tech conglomerate LeEco, whose businesses stretch from smartphones to electric vehicles, has abandoned a $2 billion (1.6 billion pounds) proposed acquisition of U.S. consumer electronics company Vizio, the company said on Tuesday. A LeEco representative reached by Reuters on Tuesday cited a "Chinese policy factor" for abandoning the proposal, but declined to provide further details. The deal was first announced in July, with LeEco agreeing to acquire the Irvine-based manufacturer of LCD/LED flat panel TVs. In recent months, LeEco has faced financial troubles due to the rapid pace of growth of its various businesses, with founder and chairman Jia Yueting acknowledging in a staff letter that the firm faced a "big company disease." However, in March, the company successfully secured $2.2 billion for expansion from investors including property developer Sunac China Holdings Ltd, whose investments went into LeEco''s smart internet TV subsidiary Leshi Zhixin, as well as its film production subsidiary, Le Vision Pictures. Late on Monday, LeEco''s listed unit Leshi Internet Information & Technology Corp Beijing issued a profit alert for the first quarter, saying it sees net profit at 103 million-132 million yuan from 114.7 million yuan ($16.62 million) net profit a year earlier. (Reporting by Jess Macy Yu; Editing by Randy Fabi)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-tech-leeco-idUKKBN17D074'|'2017-04-11T10:13:00.000+03:00' +'dc73d84d2b608324aabbf97f3b961b0ad1f6736e'|'UPDATE 2-Potash Corp raises outlook, notches higher profit as sales climb'|' 33am EDT UPDATE 2-Potash Corp raises outlook, notches higher profit as sales climb (Updates with share activity, analyst''s comment) By Swetha Gopinath and Rod Nickel April 27 Canada''s Potash Corp of Saskatchewan reported a bigger-than-expected rise in quarterly profit on Thursday and raised its full-year outlook, citing lower costs and increased sales volumes. Shares of the Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-based fertilizer producer rose 1.6 percent in early New York trading, touching a three-week high. Revenue was lower in the first quarter due to weaker prices year over year, but it still exceeded Wall Street''s expectations. Potash prices have rebounded modestly since last year but remain low due to bloated global capacity and weakening farm incomes. Even so, Potash Corp forecast global potash demand of 61 million to 64 million tonnes this year, exceeding last year''s 60 million tonnes. Potash said it expected full-year earnings of 45 cents to 65 cents per share, up from its prior forecast of 35 cents to 55 cents. The company raised the lower end of its estimate for 2017 potash sales to 8.9 million tonnes from 8.7 million tonnes, keeping the upper end at 9.4 million tonnes. "We expect improved consumption trends and nutrient affordability in key markets to support potash demand and our results through the remainder of 2017," Chief Executive Officer Jochen Tilk said in a statement. Bernstein analyst Jonas Oxgaard said earnings benefited from a lower tax rate as well as stronger sales in China, India and North America. "(It) suggests the potash price recovery is in strong force," he said in a note. But Citi analyst P.J. Juvekar said it was too early to envision a major recovery as rivals bring on new potash mines through next year. Potash has nearly finished expanding its low-cost Rocanville, Saskatchewan, mine, which it says will help it weather weak crop nutrient prices. In September, Potash and rival Agrium Inc announced plans to merge. The deal would combine Potash''s fertilizer capacity, the world''s largest, and Agrium''s farm retail network, North America''s biggest. Tilk said the companies were working through the regulatory process and still expect the deal to close in mid-2017. Net earnings nearly doubled to $149 million, or 18 cents per share, in the quarter, beating the analysts'' average estimate of 11 cents. Revenue fell 8 percent to $1.11 billion, despite a 13 percent rise in potash sales volumes. Analysts on average had expected $1.06 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. (Reporting by Swetha Gopinath in Bangalore and Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Lisa Von Ahn)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/potashcorp-results-idUSL4N1HZ4A7'|'2017-04-27T17:33:00.000+03:00' +'8853aae1b42e0968c27e971ec5faeea047349f2c'|'Sofas and surveillance: Technology firms and the office of the future'|'FROM the 62nd floor of Salesforce Tower, 920 feet above the ground, San Franciscos monuments look piddling. The Bay Bridge, Coit Tower and Palace of Fine Arts are dwarfed by the steel-and-glass headquarters that will house the software company when it is completed later this year. Subtle it is not. Salesforce plans to put on a light show every night; its new building will be visible from up to 30 miles away.It is not the only technology company erecting a shrine to itself. Apples employees have just begun moving into their new headquarters in Cupertino, some 70 kilometres away, which was conceived by the firms late founder, Steve Jobs. The four-storey, circular building looks like the dial of an iPod (or a doughnut) and is the same size as the Pentagon. At a price tag of around $5bn, it will be the most expensive corporate headquarters ever constructed. Apple applied all its product perfectionism to it: the guidelines for the wood used inside it reportedly ran to 30 pages.Latest updates How liquor shops are getting around Indias latest booze ban The Economist explains 3 hours ago A 16 hours ago Have See all updates Throughout San Francisco and Silicon Valley, cash-rich technology firms have built or are erecting bold, futuristic headquarters that convey their brands to employees and customers. Another example is Uber, a ride-hailing company, which is hoping to recast its reputation for secrecy and rugged competitiveness by designing an entirely see-through head office. It is expected to have some interior areas, as well as a park, that will be open to the public.The exteriors of the new buildings will attract most attention, but it is their interiors that should be watched more closely. The very newest buildings, such as Apples, are mostly still under wraps, but they are expected to be highly innovative in their internal layout. Some of that is because of fierce competition within the tech industry for the best engineering and other talent: firms are particularly keen to come up with attractive, productive environments. But these new office spaces will also signal how work is likely to evolve. Technology companies have already changed the way people behave in offices beyond their own industry, as a result of e-mail, online search and collaboration tools such as Slack. They are doing the same for physical spaces.The big idea championed by the industry is the concept of working in various spaces around an office rather than at a fixed workstation. Other industries have experimented with activity-based working, but tech is ahead. Employees may still have an assigned desk but they are not expected to be there, and they routinely go to different places to do various tasks. There are libraries where they can work quietly, as well as coffee shops, cafs and outdoor spaces for meetings and phone calls. The top two floors of Salesforce Tower, for example, will be used not as corner offices for executives but as an airy lounge for employees, where they can work communally and gaze out at the views over a latt.A fluid working environment is meant to allow for more chance encounters, which could spur new ideas and spark unexpected collaborations. Facebooks central building is the worlds largest open-plan office, designed to encourage employees to bump into one another in its common spaces and in a nine-acre rooftop garden. Communal areas are meant to be casual and alluring. John Schoettler, head of real estate at Amazon, says he aims to make them into living-room-like spaces. For offices to feel like home, it helps to hire a designer with expertise in residential real-estate, says Elizabeth Pinkham of Salesforce. In common areas at the firms offices, there are TVs, couches and bookshelves. Framed photos of a few employees add to the effect.The new working at homeFor those who scoff at the creative benefits of being surrounded by pictures of Colin from accounts, there are more tangible payoffs. The lack of fixed workstations shrinks the amount of expensive real estate given to employees without leaving them feeling too squeezed. Tech firms devote around 14 square metres to each employee, around a quarter less than other industries, according to Randy Howder at Gensler, a design firm. Young workers are thought to be more productive in these varied environments, which are reminiscent of the way people study and live at university. One drawback, however, is that finding colleagues can be difficult. Employees need to locate each other through text messages and messaging apps.Collaborative spaces can also expose generational tensions, says Louise Mozingo, an architecture professor at the University of California, Berkeley. Tech firms elderly employees (otherwise known as the over-40s) can struggle to adjust to moving around during the day and to the frequent disruptions that come from large, open-plan offices. Many of Facebooks employees do not like their office because it is noisy, and some Apple employees are hesitant to move into their new building for the same reason. Plenty also balk at the massive distances they will need to walk.That may not be the only thing to cause employees concern. Tech firms are increasingly keen to use their own products in their headquarters. Jensen Huang, the chief executive of Nvidia, a chipmaking firm whose graphics processing units are widely used in artificial-intelligence programmes, says his firm plans to introduce facial recognition for entry into its new headquarters, due to open later this year.Nvidia will also install cameras to recognise what food people are taking from the cafeteria and charge them accordingly, eliminating the need for a queue and cashier. A self-driving shuttle will eventually zip between its various buildings. And Nvidias own AI will monitor when employees arrive and leave, with the ostensible aim of adjusting the buildings heating and cooling systems.The data that firms can collect on their employees whereabouts and activities are bound to become ever more detailed. Another way of keeping tabs on people is through company-issued mobile phones. Every employee has their own tracking device, observes Mr Howder at Gensler. Technology firms will sooner or later take advantage of that.Few of them are willing to share details of their future plans because of concerns about employees privacy. However, some of their contractors signal what sort of innovations may be in the pipeline. Office-furniture makers, for example, are experimenting with putting sensors in desks and chairs, so that firms will be better able to monitor when workers are there.Such data could be anonymised to allay privacy concerns. They could also save electricity or help people find an empty room to hold a meeting. But it is not hard to imagine how such data could create a culture of surveillance, where employees feel constantly monitored. Technology firms could be an indicator of what will happen with privacy in offices more generally, says David Benjamin of Autodesk, a company that sells software to architects, among other clients.Silent discos and Bedouin tentsA less controversial trend is for unusual office interiors. These can distinguish companies in the minds of their employees, act as a recruiting tool and also give staff a reason to come into the office rather than work from home. For companies that do not ship a physical product, such offices can serve as important daily reminders of culture and purpose.Last year LinkedIn, a professional social network, for example, opened a new building in San Francisco that is full of space set aside for networking, and that includes a silent disco, where people can dance to music with headphones on. Instead of offering generic meeting rooms with portentous names, Airbnb, a tech firm that lets people rent out their homes, has designed each of its meeting spaces after one of its rental listings, such as a Bedouin tent from Morocco. It also has a meeting room (pictured above) that is an exact replica of the rental apartment where the founders lived when they came up with the idea for Airbnb. Every detail, including the statue of Jesus in red velvet on top of the fireplace, is accurate, says Joe Gebbia, one of the companys founders.Nvidia is obsessed with triangles, the basic element of computer graphics used to create lifelike scenes in video games and movies. Its new headquarters, which cost $370m, is shaped like one (see picture), and its interior is full of them. Everything, from the skylights to the benches in the lobby, is triangular. At this point Im kind of over the triangle shape, because we took that theme and beat it to death, admits John OBrien, the companys head of real estate, who pointedly vetoed a colleagues recent suggestion to offer triangle-shaped water bottles in the cafeteria.Three sides to every storey Such workspaces remind staff that they are choosing not just an employer but a way of life. In the tech bubble of the late 1990s companies disrupted the workplace by offering foosball tables, nap pods, blow-up castles and free lunches. Now the emphasis is on amenities that help employees save time. Larger firms, including Facebook, Alphabet and LinkedIn, offer their staff something akin to the services used by the extremely wealthy, helping employees to find places to live, adopt pets and the like. Some large tech groups offer on-site health care.The effect of all this is that the typical office at a technology firm is becoming a prosperous, self-contained village. Employees have fewer reasons than ever to leave. With the spare cash they can throw at their employees, tech giants have vastly raised the bar for other kinds of company, which also want to recruit clever engineers and techies for their projects.Other industries would be wise to take time to watch how tech firms are structuring their work environments. There is certainly a chance of a backlash against those that use their products to watch employees too closely. Workers may like free lunches and other perks associated with the tech business, but probably not enough to surrender their privacy entirely.This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "Sofas and surveillance"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21721423-their-eccentric-buildings-offer-clues-about-how-people-will-work-technology-firms-and-office?fsrc=rss'|'2017-04-29T08:00:00.000+03:00' +'96ea99529a6c0f7ca85981366de2d800b340330d'|'Emerging Asian FX slips as worry over North Korea remains'|'By Aparajita Saxena Asian currencies were weaker on Tuesday as investors reduced their positions in emerging markets, unwilling to take risks until tensions over North Korea significantly subside.There was some suggestion that the risk-off sentiment following North Korea''s failed missile launch on Sunday, which raised concerns that the isolated state may soon test another nuclear bomb or missile, was changing.Safe-haven gold prices, which rose after the launch, fell from five-month highs and the safe-haven yen declined 0.17 percent versus the U.S. dollar.But the hard-line that President Donald Trump has taken over the North Korea "problem" in the recent weeks, was further underscored by Vice President Mike Pence''s warning on Monday that recent American military strikes in Syria and Afghanistan showed that the U.S. leader''s resolve should not be questioned.North Korea remained defiant and said that Pyongyang''s next nuclear test would take place "at a time and at a place where our headquarters deems necessary".In a note on Tuesday, Mizuho Bank said "Fact is, the North Korea ''problem'' is long way off a resolution. Crucially, the potential for more launches ahead of this weekend warrants watching as much as precaution''"Asian currencies fell as the U.S. dollar pulled away from five-month lows against the yen it hit on Monday.Dollar upticks in U.S. trading were underpinned by comments from U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin who told the Financial Times he agreed with Trump''s view that the dollar''s strength in the short term was hurting exports, but strength over the long term was a positive.The Philippine peso slipped for a second day versus the dollar after February overseas workers remittances rose 3.4 percent from a year earlier. Scotiabank said the market had expected a 5.8 percent gain for remittances, which help power domestic consumption.The Indonesian rupiah fell to its lowest in nearly a week, ahead of Wednesday''s election of the Jakarta governor.Indonesian markets will be closed on Wednesday for the voting.THAI BAHTThe baht fell 0.37 percent to 34.378, its lowest in nearly 21 months versus the dollar, on Tuesday.However, ANZ Research said it expects the baht to resume its uptrend soon, underpinned by a large current account surplus, which is when exports of a country exceed its imports.The note added that even though the U.S. Treasury''s semi-annual report to Congress did not include Thailand on its monitoring list, it does not mean the focus is off its foreign exchange intervention activities."Thailand has the 11th largest bilateral trade deficit with the US in 2016. This could result in reduced FX intervention activity by the Bank of Thailand to ensure they remain under the US Treasury''s radar," the note said, making the case for further strengthening in the baht.KOREAN WONThe South Korean won erased modest early morning gains and was 0.27 percent lower against the U.S. dollar."Geopolitical concerns will likely increase the volatility in capital flows and the fluctuations in the Korean-won assets," DBS Group said in a note, adding that concerns about North Korea may also weigh on South Korea''s tourism industry.Local political concerns from the coming South Korean presidential election may also affect the won, the note said, adding frontrunner Moon Jae-in is perceived to favour a relatively soft line towards Pyongyang.(Reporting by Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Borsuk)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/asia-forex-emerging-idINKBN17K0KH'|'2017-04-18T04:55:00.000+03:00' +'be68a1dc5b6f54206c1d011d7c72515dd6c7ae03'|'Panera Bread exploring possible sale: Bloomberg'|' 15pm EDT Panera Bread exploring possible sale: Bloomberg left right The sign on the hood of a delivery truck for Panera Bread Co. is seen in Westminster, Colorado February 11, 2015. REUTERS/Rick Wilking 1/2 left right The sign on the hood of a delivery truck for Panera Bread Co. is seen in Westminster, Colorado February 11, 2015. REUTERS/Rick Wilking 2/2 Panera Bread Co ( PNRA.O ) is considering strategic options, including a possible sale, after receiving takeover interest, Bloomberg reported on Monday. The bakery cafe operator is working with advisers to study the options, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. bloom.bg/2oBLnnV The company''s shares rose as much as 10.7 percent to a record high of $290 in midday trading. Panera Bread, which has a market value of about $6 billion, could not immediately be reached for comment. (Reporting by Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-panera-bread-m-a-idUSKBN1751VB'|'2017-04-04T00:15:00.000+03:00' +'5e890617b5b4cd5dd03d3dbef8c9a6b31415a525'|'UPDATE 1-South Africa''s retailers under pressure, rand extends losses'|'Company 48pm EDT UPDATE 1-South Africa''s retailers under pressure, rand extends losses (adds details, fresh quotes, updates figures) JOHANNESBURG, April 10 South Africa''s general retailers index posted its biggest daily loss in nearly two weeks on Monday, capping gains on the bourse after ratings downgrades last week knocked the rand currency, raising the prospect of inflation curbing consumption. The rand extended its recent losses as the credit downgrades to "junk" by two ratings firms last week following the sudden firing of the finance minister kept investors jittery. The general retailers index shed 2.77 percent on Monday, bringing its decline to around 12 percent since March 27 when President Jacob Zuma recalled finance minister Pravin Gordhan from an overseas investors roadshow, before firing him in a cabinet reshuffle. Massmart, majority-owned by Wal-Mart Stores Inc , lead the way, falling 4.85 percent. "It looks like people are starting to realise that these downgrades will cause the economy to slow down, that''s generally a negative for retailers," said Cratos Capital equities trader Greg Davies. Overall, the market closed higher. Advancers included Anglo American, which closed 1.6 percent higher after announcing it would sell its Eskom-linked thermal coal operations in South Africa for $166 million, marking an important step in strategic overhaul to sharpen its focus. The broader All-Share index increased 0.54 percent to 53,139.86 points, while the benchmark Top-40 index added 0.73 percent to 46,422.49 points. On the foreign exchange market, at 1600 GMT the rand traded at 13.9200 per dollar, 1.07 percent weaker from its New York close on Friday. In fixed income, the yield for the benchmark government bond due in 2026 climbed 7.5 basis points to 9.005 percent. (Reporting by Olwethu Boso; Editing by Ed Stoddard and Toby Chopra)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/safrica-markets-idUSL8N1HI3HV'|'2017-04-11T00:48:00.000+03:00' +'5dacb4d7d5d01b84efa15980c6fcfd60969df205'|'Sainsbury''s targets ''Athleisure'' market with Russell Athletic tie-up'|'Business 06pm BST Sainsbury''s targets ''Athleisure'' market with Russell Athletic tie-up A sign is displayed outside a Sainsbury''s store in London, Britain December 3, 2015. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo LONDON Sainsbury''s ( SBRY.L ), Britain''s second largest supermarket group, is aiming to for a slice of the growing "Athleisure" casual sports clothing market through a partnership with U.S. brand Russell Athletic, it said on Wednesday. Sainsbury''s already sells clothing under the Tu own brand, but has stepped up diversification away from its traditional base in food retailing. Last year, it purchased Argos- and Habitat-owner Home Retail for 1.1 billion pounds, securing another avenue of non-food growth while also enhancing its online logistics operations. The deal with Russell Athletic, part of Berkshire Hathaway''s BRKA.N Fruit of the Loom Inc, will put the U.S. company''s men''s and women''s clothing, as well as men''s bags, on Sainsbury''s Tu clothing website. It marks the first time Sainsbury''s female customers are able to buy branded clothing alongside the supermarket''s Tu range. For men, it follows the group''s first branded partnership with leisurewear company Admiral in stores and online in 2015. Sales of "Athleisure" - sports and gym wear - have grown 42 percent over the past seven years and the UK market is worth 7 billion pounds, according to research by Morgan Stanley. Sainsbury''s has expanded Tu aggressively with its sales growing 15 percent over the last two years. Sainsbury''s is currently Britain''s sixth biggest clothing retailer by volume and its tenth biggest by value. Sainsbury''s main rivals - market leader Tesco ( TSCO.L ), Asda ( WMT.N ) and Morrisons ( MRW.L ) also sell various clothing ranges. (Reporting by James Davey. Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sainsbury-s-russell-athletic-idUKKBN17L1M1'|'2017-04-19T21:06:00.000+03:00' +'502bfdef9e9abe6a314b27db1cfafffd22b2d53a'|'Airbus reaches 35 A320neo deliveries for 2017 - sources'|'Business News 4:12pm BST Airbus reaches 35 A320neo deliveries for 2017 - sources The logo of Airbus Group is seen on the company''s headquarters building in Toulouse, Southwestern France, April 18, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau PARIS Airbus ( AIR.PA ) has delivered 35 A320neo aircraft so far this year, industry sources said on Tuesday, bringing to 103 the number of upgraded medium-haul jets placed in service since deliveries began in January last year. The widely watched deliveries, which as of Monday totalled 9 so far in April, include the first aircraft for Icelandic budget carrier WOW air, which said on Tuesday it had taken the jet, powered by new LEAP engines from CFM International, under a leasing deal with Air Lease Corp ( AL.N ). Airbus aims to deliver some 200 of the A320neo jets, the latest version of Airbus''s best-selling jet programme, this year. It is equipped with new fuel-saving engines from either CFM, jointly owned by General Electric ( GE.N ) and France''s Safran ( SAF.PA ), or U.S. rival Pratt & Whitney. But deliveries have been hampered partly by problems with Pratt & Whitney''s new Geared Turbofan engines. Since A320neo deliveries began in 2016, Airbus has delivered 53 aircraft with Pratt & Whitney engines and 50 powered by CFM. Pratt & Whitney parent United Technologies ( UTX.N ) on Tuesday reaffirmed plans to deliver 350 to 400 Geared Turbofan engines to planemakers this year. CFM''s shareholders have said they are trimming forecasts for LEAP engine deliveries to Airbus and other planemakers in 2017 to 450-500 units from 500. Airbus is expected to give an update on its own deliveries to airlines with quarterly earnings on Thursday. (Reporting by Tim Hepher; editing by Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-airbus-deliveries-idUKKBN17S247'|'2017-04-26T23:12:00.000+03:00' +'085302b3150dfa8f0cfb9e3f70add3c482f6fc2a'|'Italy''s Carim says private equity firm eyeing controlling stake'|'MILAN, April 12 Italy''s Cassa di Risparmio di Rimini (Carim) said on Wednesday its board had granted access to its books to a private equity firm that offered to buy a controlling stake in the regional bank as it seeks to fill a capital gap.Banca Carim, one of several Italian banks grappling with the fallout of a harsh recession in the country, said its capital ratios were below the requirements demanded by the Bank of Italy.The bank''s core capital ratio stood at 6.91 percent at end-2016, below a minimum 7.80 percent threshold."The board has examined a (non binding) offer ... by a private equity fund willing to inject capital in exchange for control of the bank ... and has decided to grant a due diligence phase," it said.Banca Carim said it had also been in touch with a bank deposit guarantee fund - which can use voluntary contributions from lenders for bank rescues - over a possible capital injection. (Reporting by Valentina Za, editing by Giulia Segreti)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/italy-banks-cassa-rimini-idINI6N1H800U'|'2017-04-12T11:22:00.000+03:00' +'57e85bc527c65cf921cda0876f6b782d550dc5d0'|'U.S. 37-day cash management bill high rate 0.720 pct'|'WASHINGTON, April 7 The U.S. Treasury Department said its auction of 37-day cash management bills brought these results: Term: 37-Day High Rate: 0.720 pct Investment Rate*: 0.731 pct Price: $99.926000 Allotted at High: 16.04 pct Total Tendered: $115,225,000 Total Accepted: $25,000,400 Issue Date: 04/11/2017 Maturity Date: 05/18/2017 CUSIP: 912796KZ1 *Equivalent coupon-issue yield'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-37-day-cash-management-bill-high-rate-idINZXN0DZL0E'|'2017-04-07T14:29:00.000+03:00' +'45820bd8d62353d7cc1d1ff13f5e024a50bbb762'|'Paytm in talks with SoftBank to raise $1.2-$1.5 billion - report'|'Electronics payments provider Paytm is in talks with Japan''s SoftBank Group ( 9984.T ) to raise $1.2 to $1.5 billion in cash, making the latter one of the largest shareholders in the fintech start-up, Mint newspaper reported on Wednesday citing sources.The deal, which could increase Paytm''s valuation to $7 billion to $9 billion, will see SoftBank buying some shares from existing Paytm investor SAIF Partners and founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma beside investing money in the company, the report said. ( bit.ly/2oK3j27 )Local media had reported recently that SoftBank is keen to sell its stake in India''s e-commerce firm Snapdeal in exchange for a stake in market leader Flipkart ( IPO-FLPK.N ).Paytm may also buy Snapdeal-owned payments rival Freecharge, as part of the deal, the report said.Digital payments have assumed great significance in India after the decision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s government ban on old high-valued bank notes in November led to a severe cash crunch across the country.(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Euan Rocha)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-paytm-softbank-group-fundraising-idINKBN17L09Z'|'2017-04-19T12:38:00.000+03:00' +'5e1b040bf4e4a54755878547a03867aaa70a40d5'|'JPMorgan Chase & Co leaves blockchain consortium R3'|'Business News - Thu Apr 27, 2017 - 8:08pm BST JPMorgan Chase & Co leaves blockchain consortium R3 People walk by the JP Morgan & Chase Co. building in New York in an October 24, 2013 file photo. REUTERS/Eric Thayer/Files By Anna Irrera - NEW YORK NEW YORK JPMorgan Chase & Co has left the mammoth bank blockchain consortium led by New York-based startup R3 CEV, as financial institutions refine their strategies around the nascent technology, R3 confirmed on Thursday. R3, which counts about 80 financial institutions as members, wants to raise $150 million from its members and strategic investors, for a 60 percent stake. "We''re grateful to JPMorgan for their input to R3," R3 said in a statement after Reuters reported the bank''s departure. "We''ve got over 80 members across the world and have secured significant commitment from them in terms of both capital and resources." JPMorgan did not immediately have a statement. JPMorgan''s move follows the departure of other large banks from the R3 consortium. Goldman Sachs Group Inc ( GS.N ), Banco Santander SA ( SAN.MC ), Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) and National Australian Bank left the group in quick succession in late 2016, as R3 proceeded with its fundraising plans. Like the other banks that have left the group, JPMorgan is involved in other blockchain initiatives. The bank is a member of the newly formed blockchain consortium Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, and is an investor in blockchain startups Axoni and Digital Asset Holdings. It also participates in the Hyperledger Project, a cross-industry group led by the Linux Foundation. R3, which began operating in September 2015, seeks to help the financial sector develop shared blockchain technology to run some of their most cumbersome and expensive processes. Blockchain is a distributed ledger of transactions that is maintained by a network of computers on the internet rather than a centralized authority. It first emerged as the system underpinning cryptocurrency bitcoin, but banks are hoping it can help them reduce the complexity and costs of activities like international payments and trading settlement. Skeptics have warned that the technology is still in its early days and it might take many years before the financial industry can reap any benefits. Since it began operating, R3 has rapidly gained the support from the world''s largest banks, with members including UBS Group AG ( UBSG.S ) and Deutsche Bank AG ( DBKGn.DE ). So far they have paid membership fees to participate in the company''s activities. Thomson Reuters Corp TRI.T is also a member of R3. (Reporting by Anna Irrera; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-jpmorgan-r-idUKKBN17T2VT'|'2017-04-28T03:08:00.000+03:00' +'714c7b45254a1d24a35aefd9f1f1bf09df4a3cd3'|'AUTOSHOW-China EV makers to take on Tesla''s Model 3 through price, local manufacture'|'* Chinese-funded EV start-ups to battle Tesla on price* After China tariff, Model 3 may cost $43,000, plus tax* Chinese to launch rival premium EVs at around 300,000 yuan* They see local production as key to competitionBy Norihiko ShirouzuSHANGHAI, April 19 It''s not due to arrive in China until next year, but already Chinese-funded, smart, connected plug-in car start-ups are scrambling to launch cars to go head-to-head against Tesla Inc''s "mass market" Model 3 sedan.For leading Chinese electric vehicle (EV) start-ups such as Future Mobility, WM Motor and Singulato Motors, the key is that they will produce their cars locally, making them better able to match the Model 3''s price.Tesla, which has largely enjoyed a monopoly in the premium electric car market, is expected to price its Model 3 from $35,000 in the United States. Buyers in China would expect to add 25 percent to that in import tariffs.The founders and CEOs of Future Mobility, WM Motor and Singulato acknowledge the Model 3 is the car to beat.The first vehicles they aim to launch in the next couple of years will be priced around 300,000 yuan (roughly $43,500) or below, they told Reuters ahead of the Shanghai auto show, which opens to the public on Friday."Between 200,000 yuan and 300,000 yuan," said Singulato''s co-founder and CEO Shen Haiyin.The Chinese-funded firms'' strategy is to beat the Model 3 in China by making their cars more premium and yet cheaper than Tesla''s mass-market all-electric battery car.The three start-ups see California-based Tesla''s weakness in its inability to produce cars in China, the world''s leading market for plug-in cars.Tesla has denied recent talk in China that it was considering manufacturing its cars locally. "Tesla is deeply committed to the Chinese market, however these rumours are not true," the company said.To be sure, Tesla will be no pushover. It this month overtook Ford Motor Co in market value as investors embrace CEO Elon Musk''s strategy of offering stylish, high performance cars that are continually upgraded with features that rival automakers are still only testing.Tesla has to date competed only in premium price classes at relatively low volumes. The Model 3 will need to appeal to more price-sensitive consumers to reach its projected annual sales of 500,000 vehicles."COMPETITIVE" PRICINGDaniel Kirchert, president and co-founder of Future Mobility, says his company plans to launch three models. The first, a premium midsize crossover sport-utility vehicle (SUV), will arrive "before 2020", followed within three years by a sedan and a 7-seater multi-purpose vehicle (MPV).All will be based on the same vehicle underpinning architecture and share major components, "to achieve this very attractive entry price of about 300,000 yuan," Kirchert told Reuters in a telephone interview."It''s a bit more than $40,000, a very competitive price positioning ... because Tesla customers buying the Model 3 in China would have to shoulder the cost of a 25 percent import tariff on the car", unless it''s produced in China, he said."We will be competitive because we produce the car locally," he added.As well as making its car in China, at a planned assembly plant in Nanjing, Kirchert said Future Mobility plans to make the SUV bigger than the Model 3 and more luxurious."In the end, it''s really about how premium you are. That''s the real challenge."Singulato Motors unveiled its first "mass-production" car, also a crossover SUV, in Beijing last week, and says it will be priced below 300,000 yuan. It has started taking pre-orders for a limited period from customers willing to put down a deposit of 2,017 yuan.WM Motor plans to launch its first car, an electric plug-in crossover SUV, in the second half of 2018, again priced to compete with the Model 3, co-founder Freeman Shen told Reuters.The car will be the first of three electric vehicles the Shanghai-based firm plans to launch by 2020, by which time Shen says WM Motor should be selling around 100,000 cars a year.WM Motor showed a concept car to reporters on Tuesday in Shanghai, which Shen said hinted at the mass market model. The company aims to get the car to showrooms by September 2018.($1 = 6.8848 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu in SHANGHAI, with additional reporting/editing by Joe White in SHANGHAI; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/autoshow-shanghai-startups-tesla-idINL3N1HP27H'|'2017-04-19T06:24:00.000+03:00' +'ecc0aeceefbfd5cd4939cae8491aaf8e993e7f87'|'VW says has bought, fixed more than half of polluting 2.0-liter diesels'|' 5:09pm BST VW says has bought, fixed more than half of polluting 2.0-liter diesels A Volkswagen logo is shown on the front of an old Volkswagen van in Encinitas, California September 29, 2015. U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday asked Volkswagen AG to turn over documents related to the company''s diesel emissions scandal, including records concerning the development... REUTERS/Mike Blake - RTS2BD9 WASHINGTON Volkswagen AG said on Friday the company has bought back or repaired more than half of 475,000 polluting 2.0-liter diesel vehicles under a U.S. government settlement, just six months after it launched the largest-ever repurchase offer. The world''s largest automaker said in a letter to a U.S. judge overseeing the settlement that as of Wednesday, it has repurchased or terminated leases on nearly 238,000 vehicles and has repaired 6,200 vehicles after it admitted in 2015 to secretly installing software that let vehicles emit up to 40 times legally-allowable pollution levels. Under the agreement, Volkswagen must buy back or repair at least 85 percent of the vehicles by late 2018 or face additional penalties. (Reporting by David Shepardson, editing by G Crosse)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-volkswagen-emissions-idUKKBN17G1AI'|'2017-04-15T00:09:00.000+03:00' +'1dc85076839cbeeb51bcb0b5af66b04f6b24b042'|'BRIEF-Adaptimmune Therapeutics announces registered direct offering of ADS'|' 15am EDT BRIEF-Adaptimmune Therapeutics announces registered direct offering of ADS April 5 Adaptimmune Therapeutics Plc * Adaptimmune therapeutics plc announces registered direct offering of american depositary shares * Adaptimmune therapeutics - entered agreement with matrix capital management co lp to buy about us$42 million of its american depositary shares * Adaptimmune therapeutics-net proceeds of offering will be used to advance co''s wholly-owned pipeline of spear t-cell candidates through clinical trials Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-adaptimmune-therapeutics-announces-idUSASB0B8N2'|'2017-04-05T21:15:00.000+03:00' +'4cb7164cba06f87f7bcf86ebbe261056844b409d'|'Wall Street braces for rough ride as exchanges seek more speed bumps'|' Wall Street braces for rough ride as exchanges seek more speed bumps By John McCrank - NEW YORK, April 4 NEW YORK, April 4 U.S. stock exchanges that spent decades speeding up markets with cutting-edge technology are now rushing to slow them down. The New York Stock Exchange, Chicago Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Inc are all awaiting decisions by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on whether they can delay trades through so-called "speed bumps" and new order types. The SEC is expected to approve or reject their proposals in the coming weeks. The about-face comes after advances in technology made it possible to complete trades almost at the speed of light, prompting concerns by some market participants that sophisticated high-frequency traders were eating the lunch of ordinary investors. Exchanges have profited from selling specialized services to high-frequency traders, which make up more than half of U.S. trading volume. But now they are looking at ways to attract a wider range of investors, at least to certain of their trading venues, or are making sure they are keeping up with each other. The SEC approved the market''s first speed bump last year, but rules around intentionally slowing down trades are vague and it is difficult to predict which, if any, of the proposals will pass. SEC staff are scrutinizing how each exchange justifies its plans, said a person familiar with the matter. "Whenever you have something that applies to one group and not others, it''s discriminatory in some sense," said the person, who asked for anonymity as they are not authorized to speak to the media. "The question is, can you justify the discrimination?" The proposals follow the launch of IEX Group, which burst onto the scene last August with the market''s inaugural speed bump and other features they said would level the playing field and protect small investors from high-speed trading chicanery. Other exchanges were some of IEX''s fiercest opponents and there is still a heated debate about whether the upstart is as altruistic as it was portrayed in Michael Lewis''s best-selling book "Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt." However, its new way of doing business ultimately forced rivals to rethink their own strategies. Exchanges'' reputations hinge on their ability to execute orders quickly and seamlessly for brokers, which are required to get customers the best market prices. Lewis''s book scandalized Wall Street with its claim that exchanges were rigging the market by allowing high-frequency traders to use their speed to effectively jump the queue of orders from ordinary investors, known in the industry as "latency arbitrage." Many on Wall Street dispute that such a thing exists. Nevertheless, high-frequency trading firms pay exchanges huge sums for near light-speed market access and data to drive their algorithms, and have become an increasingly large player in the stock market over the past decade. IEX ran counter to the trend by establishing an exchange that does not make speed the primary factor and does not sell things like access to microwave and laser data feeds that give ultra-fast traders an edge. The approach appealed to many customers, including several institutional investors, and the exchange now has 2 percent of the U.S. stock-trading market. (Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/2mJMuor ) Most traditional exchanges initially opposed IEX''s speed-bump proposal, but have since had a change of heart, since it has become clear that some investors want to see such change. "The SEC, by approving IEX''s exchange application, has opened up the marketplace for the potential for innovation around market structure that really has not been available to us for the last almost 10 years," said Nasdaq Chief Executive Adena Friedman. UN-AMERICAN? In giving IEX the green light, the SEC said exchanges could pause trades for up to a millisecond, as long as the delays were not unfairly discriminatory or anti-competitive. The NYSE, which is owned by Intercontinental Exchange Inc , essentially wants to copy IEX''s speed bump, as well as an order type the startup pioneered. NYSE argues that while it previously said the model was bad for the market, some institutional investors prefer it and NYSE should be allowed to offer them the choice. NYSE, whose chairman once called IEX "un-American," also plans to rename its proposed speed-bump exchange NYSE American from NYSE MKT. NYSE''s main New York Stock Exchange market would remain unchanged. In contrast, the Chicago Stock Exchange put forward a speed-bump plan that some brokers can bypass if they meet strict requirements to provide quotes for others. In doing so, it hopes to create more liquidity. Rather than a speed bump, Nasdaq wants to introduce an "extended life" order type. It would apply only to orders generated by regular, mom-and-pop investors, who tend to be less informed and therefore coveted by professional traders. The orders would sit exposed for at least a second and then jump ahead of other investors to get filled. Wall Street lacks consensus on whether the proposed delays are a good idea. Some high-frequency trading firms have asked the SEC to deny the proposals, arguing that various time lags across 13 exchanges would make it difficult to know the true price of a stock at any given time. For its part, IEX has asked the SEC to reject NYSE''s proposal. In an interview, Chief Market Policy Officer John Ramsay characterized some rivals'' plans as disingenuous. "The speed bump is just one piece of our market design and it''s designed to work with all of the other pieces in tandem, said John Ramsay, IEX''s Chief Market Policy Officer. Others support the new developments. "The only one this impacts is the guy whose business model is to rely on speed in somewhat, I would argue, a pernicious manner," Doug Cifu, CEO of trading firm Virtu Financial Inc , said in an interview. (Reporting by John McCrank; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Bill Rigby) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/exchanges-speedbumps-idUSL2N1HB170'|'2017-04-04T19:00:00.000+03:00' +'fc69606ccf57168342a5059d0de0d45bb423319e'|'Tesco recovery gains momentum with profit jump'|'Wed Apr 12, 2017 - 7:39am BST Tesco recovery gains momentum as profit jumps at British supermarket A company logo is pictured outside a Tesco supermarket in Altrincham northern England, April 16, 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble LONDON Tesco ( TSCO.L ), Britain''s biggest retailer, beat forecasts for full-year profit, showing its recovery is picking up pace in a boost to CEO Dave Lewis as he seeks investor backing for his plan to buy wholesaler Booker ( BOK.L ). The supermarket group said on Wednesday it made an operating profit before exceptional items of 1.28 billion pounds ($1.60 billion) in the year to Feb. 25 2017. That was ahead of analysts'' average forecast of 1.26 billion pounds, according to Reuters data, and an increase of 30 percent on the 944 million pounds made in 2015-16. Tesco said UK sales at stores open over a year rose 0.7 percent in the 13 weeks to Feb. 25, its fiscal fourth quarter - a fifth straight quarter of underlying growth. "We are confident that we can build on this strong performance in the year ahead," said Chief Executive Dave Lewis. By 2020, Lewis wants Tesco to earn between 3.5 pence and 4 pence of operating profit for every 1 pound spent by shoppers, up from 2.3 pence in 2016-17 as sales rise and 1.5 billion pounds of costs are cut from the business. The supermarket group needs the results to impress to help it persuade shareholders that it can also make a success of its attempt to buy Booker. Two of its biggest shareholders last month urged it to drop the 3.7 billion pound bid, saying it was overpaying and the deal was a distraction from its turnaround plan. Tesco, whose shares have fallen 5 percent this year, says it remains committed to a deal it believes will provide a new avenue of growth when its recovery is secured. Lewis said on Wednesday the proposed merger would drive additional value for shareholders from substantial synergies, and would enable Tesco to access the faster growing ''out of home'' food market. (Reporting by James Davey, Editing by Paul Sandle)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-tesco-results-idUKKBN17E0JW'|'2017-04-12T14:15:00.000+03:00' +'959963707a9ec131efcbfe30174182c1cf584b46'|'Starbucks profit meets Wall Street view, shares fall'|'Money 2:02am IST Starbucks profit meets Wall Street view, shares fall A employees poses with a cup of water at a Starbucks coffeehouse in Austin, Texas, U.S., February 10, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammad Khursheed By Lisa Baertlein - LOS ANGELES LOS ANGELES Starbucks Corp ( SBUX.O ) reported quarterly profit that matched Wall Street''s estimate on Thursday, but shares fell 3.4 percent in extended trading after spending growth by customers in its core U.S. market cooled. The world''s biggest coffee chain said the average amount spent per order was up 4 percent in the United States during the fiscal second quarter, versus 5 percent in the prior quarter. Sales at U.S. cafes open at least 13 months were up 3 percent for the quarter ended April 2, unchanged from the prior quarter. Traffic, referred to as transactions, fell 2 percent for the second quarter in a row amid a stubborn industry-wide slump. Net income attributed to Starbucks was $652.8 million, or 45 cents per share, for the second quarter, up from $575.1 million, or 39 cents per share, a year earlier. Results from the latest quarter matched the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Shares of Starbucks fell $2.10 to $59.20 in after-hours trade. (Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Matthew Lewis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/starbucks-results-idINKBN17T311'|'2017-04-28T04:17:00.000+03:00' +'576bff6a12fb097663d94c4d234ec84472500bff'|'British PM May sets out plans to protect pensions during takeovers'|'LONDON British Prime Minister Theresa May pledged to protect workers against irresponsible practices over pensions on Sunday, promising new regulations on how schemes are handled during corporate takeovers.May''s Conservative party will give regulators power to examine takeover proposals that threaten the solvency of a company pension scheme, and the regulator could be empowered to block takeovers if it is not satisfied with the arrangements.May set out the policy ahead of an election June 8. So far her pitch to voters has been based around trusting her to deliver Brexit, with parties yet to publish detailed policy plans."Today I am setting out our plans, if elected, to ensure the pensions of ordinary working people are protected against the actions of unscrupulous company bosses," May said in a statement. "Safeguarding pensions to ensure dignity in retirement is about security for families."The pledge comes after high profile cases such as that of BHS, a retailer which was sold by billionaire Philip Green for one pound to a man who had been bankrupt before with no retail experience.Green plugged a pension hole in the now-collapsed group with $451 million earlier this year, following severe criticism over his conduct and calls for his knighthood to be removed.The Conservative''s plans could also see regulators block unsustainable dividend payments that threaten a pension scheme''s solvency, and directors who are found to have wilfully left a scheme under-funded could be fined or even suspended for a period of time.(Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Bernard Orr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-election-may-pensions-idINKBN17W02Z'|'2017-04-30T01:17:00.000+03:00' +'82578e52fd28b5abbdea359400dd9a33ae53dd0a'|'Adidas to mass-produce 3D-printed shoe with Silicon Valley start-up'|'Technology News - Fri Apr 7, 2017 - 12:19am EDT Adidas to mass-produce 3D-printed shoe with Silicon Valley start-up left right The new Adidas Futurecraft shoe is displayed in New York City, New York, U.S. April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Joe Penney 1/8 left right Adidas Executive Board Global Brands member Eric Liedtke holds the new Futurecraft shoe at an unveiling event in New York City, New York, U.S. April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Joe Penney 2/8 left right Carbon 3D printing machines are seen at an unveiling event for the new Adidas Futurecraft shoe in New York City, New York, U.S. April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Joe Penney 3/8 left right People look at the new Adidas Futurecraft shoe at un unveiling event in New York City, New York, U.S. April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Joe Penney 4/8 left right Adidas Executive Board Global Brands member Eric Liedtke holds the new Futurecraft shoe at an unveiling event in New York City, New York, U.S. April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Joe Penney 5/8 left right A sign for the Adidas Futurecraft shoe is seen at the Futurecraft unveiling event in New York City, New York, U.S. April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Joe Penney 6/8 left right An Adidas logo is seen at the new Futurecraft shoe unveiling event in New York City, New York, U.S. April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Joe Penney 7/8 left right The new Adidas Futurecraft shoe is displayed in New York City, New York, U.S. April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Joe Penney 8/8 By Emma Thomasson and Aleksandra Michalska - HERZOGENAURACH, Germany/NEW YORK HERZOGENAURACH, Germany/NEW YORK Adidas launched a new sneaker on Friday with a 3D-printed sole that it plans to mass-produce next year, part of a broader push by the German sportswear firm to react faster to changing fashions and create more customized products. Adidas already lets people customize the color and pattern of shoes ordered online but new 3D printing methods will make small production runs, limited edition shoes and even soles designed to fit an individual''s weight and gait economical. Rivals Nike, Under Armour and New Balance have also been experimenting with 3D printing but have so far only used the technique to make prototypes, soles tailored for sponsored athletes and a handful of high-priced novelty shoes. That''s because traditional 3D printers are slower, more expensive and often create an inferior product than the injection moulds for plastic that are currently used to produce hundreds of millions of shoes each year, mostly in Asia. However, Adidas says its new partnership with Silicon Valley start-up Carbon allows it to overcome many of those difficulties to produce a sole that can rival one made by an injection mould, and at a speed and price that allow for mass production. "This is a milestone not only for us as a company but also for the industry," said Gerd Manz, Adidas head of technology innovation, announcing the launch of its new "Futurecraft 4D" shoe. "We''ve cracked some of the boundaries." Carbon, financed by venture firms such as Sequoia Capital as well as funds set up by General Electric and Alphabet''s Google, has pioneered a technique that prints with light-sensitive polymer resin that is then baked for strength. Standard 3D printers build up products with layers of plastic powder, a method used by Hewlett Packard which is working with Nike and says its newest machines work 10 times faster and at half the cost than earlier models. Adidas hopes to sell 5,000 pairs of its "Futurecraft 4D" this year, and 100,000 next year as Carbon cuts the time it takes to print a sole from the current hour and a half to as low as 20 minutes per sole. The shoes will sell at an unspecified premium price but Adidas plans to lower the cost as the technology develops. Late last year Adidas sold a few hundred pairs of running shoes with soles made by regular 3D printing for $333 but they were relatively rigid and heavy and took 10 hours to print. "WALK BEFORE YOU RUN" Carbon''s technology will allow Adidas to make small batches of shoes far more quickly. Small production runs were not economical before as the metal moulds for most soles need to be used 10,000 times to pay for themselves, and they take four to six weeks to cast and grind. "What you can do is introduce more types of products without a cost penalty," said Terry Wohlers, head of Wohlers Associates, a U.S. consultancy specializing in 3D printing. "With this technology, you can produce one or a few inexpensively." Wohlers expects the 3D printing industry to more than quadruple sales to $26 billion by 2022, driven mostly by the automotive, medical, dental and jewelry sectors. Adidas initially plans batches of shoes tailored to specific sports or cities but hopes consumers will eventually be measured and tested in store to design perfectly-fitting shoes tweaked for an individual''s gait, weight and type of sport. "Individualization will come, but you''ve got to learn to walk before you run," Manz said, citing a survey that shows 80 percent of consumers want to be part of the design process. Adidas last month experimented with a pop-up store where customers could design a custom-fitted sweater and have it knitted in the store. 3D printing will also help cut the time it takes to get new designs to stores from the 12 to 18 months it usually takes for sneakers. To that end, Adidas is also opening factories mainly operated by robots in Germany and the United States. (Editing by David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-adidas-manufacturing-idUSKBN1790F6'|'2017-04-07T12:19:00.000+03:00' +'4bd7d5b0485a425aeafebade4600a4737d90af3b'|'Porsche-Piech clan to stay out of VW management - Porsche chairman'|'Business News - Sat Apr 8, 2017 - 3:45pm BST Porsche-Piech clan to stay out of VW management: Porsche chairman Wolfgang Porsche, member of the Supervisory board of German car maker Volkswagen, addresses a news conference at the company''s headquarters in Wolfburg, Germany October 7, 2015. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt FRANKFURT Members of the Porsche-Piech clan that controls Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) will no longer be eligible to serve as executives of the carmaker, Porsche Automobil Holding SE ( PSHG_p.DE ) Chairman Wolfgang Porsche told a German newspaper. "That no family member is active in the operating business must apply to Porsche SE and the whole Volkswagen group," Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung quoted him as saying in an interview published on Saturday. His comments come after Ferdinand Piech, a member of the clan sold the bulk of his stake in Porsche SE, which owns 52.2 percent of the voting shares in VW, to his younger brother Hans Michel Piech. Piech once had aspirations to lead carmaker Porsche, but his hopes were dashed in the 1970s because the clan did not want a family member at the helm. He went on to hold senior positions at Audi and Mercedes-Benz before rising to chief executive of VW, before it was controlled by the Porsche-Piech families, and eventually supervisory board chairman. Ferdinand Piech''s exit from VW marked an end to the influence of a towering figure in the auto industry who has had a rocky relationship with the company since he was ousted as chairman in 2015, months before the company was engulfed in the diesel emissions test cheating scandal. Hans Michel Piech told Frankfurter Allgemeine that the secret of Porsche''s success was that it brought in outsiders as managers rather than appointing family members. "As a supervisory board member you cannot easily tell a family member what to do. You can talk to a hired manager in a completely different manner," he said. He declined to tell Frankfurter Allgemeine how much he paid for his brother''s stake, which had a market value of about 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion). Asked who would fill Ferdinand Piech''s seat on VW''s supervisory board, he said: "I still have to think about who will get that position." Both Wolfgang Porsche and Hans Michel Piech are also members of VW''s supervisory board. (Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by David Holmes and Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-piech-porsche-hldg-idUKKBN17A0BL'|'2017-04-08T18:32:00.000+03:00' +'9aeabf3e157e30bc5b77950c9b79a481355f519c'|'Answerphone hackers rack up 5,000 in calls all charged to us - Money'|'I work for a small charity in Benwell, Newcastle, where we have been the victim of phone system hacking that has resulted in a bill of almost 5,000 over a four-day period. We have been informed by our phone system supplier, Chaser Communications, that the hackers gained remote access to our phone system via our answering machine, and were somehow able to route calls to Syria at a premium rate. We have reported it to our local police and Action Fraud, but this has been no help. Our insurer has said we are not covered for a cyber attack, while Chaser says it will have to pass on the charges to us. As a charity we cannot afford this loss and are concerned to warn others that they may be vulnerable. We have had the voicemail disconnected, which reduces the service we can offer as we do not have full-time reception volunteers. JM, Newcastle upon Tyne Dial-through fraud, where criminals attack private branch exchange systems used by small businesses, is a little-known scam that has cost companies millions in the past five years.Chaser says it took every precaution and has agreed to reduce the bill to 4,000 and spread the payments. We feel we have done everything to help, says a spokesperson. We secured the system to manufacturers standards, but no system is 100% secure.The telecoms ombudsman says it has seen a steady trickle of similar complaints and, during its investigations, it examines whether the service provider in your case Chaser could be liable. Since Chaser set up and managed your system, including the passcode, you should seek a letter of deadlock from Chaser and take your case to the ombudsman in the hope of a better outcome.If you need help email Anna Tims at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number. Topics Scams Your problems with Anna Tims Consumer rights Consumer affairs Hacking Telecommunications industry Charities features Share Reuse this content'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/apr/07/answerphone-hackers-charity-calls-fraud-chaser-communications'|'2017-04-07T15:00:00.000+03:00' +'e4977654f4c3c4359de7a9014d967c5eb039d1f7'|'METALS-London copper hovers above 2017 low as China stocks weigh'|'Market News - Thu Apr 20, 2017 - 3:14am EDT METALS-London copper hovers above 2017 low as China stocks weigh (Adds detail, updates prices) By Melanie Burton MELBOURNE, April 20 London copper rose on Thursday but was still not far from its lowest for the year after China''s refined production surged in March, underlining ample stocks in the world''s biggest metals consumer. China''s refined copper output rose 8.5 percent in March from a year ago to its highest since at least December 2015. "The emergence of opportunistic buying should see the recent selloff in metal markets come to an end," ANZ said in a report. * LME COPPER: Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 1 percent at $5,609 a tonne by 0703 GMT, after closing slightly lower in the previous session when prices hit the weakest since early January at $5,530 a tonne. * SHFE COPPER: Shanghai Futures Exchange copper pared losses to close down 0.2 percent at 45,560 yuan ($6,616)a tonne. * CHINA OUTPUT: China''s refined copper output rose 8.5 percent in March from a year ago to 764,000 tonnes, its highest since at least December 2015, while aluminium and iron ore output levels were the lowest in months, according to the National Statistics Bureau. * NICKEL: Short-dated nickel contracts have surged this week, reflecting a lack of immediately available supply. Nickel for tomorrow next day (tom/next) delivery traded as high as $10 this week and $7.50 last, the highest since December CMNIT-O. * ZINC: ShFE zinc rallied 3.3 percent, away from near year-to-date lows, as steel prices cut losses. Shfe nickel was up 1 percent and Shfe lead up 2.3 percent. * CHINA CAPITAL: Capital outflows from China eased sharply in the first quarter and cross border flows were more balanced, the foreign exchange regulator said on Thursday, in the latest official comments indicating policymakers are growing less worried about the yuan currency. * JAPAN ECONOMY: Confidence among Japanese manufacturers has risen for an eighth straight month to a level not seen since before the 2008 global financial crisis, a Reuters survey found, reflecting output and export gains led by overseas economic recovery. * INVESTORS: Total global commodity assets under management (AUM) fell to $277 billion in March from $282 billion the month before, Barclays said in a note. * RIO TINTO: Rio Tinto cut its copper guidance to 500,000-550,000 tonnes from as much as 665,000 tonnes as a result of a strike at the Escondida mine in Chile and the curtailment of production at the Grasberg mine in Indonesia. MARKETS: Asian stocks erased early losses and edged higher on Thursday as steadying commodity prices, especially crude oil, prompted some bargain hunting by investors. PRICES BASE METALS PRICES 0705 GMT Three month LME copper 5613 Most active ShFE copper 45550 Three month LME aluminium 1930 Most active ShFE aluminium 14335 Three month LME zinc 2607 Most active ShFE zinc 21655 Three month LME lead 2172 Most active ShFE lead 16150 Three month LME nickel 9495 Most active ShFE nickel 79680 Three month LME tin 19840 Most active ShFE tin 140820 BASE METALS ARBITRAGE LME/SHFE COPPER LMESHFCUc3 372.1 LME/SHFE ALUMINIUM LMESHFALc3 -1124.6 LME/SHFE ZINC LMESHFZNc3 287.13 LME/SHFE LEAD LMESHFPBc3 -1856.6 LME/SHFE NICKEL LMESHFNIc3 771.91 ($1 = 6.8860 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri and Subhranshu Sahu) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/global-metals-idUSL3N1HS2RU'|'2017-04-20T15:14:00.000+03:00' +'60037489e62ec8a39086c8540c6a115e3e0274f1'|'German ministry advisers see risks in ECB''s zero-interest policy'|' 42pm BST German ministry advisers see risks in ECB''s zero-interest policy European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, July 29, 2016. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski BERLIN Academic advisers to Germany''s economy ministry said the European Central Bank''s zero-interest rate policy posed grave risks to the financial system. In a report to be published Wednesday seen by Reuters, they also rejected calls for moves toward a cashless society, whose impact on illegal activity they concluded would be limited. "The monetary policy pursued by the European Central Bank since 2014 is not commensurate with the risks," the experts wrote. They said the policy was aimed exclusively at stimulating lending and economic growth by lowering interest rates, while disregarding the resulting burdens for the financial sector. "The financial system sees interest rates of zero or less than zero as very problematic for various reasons," the advisers said in their report. This policy - and the continuing growth of loans with too-low interest rates - have dampened profit margins in the sector and raised the risk that necessary reforms would not be carried out, it said. "The longer the ...policy ...continues, the greater are the risks for the financial sector," the report said. German officials have long been critical of the ECB''s ultra-low interest rates but broader pressure for a tightening of policy has grown in recent months with inflation in the euro zone rebounding. The report said that many financial institutions, including insurance companies, were having trouble generating any profits and covering their costs as a result of the ultra-low rates. The council also opposed the idea of a cashless society, calls for which have been triggered by the development of new payments methods, efforts to halt illegal activities related to cash, and concerns about the impact of cash on monetary policy. "The council views upper limits for cash payments very critically. There is a concern that such upper limits would mainly affect normal citizens and normal activities since shadow economies and criminals can easily evade surveillance or find alternate payment methods," the report said. "...It would ... have a limited impact" on illegal activity. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble last year suggested limiting cash transactions of more than 5,000 euros to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism, but the proposal ran into opposition across Germany. ECB President Mario Draghi underscored the importance of cash as a form of payment during the rollout of a new 50 euro banknote. He said three-quarters of euro zone payments were made in cash, and it remained essential for the economy. The council of academic advisers provides guidance to the economy minister but its recommendations are not binding. (Reporting by Gernot Heller; Writing by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Jon Boyle and John Stonestreet) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-rates-germany-idUKKBN1762D2'|'2017-04-05T01:42:00.000+03:00' +'70c633c7b6ac9e79a84c61cd42fa1b4612cb9a08'|'UnitedHealth plans for costly Obamacare tax in 2018'|'Money News - Tue Apr 18, 2017 - 11:59pm IST UnitedHealth plans for costly Obamacare tax in 2018 The logo of Down Jones Industrial Average stock market index listed company UnitedHealthcare is shown in Cypress, California April 13, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake/Files By Caroline Humer and Ankur Banerjee UnitedHealth Group Inc reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results on Tuesday and said it was coping with uncertainty in U.S. healthcare laws by pricing its 2018 insurance plans to include a costly Obamacare tax. President Donald Trump and other Republicans have vowed to repeal Obamacare, formally known as the Affordable Care Act, but have been unable to agree on a law to do that. That means the 3 percent tax collected on all health insurance plans, currently on a hiatus, is due to take effect again next year. As a result, U.S. health insurers are uncertain about how to price their plans and what benefits to include in 2018. Those selling Obamacare individual plans are particularly affected by these and other regulatory questions, but UnitedHealth''s comments show that the lack of certainty has broad reach for the industry. UnitedHealth, the biggest U.S. health insurer, pulled out of the individual insurance market created under Obamacare this year. The health insurance tax affects pricing and benefits for all healthcare plans, including small business and government policies, which UnitedHealth must submit to state and federal regulators in the next few months. "Our plans continue to assume the tax will return in 2018, which will raise premiums and/or reduce benefits for commercial businesses, states and our nations senior population," UnitedHealth Chief Executive Officer Stephen Hemsley said during a conference call with investors to discuss earnings. The company said first-quarter results benefited from strength across its businesses, and it raised its profit and revenue forecasts for the year. The company''s shares were up less than 1 percent at $168.27. "This is a great quarter, and there is a lot of upside this year," but uncertainty about U.S. tax policy could create obstacles next year, Leerink analyst Ana Gupte said. Trump has pledged to overhaul taxes, but details are unclear. UnitedHealth said net earnings rose to $2.17 billion, or $2.23 per share, from $1.61 billion, or $1.67 per share, a year earlier. Excluding special items, the company earned $2.37 per share, beating the analysts'' average estimate of $2.17, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Revenue rose 9.4 percent to $48.73 billion. The company had 2.5 million more people across its insurance plans, offset by a loss of 900,000 who were in individual Obamacare plans. That market withdrawal, and the 2017 health insurance tax hiatus, reduced consolidated revenue by about $1.6 billion for the quarter, UnitedHealth said. (Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/unitedhealth-results-idINKBN17K298'|'2017-04-18T16:29:00.000+03:00' +'3cc8999f609ee2ce563aa9a9ef27cd373724ed27'|'RPT-Hackers exploited Word flaw for months while Microsoft investigated'|'Company News - Thu Apr 27, 2017 - 7:00am EDT RPT-Hackers exploited Word flaw for months while Microsoft investigated (Repeats with no changes to headline or text) By Joseph Menn SAN FRANCISCO, April 26 To understand why it is so difficult to defend computers from even moderately capable hackers, consider the case of the security flaw officially known as CVE-2017-0199. The bug was unusually dangerous but of a common genre: it was in Microsoft software, could allow a hacker to seize control of a personal computer with little trace, and was fixed April 11 in Microsoft''s regular monthly security update. But it had traveled a rocky, nine-month journey from discovery to resolution, which cyber security experts say is an unusually long time. Google''s security researchers, for example, give vendors just 90 days'' warning before publishing flaws they find. Microsoft Corp declined to say how long it usually takes to patch a flaw. While Microsoft investigated, hackers found the flaw and manipulated the software to spy on unknown Russian speakers, possibly in Ukraine. And a group of thieves used it to bolster their efforts to steal from millions of online bank accounts in Australia and other countries. Those conclusions and other details emerged from interviews with researchers at cyber security firms who studied the events and analyzed versions of the attack code. Microsoft confirmed the sequence of events. The tale began last July, when Ryan Hanson, a 2010 Idaho State University graduate and consultant at boutique security firm Optiv Inc in Boise, found a weakness in the way that Microsoft Word processes documents from another format. That allowed him to insert a link to a malicious program that would take control of a computer. COMBINING FLAWS Hanson spent some months combining his find with other flaws to make it more deadly, he said on Twitter. Then in October he told Microsoft. The company often pays a modest bounty of a few thousands dollars for the identification of security risks. Soon after that point six months ago, Microsoft could have fixed the problem, the company acknowledged. But it was not that simple. A quick change in the settings on Word by customers would do the trick, but if Microsoft notified customers about the bug and the recommended changes, it would also be telling hackers about how to break in. Alternatively, Microsoft could have created a patch that would be distributed as part of its monthly software updates. But the company did not patch immediately and instead dug deeper. It was not aware that anyone was using Hanson''s method, and it wanted to be sure it had a comprehensive solution. "We performed an investigation to identify other potentially similar methods and ensure that our fix addresses more than just the issue reported," Microsoft said through a spokesman, who answered emailed questions on the condition of anonymity. "This was a complex investigation." Hanson declined interview requests. The saga shows that Microsoft''s progress on security issues, as well as that of the software industry as a whole, remains uneven in an era when the stakes are growing dramatically. The United States has accused Russia of hacking political party emails to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, a charge Russia denies, while shadowy hacker groups opposed to the U.S. government have been publishing hacking tools used by the Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency. ATTACKS BEGIN It is unclear how the unknown hackers initially found Hanson''s bug. It could have been through simultaneous discovery, a leak in the patching process, or even hacking against Optiv or Microsoft. In January, as Microsoft worked on a solution, the attacks began. The first known victims were sent emails enticing them to click on a link to documents in Russian about military issues in Russia and areas held by Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine, researchers said. Their computers were then infected with eavesdropping software made by Gamma Group, a private company that sells to agencies of many governments. The best guess of cyber security experts is that one of Gamma''s customers was trying to get inside the computers of soldiers or political figures in Ukraine or Russia; either of those countries, or any of their neighbors or allies, could have been responsible. Such government espionage is routine. The initial attacks were carefully aimed at a small number of targets and so stayed below the radar. But in March, security researchers at FireEye Inc noticed that a notorious piece of financial hacking software known as Latenbot was being distributed using the same Microsoft bug. FireEye probed further, found the earlier Russian-language attacks, and warned Microsoft. The company, which confirmed it was first warned of active attacks in March, got on track for an April 11 patch. Then, what counts as disaster in the world of bug-fixers struck. Another security firm, McAfee, saw some attacks using the Microsoft Word flaw on April 6. After what it described as "quick but in-depth research," it established that the flaw had not been patched, contacted Microsoft, and then blogged about its discovery on April 7. The blog post contained enough detail that other hackers could mimic the attacks. Other software security professionals were aghast that McAfee did not wait, as Optiv and FireEye were doing, until the patch came out. McAfee Vice President Vincent Weafer blamed "a glitch in our communications with our partner Microsoft" for the timing. He did not elaborate. By April 9, a program to exploit the flaw was on sale on underground markets for criminal hackers, said FireEye researcher John Hultquist. The next day, attacks were mainstream. Someone used it to send documents booby-trapped with Dridex banking-fraud software to millions of computers in Australia. Finally, on the Tuesday, about six months after hearing from Hanson, Microsoft made the patch available. As always, some computer owners are lagging behind and have not installed it. Ben-Gurion University employees in Israel were hacked, after the patch, by attackers linked to Iran who took over their email accounts and sent infected documents to their contacts at technology companies and medical professionals, said Michael Gorelik, vice president of cyber security firm Morphisec. When Microsoft patched, it thanked Hanson, a FireEye researcher and its own staff. A six-month delay is bad but not unheard of, said Marten Mickos, chief executive of HackerOne, which coordinates patching efforts between researchers and vendors. "Normal fixing times are a matter of weeks," Mickos said. Privately-held Optiv said through a spokeswoman that it usually gives vendors 45 days to make fixes before publishing research when appropriate, and that it "materially followed" that practice in this case. Optiv is now comparing the details of what Hanson told Microsoft with what the spies and criminals used in the wild, trying to find out if the researcher''s work was partly responsible for the worldwide hacking spree, the spokeswoman said. The spree included one or more people who created a hacking tool for what FireEye''s Hultquist said is probably a national government - and then appearing to double-dip by also selling it to a criminal group. If the patching took time, others who learned of the flaw moved quickly. On the final weekend before the patch, the criminals could have sold it along to the Dridex hackers, or the original makers could have cashed in a third time, Hultquist said, effectively staging a last clearance sale before it lost peak effectiveness. It is unclear how many people were ultimately infected or how much money was stolen. (Reporting by Joseph Menn; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Grant McCool)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/microsoft-cyber-idUSL1N1HY2I4'|'2017-04-27T19:00:00.000+03:00' +'0c4ed41e4ab4fa9d1f4d4731f7cfa6b8954fa68a'|'TUC chief calls for changes to post-Brexit trade dispute court - Business'|'A post Brexit trade deal should be governed by a brand-new court system that is fairer to workers, the head of the TUC has said.Frances OGrady said Britain and the EU had a chance to do things differently when it comes to the arbitration courts that make judgments on trade disputes.The Investor-State dispute settlement, the little-known system for resolving trade disputes which has existed since the 1960s, underpins thousands of European contracts. Critics, led by trade unions, have long argued the system awards too much power to corporations at the expense of the public interest, while not giving enough protection to workers and consumers.The TUC general secretary said there was a chance to change this system, when Britain negotiates a trade deal with the EU. Britain cannot sign any trade deal until it leaves the EU, most likely in 2019, but unions want to place the issue on the agenda now.Don''t make ordinary workers pay for Brexit, TUC urges government Read more There is an opportunity to do this one differently, to ensure that workers rights are seen as a core standards, rather than an add on, that any arbitration mechanism is not only transparent, but fair, OGrady said. I hope people have learnt lessons from trade deals, like TTIP and Ceta, and public concern over arbitration mechanisms, she said arguing that both the EU-US deal and EU-Canada one, treated workers and consumers like second-class citizens.The European commission has strongly rejected claims that it downgrades workers rights. The comprehensive and economic trade agreement with Canada was described as the gold standard of global trade deals, with more government oversight than any earlier agreement.Responding to critics of the ISDS system, the EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrm, devised a new kind of special court for resolving disputes, where judges would be appointed by governments rather than disputing parties.OGrady said that the arbitration mechanism in Ceta was better than those that came before but had not fundamentally addressed unions concerns. If you are going to have standards for goods and services, why not have standards for labour as well, to make sure there is a level playing field and you dont get competition on the back of workers being treated badly.OGrady was speaking to the Guardian in Brussels, where she also called on Theresa May to face down Brexit fundamentalists in the Conservative party who want to use Britains EU departure to start a bonfire of regulations.Speaking in-between meetings with EU officials, she said she was pleased with the EUs Brexit guidelines and the European parliaments resolution, which both put European negotiators on guard against unfair competition from Britain. The EU guidelines draft to be agreed by EU leaders at the end of April call for safeguards against unfair competitive advantages through fiscal, social and environmental dumping.Arguably, the TUCs trickier task is to lobby the British government, as debate rages about what kind of economy post-Brexit Britain should be.On the steps of Downing Street in her first speech as prime minister , May promised to fight the burning injustice of poverty. But the governments message was clouded when Philip Hammond suggested the UK could turn itself into a tax haven if it didnt get a good Brexit deal .Amid concern that Brexit will drown out the governments domestic agenda, OGrady said she didnt expect much from this years Queens speech, but stressed the prime minister would be under pressure to deliver on her Downing Street speech, after raising expectations about help for people from an ordinary working-class family. She is going to have to have something compelling to inspire confidence that peoples lives are going to get better.The prime minister, OGrady added, could not afford another hiccough, such as the apparent watering down of proposals to put workers on company boards. OGrady said last years proposals were disappointing but the issue was not completely dead yet.Topics International trade TUC Frances O''Grady Trade unions Global economy Economics news '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/apr/16/tuc-chief-frances-ogrady-change-post-brexit-eu-trade-court'|'2017-04-16T21:09:00.000+03:00' +'32da86e7b37d1b4b0beaf2fe01595d30270449e7'|'Akzo Nobel beats on first quarter operating profit, sees 2017 growth'|'Wed Apr 19, 2017 - 6:23am BST Akzo Nobel beats on first-quarter operating profit, sees 2017 growth FILE PHOTO: AkzoNobel''s logo is seen in Amsterdam, Netherlands, February 16, 2012. REUTERS/Robin van Lonkhuijsen/United Photos/File Photo AMSTERDAM/LONDON Akzo Nobel ( AKZO.AS ), the Dutch paint-maker struggling to avoid a 24.6 billion euro ($26.4 billion) takeover by U.S. rival PPG Industries Inc ( PPG.N ), on Wednesday reported better than expected operating profit for the first quarter. Operating profit was up 13 percent to 376 million euros from 334 million euros in the same period a year earlier. Analysts polled for Reuters had put the figure at 337 million euros. Akzo is due to release details of its plan to sell its chemicals division and remain independent later on Wednesday. (Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Stephen Coates)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-akzo-nobel-results-idUKKBN17L0DO'|'2017-04-19T13:21:00.000+03:00' +'907f49549710f549f969d2f9f04ce9d4b1d13f78'|'Dijsselbloem says he will remain head of eurogroup until mandate ends'|' 29am BST Dijsselbloem says he will remain head of eurogroup until mandate ends Dutch Finance Minister and Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem talks to the media as he arrives at European Union finance ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium February 21, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir VALLETTA The head of the eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, said on Friday he did not intend to resign before his mandate ends in January, his latest attempt to put down calls for him to quit. Dijsselbloem has been under fire since the end of March after he made comments in a German newspaper interview that were seen as derogatory to southern Europeans and that the Portuguese prime minister Antonio Costa called "xenophobic". On his arrival to an informal meeting of euro zone finance ministers in Malta, Dijsselbloem repeated he did not intend to quit. "I am available to finish my mandate," he told reporters. His term as chair of the eurogroup ends in January. He has held the post since 2013, helping to steer the currency union through its worst crisis since its creation. The criticism of his controversial remarks, which he said were not meant to offend anybody, followed a defeat of Dijsselbloem''s center-left party in the March general elections in the Netherlands, which may force him out from his post as Dutch finance minister. But talks to form a new coalition government in the Netherlands are likely to go on "for quite a while," Dijsselbloem said, hinting that a compromise may not come before January. Eurogroup chairs have always been finance or economics ministers, but no rules prevent incumbents from staying on if they lose their ministerial job. Dijsselbloem also said he would speak before the European Parliament''s plenary on April 27, a move to end lawmakers'' uproar after he declined to appear in the chamber of the Strasbourg-based legislature this week. Dijsselbloem often appears before the economic affairs committee of the European parliament but has so far repeatedly declined to speak before the whole chamber. (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio, editing by Larry King)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-eurogroup-dijsselbloem-idUKKBN1791CC'|'2017-04-07T17:27:00.000+03:00' +'e9a01994b2ad29cbfae76337a166e971d99c8f83'|'BRIEF-Activist hedge fund CIAM says Euro Disney''s buyout offer not fair for minority investors'|'Company News 35am EDT BRIEF-Activist hedge fund CIAM says Euro Disney''s buyout offer not fair for minority investors April 18 Euro Disney/CIAM: * CIAM says 2 euros per share buyout offer for Euro Disney''s minority shareholders is not fair * CIAM says thinks minimum acceptable price is 2.50 euros/share * Walt Disney is in process of taking full control of debt-ridden Paris theme park operator Euro Disney * Walt Disney has said it would support a recapitalisation of up to 1.5 billion euros, helping cut debt and improve Euro Disney''s financial position. * Minority shareholders will be offered 2 euros a share to sell their stake to Walt Disney - a 67 percent premium to Euro Disney''s share price on Feb 9, which was the day before the offer was announced. * Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal also involved in Walt Disney''s plans to take full control of Euro Disney'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-activist-hedge-fund-ciam-says-euro-idUSL8N1HQ1YM'|'2017-04-18T17:35:00.000+03:00' +'1f6eb15d509e145da6e5aec8d16855ea2c8dc456'|'Air France expands Asia links with Singapore Airlines tie-up'|' 16pm BST Air France expands Asia links with Singapore Airlines tie-up The tail of an Air France airplane is seen as it taxies past a control tower at the Charles-de-Gaulle airport in Roissy during an air traffic controller strike, near Paris, France, March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann Air France-KLM ( AIRF.PA ) has signed a code share deal with Singapore Airlines ( SIAL.SI ) to boost its network to Asia, following a similar move by rival Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) with Cathay Pacific ( 0293.HK ) as European airlines battle back against rival Gulf carriers. Both Air France and Lufthansa have been vocal critics of the Gulf airlines, saying their expansion has led them to terminate services to destinations in the Middle East, Asia and in particular India over recent years. But with carriers such as Emirates and Etihad suffering from signs of weaker demand caused partly by currency fluctuations, European carriers are fighting back. Air France said on Thursday that it would add its AF code to Singapore Airlines flights from Singapore to Melbourne and Sydney, and on three routes to Malaysia and Thailand operated by regional subsidiary Silkair. In exchange, Singapore Airlines will add its SQ code to 10 Air France flights from Paris'' Charles de Gaulle airport. The Air France-Singapore Airlines agreement is also similar to that signed by Lufthansa last month in that it sees airlines from rival alliances working together. Air France is in the Skyteam alliance, while Singapore is in Star Alliance. "This kind of partnership is part of our aim to expand our market position and increase our range of destinations for our customers all around the world," said Patrick Roux, Senior Vice-President Alliances at Air France-KLM, in a statement. The two carriers will also consider expanding the code share to other airlines within their groups, Air France-KLM said in a statement. (Reporting by Victoria Bryan in Berlin; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-air-france-klm-singapore-airlin-codes-idUKKBN17F1NT'|'2017-04-13T21:16:00.000+03:00' +'7973da5e1829807a819fb1ee66729c077974c1bb'|'Alaska officials report oil leak in beluga whale habitat'|'U.S. - Sun Apr 2, 2017 - 8:04pm EDT Alaska officials report oil leak in beluga whale habitat By Devika Krishna Kumar Alaska officials reported an oil leak from an underwater pipeline late on Saturday that was within habitat designated as critical for endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales. The leak originated from an eight-inch pipeline connecting two Hilcorp Energy production platforms in the Upper Cook Inlet. Hilcorp shut down both platforms following the leak and the pipeline is now operating at reduced pressure, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) said. Hilcorp estimated that fewer than 10 gallons of oil have been released, but ADEC has not confirmed that figure, spill prevention and response director Kristin Ryan said on Sunday. "We do not know if it''s still leaking," Ryan said. "The reduced pressure should minimize the amount being released from the leak and we have not seen sheening since that time, but we have not been able to confirm." Hilcorp did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The population of belugas that swim off the coast of Alaska''s largest city was listed as endangered in 2008 by the federal government and more than 3,000 square miles have been protected as critical habitat since 2011. The spill occurred in an area that is also home to other endangered mammals including the Steller sea lion and the humpback whale. The ADEC has not seen any impact to wildlife yet. Three overhead flights were conducted on Saturday with no animals seen where sheening had occurred or near the pipeline, Ryan said. The cause of the leak was unknown and being investigated, ADEC said. The line can hold 461 barrels of oil at full capacity. Hilcorp last week shut two Alaskan oil production platforms after reducing pressure on a leaking natural gas pipeline in Cook Inlet. [nL2N1H50Z5] The two incidents are unrelated, ADEC said. The Center for Biological Diversity said in a statement on Sunday it had sent Hilcorp a 60-day notice of its intent to sue for the gas leak, and is monitoring the oil leak to determine whether additional legal action is warranted. "We''re really worried about what this means for Cook Inlet belugas with the double whammy of an oil spill and gas leak in the same season," Miyoko Sakashita, oceans program director for the Center for Biological Diversity said in an emailed statement. Hilcorp has hired a diving contactor to investigate the line and make repairs and it is anticipated that this work can be conducted late next week, ADEC said. (Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar in New York; Additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli) Next In U.S.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-alaska-oilspill-hilcorp-idUSKBN175001'|'2017-04-03T07:56:00.000+03:00' +'dd1b75cdf7e8d939d9c82e7140b1d6cf853c4a2c'|'Nokia beats market expectations in first quarter'|'Company News - 17am EDT Nokia beats market expectations in first quarter HELSINKI, April 27 Finnish network equipment maker Nokia reported on Thursday a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by cost-cuts, and repeated its forecast for falling network sales in 2017. First-quarter group earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) fell 1 percent from a year ago to 341 million euros ($372 million) due to drop in spending by telecom operators, but beat analysts'' average forecast of 334 million euros in a Reuters poll. Nokia said it expected sales at its networks unit to decline this year in line with the market, but added that the business momentum was improving. "We slowed the rate of topline decline and generated healthy orders in what is typically a seasonally weak quarter for us... We saw encouraging stabilization in Mobile Networks topline," Chief Executive Rajeev Suri said in a statement. ($1 = 0.9170 euros) (Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl and Tuomas Forsell in Helsinki, additional reporting by Helena Soderpalm in Stockholm)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/nokia-results-idUSFWN1HY1CP'|'2017-04-27T13:17:00.000+03:00' +'2b1c34731c5e38b6e7260867b64e2ff12648558d'|'Norwegian Air adds budget transatlantic flights from two U.S. airports'|' 7:11pm EDT Norwegian Air adds budget transatlantic flights from two U.S. airports FILE PHOTO - A satellite antenna is seen on the roof of the Norwegian Airways Boening 737-800 at Berlin Schoenefeld Airport, Germany, April 2, 2015. REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski/File Photo By Alana Wise Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA ( NWC.OL ) will launch nonstop transatlantic flights from two more U.S. airports this fall, the airline announced on Wednesday, ramping up pressure on larger carriers to compete with the emerging low-fare airline. Beginning in mid-September, Norwegian will offer nonstop flights from Denver International and Seattle-Tacoma International airports to London''s Gatwick Airport, bringing the carrier''s total number of nonstop United States-to-London flights to nine routes. An escalating fare war to court transatlantic passengers has pushed down ticket prices even among established carriers. Air France ( AIRF.PA ) and International Consolidated Airlines Group SA ( ICAG.L ), which owns British Airways and Iberia, have both announced plans for low-cost flights to compete with budget upstarts like Norwegian. Lufthansa is expanding services to long-haul cost-conscious travelers through its Eurowings business. Norwegian''s U.S. network expansion comes after the carrier received a long-awaited U.S. approval in December for its Irish subsidiary, Norwegian Air International, to operate routes across the Atlantic. U.S. airlines and unions representing industry workers have argued that the Norwegian subsidiary will undermine wages and working standards - claims Norwegian has dismissed. "With our continuous U.S. expansion, we also bring even more tourists to the U.S. and support American jobs," Thomas Ramdahl, Norwegians Chief Commercial Officer, To keep costs low, Norwegian typically flies to and from smaller airports with lower fees. Norwegian spokesman Anders Lindstrom said that while the carrier was expanding the international travel market to passengers who otherwise could not afford pricey transatlantic flights, it was also siphoning away customers who were "fed up" with high-priced tickets at other airlines. Prices for the new Denver and Washington state routes begin at $199 for a one-way no-frills ticket, but passengers can spring for a seat in the premium cabin, which includes checked baggage, seat reservation and other perks, starting at $839. No nonstop flights appear between Denver International and Gatwick on Google Flights, but ticket prices for indirect flights start at just over $500 for a one-way, mid-September ticket. Norwegian Air''s expansion strategy has helped it to more than double revenue since 2012. Last year revenue rose 16 percent to 26 billion Norwegian crowns ($3.12 billion) and the company has placed orders for 260 aircraft from Boeing and Airbus, which it will receive over several years. Norwegian said it planned to continue to grow its U.S. route network, calling Paris "a natural next step" for Denver and Seattle. (Reporting by Alana Wise; Editing by Andrew Hay) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-norweg-air-shut-transatlantic-idUSKBN17730V'|'2017-04-06T07:11:00.000+03:00' +'30ee942a85ec0c6a1310592df8b93db4cd51d810'|'Some oil companies in Venezuela pull expats as unrest escalates -sources'|'Business News - Tue Apr 25, 2017 - 9:31pm BST Some oil companies in Venezuela pull expats as unrest escalates -sources left right The corporate logo of Repsol is seen in their office in Caracas, Venezuela April 25, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins 1/2 left right The corporate logo of Repsol is seen in their office in Caracas, Venezuela April 25, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins 2/2 By Marianna Parraga and Alexandra Ulmer - HOUSTON/CARACAS HOUSTON/CARACAS As political turmoil in Venezuela mounts, oil firms including Norwegian major Statoil ASA ( STL.OL ) and Spain''s Repsol SA ( REP.MC ) have further reduced their already-dwindling ranks of expatriate employees in the country, sources familiar with the situation said. Statoil, Repsol and Chevron Corp ( CVX.N ) are among the foreign oil companies that hold minority stakes in more than 40 joint ventures with state-run Petroleos de Venezuela [PDVSA.UL] (PDVSA), providing cash-strapped Venezuela with crucial crude production and income amid a debilitating economic crisis. Venezuela, South America''s largest oil exporter, has been pummeled by a brutal economic crisis that has millions skipping meals, unable to afford soaring prices for basic goods and facing long lines for scarce products. More than a dozen people have been killed during near daily clashes this month between security forces and protesters calling for elections, the release of jailed activists, and autonomy for the opposition-led congress. At least 10 people have also died during night-time looting. Leftist President Nicolas Maduro has accused the protesters of plotting a coup against him. There are no reports of the unrest affecting operations in Venezuela''s often isolated oil fields, but some firms have been spooked by frequent barricades blocking streets and National Guard forces firing tear gas in capital Caracas, where foreign oil companies are usually based. Statoil, which has a joint venture in the country''s Orinoco Belt extra-heavy crude region, has withdrawn its five to six expatriate staff that remained in the country, two sources said. Statoil''s website says it has 30 employees in Venezuela including local staff, although it was not clear how many were native Venezuelans. Some expatriate staff with family at Repsol, which has a 40 percent stake in the Petroquiriquire joint venture with PDVSA and also participates in the Orinoco, have recently left the country, although others remain, two separate sources said. Repsol has about 10 non-Venezuelan employees. The sources all spoke within the past few days and requested anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. Statoil said it has been following the situation to guarantee the safety of its staff, including local employees and expatriates. Its operations are proceeding as normal, it added. Repsol did not respond to requests for information. Chevron declined to comment on security and personnel issues. Russia''s Rosneft ( ROSN.MM ) told Reuters on Tuesday that "the inner political situation in Venezuela does not affect the operation of the joint venture. The works are carried out as scheduled." HIGH-RISK OPERATION The turmoil underlines the difficulty oil companies encounter maintaining operations in high-risk countries from Latin America to Africa to the Middle East. Such markets typically compel the firms to pay premium salaries for expats and employ specialized security staff to protect their families. Chevron last year advised expats living in Venezuela with their families to transfer to other locations, company sources said, part of a gradual winnowing down of expat staff as life grew more difficult there. Venezuela''s crime epidemic has long plagued foreign staffs. Worsening shortages of goods are also making the country increasingly inhospitable. Top Chinese oil executives nearly all relocated to neighbouring Colombia about a year ago because they were frequently targeted by kidnappers, a source said. Foreign oil executives who remain in Caracas are typically restricted to living in certain areas, sometimes banned from travelling after dark, and compelled to move around in armoured vehicles. The recent moves by foreign oil companies recall an exit of foreign staff from oil majors in Venezuela amid heightened protests in 2014. Those demonstrations ultimately wilted due to protester fatigue, a tough government response, and because unrest largely failed to spread to poorer areas. At Chevron, which participates in two oil projects in the Orinoco Belt, expats are staying put for now but the company has been monitoring looting to decide whether to change their status, another source said. The U.S. embassy in Caracas last week recommended its citizens living in Venezuela avoid areas where demonstrations may erupt spontaneously as protests may result in violence. (Writing by Christian Plumb; Editing by Matthew Lewis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-venezuela-politics-energy-idUKKBN17R2QX'|'2017-04-26T04:31:00.000+03:00' +'a6612034ff6f3867c412351a9731cd34967e8c11'|'More signs of UK slowdown appear as Brexit gets under way'|' 2:45pm BST More signs of UK slowdown appear as Brexit gets under way FILE PHOTO: People walk through the the Canary Wharf financial district in London, Britain, February 3, 2012. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/File Photo By Andy Bruce and Alistair Smout - LONDON LONDON Signs that Britain''s economy is slowing as it prepares to leave the European Union hardened on Friday, as official data showed a surprise drop in industrial output and construction in February and a mixed performance for trade. Sterling slid to a one-week low against the dollar after industrial output dipped 0.7 percent in February, worse than all forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists, which had pointed to a 0.2 percent increase. Output fell 0.3 percent in January. A surprisingly large goods trade deficit - albeit distorted by imports of high-value goods like gold and aircraft - and a slump in construction added to evidence that Britain''s economic growth rate peaked toward the end of last year. Britain''s National Institute of Economic and Social Research estimated that Friday''s data suggested growth in the first three months of 2017 would slow to 0.5 percent from a robust 0.7 percent in the last three months of 2016. There are already signs that rising inflation, caused in part by the pound''s post-Brexit vote tumble, is crimping spending by consumers, the main drivers of the economy, just as Prime Minister Theresa May begins Britain''s EU divorce talks. Underlining the caution among households, mortgage lender Halifax reported the weakest house price growth in nearly four years and a survey of recruiters showed staff were nervous about switching jobs ahead of Brexit. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, speaking at Thomson Reuters'' London office on Friday, said he would keep a close eye on whether consumer demand weakens in line with the central bank''s expectations. "Today''s deluge of UK economic data was fairly disappointing and adds to the evidence that the economy has lost some momentum during Q1," said Ruth Gregory, economist at Capital Economics. The latest data from the Office for National Statistics suggested manufacturing was not making up for a consumer spending slowdown as some economists had hoped following the pound''s drop. Output in manufacturing, a component of industrial output which accounts for about 10 percent of Britain''s gross domestic product, unexpectedly fell 0.1 percent following a 1.0 percent fall in January, disappointing against forecasts for a 0.3 percent rise in the Reuters poll. British manufacturing had a mixed performance in 2016, with economic growth driven mostly by the much larger services sector and consumer spending. A closely-watched business survey on Monday showed British manufacturing lost some of its momentum in March, as export orders grew more slowly and demand for consumer goods faltered against a backdrop of rising inflation pressures. Separate figures from the ONS showed Britain''s goods trade deficit with the rest of the world rose to a five-month high of 12.461 billion pounds ($15.48 billion), compared with an upwardly revised 11.971 billion pounds in January. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a reading of 10.9 billion pounds. The ONS also released figures for construction output in February, which slumped 1.7 percent on the month - the biggest drop in almost a year. The Reuters poll had pointed to stagnation on the month but output in February was dragged down by a 2.6 percent drop in housebuilding, the sharpest decline since mid-2015. On the year, construction output rose just 0.5 percent in February - the weakest reading since March 2016 and a far cry from forecasts for a 1.9 percent rise. "February''s data shows that the construction sector has been one of the biggest losers from the Brexit vote," said Samuel Tombs, economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. (Editing by Andrew Roche)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-economy-idUKKBN17922W'|'2017-04-07T21:11:00.000+03:00' +'82889546fcf16bbcc19fa5188d1caeb69ae85d0f'|'Fidelity and Guaranty says will no longer be acquired by China''s Anbang'|'SHANGHAI - Fidelity & Guaranty Life (FGL) ( FGL.N ), a U.S. annuities and life insurer, said on Tuesday it has terminated its agreement to be acquired by China''s Anbang Insurance group.Reuters reported earlier that the Chinese insurer would let its agreement to acquire FGL for $1.6 billion lapse after failing to secure all the necessary regulatory approvals.FGL is looking at alternative strategies and "has received interest from a number of parties," it said in a news release.Anbang did not immediately respond to requests for comment.The development casts new doubt on Anbang''s commitment to U.S. deals, following its abandoned attempt last year to acquire Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc for $14 billion.Established in 2004, Anbang signed more than $30 billion worth of corporate deals in the last 2-1/2 years, with high-profile investments including a $1.95 billion purchase of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York.(Reporting by Engen Tham in Shanghai and Matthew Miller in Beijing; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-fidelityguarantylife-m-a-anbang-idINKBN17K052'|'2017-04-17T23:42:00.000+03:00' +'c105a197aa8d06ba7c75e806abeab9963d5da112'|'Safran confirms talks to buy Zodiac Aerospace continue'|'PARIS, April 28 Safran said on Friday its talks to buy Zodiac Aerospace were continuing after the French company issued a new profit warning."We confirm that the discussions continue," a spokeswoman for Safran said.Reporting a first-half loss and lower full-year forecasts earlier on Friday, Zodiac Aerospace said it hoped to conclude the $9 billion merger deal with Safran but that it was also studying an alternative. (Reporting by Cyril Altmeyer, Tim Hepher, Editing by Dominique Vidalon)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/zodiac-aero-ma-safran-talks-idINL8N1I028E'|'2017-04-28T05:59:00.000+03:00' +'89cf1767bbdbaa73b7e1af73814fbe4caffac91d'|'BRIEF-Cogeco communications inc qtrly earnings per share $1.55'|' 30pm EDT BRIEF-Cogeco communications inc qtrly earnings per share $1.55 April 6 Cogeco Communications Inc * Cogeco Communications Inc qtrly revenue increased by $9.4 million, or 1.7%, to reach $560.9 million * Cogeco Communications Inc qtrly earnings per share $1.55 * Q2 earnings per share view c$1.42, revenue view c$554.9 million -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-cogeco-communications-inc-qtrly-ea-idUSFWN1HE0OX'|'2017-04-07T06:30:00.000+03:00' +'2dc64b93e59c984ab4b068321c69748cccd7cc27'|'HSBC confident can maintain dividend, exceed cost targets - CEO'|' 25am BST HSBC confident can maintain dividend, exceed cost targets: CEO left right HSBC Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver, attends the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, January 18, 2017. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich 1/2 left right The moon rises over the HSBC building in the Canary Wharf financial district of London, a day before the ''supermoon'' spectacle, in London, Britain November 13, 2016. REUTERS/Hannah McKay 2/2 HONG KONG HSBC Holdings Plc ( HSBA.L ) is confident it can maintain dividend payouts in the foreseeable future and expects to exceed risk-weighted asset and cost-saving targets, the bank''s chief executive Stuart Gulliver said on Monday. Despite earnings pressure, HSBC has retained its dividend payout ratio at a higher level in the last few years, at a time when some of its peers including Standard Chartered ( STAN.L ) withheld dividend payment for 2016. The bank may have to move "some thousand roles" from Britain to Paris depending on how the country''s Brexit negotiations with the European Union unfold, chairman Douglas Flint added. The bank had previously said it expected to move around 1,000 roles. Both executives were speaking during a meeting of shareholders in Hong Kong. (Reporting by Michelle Price; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-hsbc-agm-idUKKBN17Q0SH'|'2017-04-24T17:26:00.000+03:00' +'c3f0b68d7a06ee40446ce32462dbe81354455867'|'China''s strong first quarter growth highlights positive signs - finance minister'|'Business News - Mon Apr 24, 2017 - 5:05am BST China policymakers bullish on economy, cite strong first-quarter GDP, stable yuan left right A businessman takes pictures of recently erected office and residential buildings in Beijing, China April 20, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter 1/2 left right Chinese Finance Minister Xiao Jie speaks to the media after his news conference during the ongoing National People''s Congress (NPC), China''s parliament, in Beijing China March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee 2/2 SHANGHAI Policymakers in China are pushing a bullish message on the world''s second-biggest economy after a solid first quarter, pointing to a slow down in capital outflows and a stable yuan after a selloff last year stoked fears of instability. Speaking at a G20 summit meeting of the world''s top economies in Washington last week, finance minister Xiao Jie said an increasing number of positive signs were seen in the Chinese economy in the first quarter gross domestic product report. China is confident of reaching the government''s 6.5 percent GDP growth target this year, Xiao said in a notice published on the Ministry of Finance''s website on Saturday. Separately, People''s Bank of China (PBOC) adviser Sheng Songcheng said the improving economy has been matched by a stable yuan, with signs that capital is starting to return to China. "After breaking and even reversing expectations for yuan depreciation, there are signs of a trend of capital returning to China," Sheng wrote in Monday''s editorial in Financial News, a newspaper owned by the PBOC. Sheng reiterated that interest rates are on an uptrend, underscoring Beijing''s shift to a tighter policy stance to temper rampant credit growth and put the economy on an even keel. The comments from Sheng and Xiao follow last week''s data which showed China''s economy grew a faster-than-expected 6.9 percent in the first quarter, boosted by higher government infrastructure spending and a gravity-defying property boom. Capital outflows from China eased sharply in the first quarter and cross border flows were more balanced as expectations for further yuan depreciation have weakened significantly, the spokeswoman for the foreign exchange regulator said on Thursday. Sources told Reuters last week that China has relaxed some curbs on capital flows as officials indicate increasing confidence that pressure on the yuan and the country''s foreign exchange reserves has diminished, thanks largely to a pullback in the surging U.S. dollar. But some economists say it is too early to say China has won the war against capital outflows and it is unlikely Beijing will start a broad roll-back of capital control measures in the near future. "We expect the CNY (or yuan) to come under pressure again at some point, notably at times of another global strengthening of the US$," Oxford Economics economist Louis Kuijs said in a note Friday. "We still do not rule out further tightening if the pressures on the FX market were to rise substantially again." A massive build-up of debt over the past several years has been highlighted by policymakers, economists and the International Monetary Fund as a risk to financial stability in China. In his Washington speech, Xiao said that China is making progress on supply-side structural reforms, which Beijing has been promoting as a way of reducing excess industrial capacity and cutting its reliance on debt-driven growth policies. (Reporting by Engen Tham; additional reporting by Elias Glenn in Beijing; Editing by Shri Navaratnam) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-idUKKBN17Q03Z'|'2017-04-24T10:02:00.000+03:00' +'b78fb722540e5682a0d9295f0f2ed8dfabe651f4'|'Intesa postpones bid deadline for 2.5 bln euro bad loan sale - sources'|' 16am EDT Intesa postpones bid deadline for 2.5 bln euro bad loan sale - sources MILAN, April 4 Intesa Sanpaolo has pushed to April 6 the deadline to submit the binding offers for a 2.5 billion-euro bad loan portfolio it has put up for sale, three sources familiar with the matter said. The deadline was originally set for March 20 but was then postponed to Tuesday. One of the sources told Reuters the delay was due to technical and legal matters. The portfolio, dubbed "Beyond the clouds", is made up of corporate loans and backed by real estate assets for about 30 percent. (Reporting by Massimo Gaia and Gianluca Semeraro, editing by Francesca Landini) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/intesa-sp-bad-loans-bids-idUSI6N1H001Y'|'2017-04-04T18:16:00.000+03:00' +'9012b3b2d249879c453197339c885c5b4580a29c'|'China will open up capital account in prudent and orderly way - FX regulator'|'BEIJING China will push forward with opening up its capital account in a prudent and orderly way, the country''s foreign exchange regulator said on Thursday.While regulators have stepped up supervision of money leaving the country, State Administration of Foreign Exchange spokeswoman Wang Chunying told a news conference that China will not go back to the old road of capital controls.(Reporting by Kevin Yao; Editing by Eric Meijer)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-forex-idUKKBN17M0AE'|'2017-04-20T11:10:00.000+03:00' +'cbdca138f4c78bc7e90850d5dd3efb17ba584472'|'BRIEF-Atico Mining says produced 2,550 ounces of gold in Q1'|' 25pm EDT BRIEF-Atico Mining says produced 2,550 ounces of gold in Q1 April 12 Atico Mining Corp * Atico produces 5.05 million pounds of Cu and 2,550 ounces of Au in first quarter 2017 * Qtrly copper and gold recovery of 93.5% and 65.8%; a decrease of 1% for copper 2% for gold over q1 2016 * Atico Mining Corp - qtrly production of 5.05 million pounds of copper contained in concentrates; an increase of 18% over q1 2016 * Atico Mining Corp - qtrly production of 2,550 ounces of gold contained in concentrates; a very slight decrease over q1 2016 * Atico mining corp qtrly average processed tonnes per day of 810, an increase of 4% over q1 2016 * Sees to maintain production between 9,700 and 10,000 ounces of gold at El Roble mine in 2017 * Sees to maintain production between 8,300 and 8,500 tonnes of copper at El Roble mine in 2017 * Sees to maintain production between 37,000 and 39,000 dry tonnes of concentrate at El Roble mine in 2017 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-atico-mining-says-produced-2550-ou-idUSFWN1HJ0JW'|'2017-04-12T04:25:00.000+03:00' +'19d98c45bb8658c0f61e92549806f80c4b570899'|'Brazil''s Renova sells wind farm to AES unit for $193 million'|'SAO PAULO Renova Energia SA sold a wind farm project to a unit of AES Corp for 600 million reais ($193 million) on Tuesday, enabling the Brazilian renewable power company to replenish cash amid a severe cash crunch.In a securities filing, AES Tiet Energia SA said it plans to assume 1.150 billion reais worth of debt owed by the Alto Sertao II project. The deal''s value could increase by 100 million reais within five years, depending on whether the project outperforms some unspecified operational metrics.Reuters reported on Jan. 2 that Renova and AES Tiet, a unit of AES Brasil, had reached an accord over Alto Sertao II for a price between 600 million reais and 700 million reais.($1 = 3.1071 reais)(Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Luciano Costa; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-renova-energia-m-a-aes-corp-idINKBN17K2M9'|'2017-04-18T20:01:00.000+03:00' +'99f4b1a08c5efc1265f17815bc2732ed1e60e554'|'Valero Energy''s quarterly profit slumps 38.4 percent'|'Business News - Tue Apr 25, 2017 - 8:09am EDT Valero''s results beat on strong demand for refined products A Valero gas station sign is shown in Encinitas, California, U.S., May 2, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake Valero Energy Corp ( VLO.N ) reported better-than-expected results as sales in its refining business shot up 40 percent, helped by robust gasoline demand and declining refined product inventories in the United States. Operating revenue in the refining business soared to $20.89 billion in the three months ended March 31, from $14.92 billion. "Demand for gasoline and distillate remains strong both domestically and internationally," Chief Executive Joe Gorder said in a statement. "Combined with expectations for continued sweet crude oil production growth and relatively low prices for crude and refined products, consumer demand should be robust this year." The largest U.S. oil refiner said net income attributable to its shareholders fell 38.4 percent to $305 million, or 68 cents per share in the first quarter. Excluding items, the company earned 68 cents per share, beating the average analyst estimate of 60 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Operating revenue rose 38.6 percent to $21.77 billion, beating analysts'' estimates of $18.59 billion. (Reporting by Muvija M in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-valero-energy-results-idUSKBN17R17Q'|'2017-04-25T18:58:00.000+03:00' +'b56a16e574c3ac6c60b360df7ffe614977e082da'|'Argentina asks court to fully suspend work at Veladero mine'|' 11:04am EDT Argentina asks court to fully suspend work at Veladero mine BUENOS AIRES, April 7 Argentina''s environmental ministry asked a federal court to totally suspend operations at Barrick Gold Corp''s Veladero mine in San Juan province, according to a statement issued by the ministry on Friday. San Juan provincial government had already rejected a work plan from Barrick after a pipe carrying gold-bearing solution ruptured a leach pad at its Veladero mine last week. Operations at the mine have been partially suspended since then. (Reporting by Hugh Bronstein)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/barrick-gold-veladero-idUSE6N1A1029'|'2017-04-07T23:04:00.000+03:00' +'a143935e5c9ed8117836c83cf77f5a02a331c42e'|'Google parent Alphabet''s profit soars on strong ad sales'|' 25pm BST Google parent Alphabet''s profit soars on strong ad sales A Google search page is seen through a magnifying glass in this photo illustration taken in Berlin, August 11, 2015. REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski/File Photo Google parent Alphabet Inc ( GOOGL.O ) posted a 29 percent rise in quarterly profit, driven by a surge in advertising on mobiles and its popular YouTube video service. Alphabet''s net income rose to $5.43 billion, or $7.73 per Class A and B share and Class C capital stock, in the first quarter ended March 31 from $4.21 billion, or $6.02 [ bit.ly/2qbMJGY ] Shares of the company rose 2.8 percent to $916.8 after the bell on Thursday. Google''s ad revenue, which accounts for a lion''s share of its business, rose 18.8 percent to $21.41 billion in the first quarter. The company is locked in a battle with social media giant Facebook Inc ( FB.O ) in the fast-growing mobile advertising market. Google is expected to command a 61.6 percent share of the search ad market worldwide in 2017, up from 60.6 percent in 2016, according to research firm eMarketer. Paid clicks, where an advertiser pays only if a user clicks on ads, rose 44 percent. Analysts on average had expected a rise of 29.7 percent, according to FactSet StreetAccount. With the traditional business of search advertising maturing, the company is looking to YouTube as its next driver of growth. The strong results also allayed concerns about a recent controversy surrounding the video service and its impact on Google''s ad revenue. YouTube had come under fire for ads appearing alongside videos carrying homophobic or anti-Semitic messages, prompting a number of companies to suspend their digital ads on the video service. Alphabet is also reaping the benefits of investing heavily in areas such as hardware and cloud. Revenue from its Google Other unit, which includes Pixel smartphone, Play Store and cloud business, rose 49.4 percent to $3.10 billion. The company''s consolidated revenue rose 22.2 percent to $24.75 billion from $20.26 billion. Analysts on an average had expected a first-quarter profit of $7.34 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. (Reporting by Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-alphabet-results-idUKKBN17T326'|'2017-04-28T04:25:00.000+03:00' +'2dceba0d6cccfece7e500cf021d482ee36f6d5fc'|'Amazon says it is bringing retail shopfront service to Australia'|'Business News - Thu Apr 20, 2017 - 1:55am BST Amazon says it is bringing retail shopfront service to Australia FILE PHOTO: Employees of Amazon India are seen behind a glass bearing the company''s logo inside its office in Bengaluru, India, August 14, 2015. REUTERS/Abhishek N. Chinnappa/File Photo SYDNEY Global retail juggernaut Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) said on Thursday it plans to offer its retail shopfront service in Australia, confirming rumours which have circulated for years about its plans to expand into the world''s 12th-largest economy. The Seattle-based firm said in an email that after offering its internet cloud service in Australia in 2012 and opening an online e-book store in 2013, "the next step is to bring a retail offering to Australia". "We are excited to bring thousands of new jobs to Australia, millions of dollars in additional investment, and to empower small Australian businesses through Amazon Marketplace," the email said, referring to the company''s online retail shopfront service. (Reporting by Byron Kaye; Editing by Stephen Coates)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-amazon-com-australia-idUKKBN17M03K'|'2017-04-20T08:55:00.000+03:00' +'a35edbd7b66a75bebceb6ffc0c103c83c2372603'|'Hunt for Barclays whistleblower tests strength of new UK regime'|'Business News 24am EDT Hunt for Barclays whistleblower tests strength of new UK regime FILE PHOTO: A Barclays bank office is seen at Canary Wharf in London, Britain May 19, 2015. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo By Lawrence White and Huw Jones - LONDON LONDON Barclays chief executive Jes Staley''s attempts to unmask a whistleblower will be a test case for a regime put in place last year that aims to hold bank bosses to account if they fail to defend reinforced standards. At stake is not just the image of a bank whose chief executive promised to reform its aggressive culture but also the efficacy of the fledgling Senior Managers Regime, which aims, among other things, to protect those who risk their jobs bringing wrongdoing to light. Earlier this week, Barclays said it had reprimanded Staley and would cut his bonus after he twice attempted to identify the author of a letter that revealed "concerns of a personal nature" about an unnamed senior employee. Britain''s Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England''s Prudential Regulation Authority, which vetted Staley''s appointment as CEO, are investigating the bank and Staley to see what other penalties might be warranted. Staley also faces scrutiny from parliament''s Treasury Select Committee, which successfully pushed for the departure of Bank of England Deputy Governor Charlotte Hogg for failing to register that her brother worked for a bank, a potential conflict of interest. Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the committee, described Staley''s actions as presenting a "test case" that would show whether the Senior Managers Regime was "capable of providing meaningful scrutiny and accountability of financial institutions". "Now they (regulators) need to get on with the job," said Tyrie, cautioning that "the Treasury Committee will examine their conclusions, and the process by which they arrive at them, very carefully". The regime, introduced by the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority in March 2016, makes managers personally accountable for their actions in order to set what regulators have described as the right "tone at the top". Among other things, bosses are required to respect rules to protect whistleblowing. The penalty can be a ban from industry or a fine. Eric Havian, a former U.S. state prosecutor and lawyer who represents whistleblowers in the United States, said he believed Barclays has not gone far enough to penalize Staley. "I think Barclays needs to impose a much more serious sanction," he said. "This is the kind of thing that creates a long-term corrosive atmosphere in the company and it''s a mistake for the bank not to treat this seriously." PARLIAMENT DEMAND Introducing the managers'' regime was a central demand of the British parliament''s commission on banking standards, also chaired by Tyrie, in the aftermath of the 2007-09 financial crisis. Tyrie and fellow lawmakers were dismayed by the rarity of whistleblowing in the British banking industry, especially after no-one flagged wrongdoing in the case of manipulation of the Libor interest rate benchmark, which involved mostly British banks and included Barclays. Some lawmakers had gone so far as to suggest that Britain adopt the U.S. model of compensating whistleblowers - an idea ultimately rejected by regulators. Martin Wheatley, the then-chief executive of the FCA, said in March 2015 that the senior manager''s regime was not about putting "heads on sticks". But the watchdog will nonetheless face pressure from lawmakers to show that the regime works. Barclays, which declined to comment for this report, is already battling lawsuits and criticism from politicians in the United States and Britain over its conduct before and during the 2008 financial crisis. The U.S. Department of Justice is suing the bank and two former executives over charges of fraud in the sale of tens of billions of mortgage securities. In Britain, the bank faces investigations by regulators into payments made to Qatari investors in the course of an emergency 2008 fundraising, and continuing questions about how much its executives knew about traders'' manipulation of the Libor interest rate. Staley has attempted to show contrition, publicly apologizing for his actions and saying his actions were motivated by a desire to prevent what he thought was an unfair attack. He visited the staff canteen this week. Some investors, who believe that Staley has done a good job running the bank since he became chief executive in December 2015, have publicly backed him, and the news has so far had little impact on the bank''s stock price. "This was a failure of judgment not of principle. It was a pretty human failing and that''s why I feel the board have got it right in backing him," said Crispin Odey, London-based founder of Odey Asset Management, which owns shares in Barclays. Regulators may take a different view. "The ultimate sanction would be that he is not ''fit and proper''," said one employment lawyer who advises banks, asking not to be named. Euan Stirling of Standard Life Investments, which owns shares in Barclays, said other banks would do well to watch the outcome of the case. "One of the things you have to consider, and it''s particularly pertinent with a bank: Look at the way that profitability has been destroyed over the past 10 years and it''s been by governance failures. So you ignore that at your peril." (Additional reporting by Simon Jessop; Editing by John O''Donnell and Sonya Hepinstall)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-barclays-investigation-regime-idUSKBN17E1XJ'|'2017-04-12T22:24:00.000+03:00' +'df614d36dd090a4aeaf3d4ded850057c78cccee9'|'South Korea''s Lotte Group aims to list Malaysian petrochemical unit in third quarter'|'KUALA LUMPUR South Korean conglomerate Lotte Group plans to list its Malaysian petrochemical unit in the third quarter, company filings show, in an initial public offering that sources say could raise as much as $1.5 billion.The listing could be one of the biggest IPOs in years in Malaysia, which has not seen any listing of $1 billion and above since the $1.5 billion IPO of Astro Malaysia Holdings ( ASTR.KL ) in 2012.In a filing on the Korea Exchange on Tuesday, the conglomerate''s unit, Lotte Chemical Corp ( 011170.KS ), said it plans to list subsidiary Lotte Chemical Titan Holding on the Bursa Malaysia stock exchange.Lotte Chemical said it plans to offer up to 740.48 million shares in its Malaysian unit, with an over-allotment option for up to 55.54 million shares.It listed the target IPO date as the third quarter of 2017 and said proceeds will be used to build a naphtha cracker in Indonesia and a polypropylene plant in Malaysia, as well as to expand its cracker facility in Malaysia.The IPO was originally planned for last year but was shelved following revelations of South Korea''s investigations into alleged fraud at Lotte Group.Maybank Investment Bank Bhd, Credit Suisse and J.P. Morgan are joint global coordinators on the deal, while CIMB Investment Bank, HSBC and Nomura are joint bookrunners.Lotte Chemical said the size and pricing of IPO is yet to be determined.Two sources familiar with the matter said the company is looking to raise $1-$1.5 billion in the IPO. The sources did not want to be identified as the talks are private.One source said the IPO prospectus will likely be listed on the Malaysian securities regulator''s website for review within days.Lotte Chemical Titan did not immediately respond to requests for comment.(Reporting by Liz Lee and A. Ananthalakshmi; Editing by Stephen Coates)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-lotte-chemical-ipo-malaysia-idINKBN1770GJ'|'2017-04-05T03:44:00.000+03:00' +'aa7cfd6ebad038c9c2351168d9f787086b05343f'|'Atlantia will not discuss Abertis deal on Thursday: sources'|'Deals - Thu Apr 27, 2017 - 9:22am EDT Atlantia will not discuss Abertis deal on Thursday: sources ROME A board meeting of Italian infrastructure group Atlantia ( ATL.MI ) on Thursday will not discuss a possible takeover bid for Spanish rival Abertis ( ABE.MC ), sources close to the matter said. The board will instead review the sale of a minority stake in Atlantia''s motorway unit Autostrade per l''Italia, the sources said. The infrastructure investment arm of insurer Allianz ( ALVG.DE ) and three other suitors are vying for a 15 percent stake in Autostrade per l''Italia, sources have said. Atlantia could fetch more than 2 billion euros from the sale. (Reporting by Stefano Bernabei; writing by Francesca Landini) '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-abertis-m-a-atlantia-board-idUSKBN17T20I'|'2017-04-27T17:22:00.000+03:00' +'62fe89b6486ae5dc77d260261153076c3aac531a'|'Bank of England warns banks about risky lending after borrowing surge'|' 2:26pm BST Bank of England warns banks about risky lending after borrowing surge Pedestrians walk past the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain, May 15, 2014. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/File Photo By David Milliken - LONDON LONDON A surge in consumer lending means British banks are at risk of incurring losses, the Bank of England said on Tuesday, warning that some might be letting credit standards slide as they compete to offer debt to households. Consumers ramped up their borrowing by more than 10 percent late last year, the fastest growth in a decade, which helped drive strong economic growth despite June''s vote to leave the European Union. Rates of saving fell to their lowest in more than 50 years. But the economic outlook is now darkening as households face rising living costs in the wake of sterling''s tumble against the dollar and the euro, and wage growth is expected to remain below its long-run average. Last week the BoE said it was taking a closer look at consumer borrowing, and on Tuesday it gave more details. "An easing in credit supply conditions appeared to have contributed to the growth in consumer credit, with intense competition in some segments of the market," the BoE said in a summary of the latest meeting of its Financial Policy Committee, which looks at financial stability risks. Credit card companies were offering longer interest-free periods to entice borrowers, while other lenders were offering larger unsecured loans and had cut the interest rates they charged by more than for less risky mortgage rates. The Financial Conduct Authority, a separate regulator, proposed on Monday that credit card companies should freeze lending to some of the 3.3 million Britons who paid more in interest and charges than they have repaid debt. The BoE is now also looking into the risks from Britain''s lending boom, and could take steps before the end of the year. But BoE Governor Mark Carney said in January it would be a "big call" for the central bank to rein in rapid growth in consumer lending. Peter Richardson, a banking analyst at Berenberg, welcomed the BoE''s latest focus on consumer credit. Many lenders and investors wrongly assumed that current low levels of loan defaults would persist, even when the economy weakened. "We think the growth and terms currently seen in consumer credit markets show strong signs of cyclical risk illusion," he said, adding he had recently cut his outlook on Lloyds Banking Group ( LLOY.L ), one of Britain''s biggest lenders, to ''sell''. Consumer borrowing accounts for less than 10 percent of banks'' stock of lending to British households and companies, while mortgage lending makes up about 70 percent. But the BoE said the relatively short-term nature of much consumer lending meant the average credit quality of a loan book could deteriorate much faster than was the case with mortgage lending. The BoE has said banks could face 18.5 billion pounds ($23 billion) of losses on consumer loans in the event of a sharp economic downturn, compared with 11.8 billion pounds for mortgages. Some Britons are already running into difficulty. StepChange, a debt charity, said last week that a record 600,000 people contacted it for help last year. ($1 = 0.8044 pounds) (Additional reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by William Schomberg and Catherine Evans) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-boe-idUKKBN1761JO'|'2017-04-04T21:23:00.000+03:00' +'367c3ce717c20628623b6c3fa7504483b3cbd4b4'|'Demand for Azul IPO tops supply by five times: sources'|'By Guillermo Parra-Bernal - SAO PAULO SAO PAULO Investor demand for shares in Brazilian airline Azul SA''s initial public offering in So Paulo and New York surpassed the amount of stock on offer by five times, ahead of pricing later on Monday, three people with knowledge of the transaction said.The IPO could price at 21 reais per preferred Brazilian share and $19.90 per American depositary share, both in the middle of a suggested price range for the transaction, the sources said. Azul declined to comment. Robust demand for the transaction could lead Azul to offer additional and supplementary allotments, they said.The airline started by JetBlue Airways Corp ( JBLU.O ) founder David Neeleman filed to sell up to 72 million preferred shares, with a ratio of three Brazilian shares per ADS.The situation suggests that an April 6 decision by Brazil''s securities watchdog to suspend Azul''s IPO hours ahead of pricing on Thursday did little to abate interest in the issue. According to the watchdog known as CVM, Azul had given some investors information that was not included in the transaction''s official documentation.Before the suspension, sources familiar with the deal expected the Azul IPO to be between 60 percent to 70 percent subscribed by investors outside Brazil. Brazilian investors were expected to snap up the remaining amount.The impasse posed a temporary setback to Azul, which had to call off plans to go public on three previous occasions because of challenging market conditions. The company got clearing from regulators to pursue the IPO on Friday, after pledging to include estimates of projected gains in Azul''s investment in TAP Transportes Areos Portugueses SA [TAPA.UL] into the official prospectus.The investment banking units of Citigroup Inc ( C.N ), Deutsche Bank AG ( DBKGn.DE ) and Ita Unibanco Holding SA ( ITUB4.SA ) are acting as the offering''s underwriters. The stock should begin trading on Tuesday under the symbols "AZUL4" in So Paulo and "AZUL" in New York.(Additional reporting by Alusio Alves in So Paulo; editing by Meredith Mazzilli)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-azul-ipo-idINKBN17C2F6'|'2017-04-10T19:31:00.000+03:00' +'43e9f3343f9c0b0741a9f46fcf797d51c595913b'|'BRIEF-UMC''s unit orders machinery equipment worth T$617.7 mln'|'Market News - Wed Apr 19, 2017 - 5:35am EDT BRIEF-UMC''s unit orders machinery equipment worth T$617.7 mln April 19 United Microelectronics Corp * Says unit United Semiconductor (Xiamen) Co Ltd orders machinery equipment worth T$617.7 million ($20.31 million) from Applied Materials South East Asia Pte Ltd Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-umcs-unit-orders-machinery-equipme-idUSH9N1HM02M'|'2017-04-19T17:35:00.000+03:00' +'fa5a39b6ec893e62eed5330abf45a6ec59ea7e36'|'Shanghai stocks close at 15-month high, Xiong''an New Area in focus - Reuters'|'SHANGHAI, April 11 China stocks reversed earlier losses to end higher on Tuesday, led by the Shanghai benchmark index closing at a 15-month high. Strong gains in stocks related to the Xiong''an New Area underpinned the market, even as investors continued to retreat from smaller-caps over regulatory concerns.The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.3 percent to 3,517.33 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.6 percent to 3,288.97 points.Stocks and sectors expected to benefit from the country''s newly-launched Xiong''an New Area continued to grab attention, with shares in around 30 listed companies rocketing 61 percent in just five sessions.Beijing on Saturday announced plans to build Xiongan New Area, modelled on the Shenzhen special economic zone next to Hong Kong that helped kickstart China''s economic reforms in 1980."The Xiong''an New area could prove to be a big investment theme within the year," said Zhang Gang, an analyst with China Central Securities.He added investors should avoid smaller-caps, in particular those companies that award bonus shares instead of cash dividends, echoing China''s top securities regulator who vowed to punish stingy "iron roosters" which gave investors no cash return.Banks continued to drag on the market after the country''s banking regulator said it had issued guidelines on risk control for lenders as authorities increased their efforts to contain risks from a rapid build-up in debt.Sectors were mixed. Gains were led by real estate stocks.An index tracking major developers rose 2.2 pct to close at a 4-month high, posting its fifth straight session of gains, with developers operating in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area expected to benefit handsomely from the development of Xiong''an New Area. (Reporting by Luoyan Liu and John Ruwitch; Editing by Eric Meijer)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/china-stocks-close-idINZZN2RZP00'|'2017-04-11T05:35:00.000+03:00' +'05e76efbfb76aaaa3fb11b350a77ccf6f10ef6bd'|'BRIEF-Teck resources says Caisse de depot et placement tendered 1.6 million class A shares of co for conversion into same number of class B subordinate voting shares'|'United States 16am EDT BRIEF-Teck resources says Caisse de depot et placement tendered 1.6 million class A shares of co for conversion into same number of class B subordinate voting shares April 5 Teck Resources Ltd * Teck Resources - Caisse de depot et placement tendered 1.6 million class A shares of co for conversion into same number of class B subordinate voting shares Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-teck-resources-says-caisse-de-depo-idUSFWN1HD0B3'|'2017-04-05T21:16:00.000+03:00' +'2e6938dfdbbb579b37b0fe90a7dcbcb20ae25487'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Emerging stocks near two-year high after French vote'|'Bonds News - Tue Apr 25, 2017 - 5:07am EDT EMERGING MARKETS-Emerging stocks near two-year high after French vote By Claire Milhench - LONDON, April 25 LONDON, April 25 Emerging market equities rose towards their highest in nearly two years on Tuesday, as relief over the results of Sunday''s election in France boosted appetite for riskier assets and U.S. President Donald Trump''s tax reform promises leant support. MSCI''s benchmark emerging equities index has rallied hard since market favourite Emmanuel Macron went safely through the first round of voting in France to face far-right leader Marine Le Pen in a May 7 run-off for the presidency. Emerging market stocks rose almost 1 percent, extending similar gains from the previous session to touch their highest level since June 2015. "We have at least a week of upside to look forward to because we have just seen an easing of European political risk," said Koon Chow, emerging markets macro and FX strategist at UBP. "Europe is important for EM because it is a place where it sells its goods to and also where it gets a lot of investment from." Asian manufacturing markets set the trend with index heavyweights such as Hong Kong and Taiwan up 1.2 percent. Korean stocks gained over 1 percent to touch a near six-year high, and the Korean won rose 0.7 percent. Trump has called for new UN sanctions against North Korea , which has conducted a big live-fire exercise to mark the foundation of its military. Parts of emerging Europe also continued to perform well as the risk of an anti-European Union French president receded. Poland, one of the biggest net receivers of EU funds, rose 0.5 percent to the highest since July 2015. The Polish zloty gained 0.2 percent against the euro after touching two-week highs on Monday. Trump''s promise to offer a "big tax reform and tax reduction" plan on Wednesday also lifted investor sentiment. So did his indication that he is willing to delay pushing for funds to build a border wall with Mexico . Chow said that the risk of U.S. protectionism and other forces of political friction had eased, helping some emerging market currencies appreciate against the dollar. The yield premium paid by emerging market sovereign bonds over U.S. Treasuries on the JPMorgan EMBI Global Diversified narrowed 1 basis point to 306 basis points (bps), the lowest level since April 7. It has narrowed 14 bps since April 18. Currencies retreated a touch after pushing to multi-week highs on Monday. The South African rand slipped 0.5 percent against the dollar, after rising to a three-week high in the previous session. The central bank''s leading business cycle indicator was up 1.1 percent month-on-month in February. The Turkish lira also slipped 0.5 percent from a two-month high on Monday. Turkey''s central bank governor said it would maintain its tight monetary policy stance, before its rate-setting meeting on Wednesday. The Hungarian forint weakened 0.2 percent against the euro . Hungary''s central bank meets later on Tuesday, and is expected to keep rates on hold and maintain a loose monetary policy. For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2e7eoml For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2dZbdP5 For CENTRAL EUROPE market report, see For TURKISH market report, see For RUSSIAN market report, see) Emerging Markets Prices from Reuters Equities Latest Net Chg % Chg % Chg on year Morgan Stanley Emrg Mkt Indx 979.86 +8.50 +0.88 +13.64 Czech Rep 993.65 +1.13 +0.11 +7.82 Poland 2310.62 +13.72 +0.60 +18.62 Hungary 33113.11 -113.35 -0.34 +3.47 Romania 8273.99 -22.76 -0.27 +16.78 Greece 687.26 +3.96 +0.58 +6.78 Russia 1114.33 -2.25 -0.20 -3.30 South Africa 46346.58 +158.65 +0.34 +5.57 Turkey 93715.39 -87.42 -0.09 +19.93 China 3135.40 +5.87 +0.19 +1.02 India 29845.35 +189.51 +0.64 +12.09 Currencies Latest Prev Local Local close currency currency '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-idUSL8N1HX1IC'|'2017-04-25T17:07:00.000+03:00' +'8a559dd5c9968845ed778764c0659c8c8985a621'|'PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - April 20'|'Market News - Thu Apr 20, 2017 - 12:54am EDT PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - April 20 April 20 The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. - The Trump administration worked Wednesday to quell an international furor and calm questions over its credibility after misstating by thousands of miles the location of a U.S. aircraft carrier officials had warned could be used to strike North Korea. on.wsj.com/2oRuVAx - Officials at the University of California at Berkeley canceled a scheduled appearance by Ann Coulter, the conservative commentator and Donald Trump supporter, citing safety concerns. on.wsj.com/2oRvaeV - U.S. Bancorp plans on May 1 to launch a premium card geared toward high spenders and millennials. This adds to the threats facing American Express Co in a card category where it was until recently unrivaled. on.wsj.com/2oRCuqU - The letter that cost Klaus Kleinfeld his job as chief executive of aerospace-parts maker Arconic Inc on Monday contained a vague threat toward the billionaire whose hedge fund had been campaigning for Mr. Kleinfeld''s ouster. on.wsj.com/2oREorI - New Jersey Democratic U.S. Senator Cory Booker and Republican Governor Chris Christie again joined political forces on Wednesday to call for federal investment in the region''s troubled transit system. on.wsj.com/2oRz87k (Compiled by Shalini Nagarajan in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/press-digest-wsj-idUSL3N1HS26S'|'2017-04-20T12:54:00.000+03:00' +'59c1b47427c74bdac180dcebc75e8e8e15fdccc1'|'NextEra shares could return 20 percent over next 12 months -Barron''s'|' 2:36pm EDT NextEra shares could return 20 percent over next 12 months -Barron''s April 30 Shares of Florida utility NextEra Energy Inc could return 20 percent over the next year, including a 2.9 percent dividend, Barron''s wrote over the weekend. The business and investing publication said NextEra had a balanced portfolio of stable and growing businesses, a strong balance sheet and better potential than many peers to increase revenue, earnings and dividends. Texas regulators recently nixed NextEra''s proposed $18 billion purchase of Energy Future Holdings Corp. However, Barron''s said NextEra would be well-positioned even if it cannot get the ruling reversed. NextEra shares closed at $133.56 on Friday. (Reporting by Dan Freed in New York; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/nextera-barrons-idUSL1N1I20D3'|'2017-05-01T02:36:00.000+03:00' +'d8af49c11b6460099ad58a066cb2c889d20fc8ab'|'Airbnb signs dozens more tax agreements in the U.S., France'|'Business News - Wed Apr 12, 2017 - 6:03am EDT Airbnb signs dozens more tax agreements in the U.S., France A man walks past a logo of Airbnb after a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, November 26, 2015. REUTERS/Yuya Shino/File Photo By Heather Somerville - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Airbnb has reached new deals with dozens of jurisdictions in the United States and France to collect and pay taxes, doubling down on its effort to improve its image with local policymakers even as it face regulatory challenges around the world. Airbnb, the short-term rental service that offers a website where homeowners can rent out a room or their entire property, has collected $240 million in hotel and occupancy taxes since it was founded in 2008, remitting them to the jurisdictions where the company has agreements, Airbnb spokesman Nick Papas told Reuters. The most recent tax agreements, formally announced by the company Tuesday, came in eight U.S. cities and counties, the state of Texas and 31 cities in France, making for a total of 275 agreements, Papas said. The taxes, which Airbnb says are at the same rate paid by hotels, will be collected beginning May 1 for the newest agreements. More than half of Airbnb''s U.S. listings are in communities where we the company collects and remits taxes, Papas said. Chris Bryan, a spokesman for the Texas comptroller, said Airbnb approached Texas with the offer to pay taxes. "The state saw this as the most efficient way of bringing these people into tax compliance rather than going after thousands and thousands of homeowners," he said. Texas is the 20th U.S. state with which Airbnb has a deal. Seeking agreements with more states allows the company to avoid the thorny local politics in cities where it faces opposition. It is still unclear how successful Airbnb will be in collecting and remitting all the taxes it had pledged because many of these agreements are less than a year old. Critics of the deals have questioned how local officials could have enough data on Airbnb hosts to verify how much tax the company ought to pay. Airbnb''s push to address taxes has helped to weaken one of the arguments made by the hotel industry against the company''s growing presence in major cities. But the tax agreements have not quieted critics'' concerns that Airbnb, valued at $31 billion, has exacerbated housing shortages and brought unwanted traffic into neighborhoods. In April, Airbnb reached an agreement with Miami-Dade County in Florida to collect taxes but the mayor of the city of Miami Beach, part of Miami-Dade County, remains a vocal opponent to Airbnb. The city allows Airbnb in areas that are zoned for short-term rentals but not in residential neighborhoods, said Mayor Philip Levine. "When you bought a house you didn''t bargain on having a nightclub next to you," he said. "You relied on having the zoning of the city protect you." Airbnb said last year it collected $19 million in taxes in San Francisco, $7 million in San Diego and $3 million in Chicago. Several cities declined to confirm how much tax Airbnb had paid, citing taxpayer confidentiality rules. (Reporting by Heather Somerville; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Bill Trott)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-airbnb-taxes-idUSKBN17E14R'|'2017-04-12T18:03:00.000+03:00' +'a0461f20f394a135f1fdf42be5ca4121fd4cf1aa'|'UPDATE 1-Express Scripts seeks cost cuts, M&A as it preps for Anthem loss'|'Deals 19am EDT Express Scripts seeks cost cuts, M&A as it preps for Anthem loss NEW YORK Pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts Holding Co ( ESRX.O ) said on Tuesday that it plans to cut costs and is on the lookout for strategic deals as it readies itself for the potential loss of its largest customer, Anthem Inc ( ANTM.N ). Express Scripts said on Monday that health insurer Anthem, which has sued the company over claims of being overcharged, was unlikely to renew its contract after it ends in 2019. Anthem was responsible for just under a third of Express Scripts operating earnings in 2016. Express Scripts shares were down 11.2 percent at $59.72 in morning trading. "A strong core is built not just on creating and making the most of external opportunities but also by managing internal cost and investments to ensure a highly efficient lean approach," Chief Executive Tim Wentworth said on a conference call with investors following the announcement. "We have proven over the years that we can do this." Chief Financial Officer Eric Slusser said that the company has already launched programs with an eye toward reducing selling, general and administrative expenses should the Anthem contract end. The company also said it was looking for strategic acquisitions both for its core business as well as to provide additional services. "Pick your favorite three investment bankers, they would tell you that we read everything," Wentworth said on a conference call with investors, when asked about possible deals. "We''re engaging very meaningfully." (Reporting by Michael Erman; Editing by Bernard Orr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-expressscripts-anthem-idUSKBN17R20O'|'2017-04-25T23:10:00.000+03:00' +'4d76b0b25553e3376d64eb6676447d4346488f5c'|'Mays election gamble offers longer-term turnaround for sterling, but at FTSEs expense'|'FRB - Tue Apr 18, 2017 - 11:22am EDT Mays election gamble offers longer-term turnaround for sterling, but at FTSEs expense left right Britain''s Prime Minister Theresa May speaks to the media outside 10 Downing Street, in central London, Britain April 18, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May called on Tuesday for an early election on June 8, saying the government had the right plan for negotiating the terms of Britain''s exit from the European Union and she needed political unity in London. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth 1/2 left right A union flag is seen near the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain April 18, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May called on Tuesday for an early election on June 8, saying the government had the right plan for negotiating the terms of Britain''s exit from the European Union and she needed political unity in London. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth 2/2 By Patrick Graham - LONDON LONDON Running contrary to the norm on shock election announcements, the pound''s steep gains on Tuesday point to hope among investors that the June poll may stabilise domestic UK politics as the country faces its biggest challenges in half a century. Buffeted initially by speculation over the likely content of Theresa May''s surprise statement, sterling bounced by a full cent after the prime minister called a vote for June 8, seeking to strengthen her parliamentary majority and bargaining position in talks on leaving the European Union. London''s main stock indices fell, but her decision encouraged major figures in the City, who have been worried so far by the government''s strategy for the process and the fallout for the economy. They hope it may give May more room to rein in her own Brexiteers to deliver a more orderly divorce from Europe while also allowing a reset of a weakened opposition Labour Party. "The decision to call a snap election on June 8 is not without risk, but given a 20-point lead in the polls the Conservatives should be able to materially increase their working majority in parliament," said Mike Amey, head of sterling portfolio management at the bond fund PIMCO. "That in turn would give the government more room for manoeuvre during the Brexit negotiations, and make the government less exposed to the more right wing factions within the party." All this comes after a run of declines by the pound, which reduced one of the world''s five big reserve currencies to levels not seen since a collapsed bid to join the euro in 1985. Against the dollar, 2016 was the worst year for sterling since the 2008 financial crisis, and some strategists worried a flurry of negative headlines from the first blows in the Brexit talks over the next few months may weaken it further. But one of the biggest bears, Deutsche Bank''s George Saravelos, argued in a note after the announcement that it would be a game-changer for sterling, chiefly by giving May more room to negotiate and organise a slower, more orderly Brexit. "It makes the deadline to deliver a `clean'' Brexit without a lengthy transitional arrangement by 2019 far less pressing ... (and) second, it will dilute the influence of MPs pushing for hard Brexit," he said. "We have been structurally bearish on sterling for the last two years but are now changing view. We are closing out all our bearish FX trades." STOCKS SPLIT The story on stock markets since the vote for Brexit last June has been more complicated and, for the past nine months, is the flipside of sterling''s fortunes. London''s main FTSE 100 index, made up chiefly of multinational companies whose international revenues get more valuable when sterling falls, has outpaced the rest of Europe''s main markets since the vote last June. But it fell almost two percent as the pound gained on Tuesday. Some argue the past gains for the FTSE, along with some of the major merger deals done since last year, also reflect the corporate world''s confidence that sterling is unusually cheap - and will recover. A better measure of stock market sentiment towards May''s move may be the performance of domestically focussed firms in London''s mid-cap index. They were down just 1 percent. "If Theresa Mays Conservative Party can increase their majority in the snap general election called for 8 June, this should be bullish for UK equity markets and consumer confidence," said Henderson Global Investors'' UK portfolio managers Neil Hermon and Indriatti van Hien in another note. "The UK government would be in a stronger position to negotiate the terms of Brexit and Mays government would be given a definitive mandate for Brexit ... A positive move for UK stocks, particularly mid caps." (Editing by Larry King)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-markets-analysis-idUSKBN17K1V4'|'2017-04-18T23:05:00.000+03:00' +'80151dff32c650a58bf3899ec905dbac92b1525f'|'U.S. jobless claims unexpectedly fall as labor market remains firm'|'Business News - Thu Apr 13, 2017 - 8:33am EDT U.S. jobless claims unexpectedly fall as labor market remains firm A sign marks the entrance to a job fair in New York October 24, 2011. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton WASHINGTON The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, suggesting the labor market remains strong despite a sharp slowdown in job growth in March. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 234,000 for the week ended April 8, the Labor Department said on Thursday. That was the third straight weekly decline in claims and left them not too far from a 44-year low of 227,000 hit in February. Claims have now been below 300,000, a threshold associated with a healthy labor market, for 110 straight weeks. That is the longest such stretch since 1970, when the labor market was smaller. The labor market is near full employment, with the unemployment rate close to a 10-year low of 4.5 percent. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast first-time applications for jobless benefits rising to 245,000 last week. Claims tend to be volatile around this time of the year because of the different timings of spring and Easter holidays. The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, fell 3,000 to 247,250 last week. The low level of claims suggests that a sharp slowdown in job growth in March was an aberration and that the labor market continues to tighten. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 98,000 jobs last month, the fewest since last May. Thursday''s claims report also showed the number of people still receiving benefits after an initial week of aid dropped 7,000 to 2.03 million in the week ended April 1. The four-week moving average of the so-called continuing claims edged up 750 to 2.03 million. (Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-idUSKBN17F1JB'|'2017-04-13T20:33:00.000+03:00' +'e57c7f62db20c8bc5f5aa22c78016c8739f94f12'|'McDonald''s drops plan to sell shares in Japan unit'|'TOKYO McDonald''s Corp ( MCD.N ) has put on hold plans to sell shares in its Japan unit, which recently returned to profit for the first time in three years after a series of food scandals shook consumer confidence in the chain.The fast food giant has "made the decision to not proceed with the transaction at this time," Chief Finance Officer Kevin M. Ozan told investors on a conference call on Tuesday.The decision followed a review of its stake, Ozan said."We believe the market is poised to maintain its strong momentum," he added.McDonald''s Holdings Co Japan Ltd ( 2702.T ) expects operating profit in the current fiscal year to grow to 9 billion yen ($80.92 million), a 29.9 percent rise on the previous year.The Japan unit has had success in capturing the attention of local consumers with recent innovations including a burger-naming election, French fries topped with chocolate and a tie-up involving hit smartphone game Pokemon Go.(Reporting by Sam Nussey; Editing by Christopher Cushing)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-mcdonalds-mcdonalds-japan-idINKBN17S0A6'|'2017-04-26T01:43:00.000+03:00' +'04c77b846f339f5d83fa170cbd5269bf609e2df1'|'British government cuts stake in Lloyds Bank to below 2 percent'|'Business 42am BST British government cuts stake in Lloyds Bank to below 2 percent FILE PHOTO: A man walks past a Lloyds Bank branch in central London, Britain February 25, 2016. REUTERS/Paul Hackett LONDON The British government has reduced its holding in Lloyds Banking Group PLC to less than 2 percent, putting the lender on track to be in full private ownership within weeks. The government has now recovered over 20 billion pounds of the 20.3 billion pounds ($25.5 billion) taxpayers injected into Lloyds during the financial crisis, the Treasury said in a statement. UK Financial Investments Limited (UKFI), which manages the government''s stake, resumed share sales in October, having halted them for almost a year due to market turbulence. its stake stands at 1.97 percent, down from 2.95 percent on March 15. The government spent more than 136.6 billion pounds rescuing some of Britain''s biggest high street lenders at the height of the financial crisis, including Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds, but has so far only managed to recoup half of that money. (Reporting by Dasha Afanasieva; Editing by Rachel Armstrong) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lloyds-banking-sale-idUKKBN1750HP'|'2017-04-03T14:42:00.000+03:00' +'27f705f0f876df2c1a87c52c9f37700e6319945c'|'Reckitt working with Morgan Stanley on food business sale - sources'|' 55pm BST Reckitt working with Morgan Stanley on food business sale - sources By Martinne Geller and Pamela Barbaglia - LONDON LONDON British consumer goods group Reckitt Benckiser Group ( RB.L ) is working with Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) on the sale of its food business, which could fetch roughly $3 billion (2.4 billion pounds), sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. The process will kick off soon, said the sources, who declined to be identified, as the matter is private. Reckitt, which confirmed earlier this month that it was exploring options for the business, declined to comment, as did Morgan Stanley. Reckitt is expected to use proceeds of the sale, which includes French''s mustard and Frank''s RedHot sauce, to pay down debt following its $16.6 billion purchase of Mead Johnson ( MJN.N ). (Reporting by Martinne Geller. Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-reckitt-benc-grp-m-a-food-idUKKBN17F1G9'|'2017-04-13T19:55:00.000+03:00' +'5bc545c32c4e7663b96521acce9fbcb6db035e94'|'Adidas CEO says fat China margins to stabilize as thin U.S. margins grow'|'SHANGHAI German sports apparel brand adidas AG ( ADSGn.DE ) expects its huge operating margin in China to shrink slightly in the long term, while its small U.S. margin grows markedly in the near term, its new chief executive officer said on Thursday.Kasper Rorsted, on his first visit to China since taking the helm in September, said adidas'' margin in Greater China of 35 percent last year would "stabilize and slightly decline". Meanwhile North America, with a margin of 6.3 percent last year from 2.5 percent in 2015, was playing "catch-up"."We expect a dramatic improvement in margins in the United States, but we expect over time also a slowdown in the margin development in China," he said, without detailing specifics.The firm''s Greater China sales, about half those of North America in 2013, reached 16 percent of its global total last year, just shy of North America''s 18 percent.The sports apparel market, buoyed by supportive government policies and health-conscious consumers, has been a bright spot in China amid tougher conditions for firms from snack makers to cinema operators in the world''s second-largest economy.Rorsted said adidas would "invest heavily" in China, where he saw huge long-term potential. The firm is on track to add 2,000 stores in China and hit 12,000 by 2020.The company forecasts "double digit" China growth this year, though Rorsted said this would be slower than in 2016 when adidas had sales of 3 billion euros ($3.21 billion) in the market, up 28 percent on 2015 before currency fluctuations.China''s wider retail market, however, remained tough, he said, despite an uptick in official data in the first quarter."What we are seeing, if you take the total industry, is a slowdown in retail," he said."Brick-and-mortar traditional and fast-moving consumer goods has dramatically slowed down. Traffic in large malls has slowed down. That is one trend and right now that''s not being offset by anything," he said, without elaborating.Rorsted added firms in apparel and footwear, which manufacture mostly in Asia, were not going to be relocating plants to Europe or the United States any time soon - something that has been on the agenda of new U.S. President Donald Trump."The size is these plants is humongous... They are highly automated today and the entire supplier base is based out of Asia," he said. "Just financially it''s illogical and so it''s highly unlikely that this will happen."($1 = 0.9332 euros)(Reporting by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Christopher Cushing)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-adidas-china-idUSKBN17M141'|'2017-04-20T18:23:00.000+03:00' +'c65930df2f318f41d2f137bbef187672d21428b8'|'Brazil''s Cemig sees asset sales needed to ease debt repayment burden'|' 22pm EDT Brazil''s Cemig sees asset sales needed to ease debt repayment burden SAO PAULO, April 12 Brazilian power utility Cia Energetica de Minas Gerais SA will step up efforts to renegotiate existing debt and sell assets as a way to delay 4.837 billion reais ($1.5 billion) worth of debt maturities by the end of this year, executives said on Wednesday. Cemig, as the utility is known, is also considering existing options in capital markets to reduce a 52 percent stake in Light Energia SA, said Chief Financial Officer Adezio Lima, without elaborating. Lima spoke on a conference call to discuss fourth-quarter financial results. ($1 = 3.1525 reais) (Reporting by Luciano Costa; Writing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by Andrew Hay)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/cemig-results-divestiture-idUSE6N1D200K'|'2017-04-13T02:22:00.000+03:00' +'2397ddf6f0d3806829e6e3ca3b267379d39a3692'|'HSS Hire CEO to step down'|' 35am BST HSS Hire CEO to step down Tool and equipment rental firm HSS Hire ( HSS.L ) said on Thursday that Chief Executive John Gill will step down once a successor is appointed. The search for a new CEO is underway, the company said. John Gill held the post since September 2015. "...board believes it is the right time to look outside the business for a new CEO who can lead this next phase of our recovery," Chairman Alan Peterson said in a statement. (Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hss-hire-group-ceo-idUKKBN17F0NA'|'2017-04-13T14:35:00.000+03:00' +'d172ff90d1e2dbd47247af8987697f95dfeda86d'|'Boeing near decision to launch 737-10 jet - sources'|' 09am BST Boeing near decision to launch 737-10 jet - sources The Boeing Company logo is projected on a wall at the ''''What''s Next?'''' conference in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., October 4, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Young PARIS Boeing ( BA.N ) is nearing a decision to launch a larger version of its 737 passenger jet to counter strong sales of the Airbus ( AIR.PA ) A321neo, after a breakthrough on the design for one of its parts, industry sources said. The 737-10 would narrow the gap between the 178-220 seat 737-9, which first flew this month, and the 185-240 seat A321neo, which dominates the top end of the market for narrowbody jets. Boeing has been studying how to solve a tricky problem with the design of the plane''s landing gear, without adding cost or delaying a 2020 target for first deliveries. The sources said a two-part technical solution is being tested and that Boeing is separately talking to airlines with the aim of launching the 737-10 at the Paris Airshow in June. In all, it is said to anticipate a market of 1,000 of the planes. "Boeing is actively engaged in discussions with customers about the 737 MAX 10X," a spokesman said. "No decision has been made on the airplane and any discussion on timing of a possible launch would be speculative." (Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-boeing-idUKKBN17R0WG'|'2017-04-25T17:09:00.000+03:00' +'b9d85011684c1d2f438ff2fe37cbb421678db2a0'|'Czech central bank removes cap on crown currency strength'|' 47am BST Czech central bank removes cap on crown currency strength A sign of a currency exchange office hangs in front of the Czech National Bank in Prague November 14, 2013. REUTERS/David W Cerny PRAGUE The Czech central bank (CNB) ended its intervention regime keeping the crown on the weak side of 27 per euro on Thursday, allowing the currency to float to stronger levels. Investors have bet billions of euros that the crown will strengthen after the end of the currency cap which had been in place since November 2013 to help revive inflation. The bank reiterated it would be ready to step into the market if it needed to smooth currency swings. The bank said Governor Jiri Rusnok will hold a news conference to discuss the decision at 2.15 pm. (1315 BST). (Reporting by Jan Lopatka; Editing by Jason Hovet) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-czech-cenbank-idUKKBN17818V'|'2017-04-06T18:47:00.000+03:00' +'e5b7c6d01b4989d4441cafe0a93fb6c97f094fe3'|'RPT-Investors flock to ''macro'' hedge funds, but not only the old guard'|'Company 2:00am EDT RPT-Investors flock to ''macro'' hedge funds, but not only the old guard (Repeats story from Sunday) * Trump policies seen boosting macro strategy returns * Macro strategy most in demand for 2017 -Credit Suisse * Rokos, Stone Milliner, Gemsstock, EDL Capital assets climb By Maiya Keidan, Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Lawrence Delevingne LONDON/BOSTON, April 9 "Macro" hedge funds are back in favour with investors seeking to take a view on U.S. President Donald Trump''s economic policies, European elections, or interest rates, but it is start-up funds rather than established players which are attracting cash. Some of the main beneficiaries of the macro revival are managers who cut their teeth at the big macro firms such as Moore Capital Management, Brevan Howard and Tudor Investment Corp, which made their names for outperformance in 2007-2009. Eric Siegel, head of hedge funds at Citi Private Bank, said in general that macro strategies are likely to thrive. With volatility coming back and monetary supply tightening, we believe it could be a great environment for macro managers, Siegel said. Macro funds bet on macroecnomic trends using currencies, bonds, rates and stock futures. They outperformed the broader industry during the financial crisis and amassed tens of billions of dollars between 2010 and 2012. But they lost most of those assets between 2013 and 2014 and also in 2016 for a variety of reasons, including performance. But macro is back in vogue and was the most popular hedge fund strategy among investors in the fourth quarter of 2016 and the first two months of this year, according to industry data providers Preqin and eVestment. Moore Capital''s Louis Moore Bacon, Alan Howard, who co-founded Brevan Howard, and Paul Tudor Jones of Tudor Investment were among the macro stars after years of delivering double-digit returns. But during the lean years, when macro was less in favour, they had to cut fees and in some cases staff. Now newcomers, such as Moore Capital spin-out Stone Milliner, are pulling in cash and producing some strong returns. Stone Milliner''s discretionary global macro closed to new money last year after taking in over $4 billion in the previous two years. Moore Capital''s assets have fallen slightly from $15 billion in 2012 to $13.3 billion as of Dec. 31 2016, filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) showed. Anglo-Swiss firm Stone Milliner, set up in 2012 by former Moore Capital portfolio managers Jens-Peter Stein and Kornelius Klobucar, averaged returns of 8.3 percent between 2014 and 2016, a source told Reuters, while Moore Capital Management averaged 3.4 percent, a second source said. London-based Gemsstock, set up in January 2014 by Moore Capital trader Darren Read and his co-founder Al Breach, made 12.8 percent on average over the same period, documents seen by Reuters showed. Chris Rokos, a Brevan Howard alumnus, raised another $2 billion in February after returns of 20 percent in 2016. EDL Capital made gains of 18.4 percent last year after ex-Moore Capital trader Edouard De Langlade launched the firm in September 2015, according to a source close to EDL Capital. It has amassed assets of $450 million to date, he said. Ben Melkman, who also formerly worked at Brevan Howard until May 2016, raised over $400 million for his launch in March, SEC filings showed. Brevan Howard''s firm-wide assets fell to $14.6 billion in 2017, from $37 billion in 2012. [ here ] RUSH FOR MACRO But the old guard are fighting back. Some have been cutting fees and offering alternatives. Howard, Brevan Howard''s co-founder, last month launched a new fund managed solely by him, which sources said has already amassed more than $3 billion. Tudor Investment lowered its management fees to 1.75 percent and performance fees to 20 percent in February after a reduction last year and Moore Capital cut the management fee on its Moore Macro Managers fund to 2.5 percent from 3 percent. Tudor Jones laid off 15 percent of staff in August. The firm''s main Tudor BVI Global Fund started 2017 down 0.6 percent to March 3 after gaining 0.9 percent in 2016. Brevan cut its management fees to zero for some current investors in its Master Fund and its Multi-Strategy fund last September after a similar move from Caxton Associates. But for both the old and new macro funds, it is still to be determined what 2017 will hold. Even though macro funds are flat on average for the first two months of 2017, making gains of just 0.38 percent, according to Hedge Fund Research, the popularity of macro strategies is not in doubt. A Credit Suisse survey in March of more than 320 institutional investors with $1.3 trillion in hedge funds showed macro was set to be the favourite strategy of 2017. Preqin data showed that after pulling assets out of macro for three back-to-back quarters, investors added $6.4 billion to the strategy in the fourth quarter of 2016 after Trump''s win. eVestment data showed that macro funds have pulled in $4.4 billion in the first two months of 2017, demonstrating a turnaround from 2016 when investors took $9.8 billion out of macro after withdrawing $10 billion in 2013 and $19.1 billion in 2014. "I don''t think macro is dead. Managers who can be nimble and are able to look outside the large liquid asset classes can still find great opportunities," Erin Browne, head of Global Macro Investments at UBS OConnor, said. Representatives at Tudor did not immediately respond to a request to comment. Moore Capital had no comment. A spokesman at Brevan declined to comment. (Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/hedgefunds-macro-idUSL8N1HH0A7'|'2017-04-10T14:00:00.000+03:00' +'280165f0fa8c46b71a302798a2792d4df0ef6e81'|'Merger of three Qatari banks to take six months: executive'|'By Tom Finn - DOHA DOHA The merger of Qatari banks Masraf Al Rayan MARK.QA, Barwa Bank [IPO-BABK.QA] and International Bank of Qatar will take six months to complete, Masraf Al Rayan''s chairman Hussain Ali al-Abdulla said on Sunday.In December Reuters reported that the trio had begun merger talks which, if successful, would create the Gulf state''s second-largest bank.Banks in the Gulf have previously been reluctant to link up but are facing challenging conditions due to the impact of lower oil prices on the region''s economies.The new bank, which would be run in compliance with Islamic banking principles, would have assets worth more than 160 billion riyals ($44 billion)."I think the merger will finish within six months. There will be a lot of synergy between the three banks," Abdulla told reporters at Masraf''s annual general meeting on Sunday.Masraf Al Rayan, an Islamic lender, has appointed KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers as merger advisers, along with law firm Allen & Overy as legal adviser, said Abdulla, adding that Barwa Bank and International Bank of Qatar had also chosen advisors.Masraf Al Rayan''s shareholders approved on Sunday the issuance of sukuk worth up to $2 billion to meet the bank''s liquidity needs.Masraf appointed banks in January to handle a debut sukuk issue of around $500 million, banking sources told Reuters that month, but Abdullah said on Sunday the timing of the issue had not been finalised..Asked whether the bank''s liquidity had been affected by low oil prices Abudullah said "liquidity now is better than in 2016" and that the U.S. Federal Reserve''s raising of interest rates last month would improve the profits of Qatari banks.(Writing by Tom Finn and Tom Arnold; Editing by Greg Mahlich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-qatar-m-a-banks-idINKBN1740P4'|'2017-04-02T15:19:00.000+03:00' +'22b90e8106e6ae7e03cb3b8c25c36306c584f27d'|'Premier League clubs enjoy record revenues but suffers losses'|'Business News 3:45am BST Premier League clubs enjoy record revenues but suffer losses File Photo: A football is rests on the pitch during the English Premier League soccer match between Burnley and Everton in Burnley August 23, 2009. REUTERS/Nigel Roddis MANCHESTER, England Premier League clubs'' revenues reached a new high of 3.6 billion pounds ($4.6 billion) last season, business advisory firm Deloitte said in its annual analysis while noting the clubs'' suffered record combined pre-tax losses of 110 million pounds. A number of one-off costs contributed to the loss, after two years of profits, while the report noted that wage costs increased by 12 percent to 2.3 billion pounds. Dan Jones, head of the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said Manchester clubs United and City alone were responsible for more than 50 percent of the increase. "Manchester Uniteds participation in the 2015-16 UEFA Champions League, coupled with continued strong commercial revenue growth, resulted in a 30 percent increase in revenue to 515m pounds. This saw them top the Deloitte Football Money League for the first time since 2003-04, as the worlds highest revenue-generating club," Jones said. "Increased distributions to clubs competing in Europe, under the new UEFA broadcast rights cycle notably Manchester City, who reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League also contributed to Premier League clubs revenue growth," he added. Combined revenue for the previous season was 3.4 billion pounds, according to Deloitte''s study. Jones said the losses should be seen as a blip and the new television deals coming online should see a swift return to profitability. "It is worth noting that this is due to a small number of one-off ''exceptional'' costs, and we fully expect that the Premier Leagues new three-year broadcast rights deal will see a return to record levels of profitability in the 2016/17 season," the analyst said. ($1 = 0.7825 pounds)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-england-deloitte-idUKKBN17M00S'|'2017-04-20T08:11:00.000+03:00' +'2101d9498ee58338072da90c18ea00248c426c66'|'UK industrial output shrinks unexpectedly in Feb, adding to signs of slowdown'|' 2:08pm IST UK industrial output shrinks unexpectedly in Feb, adding to signs of slowdown A man walks past a car scrap yard in east London January 25, 2013. REUTERS/Paul Hackett/Files LONDON British industrial output fell unexpectedly in February and manufacturers struggled, according to official data on Friday that added to signs economic growth may have slowed as Britain prepares to leave the EU. Industrial output fell 0.7 percent in February, worse than all forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists that pointed to a 0.2 percent increase and following a 0.3 percent decline in January. Separate figures showed Britain''s goods trade deficit unexpectedly hit a five-month high in February and January''s deficit was revised up too, the Office for National Statistics said. Another batch of figures showing a slump in construction output chimed with recent business surveys that suggested Britain''s economic performance probably peaked towards the end of last year. The latest ONS data suggested manufacturing was not making up for signs of a consumer spending slowdown as some economists had hoped following the pound''s post-Brexit vote drop. Output in manufacturing, which accounts for about 10 percent of Britain''s gross domestic product, unexpectedly fell 0.1 percent following a 1.0 percent fall in January, disappointing against forecasts for a 0.3 percent rise in the Reuters poll. British manufacturing had a mixed performance in 2016, with economic growth driven mostly by the much larger services sector and consumer spending. A closely-watched business survey on Monday showed British manufacturing lost some of its momentum in March, as export orders grew more slowly and demand for consumer goods faltered against a backdrop of rising inflation pressures. Separate figures from the ONS showed Britain''s goods trade deficit with the rest of the world rose to 12.461 billion pounds, compared with an upwardly revised 11.971 billion pounds in January. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a reading of 10.9 billion pounds. The ONS said the trade deficit was pushed up by erratic factors like imports of gold and aircraft. The ONS also released figures for construction output in February, which slumped 1.7 percent on the month - the biggest drop in almost a year. The Reuters poll had pointed to stagnation on the month but output in February was dragged down by 2.6 percent drop in the housebuilding sector, the sharpest decline since mid-2015. On the year, construction output rose just 0.5 percent in February - the weakest reading since March 2016 and a far cry from forecasts for a 1.9 percent rise. (Reporting by Andy Bruce and Alistair Smout)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-economy-idINKBN17916J'|'2017-04-07T16:38:00.000+03:00' +'55606a659632b8d67d81ccab901adafd0008f4e6'|'Foxconn could bid up to $27 bln for Toshiba''s chip business-Bbg'|'April 10 Taiwan''s Foxconn has indicated that it may pay as much as 3 trillion yen ($26.99 billion) for Toshiba Corp''s chip business, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.South Korea''s SK Hynix Inc and chipmaker Broadcom Ltd have submitted preliminary bids for the business, valued at 2 trillion yen ($17.98 billion) or more, according to the report. ( bloom.bg/2nSPHxE )Toshiba, the second-biggest NAND chip producer after South Korea''s Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, is considering selling the majority - or all - of its marquee flash-memory chip business, as it seeks to make up for a $6.3 billion writedown from its U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse.Toshiba and Japanese government officials are planning to look for offers led by Japanese buyers, though no bids have emerged yet, the report said.Terry Gou, founder of Foxconn, which is formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, said in March the company was "definitely bidding" for Toshiba''s chip business.Foxconn, which is the world''s largest contract electronics maker, Toshiba, SK Hynix and Broadcom were not immediately available for comment. ($1 = 111.1700 yen) (Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/toshiba-ma-foxconn-idINL3N1HI4ID'|'2017-04-10T12:50:00.000+03:00' +'0138b3b7341c7c19a1e46048add4d5a0139482d0'|'Cant we stop colossal firms taking over small businesses? - Life and style'|'I ve just heard that Tesco may be taking over wholesaler Booker , which includes Budgens, for 3.7bn, in the face of fierce opposition . Count me in that opposition, because I cannot shop in Tesco. Soon I may not even be able to shop in Budgens, just down the road. Damn. Because I feel I must stick to some priciples, and Im still enraged with Shirley Porter, the heiress to the Tesco fortune, who was responsible for the homes for votes scandal when she was leader of Westminster council. Remember her? You should. Why should I add one penny more to her immense fortune?And arent there enough Tescos already ? How come these massive outfits are allowed to take over smaller outfits, whether the smaller ones want them to or not? Remember Krafts takeover of Cadburys in 2010? Afterwards, the chocolate bars shrank, the Somersdale factory closed, goodbye to 500 jobs, and the company stopped working with Fairtrade and changed from a force for social good to the worst example of brutal corporate capitalism , as the Independent put it.Isnt there meant to be a monopolies watchdog? The Competitions and Markets Authority? Whats it watching while all these colossal takeovers are going on? The telly? I hope they saw Follow the Money, in which a huge and wicked bank took over a small and idealistic one, murdering and brutally assaulting anyone who impeded them. I suppose that was a particularly hostile takeover.Not that your average gigantic takeover involves murder, unless you include killing off thousands of jobs and independent businesses, but why force yourself upon something that doesnt want you? I know the answer, really. Its just shareholders wanting fatter wallets. The more they have, the more they want, and the more they get, and no one seems able to stop them. Are there no rules?There are some, says Fielding. But throw in a few billion, and there arent any. Money is winning, bombs are flying about. Its Easter, festival of renewal and rebirth. Jesus, a Jewish socialist revolutionary, would be very disappointed to find that the ruthless, murderous and greedy have inherited the earth. And so am I.Topics Tesco Still here: reflections on later life Retail industry Supermarkets comment '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/tesco/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/apr/17/cant-we-stop-colossal-firms-taking-over-small-businesses'|'2017-04-17T22:08:00.000+03:00' +'93160a078366c16b8a52ff6703d62bda5a64b198'|'EU mergers and takeovers (April 19)'|'BRUSSELS, April 19 The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process:APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALSNEW LISTINGS-- French EDF to acquire equipment and fuel manufacturing company Areva (notified April 18/deadline May 29)EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGESNoneFIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINEAPRIL 19-- Private equity firm Advent International to acquire biometrics and security business Morpho from French aerospace group Safran (notified Feb. 24/deadline extended to April 19 from March 31 after the companies offered concessions)-- Britain''s Rolls-Royce to acquire the remaining 53.1 percent stake in Spanish aircraft engine and components maker Industria de Turbo Propulsores (ITP) (notified Feb. 24/deadline extended to April 19 from March 31 after the companies offered concessions)APRIL 24-- French media company Bollore to acquire control of French company Vivendi (notified March 15/deadline April 24)APRIL 26-- Singapore-based tech communications company Broadcom AVGO.O to acquire U.S. networking switches and software maker Brocade (notified March 17/ deadline April 26)-- Swiss pharmaceutical supplier Lonza Group to acquire U.S. capsule maker Capsugel from private equity firm KKE & Co LP (notified March 17/deadline April 26)MAY 2-- Italian energy company Duferco Energia to acquire a business unit from Italian electricity company Energhe S.p.A. (notified March 22/deadline May 2/simplified)MAY 4-- Private investment firm KKR & Co. to acquire travel company Travelopia Holdings Ltd and Travelopia USA Inc. (notified March 24/ deadline May 4/simplified)MAY 5-- Japan''s Panasonic Corporation to acquire Spanish auto parts maker Ficosa International (notified march 27/deadline May 5)-- Banking services platform Pillarstone to acquire holding company Famar which has activities in the pharmaceutical industry (notified March 27/deadline May 5/simplified)MAY 8-- Swiss car importer Emil Frey France to acquire French car parts distributor PGA Group SAS from German carmaker Volkswagen Group (notified March 28/deadline May 8/simplified)MAY 10-- Toyota Industries Europe to acquire Vive, the parent company of Dutch industrial company Vanderlande Industries Holding B.V (notified March 29/deadline May 10/simplified)MAY 12-- Taiwan''s Ennoconn, which is part of electronics maker Foxconn, to increase its stake in Austrian IT group S&T (notified March 31/deadline May 12)-- French media group Vivendi to acquire de facto sole control of Italy''s Telecom Italia (notified March 31/deadline May 12)-- German car makers BMW, Daimler and Porsche AG and U.S. peer Ford Motor Co to acquire control of a joint venture (notified March 31/deadline May 12/simplified)-- U.S. chemicals group Riechhold and Black Diamond Capital to acquire Italian polymers maker Polynt which is owned by Italian private equity group Investindustrial (notified March 17/deadline May 12/commitments offered March 17)MAY 15-- Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Canada''s Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSPIB) to jointly acquire a portfolio of office and retail properties in New Zealand which is now solely controlled by PSPIB (notified April 3/deadline May 15/simplified)-- Private equity firm Bain Capital to acquire UK company MKM Building Supplies Ltd (notified April 3/deadline May 15/simplified)-- Private equity firm KKR and Spanish telecoms provider Telefonica tp acquire joint control of Spanish telecoms infrastructure provider Telxius (notified April 3/deadline May 15/simplified)-- German conglomerate Peter Cremer Holding to acquire 50 percent of Koenig Transportgesellschaft from German logistics company HaGe Logistik GmbH (notified April 3/deadline May 15/simplified)MAY 16-- Volkswagen Financial Services to acquire 50.98 percent of German tank and service cards provide Logpay Transport Services from Logpay Financial Services (notified April 4/deadline May 16/simplified)-- Finnish pension fund ELO Mutual Pension Insurance Company and Swedish peer Forsta AP-fonden to jointly acquire several Finnish property portfolio (notified April 4/deadline May 16/simplified)MAY 18-- French insurer Axa and French state-owned bank Caisse des Depots et Consignations to jointly acquire two commerical lots in a shopping centre (notified April 6/deadline May 18/simplified)MAY 19-- Italian cinema operator The Space Cinema, which is controlled by Vue International Holdco Ltd, and Italian peer UCI Italian S.p.A. which is part of Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group, to set up a joint venture (notified April 7/deadline May 19/simplified)-- German industrial gas producer Linde and Russian power generation equipment maker PJSC Power Machines to set up a joint venture (notified April 7/deadline May 19/simplified)-- U.S. packaging company WestRock to acquire U.S. peer Multi Packaging Solutions (notified April 7/deadline May 19)-- Asset manager Ares Management L.P. and investment firm The Baupost Group to jointly acquire German shopping mall operator Prejan Enerprises Ltd (notified April 7/deadline May 19/simplified)MAY 22-- Investment firms Cinven Capital Management and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to acquire joint control of Travel Holdings Parent Corporation (notified April 10/deadline May 22)May 23-- KKR & Co. and Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec to acquire Onex Corp.''s USI Insurance Services (notified April 11/deadline May 23)MAY 24-- French commodities trader Louis Dreyfus Company and Brazilian soy processor-exporter Amaggi to sell a 33 percent stake in their joint venture in Brazil to Japan-based Zen-Noh (notified April 12/deadline May 24/simplified)-- American healthcare company Johnson & Johnson to acquire Swiss biotech company Actelion (notified April 12/deadline May 24)-- Investment company Nordic Capital to acquire credit management services company Intrum Justitia (notified April 12/deadline May 24)MAY 29-- French EDF to acquire equipment and fuel manufacturing company Areva (notified April 18/deadline May 29)GUIDE TO EU MERGER PROCESSDEADLINES:The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company''s proposed remedies or an EU member state''s request to handle the case.Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days.SIMPLIFIED:Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until they are approved. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/eu-ma-idINL8N1HR44G'|'2017-04-19T12:09:00.000+03:00' +'5565c22bd225b8bf636196e6607be7ca2d3011cc'|'Brazil''s Oi considers capital injection under creditor protection -paper'|'SAO PAULO, April 7 Brazilian phone carrier Oi SA is considering a capital injection while still under creditor protection, Chief Executive Marco Schroeder told newspaper Valor Econmico in an interview published on Friday.Valor cited unnamed people involved in negotiations as saying the capital increase could total $2 billion to $3 billion. Schroeder declined to comment on specific figures, according to the report.An Oi press representative confirmed the contents of Schroeder''s interview with Valor.The capital injection would provide more firepower in Oi''s operational turnaround and could help advance thorny discussions between Oi and its creditors after it filed for Brazil''s largest ever bankruptcy protection last year.Some creditors have openly criticized Oi''s proposed debt restructuring, leading Brazil''s government to lay the groundwork for a direct intervention in the company. Communications Minister Gilberto Kassab said on Thursday the chances of intervention are increasing as time passes.Prominent bondholders and some strategic investors have long suggested Oi take additional capital, but this is the first time the carrier''s management publicly acknowledges that possibility.Preferred shares of Oi have advanced 53.8 pct so far this year as traders hope for a solution to its debt issues. Common shares rose 42 percent. (Writing by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/oi-sa-restructuring-idINL1N1HF0H4'|'2017-04-07T11:43:00.000+03:00' +'933708bf43f571292e025e5dcab7f46841757cd0'|'Elliott plans legal action if Akzo rejects vote on chairman dismissal'|'AMSTERDAM, April 12 Elliott Advisors, the AkzoNobel shareholder that backs rival PPG''s planned takeover of the Dutch paint maker, said it would take legal action if Akzo did not give an upcoming shareholder meeting the chance to vote to dismiss its chairman.Along with Akzo''s board, Chairman Antony Burgmans opposes the sweetened 24 billion euro ($26 billion) takeover bid PPG proposed last month. Akzo said earlier on Wednesday it would reject a proposal to put a vote on Burgmans''s dismissal on the meeting agenda."Shareholders have a legal right under Dutch law to put a proposal to dismiss Mr Burgmans onto the EGM agenda," Elliott said in a statement on Wednesday. If Akzo stuck to its "inexplicable" refusal, "Elliott intends to use its recourse to the Dutch Courts," the fund manager added. ($1 = 0.9410 euros) (Reporting By Thomas Escritt; Editing by Susan Fenton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/akzonobel-ma-elliott-idINA5N1GZ00F'|'2017-04-12T17:20:00.000+03:00' +'a638077c6d3262f4ba49df5aa90012cc5a1e54fd'|'MIDEAST STOCKS - Factors to watch - April 26'|'DUBAI, April 26 Here are some factors that may affect Middle East stock markets on Wednesday. Reuters has not verified the press reports and does not vouch for their accuracy.INTERNATIONAL/REGIONAL* GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian stocks hover near 2-year highs on U.S. optimism, euro steady* MIDEAST STOCKS-Dubai, Qatar resilient despite some weak Q1 results, Saudi slips* Oil falls on bulging U.S. crude inventories, record global supplies* PRECIOUS-Gold slips to 2-wk lows as rallying equities boost risk appetite* Middle East Crude-Dubai slumps despite Total, Shell purchases* Erdogan says Turkey won''t wait at Europe''s door forever* Tunisia to raise key interest rate after dinar slide - central bank governor* Iran''s Khamenei says next president should be less engaged with West* Iraq says Kuwait approves $100 million grant, first since 1990* U.N. raises $1.1 billion for Yemen, half of needs for 2017* Turkey''s Ziraat Bank to issue $600 mln bond with 5.25 pct yield - lead* Pope to Egypt to mend ties with Islam but conservatives wary* Iraq begins final expansion phase at Halfaya oil field aiming to double output* EMERGING MARKETS-Emerging stocks near two-year high after French vote* Azeri, Saudi energy ministers to discuss extension of oil output cutsEGYPT* New archaeological finds helping Egypt''s image, tourism sector - ministerSAUDI ARABIA* TABLE-Saudi Arabia Q1 earnings estimates* Saudi''s Alawwal Bank and HSBC-backed SABB in merger talks* Citi gets capital markets licence to operate in Saudi Arabia* Saudi exchange may be ready for equity futures, options in 24 months* HSBC wins mandate on $100 bln Saudi Aramco IPO - CEOUNITED ARAB EMIRATES* TABLE-Abu Dhabi Q1 earnings estimates* TABLE-Dubai Q1 earnings estimates* Emirates signals U.S. expansion plans on hold after travel curbs* Passenger traffic at Dubai International up 7.4 pct in Q1* Dubai tourism numbers surge on Indian, Chinese and Russian visitors-The National* Dubai Mall briefly plunges into darkness by power outage* UAE telco Du Q1 net profit falls 24 pctQATAR* TABLE-Qatar Q1 earnings estimates* Qatar energy min says satisfied with level of compliance with oil output cutKUWAIT* TABLE-Kuwait Q1 earnings estimates* Freed Kuwaiti opposition politician calls for reforms* Kuwait Finance House Q1 profit up 13.2 pct as investment income surgesBAHRAIN* TABLE-Bahrain Q1 earnings estimates* Investcorp Bank says chairman inaugurates office in Singapore (Reporting By Dubai Newsroom)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/mideast-factors-idUSL8N1HY03W'|'2017-04-26T11:31:00.000+03:00' +'f95270acbaba7918a8ec70359a53021a07713a5b'|'SAP first-quarter core profit up 8 percent on accelerating cloud sales'|'Business 00am BST SAP first-quarter core profit up 8 percent on accelerating cloud sales FILE PHOTO: The logo of German software group SAP is pictured in Vienna, Austria, July 25, 2016. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo FRANKFURT SAP ( SAPG.DE ), Europe''s largest software company, reported slightly lower-than-expected first-quarter core profit as it sold more of its cloud products, which are less profitable. First-quarter operating profit, excluding special items, for the German software maker rose 8 percent to 1.198 billion euros (1.02 billion), the company said in a statement on Tuesday. That was slightly below the average of 1.229 billion euros in a Reuters poll of 13 analysts, with individual estimates ranging from 1.183 billion to 1.298 billion. Revenues rose 12 percent to 5.285 billion euros, which was above average expectations of 5.179 billion. SAP''s customer base moved further to newer cloud-based and less profitable Internet platforms from classic high-margin packaged software products it has sold for decades. New cloud bookings jumped 49 percent to 215 million euros during the first quarter. "We continued our rapid expansion in cloud," SAP''s finance chief Luka Mucic said in a statement. "We''re off to a good start to reach our full-year targets and we are confident that we will grow our profitability in 2018 and beyond." SAP said it still expects revenue for 2017 of 23.2 to 23.6 billion euros, while operating profit is seen at 6.8-7.0 billion euros, both at constant currencies. SAP shares were indicated to open 1.1 percent lower at the bottom of the German blue chip index .GDAXI which is indicated to open 0.5 percent higher, according to pre-market data of German brokerage Lang & Schwarz. SAP shares reached an all-time high of 92.99 euros on Monday, giving it a market capitalisation of more than 112 billion euros. SAP is Europe''s most valuable technology company. (Reporting by Harro ten Wolde; Editing by Christoph Steitz and Muralikumar Anantharaman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sap-results-idUKKBN17R0FO'|'2017-04-25T14:00:00.000+03:00' +'d36d4f9e280b9aa5873bf6941a629253dc7922c5'|'Oil prices edge lower as rebound in Libyan production weighs'|' 54am IST Oil prices edge lower as rebound in Libyan production weighs An offshore oil platform is seen at the Bouri Oil Field off the coast of Libya August 3, 2015. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi/Files By Jane Chung - SEOUL SEOUL Oil prices edged lower in early Asian trading on Tuesday as a rebound in Libyan production put pressure on the market, along with a rise in U.S. drilling rig capacity that signals potential for increased supply. International Brent crude futures were trading down 3 cents at $53.09 a barrel at 0141 GMT from the previous session. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices was down 1 cents to $50.23 a barrel. "Crude oil prices fell as increased drilling in the United States and a rebound in Libyan output weighed on investor sentiment," said ANZ bank in a note. Libya''s crude output increased on Monday after state-owned National Oil Corp (NOC) lifted force majeure on loadings of Sharara crude oil from the Zawiya terminal in the west of the country, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Meanwhile U.S. drillers added the most rigs in a quarter since the second quarter of 2011, data from energy services company Baker Hughes showed on Friday, extending a 10-month drilling recovery. Adding to Libya''s oil production recovery, Iran''s exports of crude oil and gas condensate hit a record 3.05 million barrels per day (bpd) by March 20, the end of the Iranian month of Esfand, according to a report by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA). The oil market continues to await signs of a tightening market as concerns over OPEC production cut compliance, designed to erode a global crude oil glut, and high U.S. oil output linger. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and non-OPEC members including Russia, agreed late last year to cut output by almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in the first half of 2017. The market''s focus has now shifted whether the major oil producers will extend the cuts. (Reporting by Jane Chung; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell) Next In Money News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-oil-idINKBN17605O'|'2017-04-04T10:24:00.000+03:00' +'d4863845f9542e76384e5f932e50902918e90182'|'First Solar wants out of ''yieldco'' venture with SunPower'|'U.S. solar company First Solar Inc ( FSLR.O ) on Wednesday said it was looking to sell its stake in a publicly traded company it formed with rival SunPower Corp ( SPWR.O ) less than two years ago, at the height of investor euphoria over so-called "yieldcos."Separately, SunPower said it was exploring strategic alternatives for the venture, 8point3 Energy Partners ( CAFD.O ). Shares of the company slid 12 percent in extended trade on Wednesday.Yieldcos are publicly traded entities that house solar and wind projects with long-term contracts with utilities. The vehicles collect the stable cash flows from utility contracts and pay them out as dividends.In its statement, First Solar said the move would allow it to allocate more capital to the production of its next-generation Series 6 panels, which Chief Executive Mark Widmar said "has the potential to be a transformational product."A global glut of panels has pushed prices down substantially over the last year, cutting profit margins for manufacturers like SunPower and First Solar and sometimes driving prices on power plant contracts down to uneconomic levels. First Solar, which is based in Tempe, Arizona, announced late last year that it would bring forward production of Series 6 by a year in a bid to improve profitability.Yieldcos became popular among investors earlier this decade because they were viewed as a less volatile means of investing in renewable energy. But the bankruptcy of solar industry bellwether SunEdison, which formed two yieldcos before imploding last year, soured investor interest on the business model.8point3, which houses projects developed by both SunPower and First Solar, went public at $21 a share in June of 2015. Its stock closed at $13.21 Wednesday on the Nasdaq, and dropped to $11.65 in after-hours trade.In its statement, SunPower said it would consider a potential replacement partner for First Solar, among other options. The partnership "still offers significant, long-term strategic value," the San Jose-based company said.SunPower is majority owned by France''s Total SA ( TOTF.PA ).(Reporting by Komal Khettry in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva and Bill Rigby)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sunpower-8point3-energy-idUSKBN1772QG'|'2017-04-06T01:55:00.000+03:00' +'fdb2ca18f3d9ce118e0af21d0434af00d7cc655a'|'Trading startup Robinhood raises $110 million in new funding round'|'By Anna Irrera - NEW YORK NEW YORK Commission-free trading startup Robinhood has raised $110 million in a round led by Russian billionaire Yuri Milner''s investment group DST Global, valuing the company at $1.3 billion.Greenoaks Capital and Thrive Capital, the venture capital firm founded by Josh Kushner, also invested, the company said on Wednesday. Kushner is the brother of Jared Kushner, a senior adviser and son-in-law to U.S. President Donald Trump.Existing investors Index Ventures, NEA and Ribbit Capital participated in the round, which brings the total raised by the startup to $176 million.Palo Alto-based Robinhood allows retail investors to buy U.S. stocks and ETFs commission-free, through a user friendly app. It competes with established brokerages such as TD Ameritrade and E* Trade Financial Corp, which charge clients for commissions.It is part of a growing group of financial services companies that take advantage of digital technologies to lower their operational costs and target a younger generation of investors.While the company does not charge trading commissions, in September it launched a premium paid account called Robinhood Gold. The $10 per month account gives users added features, such as the ability to borrow more money for margin trading and trade before and after market close.The company, which was founded in 2013, also makes money from collecting interest from clients'' deposits and from benefits it receives for directing its order flow to certain trading venues.Baiju Bhatt, Robinhood''s co-CEO and co-founder said that the company had reached 2 million users and was launching a new referral program to further boost its growth."The company is continuing to do well and the opportunity to refinance the company was there so we took it," Bhatt said.Robinhood plans to expand internationally, but had to slow down some of its plans because of increased geopolitical uncertainty, Bhatt said. He pointed in particular to the UK''s decision to leave the European Union.Robinhood''s funding round comes as traditional brokerages face fierce competition to lower their fees. In February Fidelity Investments Inc, Charles Schwab Corp and TD Ameritrade made moves to slash their trading commissions.(This story corrects date of Robinhood Gold launch to September 2016, not earlier this month, in 6th paragraph.)(Reporting by Anna Irrera; Editing by Bernard Orr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-robinhood-investment-idINKBN17S1WV'|'2017-04-26T12:01:00.000+03:00' +'0fa3a3b83f83b950e0b9c6ac1f84b527eb69071f'|'Gazprom CEO sees share of EU gas market rising despite LNG rivals'|'By Dmitry Zhdannikov - LONDON LONDON A new pipeline from Russia''s Arctic fields to Germany will boost Moscow''s share of the European gas market despite competition from Qatar and the United States, and will also mean much less fuel goes via Ukraine, Russian gas monopoly Gazprom said.Chief Executive Alexei Miller told Reuters supplies via Ukraine would fall after 2020, but not stop entirely as Moscow has previously threatened, when the world''s largest gas firm opens a pipeline under the Baltic Sea.Gazprom''s Western partners agreed on Monday to provide half the financing for the 9.5 billion euro ($10.32 billion) Nord Stream 2 pipeline, removing a big hurdle for a Russian plan to pump more gas to Europe from 2019.Gazprom now supplies a third of Europe''s gas needs, with its share rising from a quarter in the past two decades. It believes it could ship more despite the EU''s fears that the bloc is becoming too reliant on Russian energy."Today, in 2017, we are beating our 2016 record highs by around 10 percent. So we can expect new records this year and Gazprom''s European market share is poised to rise," said Miller, one of the closest and longest serving allies of President Vladimir Putin, speaking in a telephone interview.Gazprom sold a record 179 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas to Europe in 2016, helped by a collapse in oil prices on which gas is priced and cold weather on the continent.Customers are requesting more gas this year and Gazprom believes in the next 15 years it can provide the bulk of an additional 100 bcm a year for Europe, which the continent needs by 2035 as domestic output falls."A decrease in the North Sea gas production, as well as in other EU countries, is becoming a very important factor ... Given that, Russia''s market share will be rising," Miller said.The European Union has sought to reduce reliance on Russia after a decade of gas disputes between Moscow and Ukraine over pricing, which led to several supply disruptions during harsh winters.Moscow''s annexation of Ukraine''s Crimea and its incursion in east Ukraine have made Europe more reluctant to rely on Russia for energy, which critics say the Kremlin uses for intimidation or blackmail. Moscow has dismissed the accusations."I don''t think it is fair to talk about dependence," said Miller. "Our dependence is mutual: when we invest in developing fields and building pipelines, Gazprom relies on future demand and de facto depends on the European market as much as Europe depends on Russian gas."Europe "could get its gas from anywhere" given its investment in liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, but pipeline gas remained cheaper, he said. "Pipeline gas is winning against LNG and is set to continue doing so in the future."BIG UKRAINIAN CUTGazprom supplies Europe via three main routes: the Ukrainian pipelines, the Yamal-Europe route via Belarus and Poland, and the new Nord Stream link under the Baltic Sea to the German town of Greifswald.Gazprom wants to double capacity of Nord Stream. On Monday, it signed a deal to co-fund the link with European companies Uniper, Wintershall, Shell, OMV and Engie .Eastern European and Baltic countries say the new pipeline carrying Russian gas across the Baltic will make the EU a hostage to Moscow. Other north European states, especially the main beneficiary Germany, back it for its economic benefits.Gazprom has previously threatened to cut all supplies to Europe via Ukraine once Nord Stream 2 is built and when the transit agreement with Ukraine expires in 2020.But Miller said some volumes could still pass through Ukraine. "We are ready for talks ... However, we can only talk about much smaller volumes, possibly around 15 bcm a year for countries which border Ukraine," he said.Ukraine has capacity to handle the transit of up to 120 bcm of Russian gas a year and was the main route for supplies to the West since the Soviet era. But volumes have fallen to between 50-80 bcm in recent years as Gazprom built new pipelines. A fall to 15 bcm would leave it at a fraction of past levels.Russian threats to cut supplies via Ukraine prompted some EU politicians to say the Nord Stream 2 project was designed to punish Kiev, a charge Moscow has denied.Miller said there were other reasons for the drop in Ukrainian transit, including the shift of Gazprom''s gas production increasingly to the Arctic Yamal peninsula."If you look from space, you can draw a direct line via the Baltic between new centres of production and Germany''s Greifswald," he said. "This route is 2,000 km (1,250 miles) shorter than the route via Ukraine."(Editing by Edmund Blair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/russia-gas-europe-idINKBN17R129'|'2017-04-25T17:59:00.000+03:00' +'d54ad7944f7d94927986123d4c1de70d2e135755'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Turkish lira, bonds firm after Erdogan victory'|' 56am EDT EMERGING MARKETS-Turkish lira, bonds firm after Erdogan victory * For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2e7eoml * For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2dZbdP5 By Claire Milhench LONDON, April 18 The Turkish lira firmed and sovereign dollar bond prices rose on Tuesday after President Tayyip Erdogan''s victory in a referendum that handed him sweeping powers, while emerging equities fell as geopolitical tensions dampened risk appetite. The lira strengthened 0.2 percent but was still off a two-week high hit on Monday after a narrow victory for Erdogan in Turkey''s referendum on constitutional reform. Erdogan has argued that a concentration of power is needed to prevent instability, but opposition parties challenged the result. European monitors said the referendum did not meet international standard. Turkish dollar bond prices rose across the curve to five-month highs and five-year credit default swaps traded at a two-week low of 233 basis points (bps), according to IHS Markit data. The average yield spread paid by Turkish sovereign bonds over U.S. Treasuries on the JPMorgan EMBI Global Diversified narrowed by 3 bps to 305 bps, an 11-day low. Greg Saichin, chief investment officer for emerging markets fixed income at Allianz Global Investors, said the tight result was a surprise. "The markets are taking this initial result as positive in so far as the buck now stops with one person and in theory political noise should come down," he said, adding that the next battleground will be the planned 2019 election. "Should the economic outlook deteriorate, or the system move towards a more autocratic style that does not sit well with voters, chances are that the next election will be again about a referendum on Erdogan''s new powers," he said. Turkish economic weakness was exposed in data released on Monday showing a rise in the budget deficit and unemployment at a seven-year peak. Away from Turkey, emerging market assets sold off, with MSCI''s emerging equities index down 0.3 percent as tensions with North Korea kept investors away from riskier assets. Amongst the biggest fallers were Hong Kong down 1.4 percent to a one-month low, and Chinese mainland stocks, down 0.8 percent. But South Korea steadied, rising 0.1 percent to an 11-day high. The United States and South Korea have pledged to forge a stronger alliance but U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said the free trade agreement between the two will be reviewed. The Korean won fell 0.7 percent to a one-week low. South African assets remained under pressure, with stocks down 0.7 percent and the rand slipping 0.5 percent against the dollar, off a near three-week high. Russian dollar-denominated stocks fell 0.6 percent and the rouble weakened 0.5 percent off a two-week high, with oil prices heading back towards $55 a barrel. The Hungarian forint firmed 0.2 percent against the euro after slumping to a four-month low on Monday. Thousands of Hungarians rallied in Budapest on Saturday against what they said were attempts by the government to silence critical voices, in the latest mass protest. Ashmore, a bellwether stock for the emerging markets asset management sector, saw quarterly net inflows for the first time in nearly three years, helping to drive a 7 percent rise in its total assets. For CENTRAL EUROPE market report, see For TURKISH market report, see For RUSSIAN market report, see) Emerging Markets Prices from Reuters Equities Latest Net Chg % Chg % Chg on year Morgan Stanley Emrg Mkt Indx 959.21 -3.50 -0.36 +11.24 Czech Rep 975.55 -0.97 -0.10 +5.85 Poland 2251.36 +17.73 +0.79 +15.58 Hungary 32566.38 -56.02 -0.17 +1.76 Romania 8238.76 -19.97 -0.24 +16.28 Greece 679.84 -3.73 -0.55 +5.62 Russia 1085.45 -8.82 -0.81 -5.80 South Africa 46340.87 -303.62 -0.65 +5.56 Turkey 90674.31 +20.51 +0.02 +16.04 China 3196.60 -25.57 -0.79 +3.00 India 29523.67 +110.01 +0.37 +10.88 Currencies Latest Prev Local Local close currency currency'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-idUSL8N1HQ182'|'2017-04-18T16:56:00.000+03:00' +'0047fe78290fea7ae6dec9fd10fa3c0272bb40a1'|'Canada police arrest U.S. man after ''mock'' bomb found on Chicago-bound plane'|'World 20pm EDT Canada police arrest U.S. man after ''mock'' bomb found on Chicago-bound plane TORONTO A 58-year-old American man was arrested after airport officials found a "mock improvised explosive device" in a suitcase on a United Airlines flight bound for Chicago, Canadian police said on Thursday. The device was swabbed for explosives and found not to be a threat to safety, a Peel Regional police spokesman said. The Chicago O''Hare-bound flight was delayed for hours from its scheduled 7 a.m. EDT (1100 GMT) departure from Toronto. The suspect, who was not identified, was held for a bail hearing on Friday. (Reporting by Solarina Ho; Editing by Bernadette Baum)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-canada-arrest-airplane-fakebomb-idUSKBN1782IM'|'2017-04-07T02:18:00.000+03:00' +'bb8db836d17ef131bbba4b1869224419bbb76c7d'|'Brazil''s Renova sells wind farm to AES unit for $193 mln'|'SAO PAULO, April 18 Renova Energia SA sold a wind farm project to a unit of AES Corp for 600 million reais ($193 million) on Tuesday, enabling the Brazilian renewable power company to replenish cash amid a severe cash crunch.In a securities filing, AES Tiet Energia SA said it plans to assume 1.150 billion reais worth of debt owed by the Alto Sertao II project. The deal''s value could increase by 100 million reais within five years, depending on whether the project outperforms some unspecified operational metrics.Reuters reported on Jan. 2 that Renova and AES Tiet, a unit of AES Brasil, had reached an accord over Alto Sertao II for a price between 600 million reais and 700 million reais. ($1 = 3.1071 reais) (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Luciano Costa; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/renova-energia-ma-aes-corp-idINL1N1HQ20N'|'2017-04-18T19:34:00.000+03:00' +'efae98f842e8eb80940d15590637858ffa291850'|'UPDATE 3-American Airlines apologizes for onboard clash over stroller - Reuters'|'(Adds comment from flight attendants union)By Barbara GoldbergNEW YORK, April 22 American Airlines on Saturday apologized to a female passenger and suspended an employee after a video showing an onboard clash over a baby stroller went viral, in the latest embarrassment for a U.S. carrier over how it treated a customer.The clip, posted on Facebook on Friday by a bystander aboard the flight, shows a woman in tears with a young child in her arms, and a man emerging from his seat to confront a male flight attendant who apparently wrested the stroller from the woman.Facebook user Surain Adyanthaya, who posted the video, wrote that the flight attendant had forcefully taken the stroller, hitting the woman with it and just missing her child. That sequence of events did not appear on the clip.What it shows is the unidentified man standing up and yelling at the flight attendant: "You do that to me and I''ll knock you flat."The crew member then points his finger angrily and challenges the passenger to hit him. The video shows the man eventually returning to his seat.American Airlines said in a statement it was investigating the incident, which took place before the plane took off on a flight from San Francisco to Dallas."We are deeply sorry for the pain we have caused this passenger and her family and to any other customers affected by the incident," the airline said in a statement released early on Saturday.The woman elected to take another flight and was upgraded to first class, said American.The treatment of passengers by the airline industry returned as a national issue after a video appeared online two weeks ago showing a 69-year-old passenger being dragged off a United Airlines flight to make room for a crew member. The fracas sparked international outrage and policy changes by the airline.A passenger who posted a description of the latest incident on the website Reddit wrote that the flight attendant early on called for security to intervene in his dispute with the woman.Bob Ross, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants union, which represents American Airlines workers, said in a statement that tight schedules, overcrowded planes, shrinking seats and limited overhead bin space have made it difficult for flight attendants to board passengers."All of these factors are related to corporate decisions beyond the control of passengers and flight attendants," Ross said. (Reporting by Barbara Goldberg in New York; additional reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles and Ruthy Munoz in Houston)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/american-airline-passenger-idINL1N1HU0JU'|'2017-04-22T20:41:00.000+03:00' +'82323cb2435680f27ffa3848a30510bf2b082f4b'|'OPEC over-delivers on oil cuts in March, but sees more from rivals'|'Business News - Wed Apr 12, 2017 - 12:15pm BST OPEC over-delivers on oil cuts in March, but sees more from rivals FILE PHOTO: A flag with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) logo is seen before a news conference at OPEC''s headquarters in Vienna, Austria December 10, 2016. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader/File Photo LONDON OPEC countries cut oil output in March by more than they pledged, according to figures the group published in a monthly report on Wednesday, as it sticks to an effort to clear a supply glut that has weighed on prices. But the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries also raised its forecast of oil supplies from non-member countries in 2017 as a recovery in oil prices encourages U.S. shale drillers to pump more, reducing demand for the group''s oil this year. Compliance in March by the 11 OPEC members with output targets under a supply cut deal averaged 104 percent, according to a Reuters calculation based on production figures OPEC published. (Reporting by Alex Lawler; editing by Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-opec-oil-outlook-idUKKBN17E1C1'|'2017-04-12T19:15:00.000+03:00' +'226f478d004a8a7fdd9e05a0f69a15f0cfd7fe7b'|'Shirin Ebadi: ''Outside of Iran I knew Id be more useful. I could speak'' - Global Development Professionals Network'|' 11.32 BST Last modified on 15.34 BST O f all the places one might encounter Shirin Ebadi, Tallahassee should not be one. I was to meet her in the state capital of what is officially known as Americas sunshine state, but is more widely regarded as Americas weirdest state. Ebadi was in Florida for PeaceJam , which connects Nobel peace prize laureates with youth. But I found it hard to imagine the greatest Iranian human rights icon spending Persian New Year week at a teen camp on the Florida panhandle. I go everywhere, I live on planes, she tells me on the phone and indeed days later Im scheduled to meet her closer to my home in New York City. On the phone I hold my breath every time we speak her informal, easy Persian contrasts with mine, layered with too much cloying etiquette, the kind you prepare for some relative of your dreams. Persian is my first language I use it to speak to my family and Iranian friends, but recently I feel anxious. I consider the prospect of translating Persian for those trapped in legalese at airports during the Muslim ban , and I dont trust my tongue. Ebadi dismisses my apologies and sticks to our logistics. I foolishly suggest a Persian restaurant in midtown Manhattan frequented by my circle of Iranian journalists and she, with a swift correction reminds me of her security concerns. Would I instead mind coming over to New Jersey where she is staying with family? Hoboken, have I heard of it? Its she who tells me how close it is to Manhattan. Ive lived in New York City for over 20 years, but rarely spent much time in New Jersey. And she asks about my texting abilities, and I numbly consider my phone which confuses me more often than not. I am months shy of 40, I try to explain to someone months shy of 70. Itll be easy, she insists. Its not the first time she tells me that in our conversations. Porochista Khakpour and Shirin Ebadi Photograph: Porochista Khakpour If Tallahassee was an unlikely place to meet, Hoboken is the only slightly less unlikely rival. Its as all-American as its many drinking establishments: the mile-square small town on the Hudson River known for birthing baseball and Frank Sinatra. Just as Im worrying about how to find her, she speedwalks my way: a beaming older woman in red lipstick, neatly cut mahogany hair, a plush black jacket with silk and velvet embossing, over sensible black slacks. What makes all the American elements more bizarre is that we are meeting on Sizdah Be-dar, the final day of Persian New Year. Its the first thing I can think to say with my fussy formalities and she smiles it off, eyeing me up and down I have a cane because of a relapse of Lyme Disease. She doesnt look the least bit out of place, but shes perhaps not convinced of me. Okay, can you walk a few blocks? Lets get to work! We end up in a Starbucks of all places, which Ebadi says works well for meetings anonymous, casual, yet quiet enough for our purposes. But its wildly crowded on this Sunday morning and most of our conversation has to happen over Elton John and Buffalo Springfield as baristas bellow the debased Italian of the American coffee lexicon. At one point, I express to Ebadi my worry about our speaking loudly in Farsi the overheated Islamophobia recently, I try to warn. But her shrug says it all. Ebadi is someone who has done considerable time in all sorts of dangers. The first time Ebadi came deep into my consciousness was autumn 2003, just over half a year after the US went to war in Iraq, not even two years since president George W Bush declared Iran part of the Axis of Evil . Amid all this, Ebadi won the Nobel peace prize. I was in graduate school at Johns Hopkins and the last thing on mind was any sort of Iranian pride, but Ill never forget that phone call from my father: Best news! Shirin Ebadi won the Nobel! We celebrated as if she were a cousin. And she might be, my family would always try to insist, as Ebadi comes from Hamadan where my mother was from. A year after Ebadis birth there in 1947, her family moved to Tehran. They encouraged her to get her law degree and by 1970 she was one of the first female judges in Iran . All the freedoms my brother had, I had. There was no difference between us Shirin Ebadi The luck I had was that I was born into a very good family. We were three daughters and one brother. All the freedoms my brother had, I had. There was no difference between us. My father loved my mother very much. He was a real feminist I learned feminist principles from my father really. They were Muslim and they practiced very modern Islam. And we went to Zoroastrian school. Why did we? Because it was a good school near us and my father said there is no reason to go far to go to another good school. He said all religions are one. And I learned from my family to respect all religions. Not even 30, she became the youngest and first female chief magistrate of 26th divisional court in Tehran in 1975. By the 1979 Revolution, she was married but she was about to lose her career as female judges were dismissed by the regime. She was demoted to the role of magistrates clerk in the court over which she once presided, so she requested an early retirement. During this period she wrote articles and worked on books, and tended to her two young daughters. Finally, in 1992, she was able to get a license for a private practice. Indira Jaising: ''In India, you cant even dream of equal justice. Not at all'' Read more She soon became the defence lawyer for the most important human rights cases in Iran, including Zahra Kazemi , Parvaneh and Dariush Foroohar , Ezat Ebrahim Nejad , and Zahra Bani Yaghoob . She also defended leaders of the Bahai faith, the most persecuted religious minority in Iran. And she did this all without making a living from it. Not only did I not make money, 20 lawyers who worked with us did not make money. We had 6,000 political cases we defended without charge. We decided to take no money. I did consulting in my office, my husband had a job as an engineer, our office was our own so no rent so with political prisoners I took no pay. Ebadi falls into a wistful smile when recalling the mother of Kazemi insisting on paying her in limes from Shiraz. Trouble came soon enough: in 1999 she was charged with disturbing public opinion, for which she spent 25 days in solitary confinement in Evin Prison, where she had visited her clients many times. More convictions quickly followed and she was threatened with more imprisonment and a bar on practicing law for five years but due to international pressure her sentence was reduced to a fine. When the Nobel came in 2003, Ebadi was shocked. I had no idea I was a candidate. When I found out, I was very surprised. The [prize] money helped me so I could get a good apartment, get some computers in there, and our work really progressed. She set up an office for what would become a major human rights organisation, the Center for Defenders of Human Rights (CDHR) which supported the families of political prisoners. Shirin Ebadi in her office in Tehran in 2005. Photograph: Scott Peterson/Getty Images Trouble came again in 2009. While Ebadi was in Spain for a three-day conference, the Islamic Republic of Iran held its now notorious tenth presidential elections which ended in protests , giving birth to Irans opposition Green movement. In spite of protests with hundreds of thousands of Iranians in Tehran and many communities around the world it ended inhouse arrest for the movement favourite Mir Hossein Mousavi and all sorts of renewed crackdowns on the Iranian people. The government filed a case against Ebadi in the revolutionary court and confiscated her properties, including the office of the CDHR. Only when Ebadi talks about this can you hear pain in her voice. There is a soft strain in her voice when she details how this led to her current exile in London. The reason I did not return is not because I am afraid of jail, she says. Outside of Iran I knew Id be more useful. I could speak, I could hear the voices of people. Do you miss Iran? Naturally. Will you go back one day? Definitely. This is where Ebadi achieves saint-like status for some to look back on Iran with love would be a feat for many, given what she details in her most recent book Until We Are Free: My Fight For Human Rights in Iran . The book, with startling candour, reveals the story of how the government eventually succeeded in hurting her where it hurt the most: her family. After years of the authorities targeting her daughters and sister, all while harassing Ebadi herself, they resorted to one of their more sinister schemes. Green movement protests in Iran in 2009. Photograph: AP Just a couple months after the election, her husband of 35 years disappeared only to finally call her with this story: he had cheated on her and was in Evin . It went deeper than that: he had been set up in a sting operation involving video cameras, a mistress, and alcohol. The presence of alcohol plus the fact that in Islamic law sex outside of marriage is forbidden, gave authorities free reign to take him to prison where he was lashed, convicted of adultery and sentenced to death. He narrowly escaped execution by making a deal with authorities publicly denouncing Ebadi in return for freedom: Shirin Ebadi did not deserve to receive the Nobel Prize. She was awarded the prize so that she could help topple the Islamic Republic. She is a supporter of the west, particularly America. Her work is not in the service of Iranians, but serves the interests of foreign imperialists who seek to weaken Iran. Ebadi stayed abroad in London and their marriage dissolved, though amicably her entire family understood that they had been framed. The reason I told the story so openly was that I wanted to show what the government in Iran is capable of Shirin Ebadi Im tempted to dance around the details even as a journalist, its daunting to ask an Iranian elder such intimate specifics but Ebadi insists on telling her story. The reason I told the story so openly was that I wanted to show what the government in Iran is capable of. They have done what they did to my husband to many others. But more so, the talk of this in Iran is taboo, and I wanted to break the taboo. A government who can whip me on streets if strands of hair are revealed, and hires a sex worker for politics in the name of Islam? The hint of distress in her throat immediately burns into triumph. So, yes, I have my priorities when it comes to taboo. Ebadi has detailed all her paths and the many obstacles in several books and counting, the most famous being Iran Awakening: One Womans Journey to Reclaim Her Life and Country , co-authored with journalist Azadeh Moaveni. I admire her ferocious integrity and her enduring grip on what matters most to Iranian women, says Moaveni. She doesnt always say the most fashionable things, or shift her beliefs to suit the funding currents in Washington, because she is so above that, always has been. The price of that has been a smaller share of the limelight than she really deserves. She doesnt cut deals with justice and it is because of that I find her so precious. The first woman in space: ''People shouldnt waste money on wars'' Read more Its no wonder then that by the end of our several hours together, I find myself asking her for advice. How, I wonder, can an activist survive this world? Back in Tehran, always before bed, I would always read literature, she says. Unfortunately abroad I dont have the same access to [translated] books, so I watch films. And comic films only. Before sleeping I have to for a half hour loudly laugh and this helps me so much. It frees my mind. I mentally bookmark this under essential self-care, but, as the Starbucks soundtrack goes from the Bruce Springsteen of my youth to the Lauryn Hill of my early adult years, I find myself inconsolably touching down to anxieties about Islamophobia in America. There is a system here, but in Iran there is no system, she says, while acknowledging some situations are analogous. The state and the citizen are very different. The government can be bad but the people are not like that. And this is why there are tensions in society. Because the culture of the people is higher than the culture of the government. And this could be the entire Middle East and now America with its own fledgling dictatorship. There is a system here [in the US], but in Iran there is no system Shirin Ebadi Almost a fourth of the people on this earth are Muslim, she continues. And there are so many countries of the world where the majority are Muslim. Are they like each other? Of course not. But some of the countries only show the dark Islam. In this America, we have some great professors of Islamic studies, but no one knows them. But Bin Laden everyone knows! And what of all the debates around feminism and Islam in this country? Women must be free, Ebadi says, without pause. For example, why dont we bother with mens beards but we do with the womans hijab? Because their beards, thats Islam too. The hijab should be a choice. I wander further into advice and ask her what we should tell young people, thinking about the students I teach who are extremely depressed. Its very important to make young people interested in issues of social justice and politics. Tell them, this is your destiny, this is your life, dont be let it go by. Its not enough just to vote after that you must see if those you voted for went through with your decisions. If they did not, then you must protest! I give an example: democracy is like a flower. You must give it water and sun daily. You cant pour enough water for a month at once. Democracy needs daily maintenance. Its anecdote shes told many times, one I wont soon forget. Diane Nash: ''Non-violent protest was the most important invention of the 20th century'' Read more At the end of our time together, I come to feel like she is my family. She is helping me download Telegram so she can send me films about recent prisoners in Iran (you must go to the app store! she snaps, as I fumble with my phone), all while she shows me pictures of her five-year-old grandson. We leave the American anthems of the Starbucks behind and walk toward the waterfront, talking work and love. I love what I do, she tells me. The more I progressed, my interest in my work only grew. I must do it all. I hope while Im still alive I can do all this. We talk also of duty, my mind again with my students and hers at PeaceJam how we must make the world better for the youth, how perhaps we are beyond rescue but at least we can hope for the future. She pauses at the hint of my resignation. No, the world has to be good for them but also good for us! I get her most spirited smile. Why not? Its our right too. I never give up my rights! This is the fourth in a series of interviews with women who changed our world.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2017/apr/25/shirin-ebadi-outside-of-iran-i-knew-id-be-more-useful-i-could-speak'|'2017-04-25T19:32:00.000+03:00' +'c78c0b8b1567411b3d793c513ecdd5a0c3213c46'|'UPDATE 1-UK''s Sports Direct strikes deal to enter U.S. market'|'Bonds News - Fri Apr 21, 2017 - 5:47am EDT UPDATE 2-UK''s Sports Direct deal to enter U.S. market irks analysts * Sports Direct buys 50 U.S. stores for $101 million * UK firm says deal provides U.S. foothold * Analysts say deal unwelcome distraction from core market (Adds analyst comment, updates shares) By James Davey LONDON, April 21 British retailer Sports Direct has entered the U.S. market by buying two loss-making chains for $101 million, it said on Friday, drawing criticism from analysts who said the firm should keep its focus at home where it has struggled. Sports Direct, controlled by Chief Executive Mike Ashley, has faced several challenges in the past two years. British lawmakers condemned what they called its poor working conditions and investors have criticised its corporate governance. The firm issued a profit warning in December after a slide in sterling''s value made it more costly for the firm to source its branded goods from Asia. Last month, it said the devaluation of the euro against the dollar would hit its gross margin. Its shares, which have fallen 22 percent in the past year, were down 1 percent at 312 pence at 0931 GMT, valuing the business at 1.74 billion pounds ($2.22 billion). Sports Direct said it had received approval from Delaware Bankruptcy Court to buy 50 stores trading as Bob''s Stores and Eastern Mountain Sports through the bankruptcy process of Eastern Outfitters, the chains'' parent company. The acquired stores sell predominantly sports and casual wear, as well as outdoor and camping equipment and clothing. "The acquisition is expected to complete in the first half of May 2017 and will provide Sports Direct with a footprint in U.S. bricks-and-mortar retail and a platform from which to grow U.S. online sales," Sports Direct said. Analysts criticised the move that they said would distract the company from efforts to lift its performance in Britain. "We find the timing extraordinary," analysts at Peel Hunt wrote in a research note, changing their investment stance to "add" from "buy". "What is not required, in our view, is a major, and not inexpensive, distraction, 3,000 miles away." Analysts at Jefferies, who have a "hold" stance, also questioned the timing. "The incremental challenge of breaking into the U.S. coincides with the need for a drastic UK repositioning and for European stabilisation. This may be a step too far," they said in a note. The $101 million acquisition cost comprises loans advanced by Sports Direct to Eastern Outfitters before and during the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process, and the purchase of the firm''s debt. In the financial period to Jan. 28, 2017, the acquired businesses made a pretax net operating loss of $26 million. The U.S. sporting goods sector is being tested by the expansion of Internet shopping and discount chains. Several retailers filed for bankruptcy in 2016, including Sports Authority, speciality golf retailer Golfsmith International Holdings and sports goods manufacturer Performance Sports Group. ($1 = 0.7806 pounds) (Editing by David Evans and Edmund Blair) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/bobs-stores-ma-sports-direct-idUSL8N1HT0T8'|'2017-04-21T15:27:00.000+03:00' +'53f51808290aa6a692d291ffff13fd486d758d80'|'UK''s Exova to be bought by Element Materials in 620-million-pound deal'|'Business News 10:23am BST UK''s Exova to be bought by Element Materials in 620-million-pound deal British materials testing company Exova Group ( EXO.L ) said on Wednesday UK-based Element Materials Technology would buy it in a deal valued at 620.3 million pounds. Element said it would pay Exova shareholders 240 pence per share in cash, representing a 10.7 percent premium to the stock''s closing price on March 24 before Exova entered talks with potential buyers. The offer was in line with Exova''s closing price on Tuesday, and based on that the deal was worth 607.1 million pounds, according to Reuters calculations. Exova shareholders will also receive a final dividend of 2.35 pence per share for 2016, Element said. "The combined UK headquartered group will benefit from deep pools of technical talent, very significant testing capacity and a strong network of facilities to support our customers'' global supply chains," Element CEO Charles Noall said in a statement. Exova, whose laboratories test the safety and performance of products used in industries ranging from aerospace to pharmaceuticals, revealed in March that it had received proposals for a possible cash offer from Element Materials Technology. The Edinburgh-based company also said private equity fund PAI Partners, and Jacobs Holding AG, a Swiss investment firm, had also made similar proposals. Goldman Sachs and Investec advised Exova on the acquisition. Exova shares were down 0.8 percent at 238 pence in early trading on Wednesday. (This version of the story corrects headline and paragraph 1 to say Element Materials is a UK-based firm, not Dutch) (Reporting By Justin George Varghese; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-exova-group-m-a-idUKKBN17L0QV'|'2017-04-19T17:23:00.000+03:00' +'a066c2769b5d7cef4275250f9ddb927faf3ee761'|'PopVicenza, Veneto Banca remove major hurdle to rescue deal'|' 53pm BST PopVicenza, Veneto Banca remove major hurdle to rescue deal A Banca Popolare di Vicenza sign is seen in Rome, Italy, March 29, 2017. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi By Valentina Za - PADUA, Italy PADUA, Italy Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca have removed a big obstacle to a state bailout they have requested to stay in business by reducing the risk of shareholder lawsuits, but still face a hard task to win European Union approval for the rescue plan. Italy wants to avoid having to wind down the two regional banks because it fears that ensuing losses for creditors and major depositors would further dent confidence in its ailing banking system. The EU Commission must approve the banks'' restructuring plan to unlock state funds. The two banks said on Tuesday they would pay around 441 million euros ($469 million) to stave off potential legal action from around 121,000 investors, potentially paving the way for a bailout deal. The retail investors had their savings wiped out when two banks were rescued less than a year ago by state-sponsored, privately funded bailout fund Atlante. Since then Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca, both based in Italy''s industrial north-east, have had to seek help from the state to fill a capital shortfall of up to 6.4 billion euros ($6.8 billion) identified by European Central Bank supervisors. "The two banks were a minefield before the settlement deal with shareholders," Popolare di Vicenza Chairman Gianni Mion told a news conference. "We passed the written test when the ECB declared us viable, now we have an oral exam to sit through with the European Commission ... it is very complex work ... but we are hopeful we can be granted a state recapitalisation." The two banks, which are both under investigation by magistrates over alleged misselling of their shares to retail investors, offered to repay shareholders who bought stock in the past 10 years 15 percent of their investment losses. The take-up of the offer was around 70 percent, below a target of 80 percent but enough to cut the legal risks. Popolare di Vicenza CEO Fabrizio Viola said such risks would have made it impossible for the state - or anyone else - to invest. Viola - who was brought in by Atlante to oversee a merger of the two banks - said he was working with authorities in Brussels to agree a restructuring plan that ensured the two banks could be profitable after a merger. He said it was imperative to lower a cost-to-income ratio that was now at around 100 percent but declined to give any numbers on job cuts after a report in Italian media at the weekend said the two banks may need to cut 4,000 jobs out of a total of around 11,000. "The EU wants a bank that is able to stand on its own two feet ... trade unions must understand that the situation is very, very, very serious ... we''re not optimising costs here ... survival is at stake," he said. Viola said it was too early to provide any details over the timing of the state bailout and its size. He said Atlante would discuss with the Italian Treasury and the EU Commission whether to invest more money in the banks because the fund wants to curb losses for its contributors which are the country''s leading banks and insurers. Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca posted a 2016 combined loss of 3.4 billion euros. ($1 = 0.9413 euros)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-italy-veneto-banks-restructuring-idUKKBN17D2AL'|'2017-04-12T01:53:00.000+03:00' +'782248a259f5359ab60cae0743eb679c3d38e919'|'EBRD annual meeting to discuss Russia lending halt - source'|' 33pm BST EBRD annual meeting to discuss Russia lending halt - source The headquarter of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is seen in London, Britain, November 22, Britain 2016. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth LONDON Russia has asked for a top level discussion over the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development''s 2014 ban on new Russia lending at the bank''s upcoming meeting in Cyprus next month, an EBRD source told Reuters on Thursday. "There is likely to be discussion at the annual meeting," the source, who requested anonymity, said. "It isn''t about EBRD re-engagement in Russia, it is about whether the EBRD was compliant with its own rules when board directors gave their political guidance." The bank''s directors gave a "guidance" to halt new investment in Russia in 2014 following the imposition of Western sanctions against Moscow for its annexation of Ukraine''s Crimea region. Russia has already taken the issue to the bank''s London-based board of directors, but by raising it at the annual meeting it will mean it is discussed by national finance ministers and central bank heads that act as EBRD ''governors''. "This has already been discussed once in the board of directors and it was found the bank was compliant (with its rules) it is hard to imagine that this situation has changed," the source added. (Reporting by Marc Jones; editing by Sujata Rao)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-ebrd-meeting-idUKKBN17F1V9'|'2017-04-13T22:33:00.000+03:00' +'e63449e33cecae157aa5bcabe58d71190094fb58'|'Maersk Line to pay $4 billion for Hamburg Sud'|'COPENHAGEN The world''s biggest container shipping company Maersk Line will pay 3.7 billion euros ($4.02 billion) for its acquisition of smaller German rival Hamburg Sud, it said on Friday.Combined, the two companies will be able to realize annual operational savings of about $350 million to $400 million, Maersk Line said in a statement fleshing out detail on the deal announced in December."By keeping Hamburg Sud as a separate and well-run company, we will limit the transaction and integration risks and costs while still extracting the operational synergies," said Soren Skou, CEO of both Maersk Line and its parent A.P. Moller-Maersk Group.The boards of Maersk Line and the Oetker Group, owner of Hamburg Sud, on Friday approved the proposed deal, which has been given the green light by the European Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice."Maersk paid a significant amount for Hamburg Sud, but considering the wave of consolidation in the industry ... you do not get anything cheaply," Sydbank analyst Morten Imsgard said, adding that the final price was just within his highest estimate.The proposed acquisition will still need approval from regulatory authorities in countries such as Brazil, China and South Korea, a Maersk spokesman told Reuters, adding that the company expects to secure hese by December or early 2018."Integration does not start until we have all approvals," he said.The proposed merger will strengthen the Danish company''s presence in global trade, particularly in Latin America, where Hamburg Sud has been long established."The job is now to realize those synergy effects, and integrating shipping companies is not without obstacles," Imsgaard said, referring to past acquisitions that have resulted in a loss of market share in some areas.Maersk is also in the process of spinning off its energy division, either by seeking alliances or a listing, to focus more sharply on its transport division.Maersk Line expects the Hamburg Sud transaction to close by the end of the year.($1 = 0.9200 euros)(Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard; Editing by David Goodman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-hamburgsud-m-a-maersk-idINKBN17U0VM'|'2017-04-28T05:35:00.000+03:00' +'d334ef7691c1910e5983a8ae8f1076b5f39deac5'|'Brexit raises spectre of dearer Guinness and Baileys - Business'|'Cans of Guinness could be an unexpected casualty of Brexit if a new customs border or tariffs are introduced between the Republic and Northern Ireland when the UK leaves the European Union, it has emerged.Guinness is one of Irelands most famous exports but Brexit will have a direct impact on its production as the black stuff crosses the Irish border twice before being shipped from Dublin to Britain and beyond. The stout is made at the St Jamess Gate brewery in Dublin. The drink is then pumped into tankers, known as silver bullets, and driven 90 miles to east Belfast where it is canned and then sent back to Dublin Port for onward distribution.Guinness owner Diageo confirmed a Bloomberg report on Friday that it has estimated a so-called hard border could cause delays of between 30 minutes and an hour, costing an extra 100 (85) for each lorry-load of Guinness.Each year the company makes 13,000 beer-related border crossings in Ireland and Guinness contingency plans estimate the delays could amount to 1.3m in additional costs a year.Diageo would either be forced to absorb that cost or pass on to the consumer by raising the cost of a pint. All Guinness consumed in Britain is produced in Dublin , since Diageo closed down the Park Royal operation in north-west London 12 years ago.Another drink brand owned by Diageo, Baileys liquer, is also of concern in Ireland as some of its ingredients cross the border with Northern Ireland three times before its onward journey to Britain.The majority of cream from dairy milk in Baileys is produced in the Republic but Diageo confirmed that some hails from farms in Northern Ireland. The finished product is then sent to Belfast for bottling before returning to Dublin for export. There is political backing for maintaining a relatively open border between the Republic and Northern Ireland, with Irish, British and European leaders supporting the unique status of Ireland in the Brexit process.However, the European Union has admitted there is no firm plan for how to achieve this, saying flexible and imaginative solutions will be required to square the legal circle, which requires the Republic to operate customs of what will become an external border between the UK and the EU when Britain leaves the union.Bank of England orders financial firms to draft Brexit contingency plans Read more All-island Irish businesses that have flourished since the disappearance of the border when the single market came into being in 1993 are now facing up to the cost of Brexit.The Northern Ireland director for Dairy UK told the Northern Ireland affairs committee earlier this year that farms will go out of business if barriers to trade on the island are introduced. Around 25% of Northern Irish milk goes south of the border to be processed with cheese from the Republic going north to be packaged and exported again through Dublin Port. If tariffs are introduced those journeys may no longer be viable with margins so tight in the food sector. The Freight Transport Association in Belfast says nearly all food exports in Northern Ireland will impacted because so much of the produce from the six counties is exported through Dublin Port to Holyhead, the gateway for Britain and beyond. It is favoured by fresh food producers across Northern Ireland because it offers the quickest route to food processors in Wales and the midlands or supermarket shelves in Manchester, Birmingham and London. We have suppliers here who have meat which leaves here at 6.30pm and is in south east England at 6.30am the next day, said Seamus Leheny, head of policy for Northern Ireland for the FTA.Some of these suppliers are now having to consider whether they can continue withe meat processing here or whether they move it to the UK.Kegs of draft Guinness being exported to the UK will also be impacted with customs expected to be reintroduced at Holyhead. Like all big name exporters, however, they are expected to continue with trusted trader status which will rule out random customs checks. Topics Food & drink industry Diageo EU referendum and Brexit European Union Europe Ireland Share Reuse this content'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/apr/07/brexit-raises-spectre-dearer-guinness-baileys'|'2017-04-08T01:10:00.000+03:00' +'383fca92d32ddba8035d60e9602a267f6907641f'|'UPDATE 1-Venezuela clinches $300 mln deal with New York -sources'|'Business News 37pm EDT Venezuela clinches $300 million deal with New York: sources A woman uses a machine to count Venezuelan bolivar notes at an office in Caracas, Venezuela March 21, 2017. REUTERS/Marco Bello By Brian Ellsworth and Corina Pons - CARACAS CARACAS Venezuela''s central bank has reached a deal that will provide the country with at least $300 million from New York-based investment fund Fintech Advisory Inc to help offset a cash crunch, two market sources and a source close to the government told Reuters on Friday. The crisis-hit country has spent months negotiating with investment banks, offering bonds as a guarantee, as it seeks to boost liquidity ahead of steep debt payments that begin next week, Reuters reported in February. Venezuela''s oil-dependent economy is suffering a brutal recession that has millions of people skipping meals amid steep inflation and low salaries. Opposition lawmaker Rafael Guzman on Monday said the central bank was negotiating with Fintech, run by financier David Martinez, to obtain cash, using bonds issued by state oil company PDVSA [PDVSA.UL] as guarantee. Martinez is known for reaping big profits from bets on distressed assets in countries including Argentina and his native Mexico. "The operation has been approved," said a source close to the government who had access to the deal''s details and asked to remain anonymous because he was not allowed to speak about it publicly. The central bank agreed to a repurchase deal, known as a "repo," using around $1.3 billion in bonds held by the institution, the source added. The central bank''s board has already approved the operation, according to two other sources in the finance sector. Neither the central bank or Fintech Advisory responded to a request for comment, but central bank foreign reserves jumped $300 million in the aftermath of the deal, the bank''s website showed late on Friday afternoon. As PDVSA bonds are trading for up to less than half their worth amid some market fears of a default down the road, the central bank decided to seek private financing deals instead of bond sales. "This is the most viable and legal option they could take at the moment," a Caracas-based trader said. (Additional reporting by Girish Gupta; Writing by Alexandra Ulmer; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Tom Brown)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-economy-idUSKBN17935F'|'2017-04-08T05:32:00.000+03:00' +'469682e2b7915d064133d7474c84c51ab5c7213e'|'UPDATE 1-Blackstone''s first-quarter earnings more than double'|'(Adds earnings details)By Greg RoumeliotisApril 20 Blackstone Group LP, the largest manager of assets such as private equity and real estate, reported a 165 percent first-quarter earnings rise on Thursday, as the value of its holdings soared and it generated record proceeds selling some of them.Blackstone''s strong earnings illustrate how the stock market rally, which was fueled by hopes of policy reform under the new administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, benefited buyout firms by allowing the sale of assets at very high valuations.Blackstone, whose co-founder and chief executive Stephen Schwarzman is an economic adviser to Trump and chairs his strategic and policy forum, said the sale of assets for top dollar allowed it to pay its second highest quarterly dividend ever, equivalent to 87 cents per common unit."In total, we will have distributed nearly $14 per common unit of value since the IPO (of Blackstone in 2007), including $2.50 per year on average over the past three years, making Blackstone consistently one of the highest yielding large capitalization companies in the world," Schwarzman said in a statement.Blackstone said economic net income (ENI) per share, a metric of its profitability which takes into account the mark-to-market valuation of its portfolio, came in at 82 cents versus 31 cents in the first quarter of 2016.This surpassed the expectations of most research analysts, whose forecasts in a Thomson Reuters poll averaged 68 cents per share.Distributable earnings, which show actual cash that is available to pay dividends, rose in the first quarter by 212 percent to $1.23 billion.Blackstone''s private equity business reported a 291 percent rise in ENI, with its buyout funds appreciating 6.9 percent in the quarter. Its real estate business posted an 86 percent rise in ENI, and its opportunistic real estate funds appreciated by 5.7 percent.Blackstone''s credit and hedge-fund-of-funds businesses reported ENI increases of 263 percent and 217 percent, respectively.During the quarter, Blackstone divested its 25 percent stake in hotel operator Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc and completed the $1.8 billion initial public offering of Invitation Homes Inc, the second largest IPO ever of a real estate investment trust.Total assets under management were $368.2 billion as of the end of March, up 7 percent year-on-year. Fee-earning assets under management rose 15 percent to $280.2 billion. (Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Alden Bentley)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/blackstone-results-idINL1N1HS0FB'|'2017-04-20T10:13:00.000+03:00' +'797e7be0bdd9189922ae646a02deead8bdef5cdd'|'''Best banker in America'' blamed for Wells Fargo scandal'|'Business News 45pm BST ''Best banker in America'' blamed for Wells Fargo scandal A Wells Fargo logo is seen in New York City, U.S. January 10, 2017. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith By Carmel Crimmins An out-of-control sales culture, a defensive boss obsessed with stamping out negative views about her division and a group chief executive who called her the "the best banker in America" were to blame for Wells Fargo & Co''s ( WFC.N ) devastating sales scandal, an internal investigation found. The probe into how the San Francisco-based bank could have allowed abusive sales practices to fester for years at its branch network laid most of the blame on the former head of the retail division, Carrie Tolstedt, and some of her management team, in a report released to media on Monday. In the report, which was carried out by the bank''s chairman Stephan Sanger and three other independent directors, Tolstedt is blamed for ignoring the systemic nature of the problem which was pinned instead on individual wrongdoers and she was accused of obstructing the board''s efforts to get to the bottom of what was going on. John Stumpf, the chief executive who retired under pressure from the scandal in October, was criticized for failing to grasp the gravity of the sales practice abuses and their impact on the bank. In the 110-page report, Stumpf was described as someone who was blinded by Wells Fargo''s cross-selling success. He refused to believe the model was seriously impaired and was full of admiration for Tolstedt, with whom he had a long working relationship. According to one director, Stumpf praised Tolstedt as the "best banker in America". The report said Tolstedt hid the scale of the misconduct from the board, which only discovered that 5,300 staff had been fired for opening over 2 million unauthorised accounts when the bank reached a $185 million settlement with regulators in September last year. On the advice of her lawyers, Tolstedt declined to be interviewed for the investigation. Wells Fargo said that she had been fired for cause and it would be forfeiting her outstanding stock options with an approximate value of $47.3 million. Wells Fargo said it had decided to claw back approximately $28 million of Stumpfs bonus, which was paid in March 2016. In total, the bank has fired five senior retail bank executives, including Tolstedt, over the scandal and has imposed forfeitures, clawbacks and compensation adjustments on senior leaders totalling more than $180 million, including $69 million from Stumpf and $67 million from Tolstedt. Since the scandal broke, the bank has seen a steady decline in the number of consumers opening checking and credit card accounts and it has lost its status as America''s most valuable bank by market value. THE BOARD Sanger, a board member since 2003, is under pressure to assure investors and regulators that he is rooting out the bank''s problems after a welter of criticism that the board didn''t do enough despite knowing about the problem since 2014. According to the report, multiple board members felt misled by a presentation by Tolstedt and others to the board''s risk committee in May 2015. The board members said they left thinking that between 200 and 300 employees had been fired for sales practice abuses and the problem was largely concentrated in southern California. Last week, influential proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services recommended investors vote to replace the majority of directors at Wells Fargo, including Sanger and the other three independent directors, at its April 25 annual meeting. The Justice Department, meanwhile, is investigating whether executives hid details from the company board and regulators as the problem grew over the years, people familiar with the matter have told Reuters. U.S. Attorney offices in San Francisco and Charlotte, North Carolina, are also investigating. The report criticized the board for not centralising the risk functions at the bank earlier, for not requesting more detailed reports from management and for not insisting Stumpf get rid of Tolstedt sooner. Tim Sloan, who replaced Stumpf as chief executive, is described in the report as having little contact with sales practices at the bank before becoming chief operating officer and Tolstedt''s boss in November 2015. Six months later he told her to step aside. Since the scandal broke, the bank has ended sales targets, changed pay incentives for branch staff, separated the role of chairman and chief executive and hired new directors to its board. A NOTEWORTHY RISK A big part of Wells Fargo''s problem was its decentralised business model, which meant the retail bank was able to keep inquiries from head office at arm''s length and there was no joined-up effort by either the bank''s human resources or legal divisions to track and analyse the scale of the problem. As far back as 2002, Wells Fargo''s retail bank was taking steps to deal with sales practice violations and in 2004, a report by the bank''s Internal Investigations division recommended eliminating sales goals for employees. That report was sent to, among others, the chief auditor, a senior in-house employment lawyer, retail bank HR personnel and the head of sales & service development in the retail bank. No action was taken. Externally, Wells was lauded by investors for its ability to cross-sell individual customers multiple products and for its squeaky-clean reputation relative to peers in the wake of the financial crisis. Internally, the sales pressure was oppressive, particularly in California and Arizona, where senior bankers sometimes called subordinates several times a day to check in and chastise those who failed to meet sales objectives. A sales push, dubbed "Jump into January", saw bankers encouraged to make lists of friends and family who were potential sales targets. Staff turnover usually increased that month. Sales practices were identified as a noteworthy risk to the board and its risk committee, of which Sanger was a member, after a series of stories in the Los Angeles Times detailed some of the sales practices. But Tolstedt was left to deal with the issue and she was notoriously resistant to outside intervention and oversight the report said. Tolstedt was also perceived as having the support of Stumpf, who, in turn, was seen not seen as someone to raise problems with. "Stumpf was ultimately responsible for enterprise risk management at Wells Fargo, but was not perceived within Wells Fargo as someone who wanted to hear bad news or deal with conflict." (Reporting by Carmel Crimmins; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-wells-fargo-accounts-idUKKBN17C194'|'2017-04-10T19:45:00.000+03:00' +'37a2c98d7aafc5f52e357f34c3be249abb1a491a'|'BP to develop Indonesian retail fuel business with AKR Corporindo'|'JAKARTA Oil major BP has signed an agreement with Indonesian petroleum and chemicals logistics company AKR Corporindo for the joint development of a "differentiated" domestic fuel retail business, BP said in a statement.The joint venture will form a company, PT Aneka Petroindo Raya, which will operate as BP AKR Fuels Retail, and expects to open its first retail site in Indonesia in 2018, the statement said."We are delighted to be working with AKR to help meet Indonesia''s growing demand for fuels and provide superior convenience offers," BP downstream chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic said.(Reporting by Fergus Jensen; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-bp-indonesia-akr-corporindo-idUSKBN1780LD'|'2017-04-06T10:47:00.000+03:00' +'a09be43c21417fb4797c3c06f0b01b58e73f01fc'|'UPDATE 1-Southern Copper says Peru operations normal despite strike'|' 43pm EDT UPDATE 1-Southern Copper says Peru operations normal despite strike (Adds comments from company spokesman) LIMA, April 10 A Southern Copper Corp spokesman said operations in Peru were near normal as workers started an indefinite strike on Monday, although a union representative said 80 percent of capacity was affected. The Cuajone and Toquepala copper mines were producing at 98 percent and the Ilo refinery was operating at 100 percent capacity, a Southern Copper spokesman said. The strike follows labor disruptions at Peru''s biggest copper mine, Cerro Verde, and Chile''s Escondida, the world''s largest copper mine, earlier this year. Southern Copper, owned by Grupo Mexico, boosted its copper output by 21 percent to 900,000 tonnes last year on the back of an expansion at a mine in Mexico. Jose Espejo, a member of a union representing 2,200 workers, said workers had walked off the job and started protesting early on Monday to demand a greater share of company profits. "We are based on each side of the railroad and we will not let the train pass," he said, referring to the railway that transports copper concentrates from Cuajone and Toquepala to the Ilo refinery. Another union of 800 workers at Toquepala plans to join the strike on Wednesday, Espejo said. The company spokesman said union members would meet later on Monday with company representatives to try to resolve the conflict. (Reporting by Marco Aquino and Teresa Cespedes; Writing by Caroline Stauffer; Editing by Steve Orlofsky) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/southern-copper-strike-idUSL1N1HI0YE'|'2017-04-11T02:43:00.000+03:00' +'d42c1b03e84606e70c3611957ad555af4ca9e8bf'|'India''s Paytm in talks with SoftBank to raise $1.2 to $1.5 bln - report'|'April 19 Electronics payments provider Paytm is in talks with Japan''s SoftBank Group to raise $1.2 to $1.5 billion in cash, making the latter one of the largest shareholders in the fintech start-up, Mint newspaper reported on Wednesday citing sources.The deal, which could increase Paytm''s valuation to $7 to $9 billion, will see SoftBank buying some shares from existing Paytm investor SAIF Partners and founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma beside investing money in the company, the report said. ( bit.ly/2oK3j27 )Local media had reported recently that SoftBank is keen to sell its stake in India''s e-commerce firm Snapdeal in exchange for a stake in market leader Flipkart ( IPO-FLPK.N ).Paytm may also buy Snapdeal-owned payments rival Freecharge, as part of the deal, the report said.Digital payments have assumed great significance in India after the decision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s government ban on old high-valued bank notes in November led to a severe cash crunch across the country.(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Euan Rocha)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/paytm-softbank-group-fundraising-idINL3N1HR1Q2'|'2017-04-19T01:48:00.000+03:00' +'70ae1f786c8a492bb2b32a04a9649bead8984a37'|'Higher exports to lift German growth, investments - economy ministry'|'Business News - Wed Apr 26, 2017 - 10:34am BST Higher exports to lift German growth, investments - economy ministry Containerships at loading terminals are seen in the port of Hamburg, Germany, February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer BERLIN The German economy is on a solid growth path despite global uncertainties, the economy minister said on Wednesday, adding that it expects companies to gradually start investing more as exports gradually grow. The government raised its growth forecast for this year to 1.5 percent from a previous estimate of 1.4 percent. It maintained its forecast for 2018 growth at 1.6 percent. The economy ministry said the booming construction sector, helped by low interest rates and increased government investments in infrastructure, was providing a strong impulse for the economy. It added that Germany''s high current account surplus, which has been criticized by the United States, the International Monetary Fund and European Commission, would fall from 8.3 percent of output in 2016 to 7.3 percent next year. "The current account surplus should fall...not least because of solid domestic consumption and higher crude oil prices," the ministry said in a statement. (Reporting by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Madeline Chambers)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-economy-growth-forecast-idUKKBN17S10A'|'2017-04-26T17:34:00.000+03:00' +'802c894199d38e6e010c0ae3105fb0f7b4662944'|'Germany''s Merkel encouraged U.S. will consider EU free trade deal'|'Business News - Sun Apr 23, 2017 - 8:58pm BST Germany''s Merkel encouraged U.S. will consider EU free trade deal DAY 57 / MARCH 17: The first face-to-face meeting between President Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel started awkwardly and ended even more oddly, with a quip by Trump about wiretapping that left the German leader visibly bewildered. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst HANNOVER, Germany German Chancellor Angela Merkel fueled expectations of a future EU-U.S trade deal on Sunday, saying she was "very encouraged" talks were being looked at after her recent trip to Washington. Merkel, speaking at the opening of the 70th annual Hannover Messe trade fair, said Germany was opposed to protectionism and trade barriers, and would continue to work for trade agreements like the one signed between the European Union and Canada. "I also feel very encouraged by my visit to the United States that negotiations between the EU and the United States on a free trade agreement ... are also being looked at," she said. Merkel''s comments came after the London Times reported on Saturday that U.S. President Donald Trump had warmed to a deal with the bloc after meeting Merkel in March. A source close to the White House was quoted as saying that there had been a "realization" in the Trump administration that a trade deal with the EU - allowing the tariff-free exchange of goods and services - was more important to U.S. interests than a post-Brexit deal with Britain. The newspaper quoted a senior German politician as saying that Trump had repeatedly asked Merkel about signing a bilateral trade deal, but was told such an accord could only be negotiated by the EU. Merkel did not mention the exchange, saying only that she was very encouraged following her U.S. visit and adding that the EU''s first priority was to complete work on a deal with Japan. One of Trump''s first acts as president was to cancel U.S. participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a free trade deal among 11 Pacific Rim countries. The EU and the United States had begun negotiating the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership under then-President Barack Obama, but the work was not completed. Dieter Kempf, president of the BDI industry group, warned Washington against pursuing protectionist policies. "Those who have trouble understanding how trade surpluses and globalization effects are created are invited to come here and take a look," he said. He also warned the EU against watering down the four basic freedoms of its single market during negotiations with Britain about its exit from the bloc. "We cannot let the four basic freedoms of the EU be diluted by special arrangements or cherry-picking," he said. Merkel said the EU would insist on maintaining them, saying: "We want to continue good relations with Britain, while maintaining the advantages of the single market for ourselves". (Reporting by Andrea Shalal, Reuters TV and Andreas Rinke; editing by Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-europe-usa-trade-idUKKBN17P0UO'|'2017-04-24T03:58:00.000+03:00' +'81e329644e473662c8fe2ed6fffa4296b99b159c'|'Post-sanctions Iran helps planemakers solve ''orphan jet'' problem'|' 53am EDT Post-sanctions Iran helps planemakers solve ''orphan jet'' problem * Iran ready to grab jet market opportunities -deputy minister * Iran confirms examining jet delivery swap with Turkish Air * Early Boeing jet delivery could boost sanctions pact By Tim Hepher PARIS, April 18 Iran''s return to the world economy is helping planemakers cope with a downturn in global demand, providing homes for airplanes orphaned by reversals in the growth plans of airlines elsewhere. Planemakers are also gambling that the early delivery of such aircraft could help prop up a nuclear sanctions deal between Iran and world powers, threatened by conservative opponents in both Washington and Tehran, Western sources said. Since sanctions were lifted under the deal to reopen trade and curb Iran''s nuclear projects, the Islamic Republic, trying to boost its economy after years of isolation, has joined a waiting list of up to eight years for 200 new aircraft. But efforts to meet its most immediate needs have been boosted by financial problems facing other airlines across the globe as new airplanes come onto the market at bargain prices. "We hunt opportunities in the market. If there are opportunities, we can take advantage of that," Deputy Roads and Urban Development Minister Asghar Fakhrieh-Kashan told Reuters. Despite denials by manufacturers that the downturn is hurting, Iran''s return to the market has brought to light pockets of surplus aircraft. With presidential elections looming in May and keen to show the 2015 nuclear deal is working, Iran has proved only too keen to take up the slack. So far it has taken delivery of three Airbus jets. Industry executives say they were left on the planemaker''s books when their Colombian buyer, Avianca, balked at taking delivery. Such orphan planes are often known as ''white tails''. Last week, Iran also signed a deal for 20 ATR turboprops. Unusually in a risk-averse industry with high costs, four of those are already built and ready to be delivered: short-circuiting their usual l8 months'' waiting time. Although it denies they are white tails, ATR took the rare decision to build them for IranAir before the final contract was signed. Analysts say that too is a signal of market weakness as manufacturers wrestle with weakness in developing economies. TURKISH SWAP The sudden reshuffling suits both sides as Iranian President Hassan Rouhani tries to demonstrate results from the nuclear deal, opposed by hardline candidates in May elections. It also holds up a mirror to geopolitical changes in the region, played out in the fortunes of national carriers. While Iran''s aviation industry is coming out of decades of cold storage as sanctions are lifted, Turkey has seen a slump in travel demand after a failed coup and attacks in major cities. Now, Turkish Airlines is having doubts about taking one of the industry''s key growth engines, a 350-seat Boeing 777-3000ER. Uncertainty over next month''s scheduled delivery contrasts with Iran''s urgent need for the same model, the first of which is due to be delivered to Tehran in April or May next year. At Boeing''s suggestion, Iranian representatives are now inspecting the Turkish configuration to see whether the airlines could swap deliveries, Fakhrieh-Kashan confirmed. Boeing declined to comment. Iran has ordered 15 777-300ERs as part of a deal for 80 Boeing jets. They are crucial to Boeing''s efforts to steady declining 777 production, pending the arrival of a new model. Bringing forward Boeing''s first delivery to Iran since the 1970s could also provide broader momentum to the sanctions pact, hampered by funding problems and uncertainty about the attitude of U.S. President Donald Trump who has said he dislikes it. Since all planemakers need U.S. export licences due to the number of U.S. parts in their planes, any decision to block the Boeing deals would likely halt European activities in Iran too. "It helps to bring Boeing to the same table as everyone else," said a senior European industry executive, referring to the talks to swap Turkish and Iranian deliveries. Iranian officials have however been forced to defend the reshuffling from suggestions that Iran is getting cast-off airplanes. They stress the Avianca jets, for example, had been sitting unused for two years and had never flown commercially. "It is good for Airbus and Boeing, but this is part of the game that everyone knows," Fakhrieh-Kashan told Reuters. (Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Susan Fenton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/iran-aviation-idUSL8N1HM1H2'|'2017-04-18T21:53:00.000+03:00' +'36d53cdeaf6c02add4ab82fcc2eccd411f1d487f'|'Truck maker Volvo first-quarter profit beats forecast'|'Business 6:32am BST Truck maker Volvo first-quarter profit beats forecast Visitors surround a Volvo FH16 truck at the booth of Swedish truck maker Volvo at the IAA truck show in Hanover, September 22, 2016. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer STOCKHOLM Sweden''s Volvo ( VOLVb.ST ) posted a much bigger than expected rise in first-quarter core earnings on Tuesday as robust demand and years of cost trimming bolstered turnover and profitability at the truck maker. Volvo also raised its forecast for long-depressed demand for construction equipment in China but left unchanged its outlook for truck markets on both sides of the North Atlantic. Adjusted operating profit at Volvo rose to 7.03 billion Swedish crowns (619.63 million) from a year-ago 4.46 billion, beating the mean forecast of 5.32 billion in a poll of analysts. (Reporting by Niklas Pollard and Johannes Hellstrom)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-volvo-results-idUKKBN17R0EA'|'2017-04-25T13:32:00.000+03:00' +'9563a2563414d1e2797ea562e627696899de4330'|'Essential stock market data costs to soar, trade group warns'|' 48pm BST Essential stock market data costs to soar, trade group warns By John McCrank - NEW YORK NEW YORK Many small- and mid-sized trading firms will see massive data cost increases as a result of a "clarification" added to a plan that governs how essential stock trading data is collected and disseminated, according to an industry trade group. The data in question comes from a market utility called the Consolidated Tape Association (CTA) that provides investors with stock quotes and last sale prices for New York Stock Exchange-listed securities. It is essential for trading and regulatory compliance. Following a recent amendment to CTA rules, fees for some smaller trading firms will skyrocket twenty-fold or more, according to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, which represents banks, broker-dealers and asset managers. "As this likely impacts thousands of firms, we can be sure that an extraordinary number of investors will be facing a significant impediment to their ability to access core data," SIFMA said in a letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday. The CTA declined to comment. A spokesman for the utility, which is run by the Intercontinental Exchange''s ( ICE.N ) NYSE unit and governed by 15 securities exchanges, as well as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, said the CTA would officially respond to the SEC next week. The CTA said in December it was adding a "clarification" to its fee schedule around who has to pay fees for data access and displayed and non-displayed data. Displayed data has traditionally referred to data the recipient could see, whereas non-displayed data fed directly into trading algorithms. As a result of the clarification, which the SEC published on March 23, with immediate effect, many firms that had been paying for displayed data only will also have to pay access and non-displayed fees. For example, a firm that has received data on NYSE-listed securities to be used on 10 professional devices, such as laptop or desktop computers, for display use only, would have paid the CTA around $270 a month, SIFMA said. Following the CTA amendment, those professional devices would be considered non-display and the firm''s bill would soar to $6,000 a month, SIFMA said. The CTA also includes data for securities listed on Bats, NYSE Arca and NYSE MKT exchanges, which would cost an additional $3,000 a month. The steep price for essential data highlights conflicts of interest among exchanges, which have in recent years gone from being non-profit utilities to for-profit, publicly traded companies, but retained their regulatory responsibilities, SIFMA said. (Reporting by John McCrank; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-exchange-data-idUKKBN17L2QN'|'2017-04-20T04:48:00.000+03:00' +'eb9a64307ed4adeacb8f4bf9f2ba51cbadaf6a51'|'World Bank chief echoes Bill Gates''s warning to Theresa May on aid - Business'|'The president of the World Bank has told Theresa May that cutting the UKs aid budget could lead to an increase in conflict, terrorism and migration and would damage Britains international reputation.In a strongly worded response to reports that the government was considering dropping its commitment to devote 0.7% of national income to aid each year, Jim Kim said the money the UK provided was vital not just for developing countries but for the future of the world.His comments came after Bill Gates told the Guardian that lives would be lost in Africa if the government dropped the commitment because plans to eradicate malaria would be jeopardised. Like Kim, the Microsoft founder also stressed that the UK would lose influence. Lives at risk if Tories choose to ditch UK foreign aid pledge, says Bill Gates Read more At 13.3bn in 2016, Britains aid budget was the third biggest in the world after Germany and US. Of the G7, only Britain and Germany currently meet the UNs 0.7% target for aid, and Britain is also one of the biggest donors to the World Bank . Kim said the UKs Department for International Development had played a vital role in efforts to rid the world of poverty. We were extremely encouraged when prime minister David Cameron fulfilled the commitment to 0.7%, Kim said at a press conference to mark the opening of the spring meetings of the Bank and the International Monetary Fund.It is important for people in the UK to understand just how significant that was in expanding the UKs influence in the world. It would be very unfortunate for the UK to reduce its efforts. I would say the 0.7% that has been committed to is critically, critically important, not just for developing countries but for the future of the world.The 0.7% pledge was originally made by Labour but it was only achieved after Cameron became prime minister in 2010. May is under pressure from the Tory right, Ukip and Conservative-supporting papers to cut aid spending. She pointedly refused this week to say she would keep to the commitment in the event of winning the forthcoming general election, prompting strong speculation that it will be abandoned.Kim said Britains aid money had never been more important, joining a chorus of voices opposing the idea of reneging on the 0.7% pledge.Romilly Greenhill, a senior research fellow at the Overseas Development Institute, said it allowed Britain to punch above its weight on the international stage.Everything you need to know about UK aid and the 0.7% spending pledge Read more Bill Gates is right to say Britains aid contribution is saving lives and putting children in school, he said. The first message is that it is needed, the second is that it is effective, and the third is that, in terms of a global Britain, it is very significant.Ive observed a lot of UN negotiations and developing countries and richer countries see it as a real indicator of Britains place on the international stage. It buys Britain a lot of kudos. Particularly when we leave the EU, it will demonstrate that we are punching above our weight.Tamsyn Barton, the chief executive of Bond, the UK membership body for development groups, said: It would be a travesty if the UKs 0.7% commitment, made to help the worlds poorest people, was not committed to by all political parties. This is not the time to shirk our global responsibility or step back from the world.Charlie Matthews, ActionAids head of advocacy, said: A truly global Britain must be outward looking. UK aid and the commitment to 0.7% is helping to feed millions of hungry people in east Africa whose lives have been devastated by drought. Aid saves lives and helps the worlds poorest people, especially women and girls.Jeff Crisp, a research associate at the Refugees Studies Centre at the University of Oxford, said dropping the aid pledge was not inevitable, but would be one way for May to appease the Tory right before difficult Brexit negotiations.She will have to appease the right wing of her own party. One of the ways will be to get rid of it or to reduce it. Another way she could appease the right wing of the party would be to increase the way the overseas development budget will be used for things that are not strictly development.Kim said: Were meeting at a time when we face overlapping crises, both natural and man made, all which add urgency to our mission: conflict; climate shocks; the worst refugee crisis since the second world war; and famine in parts of East Africa and Yemen, which the UN has called the worst in 70 years. With the famine in particular, the world was caught unprepared.Kim said the multiple crises were linked to rising aspirations prompted by greater internet access. Aspiration matched by opportunity could create dynamic societies, he added.But if those rising aspirations meet frustration we are very worried about more and more countries going down the path to fragility, conflict, violence, extremism and, of course, eventually migration. Because the other thing that access to the internet does is it increases peoples desire to migrate.Kim said there was a need to create successful developing countries that would buy goods from the developed west and so ensure that rising aspirations were not met with frustration.This is not something thats theoretical. Its happening in front of our eyes. People have to think of aid as more than just giveaways.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/apr/20/world-bank-chief-echoes-bill-gatess-warning-to-theresa-may-on-aid'|'2017-04-20T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'2edd1a92417e3d666a54623c230f0545fd4b26cf'|'KKR to buy Hitachi Kokusai Electric for $2.3 billion'|'TOKYO U.S. buyout firm KKR said on Wednesday it has agreed to buy Hitachi Ltd''s electronic equipment unit for 257 billion yen ($2.3 billion) with investment fund Japan Industrial Partners Inc (JIP).KKR and JIP will pay 2,503 yen for each Hitachi Kokusai Electric Inc share, a 6.4 percent discount from Wednesday''s close, according to a joint statement from KKR and Japan Industrial Partners.Hitachi Ltd, the largest shareholder in Hitachi Kokusai, said in a separate statement it would reduce its ownership to 20 percent after the deal is completed.($1 = 111.1700 yen)(Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/kkr-hitachi-kokusai-idINKBN17S0ZW'|'2017-04-26T07:31:00.000+03:00' +'3740dc75a9a2b32a71287601126176ef42916746'|'US STOCKS-Wall St rallies as earnings lead charge'|'* American Express boosts Dow after results* Investors eye first round of French election this Sunday* Dow up 0.98 pct, S&P 500 up 0.90 pct, Nasdaq up 1.02 pct (Updates to mid-afternoon, changes byline)By Chuck MikolajczakNEW YORK, April 20 U.S. stocks were higher in on Thursday, with the S&P 500 index on track for its best day in about seven weeks, as American Express set the tone for the latest batch of earnings.The credit card company was up 5.8 percent as the top boost to the Dow Industrials after reporting a smaller-than-expected drop in quarterly profit late Wednesday.CSX Corp, up 5.6 percent, was one of the best performers on the S&P 500 after the railroad company reported a better-than-expected quarterly net profit driven by rising freight volumes and said it plans to cut costs and boost profitability moving forward."They really are just focusing now on the micro, which they should be, on the earnings and what the earnings are saying," said Ken Polcari, Director of the NYSE floor division at ONeil Securities in New York."Investors are putting the geopolitical stuff to the back of the bus at the moment and they are really focusing on what they should be."Major indexes had scuffled in recent days, falling for two straight weeks to retreat from record levels as worries about President Donald Trump''s ability to deliver on his pro-growth promises raised some concern about stretched stock valuations.Mounting tensions between North Korea and the United States and the looming French presidential elections also served to heighten investor caution.Of the 82 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings through Thursday afternoon, about 75 percent have topped expectations, according to Thomson Reuters data, above the 71 percent average for the past four quarters.Overall, profits of S&P 500 companies are estimated to have risen 11.1 percent in the quarter, the best since 2011.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 200.94 points, or 0.98 percent, to 20,605.43, the S&P 500 gained 21.25 points, or 0.91 percent, to 2,359.42 and the Nasdaq Composite added 59.98 points, or 1.02 percent, to 5,923.01.Each of the three major indexes were on pace for their biggest daily percentage gain since March 1. The S&P 500 climbed back above its 50-day moving average, a level that had acted as resistance after the index fell below it last week.Recent polls showed centrist Emmanuel Macron hung on to his lead as favorite to win France''s presidential election in a four-way race that is too close to call.Philip Morris fell 3.8 percent to $109.61 as the biggest drag to the benchmark S&P index after the tobacco maker''s first-quarter profit forecast fell below estimates.Key companies scheduled to report results after the close on Thursday include Dow component Visa and toymaker Mattel .Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 2.45-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.90-to-1 ratio favored advancers.The S&P 500 posted 37 new 52-week highs and 1 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 101 new highs and 28 new lows. (Reporting by Tanya Agrawal; Editing by Anil D''Silva and Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-idINL1N1HS1M8'|'2017-04-20T16:37:00.000+03:00' +'585a8b055d2b5c370eb7e15f687ee6a840879c23'|'Swiss billionaire Wyss gets nearly 10 percent of Molecular Partners'|'ZURICH Swiss billionaire Hansjoerg Wyss has built a nearly 10 percent stake in biotech group Molecular Partners ( MOLN.S ) after share sales by Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ.N ) and other investors, the SIX Swiss Exchange said on Tuesday.Wyss, who made a large share of his fortune by selling med-tech company Synthes Holding AG to J&J in 2012 for nearly $20 billion, now owns 9.85 percent of Molecular Partners, whose products include several prospective cancer and eye disease treatments with partners including Allergan. ( AGN.N )In addition to J&J, Essex Woodlands Health Ventures and Index Ventures Associates IV Ltd have unloaded stakes this month.Beyond ventures in Swiss medical companies, Wyss has given about $225 million to Harvard University and its Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering.(Reporting by John Miller; Editing by Michael Shields)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-molecular-partners-wyss-idINKBN17D0XQ'|'2017-04-11T07:07:00.000+03:00' +'1b94072eeb45fbaefabb8f67a0b1477f516dfb5b'|'Futures flat as Trump tax plan awaited'|'Business News - Wed Apr 26, 2017 - 4:10pm EDT Wall Street dips as tax uncertainty offsets strong earnings Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., April 20, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid NEW YORK U.S. stocks ticked lower on Wednesday following two sessions of strong gains as upbeat corporate earnings were offset by uncertainty over the feasibility of a proposed business tax cut. The proposal from the Trump administration would slash tax rates for businesses and on overseas corporate profits returned to the country. It offered no specifics on how it would be paid for without increasing the deficit. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 21.03 points, or 0.1 percent, to 20,975.09, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 1.16 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2,387.45 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 0.27 points, or 0 percent, to 6,025.23. (Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Nick Zieminski) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks-idUSKBN17S1FK'|'2017-04-26T19:32:00.000+03:00' +'0695f4822161b4505d8d4253c720141e32ab9326'|'Cenovus faces investor displeasure after ConocoPhillips deal'|'Business News - Thu Apr 27, 2017 - 12:58am BST Cenovus faces investor displeasure after ConocoPhillips deal By Ethan Lou - CALGARY, Alberta CALGARY, Alberta Cenovus Energy Inc ( CVE.TO )( CVE.N ) won about 87 percent of shareholders'' votes for its board of director slate on Wednesday, below previous near-unanimous approvals, as some voters protested the company''s C$17 billion ($12.6 billion) purchase of ConocoPhillips ( COP.N ) assets. The deal, announced in March, effectively doubled the size of the Canadian oil company, but wiped out about a fifth of its market value, with some investors complaining that the price was too high. Even as Cenovus posted better-than-expected first-quarter earnings on Wednesday, questions about the deal and Cenovus'' ability to execute it dogged a conference call about the results and the shareholders meeting later that day. A shareholder who wanted to be known only as Bernie told management: "If you guys are so confident on the deal, why don''t shareholders have the opportunity to vote?" Investors had been "left out in the cold," he said. "I very much resent that." Chairman Michael Grandin responded that the "once-in-a-lifetime" deal required confidentiality for negotiations that a shareholder vote would deny. Chief Executive Brian Ferguson said the Deep Basin natural gas asset bought from ConocoPhillips, which some investors said was incompatible with Cenovus'' oil business, was "absolutely core" to the company and could be its "crown jewel." Cenovus could reduce spending on Deep Basin to focus on oil sands, and also sell part of that natural gas asset, he added. Ferguson told media after the meeting that the roughly 87 percent vote tally reflected confidence in the deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter. Cenovus plans to fund the deal partly through divestitures, mainly of its Suffield and Pelican Lake conventional oil and gas assets. The company will provide more details on those in the third quarter, Ferguson said earlier on Wednesday. Cenovus reported a C$211 million ($155.54 million) profit in the quarter ended March 31, helped by lower operating costs and higher production. Net profit was 25 Canadian cents per share, compared with a loss of C$118 million, or 14 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier. Operating loss was 5 Canadian cents per share, compared with analysts'' average estimate of a loss of 8 Canadian cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Cenovus said operating costs for its oil sands fell 6 percent to C$8.97 per barrel, while total oil production rose about 19 percent to 234,914 barrels per day. (Reporting by Ethan Lou in Calgary, Alberta and Muvija M in Bengaluru; editing by Anil D''Silva and Richard Chang)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-cenovus-energy-results-idUKKBN17S37C'|'2017-04-27T07:58:00.000+03:00' +'51e73afdde329b70b3c64d36c56a0464bb62dada'|'Trump promises again to revamp Wall Street reform rules'|'WASHINGTON President Donald Trump told a group of chief executives on Tuesday that his administration was reducing regulations and revamping the Wall Street reform law known as Dodd-Frank, which might be eliminated and replaced with "something else.""We''re going to reduce taxes, we''re going to eliminate wasteful regulations," Trump said at a meeting attended by corporate leaders and members of his cabinet.Earlier this year, Trump ordered reviews of the major banking rules that were put in place after the 2008 financial crisis and last week he said officials were planning a "major haircut" for the regulations."For the bankers in the room, they''ll be very happy because we''re really doing a major streamlining and, perhaps, elimination, and replacing it with something else," Trump said on Tuesday."That will be the minimum. But we''re doing a major elimination of the horrendous Dodd-Frank regulations, keeping some obviously, but getting rid of many."Participants in the meeting included Rich Lesser, chief executive of Boston Consulting Group; Doug McMillon, chief executive of Wal-Mart Stores; Indra Nooyi, chief executive of PepsiCo; Jim McNerney, former chief executive of Boeing; Ginni Rometty, chief executive of IBM; and Jack Welch, former chairman of General Electric.The business leaders are part of Trump''s "Strategy and Policy Forum" that last met with him in February.Trump also reiterated his criticism of the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico."NAFTA is a disaster. It''s been a disaster from the day it was devised. And we''re going to have some very pleasant surprises for you on NAFTA, that I can tell you," he said.(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Alistair Bell)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-trump-business-idINKBN17D266'|'2017-04-11T15:53:00.000+03:00' +'09f95d3e871b34ec1de04c2fbf7fd9e62a6c2cd1'|'PPG raises proposed bid for Akzo Nobel to $28.8 billion'|'Business News - Mon Apr 24, 2017 - 12:48pm BST PPG raises bid for Dutch Akzo Nobel to $28.8 billion FILE PHOTO: AkzoNobel''s logo is seen in Amsterdam, Netherlands, February 16, 2012. REUTERS/Robin van Lonkhuijsen/United Photos/File Photo By Toby Sterling - AMSTERDAM AMSTERDAM PPG Industries ( PPG.N ), the U.S. paintmaker that is pursuing a takeover of Dutch peer Akzo Nobel ( AKZO.AS ), on Monday increased its proposed cash and share offer to 26.9 billion euros (22.50 billion pounds), from around 24.6 billion euros. The move comes a day before Akzo, which has declined two previous approaches from PPG, faces a group of unhappy shareholders at its annual meeting. Akzo shares jumped 6 percent to a record high of 82.86 euros by 1130 GMT. The shareholders, led by hedge fund Elliott Advisors, say Akzo should at least open exploratory talks with PPG to more closely examine their proposal. [L8N1HK0KC] "We are extending this one last invitation to you and the AkzoNobel boards to reconsider your stance and to engage with us," PPG Chief Executive Michael McGarry said in a statement on Monday. "Our revised proposal represents a second increase in price along with significant and highly-specific commitments that we are confident AkzoNobel''s stakeholders will find compelling," added McGarry. Akzo Nobel confirmed it had received a "third unsolicited proposal" from PPG but was non-committal in its response. "The Board of Management and Supervisory Board of AkzoNobel will carefully review and consider this proposal," said Akzo, whose brands include Dulux paint. A spokesman for Elliott said the fund was examining PPG''s latest proposal and could not immediately comment. PPG said its bid represented an increased price of 96.75 euros, including dividend, per AkzoNobel share -- comprised of 61.50 euros in cash and 0.357 shares of PPG common stock. That is a 50 percent premium from Akzo Nobel''s closing price of 64.42 on March 8, the day before PPG confirmed it had made a proposal to buy Akzo at 80 euros per share. A second bid worth 90 euros per share on March 20 was rejected within 48 hours, with Akzo arguing that it substantially undervalued the company and would be bad for other stakeholders, such as employees and customers. Last week, Akzo presented its case for remaining independent, offering shareholders 1.6 billion euros in extra dividends and detailing plans to sell or float its chemicals arm, representing a third of company sales and profits, within one year. Both moves, if completed, would make Akzo a less attractive target for PPG, although the Pittsburgh-based company has said the primary reason for the merger would be synergies of $750 million between the companies'' paints and coatings businesses. (Reporting by Toby Sterling. Additional reporting by Maya Keidan. Editing by Keith Weir/Jason Neely) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-akzo-nobel-m-a-ppg-inds-idUKKBN17Q0ZH'|'2017-04-24T18:52:00.000+03:00' +'a9b7d22903fe42b3ca05f20a8d77f2cc6553f06d'|'Top BlackRock portfolio manager turning to safe-haven assets'|' 8:15pm BST Top BlackRock portfolio manager turning to safe-haven assets By Trevor Hunnicutt - NEW YORK NEW YORK One of the portfolio managers behind BlackRock Inc''s ( BLK.N ) largest mutual fund says his team has been buying safe-haven assets such as gold and Treasuries to protect from "known unknowns" in global politics. "There is a little political risk creeping back into investors'' awareness and that''s probably appropriate because there are some things out there that can go wrong," Russ Koesterich, a manager of the $40 billion BlackRock Global Allocation Fund ( MALOX.O ), told Reuters on Thursday. "We''ve been raising our allocation to U.S. duration and we''ve been raising our allocation to gold." Despite what he said was a "good year" for markets and a low likelihood of recession, Koesterich said there is "less conviction" in the "reflation trade," the belief that markets are poised to profit from a coming global growth wave. Koesterich and other investors saw that reflation narrative driving stocks'' strong performance since last November as U.S. president. "Against the dry tinder of firming prices, we now have a potential match: a rare combination of fiscal stimulus and tax cuts," Koesterich wrote in November. "Welcome to the new world." The match has not yet been struck, and the unpredictability of conflict involving the Korean peninsula is dragging on markets, Koesterich said. Reclusive North Korea could soon conduct its sixth nuclear test or more missile launches in defiance of U.N. sanctions and warnings from the United States that a policy of patience is over. "I don''t think anybody is going to predict what happens in North Korea," said Koesterich. "That''s one of those known unknowns." Gold and bonds are traditionally used to curtail risk. But the U.S. dollar is more likely to trade within a tight range, rather than "rocket" higher, Koesterich said, especially after Trump told the Wall Street Journal this week that the greenback is "getting too strong." The Global Allocation Fund trimmed its quarter-billion dollar stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ) in March, according to new disclosures showing the bank was no longer one of the fund''s top-10 holdings at the end of the month. JPMorgan and other bank stocks faced selling pressure on Thursday after their earnings reports showed slower loan growth and other comments by Trump on Wednesday endorsing low interest rates. Low interest rates dampen a bank''s ability to make money from lending. The latest disclosures did not clarify how much of the JPMorgan stake has been sold and Koesterich declined to comment on individual stocks. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Jennifer Ablan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-blackrock-outlook-idUKKBN17F2HW'|'2017-04-14T03:15:00.000+03:00' +'dc08bff9023a491dedb51fa7067612f9016826f3'|'China Mobile, others approached for buying into Singapore telco M1: sources'|'By Anshuman Daga - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Top shareholders in Singapore telecoms company M1 Ltd ( MONE.SI ) have approached potential buyers China Mobile ( 0941.HK ) and global private equity firms, among others, to sell their combined majority stake in the firm, sources familiar with the matter said.The three main shareholders of Singapore''s smallest listed telecoms player, who own a combined 61 percent, flagged a strategic review of their investments last month, and jointly appointed Morgan Stanley as their financial adviser.They did not give a reason behind the review of their stake in the S$1.9 billion ($1.36 billion) company.The sources said the three shareholders - Malaysia''s Axiata Group ( AXIA.KL ), Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) ( SPRM.SI ) and Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation ( KTEL.SI ) - had also reached out to other telecoms firms, cash-rich business groups in China and Japanese tech firms to gauge their interest.First-round bids for M1, long seen as a target due to its small size and diverse shareholding, are expected in a few weeks, the sources said. They added that talks between the parties were still at an early stage and there was no certainty the process would succeed.They did not provide details on how China Mobile or the other prospective bidders have responded to the approach.When contacted for comments, Keppel, SPH and Axiata referred Reuters to their joint statement issued last month. M1 referred the query to its shareholders. China Mobile declined to comment.The sources declined to be identified as they were not authorized to speak to the media.The sale process comes as competition heats up in Singapore, with Australia''s TPG Telecom ( TPM.AX ) set to launch its services next year after winning a license to become the city-state''s fourth telecom operator. Analysts expect M1 to be the most vulnerable to new competition.M1''s shares have nearly halved over the past two years due to its weak business performance amid increased competition.But Singapore''s well-regulated telecoms market offers stable cash flows. Some telecoms firms could also use the city-state as a launch pad into a region that is still developing, industry executives and analysts said."It''s actually a decent business for current owners or any new ones if you factor in the upsides," said Rameez Ansar, co-founder of Singapore firm Circles.Life, which leases towers from M1, referring to weakness in M1''s share performance and Singapore''s position as a tier-one market and high user revenues.M1 could also fit in a portfolio of other telecoms ventures."M1 could become part of a portfolio of investments in telecom-related assets. Someone looking for financial returns could be interested, if other portfolio companies could help to enhance M1''s overall value," said Gregory Yap, analyst at Maybank Kim Eng Securities.Under Singapore''s rules, an acquirer of a 30 percent or more stake in a listed company is required to make an offer to buy out the rest of the shareholders.Some of the sources said M1''s main shareholders would require a substantial control premium for the sale to get done.State-run China Mobile, as well as local peers China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd ( 0762.HK ) and China Telecom Corp Ltd ( 0728.HK ), the country''s big telecoms firms, are pursuing expansion plans beyond their home market.If China Mobile acquires M1, it would mark its biggest overseas foray. The world''s largest mobile operator bought an 18 percent stake in Thailand''s True Corp ( TRUE.BK ) in 2014 after buying Pakistan telecoms firm Paktel in 2007.($1 = 1.3961 Singapore dollars)(Reporting by Anshuman Daga; Additional reporting by Jeremy Wagstaff, Aradhana Aravindan and Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-m1-m-a-idINKBN17N1CM'|'2017-04-21T09:38:00.000+03:00' +'aade090387ca5eb87993a4fd6b25c5965707cc16'|'Japan government raises business sentiment assessment, first time in four months'|' 44am BST Japan government raises business sentiment assessment, first time in four months A construction site is reflected on a window as a businessman walks in Tokyo''s business district, Japan January 20, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai TOKYO Japan''s government raised its assessment of business sentiment in April, the first upgrade in four months, after the Bank of Japan''s tankan survey showed this month that the corporate mood brightened. However, the government left unchanged for the fifth month its overall assessment that the economy is recovering gradually though pockets of weakness remain. Japan''s economy has shown signs of life in recent months, with exports and factory output benefiting from a recovery in global demand. Business confidence among big manufacturers improved for a second straight quarter to hit a one-and-a-half year high, the BOJ tankan released on April 3 showed, a sign the benefits of an export-driven economic recovery were broadening. "Firms'' judgment on current business conditions is improving," the Cabinet Office said in its monthly economic report released on Thursday. This marked an upgrade from last month, when the Cabinet Office, which helps coordinate economic policy, said business sentiment was improving gradually. The BOJ is expected to offer a more upbeat view of the economy at its policy review next week than it did a month ago, sources have told Reuters, as robust exports and factory output support recovery in the world''s third-largest economy. The economy is expected to recover gradually as employment and wages continue to improve, but uncertainty in overseas economies and fluctuations in the financial markets warrant attention, the Cabinet Office said in its report. The Cabinet Office left unchanged its assessment that consumer spending is continuing to recover on the whole, capital expenditure is showing signs of pick up, and that exports are recovering. (Reporting by Minami Funakoshi; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-report-idUKKBN17M0VL'|'2017-04-20T16:44:00.000+03:00' +'f4f74dfcfde2cc7be9e654175daf254151224943'|'UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on April 3'|' 42am EDT UPDATE given Imagination Tech notice that it will stop using its graphics technology in the iPhone and other products in up to two years'' time, dealing a major blow to the British company. * RECKITT BENCKISER: British consumer goods maker Reckitt Benckiser is weighing strategic options for its food business, it said on Monday it, following its agreement to buy Mead Johnson . * CO-OP BANK: Britain''s Virgin Money is poised to make a bid for Co-operative Bank , the Times reported on Saturday. bit.ly/2nQyisU * RIO TINTO: The copper market is likely to see a small shortage as early as this year because of a lack of new supply and the removal of up to 800,000 tonnes over the past 18 months in response to modest prices, Rio Tinto''s copper and diamonds chief will say on Tuesday. * SHELL: Royal Dutch Shell has decided to withdraw from Kakinada gas project in India, Business Standard reported on Monday. * NATIONAL GRID: UK electricity system operator National Grid is pressing for a rule change that would allow it to own storage, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. * APAX: British private equity fund Apax Partners is close to finalizing a deal to buy Israel-based Syneron Medical , an aesthetic device company, for about $500 million, Israeli media reported on Sunday. * BRITAIN ECONOMY: British company finance chiefs are their most optimistic in 18 months, but their risk appetite has recovered far less from the battering it took in the run-up to and aftermath of last year''s vote to leave the European Union, a survey showed on Monday. * OIL: Oil futures dipped in early Asian trade on Monday on worries about global oversupply after a higher U.S. rig count pointed to rising U.S. shale production, while a stronger dollar also put pressure on crude. * The UK blue chip FTSE 100 index closed 0.6 percent lower at 7,322.92 points on Friday, weighed down by South Africa-exposed stocks after President Jacob Zuma sacked finance minister Pravin Gordhan, causing a slump in the rand. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets TODAY''S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Siju Varghese; Editing by Sunil Nair) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idUSL3N1HB2AV'|'2017-04-03T14:42:00.000+03:00' +'3f2f907c0cae162d6e29e4b57f835caa15dc25a2'|'BHP Billiton says costs of Elliott restructure plan outweigh benefits'|'Business News - Wed Apr 12, 2017 - 5:41am BST BHP Billiton reasserts strategy, says Elliott proposals flawed A sign adorns the building where mining company BHP Billiton has their office in Perth, Western Australia, November 19, 2015. REUTERS/David Gray/File photo SYDNEY Anglo-Australian miner BHP Billiton ( BHP.AX ) ( BLT.L ) on Wednesday dismissed a wide-ranging proposal by shareholder Elliott Advisors to overhaul its corporate strategy and sell off oil interests, saying the costs would far outweigh the benefits. "The elements of the Elliott proposal as described to the board would not be in the long-term interest of shareholders," BHP Chief Executive Officer Andrew Mackenzie said on an analyst call. "I cannot overstate my strong belief that BHP Billiton is on the right track." The comments came as BHP released a detailed response two days after U.S.-based Elliott made public a letter to its directors urging them to consider spinning off the U.S. oil arm, while returning more cash to investors. The response offered no counterproposal and instead defended the miner''s longstanding strategy. "We have been in engagement with Elliott for eight months," Mackenzie said. "From our earliest engagements it was clear there were major flaws in Elliott''s proposals." Elliott, which said it holds a "long economic interest" of about 4.1 percent of London-listed BHP Billiton PLC, wants the miner to ditch its dual corporate structure and replace it with a single company domiciled in Britain. "The (dual-listed structure) is not a restraint to our business," BHP Chief Financial Officer Peter Beaven told analysts. "It provides two important acquisition currencies in addition to cash." Under the Elliott plan, BHP would have a primary share-market listing in London and a secondary listing in Sydney. The Australian government on Tuesday said any significant changes to BHP''s corporate structure would need to be consistent with a "national interest" test under the law. Over the last decade, BHP has examined the prospect of changing its corporate structure and spinning off its oil business but has ultimately rejected the ideas. "A standard petroleum business would lose access to BHP Billiton''s balance sheet," Mackenzie said on Wednesday. "Were we to adopt this proposal our global partners would have to work with a Balkanised, broken up BHP Billiton." Elliott, an activist hedge fund, has also lobbied for change at other firms including Samsung Electronics Co Ltd ( 005930.KS ), Akzo Nobel NV ( AKZO.AS ) and SABMiller [SABXSH.UL]. (Reporting by James Regan and Jamie Freed; Editing by Christopher Cushing)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bhp-billiton-shareholders-idUKKBN17E0BE'|'2017-04-12T12:28:00.000+03:00' +'9f6bd526a9c9c9305b18b4d121d723ac878012ef'|'LVMH''s Arnault to take full control of Christian Dior'|'By Dominique Vidalon and Gilles Guillaume - PARIS PARIS French billionaire Bernard Arnault will combine the Christian Dior fashion brand with his LVMH luxury goods empire as part of a 12 billion euro ($13 billion) move to simplify his business interests - a restructuring long demanded by other investors.Under a series of complex transactions, LVMH ( LVMH.PA ), the world''s largest luxury group, will buy the Christian Dior Couture brand from the Christian Dior ( DIOR.PA ) holding company for 6.5 billion euros, including debt.The deal will unite the 70 year old fashion label worn by film stars from Grace Kelly and Elizabeth Taylor to Jennifer Lawrence and Natalie Portman with the Christian Dior perfume and beauty business already owned by LVMH.The Arnault family, which holds a 47 percent stake in LVMH, will also offer to buy the 25.9 percent of the Christian Dior holding company it does not already own for about 260 euros per share, a premium of 15 percent over Monday''s closing price.The transactions "will allow the simplification of the structures, long requested by the market, and the strengthening of LVMH''s Fashion and Leather Goods division," the 68-year-old Arnault said in a statement.LVMH shares rose almost 5 percent to a record high of 225 euros as investors welcomed the deals, which they expect to boost LVMH earnings. Dior shares also jumped 13 percent to a new high of 256 euros."This is a good acquisition for LVMH in our view given the strong brand of Christian Dior, good use of its balance sheet and it reunites the Christian Dior brand with the very profitable perfume operation that LVMH operates," Barclays analysts wrote in a research note.LAST BIG DEAL?LVMH said it would use a loan to pay for Christian Dior Couture, which has 198 stores in over 60 countries, and whose sales have doubled over the past five years.Exane BNP Paribas analyst Luca Solca welcomed "the long awaited LVMH and Dior merger", which he said was made at a reasonable valuation. Including debt, LVMH is paying 15.6 times Dior''s 2017 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA).Solca added the deal also reduced the risk of LVMH, whose brands include Louis Vuitton and Hennessy cognac, buying pricey, "trophy assets".Finance chief Jean-Jacques Guiony declined to comment on LVMH''s future mergers and acquisitions (M&A) policy. But Arnault told the Financial Times that LVMH was not hunting for acquisitions as "fewer and fewer assets are looking attractive to us. And the best assets are not for sale."The Dior holding company owns 41 percent of the LVMH group and 100 percent of Christian Dior Couture, the home of the Lady Dior handbag.Arnault''s family company will offer 172 euros per share and 0.192 Hermes ( HRMS.PA ) shares for each Dior holding company share. There are potential all-cash and all-share alternatives.Arnault has a stake of about 8 percent in luxury group Hermes ( HRMS.PA ), and Hermes'' shares fell from earlier record highs on the prospect of more of the stock coming to the market.LVMH said the overall deal would boost earnings per share by some 3 percent within the first year of its completion, with the transactions expected to close during the second half of 2017.(Additional reporting by Blandine Henault; Editing by Andrew Callus and Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-lvmh-dior-idINKBN17R0I1'|'2017-04-25T17:50:00.000+03:00' +'cfe22b4c369cc76614855d116f23623814ef6832'|'Mickelson a distraction in insider trading case -gambler''s lawyer'|'U.S. 43pm EDT Mickelson a distraction in insider trading case: gambler''s lawyer left right FILE PHOTO: Professional sports gambler William ''Billy'' Walters departs Federal Court after a hearing in Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S., July 29, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo 1/2 left right Apr 6, 2017; Augusta, GA, USA; Phil Mickelson hits his tee shot on the 2nd hole during the first round of The Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports 2/2 By Brendan Pierson An attorney defending Las Vegas sports gambler William "Billy" Walters against insider trading charges told jurors on Wednesday that prosecutors introduced testimony about star golfer Phil Mickelson to cover up the weakness of their case. In a closing argument in Manhattan federal court, lawyer Barry Berke said prosecutors brought in evidence about the golfer because they did not have enough evidence against Walters himself, likening it to "putty" used to patch holes in a wall. Prosecutors say Walters made more than $40 million trading in Dean Foods Co stock based on insider information from former Dean Foods Chairman Tom Davis, and at one point passed a tip to Mickelson. The golfer agreed to pay back money he made trading Dean Foods stock but has not been accused of wrongdoing. Berke attacked the credibility of Davis, who testified that he passed inside information to Walters for years. Davis has pleaded guilty to insider trading charges and is cooperating with prosecutors. Prosecutors say that in return for insider tips, Davis received personal loans from Walters of more than $1 million. Berke told jurors that Davis made up an elaborate lie to get a sweetheart deal for himself, "reverse engineering" records of his phone calls with Walters and Walters'' trades to invent a pattern of insider trading. Davis said he told Walters in advance about earnings reports and about a 2012 spinoff of part of Dean Foods'' business. Berke spent much of his argument pointing out what he said were inconsistencies between Davis''s testimony and the timing of Walters'' phone calls and trades. He attacked Davis''s testimony that Walters gave him a special phone to talk about Dean Foods at a meeting at Dallas Love Field, an airfield in Dallas. Berke said flight records for Walters'' plane did not fit Davis''s account. "It doesn''t hold together like the truth," Berke said of Davis''s testimony. In a rebuttal, Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Goldman acknowledged that Davis, by his own admission, had lied repeatedly, not only while being investigated for insider trading but about stealing from a charity he ran and about marital infidelities. But Goldman said Davis''s testimony fit the record of phone calls and trades, despite some inconsistencies. "Tom Davis was asked to recall a years-long conspiracy," Goldman said. "He did his best to remember what he could." The case is U.S. v. Davis et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 16-cr-00338. (Reporting by Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-insidertrading-walters-idUSKBN1782T6'|'2017-04-07T04:40:00.000+03:00' +'9d3c36c86fc1f33731ef0cdff81607192f845eed'|'Cenovus shareholder seeks to halt purchase of ConocoPhillips assets'|'TORONTO A Cenovus Energy Inc ( CVE.TO ) shareholder has asked a Canadian regulator to halt the company''s recent C$17 billion ($12.6 billion) purchase of some ConocoPhillips ( COP.N ) assets, saying the new stock issued to help fund the deal has diluted the value of Cenovus shares.Toronto-based Coerente Capital Management has filed a letter with the Ontario Securities Commission, Len Racioppo, Coerente''s managing director, said in an email to Reuters on Tuesday."It is pretty outrageous that they would do a deal that would dilute shareholders by 47 percent and not bring it to a vote," Racioppo said, confirming a comment he made earlier to the Financial Post. "If you''re going to transform a company without asking shareholders I don''t care if it''s legal it''s not right," he added.Racioppo told the Financial Post he had asked the regulator to halt the deal pending a shareholder vote. Coerente owns or controls 524,000 Cenovus shares for its clients, according to the Financial Post.Cenovus last month agreed to buy most of ConocoPhillips'' Canadian oil and gas assets in a deal that effectively doubled the size of the Canadian oil company, but dented its pristine balance sheet and pushed it into the largely unknown territory of natural gas.The acquisition was funded in part through the selling of new shares, but the deal is structured in a way that it does not require shareholder approval. Cenovus reports earnings and holds its shareholder meeting on Wednesday..Asked about the company''s response to the letter, Cenovus spokesman Brett Harris said the transaction would create "significant" shareholder value while maintaining financial resiliency."The board of directors then structured the overall transaction as it believed was in the best interests of the company, and did so within its authority," he said.Cenovus shares were flat on Tuesday, having lost about a fifth of their value since the deal was announced. The commission declined to comment.(Reporting by Denny Thomas in Toronto and Ethan Lou in Calgary, Alberta; Editing by David Gregorio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cenovus-energy-conocophillips-complai-idUSKBN17R23V'|'2017-04-25T20:24:00.000+03:00' +'4191061da1a9dc02945514a3e09acaea0ce3e404'|'Toshiba to start taking bids in June for its Swiss unit Landis+Gyr: Kyodo'|'TOKYO Japan''s Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) will start taking bids for Landis+Gyr, its Swiss smart meter unit, as early as June, Kyodo news agency reported on Tuesday.Hitachi Ltd ( 6501.T ) and other Japanese firms are seen as possible bidders for the unit, Kyodo said, without citing sources.Reuters last month reported that Toshiba had hired UBS to explore a sale or an initial public offering of the business, potentially valued at over $2 billion.Toshiba is targeting buyout groups such as Carlyle ( CG.O ), Cinven [CINV.UL], Advent, Blackstone ( BX.N ), Bain, Onex ( ONEX.TO ), Triton, CD&R and even former owner KKR ( KKR.N ), a person close to the matter said.A Toshiba spokesman did not have an immediate comment on the report.(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-restructuring-landisgyr-idINKBN17R0E8'|'2017-04-25T03:29:00.000+03:00' +'efc371254ceee7207f5578f0210aa478b1530fc0'|'Centrica boss says some in May''s government lack faith in free markets'|'Business News - Tue Apr 25, 2017 - 10:19am BST Centrica boss says some in May''s government lack faith in free markets By Kate Holton - LONDON LONDON A plan by Prime Minister Theresa May''s Conservative Party to cap energy prices suggests some in her government do not believe in free markets at a time when it is pinning its post-Brexit hopes on free trade, the head of the country''s leading provider said. Shares in Centrica, the owner of British Gas, and SSE, fell sharply on Monday after May''s party set out plans to hold down the prices households pay for gas and electricity which have doubled in the last decade. Iain Conn, the chief executive of market leader Centrica, said the proposal would damage competition and wipe out any money it made from consumers, forcing it to cut costs and reduce its service. "I''m the first to admit that the UK market is not perfect," Conn told BBC Radio. "I just don''t think that capping prices is the right way to help the market and it probably will have unintended consequences." "I think there are some at the heart of government who just don''t believe in free markets and I find that concerning at a time when this market is highly competitive and the UK is seeking to forge a new future relying upon free trade with the rest of the world." May last year praised free markets and free trade in a speech to party activists but also said that she would be prepared to intervene where markets were dysfunctional or where companies were exploiting the failures of the market. Shares in Centrica fell as much as 5 percent at one point on Monday after the Sunday Times said the plans could cut gas and electricity costs by 100 pounds ($128) a year for 17 million families. The Conservative party has confirmed it will set out plans to intervene in the energy market in its manifesto for the June 8 election, but has not yet gone into details. The proposal echoes a 2015 election pledge made by the opposition Labour party which was criticised at the time by the Conservatives as being a gimmick that showed the then party leader wanted to live in a "Marxist universe". Energy bills have doubled in Britain over the past decade to about 1,200 pounds ($1,640) a year, angering consumers who face rising inflation, and drawing the ire of politicians. Energy companies say higher prices reflect increased wholesale costs and environmental levies. The sector is dominated by the big six providers of Centrica, SSE, Scottish Power, Npower, E.ON and EDF. (Reporting by Kate Holton; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-election-energy-idUKKBN17R0Y6'|'2017-04-25T17:19:00.000+03:00' +'39ce9dc4a79145e311c9f1facf2d3ea2434b12f5'|'BP''s Whiting, Indiana refinery CDUs seen back to normal Saturday: sources'|' 33pm BST BP''s Whiting, Indiana refinery CDUs seen back to normal Saturday: sources FILE PHOTO: A British Petroleum petrol station logo is seen at Heathrow in London, Britain February 2, 2010. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo HOUSTON Two crude distillation units are expected back to normal production levels by Saturday at BP Plc''s ( BP.L ) 413,500 barrel per day (bpd) Whiting, Indiana, refinery, sources familiar with plant operations on Friday. The CDUs, Pipestills 11A and 11C, each able to process 75,000 bpd in crude oil, were near normal production levels early on Friday, the sources said. Production on Pipestills 11A and 11C was cut back for work on Thursday to an electrical substation. The refinery''s production dipped below 90 percent of capacity on Thursday because of the work. CDUs do the initial refining of crude oil coming into a refinery and provide feed to all other units. (Reporting by Erwin Seba; editing by Chizu Nomiyama, G Crosse)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-refinery-operations-bp-whiting-idUKKBN17U2PC'|'2017-04-29T02:33:00.000+03:00' +'a29700c1ed65173efdfdc9a409be8acb146dbd04'|'CarMax shares could drop 20 pct as charge-offs, risky loans rise -Barron''s'|'Company News - Sun Apr 2, 2017 - 3:50pm EDT CarMax shares could drop 20 pct as charge-offs, risky loans rise -Barron''s NEW YORK, April 2 Shares of CarMax Inc, the biggest U.S. used car dealer, are vulnerable to a 20 percent decline if investors are unnerved by falling used vehicle prices and weakening credit quality when it reports its results, Barron''s said on Sunday. The company is scheduled to report fourth-quarter and fiscal year ended Feb. 28, 2017 results on April 6. CarMax''s captive auto finance unit contributes about 40 percent of the company''s operating income and could come under pressure as defaults and delinquencies rise, the report said. Last year, the company rolled out an online financing initiative to help customers pre-qualify for a loan before a store visit, hoping to improve customer conversion rates. The economy is becoming less friendly to used-car buyers, personal bankruptcies have ticked up in recent months and interest rates are on the rise, meaning CarMax might find itself underreserved for loan losses, according to Barron''s. "CarMax seems sure to continue to grow sales by opening new stores but if the company encounters rude surprises in its loan portfolios, and falling vehicle prices pinch margins, investors could send the stock lower in its historical valuation range," the report said. CarMax shares closed down 1.4 percent at $59.22 per share on Friday and have fallen more than 8 percent so far this year. (Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar in New York; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/carmax-barrons-idUSL3N1HA0GB'|'2017-04-03T03:50:00.000+03:00' +'e1e9dec66f4d0e1018ab79cfa3fbfd8f6098778e'|'Euro zone Feb retail sales rise as shoppers splurge on clothing'|'Business 32am BST Euro zone Feb retail sales rise as shoppers splurge on clothing A couple watches clogs displayed in a tourist shop at the port of Volendam near Amsterdam, Netherlands February 11, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir BRUSSELS Euro zone sales increased by more than expected in February as shoppers bought far more clothing than in January in a sign that consumers are still spending despite higher inflation. Retail sales in the 19 countries sharing the euro increased by 0.7 percent in February from January, the European Union''s statistics office Eurostat said on Tuesday, more than the average market expectation of a 0.5 percent rise. Year-on-year, the volume of retail sales grew 1.8 percent in January, higher than the 1.4 percent rise forecast by economists polled by Reuters. Eurostat also revised its figures for January, the month-on-month figure turning to a positive 0.1 percent from -0.1 percent and to 1.5 percent for the year-on-year figure, from a previous 1.2 percent. The figures, which are often subject to revision, may indicate an increased appetite for shopping in the euro zone, which had appeared to be dented by higher consumer prices, although euro zone inflation dipped to 1.5 percent in March from 2.0 percent in February. The increase in the retail sales in the month was mostly due to a 0.9 percent rise in purchases of non-food products, a wide category that includes clothing, electrical goods, pharmaceutical products and e-commerce. Sales of textiles, clothes and footwear were up 2.2 percent, while those of electronics and furniture sales declined by 0.3 percent. Sales of food, drinks and tobacco also gained 0.7 percent. Car fuel sales declined by 0.9 percent in the month. Monthly sales rose by most in Portugal, up 3.1 percent. Of the larger nations, Germany was the stand-out, with a 1.8 percent increase. For further details of Eurostat data click on:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-economy-salesfigures-idUKKBN1760UQ'|'2017-04-04T17:32:00.000+03:00' +'4eb30a2dec0ce4e1f10a07eb98e7c84b83a23bd6'|'Germany sees public debt falling 2 percentage points in 2017'|' 48am BST Germany sees public debt falling 2 percentage points in 2017 BERLIN German public debt is expected to fall by some 2 percentage points this year, the government said in a report on Wednesday, keeping Europe''s largest economy on track to bring down debt to below 60 percent of economic output by 2020. Debt stood at 68.3 percent of output in 2016, the government said in its report, which it will present to the European Commission. European Union rules say countries should keep the ratio of debt to gross domestic product (GDP) at no more than 60 percent or at least be heading down towards that level. The rules have been broken for years by Germany and other countries. The German government said in its report that the low interest rate environment created by the European Central Bank had lightened Germany''s debt burden. A stability programme agreed by the government last year also includes a goal of no net new debt until 2020 despite higher state spending. "This course has proven to be a guarantor of growth, secure jobs and prosperity," Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in a statement. (Reporting by Gernot Heller; Writing by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Paul Carrel)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-debt-idUKKBN17E13B'|'2017-04-12T17:48:00.000+03:00' +'e904041d1f167a754bdba860f369620eef8ebd00'|'RPT-Chevron says restarting output at Gorgon Train Two LNG project in Australia'|' 54am EDT RPT-Chevron says restarting output at Gorgon Train Two LNG project in Australia (Repeats to extra subscribers) SINGAPORE, April 18 Chevron is restarting liquefied natural gas (LNG) production at its Gorgon Train Two facility in Australia, a company spokeswoman said on Tuesday. "Restart activities are underway on Gorgon Train Two. We continue to produce LNG from Trains One and Three and load LNG cargoes," the spokeswoman said in a statement emailed to Reuters. Chevron temporarily suspended production at its Train Two facility in late March. (Reporting by Mark Tay; Editing by Joseph Radford)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/lng-chevron-gorgon-idUSL3N1HQ34S'|'2017-04-18T15:54:00.000+03:00' +'77ea9b1821d1e5729d43c4474d01b714da124b92'|'U.S. President Trump resorting to unilateralism with steel probe -China Daily'|' 5:34am BST U.S. President Trump resorting to unilateralism with steel probe -China Daily FILE PHOTO - A Chinese woman adjusts a Chinese national flag next to U.S. national flags before a Strategic Dialogue expanded meeting, part of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, July 10, 2014. REUTERS/Ng Han Guan/Pool BEIJING Washington''s move to probe steel imports could trigger a trade dispute between the United States and its major trading partners, who are likely to take retaliatory steps, the official China Daily said in an editorial on Monday. The article was the strongest official response yet to U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday launching an investigation of China and other steel producers for dumping cheap steel products into the United States. "By proposing an unjustified investigation into steel imports in the guise of safeguarding national security, the U.S. seems to be resorting to unilateralism to solve bilateral and multilateral problems," the China Daily said. The probe could result in efforts by the United States to curb imports that will affect the interests of a number of its major trade partners, including China, it said. "If the U.S. does take protectionist measures, then other countries are likely to take justifiable retaliatory actions against U.S. companies that have an advantage ... in fields such as finance and high-tech, leading to a tit-for-tat trade war that benefits no one," it said. The article called on the United States, the world''s top economy, to use the settlement mechanism under the World Trade Organization to resolve the dispute over steel. Reducing imports will not alter the weak competitiveness of U.S. steelmakers, help restore U.S. manufacturing or bring back jobs, as President Trump hopes, it said. It was a marked shift from official comments on Friday. China''s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in a briefing the country needed to ascertain the direction of any U.S. investigation before it could make a judgment. (Reporting by Josephine Mason; Editing by Tom Hogue)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-steel-china-idUKKBN17Q0AW'|'2017-04-24T12:34:00.000+03:00' +'1d6639fed0e9ca7208617e18611915f257e7afa5'|'Gucci revival, YSL drive Kering first quarter sales beat'|'Tue Apr 25, 2017 - 4:56pm BST Gucci revival, YSL drive Kering Q1 sales beat FILE PHOTO: The logo of Kering is seen during the company''s 2015 annual results presentation in Paris, France, February 19, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo PARIS French luxury group Kering ( PRTP.PA ) delivered a forecast-beating 28.6 percent jump in first-quarter comparable sales on Tuesday, as a revival at its biggest brand, Italy''s Gucci, accelerated and fashion house Yves Saint Laurent outperformed. Kering, whose strong results provided further evidence of a recovery in the wider luxury sector, said its quarterly performance put it in a particularly good position for the rest of the year despite political and economic uncertainties. First quarter comparable sales at Gucci, which makes over 60 percent of Kering''s profit and whose products are favored by celebrities such as singer Rihanna, rose 48.3 percent, beating analysts'' expectations of 21.4 percent growth. Kering''s Yves Saint Laurent posted comparable sales growth of 33.4 percent, also beating expectations of 19 percent growth, while sales at Bottega Veneta rose 2.3 percent amid improving tourism spending in Europe and stronger demand in Asia. Analysts polled by Financial Inquiry for Reuters eyed group comparable sales growth of 13.6 percent in the first quarter 2017 against 10.4 percent growth in the fourth quarter 2016. (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; editing by John Irish)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-kering-reults-idUKKBN17R23C'|'2017-04-25T23:49:00.000+03:00' +'8d8c3eb35538c3e4c8876cba507d96af17e94134'|'India sugar futures fall after cabinet extends cap on stocks by 6 months'|'NEW DELHI Indian sugar futures fell on Wednesday after the cabinet extended by six months a limit on the quantity of sugar that mills can hold, in a move to contain high local prices.May sugar was down 0.2 percent at 3,761 rupees ($58.26) per 100 kg on the National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Ltd (NCDEX) as of 1240 GMT.The price of the contract had breached the 4000-rupee level to reach a record high in February.India, the world''s biggest sugar consumer, earlier this month allowed imports of 500,000 tonnes of duty-free raw sugar, as a drought has cut output below consumption levels for the first time in seven years.May soyoil futures were down 0.4 percent at 617 rupees, tracking weakness in Malaysian palm oil and other overseas soyoil contracts.May rapeseed contract was marginally up at 3,821 rupees per 100 kg, while Indian soybean closed largely flat at 3009 rupees.($1 = 64.5550 Indian rupees)(Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan; Editing by Vyas Mohan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/india-grains-idINKBN17L1NP'|'2017-04-19T11:21:00.000+03:00' +'8f1c3bc2b058c40e42aa3eb444172f006b6ff854'|'Blackrock among those seeking to block Novo Banco-Lone Star deal'|'Business News - Tue Apr 4, 2017 - 2:51am BST Blackrock among those seeking to block Novo Banco-Lone Star deal People pass by a Novo Banco branch in Lisbon, Portugal March 31, 2017. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes Blackrock and other asset management institutions are seeking an injunction this week to block the sale of Portugal''s Novo Banco to U.S. private equity firm Lone Star. "The rules governing the sales process are discriminatory and breach Portuguese and EU law," the fund managers, which included Blackrock, said in an email statement. The names of other financial institutions were not mentioned. The Bank of Portugal in 2015 had transferred bonds from "good bank" Novo Banco to Banco Espirito Santo (BES) to boost Novo Banco''s balance sheet by 1.98 billion euros ($2.11 billion). Novo Banco was created from BES in August 2014 after a 4.9 billion euro rescue. The bond transfer had caused losses of about 1.5 billion for ordinary retail investors and pensioners and a group representing more than two-thirds of the transferred notes had begun legal proceedings against the Bank of Portugal, the statement said. Closure of the Novo Banco sale to Lone Star would impair the fund managers clients'' claim against Novo Banco and their clients ability to recoup losses, the statement said. Portugal on Friday had agreed to sell a 75 percent stake in state-rescued lender Novo Banco to Lone Star in exchange for a capital injection of 1 billion euros into the institution. (Reporting by Sangameswaran S in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Trott) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-portugal-novobanco-injunction-idUKKBN17604W'|'2017-04-04T09:51:00.000+03:00' +'b4ee2f303463654766de5ac4e240f12662d5f192'|'Wells Fargo sweetens customer settlement to $142 million over fake accounts 21,'|'Wells Fargo CEO: We should have addressed concerns in 2004 Good news for Wells Fargo customers caught up in the fake account scandal: The bank has agreed to sweeten its class action settlement. Wells Fargo ( WFC ) said on Friday the revised preliminary agreement to compensate customers is now worth $142 million, up from $110 million, from the original deal announced in late March. The embattled bank has also expanded the scope of the settlement. Now, customers who had unauthorized accounts opened in their name as early as May 2002 will be included. The previous agreement only went back to 2009. The new timeline reflects the reality that the scandal took place earlier than previously thought. Wells Fargo''s own board of directors put out a 110-page report on April 10 that found evidence of "mass terminations" of employees for opening unauthorized accounts and other misconduct going back to "at least 2002." "We made a number of mistakes, there''s no question about it. We''re focused on fixing what was broken, making sure that we''re making things right by our customers," Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan told CNN''s Poppy Harlow in an exclusive interview this week. Wells Fargo said the revised settlement, which is subject to court approval, will cover "all customers" claiming that without their consent the bank opened an account in their name, enrolled them in a product or service or submitted credit card or other applications. Related: Wells Fargo CEO: We''re America''s ''best corporate citizen'' Once preliminary approval is received for the settlement, Wells Fargo said a notice will be sent to customers explaining the process to make claims. It''s not clear how much each customer will receive because it''s too early to know how many people will be included in the settlement. After subtracting attorneys'' fees and costs of administration, Wells Fargo said the $142 million will go towards reimbursing customers for fees and damage to their credit scores. The remainder of the pool will be for "additional compensation," the bank said. Lawyers representing the plaintiffs said in a separate statement that the additional compensation will be "based on the number of unauthorized accounts, products or services opened in their names." The class action payouts would be on top of the $3.2 million in refunds that Wells Fargo paid to customers to cover 130,000 potentially-unauthorized accounts Those refunds work out to about $25 per account. Related: Feds knew of 700 Wells Fargo whistleblower complaints Wells Fargo was at the center of a national firestorm last September when regulators slapped the bank with $185 million in fines for creating some two million unauthorized accounts. The bank said it fired 5,300 workers since 2011 for improper sales tactics. Wells Fargo has since taken numerous steps aimed at fixing its culture, including eliminating unrealistic sales goals , changing its leadership and clawing back $180 million in pay from senior executives. The settlement with regulators was based on a review of accounts going back to 2011. Under pressure from the public, Wells Fargo agreed to expand the account review to include 2009 and 2010. However, Wells Fargo does not plan to review accounts back to 2002, despite the findings of the independent board report finding evidence of "mass terminations" of employees for opening unauthorized accounts and other misconduct. Sloan told CNN that''s because there are "challenges" with the "quality of the data" from that long ago. He urged customers who have concerns to reach out to Wells Fargo. "We''ve done everything we can to turn over every stone," Sloan said. CNNMoney (New York) 11:55 AM ET'|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_news_companies.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/04/21/investing/wells-fargo-expands-customer-settlement/index.html'|'2017-04-21T20:19:00.000+03:00' +'91993a25476dfb61e0369ef702aa836122bb366f'|'Massachusetts sues Ocwen over mortgage servicing practices'|'By Nate Raymond - BOSTON, April 28 BOSTON, April 28 The Massachusetts attorney general sued a unit of Ocwen Financial Corp on Friday, accusing the mortgage servicing company of engaging in abusive practices that harmed thousands of homeowners in the state.The lawsuit, filed in Suffolk County Superior Court, came a week after the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Florida attorney general and more than 20 state banking regulators took action against Ocwen.Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC charged homeowners for unnecessary forced-place insurance policies, hit delinquent borrowers with excessive fees and failed to process escrow and insurance payments."It is alarming that one of the nation''s largest mortgage loan servicers has proven itself to be incapable of properly handling homeowners'' mortgages in Massachusetts," Healey said in a statement.Ocwen, one of the United States'' largest nonbank mortgage servicers, in a statement said that it was reviewing the matter and intended to vigorously defend itself.The lawsuit followed a similar case brought by the CFPB on April 20, accusing Ocwen of widespread misconduct in how it serviced borrowers'' loans, from foreclosure abuses to a basic failure to send accurate monthly statements.CFPB officials said Ocwen and its subsidiaries have failed to clean up their act, even after reaching a settlement with the agency and states in 2013 to provide $2.1 billion in relief to harmed borrowers because of similar violations.The CFPB''s lawsuit was filed as more than 20 state banking regulators, including the Massachusetts Division of Banks, issued orders or charges to subsidiaries of Ocwen to address violations of state and federal laws.Ocwen on Wednesday filed a legal challenge to the CFPB that argued the agency was not legal under the U.S. constitution. Ocwen has also filed lawsuits to block the actions by the Massachusetts and Illinois banking regulators. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/ocwen-financial-lawsuit-idINL1N1I02EW'|'2017-04-28T21:14:00.000+03:00' +'459bdea494993bffc7e66a206c08c66701680a97'|'Brazil''s Renova sells wind farm to AES unit for $193 million'|'SAO PAULO Renova Energia SA sold a wind farm project to a unit of AES Corp for 600 million reais ($193 million) on Tuesday, enabling the Brazilian renewable power company to replenish cash amid a severe cash crunch.In a securities filing, AES Tiet Energia SA said it plans to assume 1.150 billion reais worth of debt owed by the Alto Sertao II project. The deal''s value could increase by 100 million reais within five years, depending on whether the project outperforms some unspecified operational metrics.Reuters reported on Jan. 2 that Renova and AES Tiet, a unit of AES Brasil, had reached an accord over Alto Sertao II for a price between 600 million reais and 700 million reais.($1 = 3.1071 reais)(Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Luciano Costa; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-renova-energia-m-a-aes-corp-idUSKBN17K2M9'|'2017-04-19T02:01:00.000+03:00' +'614f339ef37be61c56319796b8ae4e598defb075'|'BOK holds rates, upgrades economic outlook with hawkish tone'|'SEOUL South Korea''s central bank raised its growth outlook for this year and kept interest rates unchanged at a record low for a 10th straight month on Thursday, while its governor shifted policy to a more hawkish stance.The Bank of Korea''s monetary policy committee held its base rate KROCRT=ECI steady at 1.25 percent, in line with forecasts from 21 analysts surveyed in a Reuters poll.A majority of analysts see the central bank on hold for the rest of the year and some see tightening beginning next year."Right now, I don''t think the BOK is looking at a rate cut at all. In the second half of the year there may be talk of an extra budget, but to the BOK... rate cuts will not be on the table," said Oh Chang-sob, a fixed-income strategist at Korea Investment & Securities.In its quarterly revision of economic forecasts, the BOK raised its GDP growth forecast for this year to 2.6 percent from 2.5 percent previously announced. Inflation this year is now seen at 1.9 percent, versus 1.8 percent announced in January.BOK Governor Lee Ju-yeol said the outlook was revised up on better-than-expected economic conditions from improving exports and a higher base thanks to fourth-quarter GDP growth that was revised up to 0.5 percent on-quarter from 0.4 percent."When considering the growth and inflation path going forward, it is true the need for rate cuts has diminished," said Lee. "However we will keep an accommodative stance to support economic growth."Lee noted South Korea''s economy could face downside risks at any time from something unexpected, while the outlook for the jobs market was "not all positive."Market players boosted the won KRW= after the governor''s remarks, taking the currency to 1,129.5 per dollar as of 0322 GMT, up more than 1 percent versus its previous close.Lee remained wary of geopolitical risks around North Korea, saying it was too early to say what effect they will have on the economy.Foreign journalists visiting Pyongyang were told early on Thursday to prepare for "a big and important event", with tensions high over the possibility North Korea would test its weapons even as a U.S. carrier group steamed toward the Korean peninsula.Policymakers had fretted over whether South Korea would be named as a currency manipulator in a U.S. Treasury report, although on balance they are confident it is unlikely.A local currency trader said concerns over the report had "completely eased" after U.S. President Trump said in a media interview that China would not be named a currency manipulator.Consumer price growth in South Korea picked up at the fastest pace in nearly five years in March as the prices of fresh food and services rose, signaling a rebound in domestic demand after months of weakening consumer sentiment amid a corruption scandal that led to the ouster of President Park Geun-hye.Rising household debt remains an issue for the central bank, as previous interest rate cuts by the BOK have been identified as a key reason behind feverish borrowing. The BOK said on Thursday borrowing from non-bank institutions continued to grow rapidly.The central bank did not hold a rate-setting meeting in March as it has reduced the number of such meetings, starting this year, to eight from 12.(Additional reporting by Dahee Kim; Editing by Eric Meijer)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-economy-rates-idUSKBN17F0FL'|'2017-04-13T08:28:00.000+03:00' +'3a097c04b00325b5a79e90b0637205117cf7417b'|'Oil stocks help European shares steady at 16-month highs'|'Business News - Mon Apr 3, 2017 - 10:52am BST Oil stocks help European shares steady at 16-month highs Traders work at their desks in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, March 31, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote By Danilo Masoni - MILAN MILAN European shares edged up on Monday helped by stronger oil stocks, while the loss of major customer Apple hammered shares in British firm Imagination Tech, also weighing on other tech stocks in the region. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.1 percent by 0925 GMT, following gains last week and steadying at its highest level since early December 2015. Germany''s DAX .GDAXI added 0.3 percent and UK''s FTSE .FTSE was flat. The oil and gas sector index .SXEP rose as much as 0.7 percent to its highest level in nine weeks as investors turned more confident in a sector that has been the worst performer in Europe so far this year with a fall of 2.4 percent. "The sector appears to be bottoming, with risk/reward skewed higher near term," analysts at Goldman Sachs said in a note, citing expectations that producing countries may agree more output cuts and a pick of deal-making in the sector. The oil index pared some gains but remained in positive territory, up 0.5 percent, as oil futures moved higher. [O/R] In the sector, Italian oil services firm Saipem ( SPMI.MI ) led the gainers, up 1.3 percent, followed by OMV ( OMVV.VI ) and Lundin Petroleum ( LUPE.ST ), both up 1.3 percent. Europe''s basic resources .SXPP index also rose by 0.4percent, as copper prices inched higher. Banco Popular ( POP.MC ) fell 4.8 percent, leading losers on the STOXX and helping make the European banking index .SX7P, down 0.7 percent, the worst sectoral performer. Shares in Popular fell after the Spanish lender said an internal audit identified the need of adjustments to its accounts with most of the adjustments related to doubtful loans. "Another unhelpful development which does little to restore confidence in the balance sheet," Jefferies analysts said. Outside the STOXX index, London-listed Imagination Tech ( IMG.L ) slumped 60 percent after Apple ( AAPL.O ) said it would stop using its graphics technology in the iPhone and other products. Traders said the heavy losses in Imagination also weighed on German chipmaker Dialog Semiconductor ( DLGS.DE ), which counts Apple among its biggest customers. Dialog fell 3.7 percent. Broker Northern Trust says Apple''s decision to ditch Imagination is likely a one-off, and any weakness in Dialog and peer AMS ( AMS.S ) was a buying opportunity. (Editing by Stephen Powell)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks-idUKKBN1750XY'|'2017-04-03T17:52:00.000+03:00' +'aef8fe5fd18dfd01e5d3e9854ef57b2cd4457b34'|'EU clears Rolls-Royce''s acquisition of Spain''s ITP subject to conditions'|'BRUSSELS European Union antitrust regulators said on Wednesday they had cleared the acquisition of aircraft engine components maker ITP by Rolls-Royce ( RR.L ) subject to its elimination of a conflict of interest in an engine consortium.The engine consortium EPI, made up of Rolls-Royce, ITP, Germany''s MTU and France''s Safran ( SAF.PA ), designs and manufactures the engine powering the Airbus A400M, which competes with the Lockheed Martin ( LMT.N ) C-130J aircraft, powered by a Rolls-Royce engine.The European Commission said in a statement that it initially had concerns the merger would have allowed Rolls-Royce to gain additional influence on the decision-making process of the EPI consortium, on matters that affected its competitiveness against the Lockheed Martin C-130J.To allay those concerns Rolls-Royce offered commitments to eliminate the conflict of interest and ensure EPI remains competitive, the Commission said.(Reporting by Julia Fioretti; editing by Philip Blenkinsop)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-itp-m-a-rolls-royce-eu-idINKBN17L1XX'|'2017-04-19T13:01:00.000+03:00' +'8a921e893a11d5f6a7893e7c5255c45572ec8bf1'|'MGM to buy 81 percent of Epix for $1.03 billion'|'MGM Holdings Inc said it would acquire the 81 percent of Epix it does not already own from two of its partners in the premium U.S. channel, Viacom Inc and Lionsgate Entertainment Corp, for about $1.03 billion.Viacom has a 50 percent stake in Epix, while Lionsgate holds 31.2 percent.The deal would give MGM, a privately held U.S. movie studio best known for its classic film library, control of Epix and would be a boon to its TV business, as it seeks to build a stronger platform to distribute its content.(Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-viacom-epix-sale-idINKBN1772R4'|'2017-04-05T19:04:00.000+03:00' +'53b63ab61d822e0b810051aa6cac6ea20388f10d'|'BRIEF-Aerojet Rocketdyne expands competitive improvement program'|' 23pm EDT BRIEF-Aerojet Rocketdyne expands competitive improvement program April 10 Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc : * Aerojet Rocketdyne expands competitive improvement program to drive affordability and position for future growth * Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc - announced plans for next phase of its competitive improvement program (cip) that was launched in 2015 * Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc - phase ii includes additional consolidation and optimization of aerojet rocketdyne facilities over next two years * Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc - plans to consolidate its Sacramento and Vernon, California and Gainesville, Virginia sites * Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc - expanding its existing presence in Huntsville, Alabama * Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc - company plans to close its gainesville, virginia facility in q3 of 2018 * Aerojet Rocketdyne - about 170 positions there will be relocated or eliminated with relocations planned to huntsville and facility in orange county, virginia * Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc - company expects total costs associated with cip to be $235.1 million Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-aerojet-rocketdyne-expands-competi-idUSFWN1HI0MA'|'2017-04-11T04:23:00.000+03:00' +'bfc44048bb95cab9fd3daecb57e8da06b53f1ea1'|'Boeing seeks U.S. anti-dumping probe against CSeries jet'|'WASHINGTON/NEW YORK Boeing Co on Thursday asked the U.S. Commerce Department to investigate alleged subsidies and unfair pricing for Canadian planemaker Bombardier''s new CSeries airplane, adding to growing trade tensions between the United States and Canada.The petition against Canada''s new competitor to the Boeing 737 aircraft came just days after the Commerce Department imposed duties averaging 20 percent on imports of Canadian softwood lumber, saying that the product''s origin from public land amounted to an unfair government subsidy.On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump told Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto that he intended to begin renegotiating the 23-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement, after White House officials said Trump had been considering an order to withdraw from the pact.Boeing said in its petition that Bombardier, determined to win a key order from Delta Air Lines Inc after losing a competition at United Airlines, had offered its planes to the airline at an "absurdly low" $19.6 million each, well below what it described as the aircrafts production cost of $33.2 million."Propelled by massive, supply creating and illegal government subsidies, Bombardier Inc has embarked on an aggressive campaign to dump its CSeries aircraft in the United States," Boeing said in its petition.Boeing''s similarly sized 737-700 model has a list price of $83.4 million, with the new 737-MAX 7 priced at $92.2 million. Sales discounts from list prices are typically 40 percent to 50 percent in the industry.In April 2016, Bombardier won the Delta order, its biggest yet, for 75 CS100 jets, worth an estimated $5.6 billion based on the list price of about $71.8 million.In its complaint against Bombardier, Boeing argued that the CSeries program would not exist without hundreds of millions of dollars in launch aid from the governments of Canada, Quebec and Britain, or a $2.5 billion equity infusion from Quebec and its largest pension fund in 2015.Quebec Economy Minister Dominique Anglade said in a statement that her government would defend "the commercial partnership concluded with Bombardier" for a $1 billion injection in the CSeries.Boeing also took a shot at European rival Airbus SE, which it accuses of benefiting from similar "unfair" government subsidies in a long-running dispute before the World Trade Organization.Bombardier is taking a page out of the Airbus strategy book by trying to muscle into the U.S. market with cut-rate pricing, Boeing charged.A Commerce Department spokesman said the petition would be given "a thorough review" and further comment was premature.Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has taken action in recent weeks to protect the U.S. steel and aluminum industries from foreign competition, launching national security investigations that could lead to import restrictions.An investigation could lead to duties on the Bombardier aircraft to offset any below-cost pricing or any subsidies deemed unfair.In a statement, Canada''s government objected to Boeing''s allegations and noted that the CSeries has many U.S. suppliers, including for engines, and supports thousands of U.S. jobs."The Government of Canada will mount a vigorous defense against these allegations and stand up for aerospace jobs on both sides of the border," it said in the statement.Bombardiers chief executive conceded the company had been aggressive on pricing in order to win, and sources familiar with the deal pegged the discount closer to two-thirds off the nominal list price.Bombardier said in a statement that it was reviewing the petition and said it structures its dealings to ensure compliance with all relevant laws.The request for anti-dumping measures was also addressed to the U.S. International Trade Commission, an independent U.S. trade body that will review any decisions by the Commerce Department.(Additional reporting by Tim Hepher in Paris, David Ljunggren in Ottawa and Allison Lampert in Montreal; Writing by David Lawder; Editing by Bill Rigby and Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-boeing-bombardier-idUSKBN17T387'|'2017-04-28T05:41:00.000+03:00' +'253cc91423d27ea85d3f78e15bf2a5bf1d2dcfaf'|'U.S. to impose 20 percent duties on Canadian softwood lumber: Ross'|'By David Lawder - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The United States will impose preliminary anti-subsidy duties averaging 20 percent on imports of Canadian softwood lumber, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Monday, escalating a long-running trade dispute between the two neighbors.The move, which affects some $5.66 billion worth of imports of the construction material, sets a tense tone as the two countries and Mexico prepare to renegotiate the 23-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement.Canada denounced the U.S. action and vowed to protect its lumber interests through litigation.News of the tariffs sent the U.S. dollar sharply up against the Canadian dollar in Asian trading to hit an almost four-month high. The Canadian currency sank to C$1.3559 to the greenback, or 73.75 U.S. cents, down from its North American close of C$1.3516, or 73.99 U.S. cents.Ross told Reuters in a telephone interview that Canada was "already retaliating" against the United States well ahead of the lumber duties by restricting imports of U.S. highly filtered milk protein products used by cheesemakers.President Donald Trump last week called Canada''s dairy protections "unfair."Ross said some Wisconsin dairy producers were now "losing their farms" because of the restrictions. "Apparently Canadians now are coming down and saying: ''Since you can''t do it anymore, I''ll buy your equipment for 5 cents on the dollar,''" he said.U.S. lumber producers asked the Commerce Department last November under President Barack Obama to investigate what they viewed as unfair subsidies to Canadian competitors who procure their timber from government lands at cheaper rates. U.S. lumber producers generally cut timber grown on private land.Canadian Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr and Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a joint statement that Commerce''s accusations "are baseless and unfounded" and would raise U.S. home construction and renovation costs.Ross said the duties collected would total about $1 billion a year. In a statement, he said the need for the lumber duties and Canada''s dairy restriction were "not our idea of a properly functioning free trade agreement."NAFTA never addressed the softwood lumber issue or Canada''s largely closed dairy market. The Trump administration has vowed to renegotiate NAFTA on terms that would reduce U.S. goods trade deficits of $63 billion with Mexico and $11 billion with Canada last year.NAFTA TALKS EXPECTED THIS SUMMERRoss said NAFTA''s dispute resolution system needed to be changed because it had worked against the United States in the lumber dispute.NAFTA talks are expected to begin later this summer after a 90-day legal consultation period.The Commerce Department said West Fraser Mills ( WFT.TO ) would pay the highest duty rate at 24.12 percent, followed by Canfor Corp ( CFP.TO ) at 20.26 percent.Resolute FP Canada Ltd ( RFP.N ) will pay a 12.82 percent duty, while Tolko Marketing and Sales and Tolko Industries will pay a 19.50 percent duty and J.D. Irving Ltd will pay 3.02 percent.All other Canadian producers face a 19.88 percent duty, according to the document.The preliminary determination directs U.S. Customs and Border Protection to require cash deposits on all softwood products imports starting 90 days ago.To remain in effect, the duties need to be finalized by Commerce and then confirmed by the U.S. International Trade Commission after an investigation that includes testimony from both sides.(Additional reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Editing by Peter Cooney)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-canada-trade-lumber-idINKBN17Q2G9'|'2017-04-24T21:19:00.000+03:00' +'fe4aca65060abbbf2a28fb0bb1b495215a7f3b42'|'Deutsche Bank investors urged against ratifying actions of bosses'|'Business 26pm BST Deutsche Bank investors urged against ratifying actions of bosses FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of Germany''s Deutsche Bank are seen early evening in Frankfurt, Germany, January 31, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo BERLIN Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) shareholders should not ratify the actions of its top executives and supervisory board members for last year because of the legal uncertainties surrounding the bank, shareholder advisory firm Glass Lewis said on Friday. Votes to ratify the decisions of company bosses are customary in Germany as a way for shareholders to express their confidence in their leadership, although they do not release individuals from liability for their actions. While transparency at Germany''s biggest bank has improved under CEO John Cryan, the scale and scope of investigations and proceedings in which it has been - and continues to be - involved "may be indicative of widespread governance failures in the company and cast doubt on the performance of the management and supervisory boards," Glass Lewis said in a report. Many investment funds from the United States and Britain follow the recommendation of advisory firms such as Glass Lewis at shareholder meetings. Deutsche Bank''s annual shareholder meeting is on May 18. Glass Lewis criticised plans by Deutsche Bank for shareholders to vote on the actions of the executive and supervisory board collectively, rather than permitting ballots on individual members. "We strongly feel that shareholders are likely to have mixed views on which management board members they can confidently ratify for the past fiscal year," it said. Glass Lewis'' recommendations were first reported by German business newspaper Handelsblatt. (Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deutsche-bank-investors-idUKKBN17U2K2'|'2017-04-29T01:26:00.000+03:00' +'f6891744a56bf2677e2cce7193263a65a5d068ad'|'Chile''s Codelco unit seeks value in copper impurities, arsenic'|' 40am EDT Chile''s Codelco unit seeks value in copper impurities, arsenic * Lower-quality ore means less copper, more arsenic * Ecometales seeks permit for process adapted to high arsenic * Seeking to commercially extract small metals By Barbara Lewis SANTIAGO, April 7 Ecometales, a unit of Chile''s state-run Codelco, is in talks with smelters in Europe and China to share its technology for stabilising arsenic while processing lower-quality copper ore, an executive said on Friday. Codelco was hit hard by the commodity price crash of 2015 and early 2016 and leading copper producer Chile as a whole must find creative solutions as its mature mining industry has used up much of the best ore. Turning the remainder into pure copper is expensive and challenging from an environmental and health perspective. Ecometales has a plant to process smelter residue dust in Calama, northern Chile, where ores have one of the highest concentrations worldwide of arsenic, a carcinogen. To stabilise the impurity, which increases as the amount of copper in ore declines, Ecometales has been using a method of arsenic and antimony abatement since 2012. It is now talking to smelters across the world as they seek to meet increasingly stringent regulatory standards. "We are working with one European smelter and are piloting our technology," Development and Business Manager Carlos Rebolledo Ibacache told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference on mining sustainability. He said he could not name the smelter because of a non-disclosure agreement. In addition, he said the company was in early discussions with smelters in China, Chile''s biggest customer. In Chile, there is a growing pile of complex copper concentrate, which is partially treated ore that contains 0.5 percent or more arsenic, that most smelters cannot process for safety reasons. Globally, the International Copper Study Group has estimated the extraction of arsenic associated with copper mining will rise to 162,000 tonnes by 2020 from 82,000 tonnes in 2013. Ecometales is seeking an environment permit for a technology known as autoclave, already used in the nickel and gold industry, for copper. It uses oxygen at high pressure and temperatures to treat concentrate, increasing the proportion of copper and removing arsenic while producing zero emissions. Ecometales hopes it will get its permit around the middle of this year. It will then need to find financing of around $300 million. Some extra cash could come from extracting minor metals dismissed as impurities in a nation that has focused on copper. Ecometales is seeking commercially viable ways to extract germanium, used in night-vision technology, bismuth, a fire retardant, antimony, used in alloys, lead and a small amount of silver. (Reporting by Barbara Lewis; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/chile-copper-ecometales-idUSL5N1HE5XP'|'2017-04-07T21:40:00.000+03:00' +'69458a971d6b0e678a2502a5f6d900fe8c7b3b70'|'U.S. trucking companies Swift and Knight to merge'|'Deals - Mon Apr 10, 2017 - 9:39pm BST U.S. trucking companies Swift and Knight to merge By Rachit Vats and Ankit Ajmera Trucking and logistics operators Swift Transportation Co ( SWFT.N ) and Knight Transportation Inc ( KNX.N ) are merging in a stock-swap deal, creating a company with a market value of more than $5 billion. The merger, which combines Swift''s scale with Knight''s operational prowess, will give the new entity more muscle to operate in an industry struggling with excess capacity that has hurt prices and squeezed profits. Shareholders of Swift will own 54 percent of the new entity and Knight shareholders the rest after the deal closes. The companies, both based in Phoenix, have a shared history - Jerry Moyes started Swift in 1966, while Randy Knight, who was a part-owner of Swift - founded Knight Transportation along with three cousins in 1990. Knight''s executive chairman, Kevin Knight, will assume the same title at the new company. Moyes, who retired as co-CEO of Swift last year, will become one of the directors of the new company. The Jerry Moyes family, however, will own about 24 percent of Knight-Swift. "Effectively, this deal represents the pupil acquiring the teacher''s company and will give the Knight team control of the new entity," Stifel Transportation & Logistics Research Group analyst John Larkin said in a note. "Swift appears to have struggled with the retirement of its founder and spiritual leader, Jerry Moyes. ... Kevin Knight will be in a strong position to provide strategic leadership of the combined entity." Baird Equity Research analyst Benjamin Hartford said the deal combines Swift''s scale in both truckload and intermodal and Knight''s industry-leading operating margins and capital returns. The deal, which would create the biggest truckload operator in North America, came days after rival Schneider National Inc ( SNDR.N ) went public in an IPO that raised about $550 million. Under the deal, each Swift share will be converted into 0.72 shares of the new company through a reverse stock split. Each Knight share will be exchanged for one share of the new company. The transaction values each Swift share at $22.07, a 10 percent premium to its closing price on Friday. Swift''s shares closed 23.7 percent higher at $24.77, while Knight was up 13.4 percent at $34.75. "I cannot think of a better combination. The Knight and Moyes families grew up together, and the Knights helped me build Swift before starting their own company and making it an industry leader in growth and profitability," Moyes said. The Wall Street Journal first reported the deal. (Reporting by Rachit Vats and Rama Venkat Raman in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-swift-tran-m-a-knight-trans-idUKKBN17C0CU'|'2017-04-11T04:32:00.000+03:00' +'713f7b93ef908d72789766989769c8cb99155316'|'UPDATE 1-Daily Mail appoints Thomson Reuters executive as CFO'|'Big Story 10 - Thu Apr 6, 2017 - 4:16am EDT Daily Mail appoints Thomson Reuters executive as CFO Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT) said on Thursday it has appointed Tim Collier as group chief financial officer, filling the post vacated by Stephen Daintith, who left the group to join Rolls-Royce. Collier, who joins from news and information company Thomson Reuters Corp, takes up the post on May 2, the publisher said. Collier held the post of CFO at Thomson Reuters'' Financial and Risk unit, the company said. Collier joins the group at a time when it needs to extract more revenue from online as advertising sales from the Daily Mail newspaper shrink fast. However, its celebrity-focused websites, DailyMail.com and MailOnline, are among the most popular in the English language. To slim down its sprawling range of businesses, the company has reduced its stake in Euromoney, a separate business information company, from around 67 percent to around 49 percent. In January DMGT cut its revenue forecast for its data and analysis business which serves the property, education and energy sectors, to mid single-digit growth from a previous forecast of high single-digit growth, as business in the first quarter was adversely affected by reduced levels of activity in the UK property market. (Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Greg Mahlich) Next In Big Story 10'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-dmgt-cfo-idUSKBN1780SX'|'2017-04-06T16:11:00.000+03:00' +'1c3dc8bba50d5a904611dd4cc0bccbda92769339'|'South32 scraps $200 million Australian coal acquisition from Peabody'|'MELBOURNE South32 Ltd ( S32.AX ) on Tuesday killed a $200 million deal to buy Peabody Energy''s ( BTU.N ) Metropolitan coal mine in Australia after running into competition concerns about supply of coal to local steel makers.South32, which had been pursuing its first major acquisition since being spun off by global miner BHP Billiton ( BHP.AX )( BLT.L ), said it was unwilling to take the steps required to appease Australian steel makers to get the deal over the line."To proceed with the acquisition, in light of the anticipated concessions, would have compromised the merits of the transaction and this is not something we are prepared to do," South32 Chief Executive Graham Kerr said in a statement.The decision by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to block the deal underscores concerns voiced by steel makers that too much of Australias massive coking coal reserves rest in the hands of a small handful of big miners, including BHP, Mitsui ( 8031.T ) and Anglo American ( AAL.L )If the deal went through, South32 would have become the only large supplier of coking coal to the eastern Illawarra steelmaking hub, a market position opposed by Australia''s biggest steel company, BlueScope Steel Ltd ( BSL.AX )Steel producers are facing some of the highest raw materials costs in years as prices for coking coal as high as $300 a tonne remain well above last year''s levels.The ACCC''s ruling also comes just as Peabody has emerged from bankruptcy.Peabody in a statement said it was surprised that South32 and Australia''s competition watchdog had reached an impasse over the acquisition."On the other hand, we see continuing opportunities given Metropolitan''s quality coking coals and port location, and our objective will be to operate the mine while maximizing returns in the international marketplace," Peabody President Glenn Kellow said in a statement.Peabody said it would keep the 2 million tonnes a year coking coal mine and its 16.67 percent stake in the Port Kembla coal terminal and would resume shipments after completing a move to a new coal panel in the mine at the end of May.(Reporting by Sonali Paul and James Regan; Editing by Stephen Coates)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-south32-australia-peabody-energy-idINKBN17J1TT'|'2017-04-17T21:36:00.000+03:00' +'cfb803b4a49483ab0d1c768cc8ca7a2fe9f5312a'|'JPMorgan Chase & Co leaves blockchain consortium R3 - sources'|'By Anna Irrera - NEW YORK NEW YORK JPMorgan Chase & Co has left the mammoth bank blockchain consortium led by New York-based startup R3 CEV, as financial institutions refine their strategies around the nascent technology, according to sources familiar with the plans.The Wall Street bank has decided not to invest in R3''s ongoing fundraising round and will also no longer be a member of its consortium, the sources said on Thursday.(Reporting by Anna Irrera; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/jpmorgan-r-idINKBN17T2TF'|'2017-04-27T16:28:00.000+03:00' +'04cdbde80a2b7cc57ceb0054c076d0c6a5bd911b'|'CarMax shares could drop 20 percent as charge-offs, risky loans rise: Barron''s'|'NEW YORK Shares of CarMax Inc ( KMX.N ), the biggest U.S. used car dealer, are vulnerable to a 20 percent decline if investors are unnerved by falling used vehicle prices and weakening credit quality when it reports its results, Barron''s said on Sunday.The company is scheduled to report fourth-quarter and fiscal year ended Feb. 28, 2017 results on April 6.CarMax''s captive auto finance unit contributes about 40 percent of the company''s operating income and could come under pressure as defaults and delinquencies rise, the report said.Last year, the company rolled out an online financing initiative to help customers pre-qualify for a loan before a store visit, hoping to improve customer conversion rates.The economy is becoming less friendly to used-car buyers, personal bankruptcies have ticked up in recent months and interest rates are on the rise, meaning CarMax might find itself underreserved for loan losses, according to Barron''s."CarMax seems sure to continue to grow sales by opening new stores but if the company encounters rude surprises in its loan portfolios, and falling vehicle prices pinch margins, investors could send the stock lower in its historical valuation range," the report said.CarMax shares closed down 1.4 percent at $59.22 per share on Friday and have fallen more than 8 percent so far this year.(Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar in New York; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-carmax-barrons-idINKBN1740VL'|'2017-04-02T18:39:00.000+03:00' +'afe769bb6e5953d2b90df9c28ad47e5ab3498f1d'|'Japan jet may make money, but aims to revive dormant industry'|'By Tim Kelly and Maki Shiraki - TOKYO TOKYO The Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) has been delayed five times and faces rising costs, yet its future as the vanguard of Japanese-built passenger jets seems assured by the corporate muscle behind it and a government set on reviving an aerospace industry dismantled after World War Two.The delays - the new 90-seat plane was due to take off in 2013, but the first delivery is not now seen until 2020 - have dented its chances of commercial success as established regional jet makers, Brazil''s Embraer SA ( EMBR3.SA ) and Canada''s Bombardier Inc ( BBDb.TO ), catch up with its innovations, and China and Russia flex their aerospace ambitions.But the Japanese government''s primary goal isn''t to make money for Mitsubishi Aircraft, the MRJ''s manufacturer, rather it''s to have the plane cement an industry revival that failed to take off half a century ago with Japan''s last passenger plane, the YS-11."Rather than a simple question of whether it makes a profit or loss, what is more important is will it over the longer term be the foundation of a strong aerospace industry," a government source who is helping the program told Reuters. He asked not to be identified as he is not authorized to talk to the media.Presentation documents prepared by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, seen by Reuters, see the MRJ as the first in a three-generation program stretching beyond 2060.With the plane still awaiting U.S.-standard certification for commercial flights, signed-up customers are banking on the backing of big-name Japanese companies to see the project through.Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp is 64 percent-owned by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries ( 7011.T ), with Toyota Motor Corp ( 7203.T ) and Mitsubishi Corp ( 8058.T ) each holding a 10 percent stake. Other shareholders include state-owned Development Bank of Japan, Sumitomo Corp ( 8053.T ) and Mitsui & Co ( 8031.T )."Not a bad list," says Jep Thornton, a partner at Aerolease Aviation in Florida which has ordered 10 of the planes. "This is coming from the government sector, the financial sector and the investor sector."Launch customer ANA Holdings ( 9202.T ), Japan''s biggest carrier, says it won''t walk away from its order for 15 MRJs even as it has to keep older aircraft flying and leases four Boeing ( BA.N ) 737-800 aircraft to make up for a capacity shortfall."We want this plane in our fleet and although we have been on stand-by for a while, we await it with anticipation," said Yuji Hirako, who runs All Nippon Airways.RE-WIRINGThe plane''s latest delay, announced in January, can be dated back more than 20 years - six years before Mitsubishi even considered a passenger jet - when a Boeing 747 plunged into the Atlantic, killing 230 people.Investigators blamed a short circuit that ignited a fuel tank fire, prompting the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) to tighten wiring certification in 2007.Mitsubishi, which had by then begun work on the MRJ, overlooked the change, said two people with knowledge of the project. "Mitsubishi was clearly aware of it but did not apply it to the design," said one, who didn''t want to be named as he is not authorized to talk to the media.Hundreds of engineers wiring the MRJ did so without using a common design framework incorporating the new rule. So, when asked by Japanese regulators certifying the jet to FAA standards how it complied with the stricter standard, Mitsubishi Aircraft faced a time-consuming task to explain each twist and turn in the 23,000 wires snaking through the plane''s fuselage."They decided it would be easier to start from scratch," the second person said.In response to Reuters queries, Mitsubishi Aircraft said: "We were aware of the regulation in our early phase of design, so it is not accurate to say we overlooked the regulation. Our design was made reflecting the regulations, but we made a subsequent decision to relocate certain systems for a better design. System location was the main reason for requiring wiring changes and the re-routing ensures we meet the highest safety standards."Four of the five delays so far have been caused to some degree by similar failures to document work for certification, forcing engineers to redo some of their work, said Yugo Fukuhara, vice president and general manager of sales and marketing at Mitsubishi Aircraft, adding the company is hiring ex-Boeing engineers and other foreign experts to help it better navigate FAA rules.BREAKING EVEN?Mitsubishi Aircraft has orders for 233 MRJs, and aims to sell more than 1,000 of the planes over two decades. The company declined to say how many planes it has to sell to break even.Based on presentations by Mitsubishi Heavy, the first four delays doubled the MRJ''s development cost, and the latest delay could add another 30 percent - taking total spending to 350 billion yen ($3.17 billion), equivalent to the value of 67 list-price MRJs.At the average operating margin of 7.84 percent at commercial planemakers including Embraer, Boeing and Airbus ( AIR.PA ) over the past three years, the profit per MRJ plane would be $3.7 million, according to Reuters calculations.At that rate of return, Mitsubishi Aircraft would need to sell more than 800 of the planes to cover its costs."Assume a very conservative 30 percent discount to the list price, then re-do. That probably brings us to 1,200 jets, and they''ll never get there," said Richard Aboulafia, an analyst at Teal Group, when asked about Reuters'' estimate. A more realistic number, he says, would be 30 aircraft a year over 25 years, adding up to sales of around 750 MRJs."We understand that the commercial aircraft business is a long-term investment, and we expect to absorb the development costs over the long run," Mitsubishi Aircraft told Reuters."We see this as the creation of a new industry, establishing supply chains and a regulatory certification process," said Fukuhara, the sales and marketing manager, in his office at Nagoya Airport. "I don''t think it will end with the MRJ."(For graphic comparing regional jets, click: here )(Reporting by Tim Kelly and Maki Shiraki, with additional reporting by Allison Lampert in MONTREAL and Brad Haynes in SAO PAULO; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-japan-aerospace-mrj-analysis-idINKBN17J1ST'|'2017-04-17T21:08:00.000+03:00' +'f07ad663e92ceb0f38c275ee1fb937d91083e62b'|'Most Fed policymakers see change to balance sheet policy ''later this year'' - minutes'|' 10:04pm BST Most Fed policymakers see change to balance sheet policy ''later this year'': minutes FILE PHOTO - A police officer keeps watch in front of the U.S. Federal Reserve building in Washington, DC, U.S. on October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque//File Photo By Lindsay Dunsmuir and Howard Schneider - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Most Federal Reserve policymakers think the central bank should take steps to begin trimming its $4.5 trillion balance sheet later this year as long as the economic data holds up, minutes from their last meeting showed. The minutes released on Wednesday of the March 14-15 policy discussion, at which the Fed voted 9-1 to raise interest rates, also showed that the rate-setting committee had a broad discussion about whether to phase out or halt reinvestments all at once. "Provided that the economy continued to perform about as expected, most participants anticipated that gradual increases in the federal funds rate would continue and judged that a change to the Committee''s reinvestment policy would likely be appropriate later this year," the Fed said in the minutes. Treasury yields initially rose sharply after the release of the minutes but reversed course. The dollar briefly slipped while stocks on Wall Street fell. The Fed bought Treasury and mortgage-backed bonds on an unprecedented scale in the wake of the financial crisis to help keep interest rates low to spur hiring and growth. Fed policymakers have previously indicated that any plan to shrink its portfolio would let the bonds naturally roll off, by not reinvesting them when they mature, once its interest rate hikes were "well under way." "The December FOMC meeting is probably the most likely date to introduce this change," said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics in Toronto, following the publication of the minutes. The Fed''s lifted its benchmark interest rate in March to a target range of between 0.75 and 1 percent, its second hike in three months, and signaled it remained on track to lift rates twice more this year. In the minutes, almost all policymakers agreed that the timing of a change in balance sheet policy would depend on economic and financial conditions and generally preferred to taper or stop investments in both Treasury and mortgage-backed bonds. An approach that phased out reinvestments was seen as less likely to trigger financial market volatility while doing so all at once "was generally viewed as easier to communicate while allowing for somewhat swifter normalization of the size of the balance sheet." What they all agreed on was that shrinking the balance sheet should be gradual and predictable and nearly all said that any altering of the policy "should be communicated...well in advance of an actual change." UPSIDE RISKS TO ECONOMY New York Fed President William Dudley recently said that taking steps to normalize the balance sheet would tighten financial conditions and could affect the pace of rate rises. Prior to the minutes Wall Street banks expected no changes to the balance sheet policy until mid-2018, the latest poll by the New York Fed showed. Elsewhere in the minutes policymakers appeared to see upside risks to the economy while there was still disagreement on how close the Fed was to meeting its 2 percent inflation goal this year. In its March policy statement, the Fed said that its inflation target was "symmetric," indicating it could tolerate price rises temporarily overshooting its 2 percent target rate. Along with the minutes, the central bank for the first time also published a set of so-called "fan charts" to show the extent of uncertainty around their quarterly economic forecasts. Uncertainty around them was substantial, the Fed said. The Fed''s next policy meeting is scheduled for May 2-3 while investors currently expect another rate rise in June. (Reporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir and Howard Schneider; Editing by Andrea Ricci) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-minutes-idUKKBN1772G4'|'2017-04-06T03:34:00.000+03:00' +'a89727eff6e4b4cd78e01d9e36e5e11e0e818000'|'Cenovus C$3 billion offering has been fully subscribed: sources'|'TORONTO Cenovus Energy Inc''s ( CVE.TO ) C$3 billion ($2.25 billion) equity offering to partly fund its planned C$17.7 billion acquisition of some of ConocoPhillips Co''s ( COP.N ) Canadian assets has been fully subscribed, sources familiar with the situation said on Friday.The sale of 187.5 million common shares at C$16 per share was fully allocated on Wednesday evening, soon after the deal was announced, the people said. The people declined to be named because the matter was not public.The equity sale is expected to close next week.Royal Bank of Canada ( RY.TO ) and JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ), which are leading the share sale, requests for comment outside office hours on Friday. A Cenovus spokesman declined to comment.Cenovus shares tumbled to their biggest one-day percentage drop in history on Thursday as investors wondered if the company had made the right move in reaching the cash and stock deal to buy ConocoPhillips'' oil sands and natural gas assets. The stock was unchanged on Friday.(Reporting by John Tilak in Toronto and Nia Williams in Calgary; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-conocophillips-cenovus-idINKBN17230J'|'2017-03-31T21:29:00.000+03:00' +'adef824e6db8f79569dcbcba44f8ee0386837604'|'Stocks, dollar under pressure after soft U.S. data'|'Business News - Mon Apr 17, 2017 - 1:36am BST Stocks, dollar under pressure after soft U.S. data Pedestrians are reflected on an electronic board showing Japan''s Nikkei average (top L), the Dow Jones average (top R) and the stock averages of other countries outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon By Hideyuki Sano - TOKYO TOKYO Shares dipped on Monday while the dollar and U.S. bond yields fell after soft U.S. economic data hurt investor sentiment already frayed by worries over North Korea and upcoming French elections. That dwarfed any relief for market players after the U.S. Treasury department did not name China as a currency manipulator, avoiding an all-out confrontation on currencies between the world''s two largest economies. S&P 500 mini futures ESc1 dipped 0.1 percent to 2,325, edging near a six-week low of 2,317.75 touched in late March following U.S. President Donald Trump''s defeat over healthcare reform. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS fell 0.2 percent in holiday-thinned trade, while Japan''s Nikkei .N225 shed 0.4 percent. The biggest focus during the Asian trading hours is China''s economic data, due at 0200 GMT, including January-March GDP. Economists expect growth in the world''s second-biggest economy to have expanded 6.8 percent compared to a year earlier, the same pace as the preceding quarter. That would be above the target of around 6.5 percent Beijing has set for this year''s growth, but many analysts expect momentum to fade slowly in coming months. Barring a major shock in the China readings, markets are expected to remain focused on U.S. data and its possible impact on the pace of interest rate hikes, and concerns over North Korea and the French presidential election. U.S. retail sales dropped more than expected in March while annual core inflation slowed to 2.0 percent, the smallest advance since November 2015, from 2.2 percent in February, data showed on Friday. That helped to drive down the 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield to 2.200 percent US10YT=RR, its lowest level since mid-November from around 2.228 percent on Thursday before a market holiday on Friday. The yield could now fill the chart gap between 2.150 and 2.168 percent made just after the U.S. presidential election, some analysts said. "At the moment, it is hard to see any factors that could drive up bond yields," said Hiroko Iwaki, senior strategist at Mizuho Securities. "And compared to U.S. bond yields, which have given up much of their gains after the election, U.S. share prices, having gone through a limited correction, look vulnerable given potential developments in North Korea or the French election," she said. Fed fund futures <0#FF:> rose in price, now pricing less than a 50 percent chance of a rate hike in its June 13-14 meeting for the first time in about a month. U.S. President Donald Trump''s administration declined to name any major trading partner as a currency manipulator in a highly anticipated report on Friday, backing away from a key Trump campaign promise to slap such a label on China. But the semi-annual U.S. Treasury currency report maintained the six countries on a "monitoring list" -- China, Japan, Germany, South Korea, Taiwan and Switzerland. The dollar slipped to 108.35 yen JPY= , hitting a five-month low. The dollar has given up three quarters of the gains it had made after the Trump''s surprise election victory had boosted expectations that his stimulus and deregulation plans would buoy U.S. growth and inflation. The euro stood at $1.0603 EUR= , little moved so far, and not far from a one-month low of $1.0570 touched last Monday, with focus on the French presidential election. Ahead of the first round of voting on April 23, the race looked tighter. Two polls put any of the four frontrunners, including far-right candidate Marine Le Pen and hard-left challenger Jean-Luc Melenchon, within reach of a two-person run-off vote. Gold gained 0.7 percent to hit a five-month high of $1,295.5 per ounce XAU= on continued concerns on tensions over North Korea. The United States, its allies and China are working together on a range of responses to North Korea''s latest failed ballistic missile test, Trump''s national security adviser said on Sunday, citing what he called an international consensus to act. The Turkish lira jumped TRYTOM=D3 about 2.5 percent to 3.6300 per dollar versus 3.7220 on Friday after President Tayyip Erdogan snatched a victory in a referendum to grant him sweeping powers in the biggest overhaul of modern Turkish politics. (Editing by Kim Coghill)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets-idUKKBN17J011'|'2017-04-17T08:36:00.000+03:00' +'0df7f5a8bbd7801bf48b8d2fa09fceaaf764b8b5'|'Malta wants EU to slow down drive against tax avoidance'|'Business News - Fri Apr 7, 2017 - 2:59pm BST Malta wants EU to slow down drive against tax avoidance By Francesco Guarascio and Jan Strupczewski - VALLETTA VALLETTA Malta''s presidency of the European Union said on Friday the bloc should slow down its drive against corporate tax avoidance because it might hurt Europe''s economy by increasing legal uncertainty. Following recent revelations, such as the Panama Papers, of tax evasion and reduction by big corporations and wealthy individuals, the European Commission has made several legislative proposals to close legal loopholes but some of the most ambitious plans have yet to be approved by EU states. In a paper to be discussed by EU finance ministers in Valletta on Friday and Saturday, Malta, which holds the rotating EU chair until July, said the proposed reforms would increase uncertainty, harming international investment and trade. Malta and other smaller EU states with low tax regimes have repeatedly showed caution in the push for reform, fearing multinationals headquartered in their territory may leave. The paper, seen by Reuters, said, "a certain amount of time is needed in order to properly formulate, assimilate and apply such legislation". It also argued that the EU should align the pace of its reforms to changes at international level to avoid losing competitiveness. Moves at global level are notoriously slow on tax matters. But the EU commissioner for tax policies, Pierre Moscovici, told Reuters that reforms should continue at a "rapid pace". "EU citizens can no longer accept that multinationals don''t pay taxes or pay less than they should," he said. The Commission is also trying to tackle tax avoidance by increasing tax transparency, which Malta said could lead to more tax disputes and increase legal uncertainty. Moscovici countered that. "Legal certainty will come from common rules across the EU to tackle frauds," he said, noting that "this should not be used as a political alibi to stop our reforms". In the paper, Malta also called for an "enhanced" use of regulated tax rulings, which allow large companies to settle their tax bills in advance, a practice used by several multinationals to obtain sweetheart concessions in EU countries. Among companies already sanctioned for such deals, the Commission has asked Apple ( AAPL.O ) to pay $14 billion to Ireland for tax skipped thanks to a generous deal with Dublin. Amazon.com ( AMZN.O ) and McDonald''s ( MCD.N ) also face Commission investigation over taxes in Luxembourg, while Starbucks Corp ( SBUX.O ) has been ordered to pay up to 30 million euros ($33 million) in back-taxes to the Dutch state. (Editing by Louise Ireland)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-taxavoidance-malta-idUKKBN17924H'|'2017-04-07T21:59:00.000+03:00' +'32ceba8f2cd027860e8c7dbefc468e7f275d79ff'|'Lufthansa boarding process hit by computer outage - airport staff'|' 8:34pm BST Lufthansa departures briefly hit by computer outage - airport staff A logo of German airline Lufthansa is seen before the company''s annual news conference at the airport in Munich, Germany, March 16, 2017. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle FRANKFURT Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) and Air France ( AIRF.PA ) were briefly hit by computer problems preventing them from boarding passengers on Thursday evening, airport and airline staff said on Thursday. A gate agent at Frankfurt airport, Lufthansa''s main hub, had announced the airline was having "a computer system breakdown worldwide," preventing passengers from getting on planes, but shortly afterwards was able to resume boarding, a Reuters reporter at the scene said. The airline said on its Twitter account the systems were back up and running after a global outage. Twitter users spoke of similar boarding delays at Air France, although they were also quickly resolved. A spokesman for Air France said there had been an IT problem. Some North American carriers have in recent months had to ground flights as a result of computer glitches, although such instances have been rare in Europe. In January for example, United Airlines ( UAL.N ) had to ground all domestic flights for about an hour one Sunday evening, causing a cascade of delays throughout the United States. Last August, a power outage hit computer systems at Delta Air Lines ( DAL.N ) and led to thousands of flights being cancelled. (Reporting by Tim Hepher; Writing by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lufthansa-flights-idUKKBN17M2CU'|'2017-04-21T02:32:00.000+03:00' +'49ce9237cc2cae1d1453e6c7d0fbae3c642d2007'|'Forget about early-2018 ECB rate hike, investors now say'|'Stocks & Shares News - Thu Apr 20, 2017 - 12:52pm BST Forget about early-2018 ECB rate hike, investors now say left right FILE PHOTO: The European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters is pictured in Frankfurt, Germany, December 8, 2016. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo 1/2 left right The logo of the European Central Bank (ECB) is pictured outside its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, December 8, 2016. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski 2/2 By Dhara Ranasinghe - LONDON LONDON Investors are no longer expecting a rate rise from the European Central Bank by March 2018, money market pricing suggests, marking a sharp reversal in expectations for higher interest rates from just a month ago. ECB policymakers'' comments playing down the scope for near-term changes to monetary policy, along with falling inflation expectations, explain the reassessment. Money market rates tell the tale. Forward Eonia bank-to-bank rates -- the best gauge -- dated for the ECB meeting on March 8 next year stand at around minus 0.34 percent, two basis points above the Eonia spot rate of minus 0.36 percent ECBWATCH. Such a gap indicates markets are pricing in just a 20 percent chance of a 10 basis point hike in the ECB''s minus 0.40 percent deposit rate by next March. That''s a sharp contrast to last month, when investors ratcheted up rate-hike expectations after the ECB at its March 9 meeting signalled a diminishing urgency for more policy action. Soon after, some policymakers even raised the prospect of raising rates before quantitative easing ends. As a result, markets moved swiftly in March to fully price in a rate hike in the first quarter of 2018 and as much as an 80 percent chance of a rate rise in December, when the ECB''s asset-purchased scheme is scheduled to end. Now, markets have also unwound expectations for a rate rise by year-end with Eonia forward rates dated for the December 14 meeting indicating a less than 20 percent chance of a move. "The market has pretty much priced out everything," said Peter Schaffrik, head of European rates strategy at RBC Capital Markets. "It is a combination of the rhetoric, which has played a crucial role, but also falling inflation expectations." Prospects for the euro zone economy have improved but the time to withdraw support has not yet come, three ECB rate setters said on Wednesday, days before a tense French presidential election and the ECB''s own policy meeting. INFLATION BLIP Data meanwhile has shown inflation in the euro zone has slowed from four-year highs of 2 percent hit in February. A long-term gauge of euro zone inflation expectations tracked by the ECB, the five-year, five-year breakeven forward, has fallen in recent weeks to stand at around 1.60 percent EUIL5YF5Y=R -- below the ECB''s near-2 percent target. Disappointing U.S. economic data and signs that the Trump administration will struggle to push through tax cuts have also quelled expectations of faster inflation in the United States. That has had a dampening impact on rate-hike expectations in the euro zone as well, analysts said. The money market curve has flattened and two-year Eonia money market swap rates EUREON2Y=, also viewed as an indicator of ECB monetary policy, have fallen. In the United States, the Federal Reserve hiked rates on March 15 after a string of hawkish comments from officials triggered a rapid turnaround in market expectations for a move then. The fact that in recent weeks rate expectations in Europe and the United States have swung around rapidly highlights market sensitivity as central banks move towards normalising ultra-easy monetary policies put in place after the financial crisis as economic growth improves. "Markets are quite sensitive now that we are running towards the end of (asset-purchasing)," said ING rates strategist Benjamin Schroeder. (Graphic by Nigel Stephenson Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-moneymarket-idUKKBN17M16Z'|'2017-04-20T19:03:00.000+03:00' +'703ce89d32a28fe170c86e2628104e6c535b24a4'|'Tomahawk missile maker Raytheon''s sales rise 3.4 percent'|' 6:59pm BST Tomahawk missile maker Raytheon''s sales rise 3.4 percent A sign marks the Raytheon offices in Woburn, Massachusetts. REUTERS/Brian Snyder By Mike Stone and Ankit Ajmera Tomahawk missile maker Raytheon Co ( RTN.N ) sees increased demand fuelling the company''s growth as a pro-defense Trump administration and U.S. allies grapple with geopolitical instability, it said on Thursday as it reported improved quarterly results. Raytheon shares hit an all-time high after the company reported a 3.4 percent rise in revenue, helped by sales in its divisions that make Tomahawk cruise missiles and electronic warfare systems. The stock rose to $158.86 in New York trading before giving up some of the gains. Thomas Kennedy, Raytheon''s chief executive officer, told Wall Street analysts during a conference call: "The tempo in Syria is pretty up right now." He added that Raytheon is seeing significant demand "to provide solutions and keep up with the replenishment requirements." The U.S. Navy fired 59 Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian air base earlier this month, and the U.S. military caries out daily missile strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq as the United States prefers not to put large numbers of soldiers directly in harm''s way. Raytheon, which also makes Patriot missile systems, said total sales rose to $6.00 billion from $5.80 billion a year earlier. Income from continuing operations rose to $1.73 per share, from $1.43 per share. Analysts on average had expected first-quarter sales of $5.83 billion, and earnings from continuing operations of $1.61 per share. Raytheon also raised its 2017 forecast for sales by about $100 million, to $24.9 billion-$25.4 billion, and earnings from continuing operations by 5 cents per share, to $7.25-$7.40. Analysts on average were expecting sales of $25.09 billion, and earnings of $7.40 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Toby O''Brien, Raytheon''s chief financial officer, told Reuters that even if the U.S. government struggles to pass a budget this fiscal year, the company''s projections would not be affected significantly. Raytheon grew its order backlog during the quarter to $36 billion, with 41 percent of that from international customers, O''Brien said. Revenue in Raytheon''s space and airborne systems business, its second-biggest unit by sales, rose 7.6 percent to $1.56 billion in the first quarter ended April 2, helped by higher sales of an electronic warfare systems program. Operating margins in the unit increased to 12.2 percent, from 11.6 percent. The business accounted for about 26 percent of Raytheon''s quarterly revenue. The unit makes electronic warfare systems for tactical aircraft, helicopters and ships, as well as tracking and navigation sensors used on airborne platforms, among other products. Sales in the company''s missile systems unit, which also makes Paveway smart bombs and advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles, rose 1.9 percent to $1.76 billion. Operating margins in the business rose to 12.3 percent, from 11.1 percent. The missile systems unit, which is Raytheon''s biggest business, accounted for 29.3 percent of its quarterly revenue. Bookings fell 8.3 percent to $5.69 billion in the first quarter, compared with a year earlier. Bookings is a forward-looking metric that measures the value of firm orders won by Raytheon. Raytheon''s single biggest booking of the first quarter was an early warning radar system for Qatar, O''Brien said. The Waltham, Massachusetts-based company repurchased 2.7 million shares of its common stock for $400 million in the quarter, and increased its annual dividend rate by 8.9 percent to $3.19 per share. (Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington and Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Clive McKeef and Dan Grebler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-raytheon-results-idUKKBN17T2QU'|'2017-04-28T01:59:00.000+03:00' +'cf75ce36e81bbdd812f3df744a93d24a9f504480'|'Wall Street gears up for busiest earnings week in years'|'Business News - Sat Apr 22, 2017 - 11:30am EDT Wall Street gears up for busiest earnings week in years The Wall Street bull is seen in the financial district in New York, U.S., March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid By Caroline Valetkevitch - NEW YORK NEW YORK Forget about French elections or the flagging Trump trade. Corporate America is set to unleash its biggest profit-reporting fest in at least a decade next week, with more than 190 members of the S&P 500 index .SPX delivering quarterly scorecards, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices data. The lineup accounts for around 40 percent of the benchmark index''s value, or more than $7.7 trillion, and includes big names like Google''s parent Alphabet Inc ( GOOGL.O ), Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ), Microsoft Corp ( MSFT.O ) and Exxon Mobil Corp ( XOM.N ). The onslaught could keep U.S. stock investors'' focus largely on earnings next week even as the world''s attention is likely to be drawn elsewhere. "That would be our hope," said Joe Zidle, portfolio strategist at Richard Bernstein Advisors in New York. "A lot of people looked at this market and said it was the result of the Trump bump or the Hillary relief rally," while earnings have been rebounding, he said. "The faster earnings growth is underappreciated by investors." Many strategists have attributed the 10 percent rally in the S&P 500 .INX since Donald Trump''s victory over Hillary Clinton in the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election to optimism Trump would boost the domestic economy through tax cuts and an infrastructure spending binge. The gains drove market valuations recently to their highest since 2004, even with little progress in Washington on the fiscal policy front. Meanwhile, other anxiety-provoking events have grabbed headlines, including unsettling relations with North Korea and this weekend''s election in France, which has a bearing on the country''s membership in the European Union and its currency, the euro. Upbeat earnings from Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) and other banks so far this reporting period cushioned those geopolitical worries, helping push the S&P 500 .SPX up 0.9 percent this week, its best such performance in two months. Shares of smaller companies did even better, with S&P''s benchmark indexes for small .SPCY and mid-cap .IDX stocks notching their best weeks of 2017, with gains of between 2 percent and 3 percent. Expectations for the quarter''s profit growth have risen as well, and the first three months of the year now appear set to mark the strongest quarterly earnings growth in more than five years. In the last week alone, expected S&P 500 first-quarter earnings per share growth rose to 11.2 percent from 10.4 percent, a more than 7 percent jump, according to Thomson Reuters data. "This week definitely has proven that the Street likes earnings - it''s controllable, it''s U.S.," said Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices. The reason for the slew of reports next week is anyone''s guess, Silverblatt said, although recent holidays possibly played a role. Passover, Good Friday and Easter all fell in the previous weeks, which may have prompted some companies that typically report earlier to delay a week. Just 76 companies reported this week compared with 134 in the comparable week a year ago, Silverblatt said. Next week''s rush will represent a 15 percent increase from the 166 S&P constituents that reported in the comparable week last year. Thursday will be the busiest day with nearly 70 reports due, including updates after the closing bell from Alphabet, Amazon, Intel Corp ( INTC.O ), Microsoft and Starbucks Corp ( SBUX.O ). That could make for a bang in the market on Friday, Silverblatt said, which is also the final trading day of April. (Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by Dan Burns and Meredith Mazzilli)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-results-idUSKBN17N2HM'|'2017-04-22T04:55:00.000+03:00' +'559137afcc57d03b3325540f4fcca317bcbc5244'|'Shares in Takata suspended after reported bankruptcy filing plan'|'TOKYO Trading in shares of Japan''s Takata Corp ( 7312.T ) newspaper report that the embattled auto parts maker was considering filing for bankruptcy protection, selling all operations to a newly created company.The Nikkei business daily said the plan would call for U.S.-based Key Safety Systems (KSS), a Corp ( 600699.SS ), to sponsor the turnaround plan, spending nearly 200 billion yen ($1.8 billion) to create a company that would buy Takata''s operations.Takata itself would be left with heavy liabilities linked to the massive global recall of its air bag inflators, and is expected to be liquidated eventually, the Nikkei said.A Takata spokesman said the company planned to issue a statement shortly through the Tokyo Stock Exchange. car-parts maker KSS and Bain Capital LLC were the preferred bidder for Takata, whose faulty air bag components have been blamed for more than a dozen deaths worldwide. One source had told Reuters KSS and Bain plan to offer around 200 billion yen for Takata.Discussions that include the steering committee tapped by Takata to oversee the search for a financial sponsor, automaker now likely May, sources have told Reuters.Recent talks have focussed on issues such as an indemnity agreement to cover reimbursement costs for air bag recalls, estimated to be as high as $10 billion. ( 7267.T ), which have been footing the bill for recalls dating back to 2008, want Takata restructured through a transparent court-ordered process such as bankruptcy, which would wipe out the firm''s shareholder value, four automaker sources have told Reuters.But Takata, the world''s second-biggest air bag maker, is holding out for a "private restructuring" that would preserve some of the founding Takada family''s 60 percent stake.(Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Richard Pullin and Randy Fabi)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/takata-restructuring-idINKBN17S37I'|'2017-04-27T08:00:00.000+03:00' +'191c9975f6bf38e49b872f8d6eaafe86dac68a51'|'Shapoor Mistry resigns from Indian Hotels board'|'Money 9:18pm IST Shapoor Mistry resigns from Indian Hotels board Tourists use binoculars in front of the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai May 30, 2013. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash/File Photo NEW DELHI Shapoor Mistry, the elder brother of former Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry, has resigned as a director of the board of Indian Hotels Co, the company said on Tuesday. Indian Hotels runs the Tata group''s luxury hotels and resorts business. The Shapoorji Pallonji family own a roughly 18 percent stake in Tata Sons, with Tata Trusts - a group of public charities - owning a controlling 66 percent stake in the holding company. Cyrus Mistry was forced out from the chairmanship of Tata Sons last October, and has since been embroiled in a public spat with the group. For the notification, please see: bit.ly/2q1iWRo (Reporting by Neha Dasgupta and Nidhi Verma; editing by Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/indian-hotel-tata-idINKBN17R22K'|'2017-04-25T23:48:00.000+03:00' +'ee10cd16ca8af69c225d91a94c289544b1b17684'|'GE Power division nears $3 billion services deal in Algeria: source'|'NEW YORK GE Power, a division of General Electric Co ( GE.N ), is close to signing a services deal with a subsidiary of Algerian utility Sonelgaz SpA valued at more than $3 billion, likely the largest such agreement ever for GE, according to a person familiar with the matter.Under the agreement with Sonelgaz SPE, which could be announced as early as Monday, GE would provide long-term maintenance services for 10 Sonelgaz power plants in Algeria, install 68 gas technology upgrades and deploy industrial internet software applications using GE''s Predix operating system.GE signed a $2.7 billion deal with Sonelgaz SPE in 2013 to supply large gas turbines and related technology to nine power plants in the country. In 2014, GE signed a $400 million agreement to build an industrial complex to produce gas and steam turbines under a joint venture with Sonelgaz called General Electric Algeria Turbines.(Reporting by Alwyn Scott; Editing by Chris Reese)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-ge-deal-algeria-idINKBN17Q0LQ'|'2017-04-24T05:46:00.000+03:00' +'014f7a74181044b0ce0443efe597641ad9dd4f58'|'UPDATE 1-New York passes emergency spending plan to avoid shutdown'|'Politics - Mon Apr 3, 2017 - 7:23pm EDT New York passes emergency spending plan to avoid shutdown FILE PHOTO: Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York, speaks to members of the press at Trump Tower in New York City, U.S. January 18, 2017. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith By James Odato - ALBANY, N.Y. ALBANY, N.Y. New York lawmakers on Monday passed an emergency spending plan authorizing Governor Andrew Cuomo to pay bills and keep the state government operating for the next two months. The state was supposed to have a budget at the start of its fiscal 2018 on Saturday, but the legislature and Cuomo failed to agree on a comprehensive plan as they debated broader policies. Monday''s stopgap, 1,700-page "extender budget" avoids a government shutdown through May 31, assuring that state agencies and contractors will provide services and roughly 200,000 state employees will get paid despite the impasse. The full budget has been delayed in part by debate over raising the age of adult criminal responsibility to 18, which would leave North Carolina as the only state to automatically prosecute and imprison 16- and 17-year-olds as adults regardless of the crime. "There are political and ideological differences between the Senate and Assembly. We must resolve these issues. A complete budget requires it," Cuomo, who supports lifting the age, said in a statement late on Sunday. Lawmakers and Cuomo have been divided over other issues, including a replacement for an expired program that gives tax breaks to affordable housing developers and extending a so-called millionaire''s tax on wealthy New Yorkers. Cuomo also laid some blame on uncertainty about Washington''s policies, including any revised effort to overhaul the Affordable Care Act, which could strip New York of at least $4.6 billion of Medicaid and other funding. "New York State is a target for hostile federal actions ranging from severe financial cutbacks to deprivation of legal and personal rights," said Cuomo, a Democrat who is widely touted as a possible 2020 presidential candidate. Assembly member Fred Thiele Jr., an Independent who caucuses with Democrats, was one of several lawmakers to criticize the inclusion of policy initiatives in the budget legislation, saying from the legislative floor during voting on the bill that "we are not the platform committee for Cuomo 2020." "They should not be forced down the throat of the legislature as part of the budget process," Thiele said during the session. "The national stage is watching," said Assemblymember Diana Richardson, a Democrat from Brooklyn, who voted against the extension. The budget extension authorizes $40 billion in state spending, including $10.3 billion in state appropriations, $12.4 billion aid to local governments and $17.3 billion in capital projects. Lawmakers want to get the budget done this week. Whenever it arrives, it will be by far the latest budget since Cuomo took office in 2011. The Republican-led Senate and Democrat-dominated Assembly endorsed the extension overwhelmingly, but many said they did so reluctantly to avoid a government shutdown. Some were sour on the length of the extension or that it allows for $8.9 billion in new debt over the next two months. The measure authorizes billions of dollars in bond financing for bridges and infrastructure projects. Cuomo and lawmakers are also close to a deal on plans to allow car-hailing services such as Lyft and Uber outside New York City, where they are already permitted, Assemblymember Kevin Cahill, a Democrat from Kingston who chairs the Assembly Insurance Committee, said in an interview on Monday after the voting session. (Reporting by James Odato in Albany; Additional reporting by Hilary Russ in New York; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Richard Chang) Next In Politics'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-new-york-budget-idUSKBN1752OE'|'2017-04-04T07:15:00.000+03:00' +'d81ddb584eaafdd5a011e1495021b53e2367bb54'|'RPT-Xi stamp of approval fuels frenzied hopes for new China economic zone'|' Xi stamp of approval fuels frenzied hopes for new China economic zone (Repeats story from late Wednesday with no changes) By Yawen Chen and Elias Glenn XIONGXIAN, China/BEIJING, April 12 Like many residents of Xiongxian county, a polluted corner of Hebei province, 17-year-old Liu Zipeng has been giddy with excitement since China announced plans this month for a vast new economic zone backed by President Xi Jinping himself. "I am so happy - I don''t need to move to Beijing or worry about getting a wife anymore," Liu said with a laugh. Such are the hopes for the area, about 100 km (60 miles) southwest of Beijing, that authorities quickly banned property sales to quash a speculative frenzy. While China has set high expectations by touting the Xiongan New Area as a successor to zones in Shenzhen and Shanghai that helped make China an economic powerhouse, the force of Xi''s endorsement could help it flourish where other new development areas failed to match the hype. In a sign of Beijing''s intent, Xu Qin, the former mayor and Communist party boss for Shenzhen, was named acting governor of Hebei province on Friday, with analysts saying it is likely he will be tapped to lead development of Xiongan. Once a sleepy fishing village, Shenzhen, bordering Hong Kong, became an economic juggernaut after being declared a special economic zone in 1980. Details for Xiongan, planned eventually to stretch across 2,000 square kilometres, an area almost as big as Tokyo, remain sketchy. It is pitched as an environmentally friendly city housing some of Beijing''s relocated "non-capital functions", with hopes to attract high-tech industries. Nearly 30 large state enterprises including PetroChina and China Shipbuilding Industry Corp have expressed interest, though no specific relocation plans have been announced. The three counties that make up the area, Xiongxian, Anxin and Rongcheng, are home to about a million people as well as wheat fields, light manufacturing and heavy pollution - endemic in much of Hebei. But unlike Shenzhen and Shanghai''s Pudong, the development of Xiongan is not expected to be accompanied by major economic reforms, and its landlocked setting is a transportation disadvantage. "Natural market forces would probably not have chosen this place. But if the central government backs it with unlimited resources, it could become whatever it wants to be," said Steven McCord, head of research for North China at real estate consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle. The plan fits into a broader regional integration push for the cities of Beijing and Tianjin and Hebei province, dubbed Jing-Jin-Ji, which has been spearheaded by Xi since 2015 to tackle the "big city disease" plaguing Beijing, a crowded and polluted city of 22 million. But Jing-Jin-Ji''s progress has been slower than hoped. "It''s been hard to get traction getting Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei to work together seamlessly," McCord said. Xiongan could be a political and geographical "clean slate" to generate more jobs and economic stimulus for North China, he said. Xi himself visited Anxin county in late February, which only became public when China announced plans for Xiongan on April 1. Morgan Stanley''s base scenario foresees 133 billion yuan ($19.3 billion) in additional fixed asset investment annually over 15 years to build Xiongan, equivalent to just 0.24 percent of China''s 56.2 trillion yuan of nationwide fixed asset investment last year. MIXED RECORD While the Shenzhen and Shanghai economic zones thrived, some similar schemes in China have fallen short of expectations. Caofeidian, also in Hebei, was promoted by former President Hu Jintao as a new industrial zone in 2008, but development foundered as debt accumulated. Authorities have been trying to give Caofeidian another push to upgrade its industries to become a driver of Jing-Jin-Ji''s integration, but competition among provinces has been a drag on progress. "Caofeidian had central government support, but it was a long way from being a national-level special economic zone. Its importance was definitely not at the same level that Xiongan is seeing now," said He Jun, head of macroeconomic research at Anbound Consulting. "Xiongan''s biggest advantage is that it has strong support from the central government." He remains doubtful that Xiongan will emulate Shanghai or Shenzhen due to its geography and the greater openness of China''s economy now, but the political leadership seems intent on making it succeed. Among the architects of the new project is Xu Kuangdi, the mayor of Shanghai in the late 90s who also heads the advisory committee for Jing-Jin-Ji. The leadership make-up is intended to ensure Xiongan would "escape past failures", said Liu Ying, a researcher at Renmin University''s Chong Yang Institute for Financial Studies. Not everyone in Anxin is cheered by the prospect. An Anxin restaurant owner in her 50s surnamed Liu said she checks social media constantly for updates, as she fears being forced out of the spacious villa built on her farmland. "I don''t think it is necessarily a good thing for me. Our lives are pretty good right now." Down a street next to fields of withered wheat, workers loaded a truck with plastic pipes, a major local industry. "The establishment of the new zone for sure will limit us further as we do pollute the environment to some degree," said Zhao Xiaodong, owner of Jitong Plastic. But most locals are optimistic. "If president Xi thinks it will be the next Shenzhen and Shanghai, then it will be," said Mrs Shi, a shop worker in Xiongxian. ($1 = 6.8998 Chinese yuan renminbi) David Stanway; Editing by Tony Munroe and Will Waterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/china-economy-xiongan-idUSL3N1HK385'|'2017-04-13T07:00:00.000+03:00' +'477cd251be79c092fa08fea56f1b65c3e1cc7fdf'|'Credit Suisse rolls back proposal for executive bonuses'|'Business News - Fri Apr 14, 2017 - 12:43am BST Credit Suisse rolls back proposal for executive bonuses The logo of Swiss bank Credit Suisse is seen in front of a branch office in Zurich, Switzerland April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann In the face of shareholder criticism, Credit Suisse ( CSGN.S ) said its top officers had proposed reducing the bonuses they would get by 40 percent from the bank''s original recommendation. The company had previously proposed bonuses for the executive board totalling almost 80 million Swiss francs (64 million). The bank said on Thursday that its chief executive and other members of its executive board "voluntarily" proposed reducing the long-term incentive awards for 2017 and short-term incentive awards for 2016 for top executives by 40 percent each. ( bit.ly/2oEJlG2 ) Proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) had advised Credit Suisse shareholders to vote against proposed bonuses for Credit Suisse top executives at the annual general meeting on April 28. The recommendation by ISS follows similar recommendations from other proxy advisers amid criticism over bonus payouts at Credit Suisse despite Switzerland''s second-biggest bank posting a second consecutive multi-billion franc loss in 2016. The bank''s board of directors also decided not to increase its compensation in 2017. (Reporting by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru; editing by Sandra Maler and Cynthia Osterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-credit-suisse-gp-agm-bonuses-idUKKBN17F2TM'|'2017-04-14T07:43:00.000+03:00' +'26c3689dd0b83308040c2aa933e04faae3f1b6fa'|'Brazil''s GPA books 9.5 pct rise in revenue from food division'|' 29am EDT Brazil''s GPA books 9.5 pct rise in revenue from food division SAO PAULO, April 13 GPA SA, Brazil''s biggest retailer, reported a 9.5 percent rise in first-quarter net revenue from its food division to 10.553 billion reais ($3.37 billion), according to a securities filing on Thursday. Sales surged 28.8 percent in the Assa cash-and-carry unit, but grew just 0.4 percent at the Extra and Po de Acar supermarket chains. Via Varejo SA, the appliance division that GPA is looking to sell, separately reported a 2.2 percent rise in net revenue to 5.993 billion reais, as sales rose 4.2 percent at physical stores and fell 5.7 percent online. ($1 = 3.13 reais) (Reporting by Brad Haynes)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/gpa-results-idUSE6N1FG028'|'2017-04-13T20:29:00.000+03:00' +'da5201564ed669a8ebcca52e54d427ee78490921'|'Delta Air cuts forecast for key revenue metric'|'Company 28am EDT Delta Air cuts forecast for key revenue metric April 4 Delta Air Lines Inc on Tuesday lowered its forecast for a closely watched revenue metric, citing slower-than-expected improvement in average fares for flights booked at the last minute. The No. 2 U.S. airline said it expects passenger unit revenue - which compares sales to flight capacity - to fall about 0.5 percent in the first quarter ended March. ( bit.ly/2oVfqGu ) The airline had previously expected first-quarter passenger unit revenue to be about flat. Delta''s shares were down 1.1 percent at $45.80 in premarket trading. (Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/delta-air-outlook-idUSL3N1HC2HG'|'2017-04-04T21:28:00.000+03:00' +'be1ab3f2be1a5f7ddca49e8e27655979571747d1'|'INCJ looking at Toshiba chip unit auction; didn''t bid in first round'|'TOKYO The state-backed fund Innovation Network Corp of Japan is looking at the auction of Toshiba Corp''s ( 6502.T ) chip unit but did not participate in first-round bidding, INCJ Chairman Toshiyuki Shiga said on Tuesday.Sources familiar with the matter have told Reuters INCJ may invest in the business as a minority partner - a move that would help the government prevent a sale to bidders it deems risky to national security.(Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-incj-idINKBN17K0EA'|'2017-04-18T03:37:00.000+03:00' +'53167c5cca7484bbd2c845011e312c4eaedca6bb'|'Exclusive: Lightower Fiber Networks explores sale - sources'|'Business News - Thu Apr 13, 2017 - 8:45pm BST Exclusive: Lightower Fiber Networks explores sale - sources By Liana B. Baker and Greg Roumeliotis Lightower Fiber Networks is exploring a sale that its private equity owners hope will value the high-speed internet U.S. infrastructure company at more than $7 billion, including debt, according to sources familiar with the matter. The sale process comes just as growing demand from U.S. businesses for fast data transfers has fuelled a revival in fibre-optic services and has driven many telecommunications providers to find ways to expand their reach. Lightower is working with investment banks Evercore Partners Inc ( EVP.N ) and Citigroup Inc ( C.N ) on an auction for the Boxborough, Massachusetts-based company, which is still at its early stages, the sources said this week. CenturyLink ( CTL.N ), Zayo Group Holdings ( ZAYO.N ) and Crown Castle International Corp ( CCI.N ) are among business communications services and infrastructure companies that are expected to consider whether to make an offer for Lightower, the sources added. Lightower may choose to pursue an initial public offering if the acquisition offers it receives do not meet its valuation expectations, one of the sources added. The sources asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential. Lightower, Evercore, CenturyLink, Zayo and Crown Castle did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Citi declined to comment. Companies in the sector are seeking scale to cope with heavier internet traffic coming from businesses. CenturyLink Inc agreed to buy Level 3 Communications ( LVLT.N ) for $34 billion last year, adding 200,000 miles (321,870 km) of fibre to its network. Lightower connects business clients to larger networks, allowing data and internet traffic to be transmitted at ultra-fast speeds through thin filaments of glass. Its network spans more than 33,000 fibre route miles and serves the financial services industry, as well as government clients over its network in the Northeastern United States. Formed by private equity firm Berkshire Partners LLC, Lightower been an industry consolidator itself. It bought Fibertech Networks LLC in 2015 for $1.9 billion, in an all-cash deal. Berkshire Partners led an acquisition and merger of enterprise telecommunications service providers Lightower and another company, Sidera Networks, in 2013, in a deal valued at more than $2 billion. Pamlico Capital, an investor in Lightower, and ABRY Partners LLC, an investor in Sidera, took minority stakes in the combined companies. (Reporting by Liana B. Baker and Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Sandra Maler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lightower-m-a-idUKKBN17F2JF'|'2017-04-14T03:45:00.000+03:00' +'8de34e5aca3f16751710bfba9ff590e748538699'|'Fitch: European Mutual Fund Board Independence Lags Behind US'|'(The following statement was released by the rating agency) Link to Fitch Ratings'' Report: European Mutual Fund Governance here LONDON, April 24 (Fitch) European mutual fund boards have significantly fewer independent directors than their US counterparts, according to Fitch Ratings'' analysis. Regulatory reforms mean boards are becoming increasingly involved in funds'' decision making, but a lack of independence may make European fund boards less likely to challenge management. Looking at a sample of 854 European fund directors from 145 sub-funds across all major asset classes, we found 33% were independent, meaning they had no direct, current link to the fund''s sponsor, custodian or administrator. Our analysis, which mainly focussed on Ireland- and Luxembourg-domiciled UCITS funds also found that almost a quarter of the funds had no independent directors at all. The rules for designating a director as independent vary between European countries. But overall the requirements are weaker than in the US, where a minimum of 40% of directors must be independent and in practice, around 75% actually are independent. The proportion of independent directors on European fund boards is also well below the 61% on FTSE 250 boards and the 84% on S&P500 boards. Fund boards are required to put the interests of investors above those of the asset manager. Their limited independence may therefore become more of a risk as the role of European fund boards grows. For example, under recently-agreed European money market fund reforms, boards will play a key role in determining whether liquidity fees or redemptions gates should be applied. Fund boards were also required to approve the decision by several UK commercial real estate funds to prevent or limit redemptions in the wake of the Brexit vote. Our research also shows that gender diversity on European fund boards is low, with women accounting for just 11% of board positions. Board diversity is broadly recognised as promoting robust decision-making and the representation of women on fund boards is lower than for the broader financial sector, and for members of the MSCI World Index. For more information on our analysis of fund board structures, see the report "European Mutual Fund Governance" published today and available from www.fitchratings.com or by clicking the link above. Contact: Li Huang Associate Director Fund and Asset Managers +86 21 5097 3018 Fitch Ratings (Beijing) Limited 3401, 34/F, Shanghai Tower No.479, Lujiazuihuan Road 200120 Shanghai China Alastair Sewell Senior Director Fund and Asset Managers +44 20 3530 1147 Simon Kennedy Senior Analyst Fitch Wire +44 20 3530 1387 The above article originally appeared as a post on the Fitch Wire credit market commentary page. The original article can be accessed at www.fitchratings.com. All opinions expressed are those of Fitch Ratings. Media Relations: Peter Fitzpatrick, London, Tel: +44 20 3530 1103, Email: peter.fitzpatrick@fitchratings.com. Additional information is available on www.fitchratings.com ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: here . IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY''S PUBLIC WEB SITE AT WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM. 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Fitch receives fees from issuers, insurers, guarantors, other obligors, and underwriters for rating securities. Such fees generally vary from US$1,000 to US$750,000 (or the applicable currency equivalent) per issue. In certain cases, Fitch will rate all or a number of issues issued by a particular issuer, or insured or guaranteed by a particular insurer or guarantor, for a single annual fee. Such fees are expected to vary from US$10,000 to US$1,500,000 (or the applicable currency equivalent). The assignment, publication, or dissemination of a rating by Fitch shall not constitute a consent by Fitch to use its name as an expert in connection with any registration statement filed under the United States securities laws, the Financial Services and Markets Act of 2000 of the United Kingdom, or the securities laws of any particular jurisdiction. Due to the relative efficiency of electronic publishing and distribution, Fitch research may be available to electronic subscribers up to three days earlier than to print subscribers. For Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and South Korea only: Fitch Australia Pty Ltd holds an Australian financial services license (AFS license no. 337123) which authorizes it to provide credit ratings to wholesale clients only. Credit ratings information published by Fitch is not intended to be used by persons who are retail clients within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/fitch-european-mutual-fund-board-indepen-idINFit993760'|'2017-04-24T06:45:00.000+03:00' +'3f0c0d9ebe941e46136c9f9b85091646f9f022c6'|'Morning News Call - India, April 24'|'To access the newsletter, click on the link: here If you would like to receive this newsletter via email, please register at: here FACTORS TO WATCH 3:45 pm: Farm Minister Radha Mohan Singh at an event in New Delhi. LIVECHAT-COMMODITIES From copper to oil and everything in between, the Gold & Silver Club''s Nik Kalsi and Phil Carr will have you covered on the commodities markets at 2:30 pm. The Gold & Silver Club is an international commodities trading, research and advisory group specialising in the precious metals, energies and agricultural markets. To join the conversation, click on the link: here INDIA TOP NEWS Indian techies, IT firms fret as Trump orders US visa review For Grishma, an Indian software designer, President Donald Trump''s review of the visa programme for bringing highly skilled workers into the United States comes at a bad time. HDFC Bank profit rise drives shares to record Shares in HDFC Bank, India''s second-biggest lender by assets, hit a record high thanks to higher than expected quarterly profit and a stable bad loans portfolio. Diamond miners have India in sight with Real is Rare slogan The world''s top diamond producers will try to spur demand in India with the launch of their "Real is Rare" slogan in September, after the withdrawal of high-value bank notes dented the world''s third biggest diamond market. Narayana Hrudayalaya to buy NewRise Healthcare Indian healthcare services provider Narayana Hrudayalaya Ltd said it would buy NewRise Healthcare Private Ltd from Panacea Biotec Ltd for an enterprise value of 1.80 billion rupees. ACC Q1 profit beats estimates on higher cement sales volume India''s ACC Ltd, a unit of the world''s largest cement maker, Lafargeholcim Ltd, reported a 9 percent fall in its first-quarter net profit, but beat analysts'' expectations, helped by stronger cement sales volume. L&T signs deal with South Korea''s Hanwha for artillery guns Indian engineering firm Larsen & Toubro signed a deal with South Korea''s Hanwha Techwin to supply artillery guns to the Indian army in a deal estimated to be 4.5 billion rupees, the two firms said. India plans home delivery of petroleum products India is considering a plan for home delivery of petroleum products to consumers if they make a pre-booking to cut long queues at fuel stations, the oil ministry tweeted. GLOBAL TOP NEWS France''s Macron appears set for Elysee in runoff with Le Pen Centrist Emmanuel Macron took a big step towards the French presidency on Sunday by winning the first round of voting and qualifying for a May 7 runoff alongside far-right leader Marine Le Pen. North Korea says it is ready to strike U.S. aircraft carrier North Korea said on Sunday it was ready to sink a U.S. aircraft carrier to demonstrate its military might, in the latest sign of rising tension as U.S. President Donald Trump prepared to call the leaders of China and Japan. Afghan Taliban''s brazen attack eclipses Trump''s "mother of all bombs" Eight days after the U.S. military dropped its largest ever conventional bomb on suspected Islamic State fighters in eastern Afghanistan, Taliban militants breached an army base in the north of the country and killed scores of local soldiers. LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK (As reported by NewsRise) The SGX Nifty Futures were at 9,143.50, up 0.2 pct from its previous close. The Indian rupee will likely open higher against the dollar, tracking its Asian peers, as risk appetite improved after independent centrist Emmanuel Macron took the lead in the first round of French presidential elections. Indian government bonds will likely edge lower tracking gains in U.S. Treasury yields, after centrist Emmanuel Macron won the first round of French presidential election, qualifying for the May 7 runoff alongside far-right leader Marine Le Pen. The yield on the benchmark 6.97 pct bond maturing in 2026 is likely to trade in a 6.90 pct - 6.95 pct band today. GLOBAL MARKETS U.S. stock index futures rose sharply on Sunday on relief that centrist Emmanuel Macron took the first round of voting in the French presidential election, reducing the prospect of an anti-establishment market shock. Japan''s Nikkei share average rose to a near three-week high with broader investor risk sentiment improving after centrist Emmanuel Macron took a step towards the French presidency after the weekend''s voting. The euro scaled five-month highs against the dollar in early Asian trading after the centrist candidate swept to victory in the first round of the French presidential election, reducing the risk of an anti-establishment shock in the final round. U.S. Treasury debt futures prices fell on Sunday after centrist Emmanuel Macron took the first round of voting in the French presidential election. Oil prices recovered some ground following last week''s big losses, driven by expectations that OPEC will extend a pledge to cut output to cover all of 2017, although a relentless rise in U.S. drilling capped gains. Gold fell nearly 1 percent to its weakest in two weeks after centrist Macron led the first round of voting in the French presidential election, boosting stocks and triggering a sell-off of safe-haven bullion. CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT PNDF spot 64.59/64.62 April 21 -$16.90 mln $38.54 mln 10-yr bond yield 7.16 Month-to-date -$367 mln $3.89 bln Year-to-date $6.42 bln $9.36 bln For additional data: India govt bond market volumes Stock market reports Non-deliverable forwards data Corporate debt stories [IN CORPD] Local market closing/intraday levels [IN SNAPSHOT] Monthly inflows [INFLOWS RTRS TABLE IN] ($1 = 64.61 Indian rupees) (Compiled by Sai Sharanya Khosla in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/india-morningcall-idUSL4N1HW1G0'|'2017-04-24T11:19:00.000+03:00' +'dc3ca53aebbe280cd60b756b4cc21d1f05ea9b74'|'FTSE Russell to announce in July decision on adding Snap shares'|'Technology 10:15pm EDT FTSE Russell to announce in July decision on adding Snap shares Traders gather at the post where Snap Inc. is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., March 6, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid By Heather Somerville and Ross Kerber - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Index fund provider FTSE Russell expects to announce in July whether it will include in its indexes shares of Snap Inc and other companies whose share structure denies investors voting rights. FTSE Russell, which is part of the London Stock Exchange Group Plc, said on Monday that it will consult with stakeholders likely starting this month and conclude at the end of June. The results of the consultation will be announced in July. Snap, the parent company of messaging app Snapchat, shocked many investors with an initial public offering last month that included a first-of-its kind share structure that offered IPO investors no voting rights. "FTSE Russell is aware of concerns raised by some stakeholders regarding the prospective index inclusion of securities with no voting rights such as the recent IPO by SNAP Inc," according to a statement from FTSE Russell on Monday. Clients of FTSE Russell include big fund managers such as BlackRock Inc and T. Rowe Price Group Inc. It offers popular indexes like Britain''s blue-chip FTSE 100 and the Russell 3000 index of U.S. companies. Although many investors expressed alarm at Snap''s unusual governance structure, the company''s IPO was still in such hot demand that it pulled off the biggest U.S. technology IPO since Facebook Inc in 2012, with a valuation of roughly $24 billion. (Reporting by Heather Somerville in San Francisco and Ross Kerber in Boston; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) Next In Technology News Waymo targets second senior executive in Uber self-driving dispute SAN FRANCISCO Alphabet''s self-driving car unit Waymo initiated private legal proceedings against two former executives who launched a rival company acquired by Uber [UBER.UL], court records show, accusing them of trying to recruit Waymo employees to the new startup that aims to revolutionize the auto industry. LONDON Amazon.com Inc on Tuesday launched its business marketplace in Britain, selling products like office supplies, power tools, cleaning materials and lab equipment targeting an online sector worth $120.44 billion a year. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-snap-index-idUSKBN17605I'|'2017-04-04T10:06:00.000+03:00' +'b58b4da0c43acd891fac0018dc89d9f798ce1a07'|'An Amazon tribe thought to be dying out is thriving against the odds in pictures - Global Development Professionals Network'|'An Amazon tribe thought to be dying out is thriving against the odds in pictures View more sharing options Share Close Once thought to be on the brink of extinction, photographer Katherine Needles finds Perus Amahuaca people flourishing on ancestral lands, united by community and kinshipKatherine NeedlesFriday 28 April 2017 11.07 BST The city of Atalaya sits where the Urubamba and Tambo rivers meet, in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon. It is the closest jungle city to the Amahuacas remote village of San Juan, a two-day upriver journey by pekepeke (motorised canoe). The Amahuaca, once thought to be at the brink of extinction, still live on ancestral lands in relative isolation. Although their culture is threatened by various forms of western development, a resilience of community and kinship unites the Amahuaca. Photograph: Katherine NeedlesFacebook Twitter Pinterest San Juan is the second largest Amahuaca village on the banks of the Inuya river. No more than 40 people live in the village at any one time. Margarita (around 65 years old) is one of the only elders left with knowledge of the old ways. After greeting us on arrival with a meal of boiled yucca and fish in broth, she listens to questions from anthropologist Christopher Hewlett about the Amahuacas myths of origin and creation. Photograph: Katherine NeedlesFacebook Twitter Pinterest A school lesson in the largest Amahuaca village on the Inuya, San Martin, is a five-hour journey downriver from San Juan. A young boy is distracted while others stand to recite the Peruvian national anthem before starting their lesson. The influence of Peruvian national policy and education is prevalent even in these remote places, where there is no running water or electricity. Most children must wear a uniform and sing the national anthem before starting each day. Photograph: Katherine NeedlesFacebook Twitter Pinterest The bow and arrow was the traditional method of fishing off the waters edge but today, the Amahuaca use nets or large spears and fish from their canoes. The bow and arrow is now seen more as a toy for young boys, though there is evidence the method is making a comeback. Although fishing is the main source of protein for the Amahuaca, they do still hunt. Photograph: Katherine NeedlesFacebook Twitter Pinterest On a fishing trip upriver, Percy (42), a Yaminahua man who married an Amahuaca woman, catches more than 20 kawara , a large prehistoric-looking fish. This is in preparation for the Fiesta de San Juan, a national holiday that takes place each year on 24 June. It is celebrated throughout the country in honour of the solstice. The Amahuaca host a football tournament between local villages along the river. They grill the kawara and serve it with rice wrapped in a banana leaf. Photograph: Katherine NeedlesFacebook Twitter Pinterest Other Amahuaca families live even more remotely than those in San Juan, close to the border with Brazil. This man is called Ayahuasceiro to account for his suspected use of the hallucinogenic plant Ayahuasca, known to be used in Amahuaca communities in the past. He insisted on being photographed in a uniform used by petroleros , men who work for the oil and gas companies in the region, an example of how wearing Western clothing is a way of demonstrating one is civilisado . Photograph: Katherine NeedlesFacebook Twitter Pinterest Preparing for the Fiesta de San Juan, women and children gather around baskets of yucca that have been collected from their family chakras (plantations) to peel and boil to make masato (fermented yucca beer). Masato is only made and served by women. It takes at least four days to ferment and is drunk throughout the festival into the night and the following morning. Enough is made to serve at least 100 people over the two days of the festival. Photograph: Katherine NeedlesFacebook Twitter Pinterest To support the fermentation process of masato , woman chew on a purple yam grown in the region and spit it into the large pots of yucca being mashed down. The purple yam is said to be what makes real or good masato , and how well a woman can spit into the pot is said to be indicative of her womanhood in Amahuaca culture. Girls are taught how to stand over the pots and spit in a way that sprays the purple mash evenly. Photograph: Katherine NeedlesFacebook Twitter Pinterest Margarita poses outside her home covered in ouito, a fruit-based dye that is painted on using various sizes of carved twigs to create distinctive patterns. It is painted on clear and transforms into a deep black ink within hours, remaining on the skin for at least three weeks. Margarita is one of the last elders of her community who uses ouito , believed to help ward off evil spirits and used decoratively during traditional celebrations or ceremonies. Each design represents a sacred animal from the jungle. Photograph: Katherine NeedlesFacebook Twitter Pinterest Hanka, a young Amahuaca boy adopted by Margarita, sits in a rusted wheelbarrow in the middle of a sea of magenta stamens from a rose apple tree. Unlike other children, Hanka is often painted head to toe in ouito to help protect him against a health condition related to his bladder. Photograph: Katherine NeedlesFacebook Twitter Pinterest Topics Global development professionals network Global focus Peru Amazon rainforest Americas'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/gallery/2017/apr/28/an-amazon-tribe-thought-to-be-dying-out-is-thriving-against-the-odds-in-pictures'|'2017-04-28T19:07:00.000+03:00' +'53a7cd1c601ee059b0e0ffc34102b323210e4462'|'Indirect bidders buy record share of U.S. 7-year notes'|'NEW YORK, April 27 Investment funds, foreign central banks and other indirect bidders on Thursday purchased a record high 81.69 percent share of a U.S. seven-year government note issue at an auction, Treasury data showed.Overall demand at the $28 billion seven-year note offering was robust, with the bid-to-cover ratio reaching 2.73, the strongest since November 2012. (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by James Dalgleish)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-auction-7year-idINL1N1HZ1PK'|'2017-04-27T15:15:00.000+03:00' +'112b322e183410ea7c12691eebbf8031466150af'|'Aspen Skiing Co, KSL Capital to buy Intrawest for about $1.5 billion'|'Ski resorts operator Aspen Skiing Co LLC and private equity firm KSL Capital Partners LLC will buy Intrawest Resorts Holdings Inc ( SNOW.N ) for about $1.5 billion, including debt, Intrawest said on Monday.Intrawest''s best known ski properties include Stratton Mountain in Vermont, Mont Tremblant in Quebec and Steamboat in Colorado.It also owns mountain resorts, adventure retreats and real estate across the United States and Canada.Citing sources, Reuters reported on Sunday that Intrawest would announce its sale on Monday to a ski resort operator backed by buyout firm KSL Capital.(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-intrawest-resort-m-a-aspen-skiing-idINKBN17C15C'|'2017-04-10T08:58:00.000+03:00' +'2601addb3f9a4afd55ebe3a01b73b76a25fd5868'|'Fed moving appropriately; ECB too hesitant: El-Erian'|'The U.S. Federal Reserve is moving appropriately on the path to unwind asset purchases and normalize rates, while the European Central Bank (ECB) may be too hesitant, said Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic advisor at the Allianz Group.The Fed, ECB and Bank of Japan (BOJ) need policymakers to step up to take action on structural reforms to be more effective, El-Erian told the Reuters Global Markets Forum in an interview on Friday.Following are edited excerpts from the conversation:Q: Are central banks taking the right route to unwind their asset purchases and normalize rates?A: When it comes to taking the foot off the unconventional stimulus pedal, the Fed appears to be moving appropriately. The ECB may be showing a little too much hesitancy. Importantly, the two of them as well as the Bank of Japan need other policymakers, with tools better suited for the task at hand, to step up to the plate more forcefully especially when it comes to pro-growth structural reforms, more balanced demand management, better cross-border policy coordination and, in some isolated cases, targeted debt reduction (e.g., Greece).Otherwise, it will be challenging for the central banks to deliver a "beautiful normalization," adopting a phrase from Bridgewaters Ray Dalio. As you know, I have worried that the central banks have been "the only game in town" for too long already.Q: Your thoughts on Fed''s balance sheet trimming? Certain sections of the market, for instance, believe balance sheet reduction should only start once the Fed funds rate is near 2 percent.A: Yes, I agree. My own inclination would be to go some significant way in normalizing rates before initiating an active reduction in the Fed''s balance sheet. Remember, this is unchartered territory. There are several uncertainties, so it is extra important to sequence carefully and implement in a measured fashion.Q: How many U.S. rate-hikes are you expecting in 2017?A: I expect that, absent a major negative shock, there will be a total of three rate hikes in 2017 -- so two more in the remainder of the year.Q: What are your thoughts on the relationship between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, which is proving to be much friendlier than expected given Trump''s campaign rhetoric, and what does that mean for markets or investments? [nL1N1I0067]A: Yes, it looks like the two leaders had a good meeting in Washington, establishing a working relationship that appears to be deepening. This is very important as you are talking about the most important bilateral economic relationship in the world between the largest economies.As such, it has a notable influence on markets/investment. The economic and financial relationships between the U.S. and China are considerable and multifaceted. Indeed, given the current scale and scope of inter-connectedness, the most likely long-term outcomes are either win-win or lose-lose. And the dynamics involved could well be those of multiple equilibria. As such, the stakes are high for the global economy and markets.Q: Do you think the deleveraging efforts in China are working?A: The deleveraging process is proving to be a very gradual process. Fortunately, China has time and the pockets of excessive leverage are containable. But there will be the periodic stress, and its one that requires timely policy responses.Q: What is your view on the dollar? Could it get a further boost from U.S. President Donald Trump''s policies?A: A lot depends on policies. Specifically, the dollar would get a boost from the implementation of pro-growth measures that would also allow the Federal Reserve to normalize both interest rates and its balance sheet. As such, foreign exchange traders should keep a close eye on progress on tax reform, de-regulation and infrastructure in particular.Q: Do you think inflation, which many thought would see a spike in 2017, has already reversed?A: No. I think the recent U.S. reversal will prove temporary. I suspect that there is some more inflation in the pipeline in 2017 here, though I would not call it a spike rather a slow move up.Q: Would you be a buyer or seller of USD/JPY if the tensions on the Korean Peninsula escalate? How does that reconcile with BOJs stance?A: An escalation of the geo-political tensions you postulate in your question would most probably lead to an appreciation of the dollar versus the Japanese yen related to economic, financial and technical reasons. I suspect that, in such a scenario, and it is one of many, the Bank of Japan would allow the currency to depreciate rather than take measures to meaningfully counter the move.Q: Would you be a buyer of gold in this period of heightened geopolitical tensions? Or do you see it underperforming in a rising interest rate environment?A: Much depends on what else I have in my portfolio. Some allocation to gold makes sense here.Q: Would you say the populist wave highlighted by the Brexit vote and the U.S. election is already waning given the French election left centrist Emmanuel Macron in the lead? And what is your view on the euro as a whole?A: No, I think the anti-establishment phenomenon is still with us. Remember, Emmanuel Macron campaigned against the mainstream parties. In fact, he does not have a party just a "movement." What we are witnessing is the cumulative effect of too many years of low and insufficiently inclusive growth. (Editing by Neil Fullick)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ecb-erian-idUSKBN17U12S'|'2017-04-28T16:39:00.000+03:00' +'6535773d4ee7754258d3f714a393b9a421f114ea'|'UPDATE 2-American Airlines shares nosedive on proposed employee pay increases'|'Thu Apr 27, 2017 - 10:42am EDT American Airlines shares nosedive on proposed employee pay increases FILE PHOTO -- American Airlines aircraft are parked at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, U.S., August 8, 2016. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo By Alana Wise - NEW YORK NEW YORK Shares of American Airlines Group Inc ( AAL.O ) dropped more than 8 percent on Thursday after the company said it had offered a mid-contract pay increase for pilots and flight attendants. American said that the move, which overshadowed the carrier''s solid quarterly earnings, will increase its salary and benefits expense by approximately $230 million for 2017 and $350 million for 2018 and 2019. Flight attendants and pilots at American ratified new five-year agreements in late 2014 and early 2015. Under the new proposal, announced on Wednesday, they will now receive on average 5 percent to 8 percent increases in hourly pay, respectively, in an adjustment to match rival carriers. In the years since American contract negotiations, labor groups at rival airlines United ( UAL.N ) and Delta ( DAL.N ) have negotiated compensation agreements, placing American at the low end of the pay spectrum. "As our industry has rapidly evolved and pay increases at other airlines have accelerated, some of our colleagues have fallen behind their peers at other airlines in base pay rates. And, unless their current contracts are modified, theyll remain far behind for more than two years," Chief Executive Officer Doug Parker said in a statement on Wednesday. Analysts worried about the possible effects of the pay increase on American and the implications it could have for the broader industry. "We are troubled by AALs wealth transfer of nearly $1 billion to its labor groups. In addition to raising fixed costs, Americans agreement with its labor stakeholders establishes a worrying precedent, in our view, both for American and the industry," JPMorgan analysts wrote in a research note. American posted earnings of 61 cents per share for the quarter ended March 31 on Thursday, versus analysts'' consensus forecast of 57 cents per share, excluding special items, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. The Fort Worth, Texas-based airline reported first-quarter revenue of $9.6 billion, matching analyst predictions, and a net profit of $308 million. Passenger unit revenue, which measures sales relative to flight capacity, rose 2.4 percent year over year. The company also said on Thursday it had deferred the delivery of several wide-body Boeing and Airbus jets, in the latest sign of oversupply in the market for long-distance airliners. That decision came two weeks after Delta Air Lines Inc ( DAL.N ) said it was reviewing pending wide-body jet orders to address excess capacity, noting that reductions were likely over the next several years. American said in its earnings filing that it was pushing back the first delivery of its Airbus ( AIR.PA ) A350 XWBs from 2018 to 2020 and deferring the delivery of two Boeing ( BA.N ) 787-9 aircraft to the first quarter of 2019 from the second quarter of 2018 to "provide widebody capacity flexibility" in its fleet. (Reporting by Alana Wise; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Meredith Mazzilli)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-american-airlines-results-idUSKBN17T1S6'|'2017-04-27T22:41:00.000+03:00' +'87090c23f4cd5a03698a43ae5cfdd36cab633284'|'METALS-Copper turns higher as Asian equities soar on French vote'|'Market News - Tue Apr 25, 2017 - 3:25am EDT METALS-Copper turns higher as Asian equities soar on French vote (Updates prices, adds quotes) By James Regan SYDNEY, April 25 Copper reversed early losses in Asia on Tuesday to trade higher on the back of strong regional equities markets that broadened investor appeal for cyclical assets such as industrial commodities. "All regional equity markets are higher as is oil and the base metals complex as yesterday''s broader ''risk on'' theme is maintained," commodities broker Marex Spectron said in a note. Asian equities coasted to a near two-year high, buoyed by a jump in risk appetite following the centrist victory in the first round of the French presidential election. "Asian markets appear to be still lingering in the glow of relief after the French election," said Jingyi Pan, market strategist at IG in Singapore. "The jubilance in markets overnight has also added to the optimism." * COPPER: Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange gained percent to $5,680 a tonne by 0715 GMT. * SHANGHAI: The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange settled 0.04 percent higher at 46,030 yuan ($6,687)a tonne. * ANGLO AMERICAN: Mining company Anglo American reported a 9 percent rise in overall production for the first quarter of 2017 compared with 2016, but copper output fell 3 percent because of poorer grades and a temporary suspension at the El Soldado mine in Chile. * PERU STRIKE: Workers at mining company Southern Copper Corp in Peru have reached a deal with management to end a two-week strike, a union official and a company spokesman told Reuters on Monday. * OTHER ShFE METALS: Tin ended 0.14 percent lower at 137,610 yuan, while lead finished 0.22 percent higher at 15,945 yuan. ShFE zinc gained 0.19 percent to 21,55 yuan. ShFE aluminium ended 0.77 percent up at 14,375 yuan a tonne. * LME DELAY: The launch of the London Metal Exchange''s new precious metals contracts will be delayed until July 10, more than a month later than previously announced, it said on Monday. PRICES '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/global-metals-idUSL4N1HX2PJ'|'2017-04-25T15:25:00.000+03:00' +'ea226b905a480f512b2d6e977e4649b80d5d6fb7'|'PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - April 26'|'Company News - Wed Apr 26, 2017 - 12:48am EDT PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - April 26 April 26 The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. - Eleven current and former Fox News employees filed a class-action lawsuit in New York against the network, accusing it of "abhorrent, intolerable, unlawful and hostile racial discrimination". nyti.ms/2q5o49U - Despite the turmoil that has engulfed Wells Fargo & Co in the past year, shareholders voted to re-elect all of the bank''s 15 directors during a raucous annual meeting on Tuesday. But some of the board members edged in just barely, signaling that many shareholders want further changes to the bank''s leadership. nyti.ms/2q5vIBc - Newly released police documents claim that David Dao, the passenger who was shown being dragged off a United Airlines flight on April 9 in widely shared videos, behaved violently toward the officers removing him, but his lawyer dismissed this account as "utter nonsense". nyti.ms/2q5ob55 - Chobani LLC, the yogurt company, has filed a lawsuit against Alex Jones, the high-profile conspiracy theorist and the host of a popular right-wing radio show, for posting what it called false news reports about the company and its owner. nyti.ms/2q5gxrv - A group including Derek Jeter and Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor and presidential candidate, has reached a tentative agreement to buy the Miami Marlins, according to two people briefed on the situation who requested anonymity because the deal is not official. nyti.ms/2q53iqY (Compiled by Shalini Nagarajan in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/press-digest-nyt-idUSL4N1HY23G'|'2017-04-26T12:48:00.000+03:00' +'be9411d09a8e85e3dfb5fa31420683f613aedc5f'|'Apple aims for more control, less cost as it accelerates in chip design'|'Wed Apr 5, 2017 - 12:07am BST Apple aims for more control, less cost as it accelerates in chip design FILE PHOTO: The Apple Inc. store is seen in Los Angeles, California, U.S., September 16, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo By Stephen Nellis - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Apple Inc''s decision to stop licensing graphics chips from Imagination Technologies Group Plc is the clearest example yet of the iPhone maker''s determination to take greater control of the core technologies in its products - both to guard its hefty margins and to position it for future innovations, especially in so-called augmented reality. The strategy, analysts say, has already reduced Apple''s dependence on critical outside suppliers like ARM Holdings Plc, now owned by SoftBank Group Corp. Apple once relied heavily on ARM to design the main processor for the iPhone, but it now licenses only the basic ARM architecture and designs most of the chip itself. More recently, when Apple bought the headphone company Beats Electronics, part of a $3 billion deal in 2014, it ripped out the existing, off-the-shelf communications chips and replaced them with its own custom-designed W1 Bluetooth chip. "Apple clearly got rid of all the conventional suppliers and replaced about five chips with one," said Jim Morrison, vice president of TechInsights, a firm that examines the chips inside electronics devices. "Today we do much more in-house development of fundamental technologies than we used to," Apple Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri said at a February conference. "Think of the work we do on processors or sensors. We can push the envelope on innovation. We have better control over timing, over cost and over quality." Most vendors of consumer electronics products rely on outside suppliers for chip design and development, primarily because it is extremely expensive. That has created huge opportunities for companies like ARM, Qualcomm Inc and Nvidia Corp, which have developed core technologies for processing, communications and graphics that are used by scores of vendors. Now, though, Apple is so big that it can economically create its own designs, or license small pieces of others'' work and build on it. As with ARM and Qualcomm, the actual manufacturing of the chips is still contracted out to a semiconductor foundry, such as those run by Samsung Electronics and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd. MOVE FAST, SAVE MONEY Bringing more of the design work in-house cuts complexity, people familiar with the processes say. Instead of managing one or more design teams and then a fabricator, Apple has only to manage the fabricator. It may also help the company move faster - and save money - as it focuses on new technologies such as virtual and augmented reality. Apple CEO Tim Cook has indicated that Apple plans to integrate augmented reality into its products, which makes 3-D sensors and graphics chips like Imagination''s especially important. Even before formally cutting off Imagination, Apple had given hints that it was preparing to design its own graphics processors. Specifically, it introduced a piece of its own code called Metal for app developers. App developers use Metal to make their apps talk to the graphics chip on the iPhone. By putting a piece of Apple-designed code between app developers and the phone''s chip, Apple has made it possible to swap out the chip without interrupting how the developers work. That could also make it easier to bridge the gap for developers between the graphics chips on Apple''s phones and its desktop computers, which currently require some separate coding. By promoting Metal instead of relying on other existing standards, Apple is not only able to control what graphics chip functionality is exposed at its own pace, but also blur the line for developers between coding for desktop and mobile GPUs," said Pius Uzamere, the founder of a virtual reality startup called Ether. Taking control of the iPhone''s chips can also help Apple keep costs down, which is especially important as it gears up for a feature-laden new iPhone this fall. Timothy Arcuri of Cowen & Co said in a research note that he thinks the curved screens expected on the new phone could add as much as $50 in cost, for example. Shebly Seyrafi, an analyst at FBN Securities, estimates that the average price of an iPhone increased only 1 percent to $695 last quarter, while costs increased 8 percent to $420, resulting in an iPhone gross margin of 39.6 percent. That is down from the 44 percent average gross margin for iPhones in 2015, according to Seyrafi''s estimates. Apple spends only $75 million a year on licensing fees for Imagination''s chips. But licensing fees to chip designers, taken together, are a significant cost for the iPhone. Apple recently sued Qualcomm for $1 billion over licensing terms for its communications chips - which Apple would have trouble designing in-house because of patent issues. (Reporting by Stephen Nellis; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Bill Rigby) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-apple-silicon-idUKKBN17631W'|'2017-04-05T07:07:00.000+03:00' +'7b39b854a5c3781a107f89307e5f817d1ba5d8a1'|'China March data seen showing solid growth but all eyes on Trump-Xi meeting'|'Business News - Thu Apr 6, 2017 - 3:43am BST China March data seen showing solid growth but all eyes on Trump-Xi meeting Workers work at a construction site in front of Shanghai''s financial district of Pudong in Shanghai, China March 27, 2017. REUTERS/Aly Song BEIJING A flurry of data in coming weeks is expected to show China posted solid economic growth in March, as President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump meet for the first time this week with China''s trade surplus expected to be high on the agenda. Trump has foreshadowed the risk of talks being tense, tweeting on Thursday that the United States could no longer tolerate massive trade deficits and job losses. While Trump has not followed through yet on campaign threats to label China a currency manipulator or impose punitive tariffs on Chinese goods, many analysts reckon the new administration is just beginning to flex its trade muscles. China''s import growth for March is likely to remain strong, while exports could rebound modestly, according to Reuters polls, producing an expected trade surplus of $10 billion after a rare deficit in February. Exports were expected to rise 3.2 percent, while imports were seen up 18 percent, led once again by raw materials such as iron ore which are feeding a months-long construction boom. Imports had surged 38 percent in February while exports unexpectedly dipped, but China''s data in the first two months of the year can be heavily skewed by the timing of the Lunar New Year holidays, when many businesses shut for a week or more. Reflecting continued strength in the manufacturing sector, and particularly heavy industry, China''s producer price index (PPI) likely rose 7.6 percent from a year earlier, after jumping 7.8 percent in February, its fastest pace in nearly nine years. However, while factory surveys show manufacturers have been able to pass on some higher input costs by raising prices of their goods, there has been scant evidence of it flowing through to consumer inflation and becoming a worry for policymakers. Many analysts believe China''s producer inflation may peak soon, and see consumer inflation remaining mild. The consumer price index (CPI) is mainly driven by prices of food, particularly pork, and services. The CPI likely rose 1.0 percent in March, after slowing to 0.8 percent in February, its weakest pace since January 2015, as food prices fell. Beijing is targeting consumer inflation at 3 percent this year, unchanged from 2016. China''s foreign exchange reserves likely edged up in March to $3.01 trillion after unexpectedly rising for the first time in eight months in February, rebounding above $3 trillion as a regulatory crackdown and a steadying yuan helped staunch capital outflows. The rebound in reserves could ease fears in global markets that China will engineer another sharp one-off devaluation of the yuan, which would run the risk of inflaming trade tensions with the new U.S. administration. China announces foreign exchange reserves on Friday, followed by inflation and trade data on Wednesday and Thursday respectively, while loan and money data is expected anytime from April 10-15. OUTPUT DATA LIKELY TO SUGGEST SOLID Q1 GROWTH China will release first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) on April 17, along with March industrial output, retail sales and fixed asset investment. Industrial output was expected to have remained at 6.3 percent in March, from 6.3 percent in Jan-Feb combined, while fixed asset investment was likely to grow 8.8 percent, down from 8.9 percent in Jan-Feb. Retail sales were expected to grow 9.6 percent in March, marginally better than 9.5 percent in Jan-Feb, which was the weakest pace in nearly two years. Analysts are awaiting early March data before fine-tuning their GDP forecasts for Q1, but some expect it will be roughly in line with or possibly even slightly stronger than the 6.8 percent growth China posted in the fourth quarter of 2016. Many analysts think that may be as good as it gets for Chinese growth this year, even if Trump takes no direct action on trade in coming months. Activity is expected to start cooling later in 2017 as the boost from record bank lending and strong government infrastructure spending last year begins to fade. Chinese iron ore and steel prices fell sharply in March on worries that high inventories were already signaling supply is outpacing demand. Intensifying government measures to get the overheated housing market under control could also brake economic growth, though few market watchers predict an outright property crash. LOANS SEEN UP DESPITE C.BANK TIGHTENING Loan data will also be closely watched for signs of whether authorities are sticking to credit-fueled stimulus despite official warnings about the risks from a rapid build-up in debt. Chinese banks likely extended 1.25 trillion yuan ($181.29 billion) in new loans in March, up from 1.17 trillion yuan in February but far below January''s 2.03 trillion yuan, the second highest ever. In recent months, the People''s Bank of China (PBOC) has adopted a modest tightening bias in a bid to contain financial risks, though it is treading cautiously to avoid crimping economic growth - which Beijing has said will be a more modest 6.5 percent this year. In a bid to reduce leverage in the financial system, the PBOC has bumped up interest rates on money market instruments and special short- and medium-term loans several times so far in 2017, though analysts do not expect a full-blown policy rate increase this year. ($1 = 6.8950 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Sue-Lin Wong; Editing by Kim Coghill) Next In Business News Bezos is selling $1 billion of Amazon stock a year to fund rocket venture COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos said on Wednesday he is selling about $1 billion worth of the internet retailer''s stock annually to fund his Blue Origin rocket company, which aims to launch paying passengers on 11-minute space rides starting next year.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-data-idUKKBN17807N'|'2017-04-06T10:38:00.000+03:00' +'93a66bca26009432c4aa7eced2b044d65341e4cc'|'Morning News Call - India, April 13'|'Company News - Wed Apr 12, 2017 - 11:19pm EDT Morning News Call - India, April 13 (Morning News Call - India edition will not be published on Friday, April 14, as markets are closed for Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Jayanti and Good Friday.) To access the newsletter, click on the link: here If you would like to receive this newsletter via email, please register at: here FACTORS TO WATCH 11:15 am: Petroleum Secretary K. D. Tripathi briefs media on cabinet decisions related to the ministry in New Delhi. 4:00 pm: India Ratings webinar on power sector in Mumbai. 5:00 pm: RBI to release weekly foreign exchange data in Mumbai. GMF: LIVECHAT - CHINA AUTOMOBILE OUTLOOK Will SUVs continue to boost Chinese car makers such as Geely and Great Wall Motor in the rest of 2017 and beyond? What is the prospect of electric cars - both domestic brand BYD and U.S. brand Tesla - in China? Reuters auto correspondent Jake Spring will discuss the trend of the industry at 11:30 am. To join the conversation, click on the link: here INDIA TOP NEWS Higher fuel prices drive up India''s inflation to five-month high Higher fuel costs drove up India''s headline inflation to its highest level in five months in March, data showed, vindicating a central bank decision last week to keep its policy rate on hold amid concern about price pressures. Indian sales tax coming July 1, to boost growth, revenues - official India will launch a new national sales tax as planned on July 1 to boost economic growth and state revenues, a finance ministry official said on Wednesday, despite calls from some businesses for a delay. Indian state refiners to revise fuel price in 5 cities daily from May 1 - sources India''s state-owned fuel retailers plan to implement daily revision of fuel price in five cities from May 1 ahead of a nationwide roll out of the scheme, industry sources said. Indian-Greek venture offers 480 mln euros to build Crete airport -sources The only bid submitted to build an airport on the island of Crete was priced at 480 million euros ($509.42 million), well below the expected 850 million, sources close to the project said on Wednesday. GLOBAL TOP NEWS China''s Xi urges peaceful resolution of N.Korea tension in call with Trump Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a peaceful resolution of rising tension on the Korean peninsula in a telephone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday, as a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group steamed towards the region. U.S.-Russia relations at another low after Syria attacks The presidents of the United States and Russia on Wednesday both presented souring views of the relationship between their two countries, exchanging sharp words as Moscow extended an icy welcome to the United States'' top diplomat in a face-off over Syria. Foreign journalists in North Korea gather for "big event" amid tensions Foreign journalists visiting North Korea gathered in Pyongyang for "a big and important event" with tensions high over the possibility of a new weapons test by the isolated state and as a U.S. carrier group sails towards the Korean peninsula. LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK (As reported by NewsRise) The SGX Nifty Futures were trading at 9,202.50, trading little changed from its previous close. The Indian rupee will likely open higher against the dollar, as the greenback slipped after U.S. President Donald Trump said the currency was getting too strong and that he prefers a low interest rate policy. Indian government bonds will likely edge higher in early trade tracking a slide in U.S. Treasury yields after President Donald Trump said he preferred a low Federal funds rate. The yield on the benchmark 6.97 pct bond maturing in 2026 is likely to trade in a 6.75 pct-6.81 pct band today. The bond closed at 101.30 rupees, yielding 6.78 pct, yesterday. GLOBAL MARKETS U.S. stocks eased on Wednesday and the S&P 500 closed below a key technical level for the first time since Election Day, pressured by lingering geopolitical concerns and President Donald Trump''s comments on the dollar and interest rates. Japanese stocks posted fresh four-month lows as the yen spiked against the dollar after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S currency was too strong, hitting automakers and tech shares hard. The dollar slumped broadly, falling to a five-month low against the yen, after U.S. President Donald Trump helped accelerate its recent decline by saying the currency was too strong. U.S. Treasury yields fell on Wednesday with benchmark yields hitting a near five-month low, prompted by comments by U.S. President Donald Trump on favoring low interest rates made in a newspaper interview published in late U.S. trading. Crude oil futures slid for a second session, moving away from a one-month high touched briefly in the last session as rising U.S. production stoked worries about global oversupply. Gold hit a five-month peak as the U.S. dollar slid after President Donald Trump said he preferred lower interest rates with the greenback "too strong", and amid rising tensions over U.S. relations with Russia and North Korea. CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT PNDF spot 64.52/64.55 April 12 -$89.8 mln $116.57 mln 10-yr bond yield 7.16 Month-to-date -$1.2 mln $2.89 bln Year-to-date $6.78 bln $8.36 bln For additional data: India govt bond market volumes Stock market reports Non-deliverable forwards data Corporate debt stories [IN CORPD] Local market closing/intraday levels [IN SNAPSHOT] Monthly inflows [INFLOWS RTRS TABLE IN] ($1 = 64.6850 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Nayyar Rasheed in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/india-morningcall-idUSL3N1HL1Y1'|'2017-04-13T11:19:00.000+03:00' +'20cebfe14931c1c49834da4f37a5d991b1fa3b0b'|'Audi picks lower cost eastern European sites to build new SUVs'|' 1:42pm BST Audi picks lower cost eastern European sites to build new SUVs Audi cars are parked in front of the company''s headquarters in Ingolstadt, Germany, March 15, 2017. REUTERS/Lukas Barth BERLIN Audi ( NSUG.DE ) will expand its lineup of higher margin sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) and assemble two new models at lower cost plants in eastern Europe, the German premium carmaker said on Tuesday, as it strives to boost profitability. The Volkswagen-owned ( VOWG_p.DE ) brand last month reported a 37 percent plunge in operating profit after it raised provisions to help meet the cost of the group''s diesel emissions test-cheating scandal. Audi said on Tuesday it would start building a full-sized Q8 SUV at a Volkswagen (VW) factory in Bratislava, Slovakia, next year and in 2019 add the Q4 SUV in Gyor, Hungary. Audi''s new offerings in the fast-growing SUV market will compete with forthcoming models from German rival BMW ( BMWG.DE ), which is adding an X2 and an X7 to its lineup in 2018. "We are integrating two completely new Q models into the existing production network and are raising our competitiveness in an extremely important segment," Audi production chief Hubert Waltl said. Audi''s efforts to raise margins with the new vehicles will be helped by low production costs at the chosen sites. Labour costs in the manufacturing industries of Slovakia and Hungary were an hourly 10.70 euros and 8.40 euros per worker respectively in 2016, compared with 26.10 euros in Britain and 33.40 euros in Germany, according to Germany''s Federal Statistics Office. Audi last year slipped into third place behind BMW and Mercedes-Benz ( DAIGn.DE ) in terms of luxury car sales. An expanded lineup of SUVs may also help Audi to gain ground in the United States where it sells many fewer cars than its two German competitors. (Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-audi-production-idUKKBN17D1I5'|'2017-04-11T20:42:00.000+03:00' +'f837ef4b6e1ebcaa4c8b36dfd01141341e4e6a67'|'Tata Power, Adani Power slump as top court sets aside tribunal order'|'The Supreme Court on Tuesday set aside an order by the Appellate Tribunal For Electricity allowing compensatory tariff to Tata Power Ltd and Adani Power Ltd, sending down shares of both companies.Shares of Tata Power reversed early gains to fall as much as 6.78 percent, while Adani Power slumped up to 20 percent to its lowest since Feb. 21.The tribunal, in April last year, had said that the two companies needed to be compensated as the change in Indonesian laws on coal export prices were outside the control of these companies. bit.ly/2ou08Mg(Reporting By Darshana Sankararaman in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/tata-power-adani-power-court-idINKBN17D0MF'|'2017-04-11T04:50:00.000+03:00' +'d380866a0de740df3e00275abe0044b583971ea2'|'Careful who you CC: Hedge fund Elliott accidentally emails AkzoNobel'|'By Toby Sterling - AMSTERDAM AMSTERDAM Message from the front line of a takeover battle: even the smartest investors can make sloppy mistakes with a sensitive email.In a communication seen by Reuters, Gordon Singer of hedge fund Elliot Advisors accidentally included a representative of AkzoNobel ( AKZO.AS ) in an otherwise internal distribution list on Tuesday.Not just any email, but one in which Elliott''s team discussed tactics after privately informing Akzo it and other investors would seek to convene a meeting of Akzo shareholders to discuss the dismissal of Chairman Antony Burgmans due to his opposition to takeover talks with PPG Industries ( PPG.N )..Akzo has said PPG''s 24.6 billion euros ($26 billion) offer is not worth discussing further - a stance which has angered some shareholders who see scope for further talks between the two sides.The Singer email speculated on whether Akzo would make public the letter calling for Burgman''s dismissal and said shareholders would withdraw their call for a meeting if Burgmans did agree to talks with PPG. In a footnote, Singer instructed an Elliott employee to inform PPG that it had sent the letter to Akzo about the possible meeting.Akzo Nobel''s director of investor relations Lloyd Midwinter was mistakenly included as one of the addressees.In its response to the letter, Akzo said it fully backed the chairman. Perhaps having noticed the footnote to the email, Akzo also filed a complaint with the Dutch financial markets authority AFM, alleging PPG and Elliott may have engaged in improper sharing of sensitive information. It demanded to know what if any agreements exist between PPG and Elliott.Though it was not immediately clear what rules the U.S. company and the British fund might have violated, both felt obliged to respond. Elliott confirmed that it and other investors had been in contact with PPG.Elliott is "aware of its various regulatory obligations, including obligations related to handling price sensitive, or potentially price sensitive, information," it said in a statement.PPG "has always maintained its strict and long-standing policy of not sharing any material, non-public information and has acted in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including those of the Netherlands, with respect to communications with any shareholders," it said."There has not been any, and there are currently no agreements or arrangements, in whatever form, between PPG and Elliott Advisors."AFM confirmed it had received a complaint from Akzo but declined to comment on whether it would take any action.(Editing by David Holmes)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-akzo-nobel-m-a-email-idINKBN17E29M'|'2017-04-12T14:49:00.000+03:00' +'b8f5bdaaef6efa83f65b2ac53d80cc7319243fce'|'METALS-London copper slips on mounting geopolitical concerns'|'MELBOURNE, April 10 London copper eased on Monday as rising geopolitical tensions blunted appetite for risk and lifted the dollar, eroding the purchasing power of commodity buyers.FUNDAMENTALS* LME COPPER: London Metal Exchange copper had slipped 0.4 percent to $5,809 a tonne by 0124 GMT, adding to small losses from the previous session, before finding support at its 100-day moving average at $5,800 a tonne.* SHFE: Shanghai Futures Exchange copper dropped 0.9 percent to 47,200 yuan ($6,843) a tonne. ShFE zinc fell 2.4 percent, dragged down by weakness in steel and also after news that two mines hit by floods in Peru were ready to restart.* U.S. ECONOMY: U.S. job growth slowed sharply in March amid continued layoffs in the embattled retail sector, but a drop in the unemployment rate to a near 10-year low of 4.5 percent suggested labour market strength remained intact.* NORTH KOREA: A U.S. Navy strike group will be moving toward the western Pacific Ocean near the Korean peninsula as a show of force, a U.S. official told Reuters on Saturday, as concerns grow about North Korea''s advancing weapons programme.* ZINC MINE: Peruvian miner Milpo, controlled by Brazilian group Votorantim Metais, said on Friday it could restart operations at two mines over the weekend if there were no new restrictions to roads affected by flooding.* PHILIPPINES: A suspended Philippine nickel miner has asked President Rodrigo Duterte to allow it to ship ore stockpiles after some cargoes were seized as tensions escalated over a required fee it claimed was illegal.* PERU: Peru, fresh off a sharp rise in copper output, is upstaging top producer Chile as a prime place to hunt for new supplies as the historic rivals race to usher in new mines.* COPPER SPECULATORS: Hedge funds and money managers cut their net long position in copper futures and options by 6,600 contracts to 54,173, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday. That was the first cut in three weeks.* COPPER ARSENIC: Ecometales, a unit of Chile''s state-run Codelco is in talks with smelters in Europe and China to share its technology for stabilising arsenic while processing lower-quality copper ore, an executive said on Friday.* For the top stories in metals and other news, click or* MARKETS: Asian stocks are set for a cautious start on Monday as increased geopolitical risks combined with expensive valuations prompt investors to shun risky assets in favour of safe-haven bets such as government debt.DATA AHEAD (GMT)0830 Euro zone Sentix index Apr1400 U.S. Employment trends MarPRICESThree month LME copperMost active ShFE copperThree month LME aluminiumMost active ShFE aluminiumThree month LME zincMost active ShFE zincThree month LME leadMost active ShFE leadThree month LME nickelMost active ShFE nickelThree month LME tinMost active ShFE tinARBS ($1 = 6.8978 Chinese yuan renminbi)(Reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Joseph Radford)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-metals-idINL3N1HI1A2'|'2017-04-09T23:54:00.000+03:00' +'352f9dc0282de02ab66aa88e64f257712c218849'|'South32 scraps $200 mln Australian coal acquisition from Peabody'|'Deals 29pm EDT South32 scraps $200 million Australian coal acquisition from Peabody left right The logo of Australian miner South32 can be seen at the venue of a media conference in Perth, Western Australia, November 18, 2015. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo 1/2 left right An underground truck is parked in a chamber of the Metropolitan coal mine at Helensburgh, 40km (25 miles) south west of Sydney June 9, 2011. REUTERS/Tim Wimborne 2/2 MELBOURNE South32 Ltd ( S32.AX ) on Tuesday killed a $200 million deal to buy Peabody Energy''s Metropolitan coal mine in Australia after running into competition concerns about supply of coal to local steel makers. South32, which had been pursuing its first acquisition since being spun off by global miner BHP Billiton ( BHP.AX )( BLT.L ), said it was unwilling to take the steps required to appease Australian steel makers to get the deal over the line. "To proceed with the acquisition, in light of the anticipated concessions, would have compromised the merits of the transaction and this is not something we are prepared to do," South32 Chief Executive Graham Kerr said in a statement. The decision comes just as Peabody has emerged from bankruptcy. The company said it was surprised that South32 and Australia''s competition watchdog had reached an impasse over the acquisition. "On the other hand, we see continuing opportunities given Metropolitan''s quality coking coals and port location, and our objective will be to operate the mine while maximizing returns in the international marketplace," Peabody President Glenn Kellow said in a statement. Peabody said it would keep the 2 million tonnes a year coking coal mine and its 16.67 percent stake in the Port Kembla coal terminal and would resume shipments after completing a move to a new coal panel in the mine at the end of May. (Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Stephen Coates)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-south32-australia-peabody-energy-idUSKBN17J1TT'|'2017-04-18T07:09:00.000+03:00' +'6d3dbd4c4d2241a5864a72cdc8a2856f36784a09'|'OPEC output cuts whet Asia''s appetite for North Sea oil'|'Global Energy News - Thu Apr 27, 2017 - 1:54pm BST OPEC output cuts whet Asia''s appetite for North Sea oil FILE PHOTO: A section of the BP Eastern Trough Area Project (ETAP) oil platform is seen in the North Sea, around 100 miles east of Aberdeen in Scotland, Britain, February 24, 2014. REUTERS/Andy Buchanan/Pool/File Photo By Amanda Cooper and Florence Tan - LONDON/SINGAPORE LONDON/SINGAPORE OPEC production cuts have created record Asian demand for European oil and made China the second biggest consumer of North Sea crude as flows from its usual Middle East suppliers dip. Rising Asian appetite for North Sea crude has largely been fuelled by the falling premium charged for North Sea crude over rival Middle East oil and this demand could last beyond OPEC''s supply cuts if that favourable pricing persists. Thomson Reuters Eikon data shows China imported almost 38 million barrels of North Sea crude from the start of the year until late April, compared with about 8 million barrels by the same point in 2016. China now lies second to Britain, the biggest consumer of North Sea crude, which had bought 49.7 million barrels by late April this year. In January to April 2016, China ranked seventh. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other non-OPEC producers agreed to cut output by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in the first half of 2017 to lift prices and reduce global inventories. With stockpiles still bulging, Gulf producers and other producers say cuts could be extended to December, adding a further incentive for Asian buyers to look beyond their usual suppliers. "East of Suez, crude balances look like they will get progressively tighter year-on-year all the way through to the end of 2017," FGE analyst James Davis said. "We suspect there will be, from a supply perspective, a need for crude to move across to Asia from the North Sea," he said. Reluctant to relinquish market share to U.S. oil shale producers, OPEC states have kept their official selling prices low and used their crude stockpiles to keep clients supplied. But they have tended to cut output of medium, more sulphurous crudes that are cheaper, and maintained flows of lighter, less sulphur-rich oil, which usually sell for more. With less of those medium crudes on the market prices for that oil have climbed, sending the premium that is usually paid for North Sea oil to its lowest since 2010 DUB-EFS-1M. CRUDE DIET The premium for North Sea Brent, the peg for many of world''s lighter crudes, over the Dubai benchmark, which underpins medium and heavier grades common in the Middle East, has fallen below 50 cents a barrel from $2.50 in late November, when OPEC announced its cuts. "North Sea crude keeps coming to Asia and now there should be more given the price structure," a trader at a North Asian refinery said. China customs data shows the cost of importing North Sea oil was even more favourable in March, showing importing a barrel of British crude cost $56.70, compared with $57.80 for a barrel from the United Arab Emirates, even when the UAE lies 8,000 miles closer to China than Scotland''s North Sea coast. "North Sea oil suits the Korean diet and the Chinese can still take it if the price is right, a Singapore-based trader said. Other factors are also encouraging Asian consumers to seek out new suppliers. Chinese domestic oil production has been eroded because of weak oil prices, while refineries in the world''s biggest car market have been expanding. Overall, Asian refining capacity will expand by a net 450,000 bpd in 2017, a rise of 1.5 percent over Asia''s total installed capacity now of nearly 29 million bpd, Thomson Reuters Eikon data shows. "We expect imports to continue registering year-on-year gains as a narrow Brent-Dubai spread ... encourages the purchasing of Atlantic Basin crudes in Asia," Energy Aspects said in a note, even though it said China had "clearly overbought" crude in the first quarter of the year. For a graphic on North Sea crude oil flows to Asia, click - reut.rs/2q6pDo4 For a graphic on Biggest buyers of North Sea crude oil, click - reut.rs/2q6pDo4 For a graphic on North Sea crude flows to China vs Brent/Dubai premium, click - reut.rs/2q7g3B2 (Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Edmund Blair) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-oil-opec-north-sea-analysis-idUKKBN17T1HR'|'2017-04-27T20:54:00.000+03:00' +'bf89ee2d0b18335a8992776b6a95ae5f1b0598bd'|'''The journey is nothing but extraordinary'' Confessions of a Startup - Guardian Small Business Network'|'Photograph: Anna Gordon for the Guardian Subscribe via iTunes Download MP3 Podcast feed URL Supported by About this content Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email View more sharing options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Google+ Share on WhatsApp Share on Messenger Close Presented by Coco Khan and produced by Rowan Slaney Tuesday 11 April 2017 10.00 BST Subscribe and review on iTunes , Soundcloud & Mixcloud and join the discussion on Facebook and Twitter . On 6 March, 50 entrepreneurs attended a seminar hosted by the Guardian Small Business Network to discuss pushing through the challenges that come with starting a business. Our keynote speaker for the evening was Efe akarel, founder of MUBI, who said it took him two years to launch the platform and a further four years to find a workable business model. During that time, he nearly ran out of money, had to let good people go, and cut his own salary down to zero. You do whatever you need to do to stay in business, he said. The panel discussion included Isabella Lane, co-founder of Smarter Applications; Rich Pleeth, who started the app SUP; and Emily Forbes, owner of Seenit. Lane said recent political events have taught her not to leave the fate of her business in someone elses hands. Its exciting [when you get an opportunity], she explained. But were trying to scale back our egos and be careful. Pleeth had to close his company SUP after 18 months, but he said he learned so much from failure. Its such a negative word, he added. But we need to be realistic about starting a business ... [a large number fail] in their first year.Forbes advised the entrepreneurs present to trust their guts and have faith. Every time Ive freaked out, my gut has always been right, she said.Topics Guardian Small Business Network Adventures in Business Entrepreneurs'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/audio/2017/apr/11/journey-extraordinary-confessions-startup-sup-smarter-applications-seenit-mubi'|'2017-04-11T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'7c5f2596f709ff6dfa5a066226affb4110e4ad3e'|'Chevron profit beats expectations on cost cuts, asset sales'|' 8:41am EDT Chevron swings to first quarter profit on cost cuts, rising oil prices FILE PHOTO: The logo of Chevron (CVX) is seen in Los Angeles, California, United States, April 12, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo HOUSTON Oil producer Chevron Corp ( CVX.N ) said on Friday it swung to a first-quarter profit due to cost cuts and rising crude prices CLc1. The company posted net income of $2.68 billion, or $1.41 per share, compared to a loss of $725 million, or 39 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Production rose 0.4 percent to 2.67 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. (Reporting by Ernest Scheyder)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-chevron-results-idUSKBN17U1VR'|'2017-04-28T21:02:00.000+03:00' +'5ad29094106f8ffb985b826f3f1056d3c358f411'|'RLJ to buy fellow lodging trust FelCor'|'By Ankit Ajmera RLJ Lodging Trust ( RLJ.N ) said on Monday it would buy peer FelCor Lodging Trust Inc ( FCH.N ), making it one of the biggest U.S. lodging real estate investment trusts.The combination, which will have a pro-forma market value of $4.2 billion and an enterprise value of $7 billion, will own 160 hotels in 26 states and the District of Columbia, across brands including Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt and Wyndham.Under the deal, each FelCor share will be converted into 0.362 shares of newly issued shares of RLJ common stock in a taxable merger.Based on the RLJ''s Friday closing, the offer values FelCor at $1.18 billion, or $8.54 per share, representing a premium of 16.7 percent.RLJ''s shareholders are expected to own about 71 percent of the combined company, while FelCor''s shareholders are expected to own the rest, the companies said.The deal comes two months after lodging REIT Ashford Hospitality Trust Inc ( AHT.N ) offered to buy FelCor for about $1.27 billion in stock and launched a proxy battle for the control of the company''s board.That proposal was opposed by shareholder and activist hedge fund Land and Buildings Investment Management LLC, which called it "woefully inadequate".The deal FelCor will help RLJ the become the third-largest standalone lodging REIT by enterprise value, the companies said, behind Host Hotels & Resorts Inc ( HST.N ) and Park Hotels and Resorts Inc ( PK.N ). ( bit.ly/2p8XMR6 )Ashford Hospitality Trust had an enterprise value of $4.9 billion as of Friday, according to RLJ.The RLJ-FelCor deal will create annual cost savings of about $22 million from the elimination of duplicate corporate general and administrative expenses.RLJ Chief Executive Ross Bierkan will lead the combined company after the close of the deal, expected by end of 2017, the companies said.FelCor will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of RLJ.Barclays was the financial adviser for RLJ, while Bank of America Merrill Lynch advised FelCor.(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-felcor-m-a-rlj-lodg-trst-idINKBN17Q0XE'|'2017-04-24T08:57:00.000+03:00' +'078b62f9d573cc368833fc1cb97d79222c38c668'|'Anthem says it hasn''t ruled out any PBM, including Express Scripts'|'Company 27am EDT Anthem says it hasn''t ruled out any PBM, including Express Scripts NEW YORK, April 26 Two days after Express Scripts Holding Co said it had lost its contract to do pharmacy benefit management for Anthem Inc, Anthem''s top executive said the company had not made a decision on or ruled out any vendor. While declining to comment specifically on the Express Scripts situation, which is being litigated in federal court, Anthem Chief Executive Officer Joseph Swedish said during a call with investors that "we''ve not ruled anyone in or out." (Reporting by Caroline Humer; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/anthem-results-express-scripts-idUSL1N1HY0MH'|'2017-04-26T21:27:00.000+03:00' +'e2abff53cdd11283150baa13331c4a55bf14ca0b'|'Majority owner of Germany''s CTS to cut stake via placement'|'BERLIN German ticketing company CTS Eventim said the foundation of founder and CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg, KPS Stiftung, plans to sell up to a 5 percent stake via an accelerated bookbuild.A source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday the price guidance for the share placing was 36 euros, which would mean KPS receives proceeds of almost 173 million euros ($189 million) for the placement of up to 4.8 million shares.KPS Stiftung, which currently owns 50.2 percent of CTS, informed CTS Eventim that it does not intend to further dilute its position as a main shareholder of the company.It said it wanted to increase the trading volume of CTS shares and use the proceeds to fund investments and operations of its investment vehicle.CTS shares fell 4.4 percent in late Frankfurt trading after the announcement ( EVDG.F ). The shares had closed at 37.24 euros.(Reporting by Victoria Bryan and Alexander Huebner; Editing by Kathrin Jones and Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-cts-eventim-placement-idINKBN17R2EB'|'2017-04-25T16:01:00.000+03:00' +'3a71aa3f6a05dacfdeb2d12122e0345de67006f3'|'CORRECTED (OFFICIAL)-UPDATE 1-Pret A Manger seeks more British baristas to balance Brexit risk'|'(Changes number for UK workforce in third paragraph of APRIL 27 story after clarification from company)* 65 pct of UK staff are from other EU countries* Firm "reaching out" to sources of British labour* 2016 core earnings up 11 pct* Targets 500 stores by end of 2017By James DaveyLONDON, April 28 Coffee and sandwich chain Pret A Manger wants to increase the number of Britons working in its UK shops to cushion it from potential damage if European Union workers stay away after Brexit, its boss said on Thursday.The status of citizens from other EU countries living in Britain has been clouded by last June''s Brexit vote with the UK government yet to guarantee their rights, saying it first needs a reciprocal deal with the EU.Of Pret''s over 8,000 UK workforce, some 65 percent come from EU countries other than Britain."Weve been reaching out to British labour pools in a way that we never had to before," Pret Chief Executive Clive Schlee told Reuters.He said Pret, majority owned by private equity firm Bridgepoint, was increasing its use of social media and links with UK job centres in its recruitment strategy.This summer the firm will launch its "Big Experience Week" offering 500 week-long paid work experience placements to British school students."We''re very encouraged by the response...So we feel that we will be able to maintain our diverse, our tolerant and our very competitive culture, but with a higher British percentage over time, said Schlee.The chief executive also welcomed industry debate on the idea of "barista visas" for EU nationals after Brexit - allowing them to work in Britain but not be eligible for benefits.Schlee was speaking after Pret, which is believed to be looking at a stock market listing, reported an 11 percent rise in 2016 core earnings.Pret made core earnings of 93.2 million pounds ($120.2 million) as total sales rose 15 percent to 776.2 million pounds. Sales at outlets open over a year increased 4.8 percent.The outcome was a twelfth straight year of revenue and core earnings growth. In the United States sales exceeded $200 million for the first time."So far 2017 has followed a very similar pattern to 2016, so we haven''t seen a slowdown yet," said Schlee.On Tuesday Whitbread said underlying sales at its Costa Coffee chain fell in its fourth quarter. The group also said it was cautious about the 2017-18 financial year, saying it expected a tougher consumer environment.Reuters reported last month that Pret''s private equity owners had chosen Solebury Capital to advise on a planned New York stock market listing..Pret opened 50 new shops in 2016, taking the total to 444, including 329 in the UK and it now also trades from France, Hong Kong, China and Dubai. It expects to have 500 shops by the end of 2017, including its first in Singapore. ($1 = 0.7754 pounds) (Editing by Kate Holton/Keith Weir)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/pret-a-manger-results-idINL8N1I0715'|'2017-04-28T13:15:00.000+03:00' +'33b585ae9d9ae541897c13fc0ca2014eacc5d0a0'|'BP to cut about 5 mln pounds from CEO''s maximum annual pay - Sky News'|'Big Story 10 - Mon Apr 3, 2017 - 3:04pm EDT BP to cut about 5 million pounds from CEO''s maximum annual pay: Sky News File photo: Bob Dudley, CEO of BP gas company, speaks during an interview at the Argentina Business and Investment Forum 2016, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, September 14, 2016. REUTERS/Enrique Marcarian BP Plc has agreed to cut about 5 million pounds ($6.24 million) from Chief Executive Bob Dudley''s maximum pay for the next three years in a bid to avoid a shareholder revolt, Sky News said on Monday, citing people briefed on the matter. Sky News said that Dudley''s maximum annual pay over the next three years will now be about 12.2 million pounds ($15.22 million) including his salary, an annual bonus of 3.3 million pounds and a long-term share incentive plan award worth up to 7.4 million pounds. The previous package was worth up to 17.4 million pounds including the matching share awards. The report said the company had decided to reduce Dudley''s maximum long-term incentive plan award from seven times his 1.48 million pounds basic salary to five times. ( bit.ly/2oC9WRK ) According to the report, Dudley''s annual bonus will remain constant at a maximum of 225 percent of his salary. The framework will also apply to other top BP directors between 2017 and 2019. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Greg Mahlich) Next In Big Story 10'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-bp-compensation-ceo-idUSKBN17529F'|'2017-04-04T02:56:00.000+03:00' +'f9d971a28ba8be4d51deceb414c5273ceacaf69f'|'World Bank Group, China-led AIIB agree to deepen cooperation'|'Global Energy News - Sun Apr 23, 2017 - 10:05pm BST World Bank Group, China-led AIIB agree to deepen cooperation The logo of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is seen at its headquarter building in Beijing January 17, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon By David Lawder - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The World Bank Group and the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank said on Sunday they agreed to deepen their cooperation with a framework for knowledge sharing, staff exchanges, analytical work, development financing and country-level coordination. The memorandum of understanding signed at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund spring meetings in Washington comes a year after the two multilateral lenders established mechanisms for cost-sharing and co-financing of investment projects. Since then, the AIIB and the World Bank have co-financed five projects, supporting power generation in Pakistan, a natural gas pipeline in Azerbaijan, and projects in Indonesia to rebuild slums, improve dam safety and develop regional infrastructure. They said in a joint statement that they are discussing more projects to be co-financed in 2017 and 2018. "Signing this memorandum of understanding fits into our vision of a new kind of internationalism," AIIB President Jin Liqun said in a statement. "It deepens our relationship with the World Bank Group and sets up the mechanisms through which we can more easily collaborate and share information." A World Bank spokeswoman said the knowledge-sharing memorandum was similar to one that was in place during the AIIB''s early development stages, but which ended when the Beijing-based institution was formally launched in January 2016. She said the new agreement does not specify financing amounts or targets, adding that those will be determined through meetings and consultations to discuss the banks'' respective portfolios. The AIIB has been viewed as a rival to the Western-dominated World Bank and Asian Development Bank. The United States initially opposed its creation and is not a member, but many U.S. allies, including Canada, Britain, Germany, Australia and South Korea have joined. World Bank President Jim Yong Kim told Reuters on Thursday that he wants to push the Washington-based lender''s business model towards harnessing more private capital for development finance. In a statement on Sunday, Kim said: "Collaboration between development institutions is essential to make the best use of scarce resources, crowd-in the private sector, and meet the rising aspirations of the people we serve." (Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Phil Berlowitz, Peter Cooney and David Gregorio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-imf-g20-aiib-idUKKBN17P0WF'|'2017-04-24T05:05:00.000+03:00' +'2890d25c125f81f72c1c5f2e5cb8a84104b10b45'|'UPDATE 1-Green car sales hit by China subsidy cut, denting Buffett-backed BYD'|'Bonds News 8:58am EDT UPDATE 1-Green car sales hit by China subsidy cut, denting Buffett-backed BYD (adds context throughout) BEIJING, April 28 Chinese automaker BYD Co Ltd , backed by Warren Buffett''s Berkshire Hathaway Inc, expects a fall of up to 31.4 percent in first-half net profit as Beijing''s cut to subsidies slows green car sales slow in China. Shenzhen-based BYD, which specializes in green energy cars, forecast a 20.3 percent to 31.4 percent fall in net profit for the first half to 1.55 billion to 1.8 billion yuan ($261.10 million), in what would be the biggest drop in first half profits since 2012, according to Reuters data. "The scale back of subsidies on new energy vehicles put pressure on profit, while competition will still be intense in traditional vehicle sectors in the second quarter," BYD said in a stock exchange statement released on Friday. BYD''s weakening net profits are a marked shift from massive profit growth over the last two years, annual net income increased more than 10-fold from 2014 to 2016, as demand for green cars boomed thanks to aggressive government support. But demand has wavered this year as the central government has cut its massive subsidy payouts for green cars by 20 percent, raised barriers to entry for new electric car models and debated easing proposed quotas for plug-in cars. For the first quarter, BYD reported 605.8 million yuan in profit, a 28.8 percent decrease year-on-year, in line its forecast last month of a 24-35 percent fall. Sales of plug-in hybrid and battery electric cars fell nearly 5 percent in January to March compared with the same period a year ago, China''s Association of Automobile Manufacturers said. ($1 = 6.8938 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Muyu Xu and Jake Spring; editing by Susan Thomas and Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL4N1I058Q'|'2017-04-28T20:58:00.000+03:00' +'a16f66ec6fbedfd7adbaa91ab84dba6857a14bf6'|'South Korea think tank upgrades 2017 economic growth forecast to 2.6 percent'|'Business News - Tue Apr 18, 2017 - 4:16am BST South Korea think tank upgrades 2017 economic growth forecast to 2.6 percent A man works on a glass fence in Seoul, South Korea, August 30, 2016. Picture taken on August 30, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji SEOUL A state-run South Korean think tank upgraded its 2017 economic growth outlook on Tuesday as the global economy recovers broadly, raising this year''s gross domestic growth forecast to 2.6 percent from 2.4 percent projected earlier. "In 2017, exports will improve...as the global economy recovers gradually," the Korea Development Institute (KDI) said in a report. Despite the sunnier outlook, growth this year would lag last year''s 2.8 percent expansion because of sluggish domestic consumption, it said. Next year''s GDP growth was expected to be a slightly slower 2.5 percent. The research institute said economic growth would be impaired if protectionist policies were to spread quickly to many countries or if geopolitical issues around North Korea were to debilitate consumer or investor sentiment. The Bank of Korea last week upgraded its growth outlook for this year to 2.6 percent from 2.5 percent, while its 2018 growth projection is 2.9 percent. Last December the finance ministry forecast economic growth for this year at 2.6 percent, although it may revise its outlook in coming months. (Reporting by Christine Kim; Editing by Eric Meijer)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-southkorea-economy-forecast-idUKKBN17K080'|'2017-04-18T11:08:00.000+03:00' +'0befc5eb769eb41177ae52a9d102b0a4366c7bea'|'BRIEF-Coupa Software announces pricing of upsized follow-on offering'|' 26am EDT BRIEF-Coupa Software announces pricing of upsized follow-on offering April 12 Coupa Software Inc * Coupa Software announces pricing of upsized follow-on offering * Coupa Software - pricing of its upsized underwritten public offering of 4.4 million shares of its common stock at a price to public of $25.25 per share. (Bengaluru Newsroom)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-coupa-software-announces-pricing-o-idUSASA09IEF'|'2017-04-12T13:26:00.000+03:00' +'6f70d99b810b8fbba8febcf76787240da20b71ea'|'China targets 35 million vehicle sales by 2025, NEVs to make up one-fifth'|' 5:26am BST China targets 35 million vehicle sales by 2025, NEVs to make up one-fifth FILE PHOTO - An employee checks newly-assembled electric cars to be exported to South America at an electric vehicle factory in Zouping county, Shandong province September 24, 2013. REUTERS/China Daily BEIJING/SHANGHAI China is targeting 35 million vehicle sales by 2025 and wants new energy vehicles (NEVs) to make up at least one-fifth of that total, the industry ministry said on Tuesday. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in a market "road map" that China''s urbanization drive and the overseas expansion of its automakers would help drive annual vehicle sales up around 25 percent from last year''s total. Automakers in China, the world''s largest automobile market with sales of 28 million vehicles in 2016, are increasingly pushing into electric and hybrid vehicles to meet stringent new government quotas. Sales of new energy vehicles should reach 2 million by 2020 and account for more than 20 percent of total vehicle production and sales by 2025, the ministry said. That implied annual NEV sales of over 7 million within the next decade. Green energy car sales have risen dramatically on the back of government policies, but still represented less than 2 percent of China''s overall auto market last year. The government body also said it would push to create local champions in the industry who would be increasingly competitive with overseas rivals in China as well as in overseas markets. "The quality of Chinese brand vehicles has clearly risen, while brand recognition, reputation and global influence are much stronger," the MIIT said. "By 2025, we should have some Chinese vehicle brands that are in the global Top 10 by sales." China''s domestic automakers, including SAIC and Geely Automobile Holdings Co ( 0175.HK ), are already challenging better-known global rivals with new models and marketing strategies. The ministry added that Chinese carmakers would also look to increase exports to developed nations over the next decade, and improve battery technology for electric vehicles. (Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk and Adam Jourdan in SHANGHAI; Editing by Randy Fabi)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-autos-electric-idUKKBN17R07A'|'2017-04-25T12:26:00.000+03:00' +'11641d2d451a683933c0609ddd17795a40a96610'|'Greek debt must be sustainable for IMF to join bailout - Lagarde'|'BERLIN The International Monetary Fund will not take part in a bailout programme for Greece if it deems the country''s debt is unsustainable, the international lender''s chief Christine Lagarde said in an interview published on Tuesday.Greece needs to implement reforms agreed by euro zone finance ministers earlier this month to secure a new loan under its 86 billion-euro ($91.58 billion) bailout programme, the third since 2010.The loan is needed to pay debt due in July, but talks continue and the IMF has not yet decided whether to join the bailout. The fund''s participation is seen as a condition for Germany to unblock new funds to Greece."If Greek debts are not sustainable based on IMF rules and reasonable parameters, we will not take part in the programme," Lagarde told German newspaper Die Welt when asked if the IMF would take part in the plan if Greek debt is not restructured.($1 = 0.9391 euros)(Reporting by Joseph Nasr and Paul Carrel)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/eurozone-greece-bailout-imf-idINKBN17K0RG'|'2017-04-18T06:21:00.000+03:00' +'0f364b96a108ac56fe58b552f3a07be0a4843683'|'Automakers want California to revise Volkswagen charging station plan'|'U.S. 1:43pm EDT Automakers want California to revise Volkswagen charging station plan A U.S. flag flutters in the wind above a Volkswagen dealership in California, U.S. May 2, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo By David Shepardson - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Major automakers and other groups are raising objections to the way Volkswagen AG ( VOWG_p.DE ) wants to spend $2 billion on electric vehicle infrastructure and projects, as part of the German automaker''s atonement for diesel emissions cheating. Volkswagen plans to install hundreds of EV charging stations nationwide as part of the 10-year plan. About $800 million of the total will be spent in California as part of a settlement with the government after the German automaker admitted to secretly installing cheating software in 580,000 diesel vehicles allowing them to emit excess pollution. The California Air Resources Board is considering whether to approve the $200 million spending plan for the first 30 months and is reviewing the 120 comments submitted, said spokesman Dave Clegern. Automakers object to the proposed locations of some charging stations in areas that already have many electric vehicles and have concerns about competitive advantages VW could get from the program. An environmental group said more of the stations should be built in low-income areas. Also, Toyota Motor Corp, Honda Motor Co and Hyundai Motor Co wrote a joint letter urging California to require Volkswagen to spend a "significant portion" of the money on hydrogen fuel cell fueling stations, saying the current commitment by California to get 100 such stations in place by 2020 is "not on track." In its initial California spending plan, Volkswagen wants to allocate $120 million to build more than 400 highway and community EV charging stations by 2019 in high-traffic areas. Several automakers said in their comments that they would prefer that the new charging stations be installed instead in areas that have little electric vehicle traffic. Ford Motor Co said it "has reservations about having a key electrification driver dependent on and ultimately controlled by one automotive competitor." Ford added VW should target areas where "demonstrated market interest does not already exist." BMW AG said Volkswagen "should not be afforded an implicit comparative advantage through its ability to control day-to-day operations of consumer charging events" such as waiting times, pricing and billing. Under the agreement with California and the Justice Department, funds spent on education and outreach must be brand-neutral and cannot feature Volkswagen vehicles. Charging stations must be accessible to all vehicles. The three automakers who want Volkswagen to spend more on building hydrogen fueling stations are trying to sell fuel cell vehicles. Volkswagen declined to comment on the automaker letters, but said its goal is to "make it easy for as many (zero emission vehicle) drivers as possible to enjoy the collective charging networks available." The Sierra Club in a letter to California urged VW to "rethink its infrastructure proposal to include more investments in community-based charging in disadvantaged communities." The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this month approved VW''s initial $300 million spending plan for EV projects outside California through 2019, including having 450 charging stations in place by then. VW will also launch a $44 million "Green City" initiative to pilot future concepts. It expects the city to be Sacramento. In December, Volkswagen agreed to add three additional electric vehicle models in California by 2020 and must sell an average of 5,000 electric vehicles annually through 2025 in the state. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by David Gregorio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-automakers-idUSKBN17S2HL'|'2017-04-27T01:37:00.000+03:00' +'ca40687cce96b2a35a1970519a775e8e12772f94'|'Boardroom excess? British companies stick with bonus plans despite criticism'|'Company News 16am EDT Boardroom excess? British companies stick with bonus plans despite criticism * Pressure grows to ditch long-term incentive plans * Most firms have renewed plans for three years * Some investors cautious on blanket ban By Simon Jessop LONDON, April 13 Pressure on British companies to ditch a common performance-related bonus scheme blamed for generating excessive executive pay has not stopped many firms from planning to stick with such schemes for another three years, a Reuters analysis shows. In theory so-called long-term incentive plans (LTIPs) aim to legitimately encourage management success in boosting shareholder returns. Yet a series of corporate scandals and lucrative payouts has made them a target for criticism. Lawmakers in Britain last week recommended LTIPs be phased out from 2018, while Norway''s sovereign wealth fund, the world''s biggest, wants them scrapped. The British government has also launched a review of corporate governance including incentive plans. Exemplifying LTIP generosity, advertising company WPP paid Chief Executive Martin Sorrell more than 70 million pounds ($88 million) for 2015, more than 60 million of which came through an incentive scheme - a payout that a third of WPP shareholders declined to support. However, most top companies have retained LTIPs as part of executive pay when seeking investor approval for a three-yearly remuneration policy at shareholder meetings. Analysis by Reuters of company annual reports and data from governance advisory firm Manifest shows 59 members of the FTSE 100 blue-chip stock index recently updated their remuneration policy or plan to soon, of which 56 currently use or plan to continue using LTIPs. "There (is) no reason why LTIPs should be used almost universally across the FTSE 100," Luke Hildyard, policy lead for stewardship and governance at trade body the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, said. "We would welcome more companies moving to simpler, smaller pay packages, perhaps involving a basic salary and a long-term share award," Hildyard said, adding the current system acted to drive ever-higher pay awards. Companies use a range of data to calculate the payouts, with many referencing the firm''s share price. The process, opponents say, can be complex, overly generous, and can potentially incentivise actions detrimental to the long-term interests of a company. There is also evidence their overall economic benefits are limited. A study by Lancaster University Management School, looking at Britain''s 350 biggest listed companies, found CEO pay had risen an average 82 percent in real terms between 2003 and 2014/15, but economic return on invested capital was up less than 1 percent. SIMPLER STRUCTURE Asset management industry body the Investment Association said too much time is spent discussing pay with companies, and a simpler structure would free up time to engage on other important issues. As the government considers whether to implement the recommendations by parliament''s Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) committee, some cautioned a blanket ban was equally problematic. "We don''t think there should be a one-size-fits-all approach ... companies should be able to choose the right tools for the job," said Sarah Wilson, chief executive at Manifest, which advises funds on how to vote on corporate decisions. The head of governance at a leading British asset manager said most LTIPs worked well. "In the vast majority of cases, we''ll vote in favour of them because we''ve analysed them in detail and think they''re based on stretching targets that reflect the company''s strategy ... there are exceptions, but you deal with them on a case-by-case basis." Ashley Hamilton Claxton, corporate governance manager at Royal London Asset Management, said she was willing to consider alternative bonus models but a phasing out of LTIPs from 2018 would be challenging. Were the government to rule out LTIPs, Manifest''s Wilson said many firms would likely use share options, with bonuses paid in shares with a long-term lock-in period. "Much of it will depend on the tax implications," Wilson said. "Some investors like LTIPs because there are performance conditions associated with them so the BEIS committee''s view isn''t necessarily universally approved." Yet the key basis of LTIPs remains contentious. "The idea of tying a CEO''s pay to the share price is flawed," said Stefan Stern, director of the High Pay Centre pressure group. "Share prices move for all sorts of reasons completely beyond the control of one human being or the board." ($1 = 0.7973 pounds) (Editing by David Holmes)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-companies-pay-idUSL5N1HF05M'|'2017-04-13T18:16:00.000+03:00' +'738bf24395f64988d66b767659334ca0c3981efb'|'Staying the course, Duterte looks for the next best Philippine central bank chief'|'Business News - Wed Apr 12, 2017 - 12:13am BST Staying the course, Duterte looks for the next best Philippine central bank chief A logo of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of the Philippines) is seen at their main building in Manila, Philippines March 23, 2016. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco/File Photo By Karen Lema - MANILA MANILA Whoever is picked as the next Philippine central bank governor, it will be President Rodrigo Duterte''s second choice. Duterte is expected to announce as early as this month a new chief of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), after failing to get the much praised current governor, Amando Tetangco, to stay on for an unprecedented third term. The president is seen favouring someone who will continue Tetangco''s monetary policies and reforms that have kept the over $300 billion economy humming for years. And the four names widely floated as potential successors - two deputy central bank governors and two veteran bankers - were expected to do just that. The changing of the guard comes amid rising inflation, higher global interest rates and protectionism that could affect a key economic lifeline - the millions of Filipinos working abroad who send billions of dollars home. "We are in an important juncture. While overheating risks seem manageable for now...the BSP needs to ensure that stability will be maintained in the longer run," said Gundy Cahyadi, an economist at DBS, who believes the central bank will hike interest rates in May for the first time in 2-1/2 years. Duterte, who delegates economic management to his technocrats, has said he will "largely" listen to Finance Minister Carlos Dominguez and other political leaders when choosing Tetangco''s replacement. The firebrand leader, who has targeted 8 percent economic growth in the medium term, will also replace three other outgoing members of the monetary board, giving him a free hand in choosing a majority for the seven-member policy-making committee. "This is probably the most important appointment President Duterte will make," Dominguez, who is leading the selection process, told Reuters late last month. MORE THAN QUALIFIED The main names being floated as possible successors were BSP deputy governors Diwa Guinigundo and Nestor Espenilla, former trade secretary Peter Favila, and East West Banking Corp ( EW.PS ) Chief Executive Antonio Moncupa. All the candidates are considered more than qualified to run the central bank, and wouldn''t radically alter Tetangco''s policies when he steps down in July, several top bank executives told Reuters. "The policies put forward by Governor Tetangco and his team are lasting legacies," said an official at one of the Philippines'' top lenders. "They are good policies that any incoming governor would benefit from. For us, one of the things we''re hoping for is continuity," said the official, who requested not to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue. Without resorting to extreme policy measures, Tetangco has significantly brought down inflation, shored up foreign exchange reserves, and steered the economy through the 2008 global financial crisis, with the Philippines among the few Asian nations to have avoided recession. It was under his watch when Manila''s long history of junk-debt status ended. Fitch, S&P and Moody''s awarded the country with investment-grade status in 2013, owing to a strong external profile, low inflation and a shrinking budget deficit. Under Philippine law, Tetangco can only serve two six-year terms. He told Reuters in January, he preferred "someone with central banking background" to succeed him. "The current strength of the economy owes much to the prudent policy path struck by Governor Tetangco and his team," said Frederic Neumann, co-head of Asian Economics Research at HSBC. "In the coming years, the Philippines faces some tough macroeconomic challenges, including maintaining exchange rate stability amid a falling current account surplus and preserving price stability amid surging demand." (Additional reporting by Neil Jerome Morales and Erik dela Cruz; Editing by Randy Fabi)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-philippines-cenbank-idUKKBN17D2U3'|'2017-04-12T07:13:00.000+03:00' +'5fb5eb25972d92f900edbdbfc4cf387f3fd13d00'|'BRIEF-Ocean Rig announces over 75 pct support for restructuring agreement'|' 15am EDT BRIEF-Ocean Rig announces over 75 pct support for restructuring agreement April 5 Ocean Rig Udw Inc- * Ocean Rig announces over 75% support for restructuring agreement from holders of the company''s consolidated indebtedness * Ocean Rig -has sufficient support from supporting creditors in order to implement restructuring of co, dov and dfh as contemplated by terms of rsa Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-ocean-rig-announces-over-75-pct-su-idUSASB0B8N9'|'2017-04-05T21:15:00.000+03:00' +'584cc30f562491ea683e507c9fe41dc98731b8c8'|'Brazil corruption probe will not derail pension vote - minister'|'BRASILIA A corruption investigation into dozens of senior lawmakers and a third of Brazilian President Michel Temer''s cabinet will not affect a key pension reform vote in Congress, Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles told Reuters on Wednesday.In a phone interview, Meirelles said he continues to expect the reform to be approved in the first half of the year, but acknowledged that a vote in August would not be a problem.(Reporting by Marcela Ayres; Writing by Alonso Soto; Editing by Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/brazil-corruption-pension-idINKBN17E2NA'|'2017-04-12T18:01:00.000+03:00' +'a9512aa3a9a94f4b4da05d83d74c8966cbb0467e'|'IMF shifts from dismal to pessimistic, but has a sharper message about inequality - Greg Jericho'|'T he latest IMF world economic outlook released on Tuesday is the most positive for years, but it also highlights the continued risks from nationalistic and protectionist policies and the impact of policies and technology changes that reduce the share of income going to workers.For the past eight or nine years, the IMF world economic outlook has been pretty soul crushing. Dismal doesnt begin to convey the mood. Consider that the titles for the outlook have been such joyous reads as Financial Stress, Downturns, and Recoveries , Crisis and Recovery , Slowing Growth, Rising Risks , Legacies, Clouds, Uncertainties and the one from April last year, Too Slow for Too Long . So it is with some relief to see a bit of positivity infect the IMF. The most recent update, is titled, Gaining Momentum? Malcolm Turnbull''s myth of ''middle Australia'' ignores both gender and reality - Greg Jericho Read more The question mark of course lets us know that the folk at the IMF remain the sober pessimistic economists we know and love and the blog post accompanying the report is titled Gaining Momentum For Now .But at least they do think things are on the improve even if only for a while.In October last year the IMF was predicting Australias GDP growing in 2017 by just 2.7% theyve now increased that to 3.1% the most optimistic theyve been since 2012.They are also more positive about growth in China, the US and very much so in the UK, where the worries of last year about the immediate impact of the Brexit have been pushed out a few years:Across the world, the prediction is for global GDP growth of 3.5% this year up from the prediction of 3.4% made last October. Most of the improvement is coming from a better outlook for advanced economies especially in the Euro area:But the outlook beyond this year rather suggests that the answer to the IMF question about gathering momentum is nope.The growth for 2018 is largely unchanged, except for the UK where there has been a big downgrade and the US, which has a big upgrade. The downgrade for the UK is due to the effects of Brexit, where the IMF predicts diminished medium-term growth prospects because of the expected increase in barriers to trade and migration.And, crucially, the improvement in 2018 in the US is based on the assumption of a sizable fiscal stimulus in the United States, reflecting the anticipated changes in US federal government tax policy.Given the difficulty Donald Trump apparently has doing anything other than finding his way to a golf course, and his utter incompetence in passing any major legislative measures, that is a very big assumption:Looking out to 2022 (which is so far off, that admittedly it is of limited worth), the IMF sees Australias growth rarely going above the long-term average of 3%:The IMF however does predict the unemployment rate will fall below 5% a much more optimistic outlook than it has had for the past two years:Mostly this increased optimism is because Australia exports iron ore, coal and gas. The IMF suggests that our economy will improve along with similar commodity-exporting nations like Norway and Canada. But this is based on the proviso that monetary policy remains accommodative (ie interest rates stay low) and there are supportive fiscal policies or infrastructure investment and less drag from declining investment in the commodity sector.The IMFs outlook not only examined economic growth, it also researched the impact of economic policies and technological changes that have reduced the share of national income going to labour.The IMF found that over the past 25 years, the labour share of income has declined in 29 of the largest 50 economies:One measure of the labour share of income is the real unit cost of labour. In Australia there were substantial falls of this measure from 1999 until the GFC:The IMF suggests that across most nations, technological advancement is the main reason for the falls. It also found that the decline in share of income going to labour caused by technology and global integration has been particularly sharp for middle-skilled labour with the biggest falls occurring in manufacturing.But while falling real unit labour costs are trumpeted by businesses as crucial for maintaining Australias competitiveness, the IMF found that there was a strong correlation between falling shares of income going to labour and increasing inequality.Looking at labour shares and Gini coefficients across advanced economies since 1961, the IMF found a clear link between the two economies with lower shares of income going to labour were more likely to have higher levels of inequality:But crucially the IMF study also found that the differences were not just across different countries, but within countries. They found that as the labour share of income fell within countries, the level of inequality was also likely to rise:These results fit nicely with a new study published this week that found taxation reforms since the mid-1980s in Australia, New Zealand and Norway did nothing to improve economic growth, and instead just increased inequality especially with more of the nations incomes going to the richest 1%:The studys authors conclude, these tax reforms, which lowered the top tax rate and made the system less progressive, did not increase the size of the cake, but did provide the wealthiest with a bigger share.Does earning $180,000 make you rich? Let''s not pretend about who''s rich and who''s poor - Greg Jericho Read more In the period ahead, where the IMF, despite its muted optimism still predicts below average economic growth, the report highlights the importance of governments focusing on inequality. As the IMF outlook notes, inequality can fuel social tension, and recent research suggests that it can also harm economic growth.Governments ignore inequality at their peril not only because of the harm it will do to their own election prospects, but also the prospects to the economy. Topics Global economy Grogonomics Business (Australia) Australian economy International Monetary Fund (IMF) Economics Equality comment '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/economics/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2017/apr/20/imf-shifts-from-dismal-to-pessimistic-but-has-a-sharper-message-about-inequality'|'2017-04-20T04:00:00.000+03:00' +'aebc2b481d7d76038325e0be3fff00def824195e'|'Foxconn asks for SoftBank cooperation in bid for Toshiba chip unit: Nikkei'|'TOKYO Taiwan''s Foxconn has asked for SoftBank Group''s cooperation in its bid for Toshiba Corp''s prized memory chip unit, the Nikkei business daily reported on Friday.Foxconn, known formally as Hon Hai Precision Industry, is expected to ask SoftBank for help in smoothing the way with Japanese banks, the report said.Foxconn may also team up with Apple Inc for the bid, the report said, following a similar report by public broadcaster NHK earlier.(Reporting by Junko Fujita and Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-softbank-group-idINKBN17G0CS'|'2017-04-14T03:41:00.000+03:00' +'d702aefdf99b6d0401f1c40126e8cc1f0685e8ff'|'Brazil''s Oi says customer complaints fell up to 56 pct in Jan-Feb'|' 10:56am EDT Brazil''s Oi says customer complaints fell up to 56 pct in Jan-Feb SAO PAULO, April 12 Oi SA saw complaints from phone customers fall as much as 56 percent in the first two months of 2017, a senior executive told journalists on Wednesday, as the Brazil''s No. 4 wireless carrier tries to win back client loyalty. Based on several metrics, complaints filed to consumer advocate agencies fell between one-third and over half between January and February from a year earlier, said Bernardo Winik, Oi''s head of retail. (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/oi-sa-restructuring-complaints-idUSE6N1FG026'|'2017-04-12T22:56:00.000+03:00' +'fce5b29b4553a3d512005d5641947cce4a4bb98e'|'UPDATE 1-Gates backs Big Pharma push to wipe out tropical diseases'|'Company News 51am EDT UPDATE 1-Gates backs Big Pharma push to wipe out tropical diseases * Bill Gates, UK, Belgium commit funds to tackle tropical diseases * Diseases of the poor disfigure, disable and sometimes kill * World Bank''s Jim Kim calls them "diseases of neglected people" * Jimmy Carter says "we are close to wiping out" Guinea worm (Recasts with Gates, Carter quotes, pledges from WHO meeting) By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA, April 19 The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Western countries and drug companies pledged fresh support on Wednesday to wipe out diseases that blind, disable and disfigure millions of poor in tropical areas each year and urged new donors to join the fight. Some 1.5 billion people, mainly in Asia, Africa and Latin America, are infected with one of 18 neglected tropical diseases known as NTDs, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said. One billion of them are receiving treatment, half of them children. "The best thing with these diseases is not to debate whether they are neglected or not, but to proceed to make them history," Bill Gates told a global partners'' meeting held at WHO. "We need a broader, deeper bench of investors... so that by 2030 we can achieve the goal of reaching 90 percent of the people who need treatment. I know this is achievable." Gates, who has supported the initiative for over a decade with $1 billion, pledged $335 million over the next 4 years, including $42 million to continue efforts to wipe out Guinea-worm disease. The crippling disease, transmitted by contaminated water, can lead to a 100 cm long (40-inch) worm growing in the body. "Guinea worm is one of our great success stories, even though we''re not absolutely at zero, we are down to very small numbers. Thirty years ago over 3 million people in over 20 countries were afflicted," Gates said. Only 25 cases of Guinea-worm disease were reported in six countries last year, "putting eradication within reach", the WHO says. The Carter Center, set up by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, has worked for more than 20 years to wipe it out. "We are close to finishing off this debilitating disease," Carter said, speaking by video from Atlanta, Georgia. "We cannot be complacent, we must be creative and persistent. The Carter Center will not give up until the last Guinea worm is gone." Dengue, onchocerciasis (river blindness), and sleeping sickness are among those carried by mosquitoes or flies that are spreading from rural areas to urban slums, the WHO warned. "NTDs are really the diseases of neglected people, they are diseases of poverty and inequality that affect the most vulnerable among us," World Bank President Jim Kim said by video. "Now we have the largest drug donation programme in history with 1.5 billion treatments in 2015 alone," he said. GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis and Sanofi are among major donors, WHO says. Merck said on Tuesday it was developing a children''s formula of its drug to treat schistosomiasis, a parasitic worm disease which kills 280,000 a year in Africa. Britain''s Minister of State for International Development, Lord Bates, said the UK government was committing an additional 250 million pounds ($321.35 million) to NTD programmes. Belgium''s deputy prime minister Alexander de Croo pledged 25 million euros ($26.81 million) through 2025 to eradicate African sleeping sickness. "Today the stars are aligned to eradicate it completely," de Croo told the talks. "The pay-off is huge". ($1 = 0.7780 pounds)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/health-tropical-who-idUSL8N1HR2LL'|'2017-04-19T20:51:00.000+03:00' +'ba697f650f3314c0b1301a37dbec7e4cd2b1d497'|'The gig economy ''slashies'' risk burnout - Guardian Small Business Network'|'I n a world of Uber and Deliveroo, the gig economy is thriving it is estimated 1.3 million people are now working two jobs or more. Such workers are sometimes called slashies think barista/blogger, charity worker/Uber driver or SEO manager/delivery biker.Many in this category can be classed as freelancers, a group that has increased in number by 43% in less than a decade, according to a recent survey [pdf] by IPSE. The group is diverse: almost half are aged between 40 and 59 and 20% are over the age of 60. One in seven freelancers is also a working mother.Of course, many work this way out of necessity when, for instance, they cannot secure a full-time job with a sufficient income to support a family. But others do it by choice. So, why do they opt for this seemingly unstable existence? Richard McColl, 40, is a British, Colombia-based hotelier, foreign correspondent, author, PhD student and travel guide. I love the pressure of being freelance, he says. McColl works from home, as does his wife, and he enjoys being able to see his two-year-old son during the day.Facebook Twitter Pinterest McColl with his son. Photograph: Richard McColl However, McColl admits his erratic work schedule can be bad for his health, and stress levels. This year I have been run off my feet giving talks about the political situation in Colombia, working on my PhD, managing the hotel and with more freelance work than ever, he says. At times like this, he sleeps and eats poorly.There is also a strain on family life. My job often takes me away from home, he says. I think [my wife would sometimes] rather that I had a 9 to 5 ... but its what I do.With his family in mind, last year McColl took a full-time job as a creative strategist for the city of Bogot. He lasted 12 days. It ended over political differences with the administration, but I dont doubt that if Id lasted, I would have been yearning to get back to the freelance world, he says. Regular pay would be nice, though.For McColl, the upsides of having several jobs outweigh the stress. But is working two or more jobs sustainable long-term? Jonathan Taylor, senior psychologist at Pearn Kandola , says it ultimately comes down to why someone does it. Feeling that you have to for financial reasons is very different to supplementing your income with a second job to allow you to pursue your passion. If its a deliberate choice, it can be liberating ... A sense of control is central to psychological wellbeing.For Ruth Thomson, a mother of two, having several jobs allows her to fulfil different interests. She is a learning designer (designing and creating online training content) for Digital Mums , digital marketing adviser for The Soap Co , and founder of Social Social . She says: I dont want to be defined by a single job and would find a hierarchical work structure restrictive. Its unlikely a traditional job would give me the flexibility and the same freedom to learn, innovate and explore.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ruth Thompson. But even those energised by a slashie lifestyle need to factor in downtime. You could be clocking up more hours than a full-time worker. The current Working Time Regulations stipulate that we should work no longer than 48 hours a week and have a 20-minute break every six hours.If both [or all] roles demand a high pace and intensity of work, this can take its toll, says Taylor. While the general pace of living has increased significantly over the last 20 years, our bodies have not were simply not designed to work consistently, at high intensity for long periods of time.Taylor points out that while the importance of sleep is long recognised, psychologists are increasingly interested in the role of recovery in waking hours. He advises taking time to detach from work by exercising or pursuing interests outside of work. This is key to maintaining your ability to perform effectively under pressure.While Omar Mohamed, a charity worker and Uber driver from London, doesnt tend to exceed 48 hours of work a week, his hours can be erratic. He works three days a week in his paid charity role at the Haringey Somali Community Centre and around three nights a week as a cab driver. Mohamed finds his typical 40-hour week manageable. If Im working till 5am, I sleep in till 11am or 12pm the next day, he says. While many might find this routine disrupts their body clock, Mohamed says it suits him. He chooses not to work in the evening if hes feeling tired. It can be hard at times, but I like the flexibility and the extra money, he adds. Mohamed, who is separated from his wife, is also a father of young children. However, they live with his parents.Self-employed workers contend with particular challenges, says Adam Waters, senior policy adviser for IPSE. Freelance income isnt always regular or consistent. And, alongside professional duties, the self-employed have responsibility for running their own business. This means keeping accounts in order, searching for new business, and making sure you stay up-to-date with the law. No one would argue that being self-employed isnt hard work, but it can be very rewarding.Emma Bartlett, a partner at Charles Russell Speechlys law firm, says the tax on those with several incomes can be tricky to navigate. If you have more than one employed position, the second employer will not be able to apply your personal allowance (11,500 untaxed) so it might feel like a harsher rate of tax is being applied to your second job, she says. You also have no workplace protection as a self-employed person. In particular, minimum-wage protection and working-time rights, such as holiday pay or rest breaks.However, between self-employment and employment, a worker category has emerged. Slashie workers should be aware which definition fits each of their roles. A self-employed person is someone who doesnt fit into the worker category, says Bartlett. It will be a person who is genuinely in business on their own account; a person providing professional or business services to their clients or customers. A worker has some limited rights, adds Bartlett. These include the right to the minimum national wage, protection from discrimination, working-time rights (eg holiday pay, rest breaks), health and safety, and statutory sick pay. As the slashie lifestyle is still relatively new, time will better tell how it affects health and wellbeing. But for those who are slashies by choice, Taylor offers some advice: Regularly check in with yourself and why you are working the way you are. Is it still for the right reasons?Sign up to become a member of the Guardian Small Business Network here for more advice, insight and best practice direct to your inbox. Topics Accessing expertise Small business Entrepreneurs Work & careers Gig economy features '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/apr/18/gig-economy-slashies-risk-burnout-career-planning'|'2017-04-18T15:00:00.000+03:00' +'addf8e4196b40d53a2bee771d6776369f0b73ffd'|'MTU Aero Engines beats forecasts thanks to maintenance division'|'Market News - Fri Apr 28, 2017 - 2:13am EDT MTU Aero Engines beats forecasts thanks to maintenance division BERLIN, April 28 German aircraft engine maker MTU Aero Engines reported a better than expected 19.6 percent rise in first quarter profit, driven by its business maintaining commercial jet engines. The company, whose customers include planemakers Boeing , Airbus and Bombardier, reported adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of 157 million euros ($170.6 million), against average analyst expectations for 140 million euros. Its commercial maintenance business saw revenues rise 37 percent thanks to demand for services for the V2500 engines that power A320 jets, helping to lift the EBIT margin to 12.4 percent from 12 percent a year ago. It confirmed it expects revenues of 5.1 to 5.2 billion for 2017 and an operating margin stable at around last year''s level of 10.6 percent. French rival Safran earlier this week reported higher then expected first quarter sales, also helped by aerospace services. ($1 = 0.9204 euros) (Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Maria Sheahan) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/mtu-aero-engines-results-idUSFWN1HZ1OM'|'2017-04-28T14:13:00.000+03:00' +'17551d9cf9089a5c58635c752f3f24f03beb9232'|'UPDATE 1-Daimler lifts forecasts as Mercedes'' sales gain traction'|'* Daimler hikes 2017 sales outlook for Mercedes* Daimler raises outlook for Group EBIT* Daimler shares indicated 1.7 pct higher (Adds pre-market shares, Q1 details,)FRANKFURT, April 26 Daimler AG raised it forecasts on Wednesday, predicting a significant rise in operating profits this year after a surge in sales of Mercedes-Benz luxury cars and sports utility vehicles.Daimler said it now expects significant growth in volume sales, revenue and group earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) this year after its first-quarter net profit doubled to 2.8 billion euros ($3.1 billion)."We are very confident for the remainder of the year to achieve our financial as well as our strategic goals," Daimler''s Chief Financial Officer Bodo Uebber said in a statement.Daimler''s share price was set to rise 1.7 percent, according to pre-market indications provided by Lang & Schwartz ahead of the 0700 GMT market opening.In February Daimler had said it expected only slight growth in group EBIT, but record sales of Mercedes passenger cars in the first quarter helped the Stuttgart-based carmaker produce forecast-beating results.In March alone sales of the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class, a volume model for the carmaker, rose by 65 percent and Daimler said on Wednesday it now expected a significant rise in sales of Mercedes-Benz Cars for the full year.Daimler''s group EBIT jumped 87 percent to 4.01 billion euros ($4.25 billion) in the quarter, thanks in part to 690 million euros in one-off gains.EBIT at Mercedes-Benz Cars rose 60 percent to 2.23 billion euros, delivering a return on sales of 9.8 percent after the division reported a 15 percent rise in first-quarter sales.Daimler published key first-quarter earning figures earlier this month, revealing that profits were lifted by the revaluation of a stake in mapping company HERE, as well as by the sale of some real estate and the reversal of an impairment charge on its stake in Chinese carmaker BAIC .A stricter interpretation of EU financial reporting guidelines has forced Daimler to start giving forecasts based on unadjusted numbers, increasing the scope for one-off gains and losses to distort consensus. ($1 = 0.9137 euros) (Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Greg Mahlich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/daimler-results-idINL8N1HY0XR'|'2017-04-26T04:18:00.000+03:00' +'32f4319e2f2273fddcc9a46b8a36e42c7762fcd5'|'Bankers dominate lobbying of Britain''s Brexit ministry'|' 14pm BST Bankers dominate lobbying of Britain''s Brexit ministry By Andrew MacAskill and William James - LONDON LONDON Finance firms have held twice as many meetings with ministers handling Britain''s exit from the European Union as any other sector of the economy, a Reuters analysis shows. The figures show that the finance sector retains an outsized influence despite Prime Minister Theresa May signalling she wants to reduce Britain''s economic dependence on the sector and banks'' complaints that they are having difficulty getting their views across. Britain''s decision to leave the EU sparked one of the most intensive lobbying efforts in recent memory as different sectors fought for government access to help shape the strategy of its most complex negotiations since the end of World War Two. The Department for Exiting the European Union, headed by David Davis, is in charge of prioritising the government''s demands in those negotiations - a process that involves balancing the competing needs of sectors across the economy. A Reuters analysis of recently released government data detailing the Brexit department''s 277 external meetings show 59 instances where one of the department''s four ministers met finance companies in the last six months of 2016. Overall, ministers held meetings with almost 40 sectors ranging from support services to technology, education, infrastructure, charities and agriculture. The finance industry, including banks, insurers and hedge funds, make up about 10 percent of the British economy, but accounted for about a fifth of the department''s meetings, the analysis shows. This excludes round-table meetings where companies from different sectors were present. By comparison, manufacturing industry representatives and firms held about 24 meetings with the government, according to the analysis. Trade unions and the transport sector met the ministry 16 times, the analysis shows. British financial firms launched a frenzy of political lobbying after last year''s vote. They face losing wide-open access to the EU''s $16.5 trillion-a-year single market, raising concerns about whether London can keep its place as one of the top two global financial centres. Alex Runswick, a director at the government transparency group Unlock Democracy, raised concern about the number of finance sector meetings with government, warning that it may show only a fraction of its lobbying power. "What you are seeing is the visible tip of the lobbying iceberg," Runswick said. "We need to know what it is they are lobbying about and ensure it is fair and transparent so other sectors and voters can have their say too." Finance executives said although they have held numerous meetings with ministers, they feel they are still struggling to influence policy. They point to government plans to pull Britain out of the single market despite months of lobbying to retain some form of access. "We are having lots of meetings, but we are finding it much harder to get our viewpoint heard," said one banker, who has held meetings with the government. Bankers were surprised when government ministers told financial executives in the autumn they would not get special treatment in the Brexit negotiations. The Department for Exiting the European Union said in a statement that it has spent the last nine months understanding the challenges and opportunities from Brexit and will seek a deal that works for all areas of the British economy. Most of the previous five British governments going back to Margaret Thatcher''s put financial services at the centre of their plans to grow Britain''s economy. But May''s government has signalled she wants some rebalancing of the economy away from financial services. May met finance executives individually twice in the last six months of last year - a meeting with Morgan Stanley, and another with Wall Street executives in New York, records show. She met journalists 17 times and charities four times, the analysis shows. May also held two dinners with a range of business executives, including bankers from Barclays and Goldman Sachs, the records show. Since coming to office in July 2016 after the vote to leave the EU, May has made clear her political priority is to re-engage with many working class voters whose backing for Brexit stemmed partly from lingering resentment of hardship caused by the 2007-2009 financial crisis. To view graphic on Brexit lobbying, click on tmsnrt.rs/2puK4ul (Editing by Adrian Croft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-banks-lobbying-idUKKBN17K1F2'|'2017-04-18T20:14:00.000+03:00' +'86e45c82f1b0c2cf4e1ad0592e3547967e5eb93e'|'JPMorgan CEO calls for regulatory changes in shareholder letter'|'Business 17pm BST JPMorgan CEO calls for regulatory changes in shareholder letter JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon speaks at an event at JP Morgan''s corporate centre in Bournemouth, southern Britain, June 3, 2016. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez/File Photo By David Henry and Dan Burns - NEW YORK NEW YORK JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ) Chief Executive Jamie Dimon devoted one-third of his annual shareholder letter to arguments for changing regulations, particularly those on bank capital and liquidity, as well as home mortgage loan financing. Current regulations are inconsistent and have left banks with "too much capital," some of which could be used to "finance the economy without sacrificing safety," Dimon said in the 17,349-word letter released on Tuesday. He also warned that anti-trade policies could be disruptive and geopolitical risks are in a "heightened state." Dimon, 61, has entered his twelfth year as CEO. He considers the annual letter to be among his most important public statements about JPMorgan, as well as public policy. It is widely read because the bank is one of the most profitable and came out of the financial crisis stronger than competitors. This year, Dimon argued that the idea of banks being "too big to fail" and therefore requiring bailouts during times of stress, is a problem that "has been solved." He said "taxpayers will not pay if a bank fails" because of measures enacted since the crisis nearly a decade ago. Dimon''s comments on bank regulation come at a time of possible flux in rules and laws under a new White House and Congress. In addition, the U.S. Federal Reserve governor who has been overseeing regulation, including bank capital stress tests, is leaving his post on Wednesday and a replacement has yet to be proposed by President Donald Trump. The way the Fed conducts stress tests should be clearer and more consistent, Dimon said. He also said home mortgage rules imposed since the crisis have raised costs for consumers and made it less likely that those with weak credit histories will get loans. "While some of the rules are beneficial, many were hastily developed," he wrote. Dimon said the geopolitical risk environment is in a "heightened state" with the United Kingdom''s pending withdrawal from the European Union and a growing anti-globalization sentiment. He said he hopes Britain''s exit will prompt the EU to fix issues it has with immigration, bureaucracy and restrictive labour laws. "Our fear, however, is that it could instead result in political unrest that would force the EU to split apart," which, he wrote, "could have devastating economic and political effects." Dimon also warned that "poorly conceived" trade policies could be very disruptive, especially with regard to two key trading partners, Mexico and China. (Reporting by David Henry and Dan Burns in New York; editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Dan Grebler) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-jpmorgan-dimon-letter-idUKKBN17625L'|'2017-04-05T02:17:00.000+03:00' +'cce633c562abde3709ebb2fcf75ccf570fb3c66e'|'Xi stamp of approval fuels frenzied hopes for new China economic zone'|' 40am BST Xi stamp of approval fuels frenzied hopes for new China economic zone left right A woman works at Tongfa shoe factory in Santai town of Anxin county, one part of the new special economic zone Xiong''an New Area, Hebei province, China, April 6, 2017. Picture taken on April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee 1/16 left right A woman works at Tongfa shoe factory in Santai town of Anxin county, one part of the new special economic zone Xiong''an New Area, Hebei province, China, April 6, 2017. Picture taken on April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee 2/16 left right A man stands next to tombs in the field on the outskirts of Rongcheng county, one part of the new special economic zone Xiong''an New Area, Hebei province, China, April 6, 2017. Picture taken on April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee 3/16 left right A worker packs pipelines onto a truck at a local plastic pipe factory in Donghegang village on the outskirts of Xiongxian county, one part of the new special economic zone Xiong''an New Area, Hebei province, China, April 6, 2017. Picture take on April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee 4/16 left right A woman is carried by a motor tricycle on a main road in Xiongxian county, one part of the new special economic zone Xiong''an New Area, Hebei province, China, April 6, 2017. Picture taken on April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee 5/16 left right A woman and a girl walk toward the government building of Xiongxian county, one part of the new special economic zone Xiong''an New Area, Hebei province, China, April 6, 2017. Picture taken on April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee 6/16 left right A local villager drives a vehicle carrying building materials in Donghegang village on the outskirts of Xiongxian county, one part of the new special economic zone Xiong''an New Area, Hebei province, China, April 6, 2017. Picture taken on April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee 7/16 left right A local villager is pictured on the back of a vehicle in Donghegang village on the outskirts of Xiongxian county, one part of the new special economic zone Xiong''an New Area, Hebei province, China, April 6, 2017. Picture taken on April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee 8/16 left right A woman works at Tongfa shoe factory in Santai town of Anxin county, one part of the new special economic zone Xiong''an New Area, Hebei province, China, April 6, 2017. Picture taken on April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee 9/16 left right A banner supporting the government''s decision of banning new property sales is placed outside a closed sales office of a property in Xiongxian county, one part of the new special economic zone Xiong''an New Area, Hebei province, China, April 6, 2017. Picture taken on April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee 10/16 left right Zhao Xiaodong, a local business owner of Jitong plastic pipe factory, is pictured at his villa in Donghegang village on the outskirts of Xiongxian county, one part of the new special economic zone Xiong''an New Area, Hebei province, China, April 6, 2017. Picture taken on April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee 11/16 left right A banner warning illegal land occupancy is placed on a wall in Santai town of Anxin county, one part of the new special economic zone Xiong''an New Area, Hebei province, China, April 6, 2017. Picture taken on April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee 12/16 left right Zhao Xiaodong, a local business owner of Jitong plastic pipe factory, is pictured at his villa in Donghegang village on the outskirts of Xiongxian county, one part of the new special economic zone Xiong''an New Area, Hebei province, China, April 6, 2017. Picture taken on April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee 13/16 left right Local 17-year-old Liu Zhipeng (C) speaks to Reuters about his idea for the new special economic zone in Anxin county, one part of the new special economic zone Xiong''an New Area, Hebei province, China, April 6, 2017. Picture taken on April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee 14/16 left right Local 17-year-old Liu Zhipeng drives a motor tricycle carrying his friends on a main road in Anxin county, one part of the new special economic zone Xiong''an New Area, Hebei province, China, April 6, 2017. Picture taken on April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee 15/16 left right A woman works at Tongfa shoe factory in Santai town of Anxin county, one part of the new special economic zone Xiong''an New Area, Hebei province, China, April 6, 2017. Picture taken on April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee 16/16 By Yawen Chen and Elias Glenn - XIONGXIAN, China/BEIJING XIONGXIAN, China/BEIJING Like many residents of Xiongxian county, a polluted corner of Hebei province, 17-year-old Liu Zipeng has been giddy with excitement since China announced plans this month for a vast new economic zone backed by President Xi Jinping himself. "I am so happy - I don''t need to move to Beijing or worry about getting a wife anymore," Liu said with a laugh. Such are the hopes for the area, about 100 km (60 miles) southwest of Beijing, that authorities quickly banned property sales to quash a speculative frenzy. While China has set high expectations by touting the Xiongan New Area as a successor to zones in Shenzhen and Shanghai that helped make China an economic powerhouse, the force of Xi''s endorsement could help it flourish where other new development areas failed to match the hype. In a sign of Beijing''s intent, Xu Qin, the former mayor and Communist party boss for Shenzhen, was named acting governor of Hebei province on Friday, with analysts saying it is likely he will be tapped to lead development of Xiongan. Once a sleepy fishing village, Shenzhen, bordering Hong Kong, became an economic juggernaut after being declared a special economic zone in 1980. Details for Xiongan, planned eventually to stretch across 2,000 square kilometers, an area almost as big as Tokyo, remain sketchy. It is pitched as an environmentally friendly city housing some of Beijing''s relocated "non-capital functions", with hopes to attract high-tech industries. Nearly 30 large state enterprises including PetroChina ( 601857.SS ) and China Shipbuilding Industry Corp have expressed interest, though no specific relocation plans have been announced. The three counties that make up the area, Xiongxian, Anxin and Rongcheng, are home to about a million people as well as wheat fields, light manufacturing and heavy pollution - endemic in much of Hebei. But unlike Shenzhen and Shanghai''s Pudong, the development of Xiongan is not expected to be accompanied by major economic reforms, and its landlocked setting is a transportation disadvantage. "Natural market forces would probably not have chosen this place. But if the central government backs it with unlimited resources, it could become whatever it wants to be," said Steven McCord, head of research for North China at real estate consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle. The plan fits into a broader regional integration push for the cities of Beijing and Tianjin and Hebei province, dubbed Jing-Jin-Ji, which has been spearheaded by Xi since 2015 to tackle the "big city disease" plaguing Beijing, a crowded and polluted city of 22 million. But Jing-Jin-Ji''s progress has been slower than hoped. "It''s been hard to get traction getting Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei to work together seamlessly," McCord said. Xiongan could be a political and geographical "clean slate" to generate more jobs and economic stimulus for North China, he said. Xi himself visited Anxin county in late February, which only became public when China announced plans for Xiongan on April 1. Morgan Stanley''s base scenario foresees 133 billion yuan ($19.3 billion) in additional fixed asset investment annually over 15 years to build Xiongan, equivalent to just 0.24 percent of China''s 56.2 trillion yuan of nationwide fixed asset investment last year. (To view a graphic on on China''s economic zones, click tmsnrt.rs/2oPQVeV ) MIXED RECORD While the Shenzhen and Shanghai economic zones thrived, some similar schemes in China have fallen short of expectations. Caofeidian, also in Hebei, was promoted by former President Hu Jintao as a new industrial zone in 2008, but development foundered as debt accumulated. Authorities have been trying to give Caofeidian another push to upgrade its industries to become a driver of Jing-Jin-Ji''s integration, but competition among provinces has been a drag on progress. "Caofeidian had central government support, but it was a long way from being a national-level special economic zone. Its importance was definitely not at the same level that Xiongan is seeing now," said He Jun, head of macroeconomic research at Anbound Consulting. "Xiongan''s biggest advantage is that it has strong support from the central government." He remains doubtful that Xiongan will emulate Shanghai or Shenzhen due to its geography and the greater openness of China''s economy now, but the political leadership seems intent on making it succeed. Among the architects of the new project is Xu Kuangdi, the mayor of Shanghai in the late 90s who also heads the advisory committee for Jing-Jin-Ji. The leadership make-up is intended to ensure Xiongan would "escape past failures", said Liu Ying, a researcher at Renmin University''s Chong Yang Institute for Financial Studies. Not everyone in Anxin is cheered by the prospect. An Anxin restaurant owner in her 50s surnamed Liu said she checks social media constantly for updates, as she fears being forced out of the spacious villa built on her farmland. "I don''t think it is necessarily a good thing for me. Our lives are pretty good right now." Down a street next to fields of withered wheat, workers loaded a truck with plastic pipes, a major local industry. "The establishment of the new zone for sure will limit us further as we do pollute the environment to some degree," said Zhao Xiaodong, owner of Jitong Plastic. But most locals are optimistic. "If president Xi thinks it will be the next Shenzhen and Shanghai, then it will be," said Mrs Shi, a shop worker in Xiongxian. ($1 = 6.8998 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Additional reporting by David Stanway; Editing by Tony Munroe and Will Waterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-xiongan-idUKKBN17E0TW'|'2017-04-12T16:23:00.000+03:00' +'9e0f1587ef95a28c78be4ff9571183cb64b4ff50'|'The female factor: Bill OReilly faces allegations of sexual harassment'|'EVEN for Rupert Murdoch and Fox News, no strangers to controversy, the allegations against Bill OReilly present an extreme test. On April 1st the New York Times published an investigative report that described accusations of sexual harassment and other inappropriate behaviour from at least seven women against the presenter. He and the network, the paper said, have paid about $13m to five women since 2002 to settle cases where they alleged such behaviour. Mr OReilly denied the merits of the claims.The news came less than nine months after Roger Ailes, the networks founding boss, stepped down following multiple sexual-harassment claims against him. This week around 50 advertisers left Mr OReillys programme, The OReilly Factor, among them several car brands, including Mercedes-Benz and Toyotas Lexus, as well as GlaxoSmithKline, a drugs company. The National Organisation for Women has called for him to be fired. 20 3 All eyes are on Mr Murdoch, who has been running Fox News himself since he pushed out his friend, Mr Ailes. Mr OReilly has probably been just as valuable to him. Long the most-watched presenter in cable news, his audience has surged higher still since the election of Donald Trump. His show is averaging 4m viewers a night this year (see chart), helping make Fox News the most-watched cable channel in America. Mr Trump this week spoke out in Mr OReillys defence.An advertiser revolt will hurt, but on its own it is unlikely to make Mr OReillys ouster inevitable. Buyers place ads across multiple programmes on a network; many ads will shift to other Fox News shows. Nor is advertising the biggest source of Fox News revenue. SNL Kagan, a research firm, estimates that Fox News will collect more than $900m in advertising revenue this year, but close to double that$1.7bnfrom fees paid by cable and satellite providers to carry the channel to 89m homes. An initial statement from 21st Century Fox, the parent company of Fox News, was supportive of Mr OReilly. The network recently renewed his contract. In a statement, Mr OReilly also stated that he is a vulnerable target of lawsuits seeking to harm him and Fox News.Yet the scandal is probing the limits of Mr OReillys worth. One executive with a big ad-buying agency in New York was at first sceptical of the impact of the scandal when there was no initial concern from clients, but noted a herd effect developing later to leave the programme (though not the network). Whether Mr Murdoch buckles under the pressure may also depend on his potential replacements for Mr OReilly. He has already replaced another departing star, Megyn Kelly (one of Mr Ailess accusers, and a target of Mr Trump), with Tucker Carlson, a conservative commentator who is doing very well.Any decision will involve Mr Murdochs sonsLachlan, a co-executive chairman of the parent company with his father, and James, the CEO. They reportedly played a part in ousting Mr Ailes. But they have said nothing publicly this week and their views remain unclear. Much as the scandal is gauging the worth of Mr OReilly to Fox, it may also be a test of forces within the Murdoch family. Business "The $13m factor"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21720335-around-50-big-advertisers-have-left-oreilly-factor-bill-oreilly-faces-allegations-sexual?fsrc=rss'|'2017-04-06T22:41:00.000+03:00' +'bff4dfdad651a3ada42ed80b154728643d0467e5'|'Burger King owner Restaurant Brands revenue rises 8.9 percent'|' 19pm BST Burger King owner Restaurant Brands revenue rises 8.9 percent FILE PHOTO: The logo of U.S. fast food group Burger King is seen at a restaurant in Bruettisellen, Switzerland October 11, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo Restaurant Brands International Inc ( QSR.TO ) ( QSR.N ), the owner of Burger King and Tim Hortons, reported an 8.9 percent rise in quarterly revenue as it opened more restaurants. The company''s net profit attributable to shareholders was $50.2 million in the first quarter ended March 31, largely unchanged from $50 million a year earlier. Earnings per share was unchanged at 21 cents. Oakville, Ontario-based Restaurant Brand''s total revenue rose to $1 billion (780.36 million pounds) from $918.5 million. (Reporting by Ahmed Farhatha in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-rstrnt-brnd-results-idUKKBN17S1E9'|'2017-04-26T19:19:00.000+03:00' +'f64c72d054c539b1b00d4558632000cfd5141a82'|'Brazil''s Anatel rejects Socit Mondiale appeal on Oi board members'|'SAO PAULO Brazilian telecommunications regulator Anatel on Friday rejected an appeal by Socit Mondiale Fundo de Investimento regarding its nomination of two alternative members to the board of phone company Oi SA ( OIBR3.SA ), upholding its decision in January.In that ruling, Anatel''s directors said that Socit Mondiale could not name the replacements for two independent board members because it would violate a requirement in Oi''s corporate statute.(Reporting by Ana Mano; Writing by Brad Haynes; Editing by James Dalgleish)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-oi-sa-restructuring-idINKBN1722TT'|'2017-03-31T18:14:00.000+03:00' +'30f6ffb3fddf8ae983ad1bedc068a10da6779a21'|'Sweden''s Ericsson faces painful overhaul as it plunges into loss'|'Business News 1:27pm BST Sweden''s Ericsson faces painful overhaul as it plunges into loss A general view of an office of Swedish telecom giant Ericsson is seen in Lund, Sweden, September 18, 2014. REUTERS/Stig-Ake Jonsson/TT News Agency/File Photo By Sophie Sassard and Helena Soderpalm - LONDON/STOCKHOLM LONDON/STOCKHOLM Mobile telecom equipment maker Ericsson ( ERICb.ST ) faces a long and painful overhaul after shrinking markets, tough competition and restructuring costs pushed it to a quarterly operating loss on Tuesday. The Swedish company, which is seeking to reposition the business for growth under new chief executive Borje Ekholm, reported an operating loss of 12.3 billion Swedish crowns (1.09 billion pounds) as previously announced provisions, writedowns and restructuring costs pushed it deep into the red. That compared with a 3.5 billion crown profit in the same period last year and a mean forecast for a 12.0 billion crown loss in a Reuters poll of analysts. Ekholm wants to focus the business on lucrative core networks while restoring profitability in its IT & Cloud unit. It is also exploring partnerships or a sale of all or part of its media unit. Sales came in at 46.4 billion crowns, below the consensus forecast of 47.3 billion, while the gross margin was 13.9 percent versus the 17.9 percent seen by analysts. The company reiterated its guidance to at least double 2016 margins beyond 2018 through more aggressive cost-cutting. "What we see now is a need ... to intensify our efforts further on the cost side," Ekholm said on a call with analysts, adding that this would include streamlining its portfolio. Ericsson cut its total workforce by almost 5,000 last year to around 111,000 as part of a drive to improve profitability. Ekholm said he expected the steps he is taking to lead to significant profitability improvements as early as 2018. Critics question whether Ekholm, a veteran Ericsson board member, is best placed to turn the business around. They say a more varied, international management team at rival Nokia was key to its revival. Ericsson backers say the company has changed the guard, albeit internally, and is doing a good job of promoting a new generation of managers. INVESTOR SCEPTICISM Shares were down 3.2 percent at 1204 GMT, reflecting investor scepticism. UBS analysts expect 2017 EBIT to fall by more than 3 percent and the stock to decline by the same amount. "The only positive factor is networks'' underlying margin of 12 percent," said Inge Heydorn, a fund manager at Sentat Asset Management, referring to the company''s main business. "The rest is basically just more of the same, mainly a weak market," Heydorn said. Sentat does not have a position in Ericsson shares. Ericsson, backed by prominent Wallenberg family-backed Investor AB ( INVEb.ST ) and Industrivarden ( INDUa.ST ), is under pressure to take greater advantage of the global surge in data traffic, enterprise networking and cloud computing. It has been hit by a drop in spending by telecoms firms, with demand for next-generation 5G technology still years away, and weak emerging markets. It also faces mounting competition from China''s Huawei and Finland''s Nokia. The company stunned investors in March by announcing $1.7 billion in provisions, writedowns and restructuring costs. The bulk of the provisions were related to "transformation projects" - operators needing to upgrade old systems - in Ericsson''s IT & Cloud business, the company said. A second tech investor, with no stake in Ericsson, said weak performance at the other units, IT & Cloud and Media, showed the need to exit unprofitable businesses. Sector bankers scouting the market for possible partners or buyers for the media assets said they are having a hard time as the unit is small and not growing. A banker who worked for Ericsson in the past said the company overpaid for media acquisitions in 2012-13 and will hardly recoup its investment. Bankers said Media solutions - which provide consulting, systems integration and managed TV services - could appeal to large IT players such as France''s Atos ( ATOS.PA ), while broadcast services could be sold to "bottom-fishing" private equity funds which have lower expectations of returns and tend to keep assets longer than traditional funds. Bankers ruled out any imminent takeover of Ericsson but said some rivals could take a look once the business stabilises. Speculation of a possible Ericsson-Cisco ( CSCO.O ) tie-up has been doing the rounds since the companies struck a strategic partnership two years ago. Ericsson said industry trends from 2016 were expected to continue in 2017. It has forecast the mobile infrastructure market to decline by 2-6 percent this year and stabilise after that. Olof Swahnberg; Editing by Mark Potter and Adrian Croft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ericsson-results-idUKKBN17R1I4'|'2017-04-25T20:27:00.000+03:00' +'5f5536d2249e1f086d01e368146622a359cc1dfe'|'UPDATE 1-Low-rated euro zone yields rise as debt sales add to geopolitical pressure on bonds'|'* Four countries sell combined 15bln euros of debt* Safety bid helps German auction after failures* Italy pays highest yield since July 2015 on 3-year bond* Geopolitical tensions continue to roil markets* Euro zone periphery govt bond yields tmsnrt.rs/2ii2Bqr (Recasts after auctions)By John GeddieLONDON, April 12 Around 15 billion euros of debt sales coming on top of geopolitical worries weighed on euro zone bond markets on Wednesday, pushing yields higher on the region''s low-rated bonds.Simmering political and diplomatic tensions kept demand firm for safe-haven assets, allowing Germany to shrug off recent failed auctions to sell 2.435 billion euros of 10-year bonds despite yields near multi-week lows.But investors remain wary of riskier assets. Italy had to pay up to sell 10 billion euros of long-term debt - the yield offered on its three-year bond was the highest since July 2015 .Portugal sold 1.25 billion euros of five- and eight-year bonds and Ireland issued 1.25 billion euros of six- and nine-year bonds."There is a bit of weight from issuance, but what is really driving the direction of markets at the moment is geopolitics," Rabobank strategist Matt Cairns said, adding that trading was thin as Easter holidays approached.The Syrian conflict has been the centre of concern, since it puts the United States on a collision course with Moscow, allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Fraying nerves further, North Korea warned on Tuesday of a nuclear attack on the United States at any sign of American aggression .For European investors, France has been the focus. Far-left veteran Jean-Luc Melenchon is surging in the polls, joining another anti-EU candidate, Marine Le Pen, among the contenders for the presidency. The first round of voting is on April 23 .German 10-year yields - the bloc''s benchmark - were unchanged on the day, holding just above a five-week low of 0.192 percent hit on Tuesday.Yields on lower-rated bonds from the likes of Italy, Spain and Portugal were up 3 to 4 bps on the day.Diplomatic tension is the latest factor tarnishing an otherwise brightening outlook for global growth.Economic institutes in the bloc''s biggest economy Germany said on Wednesday that uncertainties linked to possible protectionist policies by the United States and a lack of clarity over Britain''s divorce talks with the European Union cloud the outlook for growth.For Reuters Live Markets blog on European and UK stock markets see reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=http://emea1.apps.cp.extranet.thomsonreuters.biz/cms/?pageId=livemarkets(Editing by Larry King)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/eurozone-bonds-idINL8N1HK2GH'|'2017-04-12T10:10:00.000+03:00' +'7578f175791debe08b9ed1067b33cf30631dca5d'|'Trump asks for probe into imports of foreign-made steel - officials'|'Business News - Thu Apr 20, 2017 - 1:08am BST Trump asks for probe into imports of foreign-made steel - officials left U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, U.S., April 18, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts 1/2 left right Smog billows from chimneys and cooling towers of a steel plant during hazy weather in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, China, December 28, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer 2/2 By Steve Holland - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday will sign a directive asking for a speedy probe into whether imports of foreign-made steel are hurting U.S. national security, two administration officials said on Wednesday. Trump is to sign the memorandum related to section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 at a White House event that is expected to include leaders of some U.S. steel companies. The law allows the president to impose restrictions on imports for reasons of national security. There are national security implications, one of the officials said, from imports of steel alloys that are used in products such as the armour plating of ships and require a lot of expertise to create and produce. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross launched the probe on Wednesday night. Trump''s directive will ask Ross to conduct it "with all deliberate speed and deliver the results to the president with his recommendations," a second official said. The move is another step in Trump''s "America First" policies in which he has tried to boost U.S. manufacturers and preserve American jobs. It comes as he tries to coax China into taking a more active role in reining in North Korea''s nuclear and missile programs. The first official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the directive is not aimed at a specific country but is "product oriented." He said there is concern when a domestic industry is hurt by imports from a foreign entity "that hampers our ability to maintain production and maintain the expertise necessary for these high national security-concerned products, specific alloys and so forth." (Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Sandra Maler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-steel-idUKKBN17M00H'|'2017-04-20T08:08:00.000+03:00' +'77a3484aec2fe36616d0ab2e2217da39fde90780'|'FCC votes to allow some broadcasters to buy more TV stations'|'Hollywood 21pm IST FCC votes to allow some broadcasters to buy more TV stations Ajit Pai, Chairman of U.S Federal Communications Commission, delivers his keynote speech at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, February 28, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard By David Shepardson - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted 2-1 on Thursday to reverse a 2016 decision that limits the number of television stations some broadcasters can buy. The decision could lead to a possible acquisition by Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc of Tribune Media Co, some Democrats in Congress said. Tribune did not discuss any tie up, but said in a statement the FCC decision "will serve the important interest of localism by enabling broadcasters to better serve their communities." FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said he plans to take a new look at the current overall limit on companies owning stations serving no more than 39 percent of U.S. television households. Democratic FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn called the vote a "huge gift for large broadcasters with ambitious dreams of more consolidation." She said it "will have an immediate impact on the purchase and sale of television stations." Meredith Corp spokesman Art Slusark said on Thursday the vote "may open up the opportunity for more acquisition opportunities ... We are always interested in adding quality properties to our broadcast portfolio." Under rules adopted in 1985, stations with weaker over-the-air signals could be partially counted against a broadcaster''s ownership cap. But last year, the FCC under Democratic President Barack Obama said those rules were outdated after the 2009 conversion to digital broadcasting, which eliminated the differences in station signal strength. It revoked the rule in September. There is a dispute over whether the FCC has the authority to amend the 39 percent ownership limit. The 2016 decision did not require any company to sell existing stations, but could bar acquisitions. in September challenged the FCC rule in court. Reuters reported in March that Sinclair had approached Tribune to discuss a potential combination, which would hinge on regulations being relaxed. Pai said the FCC previously effectively tightened ownership rules and then companies previously below the national cap suddenly exceeded it. He said the FCC "did not examine whether the facts justified a more stringent cap." Pai, who was named by U.S. President Donald Trump to head the FCC in January, said it will begin a comprehensive review of the national cap this year. That could launch a new wave of consolidation in the broadcast television industry. Clyburn cited comments from CBS Corp Chairman and Chief Executive Leslie Moonves in February that Pai would be "very beneficial to our business." Moonves said the company would like to acquire more stations if the cap is lifted. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Dan Grebler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fcc-ownership-idINKBN17M21T'|'2017-04-20T14:21:00.000+03:00' +'8580210f93b5d50cb28d2787c0a1ca83ddae94f2'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX edges up with help from gold, materials shares'|'Company 12pm EDT CANADA STOCKS-TSX edges up with help from gold, materials shares OTTAWA, April 3 Canada''s main stock index ended modestly higher after a choppy session on Monday as gains in gold producers and other resource shares offset weakness in the energy sector and consumer-related stocks. The Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index ended up 36.65 points, or 0.24 percent, at 15,584.40. (Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by Chris Reese) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-close-idUSL2N1HB1NT'|'2017-04-04T04:12:00.000+03:00' +'209a3eff0ca8bb8fa731cee485c3f13eb8d21bff'|'Bank lobby warns of market ructions if Brexit talks stumble'|'Economy News - Wed Apr 5, 2017 - 7:07am BST Bank lobby warns of market ructions if Brexit talks stumble left right The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Association for Financial Markets in Europe, Simon Lewis, speaks during the Reuters Future Face of Finance Summit, in London February 28, 2011. REUTERS/Benjamin Beavan 1/2 left right The famous euro sign landmark is photographed outside the former headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, late evening January 20, 2015. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach 2/2 LONDON Europe''s banking lobby warned on Wednesday of the dangers to wholesale banking and financial stability if negotiations over Britain''s exit from the European Union end in deadlock. "Financial stability and market efficiency must be safeguarded during the Brexit implementation process and thereafter," the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) Chief Executive Simon Lewis said in a statement. In a report released on Wednesday, AFME highlighted conflicting issues faced by the key actors in Brexit talks which it said could cause disruptions, including Britain wanting to secure the best possible access to the bloc, while not wishing to remain part of the single market. AFME is also concerned about the European Commission having responsibility for EU financial markets policy, while also being the EU''s chief Brexit negotiator, as well as Europe''s capitals competing to attract financial firms from London, while also wanting to limit any additional systemic risk. "With such a disparate set of actors and incentives, it will be a major challenge to implement Brexit in an orderly way in relation to wholesale banking," AFME said. There are also potential problems ahead for banks in London that want to continue operating from the British capital after Brexit under an EU system known as "equivalence", whereby the EU grants market access to non-EU firms that comply with rules that are as robust as those in the bloc. AFME said the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), would play a crucial role in advising the EU on whether a non-EU firm could be deemed to be equivalent. ESMA''s resources, however, will become more stretched once the UK''s budget contribution ends, meaning that obtaining equivalence for about 2,000 firms may not be fast enough to avoid market disruption, AFME added. (Reporting by Huw Jones; editing by Alexander Smith) Next In Economy News LNG producers turn to trading, risk taking to maintain market share CHIBA, Japan Producers of liquefied natural gas (LNG), having shot themselves in the foot with oversupply, and facing calls for flexibility and greater competition from other fuels are taking on more risk and learning to trade, just like any other commodities dealers. Oil rises to near one-month high on tightening of supplies SINGAPORE Oil climbed to a near one-month high on Wednesday on signs of a gradual tightening in global oil inventories and on concerns about a supply outage at a field in the United Kingdom''s North Sea that feeds into an international benchmark price. China holds up Asia stocks; oil gains on North Sea outage HONG KONG Asian stocks edged up on Wednesday, helped by a bounce in Chinese shares, though investors held off from making big bets before a highly-anticipated summit between U.S. and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping gets underway on Thursday. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-banks-idUKKBN1770I4'|'2017-04-05T14:05:00.000+03:00' +'01e55e80a2e0119f2e6959d788624fafa37a188a'|'Guggenheim Investments attract broad fixed-income inflows in March'|'Money 21pm EDT Guggenheim Investments attract broad fixed-income inflows in March NEW YORK Guggenheim Investments, overseen by global chief investment officer Scott Minerd, had positive net flows of more than $1.5 billion into its fixed-income mutual funds and ETFs in March, the firm said on Monday. Investors were undeterred by the Federal Reserve''s rate hike last month: Guggenheim''s flagship Total Return Bond Fund, an intermediate-term fund that has outperformed 99 percent of its rivals over one, three, and five years, according to Morningstar, took in $491 million in March, the firm said. The $5.7 billion fund has experienced net inflows for 39 consecutive months, Guggenheim added. Meanwhile, the Guggenheim Macro Opportunities Fund, a $5 billion non-traditional bond fund that has also outperformed 99 percent of its rivals over five years, took in $345 million in March, the firm said. Guggenheim Floating Rate Strategies Fund, a $3.5 billion bank loan fund that has outperformed 97 percent of peers over five years, took in $170 million in March. Guggenheim Limited Duration Fund, a short-term bond fund, experienced its 40th consecutive month of net inflows since its December 2013 inception. It has outperformed 99 percent of funds in its Morningstar category over three years. Guggenheim said its BulletShares suite of defined maturity ETFs had $272 million in net flows in March, which helped the firm reach an all-time high with $34.6 billion in ETF assets under management. (Reporting By Jennifer Ablan; Editing by Andrew Hay) Next In Money'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-funds-guggenheim-idUSKBN175229'|'2017-04-04T01:15:00.000+03:00' +'1a0289c0a6294c9fb917524d958d51764a1ecd2d'|'ECB won''t hike deposit rate before 2018 - traders'|' 07pm BST ECB won''t hike deposit rate before 2018 - traders European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, July 29, 2016. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski The European Central Bank will not raise its deposit rate until next year at the earliest, according to more than three-quarters of euro money market traders polled by Reuters. Recent better-than-expected economic data from the euro zone has fuelled market speculation the ECB might move away from its ultra-easy monetary policy and raise interest rates as a first move. But comments from three of the central bank''s top policymakers last week suggested it will not deviate from its current policy plan, including record-low rates and monthly asset purchases, until inflation picks up and the economy is on a healthy growth path. Asked when the ECB will raise its deposit rate, currently -0.40 percent, eight of 18 traders said next year, five said in 2019 and one said in 2020. The remaining four respondents said the ECB could move as early as this year. A regular survey of 22 traders showed banks are expected to borrow 13.0 billion euros ($13.8 billion) at the ECB''s weekly refinancing operation, a touch less than the 13.2 billion euros maturing from last week. ALLOTMENT ONE-WEEK'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-refi-poll-idUKKBN17C1AT'|'2017-04-10T20:07:00.000+03:00' +'aa79ca0fb01061913a2aefdffac182794243e600'|'Germany''s Grammer says can issue shares to partner after injunction lifted'|'Business News - Tue Apr 25, 2017 - 4:54pm BST Germany''s Grammer says can issue shares to partner after injunction lifted BERLIN Germany''s Grammer ( GMMG.DE ) won a victory in its efforts to dilute the influence of an activist shareholder after a regional court lifted a temporary injunction on the exercise of a convertible bond, the automotive interiors maker said on Tuesday. Grammer management planned to bring China''s Ningbo Jifeng ( 603997.SS ) on board as a "white knight" against Bosnia''s Hastor, which owns a stake of at least 20 percent in Grammer and has criticised Grammer''s management. In February Ningbo subscribed to a 60 million euro (50.18 million pounds) mandatory convertible bond representing approximately 9.2 percent of Grammer''s share capital, but the Hastor Group was granted an injunction to block Ningbo Jifeng from exercising the convertible bond. A regional court in Nuremberg lifted that injunction on Tuesday, Grammer said. "This means that there are now no longer any obstacles to the issue of new shares to the strategic partner upon the conversion rights being exercised," Grammer said in a statement. (Reporting by Victoria Bryan; editing by Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-grammer-hastor-ningbo-idUKKBN17R237'|'2017-04-25T23:54:00.000+03:00' +'d7995bc2e6249ae2fb83f7f4df5dbef82776848e'|'Manufacturing and retail recovery drives China''s solid Q1 growth'|'Economic 11:01am IST Manufacturing and retail recovery drives China''s solid Q1 growth Containers are pictured at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, China, March 1, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer/Files BEIJING A recovery in China''s industrial sector, which accounts for about one-third of the economy, drove China''s better-than-expected first quarter economic growth as export orders picked up and steel output hit a record. Data on Tuesday from the National Bureau of Statistics showed the industrial sector grew 6.5 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, its fastest pace since the fourth quarter of 2014. For a table of GDP growth breakdown by sector, see: On Monday, China reported first quarter growth of 6.9 percent, the quickest in six quarters. Within the industrial sector, manufacturing grew 7.0 percent compared with the first quarter last year. Analysts credited growth in exports, in contrast to a contraction in the first three months of 2016, for providing the pick-up in the first quarter. "It looks to us like the acceleration in 1Q 2017 GDP growth came from electronics exports complementing the 4Q 2016 growth drivers, housing and infrastructure investment," Tim Condon, head of Asia research at ING, said in a note. ANOTHER BRIGHT SPOT The other bright spot was the retail and wholesale sector, which also expanded at the fastest pace since the end of 2014. In January-March, the annual growth pace was 7.4 percent, compared with 5.8 percent a year earlier, data showed. However, growth in the construction industry slowed to 5.3 percent from 5.9 percent at the end of last year and has decelerated for four straight quarters, despite rising investment in infrastructure and the real estate industry. The property sector grew 7.8 percent in the first quarter, up from 7.7 percent at the end of 2016, while growth in the finance industry rose to 4.4 percent from 3.8 percent. NBS data showed housing starts picked up in March, growing nearly as fast as sales, which could be a warning sign for overheating in the sector, said Rosealea Yao at Gavekal Dragonomics in Beijing. "Construction growth is in double digits again, which is not consistent with underlying trends as housing demand has peaked," said Yao. (Reporting by Elias Glenn; Editing by Richard Borsuk)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/china-economy-gdp-idINKBN17K0E2'|'2017-04-18T13:31:00.000+03:00' +'5804608c30a0381c07da93497a74a5323fec1844'|'COLUMN-Drilling costs rise as U.S. oil, gas activity picks up: Kemp'|'* Chart 4: tmsnrt.rs/2p3GEOl By John Kemp LONDON, April 26 U.S. oil and gas drilling costs have started to rise in response to a surge in activity and are set to increase further as the slack in the rig market declines. Drilling costs increased by 7 percent between November 2016 and March 2017, according to preliminary data on producer prices from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The increase has offset only a small part of the 34 percent slump between March 2014 and November 2016 ( tmsnrt.rs/2q6RNzc ). But it is the first sustained gain in three years for drilling prices, which are now rising year-on-year for the first time since November 2014. Drilling prices are classified under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 213111 for establishments primarily engaged in drilling oil and gas wells for others on a contract or fee basis. Drilling prices do not include the cost of hydraulic fracturing, which is classified separately under NAICS code 213112, and where the previous decline in prices and subsequent recovery have been more muted. Drilling costs have a strong cyclical component and track changes in drilling activity with an average lag of two to three months ( tmsnrt.rs/2oL30Sg ). The number of rigs drilling for oil and gas hit a cyclical low at the end of May 2016 but has more than doubled since then ( tmsnrt.rs/2oLo37c ). The rebound is the fastest for at least a quarter of a century, according to rig counts published by oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active rigs has risen from a low of 404 at the end of May 2016 to 857 on April 21 and is still gaining by an average of 10-20 per week ( tmsnrt.rs/2p3GEOl ). Drilling prices will likely keep rising in the next few months as the lagged effect of past increases in the rig count filters through and rigs continue to be added. Cost inflation for drilling as well as other inputs into the exploration and production process will likely put upward pressure on breakeven prices for U.S. shale firms. Many shale producers report breakeven costs significantly below $50 per barrel but those costs are likely to rise as service companies push through price increases. Service companies have repeatedly warned that the severe cost compression that occurred between 2014 and 2016 was unsustainable, and drilling costs would need to rise during any sustained recovery. So far, the rise in drilling prices has been limited because of the large overhang of rigs stacked and crews idled during the downturn, which have limited the pricing power of drilling companies. But as more of the drilling fleet is reactivated, drilling companies are likely to regain some power to push through price increases onto their customers. While the onshore rig count increase in North America has been more robust than many had expected, the industry is still working to absorb excess service capacity, Baker Hughes told investors on Tuesday. As this capacity is being consumed, we have seen labour and materials cost inflation in select product lines and basins, the company wrote in its first-quarter earnings release. With the demand growth we experienced this quarter, we believe we are on the cusp of a broader pricing recovery. (Baker Hughes announces first-quarter results, Baker Hughes, April 25.) (Editing by Dale Hudson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-oildrilling-kemp-idUSL8N1HY57H'|'2017-04-26T20:47:00.000+03:00' +'3e16688476d40e7e36e086a068b26b31d08dc70c'|'Regulator accuses ex-Aston Hill executives of insider trading'|'April 12 Staff of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) on Wednesday filed a statement of allegations accusing former Aston Hill Financial Inc executives of securities law violations in connection with a leaked takeover offer in 2014 by online gambling company Amaya Inc.The OSC staff alleged that Ben Cheng, then president of Aston Hill Financial, became aware of undisclosed "material facts" and illegally tipped company sales manager John Rothstein about Amaya''s proposed bid to acquire the parent company of the online gaming operation PokerStars.The regulator also alleged that Eric Tremblay, who was Aston Hill Financial''s chief executive officer, and Frank Soave, an investment adviser at CIBC, of insider trading and making misleading statements on material matters or omitting facts when examined under oath by staff of the OSC.The Office of the Secretary has scheduled the court hearing for May 4. ( bit.ly/2oubO1b )In 2014, Montreal-based Amaya closed the $4.9 billion takeover of Oldford Group, operator of online gambling website PokerStars.(Reporting by Divya Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/amaya-regulator-idINL3N1HL0QQ'|'2017-04-12T23:26:00.000+03:00' +'354692108a108b74b8964ba0631b7964240894fd'|'New Hong Kong leader''s affordable homes plan up against wall of Chinese capital'|'Money News - Sun Apr 9, 2017 - 11:52am IST New Hong Kong leader''s affordable homes plan up against wall of Chinese capital People take selfies with Carrie Lam, chief executive-elect, a day after she was elected in Hong Kong, China March 27, 2017. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/Files By Clare Jim and Venus Wu - HONG KONG HONG KONG A pledge by Hong Kong''s incoming leader Carrie Lam to make the city''s vertiginous property prices more affordable could founder on the bottomless pockets of mainland Chinese developers, who are bidding up the price of land.Home prices in Hong Kong have jumped 364 percent since 2003, while the median monthly household income has risen just 61 percent, pushing home ownership out of reach for many. While the mass protests that paralysed parts of Hong Kong for 79 days in 2014 were primarily about demands for full democracy from Beijing, many were also motivated by the rising cost of living in the city, and the cost of accommodation in particular. A typical Hong Kong apartment costs 18.1 times gross annual median income, according to research group Demographia, and the city topped its survey of the world''s most expensive places for accommodation for the seventh straight year. Second-placed Sydney was a long way behind on 12.2. "Anything over a multiple of 5.1 is usually deemed as being ''severely unaffordable''," said Denis Ma, JLL''s Head of Research in Hong Kong. With most of the city''s more than 7 million citizens living in cramped apartments - some no bigger than a parking space - Lam, who takes over as chief executive on July 1, is aiming to tackle the problem by increasing housing and land supply. But Alice Mak, head of the Hong Kong legislature''s housing panel, said the influx of capital from mainland developers will make Lam''s job very difficult. "When there''s overseas capital investment in Hong Kong, it will stimulate the local property market. If the government wants the housing market to grow at a stable rate, this will be a very big challenge for them," Mak said. Chinese companies successfully bid for six out of 27 plots of land sold by the government in the fiscal year starting April 2016, Lands Department data shows, but in money terms they accounted for 44 percent of total transactions. In the previous fiscal year, Chinese firms paid more on land deals than their Hong Kong competitors, taking up 55 percent of the value and nearly half of the land sold. IMPOSSIBLE DREAM? Mainland developer KWG Property, which won a plot of residential land for a record price co-bidding with Logan Property, said lower lending rates and taxes make development in Hong Kong more profitable than in China. "There''s still a gap between ''flour and bread prices'' in Hong Kong, but in China the prices are basically the same, so I boldly predict that more and more Chinese developers will come to Hong Kong to buy land in the future," KWG chairman Kong Jian Min told an earnings conference last month. The direct impact of this influx on home prices is stark in the Kai Tak district, overlooking Victoria Harbour. Prices there rose as much as 50 percent in less than a year, consultancy JLL said, after Chinese conglomerate HNA Group bought four land parcels in the past five months at eye-popping prices. Hong Kong''s homegrown property companies are being edged out of their own market and are looking overseas to do business. Local developer David Chiu, chairman of Far East Consortium International, said he had become increasingly disheartened after seeing his company''s auction bids fall below the average. "In the past there were 20 developers fighting for land, but now with Chinese developers joining, it means another 20 more," he told a conference in February, adding that he was glad his company had already invested elsewhere and had plans to expand in the UK and Australia. "I think it''ll be very difficult for Hong Kong''s small and medium developers to win a tender; it wouldn''t surprise me if Hong Kong developers became landlords relying only on rental income (from commercial properties) after 10 years," he said. Lam has already conceded in an interview with the Hong Kong Economic Journal there is nothing she can do to stop outside capital competing in the land bids. Even established professionals say buying a home is an increasingly daunting prospect and doubt that government will succeed in holding down prices. "They won''t be able to help us," said 30-year-old accountant Mok Ho-man. "Buying a flat is not an impossible dream ... but it will only get more and more difficult." (Reporting By Clare Jim and Venus Wu; Additional reporting by Katy Wong; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree and Will Waterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/hongkong-property-idINKBN17B051'|'2017-04-09T14:22:00.000+03:00' +'9ff6374ee0bf61c6d6f18a3921229a6e4158523b'|'Teslas big Model 3 bet rides on risky assembly line strategy'|'Business News - Mon Apr 24, 2017 - 12:21pm BST Teslas big Model 3 bet rides on risky assembly line strategy left right FILE PHOTO - A prototype of the Tesla Model 3 is on display in front of the factory during a media tour of the Tesla Gigafactory which will produce batteries for the electric carmaker in Sparks, Nevada, U.S. July 26, 2016. REUTERS/James Glover II/File Photo 1/6 left right FILE PHOTO -- Robotic arms assemble Tesla''s Model S sedans at the company''s factory in Fremont, California, June 22, 2012. REUTERS/Noah Berger/File Photo 2/6 left right FILE PHOTO - A wheel of a prototype of the Tesla Model 3 on display in front of the factory during a media tour of the Tesla Gigafactory, which will produce batteries for the electric carmaker in Sparks, Nevada, U.S. July 26, 2016. REUTERS/James Glover II/File Photo 3/6 left right FILE PHOTO -- Tesla vehicles are being assembled by robots at Tesla Motors Inc factory in Fremont, California, U.S. on July 25, 2016. REUTERS/Joseph White/File Photo ` 4/6 left right FILE PHOTO -- The body of a Tesla Model S is lifted by an automated crane at the Tesla factory in Fremont, California October 1, 2011. REUTERS/Stephen Lam/File Photo 5/6 left right Tesla Motors'' mass-market Model 3 electric cars are seen in this handout picture from Tesla Motors on March 31, 2016. Tesla Motors/Handout via Reuters/File Photo 6/6 By Alexandria Sage Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ) Chief Executive Elon Musk took many risks with the technology in his company''s cars on the way to surpassing Ford Motor Co''s market value. Now Musk is pushing boundaries in the factory that makes them. Most automakers test a new model''s production line by building vehicles with relatively cheap, prototype tools designed to be scrapped once they deliver doors that fit, body panels with the right shape and dashboards that don''t have gaps or seams. Tesla, however, is skipping that preliminary step and ordering permanent, more expensive equipment as it races to launch its Model 3 sedan by a self-imposed volume production deadline of September, Musk told investors last month. Musks decision underscores his high-risk tolerance and willingness to forego long-held industry norms that has helped Tesla upend the traditional auto industry. While Tesla is not the first automaker to try to accelerate production on the factory floor, no other rival is putting this much faith in the production strategy succeeding. Musk expects the Model 3 rollout to help Tesla deliver five times its current annual sales volume, a key target in the automaker''s efforts to stop burning cash. "He''s pushing the envelope to see how much time and cost he can take out of the process," said Ron Harbour, a manufacturing consultant at Oliver Wyman. Investors are already counting on Teslas factory floor success, with shares soaring 39 percent since January as it makes the leap from niche producer to mass producer in far less time than rivals. There are caution signs, however. The production equipment designed to produce millions of cars is expensive to fix or replace if it doesn''t work, industry experts say. Tesla has encountered quality problems on its existing low-volume cars, and the Model 3 is designed to sell in numbers as high as 500,000 vehicles a year, raising the potential cost of recalls or warranty repairs. "It''s an experiment, certainly," said Consumer Reports'' Jake Fisher, who has done extensive testing of Tesla''s previous Models S and X. Tesla could possibly fix errors quicker, speeding up the process, "or it could be they have unsuspected problems they''ll have a hard time dealing with." Musk discussed the decision to skip what he referred to as "beta" production testing during a call last month with an invited group of investors. Details were published on Reddit by an investor on the call. ( here ). He also said that advanced analytical techniques code word for computer simulations - would help Tesla in advancing straight to production tooling. Tesla declined to confirm details of the call or comment on its production strategy. The auto industry''s incumbents have not been standing still. Volkswagen AG''s Audi division launched production of a new plant in Mexico using computer simulations of production tools and indeed the entire assembly line and factory - that Audi said it believed to be an industry first. That process allowed the plant to launch production 30 percent faster than usual, Audi said. An Audi executive involved in the Mexican plant launch, Peter Hochholdinger, is now Tesla''s vice president of production. MAKING TOOLS FASTER Typically, automakers test their design with limited production using lower grade equipment that can be modified slightly to address problems. When most of the kinks are worked out, they order the final equipment. Teslas decision to move directly to the final tools is in part because lower grade, disposable equipment known as soft tooling ended up complicating the debut of the problem-plagued Model X SUV in 2015, according to a person familiar with the decision and Teslas assembly line planning. Working on a tight deadline, Tesla had no time to incorporate lessons learned from soft tooling before having to order the permanent production tooling, making the former''s value negligible, the source said. "Soft tooling did very little for the program and arguably hurt things," said the person. In addition, Tesla has learned to better modify final production tools, and its 2015 purchase of a Michigan tooling company means it can make major equipment 30 percent faster than before, and more cheaply as well, the source said. Financial pressure is partly driving Teslas haste. The quicker Tesla can deliver the Model 3 with its estimated $35,000 base price to the 373,000 customers who have put down a $1000 deposit, the closer it can log $13 billion. Tesla has labored under financial pressure since it was founded in 2003. The company has yet to turn an annual profit, and earlier this year Musk said the company was "close to the edge" as it look toward capital spending of $2-2.5 billion in the first half of 2017. Tesla has since gotten more breathing room by raising $1.2 billion in fresh capital in March and selling a five per cent stake to Chinese internet company Tencent Holdings Ltd ( 0700.HK ) . Musk has spoken to investors about his vision of an "alien dreadnought" factory that uses artificial intelligence and robots to build cars at speeds faster than human assembly workers could manage. But there are limits to what technology can do in the heavily regulated car business. For example, Tesla will still have to use real cars in crash tests required by the U.S. government, because federal rules do not allow simulated crash results to substitute for data from a real car. (Editing by Peter Henderson and Edward Tobin) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-assemblyline-idUKKBN17Q0DE'|'2017-04-24T19:21:00.000+03:00' +'ea398b69a2caf1f68430a7fe2fea3203de73908c'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'April 17 The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1000 GMT on Monday:** China''s Ant Financial has sweetened its bid for MoneyGram International Inc by 36 percent, beating a rival offer to gain approval from the U.S. electronic payment firm''s board, although it still faces regulatory hurdles.** Wal-Mart Stores Inc is in advanced discussions to buy online mens fashion retailer Bonobos Inc, Recode reported on Friday, citing sources.** Apple Inc is considering teaming up with its supplier Foxconn to bid for Toshiba Corp''s semiconductor business, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported on Friday - the latest twist in the sale of the world''s second-biggest flash memory chipmaker.** Diversified healthcare company Abbott Laboratories on Friday agreed to buy Alere Inc at a lower price than it had previously offered, after raising concerns about the accuracy of various representations, warranties and covenants made by Alere in the earlier agreement.** Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne rowed back on his search for a merger on Friday, saying the car maker was not in a position to seek deals for now and would focus instead on following its business plan.** U.S. video streaming service provider Netflix is in talks with Indonesia''s top telecom firm PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk (Telkom) to roll out its service in the country, a spokesman at the Indonesian company said.** U.S. buyout firm Leonard Green & Partners LP has prevailed in an auction to acquire Charter NEX Films Inc, a U.S. manufacturer of specialty films for the food and medical industries, for $1.5 billion, including debt, people familiar with the matter said.** China''s Anbang Insurance Group will let its agreement to acquire U.S. annuities and life insurer Fidelity & Guaranty Life (FGL) for $1.6 billion lapse, after failing to secure all the necessary regulatory approvals, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday.** German lighting company Osram is on the lookout for acquisitions worth up to 500 million euros ($530 million), although there are no specific plans for a deal as yet, its finance chief told a German newspaper.** Malaysian property developer S P Setia Bhd said on Friday it will buy privately held rival I&P Group for over 3.5 billion ringgit ($794.55 million) to create one of the country''s largest real estate firms.** Taiwan''s Powertech Technology said on Friday it had bought two of Micron Technology''s interests in Japan in deals worth up to $132 million, part of its efforts to expand its presence in Japanese chip technology.** Chinese stadium builder Lander Sports said late on Sunday it was terminating plans to buy a stake in English soccer club Southampton, citing uncertain factors wrought by changes in China''s securities market and policies.** U.S. private equity group Carlyle Group has gained full control of Italian fashion brand TWINSET by buying the remaining 10 percent stake from founder Simona Barbieri, who will step down as the affordable luxury label''s creative director. (Compiled by Ahmed Farhatha in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/deals-day-idINL3N1HP38Y'|'2017-04-17T08:09:00.000+03:00' +'474af7252d12a30fe1c57cf2c4be2a8b317beab1'|'MOVES-Pillarstone hires general counsel for Europe growth'|'LONDON, April 12 (IFR) - Pillarstone, the platform set up by US private equity firm KKR to buy or manage non-core bank assets in Europe, has hired Mark Knight as a partner and general counsel.Knight was a partner in the European restructuring practice at law firm Kirkland and Ellis in London.Pillarstone said on Wednesday that Knight will support the continued development of its infrastructure and analyse and structure potential investments. It said he has experience in complex cross-border restructurings, and has advised both debtors and creditors on acquisition, disposal and reorganisation of stressed and distressed businesses.Pillarstone was set up in 2015 by KKR, with John Davison as co-investor and CEO, to partner with European banks to manage their exposure to non-core and underperforming assets. It injects capital and works with firms to help them recover, and is active in both Italy and Greece and is looking to expand into other European countries. (Reporting by Steve Slater)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/moves-pillarstone-hires-general-counsel-idINL8N1HK1ZR'|'2017-04-12T08:02:00.000+03:00' +'1bd05b7cb18b2a561e263df818ff741069913d1a'|'UPDATE 1-Sri Lanka appoints lead managers for up to $1.5 bln sovereign bond - sources'|'Company 03am EDT UPDATE 1-Sri Lanka appoints lead managers for up to $1.5 bln sovereign bond - sources (Adds details) COLOMBO, April 27 Sri Lanka has appointed seven lead managers for a sovereign bond worth up to $1.5 billion and could tap the capital market as soon as next month, a source close to the deal said on Thursday. Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said the government was looking to issue a bond with a term of more than 15 years. The banks are Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, Morgan Stanley and two Chinese institutions, the source, who has direct knowledge of the deal, told Reuters. A government source who also has knowledge of the deal confirmed the seven banks. Karunanayake also said inflows from the bond, another $1 billion from two syndicated loans, and $500 million from Sri Lanka Development Bonds would be used to boost foreign reserves. "We expect see a double-digit (billion dollar) reserves this year with the flows from asset leasing and some divestment from state assets," Karunanayake told reporters. Sri Lanka''s foreign exchange reserves were at $5.6 billion by end-March compared to $6 billion at the end of last year. Sri Lanka missed the reserves target set under the terms of a $1.5 billion International Monetary Fund loan. The IMF last month urged Sri Lanka''s central bank to rebuild foreign reserves while maintaining exchange rate flexibility. (Reporting by Shihar Aneez; editing by John Stonestreet)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/sri-lanka-sovereign-bonds-idUSL4N1HZ5TS'|'2017-04-27T23:03:00.000+03:00' +'021240b61226e688029e54a84e4e5fad5f8caf38'|'BOJ''s Kuroda says geopolitical risks cloud outlook: Bloomberg TV'|'WASHINGTON Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the country''s economy is performing well but warned that geopolitical risks including escalating tensions with North Korea were clouding the global growth outlook, according to an interview with Bloomberg Television."There are a lot of geopolitical risks. But I do think leaders, including the U.S. leader, will deal with it in a good way," Kuroda was Quote: d as saying in the interview in New York on Thursday.When asked whether such risks could spur a spike in the safe-haven yen, Kuroda said there were cases in the past where geopolitical risks pushed up the yen and "made our monetary policy difficult."Kuroda also reiterated that the BOJ will continue with its massive asset purchases for some time, brushing aside market speculation that it will face difficulty keeping up the current pace of buying.(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Paul Simao)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-boj-idINKBN17M2J6'|'2017-04-20T17:49:00.000+03:00' +'69181d832a240e4a730a33de4ba1c7ccd3cca87f'|'London bar mixes whisky cocktail with a virtual twist'|'Lifestyle - Fri Apr 21, 2017 - 1:38pm EDT London bar mixes whisky cocktail with a virtual twist By Matthew Larotonda - LONDON LONDON A London bar has devised a cocktail with an unusual twist, it allows the drinker to escape the city for the Scottish hills. The whisky-based "Origin" cocktail comes with a virtual reality headset that transports you to the distillery where the spirit is from. At 18 pounds ($23) a shot, the drink is made with 12-year-old Dalmore whisky, while the accompanying virtual reality experience aims to show guests at the bar in the One Aldwych hotel the origin of its ingredients. Drinkers get a tour of sweeping Scottish fields and babbling brooks where the cereal and water used in the whisky is sourced. "We get a lot of people saying ''oh I have goose bumps'' because it is happening in front of you," bar manager Pedro Paulo, who came up with the idea, told Reuters. "When you take (the headset) off and the drink is actually right in front of you it gives people that sense of uniqueness, they feel unique," he added. ($1 = 0.7824 pounds) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-whisky-virtual-reality-idUSKBN17N20H'|'2017-04-21T23:45:00.000+03:00' +'3aed825e530e4053135e7dfe6232853a080aa700'|'Brazil judge kicks PricewaterhouseCoopers off Oi bankruptcy case'|'SAO PAULO The judge overseeing the in-court restructuring of Brazilian phone company Oi SA ( OIBR3.SA ) dropped PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) as court administrator on the case, the biggest bankruptcy filing in Brazilian history, according to a court document reviewed by Reuters on Friday.Judge Fernando Cesar Ferreira Viana said in his decision that he had lost trust in PWC after it asked for an extension and committed a "gross error" in compiling a list of Oi''s creditors. The judge appointed BDO Consultoria to replace PWC on the case, working in conjunction with law firm Arnoldo Wald.(Reporting by Ana Mano; Writing by Brad Haynes; Editing by Daniel Flynn)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-oi-sa-restructuring-pricewaterhouse-idINKBN1722UM'|'2017-03-31T18:52:00.000+03:00' +'89ba719ab9c72410aa853033f978abf17cff4777'|'Boeing seeks U.S. anti-dumping probe against CSeries jet'|' 10:31pm BST Boeing seeks U.S. anti-dumping probe against CSeries jet FILE PHOTO: The Boeing Company logo is projected on a wall at the ''''What''s Next?'''' conference in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., October 4, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Young/File Photo PARIS/NEW YORK Boeing Co ( BA.N ) said on Thursday it had asked the U.S. Commerce Department for an investigation into alleged subsidies and unfair pricing for Canadian planemaker Bombardier''s ( BBDb.TO ) CSeries airplane. The request for anti-dumping measures was also addressed to the U.S. International Trade Commission, a federal trade agency, the U.S. planemaker said in a statement. "Bombardier has embarked on an aggressive campaign to sell CSeries aircraft into the U.S. market at absurdly low prices less than $20 million for airplanes that cost $33 million to produce, based on publicly available information," Boeing said in an emailed statement. (Reporting by Tim Hepher, Alwyn Scott; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-boeing-bombardier-idUKKBN17T37J'|'2017-04-28T05:31:00.000+03:00' +'45ef3b8245c700bd7664d595f46e6d101ebb41fa'|'Warren Buffett adorns Cherry Coke cans in China'|' 11:22pm BST Warren Buffett adorns Cherry Coke cans in China FILE PHOTO - Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett drinks a can of Cherry Coke at the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting in Omaha May 1, 2010. REUTERS/Rick Wilking Coca-Cola Co is putting the likeness of Warren Buffett on Cherry Coke cans in China, hoping to benefit from its biggest shareholder''s popularity in the country. According to its website, Coca-Cola got permission from the billionaire investor to use his image on cans for a limited time, while supplies last. It launched Cherry Coke in China on March 10. Berkshire Hathaway Inc, which Buffett runs, is Coke''s largest investor, with a 9.3 percent stake worth roughly $17 billion (13.63 billion). Buffett has many fans in China, which often sends a large contingent to watch him at Berkshire''s annual meetings in Omaha, Nebraska. Last year, Berkshire webcast its meeting for the first time, and provided simultaneous translation only in Mandarin. Buffett has often said he drinks five Cokes a day, and joked that he is "one quarter Coca-Cola" because the beverage accounts for 25 percent of his caloric intake. The 86-year-old told shareholders at Berkshire''s annual meeting last April that he had no evidence he would be more likely to live to 100 if he switched to "water and broccoli." (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bill Rigby) BP to cut about 5 million pounds from CEO''s maximum annual pay - Sky News BP Plc has agreed to cut about 5 million pounds from Chief Executive Bob Dudley''s maximum pay for the next three years in a bid to avoid a shareholder revolt, Sky News said on Monday, citing people briefed on the matter. BERLIN Former Volkswagen Chairman Ferdinand Piech has agreed to sell a major part of his stake in the firm that controls Europe''s biggest carmaker, reducing his links with Volkswagen after more than two decades of undisputed rule. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-coca-cola-buffett-idUKKBN1752L1'|'2017-04-04T06:22:00.000+03:00' +'b24d6fad8cba05ccb0a5eee3fd4f2750148ac5d1'|'Brazil''s Renova to finalize project sale to AES on Monday: sources'|'SAO PAULO Brazil''s renewable power generation company Renova Energia SA ( RNEW11.SA ) will finalize the sale of wind farm Alto Serto II to the Brazilian unit of AES Corp ( AES.N ) for about 700 million reais ($223 million) as early as Monday, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said.The project sale is a condition for Brookfield Asset Management Inc''s ( BAMa.TO ) plan to enter Renova''s controlling bloc in a deal valued at about 1 billion reais, said the people, who asked for anonymity because the matter remains private.Under terms of the deal, which could be announced in coming days, Canada''s Brookfield ( BAMa.TO ) would purchase the 15.7 percent stake that Light Energia SA has in Renova and then pump fresh cash into the company, said the people. Currently, Light forms part of a controlling bloc that owns about 64 percent of Renova.Renova units ( RNEW11.SA ), a blend of its common and preferred shares, jumped 10 percent on Friday, on top of a 15 percent surge the prior trading day. Shares of Light ( LIGT3.SA ) shed 1.3 percent, their fourth decline in five sessions.Renova did not have an immediate comment. Light''s press office referred any questions related to Renova to controlling shareholder Cia Energtica de Minas Gerais SA ( CMIG4.SA ).Brookfield declined to comment. AES Brasil said it continues to analyze the Alto Serto II transaction, without elaborating further.Both deals, if successfully concluded, would help Renova overcome a severe cash crunch that has led to investment plan delays and cost cuts. Renova''s woes have worsened since a planned partnership with SunEdison Inc ( SUNEQ.PK ) collapsed weeks before the U.S. company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.By injecting capital, Brookfield would be giving Light a chance to exit the company while diluting the other two members of Renova''s controlling bloc, Cia Energtica de Minas Gerais SA ( CMIG4.SA ) and RR Participaes SA.(Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Andrew Hay)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-renova-energia-m-a-brookfield-asset-idINKBN1722Z3'|'2017-03-31T20:42:00.000+03:00' +'ea8807a12c8aea6abb9e240e628ed0b1394d294b'|'Chinese banks, brokers eye robo advice for edge on competition'|'Business News - Thu Apr 27, 2017 - 3:38am BST Chinese banks, brokers eye robo advice for edge on competition left right FILE PHOTO: A Chinese stone lion sits beside a branch of China Merchants Bank in Shanghai January 20, 2010. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo 1/3 left right FILE PHOTO: A woman sits in the reception area of PINTEC Group in Beijing, China, August 11, 2016. Picture taken August 11, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo 2/3 left right FILE PHOTO: A logo of Ant Financial is displayed at an event of the company in Hong Kong, China November 1, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo 3/3 By Elzio Barreto - HONG KONG HONG KONG China''s wealth management industry is preparing for a boom in automated investment advice and trading programs, or "robo-advisors", as brokerages, banks and insurers look for a cheaper way to increase revenue from retail clients. Robo advice services barely existed in China before 2015, but they are expected to manage $27.1 billion (21.08 billion) of assets at the end of 2017, though that remains small relative to the $182 billion figure for the United States, where services launched several years earlier, according to market research firm Statista. But the market in China is forecast to more than double every year from 2017 to 2021, compared with U.S. growth of 29 percent a year, which will rapidly narrow the gap, Statista figures show. (For a graphic on robo advisory AUM and users in China vs U.S. click here %20MANAGEMENT-ROBOADVISORS/010040QR1LM/ROBO-ADVISORS.jpg) The number of Chinese investors using robo services is forecast to soar to 79.4 million over that period from fewer than 2 million last year. "Everyone talks about the billionaires, but actually we''re talking about hundreds of millions of customers in that income band who are basically starting to have investable assets that they want to reposition and redeploy," said Matthew Phillips, financial services leader for PwC China and Hong Kong. "The only way to service those customers is to automate those processes." Competition from large financial technology (Fintech) companies, including Alibaba Group affiliate Ant Financial, Ping An-backed Lufax, and startups such as WaCai is pushing traditional financial companies to embrace the trend. Some traditional players without the technical expertise to develop their own robo advisors are turning to technology firms such as Pintec Group''s Xuanji and MiCai. Others, like China Merchants Bank (CMB), the country''s largest non-state-backed lender, have managed to create their own. After a months-long nationwide advertising campaign, CMB launched in December its "Machine Gene Investment", or Mojie robo advisory service, which pre-selects a range of assets and trades them automatically, cutting the costs of investment advice for users of its internet banking app. The bank said users had invested an average 36,900 yuan (4,157) each so far in the new service, and a person familiar with the bank''s business said the service had racked up 3 billion yuan in assets under management in just a couple of months. MUST HAVE After months in development, Ant Financial, the world''s largest fintech firm, will be launching automated advice to its millions of clients this year, people familiar with the plans told Reuters. The company itself said it wouldn''t be offering them "in the short-term". The sources also said Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) is about to introduce a similar tool. ICBC, the world''s largest bank by assets, declined to comment. Moves by the two behemoths could tempt others off the fence about robo services. "When you have a main-street bank that did a huge marketing campaign in that particular field ... that solution becomes a must-have for the industry, and the bigger state-owned banks follow them," said Gregory Van den Bergh, chief executive of MiCai, China''s oldest robo advisor. "It''s had a very good effect on the industry." Xuanji signed early in 2017 to have its technology run Minsheng Securities'' robo advisor and expects to soon close other deals with an insurer and a bank in China, CEO Zheng Yudong said. MiCai is getting many inquiries from banks in mainland China, though the company can''t disclose the names of clients, Van den Bergh added. An EY survey of wealth management clients and industry executives showed Chinese respondents, who are already used to handling most of their finances on mobile phones, were the most likely in Asia Pacific to open robo advisory accounts. As many as 76 percent said they would consider it, compared with just 25 percent in Australia. Given low-interest rates in China and expensive real estate, Chinese investors are seeking alternative ways to generate returns, while avoiding the volatility that followed a major slump in Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets in 2015. Many hope that a robo-tailored portfolio can deliver. "Robo advisory is not for gamblers. It''s not a sexy product. It''s supposed to prevent volatility; it focuses on stability, so lower returns, but no spikes up and down," Xuanji''s Zheng said. (Reporting by Elzio Barreto; Additional reporting by Shu Zhang in Beijing; Editing by Will Waterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-wealth-management-roboadvisors-idUKKBN17T08R'|'2017-04-27T10:38:00.000+03:00' +'beb1f3fef4d5fa74d53872db0e183c84df80c3cd'|'Former VW patriarch Piech to sell bulk of Porsche SE stake'|'Business News - Mon Apr 3, 2017 - 3:22pm BST Former VW patriarch Piech to sell bulk of Porsche SE stake Ferdinand Piech, former chairman of the supervisory board of German carmaker Volkswagen, arrives at the annual shareholders meeting in Hanover in this April 25, 2013 file photo. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/Files BERLIN/FRANKFURT Former Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) Chairman Ferdinand Piech has agreed to sell a major part of his stake in the firm that controls Europe''s biggest carmaker, paring his ties with Volkswagen after more than two decades of undisputed rule. Volkswagen''s (VW) ruling Porsche and Piech families have agreed to buy part of the 14.7 percent stake Piech holds in Porsche Automobil Holding SE ( PSHG_p.DE ), which in turn owns 52.2 percent of voting shares in VW, exercising their right of first refusal on Porsche SE shares, according to a Porsche SE statement published on Monday. It did not say exactly how much of the stake the families would buy. (Reporting by Andreas Cremer and Maria Sheahan; Editing by Victoria Bryan) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-piech-idUKKBN1751KY'|'2017-04-03T22:16:00.000+03:00' +'face0691d54d936143755248c04f91b748e7f523'|'Japan''s Renesas keen on acquisitions, may issue shares to build warchest: CEO'|'TOKYO Japanese automotive chip maker Renesas Electronics Corp is hungry for more acquisitions amid a wave of megamergers in the industry and may need to issue equity shares sometime in the future to build its warchest, its CEO said on Monday."The fragmented (automotive chip) market will be eventually consolidated into some dominant players" posing a long-term threat to Renesas, currently the world''s No. 3, Renesas chief executive Bunsei Kure told reporters.NXP Semiconductors NV, the industry leader, has agreed to be acquired by Qualcomm Inc in a $47 billion deal to retain its lead in the fast-growing automotive chips market.And more recently, Intel Corp agreed to buy Israeli autonomous vehicle technology firm Mobileye for $15.3 billion.Kure said Renesas, which bought U.S. chipmaker Intersil Corp for $3.2 billion this year, is constantly reviewing its list of potential acquisition targets, comprising around several dozen names in fields such as sensors and security.To be ready for major acquisitions, Kure said the company would probably need to raise capital by issuing shares "at some point" in the future. "We want to be prepared to move when necessary," he said.According to data research firm IHS, Renesas had an automotive chip market share of 9.0 percent in 2016, ranking after NXP with 12.6 percent and Infineon Technologies with 9.5 percent.(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki and Kentaro Hamada; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-renesas-m-a-idINKBN17C0MA'|'2017-04-10T05:19:00.000+03:00' +'677e8f89d9cb120ac928efce0227bfc26c145588'|'EDF board left nuclear plant closure options open - CGT union'|'Business News - Thu Apr 6, 2017 - 6:24pm BST EDF board left nuclear plant closure options open - CGT union The logo of EDF is seen on the company tower at La Defense business and financial district in Courbevoie near Paris, France April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo PARIS EDF''s board approved a motion on Thursday that leaves the French utility more leeway on whether to close its oldest nuclear plant, the Fessenheim site on the Franco-German border, a CGT union official told Reuters on Thursday. Earlier on Thursday, EDF''s board had decided not to vote through a first motion that would have closed the ageing plant for good. A source at EDF said the second motion had approved the principle of closing Fessenheim but only under two conditions: the start of production of a new nuclear plant in Flamanville, Normandy and if nuclear production remains below a ceiling set by law. Energy Minister Segolene Royal said that meant Fessenheim''s closure was "irreversible". But the CGT union official, Laurent Langlard, disagreed. "In concrete terms, Fessenheim continues to operate in 2017, it continues to operate in 2018, and we''ll see when Flamanville starts producing which unit is disconnected from the grid. But it won''t necessarily be Fessenheim," he told Reuters. Langlard said the law setting the nuclear production ceiling could be changed after a new president is voted in May. (Reporting by Michel Rose and Cyril Altmeyer; Editing by Leigh Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-nuclearpower-fessenheim-decisi-idUKKBN1782D7'|'2017-04-07T01:24:00.000+03:00' +'30512db789f798f29de26166a19df2e1f5d55f99'|'CORRECTED-UK materials testing firm Exova says gets proposals for cash offers (March 27)'|'(In March 27 story, corrects paragraph 1 to say Element Materials is a UK-based firm, not Dutch)April 19 British materials testing company Exova Group said on Monday it had received proposals for a possible cash offer, including one from UK-based Element Materials Technology.Exova, whose laboratories test the safety and performance of products used in industries ranging from aerospace to pharmaceuticals, said private equity fund PAI Partners, and Jacobs Holding AG, a Swiss investment firm, had also made similar proposals."There can be no certainty that any firm offer will be made by any of the possible offerors," Exova said in a statement.The controlling shareholder, Clayton Dubilier & Rice LLC (CD&R), is poised to put up Exova for sale, the Sunday Times reported last week. bit.ly/2nDZqM2 (Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/exova-group-ma-idINL3N1HR37U'|'2017-04-19T07:29:00.000+03:00' +'e11f1897a87f009d3b326087846cbdf95783b1fa'|'JPMorgan beats Madoff customers'' appeal'|'NEW YORK JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ) is not liable to a group of former customers of Bernard Madoff who blamed the bank for being actively involved in his Ponzi scheme and ignoring red flags of fraud, a federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday.The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said the customers failed to show that JPMorgan had enough "control" over Madoff''s fraud to justify liability under federal securities laws.JPMorgan had been sued by roughly 2,500 so-called "net winners" who withdrew more money from their accounts at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC than they invested.Lance Gotthoffer, a lawyer for the customers, said his clients will review their legal options.Wednesday''s decision upheld a May 2016 ruling by U.S. District Judge John Koeltl in Manhattan. [nL2N18F1GG]Koeltel said the allegations suggested that JPMorgan was at most negligent in dealing with Madoff, once a major client.Many net winners believe their claims were undervalued in the liquidation of Madoff''s firm, and sued other individuals and companies that dealt with the swindler.Madoff has served roughly eight years of a 150-year prison term. He turns 79 on Saturday.JPMorgan agreed in 2014 to pay $2.6 billion to settle other Madoff litigation, and in a settlement with the U.S. government acknowledged responsibility for failing to stop Madoff.The case is Friedman et al v. JPMorgan Chase & Co et al, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 16-1913. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bernard Orr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-jpmorgan-madoff-idUSKBN17S22Z'|'2017-04-26T22:56:00.000+03:00' +'d8f31f662521510023fa9379831b0f97a4d11753'|'Genzyme, CHC lift Sanofi''s first-quarter figures, upbeat on Dupixent'|'PARIS, April 28 French drugmaker Sanofi reported higher-than-expected first-quarter profits on Friday, buoyed by its specialty care division Genzyme, by vaccines, and by consumer products acquired from Germany''s Boehringer Ingelheim.The drugmaker, which confirmed its full-year outlook, said it was confident Dupixent, a drug for moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis that was approved in the United States at end March, would sell well.Wall Street analysts forecast annual sales exceeding $4 billion by 2022 for the biotech drug known chemically as dupilumab, according to Thomson Reuters data."We feel very encouraged with the early coverage (...) we had worked with payers in anticipation of the launch," Chief Executive Olivier Brandicourt told journalists.Sanofi said first-quarter business net income rose 1 percent at constant exchange rates to 1.8 billion euros ($1.95 billion). Total sales rose 8.6 percent to 8.65 billion.Analysts polled by Reuters in partnership with Inquiry Financial had on average been expecting business net profit of 1.6 billion euros and net sales of 8.38 billion. ($1 = 0.9203 euros) (Reporting by Matthias Blamont; Editing by Andrew Calus)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/sanofi-results-idINP6N1BR00R'|'2017-04-28T03:37:00.000+03:00' +'2af8d580e949383932e8a68d391ceeb4f8e1b8f1'|'EU clears Lear''s takeover of Grupo Antolin''s car seat business'|' 6:57am EDT EU clears Lear''s takeover of Grupo Antolin''s car seat business BRUSSELS, April 12 European Union regulators on Wednesday cleared U.S. car supplier Lear''s takeover of the seats and metals business of Spain''s Grupo Antoln-Irausa, saying it would still face sufficient competition. "The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would not raise competition concerns given the parties'' moderate combined market positions," the European Commission, which acts as the bloc''s competition supervisor, said in a statement. The deal includes 12 factories and two research and development centres in Europe and northern Africa. (Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek; Editing by Alastair Macdonald) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/lear-grpo-antolin-irs-eu-idUSL8N1HK2P6'|'2017-04-12T18:57:00.000+03:00' +'8546b211f50d99e9574d72a7d7dffb1e504b9443'|'BMW''s UK workers to begin strike over pensions on April 19'|' 24am BST BMW''s UK workers to begin strike over pensions on April 19 An employee works on a 2013 Mini at BMW''s plant in Oxford, southern England November 18, 2013. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett LONDON British workers at BMW will hold eight strikes over the next few weeks to oppose plans by the carmaker to close their final salary pensions, beginning with a walkout at the firm''s Mini plant and engine facility, Britain''s biggest union said. A total of 93 percent of employees who are members of the Unite union backed strike action last week and up to 3,500 workers at four sites could take part in the action which includes working to rule and a ban on overtime. Unite said on Wednesday the first strike would take place on April 19 at the German automaker''s Hams Hall engine facility near Birmingham, the Mini plant in Oxford and a site in Swindon which makes pressings and parts such as doors and bonnets for the compact car. In Britain, BMW builds over 210,000 Minis a year in central England, nearly 4,000 luxury Rolls-Royce models at Goodwood in the south and over 250,000 engines at Hams Hall. BMW, which plans to close two final salary pension schemes and move all staff to a less generous scheme which new starters have been part of since 2014, said it wants to act now to secure the long-term viability of its pensions but is prepared to talk further. "The company has put a number of options on the table to help employees transition to the proposed new pension arrangements and it remains open to negotiation," a spokeswoman said. (Reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Stephen Addison) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bmw-britain-idUKKBN17715R'|'2017-04-05T18:09:00.000+03:00' +'8db971a8c5e5cf73198c829dd9bd417b4892477c'|'Indonesia''s Telkom says in talks to team up with Netflix'|'By Cindy Silviana and Eveline Danubrata - JAKARTA JAKARTA U.S. video streaming service provider Netflix is in talks with Indonesia''s top telecom firm PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk (Telkom) to roll out its service in the country, a spokesman at the Indonesian company said.The U.S. company has made an aggressive push globally, but faced problems such as tough local competition and regulatory hurdles in several major Asian markets. In Indonesia, a country of 250 million people, Netflix ran afoul of the film censorship board last year for carrying content deemed inappropriately violent or sexual.The communications ministry of Indonesia, home to the world''s largest Muslim population, had also demanded that Netflix set up a office in the country and pay local taxes.While state-controlled Telkom had blocked Netflix, the service was still available in Indonesia via WiFi connections and other carriers.Telkom is now negotiating a partnership agreement with Netflix and hopes to complete the process next month, Arif Prabowo, vice president for corporate communication at Telkom, said in a text message.Telkom was previously concerned that Netflix carried "content that has a negative element", Prabowo said."If we work together, that means we would know and can be responsible for the content broadcast by Netflix."Teaming up with Netflix would expand Telkom''s content offering, Prabowo added. "The choices for our customers will be more varied."A Netflix spokeswoman declined to comment.(Reporting by Cindy Silviana and Eveline Danubrata; Editing by Himani Sarkar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-netflix-indonesia-idINKBN17J0JB'|'2017-04-17T06:32:00.000+03:00' +'aa6fec5d5c39da41a8365e4403f23f23e398b8b1'|'Beijing''s ''shock'' measures seize property market, other cities follow suit'|'Wed Apr 5, 2017 - 12:17am BST Beijing''s ''shock'' measures seize property market, other cities follow suit FILE PHOTO: A woman walks past a new office building in an area in Beijing, July 15, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo By Yawen Chen and Ryan Woo - BEIJING BEIJING Ji Wei, a recently married photographer in her 20s, fears her plans to sell her Beijing apartment and upgrade to one costing 6.15 million yuan ($891,000) will collapse because of new measures aimed at reining in a soaring property market. Beijing, home to about 22 million people, is on the frontline as China takes on speculators and tries to tame home prices. Chinese authorities fear surging prices are building up household debt, heightening banks'' credit risks, and fanning resentment as home affordability fades. Apartments in Beijing on average are still cheaper than homes in Tokyo or London, but prices hit their 2016 peak in December and have continued to shatter records this year. Second-hand homes in the capital averaged 63,082 yuan ($9,165) per square meter in March, according to Fang.com, a private provider of home price data - enough to value a modest 90 square meter (969 square feet) apartment at $824,850. "Prices have surged almost 50 percent for a two-bedroom apartment from when I first started looking in October," said Jiang Yuan, 33, who works for a big data company. A previous round of restrictions cut the number of re-sale market deals in Beijing by 37 percent in the three months to end-December, but failed to stop prices rising. In mid-March, the municipal government acted again - raising the minimum downpayment on a second home to 60 percent from 50 percent. On bigger homes, that minimum increases to 80 percent from 70 percent. They also suspended issuing individual mortgage loans of more than 25 years, effectively forcing borrowers to take on more expensive shorter loans. Buying a third property has already been banned. And the definition of a second-home buyer has been broadened to include anyone who has a record of taking out a previous mortgage anywhere in China. Beijing has also curbed individuals buying new commercial property, and closed a loophole in buyers faking divorce to take advantage of first-home downpayment rates. The number of new clients expressing interest to buy fell by nearly a third in the week following the latest curbs, and home viewings dropped 30.7 percent, according to data from Lianjia, Beijing''s dominant real estate broker. It may be too early to gauge the impact on prices, though. Fang.com data shows prices in Beijing''s re-sale market grew 1.07 percent in March, slower than February''s 3.3 percent increase. Official March home price data is due on April 18. "The market will freeze under the new measures," said Yi Xianrong, a professor at Qingdao University and former researcher at state think-tank the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "Sales may drop 90 percent." "It was like an ambush," said Ji, the photographer. The prospective buyer for Ji''s flat has now withdrawn, leaving her to find another buyer quickly or risk defaulting on her contract for the bigger home, and losing over half a million yuan in the deposit. "I''m worried no one wants to buy my 50 square meter apartment anymore," she says. "I''m not the only one affected by the new policies. I''m just one link in a long chain. If one person scraps the contract, the whole chain is likely to break." Local property agents reckon home upgraders like Ji make up around 80 percent of buyers in Beijing this year. Some developers, too, are concerned about the impact on the market. "This round of tightening is unprecedentedly harsh, and I''m very, very pessimistic about the market," Sun Hongbin, chairman of Sunac China Holdings ( 1918.HK ) told financial magazine Caixin on March 28. "The risks are very high in our industry mainly because property prices are now limited by the government. If we buy land at current price levels, we will no doubt lose money." (To view a graphic on cooling China''s property market, click tmsnrt.rs/2edPKFA ) BEYOND BEIJING While Ji frets, other cities are copying Beijing. In just two weeks, at least 50 cities have emulated the capital, says Yan Yuejin, an analyst with E-House China R&D Institute, which tracks China''s housing policy. Those include smaller and less developed cities that had benefited from a speculator-driven boom, such as Zhuozhou and Langfang. Last week, the housing ministry said Beijing''s tightening experience deserved to be studied by the rest of the country, state media reported. Beijing''s housing bureau representative Xu Jianyun was reported as saying the authorities would unswervingly contain upward price pressure. While the measures are aimed at speculators, genuine buyers, too, are caught. Jiang, the big data worker, has an apartment in the eastern port city of Qingdao, and wants to buy his first home in Beijing, where he works. But the re-definition on second-home buyers means he faces paying at least a 60 percent downpayment instead of the 35 percent rate for first-home buyers in the capital. "My budget is up to 2.2 million yuan for the downpayment for a 2-bed flat," Jiang says, "But with the new requirement, I''d have to pay 3.5 million yuan as a downpayment for my ideal home." However, Cao Zhounan, CEO and chairman of property developer Greentown China Holdings Ltd ( 3900.HK ), while predicting nationwide sales volumes will drop, says the market "will increasingly cater to genuine buyers who will actually live in the homes they buy." The restrictions may, intentionally or not, also drive property investors to look beyond China''s capital. In a recent phone sales pitch, a telemarketer eagerly promoted projects in cities near Beijing, including earthquake-prone Tangshan, which has a poor record on pollution. "The tougher the stance that authorities take in tier-1 cities, the greater the share of activity that will be pushed into tier-2 and beyond," Westpac said in a March 20 note. That could take some heat off tier-1 cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, and shift investors'' capital to smaller cities where restrictions are less severe. On Monday, property agents in Xiongxian county in neighboring Hebei province shut up shop hours after Beijing ordered a ban on property sales in an effort to curb a sudden housing boom triggered by plans for a new special economic zone. Household mortgages, which accounted for 39 percent of China''s new loans last year, are not expected to pull back significantly. Central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said last month that home loans will keep growing relatively rapidly this year, suggesting some tolerance for household debt. These loans are not just about property transactions: they impact a long industrial supply chain, he said. The real estate sector accounted for 6.5 percent of China''s GDP growth last year, according to official data, but many say its overall contribution is much higher as the property market helps drive sectors from construction to banking and finance. (Additional reporting by Muyu Xu in BEIJING; Editing by Ian Geoghegan) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-property-analysis-idUKKBN17632J'|'2017-04-05T07:14:00.000+03:00' +'864ee808c7a52bf349db8fae1922f473f5dce2ea'|'Executive salaries at China''s largest state firms linked to "party building" efforts'|' 5:42am BST Executive salaries at China''s largest state firms linked to "party building" efforts FILE PHOTO - A business man rides an escalator in the financial district of Pudong in Shanghai September 21, 2011. REUTERS/Aly Song BEIJING Salaries of executives at China''s largest state-owned enterprises (SOEs) will be directly linked to their performance on tests by the ruling Communist Party to assess their "party building" efforts, state media said on Tuesday. President Xi Jinping has overseen a push to re-establish the party in Chinese business and institutions, stating that a "key few" loyal and talented officials should play a greater role in leading the country. These efforts, often described as efforts to strengthen party discipline, dovetail with Xi''s war on graft, a multi-year campaign to target offenders at all levels. New rules released on Sunday will create for the first time a "system of responsibility" to ensure appointed executives are carrying out work to promote party ideology in China''s national-level SOEs, the party''s official People''s Daily newspaper reported. A meeting by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (Sasac), which appoints top executives in SOEs and approves mergers and sales of their assets, was held in Beijing on Monday. It was decided that the rules will link pay, appointment or dismissal and other rewards or punishments to assessments of how well individuals carrying out "party building" work, the article said. "We must resolutely assess party building, without tests there is no way to hold (people) accountable," Hao Peng, party secretary of Sasac said at the meeting, according to the state broadcaster. The party appoints party executives to top positions in SOEs, and party loyalty has always been a part of assessing officials'' performance. All institutions and companies must have a party unit to register with the authorities. But as China''s SOEs began to internationalize and take some entities public, the party role has waned in some organizations, with executives choosing their business role over party work, a phenomenon the new rules hope to address. "The party committee secretary and chairman are shouldered as one; two jobs, two duties with only one person in charge; we must resolutely avoid paying attention to one while neglecting the other," Hao Peng said, according to the People''s Daily. (Reporting by Christian Shepherd; Editing by Kim Coghill)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-politics-statefirm-salaries-idUKKBN17K0B4'|'2017-04-18T12:42:00.000+03:00' +'c369aadc3810a135574a8a4ef24043bb82ee02bc'|'Bank of Japan keeps policy steady, sounds more upbeat on economy'|' 42am BST Bank of Japan keeps policy steady, sounds more upbeat on economy A Japanese flag flutters on the Bank of Japan building in Tokyo, Japan, March 15, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai By Leika Kihara - TOKYO TOKYO The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy unchanged on Thursday and offered a more upbeat view of the economy than last month, signalling its confidence that a pick-up in overseas demand will help sustain an export-driven recovery. But the central bank slightly cut its inflation forecast for this fiscal year in a quarterly review of its projections, suggesting that it will maintain its massive monetary stimulus for the time being to achieve its ambitious 2 percent target. At a post-meeting news conference due 0630 GMT, BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda is likely to remind markets the Japanese central bank is nowhere near an exit from its massive stimulus, analysts say. "Japan''s economy has been turning toward a moderate expansion," the BOJ said a quarterly review of its long-term economic and price projections. That was a more upbeat assessment than last month and in the previous quarterly report in January, which said the economy was "improving moderately as a trend." In a widely expected move, the BOJ maintained the 0.1 percent interest it charges on a portion of excess reserves that financial institutions park at the central bank. At the two-day policy meeting that ended on Thursday, it also kept its yield target for 10-year Japanese government bonds around zero percent. In the quarterly review, the BOJ cut its core consumer inflation forecast for the year ending in March 2018 to 1.4 percent from 1.5 percent. It projects inflation to accelerate to 1.7 percent the following year and hit 1.9 percent in fiscal 2019. The BOJ maintained its projection that inflation will reach 2 percent around fiscal 2018. Japan''s economy has shown signs of life, as exports rose the most in over two years in March and manufacturers'' confidence hit the highest since the global financial crisis a decade ago. But core consumer prices for February rose just 0.2 percent from a year earlier, as weak private consumption has discouraged companies from raising prices. While a pioneer in deploying unorthodox stimulus, the BOJ is likely to lag behind its peers in withdrawing monetary support. The U.S. Federal Reserve is already embarking on interest rate hikes, while the European Central Bank may send a small signal in June towards reducing stimulus. Most analysts polled by Reuters expect the BOJ''s next move to be a tightening of monetary policy, though many do not expect it to happen until next year at the earliest. After more than three years of huge asset purchases failed to accelerate inflation, the BOJ revamped its policy framework last September to one aimed at capping long-term interest rates. (Additional reporting by Stanley White, Tetsushi Kajimoto and Minami Funakoshi; Editing by Sam Holmes)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-boj-idUKKBN17T0CK'|'2017-04-27T11:42:00.000+03:00' +'bf8ef807656395d04f8ac4633c1412a4d093cd55'|'SWIFT to introduce tool to spot fraudulent inter-bank messages'|'Internet News - Wed Apr 12, 2017 - 12:08am BST SWIFT to introduce tool to spot fraudulent inter-bank messages FILE PHOTO: Swift code bank logo is displayed on an iPhone 6s among Euro banknotes in this picture illustration January 26, 2016. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo By Tom Bergin - LONDON LONDON Interbank messaging service SWIFT, which is used to transfer trillions of dollars between banks every day, will launch a new tool to spot fraudulent messages, seeking to restore trust in the system after millions of dollars were stolen in cyber raids. Belgium-based SWIFT said on Wednesday that it will offer clients a service that will be able to learn a user bank''s messaging patterns so that it can spot if a payment is being made to an unusual counterparty or for an unusual amount. Last year $81 million was stolen from Bangladesh''s central bank after thieves hacked into its SWIFT system and sent instructions to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to pay money from Bangladesh Bank''s account to parties in Asia. SWIFT was criticized last year by some users and industry players for failing to beef up security on its system even as the risk of cyber attacks increased and the network expanded to include smaller institutions with more lax security procedures. Though SWIFT launched a range of new security measures and services in September, the latest product -- due to be introduced early next year -- will "red-flag", or put on hold, payment instructions that exceed limits set by clients or are deemed anomalous by the system''s learning software. The new payment controls service is a direct response to our communitys request for additional services to complement and strengthen existing fraud controls," SWIFT Chairman Yawar Shah said. Luc Meurant, SWIFT''s head of financial crime compliance services, told Reuters that the service would be targeted initially at institutions and central banks with small messaging volumes because they might not be able to afford to develop such detection tools themselves. He said the service could cost small users as little as 10,000 euros a year, though prices have yet to be finalised. (Editing by David Goodman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-banking-swift-crime-idUKKBN17D2TZ'|'2017-04-12T07:03:00.000+03:00' +'1a97e05ce86a8689bca9c6befdb1755298aeb08f'|'Germany''s Merkel encouraged U.S. will consider EU free trade deal'|'Business 7:26pm BST Germany''s Merkel encouraged U.S. will consider EU free trade deal German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends the weekly cabinet meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany April 12, 2017. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke HANNOVER, Germany German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday said she was encouraged that Washington would take a look at a future trade agreement with the European Union. Merkel, speaking at the opening of the Hannover Messe industry fair, said Germany remained opposed to protectionism and trade barriers, and would continue to work for multilateral trade agreements like the EU''s free trade deal with Canada. "I also feel very encouraged by my visit to the United States that negotiations between the EU and the United States on a free trade agreement ... are also being looked at," Merkel said. She said the EU would insist on maintaining the four basic freedoms of its single market during negotiations with Britain about the UK''s exit from the bloc. "We want to continue good relations with Britain, while maintaining the advantages of the single market for ourselves," she said. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-usa-trade-idUKKBN17P0PT'|'2017-04-24T02:26:00.000+03:00' +'7491648d9c092485fc4a1bd439efd4fe1acb2338'|'UBS first-quarter profit rises 79 percent on brighter outlook'|'Fri Apr 28, 2017 - 5:55am BST UBS first quarter profit rises 79 percent on brighter outlook FILE PHOTO: The offices of Swiss bank UBS are seen in the financial district of the City of London, Britain October 31, 2012. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo ZURICH Swiss bank UBS kicked off 2017 with a 79 percent jump in net profit as a brighter outlook boosted its investment bank and client trading in its core wealth management business. Switzerland''s biggest bank and the world''s largest wealth manager said on Friday net profit for the first three months of 2017 was 1.3 billion Swiss francs ($1.31 billion). This overshot the average estimate of 919 francs in a Reuters poll of seven analysts, beating even the highest forecast. "While the global recovery is likely to continue, macroeconomic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and divisive politics pose risks that may affect client sentiment and transaction volumes," UBS said in a statement. (Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi and Joshua Franklin; Editing by Michael Shields)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ubs-group-ag-results-idUKKBN17U0GY'|'2017-04-28T12:54:00.000+03:00' +'4862d95355ffe18744401e30c2a4ac50ec3bc77a'|'UPDATE 1-Brazil''s Embraer targets $1.5 bln in annual KC-390 exports'|'(Adds comments, context on civil version of aircraft)By Brad HaynesRIO DE JANEIRO, April 5 Brazilian planemaker Embraer SA sees $1.5 billion in annual exports as "a good target" for the KC-390 military cargo jet entering service next year, Jackson Schneider, head of the company''s defense unit, told journalists on Wednesday.Brazil''s Air Force has already ordered 28 of the aircraft for 7.2 billion reais ($2.33 billion), with two deliveries in 2018, three in 2019 and "the sky is the limit" for production in the following years, Schneider said.Embraer aims to book its first foreign KC-390 contract this year, Schneider said on Tuesday at the LAAD defense expo in Rio de Janeiro - the largest of its kind in Latin America.His comments reinforced Embraer''s intent to take a bite out of the global military transport segment long dominated by the workhorse Hercules C-130, made by U.S. aerospace firm Lockheed Martin Corp.Underscoring the direct rivalry, KC-390 program director Paulo Gastao Silva said Embraer was engaged in "promising conversations" about developing a civil version of the military aircraft. Earlier this year, Lockheed Martin rolled out its first civil LM-100J variant of the Hercules.Embraer has previously forecast a market worth over $50 billion in the coming decades to replace more than 700 aging Hercules planes.($1 = 3.09 reais) (Reporting by Brad Haynes; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and W Simon)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/embraer-kc-idINL2N1HD0RH'|'2017-04-05T13:27:00.000+03:00' +'a5812d2b2da68a8320d5b80ea7d778be99d80bdf'|'UPDATE 1-LafargeHolcim CEO to step down over Syria investigation - source - Reuters'|'ZURICH, April 23 LafargeHolcim is close to announcing that its chief executive Eric Olsen is to step down following an internal investigation into activities at a former Lafarge cement plant in Syria, a source familiar with the matter said on Sunday.The source said there would be a change in leadership at the cement company following reports in the Financial Times and French newspaper Le Figaro that Olsen would be stepping down, citing sources.LafargeHolcim declined to comment on the matter.The cement maker in March said one of its cement plants probably paid protection money to armed groups in Syria to keep the factory running in the country.The disclosure followed an internal investigation and highlighted the dilemmas companies face when working in conflict zones. LafargeHolcim is expected to announce the findings of its internal investigation shortly.Olsen was formerly an executive at French industrial group Lafarge, which completed its merger with Swiss group Holcim in 2015.LafargeHolcim has said the deteriorating political situation in Syria had posed "very difficult challenges for the security and operations of the plant and its employees."The site was an important source of employment in the region and played a vital role in supplying Syria with essential building materials, the company said.Sources told the Financial Times Olsen''s departure terms were still under discussion on Sunday. (Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi, Oliver Hirt and John Revill. Editing by Jane Merriman and Georgina Prodhan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/lafargeholcim-syria-idINL8N1HV0CX'|'2017-04-23T10:51:00.000+03:00' +'462451a10c07adc303e988bc9cd32607bb19af3a'|'Twitter posts strong user growth, shares soar'|'Technology News 1:41pm EDT Twitter posts strong user growth, shares soar The Twitter logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., September 28, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo By Angela Moon and Rishika Sadam Shares of Twitter Inc jumped on Wednesday after the microblogging service reported better-than-expected user growth in the first quarter, although its revenue fell for the first time. The surprising acceleration, which Twitter attributed to new features and heightened user interest in political news, followed several quarters of stalled user growth that raised questions about Chief Executive Jack Dorsey''s leadership and speculation the platform may be bought by a bigger company. Twitter reported yearly growth of 6 percent in monthly active users, a key performance indicator for social networking services typically calculated by taking the number of users who have logged in and logged out during the 30-day period, to 328 million. On a quarterly basis, Twitter added 9 million monthly users. While Dorsey cited technical changes to Twitter''s timeline which now lists content by themes instead of in a chronological order as part of the reason behind the user growth, Chief Operating Officer Anthony Noto said user interest in news and politics also played a role. There is "some evidence that we benefited from our new and resurrected users following more news and political accounts in Q1, particularly in the U.S. That''s a really positive thing," Noto said during a conference call with analysts. U.S. President Donald Trump, one of the most active politicians on Twitter, has tweeted about five times a day on average since his inauguration in January, according to social media analytics company Zoomph. Livestreaming, one of Twitter''s biggest pushes since last year to attract new users, also jumped in the first quarter, with more than 800 hours of live video across more than 450 events. Twitter said the content reached 45 million unique users, up 31 percent from the fourth quarter which was the first full quarter of live content to be streamed on the social media platform. Of those hours, 51 percent were sports, 35 percent were news and politics, and 14 percent were entertainment, Twitter said. "Twitter is becoming more relevant to consumers. They are making their products easier to use. And there is a global thirst for news and information that they are benefiting from," said BTIG Analysts Richard Greenfield. But some analysts were cautious about the future path of user growth. "I think that Trump drives a lot of awareness about Twitter among people who otherwise wouldn''t be paying attention," said Michael Pachter, managing director at Wedbush Securities. "But again, one quarter isnt a trend, so lets see if its sustainable." Despite the user growth, Twitter''s revenue for the first quarter fell 7.8 percent to $548.3 million, its first drop since its initial public offering. Twitter''s advertising revenue plunged 11 percent to $474 million in the quarter, but came in above the average analyst estimate of $442.7 million, according to market research firm FactSet StreetAccount. Just in the United States, the decline was steeper at 17 percent. Net loss narrowed to $61.6 million, or 9 cents per share, in the quarter ended March 31, from $79.7 million, or 12 cents per share, a year earlier. ( bit.ly/2phNNZH ) Excluding items, the company earned 11 cents per share, beating the estimate of 1 cent per share. "While we face revenue headwinds, we made progress focusing revenue products on our strengths," Dorsey said, adding that user growth will contribute to revenue and profit going forward. The shares were up 9.9 percent at $16.10 by midday. (Reporting by Angela Moon in New York and Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Meredith Mazzilli)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/uk-twitter-results-idUSKBN17S1E7'|'2017-04-27T01:41:00.000+03:00' +'ee53f0f49f239fbfd1d2d5e4642b60ffe5488a75'|'PRESS DIGEST- Canada - April 13'|'April 13 The following are the top stories from selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.THE GLOBE AND MAIL** BlackBerry Ltd''s shares rose 15 per cent on Wednesday after a surprise announcement that it had won back hundreds of millions in patent royalty payments in an arbitrated settlement with semiconductor giant Qualcomm Inc. The windfall will be added to the company''s C$1.2 billion ($906.62 million) in cash. tgam.ca/2o9NMow** The Ontario Securities Commission has accused fund manager Ben Cheng and three other Bay Street players of securities-law violations in connection with a leaked takeover offer in 2014 by online gambling company Amaya Inc. tgam.ca/2o9RDC4** A U.S. coal mine and health-care executive, Tom Clarke, who bid for U.S. Steel Canada Inc is trying to make a bid for Essar Steel Algoma Inc with the backing of the United Steelworkers union. tgam.ca/2o9NXjJ** Canada is warning the Trump administration that a Buy American requirement for new oil and gas pipelines would break international trade law and hurt business on both sides of the border. tgam.ca/2o9ZYpzNATIONAL POST** The Alberta Investment Management Corp is demanding local drilling company Savanna Energy Services Corp to immediately repay C$111 million ($83.86 million) in loans and fees, which is pressuring the company to refinance its debt while in the middle of a takeover. bit.ly/2o9D1mi** Cheesecake Factory Inc announced on Wednesday that it would open its first restaurant north of the border this fall, at Toronto''s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. bit.ly/2o9KtxE** Northern Dynasty Mineral Ltd stock jumped as much as 32 percent on Wednesday after the company received a crucial permit from the Alaska government that could see its Pebble project clear a 10-year-long development hurdle. bit.ly/2o9OZfB** Canadian oilfield services companies, which bore the brunt of the two-year downturn in crude oil prices, are reporting higher prices, buoyant business activity and robust bookings for the remainder of the year. bit.ly/2o9TXJf($1 = 1.3236 Canadian dollars) (Compiled by Shalini Nagarajan in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/press-digest-canada-idINL3N1HL3UC'|'2017-04-13T08:33:00.000+03:00' +'e021ebf29c0122f85e0c0491aa250ab61100984f'|'Third Point likes opportunities in Europe: letter'|'NEW YORK Hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb told investors on Thursday that his $16 billion hedge fund Third Point saw more opportunities in Europe and was positioned to absorb a modest sell-off in U.S. stocks.Third Point took a position in Italian bank Unicredit Spa and German utility E.ON, the firm said in its first quarter letter. During the first three months of the year, Third Point earned a 5.9 percent return.(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Andrew Hay)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-hedgefunds-thirdpoint-europe-idUSKBN17T38B'|'2017-04-28T05:43:00.000+03:00' +'d198fbfc856530bdf337633130998ae76907514e'|'FINMA probing ''a number of cases'' of possible Swiss market abuse'|' 50am BST FINMA probing ''a number of cases'' of possible Swiss market abuse The logo of Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA is seen outside their headquarters in Bern, Switzerland April 5, 2016. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich BERN Swiss financial watchdog FINMA is looking into "a number of cases" of possible market abuse in Switzerland including insider trading at several listed companies, Chief Executive Mark Branson said on Tuesday. "We are investigating cases of a practice known as ''spoofing'' in which large-scale fake orders are placed and withdrawn with the aim of achieving an unfair advantage," Branson said in remarks prepared for FINMA''s annual news conference. "We are also investigating several cases of front-running where an insider -- a bank employee, for example -- uses confidential information about an upcoming transaction to submit transactions for their own account." (Reporting by Joshua Franklin; Editing by Michael Shields) BP to cut about 5 million pounds from CEO''s maximum annual pay - Sky News BP Plc has agreed to cut about 5 million pounds from Chief Executive Bob Dudley''s maximum pay for the next three years in a bid to avoid a shareholder revolt, Sky News said on Monday, citing people briefed on the matter. LONDON British grocery inflation jumped by 2.3 percent in the 12 weeks to March 26, with the price of staples including butter, fish, tea and skincare all rising, industry data showed on Tuesday. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-swiss-watchdog-insidertrading-idUKKBN1760M4'|'2017-04-04T15:50:00.000+03:00' +'9857df96ffd847a9aa916f78af82ead0b8886b7f'|'Henderson shareholders approve merger with Janus Capital'|' 30pm BST Henderson shareholders approve merger with Janus Capital LONDON Shareholders of British asset manager Henderson Global Investors ( HGGH.L ) backed its $6 billion (4.68 billion pounds) merger with U.S. fund firm Janus Capital ( JNS.N ) on Wednesday, after Janus shareholders approved the deal earlier this week. Henderson last year agreed to buy Janus in an all-share deal, as active fund managers pool resources to fend off growing competition from index-tracking funds. A total of 98.87 percent of votes cast at Henderson''s extraordinary general meeting were in favour of the deal, the company said in a statement. Janus shareholders voted for the deal late on Tuesday, with about 86.2 percent of shares cast in favour. Each Janus share will be exchanged for 0.4719 newly issued shares in Henderson, following a 1 for 10 consolidation of existing Henderson shares prior to completion of the merger, Henderson said. Henderson and Janus chief executives Andrew Formica and Dick Weil will be co-chief executives of the merged group Janus Henderson, which will list in New York and Sydney. The deal is expected to complete by May 30, Henderson chairman Richard Gillingwater said in the statement. (Reporting by Carolyn Cohn and Justin George Varghese. Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-henderson-m-a-janus-idUKKBN17S2BP'|'2017-04-27T00:30:00.000+03:00' +'dd583667ff4872741166a576c087ef1edd8701c0'|'Robbing Paula to pay Peter in the boardroom - Business'|'The 1969 book The Peter Principle is practically unique among management texts, in that its based on a good gag.The premise is that employees are promoted until they reach a job at which they prove incompetent a line thats funny because of its truth, be that for sales directors, banking bosses or foreign secretaries.Anyway, a chap called Tom Schuller has come up with a clever modern twist called The Paula Principle , which argues that most women get promoted to a level below their competence. Far from rising to a position their talents dont deserve, they languish below what they could easily manage.Assuming that both principles are accurate, women should be paid more than men, as they will be comparatively better qualified for their roles but we know from the data that the opposite is true.Which brings us to Thursday, when British businesses with more than 250 employees will have to start collating data on their gender pay gap and then publish figures by April 2018.So the problem will be solved and the Peter Principle will be eradicated, then? Maybe not. As Josephine Van Lierop, an employment lawyer at Slater & Gordon, says: We expect big-budget organisations to be hiring expert pay consultants to identify and manipulate the numbers.More the cheater principle, then.Business booming in regulation game Gender pay-gap statistics are just one of the new requirements on businesses imposed from this week.As Suren Thiru, head of economics at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), puts it: We enter a new tax year with a raft of changes adding to the upfront cost of doing business. While corporation tax is decreasing, companies are more concerned about the escalating burden of input costs, which hit firms before they even turn over a single pound.Companies of all sizes will now see the introduction of the apprenticeship levy, immigration skills charge, a new national living wage, and pensions auto-enrolment. Such costs are likely to cause many firms to implement cost reduction measures, and weigh down on firms ability to invest, recruit and grow their business.The government must do more to ease the upfront burden on businesses, and allow them to get on and invest, train their staff, and trade all over the world.All of which is likely to represent the sentiments of many businesses although not all. All the consultants about to make a killing, for example.Is Diamond a brokers best friend again? It has been a while since the results of Panmure Gordon have caused much of a ripple in the City, but that was before we knew it was to be taken over by a consortium that includes former Barclays boss Bob Diamond .Once branded the unacceptable face of banking (Diamond, not Panmure) the American financiers Atlas Merchant Capital is teaming up with QInvest, the Qatari investment bank, to acquire one of Londons oldest stockbroking firms. On Tuesday the firm is due to announce results.All of which should give us a bit more information on what the banker is getting into and will no doubt reignite the debate over whether Diamond has served enough time away from the City after resigning from Barclays in the face of political pressure following the Libor scandal.That was five years ago, and while a lot has remained constant (the 65-year-olds reputation, plus his stubbornly dark locks) there has at least been some effort to soften Diamonds hard image.Not least, there was a video posted on social media in December that showed the old banker burping his new grandson, Henry, which is sure to have appealed to City folk. The banker barely looked at the child and instead appeared to be fixated on a Chelsea match on the telly.Topics Corporate governance Observer business agenda Gender Executive pay and bonuses Women Bob Diamond comment '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/apr/02/robbing-paula-pay-peter-boardroom-principle'|'2017-04-02T14:59:00.000+03:00' +'a98e214e2f540c1e17f7da14891791dad51c8d68'|'BRIEF-Aveda Transportation And Energy Services Q4 loss per share C$0.32'|' 39pm EDT BRIEF-Aveda Transportation And Energy Services Q4 loss per share C$0.32 April 11 Aveda Transportation And Energy Services Inc * Aveda Transportation And Energy Services Q4 revenue C$31.4 million versus C$17.5 Million * Aveda Transportation And Energy Services announces 2016 results and provides operational update for the first quarter of 2017 * Aveda Transportation And Energy Services Q4 loss per share C$0.32 * Aveda Transportation And Energy Services Inc -anticipates a substantial increase in revenue in Q1 of 2017 as compared to Q1 of 2016 * Aveda Transportation And Energy Services - preliminary revenue for Q1 of 2017 of about $39.0 - $41.0 million compared to $12.0 million in Q1 of 2016 Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-aveda-transportation-and-energy-se-idUSL8N1HJ5QE'|'2017-04-12T04:39:00.000+03:00' +'4f9d166f9469b12c86e1224e7d7ba514f6ce81d8'|'London Stock Exchange''s quarterly profit rises'|'Business News - Wed Apr 26, 2017 - 8:24am BST LSE reports higher income, says exploring investments A woman walks past the London Stock Exchange building in the City of London, Britain, January 16 , 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville London Stock Exchange Group ( LSE.L ) reported higher quarterly income as its clearing and FTSE Russell index compiling businesses grew strongly, adding it was exploring investments to drive growth after the collapse of its proposed Deutsche Boerse merger. Helped by weak sterling, LSE reported a 19 percent rise in total income from continuing operations to 458.7 million pounds for the quarter ended March 31, while comparable revenue was up 18 percent at 420.6 million pounds. Analysts on an average had expected income of 448.5 million pounds and revenue of 411.6 million pounds, according to a company-compiled consensus. The results come just under a month after EU regulators blocked LSE''s planned merger with Deutsche Boerse DBIGn.DE, citing concerns over a potential monopoly in the processing of bond trades. The failure of LSE''s third attempt to combine with Deutsche Boerse has reignited speculation that an overseas exchange may make a fresh bid for the British firm, with NYSE-owner ICE ( ICE.N ) having briefly expressed interest last year. The industry has been trying to consolidate for years amid weaker trading volumes and shrinking margins, but regulatory concerns, along with nationalist wrangling, have hindered many cross-border deals. "The group has made a strong start to the year... We continue to be actively engaged in exploring selective ongoing organic and inorganic investments in order to drive further growth," LSE Chief Executive Xavier Rolet said on Wednesday. The company, which owns Borsa Italiana and the London Stock Exchange, said it was well placed to benefit from the introduction of MiFID II, new rules that are aimed to make European securities markets more transparent. LSE shares were up 0.76 percent at 3332 pence at 0713 GMT, outperforming the FSTE 100 index .FTSE , which was negative. The stock was the third top bluechip gainer. (Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; editing by Louise Heavens and Keith Weir)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lse-results-idUKKBN17S0KD'|'2017-04-26T14:46:00.000+03:00' +'9ec85bd43e925698d319ff846f077e431d594f60'|'GM to add 1,100 jobs in California over five years at self-driving unit'|' 17pm BST GM to add 1,100 jobs in California over five years at self-driving unit The GM logo is seen at the General Motors Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant in Lansing, Michigan October 26, 2015. Photo taken October 26. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook By David Shepardson - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON General Motors Co ( GM.N ) said on Thursday it will add more than 1,100 jobs in California over five years at its Cruise Automation unit to boost its self-driving efforts after receiving $8 million in state tax credits. The largest U.S. automaker said it is investing $14 million in a new research and development facility in San Francisco that will more than double its current space. GM acquired Cruise Automation for $1 billion in March 2016 as part of its effort to build autonomous vehicles. GM is testing more than 50 Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles with self-driving technology on public roads in San Francisco, the Detroit metropolitan area and Scottsdale, Arizona. "Running our autonomous vehicle program as a startup is giving us the speed we need to continue to stay at the forefront of development of these technologies and the market applications," said GM Chief Executive Mary Barra in a statement. When GM acquired Cruise in 2016, the company had been working to develop hardware and software that could be installed in a vehicle to enable the car to pilot itself on a highway, without the driver steering or braking. Traditional auto companies have been making major investments in ride-sharing and technology companies as industry executives worry that the century-old business of building and selling cars that people drive themselves may shift rapidly in the coming years. California has aggressively courted companies to invest in self-driving research and development. A state filing said GM had 485 direct employees in California last year and will have more than 1,640 by 2021. "GMs investment is further proof that California is leading the nation in the design, engineering and deployment of autonomous vehicles, said Panorea Avdis, director of the California Governors Office of Business and Economic Development. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Leslie Adler and Bill Rigby)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-gm-jobs-idUKKBN17F2RG'|'2017-04-14T06:17:00.000+03:00' +'22c98d873967331d03163c0fa6356fbe062d92f5'|'U.S. job growth cools, unemployment rate falls to 4.5 percent'|'Business News - Fri Apr 7, 2017 - 3:13pm BST U.S. job growth cools, unemployment rate falls to 4.5 percent People wait in line to enter the Nassau County Mega Job Fair at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, U.S. October 7, 2014. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo By Lucia Mutikani - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. job growth slowed sharply in March amid continued layoffs in the retail sector, but a drop in the unemployment rate to a near 10-year low of 4.5 percent suggested the labour market was still tightening. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 98,000 jobs last month, the fewest since last May, Labor Department said on Friday. Job gains, which had exceeded 200,000 in January and February, were also held back by a slowdown in hiring at construction sites, factories and leisure and hospitality businesses, which had been boosted by unusually warm temperatures earlier in the year. In March, temperatures dropped and a storm lashed the Northeast, likely accounting for some of the stepback in hiring. The two-tenths of a percentage point drop in the unemployment rate from 4.7 percent in February took it to its lowest level since May 2007. "There probably was a large weather-related factor in there during the measurement week. If you look at the underlying data outside of this singular report and the way it''s measured, the data still suggests that job growth is pretty good," said Russell Price, senior economist at Ameriprise Financial Services in Troy, Michigan. The dollar was trading higher against a basket of currencies, while prices for U.S. Treasuries rose. U.S. stock index futures were slightly lower. The economy needs to create 75,000 to 100,000 jobs per month to keep up with growth in the working-age population. While the bigger establishment survey showed fewer jobs created last month, the smaller and more volatile survey of households showed employment increased 472,000. The labour market is expected to hit full employment this year. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls increasing 180,000 last month and the unemployment rate unchanged at 4.7 percent. The weak payrolls gain could raise concerns about the economy''s health especially given signs that gross domestic product slowed to around a 1.0 percent annualised growth pace in the first quarter after rising at a 2.1 percent rate in the fourth quarter. MODERATE WAGE GAINS Average hourly earnings increased 5 cents or 0.2 percent in March after rising 0.3 percent in February. That lowered the year-on-year increase in wages to 2.7 percent. Given rising inflation, the moderate job gains and gradual wage increases could still keep the Federal Reserve on course to raise interest rates again in June. The U.S. central bank lifted its overnight interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point in March and has forecast two more hikes this year. The Fed has said it would look at how to reduce its portfolio of bond holdings later this year. "I think for the Fed, it doesn''t change all that much in the near-term outlook. They were not going to go in May, and there are still going to be two more employment reports before the June meeting," said Mark Cabana, head of U.S. short rates strategy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York. The labour force participation rate, or the share of working-age Americans who are employed or at least looking for a job, held at an 11-month high of 63 percent in March. A broad measure of unemployment, that includes people who want to work but have given up searching and those working part-time because they cannot find full-time employment, fell to 8.9 percent, the lowest level since December 2007, from 9.2 percent in February. The employment-to-population ratio increased one-tenth of a percentage point to 60.1 percent, the highest since February 2009. Last month, construction jobs increased 6,000, the weakest since August, after robust gains in January and February. Manufacturing employment gained 11,000 jobs, slowing from the 26,000 positions created in February. Retail payrolls fell 29,700, declining for a second straight month. Retailers including J.C. Penney Co Inc ( JCP.N ) and Macy''s Inc ( M.N ) have announced thousands of layoffs as they shift toward online sales and scale back on brick-and-mortar operations. Government payrolls increased 9,000 despite a freeze on the hiring of civilian workers. (Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Additional reporting by Herb Lash and Sam Forgione in New York; Editing by Andrea Ricci)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-economy-idUKKBN17925U'|'2017-04-07T22:13:00.000+03:00' +'f3e216443f2267b5a5e85d1c5507bcaa34abc9a4'|'Drug spun off by AstraZeneca shows promise in hot flashes'|'Health 24am EDT Drug spun off by AstraZeneca shows promise in hot flashes A sign is seen at an AstraZeneca site in Macclesfield, central England April 28, 2014. REUTERS/Darren Staples LONDON An experimental drug spun off by AstraZeneca last year to an unlisted U.S. biotech firm could cut menopausal hot flashes by nearly three-quarters, according to results from a small mid-stage clinical trial. The British drugmaker licensed rights to the medicine, which is given as a pill, to Millendo Therapeutics as part of its strategy to divest non-core drug development. Findings published on Monday in the Lancet medical journal suggest the arrangement is working well for Millendo, which is backed by venture capitalists. AstraZeneca also holds a stake in the company. The drug, known as MLE4901, works in a novel way by blocking a chemical called neurokinin B. Hot flashes or flushes, also known as vasomotor symptoms, have been a problematic field for drug research. Hormone replacement therapy can help some women but the therapy can increase the risk of breast cancer and blood clots. The new drug targets receptors in the brain and offers a different, non-hormonal approach. The Phase II study funded by Britain''s Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research, found 28 women who suffered seven or more hot flashes a day could cut episodes by up to 73 percent with MLE4901, as well as reducing their severity. Researchers now need to see if the drug, which is also being tested for polycystic ovary syndrome, is safe and effective over the long term in a larger group of patients. (Reporting by Ben Hirschler, editing by David Evans) Next In Health News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-astrazeneca-millendo-hot-flashes-idUSKBN1751RA'|'2017-04-03T23:15:00.000+03:00' +'fd73b8d19d6fef2b9d52f1f8e41fcfab61300205'|'Schneider Electric to sell DTN to Swiss group TBG in $900 million deal'|'Business News - Mon Apr 3, 2017 - 7:57am BST Schneider Electric to sell DTN to Swiss group TBG in $900 million deal FILE PHOTO: Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Chairman and CEO of Schneider Electric attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland January 19, 2017. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich PARIS French electrical components maker Schneider Electric ( SCHN.PA ) has agreed to sell agricultural information company Telvent DTN to private Swiss group TBG AG in a deal worth around $900 million (718.05 million pounds) based on enterprise value, Schneider said on Monday. Schneider Electric said it expected to close the transaction in the second quarter of this year, and would use the proceeds from the sale to finance a share buyback program worth around 1 billion euros ($1.07 billion) over a two-year period. Telvent DTN last reported revenues of $213 million, but Schneider had decided that it was no longer a core part of its company following a strategic review of its businesses. (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Adrian Croft) Next In Business News Imagination Tech shares plunge as Apple abandons British firm LONDON Apple has given Imagination Tech notice that it will stop using its graphics technology in the iPhone and other products in up to two years'' time, dealing a major blow to the British company, which could lose half of its revenue. LONDON Credit card firms will have to do more to help struggling customers repay their debts, including the suspension of cards under proposals published by Britain''s Financial Conduct Authority on Monday. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-schneider-dtn-idUKKBN1750J8'|'2017-04-03T14:57:00.000+03:00' +'144876a56566b8770f67b0335ee7a02f14db5661'|'PRESS DIGEST- British Business - April 5'|'April 5 The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.The Times- British Prime Minister Theresa May has added some prime ministerial clout to the London Stock Exchange''s attempt to persuade Saudi Arabian Oil Co IPO-ARMO.SE mco to list its shares in the UK. bit.ly/2o7cWb1- PA Consulting Services, brought in by UK Trade and Investment in 2014 for a three-year contract, exploited poor decision-making by the government agency responsible for boosting overseas trade to increase profits and pass costs to the taxpayer, MPs have found. bit.ly/2o7dnCbThe Guardian- Britain''s North Sea oil and gas sector received 396 million pounds ($492.58 million), net of tax payments, from the government in 2016 compared with a contribution to the exchequer of 381m the previous year, according to analysis by energy specialist Carbon Brief. bit.ly/2o78KYT- The Bank of England has flagged up new concerns about the rapid growth in consumer borrowing as Britons rack up debt on credit cards, car purchase schemes and personal loans. bit.ly/2o7sbRdThe Telegraph- Telecom company Vodafone Plc is closing in on a multi-million pound deal to rename West Ham''s football ground. The company is in advanced talks with the owners of the former Olympic Stadium in East London with a six-year agreement possible this month, according to multiple sources. bit.ly/2o75ZXo- JPMorgan''s head Jamie Dimon has admitted he will not move many jobs out of Britain in the next two years as a result of Brexit, in a U-turn on his pre-referendum warning that a vote to leave the European Union could mean as many as 4,000 jobs moving across the Channel. bit.ly/2o7bEgnSky News- Crisis-hit Toshiba Corp is being forced to buy out a French firm''s stake in the venture behind a proposed new nuclear power station in Cumbria - throwing its future into further doubt. bit.ly/2o7c5qR- Ministers and regulators should act swiftly to curb soaring bosses'' pay in British boardrooms, a report from the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee of MPs has warned. bit.ly/2o7gqKNThe Independent- Food inflation in Britain hit 1 per cent year-on-year last month, the sharpest rise since February 2014 and marking the second month in a row of rising prices, according to the latest BRC-Nielsen Shop Price Index. ind.pn/2o7ahxV- Around 100,000 jobs may now be at risk after a top EU lawmaker warned that financial business denominated in euros must move from the UK to the EU after Brexit. ind.pn/2o7c46t ($1 = 0.8039 pounds) (Compiled by Bhanu Pratap in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Trott)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-press-business-idINL2N1HD00A'|'2017-04-04T22:18:00.000+03:00' +'94a5d5f5e76a9b6e3105968e74e24a1eee4781fe'|'Puerto Rico oversight board approves GDB liquidation plan'|'By Nick Brown - NEW YORK NEW YORK Puerto Rico''s financial oversight board on Friday approved a fiscal plan for the struggling U.S. territory''s Government Development Bank, which would wind down the bank''s operations over 10 years.The oversight board, appointed under the Puerto Rico rescue law known as PROMESA, also approved turnaround plans for the island''s highway and water authorities, as well as power utility PREPA, though those approvals were contingent on changes the agencies must make in the next several weeks.The GDB, which had served as the island''s primary fiscal agent, has been a shell entity since April 2016, when Puerto Rico''s former governor declared a state of emergency at the bank. The bank defaulted on $422 million of debt the following month.Board member David Skeel said it was "with sadness" that the GDB be wound down, "but I think its the most effective way to disentangle GDB from the rest of the economy."PREPA, which last month reached a deal with its own creditors to restructure $8.9 billion in debt, was told by the board to tweak its plan to ensure it can lower customer rates to 21 cents per kilowatt hour by 2023.Water authority PRASA, whose plan will seek to reduce a 10-year funding gap of $3.5 billion, was ordered to raise rates, while highway authority HTA must alter its blueprint to address its fiscal sustainability asset by asset.HTA must also come up with better solutions for losses at its mass transit system, the board said.Puerto Rico is trying to escape a crisis marked by $70 billion in debt, a 45 percent poverty rate and unemployment more than twice the U.S. average. It faces a deadline on Monday to either reach debt restructuring deals with creditors or open itself up to lawsuits from those creditors.It could also file a so-called Title III proceeding, an in-court restructuring process akin to U.S. bankruptcy, which would protect it from lawsuits.At Friday''s meeting, the board adopted a mechanism to file a Title III proceeding for the island or its public agencies without holding a public meeting.(Reporting by Nick Brown; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-puertorico-debt-oversightboard-idINKBN17U1ZG'|'2017-04-28T11:43:00.000+03:00' +'ef9d32d9f5b8f059e97f8a6d02c0eaa72f376414'|'Jared Kushner in talks to sell stake in real estate tech firm: WSJ'|'Jared Kushner, a senior level White House official and son-in-law of President Donald Trump, is in talks to sell his stake in a real estate technology company as he attempts to pare his numerous business ties, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.He is in the late stages of negotiating a deal to sell his stake in the company, called WiredScore, to a group of investors that include Los Angeles-based Fifth Wall Ventures, the Journal said. It was unable to determine the price of the stake or the identity of other group members.Kushner is working to exit other business investments as well, as the Trump administration faces criticism for not doing enough to rid its senior officials of potential conflicts of interest.He disclosed earlier this year that his stake in the WiredScore was worth $5 million to $25 million. Founded in 2013, WiredScore assesses the speed and quality of office buildings'' internet connections.Earlier this year, Kushner said in a federal disclosure form that he was "in the divestment process" of his holdings in WiredScore''s owner, Broadband Proliferation LLC, where he is a managing member.(Reporting by Carl O''Donnell; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-kushner-idINKBN17I0S2'|'2017-04-16T18:09:00.000+03:00' +'008ae9ea6ae731d6149201122fbbc9efeb5bde95'|'South Korea pension fund accepts Daewoo Shipbuilding bailout proposal'|'Business News - Sun Apr 16, 2017 - 6:41pm EDT South Korea pension fund accepts Daewoo Shipbuilding bailout proposal left right The logo of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co is seen at its building in Seoul, South Korea, March 24, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji 1/2 left right The logo of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co is seen at its building in Seoul, South Korea, March 24, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji 2/2 By Joyce Lee - SEOUL SEOUL A South Korean pension fund on Monday accepted a debt-to-equity swap proposal for bondholders of troubled Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering ( 042660.KS ), greenlighting the country''s latest plan to bail out the world''s largest shipbuilder. The National Pension Service (NPS), the world''s third-largest pension fund, said early on Monday that "accepting the debt restructuring will be more advantageous to improve the fund''s returns." NPS is Daewoo''s single-largest single bondholder, with about 390 billion won out of about 1.5 trillion won in bonds, Yonhap reported. The South Korean government suggested in March that bondholders, which hold about 1.5 trillion won of Daewoo debt, agree to a 50 percent debt-to-equity swap and a three-year grace period on the remaining, as a condition for state banks to provide a fresh $2.6 billion bailout to save the shipbuilder. Enough remaining bondholders still need to approve the debt-to-equity swap in the series of bondholder meetings to be held on Monday and Tuesday, but other large bondholders including Korea Post are expected to follow NPS'' lead to approve the proposal, creditor bank officials said on Sunday. The officials declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter. With this, South Korea is closer to its goal of bailing out Daewoo Shipbuilding, with an estimated 50,000 jobs at risk and billions of dollars in an economic hit if it should topple. (Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Peter Cooney)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-daewoo-restructuring-nps-idUSKBN17I0VM'|'2017-04-17T06:41:00.000+03:00' +'4f5a397468fd02a659e044d4eded0ef335f275f6'|'Chipmaker Qualcomm''s revenue falls 9.6 percent'|'Qualcomm Inc ( QCOM.O ), the largest maker of chips used in smartphones, reported quarterly revenue and profit that beat analysts'' estimates, helping ease concerns surrounding the company''s dispute with Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ).Investors pushed the company shares - the worst performer year-to-date on the Philadelphia semiconductor index .SOX - up 2.4 percent to $53.85 in after-market trading on Wednesday.The iPhone maker sued Qualcomm in January, accusing the chipmaker of overcharging for its chips and refusing to pay some $1 billion in promised rebates.Qualcomm said on Wednesday that Apple''s contract manufacturers underpaid royalties in the second quarter, but revenue was not affected as the amount was similar to what Apple claimed Qualcomm owed it.San Diego-based Qualcomm also warned that it was unclear whether Apple''s contract manufacturers would underpay royalties owed in the third quarter, leading to the wider-than-usual profit forecast for the period.However, Qualcomm Chief Executive Steve Mollenkopf said on a post-earnings call that the company expected to continue to be an "important supplier to Apple now and into the future".Qualcomm forecast current-quarter adjusted profit of 90 cents-$1.15 per share and revenue of $5.3 billion-$6.1 billion.Analysts on average were expecting a profit of $1.09 per share and revenue of $5.94 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.The royalties issue also weighed on Qualcomm''s second-quarter results.The quarter included a $974 million reduction to revenue, or 48 cents per share, related to an arbitration over a royalties dispute with BlackBerry Ltd ( BB.TO ).Revenue fell 9.6 pct to $5.02 billion in the three months ended March 26. ( bit.ly/2ot17st )On an adjusted basis, Qualcomm reported revenue of $5.99 billion, beating analysts'' average estimate of $5.89 billion.Despite the litigation worries, revenue in the Qualcomm Technology Licensing business rose about 5 percent to $2.25 billion, ahead of the analysts'' estimate of $2.24 billion, according to research firm FactSet StreetAccount.The licensing unit contributed about 85 percent of the company''s earnings before taxes in 2016.Charter Equity analyst Edward Snyder attributed the results in part to catch-up payments by customers who had earlier disputed them."It''s kind of a confusing mess right now on who''s coming and who''s going, that''s one of the reasons that you''re not seeing the stock perform better," Snyder said.The company also said there was increased demand for its Snapdragon mobile chips, particularly in China, boosting revenue by 10 percent in its chip-making unit.Qualcomm''s market share in China is expected to increase to 65 percent this year from 50 percent in 2016, with share gains in OPPO, Vivo, Xiaomi and Meizu, Rosenblatt Securities analyst Jun Zhang wrote in a note.Excluding items, Qualcomm earned $1.34 per share, above analysts'' average estimate of $1.19.(Reporting by Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-qualcomm-results-idUSKBN17L2PB'|'2017-04-20T04:30:00.000+03:00' +'45e4a38d6113352c6d242359488bcd68c40771a1'|'FCA CEO says no talks with Volkswagen'|'AMSTERDAM Car maker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is not holding any merger talks with German rival Volkswagen, Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said on Friday.FCA is not at a stage where it can discuss tie-ups, Marchionne added, speaking at a shareholder meeting of the group.Marchionne has long advocated consolidation in the car industry.(Reporting by Stefano Rebaudo, editing by Valentina Za)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-fiat-chrysler-m-a-idINKBN17G0VU'|'2017-04-14T09:25:00.000+03:00' +'bf93bf6aa94846863883afc5f7e97a30946a0d0d'|'Liberty House to buy ArcelorMittal''s U.S. Georgetown steel plant'|'Business News - Fri Apr 21, 2017 - 1:00pm BST Liberty House to buy ArcelorMittal''s U.S. Georgetown steel plant Sanjeev Gupta, executive chairman of Liberty House Group, poses for a photo at the companys Dubai office, UAE June 19, 2016. REUTERS/David French LONDON Metals group Liberty House Group has agreed to buy the Georgetown Steelworks plant from Arcelor Mittal ( ISPA.AS ) in its first major U.S. acquisition, the companies said on Friday. London-based Liberty will buy the plant based in South Carolina, including its 540,000 tonne a year electric arc furnace and 680,000 tonne a year rod mill, the joint statement said. It did not disclose the cost of deal. The Georgetown plant was closed in August 2015 and directly employed more than 320 workers. "Acquiring the plant at Georgetown, with its ability to recycle scrap steel in an arc furnace, gives us a strong platform from which to launch our strategy in the USA," said Liberty House executive chairman Sanjeev Gupta. The provisional deal marks the "first significant step in Liberty''s plan to make major investments in the U.S. steel industry", the statement said. Liberty House was in talks with the United Steelworks union on recruiting a workforce to re-open the plant. ArcelorMittal said in February that it expected apparent steel consumption in the United States and in Brazil to rise 4 percent this year. (Reporting by Zandi Shabalala, editing by David Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-libertyhouse-m-a-arcelormitta-idUKKBN17N1EX'|'2017-04-21T20:00:00.000+03:00' +'d65644a6ced363a063926416df368b951485834b'|'France''s SocGen reshapes organization ahead of wider revamp'|'Business News 6:57pm BST France''s SocGen reshapes organization ahead of wider revamp A view shows the logo on the headquarters''s of French bank Societe Generale at the financial and business district of La Defense, west of Paris, France, April 18, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier PARIS France''s Societe Generale ( SOGN.PA ) revealed a new organizational structure on Wednesday ahead of a wider strategic plan to be released later this year. "Our new organizational structure will be more horizontal, increasingly customer-focused and have a greater emphasis on regions," SocGen said in a statement. It said the structure would be made up of 17 business and 10 service units and its aim was to speed up the implementation of its new strategy when this is announced. The bank said it had reassigned management across regions and business lines, which report directly to CEO Frederic Oudea and three deputy CEOs. In international banking and financial services, co-head Jean-Luc Parer will take on a role as adviser to the general management by the end of 2017, while another co-head of the business line, Didier Hauguel, would be responsible for Russia. Hauguel will continue to hold key roles in the governance of the financial services and insurance businesses, the bank said. (Reporting by Maya Nikolaeva; editing by Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-socgen-management-idUKKBN17L2EY'|'2017-04-20T01:57:00.000+03:00' +'15e745e647c667abdbfee9b9ca55083a8b318ead'|'YOUR MONEY-Older couples ponder financial impact of divorce'|'By Beth Pinsker - NEW YORK, April 26 NEW YORK, April 26 What makes couples want to split after decades of marriage?The future."They look at their spouses and say: ''I have between 20 and 30 years left, and I don''t want to spend it with you,'' " says John Slowiaczek, a divorce lawyer in Omaha, Nebraska, who is president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.But the older you are and the longer the marriage, the more complicated the divorce typically is financially. Sometimes it is so daunting that couples end up living apart for years without filing for a formal divorce. Nevertheless, the number of so-called "gray divorces" of those over 50 has doubled in the last 25 years, according to the Pew Research Center.Divorce lawyers and financial professionals put a somewhat higher age on the gray divorces, with people in their 60s splitting up after long-term marriages or second marriages, with grown children. Slowiaczek''s oldest client is 90.Since these tend to be unhappy stories, emotional baggage can cloud financial negotiations. For example, Slowiaczek explained that his 90-year-old client sought a divorce as part of an inheritance battle between his sons from his first marriage and his current wife''s children.To avoid costly legal fees in a heated battle, sometimes a long separation helps."There''s a cooling off period," said Sara Stanich, a certified divorce financial analyst (CDFA) based in New York. Later on, couples can file official paperwork, often with less to fight about.One woman in her 60s talked to financial planner Cynthia Turkington, of North Oaks, Minnesota, for 45 minutes about her financial situation before mentioning in an off-hand way that she was still married and had no formal separation agreement with her husband, even though they had been living apart for more than three years.Turkington, also a CDFA, offered this advice. "Clarify that situation before you can look at assets."LEGAL SEPARATIONA legal separation is crucial for several reasons. If you do not formalize the split, you may be liable for debts your spouse incurs during the time period you are apart, even if you know nothing about them. Your estranged spouse also can make medical and financial decisions if you are incapacitated and will likely inherit your estate automatically upon your death.In addition, retirement accounts cannot be split without a divorce decree. So, if you are the spouse due a share of a pension or 401(k), you will have no claim to those funds unless your spouse dies and you inherit a death benefit.Lili Vasileff, a CFDA in Woodbridge, Connecticut, said some couples are now putting together "post-nuptial" agreements when they physically separate, just so there are rules for financial arrangements to cover things like disposable income and debts.One reason many couples extend their financial entanglements is to stretch health insurance coverage for one spouse until Medicare kicks in at 65. The Affordable Care Act made some of these machinations unnecessary, and corporate policies have started to restrict coverage of separated spouses. But even if there is no coverage issue involved, there can still be heavy costs - both financial and emotional - that keep people tethered.Andrea Vacca, a collaborative divorce attorney and mediator in New York, had a client who put off a divorce when one spouse got Parkinson''s. They had plenty of assets, but were concerned about who would take the lead in caring for the sick spouse.SPLITTING ASSETSFor older couples, the marital home seems less of a concern. Many are ready to downsize anyway, and they simply sell and split the proceeds. But Slowiaczek still sees a precarious situation where one spouse will be emotionally connected to the house.This spouse will buy out the other spouse, using his or her share of the other''s retirement account. But taxes complicate the process. A house''s equity is valued in post-tax dollars while a pension or IRA is pre-tax, so there is a differential that often works against the spouse with less money.The bottom line: getting divorced close to retirement basically cuts your retirement readiness in half, said Slowiaczek."Your cost of living is less, but not necessarily half, and you can''t live to the same standard," Slowiaczek said. (Editing by Lauren Young and Diane Craft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/money-retirement-divorce-idINL1N1HX0XR'|'2017-04-26T15:53:00.000+03:00' +'bb9dda2c5e93389a5fdccc9007e18da63b9e0e87'|'BRIEF-GCI Inc launches consent solicitation related to senior notes'|'Company 32pm EDT BRIEF-GCI Inc launches consent solicitation related to senior notes April 12 General Communication Inc * Launches consent solicitation related to senior notes * Unit GCI Inc soliciting consents from holders of its 6.75% senior notes due 202 and 6.875% senior notes due 2025 * Consent solicitation to effect certain amendments to indentures governing notes Source text for Eikon:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-gci-inc-launches-consent-solicitat-idUSFWN1HK0OZ'|'2017-04-13T09:32:00.000+03:00' +'8c5d16833a852dde465e269f9aa05b2ca2313c2c'|'Futures higher on optimism around earnings'|'Business 20pm EDT Wall St rallies on earnings; Nasdaq hits record left right Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., April 20, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid 1/2 left right Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., April 19, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid 2/2 By Chuck Mikolajczak - NEW YORK NEW YORK U.S. stocks rallied on Thursday, with the Nasdaq closing at a record, as a round of solid earnings led by American Express pushed equities higher. The credit card company ( AXP.N ) closed up 5.9 percent as the top boost to the Dow Industrials after reporting a smaller-than-expected drop in quarterly profit late Wednesday. CSX Corp ( CSX.O ), up 5.6 percent, was one of the best performers on the S&P 500 after the railroad reported a better-than-expected quarterly net profit driven by rising freight volumes and said it plans to cut costs and boost profitability moving forward. "You need a catalyst to go higher and the only one that is out there to me that is logical and would drive the market higher is earnings, and so far it is OK," said Phil Blancato, CEO of Ladenberg Thalmann Asset Management in New York. "You look at a day like today and it tells you there is a lot of cash on the sidelines that wants an opportunity to buy when the market sells off even just a little bit." Major indexes have fallen for two straight weeks, retreating from record levels as worries about President Donald Trump''s ability to deliver on his pro-growth promises raised some concern about stretched stock valuations. Mounting tensions between North Korea and the United States, as well as the looming French presidential elections, also served to heighten investor caution. Recent polls showed centrist Emmanuel Macron hung on to his lead in a four-way French race that is too close to call. Of the 82 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings through Thursday afternoon, about 75 percent have topped expectations, according to Thomson Reuters data, above the 71 percent average for the past four quarters. Overall, profits of S&P 500 companies are estimated to have risen 11.1 percent in the quarter, the best since 2011. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 174.22 points, or 0.85 percent, to 20,578.71, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 17.67 points, or 0.76 percent, to 2,355.84 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 53.74 points, or 0.92 percent, to 5,916.78. The S&P 500 closed just below its 50-day moving average, a level that had acted as resistance after the index fell below it last week. Philip Morris ( PM.N ) fell 3.5 percent to $109.98 as the biggest drag to the benchmark S&P index after the tobacco maker''s first-quarter profit forecast fell below estimates. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 2.49-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.61-to-1 ratio favored advancers. The S&P 500 posted 40 new 52-week highs and 1 new low; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 117 new highs and 35 new lows. About 6.65 billion shares changed hands in U.S. exchanges, compared with the 6.3 billion daily average over the last 20 sessions. (Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Nick Zieminski)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks-idUSKBN17M18N'|'2017-04-20T19:12:00.000+03:00' +'57437a1be5f588f185f3ac79830e1a2b7dd84e06'|'Fitch cuts Italy''s debt rating; cites weak growth, political risk'|'Global Energy News - Fri Apr 21, 2017 - 11:38pm BST Fitch cuts Italy''s debt rating; cites weak growth, political risk An Italian flag waves in front of the Montecitorio palace before the start of a finances vote in downtown Rome November 8, 2011. REUTERS/Tony Gentile By Gavin Jones - ROME ROME Ratings agency Fitch downgraded Italy''s sovereign debt on Friday, citing the country''s sluggish economic growth, fiscal slippage, weak government, banking problems and political risk ahead of elections due in 2018. Fitch cut Italy''s sovereign credit rating to ''BBB'' from ''BBB+'', a move that could put further pressure on its borrowing costs which have already been rising in recent months. The outlook for the rating is now stable, it said. The agency had put the euro zone''s third largest economy on watch in October with a negative outlook ahead of a referendum on constitutional reforms intended to streamline lawmaking which was lost by former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. Renzi then resigned to make way for what Fitch described as "a weakened interim government," led by his former foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni. "Italy''s persistent track record of fiscal slippage, backloading of consolidation, weak economic growth and resulting failure to bring down the very high level of general government debt has left it more exposed to potential adverse shocks," Fitch said. "This is compounded by an increase in political risk and ongoing weakness in the banking sector, which has required planned public intervention in three banks since December," it added. Italy''s public debt hit a record last year at almost 133 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) - the highest ratio in the 19-nation euro zone after Greece. Italy, which has the most sluggish growth in the euro zone and an unstable political outlook, has repeatedly backslid on promised deficit cuts. The result is that markets have become increasingly leery of its government bonds. The spread between Italian benchmark bond yields and their safer German equivalent has widened to more than two percentage points from one percentage point a year ago, and that rise would have been far steeper without the support of the European Central Bank. Fitch noted that Italy''s debt last year totalled 11.2 percent of GDP higher than the target Rome had set in 2013. BANK WOES The ratings agency forecast Italy''s economy will grow by 0.9 percent in 2017, the same pace as last year, and by 1.0 percent in 2018, which would still leave inflation-adjusted GDP more than 5 percent below the 2007 level. In January, Canadian ratings agency DBRS cut Italy''s sovereign rating, citing the same problems highlighted by Fitch. Moody''s Investors Service also has the country on a negative outlook, meaning a downgrade could be in the pipeline. Fitch said its outlook for Italy''s banking sector was negative, reflecting the high level of non-performing loans and weak profitability. Three banks - Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Banca Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca - are seeking public intervention to keep them in business. The Italian banking sector as a whole is weighed down by some 203 billion euros ($217.68 billion, 169.84 billion) of bad loans. The agency said that ahead of next year''s election, the "risks of weak or unstable government have increased, as has the possibility of populist and eurosceptic parties influencing policy." Recent opinion polls have given a clear and growing lead to the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, which wants to hold a referendum on Italy''s continued membership of the euro zone. (Editing by G Crosse)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-italy-rating-fitch-idUKKBN17N2LF'|'2017-04-22T06:38:00.000+03:00' +'fa991a5d85b9e05e747d7673d111d80357991dbe'|'FCA CEO says no talks with Volkswagen'|'Business News - Fri Apr 14, 2017 - 12:26pm BST FCA CEO says no talks with Volkswagen FILE PHOTO: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne speaks next to the Utility Vehicle of the Year award given for the Chrysler Pacifica during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., January 9, 2017. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File Photo AMSTERDAM Car maker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles ( FCHA.MI ) is not holding any merger talks with German rival Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ), Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said on Friday. FCA is not at a stage where it can discuss tie-ups, Marchionne added, speaking at a shareholder meeting of the group. Marchionne has long advocated consolidation in the car industry. (Reporting by Stefano Rebaudo, editing by Valentina Za)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-fiat-chrysler-m-a-idUKKBN17G0VS'|'2017-04-14T19:26:00.000+03:00' +'5738f49c1bf23ee8030c36f2bf2e08fadbd5590f'|'Centrica boss says some in UK PM May''s government lack faith in free markets'|'Market News - Tue Apr 25, 2017 - 5:15am EDT Centrica boss says some in UK PM May''s government lack faith in free markets * Centrica CEO cautions May''s government over energy cap * PM May''s Conservatives plan energy price cap for households * Centrica shares fell after pledge announced * May has said she supports free markets By Kate Holton LONDON, April 25 A plan by Prime Minister Theresa May''s Conservative Party to cap energy prices suggests some in her government do not believe in free markets at a time when it is pinning its post-Brexit hopes on free trade, the head of the country''s leading provider said. Shares in Centrica, the owner of British Gas, and SSE, fell sharply on Monday after May''s party set out plans to hold down the prices households pay for gas and electricity which have doubled in the last decade. Iain Conn, the chief executive of market leader Centrica, said the proposal would damage competition and wipe out any money it made from consumers, forcing it to cut costs and reduce its service. "I''m the first to admit that the UK market is not perfect," Conn told BBC Radio. "I just don''t think that capping prices is the right way to help the market and it probably will have unintended consequences." "I think there are some at the heart of government who just don''t believe in free markets and I find that concerning at a time when this market is highly competitive and the UK is seeking to forge a new future relying upon free trade with the rest of the world." May last year praised free markets and free trade in a speech to party activists but also said that she would be prepared to intervene where markets were dysfunctional or where companies were exploiting the failures of the market. Shares in Centrica fell as much as 5 percent at one point on Monday after the Sunday Times said the plans could cut gas and electricity costs by 100 pounds ($128) a year for 17 million families. The Conservative party has confirmed it will set out plans to intervene in the energy market in its manifesto for the June 8 election, but has not yet gone into details. The proposal echoes a 2015 election pledge made by the opposition Labour party which was criticised at the time by the Conservatives as being a gimmick that showed the then party leader wanted to live in a "Marxist universe". Energy bills have doubled in Britain over the past decade to about 1,200 pounds ($1,640) a year, angering consumers who face rising inflation, and drawing the ire of politicians. Energy companies say higher prices reflect increased wholesale costs and environmental levies. The sector is dominated by the big six providers of Centrica, SSE, Scottish Power, Npower, E.ON and EDF. (Reporting by Kate Holton; editing by Guy Faulconbridge) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-election-energy-idUSL8N1HX22R'|'2017-04-25T17:15:00.000+03:00' +'4e162c02987a33bfbbae4cd88d46a564d99b7598'|'Commodity trader Louis Dreyfus'' core profits fall for second year'|'Mon Apr 3, 2017 - 8:37am EDT Commodity trader Louis Dreyfus'' core profits fall for second year By Gus Trompiz - PARIS PARIS Louis Dreyfus'' [AKIRAU.UL] core earnings fell further last year as the global agricultural commodity trader again faced pressure from an abundant supply of crops. Large inventories, low prices and limited volatility have curbed margins in the past two years for companies such as Louis Dreyfus that buy, transport and process crops like wheat, soybeans and rice. The privately owned company said 2016 core operating profits for its business segments fell to $1.2 billion from $1.4 billion in 2015, marking a second successive annual drop. Net sales fell to $49.8 billion from $55.7 billion in 2015, while shipped volumes were stable at 81 million tonnes, Louis Dreyfus said in a statement on Monday. Net income, however, rose to $305 million from $211 million, supported by favorable tax effects. "Oversupply, market shocks, geopolitical dynamics and adverse weather conditions were some of the difficulties that the agribusiness industry had to face during 2016," said Chief Executive Officer Gonzalo Ramirez Martiarena. "Market fundamentals are unlikely to be very different in 2017, so our agility in adapting to changing market conditions will remain critical," he said. Dreyfus is part of the so-called ''ABCD'' quartet of trading giants alongside Archer Daniels Midland ( ADM.N ), Bunge ( BG.N ) and Cargill [CARG.UL], that dominate global flows of agricultural commodities. Like its peers, Dreyfus has been reorganizing its activities and last year set out plans to seek partners to invest in its fertilizer, metals, juice and dairy businesses. Dreyfus has also reined in capital investments, which last year fell to $354 million from $420 million in 2015, to help weather tougher trading conditions. The group expected the effects of its restructuring to start showing through in its results from next year, Ramirez said. Rivals such as ADM and Cargill have also seen earnings from trading activities decline, although better performances at other units have helped boost their group profits in recent quarters. Louis Dreyfus is controlled by Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, who also chairs the company''s board. (Reporting by Gus Trompiz; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-louisdreyfus-results-idUSKBN1751BF'|'2017-04-03T20:33:00.000+03:00' +'8d3fca1acd63f5d47423500f7f9accee462de212'|'Lack of clarity on Toshiba earnings audit is a problem - Japan finance minister'|'Business News - Wed Apr 12, 2017 - 3:37am BST Lack of clarity on Toshiba earnings audit is a problem - Japan finance minister left right The logo of Toshiba Corp is seen behind cherry blossoms at the company''s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan April 11, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 1/2 left right Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso takes questions from reporters at the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank Group in Washington October 7, 2016. REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan 2/2 By Stanley White - TOKYO TOKYO Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Wednesday that a lack of clarity on why auditors did not sign off on Toshiba Corp''s ( 6502.T ) earnings is problematic for shareholders and financial markets. Aso, who is also head of the country''s financial regulator, said this uncertainty could cause confusion for stock and bond markets. Aso also said he did not want investors to lose faith in Japan''s financial markets simply based on Toshiba''s problems. "The problem is it is not clear why the auditors did not sign off," Aso said. "If you''re a shareholder or an investor, you''d look at Toshiba''s earnings and ask, ''What is this?'' This could fuel speculation that Japan''s auditing standards are soft or that Toshiba has problems." Toshiba filed twice-delayed business results on Tuesday without an endorsement from its auditor and warned its very survival was in doubt, deepening a crisis stemming from problems at its U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse Electric Co. The filing carried a disclaimer from auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Aarata LLC that it was unable to form an opinion of the results, increasing the likelihood that the Tokyo Stock Exchange will delist Toshiba. The move puts the stock exchange centre-stage as it weighs the pros and cons of forcing Toshiba to delist. Failing to act tough with Toshiba would bring into question authorities'' credibility in maintaining standards for investors, but a delisting would complicate the crisis at Toshiba, increasing its financing costs and exposing it to further lawsuits from angry shareholders. Accountants have been questioning the numbers at Westinghouse, where massive cost overruns at four nuclear reactors under construction in the Southeastern United States have forced Toshiba to estimate a $9 billion annual (7.25 billion pounds) net loss. (Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Edwina Gibbs)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting-idUKKBN17E02Y'|'2017-04-12T10:37:00.000+03:00' +'c2672dd5cbe8d653ae5a2e9008665490f5b6d615'|'Former Wells Fargo retail chief rejects board report on sales scandal'|' 36am EDT Former Wells Fargo retail chief rejects board report on sales scandal By Karen Freifeld - NEW YORK, April 10 NEW YORK, April 10 Former head of retail banking at Wells Fargo & Co Carrie Tolstedt rejected on Monday the bank''s internal investigation into sales practice abuses which laid much of the blame for the problems on her. We strongly disagree with the report and its attempt to lay blame with Ms. Tolstedt. A full and fair examination of the facts will produce a different conclusion, Enu Mainigi, Williams & Connolly LLP, attorneys for Tolstedt, said in a statement. (Editing by Carmel Crimmins; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/wellsfargo-accounts-tolstedt-idUSL1N1HI0RC'|'2017-04-10T23:36:00.000+03:00' +'c75e3e91531ee269c7c6788d3f5d924136ce4b60'|'UK Stocks-Factors to watch on April 11'|' 26am EDT UK Stocks-Factors to watch on April 11 April 11 Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening 9.5 points lower on Tuesday, according to financial bookmakers. * BHP: Elliott Management Corp''s activist campaign to shake up Anglo-Australian mining group BHP Billiton, relies on tested U.S. shareholder activism strategies to deliver one of the hedge fund''s biggest ever bets on a company. * BRITAIN RETAIL: Shoppers in Britain clamped down on their spending in early 2017 as retail sales rose at the slowest pace since the depths of the global financial crisis nearly a decade ago, a retail industry group said on Tuesday. * TESCO: A court approved a deal on Monday between Britain''s biggest retailer Tesco plc and the country''s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to settle a probe over a 2014 accounting scandal. * BARCLAYS: The United States Department of Justice is probing Barclays over whistleblower scandal, New York Times reported on Monday. nyp.st/2okrowc . * JAEGER: Fashion retailer Jaeger, known for its classic British clothing ranges, has gone into administration, the administrators said in a statement, putting nearly 700 jobs at risk. * BRITAIN ELECTRIC CARS: Britain awarded millions of pounds on Tuesday to help boost manufacturing of electric vehicle batteries, including a project to build the country''s second purpose-built electric battery plant and another to make the technology more powerful. * BRITAIN WHEAT: Britain''s wheat exports rose slightly in February but were still running behind last season''s pace, customs data showed on Monday. * The UK blue chip index ended the day flat on Monday with retailers the top gainers, and mid and small-caps rose to new record highs on strength in commodities. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets * UK CORPORATE DIARY: Vedanta Resources Plc Q4 & FY 2017 Production Results JD Sports Fashion Plc Full Year Results TODAY''S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idUSL3N1HJ24C'|'2017-04-11T13:26:00.000+03:00' +'8397ea6bcd05260c5f2fa5642e839d9218b8d8d5'|'Credit Suisse takes out UK newspaper ads after office raids in tax case'|'Sun Apr 2, 2017 - 12:10pm BST Credit Suisse takes out UK newspaper ads after office raids in tax case Credit Suisse logo is pictured on their office in Warsaw Poland, March 15, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel LONDON Credit Suisse ( CSGN.S ) has taken out adverts in British Sunday newspapers stressing a zero-tolerance policy on tax evasion, as the Swiss bank tries to limit any damage to its reputation from raids on three of its offices. Zurich-based Credit Suisse was pulled into an international tax evasion and money laundering investigation on Thursday when coordinated searches were carried out on its London, Paris and Amsterdam offices. The ads, which appeared in the Sunday Times, Sunday Telegraph and Observer, stated they were a "response to recent reports about tax probes in various European countries". Among seven bullet points, Credit Suisse said it "wishes to conduct business with clients that have paid their taxes" and the bank would "continue to work closely with the local authorities in all matters and particularly in this new case". The raids reopened the thorny issue of tax evasion which has dogged Swiss banks for years as wealthy individuals around the world have used the country''s strict bank secrecy laws to hide cash from the tax man. Credit Suisse, Switzerland''s second-biggest bank, in 2014 pleaded guilty and was fined $2.6 billion by U.S. authorities over charges it helped wealthy Americans evade taxes. It has also settled tax dodging cases in Italy and Germany. (Reporting by Paul Sandle; Writing by Joshua Franklin in Zurich; Editing by Mark Potter) Up Next'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-credit-suisse-taxevasion-britain-idUKKBN1740D4'|'2017-04-02T19:09:00.000+03:00' +'474664b859a7134f191228cfc28e41a947666950'|'Bombardier hits cash snag on Australian train order'|'By Jonathan Barrett and Allison Lampert - SYDNEY/MONTREAL SYDNEY/MONTREAL Bombardier Inc''s hopes of receiving initial payments for a A$4.4 billion contract to build 75 electric trains for Australia''s Queensland state government have been hit amid accusations of design faults.The Canadian company had expected to start booking proceeds from that deal late last year to help meet cash-flow targets.A person familiar with the company''s thinking said it had concerns over its rail division''s operational cash flow in the first quarter of this year.Delays in being paid, and the added cost of fixing any manufacturing faults, could make it harder for Bombardier Transportation to reach its 2017 revenue target of around $8.5 billion, up from $8 billion in 2016, said an industry analyst, who didn''t want to be named as he is not authorized to talk to the media. Similarly, it aims to push up its EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) margin slightly to about 7.5 percent.The issues with the Queensland order - ranging from braking problems to driver visibility and disability access - come on top of other hitches that have weighed on Bombardier''s rail division. Separately, a Canadian judge is poised to rule on a dispute over a C$770 million contract with Toronto''s Metrolinx system.They also come to light as Bombardier is again discussing a potential merger of its rail unit, the Montreal-based plane and train maker''s most reliable cash generator, with Germany''s Siemens, people close to the matter said this week.Siemens'' transportation business has also had product flaws in its trams, and there were delays recently in supplying high-speed trains to state-owned German rail operator Deutsche Bahn.Claas Belling, spokesman for Germany-based Bombardier Transportation, declined to comment on specific, confidential contract terms, but said the Queensland deal is one of several hundred agreements globally. "Some may be performing better than plan, while others may lag," he said in an email to Reuters.The possible rail merger talks come as Bombardier aggressively cuts costs as part of a 5-year turnaround plan. The company considered bankruptcy in 2015 when it faced a cash crunch while bringing two jets to market, but CEO Alain Bellemare has since led a restructuring, and the company has received cash infusions from the Quebec government and Canada''s second-largest pension fund.ONE-SIDED CONTRACTIt''s not clear to what extent Bombardier is responsible for the design flaws on the Queensland contract.Australia was mentioned as an example in a broad internal review of the rail division from 2015 that raised concerns about a systemic problem: at the time, the company agreed to custom-build trains to the client''s request, which is more risky and costly than offering a standard line of equipment, said another person familiar with the matter.While Bellemare, who has been CEO for a little over two years, has addressed that issue, deals signed before his time, including the 2013 Queensland contract won by a Bombardier-led consortium, are a potential drag on the company.A person with knowledge of the contract said it was one-sided in favor of the state government. It could change its mind and order planes instead, and Bombardier would probably have to pay the difference, the person quipped.Downer Group, a Sydney-headquartered engineering firm, told Reuters it decided against bidding for the Queensland order because of the "onerous" contract terms.SUSPENDEDBy early this year, Queensland had received 13 six-car trains, but suspended further deliveries apart from two that were already en route from Bombardier''s factory in Savli, India.The state has not yet paid any money to Bombardier.The Canadian firm is now trying to have four or five of the trains certified for use in Australia before the end of this year, two people familiar with the issue said."There''s no funding until they get through testing and are certified," said a political source with knowledge of the contract terms, which are not public. "The issues with the trains include unsatisfactory braking, which are design flaws."Paul Bini, a spokesman for the bid consortium - which also includes Aberdeen Asset Management, UK developer John Laing and Japanese trading company Itochu Corp - said it wasn''t unusual for issues to be identified during testing, especially on large and complex projects."All 75 New Generation Rollingstock trains are expected to be delivered and rolled-out on to the South East Queensland rail network by late-2018," he added.The Queensland government previously cited problems with the trains'' braking systems, the design of the driver cabs, which it said had inadequate visibility, and doorway disability access that did not meet Australian standards."We are working around the clock to resolve the issues as soon as possible, without compromising safety," Deputy Premier and Transport Minister Jackie Trad told Reuters.Bini said the trains were being tested to meet safety standards, and the brake issue had been resolved. He added that feedback from rail groups and the disability sector were incorporated into the train''s design.(Reporting by Allison Lampert and Jonathan Barrett, with additional reporting by Andrea Shalal in BERLIN; Editing by Denny Thomas and Ian Geoghegan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-bombardier-railways-australia-analysi-idINKBN17F2LO'|'2017-04-13T18:21:00.000+03:00' +'4a7c9ba243b219db53df3efc32d011296e1d173e'|'Mallinckrodt reaches $35 million settlement in U.S. drug probe'|'Health News 10am EDT Mallinckrodt reaches $35 million settlement in U.S. drug probe Mallinckrodt Plc, a manufacturer of the generic painkiller oxycodone, said on Monday it had reached a $35 million settlement to resolve U.S. probes into its monitoring and reporting of suspicious orders of controlled substances. The drug company said that the agreement in principle is subject to additional review and approval by the U.S. Justice Department and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and will not have a material effect on Mallinckrodt''s financial condition. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston) Next In Health News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mallinckrodt-settlement-idUSKBN1751JM'|'2017-04-03T22:07:00.000+03:00' +'c2087a8cb29901137e7d1b7329747d1516b2e37f'|'Liberty Interactive to buy General Communication for $1.12 billion'|'Liberty Interactive Corp ( QVCA.O ) said on Tuesday it would buy Alaska-based telecoms firm General Communication Inc ( GNCMA.O ) for $1.12 billion.Liberty Interactive will pay $32.50 per General Communication share, representing a premium of 58.1 percent to the stock''s close on Monday.General Communication provides residential and business telecommunications services in Alaska.Liberty Interactive owns interests in companies that are primarily engaged in video and digital commerce industries.(Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-general-communication-m-a-liberty-int-idINKBN1761EW'|'2017-04-04T10:37:00.000+03:00' +'0374d9971c28b470c0fefeaf8fe94d254d368d49'|'Alstria aims to double property portfolio to six billion euros'|'Business News - Sat Apr 1, 2017 - 1:10pm BST Alstria aims to double property portfolio to six billion euros FRANKFURT German real estate firm Alstria Office Reit ( AOXG.DE ) plans to double its portfolio to six billion euros (5 billion pounds), its chief financial officer Alexander Dexne said in the Saturday edition of Boersenzeitung (BoeZ), without giving a date. "It cannot be gauged how fast we can double the property portfolio," Dexne said, adding it had taken the M-Dax listed company nearly 10 years to arrive at the current size since it floated in 2007. Dexne said Alstria was always looking for acquisitions and currently had 250 million euros available in liquid assets. Its loan-to-value rate had been lowered to 40 percent over the past 12 months to a level that would be maintained for the medium term, he said. Alstria owns 108 buildings in places including Hamburg, the Rhine-Ruhr and Rhine-Main regions, Stuttgart and Berlin. While it had not been able to tap opportunities in Munich, where prices had always been high, it viewed the city as attractive, as it does Berlin, Dexne said. Its portfolio in Frankfurt amounts to 500 million euros and could benefit if there is a move towards the city as financial institutions leave London over Britain''s exit from the European Union, he said. (Reporting by Vera Eckert, editing by XXX) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-alstria-portfolio-cfo-idUKKBN1733FP'|'2017-04-01T20:10:00.000+03:00' +'eb189fe845f60b315fd07743b89a26ca309844fa'|'Microsoft''s quarterly revenue falls short of estimates'|' 9:45pm BST Microsoft''s quarterly revenue falls short of estimates FILE PHOTO: An advertisement is played on a set of large screens at the Microsoft office in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., on January 25, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo Microsoft Corp ( MSFT.O ) on Thursday reported quarterly revenue that slightly missed analysts'' estimates, as robust demand for its cloud computing services failed to offset weak growth in its personal computing division. The company''s shares fell 1.9 percent to $67 in trading after the bell. Under Chief Executive Satya Nadella, who took the helm in 2014, Microsoft has sharpened its focus on the fast-growing cloud computing unit to counter a prolonged slowdown in the PC market, which has weighed on demand for its Windows software. Revenue from Microsoft''s personal computing unit, its largest by revenue, fell 7.4 percent to $8.84 billion. Analysts on average had expected revenue of $9.22 billion, according to research firm FactSet StreetAccount. The business includes Windows software, Xbox gaming consoles, online search advertising and Surface personal computers. Surface revenue dipped 26 percent in the quarter. The lower-than-expected revenue in the personal computing division came amid an uptick in the PC market. Worldwide PC shipments rose 0.6 percent in the first quarter of 2017, seeing growth for the first time in five years, market research firm IDC said earlier this month. Revenue from Microsoft''s "Intelligent Cloud" business, which houses server products and the company''s flagship cloud computing platform, Azure, jumped about 11 percent to $6.76 billion in the third quarter ended March 31. Azure revenue soared 93 percent in the quarter. Azure competes with Amazon.com Inc''s ( AMZN.O ) Amazon Web Services, the market leader in cloud infrastructure, as well as offerings from Alphabet Inc''s ( GOOGL.O ) Google, IBM ( IBM.N ) and Oracle Corp ( ORCL.N ). The company''s net income rose to $4.80 billion, or 61 cents per share, in the third quarter ended March 31, from $3.76 billion, or 47 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, Microsoft earned 73 cents per share. Analysts on average had expected 70 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S ( bit.ly/2oQAzSJ ) Revenue on an adjusted basis climbed 6 percent to $23.56 billion, missing analysts'' average estimate of $23.62 billion. Microsoft said LinkedIn, which it bought for about $26 billion, contributed $975 million in revenue in the quarter. Microsoft''s shares had risen 9.9 percent this year through Thursday, eclipsing the 7 percent gain in the broader S&P 500 .SPX . (Reporting by Pushkala A and Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-microsoft-results-idUKKBN17T33O'|'2017-04-28T04:45:00.000+03:00' +'5f98119354e837bd927633b6bd91ede30b59e52c'|'Rhode Island hires Goldman''s Stais as its pension fund CIO'|'BOSTON, April 14 The state of Rhode Island hired a senior Goldman Sachs Group Inc executive as chief investment officer to oversee its $7.9 billion pension fund, the state''s Treasurer said in an email on Friday.Alec Stais was a managing director at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, where he helped match smaller pensions and endowments with investment staff in the Global Portfolio Solutions Group. He worked for Goldman for 21 years.Stais will start the new position in May, succeeding Anne-Marie Fink, a former JP Morgan banker, who left the pension fund in June 2016 for a position in the private sector.The pension fund made headlines in October with its decision to exit a handful of hedge funds, including Och-Ziff Capital Management, Brevan Howard Asset Management and Ascend Capital. For the 12 months that ended in February, Rhode Island''s pension fund returned 14.4 percent, modestly outperforming its benchmark which gained 14 percent. (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Dan Grebler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/goldmansachs-rhodeisland-idINL1N1HM0QJ'|'2017-04-14T19:36:00.000+03:00' +'9ee67c732582abcd874455b7a7f807a47292afc1'|'UK consumer morale softens in first-quarter on price worries - Deloitte'|'Money 10:03am BST UK consumer morale softens in first quarter on price worries - Deloitte A shopper carries a basket in a supermarket in London, Britain April 11, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall LONDON British consumer confidence softened last month in the face of higher inflation, a survey showed on Monday, adding to the weight of evidence showing that higher inflation is taking the steam out of the main engine of the economy. Deloitte said its quarterly consumer confidence index dropped to -7 for the first quarter of 2017 from -6 in the last three months of 2016. "Since last summer''s EU referendum consumer spending has held up well, but with inflation rising and nominal wage growth starting to slow, consumers are beginning to feel a squeeze on their disposable income," Deloitte economist Ian Stewart said. Official retail sales data on Friday showed the sharpest fall in the volume of goods sold since 2010 during the first quarter of 2017, with statisticians citing a broad-based rise in prices. Higher prices partly reflect the fall in sterling after June 2016''s Brexit vote, and on Friday Bank of England policymaker Michael Saunders said he would not be surprised to see inflation hit 3 percent later this year or in early 2018. However Prime Minister Theresa May is banking on voters still enjoying the fruits of unexpectedly strong growth since the 2016 referendum when they come to vote in an early election she has called for June 8 to boost her parliamentary majority. Separately, property website Rightmove said the average price advertised for houses and apartments sold on it in April had risen to a record-high 313,655 pounds ($400,945), up 1.1 percent from March. But Rightmove - which does not seasonally adjust its data - said that in previous years prices rose 1.6 percent price on average in April. "Increasingly stretched buyer affordability will continue to be a price moderator for sellers who are over-ambitious with their pricing, tempering the pace of price rises," Rightmove director Miles Shipside said. The BoE has previously pointed to a close link between British consumer sentiment and rises and falls in house prices. (Reporting by David Milliken)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-idUKKBN17P116'|'2017-04-24T07:06:00.000+03:00' +'bf85880b090f6674c5e4d07f636339fd0e7f409b'|'GM China vehicle sales fall in Q1 as tax cut rolled back'|'Company News - Fri Apr 7, 2017 - 2:50am EDT GM China vehicle sales fall in Q1 as tax cut rolled back BEIJING, April 7 U.S. automaker General Motors Co said on Friday its first quarter sales in China fell 5.2 percent compared to the same period a year ago due to a shift in the government''s tax policy and Lunar New Year fluctuations. The decline comes despite a 16 percent year-on-year increase in China sales in March. Demand for cars in China, the world''s largest auto market, got a shot in the arm in 2016 as people rushed to buy before the planned expiration of a tax cut on vehicles with engines of 1.6 litres or below. That year-end spike could depress auto sales in 2017, GM''s China joint venture partner SAIC Motor Corp said earlier this weak. The purchase tax on small-engine vehicles rose to 7.5 percent this year from 5 percent last year, after the government revised its outright expiry at the end of 2016. The tax will return to the normal level of 10 percent in 2018. A GM spokeswoman also cited the earlier Chinese Lunar New Year holiday, which fluctuates between January and February each year, for the drop. Separately, Nissan Motor Co said on Friday its China sales rose 5.3 percent for the first quarter. That came a day after Toyota Motor Corp reported a 1.7 percent rise in China sales for the first three months of 2017, and a double-digit increase for Honda Motor Co. (Reporting by Jake Spring; Editing by Randy Fabi)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/gm-china-idUSL3N1HF2KS'|'2017-04-07T14:50:00.000+03:00' +'45b3708d8739b6acc7c2818e40a2ec00680584f6'|'Four more banks named in bond price-fixing complaint'|' 28pm BST Four more banks named in bond price-fixing complaint FILE PHOTO: The logo of French BNP Paribas bank is seen in central Paris December 15, 2008. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo By Abhinav Ramnarayan and Karen Freifeld - LONDON/NEW YORK LONDON/NEW YORK Investors who are suing a group of traders and banks, saying they colluded to fix bond prices, have named four more banks as defendants. An amended copy of their lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Monday, shows BNP Paribas, HSBC, RBC and TD Bank have been added to the suit, which alleges that various banks and individuals manipulated the U.S. dollar-denominated sovereign, supranational and agency (SSA) bond market. Bond trader Gary McDonald, who worked at three of the banks, has also been named as a defendant in the amended lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges McDonald was also involved in colluding to fix bond prices. They join Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Agricole, Citi, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Nomura as defendants, along with individual defendants Hiren Gudka, Bhardeep Singh Heer, Amandeep Singh Manku and Shailen Pau, who have been named in previous lawsuits. Bank of America, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Nomura declined to comment. Credit Agricole, Credit Suisse, TD and RBC did not respond to requests for comment. Pau and Heer''s lawyers declined to comment, while lawyers for Gudka and Manku did not immediately respond to requests for comment. McDonald could not immediately be reached for comment. The amended lawsuit says lawyers for the investors have obtained transcripts of hundreds of electronic chats between the alleged conspirators, covering over 300 trading days. The suit says the alleged collusion began as early as 2005 and lasted for nearly a decade. "This case concerns a brazen conspiracy to manipulate the market for U.S. dollar denominated supranational, sovereign, and agency bonds," the lawsuit claims. "Rather than the dealer defendants competing with each other for the purchase and sale of SSA bonds to investors and to each other, the dealer defendants worked as one team." In January last year, International Financing Review, a Thomson Reuters publication, reported sources saying that the U.S. Department of Justice was investigating four London-based SSA traders and the banks that employed them for possible manipulation of bond prices [ bit.ly/2ongDsW ]. Since then, several investors have filed complaints against the banks and individual traders allegedly involved. Monday''s filing adds new details and allegations, including a sampling of chat transcripts, although some of the information, including the transcripts, has been redacted. The redactions were necessary because of a confidentiality agreement associated with obtaining the documents, a person familiar with the matter said. The plaintiffs in the consolidated class action lawsuit include the Iron Workers Pension Plan of Western Pennsylvania, KBC Asset Management and Sheet Metal Workers Pension Plan of Northern California. (Additional reporting by John Geddie; Editing by Nigel Stephenson, Larry King)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-banks-bonds-lawsuit-idUKKBN17D2KD'|'2017-04-12T04:28:00.000+03:00' +'1e2f59115b041e54ef659335938e22eee90ed21c'|'IMF may fund Greek bailout with small amount, for one year - government spox'|'Business News - Thu Apr 20, 2017 - 12:12pm BST IMF may fund Greek bailout with small amount, for one year - government spox International Monetary Fund logo is seen inside the headquarters at the end of the IMF/World Bank annual meetings in Washington, U.S., October 9, 2016. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas ATHENS The International Monetary Fund may finance Greece''s current bailout programme with a small amount for one year, the country''s government spokesman said on Thursday, adding the issue was under discussion between Athens and its creditors. Greece''s bailout ends in 2018. The second review of its progress on reforms has dragged on for months, mainly due to a rift between the EU and the IMF over its fiscal targets. "What is under discussion is a small IMF funding programme, which will last for one year and end at the same time with the ESM (European Stability Mechanism) programme, in August 2018," Dimitris Tzanakopoulos told reporters. EU and IMF mission chiefs will return to Athens on April 25 to finalise a set of reforms Greece agreed to adopt to convince the IMF to participate with funds in its current bailout. But it is unlikely that the bailout review will be wrapped up before May 22, when euro zone finance ministers will meet in Brussels to discuss the Greek issue, the spokesman said. (Reporting by Renee Maltezou and Angeliki Koutantou)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-greece-imf-idUKKBN17M18A'|'2017-04-20T19:12:00.000+03:00' +'7e6b010b80b35c657b510bb207b2755fa10e83d0'|'BRIEF-Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices signs marketing agreement with Juwai.com'|'U.S. high court won''t halt price-fixing class action against containerboard makers WASHINGTON, April 17 The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to halt a class action lawsuit against several containerboard manufacturers, which could now face trial on claims of price fixing by tens of thousands of buyers and nearly $12 billion in potential damages. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-berkshire-hathaway-homeservices-si-idUSFWN1HP08E'|'2017-04-17T21:39:00.000+03:00' +'127bf42e1a19b687bdde4807aeda99059bf80c5c'|'Hackers release files indicating NSA monitored global bank transfers'|'Company News - Fri Apr 14, 2017 - 3:18pm EDT Hackers release files indicating NSA monitored global bank transfers By Clare Baldwin - April 14 April 14 Hackers released documents and files on Friday that cybersecurity experts said indicated the U.S. National Security Agency had accessed the SWIFT interbank messaging system, allowing it to monitor money flows among some Middle Eastern and Latin American banks. The release included computer code that could be adapted by criminals to break into SWIFT servers and monitor messaging activity, said Shane Shook, a cyber security consultant who has helped banks investigate breaches of their SWIFT systems. The documents and files were released by a group calling themselves The Shadow Brokers. Some of the records bear NSA seals, but Reuters could not confirm their authenticity. The NSA could not immediately be reached for comment. Shook said criminal hackers could use the information released on Friday to hack into banks and steal money in operations mimicking a heist last year of $81 million from the Bangladesh central bank. "The release of these capabilities could enable fraud like we saw at Bangladesh Bank," Shook said. The SWIFT messaging system is used by banks to transfer trillions of dollars each day. Belgium-based SWIFT said on Friday that it had no evidence that the main SWIFT network had been accessed. It was possible that the local messaging systems of some SWIFT client banks had been breached, SWIFT said in a statement, which did not specifically mention the NSA. We have no evidence to suggest that there has ever been any unauthorized access to our network or messaging services, SWIFT said in a statement to Reuters. When cyberthieves robbed the Bangladesh Bank last year, they compromised that bank''s local SWIFT network to order money transfers from its account at the New York Federal Reserve. The documents released by the Shadow Brokers on Friday indicate that the NSA may have accessed the SWIFT network through service bureaus. SWIFT service bureaus are companies that provide an access point to the SWIFT system for the network''s smaller clients, and may send or receive messages regarding money transfers on their behalf. If you hack the service bureau, it means that you also have access to all of their clients, all of the banks," said Matt Suiche, founder of the United Arab Emirates-based cybersecurity firm Comae Technologies, who has studied the Shadow Broker releases and believes the group has access to NSA files. The documents posted by the Shadow Brokers include Excel files listing computers on a service bureau network, user names, passwords and other data, Suiche said. That''s information you can only get if you compromise the system," he said. Cris Thomas, a prominent security researcher with the cybersecurity firm Tenable, said the documents and files released by the Shadow Brokers show the NSA has been able to compromise SWIFT banking systems, presumably as a way to monitor, if not disrupt, financial transactions to terrorists groups. Since the early 1990s, interrupting the flow of money from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and elsewhere to al Qaeda, the Taliban, and other militant Islamic groups in Afghanistan, Pakistan and other countries has been a major objective of U.S. and allied intelligence agencies. Mustafa Al-Bassam, a computer science researcher at University College London, said on Twitter that the Shadow Brokers documents show that the "NSA hacked a bunch of banks, oil and investment companies in Palestine, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Yemen, more." He added that NSA "completely hacked" EastNets, one of two SWIFT service bureaus named in the documents that were released by the Shadow Brokers. Reuters could not independently confirm that EastNets had been hacked. EastNets, based in Dubai, denied it had been hacked in a statement, calling the assertion "totally false and unfounded." EastNets ran a "complete check of its servers and found no hacker compromise or any vulnerabilities," according to a statement from EastNets'' chief executive and founder, Hazem Mulhim. In 2013, documents released by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden said the NSA had been able to monitor SWIFT messages. The agency monitored the system to spot payments intended to finance crimes, according to the documents released by Snowden. Reuters could not confirm whether the documents released Friday by the Shadow Brokers, if authentic, were related to NSA monitoring of SWIFT transfers since 2013. Some of the documents released by the Shadow Brokers were dated 2013, but others were not dated. On Friday, Snowden tweeted that the Shadow Brokers release was "not a drill" and that it shows the NSA was capable of hacking fully updated Microsoft Windows systems. Several of the alleged NSA hacking techniques identified in the Shadow Brokers'' documents appeared to target older Windows operating systems, including Windows XP. That may indicate that the documents, if they are authentic, are older. Microsoft stopped releasing routine security updates for Windows XP in 2014, but some businesses and individual users continue to use Windows XP. The documents released by the hackers did not clearly indicate whether the NSA had actually used all the techniques cited for monitoring SWIFT messages. (Additional reporting by Tom Bergin in London; Dustin Volz and John Walcott in Washington; and Jim Finkle in Buffalo, New York.; Editing by Brian Thevenot)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-cyber-swift-idUSL1N1HM0JN'|'2017-04-15T03:18:00.000+03:00' +'28eaaade62c02cfac39246b92e8f14c1e936982b'|'METALS-London copper climbs as China trade brightens, imports jump'|'(Adds comment, detail, updates prices) By Melanie Burton MELBOURNE, April 13 London copper rose from its lowest in three months on Thursday after upbeat China trade data for March, and as traders closed positions ahead of the long Easter holiday weekend. China''s 2017 export outlook brightened considerably on Thursday as it reported forecast-beating trade growth in March and U.S. President Donald Trump softened his anti-China rhetoric in an abrupt policy shift. "Now that the Easter break is about to start and the LME will be shut for four days many Asian traders will have squared up positions. The markets will have also taken comfort from the positive Chinese data," said Kingdom Futures in a report. "(Still) with premiums still easing ...all eyes (are) on China for signs of the much talked about buying." * LME COPPER: London Metal Exchange copper rose 1.5 percent to $5,712 a tonne by 0534 GMT, paring losses from the previous session when prices fell more than 2 percent to their lowest since Jan. 10. * HOLIDAYS: The LME will be closed on Friday and Monday for the Easter break. * SHFE COPPER: Shanghai Futures Exchange copper cut early losses to trade down 0.6 percent at 46,350 yuan ($6,740) a tonne. * TRUMP: President Trump said on Wednesday that his administration will not label China a currency manipulator, backing away from a campaign promise, even as he said the dollar was "getting too strong" and would eventually hurt the economy. * COPPER: China''s imports of copper rose 26.5 percent from month ago to 430,000 tonnes in March, data from the General Administration of Customs showed. * ALUMINIUM: China exported 410,000 tonnes of unwrought aluminium and aluminium products, up from February''s 260,000 tonnes. China''s aluminium makers have stepped up exports as a healthier global manufacturing climate and declining world stockpiles boost demand. * CHINA ECONOMY: China''s economy likely grew by a solid 6.8 percent in the first quarter, the same pace as the previous quarter, due to sustained government infrastructure spending and a gravity-defying housing market. * China''s central bank has been quietly boosting its policy independence and regulatory reach as it seeks to contain risks to the financial system, policy insiders said, to help ensure stability ahead of a five-yearly leadership team transition this year. * Losses amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars appear to be pushing the Indonesian government and mining giant Freeport McMoRan to resolve a row that has crippled operations at Grasberg, the world''s richest copper mine, for three months. * Chile, the world''s biggest copper producer, faced a fresh threat of labour action in the sector on Wednesday when a union at the large Chuquicamata mine said it had blocked access as a "warning" over planned changes to job opportunities. * The global zinc market moved into a surplus of 19,800 tonnes in February from a deficit of 22,300 tonnes in January, data from the International Lead and Zinc Study Group (ILZSG) showed on Wednesday. PRICES BASE METALS PRICES 0538 GMT Three month LME copper 5711 Most active ShFE copper 46300 Three month LME 1919.5 aluminium Most active ShFE 84 aluminium Three month LME zinc 2635 Most active ShFE zinc 21750 Three month LME lead 2268 Most active ShFE lead 1 Three month LME nickel 9825 Most active ShFE nickel 9 Three month LME tin 19825 Most active ShFE tin 2 BASE METALS ARBITRAGE LME/SHFE COPPER LMESHFCUc3 515.39 LME/SHFE ALUMINIUM LMESHFALc3 -1270.19 LME/SHFE ZINC LMESHFZNc3 253.61 LME/SHFE LEAD LMESHFPBc3 -2139.58 LME/SHFE NICKEL LMESHFNIc3 1454 ($1 = 6.8768 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri and Christian Schmollinger)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-metals-idINL3N1HL2EP'|'2017-04-13T04:15:00.000+03:00' +'773070bc858228107800e9bf7cd504a649cb014e'|'Panera to add 10,000 new delivery jobs by year end'|'Company News 30am EDT Panera to add 10,000 new delivery jobs by year end LOS ANGELES, April 24 Panera Bread Co on Monday said it would add more than 10,000 new delivery jobs by the end of the year, as it expands the service to as much as 40 percent of its restaurants. The bakery-cafe chain, which has agreed to be purchased by JAB Holdings in a deal valued at about $7.5 billion including debt, at the end of 2016 offered delivery at 15 percent of its 2,036 restaurants. The expansion comes as U.S. restaurant chains fight to woo more customers amid a tough traffic slump and intense competition. Delivery adds about $5,000 to weekly sales at each cafe, a boost of around 10 percent, Panera President Blaine Hurst told Reuters. "We''re selling more food," said Hurst, who added that about 80 percent those new sales are from new customers or existing customers who are increasing the frequency of their purchases. While McDonald''s USA, Jack in the Box Inc, P.F. Chang''s China Bistro Inc and other chains depend on partners like UberEats, DoorDash Inc, Seamless and GrubHub Inc to provide delivery, Panera is running the business in house. Hurst said 75 percent of the new jobs will go to drivers, who use their own cars. The remaining positions will be in food preparation, he said. Delivery companies, many of which own the data they collect about consumers who order food through their sites, make money by charging restaurant partners a commission of 10 percent to 30 percent. Some also add separate delivery fees for diners. Panera introduced delivery in early 2015. Delivery is integrated with the company''s digital and mobile services and linked to its MyPanera loyalty program, which allows its 25 million members to save their favorite menu items, earn and track rewards, and receive personalized offers. Panera said cafes will generally deliver between the hours of 11 a.m. and 8 p.m., often for a $3 delivery fee. Panera also is introducing a new order tracking system from Bringg that sends users a picture of their driver, provides delivery status updates and notifications when orders have arrived. (Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Chris Reese)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/panera-bread-jobs-idUSL1N1HT1PR'|'2017-04-24T18:30:00.000+03:00' +'22d78ae952bf56d1c58ff58ad7150eba89fe9885'|'Lockheed Martin wins $423 million U.S. defense contract: Pentagon'|'WASHINGTON Lockheed Martin Corp ( LMT.N ) is being awarded a $423 million U.S. defense contract for cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to a previously awarded low-rate initial production Lot 10 F-35 Lightning II aircraft, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.(Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Eric Walsh)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-lockheed-pentagon-idUSKBN17S2XN'|'2017-04-27T05:18:00.000+03:00' +'8d7afd2c30ddcac8777ff9ebe4b736d5c4854e1c'|'ChemChina, Syngenta win U.S. antitrust approval for deal'|' 27pm BST ChemChina, Syngenta win U.S. antitrust approval for deal left right The company logo of China National Chemical Corp, or ChemChina, is seen at its headquarters in Beijing, China February 3, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter 1/2 left right A Syngenta logo is pictured in their office in Singapore, February 12, 2016. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo 2/2 WASHINGTON The China National Chemical Corp, or ChemChina, has won U.S. antitrust approval to merge with Switzerland''s Syngenta AG ( SYNN.S ) on condition that it divest three pesticides, the Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday. (Reporting by Diane Bartz)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-syngenta-ag-m-a-china-natl-chem-idUKKBN1762OQ'|'2017-04-05T04:27:00.000+03:00' +'e1476edc56266efdd291e3989fac888dfcb6e5db'|'We need to stop sexism in start-up investment - Guardian Small Business Network'|'In the progressive, fast-paced world of entrepreneurship, you may be under the assumption that all things are equal when it comes to securing investment. Sadly, that couldnt be further from the truth. A report last month from the Entrepreneurs Network found that only 9% of funding into startups in the UK went to women-run businesses. Men are 86% more likely to be venture-capital funded and 56% more likely to secure angel investment.This is a pretty bewildering state of affairs. The facts about women on boards improving the performance of companies are widely documented, and obviously these apply to female entrepreneurs. Dame Stephanie Shirley: ''we were part of a crusade to get women into business'' Read more Female founders deliver better returns for investors when it comes to running startups. Women-led technology companies achieve a 35% higher return on investment, according to research from the Kauffman Foundation in the US. In addition, a recent study from the BI Norwegian Business School showed that women are better suited to leadership then men.So, with growing evidence that demonstrates the outstanding results that women can deliver, why arent female-founders getting a fair chance when it comes to investment?Throughout my career, I have only ever had the opportunity to pitch my businesses to male investorsThere are many factors at play here but, broadly speaking, there needs to be a major cultural shift in venture-capital and entrepreneurial communities.Throughout my career as a serial entrepreneur I have only ever had the opportunity to pitch my businesses to male investors. For there to be a fundamental change and for the UK to back more outstanding female founders, we need women in all areas, including investors, founders and employees, with deep sector expertise to come to the fore.The most common challenge that female founders face is access to capital and the right type of senior support and expertise needed to scale a business.Businesses founded by women often look different to male-owned equivalents. This is because they tend to be in lower-growth industries, such as retail or service-based sectors, which means that these companies often reflect business models that venture capitalists have not invested in before. Female founders also dont always have the same type of networks as men, which can make it harder to attract and nurture the talent needed in finance, marketing or other core business disciplines required to scale a business.While the picture to date is pretty grim, it does feel like the tide is starting to turn. Women now represent one in seven angel investors in the UK, double the rate in 2008. There is also a large number of female founders demonstrating what success looks like for those that follow.The women-led startups smashing the glass ceiling Read more A 2016 report from Founders4Schools , an education charity, shows there are 762 female-led companies in the UK with revenues of between 1m and 250m growing on average 28% a year, with over a third growing more than 50%. Together their revenues rose by nearly 2bn in 2015 from the previous year.Since late 2016 when we launched AllBright, a fund dedicated to female founders, we have been contacted by thousands of investors and entrepreneurs, both men and women, saying they want to help make Britain the best place in the world to be a female founder. The way to capitalise on this and bring about serious change is to have women leading the charge. Only then will we level the playing field between male and female-led businesses, address the funding gap, and enable the economy to reap the returns of Britains outstanding female business talent.Debbie Wosskow is the founder of Love Home Swap and co-founder of AllBright Sign up to become a member of the Guardian Small Business Network here for more advice, insight and best practice direct to your inbox. Topics Guardian Small Business Network Entrepreneurs Women in the boardroom Women '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/apr/24/we-need-to-stop-sexism-in-start-up-investment'|'2017-04-24T15:00:00.000+03:00' +'b26ebab2471d2843089774ab835e30d247ef449c'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'(Adds Linde, ConocoPhillips, HighTower, Chevron, Polyus, AC Milan)April 13 The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1500 GMT on Thursday:** Linde and Praxair''s $65 billion merger talks are facing legal complexities that mean the agreement will not be finalised as planned before Linde''s annual shareholder meeting on May 10, a source familiar with the situation said.** ConocoPhillips said on Thursday it would sell natural gas-heavy assets in San Juan basin, spanning New Mexico and Southwestern Colorado, to an affiliate of privately held Hilcorp Energy Co for about $3 billion.** Wealth management firm HighTower said on Thursday it will acquire WealthTrust, which has interests in a dozen registered investment advisory firms with $6.4 billion in client assets nationwide, bringing HighTower''s total client assets to more than $47 billion.** Chevron Corp, the second-largest U.S.-based oil producer, is exploring the sale of its 20 percent stake in Canada''s Athabasca Oil Sands project, which could fetch about $2.5 billion, according to people familiar with the situation.** A consortium led by China''s Fosun International Ltd plans to buy between 20 and 25 percent in Russia''s top gold producer Polyus for up to $2 billion, RIA news agency reported, citing documents of a Russian-Chinese intergovernmental commission.** Italian former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi finalised his troubled sale of soccer club AC Milan to a Chinese-led consortium on Thursday, a 740 million euro ($788 million) deal that tightens China''s grip on the game in Italy.** A group of private equity companies have bid around 200 billion Swedish crowns ($22.26 billion) for the hygiene arm of tissue and forestry products firm SCA, daily Dagens Nyheter wrote on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources.** Warren Buffett''s Berkshire Hathaway Inc withdrew its application to the Federal Reserve to boost its ownership stake in Wells Fargo & Co above 10 percent, and is instead selling 9 million shares to keep it below that threshold.** Australia''s foreign investment watchdog has cleared Chinese-backed coal miner Yancoal Australia Ltd to pursue its $2.45 billion acquisition of Rio Tinto''s, Coal and Allied Division, Yancoal said on Thursday.** Japan''s Kobe Steel Ltd said it had acquired Swedish firm Quintus Technologies AB from shareholders led by U.S. private equity firm Milestone Partners for $115 million.** Chinese internet firm Baidu Inc has agreed to acquire U.S. computer vision firm xPerception for an undisclosed amount to support their renewed efforts in artificial intelligence as Chinese tech firms face regulatory headwinds in U.S.** A group of shareholders in Czech betting company Fortuna has filed an application for an injunction to halt the proposed acquisition of Romanian businesses from Penta Investments, Fortuna''s biggest stakeholder.** The head of Dassault Aviation, the biggest shareholder in Thales, said he was not in favour of pursuing a joint venture in railway operations between the French defence electronics firm and transport group Alstom. (Compiled by Komal Khettry in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/deals-day-idINL3N1HL3S3'|'2017-04-13T12:58:00.000+03:00' +'6b6a2697e2ca726c81584246d4c3e04095829076'|'BHP Billiton puts U.S. shale gas assets on the block again'|'SYDNEY BHP Billiton has put its Fayetteville shale gas assets in the United States back on the block, the world''s largest miner said on Wednesday, as it seeks to focus on more lucrative opportunities in oil.BHP first tried to sell the Fayetteville assets more than two years ago, having made the shale gas investment in 2011 before writing it down by $2.8 billion a year later after gas prices dropped.But it shelved the idea of a sale in February 2015, saying at the time it planned to "maximize value" of the assets. BHP valued the business at $919 million at the end of 2016, according to its annual accounts.In a corporate operations review published on Wednesday, BHP said the gas-rich Fayetteville field in Arkansas was under review and that it was now "considering all options, including divestment".Macquarie Bank analysts in a note said divestment of Fayetteville was the most likely course of action.Analysts have linked the revived sale to activist investor Elliott Management''s call earlier this month for BHP to spin off its petroleum division, much as BHP did with the aluminum and other non-core operations when it created South 32 in 2015. BHP has rejected the call by Elliott, which claims to hold a 4.1 percent interest in BHP''s U.K-listed shares.BHP on Wednesday denied any link between Elliott''s move and prospects for Fayetteville including divestment, and said the move was instead part of an ongoing review.Within the petroleum business, BHP has long made it clear it intends to focus on liquid products in the United States, a more lucrative business than dry gas.In February, it agreed to spend $2.2 billion to fund its share of investment for the second phase of the Mad Dog oilfield in the Gulf of Mexico.(Reporting by James Regan; Additional reporting by Jamie Freed; Editing by Clara Ferreira Marques and Kenneth Maxwell)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-bhp-billiton-output-shale-idUSKBN17S0CV'|'2017-04-26T12:39:00.000+03:00' +'6f66945d89e89aa2d853311886a1eedb1f3d32c0'|'Central banks need joint plans for future funding crunches - BIS'|'Business News - Thu Apr 6, 2017 - 1:34pm BST Central banks need joint plans for future funding crunches - BIS By Marc Jones - LONDON LONDON Major central banks need to plan ahead and work more closely together to ensure the world''s bank funding markets do not freeze up again in future financial crises, the Bank for International Settlements said on Thursday. A new report from the BIS, known as the central bank for the world''s central banks, identified eight areas it believed needed attention to help reduce market turmoil, with six of them focussing on closer co-operation and communication. The first was that central banks needed to decide which of them was responsible for banks with operations in multiple countries. Others ranged from information sharing, collateral and currency issues, to how early to disclose the provision of support to a lender. "The key message throughout the report is that we need to prepare in calm times to be able to provide liquidity assistance effectively in times of stress," said the U.S. Federal Reserve''s William Dudley, who chaired the BIS working group on the topic. One of the complications of providing banks with billions of dollars or euros worth of funding, as the Fed, European Central Bank, Bank of Japan and others all did during the financial crisis, is that the money can then flow almost anywhere. "The general lesson that emerges from the review of recent central bank experiences is the need to be prepared for new situations where liquidity assistance might be required," the BIS report said. "In particular, central banks need to consider how the interaction of national liquidity assistance frameworks might affect the cross-border coordination and provision of liquidity assistance." For full report click www.bis.org/publ/cgfs58.htm (Reporting by Marc Jones; Editing by Catherine Evans) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-cenbank-coordination-bis-idUKKBN1781DZ'|'2017-04-06T20:34:00.000+03:00' +'3ecb258645d4073c30f95a4fc7a2e951c753d66f'|'Japan and U.S. aren''t discussing Westinghouse situation - Seko'|'TOKYO, April 7 Japanese trade minister Hiroshige Seko said on Friday it was not true that Japan and the United States were discussing the situation surrounding Toshiba Corp''s troubled U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse Electric Co.A U.S. official said on Thursday the Trump administration and the Japanese government were in discussions to ensure that the bankruptcy of Westinghouse does not lead to U.S. technology secrets and infrastructure falling into Chinese hands.Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy last month hit by billions of dollars of cost overruns at four nuclear reactors under construction in the U.S. Southeast. (Reporting by Ami Miyazaki, writing by Kaori Kaneko, editing by Chris Gallagher)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-japan-westinghouse-idINT9N1GU00B'|'2017-04-06T22:41:00.000+03:00' +'1c3738583d944ce101518ca7e63603e934b6c150'|'Twitter revels in role of free speech defender as it sues Trump administration'|'WASHINGTON, April 6 Twitter Inc has not had a lot to celebrate lately, but a U.S. government demand that it reveal the identity of an account criticizing President Donald Trump''s immigration policies gave the company a chance to assume one of its favorite roles: defender of free speech.The social media company on Thursday sued the government over a demand by the Customs and Border Patrol that it identify the individual or individuals behind @ALT_uscis, an account claimed to be run by at least one employee of the immigration service.The news was met with a rare flood of good will toward Twitter from its users - offering respite for a company that has struggled recently to expand its audience, excite investors or attract new revenue streams.In a 25-page legal filing, Twitter lawyers appeared to revel in their opposition to the Trump administration. Several pages, for example, are dedicated to pictures of tweets from "rogue" government accounts that fact-check statements made by the Trump administration or explain the science behind climate change. ( tmsnrt.rs/2p6CnXp )The tweeting styles of such accounts vary greatly, the filing noted, explaining at one point that "some accounts appear to equate the simple act of broadcasting facts as an expression of dissent."Trump''s inauguration, the filing continued, was met by "a new and innovative class of American speakers who provide views and commentary that is often vigorously opposed, resistant or ''alternative'' to the official actions and policies of the new administration."The Trump administration made its demand "without realizing how stingy Twitter is about producing private user data," said Nu Wexler, a former spokesman for Twitter.The Department of Homeland Security and Justice Department declined to comment. Twitter also declined to comment.Twitter once prided itself as representing the "free speech wing of the free speech party," and has a history of resisting government demands for information about its users. But the company has been forced to temper its approach over the past two years in the face of government pressure to crack down on incitements to violence and user complaints about rampant hate speech and harassment.As the company has moved in recent months to implement stricter policies intended to limit abuse, legal experts said Thursday''s challenge was an opportunity for Twitter to remind users of some of its long-standing principles."Twitter and other social media sites make promises to users about protecting anonymity," Jane Kirtley, law and journalism professor at the University of Minnesota. "This is a way for Twitter to say, ''See, we are standing up for your rights.''"(Reporting by Dustin Volz; Additional reporting by Alison Frankel; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/twitter-lawsuit-speech-idUSL2N1HE287'|'2017-04-07T04:09:00.000+03:00' +'0f5479ef3e07658c1a529a7d576e05c09885c222'|'McDonald''s faces complaints in Europe over franchise terms'|'Business News - Tue Apr 4, 2017 - 3:32pm BST McDonald''s faces complaints in Europe over franchise terms left View of McDonald''s logo in Paris, France, March 1, 2016. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen 1/2 McDonalds at the Euro Industriepark in Munich, Germany January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Michael Dalder 2/2 By Foo Yun Chee - BRUSSELS BRUSSELS French, German and Italian groups urged their national antitrust enforcers on Tuesday to look into alleged anti-competitive practices by McDonald''s ( MCD.N ), potentially putting the U.S. fast-food chain on course for multiple investigations in Europe. The three complaints share similar concerns about McDonald''s franchising terms and conditions, including prices set for products sold at franchises, saying consumers are charged more than at McDonald''s own stores as a result. With more than 80 percent of its outlets worldwide not company-owned, franchising is an important business model for the company. The French competition authority confirmed it had received a complaint but declined further comment. McDonald''s, the German and Italian antitrust authorities and the European Commission did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In its complaint to the French competition authority seen by Reuters, French consumer body Indecosa-CGT, which has 672,000 members, said McDonald''s France forced franchisees to charge higher prices than at its own stores. German law firm SKW Schwarz filed a similar complaint to the German cartel body on behalf of a group that it declined to name. The document seen by Reuters cited alleged anti-competitive clauses such as the tying of franchising deals with lease agreements, restrictions on suppliers and excessive rent for premises. Italian consumer groups Codacons, Movimento Difesa del Cittadino and Cittadinanzattiva said on Tuesday they would withdraw a 2016 complaint to the European Commission because of the slow pace of procedure and take it to the Italian watchdog instead. The national competition agencies can impose fines up to 10 percent of a company''s global turnover for breaches of antitrust rules as well as ordering them to stop unfair practices. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Philip Blenkinsop and Mark Potter) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-mcdonalds-complaints-idUKKBN1761NC'|'2017-04-04T22:15:00.000+03:00' +'ef6891789c9252e1226d137c9bac422f94a2a0dc'|'New Hong Kong leader''s affordable homes plan up against wall of Chinese capital'|'Business News - Sun Apr 9, 2017 - 4:57am BST New Hong Kong leader''s affordable homes plan up against wall of Chinese capital left right FILE PHOTO: A potential buyer looks at a model of Riva, one of the latest developments by Sun Hung Kai Properties, in Hong Kong February 19, 2014. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: A newly built luxurious high rise residential building is seen in between old flats at Hong Kong''s Tsim Sha Tsui district January 22, 2009. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo 2/2 By Clare Jim and Venus Wu - HONG KONG HONG KONG A pledge by Hong Kong''s incoming leader Carrie Lam to make the city''s vertiginous property prices more affordable could founder on the bottomless pockets of mainland Chinese developers, who are bidding up the price of land. Home prices in Hong Kong have jumped 364 percent since 2003, while the median monthly household income has risen just 61 percent, pushing home ownership out of reach for many. While the mass protests that paralysed parts of Hong Kong for 79 days in 2014 were primarily about demands for full democracy from Beijing, many were also motivated by the rising cost of living in the city, and the cost of accommodation in particular. A typical Hong Kong apartment costs 18.1 times gross annual median income, according to research group Demographia, and the city topped its survey of the world''s most expensive places for accommodation for the seventh straight year. Second-placed Sydney was a long way behind on 12.2. "Anything over a multiple of 5.1 is usually deemed as being ''severely unaffordable''," said Denis Ma, JLL''s Head of Research in Hong Kong. With most of the city''s more than 7 million citizens living in cramped apartments - some no bigger than a parking space - Lam, who takes over as chief executive on July 1, is aiming to tackle the problem by increasing housing and land supply. But Alice Mak, head of the Hong Kong legislature''s housing panel, said the influx of capital from mainland developers will make Lam''s job very difficult. "When there''s overseas capital investment in Hong Kong, it will stimulate the local property market. If the government wants the housing market to grow at a stable rate, this will be a very big challenge for them," Mak said. Chinese companies successfully bid for six out of 27 plots of land sold by the government in the fiscal year starting April 2016, Lands Department data shows, but in money terms they accounted for 44 percent of total transactions. In the previous fiscal year, Chinese firms paid more on land deals than their Hong Kong competitors, taking up 55 percent of the value and nearly half of the land sold. Graphic on Hong Kong property market tmsnrt.rs/2o8NCkM IMPOSSIBLE DREAM? Mainland developer KWG Property ( 1813.HK ), which won a plot of residential land for a record price co-bidding with Logan Property ( 3380.HK ), said lower lending rates and taxes make development in Hong Kong more profitable than in China. "There''s still a gap between ''flour and bread prices'' in Hong Kong, but in China the prices are basically the same, so I boldly predict that more and more Chinese developers will come to Hong Kong to buy land in the future," KWG chairman Kong Jian Min told an earnings conference last month. The direct impact of this influx on home prices is stark in the Kai Tak district, overlooking Victoria Harbour. Prices there rose as much as 50 percent in less than a year, consultancy JLL said, after Chinese conglomerate HNA Group HNAIRC.UL bought four land parcels in the past five months at eye-popping prices. Hong Kong''s homegrown property companies are being edged out of their own market and are looking overseas to do business. Local developer David Chiu, chairman of Far East Consortium International ( 0035.HK ), said he had become increasingly disheartened after seeing his company''s auction bids fall below the average. "In the past there were 20 developers fighting for land, but now with Chinese developers joining, it means another 20 more," he told a conference in February, adding that he was glad his company had already invested elsewhere and had plans to expand in the UK and Australia. "I think it''ll be very difficult for Hong Kong''s small and medium developers to win a tender; it wouldn''t surprise me if Hong Kong developers became landlords relying only on rental income (from commercial properties) after 10 years," he said. Lam has already conceded in an interview with the Hong Kong Economic Journal there is nothing she can do to stop outside capital competing in the land bids. Even established professionals say buying a home is an increasingly daunting prospect and doubt that government will succeed in holding down prices. "They won''t be able to help us," said 30-year-old accountant Mok Ho-man. "Buying a flat is not an impossible dream ... but it will only get more and more difficult." (Reporting By Clare Jim and Venus Wu; Additional reporting by Katy Wong; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree and Will Waterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hongkong-property-idUKKBN17B01G'|'2017-04-09T11:57:00.000+03:00' +'5e5dedba98d6b18ccf745115626af37cae507031'|'China''s ZEPC in talks to buy stake in Brazil''s Belo Monte dam'|'SAO PAULO China''s Zhejiang Electric Power Construction Co Ltd ( 600023.SS ) (ZEPC) is in talks to buy a stake in Brazil''s massive Belo Monte hydroelectric dam, two sources familiar with the negotiations told Reuters.The 11,233-megawatt dam on a major tributary to the Amazon River is owned by a consortium including utilities Eletrobras ( ELET5.SA ), Neoenergia SA, Cemig ( CMIG4.SA ) and Light SA ( LIGT3.SA ), mining company Vale SA ( VALE5.SA ) and pension funds Petros [PETROS.UL]and Funcef [FUNCEF.UL]. Total investment in the plant is expected to reach 35 billion reais ($11 billion) by the time it is finished in 2019.($1 = 3.13 reais)(Reporting by Luciano Costa; Writing by Marcelo Teixeira; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-power-belo-monte-idUSKBN1792QF'|'2017-04-07T21:52:00.000+03:00' +'a084bf961bf300aa7901578ae3ae29585b1f789c'|'Verizon, Corning agree to $1.05 billion fibre deal'|'By Anjali Athavaley - NEW YORK NEW YORK Verizon Communications Inc ( VZ.N ) has agreed to buy optical fibre from Corning Inc ( GLW.N ) for at least $1.05 billion over the next three years as the No. 1 U.S. wireless carrier aims to improve its network infrastructure, the companies said on Tuesday.Corning will sell up to 12.4 million miles of optical fibre to Verizon each year from 2018 through 2020, with a minimum purchase commitment of $1.05 billion, according to the agreement. Shares of both companies closed up roughly 1 percent.In a statement, Verizon said the deal would help it meet its rollout schedule for a fibre-optic network in Boston.The company also views fibre as critical for a next generation, or 5G network. Verizon is testing a 5G fixed wireless service with equipment maker Ericsson in 11 U.S. markets and expects a commercial launch as early as 2018.U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement that he supported the deal and that the agency would "continue to focus on creating a regulatory climate that favours greater investment and competition."Both Verizon and competitor AT&T Inc ( T.N ) have been buying assets in preparation for 5G. On Friday, sources told Reuters that Verizon is considering making a buyout offer for wireless spectrum licence holder Straight Path Communications Inc ( STRP.A ) that would top AT&T Inc''s (T.N) $1.25 billion bid.Verizon has said it would evaluate opportunities to build out or buy fibre on a market-by-market basis. In February, Verizon said it had closed on its acquisition of XO Communications'' fibre-optic network business for about $1.8 billion.Verizon has also hinted at an interest in buying cable provider Charter Communications Inc ( CHTR.O ), which would give it access to a fibre and cable network across 49 million homes.Verizon Chief Executive Lowell McAdam told investors in December that a deal with Charter would make "industrial sense," igniting takeover speculation.But in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, McAdam said the company had not found the right "architectural fit" that would justify doing a big deal.(Reporting by Anjali Athavaley; Editing by Dan Grebler and Grant McCool)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/corning-verizon-idINKBN17K2G7'|'2017-04-18T18:32:00.000+03:00' +'f93202b121434bd3b94356712c7f88cb447f0ad7'|'TCI pushes Safran for independent committee to review Zodiac valuation'|'LONDON Activist hedge fund TCI Fund Management on Monday called on Safran ( SAF.PA ) to set up an ad-hoc independent directors'' committee to review the company''s valuation of Zodiac Aerospace ( ZODC.PA ), according to a letter seen by Reuters.London-based TCI said in its letter to the board of Safran, which is planning a $9 billion takeover of Zodiac, that such a committee was required by French law and under the recommendations of the local regulator.The hedge fund firm said this committee should appoint a major international financial institution to perform an independent fairness opinion on Zodiac shares.(Reporting by Maiya Keidan; editing by Carolyn Cohn)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-hedgefunds-safran-zodiac-idINKBN1751LE'|'2017-04-03T12:23:00.000+03:00' +'0be7e79b1ee7d99249c10015cb61ae1e22efd2d3'|'PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - April 11'|'Company News - Tue Apr 11, 2017 - 1:09am EDT PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - April 11 April 11 The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. - Jana Partners, the activist hedge fund founded by Barry Rosenstein, criticized Whole Foods Market''s brand development, customer service and distribution strategy, and nominated four candidates for the company''s board. nyti.ms/2otz67G - The British authorities are investigating Barclays and its American chief executive, James Staley, after he admitted to trying to learn the identity of the author of an anonymous letter. nyti.ms/2otKdgW - Wells Fargo said on Monday it would claw back an additional $75 million in compensation from the two executives on whom it pinned most of the blame for the company''s scandal over fraudulent accounts: the bank''s former chief executive, John Stumpf, and its former head of community banking, Carrie Tolstedt. nyti.ms/2otAHuf - Adding to this year''s flurry of law firm combinations, Boies Schiller Flexner said on Monday it would take the West Coast litigation firm Caldwell Leslie & Proctor under its wing starting next week. nyti.ms/2otBzPt - In the latest move by a major automaker to enhance its American manufacturing operations, Toyota said it would invest more than $1.3 billion to upgrade its assembly plant in Kentucky. nyti.ms/2otI0lD (Compiled by Vishal Sridhar in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/press-digest-nyt-idUSL3N1HJ21M'|'2017-04-11T13:09:00.000+03:00' +'8f72d8d4e0a3af61cbfeee635a098919bca0b019'|'BRIEF-Tapstone Energy files for IPO of up to $100 mln'|'April 13 Tapstone Energy Inc* Tapstone Energy Inc files for IPO of up to $100 million of common stock - sec filing* Tapstone Energy Inc - applied to list common stock on new york stock exchange under symbol TE* Tapstone Energy Inc says BofA Merrill lynch and citigroup are underwriters to IPO* Tapstone Energy Inc - proposed IPO price is an estimate solely for purpose of calculating sec registration fee Source text : bit.ly/2o9RRJp'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/brief-tapstone-energy-files-for-ipo-of-u-idINFWN1HL098'|'2017-04-13T08:11:00.000+03:00' +'665ced263969c84acddc40454191bc7e068149a7'|'High in the sky: Small flying cars come a bit closer to reality'|'YOU may smile, but it will come, said Henry Ford in 1940, predicting the arrival of a machine that was part-automobile and part-aeroplane. For decades flying cars have obsessed technologists but eluded their mastery. Finally there is reason to believe. Several firms have offered hope that flying people in small pods for short trips might become a reality in the next decade. These are not cars, as most are not fit to drive on land, but rather small vehicles, which can rise and land vertically, like quiet helicopters.A prototype of a small electric plane that is capable of flying up to 300 kilometres per hour, made by Lilium, a German startup, completed a successful test over Bavaria on April 20th. Lilium is starting work on a five-seat vehicle and hopes to offer a ride-hailing service. Another German company, e-volo, has been testing a flying vehicle for several years. It recently showed off the second version of its electric Volocopter (pictured), which could be certified for flight as soon as next year.Latest updates How liquor shops are getting around Indias latest booze ban The Economist explains 3 hours ago A 17 hours ago Have See all updates There are at least a dozen firms experimenting with making small flying vehicles in different guises, including Airbus, an aerospace giant, in partnership with Italdesign Giugiaro, a division of Volkswagen, a carmaker. Many plan to have a certified pilot in command at the beginning and then move on to an autonomous set-up when regulations allow. Motorcycle-type vehicles, which you sit astride, are also in the works.No matter which manufacturer is quickest to gain velocity, Uber, a ride-hailing firm, aims to be at the centre of things. On April 25th it held an event in Dallas to announce its plan to offer a service where people can hail an electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle and ride it quickly to destinations that would otherwise take hours in heavy traffic. Uber does not want to build these aircraft or landing pads itself, just as it does not own its own cars. Instead, it plans to collaborate with other companies. But Jeff Holden, Ubers chief product officer, does not exclude the possibility that the firm may at the outset own some aircraft, which he estimates will cost around $1m each.The firm plans to have a prototype of its service ready by 2020. It will launch it first in Dallas and in Dubai, both cities where the authorities have deep aviation expertise and where people commute long distances. The firm rather optimistically promises that the cost per aerial mile for passengers will be roughly that of its low-cost car service, UberX.There is plenty for manufacturers and services like Uber to overcome beyond gravity. For battery-powered models, range is limited and the charging rate remains slow. Manufacturers will need to ensure that vehicles can take off and land quietly, if this new form of transport is to stand a chance in cities. How to oversee and license the new aircraft, which are subject to much tougher rules than cars, will be a subject of intense debate among rule-makers, who tend to move slowly and are just getting to grips with drones. Drivers of flying vehicles are also likely to require a pilots licence, albeit perhaps a simplified sports licence. The journey ahead will be a long one.This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "High in the sky"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21721339-german-firm-completes-test-and-uber-promises-prototype-2020-small-flying-cars-come?fsrc=rss'|'2017-04-29T08:00:00.000+03:00' +'cf53f8ab262ef79a50a2efa0afe130dc77a00fd2'|'UK Stocks-Factors to watch on April 25'|'April 25 Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening up 18 points on Tuesday, according to financial bookmakers. * BRITAIN/EU: The snap general election called by British Prime Minister Theresa May will reduce the already limited time available to negotiate a Brexit deal, an influential EU lawmaker said on Monday. * International Consolidated: Spanish airline Iberia could open a new early retirement program for 1,000 workers by June, depending on the outcome of prior talks with unions, Chief Executive Officer Luis Gallego said. * GOLD: Gold held steady on Tuesday after a sharp fall in the previous session on a market-friendly French presidential vote, although tensions over North Korea offered support for safe-haven bullion. * COPPER: Copper eased in Asia on Tuesday, coming under pressure from investors looking to book gains after a surprise overnight lift in the London contract following a market-friendly French presidential vote. * OIL: Oil prices inched up on Tuesday but markets remain under pressure following six consecutive sessions of declines as traders lose confidence that pledged output cuts by major producers will rein in oversupply in a world awash with fuel. * The UK blue chip index closed 2.1 percent higher at 7,246.68 points on Monday after centrist Emmanuel Macron came out on top in the first round of France''s presidential election. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets * UK CORPORATE DIARY: Whitbread Plc WTB.L FY 2016 Whitbread Plc Earnings Amec Foster Wheeler Plc AMFW.L FY 2016 Amec Foster Wheeler Earnings Redstoneconnect Plc REDS.L FY 2017 Redstoneconnect Earnings Circassia FY 2016 Circassia Pharmaceuticals Earnings Pharmaceuticals Elementis Plc ELM.L Elementis Plc Trading Update TODAY''S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Harish Bhaskar; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idINL4N1HX289'|'2017-04-25T03:45:00.000+03:00' +'2d97dc8f0f6728d842ce7382563281f2a5c61837'|'Masters turns into Spring Break for CEOs'|'Sports News - Sat Apr 8, 2017 - 5:04pm EDT Masters turns into Spring Break for CEOs left right A dinner is set up at the Mercedes-Benz USA hospitality area at River Island in Augusta, Georgia, in this undated handout photo. Jensen Larson Photography/Mercedes-Benz USA - 2017 Masters Experience/Handout via REUTERS 1/5 left right The Firethorn Mercedes-Benz hospitality area is seen on the Augusta National golf course in Augusta, Georgia, in this undated handout photo. Jensen Larson Photography/Mercedes-Benz USA - 2017 Masters Experience/Handout via REUTERS 2/5 left right Lady Antebellum performs at the Mercedes-Benz USA hospitality area at River Island in Augusta, Georgia, April 5, 2017. Jensen Larson Photography/Mercedes-Benz USA - 2017 Masters Experience/Handout via REUTERS 3/5 left right A dinner is set up at the Mercedes-Benz USA hospitality area at River Island in Augusta, Georgia, in this undated handout photo. Jensen Larson Photography/Mercedes-Benz USA - 2017 Masters Experience/Handout via REUTERS 4/5 left right A dinner is set up at the Mercedes-Benz USA hospitality area at River Island in Augusta, Georgia, in this undated handout photo. Jensen Larson Photography/Mercedes-Benz USA - 2017 Masters Experience/Handout via REUTERS 5/5 By Steve Keating - AUGUSTA, Georgia AUGUSTA, Georgia To wander the immaculately manicured grounds of Augusta National Golf Club during the U.S. Masters is to take a stroll back in time. A time before the marriage of sport and commercialism where scoreboards are operated manually and the only signage directs you to someplace picturesque rather than entice you to buy a car or smartphone. One of the world''s most elite clubs, Augusta National operates under the principle that if you are obscenely wealthy there is no reason to advertise it, the only label here is the ever-present Masters logo. Outside the Augusta National walls, however, it is all business as some of the world''s biggest brands cozy up alongside golf''s most celebrated event to share in its glow. This is, as one corporate executive put it, Spring Break and Coachella melded into one big corporate CEO-filled mosh pit. "The Masters is the number one corporate event of the year," Kenny Dichter, co-founder and CEO of Wheels Up, a private aviation firm providing luxury service to the Masters, told Reuters. "When you have CEOs and different corporate executives together in one place that''s when magic happens. "We just want to create the platform, the canvas, for our members to meet and talk and create." That canvas is an expansive one of mansions, private jets, celebrity chefs, limousines, cigar bars and premium liquor. It is part loyalty program, part new business. For StubHub, Primesport and the 1018 Club, the Masters is their business, securing hard-to-acquire entry badges and setting up first-rate hospitality experiences within a well-struck Dustin Johnson three-wood of Augusta National. For IMG, a global talent management company, and auto giant Mercedes-Benz, one of three Masters global sponsors, it is all about brand loyalty and providing a first-class experience for their friends and partners. Over in ''Mercedesville,'' the luxury car maker has not just set up a Masters corporate hospitality headquarters but rather a village of mansions anchored by a lavish multi-deck pavilion that serves as a restaurant/entertainment center on the Savannah River in Augusta''s posh River Island neighborhood. Each night Mercedes hosts guests in an elegant setting where they are entertained by golfing celebrities such as brand ambassador Rickie Fowler, who finished an intimate chat on Tuesday by signing autographs for a smitten audience. In the morning there will be no need to be up early and rush to the course to secure a prime spot in Amen Corner with the rest of the Masters mob. That chore will be left to staff who make the dawn trek to set up folding chairs in prime locations while guests enjoy a leisurely breakfast back in Mercedesville. "Everyone is just trying to stand out," said John Terzian, whose brand-building company has hosted events at the Super Bowl, Monaco Grand Prix and top film festivals. "To me, sports and entertainment have become the same thing in a good way. "People are expecting and demanding the highest level when it comes to things like the Super Bowl. "We operate on a very elite VIP level. We cater to extremely high-end business people." What makes the Masters so attractive is that it is one of those rare events that seems to be on everyone''s bucket list, from weekend duffers to Fortune 500 CEOs. Rated one of the most coveted tickets in all of sport, those lucky enough to land a Masters badge do not want to lessen the once-in-a-lifetime experience by cutting corners. A week at the Masters with a private plane, car service, a mansion, personal chef, driver and masseuse can easily top $100,000. But companies like 1018 Club offer a taste of the Masters VIP experience for hundreds of dollars at their setup near the course with perks that include valet parking, buffet breakfast, lunch, beverages and shuttles to and from the gate. Everything but the badges. Without a Masters badge, however, a trip to Augusta this week would be a meaningless visit to Georgia''s second biggest city where Textron Specialized Vehicles, who manufacture 90 percent of the world''s golf carts, is based. "The Masters is a unique event and a lot of people are paying premium prices for this event so we put a lot of investment in and make sure the customer experience is the best it can possibly be," StubHub spokesman Cameron Pappy told Reuters. "The Masters has grown in popularity every year on StubHub and it has really turned into one of those bucket list events." (Editing by Frank Pingue)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-golf-masters-hospitality-idUSKBN17A0PD'|'2017-04-09T05:04:00.000+03:00' +'03923f9260af40b85d1b09a9687a80ba9f6408eb'|'NBA All-Star Game will consider return to North Carolina after ''bathroom bill'' repeal - Apr. 5, 2017'|'North Carolina lawmakers reach deal to repeal ''bathroom bill'' The NBA will consider awarding a future All-Star Game to North Carolina now that the state has partially repealed the anti-LGBT law known as the bathroom bill. The league pulled the 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte after the law was enacted. New Orleans hosted it instead. At the time, the NBA said it hoped to take the game back to Charlotte in 2019 "provided there is an appropriate resolution to this matter." The NBA board of governors will meet Thursday and consider whether the partial repeal is good enough, a source familiar with the matter told CNNMoney. An announcement is not expected. Los Angeles will host the 2018 game. Related: NCAA ends North Carolina ban after repeal of ''bathroom bill'' The North Carolina law required people to use the restroom that corresponds with the gender on their birth certificate, not their gender identity, in government buildings and in public schools and universities. It also prevented local governments from passing nondiscrimination policies based on gender identity. North Carolina lawmakers voted in March to repeal the law and eliminated the bathroom stipulation. The replacement also allows cities to enact their own nondiscrimination ordinances beginning in 2020. LGBT rights groups are concerned that the repeal doesn''t go far enough to protect people. Since the so-called bathroom bill" was enacted, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has been vocal about changing the law. Related: Yelp is making it easier to find gender-neutral restrooms The NBA''s review of whether to return to North Carolina comes after the NCAA lifted its own boycott. The NCAA had pulled tournaments from the state but said Tuesday it would consider North Carolina for future championships. CNNMoney (New York) First published April 5, 2017: 12:56 PM ET'|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_news_companies.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/04/05/news/companies/nba-north-carolina-bathroom-bill/index.html'|'2017-04-05T20:56:00.000+03:00' +'7471c3fe6fe3fe6603f682959ba829726e8cedb0'|'Italy court lifts block of Uber services in Italy'|' 3:22pm BST Italy court lifts block of Uber services in Italy ROME A Rome court on Friday suspended a lower court ruling that had blocked the use of smart phone apps for Uber cars [UBER.UL] in Italy. The court accepted an appeal by Uber against the first ruling, made a week ago, which said Uber could not use its Black, Lux, Suv, X, XL, Select and Van phone applications nor could it promote or advertise its services in Italy. The first court had ruled in favour of a suit filed by Italy''s major traditional taxi associations, taking the view that the apps constituted unfair competition. Italy''s two main consumer groups, Codacons and UNC, welcomed the latest ruling, saying it gave people more choice. (Reporting By Philip Pullella)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-italy-uber-idUKKBN17G14M'|'2017-04-14T22:22:00.000+03:00' +'7eb722fdf23cdfdcbd6f57018ee0fc1f4741850c'|'Proxy adviser ISS opposes Credit Suisse management bonuses'|' 2:10pm BST Proxy adviser ISS opposes Credit Suisse management bonuses The logo of Swiss bank Credit Suisse is seen in front of a branch office in Zurich, Switzerland April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann ZURICH Influential U.S. proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has advised Credit Suisse ( CSGN.S ) shareholders to vote against proposed bonuses for the Swiss bank''s executive board totalling almost 80 million Swiss francs (63.84 million pounds). This follows similar recommendations from other proxy advisers Glass Lewis and Ethos. A Credit Suisse spokeswoman said on Tuesday the bank took note of the recommendations and that it respects shareholder democracy. Executive pay is a hot-button issue in Switzerland, with voters backing a "fat cat" referendum in 2013 giving shareholders the option of blocking executive payouts, although such revolts remain rare. (Reporting by Joshua Franklin and Oliver Hirt; Editing by Michael Shields)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-credit-suisse-gp-agm-bonuses-idUKKBN17D1KD'|'2017-04-11T21:10:00.000+03:00' +'36b3bc4d28fd9728da464d68287bc25ef816e0bc'|'German minister, labour reps welcome PSA work contract assurances for Opel merger'|'Deals 06am EDT German minister, labor reps welcome PSA work contract assurances for Opel merger German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries meets Chairman of the Managing Board of French carmaker PSA Group Carlos Tavares in Berlin, Germany, April 5, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch BERLIN Germany''s economy minister said she had held constructive talks with PSA Chairman Carlos Tavares on Wednesday about the planned merger of the French group with Germany''s Opel and felt reassured that existing labor deals would remain. Germany has welcomed the merger, provided the Opel brand stays independent and the merged group respects existing labor agreements, protects Opel sites and gives job guarantees. "I particularly welcome the commitment by Mr Tavares to respect and continue all the collective agreements," said minister Brigitte Zypries in a statement. "The federal government and federal states will continue to lend their constructive support to the process of merging PSA and Opel/Vauxhall," she added. Tavares said he had reaffirmed PSA''s ambition to "build on the quality of relations with employee representatives as a key factor of success of the company". (Reporting by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Michelle Martin) Next In Deals Toshiba''s Westinghouse fired chairman two days before bankruptcy filing TOKYO Westinghouse Electric Co LLC fired its chairman two days before the U.S. nuclear engineering unit of Toshiba Corp filed for bankruptcy last week, as the Japanese firm tries to draw a line under the travails of a business that has cost it billions. JAB Holding to buy bakery chain Panera Bread in $7.5 billion deal JAB Holdings, the owner of Caribou Coffee and Peet''s Coffee & Tea, said on Wednesday it would buy U.S. bakery chain Panera Bread Co in a deal valued at about $7.5 billion, including debt, as it expands its coffee and breakfast empire. SYDNEY Blackstone Group has put an A$3.5 billion ($2.65 billion) shopping mall portfolio in Australia up for sale, said a source familiar with the matter, in what could be one of the country''s largest ever real estate transactions. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-opel-m-a-psa-germany-idUSKBN1771IH'|'2017-04-05T20:00:00.000+03:00' +'965a8b2596f7106c1bf1bb7fe8dbfb2df19173f5'|'Sunoco to sell 1,110 U.S. stores to 7-Eleven operator for $3.3 bln'|'By Taiga Uranaka and Vishaka George Sunoco LP said on Thursday it would sell 1,110 convenience stores to Japan''s Seven & i Holdings Co for $3.3 billion as the Texas-based company shifts its focus to its fuel supply business.Sunoco''s shares jumped as much as 24 percent to $29.50 on Thursday - their biggest intraday percentage rise in three years.As part of the deal, the U.S. company will also supply about 2.2 billion gallons of fuel annually for 15 years to a unit of the operator of 7-Eleven chain of convenience stores.Sunoco, a publicly-traded partnership controlled by pipeline operator Energy Transfer Equity, operates about 1,350 retail fuelling sites and convenience stores under brands such as APlus and Stripes, the company''s website showed.The company said it planned to sell another 200 stores by the end of the fourth quarter and expand its distribution business, partly through acquisitions.Energy Transfer''s chief financial officer, Thomas Long, said there are no plans to dissolve the partnership.Energy Transfer wants Sunoco to remain a standalone business and continue on the M&A front to expand its business, Long said. "That is very much the directive."Sunoco said it expected to use the proceeds from the sale primarily to repay debt, which was about $4.51 billion as of December.7-ELEVEN''S U.S. PUSHSeven & i Holdings has been aggressively expanding in Japan and the United States, where it has been acquiring stores from local retailers.Its latest purchase comes as operators of traditional big-box retailers, including Seven & i, have been suffering weak sales as changing tastes and modest wage growth prompt shoppers to defect to cheaper speciality chains and online outlets."The U.S. convenience store market has growth momentum. We see opportunities there," Seven & i President Ryuichi Isaka said.Seven & i runs general merchandise, department and speciality stores, but the bulk of its operating profit comes from convenience stores.The deal would be the biggest by the Japanese company''s U.S. unit 7-Eleven Inc.Seven & i has about 19,400 7-Eleven stores in Japan and 8,700 in the United States and Canada, including those run by franchisees.7-Eleven Inc, known for its "Slurpee" frozen beverage, has said it aims to increase its number of stores to 10,000 over the three years through 2019.(Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Additional reporting by Ritsuko Shimizu, Chris Gallagher and Gary McWilliams; Editing by Christopher Cushing, Martina D''Couto, Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Anil D''Silva)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/sunoco-lp-m-a-seven-i-hldgs-idINKBN1780WP'|'2017-04-06T15:14:00.000+03:00' +'48752fe2854a69643adcae0725f504d9d2b78415'|'Oil prices dip on bloated U.S. market, mixed Saudi signals'|'By Libby George and Amanda Cooper - LONDON LONDON Oil edged higher on Wednesday as OPEC said it was committed to eroding a global surplus of crude, but increasing shale production in the United States and still-high global stocks threatened to pull prices lower.Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up 27 cents at $55.16 a barrel at 1106 GMT, while U.S. crude futures CLc1 were up 20 cents at $52.61.Crude fell in the previous two sessions, but it received a boost from comments on Wednesday by the secretary-general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries that the group was committed to cutting inventories to the five-year average.Analysts warned that prices could quickly turn negative."It seems that the optimism in the oil market we have seen since the last few days of March is running out of steam," wrote Tamas Varga, PVM Oil Associates analyst, noting concerns about the "ever-increasing rise" in U.S. shale output.OPEC and other producers such as Russia agreed to cut output by almost 1.8 million barrels per day in the first half of 2017 to drain a supply overhang that has persisted for nearly three years.The cuts, and talk of a possible extension, enabled a rally in major oil contracts of some 10 percent between March 22 and April 12, Varga said.Geopolitical concerns have also helped underpin oil.This week, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a review of whether the lifting of sanctions against Iran was in the United States'' national interests. A lifting of certain sanctions against Iran in late 2015 under a nuclear deal allowed Tehran to more than double its crude exports over 2016.But U.S. stockpiles - and shale production - have cast doubt on whether the production cuts were enough. Data from the American Petroleum Institute showed on Tuesday that although crude inventories fell by 840,000 barrels in the week to April 14, they remained near record highs.Gasoline stocks also posted a counter-seasonal build of 1.4 million barrels. Gasoline margins have since come under downward pressure, which analysts warned could undermine crude prices as well. nZXN04ZW00]Official U.S. oil data is due to be published on Wednesday by the Energy Information Administration (EIA)."Unless the (EIA) data shows something drastically different, this report should cause a severe dent in the bullish case (for oil prices)," said Sukrit Vijayakar, director of energy consultancy Trifecta.(Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in SINGAPORE; Editing by Dale Hudson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idINKBN17L03T'|'2017-04-19T09:14:00.000+03:00' +'255968f123285f66f9df1c3bb25352540581b7a9'|'Tullow Oil reduced debt in first quarter after rights issue'|' 43am BST Tullow Oil reduced debt in first quarter after rights issue LONDON Africa-focused oil company Tullow Oil ( TLW.L ) cut its debt in the first quarter by $200 million (155.79 million), the company said on Wednesday, after announcing a surprise rights issue last month. Net debt fell to $4.6 billion by the end of March, Tullow Oil said, down from $4.8 billion at the end of last year. It announced a $750 million rights issue on March 17 with the aim of raising money to pay down debt. Tullow also said in its trading update on Wednesday that it had reached an agreement with Hague and London Oil ( HNL.L ) to sell its Dutch portfolio for an undisclosed sum. Production from the Dutch assets was forecast to be around 3,500 barrels per day (bpd) this year, Tullow said. (Reporting by Karolin Schaps, editing by Louise Heavens)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-tullow-results-idUKKBN17S0JV'|'2017-04-26T14:43:00.000+03:00' +'33e6460027e31a5cbcba2a0e742af2d8cce325ff'|'Exclusive: Brazil''s Votorantim Metais considers IPO, sources say'|'By Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Tatiana Bautzer - SAO PAULO SAO PAULO Votorantim Metais Holding SA, one of Latin America''s largest producers of base metals, is considering an initial public offering to fund investments and provide parent company Votorantim SA with cash to expand in other core areas, four people with direct knowledge of the transaction said.The So Paulo-based company, known as VMH, is seen completing a three-stage IPO preparation plan by September, according to one of the people. Toronto and New York appear to be the favored destinations for a VMH listing, the person said.Talks with investment banks are at an advanced stage, with Bank of America Corp ( BAC.N ), Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) and JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ) among those said to be vying for underwriting spots, two of the people said.The four people spoke under condition of anonymity because the transaction remains private. They did not detail a tentative structure and timetable for the transaction or give an estimated value for VMH.The IPO would give VMH access to a wide base of investors betting on a long-term recovery in zinc, copper, lead and silver prices, the first person said. Proceeds may come in handy for parent Votorantim, Brazil''s largest diversified industrial group, to grow in energy and other core sectors while cutting a 14.7 billion-real ($4.7 billion) debt burden, the people added.Contacted on Sunday, media officials at parent Votorantim, which is controlled by Brazil''s billionaire Ermirio de Moraes family, declined to comment on "market speculation."Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan declined to comment.EQUITY OFFERINGSVMH is the latest addition to a long list of Brazilian companies pursuing IPOs in coming months to rebalance their capital structure and pave the way for future expansion.Some large Brazilian groups are taking advantage of a revival in capital markets activity this year to list some subsidiaries or exit businesses, as well as to raise cash to bring down debt.Bankers expect up to one-fourth of planned Brazilian company listings for this year to happen overseas.The local subsidiary of France''s Carrefour SA ( CARR.PA ), as well as airline Azul SA and N2com Internet SA, known by the online shoe retailing brand Netshoes, are seeking to list their operations domestically or overseas.With a presence in Brazil and Peru, where it holds a majority stake in Cia Minera Milpo SA ( MIL.LM ), VMH operates five industrial compounds in Brazil''s state of Minas Gerais, and in Cajamarquilla in Peru. VMH also has sales offices in Houston and Luxembourg.Last year, investments in zinc and byproducts represented 11 percent of Votorantim''s capital spending of about $3 billion. Those investments included efforts to extend the working life of the Vazante mine in Brazil for another 10 years.Net revenue at Votorantim''s zinc and byproducts division came in at 6.386 billion reais last year, with adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of 1.328 billion reais.EBITDA, as the gauge of operational profits is commonly known, reached 21 percent of revenue, making the zinc and byproducts division the most profitable activity among parent Votorantim''s five business segments in last year''s financial results.(Editing by Daniel Flynn and Steve Orlofsky)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-votorantim-metais-ipo-idINKBN17C084'|'2017-04-10T14:33:00.000+03:00' +'092ed76139eb069826cbf75e087f658464364a34'|'NatWest closed my childs savings account without telling me - Money'|'I recently noticed that my daughters Young Savers account, which was attached to my NatWest accounts, had disappeared from my online banking page. On calling the bank, I was told the account didnt exist. Luckily, I managed to dig out an old statement, at which point NatWest agreed that it had existed but had been closed due to inactivity.The 3,161.66 that was in it had been withheld by the bank. I received no notification of this and the bank was unable to provide even basic information as to why the account was closed, or why the funds were not repaid. If Id not been on the ball, I suspect the lost funds would have simply gone unnoticed! Is the Royal Bank of Scotland so desperate that it needs to take money from a seven-year-old? PL, Hounslow, MiddlesexNatWest, along with many other banks, deems an account dormant if it has been inactive for five years or more. The logic is that the account may be vulnerable to fraud if the owner is not keeping a close eye on it. If the account remains dormant for 15 years, the funds pass to the governments Unclaimed Assets Scheme and are distributed to charitable causes, though they can be reclaimed at any time by the account holder. The extraordinary thing is that NatWest alerts holders of inactive accounts just once, by letter, warning them that their account is being suspended. If they dont hear back within nine months the funds are removed.Once an account is dormant, it disappears from the central database accessed by call centre staff so they cant see it. The bank says it is looking at ways to improve how customers are contacted and exploring revolutionary ideas, such as text or email. It has now repaid your daughters savings.If you need help email Anna Tims at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number.Topics Savings Your problems with Anna Tims Royal Bank of Scotland Saving money Consumer rights Consumer affairs Banks and building societies features Share '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/apr/26/natwest-young-savers-account-closed-without-warning'|'2017-04-26T15:00:00.000+03:00' +'767372c4edc2bfd506ee28a4f93a83b64f886b51'|'Automatic for the people: How Germanys Otto uses artificial intelligence'|'A GLIMPSE into the future of retailing is available in a smallish office in Hamburg. From there, Otto, a German e-commerce merchant, is using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve its activities. The firm is already deploying the technology to make decisions at a scale, speed and accuracy that surpass the capabilities of its human employees.Big data and machine learning have been used in retailing for years, notably by Amazon, an e-commerce giant. The idea is to collect and analyse quantities of information to understand consumer tastes, recommend products to people and personalise websites for customers. Ottos work stands out because it is already automating business decisions that go beyond customer management. The most important is trying to lower returns of products, which cost the firm millions of euros a year. an hour 3 4 8 10 hours ago See all updates Its conventional data analysis showed that customers were less likely to return merchandise if it arrived within two days. Anything longer spelled trouble: a customer might spot the product in a shop for one euro less and buy it, forcing Otto to forgo the sale and eat the shipping costs.But customers also dislike multiple shipments; they prefer to receive everything at once. Since Otto sells merchandise from other brands, and does not stock those goods itself, it is hard to avoid one of the two evils: shipping delays until all the orders are ready for fulfilment, or lots of boxes arriving at different times.The typical solution would be slightly better forecasting by humans of what customers are going to buy so that a few goods could be ordered ahead of time. Otto went further and created a system using the technology of Blue Yonder, a startup in which it holds a stake. A deep-learning algorithm, which was originally designed for particle-physics experiments at the CERN laboratory in Geneva, does the heavy lifting. It analyses around 3bn past transactions and 200 variables (such as past sales, searches on Ottos site and weather information) to predict what customers will buy a week before they order.The AI system has proved so reliableit predicts with 90% accuracy what will be sold within 30 daysthat Otto allows it automatically to purchase around 200,000 items a month from third-party brands with no human intervention. It would be impossible for a person to scrutinise the variety of products, colours and sizes that the machine orders. Online retailing is a natural place for machine-learning technology, notes Nathan Benaich, an investor in AI.Overall, the surplus stock that Otto must hold has declined by a fifth. The new AI system has reduced product returns by more than 2m items a year. Customers get their items sooner, which improves retention over time, and the technology also benefits the environment, because fewer packages get dispatched to begin with, or sent back.The initiative suggests that an important role of AI in business may be simply to make existing processes work better. Otto did not fire anyone as a result of its new algorithmic approach: it hired more, instead. In many cases AI will not affect a firms overall headcount, but will perform tasks at a level of productivity that people could not achieve. Ottos experience also underlines that ordinary companies can use AI, not just giants such as Amazon and Google, notes Dave Selinger, a retailing-technology expert and former data scientist at Amazon. The degree to which the company has yielded control to an algorithm, he says, is extremely unusual. But it may not be long before others catch up. "Automatic for the people"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21720675-firm-using-algorithm-designed-cern-laboratory-how-germanys-otto-uses?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-04-12T22:51:00.000+03:00' +'9e3df0bae4ceb9a68b5daa33e050fd9a3a3431b3'|'Markets edgy on political risks ahead of UK inflation - business live'|'Markets edgy on political risks ahead of UK inflation - business live UK prices expect to come in above Bank of Englands 2% target again LIVE Updated Bank of England governor Mark Carney. Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AFP/Getty Images View more sharing options 07.32 07.33 BST Live feed 07:32 Agenda: UK consumer prices in focus Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business. Stock markets are back in nervous mode, with a number of political concerns to worry investors. The US attack on Syria has increased the global uncertainty, and on top of that there are increasing tensions between President Trumps administration and North Korea. In Europe the French presidential race continues to dominate the agenda. Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior market analyst at London Capital Group, said: Flight to safety continues, as geopolitical concerns occupy the global headlines with North Koreas missile tests, US strike on Syria and Jean-Luc Melonchon gaining support in the French election race... According to one Kantar poll, Melonchon advanced to the third place, taking lead over Francois Fillon. Political risks could encourage a further slide in the euro. So the Nikkei has closed down 0.27% and European markets are expected to open slightly lower: IGSquawk (@IGSquawk) Our European opening calls: $FTSE 7343 down 6$DAX 12170 down 30 April 11, 2017 On the economic front, the latest UK inflation figures are in focus, and are expected once again to come in above the Bank of Englands 2% target. Many analysts are forecasting a figure of 2.3% in March, flat on the previous month although some believe there could be a slight dip. Unicredit said: We see headline CPI inflation easing to 2.1% year on year in March from 2.3% year on year in the previous month, and core inflation down by 0.3 percentage points to 1.7% year on year. The later timing of Easter this year and a negative contribution from motor fuel prices is likely to more than offset substantial price rises by some of the Big 6 UK energy suppliers. Heres our preview of what to expect: Price rises and pay figures to underline Brexit strain on Britons Read more German confidence figures are also due later and, on the corporate front, we have figures from JD Sports. Share'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/economics/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2017/apr/11/markets-edgy-on-political-risks-ahead-of-uk-inflation-business-live'|'2017-04-11T14:32:00.000+03:00' +'934517b421a329a4c68d09324cf2cadd656ab435'|'Iraq has pledged to fully comply with oil cut deal, OPEC chief says'|'Economic News - Sun Apr 2, 2017 - 1:53pm IST Iraq has pledged to fully comply with oil cut deal, OPEC chief says OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo speaks with the media during his visit to Abuja, Nigeria Febuary 27, 2017. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde/Files BAGHDAD Iraq has assured OPEC it will fully comply with an agreement to cut oil supply in order to bolster crude prices, OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo said on Sunday. Compliance with the deal agreed by OPEC and non-OPEC producers at the end of last year to cut supply is "encouraging", Barkindo told an energy conference in Baghdad. General compliance with supply cuts by the oil producers was 86 percent in January and 94 percent in February, he said. "The focus is now to rebalance the market," he added. OPEC ministers will meet in May to decide whether or not to extend the oil supply curbs beyond June. Barkindo described as "very constructive" meetings he had on Saturday with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and other Iraqi leaders in Baghdad. He saluted Iraq''s "flexibility" in the talks that helped bring about an agreement between the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-member oil producers. Iraq is OPEC''s second-largest producer, after Saudi Arabia. (Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed; Writing by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Mark Potter and Susan Thomas) Next In Economic News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/iraq-oil-opec-idINKBN174079'|'2017-04-02T16:23:00.000+03:00' +'c979f249416aeaefdb667bf0bf39a230b8cbd4af'|'Most oil producers want extension of output cuts - Iran minister'|'Business News - Sun Apr 16, 2017 - 1:44am BST Most oil producers want extension of output cuts - Iran minister FILE PHOTO: An Iranian man works on an oil production platform at the Soroush oil fields in the Persian Gulf, south of the capital Tehran, July 25, 2005. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/File Photo DUBAI Most oil producers support an extension of output cuts by OPEC and non-OPEC countries, and Iran would also back such a move, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh was quoted as saying. "(Zanganeh) stressed that most countries want OPEC''s decision to be extended," the Iranian Students'' News Agency (ISNA) reported. "Iran also supports such a decision and if others comply, so would Iran," Zanganeh told reporters late on Saturday, according to ISNA. The market has been oversupplied since mid-2014, prompting members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and some non-OPEC producers to agree to cut output in the first six months of 2017. OPEC meets on May 25 to consider extending the cuts beyond June. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and most other OPEC members are leaning towards this if agreement is reached with other producers, OPEC sources told Reuters last month. (Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Sandra Maler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-oil-opec-iran-idUKKBN17I00Q'|'2017-04-16T08:44:00.000+03:00' +'4a59b239ed8f873ad9b05cf631b69a4b4ba613e7'|'Saudi minister: Important to try to agree on oil cuts deal extension'|'Money News - Fri Apr 28, 2017 - 1:13pm IST Saudi minister: Important to try to agree on oil cuts deal extension Saudi Arabia''s Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih adjusts his glasses during a news conference after a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria, December 10, 2016. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader/File Photo ASTANA Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Friday that it was important to try and agree on an extension of a global oil cuts deal into the second half of the year. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, along with Russia and other non-OPEC producers, pledged to cut output by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in the first half of 2017. That deal expires at the end of June. Falih, who was speaking in Astana, said that it was important to agree on an extension with both OPEC and non-OPEC members. (Reporting by Raushan Nurshayeva; Writing by Kevin O''Flynn; Editing by Andrew Osborn)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/oil-opec-saudi-deal-idINKBN17U0W4'|'2017-04-28T15:43:00.000+03:00' +'9b466f494cefc1e13124bcb5b6f663b6b2315048'|'British American says 2017 trading in line with expectations'|' 40pm BST British American says 2017 trading in line with expectations People walk past the British American Tobacco offices in London, Britain October 21, 2016. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth LONDON British American Tobacco ( BATS.L ) said on Wednesday that trading so far this year was in line with expectations for challenging conditions in a number of key markets. The company, in the process of buying out Reynolds American ( RAI.N ) and on course to become the world''s biggest listed tobacco company, said this year''s profit growth will be weighted towards the second half of the year, as it was in 2016. "I am confident of another good year of constant currency earnings growth," Chairman Richard Burrows said at the company''s annual general meeting, according to a statement. BAT, home to the Lucky Strike and Dunhill cigarette brands, wants to double the number of countries where it sells e-cigarettes and other vaping products this year to around 20 markets, and to double it again in 2018, as it races against Philip Morris ( PM.N ), which expects to have its iQOS heated tobacco device in as many as 30 markets by the end of this year. Regarding its new e-cigarette line, Vype Pebble, launched in Britain and Italy in December, BAT said "early signs are very encouraging". It said its heated tobacco product, Glo, which launched in the Japanese city of Sendai in December and earlier this month in Switzerland, was exceeding expectations. It said the product gained 6.5 percent of the market by volume at a leading Sendai convenience store chain after only 18 weeks. (Reporting by Martinne Geller; editing by Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-brit-am-tobacco-agm-idUKKBN17S1GJ'|'2017-04-26T19:40:00.000+03:00' +'bf6d708d9b9a859e3bb8ebc598f0e4840408d293'|'Citi profit beats estimates as fixed-income trading jumps'|' 27pm BST Citi profit beats estimates as fixed-income trading jumps A Citi sign is seen at the Citigroup stall on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, October 16, 2012. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Citigroup Inc ( C.N ) reported a better-than-expected 17 percent jump in quarterly profit, boosted by strong fixed-income trading as clients adjusted their positions following rate hikes by the Federal Reserve and changes in the forex and credit markets. The fourth-biggest on Thursday that net income rose to $4.09 billion (3.27 billion pounds), or $1.35 $3.50 billion, or $1.10 The company said the latest quarter''s results included a net benefit of 8 cents per share from a few previously announced divestitures. expected earnings of $1.24 JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ), the biggest U.S. bank by assets, earlier reported a higher-than-expected 16.8 percent rise in quarterly profit, helped by additional revenue from increased trading. Citigroup''s total revenue rose about 3 percent to $18.12 billion, beating the average analysts'' estimate of $17.76 billion. Revenue from fixed-income trading rose 19 percent to $3.62 billion, while the bank''s much smaller equities trading saw revenue increase 10 percent to $769 million. Combined, trading revenue jumped about 17 percent, higher than the "low double-digit" rise that Chief Financial Officer John Gerspach projected five weeks ago. Loans at the end of the period were up only 2 percent, from a year earlier. "The momentum we saw across many of our businesses towards the end of last year carried into the first quarter, resulting in significantly better overall performance than a year ago," Chief Executive Michael Corbat said in a statement. Operating expenses were little changed at $10.48 billion. The ratio of expenses to revenue was about 58 percent, in line with the company''s goal for this year. Tangible book value per share was $65.94 at the end of March, compared with $64.57 three months earlier and $62.58 a year earlier. Citigroup''s shares were up marginally at $58.65 in premarket trading. Through Wednesday''s close, the stock had risen about 17 percent since the U.S. presidential elections, but is down 1.6 percent so far this year. The elections sparked a rally in U.S. bank stocks as investors bet on lower taxes and easing regulations. But, the rally is losing momentum as investors scale back expectations for any quick changes. (Reporting by Sweta Singh in Bengaluru and David Henry in New York; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-citigroup-results-idUKKBN17F1HJ'|'2017-04-13T20:27:00.000+03:00' +'04646ad0e230f5aff734cd17d1121fa1a777f677'|'Shareholders of Saudi gym chain Bodymasters consider Nomu listing-sources - Reuters'|'By Hadeel Al Sayegh - DUBAI, April 30 DUBAI, April 30 Shareholders of Saudi Arabia''s Bodymasters are talking to banks and weighing a listing of the fitness chain on Saudi Arabias new parallel market, Nomu, sources told Reuters.The gym brand is currently owned through a 60/40 percent split by two funds run separately by Saudi-based private equity firms Amwal Al Khaleej and MEFIC Capital.Shareholders have been speaking to investment banks for the past few weeks, according to two sources familiar with the transaction, who spoke on condition of anonymity as the matter is not public.The process is in its early stages, the sources said, and shareholders have not decided on a specific action.A process to invite banks to pitch for arranging the sale was launched at the end of last year, one of the sources said.The sources gave no details of valuation or what percentage of shares could be floated.The Nomu market requires companies to offer at least 20 percent to the public, according to rules on its website.Amwal Al Khaleej declined to comment and MEFIC Capital was not immediately available for comment on Sunday.Bodymasters has 35 gyms, mostly in Riyadh but also in Qassim, Dammam and Khamees Mushait, according to its website.The shareholders were in informal talks with four potential buyers in January last year to sell the company in a private sale, but the sources did not comment on how the talks concluded. The transaction was said to be worth 500 million riyal ($133 million). ( reut.rs/1RLWnZC ) (Editing by Adrian Croft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/bodymasters-ipo-idINL8N1I201U'|'2017-04-30T06:35:00.000+03:00' +'9b5d7478574fb49607d4fa0185063a69ae41e665'|'In first 100 days, a reversal of fortune for Trump favourites on Wall Street'|'Global Energy News - Fri Apr 28, 2017 - 6:31pm BST In first 100 days, a reversal of fortune for Trump favourites on Wall Street left right A trader looks at a screen that charts the S&P 500 on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., April 27, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid 1/2 left right A screen that charts the S&P 500 is seen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., April 27, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid 2/2 By Noel Randewich - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO A funny thing happened on Wall Street in Donald Trump''s first 100 days in the White House: Shares of companies that got closest to the president lagged the market''s march higher. Meanwhile, stocks from sectors that have had less access, and have faced occasional bluster from Trump, such as media and technology, have hopped into the driver seat. Banks, industrials and other companies expected to win from Trump''s policies surged following his unexpected election victory in November. Valuations for many grew stretched. But Wall Street''s change in focus in recent months also reflects concerns among investors that Trump may struggle to enact deep tax cuts and stimulate economic growth as quickly as previously expected. Indeed, the economy grew just 0.7 percent on an annualised basis in the first quarter, the first of Trump''s presidency, as consumer spending stalled. Many of the industries Trump singled out for special attention, like coalminers, steelmakers and oil companies, face major market trends and commodity price fluctuations that he can do little to change. Since Trump''s inauguration on Jan. 20, representatives from nearly 100 publicly-listed companies have visited the White House, with carmakers, healthcare companies, banks and industrials getting more face time than technology companies, retailers and media firms. Shares of companies that have visited the White House since the inauguration have enjoyed a median increase of 3.7 percent, trailing the benchmark Standard & Poor''s 500 Index''s gain of 5.5 percent. But Trump''s recent failure to push a healthcare overhaul through Congress, as well as other miscues, now have investors a little less sure he will be able to make good on his promises. The S&P 500 is near record highs after the administration unveiled a long-awaited proposal Wednesday to steeply cut corporate tax rates. But the plan may be unpalatable to Republican fiscal hawks since it lacks proposals for raising new revenue and would potentially add billions of dollars to the federal deficit. "The stability of the market and its ability to rise is still based on the feeling that the administration may be getting its act together," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Group in Bedford Hills, New York. "But at some point investors will ask if any of this stuff is going to happen or if it''s all talk." EARLY WINNERS FADE Since the election, the financial sector .SPSY has risen 19 percent, more than any other. But its gain since the inauguration has been among the weakest, at 3 percent. An investor buying a basket of banks and selling utilities immediately after Trump''s election would have made as much as 29 percent by mid-February. But that gain has since shrunk to 17 percent, according to Vincent Deluard, Vice President, Global Macro Strategy at INTL FCStone Financial Inc. Other "Trump trades" have lost momentum. Investors bet big on steel right out of the gate after Election Day, with the industry seen as a poster child for Trump''s focus on "unfair" trade deals that hurt U.S. producers. The S&P 1500 steel industry group index .SPCOMSTEEL had gained 36 percent by the first week of December. The group is down by more than 13 percent since then, however, and even last week''s executive order to investigate whether U.S. steel companies need additional trade protections under the auspices of national security delivered only a short-lived rebound. Poor earnings from sector heavyweight United States Steel Corp ( X.N ) ruined the party. Trump this month signed an executive order sweeping away Obama-era climate change regulations, saying it would end America''s "war on coal." But reflecting an abundance of cheap natural gas and falling costs of wind and solar power, coal miners CONSOL Energy ( CNX.N ) and Cloud Peak Energy ( CLD.N ) have dropped 16 percent and 32 percent, respectively, in Trump''s first 100 days. Meanwhile, tech stocks that were left out of the early Trump rally have surged recently as investors shift out of low-valuation stocks favoured immediately after the election and back into high-growth stocks like Alphabet ( GOOGL.O ) and Facebook ( FB.O ) that delivered much of the market''s momentum in recent years. In the absence of concrete results from Trump, corporate earnings have taken centre stage, with first-quarter profits of S&P 500 companies expected to surge 13.6 percent, helped by strong international growth. "Earnings are through-the-roof good. Companies are very profitable, and potentially are going to be more profitable with tax-cut legislation," said Stephen Massocca, Senior Vice President at Wedbush Securities in San Francisco. Other stocks seen as out of favour under Trump have also outperformed during his first 100 days. Tesla ( TSLA.O ), which some investors feared could be hurt by the removal of tax incentives for the purchase of its electric vehicles, has surged 27 percent to record highs. And perhaps most telling of all, the media sector - regularly lambasted by Trump for its coverage of him - is up 7 percent since he took office. Even New York Times Co ( NYT.N ), publisher of what Trump has repeatedly disparaged as "the failed New York Times" newspaper, hit a three-year high after the inauguration and is up 10 percent since he moved into the White House. (Reporting by Noel Randewich,; Editing by Dan Burns and Nick Zieminski)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-stocks-idUKKBN17U2K8'|'2017-04-29T01:31:00.000+03:00' +'be5484d123c40f43b3843b5418bce6e54f64623f'|'Bidding at U.S. 3-year not sale weakest since 2009'|'NEW YORK, April 10 Bidding for Monday''s $24 billion in U.S. three-year Treasury notes was the weakest since 2009, resulting in the government having paying bond dealers and investors a higher yield than what traders had expected.The ratio of bids to the amount offered was 2.62, compared with 2.74 at the prior three-year note auction in March. This measure of overall demand at an auction was the lowest since July 2009. (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-auction-idINL1N1HI10V'|'2017-04-10T15:24:00.000+03:00' +'6ba446a64b30a7cd42da5f837db74bcce2ecdda8'|'Boeing could deliver 737 MAX 10X in 2020 if airlines start buying - exec'|' 6:04am BST Boeing could deliver 737 MAX 10X in 2020 if airlines start buying - exec Boeing Co''s logo is seen above the front doors of its largest jetliner factory in Everett, Washington, U.S. January 13, 2017. REUTERS/Alwyn Scott By Jamie Freed - SYDNEY SYDNEY Boeing Co ( BA.N ) could begin delivering the 737 MAX 10X aircraft in 2020 if airlines start ordering the largest version of its 737 MAX family this year, a senior executive of the aeroplane manufacturer said on Thursday. The comments from Boeing 737 MAX chief project engineer and deputy programme manager Michael Teal came as the smaller 737 MAX 9 completed its first airport taxi test in Seattle on Wednesday. That aircraft will make its first test flight in Seattle on Thursday, weather permitting, he said. Boeing began marketing the 737 MAX 10X as an option to customers this year but has yet to receive any orders for the fuel-efficient single-aisle jetliner, which competes against the popular Airbus SE ( AIR.PA ) A321neo. Teal said the design of the 737 MAX 10X would be firmed up by the end of this year and customers could receive the aircraft in 2020 depending on orders. "We''ll determine (the delivery date) when we launch that program when the customers show the interest and they buy the airplane," he said on a conference call with reporters. "Sales teams are out meeting with customers today." He did not specify at what date deliveries by 2020 would become unlikely if orders were not received. Boeing in March said it had approached India''s SpiceJet Ltd ( SPJT.BO ) and Jet Airways Ltd ( JET.NS ) as it gauged interest in the aircraft. However, the heads of two major aircraft leasing companies have said the MAX 10X holds no particular attraction for their customers and would eat into rentals of other MAX models. The 737 MAX 10X has a body 66 inches (167 centimetres) longer than the second-largest family member, the 737 MAX 9, and adds 12 seats. It will require longer landing gear as a result. Teal said the landing gear were still in the development stage, with several concepts in prototype testing. "We won''t hit the firm configuration on the gear and really the complete airplane until the end of this year," he said. "All of the development tests are proving positive and we are well on our way to firming up that configuration and moving forward into production." The first 737 MAX 9 customer delivery is expected next year, while the first 737 MAX 8 should be delivered next month, Teal said. (Reporting by Jamie Freed; Editing by Christopher Cushing)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-boeing-idUKKBN17F0GT'|'2017-04-13T13:04:00.000+03:00' +'60d1c787be26d62d57b872cf43664e8ecfe4e39d'|'Glass Lewis urges vote against Deutsche Boerse board actions'|' 8:42pm BST Glass Lewis urges vote against Deutsche Boerse board actions The plaque of the Deutsche Boerse AG is pictured at the entrance of the Frankfurt stock exchange February 1, 2012. REUTERS/Alex Domanski/File Photo FRANKFURT Influential proxy adviser Glass Lewis has recommended shareholders in Deutsche Boerse ( DB1Gn.DE ) vote against ratifying the actions of the management and supervisory board at the exchange''s 2017 annual general meeting. German companies typically ask their shareholders to approve the actions of their boards over the previous years at the annual shareholder meetings. Glass Lewis said in a recommendation that shareholders may have concerns over the failed merger with the London Stock Exchange Group ( LSE.L ) and due to a pending investigation into CEO Carsten Kengeter over possible insider trading. Kengeter denies the allegations, and has said that he and the company are cooperating fully with the public prosecutor. Glass Lewis said shareholders may question management''s performance in light of failing to make contingency plans for Britain''s vote to leave the European Union in the merger documents. On the investigation into Kengeter, it said it believed shareholders should be given the chance to vote on individual management board members rather than the board as whole. "We are unaware of any specific evidence that Mr. Kengeter contravened insider trading regulations, but considering the ongoing nature and potential consequences of a negative outcome of investigations, we do not believe that shareholders can confidently determine whether approval of this proposal is in their best interests at this time," it wrote. The recommendation was first reported by German daily Handelsblatt. Deutsche Boerse declined to comment. The AGM takes place on May 17. (Reporting by Andreas Kroner and John O''Donnell; Writing by Victoria Bryan; editing by Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deutsche-boerse-agm-idUKKBN17R2MN'|'2017-04-26T03:42:00.000+03:00' +'113a29e54976091a34548c0f9e25d3533144e1cd'|'Airbus confirms CEO under investigation over Austria arms deal'|'Business News - Wed Apr 26, 2017 - 4:31pm BST Airbus confirms CEO under investigation over Austria arms deal The logo of Airbus Group is seen on the company''s headquarters building in Toulouse, Southwestern France, April 18, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau PARIS Europe''s Airbus ( AIR.PA ) confirmed on Wednesday its chief executive, Tom Enders, had been placed under investigation by Vienna prosecutors in connection with a fighter purchase in 2003 and called the accusations "completely unsubstantiated". Reuters reported earlier that a spokeswoman for the prosecutor''s office had confirmed that correspondence seen by the news agency, which listed Enders as one of those accused in a recently opened fraud investigation, was correct. "Upon our inquiry after initial media reports, the Vienna Prosecutor this afternoon informed us for the first time that all individuals which have been listed in a register by the Austrian Finanzprokuratur (Austria''s legal adviser) are under investigation," an Airbus spokesman said by email. "This list of individuals includes Tom Enders. As we have repeatedly stated, we consider the accusations as completely unsubstantiated." (Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-airbus-group-austria-inquiry-confirma-idUKKBN17S265'|'2017-04-27T00:07:00.000+03:00' +'d4cca2437d80d7fa2facd87ae858fba9af1c365a'|'Canada''s oil sands acquisition pool dwindles as global firms flee'|'By Nia Williams and John Tilak - CALGARY, Alberta/TORONTO CALGARY, Alberta/TORONTO As international energy companies retreat from the Canadian oil sands sector because of depressed oil prices, a fast-shrinking universe of potential buyers may leave some stranded in the high-cost, capital-intensive sector.Global producers are bailing on their oil sands investments due to higher development costs, limited export pipeline capacity to get crude to market and concerns about high carbon emissions in the sector.International companies once drawn by the long-life assets that can produce for up to 50 years during the oil sector boom are discovering the economics do not work as well in a low-price environment.But to get out, they have to overcome a simple equation: there are more sellers than buyers for the oil sands.The three biggest domestic producers - Suncor Energy, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd and Cenovus Energy - are digesting multi-billion dollar deals, and have little room for more acquisitions, industry participants say. Global companies like ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil Corp prefer to pile into cheaper U.S. shale plays such as the Permian basin instead."The market is pretty thin for oil sands buyers," said Janan Paskaran, an M&A lawyer at Torys LLP who advises domestic and international energy companies."There are three or four buyers out there that have said they are interested in increasing exposure to oil sands, but they''ve already done their shopping," he added. "I don''t see any new entrants."BP Plc has joined Chevron Corp in weighing the sale of its oil sands stakes, Reuters has reported. This follows decisions by Royal Dutch Shell, ConocoPhillips and Marathon to dump about $22.5 billion worth of largely oil sands assets this year.BIG LOSSESCompanies that planned further divestitures from oil sands will either have to patiently sit on their assets or, as in the case of Statoil ASA and Marathon, accept a loss on their investments."There''s not enough financial wherewithal in Canada to snap up all of the foreign investment that might be exiting right now," said Rafi Tahmazian, portfolio manager at Canoe Financial, referring to the domestic Canadian energy industry."You end up having to decide as a foreign company, am I willing to get rid of this cheap or do I hang on to it?"Statoil booked an impairment charge of $500-$550 million, when it sold its oil sands assets to Athabasca Oil Corp. Similarly, Marathon sold its stake in the Athasbasca Oil Sands Project for $2.5 billion, having paid $6.2 billion to get into the region in 2007. While some Canadian companies have stepped forward to take their place, their resources are limited. Cenovus'' share price tumbled after it loaded up on debt to buy ConocoPhillips assets. Suncor and Canadian Natural are in better shape financially but may have limited appetite for further deals after major acquisitions in the last 15 months. Sources said Husky Energy, BP''s joint venture partner in the Sunrise project, is not keen to increase its exposure to the oil sands but may consider buying BP''s stake if the price is attractive."The prices will adjust to the supply of buyers and likely move downward," said John Stephenson, president of Stephenson & Co Capital Management, which owns shares in Cenovus and Canadian Natural.(Reporting by Nia Williams and John Tilak; Editing by Denny Thomas and Bernard Orr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-canada-oilsands-exit-idINKBN17N2CT'|'2017-04-21T17:04:00.000+03:00' +'8c2b1c4378a0276a4c502684fc0b3f03e550a9de'|'BRIEF-XTL Biopharmaceuticals unveils expanded HCDR1 preclinical data for treatment of sjgren''s syndrome'|' 25am EDT BRIEF-XTL Biopharmaceuticals unveils expanded HCDR1 preclinical data for treatment of sjgren''s syndrome April 5 X T L Biopharmaceuticals Ltd * X T L Biopharmaceuticals Ltd - XTL Biopharmaceuticals unveils expanded HCDR1 preclinical data for treatment of sjgren''s syndrome * X T L Biopharma - additional data shows statistically significant effect in gene expression of 2 additional genes that have role in pathogenesis of sjgren''s syndrome Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-xtl-biopharmaceuticals-unveils-exp-idUSFWN1HD0JG'|'2017-04-05T21:25:00.000+03:00' +'198696642635405cb2c65598739adc2e417e1298'|'British Columbia election campaign starts, race neck-and-neck'|'Company News - Tue Apr 11, 2017 - 11:19am EDT British Columbia election campaign starts, race neck-and-neck By Nicole Mordant - VANCOUVER, April 11 VANCOUVER, April 11 British Columbia''s ruling Liberal Party and the opposition New Democratic Party were in a dead heat as election campaigning kicked off in the western Canadian province on Tuesday, four weeks before voters go to the polls. A loss for the Liberals on May 9 could derail big oil and gas projects in the province. NDP leader John Horgan has vowed to stop Kinder Morgan''s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and has expressed reservations about a liquefied natural gas terminal that Malaysia''s Petronas may build. The Liberals are seeking a fifth consecutive term, with a backdrop of voters opting for change in the neighboring province of Alberta in the Canadian federal election and in the United States in the past two years. The provincial Liberals are not linked to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau''s Liberal Party and are more right-leaning. Adding uncertainty to the outcome of the provincial election is an early jump in support for the BC Green Party and its leader, Andrew Weaver, said David Valentin, executive vice president at Ottawa-based polling firm Mainstreet Research. Although support is up, nearly half of Green Party supporters say they might change their minds about which party to give their votes. It is not clear which of the two big parties would benefit the most. "That is the X-factor for us right now because we have seen so many elections where the improbable becomes not just probable but reality," Valentin said in an interview. He pointed to the surprise win in 2015 by the left-leaning NDP in the oil-producing province of Alberta, a traditional Conservative Party stronghold. According to the latest Mainstreet/Postmedia poll, which surveyed respondents April 1-3, 26 percent of voters would back the Liberals, 29 percent the NDP, the official opposition, 13 percent the Green Party and 9 percent the Conservative Party. Some 23 percent of voters were undecided. The issue of fundraising is expected to emerge as a campaign issue in a province that has few limits on political contributions. The New York Times in January called British Columbia the "''Wild West'' of Canadian political cash" and said there was an "unabashedly cozy relationship between private interests and government officials in the province." Unaffordable housing could also weigh on the Liberals, who have been in power for nearly 16 years. With its million-dollar tear-downs, Vancouver, British Columbia''s biggest city, is the most expensive real estate market in Canada. (Reporting by Nicole Mordant in Vancouver; Editing by Dan Grebler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-britishcolumbia-election-idUSL1N1HI1NR'|'2017-04-11T23:19:00.000+03:00' +'45ae5aa57444babea3ff15b88dd4a069dc171260'|'Michigan official sees Detroit exit from state oversight in 2018'|'CHICAGO Detroit''s post-bankruptcy finances have improved to the point where the city should be able to exit state oversight in early 2018, a Michigan official said on Wednesday.Eric Scorsone, who oversees local Michigan governments as a senior deputy state treasurer, said Detroit was on track to end its third-straight fiscal year without a budget deficit. That is a main requirement for the Detroit Financial Review Commission, created as part of the city''s bankruptcy exit plan, to go dormant."I never thought Detroit''s recovery could happen so quickly," Scorsone told a Chicago conference sponsored by the Civic Federation and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.Michigan''s largest city ended the biggest-ever U.S. municipal bankruptcy in December 2014 after shedding about $7 billion of its $18 billion of debt and obligations.If Detroit exits state oversight, the commission, which currently meets monthly, could come back to life if the city had a deficit or debt problem, Scorsone said.Detroit must still deal with an unfunded pension liability of at least $2 billion and pension payments set to resume in 2024, according to Scorsone.A court-approved bankruptcy exit plan had projected city pension payments would total $111 million beginning in fiscal 2024. But a subsequent actuarial analysis pegged the payment spike at $200 million or more.The Detroit City Council in March approved Mayor Mike Duggan''s proposal to deposit $377 million into a trust fund by the end of fiscal 2023 to help Detroit cover the higher-than-expected pension payments."That''s great because the city really moved proactively," Scorsone said.(Reporting By Karen Pierog; Editing by Andrew Hay)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-detroit-budget-idINKBN17L288'|'2017-04-19T14:37:00.000+03:00' +'acd6f11f5a129ec5b102b4d8372d8d29da04dae0'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'(Adds Shandong Tyan, Rolls-Royce, Advent International, Abu Dhabi National Energy, Telecom Italia, Grupo Bimbo and BlackRock; updates PPG and Lufthansa)April 19 The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Wednesday:** A group backed by private equity firm KKR & Co said it had made a revised A$6.15 billion ($4.65 billion) offer for Australia''s biggest lottery operator Tatts Group Ltd, upping the ante in a bidding war against Tabcorp Holdings Ltd.** Chevron Corp, the second-largest U.S.-based oil company, sold its Canadian gasoline stations and refinery in British Columbia to Parkland Fuel Corp, a marketer of petroleum products, for C$1.46 billion ($1.09 billion).** Ant Financial, the payment affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd , has acquired Singapore-based payment service helloPay Group, as part of the Chinese firm''s drive to boost its Alipay brand and presence in Southeast Asia.** A Japanese government-backed fund and policy bank are considering a joint bid with Broadcom Ltd for Toshiba Corp''s semiconductor business, a move that would vault the U.S. chipmaker into the lead to buy the prized unit, the Asahi newspaper said.** Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) has entered into exclusive talks with Hong Kong insurer FWD Group to sell its life insurance arm, which could raise $3 billion for Thailand''s third-biggest lender, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.** Canadian grocery and pharmacy retailer Loblaw Cos Ltd said it would sell its gas station business to asset manager Brookfield Business Partners LP for about C$540 million ($402.17 million).** The Saudi-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) plans to take at least a 10 percent stake in Turkey''s state-run stock exchange as the multilateral lender ramps up activities in the country, a senior official of the bank told Reuters.** Pittsburgh-based PPG Industries dismissed proposals put forward by Dutch paintmaker Akzo Nobel to fend off its takeover bid and won support from activist hedge fund Elliott Advisors.** British materials testing company Exova Group said UK-based Element Materials Technology would buy it in a deal valued at 620.3 million pounds ($795.3 million).** Dutch eyeglass store operator Grandvision said it will acquire Tesco''s chain of more than 200 opticians.** Lufthansa is in talks with Iran Air to provide catering, maintenance and pilot training as it seeks to take advantage of emerging business opportunities in the country, executives at the German airline group said.** China Development Bank is considering providing financing for a Chinese consortium seeking to buy a stake in Russia''s largest gold producer Polyus , two sources familiar with discussions about the potential deal told Reuters.** German automotive supplier Continental AG and a unit of China Unicom have agreed to set up a joint venture in China to offer intelligent transport systems, such as vehicle data services and connected vehicle software.** Centurion Midstream Group LLC said it acquired a petroleum marketing and transportation business that operates in West Texas from Agave Energy Holdings, a subsidiary of Lucid Energy Group.** India''s online grocery delivery service BigBasket and smaller rival Grofers India Pvt Ltd have begun talks on a possible merger, Indian newspaper Mint reported, citing sources.** Sweden''s SCA has rejected a recent bid for its hygiene arm and an offer last year for its forestry business, Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter reported, citing sources.** Top shareholder Invesco Perpetual has trimmed its stake in technology incubator Allied Minds for the second time in as many weeks, according to regulatory filings.** An Italian regulator ordered French media group Vivendi on Tuesday to cut its stake in either Telecom Italia or broadcaster Mediaset within a year, ruling it was in breach of rules designed to prevent a concentration of power.** Czech utility CEZ aims to sell all of its Bulgarian assets and has received expressions of interest mainly from investors in the Balkan country, a company official said.** KAR Auction Services Inc, a provider of car auction and salvage services, said it would acquire DRIVIN, which aggregates automotive retail, pricing, registration and economic data to match vehicle inventory to dealer demand, for $43 million in stock.** Renova Energia SA sold a wind farm project to a unit of AES Corp for 600 million reais ($193 million) on Tuesday, enabling the Brazilian renewable power company to replenish cash amid a severe cash crunch.** Verizon Communications Inc has agreed to buy optical fiber from Corning Inc for at least $1.05 billion over the next three years as the No. 1 U.S. wireless carrier aims to improve its network infrastructure, the companies said on Tuesday.** Shanghai-listed Shandong Tyan Home said its negotiations with Barrick Gold Corp to buy the Canadian operator''s 50-percent stake in Kalgoorlie mine have ended without a deal, citing new capital and acquisition rules in China.** European Union antitrust regulators said they had cleared the acquisition of aircraft engine components maker ITP by Rolls-Royce subject to its elimination of a conflict of interest in an engine consortium.** European Union antitrust regulators said they had cleared U.S. private equity firm Advent International''s planned acquisition of Morpho, the biometrics and security business of French aerospace group Safran.** Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) might sell some of its oil and gas interests in North America to raise capital for its core business, its chief operating officer told Reuters.** Telecom Italia shareholders should not support board candidates proposed by Vivendi, two advisory firms said, potentially dealing a fresh blow to Vivendi chairman Vincent Bollore''s attempts to build a southern European media empire.** BlackRock Inc Chief Executive Larry Fink, who runs the world''s largest asset manager, forecast a wave of mergers and acquisitions in asset management, but said his company may be limited for now to small deals.** Mexican breadmaker Grupo Bimbo plans to grow in China in the short term with acquisitions, while also expanding its presence in the rest of Asia and entering Middle Eastern markets, the company''s food business chief said. (Compiled by Ahmed Farhatha and Divya Grover in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/deals-day-idINL3N1HR3DK'|'2017-04-19T18:03:00.000+03:00' +'70228d77aa74dde56c1a9cd334ce6962459dddd7'|'Inside one county''s big casino bet: economic boom or Atlantic City bust? - Guardian Sustainable Business'|'W hen Toya Mitchell first learned MGM Resorts International had won a contract to build a new casino down the street from her house in Prince Georges County, Maryland, she was cautiously optimistic. Mitchell, the owner of Lord & Mitchell, a small, women-run business specializing in customized promotional and printed materials, was excited about the possible jobs and business opportunities the casino could bring, not to mention the much-needed boost to the countys economy.But she was also wary. Casino developers arent exactly known for their community spirit, and cities that have authorized casinos in the hope of reviving their economy in the past have not fared well. Atlantic Citys storied and troubled past is probably the best example of this despite rigorous economic investment resulting in a strip of glitzy casinos and hotels, the local community suffered long and hard high taxes, failing infrastructure the loss of tens of thousands of jobs before it all came crumbling down .The big unknown when any company of this size and scope enters our community is what the overall effect would be on our lifestyle, Mitchell said.Mitchell is now one of MGMs closest and longest serving community partners. Shes worked with the company on everything from branded sportswear to logoed umbrellas since MGM was first awarded the license to build a $1.4bn luxury casino resort on the banks of the Potomac River, a 10-minute drive from Washington DC , in December 2013.MGM National Harbor opened last December to much fanfare: swanky hotel suites, a handful of upscale bars and restaurants, a live-music indoor venue and an indoor shopping strip featuring brands like Sarah Jessica Parkers SJP shoe shop.But the real success story is the companys relationship with the local county.In 2014, MGM entered into whats known as a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) with Prince Georges County a list of socioeconomic benefits that the company had to adhere to between 2014 and its grand opening. This included ensuring that at least 40% new hires were county residents; creating at least 3,800 new jobs; providing opportunities in construction and local businesses; and contributing at least $1m to local charities.While gaming licensees in Maryland are required to negotiate a CBA with the host county to mitigate future impacts a new resort would have on local infrastructure, MGM ended up exceeding most of the CBAs requirements: more than 4,000 new jobs were created in the county; 48% of new hires at the time of opening were county residents; 27% of total labor hours to develop the resort were performed by Prince Georges County residents; and more than $1m was donated to charitable organizations in the local community.During construction, the project hired more than 6,000 men and women and awarded construction contracts to 167 Minority Business Enterprises (MBE), representing more than $323m in spending. In addition, nearly 80 county-based businesses were involved in the project, representing a spend of $214.3m.Outside of the CBA, the company also launched public infrastructure improvements, fixing local roads and initiating a new bus system to meet the expected demand for the casino, which cost in excess of $90m using a combination of MGM and National Harbor funds. MGM also commissioned local artists to provide much of the art inside the resort.According to the Prince Georges County local government office, MGM National Harbor is projected to bring in between $40-$50m in yearly revenue for the county.With five other casinos in Maryland, we knew our residents were traveling north, so we knew our citizens would love a casino, said David Iannucci, assistant deputy to the chief administrative officer for the county. We wanted to capture some of that for ourselves rather than having them leave.Facebook Twitter Pinterest At a celebration honoring the 1000th member of the construction workforce of Prince Georges County during construction of MGM National Harbor. Photograph: MGM At first glance, Prince Georges County doesnt present itself as struggling. The county, in a jurisdiction of 900,000 predominantly African American residents, is in the top 4% of wealthy counties in the US . Its home to the University of Maryland and the NASA Goddard Space Center. But the recession hit the county hard according to Iannucci, the county had a much harder time recovering than surrounding counties. New housing construction rates in the county dropped off and high crime levels became a problem; in June 2011, unemployment rose to 7.9% , the highest the county had ever experienced in a 21-year period .But the countys location at the crossroads between the DMV (DC, Maryland and Virginia) has made it desirable to investors and property developers.Its one of maybe four or five sites in the Washington region thats located on a very disinvested waterfront location, said Uwe Brandes, faculty director at Georgetown Universitys School of Continuing Studies Urban & Regional Planning Program. More and more, people are engaging our waterfront and rivers, and thats exciting theres a new sense of civic space, destinations, people are coming together, new economies being created, new opportunities.Unemployment in Prince Georges County is currently at 4.3%, slightly lower than the national average of 4.8% , and crime rates are steadily falling . Weve added 7,000 new jobs in last two years, not counting MGM, Iannuci said. Weve also worked hard on schools and public safety.What makes the partnership between MGM and Prince Georges County unique is that there was no public money involved outside of the normal permit applications required in any county project (which MGM covered in a permit application fee that was determined by the cost and size of the project).The county wasnt responsible for granting MGM the casino license that was done at the state level so technically, MGM didnt owe the county anything. Which leads one to question what, exactly, is in it for MGM.When youre talking about bringing gaming into an area, one of the things that makes us more appealing [as a developer] is that we are interested in giving back, said Danielle White, the regional vice president of community engagement for MGM. Exceeding the CBA wasnt something that we were required to do but we did it anyway because we wanted to be a good neighbor. When you think about it, this is whats going to encourage people to want to work with us.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Prince Georges Countys location at the crossroads between the DMV (DC, Maryland and Virginia) has made it desirable to investors and property developers. Photograph: MGM Theres another play here, too: MGM is interested in attracting millennials to lifelong careers at the company. Young people now always look for socially minded organizations when thinking of the future, White said.Despite the success of the CBA, Brandes cautioned its still too early to measure the long term benefit of MGM National Harbor on Prince Georges County. After construction, the CBA also covers operational issues after the resort is up and running, which means its impossible to determine how the casino will perform relative to its operational obligations until it has been open for at least a year.Theres also the issue of the social and health costs of legal gambling. Attracting economic investment is one thing, but what will the casinos societal impact be if its clientele is made up mostly of retirees who come to gamble away their social security checks?One argument is that casinos hardly encourage nearby economic development because they are designed in such a way as to keep people inside and gambling for as long as possible . A 2014 report from the Institute for American Values quoted a same-year study that found people who live within 10 miles of a casino have twice the rate of pathological and problem gambling as those who do not .What is encouraging is that MGM says it has no plans to stop its community outreach now that the National Harbor casino is open. According to White, the company plans to issue several community grants in 2018 to Prince Georges County nonprofits aligned with public education, health and wellness or sustainability, as well as continue a volunteer program that allows MGM National Harbor employees to volunteer in community projects around the county. (MGM said the total figure for this is yet to be determined.)For Mitchell at least, MGMs presence represents a big step forward for the future of the county. Theres lots of excitement [about] extensive economic development, improvements to our infrastructure, and a booming spirit of entrepreneurship within the county, she said.Topics Guardian sustainable business Values-led business Gambling Unemployment features '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/apr/05/mgm-casino-washington-business-gambling'|'2017-04-06T00:58:00.000+03:00' +'43c6d217d01946b8c5479763b858ac407d55ca2e'|'Online fashion retailer Boohoo sees profits double'|' 34am BST Online fashion retailer Boohoo sees profits double LONDON British online fashion retailer Boohoo on Wednesday reported a doubling in annual profit, driven by robust demand in its home market and overseas, particularly in the United States. The firm said trading in the first few weeks of its 2017-18 financial year had made "a promising start" and it forecast revenue growth for the year of about 50 percent. Boohoo, which sells own-brand clothing, shoes and accessories online to a core market of 16-24 year-olds, has been one of the stars of the UK stock market over the last year with its shares rising 280 percent. It made a pre-tax profit of 30.9 million pounds in the year to Feb. 28. That compared to analysts'' average forecast of 28.7 million pounds, according to Reuters data, and 15.7 million pounds in 2015-16. Revenue rose 51 percent to 294.6 million pounds. (Reporting by James Davey; editing by Kate Holton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-boohoo-results-idUKKBN17S0JN'|'2017-04-26T14:34:00.000+03:00' +'14d1428b5d9e9d34df1bcf63c3783b2d960a7dac'|'FCA says EU access vital for healthy competition'|'Business News 9:08am BST FCA says EU access vital for healthy competition The logo of the new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is seen at the agency''s headquarters in the Canary Wharf business district of London April 1, 2013. REUTERS/Chris Helgren By Huw Jones - LONDON LONDON Access to European Union markets and people after Britain leaves the bloc is essential for maintaining healthy competition in financial services, the country''s markets watchdog said on Tuesday. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) set out the key principles for advising the government on EU withdrawal negotiations in its annual business plan for next year, with handling uncertainties surrounding Brexit a top priority. "Open markets are an important enabler of healthy competition, supporting FCA objectives," the watchdog said. The regulator said the ability to recruit a diverse workforce would also help to ensure that markets and firms are well run and remain competitive - a nod to concerns at banks that they may no longer be able to recruit freely from EU countries in future. Consistent global regulatory standards and cooperation between national authorities will also be "fundamental regardless of the outcomes of the negotiations." The FCA said Britain should also have a say over the rules it applies. Regulators have said they do not want Britain to become a "rule taker" in order to obtain EU market access, meaning they must match the bloc''s standards. It remains unclear if banks and other financial firms in Britain will have access to EU markets after Brexit. Some companies have decided to build up operations in the EU rather than risk disruption to established customer links. "This lack of clarity will potentially lead to a period of prolonged uncertainty for markets, firms and consumers," the FCA said. The watchdog, funded by levies on the firms it supervises, said its total requirement for financial the year starting this month was 526.9 million pounds, up 1.5 percent or 7.6 million pounds on the previous year. The increase is partly due to 2.5 million pounds extra needed to handle Brexit, the watchdog said. The FCA also published its new "Mission", a 36-page document that resets the regulator''s core objectives as new chief executive, Andrew Bailey, seeks to draw a line under a string a mis-selling scandals spanning more than two decades. The Mission, in line with a draft version that was put out to public consultation, seeks to strike a balance between demands and finite resources, saying that protecting the most vulnerable customers would be a priority. "The Mission gives firms and consumers greater clarity about how and why we prioritise, protect and intervene in financial markets," Bailey said in a statement. It is being made clearer, for example, that when a firm or individual is referred to enforcement, this does not mean that the watchdog already believes wrongdoing has taken place. The watchdog also published for the first time documents that set out its internal thinking on key parts of the financial industry. It will also launch a strategic review of retail banking business models in the year ahead, look at the motor finance industry, review pricing practices in general insurance, assess "robo" or automated advice models, (Reporting by Huw Jones. Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-regulator-idUKKBN17K0Q9'|'2017-04-18T16:08:00.000+03:00' +'95f2d6c5809b4f282534732983603664d974427e'|'Delhi High Court approves $1.18 billion settlement of Tata-DoCoMo dispute - TV'|'NEW DELHI The Delhi High Court has approved a settlement of the $1.18 billion dispute between Tata Sons and NTT DoCoMo ( 9437.T ), allowing the Indian firm to buy out the Japanese firm''s stake in the telecoms joint venture, TV news channels reported on Friday.India''s central bank had blocked Tata''s offer, saying a rule change in 2016 prevented foreign investors from selling stakes in Indian firms at a pre-determined price.DoCoMo entered India in 2009 with an investment of nearly $2.2 billion in Tata group''s telecoms arm Tata Teleservices for a 26.5 percent stake in the venture. Competition and a low subscriber base forced DoCoMo to rethink its strategy and it decided to get out of India in 2014.Under the terms of the deal, in the event of an exit, DoCoMo was guaranteed the higher of either half its original investment, or its fair value.Tata was unable to find a buyer for the Japanese firm''s stake and offered to buy the stake itself for half of DoCoMo''s investment.(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Douglas Busvine)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/tata-sons-ntt-docomo-idINKBN17U169'|'2017-04-28T17:17:00.000+03:00' +'1f786a5aae6077baa4206131677bdb8bf464ab5d'|'BDO declines to replace PwC at Brazil''s Oi restructuring case'|'Technology News 25pm EDT BDO declines to replace PwC at Brazil''s Oi restructuring case FILE PHOTO -- The logo of Brazil''s largest fixed-line telecoms group Oi is seen inside a shop in Sao Paulo October 2, 2013. REUTERS/Nacho Doce/File Photo SAO PAULO Accounting firm BDO declined to replace PriceWaterhouseCoopers in the in-court restructuring of Brazilian carrier Oi SA, BDO said in a statement on Friday. The judge overseeing the restructuring dropped PwC from the case on March 31 alleging the firm made accounting mistakes in the biggest bankruptcy filing in the country''s history. In his decision, judge Fernando Cesar Viana appointed BDO to replace PwC. But BDO said in Friday''s statement that it had decided not to take the task, despite keeping its work as Oi''s auditor through 2019. (Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer; Editing by Tom Brown)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-oi-sa-restructuring-idUSKBN17937G'|'2017-04-08T06:21:00.000+03:00' +'dbc8988859352222aeef752be3763d479471857e'|'Two-thirds of EU travel websites mislead on prices - Commission'|'Technology 12am BST Two-thirds of EU travel websites mislead on prices: Commission BRUSSELS Two-thirds of travel booking websites provide misleading information on prices and so breached EU consumer protection rules, the European Commission said on Friday. In its survey of 352 online travel booking and comparison services, it found a third of the websites displayed initial prices which were not the final prices and in a fifth of the cases promotional offers were not really available, the Commission said. About one in four websites also misled consumers by saying there were only a limited amount of seats or rooms left at a certain price, when this often only applied to the website in question. The Commission did not name any of the companies surveyed in its screening of websites across the bloc in October 2016. The EU executive said national authorities would contact the websites that were in breach of EU consumer protection rules and could take legal action if the companies failed to improve. The Commission has coordinated similar "sweep" actions in the past, such as into airlines, online tickets and consumer credit, to ensure consumers are being protected. (Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek; editing by Philip Blenkinsop)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eu-travel-websites-idUKKBN1791HO'|'2017-04-07T18:10:00.000+03:00' +'85dd66ecd2c1c7f6374b3d72ecb8fe01c0e58a81'|'BRIEF-Talen Energy Supply LLC prices $400 million offering of senior notes'|' 30am EDT BRIEF-Talen Energy Supply LLC prices $400 million offering of senior notes April 7 Talen Energy Supply Llc * Talen Energy Supply LLC prices $400 million offering of senior notes * Talen Energy Supply LLC says notes will be issued at 97.000% of par value with a coupon of 9.500% and will mature on july 15, 2022 Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-talen-energy-supply-llc-prices-idUSASB0B8ZX'|'2017-04-07T22:30:00.000+03:00' +'425489ed34b5d66710dccd394a9bf2ed0e4d12cc'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'(Adds Time Inc, Siemens, CVC; Updates Belle International, Zodiac)April 28 The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1300 GMT on Friday:** Time Inc said its board had evaluated a number of expressions of interest but decided to pursue its own strategic plan, sending its shares down 19 percent in premarket trading.** Germany''s Siemens has moved into journey planning with the purchase of privately-owned Hannover-based firm HaCon to complement its transportation business, which it has been talking about merging with Bombardier''s.** CVC Capital Partners has agreed to take control of Swiss watchmaker Breitling in a deal that sees another iconic Swiss brand lose independence.** One of Britain''s biggest pension scheme investors has called on Dutch paintmaker Akzo Nobel to engage with U.S. suitor PPG Industries over a revised bid and criticized the board''s handling of the issue.** A consortium led by private equity firms Hillhouse Capital Group and CDH Investments offered to buy Belle International Holdings Ltd in a deal valuing the entire Hong Kong-listed shoe retailer at about $6.8 billion.** The Delhi High Court has approved a settlement of the $1.18 billion dispute between Tata Sons and NTT DoCoMo, allowing the Indian firm to buy out the Japanese firm''s stake in the telecoms joint venture, TV news channels reported.** Anglo-South African financial services group Old Mutual is selling its 26 percent stake in an Indian insurance joint venture Kotak Mahindra Bank for 156 million pounds ($201.75 million), as part of the group''s planned break-up into four parts.** Bayer''s chief executive acknowledged that he will face an uphill battle to improve Monsanto''s reputation once Bayer completes the takeover of the U.S. seeds and agrochemicals company.** A leading advisor to pension schemes and other investors called for a review of Germany''s rules around takeovers, in light of a planned takeover of U.S. agrochemicals company Monsanto by Bayer .** Zodiac Aerospace''s chief executive has offered his resignation after another profit warning from the French company, which is continuing talks with Safran to seal a merger and end a crisis in its aircraft seat factories.** Hedge fund TCI Fund Management renewed pressure on France''s Safran to suspend its bid to buy Zodiac Aerospace after the aircraft seats maker issued a second profit warning in as many months.** The world''s biggest container shipping company, Maersk Line, will pay 3.7 billion euros ($4.02 billion) for its acquisition of smaller German rival Hamburg Sud, it said.** A group backed by KKR & Co said it would not undertake further work on a takeover offer for Australia''s Tatts Group Ltd after its A$6.15 billion ($4.60 billion) cash bid was rejected by the lottery operator''s board.** Private equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC is in advanced negotiations to acquire U.S. telephone conferencing services provider West Corp, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.** China Shengmu Organic Milk Ltd said that a deal to sell a controlling stake to Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co Ltd was scrapped after it failed to get regulatory approval from Chinese authorities before a deadline last week.** Mexican breadmaker Grupo Bimbo said on Thursday it has entered the African market with the purchase of Adghal, a Morocco-based producer of baked goods.** The Federal Trade Commission gave a private equity firm approval on Thursday to sell to Dollar General Corp 323 stores that Sycamore purchased as part of a divestiture package two years ago, the agency said on Thursday.** Suncor Energy Inc, Canada''s largest energy producer, is still evaluating opportunities for oil sands acquisitions in northern Alberta as foreign oil majors exit the high-cost region, Chief Executive Steve Williams said on Thursday.** Italy''s Atlantia has agreed to sell 10 percent of its domestic motorway unit to a series of investors including Allianz for 1.48 billion euros ($1.6 billion) as it presses ahead with plans to bid for Spanish rival Abertis. (Compiled by Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/deals-day-idINL4N1I04K3'|'2017-04-28T11:10:00.000+03:00' +'6269b706e27e21c5a6a5775f73e5bc1c8e40056d'|'Used-car retailer Carvana''s shares skid in debut'|'Shares of Carvana Co ( CVNA.N ), which uses vending machine-like towers to sell used cars, plunged as much as 17 percent in their debut on Friday.The company''s shares, which were priced at $15, opened at $13.50, giving the company a market value of about $2 billion.Carvana sells cars through its website and allows customers to pick them up from automated "vending machine" towers located in U.S. cities such as Austin and Dallas in Texas, and Nashville, Tennessee.The company''s IPO comes amid mounting evidence that the six-year recovery in the U.S. auto industry may be losing steam.Industry officials and Wall Street analysts have raised concerns that values for used sedans were dropping as more vehicles were turned in when leases ended.Founded in 2013, Carvana is one of a handful of companies trying to disrupt how cars are traditionally bought in dealerships and to take on Carmax Inc ( KMX.N ), the largest used-car retailer in the United States.However, Carvana stands to benefit from consumers'' increasing comfort to buy vehicles online.TrueCar Inc ( TRUE.O ), an online service that matches car buyers with dealers, has seen its shares nearly double since their debut in May 2014.Carvana''s sales surged nine-fold in 2014, more than tripled in 2015, and nearly tripled in 2016 to $365.1 million.However, the company''s net loss widened to $93.1 million in 2016 from $36.8 million in 2015 as it invests heavily in growth.The company sold all the 15 million shares in the offering, raising about $2 billion.Carvana is backed by DriveTime Automotive Group, a network of used-car dealerships and car refurbishment centers.Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank Securities are the underwriters for the offering.Carvana''s shares fell as much as 16.7 percent to $12.50, before recovering to be down $12.87 in morning trade.(Reporting by Diptendu Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-carvana-ipo-idINKBN17U26G'|'2017-04-28T12:46:00.000+03:00' +'2074ab18a4d5385e0a0238ef84ea8b984672d304'|'UPDATE 2-ValueAct unveils interest in KKR as firm shows earnings beat'|'(Adds news that activist shareholder ValueAct has taken stake in KKR)By Koh Gui Qing and Michael FlahertyNEW YORK, April 27 Activist shareholder ValueAct Capital said on Thursday it had invested in private equity firm KKR & Co LP after the buyout firm posted stronger-than-expected earnings on a stock market rally that boosted investment returns.ValueAct President Mason Morfit said the $16 billion activist investment firm has economic exposure of less than 5 percent in KKR and that the firm has done an excellent job investing in new products and businesses.KKR said separately that it welcomed ValueAct''s investment. The stock rose 7.2 percent to $19.05 on Thursday.A buoyant U.S. stock market, which hit a record high last quarter, has helped to bolster the performance of buyout firms that rely on strong returns to generate fees. Earlier this month, KKR''s larger peer Blackstone Group LP reported earnings that more than doubled.New York-based KKR said it had earned economic net income of $549.9 million after taxes in the first quarter, compared with a year-earlier loss of $553 million.On a per-share basis, that came to 65 cents, while analysts on average were expecting 50 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.Economic net income, a key metric for U.S. private equity firms, accounts for unrealized gains or losses in investments.KKR said its investment income, comprising net realized and unrealized investment gains, stood at $298.7 million in the quarter, reversing a loss of $529.6 million a year earlier, when sliding oil prices dragged on returns.As a result, the company reported $348.5 million in performance income, made up of realized and unrealized gains in fees tied to investment returns, compared with a year-earlier loss of $124.9 million.KKR said its transaction fees more than doubled to $243 million from $96.1 million.An improved performance led to higher employee payouts. KKR said total compensation and benefits jumped more than five times to $284.7 million.In line with KKR''s promise this year to increase its quarterly dividend to shareholders by 1 cent, the company said it was distributing 17 cents per share.Although buyout firms pride themselves on generating market-defying returns, the broader market is still a significant influence on their performance.For instance, sources told Reuters earlier this year that KKR was preparing an initial public offering of Gardner Denver Inc.The IPO could value Gardner at between $6 billion and $7 billion, well above the $3.9 billion that KKR paid to take it private in 2013, as higher energy prices have increased the U.S. industrial machinery maker''s value. (Additional reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Lisa Von Ahn)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/kkr-results-idINL1N1HZ0IG'|'2017-04-27T13:27:00.000+03:00' +'ec8d1ba588a7c3c7d14af99d7149ec3276f61ff3'|'With Obamacare in doubt, California asks insurers to double up on rate filings'|'NEW YORK Health insurers seeking regulatory approval for 2018 individual insurance plans can file two sets of premium rates as a way to deal with market uncertainty created by Republicans'' promise to repeal and replace Obamacare, a California state insurance regulator said on Friday.California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones told insurers in a letter made public on Friday that they can file a set of lower rates based on the continued enforcement of the Affordable Care Act, Democratic former President Barack Obama''s signature legislation, and the continuation of government subsidies next year.Insurers can also file rates that reflect uncertainty over the continuation of Obama-era policies, he said, by specifying the costs associated with losing the government funding for cost-sharing subsidies that members use to reduce out-of-pocket expenses and the requirement that all Americans have insurance.Jones said that the move would enable insurers to file lower rates as well as the higher rates he expects them to submit.The California Department of Insurance said rates are due on May 1 for individual insurance. The state is one of about a dozen that run its own online exchange where residents can buy these subsidized plans. Other states use the federal HealthCare.gov system and rates are due in June.Insurers have warned that they need more certainty to file 2018 rates this spring. Anthem Inc Chief Executive Joseph Swedish said on Wednesday that he was telling states that he may raise rates by more than 20 percent or pull out of markets for 2018 if he does not have more information by June.Molina Healthcare Inc CEO Mario Molina said in a letter to Congress on Thursday that he was ready to pull out of the market altogether and drop up to 700,000 customers as soon as this year.(Reporting by Caroline Humer; Editing by Bill Rigby)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-healthcare-rates-idUSKBN17U2SV'|'2017-04-28T23:44:00.000+03:00' +'8c3b64927a4ac43af751e6ad0fdf14abf14744cd'|'Euro jumps, shares firm on French election relief'|'Business News - Mon Apr 24, 2017 - 7:07am BST Euro jumps, shares firm on French election relief FILE PHOTO: Detail of a European map is seen on the face of a euro coin in London, Britain, January 31, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo By Wayne Cole - SYDNEY SYDNEY The euro briefly vaulted to five-month peaks on Monday after the market''s favored candidate won through the first round of the French election, reducing the risk of a Brexit-like shock and sparking a mass unwinding of safe-haven trades. Spreadbetters pointed to opening gains across European bourses with the French market alone seen up around 2 percent. E-mini futures for the S&P 500 ESc1 climbed 0.9 percent in early trade, while yields on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes US10YT=RR rose almost 8 basis points to 2.31 percent. Japan''s Nikkei .N225 jumped 1.5 percent as the yen retreated, while MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS edged up 0.3 percent. Shanghai shares .SSEC , however, fell 1.7 percent after state media signaled Beijing would tolerate more market volatility as regulators clamp down on riskier financing. In France, Centrist Emmanuel Macron took a big step toward the presidency on Sunday by winning the first round of voting and qualifying for the May 7 runoff alongside far-right leader Marine Le Pen. The outcome lessens the risk of an anti-establishment shock on the scale of Britain''s vote to quit the European Union with Macron widely tipped to win the final vote and keep France in the union. Opinion polls put Macron ahead by over 20 points, a lead so large that a repeat of the Brexit surprise that spread turmoil in financial markets seemed highly unlikely. Investors had feared for the single currency''s future if one of the far-left candidates had gotten through to fight Le Pen. The euro jumped in relief, and was last up 1.3 percent at $1.0866 EUR= , having been as far as $1.0940, the highest since early November. The safe-haven yen slipped across the board with the euro surging 2.4 percent to 119.77 yen EURJPY= while the U.S. dollar gained 1 percent to 110.20 yen JPY= . Likewise, gold fell 0.8 percent to $1,273.40 an ounce XAU=. "The rise of the euro and risk appetite rebounding is understandable and this should also see yields in Europe fall, spreads to Bunds tighten and stocks rally," said Tim Riddell, an analyst at Westpac. "However, such gains are likely to be contained when markets reflect upon the marked shift away from the "establishment" and just how effective the new president may be," he added. SKEPTICAL ON TAX Wall Street on Friday had only a modest lift from news President Donald Trump would announce the broad outline of his proposed tax package on Wednesday. "Markets are skeptical that the real details will be forthcoming," said analysts at ANZ in a note. "There is also plenty of conjecture about whether any tax cuts will be able to be revenue neutral, and that could affect their ease of passage through Congress." The Dow .DJI ended Friday down a minor 0.15 percent, while the S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.30 percent and the Nasdaq .IXIC fell 0.11 percent. Investors were also keeping a wary eye on tensions in the Korean peninsula. North Korea said on Sunday it was ready to sink a U.S. aircraft carrier to demonstrate its military might, in the latest sign of rising tension as Trump called the leaders of China and Japan to discuss the situation. South Korea responded by asking Washington about holding joint drills with the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier strike group as it approaches waters off the Korean peninsula. Oil prices recouped just a little of last week''s hefty losses, still weighed by signs U.S. production and inventory growth were offsetting OPEC''s attempts to reduce the global crude glut. Brent futures LCOc1 were up 29 cents at $52.25 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures CLc1 added 24 cents to $49.86. (Editing by Shri Navaratnam) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUKKBN17P10G'|'2017-04-24T14:01:00.000+03:00' +'b11daa9fc02f2d5c28e76e1b9b2d0ee6f53ecc26'|'BRIEF-Activist hedge fund CIAM says Euro Disney''s buyout offer not fair for minority investors'|'April 18 Euro Disney/CIAM:* CIAM says 2 euros per share buyout offer for Euro Disney''s minority shareholders is not fair* CIAM says thinks minimum acceptable price is 2.50 euros/share* Walt Disney is in process of taking full control of debt-ridden Paris theme park operator Euro Disney* Walt Disney has said it would support a recapitalisation of up to 1.5 billion euros, helping cut debt and improve Euro Disney''s financial position.* Minority shareholders will be offered 2 euros a share to sell their stake to Walt Disney - a 67 percent premium to Euro Disney''s share price on Feb 9, which was the day before the offer was announced.* Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal also involved in Walt Disney''s plans to take full control of Euro Disney'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/brief-activist-hedge-fund-ciam-says-euro-idINL8N1HQ1YM'|'2017-04-18T07:35:00.000+03:00' +'54c0f749631dc5dab0e7452f156dab0cbf831a00'|'Verizon considering topping AT&T''s bid to buy Straight Path: sources'|'By Greg Roumeliotis and Liana B. Baker Verizon Communications Inc ( VZ.N ) is considering making a buyout offer for Straight Path Communications Inc ( STRP.A ) which would top AT&T Inc''s ( T.N ) $1.25 billion bid, people familiar with the matter said.Shares of Straight Path, a holder of licenses to wireless spectrum, rose 3.6 percent to $95 in after-market trading.Straight Path said in a regulatory filing on Thursday that a third party, which it did not name, is evaluating making an offer that would top AT&T''s bid. ( bit.ly/2pc8Nn0 )The party had also been bidding to acquire the company before AT&T made its offer, Straight Path said.AT&T and Verizon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Straight Path on Monday agreed to be acquired by AT&T, the No. 2 U.S. wireless carrier, for $95.63 per share. The price represents a hefty 162.1 percent premium to Straight Path''s April 7 closing price.Millimeter wave spectrum is expected to play a large role in 5G networks. Both AT&T and bigger rival Verizon have been conducting 5G trials.Verizon is testing a 5G fixed wireless service with equipment maker Ericsson in 11 markets in the U.S. and expects a commercial launch as early as 2018.Straight Path had said in January it was hiring investment bank Evercore Partners to help explore strategic alternatives, including a sale of assets.Shares of AT&T and Verizon were unchanged in extended trading.(Additional reporting by Laharee Chatterjee and Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-straight-path-m-a-at-t-idINKBN17F2R9'|'2017-04-13T20:53:00.000+03:00' +'37304dfdf1fc921607125f8d8fe8e42f86decaee'|'BHP gets approval to raise iron ore exports from Australian port'|'Business News - Fri Apr 28, 2017 - 9:17am BST BHP gets approval to raise iron ore exports from Australian port FILE PHOTO: A BHP Billiton sign is visible behind a pile of iron ore at the company''s loading facility in Port Hedland, Australia, May 30, 2008. REUTERS/Tim Wimborne/File Photo SYDNEY Australia''s Town of Port Hedland on Friday approved plans by BHP Billiton ( BHP.AX ) ( BLT.L ) to ship an additional 5 million tonnes of iron ore annually through the port, the first stage of a plan to lift shipments to 290 million tonnes by 2019. The increase, approved in a vote by the Port Hedland Council, is a quarter of the size BHP originally requested before being rejected in September by the town over concerns of dust pollution caused by iron ore stockpiles. BHP is next expected to seek approval to ship 275 million tonnes of iron ore annually, before boosting shipments to 290 million tonnes by mid-2019. BHP Billiton derives more than half its profits from selling iron ore, mostly to steel mills in China. Since the previous application to increase exports by 20 million tonnes was opposed in September 2016, there have been discussions with key stakeholders and BHP to determine the impacts of dust on health, Port Hedland Mayor Camilo Blanco said in a statement on Friday. BHP was not immediately available for comment. (Reporting by James Regan; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bhp-billiton-iron-idUKKBN17U10Q'|'2017-04-28T16:17:00.000+03:00' +'d3c26d20a5655ceded619d14254266ed9198041c'|'Shares in Saudi''s Alawwal Bank and SABB surge after merger talks'|'DUBAI Shares in Saudi Arabia''s Alawwal Bank 1040.SE rose 9 percent in early trading on Wednesday after it agreed to start talks with Saudi British Bank 1060.SE (SABB) about a merger that could create the kingdom''s third biggest bank with assets of nearly $80 billion.Shares in SABB increased 6.8 percent in early trading after the two lenders announced the merger plans late on Tuesday.Most other Saudi bank stocks also rose.Muhammad Faisal Potrik, head of research at Riyad Capital, said the merger could be a precursor to the start of an M&A trend in the banking and other sectors such as petrochemicals, insurance and retail."We would view completion of this merger as a very positive development," he said.(Reporting By Tom Arnold and Celine Aswad; additional reporting by Katie Paul)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-alawwal-bank-m-a-sabb-idUSKBN17S0MN'|'2017-04-26T11:23:00.000+03:00' +'55c430f7aa61b7bff779c483c1bf87f6df6f467b'|'Number of U.S. bank branches to shrink 20 percent in five years - real estate report'|'Business News 10:16pm BST Number of U.S. bank branches to shrink 20 percent in five years - real estate report A taxicab enters the financial district security zone in New York City, U.S., March 23, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid By Olivia Oran The number of bank branches in the United States will shrink by as much as 20 percent in five years, according to a report from commercial real estate firm JLL. This reduction comes as banks are looking for ways to cut costs and to encourage their customers to embrace mobile banking technology rather than completing basic transactions within a physical branch. The U.S. banking industry could save as much as $8.3 billion (6 billion) annually if it trimmed the number of branches and downsized the average bank branch from 5,000 to 3,000 square feet, JLL found. U.S. banks have reduced their footprint by around 8 percent since the financial crisis, from 97,000 branches to roughly 90,000. (Reporting by Olivia Oran in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bank-branches-idUKKBN17Q299'|'2017-04-25T05:16:00.000+03:00' +'4a1ad2fe6b353f052ca3cb84e602b9c528005155'|'China''s Shandong Tyan says talks over on bid for Barrick''s Kalgoorlie'|'By Susan Taylor - TORONTO TORONTO Shanghai-listed Shandong Tyan Home ( 600807.SS ) said on Wednesday its negotiations with Barrick Gold Corp ( ABX.TO ) to buy the Canadian operator''s 50-percent stake in Kalgoorlie mine have ended without a deal, citing new capital and acquisition rules in China.Toronto-based Barrick had been reviewing the financial backing behind an approximate $1.3 billion bid for its stake in Kalgoorlie mine by Minjar Gold, a unit of Shandong Tyan, Reuters reported in November.Barrick, the world''s largest gold producer, declined to comment on the matter. It reports first-quarter financial results on April 24.In February, Barrick President Kelvin Dushnisky said "advanced negotiations with a proposed buyer," were under way and Barrick would be "happy sellers" at the right price. "We''re also very happy to continue to own that asset," he said.Shandong Tyan said it had been in contact with Barrick about buying a stake in the mine, but did not reach any formal investment agreement. "We did not continue the negotiation," it said in a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Wednesday, due to China''s capital outflow curbs and greater scrutiny of overseas acquisitions.Shandong had trumped offers by Australian, Chinese and Canadian companies for the asset, sources had told Reuters.Newmont Mining ( NEM.N ), Barrick''s joint venture partner at Kalgoorlie and mine operator, has said it was interested in buying the remaining stake, but price has been a sticking a point."We would be open to discussing a possible transaction with Barrick on (Kalgoorlie) if they are interested in doing so," said Newmont spokesman Omar Jabara.Shandong Tyan is a publicly-listed arm of Shandong Tianye Group, a private company with operations including property development, mining, finance and venture investment.It is unrelated to Shandong Gold Mining Co Ltd ( 600547.SS ), a Shandong province state-owned enterprise, which recently struck a $960 million deal to buy a 50-percent stake of Barrick''s Veladero gold mine in Argentina.Under that deal, which was announced on April 6 and which confirmed an earlier Reuters report, the two miners will also look at jointly developing Barrick''s nearby undeveloped Pascua-Lama gold and silver project and additional investment opportunities in the El Indio Gold Belt.(Reporting by Susan Taylor in Toronto, Nicole Mordant in Vancouver, and Meg Shen in Hong Kong; Editing by Frances Kerry)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-barrick-gold-m-a-australia-idINKBN17L23Y'|'2017-04-19T14:00:00.000+03:00' +'54c6f9a6872676adb721a57a41594c8ebc74b05f'|'Baidu reports 6.8 percent rise in quarterly revenue'|'Chinese internet company Baidu Inc ( BIDU.O ) forecast current-quarter revenue largely below estimates, sending its U.S.-listed shares down about 6 percent in extended trading on Thursday.The company said it expects second-quarter revenue of 20.47 billion yuan to 20.98 billion yuan ($2.97 billion-$3.04 billion), while analysts were expecting revenue of 20.84 billion yuan, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.Baidu also said Jennifer Li would step down as chief financial officer to become chief executive at its investment firm Baidu Capital.The company has shuffled management, rolled out new products and invested heavily in local and foreign firms in a wide-scale restructuring effort after its lucrative healthcare advertising business was curbed by the Chinese government.Baidu''s revenue in the first quarter rose to 16.9 billion yuan ($2.45 billion) from 15.82 billion yuan a year earlier. That growth is above a Thomson Reuters'' survey of 13 analysts, which estimated a 6.4 percent rise in revenue.The company in February forecast first-quarter revenue of 16.48 billion-17.03 billion yuan.Net income attributable to Baidu fell to 1.78 billion yuan in the quarter ended March 31, from 1.99 billion yuan a year earlier, the company said.Baidu''s U.S.-listed shares fell 6.1 percent to $176.43 after the bell on Thursday.(Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru and Cate Cadell in Beijing; Editing by Martina D''Couto)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/baidu-results-idINKBN17T33E'|'2017-04-27T18:44:00.000+03:00' +'5a8157a393a38f450ebe896296582f51b5f819ac'|'Bayer CEO says Monsanto''s reputation is a ''major challenge'''|'BONN Bayer''s chief executive acknowledged on Friday that he will face an uphill battle to improve Monsanto''s reputation once Bayer completes the takeover of the U.S. seeds and agrochemicals company."Monsantos image does of course represent a major challenge for us, and its not an aspect I wish to play down," Werner Baumann told shareholders at Bayer''s annual general meeting."Yet we are facing this challenge with all those qualities that have made us what we are today: openness, expertise and responsibility," he added.Bayer and Monsanto plan to wrap up the $66 billion transaction by the end of 2017. As part of this, Bayer aims to file for European antitrust approval during the second quarter.(Reporting by Patricia Weiss; Writing by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Ludwig Burger)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-bayer-agm-idINKBN17U127'|'2017-04-28T07:25:00.000+03:00' +'65c3aaa90400362b73aa696b5095bfe542438867'|'EU trade chief sees a good case to resume EU-U.S. free trade talks'|'COPENHAGEN The European Union sees a good case for reviving frozen free trade talks with the United States, its trade commissioner said on Thursday."There is still a very good case to take negotiations on TTIP between EU and the US forward but I think we need to wait a little bit more for them to assess where we were, where we stopped, where they want to go," Cecilia Malmstrom told a conference in Copenhagen.(Reporting by Julie Astrid Thomsen, writing by Stine Jacobsen; editing by John Stonestreet)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-trade-usa-idUSKBN17T1EV'|'2017-04-27T18:31:00.000+03:00' +'65864312593272b1877b47b0cc0ba2e5af12fc0c'|'Wal-Mart in advance talks to acquire men''s fashion retailer Bonobos- Recode'|'April 14 Wal-Mart Stores Inc is in advance discussions to buy online mens fashion retailer Bonobos Inc, Recode reported on Friday, citing sources.Both the sides have agreed on a price and the deal is in its final stages, Recode said. The expected deal value could not be learned. ( bit.ly/2nNA6nO )The deal, if announced, would come two months after the world''s largest retailer acquired online outdoor clothing and gear retailer Moosejaw for $51 million, to boost its competitive standing in U.S. e-commerce.Wal-Mart did not respond to the requests for comment. Bonobos could not be immediately reached. (Reporting by Divya Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Alden Bentley)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/bonobos-ma-walmart-idUSL3N1HM379'|'2017-04-15T01:37:00.000+03:00' +'67b6dc958db73d7c4d01eb4ed3bb15cb093a65cd'|'Alitalia prepares for special administration after rescue plan rejected'|' 19pm BST Alitalia prepares for special administration after rescue plan rejected An Alitalia airplane takes off at the Fiumicino International airport in Rome, Italy February 12, 2016. REUTERS/Tony Gentile By Agnieszka Flak and Tim Hepher - MILAN MILAN Alitalia is preparing for special administration proceedings after workers rejected its latest rescue plan, making it impossible for the loss-making Italian airline to secure funds to keep its aircraft flying. Workers on Monday rejected a plan to cut jobs and salaries, betting the government will be asked to call in an administrator to draft an alternative rescue plan. Alitalia has been bailed out by Italy and private investors repeatedly over the years but Italy''s industry minister on Tuesday ruled out nationalisation and public funds for the carrier. The airline, 49 percent-owned by Abu Dhabi''s Etihad Airways, has made a profit only a few times in its 70-year history and, with around 12,500 employees, is losing at least 500,000 euros (426,340) a day. The airline said it would "start preparing the procedures provided by law" and a person close to the company said the board would seek shareholder approval to request the appointment of a special administrator. They would assess whether Alitalia can be overhauled or should be wound up, before preparing industrial and financial plans for a rapid revamp, either as a standalone company or through a partial or total sale, or else trigger liquidation. A shareholder meeting to decide on the next steps, initially announced by the company for Thursday, will be held on May 2, two sources close to the matter told Reuters. STILL FLYING Alitalia''s flight operations remain unchanged for now, the company said in a statement. The airline has sufficient funds to keep flying for "a matter of weeks, two to three weeks," partly by calling in forms of credit such as unpaid invoices, the person close to the company said. Vice Chairman James Hogan said that the outcome of the ballot meant "all parties would lose: Alitalia employees, its customers and its shareholders, and ultimately also Italy." Alitalia was seeking worker backing to unlock fresh funds from shareholders and launch an ambitious restructuring plan, centred around a revamp of its business for short- and medium-haul flights and additional long-haul routes. "An approval ... would have unblocked a 2 billion-euro capital increase, including 900 million euros of fresh funds, that would have been used to relaunch the company," it said. But workers had repeatedly said they were unwilling to accept any further sacrifices given Alitalia''s labour costs were already among the lowest in Europe for a so-called legacy airline. They were also sceptical over its plans to return to profit by 2019 given a string of past failed restructurings. (Editing by Alexander Smith and Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-alitalia-restructuring-idUKKBN17R1IU'|'2017-04-26T02:19:00.000+03:00' +'1dd17652d1f9e16815ba04e8c79a5bbf646c73f2'|'Dyal Capital buys minority stake in credit investor Sound Point'|'By Lawrence Delevingne - NEW YORK NEW YORK Dyal Capital Partners, the Neuberger Berman Group unit that takes minority stakes in hedge and private equity fund firms, has bought into credit investor Sound Point Capital LP, according to a person familiar with the situation.The person, who requested anonymity because the information is private, said the passive ownership stake was equal to about 15 percent, but the dollar amount was unavailable.News of the deal was reported earlier on Tuesday by The Wall Street Journal.Stephen Ketchum, a former media and telecom investment banker, founded Sound Point in 2009. The New York-based firm manages more than $11.5 billion in assets, including a debt- focused hedge fund and collateralized loan obligations. It will use the Dyal money to grow, according to the person, including an investment in the Sound Point CLO Fund.The $720 million Sound Point Credit Opportunities hedge fund has produced an average annual return of about 8.5 percent since inception in 2009 in its series B share class, according to fund performance information seen by Reuters.Dyal, based in New York and led by Michael Rees, already had stakes in 20 firms from three private equity-style funds totaling nearly $9 billion in assets, according to its website. They include hedge fund managers Halcyon Capital Management, Jana Partners and Graham Capital Management, and private equity operators Providence Equity, Starwood Capital Group and Vista Equity Partners.A spokesman for Dyal and Neuberger Berman declined to comment.(Reporting by Lawrence Delevingne; Editing by Dan Grebler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-hedgefunds-soundpoint-idINKBN17625P'|'2017-04-04T14:27:00.000+03:00' +'8f201d585f425b4e3ed0e5a65c3239d2c9365633'|'RPT-Saudi Arabia pushes ahead with renewable drive to diversify energy mix'|'Company News 3:00am EDT RPT-Saudi Arabia pushes ahead with renewable drive to diversify energy mix (Repeats April 17 story with no changes) By Rania El Gamal, Reem Shamseddine and Katie Paul RIYADH, April 17 Saudi Arabia aims to produce 10 percent of its power from renewable sources in the next six years as it pushes ahead with a multi-billion-dollar plan to diversify its energy mix and free up more crude oil for export. The drive by the world''s top oil exporter will see the kingdom developing 30 solar and wind projects by 2023 to boost its electricity generation and reduce crude oil burning. Saudi Arabia is targeting 9.5 gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy by 2023. The renewables initiative involves investment estimated between $30 billion and $50 billion. Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih kicked off the massive renewable programme in Riyadh on Monday by announcing the beginning of the bidding process for a 300 megawatt (MW) solar power project, which is expected to come online by 2018-2019. "The energy mix to produce electricity will change, today the kingdom uses large quantities of oil liquids, including crude, fuel oil and diesel," Falih said. "So the percentage of renewable energy by 2023 (will be) 10 percent of total installed capacity in the kingdom." Under an economic reform programme launched last year, known as Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia is seeking to use non-oil means to generate much of its additional future energy needs to avoid running down oil resources and diversify its economy. ENERGY REFORM PUSH The kingdom is restructuring its energy sector as part of Vision 2030 and a focus on renewable projects is a pillar of this transformation as it would help develop the private sector and create thousands of jobs. "Since the restructuring of the energy sector ... one of our key priorities is to engage with the private sector," Falih said, adding he was confident the programme would be delivered. Saudi Arabia has short-listed 27 companies for its solar power project and 24 firms for its wind project, the energy ministry said last week. France''s EDF Energies Nouvelles, Japanese companies Marubeni Corp and Mitsui & Co and Saudi Acwa Power are among the firms which have qualified to bid for the 300 MW solar PV project in Sakaka, the al-Jouf Province in the north of the kingdom. Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar), GE, Marubeni Corporation, Mitsui & Co., JGC Corp, SNC Lavalin Arabia and Iberdrola Renovables Energia are among those qualified to bid for the 400 MW wind farm project in Midyan in the northwest. The kingdom also plans to launch a second bidding round for 400 MW of wind power at a project in Domat al-Jandal in al-Jouf Province by the fourth quarter of this year, which will be followed by 620 MW of solar power, Turki Shehri, head of the renewable energy project development office at the energy ministry told reporters on Monday. "This will come in stages. It (wind power project) will come in the fourth quarter of this year with Domat al-Jandal, and then the 620 MW (solar) will come immediately after that in phases," he said. The projects will be tendered on a build, operate and own basis, meaning the companies which win the projects will retain ownership for 20 years for the solar plants and 25 years for the wind, Shehri said. State oil giant Saudi Aramco would be interested in investing in the second bidding round for renewable projects as it aims to play a major role in the sector, Abdulaziz al-Judaimi, senior vice president for downstream at Aramco said. Aramco, which is preparing to list up to 5 percent of its shares by next year, has created a department for renewables within the company to develop wind and solar projects. The kingdom has a long-term goal of increasing the use of gas for domestic power generation, thus reducing oil burning at home and freeing up more crude for export. This could help increase Aramco''s valuation as it generates more revenue from exports than selling oil at lower domestic prices - Saudi Arabia is the world''s fifth-biggest oil consumer despite being only the 20th biggest economy. The OPEC heavyweight burned an average of 700,000 bpd of oil for electricity to keep the population cool in the hottest months from May to August. The expansion into renewables will help the kingdom to save 18 million barrels of oil equivalent being consumed for electricity generation by 2020, Shehri said. (Editing by David Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/saudi-renewable-idUSL8N1HP1EO'|'2017-04-18T15:00:00.000+03:00' +'982c9ee568fb98cec90411b38addbb13f2bed433'|'Australia new vehicle sales edge higher in March-VFACTS'|'SYDNEY, April 5 Australian new vehicle sales bounced modestly in March as the timing of the Easter holidays resulted in more selling days compared to the same month last year.The Australian Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries'' VFACTS report out on Thursday showed 105,410 new vehicles were sold in March, up 0.9 percent on the same month last year.March this year had two more selling day than in 2016.For three months to March, sales were running 0.8 percent behind the same period last year.Sales of SUVs continued their domination with a rise of 7.9 percent on March last year, giving them 39.4 percent of the entire market. Sales of passenger vehicles dropped 10.7 percent, extending their long decline.Sales of light commercial vehicles jumped 11.3 percent, while sales in the heavy vehicle market rose 11.0 percent.Toyota Motor Corp retained first place on the sales ladder with 18.6 percent of the market. Mazda Motor Corp had another strong month taking 9.9 percent.Hyundai Motor took third spot with 8.3 percent, ahead of Mitsubishi on 7.3 percent. The Holden unit of General Motors took 6.8 percent and Ford held 6.5 percent. (Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/australia-economy-vehicleregistrations-idINL3N1HD0CQ'|'2017-04-05T00:04:00.000+03:00' +'0f940233ecfb35d8f1a73c410fc12f323e72caef'|'Murky oil inventory picture leaves market grappling for clarity'|'By Henning Gloystein and Libby George - SINGAPORE/LONDON SINGAPORE/LONDON The jury is still out over whether an OPEC-led production cut aimed at tightening oil markets is working, or if the producer club has simply enabled higher prices without making much of a dent in the global fuel supply overhang.Analysts say there are early indications that at least some inventories, key in gauging the health of the market, are starting to draw down.However, inventory levels are hard to judge outside of the United States, as many countries do not release specific figures. Oil shipments show an ongoing excess, while price activity in oil futures suggests sagging optimism the imbalance is being corrected.Over two years into a 50 percent price slump, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and some other producers, including Russia, pledged to cut production by almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half of the year.But more oil than ever is currently traversing the world''s oceans. Thomson Reuters Eikon data shows global crude shipments, which monitor tanker movements but exclude pipeline flows, hit a record 47.8 million bpd in April, up 5.8 percent since December, before cuts were implemented.This is in part due to a jump in production and exports from producers who did not agree to cuts, especially the United States."OPEC seems more like a magician who is keeping the audience''s attention fixed firmly on his hands (its production policy) while the actual trick takes place elsewhere (non-OPEC supply)," said Carsten Fritsch, oil analyst with Commerzbank.U.S. production is soaring, jumping by almost 10 percent since mid-2016 to 9.25 million bpd. This brings its output close to the world''s top two producers, Saudi Arabia and Russia.Futures prices suggest skepticism the market is rebalancing. Early this year the forward curve for Brent crude futures moved from contango, in which future prices are more expensive than those for immediate delivery, to flat or even briefly into backwardation, suggesting a balancing in prompt markets. This has since reversed sharply.If they''re (OPEC) so busy complying, how come we''re taking so much extra inventory? Why is the whole curve in free-fall when supplies are supposedly tightening? said Robert Yawger, energy futures strategist at Mizuho Americas.COUNTING BARRELSTo fully determine the state of oversupply, looking at storage levels is key, but it is not easy. U.S. inventories remain bloated, but outside the United States, it is notoriously difficult to reliably count stored barrels.There are some signs these harder-to-track inventories are easing. The International Energy Agency (IEA) said crude in less-visible places, such as barrels outside the developed world and those in floating storage, decreased in the first quarter.But IEA data on the 35 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries paints a more bearish picture. OECD stocks fell by 17.2 million barrels in March, but since the OPEC-led cut started at the beginning of the year, inventories are up by 38.5 million barrels."If stocks are still rising strongly, you''ve still got an oversupplied situation," said Jamie Webster, a fellow at Columbia University''s Center on Global Energy Policy."It doesnt make sense for OPEC to pat itself on the back for strong compliance. Thats what they agreed to, not what the impact is."Some of the oil sloshing around the world could also have been taken out of OPEC''s own storage to meet customer demand despite cuts. Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Thursday in an interview with the Saudi-owned al-Hayat newspaper that supplies remained elevated in part because traders were selling oil out of tanker storage.Russia has also been boosting oil exports, despite cuts under the deal.Millions of barrels of Nigerian oil stored in South Africa''s Saldanha Bay have been sold in recent weeks, and more are scheduled to leave in May.In Asia, the world''s fastest growing consumption region, many countries, especially China, treat inventory data as strategically sensitive. But trade flows around Singapore, a key way station for virtually all tankers from Europe and the Middle East to Southeast Asia, are a bellwether.There has been a noticeable drop in crude storage around Singapore this year, although some cautioned these barrels will be quickly replaced by incoming cargoes from the United States and Latin America.(Reporting by Henning Gloystein in Singapore, Gary McWilliams and Ernest Scheyder in Houston, Libby George in London and Olga Yagova in Moscow; Writing by Henning Gloystein; Editing by David Gaffen and Chris Reese)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/oil-supplies-opec-idINKBN17N0DX'|'2017-04-21T13:08:00.000+03:00' +'e2e24f642714ea76207ff850be06b501504b0b2f'|'Developing Asia''s 2017 growth seen as weakest in 16 years - ADB'|'Business News - Thu Apr 6, 2017 - 2:34am BST Developing Asia''s 2017 growth seen as weakest in 16 years - ADB Workers work at a construction site in front of Shanghai''s financial district of Pudong in Shanghai, China March 27, 2017. REUTERS/Aly Song MANILA Developing Asia is on track to post its slowest annual growth in 16 years this year as it adjusts to China''s rebalancing and possible spillovers from global policy uncertainty, the Asian Development Bank said. The Manila-based lender kept at 5.7 percent this year''s growth forecast for developing Asia, which groups 45 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. That would be the region''s weakest expansion since it grew 5.0 percent in 2001. Next year, developing Asia should again grow by 5.7 percent, the ADB said in its 2017 Asia Development Outlook report. "Developing Asia continues to drive the global economy even as the region adjusts to a more consumption-driven economy in China and looming global risks," said Yasuyuki Sawada, the ADB''s chief economist. Sawada said the region faces "risks from uncertain policy direction in the advanced economies, including the pace of interest rate normalisation in the United States". "While short-term risks seem manageable, regional policymakers should remain vigilant to respond to possible spillover through capital outflows and exchange rate movements," Sawada said. The Federal Reserve hiked U.S. rates a notch in mid-March, its second tightening in three months. Forecasts from Fed officials suggest a median of two more increases before year-end. China, which is rebalancing its economy to growth led by consumption rather than exports, is expected to grow 6.5 percent this year, the ADB said. That is better than its December forecast of 6.4 percent, but weaker than the 6.7 percent expansion in 2016. Growth in China is seen slowing further to 6.2 percent in 2018. The ADB reduced its 2017 growth forecast for India to 7.4 percent from 7.8 percent and it expects growth there to pick up to 7.6 percent in 2018. With nearly all economies in Southeast Asia showing an upward trend, the region should expand by a faster 4.8 percent this year and pick up to 5.0 percent next year, the ADB said. Economies in South Asia are projected to expand by 7.0 percent in 2017 and 7.2 percent in 2018. Strong consumer demand and rising global commodity prices could cause the inflation pace in developing Asia to quicken to 3.0 percent this year and to 3.2 percent in 2018, the ADB said. The report is available on ADB''s website: www.adb.org (Reporting by Karen Lema; Additional reporting by Enrico dela Cruz; Editing by Richard Borsuk) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-asia-economy-adb-idUKKBN17804L'|'2017-04-06T09:34:00.000+03:00' +'be33a439f1aa64804e82ca902f848d699b45854a'|'Toshiba to drop its auditor - Nikkei'|' 33pm BST Toshiba to drop its auditor - Nikkei The logo of Toshiba Corp is seen behind cherry blossoms at the company''s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan April 11, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) has decided to drop its auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Aarata, which declined to approve the company''s full-year financial statement, the Nikkei financial daily reported. The Japanese tech company is in the middle of a conflict with PwC Aarata over recent results and governance issues at Westinghouse Electric, its American nuclear subsidiary. Massive cost overruns at four nuclear reactors being constructed by Westinghouse in the Southeastern United States have forced Toshiba to estimate a $9 billion (7 billion) annual net loss and take drastic measures. PwC Aarata''s refusal to sign-off on Toshiba''s results has given the Tokyo Stock Exchange potential grounds for delisting the company. The company is in talks with second-tier auditing firms with which it has no potential conflicts of interest, the Japanese newspaper reported. (Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-auditors-idUKKBN17R2I1'|'2017-04-26T02:33:00.000+03:00' +'ddb7f30eabff707c089b122899aa88addce98e33'|'As KFC shuns some antibiotics, U.S. chicken industry deploys wet wipes, oregano'|'Business News - Fri Apr 7, 2017 - 9:18pm EDT As KFC shuns some antibiotics, U.S. chicken industry deploys wet wipes, oregano FILE PHOTO: Logos of KFC, owned by Yum Brands Inc, are seen on its delivery bicycles in front of its restaurant in Beijing February 25, 2013. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo By Tom Polansek and Lisa Baertlein - CHICAGO/LOS ANGELES CHICAGO/LOS ANGELES To meet increasing demand for meat raised without certain antibiotics, top U.S. chicken company Tyson Foods Inc ( TSN.N ) and rival producers are turning to sanitizing wipes, bacteria-reducing fog and even oregano to keep birds healthy. Some have spent years of trial and error on new techniques to figure out replacements for human drugs, part of a fight against the rise of dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria in people. Yum Brands Inc''s ( YUM.N ) KFC on Friday became the last of the big three U.S. chicken restaurants to move away from antibiotics important to human medicine. McDonald''s Corp ( MCD.N ) and privately held Chick-fil-A had already made similar commitments. Nationwide, more than 42 percent of the U.S. chicken industry has already committed to reducing the use of antibiotics, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. With KFC''s move, that number is set to grow. KFC U.S. President Kevin Hochman called the chain''s move a "major milestone" that should significantly increase the supply of bone-in chicken raised without medically important antibiotics. It should also open the door for smaller chains to follow KFC''s move, he told Reuters. KFC, which sells more than 65 million buckets of chicken a year, estimated that one-third of its suppliers were already transitioning to chicken raised with fewer antibiotics. The company said it was late to shift away from human antibiotics because it had to persuade suppliers of bone-in chickens it uses to make the change. The chain typically only buys up to one-third of birds in a flock because the others do not meet its specifications. That meant its suppliers needed to find other buyers before being able to curb use of the drugs to satisfy KFC, the company said. The suppliers have improved hygiene and airflow in chicken houses to keep birds healthy and given them more room to move, Vijay Sukumar, chief food innovation officer for KFC''s U.S. operations, told Reuters on Friday. That has raised costs but also reduced the need for drugs, he said. He did not give further details of the costs. "We had to convince our suppliers to go for the change and then they worked with us," Sukumar said. HERBS AND HYGIENE Tyson, one of KFC''s suppliers, set a goal in April 2015 to eliminate the use of human antibiotics from its broiler flocks, or those raised for meat, by the end of September 2017. More than 90 percent of broiler chickens in its supply chain were raised without antibiotics also used in humans in its fiscal year 2016, Tyson told Reuters on Friday. The company also plans to switch its retail line of Tyson-branded chicken products to birds raised without any antibiotics. Perdue Farms, a competitor, said it eliminated the routine use of all antibiotics in chicken last year. It now puts oregano in birds'' water, banking on the herb''s antioxidants to keep them healthy, and takes other steps to avoid drugs. Tyson said it has ramped up efforts to sanitize facilities and eggs that hatch into baby chicks, which are most vulnerable to sickness. The company wanted eggs to be cleaner before they hatch and now asks farmers to rub them with sanitizing wipes before shipping them to a Tyson facility, said Bill Hewat, Tyson''s director of international veterinarian services, during a tour of a Missouri hatchery last year. Once the eggs arrive, Tyson places them in a room filled nightly with a fog of peracetic acid that is intended to keep the bacterial load as low as possible before eggs go into incubators, he said. "It''s an incubator for eggs," said Hewat. "Unfortunately it''s also an incubator for bacteria." The mortality rate for Tyson''s chicks in their first week of life increased after the company initially removed human antibiotics, Hewat said. By September 2016, it had returned to close to where it was before the change, because of Tyson''s extra efforts, he said. Tyson has also started spraying hot water inside the hatchery to maintain a clean environment and increased spot-testing for bacteria. "We wanted hospital-clean," said Kevin Gibbs, a production manager. Tyson has found it difficult to explain to some farmers why the company wants to change its practices to shift away from antibiotics, according to Alan Johnston, a manager at the Tyson facilities in Missouri. "It''s like turning the Titanic on some of these things," he said. (Editing by Jo Winterbottom and Bill Rigby)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yumbrands-kfc-producer-idUSKBN17A01S'|'2017-04-08T09:10:00.000+03:00' +'fc253e91c051c8167c7cb74b20d7a014f024afda'|'British watchdog checks banks'' whistleblowing policies amid Barclays probe'|' 25pm BST British watchdog checks banks'' whistleblowing policies amid Barclays probe FILE PHOTO: The Barclays headquarters building is seen in the Canary Wharf business district of London, Britain February 6, 2013. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo By Andrew MacAskill and Lawrence White - LONDON LONDON Britain''s financial watchdog this week spoke to senior executives at the country''s top banks to stress the importance of protecting whistleblowers after the head of Barclays sought to unmask one, sources familiar with the matter have told Reuters. The executives were asked to ensure staff are aware of the regulations and they have the necessary procedures in place to protect any whistleblowers, according to the sources, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter. The Financial Conduct Authority declined to comment as did Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ), Barclays ( BARC.L ), Lloyds Banking Group ( LLOY.L ), and HSBC ( HSBA.L ). The calls to the banks are a sign of how seriously the regulator is taking this issue and show concerns that other banks may not have enforced the policy, one of the sources said. "They didn''t want to be caught with their trousers down and to find out that no one is really enforcing the rules," said a senior executive at one of Britain''s largest banks. Earlier this week, Barclays said it had reprimanded Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley and would cut his bonus after he twice attempted to identify the author of a letter that revealed "concerns of a personal nature" about an unnamed senior employee. The Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England''s Prudential Regulation Authority, which vetted Staley''s appointment as CEO, are investigating the bank and Staley to see what other penalties might be warranted. The case has raised concerns about how much the culture at large banks has really changed since the 2007-2009 global financial crisis, when misconduct by bankers led to a slew of lawsuits and regulatory probes. Since then banks have been at pains to demonstrate they have mended their ways. Measures at Barclays, for example, have included a series of training programs reinforcing conduct policies, changing employee performance measurements to better emphasise conduct and having CEO Staley write several internal memos about the importance of the bank''s reputation. Lawmakers have likewise tightened their scrutiny, demanding banks make clearer who is accountable for executives'' behaviour and strengthen protections for those who call attention to misbehaviour. Former JPMorgan banker Staley''s attempts to hunt an internal whistleblower down will become a test case for whether these claims of reform are more than lip service, lawmakers and lawyers said this week.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-regulators-whistleblowing-idUKKBN17F1OB'|'2017-04-13T21:25:00.000+03:00' +'d00cb8aa6b880f9980e927190805f2fd956fa021'|'UPDATE 1-U.S. consumer agency sues Ocwen over mortgage servicing errors'|'(Adds details from CFPB statement, action by state regulators against Ocwen)WASHINGTON, April 20 The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday sued Ocwen Financial Corp and its subsidiaries, alleging the mortgage loan servicer''s "years of widespread errors, shortcuts, and runarounds cost some borrowers money and others their homes."The bureau said in a statement that it had uncovered evidence that Ocwen, based in West Palm Beach, Florida, had "engaged in significant and systemic misconduct at nearly every stage of the mortgage servicing process."Regulators from Wisconsin and more than 20 other state regulators have also issued regulatory orders or charges against Ocwen subsidiaries to address violations of state and federal laws, the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions said in a separate statement on Thursday.Ocwen is one of the country''s largest nonbank mortgage servicers. It serviced almost 1.4 million loans with an aggregate unpaid principal balance of $209 billion at the end of 2016, according to the CFPB statement.The bureau said some of Ocwen''s alleged violations included illegally foreclosing on homeowners, failing to credit borrowers'' payments, servicing loans using error-riddled information, and deceptively signing up and charging borrowers for add-on products."Ocwen has repeatedly made mistakes and taken shortcuts at every stage of the mortgage servicing process, costing some consumers money and others their homes," CFPB Director Richard Cordray said.The complaint was filed in federal district court for the Southern District of Florida. (Reporting by Washington Newsroom; editing by Eric Walsh and Richard Chang)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/ocwen-financial-cfpb-idUSL1N1HS1HV'|'2017-04-20T22:05:00.000+03:00' +'4693ef4bd67c7169e378b721005fb370c0ae334e'|'UK Stocks-Factors to watch on April 10'|' 32am EDT UK Stocks-Factors to watch on April 10 April 10 Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening up 8 points at 7,357 on Monday, according to financial bookmakers. * RIO TINTO: Mining giant Rio Tinto Ltd , said on Sunday it paid $4 billion in taxes and royalties globally in 2016, a 12 percent drop on 2015 that primarily reflected lower earnings. * CAPITAL & COUNTIES: British property developer Capital & Counties said on Friday it has sold its exhibition business for 296 million pounds ($367 mln) to a group of institutional investors. * SKY PLC: The European Commission cleared Rupert Murdoch to take over pay-TV group Sky on Friday, leaving a British investigation into the impact on the country''s media landscape as the only remaining hurdle for the $14.5 billion deal. * EXPERIAN: Credit bureau Experian Plc has joined forces with technology firm BioCatch to use behavioral biometrics to help its clients spot fraudsters applying for credit cards and other lending products online, the companies said on Friday. * GREEN INVESTMENT BANK: Australian investment bank Macquarie looked set to acquire Britain''s Green Investment Bank (GIB) after a court rejected the claim of a rival bidder on Friday. * BRITAIN EMISSION: Britain''s automotive industry body defended diesel cars on Monday, as the government prepares to announce proposals for improving air quality which could follow London in making it more expensive to use the most polluting vehicles. * EUROPEAN INSURERS: Brexit and political uncertainty in Europe are likely to depress merger activity among European insurers this year, after a steep decline in deals in 2016, ratings agency AM Best said on Monday. * The UK blue chip index was up 0.6 percent at 7,349.37 points at its close on Friday as oil stocks extended gains, bucking a broader risk-off move across markets after a U.S. cruise missile strike in Syria. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets TODAY''S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idUSL3N1HI26M'|'2017-04-10T13:32:00.000+03:00' +'4fa21c53b50cc6ad5a43f6f3570e46e10450e83b'|'FINMA says in contact with Credit Suisse after office raids'|'Company News - Tue Apr 4, 2017 - 4:49am EDT FINMA says in contact with Credit Suisse after office raids BERN, April 4 Swiss financial watchdog FINMA has spoken to Credit Suisse about searches last week at the Swiss bank''s offices in London, Paris and Amsterdam, FINMA Chief Executive Mark Branson said on Tuesday. "We are in contact with the bank and will remain in contact," Branson said at FINMA''s annual news conference. Zurich-based Credit Suisse was pulled into an international tax evasion and money laundering investigation on Thursday when coordinated searches were carried out three of its offices. (Reporting by Joshua Franklin and Angelika Gruber; Editing by Michael Shields) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/credit-suisse-gp-taxevasion-finma-idUSZ8N17V01F'|'2017-04-04T16:49:00.000+03:00' +'7c3a0cb472b0ec67d9465f514ce91851259e6bce'|'New Jersey Resources, South Jersey Industries hold merger talks: WSJ'|'New Jersey Resources Corp ( NJR.N ) is considering to combine with South Jersey Industries Inc ( SJI.N ) in a deal that would bring together two natural-gas utilities in New Jersey, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.Details of the talks couldn''t be learned and it is possible that there won''t be a deal, the Journal reported on Tuesday. ( on.wsj.com/2nG2OTt )South Jersey Industries and New Jersey Resources were not immediately available for comments.Shares of South Jersey Industries rose as much as 5.54 percent to a record high of $37.31. The company has a market value of about $2.8 billion.New Jersey Resources'' stock rose as much as 6.3 percent to an all-time high of $41.60. The company is valued at about $3.4 billion.(Reporting by Akankshita Mukhopadhyay in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-south-jersey-ind-m-a-new-jersey-rsrce-idINKBN1762DO'|'2017-04-04T15:44:00.000+03:00' +'31bb1dac74b19e7641f47cf66f2f72f3e5721720'|'Wal-Mart in advanced talks to buy Bonobos - Recode'|'Deals - Fri Apr 14, 2017 - 11:44pm BST Wal-Mart in advanced talks to buy Bonobos: Recode FILE PHOTO - Shopping carts are seen outside a new Wal-Mart Express store in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. on July 26, 2011. REUTERS/John Gress/File Photo Wal-Mart Stores Inc ( WMT.N ) is in advanced discussions to buy online mens fashion retailer Bonobos Inc, Recode reported on Friday, citing sources. Wal-Mart and Bonobos have agreed on a price and the deal is in final due diligence, Recode said. Nordstrom ( JWN.N ) is an investor in Bonobos. The website said that the price of the deal could not be learned, but a retail business would likely fetch one to two times revenue. Bonobos has $100 million to $150 million in revenue and was valued at $300 million in 2014, the article said.( bit.ly/2nNA6nO ) The world''s biggest retailer has been working aggressively to close the gap with rival Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) under the leadership of Chief Executive Doug McMillon and new e-commerce chief Marc Lore. The deal, if announced, would become the fourth e-commerce acquisition by the retailer in less than a year. Wal-Mart declined to comment while, Bonobos did not respond to the requests for comment. Lore has overseen the acquisition of three other online retailers, shuffled management and made two-day shipping free on all online orders over $35, without any membership fees to compete with Amazon''s popular Prime shipping program. Alden Bentley and Cynthia Osterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-bonobos-m-a-walmart-idUKKBN17G1K5'|'2017-04-15T06:42:00.000+03:00' +'ea109ae9fb22cec90a6a19b7a04187e5d7130a94'|'US STOCKS-Futures flat ahead of Fed minutes, Trump-Xi talks'|'Business News - Wed Apr 5, 2017 - 7:43am EDT Futures flat ahead of Fed minutes, Trump-Xi talks Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in the Manhattan borough of New York, New York, U.S., April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid By Yashaswini Swamynathan U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Wednesday with investors on guard ahead of the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve''s latest meeting and talks between the U.S. and Chinese presidents later this week. * The meeting, starting Thursday, between Donald Trump and China''s Xi Jinping is likely to be tense, with trade and North Korea expected to dominate. Trump has said the meeting is likely to be a "very difficult one". * Also weighing on investors'' minds is Trump''s ability to deliver on tax reform and other pro-business promises after recent setbacks in pushing reforms through Congress. * Wall Street has rallied on Trump''s promises, with analysts saying the expectations of tax cuts have been priced in. The lofty market valuations will be in sharp focus with the first-quarter earnings season around the corner. * The Fed raised interest rates in March and indicated it would hike rates twice more this year. The minutes of that meeting are due at 2:00 p.m. ET (1800 GMT). * Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan is the only central bank official scheduled to speak on Wednesday. * Among the early movers on Wednesday were shares of Panera Bread ( PNRA.O ). The stock jumped nearly 13 percent to $308.86 after JAB Holdings said it would buy the bakery chain in a deal valued at $7.5 billion. * Data on tap includes the ADP National Employment report that is likely to show fewer jobs were added in the private sector in March than in February. The report, due at 8:15 a.m. ET, serves as a predecessor to Friday''s nonfarm payrolls report. * The ISM non-manufacturing index is expected to have slipped to 57 points in March from 57.6 the month earlier. The data is due at 10:00 a.m. ET. Futures snapshot at 6:57 a.m. ET: * Dow e-minis 1YMc1 were up 7 points, or 0.03 percent, with 15,505 contracts changing hands. * S&P 500 e-minis ESc1 were down 1 point, or 0.04 percent, with 84,858 contracts traded. * Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQc1 were down 3 points, or 0.06 percent, on volume of 15,928 contracts. (Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks-idUSKBN1771FG'|'2017-04-05T19:40:00.000+03:00' +'b9396d5b2b69a2dbcf0ddcb0acbfb0c985b68fdb'|'Abbot Point coal port spill causes ''massive contamination'' of Queensland wetland'|'Coal dust released from Adanis Queensland coal port after Cyclone Debbie appears to have caused massive contamination of sensitive wetlands, an academic expert says.A vast swathe of the Caley Valley wetlands has been blackened by coal-laden water released from nearby Abbot Point port after Debbies torrential rains inundated its coal storage facilities last month.Satellite imagery of the coal spill last week prompted an investigation by the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (EHP), which said the port operator appeared to have acted in line with a temporary licence to release the excess water.Its either Adani or the Great Barrier Reef. Are we willing to fight for a wonder of the world? - Jeff Sparrow Read more The caveat was that the licence did not authorise environmental harm, an environment department spokeswoman said.Norm Duke, a principal research scientist at James Cook Universitys TropWater unit and an expert in diagnosing contamination of wetlands, said an aerial image of the area showed theres undoubtedly going to be environmental harm. The image shows me a massive contamination of an area that Im very familiar with, Duke told Guardian Australia. Thats not an area they should be dumping their stuff in.Im surprised [they were allowed to do so] in some ways it would be almost better going into the sea rather than dropping it into somewhere its just going to cause long-term damage.Duke, who has done extensive research on contamination of mangroves from oil spills, said he had never seen anything as bad as this for coal dust.The spread of coal dust over a huge area of the wetlands risked creating a double whammy of harm that would have dire implications for local flora and fauna, from fish and birds to molluscs and crabs, he said.First, the sediment would raise the level of mangroves where if you change the elevation even by a few millimetres, some plants and animals will not be able to live there because the tidal regime will change dramatically. This could then be compounded by the potentially toxic effects of coal dust. The extent of both problems could be established almost immediately with site visits, Duke said. But a further problem could emerge months later in the dry season, when fine coal dust could suffocate plants, he said.We are looking at something nobodys going to clean up, Duke said. The department launched an investigation after it became aware of satellite imagery last Thursday apparently showing sediment-laden water flowing from Abbot Points settlement ponds into the adjacent wetland, a spokeswoman said.The investigation was into whether there has been any unauthorised releases of water into the wetlands.Initial monitoring results indicate releases to Caley Valley wetland were in accordance with the conditions of a temporary emissions licence granted to Abbot Point, which allowed the release of water with up to 100mg per litre of total suspended solids, she said.In the event of major rainfall and flooding, mines and associated sites can apply to EHP for a temporary emissions licence, which is a permit that temporarily relaxes or modifies the conditions of an environmental authority.A TEL does not authorise environmental harm.The spokeswoman said the investigation was continuing, including accessing historical satellite imagery to compare wetland colour and depth fluctuations.A spokesman for Adani said the company believed it had acted within the requirements of the temporary emissions licence.Peter McCallum of Mackay Conservation Group said the spill in 5,000-hectare wetlands that were home to more than 40,000 shore birds showed the lack of capacity Adani has to operate in a sensitive environment.Brenda the Civil Disobedience Penguin v the Adani mine. Democracy is fatally compromised! - First Dog on the Moon Read more The group has written to Queenslands environment minister, Steven Miles, asking how the government intended to rehabilitate the wetlands and whether any prosecutions for environmental damage would follow.The Palaszczuk government came to power in 2015 having promised to scrap an earlier plan to allow Adani to dump dredge spoil from the port expansion on to the Caley Valley. The plan is now to dump spoil on a disused industrial site near the port and the wetlands.Adani has directly controlled the running of the port since September, when it bought out previous operator Glencore.It bought a 99-year lease on the port in 2011 and says it has invested more than $1.8bn in the existing terminal. Topics Adani Group Cyclone Debbie Coal Queensland Fossil fuels Pollution '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/apr/10/abbot-point-coal-port-spill-causes-massive-contamination-of-queensland-wetland'|'2017-04-10T14:53:00.000+03:00' +'78574f0b2b18d3c3d54cd70cb61c24c4baf5a3d0'|'Exclusive: Boeing near decision to launch 737-10 jet - sources'|'By Tim Hepher - PARIS PARIS Boeing is nearing a decision to launch a larger version of its 737 workhorse jet within two months to counter strong sales of the Airbus A321neo, after a breakthrough on the design for one of its parts, industry sources said.The 737 MAX 10 would narrow the gap between the 178-220 seat 737-9, which first flew this month, and the 185-240 seat A321neo, which dominates the top end of a market for narrowbody jets worth $2 trillion over 20 years.Boeing has been studying how to solve a tricky problem with the design of the plane''s landing gear, without adding cost or delaying a 2020 target for first deliveries.The sources said a two-part technical solution is being tested and that Boeing is negotiating with airlines with the aim of launching the 737-10 at the Paris Airshow in June. Boeing is said to anticipate a total market of 1,000 of the planes."Boeing is actively engaged in discussions with customers about the 737 MAX 10X," a spokesman said."No decision has been made on the airplane and any discussion on timing of a possible launch would be speculative."Reuters reported last year that the 737-10 marks a tactical response to the A321neo, while Boeing works on strategic plans for a 220-260-seat twin-aisle, mid-market jet.But it has produced a puzzle so tricky that Boeing has asked for help from its combat jet experts to design a space-saving gear for the 737-10.A solution is needed because the 737-10 will be longer than the 737-9 to make room for about 12 extra seats. The landing gear must become taller too or the tail could scrape the runway.Anxious to avoid costly changes to the rest of the plane and stay on schedule, Boeing aims to make the gear longer only when needed, but small enough to fit in the 737''s existing wheel bay.It has not made final decisions but is testing an advanced proposal to allow the 737 to effectively sit back on its heels as it leaves the runway.This is what aerospace engineers call a "semi-levered" design and is a nod to two bigger jets: the 777 and 787-10.In a further twist, the gear would lengthen telescopically for the 737-10 to charge down the runway. Afterwards, it would shrink again to retract into the same space.COMPETITION IMPACTDrawing-board decisions like these feed directly into the battle for jet sales.A longer gear allows pilots to use the same take-off angle rather than easing off to avoid striking the runway with the tail of the longer jet. Shallower take-offs need more runway, limiting the number of airports served and restricting sales.Airbus, which declined comment, is likely to try to persuade potential 737-10 buyers that it is little different from the slow-selling 737-9. Sources say it is meanwhile working on its own improvements to the A320 family codenamed A320neo-plus.Experts say more capacity could put costs per seat of the 737-10 in the same ballpark as the A321neo, leaving jetmakers to slug it out over range and performance.Boeing decided against using a bigger engine to boost those two features. It is gambling that some airlines will prefer extra seats and fly the 737-10 mainly on short routes.Although reports have focused on the clash between the A321neo and 737-9/10, industry sources say it''s not just the top end of the narrowbody market that drives the new design.Because most carriers stick to one jet family, they say Boeing seems worried the A321neo''s success could prompt fleet decisions that weaken the smaller 737 MAX 8, its main cash cow."It''s a defensive move. Boeing wants to prevent the A321neo being a Trojan Horse in its own fleet," one strategist said.(Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/boeing-idINKBN17R10S'|'2017-04-25T17:46:00.000+03:00' +'8f8b93d31a904842097c1c9a3c4cac12a8de04e6'|'Brazil court suspends Petrobras oilfield sale to Statoil'|'Business News - Tue Apr 18, 2017 - 2:22am BST Brazil court suspends Petrobras oilfield sale to Statoil SAO PAULO A Brazilian court has ordered state-controlled oil company Petrleo Brasileiro SA ( PETR4.SA ) to suspend the sale of its stake in an exploratory block to Norway''s Statoil ASA ( STL.OL ) after a union argued there should have been an open bidding process. Petrobras, as the company is known, said in a securities filing on Monday that the deal for its stake in the BM-S-8 region known as the Carcara field was approved by regulators. Half of the $2.5 billion in proceeds were due when the deal closed in November, and the company said it had used those funds to repay debts. Petrobras said it would take legal measures to defend its interests. The sale of the 66 percent stake in the offshore prospect was the first major pre-salt asset sold as part of a divestment plan that now aims to raise $21 billion in two years for Petrobras to pay down its debts. The National Federation of Oil Workers said it had filed the lawsuit because Petrobras, as a state-controlled enterprise, is required to hold an open bid for any asset sale. A Statoil representative said the Norwegian firm would not comment on the matter because it had not received an official notice of the decision. (Reporting by Marta Nogueira and Tatiana Bautzer; Writing by Brad Haynes; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-petrobras-divestiture-statoil-idUKKBN17J1U1'|'2017-04-18T09:18:00.000+03:00' +'67dc7003b0fa3fc41c10101aef40d9c52245bd88'|'Germany criticises Trump orders on trade deficits, import duty evasion'|'Business News - Sat Apr 1, 2017 - 12:50pm BST Germany criticises Trump orders on trade deficits, import duty evasion German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries attends the weekly cabinet meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, February 1, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch BERLIN U.S. President Donald Trump''s executive orders on trade deficits and import duty evasion are a sign that Washington plans to move away from free trade and international agreements, German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said on Saturday. Trump instructed his administration on Friday to study the causes of U.S. trade deficits and clamp down on countries that abuse trade rules in two executive orders he said would open a new chapter for U.S. workers and businesses. Zypries said that while the executive orders were initially only reviews, "they show, however, that the U.S. obviously wants to move away from free trade and trade agreements." "We must seek constructive dialogue and explain that the reasons for the U.S. trade deficit are not just abroad," the minister said, adding that she would raise the issue in talks with U.S. counterparts during a trip to Washington in May. For years, the United States has been importing more goods from Germany than it exports to Europe''s biggest economy, due to the relatively strong competitiveness of German firms and the high demand among U.S. customers for ''Made in Germany'' goods. The resulting U.S. trade deficit with Germany has nearly doubled in the past 10 years from some 28.8 billion euros (24 billion pounds) in 2006 to 49 billion euros in 2016, according to data from Germany''s Federal Statistics Office. Trump''s trade adviser Peter Navarro has accused Germany of exploiting other countries through a "grossly undervalued" euro. This sparked a sharp response from German Chancellor Angela Merkel who said the European Central Bank is in charge of the euro and the central bank is a politically independent body. In a further sign of increased tensions between Germany and the United States, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel urged the European Union on Friday to consider filing a complaint with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against the United States over its plan to impose duties on imports of steel plate from five EU member states. (Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Helen Popper) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-trade-germany-idUKKBN1733ET'|'2017-04-01T19:50:00.000+03:00' +'53fe1efa8354ba58355005cf84d9846215633c33'|'Handelsbanken chairman investigated over suspicion of receiving bribes -company'|' 10:30pm BST Handelsbanken chairman investigated over suspicion of receiving bribes -company STOCKHOLM Handelsbanken''s ( SHBa.ST ) chairman Par Boman has been questioned by prosecutor regarding suspicions of receiving bribes related to hunting trips by forest industry company Holmen ( HOLMb.ST ), the Swedish bank said on Tuesday. "These suspicions are, in my opinion, groundless," Boman said in a statement. Holmen said in January that its chairman Fredrik Lundberg was told by a prosecutor he was suspected of offering a bribe related to hunting events arranged by the company. (Reporting by Olof Swahnberg, editing by G Crosse)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sweden-handelsbanken-chairman-idUKKBN17D2OI'|'2017-04-12T05:30:00.000+03:00' +'baeb2374b2e4452e991b72102d739db9d0833e0d'|'L''Oreal says like-for-like sales rise 4.2 percent in first quarter'|' 5:25pm BST L''Oreal says like-for-like sales rise 4.2 percent in first quarter A cosmetic display of French cosmetics group L''Oreal is seen during the inauguration of the commercial zone at the Nice international airport Terminal 1 in Nice, France, June 10, 2016. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard PARIS French cosmetics company L''Oreal ( OREP.PA ) reported a slightly higher-than-expected 4.2 percent rise in like-for-like first-quarter sales on Tuesday, helped by thriving demand for its luxury products in Asia. The maker of Garnier shampoo and Maybelline make-up said sales in its consumer products division rose 1.4 percent on a like-for like basis, while revenues in its professional unit fell 1.8 percent. In its luxury division, meanwhile, which houses brands such as Lancome and Yves Saint Laurent cosmetics, like-for-like sales were up 12.2 percent. "We are confident in our ability to achieve another year of sales and profit growth in 2017," Chief Executive Officer Jean-Paul Agon said in a statement. Analysts had expected like-for-like sales across the group to rise 3.9 percent, according to forecasts compiled for Reuters by Inquiry Financial. L''Oreal''s reported sales were up 7.5 percent at 7.04 billion euros (5.98 billion pounds), also slightly above analyst forecasts. (Reporting by Sarah White and Pascale Denis, Editing by Bate Felix)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-loreal-results-idUKKBN17K20Y'|'2017-04-19T00:25:00.000+03:00' +'884e897115607e94e4f1ac4197ba5fe125922ae9'|'Luxury retailer Jimmy Choo puts itself up for sale'|'Money 08pm IST Luxury retailer Jimmy Choo puts itself up for sale A store of shoe designer Jimmy Choo is seen in the mountain resort of St. Moritz, Switzerland March 15, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/Files LONDON Luxury retailer Jimmy Choo is seeking offers for the company as part of a review of its strategic options to maximise shareholder value, it said on Monday. The firm said it has discussed the strategic review process with its majority shareholder, JAB Luxury which has confirmed it is supportive of the process. It said Britain''s Takeover Panel has agreed that any talks with third parties may be conducted within the context of a formal sale process to enable conversations with parties interested in making a proposal to take place on a confidential basis. Jimmy Choo said it is currently not in receipt of any approaches. (Reporting by James Davey; editing by Kate Holton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/jimmy-choo-m-a-idINKBN17Q0H9'|'2017-04-24T04:38:00.000+03:00' +'0d7bcb45f540c225f40b4a9357adc5b9e8d3a77f'|'UK aims for more transparency with foreign owners'' property register'|' aims for more transparency with foreign owners'' property register A DLR train crosses a bridge in front of construction work in early morning mist in London''s Canary Wharf financial district, Britain March 28, 2017. REUTERS/Russell Boyce LONDON Britain said it would seek to introduce the world''s first public register of the owners of foreign companies which own property in the country, in response to growing public unease that buyers are hiding behind obscure legal entities. London property especially has attracted foreign buyers in recent years thanks to its mix of top-end apartments, luxury penthouses and gleaming skyscrapers alongside corporations who use the city as global hub. "While the government welcomes legitimate foreign investment in the UK, overseas investors in the UK property market have also included criminals laundering the proceeds of crime," the business ministry said on Wednesday. The register would show the beneficial owners of real estate owned by foreign companies and other legal entities, it said. The vast majority of overseas companies that own property in London are registered in tax havens, according to a report by Transparency International UK and Thomson Reuters released late last year. The release of the "Panama Papers" last year also shone a light on firms and individuals who use complex structures to base themselves abroad, putting the issue of tax avoidance at the top of the global agenda. The government is asking overseas investors, property and transparency experts to submit evidence until May 15 as it assesses what impact the register might have on inward investment. Firms are already required to register with Britain''s corporate register, Companies House. (Reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Stephen Addison) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-transparency-idUKKBN1771LK'|'2017-04-05T20:34:00.000+03:00' +'15dfb39b1e733560fbaa64b692a5450c4b3f14c5'|'Brazil regulator CVM revokes suspension of Azul IPO'|'Company News 14pm EDT Brazil regulator CVM revokes suspension of Azul IPO SAO PAULO, April 7 Brazil''s securities watchdog CVM revoked on Friday the suspension of airline Azul SA''s initial public offering (IPO), according to a statement. CVM suspended the IPO process on Thursday, saying the company had disclosed information on the internet that was not included in the original share offer prospect. Azul fixed the irregularities, and was able to continue with the offering, now rescheduled for Monday, CVM said. (Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/azul-ipo-regulator-idUSE6N1FK01I'|'2017-04-08T06:14:00.000+03:00' +'9a9bbf217e02878c4d725851a1f620cb849b8a8e'|'RBS posts first quarterly profit since Q3 2015'|'By Lawrence White - LONDON LONDON Royal Bank of Scotland swung to a far better than expected first-quarter profit of 259 million pounds ($334.24 million), sending its shares up as much as 4 percent as the lender showed signs of progress in a decade-long turnaround.RBS''s first quarterly profit since September 2015 had been expected, but the amount exceeded the 50 million pounds forecast average of analysts'' estimates compiled by the bank.Chief Executive Ross McEwan has said 2017 will probably be the final year RBS makes a loss, as it moves nearer to closing the darkest chapter in its 290-year history.The bank has racked up more than 58 billion pounds in losses since its 45.5 billion pound bailout, the biggest for a European bank, at the height of the 2008-2009 financial crisis.RBS shares lost some of their early gains on Friday and were up 2.3 percent by 0800 GMT, the second best performer in the STOXX European Banks index, which dipped 0.3 percent.The goal of making a profit in 2018 depends on resolving RBS''s two biggest remaining headaches: its talks with the U.S. Justice Department on mortgage mis-selling, and with the European Union on the bank''s state aid requirements.RBS stands accused like many peers of mis-selling mortgage securities in the build-up to the 2008 financial crisis, and is expected to settle with U.S. authorities rather than fight the case like rival Barclays."We have nothing more to say on any engagement with the Department of Justice," McEwan told reporters on the call.In January RBS set aside a further 3.1 billion pound provision as it prepares to settle the claims, which some analysts have said could end up costing it as much as 9 billion pounds in total.Another big headache is an obligation RBS had under European state aid demands, whereby in recompense for receiving its bailout the bank would have to sell its Williams & Glyn unit.RBS said in February it had found a potential escape from that seven-year process, which had been fraught with rising costs and complexity. Instead the government is applying to the European Commission to approve a new plan whereby RBS will instead put in place measures to boost the competitiveness of smaller British bank peers.The European Commission is investigating the proposals.This month British finance minister Philip Hammond said explicitly for the first time that the government is prepared to sell its remaining more than 70 percent stake in RBS at a loss.Britain paid 45 billion pounds ($57 billion) to buy the RBS stake during the financial crisis, but unlike its similarly bailed-out peer Lloyds Banking Group, RBS has been unable to return to profit.Britain''s government budget watchdog said in March that the government was sitting on a 29 billion pound paper loss from RBS, in contrast to modest profits on bail-outs of Lloyds and other financial institutions.($1 = 0.7749 pounds)(Reporting By Lawrence White, editing by Huw Jones and Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/rbs-results-idINKBN17U0YZ'|'2017-04-28T16:00:00.000+03:00' +'36beb2d03c1198701a2f2d663db450b56510627a'|'AIG morale could spook talent, curb turnaround plan: UBS report'|'Money - Mon Apr 3, 2017 - 4:23pm EDT AIG morale could spook talent, curb turnaround plan: UBS report left right The ticker information for insurance company American International Group Inc., (AIG) is displayed on a screen above the post where it is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange November 4, 2015. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid 1/2 left right The AIG logo is seen at its building in New York''s financial district March 19, 2015. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid 2/2 By Suzanne Barlyn A morale crisis at American International Group Inc could prevent the U.S. insurance company from keeping and hiring the talent it needs to propel it through its financial turnaround, UBS said in an analysis on Monday. AIG ranked last through March 21 among 10 insurers rated by their own employees in categories ranging from career opportunities to business outlook, according to a UBS analysis of data from Glassdoor Inc, which runs a careers website and database of millions of company reviews. An AIG spokesman declined to comment. Last year, AIG ranked last in seven of 10 categories rated by Glassdoor users, including employees and agents. Factors also include compensation, senior management and cultural values. AIG, which announced on March 9 that its chief executive, Peter Hancock, would be stepping down, has ranked at or near the bottom of the group in all categories since 2012, wrote UBS analyst Brian Meredith in a report to UBS customers. The morale slump could threaten a two-year turnaround plan put in place at AIG after billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn became AIG''s fourth-largest investor in 2015, Meredith said. AIG is midway through the plan, which involves divesting businesses, cutting costs and ultimately returning $25 billion to shareholders. A $5.6 billion addition to reserves to cover future claims led AIG to report an unexpectedly large fourth-quarter loss on Feb. 14, jolting investors and leading to Hancocks planned departure. Hancock''s successor has not yet been announced, though several names have been cited by analysts and in media reports. The board has pledged to find a new CEO quickly. The data is an indication of AIG''s challenges in "retaining and hiring underwriting talent" in its commercial property and casualty businesses during the last several years, wrote Meredith. Dim views of AIG among employees and agents signal "the challenges that AIG continues to face in retaining and hiring talent it needs" to boost and maintain its commercial property and casualty insurance businesses, said Meredith. The UBS analysis involved about 6,300 reviews posted on Glassdoor that UBS identified as being from employees of large property and casualty insurers, including Travelers Cos Inc and The Hartford. More than 1,400 of the 6,300 reviews were from AIG employees. CNA Insurance has scored the highest ratings so far in 2017, while Travelers ranked the highest last year, according to UBS. (Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn; Editing by Steve Orlofsky) Next In Money'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-aig-morale-idUSKBN1752DM'|'2017-04-04T04:23:00.000+03:00' +'1a4ef7abc0bdfa745876264154e553cdde8cffbc'|'Fed''s Yellen says aim now is to let ''healthy'' economy coast along'|' 44pm BST Fed''s Yellen says aim now is to let ''healthy'' economy coast along Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen in Washington, U.S., March 15, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas The Federal Reserve plans to raise U.S. interest rates gradually so as to sustain healthy growth without letting the economy overheat, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Monday. "We want to be ahead of the curve and not behind it," Yellen said at an event at the University of Michigan''s Ford School of Public Policy in Ann Arbor. Now that years of aggressive monetary policy easing has nursed the economy back to its current "pretty healthy" state, the aim now is to allow "the economy to kind of coast and remain on an even keel," she said. (Reporting by Ann Saphir and Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-yellen-idUKKBN17C2EO'|'2017-04-11T04:43:00.000+03:00' +'05fb43f896b1afeb5b8acc3bf618117312be8a9b'|'BlackRock holds CEO Larry Fink''s pay nearly flat in 2016'|'Thu Apr 13, 2017 - 10:17pm BST BlackRock holds CEO Larry Fink''s pay nearly flat in 2016 Larry Fink, Chief Executive Officer of BlackRock, takes part in the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit in New York, U.S., February 8, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson By Trevor Hunnicutt - NEW YORK NEW YORK BlackRock Inc ( BLK.N ), the world''s largest asset manager, held total compensation for Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink nearly flat in 2016, according to a filing on Thursday. Fink was awarded $25.5 million in compensation last year, compared with $25.8 million in 2015, based on a calculation of his pay in line with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission guidelines. The company''s president, Rob Kapito, was paid $19.6 million, according to those calculations. Both Kapito and Fink were among BlackRock''s founders in 1988. BlackRock''s stock rose 11.8 percent in price terms during 2016. That compares to an 8.4 percent rise for a Thomson Reuters index that includes 26 of its industry rivals in the United States .TRXFLDUSPINVM. Net income of New York-based BlackRock fell 5 percent in 2016 to nearly $3.2 billion even as assets the company managed grew by 11 percent to $5.1 trillion. Investment managers have been pressured by a move to lower-cost funds. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Tom Brown)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-blackrock-compensation-ceo-idUKKBN17F2OG'|'2017-04-14T05:09:00.000+03:00' +'4dc77d7b895e94c70ebb2f58e84c6d25516cd5f1'|'ECB seen firmly on hold but may set stage for June shift'|'Business News 02pm BST ECB keeps money taps open, nods to euro zone recovery FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) are illuminated with a giant euro sign at the start of the ''''Luminale, light and building'''' event in Frankfurt, Germany, March 12, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo By Balazs Koranyi and Francesco Canepa - FRANKFURT FRANKFURT The European Central Bank left its ultra-easy policy stance in place on Thursday as inflation continues to undershoot its target but explicitly acknowledged the vigour of the euro zone economy, now on its best run since the global financial crisis. The ECB maintained its bias for further policy easing, leaving the door open to further rates cuts or an increase in asset buys. This is in line with market expectations but at odds with calls from Germany, the euro zone''s economic powerhouse, for a gradual reduction of stimulus. "Incoming data since our meeting in March confirm that the cyclical recovery of the euro area economy is becoming increasingly solid and that downside risks have further diminished," ECB President Mario Draghi told a news conference. "At the same time, underlying inflation pressures continue to remain subdued and have yet to show a convincing upwards trend," he added, justifying the continued stimulus measures. However, in response to a reporter''s question, Draghi noted there had been a debate among ECB council members over the euro zone growth outlook, with some "more sanguine" than others. That, he added, had resulted in a line being added to his introductory statement which noted that downside risks to the growth outlook "relate predominantly to global factors". The euro weakened slightly against the dollar following the rates decision after trading near six-month highs, aided by expectations that Macron would win the French presidential vote on May 7. The subtle tweak in language will be seen by some observers as foreshadowing a more bold change at the next meeting in June, possibly including a removal of a phrase signalling a bias for more policy easing. Euro zone economic sentiment hit a 10-year high this month and political risk is receding after pro-euro centrist Emmanuel Macron won the first round of France''s presidential vote. Elsewhere, the Bank of Japan, also operating deep in unconventional territory, offered its most optimistic assessment of the economy in nine years on Thursday but signalled that it would maintain its massive stimulus effort. Sweden''s Riksbank also extended its own asset buys by 15 billion crowns (1.32 billion pounds) on Thursday, predicting the first rate hike in the middle of 2018, later than earlier projected. Having missed its 2 percent inflation target for years and even flirting with deflation, the ECB is buying 60 billion euros worth of bonds per month at least until the end of the year and plans to keep interest rates in negative territory until later. But economic growth is steadily picking up pace, inflation is comfortably above 1 percent and the ECB''s policy arsenal is nearly depleted, all fuelling calls by conservative policymakers to start mapping out the way to the exit. Draghi said, however, that inflation was still not firmly in place. "We have not seen sufficient evidence to alter our assessment of the inflation outlook, and we are not sufficiently confident that inflation will converge to levels consistent with our inflation aim in a durable and self-sustaining manner," said. Draghi did say, however, that the risk of deflation had virtually disappeared CHANGE COMING SOON? In a departure from the bank''s long-held, more pessimistic stance, ECB board member Benoit Coeure, a key ally of Draghi, last week argued that the balance of risk for the economy is now largely balanced. Coeure''s view may not signal an imminent policy shift but suggests growing confidence in the outlook and a willingness to entertain the once-taboo subject of scaling back stimulus. Last month, the ECB removed one phrase from the statement -- a pledge to act "using all the instruments available within its mandate" if needed, signalling a diminishing urgency for more policy action. Some or all the references to prevailing downside risks to the outlook, to the possibility of further rate cuts or to larger asset purchases may be taken out, sources with direct knowledge of the bank''s deliberations have told Reuters. Policymakers are likely to remain cautious, however, particularly those from the periphery of the bloc, where unemployment is high and wages are not rising. "Before getting too enthusiastic, not all is well in the euro zone," ING economist Carsten Brzeski said before the decision. (Writing by Mark John; Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-idUKKBN17S324'|'2017-04-27T06:13:00.000+03:00' +'ed2ad5433ef7c37828deb9834e78f3f5051757a8'|'UPDATE 1-Insurers push to keep industry expert on U.S. regulatory council'|'(Adds comment from Ann Kappler, Prudential''s deputy general counsel and head of external affairs)By Sarah N. Lynch and Suzanne BarlynApril 19 With no sign of a replacement in the works, the U.S. insurance industry is pushing to prevent the departure of a key figure on the federal body that determines how large insurance companies are regulated.Roy Woodall, the sole independent voting member of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) with insurance expertise, will lose his seat in late September, as his six-year term set out under the Dodd-Frank financial regulation reform law expires.His presence on the council is important to the insurance industry, because FSOC has the power to decide whether large financial companies are "systemically important financial institutions," or SIFIs, a tag that carries higher capital requirements and Federal Reserve oversight.As there is no federal insurance regulator, Woodall is effectively the most important figure in U.S. regulation of large insurers.He will be forced to step down in five months, leaving a critical vacancy on the FSOC, which is based out of the U.S. Treasury Department, unless Congress changes the Dodd-Frank law and permits him to be held over temporarily, or U.S. President Donald Trump acts swiftly to nominate a replacement."Treasury doesnt have that much experience in insurance, so it makes the insurance expert particularly important," said Dave Snyder, vice president of international policy and policy development for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America.A U.S. Treasury spokesperson declined comment.Woodall, 80, told Reuters that he would not want to serve another full six-year term but would be willing to stay on until a replacement can be confirmed.Several large insurers fought their SIFI designations, arguing that they do not pose the same kind of risks as big banks.Prudential Financial Inc and American International Group Inc still carry the designation, but Prudential is widely expected to seek to have it rescinded.Industry executives say that if Woodall leaves without a replacement lined up, it could hurt their chances of success.FSOC''s process to determine whether to apply the designation is "imprecise," said Ann Kappler, Prudential''s deputy general counsel and head of external affairs, on Wednesday during an event about insurance regulation organized by the Bipartisan Policy Center, a think tank.Many FSOC staffers responsible for decisions did not fully understand how the company operates, Kappler said. "Despite the amount of work done by FSOC staff, it was rife with problems," Kappler said.''NOBODY''S PUPPET''Two-thirds of FSOC''s sitting members must support rescinding a designation for it to happen, and regulatory matters affecting insurance companies are likely to come up during FSOC meetings.A former insurance commissioner of Kentucky, Woodall has more than 50 years of experience in insurance regulation, law and policymaking. Former President Barack Obama appointed him to the FSOC in 2011.He voted against designating Prudential and MetLife Inc as SIFIs but was outnumbered by his other FSOC colleagues.He favored designating AIG, whose near-failure during the 2008 crisis was a major threat to the financial system, as well as GE Capital, which has since shrunk and simplified."Roy Woodall is nobody''s puppet," said Bridget Hagan, a partner at the lobbying and consulting firm Cypress Group, who also leads a coalition of insurers that are subject to Federal Reserve supervision. "But he has deep experience ... It''s important that he stay in his role until a new official is confirmed."GE Capital shed its designation after breaking itself up, and MetLife successfully sued the government to shake its designation. An appeal is working its way through the courts.UNIQUE POSITIONAlthough Woodalls departure is five months away, insurers are worried that the White House will not nominate a replacement in time, or that Congress will not change the law to permit Woodall to be held over on a temporary basis.Trump has been slow to appoint financial regulators, including those that wield more power, such as the Federal Reserve''s vice chair of supervision.A White House spokeswoman said the president is aware of the deadline and that it will be addressed in due time.Woodall''s situation is unique on the council, whose other members are allowed to continue serving in their roles on expired terms, or be temporarily replaced with an acting member if there is a vacancy. The FSOC is composed of heads of federal financial regulators and led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.Industry lobbyists are starting to approach lawmakers to find out whether they might be willing to tuck language into unrelated legislation, such as a spending bill, that would allow Woodall to stay in place, a person familiar with the matter said.A financial regulatory proposal by House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling would merge Woodalls role with a separate job inside the U.S. Treasury''s Federal Insurance Office and allow for the sitting expert to be held over after a term expires. But the bill is not expected to go far because Senate Democrats oppose it. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch in Washington and Suzanne Barlyn in New York; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Bill Rigby)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-insurance-regulator-idINL1N1HR1A1'|'2017-04-19T18:11:00.000+03:00' +'f9fdf818f7a10178d91cb859beccfdd58c601d7d'|'Algeria warily edges towards Islamic finance as energy income dives'|'* Algeria under pressure to reform after oil price drop* Government seeks new funding sources* Islamic finance may help tap huge informal economy* State banks plan to offer Islamic products in coming months* Interest-free loan announced but no details yetBy Hamid Ould AhmedALGIERS, April 12 When experts in Islamic banking gathered earlier this year at a state-run hotel in Algiers to share their experiences on sharia-compliant finance, no one from the government showed up.But despite this hesitancy - government officials are reluctant even to refer to Islamic finance by that name - Algeria is edging slowly towards offering banking services to suit more religiously conservative investors.The object is to attract funds from a huge pool of cash held outside the formal banking system as Algeria looks for more ways to offset the sharp fall in oil prices and its energy revenues.Finance Minister Hadji Baba Ammi has already announced plans for the country''s first local bond that is interest-free, complying with sharia law which forbids interest payments - although he called the scheme "participative" rather than Islamic.Now six state-run banks plan to start Islamic financial services by the end of the year or in early 2018, and a national sharia board that would oversee Islamic banking is also planned by the end of 2017, banking and government sources told Reuters.Algeria''s Islamic finance plan still faces huge barriers. It lacks a legal framework and technical expertise, and officials must navigate sensitivities over any perceived revival of political Islam after a 1990s war with armed Islamist militants in which 200,000 people died.On top of such concerns, any kind of reform is often delayed in Algeria by heavy bureaucracy and inertia, but bankers are keen to push ahead with the idea."Financial institutions must be more dynamic and aggressive in the market by allowing Islamic products to grow," said Nasser Haider, head of Bahrain-owned Al Salam Bank Algeria. "Regulation has not been a hurdle for Islamic finance in Algeria, but a legal framework would help its development."With the economy emerging from decades of centralised control, Algeria badly needs alternatives to the energy revenues that have traditionally financed 60 percent of the budget.The plunge in global crude prices from mid-2014 halved earnings from exports of oil and gas. In 2015 the budget deficit shot up to 16 percent of Algeria''s annual gross domestic product (GDP) and the government is estimated to have narrowed the gap only to 15 percent last year.A state fund intended to cover such deficits plunged 59.5 percent over the course of last year while foreign exchange reserves are estimated to have dropped to $114 billion by the end of 2016 from $178 billion in 2014.The government has approved a 14 percent cut in spending for 2017 and higher taxes.Algeria issued a conventional, interest-bearing bond on the domestic market last year. But the amount raised, $5.86 billion, fell short of expectations after religious leaders - and even the government''s own ministry of religious affairs - gave the operation a chilly reception. One well-known preacher told the finance minister: "You will suffer inside your tomb."LOCAL DISTRUSTAlgeria is far behind North African neighbours Morocco and Tunisia, which have started to develop legislation for Islamic finance and sukuk bonds, overseen by a central religious board.That may change if the planned Algerian national sharia board comes to fruition later this year, a government source familiar with Islamic financing plans told Reuters.Algeria is targetting domestic savers rather than foreign investors. Many local people distrust the state-owned banks and keep large sums at home, untaxed, in Algerian and foreign currency.Experts put informal economy savings at about $90 billion. That would be roughly equal to half Algeria''s annual GDP, and the government launched a study last month in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme to assess the real size of the parallel market.Last year it failed to draw money from the informal market when it offered a fiscal amnesty under which Algerians could deposit undeclared income and pay a 7 percent fee.Instead, the government needs to cater for religious conservatives. "Current funding methods are still very weak," said Mohamed Mouloudi, an Islam analyst and editor of religious books. "Giving the green light to Islamic finance through the participative option would help attract much money from reluctant people."The six state banks have now almost finished preparations for sharia-based financial services, said Boualem Djebbar, who heads the Banks and Financial Institutions Association as well as the Banque de l''Agriculture et du Developpement Rural. "They will offer participative financing soon," he said.A government source told Reuters three of the banks would launch Islamic products in the summer and a fourth may join them at the end of the year. For the other two, that may happen in 2018.A source at one of the banks, the Banque de Developpement Local, said it would be ready within three months. "BDL will launch at least two new products with one focusing on financing based on the murabaha principle at the start of the second half of 2017," the source said, referring to a cost-plus-profit arrangement widely used to structure Islamic loans.Al Salam Bank Algeria and Al Baraka Bank Algeria, local units of Bahrain-listed Islamic banks Al Salam Bank and Al Baraka Banking Group, are also already operating in Algeria. But their market share is estimated by experts at less than 4 percent. They offer retail and commercial banking services.Al Salam Bank has submitted a proposal to the finance ministry to use some form of Islamic finance for partial funding of a $3.2 billion port west of Algiers. Chinese banks will also provide around $1.5 billion for the project.SUBJECT TO SLIPPAGEAlgeria''s cautious approach to Islamic finance matches its wrestling with the kind of reforms it needs to deal with the sharp fall in oil prices. "The government preferred a gradual approach," said Abelhak Lamiri, who serves as an economic consultant for the government.Timetables are subject to slippage. In February the state news agency APS, quoting the finance minister, said the interest-free bond would be launched by the end of April. However, this was subject to government approval and so far no details have been announced.Still, state media remain keen on the idea. "The option for Islamic banking products in this time of crisis can only strengthen the financial sector through the diversification of bank offerings," wrote state-run newspaper El Moudjahid, which usually reflects government opinion. "Islamic products will also help attract informal savings." (Additional reporting by Bernardo Vizcaino in New York; Editing by Patrick Markey and David Stamp)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/algeria-economy-islamicfunds-idINL8N1HJ1YQ'|'2017-04-12T07:30:00.000+03:00' +'76c89e2c320dedf2f071dfd0377f117b0d909f29'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX rises as banking stocks bounce'|'Company News 38am EDT CANADA STOCKS-TSX rises as banking stocks bounce TORONTO, April 17 Canada''s main stock index rose in early trade on Monday, boosted by a rebound among financial stocks and gains for some railway and pipeline stocks. The Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index was up 61.40 points, or 0.40 percent, at 15,596.88 shortly after the open. Nine of its 10 main groups gained. (Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-open-idUSL1N1HP0H6'|'2017-04-17T21:38:00.000+03:00' +'266b8f1a37d3442a2ff3685e643ec014bcfb8a8d'|'Irish house prices post fastest growth since 2015'|'Business 11:20am BST Irish house prices post fastest growth since 2015 FILE PHOTO: A crane is seen behind a row of residential properties in the Capital Dock area of Dublin, Ireland, December 5, 2016. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/File Photo DUBLIN Irish residential property prices posted their fastest annual growth in almost two years in February, lifted by sharp increases outside the capital Dublin, the state statistics agency said on Wednesday. House price growth has begun to accelerate again in recent months amid a sharp lack of supply following a recovery from a property crash. An easing of central bank lending rules and a new government subsidy has seen mortgage approvals surge. Residential property prices nationally were 10.7 percent higher in February than a year ago, the fastest growth rate since May 2015. Prices in Dublin were up 8.3 percent compared to an increase of 13.2 percent in the rest of the country. (Reporting by Conor Humphries; editing by John Stonestreet)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ireland-economy-houseprices-idUKKBN17L163'|'2017-04-19T18:20:00.000+03:00' +'5cb8174801caaf51e91076ad63247695564e033a'|'Asian stocks tick up, euro subdued as ECB maintains easing bias'|'Business 7:17am BST Profit-taking trips up Asian stocks, Korean won slips on Trump trade threat left right Investors look at an electronic board showing stock information on the first trading day after the New Year holiday at a brokerage house in Shanghai, China, January 3, 2017. REUTERS/Aly Song 1/3 left right FILE PHOTO: A woman wears a home-made dress featuring imitation 100 and 500 euro notes as she walks in Bordeaux, southwestern France, November 7, 2014. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo 2/3 left right People walk past an electronic board displaying various Asian countries'' stock price index and world major index outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, August 21, 2015. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo 3/3 By Nichola Saminather - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Asian stocks slipped on Friday as investors took profits after a strong week, while the Korean won weakened after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would renegotiate or terminate a trade deal with South Korea. Britain''s FTSE 100, Germany''s DAX and France''s CAC 40 are all poised for a flat start, according to spreadbetter CMC Markets, after closing lower on Thursday. The dollar was 0.4 percent stronger at 1,135.13 won following Trump''s comments in an interview with Reuters, in which he called the five-year-old trade pact with South Korea "unacceptable." "(The won reaction) suggests that trade tensions between the U.S. and Asia could remain, which means some of that uncertainty should start to get priced into Asian currencies," said Khoon Goh, head of Asia research at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group in Singapore. Trump also told Reuters that a major conflict with North Korea over its nuclear programme was possible but that he would prefer a diplomatic solution, and that he wanted South Korea to pay for the $1 billion (774.83 million) THAAD anti-missile defence system. South Korea is waiting to see if any policy steps eventuate, a finance ministry official told Reuters. South Korea''s KOSPI index, which opened higher, reversed its gains and fell 0.2 percent. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 0.15 percent but is on track to end the week up 1.7 percent, which would be its best week in six. "While we are seeing some buying (in safe-haven assets) it''s fairly muted ... suggesting Trump''s comments around North and South Korea have probably had a relatively muted impact," said James Woods, global investment analyst at Rivkin Securities in Sydney. "We''re just seeing some fairly healthy profit-taking ahead of key GDP and inflation data tonight." First-quarter gross domestic product data out of Britain, France and the United States, and euro-zone April inflation figures, are due later in the session. The safe-haven yen was about 0.1 percent stronger at 111.155 yen to the dollar despite weaker-than-expected Japanese industrial output, household spending and consumer inflation for March. Japan''s Nikkei slid 0.2 percent, but remains poised for a 3.2 percent weekly gain, its strongest since November. Taiwan stocks gave up gains, clocked on solid first-quarter economic growth, to trade flat, and the Taiwan dollar weakened about 0.15 percent to 30.193 per U.S. dollar after Trump brushed aside the idea of a phone call with Taiwan''s President, who had said she would not rule one out. Chinese stocks fell 0.6 percent and were set to end the week down by the same percentage on fears that regulators would step up their latest crackdown on riskier types of financing and speculation. Hong Kong''s Hang Seng dropped 0.2 percent, shrinking the week''s gain to 2.3 percent. The euro slipped 0.1 percent to $1.086 after the European Central Bank maintained its ultra-easy policy stance on Thursday. The common currency is poised for a weekly gain of 1.3 percent, its best week in 5 1/2 months, buoyed by the first-round French election win of centrist and market favourite Emmanuel Macron. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of global peers, gained 0.1 percent to 99.21 but is headed for a 0.8 percent weekly loss. Preliminary data is expected to show U.S. economic growth slowed sharply in January-March to a 1.2 percent annualised rate from 2.1 percent in the previous quarter. The slower growth rate reflects "the negative effects of some one-off factors. The second quarter will likely be a lot better," Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic adviser at the Allianz Group, told the Reuters Global Markets Forum on Friday. "What is particularly interesting is that the hard data is yet to respond to what has been a notable improvement in both corporate and household confidence. Keep an eye on this divergence." A series of positive earnings reports from Comcast, PayPal, Intuit and others propelled the Nasdaq to an all-time high overnight. Google parent Alphabet and Amazon reported profits after the bell that beat expectations. Oil recovered, lifted by the possibility of an extension of an OPEC production cut, after touching its lowest level this month overnight on oversupply concerns. U.S. crude rose about 1.1 percent to $49.53 a barrel, narrowing its weekly loss to 0.2 percent. Global benchmark Brent was about 1.2 percent higher at $52.05, set for a drop of 0.2 percent for the week. Gold was about 0.1 percent higher at $1,264.61 an ounce, narrowing the week''s loss to 1.5 percent. (Reporting by Nichola Saminather; Editing by Kim Coghill and Edmund Klamann)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets-idUKKBN17U04M'|'2017-04-28T10:52:00.000+03:00' +'a2e2849a458cf934dfb51cdf3e5a669c3a14e2c7'|'Farm loan write-offs win votes in India, but may hurt economy'|' 1:43am BST Farm loan write-offs win votes in India, but may hurt economy left right FILE PHOTO: A farmer from the southern state of Tamil Nadu poses as he bites a rat during a protest demanding a drought-relief package from the federal government, in New Delhi, India, March 27, 2017. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: Farmers from the southern state of Tamil Nadu display skulls, who they claim are the remains of Tamil farmers who have committed suicide, during a protest demanding a drought-relief package from the federal government, in New Delhi, India, March 22, 2017. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton/File Photo 2/2 By Rajendra Jadhav and Mayank Bhardwaj - MUMBAI/NEW DELHI MUMBAI/NEW DELHI India risks straining public finances and undermining already ailing state banks, economists said, after a $5.6 billion loan write-off for farmers in Uttar Pradesh and moves to do something similar in at least four other states. One of the first acts of the new government in India''s most populous state following last month''s election triumph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was to keep a promise to provide debt relief to 21.5 million farmers. Taking their cue from Uttar Pradesh, more state governments could waive loans to farmers, senior officials there said, to fulfill election pledges or woo rural voters before further polls in the run-up to a general election in 2019 when Modi is expected to run for a second term. "This will spread like a contagious disease to most parts of the country and you will very soon see at least 3-4 states announcing similar farm loan waivers," said Ashok Gulati, a farm economist who advised India''s last government. Economists caution that the move could encourage indebted farmers not to repay loans, deepening malaise at public sector banks already saddled with most of India''s $150 billion in stressed loans. Uttar Pradesh will cover the cost of the waivers by issuing bonds. This would in turn constrain India''s sovereign credit because such bonds are backstopped by the federal government, the economists said. India''s total public sector debt, as a share of gross domestic product, stands at around 66 percent - high compared to other emerging economies. Economists at Merrill Lynch estimate that states will end up writing off debts equivalent to 2 percent of GDP - the bulk of all outstanding loans to farmers. LEVERAGE LEVELS Ratings agencies would like to see India''s debt-to-GDP ratio fall below 60 percent over the next three years to justify an upgrade in its sovereign rating. Yet debt waivers would, even if staggered, force up borrowing, analysts said. "The loan waivers would likely worsen the fiscal deficits and leverage levels of the state governments, unless other resources are mobilized or expenditure is controlled," said Aditi Nayar of ICRA, an affiliate of Moody''s Investors Service. "There is a significant risk that productive capital spending may end up being reduced to fund a portion of the loan waivers." A government-appointed panel has suggested capping the states'' debt at 20 percent of India''s GDP, while Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel has said the Uttar Pradesh loan waiver "undermines honest credit culture". WHO''S NEXT? The western state of Maharashtra and Punjab in the north are expected to announce similar loan waivers soon, senior officials in both states told Reuters. In Maharashtra, ruled by the BJP, farmers are clamoring for a bailout after two years of drought and falling commodity prices. In Punjab, known as India''s grain bowl, the opposition Congress party won last month''s election partly on the promise of a farm loan waiver. In southern Tamil Nadu, reeling from dry weather, a court asked the state government to write off loans to all farmers. Farmers from Tamil Nadu recently protested in New Delhi, showing the skulls of neighbors who had committed suicide to press their demand for drought relief and loan write-offs. WON''T PAY Some of India''s 263 million farmers have decided not to repay their debts, expecting loan waivers to mean they don''t have to. "I am not going to repay the loan because defaulters benefited from the previous waiver and I didn''t get any government help even as I repaid the loan on time," said Gorakh Patil, a farmer from Jalgaon in western India. Patil was referring to an $11 billion national farm loan waiver in 2008 that helped the Congress party-led coalition of the day win re-election the following year. But non-performing assets jumped. Gross non-performing loans in agriculture and its allied sectors surged to 588 billion rupees ($9.12 billion) at the end of the December quarter, from 97.4 billion rupees in the 2007/08 fiscal year, RBI data show. "There''s no benefit from such waivers," said a director at one state bank who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. "If you give any benefit across the board, it definitely has an adverse effect on credit discipline." (Additional reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh and Manoj Kumar in NEW DELHI and Devidutta Tripathy in MUMBAI; Editing by Douglas Busvine and Mike Collett-White)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-india-farming-loans-idUKKBN17L01L'|'2017-04-19T08:38:00.000+03:00' +'36d0852a831640c0752a98b186a9d191bb23e0b4'|'BRIEF-Corvus Pharmaceuticals announces interim safety and efficacy results from its ongoing Phase 1/1B study of CPI-444'|' 36am EDT BRIEF-Corvus Pharmaceuticals announces interim safety and efficacy results from its ongoing Phase 1/1B study of CPI-444 April 4 Corvus Pharmaceuticals Inc: * Corvus Pharmaceuticals announces interim results from ongoing Phase 1/1B study demonstrating safety and clinical activity of lead checkpoint inhibitor CPI-444 in patients with advanced cancers * Trial data showed that treatment with CPI-444 as a single agent and in combination with atezolizumab was well tolerated * Says CPI-444 has been well tolerated to date * Of 37 patients who showed evidence of disease control, 23 remain on treatment Source text for Eikon: BRIEF-Lawson Products enters into Eighth Amendment to Loan and Security Agreement * On March 30 Co entered into an eighth amendment to loan and security agreement with PrivateBank and Trust Company * Says currently generates material portion of its revenues from Charter Corporation, which acquired Time Warner Cable in May 2016 MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-corvus-pharmaceuticals-announces-i-idUSFWN1HC0HK'|'2017-04-04T23:36:00.000+03:00' +'e02a876d31110a93275565adde7806fb370c8da9'|'Fibria CEO sees room for new price hikes, cash costs falling'|'SAO PAULO, April 26 Brazilian wood pulp producer Fibria SA may continue hiking prices in coming months due to surprisingly strong second-quarter demand, executives told journalists on a conference call on Wednesday.Chief Executive Marcelo Castelli said cash costs rose due to one-time effects in the first quarter and should be lower for the rest of the year. Management also said they expect to boost earnings by selling excess energy in coming quarters. (Reporting by Brad Haynes and Alberto Alerigi Jr.; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/fibria-outlook-idINE6N1FG02M'|'2017-04-26T12:57:00.000+03:00' +'078a492229d072fabf5d2ce81adcc25edfca34e1'|'Brazil airline Azul tentatively reschedules IPO for Monday'|'SAO PAULO Brazilian airline Azul SA is tentatively planning to price its initial public offering on Monday, according to a statement on its website, pending approval of securities regulator CVM, which suspended the offering hours ahead of pricing.The CVM on Thursday suspended the IPO for up to 30 days due to several news stories gauging investor demand in recent days, as well as the release of a video in which executives gave projections not present in the official prospectus.Azul said it had removed the video from an investor website and would return funds to any retail investors that wanted to back out of offering by next Thursday, April 13.The CVM has recently toughened oversight of domestic debt and equity offerings as companies are returning to capital markets after a three-year drought. The decision could be reversed if Azul "fully corrects the flaws" that led to the IPO''s suspension, CVM said on Thursday.(Reporting by Brad Haynes; Editing by David Gregorio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-azul-ipo-idINKBN179320'|'2017-04-07T18:34:00.000+03:00' +'2af3b3bc45cdd9b3e166ecba3e34920a263daf1c'|'LME reform controversy highlights divisions between members'|' 19pm BST LME reform controversy highlights divisions between members FILE PHOTO: Traders and clerks react on the floor of the London Metal Exchange, London, Britain, May 13, 2016. REUTERS/Paul Hackett/File Photo By Peter Hobson and Pratima Desai - LONDON LONDON The London Metal Exchange (LME) is considering reforming its complex structure of trading to lure funds and reverse falling volumes, laying bare a schism between those wanting change and core traditional members who do not. By early next month, the 140-year-old British institution that sets global benchmark prices for industrial metals such as copper and aluminium will publish a discussion paper that is expected to include the offer of a simpler alternative to its intricate three-month date structure, sources say. A hike in trading fees two years ago drove many LME regulars to the over-the-counter markets, precipitating a 7.7 percent fall in trading volumes last year and 4.3 percent the year before and forcing the exchange to consider its future. Dwindling volumes have undermined profits at parent Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd (HKEx) ( 0388.HK ), which paid $2.2 billion for the LME in 2012 and is still trying to recoup on its investment. "Growth has to come from speculators," a source at a London-based brokerage said. "They are going to have to come out with something new, they can''t just keep tinkering around the edges." That something new, metal industry sources say, could be modelled on the exchange''s new precious metal contracts due to go live in June. Its mix of daily and monthly gold and silver contracts aims to allow industrial users to hedge specific dates. But its standardised monthly future would also appeal to funds, allowing them to settle a trade as soon as it is closed, much like futures on other exchanges such as the CME ( CME.O ). "There are people who want futures and there are people who want to leave things as they are," the head of a commodities brokerage said. "A lot of our clients are real hedgers so the date structure has a value for us, but some of our clients are financial and they would prefer futures." The LME will seek feedback on the discussion paper before implementing any changes. "We are committed to broad engagement with our stakeholders, to understand their perspectives, and to map out a development path for the LME which evolves together with the needs of our users," the LME said. "We will only make changes where and when we believe these to be in the best interests of the whole market." ''BREAD AND BUTTER'' Traditional members fret that adding more industrial metals contracts will erode liquidity for the three-month forward contracts that are traded in the open-outcry ring, risking the exchange''s position as global benchmark setter. "They need to understand we, and the three-month contracts, are their bread and butter, we are their core audience, they can''t have everything," one brokerage head said. "Taking liquidity away from the three-months could impact their use as global benchmarks, without which the LME becomes like any other exchange." Liquidity on the LME is concentrated in the rolling three-month forward contracts, based on the time it took to ship copper from Chile to London in the 19th century, which allow industrial users to lock in prices on a specific day. But it is costly and complex for financial investors. For example, a fund wanting to bet on higher prices can buy the three-month contract today and when it sells, perhaps a few days later, it must reconcile the two dates with a separate spread transaction. That requires three transactions and three lots of fees. Matching the dates has to be done through a broker, and the forward contract requires investors to wait until its expiration date to settle their accounts. Speaking at a briefing this year, HKEx chief executive Charles Li said: "It''s really about making our system easier, making our trading platform more friendly, (so) completely new people can find it easier." The LME has already tried to make trading easier for funds by trying to boost liquidity on Select, its electronic trading system, for monthly forward contracts, which settle on the third Wednesday of each month, with incentives such as discounts for new participants. The monthly forwards are only two transactions, both of which could be done on Select. But liquidity is lacking, sources say. "With the third Wednesday contract, your money is not unlocked until settlement," a U.S.-based investor said. "They need to go one step further offer futures. On COMEX CME.L, when I want to buy copper, a few clicks and it''s in my account, if I want to sell tomorrow a few more clicks and it''s done." (Editing by Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lme-reform-idUKKBN17D1LB'|'2017-04-11T21:19:00.000+03:00' +'a586511dd383dd065631e6c3f6ea810ba6d0b727'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX futures indicate a lower start'|'Company News - Wed Apr 5, 2017 - 7:47am EDT CANADA STOCKS-TSX futures indicate a lower start April 5 Futures pointed to a modestly lower start for Canadian stocks on Wednesday, a day after the main stock index hit their highest in nearly six weeks on gains in shares of mining and energy companies. June futures on the S&P TSX index were down 0.05 percent at 7:15 a.m. ET. Dow Jones Industrial Average e-mini futures were down 0.01 percent at 7:15 a.m. ET, while S&P 500 e-mini futures were down 0.08 percent and Nasdaq 100 e-mini futures were down 0.11 percent. No major Canadian economic releases are scheduled for the day. (Morning News Call newsletter here ; The Day Ahead newsletter here ) TOP STORIES Department store retailer Hudson''s Bay Co reported a quarterly loss on Tuesday, due in part to an impairment charge related to weak sales at Saks OFF 5TH and Gilt. Cenovus Energy said on Tuesday it priced a $2.9 billion offering of senior notes to fund the acquisition of assets in Western Canada from ConocoPhillips. ANALYST RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS Imperial Oil Ltd: Goldman Sachs cuts rating to "sell" from "neutral" Rogers Communications Inc: CIBC cuts rating to "neutral" from "outperform" Trek Mining Inc: National Bank Financial resumes coverage with "outperform" rating COMMODITIES AT 7:15 a.m. ET Gold futures: $1251.4; -0.29 percent US crude: $51.54; +1 percent Brent crude: $54.69; +0.96 percent LME 3-month copper: $5850.5; +1.23 percent U.S. ECONOMIC DATA DUE ON WEDNESDAY 0815 ADP national employment for Mar: Expected 187,000; Prior 298,000 0945 Markit Composite Final PMI for Mar: Prior 53.2 0945 Markit Services PMI Final for Mar: Prior 52.9 1000 ISM N-Manufacturing PMI for Mar: Expected 57.0; Prior 57.6 1000 ISM N-Manufacturing Business Activity for Mar: Expected 61.5; Prior 63.6 1000 ISM N-Manufacturing Employment Index for Mar: Prior 55.2 1000 ISM N-Manufacturing New Orders Index for Mar: Prior 61.2 1000 ISM N-Manufacturing Price Paid Index for Mar: Prior 57.7 FOR CANADIAN MARKETS NEWS, CLICK ON CODES: TSX market report Canadian dollar and bonds report Reuters global stocks poll for Canada Canadian markets directory ($1= C$1.34) (Reporting by Nikhil Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-idUSL3N1HD2UQ'|'2017-04-05T19:47:00.000+03:00' +'78c36b2ba109e9f654081b338ed7838337006cb9'|'Hurdles for hubs: Encouraging African entrepreneurship'|'YOU are either part of the solution or part of the problem, it says in painted letters on a wall. Stay hungry, stay foolish, says the wall opposite. An old rickshaw sits among beanbags and a vase of flowers rests on an ancient oil barrel in the corner. We wanted the space to feel like Google, says Eleni Gabre-Madhin, the founder of blueMoon, a new agribusiness incubator that opened in Addis Ababa in February, without a trace of irony.Incubators and their cousins, accelerators, provide hands-on training and mentoring, and often a physical space, to help early-stage business ideas develop. In Silicon Valley they find capital for startups and take a slice of equity in return for their services. Ms Gabre-Madhin says that blueMoon draws inspiration from Y Combinator, an American accelerator founded in 2005 whose investees include Dropbox and Airbnb. The new firms first cohort of startups will train at the office for four months, and it will give each a small cash injection in exchange for a 10% stake. 15 2 That is a rarity in Africas startup scene. A simpler and more common model is for tech hubs to provide office space, some networking events and fast broadband internet. A recent survey counted over 300 such facilities on the continent. One of the first hubs was iHub in Nairobi, launched in 2010, which has an incubation arm focused on mobile technology, called m:lab. But m:lab, like many of its kind, is not a real incubator: it was founded with grant support from the World Bank and takes fees from, but not equity in, the companies that it nurtures.Becoming a proper incubator has proved tricky. Hypercube Hub in Zimbabwe closed in 2015 after operating for less than two years, having failed to find a sustainable business model. A seed fund and incubator based in Nairobi called 88mph closed in 2015 after struggling along for four years; its Nigerian spin-off, 440.NG, was discontinued after the first cohort graduatedthe return on capital to the founder was insufficient. Only one genuine incubator, Raizcorp in South Africa, is profitable without grant funding. Almost all are waiting for their first big payout.Many incubators lack experienced mentors to guide young businesses. In a country like Ethiopia, home to few internationally successful businesses, finding qualified staff is a headache. Even in more sophisticated Nigeria, mentors can be substandard. Some actively harm young startups by, for example, pushing them into raising capital too early.Just as entrepreneurs need decent mentors, incubators need good entrepreneurs if they are to make any money. In Africa, says Nicolas Friederici of Oxford University, incubators have disappointed because they are a supply-side solution: there are still too few promising startups in need of their services. Many of the best entrepreneurs have already left for other places.When Michael Oluwagbemi set up Wennovation Hub in Lagos in 2011, he found he had to teach wannabe entrepreneurs how to write applications and design websites before he could even launch the formal incubation programme. The incubator in Africa is basically a finishing school and four months of it is not enough, he says. Business "Hurdles for hubs"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21720344-only-one-incubator-continent-profitable-without-grants-encouraging-african?fsrc=rss'|'2017-04-06T22:41:00.000+03:00' +'9ed273f583ce25f8c47b57983d970cdd882c5287'|'INCJ looking at Toshiba chip unit auction; didn''t bid in first round'|'Technology 37am BST INCJ looking at Toshiba chip unit auction; didn''t bid in first round A logo of Toshiba Corp is seen on a printed circuit board in this photo illustration taken in Tokyo July 31, 2012. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao TOKYO The state-backed fund Innovation Network Corp of Japan is looking at the auction of Toshiba Corp''s ( 6502.T ) chip unit but did not participate in first-round bidding, INCJ Chairman Toshiyuki Shiga said on Tuesday. Sources familiar with the matter have told Reuters INCJ may invest in the business as a minority partner - a move that would help the government prevent a sale to bidders it deems risky to national security. (Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-incj-idUKKBN17K0EA'|'2017-04-18T13:36:00.000+03:00' +'376cefc942b106c99cdacea121f65b762cbc6f02'|'Mexico''s Bimbo plans expansion in China, Asia, Middle East - executive'|'Deals - Wed Apr 19, 2017 - 9:26pm EDT Mexico''s Bimbo plans expansion in China, Asia, Middle East Advertising of Mexican bread maker Grupo Bimbo is seen in a store in Mexico City, September 24, 2014. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido By Sheky Espejo - MEXICO CITY MEXICO CITY Mexican breadmaker Grupo Bimbo ( BIMBOA.MX ) plans to grow in China in the short term with acquisitions, while also expanding in the rest of Asia and entering Middle Eastern markets, the company''s food business chief said on Wednesday. Bimbo, which entered China in 2006 after buying the local assets of Spanish competitor Panrico, plans to expand in China through purchases of local companies, Bernardo Zermeno, the food business chief, told Reuters on the sidelines of an event in Mexico City. "Bimbo will look for a consolidation that will allow for expansion," he said. Bimbo shares were up 0.60 percent in late afternoon trading at 45.44 pesos ($2.41). (Reporting by Sheky Espejo; Editing by Leslie Adler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-bimbo-china-idUSKBN17L2LW'|'2017-04-20T03:31:00.000+03:00' +'e722b75776757cc6a08d89dd57230d7cfaa8f00a'|'Bill sets out plan to tackle ''extortionate'' UK overdraft fees - Money - The Guardian'|'Bank customers ripped off by extortionate overdraft fees will get support next week from a parliamentary bill that promises to protect the most financially vulnerable from escalating charges.Rachel Reeves, a Labour MP who sits on the Treasury select committee, will outline plans on Tuesday for regulators at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to cap the maximum amount that banks can charge customers for unauthorised overdrafts , similar to the limit imposed on charges on payday loans of 24 a month. She argued: Banks are sending many people deeper into debt with extortionate charges on unauthorised overdrafts. They should have a responsibility to help people out of debt, rather than adding to their problems with rip-off charges.The FCA, the City watchdog, has included overdraft fees in a review into high interest loans , alongside payday loans and doorstep lending. It launched the review after the Competition and Markets Authority stepped back from imposing a cap on overdraft fees following its two-year investigation into high street banks. The CMA said instead banks should publish their monthly maximum charge for going over the limit.Two years ago, the FCA capped maximum charges on payday loans at 0.8% a day of the amount borrowed. Reeves is pushing for similar restrictions to be placed on banks, which make 1.2bn a year from unauthorised-overdraft fees.According to consumer group Which?, the cost of borrowing 100 through an unauthorised overdraft for 28 days from some high street banks is as high as 90. This is up to four times higher than the allowed maximum charges on a payday loan.Reeves, MP for Leeds West, has long campaigned on the issue and wants to introduce her unauthorised overdrafts (cost of credit) bill in the House of Commons on Tuesday. She noted that households were saving less and less, with the savings ratio falling since 2010 to a record low of 3.3% , while unsecured debt went up by 10% last year. The household debt to income ratio has grown by 6% in the past year and is now at 145%, which she said poses a serious risk to our economy.With the election looming, the bill will not make it into law in this parliament, but if she is re-elected, Reeves wants to reintroduce it either as a private members bill or through amending a Treasury or Department for Business, Energy & Industry strategy bill in parliament. She will also call on all parties to include this in their election manifestos.She said: Payday lenders are already subject to limits on the fees they can charge. I want to see a similar cap introduced for our high street banks and an end to these unfair and unjust fees.Topics Bank charges Banks and building societies Payday loans Borrowing & debt Financial Conduct Authority Regulators news Reuse this content'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/apr/23/commons-bill-rachel-reeves-banks-overdraft-fees'|'2017-04-23T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'c840208114175ecaead5c122efc453da10e3aa17'|'ConocoPhillips, partners weigh expansion of Darwin LNG'|'DARWIN ConocoPhillips and its partners are considering expanding their Darwin liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Australia, with backing from other companies with undeveloped gas resources that could feed the plant.ConocoPhillips has previously talked only about developing a new gas field for around $10 billion to fill the plant''s single production unit, or train, when supply from its current gas source, the Bayu-Undan field, runs out around 2022.The U.S. oil major has also previously said an expansion in the current market would be challenging due to low oil and LNG prices, and costs that have risen steeply since Darwin LNG was built more than a decade ago.A $650,000 feasibility study on building a second train is due to be completed this year, the Northern Territory government said on Wednesday, announcing that it would contribute $250,000 toward the study."The Territory Labor Government is supporting the feasibility study because this is a significant investment toward the business case for potential expansion at Darwin LNG, potentially creating thousands of jobs during construction and operation," Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner said in a statement.Five joint ventures with undeveloped gas resources off the coast of the Northern Territory are backing the study, with stakeholders including Royal Dutch Shell, Malaysia''s Petronas [PETR.UL], Italy''s ENI SpA, and Australia''s Santos and Origin Energy."With Darwin LNG, five upstream joint ventures and the Northern Territory Government involved, it is a pioneering example of all of industry and government collaborating on solutions to unlock major investments," ConocoPhillips Australia West vice president Kayleen Ewin said in a statement.Darwin LNG is co-owned by ConocoPhillips, Santos, Japan''s Inpex, ENI, Tokyo Electric Power Co and Tokyo Gas Co.(Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Writing by Sonali Paul; Editing by Tom Hogue)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-lng-conocophillips-idUSKBN17L0VA'|'2017-04-19T16:16:00.000+03:00' +'694808c155f7a0b45930500e7ea5139586d1b1dc'|'In win for Boeing and GE, Trump says he wants to revive export bank'|' 36am BST In win for Boeing and GE, Trump says he wants to revive export bank left right Boeing Co''s logo is seen above the front doors of its largest jetliner factory in Everett, Washington, U.S. January 13, 2017. REUTERS/Alwyn Scott 1/2 left right On a day when he ceded a loss over a signature policy in a federal appeals court, had to replace his labor secretary pick and faced questions over the resignation of his national security adviser, Trump chose to make the media a central focus of an unusually long and combative presidential news conference. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque 2/2 By Ginger Gibson - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON President Donald Trump plans to revive the hobbled Export-Import Bank of the United States, his office said, a victory for American manufacturers like Boeing Co ( BA.N ) and General Electric Co ( GE.N ) which have overseas customers that use the agency''s government-backed loans to purchase their products. Trump first told the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday he would fill two vacancies on the agency''s five-member board that have prevented the bank from having a quorum and being able to act on loans over $10 million. Trump''s picks must gain approval from the Senate, which blocked nominees by former President Barack Obama. Trump told the Journal that the bank benefits small businesses and creates jobs, a reversal of his earlier criticism of the bank being "featherbedding" for wealthy corporations. The Export-Import Bank, an independent government agency, provides loans to foreign entities that enables them to purchase American-made goods. For example, it has been used by foreign airlines to purchase planes from Boeing and farmers in developing nations to acquire equipment. The banks acting chairman, Charles CJ Hall, was not immediately available for comment. The bank has become a popular target for conservatives, who have worked in Congress to kill the bank, arguing that it perpetuates cronyism and does little to create American jobs. Trump''s about-face on the export bank comes after meeting on Tuesday with former Boeing Chief Executive Officer Jim McNerney, who left the company last year but oversaw the corporation''s aggressive lobbying effort in support of the bank in 2015. Trump also met at the White House on Feb. 23 with GE CEO Jeff Immelt and Caterpillar Inc ( CAT.N ) CEO Mark Sutton, both vocal supporters of the bank. It is not known if they discussed the bank at those meetings. Large American corporations that do significant amounts of exports say other countries have similar agencies and the export bank levels the playing field. "This is an encouraging development on a key competitive issue for U.S manufacturers and their extensive supply chains," Boeing spokeswoman Kate Bernard said in statement to Reuters. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers, which includes companies like Ingersoll-Rand Plc ( IR.N ), United States Steel Corp ( X.N ) and Pfizer Inc ( PFE.N ), cheered the move. Manufacturers are encouraged by President Trumps vocal support for the bank, said NAM Vice President of International Economic Affairs Linda Dempsey in a statement. A 2015 fight to shutter the bank led by conservatives in Congress allowed the bank''s charter to expire for five months. After overwhelming bipartisan support emerged to renew the bank''s charter, which is needed for it to operate, conservatives blocked nominees to the board, preventing it from financing large exports like aircraft and power turbines. Freedom Partners and Americans for Prosperity, two groups funded by the Republican donor Koch brothers, worked aggressively for years to kill the bank. Brothers Charles and David Koch have opposed the bank for what they call damaging interference into the free market by government. Nathan Nascimento, Freedom Partners vice president of policy, called the bank on Wednesday "the epitome of what''s wrong with Washington." "Reopening the flood gates to Ex-Ims corporate welfare is a bad deal for hardworking taxpayers and a bad deal for American businesses, he said. The Club for Growth, which spends heavily in electing conservative candidates and was one of the few groups to campaign against Trump during the Republican primary in 2016, also lamented the change in position. "Ex-Im has a long history of cronyism and corruption that is well-known to many in the Trump Administration, and while we hoped it would be done away with, the administration now has taken on the almost impossible challenge of reforming a federal agency whose mission has been to pick winners and losers with taxpayer dollars," spokesman Doug Sachtleben said in a statement to Reuters. (Reporting by Ginger Gibson; Additional reporting by Steve Holland and David Lawder; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-eximbank-idUKKBN17F06W'|'2017-04-13T09:36:00.000+03:00' +'6d7fcf731b9be0dbc052a7025c3e655078d205e3'|'MOVES- Silverfleet Capital, State Street Global Advisors, Mashreq'|' 29am EDT MOVES- Silverfleet Capital, State Street Global Advisors, Mashreq April 3 The following financial services industry appointments were announced on Monday. To inform us of other job changes, email moves@thomsonreuters.com. SILVERFLEET CAPITAL The European private equity investor appointed Karl Eidem as co-head of the Nordic Region. STATE STREET GLOBAL ADVISORS The asset management arm of State Street Corp, appointed Andrew Benton as head of its UK institutional business. MASHREQ The head of corporate and investment banking at the Dubai''s third-biggest bank by assets is leaving to become chief executive of a rival bank, sources told Reuters. (Compiled by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/financial-moves-idUSL3N1HB39U'|'2017-04-03T18:29:00.000+03:00' +'9f07e5fcca1ddf0006e7ba850371e0b388e06726'|'Bombardier family mulls new blood on board -founder''s grandson'|'Business News - Mon Apr 10, 2017 - 8:41pm BST Bombardier family mulls new blood on board -founder''s grandson A plane flies over a Bombardier plant in Montreal, January 21, 2014. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi By Allison Lampert - MONTREAL MONTREAL Bombardier Inc''s ( BBDb.TO ) controlling family has discussed governance and board succession in the wake of an executive pay uproar, with some family members wanting new blood for its representatives on the board, the grandson of the company founder told Reuters in an interview. The plane and train maker set off protests, most recently near Bombardier''s Montreal headquarters on Sunday, after the board raised 2016 salaries of five executives and its chairman by up to 50 percent just weeks after it received a federal loan. The company later agreed to defer part of the raises to 2020. Charles Bombardier, grandson of founder Joseph-Armand Bombardier who died in 1964, said the executive pay decision has moved to the forefront talk of who should represent the family on the board. His father, J.R. Andre Bombardier, sits on the current board of directors. Charles Bombardier spoke to Reuters by telephone from Montreal on Friday. The family, which controls Bombardier through a dual voting structure, now has five of the 15 board seats, including one for former chief executive Laurent Beaudoin who is chairman emeritus. Pierre Beaudoin, also a grandson of the founder, is the executive chairman. "I think the third generation will play a more active role on the board since they are in their prime working years," Charles Bombardier said in his first media interview following the pay uproar. Charles Bombardier, 43, an industrial designer and an investor in startup companies left a company spinoff, Bombardier Recreational Products, in 2006 and does not currently hold any executive position in Bombardier or have a board seat. But his comments offer a rare insight into the thinking of the Bombardier-Beaudoin family, whose members maintain a low profile. Bombardier, which considered bankruptcy protection in 2015, has been in the midst of a five-year turnaround. The company scored a major boost for its flagship CSeries jet in 2016 with the signing of key sales contracts and the plane''s smooth entry into service after years running over-budget and behind schedule. "The family took great risk by investing in this (CSeries) aircraft program and now it''s a technical success," Charles Bombardier said. "This was a family decision and in the years to come, you will see it was an excellent one." DUAL-CLASS SHARES He reiterated the family would never modify the dual-class share structure that gives them voting control, partly because it protects Bombardier from becoming a takeover target. "The key is keeping control of the company and passing it on to the next generation while making sure that shareholder value is generated along the way," he said. A Bombardier spokesman declined to comment. In the past, the family''s vision for the company has conflicted at times with external chief executives. One CEO left after two years at the helm. Current CEO Alain Bellemare, who took the reins of Bombardier in 2015 and replaced Pierre Beaudoin, has the support of family members, Charles Bombardier said. Charles Bombardier said Beaudoin deserved a higher salary in 2015 because he was assisting Bellemare in the transition to become CEO. "The role of the chairman needs to be separated from the CEO and one year to make the transition is enough in my opinion," he said, adding the executive chairman''s role should now focus on leading the board and Beaudoin''s salary should be benchmarked to industry norms. In an email statement sent on Sunday, Beaudoin said he is "happy to have the continuing support of my entire family," and reiterated family support for company management. (Editing by Denny Thomas and Matthew Lewis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-canada-bombardier-compensation-idUKKBN17C2B2'|'2017-04-11T03:41:00.000+03:00' +'71cdfaefb744d61ba88583a618e479515a70036f'|'Credit Suisse takes out UK newspaper ads after office raids in tax case'|'Business News - Sun Apr 2, 2017 - 7:10am EDT Credit Suisse takes out UK newspaper ads after office raids in tax case Credit Suisse logo is pictured on their office in Warsaw Poland, March 15, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel LONDON Credit Suisse ( CSGN.S ) has taken out adverts in British Sunday newspapers stressing a zero-tolerance policy on tax evasion, as the Swiss bank tries to limit any damage to its reputation from raids on three of its offices. Zurich-based Credit Suisse was pulled into an international tax evasion and money laundering investigation on Thursday when coordinated searches were carried out on its London, Paris and Amsterdam offices. The ads, which appeared in the Sunday Times, Sunday Telegraph and Observer, stated they were a "response to recent reports about tax probes in various European countries". Among seven bullet points, Credit Suisse said it "wishes to conduct business with clients that have paid their taxes" and the bank would "continue to work closely with the local authorities in all matters and particularly in this new case". The raids reopened the thorny issue of tax evasion which has dogged Swiss banks for years as wealthy individuals around the world have used the country''s strict bank secrecy laws to hide cash from the tax man. Credit Suisse, Switzerland''s second-biggest bank, in 2014 pleaded guilty and was fined $2.6 billion by U.S. authorities over charges it helped wealthy Americans evade taxes. It has also settled tax dodging cases in Italy and Germany. (Reporting by Paul Sandle; Writing by Joshua Franklin in Zurich; Editing by Mark Potter) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-credit-suisse-taxevasion-britain-idUSKBN1740D4'|'2017-04-02T19:10:00.000+03:00' +'844304ede140a1aa6e4f67fa125f446807af162d'|'Waymo testing self-driving car ride service in Arizona'|'Company 01am EDT Waymo testing self-driving car ride service in Arizona SAN FRANCISCO, April 25 Alphabet Inc''s Waymo autonomous vehicle group will begin testing a self-driving car program for hundreds of families in Phoenix, Arizona and is buying 500 Chrysler minivans to do so, the companies said on Tuesday. Waymo, which along with Google is owned by Alphabet Inc, recently has been quietly testing the service for a handful of families, learning what potential customers would want from a ride service, the company said in a blog post. It urged people to apply to take part in an expanded test, which is the first public trial of Waymo''s self-driving cars. The vehicles include human operators from Waymo behind the wheel, in case intervention is required and to take feedback. Silicon Valley is racing to master self-driving technology, betting that it will transform the auto industry and be a gold mine for leading companies. Waymo has one of the best technology track records, and it has an alliance with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Many companies expect that customers will use autonomous vehicles as a service, rather than owning them outright. Ride service Uber in particular expects to use autonomous cars. The new Waymo test in Arizona is meant to help the company understand what people want out of self-driving cars and see how they use and integrate the service. Testers will get access every day at any time. Waymo already has with 100 Chrysler Pacifica minivans and is acquiring five times more, partly to be able to support the service. (Reporting by Peter Henderson; Editing by Mary Milliken)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/alphabet-fiat-chrysler-autonomous-idUSL1N1HX00V'|'2017-04-25T15:01:00.000+03:00' +'7a84d5ea550a5e71bed71b4e5dbb48f9cd2669b1'|'Allergan, Argentum settle patent dispute over eye drug Restasis'|'Health News - Tue Apr 18, 2017 - 4:54pm EDT Allergan, Argentum settle patent dispute over eye drug Restasis The Allergan logo is seen in this photo illustration November 23, 2015. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration/File Photo U.S. generic drug company Argentum Pharmaceuticals LLC said on Tuesday it had reached an agreement with Allergan Plc that settles a patent dispute over the generic version of Allergan''s eye drug, Restasis. The agreement gives Argentum the right to sell the copycat version of Restasis before the patents covering the drug expire, Argentum said. It did not disclose when it would launch the generic product. Restasis, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2002, is used to treat dry eye. (Reporting by Divya Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-allergan-settlement-argentum-idUSKBN17K2HG'|'2017-04-19T04:51:00.000+03:00' +'6ada69248b8d29323806b0c7af73613ed8f7e8a0'|'Federal Reserve approves United Bankshares buyout of Cardinal Bank'|'Deals - Fri Apr 7, 2017 - 4:23pm EDT Federal Reserve approves United Bankshares buyout of Cardinal Bank WASHINGTON The Federal Reserve on Friday said it approved a buyout of Cardinal Financial Corp [CFNLCD.UL] of McLean, Virginia, by United Bankshares Inc ( UBSI.O ) of Charleston, West Virginia. UBV Holding Company, LLC of Fairfax, Virginia, was also part of the acquisition of Cardinal Financial which includes Cardinal Bank. (Reporting By Patrick Rucker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cardinal-finl-m-a-united-bankshare-idUSKBN17931C'|'2017-04-08T04:20:00.000+03:00' +'0584bce97a006fd5a7e7136be655458b8eeea74f'|'GLOBAL MARKETS-Oil rises on Syria attack, dollar shrugs off jobs report'|' 12pm EDT GLOBAL MARKETS-Oil rises on Syria attack, dollar shrugs off jobs report (Adds U.S. market open, dateline, byline; previous LONDON) * Jobs report surprises but viewed as weather related * Oil rises after U.S. attacks Syria air base * Europe stocks rise, Wall Street trades flat By Herbert Lash NEW YORK, April 7 Oil traded near a one-month high on Friday after the U.S. missile strike on a Syrian air base while the dollar rose as investors dismissed a weak U.S. jobs report as not enough to derail a strong economy or outlook for rising interest rates. The toughest U.S. action in Syria''s six-year-old civil war raised geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East and initially hit assets such as equities and oil. Gold, a safe-haven asset, climbed to a five-month high and benchmark U.S. Treasury yields briefly slid to four-month lows. U.S. crude rose 51 cents to $52.21 a barrel and Brent was last up 39 cents to $55.28. Spot gold added 1.2 percent to $1,265.70 an ounce. Investors still expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates twice more in 2017 as the unemployment rate in the jobs report declined to 4.5 percent from 4.7 percent in February. "As long as we see the unemployment rate decline, we will see more rate hikes," said Cathy Barrera, chief economic adviser at ZipRecuiter in New York. News of the U.S. cruise missile strikes on the Syrian air base at first sent global stocks lower, but most losses were pared after U.S. officials described the attack as a one-off event that would not lead to wider escalation. Stock market indexes rebounded to close higher in Europe and traded flat on Wall Street where a dismal U.S. jobs reports gave investors a reason to pause. jobs last month, the Labor Department said. A major snow storm dubbed Stella in the Northeast during the week in March of the employment survey led to a step-down in hiring. "Our thinking is that there is nothing wrong with the labor market, other than the timing of Stella," said Phil Orlando, chief equity strategist at Federated Investors in New York. U.S. corporate profits for the first quarter will be up 9 percent to 10 percent from a year earlier, and give the market a lift when earnings season begins next week, he said. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.06 points, or 0.01 percent, to 20,661.89. The S&P 500 lost 0.89 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2,356.6 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 5.26 points, or 0.09 percent, to 5,873.69. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 0.11 percent to close at a provisional 1,501.61, while MSCI''s gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.06 percent. The drop in the unemployment rate suggested the labor market was still tightening and does not change the outlook for bonds. U.S. 10- and seven-year yields briefly hit 2.269 percent and 2.072 percent, respectively, their lowest since Nov. 18, 2016. U.S. 30-year yields touched 2.939 percent, their lowest since mid-January. "There was a bit of a knee-jerk reaction to the headline," said Mark Cabana, head of U.S. short rates strategy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York. (Reporting by Herbert Lash; Editing by Bernadette Baum)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/global-markets-idUSL8N1HF4RS'|'2017-04-08T00:12:00.000+03:00' +'9a03f9239c1f18e4c27eadd53d174e904f28f175'|'EMERGING MARKETS-U.S. yield fall helps emerging markets snap losing streak'|'Company News 47am EDT EMERGING MARKETS-U.S. yield fall helps emerging markets snap losing streak By Sujata Rao - LONDON, April 12 LONDON, April 12 Emerging stocks snapped out of this year''s longest losing streak on Wednesday, rising 0.3 percent as a fall in U.S. Treasury yields towards five-month lows offset jitters around Syria and North Korea. Emerging stocks had fallen for four days in a row amid a standoff between Russia and West over Syria, jitters around French elections and North Korea''s nuclear threat. But some of those trades unravelled, with the South Korean won rising after six sessions in the red, MSCI''s emerging market index gaining and the recent Japanese yen rally boosting other Asian currencies. Even the Turkish lira and the South African rand touched one-week highs despite Turkey heading into a weekend referendum over expanding presidential powers and South Africa being hit by a spate of rating downgrades. "While headline news suggest a risk-off environment, it is not the ordinary risk-off in the world of FX," ING analysts said, noting the resilience of high-yielding currencies. "An equally important driver of FX markets seems to be dollar softness due to lower Treasury yields that is partly outweighing concerns about geopolitics." Investors have also noted the improvement in emerging growth and company earnings. The Institute of International Finance on Tuesday noted emerging economies likely expanded by 4.5 percent in the first quarter, higher than previously forecast. "Emerging markets have been strengthening from the fundamental case for several months. We made the decision back in September that emerging GDP growth rates ... were re-accelerating, so we thought we were back in a bullish cycle," Bryan Carter, head of emerging debt at BNP Paribas Investment Partners, said. The Russian rouble was lifted 0.2 percent thanks to higher oil prices, while local stocks also rose. But markets were eyeing an upcoming news conference by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, after the two sides traded accusations over last week''s deadly poison gas attack in Syria. Ten-year bond yields approached one-month highs, standing 20 basis points above recent three-year lows before an auction of 40 billion roubles ($704.16 million) in OFZ bonds. Russian five-year credit default swaps inched to the highest level since end-March at 173 bps, according to IHS Markit. The Czech crown was steady around 26.6 per euro, off 3-1/2-year highs hit on Monday after authorities scrapped its 27-per-euro cap. One-month euro-Czech volatility, a gauge of expected currency swings, slipped off recent two-year highs . Bond markets are focusing on Saudi Arabia''s sukuk, expected to be the largest ever Islamic issue. While initial guidance was 20 bps above Saudi''s conventional bonds, it is likely to end up almost flat to the curve, players say. Later on Wednesday, Brazil''s central bank may speed up monetary easing. Most of the 47 economists polled by Reuters predicted a 100 bps cut to 11.25 percent and one forecast a 125 bps cut. Ten-year yields, which recently touched 3-1/2-year lows, are down almost 200 bps this year. For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2e7eoml For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2dZbdP5 For CENTRAL EUROPE market report, see For TURKISH market report, see For RUSSIAN market report, see) Emerging Markets Prices from Reuters Equities Latest Net Chg % Chg % Chg on year Morgan Stanley Emrg Mkt Indx 959.97 +5.53 +0.58 +11.33 Czech Rep 984.47 -8.48 -0.85 +6.82 Poland 2219.46 -2.36 -0.11 +13.94 Hungary 32369.60 +170.45 +0.53 +1.15 Romania 8208.15 +7.97 +0.10 +15.85 Greece 678.73 -1.33 -0.20 +5.45 Russia 1097.76 +6.68 +0.61 -4.74 South Africa 47078.98 +321.44 +0.69 +7.24 Turkey 91165.62 +261.13 +0.29 +16.67 China 3273.83 -15.14 -0.46 +5.48 India 29733.88 -54.47 -0.18 +11.67 Currencies Latest Prev Local Local close currency currency'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-idUSL8N1HK129'|'2017-04-12T16:47:00.000+03:00' +'21b86f736bf09cc9c2af940c9509de0f9a8e521c'|'Daimler reports first-quarter EBIT up 87 percent in surprise release'|'FRANKFURT Daimler AG''s ( DAIGn.DE ) operating profit jumped a better-than-expected 87 percent in the first quarter, the German luxury carmaker said in an unscheduled release late on Tuesday.The maker of Mercedes-Benz cars and trucks said group earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) jumped to 4.01 billion euros ($4.25 billion), "significantly above market expectation" and up from 2.15 billion euros a year ago, citing unaudited figures.Two analysts providing estimates for a Thomson Reuters consensus had forecast just over 3 billion euros on average for the quarter.The company is scheduled to release its quarterly financial report on April 26.EBIT at the Mercedes-Benz Cars unit rose 60 percent to 2.23 billion euros while combined EBIT from trucks, vans and buses rose 27 percent to 1.09 billion euros.In late March the company said it expected record sales volumes for its Mercedes-Benz Cars division in the first quarter.(Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Larry King and Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/daimler-results-idINKBN17D2QX'|'2017-04-11T19:56:00.000+03:00' +'621fc0ac58f2cbe84c0a4359a22887eeb83929a1'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Mexico peso pares losses ahead of intervention'|'Company News - Tue Apr 4, 2017 - 1:48pm EDT EMERGING MARKETS-Mexico peso pares losses ahead of intervention By Bruno Federowski SAO PAULO, April 4 The Mexican peso pared losses on Tuesday after the country''s central bank announced it would intervene in the foreign exchange market in an effort to ease pressure on the currency. The Mexican central bank said it would sell up to $200 million worth of currency hedging instruments to roll over papers set to expire on Wednesday, just ahead of a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The bank had originally issued the instruments as a way to stem the peso''s slide following the U.S. election of Trump, who pledged to scrap trade agreements with Mexico. The peso has since rebounded as those concerns eased, with investors betting that he would not impose big tariffs on Mexican exports to the United States. Still, it remained the biggest decliner among Latin American currencies, weakening nearly 1 percent following a 10 percent increase so far this year. Most Latin American currencies slipped ahead of Trump''s meeting with Xi, which Trump has said "will be a very difficult one." He has held out the possibility of using trade as a lever to secure China''s cooperation against North Korea at the Thursday-Friday meeting. Argentina''s benchmark stock index rose 0.7 percent, touching a record high for the sixth straight trading day, after agency S&P raised the country''s sovereign rating by a notch to B from B-. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1715 GMT: Stock indexes Latest Daily YTD pct pct change change MSCI Emerging Markets 963.58 -0.16 11.93 MSCI LatAm 2,661.99 0.17 13.54 Brazil Bovespa 65,469.14 0.4 8.70 Mexico IPC 49,165.72 0.71 7.72 Chile IPSA 4,801.89 0.22 15.67 Chile IGPA 24,051.51 0.16 16.00 Argentina MerVal 20,713.12 0.73 22.43 Colombia IGBC 10,155.24 -0.18 0.27 Venezuela IBC 45,739.70 3.99 44.27 Currencies Latest Daily YTD pct pct change change Brazil real 3.1180 -0.16 4.21 Mexico peso 18.8355 -0.87 10.13 Chile peso 660.4 -0.33 1.56 Colombia peso 2,867 -0.06 4.69 Peru sol 3.25 0.00 5.05 Argentina peso (interbank) 15.3550 0.28 3.39 Argentina peso (parallel) 15.88 0.69 5.92 (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Diane Craft) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-latam-idUSL2N1HC1GA'|'2017-04-05T01:48:00.000+03:00' +'cbf0d401703446e19b9fc072fa27741f8dce0bfe'|'Liberty House bids to buy iron ore assets in Minnesota'|' 07pm BST Liberty House bids to buy iron ore assets in Minnesota Sanjeev Gupta, executive chairman of Liberty House Group, poses for a photo at the companys Dubai office, UAE June 19, 2016. REUTERS/David French British metals group Liberty House is bidding to buy U.S.-based Mesabi Metallics Co LLC and ESML Holding Inc, as it seeks to boost its presence in North America. The bid is being made by GFG Alliance, a group that includes Liberty House and resources and energy firm SIMEC Group, GFG Alliance said on Tuesday. The assets being bid for include a 7 million tonnes-a-year iron ore pellet plant in Nashwauk, Minnesota that has the potential to produce up to 14 million tonnes a year, GFG Alliance said. London-based Liberty said last week it agreed to buy the Georgetown Steelworks plant from Arcelor Mittal ( ISPA.AS ) in its first major U.S. acquisition. (Reporting by Ahmed Farhatha in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-libertyhouse-m-a-usa-idUKKBN17R2EH'|'2017-04-26T02:07:00.000+03:00' +'8056171a9efa0c526da79fa23eba01930412c0d7'|'OPEC''s war on oil overhang starts to bear fruit'|' 28pm BST OPEC''s war on oil overhang starts to bear fruit A flag with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) logo is seen before a news conference at OPEC''s headquarters in Vienna, Austria December 10, 2016. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader By Libby George and Ahmad Ghaddar - LONDON LONDON OPEC appears to be slowly winning the battle against a global overhang of crude and oil products as inventories in onshore and floating storage decline. The price of oil may not reflect this just yet, as Brent crude futures LCOc1 are struggling to recover its losses for the year to date and break above $55 a barrel. But there is no doubt that stocks are falling around the world, from Saldanha Bay in South Africa, to the Caribbean. A persistent glut of Nigerian oil is easing and even Iran has liquidated the amount of crude held in floating storage. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries explicitly said a joint deal with non-OPEC producers to cut some 1.8 million bpd in the first half of 2017 was aimed at slashing an excess of around 300 million barrels of crude and petroleum products in OECD stocks. "Across the first quarter of the year, crude stocks built by much less than they did in the first quarter of last year even though refinery maintenance globally was much heavier," Energy Aspects analyst Richard Mallinson said. Iran has sold all the oil it had stored for years at sea and Tehran is now struggling to keep exports growing as it grapples with production constraints. Trading giant Vitol has sold millions of barrels of Nigerian crude oil from storage in South Africa''s Saldanha Bay, according to oil traders, with cargoes sailing for Taiwan, India, the United States and Europe. France''s Total ( TOTF.PA ) has offered a further 2 million barrels of Nigerian Escravos oil from its own Saldanha Bay storage tanks, while sources said trader Mercuria had also been offering oil from storage. At the same time, Nigeria''s new loading programmes are finding buyers at a reasonable pace in stark contrast to the past two years, when any sales from storage put immense downward pressure on prices for newly loaded cargoes. Nordic bank SEB said global oil inventories in weekly data have dropped by 42 million barrels in the last four weeks. "Rising U.S. crude oil stocks have created some confusion so far this year, but they are a function of reduced U.S. refining activity on the one hand and U.S. crude oil imports on the other," SEB said. Mallinson said OPEC ministers meeting in late May will not have a full picture of world stocks due to a lag in reporting from major agencies including the International Energy Agency. "It is going to take some time of all of the pieces of that inventory picture to become clearer." PRODUCT DRAW Stocks of oil products are also steadily drawing down. According to consultants FGE, total main product stocks levels in the United States, Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp independent storage and Singapore and Japan have declined by 6.5 million barrels, in the week to March 13 (latest full data available) to 631 million barrels. The weekly data hit an all-time high of just over 679 million barrels in February 2016, FGE said. If the declines continue, FGE said global product stocks could hit the top of the 10-year range, or 611 million barrels, in just three weeks. Still, they cautioned that much of the product strength was seasonal, and related to maintenance shutdowns that also diminished consumption of crude oil. This bullishness towards oil products has seen huge amounts of gasoline leaving Europe, and has hindered diesel shipments into the region, which has boosted margins and encouraged refineries to run as quickly as they can. Still, Hamza Khan, head of commodities strategy with Dutch bank ING, said normal seasonal draws on oil products, at the tail end of refinery maintenance season, could be creating a mirage of a tight market. "Is this due to the reasonable cuts? Or is it due to seasonal draws on crude?" Khan said, adding that with Asian refineries in their month of heavy maintenance, cleared cargoes from storage may not have been processed yet. "The key question is whether it''s being consumed or whether it''s pushed into somewhere else," he said. In the United States "refineries are already running at 91 percent of capacity, how much more crude can they burn?" (Editing by David Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-oil-opec-storage-idUKKBN17D1M7'|'2017-04-11T21:28:00.000+03:00' +'df09954b89e1bfa0c85966f33432c5bd3259d4ef'|'EURO DEBT SUPPLY-Four euro zone countries to sell bonds next week'|'LONDON, April 13 At least four countries in the euro area are scheduled to sell bonds next week.* On Tuesday, Slovakia will offer two bonds due in 2026 and 2031.* Germany, the bloc''s benchmark bond issuer, on Wednesday will auction 1 billion euros of bonds maturing in 2044.* France and Spain are expected to sell bonds on Thursday, with details of the auctions yet to be released.(Reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe, Editing by Abhinav Ramnarayan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/eurozone-bonds-outlook-idINL8N1HL1MJ'|'2017-04-13T07:13:00.000+03:00' +'6e449dc3f5b491fb323301764648c1596a5b0f46'|'BRIEF-Seek Ltd says Zhaopin signs merger agreement'|' 32pm EDT BRIEF-Seek Ltd says Zhaopin signs merger agreement April 7 Seek Ltd: * Zhaopin signs merger agreement between Seek, Hillhouse Capital Management and Fountainvest Partners * Buyer group will acquire all of outstanding shares of Zhaopin for total consideration equal to US$18.20 per American depositary share of company * Consideration will be in form of a special dividend, which will be a minimum US$0.56 and maximum US$2.70 per ads and an additional cash payment * If completed, merger will result in Zhaopin becoming a privately-held company and adss will no longer be listed on NYSE Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-seek-ltd-says-zhaopin-signs-merger-idUSFWN1HE0RS'|'2017-04-07T06:32:00.000+03:00' +'40e3491d9c4b8e78837b6a117266cbc3c7d4a24e'|'German minister, labour reps welcome PSA work contract assurances for Opel merger'|'Deals - Wed Apr 5, 2017 - 1:06pm BST German minister, labor reps welcome PSA work contract assurances for Opel merger German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries meets Chairman of the Managing Board of French carmaker PSA Group Carlos Tavares in Berlin, Germany, April 5, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch BERLIN Germany''s economy minister said she had held constructive talks with PSA Chairman Carlos Tavares on Wednesday about the planned merger of the French group with Germany''s Opel and felt reassured that existing labor deals would remain. Germany has welcomed the merger, provided the Opel brand stays independent and the merged group respects existing labor agreements, protects Opel sites and gives job guarantees. "I particularly welcome the commitment by Mr Tavares to respect and continue all the collective agreements," said minister Brigitte Zypries in a statement. "The federal government and federal states will continue to lend their constructive support to the process of merging PSA and Opel/Vauxhall," she added. Tavares said he had reaffirmed PSA''s ambition to "build on the quality of relations with employee representatives as a key factor of success of the company". (Reporting by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Michelle Martin) Next In Deals Toshiba''s Westinghouse fired chairman two days before bankruptcy filing TOKYO Westinghouse Electric Co LLC fired its chairman two days before the U.S. nuclear engineering unit of Toshiba Corp filed for bankruptcy last week, as the Japanese firm tries to draw a line under the travails of a business that has cost it billions. JAB Holding to buy bakery chain Panera Bread in $7.5 billion deal JAB Holdings, the owner of Caribou Coffee and Peet''s Coffee & Tea, said on Wednesday it would buy U.S. bakery chain Panera Bread Co in a deal valued at about $7.5 billion, including debt, as it expands its coffee and breakfast empire. SYDNEY Blackstone Group has put an A$3.5 billion ($2.65 billion) shopping mall portfolio in Australia up for sale, said a source familiar with the matter, in what could be one of the country''s largest ever real estate transactions. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-opel-m-a-psa-germany-idUKKBN1771IH'|'2017-04-05T20:02:00.000+03:00' +'2892ad48ab58c57add98988089de6980f88520d4'|'Buffett''s Berkshire, Chinese property portal Juwai.com team up'|'Business News - Mon Apr 17, 2017 - 4:04pm BST Buffett''s Berkshire, Chinese property portal Juwai.com team up Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices on Monday said it entered a marketing agreement with Juwai.com, China''s largest international property website, to attract wealthy Chinese buyers looking to purchase homes in the United States. The real estate affiliate of billionaire investor Warren Buffett''s Berkshire Hathaway Inc ( BRKa.N ) said the agreement will allow the roughly 2 million monthly users of Juwai.com and Juwai.com/luxe to browse its franchisees'' residential listings. Gino Blefari, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices'' chief executive, in a statement said the Chinese are the leading buyers of U.S. property apart from Americans, and the agreement with Juwai.com will make it "much easier" for them to shop. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices may also be hoping to benefit from Buffett''s popularity in China. The 86-year-old "Oracle of Omaha" recently let Coca-Cola Co ( KO.N ) put his smiling likeness on cans of Cherry Coke, which he drinks often, in China. He is also providing real-time translation only in Mandarin for the May 6 webcast of Berkshire''s annual shareholder meeting and the firm is a large investor in Chinese car company BYD Co ( 1211.HK ). Berkshire''s HomeServices of America Inc, the second-largest U.S. residential real estate brokerage, is the majority owner of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Dan Grebler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-berkshire-hatha-juwai-com-idUKKBN17J15Q'|'2017-04-17T23:04:00.000+03:00' +'5a35755ee8895f0dc6acbe6b6ae101c1fc6d4154'|'Skype founder Zennstrom invests in water-saving shower company Orbital Systems'|'STOCKHOLM Orbital Systems, which makes water-saving showers, said on Wednesday it had raised 15 million pounds ($18.7 million) from a group of investors including its board member Niklas Zennstrom, co-founder of Skype, to finance its expansion plans.Founded five years ago by Chief Executive Mehrdad Mahdjoubi, who initially developed its water-recycling technique for NASA''s Mars mission project, the company said its investors also included fashion retailer H&M''s ( HMb.ST ) Chief Executive Karl-Johan Persson.Sweden-based Orbital has so far raised a total of 25 million pounds from backers including former Tesla ( TSLA.O ) executive Peter Carlsson, also a board member.It says its shower, which via a built-in purification system reuses the same batch of water over and over again, enables water savings of 90 percent compared with a conventional shower."For our next growth phase we''ll focus on getting Orbital showers into every home that wants to save on ... water, energy and money," Mahdjoubi said in a statement.($1 = 0.8043 pounds)(Reporting by Helena Soderpalm; Editing by Anna Ringstrom and David Holmes)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-orbitalsystems-funding-idINKBN17E0SS'|'2017-04-12T06:08:00.000+03:00' +'dfeb09c3e9cba2125fe767182315b7f7a7dfe569'|'MetLife asks court to halt ''too big to fail'' case during Trump review'|'WASHINGTON MetLife Inc ( MET.N ) is asking a U.S. court to put on pause a case over how the government deems certain companies "too big to fail," one of the most significant reforms to come out of the financial crisis, while President Donald Trump''s administration finishes reviewing the current regulatory approach.In March 2016 U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer struck down the government''s designation of MetLife as "systemically important," saying it was "arbitrary and capricious" in assessing the risks to the financial system of a possible failure by the largest U.S. life insurer.The government, under former President Barack Obama, a Democrat, immediately appealed and the two sides squared off in court last October, with a decision expected next month.Some companies are wary of the "too big to fail" designation because it forces them to hold on to capital and creates extra oversight they say is burdensome.Last week, Trump ordered a review of the Financial Stability Oversight Council made up of the country''s top financial regulators and how it makes the designations.MetLife said in its filing the review could prompt the Trump administration to reconsider the case and whether "it is appropriate for the government to continue pressing this appeal.""At a minimum, the findings of the forthcoming report may substantially illuminate this courts consideration of the issues on appeal," the company wrote.Two of the three judges on the panel considering the case were appointed by Obama, who signed the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law that created designations with the intent of preventing a repeat of the 2007-2009 financial crisis, when the government injected billions of dollars into failing banks and other companies in order to keep the financial system afloat.The court appeared more sympathetic to FSOC''s arguments than Collyer, who said it should have analyzed costs and benefits to MetLife, the likelihood MetLife would fail and possible counterparty losses. Whoever loses the appeal had been expected to take the case to the Supreme Court. However, Trump''s review and MetLife''s Monday motion now cast doubt on that possibility.The U.S. Treasury did not respond to a request for comment. Its secretary, Steve Mnuchin, is overseeing the review as chair of the FSOC.The only nonbanks carrying the "too big to fail" label are American International Group ( AIG.N ), which received a $182 billion bailout during the crisis, and Prudential Insurance ( PRU.N ). MetLife is not considered designated during the appeal.(Editing by Matthew Lewis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-metlife-trump-idUSKBN17Q27M'|'2017-04-25T04:54:00.000+03:00' +'13b3c33649564f1882c6e7f5cf0a0219dfdd74f3'|'Toshiba to seek loan support from creditor banks Tuesday - sources'|'Business 30am BST Toshiba to seek loan support from creditor banks Tuesday - sources The logo of Toshiba Corp is seen behind a traffic signal at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan January 27, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai TOKYO Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) will A Toshiba spokeswoman confirmed the company will hold the meeting, but declined to disclose the agenda. Toshiba management has so far failed to gain creditors'' support for the request, which it also made last month. The collateral offer also includes shares in group companies such as Toshiba Tec Corp ( 6588.T ), sources told Reuters in March. Some smaller creditors have balked at the offer, as bigger lenders are seen receiving the most valuable chip unit shares as collateral, the sources have said. Shares in Toshiba plunged for the second consecutive day after Reuters reported the troubled Japanese conglomerate would likely miss a third deadline to report its quarterly business results. The shares dived more than 10 percent in Tuesday morning trade, following a 5.5 percent drop the previous day. A third postponement of the October-December earnings, currently due on April 11, looks necessary because Toshiba''s auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers Aarata LLC, has questions about results for the business year through March 2016, sources have told Reuters. Asked about Toshiba''s potential delay, Japanese Trade Minister Hiroshige Seko told reporters that it''s important for listed companies to have sufficient information disclosure and to ensure effective corporate governance. (Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Additional reporting by Makiko Yamazaki and Ami Miyazaki; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Randy Fabi) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting-banks-idUKKBN17605L'|'2017-04-04T10:30:00.000+03:00' +'eda8f8fe7fa57e826ed846ecbc3a403ddd6ca36d'|'Linde board still equally divided on Praxair merger: source'|'MUNICH, Germany The labor and capital representatives on Linde''s ( LING.DE ) supervisory board remain committed to their opposing positions over a planned merger with Praxair ( PX.N ), a supervisory board source told Reuters after a board meeting on Thursday."No concessions were made," the source said.The German and U.S. industrial gases groups have agreed to pursue a merger of equals and are hammering out terms of a business combination agreement, but labor representatives are opposing the deal because it would dilute their influence.(Writing by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Ludwig Burger and Kathrin Jones)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-linde-m-a-praxair-idUSKBN1781R5'|'2017-04-06T17:37:00.000+03:00' +'b437fe6ad92836dc6e3d5a387decb3ec49c7b8c5'|'Euro zone recovery on track despite political uncertainty - ECB''s Draghi'|' 2:14pm BST Euro zone recovery on track despite political uncertainty - ECB''s Draghi Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank (ECB) speaks during a news conference at the ECB headquarters in Frankfurt April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT The recovery of the euro zone''s economy will stay on track this year although heightened political uncertainty around the globe is likely to persist, the president of the European Central Bank said in its annual report. "Political uncertainty is likely to persist into 2017. But we remain confident that the economic recovery, buoyed by our monetary policy, will continue," Mario Draghi wrote in the report, published on Monday. The ECB has cut its main policy rate to zero and has purchased bonds worth trillions of euros in the aftermath of the 2007-09 financial crisis. The central bank has to decide later this year if it wants to wind down its money-printing from January, a policy action its critics - mainly in the bloc''s powerhouse Germany - have long been asking for. Draghi gave no hints about the ECB''s future monetary policy steps in the annual report, but repeated that the central bank would stick to its mandate to maintain price stability in the 19-member currency union. (Reporting by Andreas Framke; editing by Andrew Roche)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-draghi-idUKKBN17C1GJ'|'2017-04-10T21:14:00.000+03:00' +'bd8e1aa72f6f62cd0f6712c25954f416b4de70b1'|'Elbit Systems U.S. unit wins $50 million Navy contract'|'TEL AVIV Israeli defense electronics firm Elbit Systems ( ESLT.TA ) said on Sunday its U.S. subsidiary won a contract worth about $50 million from the U.S. Navy to provide the Helmet Display and Tracker System for the MH-60S fleet of helicopters.The work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and completed by June 2021. The contract is for an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity and an initial order of $14.2 million was received.(Reporting by Tova Cohen, Editing by Ari Rabinovitch)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-elbit-systems-contract-idINKBN174071'|'2017-04-02T06:17:00.000+03:00' +'bd7666eb3547f64f1c9410373cd78e49827881f2'|'Brazil''s Vale says 260,000 tns iron ore on sunken ship was insured'|'Company 41pm EDT Brazil''s Vale says 260,000 tns iron ore on sunken ship was insured SAO PAULO, April 3 Brazilian miner Vale SA said on Monday that 260,000 tonnes of fine iron ore on a South Korean ship that sank in the South Atlantic had been insured. Vale said in an email that the cargo, which belonged to the Brazilian miner, was bound for China for storage and blending when the ship operated by South Korea''s Polaris Shipping, Stellar Daisy, sank off Uruguay''s coast. Vale said the cargo had been stowed in accordance with international norms. (Reporting by Roberto Samora; Writing by Brad Haynes; Editing by Daniel Flynn) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/southkorea-ship-idUSE6N1FG01R'|'2017-04-04T02:41:00.000+03:00' +'4aa21517b2367a9b1c5f86af016c64442274f7e0'|'Retailer Marks & Spencer says plans to close 6 British stores'|'Business 11:08am BST Retailer Marks & Spencer says plans to close six British stores FILE PHOTO - Pedestrians walk past a branch of Marks & Spencer in northwest London, Britain July 8, 2014. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo LONDON British retailer Marks & Spencer ( MKS.L ) said on Thursday it planned to close six stores as part of a review of its UK estate that was first detailed last year. It said if the six stores were closed all 380 employees affected would be guaranteed redeployment at a nearby store. M&S said in November it planned to close about 30 UK stores selling clothing, homewares and food and downsize or convert another 45 into food stores over five years. That will mean a reduction of 10 percent in floorspace devoted to racks of skirts, jumpers, trousers and towels. After taking account of store openings in under-served areas a net 60 fewer UK stores will be selling the full M&S range by 2021, it said. M&S also said on Thursday it will open 34 new food stores and two clothing, home and food stores over the next six months, creating 1,400 jobs. The retailer currently has 959 UK stores 304 full line stores, 615 food-only stores and 40 outlets. (Reporting by James Davey; editing by Kate Holton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-marks-spencer-stores-idUKKBN17M0XO'|'2017-04-20T17:05:00.000+03:00' +'b0d985e6496264e0a0e83d40fd16070600a7086a'|'Post-Brexit-vote surge for UK economy comes to an end - Business'|'Worries that the UK economy is losing steam as Brexit negotiations begin were underscored on Friday by news of a housing market slowdown, a drop in industrial output and the weakest performance in a year for the construction industry.Economists said there was growing evidence that the UK economy slipped down a gear as it entered the new year, following a strong finish to 2016 that had confounded the doomsayers predicting a post-Brexit-vote slump.Now, 10 months on from the vote to leave the EU, economic indicators point to strains on companies from higher costs as the pounds slump makes imported materials and fuels more expensive. Consumers, the main driving force of UK economic growth, are also under pressure from rising inflation , with signs they are becoming less willing to spend in shops, restaurants and bars.The latest official figures for February painted a picture of economic growth easing after the robust 0.7% expansion in the final three months of 2016. The Office for National Statistics commented: Todays data show that overall UK economic activity was relatively subdued in February, following strong growth across the headline industries at the end of 2016.The National Institute of Economic and Social Research said growth probably slipped to 0.5% in the first quarter, based on its its analysis of the latest official figures.A key component of this moderation has been relatively weak retail sales in the first two months of this year. Consumption is expected to moderate further this year as increasing inflation erodes households purchasing power, said James Warren, research fellow at the thinktank.As a result, the Bank of England was likely to ignore rising price pressures from the weak pound in favour of shoring up growth and so would be in no hurry to raise interest rates from their all-time low of 0.25% , he added.ONS (@ONS) Economic activity was relatively subdued in Feb, following strong growth across key industries at the end of 2016 https://t.co/quM5OtzuBO April 7, 2017 The ONS figures will disappoint those commentators who hoped a boost to exports from the weak pound would offset the slowdown in consumer spending this year as households grapple with the double whammy of rising prices and sluggish pay growth . The Banks governor, Mark Carney, said on Friday there were signs that strong consumer demand was coming off slowly. Thats what we expect but well monitor it and ensure that we chart the right path, he added at an event in London.The pound is down about 17% against the dollar and 11% against the euro since the referendum, making UK goods and services significantly cheaper to overseas buyers. A pound was worth just under $1.24 on Friday as the downbeat economic figures prompted investors to downgrade their view of the UKs prospects.There has been some evidence of a boost to exports from the weaker pound but the latest trade figures showed Britains deficit for goods and services trade widened in February as exports fell and imports rose.The deficit on goods alone widened to 12.5bn from 12bn in January and was significantly deeper than the 10.9bn forecast in a Reuters poll of economists. The ONS cautioned, however, that the widening was mainly down to an increase in imports of erratic goods, a category that includes big items such as ships and aircraft and those with irregular trading patterns such as precious stones and gold.Its figures for industrial production showed output fell 0.7% in February as warmer weather knocked household energy demand. That drop defied economists forecasts of a 0.2% rise. Within the industrial sector, manufacturing output dipped 0.1%, also missing forecasts for a 0.3% rise. But Jack Coy at the Centre for Economics and Business Research consultancy said there was still a good chance manufacturing could help shore up the wider economy this year. Boosted by increased competitiveness from the weaker pound, manufacturers are enjoying bright prospects and strong order books. Furthermore, the exchange rate effect is likely to be magnified by strong demand in key export markets, he said.Figures for the construction sector showed output fell 1.7% in February on the back of weaker infrastructure work and housebuilding. It was the biggest drop for almost a year and worse than forecasts for output to hold steady. The ONS said monthly construction figures were prone to swings and it noted three-month on three-month figures showed output continued to rise.UK house prices slide for first time in almost two years, says Nationwide Read more There were also fresh signs of a housing market slowdown as Halifax, Britains biggest mortgage lender, reported house prices were rising at their slowest annual pace for almost four years. They were up 3.8% in the three months to March compared with a year earlier. Its now incontrovertible that the housing market has slowed sharply this year, indicating that the monetary policy committees interest rate cut in August provided only a temporary stimulus to demand, said Samuel Tombs at the consultancy Pantheon Macroeconomics.Topics Economics Economic growth (GDP) EU referendum and Brexit Housing market Construction industry news '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/apr/07/post-brexit-vote-surge-for-uk-economy-comes-to-an-end'|'2017-04-08T01:34:00.000+03:00' +'4593fa76966dc098a57c36903ad0e8a5a95ce46b'|'BlackRock holds Larry Fink''s pay nearly flat in 2016'|'NEW YORK, April 13 BlackRock Inc, the world''s largest asset manager, held total compensation for Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink nearly flat in 2016, according to a filing on Thursday.Fink was awarded $25.5 million in compensation last year, compared with $25.8 million in 2015, based on a calculation of his pay according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission guidelines.(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/blackrock-compensation-ceo-idINFWN1HL0L3'|'2017-04-13T18:47:00.000+03:00' +'8dcdbb0cef38aa87f987960dffde78b8bfc95c6b'|'RPT-In Indonesia, labour friction and politics fan anti-Chinese sentiment'|'(Repeats Tuesday''s story, no change in text)* China investment in Indonesia at record high* Chinese companies prefer their own workers* Jakarta election raises fears about anti-Chinese feeling* Visa-free travel helps Chinese bring in workers-union leader* Student vigilantes rounded up workers at Sulawesi smeltersBy Eveline Danubrata and Gayatri SuroyoJAKARTA, April 18 A bitterly fought election to govern Indonesia''s capital that has fanned religious tensions has also thrown a spotlight on anti-foreign sentiment, as conspiracy theories swirl about an influx of illegal Chinese workers spurring vigilantism.Foreign direct investment from China hit a record high of $2.67 billion last year after President Joko Widodo rolled out the red carpet to Chinese investors, who are typically willing to take on risks for infrastructure and other big projects.But the cheap funding comes at a price: Chinese companies often bring in their own workers and machines, creating friction with locals, according to interviews with labour groups, company executives and government officials.Indonesian investment chief Thomas Lembong said a "freak-out over foreign workers" had been politicised, fuelling tensions surrounding the Jakarta poll, which pits the ethnic Chinese Christian incumbent Basuki Tjahaja Purnama against a Muslim rival.Purnama is backed by Widodo''s ruling party and Lembong said the issue of anti-foreign and - in particular anti-Chinese - sentiment had been harnessed by rivals of the government."It''s part of a broader effort to turn political sentiment anti-foreigner and anti-Chinese at a time when Chinese investment is poised to be the biggest factor driving the Asian economy," Lembong told Reuters.The number of Chinese work permit holders jumped 30 percent in the past two years to 21,271 in 2016, the latest data from Indonesia''s manpower ministry showed. In comparison, there were 12,490 from Japan and 2,812 from the United States last year.While the issue had been compounded by discredited reports circulating on social media claiming that 10 million Chinese workers had flooded Indonesia, labour unions still dispute official figures.Chinese companies have been mis-using a visa-free route meant for tourists to bring in "hundreds of thousands" of low-skilled Chinese workers, said labour leader Said Iqbal.Since February, the Confederation of Indonesian Workers'' Union (KSPI) has been compiling unofficial data on Chinese workers suspected of not having proper documentation and it has asked the manpower ministry to take action, he said."Local unskilled labour cannot work because the jobs have been filled by the Chinese," the KSPI''s Iqbal told Reuters.Liky Sutikno, the Beijing-based chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce in China, said some Chinese companies temporarily bring in their own "technical workers", who would return to China once the local teams take over.These workers may have a better knowledge of products and processes, on top of being faster in executing steps such as installing machinery, Sutikno said.VIGILANTISMLate last year, around 150 college students on Sulawesi island, where several Chinese smelters are being built, stopped vehicles they suspected of carrying illegal Chinese workers and brought them to the authorities.The group planned more raids this year, said Erik, one of the students, who declined to give his full name.Maruli Hasoloan, a manpower ministry official, acknowledged some labour friction and vigilantism over the past few months. While the ministry was coordinating with other authorities to prevent any abuse of visa-free entry, it does not condone a vigilante crackdown on foreign workers, he added.Indonesia has suffered bouts of anti-Chinese and anti-communist sentiment over its history, though this has usually been directed at its minority ethnic Chinese community.On average, Indonesian Chinese are far wealthier than other ethnic groups. During riots leading to the fall of President Suharto in May 1998, ethnic Chinese were targeted, making up many of around 1,000 people who were killed in the violence.Under Suharto, Chinese culture and language were severely restricted, but at the same time he cultivated some ethnic Chinese businessmen who became hugely rich.UGLIER MOODThe capital Jakarta has seen a series of mass rallies led by hardline Islamists calling for Purnama, Jakarta''s first Christian and Chinese governor, to be jailed even as he was put on trial over allegations that he had insulted the Koran.Purnama, who is competing against former education minister Anies Baswedan, denies what are regarded by critics as politicised charges.While it is too soon to assess whether all this could have an impact on Chinese investment decisions, some Chinese business groups say they are worried about the uglier mood and also about potentially losing a business-friendly leader of Jakarta.Many Chinese companies favour Purnama for his perceived ability to execute Widodo''s infrastructure reform agenda, which is aligned with Chinese President Xi Jinping''s "One Belt, One Road" policy to invest billions of dollars in global projects. Jakarta, a city of more than 10 million people, accounts for nearly a fifth of national economic output and is home to major construction projects including a $5 billion Chinese-backed rail connecting the capital to the West Java city of Bandung.The anti-Purnama movement has also revived jitters about the racial and religious under-currents in Indonesia, which has the world''s largest Muslim population."Chinese concern is stability and consistency of the rule of law," Sutikno said. "What they are scared of the most is a repeat of 1998, that the Chinese will be singled out again." (Additional reporting by Agustinus Beo Da Costa, John Chalmers, Fransiska Nangoy, Hidayat Setiaji and Wilda Asmarini; Editing by Ed Davies and Bill Tarrant)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/indonesia-election-china-idINL3N1HQ62Z'|'2017-04-18T21:46:00.000+03:00' +'4e1786b8ab879b10c69df30b65398df78657689f'|'CANADA STOCKS-Futures lower ahead of Bank of Canada''s rate decision'|'Company News - Wed Apr 12, 2017 - 7:39am EDT CANADA STOCKS-Futures lower ahead of Bank of Canada''s rate decision April 12 Canada''s main stock index was set for a slightly lower start on Wednesday as investors awaited the Bank of Canada''s interest rate decision. The central bank is widely expected to hold rates at 0.50 percent, where they have stayed since the bank cut twice in 2015. June futures on the S&P TSX index were down 0.12 percent at 7:15 a.m. ET. The interest rate decision, which is due at 10:00 a.m. ET, will be followed by Governor Stephen Poloz''s press conference. Later in the day, Poloz and Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Wilkins will testify before a House of Commons committee on finance. The Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index ended barely lower on Tuesday as financial stocks weighed, while a flight to safety helped gold miners and shares of Bombardier Inc jumped on reports it was discussing a merger of rail operations with Siemens. Dow Jones Industrial Average e-mini futures were down 0.02 percent at 7:15 a.m. ET, while S&P 500 e-mini futures were down 0.07 percent and Nasdaq 100 e-mini futures were down 0.05 percent. (Morning News Call newsletter here ; The Day Ahead newsletter here ) TOP STORIES Shaw Communications reported a 13.3 percent rise in quarterly revenue, driven by the addition of more wireless customers. Private equity firm Waterous Energy Fund is seeking investment opportunities in the Canadian oil and gas sector as valuations turn attractive after a prolonged slump in the oil price, making a contrarian bet as global players pull back, its top executive said. ANALYST RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS Capstone Mining Corp: TD Securities raises rating to "buy" from "hold" TFI International Inc: National Bank Financial cuts target price to C$37 from C$40 COMMODITIES AT 7:15 a.m. ET Gold futures: $1272.6; +0.11 percent US crude: $53.63; +0.43 percent Brent crude: $56.51; +0.5 percent LME 3-month copper: $5701; -1.14 percent U.S. ECONOMIC DATA DUE ON WEDNESDAY 08:30 Import prices mm for Mar: Expected -0.2 pct; Prior 0.2 pct 08:30 Export prices mm for Mar: Expected 0.1 pct; Prior 0.3 pct 11:00 TR IPSOS PCSI for Apr: Prior 58.84 14:00 Federal budget for Mar: Expected -$167.0 bln; Prior -$192.0 bln FOR CANADIAN MARKETS NEWS, CLICK ON CODES: TSX market report Canadian dollar and bonds report Reuters global stocks poll for Canada Canadian markets directory ($1= C$1.33) (Reporting by Nikhil Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-idUSL3N1HK3UB'|'2017-04-12T19:39:00.000+03:00' +'1fad59a7252577eb53fcb30bd7a816251449cace'|'Dutch Economic Affairs minister says still opposed to Akzo Nobel takeover'|'Business News - Tue Apr 25, 2017 - 10:25am BST Dutch Economic Affairs minister says still opposed to Akzo Nobel takeover FILE PHOTO: AkzoNobel''s logo is seen in Amsterdam, Netherlands, February 16, 2012. REUTERS/Robin van Lonkhuijsen/United Photos/File Photo AMSTERDAM Dutch Economic Affairs Minister Henk Kamp repeated his opposition to a takeover of paint maker Akzo Nobel ( AKZO.AS ) on Tuesday, saying he did not care that U.S. rival PPG Industries ( PPG.N ) had raised its offer. "Whether the offer is low or high, that doesn''t change my opinion," Kamp said in an interview with BNR radio. "For the Dutch (economy), it''s good that the leadership of Akzo Nobel, both the management board and the supervisory board, is planning to remain independent, and I support that." Akzo has said that it is studying PPG''s latest proposal, which values the company at around 26.9 billion euros (22.83 billion). (Reporting by Toby Sterling; editing by Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-akzo-nobel-m-a-ppg-inds-minister-idUKKBN17R0YS'|'2017-04-25T17:25:00.000+03:00' +'95aed20f092dadff9c7e97639c6ff71b12463736'|'PRECIOUS-Gold hits 1-week high on geopolitical worries, weaker dollar'|'Company News - Mon Apr 3, 2017 - 9:22pm EDT PRECIOUS-Gold hits 1-week high on geopolitical worries, weaker dollar April 4 Gold prices hit one-week highs on Tuesday, buoyed by a weaker dollar and as investors turned to safe-haven assets on worries over geopolitical tensions. FUNDAMENTALS * Spot gold had risen 0.3 percent to $1,255.96 per ounce by 0058 GMT, while U.S. gold futures were up 0.4 percent at $1,258.40. * Investor appetite for risk has been dulled this week by a number of factors, such as caution ahead of the upcoming meeting between U.S. President Donald trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping and a suspected suicide bombing in St. Petersburg, Russia. * A measure of U.S. manufacturing activity retreated from a 2-1/2 year high in March amid a decline in production and an inventory drawdown, but a surge in factory jobs indicated that the sector''s energy-led recovery was gaining momentum. * Factories across Europe and much of Asia posted another month of solid growth in March, rounding off a strong quarter for manufacturers, even though exporters fear a rise in U.S. protectionism could snuff out a global trade recovery. * From bank runs to credit crunches, regulators and investors are asking French banks about their preparations for any market ructions that might be caused by Marine Le Pen faring better than expected in the presidential election, banking sources said. * Global debt rose to 325 percent of the world''s gross domestic product in 2016, totalling $215 trillion, an Institute for International Finance report released on Monday showed, boosted by the rapid growth of issuance in emerging markets. * Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust , the world''s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, climbed 0.53 percent to 836.77 tonnes on Monday from 832.32 tonnes on Friday. * South Africa''s Harmony Gold said on Monday a labour court had declared the ongoing wildcat strike at its Kusasalethu mine "unprotected" and required employees, who downed tools two-weeks ago, to return to work. * German precious metals group Heraeus said on Monday it had taken full control of Swiss gold and silver processor Argor-Heraeus. * West Africa-focused Avocet Mining Plc named Boudewijn Wentink as its new chief executive officer with immediate effect, as it seeks to refinance and restructure the company. DATA AHEAD (GMT) 0900 Euro zone Retail sales Feb 1230 U.S. International trade Feb 1345 U.S. ISM-New York index Mar 1400 U.S. Factory orders Feb (Reporting by Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru; Editing by Joseph Radford) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/global-precious-idUSL3N1HC07F'|'2017-04-04T09:22:00.000+03:00' +'8d89fd738cd9963a4706bfdd020de83429de4c44'|'BRIEF-Allergan says it has entered into a clinical trial agreement with Novartis to conduct a phase 2b study'|'United States 21am EDT BRIEF-Allergan says it has entered into a clinical trial agreement with Novartis to conduct a phase 2b study April 18 Allergan Plc * Announced it has entered into a clinical trial agreement with Novartis to conduct a phase 2b study, using Allergan''s Cenicriviroc * Financial details of this transaction are not disclosed * Phase 2b study will assess safety, efficacy and tolerability of this multi-therapy treatment approach for NASH Source text for Eikon:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-allergan-says-it-has-entered-into-idUSFWN1HP0IB'|'2017-04-18T13:21:00.000+03:00' +'0a142cb5de187bad4f2ab207ab9bf68ae0359b5c'|'Asian stocks extend gains on bullish Wall Street, euro steady'|'Business News 17am EDT World stocks advance on earnings, tax hopes People walk through the lobby of the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 25, 2015. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File photo By Chuck Mikolajczak - NEW YORK NEW YORK Equities in major markets touched a record for a third straight session on Wednesday as U.S. shares rose on strong earnings and the prospect of tax cuts, while the euro pulled back after two days of strong gains. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, who is leading U.S. President Donald Trump''s effort to craft a tax package that can pass Congress, described the plan as the "the biggest tax cut" in U.S. history and said he hoped it would attract broad support. "We have a pretty good idea that he (Trump) is targeting lower corporate taxes, lower individual taxes and a simplification of the process, but all that is in an ideal world," said Andre Bakhos, managing director at Janlyn Capital in Bernardsville, New Jersey. Thermo Fisher Electron ( TMO.N ), up 4.4 percent, and Edwards Lifesciences ( EW.N ), up 9.5 percent, were the biggest boosts to the benchmark S&P 500 index after results. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 33.93 points, or 0.16 percent, to 21,030.05, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 5.04 points, or 0.21 percent, to 2,393.65 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 5.39 points, or 0.09 percent, to 6,030.88. European shares are at 20-month highs during a three-day rally sparked by centrist Emmanuel Macron''s win in the first round of French presidential elections, which considerably reduced the risk of a French exit from the single currency. Higher-than-expected earnings also helped European stocks reverse early falls and move higher. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 rose 0.46 percent, to touch its highest level since August 2015. MSCI''s gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD PUS gained 0.17 percent after hitting a high of 456.97, to set a record for a third straight session. Overall, first-quarter earnings for STOXX 600 companies were expected to rise 5.5 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data. In comparison, S&P 500 companies in the U.S. are expected to show 11.4-percent earnings growth expected for quarter. The euro EUR= was down 0.46 percent to $1.0875 after strengthening by more than 2 percent in the prior two sessions in the wake of the first round of French elections. The threat of a U.S. government shutdown this weekend also receded after Trump backed away from demanding that Congress include funding for his planned border wall with Mexico in a spending bill. U.S. Treasury prices were little changed ahead of the tax announcement after paring steep losses sustained in the last few sessions. Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last rose 2/32 in price to yield 2.3215 percent, from 2.329 percent late on Tuesday. Oil prices LCOc1 reversed course and turned higher after data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed a bigger-than-expected draw in crude inventories. U.S. crude CLcv1 rose 0.69 percent to $49.90 per barrel and Brent LCOcv1 was last at $52.14, up 0.08 percent on the day. Investors were also looking ahead to Thursday''s policy meeting of the European Central Bank. While no changes are expected, policymakers see scope for sending a small signal in June towards reducing monetary stimulus, according to sources, another factor underpinning the single currency. (Additional reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan; Editing by Nick Zieminski)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUSKBN17S035'|'2017-04-26T08:57:00.000+03:00' +'143e3d18844a991927c0c6c200ca17fb6066fce0'|'World trade seen growing 2.4 percent in 2017, uncertainty weighs - WTO'|' 12:20pm BST World trade seen growing 2.4 percent in 2017, uncertainty weighs - WTO left right World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Roberto Azevedo attends a news conference on world trade figure for 2016 and forecast for 2017 in Geneva, Switzerland, April 12, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse 1/2 left right World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Roberto Azevedo attends a news conference on world trade figure for 2016 and forecast for 2017 in Geneva, Switzerland, April 12, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse 2/2 By Stephanie Nebehay - GENEVA GENEVA World trade is on track to expand by 2.4 percent this year, though there is "deep uncertainty" about economic and policy developments, particularly in the United States, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Wednesday. WTO director-general Roberto Azevedo said that clarity was still needed on U.S. President Donald Trump''s trade policies, while making a general appeal to resist protectionism. The results of upcoming elections in major economies including France should provide more predictability for investors, he said. The range for growth this year has been adjusted to between 1.8 and 3.6 percent, from 1.8 to 3.1 percent last September, the WTO said. "We should see trade as part of the solution to economic difficulties, not part of the problem," Azevedo said. "Overall I think that while there are some reasons for cautious optimism, trade growth remains fragile and there are considerable risks on the downside. Much of the uncertainty around the outlook is political," he told a news conference. "We need to keep strengthening the system, delivering new reforms, and resisting the erection of new barriers to trade." The WTO has repeatedly revised preliminary estimates over the past five years as predictions of economic recovery prove overly optimistic. Global trade grew by "an usually low" 1.3 percent in 2016, the slowest pace since the financial crisis, failing to match even its revised forecast of 1.7 percent of last September. "The poor performance over the year was largely due to a significant slowdown in emerging markets where imports basically stagnated last year, barely growing in volume terms," Azevedo said. In 2018, global trade is forecast to grow by between 2.1 percent and 4 percent in WTO''s latest analysis. "A spike in inflation leading to higher interest rates, tighter fiscal policies and the imposition of measures to curtail trade could all undermine higher trade growth over the next two years," it warned. Trump has made reducing U.S. trade deficits a key focus of his economic agenda to try to grow American manufacturing jobs. He has taken particular aim at renegotiating trade relationships with China and Mexico. He is considering an executive order to launch a trade investigation that could lead to supplemental duties in certain product categories, a Trump administration official told Reuters on Monday. "If policymakers attempt to address job losses at home with severe restrictions on imports, trade cannot help boost growth and may even constitute a drag on the recovery," Azevedo said. He awaited confirmation of the new U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) nominee Richard Lighthizer - who has pledged an "America First" strategy to aggressively enforce U.S. laws and trade deals to stop unfair imports and push China to scrap excess factory capacity. "We are waiting to see the new trade team really in place, waiting for the new USTR to be confirmed so that we can have a more meaningful dialogue at this point in time we don''t have that. We are still waiting to see how the trade policy itself is going to shape up in the United States." (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Andrew Heavens)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-economy-trade-idUKKBN17E1D0'|'2017-04-12T19:20:00.000+03:00' +'155979df0993810ba38324703251d264d862051f'|'Harker still backs two more Fed rate hikes this year'|' 8:13pm BST Harker still backs two more Fed rate hikes this year FILE PHOTO: A man walks past the Federal Reserve Bank in Washington, D.C., U.S. December 16, 2015. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo PHILADELPHIA The Federal Reserve should plan to raise interest rates twice more this year so to avoid getting behind the curve but also to avoid rushing its tightening plans, Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker repeated on Monday. "I still think that''s the right call," he said of the pace of rate hikes, which is in line with the median Fed forecasts, and which he called "gradual." "I don''t want to get behind the curve, but I don''t think we need to rush, either," he added in a speech at the University of Pennsylvania on digital money. The U.S. central bank raised rates a notch in March, its second such move in three months, in a nod to steady jobs growth and signs that inflation may be on the upswing. Harker is one of 10 voters on monetary policy this year, under a rotation. (Reporting by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli) Imagination Technologies'' shares plunge 70 percent after Apple ditches firm LONDON Imagination Technologies has been told by Apple, its biggest customer, that the maker of iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches is to stop using its graphics technology in its new products, sending shares in the company crashing by more than 70 percent on Monday. BP BP Plc has '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-fed-harker-idUKKBN1752A6'|'2017-04-04T03:13:00.000+03:00' +'93c07847af7e482d5c0d06b30650bcd75b109e58'|'Italy''s Atlantia taps pool of banks to finance Abertis'' bid - sources'|'Deals - Thu Apr 27, 2017 - 4:12pm EDT Atlantia presses ahead with Abertis tie-up plans after motorway stake sale The logo Spanish infrastructure company Abertis is seen outside his main office in Madrid, Spain, June 1, 2016. REUTERS/Sergio Perez By Pamela Barbaglia and Stephen Jewkes - LONDON/MILAN LONDON/MILAN Italy''s Atlantia ( ATL.MI ) has agreed to sell 10 percent of its domestic motorway unit to a series of investors including Allianz ( ALVG.DE ) for 1.48 billion euros ($1.6 billion) as it presses ahead with plans to bid for Spanish rival Abertis. A tie-up between Abertis ( ABE.MC ) and Atlantia would create one of the biggest infrastructure groups in Europe, generating around 60 percent of its core profit outside Italy. Rome-based Atlantia, which is 30 percent controlled by the Benetton family, has for some time been looking for ways to beef up its foreign business and diversify away from Italy. In a statement on Thursday Atlantia confirmed its interest in its Spanish rival and said it would consider a bid on condition the deal was friendly and created shareholder value. Earlier on Thursday, sources said Atlantia had tapped banks to finance an upcoming cash-and-share bid for Abertis. Atlantia''s advisers Credit Suisse ( CSGN.S ) and Mediobanca ( MDBI.MI ) and Abertis'' adviser Citi ( C.N ) have committed to provide financing for the transaction with a formal bid expected to be announced as soon as next week, the sources said. The pool of financing banks will also include Italian lenders UniCredit ( CRDI.MI ) and Intesa Sanpaolo ( ISP.MI ) and France''s BNP Paribas ( BNPP.PA ), the sources said. The overall financing package is estimated to be worth more than 10 billion euros, two of the sources said, with one adding it could involve a consortium of about 10 banks. Spain''s Santander ( SAN.MC ) and France''s Credit Agricole ( CAGR.PA ) are also expected to take part in the financing, the sources said. Spokesmen at Abertis, Mediobanca, UniCredit, Intesa, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse and Santander declined to comment while Atlantia, Citi and Credit Agricole were not immediately available. EUROPEAN CHAMPION Atlantia, which operates Rome''s two airports and around 5,000 km of toll motorways, has long been trying to lure its Spanish rival to the negotiating table, sources said. But Barcelona-based Abertis, a crown jewel of Catalonia, has only recently started contemplating the possibility of a sale to enable the business to cope with domestic challenges including a series of concessions that will soon expire, the sources said. By 2021 Abertis will lose up to 1,000 km of toll roads in Spain, which run along the Mediterranean coast and around Seville, representing around 10 percent of the group''s business. Earlier this month Atlantia CEO Giovanni Castellucci said he did not see a need to sell any of Abertis''s assets to fund a tie-up between the two. But sources said the Italian toll-road operator would use the proceeds from the sale of the stake in its Autostrade per l''Italia (ASPI) unit to finance the deal. Atlantia said on Thursday it had agreed to sell 5 percent of ASPI to a consortium 74 percent-led by Allianz Capital Partners and also including EDF Invest and DIF Infrastructure IV. The consortium has an option to buy a further 2.5 percent by end October, it said. A further 5 percent of ASPI was sold to China''s Silk Road Fund. Atlantia, which said the sale generated a gain of 736 million euros, was advised by Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley, while legal advice was provided by Bonelli Erede. Allianz, EDF and DIF were advised by Rothschild and Cleary Gottlieb. (Additional reporting by Francesca Landini in Milan, Stefano Bernabei in Rome and Robert Hetz and Andres Gonzalez in Madrid; Editing by Rachel Armstrong, Elaine Hardcastle and David Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-abertis-m-a-atlantia-idUSKBN17T1MT'|'2017-04-27T19:23:00.000+03:00' +'f85f62816c0a784696f96845959955a7a96d4aaf'|'British clothes retailer Jaeger set for creditor protection - source'|' 25pm BST British clothes retailer Jaeger set for creditor protection - source LONDON Jaeger, whose clothes were worn by Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn, has filed an intention to enter administration, putting some 700 jobs at risk in the latest blow to the British retailer founded in 1884. A person familiar with the situation told Reuters on Friday that Jaeger had filed the notice to enter a form of creditor protection to buy it some breathing space after investment group Better Capital sold the retailer''s debt to another company. Jaeger, which has been linked with many major events in British history, fell into administration in 2012 before being bought by Better Capital. The source said that Jaeger, which declined to comment, needed to establish the intentions of its new debt owner and to look for alternative options. From providing clothing for Ernest Shackleton''s Antarctic expedition, to donating blankets during the First World War and supplying uniforms for Olympic opening parades, Jaeger is perhaps best known for dressing some of the most famous women in the world in the 1950s and 1960s. But the company, known for its long woollen coats and classic suits, has struggled in recent decades to stand out on the British high street and has been forced to repeatedly discount stock in a bid to prop up sales. Earlier this week a second source confirmed that Better Capital had sold Jaeger''s debt to an unnamed company and its directors had stepped down. (Reporting by Kate Holton; editing by Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-jaeger-administration-idUKKBN17926V'|'2017-04-07T22:25:00.000+03:00' +'0e18d2a8e6c5f6e8281e8af1917cfa6732579df6'|'Deutsche Boerse to buy back 200 million euros in shares'|' 44pm EDT Deutsche Boerse to buy back 200 million euros in shares FRANKFURT, April 26 Deutsche Boerse said on Wednesday that it planned to buy back shares totaling around 200 million euros ($218 million) in the second half of this year. The exchange operator said that it will fund the buyback with proceeds generated from its 2016 sale of International Securities Exchange to Nasdaq for about 1 billion euros. "Besides the planned share buybacks, the company intends to use these funds primarily for organic as well as value accretive external growth," the company said in a statement. ($1 = 0.9174 euros) (Reporting by Tom Sims; Editing by Arno Schuetze)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/deutsche-boerse-buyback-idUSASM000AWA'|'2017-04-27T02:44:00.000+03:00' +'d87e9e21bd8486b47183160d87bd47a4e613ea1d'|'PRESS DIGEST- Canada - April 12'|' 6:46am EDT PRESS DIGEST- Canada - April 12 April 12 The following are the top stories from selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. THE GLOBE AND MAIL ** A landmark deal between TransCanada Corp and Western Canadian natural gas companies for discounted, long-distance pipeline transport comes "just in time" to help stave off some competition from increasing U.S. production, says one of the key backers of the agreement. tgam.ca/2p4Zs0j ** British Columbia Liberal Leader Christy Clark has launched the 41st general election in British Columbia, laying out a simple campaign theme that she is counting on voters to favour on May 9 that only her party will keep the province''s economy strong and job opportunities growing. tgam.ca/2p4TcWw ** Canadian oil producers are confident in Alberta''s oil sands projects as a long-term play, betting that consolidation and a homegrown focus will drive down operating costs and make the industry more competitive as foreign players retreat. tgam.ca/2p4HhI1 NATIONAL POST ** Cenovus Energy Inc CEO Brian Ferguson says the company is encouraged by the interest in its asset divestiture plan to fund part of the mega C$17.7 billion ($13.29 billion)deal to buy ConocoPhillips'' Canadian assets, which should help improve investor sentiment around the acquisition. bit.ly/2p4YRf4 ** Pembina Pipeline Corp plans to build a propane export terminal in Prince Rupert, British Columbia where major liquefied natural gas export projects have stalled in recent years. bit.ly/2p4HIlD ** Canadian oilsands producers worried about international capital fleeing to the U.S. should take heart from the long-term attractiveness of the reserves, according to a senior think-tank advisor. bit.ly/2p4Ti0t ($1 = C$1.33) (Compiled by Shalini Nagarajan in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/press-digest-canada-idUSL3N1HK3QB'|'2017-04-12T18:46:00.000+03:00' +'f7fffa39082816cbe6da4ed3bb5c87be021b0b72'|'Australia''s TPG Telecom says to pay $945 million for mobile airspace'|'Business News - Wed Apr 12, 2017 - 1:15am BST Australia''s TPG Telecom says to pay $945 million for mobile airspace SYDNEY Australia''s TPG Telecom Ltd ( TPM.AX ) said it will pay the federal government A$1.26 billion (761.79 million pounds) for mobile phone airspace and spend another A$600 million to build a network, enabling it to bring its services to 80 percent of the population. TPG, 34 percent owned by Malaysia-born entrepreneur David Teoh, added that it plans to raise A$400 million in a rights issue to pay down debt and allow it to re-draw the cash to pay for the three-year infrastructure build. ($1 = 1.3328 Australian dollars)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-tpg-telecom-infrastructure-idUKKBN17E00Q'|'2017-04-12T08:15:00.000+03:00' +'d5ae8ca6b8238b9094e96e87208d8a2dceac0e93'|'S.Africa''s Sibanye shareholders approve $2.2 bln Stillwater takeover'|'Market News - Tue Apr 25, 2017 - 5:51am EDT S.Africa''s Sibanye shareholders approve $2.2 bln Stillwater takeover JOHANNESBURG, April 25 Sibanye Gold''s shareholders on Tuesday approved the South African miner''s $2.2 billion buyout of U.S.-based Stillwater Mining < SWC.N>, moving it a step closer to significantly boosting its platinum portfolio. About 82 percent of Sibanye shareholders voted in favour of the deal which will cement South Africa''s grip on global supply of platinum and advance Chief Executive Neal Froneman''s push to diversify away from gold and South Africa. "We thank our shareholders for their support for this transaction which represents a unique and transformative opportunity to acquire world class, low-cost international PGM assets," Chief Executive Neal Froneman said. Sibanye, which was spun off from Gold Fields in 2013, last year bought Aquarius Platinum and Anglo American Platinum''s mines in Rustenburg. The Stillwater deal is its first venture beyond South Africa. Stillwater, which operates in Montana, is the only U.S. miner of platinum group metals (PGM) and the largest primary producer of PGMs outside South Africa and Russia. Stillwater''s shareholders are due to meet on Tuesday to vote on the transaction. Sibanye said it would fund the deal with a combination of debt and new equity. It expects the tranches of capital to be raised by the end of June. ($1 = 13.0376 rand) (Reporting by Olwethu Boso; editing by Jason Neely) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/stillwater-minng-ma-sibanye-gold-idUSL8N1HX27E'|'2017-04-25T17:51:00.000+03:00' +'2f13bd634fa506a2123821ddc5aeffa48bff20e7'|'Exclusive: Embraer, Rockwell Collins eye shared remote sensing portfolio'|'By Brad Haynes - RIO DE JANEIRO RIO DE JANEIRO U.S. aviation electronics maker Rockwell Collins Inc ( COL.N ) and Brazil''s Embraer SA ( EMBR3.SA ) will assess each other''s remote sensing and border control technology for possible joint sales, a senior executive for the Brazilian planemaker told Reuters.Jackson Schneider, chief executive of Embraer''s defense division, said subsidiaries Bradar and Savis could eventually include Rockwell Collins products into their portfolios or have their technology included in the U.S. partner''s offerings."Right now we''re not identifying specific programs (for sales)," Schneider said in an interview on the eve of the LAAD defense expo in Rio de Janeiro, which opens Tuesday. "They''re looking at our best products for their international portfolio and we''re going to do the same for theirs here in Brazil."Schneider did not provide an estimate for the value of the joint sales. Rockwell Collins could not be immediately reached for a comment outside business hours.International partnerships are common in the aerospace industry, especially on defense contracts where strategic relationships with governments are key. Embraer has partnered in recent years with Boeing Co ( BA.N ) to sell and support the KC-390 military cargo jet and with Israel''s Elbit Systems Ltd ( ESLT.TA ) to study a potential joint venture to build drones.One outlet for the new Rockwell Collins partnership could be the Brazilian government''s SISFRON program, which is aimed at securing long stretches of the country''s remote 17,000 km (10,500 mile) border against arms and drug trafficking.Embraer''s subsidiaries have completed about 70 percent of the initial SISFRON contract, Schneider said, adding he was watching whether a federal spending freeze would hit the 450 million reais ($145 million) earmarked for the program in 2017.He declined to comment on the chances of a much-discussed second phase for the program.Joint sales with Rockwell Collins could open new markets to Embraer''s fledgling defense portfolio, which grew as Brazil''s military spending surged early this decade before the government delayed or scaled back several programs due to a deep recession.International sales are now crucial to extending the horizon of several defense programs, such as the KC-390 military transport aircraft under development for Brazil''s Air Force.Schneider said 20 international delegations at LAAD, Latin America''s biggest defense and security expo, expressed interest in visiting a prototype of the KC-390 at a nearby air base."We''re working actively to close a foreign sale of the KC-390," Schneider said, declining to name the countries closest to such a deal or specify a timeline for negotiations.(Reporting by Brad Haynes; Editing by Himani Sarkar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-defense-embraer-idINKBN17614O'|'2017-04-04T15:22:00.000+03:00' +'676d02759783d9cc18f2671bb868af1cf08a3d77'|'Netflix clinches licensing deal with China''s iQiyi.com'|'BEIJING Netflix is to introduce original content in China in a licensing deal with local video streaming service iQiyi.com, the U.S. company said on Tuesday.Netflix has struggled to break into the Chinese market, where streaming services are subject to strict data storage regulations and foreign films and television are routinely censored.Content air times will parallel other regions, a spokeswoman said, who declined to say comment further on the tie-up.Netflix has played down the possibility of its entry into China in the past year despite its otherwise rapid global expansion.In October co-founder and Chief Executive Reed Hastings said that prospects for a direct streaming service in the country were slim, and the firm had made no progress in obtaining government approvals.iQiyi.com is one of China''s largest streaming services and is backed by search giant Baidu Inc. In February it raised 1.53 billion to take on local rivals in a hotly contested market.This month Netflix forecast a global increase of 3.2 million subscribers in the second quarter, far outpacing analysts'' estimates of nearly 2.4 million.(Reporting by Cate Cadell)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-netflix-china-idINKBN17R1A1'|'2017-04-25T09:14:00.000+03:00' +'8982d4692a281617f7b291ac326714fc25bfdf29'|'MOVES-JPMorgan hires Goldman execs to beef up Australia operations'|'Company News - Thu Apr 27, 2017 - 11:53am EDT MOVES-JPMorgan hires Goldman execs to beef up Australia operations April 27 JPMorgan Chase & Co hired three Goldman Sachs executives to strengthen its operations in Australia and New Zealand, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters. JPMorgan named Andrew Tanner and Steve Maartensz as co-heads of equity distribution and Dyson Bowditch as head of syndicate for Australia and New Zealand. All the three new hires will be joining the bank at the end of July. (Reporting by Divya Grover in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/jpmorgan-moves-idUSL4N1HZ651'|'2017-04-27T23:53:00.000+03:00' +'c12df8591b0b1644013273f56e411fa75b622b06'|'BRIEF-Northisle Copper and Gold amends private placements'|' 38pm EDT BRIEF-Northisle Copper and Gold amends private placements April 7 Northisle Copper and Gold Inc * Northisle Copper and Gold Inc. amends private placements * Northisle Copper and Gold Inc - Will now be raising up to $1.5 million by way of non-brokered private placements Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-northisle-copper-and-gold-amends-p-idUSFWN1HF0YZ'|'2017-04-08T05:38:00.000+03:00' +'e6f08255862462a48ef64f91c67d5e437d29c592'|'French utility EDF says notified of a strike on Wednesday'|' 9:03am BST French utility EDF says notified of a strike on Wednesday The logo of France''s state-owned electricity company EDF is seen on the company''s headquarters in Paris, France, November 24, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Platiau PARIS French state-controlled utility EDF ( EDF.PA ) said Tuesday it had received notice of a strike by workers at its electricity production units starting on Wednesday April 12 at 0500 GMT. The company did not say how many employees would down tools nor what impact it would have on electricity production. Workers in the French gas and electricity sector have carried out weekly rolling strikes since January to protest against wage freezes and cuts in benefits in the sector. EDF also said in a separate note on its website that hydro-electric power production had been cut by 114 megawatts on Tuesday due to strike action. (Reporting by Bate Felix; Editing by Gus Trompiz)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-power-strike-idUKKBN17D0RN'|'2017-04-11T16:03:00.000+03:00' +'ddf05b089a399b0bbf74fea1a23f3fdeb0bfd928'|'Elliott is close to triggering special Akzo shareholder meeting: sources - Reuters'|'By Greg Roumeliotis Hedge fund Elliott Advisors is close to securing support from enough Akzo Nobel NV ( AKZO.AS ) investors to call for an extraordinary general meeting of the Dutch paint maker''s shareholders, according to people familiar with the matter.Elliott is hoping the move will add to pressure on Akzo to negotiate a potential sale to U.S. coatings manufacturer PPG Industries Inc ( PPG.N ). Akzo rejected a sweetened 22.4 billion euro ($24 billion) cash-and-stock offer from PPG last month, and has resisted engaging in deal talks.While Akzo is due to hold its regular annual general meeting on April 25, an extraordinary general meeting would allow shareholders to remove Akzo supervisory board and management board members.Akzo shareholders must hold in total at least 10 percent of the company''s issued stock to be able to convene an extraordinary general meeting, which would then take a few weeks to organize.Elliott, which owns a little more than 3 percent of Akzo, is close to mustering support from enough investors to reach the 10 percent threshold and may trigger an extraordinary general meeting within days, the sources said this week.The sources asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential. Elliott, Akzo Nobel and PPG did not respond to requests for comment.Akzo has scheduled an investor day for April 19, which it will use to provide updated financial guidance and argue that its standalone operational plan, which calls for shedding its specialty chemicals business, will deliver more value with less risk than a merger with PPG.Akzo is considering spinning off its specialty chemical unit, but it is also mulling a sale after fielding acquisition interest in that business, which could fetch between $9 billion and $10 billion in a sale, according to the sources.Private equity firms and smaller companies seeking to team up with buyout firms to make offers will participate in a sale process for the specialty chemicals unit, the sources said.PPG''s Akzo bid is a major test for PPG Chief Executive Michael McGarry. PPG shares are up 16 percent since he became CEO in September 2015. In comparison, the S&P 500 specialty chemicals index is up 21 percent.In private meetings with shareholders, Akzo has cited McGarry''s track record, as well as the antitrust risks of a potential merger, as a reason why a deal with PPG would be risky, according to the sources.PPG is waiting for Akzo to come under more shareholder pressure before making a new acquisition offer, one of the sources said.(Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Additional reporting by Toby Sterling in Amsterdam; Editing by Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-akzonobel-m-a-ppg-idINKBN17E02A'|'2017-04-11T22:40:00.000+03:00' +'e18c632ec7ffec5d9a7f34a7caa01de21e749eae'|'BRIEF-Allergan completes Zeltiq acquisition'|'Company 8:54am EDT BRIEF-Allergan completes Zeltiq acquisition * Civista bancshares, inc. Announces first quarter 2017 earnings MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories Reuters News Agency - Brand Attribution Guidelines - Careers Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters . Thomson Reuters is the world''s largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-allergan-completes-zeltiq-acquisit-idUSFWN1I00WE'|'2017-04-28T20:54:00.000+03:00' +'eef10216d6628fe0cd2c0e2ca49e823f96225213'|'UPDATE 1-D.R. Horton beats profit estimates; raises revenue forecast'|'(Adds details)April 20 D.R. Horton Inc reported a quarterly profit that beat analysts'' estimates on Thursday, driven by higher home sales, and the largest U.S. homebuilder raised its revenue forecast for the year.An improving job market continues to fuel demand for housing in the United States. Mortgage rates are now climbing higher but are still near historic lows.Orders, an indicator of future revenue for homebuilders, rose 13.8 percent to 13,991 homes in the second quarter ended March 31.The Fort Worth, Texas-based company raised its 2017 revenue forecast to $13.6 billion-$14.0 billion from $13.4 billion-$13.8 billion.D.R. Horton said it expects to sell 44,500-46,000 homes, compared with its previous forecast of 43,500-45,500 homes."The spring selling season is going well," Chairman Donald Horton said.The homebuilder, which mainly sells single-family homes, said it sold 10,685 homes in the quarter, up from 9,262 in the year-earlier period.The company''s net income rose to $229.2 million, or 60 cents per share, from $195.1 million, or 52 cents per share.Home sales rose 17.6 percent to $3.16 billion.Analysts on average had expected a profit of 59 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.Up to Wednesday''s close, the company''s shares had risen 24.2 percent since the start of the year.(Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Edited by Martina D''Couto)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/dr-horton-results-idINL3N1HS42D'|'2017-04-20T09:43:00.000+03:00' +'8521a4ead2f52eb1fb63a8561b6150e4959a1cc6'|'Siemens, SAP sign cooperation deals with Saudi Arabia: officials'|'Technology News - Sun Apr 30, 2017 - 11:15am EDT Siemens, SAP sign cooperation deals with Saudi Arabia: officials left right Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Nayef shakes hands with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a reception ceremony in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia April 30, 2017. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS 1/5 left right Saudi Arabia''s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud stands next to German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a reception ceremony in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia April 30, 2017. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS 2/5 left right Saudi Arabia''s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud stands next to German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a reception ceremony in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia April 30, 2017. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS 3/5 left right Saudi Arabia''s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud meets with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia April 30, 2017. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS 4/5 left right Saudi Arabia''s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (back) attend a deal signing ceremony in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia April 30, 2017. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS 5/5 JEDDAH Saudi Arabia wants German companies Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ) and SAP ( SAPG.DE ) to play an important role in furthering the kingdom''s "digital transformation", company officials said on Sunday during German Chancellor Angela Merkel''s visit to the country. Top executives at the engineering conglomerate and the business software company who were traveling with Merkel signed declarations of intent to work with the Saudi authorities, the officials said. Saudi Arabia is pushing a long-term economic transformation dubbed "Vision 2030" to reduce the country''s reliance on oil, attract investment and improve the lives of its citizens. Siemens signed a framework agreement with the Saudi National Industrial Clusters Development Program (NICDP) which the German group said could lead to equipping infrastructure projects worth at least a billion euros. The company also wants to provide vocational training in Saudi Arabia, while SAP has agreed with the Saudi Ministry of Planning to cooperate on the country''s digitization efforts, officials said. The German business delegation traveling with Merkel on her Gulf visit also includes the chief executives of Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ), national railway operator Deutsche Bahn [DBN.UL] and industrial services group Bilfinger ( GBFG.DE ). (Reporting by Andreas Rinke; Writing by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Greg Mahlich) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-germany-merkel-business-idUSKBN17W0KL'|'2017-04-30T23:15:00.000+03:00' +'860f3b7ce716894e48e617718c5e6aa68691204f'|'UPDATE 1-Hedge fund TCI scathing on Zodiac results, wants Safran deal suspended'|'(Adds Quote: from partner Amouyal)By Tim Hepher and Maiya KeidanPARIS, April 28 Hedge fund TCI Fund Management renewed pressure on France''s Safran to suspend its bid to buy Zodiac Aerospace after the aircraft seats maker issued a second profit warning in as many months.TCI has waged a public campaign to persuade Safran to cancel its proposed $9 billion offer for Zodiac, saying it was overpaying for a struggling company, a view underpinned by Zodiac''s posting of a first-half operating loss."These are disastrous results from Zodiac yet again... Zodiac''s business continues to implode with no sign of recovery," TCI founder Christopher Hohn said in an emailed statement."Zodiac is in serious financial difficulty and we think it needs an emergency rights issue, which would cause the Zodiac share price to fall substantially," he said, adding the appointment of a new special board adviser was a distraction from the company''s problems.TCI partner Jonathan Amouyal told Reuters by phone that despite this, the fund was not ruling out a deal completely."They are paying a top price when the sea of uncertainty could not be any higher... our advice is don''t rush it.""Do more work, let the dust settle, come back in six months'' time, in one year or two years once you have further conviction in your capability to turn it around and then buy it but don''t pay a top price today on top of uncertainty," he said.For its part, Safran on Friday said it would continue talks with Zodiac despite the latter''s profit warning. (Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Andrew Callus and Adrian Croft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/zodiac-aero-ma-results-tci-idINL8N1I02WL'|'2017-04-28T07:37:00.000+03:00' +'b81532a088bc57eb4934379a29ca9eb625e62c29'|'TABLE-German utilities'' plans for new capacity'|'FRANKFURT, April 24 The table below details the building plans of Germany''s power plant operators based on information gathered by industry association BDEW and presented at the annual Hanover industrial fair on Monday. BDEW, which mainly represents power-generating utilities, said 55 units representing around 25,332 megawatts (MW) of capacity could be built in theory. But at the moment, BDEW members have cast doubts on plans for many units due to the largely unprofitable market for conventional plants fired with gas or those using water for pumped storage hydro electricity, BDEW said in related statements. For simplicity, this table shows only projects above 200 MW. A handful of smaller offshore wind and two small gas-to-power plants at Kiel and Mainz are not listed, although they count towards the total number. PROJECTS UNDER CONSTRUCTION, APPROVED OR SEEKING APPROVAL OPERATOR LOCATION FUEL SOURCE CAPACITY (MW) EXPECTED START DATE/STATUS Trianel/EWE Borkum West offshore wind 200 2020** Uniper Datteln 4 hard coal 1,052 no date* Vattenfall Lichterfelde A Berlin gas 300 2018* Iberdrola Wikinger offshore wind 350 2017* OMV Power Intnl Burghausen gas 850 no date** EnBW Karlsruhe RDK 6S gas 465 no date** WPD Kaikas offshore wind max. 664 no date** Vattenfall Klingenberg/Berlin gas 230 no date** Vattenfall Marzahn/Berlin gas 260 2020* E.ON Clim & Ren Arkona offshore wind 385 2019** E.ON Clim / Ren Delta Nordsee 1 offshore wind 288 no date** WV Energie et al Arcadis Ost 1 offshore wind 348 no date** Dong Energy OWP West offshore wind 240 2024** Northland Power Inc./ RWE Innogy Nordsee One offshore wind 332 2017* Northland Power Inc. RWE Innogy Nordsee Two offshore wind ca. 300 no date** Northland Power Inc./ RWE Innogy Nordsee Three offshore wind ca. 360 no date** Partners Group et al Merkur Offshore offshore wind 396 2019** Dong Energy Borkum Riffgrund West1offshore wind ca. 270 no date** Dong Energy Borkum Riffgrund 2 offshore wind 450 2019** Dong Energy Borkum Riffgrund West2offshore wind 240 2024*** WindMW/Blackstone Noerdlicher Grund offshore wind 320 no date** Dong Energy Gode Wind 04 offshore wind ca. 300 no date** Northland Power Inc. Deutsche Bucht offshore wind 252 2019** EnBW He dreiht offshore wind ca. 900 no date** EnBW Hohe See offshore wind 497 2019* STEAG Leverkusen gas 570 no date*** Donaukraftwerk Jochenstein Jochenstein/Riedl pumped storage 300 2019*** Mainz utility Heimbach pumped storage 300 no date*** Trianel Krefeld/Uerdingen gas max. 1,200 no date*** Trier utility Schweich/PSKW-Rio pumped storage ca. 2021*** Trianel Nethe/Hoexter pumped storage 390 2022*** RWE BoAplus NiederaussemL brown coal 1,100 2022 earliest*** Dow Chemicals Stade hard coal/biomass/ hydrogen 1,000 no date*** RWE Power Gersteinwerk Werne-Stockum gas max. 1,300 no date*** EDF Deutschland Premnitz gas 400 no date*** Schluchseewerke Atdorf pumped storage 1,400 no date*** PROJECTS PURELY AT PLANNING STAGE Ulm utility Leipheim airport gas max. 600 no date Trianel Karlsruhe/Oberrhein gas max. 1,200 no date Trianel Gotha/Schmalwasser pumped st ca. 1,000 no date Energieallianz Bayern Jochberg/Walchensee pumped storage 700 no date EnBW Forbach (extension) pumped st 270 no date PQ Energy Griesheim gas ca. 500 no date PQ Energy Gundelfingen gas max. 1,280 no date RWE Power/KGG Gundremmingen gas no entry no date * under construction ** approval obtained *** approval being sought (Reporting by Vera Eckert; Editing by Maria Sheahan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/germany-industry-powerdata-idINL5N1H85ES'|'2017-04-24T07:14:00.000+03:00' +'874709cde2d1bb61f544f211a3f9f24a9afc10a9'|'White House''s Cohn says ''fair trade'' means reciprocal tariffs'|'WASHINGTON The Trump administration wants to tax imports from countries that put tariffs on the United States, said Gary Cohn, director of President Donald Trump''s National Economic Council."Fair means we treat our trading partners the way they treat us," Cohn told a conference on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank''s spring meetings in Washington on Thursday. "If you want to insist on having a tariff on a product, which we prefer you not, the president believes that we should treat you in a reciprocal fashion and that we should tax your product coming into the United States."(Reporting by Jason Lange and Lindsay Dunsmuir; Editing by Andrea Ricci)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-imf-g20-cohn-idINKBN17M2K6'|'2017-04-20T18:02:00.000+03:00' +'fd223733d668bf7e7973044e42a9b166ee117fd8'|'Property agents shut, buyers still hunt as China plans new economic zone'|' 43pm BST Property agents shut, buyers still hunt as China plans new economic zone By Jason Lee and Josephine Mason - XIONGXIAN, China/BEIJING XIONGXIAN, China/BEIJING Real estate agents in Xiongxian county in China''s Hebei province shut up shop on Monday, hours after Beijing ordered a ban on property sales in a frantic effort to curb a sudden housing boom triggered by plans for a new special economic zone. News on Saturday of the government''s ambitious scheme to set up a special economic zone in Hebei province that would be modelled on the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone that helped kickstart China''s economic reforms in 1980 sent bargain-hunters flocking to the 100 square kilometre area. By Sunday, average apartment prices in the region had almost doubled, hotels were full and residents complained about traffic jams as out-of-towners from Beijing and beyond descended on the area 100 km (60 miles) southwest of the capital, the Global Times reported. Hong Kong-listed infrastructure, logistics and building materials shares soared on Monday as investors piled in, betting on a potential boom in business. Mainland markets were closed for a two-day public holiday. Worried about runaway prices, the government slapped an emergency ban on property sales in Xiongxian and Anxin counties, forcing real estate agents to shut and frustrating would-be investors. Officials took to the streets to blast warnings through loudspeakers against illegal speculating. In Xiongxian on Monday, the doors to the Anju property company were sealed by tape declaring "Shut by the government on April 2", while workers dismantled the brown and white store sign for the Qianju real estate company. Still, social media was abuzz about the astonishing price rally and investors'' appetite even before Beijing had laid out concrete details of the development plan. "Housing prices have jumped even before companies and people have committed (to the zone). Does any company dare to invest there after property prices soared?" posted one Weibo user using the name Roumando. The frenzy underscores Beijing''s challenge as it seeks to crack down on speculators, which have whipsawed prices of equities, commodities and property in recent years, and cool a red-hot real estate market. Prospective buyers appeared undeterred on Monday. A couple were in Anxin checking out property after driving from Tangshan, about 250 km east of the new zone. Even if they can''t buy in the new zone, they will extend their search to nearby areas, the wife said. Chen Bo, a 32-year-old from Xiongxian county who has been working in Beijing for eight years, said he was too excited to sleep on Saturday night given the magnitude of the project. "This is like pie falling from the sky," he was quoted as saying in local media. (Additional reporting by Judy Hua; Editing by Tony Munroe) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-property-idUKKBN17516W'|'2017-04-03T19:43:00.000+03:00' +'23a2d7ce8aa529e5dc7b34082b405592b037ff69'|'Private equity firms have bid $22 billion for SCA hygiene unit-paper'|'STOCKHOLM A group of private equity companies have bid around 200 billion Swedish crowns ($22.26 billion) for the hygiene arm of tissue and forestry products firm SCA ( SCAb.ST ), daily Dagens Nyheter wrote on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources.SCA said last year it planned to split into two units."At least two private equity companies together have bid around 200 billion crowns for the hygiene unit," DN said.SCA hygiene business is the world''s largest maker of incontinence pads and No.2 in consumer tissues such as napkins and toilet paper. Its forestry arm produces paper, pulp and wood products.SCA could not immediately be reached by Reuters for a comment.(Reporting by Simon Johnson; Editing by Alison Williams)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sweden-sca-idUSKBN17E2O0'|'2017-04-13T00:18:00.000+03:00' +'d3922998379dcb772cba62a6cdf83a8e1740e435'|'UPDATE 1-Telecoms, cable group Altice starts IPO process for U.S. arm'|'(Adds context, background)By Anjali Athavaley and Mathieu RosemainNEW YORK/PARIS, April 11 Altice USA, the cable operator that Netherlands-based Altice NV put together by acquiring Cablevision and Suddenlink Communications, on Tuesday filed for an initial public offering that seeks to raise $1 billon to $2 billion, according to a source familiar with the matter.Going public allows Altice''s founder, French billionaire Patrick Drahi, to expand his budding U.S. cable empire by giving Altice USA public stock it can use to help finance more acquisitions.Altice USA became the fourth-largest U.S. cable provider after its parent company acquired Suddenlink in 2015 and Cablevision the following year. It serves 4.9 million customers in the U.S., according to the company''s filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.Altice USA''s current minority shareholders, London-based private equity frim BC Partners and the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board which jointly own about 30 percent of Altice USA, are ready to lower their combined stake while Altice is expected to keep its 70 percent stake in Altice USA intact, according to the source.JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs are the banks serving as joint book-runners on Altice''s U.S initial public offering.(Additional reporting by Gwenaelle Barzic; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta, Bernard Orr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/altice-ipo-idINL8N1HJ40R'|'2017-04-11T13:13:00.000+03:00' +'22310addadc6c000bc6a3e4ecc1fc7aa61e351b7'|'Microsoft''s quarterly revenue falls short of estimates'|'Business News - Thu Apr 27, 2017 - 9:46pm BST Microsoft''s quarterly revenue falls short of estimates FILE PHOTO: An advertisement is played on a set of large screens at the Microsoft office in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., on January 25, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo Microsoft Corp on Thursday reported quarterly revenue that slightly missed analysts'' estimates, as robust demand for its cloud computing services failed to offset weak growth in its personal computing division. The company''s shares fell 1.9 percent to $67 in trading after the bell. Under Chief Executive Satya Nadella, who took the helm in 2014, Microsoft has sharpened its focus on the fast-growing cloud computing unit to counter a prolonged slowdown in the PC market, which has weighed on demand for its Windows software. Revenue from Microsoft''s personal computing unit, its largest by revenue, fell 7.4 percent to $8.84 billion. Analysts on average had expected revenue of $9.22 billion, according to research firm FactSet StreetAccount. The business includes Windows software, Xbox gaming consoles, online search advertising and Surface personal computers. Surface revenue dipped 26 percent in the quarter. The lower-than-expected revenue in the personal computing division came amid an uptick in the PC market. Worldwide PC shipments rose 0.6 percent in the first quarter of 2017, seeing growth for the first time in five years, market research firm IDC said earlier this month. Revenue from Microsoft''s "Intelligent Cloud" business, which houses server products and the company''s flagship cloud computing platform, Azure, jumped about 11 percent to $6.76 billion in the third quarter ended March 31. Azure revenue soared 93 percent in the quarter. Azure competes with Amazon.com Inc''s Amazon Web Services, the market leader in cloud infrastructure, as well as offerings from Alphabet Inc''s Google, IBM and Oracle Corp. The company''s net income rose to $4.80 billion, or 61 cents per share, in the third quarter ended March 31, from $3.76 billion, or 47 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, Microsoft earned 73 cents per share. Analysts on average had expected 70 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S ( bit.ly/2oQAzSJ ) Revenue on an adjusted basis climbed 6 percent to $23.56 billion, missing analysts'' average estimate of $23.62 billion. Microsoft said LinkedIn, which it bought for about $26 billion, contributed $975 million in revenue in the quarter. Microsoft''s shares had risen 9.9 percent this year through Thursday, eclipsing the 7 percent gain in the broader S&P 500. (Reporting by Pushkala A and Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-microsoft-results-idUKKBN17T33L'|'2017-04-28T04:45:00.000+03:00' +'4e4892eb8261a5d2191f6e803f1ed0396adc6ab5'|'Acacia Mining first quarter gold sales stall on Tanzanian export ban'|' 7:33am BST Acacia Mining first quarter gold sales stall on Tanzanian export ban LONDON Acacia Mining ( ACAA.L ) reported a 15 percent rise in its first-quarter gold production on Thursday but said sales undershot due to a ban on gold and copper exports by Tanzania. The government halted the export of unprocessed ore on March 3, following President John Magufuli''s call for the construction of more gold smelters in the country, Africa''s fourth-largest gold producer. Gold output for the quarter was 219,670 ounces but sales were lower by 34,926 ounces due to the ban, Acacia said in a statement. However, Tanzania''s biggest gold producer stuck to its full-year production targets, as its mines continue to operate normally while negotiations continue with the government. The export ban reduced cashflow by about $33 million (25.84 million) for the quarter and affects sales from two of its three mines, the company said. Acacia said in February it expects production this year to be between 850,000-900,000 ounces, up from about 830,000 ounces last year. (Reporting by Zandi Shabalala; Editing by Greg Mahlich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-acaciamining-production-idUKKBN17M0KU'|'2017-04-20T14:33:00.000+03:00' +'ed1080385194b27dcae8de5f81c060ce670f34c0'|'Nikkei hits fresh 4-month low as yen spikes; automakers, financials fall'|'Company News - Wed Apr 12, 2017 - 11:02pm EDT Nikkei hits fresh 4-month low as yen spikes; automakers, financials fall * Trump''s "big mouth" creates volatility - analyst * Nikkei has fallen 4 pct since beginning of 2017 By Ayai Tomisawa TOKYO, April 13 Japanese stocks posted fresh four-month lows on Thursday morning as the yen spiked against the dollar after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S currency was too strong, hitting automakers and tech shares hard. The Nikkei 225 share average dropped 1.0 percent to 18,360.08 in midmorning trade, hitting as low as 18,304.72 earlier, the lowest level since Dec. 5. The greenback took a heavy hit after Trump told the Wall Street Journal that the dollar "is getting too strong" and that he would prefer the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates low. This week, Japanese stocks have already been hammered by escalated geopolitical concerns. Rising U.S. tensions with Russia, North Korea and Syria after U.S missile strikes in Syria last week and the moving of U.S. warships toward the Korean Peninsula have kept investors cautious. The Nikkei has fallen 4.0 percent since the beginning of the year. On Wednesday, Trump also said that his administration will not label China a currency manipulator, backing away from a campaign promise. "Trump''s big mouth...is creating volatility in the market," said Norihiro Fujito, a senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, adding that short-term hedge funds might welcome the volatility, but a lot of other investors are cautious. Eyes are also on next week''s Japan-U.S. meeting led by Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso and Vice President Mike Pence to discuss economic relations. On Thursday, the Asahi Shimbun reported that the United States is pushing for trade to be a key issue in top-level economic talks with Japan. The newspaper said that Washington''s demand, made last week, did not specify any trade areas for discussion, but reported that a U.S. government source said the Trump administration mainly wants to discuss cars and agriculture. Thursday''s big losers included automakers, with Toyota Motor Corp shedding 1.6 percent, Mazda Motor Corp stumbling 2.6 percent and Subaru Corp declining 1.2 percent. As the dollar hit a five-month low of 108.920 yen, other exporters were also battered on worries that the strong yen would hurt their earnings. Meanwhile, the latest Bank Of Japan tankan survey showed that big manufacturers expect the dollar to average 108.43 yen for this fiscal year. Chip equipment makers, which had outperformed lately, languished. Advantest Corp dived 4.1 percent, while Tokyo Electron shed 2.8 percent. Financial stocks, which hunt for high-yielding products, also lost ground after Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields at one point dropped 2.259 percent overnight, which was the lowest since Nov. 17. Dai-ichi Life Holdings tumbled 2.8 percent, T&D Holdings slipped 2.7 percent and Mizuho Financial Group declined 1.6 percent. The broader Topix fell 1.1 percent to 1,462.60 and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 was down 1.2 percent to 13,114.20. (Editing by Sam Holmes)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-midday-idUSL3N1HL1ME'|'2017-04-13T11:02:00.000+03:00' +'e1e2eb9d0f1aee6fa8281fe12b9dfa9f59b62c29'|'En garde!: Paris bankers brace for restless night of French election'|'By Maya Nikolaeva - PARIS PARIS Paris bankers and brokers will be on call, ready to scoot to the office as results of the first round of the roller-coaster French presidential election start to dribble in this Sunday.Their workload will depend on the outcome of the tight race that could potentially see two extremes -- the far right Marine Le Pen and the communist-backed leftist Jean-Luc Melenchon -- make it to the second round.But the preparations underway already reflect the bankers'' experience in facing market volatility following Britain''s shock vote to leave the European Union and U.S. presidential elections last year.Societe Generale said it would be holding a conference call on the evening of Sunday, April 23 with some of its economists and strategists to discuss the first round results.Traders and financial analysts in some of the world''s biggest investment firms in London will also be on standby for advising clients on Sunday evening and also primed for pre-dawn starts on Monday. However those contacted by Reuters said they would leave actual overnight trading in the euro or any cash bond or equity transactions to their Asia operations.First exit polls are expected at around 1800 GMT on Sunday or 2000 Paris time.In Paris, French asset manager La Francaise with 60 billion euros ($64 billion) under management has a special task force in place for the election that will be on call or could even meet in the office on Sunday evening to decide on what to advise clients on Monday."In any case, the task force will meet early on Monday ... and have a strong shot of coffee in order to brief teams," one of the asset manager''s staff said.One reason, brokerage Nomura said, is that it will be the April 23 vote that gives investors "the most information" as to who will be the next president after the may run-off."Jean-Luc Melenchon has seen such a rise in support that it is now a true four-way race," Nomura''s forex strategists said."The gaps between candidates in the first round are close to the margins of error, while in the second they are far apart and in the ''safe zone'' polling numbers."The latest polls show centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Le Pen narrowly beating other candidates in the first round, followed by the conservative Francois Fillon and far-left Melenchon.Melenchon proposes a 100-billion-euro economic stimulus plan funded by government borrowing, corporate nationalisation in some sectors, devaluation of the euro currency, withdrawal from NATO and possible exit from the European Union.His sudden rise in opinion surveys is worrying many investors, because various poll scenarios show he could win should he reach the second round.Le Pen does not off much solace. She plans to leave the euro currency and hold a vote on European Union membership."I will be ready on Sunday-Monday, but my hope is that there will be no disastrous scenario and I won''t have to work," a London-based analyst covering French banks said.HEDGINGSome investment banks and asset managers have already reduced and hedged their exposure to assets that could bear the brunt of volatility, depending on the outcome of the elections."As for fixed income investors, they have also already sold out, because there was a buyer - the (European Central Bank) , which bought hundreds of billions of euros (of debt). There is no big reason to have a long position on France," said Jean-Francois Legoux, a strategist at UBS Global Asset Management, based in Paris.Forex brokerage Saxo Bank in Paris said it tried to make sure all clients were aware of potential risks, while offering all the money management tools so that they don''t have a significant exposure with no protection in the markets."In any event, just as with Brexit, any spasm is bound to be very short-lived," one Geneva-based trader said.($1 = 0.9345 euros)(Reporting by Maya Nikolaeva and Sudip Kar-Gupta; editing by Jeremy Gaunt)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/france-election-markets-idINKBN17M0W0'|'2017-04-20T16:47:00.000+03:00' +'45ff0a49d6e75712c2886e5c97fc7995e87f7310'|'Syngenta, defence stocks help European stocks steady at 16-month peak - Reuters'|'* STOXX 600 up 0.2 pct after choppy session* Syngenta closer to tie-up after China OK, shares up* Geopolitical unease lifts aerodefence stocks* Tesco drops as analysts spot weaknesses in results (Recasts with details and closing prices)By Danilo Masoni and Helen ReidMILAN, April 12 European shares inched up on Wednesday, steadying around 16 month highs, helped by gains in Syngenta and a rally in defence stocks on investor concerns about lingering geopolitical risks.The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.2 percent but trading was choppy just a few days ahead a holiday break, while Germany''s DAX added 0.1 percent and France''s CAC was flat.Syngenta was the biggest single-stock contributor to gains in the STOXX index, up 2.2 percent, after ChemChina''s $43 billion planned takeover of the Swiss pesticides and seeds group received approval from Chinese regulators.Europe''s aerospace and defence stocks index outperformed, up 0.9 percent to a fresh 20 month highs."Every time macro political tensions arise, the sector gets a boost," said Federico Polese, fund manager at Simplify Partners, noting however that defence spending programs are long term and do not change when the political climate heats up."Investors are pricing in expectations of a rise to defence spending in the U.S.," he added.Auto stocks also provided support but their sectoral index pared some gains to end up 0.3 percent.French auto parts manufacturer Faurecia gained 1 percent after it posted first-quarter sales up 10 percent to 4.2 billion euros. Deutsche Bank said strong results over consecutive semesters should feed through into a valuation which is one of the lowest in the sector.German luxury carmaker Daimler gained 0.3 percent after it said first-quarter profits jumped 87 percent on strong Mercedes sales.Dialog Semiconductor was the top European faller for a second day, down 1.6 percent. It fell 14 percent on Tuesday after an analyst report said its biggest client Apple could be seeking to ditch its power management supply (PMIC) in favour of creating the parts itself."Apple PMIC insourcing fears appear overdone for Dialog," said Deutsche Bank, reiterating a ''hold'' rating on the stock.Britain''s biggest retailer Tesco fell 5.7 percent as analysts pointed to a few negatives in its full-year results, including slowdown in UK and Ireland margins. (Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/europe-stocks-idINL8N1HK4YV'|'2017-04-12T14:34:00.000+03:00' +'8af66abd9697a640cf11e7648ff2c44af03fd923'|'COLUMN-No relief for the London Metal Exchange as volumes fall again: Andy Home'|'Company News 49am EDT COLUMN-No relief for the London Metal Exchange as volumes fall again: Andy Home (The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.) * LME volumes in Q1 by major contract tmsnrt.rs/2p4ZSDT By Andy Home LONDON, April 12 The London Metal Exchange (LME) has just laid to rest its steel billet contract. No need to panic if you didn''t notice. The contract hasn''t traded since June 2015. The last 65 tonnes of registered billet stock left the LME warehouse system a year ago. The exchange has tweaked and prodded the contract many times since its launch in 2008 but to no avail. "The LME believes that the steel billet contract no longer functions as an effective price discovery tool and risk management solution for the physical industry," the exchange said in an April 10 notice to members. The contract will be suspended with immediate effect. Fortunately for the LME, it has two replacement products for the steel industry''s hedging needs. Its steel scrap contract, launched in November 2015, seems to be doing just fine. Volumes surged to 54,700 lots in the first quarter of 2017 from 1,729 a year ago. Open interest at the end of March hit a new record at 4,691 lots. The steel rebar contract, launched at the same time, is also experiencing steady growth, albeit not on the same scale. Unlike billet, which ran into deliverability problems almost as soon as it was launched, these steel products are not physically deliverable but are rather monthly contracts cash settled against third-party indices. Such a format, the LME said, is "better suited for the risk management needs of the steel industry". The steel contracts'' success would appear to reinforce the case for the LME to re-engineer its other contracts towards a more standardised format. Because the broader picture is one of still-falling volumes, keeping the pressure on the exchange, and its owner, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, to try and turn the trend. Graphic on LME volumes in Q1 2017 by major contract: tmsnrt.rs/2p4ZSDT STILL SLIDING Average daily volumes on the LME fell by 13.1 percent in March and 4.6 percent in the first quarter. Those headline figures, however, somewhat overstate the trend due to the higher number of trading days this year relative to last year. In absolute terms volumes were down by "only" 1.5 percent in the first three months of 2017. The problem is that the trend of falling volumes has been running almost continuously for over two years now. Successes such as the steel contracts and cobalt, which has seen volumes explode over recent months as the price has gone on a super-charged rally, are still too small to compensate for lower activity in the LME''s core contracts. True, there are other exceptions to the trend. Both nickel and zinc saw volumes increase year-on-year in the first quarter to the tune of 5.0 percent and 6.8 percent respectively. But on the other side of the ledger, aluminium alloy seems to be hovering on the brink of meltdown with volumes collapsing by 56 percent in the first quarter. CORE PROBLEMS Let''s face it. The alloy contract could go the way of other failed LME offerings such as molybdenum without creating any shock waves through the industrial metals landscape. The real issue facing the LME, both exchange and trading community, is the slide in volumes in flagship contracts such as aluminium and copper. The latter has become the poster child for the reformist faction in the LME community because of the contrast between falling activity in London, where volumes tumbled another 7.7 percent in the first quarter, and the CME''s contract, which saw volumes increase by 25.2 percent. This seems to suggest that business is migrating away from the LME with its complex date system to the more vanilla futures product offered by CME. But it may not be as straightforward as that. If there was a wholesale shift of business towards CME because of its product structure, how come its lead and zinc contracts are moribund? Neither traded at all in March and lead hasn''t traded so far this year. The CME''s most successful new contracts have been its physical aluminium premium suite, which complements rather than directly challenges the LME''s own aluminium contract. That the CME copper contract is attracting incremental new business is not in doubt. To what extent it is doing so by directly grabbing existing LME business, on the other hand, is moot. It''s worth noting, by the way, that the third pillar of global copper trading, the Shanghai Futures Exchange, has experienced a 41-percent decline in copper volumes so far this year. Does that mean it too is losing business to CME or is it simply a case of speculative money moving into more exciting markets such as lead, where Shanghai volumes rocketed by 500 percent in the first quarter? A FINE LINE Excepting the puzzling copper piece of the liquidity jigsaw, the overall downtrend in LME volumes would appear to bear out the views of the traditionalists on the exchange, who argue that the real culprit is the increase in trading fees which has sent business back into the over-the-counter shadows. How else to explain, for example, falling volumes in the lead contract with no apparent beneficial impact on the CME''s contract? If fees are the real problem, traditionalists argue, there''s no need for a wholesale restructuring of existing contracts to stop the rot. The demise of the billet contract may signify nothing more than that it was always a flawed concept, rooted in physical delivery in Turkey, a country that simply didn''t have the right tax code to cover trading of metal in bonded warehouses. That the downtrend in LME volumes is a problem for the exchange and its users, particularly the broker community, is not in question. Why volumes have been falling is a much harder question to answer. It''s a messy mix of industrial cycle, investment cycle, fee cycle and, somewhere in there, contract structure. Pity the new chief executive who will have to disentangle this knot and try and find the fine line between traditionalists and reformists and their respective camps of industrial and speculative users. Fortunately for him, or her, everyone is going to get a stab at answering the question. A major discussion paper is on its way. Whether it generates a clear answer remains to be seen. But each passing month of lower volumes sharpens the question. (Editing by Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/lme-reform-ahome-idUSL8N1HK347'|'2017-04-12T19:49:00.000+03:00' +'84a3ed1d8d5c55b542c250365e4f76c2b9f47955'|'Toshiba''s Westinghouse replaced chairman two days before bankruptcy filing'|' 22am BST Toshiba''s Westinghouse replaced chairman two days before bankruptcy filing FILE PHOTO: Danny Roderick speaks during a news conference at the Toshiba head office in Tokyo, November 27, 2015. REUTERS/Thomas Peter TOKYO Westinghouse Electric Co replaced its chairman two days before the U.S. nuclear construction unit of Japan''s Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) filed for bankruptcy last week, as it tries to draw a line under the travails of a business that has cost it billions. Toshiba''s spokesman said Westinghouse chairman Danny Roderick was replaced by Mamoru Hatazawa, chief of Toshiba''s nuclear division, on March 27. Hatazawa''s role would be temporary, until a new management comes in, he added. Roderick, the driving force behind Toshiba''s nuclear ambition, joined Pittsburgh-based Westinghouse as chief executive in September 2012 from a nuclear joint venture between General Electric ( GE.N ) and Hitachi Ltd ( 6501.T ). In an interview with Reuters in 2015, Roderick said he was "pretty confident" in achieving Westinghouse''s goal of winning orders to construct 64 reactors worldwide over the next 15 years. But billions of dollars of cost overruns at four nuclear reactors under construction in the U.S. Southeast pushed Westinghouse into bankruptcy and resulted in a net loss of $9 billion at Toshiba. (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting-westinghouse-idUKKBN1770NV'|'2017-04-05T15:22:00.000+03:00' +'10bcb8f86573b9b7b9f29e987774b93fb9d52b20'|'Japan government picks banker, reflationist economist for BOJ board'|' 54pm IST Japan government picks banker, reflationist economist for BOJ board FILE PHOTO - A Japanese flag flutters atop the Bank of Japan building in Tokyo, Japan, September 21, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo By Sumio Ito and Leika Kihara - TOKYO TOKYO Japan''s government nominated a reflation-minded economist and an executive from a megabank which has been critical of radical monetary easing to join the central bank''s nine-member board, in a choice seen as maintaining the status quo on monetary policy. The nominations, presented to parliament on Tuesday, suggest the Bank of Japan will maintain its massive stimulus but with an eye on concerns held by the country''s banks that its policy of capping bond yields is hurting profits, some analysts say. One of the nominees, Goushi Kataoka, a 44-year-old economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting, has been a vocal advocate of premier Shinzo Abe''s reflationist policies including the BOJ''s huge asset-buying programme. The government also nominated 63-year-old Hitoshi Suzuki, a director for Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, to join the board. "One is an economist reflecting the government''s reflationist stance and another is a bank executive who probably dislikes excessive easing. It''s a well-balanced choice," said Hiroshi Shiraishi, an economist at BNP Paribas Securities. The two would replace former market economists Takahide Kiuchi and Takehiro Sato, whose five-year terms end in July. The nominations suggest BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda would have fewer opponents of his massive stimulus programme, as both Kiuchi and Sato were openly against keeping the bank''s unorthodox policy in place for too long. MENDING STRAINED RELATIONS After three years of heavy money printing failed to accelerate inflation to its 2 percent target, the BOJ revamped its policy framework last September to one better suited for a long-term battle to beat deflation. Under the new framework, the BOJ now guides short-term interest rates to minus 0.1 percent and the 10-year government bond yield around zero percent via asset purchases. An advocate of aggressive asset purchases, Kataoka has called for reigniting Japan''s economy through bold monetary and fiscal stimulus measures. "I think he would place emphasis on getting Japan out of deflation," said Masayuki Kichikawa, chief macro strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management. "I think he would be cautious about reducing monetary easing," said Kichikawa, who knows Kataoka well. Little is known of Suzuki''s stance on monetary policy, though he is unlikely to rock the boat given his background as a banker from one of Japan''s top financial institutions. Some analysts say Suzuki may serve as a counter-balance to a board dominated by reflationist-minded members, as he could be more vocal of the pain ultra-low interest rates are inflicting on banks. Bond traders were stunned last year when Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU), one of the nation''s three megabanks, said it was giving up its status as a primary dealer of Japanese government bonds. The move was seen as the clearest and most public display yet of growing distaste over the BOJ''s negative rate policy by one of the biggest players in the government bond market. An expert of financial markets, Suzuki could help the BOJ communicate its policy intentions more clearly to markets in the event of an exit from its massive stimulus, they say. Others say the choice of a bank executive may be an attempt by policymakers to mend relations between the BOJ and the banking sector - strained after the central bank''s abrupt decision last year to adopt negative interest rates. "The nomination of Suzuki signals a return to the days an executive from a major Japanese bank always held a position at the BOJ board," said Tetsuya Inoue, chief researcher at Nomura Research Institute. "It''s a positive move in terms of enhancing the BOJ''s communication with markets." The appointments need approval by the upper and lower houses of the parliament, which are considered a near certainty as the ruling coalition holds a solid majority in both chambers. (Additional reporting by Stanley White, Kaori Kaneko and Izumi Nakagawa; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Kim Coghill)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/japan-economy-boj-idINKBN17K0RV'|'2017-04-18T16:24:00.000+03:00' +'3b281f7e29f26a4b76c30d116027beed5bd038de'|'Venezuela money supply up 200 percent in year, fastest rise on record'|'Business News - Mon Apr 3, 2017 - 12:56pm EDT Venezuela money supply up 200 percent in year, fastest rise on record A worker counts Venezuelan bolivar notes at a gas station of Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA in Caracas, Venezuela March 21, 2017. REUTERS/Marco Bello By Girish Gupta - CARACAS CARACAS Crisis-stricken Venezuela''s money supply has surged over 200 percent in a year, its fastest rise since records began in 1940, putting it on track for what is likely the world''s highest inflation. Soon after a month-long hiatus from publication, the central bank said late on Friday the total amount of local currency in circulation - known as M2 by economists - as of March 24 was 13.3 trillion bolivars, up 202.9 percent from a year earlier. In contrast, the United States'' money supply was up 6.4 percent in the same period. Venezuela is in a major economic crisis, with millions struggling with food shortages and inflation thought to be in triple digits - though no official data is available. The exponential rise in M2, the sum of cash, together with checking, savings and other deposits, means an exponential rise in the amount of currency circulating. Coupled with a decline in the output of goods and services, that has accelerated inflation. The central bank website shows five separate spreadsheets with money supply data going back to 1940. Back then, as now, Venezuela''s primary export was oil. While M2 may seem an obscure technical indicator, the figure was routinely published by newspapers in Venezuela, whose oil-dependent economy has been dogged by inflation in the past. Venezuela''s opposition-led National Assembly, which accuses the leftist government of destroying the OPEC country''s economy, says inflation reached 741 percent in the year to February. President Nicolas Maduro says right-wing businessmen are hoarding goods to sabotage his administration, an accusation the opposition rejects. The last year for which official inflation data is available from the central bank is 2015, when consumer prices rose 181 percent. (Editing by Alexandra Ulmer and Dan Grebler) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-economy-idUSKBN1751ZE'|'2017-04-04T00:56:00.000+03:00' +'9033751543752bcad3d0a7c93f125d50641b07d0'|'U.S. oil climbs to five-week top on geopolitical tensions'|'Tue Apr 11, 2017 - 1:29am BST U.S. oil climbs to five-week top on geopolitical tensions A pump jack stands idle in Dewitt County, Texas January 13, 2016. REUTERS/Anna Driver SINGAPORE U.S. crude oil rose for a sixth consecutive session on Tuesday to hit its highest level in five weeks, underpinned by tensions following a U.S. missile strike on Syria and a shutdown at Libya''s largest oilfield. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were up 10 cents, or 0.2 percent, at $53.18 a barrel by 0009 GMT. The market has gained for six sessions in a row, its longest rising streak this year. The international benchmark, Brent crude futures LCOc1, gained 9 cents, or 0.2 percent, at $56.07 per barrel. Libya''s Sharara oilfield was shut on Sunday after a group blocked a pipeline linking it to an oil terminal, a Libyan oil source said. The field had only just returned to production, after a week-long stoppage ending in early April. The outage added to a rally that started late last week after the United States fired missiles at a Syrian government air base. While Syria produces only small volumes of oil, the Middle East is home to more than a quarter of the world''s oil output. The gain in oil prices comes despite rising U.S. shale oil production. "Crude oil prices were firmer as oil investors shrugged off rising U.S. supplies and looked forward to the summer driving season," ANZ said in a note. U.S. crude inventories touched record highs both at the U.S. storage hub of Cushing, Oklahoma, and in the U.S. Gulf Coast in recent weeks, according to U.S. government data. Oil prices have also been supported by a deal led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut output by 1.8 million barrels per day for the first six months of 2017, to get rid of excess supply. Libya and fellow OPEC member Nigeria are exempt from cuts. In a sign of OPEC confidence that the deal is working, Kuwait''s oil minister said he expected producers'' adherence in March to their supply cut pledges to "be higher than the previous couple of months." (Reporting by Naveen Thukral; Editing by Richard Pullin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUKKBN17D016'|'2017-04-11T08:26:00.000+03:00' +'16d57fc76131a0d42afc08c6ab796f11a3e1c55b'|'GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks struggle as French elections loom, North Korea worries'|'* French election graphic tmsnrt.rs/2jLwO20By Vikram SubhedarLONDON, April 20 World stocks eked out small gains on Thursday as investors resisted risky bets ahead of the first round of the French presidential election over the weekend.Oil prices, which fell sharply on Wednesday on supply news, regained some of their losses.In general, markets cautiously stuck to well-worn trading ranges buffeted by concern over political risks and continued tensions over North Korea.Europe''s STOXX 600 rose 0.1 percent bolstered by strong sales reported by consumer sector bellwether Unilever . The FTSE 100, which has slid into negative territory for the year, was little changed.In Asian hours, Japanese stocks failed to hold on to slim gains and closed flat on the day.MSCI''s world stock index was up 0.13 percent."Given the binary risk of the French presidential elections and geopolitical concerns over North Korea, investors are staying on the sidelines," said Fan Cheuk Wan, head of investment strategy and advisory, Asia, at HSBC Private Banking.A run of disappointing U.S. economic data and questions about whether the Trump administration can push through tax cuts have dented some of the enthusiasm for risky assets in recent weeks.A sharp dip to three-week lows in oil prices overnight was the latest sign of an unwind in the global reflation trade. Crude oil clawed back some of the loss but concerns about a supply glut capped the rebound."Rising U.S. oil inventory data is now starting to impact the market''s aggressive long position in crude," said analysts at Morgan Stanley in a note to clients.Brent crude futures were up 0.5 percent to $53.22 a barrel after sliding more than 3 percent in the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 0.4 percent.In currency markets, the euro rose 0.4 percent to a three-week high of $1.0748 against the dollar. The greenback was 0.2 percent weaker against a basket of major currencies.Centrist Emmanuel Macron held on to his lead as favourite to emerge as the eventual victor in the French presidential election, a closely watched poll showed, although it indicated that the outcome of the first round of voting on Sunday was too close to call.Millions of French voters remain undecided, making this the least predictable vote in France in decades, and raising fears of a potential surprise result that could spread turmoil in markets.France''s borrowing costs nudged down on Thursday before a bond auction that is likely to be watched more closely than usual, coming just ahead of Sunday''s presidential election.French bonds have come under heavy selling pressure this year as an unpredictable election race unfolded, with strong support for far-right candidate Marine Le Pen and the far-left''s Jean-Luc Melenchon, both anti-euro, alarming investors.Most other euro zone bond yields were little changed on the day.(Additional reporting by Saikat Chatterjee in HONG KONG Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/global-markets-idUSL3N1HS33I'|'2017-04-20T16:24:00.000+03:00' +'1c64410193c4129e6209dbea3c3ba0cf5e86fcce'|'U.S. FCC reverses Charter Communications ''overbuild'' requirement'|'WASHINGTON, April 3 The U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted to reverse a requirement imposed under the Obama administration that Charter Communications Inc extend broadband service to 1 million households that currently have service, a source briefed on the matter said. The decision was a win for a group representing smaller cable companies that petitioned to overturn the "overbuild" requirement. As a condition of approval for its acquisition of two cable companies, Charter in May 2016 agreed to extend high-speed internet access to two million customers within five years, with one million served by a broadband competitor. Under the revised FCC order expected to be made public Monday, Charter can opt to add all 2 million additional potential subscribers in places without existing service. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-charter-idINL2N1HB0NP'|'2017-04-03T12:21:00.000+03:00' +'bd9fbc5e38ca08c9a2a76a95a512e61c5ae2e768'|'Twitter posts strongest growth in monthly users in a year'|' 30pm BST Twitter posts strongest growth in monthly users in a year FILE PHOTO: An illustration picture shows the Twitter logo reflected in the eye of a woman in Berlin, November 7, 2013. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch Twitter Inc reported its strongest growth in monthly active users in more than a year and a much better-than-expected quarterly profit, despite stiff competition from Facebook and Snapchat, sending its shares up 11 percent. The microblogging service said average monthly active users increased 6 percent to 328 million in the first quarter from a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected 321.3 million monthly active users, according to market research firm FactSet StreetAccount. Revenue fell 7.8 percent to $548.3 million (427.62 million pounds), its first drop since its initial public offering. Net loss narrowed to $61.6 million, or 9 cents per share, in the first quarter ended March 31, from $79.7 million, or 12 cents per share, a year earlier. ( bit.ly/2phNNZH ) Twitter''s user growth has stalled in the past few quarters and the company has been trying to convince advertisers that it will strengthen its user base. As part of its efforts, the company has updated its product offerings including live video broadcasts from its app and launched new features to attract users. Twitter''s weak performance has raised questions about CEO Jack Dorsey''s leadership and whether the company would be bought by a bigger media firm. Financial markets speculated about a sale of Twitter last year, but no concrete bids were forthcoming. Excluding items, the company earned 11 cents per share, beating the estimate of 1 cent per share. Twitter''s advertising revenue fell 11 percent to $474 million in the quarter, above the average analyst estimate of $442.7 million, according to market research firm FactSet StreetAccount. (Reporting by Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-twitter-results-idUKKBN17S1FC'|'2017-04-26T19:30:00.000+03:00' +'4d7a22a6e0be25d29792c4b91f90360c47d40fb5'|'Brazil''s former minister Palocci enters plea deal talks - Folha'|'Company News 8:46am EDT Brazil''s former minister Palocci enters plea deal talks - Folha BRASILIA, April 18 Former Brazilian Finance Minister Antonio Palocci entered talks with federal police to strike a plea bargain deal, in a potential blow to former President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva''s chances of running in next year''s election, newspaper Folha de S.Paulo said on Tuesday. Palocci, one of the closest advisers to Lula and former president Dilma Rousseff between 2003 and 2011, has been in jail since September of last year on charges that he ran a bribery scheme that funneled money to the former-ruling Workers Party''s (PT). Folha said, without citing sources, that Palocci had a first meeting with investigators two weeks ago to discuss the terms of a possible collaboration. He would present evidence against Lula and other senior members of his party, Folha said. Several polls show Lula as the favorite in voting intentions for the 2018 presidential election, but he could be barred from running if sentenced for corruption. Lula already faces five court cases related to the investigations. A plea bargain testimony by Palocci, once one of Brazil''s most powerful politicians, could also add fuel to the country''s political and economic turmoil by widening the scope of the so-called Car Wash investigation, currently focused on engineering firms, to include banks and large corporations, Folha said. Palocci''s lawyer, Jos Roberto Batochio, did not respond immediately to a Reuters request for comment. He has previously denied his client had taken any bribes. Federal police did not comment. Growing speculation about a Palocci collaboration comes one week after details of a plea bargain deal by executives of engineering firm Odebrecht SA rocked Brazilian politics by implicating dozens of lawmakers, eight ministers and President Michel Temer. Odebrecht executives named Palocci as the intermediary for alleged bribes paid to Lula, an accusation which Lula and his lawyers have repeatedly denied. Palocci, a medical doctor by training, was Lula''s finance minister and a key player in the 2002 election campaign that put the Workers'' Party leader in the presidential seat. Palocci helped Lula change his image from leftist radical into a business friendly and socially progressive leader who finally secured election on his fourth bid. He also served as chief of staff to Lula''s hand-picked successor, Dilma Rousseff, ousted in an impeachment last year. (Reporting by Silvio Cascione; Editing by Bernard Orr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-corruption-palocci-idUSL1N1HQ0CZ'|'2017-04-18T20:46:00.000+03:00' +'5af2af30d9ffab3888eab76817b3dc3c2fb366a7'|'South Korea prosecution to question Lotte Group chief in graft probe'|'SEOUL South Korean prosecutors said on Thursday they have summoned Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin for questioning as a witness in an investigation of an influence-peddling scandal that led to the dismissal and arrest of former president Park Geun-hye.The prosecutor''s office said Shin had been summoned to appear at 9:30 a.m. local time (0030 GMT) on Friday but did not comment further.A Lotte Group spokesman said the company, South Korea''s fifth-largest conglomerate, or chaebol, would cooperate with the investigation fully and in good faith.Park was arrested on Friday after a court granted the prosecution''s request for her detention on charges including bribery. Her arrest came weeks after she became South Korea''s first democratically elected leader to be thrown out of office.She is accused of colluding with a friend, Choi Soon-sil, to pressure businesses such as Lotte to contribute to foundations that backed her policy initiatives. Prosecutors were questioning her again on Thursday, the second time this week.Park and Choi both deny any wrong-doing.Lotte has denied allegations that it made improper deals with Park, or those linked to her, for favours.(Reporting by Se Young Lee; additional reporting by Christine Kim; Editing by Paul Tait)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/southkorea-politics-lotte-group-idINKBN1780LL'|'2017-04-06T04:49:00.000+03:00' +'baf9b90687613ea8606083d6a4174904c0f7b324'|'Record deliveries power Tesla shares to all-time high'|'Technology 26pm BST Record deliveries power Tesla shares to all-time high A prototype of the Tesla Model 3 is on display in front of the factory during a media tour of the Tesla Gigafactory which will produce batteries for the electric carmaker in Sparks, Nevada, U.S. July 26, 2016. REUTERS/James Glover II/File Photo Tesla Inc''s ( TSLA.O ) Tesla''s stock climbed as much as 5.7 percent to $294.15, giving it a market capitalization of $47.92 billion - higher than Ford Motor''s ( F.N ) $46.27 billion value and just below General Motor''s ( GM.N ) value of $48 billion, at their Monday session highs. Tesla said on Sunday it delivered a record 25,418 vehicles in the quarter ended March, a 69 percent increase from last year and edging past Goldman Sachs'' forecast of 23,500 vehicles. "This beat shows that they are managing production better and that it bodes well for the Model 3 to be on time as well," said Ivan Feinseth, director of research at Tigress Financial Partners. Tesla delivered 76,230 vehicles last year, but production challenges kept the result well short of its 80,000- to 90,000-unit target. That and other setbacks had led investors and suppliers to predict that Model 3 volume production would be delayed until 2018. But Chief Executive Elon Musk reassured investors in February that the Model 3 was on track for volume production by September this year. The Model 3, a midsize mass-market sedan, had about 373,000 advance reservations as of April last year, and is expected to go on sale later this year in the United States. Tesla''s shares were up 5.2 percent at $292.77 in afternoon trading. Ford''s shares were off 2.6 percent, while GM''s stock was down over 4 percent following their monthly sales reports. "(Tesla has) had a pattern of missing their targets and the fact that they were able to meet the delivery target this quarter should be warmly received by investors," said CFRA analyst Efraim Levy. "It''s good news for Tesla, clearly." (Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar) Next In Technology News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-stocks-idUKKBN17522H'|'2017-04-04T01:29:00.000+03:00' +'3c3f0af437685b21751174d61100aaa4b97b7a31'|'Oil prices edge up after dent from U.S. inventories'|'Business News - Thu Apr 6, 2017 - 12:09pm BST Oil prices edge up after dent from U.S. inventories FILE PHOTO: A man pumps petrol for his car at a petrol station in Hanoi, Vietnam December 20, 2016. REUTERS/Kham/File Photo By Amanda Cooper - LONDON LONDON Oil prices rose on Thursday, on track for a fourth consecutive daily gain, after recovering from losses triggered by record high U.S. crude inventories. Brent crude futures were up by 20 cents on the day at $54.56 a barrel by 1100 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 13 cents at $51.28 a barrel. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported an increase of 1.57 million barrels in crude inventories late on Wednesday, bringing total U.S. stocks to a record high of 535.5 million barrels. "Overnight crude inventory numbers pulled the rug out from under the feet of the oil rally," said Jeffrey Halley, senior analyst at futures brokerage OANDA. The record crude inventories came as U.S. oil production rose by 52,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 9.2 million bpd. "The U.S. crude oil production profile is a mirror image of where it was last year, when at the end of the second quarter, production was 600,000 bpd lower than at the start of the year and this year is going to be the opposite," said Olivier Jakob, at consultancy Petromatrix. "By the end of the second quarter, you could have U.S. production up by 1 million bpd." Because of the glut, U.S. crude exports have risen to a record 1.1 million bpd. Most cargoes are going to Asia, where traders say there are early signs of a tightening market due to efforts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut output in an effort to prop up prices. "The global picture is more important (than just the U.S.) and stocks are being drawn," said Oystein Berentsen, managing director at trading company Strong Petroleum in Singapore. In the short-term, he said, a lot of oil was being sold out of storage around the world, adding to the imminent glut. But Berentsen warned that once a significant amount of crude had been sold out of inventories, "then you get the full effect (of tighter supplies)." (Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in SINGAPORE; editing by Jason Neely and Susan Thomas) Next In Business News Euro to fall to near 15-year low if Le Pen wins French election: Reuters poll BENGALURU The euro is likely to fall about 5 percent to near 15-year lows and close to parity against the dollar in the immediate aftermath should Marine Le Pen win the French presidency in May, according to foreign exchange strategists polled by Reuters. Euro hits three-week low as Draghi cools tightening expectations LONDON The euro hit a three-week low on Thursday after the head of the European Central Bank said he saw no need to deviate from the ECB''s policy path, which includes record-low interest rates and bond-buying until at least the end of the year. Fed''s Williams sees start of balance sheet reduction at year-end FRANKFURT It would make sense for the Federal Reserve to begin trimming its $4.5 trillion balance sheet toward the end of this year in a multi-year process that will run parallel to interest rate increases, a Fed policymaker said on Thursday. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUKKBN17805M'|'2017-04-06T19:07:00.000+03:00' +'45ad906677421efbe05a005ccf0d0b9cd056aa8f'|'BRIEF-Genesis Healthcare says Steven Fishman to resign from board effective immediately'|' 37pm EDT BRIEF-Genesis Healthcare says Steven Fishman to resign from board effective immediately April 7 Genesis Healthcare Inc * Genesis Healthcare Inc - on April 7, Steven Fishman notified company''s board of directors of his decision to resign from board effective immediately * On April 7, 2017, board appointed Robert Fish, a current board member, as chairman of board Source text: ( bit.ly/2nU2FvR ) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-genesis-healthcare-says-steven-fis-idUSFWN1HF12Z'|'2017-04-08T05:37:00.000+03:00' +'eb9bb1919d33d9c0ce075e5db82c58a84065ded5'|'Brazil budget freeze should not delay Saab jet purchases -minister'|'Company News - Tue Apr 4, 2017 - 11:59am EDT Brazil budget freeze should not delay Saab jet purchases -minister RIO DE JANEIRO, April 4 Brazil''s federal budget freeze should not impact the timeline for the purchase of 36 Gripen jet fighters from Sweden''s Saab, Brazil''s Defense Minister Raul Jungmann said on Tuesday at an air and defense exposition in Rio de Janeiro. (Reporting by Brad Haynes; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-defense-saab-idUSS0N1H002Z'|'2017-04-04T23:59:00.000+03:00' +'d19ee45da852f7e8e63da27a5c24078120ef515f'|'TREASURIES-Yields rise on technical resistance, improving risk sentiment'|'* Bonds weaken to key technical yield levels * Rising stocks reduce demand for bonds * Boston Fed''s Rosengren to speak later on Wednesday * Fed to release Beige Book on economic conditions By Karen Brettell NEW YORK, April 19 U.S. Treasury yields rose on Wednesday as 10-year notes reached key technical resistance after a rally on Tuesday sent yields to five-month lows, and as rising stocks indicated improving risk sentiment. Benchmark 10-year Treasury note yields rose back above the 2.20 percent level, where there is technical resistance. Were consolidating and looking for the next big trade, whether it is a reversal of the rally or an extension of it, said Ian Lyngen, head of U.S. rates strategy at BMO Capital Markets in New York. Lyngen noted that the 2.20 percent to 2.25 percent yield levels on the 10-year note are significant from a technical perspective because there is a bit of a volume bulge there. The 10-year notes were last down 6/32 in price to yield 2.20 percent. The 10-year yield fell as low as 2.165 percent on Tuesday and has tumbled from a recent high of 2.63 percent hit on March 14. U.S. stocks also rose on Wednesday, reducing the safe-haven bid for bonds. With no major economic releases due this week investors were focused on the French elections, U.S. tensions with North Korea and any new indications on when the Trump administration is likely to undertake tax and fiscal reforms. Centrist Emmanuel Macron held on to his lead as favorite to win France''s presidential election, a closely watched poll showed, although it indicated that the first round of voting at the weekend remained too close to call. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said that Washington would work with its allies and China to put economic and diplomatic pressure on North Korea but added that the United States would defeat any attack with an "overwhelming response." Bonds prices have been boosted in recent weeks by reduced expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates two more times this year following disappointing economic data releases. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is also seen as less likely to pass fiscal or tax reforms in the near term. Futures traders were pricing in a 49 percent chance the U.S. central bank will raise rates at its June meeting, down from 71 percent on April 6, according to the CME Groups FedWatch Tool. Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren was due to speak later on Wednesday. The U.S. central bank will also release its Beige Book compendium of economic conditions. (Editing by Meredith Mazzilli) )'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-bonds-idINL1N1HR0HC'|'2017-04-19T11:17:00.000+03:00' +'6c8eda3e0228e8fd7249b09bc635d87208ffc388'|'North American deals drive global investment banking fees to 10-year high'|'By Dasha Afanasieva - LONDON LONDON Global investment banking fees reached a 10-year high in the first quarter of 2017 with more than half of the $24 billion in total takings coming from North America, Thomson Reuters data showed on Tuesday.The rebound in fees to pre-crisis highs will be good news for global advisors who complain they are being squeezed by regulatory requirements amid competition from boutique players.Wall Street banks took the top five places last quarter, led by JP Morgan ( JPM.N ) which earned $1.7 billion in fees, followed by Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) with $1.5 billion.Fees from equity issuance almost doubled although bonds were the biggest contributor to fees globally. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) was the only sector not to improve on last year''s dismal first quarter, with fees falling 2.5 percent in the first three months of this year.Uncertainty surrounding Britain''s exit from the European Union, the election in the Netherlands and upcoming polls in France and Germany dampened European activity but fees still rose almost 20 percent last quarter.The biggest fee payer was U.S. telecoms operator Charter Communications ( CHTR.O ) which has been exploring a tie-up with Verizon ( VZ.N ) and has issued a series of bonds.Investment banking fees generated by financial sponsors and their portfolio companies increased by 50 percent on a year earlier to $2.7 billion for the first quarter of 2017.Fees paid by private equity giant Blackstone ( BX.N ) more than tripled to $230 million.(Reporting by Dasha Afanasieva; Editing by Susan Fenton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-investment-banking-fees-q-idINKBN1761FC'|'2017-04-04T10:46:00.000+03:00' +'6ebe9e889950f2c794d8526330fde08dd53958c8'|'Odebrecht lenders to forgo early debt repayment after M&A deal'|'By Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Tatiana Bautzer - SAO PAULO SAO PAULO Creditors of Odebrecht SA have agreed to not tap proceeds from the sale of a water and sanitation utility for early repayment of loans, giving the embattled Brazilian engineering conglomerate more time to restructure 76 billion reais ($24 billion) of obligations.In a Tuesday statement, Odebrecht [ODBES.UL] said lenders allowed it to keep the 2.5 billion reais in proceeds from the sale of a 70 percent stake in Odebrecht Ambiental SA to replenish cash. That amount is enough to cover Odebrecht''s cash needs for about two years, the statement said.The accord signals the willingness of Odebrecht''s lenders to give it more time to reorganize amid fallout from a massive bribery probe. In recent months, some analysts and newspaper reports have speculated that the extent of the probe could force the group to seek an in-court reorganization.The sale of Odebrecht Ambiental to an investor group led by Brookfield Asset Management Inc ( BAMa.TO ) took longer than expected to close due to protracted due diligence and fears that Odebrecht''s involvement in the scandal could hurt the utility''s business, people familiar with the matter said.The scandal known as "Operation Car Wash" has almost shut Odebrecht''s access to credit and new construction contracts in Brazil and a dozen countries. Odebrecht and banks are currently renegotiating about 30 billion reais in loans.Prosecutors in Brazil allege Odebrecht and rivals colluded to overcharge state firms for contracts, then used part of the extra proceeds to bribe politicians in Brazil and abroad.Odebrecht is negotiating graft-related fines with several Latin American countries to prevent upcoming elections across the region from putting the brakes on planned asset sales. Some asset sales that may soon be announced include Odebrecht''s exit from a consortium running Rio de Janeiro''s international airport.(Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Tatiana Bautzer; Editing by Andrew Hay)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-odebrecht-restructuring-deals-idINKBN17R2XI'|'2017-04-25T20:02:00.000+03:00' +'860f094db2adeda85b1c1db2df1b21c6c508c799'|'Office supplies retailer Staples explores sale: source'|'Staples Inc ( SPLS.O ), the largest U.S. office supplies retailer, is considering selling itself, and is in talks with private-equity bidders, a source familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.The retailer last year called off a proposed merger with rival Office Depot Inc ( ODP.O ), due to antitrust concerns.Staples spokesman Mark Cautela declined to comment.The company''s shares rose nearly 15 percent in early trading on the Nasdaq. Staples had a market value of $5.65 billion as of Monday.The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that Staples was exploring a sale.(This story corrects to "Tuesday" from "Monday" in first paragraph)(Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru and Lauren Hirsch in New York; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-staples-m-a-idINKBN1761P6'|'2017-04-04T12:27:00.000+03:00' +'7361a551b276b507e75a60ab537dc833e04f94d8'|'Puma reports strong sales in Americas and Europe'|'Business News 28am BST Puma reports strong sales in Americas and Europe left right A handbag with the logo of German sports goods firm Puma is pictured in a shop after the company''s annual news conference in Herzogenaurach February 20, 2014. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle 1/2 left right The logo of German sports goods firm Puma is seen on a shoe after the company''s annual news conference in Herzogenaurach February 20, 2014. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle/File Photo 2/2 BERLIN German sportswear firm Puma ( PUMG.DE ) reported strong first quarter sales growth in the Americas and Europe on Tuesday, driven by demand for sneakers like suede shoes designed by singer Rihanna. Puma, which had already released preliminary figures earlier this month as it lifted its profit and sales guidance for 2017, said sales rose a currency-adjusted 17 percent in the Americas and 15.9 percent in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Like German rival Adidas ( ADSGn.DE ), Puma has been enjoying a revival in the U.S. market, helped by a shift towards retro styles and away from basketball shoes which has hurt Under Armour ( UAA.N ) and dampened Nike''s ( NKE.N ) success. (Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Christoph Steitz)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-puma-de-results-idUKKBN17R0IC'|'2017-04-25T14:28:00.000+03:00' +'1046d378ff5e0d76eba4e1769b7c4b226015b166'|'Italy - Factors to watch on April 18'|'The following factors could affect Italian markets on Tuesday.Reuters has not verified the newspaper reports, and cannot vouch for their accuracy. New items are marked with (*).For a complete list of diary events in Italy please click on .COMPANIESBourse After Hours market closed.(*) UNICREDITThe bank is working at some changes to its corporate governance after a 13 billion capital increase transformed it in a fully-fledged public company, its Chairman Giuseppe Vita told Il Sole 24 Ore on Tuesday. The lender''s executive directors could have a role in appointing the new board, Vita said to give an example of the new rules.MEDIASETItaly''s communications authority (AGCOM) is set to decide on Tuesday whether stake building by France''s Vivendi in Italian broadcaster Mediaset breaches Italian antitrust regulations, a source close to the matter said last week. (*) AGCOM''s veridict will likely be in favour of Mediaset, several newspapers said on Tuesday, with La Stampa reporting that the authority could give as much as one year to the French media group to reduce its stake in Mediaset or in Telecom Italia . (*) If the authority puts a ceiling to Vivendi''s voting rights in Mediaset, the Berlusconi family, which controls the Italian group, could hold an extraordinary shareholder meeting to introduce a loyalty vote scheme at the broadcaster, La Repubblica reported on Tuesday.TELECOM ITALIA, MEDIASETThe telecoms group is discussing with both U.S. media group Discovery and Italian broadcaster Mediaset the possibility of bidding together for the Serie A and Champions League''s broadcasting rights, Il Messaggero reported on Saturday citing Ansa. Telecom is only interested in the ultra-broadband rights and will choose its partner also in relation to how the tenders are structured.ENIThe oil and gas group said on Sunday it was waiting to examine in detail the reasons behind Italy''s Basilicata region''s decisions to again block operations at Eni''s Val d''Agri oil centre in Viggiano and that it conducted with the utmost diligence activities aimed at ensuring the centre operated safely.(*) MEDIOBANCA, INTESA SANPAOLO, UNICREDITThe Italian government has informally suggested Intesa Sanpaolo to ask UniCredit about its willingness to sell its stake in Mediobanca, la Repubblica reported on Sunday, adding the bank has not listened to the advise.(*) MONTE DEI PASCHI DI SIENAThe rescue plan for the lender is expected to start in May, MF reported on Tuesday, adding the bank will likely sell its 28 billion euro bad loans all together.(*) FINCANTIERIThe Italian shipbuilder said on Tuesday it signed a memorandum of agreement for the construction of two additional cruise ships for Viking Ocean Cruises, with an option for another two.The shipbuilder will likely finalise a deal to buy STX France by the end of April, Il Sole 24 Ore reported on Tuesday.ATLANTIAFour suitors are left in the race to buy a minority stake in Atlantia''s motorway unit, two sources close to the matter said on Thursday, as the Italian infrastructure group prepares to finalise the deal in coming weeks.Macquarie has submitted an offer for a 15 percent stake in the Italian motorway group''s Autostrade per l''Italia unit which places the Australian fund next to Allianz among the favoured bidders, Il Sole 24 Ore reported on Saturday.FIAT CHRYSLERChief Executive Sergio Marchionne rowed back on his search for a merger on Friday, saying the car maker was not in a position to seekdeals for now and would focus instead on following its business plan.UNICREDIT, INTESA SANPAOLO, ASSICURAZIONI GENERALIAlitalia and labour unions reached a preliminary agreement on Friday on job and pay cuts that the loss-making airline says are necessary to keep it in business, union and government officials said.Adviser Lazard has worked over the Easter weekend to provide Alitalia''s creditors UniCredit, Intesa and Generali by Tuesday with an updated version of the business plan that incorporates the impact of Friday''s accord, Il Messaggero reported on Saturday. The paper Quote: d a person working on the deal as saying the lower-than-expected labour cost cuts in the accord should not significantly alter the plan''s projections. (*) Alitalia''s designated Chairman Luigi Gubitosi met Delta airways'' top official over Easter holidays, Il Messaggero reported on Tuesday.(*) BANCA INTERMOBILIAREVeneto Banca has picked Lazard as advisers to sell its Banca Intermobiliare in the short term, Il Sole 24 Ore said on Tuesday.BANCA MEDIOLANUMItaly''s top administrative court said on Friday it had asked the European Court of Justice (ECJ) whether the latter had full competence over the case concerning the stake that Silvio Berlusconi''s holding company Fininvest holds in the Italian asset manager -- or whether the Italian court had any jurisdiction in the matter.Berlusconi and Fininvest appealed in December to the ECJ against European Central Bank''s decision that Fininvest should cut its 30 percent stake in Mediolanum.ASSICURAZIONI GENERALIInvestor Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone has bought a further 1 million shares at an average price of 14.1 euros each raising his stake to around 3.6 percent, a regulatory filing showed on Friday.AVIOLeonardo Del Vecchio owns 3.89 percent of the aerospace group, pioneer investments 3.24 pct and Multilabel Sicav 4.71 percent, a regulatory filing showed on FridayITALMOBILIAREThe Pesenti family''s holding company is close to finalising an investment in mountain garments company Tecnica, Il Sole 24 Ore reported on Sunday.FERRARIFerrari''s Sebastian Vettel won the Bahrain Grand Prix to go seven points clear at the top of the Formula One standings on Sunday, with Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton staging a late charge to finish second.PRIMA INDUSTRIEThe group stands by a target of around 500 million euros in revenue in 2019 and an EBITDA margin of 12 percent up from 9 percent at end-2016, Il Sole 24 Ore reported on Sunday.IPOsPrivate-equity held Italian packaging firm Guala Closures is preparing a stock market listing or a sale that may value the company at more than 1 billion euros ($1.06 billion) including debt, sources close to the matter said.For Italian market data and news, click on codes in brackets:20 biggest gainers (in percentage)20 biggest losers (in percentage)FTSE IT allshare indexFTSE Mib indexFTSE Allstars index...FTSE Mid Cap index....Block tradesStories on Italy IT-LENFor pan-European market data and news, click on codes in brackets: European Equities speed guide FTSEurofirst 300 index DJ STOXX index Top 10 STOXX sectors Top 10 EUROSTOXX sectors Top 10 Eurofirst 300 sectors Top 25 European pct gainers Top 25 European pct losers Main stock markets: Dow Jones Wall Street report Nikkei 225 Tokyo report FTSE 100 London report Xetra DAX Frankfurt market stories CAC-40 Paris market stories... World Indices Reuters survey of world bourse outlook Western European IPO diary European Asset Allocation Reuters News at a Glance: Equities Main currency report: ($1 = 0.9395 euros)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/italy-factors-april-idINL8N1HL2H6'|'2017-04-18T04:55:00.000+03:00' +'24086989a070ea2f20d54bb86e2547b4117a06a2'|'Fedex wins $2.35 billion U.S. defense contract: Pentagon'|'WASHINGTON Federal Express Corp ( FDX.N ) was awarded a five-year $2.35 billion contract, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.The indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, fixed-price next generation delivery service contract provides express small package delivery services for international shipments and express and ground small package delivery services for domestic shipments, the Pentagon said in a statement.(Reporting by Eric Walsh; Editing by Eric Beech)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-fedex-pentagon-idUSKBN17S2XR'|'2017-04-27T05:20:00.000+03:00' +'4bf157a2caf031947e0813a65343529fed7230e6'|'European stocks in, U.S. equities out - BAML survey'|'Business News - Tue Apr 18, 2017 - 10:55am BST European stocks in, U.S. equities out - BAML survey Traders work at their desks in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, April 13, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote LONDON Global investors'' enthusiasm for European stocks continues to surge, the latest Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) survey of portfolio managers showed on Tuesday, with bank noting that the swing of funds into the region and away from the United States was one of the largest since 1999. Allocation to U.S. equities fell to it lowest since January 2008, BAML said, adding that investors cited rich valuations and potential delays to U.S. tax reforms as key concerns. The so-called "Trump trade," which saw major U.S. stock indexes hit record highs and lifted bond yields on hopes that U.S. President Donald Trump would push through business-friendly reforms, has faltered in recent weeks on worries over the new administration''s ability to deliver on promises. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the Trump administration''s timetable for tax reform is set to falter following setbacks in negotiations with Congress over healthcare, the Financial Times reported on Monday. More than 40 percent of investors surveyed do not expect tax reforms to be passed before 2018, BAML said. In Europe, meanwhile, the mood for stocks has brightened. The brightest earnings outlook for European firms in 7 years, a recovering banking sector and better economic data from across the region has bolstered investor appetite and drawn funds back into the region. European stocks traded at about 15 times forward earnings compared with a multiple of 17.7 times for the United States, according to Thomson Reuters data. The risk that European elections might lead to the disintegration of the European Union slipped sharply from last month''s survey, the BAML said, though it remained the biggest "tail risk" for global investors. Along with the euro zone, investors added to emerging markets stocks with allocations running at 5-year highs while enthusiasm for global banking stocks was at its highest ever. More broadly, global funds held about 4.9 percent of their portfolio in cash, the survey showed. (Reporting by Vikram Subhedar Editing by Jeremy Gaunt.)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-stock-survey-baml-idUKKBN17K0YK'|'2017-04-18T17:55:00.000+03:00' +'cf1ef5202071d4942bd58d0a8159042721d88bea'|'Automakers to meet with U.S. transportation, EPA chiefs'|' 10:58pm BST Automakers to meet with U.S. transportation, EPA chiefs The logos of German carmaker Volkswagen is seen at a VW dealership in the Queens borough of New York, September 21, 2015. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo By David Shepardson - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Major automakers are set to meet Thursday with the head of the U.S. Transportation Department and Environmental Protection Agency as the agencies begin a review of federal fuel efficiency rules that are a major piece of the climate change policy enacted by the Obama administration. U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt will meet with board members Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a trade group representing General Motors Co ( GM.N ), Toyota Motor Corp ( 7203.T ), Volkswagen AG ( VOWG_p.DE ), Ford Motor Co ( F.N ), Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV ( FCHA.MI ), Daimler AG ( DAIGn.DE ) and others, three people briefed on the matter said Wednesday. An alliance spokeswoman declined to comment Wednesday, while the EPA and the Transportation Department did not immediately comment. In March, President Donald Trump ordered a review of U.S. vehicle fuel-efficiency standards from 2022-2025 put in place by the Obama administration, effectively reopening a process the Obama administration had ended ahead of an April 2018 deadline. In 2011, Obama said the rules would save motorists $1.7 trillion in fuel costs over the life of the vehicles, but cost the auto industry about $200 billion (156 billion) over 13 years. Automakers have said that cost estimate is low. California regulators, who had worked with the Obama administration on the current national fuel efficiency standards, have opposed weakening the rules. California has threatened to pursue tougher standards unilaterally and could mount a legal challenge. New York has also threatened a fight if the Trump administration rolls back the Obama standards. Earlier this month, Mitch Bainwol, chief executive of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, said automakers hope to reach a deal with California and the Trump administration over vehicle fuel efficiency standards. Automakers want "rational, predictable, stable policy," not a rollback of the existing standards, Bainwol said. The White House plans to hold negotiations with car companies and California over the fuel rules, but none have been scheduled since Trump met with automakers in Michigan on March 15 in a session that included Chao and Pruitt. Automakers need years of lead time to engineer future models and want uniform rules across all 50 states to reduce the cost and complexity of compliance. Without a deal, automakers could be forced to meet one set of standards in California and about a dozen states that have adopted its rules and other rules in the rest of the country. The Obama administration''s rules, negotiated with automakers in 2011, were aimed at doubling average fleet-wide fuel efficiency to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. Under the 2011 deal, the 2022-2025 model year rules must be finalised by April 2018. (Reporting by David Shepardson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-autos-emissions-usa-idUKKBN17S30R'|'2017-04-27T05:58:00.000+03:00' +'085342ff90e3b07fe65c058fa56e165415831cc0'|'LafargeHolcim CEO to step down over Syria investigation - source'|'Sun Apr 23, 2017 - 2:26pm BST LafargeHolcim CEO to step down over Syria investigation: source Chief Executive Officer Eric Olsen of LafargeHolcim, the world''s largest cement maker, addresses a news conference to present the company''s 2016 results in Zurich, Switzerland March 2, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann ZURICH LafargeHolcim ( LHN.S ) is close to announcing that its chief executive Eric Olsen is to step down following an internal investigation into activities at a former Lafarge cement plant in Syria, a source familiar with the matter said on Sunday. The source said there would be a change in leadership at the cement company following reports in the Financial Times and French newspaper Le Figaro that Olsen would be stepping down, citing sources. LafargeHolcim declined to comment on the matter. The cement maker in March said one of its cement plants probably paid protection money to armed groups in Syria to keep the factory running in the country. The disclosure followed an internal investigation and highlighted the dilemmas companies face when working in conflict zones. LafargeHolcim is expected to announce the findings of its internal investigation shortly. Olsen was formerly an executive at French industrial group Lafarge, which completed its merger with Swiss group Holcim in 2015. LafargeHolcim has said the deteriorating political situation in Syria had posed "very difficult challenges for the security and operations of the plant and its employees." The site was an important source of employment in the region and played a vital role in supplying Syria with essential building materials, the company said. Sources told the Financial Times Olsen''s departure terms were still under discussion on Sunday. (Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi, Oliver Hirt and John Revill. Editing by Jane Merriman and Georgina Prodhan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-lafargeholcim-syria-idUKKBN17P0BC'|'2017-04-23T21:12:00.000+03:00' +'92633d99688fb4ca12d7c7f35667d9050353cff0'|'Atlantia CEO says only interested in friendly deal with Abertis'|'Deals - Fri Apr 21, 2017 - 6:10am EDT Atlantia CEO says only interested in friendly deal with Abertis ROME Atlantia''s ( ATL.MI ) CEO Giovanni Castellucci said the Italian toll-road operator was interested in a tie-up with rival Abertis ( ABE.MC ) only if the takeover could be conducted in a friendly manner, involving the Spanish group''s top shareholder La Caixa. Speaking at the annual general meeting on Friday, Castellucci said Atlantia had room to raise debt without hurting its credit ratings but would not pursue a deal that endangered the prospect of boosting future dividend payments to shareholders. He said the company would not keep markets guessing for long after a media leak of its interest for Abertis sped the process up. A deal with Abertis could help Atlantia reach its strategic goals more quickly, he said. (Reporting by Stefano Bernabei, writing by Valentina Za, editing by Francesca Landini) '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-atlantia-abertis-idUSKBN17N140'|'2017-04-21T14:10:00.000+03:00' +'acad853fca8faea7641a5334d253ebab575631a0'|'Osram eyes acquisitions of up to 500 million euros - CFO in paper'|'Deals - Sat Apr 15, 2017 - 1:53pm BST Osram eyes acquisitions of up to $530 million: CFO in paper A woman walks in the headquarters of lamp manufacturer Osram in Munich, Germany February 26, 2014. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle/File Photo BERLIN German lighting company Osram ( OSRn.DE ) is on the lookout for acquisitions worth up to 500 million euros ($530 million), although there are no specific plans for a deal as yet, its finance chief told a German newspaper. Osram wants to strengthen the areas of electronics and software within its automotive lighting unit and is looking for acquisition targets or partners, Ingo Bank told Boersen-Zeitung in an interview published on Saturday. Acquisitions for its Opto semiconductors unit would also be attractive if they opened up access to markets, he said. Osram has funds available after the sale of lamps division LEDvance, which brought in gross proceeds of about 500 million euros, and thanks to its strong balance sheet, Bank said. "We have a lot of firepower and the ability to act. However, we will not be making the error of buying for the sake of it," the paper quoted him as saying. (Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Louise Ireland)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-osram-licht-m-a-idUKKBN17H0C8'|'2017-04-15T20:48:00.000+03:00' +'21957ac7628935ab0cf8401c8d64f901907ba9cc'|'China central bank says economy stable but complexities ''cannot be underestimated'''|'Business News - Sat Apr 1, 2017 - 11:25am BST China central bank says economy stable but complexities ''cannot be underestimated'' A man uses his mobile phone while walking past the headquarters of the People''s Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank, in Beijing, November 20, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo SHANGHAI China''s economy remains "generally stable" but it is facing complexities that "cannot be underestimated", the country''s central bank said in a statement on Saturday following a quarterly meeting of its monetary policy committee. The People''s Bank of China said in a statement posted on its website ( www.pbc.gov.cn ) that the world economy was still in a period of readjustment following the global financial crisis, and there were still many risks in global markets. It said it would continue to implement a sound and neutral monetary policy, and rely on a range of monetary policy tools to keep liquidity at a stable level. It added that it would continue to keep the yuan exchange rate at a reasonable and stable level. (Reporting by David Stanway; Editing by Eric Meijer) Next In Business News Brexit effects may reflect in business surveys LONDON In the week after Britain formally notified the European Union of its intention to quit the bloc, business surveys will give more idea of what -- if any -- impact Brexit is having on the British economy and how its EU peers compare. LONDON The City of London should emerge largely unscathed from Brexit even though thousands of banking and insurance jobs could move to the continent, the financial district''s policy chief said. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-centralbank-idUKKBN1733B4'|'2017-04-01T18:25:00.000+03:00' +'5d3fc00f5d2e65dd8484130ea727f4c80422524e'|'Old Mutual Wealth''s client inflows rise as parent works on break-up'|' 23am BST Old Mutual Wealth''s client inflows rise as parent works on break-up The Cape Town headquarters of Anglo-South African financial services company Old Mutual are shown in this picture taken March 7, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings Financial services group Old Mutual Plc''s ( OML.L ) UK asset management business reported its higher ever quarter for client inflows and funds under management for the first three months of the year, citing increased demand for its services and platform. Old Mutual Wealth forecast that markets would remain volatile and challenging in the medium term, especially until the outcome of Britain''s June general election and more detail of the terms of the country''s exit from the EU were known. The business''s net client cash flows, excluding Old Mutual Italy and the South African branches, rose 59 percent to 2.7 billion pounds in the quarter ended March 31. Its comparable funds under management jumped 6 percent to 122.3 billion pounds, Anglo-South African parent Old Mutual said in a statement on Friday. "We have the right solutions for these uncertain times, particularly our multi-asset, absolute return and high alpha product ranges... We are hopeful that this momentum will continue throughout 2017," the unit''s CEO Paul Feeney said. In March, Old Mutual said it was on track to complete its break-up into four parts by the end of 2018, although improvements to IT systems at Old Mutual Wealth could take longer and cost more than expected. (Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by Adrian Croft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-old-mutual-outlook-idUKKBN17U0UE'|'2017-04-28T15:23:00.000+03:00' +'6a3578648fe0d4a129a085d0b33dac85ca189d64'|'Panera Bread exploring possible sale: Bloomberg'|'Panera Bread Co ( PNRA.O ) is considering strategic options, including a possible sale, after receiving takeover interest, Bloomberg reported on Monday.The bakery cafe operator is working with advisers to study the options, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. bloom.bg/2oBLnnVThe company''s shares rose as much as 10.7 percent to a record high of $290 in midday trading.Panera Bread, which has a market value of about $6 billion, could not immediately be reached for comment.(Reporting by Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-panera-bread-m-a-idINKBN1751VB'|'2017-04-03T14:15:00.000+03:00' +'2414c1f72d4ab4a9b2ca9192b85abffb328f35e1'|'White House readies order to quit NAFTA - administration official'|'Business News - Wed Apr 26, 2017 - 7:46pm BST White House readies order to quit NAFTA - administration official left right FILE PHOTO: Trucks wait at the international border bridge Zaragoza to cross over to El Paso, USA, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, December 20, 2016. Picture taken December 20, 2016. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez/File Photo 1/4 left right FILE PHOTO: Trucks wait in a long queue for border customs control to cross into the U.S. at the Otay border crossing in Tijuana, Mexico, February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Jorge Duenes/File Photo 2/4 left right FILE PHOTO: Commercial trucks line up on the Ambassador bridge crossing over to Detroit, Michigan from Windsor, Ontario September 12, 2013. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File Photo 3/4 left right FILE PHOTO: A commercial automotive supplier truck passes under a sign leading to the Ambassador bridge crossing over to Detroit, Michigan from Windsor, Ontario September 28, 2013. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File Photo 4/4 By Steve Holland - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The White House is considering a draft executive order to withdraw the United States from the North American Free Trade Agreement, a senior Trump administration official said on Wednesday. It was unclear whether the order would be enacted by President Donald Trump, who has vowed to pull out from NAFTA - a U.S., Mexico and Canada trade pact - if he cannot win better terms for America. But the action under consideration could signal heightened prospects that one of the world''s biggest trading blocs could unravel in an economically damaging dispute. The possible executive order, first reported by Politico, sent stocks and currencies falling in Mexico and Canada. Investors were rethinking their assumptions that Trump would back away from some of the drastic actions on trade that he had promised during the presidential campaign. "It is a clear indication that they (in the White House) are wanting changes but we will have to see what emerges," said Paul Ferley, assistant chief economist at Royal Bank of Canada. Trump has long accused Mexico of destroying U.S. jobs and recently ramped up his criticism of Canada, saying last week that Ottawa''s protection of its dairy industry was "unfair." Trump this week ordered 20 percent tariffs on imports of Canadian softwood lumber, setting a tense tone as the three countries prepared to renegotiate the 23-year-old trade pact. The U.S. president has faced a series of setbacks since he took office in January, with courts blocking parts of his orders to limit immigration and the Republican-controlled Congress pulling legislation he backed to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system. As president, Trump has broad authority on trade policy, including the power to withdraw from NAFTA without votes by Congress, according to many legal analysts. It was under an executive order signed by Trump on Jan. 23 that the United States pulled out of the sweeping Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. Mexico had expected to start NAFTA renegotiations in August but the possible executive order could add urgency to the timeline. Trump criticized Mexico extensively during his presidential campaign. The United States went from running a small trade surplus with Mexico in the early 1990s to a $63 billion deficit in 2016. Canada said it was ready to come to talks on renewing NAFTA at any time. "At this moment NAFTA negotiations have not started. Canada is ready to come to the table at any time," said Alex Lawrence, a spokesman for Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland. (Reporting by Steve Holland; Additional reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto and David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Writing by Jason Lange; Editing by Tom Brown) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trade-nafta-idUKKBN17S2LO'|'2017-04-27T02:46:00.000+03:00' +'badc6391f21366948312bc51db99340482c07ecb'|'French election: Macron vs. Le Pen on the economy - Apr. 23, 2017'|'Forgotten in France: The banlieues outside Paris Far-right firebrand Marine Le Pen and centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron, set to face off in a May 7 French election with major implications for the future of Europe, have very different views on the economy. Macron, a former banker who served as economy minister, is socially liberal. He has argued that France''s economy can become more competitive if it embraces globalization and doubles down on free trade. Macron is a keen supporter of the euro and the EU. Le Pen, meanwhile, represents a radical departure from the status quo in France. She advocates a strident brand of economic nationalism that would mean new trade barriers and the country''s exit from the eurozone. Marine Le Pen Le Pen has proposed dropping the euro and switching to a "nouveau franc" of a lower value to help make French exports more competitive. Existing national debt would be converted to the new currency -- a move likely to be considered a default. She also wants to hold a referendum on France''s membership in the EU. Related: They want to kill the euro Le Pen is staunchly anti-globalization and has pledged to pursue policies she describes as "intelligent protectionism." That means no new free trade agreements and giving French companies priority on public contracts. It also means a new tax on companies that hire foreign workers, and additional taxes on imports. Le Pen wants to cut the income tax rate for the poorest. She would lower the retirement age and keep the 35-hour working week. She has opposed the privatization of big French state companies including postal service company La Poste. Emmanuel Macron Macron has promised to cut corporate tax rates gradually to 25% from the current 33%. He also wants to slash local housing taxes for the majority of French people. He has pledged to cut public spending by 60 billion ($64 billion) a year, partly by making the government more efficient. He said he would cut up to 120,000 government employees by not filling positions as workers retire. Macron is a free trade supporter and he campaigned in favor of CETA, the EU''s new free trade agreement with Canada. Related: Who is Emmanuel Macron? He said he would consider changes to how France''s 35-hour work week statute is applied. He wants to spend 50 billion over five years on training, energy and the environment, transportation, health and agriculture. CNNMoney (London) 5:43 PM ET'|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_news_economy.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/04/23/news/economy/french-election-macron-le-pen-eu-nationalist/index.html'|'2017-04-24T01:43:00.000+03:00' +'9b4f3776d04222df4efd101c43446121dd321399'|'US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-Futures extend losses after weak U.S. jobs data'|' 32am EDT US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-Futures extend losses after weak U.S. jobs data April 7 U.S. stock index futures extended losses on Friday after a Labor Department report showed that 98,000 jobs were added in the public and private sector in March, far lower than economists'' estimate of 180,000. Futures snapshot at 8:31 a.m. EDT: * Dow e-minis were down 37 points, or 0.18 percent, with 54,924 contracts changing hands. * S&P 500 e-minis were down 5 points, or 0.21 percent, with 315,679 contracts traded. * Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 8.75 points, or 0.16 percent, on volume of 59,910 contracts. (Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-idUSL3N1HF4BB'|'2017-04-07T20:32:00.000+03:00' +'ac86a50bd8a4f067c1608596f261b78194c18b44'|'Volkswagen offers 6-year warranty to win back U.S. customers'|' 10:05pm BST Volkswagen offers 6-year warranty to win back U.S. customers FILE PHOTO: New cars of several brands of German carmaker Volkswagen AG are covered with protective covers before they are loaded for export on a transport ship at the harbour of the Volkswagen plant in Emden, Germany, April 24, 2009. REUTERS/Christian Charisius/File photo By David Shepardson - NEW YORK NEW YORK Volkswagen AG ( VOWG_p.DE ) is trying to win back American customers after its diesel emission scandal with SUV warranties that it said will be the longest in the United States. Ahead of the New York auto show, the world''s largest automaker said Tuesday it will offer a six-year, 72,000 mile warranty on its new 2018 Atlas and 2018 Tiguan sport utility vehicles that go on sale later this year. "This warranty further addresses the needs of American buyers head-on," said Volkswagen Group of American chief executive Hinrich Woebcken. VW said most other major rivals offer a 36,000 mile, three-year warranty on similar SUVs. The longest warranty is now offered by Hyundai Motor Co ( 005380.KS ) and its Kia Motors Corp ( 000270.KS ) affiliate. That warranty extends 60,000 miles or five years. The powertrain warranty is 100,000 miles, but it only lasts five years or 60,000 miles if transferred. The German automaker has been struggling to recover since it admitted in 2015 the company installed secret software that allowed vehicles to cheat emissions tests for six years. The new VW warranty is twice as long as the current three-year 36,000-mile warranty on the Tiguan. The Atlas is a new model. VW brand U.S. sales this year are up 10 percent this year, but fell 8 percent in 2016 to 323,000 vehicles after falling 5 percent in 2015. The automaker halted all U.S. diesel sales in late 2015. AutoNation ( AN.N ) Inc chief executive Mike Jackson said that an extended warranty could help win customers. "The American people are full of forgiveness. All you have to do is say you are sorry and give them a deal," said Jackson, who heads the largest U.S. new car dealership chain. VW has "to give a price that reflects that you are asking for forgiveness." In March Volkswagen pleaded guilty as part of a settlement over the automaker''s diesel emissions scandal. In total, VW has agreed to spend up to $25 billion in the United States to address claims from owners, environmental regulators, states and dealers and offered to buy back about 500,000 polluting U.S. vehicles. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-autoshow-new-york-idUKKBN17D2MV'|'2017-04-12T05:05:00.000+03:00' +'43888cba60d351015fd91de267bb58068508c06e'|'German economy gained momentum at start of 2017 - econ ministry'|'Money 2:53pm IST German economy gained momentum at start of 2017 - econ ministry An illustration picture shows euro coins, April 8, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach BERLIN The German economy, Europe''s largest, picked up speed at the beginning of this year, lifted by a robust industrial sector and rising employment that is supporting private consumption, the Economy Ministry said on Wednesday. "The German economy''s rate of expansion accelerated somewhat in the first quarter," the ministry said in a statement. In the final three months of 2016, the economy grew by 0.4 percent. (Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Joseph Nasr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/germany-economy-idINKBN17E113'|'2017-04-12T17:23:00.000+03:00' +'d24c1fe0888c9b6b08de2950a74ad09bc316a125'|'Shareholder proxy Glass Lewis recommends vote against Barclays board member'|'Business 1:35pm BST Shareholder proxy Glass Lewis recommends vote against Barclays board member A Barclays sign is seen outside a branch of the bank in London, Britain, February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth LONDON Shareholder advisory firm Glass Lewis on Thursday recommended investors vote against the reelection of Ian Cheshire to the board of Barclays ( BARC.L ), saying he has too many commitments to fulfil all his duties. Cheshire is chairman-designate of Barclays''s UK retail bank, which will be separated from the investment bank in 2019 under rules designed to protect savers'' deposits. He also sits on the board of four other companies, including Debenhams Plc ( DEB.L ) and Whitbread Plc( WTB.L ), meaning he may not have sufficient time to discharge his responsibilities effectively, Glass Lewis said. Barclays shareholders will have the opportunity to vote on Cheshire and the bank''s other board members at the bank''s annual general meeting in London on May 10. Barclays declined to comment. The issue of so-called ''over-boarding'' whereby board members of British companies spread themselves too thinly has gained increased attention in recent years. HSBC ( HSBA.L ) last week said Paul Walsh, the former chief executive of drinks maker Diageo ( DGE.L ), is to step down from its board with immediate effect in order to focus on his other commitments. ISS, another shareholder proxy firm, meanwhile advised shareholders abstain from voting to reelect Barclays Chief Executive Jes Staley. Staley faces regulatory probes in the U.S. and Britain and criticism from investors following his attempts to unmask a whistleblower at the bank. (Reporting By Simon Jessop and Lawrence White, Editing by Anjuli Davies)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-barclays-board-idUKKBN17T1W9'|'2017-04-27T20:35:00.000+03:00' +'e3c8191eb2e68ecd167ce514ac914179e6d4d2f4'|'Pimco shutters RAE Worldwide Fundamental Advantage PLUS Fund'|'By Jennifer Ablan - NEW YORK, April 28 NEW YORK, April 28 Pacific Investment Management Co on Friday liquidated its RAE Worldwide Fundamental Advantage PLUS Fund, a global-neutral fund which had reached more than $4 billion in assets under management in 2014, according to the Newport Beach, Calif''s website.The portfolio''s strategy included long exposure to a portfolio of stocks through the "RAE Fundamental U.S. Large Model Portfolio" and short exposure to the S&P 500 Index, while overlaying this equity market neutral exposure with absolute return bond alpha strategy through "AR Bond Alpha Strategy".The RAE Fundamental U.S. Large Model Portfolio stocks are selected by Pimco''s long-time subadviser, Research Affiliates, LLC, which was founded and chaired by Rob Arnott, known on Wall Street as the "godfather of smart beta.""We constantly review our suite of strategies and may liquidate a fund from time to time if we feel it no longer serves our clients needs," Michael Reid, spokesman for Pimco, said in a statement to Reuters. "We are committed to RAE and will be expanding RA relationship in equities with (the) upcoming launch of RAFI Multi-Factor ETFs."Pimco, a unit of Munich-based insurer Allianz SE, had $1.51 trillion in assets, has collaborated with Arnott''s firm Research Affiliates for more than a decade.In 2015, Pimco expanded Pimco''s RAE Fundamental lineup, which uses Research Affiliates'' "smart beta," or "fundamental indexation," strategy of selecting, weighting and rebalancing holdings on the basis of characteristics other than market capitalization.Two years ago, Pimco introduced a slate of six new equity funds in collaboration with Research Affiliates to cover U.S. large, U.S. small, international, global, global excluding U.S. and emerging markets. (Editing by Bernadette Baum)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/funds-pimco-idINL1N1I01B2'|'2017-04-28T13:47:00.000+03:00' +'dd7aaddffa452029df0302d50b175971a9fd1002'|'Euro zone growth steady but modest - if political status quo remains: Reuters poll'|'Business News 06am BST Euro zone growth steady but modest - if political status quo remains: Reuters poll left right Supporters for Emmanuel Macron, head of the political movement En Marche !, (Onwards !), and candidate for the 2017 French presidential election, attend a campaign political rally in Saint-Herblain near Nantes, France, April 19, 2017. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe 1/3 left right A poster campaign with factice portable cellphone numbers for French presidential candidates, Top row from L, Benoit Hamon, Socialist Party candidate, Emmanuel Macron, candidate for ''En Marche !'' or (Onwards !), Nathalie Arthaud, candidate for France''s extreme-left Lutte Ouvriere, and Marine Le Pen, the National Front (FN) leader and candidate; Bottom row R, Francois Fillon, the Republicans centre-right candidate, are seen on a wall in Paris, France, April 19, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier 2/3 left right A man looks at campaign posters of the 11th candidates who run in the 2017 French presidential election in Enghien-les-Bains, near Paris, France April 19, 2017. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann - RTS12ZQ5 3/3 By Shrutee Sarkar Euro zone economic growth will be steady but modest over the coming year, but that will depend partly on independent candidate Emmanuel Macron winning the French presidency next month, a Reuters poll of economists showed. The results suggest forecasters, like investors and traders, appear unrattled by political uncertainty as France prepares for a presidential election in which far right and anti-European Union leader Marine Le Pen is polling strongly, although no major survey sees her winning. France is the EU''s second biggest economy so turmoil there would weigh on the wider bloc. "A win by the populist Marine Le Pen in the second round could result in a prolonged period of uncertainty as she attempts to negotiate better terms for France remaining in the EU." said Beata Caranci, chief economist at TD Securities. "This outcome would undoubtedly increase volatility in global financial markets, particularly in European equities, bonds, and currencies." A separate poll of foreign exchange strategists earlier this month showed the euro falling about 5 percent to near 15-year lows and close to parity against the dollar in the immediate aftermath of a Le Pen win the vote. [EUR/POLL] Still, the latest poll of over 80 economists showed predictions for euro zone growth and inflation have barely budged over the last two years of monthly Reuters surveys. "Our macro views involve assumptions on not just policy but also politics, especially in Europe. For example, underlying our growth forecasts is the view that European elections will not lead to governments that try to take their countries out of the euro area," noted Ajay Rajadhyaksha, head of macro research at Barclays. When asked which candidate for the presidency would be best for French economic growth, 30 of 51 respondents said Emmanuel Macron, 19 said Franois Fillon and the remaining two economists said both. But none chose Marine Le Pen. For a graphic: reut.rs/2pBAZQr STEADY AS SHE GOES Economic growth in the euro zone is expected to be steady at 0.4 percent in each quarter through the third quarter of next year, unchanged from last month''s poll. Median consensus for annual GDP growth for this year was 1.7 percent and for next it was 1.6 percent, in line with the International Monetary Fund''s latest projections. But inflation is forecast to remain below the European Central Bank''s target of close to but under 2 percent until at least 2019. The highest call was for inflation to average 2.1 percent this year. Those decent-yet-uninspiring predictions come despite surprisingly strong business confidence surveys and hints of a pick up in price pressures since the start of the year. But with the inflation outlook still tepid, economists unanimously said the ECB would stand pat at its monetary policy meeting on April 27. The central bank is expected to keep its interest rates on hold through to until at least the fourth quarter of 2018. While the ECB is expected to remain on the sidelines through this year, when asked on the next likely move, a majority of economists said it would extend its asset purchases programme beyond December 2017 with a cut to the monthly spend, currently at 60 billion euros per month. The next top pick was for the ECB to announce a taper to its asset purchase programme with an intention to wind it down completely. "The first step in the ECB''s exit strategy is likely to be tapering and not hiking policy rates," said Kristian Toedtmann, economist at DekaBank. "The ECB wants to withdraw stimulus only very slowly. At the same time, it seems not inclined to extend the universe of assets that it can buy. Therefore, the most consistent way to normalise monetary policy would be to phase out QE." (Additional reporting by Sujith Pai; Polling and analysis by Vartika Sahu Editing by Jeremy Gaunt.)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-economy-poll-idUKKBN17M0QH'|'2017-04-20T15:41:00.000+03:00' +'989f85a357f560251a9fab35484086e6dfd33696'|'Westshore Terminals Investment Corp announces normal course issuer bid'|'April 6 Westshore Terminals Investment Corp :* Westshore Terminals Investment Corporation announces normal course issuer bid* Purchases pursuant to bid will be made from time to time by Scotia Capital Inc on behalf of corporation* Westshore Terminals - making normal course issuer bid up to 1.8 million of issued and outstanding common shares being 2.5pct of 73.2 million shares outstanding '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-westshore-terminals-investment-cor-idUSFWN1HE0RR'|'2017-04-07T04:08:00.000+03:00' +'c7723f2d2e7939d533241415abe5e6dd9710870e'|'Global air freight demand up 8.4 percent in February - IATA'|'Business News - Wed Apr 5, 2017 - 10:35am BST Global air freight demand up 8.4 percent in February - IATA Demand for global air freight rose 8.4 percent in February, accelerating after a 6.9 percent rise in January and reflecting improving world trade, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Wednesday. Demand, measured in freight tonne kilometres, also grew faster than capacity, which shrank 0.4 percent. That meant load factors improved 3.5 percentage points to 43.5 percent and gave yields a boost, IATA said. Adjusted for the extra day from 2016''s leap year, demand in February rose 12 percent, the association added. Demand was also driven by increased shipments of semiconductor materials used in consumer electronics "February further added to the cautious optimism building in air cargo markets," IATA Director General Alexandre de Juniac said in a statement. "While there are signs of stronger world trade, concerns over the current protectionist rhetoric are still very real." (Reporting by Bartosz Dabrowski; Editing by Victoria Bryan) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-airlines-iata-freight-idUKKBN17712K'|'2017-04-05T17:35:00.000+03:00' +'6a1647688b9e81571d17bfa061ccbf1ca33200d2'|'Centurion Midstream acquires oil transport business from Agave Energy'|'HOUSTON Centurion Midstream Group LLC said it acquired a petroleum marketing and transportation business that operates in West Texas from Agave Energy Holdings, a subsidiary of Lucid Energy Group.Price of the purchase was not disclosed.Ken Douglas, Centurion''s chief financial officer, said the deal will expand the Dallas-based company''s Permian Basin crude oil and condensate marketing and logistics operation. The acquisition includes a fleet of about 20 trucks.(Reporting by Gary McWilliams; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-agave-m-a-centurion-idUSKBN17K2K2'|'2017-04-19T01:36:00.000+03:00' +'f34b1d02d267c892e3f5e428c36ef000c18e8fd3'|'China banks miss out on U.S. investment banking bonanza'|'By Koh Gui Qing - NEW YORK NEW YORK As scores of investment bankers profit from the fee bonanza offered by Chinese companies hunting for deals in the United States, one group is conspicuously absent - Chinese banks.Despite their deep ties with Chinese firms, the country''s largest state-owned banks are missing out on the hundreds of millions of dollars that Wall Street banks and their European rivals earn advising Chinese companies on acquisitions and share and debt sales.What is holding the banks back is the way Beijing controls the top lenders to manage the supply of credit to the Chinese economy.Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, and China Construction Bank all have China''s sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corp (CIC), as the main shareholder.U.S. rules require the controlling shareholder - or CIC in this instance - to seek Federal Reserve clearance for investment banking operations. This poses a big hurdle to Chinese banks as they would need to coordinate their applications despite having separate managements and strategies, said a banker with a Chinese lender in New York. He declined to be named due to sensitivity of the matter.The setup means the four banks are only as strong as their weakest link and two of them come with significant baggage, having drawn Fed scrutiny over enforcement of anti-money laundering laws.The Federal Reserve declined to comment and the CIC and the "big four" banks were not immediately available for comment."We''ve hit a bottleneck," said another banker at a Chinese lender in New York. "As a commercial bank, we''ve done all we are meant to do. Why don''t we become an investment bank ourselves?"Without changes that would allow Chinese banks to act independently, or an agreement with the Fed to make an exception for them, those keen to expand in the United States will be in a limbo, that banker said.Lending titans at home, the "big four" have invested in boosting their profile in New York. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, for example, has an office in Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, while Bank of China occupies a new mid-town Manhattan office tower it bought in 2014. They take deposits from savers and businesses and provide trade financing and foreign exchange trading services. Between December 2010 and September 2016, their assets in the United States soared over seven times to $126.5 billion, Fed data showed.Beijing so far has given no indication it is ready to relax its grip for the sake of overseas growth, even though some say state divestiture is the ultimate solution."The leadership of China faces a choice. They control those institutions for their domestic purposes and I think that limits their ability to go international," said David Dollar, a senior fellow in the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution."If those big banks really want to go international, I think China has to privatize them," he said.The stakes are high.Last year, Chinese companies raised over $22 billion in U.S. debt and stock markets, up 28 percent from 2010 and 12 percent higher than in 2015. The value of mergers and acquisitions involving Chinese firms soared to almost $27 billion last year from a previous high of $3.6 billion reached in 2013. (Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/2oyhl3r )To get a slice of that investment banking business, any foreign institution needs the Fed''s recognition as a "financial holding company" that is "well capitalized" and "well managed," according to the Fed''s website."ALARMING" TRANSACTIONSThat poses a challenge for all four because the Fed took enforcement action against China Construction Bank in 2015 and Agricultural Bank of China last year for not doing enough to fight money laundering, according to the Fed''s website.The central bank did not detail the banks'' problems. But when New York''s financial regulator in November fined Agricultural Bank of China $215 million for violating anti-money laundering rules, it cited "alarming" transactions including "unusually" large payments from Yemen to the southern Chinese province of Zhejiang.Public records showed the Fed has not raised similar concerns about the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Bank of China so far.A person familiar with the Fed''s thinking said the regulators believed Chinese banks should focus on tightening their procedures before expanding their U.S. businesses.The person, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the Fed would never grant the "financial holding company" status to any bank with unresolved regulatory issues.Chinese banks have argued, without success, against being treated as one entity, the banker and the source familiar with the Fed''s thinking said.Now, bankers in New York plan to analyze the costs and risks of expanding into investment banking and present the findings to their respective boards in China, the banker said.If the banks'' headquarters in Beijing find the business worth pursuing they will conduct their own due diligence and start consulting various Chinese regulators on ways to overcome the regulatory hurdles, the banker said. Despite the challenges, the "big four" clearly has investment banking ambitions. All four have investment banking arms in Hong Kong or mainland China that target Asian deals. U.S. expansion would be the logical next step given that Chinese companies will continue investing overseas in search of growth opportunities and new technology, the banker said."Should Chinese banks continue to miss out on this opportunity? That''s the question we should ask," said the banker.(Reporting by Koh Gui Qing in New York; Additional reporting by Olivia Oran in New York and Ryan Woo in Beijing; Editing by Greg Roumeliotis and Tomasz Janowski)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-china-banks-wallstreet-idINKBN17S0DL'|'2017-04-26T03:08:00.000+03:00' +'714cb2e640bb5e86bb80e897255221d0d1e7abef'|'Israel''s Bank Hapoalim looks to sell off credit card unit'|'JERUSALEM The board of Bank Hapoalim ( POLI.TA ), Israel''s largest lender, has instructed management to explore options for selling off its credit card unit Isracard, the bank said on Thursday.The move comes in the wake of new regulation meant to increase competition in the sector by prohibiting the country''s top two banks from owning credit card companies. Number two Bank Leumi ( LUMI.TA ) will have to do the same.Bank Hapoalim said in a statement it is looking into three options - selling shares of Isracard to the public, selling it to an investor or group of investors, or distributing its shares as a dividend to Hapoalim stakeholders. Hapoalim has three years to sell the unit - or four years if it sells Isracard to the public.The bank is starting to prepare a prospectus for a possible share offering while also holding talks with leading investment banks about finding a buyer.Isracard is Israel''s largest credit card company, with 4.8 million cardholders, annual revenue of more than 2 billion shekels ($549 million) and net profit of about 300 million shekels.($1 = 3.6460 shekels)(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch,; Editing by Tova Cohen)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-bank-hapoalim-divestiture-idUSKBN1780JN'|'2017-04-06T10:31:00.000+03:00' +'ad175806d5fe8e117e83bd1b8f00228054166fa8'|'U.S. Vice President Pence says S.Korea-U.S. free trade agreement to be reviewed, reformed'|' 53am BST U.S. Vice President Pence says South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement to be reviewed, reformed U.S. Vice President Mike Pence visits the truce village of Panmunjom, South Korea, April 17, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji SEOUL U.S. Vice President Mike Pence told business leaders in Seoul on Tuesday that the Trump administration will review and reform the five-year-old free trade agreement between the two countries. Pence said the U.S. trade deficit has more than doubled in the five years since the U.S.-South Korea free trade agreement began and there are too many barriers for U.S. businesses in the country. Pence''s meeting in Seoul with business leaders comes before he heads to Tokyo later on Tuesday, where he will meet Japan''s Finance Minister Taro Aso and kick off talks that Washington hopes will open doors for U.S.-made products. U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed to narrow big trade deficits with nations like China and Japan, saying he would boost U.S. manufacturing jobs. "That''s the hard truth," Pence told an American Chamber of Commerce meeting in Seoul. "We have to be honest about where our trade relationship is falling short", said Pence, adding the Trump administration would work with businesses on reforms. Trump campaigned on an "America First" pledge, promising to overhaul trade agreements that he said hurt U.S. jobs. Before the free trade agreement between the two countries took effect in 2012, South Korea''s trade surplus against the United States stood at $11.6 billion at end-2011. In 2016, the surplus measured at $23.2 billion, data. James Kim, CEO of GM Korea, said there are opportunities to improve the free trade deal between Washington and Seoul. We need to minimize as many unique Korea standards which would make it easier to buy American products made in America, Kim said at the meeting with Pence. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton, additional reporting by Christine Kim; Writing by James Pearson, Ju-min Park; Editing by Michael Perry)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-southkorea-usa-pence-idUKKBN17K01E'|'2017-04-18T08:33:00.000+03:00' +'411cda83ec814d5f3eb01e1465fd3d42a5a0960e'|'Ride-hailing firm Grab agrees to buy Indonesian payment startup Kudo'|'SINGAPORE Southeast Asian ride-hailing firm Grab on Monday said it has agreed to buy Indonesian online payment startup Kudo, marking the first investment under a recently announced plan to commit $700 million to its largest market.Grab did not disclose the deal value. Reuters in February reported Grab''s plan to buy Kudo for over $100 million, citing a person close to the matter.Grab, the main Southeast Asian rival of Uber Technologies Inc, said the deal would come under the $700 million it has committed to invest in Indonesia over the next four years.Founded in 2014, Kudo helps consumers with no bank accounts and based in small towns and cities make online payments through its agents. Kudo in the statement said the acquisition created immediate synergies with its existing business.The two firms also plan to explore opportunities to increase the types of financial services that Kudo could offer, including insurance and consumer loans, said Grab.Upon closing the deal, the Kudo team and platform will be integrated with Grab''s online payment service GrabPay.In a separate statement, Grab said it has hired Jason Thompson, previously of U.S. electronic payments company Euronet Worldwide Inc, as head of GrabPay to be based in Singapore.(Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan; Editing by Christopher Cushing)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/kudo-m-a-grab-idINKBN1750BD'|'2017-04-03T02:20:00.000+03:00' +'c75947eb038005e18e90a625f3509636918c7ccf'|'Fresenius picks up M&A pace with Akorn, Merck KGaA deals'|'By Ludwig Burger - FRANKFURT FRANKFURT German healthcare group Fresenius SE & Co KGaA has stepped up its dealmaking, agreeing to buy U.S. generic drugmaker Akorn Inc for $4.75 billion (4.37 billion euros) and the biosimilars arm of Germany''s Merck KGaA.Takeovers were part of Fresenius''s growth strategy under previous boss Ulf Mark Schneider, now leading Nestle. But his successor, former finance chief Stephan Sturm, is lifting the pace, having already bought a Spanish hospital chain for 5.8 billion euros since taking over in June.The latest deals are in keeping with Fresenius''s focus on drugs that have lost patent protection, but also mark a foray into new dosage forms, therapeutic areas and biotech drugs for its Kabi unit, a maker of generic infusion drugs as well as tube feeding and blood transfusion equipment.Akorn will add products such as medical creams, ophthalmic drugs, oral liquids, ear drops, nasal sprays and respiratory drugs, where competition is relatively benign compared with standard pills and tablets."We are putting Fresenius Kabi on track for an even more broadly based and strong sustainable growth beyond the current decade," said Sturm.The separate deal with Merck KGaA marks an entry into "biosimilar" copies of complex biologic drugs made from living cells, which Fresenius has previously shunned."We''ve always said the regulatory environment would have to clear up before we invest in biosimilars. A lot has been done in that area in the recent past," Sturm added.Reuters earlier on Monday reported Fresenius was close to acquiring Akorn.In a deal that has the backing of Akorn''s management and its largest shareholder, Fresenius will pay $34 per share and take on Akorn''s net debt of about $450 million for a total price tag of $4.75 billion, Fresenius said late on Monday.It will be financed by a broad mix of euro- and dollar-denominated debt instruments.Berenberg analyst Tom Jones said the price tag of 12.4 times Akorn''s core earnings (adjusted EBITDA) estimate for 2017 should not "give anyone any great cause for concern".He flagged some risks related to Akorn''s older drugs that might draw scrutiny from U.S. healthcare regulators but was reassured by the buyer''s "long history of doing M&A, and doing it relatively well".Fresenius shares were up 0.9 percent at 0750 GMT, broadly in line with the European healthcare index.For the Merck deal, Fresenius will pay an initial 170 million euros and up to 500 million in milestone payments tied to the achievement of drug development targets as none of Merck''s biosimilar drugs have been launched yet.Merck also stands to receive single-digit percentage royalties on sales.Fresenius said it expected first revenues towards the end of 2019. It also said it was prepared to spend and invest up to 1.4 billion euros to build up the new business through 2022, including the upfront and milestone payments to Merck.Fresenius, with a market capitalisation of more than 40 billion euros, runs businesses ranging from kidney dialysis and drug manufacturing to hospital management.Group net debt as a multiple of core earnings will temporarily increase to about 3.3 after both transactions but is expected to return to about 3 at the end of 2018.Fresenius has for years enjoyed low borrowing costs because of its diversified businesses in an industry largely immune to swings in the business cycle.The buyer''s main advisers on the Akorn deal were investment banks Credit Suisse and Moelis, as well as law firm Allen & Overy.($1 = 0.9206 euros)(Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Grant McCool and Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/akorn-m-a-fresenius-idINKBN17R0SU'|'2017-04-25T16:17:00.000+03:00' +'2a72892cc3eb2231513433c1bdf5cdd9f01d6dfb'|'Argentina says committed to ensuring no new incidents at Barrick mine'|'BUENOS AIRES, April 7 Argentina''s San Juan province has the full support of the national government to make sure that no more incidents occur at Barrick Gold Corp''s Veladero mine, the national minister of energy and mining, Juan Jose Aranguren, told Reuters on Friday.Barrick has agreed to an audit and needs to present a plan to overhaul environmental and operating processes after a pipe carrying cyanide solution ruptured on March 28, the third incident involving cyanide at the mine in 18 months. (Reporting by Caroline Stauffer; Editing by Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/barrick-gold-veladero-idINE6N1AD02O'|'2017-04-07T18:47:00.000+03:00' +'5c29532b4ddb454ad0fdc3d00db7800ea85c1548'|'LeEco, Vizio abandon $2 billion deal over regulatory concerns'|'Deals - Mon Apr 10, 2017 - 7:47pm EDT LeEco, Vizio abandon $2 billion deal over regulatory concerns FILE PHOTO: LeEco''s new Le Pro3 phone is on display during a press event in San Francisco, California, U.S. October 19, 2016. RETUERS/Beck Diefenbach China''s Le Holdings Co Ltd ( 300104.SZ ), also known as LeEco, abandoned its proposed $2 billion acquisition of U.S. consumer electronics company Vizio Inc ( VZIO.O ) on Monday, citing "regulatory headwinds." LeEco and Vizio, however, have struck a new collaboration agreement that includes bringing Vizio products to the Chinese market, according to a brief emailed statement from the Chinese company. The statement did not elaborate on the regulatory hurdles that prevented the deal from going ahead. The deal to buy Irvine, California-based Vizio was announced in July. (Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru and Cate Cadell; Editing by Sandra Maler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-vizio-m-a-leeco-idUSKBN17C2MX'|'2017-04-11T07:47:00.000+03:00' +'4bd0b695eca6b7344d52d4b91fbb154aadd32fcb'|'Edison, GE unveil new battery systems at California gas plants'|'Global Energy 15am BST Edison, GE unveil new battery systems at California gas plants A major California utility and General Electric Co ( GE.N ) on Monday unveiled a first-of-its-kind battery storage system that will enable instant power output from a natural gas peaking plant to accommodate the state''s changing electricity needs while decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. The system, which was installed at two separate Southern California Edison "peaker" plants this month, will give the utility increased flexibility as the large amounts of renewable wind and solar power required by state mandates have made energy generation cleaner but far less predictable. Peaker plants are small power plants designed to come online quickly when power demand is high, such as on a hot summer day. But they are also among the least efficient resources available to the utility. The 10 megawatt batteries, which contain cells made by Samsung SDI ( 006400.KS ), are capable of providing power immediately, eliminating the need for the plant to burn fuel in "standby" mode. Prior to integrating the batteries, the 50 megawatt plant would take about 10 minutes to ramp up to a desired capacity. Southern California Edison''s president, Ron Nichols, said at an event to unveil the hybrid electric gas turbine in Norwalk, California that the new system would cut plant startups in half and reduce total run hours by 60 percent. The systems will work particularly well as solar power drops off at the end of the day, just at the time when demand starts to rise as utility customers get home from work and begin running air conditioners or turning on appliances. California is requiring its utilities to source half of their electricity needs from renewable sources by 2030. At the same time, the state has required procurement of energy storage systems to help integrate those renewables. Southern California Edison has brought several energy storage projects online, including a large Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ) battery earlier this year. The GE systems were installed at peakers in Norwalk and Rancho Cucamonga. The utility is considering adding the systems to three other peaker plants in its territory, Nichols said. (Reporting by Nichola Groom; Editing by Bill Rigby)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-edison-intl-ge-batteries-idUKKBN17J1TD'|'2017-04-18T07:15:00.000+03:00' +'0cb0d02a6686749372ed31a9bef52f030bb4a185'|'United Air passenger says scorpion bit him on flight from Texas'|'U.S. 45pm EDT United Air passenger says scorpion bit him on flight from Texas NEW YORK United Airlines found itself on the defensive again on Friday after a passenger complained that a scorpion stung him during a flight from Texas, capping off a bruising week for the public image of the one of the world''s largest carriers. A man on board a United flight from Houston to Calgary, Alberta on Sunday, said a scorpion dropped on his head from an overhead storage bin and stung him under his fingernail, according the United and media reports. "We were on the plane about an hour, having dinner, and then something fell on my head, so I grabbed it," passenger Richard Bell told CBS in a Skype interview on its website. Bell said another passenger who was Mexican told him, "''Hey, that''s a scorpion, they''re dangerous,'' ... That''s when it stung." United flight attendants helped the passenger after he was bitten "by what appeared to be a scorpion," airline spokeswoman Maddie King said in an email on Friday, adding that a physician on the ground assured the crew that "it was not a life-threatening matter." United is "reaching out to the customer to apologize and discuss the matter," she said. The airline spent the week scrambling to contain the fallout from a video that emerged on social media showing security officers dragging a bloodied passenger off an overbooked United Express flight in Chicago on Sunday as other travelers looked on in horror. Dr. David Dao, a 69-year-old Vietnamese-American doctor, suffered a concussion and broken nose when dragged from the plane and will likely sue, his attorney said on Thursday. His lawyers have filed an emergency request with an Illinois court to require the carrier to preserve video recordings and other evidence related to the incident. After the incident triggered international outrage, United Chief Executive Oscar Munoz apologized to Dao, his family and its customers, saying the carrier would no longer use law enforcement officers to remove passengers from overbooked flights. (Reporting by Frank McGurty in New York and Alana Wise in Washington, editing by G Crosse)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ual-scorpion-idUSKBN17G1EQ'|'2017-04-15T01:42:00.000+03:00' +'feb36c89e83de05a76c1f4540d7f137c89e87f39'|'Investors pull $12 bln from U.S. stock funds in latest week -Lipper'|'Money 48pm EDT Investors pull $12 billion from U.S. stock funds in latest week: Lipper NEW YORK Investors pulled $11.9 billion from U.S.-based stock funds during the latest week, according to Lipper data on Thursday, marking the largest withdrawals since December. Taxable bond funds in the United States attracted $4.3 billion in their 3rd straight week of inflows, the data showed. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Tom Brown)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-investment-mutualfunds-lipper-idUSKBN1782X7'|'2017-04-07T05:41:00.000+03:00' +'296e3b6336017e76eb0247c3ad9cf001dd5a8862'|'Asian stocks near two-year high on U.S. optimism, euro steady'|' 6:52pm BST Global stocks advance on earnings; Canada dollar, Mexico peso weaken on NAFTA news left right Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., April 20, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid 1/3 left right Traders work at their desks in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, April 25, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote 2/3 left right People are seen behind an electronic board showing stock prices at the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) in Tokyo, Japan, January 4, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 3/3 By Chuck Mikolajczak - NEW YORK NEW YORK Equities in major markets climbed on Wednesday as U.S. shares rose on strong earnings and potential tax cuts, while the dollar strengthened against the Mexican peso on the possibility of a U.S. withdrawal from the North American Free Trade Agreement. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, who is leading U.S. President Donald Trump''s effort to craft a tax package that can pass Congress, described the plan as the "the biggest tax cut" in U.S. history and said he hoped it would attract broad support. "Expectations kind of sagged back to pre-election levels and now this tax rhetoric is rekindling investor optimism," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank in Chicago. "Whether or not these plans come to pass is difficult to say. It is certainly not going to happen quickly." Thermo Fisher Electron, up 5.1 percent, and Edwards Lifesciences, up 9.8 percent, were among the biggest boosts to the benchmark S&P 500 index after results. The U.S. dollar strengthened against both the Mexican peso and Canadian dollar after a draft executive order to withdraw the United States from the North American Free Trade Agreement is under consideration, a senior Trump administration official said on Wednesday, confirming an earlier report from Politico. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 45.82 points, or 0.22 percent, to 21,041.94, the S&P 500 gained 5.75 points, or 0.24 percent, to 2,394.36 and the Nasdaq Composite added 9.52 points, or 0.16 percent, to 6,035.01. The U.S. dollar gained 1.87 percent versus the Mexican peso at 19.20 per dollar. The greenback rose 0.25 percent versus the Canadian dollar at 1.36. The main Mexican and Canadian share indexes were both lower. European shares are at 20-month highs after a three-day rally sparked by centrist Emmanuel Macron''s win in the first round of French presidential elections, which considerably lessened the risk of a French exit from the single currency. Higher-than-expected earnings have also supported gains. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 0.4 percent, after touching its highest level since August 2015. MSCI''s gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.12 percent after hitting a high of 457.45, to set a record for a third straight session. Overall, first-quarter earnings for STOXX 600 companies were expected to rise 5.5 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data. In comparison, S&P 500 companies in the U.S. are expected to show 11.4-percent earnings growth expected for the quarter. The euro euro was down 0.45 percent to $1.0876 after strengthening by more than 2 percent in the prior two sessions in the wake of the first round of French elections. The threat of a U.S. government shutdown this weekend also receded after Trump backed away from demanding that Congress include funding for his planned border wall with Mexico in a spending bill. U.S. Treasury prices were little changed ahead of the tax announcement after paring steep losses sustained in the last few sessions. Benchmark 10-year notes last rose 1/32 in price to yield 2.3269 percent, from 2.329 percent late on Tuesday. Investors were also looking ahead to Thursday''s policy meeting of the European Central Bank. While no changes are expected, policymakers see scope for sending a small signal in June towards reducing monetary stimulus, according to sources, another factor underpinning the single currency. (Editing by Nick Zieminski)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets-idUKKBN17S02J'|'2017-04-26T14:05:00.000+03:00' +'5d261afd43ed1e8baf97576fd1d5abbe85108b82'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX hits 2-week low as financials track bond yields lower'|' 10pm EDT CANADA STOCKS-TSX hits 2-week low as financials track bond yields lower (Adds portfolio manager , details on bond yields, geopolitics; updates prices) * TSX closes down 112.92 points, or 0.72 percent, at 15,535.48 * Nine of the TSX''s 10 main groups end lower By Fergal Smith TORONTO, April 13 Canada''s main stock index fell on Thursday to the lowest in more than two weeks as declining bond yields pressured the heavyweight financials group, while resource shares also lost ground. Canada''s 10-year yield dropped below the 1.50 percent threshold for the first time in nearly five months, tracking a drop in U.S. Treasury yields as U.S. President Donald Trump''s favorable view of low interest rates intensified a bond market rally that was underpinned by geopolitical tensions in Syria and North Korea. News of a massive bomb dropped by the United States in eastern Afghanistan added to uncertainty ahead of a holiday weekend in the United States and Canada. "Long-term interest rates have moved down, meaning there is a squeeze on margins (of banks) here," said Ian Nakamoto, equity specialist at MacDougall, MacDougall & MacTier, a division of Raymond James. Royal Bank of Canada fell 1.5 percent to C$94.67, while the overall financials group lost 1 percent. Wall Street also closed lower as investors weighed earnings from big U.S. banks, while investors have scaled back hopes for quick implementation of market-friendly policies by the Trump administration, including financial sector deregulation and tax reform. "I think we got ahead of ourselves thinking things were going to be done quicker," Nakamoto said. The Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index closed down 112.92 points, or 0.72 percent, at 15,535.48, its lowest close since March 27. It lost 0.8 percent for the holiday-shortened week. The energy group declined 1.6 percent even as oil prices ended higher. U.S. crude oil futures settled up 7 cents at $53.18 a barrel. Nine of the index''s 10 main groups ended lower. The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, lost 0.6 percent. Barrick Gold Corp, the world''s largest gold miner, fell 1.6 percent to C$26.42 even as prices for the precious metal posted a five-month high. Analysts say Barrick must take steps to safeguard investor confidence by ensuring there are no more operating mishaps at its mines after a third incident in 18 months at its big Argentina mine. Canadian new home prices rose in February, driven by higher costs in Toronto and other cities in Ontario in a report that was likely to underscore concerns that some markets are becoming too hot. Canadian manufacturing sales declined less than expected in February after three consecutive months of increases. (Additional reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Andrea Ricci)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-idUSL1N1HL1QU'|'2017-04-14T05:10:00.000+03:00' +'832d9d62468167d48d0e7b6c32f8fa679e9a7365'|'Kuwait oil minister says expects extension of OPEC, non-OPEC deal'|'By Rania El Gamal , Roslan Khasawneh and Richard Mably - ABU DHABI ABU DHABI Leading Gulf oil exporters Saudi Arabia and Kuwait gave a clear signal on Thursday that OPEC plans to extend into the second half of the year a deal with non-member producers to curb supplies of crude.Consensus is growing among oil producers that a supply restraint pact that started in January should be prolonged after its initial six-month term, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said."There is consensus building but it''s not done yet," Falih told reporters at a conference in the United Arab Emirates.Kuwait''s oil minister Essam al-Marzouq said he expected the agreement to be extended."Russia is on board preliminarily ... Compliance from Russia is very good," Marzouq said.OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo, noting that Marzouq chairs a committee that measures compliance with the cuts, said: "It is significant that the Kuwaiti minister has come out in public and said this."OPEC is keen that non-member producers play their promised part in supporting the group''s efforts to lift prices, which have recovered to $53 a barrel from lows last year below $30.The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC meet on May 25 to discuss extending the curbs that total 1.8 million barrels daily, two-thirds of that from OPEC.OPEC sources said an internal assessment was that if they failed to extend the agreement, oil could slide back to $30-$40 a barrel.INVENTORIES STILL HIGHFalih said his main concern was to reduce global oil inventories, calling that "the main indicator for the success of the initiative".While inventories held at sea and in producer countries have dropped, they remain stubbornly high in consumer regions, particularly in Asia and the United States.The International Energy Agency said last week that inventories in industrialised countries were still 10 percent above the five-year average, a key gauge for OPEC.OPEC seems to be encouraged by the contribution of non-OPEC producers to the output cuts.Marzouq said there was a "noticeable increase in compliance from non-OPEC". Joint compliance among OPEC and non-OPEC in March was above 90 percent, he said.Russia has not yet publicly committed to prolonging its curbs, although Energy Minister Alexander Novak said this month that Moscow would start consultations with producing companies about the possibility of doing so.Marzouq said another African nation, which he did not identify, had expressed interest in joining the 24-country effort.One hold-out for an extended deal may be Iraq. Baghdad might seek to be exempt and ask to boost its own output, the leader of the nation''s Shi''ite ruling coalition, Ammar al-Hakim, told Reuters.Speaking in Cairo, Hakim cautioned that Baghdad could ask to be exempted from taking part in the supply curbs as the OPEC member country needed its oil income to fight Islamic State."Given these sensitive circumstances, it is the right of Iraq to hope for an exemption by the other OPEC member states and have an opportunity to increase its production," Hakim, an influential cleric, said in an interview late on Wednesday."But we are with the principle of reducing the overall OPEC supply to lift prices."Iran does not look likely to become an obstacle. The current deal granted Tehran permission to lift output, hit by Western sanctions that ended just over a year ago."Iran is not an issue. We know they can''t raise their production much more," an OPEC source said.(Additional reporting by Stanley Carvalho in Abu Dhabi and Mahmoud Mourad in Cairo; Editing by Dale Hudson and Richard Mably)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/oil-opec-idINKBN17M0N4'|'2017-04-20T14:51:00.000+03:00' +'22f4966ce066a284afe58857a01d051d2564b069'|'Deutsche Bank buys stake in TrustBills'|'Business News - Mon Apr 3, 2017 - 6:11pm BST Deutsche Bank buys stake in TrustBills FILE PHOTO - The headquarters of Germany''s Deutsche Bank are seen early evening in Frankfurt, Germany January 31, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo FRANKFURT Germany''s Deutsche Bank AG ( DBKGn.DE ) has bought a 12.5 percent stake in auction platform TrustBills, the bank said on Monday. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Founded in 2015, Germany-based financial technology company TrustBills is an electronic marketplace for national and international trade receivables. (Reporting by Alexander Huebner; Writing by Edward Taylor; Editing by Mark Potter) Next In Business News Imagination Technologies'' shares plunge 70 percent after Apple ditches firm LONDON Imagination Technologies has been told by Apple, its biggest customer, that the maker of iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches is to stop using its graphics technology in its new products, sending shares in the company crashing by more than 70 percent on Monday. LONDON, April 3 - British manufacturing lost some of its momentum last month, as export orders grew more slowly and demand for consumer goods faltered against a backdrop of rising inflation pressures, a survey showed on Monday. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deutschebank-trustbills-idUKKBN175212'|'2017-04-04T01:11:00.000+03:00' +'d3ce30aed360bac982d2d6697364799fdcd58360'|'Broadcom makes highest first-round bid of $23 bln for Toshiba chip unit: source'|'By Taro Fuse - TOKYO TOKYO Broadcom Ltd ( AVGO.O ) offered about 2.5 trillion yen ($23 billion) for Toshiba Corp''s ( 6502.T ) chip unit, the highest among 10 or so bidders who participated in the first round of offers, a source briefed on the matter said.Taiwan''s Foxconn ( 2317.TW ) made the second highest offer, of about 2 trillion yen, the source said, declining to be identified as he was not authorized to speak on the matter publicly.Broadcom and Foxconn were among four suitors selected to proceed to the second round, several sources said, adding that Broadcom has partnered with U.S. private equity firm Silver Lake Partners LP.South Korea''s SK Hynix Inc ( 000660.KS ) and Toshiba''s chip joint venture partner Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ) are the other suitors, but Western Digital''s offer was far lower than those of Broadcom and Foxconn, the source said.The size of SK Hynix''s offer was not immediately known.Toshiba has said it needs to sell most or all of the prized business to cover charges related to U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse Electric that threaten the Japanese conglomerate''s future.Representatives for Broadcom, Silver Lake, Foxconn and Western Digital could not be reached immediately for comment outside of regular business hours. A Toshiba spokeswoman declined to comment on the specifics of the sale process.(Reporting by Taro Fuse; Writing by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-chips-bids-idINKBN17E1JS'|'2017-04-12T10:17:00.000+03:00' +'83622323cbf5974d22301e5a1a8df4de76cb5cae'|'Boom in index funds and ETFs lifts BlackRock profit'|'Business News 7:50am EDT Boom in index funds and ETFs lifts BlackRock profit FILE PHOTO: The company logo and trading information for BlackRock is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo By Trevor Hunnicutt - NEW YORK NEW YORK BlackRock Inc ( BLK.N ), the world''s biggest asset manager, on Wednesday reported a 31 percent rise in quarterly profit as investors continued to plow money into its index-tracking funds. Investors poured $64.5 billion into BlackRock''s iShares exchange-traded funds business during the quarter, up from $24.3 billion a year earlier. That helped the company end the quarter with $5.4 trillion in assets under management, up from the preceding quarter, when managed assets totaled $5.1 trillion. BlackRock''s net income rose to $862 million, or $5.23 per share, in the first quarter, from $657 million, or $3.92 per share, a year earlier. Excluding items, the company earned $5.25 per share. That beat the $4.89 forecast of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. The investment management industry is being reshaped by a move of investors toward cheaper products, especially index funds. Yet BlackRock has been rewarded by Wall Street in part because its iShares franchise offers relatively low-cost funds that are in high demand. Still, BlackRock''s higher-fee business of actively picking individual winners in the market is under pressure. Last quarter, BlackRock''s active funds posted $1.8 billion in withdrawals. The asset manager announced a plan last month to cut jobs and fees while relying more on computers to assemble its investment portfolios, a flurry of changes meant to jumpstart its lagging stockpicking franchise. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Additional reporting by Diptendu Lahiri in Bengaluru and Simon Jessop in London; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Alden Bentley)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-blackrock-results-idUSKBN17L18S'|'2017-04-19T19:50:00.000+03:00' +'84202a4c1345e10bdb6111cc8ac563bf77b128fe'|'ECB''s Vasiliauskas says too early to discuss end of stimulus - WSJ'|' 3:04pm BST ECB''s Vasiliauskas says too early to discuss end of stimulus - WSJ Lithuania''s central bank governor Vitas Vasiliauskas speaks during the Euro Conference in Vilnius September 25, 2014. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins/File Photo FRANKFURT It is too early to discuss an exit from the European Central Bank''s stimulus programme, ECB rate setter Vitas Vasiliauskas told the Wall Street Journal. "It is too early to discuss an exit because still we have a lot of significant uncertainties," Vasiliauskas, who is also the head of Lithuania''s central bank, said in an interview published on Wednesday. "I think the recovery of inflation is still fragile. First of all, we have to end purchases and only then we can discuss other actions." (Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Catherine Evans) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-lithuania-idUKKBN1771TD'|'2017-04-05T22:04:00.000+03:00' +'7e605383bf2869a8d144c24c493fefff6f259b5b'|'U.S. SEC charges ex-executives over accounting at government contractor L3'|'By Sarah N. Lynch - WASHINGTON, April 28 WASHINGTON, April 28 U.S. regulators on Friday filed civil charges against two former executives at government contractor L3 Technologies over accounting violations that led the company to improperly recognize $17.9 million in revenue from a contract with the U.S. Army.The Securities and Exchange Commission said that David Pruitt, former vice president of finance in the Army Sustainment Division at L3, plans to fight the charges, while L3''s former Army Sustainment Division president Mark Wentlent has agreed to settle related charges.The company previously settled with the SEC and paid a $1.6 million penalty. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch, Editing by Franklin Paul)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-sec-l-idINEMN4NK6YM'|'2017-04-28T12:55:00.000+03:00' +'41ea86ef91d9b7f60c2e848f6c5f78f6f35f8559'|'Bank of England says rapid credit growth could hurt UK banks'|'Saving And Loans 9:50am BST Bank of England says rapid credit growth could hurt UK banks A bus passes the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain, February 14, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay LONDON, April 4 Bank of England policymakers are concerned rapid growth in unsecured lending to British consumers could endanger banks if credit standards are slipping, the central bank said on Tuesday. British consumer borrowing grew at its fastest rate in a decade towards the end of last year, and although the pace has since slowed somewhat, last week the central bank said it planned to take a closer look at the risks involved. On Tuesday, the BoE set out more details of how its Financial Policy Committee reached that decision, and the types of risk involved. "Overall, the Committee judged that, relative to mortgage debt, consumer credit was less likely to pose a risk to broader macroeconomic stability through its effect on household spending. Instead, the recent rapid growth in consumer credit could principally represent a risk to lenders if accompanied by weaker lending standards," the BoE said. The BoE said that although mortgages accounted for a much bigger share of lending to British households, its regular ''stress tests'' of banks had shown consumer borrowing that went sour had the potential to impose bigger losses to lenders. The short-dated nature of most consumer lending meant that its credit quality had the potential to deteriorate more rapidly than mortgage lending. "If recent strong growth (in consumer credit) had been driven by weaker underwriting standards, this could reduce the resilience of lenders to shocks," the FPC said, adding that lending standards should be "monitored closely". Areas to be kept under review included the growing length of interest-free periods offered to customers switching from one credit card to another, the increased size of unsecured personal loans and a bigger fall in interest rates for unsecured lending than for mortgages, the BoE said. Last week the FPC said Britain-based banks should take steps to ensure they do not have to curb lending suddenly if the country leaves the European Union in a disorderly way. The FPC also set out details of separate ''stress tests'' for major banks later in the year. ((Reporting by David Milliken and Huw Jones)) Next In Saving And Loans News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-boe-idUKKBN1760Q1'|'2017-04-04T16:50:00.000+03:00' +'b771c80ffcbd2d6046c9a44afe9fff88847196f7'|'Prysmian in talks over potential acquisitions, won''t overpay: CEO'|'MILAN Italy''s Prysmian ( PRY.MI ), the world''s largest cable maker, is discussing potential acquisitions but does not to overpay and offers it has submitted so far have been rejected, Chief Executive Valerio Battista said on Wednesday.Prysmian, which manufactures telecoms and power cables, became the sector leader in 2011 when it bought Dutch rival Draka. The company has gone on acquiring small and medium-sized companies in recent years."We''ve filed offers ... that have been rejected ... they didn''t like the price," Battista told journalists after a shareholder meeting, adding however talks were still going on.He declined to give details on potential targets and just said one of the companies was medium-large sized.(Reporting by Francesca Landini and Massimo Gaia, editing by Valentina Za)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-prysmian-m-a-idINKBN17E25C'|'2017-04-12T13:50:00.000+03:00' +'363e745aa0152edeeb00103932b316460af6585f'|'There is a toy glut and Barbies aren''t selling. Mattel is in trouble - Apr. 21, 2017'|'by Paul R. La Monica @lamonicabuzz April 21, 2017: 12:48 PM ET ''The Barbie Dreamhouse is my worst nightmare'' Mattel may have a new CEO that used to work for Google. But the floundering toymaker still has a huge problem. Fewer kids want to play with the company''s Barbie and American Girl dolls, Fisher-Price toys and Mega Bloks. Mattel ( MAT ) stock plunged 11% Friday -- to their lowest level since October 2015. The company announced Thursday that its latest results missed forecasts. Sales plunged 15% in the quarter and Mattel reported a bigger than expected loss. The stock was the worst performer in the S&P 500 on Friday. CEO Margo Georgiadis, who left her job as president of Google''s Americas division in January to take over at Mattel, said in the earnings release that the results were worse than expected due to "the retail inventory overhang" after the holidays. In other words, parents didn''t buy their kids more new toys after splurging on them in December. But Mattel has been struggling for some time now. That''s one of the reasons that Georgiadis succeeded Christopher Sinclair as CEO, in the first place. (Sinclair is now executive chairman.) Related: It was a Blue Christmas for Mattel Simply put, Mattel doesn''t have the toys that kids want. Barbie sales plunged 13%. American Girl sales were down 12%. And the company''s Construction and Arts & Crafts unit, which includes Lego competitor Mega Bloks, plummeted 38%. And it''s not just a matter of children abandoning traditional dolls, action figures and board games in favor of smartphones, tablets, video games and other technology. Mattel rival Hasbro ( HAS ) , which has licenses tied to Disney''s ( DIS ) Star Wars franchise, and also recently took over the Disney Princess line of toys from Mattel, has been on fire lately. Shares of Hasbro are up nearly 25% so far in 2017 and more than 75% over the past three years. Mattel''s stock has plunged nearly 20% already in 2017 and is down more than 40% since early 2014. Hasbro''s stock even rose slightly Friday, a sign Wall Street believes Mattel''s problems are company specific and not a broader indicator of weak consumer spending overall. Related: Let it go? No way! Hasbro soars thanks to Frozen Hasbro will report its latest results before the market opens Monday. Wall Street is expecting that sales and earnings were flat in the first quarter, which is typically not a big one for toy companies. So will Georgiadis, who in addition to Google has also worked for Groupon ( GRPN ) , credit card company Discover ( DFS ) and consulting company McKinsey & Company, be able to turn Mattel around? She is a veteran exec, but lacks toy industry experience. She noted in the earnings release that sales in China and other parts of Asia were strong. She also expressed hope that toys tied to another upcoming Disney movie -- Pixar''s Cars 3 -- will help boost sales in the coming quarters for its Hot Wheels brand. But the pressure is on Georgiadis to quickly prove to kids, parents and investors that Mattel will be able to revitalize some of its classic brands like Barbie and Fisher-Price and also launch new hit toys as well. Otherwise, the stock will continue to languish in Wall Street''s equivalent of the Island of Misfit Toys. CNNMoney (New York) First published April 21, 2017: 12:48 PM ET '|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_news_companies.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/04/21/investing/mattel-earnings-sales-toys/index.html'|'2017-04-21T20:48:00.000+03:00' +'7fb1019782b9055c40f198a4e3787b31c6af9d2a'|'Dominion Diamond says no contact with Washington Corp after offer'|'Deals 47pm EDT Dominion Diamond says no contact with Washington Corp after offer TORONTO Canada''s Dominion Diamond Corp ( DDC.TO ) ( DDC.N ) has not had any contact with Washington Corp since the privately-held company made public its unsolicited $1.1 billion offer in late March, said Dominion Chairman Jim Gowans on Thursday. Calgary, Alberta-based Dominion launched a formal sales process March 27, after the approach by U.S. billionaire Dennis Washington. Dominion has repeatedly offered to engage with Washington Corp on "customary terms," Gowans said on a conference call with analysts, but that has not happened. Dominion, currently seeking a new Chief Executive Officer, is pleased with the progress of its strategic review process, Gowans said, but he would not answer a question on whether there was more than one party interested in the miner. (Reporting by Susan Taylor; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-dominion-diamond-m-a-idUSKBN17F26P'|'2017-04-14T00:45:00.000+03:00' +'43ff24dad990a308dc32c72bb305f31b38f42b84'|'UK consumer spending grows at slowest rate in three years - Visa'|' 9:08am BST UK consumer spending grows at slowest rate in three years - Visa FILE PHOTO: A market stall is seen between two High Street shops on Oxford Street in central London December 13, 2011. REUTERS/Olivia Harris/File Photo LONDON British consumer spending increased at the slowest annual pace in more than three years in the first three months of 2017, in a further sign that one of the economy''s main engines is losing steam as Brexit preparations begin, a survey showed on Monday. Payment card company Visa ( V.N ) said real-terms spending increased 0.9 percent year-on-year in the three months to March, the weakest calendar-quarter performance since late 2013 and down from 2.7 percent in the last quarter of 2016. In March alone, spending dropped 0.7 percent compared with the previous month, after being flat in February. The survey adds to a growing mass of indicators showing that rising inflation - caused in part by the pound''s post-Brexit vote tumble - is crimping consumer spending, just as Prime Minister Theresa May begins Britain''s EU divorce talks. "Our data suggests that consumer spending is beginning to slow from the strong levels seen in late 2016, as rising prices increasingly squeeze household purchasing power," said Kevin Jenkins, UK and Ireland managing director at Visa. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, speaking at Thomson Reuters'' London office on Friday, said he would keep a close eye on whether consumer demand weakens in line with the central bank''s expectations. Last week pension provider Scottish Friendly and the Social Market Foundation think tank said 46 percent of households plan to cut back on spending. More than half of these households blamed the rising cost of living. The Office for National Statistics releases inflation data for March on Tuesday. Economists polled by Reuters expect consumer prices rose at a 2.3 percent annual pace, unchanged from February''s rate. Visa''s monthly figures are based on spending on its credit and debit cards, which it says account for about a third of consumer spending in Britain. The figures are adjusted to strip out payments such as taxes that do not count as consumer spending, and to take account of the growing proportion of purchases made by card rather than with cash. (Reporting by Andy Bruce, editing by David Milliken)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-spending-visa-idUKKBN17B12A'|'2017-04-10T16:08:00.000+03:00' +'e9520ebfb7bd0d675a106cdf91ea67139ef65bc3'|'BP accuses Monroe Energy of wrongfully terminating contract'|'Global Energy News 04pm BST BP accuses Monroe Energy of wrongfully terminating contract Spectators are seen reflected in a British Petroleum sponsors building in Olympic Park at the London 2012 Paralympic Games September 6, 2012. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo By Jarrett Renshaw - NEW YORK NEW YORK BP Plc ( BP.L ) has accused Monroe Energy of wrongfully terminating a crude supply contract in 2016, costing the oil major at least $59 million in damages, according to a federal court filing. BP said in the filing that Monroe Energy, a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines Inc ( DAL.N ), terminated the contract after misinterpreting a provision regarding the blending of crude oils. BP declined to comment further on the case and Monroe could not be immediately reached. Monroe has yet to respond to the allegations in court. The dispute with Monroe marks at least the second time in the past two years that BP has been accused by a refiner of supplying lesser-grade crudes. NARL Refining is embroiled in an arbitration dispute with BP that involves allegations that the oil major was providing crude oil at the company''s Come-By-Chance refinery in Newfoundland, Canada, that helped BP''s profits but hurt the refinery''s equipment. Monroe Energy inked a three-year contract with BP in August 2014 to supply the company''s 185,000 barrel-per-day refinery outside Philadelphia with crude oil from the Eagle Ford or Bakken shale fields, according to the lawsuit filed on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Southern New York. Monroe agreed to pay $8.35 above the U.S. benchmark price for Eagle Ford and $7.35 above the U.S. benchmark for Bakken deliveries, according to the lawsuit. The supply contract was favourable for Monroe when U.S. crude sold at a wide discount against the global benchmark during the early months of the deal, but the spread narrowed significantly in late 2015, making global crude more attractive to East Coast refiners. Monroe notified BP last June that it was severing the contract, alleging the oil major was intentionally blending batches of Eagle Ford crude that did not meet the API gravity grade called for in the contract, according to the lawsuit. BP said the agreement had no language that barred it from commingling grades of crude oil from the same fields, court papers showed. BP says it blended batches of Eagle Ford crude from different wells, calling it a routine industry practice. BP also said Monroe used gravity figures measured at the docks in Texas, not at the point of delivery as required by contract, according to the lawsuit. Monroe never complained the delivered crude was not in compliance, BP said. "Monroe''s allegations were nothing more than an unfounded pretext to terminate the (contract)," BP said in the filing. (Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Bill Trott and Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bp-lawsuit-monroe-energy-idUKKBN17J1KB'|'2017-04-18T06:04:00.000+03:00' +'cc2cce625943345fe2b748a144d5523d6ce29ff9'|'UK''s Hammond says government looking at range of Brexit outcomes'|'Business News 50pm IST UK''s Hammond says government looking at range of Brexit outcomes Britain''s Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond arrives in Downing Street, London March 29, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay LONDON Britain''s finance minister Philip Hammond said on Tuesday that the government was looking at a range of potential outcomes for forthcoming Brexit talks, but declined to say if his department had conducted a detailed economic analysis. Earlier on Tuesday a parliamentary committee said the government should justify Prime Minister Theresa May''s view that "no deal is better than a bad deal" by offering an economic impact assessment. Pressed on whether the finance ministry had its own analysis, Hammond said it was looking at the different potential outcomes around Brexit "all the time". But he declined to say if this included an in-depth analysis. "When you go into a negotiating room, it really isn''t helpful to have outlined in detail the different potential outcome scenarios," he told Sky News during a trip to India. (Reporting by Andy Bruce, editing by David Milliken) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-hammond-idINKBN1761W1'|'2017-04-04T23:09:00.000+03:00' +'c62c6b840babddb5cfa4769199dc1bee7c39da29'|'Toshiba denies report of suspension of chip unit sale process'|' 23am BST Toshiba denies report of suspension of chip unit sale process The logo of Toshiba Corp is seen behind cherry blossoms at the company''s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan April 11, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai TOKYO Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) on Friday denied a Bloomberg report that the company had temporarily suspended all meetings and decisions over the sale of its memory chip business to address concerns raised by an industry partner. "It is not true Toshiba has put the chip sale process on hold," a Toshiba spokesman told Reuters. Shares in Toshiba plunged more than 8 percent in early trade. In a move seen complicating the auction of the prized chip unit, Toshiba''s partner Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ) warned the Japanese conglomerate in a letter this week that the sale process violated their joint venture contract. In the letter, obtained by Reuters, Western Digital also urged Toshiba to give it exclusive negotiating rights for the chip business. (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki, writing by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting-chips-idUKKBN17G011'|'2017-04-14T08:23:00.000+03:00' +'e45f3cc65d8ffedf82ddea0746d840d739780cd2'|'Investors eye midstream sector as production ramps up'|'Commodities 51pm EDT Investors eye midstream sector as production ramps up Crude oil storage tanks are seen from above at the Cushing oil hub, in Cushing, Oklahoma, March 24, 2016. REUTERS/Nick Oxford/File Photo By Liz Hampton - HOUSTON HOUSTON Investors are placing bets that demand for U.S. energy pipelines, storage and processing facilities will outstrip supply in the next few years as the resurgence in shale oil and gas production increases. With U.S. oil prices mostly above $50 a barrel for several months and a jump in drilling activity this year, new projects are moving off the drawing boards, and backers are lining up customers. There also has been a spate of deals involving existing transportation and storage networks. The deals should ensure that production growth coming from shale basins has new outlets to market. The amount of money moving off the sidelines also is spurring valuations that potential investors say could trip up some deals. Several long-haul pipelines have been proposed in recent months to move natural gas and liquids from West Texas to the Gulf Coast, including one by private-equity-backed NAmerico Partners. Its multibillion-dollar line would ferry 1.85 billion cubic feet of gas per day from the Permian to Corpus Christi. The NAmerico project and a similar line announced by Kinder Morgan are "indicative of the type of supply growth we''re going to see," said Billy Lemmons, managing partner and founder at private equity fund EnCap Flatrock Midstream. For every dollar invested in production, another 15 cents to 35 cents is required for pipelines, processing plants and other midstream infrastructure, he said. Many investors favor such projects because they are fee-collecting businesses and face less commodity price risk than exploration and production investments. Stable oil prices also have alleviated worries that shippers won''t meet their pipeline commitments. In the Delaware Basin region of the Permian, private equity firms have accounted for more than 46 percent of growth in new gas processing systems, according to Barclays. GREATER COMPETITION In active drilling areas, operators are trying to get 10 times to 12 times estimated 2017 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization on pipeline and other assets. "Auctions have become very pricey," said Lex Hochner, vice president at Haddington Ventures, a private equity fund backing a massive salt dome oil storage project in Houston. Targa Resources Corp ( TRGP.N ) in January agreed to buy Outrigger Energy LLC''s Permian Basin gathering and processing assets for $1.5 billion, the same month Plains All American Pipeline ( PAA.N ) paid $1.2 billion to Concho Resources Inc ( CXO.N ) and Frontier Midstream Solutions for a pipeline system. Private equity firms also bid on those assets but could not compete on the rich valuation, said one source familiar with the deals. This week, pipeline operator NuStar Energy NS.S agreed to pay $1.48 billion for Navigator Energy Services to get a foothold in the Permian. Pipeline transactions are percolating elsewhere. An arm of Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) plc in December acquired interests in three pipelines from BP plc for undisclosed amounts. BP earlier sold one of its Gulf of Mexico pipelines to American Midstream Partners ( AMID.N ). Investors also are acquiring preferred equity in companies. Last August, pension fund Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) agreed to take up to $500 million in preferred stock units from infrastructure provider Howard Energy Partners. "The longer commodity price recovery continues, the better the balance sheets of midstream companies look," said Kirkland & Ellis partner Adam Larson, who advised on the AIMCo and Howard Energy deal. (Reporting by Liz Hampton; Editing by Gary McWilliams and Bill Trott)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-privateequity-midstream-idUSKBN17E2Q7'|'2017-04-13T04:51:00.000+03:00' +'3d5ec34903929ea8edbd251a3642e85ef4eb0511'|'WRAPUP 5-Loan growth stalls despite profit, trading gains at some U.S. banks'|'By David Henry - NEW YORK, April 13 NEW YORK, April 13 Big U.S. banks revealed more evidence of a slowdown in loan growth in their earnings reports on Thursday, though executives assured there is still healthy demand from borrowers and no reason to worry about the state of the economy.JPMorgan Chase & Co and Citigroup Inc posted higher first-quarter earnings that beat analysts'' expectations on large gains in trading revenue. Wells Fargo & Co, which relies more on traditional lending and less on markets-related businesses, reported a slight dip in profit due to a slowdown in mortgage banking. See Breakingviews column:The results underscored concerns expressed recently by analysts and investors that higher interest rates, combined with uncertainty about geopolitical events, could hurt economic growth - and therefore crimp lenders'' bottom lines.But on conference calls to discuss results, top bank executives dismissed those concerns, citing strong demand from borrowers with impressive credit quality."I wouldn''t overreact to the short term in our loan growth with so many things that affect it," said JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon.The bank''s core loan portfolio averaged $812 billion during the first quarter, up 9 percent on an annualized basis. But that growth rate has ticked down from 12 percent in the previous quarter and 17 percent a year ago. Wells Fargo''s annual loan growth rate of 4 percent has also been slowing over the past year.Citigroup''s loan book has been skewed by divestitures and its acquisition of a credit-card portfolio. Adjusting for those matters, Citi''s core loan book grew 5 percent in the first quarter, executives said. But management''s outlook for loan growth has nonetheless been tempered."There was probably just some modest reduction in our expectation for loan growth ... compared to the earlier guidance, certainly following the first-quarter performance," Chief Financial Officer John Gerspach said.Across the banking industry, loans fell slightly during the first three months of the year, according to Federal Reserve data.John Conlon, chief equity strategist at People''s United Wealth Management, who invests in bank stocks, said he is still concerned about loan growth after seeing the reports and listening to the executives'' comments."There''s a great deal of optimism," Conlon said, "but there''s still uncertainty."Wells Fargo''s shares were down 2.6 percent at $51.75, while Citigroup''s stock was down 0.7 percent at $58.12 and JPMorgan fell 0.6 percent to $84.88. The KBW Nasdaq Bank Index fell 0.8 percent.The mortgage business is putting particular pressure on loan growth. The recent uptick in interest rates has crushed a wave of mortgage refinancing that kicked off in 2010, leading to big declines in mortgage banking revenue.Other areas of lending have also slowed. For instance, some big corporate borrowers have been opting to issue bonds rather than take out traditional loans, JPMorgan Chief Financial Officer Marianne Lake said.And, in areas where banks are finding growth, like credit-card lending, they are doling out fat rewards and cutting interest rates to lure customers from one another.Even so, bank executives sounded optimistic on Thursday about the outlook for lending.Higher rates allow banks to earn more money from the loans they make, as well as the idle cash they have invested in low-risk securities like Treasury bonds. JPMorgan expects to add another $400 million to its net interest income in the second quarter. That metric is important because it shows the difference between what banks pay for funds and what they earn from using them.Additionally, they said, signals that lawmakers and the White House want to spur the economy bode well for loan growth. Citigroup Chief Financial Officer John Gerspach said first-quarter lending reflects some waiting by borrowers for Washington to act."We haven''t seen concrete changes yet in policies," Gerspach said. "When we get tax reform when the administration is successful in implementing some of what they have been talking about - hopefully that will spur the economy on."(Reporting by David Henry; Additional reporting by Olivia Oran and Dan Freed in New York, and Sweta Singh in Bengaluru; Writing by Lauren Tara LaCapra; Editing by Bernard Orr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-banks-results-idINL1N1HL1XS'|'2017-04-13T20:57:00.000+03:00' +'6888e4a02b39c60f8b3f84b384a9a57196af8c73'|'Greece primary surplus well above target in 2016 - EU Commission'|' 35am BST Greece primary surplus well above target in 2016 - EU Commission BRUSSELS Greece''s primary surplus was 4.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) last year, significantly above the target set for Athens under its bailout programme, the European Commission said on Monday. "The mission is returning to Athens today with the objective of concluding a sub-level agreement as soon as possible on the basis of the understanding of Greeks of the Eurogroup in Valletta," European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas told a news conference, adding that talks were expected to take several days. Schinas said the 4.2 percent primary surplus - a measure that excludes interest payments - was well above the programme target of 0.5 percent for 2016 and even above the level of 2.5 percent set for 2018. "This confirms the trend which we at the Commission have been reporting for a while," he said. (Reporting by Waverly Colville and Philip Blenkinsop; editing by Robert-Jan Bartunek)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-greece-idUKKBN17Q0YA'|'2017-04-24T18:35:00.000+03:00' +'c1c7fba13868cd8308ffbf6422d3a37b254cf0e6'|'WORLD NEWS SCHEDULE AT 0600 GMT/2 AM ET'|'Company News - Fri Apr 7, 2017 - 2:01am EDT WORLD NEWS SCHEDULE AT 0600 GMT/2 AM ET Editor: Clarence Fernandez + 65 6870 3861 Picture Desk: Singapore + 65 6870 3775 Graphics queries: + 65 6870 3595 (All times GMT/ET) TOP STORIES Escalating U.S. role in Syria, Trump orders strikes on Assad airbase WASHINGTON/PALM BEACH - U.S. President Donald Trump says he ordered missile strikes against a Syrian airfield from which a deadly chemical weapons attack was launched, declaring he acted in America''s "vital national security interest". (MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA (WRAPUP 10, PIX, TV, GRAPHIC), by Phil Stewart and Steve Holland, 1,066 words) + See also: - MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-REACTION (PIX, TV, GRAPHIC), by Colin Packham, 389 words - MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-GOVERNOR (UPDATE 3), moved, 336 words - MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-OBSERVATORY (UPDATE 1), moved, 101 words - USA-TRUMP/HIGHLIGHTS (HIGHLIGHTS), moved, 338 words Under investigation, Trump ally steps down from House Russia probe WASHINGTON - Republican head of a congressional inquiry into alleged Russian meddling in 2016 U.S. presidential election says he will temporarily step aside from probe because he is under investigation for disclosing classified information. (USA-TRUMP/RUSSIA-NUNES (UPDATE 3, PIX, TV), moved, by Patricia Zengerle and Dustin Volz, 771 words) Trump, China''s Xi dine ahead of talks on security, trade PALM BEACH - U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping sit down together to dine on pan-seared Dover sole and New York strip steak, spending some social time before digging into thorny bilateral security and trade issues. (USA-CHINA/ (UPDATE 6, PIX, TV), moved, by Steve Holland, 889 words) ASIA Wave of attacks across southern Thailand after new constitution signed BANGKOK - Muslim-majority southern Thailand is rocked by about 23 co-ordinated attacks, including bomb blasts, a security officer says, just hours after King Maha Vajiralongkorn signed a new constitution as a step towards ending military rule. (THAILAND-SOUTH/ATTACKS (UPDATE 1), moving shortly, by Panarat Thepgumpanat and Patpicha Tanakasempipat, 434 words) Philippines to upgrade facilities, not occupy new areas in disputed sea - military MANILA - The Philippines will upgrade existing facilities on its inhabited islands and reefs in the South China Sea and not occupy new territories, adhering to a 2002 informal code in the disputed waters, defence and military officials say. (SOUTHCHINASEA-PHILIPPINES/ (PIX, GRAPHICS), moved, by Manuel Mogato, 436 words) AMERICAS Venezuelan opposition, security forces clash in anti-Maduro protests CARACAS - Venezuelan opposition protesters and security officers clash as country''s fragmented opposition gains new impetus against socialist government it blames for country''s social and economic collapse. (VENEZUELA-POLITICS/ (UPDATE 5, PIX, TV), moved, by Alexandra Ulmer and Girish Gupta, 610 words) EUROPE Macron, Le Pen still lead French election race, left-wing maverick is wild card PARIS - French centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen still hold firm lead over pack in presidential election, polls show, though surge of support for veteran far-left campaigner throws wild card into race. (FRANCE-ELECTION/ (UPDATE 2, GRAPHIC), moved, by Leigh Thomas and Sarah White, 599 words) UNITED STATES Senate goes ''nuclear,'' ends Democrats'' blockade of Trump court pick WASHINGTON - Senate Republicans crush Democratic blockade of President Donald Trump''s U.S. Supreme Court nominee in fierce partisan brawl, approving rule change dubbed "nuclear option" to allow for conservative judge Neil Gorsuch''s confirmation by Friday. (USA-COURT/GORSUCH (UPDATE 12, PIX, TV), moved, by Lawrence Hurley and Andrew Chung, 997 words) Ex-U.S. Attorney Bharara takes aim at Trump with criticism and jokes Former Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara takes several shots at the administration of President Donald Trump, calling for "facts not falsehoods" as the basis for polticial discourse and a more welcoming stance towards immigrants in his first public speaking event since being fired one month ago. (USA-TRUMP/JUSTICE, moved, 396 words) Twitter refuses U.S. order to reveal user behind anti-Trump account SAN FRANCISCO - Twitter Inc files a federal lawsuit to block an order by the U.S. government demanding that it reveal who is behind an account opposed to President Donald Trump''s tough immigration policies. (TWITTER-LAWSUIT/ (UPDATE 6, PIX), moved, by David Ingram, 778 words) AFRICA Thousands expected to march in South Africa on Friday against Zuma JOHANNESBURG - Thousands of marchers are due to protest in major South African cities against President Jacob Zuma on Friday, demanding he quit after a cabinet reshuffle triggered the latest crisis of his presidency. (SAFRICA-POLITICS/ (PIX), by James Macharia, 630 words)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/world-news-schedule-at-0600-gmt-2-am-et-idUSL3N1HF2FV'|'2017-04-07T14:01:00.000+03:00' +'510038a392aa6380c49595ec10089169a7ff640a'|'U.S. housing demand seen holding up despite rising rates'|'Company News 35am EDT U.S. housing demand seen holding up despite rising rates By Arunima Banerjee and Sweta Singh - April 12 April 12 Fears that higher home mortgage rates this year will keep buyers away and hit home sales could be overblown. While interest rates are expected to rise this year and wages will likely remain stagnant, buyers can look forward to a potential slackening in home prices during the crucial spring selling season. Home prices are expected to rise at their slowest pace in six years as affordability - an industry measure based on income and home prices - is expected to hit its lowest since the recession. This may hurt margins at homebuilders such as Lennar Corp and PulteGroup Inc, but a pick-up in volumes as buyers slowly return to the market is expected to offset losses. PulteGroup said in January it expected 2017 gross margin to come in the low-end of its forecast of 24.0-24.5 percent, partly due to an expected drop in affordability. Homebuilders are also keeping a tight lid on costs as they rein in home prices to attract buyers, analysts said. "Even in the face of slowing price growth, I think they''ll continue to see fairly good profitability," said Alvaro Lacayo, an analyst at New York-based research firm Gabelli & Co. "Builders are more focused on controlling costs to better deal with slowing price growth." U.S. home prices have risen steeply over the past four years amid ever-tightening supply and a shortage of skilled labor, crimping affordability for the average homebuyer. In December, the supply of houses on the market dropped to levels last seen in 1999. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate, which hovered around 3.77 percent just before the December 2016 Fed interest rate hike, has now risen to about 4.20 percent, according to Freddie Mac. Annual wage growth, meanwhile, has remained firmly below 3 percent, making it difficult for home buyers to save up for downpayments. All of this is expected to push down the Housing Affordability Index to 153 this year from 164.8 in 2016. "As rates go up, it is going to increase the monthly costs of servicing a mortgage which in turn means that potential home buyers are going to have to bid a smaller price when they buy homes," said Robert Dietz, chief economist, National Association of Home Builders. DISCOUNTS AND INCENTIVES New home prices are expected to rise only 3 percent this year compared with a 6.4 percent increase in 2016, according to data from the National Association of Realtors. To be sure, analysts don''t expect buyers to start buying homes immediately as affordability still remains a problem and a rationalization in home prices is only expected to boost volumes later in the year. For instance, if a buyer paid $60,000 in downpayment for a home worth $300,000 in March last year, they would have shelled out $63,540 for the same home in January this year. While homebuilders have not commented on whether they are reining in prices, analysts said companies have rolled out incentives to offset higher payment costs. Pulte said it offered higher discounts in the December quarter and some of it "may have been interest rate related." D.R. Horton, the largest U.S. homebuilder, said in November it expects average selling price (ASP) to be flat to slightly up in 2017. The company''s ASP rose 2.3 percent last year. D.R. Horton and LGI Homes Inc did not respond to requests for comments. PulteGroup declined to comment. KB Home and Lennar Corp directed Reuters toward their publicly issued statements. "Homebuilders (are) showing a willingness to use incentives to lessen the impact on consumers; consumer confidence has improved considerably, while there is also fear of even higher costs in the future," Barclays analyst Michael Dahl wrote in a note published in March. (Reporting by Sweta Singh and Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-housing-idUSL3N1HE4LO'|'2017-04-12T21:35:00.000+03:00' +'c5303f87353e08b34ad61289789c3d5d9e709f99'|'JPMorgan shareholders to vote again on separate chairman and CEO'|'Business News - Wed Apr 5, 2017 - 9:40pm BST JPMorgan shareholders to vote again on separate chairman and CEO A view of the exterior of the JP Morgan Chase & Co. corporate headquarters in New York City May 20, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar/Files NEW YORK JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ) shareholders will again vote on a proposal calling for the board to select a chairman who is not the company''s chief executive, according to a proxy statement filed on Wednesday for the company''s annual meeting on May 16. The board said in the proxy that it is against the measure, which was proposed by a shareholder who contends that good corporate governance requires a independent chairman. The board and current Chairman and Chief Executive Jamie Dimon have defeated similar proposals in the past. (Reporting by David Henry in New York; Editing by Bill Trott) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-jpmorgan-shareholders-proxy-idUKKBN1772QB'|'2017-04-06T04:40:00.000+03:00' +'a53373e51d2e0a2fc01df506ae1657b5fcb22d2b'|'Barclays first-quarter profit doubles to 1.7 billion pounds, takes one-off Africa hit'|'Business News 10:17am BST Barclays misses out on bond trading boom, shares slide A Barclays sign is seen outside a branch of the bank in London, Britain, February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth By Anjuli Davies - LONDON LONDON Barclays shares fell sharply on Friday as investors focused on a poor performance at its markets business, a key part of its growth strategy, that missed out on a bond trading boom enjoyed by Wall Street rivals in the first three months of 2017. The British bank is seeking to press ahead with restructuring plans which have seen it shift towards a transatlantic U.S.-UK focus and an emphasis on investment banking under its American Chief Executive Jes Staley. In its trading division, income from its markets business fell 4 percent to 1.35 billion pounds, as macro income fell 14 percent due to a weaker performance by its U.S. rates business and the impact of exiting energy-related commodities. Equities trading income also fell 10 percent, driven by lower revenue from U.S. equity derivatives. By contrast, Barclays'' Wall Street rivals saw bond trading revenues rise by an average of 21 percent in the first quarter, with investors adjusting their portfolios in response to rising interest rates, and elections in Europe. Deutsche Bank reported on Thursday that its markets business also lagged its U.S. peers last quarter, but reported an increase nonetheless in revenues. Analysts were unimpressed by Barclays'' results. "After a strong set of fixed income results from U.S. and European peers, Barclays Q1 results are disappointing," Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts said in a note. Barclays shares traded 4 percent lower at 0850 GMT, their worst day since the aftermath of the Brexit vote last June. Staley attributed the poor performance to weakness in the bank''s U.S. rates business and a tough comparison with the previous year and said that it would be wrong to start questioning the business based on one quarter''s performance. "You can''t make a judgement on the investment bank based on one quarter," he said on a conference call with reporters. WHISTLEBLOWING CASE Staley''s attempts to revitalise the investment banking business have been clouded by probes in the U.S. and Britain and criticism from investors following his attempts to unmask a whistleblower, which Barclays insiders fear could unseat Staley if the investigations'' findings are damning. Former JPMorgan banker Staley told reporters he had not offered his resignation to the board over the affair and that he was fully cooperating with the regulators. Barclays said its profit before tax was 1.7 billion pounds, up from 793 million pounds a year ago and better than the 1.46 billion pounds average estimate of analysts'' forecasts compiled by the bank. But part of that increase was driven by proceeds of sales of a credit card portfolio and a gain in the value of the bank''s preference shares in Visa Inc, with underlying earnings growth more muted. Barclays still faces a series of regulatory obstacles, with an ongoing probe by Britain''s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) over its 2008 cash call at the height of the financial crisis and accusations by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) over mortgage mis-selling. Barclays also faces a further headache from political upheaval in South Africa, which is hindering the bank''s efforts to sell its business there - a key element in its strategy to boost capital levels to meet regulators'' demands. Barclays said it would take a one-off goodwill impairment charge of 884 million pounds on its stake in Barclays Africa Group, which it has given itself 2-3 years to sell down. Its core capital ratio, a key measure of financial strength, rose to 12.5 percent from 12.4 percent last quarter, making it the most thinly capitalised of the major UK banks. "The bank continues to ride a capital tightrope," Bernstein analysts wrote in a note. "UK macro and South African politics will dictate whether Barclays escapes another capital raise," they added. The bank said it would create 1,000 new roles in the UK in operations and technology, with a further 1,000 to come over the next three years. (Reporting by Anjuli Davies; Editing by Rachel Armstrong/Keith Weir)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-barclays-results-idUKKBN17U0N6'|'2017-04-28T14:22:00.000+03:00' +'a2e80ed07b503a81b128751adaba7539a696d16a'|'U.S. retail mall vacancies flat in first quarter: Reis'|'U.S. retail mall vacancies were flat at 9.9 percent in the first quarter of 2017, compared with the fourth quarter of 2016, as new construction fell to its lowest in six years, real estate research firm Reis Inc said in a report."... We remain cautious but do not want to overstate the problems in the retail industry," said Barbara Denham, senior economist at Reis.Expectations have lowered for the retail real estate industry due to the rapid rise in e-commerce and store closures. However the full impact of the closures has yet to be felt, Denham said.Construction activity fell by more than two-thirds in the quarter, with a paltry 796,000 square feet of new construction completed.Asking rent inched up 0.3 percent, while effective rent rose 0.4 percent, Reis said.Net absorption, which is measured in terms of available retail space sold in the market during a certain time period, more than halved to 1.25 million square feet.The national vacancy rate for neighborhood and community shopping centers was flat at 9.9 percent.(Reporting by Shashwat Awasthi in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-property-malls-idINKBN17608M'|'2017-04-04T01:31:00.000+03:00' +'e99e1644301e9f0d27388066164ba11adf0228b8'|'Euro zone factories struggled to meet soaring demand in March - PMI'|'Business News - Mon Apr 3, 2017 - 1:39pm IST Euro zone factories struggled to meet soaring demand in March: PMI FILE PHOTO: Workers assemble an e-Golf electric car at the new production line of the Transparent Factory of German carmaker Volkswagen in Dresden, Germany March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo By Jonathan Cable - LONDON, April 3 LONDON, April 3 Factories across the euro zone struggled to keep up with demand last month despite increasing activity at the fastest rate in nearly six years, according to a survey that showed them again hiking prices. IHS Markit''s final manufacturing Purchasing Managers'' Index for the euro zone rose to 56.2 in March, the highest since April 2011, from February''s 55.4. It was in line with a flash estimate and far above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction. An index measuring output, which feeds into a composite PMI due on Wednesday, rose to a near six-year high of 57.5 from 57.3. The flash estimate was 57.2. "Euro zone manufacturing is clearly enjoying a sweet spell as we move into spring, but it is also suffering growing pains in the form of supply delays and rising costs," said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit. "The survey is also signaling the highest incidence of supplier delivery delays for nearly six years, underscoring how suppliers are struggling to meet surging demand." A sub-index measuring delivery times fell to 41.9 from 43.9, its lowest reading since May 2011. New orders surged despite prices charged rising faster than in any month since June 2011. Signs of accelerating activity and price rises will be welcomed by policymakers at the European Central Bank who have for years failed to get inflation anywhere near their target. Inflation slowed in March by far more than economists polled by Reuters had expected, driven down mostly by a deceleration of energy price rises, official estimates showed on Friday. Prices in the 19 countries sharing the euro rose 1.5 percent year-on-year, Eurostat estimated, down from a four-year high of 2.0 percent recorded in February. The Bank wants inflation of just under 2 percent. (Editing by John Stonestreet)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-economy-pmi-idINKBN1750PS'|'2017-04-03T16:07:00.000+03:00' +'cb6fe45758ea22911ce3799759ac967c7b9090e2'|'BlackRock CEO Fink sees wave of M&A in asset management industry'|'Market News - Wed Apr 19, 2017 - 2:52pm EDT BlackRock CEO Fink sees wave of M&A in asset management industry By Trevor Hunnicutt - NEW YORK, April 19 NEW YORK, April 19 BlackRock Inc Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink, who runs the world''s largest asset manager, on Wednesday forecast a wave of mergers and acquisitions in asset management, but said his company may be limited for now to small deals. "I believe you''re going to see a consolidation in our industry," Fink told Reuters in a telephone interview, citing previous waves in industries such as banking. Even so, he said, "We''re not going to be a big participant" in M&A. He did say BlackRock is considering three or four small acquisitions that would be focused on shoring up the company''s technology and its investment expertise in different assets and geographic regions. Started as a bond-focused fund manager in 1988, BlackRock later used acquisitions to add index-tracking exchange-traded funds and equities to its menu of offerings. Yet its traditionalist stock-picking unit has remained a source of frustration. BlackRock''s earnings reported on Wednesday showed it attracted nearly $65 billion in new cash from clients in the first quarter, while many of its peers have been trying to stanch outflows. BlackRock oversees $5.4 trillion in assets. The massive inflows at BlackRock raise the prospect that an industry that has nurtured dozens of brand names from Fidelity Investments to Pacific Investment Management Co is increasingly turning into a winner-take-all game. BlackRock, Vanguard Group and State Street Corp captured nearly 72 percent of the net cash collected globally last year by mutual funds, money market funds and exchange-traded funds, according to Morningstar Inc. "Asset managers historically benefited - in most cases, they benefited - from rising beta so you didn''t have this need for consolidation," said Fink, referring to how rising markets boosted asset managers'' earnings. The next leg of growth may be harder, including M&A and developing new business lines. Fink has placed an unusual emphasis on technology for an asset manager. BlackRock added revenue by licensing its Aladdin operating system for money managers to its rivals. The company is also exploring how computer models can improve stock picking while reducing costs. Last month, BlackRock announced plans to transfer some responsibilities from more traditionalist fund managers to an internal team known for data-driven approaches to picking stocks. In the interview, Fink said he has "100 percent confidence" that approach will help performance. The company''s overhaul of its active equities franchise includes doubling-down on niche geographic specialties, such as Asia, where it may have a greater chance to beat the market. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Jennifer Ablan and Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/blackrock-results-ceo-idUSL1N1HR187'|'2017-04-20T02:52:00.000+03:00' +'7af30d45c04c387a22681831cc86cf10d1499ae3'|'India''s Paytm in talks with SoftBank to raise $1.2 to $1.5 billion - report'|'Business News - Wed Apr 19, 2017 - 4:59am BST India''s Paytm in talks with SoftBank to raise $1.2 to $1.5 billion - report left right An advertisement of Paytm, a digital wallet company, is pictured at a road side stall in Kolkata, India, January 25, 2017. Picture taken January 25, 2017. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri 1/2 left right A man talks on the phone as he stand in front of an advertising poster of the SoftBank telecommunications company in Tokyo October 16, 2015. REUTERS/Thomas Peter 2/2 Electronics payments provider Paytm is in talks with Japan''s SoftBank Group ( 9984.T ) to raise $1.2 to $1.5 billion (935 million - 1.17 billion pounds)in cash, making the latter one of the largest shareholders in the fintech start-up, Mint newspaper reported on Wednesday citing sources. The deal, which could increase Paytm''s valuation to $7 to $9 billion, will see SoftBank buying some shares from existing Paytm investor SAIF Partners and founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma beside investing money in the company, the report said. Local media had reported recently that SoftBank is keen to sell its stake in India''s e-commerce firm Snapdeal in exchange for a stake in market leader Flipkart ( IPO-FLPK.N ). Paytm may also buy Snapdeal-owned payments rival Freecharge, as part of the deal, the report said. Digital payments have assumed great significance in India after the decision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s government ban on old high-valued bank notes in November led to a severe cash crunch across the country. (Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Euan Rocha)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-paytm-softbank-group-fundraising-idUKKBN17L0A4'|'2017-04-19T11:59:00.000+03:00' +'d4e94269e05c04ec632ee2506dd39f77714ddefb'|'UPDATE 1-China March producer inflation cools for first time in 7 months on steel glut fears'|'Business 00pm EDT China March producer inflation cools, consumer inflation below forecast FILE PHOTO - A labourer shovels iron ore into a steel ladle at Wuhan Iron and Steel Group in the capital of central China''s Hubei province October 17, 2007. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo BEIJING domestic demand is not strong enough to absorb surging supplies of steel. The producer price index (PPI) rose 7.6 percent from a year earlier, in line with economists'' expectations for a moderation from the previous month''s gain of 7.8 percent. China''s consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.9 percent from a year earlier, edging up from February''s 0.8 percent but slightly below analysts'' forecasts, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday. Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted March consumer price inflation would edge up to 1.0 percent but remain well within the central bank''s comfort zone, giving it room to continue with a gradual pace of monetary policy tightening without risking crimping economic growth. (Reporting by Nicholas Heath and Yawen Chen; Editing by Kim Coghill)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-inflation-idUSKBN17E05S'|'2017-04-12T10:11:00.000+03:00' +'31156c6354d8a278a91776ccd25de40c4d13d759'|'METALS-London copper slips as oversupply worries drag'|'Company News - Tue Apr 11, 2017 - 3:46am EDT METALS-London copper slips as oversupply worries drag * London copper slips * Weaker dollar fails to generate buyers (Adds trader comment, updates prices) By James Regan SYDNEY, April 11 London copper eased further on Tuesday after dropping the day before, weighed down by concerns about oversupply as the world''s top two copper mines look to recover from disruptions. "Even a weaker dollar didn''t generate much interest for investors," said a commodities trader in Perth. "It was more a case of everyone sitting on the sidelines for now." The dollar index, which gauges the U.S. currency against a basket of six major peers, was slightly down on the day at 101.050. FUNDAMENTALS * LME COPPER: London Metal Exchange copper had slipped 0.01 percent to $5,740 a tonne by 0730 GMT, after dropping nearly 1.5 percent the day before. * SHFE COPPER: Shanghai Futures Exchange copper declined 1.7 percent to 46,580 yuan ($6,748) a tonne. * COPPER SUPPLY: Prices have faltered since shipments resumed from BHP Billiton''s Escondida mine in Chile and since Freeport McMoRan Inc said it was waiting for final details on a temporary export permit in Indonesia, ending lengthy disruptions. * U.S. STOCKS: U.S. stocks ended a choppy session slightly higher as gains in energy shares offset losses in financials ahead of quarterly corporate earnings later this week. * BHP: BHP on Monday rejected a plan by activist shareholder Elliott Advisors to scrap the miner''s dual company structure, split off its oil business and return more cash to investors, saying the costs would outweigh any benefits. * Any significant changes to the corporate structure of BHP Billiton would need to be consistent with a "national interest" test under the law, the Australian government said on Tuesday. * PERU: A Southern Copper Corp spokesman said its operations in Peru were near normal as workers started an indefinite strike on Monday, although a union representative said 80 percent of capacity was affected. * NEW CALEDONIA: A powerful cyclone that hit New Caledonia late on Monday and shuttered nickel operations has moved offshore, allowing authorities to lift warnings on the French South Pacific territory. * For the top stories in metals and other news, click or * MARKETS Asian stocks fell on Tuesday as the political tinderbox in the Middle East and the Korean Peninsula added to uncertainty over the looming French vote, pushing nervous investors into safer assets such as the yen and Treasuries. * Even oil, which advanced earlier on supply concerns in the wake of U.S. missile strikes on a Syrian air base last week and a shutdown at a Libyan oilfield, reversed to trade lower, breaking its multi-session winning streak. DATA AHEAD (GMT) 0900 Euro Zone Industrial Production Feb 1000 U.S. NFIB Business Optimism Mar 1400 U.S. JOLTS Job Openings Feb PRICES'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/global-metals-idUSL3N1HJ2IE'|'2017-04-11T15:46:00.000+03:00' +'82077f811e60667d64014cf825daa0afd7f46a55'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|' 17am EDT Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions April 12 The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1015 GMT on Wednesday: ** Rebel shareholders in Dutch paint maker Akzo Nobel want to oust the company chairman after Akzo refused to engage in takeover talks with U.S. rival PPG Industries . ** Japan''s Toshiba Corp has narrowed down the field of bidders for its chip unit to four suitors including Broadcom Ltd and Western Digital Corp, two sources with knowledge of the matter said. ** U.S. pipeline operator NuStar Energy LP said on Tuesday it would buy privately held Navigator Energy Services LLC for about $1.48 billion, as it seeks to expand into the Permian basin. ** British American Tobacco (BAT) said it had agreed with Bulgarian cigarette maker Bulgartabac to acquire some of its leading cigarette brands in a deal worth more than 100 million euros ($106 million). ** Swiss pesticides and seeds group Syngenta AG said Mexican regulatory conditions for approving ChemChina''s planned $43 billion takeover bid will not have a major impact on the business. (Compiled by Komal Khettry in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/deals-day-idUSL3N1HK3IZ'|'2017-04-12T18:17:00.000+03:00' +'540dbccf18ab524046f571ca73c06d77a24926e7'|'France''s gig economy creates hope and tension as election looms'|'Business 7:05am BST France''s gig economy creates hope and tension as election looms By Michel Rose - PARIS PARIS It''s lunchtime and Parisians are queuing for baguettes at a bakery on the Rue Montmartre, a sight long typical of life in the French capital. But three cyclists clad in neon-blue outfits chat outside and regularly check the smartphones strapped to their wrists, waiting for orders to whisk meals from nearby restaurants and bistros to other Parisians in their homes or offices. They''re among an army of riders working for the British-based Deliveroo firm who have rapidly become a familiar sight pedalling up and down the city''s boulevards. These recent scenes in the Montorgueil district of Paris offer two opposing visions for large parts of France''s services economy; each is championed by one of the candidates likely to contest the run-off vote for the French presidency next month. Far-right contender Marine Le Pen wants to protect the likes of the traditional French baker or driver of metered taxis in towns and cities across the country from unfair competition. Her centrist rival Emmanuel Macron sees the "gig economy" of firms such as Deliveroo and the U.S. app-based cab service Uber as a model for creating jobs particularly in the "banlieues" - deprived suburban housing estates where unemployment is almost three times the national rate. Still, concern is growing about a new class of working poor with no social protection, and California-based Uber faced days of sometimes violent protests by its French drivers in December after raising fees it charges them to use the platform. So, with the rapid emergence of new forms of employment creating such frictions, the next president will have to decide whether to say "stop" or "more" to the gig economy. On the Rue Montmartre, the Deliveroo riders leant towards the view of Macron - a former banker who tried to push through liberal reforms as economy minister from 2014-16 - even though they work as self-employed contractors without protections such as accident insurance that salaried staff automatically enjoy. One was 21-year-old Nicolas Usunier, who dropped out of college in his first year and looked in vain for a job at bakeries and supermarkets. By contrast, becoming a Deliveroo rider was quick and easy, he told Reuters. "I was struggling. Then I saw a guy doing that; two weeks later I was on my bike going around Paris," he said. "I know some would like a real contract, but I like the flexibility." Waiting for an order at the bakery in central Paris, an-hour''s commute from his home, Usunier says he has not seriously considered getting insurance. "I will think about it the day I have an accident," he laughed. (For graphic on business creation and bankruptcies in the transport sector, click tmsnrt.rs/2lkLqC3 ) THE JOB ARGUMENT France is famous for strong rights enjoyed by those people who have traditional employment contracts. Their working week is set at just 35 hours and firing them is difficult. Critics say this makes employers reluctant to hire and the price is chronic unemployment which, at almost 10 percent is roughly double the rate in Germany or Britain. Approaching a quarter of young workers have no job. France is also struggling to integrate generations of immigrants, failing to create anything like enough jobs for those stuck on the cities'' peripheries. But contrary to France''s image of a country set in its ways, the gig economy - where people offer their labour without the security of a traditional employment contract, often in industries where smartphone apps connect customers to businesses - is changing the landscape. France now has 1.1 million registered self-contracting workers, although only 643,800 were active as of the middle of last year. That compares with a labour force of about 29 million, including just under 3.5 million unemployed. However, one in four jobs created in the first half of 2016 in the Paris region was due alone to cab services operated by Uber and its rivals, according to a study by the Boston Consulting Group commissioned by the U.S. company. The figure for what is known as the VTC sector - "transport vehicle with driver" - was lower elsewhere as Uber is less active in provincial cities, but still significant at 15 percent of new net jobs in the whole of France. Ironically, Uber and its competitors possibly have more growth potential in France than in generally less regulated economies such as Britain and the United States. Last year, there were just 5.6 VTC and traditional taxi drivers per 1,000 residents of greater Paris compared with 12 in London and 17 in New York, making it hard to find a cab at times. Outside the capital, getting French taxi firms to answer the phone late at night, let alone send a car, can be an even more frustrating experience. Boston Consulting said almost 60,000 extra jobs could be created in Paris alone by 2022 if it came close to matching the London or New York levels. In the meal delivery sector, growth has been exponential. Deliveroo''s sales rose 650 percent in France in 2016, more than in other European markets, country manager Hugues Decosse said. Decosse declined to give precise figures and with the gig economy new to France - Uber launched in Paris in 2012 and Deliveroo in 2015 - official data on the sector is scarce. OPPORTUNITY FOR THE EXCLUDED A study by Facta consultancy, partly commissioned by taxi companies, said the newcomers had gained market share by cutting prices but the overall taxi and VTC sector had not grown. However, data from Thomson Reuters Datastream suggests the transport sector generates disproportionately large numbers of entrepreneurs and jobs: since mid 2015 it has created 20 new companies for each that goes bust, compared with nine firms for each bankruptcy in the broader economy. GRAPHIC - The Uber effect tmsnrt.rs/2lkLqC3 Consumers are also benefiting. Inflation for taxi rides has fallen from nearly four percent three years ago to 0.2 percent, compared with overall inflation of 1.6 percent in January. Government social affairs inspectors say the new economy offers an opportunity for people excluded from the labour market. Macron has also taken up this message for the elections, to be held over two rounds on April 23 and May 7. "All those who became self-employed drivers, what did they do before? They weren''t taxi drivers; they were unemployed. They were on benefits, or even sometimes dealing drugs," he said. Macron denounced a French social model that he said cared more about protecting "insiders" on iron-clad permanent contracts than opening up to "outsiders". "Let''s end this French preference for unemployment," he added in a radio interview. Not everyone shares his vision. Sayah Baaroun, who has set up a union for VTC drivers, accused Macron of patronising banlieues residents, many of whom have immigrant backgrounds. "Basically what he says is: considering what you look like, where you''re from, where you live, you really shouldn''t be complaining and accept the crumbs," he told Reuters. Last week Baaroun called for a boycott of Uber to demand higher prices for his drivers. LONG HOURS, POOR PAY Abi Cheli, a 34-year-old cleaner who works for Deliveroo in his spare time to top up his income, says it is making a big difference in neighbourhoods which have endured riots and sometimes Islamist radicalisation. "I see these jobs as a way to absorb all this social tension, which is huge," he said. Deliveroo has unveiled free third-party insurance for its riders. But generally gig economy firms are reluctant to offer benefits in case this leads to court rulings that contractors are de facto employees who should have permanent jobs. Hours can also be long and pay poor. The Boston Consulting study said Uber drivers worked 52 hours a week on average - much more than the statutory 35 hours for employees - for 1,400 euros ($1,500) a month. That is below the minimum wage of 1,480 euros. Work for Deliveroo is often more a top-up than a living wage. A Harris Interactive study commissioned by the firm showed more than half of its riders were students and 82 percent were satisfied. But they worked 22 hours a week on average, with only 41 percent of them earning more than 750 euros a month. On the election trail, Le Pen has leapt to defend traditional professionals such as taxi drivers from the newcomers. "What''s certain today is that this competition is unfair, it''s illegal," she told France 2 television. The National Front candidate said she did not condone incidents in which taxi drivers have set upon Uber drivers and their passengers. But she added: "This anger that is rising - any worker experiencing that would probably do the same if faced with the same situation." Le Pen''s promise to set a minimum tariff for Uber drivers and ensure it pays more taxes in France attracts taxi drivers, who have suffered big drops in their income since Uber launched. "The whole profession was transformed in the last few years and not in a good way," said 56-year-old driver Armando Calcada. "So for me it''ll be Le Pen, and straight from the first round." (Additional reporting by Matthias Blamont, Leigh Thomas and Simon Carraud; editing by David Stamp)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-election-gigeconomy-analysis-idUKKBN17D0I8'|'2017-04-11T14:05:00.000+03:00' +'6f88b6bdbfcf68c29456e095dd0c1e7e9b107fcd'|'ECB can provide emergency cash to French banks if needed - Nowotny'|' 3:26pm BST ECB can provide emergency cash to French banks if needed - Nowotny European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny listens during a news conference in Vienna, Austria, March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader WASHINGTON The European Central Bank could provide emergency cash to French banks if needed after the first round of France''s presidential election on Sunday, but it doesn''t expect such a move will be necessary, ECB policymaker Ewald Nowotny said on Saturday. "If there should be problems for specific French banks liquidity-wise, then the ECB has the ... ELA, Emergency Liquidity Assistance, but we don''t expect of course any special movements," Nowotny, who is Austria''s central bank governor, told reporters at the IMF and World Bank spring meetings. Investors fear that a potential run-off between eurosceptic candidates Marine Le Pen and Jean-Luc Mlenchon would raise questions about France''s future in the European Union, roiling financial markets and undermining depositor confidence. (Reporting by Francesco Canepa; Editing by Paul Simao)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-imf-g20-france-idUKKBN17O0F8'|'2017-04-22T22:26:00.000+03:00' +'d4593ead53493d7e1ee5e99a053de9fa682e9509'|'Italy''s Atlantia mulling takeover of Spain''s Abertis - source'|' 5:47pm BST Italy''s Atlantia mulling takeover of Spain''s Abertis - source By Carlos Ruano - MADRID MADRID Italian toll-road company Atlantia ( ATL.MI ) is looking at the possibility of making a bid for Spanish rival Abertis ( ABE.MC ) in a deal that would create an industry giant with a market value of more than 35 billion euros (29.74 billion pounds), a source close to the matter said on Tuesday. The takeover would be friendly and would likely involve a cash-and-share offer, the source said. Atlantia, 30 percent controlled by the Benetton family, said in a statement it had expressed to Abertis a generic and preliminary interest in assessing "common projects", adding it had made no commitment and no plans had been submitted to its own board of directors. It gave no further details. In a separate statement, Abertis said the terms of any transaction had not been established. The two companies had agreed a merger in 2006 but the deal fell apart in the face of opposition from the Italian government. Atlantia, whose shares fell 3.8 percent after Bloomberg first reported that it was considering a bid for Abertis, has a market value of just under 20 billion euros and in 2016 booked revenues of 5.5 billion euros. The Spanish group has a capitalisation of 15.5 billion euros and sales last year totalled 4.9 billion euros. Atlantia last year said it wanted to increase the share of core earnings generated abroad to 50 percent by 2020 from 25 percent at present. As part of this strategy it is looking to sell a stake of around 15 percent in its Italian motorway division ASPI. Analysts have estimated that Atlantia, which is ASPI''s sole owner, could bag around 2.5 billion euros from the sale. Abertis''s main shareholder is holding company Criteria Caixa, which also controls Caixabank ( CABK.MC ). (Writing by Silvia Aloisi; Editing by Greg Mahlich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-abertis-m-a-atlantia-idUKKBN17K21N'|'2017-04-19T00:47:00.000+03:00' +'44b210534ede9255628c583eb54659b60b024a82'|'Celebrity tie-ups help online fashion retailer Boohoo double its profit - Business'|'Retail industry Celebrity tie-ups help online fashion retailer Boohoo double its profit Pre-tax profits rise 97% to 31m thanks in part to paying Instagram icons to promote the brands clothes to 16 to 24-year-old fans Bloggers such as Emma Hill, pictured in a Boohoo coat, help promote its clothes to millennials. Photograph: Kirstin Sinclair/Getty Images Retail industry Celebrity tie-ups help online fashion retailer Boohoo double its profit Pre-tax profits rise 97% to 31m thanks in part to paying Instagram icons to promote the brands clothes to 16 to 24-year-old fans View more sharing options Wednesday 26 April 2017 18.31 BST Last modified on Wednesday 26 April 2017 21.54 BST Boohoo, the online fashion retailer with an army of 16 to 24-year-old fans, has nearly doubled its profits, helped by paying celebrities and other influencers to promote its products on Instagram. The Manchester-based company, which has turned its founders into multimillionaires, reported on Wednesday that sales had risen by 51% to 295m in the year to the end of February. This pushed the retailers pre-tax profit up by 97% to 31m. Mahmud Kamani, who founded Boohoo alongside the designer and self-described proper northern lass Carol Kane in 2006, said 2016 had been a momentous year for the company and his family. Its shares, which floated on the Aim market in 2014, have risen by more than 270%, from 50p to 186p, over the past 12 months. The retailer has a stock market value of 2.1bn, more than Mike Ashleys Sports Direct at 1.7bn. The Kamani family owns 38% of the shares, worth more than 800m, while Kane owns 4.5%, worth almost 100m. Earlier this year, Boohoo expanded by buying fashion website PrettyLittleThing , which was set up by Kamanis sons Umar, Adam and Samir. The company also boosted its US presence by buying Nasty Gal , founded by the former eBay star seller Sophia Amoruso, for $20m (15.6m). Boohoos rise has mirrored that of Asos , shares in which have increased from 36 to 56 over the past 12 months, as investors back large online brands. Asos is now valued at 4.7bn, equal to 80% of Marks & Spencer. Neil Catto, Boohoos chief financial officer, said the companys success with mostly millennial customers had been driven by its focus on encouraging celebrities and bloggers to post about the retailers clothes on Instagram. We work with a whole spectrum of influencers, celebrities and wannabe bloggers all people with a presence online and we work with them so they can spread the word about Boohoo. It goes likes wildfire on Instagram, he said. Catto said it was hard to single out any Instagram user as delivering the most sales, but the launch of a plus-size range with the model Jordyn Woods had proved very popular. It got a lot of buzz as she is friends with the the Kardashians, he said. He declined to say how much influential people are paid to promote the companys clothes on social media, but added that some can be encouraged to help out in return for free samples and pizza. You can pay people to wear your clothes, or give them free clothes, [but] some are just interested in our fashion and will come along and have a pizza in our offices and put the range on Instagram, Catto said. Catto said the companys target age group was 16 to 24-year-olds, but added that 50% are older than 24, while 10% are under 16. The retailer plans further expansion in the US, where sales grew by 140% compared with 33% in the UK. Analysts at stockbroker Peel Hunt, who have a buy rating on Boohoos shares, upgraded their 2017-18 pre-tax profit forecast to 40m. With strong trading momentum from autumn/winter likely to have provided a good start to the new season, trading updates are unlikely to disappoint and the medium-term outlook remains encouraging, they said. Kamani has vowed to focus on growing the business rather than enjoying his millions. When he cashed in more than 200m of shares in the companys flotation, his phone rang non-stop, he said. Someone rang to ask if I wanted to buy a jet. Someone even asked if I wanted to buy a football club. I said to him: Are you on drugs?, he said at the time . Kamani inherited his love of fashion from his father, Abdullah, who sold handbags on market stalls in north-west England after leaving Kenya in the 1960s. Kamani went on to found a successful family textile business, supplying high street names such as New Look and Primark, before focusing on Boohoo. Asked why the business started in Manchester , he joked: Thats where the plane landed. London was probably an extra 60. Topics '|'theguardian.com'|'https://www.theguardian.com/uk/business'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/apr/26/boohoo-profits-nearly-double-celebrities-instagram-online-fashion-retail'|'2017-04-27T02:31:00.000+03:00' +'b5a6f4a929309905f227d04463f01a96ba7b12bc'|'The salary gap between expat and local aid workers its complicated - Global Development Professionals Network'|'Global development professionals network The salary gap between expat and local aid workers its complicated Its time for more nuance and less ideology in the debate about expat aid workers being paid more than local staff at NGOs Aid workers from the west generally get paid more than national staff working in NGOs. Photograph: Alamy Global development professionals network The salary gap between expat and local aid workers its complicated Its time for more nuance and less ideology in the debate about expat aid workers being paid more than local staff at NGOs View more sharing options Senior lecturer in communication for development at Malm University, Sweden Wednesday 19 April 2017 11.31 BST Last modified on Wednesday 19 April 2017 11.59 BST Aid workers have been discussing the issue of expat versus local worker salaries for some time now. From one side of the argument, it looks pretty simple: why should expat workers swing into town and get paid far higher rates than their national colleagues? Its worth taking a more nuanced assessment of the professional realities in the aid industry that are changing rapidly. We also need to put aside ideology and look at the administrative realities of living the expat aid worker life. And finally, we need to think about how we can move the debate forward beyond salaries. Expat wages up to 900% higher than for local employees, research shows Read more The aid industry, including both humanitarian and development work, has been changing significantly over the past few years. Localisation is a term being used to describe this: large international NGOs such as ActionAid and Oxfam have moved or will move their global headquarters to the global south. And despite the fact that a recent Overseas Development Institute report states that development organisations are behind the curve on changes in the workplace, discussions are taking place that will transform the sector. Aid work is professionalising and that will mean more opportunities for local workers and changing roles for expats. Skilled professionals for project management, IT and creative industries are already in demand in growing economies across Africa and Asia, and the relatively small aid industry will have to offer incentives to attract and retain local talent. A new generation of internationally educated, global professionals with local language skills is sought in many sectors. The simple truth is that most aid workers do not have generous UN or diplomatic housing, or moving allowances That said, expat aid workers will continue to exist. And the fact is that most of them are embedded in a secondary financial economy, as well as the country they have been posted to. The unexciting reality of earning a taxable income abroad, maintaining a link to their home countries and preparing for a life after aid work means they need to earn a higher salary to make aid work a viable career. The simple truth is that most aid workers do not have generous UN or diplomatic housing, or moving allowances. And since claims of paying professionals a professional salary apply globally just as they do locally, it also means finding a balance between paying a project officer in Brussels or Nairobi. Despite anecdotal evidence about local prices hikes, a study from 2006 (pdf) suggests that UN missions, often the epitome of expat aid work, contribute significantly and in diverse ways to the local economy. Often, local staff in the back office work close to a regular 9-5 job, whereas many expats work different often longer hours, travel more or need to engage with global headquarters across time zones. National staffs long-term perspectives may also differ from a six-month contract for an expat colleague, so comparing the two is tricky. Secret aid worker: Why do expats earn more than the rest of us? Read more And yet, this discussion strikes a chord with many professionals in the industry. I agree that the issue of benefits such as travel allowances or schooling support for local staff in addition to their salaries needs more attention. The truth is that many expat NGO workers probably live less privileged lives than those in diplomatic missions and they cant always freely chose how to live, as they are entangled in security protocols and the desire of their home countries to create a competitive and comparative global service across countries regardless of where they are posted. One issue that seems to get lost in the salary discussion is the risk of aid work being reduced to a capital city-centered endeavour. The global elite is as much present in Geneva or London as it is in Bangkok or Nairobi, but the bulk of aid work takes place in the field and we need to ensure adequate benefits for local and expat aid workers in different environments. So how can we ensure that frontline health workers or drivers in the regional hubs are included in the conversation rather than focusing on who should have the right to send their children to the private American school? Expat pay in the aid sector: your responses Read more There should be a more nuanced discussion on absolute and relative privilege beyond salaries that takes more dimensions of wellbeing and professional development into consideration. How can stress, long-distance relationships and the ethos of aid work as an impartial and solitary endeavour be redefined in a globalised world with many challenges? Expat aid workers are also needed as vocal advocates for public debates around global development at home. Rather than approaching the topic purely from a moral perspective of Do expat aid workers deserve higher salaries? we should also discuss how entrenched inequalities, outside the control of the aid industry, cause different salaries and benefit structures to exist. Join our community of development professionals and humanitarians. Follow @GuardianGDP on Twitter. Topics '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2017/apr/19/the-salary-gap-between-expat-and-local-aid-workers-its-complicated'|'2017-04-19T19:31:00.000+03:00' +'9f2423d7f97895d41e6960a8996461aa216fb31b'|'BRIEF-Stephen Brown notifies intention to resign as chief financial officer of STAAR Surgical'|' 40pm EDT BRIEF-Stephen Brown notifies intention to resign as chief financial officer of STAAR Surgical April 4 STAAR Surgical Co - * Stephen Brown notified co of his intention to resign as vice president and chief financial officer * Says CFO Brown''s resignation will become effective on April 28, 2017 * Staar Surgical Co says appointed Deborah Andrews to serve as interim vice president and CFO of company Source text: [ bit.ly/2nBouPT ] '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-stephen-brown-notifies-intention-t-idUSFWN1HC0JR'|'2017-04-05T04:40:00.000+03:00' +'b71cc241af884514c793340cf0fd6921ba21d921'|'Signs point away from Trump labelling China currency manipulator'|' 4:31am IST Signs point away from Trump labeling China currency manipulator FILE PHOTO: U.S. 100 dollar banknotes and Chinese 100 yuan banknotes are seen in this picture illustration in Beijing, China, January 21, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Lee/Illustration/File Photo By David Lawder - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump looks unlikely to formally declare China a currency manipulator next week just days after meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping, foreign exchange policy experts say, leaving a vocal Trump campaign pledge unmet, at least for now. The U.S. Treasury would have to radically change its definitions of currency manipulation in order to squeeze China into that label for its next report due April 14, said these experts, several of whom contributed to past Treasury analysis of foreign exchange practices. But over time, the Trump administration may consider changes to the Obama administration''s currency definitions as the Treasury gains staff. "It would be hard to come up with a credible standard that would catch China in the net," said David Dollar, a former U.S. Treasury economic liaison to China who is now a senior fellow at the Washington-based Brookings Institution. Trump pledged to label China a currency manipulator on the first day of his administration, but so far has refrained. A trade and customs enforcement law enacted last year set out three criteria for identifying manipulation among major trading partners: a "material" global current account surplus, a "significant" bilateral trade surplus with the United States, and persistent one-way intervention in foreign exchange markets. The Treasury is required to demand special talks with any country meeting all three thresholds aimed at correcting an undervalued currency, with penalties such as exclusion from U.S. government procurement contracts available after a year. Under the current Obama-defined thresholds, China only meets one of these criteria, based on its $347 billion goods trade surplus with the United States. Its central bank has for the past two years spent over $1 trillion to prop up the yuan''s value - not to push it down. China''s current account surplus, an indicator of its global trade balance, was 1.8 percent of GDP in 2016, well below the threshold for action. The U.S. Treasury says it is "premature" to comment on the outcome of its currency review and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has said it will adhere to past practice in its assessment, suggesting that radical changes will not be made in this publication. "The conclusion among people like me from that seems to be that they''re moving away from naming China," said Matthew Goodman, former Treasury official who wrote currency reports during the Clinton administration and is now at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. But with the Trump administration pushing a trade agenda aimed at reducing U.S. trade deficits, particularly those with China, experts said that they expect the Trump administration to consider changes aimed at deterring future manipulations. Treasury will be in a much better position to make such changes for its October currency report, said Derek Scissors, a resident scholar and China trade expert at the American Enterprise Institute. "I would be very surprised if a year from now the Obama criteria were still in place," Scissors said. The most logical option would be to lengthen the time period for reviewing currency market interventions from 12 months to several years, capturing more past interventions by China, according to the policy experts. One senior South Korean official told Reuters that doing this would likely lead to manipulator designations for South Korea, Taiwan and possibly other countries. Treasury also could reduce the current account surplus threshold below 3 percent of GDP to try to capture more potential offenders, but that would be at odds with longstanding views of the International Monetary Fund and G20 finance officials that 3 pct of GDP is about where surpluses start to become a concern. (Reporting by David Lawder; additional reporting by Christine Kim in Seoul; Editing by David Chance and Grant McCool) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-trade-idINKBN1772Z4'|'2017-04-06T06:55:00.000+03:00' +'9379a17205e8f8ff3dc833fe11b9ceccba216f51'|'Micron names SanDisk co-founder Sanjay Mehrotra CEO'|'Chipmaker Micron Technology Inc named SanDisk co-founder Sanjay Mehrotra its chief executive, replacing Mark Durcan who announced his retirement in February.Mehrotra''s appointment will be effective May 8.Durcan, a 30-year Micron veteran, took the top job in 2012.(Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/micron-moves-ceo-idINKBN17T1UH'|'2017-04-27T10:24:00.000+03:00' +'0a0f45a2e65691c69f54fcd92abc5b921c169808'|'Man Group, Pandora strength boosts European stocks, French equities rally'|' 6:16pm BST Man Group, Pandora strength boosts European stocks, French equities rally Stock index price for France''s CAC 40 and company stock price information are displayed on screens as they hang above the Paris stock exchange, operated by Euronext NV, in La Defense business district in Paris, France, December 14, 2016. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier LONDON European shares edged higher on Thursday as investors welcomed results from Man Group ( EMG.L ) and Pandora ( PNDORA.CO ) maintained its outlook, while French equities outperformed ahead of the first round of France''s presidential election. The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended the session 0.2 percent higher. France''s CAC 40 .FCHI outperformed peers, jumping 1.5 percent and marking its best day since the beginning of March. Banking stocks, which are regarded as bellwethers for the economy, led the CAC 40 higher, with BNP Paribas ( BNPP.PA ) and Societe Generale ( SOGN.PA ) up 4 and 2.8 percent respectively. Some analysts suggested that investors were closing out short positions ahead of the vote. "Few days ahead of the French elections, almost anything is possible based on the polls. The worst outcome for markets is if Le Pen and Melenchon are in the 2nd round, in our view, as markets could start pricing Frexit risks," strategists at Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in a note, referring to far-right candidate Marine Le Pen and the far-left''s Jean-Luc Melenchon. More broadly, European banks also rose, up 0.8 percent. UBS on Wednesday upgraded the sector to ''neutral'' from ''underweight'', citing rising reflation expectations and a seemingly more benign regulatory environment. Even the struggling UK FTSE 100 .FTSE managed to post a 0.1 percent gain, despite coming under pressure this week after British Prime Minister Theresa May called a snap general election, a move that sent sterling to a more than 6-month high. "The inverse correlation of FTSE with sterling is logical because of the overseas earnings of the FTSE, so if sterling continues to move, that will have a significant effect on that trade-off between large, international companies and more domestic companies," said Simon Gergel, CIO for UK Equities at Allianz Global Investors. Earnings-related newsflow drove the top gainers, with Pandora ( PNDORA.CO ) up 5 percent, regaining ground after a broker downgrade hit it earlier in the week. The company updated its financial reporting structure, confirming its 2017 outlook. In another sign of a better backdrop for the asset management industry, British hedge fund Man Group ( EMG.L ) shares rose 4 percent after it reported net inflows over the first quarter. "This is a very strong start to the year that is likely to lead to consensus upgrades," said Liberum analysts. Earlier this week peer fund manager Ashmore ( ASHM.L ) posted net inflows for the first time in nearly three years, and on Wednesday Henderson ( HGGH.L ) posted first quarter results, showing assets were cushioned by market gains in the period. Energy sector stocks were in the red, however, reeling from a sharp slide in oil prices overnight. Lundin Petroleum ( LUPE.ST ) and Tullow Oil ( TLW.L ) were among the top fallers in the sector .SXEP. (Reporting by Kit Rees and Helen Reid)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks-idUKKBN17M27O'|'2017-04-21T01:16:00.000+03:00' +'b2448a7ffe238bfa4d3daa1d7ac4123888b14beb'|'''After Brexit people will fall in love with English apples again'' - Guardian Small Business Network'|'S uzannah Starkey is pleased the European experiment is over. Her family owns the only commercial orchard of the original Bramley apple tree and she has found the single market disastrous for the domestic apple sector.With the European friendship, the bottom of the market for English apples fell out, she says. Theres just been too much competition coming from Europe [mainly France and Italy]. Fruit farmers in England have had a tough time. But we believe that people will fall in love with English apples again.There is something quintessentially British about the Bramley apple. Its a staple for crumbles and pies all over the country, and an estimated 83,000 tonnes of them are grown in the UK each year. But the Starkeys crop is quite special, and three generations of the family have been growing the apples since 1910.So many apple farmers are taking their trees out in this country ... hopefully we can start to turn the tanker aroundSuzannah StarkeyBramleys grow all over the world now, but theyve mutated, Suzannah says. When you go to the supermarket and buy a Bramley, its big, its sour, its green. Thats not how the original tree produces fruit. Theyre smaller and sweeter, with a red hue.The original Bramley apple tree dates back to 1809, when a pip was planted by Mary Anne Brailsford in Southwall, Nottinghamshire. This in itself, Suzannah adds, makes it a freak of nature edible fruit does not usually grow from a tree that comes from a pip. Today, the tree has been recognised as one of 50 Great British Trees by the Tree Council.In the early 1990s, Bramley tree contracted honey fungus and looked certain to die. But Suzannahs father, Sir John Starkey, has been instrumental in saving the legacy of the Bramley apple. In 1994, he encouraged Professor Ted Cocking, a bioscientist from the University of Nottingham who cloned the Major Oak, to do the same with the Bramley tree. Professor Cocking spent 15 years in the laboratory creating nine clones. Starkey was given two of them and now has 2,000 trees.Despite the impressive size of the orchards, its not been easy to turn them into money. As well as competition from Europe, Suzannah says many of the British supermarkets dont want her fathers Bramley apples. Theyre too red, theyre too small, she adds. Theyre not the big sour ones that everyone thinks Bramleys should be.The data also shows there isnt a thriving export market for British fruit. According to the Produce Marketing Association , Britain imports more than 476,000 tonnes of apples, but only export 14,800 tonnes (3%) of our own. Over the past two decades, the UK has become increasingly reliant on imports, with a self-sufficiency rate of just 11% in fruit.Suzannah Starkey says getting out and meeting your customers is vital.Suzannah recently came on board to help run the family business, after working as a private chef. They now turn the unsold fruit into pressed apple juice and compote, which theyre perfect for she adds because theyre sweet enough not to need added sugar. The farm sells its juice to local schools, a number of farm shops and Co-op stores around Lincolnshire. Plus they also have a thriving trade in soft fruits strawberries, blackberries and raspberries.Farming can be a volatile business at the best of times, but diversification has been essential to ensure Norwood Parks survival since 1910 when the first orchard was planted. Expand, expand, expand [is our contingency plan], Suzannah says. You should never rely on one area of the business. Dad would say, Learn to live on a tight belt. And we get out there to meet our customers.But she adds, like any small business, you need to find a balance between all of the competing priorities. I could be out there selling every day, but someones got to be on the frontline growing the business, making the product, putting the caps on the bottles, cleaning up the production room. Its a lot of work.Its a small family team but they do rely on eastern European workers who come to handpick the fruit every year. For all of her excitement about leaving the EU, and the knock-on effect that may have on customers buying domestic produce, is she concerned about potential changes to the legislation surrounding free movement of people?''It was like the tap turned off on job applications'': SMEs post Brexit vote Read moreI think the seasonal pickers will still want to come. Whichever way you cut it, theyre going to be paid more in England than in their own country. Defra [the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs] will, I presume, realise we cant get enough English workers to do the work we wont have any farming [in this country] if we dont have our extra help.Leaving the EU certainly does pose challenges for the farming community. Defra estimates that a quarter of the 1,200 EUs laws relate to the sector, and 3bn of EU money is distributed each year in subsidies to farmers and land managers. Pig farmers have echoed Suzannahs concerns that access to seasonal EU labour is essential , but there is evidence theres already been a drop in interest from workers because of the declining value of the pound.Without a real shift in buying behaviour, Suzannah says there is a risk that the UKs apple industry will die out completely. There has already been a 36% decline in the number of orchards between 1985-86 and 2014-15. For the Starkey family, they are committed to being patient.So many apple farmers are taking their trees out in this country [because theyre not commercially viable], Suzannah says. [But] once youve taken an orchard out, its very hard to get it back in again. It takes a long time to get an apple tree back into fruition. Weve made the choice to stay in [the sector] and expand [into other areas]. Were thinking long term. Hopefully we can start to turn the tanker around.Sign up to become a member of the Guardian Small Business Network here for more advice, insight and best practice direct to your inbox.Topics Guardian Small Business Network Entrepreneurs Farming Fruit features Share '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/apr/28/after-brexit-english-apples-bramley-starkey'|'2017-04-28T15:00:00.000+03:00' +'78489474b0f38e61bee05805dc645ea9f4e8cc3a'|'MOVES-Citigroup, Northern Trust, Morningstar Credit Ratings'|'Company News 49pm EDT MOVES-Citigroup, Northern Trust, Morningstar Credit Ratings April 17 The following financial services industry appointments were announced on Monday. To inform us of other job changes, email moves@thomsonreuters.com. CITIGROUP INC The bank appointed Carmen Haddad as head of its Saudi Arabia business, according to a source close to the lender. NORTHERN TRUST WEALTH MANAGEMENT Northern Trust Wealth Management, a unit of Northern Trust Corp, appointed Robert Ashcroft senior vice president and director of business owner consulting in its wealth management unit. MORNINGSTAR CREDIT RATINGS LLC Morningstar Credit Ratings LLC, a unit of Morningstar Inc , named Charles Citro managing director for commercial mortgage-backed securities ratings and analytics. (Compiled by Divya Grover in Bengaluru) Wal- April 17 China''s HNA nears deal to buy Odebrecht''s Brazil airport stake - source SAO PAULO, April 17 HNA Airport Holding Group Co Ltd is close to buying out the stake that engineering conglomerate Odebrecht SA has in Brazil''s second-busiest international airport, a person briefed on the matter said on Monday, partly solving an impasse with a government agency over licensing rights. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/financial-moves-idUSL3N1HP4B8'|'2017-04-18T01:49:00.000+03:00' +'575268afe1c2f04e464582eed9a884fb604f2056'|'Automatic for the people: How Germanys Otto uses artificial intelligence'|'A GLIMPSE into the future of retailing is available in a smallish office in Hamburg. From there, Otto, a German e-commerce merchant, is using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve its activities. The firm is already deploying the technology to make decisions at a scale, speed and accuracy that surpass the capabilities of its human employees.Big data and machine learning have been used in retailing for years, notably by Amazon, an e-commerce giant. The idea is to collect and analyse quantities of information to understand consumer tastes, recommend products to people and personalise websites for customers. Ottos work stands out because it is already automating business decisions that go beyond customer management. The most important is trying to lower returns of products, which cost the firm millions of euros a year. 6 9 hours 11 12 16 hours ago Foreign reserves 18 hours ago See all updates Its conventional data analysis showed that customers were less likely to return merchandise if it arrived within two days. Anything longer spelled trouble: a customer might spot the product in a shop for one euro less and buy it, forcing Otto to forgo the sale and eat the shipping costs.But customers also dislike multiple shipments; they prefer to receive everything at once. Since Otto sells merchandise from other brands, and does not stock those goods itself, it is hard to avoid one of the two evils: shipping delays until all the orders are ready for fulfilment, or lots of boxes arriving at different times.The typical solution would be slightly better forecasting by humans of what customers are going to buy so that a few goods could be ordered ahead of time. Otto went further and created a system using the technology of Blue Yonder, a startup in which it holds a stake. A deep-learning algorithm, which was originally designed for particle-physics experiments at the CERN laboratory in Geneva, does the heavy lifting. It analyses around 3bn past transactions and 200 variables (such as past sales, searches on Ottos site and weather information) to predict what customers will buy a week before they order.The AI system has proved so reliableit predicts with 90% accuracy what will be sold within 30 daysthat Otto allows it automatically to purchase around 200,000 items a month from third-party brands with no human intervention. It would be impossible for a person to scrutinise the variety of products, colours and sizes that the machine orders. Online retailing is a natural place for machine-learning technology, notes Nathan Benaich, an investor in AI.Overall, the surplus stock that Otto must hold has declined by a fifth. The new AI system has reduced product returns by more than 2m items a year. Customers get their items sooner, which improves retention over time, and the technology also benefits the environment, because fewer packages get dispatched to begin with, or sent back.The initiative suggests that an important role of AI in business may be simply to make existing processes work better. Otto did not fire anyone as a result of its new algorithmic approach: it hired more, instead. In many cases AI will not affect a firms overall headcount, but will perform tasks at a level of productivity that people could not achieve. Ottos experience also underlines that ordinary companies can use AI, not just giants such as Amazon and Google, notes Dave Selinger, a retailing-technology expert and former data scientist at Amazon. The degree to which the company has yielded control to an algorithm, he says, is extremely unusual. But it may not be long before others catch up.This article appeared in the Business "Automatic for the people"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21720675-firm-using-algorithm-designed-cern-laboratory-how-germanys-otto-uses?fsrc=rss'|'2017-04-12T22:51:00.000+03:00' +'eaef9dd8eae5d3470a1f032d4aa1345ed67bb77e'|'PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - April 20'|'Market News - Thu Apr 20, 2017 - 1:02am EDT PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - April 20 April 20 The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. - Chinese authorities plan to question Apple Inc about video streaming services available over its app store within the country, in their latest move to intensify pressure on the American technology giant over the content it provides in the vast and crucial market. nyti.ms/2oRK8Sq - Exxon Mobil is pursuing a waiver from Treasury Department sanctions on Russia to drill in the Black Sea in a venture with Rosneft, the Russian state oil company, a former State Department official said on Wednesday. nyti.ms/2oRILmq - The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Wednesday admitted that its oversight of Wells Fargo & Co was "untimely and ineffective." The report said the agency failed to spot clues that would have allowed it to connect the dots in one of the most brazen banking scandals of the recent past. nyti.ms/2oRCLKp - Bill O''Reilly''s reign as the top-rated host in cable news came to an abrupt and embarrassing end on Wednesday as Fox News forced him out after the disclosure of a series of sexual harassment allegations against him and an internal investigation that turned up even more. nyti.ms/2oRHmwj (Compiled by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/press-digest-nyt-idUSL3N1HS270'|'2017-04-20T13:02:00.000+03:00' +'2e2d6c45ed9ccb73eca3c762d45966fa1d5a7284'|'Investors, South Korean tech suppliers brush off N.Korea threat'|'NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO Growing tensions with North Korea should worry global electronics firms such as Apple Inc as they source key parts from South Korea, but investors are brushing off such concerns and snapping up shares in key exporters, heartened by robust earnings and big investment plans.U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday in an interview with Reuters that a major conflict with North Korea is possible in the standoff over its nuclear and missile programs, though he would prefer a diplomatic resolution.South Korea, a U.S. ally and home to major electronics parts makers such as Samsung Electronics, LG Display and SK Hynix, would be particularly vulnerable to any military attack from its northern neighbor.Any interruptions to operations could significantly disrupt global manufacturing of smartphones, televisions, computers and tablets. South Korea supplies more than half of components such as memory chips and flat screens.Despite escalating tensions, investors are pouring money into South Korea''s financial market, and companies are flocking to the stock market to raise billions of dollars."This is mainly just chest-thumping behavior on the part of North Korea and President Trump, but I don''t think it will be anything more than that," said Geoff Pazzanese, a senior portfolio manager at Federated Investors in New York.Pazzanese, who owns large positions in Samsung and chipmaker Hynix, said he would be a buyer if the market sold off as a result of a North Korean nuclear test, partly because the Trump administration has reaffirmed its military support for South Korea.For a graphic on South Korean firms'' key domestic manufacturing sites, click here Seoul''s stock market has climbed 9 percent so far this year to near record highs, helped by strong earnings by major exporters including Samsung Electronics, which rose 3 percent to a life-time high on Friday after reporting its highest profit in more than three years.Earlier this week, Hynix and LG Display, both Apple suppliers, reported record quarterly profits and sounded upbeat for the remainder of the year."The tension might mean some sentimental risk more than fundamental risk," said John Teng, an equity analyst at Janus Capital Group in Singapore."It might potentially push their customers to restocking earlier, in terms of component inventory. Memory suppliers, they are very disciplined in terms of capacity expansion."Mohamed A. El-Erian, chief economic advisor at the Allianz Group, told the Reuters Global Markets Forum on Friday that investors should take a more critical look at their exposure, but had been conditioned to set aside such risks."And they have been rewarded well by markets for doing so." he added.South Koreans have grown used to the threat of conflict with the North after decades of bellicose rhetoric from Pyongyang, and the companies remained unruffled on Friday."We think talk of conflict is speculative, and we do not have any plans to react to the current situation," LG Electronics said in a statement.Hyundai Motor, the country''s top automaker, said it had detailed contingency plans to ensure business carried on under various situations but couldn''t disclose them.RATIONINGAny military conflict on the Korean peninsula could have a dramatic effect on the memory chip market in particular, as Samsung''s and Hynix''s main operations are clustered in South Korea.The pair control nearly 50 percent of the flash memory market, and almost two thirds of DRAM chips, widely used in computers, making it almost impossible for customers to find alternative supplies quickly.As supply of those chips are already tight, any interruptions to their manufacturing operations might cause large customers such as Apple and Lenovo to trigger a contractual term known as an "allocation" to get more of their suppliers'' limited supply, according to industry executives.Those fights often get ugly, with corporate giants throwing their weight around with suppliers, said Trevor Schick, a former supply chain executive at H-P Enterprise and Motorola Mobility."In the memory world, the minute things go into allocation, everyone is in a fight for who gets into the allocation. Scale plays a big role in that," Schick said."Most contracts have a formula for how the allocation happens. But when it does, everyone from the big companies gets on planes to Asia to get in front of those CEOs and lay out their case as to why they should get the memory."Samsung, Hynix and LG Display declined to comment.Apple declined to comment.The ultimate beneficiaries of supply interruptions in South Korea would likely be Japan''s Toshiba Corp, and U.S. firms Micron Technology Inc and Western Digital Corp.Toshibas production is mostly in Japan, while Microns is clustered in the United States and Singapore.But the geopolitical wild card could be China, Schick said."If something did happen in Korea, the massive impact would be in China. Most of that memory goes from Korea into China to be made into tablets, phones and computers, Schick said.The vast majority of Apple''s iPhones, for example, are manufactured in China by its partner Foxconn.(Reporting by Jennifer Ablan, David Randall in NEW YORK, Stephen Nellis in SAN FRANCISCO, Joyce Lee and Hyunjoo Jin in SEOUL; Writing by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Will Waterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-norhthkorea-southkorea-supplychain-idUSKBN17U0EN'|'2017-04-28T12:04:00.000+03:00' +'168e0a4ac2d4cecaaebea0894ae81f01b90e5adb'|'EU clears Rolls-Royce''s acquisition of Spain''s ITP subject to conditions'|' 4:08pm BST EU clears Rolls-Royce''s acquisition of Spain''s ITP subject to conditions A Rolls-Royce logo is pictured on the company booth during the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) at Cointrin airport in Geneva, Switzerland, May 24, 2016. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse BRUSSELS European Union antitrust regulators said on Wednesday they had cleared the acquisition of aircraft engine components maker ITP by Rolls-Royce ( RR.L ) subject to its elimination of a conflict of interest in an engine consortium. The engine consortium EPI, made up of Rolls-Royce, ITP, Germany''s MTU and France''s Safran ( SAF.PA ), designs and manufactures the engine powering the Airbus A400M, which competes with the Lockheed Martin ( LMT.N ) C-130J aircraft, powered by a Rolls-Royce engine. The European Commission said in a statement that it initially had concerns the merger would have allowed Rolls-Royce to gain additional influence on the decision-making process of the EPI consortium, on matters that affected its competitiveness against the Lockheed Martin C-130J. To allay those concerns Rolls-Royce offered commitments to eliminate the conflict of interest and ensure EPI remains competitive, the Commission said. (Reporting by Julia Fioretti; editing by Philip Blenkinsop)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-itp-m-a-rolls-royce-eu-idUKKBN17L1YF'|'2017-04-19T23:08:00.000+03:00' +'f6281b517322e66b3e01116efcd8fbd2858d9896'|'Hard left, hard right, or centre? French economy may decide'|' 2:05pm BST Hard left, hard right, or center? French economy may decide left right FILE PHOTO: A man looks at campaign posters of the 11th candidates who run in the 2017 French presidential election in Saint Andre de La Roche, near Nice, France, April 10, 2017. L-R : Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, Debout La France group candidate, Marine Le Pen, French National Front (FN) political party leader, Emmanuel Macron, head of the political movement En Marche ! (Onwards !), French Socialist party candidate Benoit Hamon, Nathalie Arthaud, France''s extreme-left Lutte Ouvriere political party (LO) leader, Philippe Poutou, Anti-Capitalist Party (NPA) presidential candidate, Jacques Cheminade, ''Solidarite et Progres'' (Solidarity and Progress) party candidate, lawmaker and independent candidate Jean Lassalle, Jean-Luc Melenchon, candidate of the French far-left Parti de Gauche, Francois Asselineau, UPR candidate, and Francois Fillon, the Republicans political party candidate. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: From L-R, campaign posters for candidates Marine Le Pen of the National Front (FN), Jean-Luc Melenchon of the Parti de Gauche, and Benoit Hamon of the Socialist Party who are running in the 2017 French presidential election are seen in Paris, France, April 5, 2017. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo 2/2 By Jeremy Gaunt - LONDON LONDON If Donald Trump''s election in the United States and Britain''s decision to quit the European Union stirred the global economic waters, then there is the potential for a tsunami on the near horizon. The coming week is the last before the first round of France''s presidential election on April 23. It has already been a barrel of surprises -- an incumbent not running, the far right in ascendance, an independent seen as likely winner, a scandal hampering the early favorite. But the latest twist -- one with arguably the most potential global economic impact -- could conceivably see a far-left candidate, one-time communist Jean-Luc Mlenchon, make it through to the May 7 run-off against a far-right nationalist, Marine Le Pen. The potential economic shock stems from the fact that both are against the euro and the European Union, threatening the stability and even existence of both. The word Frexit -- the Gallic version of Brexit -- has been doing the rounds. Boosted by a strong performance in televised debates, Mlenchon has gathered momentum in the past week. One poll on Tuesday showed his support as high as 19 percent, within four points of centrist Emmanuel Macron and within five of Le Pen; the latest survey on Thursday put him on 17 percent. "For France, Europe and markets, a run-off between Mlenchon and ultra-right Marine Le Pen on May 7 would be a choice between bad and ugly," Berenberg bank said in a note on Thursday. The odds are still strongly against it happening: the polls show former economy minister Macron winning the big prize. But the fact is that perennial outsider Mlenchon and Le Pen are in the frame. France''s economy offers a mixed bag. Unemployment is at 10 percent and has been around that mark for five years. Projected economic growth of just 1.4 percent for this year puts France down at 25th equal (with Belgium) out of 28 EU countries. Other data shows the strain too. A study by World Economics of the relative value of euros within the euro zone, shows a yawning gap between Germany and France, making the latter far less competitive. But although growth is weak, France performs much better than other economies such as the United States and Britain in terms of income equality. One recent study, for example, found that the median French income in 2012 was about 17 percent higher than in 1996, while the median U.S. income was just 2 percent above its 1996 level. How all this plays with the French equivalent of the angry, left-out voters who went for Trump and Brexit remains to be seen. BRIGHT SPOT One recent bright spot for France has been the Purchasing Managers'' Index, which has shown a degree of rising optimism among businesses as the euro zone also improves. On Friday in the coming week -- just before the first round vote -- flash PMIs for April are released. Last time around all three of France''s readings -- manufacturing, services and composite -- were well in the expansion range, particularly services. Early Reuters polling suggests the services and manufacturing reports will essentially be unchanged, possibly as a result of election uncertainty. The euro zone and Germany will also report. The former is expected to improve slightly on a composite basis, which would add to the overall view of a steadily recovering economy. German manufacturing could show a tiny dip. Outside the euro zone, British retail sales data for March, released on Friday April 21, should provide another glimpse of how consumer sentiment is holding up as Brexit negotiations loom. Economists and others were surprised by the tenacity of British consumers after last year''s vote to leave the EU, but there have been recent signs of a tailing off. The British Retail Consortium said in the past week that its gauge of first-quarter consumer shopping showed the slowest growth since 2008. It was put down to inflation rising as a result of the post-Brexit vote fall in the pound. There were also some seasonal impacts relating to when Easter fell last year. Snapshots of the state of the U.S. economy, meanwhile, will come from New York and Philadelphia Federal Reserve reports and from March industrial output data. The latter is expected to climb, reflecting an economy that has recovered well enough for the U.S. Federal Reserve to begin a tentative rate-tightening cycle. (Graphics by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-economy-weekahead-idUKKBN17F1KJ'|'2017-04-13T20:52:00.000+03:00' +'e930a80eb78e56056c801ff14c2bc8bb854da2cc'|'BRIEF-Timkensteel sees Q1 sales about $309 mln'|' 26pm EDT BRIEF-Timkensteel sees Q1 sales about $309 mln April 13 Timkensteel Corp * Announces preliminary results for first-quarter 2017 * Sees Q1 sales about $309 mln * Expects EBITDA for quarter to be approximately $17 million, which is lower than its original guidance Source text for Eikon:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-timkensteel-sees-q1-sales-about-idUSFWN1HL0N0'|'2017-04-14T09:26:00.000+03:00' +'2c813a834aa48a2b4f32a1c37c8c24d544f1a7fc'|'Intel quarterly revenue misses estimates on data centre weakness'|' 20pm BST Intel''s quarterly profit rises 45 percent FILE PHOTO: Intel''s logo is pictured during preparations at the CeBit computer fair, which will open its doors to the public on March 20, at the fairground in Hanover, Germany, March 19, 2017. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo Intel Corp ( INTC.O ), the world''s largest chipmaker, reported a near 45 percent rise in first-quarter profit, helped by strength in its data center business and a stabilizing personal computer market. The company''s net income rose to $2.96 billion, or 61 cents per share, in the quarter ended April 1 from $2.05 billion, or 42 cents ( bit.ly/2pr8dBB ) Revenue rose to $14.80 billion from $13.70 billion. (Reporting by Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-intel-results-idUKKBN17T31H'|'2017-04-28T04:26:00.000+03:00' +'4c22358bdddd1747da93d4736606a2425ec4d781'|'Blackstone to buy EagleClaw Midstream for about $2 billion'|'Deals - Mon Apr 17, 2017 - 9:14am EDT Blackstone to buy EagleClaw Midstream for about $2 billion FILE PHOTO - The ticker and trading information for Blackstone Group is displayed at the post where it is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) April 4, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo EagleClaw Midstream Ventures LLC, the largest privately held operator of pipelines and processing facilities in West Texas'' Delaware Basin, said it agreed to be bought by funds managed by Blackstone Group LP ( BX.N ) for about $2 billion. Private-equity funds, including Blackstone, Carlyle Group ( CG.O ), and CVC Partners, have built up significant firepower in recent years to invest in the oil and gas industry, where asset prices have dipped sharply since crude oil prices collapsed mid-2014. Blackstone said in August it would invest about $1.5 billion in the oil-rich Permian basin. EagleClaw Midstream Ventures LLC said on Monday the all-cash deal includes about $1.25 billion in debt, financed by Jefferies LLC. Midland, Texas-based EagleClaw''s assets include over 375 miles of natural gas pipelines and 320 million cubic feet per day of processing capacity. Jefferies LLC is the financial adviser to EagleClaw, while Morgan Stanley and Intrepid Partners LLC advised Blackstone. (Reporting by Arathy S Nair and Muvija M in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-eagleclaw-midstream-m-a-blackstone-gr-idUSKBN17J0YV'|'2017-04-17T21:14:00.000+03:00' +'d0d863e64d724438f80994597d607cd444d4b78f'|'UPDATE 1-South African markets fall sharply after S&P downgrade'|'Company News - Tue Apr 4, 2017 - 3:57am EDT UPDATE 1-South African markets fall sharply after S&P downgrade (Adds Gigaba''s planned briefing, market prices, details) JOHANNESBURG, April 4 South Africa''s rand, bonds and banking shares tumbled sharply on Tuesday after S&P Global Ratings cut the country''s credit rating to junk in response to President Jacob Zuma''s move to sack its respected finance minister. Zuma''s cabinet reshuffle has triggered public criticism from within the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and pressure is likely to mount on the president after the credit agency handed South Africa its first downgrade since 2000. New Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba is due to hold a news conference later in the day. Gigaba said on Monday he would pursue "tough and unpopular choices" to oversee a redistribution of wealth to the black majority, a stance echoing recent comments by Zuma. No details of the changes have been made public yet. The one-notch downgrade to BB+, S&P''s highest non-investment grade, will almost certainly force Africa''s most advanced economy to pay more to borrow its from international markets and possibly and may fall off global investors'' radar screens. "This sovereign downgrade will lead to a steep erosion of already poor levels of investor confidence," Cas Coovadia, head of the banking industry lobby group said. "Negative investor confidence will directly undermine an economy already struggling to achieve the levels of growth needed to meaningfully create jobs or lift our population out of poverty." Moody''s also said late on Monday that it was placing South Africa on review for downgrade, and that it would assess the likelihood of changes in key areas of financial and macro-economic policymaking following Zuma''s cabinet changes. The rand weakened as much as 1.9 percent before recovering to trade 1.2 percent lower at 13.8400 per dollar. The Johannesburg Securities Exchange''s banking index slumped as much as 4.2 percent, while the yield for the benchmark government bond due in 2026 rose 16 basis points to 9.140 percent. (Reporting by Joe Brock and Tiisetso Motsoeneng; Editing by James Macharia) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/safrica-markets-idUSL5N1HC15P'|'2017-04-04T15:57:00.000+03:00' +'f3753b1c9b0b6bd20d49403439acf21a7023b6fa'|'Shell switches New Zealand holdings ahead of possible divestment'|'WELLINGTON Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) sold its stake in a New Zealand gas field while taking over the field''s operating company as part of a plan to possibly divest its holdings in the country later on, the company said Thursday.Shell has sold its 50 percent stake in the Kapuni Gas Field, New Zealand''s second-largest, for an undisclosed price and has increased its holding to 100 percent in the joint venture that operates the field, Shell Todd Oil Services (STOS), it said in a statement.The announcement was the first concrete action taken by Shell following its announcement in 2015 that it was reviewing its New Zealand business interests."This 100 per cent ownership of STOS will simplify Shell''s operational structure in preparation for any possible portfolio changes to the remaining assets," Rob Jager, Country Chair of Shell New Zealand, told Fairfax Media.Shell, which has operated in New Zealand for more than a century, said in December 2015 it was reviewing its business interests in the Pacific nation as the company seeks to streamline its global portfolio amid a slump in energy prices.(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-shell-divestiture-idUSKBN17809R'|'2017-04-06T07:34:00.000+03:00' +'5b2d4f0f833e2010a7f7e94f62f6c93980bba60d'|'European shares edge up, Kering charges to record highs'|' 10:56am BST European shares edge up, Kering charges to record highs Traders work at their desks in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, June 24, 2016 . REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski By Helen Reid - LONDON LONDON French luxury group Kering ( PRTP.PA ) hit a record high on Wednesday after reporting strong sales and European shares hovered near a 20-month peak, supported by a wave of earnings results that largely outperformed market expectations. The pan-European benchmark gained 0.1 percent in early trading as luxury stocks and financials underpinned gains, though some heavy fallers including French stationary maker Bic ( BICP.PA ) and fertilizer producer Yara YARA.OL checked further increases. France''s CAC 40 .FCHI was little changed, just off the nine-year highs hit earlier this week after the investor-friendly centrist Emmanuel Macron progressed to the second round of the French presidential election. "We have had 25 percent of companies reporting, and a majority of those have beaten estimates," said Emmanuel Cau, global equity strategist at JP Morgan. "Pretty much every single Eurozone data point out has surprised to the upside, and this is driving upgrades." Kering ( PRTP.PA ) was the top gainer, up 10 percent after surprisingly strong first quarter sales at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent helped the company beat market forecasts. "We expect the Gucci turnaround to continue for at least another quarter as the brand momentum continues," said Bernstein luxury analyst Mario Ortelli. Other luxury names across Europe rose on Kering''s momentum, with Moncler and Salvatore Ferragamo top of Italy''s blue-chips, and LVMH notching up another record high, up 1.7 percent. Logitech ( LOGN.S ) also soared 7.9 percent, hitting a near nine-year high, after posting a 52 percent increase in profit and 15 percent rise in sales for its fourth quarter, surpassing forecasts. Fallers were led by Bic, which plunged 10 percent to a more than two-year low, after its first-quarter net income and sales fell on weak U.S. demand. Fertilizer producer Yara YARA.OL fell 5.5 percent in healthy volumes, after it missed first-quarter forecasts as margins were squeezed by rising natural gas prices. French software solutions company Dassault Systemes ( DAST.PA ) fell 5.5 percent, set for its worst day in six months, after it announced single-digit growth in new licenses in its first quarter. Analysts at Baader Helvea said this disappointed after double-digit growth in new licenses drove the shares higher at the end of 2016. Credit Suisse ( CSGN.S ), which kicked off much-anticipated results for European banks with a beat and plans for a $4 billion cash call, rose 2.3 percent, outperforming the regional banking index .SX7P. Regional banks supported European gains after Standard Chartered also posted robust results with profit doubling in Q1. Overall, first-quarter earnings for STOXX 600 companies were expected to rise 5.5 percent, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S data. Revenues are expected to increase 5.7 percent. That compares to the 11.4 percent earnings growth expected for top U.S. companies. (Reporting by Helen Reid, Editing by Vikram Subhedar and Richard Lough)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks-idUKKBN17S12R'|'2017-04-26T17:56:00.000+03:00' +'beab26ad7c9c73c8ebc683116b42568aea49489d'|'Ukraine cbank eyes further currency liberalisation after IMF aid'|'KIEV, April 4 The latest tranche of aid from the International Monetary Fund will raise Ukrainian foreign exchange reserves to $16.1 billion and paves the way for further currency liberalisation, Central Bank Deputy Governor Oleg Churiy said on Tuesday.The IMF approved $1 billion in new aid to Kiev on Monday as part of a $17.5 billion bailout programme. Ukraine expects to receive three more aid tranches from the IMF this year, worth a total of $4.5 billion. The next tranche is expected at the end of the second quarter, Churiy told reporters at a briefing.(Reporting by Natalia Zinets; writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Catherine Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/ukraine-economy-cenbank-idINS8N1BX027'|'2017-04-04T09:28:00.000+03:00' +'06feeb7c4f38d76082f7063d45fbd761c459115b'|'Apax close to $500 mln deal to buy Syneron - reports'|'JERUSALEM, April 2 British private equity fund Apax Partners is close to finalizing a deal to buy Israel-based Syneron Medical, an aesthetic device company, for about $500 million, Israeli media reported on Sunday.One of the reports, carried by financial newspaper Calcalist, said the deal could close as early as this week and that Apax would pay a 37 percent premium. Syneron has a market capitalization of $366 million.A spokesman for Apax in Israel would not comment on the report, and officials at Syneron were not reachable for comment.Syneron says its products have a range of applications, like body contouring, hair removal and wrinkle reduction. The products are sold under two brands, Syneron and Candela.The two companies were reported in February to have entered negotiations. (Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/syneron-med-apax-idINL8N1HA072'|'2017-04-02T06:15:00.000+03:00' +'09451d0e447316d4e66cbe627f28b3fa5ad8d7f4'|'Brazil''s oil output up 14.6 pct in Feb from year ago'|'Company News - Mon Apr 3, 2017 - 10:15am EDT Brazil''s oil output up 14.6 pct in Feb from year ago SAO PAULO, April 3 Brazilian petroleum regulator ANP said on Monday the country''s oil output rose 14.6 percent in February from a year ago, but fell 0.4 percent from the prior month, according to a statement. Brazil''s oil production reached 2.676 million barrels per day, ANP said. Natural gas production was 106.6 million cubic meters per day in February, up 9.2 percent from the same month a year ago but down 3 percent from January. (Reporting by Ana Mano) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-oil-idUSE6N1FM01G'|'2017-04-03T22:15:00.000+03:00' +'a90d5cececf6733a0920cccbec9d044c154a6051'|'Exxon seeks waiver from U.S. sanctions on Russia - WSJ'|'Business News 7:24pm BST Exxon seeks waiver from U.S. sanctions on Russia: WSJ Logos of ExxonMobil are seen in its booth at Gastech, the world''s biggest expo for the gas industry, in Chiba, Japan April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai Exxon Mobil Corp ( XOM.N ) has applied to the Treasury Department for a waiver from U.S. sanctions on Russia as the oil major looks to resume its joint venture with Rosneft ( ROSN.MM ), the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. Exxon has been seeking permission from the United States to drill with the Russian state-owned Rosneft in certain banned areas and applied in recent months for a waiver to proceed in the Black Sea, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the matter. ( on.wsj.com/2osAxzB ) The company wound down drilling in Russia''s Arctic in 2014 in the face of U.S. sanctions targeting cooperation between Western companies and Moscow''s oil sector. Exxon and Rosneft in 2012 unveiled an offshore exploration partnership that could invest upward of $500 billion in developing Russia''s vast energy reserves in the Arctic and Black Sea. Economic sanctions were imposed on Russia following its annexation of the Crimea region in 2014 and its alleged role in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Relations between Russia and the U.S. President Donald Trump have dimmed in recent times. There has also been pressure from Trump''s fellow Republicans in Congress and European allies anxious over any sign that the president might prematurely ease sanctions imposed on Russia. Rex Tillerson, Exxon''s former chief executive, was named as U.S. Secretary of State in February, despite concerns about his ties to Russia. (Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-exxon-mobil-sanctions-russia-idUKKBN17L2G2'|'2017-04-20T02:12:00.000+03:00' +'beaa1fa3e965fbaa7cdbecc59f2e639eeaa77291'|'Trump''s trade barriers would be self-inflicted wound, says IMF chief - Business'|'The managing director of the International Monetary Fund has delivered one of her strongest condemnations of the protectionist policies of Donald Trump , warning that putting up barriers to trade would be a self-inflicted wound to an improving global economy.Christine Lagarde used a speech in Brussels to launch a strong attack on the go-it-alone approach championed by the US president during his election battle with Hillary Clinton.Speaking before the IMFs spring meeting next week, Lagarde said international cooperation had been vital in preventing the deep recession of 2008-09 turning into a second Great Depression .Global productivity slowdown risks creating instability, warns IMF Read more After Trump picked strong critics of the IMF to be key members of his treasury team, Lagarde defended her organisation, saying it had helped foster the international cooperation that had underpinned a phenomenal rise in incomes and living standards around the world.She added: More recently, we worked together to ensure that the great recession did not become another Great Depression. Cooperation through a multilateral framework has benefited every country. Fostering more resilient growth therefore requires more international cooperation not less.Trump has threatened to put swingeing tariffs on Chinese goods and to impose a tax on imports coming into the US as part of an economic strategy designed to put America first.Lagarde said cooperation was a better way of dealing with the global imbalances that had resulted in some countries, such as China and Germany, running trade surpluses while others including the US run deficits. This meant working together to ensure that countries observed a level playing field, including by avoiding protectionist measures.Restricting trade would be a self-inflicted wound that disrupts supply chains, hurts global output, and inflates the prices of production materials and consumer goods. And low-income households are hurt the most as they consume the largest part of their incomes, she said.The IMF will release its half-yearly health check on the global economy next week but Lagarde hinted that the growth prospects for 2017 would be revised up.After six years of disappointing growth, Lagarde said the global economy was gaining momentum, holding out the prospect of more jobs and higher incomes.At the same time, there are clear downside risks: political uncertainty, including in Europe; the sword of protectionism hanging over global trade; and tighter global financial conditions that could trigger disruptive capital outflows from emerging and developing economies, she said.Topics International Monetary Fund (IMF) US economy Economics Christine Lagarde Donald Trump news Share Reuse this content'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/apr/12/trump-trade-barriers-imf-christine-lagarde-protectionism'|'2017-04-12T19:15:00.000+03:00' +'7585ba46a8e2bbe8b8858d4c1947baea0b4f2686'|'BOJ governor Kuroda warns against policies unwinding free trade'|'Business News - Thu Apr 20, 2017 - 11:59pm BST BOJ governor Kuroda warns against policies unwinding free trade FILE PHOTO: Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda speaks during an upper house financial committee meeting of the Parliament in Tokyo, Japan February 18, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo By Leika Kihara - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda warned world policymakers against undoing the free trade and globalisation that he said have brought prosperity to many economies, particularly emerging nations. Kuroda also said that while Japan''s economic prospects were brightening, inflation was lacking momentum and justified maintaining the BOJ''s massive monetary stimulus for some time. "The global economy made great strides by consistently promoting free trade since the end of World War Two," Kuroda said upon arrival in Washington for the Group of 20 finance leaders'' gathering and the International Monetary Fund meetings. "My belief is that a multilateral framework promoting free trade will continue. There won''t be huge changes to that," he told reporters on Thursday. His comments came as world financial leaders gathered in Washington with pledges to work with U.S. President Donald Trump to fix lingering trade problems while vowing to keep their commitments to free trade and global integration. Kuroda, formerly head of the Asian Development Bank, said that while policymakers must deal with poverty and income disparities widening in some countries, that did not mean they should abandon global free trade. "Unwinding the more than 70-year postwar history of free trade and globalism isn''t the appropriate approach," he said. DOWNBEAT ON PRICES Trump''s protectionist approach to trade and European political risks have overshadowed brightening prospects for the global economy, driven by a rebound in manufacturing activity. Japan has benefitted from global tailwinds that boosted exports and factory output, Kuroda said, describing its economy as "expanding steadily as a trend" - a more upbeat view than last month. But he offered a bleaker view on Japan''s inflation, saying it lacked momentum with no clear sign yet it was shifting up. "That''s why the BOJ will continue its ultra-easy monetary policy to achieve its 2 percent inflation target at the earliest date possible," he said. Japan''s economy has shown signs of life as exports and output rebounded thanks to a pick-up in global demand. But core consumer prices for February rose just 0.2 percent from a year earlier, far from the BOJ''s 2 percent target, as weak household spending discourages companies from raising prices and wages. After three years of heavy money printing failed to drive up inflation, the BOJ reverted its policy framework last September to one better suited for a long-term war against deflation. (Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-imf-g20-boj-idUKKBN17M2Z5'|'2017-04-21T06:59:00.000+03:00' +'e58690c32e32af917524767a4857fba17b3a40fc'|'China''s Baidu buys U.S. computer vision startup amid AI push'|'BEIJING Chinese internet firm Baidu Inc has agreed to acquire U.S. computer vision firm xPerception for an undisclosed amount to support their renewed efforts in artificial intelligence as Chinese tech firms face regulatory headwinds in U.S.xPerception, which makes vision perception software and hardware with applications in robotics and virtual reality, will continue to develop their core technology under Baidu''s research unit, the Chinese firm said in a statement on Thursday."The acquisition of xPerception is the latest in a recent series of notable investments aimed at strengthening Baidu''s position as a global leader in AI," it said.Baidu is targeting foreign personnel and technology as part of a wider drive to refocus company resources on developing artificial intelligence capabilities.Revenues from the firm''s core search unit took a beating last year when the Chinese government tightened online ad regulations, culling a chunk of existing advertisers with new eligibility requirements.The announcement comes as other Chinese tech firms struggle with regulatory push-back on acquisitions in the U.S. market.Alibaba Group Holding Ltd affiliate Ant Financial has denied claims by rival bidder Euronet Worldwide Inc that its bid for U.S. remittance firm MoneyGram International Inc poses national security risks.On Tuesday Chinese internet firm LeEco announced it will scrap a $2 billion bid for U.S. electronics firm Vizio.Baidu says xPerception will help the firm develop visual perception technology for their augmented reality projects and autonomous driving unit.xPerception is founded by two former engineers from Magic Leap, a U.S. augmented reality startup that counts Alibaba as an investor.(Reporting by Cate Cadell; Editing by Stephen Coates)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-baidu-m-a-idINKBN17F0JF'|'2017-04-13T03:59:00.000+03:00' +'a1afa761ca4bc1fbb9a98e5b5294210a60b67d9d'|'Revving up, a bit: Tesla increases deliveries of electric cars'|'ELON MUSK, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, has had two bits of good news recently about his various bets on new technology. SpaceX, his privately-held launch company, last month became the first successfully to reuse a rocket to put a satellite into orbit. And this week Tesla, his electric-car manufacturer, at last hit its production targets.Some analysts doubted Tesla would meet its goals after a series of production difficulties. But the carmaker said first-quarter deliveries were just over 25,000 vehicles, a record for the firm and a 69% increase over the same period in 2016. Some 13,450 were its sleek Model S saloons and about 11,550 were the firms new SUV, the Model X. This puts Tesla on track to produce the 50,000 vehicles it has promised to make in the first half of this year. That is good progress. But Tesla is going to have to crank production up by an awful lot more to make the 500,000 cars a year which Mr Musk wants to see pouring off the production line by 2018, let alone the 1m intended for just two years later. 15 2 To reach those volumes, Tesla is counting on its forthcoming Model 3. Priced at around $35,000, the new car will cost around half that of the other two models. Due to begin production later this year, the Model 3 is supposed to take Tesla into the mass market, where it will face stiff competition from plug-in vehicles produced by existing mass manufacturers, including GM, Nissan and BMW.Bringing any new car to market burns cash, and Tesla has been busy raising funds. On March 24th Tencent, a Chinese internet giant that owns WeChat, a popular messaging service, paid $1.8bn for a 5% stake in Tesla. Tencent could help accelerate Teslas drive into the vast Chinese market, where some 28m cars were sold last year. With Donald Trump trying to dismantle some environmental standards in America, China seems likelier to push green technologies. It is already the worlds biggest market for electric cars; some 700,000 plug-in cars are expected to be sold there this year. But to compete against low-cost local brands, Tesla urgently needs to start churning out its cheaper car.Many investors are betting that Tesla can become a mass producer. This has pushed up the value of the firms shares, which have increased by 38% since the start of 2017. On April 3rd Teslas market capitalisation exceeded $48bn, overtaking Ford (at $45bn). Ford may not be as technologically glamorous but it is well-versed in mass-producing cars, having made 6.7m last year. An awful lot will be riding on the Model 3. If Tesla fails to hit future targets then a cashflow crisis may loom. Investors, though, will have an exit: the companys brand and whizzy technology are easily valuable enough to drive the firm into the arms of a bigger manufacturer that can hit its numbers. Business "Revving up, a bit"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21720340-real-test-will-be-whether-it-can-churn-out-its-new-model-3?fsrc=rss'|'2017-04-06T22:41:00.000+03:00' +'2e9fc4d1a903ada2f52e87c957e610836da6975a'|'Oil prices dip as oversupply concerns linger'|'Business News - Fri Apr 7, 2017 - 2:23am BST Oil prices dip as oversupply concerns linger FILE PHOTO -- A pump jack stands idle in Dewitt County, Texas January 13, 2016. REUTERS/Anna Driver/File Photo By Henning Gloystein - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Oil prices dipped on Friday as ongoing concerns about oversupply outweighed an OPEC-led production cut and strong refinery activity. Brent crude futures LCOc1, the international benchmark for oil, were at $54.85 per barrel at 0109 GMT, down 4 cents from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were down 1 cent at $51.69 a barrel. Traders said that despite a recent uptick in sentiment, which this week helped prices reach a one-month high, there was still concern that markets remained oversupplied, even with efforts led by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut supplies to prop up prices. Oil trading data in Thomson Reuters Eikon shows that globally shipped crude volumes stood at 1.4 billion barrels in March (around 45.6 million bpd), up from 1.1 billion barrels in February, although on a daily basis the figure was similar to February''s 45.5 million bpd due to that month''s fewer days. Both figures, however, were higher than at any time during the second half of 2016, before the OPEC-led cuts were implemented, implying either poor compliance with the supply reductions, or plentiful alternative supplies. Despite this, there were factors supporting prices, especially strong demand from refineries, and a supply disruption in Canada. "Utilisation rates at refineries jumped 1.9 percent to 90.8 percent (in the U.S.), which should result in a drawdown in U.S. crude oil in coming weeks," ANZ bank said on Friday. "A disruption at a Canadian oil sands operation is also raising concerns of tightness in heavy Alberta oil. A fire at Syncrude Canada''s a 350,000 barrels per day plant could be offline for weeks," it added. The disruption stemmed from the shutdown of the Syncrude plant after a fire in March damaged the facility and forced the operator to bring forward planned maintenance. (Reporting by Henning Gloystein; Editing by Joseph Radford)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-oil-idUKKBN17905L'|'2017-04-07T09:23:00.000+03:00' +'f8d59954633f9fc8075c08c166e7c7c828f91ba3'|'Alan Howard raises over $700 million for his new fund - sources'|'By Maiya Keidan and Lawrence Delevingne - LONDON/NEW YORK LONDON/NEW YORK British hedge fund manager Alan Howard has raised more than $700 million (563 million pounds) from outside investors for a new fund that he will solely manage, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.One of the sources said the AH fund, which started trading on March 1, had raised an additional $2 billion from the main fund at Howard''s firm, Brevan Howard Asset Management.Hedge fund firms that launch new funds sometimes move money from existing funds as well as raising cash from investors externally.The AH Fund seeks a minimum $50 million investment from each investor, documents filed with U.S. regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission showed. That is far bigger than the average hedge fund investment per investor of $1.9 million, according to data from global industry tracker Preqin.A spokesman for Brevan Howard declined to comment.Howard''s new fund, which is named after his initials, will charge a management fee of 0.75 percent and a performance fee of 30 percent.The product - which is still open to new investment - has been launched at a time when Brevan Howard, which manages $14.6 billion, has seen an asset decline of around $22 billion since 2012, from a combination of losses and client withdrawals.Howard founded Brevan Howard in 2002 along with four former colleagues from Credit Suisse and quickly gained assets based on savvy macroeconomic bets.Brevan Howard was granted an injunction on March 23 to prevent Reuters publishing a story about the firm, claiming the company''s right to confidentiality outweighed public interest.(Reporting by Maiya Keidan; Editing by Pravin Char)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/uk-hedgefunds-brevan-howard-idINKBN17612C'|'2017-04-05T08:02:00.000+03:00' +'a99df3acd5ea98635ebb09490a5e44a7e1a2325b'|'Final bids for German drugmaker Stada expected Friday: sources'|'FRANKFURT The battle for German drugmaker Stada ( STAGn.DE ) is edging towards a close, with final offers from two private equity consortia expected on Friday evening, three people close to the matter said.A tie-up of buyout firms Advent and Permira is bidding against Bain and Cinven. Both have so far made takeover offers at 58 euros per share, valuing the company at 4.7 billion euros including debt.Neither is expected to hike its offer dramatically, though a slight increase is likely, one of the sources said."(Stada''s chairman Karl-Ferdinand) Oetker needs a face-saving top-up, but the business case does not allow for much," another person close to one of the bidders said.Another source said that Stada''s executive and supervisory boards were unlikely to recommend that shareholders accept any offer that was not improved further, after the company last month lifted its targets and told suitors their bids were too low.Stada, which is expected to make a decision on the bids by the middle of next week, declined to comment on the timing of the deal, saying only that the sales process was progressing according to plan.The private equity groups declined to comment.(Reporting by Arno Schuetze, Alexander Hbner and Ludwig Burger; Editing by Maria Sheahan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-stada-m-a-idINKBN177125'|'2017-04-05T07:32:00.000+03:00' +'48189edefeaa68205619dc3e5171cffc668ba005'|'United to refund tickets for all passengers on infamous flight - Business - The Guardian'|'Seeking to quell the uproar over a man being dragged off a plane , United Airlines announced on Tuesday that it would refund the tickets for all customers who were on the flight when the man was removed and that it would no longer ask police to remove passengers from full flights.The airline said that passengers on United Express Flight 3411 on Sunday would be compensated equal to the cost of their tickets and could take the compensation in cash, travel credits or miles.The Sunday flight was loaded and preparing to leave Chicagos OHare International Airport when the man was dragged off. Videos shot by passengers showing the mans bloodied face went viral on social media , prompting a storm of protest.In an interview with ABCs Good Morning America aired Wednesday, Oscar Munoz, CEO of Uniteds parent company, said he felt ashamed watching video of the man being forced off the jet. He has promised to review the airlines passenger-removal policy. He also apologized again to Kentucky physician David Dao, his family and the other passengers who witnessed him being taken off the flight.United Airlines CEO offers softer apology after stock nosedives Read more That is not who our family at United is, he said. This will never happen again on a United flight. Thats my promise.In the future, law enforcement will not be involved in removing a booked, paid, seated passenger, Munoz said. We cant do that.Munoz called the incident a system failure and said United would reassess its procedures for seeking volunteers to give up their seats when a flight is full. United was trying to find seats for four employees, meaning four passengers had to deplane.It was at least Munozs fourth statement about the confrontation.After the video first emerged, he said the airline was reaching out to the man to resolve this situation.Hours later on Monday, his tone turned defensive. He described the man as disruptive and belligerent.By Tuesday afternoon, almost two days after the Sunday evening events, Munoz issued another apology.No one should ever be mistreated this way, Munoz said.The passenger was identified as Dao, a 69-year-old physician from Elizabethtown, Kentucky.Attorneys for Dao filed court papers Wednesday asking the airline and the city of Chicago to preserve evidence in the case. Those documents are often the first steps toward a lawsuit. His legal team planned to hold a news conference Thursday to discuss the matter with reporters.Airport officials have said little about Sundays events and nothing about Daos behavior before he was pulled from the jet that was bound for Louisville, Kentucky.Likewise, the Chicago Aviation Department has said only that one of its employees who removed Dao did not follow proper procedures and has been placed on leave. The department announced Wednesday that two more officers have been placed on leave.Thanks to United Airlines, is flying while Asian something to fear? - Steven W Thrasher Read more No passengers on the plane have mentioned that Dao did anything but refuse to leave the plane when he was ordered to do so.The event stemmed from a common air travel issue a full flight.At first, the airline asked for volunteers, offering $400 and then when that did not work, $800 per passenger to relinquish a seat. When no one voluntarily came forward, United selected four passengers at random.Three people got off the flight, but the fourth was Dao, who said he was a doctor and needed to get home to treat patients on Monday. He refused to leave.Thats when three aviation department police officers boarded the plane. When Dao refused to leave his seat, one of the officers could be seen grabbing the screaming man from his window seat and dragging him down the aisle by his arms.Other passengers on Flight 3411 are heard saying, Please, my God, What are you doing?, This is wrong, Look at what you did to him and Busted his lip.Also Wednesday, a Chicago alderman said representatives from United and the citys aviation department have been summoned before a city council committee to answer questions about the confrontation at OHare Airport.The US transportation department announced Tuesday that it was reviewing Sundays events to see if United violated rules on overselling flights. The four top-ranking members of the Senate Commerce Committee asked the airline and Chicago airport officials for more information about what happened.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/apr/12/united-airlines-video-passenger-removed-refund-tickets'|'2017-04-12T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'306eccf867d374b280e618814a491fc1b1c903db'|'Nearly half of UK households plan spending cuts as prices spike - survey'|' 21am BST Nearly half of UK households plan spending cuts as prices spike - survey A shopper is reflected in a store window on Oxford Street in central London December 30, 2014. REUTERS/Neil Hall LONDON Nearly half of British households plan to cut spending as worries around inflation escalate, a survey showed on Wednesday, driving home the squeeze on consumers from rising energy prices and the pound''s post-Brexit vote plunge. Pension provider Scottish Friendly and the Social Market Foundation think tank said 46 percent of households plan to cut back on spending. More than half of this proportion cited the rising cost of living. A separate survey from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) showed annual food price inflation more than doubled last month to 1.0 percent, the sharpest increase in prices since February 2014. The surveys added to a raft of evidence that British consumers are feeling the strain of rising prices, exacerbated by the pound''s fall since June''s vote to leave the European Union. Inflation hurts the poorest in particular because rising prices for essentials like food and transport take up a bigger share of their disposable income. The Scottish Friendly survey showed 70 percent of British households were worried about the prospect of rising prices. "They are expecting a bumpy ride thanks to the twin headwinds of Article 50 uncertainty and rising inflation and those households are proactively taking steps to ensure they are prepared for any outcome," Scottish Friendly spokesman Calum Bennie said. Despite rising food prices, overall shop prices are still falling but at a reduced rate, according to the BRC data. Total shop prices declined 0.8 percent after falling 1.0 percent in February, marking the weakest deflation since December 2013. "Global food commodity costs have risen by 17 percent on average over last year''s figures, building substantial pressure in the food supply chain," said Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC. "The squeeze on household disposable incomes will tighten as the year progresses." Last week supermarket chain Asda said its gauge of disposable income showed the weakest growth since June 2014 during February, with the poorest households hit particularly hard. A European Commission survey that dates back to the 1980s showed the largest proportion of British food and beverage retailers on record expect to raise prices in the next three months. The Scottish Friendly survey polled 2,000 Britons between Feb. 17 and Feb. 25. (Reporting by Andy Bruce, editing by Pritha Sarkar) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-consumers-idUKKBN17632W'|'2017-04-05T07:21:00.000+03:00' +'a321f1275e982e22b7383edb0de42fc75cb39b9d'|'Deutsche Boerse ups profit, to buy back shares after failed LSE deal'|' 9:18pm BST Deutsche Boerse ups profit, to buy back shares after failed LSE deal FILE PHOTO: A notebook with the logo of Deutsche Boerse Group (German stock exchange) is pictured before their New Year''s reception at the headquarters in Eschborn, outside Frankfurt, Germany, January 25, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach By Tom Sims - FRANKFURT FRANKFURT Deutsche Boerse ( DB1Gn.DE ) delivered a sharp rise in net profit in the first quarter and said it would buy back shares as it sought to appease disgruntled investors following its failed merger attempt with London Stock Exchange Group ( LSE.L ). The German exchange operator, which was forced to ditch a planned merger with LSE last month, also reaffirmed its outlook of "double-digit earnings growth" for the full year, despite merger costs that totalled 76.2 million euros ($83 million). It said on Wednesday that net profit rose 39.5 percent to 286 million euros in the first quarter from a year earlier, lifted by the sale of a stake in BATS Global Markets. "Thanks to our diversified business model and effective cost management we were able to compensate low equity market volatility in the first quarter and report solid earnings growth," Chief Financial Officer Gregor Pottmeyer said. Pottmeyer said in a statement that Deutsche Boerse was "very well positioned" to benefit from improving cyclical conditions. The results come a month after European Union regulators blocked a planned merger with LSE due to concerns over a potential monopoly in the processing of bond trades. The industry has been trying to consolidate for years amid weaker trading volumes and shrinking margins, but regulatory concerns, along with nationalist wrangling, have hindered many cross-border deals. In the wake of the failed merger, Deutsche Boerse has been coming under increased pressure from shareholders, with influential proxy adviser Glass Lewis recommending they vote against ratifying the actions of the management and supervisory board at its 2017 annual general meeting. German companies typically ask their shareholders to approve the actions of their boards over the previous years at the annual shareholder meetings. Glass Lewis said that shareholders may have concerns over the failed merger with the LSE and a pending investigation into CEO Carsten Kengeter over possible insider trading. Kengeter has denied the allegations. Deutsche Boerse said it planned to buy back shares totalling around 200 million euros ($218 million) in the second half of this year which it would fund from the proceeds generated from its 2016 sale of International Securities Exchange to Nasdaq ( NDAQ.O ) for about 1 billion euros. Those funds were initially earmarked for the merger with LSE, which last month announced its own 200 million pound ($256.74 million) share buyback. Stripping out the one-off effect of the sale of a stake in BATS Global Markets to U.S. exchange CBOE ( CBOE.O ) for 68 million euros last month, Deutsche Boerse said adjusted net profit rose 5 percent to 232.2 million euros, from 221.3 million euros a year earlier. ($1 = 0.7790 pounds)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deutsche-boerse-results-idUKKBN17S2S2'|'2017-04-27T04:18:00.000+03:00' +'dd4236055cc548bd546d4e7cde9af732556d0df0'|'UK Stocks-Factors to watch on April 25'|'Market News - Tue Apr 25, 2017 - 1:45am EDT UK Stocks-Factors to watch on April 25 April 25 Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening up 18 points on Tuesday, according to financial bookmakers. * BRITAIN/EU: The snap general election called by British Prime Minister Theresa May will reduce the already limited time available to negotiate a Brexit deal, an influential EU lawmaker said on Monday. * International Consolidated: Spanish airline Iberia could open a new early retirement program for 1,000 workers by June, depending on the outcome of prior talks with unions, Chief Executive Officer Luis Gallego said. * GOLD: Gold held steady on Tuesday after a sharp fall in the previous session on a market-friendly French presidential vote, although tensions over North Korea offered support for safe-haven bullion. * COPPER: Copper eased in Asia on Tuesday, coming under pressure from investors looking to book gains after a surprise overnight lift in the London contract following a market-friendly French presidential vote. * OIL: Oil prices inched up on Tuesday but markets remain under pressure following six consecutive sessions of declines as traders lose confidence that pledged output cuts by major producers will rein in oversupply in a world awash with fuel. * The UK blue chip index closed 2.1 percent higher at 7,246.68 points on Monday after centrist Emmanuel Macron came out on top in the first round of France''s presidential election. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets * UK CORPORATE DIARY: Whitbread Plc WTB.L FY 2016 Whitbread Plc Earnings Amec Foster Wheeler Plc AMFW.L FY 2016 Amec Foster Wheeler Earnings Redstoneconnect Plc REDS.L FY 2017 Redstoneconnect Earnings Circassia FY 2016 Circassia Pharmaceuticals Earnings Pharmaceuticals Elementis Plc ELM.L Elementis Plc Trading Update TODAY''S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Harish Bhaskar; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idUSL4N1HX289'|'2017-04-25T13:45:00.000+03:00' +'534af6fc119a97407f11e49bbecca8d050da39de'|'Fiat Chrysler CEO says first quarter of 2017 was difficult, doesn''t change targets'|'Business News - Fri Apr 14, 2017 - 9:47am BST Fiat Chrysler CEO says first quarter of 2017 was difficult, doesn''t change targets A screen displays the ticker information for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV at the post where it''s traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., January 12, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid AMSTERDAM The first quarter of 2017 was "difficult" for carmaker Fiat Chrysler but this will not affect the company''s targets for this year and next, Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said on Friday. "The first quarter was difficult, we had said it would have been the weakest of the year, but this doesn''t change the targets for this year nor for 2018," Marchionne told reporters on the sidelines of a shareholder meeting of truck maker CNH. (Reporting by Stefano Rebaudo, writing by Silvia Aloisi)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-fiatchrysler-ceo-idUKKBN17G0NQ'|'2017-04-14T16:47:00.000+03:00' +'c92e4d1c895cd99a662372421eb6fcb1a8cb5e1f'|'Boko Haram video denies claims of starvation in northeast Nigeria forest'|'Business News - Tue Apr 4, 2017 - 11:15am BST Boko Haram video denies claims of starvation in northeast Nigeria forest FILE PICTURE: A man purporting to be Boko Haram''s leader Abubakar Shekau speaks in this still frame taken from social media video courtesy of SITE Intel Group, released on August 10, 2016, in an unknown location. MANDATORY CREDIT Social Media courtesy of SITE INTEL GROUP/... REUTERS TV KADUNA, Nigeria The faction of the Islamist militant group Boko Haram led by Abubakar Shekau released a video on Tuesday denying that fighters are dying of hunger in its northeast Nigerian forest base. Nigeria''s military last week said it was "ransacking" territory it said it had recaptured from Boko Haram in the hunt for Shekau, who leads one of two main branches of the jihadist group. It also said he might be hiding in the Sambisa forest. Large parts of northeast Nigeria, particularly in Borno state, remain under threat from Boko Haram as suicide bombings and gun attacks have increased in the region since the end of the rainy season late last year. "There is no food that we lack in this forest of Sambisa. It is not true that we have run out of food supply and that we are being killed by hunger," said an unidentified man with a rifle, flanked by others carrying guns, in the five-minute video. Nigeria''s army said in December that it had pushed Boko Haram out of the Sambisa forest, a vast former colonial game reserve that was the group''s stronghold, in an operation to reclaim territory lost to the Islamist insurgency since 2009. Boko Haram split last year, with one faction led by Shekau operating from the forest and the other, allied to Islamic State and led by Abu Musab al-Barnawi, based in the Lake Chad region. "We urge all members to be one hundred percent loyal to him [Shekau]," said the man in the video. "It is not true that you killed Shekau," he said, referring to previous claims by the Nigerian military that he had been fatally wounded. Shekau did not appear in the video, which was circulated on social media on Tuesday. Boko Haram has killed more than 15,000 people and forced more than two million to flee their homes during its insurgency aimed at creating an Islamic state governed by a strict interpretation of sharia law in Africa''s most populous nation. (Reporting by Garba Muhammad; Writing by Alexis Akwagyiram; Editing by Andrew Bolton) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-nigeria-security-idUKKBN1760ZT'|'2017-04-04T18:15:00.000+03:00' +'1cbaa6e481da5e592594eec144064cc37a821775'|'Saudi''s Alawwal Bank and HSBC-backed SABB in merger talks'|'Business News - Tue Apr 25, 2017 - 5:45pm BST Saudi''s Alawwal Bank and HSBC-backed SABB in merger talks By Tom Arnold and Saeed Azhar - DUBAI DUBAI Saudi lenders Alawwal Bank 1040.SE and Saudi British Bank 1060.SE have agreed to start talks about a merger that could create the kingdom''s third biggest bank with assets of nearly $80 billion. The announcement by the lenders on Tuesday is the latest example of consolidation in the Gulf''s banking sector, where profit margins are being squeezed by lower government and consumer spending because of weak oil prices. "The consolidation points to the fact that you need stronger banks to sustain in this challenging macro environment. You need large, efficient banks to serve," said Murad Ansari, an analyst at EFG-Hermes in Saudi Arabia. British banks are the biggest shareholders in both lenders. Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ) acquired a 40 percent stake in Alawwal Bank when it bought ABN AMRO in 2007. RBS has been trying sell the holding for a number of years as it retreats from international operations. HSBC Holdings ( HSBA.L ) owns 40 percent of Saudi British Bank (SABB), which is the kingdom''s sixth largest bank by assets. A combination of Alawwal and SABB would rank third in Saudia Arabia with assets of $77.6, behind National Commercial Bank 1180.SE and Al Rajhi Bank 1120.SE, according to Thomson Reuters data. Reuters reported in November that RBS had hired Credit Suisse to sell its stake in Saudi Hollandi Bank, which was renamed Alawwal Bank in November. Banking sources said at the time they expected the holding to go to a local rival, partly because of restrictions on a foreign buyer taking the stake. The banks said on Tuesday that any merger agreement would be subject to a number of conditions, including the approval of the kingdom''s regulatory authorities, and said Saudi''s central bank had been consulted about merger requirements beforehand. The two lenders have several common shareholders. Saudi''s Olayan family holds 21.76 percent of Alawwal Bank and 16.98 percent in SABB while the Saudi government owns 10.50 percent of Alawwal Bank and 9.74 percent of SABB, according to Thomson Reuters data. The two banks said the proposed merger, if completed, would not result in any forced layoffs. The announcement came the same day Citigroup ( C.N ) obtained a licence to conduct capital markets business in Saudi Arabia, which will allow the U.S. bank to offer banking services after an absence from the kingdom of almost 13 years. A total of 12 commercial lenders operate in the kingdom''s banking sector, sharing total assets of more than 2 trillion riyals (417.5 billion pounds). Banking consolidation is also underway elsewhere in the region. Abu Dhabi lenders First Gulf Bank (FGB) and National Bank of Abu Dhabi NBAD.AD (NBAD) merged on April 1 to create one of the largest banks in the Middle East and Africa. In Qatar, Masraf Al Rayan MARK.QA is moving ahead with a three-way merger with Barwa Bank IPO-BABK.QA and International Bank of Qatar. (Editing by David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-alawwal-bank-sabb-m-a-idUKKBN17R1WV'|'2017-04-26T00:45:00.000+03:00' +'71512da6bd5d5d9cb4fcc3ba7508ea080981939f'|'EU, Greece urge deal on bailout review on Friday'|'ATHENS Greece and its lenders must reach a deal on a long-stalled bailout review at a meeting of euro zone finance ministers on Friday, the country''s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Wednesday, blaming creditors for unwarranted delays.Talks between Greece, the European Union and the Washington-based International Monetary Fund have dragged on for months due to differences over Greece''s fiscal progress, labour and energy market reforms, rekindling worries of a new crisis in Europe.A new rift between Athens and the IMF over fiscal issues and labour reforms has dealt a blow to an preliminary accord, dashing hopes for a bailout review deal before a regular Eurogroup meeting on April 7.Tsipras said Greece outperformed its fiscal targets last year and that lenders should stop causing unjustified delays in the review, which pose risks to the country''s economic recovery."The Greek economy is ready to leave the crisis behind it. But despite the impressive fiscal results, some of our creditors appear unrepentant", Tsipras told a news conference after meeting EU Council President Donald Tusk, who is visiting Athens."If there is no white smoke at the Eurogroup on Friday, I have already requested an EU leaders'' summit," he said.Tsipras said that Greece achieved a primary budget surplus - before debt payments - of more than 3 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) last year versus a bailout target of 0.5 percent of GDP.Responding to criticism, Tusk said that the European Union stood by Greece''s side and was facilitating negotiations."The sacrifices of the Greek citizens have been immense. One thing must be clear - no one intends to punish Greece, our goal is only to help Greece," he said. "I have no doubt that there is no alternative to a positive breakthrough on Friday."(Reporting by Renee Maltezou; Writing by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Alison Williams)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/eurozone-greece-bailout-idINKBN1771CR'|'2017-04-05T09:17:00.000+03:00' +'f5de3f9bb73935351ce9c62b358891d83adb876b'|'BP to cut about 5 mln pounds from CEO''s maximum annual pay - Sky News'|'April 3 BP Plc has agreed to cut about 5 million pounds ($6.24 million) from Chief Executive Bob Dudley''s maximum pay for the next three years in a bid to avoid a shareholder revolt, Sky News said on Monday, citing people briefed on the matter.Sky News said that Dudley''s maximum annual pay over the next three years will now be about 12.2 million pounds ($15.22 million) including his salary, an annual bonus of 3.3 million pounds and a long-term share incentive plan award worth up to 7.4 million pounds. The previous package was worth up to 17.4 million pounds including the matching share awards.The report said the company had decided to reduce Dudley''s maximum long-term incentive plan award from seven times his 1.48 million pounds basic salary to five times. ( bit.ly/2oC9WRK )According to the report, Dudley''s annual bonus will remain constant at a maximum of 225 percent of his salary. The framework will also apply to other top BP directors between 2017 and 2019. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Greg Mahlich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/uk-bp-compensation-ceo-idINL3N1HB4L0'|'2017-04-03T16:56:00.000+03:00' +'a11251582b111747a11ae4d9173f823a74a6d611'|'China to boost non-fossil fuel use to 20 percent by 2030 - state planner'|'Money News - Tue Apr 25, 2017 - 2:14pm IST China to boost non-fossil fuel use to 20 percent by 2030 - state planner FILE PHOTO: A driver gets off a loading vehicle at local businessman Sun Meng''s small coal depot near a coal mine of the state-owned Longmay Group on the outskirts of Jixi, in Heilongjiang province, China, October 23, 2015. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo BEIJING China aims for non-fossil fuels to account for about 20 percent of total energy consumption by 2030, increasing to more than half of demand by 2050, its state planner said on Tuesday, as Beijing continues its years-long shift away from coal power. In a policy document, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions will peak by 2030 and total energy demand will be capped at 6 billion tonnes of standard coal equivalent by 2030, up from 4.4 billion tonnes targeted for this year. The NDRC said it wants to increase oil and underground natural gas storage facilities, but it did not give any further details. The statement largely reiterated previous pledges contained in five-year plans and other policy documents and aimed at boosting wind and solar power usage. (Reporting by Josephine Mason and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/china-energy-idINKBN17R0U9'|'2017-04-25T16:44:00.000+03:00' +'6aea3c43ddfeb95bd19712402e7babdb085496c8'|'Henderson shareholders approve merger with Janus Capital'|'LONDON Shareholders of British asset manager Henderson Global Investors ( HGGH.L ) backed its $6 billion merger with U.S. fund firm Janus Capital ( JNS.N ) on Wednesday, after Janus shareholders approved the deal earlier this week.Henderson last year agreed to buy Janus in an all-share deal, as active fund managers pool resources to fend off growing competition from index-tracking funds.A total of 98.87 percent of votes cast at Henderson''s extraordinary general meeting were in favor of the deal, the company said in a statement.Janus shareholders voted for the deal late on Tuesday, with about 86.2 percent of shares cast in favor.Each Janus share will be exchanged for 0.4719 newly issued shares in Henderson, following a 1 for 10 consolidation of existing Henderson shares prior to completion of the merger, Henderson said.Henderson and Janus chief executives Andrew Formica and Dick Weil will be co-chief executives of the merged group Janus Henderson, which will list in New York and Sydney.The deal is expected to complete by May 30, Henderson chairman Richard Gillingwater said in the statement.(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn and Justin George Varghese. Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-henderson-m-a-janus-idINKBN17S2BJ'|'2017-04-26T14:28:00.000+03:00' +'b35c9cd008c2b070077f7c2ffe058ac73bea1a33'|'Bank of England''s Carney says financial rules must be ''dynamic'''|'Business News 7:56pm BST Bank of England''s Carney says financial rules must be ''dynamic'' left right Bank of England Governor Mark Carney leaves after speaking at 2017 Institute of International Finance (IIF) policy summit in Washington, U.S., April 20, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas 1/5 left right Bank of England Governor Mark Carney speaks at 2017 Institute of International Finance (IIF) policy summit in Washington, U.S., April 20, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas 2/5 left right Bank of England Governor Mark Carney speaks at 2017 Institute of International Finance (IIF) policy summit in Washington, U.S., April 20, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas 3/5 left right Bank of England Governor Mark Carney speaks at 2017 Institute of International Finance (IIF) policy summit in Washington, U.S., April 20, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas 4/5 left right Bank of England Governor Mark Carney leaves after speaking at 2017 Institute of International Finance (IIF) policy summit in Washington, U.S., April 20, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas 5/5 By Francesco Canepa - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Bank of England Governor Mark Carney told bankers on Thursday that financial regulations devised after the 2008-09 crisis cannot be set in stone, and must be flexible enough to deal with unintended consequences and unexpected gaps. Speaking in Washington, where U.S. President Donald Trump plans to pare back banking rules he says hamper growth, Carney championed a "dynamic" approach to regulation that was flexible but ensured the global financial system remained resilient. "Implementation must not only be effective, it must also be dynamic," he told a conference hosted by the Institute of International Finance, a gathering dominated by major banks. "Authorities must learn by doing and make adjustments, as necessary, to optimise our efforts, without compromising on the level of resilience the reforms are intended to achieve," he said. Drawing on language first used in a speech at the London office of Thomson Reuters earlier this month, Carney said global regulation was coming to a fork in the road, with a risk of a return to mutual suspicion between regulators and inconsistent sets of national rules. Britain''s departure from the European Union would be a litmus test for cooperation between regulators, he stressed. Carney said that the Financial Stability Board - a grouping of 20 leading central banks which he chairs - was working on a review of regulation since the financial crisis. "Specifically, it will assess whether G20 reforms are achieving their intended outcomes, identify any regulatory gaps or emerging risks, and flag any potential material unintended consequences," he said. Britain''s central bank chief was more guarded about national attempts to review rules, though he did not mention any by name. "These are to be welcomed, provided the overall level of resilience is maintained," he added. An international consensus on regulation - such as that led by the FSB - was essential to avoid financial institutions playing one country off against the other, Carney said. But he stressed that the FSB did not have the power to force countries to act. "Decisions are ultimately matters for national authorities who - acting out of enlightened self-interest and in recognition of the benefits of a resilient and open global financial system - guide and discipline the reform process," he said. The U.S. Federal Reserve''s participation in the FSB is opposed by some U.S. Republicans. On Jan. 31 Representative Patrick McHenry wrote to Fed Chair Janet Yellen urging her to stop working with the FSB, as he believed the FSB''s views effectively proved binding on U.S. banks. Yellen rejected the lawmaker from North Carolina''s argument, saying the Fed did not view FSB recommendations as binding, and sometimes adopted different standards to those discussed globally. (Additional reporting by Huw Jones; Writing by David Milliken; Editing by Andy Bruce and Catherine Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-imf-g20-carney-idUKKBN17M1XA'|'2017-04-21T00:39:00.000+03:00' +'33496dd70649c6d2b336603729c9860671ec9e9c'|'UK mortgage approvals and consumer lending slow in March - BBA'|'Money 10:13am BST UK mortgage approvals and consumer lending slow in March - BBA FILE PHOTO - A sign advertises payday loans in the window of a money lending shop in northeast London October 3, 2013. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett LONDON British banks approved the fewest mortgages in four months in March and consumer credit growth slowed, industry figures showed on Friday, adding to signs of a weakening in economic growth in early 2017. Banks approved 41,061 mortgages for house purchase last month, down from 42,247 in February, the British Bankers'' Association said. Annual consumer lending growth slowed to 6.1 percent from 6.5 percent in February, easing further from October''s 10-year high of 7.2 percent. (Writing by William Schomberg)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-lending-bba-idUKKBN17U14C'|'2017-04-28T17:03:00.000+03:00' +'5906958fc1b74e7c6a5573aaecb0f2c9d36b6fd2'|'Activist Sarissa says Innoviva backed out of proxy settlement deal'|'By Greg Roumeliotis and Michael Flaherty Activist hedge fund Sarissa Capital Management LP said on Wednesday that U.S. respiratory drug company Innoviva Inc ( INVA.O ) reneged on a proxy settlement deal that was struck earlier in the day.Sarissa, run by former Carl Icahn protege Alex Denner, said in a statement that Innoviva had accepted an offer to settle the proxy contest ahead of the shareholder vote scheduled for Thursday by adding two Sarissa-nominated directors to the board.After Sarissa signed and sent back the settlement contract Wednesday afternoon, Innoviva continued to lobby shareholders to vote for its own nominees without disclosing its settlement with the activist, the hedge fund said. Then Innoviva said it would no longer agree to a deal.Innoviva declined to comment.Based on shareholder votes that had come in as of late Wednesday, Innoviva believed it had enough support to defeat Sarissa''s director nominees, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing internal deliberations.Innoviva and Sarissa declined to comment on the current votes.Sarissa, which owns a 2.72 percent stake in Innoviva, had accused the company of spending too much money on executive pay and board compensation, given that its only function is to manage the drug royalties it receives from GlaxoSmithKline Plc ( GSK.L ).Earlier this month, Innoviva announced plans to undertake a review of cost and executive compensation structures that it said could result in "meaningful savings in our core operating costs that will benefit our financial performance."Innoviva, which had 14 employees as of Dec. 31, according to its annual report, has a market capitalization of $1.5 billion. GlaxoSmithKline, which has a 29.3 percent stake in Innoviva, had opposed Sarissa''s board nominees.Innoviva and GlaxoSmithKline submitted an application in November to market their new three-in-one inhaled lung drug for U.S. approval. Innoviva and GlaxoSmithKline have other respiratory medicines in the market.Sarissa has a track record of shaking up boards in the pharmaceutical industry. Its past targets have included Biogen Inc ( BIIB.O ) and Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc, a manufacturer of cancer drugs which agreed to sell itself to Japanese drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd ( 4502.T ) in January for $5.2 billion.(Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis and Michael Flaherty in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-innoviva-sarissa-idINKBN17M08C'|'2017-04-20T00:29:00.000+03:00' +'679539541a3c45bf526228147a7997b77297aa8e'|'Pfeiffer Vacuum recommends not to accept Busch takeover offer'|'Deals - Mon Apr 24, 2017 - 2:19am EDT Pfeiffer Vacuum recommends not to accept Busch takeover offer FRANKFURT German pump maker Pfeiffer Vacuum ( PV.DE ) said on Monday its management and supervisory board advised shareholders not to accept an improved takeover offer by rival Busch Group. Busch in late March announced a 110 euro per share offer for Pfeiffer, valuing the group at around 1.1 billion euros ($1.20 billion), after a previous approach failed. Pfeiffer has criticized Busch for still not offering a premium over the current share price, which stood at 116.90 euros at Friday''s close, valuing Pfeiffer at around 1.15 billion euros. (Reporting by Maria Sheahan, editing by Louise Heavens) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-pfeiffer-vacuum-m-a-busch-idUSKBN17Q0FN'|'2017-04-24T14:17:00.000+03:00' +'75b173321bdced854f6848fae8b3dccd7fd83a09'|'Exclusive - ECB faces ''favouritism'' appeal over hiring of Draghi adviser'|'Business News - Fri Apr 28, 2017 - 12:22pm BST Exclusive - ECB faces ''favouritism'' appeal over hiring of Draghi adviser European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi addresses a news conference at the ECB headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, April 27, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach By Francesco Canepa - FRANKFURT FRANKFURT European Central Bank staff representatives are appealing against the appointment of a new policy adviser for President Mario Draghi, alleging that the ECB''s board broke its own rules by handpicking Roland Straub for his new role. The appeal alleges that the "perception of favouritism" at the powerful institution, which is in charge of supervising banks and controlling monetary policy in the euro zone, risked demoralising staff and fuelling euro-scepticism among the public. Successful appeals lodged in recent months have led to five ECB appointments being annulled, including that of the bank official in charge of relations with other European institutions in Brussels. "This appeal is triggered by the desire to stand against the malfunctioning affecting ECB''s appointment process, resulting into widespread perception of favouritism and complaints of lack of transparency and unsound rules," appellant Carlos Bowles said in his appeal, filed in March and seen by Reuters. The issue concerns the method of employment. Straub''s qualifications are not in question. An ECB spokesperson said: "The direct appointment of the counsellor to the president of the ECB was made in compliance with the ECB rules on selection and appointment and is consistent with previous appointments to this position." Straub did not immediately reply to Reuters'' requests for comment. The ECB has two months to reply to the appeal, after which the appellants can bring the case to the European Court of Justice. Straub was appointed as Draghi''s counsellor and coordinator of the Counsel to the Executive Board in February. The position is scheduled to end with Draghi''s mandate in late 2019. In his role he advises Draghi and coordinates the work of the counsels of the five other members of ECB''s board, which runs the organisation and makes policy proposals. The position was not advertised and Straub was chosen via direct appointment by the Executive Board, rather than after a recruitment process open to other candidates and held by a hiring committee. Advisers to top European officials are often chosen this way. However, appellant Carlos Bowles said in his appeal ECB rules did not allow for Straub to be directly appointed to the role of coordinator of the counsel. Bowles added that the vacancy should have been advertised and the staff committee, which he chairs, should have been informed that the role had been moved to a lower ''salary band'' coinciding with Straub''s appointment. He argued any apparent breach of the principle that ECB jobs are purely awarded on merit risked undermining the ECB''s legitimacy in the eyes of the general public. "These risks should not be taken lightly, in a context where the European project is endangered by the rise of populism, nurtured by widespread perceptions of European citizens that their governing bodies are working towards the interests of a class of happy few," he said. In his new role, Straub receives a basic salary of between 122,268 euros and 175,428 per year, a higher range than in his previous role as counsellor to board member Benoit Coeure. In a note sent to staff on Thursday, trade union IPSO, which filed a separate but broadly equivalent appeal against the appointment, said the move was not intended as a personal attack on Straub. "We stress that the appeal is in no way meant to challenge the professional competence of our colleague," it said. "We do not challenge the person chosen we challenge the process of selection." The ECB was put in charge of supervising euro zone banks three years ago with the aim of avoiding a repeat of the 2008 banking crisis. It is also spending trillions of euros in a bid to boost euro zone inflation. An ECB staff survey conducted in 2015 showed 65 percent of respondents chose "knowing the ''right people''" as a way of getting ahead at the bank, a higher proportion than chose any other factor. Staff representatives complained last year to the European Parliament, which oversees the ECB, that dissent was discouraged at the bank, potentially hobbling its ability to spot the next financial crisis. (.Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-workers-draghi-exclusive-idUKKBN17U1MJ'|'2017-04-28T19:22:00.000+03:00' +'1b96ceb9e205731ed758be979e1861d048727630'|'SocGen, BNP woo funds eyeing India with tax saving gambit - sources'|' 5:44pm IST SocGen, BNP woo funds eyeing India with tax saving gambit - sources Rupee notes are seen in this picture illustration taken in Mumbai June 12, 2013. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash/File Photo By Abhirup Roy and Rafael Nam - MUMBAI MUMBAI Societe Generale and BNP Paribas are wooing hedge funds to invest in India through France, noting a special treaty between the two countries that allows investors to avoid paying tax in one of the world''s hottest emerging markets. The banks point out to investors that routing investments through their Paris base, where they have existing structures in place, would cushion them against the impact of a sweeping revamp in Indian tax rules - the General Anti Avoidance Rule (GAAR) - which came into effect this month, six people with knowledge of the banks'' communications told Reuters. Those people noted that investing in India via France, while legal, could prove controversial with Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s government, which is targeting foreign investments that avoid Indian taxes by coming through countries with special tax treaties. Also, the two French banks are promoting investments into so-called participatory notes, or P-notes - products created by banks to track Indian shares, debt and derivatives - the people said. A government-appointed panel warned in 2015 that P-notes could lead to "misuse", including money laundering or the channelling into domestic markets of unaccounted wealth held by Indians abroad. In response to Reuters queries, Societe Generale said it is "fully committed to preventing tax fraud and evasion." "We comply with local regulations in countries where we operate. This includes SEBI''s regulation on the distribution of Indian P-Notes to eligible investors," it added, referring to the Securities and Exchange Board of India. A spokeswoman for BNP Paribas said: "We deny the assertion that we have promoted investment via France as a way to avoid CGT (capital gains tax)." "BNP Paribas complies with all ODI (offshore derivative instruments) regulations as issued by SEBI and the applicable tax rules including GAAR... Our global set-up to provide market access products has remained consistent in all countries where we operate, including in India, and has not changed in response to the recent amendments to Indian regulations." A spokesman for India''s finance ministry declined to comment. ADVISING CAUTION Amit Maheshwari, a senior tax consultant, said he had been approached by clients who were contacted by the two French banks, but had advised caution. "P-notes will definitely be a big concern because the government doesn''t want to promote them," he said, adding also that the government would likely be concerned if funds were steering investments via France. "The Indian government now wants their fair share of taxes, and this is something which will create ripples with the tax authorities," Maheshwari said, adding he expected New Delhi would push for a renegotiation of its tax treaty with France. The treaty was one of several India signed in the 1980s and 1990s when it sought to attract overseas capital. It has similar double taxation avoidance deals with countries such as The Netherlands, Spain and Sweden. The banks say "there is no way the Indian government can challenge us under GAAR, so why don''t you use our route? You will not pay any tax," said another senior official at a tax and consulting firm who said he was approached by clients who received emails from BNP and Societe Generale. Reuters could not independently verify the content of the banks'' emails to potential clients. Other tax consultants, a hedge fund and a banker spoke to Reuters on the issue on condition they were not identified. FRANCE IN SPOTLIGHT Under Modi, India has begun amending tax treaties with other countries in an attempt to clamp down on what it sees as abuse of its domestic tax rules. It has already amended treaties with Singapore and Mauritius, which together account for around a third of foreign direct investment into India, including portfolio investments. Those agreements phase in higher CGT over two years, rising to the full 15 percent tax rate India imposes on short-term capital gains on shares and 30 percent on futures and options. Investments held longer than 12 months are not taxed. That makes France, ranked only ninth among the sources of foreign capital coming to India in April-December last year, a relatively attractive investment route - as investors would not have to pay any short-term CGT in India as long as the investment held is less than 10 percent of a company''s share capital. India is attracting foreign investment on hopes for an improving economy and more reforms. Its NSE share index is up more than 13 percent this year to a record high and the rupee currency is at a near-1-year high. Investing in India via France carries the risk that India could at any time seek to amend the tax treaty. And New Delhi has some leverage given France is keen to boost defence sales to India, such as its Rafale fighter jets. ($1 = 64.9600 rupees) (Additional reporting by Maiya Keidan in LONDON; Editing by Ian Geoghegan) Next In Money News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/india-tax-france-idINKBN1781GS'|'2017-04-06T20:14:00.000+03:00' +'f5b94d2e755e8b1b014d6c3951436811a14ea9ed'|'Air Canada apologizes for bumping youth off oversold flight: father'|'Aerospace & Defense 35pm EDT Air Canada apologizes for bumping youth off oversold flight: father An Air Canada Boeing 767-300ER lands at San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco, California, April 16, 2015. REUTERS/Louis Nastro By Allison Lampert - MONTREAL MONTREAL Air Canada ( AC.TO ) has apologized and offered compensation for bumping a 10-year-old off a flight, the boy''s father said on Monday, after the Canadian family''s story sparked headlines following a high-profile incident involving overbooking by U.S. carrier United Airlines. Brett Doyle said his family, who first tried unsuccessfully to check in his older son online, was told at the airport there was no seat available for the boy on an oversold flight from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, to Montreal, where they were connecting to a flight to a Costa Rica vacation last month. The entrepreneur from Prince Edward Island said the family of four then drove to Moncton, New Brunswick, to catch a different flight to Montreal only to discover at the airport that it had been canceled. "I thought it was a joke, that there were hidden cameras or something," he recalled by phone from Charlottetown. Doyle said the family contacted Air Canada, the country''s largest carrier, in March, but only received an apology and the offer of a C$2,500 trip voucher after the story was published by a Canadian newspaper on Saturday. Air Canada could not immediately be reached by Reuters for comment. An airline spokeswoman told the Canadian Press: We are currently following up to understand what went wrong and have apologized to Mr. Doyle and his family as well as offered a very generous compensation to the family for their inconvenience. Doyle, whose family finally arrived in Montreal and was able to connect to Costa Rica, said he understood the public outcry after a 69-year-old passenger was dragged from his seat on a United plane in Chicago on April 9 to make space for crew members. "People are fed up," he said of airline overbooking. "You shouldn''t be able to sell something twice." United''s parent company, United Continental Holdings Inc ( UAL.N ), which is still recovering from the public relations debacle, apologized again on Monday for the passenger''s forceful removal, while reporting quarterly earnings. Doyle said the incident on United Flight 3411, which spread rapidly on social media after being shot on video by passengers, resonated with his family. "I ... said things could always be worse," he said after hearing about the United incident. "At least we weren''t thrown off the plane." (Reporting by Allison Lampert; Editing by Peter Cooney)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-air-canada-passenger-idUSKBN17K04Q'|'2017-04-18T09:35:00.000+03:00' +'c5d57e941a6698a9bfb0a43a1c41e57ba7936437'|'UPDATE 1-ING Life Insurance Korea raises $974 mln after pricing IPO near lower end of range'|'* ING Life prices IPO at 33,000 won/share* Indicative range was 31,500 won to 40,000 won/share* IPO is S.Korea''s second-largest so far this year (Adds milestone, background)SEOUL, April 24 ING Life Insurance Korea, South Korea''s fifth-largest life insurer, on Monday priced its initial public offering (IPO) near the lower end of an indicative range, raising its Asia-based private equity owner MBK Partners 1.1 trillion won ($974 million).ING Life''s listing will be South Korea''s second-largest so far this year after smartphone games maker Netmarble Games Corp priced its IPO at the top of its range, raising $2.3 billion won.The insurer, which last week said its dividend payout history was an investor draw, said it can continue paying hefty dividends as it has a good capital-adequacy ratio and because it depends on higher-margin captive agents for growth, rather than independent insurance agents.It priced its IPO at 33,000 won per share, compared with an indicative range of 31,500 won to 40,000 won each, ING Life said in a filing.The pricing gives the whole company a pre-listing valuation of 2.71 trillion won.MBK, which bought ING Life from ING Groep NV for about 1.8 trillion won in 2013, will retain about 59.1 percent of the insurer after the listing, an ING Life spokeswoman said. ($1 = 1,129.9000 won) (Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Christopher Cushing)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/southkorea-ing-life-insurance-ipo-idINL4N1HW2K7'|'2017-04-24T04:58:00.000+03:00' +'f6177e6ae10044620e2b81229fe2b14f170188a8'|'Brexit leaves industrial firms staring into regulatory void'|' 24pm IST Brexit leaves industrial firms staring into regulatory void The British Union flag and the European Union flag are seen flying behind a clock in the City of London, Britain, January 16 , 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville/Files By Ben Hirschler and Kate Holton - LONDON LONDON Summit Therapeutics is about to start pivotal tests of a novel antibiotic discovered by UK scientists to treat a sometimes deadly bowel infection, but Britons could be the last patients to get it after Britain leaves the EU. The biotech company headquartered outside Oxford is one of thousands of manufacturers, from aerospace engineers to makers of plastic mouldings, facing an uncertain future as Britain''s departure from the European Union leaves a potential regulatory vacuum in its wake. While London plans a mammoth cut-and-paste job to convert EU law into domestic legislation, dubbed the Great Repeal Bill, this will not answer the question of what happens to the work of EU agencies that have legal powers to regulate industry. Some manufacturers are already seeking to write into supplier contracts a clause asserting who should shoulder the burden of additional costs if Britain creates its own regulators, duplicating the work required to trade in the UK and Europe. "We will do clinical trials in the UK, but the question is what will be the process for getting UK approval?" Summit''s Chief Executive Glyn Edwards told Reuters. "The big issue is really for UK patients. If there isn''t some kind of mutual recognition and participation in the EU system for drugs, then the focus will be on getting first approval in Europe because the market there is so large." Officials say relations between regulatory bodies after Britain leaves the EU is a matter for Brexit negotiations in the run-up to the divorce scheduled for March 2019. The minister in charge of Prime Minister Theresa May''s "Brexit department", David Davis, told parliament at the end of March the government would build relationships with its European partners that enable it to maintain common standards. He refused to go into details about how this would work, however. May has called a snap election for June 8, hoping to strengthen her hand with a bigger parliamentary majority so she can secure what she calls the best deal for Britain in the Brexit talks. One option might be to agree special relationships with certain EU regulatory systems, either on a transitional or long-term basis. Currently, for example, drugmakers in the European Economic Area, or single market, can tap the entire market of 500 million potential patients with a single EU marketing approval. The single market includes Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway as well as the EU. May has ruled out Britain being a part of the single market, however, and the rest of the EU may in any case baulk at allowing London to use its regulatory machinery after it leaves. Further, EU agencies are beholden to the European Court of Justice, whose jurisdiction Britain is determined to escape. "The issue of how quickly these things can be clarified is really important," said Andrew Bonfield, finance director of National Grid and chairman of the 100 Group, representing finance heads of FTSE 100 companies and some big private firms. "People need to know how they are going to operate," he told Reuters. "I cannot see a solution which would enable the UK to be under EU regulation if we are talking about a proper exit from the EU." Opposition Labour lawmaker Chris Leslie believes it would be difficult for Britain to be a "rule taker" from EU agencies in the long term, since regulation could be used as a tool to gain an edge over rivals. "Different groups will press for variance to get a short-term competitive advantage over European competitors," he said. Escaping the "yoke" of EU regulation, or "taking back control", was one of the reasons campaigners gave to vote in favour of Brexit in the June 2016 referendum. TINY MARKET In the case of drugs, leaving the nearly 900-person European Medicines Agency, which is set to move from its current base in London, would mean Britain would need a stand-alone UK regulator to decide if drugs are fit for use. [nL5N1HD32O] Since companies must pay fees to have new drugs assessed and separate filings involve extra work, the cost of accessing a British market that accounts for only 2-3 percent of global sales would likely delay the introduction of new medicines into the UK. Industry figures who have met the government to discuss the issue say they do not expect UK rules to diverge enormously from EU ones after Brexit, but they are concerned about the lack of clarity about what they will look like. It is a particular worry for small, resource-limited businesses like Summit, which was founded in 2003 as a spin-out from the University of Oxford and has a staff of 45. Ultimately, Summit might even relocate. The company already has a U.S. office and it will almost certainly set up an organisation in continental Europe to be within the EU zone. "Brexit tilts the balance less in favour of remaining based corporately in the UK," Edwards said. Other industries have similar questions. The chemicals and plastics industry has invested heavily to meet strict EU rules on safety and environmental standards, known as REACH, and could now face new UK regulations. Tim Thomas, a policy director at manufacturing and engineering trade body the EEF, said companies were concerned. "Businesses are, understandably, asking questions about future regulation and regulators, as future changes will need to be built into commercial arrangements," he said. "Different regimes are likely to bring with them new costs and burdens." Aerospace firms fear losing oversight from the European Aviation Safety Agency, which endorses product quality, while airlines warn of disruption if Britain is cut out of Europe''s single aviation market. The need to create a British regulatory system will require legislation, piling up an already daunting workload for lawmakers now further delayed by the June election. "It will take a phenomenal amount of parliamentary time and this new parliament (after the election) will be much, much more busy than anything we''ve seen in the last two years," said Leslie. "There are a whole array of areas that lots of people haven''t quite got their heads around yet." (Additional reporting by William James; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Sonya Hepinstall)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-eu-regulations-idINKBN17S1OG'|'2017-04-26T20:54:00.000+03:00' +'b46cc3643aad20ea5c1c415571e46bbffd0833f3'|'REFILE-U.S. prosecutors to monitor corporate cases after failed FedEx trial'|'(Refiles to fix garbled words in second paragraph)By Dan LevineSAN FRANCISCO, April 17 The U.S. Justice Department in San Francisco has instituted new oversight for complex cases, a federal prosecutor said, following a failed drug conspiracy prosecution against delivery service FedEx Corp .U.S. Attorney Brian Stretch, in an interview with Reuters last week, said his staff has identified about 20 of the office''s most complex cases to undergo "investigative progress reviews." He declined to identify any specific matters but said such cases would likely include corporate fraud and complicated drug investigations.Every two months, the lead prosecutor assigned to such a case will meet with supervisors in the office, including the U.S. attorney, Stretch said. Management will receive regular updates on the investigation, help decide novel legal issues, and ensure the case receives proper resources."This allows everybody in chain to be sharing in real time a lot of the decisions on these larger investigations," Stretch said.The new protocols were put in place after Stretch ordered a review of the FedEx case to improve future prosecutions. In that case, prosecutors obtained a grand jury indictment in 2014 against the courier service alleging it had knowingly helped internet pharmacies ship illegal pills. The Justice Department abruptly dropped all charges four days into trial last year amid evidence the company had actually tried to cooperate with the government on combating such pharmacies.The judge commended the decision, saying it was clear FedEx was "factually innocent." An attorney for FedEx called the prosecution "an epic institutional failure."Stretch''s office is currently investigating a phony accounts scandal at Wells Fargo & Co.John Zach, a former federal prosecutor in Manhattan who investigated SAC Capital, said unit chiefs in that U.S. attorneys office closely monitored cases but line prosecutors did not usually meet with top officials until it was time to decide if someone would face charges.The problem in the FedEx case was that prosecutors, including supervisors, did not recognize the significance of cooperation evidence that FedEx had highlighted before the company was charged, FedEx attorney Cristina Arguedas said.The new oversight system "is certainly a good idea," Arguedas said, although its success will depend on whether supervisors look at the actual evidence or rely on a single prosecutor''s interpretation.Stretch declined to comment on FedEx case details, but said no one wants to have to dismiss a case during trial."It is my expectation that this new review process can only aid with such situations," he said. (Reporting by Dan Levine; Editing by Bill Trott)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/fedex-doj-idINL1N1HP11S'|'2017-04-17T21:12:00.000+03:00' +'6e9444ecdf4e5b56b779df830948918d11bf8bdc'|'United changes crew booking policy after passenger dragged off plane'|'Aerospace & Defense - Fri Apr 14, 2017 - 9:15pm EDT United changes crew booking policy after passenger dragged off plane A United Airline Airbus A320 aircraft lands at O''Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., April 11, 2017. REUTERS/Kamil Krzaczynski United Airlines said on Friday it is changing its policy on booking its own flight crews onto its planes after a man was dragged off an overbooked flight to make way for a United employee on Sunday, video of which went viral and made the airline the target of global criticism and ridicule. The airline, owned by United Continental Holdings Inc ( UAL.N ), said it would make sure crews traveling on their aircraft are booked into seats at least 60 minutes before departure, in an emailed statement. It said the new policy would ensure that a situation in which a passenger is forcibly removed from a plane does not occur again. United said the change is an initial step as it reviews policies in order to "deliver the best customer experience." The passenger ejected from the plane, David Dao, suffered a significant concussion, a broken nose and lost two front teeth in the incident, and he will need reconstructive surgery, according to his attorney, Thomas Demetrio, who has signaled that Dao will likely sue the airline. United''s board on Friday apologized to Dao and his family, and said it stands behind Chief Executive Oscar Munoz, who has been under fire in the wake of the incident. Munoz has said he has no plans to resign. Even before this week, Munoz was under pressure from activist investors to improve the airline''s performance, including its customer relations. In an unrelated yet bizarre incident, a United passenger complained that a scorpion stung him during a flight from Texas, also on Sunday. A physician on the ground assured the crew that "it was not a life-threatening matter," United spokeswoman Maddie King said in an email on Friday, adding that the airline is "reaching out to the customer to apologize and discuss the matter." (Reporting by Sangameswaran S in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Rigby)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ual-crew-idUSKBN17H00M'|'2017-04-15T09:15:00.000+03:00' +'b8b725eb0b0ed6a882ad398970ed3bbb82996b35'|'Boehringer eyes marked sales gain, boosted by animal health'|'Company News 35am EDT Boehringer eyes marked sales gain, boosted by animal health INGELHEIM, Germany, April 5 Boehringer Ingelheim, Germany''s second-largest drugmaker, said on Wednesday it was targeting a marked gain in 2017 revenues, boosted by new animal health businesses it acquired from Sanofi. Unlisted Boehringer on Jan. 1 wrapped up an asset swap that saw Boehringer take Sanofi''s $13.5 billion animal care subsidiary, making it Europe''s largest player in the industry. In return, Sanofi obtained the German company''s consumer health care business unit, valued at nearly $8 billion, plus a $5.5 billion cash payment from Boehringer. Boehringer, which invented mass production of baking powder in the 1890s and which collaborates on diabetes drugs with Eli Lilly, posted a 7.1 percent gain in sales to 15.9 billion euros ($17.0 billion) last year. Operating income jumped 27 percent to 2.9 billion euros, helped by an upfront payment of almost $600 million from U.S. drugmaker AbbVie for the marketing rights to a promising experimental psoriasis treatment. ($1 = 0.9368 euros) (Reporting by Patricia Weiss; Writing by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Maria Sheahan) Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/boehringer-results-idUSF9N1GT00T'|'2017-04-05T16:35:00.000+03:00' +'e23bf1f8f4c3b6b32523cd7a554953c5eedc5a60'|'U.S. Congress takes steps to push budget deadline, avert shutdown'|'By Richard Cowan - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The U.S. Congress began moving to extend Friday''s budget deadline until May 5 and is expected to pass legislation allowing more time to finalize a spending deal to fund the federal government through September and avoid a shutdown.House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen introduced a bill late on Wednesday night to fund government operations at current levels for one more week, giving leading Republicans and Democrats time to finish negotiations on a spending plan for the rest of the fiscal year ending on Sept. 30.Without the congressional extension or a longer-term funding bill, federal agencies will run out of money by midnight Friday, likely triggering abrupt layoffs of hundreds of thousands of federal government workers until funding resumes.The last government shutdown, in 2013, lasted for 17 days, and many lawmakers are nervous at the prospect of another."I am optimistic that a final funding package will be completed soon," Frelinghuysen, a New Jersey Republican, said in a statement.Negotiators spent Wednesday racing against the clock to resolve remaining disputes in the massive spending bill amid talks that have already handed Democrats at least two major victories despite Republican control of Congress.President Donald Trump, also a Republican, gave in to Democratic demands that the spending bill not include money to start building the wall he wants to erect on the U.S.-Mexico border. His administration also agreed to continue funding for a major component of the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, despite vows to end the program.It remained unclear whether Republicans would prevail in their effort to significantly increase defense spending without similar increases to other domestic programs. Trump has proposed a $30 billion spending boost for the Pentagon for the rest of this fiscal year.Such funding disputes could resurface later in spending bills for the next fiscal year starting in October.Other disagreements must also still be ironed out in the current plan, including funding to make a healthcare program for coal miners permanent and to plug a gap in Puerto Rico''s Medicaid program, the government health insurance program for the poor.Additional "riders" on other issues could also be tucked into the legislation, which must pass both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate.Although Republicans control both chambers of Congress, they hold just 52 seats in the Senate and will need support from some Democrats to win the 60 votes needed there to pass the bill. Susan Cornwell and Amanda Becker in Washington and Caroline Humer in New York; Editing by Peter Cooney and Lisa Von Ahn)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-budget-idINKBN17T23C'|'2017-04-27T21:49:00.000+03:00' +'38ee22706ffb838e4ae9e3414207e299ce23a346'|'Wells Fargo tests Facebook chatbot'|'NEW YORK Wells Fargo & Company ( WFC.N ) is testing a "chatbot", an automated program that can communicate with the bank''s customers on Facebook''s ( FB.O ) messaging platform to give them information on their accounts and help them reset their passwords.The U.S. bank said on Tuesday that it is piloting the virtual assistant with several hundred employees, and plans to extend testing to a few thousand customers later this spring.Wells Fargo''s chatbot will use artificial intelligence to respond to natural language messages from users, such as how much money they have in their accounts, and where the nearest bank ATM is.Chatbots have risen in popularity in finance and other industries over the past few months because recent improvements in artificial intelligence have made them better at interacting and interpreting human language.Banks and other financial firms are hopeful chatbots can be used to provide better and continuous customer service at the fraction of the cost of large call centers populated by humans.French bank Societe Generale ( SOGN.PA ), for example, recently revealed that it was working with startup Personetics Technologies to develop chatbots that could answer queries about equity funds in its Romanian banking unit.Money transfer startup TransferWise in February launched a Facebook chatbot that enables customers to send money to friends and family internationally from Facebook Messenger.In March U.S. bank Capital One Financial Corp ( COF.N ) launched a chatbot named "Eno", which can answer questions on their recent account balances or help pay off credit card bills.Wells Fargo''s chatbot, which does not yet have a name, comes as the bank ramps up its development of artificial intelligence-based technology.In February it created a dedicated AI team to create technology, such as the new chatbot, that can help the bank provide more personalized customer service through its bankers and online."AI technology allows us to take an experience that would have required our customers to navigate through several pages on our website, and turn it into a simple conversation in a chat environment," said Steve Ellis, head of Wells Fargo''s Innovation Group, where the company''s AI team is based.Facebook opened up its Messenger app to developers to create chatbots in April 2016 in a bid to expand its reach in customer service and enterprise transactions.(Reporting by Anna Irrera; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-wells-fargo-chatbot-idUSKBN17K2GI'|'2017-04-19T05:02:00.000+03:00' +'688368f2ef53567313128893a6d37c21230bfbfb'|'IranAir may receive first Boeing jet sooner than planned'|' 12am BST IranAir may receive first Boeing jet sooner than planned PARIS/DUBAI IranAir may get its first new Boeing ( BA.N ) jetliner a year earlier than expected under a deal to take jets originally bought by cash-strapped Turkish Airlines, Iranian media and industry sources said. Iran had been expected to receive the first of 80 aircraft ordered from the U.S. planemaker in April 2018, but at least one brand-new aircraft is reported to be sitting unused because it is no longer needed by the Turkish carrier. Industry sources said Boeing was in negotiations to release at least one 777-300ER originally built for Turkish Airlines, which is deferring deliveries due to weaker traffic following last year''s failed coup attempt in Turkey. Boeing said it never comments on talks with customers. The airlines involved were not immediately available for comment. Iran''s Deputy Roads and Urban Development Minister Asghar Fakhrieh-Kashan told the semi-official Mehr news agency the first Boeing 777 aircraft would reach Tehran within a month. It would be the first new U.S.-built jet delivered to Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution. The long-haul 777 is worth $347 million (280 million) at list prices but is likely to have been sold for less than half that, according to industry estimates. IranAir has also ordered 100 aircraft from Europe''s Airbus ( AIR.PA ) under a deal to lift most sanctions in return for curbs on Iran''s nuclear programme. Its return to the aviation market after decades of sanctions comes at a time when airlines elsewhere are having second thoughts about purchases due to concerns about the economy and looming over-capacity among wide-body jets. That trend has made a number of unused jets available for quick delivery at competitive prices, including three Airbus jets recently delivered to Iran, and has allowed IranAir to jump the usual waiting list of several years. The government of pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani is seen as keen to showcase results from the sanctions deal ahead of a May election at which challengers include hardline Shi''ite cleric Ebrahim Raisi. Aviation sources say the first aircraft were paid directly from Iranian funds, but doubts remain over credit financing needed to secure almost 180 jets still on order. Western banks continue to shy away from financing deals between IranAir and Western companies, fearing U.S. banking sanctions that remain in force or a new chill in relations between Tehran and the West under U.S. President Donald Trump. Boeing has stressed the benefits to U.S. jobs of the plane deals. Fakhrieh-Kashan was meanwhile quoted on Monday as saying IranAir had reached a long-awaited agreement to buy 20 European turboprops from ATR ( LDOF.MI )( AIR.PA ). Talks over maintenance with engine maker Pratt & Whitney Canada ( UTX.N ) had delayed a final deal. It was not immediately clear whether the official was referring to an earlier deal for the planes or the final contract including engine overhaul. ATR said on Sunday it was still in talks with IranAir. (Reporting by Tim Hepher and Dubai newsroom; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath and Louise Heavens)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iran-aircraft-idUKKBN17C0IB'|'2017-04-10T15:12:00.000+03:00' +'b646f762f54505d4ac0825ce54f279e8e3005aa9'|'Bank of Japan most upbeat on economy in nine years, but warns stimulus exit distant'|' 11am BST BOJ most upbeat on economy in nine years, but warns stimulus exit distant left right A man riding a bicycle rides past the Bank of Japan building in Tokyo, Japan April 27, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 1/2 left right Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda attends a news conference at the BOJ headquarters in Tokyo, Japan April 27, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 2/2 By Leika Kihara - TOKYO TOKYO The Bank of Japan offered its most optimistic assessment of the economy in nine years at its policy meeting on Thursday and described recent weakness in inflation as temporary, signaling confidence a sustained recovery will help achieve its ambitious price target. The BOJ kept its policy unchanged, as expected, but Governor Haruhiko Kuroda conceded that public perceptions of future price rises remained subdued, suggesting the central bank will significantly lag its U.S. and European peers in exiting its massive stimulus program. The optimism about the economy and caution over the inflation outlook show the BOJ prefers to maintain the status quo on monetary policy for the time being, analysts say. "The inflation and growth projections, as well as the upgrade of its economic assessment, were all in line with market forecasts, so there was no surprise at this meeting," said Yasunari Ueno, chief market economist at Mizuho Securities. "As long as the economy maintains its momentum, the BOJ will likely stand pat at least until next spring, when Kuroda serves out his term." The BOJ maintained its short-term interest rate target at minus 0.1 percent and a pledge to guide 10-year government bond yields around zero percent. It also kept intact a loose pledge to buy government bonds so its holdings increase at an annual pace of 80 trillion yen ($719 billion), defying market speculation the guidance could be removed to pave the way for an eventual withdrawal of stimulus. "Japan''s economy has been turning toward a moderate expansion," the BOJ said a quarterly review of its long-term economic and price projections, compared with the previous month''s view that it was "improving moderately as a trend." It was the first time since March 2008 the BOJ used the word "expansion" to describe the state of the economy, signaling its conviction that the recovery was gaining momentum and that it saw no need for additional stimulus. Despite the rosy economic view, Kuroda reminded markets the central bank is nowhere near an exit from its massive stimulus. "We expect inflation to accelerate toward 2 percent but currently, inflation is around zero percent," Kuroda told reporters after the policy meeting. "Talking about a specific exit strategy now would cause undue confusion in markets," he said. "The prerequisite for such debate to happen is for inflation to achieve 2 percent." Kuroda added that the BOJ had no automatic trigger for starting debate on exiting its ultra-loose monetary policy. DOUBTS ABOUT INFLATION In the quarterly review, the BOJ cut its core consumer inflation forecast for the year ending in March 2018, blaming weak services prices and cellphone bill discounts by carriers facing fierce price competition. But it maintained its projection that inflation will reach 2 percent during the fiscal year ending in March 2019 on the view that a tightening job market would gradually push up wages. Many analysts doubt inflation will accelerate as quickly as the BOJ projects, with slow wage growth keeping households from boosting spending. "The BOJ upgraded its economic assessment, but this is due more to overseas demand. Japan''s labor market is tight, but retailers still want to cut prices," said Shuji Tonouchi, senior market economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. Kuroda voiced confidence that continued improvements in the economy will eventually boost wages and inflation, but conceded that progress has been slow. "Overall, inflation expectations haven''t shown clear signs of a pick-up. They have bottomed out but haven''t rebounded yet, so we need to look at developments carefully," he said. Japan''s economy has shown signs of life, as exports rose the most in over two years in March and manufacturers'' confidence hit the highest since the global financial crisis a decade ago. But core consumer prices for February rose just 0.2 percent from a year earlier, as weak private consumption has discouraged companies from raising prices. While a pioneer in deploying unorthodox stimulus, the BOJ is likely to lag behind its peers in withdrawing monetary support. The U.S. Federal Reserve is already embarking on interest rate hikes, while the European Central Bank may send a small signal in June towards reducing stimulus. Most analysts polled by Reuters expect the BOJ''s next move to be a tightening of monetary policy, though many do not expect it to happen until next year at the earliest. After more than three years of huge asset purchases failed to accelerate inflation, the BOJ revamped its policy framework last September to one aimed at capping long-term interest rates. (Additional reporting by Stanley White, Tetsushi Kajimoto and Minami Funakoshi; Editing by Sam Holmes)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-boj-idUKKBN17T0CE'|'2017-04-27T17:09:00.000+03:00' +'9e0aaea0f0ff1a2bb7373afd8053c251751d0af1'|'Schumpeter: Why the decline in the number of listed American firms matters'|'LAST month Schumpeter attended an event at the New York Stock Exchange held in honour of Brian Chesky, the co-founder of Airbnb, a room-sharing website that private investors value at $31bn. Glittering tables were laid out not far from where George Washington was inaugurated in 1789. The well-heeled members of the Economic Club of New York watched as Thomas Farley, the NYSEs president, hailed Airbnb as an exemplar of American enterprise. Mr Chesky recounted his journey from sleeping on couches in San Francisco to being a billionaire. His mum, a former social worker, looked on. Only one thing was missing. When Mr Chesky was asked if he would list Airbnb on the NYSE, he hesitated. He said there was no pressing need.Airbnb is not alone. A big trend in American business is the collapse in the number of listed companies. There were 7,322 in 1996; today there are 3,671. It is important not to confuse this with a shrinking of the stockmarket: the value of listed firms has risen from 105% of GDP in 1996 to 136% now. But a smaller number of older, bigger firms dominate bourses. The average listed firm has a lifespan of 18 years, up from 12 years two decades ago, and is worth four times more. The number of companies doing initial public offerings (IPOs), meanwhile, has fallen from 300 a year on average in the two decades to 2000 to about 100 a year since. Many highly-valued startups, including Lyft, a ride-sharing firm, and Pinterest, a photo-sharing site, stay private for longer. A new paper by Michael Mauboussin, who works for Credit Suisse, a bank, and teaches at Columbia Business School in New York, explains why this matters. Consider the first reason behind the slump in the number of listed firms: the IPO drought. Although the total population of companies in America has been steady, their propensity to list their shares has roughly halved. Fear of red tape is one reason (although the decline predates the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which tightened disclosure rules and which bosses hate). Many founders also believe that private markets are better at allowing them a long-term perspective.As for companies hunger for capital, many need less to spend on assets such as plant and equipment as the economy becomes more technology-intensive. Private markets, meanwhile, have become more sophisticated at supplying the funds they do require. Many big, mainstream fund managers, such as Fidelity and T. Rowe Price, are investing in unicorns, meaning private firms that are worth over $1bn, of which there are now roughly 100.Airbnb exemplifies the trend. It is almost a decade old but unlisted. Amazon was three years old in 1997 when it floated. Airbnb has raised billions from private markets and has 26 external investors. It will make gross operating profits of $450m this year, according to a new book, The Airbnb Story by Leigh Gallagher, so doesnt need piles of new cash. At its fund-raising round last autumn, employees were able to sell around $200m of shares, which does away with another reason for firms to do an IPO.Exits from the stockmarket by established firmsthe second factor behind listed firms shrinking ranksare growing in number. About a third of departures are involuntary, as companies get too small to qualify for public markets or go bust. The rest are due to takeovers. Some firms get bought by private-equity funds but most get taken over by other corporations, usually listed ones. Decades of lax antitrust enforcement mean that most industries have grown more concentrated. Bosses and consultants often argue that takeovers are evidence that capitalism has become more competitive. In fact it is evidence of the opposite: that more of the economy is controlled by large firms.Perhaps the number of listed firms will stop falling. This year several trendy companies have floated, including Snap, a social-media firm, and Canada Goose, a maker of expensive winter coats beloved of Manhattanites. If the euphoria over tech firms fades somewhat it may become harder for unicorns to raise money privately. Continued decline in the number of listed firms would be bad news. It would be a symptom of the oligopolisation of the economy, which will harm growth in the long run.Fewer listed firms also undermines the notion of shareholder democracy. Mr Mauboussin notes that 40 years ago a pension fund could get full exposure to the economy by owning the S&P 500 index and betting on a venture-capital fund to capture returns from startups. Now a fund needs to make lots of investments in private firms and in opaque vehicles that generate fees for bankers and advisers. Ordinary Americans without connections are meanwhile unable directly to own shares in new companies that are active in the fastest-growing parts of the economy.Unicorns dont have to meet public-company standards on accounting and disclosure, so it is expensive to monitor them properly. Some money managers dont bother. There has already been one blow-up among the unicorns, Theranos, a blood-testing company whose products didnt work. And without the close scrutiny that comes with being public, other firms appear trapped in a permanent adolescence of erratic management. Uber, a transport firm that is losing money and whose boss, Travis Kalanick, is scandal-prone, is a case in point.Time to grow upThe fact that fewer companies control the economy is a question for antitrust regulators. Whether young firms list their shares is entirely up to their owners. Some tech tycoons including Elon Musk, the boss of Tesla, an electric-car company and Jeff Bezos of Amazon have mastered the art of running public firms on long-term horizons. Mr Chesky says that Mr Bezos has pointed out to him that a company must be robust to survive once it is public. Achieving that might be seen as a chore. But it can also be an incentive to improve performance and corporate culture. The hope is that Mr Chesky is up to the task, and that the next time he visits the NYSE, hell be there to ring the bell.This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "Life in the public eye"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21721153-company-founders-are-reluctant-go-public-and-takeovers-are-soaring-why-decline?fsrc=rss'|'2017-04-22T08:00:00.000+03:00' +'58f9b5bfb5e8193027681b07b0ebd0bb94db4d8a'|'UPDATE 1-Pushing two-stock plan, Greenlight nominates three GM directors'|'(Adds details about proposed directors, proposed director comment, background, stock price)By Nick CareyDETROIT, April 12 Hedge fund Greenlight Capital, which is run by billionaire investor David Einhorn, nominated three directors to General Motor Co''s board and reiterated its proposal to split the company''s common stock into two classes to help boost the share price.Einhorn went public with a proposal in late March that the U.S. automaker create one class of stock that pays a dividend and one that does not.GM rebuffed that proposal, and both Moody''s and Standard & Poor''s declared that such a structure could hurt its credit rating.In a regulatory filing, Greenlight nominated former AT&T Broadband Chief Executive Officer Leo Hindery, longtime Greenlight research director Vinit Sethi and Consol Energy Inc Chairman William Thorndike.Einhorn himself was not on the proposed slate."GM is ignoring the significant value unlocked by our Plan, and has concocted a ratings issue by presenting a one-sided and flawed analysis to the rating agencies," Sethi said in a statement.Shares of GM were up 0.2 percent at $33.98 in morning trading.Greenlight Capital has owned GM shares on and off for five years and has a 4.9 percent stake, including options.A majority of investors surveyed by Evercore ISI just after Einhorn disclosed his proposal said it would not raise GM''s value.The filing comes just two days after luxury electric car maker Tesla Inc surpassed GM to become the highest-valued U.S. automaker despite selling around 76,000 vehicles last year to GM''s 10 million. (Additional reporting by Svea-Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/gm-greenlight-idINL1N1HK0KL'|'2017-04-12T12:18:00.000+03:00' +'e5284b1211df51ead356e0383c01d45bb72b8f17'|'BRIEF-TSMC orders machinery equipment from Applied Materials'|'Company News - Mon Apr 10, 2017 - 4:53am EDT BRIEF-TSMC orders machinery equipment from Applied Materials April 10 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd * Says orders machinery equipment worth T$686 million ($22.45 million) Source text on Eikon: S.Korea''s EWP buys 60,000 T of coal for May SEOUL, April 10 Korea East West Power Co Ltd (EWP) has bought 60,000 tonnes of coal for May shipping via a tender that closed on Thursday, a source from the utility said on Monday. The utility purchased the coal products from South Africa, the source said, but declined to give price and seller details. Other details of the purchase are as follows: TONNES(M/T) ORIGIN SPECIFICATION(NCV) SHIPPING SCHEDULE 60,000 S.Africa min. 4,170 kcal/kg May 10- MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-tsmc-orders-machinery-equipment-fr-idUSS7N1EA027'|'2017-04-10T16:53:00.000+03:00' +'a599165b95c2b87f0bbb568ad976705c218c35fb'|'Bank of England''s Carney calls for UK-EU bank rules pact after Brexit'|'Business News - Fri Apr 7, 2017 - 10:04am BST Bank of England''s Carney calls for UK-EU bank rules pact after Brexit left right Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, arrives to speak at a Reuters Newsmaker event in London, Britain April 7, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls 1/2 left right Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, arrives to speak at a Reuters Newsmaker event in London, Britain April 7, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls 2/2 By David Milliken and Huw Jones - LONDON, LONDON, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney called on Friday for Britain and the European Union to agree to recognise each others'' bank rules after Brexit, to avoid a damaging hit to financial services across Europe. However, Carney said in a speech at Thomson Reuters'' London office that the BoE and banks needed to be ready for a hard Brexit with no deal reached, and set a July 14 deadline for all cross-border financial firms operating in Britain to tell the BoE how they would cope. Banks, including many from the United States and other countries around the world, use EU "passporting" rights to offer their services across the bloc from London, the region''s biggest financial centre by far. But that arrangement is set to end once Brexit pulls the UK from the single market in two years'' time, and it remains far from clear what kind of deal will replace it. Prime Minister Theresa May mentioned the importance of reaching a trade deal with the EU that includes financial services as a "crucial sector" when she triggered the two-year process of Britains exit from the EU last week. Carney said on Friday that the global financial system was at a "fork in the road". Governments had to choose between maintaining high standards of regulation and respecting each others'' rules, or looking inward with big costs to global trade. "How Brexit negotiations conclude will be a litmus test for responsible financial globalisation," he said in a speech at Thomson Reuters'' London office. "The EU and UK are therefore ideally positioned to create an effective system of deference to each other''s comparable regulatory outcomes, supported by commitments to common minimum standards and open supervisory co-operation," he said. This system could be bolstered by third-party peer reviews and a new independent dispute resolution mechanism, he said - adding that this could be a template for the wider world. But banks are concerned that Britain and the EU will not reach a deal in time, and are preparing to move large numbers of staff from London, and Germany and France are trying to lure jobs to their financial capitals. HSBC, UBS and Morgan Stanley have decided to move about 1,000 staff each from London in the next two years, sources familiar with their plans have told Reuters. Carney said the BoE needed to be prepared for a worst-case outcome, and alongside his speech, the BoE''s top banking regulator, Sam Woods, sent a letter to financial firms with cross-border activities ordering them to set out Brexit plans. "Our current assessment is that the level of planning is uneven across firms and plans may not be being sufficiently tested against the most adverse potential outcomes - for example, if there is no withdrawal or trade agreement in place when the UK exits from the EU," Woods said. European banks which operated in London on the basis of passporting should be prepared to set up separately capitalised subsidiaries in Britain and submit to direct BoE regulation if Britain and the EU could not reach a deal, Woods added. The BoE has said the UK financial sector accounts for almost a quarter of all EU financial services income and 40 percent of EU financial services exports. Eighty of the of the 358 banks operating in the UK are headquartered elsewhere in Europe. Financial services account for 7 percent of British economic output, according to the BoE, although industry lobbyists say this rises to 12 percent if related professional services companies are included. For live video of Bank of England Governor Mark Carney''s speech at Thomson Reuters, go to reut.rs/2nWLFGo'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-boe-carney-idUKKBN17919D'|'2017-04-07T17:04:00.000+03:00' +'e1a2d3518660bb6958376c9470c06efe1c514563'|'Cenovus CEO says investors understand ''strategic rationale'' for deal'|'Company News - Tue Apr 11, 2017 - 1:13pm EDT Cenovus CEO says investors understand ''strategic rationale'' for deal TORONTO, April 11 Cenovus Energy Inc has 75 percent of financing in place for its C$17.7 billion ($13.3 billion) acquisition of ConocoPhillips'' oil and gas assets, Cenovus Chief Executive Brian Ferguson said on Tuesday. The strategic rationale for the deal is well understood by investors, Ferguson said. (Reporting by Ethan Lou; Editing by Jim Finkle and Jonathan Oatis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/conocophillips-cenovus-idUSL1N1HJ145'|'2017-04-12T01:13:00.000+03:00' +'54187088ce1bc78810d95bbda3e50ab96438e81f'|'Ex-JPMorgan analyst cleared of remaining insider trading charges'|'Big Story 10 08am EDT Ex-JPMorgan analyst cleared of remaining insider trading charges By Nate Raymond A federal judge has dismissed the remaining charges against a former JPMorgan Chase & Co investment banking analyst accused of engaging in an insider trading scheme, after a jury in February largely acquitted him. U.S. District Judge Terry Hatter in Los Angeles on Monday dismissed four counts of insider trading and tender offer fraud pending against Ashish Aggarwal, who previously worked at J.P. Morgan Securities LLC in its San Francisco office. The decision, which was confirmed by lawyers for Aggarwal, came after a jury in February found him not guilty of 26 of 30 counts he faced. His lawyers argued the jury had already determined Aggarwal did not intend to commit the charged crimes. "We are pleased that the court, in granting our motion, agreed with us that the government''s case could not proceed, and correctly put an end to this prosecution," Aggarwal''s lawyers, Grant Fondo and Derek Cohen, said in a joint statement. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney''s Office in Los Angeles did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. Aggarwal was charged in August 2015 in connection with what prosecutors said were tips he provided a college friend, Shahriyar Bolandian, who they said in turn tipped his childhood friend, Kevan Sadigh. Prosecutors said Aggarwal tipped Bolandian to inside information before the announcements of Integrated Device Technology Inc''s 2012 acquisition of PLX Technology Inc and Salesforce.com Inc''s 2013 acquisition of ExactTarget Inc. Bolandian in turn told Sadigh in both cases, enabling them to trade ahead of the deals and make more than $600,000, prosecutors said. Both have pleaded not guilty and have yet to face trial. Aggarwal denied wrongdoing. His lawyers at trial said the prosecution''s case was circumstantial and lacked evidence that Aggarwal knew about the trades before they happened, tipped his co-defendants or received anything in exchange. The case is U.S. v. Aggarwal et al, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, No. 15-cr-465. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Bernard Orr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-insidertrading-jpmorgan-idUSKBN17K1R8'|'2017-04-18T22:01:00.000+03:00' +'f5d3dd8e7f7bf4afa41888ea25919a77a63cd915'|'Officer says he used ''minimal but necessary force'' on United passenger - Business'|'Officer says he used ''minimal but necessary force'' on United passenger David Dao, 69, was forcibly removed from flight, sparking outrage at airline Chicago releases testimony of aviation police involved in 9 April incident United Airlines incurred a public relations disaster after it forcibly ejected a passenger from a flight from Chicago to Louisville, Kentucky, leaving him bloodied and missing his front teeth. Photograph: Joshua Lott/AFP/Getty Images Officer says he used ''minimal but necessary force'' on United passenger David Dao, 69, was forcibly removed from flight, sparking outrage at airline Chicago releases testimony of aviation police involved in 9 April incident View more sharing options 14.17 BST Last modified on 14.56 BST One of the police officers who forcibly removed a passenger from a United Airlines flight said minimal but necessary force was used in the incident that became a public relations disaster for the carrier, according to a report released by the city of Chicago. Video recorded by other passengers showed David Dao, a 69-year-old doctor, being dragged down the aisle with blood on his face after refusing to give up his seat on a flight from Chicago to Louisville, Kentucky, on 9 April. United Airlines changes crew flight policy after forcible removal fiasco Read more Dao suffered a concussion and a broken nose, lost two front teeth and is likely to sue the airline, according to his lawyer, Thomas Demetrio. Initially, United did not apologize to Dao and described him as disruptive and belligerent. Some social media users in the United States, Vietnam and China called for a boycott. The carrier has since apologized several times. Demetrio called the aviation polices version of events outlined in the report as utter nonsense consider the source, said the lawyers spokeswoman, Helen Lucaitis. In the first published version of events from the three officers involved, aviation police officer Mauricio Rodriguez said Dao became combative after he and two other officers tried to persuade the doctor to leave the plane. Rodriguez was the first officer to arrive on the scene. Dao told the officers: Im not leaving this flight that I paid money for. I dont care if I get arrested, according to the report, released by the city on Monday, Officer James Long described how he arrived later and tried to pull Dao from his seat after further negotiations failed. At that point, Dao started swinging his arms up and down with a closed fist. Long said he lost control of Dao as he swung, causing Dao to fall and hit his mouth on an armrest. Long then assisted the subject by using minimal but necessary force to get him off the aircraft, Rodriguez said. Dao later ran back on the plane and held on to a pole, stating: Just kill me. I want to go home, Rodriguez said. Dao was then persuaded to leave so his injuries could be treated, Rodriguez said. Thanks to United Airlines, is flying while Asian something to fear? - Steven W Thrasher Read more Officer Steven Smith, the third officer involved, gave a similar description of the incident in the report. All three officers remain on paid leave while the incident is investigated. Aviation department policy calls for its officers to not board planes to handle customer service issues, according to officials. Only force reasonably necessary to defend a human life, effect an arrest or control a person shall be used by Aviation Security personnel, according to the aviation departments use of force policy. United said on Friday it had asked a US Senate panel for an extra week to answer questions about the incident. Uniteds chief executive officer, Oscar Munoz, has said he was personally committed to putting proof behind our promise in the carriers commitment to reforms. Topics'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/apr/26/united-airlines-aviation-police-david-dao'|'2017-04-26T22:17:00.000+03:00' +'61b78ab78ad5b7d70397db0a9c82caefc1bcb198'|'Cash-strapped Venezuela negotiating Russian help to pay PDVSA bonds -sources'|'Commodities 8:35pm EDT Cash-strapped Venezuela negotiating Russian help to pay PDVSA bonds: sources By Marianna Parraga and Corina Pons - HOUSTON/CARACAS HOUSTON/CARACAS Venezuela is negotiating financial help from Russian oil major Rosneft to complete nearly $3 billion in PDVSA debt payments coming due to bondholders next month, two market sources and a government source familiar with the talks told Reuters on Friday. Venezuela''s leftist government has grown increasingly close to Russia''s Vladimir Putin and Rosneft has become an important financier and oil player in the OPEC nation with the world''s biggest crude reserves. The negotiations are happening even as political chaos reins in Venezuela after its Supreme Court annulled the opposition-led National Assembly''s powers to approve oil joint ventures, sparking protests and international condemnation. Earlier this month, Reuters reported PDVSA had offered a stake in the Petropiar joint venture to Rosneft, as part of what two sources told Reuters was a wider package of financial help Venezuela was seeking from Russia. In recent days, financially-squeezed state oil company PDVSA [PDVSA.UL] has realized it needs help from its Russian counterpart to be able to meet its hefty April payments, the sources say. "PDVSA is counting on help from Russia for the bond payments," a Venezuelan government source said on Friday, asking to remain anonymous because he is not authorized to speak to media. It was not immediately clear whether Rosneft would agree to the deal or what the company might receive in return. Rosneft, the Venezuelan central bank and PDVSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Venezuela faces payments of nearly $3 billion in April on bonds issued by PDVSA. Most of that is due around mid-month as PDVSA''s April 2017 5.25 percent note matures, requiring a combined interest and principal payment of $2.5 billion. A separate financial source said Venezuela was negotiating a $600 million loan that would allow it to have enough cash to pay bondholders next month, although he did not know with whom the talks were taking place. He added the central bank hoped to use bonds as collateral. Bonds crashed on Friday as political tensions escalated. President Nicolas Maduro''s government has pledged to keep paying bondholders, bashing default talk as a Wall Street plot to sabotage his Socialist administration.. But a grueling recession that has millions skipping meals and low oil prices have worsened PDVSA''s financial position in recent years. Caracas-based PDVSA has been particularly squeezed in the last weeks due to unexpected spending on emergency oil imports to stem a nationwide gasoline shortage, heightening the need for external help. "We think that up to 50 percent of financing needs could be covered by bilateral loans," Oxford Economics said in a note to clients, mentioning Russia and China, Venezuela''s top financier. (Additional reporting by Alexandra Ulmer; Writing by Alexandra Ulmer; editing by Diane Craft) Next In Commodities'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-bonds-idUSKBN173326'|'2017-04-01T08:29:00.000+03:00' +'a1b73cc6c8836601d06210ff93ba03cfd6515c04'|'BRIEF-Genuine Parts Company announces acquisition of leading custom cabling and automation solutions distributor'|' 20am EDT BRIEF-Genuine Parts Company announces acquisition of leading custom cabling and automation solutions distributor April 5 Genuine Parts Co * Genuine Parts Company announces acquisition of leading custom cabling and automation solutions distributor * Genuine Parts Co - Empire is expected to generate annual revenues of approximately $65 million * Genuine Parts Co - EIS, company''s electrical/electronic materials group, has acquired Empire Wire and Supply, effective April 1, 2017 Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-genuine-parts-company-announces-ac-idUSASB0B8NS'|'2017-04-05T21:20:00.000+03:00' +'3f84753e44c543396d55158ec5dcdf3588318494'|'Why BlackRock wants to pay George Osborne 650,000 a year - Politics'|'I t is easy to understand why George Osborne can find one day a week in his busy schedule to work for BlackRock , the worlds largest fund manager. At 650,000 a year, or 13,000 a day, it sounds a more lucrative gig than editing the London Evening Standard on the other four weekdays. The former chancellor may also be given shares in the US firm, so we do not know if the salary is the starter or the main course.Can he possibly be worth it? They certainly pay themselves well at BlackRock Larry Fink, its co-founder, chairman and chief executive, got $26m (21m) in 2015 but Osborne wont be managing investments or even lobbying the UK government because the rules forbid it.BlackRocks bland official explanation is that it hired the Conservative MP for Tatton for his wise counsel on subjects such as European politics and Chinese economic reform. George has a unique and invaluable perspective on the issues that are shaping our world today, said Fink when he announced the appointment in January . At the centre of our mission is helping people around the world save and invest for retirement, and Georges insights will help our clients achieve their goals.Osborne the pensioners friend, then? Up to a point. Many financial companies have advisory boards to generate ideas, interpret long-term trends and deliver occasional home truths to the insiders. The conveyor belt of former regulators, central bankers and politicians never stops. BlackRocks own Investment Institute, the part Osborne will advise, is led by Philipp Hildebrand, a former head of the Swiss central bank. The critical difference in Osbornes case is that he intends to continue as an MP and also edit a newspaper.One FTSE 100 chief executive thinks the arrangement is untenable. Politics is impacting on the business world like never before so I can completely understand why BlackRock would want a politician who knows economics, he says. What I cannot understand is why George Osborne thinks he can straddle politics, the media and finance at the same time. How can he separate information and tittle-tattle gained in one role from his duties in another role? Its just not feasible.Facebook Twitter Pinterest George Osborne has said he will receive 650,000 a year advising BlackRock for around one day a week. Photograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty ImagesIts not as if BlackRock occupies a quiet corner of the financial world. It manages $5.1tn (4tn) of assets. To put that into perspective, that is more than double the UKs annual GDP. It spans the market from shares to bonds to private equity.It is often the biggest single investor in large US and UK companies and is a key player in corporate takeover battles. It has 13,000 staff in 30 countries. And, while Fink preaches a gospel of long-termism and sustainability a refreshing antidote to old-style Wall Street excess BlackRocks size means it is constantly in the midst of political and regulatory debates.BlackRocks closeness to politicians has also come under the spotlight in the past, notably during the financial crisis of 2007-09, when the US administration turned to the firm for help in analysing and solving the meltdowns at investment bank Bear Stearns, giant insurer AIG and government-backed mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Back then, the explanation was that BlackRocks expertise in analysing risk served the interests of the American taxpayer.The argument was plausible, it should be said. Unlike the Wall Street banks, BlackRock was not entangled in financial junk and its brilliance in analysing risk is unquestioned. But the firms standing as the trusted adviser to the Obama administration was also clearly helpful in expanding its global reach and picking up business from sovereign wealth funds.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Larry Fink, CEO at BlackRock Photograph: Lucas Jackson/ReutersFink, a Democrat, co-founded the firm in 1988 after his high-flying career as a bond market trader at US bank First Boston came to a humiliating halt when a bet on interest rates produced a $100m loss. BlackRock was conceived as a less risky way do business. The heartbeat of the firm remains Aladdin, an enormous information processing system which drives the fact-based, data-driven approach to investing.This technology-led approach has transformed the fund management industry. So has the 20-year trend towards passive investment, also led by BlackRock.Its most successful purchase was its acquisition of Barclays Global Investors in 2009, from the then-stricken UK bank. Long-serving Barclays executives now roll their eyes in despair at the thought of how life could have been different for them if BGI had been retained. BlackRock was already big in index-tracking products those that passively seek to replicate the performance of bond or share index but the addition of BGI helped to super-charge the expansion.The current planned 12bn merger between Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management can be viewed as a direct response to the power of the passives. The Scottish duo need to cut costs to fund their own technological innovations and lead active managements fight-back. Yet, even with a combined 660bn under management, the combination will look small next to BlackRock.For some, BlackRocks sheer size has become a problem. Active managers in the UK grumble that the firm has taken a free-ride on their time-consuming efforts to rein in boardroom pay. That appeared to change this year when BlackRock wrote to large UK companies setting out a tougher stance calling for an end to huge executive pay rises unless employees were treated similarly. But UK rivals still complain that BlackRock is years behind the curve and too timid.Facebook Twitter Pinterest BlackRock offices in New York City. Photograph: Brendan Mcdermid/ReutersMore seriously for Fink, regulators wondered after the banking crisis whether giant asset managers could also endanger the global financial system. The Financial Stability Board (FSB), the closest thing to a global financial regulator, asked four years ago whether they should be considered systemically important.That label matters. In a post-crisis world, systemically important banks and insurers are more closely supervised and must hold more capital . Too big to fail is a bank concept. Were not a bank, argued Fink and other big US managers such as Vanguard. After an intense lobbying effort, they won. The FSB backed off, opting instead to improve its monitoring of their activities to ensure markets could not suddenly seize up. The victory was crucial: for the likes of BlackRock, it meant there is no extra regulatory penalty for becoming even bigger.But the episode illustrated where future threats could emerge. When you are as big in a sector as BlackRock is, the key risks to your sector arent really your competitors, says one lobbyist. The biggest risk comes from public policy and regulation policy. Who better to have advising you than a former G7 finance minister?That is one context in which to place Osbornes arrival. BlackRock is big, immensely successful and acutely aware of the need to stay in touch with political and regulatory thinking. At 650,000 a year, the services of a former chancellor represent small change for a company that made profits last year of $4.5bn (3.6bn). So, yes, through BlackRocks narrow lens, hes probably worth it.Yet the potential for conflicts of interest are enormous. Here is just one obvious example: BlackRock owns about 10% of AstraZeneca, the pharmaceutical firm at the centre of a political storm when US rival Pfizer launched an unsuccessful 69bn bid in 2014 . If, for example, BlackRock had wished the takeover to go ahead, who better to have on board to assess the potential political reaction and advise on ways around it than the former chancellor?Add in the fact that the same man is now editor of the Evening Standard - the Citys evening newspaper - and his influence is magnified further. When deals that can generate profits measured in hundreds of millions are on the table, Osbornes 650k is a mere trifle.Facebook Twitter Pinterest George Osborne visits the AstraZeneca site in Cheshire. BlackRock owns 10% of Astrazenca Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA BlackRock by numbersBlackRock has a stake in every FTSE 100 company, worth a total of 145bnThat means it owns nearly 8% of the UKs leading share indexIts investment in the FTSE 100 accounts for around 3.5% of its total assets of 4trnIts biggest stake by value is its 9bn investment in HSBC, its smallest a 9.3m shareholding in medical group ConvatecOther shareholdings worth more than 5bn are AstraZeneca, British American Tobacco, GlaxoSmithKline, and the two classes of Royal Dutch Shell shares.In percentage terms, its top holdings are Next (nearly 14%), BHP Billiton (13.29%), information group Relx (12.88%), Land Securities (12.46%), building materials group CRH (12.46%), cruise company Carnival (12.19%), gold miner Randgold Resource (nearly 12%), easyJet (11.83%), technology group Johnson Matthey (11.83%), and Severn Trent (11.55%).It is the biggest shareholder in more than half of the FTSE 100s companies: Ashtead, Aviva, AstraZeneca, British American Tobacco, British Land, BHP Billiton, BP, Burberry, Centrica, Compass, Croda, CRH, Diageo, Direct Line, Experian, GKN, GlaxoSmithKline, Hammerson, HSBC, 3i, Imperial Brands, Intertek, Johnson Matthey, Kingfisher, Land Securities, Legal & General, Lloyds Banking Group, London Stock Exchange, Marks & Spencer, Mondi, National Grid, Next, Persimmon, Royal Dutch Shell A and B shares, Relx, Royal Mail, Randgold Resources, Sage, Shire, St Jamess Place, Standard Life, Smiths Group, Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, Smith & Nephew, Severn Trent, Tesco, Unilever, Vodafone, Worldpay, and WPP.(Source: Thomson Reuters)Its joint venture infrastructure investments include a business park at Heathrow, windfarms bought from Centrica, solar farms in Derbyshire and Essex and a 75m loan to Trafford Housing TrustTopics George Osborne House of Commons Sovereign wealth funds Private equity Executive pay and bonuses features '|'theguardian.com'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/all'|'https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/apr/06/why-worlds-largest-fund-manager-paying-george-osborne-650000-pounds'|'2017-04-06T21:42:00.000+03:00' +'32806618fc9332373154ec2e3203a76667479a93'|'A Formula 1 team is 3D printing race car parts 11,'|'A racecar with no driver behind the wheel Formula 1 race cars need to be constantly tweaked -- parts need to be replaced and swapped out to help cars perform at top speed. But getting each of these specialized parts can take weeks. Now, one team is using 3D printing for an edge. McLaren Racing Limited is using 3D printers to modify the parts on its race car. Replacing a rear wing took just a week and a half instead of the five weeks it would have taken with traditional methods. "It''s important to gain as many small improvements to the car''s performance as quickly as we can," Neil Oatley, design and development director of McLaren Racing Limited told CNNTech. "If it allows us to bring a part to [the track] one race earlier or two races earlier, that''s a gain that accumulates throughout the season and allows us to have a higher performance level." McLaren is using about a dozen 3D printers from Stratasys, mostly in its office outside London. The team also travels to races with one. So far, they''ve used 3D printing to create more than 50 parts. To replace the wing, the team designed and printed a new one out of plastic. The wing is next wrapped in carbon fiber. In the last step, the wing''s plastic interior is dissolved, leaving the wing ready for racing. Related: College students race pods in Hyperloop competition The company''s ultimate goal is to print parts out of carbon fiber, so that they can be immediately put on a car at the race site, according to Andy Middleton, a president at Stratasys. Eventually, a 3D printer in the team''s pit stop might deliver finished parts. The team''s engineers could then even more rapidly create and experiment with parts. That would mean a lot more speed on the track, and perhaps, more victories. CNNMoney (Washington) 11, 2017: 1:18 PM ET'|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_technology.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/04/11/technology/formula-1-3d-printing/index.html'|'2017-04-11T21:18:00.000+03:00' +'5fb543fe67423bcd99bbe6add69f5f8de92ae751'|'Akzo Nobel unveils plan to separate chemicals arm, pay special dividend'|'By Toby Sterling - AMSTERDAM AMSTERDAM Akzo Nobel ( AKZO.AS ), the Dutch paint maker trying to fend off a 24.6 billion euro ($26 billion) takeover by U.S. rival PPG Industries Inc ( PPG.N ), on Wednesday fleshed out its alternative plan to separate its chemicals business and pay shareholders 1.6 billion euros in extra dividends this year.Setting out its strategy to investors in London, Akzo said it would sell or list the business, which accounts for about a third of sales and profits, within 12 months. Analysts have valued the division at roughly worth 8 billion euros, based on its 2016 operating profit of 629 million euros."This strategy will create substantial value for shareholders with significantly less risks and uncertainties compared to alternatives," said Akzo Chief Executive Ton Buechner.Buechner said that the company, whose brands include Dulux paint, may use proceeds of the spin-off to fund acquisitions, but the "vast majority" would be returned directly to shareholders.Akzo has twice rejected takeover proposals from Pittsburgh-based PPG, despite strong encouragement from many of its shareholders to engage in merger talks.Investors and analysts have largely been skeptical of whether Akzo''s alternative plan can rival PPG''s proposed offer of 90 euros per share in terms of value. Akzo shares gained 1 percent to 79.08 euros by 1050 GMT.COST CUTSWhile PPG has said it sees merger synergies of at least $750 million, Akzo said on Wednesday it would cut costs by 200 million euros in 2017, of which 50 million would result from the separation of chemicals.The company, which employs around 46,000 people, declined comment on possible job losses resulting from its plans.Buechner set a new target for Akzo''s operating margin to improve to 15 percent by 2020 from 12 percent at present.Buechner said the company''s paints and coatings divisions will each grow at 4 percent annually on the strength of its global brands such as Dulux, one percentage point better than the market.At the chemicals division to be disposed, the company said it would increase operating profit, as measured by earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT), and before incidental costs, by 250 million euros by 2020 and another 200 million euros by 2022.Earlier on Wednesday, Akzo reported better than expected first quarter earnings and forecast a 100 million euro increase in operating profit for the full year.Akzo has argued that PPG''s bid does not adequately address concerns of other stakeholders, including employees.Buechner said the company has not yet decided whether it will agree to a request by a significant number of shareholders to hold an extraordinary general meeting to debate and vote on the dismissal of Chairman Antony Burgmans.Under Dutch law, shareholders representing 10 percent of a public company''s shareholder base have the right to summon such a meeting, though they may need to petition a judge if the company refuses.(Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Susan Fenton/Keith Weir)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-akzo-nobel-m-a-ppg-inds-idINKBN17L0JK'|'2017-04-19T04:34:00.000+03:00' +'49ad36be9d23043ec9db174c5fec186674876788'|'Unilever promises cash to shareholders after rebuffing Kraft approach'|'Deals - Thu Apr 6, 2017 - 12:55pm BST Unilever promises cash to shareholders after rebuffing Kraft approach left right FILE PHOTO: The company logo for Unilever is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., February 17, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: An employee of PT Unilever Indonesia shows Pepsodent tooth paste at Foodmart Fresh supermarket in Jakarta, Indonesia, October 31, 2016. REUTERS/Beawiharta/File Photo 2/2 By Martinne Geller - LONDON LONDON Unilever ( ULVR.L ) ( UNc.AS ) promised a multi-billion euro program of shareholder rewards on Thursday after a corporate rethink sparked by a takeover approach from Kraft Heinz ( KHC.O ), aiming to prove it can generate lucrative returns as an independent company. Under a restructuring sparked by the rebuffed $143 billion offer by its U.S. rival, the maker of Dove soap and Knorr soup set out an accelerated cost-saving plan, the sale of its Flora to Stork spreads business where sales are declining, and a review of its dual-headed Anglo-Dutch structure. Unilever will also splash out 5 billion euros ($5.3 billion) on a share buyback and raise its dividend 12 percent this year. Unilever, one of Europe''s biggest blue-chip stocks, called the Kraft episode a "trigger moment" to assess its business, as the global packaged goods industry faces slowing growth and greater competition. Some analysts had speculated it would split into two in a dramatic strategy reversal, but executives said the current strategy was working while needing to be speeded up. "We need to accelerate our plans to unlock further value faster, and this was brought home to us by the events of February," Chief Executive Paul Polman said. "There is no doubt that however ... opportunistic it (the Kraft approach) was, it did raise expectations," Polman said. "We are absolutely determined to use it as an opportunity to place Unilever on an even stronger footing." Unilever executives said their strategy of long-term steady growth had found support in talks they had held with investors including all of the group''s top 50 shareholders. STRONG POSITION GAM fund manager Ali Miremadi, who manages two worldwide equity funds that are 2.5 percent invested in Unilever shares, said the announcement was in line with expectations. "They''re not stretching here, and nor should they. They''re in a very strong position and this is hopefully a sign they''re going to be a bit leaner and more shareholder-focused," Miremadi said, adding Unilever should be able to deliver the premium Kraft was offering or more over the next four or five years. Unilever''s London-listed shares, which hit a record 4,088 pence in recent weeks ahead of Thursday''s announcement, were up 1.3 percent at 3,989p by 1036 GMT, outperforming the FTSE 100 .FTSE which was down 0.4 percent. The group said it would speed up a cost-savings plan, targeting a 20 percent underlying operating margin, before restructuring expenses, by 2020, up from 16.4 percent on the same basis in 2016. The company previously forecast 4 billion euros of savings from 2017 to 2019 and has raised that to 6 billion. That includes doubling the savings target within brand and marketing investments to 2 billion euros and increasing supply chain savings from 3 billion euros to 4 billion. About two thirds of these savings are to be reinvested in the business. It also sees 3.5 billion of restructuring costs over the three years. Pitkethly told Reuters that much of the margin improvement would come from the food business, which it plans to combine with the refreshment business, which includes Ben & Jerry''s ice cream and Lipton tea. SHARE BUYBACK Unilever also said it would take on more debt, at least in part to finance acquisitions, targeting net debt of two times core earnings or EBITDA. Its leverage ratio has been below one time for more than half of the past 20 years, Jefferies analysts have said. "Some had speculated Unilever could go to three times to free up even more cash, but its remaining fairly conservative," said Neil Wilson, senior market analyst at ETX Capital in London. "The move ought to deter speculative bids such as that of Kraft Heinz. Unilever was vulnerable to a takeover exactly because its been so free of debt." Polman also signaled the company might be interested in the food brands being sold by Reckitt Benckiser ( RB.L ), saying it would have to decide what position to take. The group will launch a share buyback this year of 5 billion euros having not had a buyback program in place since 2008. Pitkethly said Unilever would consider combining its dual-headed structure - in Britain and the Netherlands - into one, in order to make future large-scale transactions easier. It said a review on the matter would be finished by the end of the year and would not be impacted by Brexit. The recent review has shown us that it can add complexity to structural portfolio change, Pitkethly said. Regarding the margarine and spreads business, one of its founding businesses, Pitkethly said it was already seeing a lot of interest, particularly from financial players such as private equity firms. The company stood by its 2017 sales target of growth of between 3 and 5 percent, supported by brand and marketing investment of about 30 billion euros over the period to 2020. It said its margin would grow by at least 80 basis points this year. (Editing by Greg Mahlich and David Holmes) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-unilever-review-idUKKBN1780TV'|'2017-04-06T20:34:00.000+03:00' +'41dfed3520e939bff77261f50947154ace5b0a77'|'Takata rescue talks extended, even as bankruptcy risk looms'|'By Taiga Uranaka and Maki Shiraki - TOKYO, April 14 TOKYO, April 14 Potential rescuers of Japan''s Takata Corp have extended talks, already in their 14th month, for a deal to take over the air bag maker at the heart of the auto industry''s biggest safety recall, people briefed on the process said.Car-parts maker Key Safety Systems Inc (KSS) and Bain Capital LLC are the preferred bidder for Takata, whose faulty air bags have been blamed for at least 16 deaths worldwide.Discussions that include the steering committee tapped by the air bag maker to oversee the search for a financial sponsor, automaker clients, suitors and bankers are now likely to run on until at least end-May, three people told Reuters.The parties have already moved beyond an informal, self-imposed end-March deadline to thrash out a deal.Recent talks, described by two participants as chaotic, have focused on issues such as an indemnity agreement to cover reimbursement costs for air bag recalls, estimated to be as high as $10 billion.KSS, a U.S.-based maker of air bags, seatbelts and steering wheels, and Bain, a U.S. private equity fund, are still conducting due diligence, one of those close to the matter said.Another said KSS - which was bought last year by China''s Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp - and Bain plan to offer around 200 billion yen ($1.8 billion) for Takata.A spokesman for Takata and the steering committee declined to comment. A spokeswoman for KSS also declined to comment.Automakers including Honda Motor Co, which have been footing the bill for recalls dating back to 2008, want Takata restructured through a transparent court-ordered process such as bankruptcy, which would wipe out the firm''s shareholder value, four automaker sources have told Reuters."There''s no other option," said one automaker executive. "A privately arranged restructuring would require them to repay billions. They can''t afford that."But Takata, the world''s second-biggest air bag maker, is holding out for a private restructuring that would preserve some of the founding Takada familys 60 percent stake.BATTERED REPUTATIONThe clock is ticking for Takata, whose stock has cratered 90 percent since the recall crisis began escalating in early 2014.U.S. federal Judge George Steeh in February cited the potential for Takata to collapse if it couldnt find a buyer.Takata pleaded guilty in Steehs District Court to a felony charge as part of a $1 billion settlement with automakers and victims of its inflators, which can explode with excessive force, blasting shrapnel into passenger areas.The company, which began as a textiles firm and became an early maker of seatbelts, is also trying to settle legal liabilities in the United States, where it faces a class-action lawsuit, and other countries where its air bag inflators have exploded.Takata has denied speculation it would have to seek some form of bankruptcy protection from creditors in the United States or Japan.The company has not been allowed to simply disappear as the auto industry needs it to keep producing the millions of inflators needed to replace recalled air bags - though some automakers have switched to rival suppliers.Also, the government in Tokyo is keen to preserve a major Japanese maker of air bags in a global industry dominated by just three companies.($1 = 108.8300 yen) (Additional reporting by, Taro Fuse, Naomi Tajitsu and Junko Fujita; Editing by William Mallard and Ian Geoghegan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/takata-restructuring-idINL8N1HA098'|'2017-04-14T13:56:00.000+03:00' +'2fb290c79104b8326b97996ed0a2deb81e1d3009'|'''We''ve become good friends'': carpooling eases drudgery of commuting - Guardian Sustainable Business'|'Louise Stephen used to be one of the millions of commuters in the UK spending hours every day bored and alone in the car. For the past few years the biologist has driven daily from Edinburgh to the outskirts of Glasgow, where she works at a cancer research institute.I was stuck in traffic on the motorway one day, looking at all the other drivers sitting without passengers, says the 31-year-old. And I thought, This is ridiculous there must be a better way of doing this.I was thinking about the environmental impact of so many empty cars, but I was also thinking how mind-numbingly bored I was. So I thought it would be good to start sharing the journey with someone else.Driverless cars will make our roads safer, says Oxbotica co-founder Read moreStephen contacted Cara Jardine, a fellow Edinburgh-to-Glasgow commuter, using Liftshare , the UKs largest carpooling network, which runs a website and app connecting drivers and passengers. The pair now share petrol costs and spend the hour-long journey in Stephens car talking about politics, favourite podcasts and tips for running half-marathons.Weve become good friends, says Jardine, 33. She reckons she saves at least 2,500 a year by carpooling, compared with her main alternative the train. The train is just so busy and expensive, so this is a better option for me. Its pleasant and fun.As well as helping commuters save money, carpooling advocates argue it could play a big role in alleviating some of the countrys transport pressures and easing air pollution from roads.The potential for this is huge, says Ali Clabburn, founder and CEO of Liftshare. Trains are full, buses are full the transport system is struggling to cope with the numbers. But there are millions of nearly empty cars that could accommodate more people.A puzzling British reluctance Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that 15.3 million people in England and Wales drive themselves to work each day in cars and vans, while only 1.4 million go to work as passengers in those vehicles. That works out at an occupancy rate of around 1.1 person per vehicle.So whats stopping more commuters from sharing a ride? Is the renowned British reserve, a fear of small talk with strangers, holding people back from arranging a carpool?BlaBlaCar , the largest online carpooling network in Europe, boasts 40 million members around the world, with 4 million people using the service each month. But last year its CEO, Nicolas Brusson, said the Paris-based company had defocused efforts in the UK, blaming a puzzling British reluctance to share a car journey with a stranger.Clabburn dismisses the idea that Brits are too shy or socially awkward to carpool as nonsense. He launched his own service back in 1998 after arranging a lift from Bristol to Norwich on a student union noticeboard. I became good mates with the guy who gave me a lift and Im still good mates with him, he says.He concedes that carpooling is barely scratching the surface in the UK, but sees it as an issue of education. We need to make more people aware of the option and let them know its easy to find people they have something in common with, he says.For some people sitting together in silence is totally fine, or playing the radio is fine, or letting other people have a snooze is fine, adds Clabburn. But many people who give lift sharing a go find its interesting to have a chat and get to know people.What if Uber kills off public transport rather than cars? Read more Someone to whinge withAlthough it is starting from a low baseline, enthusiasm for ride-sharing is growing, says Clabburn, citing Peter Kays sitcom Car Share and James Cordens Carpool Karaoke as factors driving interest. Liftshare, which is run as a not-for-profit social enterprise, now has more than 500,000 active members in the UK and facilitates over one million shared journeys each month.Uber, which offers discounted shared journeys for users in London through UberPool , is also upbeat about the approach. Although some people have complained that picking up multiple passengers is too much hassle , Uber says around 400,000 people have used the service at least once in the past three months and that it plans to expand it to other British cities.Car sharing is not only great for peoples wallets, its also good for tackling congestion and emissions, says Jo Bertram, regional general manager for Uber in the UK. We want to get more people into fewer cars and persuade more people to ditch their own vehicle.Yet some experts think that if were serious about ditching cars, more than persuasion will be needed: transport policy will have to stop privileging motorists.Carpooling wont make a significant difference to reducing car use on its own, says Steve Melia, senior lecturer in transport and planning at UWE Bristol. Its possible to reduce car use, but sticks rather than carrots make the biggest difference - measures on fuel tax, the amount of road building, planning decisions about parking.If youre prepared to make it more difficult to travel by car, people have a right to expect good alternatives, whether through better public transport, or easier ways to walk or cycle.Regardless of the transport method they use, almost a quarter of British commuters find travelling to work stressful, according to a recent survey. One of the best arguments for carpooling may be that it gives people the chance to share some of the strain, rather than suffering in silence.We do tend to whinge about the government and stuff going on in the news quite a lot, says Edinburgh carpool driver Stephen. But its nice to have someone to have a whinge with.Sign up to be a Guardian Sustainable Business member and get more stories like this direct to your inbox every week. You can also f ollow us on Twitter .Topics Guardian sustainable business Transport Automotive industry Uber Sharing economy Share '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/apr/26/carpooling-commuting-car-share-liftshare-uber'|'2017-04-26T14:30:00.000+03:00' +'1d842b4dafe614a8d718dc89ed4cc2a1563cef46'|'BRIEF-Vine Resources files for IPO of up to $500 mln for co''s class A common stock'|'April 10 (Reuters) -* Vine Resources Inc files for ipo of up to $500 million for co''s class a common stock - sec filing* Vine Resources Inc says have applied to list class a common stock on the new york stock exchange under the symbol vri"* Vine Resources Inc says credit suisse, morgan stanley are underwriters to ipo* Vine Resources Inc - IPO price estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee Source text - bit.ly/2oSornV'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/brief-vine-resources-files-for-ipo-of-up-idINFWN1HI0MR'|'2017-04-10T19:38:00.000+03:00' +'357d499d7b4ce773b272ddfa41dc11df3b3fbedc'|'CEE MARKETS-Fx ease, bonds firm on weaker data, crown positions concern'|'* Crown joins forint, zloty easing, Czech central bank eyed * Bond yields at multi-month lows after CPI, PMI, retail data * Inflation may soon enter retreat phase, help to bonds-trader By Sandor Peto BUDAPEST, April 4 Central European currencies eased and bonds extended gains on Tuesday after a batch of weaker-than-expected economic data and expectations that the Czech central bank (CNB) will get rid of its cap on the crown currency''s value soon. The crown, the zloty and the forint eased in tandem by about 0.1 percent against the euro. The crown traded at 27.095 at 0805 GMT. Its easing is unusual as it has traded near 27 for most of the past three-and-a-half years, after the CNB launched a cap at that level to fight deflation risks. Its commitment to keep the weak crown regime expired on Friday and now it can remove the cap any time. Speculation for a crown rise led to heavy crown buying in the past months, but fears that the currency has become overbought has lifted volatility in crown markets. "There is a nervous mood in the market. Nobody knows when the central bank will decide (on the end of the intervention regime)," one dealer said. "The central bank is still sitting around the 27.02 level. I don''t think they are buying at higher levels." Some foreign investors may have even sold Czech government bonds and reinvested their money in Budapest and Warsaw in the past weeks, traders have said. Czech bonds were mixed on Tuesday, while Polish and Hungarian papers extended their yields. Poland''s 10-year bond yield touched 4-month lows a shade below 3.4 percent. Expectations for a retreat in inflation in the region helped bonds, one trader said. Poland was the first in the region to publish March inflation data and the 2 percent annual figure published on Friday was below analysts'' 2.3 percent forecast. Monday''s Czech, Hungarian and Polish PMI manufacturing index figures for March showed steady economic growth, but were below expectations. Hungary''s statistics office said on Tuesday that the annual rise in retail sales slowed to 1.2 percent in February from 3.8 percent in January. "We do not change our economic growth forecast, but negative risks seem to strengthen," said Peter Virovacz, analyst of ING in Budapest about the data in a note. Central European stock markets were mostly range-bound. The stocks of Hungarian power distributor Elmu jumped more than 4 percent to 25,900 forints ($89.36) after its board proposed paying 1,500 forint/share dividend on 2016 earnings. 7 basis CEE SNAPS AT 1005 points t MARKETS HOT CET CURRENCIES Lates Previ Daily Chang t ous e bid close chang in e 2017 Czech crown 27.09 27.06 -0.11 -0.32 50 60 % % Hungary 308.8 308.5 -0.10 0.01% forint 000 050 % Polish 4.247 4.245 -0.05 3.67% zloty 8 8 % Romanian 4.545 4.548 +0.0 -0.22 leu 0 3 7% % Croatian 7.426 7.428 +0.0 1.74% kuna 0 5 3% Serbian 123.6 123.7 +0.0 -0.24 dinar 500 300 6% % Note: daily calculate previ close 1800 change d from ous at CET STOCK S Lates Previ Daily Chang t ous e close chang in e 2017 Prague 983.3 985.2 -0.18 +6.7 8 0 % 0% Budapest 31898 31788 +0.3 -0.33 .46 .40 5% % Warsaw 2224. 2219. +0.2 +14. 65 88 1% 21% Bucharest 8152. 8155. -0.04 +15. 77 65 % 07% Ljubljana 771.9 775.4 -0.45 +7.5 1 1 % 7% Zagreb 2028. 2035. -0.34 +1.6 32 31 % 8% Belgrade <.BELEX15 726.0 730.0 -0.56 +1.2 > 0 7 % 0% Sofia 634.6 633.1 +0.2 +8.2 2 3 4% 2% BONDS Yield Yield Sprea Daily d (bid) chang vs chang e Bund e in Czech sprea Republic d 2-year 3 bps s 5-year bps s 10-year 9 bps Poland 2-year E! E! s 5-year E! 8 E! s 10-year E! E! s FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M inter bank Czech Rep < 0.28 0.31 0.34 0 PRIBOR=> Hungary < 0.2 0.25 0.35 0.18 BUBOR=> Poland < 1.77 1.77 1.81 1.73 WIBOR=> Note: FRA are for Quote: s ask prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets-idINL5N1HC1LF'|'2017-04-04T07:29:00.000+03:00' +'dcc85147b59e5ab69530aa72be468bc443f63fdd'|'Unilever to sell off Flora and Stork in shakeup after Kraft Heinz bid - Business'|'Unilever has put its margarine division, which makes Flora and Stork, up for sale, as it shakes up its business after fending off a $143bn (115bn) takeover bid from US rival Kraft Heinz .The Anglo-Dutch consumer groups underperforming spreads business could fetch up to 6bn in a sale, according to analysts. Private equity firms including CVC and Bain Capital are reportedly circling the division and Kraft could also be interested.Announcing the outcome of a strategic review, Unilever chief executive Paul Polman said: After a long history in Unilever , we have decided that the future of the spreads business now lies outside the group.Unilever owns a raft of household name products, including Dove soap, Ben & Jerrys ice cream, Persil washing powder and Marmite. Polman told BBC Radio 4s Today programme that the margarine business was a declining segment that could be better managed by others. Referring to the Kraft bid, he said that the events of the last few weeks have pointed out that we have opportunities to drive further value in the business.Unilever also announced a 5bn (4.3bn) share buyback and 12% dividend hike this year, in a bid to to placate shareholders angered by its rejection of the Kraft bid in February. It will review its historic status as a dual-listed company in the UK and the Netherlands; combine its food and refreshments operations into one unit; and speed up its cost-savings plan, aiming for a 20% margin by 2020.At the time of the Kraft bid, Polman called for more help from the government to protect national champions such as Unilever .Neil Wilson, a senior market analyst at spread betting firm ETX Capital, said: The Kraft Heinz bid was a massive wake-up call. Unilever realised it needed to do more for shareholders but it also has to improve margins the appeal of Krafts bid was being able to squeeze far higher margins out of the business bribes alone wont work. The test is whether it can achieve underlying operating margin of 20% by 2020 while growing the business in emerging markets. That will generate long-term loyalty better than share buybacks.Topics Unilever Food & drink industry news '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/unilever/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/apr/06/unilever-flora-stork-kraft-heinz-bid'|'2017-04-06T16:59:00.000+03:00' +'9787463cca1caa787eb516c47f57959d8904b866'|'Henkel to keep looking for acquisitions: CEO'|'DUESSELDORF, Germany German consumer goods group Henkel ( HNKG_p.DE ) will keep looking for acquisitions to bolster its business, its new chief executive said on Thursday."We want to complement our portfolio and strengthen our position in attractive markets via targeted acquisitions," Hans Van Bylen told shareholders at the group''s annual general meeting.Henkel last month made a binding offer to buy Darex Packaging Technologies from GCP Applied Technologies ( GCP.N ) for $1.05 billion (0.84 billion pounds).(Reporting by Matthias Inverardi; Writing by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Arno Schuetze)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-henkel-kgaa-strategy-idINKBN1780W3'|'2017-04-06T06:39:00.000+03:00' +'ef73c4e4b4c9a61eb5f80aece35cd871a378934c'|'EU clears ChemChina takeover of Syngenta with conditions'|'Deals 36am BST EU clears ChemChina takeover of Syngenta with conditions left right FILE PHOTO: Syngenta''s logo is seen at Syngenta Biotech Center in Beijing, China, February 19, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: The company logo of China National Chemical Corp, or ChemChina, is seen at its headquarters in Beijing, China February 3, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo 2/2 By Foo Yun Chee - BRUSSELS BRUSSELS ChemChina [CNNCC.UL] won EU antitrust approval on Wednesday for its $43 billion bid for Swiss pesticides and seeds group Syngenta ( SYNN.S ), a crucial deal that could help China boost its domestic agricultural output. The deal, the largest foreign acquisition by a Chinese company, is one of several that is reshaping the international market for agricultural chemicals, seeds and fertilizers even as they trigger fears among farmers that the pipeline for new herbicides and pesticides might slow. Reuters reported on Feb. 2 that the deal would be cleared with conditions. The European Commission said the asset sales addressed its competition concerns. "It is important for European farmers and ultimately consumers that there will be effective competition in pesticide markets, also after ChemChina''s acquisition of Syngenta," European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement. Syngenta shares were trading up 1.5 percent after the EU''s antitrust clearance was announced. ChemChina will sell a large chunk of its subsidiary Adama''s pesticide, herbicides and insecticides business, its seed treatment products for cereals and sugar beet and a substantial part of its plant growth regulator business for cereals. Some of Syngenta''s pesticides will also be put on the block. World No. 1 pesticides maker Syngenta sells its products in more than 90 countries under such brand names as Acuron, Axial, Beacon and Callisto. It sells seeds such as cereals, corn, rice, soybeans and vegetables. U.S. antitrust authorities nodded the deal through on Tuesday on condition that ChemChina divest three products. The EU approval came a week after it cleared the $130 billion Dow Chemical ( DOW.N ) and DuPont ( DD.N ) merger in return for hefty asset sales including global research and development facilities. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Philip Blenkinsop) Next In Deals JAB Holding to buy bakery chain Panera Bread in $7.5 billion deal JAB Holdings, the owner of Caribou Coffee and Peet''s Coffee & Tea, said on Wednesday it would buy U.S. bakery chain Panera Bread Co in a deal valued at about $7.5 billion, including debt, as it expands its coffee and breakfast empire.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-syngenta-ag-m-a-chemchina-eu-idUKKBN17714T'|'2017-04-05T18:15:00.000+03:00' +'5b84871903b67422eed86893fde9a353e2ec3f4a'|'Asking prices for homes rise to record average of 313,655 - Money'|'The housing market continues to defy fears of a post-referendum slump after sellers asking prices hit a new record high of more than 313,000 on average in April.Across England and Wales, the average price tag on a property being put on the market increased by 3,547 or 1.1% month-on-month to reach 313,655.Estate agents struggling to find homes to sell, says report Read moreThe figures were released by property website Rightmove, whose records go back to 2002. It said the average asking price in April surpassed a previous high of 310,471 reached in June 2016.Some economists have forecast static prices this year of 2% at most in response to a squeeze on disposable incomes from rising inflation and slowing wages growth. But others have argued the failure to increase the housing stock will keep prices increasing at nearer 5%.Rightmove said strong numbers of house sales being agreed at levels not seen since before the credit crunch have helped to keep pushing asking prices upwards.Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove, said there were signs of a strong spring market, which should help to offset any jitters in the market before the general election on 8 June.The first-time buyer sector was driving the price increases , Rightmove said, after changes to previously generous tax rules deterred buy-to-let investors from competing for similar homes.Asking prices in this market are up by 6.5% year-on-year, with the typical price tag on a first-time property one with up to two bedrooms now at a record high of 194,881.Across all sectors, asking prices are up by 2.2% year-on-year across England and Wales. Rightmove said the annual pace of asking price growth had generally slowed and was now at its lowest since April 2013.The Guardian view on house prices: the government lacks the political will to fix the broken market - Editorial Read moreLondon and the north-east were the only regions in the study where average asking prices were lower than a year ago. In the capital they were downl 1.5% annually, at 636,777 on average, while in the north-east they were down 0.7%, at an average of 150,350.Eastern England has seen the strongest growth over the last year, with a 5.3% uplift taking the average property price there to 349,269.The West Midlands reported the next strongest, with a 5% increase pushing average prices to 215,784. In Wales, they were up by 4% year-on-year to reach 186,172 on average.Shipside said the number of sales being agreed was the highest for this time of year since 2007.Last year, the chancellor gave a years notice of phased reductions in tax benefits for buy-let-investors . First-time buyers appear to have been the main beneficiary, though a higher rate of stamp duty on second homes, which came into effect this month, also had the effect of spurring sales to people from purchasing an additional property.Shipside said: Strong buyer activity this month has led to 10% higher numbers of sales agreed than in the same period in 2016. This large year-on-year disparity should be viewed cautiously as the comparable timespan in 2016 saw a drop in buy-to-let activity with the additional second home stamp duty.But he said the figures for agreed sales were also up by 3.8% when compared with two years ago. With the growth in household numbers and new-build supply struggling to keep pace, demand is strong and has led to the highest sales agreed numbers at this time of year since the heady pre-credit crunch levels, he said.Topics House prices Property Construction industry Economics Share '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/apr/24/asking-prices-for-homes-rise-to-record-average-of-313655'|'2017-04-24T15:00:00.000+03:00' +'41b6667f6ae220161cbf0f90b32e9202fa140a5a'|'A Buddhist tycoon: Chinas HNA Group goes on a global shopping spree'|'NOW it is a conglomerate with more than $100bn-worth of assets around the world. But HNA Group started life as a small local airline. Chen Feng, the Chinese companys founder, led a coalition including private investors and the government of Hainan, a southern province, to launch Hainan Airlines in 1993.Despite some help from the local government, the upstart firm was an outsider then. The central government chose three big state-run airlines to receive favoured landing slots, lavish subsidies and other advantages. The scrappy Mr Chen was undeterred. With $25m in early funding from George Soros, an American billionaire, he carved out a profitable niche. an hour 3 4 8 10 hours ago See all updates Since then, HNA has grown quickly, mainly through acquisitions. It reported revenues of 600bn yuan ($90bn) last year. In 2016 it acquired a 25% stake in Americas Hilton Worldwide for $6.5bn and paid $10bn for the aircraft-leasing division of CIT Group, a New York-based financial firm. This week it bid nearly $1bn for Singapores CWT, a logistics company.Most deals have been in industries adjacent to its core business, such as travel, tourism and logistics. But some recent purchases have raised eyebrows for being more distant. It spent $6bn last year on Ingram Micro, an information-technology outfit based in California. Money has also gone into Deutsche Bank. It is rumoured to be bidding for Forbes , an American magazine. Some people suspect that these deals chime with Chinas industrial policy more than HNAs own corporate logic.Yet HNA is not a classic state-owned enterprise. The Hainan government retains a big stake in it, but HNA has traits that distinguish it from state-owned enterprises, which tend to be sclerotic and run by bureaucratic grey men.It has adopted professional management practices. Mr Chen has trained his employees in Six Sigma, a management method popularised by Jack Welch, a former boss of General Electric, to eliminate waste; and in a financial methodology that scrutinises investments for economic value added. Hainan Airlines is considered the best Chinese airline. Mr Chen, a Buddhist scholar, has also imprinted traditional Chinese philosophies onto the companys culture. When it takes over a firm he leads new executives in a recitation of HNAs core values, which include love and devotion. HNA typically does not fire the top brass at firms it acquires, nor does it force big lay-offs.Mr Chen certainly seems skilful at managing the Chinese authorities. HNA is presenting this weeks bid for CWT as part of President Xi Jinpings One Belt, One Road geopolitical strategy, for example. It is clever to play the political card given that the state is tightening control of outbound investment, which could hamper the companys style, notes a Chinese business expert. A clampdown on foreign deals by Chinese regulators, who are worried about capital outflows, has led to the cancellation of dozens of announced acquisitions by Chinese firms.But HNA is having no trouble getting the money and approval to do lots of big dealsit has spent over $40bn on acquisitions in the past three years. Indeed, Mr Chen appears to have the advantages of a state firm, including cheap access to capital, without the disadvantages, such as officials telling him how to run his company, says a seasoned China hand. In this, he reckons, HNA is becoming a lot like Huawei, a telecoms-equipment firm. Mr Chen should be flattered by the comparison to one of the countrys most successful multinationals. But he should also recall that a backlash against Huaweis perceived closeness to Chinas leadership led to its blacklisting by Americas government. "A Buddhist tycoon"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21720674-its-investments-range-hilton-worldwide-deutsche-bank-chinas-hna-group-goes-global?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-04-12T22:51:00.000+03:00' +'88b8b43cf6b5d4ec27264f547c62dfe18ff43bb6'|'BRIEF-MHP S.A. announces invitation to purchase notes for cash'|' 44am EDT BRIEF-MHP S.A. announces invitation to purchase notes for cash April 18 MHP SA SANTIAGO, April 18 A supervisor at the Salvador copper mine owned by Chile''s Codelco died in an accident on Tuesday, causing the state-owned company to suspend operations at its concentrator plant there. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-mhp-sa-announces-invitation-to-pur-idUSASA09J0J'|'2017-04-18T21:44:00.000+03:00' +'660e1e3dc494a51c60d7009ec762aaa102cfc403'|'U.S.-based non-domestic stock funds attract $1.5 bln in week -Lipper'|'Funds News - Thu Apr 20, 2017 - 5:57pm EDT U.S.-based non-domestic stock funds attract $1.5 bln in week -Lipper NEW YORK, April 20 Investors poured $1.5 billion into U.S.-based funds that invest in non-domestic stocks during the latest week, Lipper data showed on Thursday, marking the fifth straight week of inflows. The data, which covers the seven days through April 19, comes days ahead of a presidential election in France that is being closely watched by markets. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Chris Reese) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/mutualfunds-lipper-idUSN9N18002O'|'2017-04-21T05:57:00.000+03:00' +'699a13713e60890af17ae419456c8d155013d82f'|'China says trademarks registered equally as Ivanka Trump gets more approved'|'Business News - Wed Apr 19, 2017 - 10:38am BST China says trademarks registered equally as Ivanka Trump gets more approved Ivanka Trump attends a CEO town hall on the American business climate at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, U.S., April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque BEIJING China''s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday the government equally handles applications to register trademarks, following a report that the company of the daughter of U.S. President Donald Trump has had new trademarks approved in China. The Associated Press reported that since Trump took office on Jan. 20, Ivanka Trump''s Ivanka Trump Marks LLC has won provisional approval from China for at least five new trademarks, adding to 16 already registered and more than 30 pending applications. The report said that on April 6, when President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping were meeting in Florida, Ivanka Trump''s firm won provisional approval from China for three new trademarks, covering jewellery, bags and spa services. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang, asked about the report, said there was nothing untoward. "We consistently follow the principle of equally protecting the legal trademark rights of trademark owners of foreign companies and handle the process of relevant trademark registration in accordance with the law and rules," he told a daily news briefing. AP cited a statement from a spokesperson for the Ivanka Trump brand as saying that all 2017 Chinese trademarks were defensive, aimed at preventing counterfeiters or squatters from using her name. China has also granted preliminary approval for 38 trademarks linked to Donald Trump, giving the U.S. president and his family protection were they to develop the "Trump" brand in the market. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Robert Birsel)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-usa-trump-trademark-idUKKBN17L11Y'|'2017-04-19T17:38:00.000+03:00' +'b7a0b0b41fd07c049459b2d8829cf1f5c4136fd3'|'Lloyds Banking Group to close 100 branches and cut over 325 jobs'|' 16pm BST Lloyds Banking Group to close 100 branches and cut over 325 jobs A sign is seen outside a branch of Lloyds Bank in central London February 3, 2014. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor LONDON Lloyds Banking Group ( LLOY.L ) plans to close a further 100 branches resulting in the loss of over 325 jobs, the bank said on Wednesday, as part of a strategy to reduce costs. Britain''s biggest mortgage lender said the branch cuts were part of 200 closures announced last July, and the move was in response to changing customer behaviour towards making more online transactions. The Lloyds group has more than 2,000 branches across the United Kingdom, and approximately 75,000 employees, according to its website. The trade union Unite condemned the closures, which it said would affect 54 Lloyds branches, 22 Halifax branches and 24 Bank of Scotland branches. "The continuous stream of branch closures announced by the UK''s retail bank branches appears to show no signs of ending," said Rob MacGregor, Unite national officer. Lloyds earlier this week announced it would reduce some branches to just two staff with tablet computers, in response to fewer customers visiting high street sites and increasingly banking online. The new smaller branches will not have counters, with customers paying in cash and cheques through self-service machines and talking to mortgage advisers through video links. This comes as Lloyds is poised to pass a significant milestone in its recovery from the financial crisis after the government sold more shares in the lender this week and the bank expected to return to private hands next month. A report by lawmakers last month warned Britain''s poor and vulnerable people were hardest hit by bank branch closures, echoing a report by Reuters last June that showed banks were disproportionately closing branches in the lowest-income areas while expanding in wealthier ones. (Reporting by Andrew MacAskill and Lawrence White; Editing by Mark Potter) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lloyds-jobs-idUKKBN1771CL'|'2017-04-05T19:16:00.000+03:00' +'2c67d9b66cdfff7f58b42f6a88f70e38961be810'|'Shell says it knew some payments for Nigeria oilfield would go to Malabu'|' 12:25pm BST Shell says it knew some payments for Nigeria oilfield would go to Malabu Staff members work at the booth of Royal Dutch Shell at Gastech, the world''s biggest expo for the gas industry, in Chiba, Japan, April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai By Libby George - LONDON LONDON Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) has said it knew that some of the payments it made to Nigeria for the rights to an oilfield would go to Malabu Oil and Gas, a company associated with a former Nigerian oil minister and convicted money launderer. Shell spokesman Andy Norman said the group had known the Nigerian government "would compensate Malabu to settle its claim on the block". Shell previously had said only that its payments from the 2011 deal went to the Nigerian government. In an email to Reuters, Norman said that while Shell knew that former oil minister Dan Etete was "involved" with Malabu, it had not confirmed that he controlled the company. Etete was convicted of money laundering in a separate case in France in 2007. Attempts by Reuters to contact Etete have been unsuccessful. "Over time it became clear to us that Etete was involved in Malabu and that the only way to resolve the impasse through a negotiated settlement was to engage with Etete and Malabu, whether we liked it or not," Norman said. Norman added that the company believes the settlement was a fully legal transaction with the Nigerian government. The statement comes amid mounting pressure over the deal, in which Shell and Italy''s Eni ( ENI.MI ) paid $1.3 billion (1.04 billion pounds) for the rights to offshore block OPL 245, which industry estimates say could hold more than 9 billion barrels of oil. Courts in Nigeria and Italy are investigating the purchase of the block. Italian prosecutors have asked for Eni chief Claudio Descalzi to be sent to trial in correction with the case. Eni has said neither the company nor Descalzi were involved in any allegedly illicit conduct. A Nigerian court ordered the asset temporarily seized in January at the request of the country''s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, but the move was overturned. (Additional reporting by Alexis Akwagyiram in Lagos, Stephen Jewkes in Milan and Karolin Schaps in London; Editing by Dale Hudson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-shell-nigeria-idUKKBN17D1AS'|'2017-04-11T19:25:00.000+03:00' +'597f5d1be43e9417ed32105780e5980dc1751cb4'|'Las Vegas sports gambler Walters convicted of insider trading'|'U.S. - Fri Apr 7, 2017 - 2:24pm EDT Las Vegas sports gambler Walters convicted of insider trading FILE PHOTO: Professional sports gambler William ''''Billy'''' Walters departs Federal Court after a hearing in Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S., July 29, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo NEW YORK Famed Las Vegas sports gambler William "Billy" Walters was convicted on Friday of charges that he made more than $40 million through an insider trading scheme that prosecutors said involved a stock tip to star professional golfer Phil Mickelson. Walters, who built a fortune as one of the most successful sports bettors in the United States, was found guilty by a federal jury in Manhattan on all 10 counts he faced, including securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy. (Reporting By Nate Raymond and Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-insidertrading-walters-idUSKBN1792T7'|'2017-04-08T02:24:00.000+03:00' +'503820daf4efbfe8c46d169ea5e40ea1b7e39657'|'U.S. 5-year note sold at lowest yield since November'|'NEW YORK, April 26 The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday sold $34 billion in five-year government debt to soft investor demand for a yield of 1.875 percent, the lowest at a five-year note auction since November, Treasury data showed.The Treasury awarded investment funds, foreign central banks and other indirect bidders 57.29 percent of the latest five-year note offering, which was their smallest award since last July. (Reporting by Richard Leong, editing by G Crosse)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-auction-5year-idINL1N1HY1FK'|'2017-04-26T15:13:00.000+03:00' +'93139bdc51e9f621b540b30c710db36ba106ad53'|'Unilever picks Morgan Stanley and Goldman to sell spreads business - sources'|' 12:59pm BST Unilever picks Morgan Stanley and Goldman to sell spreads business - sources The logo of the Unilever group is seen at the Miko factory in Saint-Dizier, France, May 4, 2016. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/File Photo By Pamela Barbaglia and Martinne Geller - LONDON LONDON Anglo-Dutch consumer group Unilever ( ULVR.L ) has decided to work with Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs on the sale of its margarine and spreads business, which was announced last week, sources told Reuters on Thursday. The sale, which could fetch as much as 6 billion pounds, is expected to kick off later this year, the sources said, following a far-reaching review of Unilever''s business prompted by February''s unsolicited $143 billion takeover offer from Kraft Heinz ( KHC.O ). Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are mainly targeting private equity bidders which could team up in large consortia to finance the bid, said the sources, who declined to be identified as the process is private. Unilever and Morgan Stanley declined to comment while Goldman Sachs was not immediately available to comment. Goldman and Morgan Stanley have both worked with Unilever on deals in the past. Morgan Stanley worked on Unilever''s defence against Kraft. Unilever said last week that it planned to sell the spreads business by year-end, but would also prepare it for a spin-off if a sale could not be completed. (Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-unilever-m-a-spreads-idUKKBN17F1GJ'|'2017-04-13T19:59:00.000+03:00' +'ecbe6123483c081b6d967cb36801d912ebca881d'|'Norway''s sovereign fund backs Credit Suisse executive pay'|' 55am EDT Norway''s sovereign fund backs Credit Suisse executive pay OSLO, April 18 Norway''s $915 billion sovereign wealth fund, the world''s largest, will vote in favour of Credit Suisse''s planned payouts to senior managers following a recent bonus cut, the fund said in a statement on Tuesday. "The board has listened to shareholder concerns related to remuneration resolutions ... Norges Bank Investment Management welcomes the announcement made by the board on 13 April regarding a revision of executive remuneration," the fund added. Shareholder advisory service Glass Lewis separately said on Tuesday the concessions offered by Credit Suisse were "too little too late". (Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Camilla Knudsen)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/credit-suisse-gp-agm-norway-idUSO9N1GM01R'|'2017-04-18T21:55:00.000+03:00' +'5b6e5f4a6420b891b023ad622dcfc272adcbad57'|'Sterling slips ahead of statement by UK prime minister'|'FRB 34am EDT Sterling slips ahead of statement by May A pile of one pound coins is seen in a photo illustration shot June 17, 2008. REUTERS/Toby Melville/Illustration/File Photo LONDON Sterling fell by almost a cent against the dollar on Tuesday after British Prime Minister Theresa May''s office said she would make a statement outside Downing Street at 10.15 GMT. Sterling fell as low as $1.2515 from around $1.26 as investors awaited the statement, which follows media reports that some senior Conservatives favour calling an early parliamentary election. It earlier hit a three-week high of $1.2608. The pound also hit the day''s low of 85.11 pence per euro, having earlier touched an eight-week high. It is unusual for leaders to make a statement outside Number 10 Downing Street and most prime ministers only use the setting for major announcements. Her office gave no indication on the subject of Tuesday''s statement. Britain''s FTSE pared losses slightly, last down 1 percent, after sterling dipped to a day''s low. Its majority foreign-earning constituents tend to gain when sterling is weak. British government bonds extended gains, with yields on 10-year debt falling to their lowest since mid-October at 1.007 percent by 0927 GMT, more than 3 basis points down on the day. (Reporting by Jemima Kelly, Patrick Graham, David Milliken and Helen Reid)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-sterling-open-idUSKBN17K0UI'|'2017-04-18T17:33:00.000+03:00' +'87a49bd160e15312ad359798f2970668a823af9d'|'Aramco board to meet in Shanghai as it seeks Chinese investors for IPO'|'Business News 53pm BST Aramco board to meet in Shanghai as it seeks Chinese investors for IPO FILE PHOTO: The Logo of Saudi Aramco is seen at the 20th Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference (MOES 2017) in Manama, Bahrain, March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo DUBAI Saudi Aramco''s board will meet in China in May for the first time in seven years, industry sources said, as the state-owned energy firm seeks to lure Chinese and Asian investors to its giant share offering. The board of directors would gather in Shanghai on May 10 to discuss the firm''s business plans, investments and preparations to sell up to 5 percent of Aramco in 2018, the sources said. An annual report of the company''s activities for the previous year is usually issued after the board meeting. The board, which gathers twice a year, often meets abroad but only once before had a meeting in China, in 2010. Aramco has appointed international banks with access to Chinese investors to advise on the initial public offering (IPO). The issue of Aramco''s IPO and a potential role for Chinese investors was discussed last month during the visit by Saudi Arabia''s King Salman to Beijing, sources said. The IPO could generate up to $100 billion and give Aramco an overall valuation of $2 trillion, the biggest ever. "Chinese participation in Aramco''s IPO would be very logical and strategic," said Sadad al-Husseini an energy analyst and former Aramco executive. Saudi officials have said Chinese companies were interested in investing in the Aramco IPO as Beijing seeks to secure crude supplies from the worlds biggest oil exporter. "There is a serious push from Aramco for Chinese investors to become cornerstone investors in the IPO," an industry source said. A second source said talks were at an early stage and any Chinese investment in Aramco would likely be in coordination with the Beijing government. Aramco is likely to be listed on the Saudi stock exchange in Riyadh and on one or more international markets. The kingdom is considering exchanges in New York, London, Toronto and Asia. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China International Holdings, a unit of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China ( 601398.SS ), and China International Capital Corporation (CICC) are among Chinese banks pitching for a role in the IPO, sources familiar with the matter have told Reuters. Chinese participation in the IPO could strengthen Riyadh''s hand in other Chinese investment decisions, the sources said. Aramco has been in talks for years to invest in refineries in China so it can sell more of its crude to China. Those plans have yet to progress. The board, which often tours Aramco''s investments where they meet, also comes before the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries gathers in Vienna on May 25 to decide on output policy. An OPEC-led pact to cut supplies ends in June. The nine-member board includes Saudi Energy Minister and Aramco Chairman Khalid al-Falih, Minister of State Ibrahim al-Assaf, Aramco CEO Amin Nasser, Public Investment Fund Managing Director Yasir al-Rumayyan and royal court adviser Majid al-Moneef. It also includes former Royal Dutch Shell Chairman Mark Moody-Stuart and former Schlumberger head Andrew Gould. (Reporting by Reem Shamseddine in Khobar, Rania El Gamal in Dubai and Aizhu Chen in Beijing; Editing by Dmitry Zhdannikov and Edmund Blair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-saudi-aramco-board-china-idUKKBN17C19V'|'2017-04-10T19:53:00.000+03:00' +'68dd92bd16655743393295afb15506eb70975657'|'Burberry sales growth slows as U.S. weighs on group'|'Business News 7:53am BST Burberry sales growth slows as U.S. weighs on group left right A detail of a handbag is seen at a Burberry store in central London, Britain, July 15, 2015. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo 1/2 left right A kitchen staff member stands outside a boutique of the Burberry luxury goods company in Beijing, China, December 1, 2016. Picture taken December 1, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Peter 2/2 LONDON British luxury brand Burberry ( BRBY.L ) reported a slight slowdown in its fourth-quarter comparable sales growth rate, as tough conditions in the United States weighed on an "exceptional" performance in its home market. Known for its classic trench coats, Burberry has benefited from tourists taking advantage of a drop in the value of the pound since the Brexit vote in June to buy luxury goods in the British capital rather than other European cities. Burberry said the British market remained strong and it reiterated its full-year profit target, helped by the boost from the weak pound. But comparable sales growth rose just 2 percent in the fourth quarter, below an analyst forecast of 3-4 percent growth, and below a third-quarter rise of 3 percent. "In an uncertain environment, we continue to take action to strengthen the brand and reposition Burberry for growth," Christopher Bailey, chief creative and executive officer, said. "While we have more to do, as we build on our progress so far, we remain confident about Burberry''s prospects in the longer term." Comparable sales in the second half of the year rose 3 percent, with strength in mainland China driving growth in Asia Pacific and an "exceptional" performance in the UK boosting its Europe, Middle East, India and Africa division. Sales in the Americas fell by a "mid single-digit" percentage, where the market has turned highly promotional, while important markets including Hong Kong and Korea also declined. It said it was on track to deliver planned cost savings of 20 million pounds in full-year 2017, which would increase to at least 100 million pounds a year in full-year 2019. (Reporting by Kate Holton, editing by James Davey and Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-burberry-outlook-idUKKBN17L0I7'|'2017-04-19T14:53:00.000+03:00' +'0b90c483306d4706046e62baaa99a53b4835fea9'|'CEE MARKETS-Stocks, fx mostly rebound'|' 29am EDT CEE MARKETS-Stocks, fx mostly rebound * Prague stocks buck CEE rise as Moneta trades ex-div * Daimler earnings, dollar retreat cause some improvement in mood * Geopolitical concerns may return * Hungarian bonds firm, still helped by Tuesday''s CPI data By Sandor Peto BUDAPEST, April 12 Central European currencies and equities mostly firmed on Wednesday as investors took a breath after selling risky assets in recent weeks due to geopolitical worries. Market participants were split as to whether sentiment towards emerging markets had actually improved, or the selling had merely lost some steam. A surge in the profit of German auto maker Daimler , which has a big Mercedes-Benz production plant in Hungary, improved the mood across European stock markets, said Monika Kiss, analyst at Equilor Brokerage in Budapest. The dollar, whose strength against the euro has also weighed on Central European currencies in recent weeks, has also retreated slightly this week. "I would say one-off factors are causing today''s relief rather than a sentiment change," Kiss said, adding that geopolitical risks could continue to cast a shadow on markets in the region and in the world. A Budapest-based fixed income trader saw a slight improvement in risk sentiment and said worries that France''s far-right may win the upcoming presidential election there seemed to have eased somewhat. "Remaining worries seem to have shifted towards others (emerging markets)... while Central Europe looks a bit decoupled," the trader added. The forint and the zloty firmed 0.1 percent against the euro in morning trade, rebounding from a one-month and a one-week low touched on Tuesday. The crown stood slightly weaker against the euro at 26.681, off morning lows, taking a respite after increased volatility since the Czech central bank removed its cap at 27, letting it firm after a rise in inflation in the past months. Prague''s stock index fell 0.9 percent, while other regional stock indices mostly rose or were flat. The decline was down to one share, Moneta Bank, which shed more than 8 percent to hit its lowest level since January as it traded ex-dividend. A rise in the stocks of OTP Bank and pharmaceuticals company Richter helped Budapest''s index gain 0.7 percent. Hungarian government bond yields dropped by a few basis points, with 10-year paper trading at 3.28 percent, down 2 basis points. Hungarian debt got some help, and the forint came under some pressure, from lower-than-expected 2.7 percent annual inflation reported on Tuesday. The central bank is expected to confirm its loose policy stance in the minutes of its March rate-setting meeting which it is due to publish at 1200 GMT. Department head Judit Varhegyi told state television M1 on Wednesday that the bank expected a slowdown in inflation in the coming months. CEE SNAPS AT 1026 MARKETS HOT CET CURRENCIES Lates Previ Daily Chang t ous e bid close chang in e 2017 Czech crown 26.68 26.66 -0.07 1.22% 10 10 % Hungary 311.7 312.0 +0.1 -0.93 forint 200 650 1% % Polish 4.248 4.251 +0.0 3.65% zloty 8 5 6% Romanian 4.513 4.515 +0.0 0.48% leu 5 1 4% Croatian 7.431 7.428 -0.03 1.67% kuna 0 5 % Serbian 123.6 123.7 +0.1 -0.22 dinar 200 550 1% % Note: daily calculate previ close 1800 change d from ous at CET STOCK S Lates Previ Daily Chang t ous e close chang in e 2017 Prague 984.5 992.9 -0.85 +6.8 0 5 % 2% Budapest 32438 32199 +0.7 +1.3 .86 .15 4% 6% Warsaw 2223. 2221. +0.0 +14. 11 82 6% 13% Bucharest 8211. 8200. +0.1 +15. 40 18 4% 90% Ljubljana 781.7 781.1 +0.0 +8.9 2 5 7% 4% Zagreb 1918. 1939. -1.11 -3.85 11 72 % % Belgrade <.BELEX15 736.3 734.0 +0.3 +2.6 > 9 0 3% 5% Sofia 658.5 656.4 +0.3 +12. 9 5 3% 30% BONDS Yield Yield Sprea Daily d (bid) chang vs chang e Bund e in Czech sprea Republic d 2-year 2 bps s 5-year bps s 10-year bps s Poland 2-year bps s 5-year bps s 10-year bps s FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M inter bank Czech Rep < 0.3 0.34 0.44 0 PRIBOR=> Hungary < 0.2 0.26 0.33 0.16 BUBOR=> Poland < 1.75 1.78 1.81 1.73 WIBOR=> Note: FRA are for quotes ask prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets-idUSL8N1HK1VQ'|'2017-04-12T17:29:00.000+03:00' +'8ade1ed0d5e6a247174246a05cecfcb866d96f72'|'Exclusive: U.S. regulator removes top examiner for Wells Fargo - sources'|'By Patrick Rucker - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The most senior bank examiner for Wells Fargo & Co ( WFC.N ) has been removed by a U.S. regulator in the wake of the bank''s unauthorised accounts scandal, people familiar with the matter told Reuters this week.The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the lead regulator for national banks, stripped the examiner, Bradley Linskens, of his supervisory powers within the last two weeks, said three sources, who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.Linskens did not immediately respond to requests for comment. OCC spokesman Bryan Hubbard declined to comment.Wells Fargo''s board is expected to release a report on Monday detailing what went wrong at the fourth-largest U.S. bank, according to sources familiar with the matter. The bank and its board both declined to comment.In September, Wells Fargo reached a $190 million settlement with the OCC and other regulators over its opening millions of accounts in customers'' names without their permission. At the time, the bank said as many as 2 million accounts were affected, but has since said the number might be larger.The report is the result of a seven-month investigation by Wells Fargo''s board of directors into how and why the sales abuses happened. Thousands of employees were dismissed over the matter, and several have publicly said they opened the fake accounts to hit aggressive sales targets set by managers.Wells Fargo now faces probes from other government agencies including the Department of Justice, which is investigating whether any laws were broken.Linskens was responsible for day-to-day supervision of Wells Fargo and managed a staff of more than 60 people, according to past notices from the OCC. He joined the OCC in 1993 and earliest oversight of Wells Fargo began in 2006.In 2016, Linskens was honoured with the title "senior national bank examiner" and received accolades in a news release from Comptroller Thomas Curry, who runs the OCC.In September, Curry ordered an internal review of how the OCC handled the Wells Fargo matter and whether the agency has "gaps in our supervision."That review is drawing to a close, said an OCC official.(Reporting by Patrick Rucker; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/wells-fargo-accounts-examiner-idINKBN1792XP'|'2017-04-07T17:28:00.000+03:00' +'733ba0b6a542882b90e1915e67149c3b48b97b2d'|'BRIEF-RealPage Inc amends credit agreement'|' 40pm EDT BRIEF-RealPage Inc amends credit agreement April 4 RealPage Inc * RealPage Inc - on April 3, 2017, co entered into fourth amendment to credit agreement - sec filing * RealPage Inc - amendment amends certain terms of RealPage Inc ''s credit agreement, dated as of september 30, 2014 * RealPage Inc -Amendment to provide for additional pricing tier for interest rates, fees if co''s consolidated net leverage ratio equals or exceeds 4.00 to 1.00 Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-realpage-inc-amends-credit-agreeme-idUSFWN1HC0MB'|'2017-04-05T04:40:00.000+03:00' +'dcc6e242801e60dd7fe2135d06f49146cc977e0e'|'Barclays bosss spy act is a funny old business - Business'|'Say what you like about Barclays American boss Jes Staley (please, knock yourself out) but dont assume hes a stereotypical Wall Streeter with an underdeveloped sense of irony.Staley has, of course, landed himself in the soup over his attempts to unmask an internal whistleblower , who was supposedly saying mean things about a close pal and colleague. That resulted in an official warning for Staley earlier this month but a more charitable interpretation might be that the bungling spymaster act was merely a satirical homage to the old Barclaycard ads featuring Rowan Atkinsons incompetent MI7 spook, Latham.You remember the sort of thing: an earnest Latham tries to show off his espionage skills, only to accidentally shoot himself in the scrotum with a tranquilliser pen. Or the one where our hero tries to buy a carpet by haggling with a trader in local dialect: You sound fluent, sir. We are both fluent, Bough; sadly in different languages.So, by that reading, Staleys efforts were not the shameful trampling over whistleblower protocols they originally appeared to be. Instead, they were a cruelly misunderstood and affectionate comic tribute to a vintage period of the banks advertising. Please remember that when he faces the City for the first time since being publicly disgraced, at Barclayss quarterly results this week.HSBC duo face final curtainApart from those numbers from Barclays , we have a slew of other banking events this week among them an annual general meeting at HSBC, where the banks board is about to undergo significant change, partly because its time, and partly due to a row with those pesky proxy groups.Firstly, this will be chairman Douglas Flints final AGM although that is hardly a shock as he announced his departure a year ago.Secondly, it is farewell to non-executive director Paul Walsh, who has been pressured by proxy voting groups including ISS and Glass Lewis into stepping down because of over-boarding allegations.Before you ask, thats not a euphemism for something that happens to whistleblowers at black sites in Panama. Instead its all about Walsh enjoying too many other directorships to concentrate on HSBC .The worlds local bank had argued that this point did not apply to Walsh, as he did not hold a position of enough influence at HSBC which inevitably lead to a paraphrasing of a classic Brian Clough question: if youre not influential, what are you doing on the effin board? Answer: he wont be.Tough medicine for AstraZeneca boss They say that there is nothing new under the sun a point made by both Ecclesiastes and the City, and routinely reinforced by this column.So it will prove again this week when the drugs group AstraZeneca holds its annual general meeting, where tradition (and possibly the companys constitution) dictates that there will be a tasty little scrap over executive pay.Youll recall how in the so-called shareholder spring of 2012, then Astra boss David Brennan was ousted after a row over his 9m package, which hed combined with a touch of underperformance but the pay narrative has remained pretty constant since, no matter whos been the boss.This year should prove to be another re-run, with Pirc opposing both the groups remuneration report and policy describing the latter as a method to promote excessive payouts.Pirc continues: The ratio of CEO to average employee pay has been estimated and is found unacceptable at 152:1. The balance of CEO realised pay with financial performance is not considered acceptable as the change in CEO total pay over five years is not commensurate with the change in TSR [total shareholder return] over the same period.A developing story, then (which we might hear again and again).Topics Barclays Observer business agenda Banking HSBC AstraZeneca Advertising comment '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/apr/23/barclays-boss-whistleblowing-debacle'|'2017-04-23T15:00:00.000+03:00' +'f74504233438d1cd2761ab27c4c8ae3a6863c371'|'Court ruling leaves Macquarie as preferred bidder for Green Investment Bank'|'Business News - Fri Apr 7, 2017 - 8:31pm BST Court ruling leaves Macquarie as preferred bidder for Green Investment Bank The logo of Australia''s biggest investment bank Macquarie Group Ltd adorns a door to their Sydney office headquarters in Australia, October 28, 2016. REUTERS/FILE/David Gray By Dasha Afanasieva - LONDON LONDON Australian investment bank Macquarie ( MQG.AX ) looked set to acquire Britain''s Green Investment Bank (GIB) after a court rejected the claim of a rival bidder on Friday. The British government set up GIB, which backs green projects with public funds, in 2012 as a commercial venture to spur private sector investment in green projects. It has invested more than 2 billion pounds ($2.5 billion) in projects such as offshore wind farms and waste management. The government decided to sell a majority stake in 2015, saying it would give the bank greater freedom to borrow, removing state aid restrictions, and allow it to attract more capital. Some British lawmakers have opposed a sale to Macquarie, worried that it could lead to job losses. Competing bidder Sustainable Development Capital (SDCL) said in a statement that it had lost a judicial review in the High Court on Friday, having argued against the government awarding the preferred bidder status to "another party", which bankers said was Macquarie. "Meanwhile the preferred bidder''s offer remains to be signed some six months later, though the government told the court that it was now in a position to sign a binding agreement with the preferred bidder," SDCL''s Chief Executive Jonathan Maxwell said in the statement. Macquarie, which says it has invested 8.5 billion pounds in renewable energy projects since 2010, declined to comment. A spokeswoman for the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy welcomed the ruling but declined to comment further because of the commercial sensitivity of the process. "As we have said, any government decision on the sale of the Green Investment Bank will be driven by what best achieves our objectives, including continued investment in the green economy and a sale which is in the best interests of the taxpayer." ($1 = 0.8070 pounds)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-gib-court-idUKKBN1792XV'|'2017-04-08T03:31:00.000+03:00' +'30219695bc9fcf9edb177b976ffb451f08f6670e'|'Fresenius snaps up Akorn, Merck KGaA''s biosimilars in separate deals'|'Deals - Tue Apr 25, 2017 - 4:17am EDT Fresenius picks up M&A pace with Akorn, Merck KGaA deals FILE PHOTO: The Fresenius SE headquarters are pictured in Bad Homburg near Frankfurt, Germany February 22, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski By Ludwig Burger - FRANKFURT FRANKFURT German healthcare group Fresenius SE & Co KGaA ( FREG.DE ) has stepped up its dealmaking, agreeing to buy U.S. generic drugmaker Akorn Inc ( AKRX.O ) for $4.75 billion (4.37 billion euros) and the biosimilars arm of Germany''s Merck KGaA. Takeovers were part of Fresenius''s growth strategy under previous boss Ulf Mark Schneider, now leading Nestle ( NESN.S ). But his successor, former finance chief Stephan Sturm, is lifting the pace, having already bought a Spanish hospital chain for 5.8 billion euros since taking over in June. The latest deals are in keeping with Fresenius''s focus on drugs that have lost patent protection, but also mark a foray into new dosage forms, therapeutic areas and biotech drugs for its Kabi unit, a maker of generic infusion drugs as well as tube feeding and blood transfusion equipment. Akorn will add products such as medical creams, ophthalmic drugs, oral liquids, ear drops, nasal sprays and respiratory drugs, where competition is relatively benign compared with standard pills and tablets. "We are putting Fresenius Kabi on track for an even more broadly based and strong sustainable growth beyond the current decade," said Sturm. The separate deal with Merck KGaA MRKG.DE marks an entry into "biosimilar" copies of complex biologic drugs made from living cells, which Fresenius has previously shunned. "We''ve always said the regulatory environment would have to clear up before we invest in biosimilars. A lot has been done in that area in the recent past," Sturm added. Reuters earlier on Monday reported Fresenius was close to acquiring Akorn. In a deal that has the backing of Akorn''s management and its largest shareholder, Fresenius will pay $34 per share and take on Akorn''s net debt of about $450 million for a total price tag of $4.75 billion, Fresenius said late on Monday. It will be financed by a broad mix of euro- and dollar-denominated debt instruments. Berenberg analyst Tom Jones said the price tag of 12.4 times Akorn''s core earnings (adjusted EBITDA) estimate for 2017 should not "give anyone any great cause for concern". He flagged some risks related to Akorn''s older drugs that might draw scrutiny from U.S. healthcare regulators but was reassured by the buyer''s "long history of doing M&A, and doing it relatively well". Fresenius shares were up 0.9 percent at 0750 GMT (3.50 am ET), broadly in line with the European healthcare index .SXDP. For the Merck deal, Fresenius will pay an initial 170 million euros and up to 500 million in milestone payments tied to the achievement of drug development targets as none of Merck''s biosimilar drugs have been launched yet. Merck also stands to receive single-digit percentage royalties on sales. Fresenius said it expected first revenues toward the end of 2019. It also said it was prepared to spend and invest up to 1.4 billion euros to build up the new business through 2022, including the upfront and milestone payments to Merck. Fresenius, with a market capitalization of more than 40 billion euros, runs businesses ranging from kidney dialysis and drug manufacturing to hospital management. Group net debt as a multiple of core earnings will temporarily increase to about 3.3 after both transactions but is expected to return to about 3 at the end of 2018. Fresenius has for years enjoyed low borrowing costs because of its diversified businesses in an industry largely immune to swings in the business cycle. The buyer''s main advisers on the Akorn deal were investment banks Credit Suisse ( CSGN.S ) and Moelis ( MC.N ), as well as law firm Allen & Overy. (Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Grant McCool and Mark Potter) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-akorn-m-a-fresenius-idUSKBN17Q29Q'|'2017-04-25T05:22:00.000+03:00' +'ec11f9c05eac82bd016eef06a663c182785ebb35'|'Telecomulonimbus: Cloudification will mean upheaval in telecoms'|'IN THE computing clouds, startups can set up new servers or acquire data storage with only a credit card and a few clicks of a mouse. Now imagine a world in which they could as quickly weave their own wireless network, perhaps to give users of a fleet of self-driving cars more bandwidth or to connect wireless sensors.As improbable as it sounds, this is the logical endpoint of a development that is picking up speed in the telecoms world. Networks are becoming as flexible as computing clouds: they are being turned into software and can be dialled up and down as needed. Such cloudification, as it is known, will probably create as much upheaval in the telecoms industry as it has done in information technology (IT). 6 9 hours 11 12 16 hours ago Foreign reserves 18 hours ago See all updates IT and telecoms differ in important respects. One is largely unregulated, the other overseen closely by government. Computing capacity is theoretically unlimited, unlike radio spectrum, which is hard to use efficiently. And telecoms networks are more deeply linked to the physical world. You cannot turn radio towers into software, says Bengt Nordstrom of Northstream, a consultancy.The data centres of big cloud-computing providers are packed with thousands of cheap servers, powered by standard processors. Telecoms networks, by contrast, are a collection of hundreds of different types of computers with specialised chips, each in charge of a different function, from text messaging to controlling antennae. It takes months, if not years, to set up a new service, let alone a new network.But powerful forces are pushing for change. On the technical side, the current way of building networks will hit a wall as traffic continues to grow rapidly. The next generation of wireless technologies, called 5G, requires more flexible networks. Yet the most important factor behind cloudification is economic, says Stphane Tral of IHS Markit, a market-research firm. Mobile operators badly need to cut costs, as the smartphone boom ends in many places and prices of mobile-service plans fall. The shift was evident at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February. Equipment-makers booths were plastered with diagrams depicting new technologies called NFV and SDN, which stand for network-functions virtualisation and software-defined networks. They turn specialised telecoms gear into software in a process called virtualisation.Many networks have already been virtualised at their core, the central high-capacity gear. But this is also starting to happen at the edges of networksthe antennae of a mobile network. These usually plug directly into nearby computers that control the radio signal. But some operators, such as SK Telecom in South Korea, have begun consolidating these baseband units in a central data centre. Alex Choi, SK Telecoms chief technology officer, wants radio to become the fourth component of cloud computing, after computing, storage and networking.Spin me up, AT&TThe carrier that has pushed cloudification furthest is AT&T, Americas largest operator. By the end of 2017 it wants to have more than half of its network virtualised. In areas where it has already upgraded its systems, it can now add to the network simply by downloading a piece of software. Instead of sending a technician, we can just spin up a virtual machine, says Andre Fuetsch, AT&Ts chief technology officer.Even more surprising for a firm with a reputation for caution, AT&T has released the program that manages the newly virtualised parts of its network as open-source software: the underlying recipe is now available free. If widely adopted, it will allow network operators to use cheaper off-the-shelf gearmuch as the rise of Linux, an open-source operating system, led to the commoditisation of hardware in data centres a decade ago.If equipment-makers are worried about all this, they are not letting it show. Many parts of a network will not get virtualised, argues Marcus Weldon, chief technology officer of Nokia. And there will always be a need for specialised hardware, such as processors able to handle data packets at ever faster speeds. Still, Nokia and other telecoms-gear-makers will have to adapt. They will make less money from hardware and related maintenance services, which currently form a big chunk of their revenues. At the same time, they will have to beef up their software business.Cloudification may also create an opening for newcomers. Both Affirmed Networks and Mavenir, two American firms, for instance, are developing software to run networks on off-the-shelf servers. Affirmed already claims 50 customers. Mavenir wants to work with underdog operators to bring the incumbents down, says Pardeep Kohli, its chief executive. If the history of cloud computing is any guide, the telecoms world may also see the rise of new players in the mould of Amazon Web Services (AWS), the e-commerce giants fast-growing cloud-computing arm.According to John Delaney of IDC, a research firm, the big barrier to cloudification is likely to be spectrum, which newcomers will still have to buy. But a clever entrepreneur may find ways to combine assetsunlicensed spectrum, fibre networks, computing powerto provide cheap mobile connectivity. Startups such as FreedomPop and Republic Wireless already offer Wi-Fi first mobile services, which send calls and data via Wi-Fi hotspots, using the mobile network as backup.As the case of AWS shows, a potential Amazon Telecoms Services does not have to spring from the telecoms world. Amazon itself is a candidate. But carmakers, operators of power grids and internet giants such as Facebook could have a go: they are huge consumers of connectivity and have built networks. Facebook, for instance, is behind the Telecom Infra Project, another effort to open the network infrastructure. However things shake out, expect the telecoms world to become much more fluid in the coming years, just like IT before it.This article appeared in the Business "Telecomulonimbus"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21720670-it-will-allow-startups-challenge-incumbent-operators-cloudification-will-mean-upheaval?fsrc=rss'|'2017-04-12T22:51:00.000+03:00' +'ab82fa1bbb2db72862a7eeadcac9027f2049803a'|'Royal Mail considers ways to replace pension plan after union backlash'|'Business News 2:27pm BST Royal Mail considers ways to replace pension plan after union backlash A Royal Mail postal van is parked outside homes in Maybury near Woking in southern England March 25, 2014. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor Britain''s Royal Mail is looking at ways to replace the final salary pension scheme it plans to scrap at the end of March 2018, after a backlash from unions including the threat of possible strike action. Royal Mail, the postal service privatised in 2013, said on Friday it was one of only a few major companies to still have staff in a defined benefit scheme, a type of pension that pays out according to workers'' final salary and length of service. The Communications Workers Union (CWU) opposes Royal Mail''s move to close the scheme and says it would result in employees in the plan losing on average up to a third of their future pensions. Around 90,000 Royal Mail workers are in the scheme, whose closure to new members in 2008 resulted in about 40,000 workers joining a less generous defined contribution plan. Royal Mail said among the options for those leaving the older scheme, it was considering a defined benefit cash balance scheme, where employees would receive a fixed sum at retirement plus payments based on the performance of a pension fund. Royal Mail said this built on a proposal put forward by the CWU. "We believe that the defined benefit cash balance scheme would be a fair proposal that compares favourably with the retirement benefits offered in our industry and by other large UK employers," the company said in a statement. British companies are facing increasing costs to fund pensions as people live longer and investment returns on bonds have fallen and are expected to remain low. At 1310 GMT, Royal Mail shares were down 3.7 percent at 403.6 pence. The new scheme would be set up in a new section of the company''s overall pension plan, with employees also having the option to join the defined contribution scheme, it said. Royal Mail said the cost of the new plan would be much lower than that required to maintain the current arrangement, which would have meant it more than doubling its annual contributions to over 1 billion pounds. The company currently pays around 400 million pounds a year into the defined benefit scheme, and a spokesman said the cost of the new proposed scheme would be similar. The company is continuing to hold talks with the CWU as well as unions Unite/CMA over its pension plan, it added. Unite said talks with Royal Mail over plans to close the defined benefit scheme were "complex and difficult." "...if we don''t achieve a satisfactory outcome, we can''t rule out an industrial action ballot," Brian Scott, the union''s officer for the Royal Mail said in an emailed statement. (Reporting by Esha Vaish and Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-royal-mail-pensions-idUKKBN17U1FP'|'2017-04-28T21:27:00.000+03:00' +'9319ab7e8155729a4aecad177b09fa59101330c1'|'BHP says cost of Elliott Advisors proposal would outweigh benefits'|'LONDON BHP Billiton ( BHP.AX ) ( BLT.L ) said on Monday the cost of a proposal from hedge fund manager Elliott Advisors to unlock shareholder value would outweigh any benefits.The plans would involve scrapping the mining giant''s dual corporate structure, demerging its oil business and rejigging its capital return policy. [L3N1HI3HI]"After reviewing the elements of Elliott''s proposal, we have concluded that the costs and associated risks of Elliott''s proposal would significantly outweigh any potential benefits," BHP said in a statement.(Reporting by Rahul B and Barbara Lewis; editing by Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-bhp-billiton-shareholders-statement-idUSKBN17C17A'|'2017-04-10T15:19:00.000+03:00' +'e146c5fec1313db06c8b8fd871d55ef82255ca89'|'Trump to order a study on abuses of U.S. trade agreements'|' 2:07am BST Trump to order a study on abuses of U.S. trade agreements left right FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are pictured in Geneva, Switzerland, April 12, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo 1/2 left right U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the National Rifle Association (NRA) Leadership Forum at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., April 28, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst 2/2 By Ayesha Rascoe - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Saturday seeking to identify any problems caused by the nation''s existing trade agreements, including an examination of U.S. involvement in the World Trade Organization, a top trade official said. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said his department would work to issue a report in 180 days outlining challenges with these trade deals and possible solutions. Ross singled out the World Trade Organization as an entity that may need to make some changes, although he cautioned that the administration had not made any decisions yet. "There''s always the potential for amending organization''s charters like the WTO, particularly when you''re in the position we are," he said. "We''re the number one importer in the whole world." Ross raised concerns that the WTO is too bureaucratic and does not hold meetings often enough. He also argued that the WTO has an "institutional bias" in favor of exporters and against countries that are being "beleaguered by inappropriate imports." Remaking U.S. trade relations has been a top priority for Trump, who has argued that the United States has been treated unfairly in international trade. Trump said on Thursday that he had been prepared to terminate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and Mexico, but backed off after calls from the leaders of those two countries. The effects of NAFTA on the U.S. economy will also be examined in the new study. Last month, Trump also issued an order calling for a major review of the causes of all U.S. trade deficits. (Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-trade-order-idUKKBN17V01Z'|'2017-04-29T09:06:00.000+03:00' +'96b1ed6e757d281870805f587b57ecd17d2064a7'|'Apple considering multi-billion dollar investment in Toshiba chip unit - NHK'|'Business News - Fri Apr 14, 2017 - 4:48am BST Apple considering multi-billion dollar investment in Toshiba chip unit - NHK The Apple logo is pictured on an iPhone in an illustration photo taken in Bordeaux, France, February 1, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau TOKYO Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) is considering investing at least several billion dollars in the chip business put up for sale by Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ), public broadcaster NHK reported, citing an unidentified source. Apple wants to take a stake of more than 20 percent in Toshiba''s chip business, while convincing Toshiba to maintain a partial stake to keep the business under U.S. and Japanese control to allay the Japanese government''s concerns, the report said. Apple is considering a plan in which Taiwan''s Foxconn ( 2317.TW ) would also own a stake of around 30 percent in its bid, it added. Toshiba is now in the process of selling its memory chip unit to raise cash to cover writedowns at U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse that have plunged it into crisis. (Reporting by Junko Fujita, Tim Kelly and Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting-apple-idUKKBN17G08A'|'2017-04-14T11:48:00.000+03:00' +'00a9e30fe944dabad2a9ce560e4a5fe61cd9ba0c'|'Swiss stocks - Factors to watch on April 12'|' 14am EDT Swiss stocks - Factors to watch on April 12 ZURICH, April 12 The Swiss blue-chip SMI was seen opening 0.22 percent higher at 8,661 points on Wednesday, according to premarket indications by bank Julius Baer. The following are some of the main factors expected to affect Swiss stocks: SYNGENTA Mexico''s antitrust commission COFECE said on Tuesday it would condition its approval of ChemChina''s planned $43 billion takeover bid of Swiss pesticides and seeds group Syngenta AG. For more news, click SIKA Chairman Paul Haelg said on Wednesday he expects the hostile takeover attempt by French construction materials giant Saint-Gobain to be resolved by 2018. For more news, click BARRY CALLEBAUT The Swiss cocoa and chocolate manufacturer said first-half net profit rose 32 percent to 142.1 million Swiss francs ($141.08 million), beating analyst forecasts, as the company was helped by a good product and customer mix and a more supportive cocoa products market. Analysts surveyed by Reuters had expected net profit, on average, of 127 million francs. For more, click COMPANY STATEMENTS * Kuehne + Nagel said it had a memorandum of understanding with Alibaba.com on offering global logistics services to customers of the Chinese e-commerce company''s B2B business unit. * Molecular Partners said Christian Zahnd, co-founder and former CEO, for health reasons will not stand for re-election as member of board of directors and will instead become honorary chairman. * Edisun Power Europe AG said FY revenues were up 8 percent to 8.23 million francs. * Implenia said it won a nearly $100 million order in Sweden. * Galenica Sante said there was a full exercise of over-allotment option for its IPO. * Elina Leimgruber, mayor of Vevey, has been designated to represent the municipalities of Vaud canton on the board of directors of Romande Energie Holding, the company said, succeeding Laurent Ballif. * Inficon said its shareholders approved all the proposals made by the board of directors at its annual general meeting. * Zug Estates Holding AG said shareholders approved all proposals of the board of directors at its ordinary general meeting of shareholders. ECONOMY * Results from Swiss federal bond issues due around 0900 GMT. ($1 = 1.0072 Swiss francs) (Reporting by Zurich newsroom)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/markets-swiss-stocks-idUSL8N1HJ447'|'2017-04-12T14:14:00.000+03:00' +'d268d13e71b7718c14c1b7d20fbffa8628b888c8'|'China stocks fall as regulator moves to calm high spirits over new economic zone'|'SHANGHAI, April 10 China stocks fell on Monday with strong gains in listed companies that would benefit from the country''s new economic zone were offset by weakness in other sectors after the securities regulator vowed to punish stingy "iron roosters".The blue-chip CSI300 index fell 0.2 percent, to 0.00, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained!lost! XX percent to 0.00 points.Dozens of newly-listed stocks and counters expected to issue bonus shares instead of paying cash dividends were hard hit, plunging the maximum allowed 10 percent limit, after the nation''s top securities regulator urged listed companies to reward investors with cash dividends.On the other hand, investors, unfazed by regulator''s effort to cool speculative fever, continued to chase stocks related to Xiongan New Area, a recently announced new economic zone.More than 20 stocks related to new plan surged 10 percent for the fourth consecutive session in a row, with more participants rushing into the investment theme by selling elsewhere.The stock regulator has moved to cool speculative fever around plans to build a massive economic zone near Beijing, warning several listed companies against misleading investors with exagerated claims.Share prices in listed major insurers were largely flat, after news that the head of China''s insurance regulator was being investigated for "serious disciplinary violations" - a phrase that usually refers to corruption.Sectors were mixed. Gains were led by real estate stocks , while consumer and healthcare stocks dragged behind.Share prices in steelmaker Hesteel, developer China Fortune Land Development and infrastructure operator Beijing Capital shot up 10 percent for the fourth straight session, as those companies are widely seen benefiting from the future development of the Xiongan New Area. (Reporting by Luoyan Liu and John Ruwitch; Editing by Eric Meijer)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/china-stocks-close-idINL3N1HI2DL'|'2017-04-10T05:17:00.000+03:00' +'fe46f4041bfcb3b610b2b402d837cacf9cb67d10'|'Private equity firms have bid $22 billion for SCA hygiene unit-paper'|'STOCKHOLM A group of private equity companies have bid around 200 billion Swedish crowns ($22.26 billion) for the hygiene arm of tissue and forestry products firm SCA ( SCAb.ST ), daily Dagens Nyheter wrote on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources.SCA said last year it planned to split into two units."At least two private equity companies together have bid around 200 billion crowns for the hygiene unit," DN said.SCA hygiene business is the world''s largest maker of incontinence pads and No.2 in consumer tissues such as napkins and toilet paper. Its forestry arm produces paper, pulp and wood products.SCA could not immediately be reached by Reuters for a comment.(Reporting by Simon Johnson; Editing by Alison Williams)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-sweden-sca-idINKBN17E2O0'|'2017-04-12T18:18:00.000+03:00' +'da621a33549522ada25f7d6814a908967a054c1b'|'Credit Suisse enlarges syndicate underwriting its 4 billion Swiss franc rights offering'|' 38pm BST Credit Suisse enlarges syndicate underwriting its 4 billion Swiss franc rights offering The Credit Suisse logo is seen at the headquarters in downtown Milan, Italy, March 9, 2016. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini ZURICH Credit Suisse Group ( CSGN.S ) said on Thursday it had finalised the banking syndicate underwriting its 4 billion Swiss franc ($4 billion) rights offering, adding more banks to the list of participants. The banking syndicate has committed, subject to customary conditions, to firmly underwrite the new registered shares to be issued as part of the capital raising announced by the Zurich-based bank on Wednesday. The capital hike was announced after it ditched plans to raise money by listing part of its Swiss business and is aimed at getting its financial strength back on a par with rivals. Credit Suisse is acting as global coordinator for the rights offering, with Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley acting as joint lead managers and joint bookrunners. Banca IMI, Banco Santander, BBVA, BNP Paribas, BofA Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs International, HSBC, ING, JPMorgan, Natixis, RBC Capital Markets, Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking and UniCredit Bank AG are acting as joint bookrunners. ABN AMRO, Bank Vontobel, Commerzbank, Crdit Agricole CIB, KBC Securities, Mediobanca, Mizuho International plc, Rabobank, SMBC Nikko and Zuercher Kantonalbank are acting as co-lead managers, Credit Suisse said in a statement. (Reporting by John Revill, editing by David Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-credit-suisse-gp-syndicate-idUKKBN17T2U4'|'2017-04-28T02:38:00.000+03:00' +'79f817d194a2bdc3421a303d840c3604e9bec6fd'|'STMicro posts Q1 revenue jump for first time in six years'|'Company News - Thu Apr 27, 2017 - 1:34am EDT STMicro posts Q1 revenue jump for first time in six years FRANKFURT/PARIS, April 27 STMicroelectronics , Europe''s third largest semiconductor maker, on Thursday posted solid double-digit revenue growth fuelled by phone, automotive and industrial demand that marks a turnaround from six years of sales declines. The Franco-Italian-controlled diversified semiconductor forecast 5 percent growth in revenue for the current second quarter compared to the first quarter and around 12.3 percent year-to-year, and said it was on track to meet 2017 objectives. "The positive momentum we have had over the last quarters has continued entering 2017," said CEO Carlo Bozotti, who will remain in his position for one year after a long-running search for a chief executive replacement failed to yield a replacement. STMicro reported first-quarter net revenue of $1.821 billion (1.67 billion euros), a rise of 12.9 percent from the first period of 2015. The results were in line with the average forecast of $1.822 billion analysts expected, according to a Thomson Reuters poll. (1 euro = $1.0906) (Reporting By Eric Auchard; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/stmicroelectronics-results-idUSL8N1HZ0Y5'|'2017-04-27T13:34:00.000+03:00' +'b305d9013b172d944b31b6fe132566fe6d83c64a'|'Time for bosses to abandon corporate-speak and deplane into the real world - Business'|'United Airlines has been compared to Gerald Ratner after its extraordinary reaction to a passenger on one of its planes being dragged away with a bloodied face by security guards.Ratner, as a reminder, is responsible for probably the most famous PR gaffe of all time. He was chairman of the high street jewellery firm Ratners when during a speech in 1991 he described one of his products as total crap, saying that earrings sold by the business were cheaper than an M&S prawn sandwich but probably wouldnt last as long. After the speech the company nearly collapsed, and he was fired less than two years later.Uniteds disastrous week, however, was totally different from doing a Ratner, as the moment came to be described. While the jewellery bosss error lay in being outrageously frank and honest in his assessment of his company, United got into trouble because it did the exact opposite and slipped into corporate-speak.Oscar Muoz, chief executive of United Airlines, apologised for having to reaccommodate passengers on the plane and said his staff had followed established procedures. David Dao the man who was dragged from the plane, suffered concussion and now apparently needs reconstructive surgery on his face had been politely asked to deplane but was disruptive and belligerent.What do any of these words even mean? They are exercises in gobbledygook. Amusingly, the online Urban Dictionary has changed the definition of reaccommodate to a euphemistic term for an airlines decision to knock out and then drag off unconscious passengers.Even worse was Muozs comment that staff followed established procedures. OK, so he was trying to protect staff, but procedures established for what? Acting like a corporate robot, not a human being?As for Muozs comments about Dao being disruptive and belligerent after being asked to deplane surely many people would be disruptive and belligerent after being subjected to such distortion of the English language. Deplane may be a common term on American flights, but that does not make it right. Also, in the US it tends to be used by the pilot to invite passengers to leave the plane when they arrive at their destination, not to describe kicking someone off the aircraft before it has even taken off.It is important to deconstruct what United and Muoz said because, sadly, they are not alone in using this kind of language, and it is symptomatic of a wider issue: namely the lack of connection between the boardroom and a companys workers and customers.Dave Lewis , the chief executive of Tesco, was in the spotlight last week for regularly slipping into corporate-speak. For example, he praised Tescos customercentricity.This type of usage portrays big businesses as machines whose cogs the workers behave according to set directions and procedures. It takes away the human side of making decisions and thinking on the spot. It also helps to divert responsibility. Muozs initial comments did not blame the staff involved because they were just following procedures but nor did they attempt to explain who had put those procedures in place, or question whether they were right.In this post-Ratner world of rolling news and social media, chief executives seem more fearful than ever that something they say will come back to haunt them. But that should not stop them from engaging with staff and customers openly.Too often, chief executives seem to prioritise addressing shareholders rather than staff or customers. Strategic reviews are a good example of this companies are constantly giving them names and timetables. Unilevers is called Connected 4 Growth.This may perhaps impress shareholders and make it look like something is at least happening within the business, but how much does it really matter to the workers who implement it and the customers who buy the product or service? Nothing. As Ratner would say: it is total crap.Barclays boss must be censured over hunt for whistleblower Jes Staley and Barclays should thank United Airlines. Until David Dao was dragged off the US carriers flight there was a bright spotlight on Staley and Barclayss own extraordinary gaffe: trying to find a whistleblower .A quick recap of the Barclays story: when Tim Main was hired to the bank in a senior position, a couple of letters were sent to the board and a senior executive making allegations about his past conduct. Main and Staley had worked together for years at JP Morgan: sources say Staley was already aware of these past issues and felt that not only were the allegations unfounded, but that someone was trying to smear his long-time associate.As a result, Staley twice asked the internal security team at Barclays to track down the whistleblower. The first time, Staley was told to back off by compliance. The second time was after the allegations had been cleared by the bank and the security team received help from a US law enforcement agency, thought to be the US Postal Inspection Service.They failed, but eventually their antics were flagged to the Barclays board by a different whistleblower.Staley now faces a significant cut to his bonus, and worse could follow. The Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority are investigating him. They have strict rules about protecting whistleblowers and have the power to ban Staley from working in the City of London.A block on Staley is unlikely. The board of Barclays seems to think so too, because if there were a genuine chance that he could be banned, they would surely have taken pre-emptive action and asked him to resign rather than face the embarrassment of being forced into a change by the regulator.In his defence, Staley appears to have been trying to protect a friend who he felt was being harassed. However, after the events of the financial crisis it is essential that bankers follow best practice and that those who flout the rules are punished.Nothing and no one should discourage whistleblowers from coming forward. The nature of whistleblowing means the informant is likely to be going against the grain of a company or the wishes of a manager. Therefore, while Staley is likely to keep his job, he should be publicly shamed.Electricity up again! What are we going to do with you? Every time electricity companies raise their prices, as EDF has done for the second time in the space of a year, bill payers hear the same vague threats issued by those with the power to act.In March, Theresa May said the energy market was manifestly not working for all consumers, while Ofgem just said that EDFs rise was difficult to justify.This sounds like an exhausted parent sighing Stop that! at a naughty toddler. If the child knows no punishment will be forthcoming, why stop misbehaving?The government is supposed to be publishing plans to help energy consumers later this month. Given the ridicule heaped on Ed Miliband when, as Labour leader, he suggested capping energy prices, that solution is surely unlikely.But the plans will need to contain something to give the Big Six energy firms pause for thought. Otherwise they will continue to do as they please.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/news/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/apr/16/united-airlines-deplane-gaffe-tesco-corporate-speak'|'2017-04-16T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'b7b4ccf647f92fc8589793cb33fd796f95f2e877'|'Oil surplus or scarcity? Shale makes it even harder to predict'|'Stocks & Shares News - Mon Apr 10, 2017 - 10:58am BST Oil surplus or scarcity? Shale makes it even harder to predict A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, U.S. April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo By Amanda Cooper - LONDON LONDON The shale oil boom has transformed the U.S. and global energy sector to such an extent that it has upended traditional supply dynamics and made forecasts far more polarised. Investment banks, many of which finance new projects, along with oil majors such as Total and Eni, have warned that huge spending cuts caused by a plunge in oil prices since 2014 would lead to a supply crunch in the next two years. Yet Goldman Sachs, the only bank to make more than $1 billion a year from commodities trading, believes a looming recovery in U.S. output on the back of higher oil prices combined with an avalanche of new conventional projects will create a substantial surplus by 2019. Prior to the shale revolution, conventional oil was the only game in town. Estimating future supply essentially involved calculating the project pipeline and factoring in the "unknown knowns" such as political risk in oil-producing nations. The ability of the shale sector to adapt quickly and nimbly to a lower-price environment means production cycles have shortened as fields can be switched on and off in a matter of weeks. Most forecasters including OPEC and the International Energy Agency underestimated shale''s decline during the oil price collapse and its production increases as prices recovered. Goldman predicts the coming two years will see a huge burst of development, complicating OPEC''s efforts to rebalance the market and ease a global glut with the help of output cuts. "This long lead-time wave of projects and a short-cycle revival, led by U.S. shales, could create a material oversupply in 2018-19," Goldman''s equity research team said last month. "As OPEC prepares for its May 25 meeting, it is likely to weigh the relative benefit of stability (extend cut) versus the risk of long-term share loss." Goldman estimates that new projects and rising shale output could add 1 million barrels per day (bpd) to global supply by 2018-2019. The forecast contrasts with those of consultancy Wood Mackenzie, which foresees a supply gap of 20 million bpd by 2025, and Goldman''s rival Morgan Stanley, which believes a surge in U.S. production this year will not derail the rebalancing. "OPEC has successfully constrained output, and although drilling activity in U.S. shale is picking up rapidly, this will probably not come quick enough to prevent a period of sizeable inventory draws late this year," Morgan Stanley said. "By 2020, we estimate that (around) 1.5 million bpd of demand will need to come from projects that have not been sanctioned yet, but that have break-even oil prices of $70-75 a barrel," the bank said. BLACK HOLES Goldman advises anyone from institutional investors such as pension funds, to oil producers and it seems the oil market is listening. Brent crude futures show prices for oil deliverable up to 2019 trading below those for prompt delivery, before reverting to the contango structure of low prompt prices and higher futures prices that is typical of an oversupplied market. Goldman stands by its prediction that supply and demand will fall into line this year, even though global crude inventories in developed economies alone top 3 billion barrels, some 300 million barrels above the five-year average that OPEC is targeting with its supply cuts. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and some of its biggest rivals including Russia, agreed in late2016 to cut output jointly by 1.8 million bpd for the first half of this year to tackle the overhang. UBS, meanwhile, sees a potential 4 million bpd hole by 2020, even though a higher crude price this year has prompted some companies to bring forward their exploration and development plans. "Beyond 2017, the impact of a collapse in longer-cycle conventional investment over 2014-16 begins to be felt. 2015 saw just six major upstream projects totalling (some) 0.6 million bpd ... versus the 3-4 million bpd average, and 2016 has seen just one major liquids project sanctioned," UBS strategist Jon Rigby said. Bank of America-Merrill Lynch points out that along with the collapse in spending, the global rig count, a measure of production activity, shows no sign of picking up outside the United States. According to oil services company Baker Hughes, the number of non-U.S. oil rigs has risen by just 29 since hitting an 11-year low of 666 in November last year, compared with a rise of 346 in U.S. rigs in just 10 months. (Editing by Dmitry Zhdannikov and Dale Hudson; Graphics: IEA/Reuters)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-oil-forecasting-idUKKBN17C0ZT'|'2017-04-10T17:42:00.000+03:00' +'43de5c95629efac566efceacda05866bef027045'|'India govt think-tank backs local GM crop policy -document'|'Environment 9:25am EDT India government think-tank backs local GM crop policy: document NEW DELHI India could prevent foreign firms monopolizing the market for genetically modified (GM) seeds by allowing the sale of only locally developed varieties, a government think-tank has said, in a boost for transgenic mustard produced by a Delhi group. The Policy Commision said in recommendations this week to the government, and seen by Reuters, that adopting new technology is one of the most important drivers of farm productivity. Cotton is the only GM crop currently allowed to be sold in the world''s second most populous country where arable land is shrinking. U.S. company Monsanto Co dominates the cotton seed market in India, and often faces resistance from local companies over its dominant position. "There is some concern that GM seeds can be monopolized by multinationals, which may then exploit farmers," the commission said in its report to the government. "But this concern is readily addressed by limiting GM seeds to those varieties discovered by our own institution and companies." A panel of government and independent experts gave its technical clearance in August last year for GM mustard, which is in the same plant family as rapeseed, and developed by a group of Delhi scientists following multiple reviews of crop trial data generated over almost a decade. The national government has been sitting on the fence since August largely because of stiff opposition from social and environmental activists who see GM food as harmful for humans and animals alike. India''s biggest rapeseed-producing state, Rajasthan, has decided not to allow the commercial use of GM mustard even if New Delhi approves the lab-altered variety, its farm minister Prabhulal Saini told Reuters. The government has said it will take a call on GM mustard after taking all views on board, though experts say allowing its cultivation is critical to Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s goal of attaining self-sufficiency in vegetable oils. India spends around $10 billion annually on vegetable oil imports. GM mustard - with yields up to 30 percent higher than normal varieties - could give Modi a chance to slash this bill. (Reporting by Nidhi Verma, Krishna N. Das and Rajendra Jadhav, editing by David Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-gmo-idUSKBN17S1SW'|'2017-04-26T21:23:00.000+03:00' +'acccf109e5ccf20a08f53168bea398e2cd68fb58'|'China April manufacturing growth slows faster than expected'|'Business News - Sun Apr 30, 2017 - 4:25am BST China April manufacturing growth slows faster than expected An employee works on an assembly line producing automobiles at a factory in Qingdao, Shandong Province, China, March 1, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo By Sue-Lin Wong and Kevin Yao - BEIJING BEIJING Growth in China''s manufacturing sector slowed faster than expected in April, an official survey showed on Sunday, as producer price inflation cooled and policymakers'' efforts to reduce financial risks in the economy weighed on demand. The National Bureau of Statistics'' official Purchasing Managers'' Index (PMI) fell to a six-month low of 51.2 in April from March''s near five-year high of 51.8. Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a reading of 51.6, the ninth straight month above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis. Demand weakened across the board with the biggest decline in the input price sub-index, which fell to 51.8, its slowest expansion since June last year, from 59.3 in March. Zhou Hao, an economist at Commerzbank in Singapore, said recent sharp declines in iron ore and onshore steel prices point to some of the pressures the country''s manufacturers are facing. "We believe that this on one hand reflects that there is little improvement in underlying demand," Zhou wrote in a note. "On the other hand, the de-leveraging effort by the Chinese authorities, has started to work." Chinese steel and iron ore futures tumbled to multi-month lows earlier this month as market sentiment turned bearish on demand outlook and worries mounted about a glut of steel later this year. The employment sub-index slipped to 49.2 from 50.0 in March while the raw materials inventories sub-index was unchanged at 48.3. Growth in China''s services sector slowed slightly to 54.0 in April, compared with the previous month''s reading of 55.1, which was the highest since May 2014. China''s economy grew a faster-than-expected 6.9 percent in the first quarter, boosted by higher government infrastructure spending and the nation''s gravity-defying property boom. But growth is expected to slow as authorities step up a battle to cool the property sector and as the central bank and banking regulator take steps to contain financial risks. The People''s Bank of China is expected to guide short-term interest rates higher, and step up its oversight of the financial sector, amid a crackdown on banks'' shadow banking businesses. Chinese leaders have pledged to shift the emphasis to addressing financial risks and asset bubbles, which analysts say pose a threat to the world''s second-largest economy if not managed properly. President Xi Jinping last week called for increased efforts to ward off systemic risks to help maintain financial security, the official Xinhua news agency reported. Some analysts believe China''s economic growth may have peaked in the first quarter but that it''s on track to hit a target of around 6.5 percent this year. China''s producer price inflation cooled for the first time in seven months in March as iron ore and coal prices tumbled, while property sales growth slowed in the first quarter despite robust property investment. The private sector Caixin/Markit PMI manufacturing survey, which focuses more on small and mid-sized firms, will be published on May 2. The Caixin/Markit PMI is expected to come in at 51.0 for April, according to a Reuters poll of economists, down from 51.2 in March. (Reporting by Kevin Yao and Sue-Lin Wong; Editing by Sam Holmes)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-pmi-factory-official-idUKKBN17W00H'|'2017-04-30T11:25:00.000+03:00' +'72bc76961c66b22ae2aab9991b71d0eea37d1ea0'|'Unilever announces results of business review'|' 15am BST Unilever announces results of business review FILE PHOTO: An employee of PT Unilever Indonesia shows Pepsodent tooth paste at Foodmart Fresh supermarket in Jakarta, Indonesia, October 31, 2016. REUTERS/Beawiharta/File Photo By Martinne Geller - LONDON LONDON Unilever ( ULVR.L ) ( UNc.AS ) said on Thursday it will exit its spreads business, increase its margin targets and review its dual-headed legal structure, as it aims to prove it can deliver growth following its rejection in February of a takeover proposal by Kraft Heinz ( KHC.O ). The pledges are the result of a business review at the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods maker, undertaken following the unsolicited $143 billion (114.47 billion pounds) bid by its U.S. rival. Unilever, one of Europe''s biggest blue-chip stocks, called the episode a "trigger moment" to assess its business, as the global packaged goods industry faces slowing growth and greater competition. The maker of Dove soap and Ben & Jerry''s ice cream said it was accelerating its cost-savings plan, targeting a 20 percent underlying operating margin, before restructuring, by 2020. It said it would combine its refreshment business, which includes ice cream and tea, with the rest of its foods business, in a bid to unlock growth and grow margins faster. It also said it would target net debt of 2 times EBITDA, and would launch a share buy-back this year of 5 billion euros ($5.3 billion). It also said it was raising its dividend by 12 percent. (Editing by Greg Mahlich and David Holmes) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-unilever-review-idUKKBN1780HH'|'2017-04-06T14:15:00.000+03:00' +'f89c70fa6895cff212131e1e1df95d3029b2512c'|'Fibria CEO sees room for new price hikes, cash costs falling'|'Company News - Wed Apr 26, 2017 - 10:57am EDT Fibria CEO sees room for new price hikes, cash costs falling SAO PAULO, April 26 Brazilian wood pulp producer Fibria SA may continue hiking prices in coming months due to surprisingly strong second-quarter demand, executives told journalists on a conference call on Wednesday. Chief Executive Marcelo Castelli said cash costs rose due to one-time effects in the first quarter and should be lower for the rest of the year. Management also said they expect to boost earnings by selling excess energy in coming quarters. (Reporting by Brad Haynes and Alberto Alerigi Jr.; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/fibria-outlook-idUSE6N1FG02M'|'2017-04-26T22:57:00.000+03:00' +'fe4cbf3ad5f5dbb99793255e441d8a9eb7775905'|'U.S. Congress passes short-term bill to avert government shutdown'|'Economic News - Fri Apr 28, 2017 - 11:14pm IST U.S. Congress passes short-term bill to avert government shutdown By Richard Cowan - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The U.S. Congress on Friday passed stopgap legislation to avert a government shutdown at midnight and give lawmakers another week to reach a deal on federal spending through the end of the fiscal year, with contentious issues remaining to be resolved. The Senate passed the measure by voice vote without opposition after the House earlier approved it by a tally of 382-30. The measure now goes to President Donald Trump to sign into law. The bill in the Republican-led Congress provides federal funding until May 5, allowing lawmakers to hammer out legislation over the next few days to keep the government funded for the rest of the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30. Congress has been tied in knots over $1 trillion in spending priorities for months. Lawmakers were supposed to have taken care of the current fiscal year appropriations bills by last Oct. 1. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the stopgap bill "will carry us through next week so that a bipartisan agreement can be reached." Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said there were still significant differences with Republicans over elements of the looming longer-term spending bill. In the bigger spending bill to be negotiated in the coming days, it remained unclear whether Republicans would prevail in their effort to sharply boost defense spending without similar increases for other domestic programs. Trump has proposed a $30 billion spending hike for the Pentagon for the rest of this fiscal year. House and Senate negotiators also have been struggling over funding to make a healthcare program for coal miners permanent and whether to plug a gap in Puerto Rico''s Medicaid program, the government health insurance program for the poor. ''IMPORTANT BUSINESS'' During debate in the House, lawmakers expressed frustration at the inability of Congress to take care of the basic functions of government in a timely manner. "Let''s make sure these basics are done for the American people and then let''s get about the important business of changing their tax code and making sure they have the best healthcare in the world," said Republican Representative Tom Cole of Oklahoma. "We are seven months into the fiscal year," added Representative Nita Lowey of New York, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee. "Federal departments and agencies have been operating on outdated funding levels and policies for more than half of the year. This is unacceptable and it cannot continue." Lowey noted the legislation, known as a continuing resolution, was the third stopgap spending measure during the current fiscal year. In addition to opposition from Democrats, there are deep divisions among Republicans over exactly how to change the tax code and overhaul the U.S. healthcare system. The action on the spending bill came a day after House Republican leaders again put on hold a possible vote on major healthcare legislation sought by Trump to dismantle the 2010 Affordable Care Act, dubbed Obamacare, after moderates in the party balked at provisions added to entice hard-line conservatives. The government was last forced to close in October 2013, when Republican Senator Ted Cruz and some of the most conservative House Republicans engineered a 17-day shutdown in an unsuccessful quest to kill former Democratic President Barack Obama''s healthcare law. Trump, a Republican, bowed to Democratic demands that the spending bill not include money to start building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border he said is needed to fight illegal immigration and stop drug smugglers. The Trump administration also agreed to continue funding for a major component of Obamacare despite Republican vows to end the program. Without the extension or a longer-term funding bill, federal agencies would have run out of money by midnight Friday, likely triggering abrupt layoffs of hundreds of thousands of federal government workers until funding resumes. (Additional reporting by Amanda Becker and Susan Cornwell; Writing by Will Dunham; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Jonathan Oatis) U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) (R) speaks next to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) during a news conference on President Trump''s first 100 days on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S April 28, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-budget-idINKBN17U2LC'|'2017-04-29T01:44:00.000+03:00' +'021615ee8ab29042258ddb4f7e085a9a3853b9b2'|'Vietnam beer giant Sabeco says state divestment plan submitted'|'By Mai Nguyen - HO CHI MINH CITY HO CHI MINH CITY Vietnam''s trade ministry has submitted a plan for the divestment of the government''s majority stake in Sabeco SAB.HM, the company''s CEO said on Tuesday, moving the country''s largest brewer one step closer to a long-awaited privatization.Vietnam has one of the world''s most attractive beer markets and the biggest in Southeast Asia, thanks to a young population that consumed nearly 4 billion liters in 2016. Several foreign brewers - from Kirin ( 2503.T ) to Heineken ( HEIN.AS ) - have been eyeing Sabeco since it was earmarked for privatization.But the sale of the government stake in cash-generating Sabeco, formerly Saigon Beer, has faced repeated delays. A limited offering last year listed only a fraction of the group, leaving the state with almost 90 percent to divest.Sabeco Chief Executive Le Hong Xanh told shareholders at the company''s annual general meeting that the ministry''s divestment plan had been submitted to the government, but gave no details."Divestment is a program of the government. The ministry of industry and trade has proposed a plan to the government and it is awaiting approval," the CEO told shareholders. He did not provide any details of the plan.The Vietnamese government has said it aims to fully divest its stake in Sabeco, but a clear plan has not yet been announced. Sabeco, the country''s second-biggest listed firm by market value, is a key plank of a broader privatization effort, which includes dairy firm Vinamilk VNM.HM, Vietnam Airlines HVN.HNO and brewer Habeco BHN.HM.Foreign companies and their advisers have grumbled over the idiosyncratic two-stage divestment process, including the initial, limited IPO that has meant the price of illiquid Sabeco shares has rocketed. Sabeco listed at 110,000 dong ($4.87) but has touched 227,000 dong.Sabeco said on Tuesday said it had received approval to appoint Ernst & Young and Bao Viet Securities to advise on the sale of the state stake, worth $5.2 billion at market price.Sabeco said last week it plans to increase net profit this year to 4.7 trillion dong, up 1 percent from 2016, when net profit jumped 33 percent. It targets beer sales this year of 1.7 billion liters, up 3.4 percent.Sabeco''s main market is Vietnam, but it exports to about 20 countries.(Reporting by Mai Nguyen; Editing by Clara Ferreira Marques and Himani Sarkar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-sabeco-agm-idINKBN17K0TK'|'2017-04-18T06:42:00.000+03:00' +'8553afb28ebe873f611d48f3669fcfe6ae6a5464'|'Audi, FAW to sell five plug-in cars in China by 2021 - executive'|' 00am BST Audi, FAW to sell five plug-in cars in China by 2021 - executive A charging station for e-tron cars is pictured near the headquarters of German car manufacturer Audi in Ingolstadt, Germany February 16, 2016. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle SHANGHAI Audi AG ( NSUG.DE ) and its China joint-venture partner FAW Group will produce and sell five "e-tron" plug-in cars in China over the next five years, part of a global push to boost sales of all-electric battery and plug-in hybrid vehicles. As part of this agreement, the two companies recently began producing in China the first of the five planned cars - a plug-in hybrid version of the Audi A6L. The model is expected to hit the market later this year. "In this plan we have a clear focus on e-tron cars," Dietmar Voggenreiter, a member of Audi''s management board, told Reuters in an interview ahead of the Shanghai auto show which opens to the public on Friday. "Sustainability is one of the mega trends worldwide and China is a leading market in electric mobility." Globally, Audi aims to generate 30 percent of its overall sales from electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles by 2025. It currently sells one e-tron car in China, a plug-in hybrid version of the A3 which is imported from Germany. At an event on Tuesday, Audi gave a "sneak preview" of the Audi e-tron Sportback concept car, a fully-electric battery car that the premium automaker is expected to unveil at the Shanghai show. Voggenreiter said the concept car was "really close" to the version expected to be mass produced in Germany from 2019. He added the car would first be produced in Europe, "but we will see whether to import into China or produce it in China." He added Audi believed the green car industry might hit a "tipping point" in the next couple of years and see demand for plug-in cars accelerate. "There is, first of all, a worldwide customer trend for sustainability," he said. "In a transition phase we will have plug-in hybrid cars. In the long-run we will see more and more fully electric battery cars." (Reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Ian Geoghegan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-autoshow-shanghai-audi-idUKKBN17K0Z1'|'2017-04-18T18:00:00.000+03:00' +'6fcb70feed8fafc7fe9141b19ca7e3335f2ee349'|'AB Foods profit jump driven by sugar rebound, lifts outlook'|'Business News 7:43am BST AB Foods profit jump driven by sugar rebound, lifts outlook FILE PHOTO - The Primark logo can be seen on windows at Primark''s new Spanish flagship store in Madrid, Spain, October 15, 2015. REUTERS/Andrea Comas LONDON Associated British Foods ( ABF.L ) on Wednesday reported a 36 percent rise in first-half profit, driven by a recovery in its sugar business and a resilient performance at Primark, its discount fashion retailer. The group, which also reported progress in its ingredients and grocery businesses, raised its profit guidance for the full year. For the six months to March 4, AB Foods made an adjusted operating profit of 652 million pounds. That compares with analysts'' average forecast of 623 million pounds, according to Reuters data, and 486 million pounds in the previous corresponding period. Revenue rose 19 percent to 7.3 billion pounds, while the dividend was raised 10 percent to 11.35 pence. "Our outlook for the group''s full year results has improved and we now expect to report good growth in adjusted operating profit and adjusted earnings per share," it said. AB Foods said it expects underlying revenue momentum in all of its businesses to continue in the second half. However, it did caution that profit growth in the second half will, at current exchange rates, be tempered primarily by a smaller currency translation benefit and the full effect of the devaluation of sterling against the dollar on Primark''s margin. Primark accounts for over half of AB Foods'' profit. AB Foods made adjusted operating profit of 1.12 billion pounds in 2015-16, with adjusted earnings per share of 106.2 pence. Shares in the group, a majority of which are owned by the family of Chief Executive George Weston, have fallen 19 percent over the last year due to concerns over the impact of a weaker pound on Primark''s profit margin, but have risen 5 percent over the last week. They closed at 2,718 pence on Tuesday, valuing the business at 21.1 billion pounds. (Reporting by James Davey; editing by Kate Holton and David Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ab-foods-results-idUKKBN17L0ID'|'2017-04-19T14:43:00.000+03:00' +'9b031e166e462235ae7798a8a86e821877a5f79c'|'BRIEF-General Dynamics UK awarded 330 million contract to develop next-generation battlefield network for British Army'|'Company News 17pm EDT BRIEF-General Dynamics UK awarded 330 million contract to develop next-generation battlefield network for British Army April 5 General Dynamics Corp * General Dynamics UK awarded 330 million contract to develop next-generation battlefield network for british army * System will be used to plan, deploy, manage and monitor communications and information for army * General dynamics - contract creates 125 new jobs as well as sustaining jobs of 125 highly-skilled engineers at general dynamics uk''s headquarters in oakdale Source text for Eikon:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-general-dynamics-uk-awarded-330-mi-idUSASB0B8R1'|'2017-04-06T07:17:00.000+03:00' +'de6c2148043a9bf6839e7c71144a02c2c4b60d77'|'Venezuelan crude sales to the U.S. declined again in March'|'Commodities 47am EDT Venezuelan crude sales to the U.S. declined again in March HOUSTON Venezuelan crude oil sales to the United States declined in March for the third month in a row this year to 651,710 barrels per day due to falling exports of main grade Merey, according to Thomson Reuters trade flows data. Venezuela''s crude output fell in 2016 to its lowest level in 23 years. Analysts expect another decline in 2017 due to lack of investment and to cash flow problems affecting state-run oil firm PDVSA [PDVSA.UL], which controls more than 40 joint ventures for exploration and production. The volume of Venezuelan crude that PDVSA and its joint ventures exported in March was down by 2.3 percent from February and by 18 percent from a year earlier. Exports of Merey blend crude to the United States, which started decreasing in February, averaged 165,320 bpd last month, their lowest since August, according to the data. Merey is made with extra-heavy oil from Venezuela''s main producing region, the Orinoco Belt, and lighter crudes. But as output from the member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries becomes heavier, production and reserves of medium and light grades decline fast. PDVSA''s refining unit in the United States, Citgo Petroleum, was the largest receiver of Venezuelan crude in March, with 10 cargoes, followed by Valero Energy Corp and Chevron Corp. This year Phillips 66 has received five or six monthly cargoes of 500,000 barrels each of Venezuelan Merey crude. PDVSA announced a tender earlier this week to buy up to four 500,000-barrel cargoes of U.S. light crude, mainly to feed its 335,000-barrel-per-day Isla refinery in Curacao, which recently resumed operations after planned maintenance work. (Reporting by Marianna Parraga; Editing by Ernest Scheyder and Lisa Von Ahn)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-usa-oil-idUSKBN17R1XO'|'2017-04-25T22:38:00.000+03:00' +'a2cb51f603fe33874655c40a0a7817d6c61c82b4'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'Company News 3:59pm EDT Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions (Adds Mobileye, Alawwal Bank, Hyland Software, Hypermarcas, Cenovus Energy, Safran, AdvancePierre, Verizon, Liberty House and Arconic; updates Christian Dior and Tyson Foods) April 25 The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Tuesday: ** Tyson Foods Inc, the No. 1 U.S. meat processor, said it would buy packaged sandwich supplier AdvancePierre Foods Holdings Inc for about $3.2 billion in cash, to expand its fast-growing portfolio of prepared food brands. ** Straight Path Communications Inc said it received a $104.64 per-share all-stock buyout offer from a "multi-national telecommunications company", topping AT&T Inc''s offer of $95.63 per share. ** Nord Anglia Education Inc, a Hong Kong-based operator of international schools, said it would be taken private by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and Baring Private Equity Asia in a deal that values the company at $4.3 billion, including debt. ** Sibanye Gold''s shareholders approved the South African miner''s $2.2 billion buyout of U.S.-based Stillwater Mining, moving it a step closer to significantly boosting its platinum portfolio. ** Israel Chemicals said it is in talks to sell its 50 percent stake in water desalination firm IDE Technologies in a deal which Israeli media reported could fetch about $180 million. ** German healthcare group Fresenius SE & Co KGaA has stepped up its deal-making, agreeing to buy U.S. generic drugmaker Akorn Inc for $4.75 billion (4.37 billion euros) and the biosimilars arm of Germany''s Merck KGaA. ** The chairman of Dutch paint-maker Akzo Nobel, Antony Burgmans, told shareholders at their annual meeting that the company is not yet ready to respond to a 26.9 billion takeover proposal by U.S. peer PPG Industries ** Dutch Economic Affairs Minister Henk Kamp repeated his opposition to a takeover of paint maker Akzo Nobel, saying he did not care that U.S. rival PPG Industries had raised its offer. ** Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberoesterreich, one of the Austrian regional banks that together own most of Raiffeisen Bank International, has no interest in merging with RBI or selling its stake in it, its chief has said. ** A full merger of Japanese car makers Mitsubishi Motors Corp and Nissan Motor Co Ltd is not on the table, Carlos Ghosn, chairman of both firms, said. ** French billionaire Bernard Arnault will combine the Christian Dior fashion brand with his LVMH luxury goods empire as part of a 12 billion euro ($13 billion) move to simplify his business interests - a restructuring long demanded by other investors. ** French media giant Vivendi will accelerate acquisitions in video games and advertising this year to allay investor concerns about its strategy, mixed results and poor share performance, two sources close to the matter told Reuters. ** ABB has sealed a collaboration agreement with International Business Machines Corp, the Swiss engineering company said, the latest step in its efforts to ramp up its presence in digital technology and the internet of things. ** Japan''s Toshiba Corp will start taking bids for Landis+Gyr, its Swiss smart meter unit, as early as June, Kyodo news agency reported. ** HNA Airport Holding Group Co Ltd will buy out the stake that engineering conglomerate Odebrecht SA has in Brazil''s second-busiest international airport in order to help solve an impasse with a government agency over licensing rights, a Brazilian Cabinet minister said on Monday. ** T-Mobile US Inc is open to merger talks after a federal ban expires this week, the No.3 U.S. wireless carrier said on Monday, as it reported stronger-than-expected subscriber growth in the first quarter. ** Johnson & Johnson, Novartis AG and Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd have expressed interest in a buyout of the controlling stake that two families have in Brazilian drugmaker Hypermarcas SA, two people with knowledge of the matter said on Monday. ** U.S. activist investor Elliott Capital Advisors disclosed on Monday it has taken a 6.8 percent stake in WS Atkins after the British engineering and construction consultancy firm agreed to be bought in a C$3.6 billion ($2.7 billion) deal. ** Israeli autonomous vehicle technology firm Mobileye said it forged an agreement with Nissan Motor Corp to create next generation maps to enable safe self-driving cars. ** Saudi lenders Alawwal Bank and Saudi British Bank have agreed to start talks about a merger that could create the kingdom''s third biggest bank with assets of nearly $80 billion. ** Hyland Software Inc, a U.S. business software company owned by buyout firm Thoma Bravo LLC, is nearing a deal to acquire the software division of printer maker Lexmark International Inc for nearly $1.5 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. ** Hypermarcas SA, the largest Brazilian listed drugmaker, denied that it is engaged in talks for a merger or an acquisition, as speculation that major shareholders are exploring a sale of the company mounted in recent days. ** Zambia, Africa''s second-largest copper producer, is talking to an Israeli company that wants to buy a stake in state mining investment arm Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Investment Holdings, a source told Reuters. ** A Cenovus Energy Inc shareholder has asked a Canadian regulator to halt the company''s recent C$17 billion ($12.6 billion) purchase of some ConocoPhillips assets, saying the new stock issued to help fund the deal has diluted the value of Cenovus shares. ** Engine maker Safran reported higher first-quarter revenue, helped by aerospace services, and said it would close the sale of its security and identity businesses before the end of June. ** Verizon Communications Inc has made an offer for Straight Path Communications Inc, topping an earlier bid from AT&T Inc, in a move that starts a bidding war for a company holding spectrum used in 5G technology, according to a source familiar with the matter. ** British metals group Liberty House is bidding to buy U.S.-based Mesabi Metallics Co LLC and ESML Holding Inc, as it seeks to boost its presence in North America. ** Tensions between Elliott Management and specialty metals maker Arconic Inc escalated, as the hedge fund spurned a truce offered by the company and urged shareholders to elect all four of its director nominees. (Compiled by Tamara Mathias and Divya Grover in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/deals-day-idUSL4N1HX3GZ'|'2017-04-25T14:30:00.000+03:00' +'af0162479f864c400d2df54e1f27bcc09b310727'|'Zimbabwe''s Mugabe impatient over pace of mining reform'|'Company News 23am EDT Zimbabwe''s Mugabe impatient over pace of mining reform HARARE, April 18 Zimbabwe''s mining industry needs to be "reorganised" so that it contributes more towards the African country''s economy, President Robert Mugabe said on Tuesday. Although Mugabe did not give details on what form the transformation would take, his government has, in recent years, pressured mining firms to transfer majority stakes to black ownership under a 2008 law and to cede some claims. "There is a lot of work which is going on in that sector, not least the reorganisation whose completion we impatiently await," Mugabe, Zimbabwe''s sole ruler since independence in 1980, told thousands at a rally to mark the southern African country''s 37th independence anniversary in a Harare stadium. Zimbabwe, where mining generates more than 50 percent of export earnings, holds significant mineral deposits and the world''s top two platinum producers, Impala Platinum and Anglo American Platinum, have operations there. Mining has also overtaken agriculture as the leading provider of employment, after the Mugabe government started seizing white-owned farms to resettle landless blacks in 2000. The government has also leaned on producers to invest in local refinery facilities. Platinum miners currently ship their matte to South Africa for processing. While Mugabe''s government has signalled plans to relax the ownership rules for existing mines, it has shifted its focus to seizing land owned by foreign mines, which it claims to be idle. "Much is expected from this important sector. It must play its part towards this overall development vision we have," Mugabe said. (Reporting by Nelson Banya; editing by Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/zimbabwe-politics-idUSL8N1HQ3PR'|'2017-04-18T21:23:00.000+03:00' +'2be8999e3fad7b490884f327f1b420753c752233'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX seesaws as financials slip, gold stocks climb'|' 42am EDT CANADA STOCKS-TSX seesaws as financials slip, gold stocks climb TORONTO, April 7 Canada''s main stock index seesawed on Friday as the financials group lost ground, while gold mining shares climbed after escalating geopolitical tensions boosted gold prices. The Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index was up 5.05 points, or 0.03 percent, at 15,702.23, shortly after the open. Six of the index''s 10 main groups were higher. (Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-open-idUSL1N1HF0IQ'|'2017-04-07T21:42:00.000+03:00' +'0a72ac87a632e3573a51bab6c57116fd44bfe9d4'|'The car-loan boom isnt the housing bubble. But there still might be a crash - Business'|'C ould it be 2005 and 2006 all over again? Industry figures last week showed that UK credit-card debt has soared while the savings rate has plunged to an all-time low . Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, data shows that late last year car loans were being taken out at a faster rate than any time in US history.Almost everyone in America leases a car or buys it using cheap credit. Except that they dont take the opportunity to lower their outgoings and cut their monthly loan bills. Instead, they take the cheap credit and buy a bigger car. A much bigger car.This applies as much to those on low incomes as the wealthy. And the same trend can be seen in the UK.In 2008 it was the mortgage sector in the US that triggered the worst global financial crash since 1929. US house buyers on low incomes were sold homes by lenders using teaser rates that offered massive discounts for two or three years on standard fixed rates. Refinancing was easy as long as the base rate remained low.Once the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates, it become financially crippling to refinance a mortgage and arrears began to creep upwards.By 2006, millions of American families were in financial trouble and by 2008 hundreds of thousands were handing the keys of their homes back, leaving the banks with huge debts on their balance sheets.Today the US central bank is again raising interest rates, and the jump in credit costs is hitting the finances of low-income families, forcing them into arrears or to default on their loans.But the situation is very different to 2008 and even the years leading up to it. Car loans are an important component of the credit market, but are still dwarfed by home loans. As such, it is unlikely that dodgy car-loan books will see the big lenders getting themselves in such deep trouble.The lenders, and especially the big banks, have much bigger reserves, giving them deeper pockets when the times comes to cover their losses.The regulators are also alive to a problem they blatantly ignored ahead of the last crash.Last November, the New York Federal Reserve bank warned that arrears in the sub-prime car-loan sector were a significant concern . The Bank of England has also voiced concern about rising household debts levels and last week promised a review of banks lending standards.It is likely that the cause of the next crash will come from a dark corner of the financial services industry that regulators believe is insignificant until it whacks them on the nose. But, at least for now, they are not the complacent animals of yesteryear and will snap at the big financial firms to keep their practices in order.Another detail from 2008 that is absent in 2017 is the role of credit agencies, which ranked the worst sub-prime loans as triple-A in 2005 and 2006. These days the regulators have more realistic data to hand.There are also quirks in the official figures that give a false picture of consumers financial position. For instance, the official figures show a collapse in the savings rate is to a significant degree the result of pension funds switching funds out of risky assets and into safer ones following the Brexit vote.This depresses the incomes of pensioners funds and drags down the savings rate, but is a technical issue and doesnt indicate that pensioners are on a spree, suddenly spending all their savings.Nonetheless, the regulators need to remain vigilant. Even low rates of default can ripple through the financial system. And should a crash be avoided in the UK, it could still happen in the US, where a Donald Trump inspired credit boom is predicted by many with an accompanying hangover.An air war over Europe?Of all the warnings that pro-Brexit voters chose to ignore last June, the notion that planes might cease to link this island to the continent barely figured on the Project Fear register. Nine months on, with the pound depressed, food prices up, and article 50 triggered, it might be worth hesitating a little longer when Ryanair repeats that there is a distinct possibility of no flights for a period when Brexit happens.Of course, Europes biggest airline has form when it comes to courting publicity, and many of its chief executives wider views on politics come across as headline-hunting exercises. But the Irish airline has a finely tuned sense for aviation agreements, and an ear for blarney, through its disputes with the European commission and its navigation of local employment and taxation laws. So it is worth noting that it has not been impressed by the Department for Exiting the EUs promises to prioritise airlines concerns.The clock is ticking on Britains two-year separation, but as Ryanair points out, its own flight schedules need to be fixed a year before that, effectively doubling the speed of Britains dash into turbulence. And many of Britains international flying rights do not exist outside the EU: there is no fallback agreement.The idea of grounded planes sounds preposterous to British ears; less so to continental airlines and governments, which might appreciate a new competitive advantage. More likely is that in 12 months time Britain will face either the further relocation of Ryanair routes and some of easyJets or have to accept Europes terms for associate membership of its common aviation area.However, with flights to Europe accounting for two-thirds of all UK air traffic, March 2019 could bring plane-free skies not seen since Eyjafjallajkull exhaled its ash in 2010. Such a scenario remains unlikely, because surely a deal will be reached. But the very possibility will make Remainers shake their heads in wonder. Britain has the largest aviation industry in Europe, and to preserve it, ministers must now beg and wheedle to reclaim its rights, which they have just signed away.A mission impossible for Paramount boss? Dont envy Jim Gianopulos, the new head of Paramount Pictures . Running a Hollywood studio remains a glamorous job, but amid the premieres and parties the challenges are piling up.The US film industry is threatened by the rise of the Netflix-led streaming companies, by rampant piracy and by the popularity of alternative distractions, such as gaming and social media.Then there are obstacles specific to Paramount and its lowly competitor Sony. It is very difficult competing with big hitters like Disney owner of the Star Wars and Marvel Comics franchises and Warner Bros, the studio behind the Harry Potter universe, and both studio minnows also have struggling parent groups.Gianopulos has some decent properties at his disposal, including the Mission: Impossible series, but he has to take one decision for the greater cultural good. Please, Jim, let the latest Transformers film due for release in June be the last.Topics US economy Business leader Economics Credit crunch Financial crisis Ryanair Rating agencies comment '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/apr/02/car-loan-boom-not-housing-bubble-still-could-be-crash-us-economy'|'2017-04-02T15:00:00.000+03:00' +'0de02c54635428d8f26f8f23bf0b9269dbb879b6'|'Major U.S. airports say current rules prevent incidents like United'|'Company News - Thu Apr 27, 2017 - 12:00pm EDT Major U.S. airports say current rules prevent incidents like United By Chris Kenning - CHICAGO, April 27 CHICAGO, April 27 At least 10 major U.S. airports say their rules prevent security officers from physically removing passengers from airplanes unless a crime is committed, meaning they would normally avoid incidents such as the one involving the passenger dragged off a United Airlines flight in Chicago. The April 9 incident sparked global outrage when images of a Vietnamese-American doctor being dragged through the aisle with blood on his face flooded social media and threw United into a public relations crisis. Officials at 10 of the busiest U.S. airports - in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Dallas, New York, Denver, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Miami - said airport police would not physically remove a passenger from a plane over a seat dispute. In a case like this, if its not a criminal matter, we don''t involve ourselves, said Michael Rodriguez, a spokesman with the Las Vegas Metro Police Department, which is responsible for security at McCarran International Airport. The passenger, David Dao, flying home to Louisville, refused to surrender his seat to make room for United crew members and was forcibly removed by aviation police at O''Hare International Airport. His attorney said he ended up with a concussion, missing teeth and broken nose. United Airlines initially blamed Dao but later apologized for its handling of the incident. United Chief Executive Oscar Munoz said the company would no longer use law enforcement officers to remove passengers from overbooked flights. United on Thursday said after reviewing the incident that using law enforcement when there was no safety or security issue was a failure and called the incident a "defining moment." Security officials at other major airports said they had reviewed their rules and found them sufficient, with no need to amend them to avoid similar situations. Others said they had sent reminders to officers to avoid getting involved in such cases. New Yorks Port Authority Police, which patrol LaGuardia, JFK International and Newark Liberty International airports, reminded officers that in cases of overbooking they "will not assist in the physical removal of the passenger from the flight to accommodate the airlines request, said Joe Pentangelo, Port Authority police spokesman. Atlanta airport officers also would not have boarded the plane as O''Hare''s police did, said Lane Hagan, airport precinct commander with the Atlanta Police Department, which oversees security at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, America''s busiest airport. The view was echoed by all airports contacted by Reuters, although most would not comment on the United incident. "It couldnt just be, Oh, we have an overbooked flight, said Doug Yakel, spokesman at San Francisco International Airport. Chicago Department of Aviation officials have said the incident is under investigation and declined to comment. They have not discussed the incident in detail, citing pending litigation. According to a report released on Monday by the city, which is in charge of airport security, the three officers involved said Dao became combative after they unsuccessfully tried to persuade him to leave. However, at a Chicago City Council committee meeting this month, Deputy Commissioner of Security Jeff Redding said department policy calls for its officers not to board planes to handle customer service issues. Ordering a passenger who is not causing trouble to leave the plane so another person can take their seat would not constitute a lawful order, said John Banzhaf, a law professor at George Washington University who has followed the United case closely. A carrier''s need for seats is not among more than a dozen reasons that allows the airline to remove an already-seated passenger, he said. Law enforcement should not become involved unless it appears there is a danger to the safety or health of passengers, crew or the airplane, Banzhaf said. (Additional reporting by Laila Kearney and Gina Cherelus in New York, Editing by Ben Klayman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/ual-passenger-airports-idUSL1N1HY1O4'|'2017-04-28T00:00:00.000+03:00' +'573e9f2a0681cdec9b91cdd838c66f10b49772f4'|'Wall St Week Ahead-Beyond jobs, car sales to give insight on consumer health'|'Business News 23pm EDT Beyond jobs, car sales to give insight on consumer health Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S. March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid By Rodrigo Campos - NEW YORK NEW YORK Forget the jobs report. The most interesting bit of U.S. economic data next week is Monday''s auto sales release, which will offer a measure of the middle-class consumer and a sector of the stock market that has had a rough ride so far in 2017. Economists are looking for another solid month of sales north of 17 million new vehicles at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate for March but nothing like the 18.4 million hit in December, the highest since August 2005. The number would however point to a third consecutive decline on a 12-month rolling basis. With sales peaking and prices set to drop, the secondary effects are expected to be felt beyond car makers and dealers. Lease and used-vehicle prices are expected to fall sharply this year, according to Ally Financial, which cited its estimate earlier this month when it lowered its 2017 profit forecast. Morgan Stanley said in a Friday note used-car prices could tumble between 25 and 50 percent by 2021, with both new cars and off-lease supply hitting record highs this year. "There''s an avalanche of used cars ready to hit the market place," said Brad Lamensdorf, co-manager of the AdvisorShares Ranger Equity Bear ETF. According to Lamensdorf, the need to move inventory has translated into reckless lending. "It''s not fraudulent, but people are up to their neck in debt," he said. "Default rates are going to be much more significant." The stock market is taking note. The S&P 1500 automotive retail index .SPCOMAUTR is down 6.5 percent year to date, with Advance Auto Parts ( AAP.N ), AutoNation ( AN.N ) and Sonic Automotive ( SAH.N ) down double digits in 2017. Carmax ( KMX.N ), which reports earnings on Thursday, is seen as a bellwether in the used-car industry. Its stock is down 8 percent so far this year. Another red flag from the sales floor: the average number of days a new vehicle sat before being retailed hit 70 in the first 19 days of March according to a note from J.D. Power and LMC Automotive. That is the highest since July 2009. With the market tightening, industry insiders expect more price cuts. "The competitiveness of the industry continues to be evident in ever-rising incentive levels," said Deirdre Borrego, senior vice president of automotive data and analytics at J.D. Power in a note. "Incentives will reach a new high for the month of March." At the same time, competition to finance loans is likely to further increase credit risk for auto lenders, Moody''s Investors Service said this week. Ally Financial stock ( ALLY.N ) fell 9.6 percent in March. Even the challenge to General Motors ( GM.N ) this week from a hedge fund, aimed at boosting a lagging stock price, reflects the concern that the industry is hoarding cash without significant prospects for growth. NO RECESSION, BUT ... The market for autos, however important, is not as big a part of the U.S. economy as the housing market was when its collapse in 2008 triggered the sharpest recession since the Great Depression. However, and taking into account all the moving parts of the industry''s supply chain, a halt in the auto sector could strain an economy that is already eight years into a recovery cycle. And it would hurt blue-collar workers the most. If a jump in auto loan defaults materializes, there is also the risk that consumers will shut their wallets and hurt economic growth, two-thirds of which depends on consumer spending. "When you look at how consumers are spending there is a question mark if the less-than-prime buyer is suddenly having issues," said Ian Winer, head of equities at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles. "The spillover effect is: what other industries are also using rather aggressive financing in order to get revenue? Jewelry and mattresses jump out at me as two big examples." Tempur Sealy shares ( TPX.N ) have fallen 32 percent year to date. (Additional reporting by Nick Carey and Joe White; Editing by James Dalgleish) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks-weekahead-idUSKBN1722XT'|'2017-04-01T06:19:00.000+03:00' +'00851b85d9742dbbf58e52fba3b39852dd986396'|'Shares in Japan''s Takata suspended after report on bankruptcy plan'|'By Naomi Tajitsu and Chang-Ran Kim - TOKYO TOKYO Trading in Takata Corp shares report that the Japanese airbag maker at the heart of the car industry''s biggest-ever recall is considering a bankruptcy plan that will create a new company and ringfence its liabilities.The Nikkei business daily reported Chinese-owned car parts maker Key Safety Systems (KSS), the company''s preferred bidder, would sponsor the turnaround plan by injecting 200 billion yen ($1.8 billion) and helping create a new operating company.That money would be transferred to Takata to help settle claims linked to faulty air bags that have been blamed for at least 16 deaths worldwide.Agreement on a restructuring deal, eight years after the first death, would enable Takata to draw a line under the crisis and help it continue supplying replacement air bag inflators, as well as selling seat belts and other vehicle components.In a statement, Takata acknowledged that its steering committee had endorsed KSS as a sponsor candidate, but said it had not reached any decision on its restructuring. a group including KSS, a U.S. Corp, and Bain Capital LLC was Takata''s preferred bidder, and would offer around 200 billion yen.Takata has long insisted it prefers a privately arranged restructuring, but people with knowledge of the situation have told Reuters that the company has come under increasing pressure from potential bidders and automaker clients to agree to a court-ordered process, which would provide more transparency. Ltd, which have been paying for recalls for almost a decade, have insisted on the court route - even if that would wipe out shareholder value, hitting the founding Takada family, with a 60 percent stake.Takata''s steering committee and potential bidders have been negotiating for months, with talks dragging due to differences over issues including price and how to handle risks for suppliers, two sources with knowledge of the issue have told Reuters.A spokeswoman for KSS declined to comment, while Hong Kong-based representatives for Bain could not immediately be reached.Discussions that involve the automaker''s likely May before a decision is reached, sources have said.In January, Takata agreed to plead guilty to criminal wrongdoing in the United States and to pay $1 billion to resolve a U.S. federal investigation into its inflators.A federal judge in Detroit this month said he plans to name former Federal Bureau of Investigation director Robert Mueller to oversee nearly $1 billion in Takata restitution funds, as part of a U.S. Justice Department settlement.Takata shares are indicated to fall about 8.5 percent from Wednesday''s close.($1 = 111.2200 yen)(Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim, Naomi Tajitsu, Tim Kelly and Junko Fujita; Editing by Clara Ferreira-Marques and Randy Fabi)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/takata-restructuring-idINKBN17T0LS'|'2017-04-27T13:46:00.000+03:00' +'e2e0d0e0bbb52c422a5be68582e303e008f64f8a'|'Shaw Communications explores selling ViaWest: sources'|'Deals - Fri Apr 28, 2017 - 6:05pm EDT Shaw Communications explores selling ViaWest: sources A television cameraman is reflected on a television screen displaying the Shaw logo during the Shaw AGM in Calgary, Alberta, January 14, 2014. REUTERS/Todd Korol By Liana B. Baker and John Tilak Shaw Communications ( SJRb.TO ) is looking for a buyer for ViaWest, the U.S. data center company it bought three years ago, according to people familiar with the matter, as the Canadian cable company continues to shed assets it considers non-core. The sale of ViaWest would be Shaw''s latest step to streamline its operations. Last year it sold its media assets to sister company Corus Entertainment Inc ( CJRb.TO ) for C$2.65 billion, and used some of the proceeds for its C$1.6 billion purchase of Wind Mobile. Shaw is working with Toronto-Dominion Bank ( TD.TO ) on an auction for ViaWest, the people said on Friday, asking not to be identified because the matter is confidential. There is no guarantee a sale will occur, the sources added. Shaw is hoping to fetch for ViaWest well over the $1.2 billion it paid to acquire it in 2014 from private equity firms Oak Hill Capital Partners and GI Partners, according to the sources. Shaw declined to comment, while TD Bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Analysts had been calling on Shaw to sell its data centers after U.S. telecommunications firms Verizon Communications Inc ( VZ.N ) and CenturyLink Inc ( CTL.N ) reaped several billions of dollars in sales after agreeing to sell their portfolios last year. "ViaWest is an asset that has potentially material value but currently relatively low cash flow," Macquarie Research analyst Greg MacDonald said. However, data center divestitures can also be challenging, because they involve separating assets that are deeply integrated into a telecommunications network. AT&T Inc ( T.N ), for example, scrapped an earlier plan to sell its data centers. Shaw has been investing in its wireless business and rebranded Wind last year as Freedom Mobile, Canada''s fourth largest wireless company, although it is much smaller than the wireless units of BCE Inc ( BCE.TO ), Rogers Communications Inc ( RCIb.TO ) and Telus Corp ( T.TO ), Shaw''s main rivals in Canada''s western provinces. Shaw''s business infrastructure services division, which consists of primarily ViaWest, last year generated C$123 million in operating income before restructuring costs and amortization, according to its annual report. Private equity firms or companies that specialize in data centers, such as Equinix Inc ( EQIX.O ) and Digital Realty Trust Inc ( DLR.N ), have been active buyers of assets. ViaWest owns about 30 data centers in several U.S. states including Colorado, Nevada, and Minnesota, according to its website. Under Shaw, ViaWest has made small acquisitions to bulk up the unit in recent years, including a deal to buy information technology provider INetU Inc for $162.5 million last year. (Reporting by Liana B. Baker in San Francisco and John Tilak in Toronto; Additional reporting by Alastair Sharp in Toronto; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-shaw-comms-m-a-viawest-idUSKBN17U313'|'2017-04-29T06:05:00.000+03:00' +'71373f28304e8bf6cee4264db0c7848182203094'|'California rains muddy farm fields, higher vegetable prices soak shoppers'|'Commodities - Fri Apr 21, 2017 - 7:08pm EDT California rains muddy farm fields, higher vegetable prices soak shoppers left right Farm fields in Salinas Valley are seen near Salinas California, U.S. on April 19, 2017. Picture taken on April 19, 2017. REUTERS/Lisa Baertlein 1/2 left right A tractor works in a field in Salinas Valley, near Salinas California, U.S. on April 19, 2017. Picture taken on April 19, 2017. REUTERS/Lisa Baertlein 2/2 By Lisa Baertlein - SALINAS, Calif. SALINAS, Calif. Record rains are a double-edged sword for California''s Salinas Valley: While the recent deluge virtually ended the state''s historic drought, it also created muddy, unworkable fields - sending prices for everything from kale to cauliflower soaring. The famed agricultural region just south of Silicon Valley is usually a springtime sea of green vegetables. But this year, there are patches of brown unplanted dirt in "America''s salad bowl," which supplies more than 60 percent of the country''s leaf lettuce and almost half of its broccoli. "Most fields under normal conditions would be planted at this point," Jerrett Stoffel, vice president of operations at Taylor Farms, said in an interview at the privately held company''s sprawling outpost in Salinas, California. Taylor Farms is a major provider of produce to customers such as grocer Kroger Co and burrito seller Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. "No matter whether you live here or you live in Boston, you''re going to see the impact" on supply and prices, Stoffel said. Salinas has been struck by a series supply-squeezing events, said Roland Fumasi, a Rabobank analyst who covers the fresh fruit, vegetable and flower sectors. Unusually hot weather in desert growing areas such as Yuma, Arizona, and California''s Imperial Valley during December and January resulted in early harvests. California''s 90-mile long Salinas Valley, which runs from Salinas to King City, couldn''t fill the supply gap because heavy rains in January and February delayed or prevented some planting. And, more recent rains have lowered yields and delayed harvests for some crops that are in the ground. Since Oct. 1, Salinas has received 16.4 inches of rain, significantly more than normal rainfall of almost 12 inches annually, said Eric Boldt, a National Weather Service meteorologist. California''s rainy season usually wraps up at the end of April, and the 14-day weather outlook suggests that is holding, Boldt said. "By the middle of next month, we might be pretty close to normal supply-side conditions," said Fumasi. "If we were to get heavy rains, then all bets are off." The supply crimp sent up wholesale prices, which are usually passed on to shoppers. Prices for boxes of California spinach and kale were up 20 percent and 87 percent, respectively, for the first two weeks of April versus the same period in 2016, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The moves have been more dramatic for broccoli and cauliflower. Broccoli more than tripled to $30.21 per box from $9.08; cauliflower is at $37.52 versus $13.74, USDA data as of April 15 shows. Doug Classen, vice president of sales at the Nunes Co, which grows and ships Foxy brand produce, said there are few options for filling the supply gap since there is not much product coming from Mexico and other parts of the United States. When asked about the area''s supply prospects, Classen uttered words unthinkable just a year ago: "Let''s put it this way, I don''t want to see any more rain." (Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by David Gregorio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-california-produce-supply-idUSKBN17N2LX'|'2017-04-22T07:00:00.000+03:00' +'268566c73e5aa982f261b5cc9a26e7dbdc9f262d'|'Actelion shareholders back R&D spinoff, keep J&J deal on track'|' 12:04pm BST Actelion shareholders back R&D spinoff, keep J&J deal on track The company''s logo is seen at the headquarters of Swiss biotech company Actelion in Allschwil, Switzerland January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann ZURICH Shareholders in Swiss biotech group Actelion ( ATLN.S ) approved on Wednesday spinning off its drug discovery and early clinical pipeline into a new company, keeping Johnson & Johnson''s ( JNJ.N ) $30 billion (24.03 billion pounds) takeover on track to close in the second quarter. "After a very successful two decades, resulting in an unprecedented share price increase of more than 2,000 percent since our IPO, the next chapter for Actelion awaits," Chairman Jean-Pierre Garnier said after the annual meeting. "With the successful tender offer by Johnson & Johnson, regulatory approvals on track, and today''s approval by the shareholders to spin out Idorsia, the transaction is moving ahead at full steam." Johnson & Johnson last month declared its tender offer a success and reported it controlled 77.2 percent of Actelion''s voting rights after the main offer period. J&J intends to delist Actelion, while the new research and development company led by Actelion founder Jean-Paul Clozel will have a separate Swiss listing. (Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Brenn Hughes Neghaiwi) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-actelion-m-a-j-j-idUKKBN1771A8'|'2017-04-05T19:04:00.000+03:00' +'c729dd8021d643daec39a3cda057b37ce8ceeded'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'(Adds Manulife Real Estate, Siemens, Vedanta Ltd, Barclays, ChemChina, Sika, Autogrill and Cenovus Energy)April 11 The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Tuesday:** Loews Corp, a hotel, energy and financial services conglomerate, said it would buy plastic packaging manufacturer Consolidated Container Co from Bain Capital Private Equity for about $1.2 billion.** Weight-control nutrition company Atkins Nutritional Holdings has agreed to go public through a merger with blank-check company Conyers Park Acquisition Corp in a deal that will value the combined company at about $856 million.** Finnish retailer Kesko said it will sell its agricultural trade chain K-maatalous to Sweden''s Lantmannen EK for 38.5 million euros ($40.8 million).** South African e-commerce and pay-TV group Naspers will pay 960 million rand ($69.5 million) to increase its stake in local online retailer Takealot, the companies said in a joint statement.** LeEco has scrapped a planned $2 billion acquisition of U.S. consumer electronics company Vizio due to regulatory issues, a fresh setback to the cash-strapped Chinese conglomerate''s expansion drive.** Germany''s Linde has for a second time rejected a request for a shareholder vote at its annual general meeting next month on its planned $65 billion merger with U.S. industrial gases rival Praxair.** Accell Group, the maker of Dutch bicycle brands Sparta and Batavus, said on Tuesday it had received a takeover proposal that values its stock at 845 million euros ($895 million) from investor Pon Holdings.** The CEO of AkzoNobel, the Dutch paints and coatings maker whose management is trying to avoid a takeover by U.S. rival PPG Industries, said its shareholders are divided over the bid in an interview published.** Argentina''s state-run oil company YPF SA is among the bidders for Royal Dutch Shell Plc''s refinery and network of gasoline stations in Argentina, according to two people familiar with the process.** A unit of a large semiconductor investment fund linked to the Chinese state has agreed to buy U.S. semiconductor testing company Xcerra Corp for $580 million in cash, the companies said on Monday.** Online coupon provider RetailMeNot Inc said it had agreed to be bought by marketing services company Harland Clarke Holdings Corp for about $630 million.** Mexican airport operator Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste said it had agreed to acquire a majority stake in two peers in Colombia, Airplan and Aeropuertos de Oriente, for some $262 million.** Manulife Real Estate, the global real estate arm of Manulife Financial Corp, said it acquired 8 Cross Street, a 28-storey office tower in Singapore, for $526 million.** Germany''s Siemens and Canada''s Bombardier are in talks to combine their rail operations, two people close to the matter told Reuters, a move that could strengthen their hand against Chinese state-backed market leader CRRC Corp.** Greece concluded a 1.2 billion euro ($1.27 billion) airport deal with a Fraport-led consortium, the country''s privatization agency said.** Indian metals and mining group Vedanta Limited said it had completed its buyout of oil and gas explorer Cairn India Ltd, consummating a deal that was delayed for months by investor opposition.** Barclays'' plan to sell its African business and pull out of the continent are being hindered by South Africa''s political upheaval and credit-rating downgrades, according to banking sources and fund managers.** Mexico''s antitrust commission COFECE said it would condition its approval of ChemChina''s planned $43 billion takeover bid of Swiss pesticides and seeds group Syngenta AG.** Sika Chairman Paul Haelg said he expects the hostile takeover attempt of his company by French construction materials giant Saint-Gobain to be resolved by 2018.** Italian travel caterer Autogrill plans to rejig its business structure, the company said, a move that drove its shares to a record high by fuelling talk it could seek to sell off units or acquire others.** Cenovus Energy Inc will do more hedging after its acquisition of ConocoPhillips assets, the Canadian company''s Chief Executive Brian Ferguson said as he mounted a charm offensive on investors who balked at the deal. ($1 = 0.9430 euros) ($1 = 13.8200 rand) (Compiled by Komal Khettry and Divya Grover in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/deals-day-idINL3N1HJ3FJ'|'2017-04-11T18:00:00.000+03:00' +'7ac3fafbe5fbe82730dc5a7460ad0fd36ba1d0d8'|'BlaBlaCar unveils Opel leasing deal in boost for ride-sharing'|'Business News - Wed Apr 5, 2017 - 10:04am BST BlaBlaCar unveils Opel leasing deal in boost for ride-sharing Frederic Mazzella, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of French ride-sharing start-up BlaBlaCar, poses at the company''s headquarters in Paris, France, September 28, 2016. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer BERLIN BlablaCar, Europe''s biggest ride-sharing startup, will offer its drivers lower-cost car deals in a partnership announced on Wednesday with Opel ( GM.N ) and Societe Generale ( SOGN.PA ). Paris-based BlablaCar, which lets users offer rides for cash to share their own vehicle and mileage costs, said it will begin offering Opels to some of its French drivers through Societe Generale''s ALD leasing units on competitive zero-deposit terms. The service connects regular long-distance drivers with passengers through its ride-sharing phone app, allowing car owners to cover costs but not make a profit. That shields users from regulatory and tax obligations. BlaBlaCar, which has 9 million drivers and 40 million passengers in 22 countries, will start by offering the deals to its 28,000 most prolific users in France before deploying the programme more widely, Chief Executive Nicolas Brusson said in an interview. "The goal is to expand that geographically," Brusson said. "We can pioneer a new approach to car ownership based on usage." (Reporting by Eric Auchard, additional reporting by Laurence Frost in Paris and Edward Taylor in Frankfurt. Editing by Jane Merriman) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-autos-sharing-blablacar-idUKKBN1770YK'|'2017-04-05T17:04:00.000+03:00' +'0801cd964140a3b9631ff89528b4df129f89edc9'|'Grains piled on runways, parking lots, fields amid global glut'|'Commodities - Tue Apr 11, 2017 - 1:07am EDT Grains piled on runways, parking lots, fields amid global glut left right A mountain of grain sits in a storage pile, as midwestern grain farmers and merchants struggle to find storage space after three years of record harvests, near Minburn, Iowa, U.S., March 11, 2017. REUTERS/Scott Morgan 1/4 left right A mountain of grain sits in a storage pile, as midwestern grain farmers and merchants struggle to find storage space after three years of record harvests, near Boone, Iowa, U.S., March 11, 2017. REUTERS/Scott Morgan 2/4 left right A mountain of grain sits in a storage pile, as midwestern grain farmers and merchants struggle to find storage space after three years of record harvests, near Boone, Iowa, U.S., March 11, 2017. REUTERS/Scott Morgan 3/4 left right A mountain of grain sits in a storage pile, as midwestern grain farmers and merchants struggle to find storage space after three years of record harvests, near Minburn, Iowa, U.S., March 11, 2017. REUTERS/Scott Morgan 4/4 By P.J. Huffstutter and Karl Plume - CHICAGO CHICAGO Iowa farmer Karl Fox is drowning in corn. Reluctant to sell his harvest at today''s rock-bottom prices, he has stuffed storage bins at his property full and left more corn piled on the ground, covered with a tarp. He would rather risk potential crop damage from the elements than pay the exorbitant cost of storage elsewhere. "That''s how poor people do it," said Fox, who has been farming for 28 years. "You do what you have to do." Farmers face similar problems across the globe. World stockpiles of corn and wheat are at record highs. From Iowa to China, years of bumper crops and low prices have overwhelmed storage capacity for basic foodstuffs. Global stocks of corn, wheat, rice and soybeans combined will hit a record 671.1 million tonnes going into the next harvest - the third straight year of historically high surplus, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). That''s enough to cover demand from China for about a year. In the United States, farmers facing a fourth straight year of declining incomes and rising debts are hanging on to grain in the hope of higher prices later. They may be waiting a long time: Market fundamentals appear to be weakening as the world''s top grain producers ponder what to do with so much food. The persistent glut is a striking contrast from the panic a decade ago, when severe droughts in Russia and the United States sent prices soaring. The shrinking supply forced big importers such as China to enact policies to encourage more domestic production and increase the volume of storage to improve food security. China abandoned that policy last year and is now selling off hundreds of millions of tonnes of old stocks. Russia, too, is looking at exporting from state-held stockpiles, with storage stuffed after a record harvest in 2016. A surge of Chinese and Russian exports would put even more downward pressure on prices in an oversupplied global market. That means U.S. farmers will likely be producing more grain for less money. The USDA forecasts net farm income will fall 8.7 percent this year to $62.3 billion - the lowest level since 2009. CATERPILLARS, RODENTS AND DONKEYS In farms across Iowa, corn bulges in plastic tubes that snake across the fields. The grain-stuffed silo bags are taller than a man, often longer than a soccer field and look like monstrous white caterpillars. On the other side of the globe in Australia, demand for the storage bags has exploded after farmers produced record crops of wheat and barley. They are laying across fields in Argentina, too. There, wheat production spiked 41.6 percent this year over the 2015/16 season, according to the most recent USDA data. There are risks to using the bags, however, as wild animals ranging from rodents to armadillos and even donkeys can be tempted to break in for the grain, said Mariano Bosch, the head of Adecoagro SA ( AGRO.K ), which farms more than 225,000 hectares of row crops in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. When the company expanded its grain plantings in northern Argentina, he said, they started building electrified fences around their silo bags to keep out cougars and pumas. "They won''t eat the grain. They''re just curious," said Bosch, who added that about 40 percent of the company''s grain this year is stored in silo bags. In neighboring Brazil, the world''s largest soybean shipper and the second-largest exporter of corn, towering grain silos have sprung up all across the country. GRAINS ON THE RUNWAY Storing grain gives farmers more control over when and how they sell, to avoid low harvest-time prices and to best take advantage of spikes in futures or currency swings. But with storage running short - and a mountain of grain to move ahead of summer or early autumn harvests - that control is slipping away. Farmers with mounting bills, tight cash-flow and nowhere to store crops may have to sell them - even if it means taking a loss. In Goodland, Kansas, where the next wheat harvest begins in late June, farmers holding grain in silos are facing cash wheat prices of about $3.15 a bushel and cash corn prices of $2.90 a bushel - both well below production costs of at least $4 a bushel. CORNSCUGDL-C1 WHRWFAGGDL-C1 Permanent storage in the United States can handle about 24.3 billion bushels - well short of the 25.9 billion bushels of wheat, soybeans and feed grains the USDA said was piled up by the end of last autumn''s harvest. The overflow in the United States has prompted a rush for temporary storage. The USDA has approved permits for more than 1.2 billion bushels of temporary and emergency grain storage - such as tarp-covered piles and open-air mounds. That''s a record amount, according to the USDA. In Kansas, some grain owners are renting airport tarmacs from decommissioned military bases, empty farm fields and parking lots to stash their corn as the situation becomes acute, according to farmers and local, state and federal officials. Meanwhile, there are no signs of a slowdown in grain production. The USDA already expects 2016/17 global harvests to be the highest since its records started in 1960/61 at 340.79 million tonnes of soybeans, 1.049 billion tonnes of corn and 751.07 million tonnes of wheat. "Nobody is going to cut back," said Fox, the Iowa farmer. With spring planting coming up, he is scouting for more storage space for this year''s harvest. "I have a note at the bank to pay off," he said. "I can''t do less." (Additional reporting by Tom Polansek and Mark Weinraub in Chicago, Hugh Bronstein in Buenos Aires, Gustavo Bonato in Sao Paulo, Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai, Naveen Thukral in Singapore and Polina Devitt in Moscow; Editing by Simon Webb and Brian Thevenot)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-grains-storage-analysis-idUSKBN17D0EO'|'2017-04-11T13:07:00.000+03:00' +'eeb86ef4f25e5edc2c8c19aad599b3bb5ebb7d9e'|'China''s SAIC Motor posts higher profit; cautions 2017 sales growth to slow - Reuters'|'BEIJING China''s largest automaker SAIC Motor Corp Ltd posted a 7.4 percent jump in 2016 profits, slightly lower than it had expected, and cautioned sales growth will slow this year as the country rolls back a tax cut on small-engine cars.The Shanghai-based manufacturer, which makes cars in joint ventures with General Motors Co and Volkswagen AG in addition to own-brand vehicles, said its net profit totalled 32.0 billion yuan ($4.6 billion) last year.This was below SAIC''s preliminary prediction for a 7.5 percent rise in 2016 profit.SAIC''s revenue rose 12.8 percent to 756 billion yuan.Demand for cars in China, the world''s biggest auto market, got a shot in the arm in 2016 as people rushed to buy ahead of a planned expiry at year-end of lower taxes. The tax cut - on vehicles with engines of 1.6 litres or below - mainly helped the mass market, smaller car segment where Volkswagen excels.But sales are expected to come under pressure this year following an increase in the purchase tax on small-engine vehicles to 7.5 percent as of Jan. 1, from 5 percent in 2016. The tax will return to its normal level of 10 percent in 2018.SAIC said the rush to buy cars before the hike in taxes could mean lower sales in 2017."After the blowout in (2016) auto market sales, it will be difficult to avoid an ''overdraft''," SAIC said in an exchange filing. "Market growth is facing greater challenges."SAIC on Wednesday said its vehicle sales rose 3 percent in the first three months of 2017. For the full year, the automaker aims to sell 6.7 million vehicles, up only about 3.8 percent from 2016, when sales saw a 10 percent growth.China''s overall vehicle sales growth is expected to slow to 5 percent in 2017 from 13.7 percent last year, according to China''s automakers association.Amid a more challenging domestic market, SAIC plans to continue pursuing new markets outside and said it had formally agreed to buy an Indian factory from General Motors.GM had previously said it was moving forward with talks to sell its Halol plant in Gujarat to SAIC.SAIC did not provide any further details in its filing, while GM did not immediately respond to a request for comment.($1 = 6.8957 Chinese yuan renminbi)(Reporting by Jake Spring, additional reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu; Editing by Himani Sarkar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/saic-motor-results-india-gm-idINKBN177138'|'2017-04-05T08:55:00.000+03:00' +'c4d8f202946b6b1ea0f7a576aa98bff8c7f283bd'|'Results, banking sector bounce help European shares recover'|'* STOXX 600 up 0.3 pct* Banks snap six-day losing streak* Burberry falls after results* Edenred a top gainer on higher revenue growth (ADVISORY - Follow European and UK stock markets in real time on the Reuters Live Markets blog on Eikon - see cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets)By Helen ReidLONDON, April 19 European shares recovered on Wednesday from their biggest one-day loss in five months, as a rebound in banking stocks and some positive first-quarter results outweighed weakness in oil and gas stocks.The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.3 percent by 0900 GMT, after hitting a three-week low on Tuesday.Britain''s FTSE extended the previous session''s losses, dropping 0.1 percent as sterling strength weighed on its constituents, most of which are major exporters.Banking stocks snapped a six-day losing streak - their longest run of daily losses for 11 months - to rise 1.4 percent, making them the top sectoral gainers.Banco Popular and Unicredit led the sectoral gainers, adding 6 percent and 4.4 percent respectively.Sentiment was helped by Jefferies initiating coverage on Dutch bank ING Group with a "buy", saying ING shares had 18.7 percent upside potential. ING rose 2.7 percent.Societe Generale and Credit Agricole topped the CAC 40, each up 2.9 percent.Basic resources also bounced back, gaining 1 percent, while oil and gas stocks fell 0.5 percent as crude prices dipped on bloated U.S. supplies.Earnings, which began in earnest from European companies, were mixed.Meal voucher group Edenred was a top gainer, up 6.4 percent after it posted higher first-quarter revenue growth and maintained its targets, boosted by growth in Latin America."Overall, we are encouraged by the strong start to the year and believe it means full year forecasts are well underpinned," Barclays analysts said.Oil storage and services company Vopak was also a top gainer after its first quarter results. The shares rose 5.5 percent.British luxury group Burberry was the top European loser, down 5.8 percent after it reported a slowdown in its fourth-quarter comparable sales growth rate, saying tough conditions in the U.S. outweighed an "exceptional" performance in its home market."Burberry has published a strong H2 trading update but this is driven by FX rather than any substantial underlying improvement in earnings," Liberum analysts said.German retailer Zalando fell 4.5 percent after it said it was happy with its first-quarter despite margin pressure due to post-Christmas sales discounting.French media group Vivendi was a top CAC-40 faller, down 1 percent after Italy''s watchdog ordered the firm to cut its stake in Telecom Italia or Mediaset.The Italian broadcaster was among the session''s top fallers, down 3.1 percent, while Telecom Italia fell 1.3 percent."Vivendi is very unlikely to sell down its 23.9 percent TI stake, in our view," Jefferies analysts said.Shares in British engineering group Cobham fell 10 percent after 683 million new shares were added to trading in its rights issue, raising 512.4 million pounds. (Editing by Louise Ireland)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/europe-stocks-idUSL8N1HR1UQ'|'2017-04-19T17:38:00.000+03:00' +'199b4a0f63c3be98ddf54828d4e21a7ab3e738b8'|'Lyft lands $600 million in fresh funding'|'By Heather Somerville - SAN FRANCISCO, April 11 SAN FRANCISCO, April 11 Ride services company Lyft has raised $600 million in fresh funding, one of its investors said on Tuesday.Private equity firm KKR & Co said it had joined a $600 million financing round, giving a sizeable financial boost to San Francisco-based Lyft as it continues to compete fiercely with rival Uber Technologies Inc.Sources close to Lyft said last week the company was close to completing a funding round that would value the firm at $7.5 billion, a sharp increase from the $5.5 billion valuation at Lyft''s last financing more than a year ago. (Reporting by Heather Somerville; Editing by Tom Brown)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/lyft-funding-idINL1N1HJ1J3'|'2017-04-11T17:56:00.000+03:00' +'3734a129a197d47fae294dbedaeb068d2016b7b7'|'Algeria could amend oil law to draw investment - oil minister statement'|' 50pm EDT Algeria could amend oil law to draw investment - oil minister statement By Lamine Chikhi - ALGIERS, April 11 ALGIERS, April 11 Algeria could change its hydrocarbons law to boost energy partnerships with foreign firms and draw more investment into its oil and gas sector, Energy Minister Nourredine Bouterfa said in a statement on Tuesday. Any move to amend its law -- criticised by some oil companies as too tough -- would be a major shift as Algeria looks to boost production. But changing the law may face resistance from the country''s political old guard wary of ending more nationalist policies. A key gas supplier to Europe, Algeria has managed over the last year to reverse stagnant production and increase oil and gas output, bringing new fields online and getting better yield from mature fields. But new exploration for longer-term output will need more foreign investment just as Algeria is juggling reforms to help offset the sharp slide in global crude prices that have slashed the government''s energy revenues. "We have engaged a dialogue with oil firms to shed light on their understanding of our laws, including their apprehensions with regard to taxes and to bring the necessary corrections so we can boost the development of our partnership and make our country more attractive," Bouterfa said in a statement to EU officials in Brussels. Bouterfa was speaking during a visit to discuss deepening energy cooperation with the European Union. Algeria, E.U. officials and oil companies have been in dialogue for a year over how to improve energy ties. Algeria''s energy legal framework and taxes have been seen by foreign oil and gas firms as a hurdle to more partnership. But the law is only one barrier. Oil firms say bureaucracy and delayed projects are others. In 2013, Algeria amended its law offering incentives to foreign companies in unconventional resources such as shale and linking taxes on partners of state energy firm Sonatrach to profit instead of turnover. But that was not enough to entice companies to subsequent energy bidding rounds, where investors saw little on offer and a lack of transparency in data on the fields. Since then Sonatrach has adopted a more flexible approach dealing with companies on a bilateral basis and abandoning public bids. The minister''s statement also told EU energy decision makers that "growth of output mainly natural gas will continue in a sustained way for the medium term and beyond." Algeria is the third gas supplier to the Europe Union after Russia and Norway, covering 55 percent of Spain''s gas energy needs in 2016, 16 percent of Italy''s and 15 percent of Portugal''s. Algeria exported 54 billion cubic metres in 2016, and it will export more than 57 billion cubic metres in 2017, according to Sonatrach. (Editing by Patrick Markey and Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/algeria-energy-idUSL8N1HJ4S4'|'2017-04-12T00:50:00.000+03:00' +'1285fa4498007050e5871d859979637446fbd46d'|'United CEO Munoz will not chair board in 2018 following passenger removal'|'NEW YORK United Airlines ( UAL.N ) Chief Executive Oscar Munoz will not chair the company''s board in 2018, it said in a regulatory filing on Friday, following a high-profile incident in which an elderly passenger was dragged from a flight.In a reversal of Munoz''s earlier employment agreement, he has opted to leave "future determinations related to the Chairman position to the discretion of the Board," the filing said.(Reporting by Alana Wise; Editing by Richard Chang)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/ual-passenger-idINKBN17N2H8'|'2017-04-21T18:41:00.000+03:00' +'e448ac9ba8d84337a6d0eeb1db7ab121500caf45'|'BRIEF-Air Lease announces activity update for Q1 of 2017'|' 06am EDT BRIEF-Air Lease announces activity update for Q1 of 2017 April 4 Air Lease Corp * Air Lease Corporation activity update for the first quarter of 2017 * Air Lease Corp - at end of q1 of 2017, alc''s fleet was comprised of 243 owned aircraft and 31 managed aircraft * Air Lease Corp says concluded sale of remaining 5 embraer aircraft to nordic aviation capital '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-air-lease-announces-activity-updat-idUSFWN1HC065'|'2017-04-04T19:06:00.000+03:00' +'b1d490a387f470fd6fa0a6fc53124d2c7117bf45'|'Google gets Australian tax office demand to pay more, says to fight it'|'Technology 7:48am BST Google gets Australian tax office demand to pay more, says to fight it FILE PHOTO: A Google search page is seen through a magnifying glass in this photo illustration taken in Berlin on August 11, 2015. REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski/File Photo By Harry Pearl - SYDNEY SYDNEY Alphabet Inc''s ( GOOGL.O ) Google said it will challenge amended tax assessments issued by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), which is trying to claw back billions of dollars from multinational corporations citing unpaid taxes. The ATO has increased scrutiny over how much tax multinationals operating in Australia pay. In December, it said it was pursuing seven global businesses over A$2 billion ($1.50 billion) in unpaid tax. While the ATO has not named the businesses it is pursuing, Google''s Australia unit said in accounts filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission that it will lodge an objection to the tax demand from the ATO. The company will continue to uphold its positions against any and all such claims, Google said in the financial statement released on Friday. The search giant did not disclose how much the ATO has demanded it pay in taxes. Google and the ATO declined to comment on how much the company''s amended tax bill was. Treasurer Scott Morrison said in April the country expected to claw back A$2.9 billion from companies under the legislation. Australia enacted the Multinational Anti-Avoidance Law in December 2015 and the ATO has introduced new guidelines for foreign trading hubs. Google Australia restructured its operations effective January 1 of last year to comply with the legislation and its financial statement reveals an increase in revenue and tax for the 2016 calendar year as a result. Revenue surged to A$1.14 billion in 2016 from A$498 million in 2015, while total income tax rose to A$16 million from A$2.8 million in 2015, the accounts show. (Reporting by Harry Pearl; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-google-australia-tax-idUKKBN17V05G'|'2017-04-29T14:46:00.000+03:00' +'47ac1d84b29a967b2f41220eb31ceeed7d0eaa3f'|'Yellen says Fed''s independence under threat from Congress - Reuters'|'The Federal Reserve''s ability to conduct monetary policy free of short-term political pressures is under "some threat" from two bills making their way through the U.S. Congress, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Monday.Central bank independence is "very important and results in better decision-making thats focussed on the long-term needs and health of the economy," Yellen said at an event at the University of Michigan''s Ford School of Public Policy in Ann Arbor. Of the legislation under consideration, the one that goes the furthest to curtail the Fed''s independence would require the central bank to follow a simple rule for setting interest rates and to justify any deviation from that rule, she said.(Reporting by Ann Saphir and Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-fed-yellen-independence-idINKBN17C2GX'|'2017-04-10T19:38:00.000+03:00' +'c0ab9af83749d03c25a13898de63ca2d31afa82a'|'Orascom extends deadline for Brazil''s Oi alternative plan a 3rd time'|'Deals 09pm EDT Orascom extends deadline for Brazil''s Oi alternative plan a third time SAO PAULO Orascom TMT Investments Sarl has voluntarily extended for a third time the deadline for Brazilian phone carrier Oi SA to consider an alternative in-court reorganization plan, according to a securities filing on Friday. Oi ( OIBR4.SA ) said in the filing the decision will allow management and shareholders to examine Orascom''s suggestions for the reorganization. Oi said Orascom voluntarily sent a letter to the company extending the deadline to May 1. (Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-oi-sa-restructuring-otmt-idUSKBN1722XM'|'2017-04-01T06:08:00.000+03:00' +'ebe67112349f3d7839a2370000dab79d56e4396c'|'Corkscrew thinking won the war. Here''s how to use it in business - Guardian Small Business Network'|'During the second world war Winston Churchill declared a need for corkscrew thinkers people with the ability to break away from the traditional linear way of thinking.Without these individuals, Churchill believed that neither side would win the war because everyone was thinking in the same way: the enemys next move would always be predictable. Entrepreneurs are the perfect modern-day corkscrew thinkersWhat followed was the creation of a number of special divisions. Alan Turing headed up the group who cracked the enigma code. Another counter-intelligence team devised the famous Operation Mincemeat. And the Special Operations Executive controlled a number of covert resistance units that would have been activated if Germany had invaded Britain. The department was unofficially known as the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare or Churchills Secret Army. When Churchill talked about corkscrew thinkers, he was referring to individuals who possess creative problem-solving, initiative, leadership and emotional intelligence skills. Individuals who are able to look at problems in the world and see game-changing, innovative solutions. Jump forward 65 years and these skills have never been more desirable or in demand. But our education system, which was designed in response to an industrialised Britain, is one that requires and promotes standardisation. Many students today believe all you need to be successful is to reach an answer that has been predetermined as correct. In other words, everyone is taught to think the same way. Entrepreneurs are the perfect modern-day corkscrew thinkers. Theyre people who arent afraid to take risks, step out of their comfort zones and challenge the status quo. They champion creativity and imagination. They have the courage to push traditional boundaries, and realise its worth investing the time to find the best solution not the easiest.Churchills theory that as soon as you starting thinking in the same way as everyone else, you lose your advantage still rings true today. But how do you encourage and engage corkscrew thinking in your own business? Here are our tips:Secrets to business survival: ''always look at new ways to innovate'' Read more 1 Remove time frames from creativity Try to not apply strict time frames to creative processes. Allow more time than you think youll need. Often the first idea you think of wont be the best and its worth investing the time to explore other available options. The danger of rushing creativity is that you are likely to reach the most obvious solution, which may get lost in the crowd or worse, be worked on by your competitors too. Leave yourself room for brilliance. 2 Share ideas Business people are often wary of talking about their ideas for fear that someone might steal them. But most of the time, even if someone does really like your idea, theyre unlikely to have the time, resources or passion to pursue it. There is great value in explaining your idea to people who arent friends or family. Not only does it allow you to hone your pitch but their honest feedback may further evolve your idea. 3 Take risks Those who succeed are brave enough to take a leap of faith every now and again. That doesnt mean being flippant with your decision making, but if youve been working hard and thinking smart, have faith in your business and yourself. If you dont back yourself, how can you expect anyone else to do so?4 Embrace failure Failure is as much a part of the business path as success and its likely you will experience more of the former before arriving at the latter. No matter how carefully you plan, there will always be scenarios you cant control. When failure happens, use the experience to reflect on why it happened, what you can learn from it and what you would do differently next time. Dont underestimate the long-term value of these lessons.5 Be a magpie Much in the same way that magpies collect shiny objects, look around at what inspires you and collect nuggets that might grow into interesting ideas. Accept that all inspiration is an evolution of a previous idea. By taking the time to think about and collect what you love, you are more likely to strike upon an idea that you are truly passionate about.Neil Finnie is the founder and CEO of Corkscrew Experienceships . Sign up to become a member of the Guardian Small Business Network here for more advice, insight and best practice direct to your inbox. Topics Guardian Small Business Network The Disruptors Entrepreneurs blogposts Share Reuse this content'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/apr/07/corkscrew-thinking-world-war-two-business-winston-churchill'|'2017-04-07T15:00:00.000+03:00' +'d60c6fee22257bf4f446aa299cc20f2e366d7dff'|'UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on April 25'|'Market News - Tue Apr 25, 2017 - 3:00am EDT UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on April 25 (Adds company news, futures) April 25 Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening up 18 points on Tuesday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures up 0.2 percent ahead of the cash market open. * WHITBREAD: Britain''s Whitbread Plc, which runs the Costa Coffee chain and Premier Inn hotels, said it expected the consumer environment to deteriorate next year. * VIRGIN MONEY: British bank Virgin Money Holdings Plc reaffirmed its 2017 guidance as it posted lower gross mortgage lending for the first three months of the year, noting strong competition in parts of the mortgage market. * AMEC: British oil and gas services company Amec Foster Wheeler Plc, which is being bought by John Wood Group Plc, reported a bigger-than-expected full-year pretax loss as the oil market rout forced companies to delay or cancel contracts. * Carpetright: Britain''s biggest floor coverings retailer Carpetright forecast full-year profit at the lower end of market expectations as sales growth slowed in its fourth quarter, adding to evidence that UK consumer confidence is deteriorating. * ST. JAMES''S: British wealth manager St. James''s Place plc said on Tuesday that it had taken in 2 billion pounds ($2.56 billion)in net new money during the first quarter, boosted by demand for its pension and savings products. * BRITAIN/EU: The snap general election called by British Prime Minister Theresa May will reduce the already limited time available to negotiate a Brexit deal, an influential EU lawmaker said on Monday. * International Consolidated: Spanish airline Iberia could open a new early retirement program for 1,000 workers by June, depending on the outcome of prior talks with unions, Chief Executive Officer Luis Gallego said. * GOLD: Gold held steady on Tuesday after a sharp fall in the previous session on a market-friendly French presidential vote, although tensions over North Korea offered support for safe-haven bullion. * COPPER: Copper eased in Asia on Tuesday, coming under pressure from investors looking to book gains after a surprise overnight lift in the London contract following a market-friendly French presidential vote. * OIL: Oil prices inched up on Tuesday but markets remain under pressure following six consecutive sessions of declines as traders lose confidence that pledged output cuts by major producers will rein in oversupply in a world awash with fuel. * The UK blue chip index closed 2.1 percent higher at 7,246.68 points on Monday after centrist Emmanuel Macron came out on top in the first round of France''s presidential election. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets TODAY''S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Harish Bhaskar; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idUSL4N1HX2JX'|'2017-04-25T15:00:00.000+03:00' +'b08cd128a06c6fda6e7d889d32146832220acbc4'|'Panera Bread in advanced sale talks with JAB Holdings: source'|'Deals - Tue Apr 4, 2017 - 6:22pm EDT Panera Bread in advanced sale talks with JAB Holdings: source A Panera restaurant logo is pictured on a building in North Miami, Florida March 19, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri By Lauren Hirsch Bakery chain Panera Bread Co ( PNRA.O ) is in advanced talks to sell to JAB Holdings as the owner of Caribou Coffee and Peet''s Coffee & Tea builds out its coffee and breakfast empire, a source familiar with the situation said on Tuesday. A sale to JAB, which also owns Keurig Green Mountain, would help the company compete against rivals such as Dunkin Brands Group Inc ( DNKN.O ). St. Louis-based Panera has reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings per share for the last six quarters. The stock has risen nearly 28 percent this year. Luxembourg-based JAB, the investment vehicle of the billionaire Reimann family, declined to comment. Panera also declined to comment. Bloomberg first reported Panera was in advanced sale talks with JAB. (Reporting by Lauren Hirsch; Editing by Andrew Hay) Next In Deals'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-panera-bread-m-a-jab-holdings-idUSKBN1762YK'|'2017-04-05T06:22:00.000+03:00' +'2d5dcdb1408562ff710244b58fcab29bb01e5711'|'BRIEF-Milacron Holdings says unit entered agreement to sell 2 properties for CAD $14.25 mln - SEC Filing'|' 01pm EDT BRIEF-Milacron Holdings says unit entered agreement to sell 2 properties for CAD $14.25 mln - SEC Filing April 17 Milacron Holdings Corp: * On April 12, co''s unit entered into agreement of purchase & sale with Skyline Real Estate Acquisitions Inc - SEC Filing * Agreement to sell two properties located in Halton Hills, Ontario, Canada for CAD $14.25 million - SEC Filing * Closing of the agreement''s transaction is expected to provide co with net proceeds of approximately CAD $14.0 million * Contract is subject to Skyline Real Estate Acquisitions entering agreement to lease properties to co for 15 years for about CAD $15 million Source text: ( bit.ly/2pryWhQ ) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-milacron-holdings-says-unit-entere-idUSFWN1HP09I'|'2017-04-18T03:01:00.000+03:00' +'b5ae642fa5e40b01e2c56fd9eb35bb36e4dd7909'|'Samsung Electronics says first quarter operating profit likely rose 48 percent year on year'|'Technology News - Fri Apr 7, 2017 - 12:43am BST Samsung Electronics says first-quarter operating profit likely rose 48 percent year-on-year FILE PHOTO: Shareholders walk past the logo of Samsung Electronics before their general meeting at a company''s building in Seoul, South Korea, March 24, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji SEOUL Tech giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd ( 005930.KS ) estimated on Friday its first-quarter operating profit rose 48 percent from a year earlier, beating expectations as strong memory chip prices likely padded margins. Samsung, in a regulatory filing, said its January-March profit was likely 9.9 trillion won ($8.76 billion), compared with an average forecast of 9.4 trillion won from a Thomson Reuters survey of 18 analysts. Revenue likely rose 0.4 percent from a year earlier to 50 trillion won, Samsung said. The company did not elaborate on its performance and will disclose detailed earnings in late April. (Reporting by Se Young Lee; Editing by Stephen Coates)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-samsung-elec-results-idUKKBN178319'|'2017-04-07T07:42:00.000+03:00' +'8a0ece26ab430b34e1094927031274edd03a5b7e'|'Room for improvement with Accors pricing policy - Money'|'Last November I used AccorHotels website to book a night at its Stratford-upon-Avon Mercure hotel at the end of this April. I paid upfront at the advance saver rate of 98.10. Last weekend I checked the website for directions, only to find that the rate had dropped to 71.10. I rang the hotel to ask them to refund the difference and was told that the manager would get back to me. They havent. Since then Ive contacted Accor by phone and email with no joy. Im pushing 70 and greatly enjoy my trips to the theatre, but would rather spend an extra 27 on a better seat than a so-called saver rate, which is no such thing. Hopefully you can get it to admit that it is a blatant misnomer. EC, Winchester In keeping with every other hotel booking website, Accor promises those booking its rooms a best-price guarantee. But as you found, this guarantee turned out to be worthless. The difference between this and some other booking sites is that Accor is selling its own rooms and has complete control over prices. An email to the French HQ prompted the hotel to spring into action. The manager has now replied and apologised.I have taken this up with the person responsible for bedroom pricing at our head office and he has apologised and confirms it is an oversight we would never normally lower our prices; we always reward those who book earliest with our lowest rates, he claimed.He has agreed to charge you 65 and is refunding you 33. He has also promised, if possible, to upgrade you to a better room.We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number Topics Hotels Consumer champions Consumer affairs Consumer rights Travel & leisure features '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/apr/18/accor-hotels-advance-saver-rate-cheaper-rooms'|'2017-04-18T15:00:00.000+03:00' +'5946027ca5e1a9795114ba61c1a0709dfb5f6fb9'|'LafargeHolcim CEO to depart in wake of Syria controversy'|'ZURICH LafargeHolcim ( LHN.S ) Chief Executive Eric Olsen will leave the company in July after the world''s largest cement maker admitted on Monday it had paid armed groups to keep a factory operating in war-ravaged Syria.An independent internal inquiry found protection payments made to intermediaries to keep open the Jalabiya plant in northern Syria were not in line with its policies."Significant errors of judgment were made that contravened the applicable code of conduct," the company said, while adding that Olsen was not responsible for any wrongdoing identified in the review.Olsen, who has headed the company since it was created by a merger two years ago, said he was resigning with effect from July 15."While I was absolutely not involved in, nor even aware of, any wrongdoing I believe my departure will contribute to bringing back serenity to a company that has been exposed for months on this case," Olsen, who has dual French and American nationality, said in a statement.French prosecutors are also investigating the group''s activities in Syria. Two human rights group have filed a legal complaint in Paris against Lafarge, saying some of its work in Syria may have made it complicit in financing Islamic State and in war crimes.Olsen''s resignation highlights the dilemmas companies face when working in conflict zones.The report noted the chaos in Syria between 2013 and the evacuation of the plant in September 2014. It added that local managers believed they were acting in the best interests of the company and its staff by trying to keep the plant open."Very simply, chaos reigned and it was the task of local management to ensure that the intermediaries did whatever was necessary to secure its supply chain and the free movement of its employees," the report said.The plant cost $680 million to build and had started production only in May 2010.MANAGEMENT CHANGESFormed by a $44 billion merger, LafargeHolcim said it would tighten its corporate governance to focus more on country-specific risks and sanctions policies.LafargeHolcim shares dipped after news of Olsen''s departure was confirmed, one of the few losers in a Paris market buoyed by the outcome of the first round of the presidential election. In Switzerland, the dual-listed stock recovered ground lost in early moves to trade flat by 1030 GMT.Once Olsen goes, Chairman Beat Hess will take over as interim CEO. Hess is Swiss and had served as a director of Holcim since 2010.Last month LafargeHolcim said Bruno Lafont, the former Lafarge CEO, would also step down as co-chairman.Olsen himself was a former head of human resources at Lafarge before being named executive vice-president operations in September 2013. He was paid nearly 9 million Swiss francs ($9 million) last year.Jacob Waerness, a risk manager for Lafarge in Syria from 2011 to 2013, said the plant should have closed down in the summer of 2013 when the company became aware of radical Islamist groups in the region."Quite early, in 2011 we discussed if an armed group occupies the area around the cement plant, we have to leave," Waerness said earlier this month at an event in Zurich to promote a book he wrote about his experiences. The Norwegian security consultant no longer works for the company.However, he said that a Kurdish militia and the Syrian government had both wanted the plant to remain open, prompting local officials to try to keep it going."We were not breaching any sanctions. We were a Syrian company - we had a responsibility to operate," he said.(Additional reporting by Terje Solsvik in Oslo; Editing by Keith Weir)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-lafargeholcim-syria-olsen-idUSKBN17Q0E4'|'2017-04-24T13:20:00.000+03:00' +'af87c03da4ca20416cd7c80899ca6ee041f63d70'|'VW''s Audi and Porsche to join forces on vehicle development'|'Business News - Wed Apr 5, 2017 - 11:30am EDT VW''s Audi and Porsche to join forces on vehicle development left right The logo of German car manufacturer Audi is seen at a building of a car dealer in Duebendorf, Switzerland November 22, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: The logo of German carmaker Porsche is seen on a Porsche centre in Niederwangen, Switzerland, May 10, 2016. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich/File Photo 2/2 FRANKFURT Volkswagen Group''s ( VOWG_p.DE ) Audi and Porsche brands will join forces on vehicle development, the two upmarket brands said on Wednesday, to help the world''s largest carmaker save money in the wake of its costly emissions test cheating scandal. The pact comes as Volkswagen (VW) Chief Executive Matthias Mueller, who previously worked as Porsche''s CEO and Audi''s head of product management, finalizes a plan to step up development of autonomous cars, electric vehicles and digital services. Porsche and Audi said the focus was on jointly developing shared vehicle platforms, modules and components, in a deal that follows a period of intense in-house competition for development resources. Projects will be jointly headed by representatives from each brand. In the coming months, joint teams will prepare the specific areas of cooperation and define a roadmap to 2025, they said. Porsche, taken over by VW 2012, has emerged as a strong rival engineering center to Audi. Porsche''s MSB platform, used for its four-seater Panamera model, has been adopted for VW group''s next generation Bentley Continental model even though Audi had developed a similar offering. Since the group''s emissions test cheating on diesel engines was exposed in September 2015, Audi has lost two research and development chiefs and the head of its automotive electronics division, who did pioneering work in the area of autonomous driving and battery technology. Audi remains the group''s center of excellence for sport-utility vehicles, a lucrative and growing market, where it supplies platforms to Porsche and other brands such as Bentley. With self-driving vehicles likely to play a major future role in the industry, Audi also develops autonomous cars for the group. But a separate internal race has begun to become an engineering hub for electric vehicles, a field which includes research and development of battery cells, battery packs and electric motors. Porsche has developed the J1 electric cars platform, while Audi has also worked on its own electric car. Porsche has also taken over production of eight-cylinder gasoline engines for large sportscars for the VW group, even though Audi has its own engine factory in Hungary. (Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Mark Potter) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-porsche-development-idUSKBN17721S'|'2017-04-05T23:30:00.000+03:00' +'c86d843645825a8ef75be2409d21984a4f7d0e34'|'Yancoal says Australia government clears Rio coal sale'|'Business News - Thu Apr 13, 2017 - 12:36am BST Yancoal says Australia government clears Rio coal sale FILE PHOTO - A sign adorns the building where mining company Rio Tinto has their office in Perth, Western Australia, November 19, 2015. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo SYDNEY Australia''s foreign investment watchdog has cleared Chinese- backed coal miner Yancoal Australia Ltd ( YAL.AX ) to pursue its $2.45 billion acquisition of Rio Tinto''s ( RIO.AX ) ( RIO.L ) Coal and Allied Division, Yancoal said on Thursday. The approval by Australia''s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) marked a critical milestone for Yancoal, representing the government''s support for investment in the resources sector, Yancoal said. Yancoal said it expects to complete the deal in the third quarter of 2017. Its purchase of the Rio Tinto coal assets had not led to any political controversy in Australia. FIRB has yet to approve a A$7.37 billion bid for utility firm DUET Group ( DUE.AX ) led by Hong Kongs Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings (CKI) ( 1038.HK ). DUETs assets include a state electricity grid. CKI and Chinas State Grid Corp last year had their bid for a larger state electricity grid, Ausgrid, rejected by the Australian government based on unspecified national security concerns. Australia in January set up a new body to vet foreign investment in critical infrastructure assets, which include power grids but not coal mines. (Reporting by James Regan and Jamie Freed; Editing by Sandra Maler and Stephen Coates)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-rio-tinto-yancoal-idUKKBN17E2YC'|'2017-04-13T07:21:00.000+03:00' +'e5dd8eecfa85fdeac6b753c91b16aca5f5a4426e'|'BRIEF-BMC makes two strategic acquisitions'|' 05am EDT BRIEF-BMC makes two strategic acquisitions April 4 Bmc Stock Holdings Inc * BMC enhances its value-added offerings with two strategic acquisitions * BMC stock holdings - has acquired substantially all of assets, assumed certain liabilities of texas plywood & lumber company, code plus components, llc. * BMC stock holdings inc - "each of these transactions is in line with our strategy to pursue accretive acquisition opportunities" '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-bmc-makes-two-strategic-acquisitio-idUSFWN1HC08V'|'2017-04-04T19:05:00.000+03:00' +'11788f01b3108c4eed9ad55c1021d4e4c0980760'|'Bank of Japan to offer brighter view of economy, exports - sources'|' 9:27am BST Bank of Japan to offer brighter view of economy, exports - sources A Japanese flag flutters atop the Bank of Japan building in Tokyo, Japan, September 21, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo By Leika Kihara - TOKYO TOKYO The Bank of Japan is expected to offer a more upbeat view of the economy at this month''s rate review than it did last month, people familiar with the matter said, as robust exports and factory output support recovery in the world''s third-largest economy. But the central bank will stress its resolve to maintain its massive monetary stimulus, as the export-driven recovery has yet to boost private consumption and inflation, the sources told Reuters. "The economy is doing quite well. The problem is it''s not translating into higher prices," one of the sources said, conceding that underlying inflation remains "surprisingly weak". "Exports and output are gathering momentum," another source said, adding that a recent slew of positive data has heightened the chance the BOJ will upgrade its economic view. Last month, the BOJ said Japan''s economy is "recovering moderately as a trend." The central bank will likely remove the phrase "as a trend" to signal its confidence that the recovery is gaining momentum, the sources said. The BOJ is also likely to offer a more optimistic view on exports and output than in March, when it said they were "picking up," the sources said. The BOJ is widely expected to keep monetary settings unchanged at its two-day rate review that ends April 27. At the meeting, it will also review its quarterly projections and its assessment of economic and price developments. INFLATION REMAINS WEAK Japan''s economy has shown signs of life, as a rebound in overseas demand helped exports grow by the fastest pace in more than two years in February. Analysts polled by Reuters expect exports to rise for a fourth straight month in March. Factory output rose at its fastest pace in eight months in February and job losses hit a two-decade low, a sign the economy was running at near full-capacity mainly on external tailwinds. An estimate by the BOJ showed the output gap, which turns positive when an economy''s demand exceeds supply, posted its first positive reading in seven quarters in October-December. But core consumer prices rose just 0.2 percent in February from a year earlier, casting doubt on the BOJ''s forecast that the economic recovery will prod firms to raise prices and wages. An index stripping away the cost of energy showed consumer inflation stood at 0.1 percent in February, suggesting that companies remain wary of raising prices for fear of scaring away cost-savvy consumers. The BOJ now projects core consumer inflation to hit 1.5 percent in the current fiscal year ending in March 2018, and accelerate to 1.7 percent the following year. Some analysts say the BOJ will be forced to slash the price forecasts, which far exceed private-sector projections of around 1 percent. "The BOJ''s price forecasts are too optimistic, so there''s a very high chance they will be revised down. This may happen at its next quarterly forecast review in April," said Kazuo Momma, a former top BOJ economist. (Additional reporting by Sumio Ito and Yoshifumi Takemoto; Editing by Sam Holmes)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-boj-idUKKBN17G0IK'|'2017-04-14T16:27:00.000+03:00' +'a2732e26b5717364ff60aa41917bf79a1e07d547'|'United Air removes engaged couple traveling to wedding from plane'|'U.S. - Sun Apr 16, 2017 - 10:54pm EDT United Air removes engaged couple traveling to wedding from plane United Airlines planes are seen on platform at the Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, July 8, 2015. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz NEW YORK An engaged couple flying on United Airlines from Houston, Texas, to their wedding in Costa Rica were removed by a federal law enforcement officer from the flight on Saturday amid disputed circumstances, according to media reports. The removal comes at a time of heightened scrutiny of the airline''s approach to customer service after a video emerged a week ago showing security officers dragging a bloodied passenger off an overbooked United Express flight in Chicago. United said the couple repeatedly tried to sit in more expensive seats for which they had not paid and would not follow flight crew instructions, according to the KHOU 11 New channel in Houston. United, owned by United Continental Holdings Inc ( UAL.N ), did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday evening. Michael Hohl and his fiance, Amber Maxwell, gave a different account. Hohl said he and Maxwell found another passenger sleeping sprawled across their seats after they were the last to board the flight, according to an interview with KHOU. Soon after moving to other, empty seats in the economy cabin a few rows up, flight crew denied their request to pay a supplement for the seats, which United sells as "economy plus", and told them to move back to their original seats, Hohl said. "We thought not a big deal, it''s not like we are trying to jump up into a first-class seat," Hohl told KHOU. "We were simply in an economy row a few rows above our economy seat." They then cooperated with an officer from the U.S. Marshals Service who boarded and told them they had to get off the plane, Hohl said. The couple were rebooked on a flight on Sunday, KHOU reported. Dr. David Dao, the 69-year-old Vietnamese-American doctor who was seen in video being dragged off a United flight a week ago, will likely sue the airline, his attorney said on Thursday. After the incident triggered international outrage, United Chief Executive Oscar Munoz apologized to Dao, his family and its customers, saying the carrier would no longer use law enforcement officers to remove passengers from overbooked flights. (Reporting by Jonathan Allen; Editing by Christopher Cushing)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ual-passenger-couple-idUSKBN17J05Q'|'2017-04-17T10:47:00.000+03:00' +'d0d8113d99530ba62b7247b61448a8d5aa20d28c'|'RPT-Korea Inc''s China troubles rattle local workers, suppliers'|'Company 00pm EDT RPT-Korea Inc''s China troubles rattle local workers, suppliers (Repeats story from late Tuesday) * S.Korean firms see sales hit by boycotts, cut output * Workers, suppliers relying on carmaker Hyundai feel pinch * S.Korean firms directly employ 700,000 Chinese -trade agency * Retailer Lotte has closed 75 of its 99 outlets in China By Muyu Xu and Adam Jourdan BEIJING/SHANGHAI, April 11 South Korean companies in China have been clobbered by Beijing''s angry response to Seoul''s decision to deploy a U.S. anti-missile system, but the boycotts and regulatory pressure on firms like Hyundai and Lotte are rebounding on their Chinese workers and suppliers. South Korean businesses are a major employer in China, with firms such as Hyundai Motor Co, smartphone manufacturer Samsung Electronics Co, and retail giant Lotte Group directly creating some 700,000 jobs in China, according to a Korea trade promotion agency, and there are many more down the supply chain. Hyundai, which says its Chinese affiliates and suppliers alone create a total of 90,000 jobs, has responded to falling sales by cutting production. In Beijing''s industrial suburb of Shunyi, where Hyundai has its biggest overseas manufacturing base, its suppliers, workers and local retailers who depend on them are feeling the pinch. "We haven''t worked weekends since a month ago and don''t know when it will get back to normal," said a supplier of hub caps to Hyundai. "We can do nothing but wait while losing money." Hyundai''s Beijing plants, which used to run 24 hours, seven days a week, are now running just 8am to 5pm on a four-day week, its workers say, and concerns of further output cuts are unnerving those working in its supply chain and local stores. Couriers complain deliveries to Hyundai''s main plant have dropped by between a half and two-thirds, while the owner of a nearby convenience store said his business had been hit because salaries at the plant were down. The chief executive of a South Korean auto parts supplier employing over 100 Chinese employees said his factory''s utilisation rate had dropped by 30 percent. He had not laid anyone off yet, but said the future was uncertain. "We have no choice but to reduce Chinese workers if the situation is prolonged. There are no signs that the situation would get better anytime soon," he said. Hyundai itself said there was "no current impact on employment in China", that it was fully committed to the Chinese market, and would "continue to do our utmost to protect our employees in the region". COLLATERAL DAMAGE The dispute over the THAAD missile defence system, which South Korea and the United States say is needed to contain the threat from North Korea, has prompted calls for boycotts in Chinese media and increased regulatory scrutiny for South Korean firms. Lotte Group, which has suffered a local boycott of its products since it agreed to provide land for the U.S. missile defence system, closed 75 of its 99 hypermarkets in China in recent weeks after regulatory inspections by authorities. It said workers at affected stores were being paid in full as per Chinese law. This could drop to 60-70 percent in the second month of closure, but the firm would "pay the most it can", a Lotte Mart spokesman said. Lotte Group employs 20,000 people in China. Reuters spoke to five Lotte employees in stores around China who said they were still being paid and that workers were still coming into closed stores to check expiry dates and handle inventory. Corporate risk analysts said China was willing to accept some "tolerable collateral damage", and it was being strategic in the areas it targeted, avoiding, for now, big employers like tech giant Samsung. "They''ve pretty carefully targeted Lotte in terms of what the government has orchestrated, as well as tourism, flights and duty free," said Andrew Gilholm, director of analysis for China and North Asia at risk consultancy Control Risks. He said the stand-off could go on at least until South Korea has new leadership, following the impeachment last month that ended the presidency of Park Geun-hye. "Beijing is likely to keep the pressure on until the new government is set up in Seoul and has made its position (on THAAD) clear," he said. For now, Korean firms are keeping their heads down waiting for the row to blow over. But workers and dealers remain anxious, with sales showing no signs of recovery and no idea when things might return to normal. "The recent slide has been very serious. Normally we sell more than 100 vehicles in a month. Now we can only shift 30," said a Hyundai dealer in Beijing. "Anti-Korean sentiment has soared, and lots of consumers aren''t willing to buy South Korean cars," he said. (Reporting by Muyu Xu in BEIJING, Adam Jourdan in SHANGHAI; Additional reporting by Hyunjoo Jin, Joyce Lee, Suyeong Lee and Heekyong Yang in SEOUL, SHANGHAI and BEIJING newsrooms; Editing by Will Waterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/southkorea-china-jobs-idUSL3N1HJ3O3'|'2017-04-12T07:00:00.000+03:00' +'7d6c99beee27b07eec6ca46db73a71f76585ae19'|'Ryanair to pivot growth away from UK for next two years due to Brexit'|'Business News - Thu Apr 6, 2017 - 10:10am BST Ryanair to pivot growth away from UK for next two years due to Brexit A Ryanair aircraft lands at Ciampino Airport in Rome, Italy December 24, 2016. REUTERS/Tony Gentile LONDON Ryanair ( RYA.I ), Europe''s largest airline by passenger numbers, plans to pivot its growth away from Britain over the next two years as the country negotiates its exit from the European Union, its finance director said on Thursday. Neil Sorahan told reporters in London that the airline had planned to grow by about 15 percent in the UK last year but had instead posted growth of about 6 percent. "Ryanair is pivoting its growth away from the UK," he said. "We may see that growth slow down as we get closer to the divorce negotiations coming to an end, unless we get greater certainty as to what we actually can or cannot do within Europe." Sorahan said the airline also expected Brexit to hit growth in both Britain and the EU, as both parties have to deal with a completely new scenario, although they had not seen that come through yet. "The only positive, I suppose, for our customers, is that this will lead to lower fares, as we have to stimulate the market," he said. (Reporting by Alistair Smout; writing by Kate Holton; editing by Guy Faulconbridge) Next In Business News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-ryanair-hldgs-idUKKBN1780YB'|'2017-04-06T17:10:00.000+03:00' +'43dfbb09937001dae7da3ee0d0f2cce71beee327'|'Linde-Praxair merger deal falls behind schedule - source'|' 12:04pm BST Linde-Praxair merger deal falls behind schedule - source Linde Group logo is seen at company building before the annual news conference in Munich, Germany March 9, 2017. REUTERS/Lukas Barth MUNICH, Germany Linde ( LING.DE ) and Praxair''s ( PX.N ) $65 billion (52 billion pounds) merger talks are facing legal complexities that mean the agreement will not be finalised as planned before Linde''s annual shareholder meeting on May 10, a source familiar with the situation said. The all-share U.S.-German merger of equals is intended to create a market leader that will overtake France''s Air Liquide ( AIRP.PA ) and reunite a global Linde group split by World War One a century ago. Adding to the complexities, the deal has met unexpectedly strong resistance from German trade unions who fear a dilution of their influence when the headquarters moves out of Germany and more profitable Praxair applies its operating practices worldwide. A Linde spokesman said the two companies were still working towards finalising the business combination agreement before the AGM, but could not rule out that it would be later. Linde is not planning to allow shareholders to vote on the deal at the AGM, arguing that each investor would in any case have to make an individual decision whether to tender his or her shares. German private-investor association DSW has already demanded that an extraordinary shareholder meeting be called if the deal is not wrapped up before the AGM. (Reporting by Jens Hack; Writing by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Christoph Steitz and Keith Weir)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-linde-m-a-praxair-idUKKBN17F1CG'|'2017-04-13T19:04:00.000+03:00' +'3bea48378e09f0903928b7d348f11d46e641a188'|'Akzo Nobel CEO says PPG proposal is insufficient'|'Deals 06am EDT Akzo Nobel CEO says PPG proposal is insufficient Ton Buchner, CEO of AkzoNobel, poses during a photocall at the presentation of the 2013 full-year results in Amsterdam February 6, 2014. REUTERS/Toussaint Kluiters/United Photos AMSTERDAM Akzo Nobel ( AKZO.AS ) CEO Ton Buechner repeated on Monday his opposition to a March 20 takeover proposal from U.S. rival PPG Industries ( PPG.N ), saying he sees no merit in negotiating with PPG. Buechner and Akzo Chairman Antony Burgmans have been under pressure from major shareholders, many of whom say the company should enter talks on PPG''s 24.5 billion euro ($26.1 billion) offer. "It did not address the key stakeholder issues and other issues like uncertainties and risks that we had already raised in response to their first proposal" on March 9, Buechner said. He cited antitrust and other concerns, adding that it was not "our duty" to advise PPG on how to make a deal successful when Akzo is not the one asking for it. Buechner is due to detail his plans to instead spin off Akzo''s chemical division on April 19, despite scepticism from investors and analysts that the plan could rival PPG''s cash and share offer, which is worth 90.20 euros per share at current prices. Akzo shares were trading up 0.3 percent at 77.96 euros Monday. (Reporting by Toby Sterling) Burberry licenses fragrances and cosmetics business to Coty LONDON British luxury brand Burberry has agreed to license its fragrances and cosmetics business to Coty for $162 million, plus a $63 million payment for inventory, in a deal that will help it develop new products and give it the benefit of the U.S. group''s extensive distribution network. LONDON British consumer goods maker Reckitt Benckiser is reviewing strategic options for its small food business, it said on Monday, as it seeks to pay down debt following its planned $16.6 billion purchase of Mead Johnson . MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-akzo-nobel-m-a-ppg-idUSKBN1751J6'|'2017-04-03T22:02:00.000+03:00' +'b4fc55164e7d6051258b41b2e0c180127cdef077'|'FTSE Russell to announce in July decision on adding Snap shares'|'Technology 15am BST FTSE Russell to announce in July decision on adding Snap shares Traders gather at the post where Snap Inc. is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., March 6, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid By Heather Somerville and Ross Kerber - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Index fund provider FTSE Russell expects to announce in July whether it will include in its indexes shares of Snap Inc and other companies whose share structure denies investors voting rights. FTSE Russell, which is part of the London Stock Exchange Group Plc, said on Monday that it will consult with stakeholders likely starting this month and conclude at the end of June. The results of the consultation will be announced in July. Snap, the parent company of messaging app Snapchat, shocked many investors with an initial public offering last month that included a first-of-its kind share structure that offered IPO investors no voting rights. "FTSE Russell is aware of concerns raised by some stakeholders regarding the prospective index inclusion of securities with no voting rights such as the recent IPO by SNAP Inc," according to a statement from FTSE Russell on Monday. Clients of FTSE Russell include big fund managers such as BlackRock Inc and T. Rowe Price Group Inc. It offers popular indexes like Britain''s blue-chip FTSE 100 and the Russell 3000 index of U.S. companies. Although many investors expressed alarm at Snap''s unusual governance structure, the company''s IPO was still in such hot demand that it pulled off the biggest U.S. technology IPO since Facebook Inc in 2012, with a valuation of roughly $24 billion. (Reporting by Heather Somerville in San Francisco and Ross Kerber in Boston; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) Next In Technology News Waymo targets second senior executive in Uber self-driving dispute SAN FRANCISCO Alphabet''s self-driving car unit Waymo initiated private legal proceedings against two former executives who launched a rival company acquired by Uber [UBER.UL], court records show, accusing them of trying to recruit Waymo employees to the new startup that aims to revolutionize the auto industry. sources TOKYO Toshiba Corp will MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-snap-index-idUKKBN17605I'|'2017-04-04T10:14:00.000+03:00' +'ceb37b34bd5281ec7ac43df1dfc09bc564fd1df6'|'New study on Monsanto weedkiller to feed into crucial EU vote'|'Health News - Thu Apr 13, 2017 - 3:39am EDT New study on Monsanto weedkiller to feed into crucial EU vote A Monsanto logo is pictured in the company headquarters in Morges, Switzerland, May 25, 2016. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo By Kate Kelland - LONDON LONDON Results of a new animal study into possible health risks of the weedkiller glyphosate will be published in time to inform a key EU re-licensing vote due by the end of 2017, according to the researcher leading the trial. A row over possible effects of glyphosate - an ingredient in Monsanto''s big-selling herbicide Roundup - has prompted investigations by congressional committees in the United States and forced a delay in Europe to a decision on whether it should be banned or re-licensed for sale. Giving details and preliminary findings of the latest study to Reuters, Italian scientist Fiorella Belpoggi said experimental rats exposed to the herbicide at levels equivalent to those allowed in humans showed no initial adverse reaction. "Exposed animals had no evident differences from non-exposed animals," Belpoggi, who is director of the Cesare Maltoni Cancer Research Centre at the Ramazzini Institute in Italy, said in a telephone interview. "But this tells us very little at the moment, because the examinations of key parameters that could be affected by exposure are still being done (and) we are waiting for those results," Belpoggi added. Those parameters include any genetic changes, as well as potential toxic effects on measures related to fertility, such as sperm, embryo development and offspring growth, she said. Argument over glyphosate centers on whether it is carcinogenic. Scientists at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) say it probably does cause cancer, putting them at odds with scientists at the European Food Safety Authority, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and multiple other safety and regulatory agencies around the world, who say it likely doesn''t. Congressional committees in the United States have raised questions about the work and funding of IARC, which is based in Lyon, France, and the Ramazzini Institute, based in Bologna. IARC and Ramazzini defend the independence of their work and say their research is conducted to the highest scientific standards. DECADES OF RESEARCH A spokesman for Monsanto said: "There are nearly a thousand scientific studies from decades of research that are already available to every regulatory agency in the world, which have all concluded that glyphosate is safe to use." According to data published by IARC, glyphosate was registered in more than 130 countries as of 2010 and is one of the most heavily used weedkillers in the world. Analysts have estimated Monsanto could lose out on up to $100 million of sales if glyphosate were banned in Europe. Belpoggi said her team decided to conduct their trial to produce fresh, independent results in an effort to settle differences over glyphosate''s health effect. But she stressed that due to time constraints, the study is not able to analyze the weed killer''s potential carcinogenicity, which would take several years to research properly, given the time any tumors might take to develop and grow. "We are focused on reproductive and developmental issues, in other words, whether glyphosate ... affects the development of embryos, fetuses and pups," she said. Chemicals that can affect hormones and reproduction are known as endocrine disruptors and, like carcinogens, are subject to strict regulations in the European Union. This study involves scientists working at five laboratories, Belpoggi''s and one other in Italy, and three outside the country. "This was to ensure we would have the best experts analyze each end point," Belpoggi said. The study is funded by the Ramazzini Institute, a research cooperative of around 28,000 members who are its co-owners and raise funds for its work. Using laboratory rodents known as Sprague Dawley rats, the researchers exposed them to low levels of glyphosate and its formulation Roundup in their diet, equivalent to U.S. Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) levels permitted in humans. The U.S. ADI for glyphosate is 1.75 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day while the European Union ADI for consumers is 0.5 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. Full results should be available by June, Belpoggi said, and will be submitted in a paper for peer review and publication in a scientific journal. A draft copy of the results will be sent at the same time to the European Commission. The Commission has said it expects to restart talks with EU member states by August on re-approving the use of glyphosate in herbicides. A decision is due before the end of 2017. "We would like to have the results in time to help regulators have a good judgment about this chemical," Belpoggi said. "If it is negative (no effect), then I will be happy because I am also exposed. But if there is some damage, then we would like everyone to know." (Editing by David Holmes)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-europe-glyphosate-idUSKBN17F0S1'|'2017-04-13T15:30:00.000+03:00' +'a2de1aceb72fefbae4e2c384e8905729c1b91f34'|'British hedge fund Man Group says first quarter assets up 10 percent'|'Global Energy News - Thu Apr 20, 2017 - 9:41am BST Man Group shares lifted by rise in managed assets By Maiya Keidan - LONDON LONDON British hedge fund firm Man Group ( EMG.L ) said net inflows, positive market moves and the impact of a recent acquisition helped to boost funds under management by 10 percent in the first three months of the year. Man shares rose four percent after the figures came in ahead of consensus expectations. Hedge funds generally attracted more investor cash as interest rate rises and increased volatility provided more fertile ground for the industry after a tough 2016. Total assets under management at the end of March were $88.7 billion (69.45 billion), up from $80.9 billion at the end of December, the world''s largest listed hedge fund said in a statement. "We came into the year with a good pipeline of interest from clients, and that has resulted in net inflows of $3 billion in the first three months," said Luke Ellis, Man Group Chief Executive. Man Group suffered a loss in 2016 when performance fees fell due to tough markets. However, the brightening outlook has helped to drive the fund''s share price more than 25 percent higher this year. Net inflows exceeded expectations and were the strongest since June 2011, according to research from Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. "Man benefitted from a $1.4 billion mandate win this quarter. Even stripping this out, Man saw its second-strongest gross sales in five years," said the Goldman note. Investors putting cash to work with hedge funds had started picking up pace since the start of the year, industry tracker Eurekahedge, which said net inflows came in at $26.1 billion. Man''s long-only funds, which aim to profit when markets rise, and its fund of funds business, FRM, took in the bulk of new assets, with net flows of $1.4 billion and $1.2 billion, respectively. FRM invests in other funds. Man made gains in 24 out of 30 strategies, delivering 14.4 percent and 11.5 percent improvements quarter-on-quarter in its top-performing Numeric emerging markets funds. Positive investment performance added a further $2.2 billion, with long-only strategies contributing $1.9 billion and its alternatives strategies $400 million. The completed acquisition of U.S. and Europe-based real asset manager Aalto, meanwhile, added $1.8 billion. (Reporting by Maiya Keidan; editing by Simon Jessop/Keith Weir)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hedgefunds-man-group-results-idUKKBN17M0K5'|'2017-04-20T14:25:00.000+03:00' +'83002c66d70a14c38575ae7a51958ad69fb8653e'|'UPDATE 3-Lazard profit beats estimates as deal-making picks up'|'* First-qtr adj. profit 83 cents/shr vs est 79 cents/shr* Financial advisory revenue up 26.2 pct* Asset management revenue up 16.2 pct* Shares rise 2.3 pct (Adds CEO comment)By Nikhil SubbaApril 27 Lazard Ltd reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit, mainly driven by growth in its financial advisory business as cross-border M&As got off to the strongest start in a decade.Lazard was involved in several big cross-border deals in 2017, including Johnson & Johnson''s $30 billion acquisition of Swiss biotechnology company Actelion and Harman''s $8.7 billion buyout by Samsung.Optimism over U.S. President Donald Trump''s economic agenda buoyed the stock market and the dollar, making foreign acquisitions cheaper than some U.S. targets.Cross-border M&As totaled $323.1 billion as of March end this year, the highest level since 2007, accounting for 45 percent of total M&A activity, according to preliminary Thomson Reuters data."We''ve increased our market share in M&A globally, with especially high levels of activity in Europe," Chief Executive Kenneth Jacobs said on a post-earnings call with analysts.The first half of 2017 continues to look strong relative to last year, he said.Lazard, often seen as a bellwether for the M&A advisory industry, said earnings from its financial advisory business surged 26.2 percent to $335.8 million in the first quarter ended March 31.The company''s shares were up 2.3 percent at $45.31 in morning trade.Lazard also benefited from a strong performance in its asset management business, which the company has been building up to diversify its revenue stream.Revenue from the asset management business rose 16.2 percent to $278.4 million, accounting for about 40 percent of the total revenue.Major U.S. banks, including JPMorgan Chase & Co, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, also reported a jump in investment banking fees for the most recent quarter.Global investment banking fees reached a 10-year high in the first quarter of 2017 with more than half of the $24 billion in total takings coming from North America, according to Thomson Reuters data.Net income attributable to Lazard rose to $107.6 million, or 81 cents per share, in the quarter, from $66.8 million, or 50 cents per share, a year earlier.On an adjusted basis, the company earned 83 cents per share, beating the average analyst estimate of 79 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.Total revenue rose nearly 25 percent to $637.4 million. (Reporting by Nikhil Subba in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Sriraj Kalluvila)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/lazard-results-idINL4N1HZ4M9'|'2017-04-27T11:59:00.000+03:00' +'1a4a39f9a114f56e3833b20d4bbfdd675e7a5ce4'|'Invesco Perpetual trims Allied Minds stake as shares hit all time low'|' 26pm BST Invesco Perpetual trims Allied Minds stake as shares hit all time low Top shareholder Invesco Perpetual trimmed its stake in UK''s Allied Minds ( ALML.L ), according to a regulatory filing issued on Friday, as shares of the tech and life-sciences incubator slid to all-time lows. Shares in Allied Minds, that invests in technology and healthcare startups, suffered its worst day on record earlier this week, after it said it would stop funding seven of its portfolio companies. Its shares have lost more than 60 percent this year with an accelerated selloff over the past month taking them below their 2014 listing price. Invesco, the second largest shareholder after Woodford Investment Management, disclosed on Friday it had sold 2.5 million shares, taking its stake down to 24.99 percent, according to regulatory filings. The fund group previously held 27 percent of the company, according to Reuters data. On Thursday, Singapore''s sovereign wealth fund GIC Private, the third largest holder of Allied Minds, disclosed its stake had risen by 2.7 million shares to 8.27 percent, according to filings. Allied Minds was one of the hottest UK initial public offerings (IPO) in the UK in 2014, rising threefold in the year after listing. On Friday Allied Minds shares traded down another 0.9 percent at 173p. (Reporting by Alasdair Pal, Editing by Vikram Subhedar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-invesco-perpetual-alliedminds-idUKKBN1791UR'|'2017-04-07T20:26:00.000+03:00' +'c6181d99227c5e80e506eb0245e06a30e7f9a3e2'|'Indian economy rides on consumer spending revival ahead of GST launch'|'By Rajesh Kumar Singh - GURUGRAM, India GURUGRAM, India Kaveri Shukla and her fiance are on a shopping spree ahead of their wedding next month. In just one week, the couple has bought home appliances ranging from a rice cooker to a refrigerator and are purchasing a new car."Marriage is a kind of big spending commitment," said the 28-year-old financial consultant while shopping at an upscale mall in Gurugram, a satellite city and business hub near Delhi."It is an excuse to spend, not defer your purchases."Shukla is not alone. Millions like her are thronging shopping malls and stores in India, thanks to a busy wedding season. A heatwave is also boosting demand for air conditioners and refigerators.It''s a welcome change for an economy where consumer spending, traditionally a driver of growth, took a blow after Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s shock decision last November to scrap high-value bank notes.The prospect of another big reform - the launch of a multi-rate Goods and Services Tax (GST) from July 1 - could also be bringing forward spending into the current quarter as shoppers look to avoid rates of 28 percent, or higher, on some consumer durables and luxury items.The impact of the new tax regime is not clear -- some items are expected to be cheaper -- but the prospect of a price rise is seen pushing some people to buy ahead of July.The risk is spending falls away after the tax is launched."GST is a big unknown," said Kumar Rajagopalan, head of the Retailers Association of India. "But it could turn out to be a big fillip in the short run."Other headwinds loom: Layoffs in the information-technology sector are unsettling some households at a time when the economy is still not generating enough new jobs for workforce that is growing by around a million people a month.HIGH FREQUENCYEconomists polled by Reuters expect Asia''s third-largest economy to expand by 7.1 percent on year in the January-March quarter, just up from 7.0 percent in the prior quarter and ahead of China''s 6.9 percent growth rate.Some even expect a growth print as high as 7.8 percent when the GDP figures come out on Wednesday.India doesn''t publish national figures on retail sales. But high-frequency indicators such as car sales, retail lending and goods imports show consumer spending has roared back to life.New passenger car sales grew at their fastest annual pace in at least 16 months in April. Imports of consumer goods last month surged by nearly a half from a year ago. Credit card loans growth is at its highest in at least 15 months.Quarterly earnings of consumer goods makers from Hindustan Unilever to auto maker Maruti have also been upbeat.The consumer rebound backs the Reserve Bank of India''s (RBI) prediction of a V-shaped recovery from the cash clampdown, whereas many in the private sector had expected a longer slump.With a good monsoon and government pay hikes in prospect, the outlook for a sustained recovery looks good. And as consumer spending powers more than half of India''s economic growth, the recovery has bolstered the prospects of stronger growth."We hope these drivers will spread the recovery far and wide," said Kamal Nandi, business head of appliances at Godrej consumer products.Radhika Rao, an economist with DBS Bank in Singapore, reckons spending has recovered to near pre-demonetisation levels.It should get a leg up from the GST, she says, as the measure will reduce taxes on food and other essential items."Cost savings on non-discretionary items post-GST will boost discretionary spending," she said. "An upward revision in GDP estimates might be warranted after Wednesday''s data."(Editing by Douglas Busvine and Kim Coghill)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/india-economy-consumers-idINKBN18Q0SE'|'2017-05-30T07:37:00.000+03:00' +'aed7ad59cf595c8df101215618f792dfce55a6bb'|'Euro zone recovery, Macron win give ECB chance to consider unwinding policy'|'Business 1:43pm BST Euro zone recovery, Macron win give ECB chance to consider unwinding policy Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann makes remarks at a press briefing during the IMF and World Bank''s 2017 Annual Spring Meetings, in Washington, U.S., April 21, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Theiler BARI, Italy An economic recovery and robust outlook in the euro zone mean the European Central Bank may be able to look at normalising its ultra-loose monetary policy, German Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann said on Saturday. Weidmann, one of the most conservative ECB policymakers, said the election of Emmanuel Macron as French president should give the single currency bloc an additional economic boost. "The strengthening economic development in the euro zone and the robust outlook make a normalisation (of monetary policy) conceivable," Weidmann said at a meeting of the financial leaders of seven leading world economies in Bari, Italy. But he said a rise in inflation should become more sustainable before the ECB considers such a move. He added Macron''s victory in France''s presidential election should help boost growth in the euro zone. Macron won on a platform of reforming France and a business-friendly vision of European integration. "The election victory of Macron gives a chance that the euro zone economy gets an additional momentum," Weidmann said. (Reporting by Gernot Heller; Writing by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-g7-italy-ecb-weidmann-idUKKBN1890GM'|'2017-05-13T20:43:00.000+03:00' +'ea3b30cce4246818d067099a0dd2c6af88038206'|'Kremlin - no decision on extending oil output deal with OPEC into second-half'|' 11:02am BST Kremlin - no decision on extending oil output deal with OPEC into second-half FILE PHOTO: A worker checks the valve of an oil pipe at an oil field owned by Russian state-owned oil producer Bashneft near the village of Nikolo-Berezovka, Russia, January 28, 2015. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo MOSCOW The Kremlin said on Thursday it had not yet decided whether Russia would extend an agreement with OPEC and non-OPEC countries on oil output cuts into the second half of the year. "No decision has been made yet," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with reporters. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, along with Russia and other non-OPEC producers, has pledged to cut output by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in the first half of 2017. Under the deal, Russia pledged to reduce its average daily production gradually by 300,000 barrels to 10.947 million bpd, down from the October level of 11.247 million bpd. Russia''s Energy Ministry said on Wednesday the country''s oil production on May 1 was 300,790 bpd below the October level. (Reporting by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Jack Stubbs)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-oil-opec-russia-cuts-idUKKBN180135'|'2017-05-04T18:02:00.000+03:00' +'02e3d404c9780e09ca6f97660766fef1fb224662'|'UK discounters growth accelerates as food inflation rises'|'Business 29am BST UK discounters growth accelerates as food inflation rises A staff member stacks shelves at the Aldi store in Atherstone, Britain February 9, 2017. REUTERS/Darren Staples LONDON UK sales at discounters Aldi and Lidl together grew at their fastest rate since January 2015, while grocery inflation continued to rise, industry data showed on Wednesday. Market researcher Kantar Worldpanel said Aldi''s sales rose 19.8 percent in the 12 weeks to May 21, while Lidl''s increased 18.3 percent, giving a record combined market share of 12 percent. Grocery inflation was recorded at 2.9 percent year-on-year, up from 2.6 percent in the previous data set. Market leader Tesco''s sales growth was 1.8 percent, Sainsbury''s was 1.7 percent, Asda''s was 0.9 percent and Morrisons'' was 1.9 percent. (Reporting by James Davey, Editing by Paul Sandle)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-grocers-kantar-idUKKBN18R0SI'|'2017-05-31T15:29:00.000+03:00' +'1be98846648762555e358b0ced841336761574ee'|'Teck continues to mine parts of waterlogged Highland Valley pits'|'Market News 26pm EDT Teck continues to mine parts of waterlogged Highland Valley pits VANCOUVER May 8 Teck Resources Ltd is still mining some parts of the Lornex and Valley pits of its Highland Valley Copper operation in Western Canada after water inflow resulted in a suspension of some work in those areas, it said on Monday. The Vancouver-based company is expecting to shift some mining activity to Highland Valley''s Highmont pit in the short term, a spokesman said. Teck said in a statement late on Sunday that unusual spring weather and rapidly melting snow had caused water to flow into two pits at its Highland Valley site near Kamloops in British Columbia. The company is assessing the impact on production and looking at ways to remove the water. It expects the assessment to take a few days. Highland Valley accounts for 35 percent of Teck''s copper production and 6 percent of the company''s total revenue, RBC analyst Stephen Walker said in a note to clients. Highland Valley is expected this year to produce between 95,000 and 100,000 tonnes of copper and approximately 9 million to 9.5 million pounds of molybdenum, a metallic element used to toughen steel, contained in concentrate. The Teck spokesman said water inflow of this kind had not happened before. Shares in Teck, which also produces zinc, coal and precious metals, were down 1.9 percent at C$24.82 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, in line with other miners as the price of copper hit a four-month low. (Reporting by Nicole Mordant in Vancouver; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/teck-res-highland-valley-idUSL1N1IA0WD'|'2017-05-09T00:26:00.000+03:00' +'017cfa67052d4633841a64526a7716d4c5c77fce'|'Oil languishes after OPEC fails to deepen supply cuts, Asia stocks retreat'|'Business 51am EDT Oil prices see-saw, sterling hit as May''s lead shrinks A worker shelters from the rain under a Union Flag umbrella as he passes the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain, October 1, 2008. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo 1/2 left right Britain''s Prime Minister Theresa May listens to the French President during a bilateral meeting at the G7 Summit in Taormina, Sicily, May 26, 2017. REUTERS/Stephane De Sakutin/Pool 2/2 By Hilary Russ - NEW YORK NEW YORK Oil prices see-sawed on Friday after OPEC extended cuts in oil production but disappointed investors by not going further, while sterling slid after a poll showed the ruling Conservatives'' lead shrinking two weeks before an election. World shares bounced around, with Wall Street turning slightly negative after six straight days of gains as another strong day for consumer stocks offset weakness in financial and technology companies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 15.42 points, or 0.07 percent, to 21,067.53, the S&P 500 lost 0.59 points, or 0.02 percent, to 2,414.48 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.19 points, or 0 percent, to 6,205.45. European stocks fell as turbulence in oil markets, and the prospect of tough talks at a meeting of G7 leaders met in Italy, undermined risk appetite. Britain''s pound tumbled to a more than four-week low of $1.2772. It was last down 1.18 percent at $1.2785. The first opinion poll since a suicide bombing killed 22 people indicated Britain''s opposition Labour Party had cut the Conservative Party''s lead to five points, with less than a fortnight to go to the parliamentary election. Prime Minister Theresa May has said a big win would strengthen her hand in Brexit negotiations. "With this kind of momentum and almost two weeks to go until the vote, not only is this not going to be the breeze that May anticipated when she called the snap election last month, it could yet turn into a humiliating defeat for the Conservative leader and her party," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA. The sterling selloff was seen boding well for British exporters, however. British stock markets bucked the downward trend and hit record highs. Shares in Asia dropped. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed 0.08 percent lower, while Japan''s Nikkei lost 0.64 percent. MSCI''s gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.16 percent. On Thursday in Vienna, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and some non-OPEC producers agreed to extend a cut in oil production by nine months until March 2018 as they grapple with a supply glut. But that disappointed investors betting on longer or larger curbs. After opening sharply lower, U.S. crude rose 0.67 percent to $49.22 per barrel and Brent was last up 0.43 percent at $51.68 on the day. Meanwhile, analysts said there was caution in the markets ahead of a meeting of leaders from the world''s richest economies that was expected to expose deep divisions with U.S. President Donald Trump over trade and climate change. The G7 summit comes after Trump criticized NATO allies'' military spending and condemned German trade policies a day earlier. The dollar index rose 0.22 percent, with the euro down 0.3 percent to $1.1175. The U.S. economy slowed less than initially thought in the first quarter as gross domestic product increased at a 1.2 percent annual rate. Spot gold hit its highest level in nearly four weeks, boosted by the risk-off sentiment because of political uncertainty. For Reuters Live Markets blog on European and UK stock markets see reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=http://emea1.apps.cp.extranet.thomsonreuters.biz/cms/?pageId=livemarkets (Additional reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe in London, Tanya Agrawal in Bengaluru; Editing by Nick Zieminski)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUSKBN18M02B'|'2017-05-26T09:01:00.000+03:00' +'401526ab4f9b1cdec4ed7a4c96d785ba9d3df36b'|'Stress in Japanese corporate bonds seen as a sign of things to come'|'Central Banks - Wed May 17, 2017 - 7:39am BST Stress in Japanese corporate bonds seen as a sign of things to come Japanese national flags flutter in front of buildings at Tokyo''s business district in Japan, February 22, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo By Hideyuki Sano and Yasunori Fukui - TOKYO TOKYO Yields are rising in Japan''s tiny corporate bond market as traders pre-emptively brace for the Bank of Japan to stop being buyer of last resort, making this market a microcosm of wider fears over the end of Japan''s four-year-long stimulus policy. Five year corporate bond yields have risen 10 basis points since mid-April as the 59.2 trillion yen (403 billion pounds) corporate bond market fretted that the BOJ could soon reduce its purchases of these securities. That''s a sizeable move in yields in an economy where short-term policy rates are negative and where the central bank massively buys up securities, including government bonds and equities, to keep rates near zero. Most economists also reckon the BOJ is a long way off from exiting that policy, given it is nowhere close to achieving its 2 percent inflation target. But the corporate bonds market is becoming uneasy, providing a worrying glimpse of what lies ahead for the mammoth government bonds sector when the time comes. "It is getting difficult for brokers to sell the corporate bonds they buy in the primary market to the BOJ," said a director at a U.S. securities house. "This could be the indirect impact of a reduction in the Bank of Japan''s bond buying," he said, referring to the BOJ''s purchases of Japanese government bonds (JGBs). While Japan''s central bank has for long held that any talk of an exit from its four-year-old quantitative easing policy is premature, there have been subtle changes this year. The BOJ has, for example, gradually reduced the pace of its bond buying. In April, the BOJ bought 8.4 trillion yen of JGBs, compared to the average of 9.5 trillion yen last year. Also unusually, two top BOJ officials last week discussed the issue of an exit from current policy for the first time since the stimulus plan was unveiled in 2013 with the singular aim of jump-starting Japan''s moribund economy. Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank will consider publishing calculations on how a future withdrawal of massive monetary stimulus could affect its financial health, while Executive Director Masayoshi Amamiya, seen as the architect of the stimulus, spoke of the range of tools the BOJ has to whittle down its gigantic balance sheet. "The BOJ could be thinking ahead, given that they cannot continue the current pace of buying," said Makoto Sakuma, researcher at NLI Research Institute. The corporate bond market has also been planning ahead. Since March, traders have been trying to sell more of their corporate bonds to the BOJ, scrambling to offload stock that they bought at extremely low yields in the past believing they could quickly sell them to the BOJ at a profitable spread. In March the BOJ''s corporate bond buying operation attracted selling of 4.39 times the amount the central bank bought. That bid ratio was 4.75 times in April. Before March, the ratio had never exceeded three. Simultaneously, yields on Japanese corporate bonds have risen, with the five-year bonds with single A rating now yielding 0.45 percent, up from around 0.35 percent in April. THE HARBINGER? JGB yields have been steady so far, thanks to the BOJ''s pledge under its yield curve control policy to keep 10-year bond yields around zero percent. Its intervention in JGBs is also heavier. Since late 2013, the BOJ has not expanded its corporate bond holding, keeping it steady at 3.2 trillion Japanese yen ($28.2 billion) and buying an amount that just replaces maturing bonds. The BOJ bought 1.3 trillion yen worth of bonds last year, 12.3 percent of the year''s total corporate bond issuance of 10.6 trillion yen, and 2.2 percent of the outstanding 59.2 trillion yen of corporate bonds on issue. In contrast, the BOJ bought 114.4 trillion yen worth of JGBs in 2016, 71.7 percent of new issues and 12.7 percent of the total market size of 903 trillion yen. "The credit spreads of Japanese corporate bonds are so tight. If the BOJ simply stops buying now, there won''t be big problems," said Hidenori Suezawa, financial market analyst at SMBC Nikko Securities. "But if the BOJ stops buying JGBs, who else will buy them?" It has also been easier for speculators to take on the BOJ in the smaller corporate bond market, rather than in JGBs where it recently proved in February that it is committed to keeping 10-year yields around zero percent. "The policy to guide the bond yield at a certain level would work for a certain period of time. But if markets start to think that the target is not in line with economic fundamentals, they will attack the target and that could drive up market volatility," said Sakuma of NLI Research Institute. (Reporting by Hideyuki Sano and Yasunori Fukui; Editing by Vidya Ranganathan and Eric Meijer)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-bonds-corporate-boj-idUKKCN18D0IT'|'2017-05-17T14:39:00.000+03:00' +'a3d24a99f81ba289ccbb7aadc6a364e40ddf3063'|'Russia completes first flight of new MS-21 passenger plane'|' 1:39pm BST Russia completes first flight of new MS-21 passenger plane MOSCOW Russia on Sunday completed the first flight of its new MS-21 medium-range passenger plane, state-controlled United Aircraft Corporation ( UNAC.MM ) said in a statement. Russia has said the MS-21, its first post-Soviet mainline passenger plane, is superior to its Western-made counterparts will be sold to both Russian and foreign carriers. (Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov; Writing by Jack Stubbs; Editing by Alison Williams)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-airplane-idUKKBN18O0DN'|'2017-05-28T20:39:00.000+03:00' +'885a6e4852d85bb71c61f3b8bccdf4a9f2e8f344'|'Ex-Barclays banker del Missier opens hedge fund to external capital'|'Banks 00pm BST Ex-Barclays banker del Missier opens hedge fund to external capital FILE PHOTO - Jerry del Missier, Co-Chief Executive of Barclays Capital, speaks during the Reuters Future Face of Finance Summit in New York March 2, 2011. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid By Maiya Keidan and Anjuli Davies - LONDON LONDON A hedge fund firm run by the former co-CEO of Barclays investment bank Jerry del Missier and focussed on the financial services industry has opened to external capital, del Missier told Reuters. Del Missier started Copper Street Capital with $100 million (77.34 million pounds) of internal capital in 2015, running it out of an office in Maidenhead, a town 30 miles (50 km) west of London. He resigned from Barclays in July 2012, shortly after chief executive Bob Diamond left the bank. Del Missier worked at Barclays for 15 years, helping Diamond to build up the bank''s investment banking franchise before briefly becoming the lender''s chief operating officer in June 2012. Copper Street, which was up 9.4 percent in value in the year to April 30, is now seeking to take its assets to more than $500 million, said del Missier. The fund looks to profit from anomalies and misperceptions in the financials market. Hedge funds are broadly moving back into bank stocks after an eight-year hiatus following double-digit returns from a bull market between 2005 and 2007 and shorts positions on banks between 2007 and 2009. The firm made a number of hires last year, including Deutsche Bank''s financial institutions analyst Rudi Facchini, a former financials institutions group director at Deutsche Bank, Massimo Araldi and Beatriz Carrillo from Comac Capital. Copper Street also added portfolio manager Bruno Duarte from Claren Road Asset Management in 2016. It employs 12 people, including in a private equity arm of its business. (Reporting by Maiya Keidan, additional reporting by Rachel Armstrong; Editing by Keith Weir)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hedgefunds-launch-idUKKBN1861X4'|'2017-05-10T22:00:00.000+03:00' +'3c3e007bb0135b3e2eb64418780ad68fefb69cf7'|'PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - May 29'|'Market News - Sun May 28, 2017 - 9:35pm EDT PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - May 29 May 29 The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. Headlines BA passengers hit by second day of global fallout from IT failure on.ft.com/2r2HMCU Police make further arrests over Manchester terror attack on.ft.com/2r2Npku Frustrated business seeks to rebuild ties to Number 10 on.ft.com/2r2XMEP Overview British Airways struggled to regain control on Sunday after a computer system failure caused chaos during one of the busiest travel weekends of the year in UK. British police made more arrests on Sunday in connection with the Manchester attack, with two men aged 25 and 19, held on suspicion of offences contrary to the terrorism act. A group of executives, ministers and civil servants are aiming to set up a special group to rebuild ties with Theresa May''s administration. (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Peter Cooney) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-press-ft-idUSL3N1IV05F'|'2017-05-29T05:35:00.000+03:00' +'224c2fa6c50a766bca31881b6257689536d0e5d5'|'European shares stride into May as earnings power gains'|'Business News - Tue May 2, 2017 - 8:39am BST European shares stride into May as earnings power gains Traders work at their desks in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, April 28, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote LONDON European shares kicked off the first trading day of May with gains underpinned by healthy corporate earnings. Financials and energy stocks provided the biggest boost to the pan-European STOXX 600 which was up 0.1 percent. French bluechips held near decade highs while Germany''s DAX hovered near a record. Across Europe, 31 percent of companies had reported results, and 74 percent beat analysts'' estimates while 18 percent missed, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. British oil major BP gained 2.9 percent after its first-quarter profits tripled, thanks to higher oil prices and production. It fuelled a 0.5 percent rise in Europe''s oil and gas sector index, which handily outperformed other sectors. Banks were up 0.3 percent. Fund manager Aberdeen gained 2.9 percent after its first-half results added to signs of fight back from active fund managers against the passive tracker funds eroding their market share. The pace of outflows from Aberdeen''s funds slowed slightly and revenues rose 10.6 percent thanks to market gains and cost cuts. Shares in online food delivery company Ocado jumped up to 8.9 percent. Traders cited a report of a delivery tie-up with supermarket M&S. Ocado''s shares are among the most-heavily shorted in the UK. Among fallers, Swedish polymer producer Hexpol dropped 7.6 percent after broker Kepler Cheuvreux cut the stock to ''hold'' from ''buy'', saying that after a recent rally the company''s shares now reflected expected growth. Airport retailer Dufry slipped 5 percent after its results. The company reported first-quarter organic growth of 7.2 percent, but traders cited weaker than expected earnings and cash flow. (Reporting by Helen Reid, Editing by Vikram Subhedar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks-idUKKBN17Y0M7'|'2017-05-02T15:39:00.000+03:00' +'eddd54aa69cebb113818a52a8bdb72d3b6bd9261'|'UPDATE 1-Amazon adds video calling with Echo Show'|' 07pm EDT UPDATE 1-Amazon adds video calling with Echo Show (Adds analyst comment) May 9 Amazon.com Inc launched Echo Show, a touchscreen device that will allow users to video call and watch clips from CNN, the latest in the company''s series of popular Echo voice-controlled speakers. The device, which will go on sale in June for about $230, will feature Alexa, Amazon''s voice-controlled aide, that can be used to play music, order an Uber or turn on the house lights. ( amzn.to/2qn14Ue ) Echo Show will allow video conferencing between users having an Echo device or the Alexa app. It is the first to support the feature, which is absent in similar devices offered by rivals such as Alphabet Inc''s unit Google. "Putting a semi-permanent ambient device in the home that can make and receive video calls is an interesting evolution which should prove compelling," said Jackdaw Research analyst Jan Dawson. Tuesday''s launch of the Echo Show is Amazon''s latest effort to make Alexa a key part of its customers'' lives and dominate the nascent voice-powered computing market. "What we''re seeing is Amazon using its smart original foray into and early dominance of this space as a beachhead to spread into lots of other areas," Dawson said. A study by research firm eMarketer showed that Amazon Echo and Echo Dot devices will claim a 70.6 percent share of the U.S. market this year, well ahead of Google Home''s 23.8 percent share. Amazon unveiled a voice-controlled camera, the Echo Look, last month alongside an app that recommends outfits for users. The launch comes a day after Microsoft Corp said it was developing a voice-activated speaker in collaboration with Samsung Electronics Co Ltd''s unit Harman Kardon. (Reporting by Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/amazoncom-echo-show-idUSL4N1IB5AJ'|'2017-05-10T02:07:00.000+03:00' +'dffca5bd5a706e4b63dac75a606a24c39b5bfcda'|'Tate & Lyle profit jumps on weak sterling'|'Business News - Thu May 25, 2017 - 7:29am BST Tate & Lyle profit jumps on weak sterling LONDON British food ingredients maker Tate & Lyle reported higher full-year sales and earnings on Thursday, helped by an improving business performance and a weaker British currency. The company, which sells corn syrup and other ingredients to food and drink makers, said sales rose 17 percent to 2.75 billion pounds in the year to the end of March. The weaker pound helped propel profit before tax 85 percent higher to 233 million pounds, with earnings per share more than doubling to 54.2 pence. Excluding the impact of sterling, profit rose 20 percent, with margins rising in both parts of Tate''s business. (Reporting by Martinne Geller; editing by David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-tate-lyle-results-idUKKBN18L0MK'|'2017-05-25T14:29:00.000+03:00' +'857517c9b9b7f0ef7eb397e33f5424e08c817d7d'|'J&J ordered to pay $110 million in talc product liability trial'|'Business News - Thu May 4, 2017 - 10:16pm EDT J&J ordered to pay $110 million in U.S. talc-powder trial A Johnson & Johnson building is shown in Irvine, California, U.S., January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake By Nate Raymond Johnson & Johnson on Thursday was ordered by a Missouri jury to pay over $110 million to a Virginia woman who says she developed ovarian cancer after decades of using of its talc-based products for feminine hygiene. The verdict in state court in St. Louis was the largest so far to arise out of about 2,400 lawsuits accusing J&J of not adequately warning consumers about the cancer risks of talc-based products including its well-known Johnson''s Baby Powder. Many of those lawsuits are pending in St. Louis, where the J&J has faced four prior trials, three of which resulted in $197 million verdicts against J&J and a talc supplier. Thursday''s verdict came in a lawsuit against J&J and talc supplier Imerys Talc by Lois Slemp, a resident of Virginia who is currently undergoing chemotherapy after her ovarian cancer initially diagnosed in 2012 returned and spread to her liver. Slemp claimed she developed cancer after four decades of using talc-containing products produced by J&J, including J&J''s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower Powder. The jury awarded $5.4 million in compensatory damages and said J&J was 99 percent at fault while Imerys was just 1 percent. It awarded punitive damages of $105 million against J&J and $50,000 against Imerys. Reuters watched the verdict through Courtroom View Network, which broadcast it online. "Once again we''ve shown that these companies ignored the scientific evidence and continue to deny their responsibilities to the women of America," Ted Meadows, a lawyer for Slemp and other plaintiffs, said in a statement. J&J in a statement said it sympathized with women impacted by ovarian cancer but planned to appeal. "We are preparing for additional trials this year and we continue to defend the safety of Johnson''s Baby Powder," J&J said. The verdict came after J&J secured its first trial win in the Missouri litigation, when a jury in March sided with the company in a lawsuit by a Tennessee woman who said she developed cancer after using Baby Powder. That verdict broke a three-trial winning streak by plaintiffs that began with a verdict in February 2016 in which a jury awarded $72 million to the family of a woman who died from ovarian cancer. In May 2016, another jury awarded $55 million to a woman who said J&J''s talc-powder products caused her to develop cancer. A third jury hit J&J and Imerys with a $70 million verdict in October. The case is Slemp v. Johnson & Johnson, 22nd Judicial Circuit of Missouri, No. 1422-CC09326-01. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Sandra Maler and Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-johnson-johnson-cancer-lawsuit-idUSKBN18100F'|'2017-05-05T08:04:00.000+03:00' +'df71e3810ca9cdf017ce39866de65a9b1765326a'|'Don''t want to work until you are 70? You will have to, says WEF - Business'|'The retirement age in Britain and other leading developed countries will need to rise to 70 by the middle of the century to head off the biggest pension crisis in history, according to the World Economic Forum .The body that runs the annual gathering of the global elite in Davos said deficits in the worlds six largest pension systems would more than quadruple to $224tn by 2050 unless people worked longer and saved more.With people born today having a life expectancy of more than 100, the WEF said the cost of providing security in retirement for a rapidly ageing population was the financial equivalent of climate change.It warned the huge and spiralling cost would imperil the incomes of future generations and set the industrial world up for the biggest pension crisis in history.The WEF said it had examined the worlds six biggest pension saving systems the US, the UK, Japan, the Netherlands, Canada and Australia and found that all were coming under strain from an expected global increase in the numbers over-65s rising from 600 million to 2.1 billion in 2050.The anticipated increase in longevity and resulting ageing populations is the financial equivalent of climate change, said Michael Drexler, head of financial and infrastructure systems at the WEF. We must address it now or accept that its adverse consequences will haunt future generations, putting an impossible strain on our children and grandchildren.Forget Brexit, the real challenge is creating enough wealth for an ageing population Read more Adding in China and India, which have the worlds largest populations, the combined savings gap for the eight countries reached $400tn by 2050, a sum five times the size of the current global economy.The report based its estimates of the pension savings gap on the amount of money needed to provide every person with a retirement income equal of 70% of their pre-retirement income. According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, a target of 70% of pre-retirement income roughly equates to an unchanged standard of living because once people retire they save less and pay less tax.The WEF said the funding gap would continue to grow at a rate higher than the expected economic growth rate, often 4% to 5% a year, driven in part by the effects of an ageing population: a growing population of retirees who are expected to live longer in retirement.Although Britains retirement age is due to rise to 67 between 2026 and 2028, the WEF said further increases would be needed to forestall a predicted increase in the pension savings gap from a current $8tn to $33tn by 2050. Half the children born in 2007 could expect to live until they were 103, putting a strain on the pension system. The pension savings gap in the US is forecast to rise almost fivefold from $28bn to $137bn by the middle of the century.The new retirement: how an ageing population is transforming Britain Read more The report praised the UK for its decision to ensure that 8% of earnings will automatically be saved in a pension for each individual after 2019, noting that auto-enrolment had already boosted saving by 22- to 29-year-olds and low income workers by $2.5bn a year.The retirement savings challenge is at crisis point and the time to act is now, said Jacques Goulet, president of health and wealth at Mercer, a financial services firm that helped the WEF produce the report. There is no one silver bullet solution to solve the retirement gap. Individuals need to increase their personal savings and financial literacy, while the private sector and governments should provide programmes to support them. Topics Financial sector Pensions US retirement Retirement planning Retirement age Family finances news Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Google+ Share on WhatsApp Share on Messenger Reuse this content'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/26/work-until-you-are-70-you-will-have-world-economic-forum'|'2017-05-26T14:01:00.000+03:00' +'83985b54c22ccaa03bc62522a2ae92e3b6747df8'|'OPEC meets to extend oil cuts for up to one year'|' 4:27pm BST OPEC extends oil output cut by nine months to fight glut left right OPEC President Saudi Arabia''s Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih talks to journalists before the beginning of a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria, May 25, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger 1/17 left right OPEC President, Saudi Arabia''s Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, talks to journalists before the beginning of a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria, May 25, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger 2/17 left right OPEC President, Saudi Arabia''s Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, talks to journalists before the beginning of a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria, May 25, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger 3/17 left right Iran''s Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh talks to journalists before the beginning of a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria, May 25, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger 4/17 left right OPEC President, Saudi Arabia''s Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, and OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo talk to journalists before the beginning of a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria, May 25, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger 5/17 left right Iraq''s Oil Minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi talks to journalists before the beginning of a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria, May 25, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger 6/17 left right OPEC President, Saudi Arabia''s Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, and OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo talk to journalists before the beginning of a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria, May 25, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger 7/17 left right The OPEC logo is seen outside their headquarters in Vienna, Austria May 24, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger 8/17 left right OPEC President, Saudi Arabia''s Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, and OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo talk to journalists before the beginning of a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria, May 25, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger 9/17 left right OPEC President, Saudi Arabia''s Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, and OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo talk to journalists before the beginning of a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria, May 25, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger 10/17 left right UAE''s Oil Minister Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei arrives for a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria, May 25, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger 11/17 left right Venezuela''s Oil Minister Nelson Martinez talks to journalists before the beginning of a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria, May 25, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger 12/17 left right A women cleans the red carpet inside the headquarters of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria, May 25, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger 13/17 left right Nigeria''s Oil Minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu talks to journalists before the beginning of a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria, May 25, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger 14/17 left right Angola''s Oil Minister Jose de Vasconcelos talks to journalists before the beginning of a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria, May 25, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger 15/17 left right Ecuador''s Minister of Hydrocarbons Carlos Perez talks to journalists before the beginning of a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria, May 25, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger 16/17 left right Qatar''s Energy Minister Mohammed bin Saleh al-Sada arrives for a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria, May 25, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger 17/17 By Alex Lawler , Rania El Gamal and Ernest Scheyder - VIENNA VIENNA OPEC decided on Thursday to extend cuts in oil output by nine months to March 2018 as the producer group battles a global glut of crude after seeing prices halve and revenues drop sharply in the past three years. The extended reductions are likely to be carried out once again in tandem with a dozen non-members led by top oil producer Russia, which reduced output with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries from January. OPEC''s cuts have helped to push oil back above $50 a barrel this year, giving a fiscal boost to producers, many of which rely heavily on energy revenues and have had to burn through foreign-currency reserves to plug holes in their budgets. Oil''s earlier price decline, which started in 2014, forced Russia and Saudi Arabia to tighten their belts and led to unrest in some producing countries including Venezuela and Nigeria. The price rise this year has spurred growth in the U.S. shale industry, which is not participating in the output deal, thus slowing the market''s rebalancing with global crude stocks still near record highs. The nine-month extension of the cuts - from output levels in October 2016 - was largely expected by the market. By 1430 GMT, Brent crude LCOc1 was 0.7 percent down at around $53.50 per barrel, having pared earlier losses after OPEC said it would not deepen the cuts or extend them by as long as 12 months. In December, OPEC agreed its first production cuts in a decade and the first joint cuts with non-OPEC producer nations, led by Russia, in 15 years. The two sides decided to remove about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) from the market in the first half of 2017 - equal to 2 percent of global production. On Thursday, OPEC agreed to keep its own cuts of around 1.2 million bpd in place for nine months, Kuwaiti Oil Minister Essam al-Marzouq said. OPEC oil ministers were continuing their discussions with non-OPEC producers. OPEC delegates said the proposal for joint cuts was also around 1.8 million bpd, which would see non-OPEC producers cut under 600,000 bpd. Despite the output cut, OPEC kept exports fairly stable in the first half of 2017 as its members sold oil from stocks. The move kept global oil stockpiles near record highs, forcing OPEC first to suggest extending cuts by six months, but later proposing to prolong them by nine months, and Russia offering an unusually long duration of 12 months. "There have been suggestions (of deeper cuts), many member countries have indicated flexibility but ... that won''t be necessary," Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said before the meeting. CUTS EXCLUDE NIGERIA AND LIBYA OPEC produces a third of the world''s oil. Its production reduction of 1.2 million bpd were made based on October 2016 output of around 31 million bpd, excluding Nigeria and Libya. Falih said that OPEC members Nigeria and Libya would still be excluded from cuts as their output remained curbed by unrest. He also said Saudi oil exports were set to decline steeply from June, thus helping to speed up market rebalancing. OPEC sources have said the Thursday meeting will highlight a need for long-term cooperation with non-OPEC producers. The group could also send a message to the market that it will seek to curtail its oil exports. "Russia has an upcoming election and Saudis have the Aramco share listing next year so they will indeed do whatever it takes to support oil prices," said Gary Ross, head of global oil at PIRA Energy, a unit of S&P Global Platts. OPEC has a self-imposed goal of bringing stocks down from a record high of 3 billion barrels to their five-year average of 2.7 billion. "We have seen a substantial drawdown in inventories that will be accelerated," Falih said. "Then, the fourth quarter will get us to where we want." OPEC also faces the dilemma of not pushing oil prices too high because doing so would further spur shale production in the United States, the world''s top oil consumer, which now rivals Saudi Arabia and Russia as the world''s biggest producer. "Less OPEC oil on the market enhances the opportunity for American energy to fill needs around the world, and will help us achieve energy dominance," Ryan Sitton from the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the large Texan oil industry, told Reuters. (Additional reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar, Vladimir Soldatkin and Shadia Nasralla; Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Dale Hudson and Pravin Char)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-opec-oil-idUKKBN18L0SC'|'2017-05-25T15:44:00.000+03:00' +'da58af4eb466f39773063e235f1c31178e06cb35'|'Goldman''s Blankfein says London could stall due to Brexit - BBC'|'Fri May 5, 2017 - 7:24am BST Goldman''s Blankfein says London could stall due to Brexit: BBC CEO of Goldman Sachs Lloyd Blankfein in the Manhattan borough of New York September 29, 2014. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri LONDON Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein said London''s financial center could stall due to the upheaval Brexit will inflict on financial services companies, the BBC reported. When asked by the BBC whether London''s long-term expansion over the past three decades would reverse, Blankfein said: "I don''t think it will totally reverse." "It will stall, it might backtrack a bit, it just depends on a lot of things about which we are uncertain and I know there isn''t certainty at the moment," Blankfein was quoted as saying. Goldman wants an implementation period of at least "a couple of years" once the British exit deal is agreed, he said. Goldman has "contingency plans" to move people depending on the outcome of the negotiations, he said. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Costas Pitas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-goldman-sachs-idUKKBN1810GF'|'2017-05-05T14:17:00.000+03:00' +'5a711187bcdd1fe6c9df389106b670119669fc85'|'Dollar has worst week in over a year amid political uncertainty'|'Business News 8:54pm BST Dollar heads for worst week in over a year amid political uncertainty U.S. dollar notes are seen in this November 7, 2016 picture illustration. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration By Dion Rabouin - NEW YORK NEW YORK The U.S. dollar fell on Friday, for its worst week since April 2016 against a basket of major currencies, having surrendered the gains made since Donald Trump was elected U.S. president. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six world currencies, has shed more than 2 percent this week .DXY. On Friday, it fell 0.75 percent, hitting its lowest since Nov. 9, the day after the U.S. election. Uproar over Trump''s recent firing of FBI Director James Comey, who was overseeing an investigation into possible links between the president''s team and Russia, has pressured the dollar. "The dollar overall, across the board, has been getting beat up this week and a lot of that has to do with the political risk here in DC," said John Doyle, director of markets at Tempus Inc in Washington. "While we saw a little bit of a reprieve yesterday, were right back on that dollar weakness train." The U.S. currency has also suffered from a resurgent euro, which has the largest weighting in the dollar index. The single currency has gained more than 2.5 percent this week, headed for its best performance since February 2016. It rose 0.95 percent on Friday to a six-month high of $1.1205. EUR= The advance of the euro was spurred by a possible winding down of the European Central Bank''s expansive monetary stimulus program, said analysts, with recent data pointing to a robust recovery in the euro zone. Against the safe-haven Swiss franc, the dollar fell 0.45 percent, touching a six-month low. It was on track for its largest weekly percentage fall since February 2016. The dollar fell 0.3 percent against the yen to 111.14 JPY= and had its first weekly drop in five against the Japanese currency. The dollar moved broadly lower after a report that a senior White House adviser is a person of interest in the investigation into possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia. The greenback also sank against emerging market currencies, which were dragged lower on Thursday by news that Brazilian President Michel Temer had been recorded offering bribes to silence testimony by a potential witness in the country''s wide-ranging corruption probe. The dollar fell 3.3 percent against the Brazilian real BRL= . Oil-linked emerging market currencies like the Mexican MXN= and Colombian pesos COP= and the Russian rouble RUB= gained around 1 percent versus the dollar, also boosted by a rise in oil prices. (Additional reporting by Jemima Kelly in London; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Steve Orlofsky)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-forex-idUKKCN18E0WI'|'2017-05-20T04:06:00.000+03:00' +'4e519d65a7fedbece65441a800e15e7d1ec25833'|'PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - May 16'|'Market 12:32am EDT PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - May 16 May 16 The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. - President Trump boasted about highly classified intelligence in a meeting with the Russian foreign minister and ambassador last week, providing details that could expose the source of the information and the manner in which it was collected, a current and a former American government official said Monday. nyti.ms/2qmoW9z - The Trump administration said on Monday it would vastly expand the so-called global gag rule that withholds American aid from health organizations worldwide that provide or even discuss abortion in family planning. The new policy could disrupt hundreds of clinics in Africa and around the world that fight AIDS and malaria. nyti.ms/2qmzGEL - Indicators are far from conclusive, but intelligence officials and private security experts say that North Korean-linked hackers are likely suspects in global ransomware attacks. nyti.ms/2qmktDq - Uber Technologies Inc, the ride-hailing company, sidestepped a full shutdown of its self-driving car efforts on Monday when a federal judge stopped short of issuing a temporary injunction against the program. nyti.ms/2qmsiJD - A whistle-blower, a former well-placed official at UnitedHealth Group Inc, asserts that big insurance companies have been systematically bilking Medicare Advantage for years, reaping billions of taxpayer dollars from the program by gaming the payment system. nyti.ms/2qmnSCj - With oil markets flagging, the world''s two biggest oil exporters agreed on Monday to extend production cuts for several months, sending the price of crude soaring. nyti.ms/2qmwKYN (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/press-digest-nyt-idUSL4N1II1ZY'|'2017-05-16T12:32:00.000+03:00' +'b078a5b703a8f8d6aaacb7edbe4cb500f8898927'|'Gold inches up from eight-week low as dollar slides'|'By Jan Harvey - LONDON LONDON Gold edged off the previous day''s eight-week low on Wednesday as U.S. President Trump''s abrupt firing of FBI chief James Comey weighed on U.S. stocks, though gains were capped by expectations of further interest rate increases.European shares retreated from 21-month highs in earlier trade and the dollar initially slipped on concerns that Trump''s dismissal of his FBI chief could make it harder for him to push through tax reform plans. [MKTS/GLOB]Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at $1,223.42 an ounce by 1405 GMT, while U.S. gold futures for June delivery gained $7.20 to $1,223.40.The metal has slipped sharply in the past week as concerns about this month''s French elections and North Korea''s nuclear programme faded, slipping to its lowest since mid-March at $1,213.81 on Tuesday."(This) looks like an attempt at stabilisation today after the sharp losses in the preceding days," Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch said. "Trump''s firing of FBI Chief Comey adds new uncertainty, (and) stock markets seem to pause."Trump attributed his decision to sack Comey, who had been leading an investigation into the Trump campaign''s possible collusion with Russia during the 2016 election, to the FBI chief''s handling of an investigation into presidential nominee Hillary Clinton''s emails.Rival Democrats said that Trump had political motives for the move.In addition to jitters over Comey''s ousting, rekindled fears that North Korea could be gearing up for another weapons test fed into risk aversion in the broader markets, taking some pressure off gold."The unpredictability of both Trump and North Korea has been a reminder that geo-risk has not disappeared but temporarily gone into hibernation," said Saxo Bank''s head of commodity research, Ole Hansen."Initially (the Comey sacking) has had only a limited impact but it highlights that there are other drivers out there. It can turn on a plate if one of the two escalates, especially North Korea."Gains in gold remained muted as expectations for further U.S. monetary policy tightening next month underpinned the dollar and weighed on bullion.The metal is highly sensitive to rising U.S. interest rates, which increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion while boosting the dollar, in which it is priced.Among other precious metals, silver was up 0.6 percent at $16.24 an ounce after sliding to its weakest since Jan. 3 at $16.01 on Tuesday. Platinum was up 0.7 percent at $907.60 and palladium rose 0.6 percent to $801.05.(Additional reporting by Swati Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Edmund Blair and David Goodman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-precious-idINKBN1860RC'|'2017-05-10T15:41:00.000+03:00' +'6ac6513517e115b116f35e5a73cbe4c50ba0fb92'|'HelloFresh to be ready for autumn flotation - sources'|'Funds News 8:58am EDT HelloFresh to be ready for autumn flotation - sources By Arno Schuetze - FRANKFURT FRANKFURT May 24 German meal kit company HelloFresh is preparing for a stock market flotation, which could come as early as autumn, but will only be launched if the pre-summer listing of peer Delivery Hero proves a success, people close to the matter said. Rocket Internet, the ecommerce investor which launched Hello Fresh in 2011, has picked a new set of so-called global coordinators for the flotation, comprising Morgan Stanley , JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank. Berlin-based Rocket has built up dozens of businesses from fashion ecommerce to food delivery, but investors have become concerned about heavy losses and falling valuations for its key start-ups as well as a paucity of listings. Rocket had early success with online fashion firm Zalando , which listed in 2014 and has performed well since. But the investor pulled a flotation of HelloFresh in 2015 and has not brought any other companies to market yet. HelloFresh, which delivers meal ingredients and recipes in seven European countries as well as the United States, Canada and Australia, was valued at valued at 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) in a funding round in December. On Tuesday, Reuters reported that Delivery Hero - Rocket''s biggest holding - is set to float before the summer break in a deal valuing one of Europe''s biggest start-ups at up to 4 billion euros. Rocket, which is due to report first-quarter financial results on May 31, owns 53 percent of HelloFresh, with other investors including British investment manager Baillie Gifford and Qatar''s sovereign wealth fund holding the rest. HelloFresh''s revenue almost doubled to 597 million euros in 2016 as it expanded rapidly in North America, while losses before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation narrowed to 83 million euros from 86 million in 2015. HelloFresh, which delivered 91 million servings in 2016 and saw its number of active subscribers rise 38 percent to 857,000, is keen to make its service ever more personalised and add more options for delivery, like wine and desserts. U.S. peers Blue Apron and Sun Basket are also preparing initial public offerings (IPOs). Separately, Rocket-backed Global Fashion Group said on Wednesday it had agreed with partner Emaar to jointly develop Namshi until a possible IPO or a full takeover. Rocket Internet and the banks declined to comment. ($1 = 0.8933 euros) (Additional reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Maria Sheahan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/hellofresh-ipo-idUSL8N1IQ3U7'|'2017-05-24T20:58:00.000+03:00' +'6160e22b930c84e39d158026a6858d4af43823ac'|'South Korean IPOs charge ahead despite tensions - Reuters'|'Global Energy News - Thu May 4, 2017 - 4:33am IST South Korean IPOs charge ahead despite tensions A currency dealer works in front of electronic boards showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) (C), the exchange rates between the Chinese yuan and South Korean won (L), and tthe exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won (R), at a dealing room of a... REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji By Elzio Barreto and Joyce Lee - HONG KONG/SEOUL HONG KONG/SEOUL South Korea has emerged as an unusual hot spot for initial public offerings this year, shooting up to the third most-active market in the world despite political upheaval and tensions with its neighbours. Investors have spent $3.7 billion in South Korea so far in 2017, behind U.S. IPOs of $13.5 billion and Chinese listings of $11.1 billion, Thomson Reuters data shows. IPOs of $974 million from ING Life Insurance Korea and $2.3 billion from mobile games maker Netmarble Games Corp last week have been the driving force behind the Korean IPO splurge. The pipeline is set to continue in coming months with budget airline Jin Air Co Ltd, Kyobo Life Insurance and Celltrion Healthcare among those expected to go public. "Most of the Korean corporates as well as investors are more comfortable with the recent political issues, so that they''re ready to do something," said June Won, head of capital market origination Korea at Citigroup, which helped manage the Netmarble IPO. "Investors are taking it in stride. If you look at the Korean currency, which is getting stronger, and bond trading numbers, all these indicate Korea is quite stable even though there is some noise," he said, referring to Korean tensions. The impeachment and ousting from office of President Park Geun-hye cleared the way for an election next week and put an end to a political crisis that had lasted for months. Investors are also seeing through tensions with North Korea as the United States, its allies and China, increase pressure on Pyongyang to rein in its nuclear weapons ambitions. They see conflict as unlikely. Healthy exports and stronger-than-expected GDP figures for the first quarter have boosted confidence in the economy. That has translated into stronger financial markets. The won KRW= is the second-best performing major Asian currency against the U.S. dollar in 2017, up 6.8 percent. Stocks are up about 9.5 percent and at six-year highs. South Korea''s IPO market this year is more than seven times bigger than at the same time last year. It''s ranking is all the more surprising because the global market is also much stronger, with IPOs so far this year of $49.8 billion more than double the year-earlier level. UP NEXT ING Life debuts in Seoul on May 11 and Netmarble the following day. Jin Air said last week it wanted to list by the end of 2017, but it did not disclose how much it aims to raise. Celltrion Healthcare, the marketing affiliate of biosimilar drugs firm Celltrion Inc ( 068270.KQ ), plans to raise up to 1 trillion won ($886 million) in an IPO. Kyobo Life, South Korea''s third-largest life insurer by assets, said in March it plans to raise funds to boost its capital, but gave no fundraising target, local media said. ING Life is about a third of the size of Kyobo Life by assets. Even Hotel Lotte Co Ltd, which shelved a $4.5 billion IPO last year amid an investigation of parent Lotte Group from prosecutors, could revive the listing in 2017. Bankers said deal activity is also being boosted by new rules introduced at the start of the year that allow high-growth startups yet to be profitable to seek a public listing. Only companies with a profit record were permitted to list previously. South Korea''s largest mobile-commerce company Coupang could be among tech companies set to go public under the new rules, local media reports have said. Repeated calls to a Coupang spokesman went unanswered. The new rules also put underwriters on the line if newly listed companies tumble, demanding they guarantee that they will buy back the shares if they fall more than 10 percent within three months of listing. "The new rules more or less let the market decide how to list a company," said Alpha Asset Management fund manager CJ Heo. "With more companies able to be listed, and a variety of valuation and other techniques, sooner or later IPO advisors will... begin new ways of bookbuilding and listing, which means both new risk and new opportunities for investors in South Korea." ($1=1,128.4000 won) (Reporting by Elzio Barreto in HONG KONG and Joyce Lee in SEOUL: editing by Neil Fullick)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/southkorea-ipo-idINKBN17Z2PQ'|'2017-05-03T21:03:00.000+03:00' +'b4f079fae4717f4081aa9c440de194ad42f2232a'|'CORRECTED-U.S. finds likely harm from China, Vietnam tool chest imports'|'Market News - Thu May 25, 2017 - 11:21am EDT CORRECTED-U.S. finds likely harm from China, Vietnam tool chest imports (Corrects date) WASHINGTON May 25 The International Trade Commission said on Thursday it had made a preliminary finding that imports of tool chests and cabinets from China and Vietnam were harming U.S. producers, allowing a probe into possible dumping and subsidies to continue. The case, announced by the Commerce Department on May 2, follows a petition from Missouri-based Waterloo Industries Inc, a subsidiary of Fortune Brands and Home Security Inc. In 2016, imports of tool chests from China and Vietnam totaled $990 million and $77 million, respectively, department data show. (Reporting by Tim Ahmann; Writing by Eric Walsh)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-trade-toolchests-idUSL1N1IO1CF'|'2017-05-25T23:21:00.000+03:00' +'2e7235b773f8ad9a7f16977c77cb4e1640e54c88'|'Ireland launches long-awaited AIB listing with 25 pct stake sale'|'By Padraic Halpin - DUBLIN DUBLIN May 30 Ireland launched its long-awaited initial public offering of state-owned Allied Irish Banks (AIB) on Tuesday, offering a 25 percent stake in what is set to be one of Europe''s largest bank listings since the 2008 financial crisis.Dublin rescued the bank in a 21 billion euro ($23.50 billion) taxpayer bailout which began in early 2009 and has been considering partly cashing out of its 99.9 percent stake since last year.A successful flotation would mark another milestone in a dramatic turnaround from a banking and fiscal crisis that wrecked the country''s economy a decade ago. The sale could raise about 3 billion euros taking into account the bank''s book value of 11.3 billion euros at the end of last year.The bank''s value has likely risen since then following another quarter of margin growth, its payment of a 250 million euro dividend this month and a further 11 percent uplift in the value of euro zone banks since the start of the year.One of Ireland''s two dominant banks, AIB returned to profit three years ago, has cut its huge stock of impaired loans by more than two-thirds since then and this year became the first domestic-owned lender to restart dividends since the crash."The strong progress made by AIB and current market conditions mean that now is the right time to commence this process," Finance Minister Michael Noonan said in a statement announcing its intention to float."Today''s decision is a significant step in the continued normalisation of the state''s involvement in Ireland''s banking system."AIB will list its shares on the Irish and London Stock Exchange and seek admission to the main markets of each. The government said the sale was expected to be one of the United Kingdom''s largest main market IPOs of the last 20 years.AIB management have said they have received "huge interest in the Irish story" from investors in recent months, pitching the bank as a rare stock market play focused almost exclusively on the European Union''s fastest growing economy.AIB is less exposed to Britain''s exit from the EU than its main rival Bank of Ireland, the state''s largest bank by assets, having made just 14 percent of its pre-provision operating profit in the United Kingdom last year.It is also the largest provider of mortgages in the fast-recovering Irish market, with a 36 percent share of the market by drawdowns, although investors may be wary of a chronic lack of housing supply that could hold the market back.The prospectus and price range for the sale are expected to be published in mid-June, the government said.Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Davy Stockbrokers and Deutsche Bank are acting as global coordinators for the sale. Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Goodbody Stockbrokers, JPMorgan and UBS are the bookrunners. ($1 = 0.8936 euros) (Reporting by Padraic Halpin. Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/aib-ipo-idINS8N1F9025'|'2017-05-30T17:45:00.000+03:00' +'082cdd8eb839bedbb5ec58e64c96e1f5eb597bcf'|'Even with trade pact, U.S. payment networks uncertain on China operations'|'Business News - Fri May 12, 2017 - 12:56pm BST Even with trade pact, U.S. payment networks uncertain on China operations An ATM machine with types of credit cards accepted is seen inside the Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong, China November 12, 2015. REUTERS/Bobby Yip By Sumeet Chatterjee - HONG KONG HONG KONG The prospects for global payment network operators including Visa Inc ( V.N ) and MasterCard Inc ( MA.N ) at last entering the Chinese market remain uncertain, even after the United States and China moved towards starting a licensing process for them. As part of a plan to reduce a massive U.S. trade deficit with China, the world''s two largest economies have agreed to expand trade in some sectors and increase access to China for financial firms. Under a framework announced on Friday, China is likely to issue further "necessary guidelines" by July 16 for the launch of local operations by U.S. payment network operators, leading to "full and prompt market access". Foreign operators have been lobbying for more than a decade for direct access to a Chinese market set to become the world''s largest bank card market by 2020. In 2012, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) found China was discriminating against foreign card companies. Industry insiders said the foreign firms were likely only to submit license applications if Chinese regulators address their concerns on issues including onshore data protection and the near monopoly of state-backed China UnionPay Co Ltd. "We have been expecting this for a while now. We are not sure how much of those issues will be resolved now," said a senior executive at a U.S.-based payment network operator, who didn''t want to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter. Any license application would likely take 6-7 months to be approved by Chinese regulators, the executive said, adding it could take another 12-18 months to set up all the infrastructure and start local operations. While the U.S. firms have been waiting to offer yuan-denominated cards since the WTO ruling, UnionPay has expanded well beyond China. Set up in 2002 by China''s central bank and State Council, UnionPay had a 55 percent share in the global debit card market in 2015, compared to 15 percent for Visa and 10 percent for MasterCard, according to Euromonitor International. In the global credit card market, UnionPay''s share rose to 25 percent in 2015 from 13 percent in 2010, drawing level with MasterCard but lagging Visa''s more than one-third market share. With UnionPay now in more than 160 countries, some industry officials say its card has become a key tool for China to manage the flow of cash outside the country. One of the biggest concerns for U.S. payment operators is whether they would have a level-playing field while competing with UnionPay, where former Chinese central bank officials fill several of its top jobs. "No one expects to get 15-20 percent (China) market share in the foreseeable future, but we hope there won''t be barriers in our efforts to get even low, single-digit market share to justify the investments," the company executive said. In response to Reuters request for comment, MasterCard said it looked forward to having "full and prompt" access to the Chinese market. Visa said it looked forward to submitting an application and building its business for the long-term. (Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee, additional reporting by Matthew Miller; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-china-trade-payments-idUKKBN1881L2'|'2017-05-12T19:56:00.000+03:00' +'18e04825a7ea82ac6a0d408e62fed29f6b999421'|'Judge says he may reject parts of Wells Fargo accounts settlement'|'A federal judge signaled that he may reject parts of Wells Fargo & Co''s proposed $142 million settlement with customers for whom it opened millions of unauthorized accounts.In an order on Tuesday evening, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco ordered lawyers for customers and the bank to address his concerns, including whether the entire settlement should be rejected, before a scheduled Thursday hearing to consider preliminary approval.The accord would resolve claims that Wells Fargo employees opened as many as 3.5 million bogus accounts since 2002 to meet unrealistic sales goals, driving up costs for customers and often hurting their credit scores.It followed a national scandal that erupted last September after the third-largest U.S. bank agreed to pay $185 million in penalties to settle related charges by various authorities.Wells Fargo spokesman Jim Seitz on Wednesday said the San Francisco-based bank is preparing a response, and considers the settlement "an important step in our journey to make things right for our customers and rebuild trust."Lawyers for the customers did not immediately respond on Wednesday to requests for comment.Chhabria said he was "strongly inclined" to reject a provision for an injunction barring customers from pursuing other claims against the bank, and asked whether this would "require the court to reject the proposed settlement."He also said he was "tentatively" inclined to carve out claims related to customer overdrafts, and said "there may be an argument" that executives and directors got too much protection.Concerns were also raised that the settlement might not guarantee "full compensation" to everyone harmed, and might limit the potential for "significant" punitive damages.The judge also asked how the estimate of bogus accounts rose to 3.5 million, a number suggested by the customers'' lawyers last Thursday, from the prior 2.1 million estimate.Chhabria has received several objections contending that the settlement is too broad, and the payout is too low.The scandal cost former Wells Fargo Chief Executive John Stumpf and retail banking chief Carrie Tolstedt their jobs, plus tens of millions of dollars of compensation.(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bill Rigby)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-wells-fargo-accounts-idUSKCN18D1P9'|'2017-05-17T21:33:00.000+03:00' +'ac850472788ac8c7c22a8ba3bf131fde5adbd60b'|'Paddy Power Betfair eyes U.S. amid European market consolidation'|'Deals 2:36pm BST Paddy Power Betfair eyes U.S. amid European market consolidation By Padraic Halpin - DUBLIN DUBLIN Paddy Power Betfair ( PPB.I ), ( PPB.L ) is interested in expanding further into the United States amid intense competition in Europe that could see smaller rivals either join forces or "wither on the vine," its chief executive said on Wednesday. The Dublin-based group, which already runs the leading horse racing television and betting network in the United States and has an online casino business in New Jersey, entered the U.S. fantasy sports market last week with the acquisition of DRAFT for up to $48 million. The fantasy sports market, which has surged in popularity and is worth an estimated $300 million according to Paddy Power Betfair, offers gambling firms the chance to compete across the United States where sports betting is illegal in most states. "I think that market has yet to open up properly. I would hope we could do more there, it''s a question of legislation and opportunity. There is a lot of appetite to do more if the right thing comes up at the right price," CEO Breon Corcoran told reporters. Paddy Power Betfair said this month it was cautious about revenue growth in its main European market after a "pretty extreme" level of competition made it tougher to win new business in the first quarter. Competition has intensified as firms seek to offset higher taxes and tighter regulation with increased revenues, leading to a flurry of mergers including last year''s 6 billion pound ($7.8 billion) tie-up between online betting exchange Betfair and Paddy Power, which operates shops as well as an online business. Corcoran said it was hard to see the competition abating but growing revenue sensibly and enhancing profitability over the medium term was the right thing to do, describing the group as "cautious but guardedly optimistic." Competition was coming from big, well-run operators as well as those "desperate to get bigger", Corcoran said, leading to inflated advertising costs and an increase in promotional activity that he saw ultimately hurting smaller rivals. "I think the smaller guys will continue to struggle, they''ll either wither on the vine or be forced to think about consolidation," Corcoran said on the sidelines of the company''s annual shareholder meeting. "Scale is the critical word. As online consumption matures and as regulatory and compliance cost go up, I think being large is ever more advantageous. There are very few markets in Europe right now where you''d prefer to be a smaller operator and I think that has long-term consequences for industry structure." (Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-paddy-power-m-a-idUKKCN18D1PI'|'2017-05-17T21:35:00.000+03:00' +'8172e0652bb72b541bae240d6d14bb0ec617c94e'|'It''s not what you say, it''s how quickly you trademark it'|'Business News - Thu May 11, 2017 - 12:01pm EDT It''s not what you say, it''s how quickly you trademark it left right FILE PHOTO: Bob Bland, CEO and founder of Manufacture NY and nastywoman.co examines her first T-shirt with the words ''Nasty Women Vote'' at the Gowanus Print Lab in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, U.S., on October 24, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo 1/5 left right FILE PHOTO: A film that reads ''Nasty Women Vote'' is set out to make the screen for T-shirts and totes at the Gowanus Print Lab in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, U.S., on October 24, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo 2/5 left right FILE PHOTO: More than 500 Sailors and Marines assemble on the flight deck of the USS Belleau Wood to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the United States by spelling out the now famous quote from Mr. Todd Beamer, ''Let''s Roll'' on September 6, 2002. Steven L. Cooke/U.S. Navy/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo 3/5 left right FILE PHOTO: Paris Hilton''s autograph reading ''That''s Hot!'' is seen on a clothes dryer at the 25th annual Sundance film festival in Park City, Utah, U.S., on January 23, 2006. REUTERS/Rick Wilking/File Photo 4/5 left right FILE PHOTO: Paris Hilton accepts the Big Catch Phrase of ''04 award for ''That''s Hot'' during the taping of VH1 Big in ''04 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, U.S. on December 1, 2004. REUTERS/Jim Ruymen/File Photo 5/5 By Barbara Goldberg Ideas were flying at a brainstorming session to create a slogan for North Carolina county Democrats when Catherine Cloud blurted out a phrase that made a colleague''s eyes light up: "Because this is America." The words were quickly scrawled on a notepad and the New Hanover County Democratic Party in Wilmington, North Carolina, began its scramble to own the phrase - applying just days later for a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. From President Donald Trump''s dash to own "Keep America Great" for his 2020 re-election campaign even before he took office to a rush by a foundation for the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks to claim "Let''s Roll" just days after New York''s Twin Towers were reduced to rubble, Americans rushing to trademark catchy phrases. There were 391,837 trademark applications filed last year, with the number growing an average of 5 percent annually, government reports show. The USPTO does not break out how many of those applications were for phrases. The upsurge is the result of headline-grabbing cases like socialite Paris Hilton''s winning settlement of a lawsuit over her trademarked catch-phrase "That''s Hot" from her former television reality show, said trademark attorney Howard Hogan of Washington. "It can''t help but inspire others," Hogan said. "It feels good to get recognition of something you feel you have created." OWN A POWERFUL MESSAGE Trademarks can mean cash from everything from bumper stickers to thongs printed with the protected phrase. More importantly for some, however, is claiming ownership of a powerful message. "''Because this is America'' is a rallying cry that focuses on what we have in common, rather than what divides us," Cloud said. The phrase is the tagline in a commercial set for online release on Thursday about the New Hanover Democrats'' key issues: "Clean water. Because this is America," "Quality education for every child. Because this is America," "No matter your ethnicity, you are welcome here. Because this is America." Mindful that the slogan that could easily be employed by rival Republicans, the county Democratic committee filed to trademark it just 18 days after Cloud''s saying it. RUSH TO TRADEMARK Two days before Trump''s inauguration on Jan. 20, Donald J. Trump for President Inc applied to trademark the phrase he said he intends to use for his 2020 re-election campaign: "Keep America Great," both with and without an exclamation point. The campaign committee already owns the trademark for Trump''s 2016 slogan: "Make America Great Again." Just 15 days after Todd Beamer inspired fellow airline passengers to overwhelm hijackers above a Pennsylvania field on Sept. 11, 2001, the Todd M. Beamer Memorial Foundation applied to trademark his rallying cry "Let''s Roll." Three days after "Nasty Woman" grabbed headlines when Trump used it to describe his opponent Hilary Clinton in an Oct. 19, 2016 debate, entrepreneurs across America started filing trademark applications for the phrase. There are at least 11 applications pending to trademark "Nasty Woman" for the sale of products as wide-ranging as pillows, wine, firearms, scented body spray, mugs, backpacks and jewelry. Typically it takes about 18 months for the Patent Office to grant a trademark. But it can take much longer, as cartoonist Bob Mankoff of The New Yorker learned when he tried to trademark the caption to a 1993 cartoon. Two decades passed before he was allowed to register it on Jan. 19, 2016. Ironically, the phrase aptly describes Mankoff''s anticipated payday from the sale of merchandise bearing the words that first appeared under his cartoon of a businessman trying to schedule a meeting: "How about never - is never good for you?" (Reporting by Barbara Goldberg in New York; Editing by Dan Grebler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trademark-phrases-idUSKBN187255'|'2017-05-11T23:15:00.000+03:00' +'e60397777bc8530a76fe08b780cfd0b66346f1c1'|'China downgrade shows emerging market ratings stuck in reverse'|'Business 7:40pm BST China downgrade shows emerging market ratings stuck in reverse A man walks near the Chinese national flag and a flag of the Bank of China in Beijing, China May 24, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter By Marc Jones - LONDON LONDON A Moody''s downgrade on China on Wednesday and the likelihood that Brazil and South Africa face further rating cuts in the coming months is highlighting how emerging market credit quality remains stuck in reverse. Since the start of 2014, Reuters analysis shows that the big three rating agencies - S&P Global, Moody''s and Fitch - have racked up more than 150 emerging market downgrades between them. That averages out a roughly one a week and though there have been hopes that rising global growth and commodity prices will ease the pressure, that does not seem to be occurring yet. S&P has more negative outlooks -- effectively downgrade warnings -- than it does positive ones by a score of 26 to 5, its heaviest downward bias ever according to its chief sovereign analyst. After 20 EM downgrades last year, Fitch has already cut seven countries since the start of this one, including Turkey, South Africa and Saudi Arabia, and El Salvador twice. Those moves have left it 13 negative outlooks and it thinks the worst may be past. But Moody''s, which delivered China''s first downgrade in 30 years on Wednesday, still has around 25 to resolve. "Just looking very simplistically at debt to GDP, the fact is that most countries in emerging markets have seen an increase," said Pictet portfolio manager Guido Chamorro. "And even with some of the green shoots we have seen in EM, that trend is not expected to reverse for several years so it is not a surprise that rating agencies are still downgrading." Political machinations and below-par economic growth are also playing a role. UBS research estimates growth in the 19 biggest emerging economies is running roughly 1.6 percent above developed peers. In 2009, this premium was 7.5 percent. Over the same period, the average EM rating has fallen around one notch, S&P data shows. NEXT WAVE There are some shafts of light in the gloom. Indonesia was raised to investment grade by S&P last week. Russia is knocking on the door again, India looks to be on the up and Moody''s says it could raise Argentina''s rating again before the end of the year. Fitch has lifted double the amount of EM outlooks that it has lowered since January; Colombia, Croatia, Iraq and Sri Lanka versus El Salvador and Nigeria on the downside. "Negative outlooks peaked in late 2016 in EM sovereigns and are now in decline," Fitch''s head of Sovereigns James McCormack said in a recent speech. It could be a supertanker-like turn though and there are plenty of political risks still bubbling for many heavyweights. Credit default swaps (CDS), which can be used to insure against or to bet on debt problems, foresee a fresh wave of downgrades, according to an S&P Market Intelligence model called the Market Derived Signal (MDS). It has been pointing to a monster five-notch downgrade of S&P''s AA China rating for over a year. Any move would certainly be smaller, but S&P flagged in January that rising economic and financial risks could prompt a cut this year or next. Having already been stripped of their investment grade stripes, South Africa and Brazil are expected to be chopped again. Mexico''s MDS also points to a two notch downgrade which would leave it just above ''junk'' territory. "South Africa, Brazil and Turkey are all still going in the wrong direction so you can''t see them getting back (to investment grade) any time soon." said Aberdeen Asset Management investment committee member and former S&P analyst, Kevin Daly. "But you could argue that Russia at least has a chance." (Reporting by Marc Jones; editing by John Stonestreet)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-emerging-ratings-idUKKBN18K2LH'|'2017-05-25T02:05:00.000+03:00' +'2f903dff34a7341fea99e19110a40f853c856cc8'|'VW in talks with Exxon, Gazprom on gas-powered cars -Mueller on ORF'|'VIENNA Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) is in talks with Exxon Mobil Corp ( XOM.N ) and Gazprom ( GAZP.MM ) to back its efforts to promote cars running on natural gas, Chief Executive Matthias Mueller told Austria''s ORF radio.Europe''s biggest carmaker is working on a shift towards electric cars and fuel-saving technologies as it looks to lower its fleet-wide carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and to overcome its diesel emissions scandal."We are now really trying to think out of the box and find solutions that can be helpful at least in this transition period of 10 to 20 years," Mueller said in the interview aired on Wednesday.Separately, Mueller reiterated his opposition to offering payments to European customers affected by VW''s emissions cheating.In the United States, VW has agreed to pay billions of dollars in fines and compensation payouts since admitting in September 2015 to cheating on federal diesel emissions tests."This is a system-relevant company and it''s my task to ensure that this will continue to be the case," Mueller said. "I will do nothing that disregards legal framework conditions and jeopardizes the company."Regarding divestments, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters last week that VW is considering a possible sale of Italian motorcycle maker Ducati.In a separate comments in Austria''s Kurier newspaper, Mueller sidestepped the Ducati question, saying a company like VW must always review its portfolio and that includes acquisitions as well as sales.(Reporting by Andreas Cremer in Frankfurt, Shadia Nasralla in Vienna; editing by Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-exxon-mobil-gazprom-idUSKBN17Z0F5'|'2017-05-03T14:28:00.000+03:00' +'24d7e85e166f7a22f6a9b55534f783a3fa73f54e'|'Nintendo''s share price hits seven-year high as Switch sales soar - Technology'|'Nintendos share price has hit its highest point in seven years, thanks to booming sales of the new Switch, its hybrid between a traditional home console and a handheld gaming machine .The companys share price is up 102% year on year as the Switch looks set to be the companys first bona fide hit since the Wii hit the shelves more than a decade ago.The Japanese company has seen its share price rise to 31,880 (220), pushing it beyond the short-lived investor frenzy that attended the Pokmon Go craze last year , to its highest point since April 2010.How Breath of the Wild propelled Nintendo Switch to success against the odds Read more Last Julys launch of Pokmon Go, a location-based augmented reality mobile game, saw Nintendos share price jump by 119% in a matter of days. However, the stock tumbled again after investors realised that Pokmon Go had not been developed by Nintendo or its affiliate The Pokmon Company, but instead by the developer Niantic. Nintendo, which had a small investment in Niantic, the San Francisco-based company spun out of Google, released a formal notice pointing out it was not making direct sales from Pokmon Go and hence would not be making a fortune from last summers worldwide craze. Now Nintendo, which has struggled to compete in the games console market as Sonys PlayStation and Microsofts Xbox dominate, has a hit on its hands.Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Nintendo Switch console launched on 3 March. Photograph: Drew Angerer/Getty Images Last month, Nintendo said it expected its new Switch console, which it launched on 3 March, to end an eight-year sales decline and double annual operating profit. The last time Nintendo saw sales growth was in March 2009.The device, a hybrid that can be used either handheld or with a TV when in a dock, sold 2.74m units in its debut month, beating analysts expectations. It also shipped 2.76m copies of Switchs flagship launch title, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.The console has sold out nearly everywhere since its release there are even reports that in games-crazed Japan Nintendo has taken to selling just the cardboard box from the popular Splatoon 2 game and console bundle for about 540.Nintendo Switch review: a brave and fascinating new console Read more Tatsumi Kimishima, president of Nintendo, said that if the Switch hit its target of 10m sales by Christmas then it would be potentially heading towards the global success level of the Wii.One of the bestselling consoles of all time, the Wii was launched in November 2006, selling 20m consoles in its first year and exceeding 100m over its lifetime.Nintendos market capitalisation has hit 4.32tn, making it the 19th biggest listed company in Japan.The companys share price has also been boosted by investors pleased at Nintendo finally entering the massive mobile games market, a sector in which it had been reluctant to try its hand.Earlier this month, reports emerged that it was looking to develop a mobile version of The Legend of Zelda, one of the consoles all-time hit franchises, which has had massive success already as a Switch game.Topics Nintendo Nintendo Switch Games Technology sector news '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/24/nintendo-share-price-switch-sales-games-wii'|'2017-05-24T22:29:00.000+03:00' +'bafa2ba5c9427dfbd18682ff2ca3d2cb2291ee75'|'Exxon Mobil buys Singapore petrochemical plant, boost output in Asia'|'Business News - Thu May 11, 2017 - 4:17am BST Exxon Mobil buys Singapore petrochemical plant, boost output in Asia FILE PHOTO - The logo of Exxon Mobil Corporation is shown on a monitor above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, New York, U.S. December 30, 2015. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo SINGAPORE Exxon Mobil Corp said on Thursday it has reached an agreement to buy a refining and petrochemical plant owned by Jurong Aromatics in Singapore which will boost its output in Asia. The company expects to complete the transaction in the second half of 2017 which will boost its aromatics production in Singapore to more than 3.5 million tonnes per year. (Reporting by Florence Tan and Seng Li Peng; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-singapore-exxon-mobil-idUKKBN1870A2'|'2017-05-11T11:17:00.000+03:00' +'f53d2cf822a3c1dcc87ae6e0ab974a4e80f89455'|'EU executive asks bank watchdog to rethink ''screen scraping'' ban'|'Banks 3:28pm BST EU executive asks bank watchdog to rethink ''screen scraping'' ban European Commission Vice-President for the Euro and Social Dialogue Valdis Dombrovskis holds a news conference at the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Vidal By Huw Jones - LONDON LONDON The European Union''s financial services chief said on Friday he will ask the bloc''s banking watchdog to rethink its proposed ban on "screen scraping" or financial technology firms directly accessing bank accounts. It marks a reprieve for fintech firms trying to wrestle market share from long established banks in the fast growing payments and apps sector. European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said he wanted a level playing field between banks and fintech firms in supplying new financial products and services to customers. A revised EU law on payments services comes into effect next January to spur competition, but draft rules underpinning it have raised hackles at fintech firms. The bloc''s European Banking Authority (EBA) has proposed a ban on "screen scraping" or when a third party such as a fintech firm accesses bank account details - after a customer''s consent - without identification. The EBA proposed that fintech firms should go through a dedicated "application programming interface" or API set up by banks to access specific data indirectly in a more controlled setting, a step some fintech firms say would act as a barrier to competition. "We will therefore ask the European Banking Authority to have another look at the draft standards for data interfaces, and at proposals to allow fintechs access to the customer facing interface, whenever the dedicated interface breaks down or is not performing properly," Dombrovskis said. "This would safeguard the continuity of access for fintechs, while still allowing banks to require fintechs to use dedicated interfaces in normal conditions." Sixty companies and trade associations across the EU signed a "manifesto" this month saying the EBA''s proposed ban would have an adverse impact on competition by insisting on the use of specific technologies. Ralf Ohlhausen, business development director at electronic payments company PPRO Group which backed the manifesto, said screen scraping has worked safely for years, and fintech firms would use a bank''s API if operated well. "We have serious concerns that if banks are given a choice, they will try to limit the access and make our life difficult. We can''t have access blocked by an underperforming API," Ohlhausen said. The European Banking Federation said on Friday that privacy of client data, cybersecurity and innovation are put at risk by overturning the proposed ban on screen scraping. Allowing screen scraping as a backup would mean banks having to maintain at least two interfaces, the EBF said. (Reporting by Huw Jones, editing by David Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-banks-regulations-idUKKCN18F1ER'|'2017-05-19T20:35:00.000+03:00' +'859e0998c5cd985fd6d9cac5d0f3b00369462175'|'Chemical groups Huntsman, Clariant announce merger deal'|'Business News - Mon May 22, 2017 - 6:41am BST Chemical groups Huntsman, Clariant announce merger deal ZURICH U.S.-based Huntsman Corp and Switzerland''s Clariant AG said on Monday they are combining to create a chemical manufacturer with a market value of more than $14 billion (10.8 billion pounds). The deal, which the companies called a "merger of equals", creates a global specialty chemical company with approximately $20 billion enterprise value, Clariant said in a statement. The transaction, previously reported by Reuters, is targeted to close by the end of the year. The company will be named HuntsmanClariant. The deal combines Clariant, a Muttenz, Switzerland-based maker of aircraft de-icing fluids, pesticide ingredients and plastic colouring, with Woodlands, Texas-based Huntsman, whose chemicals are used in paint, clothing and construction. (Reporting by John Miller; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-clariant-m-a-huntsman-idUKKBN18I0GW'|'2017-05-22T13:41:00.000+03:00' +'f63626e544018fbaf0610c3ca70139ac25f705a0'|'METALS-Copper edges up after overnight loss, still vulnerable'|'SYDNEY May 5 London copper edged higher on Friday after a second session of losses, but remained vulnerable to further sell downs amid concerns about rising inventories and weakening consumption.* COPPER: Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange gained 0.3 percent to $5,560.5 a tonne by 0155 GMT, modestly reversing losses from the previous session that swept copper to a five-month low* SHANGHAI: The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange slipped 0.7 percent to 45,220 yuan ($6,557.42) a tonne.* LME STOCKS: Inventories in London Metal Exchange (LME) warehouses rose nearly 33,000 tonnes on Wednesday, exchange data showed, bringing this week''s increase to 64,000 tonnes, or 25 percent.* NEGATIVE DATA: The impact of swelling stockpiles of the metal was compounded by data this week showing U.S. factory activity slowed in April while growth in China''s manufacturing sector slowed more than expected.* PHILIPPINES: The Philippine government will move forward with a second review of the country''s mines despite the removal of Regina Lopez as environment minister, a finance official said on Thursday.* FREEPORT TALKS: Indonesian authorities on Thursday kicked off negotiations with Freeport McMoran Inc. over a contract dispute that has prompted the U.S. mining giant to scale down operations in the eastern province of Papua.* GLENCORE FORECAST: Mining and commodities trading group Glencore has raised its operating profit forecast for the trading division this year by $100 million and said its mining operations were expected to recover from some weather-related disruption at the start of the year.* SHANGHAI NICKEL: ShFE nickel was down 2.6 percent, hurt by weaker steel prices in China, where ShFE rebar was also trading 2.6 percent lower.* SHANGHAI ALUMINIUM: ShFE aluminium was 0.43 percent higher, while LME aluminium was up 0.2 percent at $1,916 a tonne.* MARKETS NEWS: Asian stocks are set for a third straight day of losses on Friday as a retreat in crude oil and other commodities prices knocked global sentiment, although receding concerns about France''s presidential election kept the euro near six-month highs.* For the top stories in metals and other news, click orDATA/EVENTS 1230 U.S. Nonfarm payrolls Apr 1230 U.S. Unemployment rate AprPRICESThree month LME copperMost active ShFE copperThree month LME aluminiumMost active ShFE aluminiumThree month LME zincMost active ShFE zincThree month LME leadMost active ShFE leadThree month LME nickelMost active ShFE nickelThree month LME tinMost active ShFE tinARBS ($1 = 6.8960 Chinese yuan renminbi)(Reporting by James Regan; Editing by Richard Pullin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-metals-idINL4N1I717F'|'2017-05-05T00:03:00.000+03:00' +'91dbc62bc773b559e666dabb5f85dc780d1102fe'|'BOJ''s Kuroda: Told Abe will continue ultra-easy policy'|'Business News - Wed May 17, 2017 - 5:35am BST BOJ''s Kuroda: Told Abe will continue ultra-easy policy Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda attends a news conference at the BOJ headquarters in Tokyo, Japan April 27, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon TOKYO Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said he told premier Shinzo Abe that the central bank will continue its ultra-easy monetary policy in a meeting held on Wednesday. "I told the prime minister that Japan''s economy is steadily recovering and will continue to grow above its potential," Kuroda told reporters after the meeting. "Under these conditions, prices will rise. But inflation is still far from our (2 percent) target. I told the prime minister that we will continue with our monetary easing programme," he said. (Reporting by Minami Funakoshi, Writing by Leika Kihara; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-boj-abe-idUKKCN18D0AQ'|'2017-05-17T12:35:00.000+03:00' +'23784b6dddb30ad635b99ba69e76a657e0d33fbc'|'UPDATE 1-Arconic taps two directors ahead of shareholder vote'|'(Adds details from company presentation)By Michael FlahertyMay 4 Arconic Inc on Thursday nominated two directors for its board, as it gears up for a shareholder vote later this month that pits the specialty metals maker against activist investor Elliott Management in a fight for direction of the company and control over the board.The $10 billion specialty metals company, which separated from aluminum producer Alcoa Corp last year, has five board seats up for election at the annual meeting, which it said on Thursday will be held on May 25. It was previously slated for May 16.Arconic said its nominees are former Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and chief executive, Jim Albaugh, and Air Force retired General Janet Wolfenbarger.The abrupt resignation of former CEO and Chairman Klaus Kleinfeld last month created a vacancy in one of those five seats. On Thursday, Arconic said Indian businessman Ratan Tata was resigning from the board.With Kleinfeld and Tata off the table, Arconic moved ahead with the nomination for Albaugh and Wolfenbarger.Elliott has nominated four directors for election at the annual meeting.The two sides have been locked in a bruising fight since the beginning of the year - a battle that claimed Kleinfeld last month and forced his resignation after he sent a letter to Elliott founder Paul Singer that Arconic''s board did not authorize.Discussions of a compromise to avoid the proxy fight broke down shortly after Kleinfeld''s resignation.Arconic said on Thursday that if its candidates are elected, nine directors of 13 will have joined the board in the last 16 months. The company''s board will stay at 13 members, the company said, 12 of whom are independent, and three who were nominated by Elliott and appointed to the board last year.On Wednesday, the United Steelworkers, which represent more than 4,700 Arconic employees, said it opposed Elliott''s board nominees. Arconic provides aluminum and titanium alloys used in planes and cars. (Additional reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta, Bernard Orr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/arconic-elliott-idINL4N1I63ZG'|'2017-05-04T11:36:00.000+03:00' +'e4a158b745d71a2cded8518e33ceaf48688cb68b'|'Olayan family plans to list its Saudi business - sources'|' 24pm BST Olayan family plans to list its Saudi business - sources Lubna S. Olayan, Chief Executive Officer and Deputy Chairperson, Olayan Financing Company attends the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, January 18, 2017. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich By Tom Arnold , Saeed Azhar and Katie Paul - RIYADH RIYADH The Olayan family, which controls one of Saudi Arabia''s largest conglomerates, is considering listing at least 30 percent of its Saudi business in a sale that could value the company at several billion dollars, banking sources say. Olayan Financing Company is working with Banque Saudi Fransi Capital, which has a deep relationship with the firm, on the potential listing on the Saudi stock market but the sources said the process could take at least a year to complete. The company could be valued at $2 billion to $3 billion (1.5 billion to 2.3 billion) in an initial public offering (IPO), one of the banking sources said. Olayan and Banque Saudi Fransi officials did not immediately respond to Reuters queries for comment. Established in 1947, Olayan is involved in product distribution, manufacturing, services and investment, often alongside leading multinational such as Coca-Cola Co ( KO.N ) and Colgate-Palmolive Co ( CL.N ). Olayan also has international investments, including a stake of 10.7 percent in Credit Suisse ( CSGN.S ), including options. It has property investments across Europe and the United States and bought 550 Madison Avenue in Manhattan, otherwise known as the Sony Tower, last year in partnership with London-based Chelsfield, according to Olayan''s website. The government has been keen to encourage more family businesses to consider listing as a way to boost investment in capital markets and improve corporate governance. One of the sources said as two of the conglomerate''s senior figures, Lubna and Khaled Olayan, were both close to retirement a listing was a way of ensuring succession planning. A former JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst, Lubna is the chief executive of Olayan Financing Company, which holds and manages all of the Olayan Group''s businesses and investments in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. She also wields considerable influence outside the company. In 2004, she became the first woman to be elected to the board of Saudi Hollandi Bank, now called Alawwal Bank 1040.SE. Last year, Lubna was one of four new appointments by government-owned Public Investment Fund (PIF) to the board of Ma''aden 1211.SE, the Gulf''s largest miner, in which PIF owns 49.99 percent. Mining is a sector of strategic importance to the government. The Olayan family also holds 21.76 percent of Alawwal Bank and 16.98 percent in Saudi British Bank (SABB) 1060.SE, Saudi lenders backed by Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ) and HSBC Holdings ( HSBA.L ) respectively. The Saudi lenders agreed last month to start merger talks. Bloomberg had earlier reported the company''s plans for an IPO. (Additional reporting by Marwa Rashad; editing by David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-saudi-olayan-ipo-idUKKBN17Z1BH'|'2017-05-03T20:24:00.000+03:00' +'c9426b639b4ef10901d9022df2b1d32a264e1349'|'UPDATE 1-Regeneron, Sanofi rheumatoid arthritis drug wins U.S. approval'|'(Adds background, share price)May 22 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc and Sanofi SA''s biotech drug for adults with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, the two companies said on Monday.The drug, sarilumab, which will be sold under the brand name Kevzara, will carry a list price of $39,000 per year for the 200 milligram and 150 mg doses, which the companies said was about 30 percent lower than the list price for the two most widely used rival medicines in the highly competitive space.U.S. approval of the drug, seen as a key medicine for both companies looking to diversify their product portfolios, had been delayed by problems at a Sanofi manufacturing plant in France that have since been resolved.Analysts on average expect Kevzara to reach annual sales of $1 billion by 2023, according to Thomson Reuters data.The approval marks a second major regulatory victory for the two companies in recent weeks after their potential blockbuster treatment for severe atopic dermatitis, Dupixent, won U.S. approval in late March.Regeneron is looking to reduce its reliance on the macular degeneration drug Eylea, while Sanofi is under pressure to diversify in order to offset declining sales of diabetes blockbuster Lantus.About 1.3 million people in the United States alone suffer from rheumatoid arthritis. The disease category is able to support several multibillion-dollar drugs, led by AbbVie''s Humira, the world''s top selling prescription medicine.Regeneron shares closed up 2.4 percent on Monday ahead of the FDA''s approval. They rose another 0.8 percent to $462.22 in extended trading after the news become official.Sarilumab, already approved in Canada, is expected to obtain European approval in the coming months.It works by blocking a protein associated with inflammation called IL-6.Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the tissues of the joints, causing inflammation, pain, joint damage and disability. (Reporting by Matthais Blamont in Paris and Bill Berkrot in New York; Editing by Andrew Hay and Tom Brown)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/regeneron-pharms-sanofi-fr-arthritis-idINL1N1IO1UF'|'2017-05-22T20:35:00.000+03:00' +'4d1f55247baf628057700599465fefb72b346042'|'Factbox - Impact on banks from Britain''s vote to leave the EU'|'Banks - Fri May 5, 2017 - 12:59pm BST Factbox - Impact on banks from Britain''s vote to leave the EU FILE PHOTO: Workers walk in the rain at the Canary Wharf business district in London, Britain November 11, 2013. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh/File Photo Global banks have warned they could move thousands of jobs out of Britain to prepare for the expected disruption caused by the country''s exit from the European Union, endangering London''s status as a major financial centre. Financial services firms need a regulated subsidiary in an EU country to offer their products across the bloc, and this could lead some to move jobs out of Britain if it loses access to the European single market. Many of the top financial firms have begun drawing up plans. Following are some details and reports on the subject: STANDARD CHARTERED Standard Chartered ( STAN.L ) is in talks with regulators about making Frankfurt its European base to secure market access to the European Union when Britain leaves the bloc. HSBC Stuart Gulliver, CEO of HSBC ( HSBA.L ), Europe''s biggest bank, said it would relocate staff responsible for generating around a fifth of its UK-based trading revenue, or around 1,000 people, to Paris. Chairman Douglas Flint has told lawmakers that banks without operations elsewhere in the EU will likely trigger migration plans immediately after EU divorce talks begin, estimating "tens of thousands" of jobs are linked to EU "passporting" rights. BARCLAYS Banks in Britain will start shifting some operations to continental Europe reasonably soon to avoid disrupting links with customers after Brexit, Barclays ( BARC.L ) Chief Executive Jes Staley said. He added that obtaining a licence to trade on the continent and changing financial contracts to another jurisdiction took a year to 18 months. The bank is preparing to make Dublin its EU headquarters after Brexit, according to a source familiar with the matter. Staley previously told BBC Radio that Barclays would keep the bulk of its activities in Britain after Brexit and any changes to how the bank operates would be small and manageable. UBS Swiss bank UBS ( UBSG.S ) would have to "move 1,500 people" from London to an EU destination in order to retain full passporting rights across the EU, according to UBS chairman Axel Weber. That would be more than a quarter of its current 5,500 staff in London. Separately, Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti has said UBS has a degree of flexibility if its UK outpost looks set to lose its ability to operate across the EU. The world''s biggest wealth manager has also set up a bank in Frankfurt to consolidate most of its European wealth management operations, after the Brexit vote dashed London''s chances of being the host city. CREDIT SUISSE Credit Suisse''s ( CSGN.S ) Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam said in September his bank was relatively well placed to deal with the impact of Brexit and that only around 15-20 percent of volumes in the investment bank would be impacted. LLOYDS BANKING GROUP Lloyds Banking Group ( LLOY.L ), Britain''s largest mortgage lender and the only major British retail bank without a subsidiary in another EU country, is close to selecting Berlin as a European base to secure market access to the EU after Britain withdraws. GOLDMAN SACHS U.S. bank Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) is considering moving up to 1,000 staff from London to Frankfurt because of concerns over Brexit, Germany''s Handelsblatt newspaper reported in January, citing financial sources. Goldman Sachs will begin moving hundreds of people out of London before any Brexit deal is struck as part of its contingency plans, the Wall Street firm''s Europe CEO said in March. Three people familiar with the matter told Reuters in November that Goldman Sachs was considering shifting some of its assets and operations from London to Frankfurt. MORGAN STANLEY U.S. bank Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) has identified many of the roles that will need to be moved from Britain after Brexit, sources involved in the processes told Reuters. Morgan Stanley, which bases the bulk of its European staff in Britain, will have to move up to 1,000 jobs in sales and trading, risk management, legal and compliance, as well as slimming the back office in favour of locations overseas, one source told Reuters. Morgan Stanley may initially shift 300 staff from Britain following its exit from the EU, and is scouting for office space in Frankfurt and Dublin, Bloomberg News reported in February. CITIGROUP Citigroup ( C.N ), which has also identified roles that will need to be moved out of the UK and has a large banking unit in Dublin, will need to move 100 posts in its sales and trading business, sources with knowledge of the matter said. Separately, Citigroup''s European chief said the U.S. bank would make a decision on its Brexit contingency plans in the first half of the year and choose from a number of potential EU countries to relocate some investment banking business. JPMORGAN JPMorgan ( JPM.N ) plans to move hundreds of London-based bankers to expanded offices in Dublin, Frankfurt and Luxembourg, Daniel Pinto, head of investment banking at the Wall Street firm told Bloomberg on May 3. CEO Jamie Dimon had previously said the bank was not planning to move many jobs out of Britain in the next two years. Before the vote, Dimon said the bank would be forced to move 4,000 of its 16,000 staff currently based in Britain if the country loses access to the single market. BANK OF AMERICA CORP Bank of America Corp ( BAC.N ) said in August its businesses and results could be adversely affected and it may have to incur additional costs if Brexit limited the ability of its UK entities to conduct business in the EU. Dublin is Bank of America''s default option for a new base within the EU, but other centres are on the table and no decision has yet been made, an executive said in Germany on March 14. DEUTSCHE BANK Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) warned on April 26 up to 4,000 UK jobs could be moved to Frankfurt and other locations in the EU as a result of Brexit - the highest potential move of any bank. (Compiled by Noor Zainab Hussain and Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Elaine Hardcastle)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-banks-factbox-idUKKBN1811A4'|'2017-05-05T19:59:00.000+03:00' +'1116162f870dfb61633e42032c6b5dd205478b87'|'LPC: U.S. merger lending bounces even as Trump agenda stalls'|'By Lynn Adler - NEW YORK NEW YORK Mergers and takeovers by U.S. high-grade companies and billions of dollars of acquisition loans are ramping up after a sparse first quarter as corporations unwilling to wait for the Trump administrations delayed tax, trade or healthcare reforms push the button on new deals.Roughly US$30bn of investment-grade loans have been mandated so far in the second quarter financing mergers and acquisitions (M&A), which already exceeds the US$18bn arranged in the first three months of the year, according to Thomson Reuters LPC data.With six weeks remaining in the second quarter, M&A lending is climbing, although it is still below the US$54bn seen in the second quarter of last year.If a company has something in its laser sights, and if it cant grow organically, its not going to let all of the uncertainty about tax and other policies get in the way of what they need to do strategically to meet their goals, a senior banker said.As investment-grade strategic marriages heated up starting in the healthcare sector in April, US medical supplier Becton Dickinson said it would by C R Bard for US$24bn, the latest in a string of medical technology mergers by device makers looking to bolster profits. The deal was supported by a US$4.5bn loan facility.Drug distribution company Cardinal Health had a bridge loan of the same amount to support its US$6.1bn purchase of Medtronic Plcs medical supplies units.Robust investor appetite for debt, and a generally pro-business climate, are also spurring a gradual flow of deals among lower-rated companies, which borrow in the leveraged loan market. M&A lending in the leveraged space of US$41bn in the second quarter to date looks to surpass US$51bn in the first quarter, which was the lowest quarterly tally in four years.Market strategists increasingly view highly-anticipated policy actions as more likely to occur further down the road than promised by the Trump campaign.Theres so much pent up demand, cash and CEO confidence, another banker said, which is leading companies to decide lets get on with it.CROSSOVER BUYINGSome higher-rated investment-grade companies are also dipping into the lower credit quality pool and buying junk-rated competitors as a way to shave costs and expand product offerings.In the second quarter, investment-grade corporations in the retail and biopharmaceutical and food sectors announced acquisitions of lower-rated companies that complement their businesses to boost profits.Coach Inc is purchasing smaller luxury handbag rival Kate Spade & Co, backed by up to US$2.1bn in bank loans. Scientific instrument maker Thermo Fisher is buying drug maker Patheon NV, supported by a bridge loan for about US$7.3bn, bankers said.Tyson Foods is buying packaged sandwich supplier AdvancePierre for US$4.2bn including debt, as a way to grow its prepared foods business, entering the agreement with US$4.5bn of commitments under a 364-day bridge loan.In certain industries, nows a great time for investment-grade players to scoop up sub-investment grade companies, said Sean Coleman, chief credit officer for FS Investments. They can take advantage of very low cost debt to achieve greater scale, cut costs and expand their product portfolios.Thermo Fisher said it expects to realize about US$120m of total synergies by year three following the deal''s close. Bankers are expecting more of these types of strategic tie-ups as the year unfolds.Still, the steady drumbeat of US political drama unrelated to tax, trade or healthcare overhauls could keep delaying policy changes, compelling some merger candidates to stay on the sidelines closely monitoring developments, several bankers said.Unrelenting news out of Washington, including the buzz of impeachment, threatens to drown out the Trump legislative agenda, according to Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analysts. Cooperation between the White House and congressional Democrats was already low, they wrote in a note, while fear and a strong sense of self-preservation will make it harder for some Republicans to support Trumps policy proposals.To the extent that the post-election rally has been supported by a belief in the Trump agenda, we think the markets'' attitude regarding the Trump agenda is misplaced, the analysts wrote. We think the Trump legislative agenda is in mortal danger.(Reporting by Lynn Adler; Editing By Tessa Walsh)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-usloan-m-a-idINKCN18E2ZS'|'2017-05-18T18:24:00.000+03:00' +'3d95e5221cea9055ed825e0b99e1bd235ecd86b7'|'ZJM, CRCI to buy Bosch''s starters and generator unit for $595 million'|'HONG KONG Zhengzhou Coal Mining Machinery Group Co Ltd (ZJM) ( 0564.HK ) has teamed up with private equity firm China Renaissance Capital Investment (CRCI) to buy Robert Bosch''s starters and generators business SG Holding for 545 million euros ($595 million).ZJM, which produces auto components and coal mining machinery, said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday that it valued SG''s technology and research capability, its customer base and established global sales network.The deal is expected to help SG expand its footprint in China, the world''s largest automotive market.ZJM estimated that not more than 440 million euros will be funded through internal resources of ZJM and CRCI while the remainder would be funded through external bank financing.Robert Bosch is a multinational engineering and electronics company and controller of SG Group. CRCI manages investment funds incorporated in the Cayman Islands that invests in businesses focused on greater China.(Reporting by Anne Marie Roantree; editing by Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-r-bosch-m-a-zz-mining-mach-idINKBN17Y145'|'2017-05-02T08:58:00.000+03:00' +'19d9bf463feb084fe9ae74a98a126cee1a91b639'|'Fed''s Dudely says to normalise balance sheet in very careful way'|' 55pm IST CORRECTED: Fed''s Dudley says to normalise balance sheet in "very careful way" William C. Dudley, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York speaks during a panel discussion at The Bank of England in London, Britain, March 21, 2017. REUTERS/Kirsty Wigglesworth/Pool/Files (Corrects spelling of Dudley in headline) MUMBAI New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley said on Thursday the U.S. central bank will normalise its balance sheet in a "very careful way", while leaving "sufficient" excess reserves in the financial system. Dudley, in a speech in Mumbai, also told the audience not to expect any "dramatic change" in monetary policy in the United States. The comments largely hewed to his previous stance on the subject and came in answers to questions from the audience after Dudley delivered a speech calling trade protectionism a "dead end". (Reporting by Suvashree Dey Choudhury)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-fed-dudley-balance-sheet-idINKBN1871DH'|'2017-05-11T09:16:00.000+03:00' +'f61355ebbe0cd230737934467000591536e02512'|'Apple sets final terms on dual-tranche bond'|'Market News 17am EDT Apple sets final terms on dual-tranche bond By Laura Benitez LONDON, May 17 (IFR) - Final terms for Apple Inc''s dual-tranche euro-denominated senior unsecured benchmark bond have been set, according to a source. The US tech company will price a 1.25bn eight-year tranche at 33bp over mid-swaps, the tight end of the 33bp-35bp guidance and tighter than the 45-50bp initial price thoughts. It will a 1.25bn 12-year at mid-swaps plus 45bp, the tight end of the 45-47bp guidance and inside mid-swaps plus 60-65bp initial price thoughts. Books had passed 5bn at the last update. Apple, rated Aa1/AA+ (both stable), mandated Goldman Sachs, Barclays and Deutsche Bank as bookrunners. (Reporting by Helene Durand) EMERGING MARKETS-LatAm currencies weaken as Trump woes spark risk-aversion By Bruno Federowski SAO PAULO, May 17 Latin American currencies weakened on Wednesday as speculation U.S. President Donald Trump could face the threat of impeachment triggered worldwide profit-taking on riskier assets. The Brazilian real slipped 0.4 percent, while the Mexican peso fell as much as 0.7 percent before paring gains to trade nearly flat. Both currencies had strengthened in the last six trading days. News reports emerged on Tuesday that Trump had asked then UPDATE 1-Britain to investigate use of personal data in political campaigns LONDON, May 17 Britain''s Information Commissioner''s Office (ICO) said on Wednesday it had opened an investigation into the use for political purposes of personal data found online, to ensure laws were not broken and voters had control of their own information. PARIS, May 17 French environmentalist Nicolas Hulot, named as ecology minister on Wednesday in the government of Emmanuel Macron, also has responsibility for energy matters, according to Matthieu Orphelin, Hulot''s former spokesman who was part of Macron''s presidential campaign team. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/apple-bonds-idUSL8N1IJ35G'|'2017-05-17T23:17:00.000+03:00' +'708ae1756ae60de5be1b9542ec6c60aa5bbd5ab1'|'PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - May 8 - Reuters'|'May 8 The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.- Emmanuel Macron was elected president of France Sunday in a victory for a political newcomer who campaigned on promises to reform France''s heavily regulated economy and fight a tide of nationalism sweeping the European Union. ( on.wsj.com/2ppIOFu )- TV station giant Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc is close to a deal to acquire Tribune Media Co for close to $4 billion, a person familiar with the matter said. ( on.wsj.com/2ppIvKQ )- New York property developer Kushner Cos, owned by the family of Trump administration senior adviser Jared Kushner, launched a weekend marketing campaign for a New Jersey development, targeting major Chinese cities for wealthy individuals to invest a combined $150 million for the chance to secure U.S. immigration rights. ( on.wsj.com/2ppGzSF )- Comcast Corp and Charter Communications Inc are striking a wireless partnership, people familiar with the matter said, as the cable giants look to get a piece of the cutthroat business. ( on.wsj.com/2pps7Ku )- President Donald Trump is preparing to turn to the nomination of a slate of conservatives for judgeships to the lower federal courts. Trump as soon as Monday will announce a batch of picks for 10 judicial posts, including five nominees for the powerful federal appeals courts, according to a person familiar with the matter. on.wsj.com/2ppE038- Eighty-two of the nearly 300 Chibok schoolgirls seized three years ago by Boko Haram were freed on Sunday in exchange for detained members of the militant group, the biggest breakthrough in the effort to recover the insurgency''s most-famous captives. on.wsj.com/2ppzmSx (Compiled by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/press-digest-wsj-idINL4N1IA24B'|'2017-05-08T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'4db7a365b367406e073284067048538282976502'|'U.S. regulators to announce VW diesel fix approval for 84,000 vehicles'|'Environment 29pm BST U.S. regulators to announce VW diesel fix approval for 84,000 vehicles left right FILE PHOTO - A U.S. flag flutters in the wind above a Volkswagen dealership in Carlsbad, California, U.S. May 2, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo - RTX2YFQS 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: Covers for TDI diesel Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT and Skoda engines are seen in Jelah, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in this September 29, 2015 picture illustration. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo 2/2 WASHINGTON The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board on Friday are expected to announce approval of a fix for about 84,000 older Volkswagen diesel vehicles that can emit excess emissions, two sources briefed on the matter said. Volkswagen agreed last year to offer to buy back up to 475,000 U.S. diesel vehicles or offer fixes if regulators approved. Friday''s announcement is expected to cover a fix for 84,390 2012-2014 Passat diesel vehicles with automatic transmissions. In January, regulators approved a fix for 67,000 2015 model diesels, leaving around 325,000 vehicles still awaiting approval for a fix. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-idUKKCN18F1TL'|'2017-05-19T23:28:00.000+03:00' +'889dbb87edad4bc8b449ba57c8096e061e37b8fd'|'Irish lenders need to speed reduction in non-performing loans - central bank'|'Business News - Tue May 23, 2017 - 3:35pm BST Irish lenders need to speed reduction in non-performing loans - central bank Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland Philip R. Lane speaks at open the new Central Bank of Ireland offices in Dublin, Ireland April 24, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne DUBLIN The pace at which Irish lenders are reducing non-performing loans is too slow and new strategies are needed to lower the stock from a still elevated 17.5 percent of all loan books, the governor of Ireland''s central bank said on Tuesday. "While the economic recovery is well established, Ireland is still deeply affected by the legacy of the crisis. High outstanding debt levels and the substantial stock of non-performing loans (NPLs) pose ongoing financial stability risks," Philip Lane said in a speech "There has been significant progress. However ... the current pace of NPL reduction is too slow: continued efforts, strategy refreshes, dedication and innovation are needed to speed up the process." (Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by David Goodman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ireland-banks-idUKKBN18J23T'|'2017-05-23T22:35:00.000+03:00' +'27372ff8cfcb5397bdf10edc3cefdacf281e68ff'|'U.S. TIPS breakeven rates rise, on track for 3rd week of decline'|'By Richard Leong - NEW YORK NEW YORK May 19 The U.S. bond market''s gauges on inflation expectations rose on Friday in step with stronger oil and stock prices as they recovered further after slipping to their lowest since November on concerns about domestic price growth losing momentum.Inflation breakeven rates, or the yield premiums on regular Treasuries over Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS), increased for a second day but were heading for a third consecutive week of decline.The 10-year TIPS breakeven rate, or the yield difference between 10-year TIPS and regular 10-year Treasury notes, was last at 1.85 percent, up 2 basis points from late Thursday but down nearly 2 basis points on the week.This barometer on investors'' inflation outlook in the next decade sagged to 1.77 percent on Thursday, which was the lowest since Nov. 9, according to Tradeweb and Reuters data.Breakeven rates had fallen earlier this week in response to a disappointing reading on the government''s Consumer Price Index for April released last Friday. They reversed their decline following strong investor demand at an $11 billion 10-year TIPS auction on Thursday."We attribute the weak performance to soft recent U.S. inflation data," Well Fargo Securities senior strategists Michael Schumacher and Boris Rjavinski wrote in a research note.In the 12 months through April, the CPI, which TIPS principal and interest payments are benchmarked against, was up 2.2 percent, slower than the 2.4 percent increase in March.Some analysts raised the risk of a further decline in TIPS breakeven rates if major oil producers fail to agree on an extension of their current production cuts at a meeting next week.Moreover, investors who had been bullish on TIPS may scale back those positions even more if U.S. President Donald Trump and leading Republican lawmakers continue to struggle to implement their perceived pro-growth economic policies, they said.Investors had piled into TIPS as a part of the reflation or "Trumpflation" trade on the notion the U.S. economy would accelerate from a rapid enactment of tax reform, looser regulations and infrastructure spending once Trump took office.In early Friday trading, the three major U.S. stock indexes opened higher with the S&P 500 index last up 0.6 percent.U.S. oil futures were up 1.6 percent at $50.14 a barrel after touching their highest level in over three weeks.(Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Andrea Ricci)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-bonds-tips-idINL2N1IL0OP'|'2017-05-19T12:38:00.000+03:00' +'730bef3b0ac4b739a3280f35a42f115669c77a4f'|'U.S. Justice Dept., Citigroup settle last of Banamex probe'|'Business News 11:07am EDT U.S. Justice Dept., Citigroup settle last of Banamex probe FILE PHOTO -- People walk beneath a Citibank branch logo in the financial district of San Francisco, California July 17, 2009. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith/File Photo NEW YORK The U.S. Department of Justice and Citigroup Inc ( C.N ) said on Monday that they have settled a criminal investigation into violations of anti-money laundering rules and the Bank Secrecy Act at the bank''s Banamex USA unit. The settlement includes a non-prosecution agreement and a forfeiture by Citigroup of $97 million, the department and the bank said in statements. The bank said it had it already reserved for the expense. (Reporting by David Henry in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-citigroup-banamex-settlement-idUSKBN18I1WT'|'2017-05-22T23:07:00.000+03:00' +'d589cf699a49a0f3b5adc442413600802de118e4'|'Standard Life likely to choose Dublin for EU hub -chairman'|'LONDON May 17 Insurer and asset manager Standard Life is likely to choose Dublin as the base for its European Union subsidiary after Britain leaves the bloc, its chairman said.Standard Life already has an operation in Dublin and is unusual among British life insurers in having thousands of customers in the EU.Financial services firms are looking to set up regulated subsidiaries in the EU in case they lose access to the bloc after Brexit."The most likely scenario and the one we are now working towards is using our Dublin-based operation to continue to support our European customers and clients," chairman Gerry Grimstone said in the text of a speech given to shareholders at the firm''s annual general meeting on Tuesday."We are now working through the regulatory matters and other arrangements we would need to put in place to facilitate this."Standard Life''s choice of Dublin will be a boost for the Irish capital, which has lost out to high-profile insurers AIG and Lloyd''s of London, which have picked Luxembourg and Brussels respectively.Standard Life shareholders will vote next month on the firm''s 11 billion pound ($14.23 billion) merger with rival Scottish fund firm Aberdeen Asset Management. ($1 = 0.7732 pounds) (Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; Editing by Rachel Armstrong)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-eu-standardlife-dublin-idINL8N1IJ0WH'|'2017-05-17T04:25:00.000+03:00' +'4769165ba27be420bf9d92462969c2cce765f1bb'|'Debt-ridden Vivarte sells Pataugas shoe brand to Hopps Group'|'PARIS Private-equity backed French clothing retailer Vivarte, which is aiming to restructure more than 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion) of debt, has agreed to sell its Pataugas shoe brand to Hopps Group, the companies said on Wednesday.Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.Vivarte, whose brands include Kookai, La Halle, Caroll, Minelli and Chevignon, has been owned since 2014 by a group led by investment funds Alcentra, Babson, Oaktree and GLG Partners.The company, whose profits and sales have fallen amid competition from larger clothing retail chains such as H&M ( HMb.ST ), Kiabi and Primark, has been trying to restructure its business for several years.Pataugas had last reported annual sales of 14 million euros.($1 = 0.9184 euros)(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Matthias Blamont)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-vivarte-debt-idINKBN1860SK'|'2017-05-10T05:56:00.000+03:00' +'4f08e6b7c99cf145ab87976b0a5c831e5e8397e4'|'Cross-border M&A between U.S. and European firms at 10 year high'|'By Pamela Barbaglia - LONDON LONDON Some $171.8 billion of cross-border merger and acquisition deals between U.S. and European companies have been announced so far in 2017, the highest figure at this stage of the year for a decade as companies on both sides of the Atlantic hunt for deals to offset sluggish growth.A $14 billion tie-up between U.S.-based chemicals firm Huntsman Corp ( HUN.N ) and European rival Swiss Clariant AG ( CLN.S ), announced on Monday, is the latest example of the spate of big deals between the two regions.The overall value of cross-border M&A deals between the U.S. and Europe is up 82 percent on the same period last year, according to Thomson Reuters data, and the highest over the same timeframe since at least 2007.Interest in major cross-border deals was underscored earlier this year when Kraft Heinz Co ( KHC.O ) made a surprise $143 billion bid for Unilever ( ULVR.L ) ( UNc.AS ), only to withdraw it less than 48 hours later, while U.S. healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ.N ) clinched Swiss biotech company Actelion ( ATLN.S ) in a $30 billion all-cash deal.Optimism over U.S. President Donald Trump''s economic agenda has buoyed stock markets worldwide, as well as the U.S. dollar, which has made foreign acquisitions cheaper for U.S. companies.Low interest rates are also keeping down borrowing costs.Switzerland and the Netherlands have so far been the main shopping destinations for companies on the other side of the Atlantic, with U.S. buyers announcing a combined $70.2 billion worth of deals in those two countries this year, the data shows.But some European companies have been fighting hard for their independence.Shareholders in Dutch paint maker Akzo Nobel ( AKZO.AS ), angered by its rejection of a 26.3 billion euro ($29.6 billion)takeover proposal from U.S. rival PPG Industries ( PPG.N ), took their fight to an Amsterdam court on Monday.Britain remains Europe''s biggest acquirer in the United States, with deals totaling $21.1 billion so far this year, followed by Switzerland with $11.5 billion.In February, Reckitt Benckiser ( RB.L ) announced a deal to buy U.S. baby formula maker Mead Johnson Nutrition ( MJN.N ) for $16.6 billion, giving the British consumer goods company a new product line and expanding its presence in developing markets where Mead Johnson has a strong footprint.Bank of America Merrill Lynch, which advised Reckitt Benckiser on that deal, leads the list of financial advisers on cross-border transactions announced between U.S. and European companies, with $83.1 billion worth of deals so far this year.That represents 48 percent of the total, according to Thomson Reuters data.(Reporting by Pamela Barbaglia; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-europe-usa-deals-idINKBN18I1M6'|'2017-05-22T11:20:00.000+03:00' +'ca0b762c1ff410d03ee0be9d76eeeb2558563cc8'|'GE''s Saudi joint venture to start gas turbine production this year'|'Commodities - Thu May 25, 2017 - 4:01am EDT GE''s Saudi joint venture to start gas turbine production this year A sign marks a General Electric (GE) facility in Medford, Massachusetts, U.S., April 20, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder By Alexander Cornwell - DUBAI DUBAI General Electric''s joint venture to manufacture gas turbines in Saudi Arabia will start production by the end of the year, the chief executive of its state-backed Saudi partner said on Thursday. GE and Saudi industrial development company Dussur signed an agreement on Wednesday to set up the one billion riyal ($267 million) joint venture in the eastern city of Dammam. Dussur CEO Rasheed al-Shubaili said manufacturing of GE''s H-Class turbines in Saudi Arabia would start before the end of the year with the first turbine to be completed in 2018. The Saudi made gas turbines would be sold in the country and to international customers, he said in an interview in Dubai. Dussur, formerly Saudi Arabian Industrial Investments Company (SAIIC), was established in 2016 by state firms Saudi Aramco, Public Investment Fund, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC). It aims to develop industrial sectors in Saudi Arabia as part of the government''s plan to create jobs and diversify the oil-dependent economy. The joint venture followed a memorandum of understanding signed last year by GE and Dussur that is expected to draw nearly 3.75 billion riyals of investment by the two companies in 2017. Al-Shubaili declined to say when the joint venture, which is 55 percent owned by Dussur and 45 percent owned by GE, aimed to make a profit. "We''re a long-term patient investor. Our investments are going to profitable," al-Shubaili said. GE and Dussur signed the joint venture agreement days after GE announced $15 billion of deals with Saudi Arabia during United State President Donald Trump''s visit to the Kingdom last weekend. (Reporting by Alexander Cornwell. Editing by Jane Merriman) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-industry-ge-idUSKBN18L0TX'|'2017-05-25T15:52:00.000+03:00' +'5f91e3b29fd77d06c9357caaa0972cdbc4061aed'|'Competition for gamblers'' money clouds outlook for Paddy Power Betfair'|' 16am BST Competition for gamblers'' money clouds outlook for Paddy Power Betfair By Padraic Halpin - DUBLIN DUBLIN Paddy Power Betfair ( PPB.I ) ( PPB.L ) said it was cautious on revenue growth in its main European market due to a "pretty extreme" level of competition, even as it almost doubled earnings across the group in the first quarter. Competition has intensified among gambling firms seeking to offset higher taxes and tighter regulation with increased revenues, leading to a flurry of mergers including last year''s 6 billion pound tie-up between online betting exchange Betfair and Paddy Power, which operates shops as well as an online business. The ensuing aggressive pricing and promotional activity has made it tougher to win new business, Paddy Power Betfair Chief Executive Breon Corcoran said on Wednesday, meaning the Dublin-headquartered firm was "a little bit behind where we hoped" on increasing its customer numbers in Europe. "The competitive nature of this industry right now is pretty extreme. What we have to remind our shareholders and indeed our competitors is that we have plenty of appetite to compete," Corcoran told an analyst call. "What''s not entirely clear is whether we''re being rational or whether we''re not competing hard enough... If this industry continues to be as competitive as it is, we have to give ourselves the flexibility to increase investment." Shares in the group were 1.8 percent lower at 1000 GMT. Its main competitors include Ladbrokes Coral Group ( LCL.L ), itself the product of a merger, and William Hill ( WMH.L ) which has so far been left off the M&A merry-go-round. Corcoran used the US Masters golf tournament to illustrate the changes in the market where Paddy Power Betfair had expected to be alone in offering customers the chance to win if their pick finished in the top 8 but were among four bookmakers to offer the more generous market. The group''s online revenue in Europe, which accounts for more than half of total revenue, increased by 12 percent on a constant currency basis in the first quarter, driven by improved sports results and growth in the amount of money staked. Overall revenue growth of 15 percent, combined with merger-related cost savings and operational efficiencies helped push underlying core earnings or EBITDA up 87 percent to 111 million pounds. Corcoran said it was too early to give any guidance for the year but that sports results had favoured customers since the end of March and overall gross win margins were weak in April. (Editing by Keith Weir)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-paddy-power-results-idUKKBN17Z0YK'|'2017-05-03T18:16:00.000+03:00' +'a76ef00b32a96e550324aa914fc775c1867da142'|'Starwood looks to sell French crystal maker Baccarat - report'|'Business News - Fri May 19, 2017 - 11:05am BST Starwood looks to sell French crystal maker Baccarat - report left right FILE PHOTO: An employee assembles a crystal chandelier at the Baccarat Crystalworks in eastern France, August 18,2000.JES 1/2 left right An employee of Baccarat Pacific K.K. demonstrates a Baccarat crystal chess set at an exhibition at Tokyo''s Mitsukoshi department store May 15, 2007. REUTERS/Issei Kato 2/2 PARIS U.S investment firm Starwood Capital has put French crystal maker Baccarat ( CDBP.PA ) up for sale and the best offer so far has come from a Chinese group, French daily L''Agefi said on Friday, citing several sources. Starwood, which is eyeing a valuation for Baccarat of 200 million euros (171.6 million), has commissioned Messier Maris & Associes bank to handle the sale, the paper reported. "A Chinese group has come out on top, with an offer close to the valuation Starwood is hoping for," L''Agefi quoted a source as saying. It did not disclose the identity of the Chinese buyer. Starwood has owned Baccarat, which is listed in Paris and has a market value of 181 million euros, since 2005 when it bought parent group Taittinger. Neither Starwood and Baccarat could immediately be reached for comment. It achieved a 2016 Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) of 12.9 million euros, up 25.2 percent on the previous year. Its sales, however, were down 0.9 percent to 148.3 million euros. Starwood Capital sold Europe''s No. 2 budget operator, Louvre Hotels Group, to Chinese partner Jin Jiang International Holdings Co. Ltd. in 2014. (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon and Pascale Denis; Editing by Richard Balmforth)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-baccarat-sale-idUKKCN18F0YI'|'2017-05-19T18:05:00.000+03:00' +'3705259812a05c3445741dbbdd15e32c781fb714'|'House banking panel passes bill to undo U.S. financial crisis rules'|'Business News - Thu May 4, 2017 - 5:54pm BST House banking panel passes bill to undo U.S. financial crisis rules U.S. President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up during a National Day of Prayer event at the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington D.C., U.S., May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria By Pete Schroeder - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON A House banking panel on Thursday passed a controversial bill that would drastically change how the U.S. government regulates the financial sector. With support only from the panel''s Republicans, the bill approved by the House Financial Services Committee would eliminate significant parts of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law and place new restrictions on regulators monitoring Wall Street. The odds of the bill offered by Representative Jeb Hensarling becoming law are long, given staunch opposition by Democrats to many of its central proposals. The bill marks the new Congress'' first attempt to significantly roll back existing financial rules after Republicans made gains in the 2016 election. President Donald Trump has identified easing rules on banks as a key component of his economic agenda and effort to spur lending and grow the economy. Critics of the bill argue that it undoes many of the critical protections enacted following the financial crisis and puts the nation at greater risk of another meltdown. If made law, the bill would repeal regulators'' ability to step in and wind down failing financial institutions. It also would hamstring their ability to identify and more closely regulate firms they believe are critical to the health of the financial system. Under the bill, banks that agree to adopt a 10 percent capital ratio would be allowed to receive an exemption from many of Dodd-Frank''s existing rules. It will also require regulators to get congressional approval on any major new rulemaking project, and overhaul the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The powers of that agency, created by Dodd-Frank, would be curtailed, limiting the steps it can take to punish wrongdoing by banks and subjecting it to a number of outside checks on its authority and funding. In addition, the bill significantly changes how the Federal Reserve operates, subjecting its monetary policy decision-making to a stricter rules-based process, while separating its economic policymaking from its financial regulatory work. Hensarling has said he expects the bill will be considered soon by the full House, where it likely would be passed by the Republican majority. However, the Senate Banking Committee will be considering its own proposals to rework financial rules. More modest legislation coming from that committee is more likely to become law, given it will likely be designed to attract necessary support from Democrats. (Reporting by Pete Schroeder; Editing by Dan Grebler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-banks-doddfrank-idUKKBN18029P'|'2017-05-05T00:54:00.000+03:00' +'32728d7a0ebebf4dbf2a768e6c8ce0e91228daf3'|'Nissan resumes production at UK plant hit by cyber attack'|'Autos - Mon May 15, 2017 - 11:57am BST Nissan resumes production at UK plant hit by cyber attack FILE PHOTO - Nissan technicians work on a Qashqai car on the production line at the company''s plant in Sunderland, Britain November 9, 2011. REUTERS/Nigel Roddis/File Photo TOKYO Production at Nissan''s manufacturing plant in Britain resumed as scheduled on Monday, following a stoppage on Friday evening when operations were affected by a cyber attack, the Japanese automaker said. The day shift at the plant located in Sunderland, northeast England, began as usual earlier on Monday, the company said in an email, adding that there had been no production scheduled at the plant on Saturday or Sunday. "While our teams are addressing some localized issues, it''s business as usual today," a spokesman at the company''s headquarters in Yokohama said in the email. The WannaCry ransomware worm erupted on Friday, locking up hundreds of thousands of computers in more than 150 countries, and hitting factories, hospitals, shops and schools worldwide. Earlier on Monday, businesses and governments in Asia reported some disruption, and while the effect appeared less severe than anticipated, industry professionals flagged lingering risks of the attacks, most of which arrived via email. (Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu, editing by David Evans) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-cyber-attack-nissan-idUKKCN18B19Y'|'2017-05-15T18:57:00.000+03:00' +'37f46d6ea1c2997918410b5fd2e9300454de8bf9'|'CEE MARKETS-Czech crown regains ground, shakes off political wobbles'|'By Krisztina Than BUDAPEST, May 3 The Czech crown regained ground on Wednesday, a day after Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka announced that he would resign along with his government, while other currencies in the region were also steady or slightly firmer. With investors cautious ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve''s two-day policy meeting, which could give clues regarding rate hikes, stock markets mostly dropped. Budapest led losses, easing 0.7 percent by 0914 GMT. Sunday''s second round of the French presidential election added to global risks. After easing a little on Tuesday after Sobotka said his government would resign by mid-May following a row with finance minister Andrej Babis over Babis''s past business dealings, the Czech crown firmed 0.15 percent on Wednesday to 26.868 per euro. "EURCZK attempted to go slightly weaker at first (yesterday) but quickly reverted ... back to previous levels, and we do not expect any more major reaction as the story is hardly likely to change the economic path of the country," Komercni Banka trader Dalimil Vyskovsky said. Hungary''s forint was flat. Polish markets are closed on Wednesday. Sobotka has said he will seek a meeting with President Milos Zeman to agree timing for the resignation and further steps. He said the coalition could be recreated without Babis, or that an election due in October could be moved forward. Despite the political wobbles, the crown is seen gaining more than 4 percent against the euro in the coming year, lifted by strong economic growth and likely monetary tightening, a Reuters poll published on Wednesday showed. After the Czech central bank''s removal a month ago of the cap which had kept the currency weaker than 27 against the euro since 2013, the crown could outperform regional peers, the poll suggested. Czech bonds have meanwhile been supported by their inclusion in JP Morgan''s emerging markets index, which means index-tracking investors will need to buy them for their portfolios. Central Europe''s economies outperformed western European economies last year and growth is seen strong this year as well, helped by a solid inflow of European Union development funds and loose monetary policies by local central banks. CEE SNAPS AT 1115 MARKETS HOT CET CURRENCIES Lates Previ Daily Chang t ous e bid close chang in e 2017 Czech crown 26.86 26.90 +0.1 0.52% 80 90 5% Hungary 312.2 312.1 -0.01 -1.08 forint 000 800 % % Polish 4.202 4.205 +0.0 4.79% zloty 5 0 6% Romanian 4.550 4.549 -0.01 -0.33 leu 0 4 % % Croatian 7.447 7.455 +0.1 1.44% kuna 5 5 1% Serbian 123.0 123.1 +0.0 0.24% dinar 500 200 6% Note: daily calculate previ close 1800 change d from ous at CET STOCK S Lates Previ Daily Chang t ous e close chang in e 2017 Prague 997.2 1001. -0.48 +8.2 2 98 % 0% Budapest 32680 32902 -0.68 +2.1 .00 .62 % 2% Bucharest 8239. 8220. +0.2 +16. 02 10 3% 29% Ljubljana 778.3 782.3 -0.50 +8.4 8 2 % 7% Zagreb 1894. 1902. -0.43 -5.04 38 57 % % Belgrade <.BELEX15 720.8 720.6 +0.0 +0.4 > 5 4 3% 9% Sofia 666.1 660.5 +0.8 +13. 3 3 5% 59% BONDS Yield Yield Sprea Daily d (bid) chang vs chang e Bund e in Czech sprea Republic d 2-year 1 9 bps s 5-year 4 bps 10-year bps s FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M inter bank Czech Rep < 0.33 0.39 0.5 0 PRIBOR=> Hungary < 0.25 0.33 0.45 0.16 BUBOR=> Note: FRA are for Quote: s ask prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets-idINL8N1I52JU'|'2017-05-03T07:40:00.000+03:00' +'78cfe653550f3f0590d31bbc41a360887a7c3f79'|'Heineken targets global leadership with new zero alcohol beer'|' 1:04pm EDT Heineken targets global leadership with new zero alcohol beer FILE PHOTO: Packs of Heineken beer are displayed for sale at a Carrefour hypermarket in Nice, France, April 6, 2016. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/File Photo BRUSSELS Dutch brewer Heineken ( HEIN.AS ) has launched a non-alcoholic version of its namesake beer with the aim of becoming the global leader in a part of the market growing faster than the average. The world''s second largest beer maker launched "Heineken 0.0" at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona and will sell it in 17 markets, across Europe and also Russia and Israel, unlike rivals which have non-alcoholic beers for individual markets. Heineken is hoping to tap into what it believes is an increasing desire among consumers for beer that will not get them drunk. The European market for zero alcohol beer grew about 5 percent a year from 2010 to 2015, according to research group Canadean, while the overall beer market shrank. Rival AB InBev ( ABI.BR ), which makes more than a quarter of the world''s beer, is aiming to make a fifth of its beer low or zero alcohol by 2025. For the maker of Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona, low means an alcohol content of up to 3.5 percent. Zero alcohol beers could offer brewers higher margins because of lower taxes and could see them muscling in on the soft drinks market with what they say is a more natural and healthier option. Heineken 0.0, for example, has half the calories of standard Heineken or Coca-Cola. The brewer does not have a target for zero alcohol beer like AB InBev, but notes that in Spain zero strength beer has about a 10 percent market share. "You could expect 10 to 15 years down the road this would be more or less the global trend. We want to make Heineken the leading global beer brand in 0.0," senior Heineken brand director Gianluca Di Tondo told Reuters. Beer critics say a key reason why zero alcohol beer has failed on previous occasions is taste. Heineken brewmaster Willem van Waesberghe said many previous and existing non-alcoholic beers were too sweet and malty, either because the fermentation process was cut short or because flavours were lost as alcohol was boiled off. Van Waesberghe recognizes that a beer without alcohol will not taste the same, but believes the company has found a brew that recreates some of the fruity, bitter and acidic tastes found in a normal 5 percent Heineken. The company makes two separate brews with different qualities, then removes the alcohol and blends them together. "Both beers are not nice. You need to blend them together to make a good beer," he said. (Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; editing by David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-heineken-zero-idUSKBN1890LT'|'2017-05-14T01:04:00.000+03:00' +'7ace1c00af715b06e9e33802fa3af5f3f72ded3f'|'Yahoo to buy back $3 billion shares'|'Yahoo Inc said on Tuesday it would buy back up to $3 billion shares through a tender offer to provide liquidity to stockholders looking to sell the stock ahead of the company''s pending deal with Verizon Communications Inc.Shares in Yahoo, which has a 15 percent stake in Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, were up 2 percent at $50.81.Yahoo said it would determine a single purchase price after the expiry of the Dutch auction tender offer on June 13 and that the price would not be less than $37 per share.The company said its directors and executive officers will not tender any shares in the buyback.Verizon agreed to buy Yahoo''s core internet properties last year for $4.83 billion in cash. It lowered the original offer by $350 million in February following two massive cyber attacks at the internet company.After the Verizon deal, Yahoo will be renamed Altaba, a holding company whose primary assets will be its stake in Alibaba and a 35.5 percent stake in Yahoo Japan.(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Anil D''Silva)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yahoo-buyback-idUSKCN18C174'|'2017-05-16T15:02:00.000+03:00' +'6274c9e2ee310b0210d9fd28f41a559a1d0bdf51'|'Nissan''s in-car Faraday Cage could prevent distracted driving 3,'|'These cities have the worst rush hour traffic Nissan is using old school technology to try to stop distracted driving. On Monday, the company announced Signal Shield, an armrest outfitted as a Faraday Cage. Created in 1838, Faraday Cages block electric fields. If your phone is inside one, it can''t connect to cellular signals, data, WiFi or Bluetooth.Nissan''s Signal Shield prototype fits between the two front seats of the Nissan Juke and is designed to keep your phone silent while you drive. With the lid closed, your phone won''t receive texts, calls or notifications that might distract you. But when you open it, your phone will work like normal.According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, eight people are killed and over 1,000 are injured each day in the U.S. in accidents involving distracted drivers. And mobile devices are a major distraction in vehicles.Related: Smartphones may be to blame for unprecedented spike in pedestrian deathsExperts have also said mobile phones are partly to blame for the rise in pedestrian fatalities -- in 2016, 6,000 pedestrians were killed.Nissan ( NSANF ) told CNNTech its concept is better than just turning off your phone, because you can still listen to music through a plugged in USB or auxiliary connection while your phone is in the compartment. (Though you''d be able to do that on airplane mode, too.)Further, drivers can make phone calls via Bluetooth without touching their phones if they just open the compartment, Dominic Vizor, a spokesman for Nissan, said.While the Faraday Cage armrest is still a prototype, it''s already possible to get the tech in your car. Faraday Bags are frequently used by privacy-conscious people to prevent hackers from accessing their devices. They''re easy to buy online and you can take them anywhere.CNNMoney (San Francisco) First published May 3, 2017: 1:29 PM ET'|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_technology.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/03/technology/nissan-faraday-cage-arm-rest/index.html'|'2017-05-03T21:29:00.000+03:00' +'cc772698b9c62ca01075ea1ac3b73b13ee6c14b5'|'Conservatives aiming to tighten M&A rules'|'Economy 09pm BST May maps out bigger role for state in corporate Britain Britain''s Prime Minister Theresa May''s launches her election manifesto in Halifax, May 18, 2017. REUTERS/Phil Noble HALIFAX, England Prime Minister Theresa May promised to clamp down on executive pay, give workers a say on strategy and make it harder for foreign firms to take over British ones, as she set out pre-election plans to give the state more influence over corporate Britain. May''s Conservatives have for decades encouraged a low-key approach to corporate regulation, but the prime minister said trust in Britain''s biggest companies had been damaged by soaring executive pay and several mismanaged takeovers. "We do not believe in untrammelled free markets," the party said in its manifesto for the June 8 national election, which surveys suggest it is on course to win by a landslide. "We will set rules for businesses that inspire the confidence of workers and investors alike." The world''s fifth largest economy has attracted more foreign investment than any other country in Europe, playing major roles in sectors from banks to transport, energy, telecoms and retail. Under May''s plans - set out as she negotiates a divorce from the European Union that could change the face of the $2.6 trillion economy - executive pay packages would be subject to strict annual shareholder votes and listed companies would have to publish the ratio of executive to average pay. In Britain, the heads of the biggest companies earn around 400 times more than a worker on the minimum wage. "The public is rightly affronted by the remuneration of some corporate leaders," the Conservatives said on Thursday. In a bid to seek greater protection for British jobs when companies are sold, May said her party would tighten the rules around takeovers, particularly in infrastructure deals where a foreign owner could raise security concerns. Any promises made during takeovers would be legally binding, and the government would gain the power to pause the process to allow greater scrutiny. WARNING AGAINST PROTECTIONISM May, who became prime minister after Britain voted to leave the EU last June, faced one of her first major challenges when she gave the go-ahead for a $24 billion plan for a Chinese-backed nuclear power plant in southwest England. She ultimately approved the deal but said her government would take a more cautious approach over similar foreign investments in the future. The prime minister has also indicated prior to taking the top job she wanted increased power to scrutinise takeovers after Kraft''s ( KHC.O ) purchase of Cadbury led to job losses. A recent failed attempt by Kraft to buy Unilever ( ULVR.L ) prompted the head of the Anglo-Dutch firm to urge the government to ensure a level playing field for target companies. "Governments cannot use public money to prop up failing businesses but they also cannot allow people and their communities to be cast aside." Investors and analysts cautiously welcomed May''s efforts to strengthen the interests of investors, employees and customers, but warned against any move towards protectionism. "Any nationalist agenda aimed at restricting ownership or transfer of ownership is clearly negative for markets and will make it harder for UK firms to achieve the valuations they deserve," said Gianluca Ferrari, analyst and portfolio manager at Shareholder Value Management. Companies may also be concerned at May having portrayed Britain''s vote to leave the EU as a cry for a crackdown on immigration, and she has said that firms hiring migrant workers must pay an additional levy. (Reporting by William James, additional reporting by Maiya Keidan, writing by Paul Sandle, editing by Kate Holton and John Stonestreet)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-election-m-a-regulation-idUKKCN18E1DP'|'2017-05-18T19:10:00.000+03:00' +'6e17c7ecb938e907df24dfbc4139a1b2446919f8'|'PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - May 5'|'May 5 The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.- Federal prosecutors have begun a criminal investigation into Uber Technologies Inc''s use of software as part of a company program known as "Greyball" that helped drivers avoid local regulators, according to a person familiar with the investigation. on.wsj.com/2pfbSiV- Federal authorities have interviewed current and former Fox News employees and on-air talent in a widening inquiry into the nature of sexual-harassment settlements and alleged intimidation tactics at the network. on.wsj.com/2peYvzD- Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC doesn''t expect to take a hit from the investigation into the company''s audits, according to finance chief Stephen Daintith. on.wsj.com/2pfgbe9- Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold about a third of its shares in International Business Machines Corp this year, Berkshire Chairman Warren Buffett told CNBC. on.wsj.com/2pfaop1(Compiled by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/press-digest-wsj-idINL4N1I71SO'|'2017-05-05T03:10:00.000+03:00' +'98396886d971009faff53499952e8b82a5e3b3d5'|'Options bulls betting on U.S. energy stocks after oil rebound'|'Commodities 58pm EDT Options bulls betting on U.S. energy stocks after oil rebound By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed - NEW YORK NEW YORK Some U.S. equity options traders are betting that the recent rebound in the price of crude oil spells good news for the battered energy sector. The S&P energy index is still down about 9.9 percent this year, making it the second worst-performing sector among S&P''s tracking indexes. That contrasts against the broad benchmark S&P 500 stock index, which is up 6.9 percent for the year. Recent trading in the options market, however, shows traders putting on bullish bets in both options on exchange traded funds exposed to the energy market and individual stocks. "The commodity has sort of turned and bounced off the low around $46 and with that you''ve had an obvious bid to the upside," said Jim Strugger, MKM Partners derivatives strategist said about the price for a barrel of crude oil. Brent, which fell to a five-month low of $46.64 last week amid concern over slowing demand, a rising U.S. dollar and increasing U.S. crude output, has recovered some ground. Large drawdowns in U.S. inventories and growing support for continued output cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries boosted confidence that a seemingly insurmountable glut might finally diminish. Strugger pointed to the United States Oil Fund LP, VanEck Vectors Oil Services ETF and Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund, as energy-related funds where the options market was showing a bullish bias. For the United States Oil Fund, there are 1.1 calls open for every open put, the most since late March, highlighting traders'' bullish bias, according to data from options analytics firm Trade Alert. "If oil rises to the top end of its recent range or even stabilizes within this range, the energy sector could do a little bit better," Strugger said. Bullish options on individual stocks have also been in demand. Ensco Plc, Nabors Industries Ltd, Patterson-UTI Energy Inc, Encana Corp, Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc and Superior Energy Services Inc are some stocks that have drawn near-term upside positioning, Christopher Jacobson, derivatives strategist at Susquehanna Financial Group, said in a note on Thursday. "There are a lot of incredibly burned-out energy names that could be good for a real bounce," MKM''s Strugger said. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meets on May 25 and will discuss extending its agreement forged with a number of its rivals, including Russia, late last year to cut output by 1.8 million barrels per day in the first half of 2017. (Reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed; Editing by Daniel Bases and Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-options-energy-idUSKBN1872TX'|'2017-05-12T03:51:00.000+03:00' +'7b42adba91962deebaaa3ddcc8bd066d3dad16b3'|'South Africa won''t appeal judgement blocking nuclear power deal'|'Money News 3:13pm IST South Africa to sign new nuclear power pacts after court ruling JOHANNESBURG South Africa plans to sign new, more transparent nuclear power agreements with five foreign countries after a high court blocked a deal with Russia due to a lack of oversight, the energy ministry said on Saturday. South Africa signed intergovernmental agreements with Russia, France, China, South Korea and the United States in 2014 as part of plans to build a fleet of nuclear power plants at a cost of between $30 billion and $70 billion. Many investors view the scale of the nuclear plan as unaffordable and a major risk to South Africa''s financial stability, while opponents of President Jacob Zuma say the deal will be used as a conduit for corruption. Zuma denies allegations of wrongdoing. State energy firm Eskom says nuclear power should play a role in South Africa''s energy mix and will help reduce reliance on coal. The Western Cape High Court found last month that the agreement with Russia lacked transparency and offered Moscow favourable tax rules while placing heavy financial obligations on South Africa. The energy ministry said it had "major concerns" about the court judgement but would not appeal the ruling. It will continue with nuclear energy plans adhering to stricter procedural guidelines, including consulting parliament. "There is no intention to table the current agreements but (we) will embark to sign new agreements with all five countries and table them within reasonable time to parliament," the ministry said in a statement. Eskom on Friday reinstated its former chief executive Brian Molefe, a Zuma ally who has supported the nuclear power plan. Molefe stepped down five months ago after being implicated in a report by the country''s anti-graft watchdog into alleged influence-peddling. He denied any wrongdoing. Some analysts say former finance minister Pravin Gordhan was fired partly because he resisted pressures from a political faction allied to Zuma to back nuclear expansion. New Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba has said nuclear expansion will only be pursued if it is affordable. (Reporting by Joe Brock; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/safrica-nuclearpower-idINKBN18907H'|'2017-05-13T17:01:00.000+03:00' +'658e923b9e37f7240c0d32d429562491b95a232c'|'Aldermore''s first-quarter lending grows'|'Business News - 32am BST Aldermore''s first-quarter lending grows British bank Aldermore Group Plc said first-quarter lending rose 6 percent from the prior quarter, buoyed by strong demand from small- and medium-sized businesses, homeowners and landlords. The bank, founded in 2009 by a former Barclays executive with backing from private-equity firm AnaCap, said net loans rose to 7.9 billion pounds at the end of March from 7.5 billion pounds on Dec. 31. "Subsequent to this active period and regulatory changes to affordability tests for buy-to-let mortgages, we continue to anticipate a lower level of growth for the second quarter of 2017," Chief Executive Phillip Monks said in a statement. The challenger bank said it expects to deliver loan growth in its guided range of 10-15 percent for the full year. (Reporting by Tenzin Pema in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-aldermore-results-idUKKBN1870K1'|'2017-05-11T14:32:00.000+03:00' +'a17cfeb9f78dd95a76aa6bbbc03ddf1debffcac7'|'GM to cut jobs in international HQ in Singapore - source'|'Autos 7:51pm BST GM to cut jobs in international HQ in Singapore - source The GM logo is seen at the General Motors Assembly Plant in Valencia, Venezuela April 21, 2017. REUTERS/Marco Bello By Norihiko Shirouzu General Motors Co ( GM.N ) will slash headcount in its international headquarters in Singapore as part of its efforts to reduce exposure to unprofitable and unpromising markets. GM International - which oversees markets such as India, Southeast Asia, and South Korea, among others - will reduce its staff to about 50 from 180 by the year end, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. About 90 employees will leave the company by the end of June and 40 by the end of 2017. Last week, the Detroit-based automaker said it would take a $500 million charge in the second quarter to restructure operations in India, Africa and Singapore. The company plans to stop selling Chevrolet brand vehicles in India by the end of the year and will produce vehicles only for export. Since Mary Barra took over as GM''s chief executive in 2014, the company has doubled down on a bet that it can win by being less global but more profitable in an auto industry increasingly dependent on software and services. The automaker has taken aggressive steps to narrow its focus on China, the highly-profitable North American light truck and sport utility market, Latin America, vehicle financing and transportation services. In March, the one-time largest automaker in the world also reached a deal with France''s PSA Group ( PEUP.PA ) to sell its European operations. (Additional reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-gm-restructuring-idUKKBN18K2Q9'|'2017-05-25T02:51:00.000+03:00' +'ff74d51676e9f92f31bfd0c17d56a96a009bbc32'|'EU to investigate Italy, Fiat over emissions: Handelsblatt'|'Autos 10pm EDT EU to launch legal case against Italy over Fiat emissions: sources A woman walks past a logo of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) in Turin March 31, 2014. REUTERS/Giorgio Perottino BRUSSELS The European Union will launch legal action against Italy on Wednesday for failing to police allegations of emissions-test cheating by Fiat Chrysler ( FCHA.MI ) properly following the Volkswagen dieselgate scandal, EU sources said. EU officials have become increasingly frustrated with what they see as governments colluding with the powerful car industry and the legal move is the biggest stick the European Commission has available to force nations to clamp down on diesel cars that spew out polluting nitrogen oxide (NOx). EU regulators say Italy has failed to convince them that the so-called defeat devices used to modulate emissions on its vehicles outside of narrow testing conditions are justified. "They (Italian authorities) still need to provide additional information that would convince us that the devices used in Fiat models are justified and can therefore be considered legal," one EU source said. Italy''s transport ministry was not immediately available for comment. In February, it said new tests carried out on Fiat Chrysler vehicles found no illegal engine software. Defeat devices have been illegal under EU law since 2007. Their use has come under renewed scrutiny following Volkswagen''s ( VOWG_p.DE ) admission that it used software in the United States to mask real-world NOx emissions, which are blamed for respiratory illnesses and early deaths. European carmakers have argued they are not doing anything wrong, citing an exemption that allows them to turn off emission control systems when necessary for safety or to protect engines. Last December, the Commission launched cases against five nations, including Germany, Britain and Spain, for failing to police the car industry adequately. Despite the accusations leveled against its own carmakers, Germany has accused Italy''s Fiat Chrysler of using an illegal device to scale back emission controls after 22 minutes - just longer than official tests. After Italy rejected Germany''s allegations of hidden software on the Fiat 500X, Fiat Doblo and Jeep Renegade models, Berlin asked Brussels to mediate in the dispute. That mediation ended without fanfare in March. Under the current system, which the Commission is trying to overhaul, national regulators approve new cars and alone have the power to police manufacturers. But once a vehicle is approved in one country, it can be sold throughout the bloc. Wednesday''s notice will be the first step in EU infringement procedures, designed to ensure the bloc''s 28 member states abide by EU-wide regulations. If member states fail to respond convincingly, Brussels can take them to the EU court in Luxembourg. (Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel in Brussels; additional reporting by Emma Thomasson in Berlin and Agnieszka Flak in Milan; editing by David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-fiat-chrysler-emissions-idUSKCN18C2AR'|'2017-05-17T01:56:00.000+03:00' +'a02016fa99772c23b4968163174ebbf3bab05e0d'|'Exclusive: Chinese company confirms huge UK fertiliser deal'|'Business News 9:45am BST Exclusive: Chinese company confirms huge UK fertiliser deal left right FILE PHOTO: An employee poses for a photograph at the Sirius Minerals test drilling station on the North Yorkshire Moors near Whitby, Britain, July 5, 2013. REUTERS/Nigel Roddis/File Photo 1/3 left right FILE PHOTO: An employee holds a sample of polyhalite taken from the Sirius Minerals test drilling station on the North Yorkshire Moors near Whitby, Britain July 5, 2013. REUTERS/Nigel Roddis/File Photo 2/3 left right FILE PHOTO: The Sirius Minerals test drilling station is seen on the North Yorkshire Moors near Whitby, Britain, July 5, 2013. REUTERS/Nigel Roddis/File Photo 3/3 By Alasdair Pal and Adam Jourdan - LONDON/SHANGHAI LONDON/SHANGHAI A small Chinese company that is key to plans by Sirius Minerals to build a huge fertilizer mine under a national park in the north of England has confirmed it has a binding agreement with the UK firm. DianHuang CEO Wang Xiaotian reiterated the agreement in a letter to Reuters on May 15, saying it had been signed on May 27 last year. DianHuang would buy 150,000 tonnes of the mineral polyhalite a year from first extraction in 2021, scaling up to a million tonnes a year over five years as part of plans to grow peony flowers and extract edible oil from their seeds, he said. The reassurance from Wang followed a May 8 telephone interview with Reuters in which he said the two firms were still negotiating. The DianHuang deal is the biggest take-or-pay agreement Sirius has inked so far with a named customer. By demonstrating confirmed demand for its product, it helped Sirius raise $1.2 billion in financing for the mine and win planning permission from the North York Moors national park. Sirius needs its existing take-or-pay agreements and more to raise a further $2.6 billion (2 billion pounds), in debt financing, to complete the mining project. The company has said it must double the amount of polyhalite covered by take-or-pay deals to satisfy the banks arranging the financing that it has enough potential cash flow. Asked if DianHuang had signed a legally binding agreement with Sirius, Wang had said by telephone: "We have not officially signed this, it is just a strategic cooperation agreement ... Because with Sirius we have a framework cooperation, of course we hope this cooperation can be pushed forward." These were the first comments to media by the Chinese company on the deal, which Sirius announced in June 2016. At that time, Sirius said DianHuang would buy up to a million tonnes of fertiliser a year from first extraction, under a take-or-pay arrangement. In the telephone interview, Wang had said DianHuang was also negotiating with a rival firm, ICL, also known as Israel Chemicals. "It depends whose fertilizer is more beneficial for us," he said. "ICL is the biggest global producer of organic potassium fertilizer. They are also competing, they are also in touch with us. They have brought over some fertilizer for test use." ICL, whose mine is on the same Yorkshire seam that Sirius plans to exploit, declined to comment on DianHuang''s statement. After Reuters posed questions to Sirius Minerals about Wang''s phone comments, Sirius said the assertion that it only had a framework agreement with DianHuang was incorrect: "The Company has a binding offtake agreement in place." Sirius added that any possible talks between DianHuang and its rival were up to the Chinese firm. In Wang''s letter, which he wrote after Reuters contacted Sirius, he said: "To clarify, the contract is not a framework agreement but rather a firm take or pay agreement." Wang was not immediately available to comment further when contacted by Reuters after the letter. ICL is so far the only company that has actually begun mining polyhalite, a relatively new entrant to the fertiliser market which both it and Sirius say is a multi-nutrient product superior to traditional potash. Wang''s follow-up letter to Reuters made no reference to ICL. Sirius has announced take-or-pay agreements for up to 3.6 million tonnes a year of its polyhalite product so far. It has not named some customers for commercial reasons. That is about half what it says it needs to complete the project. It says the mine will create thousands of jobs and add as much as 2.4 billion pounds per year to the United Kingdom''s gross domestic product. (Editing by Lina Saigol and Philippa Fletcher)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mining-sirius-idUKKCN18D0VM'|'2017-05-17T16:45:00.000+03:00' +'5e57a2792e905d14dbf19c7c04548160a27bf1cb'|'Exclusive - EU regulators to approve $5.5 billion Broadcom, Brocade deal: sources'|'Business News - Tue May 9, 2017 - 6:09pm BST Exclusive - EU regulators to approve $5.5 billion Broadcom, Brocade deal: sources FILE PHOTO: Broadcom Limited company logo is pictured on an office building in Rancho Bernardo, California May 12, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo BRUSSELS EU antitrust regulators are set to approve chipmaker Broadcom''s $5.5 billion (4.2 billion) bid for Brocade after it agreed to concessions making it easier for customers and rivals to use their products and competing ones, three people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The concession on interoperability means that clients can use whatever brand of switches on their network independent of the supplier, the people said. Broadcom also pledged to set up Chinese walls between technical teams developing components and others developing and marketing competing devices to ensure confidentiality, they said. The European Commission, which subsequently sought feedback from third parties, is expected to clear the deal by its scheduled May 12 deadline, according to the sources. The EU competition enforcer declined to comment. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, editing by Julia Fioretti)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-brocade-commns-m-a-broadcom-eu-idUKKBN185230'|'2017-05-10T01:09:00.000+03:00' +'5750535312705ff48ce9ece74adedc76cfb61745'|'How do you get girls to school in the least educated country on Earth? - Global Development Professionals Network'|'Development 2030 How do you get girls to school in the least educated country on Earth? Niger is last among 187 countries in the UNs education index, but getting girls into school affects many other areas of development. What can be done? Nigers startlingly low rates of literacy and education are both caused by and feed back into a cycle of poverty, early marriage and large family size. Photograph: Jill Filipovic Nigers startlingly low rates of literacy and education are both caused by and feed back into a cycle of poverty, early marriage and large family size. Photograph: Jill Filipovic Development 2030 How do you get girls to school in the least educated country on Earth? Niger is last among 187 countries in the UNs education index, but getting girls into school affects many other areas of development. What can be done? Supported by Monday 15 May 2017 11.32 BST Last modified on Monday 15 May 2017 11.49 BST M aybe, Rakia Soumana sometimes thinks, life could have been a little different. Its not so bad in Tessa, her village in rural Niger , where she lives with her three children, her husband, his first wife Halimatou Soumana, and Halimatous five children. The wives get along, each doing more than their share of household chores when the other one is pregnant or has just given birth, and Rakia, 30, wants at least two more children because it will put her family on equal footing with Halimatous. She likes her husband, but shes dependent on him, and the weight of her daily workload is heavy. Maybe things would be a bit easier if she had stayed in school past the age of 14, if anyone had even noticed when she dropped out. But no one did. She just stopped going. No one told me to stay, says Rakia, a tall woman with a teardrop-shaped scar under each eye. And so with her own children, she is strict. Two days ago, my first child, I even beat him because of school, because he wouldnt do his homework, she says. I dont want him to make the same mistake I did. In makeshift schoolhouses equipped with wooden benches and blackboards, some girls in Niger who have dropped out of school or never went in the first place try to catch up. In remote villages, NGO Mercy Corps runs these girls education centres, classrooms inside hangars covered by thatched or aluminium roofs where girls come to listen and learn. There are between 25 and 30 pupils per school who attend six days a week, 34 hours a week, as instructors walk them through the standard primary school curricula: Reading and writing, grammar, basic mathematics, in Hausa for the first two months and then in French. These centres offer intensive instruction to get girls up to speed in time for their high school entrance exams, so they might be able to attend secondary school and, advocates hope, be on the track to a marginally more secure life. But there are a lot of girls who are left behind. Women and girls in Niger are some of the least educated in the world. Fewer than a quarter of young Nigerien women are literate , and only about 8% of Nigerien girls attend secondary school. Only 31% attend primary school, although almost twice as many girls are enrolled they just arent showing up. The UNs Education Index , calculated by comparing the expected years of schooling to the average years citizens actually attend school, places Niger last among 187 countries. In a country debilitated by crushing poverty and increasingly tested by violent extremism, huge numbers of under-educated young people forecast a troubling future. It is estimated that in 2017, more than 1.9 million people in Niger will be affected by humanitarian crises. Photograph: Unicef/Tremeau Men and boys, too, face low rates of education and literacy in Niger, but women and girls remain worse off. Economically and culturally, boys tend to be afforded more opportunities, and when a family decides it can only send some of its children to school, its the girls who stay home. That, advocates say, feeds into a series of other social ills. Chief among them is early marriage, which brings with it poverty and high rates of infant and maternal mortality. Marriage, says Maggie Janes-Lucas, Mercy Corps senior programme officer for west and central Africa , can be physically, emotionally detrimental to her and to her longer-term health. We believe that giving these girls the opportunity to integrate [into] formal schooling and to continue their schooling will reduce these risks. Low rates of education also help keep Niger poor. One World Bank study found that a year of secondary schooling can mean as much as a 25% increase in a womans earnings later in life, which in turn helps fuel her countrys economy. According to some estimates, a single percentage point increase in girls education translates into a GDP boost of .3% . And an educated mother is more likely to send her own daughters to school, fueling increased educational attainment and economic development over generations. Getting more girls into school, then, is a linchpin to increase wealth, stability, equality and development. Niger has a long way to go on the UNs sustainable development goals for both education and gender equality and investment in education remains outpaced by need. The complex set of intertwined political, cultural and economic forces keeping the country impoverished and volatile means the simple task of getting girls to stay in school is bigger than it looks and a challenge even the most dedicated educators and advocates have yet to figure out how to meet. Nigers startlingly low rates of literacy and education are both caused by and feed back into a cycle of poverty, early marriage and large family size. For the Soumana children, and children across Niger, the barriers to formal education are high. In a rural country, schools are often far from the village, and students walk several kilometres each way in the punishing heat. Many schools dont have functional latrines, and so when girls start their periods, they stay home . Teachers are often on strike because they arent paid well or go months without being paid at all; this year, education advocates say, public school teachers have been on strike nearly half of all teaching days, leaving their students well behind in their studies. No matter how many schools we build or how much support we give the ministry of education, its never enough Patrick Rose, Unicef Under the Nigerien system, students have to pass an exam to enter secondary school, and when they arent going to school consistently, many of them fail and drop out. Even when students attend school, Nigers low literacy rates and booming numbers of young people almost half of Nigers population is under the age of 15 means there simply arent enough literate, trained teachers to go around. Much of the educated population leaves. As a result, especially in the countrys more rural reaches, much of the in-classroom instruction is only just about better than nothing. The huge problem is that with that rapid population growth no matter how many schools we build or how much support we give the ministry of education, its never enough, says Patrick Rose, who works as a crisis communications specialist for Unicef in west and central Africa. Its a moving target. You can set a target and deliver X amount of schools for X amount of population, but the reality is its growing faster than anyone is able to cope with. Conflict, too, keeps girls out of school. The kidnapping of the Chibok girls from their school in northern Nigeria made headlines around the world, but its only one in a long list of assaults Boko Haram has leveled on schools, snatching girls and killing teachers including in Niger. In the Diffa region of the country, hundreds of thousands of people are displaced by war. Parents fearful for their childrens lives dont want to send them into danger; teachers fearful for their own often stay home or flee. Educators, then, face bigger challenges than just getting children into the classroom. To reach students who are kept out of school due to conflict, Unicef and the EU are working on a programme that will bring educational radio into peoples homes. Communications volunteers will deliver small radios to families, many of whom live in homes without electricity or running water, and some 150 educational programmes will be broadcast out to them. It seems like a low-tech solution, Rose says. Everyone is like, We should be doing 3G tech stuff, and in New York that sounds really cool, but when you get out to these communities you see that it is a cool innovation. Other strategies are even more straightforward for example, offering bilingual education to students coming into the classroom for the first time at seven or eight years old. Nigers education system is in French but families speak local languages at home, meaning children who didnt spend their early years learning French are intimidated and discouraged. Its a huge task to develop a bilingual curriculum, especially in a nation with nearly two dozen spoken languages. Its an even bigger project to make sure teachers can and will teach in multiple languages. It works, Rose says, by making sure that not every day is an exercise in humiliation. In a nation with so many educational gaps, other organisations work to fill them in a hodgepodge of ways. Unicef outreach and the Mercy Corps programme to help girls catch up, called Safe Schools, are just a few of many but its still not enough. Stubborn social norms are a big roadblock. Amadou Mamadou, the Safe Schools programme manager in Niger, says that when many girls are married by 15 and a majority of them are married by 18, after which theyre expected to focus their efforts on childbearing and housework, many parents just dont see the point in educating a girl. Resources are limited, and any time or money available for education seems better invested in boys. And when girls do go to school, he says, they arent supported and encouraged as much as boys, so they are set up for failure. A temporary school in the refugee camp of Kabelewa, Niger. Forced displacement in the region of Diffa is becoming regular and is linked to the volatile security situation in the region. Photograph: Unicef/Cherkaoui The first step, then, is shifting the perspective of the local communities. And so when Mamadous team goes house to house in rural villages, they come with the message that educating children and girls in particular puts the whole family on better footing, and they give members of the community a role in shaping the schools themselves. For impoverished households, the prospect of their children having better job opportunities sounds appealing. The Safe Schools team also tells families that an educated girl tends to grow up into a healthier mother, whose babies do better in life. Looking around, many families are able to observe this dynamic in real time. Most of the time, they like what they see, and are inclined to believe theyll benefit from educating their children. One day I want to watch my children taking a plane to your country, to travel to the United States Rakia Soumana But sometimes, especially in the more conservative and religious areas of the country, parents see the changes education brings and are less pleased. According to Mamadou, sometimes, girls go to high school and when they come back to the village theyve changed, he says. Theyre not taking on the traditional roles they would have if they hadnt gone to school. Their behaviour and their ideals no longer sync up with their parents, which the family and others in the community may find distressing. Pathfinder, an NGO that works in Rakia Soumanas village, works to break down misconceptions and stereotypes around gender that family planning is only for the educated, and that education isnt important for girls. All the educated people in Niamey [the capital city], they agree to go for family planning, says Garba Kimba, the director of a health centre which works with Pathfinder. But if you go to the community level, most of them are ignorant by which he means they lack basic education. And that impacts birth rates, keeping them sky-high, which in turn weighs on Nigers already limited resources, its pervasive food insecurity, and its fragile political system. Its because of lack of education, Mai Fanta, an older midwife at a health clinic in Nigers Magama region, says matter-of-factly. The history of Niger, they wanted many children to work in the fields, and as a globalised economy and the realities of climate change shift that agrarian lifestyle, families havent caught up. Soumanas family still lives in the old way: she pounds millet, defers to her husband, and believes womens primary purpose is childbearing. But shes catching up as fast as she can. Unlike most of her neighbours here, who expect their kids to marry in their teens, she wouldnt mind if her children married well after they finished college. Even if they are 30 years old, if they are studying, that is no problem with me, she says. I want them to be great people. I want one day to watch them taking a plane to your country, to travel to the United States. Getting educated young people to emigrate is far from the goal of NGOs and the Nigerien government, but convincing parents to educate their children is in part so that those children grow up healthier and can eventually contribute to Nigers flagging economy. The most basic solutions to Nigers education problem come in two parts: changing community mindsets about the value of education so that parents put their kids in school and improving the schools so that attending is actually worthwhile. Doing that requires more resources: to train teachers so they can be effective and so that there are enough of them; to open up dialogue about the value of girls education and challenge assumptions, often fueled by a conservative interpretation of Islam, that girls shouldnt go to school; to build schools out of quality materials, that have latrines, running water, and dorms for students traveling from remote areas; and to make schools physically safer places for students and teachers alike. It also requires local by-in, and getting parents to internalise a sense of responsibility for educating their own children and valuing education more generally. Its a long list, and community involvement is the most esoteric part. But that, advocates say, is the only way to get more girls into the classroom. Mercy Corps, for example, forms local community committees that have a stake in deciding what their Safe Schools programme looks like. Members are encouraged to visit the schools, weigh in on programming and implementation, and identify local girls who have dropped out or never attended school in the first place. Its showing the parents do have a role in this, says Mercy Corps Janes-Lucas. And that communities do have power in how good their schools can be. Join our community of development professionals and humanitarians. Follow @GuardianGDP on Twitter. Join the conversation with the hashtag #Dev2030 . Topics '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2017/may/15/niger-girls-education-challenge-un'|'2017-05-15T19:32:00.000+03:00' +'5b04775b8b611bc164fa342e42a52c7cfeda8513'|'Jack Daniel''s owner Brown-Forman says it is not for sale'|'Brown-Forman Corp ( BFb.N ), the maker of Jack Daniel''s whiskey, said on Wednesday it was not for sale, following a media report that Corona beer maker Constellation Brands ( STZ.N ) had offered to buy the company."As a matter of corporate policy, Brown-Forman does not comment on market rumors or speculation. However, it is important to reiterate that Brown-Forman is not for sale," Chief Executive Paul Varga and Chairman Geo. Garvin Brown IV said in a joint statement.The Brown family, who are fifth-generation owners of Kentucky-based Brown-Forman, own a majority of the voting power in the company and have historically indicated that they do not favor selling."The company and the Brown family have been committed to preserving Brown-Forman as a thriving, family controlled, independent company. That commitment is unchanged," Varga and Brown said.Shares of Brown-Forman ended 1.8 percent higher at $54.34 on Wednesday, but were down 2 percent in after-hours trading.CNBC reported on Tuesday that Constellation had made a takeover approach but that Brown-Forman was not interested in selling.(Reporting by Karina Dsouza in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-brown-formn-m-a-constellation-br-idINKBN18K32I'|'2017-05-24T20:26:00.000+03:00' +'0a587a47e4b2c52d24925edd228f4841c6b40001'|'Made in North Korea - As tougher sanctions loom, more local goods in stores'|'Business News - Mon May 8, 2017 - 6:07am BST Made in North Korea - As tougher sanctions loom, more local goods in stores left right FILE PHOTO: A vendor adjusts cans of soft drinks made by Air Koryo, at the airport in Pyongyang, North Korea April 11, 2017. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj/File Photo 1/7 left right FILE PHOTO: A woman sells snacks in central Pyongyang, North Korea April 16, 2017. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj/File Photo 2/7 left right Products are displayed in a shop in a newly constructed residential complex after its opening ceremony in Ryomyong street in Pyongyang, North Korea April 13, 2017. Picture taken April 13, 2017. REUTERS/Sue-Lin Wong 3/7 left right A vendor is pictured in a shop in a newly constructed residential complex after its opening ceremony in Ryomyong street in Pyongyang, North Korea April 13, 2017. Picture taken April 13, 2017. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj 4/7 left right FILE PHOTO: People check shoes in a shop in a newly constructed residential complex after its opening ceremony in Ryomyong street in Pyongyang, North Korea April 13, 2017. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj/File Photo 5/7 left right A vendor is pictured in a shop in a newly constructed residential complex after its opening ceremony in Ryomyong street in Pyongyang, North Korea April 13, 2017. Picture taken April 13, 2017. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj 6/7 left right FILE PHOTO: A vendor is pictured in a shop in newly constructed residential complex after its opening ceremony in Ryomyong street in Pyongyang, North Korea April 13, 2017. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj/File Photo 7/7 By Sue-Lin Wong and James Pearson - PYONGYANG/SEOUL PYONGYANG/SEOUL From carrot-flavoured toothpaste and charcoal facemasks to motorcycles and solar panels, visitors to North Korea say they are seeing more and more locally made products in the isolated country''s shops and supermarkets, replacing mostly Chinese imports. As the Trump administration considers tougher economic sanctions to push the isolated country towards dismantling its weapons programmes, North Korea is pursuing a dual strategy of developing both its military and economy. The majority of consumer products in North Korea still come from China. But under leader Kim Jong Un, there''s been an attempt to sell more domestically made goods, to avoid any outflow of currency and to reinforce the national ideology of juche, or self-reliance, visiting businessmen say. There is no available data to show how much is being produced domestically. Export data from countries like China and Malaysia, which sell consumer goods to North Korea, may not be an accurate reflection. China''s commerce ministry declined to comment when asked whether China''s exports to North Korea were decreasing due to an increase in locally-made products. Visitors say that with the impetus from the top, large North Korean companies like military-controlled Air Koryo, the operator of the national airline, and the Naegohyang conglomerate have diversified into manufacturing consumer goods including cigarettes and sports clothing. North Korea is one of the most insular countries in the world and visits by foreigners are highly regulated. A Reuters team that was in the capital Pyongyang last month was allowed to go to a grocery store, accompanied by government minders, where shelves were filled with locally made drinks, biscuits and other basic food items. Other visitors have seen locally made canned goods, coffee, liquor, toothpaste, cosmetics, soap, bicycles and other goods on sale in the city. "As new factories open, the branding, packaging and ingredients of our food products have improved," said shop assistant Rhee Kyong-sook, 33. Kim Chul-ung, a 39-year old physical education teacher visiting the store, said: "I can taste real fruit in the drinks that are made in North Korea, compared to drinks from other countries." Visitors say locally made consumer goods are becoming increasingly sophisticated and QR or matrix barcodes can been found on a wide range of products from make-up to soft drinks. Market vendors are also becoming more competitive, offering samples of their food to shoppers, something they didn''t do five years ago. "Around 2013, Kim Jong Un started talking about the need for import substitution," said Andray Abrahamian of Choson Exchange, a Singapore-based group that trains North Koreans in business skills. "There was clearly recognition that too many products were being imported from China, not just high-end consumer goods but also lower-end ones like food." "MY HOMELAND" Air Koryo''s range of products now includes cigarettes, fizzy drinks, taxis and petrol stations. "Naegohyang", or "My Homeland", began as a Pyongyang-based tobacco factory, but has expanded in recent years to produce playing cards, electronic goods and sports clothing. The company even sponsors a women''s football team of the same name. The North Korean companies were not available for comment and do not publish revenue or profit statements. It was not possible to identify any joint venture partners. Traders and retail experts said the North Korean market was attractive, thanks to a growing class of "donju", or "masters of money," who generate wealth in a grey market economy that is being increasingly recognised and controlled by the state. "The North Koreans increasingly don''t want Chinese products because they think they are poor quality," said a trader from Southeast Asia who exports consumer goods to North Korea. The trader did not want to be identified. China has been rocked by a number of food safety scandals in recent years, including contaminated rice and milk powder. "Mothers in North Korea are no different to mothers in China or Canada, they want to feed their babies the best possible food," said Michael Spavor of Paektu Exchange, which brings delegations of investors, tourists and academics into North Korea. "I''ve seen people in a store in North Korea comparing a Chinese and a Korean product and picking the Korean one," he said. STILL RELIANT Nevertheless, North Korea is still heavily reliant on trade with China and the vast majority of raw materials to make consumer products still come from or through China. For example, while domestically-made instant coffee is becoming increasingly common, the sugar used in it would likely come from China or another country that produces sugar and pass into North Korea via China, says Abrahamian. "We''re seeing a rise in domestically-made products, including motorcycles, solar panels and food, but the business relationships on which these products depend on are still Chinese." Because of the reliance on China, it is likely these "Made in North Korea" companies will suffer if stiffer economic sanctions are imposed on the country. Diplomats said this week Washington was negotiating with China on a possible stronger U.N. Security Council response - such as new sanctions - to North Korea''s missile launches. "If you have a coal mining town of 10,000 people who are all in some way connected to the coal industry, then when sanctions are imposed against North Korean coal, the whole town''s consumer market will suffer because people don''t have the buying power anymore," said Abrahamian. (Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-northkorea-economy-consumergoods-idUKKBN1840EY'|'2017-05-08T13:07:00.000+03:00' +'50eeaa274e5e4ecf1a66dc1e8f70587e4c660fb7'|'China issues draft rules cleaning up property sales and rental market'|'Fri May 19, 2017 - 1:13pm BST China issues draft rules cleaning up property sales and rental market Residential buildings under construction are pictured in Nanjing, China May 18, 2017. China Daily/via REUTERS BEIJING China issued a draft of new rules for property sales and leasing on Friday to improve management and operation in a part of the services sector that is often poorly regulated. The draft rules require property developers to promptly publish accurate pricing information for new homes for sale, and must not charge various additional fees, hoard unsold homes or spread false information about rising prices. China has struggled to control surging home prices over the last year, with the government often blaming dishonest practices by developers and property agents for encouraging higher prices for their own benefit. The nationwide rules published by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development will be up for public comment for one month, and follow a number regional measures aimed at cleaning up the sector. There could be changes to the rules in the final version. Property agents must be licensed and make charging standards clear and cannot publish any false information about properties, the rules say. For property rentals, landlords and renters are encouraged to sign longer term contracts, with special incentives to be given for those who sign contracts for more than three years. Landlords who want to break a rental agreement also need to give renters at least three months'' notice, and cannot take back a home by force. (Reporting by Elias Glenn; Editing by Nick Macfie)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-idUKKCN18F1CO'|'2017-05-19T19:56:00.000+03:00' +'3b8fcd0ee5e54c565adabae926a7060a9a0fb8a7'|'KitchenAid well and truly mixes up its customer service - Money'|'KitchenAid well and truly mixes up its customer service It told me my stand mixer repair would be free then I got a bill for 134 View more sharing options Rebecca Smithers Tuesday 23 May 2017 07.00 BST I have a KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer, purchased in December 2011 and which came with a five-year warranty. In January 2016 it was repaired under warranty when the speed control lever no longer functioned properly, but a year later it developed the same fault. KitchenAid advised that it could be repaired for 70 plus parts. At the end of March, after weeks of unanswered emails, I got through to KitchenAid on the phone and was told the repair would be carried out free of charge. I made sure the person on the phone understood that the warranty had expired, but she reassured me that this repair would be free. In April, however, KitchenAid phoned to say the repair would cost 134.99. I pointed out that it had reneged on its promise. Several phone calls later, KitchenAid is still maintaining that its operative made a mistake and that I should not have been promised a free repair. I have been given the option to pay the 134.99 for a repair with a 12-month guarantee, or have the machine returned unrepaired. It claims to have no access to the records of the previous repairs, and my requests to speak to a senior manager have been refused. RC, Ludgvan, Penzance You released the mixer on the basis it would be repaired at no cost, with the full understanding that this machine was no longer under warranty. Clearly, there has been some subcontracting of customer services, leading to crossed wires and misleading information being handed out. KitchenAid is owned by the electricals giant Whirlpool, which sent us a perfunctory statement confirming the issue had been resolved, but with no detail whatsoever about what had gone wrong. It said: We work hard to resolve all customer cases as quickly as we can. Our customer services team has contacted RC and we can confirm the issue is now resolved. In fact, we have subsequently heard from you that the mixer has been delivered back, repaired, and is apparently working OK. You have made a 15 donation to our membership services to express your thanks. Thank you! We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number Topics'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/may/23/kitchenaid-stand-mixer-repair-bill-warranty'|'2017-05-23T15:00:00.000+03:00' +'553125c421aa90e717d0e24cce340438f1176c44'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'(Updates Public Power Corp; Adds Qualcomm, Apollo Global Management, ECOM, Zhengzhou Coal Mining Machinery Group, Vitol, Noble Energy, ProSiebenSat.1, Dow Chemical)May 2 The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Tuesday:** Managers at Italian motorway group Atlantia and Spanish peer Abertis will meet this week in Italy to discuss plans for a tie up, two sources close to the matter said.** EU regulators will decide by June 9 whether to clear smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm''s $38 billion takeover of NXP Semiconductors NV, with rivals voicing concerns about continued access to key NXP technology after the deal.** Buyout firms Apollo Global Management LLC, Blackstone Group LP and Centerbridge Partners LP are among potential suitors studying bids for Canada''s biggest alternative mortgage lender, Home Capital Group Inc, which sought emergency funding last week, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.** Swiss commodities trading group ECOM has received approval from German cartel authorities to purchase German cocoa grinder Euromar Commodities GmbH, which declared insolvency in December, Euromar''s insolvency administrator said.** Zhengzhou Coal Mining Machinery Group Co Ltd (ZMJ) has teamed up with private equity firm China Renaissance Capital Investment (CRCI) to buy Robert Bosch''s starters and generators business SG Holding for 545 million euros ($595 million).** Commodities trader Vitol has agreed to buy an 85,000 barrel per day (bpd) condensate splitter in the Netherlands from Koch Supply and Trading, a subsidiary of U.S. conglomerate Koch Industries, Vitol said in a statement.** U.S. oil and gas producer Noble Energy Inc said it would sell all its natural gas production assets in the Marcellus shale field for $1.23 billion, as it shifts focus to liquids-rich, higher-margin assets.** German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 and Discovery Communications Inc will join forces to stream TV shows via Internet and wireless services in Germany.** China has conditionally approved the proposed merger between Dow Chemical Co and Dupont, the country''s Commerce Ministry said, a step forward for the deal whose closing has been repeatedly delayed by regulatory hurdles.** Jack Ma''s private equity firm Yunfeng Capital and Singapore''s Temasek have led a $75 million fund-raising round into genomics company WuXi NextCODE, the firm said in a statement, underlining a race for medical data in China.** British housebuilder Bovis, which was subject to two failed buyout bids earlier this year, said it would take a 2.8 million-pound hit from the talks and a review conducted in February after the firm warned on profits.** Accell Group, the maker of Dutch bicycle brands Sparta and Batavus, has had ended talks with Pon Holdings regarding takeover bid from the Dutch transportation conglomerate as the offer was not high enough, it said.** British bank Shawbrook Group''s independent directors said they could not recommend a buyout bid from a consortium of private equity firms.** Greece has agreed to sell coal-fired plants and coal mines equal to about 40 percent of its dominant power utility Public Power Corp''s coal-fired capacity, to help open up its electricity market, the energy ministry said.** A three-member consortium that includes German insurer Allianz has agreed to buy Affinity Water Ltd , the largest water-only supply firm in England and Wales by revenue, through two transactions, the group said.** Sumitomo Corp said it and Korea Resources Corp (Kores) will get a larger stake in the Ambatovy nickel project in Madagascar, as part of a debt restructuring deal with partner Sherritt International Corp.** IAC/InterActiveCorp said on Monday it would buy consumer review website operator Angie''s List Inc in a $500 million deal that bolsters its online home contractor services.** Monsanto Co has terminated an agreement to sell its Precision Planting LLC farm equipment business to machinery maker Deere & Co, the companies said on Monday, ending a legal fight with antitrust authorities over the deal. (Compiled by Akankshita Mukhopadhyay and John Benny in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/deals-day-idINL4N1I42G1'|'2017-05-02T18:00:00.000+03:00' +'738d4d76bb24438400286f3b87e71b9bc75eb41e'|'No Brexit contingency plan, says Renault F1 boss'|'Autos 12:01pm BST No Brexit contingency plan, says Renault F1 boss Renault Formula One pit crew practices changing tyres in the pit ahead of the Singapore F1 Grand Prix Night Race in Singapore, September 15, 2016. REUTERS/Jeremy Lee Renault, who have a British-based Formula One team and engine factory in France, have no plan to remove resources or staff as a result of Brexit, according to Renault Sport F1 managing director Cyril Abiteboul. Asked about the impact on the team of Britain''s departure from the European Union in 2019, the Frenchman said British-based teams with sponsorship contracts in dollars had seen an immediate benefit due to the weaker pound. "We have to see long-term how that evolves because that is not a situation that is sustainable," he added. "Then we will have to look at the movement of staff, because clearly we need to attract talent from everywhere around the world and we need to make sure that the UK remains a place that is welcoming talents from wherever they are. "We have lots of movement of staff between France and the UK. Thats something we will look at carefully." Former champions Renault have increased their staff at the Enstone factory by 20 percent since they bought the failing Lotus team at the end of 2015 and have said they expect to have some 650 employees there by the end of this year. Abiteboul said the transfer of goods was less of a concern since the Formula One engines were only leased to teams and not sold. "When it comes to contingency plans...we dont really have a plan as we are building new buildings in Enstone in the UK, we dont really have a plan to move that we are currently building somewhere else," he said. "We are still assuming that people will be reasonable and we trust the UK to protect their industry and motorsport is an important industry for the UK." The French manufacturer also supplies British-based Red Bull and their Italian-based sister team Toro Rosso. Champions Mercedes have their main engine and chassis factories in England, while Honda currently supply only British-based McLaren, although Swiss team Sauber will become additional partners next year. Ferrari are the only European-based team who make their own car and engine, with all operations based in Maranello. Formula One, whose commercial rights are now owned by U.S.-based Liberty Media, also has its commercial operations headquartered in London. Toby Davis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-motor-f1-spain-britain-eu-idUKKBN1890B5'|'2017-05-13T19:01:00.000+03:00' +'566672d4a71620ceb033de1516ad9c9ce95df0e2'|'Factbox - Impact on banks from Britain''s vote to leave the EU'|'Banks 39pm BST Factbox - Impact on banks from Britain''s vote to leave the EU People queue for coffee at a plaza in the Canary Wharf financial district in London, Britain May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth Global banks have warned they could move thousands of jobs out of Britain to prepare for the expected disruption caused by the country''s exit from the European Union, endangering London''s status as a major financial centre. Financial services firms need a regulated subsidiary in an EU country to offer their products across the bloc, and this could lead some to move jobs out of Britain if it loses access to the European single market. Thirteen major banks have given an indication of how they would bulk up their operations in Europe to secure market access. These plans could see more than 9,000 jobs move to the continent in the next two years. Following are some details and reports on the subject: STANDARD CHARTERED Standard Chartered ( STAN.L ) is in talks with regulators about making Frankfurt its European base to secure market access to the European Union when Britain leaves the bloc. HSBC Stuart Gulliver, CEO of HSBC ( HSBA.L ), Europe''s biggest bank, said it would relocate staff responsible for generating around a fifth of its UK-based trading revenue, or around 1,000 people, to Paris. Chairman Douglas Flint has told lawmakers that banks without operations elsewhere in the EU will likely trigger migration plans immediately after EU divorce talks begin, estimating "tens of thousands" of jobs are linked to EU "passporting" rights. BARCLAYS Banks in Britain will start shifting some operations to continental Europe reasonably soon to avoid disrupting links with customers after Brexit, Barclays ( BARC.L ) Chief Executive Jes Staley said. He added that obtaining a licence to trade on the continent and changing financial contracts to another jurisdiction took a year to 18 months. The bank is preparing to make Dublin its EU headquarters after Brexit, according to a source familiar with the matter. Staley previously told BBC Radio that Barclays would keep the bulk of its activities in Britain after Brexit and any changes to how the bank operates would be small and manageable. UBS Swiss bank UBS ( UBSG.S ) would have to "move 1,500 people" from London to an EU destination in order to retain full passporting rights across the EU, according to UBS chairman Axel Weber. That would be more than a quarter of its current 5,500 staff in London. Separately, Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti has said UBS has a degree of flexibility if its UK outpost looks set to lose its ability to operate across the EU. The world''s biggest wealth manager has also set up a bank in Frankfurt to consolidate most of its European wealth management operations, after the Brexit vote dashed London''s chances of being the host city. CREDIT SUISSE Credit Suisse''s ( CSGN.S ) Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam said in September his bank was relatively well placed to deal with the impact of Brexit and that only around 15-20 percent of volumes in the investment bank would be impacted. LLOYDS BANKING GROUP Lloyds Banking Group ( LLOY.L ), Britain''s largest mortgage lender and the only major British retail bank without a subsidiary in another EU country, is close to selecting Berlin as a European base to secure market access to the EU after Britain withdraws. GOLDMAN SACHS U.S. bank Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) is considering moving up to 1,000 staff from London to Frankfurt because of concerns over Brexit, Germany''s Handelsblatt newspaper reported in January, citing financial sources. Goldman Sachs will begin moving hundreds of people out of London before any Brexit deal is struck as part of its contingency plans, the Wall Street firm''s Europe CEO said in March. Three people familiar with the matter told Reuters in November that Goldman Sachs was considering shifting some of its assets and operations from London to Frankfurt. MORGAN STANLEY U.S. bank Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) has identified many of the roles that will need to be moved from Britain after Brexit, sources involved in the processes told Reuters. Morgan Stanley, which bases the bulk of its European staff in Britain, will have to move up to 1,000 jobs in sales and trading, risk management, legal and compliance, as well as slimming the back office in favour of locations overseas, one source told Reuters. Morgan Stanley may initially shift 300 staff from Britain following its exit from the EU, and is scouting for office space in Frankfurt and Dublin, Bloomberg News reported in February. CITIGROUP Citigroup ( C.N ), which has also identified roles that will need to be moved out of the UK and has a large banking unit in Dublin, will need to move 100 posts in its sales and trading business, sources with knowledge of the matter said. Separately, Citigroup''s European chief said the U.S. bank would make a decision on its Brexit contingency plans in the first half of the year and choose from a number of potential EU countries to relocate some investment banking business. JPMORGAN JPMorgan Chase ( JPM.N ) has agreed to buy a Dublin building with room for 1,000 staff in the first sign of a financial services company expanding significantly in Ireland since the government began a major campaign to attract firms after Brexit. However, the bank, which currently employs around 500 people in Dublin, did not say how many jobs would be created or whether any positions would be moved from the United Kingdom. Daniel Pinto, head of investment banking at the Wall Street firm, had told Bloomberg on May 3 that the firm planned to move hundreds of London-based bankers to expanded offices in Dublin, Frankfurt and Luxembourg. CEO Jamie Dimon had previously said the bank was not planning to move many jobs out of Britain in the next two years. Before the vote, Dimon said the bank would be forced to move 4,000 of its 16,000 staff currently based in Britain if the country loses access to the single market. BANK OF AMERICA CORP Bank of America Corp ( BAC.N ) said in August its businesses and results could be adversely affected and it may have to incur additional costs if Brexit limited the ability of its UK entities to conduct business in the EU. Dublin is Bank of America''s default option for a new base within the EU, but other centres are on the table and no decision has yet been made, an executive said in Germany on March 14. DEUTSCHE BANK Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) warned on April 26 up to 4,000 UK jobs could be moved to Frankfurt and other locations in the EU as a result of Brexit - the highest potential move of any bank. EUROCLEAR Settlement bank Euroclear is looking at the option of setting up a branch or subsidiary to provide a route between its UK and Irish markets following Brexit, the head of its UK and Irish operation said. DAIWA SAECURITIES GROUP Daiwa Securities Group Inc ( 8601.T ), Japan''s No. 2 brokerage firm, may decide as early as mid-June to move dozens of London-based staff to Frankfurt or another European city, ahead of Britain''s exit from the EU, Chief Executive Seiji Nakata said. The German city is Daiwa''s favoured destination, as London-based staff can easily be transferred to its investment banking branch in Frankfurt, Nakata said. Daiwa said it would keep staff in London even after Brexit, but declined to say how many. It currently employs around 450 people in the EU, mostly in the British capital. JULIUS BAER Britain''s planned departure from the European Union opens the door for a UK-Swiss deal covering financial services, said Boris Collardi, chief executive at Julius Baer, Switzerland''s third-biggest private bank. (Compiled by Noor Zainab Hussain and Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Heinrich, Elaine Hardcastle and Pritha Sarkar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-banks-factbox-idUKKCN18F1EV'|'2017-05-19T20:39:00.000+03:00' +'b2d0b9e1ab84727d62fe86541bdabf511f2fc4fa'|'U.S. political jitters weigh on European shares as M&A, earnings whir in background'|' 8:51am BST U.S. political jitters weigh on European shares as M&A, earnings whir in background Traders work in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, May 8, 2017. REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski - RTS15MG8 LONDON European shares dropped in early deals on Thursday as political upheaval in Washington D.C. continued to weigh, though deal-making activity and earnings updates kept the region''s outperformance against global peers intact. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.4 percent, while Germany''s DAX retreated 0.3 percent and Britain''s FTSE 100 fell 0.5 percent, extending Wednesday''s losses after reports that U.S. President Donald Trump had interfered with an FBI probe, following a week of tumult at the White House. Financials and commodity-related sectors, the biggest beneficiaries of the reflation trade that accelerated in the aftermath of Trump''s election win were the biggest drags. The more defensive utilities and personal & household goods sectors made small gains. Some of the largest individual stock moves were spurred by fresh M&A action, with shares in Berendsen soaring nearly 27 percent after French laundry firm Elis made a $2.6 billion offer for the British rival. Likewise shares in Swedish debt collector firm Intrum Justitia dropped more than 8 percent after it proposed a string of divestments in order to assuage European Commission concerns over its planned merger with Norwegian rival Lindorff. Shares in Italy''s Fiat Chrysler were also weaker after the U.S. Justice Department said that it was preparing to sue the carmaker over excess diesel emissions as early as this week. On the positive side, earnings buoyed shares in Royal Mail, which gained around 3 percent after its first quarter results, while luxury goods firm Burberry also rose after its full-year update. (Reporting by Kit Rees, Editing by Vikram Subhedar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks-idUKKCN18E0R3'|'2017-05-18T15:46:00.000+03:00' +'0e6b0a84db82fbeecff34b9cf1f71af4b9e2a55c'|'BRIEF-Merck receives CHMP positive opinion recommending approval of isentress'|' 8:03am EDT BRIEF-Merck receives CHMP positive opinion recommending approval of isentress May 19 Merck & Co Inc: * Merck receives chmp positive opinion recommending approval of isentress (raltegravir) 600 mg in the european union * Merck receives chmp positive opinion recommending approval of isentress (raltegravir) 600 mg in the european union * Merck & Co Inc - decision on approval is expected in second half of 2017 * Says a decision on approval is expected in second half of 2017 * Merck & Co Inc - once daily formulation of isentress is currently under review in united states by food and drug administration Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-merck-receives-chmp-positive-opini-idUSASA09QN9'|'2017-05-19T20:03:00.000+03:00' +'a9fea40017ed7f56d80a5cfff5a19e2bd7ab4a3f'|'Higher rate of heart problems with Amgen osteoporosis drug in trial'|'May 21 Amgen Inc and UCB SA on Sunday said their experimental osteoporosis drug, which is awaiting a U.S. approval decision, met the primary and key secondary goals of a late stage study but a higher rate of serious heart problems were reported that had not been seen in earlier studies.The drug, romosozumab, which would be sold under the brand name Evenity if approved, significantly reduced the incidence of new vertebral fractures through 24 months and non-vertebral fractures in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis at high risk for fracture compared with Merck & Co''s Fosomax.However, serious heart-related side-effects were reported in 2.5 percent of patients who received the Amgen drug versus 1.9 percent in the Fosomax group. (Reporting by Bill Berkrot; Editing by Sandra Maler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/amgen-ucb-osteoporosis-idINL1N1IN0EI'|'2017-05-21T20:28:00.000+03:00' +'e32eca64ab97b8485b8c0dd1987ddbc9fc9b0ab2'|'UK funds bullish on eurozone equities as political risk recedes - Reuters poll'|'Top News - Wed May 31, 2017 - 12:14pm BST UK funds bullish on eurozone equities as political risk recedes - Reuters poll Dealers work on a trading floor at BGC Partners in the Canary Wharf business district in London, Britain September 12, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville By Claire Milhench - LONDON LONDON British fund managers have raised their allocations to eurozone equities to the highest level since August 2016 after an emphatic French election win for centrist Emmanuel Macron pushed back the threat of a European Union break-up. Macron was elected French president on May 7, defeating his far-right rival Marine Le Pen who had threatened to take France out of the EU and the euro. This triggered a relief rally in European equities, which look set to end May with their fourth straight month of gains . A Reuters poll of 15 UK-based wealth managers and chief investment officers, conducted between May 15 and 25, found investors almost unanimously bullish on European stocks. "Political risk in 2017 has all but gone, with the German election in October appearing to be a foregone conclusion, so allied with the recovery being seen in the real Eurozone economy this is surely positive for European equities," said Jonathan Webster-Smith, head of the multi-asset team at Brooks Macdonald. Within their global equity portfolios, fund managers raised their eurozone exposure by one percentage point to 16.1 percent, whilst trimming U.S. allocations from 31.3 percent to 30.1 percent, the lowest level since August 2016. Poll participants who answered a special question on whether there was further upside for European equities were unanimous in their agreement. "There is significant potential for catch up relative to the U.S. due to compelling valuations, a rebound in European economic growth that we think is sustainable, and resurgent corporate earnings," said David Vickers, senior portfolio manager at Russell Investments. Even managers who were sceptical about the short-term outlook for European equities, given the magnitude of their recent outperformance, were optimistic about the medium term. "The European business cycle tends to lag the U.S. cycle by about six months and economic data in Europe is likely to look relatively good for a while," said Trevor Greetham, head of multi-asset at Royal London Asset Management. Overall, investors raised equities to 49.1 percent of their global balanced portfolios, the highest since January 2016. Greetham predicted monetary policy would remain loose, noting there was little sign of the surge in wages that marks the beginning of the end of an expansion. STERLING BOUNCE Investors were more cautious on UK stocks and bonds in the run-up to a snap general election called for June 8. UK stocks were cut to 23.7 percent of global equity portfolios, and UK bonds fell to 26.7 percent of global bond portfolios, from 29.5 percent in April. About two-thirds of those who answered a special question on sterling thought the pound would rise if the Conservative party won with an increased majority as this would likely strengthen Prime Minister Theresa May''s hand in the Brexit negotiations. Sterling GBP=D3 hit an eight-month high in mid-May, having gained 3 percent against the dollar in April after the snap election was announced. That left some wondering if the rally had much further to run. Ken Dickson, investment director at Standard Life Investments, expected sterling to rise if the Conservatives increase their majority but added that "the reaction will be modest as the market already expects an improvement in the governing party''s working majority". He also warned there might not be a linear relationship between the size of the majority and any subsequent rally in sterling: "Backbenchers tend to be more ''misbehaved'' when governments have super-large majorities." Webster-Smith of Brooks Macdonald sees upcoming Brexit negotiations as key, arguing that a quick agreement over the ''exit fee'' being demanded of the UK would bode well for a trade agreement with the EU and subsequently for sterling. But he added: "The EU have promised full transparency in the talks which could enhance sterling volatility depending on the news being positive or negative." (Editing by Mark Trevelyan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-funds-poll-uk-idUKKBN18R1DO'|'2017-05-31T19:06:00.000+03:00' +'4d16ab4c7bb7fe6c3470baba2e9d43c62715b3a3'|'Bank of England to set out plans to open up interbank payments in coming months'|' 39am BST Bank of England to set out plans to open up interbank payments in coming months A bus passes the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain April 19, 2017. Sterling basked in the glow of a six-month high following Tuesday''s surprise news of a snap UK election. REUTERS/Hannah McKay LONDON The Bank of England said on Tuesday it will set out plans by the middle of this year to widen access to Britain''s interbank payment system, part of efforts to boost the country''s financial infrastructure over the next few years. The BoE wants to open up the payments system to allow a variety of financial firms to compete with the major high street banks that currently have access to the high-speed payments system, which handles 500 billion pounds ($647 billion) a day. The central bank also confirmed the new system would be designed so it can link in future with distributed ledger technology, which underpins digital currencies like Bitcoin. The new system will be designed to operate five days a week and almost 24 hours a day, and could be upgraded to 24/7 operation if there is demand. The BoE said it aimed to roll out most of the upgrades by the end of 2020. ($1 = 0.7729 pounds)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-boe-payments-idUKKBN1850ZU'|'2017-05-09T17:14:00.000+03:00' +'d21f2d9ead81bd369f5b09848ef234d325a2d5c7'|'Saudi oil minister due in Iraq to discuss extending oil output cut - official'|'By Ahmed Rasheed and Ernest Scheyder - BAGHDAD/VIENNA BAGHDAD/VIENNA OPEC heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Iraq agreed on Monday on the need to extend a global cut in oil supply by nine months in an effort to prop up crude prices, removing a potential stumbling block as producing countries prepare to meet this week.Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said he did not expect any opposition within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to extending the curbs for a further nine months, speaking after he met his Iraqi counterpart in Baghdad.OPEC meets in Vienna on Thursday to consider whether to prolong the original deal reached in December in which OPEC and 11 non-member countries, including Russia, agreed to cut output by about 1.8 million barrels per day in the first half of 2017.The Saudi minister told a joint news conference with his Iraqi counterpart Jabar Ali al-Luaibi that Iraq had given the "green light" to a proposal for a nine-month extension that would be presented to the meeting in the Austrian capital.He said a new agreement would be similar to the previous pact, with minor changes. He said any decision would not be finalised until OPEC meets.Falih was paying a rare visit to Iraq in the latest effort by the top oil producer to convince its fellow OPEC member to extend supply cuts to ease a global glut.Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi said he agreed with Saudi Arabia on the need for a nine-month extension.Saudi Arabia and non-OPEC Russia have been pushing to extend the cuts from the end of June until March 2018. Iraq, OPEC''s second-largest and fastest-growing oil producer, had until Monday voiced support only for a six-month extension.It is the first time in nearly three decades that a senior Saudi energy official has visited Baghdad.OPEC wants to reduce global oil inventories to their five-year average but so far has struggled to do so. Stockpiles are hovering near record highs, partly because of rising production in the United States, which is not part of the existing deal."I believe we have a growing consensus (on the duration of cut extension)," OPEC''s Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo told reporters in Vienna.Iraq and Iran were the main stumbling blocks for OPEC in reaching its last output-cutting decision in December.OPEC''S CHALLENGEBaghdad argued it had just started enjoying production growth after years of stagnation and Tehran said it needed to raise output after the lifting of Western sanctions.Iraq ended up agreeing to cap output in the first half of 2017 while Iran was allowed a slight rise in production.Nigeria and Libya were granted exemptions from cuts as their output suffered from unrest. Both have regained some volumes in recent months and are expected to add more soon, adding to OPEC''s challenge in rebalancing the market.Goldman Sachs, one of the most active banks in commodities trading, said on Monday a nine-month extension would help rebalance inventories in 2017 and keep Brent prices near $57 per barrel.Brent futures were trading 0.6 percent higher at $53.92 a barrel on Monday at 1638 GMT.Goldman said OPEC should put pressure on American shale oil producers by creating a market structure known as backwardation, when the future trading price of a commodity is below the current spot market value.By extending cuts into 2018 and promising to boost output next year, OPEC could force the oil market into backwardation that would scare away private equity and other investors who have been funding the American shale producers. "The binding force to sustainably slow shale growth lies on the funding side," Damien Courvalin, a Goldman analyst, wrote in the research note to clients.(Additional reporting by OPEC team in Vienna; Writing by Isabel Coles, Dmitry Zhdannikov and Dale Hudson; Editing by David Goodman and Edmund Blair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/iraq-oil-saudi-opec-idINKBN18I0HV'|'2017-05-22T13:53:00.000+03:00' +'05bd442f763b3f3faaa8828e461565ff27810571'|'Toshiba to hold general shareholders meeting on June 28'|'Business 6:04am BST Toshiba unable to present audited results at end-June shareholders meeting FILE PHOTO: A logo of Toshiba Corp is seen outside an electronics retail store in Tokyo, Japan, February 14, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo TOKYO Toshiba Corp said on Wednesday it would not be able to present its audited annual business results for the fiscal year ended March at its general shareholders meeting on June 28. Toshiba has been unable to submit its results to regulators as it has been at odds with auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers Aarata (PwC) since a surprise writedown at its now bankrupt Westinghouse nuclear unit. "At this point, completion of the auditing is expected to take some more time," the Japanese conglomerate said in a statement. But the Japanese company said it would continue to work with the independent auditor to file its securities report by the legally specified deadline of June 30. A failure to meet the end-June deadline without an extension would put the troubled Japanese conglomerate''s bourse listing in further jeopardy. Toshiba has been on the Tokyo stock exchange''s supervision list since mid-March as it has failed to clear up concerns about its internal controls after a 2015 accounting scandal. At the general shareholders meeting on June 28, it will talk about its earnings outlook, the status of the auditing process and third-party investment in its memory business, the company said. It will also seek shareholder approval of reappointment of incumbent directors, for the period until an extraordinary shareholders meeting to be held later, when the company is prepared to report audited results. (Reporting by Chris Gallagher and Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Michael Perry)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting-shareholders-idUKKBN18R09V'|'2017-05-31T10:58:00.000+03:00' +'9470acbaaacfcc3f334b1c8057195710662d7a5e'|'Thyssenkrupp steelworkers protest against Tata merger plan'|'Money 18pm IST Thyssenkrupp steelworkers protest against Tata merger plan DUISBURG, Germany Thousands of Thyssenkrupp steelworkers protested on Wednesday against the German industrial group''s plan to merge its European steel operations with those of India''s Tata Steel. The two companies have been talking since last year about a merger they say would support steel prices and raise efficiency by taking excess capacity out of the market. Trade unions fear large-scale job losses and question the logic of a deal. "I find it intolerable the way that Thyssenkrupp is talking the steel business into the ground," said Detlef Wetzel, the representative of trade union IG Metall on Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe''s supervisory board. "With friends like our management, who needs enemies?" he asked at a demonstration at Thyssenkrupp''s steel headquarters in the German city of Duisburg, IG Metall, which said about 7,500 steelworkers attended the demonstration, fears 4,000 out of the 27,000 jobs at Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe will be lost if the merger goes ahead. Andreas Goss, head of Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe, denied any such plans. He reiterated that the business planned to cut costs by 500 million euros ($545 million) over the next three years, which he said would help save jobs. "There are no plans for job cuts of this order," he told the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung. "At the moment, we have no plans to close any sites. But of course we have to negotiate if certain areas show no signs of making a profit long term." Thyssenkrupp, which also builds elevators, submarines and car parts, agreed in February to sell its loss-making Brazilian steel mill CSA to rival Ternium for $1.3 billion and took a 900 million euro writedown. Thyssenkrupp''s European steel operations are profitable and considered among the continent''s most efficient but the company, which is 15 percent owned by activist investor Cevian Capital, wants to focus on its capital goods businesses. Talks with Tata have stumbled on the question of who will assume liability for Tata Steel UK''s huge pension fund. Thyssenkrupp has said there are other, unspecified partners with which it could merge its steel business. ($1 = 0.9169 euros)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/tata-steel-m-a-thyssenkrupp-protests-idINKBN17Z1W4'|'2017-05-03T23:48:00.000+03:00' +'5782712e664c6ad5be825b1fb0b4b1c87c53e7f5'|'MOVES-JPMorgan names new real estate banking heads'|' 46am EDT MOVES-JPMorgan names new real estate banking heads May 8 JPMorgan Chase & Co said it made three promotions in its commercial real estate business. Priscilla Almodovar and Chad Tredway will co-lead the real estate banking business, and Alice Carr will lead community development banking, JPMorgan said on Monday. Almodovar, who joined the firm in 2010, has led its community development banking team in lending and investing in various housing projects. Tredway, who joined JPMorgan in 2008, has overseen real estate banking''s sales strategy and led the commercial term lending business in the U.S. East region. Carr, who has managed the community development real estate teams in Chase''s West and Southwest regions, joined the bank in 2011. (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/jpmorgan-moves-realestate-idUSL4N1IA4ZL'|'2017-05-08T23:46:00.000+03:00' +'1a70d1e5502603db1e1212f1ef1e73f5e6cde5a0'|'Vivendi offers to sell Telecom Italia unit, may not be enough - source'|'Deals 30pm BST Vivendi offers to sell Telecom Italia unit, may not be enough: source FILE PHOTO: People walk in front of a Telecom Italia Mobile (TIM) store in downtown Rio de Janeiro August 20, 2014. REUTERS/Pilar Olivares/File Photo By Foo Yun Chee - BRUSSELS BRUSSELS Vivendi ( VIV.PA ) has offered to sell a Telecom Italia unit but may have to make more concessions to EU antitrust regulators to gain control of the company after rivals complained, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday. The French media company holds a 24 percent stake in Telecom Italia and is seeking EU approval to gain control of Italy''s biggest phone group ( TLIT.MI ). Vivendi told the European Commission last week it was willing to divest Telecom Italia''s 70 percent stake in broadcasting services group Persidera, including its current arrangements with Telecom Italia subsidiaries, to address competition concerns, according to a document seen by Reuters. The EU competition enforcer, which subsequently sought feedback from rivals and customers, asked whether Persidera would be a viable and competitive player in the market for wholesale access to digital terrestrial networks for the broadcast of TV channels. Respondents were given until the middle of this week to give feedback before the Commission decides whether to accept the offer, demand more or open a four-month long investigation. Its preliminary decision is due by May 30. The person said Vivendi''s concession did not address some companies'' concerns over its ability to boost Telecom Italia''s market power once it gains control. The Italian company could bundle internet, fixed telephony and multimedia content services provided by Vivendi, giving it an unfair advantage over rivals, the person said. It was also possible that Vivendi may offer better prices and terms for its content to Telecom Italia than to competitors, the person said. The Commission and Vivendi declined to comment. Telecom Italia referred to comments issued earlier this week after press reports about Vivendi''s offer to sell Persidera when it said "the matter has not been the subject of any analysis, even preliminary, by either its management or its corporate bodies". It declined to make further comment on Friday. (Additional reporting by Agnieszka Flak and Giulia Segreti, Stefano Rebaudo and Danilo Masoni in Milan and Mathieu Rosemain in Paris; editing by Giselda Vagnoni and Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-telecomitalia-m-a-vivendi-idUKKBN1882CO'|'2017-05-13T00:30:00.000+03:00' +'433ddb8c3cd3c36cae4c458b769f28c180cd038b'|'Gasp! Budget finally admits ''revenue problem'', but attacks on welfare are the same old spin - Business'|'T he budget has destroyed one of the biggest lies told by the Coalition over the past three years and in the time it was in opposition that there was no revenue problem. But the budget papers themselves reveal another lie that also deserves to be consigned to the bin the one that suggests those on welfare are bludgers deserving to be bashed.If one were churlish one could just highlight the times in the past members of this current government decried the type of budget that it has just delivered.For example, in 2015 the finance minister, Mathias Corman, scoffed at suggestions the government needed to raise revenue. He told reporters: We have a spending problem, not a revenue problem. He also scorned the calls for more taxes, saying: Theres plenty of people out there who want to raise taxes and have a new idea for a tax every single day of the week.Every Liberal MP knows the budget was about shoring up Malcolm Turnbull, for better or worse - Katharine Murphy Read more Well clearly one of those people with a new idea is Scott Morrison, whose idea for a bank levy, and raising the Medicare levy, will increase revenue by $14bn over the next four years. But just because the Liberal party has finally realised what everyone else has known for nearly a decade, it doesnt mean we should fall over ourselves labelling this as a progressive budget. Yes there are measures that are somewhat progressive. The bank levy, for example, is fine as far as it goes. But when put against the context of the company tax cuts, it appears more about targeting a specific style of company that is generally disliked by voters, than about being progressive. After all an easier way to raise money would have been to put off the company tax cuts themselves which are clearly worth a stonking amount of money.In Thursdays question time, the government was forced to admit that the company tax cuts will cost $65.4bn over 10 years up from the previous estimate of $48.7bn. The issue is not that is a blowout which it isnt but that it highlights just how costly are those tax cuts. The reason for the increase is that the original $48.7bn estimate was over 10 years from July 2016 and the new $65.4bn one is 10 years from July 2017. The original figures thus goes to 2027, whereas the new amount goes to 2028 and includes a full year with all companies on a rate 25%. The price of drug-testing welfare recipients: ''Pushing people to utter desperation'' Read more So massive are the tax cuts that merely shifting the time period to include the 2027-28 financial year increases the total 10-year cost of the tax cuts by a third. That one extra year adds $16.7bn to the cost. Now keep that amount in your head. For while there were progressive measures in the budget, the government also could not resist returning to its conservative impulse to attack those on welfare especially the unemployed. But, perhaps unintentionally, what the budget really shows is that all the talk about bludgers on the dole is really just that . The budget figures implicitly reveal that rather than a bloated level of welfare, our support for the unemployed is actually incredibly thin.Im not even talking about the stupid trials for drug testing of those on welfare that is just a failed policy borrowed from the USA which has nothing to do with budget savings. No, the big welfare measure in the budget was the introduction of a three strikes intensive compliance phase for those on Newstart. This was the measure that received the front-page splash on tabloids on budget day under the guise of the government getting tough on shirkers and bludgers. The government suggests that around 40,000 people appear to be wilfully and systemically gaming the welfare system with no intention of working. As a result it intends to introduce a demerit system of three strikes. For a first strike of not complying with the obligations of Newstart, people would lose 50% of their payment for a fortnight; 100% for the second strike; and, just in case they still were not down enough, the government would kick them for a third strike by cancelling their payment and preventing them from re-applying for a month.Bam! Take that all you bludgers! Finally someone is putting an end to all that waste of money going to shirkers!And rest easy folks, finally the welfare budget is under control. So what do we get for this new tough on bludgers policy? (Remember now that $16.7bn for one year figure from before.)Well the government expects to save $632m over 5 years. Ok, not quite the same amount as the cost of the company tax cut, but lets be generous, it still sounds like a lot of money surely a big cut to the welfare budget, right?No.Rightwing papers at sea over ''Morriswan'' budget Read more The total amount spent on Newstart over that 5 year period is $56.5bn so at best this will cut just 1.1% of the Newstart budget hardly suggestive that most of those on the payment are shirking. But the problem is Newstart only accounts for 6% of all welfare spending most welfare goes to aged pensioners and now the NDIS. The total amount spent on welfare over the five-year period is $874.1bn. That means this crack down on dole bludgers, which got such glorified coverage from the compliant media, will save less than 0.1% of the welfare budget.That is why most of the talk of the need to be tough on welfare is not really about saving money, but about demonising the less fortunate in a desire to score political points. Australias welfare system is very tightly targeted and tested. And when it comes to Newstart, at a mere $535.60 a fortnight for single people, it is already abysmally low. This budget saw the end of the lie that the government did not need to raise revenue to return to surplus; it should also put an end to the lie that the problem with government spending is bludgers on welfare. Topics Business Grogonomics Australian politics Australian economy comment '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2017/may/14/gasp-budget-finally-admits-revenue-problem-but-attacks-on-welfare-are-the-same-old-spin'|'2017-05-14T07:23:00.000+03:00' +'327c42cdb50ae4e565d191f8f2463796bd381173'|'PPG is disappointed that Akzo Nobel has again refused to enter into negotiation'|'May 8 Ppg Industries Inc* PPG issues statement* Is "disappointed" that Akzonobel has once again refused to enter into a negotiation regarding a combination of two companies* "Akzonobel chairs stated up front that they did not have intent nor authority to negotiate"* Akzonobel chairs did not share any concerns regarding PPG''s proposal* Will review full details of Akzonobel''s response issued today* Can confirm CEO and lead independent director met chairman of supervisory board of Akzonobel and CEO and chairman of board of management of Akzonobel '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/brief-ppg-says-is-disappointed-that-akzo-idINFWN1IA066'|'2017-05-08T05:33:00.000+03:00' +'26eebd8d8bf353778a134631dd5e3a20b75f30a7'|'Exxon Mobil buys Singapore petrochemical plant, boost output in Asia'|'Money News 32am IST Exxon Mobil buys Singapore petrochemical plant, boosts output in Asia FILE PHOTO: An airplane comes in for a landing above an Exxon sign at a gas station in the Chicago suburb of Norridge, Illinois, U.S., October 27, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Young/File Photo SINGAPORE Exxon Mobil Corp ( XOM.N ) said on Thursday it has reached an agreement to buy a refining and petrochemical plant owned by Jurong Aromatics in Singapore which will boost its output in Asia. The company expects to complete the transaction in the second half of 2017 which will boost its aromatics production in Singapore to more than 3.5 million tonnes per year. (Reporting by Florence Tan and Seng Li Peng; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/singapore-exxon-mobil-idINKBN1870AC'|'2017-05-11T11:25:00.000+03:00' +'3c964bb858c0fc355b199835a6036bd8b5ded647'|'TPG-backed RCN buys broadband provider Wave for $2.37 billion'|'By Liana B. Baker Private equity firm TPG Global LLC said on Monday it would buy Wave Broadband for $2.37 billion in a deal that creates the sixth largest U.S. cable operator at a time when demand for high-speed internet service is growing rapidly.The deal combines privately-held Wave with RCN Telecom Services LLC and Grande Communications Networks, the broadband providers TPG bought earlier this year.TPG Capital Partner David Trujillo said in an interview that the deal fits in with his firm''s "picks and shovel" strategy of focusing on rising internet use. TPG has investments in music provider Spotify, car sharing services Uber Technologies and others."Whether it''s the number of devices, or increasing content consumption or the connected home, what it all comes back to is fast reliable broadband," Trujillo said.The transaction is expected to close in the second half of the year.Headquartered in Kirkland, Washington, Wave has residential and commercial customers in the Sacramento and San Francisco markets as well as in Seattle and Portland, Oregon.Oak Hill Capital, GI Partners and Wave''s management, including Chief Executive Steve Weed, acquired the company in 2012 from Sandler Capital Management. The value of that deal was $950 million, according to Moody''s.Weed will become a director of RCN when the deal closes.TPG was advised by Credit Suisse and PJT Partners while its legal adviser was Cleary Gottlieb. Wave was advised by UBS and Wells Fargo.Reuters was first to report that TPG was nearing a deal to buy Wave for more than $2 billion.(Reporting by Liana B. Baker in New York; Editing by Tom Brown)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-wave-m-a-tpg-idINKBN18I2ME'|'2017-05-22T19:40:00.000+03:00' +'f368dab71c59e67dc0cba3d90258299b764df0f1'|'BOJ''s Kuroda welcomes expansion of China-led infrastructure bank'|'By Leika Kihara - YOKOHAMA, Japan YOKOHAMA, Japan Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda welcomed on Tuesday the expansion of China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as positive for the regional economy, urging multinational lenders to cooperate in meeting Asia''s fast-growing infrastructure needs."Infrastructure needs are huge and it''s simply not possible for the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank to fill the gap completely," Kuroda, who was formerly head of the ADB, tolda seminar hosted by an ADB-affiliated think tank.He said healthy competition from Chinese, Indian and Japanese initiatives could be positive for improving infrastructure and boosting economic growth.Kuroda''s remarks are the strongest endorsement to date by a Japanese policymaker for the growing presence of AIIB, which some in Tokyo see as a vehicle to boost China''s regional clout.They also come ahead of the ADB''s 50th annual meeting in Yokohama, eastern Japan, at the weekend, where its 67 members are set to seek ways to differentiate the ADB from rival lenders such as the AIIB.The AIIB has been viewed as a rival to the Western-dominated World Bank and the ADB, which is jointly led by the United States and Japan. The United States initially opposed the AIIB''s creation and is not a member, but many U.S. allies, including Canada, Britain, Germany, Australia and South Korea have joined.HEALTHY COMPETITIONJapan, following Washington''s lead under then-U.S. President Barack Obama, did not join the AIIB as well, partly from concern it would conflict with the ADB, the Manila-based institution dominated by Japan and the United States.But Kuroda said the establishment of AIIB and the fact it attracted many members were a "good" thing as they help meet rapidly increasing infrastructure-funding needs in the region."The ADB has promoted regional cooperation in Asia. It also tried to link regional initiatives with each other. That is the way we should go forward, rather than making a single Asia programme or an Asia initiative," he said."The realistic way is to promote regional initiatives and link them with each other."Kuroda also urged politicians to contain geopolitical conflicts which were "not good for anyone."The ADB, founded in 1966, has by convention been headed by Japanese financial bureaucrats including Kuroda and current president Takehiko Nakao.Vying for influence in the region, China created AIIB in 2015 which now has 70 members including countries awaiting ratification, exceeding those of the ADB.On the surface, the two lenders have cooperated, co-financing several projects under a 2016 agreement that set the stage for joint funding.But many Japanese officials, including premier Shinzo Abe''s aides, are cautious of the AIIB - taking the view that it serves as a vehicle to fund China''s global leadership ambitions.A week after the ADB gathering, leaders from 28 nations will attend China''s New Silk Road summit aimed at expanding links between Asia, Africa and Europe - underpinned by billions of dollars in infrastructure investment.(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Chris Gallagher and Sam Holmes)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/japan-economy-boj-adb-idINKBN17Y0K4'|'2017-05-02T05:20:00.000+03:00' +'6b08451eab12a3edd8abf36bb792bee4fd9b4f7d'|'UPDATE 1-SQM governance changes no signal of Potash Corp interest in bigger stake-CEO'|'(Adds comment about stake decision, background on SQM)By Rod NickelNEW YORK May 18 Governance changes at Chile lithium producer SQM, which give shareholder Potash Corp of Saskatchewan greater influence, do not reflect any intent by Potash to raise its stake, Potash Corp''s chief executive said on Thursday.Three top shareholders in SQM have agreed to change the way board decisions are made at the global supplier of lithium, a move that will see controlling shareholder Julio Ponce cede some power and Canada''s Potash Corp gain more say."It doesn''t demonstrate any intention," CEO Jochen Tilk told Reuters in New York. "We''ll move forward on improved governance and that''s really all that there is at this point - no reflection on any further strategic thinking."Potash Corp holds just over 30 percent of SQM and has three board seats. Tilk has previously said it is reviewing whether to increase or divest that stake, and shares in three other companies.Those decisions will be made after a planned merger between Potash and Agrium Inc, which is scheduled to close in mid-2017, Tilk said. (Reporting by Rod Nickel in New York, editing by G Crosse and Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/potashcorp-ceo-idINL2N1IK1US'|'2017-05-18T16:56:00.000+03:00' +'f1ebad73f0271c4febf074bb0f6b0f2aeb0c2bd4'|'New Zealand gets Pirelli on board just in time for America''s Cup'|' 11:16am EDT New Zealand gets Pirelli on board just in time for America''s Cup Britain Sailing - America''s Cup 2016 - Portsmouth - 23/7/16Emirates Team New Zealand in actionReuters / Henry BrowneLivepic LONDON Emirates Team New Zealand have signed up tire maker Pirelli[PIRI.UL] as a sponsor, just over a week before racing begins in the build-up to the 35th America''s Cup in Bermuda. Crews from Britain, France, Japan, New Zealand and Sweden are seeking to win the right to challenge Oracle Team USA next month, with Oracle chairman Larry Ellison''s team looking to win the oldest trophy in international sport, known as the "Auld Mug", for a third time in a row. New Zealand, who lost in 2013 after the Americans staged a stunning comeback in San Francisco, are already sponsored by airline Emirates [EMIRA.UL], Japanese carmaker Toyota, Swiss watchmaker Omega and coffee group Nespresso. The sponsors'' branding adorns the hulls of the team''s high-tech 50-foot black and red foiling catamaran and its towering "wing" sail, which are controlled using hydraulics. New Zealand have set themselves apart by incorporating fixed cycles in their design, meaning the crew sits and pedals to power the hydraulics rather than "grinding" hand winches. Pirelli and New Zealand said the tire maker''s distinctive red and yellow logo will not only feature on the hull, but also on the rudders, which are visible when the catamaran''s foils lift it dramatically out of the water in "flight" mode at speeds of up to 50 knots (92.6 km per hour). Qualifying racing begins in Bermuda on May 26, with the head-to-head races for the America''s Cup between whichever crew emerges as challenger and defender Team USA starting on June 17. (Editing by Larry King)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sailing-americascup-newzealand-idUSKCN18C1WG'|'2017-05-16T23:11:00.000+03:00' +'accab3268d74249a21e78fbe0b906e5d6be1ae03'|'Where does an A-lister land when they waft in from paradise? Yes, Luton - Business'|'I t was once a byword for bargain-basement flights and holiday hell, defined for a generation by Campari ads and Lorraine Chase . But Luton airport, the grey-and-orange home of easyJet, has long led a double life: bussing budget passengers up the hill from the railway station, while ushering billionaires, royalty, Brad Pitt and Taylor Swift to their private jets.While the front end of the airport is being overhauled to accommodate a rapid growth in budget passengers, London Luton has been quietly confirmed as Britains busiest airport for private jets. Around 30,000 will land or take off there this year, roughly a quarter of all such flights in the UK, a 6% increase on last year. A third private terminal opened last December to meet the growing demand and expectations of the super-rich who mostly head around the airports industrial perimeter to a couple of anonymous buildings at the back.What appeals to many of the jet set is exactly that anonymity, says Neil Thompson, Lutons operations director. Part of the attraction is that you come in and out of the back door. You have that privacy.The airports executives have been temporarily relocated during building work to the rear perimeter fence, where private jets are often parked. They now get a peek at the stars, which can be a bit strange: You see the England footy team outside your office window sometimes.Airport staff can pick out the distinctive livery of planes belonging to Lewis Hamilton or John Travolta when they fly in, but most of the time except when celebs have tipped off the paparazzi the identities of the private jet passengers remains under wraps. The original Signature private jet terminal is barely as big as some duty free shops, but this clientele generally heads straight to the plane.Passengers can be taken through a security scanner in a private room, and for some VIPs, checks can be handled in the car. A passenger could, Thompson says, be airborne within 10 minutes of arrival at the airport or on the M1 to London within 15 minutes of their plane touching the runway.With few night-flight restrictions and plentiful slots, Luton also has, he says, the length of runway and the airport technology to land almost any plane in weather that might rule out lesser airfields. But it remains small enough to be swiftly negotiated.Clive Jackson of Victor, a private jet chartering firm, says: Whether for A-listers, captains of industry, or heads of state, Luton is strategically important for two reasons its relatively close to London and it operates 24 hours a day. The owners have been very smart in making sure that while the bulk is low-cost, scheduled traffic, theyve leased off real estate around the airport to allow a thriving ecosystem to build up for private aviation. From cleaning to hangarage, maintenance and servicing, catering and crewing, its all up there.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Luton airport is seeing both budget and celebrity traffic increasing Two operators at Luton, Signature and Harrods Aviation, maintain and service private jets, and sort out the logistics such as booking runway slots and air traffic clearance. But with a jet costing anything from 2m to 60m to buy, excluding running and maintenance costs, even the super-rich need to sweat their assets, and many private jets are now up for charter.The number of business jet charter flights in the UK rose by 12.7% over the past year, now representing three-fifths of all private air traffic. Websites such as Jacksons FlyVictor have attempted to replace the traditional model of hiring a jet through a broker with more transparent online booking. You dont have to be dropped off by a chauffeur at my office in Knightsbridge to convince me youre a worthy consumer, he says.Like the doors of the Ritz, private jets, are open to all, Jackson says, citing the fact that 15% of his customers are first-timers. He gives the example of a London-based journalist being offered an interview with newly elected French president Emmanuel Macron, if they can get to the Elyse Palace in Paris in four hours. Within minutes Victor had located a private jet in Northolt that would get there in time impossible on a scheduled flight but at a cost of more than 3,000.That kind of sum would only add up for captains of less cash-strapped industries, but there is another great impetus for the rich to book private jets: the love of a good dog. We call it Furs Class, Jackson says. Its one of the biggest motivations for people flying pets on jets.Normally a travelling dog would have to be in a cage and checked into the hold hours before takeoff. Not on a private jet: Rufus would be on a seat beside you. Youd be opening that Evian, pouring it into a cut-glass bowl for him. Youd be rubbing his chest, feeling that heartbeat.Back at Luton, the commoners entrance is being dug up, buses negotiating traffic cones on an approach that is newly dominated by a hulking car park and bridge to the expanding terminal building. A new dual carriageway and a light rail line from the station to the airport is testament to Lutons banking on its more traditional business, with low-cost carriers continuing to pull in passengers.Private aviation complements commercial traffic really well, says Thompson. It suits both sets of passengers: its convenient for London, quick to get through and cost-effective.Topics Airline industry The Observer Air transport Luton features '|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/20/luton-airport-private-jet-charters-celebrities'|'2017-05-20T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'4a16b51c1dece1544519f88b54907ba53af89cd4'|'Dismantling nuclear: German power firms sell new skills'|'Business News 16am BST Dismantling nuclear: German power firms sell new skills left right FILE PHOTO: Scaffolding surrounds the site where the reactor vessel used to be in the former Wuergassen nuclear energy plant near Beverungen June 27, 2012. REUTERS/Tom Kaeckenhoff/File Photo 1/5 left right FILE PHOTO: A combination of file pictures shows aerial views of the German nuclear power plants (top L to Bottom R) of Neckarwestheim, Brunsbuettel, Isar, Biblis A and B, Philippsburg and Unterweser. REUTERS/Staff/File Photo 2/5 left right FILE PHOTO: The cooling tower and the nuclear powerplants ''Isar 1+2'' in Eschenbach near Landshut are pictured August 25, 2010. REUTERS/Michael Dalder/File Photo 3/5 left right FILE PHOTO: An image taken with a thermal camera shows the shut down nuclear power plant in Biblis, southwest Germany, in this March 22, 2011 file photo. The picture does not show any temperature difference outside the power plant. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo 4/5 left right FILE PHOTO: A combination of files pictures shows German nuclear power plants (top L to bottom right) in Brunsbuettel, Unterweser, Brokdorf, Kruemmel, Emsland, Grohnde, Biblis A, Biblis B, Grafenrheinfeld, Philippsburg, Neckarwestheim and Isar 1 and 2. REUTERS/Staff/File Photo 5/5 By Christoph Steitz - FRANKFURT FRANKFURT Energy groups E.ON and EnBW are tearing down their nuclear plants at massive cost following Germany''s decision to abandon nuclear power by 2022, but they are seeking to turn a burden into business by exporting their newfound dismantling skills. Germany is the only country in the world to dump the technology as a direct consequence of Japan''s Fukushima disaster in 2011, a decision that came as a major blow to the two energy firms which owned most of Germany''s 17 operational nuclear stations. E.ON and EnBW have already shut down five plants between them and must close another five by 2022. Not only are they losing a major profit driver - a station could earn 1 million euros (849,950 pounds) a day - but are also facing combined decommissioning costs of around 17 billion euros. This tough new reality has nonetheless forced them to rapidly acquire expertise in the lengthy and complex process of dismantling nuclear plants - presenting an unlikely but potentially lucrative business opportunity in a world where dozens of reactors are set to be closed over the next 25 years. They say their skills are attracting the interest of international customers. "We are increasingly getting requests from countries where the decommissioning of nuclear plants is an issue or will become one," said a spokeswoman for E.ON''s PreussenElektra division, which was formed last year to wind down the company''s nuclear business and operate the plants in the interim period. The unit, which employs about 650 decommissioning staff, said it was seeing particularly strong demand for its know-how in Japan, where 12 reactors are set to be closed down, adding that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) was among its clients. EnBW formed its plant decommissioning division following the Fukushima disaster and it has about 500 staff. More recently, the division launched a consultancy service aimed at pitching for external work, including internationally. It said it had won contracts with operators, research institutes and nuclear regulators in Germany and Europe, but declined to give names. A source familiar with the matter said that the group had advised all three Swiss nuclear plants operators - BKW Energie, Axpo and Alpiq - in dismantling projects last year and was still actively working for one of them. MHI, Axpo and Alpiq all declined to comment. BKW said it was in contact with several firms active in dismantling, including EnBW. E.ON and EnBW, which both regard decommissioning as a growth business, did not give figures for their decommissioning division''s financial performance or targets, saying they did not break them out from the wider group. WESTINGHOUSE E.ON and EnBW are, however, entering a crowded global market where they will have to compete with bigger rivals including market leader Areva, which has a 5,000-strong decommissioning team, privately-held Bechtel, Aecom and Fluor. With U.S. nuclear services provider Westinghouse''s Chapter 11 filing in March hitting one of the biggest names in the sector, all players are hoping to increase their slice of the action. There is plenty of work. The International Energy Agency reckons that about 150 gigawatts of nuclear capacity, more than a third of the world''s total, will be retired by 2040, with Europe accounting for the bulk at more than 40 percent. "Within the next few decades, the majority of nuclear plants currently in operation will approach the end of their useful lives, requiring either refurbishment or decommissioning," said Randy Wotring, president of Technical and Operational Services at U.S.-based Aecom. The market for nuclear decommissioning services is expected to nearly double to $8.6 billion euros by 2021, from $4.8 billion last year, according to research firm MarketsandMarkets. But only about a quarter is being outsourced by utilities, which prefer to keep much of the dismantling work in-house, industry sources told Reuters. "The decommissioning market it is a tough one but also a promising one," said Arnaud Gay, executive vice president of International Operations at France''s Areva, the world''s top nuclear plant dismantler. It was promising because it was a rapidly expanding market, he added, but difficult because there was a fierce pressure on costs, given the work involved simply erasing an asset rather than building one that would produce value in the future. LONG AND COSTLY Plant dismantling work spans everything from project management to the removal of walls with low levels of radiation as well as more complex tasks such as using plasma cutters to take apart highly polluted parts, for example reactor pressure vessels. Based on current estimates from plant operators and consultancy Callan Associates, the average cost of dismantling a nuclear plant with a capacity of about 1 gigawatt is 600-800 million euros. Decommissioning can take anywhere between 10 to 40 years, depending on whether operators chose direct dismantling or nuclear entombment, where reactors are first sealed off to let radiation levels fall. The German utilities are seeking to focus on the project management experience they have gathered from closing their own reactors, and contract out some work to specialist companies. Pointing to the value of good management, E.ON said it expected that more efficient processes and economies of scale would help it cut its own dismantling bill by about 1 billion euros, or 9 percent. The two companies will find themselves in competition with the likes of U.S. firm Bechtel, which also functions as a project manager during dismantling processes and in March announced a foray into the European market in a joint venture with GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy. James Taylor, general manager of Bechtel''s Environmental business - speaking about the ambitions of the German utilities - said it was early days and that such businesses were developed over decades. "It''s a 40-year market so we are patient," he said. (Additional reporting by Karolin Schaps in London; Editing by Pravin Char)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting-nuclearpower-decom-idUKKBN1850H6'|'2017-05-09T14:16:00.000+03:00' +'c6ef38829ff0a20b59b32a301bb35a02c561288f'|'Japan proposes expanding bilateral FX swap scheme with ASEAN'|'Economy 3:25am BST Japan proposes expanding bilateral FX swap scheme with ASEAN Light is cast on a Japanese 10,000 yen note as it''s reflected in a plastic board in Tokyo, in this February 28, 2013 picture illustration. REUTERS/Shohei Miyano/Illustration/File Photo YOKOHAMA, Japan Japan''s Ministry of Finance on Friday proposed launching bilateral foreign exchange swap arrangements of up to 40 billion dollars with Southeast Asian nations to enable Tokyo to provide yen funds to these countries during times of financial crisis. The proposal was made during a meeting between finance ministers and central bank governors from Japan and the members of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Japan, the ministry said in a statement. The move is aimed at making yen funds more accessible to Japanese firms increasing their presence in Southeast Asia as well as others in need of the Japanese currency in case of financial stress. The scheme would allow each country to choose either the yen or the dollar in receiving funds under the bilateral arrangements in response to liquidity crisis. Separately on Friday, Japan entered into bilateral currency swap arrangement worth 3 billion dollars with Thailand and agreed to enter a similar arrangement with Malaysia under a current swap framework. (Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Sam Holmes)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-adb-asia-currency-idUKKBN18106V'|'2017-05-05T10:17:00.000+03:00' +'c9c4b1e61fe1ecca1117feb4d971c31b4a74f7de'|'New fund group to be called Standard Life Aberdeen post merger'|'The combination of Standard Life Plc ( SL.L ) and Aberdeen Asset Management Plc ( ADN.L ) will be called Standard Life Aberdeen plc when the two fund groups complete their merger, Standard Life said on Tuesday."The board will comprise the Chairman, four executive directors and eleven non-executive directors," Standard Life added in a statement.Britain''s Standard Life said in March it had reached an agreement to buy Aberdeen Asset Management in an 11 billion-pound ($14.2 billion) all-share deal.($1 = 0.7733 pounds)(Reporting by Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; editing by Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-aberdeen-asset-m-a-standard-life-idINKBN1852BL'|'2017-05-09T17:04:00.000+03:00' +'74e16ae87e26bd44e71adb28e0371cb4ce696043'|'IranAir receives ATR turboprops for regional growth'|' 42pm BST IranAir receives ATR turboprops for regional growth The logo of IranAir is pictured in Colomiers, near Toulouse, France, January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau By Tim Hepher - TOULOUSE, France TOULOUSE, France IranAir took delivery of four European turboprop aircraft on Tuesday, as it extended the renewal of its aging fleet under an international sanctions-lifting deal to regional cities. The first of 20 ATR 72-600s ordered by IranAir were handed over at Franco-Italian planemaker ATR''s Toulouse headquarters and are scheduled to arrive in Tehran on Wednesday. The deliveries will bring to seven the number of new Western aircraft delivered to Iran since trade reopened under a deal between Tehran and major powers to ease sanctions in exchange for restrictions on Iran''s nuclear research activities. IranAir is mostly rebuilding its fleet with deals to buy a total of 180 Airbus and Boeing passenger jets, but the arrival of ATR 70-seat planes is aimed at underserved local economies. IranAir aims to cover a populous arc in Iran''s northwest and northeast and may eventually base some of the ATR planes in the Caspian city of Rasht, Chairman Farhad Parvaresh told Reuters. A similar model could ultimately be established in Bandar Abbas in the south. "This is the plan, a commercial plan, but of course it might change," Parvaresh said, speaking on board the first aircraft. Currently, 90 percent of IranAir''s domestic traffic revolves around 10-12 airports, but a lower tier of destinations fail to met their potential due to a lack of small planes. "We hope very much that with this type of aircraft we can connect the small cities to the mega cities," Parvaresh said. "As the number of aircraft increases, we will increase this hub-and-spoke pattern inside the country with the small airports," he added. "But in addition to domestic routes we can also use them in the future to connect ... Iran''s border cities to the border cities of our neighbours, for which it is not always economical to use bigger aircraft." Such routes might include Kish to Dubai, Lar to Qatar''s capital Doha or traffic between Tabriz in Iran''s Azerbaijan region and the Azeri capital Baku. Each ATR 72-600 is worth $26.8 million at list prices but planes typically trade at a discount. IranAir plans to take the remaining 16 by end-2018, including another five this year. It has so far received three Airbus jets and will get another by end-year. The first Boeing is due around May 2018. Despite the lifting of nuclear-related sanctions, Iran continues to faces hurdles in financing long-term purchases because banks are nervous of infringing separate U.S. sanctions. For now, officials say it is paying for aircraft in cash but that this money will serve as deposits for later deliveries. "Financing is going ahead but it is not finalised yet," Parvaresh said. The deal between IranAir and ATR - co-owned by Airbus ( AIR.PA ) and Italy''s Leonardo LDOF.PA - includes a training program for Iranian pilots and engineers. (Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Louise Heavens)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-iran-aviation-idUKKCN18C0CF'|'2017-05-16T21:40:00.000+03:00' +'8ddd9cbc848d0eb4fd356b3d0ab872c3ec35e49d'|'Petrofac suspends COO in response to SFO investigation - Business'|'More than 630m was wiped off the value of UK oil services group Petrofac when the company revealed it had suspended its chief operating officer and taken other measures in response to a criminal investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). Petrofac said Marwan Chedid had been suspended until further notice and resigned from the board. The chief executive, Ayman Asfari, a major Tory donor who owns 18% of the firm, is to stay in his post but will be excluded from all matters connected to the investigation.The SFO said on 12 May that it was investigating the company, its employees and agents for suspected bribery, corruption and money laundering. The companys shares closed down nearly 30%, falling from 615p to 430p to value the company at about 1.5bn. Twelve months ago, they were changing hands at around 800p.Tory donor questioned by SFO over corruption claims at Petrofac Read more The SFO probe is linked to its investigation of Unaoil , a Monaco-based firm that has been accused of corruptly securing contracts for multinationals. Unaoil has denied any wrongdoing.Petrofacs Asfari and Chedid were arrested, questioned under caution by the SFO and released without charge.Asfari , who has donated 700,000 to the Conservative party over the past 8 years, is one of the governments network of business ambassadors, with the role of acting as an advocate for the UK abroad. A government spokeswoman said Asfari would continue in the role and refused to comment on the SFO investigation. The decision on whether he should remain an ambassador lies with Theresa May.Petrofac employed Unaoil for consultancy work in Kazakhstan between 2002 and 2009. Petrofac said it had commissioned an independent investigation last year into media allegations in relation to Unaoil and passed its findings on to the SFO, which then told Petrofac that it did not accept those findings. The SFO has also told Petrofac that it does not consider it has received cooperation from the company.Petrofac has now set up a committee of the board led by its chairman, Rijnhard van Tets, to engage with the SFO and is in the process of appointing a senior external specialist to oversee the groups management of the investigation. The specialist will also review Petrofacs compliance processes.Van Tets said: These decisions signal the boards determination to cooperate fully with the SFO and its investigation, whilst ensuring Petrofac continues to deliver for its clients.Petrofac stressed that the action taken did not in any way seek to prejudge the outcome of the SFOs investigation. It added that it had provided large volumes of information in response to very broad requests made by the SFO. The most recent donation to the Conservative party from Asfari and his wife was 40,000 last December. The Syrian-born businessman is a member of the leaders group, an elite set of donors who are invited to dine with the prime minister.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/25/petrofac-suspends-coo-sfo-investigation-oil-services'|'2017-05-25T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'54c97e4a117228532eece51f4ce22ea8b6e82d9e'|'PPG request for Akzo Nobel extension under consideration: Dutch regulator'|'AMSTERDAM The Dutch financial markets regulator AFM confirmed on Tuesday that it has received a request from U.S. paint maker PPG Industries ( PPG.N ) to extend a filing deadline by which the American company must submit a formal offer for Dutch rival Akzo Nobel( AKZO.AS ).Earlier on Tuesday PPG Chief Executive Michael McGarry said that his company had asked the regulator to extend the deadline to June 14 at the earliest, rather than June 1.AFM spokesman Michiel Gosens said the case is "pretty unique" and will be heard by the country''s highest court for managerial law, in The Hague.(Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by David Goodman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-akzo-nobel-m-a-ppg-inds-regulator-idINKBN18J1ZL'|'2017-05-23T11:46:00.000+03:00' +'a2f1df115fb2f345d3c3489c5143f8a75ecfb84b'|'China April service sector growth slowest in nearly a year - Caixin PMI'|'Business News - Thu May 4, 2017 - 3:33am BST China April service sector growth slowest in nearly a year: Caixin PMI BEIJING Growth in China''s services sector cooled to its slowest in almost a year in April as fears of slower economic growth dented business confidence, even as cost pressures eased, a private survey showed on Thursday. The Caixin/Markit services purchasing managers'' index (PMI) fell to 51.5 from March''s 52.2, the fourth monthly decline in a row and suggesting the sector grew at its weakest pace since May 2016. Caixin''s composite manufacturing and services PMI also pointed to a loss of growth momentum for the month, falling to 51.2, its lowest since June 2016, from 52.1 in March. The findings echoed a similar trend of slowing growth seen in China''s official factory and services surveys on Sunday, though the Caixin surveys have a smaller sample size and largely focus on small- and medium-sized firms. Analysts have predicted China''s economy would slowly lose steam in coming months after a strong first quarter, when it expanded by a faster-than-expected 6.9 percent. Momentum is expected to cool as authorities step up their battle to cool the overheated property sector and as the central bank and other regulators tighten credit conditions to rein in rising financial risks. "A turning point in growth appeared to have emerged at the beginning of the second quarter. Investors should be cautious about downward risks in the economy," said Zhengsheng Zhong, Director of Macroeconomic Analysis at CEBM Group in a note accompanying the data. Some business people also have told Reuters recently that they are worried about more limited access to credit and higher borrowing costs this year. BUSINESS LESS OPTIMISTIC Services companies remained generally optimistic that business activity will increase over the next year, according to the Caixin survey. But the degree of positive sentiment slipped to a five-month low and job creation slowed to its lowest so far this year. While the new business sub-component rebounded to 53.0 in April, the survey noted only 13 percent of companies surveyed reported higher new orders. Cost pressures also eased somewhat, as input prices rose at a slower pace and firms continued to pass on some of the costs to customers. China is counting on an increase in domestic consumption and new technologies to diversify its economic growth model from its traditional reliance on heavy industry and investment. (Reporting by Yawen Chen and Nicholas Heath; Editing by Kim Coghill)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-pmi-services-caixin-idUKKBN180072'|'2017-05-04T09:52:00.000+03:00' +'029abb3a23de18dff701fc80ad4a63aeab7151e2'|'TABLE-Hedge fund managers'' investment picks from Sohn conference'|' 16pm EDT TABLE-Hedge fund managers'' investment picks from Sohn conference NEW YORK, May 8 Hedge fund investor Keith Meister of Corvex Management LP on Monday kicked off the year''s most prominent investment conference by laying out the case for CenturyLink Inc shares, which he believes have an upside of 43 percent. Fine Capital Partners founder Debra Fine said she sees the fair value of DHX Media''s shares at C$20 to C$30 and the company''s EBITDA more than doubling in four years because childrens content is valuable and in demand. She said that the market has ignored the value of DHXs tax position and undervalued the track record of its management team. Below is a table listing some of the hedge fund managers who have spoken, or will speak, at the Sohn Investment Conference in New York, in order of appearance, and the investment ideas they presented to the audience: INVESTOR FIRM STOCK/BOND/CU NOTES RRENCY Keith Meister Corvex Bullish on Said Management CenturyLink CenturyLink/Level 3 LP Inc merger is "game changing," revealed Corvex owns 5.5 percent of CenturyLink. Debra Fine Fine Long DHX Pegged DHX Media''s Capital Media Ltd fair value at Partners LP C$20-C$30. Bill Ackman Pershing Pitched long Ackman has owned Square investment in HHC shares for some Capital Howard Hughes years. Said South Management Corp Street Seaport is LP highly valuable. Cited great management team, tax efficiency, excellent locations in United States. Chamath Social Palihapitiya Capital LP Davide Serra Algebris Investments Cliff Robbins Blue Harbour Group LP David Einhorn Greenlight Capital Inc Jeff Gundlach DoubleLine Capital LP Brad Gerstner Altimeter Capital Josh Resnick Jericho Capital Asset Management LP Larry Robbins Glenview Capital Management LLC (Compiled by Jennifer Ablan; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/funds-sohn-table-idUSL1N1IA14Y'|'2017-05-09T02:16:00.000+03:00' +'a675c7290a2bd073c1a6761afed3e0d392e46de0'|'Rocket Internet sees start-ups on track for profitability'|'Business News - Wed May 31, 2017 - 7:47am BST Rocket Internet sees start-ups on track for profitability FILE PHOTO: The logo of of Rocket Internet, a German venture capital group is pictured in this September 24, 2014 illustration photo in Sarajevo. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo BERLIN German e-commerce investor Rocket Internet said it is on track to turn three of its leading start-ups profitable by the end of the year as it reported lower losses in the first quarter on Wednesday. Chief Executive Oliver Samwer made the comments on a call with journalists after Rocket Internet reported results for its leading holdings and said it remained well funded with 1.5 billion euros (1.3 billion pounds) of cash. Samwer declined to comment on possible flotations after Reuters reported that online food takeaway firm Delivery Hero is set to float before the summer break, while meal kit company HelloFresh could follow in the autumn. Aggregate revenue rose 28 percent to 617 million euros in the first quarter, while the adjusted loss before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation was 100 million euros, down from 120 million a year ago. (Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Edward Taylor)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-rocket-internet-results-idUKKBN18R0OU'|'2017-05-31T14:47:00.000+03:00' +'1ae4e7d5889e0ca6f138619abada062b68b435a1'|'Few celebrations as 10th anniversary of global crisis nears'|'Business News - Fri May 19, 2017 - 11:36pm BST Few celebrations as 10th anniversary of global crisis nears People walk by the New York Stock Exchange in New York''s financial district March 11, 2014. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid By William Schomberg - LONDON LONDON In May 2007, Ben Bernanke, then chair of the Federal Reserve, said the problems in the U.S. subprime mortgage market probably would not hurt the economy or the banking system. With the admittedly huge benefit of hindsight, that was a misjudgment of epic proportions. It has taken a full 10 years since the onset of the global financial crisis for the world economy to show clear signs of recovery, and even now progress remains halting. In the United States, the unemployment rate is at its lowest in a decade, but pay is growing only slowly and a string of recent economic data has been weaker than expected. In Europe and Japan, growth is picking up speed, prompting the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan to start sending signals about eventually easing their economies off their huge stimulus program. But in Europe, Greece''s debt crisis remains far from over, even if the rest of the euro zone might help clear the way for more relief at a meeting of finance ministers on Monday. And although France voted in a centrist leader rather than a far-right populist this month, new President Emmanuel Macron may struggle to command a majority in parliament after elections in June. Investors remain nervous too about the prospects for euro-sceptic parties in elections in Austria this year and in Italy by May next year. In Asia, China has smoothed trade tensions with the United States, at least for now, but the world''s second-biggest economy is still trying to reign in its shadow banking system. And while emerging economies may ride on the coattails of global growth, there are glaring exceptions such as recession-hit Brazil and South Africa which are both in the grip of political crises. Group of Seven finance ministers and central bank governors sounded only cautiously confident as they wrapped up a meeting on May 13 in Italy. "I think a light wind of optimism was blowing at Bari," Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau told reporters in the southern Italian port city. "But let''s be clear, it''s a light breeze not a powerful wind." The most pressing question for most of the G7 was how far U.S. President Donald Trump would go to remove the world''s biggest economy from trade deals, water down global banking rules or pump up the dollar by turbo-charging the economy. That was before media reports that Trump had tried to stop an investigation into ties between his former national security adviser and Russia. The crisis in Washington triggered a rout in financial markets as investors all but gave up hope of Trump pulling off his ambitious tax cuts and started to consider the odds - still low - of an impeachment process. Analysts at Nomura said Trump''s worsening fortunes might affect the plans of the Federal Reserve which is widely expected to raise interest rates again in June. "Although the Fed has not fully embedded fiscal policy into its thinking, we will be keenly watching for any updates from Fed speakers if they are dialing back fiscal stimulus drivers," Nomura said in a note to clients. Several Fed policymakers are due to speak over the coming days, and the U.S. central bank will publish minutes of its May meeting - which took place before the recent escalation of the crisis - on Wednesday. Trump himself is due to meet leaders of the other G7 economies in Taormina in southern Italy for a summit on Friday and Saturday, and is likely to come under pressure not to turn his back on the global approach to issues such as trade and climate change. On the data front, Friday brings the second reading of U.S. gross domestic product in the first quarter which is expected to be revised up from a preliminary estimate of annual growth of 0.7 percent, the weakest growth in three years but which many economists see as a blip. On Thursday, Britain also reports its second estimate of first-quarter GDP which, according to a Reuters poll of economists, is likely to confirm quarterly growth of 0.3 percent, less than half the pace of the previous three months. The slowdown has served a sign of how last year''s Brexit vote and the ensuing sharp rise in inflation are weighing on the world''s fifth-biggest economy, even if some early data for the second quarter suggest no further deterioration. By contrast, estimates of the manufacturing and service sectors in the euro area, to be published on Tuesday by data firm Markit, are expected to show growth holding at close to its strongest level in more than six years. (Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Hugh Lawson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-economy-weekahead-idUKKCN18F27X'|'2017-05-20T02:31:00.000+03:00' +'6308ea8627792675d4675025d8605381d53a6ef3'|'European shares ease, Unicredit boosts Italian banks'|'* STOXX 600 down 0.2 pct* Italian banks rise after Unicredit results* U.S. seismic survey permit review boosts TGS* BT falls after revealing restructuring plan (ADVISORY- Follow European and UK stock markets in real time on the Reuters Live Markets blog on Eikon, see cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets)By Helen ReidLONDON, May 11 Italian banks shone in lacklustre European trading on Thursday after Unicredit''s results indicated its turnaround was gathering pace.Europe''s STOXX 600 slipped 0.1 percent, while the eurozone''s broader stocks and blue-chip indices fell 0.2 percent.Financials were a bright spot for the second day running, with Unicredit up 4.4 percent after rising revenues and lower loan losses gave it better-than-expected first-quarter profits."We believe that strong headlines across the board on asset quality, capital and profit recovery should all support continued re-rating of the stock," said Jefferies analysts.Italy''s banking index tested its highest levels in more than a year as Mediobanca, Ubi Banca, and Banco BPM rose 1.8 to 3.5 percent. Italian blue chips outperformed their European peers, rising 0.3 percent."If the market wants to continue buying the reflation trade, Italian banks are the most sensitive to rising rates," said Antonio Guglielmi, head of equity markets at Mediobanca.Hikma shares fell 8 percent, making it the worst-performing European stock. Its flagship generic drug, Advair, suffered a setback in its approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.Telecoms stocks were among the worst-performing, with BT down 2.5 percent after it announced 4,000 job cuts in a restructuring to recover from a year it called "challenging".Shares in Britain''s biggest telecoms company have not recovered from a 20 percent drop after it revealed accounting malpractices in Italy in January.Spain''s Telefonica fell 1.7 percent after its results.Heat-pump maker Nibe Industrier was the top gainer, up 7.6 percent after its first-quarter profits beat forecasts.Norwegian seismic surveyor TGS gained 5.8 percent after the U.S. Department of Interior said it would review applications from TGS and five other companies to conduct seismic surveys in the Atlantic Ocean, reversing its previous stance.Broker downgrades weighed on some of the top fallers. Centrica fell 5.8 percent after JP Morgan cut it to "underweight".Analysts at the bank said they saw "significant downside" emerging through price regulation of the standard energy tariff, a policy proposal announced by Prime Minister May on Tuesday, and emerging evidence of a ''price war'' with competitor Engie.A rating cut from Citigroup sent German reinsurer Hannover Re down 5 percent.German commercial broadcaster ProSiebensat fell 5.3 percent after it reported a disappointing advertising outlook.It dragged on media stocks, which fell 1.3 percent, the top sectoral fallers.European shares were underpinned by strong corporate earnings, with 20 percent earnings growth for the first quarter so far. Two-thirds of European companies have reported and 70 percent beat expectations, according to Thomson Reuters data.(Reporting by Helen Reid, Editing by Vikram Subhedar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/europe-stocks-idINL8N1ID345'|'2017-05-11T07:45:00.000+03:00' +'ef4d20fd617a741c020b42660d307378619f4a7c'|'Buffett''s Berkshire Hathaway set for growth through 2018: Barron''s'|'Business News - Sun May 21, 2017 - 1:34pm EDT Buffett''s Berkshire Hathaway set for growth through 2018: Barron''s Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett waits to play table tennis during the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting weekend in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. May 7, 2017. REUTERS/Rick Wilking Shares of Berkshire Hathaway ( BRKa.N ), the conglomerate run by billionaire Warren Buffett, could see double digit gains over the next year and a half even if the legendary chairman and chief executive decides to retire, a report in Barron''s financial newspaper said. The company''s Class A shares could have an upside of 15 percent to 20 percent through the end of 2018 based on likely growth in its book value, given the company''s diversified earnings stream, long-term focus and nearly $100 million (76.7 million pounds) in cash and securities, Barron''s said in it May 22 edition. Barclay''s analyst Jay Gelb, quoted in the article, forecast Berkshire''s book value rising 9 percent to 10 percent annually over the next two years. Buffett''s eventual successor is likely to begin paying a dividend and be more aggressive in buying back shares, the report predicted. Barron''s sees Berkshire Hathaway Energy head Greg Abel as the most likely person to be tabbed to "step into Warren Buffett''s legendary shoes." Berkshire shares, which rose 23 percent in 2016, are flat this year after giving back gains seen earlier during the post-election rally. They closed at $244,910 on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday. (Reporting by Bill Berkrot; Editing by Phil Berlowitz) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-berkshire-hatha-barrons-idUSKBN18H0Y4'|'2017-05-22T01:34:00.000+03:00' +'0e317a11a57c72ba629a599151bccc913e04bc3a'|'UK competition regulator formally opens Tesco-Booker probe'|'LONDON Britain''s competition regulator has formally opened an investigation into Tesco''s ( TSCO.L ) 3.7 billion pound ($4.8 billion) plan to buy wholesaler Booker ( BOK.L ), seeking to establish whether it could reduce competition and choice for customers.Tesco, Britain''s biggest retailer, announced the cash and shares deal in January in a bid to increase its exposure to the fast growing catering sector.The Competition and Markets Authority said on Tuesday the phase 1 investigation would run until July 25."During this period, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will assess whether the deal could reduce competition and choice for shoppers and other customers, such as stores currently supplied by Booker," it said.After the first phase, the CMA could either clear the deal or refer it for a full phase 2 investigation lasting up to 24 weeks unless the merging parties offer proposals addressing any concerns.(Reporting by Kate Holton, editing by James Davey)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-booker-group-m-a-tesco-idINKBN18Q156'|'2017-05-30T09:27:00.000+03:00' +'591f7b40b4e2cba9b8569787dcc283d5336bffee'|'Saudi Aramco says to set up new chemicals unit'|'JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia Saudi Aramco plans to set up a new chemicals subsidiary, the company said in its official magazine, The Arabian Sun, on Wednesday."The Board... approved the creation of a new subsidiary to conduct the company''s chemicals business," Aramco said. It did not give further details in the weekly in-house publication.Aramco''s board met last week in Shanghai to discuss the company''s plans and appointed a new downstream head as well as several vice presidents in other key positions.Abdulaziz al-Judaimi was named as senior vice president for downstream operations.Downstream, covering refining and chemicals, is an important area for the company as it diversifies operations as it prepares for an initial public offering (IPO) next year, when around 5 percent of the firm is expected to be listed in Riyadh and on other international bourses.Last year, Judaimi, then business line head for downstream, said Saudi Aramco aims to almost triple its chemicals production to 34 million metric tons per year by 2030.Over the same period Aramco''s global refining capacity target is to raise it to 8-10 million barrels per day (bpd) from more than 5 million bpd now.Developing petrochemicals is part of the kingdom''s major economic reform plan, known as Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the economy away from oil.This will also help Aramco boost value from hydrocarbons by securing revenue streams and become less vulnerable to oil price swings.The oil giant is planning to develop a massive oil to chemicals project with Saudi Basic Industries Corp < 2010.SE> which industry sources say will cost more than $20 billion.(Reporting by Reem Shamseddine; Editing by Rania El Gamal)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-aramco-chemicals-idINKCN18D1MP'|'2017-05-17T11:17:00.000+03:00' +'9e0c45d014a6baf6badb677de3ba0721e1567b42'|'UPDATE 1-Fed official warns Fannie-Freddie reforms could cause shocks'|'* Rosengren highlights huge footprint in multi-family market* Cites risk of sharp U.S. unemployment drop (Recasts to focus on GSE reform, adds)By Jonathan Spicer and Herbert LashNEW YORK, May 9 A Federal Reserve official warned U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday that any reforms that reduce the massive lending presence of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the multi-family real estate market could shock that sector of the economy.Members of Congress and the Trump administration have signaled they will overhaul the two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), which the government took over during the 2008 financial crisis, after they suffered massive losses on bad mortgages.Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren, who also used a speech to warn about the inflationary pressures if U.S. unemployment were to drop much further, said the agencies hold or guarantee some 44 percent of multi-family loans."Policymakers looking to reform the GSEs might look at the GSEs'' large and growing footprint in the market and ask whether this level of government-sponsored exposure is safe, and whether that level of government support is appropriate," he said at New York University Stern School of Business."A potential and significant shock to this sector of the commercial real estate market could occur if proposals require the GSEs to reduce their holdings of multi-family loans."Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has said Fannie and Freddie, which guarantee U.S. home loans and repackage them into securities for sale to investors, cannot be left as is for the next four years.Several reform ideas have been floated in recent years, ranging from turning the GSEs into public companies to phasing them out completely.It was at least the third time in recent months that Rosengren, an influential regional Fed president, raised concerns about high U.S. real estate prices and how that might exacerbate any future economic downturn.Scott Crowe, chief investment strategist at CenterSquare Investment Management, a real asset investment arm of BNY Mellon, said the Fed has closely examined multi-family apartment supply in gateway cities such as New York and San Francisco.The Fed''s focus has tightened credit-lending standards significantly the past six to eight months, he added."We haven''t built new apartments or any real estate asset type to the point where you''re seeing significant rent reductions, bankruptcies or people losing a lot of money," he said.The Fed has raised rates twice since December in part due to the strong labor market.Rosengren said U.S. unemployment at 4.4 percent has dropped below its natural equilibrium and could overheat the economy and prompt faster interest-rate hikes if it were to drop below 4 percent. He estimates the "natural employment" level - or the lowest possible level before wage pressures push inflation too high - is roughly 4.7 percent.He cited a survey in which private economists give a 10 percent chance of unemployment falling below 4 percent."Such an overheated economy would likely be accompanied by higher inflation, which in turn would likely elicit higher interest rates," he said at a commercial real estate conference. (Reporting by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Alistair Bell)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-fed-rosengren-idINL1N1IB148'|'2017-05-09T15:58:00.000+03:00' +'4b8e94db977b95f5e369eb7177a2a96e007b76a0'|'Prosecutor''s search of VW''s dieselgate law firm was legal - court'|'Business News - Mon May 15, 2017 - 10:11am BST Prosecutor''s search of VW''s dieselgate law firm was legal - court FILE PHOTO: The Volkswagen logo on display at the 87th International Motor Show at Palexpo in Geneva, Switzerland March 8, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo MUNICH A Munich prosecutor''s search of the German offices U.S. law firm that Volkswagen hired to investigate its emissions scandal was legal, a spokeswoman for a Munich court said on Monday, rejecting a complaint from VW. Europe''s biggest carmaker had filed a legal complaint with the court against the searches, carried out on March 15. (Reporting by Joern Poltz; Writing by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Georgina Prodhan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-volkswagen-emissions-court-idUKKCN18B0XU'|'2017-05-15T17:11:00.000+03:00' +'2d771cda491a176e42e0b99eddf6400ab06022b9'|'BRIEF-Kinross announces vend-in of Yukon property to White Gold Corp'|'Market 35pm EDT BRIEF-Kinross announces vend-in of Yukon property to White Gold Corp May 18 Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd * Kinross announces vend-in of Yukon property to create White Gold Corp strategic alliance * Kinross Gold Corp - entered into an agreement to acquire an approximately 19.9% interest in White Gold Corp * Kinross Gold - acquired interest in White Gold by selling its 100% interest in white gold exploration project in Yukon territory to White Gold Corp Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-kinross-announces-vend-in-of-yukon-idUSFWN1IK0MV'|'2017-05-19T01:35:00.000+03:00' +'9be917b95bd1b013802250e9fa94e45434cd5091'|'ADM Brazil unit completes $85 mln Santos port investment'|'Market News - Fri May 19, 2017 - 1:34pm EDT ADM Brazil unit completes $85 mln Santos port investment SANTOS, Brazil May 19 The Brazilian unit of Archer Daniels Midland Co on Friday said it had completed a 33 percent expansion in its Santos port terminal''s export capacity to 8 million tonnes of grains per year. The company invested 280 million reais ($85.19 million) in the project, which comes two years after Brazil extended ADM''s license to move grains including soybeans and corns at the terminal for 20 years through 2037. The investment underscores the companys commitment to retaining a leading position in Brazil, whose agricultural heartland is seen as critical to supplying expanding world food markets. ADM kicked off activity at Santos in 1997, coinciding with its arrival in Brazil, which the company says is key for its global strategy. It began the Santos port operations after purchasing several crushing plants, grain elevators and silos. ($1 = 3.2868 reais) (Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Christian Plumb and Cynthia Osterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-logistics-archer-daniels-idUSL2N1IL16L'|'2017-05-20T01:34:00.000+03:00' +'213a9797dbf92e8e1569fb2994c7f7006ca015f2'|'Ransomware cyber attack hits Telefonica, other Spanish firms'|'Business News 3:52pm BST Ransomware cyber attack hits Telefonica, other Spanish firms An illustration picture shows a projection of binary code on a man holding a laptop computer, in an office in Warsaw June 24, 2013. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel MADRID Spain''s government warned on Friday that a large number of companies had been attacked by cyber criminals who infected computers with malicious software known as ransomware that locks up computers and demands ransoms to restore access. The victims included Telefonica ( TEF.MC ), the nations biggest telecommunications firm, while other Spanish firms such as power company Iberdrola ( IBE.MC ) and utility Gas Natural ( GAS.MC ) took preventive measures. "There has been an alert relating to a massive ransomware attack on various organisations, which is affecting their Windows systems," Spain''s National Cryptology Centre said in a statement. The ransomware is a version of the WannaCry virus, which encrypts sensitive user data, the National Cryptology Centre said. Spain is the latest nation to warn of a global surge in ransomware. Hacks have disrupted services provided by hospitals, police departments, public transportation systems and utilities in the United States and Europe. In Britain on Friday, hospitals were hit by large-scale cyber attacks, the Guardian newspaper reported. It was not immediately clear how many Spanish organizations had been compromised by the attacks, if any critical services had been interrupted or whether victims had paid cyber criminals to regain access to their networks. Telefonica said in a statement it had detected a "cybersecurity incident" that was limited to some of its employees'' computers on its internal network and it had not affected its clients or services. The cyber attack involved a window appearing on employees'' computer screens that demanded payment with the virtual currency bitcoin in order to gain access to files, a Telefonica spokesman said. "News (of this attack) has been exaggerated and our colleagues are working on it right now," Telefonica Chief Data Officer Chema Alonso, a well-known cyber security expert, said on Twitter. Iberdrola ( IBE.MC ) and Gas Natural ( GAS.MC ), along with Vodafone''s unit in Spain ( VOD.L ), asked staff to turn off computers or cut off internet access in case they had been compromised, representatives from the firms said. The cyber attack had not affected the provision of the companies'' services or the operation of their networks and the national cybersecurity institute was working to resolve it as soon as possible, the Spanish government said in a statement. (Reporting by Carlos Ruano and Jose Rodriguez in Madrid; Writing by Sarah White and Angus Berwick; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-spain-cyber-idUKKBN1881TI'|'2017-05-12T22:36:00.000+03:00' +'e2b7fbf515fe034b014b956ace25160aaa92b180'|'Dutch considering law to protect companies from foreign takeover'|'Business News 10:57am BST Dutch considering law to protect companies from foreign takeover AMSTERDAM The Netherlands government on Saturday said it is considering a law that would give Dutch publicly listed companies a one-year period of "thinking time" during which they could freely reject any approach by a foreign buyer. The announcement by Economic Affairs Minister Henk Kamp comes amid a surge in nationalist and protectionist sentiment in the Netherlands. It also comes as U.S. paint-maker PPG Industries ( PPG.N ) seeks to buy Dutch based rival Akzo Nobel ( AKZO.AS ) with a 26.3 billion euro ($29.47 billion) offer that is widely backed by the company''s foreign shareholder base but opposed by the company''s Dutch-controlled board. Kamp has said a takeover of Akzo Nobel is not in the Dutch national interest. (Reporting by Toby Sterling Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-netherlands-m-a-protectionism-idUKKCN18G0BW'|'2017-05-20T17:57:00.000+03:00' +'6bd79236cbf79b8ec44ee3aae6f1c28c1bcc96ef'|'Portugal Telecom says hit by cyber attack, no impact on services'|'Technology 5:12pm BST Portugal Telecom says hit by cyber attack, no impact on services LISBON Portugal Telecom was hit on Friday by a cyber attack but no services were impacted, a spokeswoman for the company said. "We were the target of an attack, like what is happening in all of Europe, a large scale-attack, but none of our services were affected," a Portugal Telecom spokeswoman told Reuters. Portugal Telecom was taking all measures necessary, together with national authorities, to resolve the situation, she said. In neighboring Spain, the government said on Friday a large number of companies had been attacked by cyber criminals who infected computers with malicious software known as "ransomware." A spokesman at Portugal''s judicial police said he had no information on the cyber attacks. Energy firm Energias de Portugal, Portugal''s largest company, cut access to the internet on its network as a precaution to the attacks registered in Europe, said a spokesman for the company. He said no problems had been registered on its systems. (Reporting By Patricia Rua and Axel Bugge)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-portugal-cyber-idUKKBN1882AP'|'2017-05-13T00:08:00.000+03:00' +'985c91e242f2bdf414381d45875e406d28232b15'|'Corporate insurgency: Management lessons from an American general'|'STANLEY MCCHRYSTALS voice is hoarse as he addresses a packed arena in Helsinki. His audience, mostly businessmen in dark suits, is rapt. The American former general tells thrilling battlefield stories of leading the Joint Special Operations Command in Iraq, which captured Saddam Hussein and killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaedas local chief. He explains how his outfit adapted against an unexpectedly difficult enemy. A change in management style let his group go from conducting a handful of raids each month to hundreds, achieving better results against insurgents.Neither Americas occupation of Iraq nor Mr McChrystals military career ended well. He went on to lead Western forces in Afghanistan, but stood down in 2010 after falling out with his political bosses. He reinvented himself as a management consultant. His McChrystal Group employs 65 people. It draws on its founders experience hunting insurgents to advise businesses, including on Wall Street, on corporate culture. What insight does an old soldier offer? Mr McChrystal is an apostle of devolved responsibility, or letting junior employees know and do more. One convert is his host in Helsinki: Reaktor, a 17-year-old firm of 400 staff, mostly coders, with a side-interest in launching satellites. An employee, Mikko Olkkonen, explains that we have no hierarchy, no bosses, no targets, no quarters. It heeds Mr McChrystals approach: firms can adapt in complex competitive environments, he argues, only if information is shared and teams of capable staffnot just the bosscan take decisions. It also helps greatly with recruiting to say that junior staff will have clout early in their careers.A variety of big firms are listening. Mr McChrystal sits on the board of JetBlue Airways and of an American subsidiary of Siemens, a German engineering company. His firm advises Barrick Gold, a Canadian miner; Under Armour, a sportswear brand; a large bank; and several hospitals. Any assignment begins with discovery by an intelligence analyst who previously assessed the organisational structure of al-Qaeda. She works out who takes decisions inside companies. The reality usually differs from formal organisation charts.The management ideas I believe in are not revolutionary, but I came at it from a different experience, says the ex-general. He says firms should break apart silos and get employees talking. Mr McChrystals advice on devolved power has its limitsno army, after all, has done away with hierarchies entirely, and even decentralised al-Qaeda was weakened by removing its leaders. It is hard to know how much his big corporate clients use the approach in pursuing sales and markets. But hearing an ex-general disparage hierarchies so forcefully thrills employees. Even as a Reaktor staffer explained in Helsinki that Finns rarely idolise heroes, the crowd sent Mr McChrystal off with an excited ovation. Business "Corporate insurgency"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21721954-stanley-mcchrystal-advises-blue-chip-firms-give-junior-staff-more-power-management-lessons?fsrc=rss'|'2017-05-11T22:53:00.000+03:00' +'4ea28e3dd28796f75d1d5f30dbecc7092cbcb82b'|'Nippon Steel calls for command to alternate at Brazil''s Usiminas'|'By Alberto Alerigi Jr - SAO PAULO SAO PAULO Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp ( 5401.T ) wants to implement a system to alternate command at Brazilian steelmaker Usinas Siderrgicas de Minas Gerais SA ( USIM5.SA ) with fellow controlling shareholder Ternium SA, a senior executive said on Tuesday.Almost three years of boardroom battles between Ternium and Nippon Steel for control of Usiminas have distracted management and hampered efforts to buffer Brazil''s largest listed maker of flat steel from the country''s worst recession on record. Both Nippon Steel and Ternium have tried to secure power over the debt-laden steelmaker through court decisions.An agreement with Ternium on how to alternate power at Usiminas without having an option to buy out one another needs to be reached quickly, said Kazuhiro Egawa, Nippon Steel''s newly sworn-in head of operations for the Americas.In a phone interview, Egawa said a March decision by the board of Usiminas to replace a Nippon Steel-backed executive as chief executive officer was illegal. He rebuffed Ternium''s call for the implementation of an exit clause in their shareholder accord, noting that Nippon Steel has no intentions to leave Brazil or Usiminas."We have had all type of joint ventures around the world, but the only place where we''ve had problems is Brazil," Egawa said. "Usiminas remains our main concern in the Americas."Egawa declined to list alternatives to end the conflict with Ternium but cited a rotating command as a feasible option. He will focus on convincing Usiminas board members who represent the steelmaker''s employees to endorse such a mechanism.(Writing by Tatiana Bautzer; Editing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Cynthia Osterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-nippon-steel-usiminas-idINKBN18602T'|'2017-05-09T22:44:00.000+03:00' +'afcb6698f27e642e9eab64c9c0dda20f28d06ec5'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX rises on financials and BlackBerry but energy weighs'|'Market News 25am EDT CANADA STOCKS-TSX rises on financials and BlackBerry but energy weighs (Updates index and stock movements, details on BlackBerry jump) * TSX up 41.97 points, or 0.27 percent, to 15,500.43 * Five of the TSX''s 10 main groups rise TORONTO, May 23 Canada''s main stock index rose on Tuesday after the Victoria Day holiday Monday, bolstered by bank stocks and a surge in BlackBerry Ltd shares. BlackBerry Ltd stock jumped 8.8 percent to C$15.27, as investors raised expectations that the technology company''s cyber security and automotive software sectors will post strong growth, an analyst said. This month''s global "ransomware" attack, dubbed WannaCry, has raised awareness of BlackBerry''s security software business, while Ford Motor Co said late Friday it would start using an "over the air" system to update software on its interactive touchscreen system, which runs on BlackBerry software. The information technology group rose 0.8 percent. At 11:03 a.m. (1503 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index was up 41.97 points, or 0.27 percent, to 15,500.43. Of the index''s 10 main groups, half were in positive territory. The index was tracking U.S. markets, which rose ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump''s first full budget plan that is aimed at slashing government spending and trimming the deficit. The most influential mover on the index was Toronto Dominion Bank, which rose 0.9 percent to C$63.64. Royal Bank of Canada followed, with a 0.8 percent advance to C$93.76. The overall financials group, which account for about a third of the index''s weight, gained 0.7 percent. Energy stocks tempered gains, retreating 0.7 percent as crude prices dipped earlier in the session on news of a White House proposal to sell off half the country''s huge oil stockpile, threatening a future glut. Suncor Energy Inc fell 1.0 percent to C$42.87, while Encana Corp declined 1.1 percent to C$15.13. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the TSX by 132 to 111, for a 1.19-to-1 ratio on the upside. The index posted 11 new 52-week highs and no new lows. (Reporting by Solarina Ho; Editing by James Dalgleish)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-idUSL1N1IP13O'|'2017-05-23T23:25:00.000+03:00' +'0c9ec4b5468dbf3ec2c41e3a99dd68ee83be8d3c'|'EU proposes time limits on cheaper foreign truckers'|'Business News 2:06pm BST EU proposes time limits on cheaper foreign truckers FILE PHOTO: Trucks pass through an electronic toll gate on the A10 highway south of Berlin February 26, 2015. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File on Wednesday proposed limits on the number of days that foreign truck drivers can cross the bloc on lower wages, responding to pressure from richer EU countries. Hauliers from France and Germany and other higher-earning states had complained that competitors from Eastern Europe were undercutting them by sending drivers into their territories with much smaller pay packets. Under the new rules, foreign drivers would be considered a "posted worker" - potentially meaning they would get at least the minimum wage of the country they were in - if they spent three days or more per month working away from home. Newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron urged the Commission last week to do more to curb an influx of low-paid east Europeans working on temporary assignments in France, warning that it was sapping support for the EU. Eastern European countries have complained that restrictions on their drivers are protectionist. But haulage companies in higher-wage countries complain that truck businesses from eastern Europe have taken an unfair share of the trans-European road freight market. The proposals are part of an overhaul of mobility and transport in Europe that will also include new rules on road tolls and a push for digitalisation. A future batch of proposals will focus on emission standards. "Right now it''s a mess," said Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc. "We are more and more connected and dependent on each other. Hauliers are a very important part of logistics and need to have clear rules." Under the commission''s proposals, foreign truckers would also be allowed to carry out deliveries outside their home country for up to five days after they have made an international delivery. Currently, they are allowed to do three "cabotage" operations within seven days. Truck drivers would have to take a regular weekly rest - of 45 hours after six days work - outside truck cabins. (Reporting By Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Andrew Heavens)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-wages-roads-idUKKBN18R1TT'|'2017-05-31T21:06:00.000+03:00' +'7ffbacd7557d3439e6fe2d027a38a510304f355d'|'Glass Lewis recommends Buffalo Wild Wings'' board nominees'|'Business News - Fri May 26, 2017 - 9:19am EDT Glass Lewis recommends Buffalo Wild Wings'' board nominees A pedestrian walks past a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant in New York, U.S., February 6, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson Proxy adviser Glass Lewis & Co LLC recommended shareholders of Buffalo Wild Wings ( BWLD.O ) to vote for the company''s slate of directors, saying activist hedge fund Marcato Capital had failed to make a compelling case for making changes to the board. Glass Lewis''s recommendation on Friday comes two days after another adviser, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), recommended voting for Marcato''s nominees. Marcato, which owns a 6.1 percent stake in Buffalo Wild Wings, launched a proxy fight in February, nominating four directors for the nine-member board. "We believe the dissident''s nominees, other than the one also nominated by the company, either have experience that would not be additive to the refreshed board or potential conflicts which weakens their candidacies," Glass Lewis said in a report. ISS has put its weight behind Marcato nominees Mick McGuire, the hedge fund''s founder, and Scott Bergren, the former chief executive of Yum Brands'' ( YUM.N ) restaurant chain, Pizza Hut. It has also backed Sam Rovit, a former Kraft Foods'' executive, who has been nominated by both Marcato and the company. ISS did not recommend support for Lee Sanders, the former chief development officer at TGI Fridays. Buffalo Wild Wings will hold its annual meeting on June 2. Among its demands, Marcato has asked for Chief Executive Sally Smith to be replaced. (Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-buffalo-wild-marcato-idUSKBN18M1LO'|'2017-05-26T21:17:00.000+03:00' +'5b9247237f133ae634f2174abebc8136526d55cb'|'Boeing suspends 737 MAX flights due to engine issue - Reuters'|'By Alwyn Scott - SEATTLE SEATTLE Boeing Co ( BA.N ) must get the go-ahead from the U.S. aviation regulator in order to put its 737 MAX jetliner back into the air after the planemaker announced on Wednesday it had grounded the new aircraft due to an engine problem, just as it was set to start deliveries.The regulatory hurdle could push back the resumption of 737 MAX flights, a potentially serious issue for Boeing if it delays the scheduled first deliveries of the $110 million plane to airlines this month.The delivery of a plane is a crucial step for Boeing since it receives the bulk of its payment when it turns over the aircraft keys and airlines fly their new planes home from the factory.Boeing and engine maker CFM International must submit data to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the FAA has to "review it and determine that those engines can be cleared for flight," said Jamie Jewell a spokesman for CFM, a joint venture between General Electric Co ( GE.N ) and Safran SA ( SAF.PA ) of France.It was not immediately clear how long that process might take. The FAA spokeswoman said she was checking on the matter.Boeing said it still plans to deliver the first of the planes to customers this month. It said on Wednesday it had suspended 737 MAX test flights due to a quality issue with some of the low-pressure turbine discs in the engine, known as the LEAP-1B.The nickel-based alloy discs had a flaw from forging that could make them prone to cracking, Jewell said, adding that discs from a second supplier were not affected.However, the FAA review applies to all LEAP-1B engines, Jewell said, not just the 30 to 40 with suspected bad parts."In their mind, all LEAP-1B engines are equal," she said.KEY MONEYMAKERBoeing has engines at the factory without the suspected parts, but CFM and Boeing "have to demonstrate to the FAA''s satisfaction that the issue is not present," Jewell said.The engines could be installed in short order once approval is granted, Jewell said.The "suspect engines" will be shipped to CFM facilities in the United States and France for inspection and possible repair.Safran said earlier Thursday that it expected inspections to be completed within a few weeks. "We are doing everything to ensure that the first delivery can go ahead in May," Safran Aircraft Engines'' Chief Executive Olivier Andries told reporters.The 737 MAX replaces an older version of Boeing''s best-selling single-aisle aircraft, a key moneymaker for the aerospace company. The 737 MAX 8, the first version of the plane to be built, seats 162 passengers in a typical two-class configuration.Boeing had been set to deliver the first 737 MAX on Monday to Malindo Air of Malaysia.Boeing has built up an inventory of planes outside its Renton, Washington, factory, and at a nearby Seattle airport known as Boeing Field. Reuters counted 23 Boeing 737 MAX airplanes at the facilities this week, excluding test aircraft.The 737 MAX 8 carries a list price of $110 million but typically sells at a steep discount.(Additional reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Phil Berlowitz and Bill Rigby)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/boeing-737max-engine-idINKBN1870IN'|'2017-05-11T04:14:00.000+03:00' +'b8717c1a48b9f129ffbac7902e825883f85974ee'|'BRIEF-Japan trade min: Ministry will not meet with WD about Toshiba since it is not directly involved'|'DIARY-Top Economic Events to July 28 Political and general news This Diary is filed daily. ** Indicates new events FRIDAY, MAY 26 MONTREUX, Switzerland - ECB Board Member Benoit Ceure participates in 24th Reunion of the Governors des Banques Centrales des Pays Francophones Organized by the Swiss National Bank - 2000 GMT. * Melco Resorts Finance - priced its international offering of senior notes due 2025 MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-japan-trade-min-ministry-will-not-idUST9N1HJ02D'|'2017-05-26T08:02:00.000+03:00' +'d392b56dea6bb964e06460d92f74cc9300d07964'|'Global air freight demand growth in March strongest in 6-1/2 years -IATA'|'Company News - Wed May 3, 2017 - 6:27am EDT Global air freight demand growth in March strongest in 6-1/2 years -IATA May 3 Global air freight demand in March rose 14 percent, the strongest since October 2010, boosted by an uptick in world trade and strong export orders, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Wednesday. "Optimism is returning to the industry as the business stabilizes after many years in the doldrums. There is, however, still much lost ground to recover while facing the dual headwinds of rising fuel and labor costs," said IATA Director General and CEO Alexandre de Juniac. Air freight demand, measured in freight tonne kilometres, was primarily driven by increased shipment of silicon materials used in high-value consumer electronics devices, such as smartphones. Available capacity rose 4.2 percent in March, meaning that load factors rose by 4.1 percentage points to 47.4 percent. Last week, Germany''s Lufthansa reported its first operating profit since 2008 due to improved demand at its air freight division. (Reported by Evangelo Sipsas; Editing by Thyagaraju Adinarayan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/airlines-iata-freight-idUSL8N1I535C'|'2017-05-03T18:27:00.000+03:00' +'524cf2f201615fe8dec05d57cb61a33a9208f690'|'Ford to cut 10 percent of its salaried workforce in North America, Asia'|'Ford Motor Co ( F.N ) said on Wednesday that it plans to cut 10 percent of its salaried workforce in North America and Asia.The U.S. automaker employed about 201,000 workers globally as of Dec. 31.Reuters reported the news on Monday, citing a source familiar with the matter.(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D''Couto)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ford-motor-layoffs-idUSKCN18D1G0'|'2017-05-17T20:02:00.000+03:00' +'16fad4bb0931a60962a181ec064801a90c6ff355'|'BRIEF-Deutsche Telekom CEO says not excluding anything in U.S.'|' 39am EDT BRIEF-Deutsche Telekom CEO says not excluding anything in U.S. May 11 Deutsche Telekom * CEO says not excluding anything in u.s. Market * CEO says still believes stake in bt is valuable asset despite impairments (Frankfurt Newsroom) KKR''s Pillarstone granted license to manage bad loans in Greece NICOSIA, May 11 Greece''s central bank has granted a license to Pillarstone, the platform set up by private equity firm KKR, to provide long-term capital to large Greek corporate borrowers and manage non-performing exposures for Greek banks, Eurobank said on Thursday.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-deutsche-telekom-ceo-says-not-excl-idUSL8N1ID357'|'2017-05-11T16:39:00.000+03:00' +'4ed0c8d0e0c6b2b123c88e53849901d4e7b559a6'|'Total, Inpex propose taking 39 percent stake in Indonesia''s Mahakam block: government official'|'JAKARTA Total E&P Indonesie, a unit of French major Total ( TOTF.PA ), and Japan''s Inpex Corp ( 1605.T ) have proposed taking a 39 percent stake in the new production sharing contract (PSC) for the Mahakam block, an Indonesian government official said on Friday.Indonesia''s government in 2015 offered the two companies - operators of the offshore Mahakam oil and gas block - a smaller stake of 30 percent in the new PSC, with Indonesia''s national oil company Pertamina [PERTM.UL] taking the rest. The two companies'' current contract expires at the end of this year.Indonesia''s deputy energy minister Arcandra Tahar said the government has yet to respond to Total and Inpex. The government is asking Pertamina to calculate the value of the Mahakam block to determine the price of the stake, he said."The government will decide (whether they get) 30 or 39 percent," Tahar told reporters. "We''re evaluating, but the point is it will depend on the valuation."Total''s Indonesia spokesman declined to comment. Inpex spokesman did not answer phone calls or respond to texted requests for comment.Total and Inpex have also requested the addition of several clauses to the new contract, Tahar said, including being able to sell gas at market prices to domestic buyers, getting a 17 percent investment credit for developing the block, and the acceleration of asset depreciation.Under the new PSC, Pertamina will be the main operator of Mahakam starting January 1, 2018. Pertamina will also have to sell 10 percent of the block to the government of East Kalimantan province, Tahar said.Total expected Mahakam''s gas output to drop to 1.43 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2017 and oil production to 53,000 barrels per day (bpd), both down from the block''s 2016 production levels, it said in December.(Reporting by Wilda Asmarini; Writing by Gayatri Suroyo; Editing by Tom Hogue)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-mahakam-total-inpex-c-idINKBN1880WW'|'2017-05-12T06:28:00.000+03:00' +'0febb8a8d2a27392e574d97d8e33ed23676aad63'|'Glencore in talks to sell some Peru, other mining royalties - sources'|'Business News - Wed May 3, 2017 - 6:28pm BST Glencore in talks to sell Peru, other mining royalties - sources FILE PHOTO: The logo of Glencore is seen in front of the company''s headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, September 7, 2012. REUTERS/Michael Buholzer/File Photo By Clara Denina and Nicole Mordant - LONDON/VANCOUVER LONDON/VANCOUVER Mining-trading group Glencore Plc ( GLEN.L ) has hired the Bank of Nova Scotia ( BNS.TO ) to sell a portfolio of royalty assets, including one for the Antamina copper-zinc mine in Peru, four people familiar with the process have told Reuters. The Antamina mine royalty makes up the bulk of the value of the package and could fetch up to $250 million (193.5 million), the sources said. The portfolio includes several much smaller royalties from other mines and exploration assets owned by Glencore around the world, they added. It is not clear whether Glencore will sell 100 percent of the royalties, which gives the owner the right to receive a percentage of production from a mining operation, or retain a stake in them. There is no certainty the process will result in a deal, the sources said. The people, whom Reuters spoke to over a period of several days, declined to be named as the talks were confidential. Glencore declined to comment. Bank of Nova Scotia did not have an immediate comment. The London-listed miner owns and operates nickel, zinc, copper and coal mines around the world and also owns royalties on several operations. Glencore is looking to maximize the value of its assets as it moves from cost-cutting to pursuing growth. Following the commodities crash of 2015 and early 2016, the company sold off assets to cut debt after its earnings and shares were pummelled by a commodities downturn. Potential buyers of the royalty portfolio could include mining royalty and streaming companies such as Canada-based Franco-Nevada Corp ( FNV.TO ) and Silver Wheaton Corp ( SLW.TO ), the sources said. Streaming, like royalties, is a type of alternative finance for the mining sector. Franco-Nevada is interested in looking at any royalty being offered, its chief executive officer, David Harquail, said. "It is only a question of price," Harquail said in an emailed response to a question from Reuters. Silver Wheaton declined to comment. Glencore owns a 33.75 percent stake in Antamina and has monetized a portion of the mine''s output. In November 2015, it agreed to sell future silver output from Antamina, a by-product of the mine, to Silver Wheaton for $900 million in cash to reduce debt. Franco-Nevada bought a $500 million precious metals stream from Glencore last year. Glencore''s partners in Antamina are Anglo-Australian miner BHP Billiton Plc ( BHP.AX ) ( BLT.L ) with a 33.75 percent stake, Canadian miner Teck Resources Ltd ( TECKb.TO ), with 22.5 percent and Japan''s Mitsubishi Corp ( 8058.T ) with 10 percent. (Reporting by Clara Denina in London and Nicole Mordant in Vancouver; Additional reporting by John Tilak in Toronto and Barbara Lewis in London; Editing by Denny Thomas, Bill Rigby and Jeffrey Benkoe) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-glencore-royalties-idUKKBN17Z1ZL'|'2017-05-04T00:20:00.000+03:00' +'d4f706dca3e1f20f0e15fca9c3cc7df278bfd632'|'Spirax-Sarco to buy thermal tech firm Chromalox for $415 million'|'Deals 8:43am BST Britain''s Spirax-Sarco to buy thermal tech firm Chromalox for $415 million By Noor Zainab Hussain Britain''s Spirax-Sarco Engineering Plc ( SPX.L ) said it had agreed to buy Pittsburgh-based thermal technology company Chromalox Inc from private equity firm Irving Place Capital for $415 million on a cash-free, debt-free basis. Spirax-Sarco, which makes steam traps and pumps for industries such as food and beverage, healthcare, chemical and power generation, said the purchase consideration would be financed from new debt facilities supplied by its existing banks. Shares in Spirax were up 5.6 percent at 5,605 pence at 0709 GMT, making the stock the second largest gainer on London''s Midcap Index .FTMC The acquisition of Chromalox, which has five manufacturing facilities across North America, France and China, will add to Spirax''s earnings in 2017, it said. Liberum analysts, rating Spirax at "hold", wrote in a note that at first look, this deal would add to 2017 EPS by 13 percent, assuming no growth in the underlying business. Chromalox earns about 18 percent of its sales from the oil and gas market where firms are cautious on spending as the industry recovers from a multi-year commodity price slump. However, current order intake levels and market activity have shown improving prospects for Chromalox, Spirax said, adding its estimates sales of $190 million in the current year ending September. Analysts at Jefferies, who have a "hold" rating on Spirax, said Chromalox looks to be a "highly complementary business" and a "very sensible/interesting deal". The price tag of $415 million makes this Spirax''s largest buy since the downturn of 2008. Last month Spirax said it would buy German firm Gestra AG, which makes valves and control systems for heat and fluid control, for 186 million euros ($208 million). Chromalox will bring thermal energy management solutions to Spirax''s customers, the British firm said, adding it would expand Spirax''s total addressable market by 2.1 billion pounds to 7.9 billion pounds. "We will invest in Chromalox to strengthen its direct sales channels globally; leverage our worldwide footprint to grow Chromalox''s presence outside of its core markets in the USA," Spirax-Sarco said in a statement on Friday. Completion of the deal is subject to a nod from the U.S. merger control authority, Spirax said, adding that the conditions are expected to be satisfied during its current quarter. (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-chromalox-m-a-spirax-sarco-idUKKBN18M0K2'|'2017-05-26T15:36:00.000+03:00' +'b9ad2131d954ef19324daa37b69f20ce65085b42'|'EXCLUSIVE: Russian Rosneft''s $12.9 billion Essar Oil deal held up over debt issues'|'Asia - Thu May 11, 2017 - 10:47pm IST Exclusive: Rosneft''s $12.9 billion Essar Oil deal held up over debt issues FILE PHOTO: The shadow of a worker is seen next to a logo of Russia''s Rosneft oil company at the central processing facility of the Rosneft-owned Priobskoye oil field outside Nefteyugansk, Russia, August 4, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo By Nidhi Verma , Vladimir Soldatkin and Julia Payne - NEW DELHI/MOSCOW/LONDON NEW DELHI/MOSCOW/LONDON Russian state oil firm Rosneft ( ROSN.MM ) is struggling to close its $12.9 billion acquisition of India''s Essar Oil Ltd because six of Essar''s Indian creditors have yet to approve the deal, sources close to the talks said. The state-run banks and financial institutions that are delaying Rosneft''s biggest foreign acquisition hold about $500 million of Essar''s debt, five industry and banking sources told Reuters. Kremlin-controlled Rosneft, which sees the deal as vital to expanding in Asia''s fastest growing energy market, had aimed to close the deal at the end of 2016. Now a June target for completion may be in doubt. "Tensions between Rosneft and Essar are running high," said one of the industry sources, who like others asked not to be named. The sources said the acquisition was still expected to go through, but one of them said Rosneft had written to Essar threatening to change the terms of the deal, including to pay a lower price, if the dispute over debt was protracted. "The completion of the transaction was conditional upon receiving requisite approvals and satisfaction of customary conditions. The parties are working towards obtaining the requisite approvals to complete the transaction," an Essar spokesman said. "We are hopeful that the deal will be completed in the upcoming few weeks," he added. Rosneft Chief Financial Officer Pavel Fedorov told a conference call on Wednesday that the purchase was now expected to be completed by the end of June. The six institutions holding up the transaction are IDBI Bank ( IDBI.NS ), Punjab National Bank ( PNBK.NS ), Syndicate Bank ( SBNK.NS ), Indian Overseas Bank ( IOBK.NS ), Life Insurance Corp of India and non-bank financier IFCI Ltd ( IFCI.NS ), the sources said. The six lenders gave no official comment when contacted by Reuters. Another industry source said Rosneft had wanted to finalize the deal in early June at the St Petersburg Economic Forum, where Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. But he said those hopes have now faded. Rosneft won a bidding war to buy Essar against Saudi Aramco, its biggest competitor in the oil export market. The deal will give Rosneft a 49 percent stake, with a further 49 percent split between Swiss commodities trader Trafigura [TRAFGF.UL] and Russian fund United Capital Partners. The billionaire Ruia brothers will retain a 2 percent stake. Russia''s VTB bank is acting as advisor on the transaction. It declined to comment on the hold up. "The process of closing the deal is in its final stages and is expected to conclude soon," a spokesman for Trafigura said, while UCP declined to comment. CLEARING BAD DEBTS The deal is also valuable for Modi''s government, as it seeks to clear India''s $150 billion in bad debt. Essar Oil India owed about $5.5 billion to almost 30 Indian lenders. Apart from six, others have approved Essar''s transfer of ownership to Rosneft from its current owners Indian brothers Ravi and Shashi Ruia, banking sources said. The State Bank of India ( SBI.NS ), the country''s biggest lender, has given its no-objection to the deal, the sources said. Among the six institutions blocking the deal, Syndicate Bank was expected to clear the deal with its board in 10 to 15 days, one banking source said. A senior source at Indian Overseas Bank said a no-objection certificate was being processed. The sources said debt talks were complicated by the fact that some lenders were also owed money by Essar''s parent, Essar Global Fund Ltd, or subsidiaries of the conglomerate that has a portfolio ranging from steel to power generation. Sources said some lenders might be seeking to gain concessions on other debt with Essar units before giving their approval. Essar Global Fund has previously said it planned to use the proceeds to clear half of the group''s debt, which CEO Prashant Ruia has put at about $13.5 billion. (Additional reporting by Euan Rocha, Promit Mukherjee and Devidutta Tripathy in Mumbai, Katya Golubkova in Moscow and Dmitry Zhdannikov in London; Editing by Dmitry Zhdannikov and Edmund Blair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-rosneft-essar-delays-exclusive-idINKBN1871U5'|'2017-05-11T21:53:00.000+03:00' +'6f7a8abd6f66a74aa8eba30b4b76522c2d438749'|'Australia''s BHP heads back to roots, drops Billiton from its name'|'Business News - Sun May 14, 2017 - 3:11pm BST Australia''s BHP heads back to roots, drops Billiton from its name By James Regan - SYDNEY SYDNEY One of the last reminders of a merger 16 years ago that created the world''s biggest mining house will be erased on Monday when BHP Billiton ( BHP.AX ) ( BLT.L ) changes its name back to just BHP. Dropping the Billiton reflects a move to simplify its corporate structure, the company said, and return to its founding roots in Australia more than a century ago, when it was known as Broken Hill Proprietary Co Ltd. BHP, which has operations in 25 countries, will retain its dual listings in Australia and London. BHP head of external affairs Geoff Healy dismissed suggestions that the name-cropping is in response to a call by activist shareholder Elliott Management for the miner to scrap its dual-listing mechanism in Sydney and London and spin off assets, specifically its U.S. shale oil unit. "There is zero connection with Elliott''s proposals," Healy said. "We''ve been doing this for 18 months." The company is spending an initial A$10 million (5.7 million pounds) on an advertising campaign in Australia to promote the shortened name. The merger of BHP and South African mining house Billiton in June 2001 created a company with an initial enterprise value of $38 billion. The joining, however, came to be widely regarded by analysts as value-destructive, even during the China-fuelled boom years at the end of the last decade. Most of the original Billiton assets were included in a 2015 spin-off, South32 ( S32.AX ), and no longer contribute to the company''s bottom line. South32 was initially derided as a compilation of BHP Billiton''s most unwanted assets, but it has frequently outperformed the parent company. (Reporting by James Regan; Editing by Tom Hogue)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bhp-billiton-australia-namechange-idUKKCN18A0Q2'|'2017-05-14T22:11:00.000+03:00' +'bf0de75a4c642ef63e6af89cc162bd070aeea2e6'|'Republicans want the poor to work for their government benefits - May. 30, 2017'|'Here''s what''s in Trump''s budget It''s a Republican dream come true. Now that they control both the White House and Congress, Republicans are moving quickly to put their ideological stamp on the nation''s safety net. Their prime directive: Requiring as many poor adults as possible to earn their benefit check. Making them get jobs will put them on the path to self-sufficiency, while reducing the number of people who depend on public assistance, according to GOP orthodoxy. "There''s a dignity to work, and there''s a necessity to work to help the country succeed," White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said last week. "We are no longer going to measure compassion by the number of programs or the number of people on those programs. We''re going to measure compassion and success by the number of people we help get off of those programs and get back in charge of their own lives." Currently, work requirements don''t hit many people in the nation''s two largest safety net programs. States can''t mandate Medicaid recipients to work. The food stamp program contains an employment requirement, but it can be -- and often is -- waived. That will change if Republicans succeed in their overhaul plans. Related: Safety net is at risk from Trump''s budget ax In addition to actually having a job, there are a variety of ways recipients could satisfy the work requirement. These include looking for work, attending job training or vocational education classes and participating in community service programs. The GOP''s efforts, however, have raised an outcry among Democrats and consumer advocates, who call the requirement hard-hearted and misguided. Many poor Americans who can work already do, they argue. Putting in place such mandates doesn''t take into account barriers to employment such as health, child care and transportation. It will only strip benefits from those who need them most, advocates say. Plus, they note, President Trump''s budget proposal strips funding from job training initiatives. Related: Trump budget proposes 40% cut to job training programs Here''s how the GOP is seeking to change the nation''s two main safety net programs: Medicaid: Medicaid is the country''s largest health insurance provider, covering more than 70 million low-income children, adults, elderly and disabled Americans. That includes 11 million low-income adults who gained coverage under Obamacare''s Medicaid expansion provision. The program doesn''t require enrollees to work, though many do. Nearly 60% of non-disabled, working-age adults have jobs, while nearly 80% live in families with at least one worker, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis. Several states have asked the federal government to allow them to impose employment mandates, particularly on adults who qualified through Medicaid expansion as a result of Obamacare. The Obama administration rejected any attempts to tie Medicaid benefits to work. The Trump administration, on the other hand, is encouraging states to apply for waivers to add work requirements , noting it will boost their economic standing and help them gain independence. "The best way to improve the long-term health of low-income Americans is to empower them with skills and employment," wrote Health Secretary Tom Price and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma in a letter to governors in March. Related: Trump administration open to making some Medicaid recipients work Republicans in Congress are also on board. The House GOP bill to repeal and replace Obamacare would allow states to impose work requirements on non-disabled, non-elderly, non-pregnant adults. The legislation is currently being debated in the Senate. Adding work requirements to Medicaid would not severely disrupt the program since so many beneficiaries have jobs or would be exempt, said Ben Gitis, director of labor market policy at the conservative American Action Forum. But, just over one million enrollees would be subject to the mandate, which is still a substantial number, he said. "It would encourage quite a few people to find work and find their own way out of poverty," Gitis said. But it could also mean folks would lose their benefits, said MaryBeth Musumeci, associate director at Kaiser''s Program on Medicaid and the Uninsured. More than one-third of those without jobs said they aren''t working because of illness or disability, while another 28% said they were taking care of their home or family. Others said they were in school, couldn''t find jobs or were retired. "Just saying work is required is not enough to get to the end goal," she said. "It requires more investment of resources and case management." Food stamps: More than 40 million Americans receive food stamps -- nearly two-thirds of them are children, elderly or disabled. The average household on food stamps had income of less than $10,000 a year. Unlike Medicaid, there is a work requirement on the books in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the formal name for food stamps. About 44% of food stamp recipients had jobs in fiscal 2015, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the program. Adults without minor children can only receive benefits for three months out of every 36-month period unless they are working 20 hours a week. But states can waive that requirement for areas with unemployment of at least 10% or an insufficient number of jobs, as defined by the Department of Labor. Trump''s budget proposal would limit the waivers to areas where unemployment is at least 10%. Currently, more than one-third of the country lives in areas that are waived from the work requirement, according to the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Under the Trump budget, only 1.3% of the nation would. Related: Trump wants at least 6 million people off welfare In discussing the budget last week, Mulvaney suggested there were recipients collecting food stamps who shouldn''t be. Those are the people the administration is looking to put back to work . "What we''ve done is not to try and remove the safety net for folks who need it, but to try and figure out if there''s folks who don''t need it that need to be back in the workforce," he said. But the administration''s suggested work requirement would kick about one million very poor people off the program, said Stacy Dean, the center''s vice president for food assistance policy. Most have low skills, making it tough for them to find a job. "Taking away food assistance is not going to make looking for work any easier," she said. CNNMoney (New York) First published May 30, 2017: 12:34 PM ET'|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_news_economy.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/30/news/economy/republicans-work-requirements-poor-benefits/index.html'|'2017-05-30T20:34:00.000+03:00' +'4f724e1bf4148c27797fc07e6b7007261c0112bf'|'Markets set for relief rally after Macron''s French election win'|'(Recasts, adds new Quote: s, updates market moves)By Jemima KellyLONDON May 7 European markets were set for some additional relief on Monday after Emmanuel Macron''s election as French president, though gains were expected to be limited, given the sizeable moves already seen over the past two weeks as polls pointed to his victory.The euro topped $1.10 in early Asian trading for the first time since Donald Trump''s U.S. election win, but it had slipped back to just below that level by 2220 GMT, and even its earlier peak of $1.1024 represented just a 0.2 percent rise -- a tenth of the size of the move seen in the wake of the first round of the election two weeks ago.With French political risks -- and the wider threat to the euro zone that came with them -- dissipating, global investors reckon the focus will now switch to the details of Macron''s programme and his ability to command workable support for his en Marche! (Onwards!) party in June''s assembly elections.And more immediately important for European markets is the underlying buoyancy of the euro zone economy and the prospects for the European Central Bank further reducing is massive bond-buying stimulus."The focus of investors is turning away from political risks, back to the ECB, what will be its next action, when will it start to unwind its accommodative policy," Michala Marcussen, chief economist at Societe Generale CIB, told Reuters.State Street''s head of investments for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Bill Street, said the result -- along with a preliminary debt agreement for Greece last week -- would provide a relief rally, though only a short-term one.If Macron "gets a working parliament and builds a partnership with Germany to launch meaningful reforms", Street said -- which he called the "Goldilocks scenario" -- that would mean further gains for markets by year-end, as that outcome had not yet been priced in.For now, though, market moves were expected to be modest. The euro recorded its biggest one-day rise since last June after the first round on April 23, and has climbed almost 3 percent since, so fresh drivers are seen as needed for further substantial gains.Many analysts have said that $1.10 marks roughly the top of where the euro should be trading, given that the ECB is still pumping 60 billion euros into the economy every month, while the U.S. Federal Reserve moves in the opposite direction by tightening policy.The spread between French 10-year government bond yields and their German equivalent -- a key barometer of risk sentiment over the French election over the past few months, had already narrowed before Sunday''s results, with the spread reaching its tightest in six months on Friday.London-based Jupiter Asset Management fund manager Stephen Mitchell, among others, said that spread should narrow further on Monday, as well as the spread between Italian and German bonds, while equities should also react positively.But he added that any market reactions were likely to be modest, with investors waiting for June''s legislative elections and Macron''s pick for prime minister before becoming too elated.EUROPEAN RECOVERY CYCLEErin Browne, head of macro investments at UBS O''Connor, a New York-based hedge fund manager, said despite the fact that Macron''s victory had been widely expected, it would nevertheless spur further gains in European stocks."Moving past this hurdle will encourage inflows into European risk assets," she said. "The European economic and profits recovery cycle is at a much earlier stage than in the United States, and offers better valuation and upside potential."Pollsters'' projections gave the market-friendly, pro-Europe Macron a winning margin of around 65 percent, easily defeating the far-right Marine Le Pen, a nationalist who had threatened to take France out of the European Union.The centrist''s emphatic victory brought comfort to investors and European allies alike, who had been nervous of the risk of another populist upheaval to follow Britain''s vote to quit the EU and Donald Trump''s election as U.S. president.Franklin Templeton''s head of European fixed income, David Zahn, said although French government bonds were likely to benefit short-term from Macron''s win, they could underperform over the medium-term as focus shifts away from politics.Zahn said much would depend on the results of French parliamentary elections on June 11 and 18, adding that there has been little in Macron''s manifesto that would suggest he could bring down France''s deficit significantly or stem its high debt-to-GDP levels."Over the medium term, we''d expect French government bonds could probably begin to sell off once people finally synthesise the full implications of the Macron victory," he said.Investors said Le Pen''s defeat was a sign that the euroscepticism that brought Britain its vote for Brexit had only limited appeal for the rest of Europe, which would come as a relief to markets.But although many pointed to the challenges Macron faces as he tries to form a government with a new party, the parliamentary elections rank far lower than the presidential elections in terms of market risk.Two-month euro/dollar implied volatility -- derived from a currency option that covers both rounds of the legislative elections -- fell to its lowest levels since early October last week, having surged to a nine-month high ahead of the first round of the presidential election. (Reporting by Jemima Kelly; Additional reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe and Nigel Stephenson in London, Helen Reid and Maya Nicolaeva in Paris, and Olivia Oran in New York; Editing by Susan Fenton and Sandra Maler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/france-election-reaction-markets-idUSL8N1I66EB'|'2017-05-08T04:55:00.000+03:00' +'ddf2b38de9694ea33fb6a7dbaf6299b72bf22349'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX opens lower as banks lead retreat'|'Market News - Wed May 17, 2017 - 9:45am EDT CANADA STOCKS-TSX opens lower as banks lead retreat TORONTO May 17 Canada''s main stock index fell at the open on Wednesday in broad-based declines led by banks, but losses were tempered by higher gold prices, which bolstered precious metal mining shares. The Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index shed 76.41 points, or 0.49 percent, to 15,466.92. The only gainers among the index''s 10 key sectors were healthcare and materials, which includes mining companies. (Reporting by Solarina Ho Editing by W Simon)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-open-idUSL2N1IJ0LW'|'2017-05-17T21:45:00.000+03:00' +'8e16e6deadff5c2b762e3a5ab5bede35b326cea5'|'Alitalia commissioners appoint Rothschild as financial adviser'|'Deals 6:56pm BST Alitalia commissioners appoint Rothschild as financial adviser MILAN Commissioners managing Italian airline Alitalia CAITLA.UL have picked Rothschild as financial adviser to assist in the company''s sale process, a statement said on Monday. Alitalia was put under special administration earlier this month and the government appointed three commissioners to assess whether it can be restructured or liquidated. Last week the commissioners said offers for Alitalia had to be presented by June 5. (Reporting by Stephen Jewkes, editing by Steve Scherer)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-alitalia-m-a-advisers-idUKKBN18I29Z'|'2017-05-23T01:53:00.000+03:00' +'f343c333dc1cdf445d8c21301af9ffe6fc02a9ca'|'China''s economy loses momentum as policymakers clamp down on debt risks'|' 8:29am BST China''s economy loses momentum as policymakers clamp down on debt risks FILE PHOTO: Apartment blocks are pictured in Wuqing District of Tianjin, China October 10, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo By Kevin Yao - BEIJING BEIJING China''s growth took a step back in April after a surprisingly strong start to the year, as factory output to investment to retail sales all tapered off as authorities clamped down on debt risks in an effort to stave off a potentially damaging hit to the economy. Waking up to the systemic threat posed by cheap credit-fueled stimulus since the 2008-9 global financial crisis, Beijing has continued to tighten the screws on speculative financing over the past several months. Data on Monday highlighted the broad economic impact of these regulatory curbs, with below-forecast factory output in April and fixed-asset investment in the first four months of the year reinforcing evidence of a weakening manufacturing sector and slowing momentum in the world''s second-biggest economy. "If anything (the slowdown) is even faster than we expected," said Julian Evans-Pritchard at Capital Economics in Singapore in an interview before the data was released. However, "we''re still some way off from the economy weakening to the point where it will test the tolerance of policymakers...as the urgency to address some of these financial risk issues (is even greater)," he said. Factory output was up 6.5 percent in April from a year earlier, down from 7.6 percent in March, and fixed-asset investment rose 8.9 percent in the first four months of the year, off the 9.2 percent pace in Jan-March. Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted factory output would grow by 7.1 percent in April, and tipped fixed asset investment to rise 9.1 percent in Jan-April. Output growth slowed on tumbling steel and iron ore prices amid concern over rising inventories after China''s mills cranked out as much metal as possible to drive factory production to its highest since December 2014. However, on a volume basis, steel output hit a record in April, data Monday showed, stoking worries of a growing glut as demand remains flat even as China says it is ahead of schedule on capacity reduction targets. Fixed asset investment in the manufacturing sector also slowed over Jan-April, with growth of 4.9 percent down from 5.8 percent in the first quarter. Infrastructure spending, however, continued to grow over 23 percent year-on-year in the same period, supported by Beijing''s Belt and Road initiative to expand investment links with Asia, Africa and Europe. PROPERTY COOLS Analysts say Beijing is keen to ensure steady economic growth ahead of the 19th Communist Party Congress later in the year. Chinese leaders have pledged to shift the emphasis to addressing financial risks and asset bubbles which analysts say may pose a threat to the Asian economic giant if not handed well. China''s central bank has been guiding short-term interest rates higher to help contain debt perils, though it is treading cautiously to avoid hurting economic growth. A red-hot property market, fueled by speculative investments, has been identified by analysts and policymakers as one of the biggest risks to growth. Monday''s data showed investment in property development picked up in April, although sales growth was significantly slower, suggesting investment in the sector remained robust even as intensified government controls to rein in the market began to take effect. The area of property sold grew 7.7 percent year-on-year in April, the lowest since December 2015 and well short of the 14.7 percent increase in March. SOFTER CONSUMPTION Retail sales rose 10.7 percent in April from a year earlier, weaker than March''s 10.9 percent gain as home appliances and automobile sales growth slowed from March. At the same time, growth in the services sector slowed to 8.1 percent year-on-year, down from 8.3 percent growth in March and the slowest since December. "Slowing domestic consumption growth and softer external demand appear to have driven the slowdown in China at the start of the second quarter," Capital Economics'' Evans-Pritchard said in a note following the data release. The country''s first quarter economic growth came in at a faster-than-expected 6.9 percent, the quickest since 2015 on higher government infrastructure spending and a gravity-defying property boom. China has cut its economic growth target to around 6.5 percent this year to give policymakers more room to push through painful reforms and contain financial risks after years of debt-fueled stimulus. But with the ambitious new Silk Road global development initiative and the Xiong''an "satellite" capital plan, analysts don''t expect China to stray too far from the investment-led growth model. Indeed, Chinese President Xi Jinping''s Xi on Sunday pledged an additional $124 billion for the Belt and Road initiative. "Growth will continue to be underpinned by a strong infrastructure pipeline which also echoes the Belt and Road initiative and urbanization projects like Xiong''an," ANZ economists Raymond Yeung and Betty Wang wrote in a note. "China seems to have returned to an investment-driven growth strategy." (Reporting by Kevin Yao; additional reporting by Yawen Chen; Writing by Elias Glenn; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-activity-idUKKCN18B047'|'2017-05-15T14:19:00.000+03:00' +'2a5c9bd5ce25f22d69cfb9a3893b2c216445d572'|'PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - May 1'|'May 1 The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.HeadlinesFox in talks with Blackstone to buy Tribune Mediaon.ft.com/2pkKKloHigh-ranking Fifa official resigns after bribery allegationson.ft.com/2oYwaNSFCA appoints criminal trials veteran as legal chiefon.ft.com/2qn12ZpOverviewTwenty-First Century Fox is in talks with Blackstone Group to launch a joint bid for U.S. broadcaster Tribune Media Co, according to two people familiar with the negotiations.Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, the FIFA Council member who also runs the Olympic Council of Asia, said on Sunday he was resigning all his posts in football after being drawn into the latest bribery scandal to hit the game''s governing body.Financial Conduct Authority has hired Vincent Coughlin as its chief criminal counsel, taking over from Claire Lipworth, who has joined law firm Hogan Lovells.(Compiled by Rama Venkat Raman in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Cooney)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-press-ft-idINL4N1I303Y'|'2017-04-30T22:36:00.000+03:00' +'3668c9aef52979c18512174a2e946396603545c6'|'U.S. lawmakers to grill United Airlines on passenger removal'|'WASHINGTON/NEW YORK United Airlines Inc executives will visit Capitol Hill on Tuesday to face lawmakers'' questions about the forcible removal of a passenger on an overbooked flight last month, an incident that provoked international outrage.United Chief Executive Oscar Munoz''s appearance before the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will test how the Republican-led Congress addresses company misconduct at a time of sweeping deregulation in Washington. Republicans largely back President Donald Trump''s push to undo industry rules and regulations they say hamper business growth.Joining Munoz at the hearing will be United President Scott Kirby as well as executives from American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines and a consumers'' union consultant.The executives will be grilled on the growing consumer anger directed at airlines, which came to a head when Dr. David Dao was dragged from a United flight at a Chicago airport on April 9 to make room for crew members on the aircraft.It is the chance to learn "what is being done to improve service for the flying public," Committee Chairman Bill Shuster, a Republican, said in a statement.Representative Rick Larsen, the top Democrat on the House panel''s aviation subcommittee, told Reuters he expected it to be "very pointed" and that executives should anticipate "pretty rough" questions.United last week reached a settlement with the 69-year-old Dao, whose removal prompted intense public backlash when fellow passengers released video online showing aviation police dragging him down the aisle as passengers cried out and gasped at his bloodied face.United also changed its policies by offering passengers who give up their seats up to $10,000 and by reducing overbooked flights. The airline has promised to no longer call on law enforcement officers to deny ticketed passengers their seats.Southwest said last week it would end overbooking altogether.Airline executives are expected at Tuesday''s hearing to outline specific actions they have taken or will take to try to prevent future incidents such as the one on the United flight, congressional aides said.A U.S. Senate panel will hold a separate hearing on Thursday.RELAXING AIRLINE REGULATIONSWhite House spokesman Sean Spicer said the president would not, at this point, weigh in on whether new airline regulations are needed."I''ll leave it up to Congress to decide whether it''s appropriate to address this legislatively. Once there was a piece of legislation, then we could have an opportunity to weigh in," Spicer said on Monday.But it is unclear how any new legislation would square with Trump''s deregulatory push. Shortly after he took office, Trump directed federal agencies to do away with two old regulations for every new one. He asked airline executives in February to identify regulatory hurdles. The Trump administration in March halted public comment on a Obama-era move to probe some airlines'' prevention of various travel websites from showing their fares and whether to require greater transparency about baggage fees along with quoted fares.The administration is also extending the compliance date by one year for a new regulation requiring reporting of data for mishandled baggage and wheelchairs in aircraft cargo compartments.Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, through a spokeswoman, declined to comment on whether the United incident would prompt any regulatory changes. Her department said earlier this month it was investigating the matter.Congressman Peter DeFazio, the top Democrat on the House committee holding Tuesday''s hearing, said it was "way too early" to know if the voluntary policy changes announced by United are permanent.Larsen said new airline regulations were not yet under discussion but that if carriers did not make a firm commitment to improve customer service, then "the options for legislation open."(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and Alana Wise in New York; additional reporting by Steve Holland and Amanda Becker in Washington; writing by Amanda Becker; Editing by Mary Milliken)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ual-passenger-idUSKBN17Y0Z5'|'2017-05-02T18:00:00.000+03:00' +'67d5e568f852816d645741d73982e54153aefba6'|'Unilever to kick off share buyback this week'|' 17am BST Unilever to kick off share buyback this week FILE PHOTO: The company logo for Unilever is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., February 17, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo LONDON Unilever will launch its previously announced share buyback programme on Friday, with plans to purchase 1.5 billion to 2.5 billion euros worth of London-listed shares, and the balance of the 5 billion euro programme on its Dutch shares. The buyback will end no later than 15 December, the company said on Thursday. (Reporting by Martinne Geller; editing by Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-unilever-nv-buyback-idUKKCN18E12M'|'2017-05-18T17:17:00.000+03:00' +'c301533ba9fe506dd97dd89c0b4d89d83234b907'|'BRIEF-Berkshire Hathaway ups share stake in American Airlines, Southwest Airlines'|' 42pm EDT BRIEF-Berkshire Hathaway ups share stake in American Airlines, Southwest Airlines May 15 Berkshire Hathaway Inc * Berkshire Hathaway Inc ups share stake in American Airlines Group by 8.2 percent to 49.3 million shares * Berkshire Hathaway Inc ups share stake in Southwest Airlines Co by 10.3 percent to 47.7 million shares * Berkshire Hathaway Inc cuts share stake in Delta Air Lines inc by 8.3 percent to 55.0 million shares * Berkshire Hathaway Inc - change in holdings are as of March 31, 2017 and compared with the previous quarter ended as of Dec 31, 2016 Source text for quarter ended March 31, 2017 ( bit.ly/2pQgrA1 ) Source text for quarter ended Dec. 31, 2016: ( bit.ly/2pQ2hyG )'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-berkshire-hathaway-ups-share-stake-idUSFWN1IH172'|'2017-05-16T05:42:00.000+03:00' +'2eef01eba44773a8739a3ebc56e8ae226a0bc683'|'Elliott willing to back BHP board candidate as next chairman - source'|' 21am BST Elliott willing to back BHP board candidate as next chairman: source FILE PHOTO: BHP Chairman Jac Nasser sits before the company''s Australian annual general meeting in Sydney, Australia November 29, 2012. REUTERS/Tim Wimborne/File Photo By James Regan - SYDNEY SYDNEY Elliott Management is willing to back a board member of BHP Billiton ( BHP.AX ) ( BLT.L ) to be its chairman upon the retirement of Jac Nasser despite deep reservations about its top management, a source close to the activist shareholder said on Thursday. Elliott, founded by billionaire Paul Singer, is pushing for a $46 billion overhaul at BHP that includes spin offs, dismantling a corporate structure built on dual listings in London and Sydney and returning more money to shareholders. The Anglo-Australian miner has rejected the demands. The activist investor blames Nasser and BHP''s top management for what it sees as bad investments by the world''s biggest mining house, particularly in U.S. shale gas, the source said. But Elliott believes "there are personalities on the board that are talented and capable", with the "potential for someone to be selected from the existing board", the source said. It is unclear what impact Elliott''s backing or opposition to a particular candidate will have on the chairman''s appointment. Elliott has been meeting with major BHP shareholders since going public with its restructuring proposals on April 10 to gauge support for change at the company. Australian media have reported that Westpac Bank ( WBC.AX ) chairman Lindsay Maxsted, former investment banker Carolyn Hewson, Orica ( ORI.AX ) chairman Malcolm Broomhead and former Origin Energy ( ORG.AX ) managing director Grant King are among the potential frontrunners to succeed Nasser. The source declined to name any preferred candidates from inside BHP, saying this could be "the kiss of death" for their chances. BHP has not commented on the potential candidates for succession. It did not immediately comment when contacted on Thursday about the source''s observations on Elliott. Elliott holds just over 4 percent of the London-listed shares, short of the 5 percent needed to call a shareholders'' meeting. Nasser, a former chief executive of Ford Motor Co ( F.N ) who has led BHPs board since 2010, has labeled Elliott''s plan "flawed." He announced in September he would not seek re-election at the next shareholders'' meeting. Sydney-based Tribeca Investment Partners last week became the second BHP shareholder to push publicly for changes, calling for an overhaul of its board and for Chief Executive Andrew Mackenzie to be fired. Elliott says adopting its approach could unlock as much as $46 billion in additional value for BHP shareholders. Demerging BHPs U.S. petroleum business could release up to $15 billion, it says, with share buybacks and the use of tax credits to deliver the rest. "If you look at this trend of under performance over the past seven or eight years, it does correlate fairly well with the chairman, the CEO and the CFO," the source said. "This is not to say they are the entire reason, but leadership starts and ends at the top." The source said Elliott was unlikely to initiate legal action anytime soon against the current board over perceived deficiencies in their management, despite the company''s long history of courtroom battles with adversaries, choosing instead to win over BHP shareholders to its strategy. (Reporting by James Regan; Additional reporting by Jamie Freed and Sonali Paul; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-bhp-billiton-elliott-chairman-idUKKBN18717S'|'2017-05-11T18:20:00.000+03:00' +'8283f37322aa465f03569663ecccd685dc57ddfb'|'Infosys plays down cost concerns from U.S. hiring plan'|'Cyber Risk - Thu May 4, 2017 - 9:16am EDT Infosys plays down cost concerns from U.S. hiring plan The logo of Infosys is pictured inside the company''s headquarters in Bengaluru, India, April 13, 2017. REUTERS/Abhishek N. Chinnappa By Sankalp Phartiyal and Euan Rocha - MUMBAI MUMBAI Infosys said its plans to hire thousands of workers in the United States would enable faster deployment of staff in areas such as big data and cloud, dismissing concerns about additional labor costs. The Indian IT services firm said on Tuesday it aims to hire 10,000 U.S. staff over the next two years and open four technology centers in the United States, its biggest market. The move comes as U.S. President Donald Trump has accused Indian software firms of displacing U.S. workers'' jobs by flying in foreigners on temporary visas to service U.S. clients. He has pledged to review the visa program. Some analysts have said Infosys''s U.S. expansion will increase its cost burden and squeeze margins, but deputy chief operating officer Ravi Kumar said it would make the company nimbler. "Training in the U.S. is obviously going to be more expensive than training in India, but as we ramp up significantly in the next few months this model is much more agile," Kumar told Reuters in a telephone interview from New York late on Wednesday. "It (hiring locally) gives us agility, it gives us speed and it gives us local cultural alignment," he said, but would not disclose how much Infosys will spend on the plan. The company will offer competitive salaries as it will compete with the likes of Google and Microsoft for campus hires, Kumar said, adding that the impact on margins will only be ascertained after a few quarters. EXTREME AUTOMATION Infosys is keen to automate a big chunk of its legacy business such as routine infrastructure maintenance work for clients, and focus instead on transformational work in areas such as digital services, cloud, data analytics and cyber security that offer much better margins, Kumar said. Its traditional outsourcing business is facing a margin squeeze as clients increasingly demand more work for less money and Kumar said Infosys wants to apply "extreme automation" there to keep costs down. "We want to take capital out of keeping the lights on and divert the money to the transform side of the business," he said, adding transformational business currently enjoys double digit percentage revenue growth versus low-single digit growth in the traditional business. The first tech center will open in Indiana in August, giving Infosys easy access to talent from good universities and colleges across the Midwest, Kumar said. The company has not said where the other there centers will be located. While Infosys will hire from Ivy League schools, it will hire more heavily from lesser known schools and community colleges, as it does in India, he said. The company typically trains Indian staff at its site in Mysore for six months, but is condensing its program for new U.S. recruits to as little as 10 to 12 weeks, Kumar said. "The flavor of how we do it in the U.S. will be different to the flavor of how we do it in India." (Reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal and Euan Rocha; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Susan Fenton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-infosys-usa-idUSKBN180131'|'2017-05-04T18:00:00.000+03:00' +'c497e232373063211e6f91548982502ff6fb2b3c'|'Italy G7 to give unchanged message on trade, forex - official'|'Business News 2:16pm BST Italy G7 to give unchanged message on trade, forex - official left right International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde arrives at the Petruzzelli Theatre during a G7 for Financial ministers in the southern Italian city of Bari, Italy May 11, 2017. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi 1/3 left right Italy''s Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan arrives for the G7 Financial ministers meeting in the southern Italian city of Bari, Italy, May 12, 2017. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi 2/3 left right German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble arrives at the Petruzzelli Theatre during a G7 for Financial ministers in the southern Italian city of Bari, Italy May 11, 2017. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi 3/3 BARI, Italy, - G7 economic leaders will use the same language on trade, currencies and monetary policy at the end of their meeting in Italy on Saturday as the larger Group of 20 did in March at a meeting in Germany, an Italian G7 official said. Speaking on Friday on the sidelines of the gathering of finance ministers and central bank governors in Bari, the official said there was a consensus not to veer from the message delivered by the G20 in Baden Baden two months ago. At that meeting, ministers dropped their traditional pledge to keep global free trade open, bowing to an increasingly protectionist United States, and said only that they were "working to strengthen the contribution of trade to our economies." The decision to use the same wording in Bari suggests the United States'' partners have made little progress in convincing President Donald Trump to commit to a multilateral approach to trade that he has threatened to abandon. Trump has already pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and wants to re-negotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The official, who asked not to be named or quoted directly, helped prepare the agenda for the Bari meeting. She said at a briefing in Rome on Monday that trade would not be on the official agenda but did not say then whether it would feature in the final statement. The section on foreign exchange policy used by the G20 in its closing statement in Baden Baden read as follows: "We reiterate that excess volatility and disorderly movements in exchange rates can have adverse implications for economic and financial stability. We will consult closely on exchange markets. We reaffirm our previous exchange rate commitments, including that we will refrain from competitive devaluations and we will not target our exchange rates for competitive purposes." Asked if the G7 in Bari was likely to discuss climate change, another area in which Trump''s approach has caused concern among the United States'' partners, the official said the issue was not among the meeting''s objectives or priorities. (Reporting by Silvia Aloisi)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-g7-ministers-trade-forex-idUKKBN1881RC'|'2017-05-12T21:16:00.000+03:00' +'0c94cb359a88a75b521404079bd88e21ea4e89a1'|'U.S. mortgages in foreclosure hit decade-low in first quarter - MBA'|'Business News - Tue May 16, 2017 - 11:01am EDT U.S. mortgages in foreclosure hit decade-low in first quarter: MBA NEW YORK The percentage of U.S. mortgages in the process of foreclosure at the end of the first quarter fell to its lowest level since the first quarter of 2007, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Tuesday. The share of home loans in foreclosure was 1.39 percent in the first three months of 2017, down 14 basis points from the fourth quarter and 35 basis points lower than one year ago, the Washington-based industry group said. In addition, nearly all states had a decrease in the percentage of loans in foreclosure in the first quarter," MBAs vice president of industry analysis Marina Walsh said in a statement. Other measures on homeowners'' creditworthiness generally improved in the first quarter, MBA said. The delinquency rate for mortgages on one- to four-unit homes decreased to 4.71 percent in the first quarter, down 9 basis points from the fourth quarter and 6 basis points lower from a year earlier. The percentage of loans on which foreclosure actions were started was 0.30 percent in the first quarter, up 2 basis points from the previous quarter, but down 5 basis points from one year ago. This was the first rise in foreclosure starts since the fourth quarter of 2014, MBA said. The year-over-year declines in late payments and foreclosure actions on "conventional" mortgages that are guaranteed by Fannie Mae ( FNMA.PK ) and Freddie Mac ( FMCC.PK ) and ones backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Veterans Administration (VA) stemmed from ongoing job growth and signs of rising wages, according to MBA. "These fundamentals have helped to support the performance of all loan types whether FHA, VA or conventional loans," Walsh said. (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-mortgages-delinquencies-idUSKCN18C1UB'|'2017-05-16T22:57:00.000+03:00' +'9cf56125c581af284403cc822a5b2d99c964394a'|'Old Mutual sells a further 15 percent of U.S. fund arm'|'LONDON Anglo-South African financial services firm Old Mutual ( OML.L ) is selling 17 million shares in U.S. fund firm Old Mutual Asset Management (OMAM), it said on Tuesday, cutting its minority stake in the firm by a further 15 percent.Old Mutual has said it plans to break itself up into four parts by the end of next year and is selling its OMAM ( OMAM.N ) stake as part of that process.Old Mutual is selling 17.3 million shares in OMAM in a secondary offering at $14.55 per share, it said in a statement.OMAM is also buying back 5 million Old Mutual shares, Old Mutual added.Old Mutual sold a 25 percent stake in OMAM to China''s HNA ( 0521.HK ) in March for $446 million. [nL5N1H30EK]The share offering, buyback and sale to HNA will together cut Old Mutual''s stake in OMAM to around 7.5 percent, an Old Mutual spokesman said.Morgan Stanley is the sole bookrunner of the offering, which closes on May 19.The bank has the option to buy a further 2.6 million OMAM shares, which would reduce Old Mutual''s stake to around 5 percent, the spokesman added.Problems with tech upgrades at Old Mutual''s UK fund management arm have overshadowed the break-up plans.Old Mutual Wealth switched providers for an IT system earlier this month, saying the change did not affect the plans. [nL8N1I41S2](Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-oldmutual-omam-offering-idINKCN18C0XY'|'2017-05-16T07:41:00.000+03:00' +'c7b9f6c1127ee988ab43abddf3a0d572c1543290'|'Chinese city sets limits on how far home prices can rise'|' 9:21am BST Chinese city sets limits on how far home prices can rise BEIJING A small Chinese city said on Monday its property price growth must not exceed 5 percent in the next six months, and 10 percent in one year, in a rare move to openly dictate how far prices can rise. The Kaifeng Municipal city government of China''s central Henan province, a city of 5 million people about 80 km east of provincial capital Zhengzhou, issued measures to rein in its property market, including introducing price caps over new units and tightening pre-sale rules to regulate market irregularities. It also said home buyers who buy newly built properties are not allowed to sell before holding them for three years, according to a notice on its website. "Kaifeng''s policy change today signals some buying demand is spilling over to Kaifeng after Zhengzhou introduced property curbs," said Yan Yujin, an analyst with E-House China R&D Institute. China''s smaller centres, usually referred to as Tier-3 and Tier-4 cities, appeared to have benefited from curbs in nearby bigger cities as it resulted in spill-over of demand that has helped reduce a overhang of unsold properties. Home prices in many smaller cities with no purchase restrictions picked up most visibly in March, according to data from the Statistics Bureau. Clearance of the housing overhang in many of China''s smaller cities is likely to persist, a senior economic planner said in late April. (Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk and Yawen Chen; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-property-idUKKCN18B0TB'|'2017-05-15T16:21:00.000+03:00' +'af7b4409d5c7cf0a31ee5c281876d247e5c49a51'|'CORRECTED-UPDATE 1-Warren Buffett says he sold a third of stake in IBM -CNBC'|'Market News - Thu May 4, 2017 - 9:27pm EDT CORRECTED-UPDATE 1-Warren Buffett says he sold a third of stake in IBM -CNBC (Refiles to add missing letter in Buffett''s name in paragraph 1) May 4 Berkshire Hathaway''s Warren Buffett has sold "a reasonable amount" of his stake in International Business Machines Corp after the stock crossed $180, CNBC reported. IBM''s stock touched $180 on Feb 14 and reached a high of $182.78 during Feb. 16 trading. It closed on Thursday at $159.05 on the New York Stock Exchange. Berkshire Hathaway and IBM could not be reached for comment outside regular business hours. Buffett owned about 81 million shares of IBM at the end of 2016 and sold about a third in the first and second quarters of 2017, CNBC reported, citing Buffett. "I don''t value IBM the same way that I did six years ago when I started buying ... I''ve revalued it somewhat downward," Buffett told CNBC in an interview. "IBM is a big strong company, but they''ve got big strong competitors, too," he said. Berkshire Hathaway still owns more than 50 million shares of IBM and Buffett said he has stopped selling. In April, IBM reported a bigger-than-expected decline in revenue for the first time in five quarters due to weak demand in its IT services business. (Reporting by Ahmed Farhatha in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/warren-buffet-ibm-stake-idUSL1N1I700O'|'2017-05-05T09:27:00.000+03:00' +'105e11f5645ca56a26fe0d30e63b9be95af429d7'|'Mobileye sees income from maps before self-driving cars launch'|'TEL AVIV Mobileye''s mapping program for self-driving cars will start making money long before fully autonomous vehicles hit the roads, its chairman told Reuters, as carmakers can use the technology for a variety of semi-autonomous driving features.Amnon Shashua, head of the Israeli technology company that is being bought by Intel Corp for $15.3 billion, said Mobileye expected to announce deals with carmakers by the end of 2017 for its high definition (HD) maps, bringing in revenues for both the company and its map-making partners.Fully self-driving vehicles are not expected until at least 2021, but carmakers are already offering a variety of semi-autonomous driver assistance systems, such as Tesla''s Autopilot system. Mobileye thinks its mapping technology will be needed as these systems become more advanced."We can enable hands-free driving to levels that are much higher than with any sensor (alone)," Shashua told Reuters, adding semi-autonomous systems still required drivers to remain alert.The Israeli company also believes its mapping technology will be cheaper and more comprehensive than rival systems because of the way it is created.Whereas traditional HD mapping requires dedicated vehicles with specialized equipment and hired drivers, Mobileye''s RoadBook uses hardware in vehicles to "crowdsource" data.Nissan, Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) and BMW have already signed up to share data from Mobileye''s camera-equipped advanced driver assistance systems to generate HD maps for self-driving cars, and Shashua said four more manufacturers were in talks about joining the program."We hope to have the majority of these four signed by the end of 2017," he said. "Only car manufacturers can contribute ... because they have the cars. This is something that truly separates the car industry from the tech players."The prospect of self-driving vehicles has attracted Silicon Valley giants Google and Apple as well as carmakers, with Goldman Sachs estimating the market for advanced driver assistance systems and autonomous vehicles could grow to $96 billion in 2025 from just $3 billion in 2015.Based on discussions with automaker and map-maker partners, Mobileye believes revenues from its HD maps will be "quite meaningful," though Shashua said he could not quantify it yet.Once autonomous driving cars are ready, there will be a period of several years where drivers will still be needed for monitoring purposes, Shashua added."If the expectation is for zero accidents that isn''t realistic," he said. He believes society would accept fatalities that are 2-3 orders of magnitude smaller than with people-driven cars, meaning a decline to as few as 35 fatalities annually in the United States from around 35,000 today.(Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mobiley-autonomous-selfdriving-idUSKBN17Z1CC'|'2017-05-03T20:39:00.000+03:00' +'c471c3687cf5eb62bd13c093dbedcf79780bd94a'|'BlackBerry, Qualcomm decide on final amount to resolve royalty dispute'|'Market 41am EDT BlackBerry, Qualcomm decide on final amount to resolve royalty dispute May 26 Canada''s BlackBerry Ltd said on Friday that U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm Inc has agreed to pay the software maker $940 million, including interest and legal fees, to settle a royalty dispute. Qualcomm had said in April that it would have to refund BlackBerry $814.9 million, plus interest and attorneys'' fees, in an arbitration over royalties for certain past sales. The dispute between the two companies started in 2016 following Qualcomm''s agreement to cap certain royalties applied to payments made by BlackBerry under a licensing deal. Qualcomm is expected to pay the final amount on or before May 31, BlackBerry said on Friday. (Reporting by Ahmed Farhatha in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/blackberry-arbitration-qualcomm-idUSL4N1IS3Z4'|'2017-05-26T20:41:00.000+03:00' +'414dd1e423913d811854ab980fa3346bf28c6f7d'|'ECB''s Draghi says too early to declare victory in boosting prices'|'Davos - Wed May 10, 2017 - 1:02pm BST ECB''s Draghi says too early to declare victory in boosting prices FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi gives a speech after receiving the Gold Medal of the Jean Monnet Fondation for Europe in Lausanne, Switzerland May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse By Balazs Koranyi - THE HAGUE THE HAGUE It is too early for the European Central Bank to declare victory in its quest to boost euro zone inflation despite signs that the bloc''s economic recovery is strengthening, ECB President Mario Draghi said on Thursday. His comments confirm the ECB is in no rush to wind down his ultra-easy monetary policy of negative interest rates and aggressive bond purchases despite insistence from richer euro zone countries such as the Netherlands, where Draghi was speaking on Thursday, and Germany. "Incoming data confirm that the cyclical recovery of the euro area economy is becoming increasingly solid and that downside risks have further diminished," he told a hearing of the Dutch parliament. "Nevertheless, it is too early to declare success. Underlying inflation pressures continue to remain subdued and have yet to show a convincing upward trend." The ECB is expected to tweak its policy message next month to reflect an improved economic situation but keep policy on hold. Draghi said the benefits of the ECB''s monetary policy were outweighing its side effects, but acknowledged rising property prices and high household debt in some countries, including the Netherlands. "We do not currently see compelling evidence of overstretched asset valuations at the euro area level, but we do see that real estate dynamics or high household debt levels in some countries signal the risk of increasing imbalances," Draghi said. "Such risks also exist in the Netherlands." (Additional reporting by Andreas Framke in Frankfurt; Writing by Francesco Canepa; editing by Ken Ferris)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ecb-policy-draghi-idUKKBN1861FL'|'2017-05-10T19:35:00.000+03:00' +'8b7b30a8e65a3ab3d6f95a8245a9861fda8c0a02'|'Starwood looks to sell French crystal maker Baccarat: report'|'PARIS U.S investment firm Starwood Capital has put French crystal maker Baccarat ( CDBP.PA ) up for sale and the best offer so far has come from a Chinese group, French daily L''Agefi said on Friday, citing several sources.Starwood, which is eyeing a valuation for Baccarat of 200 million euros ($223.16 million), has commissioned Messier Maris & Associes bank to handle the sale, the paper reported."A Chinese group has come out on top, with an offer close to the valuation Starwood is hoping for," L''Agefi Quote: d a source as saying. It did not disclose the identity of the Chinese buyer.Starwood has owned Baccarat, which is listed in Paris and has a market value of 181 million euros, since 2005 when it bought parent group Taittinger. Neither Starwood and Baccarat could immediately be reached for comment.It achieved a 2016 Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) of 12.9 million euros, up 25.2 percent on the previous year. Its sales, however, were down 0.9 percent to 148.3 million euros.Starwood Capital sold Europe''s No. 2 budget operator, Louvre Hotels Group, to Chinese partner Jin Jiang International Holdings Co. Ltd. in 2014.(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon and Pascale Denis; Editing by Richard Balmforth)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-baccarat-sale-idINKCN18F0YG'|'2017-05-19T08:03:00.000+03:00' +'0def3e4dbef836f4955c3b2f38fec33f7026e465'|'Global funds raise euro zone equities, cut UK assets - Reuters poll'|'Business 12:15pm BST Global funds raise euro zone equities, cut UK assets - Reuters poll A plastic bull figurine, symbol of the Frankfurt stock exchange is pictured in front of the share price index DAX board at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, May 8, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach By Claire Milhench - LONDON LONDON Global investors raised their euro zone equity holdings in May, betting the rally has further to run, but cut their exposure to UK assets, reflecting uncertainty around the outcome of a snap general election, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday. The Reuters monthly asset allocation survey of 47 fund managers and chief investment officers in Europe, the United States, Britain and Japan was carried out between May 15 and 30, after an emphatic win for pro-European Union (EU) candidate Emmanuel Macron in the French presidential elections. This triggered a relief rally in European equities, which pushed towards a two-year high , as the threat to the EU from far-right candidate Marine Le Pen was neutralised. It also encouraged fund managers to raise their euro zone stocks exposure around 1 percentage point to 18.7 percent of their global equity portfolios, the highest level since August 2016, the survey showed. "Now that the political risk in France has diminished, investors have become much more optimistic about the future performance of European equity markets," said Jan Bopp, asset allocation strategist, Bank J Safra Sarasin, adding that European economic data also looked much better. Poll participants who answered a special question on whether there was further upside for European equities were unanimous in their agreement, with several saying valuations still seemed cheap compared with U.S. equities, while European corporate earnings were improving. Peter van der Welle, a strategist at Robeco, acknowledged that the bar for European equities had been raised given the huge inflows and the fact that the Macron victory was discounted by the market. But he remained overweight euro zone equities saying: "In our view (the) euro zone''s economic growth momentum has further to run." Political risk is rising again, however, as over the weekend Italy''s 5-Star movement voted in favour of a proportional electoral system, raising the chances of an autumn general election. UK ASSETS CUT Investors were less bullish on the outlook for UK assets, cutting their exposure to UK stocks by 1 percentage point to 9.2 percent of their global equity portfolios. They also trimmed their UK bond holdings by 1 percentage point to 8.9 percent of their global fixed income portfolios. Prime decision to call a snap general election for June 8 has added to the uncertain outlook for UK assets, which are still overshadowed by the prospect of Britain''s negotiations to leave the European Union. May called the election in a bid to strengthen her hand in the Brexit negotiations by increasing her majority. But a projection by polling company YouGov suggested May could lose her majority in parliament, raising the prospect of political deadlock as formal Brexit talks begin. The prospect of a hung parliament pushed sterling GBP=D4 lower, towards a one-month low touched on Friday, before the currency recovered somewhat. A 68 percent majority of poll participants who answered a question on sterling thought the pound would rise in the event of an increased majority for the Conservative party, but several thought gains would be modest. A few also said an increased majority might create more problems for May from hardliners in her party. "Backbenchers tend to be more ''misbehaved'' when governments have super large majorities," said Ken Dickson, investment director at Standard Life Investments. Matteo Germano, global head of multi-asset investments at Pioneer Investments, agreed that a larger majority raised the risk of a hard Brexit, and added: "If instead their majority is thin, the political landscape will become more confused, adding again some uncertainty premium to the GBP." LOW VOLATILITY Overall, equities edged up from last month''s 46.8 percent to 46.9 percent of global balanced portfolios, the highest since January 2016. Bond holdings rose to 39.9 percent, the highest since February. Trevor Greetham, head of multi-asset at Royal London Asset Management (RLAM), expressed some caution: "Global growth is coming off the boil and inflation pressures are easing. This is good for bonds but stocks may not take bad news kindly and we have taken profits after a good run." He did not think the bull market was over, however, and would buy on a dip. Just over half of poll participants who answered a question on historically low financial market volatility thought it was a benefit to their portfolios, as it made hedging via options very cheap. But over a third said it was a risk. Rob Pemberton, investment director at HFM Columbus, argued that low volatility bred complacency and risk-taking, making markets more vulnerable to a sharp correction. In previous periods of low volatility - 1993-94 and 2006-07 - major market dislocations followed. A U.S. political crisis blew up in May over alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and communication between Russia and Trump''s campaign and transition team, making some investors wary. "Although we were itching to adopt a more aggressive risk profile by overweighting equities, we stopped short of doing so because of disappointing macro data and the steady flow of discomforting news from Washington," said Robeco''s van der Welle. (Additional reporting by Maria Pia Quaglia Regondi; Editing by Toby Chopra)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-funds-poll-global-idUKKBN18R1DM'|'2017-05-31T19:04:00.000+03:00' +'1e3dc484afc1c2ba7fd23e41f0bfb4f6133d675f'|'OPEC nearing deal to extend oil output cut to March 2018'|' 03pm BST OPEC nearing deal to extend oil output cut to March 2018 left right Austrian police officers and journalists wait outside the headquarters of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria May 24, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger 1/4 left right FILE PHOTO - The logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is pictured on the wall of the new OPEC headquarters in Vienna March 16, 2010. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader/File Photo 2/4 left right An Austrian police officer guards the headquarters of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria May 24, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger 3/4 left right Venezuela''s Oil Minister Nelson Martinez talks to journalists after a meeting in Vienna, Austria May 24, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger 4/4 By Ahmad Ghaddar , Alex Lawler and Vladimir Soldatkin - VIENNA VIENNA OPEC and non-member oil producers moved closer on Wednesday to clinching a deal on extending output cuts by nine months to clear a global stocks overhang and prop up the price of crude. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meets in Vienna on Thursday to consider whether to prolong the accord reached in December in which OPEC and 11 non-members agreed to cut oil output by about 1.8 million barrels per day in the first half of 2017. The market sees an extension by nine months as the base-case scenario since OPEC''s de facto leader Saudi Arabia and top non-member Russia said this month they favoured such a move. Saudi ally Kuwait signalled on Wednesday OPEC could discuss deepening the cuts, in what would come as a positive surprise for market bulls, but hopes quickly faded after a key committee recommended keeping the curbs unchanged. Two OPEC sources told Reuters a ministerial committee comprising OPEC members Algeria, Kuwait, Venezuela, current OPEC president Saudi Arabia and non-OPEC producers Russia and Oman recommended keeping the cuts "at the same level". The committee said in a statement it had recommended extending the cuts by nine months to March 2018. Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih gave the thumbs up when asked whether the committee had agreed on a nine-month extension. "Before the end of the year, prices may go above $55 a barrel," Algerian Energy Minister Noureddine Boutarfa told Reuters before the committee meeting, saying an extension by nine months should help clear the glut by the year-end. Saudi Arabia and Russia have said that extending output curbs by nine months rather than the initially planned six months would help speed up market rebalancing and prevent crude prices from sliding back below $50 per barrel. "OPEC has already achieved a lot. They stopped the oil market surplus from building even before they started cutting," said Gary Ross, head of global oil at PIRA Energy, a unit of S&P Global Platts. Most OPEC ministers including Iraq''s have already voiced support for extending cuts by none months. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh, who clashed with Saudi Arabia in many previous OPEC meetings, has so far kept a low profile, saying extensions of six or nine months were possible. Zanganeh is due in Vienna later on Wednesday. Under the existing deal, Iran received an exemption slightly to raise output, which has been curtailed by years of Western sanctions. Iran''s production has been stagnant in recent months, suggesting limited upside potential at least in the short term. DEEPER CUTS OPEC''s cuts have helped push oil back above $50 a barrel this year, giving a fiscal boost to producers, many of which rely heavily on energy revenues and have had to burn through foreign-currency reserves to plug holes in their budgets. Oil''s earlier price decline, which started in 2014, forced Russia and Saudi Arabia to tighten their belts and led to unrest in some producing countries including Venezuela and Nigeria. But surprises on Thursday are still possible. A substantial additional cut was unlikely, one OPEC delegate said, "unless Saudi Arabia initiates it with the biggest contribution and is supported by other Gulf members". By 1340 GMT on Wednesday, Brent crude was trading broadly flat just above $54 a barrel. [O/R] The price rise this year has spurred growth in the U.S. shale industry, which is not participating in the output deal, thus slowing the market''s rebalancing with global stocks still near record highs. "Production cuts cause higher prices which will incentivise more production for the U.S. shale oil and reduce the impact of the production cuts. So it''s a bit cyclical," said Sushant Gupta, research director for consultancy Wood Mackenzie. OPEC has a self-imposed goal of bringing stocks down from a record high of 3 billion barrels to their five-year average of 2.7 billion. Algeria''s Boutarfa said he believed stocks remained stubbornly large in the first half of 2017 because of high exports from the Middle East to the United States. "Thankfully, things are improving and we started seeing a draw in inventories in the United States," Boutarfa said, adding he believed that inventories should decline to their five-year average by the end of 2017. One industry source close to OPEC said the group could also send a message about tighter exports but it was unclear how that could be presented on Thursday. (Additional reporting by Ernest Scheyder, Rania El Gamal; Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Dale Hudson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-opec-oil-idUKKBN18K0WB'|'2017-05-24T23:01:00.000+03:00' +'d0059715698438148dbe2917ddc12761665e7e1d'|'Kipchoge runs fastest marathon but misses sub-2 hour goal - Reuters'|'By Mark Bendeich - MONZA, Italy MONZA, Italy Eliud Kipchoge ran the quickest recorded marathon on Saturday, crossing the line at the Monza Formula One track in two hours and 25 seconds but missing out on an ambitious attempt to break the two-hour barrier.The 32-year-old''s time smashed the official mark of 2:02:57 set by fellow Kenyan Dennis Kimetto in Berlin in 2014 but will not enter the record books largely due to a non-compliant system of pacemaking."The is not the end of the attempt of runners on two hours," the Olympic champion said after the race, likening the challenge to climbing a tree. "When you step on the branches... immediately you go to the next one."Kipchoge rated it as the finest performance in a career that includes a gold medal at the Rio Games last year and a personal best official time of 2:03:05, the third-fastest in history."This journey has been good, it has been hard, it has been seven months hard preparation. It has been history in the world of sport," he added.Kipchoge and the only other competitors, Eritrean Zersenay Tadese and Ethiopian Lelisa Desisa, ran behind an arrow-head formation of pacemakers, to reduce drag, and a car beaming a green line on the road behind it to show the required speed for the sub-two hour target.Amid deep scepticism, Nike pitched the attempt as sport''s "moon shot", with a keen eye on sales of its running shoes. It designed a lightweight shoe, Zoom Vaporfly Elite, with a carbon-fibre insole as part of the meticulous preparations.Nike''s arch rival, German firm adidas, also has its own ''Sub2'' project, also with a new shoe.30 PACEMAKERSIn 2014, "Runners World" magazine predicted a sub-two under normal race conditions would not happen until 2075, based on analysis of more than 10,000 top marathon performances.The race began in pre-dawn gloom at a brutal speed behind pacemakers, who were world class runners in their own right, including former world champion middle distance runner Bernard Lagat of the United States.A total of 30 pacemakers split into groups of six, taking turns to set a tempo in a race run 63 years to the day after Briton Roger Bannister became the first man to run a mile in less than four minutes.The Monza track was chosen for its wide, sweeping curves, lack of undulation and cool, low-wind environment. The runners were also delivered essential fluids on the move by moped in order to prevent them slowing down at feeding stations.The sub-two hour mark required a pace below four minutes and 35 seconds per mile, which the determined Kipchoge managed to match until falling behind the pace car in the last two laps of the 2.4 km circuit.Kipchoge completed the first half of the race in 59:57, just one and a half minutes off the official half-marathon world record set by Saturday''s second-place finisher, Tadese.The 35-year-old Eritrean, the oldest competitor on Saturday, finished in 2:06:51, followed by the youngest, 26-year-old Desisa, in 2:14:10.(Editing by John O''Brien)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/athletics-marathon-breaking2-halfway-idINKBN18206S'|'2017-05-06T05:33:00.000+03:00' +'6acbcdf169e03330ccc12eb4155ab11d934f0b5f'|'Naspers'' PayU invests $119 million in German fintech firm'|'JOHANNESBURG South Africa''s Naspers'' ( NPNJn.J ) PayU unit has invested 110 million euros ($119 million) in a German financial technology company with the aim of bringing credit services to underbanked markets around the world, it said on Wednesday.The announcement follows a pilot program managed by Germany''s Kreditech and PayU, which offered Polish consumers improved access to credit in a real-time online process, Naspers said in a statement.As part of the deal, PayU also bought a significant minority stake in Kreditech, it said, without disclosing the size.The investment is part of PayU''s plan to become a leading financial technology provider in high growth markets, it added."At PayU we believe in the enormous potential of technology to unlock credit and financial services for under-served populations," said PayU Chief Executive Laurent le Moal."This latest investment in Kreditech fits perfectly with this vision."Kreditech, headquartered in Hamburg, Germany is an online lender which offers loans to individuals.(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla, editing by David Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-naspers-m-a-kreditech-idINKBN18623D'|'2017-05-10T13:07:00.000+03:00' +'3b11c935c26b72e58fa7993810d81c82e6661319'|'On Gatsbys North Shore, Chinese luxury home buyers pause as curbs bite'|'Business News - 11am BST On Gatsbys North Shore, Chinese luxury home buyers pause as curbs bite left right Models of residential buildings are seen during an overseas property exposition in Beijing, April 13, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer 1/2 People visit an overseas property exposition in Beijing, April 13, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer 2/2 By Koh Gui Qing and Elias Glenn - JERICHO, N.Y./BEIJING JERICHO, N.Y./BEIJING Among the sprawling colonial homes and well-tended lawns on the north shore of New York''s Long Island, there are signs that Chinese policies crafted 11,000 kilometers away are taking a toll. In the past year, there has been a slowdown in the stream of affluent Chinese looking for luxury homes in the area widely thought to have been the setting for F. Scott Fitzgeralds 1925 novel The Great Gatsby - property brokers said. Over the past eight months, the Chinese authorities have introduced a series of measures to make it more difficult for Chinese to move capital out of the country as they seek to keep the Chinese currency, the yuan, from falling. At the end of last year, for example, disclosure rules were tightened to try to prevent individuals from using any of the maximum $50,000 they are allowed to buy in foreign currency in any one year to purchase overseas property and other overseas investments. Those who violate the rules can face stiff fines. Any slowdown in flows from China can have a big impact in real estate around the globe. In the U.S. alone, Chinese buyers, including people from Taiwan and Hong Kong, bought $27.3 billion in residential property in the year to March 2016, more than three times the next biggest foreign buyers, the Canadians, according to the National Association of Realtors. After three decades of blistering economic growth, China has created a class of nouveau riche, many of whom want to move their families abroad, attracted by places with cleaner air and fewer food safety issues than back home, as well as the prospects of a Western education for their children. This has inflated home prices around the world, as thousands of Chinese buy property in favored cities such as Sydney, Los Angeles, New York, and Vancouver. Now, though, the increased controls on currency outflows are having an impact in some markets. In the past couple of months, Chinese developer Country Garden has inside China stopped marketing apartments in its massive Forest City project in Iskandar, southern Malaysia, and disclosed that some home buyers want to cancel purchases because of the capital controls. Still, the party hasnt ended in some other markets. In Sydney, Australia, home prices have risen at a blistering 16 percent in the past year, thanks in part to Chinese demand. On and close to Long Islands so-called Gold Coast the drop off in interest is apparent to some in the industry. "The money suddenly dried up last year," said Lois Kirschenbaum, a broker specializing in luxury homes on Long Island''s north shore, an area favored by Chinese partly because of its reputation for having good schools. "We used to get vans of Chinese buyers each month one or two years ago during the buying season in Spring. We havent seen any vans this year," she said. Kirschenbaum, who estimates half of her buyers are Chinese, said prices of homes in the neighborhood costing more than $2 million have fallen about 10 percent in the past year. In the first quarter of this year, the average price for home sales on Nassau Countys North Shore which includes the Gold Coast and nearby towns - was $984,357, down 9.7 percent from the previous quarter and 2 percent lower than the first quarter in 2016, according to a report from Douglas Elliman Real Estate. The number of sales was down 14.8 percent from the fourth quarter but up 5.6 percent from a year earlier. FEWER AT OPEN HOUSES At a recent open house for a $3.25 million five-bedroom home in Brookville that has a bar, a heated pool, a sports court and a license to rear a horse in the backyard, only two interested parties showed up for the viewing, and both were Chinese. A year ago, an open house would have attracted a lot more Chinese buyers, brokers said. But the flow of Chinese money is far from turned off. Chinese buyers have been expanding their interest to cheaper properties in markets in Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America as interest in overseas real estate remains healthy but concerns about the capital controls push some buyers towards properties at lower price points, buyers and people in the industry say. That was reflected at China''s largest overseas property fair, the Beijing International Property Investment and Immigration Expo, in mid-April, where sales agents marketed homes from over 30 countries to thousands of prospective Chinese investors in the nations capital. "Thailand is hot right now because of the capital controls," said David Wei, an organizer for the expo. "Homes in Thailand range from 300,000 yuan (about $43,000) to 1 million yuan. That is relatively cheap." Enquiries about Thailand properties on Juwai.com, a Zillow-like website that markets international property to Chinese buyers, were 40 percent higher in the first quarter of 2017 than in all of 2016, the firm said. In the U.S., there has also been a shift to lower-priced homes as younger buyers look for investment properties, says Eric Dong, a Beijing-based sales manager at Lennar, a large U.S. homebuilder. "Seven or eight years ago, the buyer was older and they bought for self-use. The average price was $1.4 million to $1.5 million, said Dong. In recent years, it''s the younger generation ... the average sales price is $300,000 to $500,000." The price of homes bought by Chinese buyers in the U.S. has been trending lower, with a lot more families buying in college towns, Peter Turtzo, senior vice president of international operations at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices - part of Warren Buffet''s giant investment company - said in an interview. His company recently partnered with Juwai to start marketing homes directly to Chinese buyers. There is some concern among buyers that new reporting rules for banks being introduced by the Peoples Bank of China from July 1 may have a further dampening impact. The banks will have to tell the authorities about all cross-border foreign currency transactions of more than $10,000. Grace, 40, an immigration consultant in Beijing who asked that her full name not be used, said she owns one house in Canada and is looking at buying another, but expressed concern about the change. "Of course the capital controls are a big problem. I want to quickly transfer my assets out of the country before it gets worse, she said. The State Administration of Foreign Exchange said in an emailed statement that the new rules clarify reporting requirements for financial institutions and do not impact foreign exchange purchases by individuals. OVERBUILDING Here on Long Island, there has - in particular - been an influx of Chinese into the neighbourhoods near Jericho, such as Muttontown, Brookville, Old Westbury and Roslyn in recent years. But Jason Friedman, a real estate broker who also specialises in luxury housing on the north shore, said a building boom that began a couple of years ago in the area in response to the surge in Chinese buying interest is starting to weigh on the market now. Access to cash from China is rarely far away as a concern. He said two of his Chinese clients asked for deadline extensions about a year ago. They said they needed more time to bring the money over. The money came through eventually. There were no restraints at the beginning, and then...they turned off the faucet. There was a very short period when you had all the money and then suddenly it was taken away, Friedman said. (Reporting by Koh Gui Qing and Elias Glenn; Additional reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Martin Howell)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-property-overseas-idUKKBN1850WW'|'2017-05-09T17:11:00.000+03:00' +'c9d8644da1b3c02cd973a18d070892ff6bf8392b'|'Oil surges 2.5 percent, soothes cyber nerves'|'Business News - Mon May 15, 2017 - 8:53pm BST World stocks rise with oil, cyber attack; weak data knocks dollar left right A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 15, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: A worker checks the valve of an oil pipe at Nahr Bin Umar oil field, north of Basra, Iraq December 21, 2015. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani/File Photo 2/2 By Rodrigo Campos - NEW YORK NEW YORK Commodity-linked stocks and currencies got a lift on Monday from rising crude oil prices after major producers Saudi Arabia and Russia said they would extend oil supply cuts into 2018. Cyber-security shares also got a lift, after a hack that locked down hundreds of thousands of computers across 150 countries over the weekend. Energy ministers from the world''s top two oil producers said production cuts, which were set to expire next month, should continue until March, longer than an optional six-month extension specified in the deal. "It''s more jawboning from OPEC, and I think in the end it''s going to prove to be noise... so the rally is probably a little much," said Michael ORourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading in Greenwich, Connecticut. "But the market is reacting to the headlines." The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meets in Vienna on May 25 to consider the extension. U.S. crude CLcv1 rose 2.09 percent to $48.84 per barrel and Brent LCOcv1 was last at $51.82, up 1.93 percent on the day. The news from the energy sector more than offset concern over the weekend after a successful missile test by North Korea and a cyber attack with unprecedented global reach. The global "ransomware" cyber attack disrupted factories, hospitals, shops and schools, and spurred investors on Monday to buy stocks set to benefit from higher cyber security spending by firms and government agencies. An exchange-traded fund of cyber security shares across the globe ( HACK.K ) hit a near two-year high and was last up 3.2 percent at $30.71. U.S. cyber stocks jumped, and the largest advancing sector on Wall Street was technology, with Cisco ( CSCO.O ) leading the way up on the S&P 500, which hit a record high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 81.2 points, or 0.39 percent, to 20,977.81, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 10.35 points, or 0.43 percent, to 2,401.25 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 24.19 points, or 0.4 percent, to 6,145.42. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 rose 0.10 percent and MSCI''s gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD PUS gained 0.46 percent. Emerging market stocks rose 0.91 percent. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS closed 0.68 percent higher, while Japan''s Nikkei .N225 lost 0.07 percent. CRUDE, DATA WEIGH GREENBACK The currencies of resource-linked economies got a boost from the jump in oil prices. The Canadian dollar hit its highest level in over two weeks against the greenback. The U.S. dollar was also hurt by weak data on New York state area manufacturing. The dollar index .DXY, tracking the currency against a basket of other major units, fell 0.34 percent, with the euro EUR= up 0.46 percent to $1.0978. The Japanese yen weakened 0.37 percent versus the greenback at 113.77 per dollar, while sterling GBP= was last trading at $1.2896, up 0.05 percent on the day. The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.48 percent versus the greenback at 1.36 per dollar. U.S. Treasury yields slipped after the weak U.S. data. Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last fell 3/32 in price to yield 2.3415 percent, from 2.333 percent late on Friday. Spot gold XAU= added 0.2 percent to $1,230.61 an ounce. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 gained 0.25 percent to $1,230.80 an ounce. Copper CMCU3 rose 0.96 percent to $5,613.00 a tonne. (Additional reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch, Jessica Resnick-Ault, Dion Rabouin and Karen Brettell in New York; Editing by Bernadette Baum)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets-idUKKCN18B026'|'2017-05-15T17:31:00.000+03:00' +'d3d5f991ab15aa78f544ced3445c4faa1bbca79f'|'VW first quarter profit jumps 40 percent as brand cost cuts materialize'|' 56am BST VW first quarter profit jumps 40 percent as brand cost cuts materialize FILE PHOTO: The logo of Volkswagen company is seen on a car on an assembly line at the Volkswagen car factory in Palmela, Portugal, December 9, 2016. REUTERS/Rafael Marchante/File Photo BERLIN Volkswagen reported one of its highest-ever quarterly group profits even as vehicle sales declined, a sign that long-overdue cost cuts are materializing as the carmaker pushes to overcome its emissions scandal. First-quarter group operating profit jumped 40 percent to 4.37 billion euros (3.7 billion pounds) from 3.13 billion a year ago, Volkswagen (VW) said on Wednesday, joining rivals Daimler and BMW which have also reported better-than-expected quarterly results. Results were helped by improving cost savings at VW''s troubled core division, the carmaker said, sticking with expectations for the full-year group operating margin to come in between 6 and 7 percent after 6.7 percent in 2016. (Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Maria Sheahan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-volkswagen-results-idUKKBN17Z0G4'|'2017-05-03T14:56:00.000+03:00' +'5fd5a2ce986eb018bae291a4ea487f54e3947132'|'France''s Renault hit by ransomware global cyber attack'|'Autos 27am BST France''s Renault hit by ransomware global cyber attack Logo is seen on a ribbon at a dealing centre Renault store in Minsk, Belarus June 9, 2016. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko PARIS French carmaker Renault was hit by the global ransomware cyber attack that has infected tens of thousands of computers in nearly 100 countries, a spokeswoman said on Saturday. It is the first major French company to report being affected by the malicious malware. "Measures are being put in place to stop the spread of the virus; it''s the first step," the spokeswoman said. "We''re seeking to have a global vision to see which sites have been affected," she added. (Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain and Yann Le Guernigou; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-renault-cybercrime-idUKKBN1890AH'|'2017-05-13T18:27:00.000+03:00' +'c15e95215e985a304978eb2720c03a3e00bb1bd1'|'Moody''s China downgrade ''illogical'', overstates debt: People''s Daily'|'SHANGHAI The decision by Moody''s Investors Service to downgrade China''s credit rating is "illogical" and overstates the levels of government debt, a commerce ministry researcher said in an editorial in the official People''s Daily newspaper on Thursday.Mei Xinyu, a researcher at China''s Ministry of Commerce, wrote in a front page editorial of the paper''s overseas edition the downgrade, Moody''s first for China since 1989, overstated China''s reliance on stimulus and the country''s debt levels.Moody''s downgraded China''s credit ratings on Wednesday for the first time in nearly 30 years, saying it expects the financial strength of the economy will erode in coming years as growth slows and debt continues to rise.China''s Finance Ministry said on Wednesday the downgrade overestimated the risks to the economy and was based on "inappropriate methodology". China''s state planner said debt risks were generally controllable.Mei said China''s economic performance this year had exceeded market expectations and criticized Moody''s for including debt at state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and local government financing vehicles as indirect government liabilities."It is clear to see that the logic behind Moody''s assertions goes against the objective facts," he wrote.Moody''s one-notch downgrade in long-term local and foreign currency issuer ratings, to A1 from Aa3, comes as the Chinese government grapples with the challenges of rising financial risks stemming from years of credit-fueled stimulus.Chinese leaders have identified the containment of financial risks as a top priority this year, but are moving cautiously to avoid choking economic growth. The authorities have gingerly raised short-term interest rates while tightening regulatory oversight.Mei added that the China downgrade amounted to a "double standard" compared with how countries in Europe and the United States were treated. However, the decision would not have a major impact on the Chinese economy, he said.The downgrade is likely to modestly increase the cost of borrowing for China''s government and SOEs, but it remains comfortably within the investment grade rating range.(Reporting by Adam Jourdan and Samuel Shen; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-rating-idUSKBN18L07D'|'2017-05-25T10:02:00.000+03:00' +'494e9e3339837d639e5897e637df09e655f0a3ea'|'Audi says resolves dispute with dealers in China'|'Top News - Sat May 20, 2017 - 2:12pm BST Audi says resolves dispute with dealers in China The company logo of Volkswagen''s Audi AG premium unit is pictured on the hub caps of a car during the annual news conference in Ingolstadt March 11, 2008. REUTERS/Michael Dalder By Norihiko Shirouzu - BEIJING BEIJING Audi ( NSUG.DE ), a unit of Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ), said on Saturday it had struck a deal with its dealers in China, effectively resolving a dispute that could have disrupted the luxury carmaker''s business in the world''s biggest auto market. The dispute stemmed from Audi''s partnership with SAIC Motor Corp ( 600104.SS ), China''s largest automaker, for a long-term collaboration that could include the production and distribution of Audi models in the future. The tie-up riled Audi store operators in China, who currently sell Audi cars imported from Germany as well as Chinese-made vehicles as part of Audi''s existing joint venture with China''s FAW Corp [SASACJ.UL]. They said the partnership would cause current dealers to lose out to SAIC on access to key future products, hurting their sales and profitability. Audi, however, said on Saturday it had signed an agreement with China''s FAW, the FAW-Volkswagen joint venture and the Audi dealer council based on "a common understanding of how the planned cooperation between SAIC and Audi will meet the interests of all parties involved." Under the accord, Audi models from a potential partnership with SAIC will be distributed through the carmaker''s existing sales network in China. Based on a 10-year growth plan of Audi, FAW and FAW-Volkswagen, Audi will expand its portfolio of locally made and imported models in China, the statement added. A source told Reuters earlier on Saturday about the deal, which Audi board member Dietmar Voggenreiter said was a "very constructive agreement" and "a strategic milestone for Audi''s business in China." "It paves the way for our two partner strategy and will allow us to further strengthen our commitment to China," Voggenreiter added in a statement. An early entrant to China, Audi is the best-selling premium car brand although it is losing ground to newer models from Daimler''s ( DAIGn.DE ) Mercedes-Benz and non-German automakers such as Toyota''s ( 7203.T ) Lexus and General Motor''s ( GM.N ) Cadillac. When discussions about a tie-up with SAIC came to light last year, Audi dealers said the Germany company had been slow to introduce new products, hurting sales growth, and causing them to lose money. The dealers, in a letter to the automaker seen by Reuters at the time, urged Audi to consider their opinions and guarantee their rights before making a final decision. (Additional reporting by Christoph Steitz in Frankfurt; Writing by John Ruwitch; Editing by Louise Heavens and Helen Popper)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-audi-china-dealers-idUKKCN18G0DP'|'2017-05-20T21:12:00.000+03:00' +'dfeb72648735dc84cc98b49b4bd2cc7d9579a4b9'|'MOVES-UK-based RateSetter names Manduca as non-exec chairman'|'Market News - Mon May 15, 2017 - 10:47am EDT MOVES-UK-based RateSetter names Manduca as non-exec chairman May 15 UK-based peer-to-peer lender RateSetter named Paul Manduca as its new non-executive chairman, replacing Alan Hughes. Manduca will join the company''s board on June 1, and is the chairman of insurer Prudential Plc. He has also served as the chief executive of Rothschild Asset Management and Deutsche Asset Management. (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru) ISS recommends Arconic shareholders back two Elliott board nominees May 15 Proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services Inc recommended on Monday that shareholders of specialty metals company Arconic Inc vote for two of activist investor Elliott''s four board director nominees. * Advent, Shanghai Pharma said to consider rival bid of about 70 euros a share for Stada - Bloomberg, citing sources Source text - https://bloom.bg/2pPn4T1 (Bengaluru Newsroom) MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/ratesetter-moves-paul-manduca-idUSL4N1IH4MK'|'2017-05-15T22:47:00.000+03:00' +'271e58b0e913e1c91ef1b7a43d79b793e600092b'|'Desperately short of labour, mid-sized Japanese firms plan to buy robots'|'Business News - Mon May 15, 2017 - 1:57am BST Desperately short of labour, mid-sized Japanese firms plan to buy robots By Stanley White - TOKYO TOKYO Desperate to overcome Japan''s growing shortage of labour, mid-sized companies are planning to buy robots and other equipment to automate a wide range of tasks, including manufacturing, earthmoving and hotel room service. According to a Bank of Japan survey, companies with share capital of 100 million yen to 1 billion yen plan to boost investment in the fiscal year that started in April by 17.5 percent, the highest level on record. It is unclear how much of that is being spent on automation but companies selling such equipment say their order books are growing and the Japanese government says it sees a larger proportion of investment being dedicated to increasing efficiency. Revenue at many of Japans robot makers also rose in the January-March period for the first time in several quarters. "The share of capital expenditure devoted to becoming more efficient is increasing because of the shortage of workers," said Seiichiro Inoue, a director in the industrial policy bureau of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, or METI. If the investment ambitions are fulfilled it would show there is a silver lining as Japan tries to cope with a shrinking and rapidly ageing population. It could help equipment-makers, lift the country''s low productivity and boost economic growth. The government predicts investment in labour-saving equipment will rise this fiscal year, Inoue said. The way Japan copes with an ageing population will provide critical lessons for other ageing societies, including China and South Korea, that will have to grapple with similar challenges in coming years. "More than 90 percent of Japan''s companies are small- and medium-sized, but most of these companies are not using robots," said Yasuhiko Hashimoto, who works in Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltds robot division. "We''re coming up with a lot of applications and product packages to target these companies." Among those products is a two-armed, 170-centimeter (5-foot-7) tall robot. Kawasaki says it is selling well because it can be adapted to a range of industrial uses by electronics makers, food processors and drug companies. Hitachi Construction Machinery says it is getting a lot of enquiries for its computer-programmed digging machines that use a global positioning system to hew ditches that are accurate to within centimetres and can cut digging time by about half. "We focus on rentals and expect business to pick up in the second half of the fiscal year, which is when most companies tend to order construction equipment for projects," said Yoshi Furuno, a company official. Hitachi Construction declined to provide figures. Mid-sized companies are planning on increasing spending much more than large-caps, which are projecting just a 0.6 percent increase in the fiscal year, according to the Bank of Japan. Smaller companies tend to have less flexibility in overcoming labour shortages by paying workers more or by moving production overseas. WORKING POPULATION PLUNGING Some companies could end up spending less than originally planned. But with demographics only worsening, companies will need to continue to search for solutions to the labour shortage problem. Japan''s working-age population peaked in 1995 at 87 million and has been falling ever since. The government expects it to fall to 76 million this year and to 45 million by 2065. In the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2016, mid-sized companies with 100 to 499 workers advertised to fill 1.1 million new positions, the highest in five years and almost five times the number of open positions at companies with 500 workers or more, Labour Ministry data show. Among the robot makers to report stronger revenue in the last quarter was Fanuc Corp. Its revenue was 7.9 percent higher than a year earlier, the first increase in seven quarters. Meanwhile, Yaskawa Electric Corp''s revenue grew 5.1 percent in January-March from the same period a year ago, the first increase in five quarters. Robots and labour-saving gear arent just found in manufacturing and construction. They are also being sought by property developers, food and beverage makers and hotel chains. The Hen na Hotel, or the "Odd Hotel," near Tokyo Disneyland, for example, bills itself as a robot hotel because it uses 140 different robots and artificial intelligence to serve guests in its 100-room hotel and can operate with as few as two to three people, according to the manager Yukio Nagai. Each room contains an egg-shaped robot, or personal assistant, called Tapia, that uses artificial intelligence to recognise people''s faces and respond to their voice commands. It can wake you up, manage your schedule, and control other Internet-linked devices like the TV and air conditioning. Other robots can carry bags and take out the trash. "Originally we sold this product for use in the home, but now we are getting a lot of enquiries from companies," said Sayaka Chiba, a director at MJI Co, which makes the Tapia. "Banks, hospitals, and hotels are interested in using Tapia for reception work and communicating with customers. "Companies say they are interested in Tapia because of labour shortages. Nursing homes are also interested," she said. "We''ll continue to sell this for use in the home, but all the interest from companies show that the market has shifted somewhat." For graphic on Japan''s low productivity, click - tmsnrt.rs/2ql1cRh For graphic on Japan''s shrinking workforce, click - tmsnrt.rs/2qHkwuW (Reporting and writing by Stanley White; editing by Malcolm Foster and Martin Howell)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-capex-analysis-idUKKCN18B01T'|'2017-05-15T08:57:00.000+03:00' +'6adcc0419e997cb4ef6a3e8abcb9dfd320678f6b'|'Bernanke calls Trump''s 3% growth goal a ''long shot'' - May. 1, 2017'|'Bernanke calls Trump''s 3% growth goal a ''long shot'' by Matt Egan @mattmegan5 May 1, 2017: 11:21 AM ET Here''s how tax cuts affect the economy On the campaign trail President Trump promised his economic agenda would rev the American economy up to 4% growth . Since taking office, Trump has lowered his growth goal to a more modest 3%. Ben Bernanke thinks Trump is unlikely to deliver even his more conservative target. "I would say it''s a pretty long shot," the former Fed chief told CNBC on Monday. Even if you factor in a bump from dramatic tax cuts Trump has proposed , Bernanke said 3% growth is "probably not" in the cards. He said there''s no "single magic bullet" to speed up growth. Bernanke, who stepped down as Fed chief in 2014, pointed to long-term problems in the US economy, including an aging workforce, low productivity and a global savings glut. "We''re in a slow-growth world now," Bernanke told CNBC. Bernanke cautioned that no one can say for sure how the economy will perform in the future. "You know how good economists are at forecasting, and I am an economist," he joked. Related: Reminder: Tax cuts don''t make economy soar The former Fed chief''s outlook is way more subdued than Wall Street''s, as evidenced by the Trump rally in the stock market. The S&P 500 soared 11.6% between Trump''s election and his 100-day mark, representing the second-best performance over that timeframe since President Kennedy in 1961. A central reason for the market boom is expectations Trump''s policies will speed up the sluggish economy, which grew during the first quarter at the slowest pace since 2014. Two-thirds of investors believe Trump will achieve GDP growth of 3%, according to an early April E*Trade survey of investors with at least $10,000 in a brokerage account. But Bernanke warned that "politically it''s going to be a much slower process -- and a more limited process" than investors may realize. Bernanke said he has not met with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, but he did meet once with Gary Cohn, Trump''s top economic adviser. Mnuchin said last week that slashing corporate tax rates to 15% is part of the Trump administration''s goal to achieve "sustained growth of 3% or higher." Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said last week he''s confident Trump''s 3% growth goal can be met, "if not beat." Related: Wall Street to Trump: Read our lips. Just fix taxes Even though Bernanke was more cautious, he broadly supports "smart policy" like tax reform and infrastructure spending. Both are main pillars of the Trump agenda. Investing in infrastructure to fix roads and bridges would make sense by making the U.S. economy more efficient, Bernanke said. On Trump''s tax plan , Bernanke said it''s too early to say but that the one-page summary released last week "looks like mostly cutting tax rates." He added, "I would like to see some tax reform." Bernanke, who served two terms as Fed chief, took a bit of a victory tour while assessing the current economic environment. He pointed to the creation of 16 million jobs, 4.5% unemployment rate, stable inflation and the health of the stock and housing markets. "All those things are looking good," Bernanke said. "If you''d told me three, four years ago this is where we''d be, I would have been pretty happy." Bernanke also said the Fed''s exit from emergency policies like near-zero interest rates has been better than feared. He noted that the Fed''s critics predicted "all kinds of terrible things" like huge stock market bubbles, hyperinflation and the collapse of the U.S. dollar. "In fact, it''s gone pretty smoothly," Bernanke said. CNNMoney (New York) First published May 1, 2017: 11:15 AM ET '|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_news_companies.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/01/investing/bernanke-growth-trump-tax-cuts/index.html'|'2017-05-01T19:21:00.000+03:00' +'0957c297da14b46d0f00519c3f3bf4cf9316e9db'|'Brazil Supreme Court judge orders Temer to respond to police questions'|'Market News 19pm EDT Brazil Supreme Court judge orders Temer to respond to police questions BRASILIA May 30 Brazilian President Michel Temer must respond within 24 hours to federal police questions about his alleged involvement in a sprawling political graft probe, a Supreme Court judge ruled on Tuesday, a source with direct knowledge of the investigation told Reuters. Executives from the world''s biggest meatpacker JBS SA said in plea-bargain testimony to police that Temer condoned bribing a potential witness in the "Car Wash" corruption case and they paid the president nearly $5 million in bribes in recent years. Temer strongly denies the accusations. The Supreme Court did not immediately respond to requests for comment. (Reporting by Ricardo Brito; Editing by Andrew Hay)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-corruption-temer-court-idUSE6N1FG03P'|'2017-05-31T03:19:00.000+03:00' +'b1f05718e98936f1d83e2be488e2c043063b17f3'|'PRESS DIGEST- British Business - May 30'|'May 30 The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.The TimesOne of the eurozone''s top central bankers, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, has stepped up the campaign to claim the City''s lucrative euro-clearing business by declaring that it is impossible for it to remain in London. bit.ly/2r5yPbQA Dutch court on Monday threw out a request from rebel shareholders in Akzo Nobel NV for it to take immediate action over the paint group''s rejection of a 26.9 billion euros ($29.94 billion) bid from PPG Industries Inc. bit.ly/2r5z7POThe GuardianThousands of private investors who claim they were misled by Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and its former chief executive Fred Goodwin into investing in the bank before it was rescued by the taxpayer are being urged to settle their legal case. bit.ly/2r5Gt6fThe Bank of England''s rate-setting team could be reduced to seven members for the first time in nearly 11 years as election "purdah" rules will delay appointments until at least next month. bit.ly/2r5EjmXThe TelegraphAlmost 360 million pounds ($461.38 million) has been wiped off the value of International Airlines Group following the catastrophic computer systems failure at British Airways that caused havoc for holidaymakers and left the carrier facing a hefty compensation bill. bit.ly/2r5EsH1The board of JKX Oil and Gas Plc faces its second attempted coup in 18 months after its largest shareholder turned on the investor which purged the board last year. bit.ly/2r5ntVcSky NewsRenhe Pharmacy Co Ltd has made a recent enquiry about participating in the auction of the Body Shop, which has been put up for sale by L''Oreal Sa, the French cosmetics group. bit.ly/2qzwxOGThe IndependentBritish Prime Minister Theresa May''s plan to cut net migration to under 100,000 a year would almost double unemployment in UK to more than three million, according to a new study. ind.pn/2r5l6BK ($1 = 0.8986 euros) ($1 = 0.7803 pounds) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-press-business-idINL3N1IV3ZZ'|'2017-05-29T21:49:00.000+03:00' +'41620e6c5ce4baa3b6d3f109389f882ebbaf676b'|'Platinum Equity nears deal to buy prison phone company Securus: sources'|'By Greg Roumeliotis Buyout firm Platinum Equity LLC is nearing a deal to acquire Securus Technologies Holdings Inc, the second-largest provider of phone services to U.S. prisoners, for close to $1.5 billion, including debt, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.The deal illustrates private equity firms'' strong appetite for investments in prison phone service operators because of the strong cash flow they generate from facilitating phone calls, even as they attract criticism over the rates they charge.The acquisition would come after the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decided earlier this year, under its new chairman, U.S. President Donald Trump appointee Ajit Pai, not to defend in court part of the caps that it placed in 2015 on the rates of prison inmate phone calls.A deal between Securus'' existing owner, ABRY Partners, and Platinum Equity could be announced in the coming weeks, the sources said, asking not to be identified because the matter is confidential.Platinum Equity declined to comment, while Securus and ABRY Partners did not respond to requests for comment.Securus, based in Dallas, provides phone services to more than 1.2 million inmates across North America. In exchange it charges prisoners and the families hefty fees, which it justifies by pointing to the costs of the technology to keep the calls secure, such as call monitoring and voice recognition. It also pays a commission to the prison operators.Following controversy over the prices Securus and its larger peer, Global Tel*Link Corp, charge for phone calls to prisoners, which end up costing many of their families hundreds of dollars every month, the FCC in 2015 placed a cap on the rates.Interstate phone calls to contact prisoners are now capped at 21 cents per minute for debit and prepaid calls, and 25 cents per minute for collect calls.Caps for intrastate calls, however, are currently under a court stay, so 15-minute phone calls in many U.S. states can cost between $10 and $20. The FCC told the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. in January that it would drop its defense of the intrastate phone call rate caps, leaving prisoner rights advocates to defend them on their own.ABRY Partners acquired a majority stake in Securus in 2013 from another buyout firm, Castle Harlan Inc, in a $640 million deal. Global Tel*Link is also owned by a private equity firm, American Securities LLC.(Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Additional reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-securus-tech-m-a-abrypartners-idINKCN18C2FU'|'2017-05-16T17:19:00.000+03:00' +'aaec850dadd908de731dbd66026f162bb77da9f9'|'UPDATE 1-Syncrude oil sands project to further cut shipments in May and June -sources'|'Company News 31pm EDT UPDATE 1-Syncrude oil sands project to further cut shipments in May and June -sources (Adds details on total output, synthetic prices) CALGARY, Alberta May 25 The Syncrude Canada oil sands project in northern Alberta is further cutting shipments of synthetic crude to customers in May and June because of a leak at the plant, two market sources said on Thursday. Syncrude will reduce May shipments by 100,000 barrels to 5.3 million barrels in total for the month, and June shipments by 1 million barrels to 6 million in total, the sources said. The cuts come on top of already reduced production forecasts for the facility in May and June as a result of maintenance work that was brought forward following a fire in March that damaged the facility. When operating at full capacity Syncrude can produce 350,000 barrels per day, or around 11 million barrels a month. Syncrude spokesman Will Gibson declined to comment. Suncor Energy Inc is the majority owner of the Syncrude project while Imperial Oil Ltd provides operational support. There were no trades in light synthetic crude for June delivery on Thursday, according to Shorcan Energy brokers. The grade settled flat to WTI on Wednesday, having traded at a discount for most of the month. Trading volumes are currently thin in the Canadian crude market as the trading "window" in which the bulk of activity takes place, lasting from the first of the month until the day before pipelines nominations are due, closed last week. (Reporting by Nia Williams in Calgary and Catherine Ngai in New York; Editing by Sandra Maler and Lisa Shumaker) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles Next In Company News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-syncrude-cuts-idUSL1N1IR1VQ'|'2017-05-26T05:31:00.000+03:00' +'879e3c5148340396681a6b863a1792496c3c156b'|'Tribune reports 1st-qtr loss versus year-ago profit'|'Market News - Wed May 10, 2017 - 7:28am EDT Tribune reports 1st-qtr loss versus year-ago profit May 10 U.S. broadcaster Tribune Media Co , which agreed to be bought by Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc, reported a loss in the first quarter, compared to a profit a year earlier, hurt partly by lower ad revenue from its TV and entertainment business. The company said net loss was $85.6 million, or 99 cents per share in the first quarter ended March 31, compared with a net income of $11.1 million, or 12 cents per share, a year earlier. Tribune said it recorded an impairment charge of $122 million in the quarter. Operating revenue fell to $439.9 million from $468.5 million. Sinclair on Monday said it would buy Tribune for about $3.9 billion, giving Sinclair a greater foothold in big broadcast markets like New York and Chicago. (Reporting by Pushkala A and Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/tribune-media-results-idUSL4N1IC3UR'|'2017-05-10T19:28:00.000+03:00' +'02ee3cb43272d88b4adc7ea374ecb90a7d1fc948'|'Software update can fix Fiat Chrysler''s U.S. diesel issue - lawyer'|'Wed May 24, 2017 - 11:18pm BST Software update can fix Fiat Chrysler''s U.S. diesel issue: lawyer FILE PHOTO: People talk as they stand next to a logo of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) in Turin, Italy on March 31, 2014. REUTERS/Giorgio Perottino/File Photo By David Shepardson - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV ( FCHA.MI ) believes a software update can address U.S. regulators'' contention that its diesel vehicles are producing excess emissions, a lawyer for the company said at a court hearing on Wednesday. The lawyer admitted no wrongdoing by the Italian-American automaker, however. The Justice Department filed a civil suit on Tuesday accusing Fiat Chrysler of illegally using software to bypass emission controls in 104,000 2014-2016 diesel and labeled the software "defeat devices." Robert Giuffra, a lawyer representing Fiat Chrysler, said at a hearing in San Francisco that regulators'' concerns could be resolved with new software without a need for any new hardware. Giuffra said the company does not concede that the 104,000 vehicles emitted excess emissions. He said there were very complicated regulations governing whether auxillary emissions control devices should have been disclosed to regulators. Regulators could approve the company''s proposed software update very quickly as part of certifying 2017 diesel models to allow them to go on sale, potentially in a few weeks, Giuffra said. He added that he expects the same fix will address concerns for the 104,000 2014-2016 vehicles. A Justice Department lawyer, Joseph Warren, said a decision could take longer, but said the government wants to move quickly. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board accused Fiat Chrysler in January of illegally using undisclosed software to allow excess diesel emissions in 104,000 U.S. 2014-2016 Jeep Grand Cherokees and Dodge Ram 1500 trucks in a notice of violation. Fiat Chrysler said in a statement it does not believe the software update would impact performance or fuel efficiency. The notice was the result of a probe that arose out of regulators'' investigation of rival Volkswagen AG''s ( VOWG_p.DE ) excess emissions. U.S.-listed Fiat Chrysler shares, which fell 4.1 percent on Tuesday, closed up 2.3 percent in trading Wednesday to $10.56. Fiat Chrysler faces more than 20 lawsuits from dealers and owners over the alleged excess emissions. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen said at the hearing he would not delay numerous civil suits. He is also overseeing suits filed against Robert Bosch GmbH [ROBG.UL] stemming from its role in developing the Fiat Chrysler diesel engines. "The public interest demands that we move forward quickly," Chen said. Chen has scheduled hearings in June to pick lead attorneys to represent owners and to name a settlement master. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Tom Brown)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-fiat-chrysler-emissions-idUKKBN18K31X'|'2017-05-25T06:18:00.000+03:00' +'5cca4b2f0e346c2aa86af4aa3316b758e4b669c4'|'YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki: Don''t interrupt me 3,'|'YouTube CEO: My message to President Trump One of the most powerful tech executives in the country hates when she gets interrupted. YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki said it''s one of the more common microaggressions, or subtle and indirect forms of discrimination, that women and minorities face in the workplace, including her. "Even in a culture where people are well meaning, there are sometimes ''microaggressions.'' People who will just cut you off. You''ll be talking and someone will interrupt you," Wojcicki told Poppy Harlow at the CNNMoney American Opportunity breakfast in New York. "That''s become a big pet peeve of mine." Wojcicki said that while Silicon Valley is a diverse place, with many different opinions, there are bound to be issues in an environment where there''s such a dominant majority group. In this case, white men. Only 26% of all tech jobs in the U.S . are held by women, according to the National Center for Women and Information Technology. "It''s going to be harder for that minority," said Wojcicki, adding that she believes sexism is a "solvable problem." Related: Girls Who Code founder to Ivanka Trump: Don''t use my story In an op-ed that ran in Vanity Fair in March, Wojcicki wrote that she''s "frustrated that an industry so quick to embrace and change the future can''t break free of its regrettable past." Accusations of sexism at tech companies have made headlines in recent years. Wojcicki''s piece came after Susan Fowler, a former engineer at Uber, alleged systemic sexism at the company which included being propositioned for sex. The allegations caused Uber CEO Travis Kalanick to hire former attorney general Eric Holder to lead an investigation into its workforce. "We seek to make Uber a just workplace and there can be absolutely no place for this kind of behavior at Uber -- and anyone who behaves this way or thinks this is OK will be fired," said Kalanick at the time. But some of the company''s investors have questioned why Kalanick didn''t work to fix the company''s culture earlier. To combat sexism and promote more diversity in the workplace, Wojcicki outlined three different factors that she said may "sound straightforward" but may not be happening at Silicon Valley companies. First, she said CEOs and executives need to make it clear that diversity matters. "It really needs to come from the top," said Wojcicki. "You need your entire management team to realize this is important, we are going to be a better, stronger team if we have diversity." Related: Salesforce just spent another $3 million to close its gender pay gap She praised Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff as "an example of a CEO owning the issue." In April, Salesforce announced that it had raised the pay of 11% of its employees in order to close the gender pay gap between male and female staffers around the world. The company conducted a similar review of its employees'' salaries a year earlier, bumping up the pay of 6% of its employees. Moreover, Wojcicki said companies need to support diverse groups by giving them funding and other support, and not just rely on minority members to self-organize. Lastly, she said mentorship is key. Wojcicki said that in addition to hard work, luck, and good business decisions, she has come this far because mentors have helped advocate for her. One of her biggest mentors was the late Bill Campbell. Known as "the Coach," Campbell would make sure Wojcicki was invited to important meetings and events. "You need people on the inside -- those happen to be a lot of men," she said. Related: Silicon Valley mourns the loss of its ''coach'' Wojcicki said she feels the responsibility of being a female leader in tech. Part of that means representing tech "as a really compelling place for women." In January, YouTube''s parent company Google ( GOOG ) was sued by the Department of Labor, after the company repeatedly refused its request to provide names, contact information, job history and salary history details as part of a routine audit into its equal opportunity hiring practices. In April, Janette Wipper, a Labor Department regional director, testified that the agency found a "systemic" problem of gender pay inequality at Google. "We were really, really surprised by that allegation," Wojcicki said, noting that the company has a "sophisticated team" that makes sure employees within the same level are paid within the same band of compensation. Google has previously said that it "vehemently" disagrees with the government''s claims, adding that the "DoL hasn''t provided any data, or shared its methodology." Wojcicki said she personally goes through the salaries of YouTube employees to ensure that they are consistent and fair. "After my teams go through it, after HR goes through it, I go through it and spot check that it is consistent and it''s fair." CNNMoney (New York) 12:50 PM ET'|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_technology.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/03/technology/susan-wojcicki-american-opportunity/index.html'|'2017-05-03T20:50:00.000+03:00' +'bac4029f1abc801997be08f785b739b75aa704be'|'With new sheriff in town, S.Korea big businesses duck for cover'|'* Moon yet to spell out reform agenda* "Chaebol sniper" named head of regulatory agency* But new head says he''s prioritising jobs over reforms* Chaebol silent so far on call for more jobs* But some have shelved projects since Moon''s electionBy Joyce Lee and Se Young LeeSEOUL, May 21 A South Korean retail giant has shelved controversial expansion plans, while a large bank made hundreds of contract jobs permanent after President Moon Jae-in took office vowing to reform the family-run conglomerates that dominate the economy.The 64-year-old liberal leader campaigned on a platform of curbing the power of the conglomerates, or chaebol. On Wednesday, he nominated an economist nicknamed "chaebol sniper" for his shareholder activist campaigns as head of the antitrust regulator.Moon has yet to spell out his reform agenda, and the fractured parliament, controlled by conservative and moderate politicians, would likely only support modest changes, given the chaebol''s outsized role in the economy.But some companies are choosing to stay out of the crosshairs even before they see any legislation. Business lobby groups say they will work with Moon in creating jobs - the president''s No.1 priority according to his advisers.South Korea''s four biggest chaebol groups - Samsung, Hyundai Motor, SK and LG - account for half the country''s stock market value. They released full-page ads after Moon''s election, featuring his photo and saying they "will be with (President Moon) to make a better country.""They don''t want to be the first to cause some kind of a problem," said Chang Sea-jin, professor of business administration at National University of Singapore. "It''s time to be very careful."Big business, however, has largely stayed silent on Moon''s call to create jobs, underscoring the challenges in delivering on his signature agenda. Moon pledged to create 810,000 public sector jobs and has chastised the chaebol for not hiring.Moon has vowed to end the practice of pardoning convicted corporate criminals and to break the nexus of business and politics that was once again exposed in the scandal that led to the ouster of former president Park Geun-hye and the arrest of Samsung chief Jay Y. Lee who is accused of bribing Park. Both are undergoing trial on criminal charges and have denied any wrongdoing.The conglomerates helped transform South Korea into Asia''s fourth-largest economy. But critics say they have used their cosy ties with the government to crowd out smaller businesses.They also blame the chaebol''s complex web of cross-shareholdings among group companies and opaque governance for the so-called "Korea Discount" - meaning their shares are typically undervalued in comparison to their global peers.''FALL OUT OF FAVOUR''Within days of Moon''s election, Shinsegae Inc, South Korea''s third-largest department store operator, indefinitely postponed a land purchasing agreement for a new store it was planning to build in Bucheon, southwest of Seoul. Small business owners near the site have been protesting the plan.During the campaign, Moon pledged to place limitations on large shopping complexes, including on where they could be built, in order to protect smaller firms and self-employed shopowners."I understand Shinsegae postponed the deal because of concerns that if they sign immediately after the start of the new administration, they will fall out of favour and be disadvantaged," Kim Man-soo, mayor of Bucheon City, posted on his Facebook.A Shinsegae official said the company had already scaled back the shopping mall project in late 2016, so as not to hurt traditional markets. He declined to elaborate.Shinsegae was spun off from Samsung in 1997, and Jay Y. Lee''s aunt is its chairwoman and single-largest shareholder.Another shopping mall project in northwest Seoul by Lotte Shopping Co Ltd, which had been in the works for four years, may be scrapped all together.Lotte, Shinsegae''s bigger rival, bought land for the mall in 2013, but the city of Seoul, whose mayor is a member of Moon''s liberal party, has not approved construction. Lotte filed an administrative lawsuit against the city in April asking for a resolution.With Moon''s election, Lotte has effectively given up on the project, the Chosun Ilbo newspaper said, citing a high-ranking Lotte official. A Lotte spokesman denied the report.The South Korean unit of Citibank, on Tuesday offered to turn all of its roughly 300 long-term temporary workers into regular workers "in pursuit of a broader benefit."JOBS DILEMMAKim Sang-jo, Moon''s nominee as next chairman of the Korea Fair Trade Commission, told reporters on Thursday he was in no hurry to unravel the cross-shareholding structures. The commission sets policies and decides cases related to fair competition.Reform was never about destroying or disbanding chaebols, but about inducing them to grow and add jobs, Kim said.South Koreas 10 largest companies only employ about 1 million of some 19 million actively employed in the country, the 54-year-old Kim said.While theres no change in our belief that cross-shareholding is a serious problem, we have to weigh benefits and administrative costs of any such reform" Kim said. "We have limited capital to push for policy changes and it is important to set priorities.But company officials and experts say structural problems make hiring easier said than done. Though tech giants, such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix Inc, are posting big profits and building new plants in South Korea, their production lines are largely automated and require less manpower than before.Other top employers such as Hyundai Motor are looking to build more overseas to cut costs, while shipbuilders are downsizing amid a painful restructuring.(Reporting by Joyce Lee and Se Young Lee, additional reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Soyoung Kim and Bill Tarrant)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/southkorea-politics-chaebol-idINL4N1II1T3'|'2017-05-20T21:52:00.000+03:00' +'9cf1c40c6b65811bcedafe3861247d5a612f03d1'|'TPG pulls out of SriLankan Airlines bid talks - airline chairman'|'By Ranga Sirilal - COLOMBO COLOMBO U.S. private equity firm TPG, one of three bidders short-listed to buy a 49 percent stake in state-owned SriLankan Airlines, has pulled out of talks about the potential acquisition, the chairman of the national carrier said.Sri Lanka has been looking to sell the minority stake in the airline along with management control, part of a broader move to reduce its holdings in state-owned firms and cut debt."After completing the due diligence process, regrettably TPG have informed us they will not pursue a potential investment in SriLankan Airlines," Ajith Dias, chairman of the carrier said in an internal memo to employees seen by Reuters on Friday."It is their opinion that allocating the human and financial resources to make the airline profitable will not realise sufficient returns, compared to the many other investment opportunities that are available to them," he said.Officials from TPG were not immediately available for comment.TPG, Sri Lanka-based Peace Air and a Maldivian company had been short-listed from about nine bids for the 49 percent stake, including from U.S. investment manager BlackRock Inc ( BLK.N ).The government called for bids in July and had expected to award the restructuring process by end 2016 but it said in February the bids from the three short-listed companies were too low.Dias also said the government was pursuing other options to find a partner and the airline should continue on the path of improving its financial and operational performance.The national carrier is struggling with colossal debt and decided to sell four new Airbus A350s after cancelling an order for four of the aircraft. It has also stopped some loss-making destinations to the Europe.SriLankan Airlines was a profitable joint venture with Gulf carrier Emirates for a decade until the pair split in 2008. Subsequent mismanagement left the airline saddled with debt of about $3.25 billion, according to the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.SriLankan Airlines has attractive routes to India and analysts have said potential investors could be drawn to the prospect of turning around the carrier, which has about 21 leased Airbus planes.The airline which has 7,000 staff, reported a net loss of 16.33 billion rupees for the year to March 31, narrower than its 31.4 billion loss a year earlier, thanks to lower oil prices.It last made a profit in 2009, a year after Emirates sold its stake.(Writing by Shihar Aneez; editing by David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/sri-lanka-airlines-idINKBN18120W'|'2017-05-05T16:17:00.000+03:00' +'4d0b76b843ac2aeff68d7ba0ee310113f5a18d36'|'UPDATE 1-South Africa wants Sinopec to retain refinery capacity'|'Commodities 9:09am EDT South Africa wants Sinopec to retain refinery capacity The Chevron Oil Refinery is seen in Cape Town, South Africa, June 30, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings CAPE TOWN South Africa is in talks with China''s Sinopec about its takeover of Chevron Corp''s Cape Town refinery as it wants to ensure its production capacity is retained and enhanced, Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel said on Thursday. Sinopec will pay almost $1 billion for a 75 percent stake in Chevron Corp''s South African assets and its subsidiary in Botswana to secure its first major refinery in Africa, the companies announced in March. "A key concern that government will raise in every major transaction like this is how to retain and expand our industrial capability and includes in this case, refinery capability," Patel told reporters before his budget vote speech in parliament. Patel''s ministry oversees competition authorities in Africa''s most industrialized country. South Africa has a history of taking its time over approving takeovers, partly because competition authorities have a public interest mandate to safeguard jobs in addition to an antitrust mandate to maintain competition. In 2011, the regulator told U.S. retailer Wal-Mart Stores not to cut jobs for two years following its acquisition of South African retailer Massmart, delaying implementation of the $2.4 billion deal by at least two months. Last year, Anheuser-Busch InBev said it would invest 1 billion rand ($77.3 million) to support small South African farmers as part of concessions agreed with the government to secure regulatory approval for its $100 billion-plus takeover of SABMiller. Patel did not go into details of the Sinopec discussions, saying the deal with Chevron would still need to go for formal regulatory scrutiny. (Reporting by Wendell Roelf; editing by James Macharia and David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-safrica-sinopec-idUSKBN18L1QJ'|'2017-05-25T21:02:00.000+03:00' +'7b4104395d6212ccab7161e11b936f3eb6c50f28'|'Hundreds of EU airports, ports to benefit from simpler subsidy rules'|'Business News 29am BST Hundreds of EU airports, ports to benefit from simpler subsidy rules FILE PHOTO: European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager holds a news conference at the EU Commission''s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium March 13, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir/File Photo By Foo Yun Chee - BRUSSELS BRUSSELS Hundreds of small airports and ports around Europe are set to benefit from simpler EU state aid rules allowing governments to grant public funds to help them expand and create jobs. The new rules, part of a broad reform by the European Commission to allow EU governments have more say on how they subsidise small facilities and minor projects, could benefit more than 400 small airports in the 28-country bloc. The move would also free up resources at the EU competition enforcer for big cases. "Today''s changes will save them (EU countries) time and trouble when investing in ports and airports, culture and the EU''s outermost regions, whilst preserving competition," European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement. There are more than 420 airports in the EU with fewer than 3 million passengers yearly, accounting for some 80 percent of all airports in the bloc but only about 13 percent of air traffic. The Commission has in recent years ordered governments to claw back millions of euros in illegal subsidies given to airports and airlines such as Ryanair, TUI''s ( TUIT.L ) German carrier TUIfly and Lufthansa''s ( LHAG.DE ) Germanwings, which is now called Eurowings. Under the new rules, authorities can cover the operating costs of small airports handling up to 200,000 passengers annually, which make up almost half of all airports in the EU. The new rules also allow EU authorities to invest up to 150 million euros (128.5 million) in maritime ports and up to 50 million euros in inland ports without seeking prior approval from the EU competition enforcer. State aid for start-ups will be allowed for up to five years, while companies in remote regions will also find it easier to apply for support. The outermost regions are French overseas territories, Spain''s Canary Islands and Portugal''s Azores and Madeira. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Philip Blenkinsop)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-airports-stateaid-ports-idUKKCN18D14P'|'2017-05-17T18:29:00.000+03:00' +'3fe5cc18294c53949e9329cc412eebbbe2c6af43'|'Oil rebounds on U.S. stocks drawdown, declining OPEC compliance weighs'|'Business News - Wed May 3, 2017 - 11:37am BST Oil rebounds from near 2017 lows on falling U.S. crude stocks FILE PHOTO: A worker walks past a pump jack on an oil field owned by the Bashneft company near Nikolo-Berezovka, Bashkortostan, Russia , January 28, 2015. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo By Karolin Schaps - LONDON LONDON Oil prices rebounded from near 2017 lows on Wednesday after preliminary data showed a much larger-than-expected fall in U.S. crude stocks, reviving bullish sentiment about easing oversupply. Benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 was up 35 cents at $50.81 a barrel at 1010 GMT. On Tuesday the futures had settled at their lowest since Nov. 30, when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries decided to cut oil supply. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 traded at $47.94 a barrel, up 28 cents. WTI had slid 2.4 percent on Tuesday on concerns about falling OPEC compliance with its production-curbing deal. Data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) assessing closely watched U.S. oil inventories showed late on Tuesday that crude stocks had fallen last week by 4.2 million barrels, nearly double the drop expected by analysts polled by Reuters. "The API statistics are helping the market recover, but the underlying sentiment is still bearish," said Tamas Varga, analyst at London brokerage PVM Oil Associates. The U.S. government releases official inventory data from the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday at 1430 GMT (6.30 a.m. ET). The data will also provide an update on growth in U.S. oil production, a key factor that has kept a lid on price gains driven by output cuts elsewhere. "(U.S.) production growth has slowed during the past couple of weeks. If continued today it may also add some glimmer of hope for the bulls, who increasingly have been losing patience," said Ole Hansen, head of commodities strategy at Saxo Bank. Oil investors continue to eye producing countries'' compliance with their pledge made in late 2016 to cut production by around 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) by the middle of the year. Russia, contributing the largest production cut outside OPEC, said on Wednesday that as of May 1, it had curbed output by more than 300,000 bpd since hitting peak production in October. Its largest oil producer, Rosneft, said it had contributed just over 70,000 bpd to Russia''s cuts. This means Russia has achieved its reduction target a month ahead of schedule, just as the latest Reuters survey of OPEC production showed compliance had fallen slightly. More oil from Angola and higher UAE output than originally thought meant OPEC compliance with its production-cutting deal slipped to 90 percent from a revised 92 percent in March, the Reuters survey showed. (Additional reporting by Naveen Thukral in Singapore; Editing by Dale Hudson) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUKKBN17Z01J'|'2017-05-03T08:48:00.000+03:00' +'ebc38981a7460bb2d6fec790a7a8be75ae6a9978'|'Deutsche Bank to have former executives pay for past misconduct - chairman'|'Business News 9:15am BST Deutsche Bank to have former executives pay for past misconduct - chairman left right Deutsche Bank CEO John Cryan and supervisory board chairman Paul Achleitner attend the bank''s annual general meeting in Frankfurt, Germany May 18, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski 1/3 left right People gather before the Deutsche Bank''s annual general meeting in Frankfurt, Germany May 18, 2017. The text on the stairs reads ''General meeting of the 6,000 trials''. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski 2/3 left right Flags with the logo of Deutsche Bank are seen at the headquarters ahead of the bank''s annual general meeting in Frankfurt, Germany May 18, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski 3/3 FRANKFURT Deutsche Bank expects former board members to pay substantial sums for their role in misconduct that threw Germany''s flagship lender into turmoil, supervisory board Chairman Paul Achleitner said on Thursday. At the lender''s annual general meeting he told shareholders that the supervisory board and two committees had been discussing the need for personal and collective responsibility for past deeds. The bank has sought extensive external legal advice on this, he added. "The supervisory board expects that in the coming months, there will be an arrangement which ensures that the individuals involved make a substantial financial contribution," Achleitner said. While no decision has been reached yet, he said, discussions are advanced. He did not name names. (Reporting by Tom Sims and Arno Schuetze; Editing by Maria Sheahan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deutsche-bank-agm-idUKKCN18E0U4'|'2017-05-18T16:15:00.000+03:00' +'9772cdaa204d317f8ddafd610fe892f66725ec14'|'Saudi Aramco CEO says to sign $50 billion of deals with U.S. companies'|'Deals - Sat May 20, 2017 - 7:35pm BST U.S., Saudi firms sign tens of billions of dollars of deals as Trump visits left right Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih speaks to media at the Saudi-US CEO Forum 2017 ahead of the arrival of the U.S. President Donald Trump, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 20, 2017. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed 1/5 left right Vice Chairman of General Electric, John Rice and Saudi Governor of Small & Medium Enterprises, Ghassan Ahmed Al Sulaiman pose for photos after signing their agreements at the Saudi-US CEO Forum 2017 ahead of the arrival of the U.S. President Donald Trump, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 20, 2017. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed 2/5 left right Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih arrives to attend the Saudi-US CEO Forum 2017, ahead of the arrival of the U.S. President Donald Trump, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 20, 2017. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed 3/5 left right Amin H. Nasser, president and chief executive officer of Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco), speaks at the China Development Forum in Beijing, China, March 19, 2017. REUTERS/Shu Zhang 4/5 left right Saudi Arabia''s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (L, in brown) and U.S. President Donald Trump (C) arrive for their bilateral meeting at the Royal Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 20, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst 5/5 By Reem Shamseddine and Katie Paul - RIYADH RIYADH U.S. and Saudi Arabian companies signed business deals worth tens of billions of dollars on Saturday during a visit by U.S. President Donald Trump, as Riyadh seeks help to develop its economy beyond oil. National oil firm Saudi Aramco said it signed $50 billion of agreements with U.S. firms. Energy minister Khalid al-Falih said deals involving all companies totaled over $200 billion, many of them designed to produce things in Saudi Arabia that had previously been imported. Business leaders on both sides were keen to demonstrate their talks had been a success, so there was an element of showmanship in the huge numbers. Some deals had been announced previously; others were memorandums of understanding that would require further negotiations to materialize. Nevertheless, the deals illustrated Saudi Arabia''s hunger for foreign capital and technology as it tries to reduce its dependence on oil exports. Low oil prices in the past couple of years have slowed the economy to a crawl and saddled the government with a big budget deficit. "We want foreign companies to look at Saudi Arabia as a platform for exports to other markets," Falih told a conference attended by dozens of U.S. executives. In March, Saudi Arabia''s King Salman toured Asia and his delegation signed similar agreements worth tens of billions of dollars there, including deals worth as much as $65 billion in China. FUNDSEven as it sought U.S. investment on Saturday, Riyadh made two announcements on plans to deploy its own financial reserves for projects that would cement economic ties with the United States. The Public Investment Fund, Riyadh''s main sovereign wealth fund, and U.S. private equity firm Blackstone said they were studying a proposal to create a $40 billion vehicle to invest in infrastructure projects, mainly in the United States. The vehicle would obtain $20 billion from the PIF and with additional debt financing, might invest in over $100 billion of infrastructure projects - a political boon to Trump, who has said he wants to rebuild crumbling U.S. infrastructure. Meanwhile the world''s largest private equity fund, backed by the PIF, Japan''s Softbank Group and other investors including U.S. firms Apple Inc and Qualcomm, said on Saturday it had raised over $93 billion to invest in technology sectors such as artificial intelligence and robotics. Much of the Softbank Vision Fund''s money is likely to be invested in the United States, helping Riyadh obtain access to technology that it could use to diversify its economy. Top Saudi economic policy makers, including the finance minister and head of the kingdom''s main sovereign wealth fund, described investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia to the conference on Saturday. Saudi officials said they aimed to prepare new, streamlined rules covering direct investment by foreign firms within 12 months. Among the deals signed on Saturday, GE said it reached $15 billion of agreements involving almost $7 billion of goods and services from GE itself. They ranged from the power and healthcare sectors to the oil and gas industry and mining. Jacobs Engineering will form a joint venture with Aramco to manage business projects in the kingdom, and McDermott International will transfer some of its ship fabrication facilities from Dubai to a new shipbuilding complex which Aramco will build within Saudi Arabia. Riyadh, one of the world''s biggest military spenders, is keen to develop a domestic arms industry rather than import weapons, so several deals were in military industries. Lockheed Martin said it would support the final assembly and completion of an estimated 150 S-70 Black Hawk utility helicopters in Saudi Arabia. (Additional reporting by Marwa Rashad and Celine Aswad; Writing by Andrew Torchia; Editing by Andrew Roche and Chizu Nomiyama) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-usa-trump-deals-idUKKCN18G05P'|'2017-05-20T13:48:00.000+03:00' +'61c2096a332788d20fdd5e81f285a9c76c537d89'|'How drugmakers face global push-back on high prices'|'Money News - Thu May 4, 2017 - 11:06pm IST How drugmakers face global push-back on high prices Pharmaceutical tablets and capsules are arranged on a table in a photo illustration shot September 18, 2013. REUTERS/Srdjan Zivulovic/Illustration/Files By Ben Hirschler - LONDON LONDON Pharmaceutical companies are under fire around the world as a wave of new treatments for cancer and other serious conditions reach the market at ever rising prices, and the pressure looks set to increase. Next week the debate on drug pricing - a particularly heated topic in the United States - will move to Amsterdam as the Dutch government hosts a forum for World Health Organization (WHO) member states to promote "fair pricing". After Donald Trump earlier this year accused drugmakers of "getting away with murder", shortly before he was inaugurated as U.S. president, the May 11 event underscores the focus on medicine pricing in health ministries from Berlin to Beijing. In Europe, Germany''s tough price negotiators have caused some firms to pull drugs off the market rather than accept price cuts, while Britain last month introduced new budget curbs on pricey products. China and Japan, the two biggest non-Western markets for pharmaceuticals, are also bearing down on costs, and poorer countries find new drugs costing tens of thousands of dollars are simply out of reach, even with preferential pricing deals. "It''s great that we have these treatments but we need to find a way to make them more affordable," Andrew Rintoul, the WHO health economist organising the drug pricing forum, told Reuters. Drugmakers know they must up their game to save their reputation - even as patients cheer the scientific advances behind their new products - and the industry is fighting to defend its corner more vigorously than ever. A major advertising campaign by the U.S. Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America trade group, for example, includes accusations that insurers are failing to pass on the benefits of discounts negotiated with manufacturers. This goes to the heart of a thorny issue. On the surface, the cost of medicines may be rising steeply but the picture is distorted by off-invoice discounts and rebates, which in the United States average around 30 percent, according to healthcare information firm QuintilesIMS. In Europe, such rebates amount to roughly 17 percent. "I personally don''t believe in the talk of drug expenditure breaking the system," Thomas Cueni, who recently took over as director-general of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations, told Reuters. "When you look at the aggregate numbers, drug spending has been pretty stable in most OECD countries at around 10 to 15 percent of healthcare spending." MORE DISCLOSURE Still, the lack of price transparency is a major bugbear for policy experts like the WHO''s Rintoul, who previously negotiated on pharmaceutical prices for the Australian government. Public sector officials see the obscurity surrounding prices as a big obstacle in efforts to negotiate effectively with pharmaceutical companies. There are also growing calls for greater disclosure on companies'' R&D and production costs. Transparency will be high on the agenda in Amsterdam, mirroring efforts by some U.S. states to shine a light on costs. Vermont last year became the first such state to demand that companies justify drug price hikes by detailing factors behind the increase. Companies, however, are reluctant to specify exactly how they come up with drug prices and prefer to stress the value that their medicines bring to patients and society. "The industry has to stand up and argue its value proposition," said Cueni, who admits he is "apprehensive" about the tone of the WHO meeting. "I''m not a big fan of this term ''fairness'' because, let''s face it, fairness is in the eye of the beholder. There''s no objective definition." Drugmakers like Novartis and Takeda Pharmaceutical, which recently joined with the World Economic Forum to pilot schemes that will pay for drugs based on how well they work, would much rather the focus was on outcomes. But an expensive medicine that may be cost-effective, based on a particular methodology, can still prove to be unaffordable within limited national healthcare budgets. That has been the experience in many countries recently with highly effective new hepatitis C drugs from Gilead and others. At the other end of the spectrum, the WHO meeting will also try to address the problem of shortages of some off-patent generic medicines, which should be cheap in principle but can hit supply problems if prices fall to unsustainably low levels. As well as tackling expensive drugs, some experts therefore believe minimum prices may be needed to keep certain vital products on the market. (Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/pharmaceuticals-pricing-idINKBN1802CX'|'2017-05-04T15:36:00.000+03:00' +'2a7c6a77801381a72c3d36228cb9589bb53be585'|'EMERGING MARKETS-LatAm currencies weaken as Trump woes spark risk-aversion'|'Market News 17am EDT EMERGING MARKETS-LatAm currencies weaken as Trump woes spark risk-aversion By Bruno Federowski SAO PAULO, May 17 Latin American currencies weakened on Wednesday as speculation U.S. President Donald Trump could face the threat of impeachment triggered worldwide profit-taking on riskier assets. The Brazilian real slipped 0.4 percent, while the Mexican peso fell as much as 0.7 percent before paring gains to trade nearly flat. Both currencies had strengthened in the last six trading days. News reports emerged on Tuesday that Trump had asked then-Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey to end the agency''s investigation into ties between former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn and Russia. The reports fueled questions over whether Trump could be charged with obstruction of justice, potentially opening the doors for an early exit from office. Uncertainty over his future drove investors away from higher-risk assets, while also fostering doubt over the implementation of his fiscal expansion pledges, traders said. Stock markets also fell, with MSCI''s emerging markets equity index down 0.6 percent. MSCI''s Latin American stock index underperformed following a 6 percent rally in the last six sessions. All of Latin American benchmark stock indexes were down, with Mexico''s IPC the worst performer. Shares of bottler and retailer Fomento Economico Mexicano (Femsa) subtracted the most points from the index after Coca-Cola Femsa, a joint venture with Coca-Cola Co, ditched plans to acquire certain territories in the United States. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1445 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % Latest change change MSCI Emerging Markets 1009.49 -0.55 17.72 MSCI LatAm 2725.63 -1.3 17.98 Brazil Bovespa 67866.86 -1.19 12.68 Mexico IPC 48945.98 -1.04 7.24 Chile IPSA 4849.69 -0.53 16.82 Chile IGPA 24343.98 -0.43 17.41 Argentina MerVal 21749.94 -0.38 28.56 Colombia IGBC 10738.21 -0.82 6.02 Venezuela IBC 65396.82 1.52 106.27 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.1072 -0.40 4.57 Mexico peso 18.6525 -0.01 11.21 Chile peso 667.91 -0.19 0.42 Colombia peso 2885 -0.30 4.04 Peru sol 3.269 -0.12 4.44 Argentina peso (interbank) 15.6250 -0.26 1.60 Argentina peso (parallel) 16.02 0.19 4.99 (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Andrea Ricci)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-latam-idUSL2N1IJ0T8'|'2017-05-17T23:17:00.000+03:00' +'4ead49ebaa9574cfd38206af8b7b5d6997581e18'|'Ford using first over-the-air software updates to its 2016 cars'|'Autos 9:02pm BST Ford using first over-the-air software updates to its 2016 cars FILE PHOTO - The Ford logo is pictured at the Ford Motor Co plant in Genk,Belgium December 17, 2014. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir/File Photo SAN FRANCISCO Ford Motor Co said on Friday it would delve into the growing arena of "over-the-air" software updates, adding Android Auto and Apple CarPlay to its Sync 3-equipped 2016 vehicles for the first time via a wireless software update. The latest upgrade to Sync 3, Ford''s interactive touch-screen system, will be accomplished through an over-the-air (OTA) update using Wi-Fi, not unlike how new software gets uploaded to smartphones by manufacturers. After Tesla Inc''s early lead in 2015 introducing OTAs, traditional automakers are slowly beginning to embrace the new technology, within limits. Concerns about security and resistance from dealers worried about losing service revenue have hampered its adoption. Thus far, established automakers have not used OTAs for safety systems, only for non-critical systems like infotainment. Customers can also get the update via the traditional means of visiting their dealer or using a USB drive, Ford said. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are operating systems from Alphabet''s Google and Apple Inc that allow drivers to connect their smartphones to their vehicles'' dashboard. Ford''s first use of OTAs comes about two months after it said it would hire 400 engineers to work on connectivity, mostly from Blackberry Ltd''s shuttered phone handset business. Blackberry QNX powers Ford''s Sync 3 system. Besides being more convenient for customers, OTAs can bring automakers cost savings, as a substantial percentage of warranty repair issues and recalls can be corrected through OTAs. (Reporting By Alexandria Sage; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ford-motor-software-idUKKCN18F2EQ'|'2017-05-20T04:02:00.000+03:00' +'8720619c2f72a15ea64815d1cc1f30824e2b4b1d'|'OPEC oil output falls in April but compliance weakens - Reuters survey'|'Global Energy 05pm BST OPEC oil output falls in April but compliance weakens - Reuters survey A general view shows the al-Shuaiba oil refinery in southwest Basra, Iraq April 20, 2017. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani By Alex Lawler and Rania El Gamal - LONDON/DUBAI LONDON/DUBAI OPEC oil output fell for a fourth straight month in April, a Reuters survey found on Tuesday, as top exporter Saudi Arabia kept production below its target while maintenance and unrest cut production in exempt nations Nigeria and Libya. But more oil from Angola and higher UAE output than originally thought helped OPEC compliance with its production-cutting deal slip to 90 percent from a revised 92 percent in March, according to Reuters surveys. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries pledged to reduce output by about 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) for six months from Jan. 1 - the first supply cut deal since 2008. Non-OPEC producers are cutting about half as much. OPEC wants to get rid of excess supply that is keeping oil LCOc1 below $52 a barrel, half the level of mid-2014. With the oversupply proving hard to shift, OPEC is expected to prolong the agreement. Compliance of 90 percent is still higher than OPEC achieved in its last cut in 2009, Reuters surveys show. Analysts including those at the International Energy Agency have put adherence in 2017 even higher, with the IEA calling it a record. April''s biggest production gain came from Angola, which scheduled higher exports and where output started at the East Pole field in February. The increase brought Angolan compliance down to 91 percent, from above 100 earlier in the year. Other, small increases came from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, the survey found, although their compliance was the second-highest and highest respectively in OPEC. Even with April''s increase, the total curb achieved by OPEC''s top producer Saudi Arabia is 574,000 bpd, well above the target cut of 486,000 bpd. Iran''s production rose slightly. Tehran was allowed a small increase in output under the OPEC agreement. These increases offset lower supply in Iraq, which exported less crude from its southern terminals - and Venezuela, where exports also fell month-on-month, according to tanker data and shipping sources. Output in the United Arab Emirates fell, but production in March was higher than originally thought. The UAE, which has been focusing on expanding oil capacity in recent years, has been slower than other Gulf members to trim supply. The UAE says it is complying 100 percent. It has blamed suggestions that it is failing to do so on discrepancies between its own production figures and those estimated by the secondary sources that OPEC uses to track compliance. Lower output in Nigeria and Libya, which are exempt from the curbs, helped bring down overall OPEC production. Maintenance continued at Nigeria''s Bonga field for part of the month and loading delays affected the country''s biggest export stream, Qua Iboe. In Libya, output fell as protests blocking a pipeline prompted the shutdown of the Sharara field. Output there resumed in late April, suggesting May could see higher production if no further unrest emerges. OPEC announced a production target of 32.5 million bpd at its Nov. 30 meeting, which was based on low figures for Libya and Nigeria and included Indonesia, which has since left the group. The Libyan and Nigerian reductions mean OPEC output in April averaged 31.97 million bpd, about 220,000 bpd above its supply target adjusted to remove Indonesia. The Reuters survey is based on shipping data provided by external sources, Thomson Reuters flows data, and information provided by sources at oil companies, OPEC and consulting firms. (Editing by Dale Hudson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-opec-oil-idUKKBN17Y1B9'|'2017-05-02T20:05:00.000+03:00' +'7ab9adeb68edc2e5636f2340d23777e5f0ce273d'|'China central bank to maintain prudent monetary policy, eyes on shadow banking risks'|'Business News - Fri May 12, 2017 - 1:31pm BST China central bank to maintain prudent monetary policy, eyes on shadow banking risks FILE PHOTO: A Chinese national flag flutters outside the headquarters of the People''s Bank of China, the Chinese central bank, in Beijing, April 3, 2014. REUTERS/Petar Kujundzic/File Photo BEIJING China''s central bank said on Friday that it will maintain a prudent and neutral monetary policy and keep liquidity basically stable. China will also strengthen oversight to prevent risks in the shadow banking category, including asset management products, the People''s Bank of China (PBOC) said in its first-quarter monetary policy implementation report. The PBOC said it will provide necessary liquidity support for "reasonable growth of credit" but will control the increase in non-performing loans and restrict credit flowing into speculative housing purchases. (Reporting by Yawen Chen and Josephine Mason; Editing by Nick Macfie) British insurance body calls for overhaul for injury lump sums LONDON The Association of British Insurers on Friday called for an overhaul in the calculation of lump sum payments in personal injury claims, after a change in the way they are worked out pushed up the size of the payments, denting insurers'' profits. Lower bonus pushes Tesco CEO''s pay down by 10.5 percent LONDON The chief executive of Tesco , Dave Lewis, saw his total pay package fall 10.5 percent last year, even though the supermarket group achieved a 25 percent rise in profit and its first full year of sales growth for seven years. BRUSSELS EU nations agreed on Friday on new draft rules for car approvals despite opposition from Germany, EU sources said, in a bid to prevent a repeat of the Volkswagen emissions cheating scandal. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-policy-idUKKBN1881O5'|'2017-05-12T20:31:00.000+03:00' +'97b30107279eb7f47308da75a6b374e52079dcac'|'Wal-Mart close to settlement with U.S. over alleged bribery: report'|'Business News - Tue May 9, 2017 - 5:05pm EDT Wal-Mart close to settlement with U.S. over alleged bribery: report FILE PHOTO - Shopping carts are seen outside a new Wal-Mart Express store in Chicago July 26, 2011. REUTERS/John Gress/Files CHICAGO Wal-Mart Stores Inc ( WMT.N ) is preparing to pay about $300 million to settle a probe of bribery by its employees in markets including Mexico, India and China, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The deal, which would mark a significant concession by the U.S. government, was being finalized and could change, the Bloomberg report said. In October 2016, Wal-Mart rebuffed a proposal by U.S. prosecutors to pay at least $600 million to settle the same corruption probe. Wal-Mart spokesman Greg Hitt declined to comment on the story. Last week , Wal-Mart told Reuters it was considering getting certified under a new international program that could help companies defend themselves against isolated cases of corruption or poor business practices. The proposed resolution would require a guilty plea by at least one Wal-Mart subsidiary, but the parent company would not be charged, the report said. The U.S. Department of Justice has been conducting a long-running investigation into potential misconduct by Wal-Mart in some overseas markets, including China, Brazil, India and Mexico. Wal-Mart''s ethics and compliance system came into focus after the New York Times reported in 2012 that Wal-Mart had engaged in a multi-year bribery campaign to build its Wal-Mart de Mexico business. So far Wal-Mart has spent more than $800 million on legal fees and an internal investigation into the alleged payments and to revamp its compliance systems around the world. (Reporting by Nandita Bose in Chicago; Editing by Steve Orlofsky) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-corruption-walmart-idUSKBN1852IS'|'2017-05-10T05:05:00.000+03:00' +'c4ab028431ce44823af9dcd8653137fd629f3203'|'Zurich Insurance starts using robots to decide personal injury claims'|'Business News - Thu May 18, 2017 - 12:30pm BST Zurich Insurance starts using robots to decide personal injury claims The logo of Zurich insurance company is seen on the roof of an office building in Vienna, Austria, September 4, 2016. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader/File Photo By Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi and John O''Donnell - ZURICH ZURICH Zurich Insurance ( ZURN.S ) is deploying artificial intelligence in deciding personal injury claims after trials cut the processing time from an hour to just seconds, its chairman said. "We recently introduced AI claims handling ... and saved 40,000 work hours, while speeding up the claim processing time to five seconds," Tom de Swaan told Reuters, after the insurer started using machines in March to review paperwork, such as medical reports. "We absolutely plan to expand the use of this type of AI (artificial intelligence)," he said. Insurers are racing to hone the benefits of technological advancements such as big data and AI as tech-driven startups, like Lemonade Inc, enter the market. Lemonade promises renters and homeowners insurance in as little as 90 seconds and payment of claims in three minutes with the help of artificial intelligence bots that set up policies and process claims. De Swaan said Zurich Insurance, Europe''s fifth-biggest insurer, would increasingly use machine learning, or AI, for handling claims. "Accuracy has improved. Because it''s machine learning, every new claim leads to further development and improvements," the Dutch native said. Japanese insurer Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance began implementing AI in January, replacing 34 staff members in a move it said would save 140 million yen (971,000) a year. British insurer Aviva ( AV.L ) is also currently looking at using AI. De Swaan said he does not fear competition from tech giants like Google-parent Alphabet ( GOOGL.O ) or Apple ( AAPL.O ) entering the insurance market, although some technology companies have expressed interest in cooperating with Zurich. "None of the technology companies so far have taken insurance risk on their balance sheet, because they don''t want to be regulated," he said. "You need the balance sheet to be able to sell insurance and take insurance risk." (Additional reporting by Paul Arnold; Editing by Susan Fenton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-zurich-ins-group-claims-idUKKCN18E1HO'|'2017-05-18T19:30:00.000+03:00' +'9143d0ef5c17e160e47c8faa6cc87c974f9ceebd'|'Linde board to vote on Praxair merger on Thursday - sources'|'Business News - Fri May 26, 2017 - 10:51am BST Linde board to vote on Praxair merger on Thursday - sources Linde Group logo is seen at company building before the annual news conference in Munich, Germany March 9, 2017. REUTERS/Lukas Barth MUNICH German industrial gases group Linde''s ( LING.DE ) supervisory board is due to meet on Thursday to vote on a merger agreement with U.S. peer Praxair ( PX.N ), two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday. One of the people said there were still some unanswered questions regarding the deal, without providing details. Linde declined to comment on the matter. The two companies said on Wednesday they had reached a deal in principle on a Business Combination Agreement for their proposed $70 billion (54.42 billion) merger. (Reporting by Irene Preisinger; Writing by Maria Sheahan, Editing by Thomas Escritt)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-linde-m-a-praxair-idUKKBN18M0ZB'|'2017-05-26T17:51:00.000+03:00' +'e31b6d2bb227d0a1c4e5356ebcaff3a5658b769e'|'UK Stocks-Factors to watch on May 19'|'May 19 Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening up 31 points at 7,467 on Friday, according to financial bookmakers. * BHP: BHP Billiton Ltd''s Canadian potash mine will use advanced, cost-saving technology, giving it a competitive edge in a currently over-supplied fertilizer market, the executive in charge of the business said on Thursday. * BRITAIN/EU CLEARING: Forcing banks to move euro-denominated trades from London to Frankfurt would be costly, and continental companies would ultimately foot the bill, an industry body said on Thursday. * EUROPEAN UNION: The European Commission will announce new initiatives to reconfigure its capital markets union (CMU) project on June 7 to reflect Britain''s decision to leave the bloc, a senior commission official said on Thursday. * RBS: Fred Goodwin, the former Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive, is set to become the first senior banker in Britain to be challenged in court over his role in the financial crisis. * The UK blue chip index ended down 0.9 percent on Thursday, underperforming the broader European market as the pound strengthened after data showed consumers are maintaining spending despite inflation worries. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets * UK CORPORATE DIARY: Future Plc Half Year 2017 Earnings Release Hikma Pharmaceuticals Plc Interim Management Statement Release Grainger Plc Half Year 2017 Earnings Release TODAY''S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idUSL4N1IL229'|'2017-05-19T13:36:00.000+03:00' +'f382eab583786c7fa42bf231b12143bd573e4cd7'|'EURO DEBT SUPPLY-Five euro zone countries to sell bonds next week'|'LONDON May 5 The Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Portugal and Italy are scheduled to hold bond auctions in the week ahead.* On Tuesday, the Netherlands will sell 2 to 3 billion euros of five-year government bonds.* On the same day, Germany auctions 500 million euros of a 30-year inflation-linked bond, while Austria is scheduled to sell 1.1 billion euros in bonds by reopening 2047 and 2027 issues.* Germany comes to the market again on Wednesday, with a 3 billion euro sale of five-year bonds.* Also on Wednesday, Portugal is to offer up to 1.25 billion euros of bonds maturing in 2022 and 2027.* Italy is scheduled to sell medium and long-term bonds on Thursday. The auction details are yet to be released.(Reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe, Editing by Abhinav Ramnarayan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/eurozone-bonds-outlook-idINL8N1I72VP'|'2017-05-05T10:22:00.000+03:00' +'dac02fab72182bf7afd4293144efe8735853e3e6'|'Takeover target Stada says has no word of any rival bid'|'FRANKFURT Stada Arzneimittel AG ( STAGn.DE ), the German drug company that has received an agreed takeover bid from buyout firms Bain and Cinven, on Tuesday said it had not been notified of any rival offer in the works.Bloomberg reported on Monday that investor Advent and Shanghai Pharmaceuticals ( 601607.SS ) were discussing a potential bid of about 70 euros a share.That would trump Bain and Cinven''s offer of 65.28 euros plus and a dividend of 0.72 euros per share, which was already seen as a surprisingly large, valuing the company at about 5.3 billion euros ($5.8 billion).(Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Maria Sheahan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-stada-m-a-rivaloffer-idINKCN18C183'|'2017-05-16T09:10:00.000+03:00' +'92d7d0035b6fdbdaa84ebb3f6066a80156a402a8'|'Schumpeter: A bosss guide to fending off an activist attack'|'MODERN bosses are a resilient bunch who can handle everything from Twitter storms to takeovers. But one thing drives many of them berserk: activist hedge funds, which buy stakes in companies and lobby for change. Last month Klaus Kleinfeld, the boss of Arconic, an industrial firm, succumbed to a bout of activist apoplexy. He sent a confidential letter to Paul Singer, head of Elliott Management, a fund that was trying to oust him. Its mysterious references to parties during the 2006 football World Cup in Germany and to a feather headdress seemed to be a threat to expose details about Mr Singers personal life. Mr Kleinfeld, who had spent over a decade running big listed firms including Siemens and Alcoa, resigned when his board found out.Bosses feel that they are being stalked by activists. Elliott is now in a confrontation with Akzo Nobel, a Dutch chemicals firm that is using a poison pill to resist a takeover by PPG, an American rival. Since 2010, on average, 8% of the firms in the S&P 500 index have faced an attack each year, according to Activist Insight, a research firm. And whereas they were once the gobby bad boys of capital markets, activists have got cleverer and harder to ignore. an hour ago How an hour ago A 3 10 Consider Daniel Loeb, of Third Point, a $16bn fund that on April 27th demanded a break-up of Honeywell, an industrial firm. In the 1990s and 2000s, he was known for leaving messages in web chatrooms under the name Mr Pink. One of his letters of mass destruction advised a boss to retire to the Hamptons to hobnob with your fellow socialites. Today Mr Loeb makes his case in a more sophisticated way, with detailed analysis of firms.Instead of getting angry, CEOs need to get even. Schumpeter has put together a battle drill on how to cope with activists. It has four elements: know the enemy; prepare for them to attack; smother them with sincerity; and make concessions if you have to. Start with understanding activists, who play a useful role. As money flows into low-cost index funds, the job of scrutinising firms is being outsourced to a few dozen specialist vehicles. These analyse firms and seek the backing of the lazy money. A small fund with a good idea can win support to oust a big firms board.Activist funds also have weaknesses. Their bosses are often vain and impatient. To impress their own investors, they need to be seen to influence the running of big firms. They imagine they have superior strategic insights, articulated in long white papers. But often their proposals are banal demands for share buy-backs, which do not alter a firms underlying value.Preparing for the possibility of an activist attack is essential. As well as running the firm properly, that means getting closer to your other shareholders. Even companies under no obvious threat do this. For example, in 2016 and early 2017 members of Bank of Americas board of directors met or spoke by phone with investors representing 29% of the banks shareholder base.When activists make their move, CEOs must be seen to take them seriously. General Motors (GM) has just given a masterclass in the patient neutering of a flawed proposal. David Einhorn, of Greenlight Capital, wants it to create a new type of share paying high dividends. GMs top management spoke with him ten times, and its board discussed the proposal three times, before rejecting it on March 28th. Even the most powerful bosses engage. In 2013 Tim Cook, Apples CEO, endured a dinner with Carl Icahn, an irascible raider who made his name in the 1980s. We had a commonality, we know the technology world, Mr Icahn graciously allowed. Apple ignored his call for a $50bn share buy-back.When the activist is partly right, however, this must be acknowledged. BHP Billiton, a giant mining firm, faces a triple-pronged critique from Elliott. On April 12th BHP rightly dismissed two of its demandsa call to alter its dual listing in Sydney and London and the usual demand for a share buy-back. But it may be more flexible about the third request, to spin off its shale-energy business, which has few synergies with the group. By showing an open mind the firm has removed the sting from the attack.If an agitators critique is broadly correct, a CEO must make concessions. Ideally this means flattering the activists ego while not giving him much influence. When DuPont agreed to merge with Dow Chemical in 2015, it gave advance notice to Nelson Peltz, who runs Trian, an activist fund, and secured his blessing. On March 22nd General Electric, which is struggling to increase profits, said that after talks with Trian, it had set new targets for cost cuts and tweaked its bonus scheme for its boss, Jeff Immelt.The ultimate concession is to give activists representation on the board in return for keeping schtum. Letting Wall Street-sized egos loose inside companies does not always go well. As a director of Blockbuster in 2005-10, for example, Mr Icahn refused to honour an agreement on the CEOs compensation and made confrontational late-night phone calls. When Mr Loeb was a director of Yahoo in 2012-13 he clashed with its chief executive, Marissa Mayer, in a way that did not help the company. A better approach is to let activists appoint independent directors, who are supposed to represent all shareholders, not just their own agenda.Grin and bear itAdhering to the drill does not prevent all trouble. Mr Kleinfeld made mistakeshe never met Mr Singer, for example. But in 2016 his firm did appoint three independent directors with Elliotts approval and that didnt stop the hedge fund from resuming its attacks later. What ultimately did for Mr Kleinfeld was that his company had performed poorly for a long time.The converse is also true. Well-managed firms should be able to defend themselves; they may even benefit from the new age of activism, which obliges managers to refine their strategies, boards to be on the ball and firms to stay close to all of their shareholders. The main cost is that activists can chew up endless hours of a CEOs time. Still, that is better than blowing your top and ending your career in a moment of madness. "Active measures"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21721953-activist-funds-have-moved-being-gobby-bad-boys-markets-bosss-guide-fending?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-05-11T22:53:00.000+03:00' +'4b7575e14cdb465872c1b9e5a02ec57e4284cb51'|'Hedge fund Corvex urges Energen to consider selling itself'|'Hedge fund Corvex Management LP on Wednesday reported a 5.5 percent stake in Energen Corp ( EGN.N ) and called for the possible sale of the oil and gas producer.Energen''s shares were up 3.1 percent at $57.38 in morning trading, giving it a market value of around $5.3 billion. The Birmingham, Alabama-based company has a large concentration of its assets in the Permian Basin.The Permian Basin of West Texas, the largest U.S. oil patch, has become a hotbed of M&A activity in the energy industry as a recovery in oil prices spurs firms to make strategic investments.Oil industry deals this year have centered on securing acreage in the Permian Basin due to its low production costs, key at a time when oil prices have recovered to around $50 per barrel, up from around $35 per barrel in early 2016.The hedge fund, which called Energen''s shares "undervalued", has held discussions with the company, according to a regulatory filing on Wednesday. ( bit.ly/2qFNiaW ) Corvex, a $5.5 billion hedge fund run by Carl Icahn protege Keith Meister, is urging the company to put itself up for sale."This flows from an opinion that EGN has strong assets that are underappreciated by the market because of operational missteps," said Don Bilson, head of event-driven research at Gordon Haskett.When asked during a conference call last week about the company''s shareholder base, Energen CEO Jim McManus said he expects the company to have a break-out year."So I think it''s all about execution right now," he said on the first-quarter conference call. Corvex, in its quarterly filing of stock holdings earlier this month, disclosed a small Energen stake purchased in the first quarter. Hedge funds Elliott Management LP and Highfields also disclosed they purchased Energen shares in the first quarter.Up to Tuesday''s close of $55.62, Energen''s shares had gained about 17 percent over the past year, valuing the company at about $5.5 billion. The S&P 500 Oil & Gas Exploration & Production index .SPLRCOILP has gained about 24 percent over the same period.(Additional reporting by Swetha Gopinath and Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Paul Simao)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-energen-corvex-idUSKBN18R1ZG'|'2017-05-31T21:46:00.000+03:00' +'a2c4bf596d5e835580c6454cb1fdfb4de3fc1d09'|'Taking a Toll - How Japan Post''s big global bet unravelled'|' Taking a Toll: How Japan Post''s big global bet unraveled left right FILE PHOTO: Japan Post''s logo is seen at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, January 30, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: A woman walks past an advertisement board of Japan Post at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan January 30, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo 2/2 By Thomas Wilson and Byron Kaye - TOKYO/SYDNEY TOKYO/SYDNEY In February 2015, bankers working on Japan''s biggest IPO in three decades woke to news that left them shaken. Their client had just closed a multi-billion dollar deal - but had kept them firmly out of the loop. Just months ahead of its listing, state-owned Japan Post Holdings Co ( 6178.T ) was buying Australian logistics firm Toll Holdings for A$6.5 billion ($4.9 billion), leaving underwriters scrambling to understand the impact on the selldown. "My heart skipped a beat when I read the Nikkei (newspaper) that morning," one banker who worked on the deal told Reuters. "Clients have to be honest and at least tell us before making the deal, since it would impact the sale price and business forecasts." They were right to worry. Barely two years after trumpeting the deal, Japan Post last week said a 400 billion yen ($3.6 billion) writedown on Toll would push it to an annual loss in its first year as a listed company. The massive impairment charge has drawn into focus the deal''s rich premium, speed and timing, raising questions over Japan Post''s due diligence and its plan to integrate Toll''s sprawling business into a global conglomerate spanning postal delivery, banking and insurance. Japan Post acknowledged concerns over the due diligence process and its management of the company, but blamed the writedown on worse-than-expected economic pressures. "During the acquisition, due diligence was implemented taking into account the opinion of accounting, taxation, legal and financial experts," said Hideo Murata, a spokesman for Japan Post. "Commodity prices fell faster than we had thought, and we couldn''t imagine the direct impact on Toll''s earnings." The saga may further undermine Japanese efforts to persuade investors to believe in its corporate governance reforms which have been shaken by high-profile failures of foreign takeovers by companies including Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) and Kirin Holdings Co Ltd ( 2503.T ). For Tokyo, it also comes as the government prepares a second offering of shares in Japan Post. In total, it plans to raise around 4 trillion yen through the privatization. Japan''s Ministry of Finance declined to comment on whether it would investigate the Toll deal. An official overseeing the second offering told Reuters: "As for the timing and the size of the next tranche of Japan Post IPO, we will deal with it appropriately while continuing to monitor market developments," Investment banks coordinating the 2015 and upcoming share sales declined to comment. HIGH PREMIUM Then-Chief Executive Taizo Nishimuro saw the Toll deal as the crucible in which Japan Post would transform itself into a global logistics powerhouse and lend stardust to its IPO. Toll had excellent growth potential and a balanced portfolio of business, Japan Post said. Under the ambitious Nishimuro - a former chairman of Toshiba and the Tokyo Stock Exchange - Japan Post hired Mizuho Financial Group ( 8411.T ) and Australian boutique firm Gresham Partners as financial advisers. Sydney-based Clayton Utz came on as legal adviser. Mizuho, Gresham and Clayton Utz all declined to comment. The final offer - at a hefty 49 percent premium to Toll''s share price a day earlier - was unanimously accepted by Toll''s board. Though criticized as high by some analysts, a person with direct knowledge of the deal said the premium was in line with other deals in the global logistics industry. The roots of the writedown were in the management of Toll after the takeover, not in the terms of the deal, the person added. Last year, rail-based Australian freight firm Asciano Ltd, bowed to a A$6.8 billion buyout at a 39 percent premium to its pre-bid price after a six-month bidding war, while UK Mail accepted a 242.7 million pound offer by Germany''s Deutsche Post ( DPWGn.DE ) at a 43.1 percent premium. EARLY WARNINGS Still, the divide between the offer and Toll''s challenges became apparent on Feb. 18, just a day after the parties announced the deal, when Toll unveiled a 22 percent fall in half-yearly net profit. "Had (Japan Post) actually delayed that announcement of the acquisition, they probably would have saved themselves 10, maybe 20 percent," said an analyst who in 2015 rated the uncontested offer as well above Toll''s valuation. The economic keystones of Toll''s business had shifted. A sharp slowdown in Australia''s mining and steelmaking industries had cut freight demand, while the hollowing out of the country''s manufacturing base was also hitting margins and demand for haulage. "It''s been tough the last two or three years," said Paul Sarant, chief executive of No. 3 Australian trucking firm K&S Corp Ltd ( KSC.AX ). "We''re all focused in terms of reducing cost, improving our performance and through the whole freight network trying to optimize the efficiencies." Toll was also facing internal issues, brought about by its ambitious growth strategy. Between 2001 and 2013 Toll had bought over 20 companies from Southeast Asia to Africa, leaving it wrestling with duplication of technology, staff and, in the case of couriers, entire lines of business. "These units effectively go out to market separately from each other and they''re actually in the market against each other for work," said Transport Workers Union assistant secretary Michael Kaine. Jeffrey Luckins, an audit director and due diligence specialist at Australian accounting firm William Buck, said it appeared Japan Post had missed the big picture. "Did they have the right experts on hand? Did they ask the right questions? Did they bring economists in? If they''ve written off (almost) the entire value of the investment, one assumes that the assumptions that have been made ... were incorrect." Japan Post had warned investors in its IPO prospectus that managing Toll''s web of acquisitions could be difficult. But despite its awareness of potential risks, Toll''s high fixed costs eroded profits as economic factors began to bite, Japan Post''s Murata said. "We were aware of the drop in Toll''s earnings between the takeover and the writedown, and took steps to address it. It was not the case that we did nothing and watched," he said. Decisions by Toll''s management, 80 of whom were made millionaires when their share options vested after the takeover, continued to face scrutiny. In September, for example, the company announced it was paying A$170 million for two new ships to link the island state of Tasmania with the Australian mainland. But at 210 meters, the ships were too long for Toll''s dock at the Tasmanian port. A Toll spokesperson declined to comment on the Tasmanian situation except to say: "We are working closely with port authorities to finalize the details." Top Toll managers including chairman Ray Horsburgh and chief executive Brian Kruger left the company in December. Kruger did not respond to requests for comment while Horsburgh declined to comment. Paul Little, who ran Toll for two decades until 2010 and was the architect of its aggressive growth strategy, also declined to comment for this report. But after last week''s announcement of the writedown and the loss of 1,700 Toll jobs, Little told The Australian newspaper the company''s "legacy has been trashed" and said he stood by his contribution. "There is not much I can do about the fact that Japan Post overpaid for the company and I had a reasonable shareholding," said Little, who made A$320 million on the sale of his 5 percent stake. (Refiles to add dropped word in paragraph 7.) (Additional reporting by Emi Emoto and Tetsushi Kajimoto in TOKYO; Editing by Lincoln Feast)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-japan-post-toll-idUKKBN17Y17U'|'2017-05-02T19:25:00.000+03:00' +'22efa72286f95eb97d58979d30679c9d76f88302'|'Toshiba turns down Hitachi/CVC offer for Landis, banks prep buyout debt: sources'|'LONDON/FRANKFURT Toshiba ( 6502.T ) has turned down preemptive bids for its Swiss-based smart meter group Landis+Gyr, hoping for a higher price at auction, for which bankers have begun preparing debt packages of around $1 billion, people familiar with the matter said.Buyout group CVC and Japan''s industrial conglomerate Hitachi ( 6501.T ) several weeks ago offered to buy Landis+Gyr for almost $2 billion, and another private equity group also made an offer earlier this year, but both were declined, the sources said.Toshiba is instead waiting for tentative offers to come in by a May 22 deadline, they said, adding that groups including Advent, AEA, BC Partners, Bain, Blackstone, Carlyle, Cinven, CD&R, Onex and Triton are expected to bid.CVC declined to comment, while Hitachi was not immediately available for comment. The other bidders also either declined to comment or were not immediately available to comment.Toshiba said it considering strategic alternatives, including an IPO for Landis+Gyr, adding nothing concrete has been decided yet.It hired UBS earlier this year on the potential divestment of the group.Some $1 billion of debt equates to around 5-6 times Landis+Gyr''s approximate $200 million in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, the sources said.The financing is expected to be denominated in dollars and euros and could either be in the form of leveraged loans or high yield bonds, the sources said.Smart meter makers have seen a wave of M&A activity. CVC is selling German metering and energy management group Ista, which could be worth up to 4 billion euros, while German metering group Techem could be put up for sale later in the year.Toshiba bought Landis+Gyr in 2011 for $2.3 billion jointly with state-backed Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, which holds the remaining 40 percent in the company.Landis+Gyr, in which Toshiba has a 60 percent stake, employs more than 5,700 staff and is active in over 30 countries.(Editing by Christopher Mangham and David Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-landis-loans-idUSKBN1801MK'|'2017-05-04T17:01:00.000+03:00' +'861c734ee2988c2a56bb5914cc004494c9475e60'|'Asia shares race to two-year high as Fed signals no rush to tighten'|'Business News - Thu May 25, 2017 - 7:01am BST Asia shares race to two-year high as Fed signals no rush to tighten FILE PHOTO - Visitors looks at an electronic board showing the Japan''s Nikkei average at the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) in Tokyo, Japan, February 9, 2016. REUTERS/Issei Kato/Files By Hideyuki Sano - TOKYO TOKYO Asian shares scaled two-year highs on Thursday while the dollar and U.S. bond yields slipped after the U.S. Federal Reserve signaled a cautious approach to future rate hikes and the reduction of its $4.5 trillion of bond holdings. European shares are also expected to gain, with spread-betters looking to higher openings of 0.3 percent in Germany''s DAX .GDAX and France''s CAC .FCHI and 0.2 percent in Britain''s FTSE .FTSE . MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS advanced 1.0 percent, hitting its highest level since May 2015, and bringing its gains so far this year to about 17 percent. The gains were led by South Korean shares .KS11 , which rose 1.0 percent to record highs. Hong Kong''s Hang Seng .HSI gained 0.8 percent to its highest level since July 2015 while Taiwanese shares hit 17-year highs .TWII . In Japan, Nikkei .N225 gained 0.5 percent. Minutes from the Fed''s last policy meeting showed policymakers agreed they should hold off on raising interest rates until it was clear a recent U.S. economic slowdown was temporary, though most said a hike was coming soon. "Their views seem to have changed considerably. In the past, they had said the slowdown was transitory," said Daisuke Uno, chief strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Bank. The minutes also showed that policymakers favored a gradual reduction in its massive balance sheet. Fed staff proposed that the central bank set a cap on the amount of bonds that would be allowed to run off each month, initially setting it at a low level and raising it every three months. Following the minutes, the 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield US10YT=RR fell to 2.255 percent from Wednesday''s high of 2.297 percent. Fed funds rate futures are pricing in about a 75 percent chance that the Fed will raise rates next month, moving down from more than 80 percent earlier this week . The specter of a slower pace of policy tightening underpinned share prices, with the S&P 500 .SPX closing at a record high. In the currency market, the euro EUR= traded up 0.1 percent in Asia at $1.1225, having bounced back from Wednesday''s low of $1.1168 and coming within sight of $1.1268, its 6 1/2-month high set on Tuesday. The dollar stood at 111.63 yen JPY= , slipping from one-week highs of 112.13 touched on Wednesday. Those moves have pulled the dollar''s index against a basket of six major currencies .DXY =USD down to 97.028, near Monday''s 6-1/2-month low of 96.797. The Chinese yuan CNH=D4 CNY=CFXS strengthened, hitting its highest level in almost two months, on buying by major state-owned banks in what some traders thought was a show of strength a day after Moody''s downgraded the country''s credit rating. Mainland Chinese shares .SSEC , which were briefly unsettled by Moody''s downgrade of its rating on China on Wednesday, bounced back 1.6 percent. "Credit downgrade wasn''t a surprise after all given the delay in structural reforms such as liberalization of capital moves. The Chinese economy looks set to grow more than six percent, so there''s no reason to be that pessimistic either," said Shuji Shirota, head of macro economic strategy group at HSBC in Tokyo. The Canadian dollar strengthened to a five-week high of C$1.3402 per U.S. dollar CAD=D4 after the Bank of Canada was more upbeat about the economy than some investors had expected. Oil prices flirted with five-week highs as investors expect oil producing countries to extend output cuts at their meeting in Vienna later in the day. Benchmark Brent crude oil LCOc1 rose 49 cents a barrel, or 0.9 percent, to $54.45. U.S. light crude CLc1 was up 46 cents, or 0.9 percent, at $51.82. Both benchmarks have gained more than 16 percent from their May lows below $50 a barrel, rebounding on a consensus that OPEC and other producers will maintain strict limits on production in an attempt to drain persistent global oversupply. Elsewhere, digital currency bitcoin BTC=BTSP hit a fresh record high, having surged 170 percent in about two months from its March low. Demand for crypto-assets soared with the creation of new tokens to raise funding for start-ups using blockchain technology. (Reporting by Hideyuki Sano; Additional reporting by Winni Zhou; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUKKBN18L02E'|'2017-05-25T14:01:00.000+03:00' +'114c63daf8321ed2a01cc911a354c0ca269d1e82'|'G4S makes strong start to 2017, first quarter revenues up 9 percent'|' 7:37am BST G4S makes strong start to 2017, first quarter revenues up 9 percent A G4S security van is parked outside a bank in Loughborough, central England, August 28, 2013. REUTERS/Darren Staples/File Photo EDINBURGH Global security firm G4S reported a strong start to the year on Thursday, with revenues up almost 9 percent thanks to good demand for its services around the world The world''s largest security services company said it was confident it would hit its annual revenue growth target of 4 to 6 percent thanks to new contract wins and its pipeline and broadly the same trends in its business as in 2016. "We have delivered good profitable growth across all the regions except Middle East and India which remains challenged," a spokesman for the company said, adding that its U.S. operations had gained from the rollover of retail cash solution contracts from 2016. The performance of G4S, which provides personnel for security services as well as cash-handling, has been robust while some UK rivals flounder, primarily because it is gradually reducing its exposure to the UK where the market has been under pressure following Britain''s vote to leave the European Union. The United States is now the company''s biggest market, providing 27 percent of full year profit in 2016. (Reporting by Elisabeth O''Leary; Editing by Greg Mahlich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-g4s-results-idUKKBN1800JI'|'2017-05-04T14:37:00.000+03:00' +'f60622820f012bfb1f8f5dab4b178768a54cca90'|'Tracker rates for energy? French firm brings ''new innovation'' to UK - Business'|'A French power company has promised to restore trust in the energy market with a new tracker tariff linked to wholesale prices, days after big suppliers were found to be making record profit margins from their customers. Engie, which describes itself as the biggest new entrant to the UK domestic energy market in 15 years, said it was the right time for the company to launch in Britain, despite both the Tories and Labour planning price caps on energy bills .We invest because regardless of any political context, this is something that makes sense, said Wilfrid Petrie, Engies UK chief executive.The company, formerly known as GDF Suez, arrives in the UK this week alongside two small new energy companies, taking the total of domestic suppliers to a record 52. The number is set to keep rising: regulator Ofgem said it expected to grant licences for a further six suppliers in June and July.Engie hopes to stand out by offering scale, transparency, green credentials and additional services, such as installing smart thermostats in peoples homes.Thousands face energy bill hikes of more than 400 this month Read more Unusually, the supplier promises that when its fixed tariffs come to an end, customers will be moved to its cheapest deal, rather than following the industry practice of rolling people on to pricier default tariffs.Petrie said he hoped to attract a few hundred thousand customers, but refused to put a timeline on the goal, adding: There are no hard targets we set ourselves. Engie has gained 15,000 domestic customers since a soft launch in December.Petrie insisted the company was committed to the UK despite the threat of price regulation and said it could carve out a niche. [The UK is] highly scrutinised, the players are criticised and the image is not particularly good, and there is a market with a lot of competition, he said.Alongside conventional fixed deals, the cheapest of which costs 880 a year, Engie will launch a tracker tariff this summer that goes up or down each month depending on the cost of wholesale gas and electricity. The company said 40% of the tariff paid by consumers would be made up of wholesale costs, with the rest of the tariff comprising costs from government policy, the transmission network and profits.Tory MPs plot to water down Theresa May''s energy price cap pledge Read more Those wholesale price changes are passed on. Unfortunately, its the good and the bad they could go up, they could go down, said Paul Rawson, the firms head of energy solutions. I think its a new innovation, and a new ability for customers to get real price transparency and restore a bit of trust in the industry.The tracker follows a similar wholesale tracker tariff launched on Monday by Octopus Energy , another relatively new challenger supplier that signed up 90,000 customers in its first year.Engie will also be competing with a pair of new entrants that launched this week, including Pure Planet, which claims it will be the cheapest supplier of renewable energy on the market, with a single tariff of around 900. BP owns a quarter of the company, set up by four friends who founded Virgin Mobile in 1999, and is also the producer of the wind, solar and hydro power that the company is buying.The other new entrant is Peoples Energy, which raised 450,000 via a crowdfunding campaign and pledges to return 75% of its profits to customers each year in an annual rebate.Topics Energy industry Energy bills Consumer affairs Household bills Utilities news '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/11/engie-power-energy-tracker-tariff-uk-market-gas-electricity'|'2017-05-11T23:26:00.000+03:00' +'55f4c4249975daa1cdf2dd743f77b592049170ba'|'Key ministers in new French government'|'Market News 03am EDT Key ministers in new French government PARIS May 17 French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe''s new government comprises a mix of socialist and conservative officials, with an equal balance between men and women as well as people from civil society. Philippe, a 46-year-old conservative lawmaker and mayor of the Normandy seaside town of Le Havre, was appointed by French centrist President Emmanuel Macron on Monday. On Wednesday, a total of 22 ministers, including junior ministers, split equally between men and women, were named in his government. Below is a list of the key ministers. INTERIOR MINISTER: GERARD COLLOMB, 69 A popular senator and mayor of Lyon, France''s second-biggest city, Collomb is part of the centrist tendency of the Socialist party. He has never been a minister during his 40-year political career, but is named number two in the government protocol. He was one of Macron''s first close allies and vocal supporters among leading Socialists. He has been a staunch advocate of cross-party cooperation in running his city. His priority in Lyon was initially focused on strengthening security. As interior minister, he will now be in charge of coordinating France''s response to internal security threats including from Islamist militants who have carried out attacks on French soil. ECOLOGICAL TRANSITION MINISTRY: NICOLAS HULOT, 62 Former documentary TV reporter Hulot is one of France''s best-known environmentalists. A pragmatist, Hulot has advised governments from the right and the left about environmental policies. He made a bid to run as Green candidate in the 2012 presidential election, but lost out to a more leftist candidate in the party''s primaries. The foundation bearing his name is a driving force for green policies in France. Former president Francois Hollande made Hulot a special envoy for the environment but could not convince him to become a minister in his government. Hulot helped prepare the 2015 United Nations COP21 climate summit in Paris and has good relations with top French companies such as EDF, L''Oreal and Carrefour, who sponsor his foundation. JUSTICE MINISTER: FRANCOIS BAYROU, 65 Long the face of centrism in France, with three failed runs for the presidency to his name, Bayrou, was pondering whether to make a fourth run when he was overtaken by Macron''s dizzy rise. The former education minister, now mayor of Pau, gave Macron a boost in the polls in February when he decided to join the former banker''s ranks, sealing an alliance. Many observers then speculated that this would be rewarded by a ministerial role for Bayrou, who founded his own Democratic Movement (MoDem) in 2007. The self-proclaimed "man of the soil" -- a father of six and practising Roman Catholic who married at age 20 -- also breeds racehorses at his ancestral home in Borderes in the southwest of France. EUROPEAN AND FOREIGN MINISTER: JEAN-YVES LE DRIAN, 69 Le Drian has been a close friend of former Socialist President Hollande for more than 40 years. Having backed Macron early, Le Drian takes over the foreign affairs portfolio after holding the defence post for five years under Hollande. One of the few popular ministers under Hollande, Le Drian is seen as the driving force behind France''s counter-terrorism operations in West Africa and the Middle East. He is also credited with leading a resurgence in French weapons'' exports that have resulted in billions of euros in deals, including the first exports of the Rafale fighter jet. The former university history teacher has spent 35 years in politics and is president of the Brittany region. In a signal of Macron''s future priorities, the ministry has been renamed to emphasise the role of Europe in foreign policy. ECONOMY MINISTER: BRUNO LE MAIRE, 48 Bruno Le Maire, named French economy minister, is a reform-minded conservative whose expertise on Europe and staunch defence of the Franco-German relationship will prove valuable as Macron pushes for closer EU integration. A pro-European, German-speaking rightist, Le Maire came second to ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy for the leadership of the The Republicans party in 2014 and finished fifth in the right-wing presidential primaries last year. After an early career as a diplomat, he held successive portfolois under Sarkozy - first European and then agriculture. He will be supported in his new role by another conservative, 34-year-old Gerald Darmanin, a Republicans vice-president and former Sarkozy ally, who will be budget minister. ARMED FORCES MINISTER (DEFENCE MINISTRY): SYLVIE GOULARD, 52 A European lawmaker who speaks four languages, Goulard is a respected operator in Brussels, having acted as adviser to former European Commission president Romano Prodi. She is the number three in the government hierarchy and will be key to pushing wider European defence cooperation. Goulard was born in Marseille and is a graduate of France''s elite ENA school of government. MINISTER OF TERRITORIAL COHESION: RICHARD FERRAND, 54 A Socialist lawmaker who steered Macron''s flagship deregulation bill through parliament in 2015, he was one of the first parliamentarians to join the young centrist''s movement. Born to a plasterer and a shop assistant in the southwestern town of Rodez, he combines impeccable working-class credentials with experience of the private sector - he turned around the bankrupt Mutuelles de Bretagne health insurance company - and an understanding of the inner workings of government as a former cabinet adviser. JUNIOR MINISTER FOR EUROPE: MARIELLE DE SARNEZ, 66 De Sarnez is the right-hand woman of Francois Bayrou, the leader of the centrist Modem party who gave up his bid for the presidency to back Macron. She will be a junior minister under Le Drian. An expert on Europe, she has been a member of the European parliament since 1999 and was campaign director for Bayrou''s unsuccessful 2012 presidential campaign. GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN: CHRISTOPHE CASTANER, 51 The Socialist lawmaker, who briefly worked as a legal adviser for the bank BNP Paribas, was one of Macron''s main message-bearers on morning radio shows and TV channels. In regional council elections in 2015, he withdrew his candidacy in the National Front (FN) stronghold of Provence, helping his conservative rival to become council president and shutting out the FN candidate, Marine Le Pen''s niece Marion Marechal-Le Pen. (Reporting by John Irish, Brian Love, Sybille de La Hamaide, Ingrid Melander, Dominique Vidalon, Andrew Callus, Adrian Croft, Michel Rose; Editing by Richard Balmforth)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/france-election-government-ministers-idUSL8N1IJ445'|'2017-05-17T22:03:00.000+03:00' +'7ebbb1e6c41bc251dbd913b1bb02f11311d9a360'|'Japan March current account surplus beats forecasts, Trump trade policies in focus'|'Business 3:23am BST Japan March current account surplus beats forecasts, Trump trade policies in focus A cargo ship is seen behind Japan''s national flag at an industrial port in Tokyo March 8, 2012. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon By Minami Funakoshi - TOKYO TOKYO Japan''s current account balance posted a stronger-than-expected surplus in March on solid income from overseas investments, maintaining a run of uninterrupted monthly surpluses that has continued for almost three years. The surplus of 2.91 trillion yen (19.7 billion pounds) marked the 33rd straight month in the black, finance ministry data showed on Thursday, and beat the median forecast for a surplus of 2.643 trillion yen in a Reuters poll of economists. Export-reliant Japan''s persistent current account surpluses could elevate the thorny issue of trade imbalances with U.S. President Donald Trump''s administration, which has pledged to rework the United States'' current agreements with its major trading partners. "Usually, the current account balance shouldn''t have that big of an impact, but you just never know with Trump," said Yoshiki Shinke, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute. "It''s hard to read what, if any, effect this might have on Trump''s policies (with Japan)." The trade surplus shrank in March to 865.5 billion yen, but logged the second straight month in the black. Income from overseas investment, boosted by a pick-up in overseas economy, also helped support the current account surplus. The primary income balance in March stood at 2.2 trillion yen on increased profits from foreign direct investment. Japan''s trade and current account surpluses have taken on critical importance as Trump pursues an "America First" platform, via which he has pledged to shrink the U.S. trade deficit with big exporters such as Japan. A strong current account surplus and a large trade surplus with the United States kept Japan on the U.S. Treasury''s currency watchlist released last month. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said that Washington could no longer sustain inflated trade deficits with its trading partners, according to a statement issued last week by the department. However, Japan''s finance minister has said he had no discussion on trade deficits when he spoke with Ross last week. Japan''s economy has sustained a modest recovery that kicked off when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took power in late 2012 and launched his "Abenomics" package of aggressive monetary, fiscal stimulus measures and structural reforms. A recent rebound in overseas demand has helped boost exports and output, pushing up business confidence to its highest in a year and a half. Japan''s March trade data showed exports rose at the fastest pace in more than two years as increased shipments of car parts and steel signalled that expanding overseas demand could help boost the country''s notoriously slow economic growth. (Reporting by Minami Funakoshi; Editing by Eric Meijer and Sam Holmes)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-currentaccount-idUKKBN18701B'|'2017-05-11T10:23:00.000+03:00' +'a9b63e8b2604f5c590e2f53ee1d77c12e3aa9d3d'|'BRIEF-Energizer raises 2017 adjusted eps outlook'|' 23am EDT BRIEF-Energizer raises 2017 adjusted eps outlook May 3 Energizer Holdings Inc * Energizer Holdings, Inc. announces fiscal 2017 second quarter results and updates financial Outlook for fiscal 2017 * Q2 adjusted earnings per share $0.50 * Q2 earnings per share $0.75 * Q2 earnings per share view $0.34 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * Sees FY 2017 adjusted earnings per share $2.75 to $2.85 * Q2 revenue $359 million versus I/B/E/S view $366.7 million * Energizer Holdings Inc - raises full year adjusted eps outlook * Energizer Holdings Inc - fiscal year 2017 net sales are expected to be up mid-single digits * Energizer Holdings Inc - incremental impact of auto care acquisition is expected to increase net sales by 5 pct to 6 pct for fiscal year 2017 * Energizer Holdings Inc - unfavorable movements in foreign currencies are expected to reduce net sales by 1.5 pct to 2.5 pct for fiscal year 2017 * Fy2017 earnings per share view $2.77, revenue view $1.75 billion -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * Energizer holdings inc - acquisition and integration costs are expected to be in range of $5 to $10 million for fiscal year 2017 Source '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-energizer-raises-2017-adjusted-eps-idUSASA09MDV'|'2017-05-03T19:23:00.000+03:00' +'72b044691234e25dedeb323af0e872b8cc681d54'|'UK shoppers shrug off inflation pressure as sun comes out'|'Top News 11:50am BST UK shoppers shrug off inflation pressure as sun comes out left right A woman buys produce at a market stall in London, Britain May 16, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall 1/2 Prices are displayed on a store window in London, Britain May 16, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall 2/2 By David Milliken and William Schomberg - LONDON LONDON British shoppers set aside their concerns about fast-rising inflation following the Brexit vote and stepped up spending last month at the fastest rate in years, encouraged by fine weather, official data showed. The unexpectedly strong figures suggest that - at least temporarily - consumers'' mood has become more upbeat in the run-up to a June 8 national election that ruling Conservatives are tipped to win by a wide margin. Retail sales volumes jumped by 2.3 percent on the month in April, the Office for National Statistics said on Thursday, beating the median forecast for a 1.0 percent rise in a Reuters poll of economists. The robust data contrasts with a generally downbeat tone so far this year, as a pick-up in inflation triggered by the fall in the pound after last year''s Brexit vote ate into households'' disposable income. The rebound followed a sharp 1.4 percent fall in March that capped the weakest calendar quarter since 2010. "April''s sharp rebound in retail sales ... buoys hopes that consumer spending will not hamper UK GDP growth as it clearly did in the first quarter," said Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Markit. Looking at the value of retail spending - which adds in the extra amount shoppers spend because of higher inflation - sales in the three months to April were up 6.2 percent on a year earlier, the biggest rise in 15 years. Sterling rose almost half a cent against the U.S. dollar GBP=D4 after the data, rising above $1.30 for the first time in almost eight months, and British government bond yields fell to a one-month low. WEATHER FACTOR The ONS said retailers reported that fine weather had boosted demand. An official said it was too soon to tell if inflation pressures would weigh on consumers again quickly. "We need a longer series to properly determine a pattern," the official said. Retail sales volumes were 4.0 percent higher than a year earlier after 2.0 percent annual growth in March, again beating forecasts in a Reuters poll for a 2.1 percent rise. The ONS said the figures were seasonally adjusted to take account of the timing of Easter, but many economists doubted the adjustment was sufficient. "Today''s upside surprise will probably mean that almost every City forecaster will be looking for payback in next month''s May figures, particularly if Easter or weather distortions played a sizeable role in today''s good news," George Buckley, an economist at Nomura, said. The strong retail sales tally with figures from the Confederation of British Industry, which said retailers reported rapid sales growth during the first part of April. But British retailers have reported mixed fortunes. Earlier this month Next ( NXT.L ), Britain''s most successful clothing chain in recent years, lowered its annual profit forecast, counting the cost of tough trading conditions and self-inflicted problems with its product ranges. Official figures on Wednesday showed that average wages in Britain are now rising by less than inflation for the first time since 2014. The Bank of England expects a shortfall in consumer demand this year which will be mostly offset by stronger exports and business investment. Many private-sector forecasters are more doubtful and see a bigger slowdown this year and next. (Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Gareth Jones)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-retail-idUKKCN18E0WC'|'2017-05-18T16:35:00.000+03:00' +'16971782c93137d00049426d93d6868f6ae9c578'|'Italy''s Atlantia bids $18 billion for Spain''s Abertis in road play'|'By Francesca Landini and Carlos Ruano - MILAN/MADRID MILAN/MADRID Italy''s Atlantia ( ATL.MI ) bid 16.3 billion euros ($18 billion) for Abertis ( ABE.MC ) on Monday to create the world''s biggest toll road operator, but still needs the full backing of the Spanish firm''s top shareholder if it is to succeed.Both companies are trying to shift away from their home markets and had previously agreed a deal in 2006, but this fell through due to Italian government opposition.While Atlantia said Monday''s cash-and share offer was friendly and the two have been in talks for weeks, Abertis said the bid had not been solicited and that it would not respond until it is legally obliged to do so.A source close to its largest shareholder Criteria, the holding company that controls Spanish lender Caixabank, said a response could take weeks or even months.Giovanni Castellucci, Atlantia''s chief executive, acknowledged that he had yet to reach a formal agreement with Abertis or Caixabank.Atlantia, which is controlled by the Benetton family, wants a tie-up with Abertis, which gets a third of its core earnings from France and has extensive operations in Latin America, to help cut its dependence on low-growth Italy.Abertis in turn needs to find new business opportunities as some of its motorway concessions in Spain are close to the end of their lifespan. The combined group would have a market value of more than 36 billion euros and generate around 60 percent of core earnings outside Italy.Criteria, which has a stake of 22.3 percent in Abertis, said in a statement it would carefully consider the offer."You can''t say it''s a done deal yet even though the two sides have talked to each other a lot. The Spaniards have little interest in saying yes right away. But the chances of a counterbid appear very slim," an Italian financial source said.Under Spanish takeover law, the board of a target company should respond to an offer once it has been approved by the market regulator, which usually takes over a month."We did whatever we could to make it friendly," Castellucci told a conference call, fielding questions from analysts on how confident he was that Criteria would accept the offer."If we had an agreement, we would have had to say it. We have something different from an agreement...I cannot say more," he said, adding the terms of the offer would not change.In a sign that the market believed the deal would go ahead, Atlantia''s shares rose 2.9 percent to 24.9 euros by 1348 GMT (9.48 a.m. ET), while Abertis stock fell 0.7 percent to 16.330 - just below the 16.5 euros per share overall valuation offered by Atlantia.The bid - to be funded through a 14.7 billion euros financing package - contains a number of sweeteners for the Spanish side, including a pledge not to de-list Abertis.Atlantia''s bid is structured as a cash offer of 16.5 euros per Abertis share - a touch above the Spanish stock''s closing price on Friday but below the 17 euros per share Criteria asked for, according to sources.The bid includes the possibility for Criteria or other shareholders to opt for a payment in shares and sets a minimum acceptance level of the share offer at 10 percent.BENETTON FAMILY TOP INVESTORAtlantia slides showed the Benetton family would be the top shareholder of the combined group with an estimated 25.5 percent stake. The equity offer, if accepted, would allow Criteria to own 15 percent, higher than previously expected.Atlantia is offering three board seats for Abertis shareholders. In addition, the new shares it is planning to issue will not be listed and cannot be sold until early 2019 - making the offer less attractive for short-term investors.New Atlantia shares will be offered on the basis of a swap ratio of 0.697 Atlantia shares for each Abertis one. The Italian company aims to secure at least 50 percent plus 1 share of its Spanish rival.Credit Suisse ( CSGN.S ) and Mediobanca ( MDBI.MI ) advised Atlantia, while BNP Paribas ( BNPP.PA ), Credit Suisse, UniCredit ( CRDI.MI ) and Intesa Sanpaolo ( ISP.MI ) arranged the financing.(Additional reporting Paola Arosio in Milan, Stefano Bernabei in Rome, Editing by Silvia Aloisi and Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-abertis-m-a-atlantia-offer-idINKCN18B0PX'|'2017-05-15T06:05:00.000+03:00' +'397a031d9c38388d45fb0591ce364c668686494d'|'Retailer Carrefour''s Brazil arm files prospectus for possible IPO'|'By Dominique Vidalon - PARIS PARIS Carrefour ( CARR.PA ), the world''s second-largest retailer, said it had taken a preliminary step toward a possible stock market listing for its Brazilian arm, via the publication of a prospectus for that market flotation.Atacado S.A., the parent company of Carrefour''s Brazilian activities, had filed with the Brazilian Securities Commission (CVM) a draft preliminary prospectus in the context of its previously-announced plan to list its shares on the Novo Mercado market, Carrefour said in a statement.Carrefour shares were up 2.1 percent, among the top-performing stocks on France''s benchmark CAC-40 index .FCHI which was down 0.1 percent.Bernstein analyst Bruno Monteyne said in a research note that a Brazilian initial public offering (IPO) could add 1-2 euros to Carrefour''s share price."We expect Carrefour to sell a 10 to 15 percent stake, generating 950 million euros ($1.1 billion) to 1.45 billion euros in cash. This cash could be put to use pursuing small M&A opportunities or purchasing cheap retail sites given the recent recession in Brazil," said Monteyne, who has a "market perform" rating on Carrefour''s shares.Carrefour has targeted an initial public offering for the Brazilian unit this year, market conditions permitting, in order to accelerate its expansion in that country, which is its second-largest market after France.Brazilian tycoon Abilio Diniz, who is a key Carrefour shareholder, told Reuters in March that an IPO could take place in mid-2017, given signs that Brazil''s economy was emerging from the worst recession in its history.A Carrefour spokeswoman said on Wednesday that the filing of the prospectus, which contains financial information on Carrefour''s Brazil business, was a preparatory and technical step ahead of the possible Brazil IPO.(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon, Pascale Denis; Additional reporting by Gabriela Mello in Sao Paulo; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-carrefour-atacadao-ipo-idINKBN18K1GL'|'2017-05-24T09:42:00.000+03:00' +'6131ead4b29e699114e6696be61308429d82ec51'|'UPDATE 1-Altice-SFR performance gap widens in first quarter'|'* Altice core profit up 9.5 pct; SFR''s down 5.1 pct* SFR margin lowest since Drahi acquisition in 2014* Deals with NBCUniversal, Discovery weigh on SFR profits (Adds shares reaction, analyst note, details)By Mathieu Rosemain and Gwnalle BarzicPARIS, May 11 The performance gap between telecoms and cable group Altice NV and its listed SFR Group division widened in the first quarter, underscoring SFR''s difficulties in attracting customers despite heavy investments in infrastructure and content.The holding company, founded by Franco-Israeli tycoon Patrick Drahi, said on Thursday that its quarterly profits in the United States grew ahead of a planned initial public offering (IPO) while those of SFR in France dropped, along with the number of customers in the country.Altice''s core operating profit rose by 9.5 percent over the first three months of year to 2.24 billion euros ($2.43 billion), in line with a Reuters poll.SFR''s contribution to that amount was 820 million euros, down by 5.1 percent from a year earlier. That figure compares with the 896 million euro core operating profit yielded by Altice USA over the same period, representing an increase of 31.2 percent.Drahi is betting on the convergence of content providers and telecommunications operators to increase margins and compete better against newcomers such as Netflix and Amazon . He saw the announcement of AT&T Inc''s $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc as an additional proof of this trend.In France, SFR bought the English Premier League''s football rights for the three seasons starting in 2016, paying more than 300 million euros for them.SFR also won the TV rights for soccer''s European Champions League for the period 2018-2021 period for an annual cost of 350 million euros, a source told Reuters on Thursday.Still, evaluating the impact of such investments on customers'' choices remains difficult and recent spending on exclusive distribution agreements with NBCUniversal and Discovery weigh on SFR margins."Yes, we believe that content has an impact on our figures," Altice''s chief executive Michel Combes said in a call with reporters. "It answers customers expectations, it clearly supports our pricing strategy," he added.SFR lost 351,000 mobile customers and 213,000 broadband customers in the first quarter compared with the same period a year ago.The French unit''s quarterly core operating margin at 30.3 percent is the worst on record since Drahi bought SFR in November 2014, and far from an initial target of 45 percent."SFR''s fundamentals will likely remain difficult in 2017, as cost savings from headcount reductions are totally reinvested in content costs," analysts for Raymond James said in a note to clients."The possible positive impact of the content strategy on customer trends remains unclear," they added. ($1 = 0.9202 euro) (Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain and Gwenaelle Barzic; Editing by G Crosse and GV De Clercq)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/altice-results-sfr-group-idINL8N1ID1SK'|'2017-05-11T05:27:00.000+03:00' +'248cb916b55105cb93710229f87bc4a2725ac215'|'Will OPEC look to Nigeria for output cuts as its output recovers?'|'Business 11:04am BST Will OPEC look to Nigeria for output cuts as its output recovers? People ride a boat past an oil discharge facility, which was used to transfer imported oil from ships at the Atlas Cove depot, that was damaged (not pictured) after militants from the Niger delta bombed it, in Lagos, Nigeria, November 10, 2016. Picture taken November 10,... REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde By Libby George - LONDON LONDON Nigeria''s last remaining shuttered oil terminal is resuming exports just days before the West African nation heads into OPEC talks - potentially awkward timing for a country that was exempt from the first round of output cuts. A second vessel, the Densa Orca, arrived on Monday at the Forcados terminal after the Astro Perseus tanker loaded the first cargo in seven months late last week. At least one additional tanker is expected to load a cargo of Forcados this month. As a result, exports of the grade could return to their usual 200,000-240,000 barrels per day (bpd) by June, bringing Nigeria''s production nearly back to levels seen before militant attacks in 2016. The attacks throughout 2016 in the Niger Delta oil hub hobbled production - keeping Forcados shut for all but a few weeks since early 2016 and gaining the nation a reprieve from 1.8 million bpd worth of output cuts agreed between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers. Attacks, however, largely abated this year following visits by Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to the restive Delta region, and a near-tripling in the budget for a militant amnesty programme. Maintenance on the Bonga oilfield in March, itself a more than 200,000 bpd export stream, held Nigerian output below normal for at least two months, and the closure of the primary export pipeline for Qua Iboe, the nation''s largest export stream, also limited exports. But both are edging back to normal, which would bring crude oil output close to the 1.8 million bpd level that oil minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu said in January would prompt his country to join oil producers'' production cuts. The rebound, which coincides with global outages at a six-year low, could press Nigeria to come into the fold of cuts should an extension deal be reached in Vienna this week.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-nigeria-oil-production-idUKKBN18I12C'|'2017-05-22T18:04:00.000+03:00' +'c8642053f17e6f84f2592da71dd63a20c09be87f'|'Investors seek safety as European shares dip, Ubisoft weighs'|'Top News - Wed May 17, 2017 - 8:48am BST Investors seek safety as European shares dip, Ubisoft weighs FILE PHOTO: Traders work in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, May 10, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/File Photo LONDON European shares fell on Wednesday amid a global pullback in stock markets as worries about political turmoil in the U.S. grew, sending investors seeking safety into defensive sectors such as telecoms and food and beverage stocks. The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 0.3 percent, as major regional benchmarks tracked a global dip in stocks and the dollar as concerns over U.S. President Trump multiplied. Eurozone blue-chips and the bloc''s broader index of stocks both dropped 0.6 percent. Britain''s FTSE 100 was on course to snap its nine-day winning streak, slipping from its new record high hit on Tuesday. Ubisoft Entertainment, the third biggest global entertainment company, fell 7 percent after it cut its mid-term sales forecast, reporting results near the bottom end of its target range after the close on Tuesday. Raiffeisen Bank was a bright spot on a negative banking sector, up 3.5 percent after its first-quarter profit jumped more than expected as write-downs shrank. Lloyds Bank also gained 0.9 percent after the British government sold its last remaining shares in the bank. Among the few gainers, Norwegian drugmaker Yara also got a boost from broker Liberum raising it to ''buy'' from ''sell'', saying urea prices are close to a trough. Gold miners Fresnillo and Randgold Resources rose 0.8 and 2 percent as the price of the safe-haven asset rose to a two week high. Bond proxy Unilever also gained 0.4 percent. (Reporting by Helen Reid, Vikram Subhedar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks-idUKKCN18D0Q1'|'2017-05-17T15:48:00.000+03:00' +'b97a77fa69eb9be10f38ccc735132ff59bd85773'|'New fund group to be called Standard Life Aberdeen post merger'|'Business News - Tue May 9, 2017 - 8:09pm BST New fund group to be called Standard Life Aberdeen post merger The combination of Standard Life Plc ( SL.L ) and Aberdeen Asset Management Plc ( ADN.L ) will be called Standard Life Aberdeen plc when the two fund groups complete their merger, Standard Life said on Tuesday. "The board will comprise the Chairman, four executive directors and eleven non-executive directors," Standard Life added in a statement. Britain''s Standard Life said in March it had reached an agreement to buy Aberdeen Asset Management in an 11 billion-pound all-share deal. (Reporting by Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; editing by Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-aberdeen-asset-m-a-standard-life-idUKKBN1852BR'|'2017-05-10T03:09:00.000+03:00' +'770894aff78d9932a52c6e65afea256adac4e2a4'|'HSBC''s asset management arm hires three specialists for sustainable investments'|'Business 2:11pm BST HSBC''s asset management arm hires three specialists for sustainable investments A HSBC and a Barclays bank building is seen at Canary Wharf 17, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth HSBC Global Asset Management, a unit of HSBC Holdings Plc ( HSBA.L ), said on Monday it has appointed three investment specialists who will help the company integrate sustainability into the investment process. The company said the new hires - Sandra Carlisle, Stephanie Maier and Helene Winch - will report to Melissa McDonald who leads the asset management group''s equities product and also global initiatives on sustainability. Carlisle, who has nearly 30 years of experience in financial markets, most recently served as head of responsible investment at London-based Newton Investment Management. HSBC said Maier will join shortly from asset management company Aviva Investors, where she was head of responsible investment strategy and research. Winch, who has over 20 years investment experience, most recently served as a portfolio director at Low Carbon Ltd. HSBC Global Asset Management is an asset manager in the Asset Owners Disclosure Projects (AODP) Global Climate Index for Asset Managers. (Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hsbc-moves-sandracarlisle-idUKKBN18I1LE'|'2017-05-22T21:11:00.000+03:00' +'6223d32e2e6b64376421c2a0b7eae55be54ef70e'|'Saudi prince says economic reforms working, promises huge investments - Reuters'|'By Katie Paul , Marwa Rashad and Reem Shamseddine - RIYADH RIYADH The prince overseeing Saudi Arabia''s economy said his radical reforms were succeeding in protecting the kingdom against low oil prices, and he promised massive investments in coming years to help diversify the economy beyond oil."Although our prices dipped to as low as $27 for more than one year...the government managed to shield economic indicators from the negative impact," Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in a rare nationally televised interview on Tuesday."Gross domestic product is still growing - not at global rates, true, but it is not going into deflation."He said more than half of the tens of billions of dollars that Riyadh expects to raise by selling shares in national oil giant Saudi Aramco would be reinvested domestically by the kingdom''s top sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), to create jobs and earn revenue.In the three years after the share sale, the PIF will spend over 500 billion riyals ($133 billion), with between 50 and 70 percent going to develop promising non-oil sectors such as mining and logistics within Saudi Arabia, he added.Prince Mohammed, 31, first described his reform plans to the public in a nationally televised appearance almost exactly a year ago.At that time he faced a grim economic challenge: low oil prices had saddled the government with a record $98 billion budget deficit in 2015. Financial markets had started to speculate that Saudi Arabia might eventually default on its debt or be forced to scrap the riyal''s peg to the U.S. dollar.In recent months the outlook has improved. The deficit has started to shrink and Riyadh has bought itself time to reduce its reliance on oil by establishing a programme of overseas bond issues, reducing the need to draw down its financial reserves.Other top Saudi officials trumpeted those achievements in presentations to hundreds of foreign bankers and investors at a Riyadh investment conference organised by Euromoney magazine on Tuesday.Finance minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said the government was on track to cut its deficit to about $53 billion this year, and that the government was so far in 2017 paying over 90 percent of its bills to the private sector within 30 days of the due date.Delayed payments by the government were a big drag on the economy last year, and in December authorities promised they would in future make all payments within a less stringent target of 60 days.PROBLEMSBig uncertainties still overshadow Saudi Arabia''s effort to restructure its economy. One is how much money the government can raise through the sale of the Aramco shares. It has predicted the sale will value the company at $2 trillion, but some private analysts expect a significantly smaller figure.Prince Mohammed indicated on Tuesday, however, that the Aramco sale would go ahead along the lines he described a year ago, saying a stake close to 5 percent would be offered in 2018.He also said authorities would announce a programme to address the kingdom''s shortage of private housing in the third quarter of this year, aiming to arrange the construction of over a million housing units through soft loans or the Saudi Real Estate Development Fund. He did not give a time frame.Much of the Prince Mohammed''s economic plan envisions transferring responsibility for development projects and public services to the private sector from the government.For example, Prince Mohammed said that while the government was committed to providing medical treatment to its citizens, it would not necessarily manage hospitals. Officials have begun preparing plans to sell off some hospitals, perhaps through private equity deals.The government''s austerity policies have brought growth of the non-oil part of the economy near zero. In an effort to support growth, the government reversed a highly unpopular austerity step last month, restoring allowances to public sector workers after cutting them last September to save money.Prince Mohammed said the relaxation of austerity was due to improved oil and non-oil revenues. But he added that the government was prepared to restore austerity steps if state finances passed through another crisis.(Additional reporting by Saeed Azhar; Writing by Andrew Torchia)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/saudi-economy-prince-idINKBN17Y2KB'|'2017-05-02T19:51:00.000+03:00' +'8e00b3f1c5d9a2c5b27b54612142fbc4c555c3f4'|'UPDATE 1-U.S., China reach deals on access for beef, financial services'|'Market 5:00am EDT UPDATE 1-U.S., China reach deals on access for beef, financial services (Adds quotes from China, business groups, and Visa) By Ayesha Rascoe and Michael Martina WASHINGTON/BEIJING May 11 The United States and China will expand trade in beef and chicken and increase access for financial firms, as part of a plan to reduce the massive U.S. trade deficit with Beijing, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Thursday. The deals are the first tangible results of the 100 days of trade talks that began last month after U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Florida to discuss cooperation between the world''s two largest economies. The countries have agreed that China will allow U.S. imports of beef by no later than July 16. By that same deadline, the United States said it would issue a proposed rule to allow Chinese cooked poultry to enter U.S. markets, Ross told reporters at a briefing. Beijing also agreed to issue guidelines by then to allow U.S.-owned card payment services "to begin the licensing process" in a sector where China''s UnionPay system has had a near monopoly. Foreign-owned firms in China will also be able to provide credit rating services. The talks with China are latest in a series of actions since Trump took office in January aimed at remaking U.S. international trade relations. Trump had pledged during his presidential campaign that he would stop trade practices by China and other countries that he deemed unfair to the United States. His tough talk had fueled fears of a potential trade war with Beijing. "This will help us to bring down the deficit for sure," Ross said. "You watch and you''ll see." Ross said there should be an impact on China''s trade surplus with the United States by the end of the year. The United States also signalled that it was eager to export more liquefied natural gas (LNG), saying China could negotiate any type of contract, including long-term contracts, with U.S. suppliers. It is unclear exactly how much these new deals will increase trade between the two countries. "We believe that Sino-U.S. economic cooperation is the trend of the times. ... We will continue to move forward," Chinese Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao told a Beijing press briefing on Friday. When asked if China-U.S. cooperation over North Korea''s nuclear and missile programs had played a role in the outcomes of the talks, Zhu said: "Economic issues should not be politicised." Trump said he had told Xi that Beijing would get a better trade deal if it worked to rein in North Korea, a statement Ross later rowed back on, saying the president did not intend to trade U.S. jobs for help with Pyongyang. "FULL AND PROMPT MARKET ACCESS" China had conditionally lifted its longstanding import ban on American beef last year, but few purchases have been made. The ban was imposed in 2003 due to a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, in Washington state. China''s Premier Li Keqiang, days after the Xi-Trump summit, suggested that restoring U.S. beef imports could be linked to a U.S. opening for Chinese chicken exports. U.S. credit card operators Visa Inc and MasterCard Inc have yet to be independently licensed to clear transactions in China, despite a 2012 WTO ruling mandating that Beijing open the sector. Visa said in an emailed statement that it looked forward to submitting an application for a bank-card clearing institution license, which, "once granted", would allow it to support economic development in China. Mastercard said: "We welcome today''s announcement and look forward to having full and prompt market access in China." U.S. business groups had wanted the Trump administration to act against Beijing on market imbalances, but not push the two countries toward a trade war. Nonetheless, more vociferous complaints about Chinese market restrictions by American businesses lobbies have marked a shift from years past, when many companies eschewed the idea of forceful action by Washington for fear of retribution by China. Jacob Parker, vice president of China operations at the U.S.-China Business Council, said the outcomes addressed "some of the top concerns" of its members, and that the deadlines reinforced commitments made during the Xi-Trump meeting that the talks would yield tangible results. But he said risks remained that Chinese regulators could drag out the licensing or approval process in newly opened sectors. Ker Gibbs, the chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, said the deal, while a good beginning, was not a breakthrough. "Past foot-dragging means we won''t celebrate until these promises are executed," Gibbs said, calling the opening in the electronic payments market "mainly symbolic". "This should have been done years ago when it would have made a difference. At this point the domestic players are well entrenched so foreign companies will have a hard time entering the China market," he said. (Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe in Washington; Michael Martina, Kevin Yao and Matthew Miller in Beijing; and John Ruwitch in Shanghai; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-china-trade-idUSL1N1IE08B'|'2017-05-12T17:00:00.000+03:00' +'8ffec2b1d8c791ef62aa122ce190f34d63715892'|'Kinder Morgan treads minefield in post-vote British Columbia'|'Market 17pm EDT Kinder Morgan treads minefield in post-vote British Columbia By Ethan Lou and John Tilak - CALGARY, Alberta/TORONTO CALGARY, Alberta/TORONTO May 17 British Columbia could become a minefield for Kinder Morgan Inc, with the recent provincial election results expected to weigh on the U.S. company''s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and plans for a Canadian initial public offering. The Canadian province''s pro-energy Liberals Party won the election but lost its majority, forcing it to woo the environmentalist Green Party to govern, potentially making concessions. In the worst scenario for the Liberals, the Greens could form their own majority government with the second-place New Democrats, who also oppose Trans Mountain. While final electoral results can change with the compiling of absentee votes and recounts, to be done by May 24, a provincial government unfriendly to development could mean major obstacles to Trans Mountain, even if it has federal approval on its side. The election is expected to cast a shadow on Kinder Morgan''s proposed $1.3 billion IPO for its Canadian unit, set to be the nation''s fourth-biggest, filed one day after the election. "The really close B.C. election vote puts pressure on the Kinder Morgan IPO," said Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at CMC Markets. "You run the danger of the whole thing getting stalled for years or going into limbo." The Trans Mountain project said in a statement on Tuesday that the expansion continues to advance. Kinder Morgan has said in IPO filings that changes in government could disrupt or delay projects such as Trans Mountain, causing "significant" increased costs. "While the provincial government cannot undo the federal authorization to construct and operate the Trans Mountain pipeline, they could create some potential issues at a local and provincial level," said Alan Ross, managing partner of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP''s Calgary office. "To the extent not done so already, any Kinder Morgan Canada IPO would need to price in political risk related to the B.C. election," he said. Based on IPO documents, Kinder Morgan Canada''s dividend yield would work out to 3.1-3.4 percent. That compares with 3.8 percent at Hydro One, which filed Canada''s third biggest IPO in 2015. Given political risks, Kinder Morgan may have to offer a more attractive dividend yield, said Ian Nakamoto, equity specialist at MacDougall, MacDougall & MacTier, a division of Raymond James. Even if recounts grant Liberals a majority, it would be slim, making it hard for them to unilaterally get their way as before. Liberal leader and incumbent Premier Christy Clark said she will collaborate with rivals and work across party lines. The Greens did not respond to requests for comment, although leader Andrew Weaver said in a commentary in the Globe and Mail newspaper on Wednesday that reconsidering Trans Mountain would be a "triumph of democracy." The New Democratic Party (NDP) reiterated a commitment to use "every tool" to stop the project. Neither party has specified in detail how to oppose Trans Mountain. Any pushback would have to overcome the federal approval already granted, which constitutionally trumps provincial opposition. The province could delay Trans Mountain and wear down the will of Kinder Morgan''s investors, said University of British Columbia law professor Jocelyn Stacey. British Columbia can revoke the environmental assessment certificate it granted, simply not contest a current legal challenge against it or deny routine construction permits, resulting in years-long court battles with the federal government, she said. A less energy-friendly British Columbia will also embolden activists, many of whom voted Green or NDP, with Greenpeace expecting more protesters and possibly holding more civil disobedience workshops, said Keith Stewart, who heads the organization''s Canadian climate and energy campaign. "We have people coming to us every day saying, ''How do I lie down in front of the bulldozers?''" (Additional reporting by Nicole Mordant in Vancouver; Editing by Denny Thomas and Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-politics-kinder-morgan-de-idUSL1N1I31HU'|'2017-05-18T03:17:00.000+03:00' +'036dd5ef9142da5e293c85db8c26951a7e347817'|'Print advertising pressures ease at Daily Mail owner'|'Thu May 25, 2017 - 10:28am BST Daily Mail''s falling information revenue forecast hits shares By Kate Holton and Noor Zainab Hussain - LONDON LONDON Daily Mail and General Trust ( DMGOa.L ) warned on Thursday that underlying revenue in its information business would be lower than previously forecast and posted a fall in first half profit, sending its shares down 10 percent. The owner of the Daily Mail newspaper reported an 11 percent fall in operating profit to 100 million pounds ($129 million) in the six months to the end of March, due to pressures in the information business and planned investment costs. DMGT said the information division, which owns the media businesses that serve the traditionally more stable property, education and energy sectors, was expected to produce a full-year underlying revenue growth rate in the low-single digits, compared with a previous forecast of mid-single digits. The British company reiterated its 12-month targets but said challenging market conditions facing portfolio companies Hobsons'' Admissions and Genscape''s Locus Energy are expected to persist, hurting revenue at its information business. The information division had revenue of 259 million pounds in the first half of the year, while the group overall reported a 1 percent underlying rise in revenue to 890 million pounds. Daily Mail cut the revenue outlook for its information unit in January, saying it was hit in the first quarter by lower activity in the UK market of its European property segment. Property investors reined in spending after Britain''s vote to leave the European Union on concerns that the market would be hit by companies moving some jobs to the EU or taking up less space against an uncertain domestic environment. Commodity firms are also cautious on spending as the industry recovers from a multi-year commodity price slump. DMGT also said underlying revenue growth rate at its events business is now expected to be in the mid-single digits, but would still be in line with market expectations. "The scaling back of top-line FY guidance for DMG information and DMG events is likely to be taken negatively and raise questions about operational performance," Liberum analysts wrote in a note. The brokerage has a "buy" rating on the stock. However, Daily Mail''s rate of decline in print advertising eased slightly in the first half while online ad sales surged, helping the group to maintain targets. Print advertising fell by 8 percent, easing from a 12 percent fall in 2016. Analysts at Panmure Gordon, who rate the stock a "hold," said the company''s portfolio has gone from "firing on all cylinders" three years ago, to a "mixed bag" over the last 18 months, to "nearly everything''s struggling". (Editing by Jane Merriman and Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-dailymail-results-idUKKBN18L0NS'|'2017-05-25T14:48:00.000+03:00' +'60b355f60106f832a448a8eeb06621bfa306e04c'|'BRIEF-Southcross Energy Partners LP qtrly basic and diluted loss per common unit $ 0.19'|' 20am EDT BRIEF-Southcross Energy Partners LP qtrly basic and diluted loss per common unit $ 0.19 May 9 Southcross Energy Partners Lp: * Southcross Energy Partners L.P. Reports first quarter results * Southcross Energy Partners LP - processed gas volumes during quarter averaged 256 mmcf/d, down 25pct compared to 343 mmcf/d for same period in prior year * Southcross Energy Partners LP - expects that capital expenditures for full-year 2017 will be in range of $15 million to $20 million * Qtrly total revenues $155.2 million versus $119.7 million * Qtrly basic and diluted loss per common unit $ 0.19 Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-southcross-energy-partners-lp-qtrl-idUSASA09O0K'|'2017-05-09T18:20:00.000+03:00' +'6034988affda63c75e9ef5fb0d720a9e2a501606'|'Brazil Treasury tells Banco do Brasil to sell sovereign fund shares - Reuters'|'BRASILIA May 5 The Brazilian Treasury has told Banco do Brasil SA subsidiary BB DTVM to redeem shares in the Investment and Stabilization Fund (FFIE), which will require selling the shares over 24 months, the bank said on Friday.In a securities filing, state-controlled Banco do Brasil, Latin America''s largest bank, said the extended sales program would be carried out subject to market conditions.The sole shareholder of the FFIE is the Brazil Sovereign Fund (FSB).The Treasury instructed BB DTVM to "engage its best efforts to trade BB''s shares in the most neutral possible way in terms of asset price impact, in order to ensure liquidity in its portfolio," the filing by the bank''s CFO Alberto Monteiro de Queiroz said.Separately, the Finance Ministry said the recommendation was in line with its announcement in May last year that the sale of shares in the Brazil Sovereign Fund would go ahead over the next few years according to market conditions to get the best prices.Banco do Brasil shares closed 2.32 percent higher on Friday, at 33.11 reais a share.The FFIE fund groups controlling shareholders of the bank and has a 3.67 percent stake, or 105,024,600 shares. (Reporting by Paula Arend Laier and Anthony Boadle; editing by Grant McCool)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/banco-do-brasil-sovereign-idINL1N1I71TE'|'2017-05-05T20:34:00.000+03:00' +'261759ea39239862ae15ff0e0852f4d9555d767f'|'London is still a global draw despite Brexit, says British Land - Business - The Guardian'|'London is still a big draw for global banks and institutions despite the uncertainty created by Brexit, according to one of the UKs biggest property companies.British Land said the process of leaving the EU was creating uncertainty, with tenants taking longer than usual to commit to office space, but there was still demand for good quality property in the capital.Looking forward, the picture is a mixed one. The Brexit process has begun but uncertainty will continue for some considerable time, said Chris Grigg, chief executive of the company behind the Cheesegrater skyscraper in the City of London. London''s ''Cheesegrater'' sold to Chinese tycoon for more than 1bn Read more London occupiers, particularly financial institutions, are making contingency plans but there is a wide range of possible outcomes here. Our conversations with occupiers tell us that a large majority continue to value London and believe in its place as a global centre, as we do.Although we are seeing businesses taking longer to commit and being more thorough in assessing options, we see polarisation of both occupier and investor demand accelerating with an increasing focus on the best quality space.However, a report from Deloitte suggests the prospects for property developers could worsen as there is a glut of office space in the capital. The amount of available office space jumped by 36% last year and has risen by a further 19% in the first three months of this year, according to the consultancys latest London crane survey . As the amount of new office space completed in London hit a 13-year high of 3.9m sq ft in the last six months, construction work on new buildings slowed. The volume of office space under construction has fallen by 6% to 13.9m sq ft, the first drop in three years.British Land owns property worth 13.9bn, with offices and residential in London, regional retail assets and a property development programme focused mainly in the capital.Grigg said there was still a lot to attract occupiers to London, despite fears that Brexit will trigger an exodus among global institutions to rival cities within the EU, to guarantee continued access to the single market.We expect London to continue as a leading global city reflecting its diverse pool of intellectual capital and reputation for innovation, as well as its culture, language and strong regulatory and legal framework, he said.He was speaking as British Land announced its results for the year to the end of March. High-profile deals during the year included the sale of the companys 50% stake in the Cheesegrater , officially known as the Leadenhall Building, to Chinas CC Land for 1.15bn.The value of its portfolio fell by 1.4% over the year, to 13.9bn, but it was up by 1.6% in the second half alone. Underlying profit rose by 7.4% to 390m.We are reporting a good set of results today despite an uncertain environment over the last 12 months, Grigg said. We are particularly pleased by the increase in underlying profits, by our strong leasing performance across the business and by the very successful sales we have made. The increase in valuations in the second half is also better than many expected six months ago.Topics British Land Real estate EU referendum and Brexit news '|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/17/london-brexit-british-land-uk-cheesegrater'|'2017-05-17T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'2f417875f95a5abb58d56d681de36f9fa9dcd993'|'Oil prices inch down on China economy worries, but OPEC cuts support'|'Business 9:32am BST Oil prices inch down on China economy worries, but OPEC cuts support FILE PHOTO: A worker walks past a pump jack on an oil field owned by the Bashneft company near Nikolo-Berezovka, Bashkortostan, Russia , January 28, 2015. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo By Aaron Sheldrick - TOKYO TOKYO Oil prices edged down on Monday as a disappointing Chinese economic survey clouded the outlook for demand, although talk that OPEC-led crude output cuts could be extended continued to offer support. NYMEX crude for June delivery was down 12 cents at $49.21 a barrel by 0619 GMT. London Brent crude for new front-month delivery in July was down 15 cents at $51.90. A faster-than-expected slowdown of growth in China''s manufacturing sector in April weighed on prices. An official survey showed on Sunday that producer price inflation cooled and policymakers'' efforts to curtail financial risks in the economy weighed on demand. "The moderation in the China PMI could see commodity prices come under some modest pressure," ANZ said in a note. The price declines mark the third consecutive week that oil has started with a drop, with high inventories also dragging on markets that have been grappling with a global supply glut for the last few years. Iran''s oil minister said on Saturday that OPEC and non-OPEC countries had given positive signals for an extension of output cuts, which Tehran would also back. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)meets this month to discuss oil supply policy. If OPEC agrees to extend the cuts, then bloated global inventories could drain by the end of the year, a Reuters poll of economists and analysts showed. Saudi Arabia''s Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Saturday there was consensus with Central Asia over oil markets and production levels.. Money managers cut their net long U.S. crude futures and options positions for the first time in four weeks in the week to April 25, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday. U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday stepped up contacts with allies in Asia to secure their cooperation to pressure North Korea over its nuclear and missile programs. Trump''s calls to the two Asian leaders came after North Korea test-launched another missile that Washington and Seoul said was unsuccessful but which drew widespread international condemnation. (Reporting by Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Joseph Radford)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-oil-idUKKBN17X0WZ'|'2017-05-01T16:09:00.000+03:00' +'5f3e6189826b968d3a2f2f45a35ad76c8341f075'|'Southeast Asian e-commerce firm Garena raises $550 mln, rebrands as Sea'|'SINGAPORE May 8 Southeast Asia-focused e-commerce startup Garena Interactive Holding Ltd renamed itself Sea Ltd on Monday and said it had raised $550 million to expand in key markets such as Indonesia.The fundraising by Sea comes amid a flurry of similar deals in the region as competition for a share of Southeast Asia''s biggest e-commerce market Indonesia intensifies, with more people in the 250-million strong nation gaining access to the Internet.Sea, which also provides digital payments and online gaming services, said most of the new capital would be used to grow its e-commerce platform Shopee.Shopee has more than doubled in size in the past nine months and now has an annualised gross merchandise value of over $3.0 billion, it added.Investors in Sea''s fundraising round included Farallon Capital Management, Hillhouse Capital, Indonesia''s GDP Venture and Philippine conglomerate JG Summit Holdings Inc, the company said. An investment arm of Taiwanese food conglomerate Uni-President Enterprises Corp and Cathay Financial Holding Co also took part.Sea did not disclose its current valuation, but was valued at $3.75 billion in a March 2016 funding round.In one of the biggest bets on e-commerce in Southeast Asia, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd bought a controlling stake in Southeast Asian online retailer Lazada Group for about $1 billion last year.Indonesia''s online marketplace Tokopedia is also in talks with China''s JD.Com Inc for possible fund raising, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters last week.Sea counts SeaTown Holdings, a subsidiary of Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings, and Malaysian state investor Khazanah Nasional Bhd among its investors. It also plans a $1 billion initial public offering, IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication, reported in January.On Monday, Sea also named former Singapore foreign minister George Yeo, former Indonesia minister of trade Mari Pangestu and Pandu Sjahrir, a director of Indonesian coal PT Toba Bara Sejahtra Tbk, as senior advisors. (Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan; Editing by Miral Fahmy)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/sea-fundraising-idUSL4N1IA1QP'|'2017-05-08T17:31:00.000+03:00' +'9377cc39a6e48f42f12288dc914d9aa94aea007a'|'Havaianas flip-flop maker Alpargatas rallies on sale talk'|'SAO PAULO Shares in Brazil''s Alpargatas SA ( ALPA4.SA ), the maker of Havaianas flip flops, gained on Wednesday, bolstered by reports from Reuters and elsewhere it was among assets that scandal-hit parent company J&F Investimentos SA had considered selling.Alpargatas shares were up 8 percent in afternoon trading after Reuters reported that J&F, which also owns the world''s largest meatpacker JBS SA ( JBSS3.SA ), had considered selling the shoe and sportswear maker earlier in the year.Banco Bradesco SA''s ( BBDC4.SA ) investment banking unit, which J&F hired to help it sell another asset, dairy company Fbrica de Produtos Alimentcios Vigor SA, had also been advising the family on plans to merge Alpargatas'' different classes of stock into common shares, three people with direct knowledge of the situation told Reuters on Tuesday. [L1N1IQ08Q]Alpargatas said late on Tuesday that plan had been scrapped. Moves to cancel such share restructurings at Brazilian companies have in the past been preludes to asset sales.Alpargatas, which J&F acquired from construction conglomerate Camargo Correa SA two-and-a-half years ago for 2.7 billion reais, could easily attract suitors and may now be worth more than 3 billion reais, one of the people with knowledge of the situation told Reuters.In a securities filing late on Tuesday, Alpargatas said JBS Chairman Joesley Batista, who turned a regional slaughterhouse into a global empire with the help of government loans, was resigning from Alpargatas'' board.JBS shares were little changed after rallying on Tuesday.Batista made headlines last week for recording Brazilian President Michel Temer appearing to back JBS''s payment of bribes to a jailed politician. Temer has come under pressure to resign but he has denied the allegations and insisted he will not step down voluntarily."Asset sales by J&F could bolster its cash situation, indirectly helping JBS," an equities trader from a major foreign bank said. "Still, there''s a lot of uncertainty over what could be sold and for how much."J&F Investimentos said late on Tuesday it was continuing to negotiate a plea bargain deal with Brazilian prosecutors to settle charges it bribed scores of politicians including Temer.The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that J&F was now willing to pay at least $1.3 billion as part of a settlement, up from the 1 billion reais ($305.52 million)it initially proposed. Prosecutors have asked for 11.2 billion reais.J&F said it would not be commenting on the plea bargain until an agreement was reached.(Reporting By Bruno Federowski; Writing by Christian Plumb; Editing by Andrew Hay)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-corruption-jbs-idINKBN18K2Y3'|'2017-05-24T19:06:00.000+03:00' +'a0b808aa07f1f61875f1496ca26b96466f871935'|'Asian stocks retreat, dollar holds gains on hawkish Fed statement'|'Business News - Thu May 4, 2017 - 4:39am BST Asian stocks retreat, dollar holds near six-week high on hawkish Fed A man stands in front of electronic boards showing stock prices and exchange rate between Japanese Yen and U.S dollar outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, January 20, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon By Nichola Saminather - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Asian stocks retreated on Thursday, taking their cues from a subdued session on Wall Street, while the dollar retained gains made after the Federal Reserve''s hawkish policy statement. At the end of its two-day meeting, the Fed kept its benchmark interest rate steady as expected, but downplayed weak first-quarter economic growth and emphasized the strength of the labor market, a sign it was still on track for two more rate increases this year. Futures traders are now pricing in a 72 percent chance of a June rate hike, from 63 percent before the Fed''s statement, according to the CME Group''s FedWatch Tool. The dollar was slightly higher at 112.78 yen JPY= , close to the highest since March 20 touched earlier, after surging 0.6 percent on Wednesday to close at the session high. The dollar index .DXY, which tracks the greenback against a basket of trade-weighted peers, climbed 0.1 percent to 99.323, building on Wednesday''s 0.2 percent jump. "The key over the coming weeks will be the economic data from the U.S. but, in addition, the (Fed) will be closely watching Washington and negotiations surrounding the new administrations tax cut plans," said Lee Ferridge, head of multi-asset strategy for North America at State Street Global Markets. "Should the data hold up (or better still, improve from here), while the chances of a late summer tax cut agreement remain intact, then the market will likely price in a June move." Attention now turns to U.S. non-farm payrolls for March, due on Friday, after separate data showed private employers added 177,000 jobs in April. That was higher than expected but the smallest increase since October. Economists polled by Reuters expect U.S. private payroll employment likely grew by 185,000 jobs in April, up from 89,000 in March. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS slid 0.5 percent on Thursday, dragged lower by commodities, energy and financials stocks. Japan is closed for the Golden Week holiday. Chinese stocks .CSI300 were down 0.3 percent, after growth in China''s services sector cooled to its slowest in almost a year in April as fears of slower economic growth dented business confidence. Hong Kong''s Hang Seng .HSI dropped 0.6 percent. Australian shares were 0.3 percent lower. "May is a notoriously cruel month for Asia with foreign exchange, equities and domestic bonds all losing in historical average returns," Bank of America Merrill Lynch strategists led by Claudio Piron wrote in a note. South Korea''s KOSPI .KS11 bucked the weaker trend, jumping 0.6 percent and hovering just a touch below an all-time high hit earlier in the session on strong corporate earnings. Overnight, Wall Street closed flat to lower. The Nasdaq .IXIC fell 0.4 percent as Apple shares slid after reporting lower than expected iPhone sales on Tuesday. Facebook ( FB.O ) and Tesla ( TSLA.O ) also dropped during the session and after hours despite upbeat quarterly results, also weighed on the index. Political concerns, which have taken a backseat recently, may re-emerge, with a U.S. House of Representatives vote on a revised bill to repeal Obamacare due later in the session after two failed attempts to corral enough support to pass the legislation. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Republican leadership is confident there is enough backing for the bill to pass, after key moderate leaders met with President Donald Trump on Wednesday. Even if the bill passes the House, it could face an uphill battle in the Senate. In Europe, Germany .GDAXI ended higher but Britain .FTSE and France .FCHI closed lower. The pan-European STOXX 600 index lost 0.04 percent to slip from a 20-month high. The euro EUR=EBS was steady at $1.0889 early on Thursday, after losing 0.4 percent on Wednesday. Following a debate between French far-right leader Marine Le Pen and centrist Emmanuel Macron, who will face off in the second round of the Presidential election on Sunday, a poll showed some 63 percent of voters found market favorite Macron to be more convincing. In commodities, oil prices slipped on Thursday after a smaller-than-expected decline in U.S. inventories last week. U.S. crude CLc1 pulled back 0.25 percent to $47.69 a barrel. On Wednesday, they touched their lowest level in over five weeks before closing higher. Global benchmark Brent LCOc1 fell 0.2 percent to $50.68. Gold XAU= inched up 0.2 percent to $1,240.40 an ounce, making up some of Wednesday''s 1.5 percent loss, but the stronger dollar capped gains. (Refiles to fix reference to "Fed" in paragraph 6) (Reporting by Nichola Saminather; Editing by Sam Holmes) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUKKBN18003P'|'2017-05-04T09:00:00.000+03:00' +'5dd46fe65986d2a6d8b3638067569b86f5063b05'|'Qualcomm ups ante in fight with Apple, sues four Taiwanese suppliers'|'Technology News 5:52am BST Qualcomm ups ante in fight with Apple, sues four Taiwanese suppliers left right FILE PHOTO: A Qualcomm sign is pictured at one of its many campus buildings in San Diego, California, U.S. April 18, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo 1/4 left right FILE PHOTO: Employees work inside a Foxconn factory in the township of Longhua in the southern Guangdong province May 26, 2010. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo 2/4 left right FILE PHOTO: A Qualcomm sign is pictured at one of its many campus buildings in San Diego, California, U.S. April 18, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake 3/4 left right FILE PHOTO: The logo of Foxconn, the trading name of Hon Hai Precision Industry, is seen on top of the company''s headquarters in New Taipei City, Taiwan March 29, 2016. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo 4/4 Chipmaker Qualcomm Inc ( QCOM.O ) has escalated its patent battle with Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ), suing Foxconn and three other Taiwanese manufacturers that supply iPhone and iPad components for not paying royalties. Apple filed a lawsuit against Qualcomm in January, accusing it of overcharging for chips and refusing to pay some $1 billion in rebates - a move that came days after the U.S. government accused the chipmaker of using anticompetitive tactics to maintain a monopoly over key semiconductors in mobile phones. Qualcomm has called Apple''s suit baseless and has said the iPhone maker was encouraging regulatory attacks on its business. On Wednesday, Qualcomm said in its complaint that Apple had advised the four contract manufacturers to withhold royalty payments and agreed to indemnify them against any damages resulting from the breach of their agreements with Qualcomm. It did not disclose the sum of the alleged unpaid royalties in the complaint which was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. Qualcomm is seeking an order for the suppliers to comply with contractual obligations as well as damages. Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co and one of Apple''s main suppliers, said it had not yet received documents regarding the lawsuit and declined further comment. Wistron Corp ( 3231.TW ) also said it had not received the relevant documents. Pegatron Corp ( 4938.TW ) declined to comment, while Compal Electronics Inc ( 2324.TW ) did not offer immediate comment. Last month, Qualcomm slashed its profit and revenue forecasts for the current quarter, saying it excluded revenue receivable from the four contract manufacturers. Qualcomm, the largest maker of chips used in smartphones, said in its filing that Apple is trying to force the company to agree to an "unreasonable demand for a below-market direct license". Apple reiterated that it had been trying to reach a licensing agreement with Qualcomm for more than five years but the company has refused to negotiate fair terms. Qualcomm''s shares fell 1 percent to $55.36 on Wednesday while Apple''s shares slid 3.4 percent to $150.25. Shares in the Taiwanese suppliers fell between 0.4 percent and 2 percent in early Thursday trade except for Compal which rose 1.5 percent. (Reporting by Narottam Medhora and Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Jess Macy Yu in Taipei; Editing by Maju Samuel and Edwina Gibbs)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-apple-lawsuit-qualcomm-idUKKCN18D1EC'|'2017-05-18T12:50:00.000+03:00' +'bcb5a26b64be69252112c262c1ad2f3d46eefa1d'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'May 26 The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1115 GMT on Friday:** Shares in JBS SA, the world''s largest meatpacker, spiked on Thursday as speculation mounted over its strategy for weathering the fallout from a corruption scandal centered on its owners.** German industrial gases group Linde''s supervisory board is due to meet on Thursday to vote on a merger agreement with U.S. peer Praxair, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.** Fairfax New Zealand and NZME said they would appeal New Zealand''s competition regulator''s decision to bar their merger in the country''s High Court.** Web.com Group Inc, a U.S. provider of internet domain name registration that also helps businesses build websites, is in talks with private equity firms after receiving takeover approaches, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.** Yancoal Australia said it was not concerned "at this stage" over the financial strength of its No.2 shareholder Noble Group, and that its acquisition of Rio Tinto''s coal mines did not hinge on funding from the commodities trader.** Britain''s Spirax-Sarco Engineering Plc said it had agreed to buy Pittsburgh-based thermal technology company Chromalox Inc from private equity firm Irving Place Capital for $415 million on a cash-free, debt-free basis.** Australia''s top energy retailer Origin has drawn interest from at least five potential bidders, including China''s Fosun International, for A$2.0 billion ($1.5 billion) worth of oil and gas assets it aims to spin off, sources said.** UK hedge fund TCI said aero engine maker Safran''s reduced offer for Zodiac Aerospace was still too high and it would vote against the deal.** Taiwan''s Cathay Financial Holdings said its two subsidiaries have completed an agreement to acquire the Malaysia unit of The Bank of Nova Scotia for $255 million.** A Hong Kong-China consortium of property developers won an auction for a plot of land in Hong Kong''s New Territories with a bid of HK$8.33 billion ($1.07 billion), beating market expectations. (Compiled by Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/deals-day-idINL4N1IS3D4'|'2017-05-26T09:23:00.000+03:00' +'d5614577780c7759039bf858e41159b6fb1023be'|'Lloyds names James Lupton as chair of non ring-fenced bank'|' 7:37am BST Lloyds names James Lupton as chair of non ring-fenced bank A man enters a Lloyds Bank branch in central London, Britain February 25, 2016. REUTERS/Paul Hackett LONDON Lloyds Banking Group ( LLOY.L ) said on Tuesday that James Lupton, chairman of investment bank Greenhill''s European arm, will be joining its board. Lupton, who is a member of Britain''s upper parliamentary chamber the House of Lords, is also named as chairman designate of the group''s non-ring-fenced bank - a unit being established as part of industry reforms to separate lenders'' retail divisions from other parts of their businesses. He will take up his role from June 1 and also join the bank''s risk and audit committees. (Reporting by Rachel Armstrong)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lloyds-director-idUKKBN17Y0IC'|'2017-05-02T14:37:00.000+03:00' +'e23f1d5fbd037f79e298fdd5d6d8eb68580ec936'|'Sony taps Vinciquerra to lead Sony film, TV studio'|'Film News - Thu May 11, 2017 - 6:20pm BST Sony taps Vinciquerra to lead Sony film, TV studio Sony Pictures movie titles on a screen are seen next to Sony Corp''s logo at its executives'' news conference at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon LOS ANGELES Sony Corp on Thursday named former Fox television executive Anthony Vinciquerra as chairman and chief executive of Sony Pictures Entertainment, effective June 1. He will replace Michael Lynton, who announced in January that he would step down in the spring, Sony said in a statement. Vinciquerra, a senior adviser at TPG Capital, will oversee Sony''s film and television studio and its worldwide networks division. He had previously served as chairman and CEO of Fox Networks Group when it was the largest operating unit of News Corp. Fox is now a unit of 21st Century Fox. Sony''s TV studio has found success with hits such as "Breaking Bad" and "The Blacklist." The movie studio struggled with a devastating cyber attack in 2014 and a lack of big hits. The Japanese company took a roughly $1 billion writedown on its movie business in January. (Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Richard Chang)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-sony-film-idUKKBN1872J5'|'2017-05-12T01:08:00.000+03:00' +'ed95dcdbc4a2010ccda315c3f1de37433d7ab12a'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX rises with resource stocks, Teck shines'|'Market 47am EDT CANADA STOCKS-TSX rises with resource stocks, Teck shines TORONTO May 12 Canada''s main stock index gained in early trade on Friday, helped by gains for mining stocks including Teck Resources, which will raise C$1.2 billion ($876 million) in an asset sale. The Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index was up 33.86 points, or 0.22 percent, at 15,584.41 shortly after the open. Seven of its 10 main groups rose. ($1 = 1.3699 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Alastair Sharp)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-open-idUSL1N1IE0SJ'|'2017-05-12T21:47:00.000+03:00' +'5210a1930c38cc7f110745f69a3b492affa22796'|'From blue-chip to chip blues: Embattled Toshiba tries to sell its flash-memory unit'|'ONCE an electronics and nuclear-power empire that was the pride of corporate Japan, Toshiba is threatened with a stockmarket delisting. It missed a deadline to file its annual results, on May 15th, for the third time this year. In earnings estimates (auditors are refusing to sign off on its results), it warned of a loss close to 1trn ($9bn) for the financial year that ended in March. That is the steepest loss on record for a Japanese manufacturer.To make things worse, Western Digital, an American joint-venture partner in its semiconductor unit, last week took legal action to block Toshibas plan to shed their flash-memory business. The case could drag on, but Toshiba needs a sale. That would help cover a write-down of billions of dollars from Westinghouse Electric, its bankrupt American nuclear-power unit.Latest updates From 4 Guy Ritchie makes the wrong film in King Arthur Prospero 6 hours ago See all updates The groups chip business accounted for almost one-fifth of revenue in the nine months to December 2016; together, Toshiba and SanDisk, a subsidiary of Western Digital, which jointly operate plants in Japan, come second only to Samsung Electronics of South Korea, the worlds biggest maker of NAND chips (see chart). These chips are used in everything from smartphones and video-game consoles to data centres. The broader business is sizzling: semiconductors are expected to bring in $386bn in worldwide revenue this year, up by 12% from 2016, says Gartner, a market-research firm. Though Toshiba has not said how much of the newly formed spin-off of its memory business it wants to sell, it hopes to gain at least 2trn from the sale: a vital injection of cash, since it is blocked from raising money on the stockmarket after a huge accounting bungle in 2015.Now it is pushing ahead with a second round of bids (the first ended in March). Its boss said this week that Western Digitals charge, that Toshiba was violating its agreement, was groundless. Ten bidders are said to have entered the fray for the NAND unit, including chipmakers, tech firms and private-equity firms. Foxconn of Taiwan, a smartphone assembler, has reportedly considered offering $27bn. SK Hynix of South Korea and Broadcom of America, both chipmakers, are also in the running.The Asian bidders may need to contend with an outbreak of economic nationalism in Tokyo. To lose the NAND technology, invented by Toshiba in the 1980s, would be a blow, and the administration of Shinzo Abe, the prime minister, is reportedly loth to see another corporate jewel handed to an Asian competitor. Last year, the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), a government-backed fund, tried and failed to buy Sharp, an electronics giant: Foxconn bought it instead.The INCJ is expected to enter the second round of bids in partnership with KKR, an American private-equity firm. The government has said it will scrutinise offers by foreign firms for reasons of national security. Some reports suggest it has offered to the INCJ a guarantee of up to 900bn on the bank loans that it would need. Still, the government would prefer not to use muscle, says Nicholas Benes of the Board Director Training Institute of Japan, since his reform plans involve the country being open to most foreign investors.Pressure to strike a deal with Western Digital and make the sale will mount. Investors are worrying about more financial fudges being uncovered at the group, says Daiju Aoki of UBS. The firm has been on the watch list of the Tokyo Stock Exchange for 20 months: that is one step short of a delisting, which will happen automatically if it ends the financial year, in March 2018, still with negative shareholder equity in its accounts. A date to commit to memory.This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "Blue-chip chip blues"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21722233-japans-government-wants-fend-asian-potential-buyers-embattled-toshiba-tries-sell-its?fsrc=rss'|'2017-05-18T22:46:00.000+03:00' +'0e25eb734b747699ba874034b2fbcef9c7a45d6a'|'US STOCKS-Futures higher after government shutdown averted'|'Business News - Mon May 1, 2017 - 4:31pm EDT Apple, tech lift Wall Street as Nasdaq sets record Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 1, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid By Lewis Krauskopf Wall Street climbed on Monday, boosted by gains in Apple and other big tech stocks that more than offset weak economic data and pushed the Nasdaq Composite to another record high. Apple shares ( AAPL.O ) jumped 2 percent and set a record high, supporting the three major Wall Street indexes. The iPhone maker is due to report its results on Tuesday. The S&P 500 technology index .SPLRCT, the best performing major group this year, gained 0.9 percent, with big tech names including Microsoft ( MSFT.O ), Alphabet ( GOOGL.O ) and Facebook ( FB.O ) hitting records. Investors braced for another heavy week of quarterly corporate results in an earnings season that has exceeded expectations. Overall, profits at S&P 500 companies are estimated to have risen 13.6 percent in the first quarter, the most since 2011, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Market watchers have been looking for results to help justify stock valuations, as the S&P 500 has been trading about 20 percent above its long-term average, based on forward earnings estimates. "This is shaping up to be the strongest earnings season in several years," said Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment Counsel in Charlottesville, Virginia. "That has kind of got people gravitating back to equities and gravitating to the equities that are doing well. The S&P 500 .SPX gained 4.13 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,388.33 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 44.00 points, or 0.73 percent, to 6,091.60, a record closing high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 27.05 points, or 0.13 percent, to 20,913.46, after notching its best weekly performance of 2017 last week. The CBOE Volatility Index .VIX, a barometer of expected near-term stock market volatility, closed at its lowest level since Feb 2007. Financials rose 0.6 percent despite volatility caused by President Donald Trump''s comments that he was actively considering breaking up big banks. U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin said that economic growth of 3 percent is achievable in the next two years as the Trump administration sets out to dramatically cut taxes. Stock gains may have been muted by a series of tepid U.S. economic reports. U.S. factory activity slowed in April, consumer spending was unchanged in March and a key inflation measure recorded its first monthly drop since 2001. Investors girded for more data later in the week, including Friday''s employment report, as well as for the two-day U.S. Federal Reserve meeting starting on Tuesday. "The economic data today is causing some investor nervousness ahead of the jobs report this Friday," said Matt Miskin, senior capital markets research analyst at John Hancock Investments in Boston. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.32-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.37-to-1 ratio favored advancers. The S&P 500 posted 42 new 52-week highs and 12 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 145 new highs and 55 new lows. About 6 billion shares changed hands in U.S. exchanges, below the 6.5 billion daily average over the last 20 sessions. (Additional reporting by Tanya Agrawal in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza and Nick Zieminski) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks-idUSKBN17X1L5'|'2017-05-01T19:08:00.000+03:00' +'5d94489c2f4a709138e4e8076077c32cd9dfe59b'|'Trump review of Wall Street rules to be done in stages - sources'|' 8:24am IST Trump review of Wall Street rules to be done in stages - sources FILE PHOTO: A street sign for Wall Street is seen outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City, U.S. December 28, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly By Olivia Oran and Pete Schroeder - NEW YORK/WASHINGTON NEW YORK/WASHINGTON The U.S. government''s review of a landmark 2010 financial reform law will not be complete by early June as originally targeted, and officials will now report findings piece-by-piece, with priority given to banking regulations, sources familiar with the matter said on Monday. President Donald Trump has pledged to do a "big number" on the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul law, which raised banks'' capital requirements, restricted their ability to make speculative bets with customers'' money and created consumer protections in the wake of the financial crisis. In February, Trump ordered Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to review the law and report back within 120 days, saying his administration expected to be cutting large parts of it. But the Treasury Department is still filling vacancies after the transition from the Obama administration and there are not enough officials to get the full review done by early June, three sources said. A Treasury spokesperson dismissed the idea the report that would be broken up because the department is short-handed, saying the reach of the project could require several separate reports, as permitted under the executive order. "Treasury has an entire team dedicated to reviewing the financial regulatory rules and will begin reporting our findings to the president in June," the department spokesperson said. "Given the volume and scope of the issues we are reviewing that involve potential changes to the financial regulatory system, we are carefully considering the best options to begin rolling them out in the most effective and responsible manner," the spokesperson said. The Treasury Department will first report back on what banking rules could be changed, including capital requirements, restrictions on leverage and speculative trading. Examinations of capital markets, clearing houses and derivatives as well as the insurance and asset management industries and financial innovation and banking technology will come later, the sources said. It could be several months until these other stages of the financial reform review are completed, some of the sources said. The piecemeal approach could create challenges for some sectors if parts of the report are significantly delayed. The report has been highly anticipated, as it marks the new administration''s most detailed foray into outlining what it wants to do with financial rules. Trump previously has spoken only in broad terms about easing regulation surrounding lending. Any efforts to rework existing regulations or craft new legislation will be a lengthy and contentious process, something that banking lobbyists have said will make any delay to the administration''s initial findings costly for businesses eager for regulatory relief. Former BlackRock Inc executive Craig Phillips is leading the administration''s plan for financial deregulation. Alongside other Treasury officials, he is soliciting feedback from banking industry groups and executives for how banking policy should be shaped. The change in the timing of the Treasury report comes after Trump ordered a separate review of some key planks of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law. In April, Trump signed a pair of executive orders directing a review of two additional regulatory powers - orderly liquidation authority, which allows regulators to step in and wind down a failing financial institution, and systemic designation, in which certain large firms may be deemed critical to the overall health of the financial system, meriting stricter oversight. The findings from those reviews are not expected until October.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/wall-street-trump-idINKBN18500M'|'2017-05-09T08:10:00.000+03:00' +'d985f476a0d25ab6c2eb55a048e91097ebe57b19'|'Texas regulators still opposed to NextEra''s $18 billion Oncor deal'|'By Tom Hals - WILMINGTON, Del. WILMINGTON, Del. Texas regulators on Thursday said they remained opposed to NextEra Energy Inc''s ( NEE.N ) proposed $18 billion acquisition of Oncor, the largest network of power lines in Texas, a deal regulators have said was not in the public interest.Oncor is majority owned by bankrupt Energy Future Holdings Corp, which has been trying to the sell power distribution business to repay it creditors.The state''s Public Utility Commission blocked the sale in March, but NextEra asked the commission to reconsider its decision."I''m inclined to believe our original decision was the correct one," Commissioner Kenneth Anderson said at Thursday''s hearing, which was broadcast over the internet.However, the commissioners agreed they would not rule on a request to reconsider their March decision until June 7 to allow further briefing on the deal.NextEra did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Juno Beach, Florida-based NextEra has been pursuing Oncor and its steady revenue stream since 2015. Energy Future has argued that the deal would put Oncor under the control of a large, stable utility holding company and provide the best outcome for Energy Future creditors, who have been waiting to be repaid since the company filed for bankruptcy in April 2014.Earlier this month, investment fund Elliott Management sued Energy Future and alleged it has been prevented from pursuing its proposal to bring Energy Future out of bankruptcy. Elliott, Energy Future''s largest creditor, wants to convert the company''s debt into equity and eventually put Oncor under the fund''s control.Shares of NextEra were up 0.1 percent at $136.57 in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-energyfutureholdings-nextera-oncor-idINKCN18E2FH'|'2017-05-18T14:29:00.000+03:00' +'d12061c7366272648f18f8f3e03ff83381c86294'|'Moody''s China downgrade ''illogical'', overstates debt - People''s Daily'|'Top News 3:34am BST Moody''s China downgrade ''illogical'', overstates debt - People''s Daily left right FILE PHOTO: Clothes hang from a line in a residential building under construction in the town of Gushi in Henan Province, March 28, 2010. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo 1/4 left right FILE PHOTO: A labourer has his dinner under his shed at a construction site of a residential complex in Hefei, Anhui province, August 1, 2012. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo 2/4 left right FILE PHOTO: A man looks at a phone during the third annual World Internet Conference in Wuzhen town of Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, China November 17, 2016. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo 3/4 left right FILE PHOTO: The logo of credit rating agency Moody''s Investor Services is seen outside the office in Paris October 24, 2011. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/File Photo 4/4 SHANGHAI The decision by Moody''s Investors Service to downgrade China''s credit rating is "illogical" and overstates the levels of government debt, a commerce ministry researcher said in an editorial in the official People''s Daily newspaper on Thursday. Mei Xinyu, a researcher at China''s Ministry of Commerce, wrote in a front page editorial of the paper''s overseas edition the downgrade, Moody''s first for China since 1989, overstated China''s reliance on stimulus and the country''s debt levels. Moody''s downgraded China''s credit ratings on Wednesday for the first time in nearly 30 years, saying it expects the financial strength of the economy will erode in coming years as growth slows and debt continues to rise. China''s Finance Ministry said on Wednesday the downgrade overestimated the risks to the economy and was based on "inappropriate methodology". China''s state planner said debt risks were generally controllable. Mei said China''s economic performance this year had exceeded market expectations and criticised Moody''s for including debt at state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and local government financing vehicles as indirect government liabilities. "It is clear to see that the logic behind Moody''s assertions goes against the objective facts," he wrote. Moody''s one-notch downgrade in long-term local and foreign currency issuer ratings, to A1 from Aa3, comes as the Chinese government grapples with the challenges of rising financial risks stemming from years of credit-fuelled stimulus. Chinese leaders have identified the containment of financial risks as a top priority this year, but are moving cautiously to avoid choking economic growth. The authorities have gingerly raised short-term interest rates while tightening regulatory oversight. Mei added that the China downgrade amounted to a "double standard" compared with how countries in Europe and the United States were treated. However, the decision would not have a major impact on the Chinese economy, he said. The downgrade is likely to modestly increase the cost of borrowing for China''s government and SOEs, but it remains comfortably within the investment grade rating range. (Reporting by Adam Jourdan and Samuel Shen; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-rating-idUKKBN18L07V'|'2017-05-25T10:05:00.000+03:00' +'ac4261ab738f813604d2de21a55edb1cc1f431ab'|'BNP Paribas'' Q1 profit increase powered by trading rebound'|'By Maya Nikolaeva and Julien Ponthus - PARIS PARIS Profit at BNP Paribas rose by more than forecast in the first quarter, driven by fixed income and equities trading and raising expectations of a similar performance by rivals such as Societe Generale.France''s biggest bank said on Wednesday first-quarter net income rose to 1.89 billion euros ($2.1 billion), beating the average profit estimate of 1.6 billion in a Reuters poll and lifting its shares by 0.5 percent, while SocGen rose 1.3 percent and Credit Agricole 0.9 percent."There was a good performance in the investment banking division and a positive surprise regarding their risk provisions," Benoit de Broissia of Keren Finance, which owns BNP stock, said. The results augured well for those of SocGen, which are due on Thursday, he added.Results from France''s two biggest banks by market capitalisation come just before the May 7 French presidential runoff vote, where centrist Emmanuel Macron is facing far-right rival Marine Le Pen who has vowed to take France out of the euro and European Union if elected.French bank stocks rallied after the first round of the election bolstered investor and opinion poll projections that Macron, seen as a business-friendly candidate, would win, with BNP Paribas shares up around six percent since then.BNP Paribas shares are up by around 10 percent so far in 2017, in line with similar gains on the STOXX Europe 600 Banking index and on France''s benchmark CAC-40.OUTPERFORMING RIVALSBNP Paribas outperformed its European rivals in reporting a 33.1 percent revenue rise in its global markets division that includes debt and equities trading, compared to a 4 percent increase on average at peers such as Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, Barclays and UBS, according to Reuters calculations.BNP Paribas cited a "significant pick-up in client business compared to a very challenging market environment" a year ago."The CIB (corporate and institutional bank) rebounded strongly from a low base last year," BNP Paribas chief executive Jean-Laurent Bonnaf said.U.S. and European investment banks have benefited from a jump in markets-related revenue following U.S. rate hikes, as well as from signs of a European economic recovery and some progress in Britain''s plans to leave the EU.Fixed income, currency and commodities trading revenue at BNP Paribas rose 32 percent to 1.17 billion euros, compared to a 24 percent rise across the big five U.S. banks, according to IFR calculations.BNP Paribas also outpaced European and U.S. rivals in equities trading, which rose 36 percent, while its international financial services division was another big contributor, with pre-tax income rising 16 percent to 1.2 billion euros.($1 = 0.9154 euros)(Additional reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Alexander Smith)FILE PHOTO: The logo of French BNP Paribas bank is seen in central Paris December 15, 2008. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/bnp-paribas-results-idINKBN17Z0BV'|'2017-05-03T03:37:00.000+03:00' +'88e816cc0c841c29355076f46369ef8f46584d48'|'Global default risks mostly receded in past year - StanChart'|'Banks - Tue May 9, 2017 - 9:49am BST Global default risks mostly receded in past year - StanChart LONDON Risk perception for most of the world''s countries have improved in the past year, according to a Standard Chartered analysis of credit default swaps (CDS), contrasting with deterioration in France, Italy, the United States and Germany. CDS are derivatives used by investors to hedge against a default or restructuring of debt. The higher the risk of default, the higher the CDS spread. StanChart said in a report on Tuesday that the CDS spreads of 35 countries showed Venezuela, Greece and Ukraine are still perceived as the sovereigns most at risk of default, with Venezuela trading with spreads of more than 3,000 basis points. But 31 of the countries, including the above, saw spreads tighten since March 2016, it said, attributing the gains to oil''s price rise and improving economic growth across the developing world. "The main message of an improving global picture is in line with our own global GDP forecast: we see real GDP growth edging up markedly by 0.5 percentage point to 3.6 percent in 2017 ... This would be the strongest acceleration of global output since 2010," the bank told clients. But it said a packed election calendar had driven a sharp rise in French and Italian CDS, with the former having widened as much as 65 percent on fears that the right-wing Marine le Pen could win presidential elections held in April-May 2017. That possibility was done away last weekend as centrist Emmanuel Macron scored a decisive second-round win over Le Pen. French CDS have since fallen to around 30 bps, according to IHS Markit, after surging above 60 bps in February. CDS for Italy, which goes to the polls early next year with a plethora of eurosceptic parties in the running, rose by 42 percent in the past year, according to StanChart. U.S. CDS meanwhile widened by 13 percent over a year marked by the election of Donald Trump as President on a anti-globalisation, anti-immigration platform. German CDS widened five percent, which StanChart attributed to "perceived contagion effects for the country, reflecting its role as the engine of the euro area". (Reporting by Sujata Rao, editing by Larry King)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-stanchart-cds-risks-idUKKBN1850UP'|'2017-05-09T16:49:00.000+03:00' +'c7fd1225d0c1eb45ba7d9b4207bea502462b339c'|'Miners increase green energy use to power their pits'|'Business News - Tue May 16, 2017 - 6:24pm BST Miners increase green energy use to power their pits FILE PHOTO: The logo of commodities trader Glencore is pictured in front of the company''s headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, September 30, 2015. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo By Barbara Lewis - LONDON LONDON Major mining companies, including some of the world''s biggest suppliers of fossil fuel, are seeking to use more renewable energy themselves as they strive to drive down costs and curb emissions. Glencore ( GLEN.L ), the world''s biggest shipper of seaborne coal, said in Tuesday''s 2017 sustainability report that it gets 19 percent of its energy from renewable sources, up a percentage point from last year''s report. At the same time, the company reiterated its view that the wider world would carry on burning coal, the most polluting fossil fuel, and it does not see a risk of its own coal operations becoming stranded assets. "While it is clear that the relative share of renewable energy will grow, the absolute volume of fossil fuels will also grow due to overall growth of energy demand," the report said. "Coal remains an important, secure and reliable industrial input that currently accounts for 40 percent of the world''s electricity, 70 percent of global steel and 90 percent of global cement." As talks take place this week in Bonn on implementing the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, Glencore said it supports climate and energy policy that reduces global emissions in the most cost-effective manner while ensuring energy security. Costs for renewable power have fallen sharply and environmental campaigners say it is often the cheapest fuel. COST AND RELIABILITY The miners say that coal still can be the cheapest, most reliable baseload power depending on circumstances, but the sector has been turning to renewable energy, such as wind and solar power, in the kind of inaccessible regions where mines are found and supplies from the grid can be unreliable. Of the four biggest miners, only Rio Tinto ( RIO.L )( RIO.AX ) uses a significantly higher percentage of renewable energy than Glencore. In total, it burns a massive 454 petajoules of energy across all its operations. Of this, about 36 percent is from renewable sources, mainly hydropower used for highly energy intensive aluminium smelting. It markets its aluminium as a low-carbon product. The world''s No. 1 miner by market capitalisation and the biggest supplier of coking coal used in steelmaking, BHP Billiton ( BHP.AX )( BLT.L ), uses very little renewable energy (less than 2 percent) after some of its assets, including aluminium operations powered by hydro-electricity, were spun off into South32 ( S32.AX ) in 2015. It said, however, that it will use more renewable power at its remaining assets. "In accessing power, we seek the optimal combination of price, security of supply and emissions intensity," BHP said in an emailed statement. "We expect that the contribution of renewable energy will increase over time within power grids and as standalone opportunities for our operations." BHP also said it is contributing to the Lakeland Solar and Storage project in Australia, which is researching how to provide reliable supply in remote locations. Anglo American ( AAL.L ) said it has consistently sourced about 12 percent of its energy from renewables and is working on biomass, wind and solar projects to increase that share. (Additional reporting by Alister Doyle in Bonn; Editing by David Goodman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-miners-climatechange-renewables-idUKKCN18C283'|'2017-05-17T01:24:00.000+03:00' +'1a2e451b9b81ec60d4fa29143155f34bfe33d0c5'|'BRIEF-Aduro Biotech announces clinical collaboration with Merck'|' 12am EDT BRIEF-Aduro Biotech announces clinical collaboration with Merck May 17 Aduro Biotech Inc: * Aduro Biotech announces clinical collaboration with Merck to evaluate combination of Aduro''s CRS-207 with Merck''s Keytruda for treatment of Mesothelioma * Says announced expansion of clinical collaboration with Merck to include additional Phase 2 clinical trial '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-aduro-biotech-announces-clinical-c-idUSB8N1HP00J'|'2017-05-17T21:12:00.000+03:00' +'90d77b25b1e9f010812df3948b2c230f70707c11'|'Cevian Capital buys 5.6 percent stake in Ericsson'|'By Johannes Hellstrom - STOCKHOLM STOCKHOLM Activist investor Cevian Capital has bought a more than 5 percent stake in Sweden''s Ericsson and said it sees significant potential in the struggling mobile telecom equipment maker.Ericsson shares have fallen close to 40 percent in the past two years as the firm has been hit by a drop in spending by telecoms firms - with demand for next-generation 5G technology still years away - and weak emerging markets.The firm, which reported an operating loss of 12.3 billion crowns ($1.41 billion) in the first quarter, also faces mounting competition from China''s Huawei and Finland''s Nokia.Borje Ekholm, a Swedish business insider and veteran board member, took over as Ericsson''s CEO last October after a series of weak years."We see a significant potential in the company," Cevian managing partner Christer Gardell told Reuters."Its about hard work ahead. We support the main thrust of the plan that Borje has presented for the company, meaning an increased focus on the core business."Ekholm wants to focus the business on lucrative core networks while restoring profitability in its IT & Cloud unit. It is also exploring partnerships or a sale of all or part of its media unit."But plans are not enough to bring success, it is how the plans are implemented. And implementation has not been Ericssons strength as of late," Gardell said.Gardell also said ha would join Ericsson''s nomination committee.Ericssons U.S-listed depository receipts turned positive after the news and were up 1.9 percent by 1748 GMT.Cevian, founded by Swedes Gardell and Lars Forberg, owns 168 million Ericsson B-shares, 5.6 percent of the B-shares outstanding, according to the filing from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.The filing also showed Cevian owns 113,510 A-shares in Ericsson, meaning it owns just over 5 percent of Ericsson''s total share capital, based on 3.33 billion outstanding Ericsson shares.The activist investor holds large stakes in companies such as Swiss power transmission and industrial automation firm ABB, Swedish truck maker Volvo and German industrial group Thyssenkrupp.Business Daily Dagens Industri, citing an unnamed source, said last week that Gardell had met Ericsson Chairman Leif Johansson, and added the reason was that Cevian was eyeing the firm.(Additional reporting by Johan Ahlander; Editing by Adrian Croft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-ericsson-cevian-idINKBN18Q1YH'|'2017-05-30T14:07:00.000+03:00' +'44cf93336f04b9fb1dfa98f66abd2da1c41a246e'|'Humorous ''Guardians'' set Marvel on new path for superhero movies'|'LOS ANGELES The surprise success of the first "Guardians of the Galaxy," with its intergalactic gang of misfits and quirky tone, launched Marvel Studios into making action movies starring lesser-known comic book figures that could make audiences laugh.Two years later, the bet that comedy could help catapult characters such as the "Guardians," "Ant-Man" and "Doctor Strange" into box office stars has paid off again.The "Guardians," led by actor Chris Pratt''s Peter Quill, debuted in 2014 with more than $700 million at the global box office. "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" opened in the United States last week and has already grossed more than $500 million worldwide."The first ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' film allowed us to perhaps go a little bit further, not just in humor, but types of characters," Kevin Feige, chief executive of Marvel Studios, told Reuters.Comedy has flavored Marvel movies since 2008''s "Iron Man" featured star Robert Downey Jr.''s cocky one-liners. Many of the studio''s upcoming releases, including "Spider-Man: Homecoming" and "Thor: Ragnarok," are expected to build humor into their audience appeal.The "Guardians" franchise has gone farther by putting comedy at the core of the movie. Audiences fell in love with the roguish Peter, no-nonsense Gamora, the alien Drax who didn''t understand irony and the bromance between Rocket Raccoon and tree-alien Groot."Laughter is the way you hook the audience, and then you can scare them, then you can hopefully touch them emotionally deeper than they were expecting to in a film about a tree and a raccoon and aliens that don''t understand metaphors," Feige told reporters in April."Humor is the secret into the audience''s other range of emotions," he added.It''s also part of Marvel''s strategy to keep audiences coming back for repeat viewings, which Feige compared to the fan-favorite "Star Wars" films or the "Harry Potter" franchise."There''s only one way to do that - to make films entertaining enough and have the mythology of our stories rich enough and deep enough that there are things worth continuing to experience," he said in the Reuters interview.BIG HEROES, BIG LAUGHSDisney-owned Marvel has seven upcoming films mapped out until 2019, including "Spider-Man: Homecoming," a joint production with Sony Pictures due in July.The film taps the teen comedy genre in the retelling of Spider-Man''s origin story as his alter-ego Peter Parker navigates the perils of high school.But comedy has not always paired well with superheroes.George Clooney''s 1997 "Batman & Robin," which featured goofy jokes, was savaged by critics and was one of the worst-performing superhero films, grossing $238 million worldwide according to BoxOfficeMojo.com.In contrast, Christopher Nolan''s three-part "Dark Knight" franchise for Warner Bros. recast Batman in a gritty light that won rave reviews and grossed more than $2 billion worldwide from 2005 to 2012.The success of 2014''s "Guardians" proved that Marvel could have a hit with its lesser-known comic book properties, such as pint-sized hero "Ant-Man," played by comedic actor Paul Rudd, and the mind-bending "Doctor Strange," in which Benedict Cumberbatch delivered witty retorts in the vein of Iron Man.Even "Thor: Ragnarok" harnessed a comedic talent, New Zealand director Taika Waititi, known for hits such as the vampire mockumentary "What We Do in the Shadows," to take the Norse god in a new direction.Feige said Waititi''s films have "really gut-wrenching drama in some moments and really hilarious, over-the-top humor in other moments."Waititi debuted a short video last year that showed the brawny but dim superhero sharing a house with a computer salesman in Australia and trying to craft emails to Captain America and Iron Man.In April''s "Ragnarok" trailer, Thor enters a gladiator arena and roars with laughter when he sees his opponent is the Hulk, a fellow Marvel Avenger comrade, shouting "We know each other! He''s a friend from work!"(Additional reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-film-marvel-comedy-idUSKBN1890LB'|'2017-05-13T22:00:00.000+03:00' +'3864934502192231a83698b16707fcc35735477a'|'Slumping oilfield services sector bets on new offshore technology'|'Business News - Thu May 4, 2017 - 5:43am BST Slumping oilfield services sector bets on new offshore technology FILE PHOTO: An offshore oil platform is seen in Huntington Beach, California September 28, 2014. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo By Jessica Resnick-Ault and Liz Hampton - HOUSTON HOUSTON The oil industry''s top equipment and services suppliers this week are hawking vastly cheaper ways of designing and equipping subsea wells, aiming to slash the cost of offshore projects to compete with the faster-moving shale industry. At the Offshore Technology Conference, the industry''s annual gathering of floating rig and subsea well suppliers, sales pitches this year are all about cost savings and faster time to first production. With U.S. crude priced CLc1 under $50 a barrel, offshore projects with their typically high costs and long-lead times are now borrowing from leaner shale in the competition for oil company investment. Low oil prices have soured new exploration in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, for instance, but production volumes there have remained strong due to the long lead times of these projects. Gulf of Mexico producers are expected to add 190,000 barrels per day this year to output now running about 1.76 million bpd. Tool and services companies are offering new technologies that can do several jobs, taking the place of multiple devices or highly-paid consultants. National Oilwell Varco Inc ( NOV.N ) is exhibiting software it touts as performing much like a drilling expert, sorting through vast amounts of data to find ways to speed production and reduce downtime. The new software "takes actions a person would do and runs them automatically. It''s low cost and it''s simple" said David Reid, National Oilwell Varco''s chief marketing officer. Baker Hughes Inc ( BHI.N ) is showing a new tool called DeepFrac that it said eliminates several steps now required to complete underwater wells. That saving pares the price of a well by up to 40 percent, speeding first production and lowering the break-even cost for producers. "This helps sharply cut some of the risk of drilling an offshore oil well and, we believe, sharply reduces costs for our customers," said Jim Sessions, a vice president of technology at Baker Hughes. Graham Hill, an executive vice president at KBR Inc ( KBR.N ), detailed the construction company''s plan for a cheaper floating production vessel, saying the new vessel fits producers'' tight budgets. KBR can hope to earn more by selling extra features. "This is like ordering a Ford," he said. "There''s a base package, and you can add extras." Richard Morrison, president of BP plc ( BP.L )''s Gulf of Mexico region, said the industry has accepted that crude prices will probably stay low, meaning oil producers like BP must work with services providers to reduce the multibillion dollar cost of offshore projects. "That break even point can''t come back to $80 a barrel, so I''ve got to figure out ways to work with my supplier over the long-term to keep that in check," he said during a presentation. Morrison touted BP''s use of new seismic imaging technology that helped identify 1 billion additional barrels of "possible resources" at four of its U.S. Gulf of Mexico offshore fields. The technology enhances existing seismic images to find oil hidden beneath salt structures deep underground. Just weeks away is a coming Vienna meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries where OPEC and other oil producers are to decide whether to continue production curbs past June. If OPEC fails to continue the curbs, oil prices could fall again, making a difficult market worse, said Charles Cherington, a co-founder of Intervale Capital, a private equity investor in oilfield services. Assuming OPEC continues the existing curbs, Cherington said the best the industry can hope for this year is crude "gets to the low to mid $50s (a barrel)" or half what it fetched at this time three years ago. Few oilfield suppliers are generating steady profits, he said, and "in the short run, we don''t see the market getting much better," he added. Marc Gerard Rex Edwards, chief executive of rig provider Diamond Offshore Drilling ( DO.N ), on Monday reported its first quarter earnings declined on revenue down 25 percent from a year ago. "I think we''re beginning to see the signs of a bottom," he told Wall Street analysts, adding: "But I''m not exactly calling a bottom in the market at this particular moment in time." (Reporting by Jessica Resnick-Ault, Liz Hampton and Ernest Scheyder, Writing by Gary McWilliams; Editing by David Gregorio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-oilservices-otc-outlook-idUKKBN1800BI'|'2017-05-04T12:18:00.000+03:00' +'cf49402e9ebcef42a89c98fb28eeb8c40994f158'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX slips as cheaper oil, Kinder Morgan cast cloud on energy stocks'|'Market 07pm EDT CANADA STOCKS-TSX slips as cheaper oil, Kinder Morgan cast cloud on energy stocks (Updates market moves to close, adds analyst comment, details on Kinder Morgan) * TSX down 49.56 points, or 0.32 percent, to 15,372.35 * Half of the TSX''s 10 main groups fall * Energy stocks fall 1.6 percent, financials off 0.3 percent By Solarina Ho TORONTO, May 30 Canada''s main stock index fell on Tuesday amid broad declines among oil and gas companies, hurt in part by a slide in crude oil prices and political tension in Western Canada over a Kinder Morgan pipeline project. The Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index fell 49.56 points, or 0.32 percent, to 15,372.35. Five of the index''s 10 main groups ceded ground. The index''s most influential movers included Canadian natural Resources, which retreated 1.7 percent to C$39.13, and Encana Corp which slumped 5.2 percent to C$13.53. The energy group, which makes up about a fifth of the index, fell 1.6 percent. Shares in Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd closed at C$16.24 after debuting at C$16.06 on the TSX after raising C$1.75 billion ($1.3 billion) in an initial public offering (IP0) at C$17.00 each last week. "A lot of the energy and utilities are down. I think a lot of that too is Kinder Morgan Canada came out today," said Bryden Teich, portfolio manager with Avenue investment Management. Kinder Morgan plans to more than double the capacity of its Trans Mountain pipeline from Alberta to the Pacific province of British Columbia, where the two political parties opposing the project struck a deal to take power for four years. "With the NDP and the Green Party lining up together ... I think there might be just a little bit of concern over that and whether or not this Kinder Morgan (project) can get done," said Teich. U.S. crude oil prices were down 0.6 percent to $49.51 a barrel on concerns that production cuts by the world''s big exporters may not be enough to mitigate a global glut in crude. Financials slipped 0.3 percent as modest dips in most bank shares offset Bank of Nova Scotia''s 0.6 percent rise to C$76.60. Scotiabank reported second-quarter results that beat analyst expectations, helped in part by its international business. Teich said bank results this quarter have generally been strong, giving the market more confidence and alleviating contagion concerns relating to Home Capital Group Inc. Canadian National Railway Co, which reached a tentative deal on Monday with the Teamsters union that represented 3,000 conductors, averting a strike, rose 1.1 percent rise to C$104.52. The overall industrials sector climbed 0.4 percent. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the TSX by 172 to 74, for a 2.32-to-1 ratio on the downside. The index posted six new 52-week highs and one new 52-week low. (Reporting by Solarina Ho; Editing by James Dalgleish)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-idUSL1N1IW1NH'|'2017-05-31T05:07:00.000+03:00' +'0b8053962389230a256acd0a2e70dc5c78470c7f'|'Fashion retailer Rue21 files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection'|'May 15 U.S. teen fashion retailer Rue21 Inc filed for Chapter 11 protection on Monday in the Western District of Pennsylvania bankruptcy court.The retail chain, which sells budget-priced clothing and accessories at over 1,100 stores across the United States, listed assets and liabilities in the range of $1 billion and $10 billion, according to the court filing. bit.ly/2qmdri3Rue21 has entered into a Restructuring Support Agreement with certain stakeholders and expects to continue normal operations throughout the Chapter 11 process, it said in a statement late Monday.It has also reached agreements to obtain up to $125 million in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing from existing lenders, and up to $50 million in new money term loan DIP financing from a group of its existing term loan lenders.Rue21 said the new financing "will support day-to-day operations during the reorganization", adding that they may evaluate additional store closures, apart from the planned 400 store closures it began last month.The retailer, reeling under debt and declining foot traffic, is struggling to repay a debt load of nearly $1 billion. Much of that debt stems from a $1.1 billion leveraged buyout by private equity firm Apax Partners LLP in 2013.Rue21 is the latest in a long line of retailers filing for bankruptcy as shoppers shift their spending online. In April, discount shoe retailer Payless ShoeSource filed for bankruptcy and planned immediate closures of 400 of its over 4,000 stores worldwide.(Reporting by Sangameswaran S in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/rue21-bankruptcy-idINL4N1II203'|'2017-05-16T02:45:00.000+03:00' +'aa7b5bc97a6dc67789814d17275d3e2f3417c5e5'|'Apple marketing dual tranche euro bond'|' 20am EDT CORRECTED-Apple marketing dual-tranche euro benchmark (Corrects marketing range for 12-year) By Laura Benitez LONDON, May 17 (IFR) - Apple Inc is marketing a dual-tranche euro-denominated senior unsecured benchmark bond, according to a lead bank. Initial price thoughts for an eight-year maturity are mid-swaps plus 45/50bp and for a 12-year are mid-swaps plus 60/65bp. Apple, rated Aa1/AA+ (both stable), mandated Goldman Sachs, Barclays and Deutsche Bank as bookrunners. (Reporting by Laura Benitez; editing by Alex Chambers, Julian Baker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL8N1IJ1LZ'|'2017-05-17T16:14:00.000+03:00' +'2769a53b6a318169ea08aefe302e71d058b90911'|'Lemonade sweetens U.S. insurance rollout plans with California license'|'Technology News - Wed May 10, 2017 - 8:07am EDT Lemonade sweetens U.S. insurance rollout plans with California license By Suzanne Barlyn Lemonade Inc, a tech-driven insurance startup that promises renters and homeowners insurance in as little as 90 seconds and payment of claims in 3 minutes, has won approval from California regulators to sell policies in the state, the company said. The insurer''s foray into California, the most populous U.S. state, comes amid the company''s push to become licensed nationwide, less than a year after launching in New York. Last month, Lemonade, which sells policies directly to consumers through its website and smartphone app, expanded into Illinois. Lemonade, whose policies become available in California on Wednesday, is seen by the industry as a "disruptor," or a company that stands to upend how consumers have traditionally done business. The insurer is part of a broader movement among financial and technology or "fintech" companies that are trying to disrupt longstanding business models. Fintech ventures typically leverage technology, such as cloud data storage or smartphones, to provide cheap and easy-to-access services such as loans, insurance, payments, money transfers, stock trading. In the first quarter this year, venture-backed fintech companies in the United States raised $1.1 billion, an 8 percent drop from the previous quarter and down 39 percent from the same period a year ago, according to venture capital database CB Insights. "This is huge for us," said Lemonade Chief Executive Officer Daniel Schreiber. "California is one of the biggest prizes." The state is the third-largest U.S. market for homeowners coverage, with insurers collecting $7.46 billion in premiums for 2015, according to the Insurance Information Institute (III). Florida is the largest homeowners insurance market with $8.77 billion in premiums collected, followed by Texas ($7.99 billion), according to III. Schreiber declined to comment on the amount of premiums Lemonade has written to date. Lemonade has raised a total of $60 million in capital during its first year, including a new investment from Sound Ventures, the investment firm of actor Ashton Kutcher and talent manager Guy Oseary. Last month, Allianz SE said it was also backing the company but declined to disclose the amount of its stake. Other backers include Sequoia Capital, GV, General Catalyst and Aleph. (Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-lemonade-california-idUSKBN1861LN'|'2017-05-10T20:00:00.000+03:00' +'76456270eaee03a17c7614984bfcab8768fbe344'|'BRIEF-Trimble to acquire Mller-Elektronik'|'Market 08am EDT BRIEF-Trimble to acquire Mller-Elektronik May 24 Trimble Inc: * Trimble to acquire Mller-Elektronik to extend its precision agriculture capabilities from the vehicle to the implement * Trimble Inc says financial terms were not disclosed * Trimble Inc says transaction is expected to close in Q3 of 2017 No Greek debt relief needed if primary surplus above 3 pct/GDP for 20 years-paper BERLIN, May 24 Greece will not need any debt relief from euro zone governments if it keeps its primary surplus above 3 percent of GDP for 20 years, a confidential paper prepared by the euro zone bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), showed. * Summit Materials announces intention to offer $300 million of senior notes MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-trimble-to-acquire-mller-elektroni-idUSASA09R6A'|'2017-05-24T21:08:00.000+03:00' +'5be40a71a72d9a366c2935b0b95ab2c2630802e5'|'U.S. launches probe of Boeing dumping, subsidy claims vs Bombardier'|' 17pm BST U.S. launches probe of Boeing dumping, subsidy claims vs Bombardier Workers prepare a Bombardier CS100 aircraft after a news conference announcing a contract with Delta Air Lines, at Bombardier''s hangar in Mirabel, Quebec, Canada April 28, 2016. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi SEATTLE The U.S. Commerce Department said on Thursday it was launching an investigation into claims by Boeing Co ( BA.N ) that Canadian plane maker Bombardier Inc ( BBDb.TO ) dumped CSeries aircraft in the U.S. market and is being unfairly subsidized by the Canadian government. The Commerce probe, which was expected, parallels an investigation by the U.S. International Trade Commission into Boeing''s allegations that Bombardier sold 75 CSeries planes to Delta Air Lines Inc ( DAL.N ) last year at a price well below cost. Bombardier has refuted the allegations, and the two sides clashed at an ITC hearing on Thursday. (Reporting by Alwyn Scott; Editing by Andrew Hay)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-boeing-bombardier-commerce-idUKKCN18E2KU'|'2017-05-19T01:17:00.000+03:00' +'6eeaeb3f15cf99c984932fa9a24706eaf668c1b2'|'Absent from America, French cars drive into Iran election'|'By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin , Laurence Frost and Edward Taylor - LONDON/PARIS/FRANKFURT LONDON/PARIS/FRANKFURT French carmakers PSA ( PEUP.PA ) and Renault ( RENA.PA ) are turning their U.S. absence into an Iranian advantage by piling into a resurgent market still off-limits to foreign rivals fearful of sanctions under Donald Trump''s administration.The French investment has been seized upon by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who is seeking re-election this week, as evidence that his pursuit of a nuclear detente and attempts to attract foreign money will pay off for the economy.PSA - the maker of Peugeots and Citroens - and Renault have pushed hard into Iran since its 2015 deal with world powers that saw international sanctions lifted in return for curbs on Tehran''s nuclear activities. PSA has signed production deals worth 700 million euros ($768 million), while Renault has announced a new plant investment to increase its production capacity to 350,000 vehicles a year.The French companies, unlike their German, American and Japanese competitors, do not have manufacturing or sales operations in the United States. This makes them less vulnerable to penalties for any violation of U.S. sanctions still in force which ban financial transactions with Iran.The prospect of a hardened U.S. stance under President Trump - a consistent critic of the nuclear deal - has deepened the caution of carmakers with large American exposures.Germany''s Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) and BMW ( BMWG.DE ) are among those that have put Iranian ambitions on hold, industry sources told Reuters."We''re well aware of the market potential in Iran but we can''t afford to take any risks," said a source close to VW. The company declined to comment on specific investment discussions.PSA and Renault declined to comment on their Iranian operations in detail. Earlier this year, PSA''s Middle East chief Jean-Christophe Quemard acknowledged that the renewed U.S. pressure under Trump was helping his company stay ahead of foreign rivals who were holding back."This is our opportunity to accelerate," Quemard said. "We''ve opened up a lead and we plan to hold on to it."Early movers to establish Iranian operations could win big in a market deprived for years of affordable state-of-the-art vehicles and where sizeable import duties hand a major advantage to locally built cars.Iranian car sales jumped 50 percent in the first quarter of 2017, according to data provider IHS Automotive, with models from Peugeot, Renault and Iran''s SAIPA showing solid gains.Tehran car salesman Mehdi Monfared, whose dealership mostly sells domestic manufacturer Iran Khodro''s namesake brand, said he had witnessed an "explosion" in demand in recent months."People are being less careful with their money and are spending their savings on cars," he told Reuters by telephone. "And the banks are lending."PRESIDENTIAL PEUGEOTRouhani pushed the French investment to the forefront of his election campaign when he attended a ceremony this month to mark the production launch of the Peugeot 2008, the first product of post-sanctions manufacturing deals with foreign carmakers."When we signed the nuclear deal, critics said it was just a piece of paper that would never be implemented," the president, whose main challenger is a hardline cleric opposed to opening up Iranian markets, said in an Instagram post picturing him behind the wheel of the mini-SUV at the event in Tehran."But now we can see that auto industry sanctions have been lifted, joint venture agreements concluded and a new car is being built."PSA and Renault have moved swiftly to sign new production deals to upgrade their pre-sanctions partnerships with Iran Khodro and SAIPA. PSA plans to add more Peugeot and Citroen models in coming months, while Renault has introduced its Sandero compact alongside the Tondar sedan.By contrast VW, which had been considering a production tie-up with Iran''s Mammut Khodro, has put the talks on the backburner because of the uncertainty, according to the source close to the group."Any company operating in Iran or planning to enter the market needs to ask itself what could happen if there is a fundamental change of course by the U.S.," the person said.BMW has also studied production, import and distribution opportunities in Iran but concluded that the time was not right, according to a source familiar with the matter."Once we see General Motors and Ford set up shop our plans may be revived, but not before," the person said.A BMW spokesman said the company''s future entry into Iran "will depend on political and economic developments", adding: "There are currently no concrete plans."Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ) had announced undated plans for Iranian heavy truck production before Trump''s November election victory, but now plays them down. "There is hardly any economic growth in Iran, so demand for commercial vehicles is generally low," the company said.U.S. carmakers withdrew before the 1979 Iranian revolution as ties between the countries broke down. Japanese manufacturers such as Toyota ( 7203.T ) have not signaled any Iranian investment plans since the nuclear deal.PRODUCTION REBOUNDNuclear-related sanctions were lifted after the 2015 agreement, but Washington has maintained its own pre-existing ban on financial transactions with Iran, making it harder for companies with a large U.S. presence to do business with Tehran.The Trump administration has also ordered a review of sanctions relief granted under the nuclear deal, despite acknowledging Tehran''s compliance.But the U.S. pressure has not halted a steady recovery in car production in Iran, from 796,000 cars in 2013 to 1.23 million last year. IHS expects output to keep climbing to 1.34 million cars this year and 1.49 million in 2018, nearing the 1.65 million peak recorded in 2011."Locally built vehicles are the bestsellers by some margin," said IHS analyst Michel Jacinto, an Iran specialist.South Korea''s Hyundai ( 005380.KS ) is building its Accent compact, to be followed by the i20 mini, as Chinese brands including Chery move to defend the small but growing footholds they gained while sanctions kept their European rivals out.Affordability may be an issue for some new models. The Peugeot 2008 is expected to be priced at around $24,000 when it arrives in showrooms - more than three times the average annual urban household income in Iran.Until such market realities are tested, however, the new products are being greeted with optimism."The 2008 launch is the result of Rouhani''s policy since the signing of the nuclear deal, so it was symbolic," PSA''s Quemard told Reuters last week.Project lead times of two years or more mean the 2008 is the international agreement''s first tangible result, Quemard said. "So it''s a good example - and it''s being used as such."(Additional reporting by Andreas Cremer in Berlin and Gilles Guillaume in Paris; Writing by Laurence Frost; Editing by Pravin Char)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-iran-election-autos-idINKCN18C0EJ'|'2017-05-16T14:02:00.000+03:00' +'9292fa0e4916116259e906d3ef72f46a1672c5fb'|'Brazil broker XP Investimentos files for IPO'|'SAO PAULO May 10 Brazilian brokerage firm XP Investimentos SA filed on Wednesday with securities regulator CVM for an initial public offering that will include secondary share offerings.According to the filing, XP has hired JPMorgan Chase & Co. as leading underwriter, alongside the investment banking units of Ita Unibanco Holding SA, Morgan Stanley , Banco do Brasil SA, Grupo BTG Pactual , Bank of America Corp, Banco Bradesco SA , Goldman Sachs Group Inc and J. Safra. SA.Proceeds from the primary portion of the IPO will be used to launch new credit products, finance expansion and pay for the acquisition of Brazilian broker Rico Corretora, XP said. (Reporting by Aluisio Pereira; Writing by Tatiana Bautzer; Editing by Sandra Maler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/xp-investimentos-ipo-idINE6N1H600I'|'2017-05-10T18:05:00.000+03:00' +'f2e0e5c6f46f6deb9b74cba75d27427a4695ade0'|'Beijing bling - Hyundai plots China branding reboot after missile row'|'Top News - Sun May 28, 2017 - 3:08am BST Beijing bling - Hyundai plots China branding reboot after missile row left right A tricycle drives past the construction site of the Hyundai Motor Studio in Beijing, China, May 27, 2017. Picture taken May 27, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter 1/4 left right FILE PHOTO: The Hyundai logo is seen at the 2017 New York International Auto Show in New York City, U.S. April 12, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan Mcdermid/File Photo 2/4 left right FILE PHOTO: The 2017 Hyundai Genesis G90 is unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan January 11, 2016. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File Photo 3/4 left right FILE PHOTO: The logo of Hyundai Genesis is seen on its new model EQ900 at the Hyundai Motor Studio in Seoul, South Korea, January 26, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo 4/4 By Hyunjoo Jin and Jake Spring - SEOUL/BEIJING SEOUL/BEIJING Bruised by anti-Korean sentiment in its biggest market and losing ground to local automakers, Hyundai Motor ( 005380.KS ) will open its first Chinese brand store, and may locally assemble its premium Genesis cars and accelerate the launch of a sport-utility vehicle (SUV), people familiar with the plans said. The measures are aimed at rebooting the South Korean firm''s branding in China, where many see Hyundai as a lower-end maker of city taxis. Hyundai and its affiliate Kia Motors ( 000270.KS ) were not long ago ranked third among foreign car brands in China, but recent sales have been hit by a consumer backlash over South Korea''s deployment of a U.S. anti-missile defence system which Beijing opposes. Analysts say the diplomatic row masks broader problems for Hyundai/Kia in China: poor brand recognition and a model line-up struggling against local brands'' cheaper SUVs. "Hyundai has an in-between brand that doesn''t have a clear identity in China, and there''s the backdrop of poor China-Korea relations," said James Chao, Shanghai-based Asia-Pacific chief of consulting firm IHS Markit Automotive. "Newly introduced SUVs should help, but they are late to the game." Even before the missile systems row, Hyundai/Kia''s China market share tumbled to 8.1 percent last year, the lowest in eight years. This year, it has slid further to 5 percent. To help its identity crisis, Hyundai will in September open a brand experience centre in Beijing''s 798 Art District, a trendy hub of refurbished factory buildings. Hyundai has three similar centres in Seoul and one in Moscow. "We''re not going to show a real car. This space is only for focusing on brand building," Xu Jing, the Hyundai executive in charge of the project, told Reuters. The centre was planned before the recent political tensions, but its completion is now a key plank in Hyundai''s efforts to regain a lost position in China as local automakers and European brands gain ground. Volvo-owner Geely ( 0175.HK ) and Great Wall Motor ( 601633.SS ) are also looking to move upmarket. The branding store ventures into territory traditionally held by premium names such as Daimler''s ( DAIGn.DE ) "Mercedes me" stores and BMW''s ( BMWG.DE ) brand centres, already in China. MAKING GENESIS Hyundai is also considering using complete knock-down (CKD) kits shipped from South Korea to assemble Genesis cars in China - more than halving import tariffs to 10 percent - two people familiar with the matter said. Building Genesis cars from kits in China would also prevent technology leaking to its local joint venture partner, BAIC ( 1958.HK ), one of the people added. The kits are a first step, said one Hyundai insider. "We are agonizing over how to source local parts and secure enough sales to build the Genesis cars." Hyundai launched its Genesis luxury sedan in 2008, and two years ago spun it off with the larger Equus sedan into a standalone premium brand. Brand chief Manfred Fitzgerald said last year Genesis would launch in China within 2-3 years. Hyundai has not decided which Genesis model it will build in China first, but plans to have six models including a sports sedan and two SUVs under the premium marque by 2020. "While the Genesis brand is reviewing a variety of strategies for the China market, no specific decisions have been made yet," Hyundai said in a statement. Hyundai sold 74 Genesis sedans in China last year, down from 1,016 in 2015. It sold a single Equus, down from 10 the previous year, according to export data seen by Reuters. RECOVERY TIME Hyundai may also bring forward by a month, to November, the launch of a small SUV, codenamed NU, to be built at its fourth factory in China, one of the people told Reuters. And Kia is considering launching the Stinger, its first sports sedan, in China, people with direct knowledge of the matter said, though there are no plans to build the model there. Hyundai said it also plans to apply new, cutting-edge technologies such as connectivity and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) to many products from the second half of this year, and soon introduce six new-energy vehicles. Since starting to make cars in China in 2002, Hyundai has aggressively chased sales and market share by selling both older and new versions of models including the Elantra and Sonata sedans and Tucson SUV. Among foreign car brands, Hyundai''s China sales lag only those of General Motors ( GM.N ) and Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ), but it''s generally seen as more lower-end than American, German and Japanese rivals. Beijing Hyundai has supplied around a fifth of the capital''s taxis. The volume sales model "did wonders for sales growth, but dented the Hyundai image in the minds of Chinese buyers," said Michael Dunne, president of consultancy Dunne Automotive. "(Having a) weaker brand ... than Japanese automakers, I think it might take more time to restore the brand and sales," said Han Sang-yun, director at S&P, noting Japanese car makers took a year to bounce back in China after a 2012 consumer backlash over a territorial dispute between Beijing and Tokyo. (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Jake Spring, with additional reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu; Editing by Clara Ferreira-Marques and Ian Geoghegan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hyundai-motor-china-idUKKBN18O01O'|'2017-05-28T10:08:00.000+03:00' +'17707d53859da028eed2bcb8084ef493dbc2bc9f'|'Asian stocks set on edge by Comey dismissal, North Korea tensions'|' 6:27am BST Asia stocks rise for third day on earnings; dollar stalls on Comey sacking FILE PHOTO: A woman takes pictures of a display showing market indices outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, February 10, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Peter By Saikat Chatterjee - HONG KONG HONG KONG Asian stocks edged higher for a third consecutive day on Wednesday as investors focused on strong corporate earnings and the dollar gave back some of its recent gains. U.S. President Donald Trump''s abrupt dismissal of FBI Director James Comey prompted some unwinding of risky bets in early Asian trading but strategists said investors were cheered by a strong slate of corporate earnings, reflecting the cyclical rebound in the first quarter of 2017 was still in place. European stocks are set to follow Asia''s example, with major indices set for a broadly flat start according to index futures. "Markets are setting aside the many policy changes seen from the Trump administration and focusing on the improvement in corporate performance and that should support sentiment," said Tai Hui, chief Asia market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management in Hong Kong. With results in for the majority of the companies on the S&P 500, estimated Q1 earnings growth is now at 14.5 percent, highest since Q3 of 2011, Thomson Reuters data shows with roughly 75 pct of companies are beating analysts'' expectations. That has helped Asia as well, with 12-month forward earnings per share for the MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rising to its highest level in more than three years. "Strong corporate earnings are supporting risk sentiment in the Asian equity markets, said Fan Cheuk Wan, head of investment strategy and advisory at HSBC Private Banking. MSCI''s Asia ex Japan index rose 0.3 percent after posting modest gains in the previous session. It hit a two-year high last week. South Korean stocks led losers as investors took profits after liberal leader Moon Jae-in was elected president, while losses in Australia''s big banks weighed on the broader market after the government levied taxes on the lenders to help balance the budget. and Chinese stocks edged higher, shrugging off news that showed April''s producer price inflation cooled more than expected, with investors stepping into the market to scoop up bargains after a recent fall. Markets were also relieved when U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross signalled the Trump administration would attempt to use existing tools to aggressively enforce trade rules and insist on fairer treatment for U.S. goods, rather than adopt the slash-and-burn approach Trump promoted on the campaign trail in 2016. In currencies, the dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was flat at 99.435, moving away from a three-week high of 99.688. Rising U.S. yields propped up the dollar to its strongest level against the Japanese yen in two months at 114.32 in the previous session but it gave back some of those gains after Trump fired FBI Director Comey in a move that shocked Washington. It was last changing hands at 113.76 per dollar, while yields on benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes were lurking near their highest levels since end-March at 2.39 percent. But some market analysts pointed out with market volatility indicators hitting record lows -- the VIX indicator fell overnight to 9.56, its lowest since late 2006 -- the likelihood of a large move in financial markets has grown. "Geopolitics and the divergence of policy have not gone away," Marc Chandler, global head of FX strategy wrote in a daily note. "It is a reminder that we are often lulled into complacency just before being shocked by how treacherous things really are." Fed funds futures pricing showed investors almost universally expect the Federal Reserve to raise U.S. overnight interest rates at its next meeting, with close to a 90 percent perceived chance of an increase next month. Brent crude futures rose more than 0.5 percent to $49.03 per barrel after Reuters reported Saudi Arabia would cut supplies to the Asia region to maintain supply to meet rising domestic demand for power during the summer months. OPEC is battling against rising U.S. output that is threatening to derail its attempts to end a sustained global glut of crude. Gold advanced modestly to $1221.90 ounce, breaking a two-week long losing streak. (Reporting by Saikat Chatterjee; Editing by Eric Meijer)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets-idUKKBN18603R'|'2017-05-10T09:01:00.000+03:00' +'530bc8eb35e6fd86428fd6d5cec2454f8b87f466'|'Company climate risk disclosure could become mandatory in a few years'|'Business News - Tue May 23, 2017 - 1:12pm BST Company climate risk disclosure could become mandatory in a few years By Nina Chestney - LONDON LONDON Companies'' disclosure of risks to their business from climate change could become mandatory in a few years as investor pressure gathers pace, climate finance experts said on Tuesday. Investors have urged companies, particularly those operating in the oil, gas and coal sectors, to disclose the financial impact of long-term climate change and increase transparency as the world shifts away from fossil fuels. "I think we are moving towards the disclosure of climate change risks and stress testing of investments by companies. That is something which is gaining traction," John Roome, senior director of climate change at the World Bank, told an FT climate finance summit in London. "We are now in the voluntary stage but I suspect that in a few years we may very well see standardised requirements from various regulatory authorities on disclosure of climate risk," he added. Last year, a global task force set up by the G20''s Financial Stability Board proposed that companies disclose in their public financial findings how they identify and manage risks to their business from climate change. Although the measures are voluntary, there are calls for them to become mandatory. This could happen in a few years and further ahead, prudential requirements could be placed on potential stranded assets, Roome said. Last year, institutions managing trillions of U.S. dollars of assets called for oil majors Exxon Mobil ( XOM.N ) and Chevron ( CVX.N ) to disclose the impact of curbing global temperature rise on their businesses, although shareholders narrowly voted against resolutions calling for such stress tests. Investors are also pushing oil giant Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) to explain the finer details of its plan to link executives'' bonus pay to lowering carbon emissions. However, there are a number of financial regulators who argue that climate risk is not part of companies'' core business, Roome said. Environmental lawyer Alice Garton at ClientEarth said existing laws apply to company disclosure where climate risks are material, or affect the economic decisions of shareholders. There have already been lawsuits in the United States against Exxon Mobil and coal miner Peabody Energy Corp over disclosures related to climate change. ClientEarth said it had written to energy company BP ( BP.L ), miner and trader Glencore ( GLEN.L ) and investors this week warning of the risk of investor lawsuits based on statements about future fossil fuel demand in their reporting. "It is highly likely that more cases like Peabody and Exxon arise in the future. Class action lawyers have become very clever at developing these cases for profit," said Garton, company and financial project leader at ClientEarth. (Reporting by Nina Chestney; editing by Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-climatechange-risks-disclosure-idUKKBN18J1PT'|'2017-05-23T20:12:00.000+03:00' +'c70c4f7965ec9054bd3051dc8bb74ac2fff09ef6'|'UPDATE 2-Canada''s WestJet beats profit estimates, to buy up to 20 aircraft'|'Canada''s WestJet Airlines Ltd ( WJA.TO ) reported a 45 percent drop in quarterly profit on Tuesday, and said it agreed to buy up to 20 Dreamliner planes from Boeing Co ( BA.N ) as part of a plan to add fuel-efficient aircraft to its fleet.Shares of the Calgary-based carrier fell as much as 5.7 percent to C$21.54 on the Toronto Stock Exchange as the aircraft purchase was seen as expensive."(The order) will result in elevated capex for the next several years," analysts at Cowen & Co wrote in a note, adding that 10 Dreamliner planes will cost WestJet about C$1.85 billion at current exchange rates.WestJet raised its full-year spending target on Tuesday to C$1 billion, up from a prior forecast of C$900 million-C$920 million, party due to the Boeing order.WestJet will fund the aircraft purchase with cash from operations, CEO Gregg Saretsky said on a post-earnings call.The company, Canada''s second largest carrier, said the Boeing deal includes commitments for 10 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft to be delivered between 2019 and 2021, with options to buy 10 more aircraft.The 787-9 planes about 20 percent more fuel-efficient than the 767s WestJet owns will allow the airline to offer new routes in Asia, South America and Europe amid stiff competition from larger rival Air Canada ( AC.TO ).WestJet said in late-April that it planned to launch an ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC) in Canada.The low-cost carrier would be more of a "separate vehicle", said Bob Cummings, an executive vice president at WestJet who is responsible for the yet-to-be-named ULCC.WestJet flew 5.7 million passengers in the first quarter, up nearly 7 percent from a year earlier, helping the company post a better-than-expected quarterly profit.Excluding items, WestJet earned 56 Canadian cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, beating analysts'' average estimate of 50 Canadian cents.However, WestJet''s aircraft fuel costs jumped 41.5 percent to C$235.5 million ($172.3 million) in the quarter ended March 31, contributing to a sharp drop in profit.WestJet''s net earnings fell to C$48.3 million, in the first quarter, from C$87.6 million, a year earlier.The company also forecast a 23 percent to 26 percent rise in fuel costs per liter for the current quarter.Oil prices have nearly doubled from multi-year lows a year ago, weighing on profit margins at several airlines.WestJet''s shares were down 3.8 percent at C$21.97 in afternoon trading.(Reporting by Muvija M and John Benny in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar and Shounak Dasgupta)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-westjet-airlines-results-idUSKBN17Y12Z'|'2017-05-02T21:23:00.000+03:00' +'dc96db58ab2e345fa27e4ae00438ef44e21e3716'|'Tip parcel delivery drivers and perhaps your neighbours too - Letters'|'Wednesday 31 May 2017 19.04 BST Last modified on Wednesday 31 May 2017 19.06 BST There is something members of the public could do about the abysmally low wages of Britains parcel couriers ( Customers dont care as long as its cheap , G2, 30 May). If purchasers kept a small stack of 1 and 2 coins by the front door, drivers delivering to 80 homes a day would be well on their way to a decent wage. Admittedly, tipping relieves the parcel companies of the need to develop a more ethical business model, but the pressure for them to do so can be maintained. The impact of a 1 tip on the price of the goods being delivered would be negligible. Rhys David Redbourn, Hertfordshire I am retired and live on an estate where most properties are empty during the day. I own a car which is parked in the drive, a signal that I am at home. I am often requested by delivery drivers to accept parcels for neighbours. When I agree I am usually asked to provide a full name and a signature. Out of sympathy for the predicament of the driver, who tells me that it is a requirement, I reluctantly comply. The cost of online deliveries is subsidised by the informal network of residents willing to provide short-term storage free of charge. Just one more illustration of why neither customers nor companies are paying the real cost of delivery. Helen Petrie'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/31/tip-parcel-delivery-couriers-and-perhaps-your-neighbours-too'|'2017-06-01T03:04:00.000+03:00' +'8a2769c3249684c9cf52927e0c8d1567b2b87f8c'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX dips as Pembina, resources, and Home Capital weigh'|'* TSX down 11.13 points, or 0.07 percent, to 15,575* Four of the TSX''s 10 main groups fall* Pembina stock falls 3.3 percent to C$42.05; Veresen up 19 percent to C$18.13* Home Capital Group falls 13.4 percent to C$6.96By Solarina HoTORONTO, May 1 Canada''s main stock index dipped marginally on Monday, pulled lower in part by acquisition news from Pembina Pipeline Corp and broad declines among mining companies.News of Pembina''s C$9.7 billion stock-and-cash deal for Veresen Inc sent shares down 3.3 percent to C$42.05, while smaller rival, Veresen rose 19.0 percent to C$18.13.The overall energy group retreated 0.2 percent.The heavily weighted financials group failed to make headway and remained little changed, as modest gains by Canada''s five biggest banks were offset by another tumble in Home Capital Group Inc, Canada''s biggest non-bank mortgage lender.Shares slumped 13.4 percent to C$6.96 as depositors pulled more money out of the troubled lender. Last month, regulators accused the company of making "materially misleading statements" to investors."Home Capital seems to be in the crosshairs of people who want to short the stock, or short Canada," said Ian Nakamoto, equity specialist at MacDougall, MacDougall & MacTier, a division of Raymond James.The Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index dipped 10.5 points, or 0.07 percent, to 15,575.63. Four of the index''s 10 main groups retreated."For Canada, it''s been a very disappointing market for the last little while," said Nakamoto, noting concerns over oil and the overheated housing sector that was spilling into the financial services sector.The materials group, home to precious and base metals miners as well as fertilizer companies, lost close to 1.4 percent. A slew of gold mining firms fell nearly 2 percent or more, tracking bullion prices that fell 1 percent to a three-week low.Barrick Gold Corp was the most influential decliner, falling 1.9 percent to C$22.38, while Eldorado Gold Corp sank 6.2 percent to C$4.68.Shaw Communications stock rose 0.3 percent to C$29.02 following news late on Friday that the Canadian cable company is looking for a buyer for its U.S. data center company, ViaWest. The overall consumer discretionary group rose 0.5 percent.The information technology group ended 1.4 percent higher, while healthcare stocks were up just over 1 percent.Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the TSX by 125 to 118, for a 1.06-to-1 ratio on the upside.The index was posting 22 new 52-week highs and 3 new lows. (Reporting by Solarina Ho; Editing by Sandra Maler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-idUSL1N1I31IU'|'2017-05-02T05:17:00.000+03:00' +'f48c8ce574d0fedc788c42f5fd44a69eede9f4dd'|'Qualcomm files breach of contract complaint against Apple''s manufacturers'|'Innovation and Intellectual Property 12:55pm EDT Qualcomm sues four Apple contract manufacturers left right FILE PHOTO: A Qualcomm sign is pictured at one of its many campus buildings in San Diego, California, U.S. April 18, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: The logo of Foxconn, the trading name of Hon Hai Precision Industry, is seen on top of the company''s headquarters in New Taipei City, Taiwan March 29, 2016. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo 2/2 Chipmaker Qualcomm Inc ( QCOM.O ) filed a lawsuit against four Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) contract manufacturers, including Foxconn Technology Group, for not paying royalties, as its legal battle with the iPhone maker intensifies. The other manufacturers listed in the filing by Qualcomm were Pegatron Corp ( 4938.TW ), Wistron Corp ( 3231.TW ) and Compal Electronics Inc ( 2324.TW ). Qualcomm said in its complaint that Apple had advised the contract manufacturers to withhold royalty payments and agreed to indemnify them against any damages resulting from the breach of their agreements with Qualcomm. In the complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, Qualcomm did not disclose the quantum of royalty owed to it by the manufacturers. San Diego-based Qualcomm said last month that Apple had decided to withhold royalty payments to its contract manufacturers that are owed to the chipmaker, for sales made in the first quarter of 2017, until the dispute is resolved in court. "While not disputing their contractual obligations to pay for the use of Qualcomm''s inventions, the manufacturers say they must follow Apple''s instructions not to pay," Qualcomm said on Wednesday. Qualcomm, the largest maker of chips used in smartphones, added in the filing that Apple is trying to force the company to agree to a "unreasonable demand for a below-market direct license". Apple reiterated that it had been trying to reach a licensing agreement with Qualcomm for more than five years but the company has refused to negotiate fair terms. Qualcomm said it sought an order that would require the manufacturers to comply with their long-standing contractual obligations to the company, as well as declaratory relief and damages. Apple sued Qualcomm in January, accusing it of overcharging for chips and refusing to pay some $1 billion in promised rebates. The chipmaker slashed its current-quarter profit and revenue forecasts last month, saying it excluded revenue receivable from the four contract manufacturers. Qualcomm is a major supplier to Apple and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd ( 005930.KS ) for modem chips that connect phones to wireless networks. Foxconn Technology Group is the trading name of Taiwan''s Hon Hai Precision Industry Co ( 2317.TW ), the main assembler of Apple devices. Qualcomm''s shares were marginally lower at $55.82 in midday trading, while Apple''s shares fell 2.3 percent to $151.85. (Reporting by Narottam Medhora and Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Maju Samuel)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-lawsuit-qualcomm-idUSKCN18D1EC'|'2017-05-17T19:45:00.000+03:00' +'2222a1b61c9f60234571510771beeadc185aa3f8'|'French bank Credit Agricole''s first quarter profits surge higher'|'Banks - Thu May 11, 2017 - 6:35am BST French bank Credit Agricole''s first quarter profits surge higher Logos are pictured on a Credit Agricole bank branch in Paris, France, February 15, 2017. REUTERS/Charles Platiau By Maya Nikolaeva and Julien Ponthus - PARIS PARIS French bank Credit Agricole reported a near fourfold increase in first-quarter profit, as it moved on from a complex revamp of shareholding ties with its parent group and benefited from a surge in trading activity. Credit Agricole, whose asset management arm Amundi is buying rival Pioneer Investments from Unicredit for 3.6 billion euros (3 billion pounds), said net income rose to 845 million euros from 227 million last year, when results were hit by restructuring costs. Its revenue rose 24 percent to 4.7 billion euros, driven by a bumper quarter for capital market activities that rose 17 percent and a rebound in French retail banking. Credit Agricole''s retail bank LCL also had an 8 percent rise in revenue, driven by high volumes of loan restructuring fees and stronger loan growth. "Globally, we should be able to have for the whole year revenue (at LCL) that would be more or less stable," chief financial officer Jerome Grivet told journalists. The bank said that the group''s stronger revenue growth reflected "an improvement in economic activity in the group''s core European markets, but above all, the robustness of the universal customer-focused banking model. Credit Agricole''s higher profits echoed a similar performance at other rival French banks this quarter, with BNP Paribas and Natixis posting higher earnings, although legal costs contributed to SocGen reporting lower profits. (Reporting by Maya Nikolaeva and Julien Ponthus; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-credit-agricole-results-idUKKBN1870F7'|'2017-05-11T13:35:00.000+03:00' +'f54324761ae972cfe178cf9982a174710ddec547'|'Saudi Aramco to dilute stake in Sadara Chemicals via IPO -exec'|'Company 2:59am EDT Saudi Aramco to dilute stake in Sadara Chemicals via IPO -exec ABU DHABI May 3 National oil firm Saudi Aramco plans to cut its stake in Sadara Chemical Co IPO-SACH.SE, a joint venture with U.S. company Dow Chemical, via an initial public offer of shares, Sadara chief executive Ziad al-Labban said on Wednesday. "Aramco has a stake of 65 percent in Sadara - they want to become equal with Dow, which has a 35 percent stake. The 30 percent I believe will be IPOed by Saudi Aramco," Labban told reporters on the sidelines of a petrochemical industry conference. He did not give a timeline or other details. Executives first raised the possibility of an IPO for Sadara years ago; a source familiar with the matter told Reuters this year that it would occur after the planned IPO of Aramco itself, which is due to take place in 2018. (Reporting by Stanley Carvalho; Writing by Andrew Torchia)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/sadara-aramco-ipo-idUSD5N1FJ01V'|'2017-05-03T14:59:00.000+03:00' +'212f0d51355472ab8c1ef7e0e32f3de200b005d4'|'FTSE heads for third straight week of gains as AstraZeneca rises'|'Business News - 20am BST FTSE heads for third straight week of gains as AstraZeneca rises People walk through the lobby of the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 25, 2015. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File photo By Kit Rees - LONDON LONDON Britain''s top share index rose on Friday, on track for its third successive week of gains as pharmaceutical stock AstraZeneca rose after a positive drug trial and broker upgrades buoyed individual firms. The blue chip FTSE 100 index was up 0.2 percent at 7,0402.40 points by 0854 GMT, hitting its highest level in seven weeks. AstraZeneca was the biggest gainer, jumping 4.5 percent after its key immunotherapy drug durvalumab was shown to reduce the risk of death from lung cancer in a trial. The hope is that the drug, which offers an alternative to chemotherapy, will become a blockbuster drug for AstraZeneca. "Their pacific lung cancer trial ... has been taken very well as it''s seen as being quite positive for the upcoming readouts of the MYSTIC trial, which is what really we''re waiting on from them," Dafydd Davies, partner at Charles Hanover Investments, said, referring to another of AstraZeneca''s cancer drug trials. "As the generic drugs have started to bite into some of their profitability, (it) is very key these new drugs that are in the pipeline do start making some significant progress, which is what we are starting to see." Shares in peer Shire also rose 1.4 percent. Broker upgrades also helped support gains in companies such as British Airways owner IAG, which was up 1.3 percent after Kepler Cheuvreux upped the stock to a "buy" from "hold". "Despite the weaker start to the year, we expect IAG to outperform in terms of RASK over the coming quarters, based on its network exposure (higher exposure to Americas) and lower share of transfer traffic," Ruxandra Haradau-Doser, head of airports and airlines at Kepler Cheuvreux, said, referring to unit revenue per available seat kilometre. Likewise shares in Standard Life also rose 1.3 percent after RBC raised its rating on the insurer to "outperform". RBC analysts said that, following the release of the prospectus for Standard Life''s merger with Aberdeen Asset Management, they had greater conviction that the insurance business will be sold, which they expect would unlock value. Healthcare firm Hikma was among the weakest blue chip performers, however, down at a five-month low and taking losses to nearly 10 percent over the past two sessions after U.S. approval for its generic drug Advair was delayed on Thursday. Brokers J.P. Morgan and Stifel both reduced their target prices for the stock. Outside the blue chips, moves were fairly muted among British mid caps, with the FTSE 250 trading flat in percentage terms. (Editing by Catherine Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks-idUKKBN18812F'|'2017-05-12T17:20:00.000+03:00' +'baddffcd55d180700fab0c6b5a1464052c0aacab'|'Ireland launches long-awaited AIB IPO in fresh milestone'|'By Padraic Halpin - DUBLIN DUBLIN Ireland launched its long-awaited initial public offering of state-owned Allied Irish Banks ( ALBK.I ) (AIB) on Tuesday, offering a 25 percent stake in what is set to be one of Europe''s largest bank listings since the 2008 financial crisis.Dublin rescued the bank in a 21 billion-euro ($23.50 billion) taxpayer bailout that began in early 2009, and it has been considering partly cashing out of its 99.9 percent stake since last year.A successful flotation would mark another milestone in a dramatic turnaround from a banking and fiscal crisis that wrecked the country''s economy a decade ago. The sale could raise about 3 billion euros, taking into account the bank''s book value of 11.3 billion euros at the end of last year.That value has probably risen since then, after another quarter of margin growth, its payment of a 250 million-euro dividend this month and a further 11 percent gain in the value of euro zone banks .SX7E so far this year.One of Ireland''s two dominant banks, AIB returned to profit three years ago. It has cut its huge stock of impaired loans by more than two-thirds since then, and this year it became the first domestically owned lender to restart dividends since the crash."The strong progress made by AIB and current market conditions mean that now is the right time to commence this process," Finance Minister Michael Noonan said in a statement announcing its intention to float."Today''s decision is a significant step in the continued normalization of the state''s involvement in Ireland''s banking system."IRISH ECONOMY PLAYNoonan added in an interview with national broadcaster RTE that the IPO price could be "driven up a little" if Britain''s ruling Conservative party wins a strong majority in a June 8 election, giving markets a boost.The prospectus and price range for the sale are expected to be published days later, in mid-June, the government said.AIB will list its shares on the Irish and London stock exchanges and seek admission to the main markets of each. The government said the sale was expected to be one of the United Kingdom''s largest main market IPOs of the last 20 years.AIB management has said it has received "huge interest in the Irish story" from investors in recent months, pitching the bank as a rare stock market play focused almost exclusively on the European Union''s fastest-growing economy.AIB is less exposed to Britain''s exit from the EU than its main rival, Bank of Ireland ( BKIR.I ), the state''s largest bank by assets, having made just 14 percent of its pre-provision operating profit in the United Kingdom last year.It is also the largest provider of mortgages in the fast-recovering Irish market, with a 36 percent share of the market by drawdowns, although investors may be wary of a chronic lack of housing supply that could hold the market back.The bank has so far returned 6.6 billion euros to the state though capital, fees, dividends and coupons.BIGGEST TEST OF APPETITEThe sale will also represent the government''s biggest test of investor appetite for its banks. In 2015, it made 400 million euros by refloating a quarter of the far smaller permanent tsb ( IL0A.I ) on the stock market.After a 2008 property collapse, Ireland pumped 64 billion euros into its banks, the most expensive rescue in the euro zone at almost 40 percent of annual economic output. It expects to turn a profit on the half given to the three surviving banks.The government will use the funds to cut around 1.5 percent from a national debt that at 200 billion euros is still among the highest in the euro zone by most measures, resisting opposition party calls to spend the proceeds on infrastructure projects.The deal will include a retail offering for those willing to invest at least 10,000 euros and a greenshoe or over-allotment option, meaning the size of the IPO could rise to 28.75 percent if demand proves higher than expected following AIB''s debut.The government also added some additional protection last month when it issued a warrant allowing it to subscribe for as much as 9.99 percent of the bank''s stock if the share price doubles 10 years after the floatation.Bank of America Merrill Lynch ( BAC.N ), Davy Stockbrokers and Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) are acting as global coordinators for the sale. Citigroup ( C.N ), Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ), Goodbody Stockbrokers, JPMorgan ( JPM.N ) and UBS ( UBSG.S ) are the bookrunners.(Editing by Jane Merriman, Larry King)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-aib-ipo-idINKBN18Q2EA'|'2017-05-30T18:47:00.000+03:00' +'e64e20b82b68569a2eef3ada4df6f80eef9f3374'|'US STOCKS-Wall St creeps higher; Fed minutes eyed'|'US Market Report 36am EDT US STOCKS-Wall St creeps higher; Fed minutes eyed * Fed minutes scheduled to be released at 2 p.m. ET * Fed fund futures steady at 83 pct odds of June rate hike * Financial sector dips after four days of gains * Lowe''s and Tiffany drop on disappointing results * Indexes up: Dow 0.15 pct, S&P 0.08 pct, Nasdaq 0.16 pct (Adds details, changes comment, updates prices) By Tanya Agrawal May 24 U.S. stocks were modestly higher late on Wednesday morning, aiming for a fifth straight day of gains, as investors awaited Federal Reserve minutes of its May meeting that could cement the chances of an interest rate hike next month. U.S. interest rates futures were steady. Fed funds futures implied traders priced in about an 83 percent chance of a rate hike in June, little changed from Tuesday''s close. Investors are also awaiting more details regarding the Fed trimming its $4.5 trillion balance sheet, when the central bank releases the minutes at 2 p.m. ET (1600 GMT). "The real take from the Fed is that a June rate hike still seems to pretty much baked in the cake but I''m going to be looking at guidance as how they expect to start spending down their excess assets," said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial in Waltham, Mass. While recent economic data has been mixed, with signs of a dip in consumer sentiment and spending, the job market continues to strengthen. That could give the Fed impetus to continue with its path of monetary tightening. Data on Wednesday showed home resales fell more than expected in April as a tight supply boosted prices and sidelined prospective buyers. A tightening labor market and historically low mortgage rates have helped the housing market recovery. McMillan said the recent mixed economic data did not concern him as a lot of it was due to from first-quarter seasonality issues and that he expected an improvement in the current quarter. At 10:56 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 31.67 points, or 0.15 percent, at 20,969.58, the S&P 500 was up 2.15 points, or 0.08 percent, at 2,400.57 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 9.63 points, or 0.16 percent, at 6,148.34. Seven of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were higher, led by the materials index''s 0.67 percent rise. Financials, the index which will benefit the most from higher interest rates, was off 0.21 percent after four days of gains. The consumer staples index fell 0.12 percent, weighed down by weak report from Lowe''s, the No. 2 U.S. home improvement chain. Lowe''s dropped 4.3 percent to $78.82 after it reported a lower-than-expected profit and comparable sales. Bigger rival Home Depot was off 0.2 percent. Jewelry retailer Tiffany sank 6.8 percent after posting a surprise drop in comparable sales. Signet Jewelers , which reports on Thursday, was down 6 percent. The two were the biggest losers on the S&P. At the other end was Intuit, which jumped 7.2 percent after the tax-preparation software maker posted a profit topped estimates and also raised its revenue forecast. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,684 to 1,011. On the Nasdaq, 1,506 issues rose and 1,107 fell. The S&P 500 index showed 33 new 52-week highs and 10 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 64 new highs and 32 new lows. (Reporting by Tanya Agrawal in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-idUSL4N1IQ4GN'|'2017-05-24T23:36:00.000+03:00' +'9b15a83d2186efe90fd40434e65b5a9fb472df8d'|'Booker sticks to Tesco deal timetable as profits rise'|'By James Davey - LONDON LONDON British wholesaler Booker ( BOK.L ) still expects its 3.7 billion pound ($4.8 billion) takeover by Tesco ( TSCO.L ) to be completed by early 2018 at the latest, it said after reporting annual results on Thursday, despite regulatory hurdles that analysts said could make the timetable optimistic.Though the companies announced the deal in January, Britain''s Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) has yet to formally confirm the start of its initial appraisal of the plan and most analysts see referral to an in-depth Phase 2 investigation as inevitable.That latter could last up to 24 weeks, with the CMA able to seek remedies or block the deal if it finds that the takeover would reduce competition.The CMA is not known for moving quickly and analysts pointed to the regulator''s handling of sportswear company JD Sports'' ( JD.L ) proposed takeover of the Go Outdoors chain. That deal, which would create only a few overlaps among stores, was announced in November, but it took until Thursday for the CMA to say it will not be conducting a Phase 2 investigation."If the CMA took this long to clear that deal, how long will it take to investigate the far more complex Booker-Tesco merger?" said independent retail analyst Nick Bubb.Meanwhile, Booker and Britain''s biggest retailer remain committed to their deal despite some dissent among Tesco shareholders."We are continuing to assist the UK competition authorities in their ongoing consideration of the merger and it is expected that the merger will complete in late 2017/early 2018, subject to, amongst other things, the necessary shareholder approvals," Booker said.Booker, which supplies convenience chains including Budgens and Londis, restaurants such as Wagamama and Carluccio''s and also operates the Makro cash and carry business, reported a 15 percent rise in annual profit and said revenue in the first seven weeks of its new financial year was ahead of the same period last year.It made a pretax profit of 174 million pounds in the year to March 24, slightly ahead of analysts'' average forecast of 173.3 million pounds, reflecting progress across the catering and retail supply sides of the business.Booker''s total return to shareholders, made up of ordinary and special dividends, was increased by 11 percent to 8.62 pence.Shares in Booker, up 23 percent this year, were flat at 199 pence at 0838 GMT (4.38 a.m. ET).Tesco''s cash and shares offer valued Booker shares at 200 pence.(Editing by Kate Holton and David Goodman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-booker-results-idINKCN18E179'|'2017-05-18T08:06:00.000+03:00' +'3010df0f6db945b070bec63737cc62712745ed42'|'France makes Brexit pitch to Wall Street banks in New York'|'Business 9:52pm BST France makes Brexit pitch to Wall Street banks in New York Economist Christian Noyer, speaks at the 2017 Paris EUROPLACE International Financial Forum in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S. May 23, 2017. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri By Olivia Oran - NEW YORK NEW YORK More than 20 banks and asset management firms are in advanced discussions with regulators in France about shifting jobs there following Britain''s vote to leave the European Union, former Bank of France chief Christian Noyer said on Tuesday. Noyer is leading the French government''s efforts to lure London-based financiers to Paris as they seek to secure access to the single market once Britain exits the EU in 2019. His job has become much easier since the election of Emmanuel Macron, a former investment banker with Rothschild & Co ( ROTH.PA ), as president earlier this month. When we started the image of France wasnt good ... the feeling about labor market rigidities and volatility of the tax system wasnt very good," Noyer said in an interview on the sidelines of an event in Manhattan promoting France as a financial hub. "Weve spent a lot of time explaining what changes have already taken place." France is synonymous with high taxes and tough employment laws which make it difficult to fire staff quickly. Macron is promising to overhaul the labor market and simplify the French tax and pension systems, while paring back regulations he says hamper innovation. But there is a lot of uncertainty about the likely pace of reforms, which could take months or even years to implement. Macron''s predecessor, the socialist leader Francois Hollande, introduced a 75 percent tax on earnings of $1 million or more in 2013. The tax was abandoned a year later but it has left a lasting impression on executives. At the New York event, held in the Roosevelt Hotel, Noyer read a message from Macron in which he said as soon as this summer, the government will send a draft law to parliament to make labor laws more flexible. So far, only HSBC Holdings PLC ( HSBA.L ) has said it would move staff to Paris following Britain''s exit from the European Union, Frankfurt has emerged as a frontrunner in the competition to attract financial firms post-Brexit with the five largest U.S. banks -- Citigroup ( C.N ), JPMorgan ( JPM.N ), Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ), Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) and Bank of America ( BAC.N ) -- set to move hundreds of key staff there. Dublin is also expected to do well. JPMorgan is buying a building there with room for 1,000 staff and British insurer and asset manager Standard Life ( SL.L ) has said it will likely choose Dublin for its EU base. Luxembourg has already attracted a number of insurers with Britain''s Hiscox ( HSX.L ) looking to establish a new subsidiary there and U.S. insurer AIG ( AIG.N ) planning to locate its EU hub there. Noyer dismissed the competition from other European cities. "Paris is the only big city comparable to London and New York. The other cities are relatively small and not diversified," he said. When it comes to fine dining, high fashion and art, Paris is an easy sell. "We never talk about our charm because Paris is a city well-equipped with cinema and art exhibitions," said Arnaud de Bresson, chief executive of lobbying firm Paris Europlace, which is trying to promote the French capital as a financial center. "The questions we get are usually more about the politics, and with the Macron election that''s changing the game. (Reporting by Olivia Oran in New York; Writing by Carmel Crimmins; Editing by Tom Brown)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-france-brexit-banks-idUKKBN18J2WP'|'2017-05-24T04:33:00.000+03:00' +'129aefce2ca5662729752697d8bd07bad0abe07f'|'Strong European capital market needed post-Brexit - Deutsche Bank chairman'|'Business News 11:52am BST Deutsche Bank chairman: Strong European capital market needed post-Brexit FILE PHOTO: Deutsche Bank supervisory board chairman Paul Achleitner addresses the bank''s annual general meeting in Frankfurt, Germany, May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT Europe needs a strong capital market to maintain independence from the United States and in light of Britain''s decision to leave the European Union, the chairman of Deutsche Bank''s ( DBKGn.DE ) supervisory board said. Paul Achleitner, in an interview with Reuters ahead of the bank''s annual general meeting on Thursday, said he was motivated to sit for a second five-year term as the board''s chair so that he could contribute to making Europe''s capital market more robust. "Europe needs a strong Deutsche Bank," he said. "Europe needs a strong capital market in order not to be dependent on the U.S. And if I can make a contribution to this, then I would like to do that. Europe must not become a museum. This is more important than ever after Brexit." Since Achleitner assumed his first term as chair in 2012, Deutsche Bank has faced a shareholder revolt and billions in fines for its U.S. mortgage securities business and other scandals. In response, the bank has revamped its strategy, raised new capital and fully swapped out its senior management. "I did not easily make the decision about a second term," he said. "But I feel personally responsible to the colleagues whom I have brought to the management and the supervisory boards. I can''t just say, ''Go on without me.''" (Reporting by Kathrin Jones and Tom Sims; Editing by Christoph Steitz)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-deutsche-bank-chairman-idUKKCN18D18P'|'2017-05-17T18:51:00.000+03:00' +'1cbfb9b8832d1598f09b94853ccc3cef0af4d9e6'|'Western Digital seeks arbitration in row over Toshiba''s $18 billion chip sale'|'Business 7:00am BST Western Digital takes legal action to block sale of Toshiba''s chip unit left right Toshiba Corp CEO Satoshi Tsunakawa attends a news conference at the company''s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan May 15, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 1/4 left right Toshiba Corp CEO Satoshi Tsunakawa bows at the start of a news conference at the company''s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan May 15, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 2/4 left right FILE PHOTO- A logo of Toshiba Corp is seen on a printed circuit board in this photo illustration taken in Tokyo July 31, 2012. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao/File Photo 3/4 left right FILE PHOTO: A Western Digital office building is shown in Irvine, California, U.S., January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo 4/4 By Makiko Yamazaki - TOKYO TOKYO Western Digital Corp has sought international arbitration to stop partner Toshiba Corp from selling its chips arm without its consent, potentially derailing a much-needed capital injection for the Japanese conglomerate. Although the two companies jointly operate Toshiba''s main semiconductor plant, Western Digital is not seen as a favoured bidder for the world''s second biggest NAND chip producer, having put in a much lower offer than other suitors, a source with knowledge of the matter has said. A legal battle could delay or put an end to the auction that could fetch some $18 billion (13.9 billion pounds) and has attracted suitors such as private equity firm KKR & Co LP, Taiwan''s Foxconn and U.S. chipmaker Broadcom. The Japanese conglomerate is depending on the sale to cover billions in dollars in cost overruns at its now bankrupt U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse. The dispute is also set to further jeopardise its Tokyo Stock Exchange listing as fresh funds are urgently needed to shore up its balance sheet. Toshiba said on Monday in an unaudited earnings release that it ended the year with a 950 billion yen (6.5 billion pounds) net loss and negative shareholder equity worth 540 billion. After months of souring relations, Western Digital said on Monday it had initiated arbitration procedures with the International Chamber of Commerce. It is demanding Toshiba reverse a move to put its joint venture assets into a hived out entity - Toshiba Memory - and that it stop an all-out sale without consent from Western Digital unit SanDisk. Toshiba said while it yet to be notified of any arbitration, there had been no breach of contract and Western Digital had no grounds to interfere with the sale process. Despite the fresh setback, Toshiba shares climbed 4.2 percent, buoyed by news that progress is being made towards capping some of its nuclear liabilities in the United States - another major headache. The owners of the unfinished Vogtle power plant in Georgia led by Southern Co have to come to a preliminary agreement to cap Toshiba''s responsibility for its guarantees on the much-delayed nuclear project at about $3.6 billion, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday. DEAL OR NO DEAL The dispute with Western Digital could also derail Toshiba''s broader financing plans, as it hopes to offer the stake in its memory chip unit as collateral for new loans from major lenders, a measure that the lenders say also requires Western Digital''s approval. Toshiba argues that under their joint venture contract, neither party can block a change of control by the other partner. It argues Western Digital itself acquired the joint venture interest when it bought SanDisk, and never sought or received Toshiba''s approval. Western Digital, however, claims that Toshiba cannot transfer the joint venture''s interests into an affiliate and then sell the affiliate without its consent. "Seeking relief through mandatory arbitration was not our first choice in trying to resolve this matter. However, all of our other efforts to achieve a resolution to date have been unsuccessful, and so we believe legal action is now a necessary next step," Western Digital CEO Steve Milligan said in a statement. Toshiba values its chip unit at at least 2 trillion yen. It believes that a consortium made up of KKR and Japanese government-backed investors would be the most feasible buyer for the business, sources with direct knowledge said last week. The Japanese government has proposed that Western Digital join their consortium as a minority investor, but the U.S. company has said it needs to take control of the unit in order to be fully in charge of operations, separate sources have said. (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Additional reporting by Kentaro Hamada; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Edwina Gibbs)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting-idUKKCN18A127'|'2017-05-15T05:55:00.000+03:00' +'c2b7d691d611a5833de2f5ebe6f3c1c2c9cd2a06'|'Saudi Aramco plans tourism training centre in economic reform drive'|'JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia May 17 National oil giant Saudi Aramco will establish a centre to train workers in Saudi Arabia''s tourism industry as part of the government''s drive to develop the economy beyond the oil sector.Aramco agreed with a state-controlled vocational education body and the kingdom''s tourism commission to train young Saudis for the tourism and hotel sectors, as well as in the management of other public and private facilities, it said on Wednesday.Officials want the tourism centre to handle 5,000 male and female trainees within four years, Aramco said without giving financial details. The government is keen to develop Islamic tourism as part of drive to diversify the economy beyond oil.Although Aramco focuses on the production of oil, gas and petrochemicals it is often enlisted in other government initiatives because it is Saudi Arabia''s biggest company and one of its most efficient.The company, which plans an initial public offer of its shares to local and foreign investors next year, unveiled plans last year to build a $5 billion shipbuilding complex and opened an $800 million cultural centre in Dhahran in December. (Reporting by Reem Shamseddine; editing by David Clarke; Editing by Andrew Torchia)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/saudi-tourism-aramco-idINL8N1IJ2W8'|'2017-05-17T10:51:00.000+03:00' +'112d9d18792f8153ecd19cc9c0951d8d4ed62267'|'Glass Lewis recommends Buffalo Wild Wings'' board nominees'|'May 26 Proxy adviser Glass Lewis & Co LLC recommended shareholders of Buffalo Wild Wings to vote for the company''s slate of directors, saying activist hedge fund Marcato Capital had failed to make a compelling case for making changes to the board.Glass Lewis''s recommendation on Friday comes two days after another adviser, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), recommended voting for Marcato''s nominees.Marcato, which owns a 6.1 percent stake in Buffalo Wild Wings, launched a proxy fight in February, nominating four directors for the nine-member board."We believe the dissident''s nominees, other than the one also nominated by the company, either have experience that would not be additive to the refreshed board or potential conflicts which weakens their candidacies," Glass Lewis said in a report.ISS has put its weight behind Marcato nominees Mick McGuire, the hedge fund''s founder, and Scott Bergren, the former chief executive of Yum Brands'' restaurant chain, Pizza Hut.It has also backed Sam Rovit, a former Kraft Foods'' executive, who has been nominated by both Marcato and the company.ISS did not recommend support for Lee Sanders, the former chief development officer at TGI Fridays.Buffalo Wild Wings will hold its annual meeting on June 2.Among its demands, Marcato has asked for Chief Executive Sally Smith to be replaced. (Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/buffalo-wild-marcato-idINL4N1IS442'|'2017-05-26T11:17:00.000+03:00' +'e42da6d58478f7f5af81d56535541f7caa7de95e'|'China''s Xi says Belt and Road summit reaches consensus, achieves positive outcomes'|'BEIJING China''s first ever Belt and Road summit, held in Beijing over the last two days, has reached a broad consensus and achieved positive outcomes, President Xi Jinping said on Monday.Xi''s signature foreign policy, the Belt and Road initiative, will not base cooperation on ideological grounds but will be open and inclusive, the Chinese president told reporters at a closing function.The initiative would work to ensure an open world economy, rebalance globalization and work toward trade liberalization, he said, adding that it would also boost support for green and low-carbon development.Xi has used the summit on the initiative, attended by world leaders and top officials, to bolster China''s global leadership ambitions as U.S. President Donald Trump promotes "America First" and questions existing global free trade deals.(Reporting by Christian Shepherd; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-china-silkroad-idINKCN18B11S'|'2017-05-15T07:55:00.000+03:00' +'5c3a46a9c40c0d59a8e8f8704dc278b6795d6479'|'Australia''s Fairfax Media gets revised $2 billion offer from TPG-led group'|'By Jamie Freed - SYDNEY SYDNEY U.S. buyout firm TPG Capital Management on Monday raised its cash bid for Fairfax Media Ltd ( FXJ.AX ), offering A$2.76 billion ($2.04 billion) for the struggling Australian publisher and sending its shares to a six-year high.The fresh offer from TPG [TPG.UL] and partner Ontario Teachers'' Pension Plan Board (OTPP) would allow shareholders to cash out completely rather than leaving them with scrip in a piecemeal collection of small assets including radio, regional newspapers and television streaming."Its better to have a complete bid," said John Grace, co-head of equities at Ausbil Investment Management, Fairfax''s largest shareholder with a 7.8 percent stake. He added however that it was too early to say whether the bid should succeed.Fairfax is the publisher of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian Financial Review, but its best-performing asset is property listings website Domain, which has boomed amid the long-term decline of newspaper earnings.TPG is now offering A$1.20 a share for the entire business, compared with the prior offer of A$0.95 a share for Domain and top mastheads.It represents a 12 percent premium to Fairfax''s A$1.07 closing price on Friday and sent the shares up as much as 8.4 percent to a six-year high of A$1.16 on Monday.The previous offer did not include the publisher''s radio division, regional and New Zealand titles, a stake in an online television streaming start-up and its debt.DOMAIN SPIN-OFFLong-suffering shareholders had pinned their hopes on Fairfax''s plan to spin off Domain as it continues to cut costs at its newspapers. Many of its journalists this month went on strike for a week to protest editorial job cuts.Fairfax has said it is considering the TPG proposal - which is subject to a shareholder vote and foreign investment approvals - but is also continuing to progress preparations for the planned separation of Domain."While the revised offer is clearly superior in that is an offer for the entire company, TPG may need to offer more than A$1.20 if it is to win the support of all shareholders," said Alex Waislitz, chairman of Thorney Opportunities Ltd, which holds Fairfax shares.TPG''s change of mind came after the Australian government revealed it is planning to deregulate media ownership, which could increase Fairfax''s options as either a target for another suitor or as an acquirer.A TPG spokesman declined to comment.In a statement, Fairfax said shareholders did not need to take any action in response to the revised proposal and promised to provide an update once it had been fully assessed.(Reporting by Jamie Freed; Editing by Stephen Coates)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-fairfax-media-m-a-tpg-idINKCN18A141'|'2017-05-14T21:35:00.000+03:00' +'7f54d416c0818599b90b5b3a6bfb8af09cf4340d'|'Strong start to summer driving season pushes U.S. oil towards $50'|'Business News - Tue May 30, 2017 - 6:28pm BST Oil prices slide on worries Libya output will feed glut Workers look at a drilling rig at a well pad of the Rosneft-owned Prirazlomnoye oil field outside the West Siberian city of Nefteyugansk, Russia, August 4, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo By Devika Krishna Kumar - NEW YORK NEW YORK Oil prices fell about 1 percent on Tuesday, on signs of resurgent crude output in Libya and concerns that extended production cuts by leading exporting countries may not be enough to drain a global glut that has depressed prices for almost three years. Brent crude LCOc1 fell 76 cents, or 1.45 percent, to $51.53 a barrel by 1:00 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT), while U.S. light crude CLc1 was 46 cents, or 0.9 percent lower at $49.34. Libya''s oil production was at 784,000 barrels per day (bpd) because of a technical issue at the Sharara field, but was expected to start rising to 800,000 bpd on Tuesday, the chief of the state-run National Oil Corporation said. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other oil producers, including Russia, agreed last week to maintain output cuts of about 1.8 million barrels a day for nine months longer than originally planned. Still, prices tumbled after the OPEC deal was announced. The cutbacks have yet to drain crude inventories significantly. "The market is now in the hands of how market participants interpret the weekly and monthly fundamental snapshots with all eyes focused on total global oil inventory levels," said Dominick Chirichella, senior partner at the Energy Management Institute in New York. Chirichella said the oil market is looking for "a sustained inventory destocking pattern that will send global supply and demand balances back to normal historical levels." Part of the problem for OPEC is booming shale production in the United States. U.S. drillers have added rigs for 19 straight weeks to reach 722, the highest since April 2015, according to services firm Baker Hughes. Some selling pressure on Tuesday came from banks, brokers said. Goldman Sachs analysts have cut forecasts for oil prices, saying falling U.S. production costs should boost supply for years. "While we are bullish on near-term prices as inventories normalise ... 2018-19 futures need to be in the $45-$50 range," Goldman said. Standard Chartered, however, said it expects global crude inventories will return to their five-year average by the end of the OPEC-led production cuts, with large drawdowns in the second half of 2017. "We do not think that much, if any, of that tightening is currently priced in. We do expect prices eventually to gain some upwards momentum because of excess demand, but in the short term market sentiment remains bearish," the bank said. Gasoline demand during the U.S. summer driving season may support crude prices, analysts said. For this past Memorial Day holiday weekend, the American Automobile Association had forecast the highest driving mileage since 2005. (Additional reporting by Christopher Johnson in London, Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Edmund Blair) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-oil-idUKKBN18Q02I'|'2017-05-30T09:21:00.000+03:00' +'1264ecf4696ef47890e4c2fee55ab3db6dee671a'|'U.S. FCC to take initial vote to roll back Obama-era internet rules'|'Market News - Thu May 18, 2017 - 5:00am EDT U.S. FCC to take initial vote to roll back Obama-era internet rules By David Shepardson May 18 The U.S. Federal Communications Commission will hold an initial vote on Thursday on a Republican plan to reverse the Obama administration''s 2015 "net neutrality" order. FCC chairman Ajit Pai disclosed in April the agency may withdraw "bright line" rules barring internet companies from blocking, throttling or giving "fast lanes" to some websites. The debate over the future of the internet has received less attention than it did in 2015, with many focused on other issues such as President Donald Trump''s May 9 firing of FBI director Jim Comey and its aftermath. "In the rubble of this week, the FCC is formally starting the process of destroying net neutrality," Senator Brian Schatz, a Democrat, said on Wednesday. A number of Democratic senators plan to attend a rally on Thursday outside the FCC meeting with opponents. The other Republican on the FCC, which currently has three members, supports Pai. The public will have until mid-August to offer comments before the FCC votes on a final plan. Pai said in April he wants the FCC to repeal the rules that reclassified internet service and tightly regulated providers as if they were utilities. He thinks the 2015 open internet rules were unnecessary and harm jobs and investment. "We were not living in some digital dystopia before the partisan imposition of a massive plan hatched in Washington saved all of us," Pai said in April. Pai wants public input on whether the FCC should keep its "bright line" rules, and said his decision would depend partly on the comments. He has not committed to retaining any rules, but said he favors an "open internet." Facebook Inc, Alphabet Inc and others back net neutrality rules, saying they guarantee equal access to the internet. Broadband providers AT&T Inc, Verizon Communications Inc and Comcast Corp oppose the 2015 order, saying it would discourage investment and innovation. Internet providers insist they will not engage in blocking or throttling even in the absence of rules, but critics are skeptical. "Thats like asking a kid to ''voluntarily'' swear not to stick his hands in the cookie jar. It just wont happen," Senator Edward Markey, a Democrat, said on Wednesday. Comcast, Charter Communications Inc and Altice NV''s U.S. unit signed an advertisement Wednesday saying they are "committed to an open internet that gives you the freedom to be in charge of your online experience.... We do not block, throttle or otherwise impair your online activity." (Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Grant McCool) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-fcc-neutrality-idUSL2N1IJ1WN'|'2017-05-18T17:00:00.000+03:00' +'fe987ab6862e0ae23db35e52681dd2fbb4a58dc8'|'Enterprise Investors mulls selling Polish housebuilder Danwood - sources'|'By Agnieszka Barteczko and Anna Koper - WARSAW WARSAW May 31 Private equity fund Enterprise Investors may sell Polish energy-efficient housebuilder Danwood, three sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.Enterprise Investors, one the biggest buyout firms in Central and Eastern Europe, bought Danwood in 2013 from Polish construction firm Budimex for around 240 million zlotys ($65 million)."Enterprise Investors plans to sell Danwood to an investor or list it on the bourse," a person familiar with the situation said.Two other sources confirmed the plan and added it was more probable the fund would sell Danwood to an investor rather than list it on the bourse.Enterprise Investors declined to comment.Despite some uncertainty over the policies of the ruling conservative Law and Justice party (PiS), Poland has seen a number of sizable M&A transactions in the past few months involving private equity funds.Those include the sale of e-commerce business Allegro in October and retail chain Zabka in February.Also, the Warsaw Stock Exchange has attracted new companies with significant share offers, something not seen in Poland in recent years. Enterprise Investors, for example, sold its 49-percent stake in retain chain Dino in an initial public offering in April.Danwood''s net profit rose to almost 34 million zlotys last year from 25.6 million in 2015 on sales of 665 million zlotys in 2016 and 518 million in 2015.The company, which was set up 20 years ago and employs 1,550 workers, has the capacity to build 1,000 energy-efficient houses per year.($1 = 3.7199 zlotys) (Writing by Agnieszka Barteczko; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/danwood-poland-idINL8N1IX3XK'|'2017-05-31T12:13:00.000+03:00' +'e8dd46492569c3f1f079078aa3e072c0d5e77dee'|'Australia''s Fairfax Media receives revised $2 billion offer from TPG-led group'|'Deals - Mon May 15, 2017 - 1:25am EDT TPG boosts offer for Australia''s Fairfax Media, shares leap to six-year high left right Mastheads of The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and the Australian Financial Review, all Fairfax Media publications, are pictured in this photo-illustration in Sydney June 18, 2012. REUTERS/Daniel Munoz 1/2 left right A TV crew films outside the Fairfax Media headquarters in Sydney, Australia, May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Reed 2/2 By Jamie Freed - SYDNEY SYDNEY U.S. buyout firm TPG Capital Management on Monday raised its cash bid for Fairfax Media Ltd ( FXJ.AX ), offering A$2.76 billion ($2.04 billion) for the struggling Australian publisher and sending its shares to a six-year high. The fresh offer from TPG [TPG.UL] and partner Ontario Teachers'' Pension Plan Board (OTPP) would allow shareholders to cash out completely rather than leaving them with scrip in a piecemeal collection of small assets including radio, regional newspapers and television streaming. "Its better to have a complete bid," said John Grace, co-head of equities at Ausbil Investment Management, Fairfax''s largest shareholder with a 7.8 percent stake. He added however that it was too early to say whether the bid should succeed. Fairfax is the publisher of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian Financial Review, but its best-performing asset is property listings website Domain, which has boomed amid the long-term decline of newspaper earnings. TPG is now offering A$1.20 a share for the entire business, compared with the prior offer of A$0.95 a share for Domain and top mastheads. It represents a 12 percent premium to Fairfax''s A$1.07 closing price on Friday and sent the shares up as much as 8.4 percent to a six-year high of A$1.16 on Monday. The previous offer did not include the publisher''s radio division, regional and New Zealand titles, a stake in an online television streaming start-up and its debt. DOMAIN SPIN-OFF Long-suffering shareholders had pinned their hopes on Fairfax''s plan to spin off Domain as it continues to cut costs at its newspapers. Many of its journalists this month went on strike for a week to protest editorial job cuts. Fairfax has said it is considering the TPG proposal - which is subject to a shareholder vote and foreign investment approvals - but is also continuing to progress preparations for the planned separation of Domain. "While the revised offer is clearly superior in that is an offer for the entire company, TPG may need to offer more than A$1.20 if it is to win the support of all shareholders," said Alex Waislitz, chairman of Thorney Opportunities Ltd, which holds Fairfax shares. TPG''s change of mind came after the Australian government revealed it is planning to deregulate media ownership, which could increase Fairfax''s options as either a target for another suitor or as an acquirer. A TPG spokesman declined to comment. In a statement, Fairfax said shareholders did not need to take any action in response to the revised proposal and promised to provide an update once it had been fully assessed. (Reporting by Jamie Freed; Editing by Stephen Coates) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-fairfax-media-m-a-tpg-idUSKCN18A141'|'2017-05-15T07:09:00.000+03:00' +'606df4b3f6ae38157dffa55d46296cc34901d6a7'|'BRIEF-U.S. FDA grants priority review status to Ultragenyx metabolic disorder drug'|'Market News 49am EDT BRIEF-U.S. FDA grants priority review status to Ultragenyx metabolic disorder drug May 23 Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc- * Ultragenyx announces recombinant human beta-glucuronidase biologics license application and marketing authorization application filed and accepted for review; FDA grants priority review status * Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc - prescription drug user fee act (pdufa) goal date for a decision is november 16, 2017 * Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc - opinion from committee for medicinal products for human use (chmp) is expected in first half of 2018 Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-us-fda-grants-priority-review-stat-idUSASA09QYD'|'2017-05-23T20:49:00.000+03:00' +'005ea254db6f084c5ebe5107f2f3b7985711ab95'|'SoftBank annual profit up 13 pct on better performance by Sprint'|'Business News - Wed May 10, 2017 - 6:38am EDT SoftBank logs second-best annual profit, talks up T-Mobile deal potential FILE PHOTO: A man looks at the logo of SoftBank Group Corp at the company''s headquarters in Tokyo, June 30, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo By Makiko Yamazaki - TOKYO TOKYO Japan''s SoftBank Group Corp ( 9984.T ) said it had notched up its second-best annual profit on cost cuts and a rise in subscribers at Sprint Corp ( S.N ), adding that it was eager to discuss potential M&A for the loss-making U.S. wireless unit. Chief Executive Masayoshi Son also said the internet and telecoms giant company was close to launching a planned $100 billion Vision fund that aims to make it the "Berkshire Hathaway of the tech industry" as telecoms services markets mature. Two and a half years ago, SoftBank abandoned talks to acquire rival T-Mobile US Inc ( TMUS.O ) for Sprint amid opposition from U.S. antitrust regulators but a potential merger is still close to Son''s heart. "Of all potential partners, T-Mobile is the one that would yield the most synergies, the most orthodox choice and we''d sincerely love to begin talks," he told a news conference, adding that the current U.S. administration is far more open to the possibility of a deal. Since the previous talks, T-Mobile has overtaken its rival to become the No. 3 U.S. wireless carrier and SoftBank is now prepared to cede control to clinch a deal, people familiar with the matter told Reuters in February. Son also said, however, that he was willing to discuss other possible deals for Sprint if there were better offers. SoftBank''s operating profit for the year to end-March climbed 13 percent to 1.03 trillion yen ($9 billion) on flat revenue growth. That was below an average analyst estimate of 1.15 trillion yen from 20 analysts. SoftBank''s numerous business including its own domestic telecoms unit, recently acquired UK chipmaker Arm as well as a vast array of investments in companies like China''s Alibaba ( BABA.N ) make estimating its earnings difficult. For the fourth quarter, operating profit dropped 7.2 percent on unfavorable exchange rates. SoftBank expects to invest at least $25 billion over the next five years in its tech fund, which would be one of the world''s largest private equity investors. Son said that talks had already begun with about 30 companies on potential investments. "I want to think big," he said. "The fund is designed to tap the coming gold rush era" when every industry is redefined by artificial intelligence, he added. Asked about a possibility of investing in Toshiba Corp''s ( 6502.T ) flash memory chip unit, Son said SoftBank would not be a main player but flagged that Taiwan''s Foxconn ( 2317.TW ) may be considering a bid with Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ). He added that he had been consulted by Foxconn founder Terry Gou on the matter but declined to elaborate further. Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, is trying to woo Apple and other clients for a joint bid, sources have said. Gou and Son, both among Asia''s richest men, have done business together for years. Toshiba, hit by a crisis at nuclear unit Westinghouse, is selling the majority - or all - of its marquee flash-memory chip business - the world''s second-biggest the second-biggest NAND chip producer - and has attracted a range of suitors. SoftBank did not release a forecast for the current business year, saying there were too many uncertain factors. (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-softbank-results-idUSKBN1860LT'|'2017-05-10T14:17:00.000+03:00' +'46265738ff0e2281c18a9dfbd36e9cc4778a7233'|'Is Coke it?: Coca-Colas new boss tries to move beyond its core product'|'FEW companies are as defined by a single product as Coca-Cola. The firm has sold the sweet dark soda since 1886. At its headquarters in Atlanta, archives house the advertisements that sowed Coke in the worlds consciousness: posters urging consumers to Have a Coke and a Smile; Norman Rockwells 1935 painting of a boy fishing, Coke bottle in hand; a Coca-Cola record with tunes sung by Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and The Who; advertisements with a red-coated, bearded Santa Clausit was Coca-Cola that popularised the image of Santa in the 20th century.Today Coca-Cola has $42bn in revenue and is available within an arms reach of desire, as the firm puts it, in every country but Cuba and North Korea. Its distribution is so broad, its marketing so expert that the Gates Foundation has urged vaccine campaigns to mimic its strategy. The question for James Quincey, an insider who took over as CEO this month, is whether Coca-Cola can move beyond Coke. 17 The company is under pressure. A growing number of governments see its main product as not an icon but a scourge, and have introduced soda taxes. Coca-Cola must adapt as shoppers switch to buying more online. Meanwhile, investors want its 24% profit margin to expand. Jorge Paulo Lemann, the founder of 3G, a private-equity firm that is stalking the consumer-goods industry, has quipped that he could run Coca-Cola with 200 staff.Efficiency measures are already being taken, including a plan, expanded last month, to save $3.8bn by 2019. Selling off Cokes vast network of bottlerstogether, Coca-Cola and its many bottlers amount to the worlds biggest consumer companycould mean revenue plunging by more than $7bn this year. The idea is that the firm will become more agile and profitable as a result.But the most important and risky shift is Coca-Colas effort to diversify. The company has outgrown its core brand, Mr Quincey said in February. Until 1955 the company sold only Coca-Cola, either in soda fountains or in small bottles. Its soda strategy thereafter might be summarised as Coca-Cola squared: the company sold more, bigger containers of Coca-Cola and other fizzy products like it, such as Sprite and Fanta. The greater the volume of soda that bottlers sold, the more money they made. Managers within Coca-Cola were rewarded for boosting volumes, too. The result is impressive. Last year Coca-Cola accounted for about half of all soda drunk around the world, according to Euromonitor, a research firm.However, in many countries the market for fizzy drinks looks increasingly flat. In America the consumption of soda per person peaked in the late 1990s, at nearly 53 gallons per person, and has since declined to about 75% of that level. Last year volumes of Diet Coke, once seen as a fix for more health-conscious consumers, dropped by 4.3%, according to Beverage Digest, as shoppers grew wary of artificial sweeteners. Volumes of bottled water in America exceeded those of carbonated soft drinks for the first time in 2016. Soda-makers must deal with restless governments. France, Norway and the American cities of Philadelphia and Berkeley are among those with taxes on sweet drinks. Britain will introduce its own tax next year.Muhtar Kent, the CEO who preceded Mr Quincey, began to address these problems. The company is reducing sugar in some sodas, though not in original Coca-Cola. It has also invested in other types of drinks. For instance Coca-Cola recently bought AdeS, a soy drink, from Unilever, an Anglo-Dutch conglomerate. It is also developing products internally, such as Gold Peak iced tea, whose annual sales now exceed $1bn.Mr Quincey wants to speed the growth of such new offerings, as well as to bolster the firms existing products. The direction of travel is clear, he says. If we are truly doing our jobs, we will have a broader portfolio. In his prior roles Mr Quincey expanded its range of products, for example through the acquisitions of Innocent, a British maker of smoothie fruit drinks, and Jugos del Valle, a Mexican juice company. Nevertheless, soda still accounts for 70% of Coca-Colas volume. That is down from nearly 90% in 2000 but still an extremely high share. PepsiCo, Coca-Colas chief rival, has long had a more diversified portfolio of drinks and snacks.A business unit called Venturing & Emerging Brands, or VEB, is trying to find other promising new drinks. In a VEB conference room in Atlanta, shelves are stacked with bottles touting everything from fermented drinks and coconut water to hemp iced tea and an aloe vera drink with pulp. Most are not Coca-Cola brands, but the company is keeping a close eye on them. There is a tremendous amount of innovation and entry into our market, says Mr Quincey.VEB acts as a sort of venture-capital firm and incubator. Sometimes it takes a stake in an external venture-capital firm, which enables Coca-Cola to make indirect investments in young brands. In other instances the unit backs a company directly and then helps it in areas such as sourcing and distribution. For example, in 2015 it invested in Suja Life, a maker of cold-pressured juiceand increasingly Sujas Master Cleanse is, for better or worse, within an arms reach of desire. VEB is now due to expand to Asia.There are risks. Marketing has been Coca-Colas strength and whether that magic will keep its old oomph when sprinkled across dozens of brands remains to be seen. Traditional soda is usually more profitable than alternatives, says Ali Dibadj of Sanford C. Bernstein, a research firm, largely because healthier brands ingredients cost more. Bottled water has seen greater growth than any other drink, but it has particularly slim margins. Coca-Cola insists that it can broaden its portfolio, profitably, by focusing on premium drinks: for instance the companys smartwater brand is enriched with electrolytes.As for the firms traditional products, Coca-Cola is seeking higher volumes in young markets and higher profits in old ones. To propel growth in India, for example, it has developed a new bottle to keep its soda fizzy despite long and bumpy journeys. And in developed markets, where volumes are stable at best, Coca-Cola is making bubbly drinks more profitable through a mixture of higher prices and smaller packages.From investors point of view, the firms strategy is strongly reminiscent of the way in which Big Tobacco has coped with the stigmatisation of its unhealthy legacy product. To be sure, even Coca-Colas most sugary drinks are like leafy kale compared with cigarettes. Yet like tobacco firms investing in e-cigarettes and lifting the cost of packs to consumers, Coca-Cola is diversifying into healthier beverages and raising prices for its traditional drinks. The resemblance to tobacco, says Mr Dibadj, is what makes the firm such a compelling investment right nowthough not one that the companys new boss or its legions of accomplished marketers are likely to tout. "Is Coke it?"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21722231-more-governments-see-its-sugar-laden-products-scourge-coca-colas-new-boss-tries-move?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-05-18T22:46:00.000+03:00' +'62cd412333841c34ba867660e0f1eb9a7b850b70'|'Shanghai Pharma confirms interest in Stada, says no official offer'|'By Adam Jourdan - SHANGHAI SHANGHAI May 17 Chinese drugmaker Shanghai Pharmaceutical Holding Co Ltd said on Wednesday it was interested in a possible deal for Germany''s Stada Arzneimittel AG, though it had not made any official offer.German drug firm Stada, the target of a takeover bid from buyout firms Bain and Cinven that valued it at about 5.3 billion euros ($5.89 billion), said on Tuesday it had not been notified of any rival offer, following a Bloomberg report saying Shanghai Pharma was discussing a potential higher bid of about 70 euros a share along with investor Advent International."The Company had recently discussed about the possibilities of project Stada with a couple of financial investors," Shanghai Pharma said in a filing to the Hong Kong bourse, in its first public confirmation of an interest in Stada.It added that there was still "a lot of uncertainties" as to any cooperation."As at the date of this announcement, the Company has not sent any official offer," Shanghai Pharma said.Reuters reported on Monday, citing sources, that Stada had not been approached by Advent or Shanghai Pharma with a counter offer.Bain and Cinven''s offer in April of 65.28 euros per share and a dividend of 0.72 euros per Stada share had seemed to end the contest to acquire the generic drug maker.Shanghai Pharma added the reported offer price was far-fetched. "The bidding price of 70 euro per share that the media mentioned is inconsistent with the reality," it said. ($1 = 0.8998 euros) (Reporting by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/stada-arzneimitt-ma-sh-pharma-idINL4N1IJ1KS'|'2017-05-17T01:31:00.000+03:00' +'79c0175f3a3fe7f71fb56468258ab3c3e12016c5'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX ekes out gain, boosted by big banks, Bombardier'|'(Adds details on specific stocks, updates prices)* TSX up 10.68 points, or 0.07 percent, to 15,427.61* Seven of the TSX''s 10 main groups riseTORONTO, May 29 Canada''s main stock index was barely higher in morning trade on Monday, helped by boosts for several big banks that reported earnings last week and by a gain for plane and train maker Bombardier Inc.The gains were offset by a string of gold mining stocks that declined even as the price of the precious metal held near a one-month high. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp fell 1.3 percent to C$27.75 and Goldcorp Inc lost 0.8 percent to C$18.32.Bombardier rose 4.0 percent to C$2.34. BMO Capital upgraded the stock to outperform from market perform after it said on Friday it delivered its first CS300 aircraft to customer Swiss International Air Lines AG.The broader industrials group gained 0.4 percent, with Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd up 0.4 percent to C$214.67.Its rival, Canadian National Railway Co, faces the threat of a strike on Tuesday morning after the railroad announced new work rules in the midst of negotiations to replace a contract that expired last year. Its stock was off 0.2 percent at C$103.53.The financials group gained 0.2 percent, with Royal Bank of Canada rising 0.6 percent to C$94.48, Bank of Montreal gaining 0.5 to C$91.61, and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce up 0.6 percent at C$106.00.Bank of Nova Scotia, which is due to report its earnings on Tuesday, was up 0.2 percent at C$76.04.At 10:13 a.m. ET (1413 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index was up 10.68 points, or 0.07 percent, to 15,427.61. Seven of its 10 main groups moved higher, with gainers outnumbering decliners by a 1.7-to-1 ratio.Markets in China, the United States and Britain were closed for public holidays.Boyd Group Income Fund advanced 10.2 percent to C$98.88 after announcing it would purchase collision repair company Assured Automotive Inc.Husky Energy Inc shares rose 1.2 percent to C$16.35 after the oil and gas producer said it is proceeding with its $2.2 billion West White Rose project in offshore Newfoundland and Labrador. (Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by James Dalgleish)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-idINL1N1IV0EW'|'2017-05-29T12:30:00.000+03:00' +'aa2b3365e4ba887b68102b89bedab4da16ca987d'|'EMERGING MARKETS-LatAm currencies up after Trump fires FBI chief'|'By Bruno Federowski SAO PAULO, May 10 Latin American currencies strengthened on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump unexpectedly fired FBI director James Comey, fueling expectations of delays in the implementation of the government''s economic agenda. Trump has pledged to spend heavily on infrastructure and cut taxes, fostering bets on additional inflationary pressures that could force the Federal Reserve to increase interest rates faster than expected. A slower pace of rate hikes would bolster the allure of emerging market assets, which offer higher yields than their developed peers. The currencies of Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Colombia all strengthened about 1 percent, also boosted by higher prices for basic products such as iron ore, copper and oil. Crude futures rose as U.S. inventories posted their biggest weekly decline this year and on hopes of a potential output cut extension, lifting shares of Brazilian state-controlled oil company Petrleo Brasileiro SA. Petrobras, as the company is known, proposed adding a Texas refinery and a stake in an African oil exploration venture to a list of assets that it has put up for sale by the end of next year. The stock added the most points to Brazil''s benchmark Bovespa stock index, which rose 1.4 percent. Shares of Telefnica Brasil SA also ranked among the biggest gainers after the telecommunications carrier posted a 13 percent increase in recurring net income. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1605 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % Latest change change MSCI Emerging Markets 995.47 0.49 14.88 MSCI LatAm 2676.57 1.7 12.43 Brazil Bovespa 67265.95 1.49 11.69 Mexico IPC 49968.30 0.06 9.48 Chile IPSA 4826.23 0.39 16.26 Chile IGPA 24207.66 0.33 16.75 Argentina MerVal 21468.99 1.55 26.90 Colombia IGBC 10490.78 0.12 3.58 Venezuela IBC 60525.53 1.94 90.90 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.1543 0.93 3.01 Mexico peso 18.9735 1.04 9.33 Chile peso 671.8 1.00 -0.16 Colombia peso 2944.43 1.07 1.94 Peru sol 3.288 0.06 3.83 Argentina peso (interbank) 15.5500 -0.16 2.09 Argentina peso (parallel) 15.86 0.57 6.05 (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Tom Brown)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-latam-idINL1N1IC15K'|'2017-05-10T14:15:00.000+03:00' +'629189153b6995f6a8087e06a3f653bffbfe887e'|'Monte dei Paschi chairman says remains optimistic over bailout request'|'ROME Monte dei Paschi''s ( BMPS.MI ) Chairman Alessandro Falciai said on Wednesday he remained optimistic over the outcome of the Italian bank''s request for a state recapitalization needed to fill an 8.8 billion euro capital shortfall.The European Central Bank''s Chief Supervisor Daniele Nouy said on Monday a failure to review the Tuscan bank''s assets before stress tests last year was opening up "additional discussions" about the bank''s incurred losses, which can be covered only with private money.Monte dei Paschi''s state aid request needs to be authorized by the European Commission after the ECB has declared the bank viable and quantified its capital needs.Asked about Nouy''s comments, Falciai told reporters on the sidelines of an event: "I cannot help but being greatly optimistic."(Reporting by Stefano Bernabei, writing by Valentina Za)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-italy-banks-monte-dei-paschi-idINKCN18D1DA'|'2017-05-17T09:32:00.000+03:00' +'099319f183f7606c37f1a82378a38b9ccc26e558'|'Pandora Media says positioned to evaluate strategic alternatives'|'Deals - Mon May 8, 2017 - 6:31pm EDT Pandora gets KKR investment; explores strategic alternatives Pandora Media Inc ( P.N ) said on Monday that KKR & Co LP ( KKR.N ) has agreed to invest $150 million in the music streaming service, while the company explores strategic alternatives, including a sale. The company''s shares were up 3.4 percent at $10.75 in extended trading. Pandora said Richard Sarnoff, KKR''s head of media & communications private equity investing in the Americas, will join its board. "... We have positioned the company to evaluate any potential strategic alternatives, including a sale, in the 30 days before the financing is set to close," board member James Feuille said in a statement. Pandora has been urged to explore a sale by hedge fund Corvex Management LP, run by activist investor Keith Meister, after it disclosed a 9.9 percent stake in Pandora in May last year. Pandora also said that Feuille and Peter Gotcher will resign from the board, which is forming an independent committee to identify and appoint new directors. KKR will purchase $150 million in a new designated Series A convertible preferred stock of Pandora. The offering, which is not expected to close earlier than June 8, may be upsized to a total of $250 million. Pandora faces stiff competition from services such as Sweden''s Spotify, Apple Inc''s ( AAPL.O ) Apple Music, Google''s ( GOOGL.O ) Play Music and Amazon.com Inc''s ( AMZN.O ) Amazon Music Unlimited, which dominate the on-demand music service market. Centerview Partners LLC and Morgan Stanley will continue to advise the board regarding its review of strategic alternatives, Pandora said. (Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Maju Samuel) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-pandora-media-strategic-alternatives-idUSKBN1842CW'|'2017-05-09T05:35:00.000+03:00' +'ef88d22c07f114f350e36d9876500a83a49f545a'|'''I spit on you again'': Russian billionaire renews tirade against Putin rival - Business'|'The Russian billionaire and Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov has launched an embittered online attack on the anti-corruption campaigner and Vladimir Putin critic Alexei Navalny.Usmanov, who is currently trying to take full control of Arsenal, last week released an angry, personal video tirade, ending with the words: I spit on you, Alexei Navalny . On Wednesday he released a second video entitled I spit on you again.Navalny, who has announced his intention to stand against Putin in presidential elections next year, made a video earlier this year accusing the prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, of in effect receiving bribes from a number of businessmen, including Usmanov.Collapse of ruble costs Arsenals Alisher Usmanov 517m in 48 hours Read more Usmanov has promised to take Navalny to court over the bribery allegations, which he denies, and has also begun an online offensive against the opposition politician. In Usmanovs first video , which was 12 minutes long, the billionaire spoke in a quiet, calm voice but with undisguised contempt and fury. He addressed Navalny using the informal Russian you, a mark of disrespect if not used among friends.Out of the two of us, youre the criminal, said Usmanov, referring to Navalnys conviction in a court case most observers believed to be politically motivated.Usmanov owns 30% of Arsenal, and recently had a $1.3bn (1bn) bid for control of the club turned down . The businessman, born in Soviet Uzbekistan, spent six years in jail during the late Soviet period after a conviction he claims was politically motivated and which was later overturned.In his latest video, Usmanov casts doubt on Navalnys claims that the current Russian government is repressive. You call out from every street corner that you are being persecuted, that the government is ruthless. Ruthless? You spent a whole day in jail. One night, as far as I know. You spent one night in jail, and I spent six years in jail, for nothing.In fact, Navalny spent 15 days in jail last month, one of several stints behind bars, after he was detained at a protest rally in late March that drew tens of thousands of Russians to the streets. Shortly after he was released, he was doused with green fluid by assailants in Moscow and left temporarily blind in one eye. On Wednesday, a Moscow court jailed two of those detained at the protest for assaulting police officers. One of the protesters was sentenced to eight months in prison, the other 18 months.The Kremlin is wary of Navalnys ability to harness street anger and is unlikely to allow him on to the ballot next year. When travelling around the country to launch his presidential campaign, he has been insulted and assaulted by people he believes are sent by the authorities.Usmanov, however, claimed Navalnys anti-corruption investigations were born of jealousy. I feel the terrible envy of a loser and failed businessman, said Usmanov. He said he had paid huge amounts of taxes into the Russian budget, and also given a billion dollars to charity.I bought everything I own, including a lovely boat and a plane, because I live happily, unlike you. Usmanov also compared Navalny to Sharikov, a dog that takes on human form in Mikhail Bulgakovs novel Heart of a Dog.Navalny immediately posted both of Usmanovs videos to his own YouTube channel, together with his own commentary on the richest man in Russia and Britain, oligarch, and beginner video-blogger Alisher Usmanov. Navalny called on Usmanov to debate him, and said the businessman was just one of many people his Anti-Corruption Foundation was targeting. Our main targets are those who take bribes, but we also want to punish those who give them, like you.A Moscow court is due to hear Usmanovs libel case against Navalny next week.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/24/i-spit-on-you-again-alisher-usmanov-video-alexei-navalny'|'2017-05-24T23:19:00.000+03:00' +'795f064d458028c3bf7a7020a9c76c7b1e1d41e1'|'Brazil''s CSN delays first-quarter results pending accounting review'|'SAO PAULO May 15 Brazilian steelmaker Companhia Siderrgica Nacional SA on Monday said it would delay release of first-quarter results due to an ongoing accounting review, according to a statement.The accounting review, related to a transaction from November 2015 that resulted in the combination of certain mining and logistical operations of CSN, is still incomplete, the company said.According to unaudited information released by the company, CSN posted net sales 15 percent higher at 4.4 billion reais ($1.42 billion) last quarter, it said without elaborating.Sales of steel products fell 4 percent from a year ago to 1.19 million tonnes while iron ore sales slumped 13 percent to 7.2 million tonnes, CSN said.The company did not give a timeline to release full-year 2016 and first-quarter audited results. ($1 = 3.1094 reais) (Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/csn-results-idUSL2N1II00W'|'2017-05-16T08:34:00.000+03:00' +'cbf159e0df31a75b68bb559497fed7c799f58f74'|'Elliott willing to back BHP board candidate as next chairman: source'|'SYDNEY Elliott Management is willing to back a board member of BHP Billiton ( BHP.AX ) ( BLT.L ) to be its chairman upon the retirement of Jac Nasser despite deep reservations about its top management, a source close to the activist shareholder said on Thursday.Elliott, founded by billionaire Paul Singer, is pushing for a $46 billion overhaul at BHP that includes spin offs, dismantling a corporate structure built on dual listings in London and Sydney and returning more money to shareholders. The Anglo-Australian miner has rejected the demands.The activist investor blames Nasser and BHP''s top management for what it sees as bad investments by the world''s biggest mining house, particularly in U.S. shale gas, the source said.But Elliott believes "there are personalities on the board that are talented and capable", with the "potential for someone to be selected from the existing board", the source said.It is unclear what impact Elliott''s backing or opposition to a particular candidate will have on the chairman''s appointment.Elliott has been meeting with major BHP shareholders since going public with its restructuring proposals on April 10 to gauge support for change at the company.Australian media have reported that Westpac Bank ( WBC.AX ) chairman Lindsay Maxsted, former investment banker Carolyn Hewson, Orica ( ORI.AX ) chairman Malcolm Broomhead and former Origin Energy ( ORG.AX ) managing director Grant King are among the potential frontrunners to succeed Nasser.The source declined to name any preferred candidates from inside BHP, saying this could be "the kiss of death" for their chances.BHP has not commented on the potential candidates for succession. It did not immediately comment when contacted on Thursday about the source''s observations on Elliott.Elliott holds just over 4 percent of the London-listed shares, short of the 5 percent needed to call a shareholders'' meeting.Nasser, a former chief executive of Ford Motor Co ( F.N ) who has led BHPs board since 2010, has labeled Elliott''s plan "flawed." He announced in September he would not seek re-election at the next shareholders'' meeting.Sydney-based Tribeca Investment Partners last week became the second BHP shareholder to push publicly for changes, calling for an overhaul of its board and for Chief Executive Andrew Mackenzie to be fired.Elliott says adopting its approach could unlock as much as $46 billion in additional value for BHP shareholders. Demerging BHPs U.S. petroleum business could release up to $15 billion, it says, with share buybacks and the use of tax credits to deliver the rest."If you look at this trend of under performance over the past seven or eight years, it does correlate fairly well with the chairman, the CEO and the CFO," the source said. "This is not to say they are the entire reason, but leadership starts and ends at the top."The source said Elliott was unlikely to initiate legal action anytime soon against the current board over perceived deficiencies in their management, despite the company''s long history of courtroom battles with adversaries, choosing instead to win over BHP shareholders to its strategy.(Reporting by James Regan; Additional reporting by Jamie Freed and Sonali Paul; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-bhp-billiton-elliott-chairman-idUSKBN18717S'|'2017-05-11T18:21:00.000+03:00' +'2d6862da2d3eb1d245b0fc5f2e6116ecdff2b224'|'UPDATE 1-Hilton beats profit estimates, raises full-year earnings forecast'|' 30am EDT UPDATE 1-Hilton beats profit estimates, raises full-year earnings forecast (Adds details) May 2 Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc, the owner of the Waldorf Astoria luxury hotel chain, reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, and raised its full-year profit forecast, as more people booked rooms at its hotels at higher prices. Hilton, which owns the Conrad and Double Tree hotels, said on Tuesday it now expects 2017 earnings of $1.73-$1.81 per share, up from a prior forecast of $1.65-$1.75 per share. Analysts on average were expecting 2017 earnings of $1.74 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Hilton reiterated its forecast for 2017 RevPAR (Revenue Per Available Room) growth of 1-3 percent. RevPAR, a key measure of hotel health, is calculated by multiplying a hotel''s average daily room rate by its occupancy rate. Virginia-based Hilton''s average daily rate for rooms rose 0.6 percent to $141.55 in the first quarter ended March 31, while occupancy climbed 1.6 percentage points to 70.9 percent. Net income attributable to Hilton stockholders was $74 million, or 22 cents per share, in the quarter. The company reported net income of $309 million, or 94 cents per share, a year earlier, reflecting $119 million of discontinued operations. The fall in net income is partly attributable to the spin-offs of Hilton''s real estate and timeshare businesses, which closed in January. Excluding one-time items, Hilton earned 38 cents per share, beating analysts'' average expectation of 28 cents. Revenue jumped 25.2 percent to $2.16 billion. Analysts on average had expected revenue of $2.06 billion. (Reporting by Radhika Rukmangadhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/hilton-wrldwide-results-idUSL4N1I42SQ'|'2017-05-02T18:30:00.000+03:00' +'b21ebd97a917565f11b9e7e02a6a7eaebe68d500'|'BT to cut 4,000 jobs in restructuring after challenging year'|'LONDON BT, Britain''s biggest telecoms group, said it would shake up its global service division that serves multinationals and scale back its dividend growth ambitions as it recovers from an accounting scandal in Italy and a profit warning.Reporting fourth-quarter revenue of 6.12 billion pounds, up 10 percent, and adjusted earnings of 2.07 billion pounds, up 2 percent and broadly in line with forecasts, the company said it had had a "challenging year".It said it would cut 4,000 jobs from its Global Services unit, group functions and technology operations, taking a restructuring charge of 300 million pounds.It paid a final dividend of 10.55 pence, up 10 percent, but said dividend growth in 2017/18 would be lower than the 10 percent it had previously targeted.(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Kate Holton)FILE PHOTO: The logo of BT is seen outside the headquarters in Milan, Italy January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini/File Photo'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/bt-group-results-idINKBN18715A'|'2017-05-11T07:52:00.000+03:00' +'76d46285873e7ffdb989f0321edb97a0ffe29f24'|'Ubisoft more attractive for Vivendi as shares fall'|'By Wout Vergauwen A slide in Ubisoft''s ( UBIP.PA ) shares on Wednesday has revived talk of a takeover by media giant Vivendi ( VIV.PA ), worrying the video game company''s founding Guillemot family which has so far rejected any possibility of such a deal.The maker of the Assassin''s Creed and South Park video game series fears poor results could weaken its defense strategy and make it easier for Vivendi to persuade investors to back a takeover, a source close to the company said."We are well aware that Bollore has been waiting for a stumbling block to step in," the source said, referring to Vivendi''s billionaire chairman Vincent Bollore.Vivendi first bought a stake in Ubisoft in 2015 and raised it in 2016, prompting the Guillemot family to court Canadian investors to fend off any hostile approach. By the end of last year Vivendi had boosted its holding to 25 percent.Ubisoft shares fell as much as 7.9 percent on Wednesday, after the French company cut its mid-term sales forecasts. The company also said it still considered the best way to create value was to remain independent.Ubisoft shares were down 2.7 percent at 47.4 euros as at 1200 GMT (8 a.m. ET).Another person familiar with the situation said on Wednesday that the drop in price was probably not enough for Vivendi to make a bid as Ubisoft shares were still up 40 percent since the start of the year, partly on expectations of a Vivendi approach.The source also dismissed the likelihood of any merger approach in the near term, saying it was still "early days".Kepler Cheuvreux analyst Charles-Louis Scotti said time was on Vivendi''s side. He said if Ubisoft does meet it''s full-year targets, Vivendi''s investment would produce a very positive return. But if Ubisoft falls short, it would end up being a cheaper acquisition for Bollore''s media giant."The ideal window of opportunity for a transaction on Ubisoft is later on this year, or early next year," Bryan, Garnier & Co analyst Richard-Maxime Beaudoux said, also adding that time was on Vivendi''s side in its pursuit of Ubisoft.(Reporting by Wout Vergauwen; additional reporting by Sophie Sassard in London; editing by David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-ubisoft-m-a-vivendi-idINKCN18D1HJ'|'2017-05-17T10:18:00.000+03:00' +'84f8cea5fd0aa9a36c482252e87d2cb85c345d1f'|'Pubs operator JD Wetherspoon reports higher sales, warns on costs'|'Business 7:28am BST Pubs operator JD Wetherspoon reports higher sales, warns on costs British pubs group JD Wetherspoon warned of "significantly higher" costs in the second half of the year and said it remained cautious, while reporting quarterly comparable sales growth of 4 percent. The owner and operator of more than 900 pubs in Britain and Ireland said third-quarter like-for-like sales for the 13 weeks to April 23 increased by 4 percent, higher than the 3.8 percent advance seen last year. The company, however, said it expects slightly improved trading outcome for the year compared with previous expectations. (Reporting by Rahul B and Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru; editing by Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-j-d-wetherspoon-outlook-idUKKBN17Z0EO'|'2017-05-03T14:28:00.000+03:00' +'8c1f51be1732d683354a86e152a6bbb100fd0142'|'Routine update: Shuffle off, Bollywood: its time for Tollywood and Kollywood'|'ALL you need for a movie is a girl, a gun, lots of singing, melodrama and never-ending dance sequences. Or so a big chunk of the Indian audience believes. But Bollywood, the cosmopolitan Hindi-language film hub that is the spiritual home of the song-and-dance routine, has been bested by an upstart rival. Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, a fantasy epic shot mainly in two southern Indian languages, has smashed the countrys box-office records. Once in Bollywoods shadow, the likes of Kollywood and Tollywood are coming into their own.India puts out around 1,500-2,000 films a year, according to industry estimates, more than anywhere else in the world. Hindi fare of the sort Bollywood cranks out from Mumbai makes up less than a fifth of that, but accounts for 43% of national box-office takings, which are worth around $2bn. That leaves a long tail of regional films, which must split around $1bn across 1,000-plus releases shot in 20 different languages. With an average take of well below $1m, few emerge from obscurity. Baahubali 2 certainly has. A Lord of the Rings-style adventure heavy on computer graphics and bulging muscles (the title-characters name translates as the one with strong arms), it is the first Indian film to break through the 10bn rupee ($156m) mark for worldwide box-office takings. That is a respectable performance even by international standards. It is now in its fourth week in the top ten biggest grossers in America.Such numbers are not typical of either Kollywood (the Tamil-language industry in Tamil Nadu, which is based in a neighbourhood of Chennai called Kodambakkam) or Tollywood (which makes Telugu films in nearby Telangana), which both claim Baahubali 2 as their own. Provincial cinema is known for artier fare, where costs are low and returns steady.Yet southern India is fertile territory for film-makers. Its 260m inhabitants are richer than the national average, and prefer content in regional languages to Hindi, Bollywoods lingua franca. Ageing cinemas bulge to breaking-point: audiences turn into cheering spectators and drown out the dialogues. Living superstars have temples named after them; fans bathe huge garlanded cut-outs of actors with milk to pray for their films success. Pre-screening rituals include burning camphor inside a sliced pumpkin before smashing it near the big screen to bring good luck. It is unsurprising that five of Tamil Nadus eight chief ministers have been film stars or scriptwriters.By contrast Bollywood is seen by many as being in a bit of a funk, having recycled the same handful of stars on one too many occasions. The past two years have seen many expensive flops. Because regional cinema has no actors with so much nationwide recognition, scriptwriters work harder to craft compelling storiesthe best of which increasingly get remade in Hindi. The two south Indian film industries will soon overtake Bollywood, says Shibasish Sarkar of Reliance Entertainment, a big non-Hindi producer. They already have a combined 36% at the box office. Baahubali 3, anyone? "Routine update"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21722222-baahubali-2-conclusion-putting-film-making-southern-india-map-shuffle?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-05-18T22:46:00.000+03:00' +'bf0b5a904aa1655bd972b60e4bbca237c70800a3'|'Hungary base rate could be unchanged to 2019 or beyond: Nagy - Reuters'|'BUDAPEST Hungary''s base rate could remain unchanged until 2019 or even longer, central bank deputy governor Marton Nagy told Reuters on Tuesday, adding that inflationary expectations were anchored at a very low level despite strong wage growth.The National Bank of Hungary (NBH) left its rate at a record low of 0.9 percent earlier in the day and said it intended to maintain the current level and loose monetary conditions "for an extended period."Nagy said analysts'' expectations in a Reuters poll that the base rate could stay unchanged until early 2019 was realistic."But I think that this can be even longer than that, even the end of 2019 or even 2020 but the market decides where it expects the base rate to go," Nagy said at the Reuters Central & Eastern Europe Investment Summit.Central banks in the European Union''s eastern wing have kept monetary policy loose for years.Instead of focusing only on the base rate, Nagy said the NBH looks at overall monetary conditions, including interbank rates, short-term yields and implied forint yields on the swap market.He noted that markets had priced out an increase in Budapest interbank rates over a one-year horizon after the bank communicated loose monetary conditions for an extended period.Reducing the stock of the bank''s three-month deposits and currency swap deals have emerged as its main tools to curb market interest rates and make bank loans cheaper.Nagy said that in order to maintain loose monetary conditions, the bank had to squeeze out about 300 to 400 billion forints of funds from its deposit tool into the economy each quarter by capping deposits and/or using its swaps to pump liquidity into the system.Nagy also said that downward risks in inflation have strengthened since March."Inflation expectations are at historically-low levels and they have stayed there despite the wage rises," he added."The inflation target is 3 percent, and there is a tolerance range around it, but here the lasting impacts matter. So if inflation rises above 3 percent in a lasting way, then this issue becomes interesting," he added. The bank expects inflation to reach its target sustainably from the first half of 2018.Nagy also said the bank would be closely watching when the European Central Bank starts tapering."Another important thing is whether the central banks of neighboring countries start (tightening)," he added."Our relative position within the region is important."(Reporting by Krisztina Than and Gergely Szakacs; editing by Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/summits'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cee-summit-nagy-idUSKBN18J2K0'|'2017-05-23T21:27:00.000+03:00' +'d840a814821e682249dfecd440f46113280587d4'|'Nigerian oil labour union suspends Exxon Mobil strike in Rivers state - Reuters'|'YENAGOA, Nigeria May 20 A Nigerian labour union that had called for the shutdown of all Exxon Mobil Corp facilities in the Niger Delta has suspended its strike at its Rivers state branch in the oil production hub, two union representatives said on Saturday.Reuters had been unable to verify independently whether members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) had shut the company''s facilities in the region on Friday, and oil industry sources said there was no impact on production."The strike has been suspended," said Chika Onuegbu, who represents PENGASSAN in Rivers state.Onuegbu and a senior PENGASSAN official, who also said the strike in Rivers state had been suspended but did not want to be identified, said the move followed a ruling by an industrial arbitration panel.Nigerian labour unions have held a number of strikes in the last few months over the dismissal of oil industry workers.The latest industrial action was in protest at the sacking of 150 workers in December, of which 82 were PENGASSAN members.Strikes by Exxon workers in Nigeria at the end of last year did affect output, delaying loadings by weeks.(Reporting by Tife Owolabi and Alexis Akwagyiram in Lagos; Editing by Dale Hudson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/nigeria-oil-idINL8N1IM0SE'|'2017-05-20T16:56:00.000+03:00' +'9ec4ef6cd17cb670483078cf024c91f5bfb46805'|'Neurofeedback Could Fight Depressionor Just Empty Your Wallet'|'Things went sideways in the brain room.Neurocore LLCs newest office, housed in a strip mall in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., looks like an Apple Store crossed with an outpatient clinic. The company, owned in part by U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, is one of the nations largest providers of neurofeedback, part of the fast-growing $2 billion brain-training market. Neurocore says technicians at its nine offices in Florida and Michigan can analyze the electrical impulses in your head to improve cognitive performance, diagnose attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and provide a lasting solution for depression with a series of 40-minute training sessions (30 for $2,200). For what its worth, my $250 initial assessment had at least one big glitch.In a carpeted exam room, a technician stretched a blue cap over my head and attached 19 electrodes capable of recording an electroencephalogram (EEG), essentially a map of brain activity. With my skull coated in a cool gel, I concentrated on being calm (eyes closed), then focused (staring at a fixed point), as directed by a second technician. About a half-hour later, a clinical specialist presented the EEG results and said the assessment had revealed certain excesses and deficiencies compared with the average 35-year-old. During the day, youre a little drowsy, she said, referring to a pool of blue in one region of the brain. Elsewhere, bright blotches of red and orange meant trouble focusing.Then we went to the brain room, a cylindrical space lit dimly in blue, where clients watch DVDs while wired to brain- and heart-scanning equipment. There, another clinician burst in to apologize: Her colleague had shown me the wrong brain map. You look a little bit more normal, the first technician amended after reviewing my actual results. Attention and focus is still a problem for you. She suggested Id still see benefits from training sessions, in which I could try to tune up my brain activity by watching DVDs while concentrating on my focus and breathing. But the mixup left me wondering if the data could be interpreted to mean anything.Ordinarily, Neurocore and its rivals say, neurofeedback offers cognitive benefits well beyond crossword puzzles and classical music. The basic science is credible: Different brain patterns, like those reflecting arousal and attentiveness, can be monitored via EEG. Its much less clear whether neurofeedback can truly train people to focus or be happieror whether it has any real long-term effects besides a lighter wallet. A paper published last year in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest found little to back up claims of lasting benefits from such sessions.You would get laughed out of the ballpark if you tried to propose a medical treatment with evidence like this. Stanfords Russ PoldrackTheres simply not good evidence, says Zach Hambrick, a cognitive psychologist at Michigan State University who co-authored the paper. People get better at the task itself, he says, but that doesnt necessarily translate to everyday life. Neurofeedback companies marketing claims tend to remain imprecise enough to be considered acceptable puffery, he adds.Neurocore says it stands by its claims that it can help people optimize their brains with exercises designed to treat ADHD, anxiety, depression, migraines, sleep disorders, stress, and the symptoms of autism. In March the company published a study of 163 clients with reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression after two to six months of training. The study, however, lacked a control group, and all its authors were affiliated with Neurocore.You would get laughed out of the ballpark if you tried to propose a medical treatment with evidence like this, says Russ Poldrack, a psychologist and the director of the Stanford Center for Reproducible Neuroscience. The lack of a control group basically makes the paper useless from the start. Neurocore acknowledges that the study had no control group.Neurocore, originally called Hope 139, was co-founded in 2004 by Tim Royer, a psychologist. Royer has performed EEG assessments on children enrolled at private Christian schools, according to the Grand Rapids Press , and continues to work with professional athletes. Neurocores website says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared brainwave testing for ADHD, and Rob Trube, vice president for marketing, says, We wouldnt be posting it if we didnt feel like it was valid.But even some EEG device makers and neurofeedback advocates say Neurocore is overselling its treatment based on narrowly positive results. Their marketing is more aggressive than what the science can support, says Howard Merry, president of device maker Neba Health LLC, which has the only FDA-approved EEG assessment aid for diagnosing ADHD. He says hes never sold equipment to Neurocore. Leslie Sherlin, president-elect of the International Society for Neurofeedback and Research, says the field has a wide range of behavioral and mental health applications, but the medical standards must be implemented by trained professionals. When were just out there, you know, reading it like a horoscope, then that sets everyone up for failure, he says.Despite the lack of rigorous scientific evidence, many people want to believe cognitive enhancement is possible. Alvaro Fernandez, chief executive officer of SharpBrains, a market-research firm in San Francisco, says the largest slice of last years growth in the brain-training market came from companies specializing in consumer gadgets. It gives people hope, says Michigan States Hambrick. Some are convinced by their own experiences with neurofeedback. Jeff Clark says his son, Sam, whom doctors diagnosed with autism, benefited greatly from training with $6,000 in EEG equipment. (He didnt use Neurocore.) In 2008, Sam spent two months training daily with the gear at home for about an hour at a time, honing his focus by watching videos that only played when the EEG indicated he was calm. Afterward, he stopped taking Ritalin and Prozac and began to regularly interact with his family for the first time in years.His father says this was the first step toward greater self-sufficiency. Sam, now 23, drives himself to his maintenance job at the same regional hospital where Jeff works. I dont think this is the perfect solution, and I know its not the solution for everybody, but we got our son back, the elder Clark says.Stanfords Poldrack says its tough to say whether people like the Clarks are isolated examples, because we dont even really know what the placebo effect looks like for these types of training. While neurofeedback may have its uses, he says, overzealous claims end up polluting the world with treatments that dont actually have a basis in science.The bottom line: Theres some scientific basis for neurofeedback training, but evidence for its benefits in treating ADHD or depression is mixed.'|'bloomberg.com'|'https://www.bloomberg.com/businessweek'|'http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-18/neurofeedback-could-fight-depression-or-just-empty-your-wallet'|'2017-05-19T01:49:00.000+03:00' +'251fcccde489111fe821352ad5d10222426587be'|'British Airways owner IAG points to pricing upturn after record first quarter'|'Fri May 5, 2017 - 10:47am BST BA owner IAG points to pricing upturn after record first quarter British Airways logos are seen on tailfins at Heathrow Airport in west London, Britain May 12, 2011. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo By Alistair Smout - LONDON LONDON British Airways owner IAG ( ICAG.L ) joined other European carriers in giving a more upbeat assessment on pricing after it posted record first-quarter results on Friday, helping to boost its shares. Airlines have suffered from years of falling ticket prices, but European carriers are seeing signs of a turnaround as the decline in fares slows. IAG said it expects quarterly revenue per passenger mile flown to register its first year-on-year increase since 2014 in the second quarter. Though that measure of sales relative to flight capacity was down 3.1 percent at constant currency in the first quarter, Chief Executive Willie Walsh said the performance since last year has been encouraging. "What we''re seeing is that trend, which was an issue commented on by a lot of airlines. We''re seeing an improving trend and it''s moving faster than we would have expected," Walsh said. The comments by IAG, which also owns Iberia, Vueling and Aer Lingus, chime with recent assessments by Air France ( AIRF.PA ) and Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ), which have also said that the pricing environment and bookings are improving heading into the summer. IAG''s first-quarter operating profit before exceptional items came in at 170 million euros ($186.6 million), up 9.7 percent and well ahead of a Reuters forecast of 140.5 million euros. Total revenue fell by 2.8 percent but was slightly ahead of expectations, helped by the improvement in pricing. Profit was also lifted by falling costs. Total unit costs at constant currency were down 2.9 percent and Walsh said the group had been able to control costs within its power while also benefiting from lower fuel prices. Shares in IAG rose 5 percent to their highest since January 2016. Some airlines struggled in 2016, with many Britain-focused carriers giving profit warnings in response to the country''s vote to leave the European Union. IAG, which last year cut its results guidance because of the fall in sterling after the Brexit referendum, said there was again an adverse currency exchange impact of 32 million euros in the quarter from the translation of sterling profit into euros. (Editing by David Goodman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-iag-results-idUKKBN1810UM'|'2017-05-05T17:05:00.000+03:00' +'e8188d2cc2eae47e7bffa138bd86ac77783e3c76'|'Parts of ECB''s policy guidance may evolve - Praet'|'Business News - Thu May 4, 2017 - 12:21pm BST Parts of ECB''s policy guidance may evolve - Praet FILE PHOTO -- European Central Bank Executive Board member Peter Praet speaks during a meeting in Madrid, Spain, March 27, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Medina/File Photo FRANKFURT Parts of the European Central Bank''s policy guidance can change over time but not the projected sequence of future steps or their dependence on a sustained rise in inflation, ECB chief economist Peter Praet said on Thursday. "These fundamental features of our forward guidance have a clear logic," Praet said in Brussels. "All other features of our forward guidance are of a parametric nature and can be recalibrated depending on incoming data." He added: "In June, we will be able to draw on a more expanded information set than is available today, organised around new projections and including an updated assessment of the distribution of risks surrounding the economic outlook." (Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Francesco Canepa)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-praet-idUKKBN1801BK'|'2017-05-04T19:21:00.000+03:00' +'797625d62573c7428dd9287226fd4355cd85c85e'|'''Words and no facts'' so far from foreign investors as Iran votes on Rouhani'|'Middle East & North Africa 41pm BST ''Words and no facts'' so far from foreign investors as Iran votes on Rouhani left right Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh speaks to reporters at the Islamic Republics petroleum ministry in Tehran, Iran April 29, 2017. Picture taken April 29, 2017. REUTERS/Alissa De Carbonnel 1/2 left right European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Canete is seen at a joint press conference with Iranian Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian at the Islamic Republic energy ministry in Tehran, Iran April 29, 2017. Picture taken April 29, 2017. REUTERS/Alissa De Carbonnel 2/2 TEHRAN Desperate to show off the rewards of his landmark deal to get sanctions lifted from Iran, President Hassan Rouhani has rolled out the red carpet for global investors before he faces the voters in an election next week. But so far the executives jetting into town have made more speeches than deals. "If at the end of the day, it is only words and no facts, there''s a problem," Stephane Michel, French oil major Total''s president for exploration and production in North Africa and the Middle East said at an EU-Iran oil and gas forum last month. "We are trying to make it work," he said on the sidelines of the forum hosted in Tehran''s cavernous energy ministry, where speaker after speaker hailed the potential of Iran''s vast oil and gas reserves. Total has been poised to be the first European energy major to put real money into Iran since sanctions were lifted: a $2 billion deal to help develop South Pars 11, part of the world''s largest gas fields. In the wake of Rouhani''s deal with global powers to curb Iran''s nuclear programme in return for the lifting of sanctions, international energy firms reached more than a dozen agreements with Tehran last year to conduct oil and gas field studies. But none has yet turned into a contract to invest. At least one potential investor has decided the prize is not worth the risk for now: oilfield services firm Schlumberger said last month it was ending an agreement for an oilfield study. Rouhani''s government points the finger for its failure to attract international billions squarely at Iran''s oldest foe, the "Great Satan" United States. The U.S. government is required by Congress to certify every 90 days that Iran is abiding by the 2015 nuclear deal or sanctions can be reimposed. Washington has also left some financial sanctions in place that have prevented Iranian banks from joining the international financial system. And has called the nuclear accord the "worst deal ever signed", leaving companies to worry about the prospect he could abruptly pull out of it altogether. "The major thing is the political limitation for them and pressure on them in the United States," Iran''s oil minister, Bijan Zanganeh, told reporters in Tehran on April 29, explaining why European oil majors have yet to invest. "I hope the European Union supports companies." OTHER RISKS Those who do business in Iran say that they have to put escape clauses into contracts making clear that any agreement could be revoked if sanctions suddenly return. "All our contracts are water-tight," said one Tehran-based businessman. "Put yourself in the shoes of the Iranians ... We tell them, ''We have the right to pull out in twenty-four hours.'' It adds a layer of suspicion to already complex relationships." Oil companies have been asking for waivers from Washington to guarantee that any investments they make now would be protected if the United States reimposes sanctions in the future. Michel cited the wait for such a waiver as one of the main issues holding up Total''s investment. But privately, executives also cite many other risks closer to home in Iran itself: a lack of transparency, skeletal banking system, red tape and the chance that Rouhani himself and his pragmatist faction could be sidelined in next week''s election by hardliners, who are sceptical of his moves to open the country. In addition to holding up their deals while they wait for guarantees from Washington, the big oil companies are also holding out for more enticing commercial terms from Tehran. That, in turn, could depend on Rouhani winning not only re-election but also a decisive enough mandate to keep his hardline opponents in check. He faces a slate of challengers mostly from hardline factions in the first round of polling on May 19, with a second round a week later if no candidate wins more than 50 percent of votes cast. Companies like Total and Italy''s Eni last invested in Iran in the 1990s under short-duration contracts lasting 3-5 years, which offered such poor terms that they lost money. They have made clear that they will come back only if Tehran can offer a better deal this time. Rouhani''s government is working on a new framework called the Iran Petroleum Contract, or IPC, that would permit foreign investors to form joint ventures lasting up to 25 years, with greater assurance that they will recoup their costs. However, not a single IPC deal has so far been approved. The new model has generated criticism from parliamentarians and government hardliners, who see it as an attempt to sell resources for cheap to the West. Many of Rouhani''s opponents enjoy the support of the Revolutionary Guards Corps, a powerful military force that also has a vast business empire and is reluctant to see competition from Western investors. Iran''s self-imposed deadline for the signing of the first IPC has slipped by more than a year, with Western industry sources saying it has been complicated in part by internal Iranian tensions between the reformists and hardliners. "We are still waiting the final decision ... to look carefully at the new IPC and how this new IPC will be applied," ENI vice president Lapo Pistelli told forum attendees in Tehran. The biggest choke point for big-ticket investors is the refusal of big Western banks to risk U.S. restrictions or the snap back of sanctions if Iran violates the deal. While some smaller banks are forging ties, Iran is a long way from international financial standards. Agreeing on a dispute settlement mechanism is another hurdle to sealing deals. If Western firms prove too wary, Iran could seek its investment elsewhere, from Asian or Russian companies that may not have as much technical sophistication as the big Western oil majors, but appear less put off by the risks. More than half of the 29 companies allowed to bid for Iran''s much-anticipated first tender on oil and gas projects are from Asia or Russia. "They can get a cheap solution from the Chinese or an off-the-shelf one from the Russians," one EU diplomat said. "That''s not a long-term solution, but it might be what they''re left with." Ebra Gohari, partner at a Tehran-based consultancy, Parisa Business, said: "Europeans have the cutting edge technology, but that''s not everything because of the legal, financial and political issues they face." "We haven''t had this problem with Korean or Chinese investors," he added. (Additional reporting by Ron Bousso and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin Nouri in London; Writing by Alissa de Carbonnel; Editing by Peter Graff)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iran-election-energy-idUKKBN1872FV'|'2017-05-12T00:34:00.000+03:00' +'2e69bafeb30d1170286571a59e7f3aadf7688627'|'Italy court to take on consumer group class action against Volkswagen'|'Autos 2:42pm BST Italy court to take on consumer group class action against Volkswagen VW Golf cars are pictured in a production line at the plant of German carmaker Volkswagen in Wolfsburg, March 9, 2017. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer MILAN A court in Venice will hear a class action suit filed in Italy for damages against German carmaker Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) over the dieselgate emissions fraud, an Italian consumer group said on Thursday. Consumer group Altroconsumo said in a statement the suit it had filed on behalf of consumers had been accepted by the court for all Volkswagen brands including Audi, Skoda and Seat. In June last year, a Venice appeals court had accepted another class action suit from Altroconsumo over allegations the German carmaker had understated the fuel consumption of its Golf model. That suit was filed in September 2014 before the dieselgate scandal broke. Volkswagen admitted in 2015 some of its vehicles had been fitted with defeat devices allowing them to get round emissions laws during testing. The company is already facing a number of lawsuits and investigations in relation to the emissions scandal. VW was not immediately available to comment. (Reporting by Stephen Jewkes. Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-volkswagen-emissions-italy-idUKKBN18L1U4'|'2017-05-25T21:42:00.000+03:00' +'0c12cc3926de54d815024504e552bc56eff2cd5f'|'Brazil''s JBS holds first board meeting after scandal on Friday- sources'|'Market News 10pm EDT Brazil''s JBS holds first board meeting after scandal on Friday- sources By Rodrigo Viga Gaier - RIO DE JANEIRO RIO DE JANEIRO May 25 Brazil''s JBS SA, the world''s largest meatpacker, will hold on Friday its first board meeting since its owners admitted to bribing scores of politicians, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday. The plea-bargain testimony of JBS executives, including brothers Joesley and Wesley Batista, chairman and chief Executive officer respectively, was made public last week and sparked a political crisis that threatens to topple Brazilian President Michel Temer. The Batistas face criticism from minority shareholders who demand that they resign from their posts, said one of the sources, who asked for anonymity to speak freely. JBS has faced criticism from Brazilian consumers and its shares are down 13.6 percent since the release of the Batistas'' plea deal depositions to prosecutors. The stock spiked on Thursday on speculation over its strategy for weathering the fallout from the corruption scandal. "The company has been facing a backlash and it''s advisable the brothers leave the company", said the source, who is close to the shareholders'' discussions. Joesley resigned last Tuesday from his board post at Alpargatas SA, maker of Havaianas flip flops. The company is controlled by the Batista''s holding company J&F Investimentos, which is negotiating a leniency agreement with Brazilian prosecutors. J&F''s proposal to pay a $1.2 billion fine was rejected by the prosecutors'' office on Wednesday In the board meeting, representatives of shareholders will insist that JBS should not be responsible for bearing the burden of the fine. "Minority shareholders won''t fetch the bill for something they didn''t do", the source added. Brazil''s development bank BNDES, whose investment arm BNDESPar is the second largest JBS shareholder, said it is analyzing possible measures related to the Batistas. Press representatives for JBS declined to comment. ($1 = 3.2731 reais) (Additional reporting by Tatiana Bautzer; Editing by Andrew Hay)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-corruption-jbs-idUSL1N1IR253'|'2017-05-26T09:10:00.000+03:00' +'5a757d79a19194fb2178005bf152a6187a5b48c6'|'Singapore sovereign fund GIC pares UBS stake at a loss'|'ZURICH Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Private Limited, which invested in UBS ( UBSG.S ) to support it during the 2008/09 global financial crisis, said it has cut its stake in the Swiss bank at a loss, partly because of changes in the lender''s strategy and business.GIC, which manages more than $100 billion globally, said it has reduced its stake to 2.7 percent from 5.1 percent."GIC made the UBS sale despite the loss because conditions have changed fundamentally since GIC invested in UBS in February 2008, as have UBS'' strategy and business," Lim Chow Kiat, chief executive of GIC, said in a statement issued on Monday."It makes sense now for GIC to reduce its ownership of UBS and to redeploy these resources elsewhere," he said.The fund said, however, that its investment in U.S. bank Citigroup Inc ( C.N ), also made at the height of the global financial crisis, was in the black and that combined returns for UBS and Citi were positive in "mark-to-market terms."GIC measures its performance on an overall portfolio basis, based on long term rather than annual returns.GIC is keeping its profitable investment in Citi."We remain a shareholder of Citibank. As with all our investments, we continue to manage our position based on our assessment of the fair value of Citigroup and other investment opportunities," a GIC spokeswoman said in an email to Reuters on Tuesday.The sovereign fund had reduced its stake in Citi to under 5 percent in 2009 from over 9 percent but didn''t disclose subsequent holdings.Reuters data on Monday showed GIC was not listed as among the top 50 Citi shareholdersUBS, the world''s biggest wealth manager, said separately on Monday GIC intended to place up to 93 million existing shares in UBS Group through a sale to institutional investors.Shares of the Swiss bank closed 1.3 percent lower at 16.61 Swiss francs after the news, which unusually came during trading hours.At the closing price, 93 million shares would be worth 1.54 billion Swiss francs ($1.55 billion).GIC, owned by the government of Singapore, was one of the first sovereign funds to pump billions into Western banks, which were rocked by the financial crisis and suffered deep losses.Singapore took a 9 percent stake in UBS in 2007 via an emergency capital injection when UBS unveiled $10 billion worth of subprime writedowns. UBS said at that time that GIC would invest 11 billion francs.The sovereign fund converted its 11 billion franc investment in UBS notes into shares in 2010.Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore''s first prime minister, who ruled the city-state for three decades and was formerly the chairman of GIC, said in 2009 that the sovereign fund had invested "too early" in global banks such as Citigroup and UBS. Lee died in 2015.UBS''s website listing of major shareholders said that Singapore as the owner of GIC had held a stake of 7.07 percent as of December 2014.GIC Private Limited and its associates have agreed to a 90-day lockup period for the remaining UBS shares, UBS said.UBS Investment Bank is acting as placement agent on the sale.(Reporting by Michael Shields in Zurich and Koh Gui Qing in New York; Additional reporting by Anshuman Daga in Singapore; Editing by Steve Orlofsky & Simon Cameron-Moore)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/ubs-gic-idINKCN18C02Z'|'2017-05-16T09:22:00.000+03:00' +'6c07a629409a0a71f97db42b4c5d2dfd5c35201d'|'U.S. economy ambles on but few signs of inflation pressures: Fed'|'Central Banks 7:14pm BST U.S. economy ambles on but few signs of inflation pressures: Fed Flags fly over the Federal Reserve Headquarters on a windy day in Washington, U.S., May 26, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque WASHINGTON The U.S. economy expanded at a modest to moderate pace from early April through late May but showed little sign of breaking out of a recent trend of sluggish inflation, a survey conducted by the Federal Reserve showed on Wednesday. "On balance, pricing pressures were little changed from the prior report," the central bank said in its Beige Book report of the economy derived from anecdotal evidence provided by business contacts nationwide. The Fed has begun to quicken the pace of interest rate hikes on an improving economy after years of rates held near zero in the aftermath of the financial crisis. The U.S. unemployment rate - currently at 4.4 percent - is at a near 10-year low. Policymakers raised rates in December 2015 and again a year later, and have forecast three rate hikes in 2017. They raised rates in March and could do so again as early as their next policy meeting in two weeks time. Influential Fed Governor Lael Brainard said on Tuesday a rate rise "likely will be appropriate soon," although she and some other Fed officials remain concerned about stilted progress on inflation meeting the Fed''s 2 percent target rate in recent months. The majority of the Fed''s 12 districts reported that firms expressed positive near-term outlooks despite a recent softening in consumer spending. Labour markets also continued to tighten with both employment and wages growing at a modest to moderate pace. As has been reported in the Beige Book for months, firms with the most acute labour shortages raised wages the most. That trend still did not for the most part feed into inflation, however. Rapidly rising costs for some commodities such as lumber and steel "tended to push input costs higher for some manufacturers and the construction sector," the Fed said, but "in contrast, some districts noted falling prices for certain final goods, including groceries, apparel and autos." Energy prices and farm prices were also mixed. In the Boston Fed district, for example, "Price pressures continued to be modest. The outlook remained positive, with a bit of added caution." The U.S. economy grew sluggishly in the first quarter but recent data point to an acceleration in the second quarter. Consumer spending recorded its biggest increase in four months in April, data showed on Tuesday. The Beige Book was compiled by the Philadelphia Fed with information collected on or before May 22. (Reporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir; Editing by Andrea Ricci)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-economy-beigebook-idUKKBN18R2SJ'|'2017-06-01T02:14:00.000+03:00' +'4a533bbc95c3ae2464147e2dea2c760198c1c845'|'UPDATE 2-Parcels growth drives Royal Mail''s profit beat, shares rise'|'(Adds comments by CEO, analyst, share price)By Esha VaishMay 18 Royal Mail''s annual profit fell by less than expected as tighter cost controls and growth in its European delivery and UK parcel businesses helped offset a continued decline in letters.After years of underinvestment, Royal Mail was privatised in 2013 and has since reduced layers of management, improved vehicle utilisation rates, upgraded technology and cut its property bill. The former monopoly has closed over 30 mail centres since 2008 and cut staff numbers by 12,000 in the past four years.But competition is getting tougher in the parcels market because of new entrants such as Amazon, while letter volumes continue to fall. Royal Mail also needs to convince unions to back its plan to close a pension scheme.Chief Executive Moya Green told Reuters Royal Mail accounted for about 41 percent of the revenue generated in the 6.2 billion pound UK parcels market, although Amazon''s decision to start its own deliveries had further squeezed an overcrowded market."(Amazon''s decision has) been a very important change ... because it has, in an overcapacity situation, added more capacity and through the power of its market place given Amazon a very powerful position in our market," Green said. "That said, Royal Mail has come through very well."The company, which has been able to replace all lost Amazon business, said it had seen an increase in parcels sent through its account and noted higher delivery productivity in its UK unit.Full-year adjusted operating profit before transformation costs fell 6 percent to 712 million pounds ($922 million), versus consensus of 694 million pounds. Total dividend was up 4 percent at 23 pence.Hargreaves Lansdown senior analyst Laith Khalaf said Royal Mail was well placed to capitalise on expectations of higher parcel volumes as more shoppers use mobile devices to order goods."Royal Mail has posted a solid set of results against a challenging backdrop...A decent rise in full-year dividend, combined with share price falls over the last year, means the stock is now yielding over 5 percent," he said.Shares were up 1.7 percent at 438 pence at 1209 GMT, making it one of the top FTSE 100 gainers. The company''s stock is down 14 percent over the past year as its last two updates showed that uncertainty due to Brexit had worsened the decline in letters volumes.Full-year addressed letter volume, excluding the impact of political parties'' election mailings, were down 6 percent and Green said she expected business uncertainty to continue for a while yet, with marketing and business mail volumes hit.Royal Mail said that if business uncertainty persisted the fall in volumes would be at the higher end of a previous forecast of a 4 to 6 percent decline annually.Green said that while she did not know how soon pension talks with unions would complete, she remained optimistic. ($1 = 0.7720 pounds) (Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; editing by Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/royal-mail-results-idINL4N1IK3BX'|'2017-05-18T10:18:00.000+03:00' +'2debe28de5598ad8c4179e4cb5f21c26b2f598c8'|'JBS chairman confirms signing plea agreements with Brazil prosecutors'|'SAO PAULO May 18 Brazilian meatpacker JBS SA''s Chairman Joesley Batista confirmed on Thursday the signing of plea agreements with prosecutors regarding the country''s widest-ever corruption probe.In a statement, Batista, who is one of the controlling shareholders of JBS through his family''s holding company J&F Investimentos, admitted to making improper payments to politicians. He added that outside Brazil, the group has expanded its activities "without violating ethical norms". (Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer; Editing by Christian Plumb and Sandra Maler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-corruption-joesley-idUSE6N1FG02Y'|'2017-05-19T07:31:00.000+03:00' +'24ec0a49befd4d3615ecfd93d7129e981cd05981'|'BRIEF-Soros Fund Management takes share stake in Citigroup, McDonalds'|' 40pm EDT BRIEF-Soros Fund Management takes share stake in Citigroup, McDonalds May 15 Soros Fund Management * Soros Fund Management takes share stake of 109,800 shares in Citigroup Inc - sec filing * Soros Fund Management takes share stake of 402,500 shares in Conocophillips * Soros Fund Management takes share stake of 6,200 shares in International Business Machines * Soros Fund Management takes share stake of 2,000 shares in McDonalds Corp * Soros Fund Management - change in holdings are as of March 31, 2017 and compared with the previous quarter ended as of Dec 31, 2016Source text for quarter ended March 31, 2017 ( bit.ly/2pQ4JVX ) Source text for quarter ended Dec. 31, 2016: ( bit.ly/2lHSLju )'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-soros-fund-management-takes-share-idUSFWN1IH19E'|'2017-05-16T05:40:00.000+03:00' +'312c0cd8f50e3539a42b1b67d42e83ea2cf8e36c'|'Sanofi decides against selling chemical unit Cepia: spokeswoman'|'PARIS Sanofi ( SASY.PA ) has given up on the possibility of selling its chemical unit Cepia, a spokeswoman with the French drugmaker said on Friday."I can confirm we have decided to keep the division within the company," she said, adding that a recent improvement in Cepia''s results, as well as a better outlook for it, was behind this choice.The sale of Cepia, which deals with what Sanofi calls ''third party activities'' such as the supply and production of active pharmaceutical ingredients, was seen fetching up to 1 billion euros ($1.10 billion), banking sources told Reuters last month.(Reporting by Matthias Blamont; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-sanofi-chemicals-idINKBN18117Y'|'2017-05-05T09:30:00.000+03:00' +'832fde6f42c695de00334d5596cbdb7c74b5af00'|'China to open more sectors to foreign investors'|'BEIJING China will further open its economy to foreign investors, through measures such as allowing investment in more industries, such as services, state television said on Tuesday, citing a reform group meeting chaired by President Xi Jinping.China will also step up regulation of overseas business operations of Chinese companies and will set up a system to track individual income and property information, the group said. (Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk; Writing by Elias Glenn; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-xi-idUSKBN18J1OQ'|'2017-05-23T19:58:00.000+03:00' +'62bff62ea31930431d3c954d27998a0e9b1a1f89'|'Sensex hits record high as consumer stocks surge'|'Money 5:11pm IST Sensex pares gains after hitting record peak earlier The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) logo is seen at the BSE building in Mumbai, January 25, 2017. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade/Files Sensex edged up on Friday after touching a record high, its fourth peak in five sessions, as profit-booking pared overall gains led by consumer stocks that rallied after rates for goods and services under a new tax were finalised. The benchmark BSE Sensex closed up 0.10 percent at 30,464.92 after rising as much as 0.91 percent earlier in the session to its highest ever, while the broader NSE Nifty ended 0.02 percent lower at 9,427.90. The BSE index gained 0.92 percent on week, while the NSE index rose 0.30 percent, with both indexes logging their second straight weekly gain. (Reporting by Arnab Paul in Bengaluru; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/sensex-nifty-stocks-markets-idINKCN18F0I2'|'2017-05-19T14:42:00.000+03:00' +'fadd4b45ee92dd0dd6d9526b2fe1e2491602a247'|'ECB''s Coeure says no need to change negative rates guidance'|'Central Banks 5:57pm BST ECB''s Coeure says no need to change negative rates guidance Benoit Coeure, board member of the European Central Bank (ECB), is photographed during an interview with Reuters journalists at the ECB headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach PARIS Negative interest rates have been an effective monetary policy tool for the European Central Bank and there is no reason to change its guidance on their use, Executive Board member Benoit Coeure said on Tuesday. Hoping to revive inflation and growth after fighting off the threat of deflation, the ECB has set base interest rates below zero and is buying 60 billion euros worth of bonds each month - a policy approach it has said it will maintain at least until the end of this year. "When interest rates are negative some people complain, we think that it clearly contributed overall to the effectiveness of monetary policy," Coeure told a conference at the Paris School of Economics, reiterating comments made to Reuters last week. "Our current analysis of the secondary effects of negative rates suggest that there is no reason to change the indications we''ve given," he added. The ECB currently charges banks 0.4 percent on their excess cash, an extreme policy tool known as a negative Deposit Facility Rate. Negative interest rates are supposed to discourage banks from parking spare cash at the ECB in order to get them lending to the broader economy. However, some banks in Germany have suggested that it actually discourages lending. Coeure told Reuters in an interview last week that the future path for interest rates was "not set in stone". (Reporting by Leigh Thomas and Myriam Rivet; Editing by Geert De Clercq)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-coeure-idUKKBN18J2HZ'|'2017-05-24T00:57:00.000+03:00' +'9e448871cb3c41371d0cc0f16a810bfb3e5e1572'|'Citadel Securities says Dublin base is ''hedge'' for Brexit'|'Business 5:01pm BST Citadel Securities says Dublin base is ''hedge'' for Brexit Paul Hamill, Global Head of Fixed Income, Currencies and Commodities at Citadel Securities, speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 2, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake DUBLIN U.S. financial firm Citadel Securities said on Friday its Dublin base provided a "hedge" against any potential upheaval in its British operations arising from Brexit. Asked if its growing operation in Dublin gave the firm options should they need to move business from London after the terms of Britain''s divorce from the European Union are known, a senior executive at the firm, Paul Hamill, said: "Dublin is an obvious hedge to a situation where you may be looking for another location for certain businesses." Hamill, managing director and global head of fixed income, currencies and commodities, told the Irish Times this week that the firm plans to treble its Irish workforce to 50 people within two years but that its decision to establish a base in Dublin predates Brexit. Citadel Securities only operates in Dublin and London in the European Union. Hamill said the firm currently has no plans to open another office in the EU. (Reporting by John Geddie; Editing by Catherine Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-citadel-ireland-idUKKBN18829S'|'2017-05-13T00:01:00.000+03:00' +'eba595ed56e6595355b0c3f2461c13681607ef4a'|'Uber says to partner with taxis in Myanmar expansion drive'|' 6:58am EDT Uber says to partner with taxis in Myanmar expansion drive left right Mike Brown, Uber''s Asia Pacific regional General Manager, poses for photo during a launching ceremony of UBER taxi Thursday in Yangon, Myanmar May 11, 2017 REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun 1/3 left right A woman poses for photo during a launching ceremony of UBER taxi Thursday in Yangon, Myanmar May 11, 2017 REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun 2/3 left right A man arrives at the Uber offices in Queens, New York, U.S., February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid - 3/3 By Yimou Lee - YANGON YANGON Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] is only hiring government-accredited taxi drivers in Myanmar, a regional executive said, a move that allows it to avoid the legal hurdles that have dogged it across Asia in one of the region''s last frontier markets. This partnership with local taxi drivers and their unions is unique to Myanmar, Sam Bool, Uber''s expansion general manager for South East Asia, told Reuters as services began on Thursday in the small but potentially lucrative market where Southeast Asian rival Grab Taxi and local service providers are already going strong. "Having the government support from day one is pretty powerful," Bool said. "Drivers know we are fully compliant with existing regulations. That does grease the wheels." Uber, which in many parts of the world signs on any one with a car as a driver, appears to be following Grab''s operating model in Myanmar, a country of more than 50 million people emerging from decades of military rule. During its March launch, Grab said it was working with a small group of taxi drivers in Yangon and would increase its scale gradually. Uber has long had a reputation as an aggressive and unapologetic startup. The San Francisco-based firm is in conflict with the taxi industry all over the world, and its services have been halted in several countries over a raft of regulatory concerns. While Indonesia is Southeast Asia''s biggest ride services market, the growth in Myanmar''s mobile services market is too good to ignore. Internet penetration has exploded from next to nothing a few years ago to nearly 90 percent now, with more people turning to apps and mobile services. Competition is also strong: in addition to Grab, there are at least two ride-hailing start-ups - Hello Cabs and Oway Ride. Many people in Myanmar still do not have credit cards, so to get around that, Bool said Uber drivers would accept cash or local bank transfers. In many other markets, Uber users pay via a credit card linked to the app. Bool declined to say how much Uber was investing or what it hoped to make in Myanmar, but said the company could help the government upgrade Yangon''s 70,000 taxis, many of which are not equipped with seat belts or do not have air conditioning. "We can move millions of people in Yangon without adding a single car," he added. Uber''s expansion into Myanmar coincides with a push by the authorities work to revamp public transport, starting with the bus network in Yangon. Uber was working with the Yangon government to integrate its services to the bus network, Bool said, with plans to provide services to commuters in areas where public transport is not well-developed. (Editing by Miral Fahmy)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-tech-myanmar-idUSKBN1870DT'|'2017-05-11T12:46:00.000+03:00' +'213d88b4c5e90ae6972855f9d75bdaed787827d2'|'DBS to seek bids for non-life insurance distribution deal - sources'|'Banks - Fri May 5, 2017 - 11:10am BST DBS to seek bids for non-life insurance distribution deal - sources left right FILE PHOTO: A DBS booth is seen at the Singapore Fintech Festival in Singapore November 16, 2016. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo 1/2 A DBS logo on their office building in Singapore, February 22, 2016. REUTERS/Edgar Su 2/2 By Anshuman Daga and Sumeet Chatterjee - SINGAPORE/HONG KONG SINGAPORE/HONG KONG DBS Group ( DBSM.SI ) plans to invite bids from insurers keen to sell general insurance products across the key markets of Southeast Asia''s biggest lender, in a deal potentially worth up to $350 million (270.67 million pounds), sources familiar with the matter said. The move underscores the under-penetrated region''s growing attraction to insurers who see a big opportunity to boost business as rising incomes generate demand for property, motor and travel insurance products. In the last few years, banks such as Standard Chartered ( STAN.L ) and CIMB Group ( CIMB.KL ) have formed partnerships with insurers as they were willing to pay hefty fees for access to lenders'' branch networks and digital platforms. DBS, which has partnerships with subsidiaries of Japanese group MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings Inc ( 8725.T ) since 2005, plans to seek bids from insurers as soon as next month, three sources told Reuters. They declined to be identified as the news is not public. Two of the sources said the 15-year deal is estimated to be valued at up to $350 million, but it could change depending on the deal''s structure and sales assumptions made by the bidders. DBS is expected to pick one or two insurance partners for the deal, which could cover all of its key markets of Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, China and Taiwan. MS&AD''s units are expected to participate in the bidding process, which is also likely to draw interest from France''s AXA ( AXAF.PA ), Italy''s Generali ( GASI.MI ) and Australia''s QBE Insurance Group Ltd ( QBE.AX ), the sources said. DBS, AXA, Generali, and QBE declined to comment. There was no immediate comment from MSIG Asia, a subsidiary of Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company Ltd to Reuters queries. GOING DIGITAL DBS has more than 7 million customers across its consumer, banking and wealth management businesses spread in 18 markets but the majority of these are from its key markets. The bank has spent billions of dollars in the last few years to digitise its businesses. One source said DBS was likely to leverage general insurance distribution partnership as a value-add offering for its wealth management clients. The sales volume for general insurance products tend to be lower than the mass-market life business. The sources said DBS was likely to complete talks and seal the deal by the end of the year. DBS'' plan to seek partners follows the bank''s move last year to allow Canada''s Manulife insurer ( MFC.TO ) to sell life insurance through its Asia network in a 15-year deal. Reuters reported in March that Citigroup ( C.N ) will seek bids from global insurers keen to sell general insurance products across the U.S. bank''s Asia-Pacific markets, in a deal that could be worth at least $500 million. In January, StanChart and Allianz ( ALVG.DE ) announced a 15-year deal that enabled the German insurer to sell its general insurance products to StanChart''s customers in five Asian markets. (Reporting by Anshuman Daga and Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Randy Fabi)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-dbs-m-a-insurance-idUKKBN181107'|'2017-05-05T18:10:00.000+03:00' +'31eafcf973c905c1f20dab9dbd92ba916d5fd8c7'|'BRIEF-Ithaca Energy says qtrly average production of 9,337 barrels of oil equivalent per day'|'Market News - Mon May 15, 2017 - 5:37am EDT BRIEF-Ithaca Energy says qtrly average production of 9,337 barrels of oil equivalent per day May 15 Ithaca Energy Inc * Qtrly average production of 9,337 barrels of oil equivalent per day * Average production in 2017 is forecast to be in range of 18,000 to 19,000 boepd (80% oil) * Qtrly unit operating expenditure reduced to $21/boe, down from $23/boe average rate in 2016 * Qtrly earnings of $11 million * Forecast 2017 net unit operating expenditure is anticipated to be approximately $18/boe Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-ithaca-energy-says-qtrly-average-p-idUSASA09PME'|'2017-05-15T17:37:00.000+03:00' +'e9e2006ea76dd30a17e69986d9668e83aea390ea'|'Colombia''s Biotoscana files for Brazil listing debut'|'Market News - Wed May 10, 2017 - 6:46pm EDT Colombia''s Biotoscana files for Brazil listing debut SAO PAULO May 10 Colombian pharmaceutical firm Biotoscana Investments SA and some shareholders filed a request to list depositary receipts in Brazil, adding to the busiest wave of equity offerings in four years in Latin America''s largest economy. Biotoscana plans to offer new stock in the offering of so-called BDRs, according to documentation filed with Brazil''s securities industry watchdog CVM. Shareholders including funds run by U.S. buyout firm Advent International Corp as well as individuals Robert Friedlander and Roberto Luiz Guttmann have also filed to sell Biotoscana BDRs in the offering, the document said. Biotoscana hired the investment-banking units of JPMorgan Chase & Co, Ita Unibanco Holding SA and Grupo BTG Pactual SA to lead the transaction. (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by Chris Reese)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/grupo-biotoscana-ipo-idUSL1N1IC2CK'|'2017-05-11T06:46:00.000+03:00' +'dffb96bf95b4e0b51077c900898d6cfbbc9a588a'|'UPDATE 1-CIBC Q2 profit beats estimates on growth across units'|'Market News - Thu May 25, 2017 - 6:11am EDT UPDATE 1-CIBC Q2 profit beats estimates on growth across units (Adds details, background) May 25 Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce , Canada''s fifth-biggest lender, reported a better-than-expected second-quarter profit, helped by growth across its businesses. The company, which is in the process of buying U.S.-based PrivateBancorp for $4.9 billion, said adjusted net income in retail and business banking - its biggest unit - grew 4 percent to C$648 million ($482.43 million), helped by volume growth and higher fees. However, on a reported basis net income fell 1 percent to C$647 million. Net income at CIBC''s capital markets unit rose 16 percent to C$292 million, while its smaller wealth management business surged 36 percent. Overall net income, excluding one-off items and attributable to common shareholders, for the quarter ended April 30, rose to C$1.06 billion compared with C$947 million, a year earlier. On a per share basis, the company earned C$2.64 compared with analysts'' estimate of C$2.57, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. ($1 = 1.3432 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/cibc-results-idUSL4N1IR3K3'|'2017-05-25T18:11:00.000+03:00' +'4c028e96259bb101f55bb21cd8b5b79ecf7c7624'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX slips shortly after open as financials, Aimia drag'|'Market News - Thu May 11, 2017 - 9:51am EDT CANADA STOCKS-TSX slips shortly after open as financials, Aimia drag TORONTO May 11 Canada''s main stock index fell on Thursday, dragged lower by financial stocks following a downgrade by Moody''s on Canada''s six biggest banks, and loyalty program operator Aimia Inc, which plunged on news Air Canada will launch its own program. The Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index fell 24.95 points, or 0.16 percent, to 15,608.26. Three of the index''s 10 main groups retreated. (Reporting by Solarina Ho)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-idUSL1N1ID0QO'|'2017-05-11T21:51:00.000+03:00' +'81d17a4cbbfb1e5e01c80a6cb0d3989f81593034'|'Boeing signs defence, commercial deals with Saudi Arabia'|'Sun May 21, 2017 - 7:46pm BST Boeing signs defense, commercial deals with Saudi Arabia FILE PHOTO: Boeing''s logo is seen during Japan Aerospace 2016 air show in Tokyo, Japan, October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon By Alexander Cornwell - DUBAI DUBAI Boeing Co has signed several defense and commercial deals with Saudi Arabia including for the sale of military and passenger aircraft, the company said on Sunday during a visit by U.S. President Donald Trump to the kingdom. Boeing said Saudi Arabia agreed to buy Chinook helicopters, associated support services and guided weapons systems, and intends to purchase P-8 surveillance aircraft. The U.S State Department in December announced plans to sell Saudi Arabia CH-47F Chinook cargo helicopters and related equipment, training and support worth $3.51 billion. Congress was informed last year that a sale to Saudi Arabia would involve 48 of the helicopters. Saudi Arabia is seeking closer defense and commercial ties with the United States under Trump, as it seeks to develop its economy beyond oil and leads a coalition that is fighting a war in Yemen. Saudi Arabia is seeking to end Iran-allied Houthi control over most of Yemen''s main population centers and restore its internationally recognized government to power. The total value of the deals was not disclosed in a statement announcing the agreements. The Boeing announcement is the latest in business deals worth tens of billions of dollars signed between U.S. and Saudi companies since Trump arrived in Riyadh on Saturday. "These announcements reaffirm our commitment to the economic growth, prosperity and national security of both Saudi Arabia and the United States, helping to create or sustain thousands of jobs in our two countries," said Boeing Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg. Boeing also said it would negotiate the sale of up to 16 widebody airplanes to Saudi Gulf Airlines, which is based in the country''s east in Dammam. A sale to the privately owned commercial airline is expected to include Boeing 777 and or 787 aircraft, according to a person familiar with the matter. Saudi Gulf, which started operations last year, could not be reached immediately for comment. Boeing also will establish a joint venture with Saudi Arabia to provide "sustainment services for a wide range of military platforms," the statement said, including non-Boeing supplied equipment. A separate joint venture would "provide support for both military and commercial helicopters." The Saudi Rotorcraft Support Center recently received its commercial certificate and is expected to start operations in the near future. The center is a joint venture with Alsalam Aerospace Industries, Saudi Aerospace Engineering Industries and Boeing. (Reporting by Alexander Cornwell Editing by Gary McWilliams and Jeffrey Benkoe)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-saudi-boeing-idUKKBN18H0OK'|'2017-05-22T02:45:00.000+03:00' +'198baeed58f84821aebff5e44d26a5a7257ce43f'|'BRIEF-Bain Capital announces launch of sale of remaining stake in Maisons du Monde'|'May 16 Bain capital:* Says Magnolia Holdco, holding co owned by funds advised by Bain Capital, launched sale of its remaining shares of Maisons Du Monde* Says seller currently owns 7.1 million shares, corresponding to 15.8 percent of Maisons Du MondeS entire issued share capital* Citigroup Global Markets Limited and Goldman Sachs International are acting as joint bookrunner in connection with placement (Bangalore.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/brief-bain-capital-announces-launch-of-s-idINFWN1II0OZ'|'2017-05-16T14:22:00.000+03:00' +'25ec3c47c49aefa213a5635568472006c682ed9f'|'Time for a new surprise in dollar''s Trump slump?'|'Business News - Mon May 22, 2017 - 4:29pm BST Time for a new surprise in dollar''s Trump slump? FILE PHOTO: U.S. one hundred dollar bills are seen in this picture illustration, August 2, 2013. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/Illustration/File Photo By Ritvik Carvalho and Patrick Graham - LONDON LONDON After its worst week in a year, has a period of dollar strength dating back to 2014 been brought to a close by concerns over Donald Trump''s presidency and will the currency fall much further in the months ahead? That''s the question analysts and investors were debating on Monday as the latest round of political comments on exchange rates - this time from German Chancellor Angela Merkel - pushed the euro to a six-and-a-half-month high. The dollar''s fall last week after the sacking of FBI chief James Comey followed a period of turbulence around French presidential elections and North Korea''s missile tests. But as this graphic shows, the dollar''s steady fall this year - now almost 7 percent - correlates most closely with a rise in negative surprises from U.S. macroeconomic data. That hit its weakest in a year last week but then turned upwards - just as its euro equivalent did the opposite. Equity analysts from JPMorgan said in a note to clients on Monday that the dollar was already 5 percent undervalued against the euro EUR= , 1 percent against the yen JPY= and 2 percent against the Swiss franc CHF= . "Controversies such as the current one have some precedent in causing the dollar to weaken more than what would be justified by typical cyclical drivers like interest rate differentials," they said. "We do think a more protracted period of political risk is worth positioning for, but given these existing risk premia, we do so narrowly only via shorting the dollar vs the franc." The fall in the past week has only taken the dollar index, measuring its strength against a basket of other currencies, back into the top of the range it held for most of 2015 and 2016 - until Trump''s election last November. "(That fall) should help to dampen the scope for the U.S. dollar to weaken further in the near-term which would also require building concerns over the health of the U.S. economy," MUFG economist Lee Hardman said on Monday. "Technically, the dollar index has fallen back to within the consolidation range. A break below the bottom of that range would be a far more significant long-term bearish technical development (and) remains unlikely in the near-term."'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-forex-dollar-idUKKBN18I1YA'|'2017-05-22T23:29:00.000+03:00' +'759eb958179d279a89e3132df980c17e92b78c44'|'Nikkei edges up, high-tech shares jump on earnings'|'Market News - Sun Apr 30, 2017 - 10:19pm EDT Nikkei edges up, high-tech shares jump on earnings * Tokyo Electron, Murata, Fujitsu jump on earnings * Overall earnings results so far not a big boost * Japan Airlines, Ricoh struggle By Hideyuki Sano TOKYO, May 1 Japanese stock prices posted modest gains on Monday as high-tech shares such as Tokyo Electron and Murata Manufacturing gained on upbeat earnings in otherwise holiday-lulled trading. The Nikkei rose 0.4 percent to 19,273.87 points, supported for now at its 100-day moving average of 19,131, though lacking momentum to re-test its one-month high of 19,289 touched on Wednesday. The Nikkei rose more than the broader Topix, which gained 0.2 percent to 1,535.00, because of a 13 percent gain in Tokyo Electron, which has a big weighting in the Nikkei. "The pessimism we saw last month is ebbing. Investors are picking up companies that have improving earnings outlook," said Takaaki Yoshino, chief quantitative analyst at Daiwa Securities. Tokyo Electron, the second most traded shares by turnover by mid-morning, surged after the manufacturer of chip-making machines said it sees 38.7 percent increase in operating profits in the year to March 2018. Fujitsu gained 8.0 percent as the information technology equipment and service company posted upbeat earnings. Murata Manufacturing, an electronics parts maker and a major Apple supplier, gained 5.2 percent. While these results have underscored the strength of the semi-conductor sector globally, the overall earnings season has so far provided limited catalyst for a further rally, market players said. "Japanese companies'' earnings seem to be bottoming out. But the improvement seems to be limited. The return-on-equity will be still little over eight percent," said Shingo Ide, chief equity strategist at NLI Research Institute. Honda Motor, which forecast a 16 percent fall in operating profits for the current year, slightly below analysts'' expectations, rose 0.2 percent. On the other hand, rival Mazda dropped 3.8 percent after its earning estimates fell short of market expectations. Resona Holdings, fell 4.1 percent after the banking group revised down its earnings for the financial year that ended in March. Office machine maker Ricoh dropped 6.8 percent to near six-month lows as it projected a further fall in profits in the year to March due to restructuring costs. Japan Airlines dropped 7.2 percent after the company said it saw a 16.6 percent decline in operating profits due to costs for renewing its computer systems and other investments. Trading is expected to be slow this week due to holidays in many countries. Tokyo financial markets will be closed from Wednesday to Friday for a series of national holidays called the "Golden Week". (Editing by Kim Coghill) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-midday-idUSL4N1I317M'|'2017-05-01T10:19:00.000+03:00' +'edbc4f899e86fdad88d3519d0fee3bb624d08f49'|'Fortescue says bond raising upsized to $1.5 bln on strong demand'|'SYDNEY May 10 Australian miner Fortescue Metals Group said on Wednesday it had raised $1.5 billion in a high-yield bond offering, $500 million more than originally sought, due to strong investor demand.The unsecured debt, which will be used to refinance existing facilities as iron ore prices are falling, was also priced more favourably than marketing materials had indicated."This outcome recognises Fortescue''s significant achievements across all of our operations, including safety performance, consistent production, sustained productivity and efficiency gains, together with the continued strength of our balance sheet," Fortescue Chief Executive Nev Power said.A $750 million tranche of five-year notes will carry an annual interest rate of 4.75 percent, less than the estimated 5 to 5.25 percent. A $750 million tranche of seven-year notes was priced at 5.125 percent.Fitch Ratings said on Tuesday the notes were expected to carry a rating of BB+, one notch below the lowest investment grade rating.Fortescue Chief Financial Officer Elizabeth Gaines said the issuance had extended the miner''s nearest term maturity to 2022 on improved terms and conditions. (Reporting by Jamie Freed; Editing by Richard Chang)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/fortescue-bond-idINL4N1IB6KJ'|'2017-05-09T20:55:00.000+03:00' +'79358767c3bb983b5c27abffc0990744a925fb1f'|'Toshiba turns down Hitachi/CVC offer for Landis, banks prep buyout debt: sources'|'By Claire Ruckin , Arno Schuetze and Christoph Steitz - LONDON/FRANKFURT LONDON/FRANKFURT Toshiba ( 6502.T ) has turned down preemptive bids for its Swiss-based smart meter group Landis+Gyr, hoping for a higher price at auction, for which bankers have begun preparing debt packages of around $1 billion, people familiar with the matter said.Buyout group CVC and Japan''s industrial conglomerate Hitachi ( 6501.T ) several weeks ago offered to buy Landis+Gyr for almost $2 billion, and another private equity group also made an offer earlier this year, but both were declined, the sources said.Toshiba is instead waiting for tentative offers to come in by a May 22 deadline, they said, adding that groups including Advent, AEA, BC Partners, Bain, Blackstone, Carlyle, Cinven, CD&R, Onex and Triton are expected to bid.CVC declined to comment, while Hitachi was not immediately available for comment. The other bidders also either declined to comment or were not immediately available to comment.Toshiba said it considering strategic alternatives, including an IPO for Landis+Gyr, adding nothing concrete has been decided yet.It hired UBS earlier this year on the potential divestment of the group.Some $1 billion of debt equates to around 5-6 times Landis+Gyr''s approximate $200 million in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, the sources said.The financing is expected to be denominated in dollars and euros and could either be in the form of leveraged loans or high yield bonds, the sources said.Smart meter makers have seen a wave of M&A activity. CVC is selling German metering and energy management group Ista, which could be worth up to 4 billion euros, while German metering group Techem could be put up for sale later in the year.Toshiba bought Landis+Gyr in 2011 for $2.3 billion jointly with state-backed Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, which holds the remaining 40 percent in the company.Landis+Gyr, in which Toshiba has a 60 percent stake, employs more than 5,700 staff and is active in over 30 countries.(Editing by Christopher Mangham and David Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-landis-loans-idINKBN1801MK'|'2017-05-04T11:01:00.000+03:00' +'d9885b483b7f43e3867d897877909f983aba7b02'|'Global oil market rebalancing speeds up, belied by inventories - IEA'|' 9:03am BST Global oil market rebalancing speeds up, belied by inventories - IEA FILE PHOTO: A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo LONDON The global oil market is rebalancing and the pace at which supply and demand are falling into line is picking up, even if inventories still fail to reflect the impact of OPEC supply cuts, the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday. In its monthly report, the IEA kept its global demand growth forecast for 2017 unchanged at 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd), because of slowdowns in previously robust consumer countries such as the United States, Germany and Turkey. Commercial inventories fell for a second straight month in March, by 32.9 million barrels to 3.025 billion barrels. But for the first quarter as a whole, stocks in industrialised countries rose by 24.1 million barrels and the IEA said preliminary data suggested inventories increased again in April. "It has taken some time for stocks to reflect lower supply when volumes produced before output cuts by OPEC and 11 non-OPEC countries took effect are still being absorbed by the market," the Paris-based IEA said. In the first quarter of 2017, "we might not have seen a resounding return to deficits but this report confirms our recent message that rebalancing is essentially here and, in the short term at least, is accelerating". Global oil supply fell by 140,000 bpd in April to 96.17 million bpd, led by declines in nations outside the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, such as Canada. But with strong production increases in the United States, Brazil and Kazakhstan, the IEA said non-OPEC output would grow by 600,000 bpd this year. (Reporting by Amanda Cooper; Editing by Dale Hudson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-oil-iea-idUKKCN18C0O4'|'2017-05-16T16:03:00.000+03:00' +'5cf8c463c510d0c0b9cbb21b9c815bf3866ce730'|'Campbell Soup''s profit drops 4.8 pct'|'Business News - Fri May 19, 2017 - 10:30am EDT Campbell Soup misses profit, sales estimates; trims sales forecast FILE PHOTO: Cans of Campbell''s brand Chunky soups are seen at the Safeway store in Wheaton, Maryland February 13, 2015. REUTERS/Gary Cameron/File Photo Campbell Soup Co''s ( CPB.N ) quarterly sales and profit missed analysts'' estimates, hurt by higher promotions and weak demand for its condensed soups, broths and V8 vegetable juices, and the company warned that its full-year sales could decline. Shares of the company, which also sells Pepperidge Farm snacks and Prego pasta sauce, fell as much as 5 percent to $54.16 in morning trade on Friday. Campbell Soup, like other processed packaged food makers, has been vulnerable to changing consumer tastes toward fresher and healthier foods. To cater to those new tastes, Campbell Soup created its own fresh-food unit in 2015 to sell carrots, carrot ingredients, refrigerated beverages and salad dressings, but the business has been struggling. A premature harvest that led to smaller carrots last year, resulted in market share losses while a recall of protein shakes further added to its troubles. Sales in the unit, which contributes 14 percent to total revenue, fell 6 percent in the third quarter ended April 30, hurt in part by manufacturing constraints related to the recall. "We experienced significantly lower consumption across almost all of our categories... we felt it most acutely in February," Campbell Soup Chief Executive Denise Morrison said on a post-earnings call. Sales in its Americas simple meals and beverages unit, the company''s largest by revenue, dipped 2 percent in the quarter. Weak demand for condensed soups and broths as well as V8 vegetable juices, contributed to the decline. "While trends improved as the quarter progressed, growth in March and April was insufficient to offset the earlier weakness," Morrison said. Net sales fell nearly 1 percent to $1.85 billion, missing analysts'' average estimate of $1.87 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. The company said it expects its full-year sales to be flat to down 1 percent compared with its prior forecast of flat to up 1 percent. Campbell Soup, however, raised its adjusted profit forecast for the year to $3.04-$3.09 per share from $3.00-$3.09 per share. Excluding certain items, Campbell Soup earned 59 cents per share in the quarter, missing analysts'' average estimate of 64 cents. Net income attributable to the company fell to $176 million, or 58 cents per share, partly due to a pretax charge related to its cost-saving program. The company earned $185 million, or 59 cents per share, a year earlier. (Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D''Couto)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-campbell-soup-results-idUSKCN18F193'|'2017-05-19T19:29:00.000+03:00' +'53d946d9ed8a7bec9cb4fa321fb54df757430208'|'Italy tax chief says close to deal with Google over tax dispute - paper'|'Technology News - Wed May 3, 2017 - 7:40am BST Italy tax chief says close to deal with Google over tax dispute: paper An attendee interacts with an illuminated panel at Google stand during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, March 1, 2017. REUTERS/Paul Hanna MILAN Italy and Alphabet Inc''s Google are close to reaching a deal to settle a tax dispute, the head of the Italian tax authority Rossella Orlandi told Italian newspaper La Repubblica. "We are very close to a solution with Google," Orlandi said. Italy is looking at a proposal from Google to pay between 270 million and 280 million euros to settle a tax dispute, a source close to the matter said in January. Last year Italian tax police alleged that Google had evaded paying taxes worth 227 million euros ($248 million) between 2009 and 2013 in a move which was said could result in heavy punitive fines. In the interview with La Repubblica, Orlandi also said the government is reviewing the business of internet platforms for home rentals such as Airbnb Inc. ($1 = 0.9158 euros)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-google-italy-tax-report-idUKKBN17Z0FT'|'2017-05-03T14:39:00.000+03:00' +'a62771bd0c3d020efdad9b8b12a941ca01624f69'|'FTSE stay below record high as sterling inches up; IAG falls'|'Top 7:27pm BST FTSE slips from record as sterling inches up; IAG falls The London Stock Exchange building is seen in central London September 24, 2009. REUTERS/Stephen Hird By Danilo Masoni - MILAN MILAN British blue chips eased from record highs on Tuesday as sterling recouped some of last week''s losses less than two weeks before a general election that will shape talks for the country''s exit from the European Union. The FTSE 100 .FTSE was down 0.3 percent as it reopened after a long holiday weekend, while mid-caps .FTMC were 0.2 percent lower. The blue chip index hovered just below the record high hit on Friday after a run aided by a fall in the pound since Britain''s vote in June last year to exit the EU. Sterling''s bounce on Tuesday weighed on dividend-paying exporters that most benefit from the currency''s weakness. "Investors have returned after a long weekend to fresh economic concerns for the euro zone - centred on problem countries Greece and Italy, continuing whispers of Russian collusion within the Trump administration, and the ever-tightening UK election race," said Henry Croft, a research analyst at Accendo Markets. Polls taken since the opposition Labour Party and May''s Conservatives released their election manifestos have shown Labour catching up, worrying investors and pushing the pound down almost 2 cents last week. Sterling recovered some of those losses on Tuesday weighing on shares of heavyweights such as British American Tobacco ( BATS.L ), Shire ( SHP.L ) and Imperial Brands - all of which make most of their revenues outside the UK. The three were the biggest drags on the FTSE 100 on the day. Meanwhile, British Airways owner IAG ( ICAG.L ) ended the day down 1.4 percent, among the top fallers on the index despite some of its earlier losses through the afternoon session. It was the first trading for the stock following massive weekend disruption to flights due to an IT outage. "British Airways faces all kinds of questions in the wake of its IT failure and investors are rightly turning a bit cautious. It''s estimated that the cost of the fiasco might be around 100 million euros, or around 5 percent of pre-tax profits this year," said ETX Capital Neil Wilson. The contrast between full service airlines and their lower cost rivals was brought sharply into focus as Ryanair ( RYA.L ) shares ended the day up 3.7 percent after reporting record annual profits. easyJet ( EZJ.L ) shares rose 1 percent. Commodity stocks provided some support to the blue chip index with heavyweight oil major BP ( BP.L ) up 0.2 percent and miner Glencore ( GLEN.L ) rising 0.8 percent. The FTSE is up around 5 percent this year compared to the 10 percent rise for euro zone stocks .STOXXE. UK bluechips got a favourable vote from JPMorgan''s recommendation that investors buy shares of large, dividend-paying exporters. Strategists at the U.S. bank said it expected sterling''s appreciation against the dollar to halt and UK stocks to claw back some of their underperformance against global peers. "We think UK is becoming interesting in the regional allocation again," JPMorgan strategists said in a note, upgrading the country''s stocks to neutral. (Reporting by Danilo Masoni; editing by Mark Heinrich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks-idUKKBN18Q0Y2'|'2017-05-30T18:10:00.000+03:00' +'ab7c3741c5bbf0ffd1ba6f70920b699303909798'|'Japan''s tight labour market offers hope for weak consumer spending'|'Business News - Tue May 30, 2017 - 2:32am BST Japan''s tight labour market offers hope for consumer spending FILE PHOTO: Newly-hired employees of Japan Airlines (JAL) group bow during an initiation ceremony at a hangar of Haneda airport in Tokyo, Japan, April 3, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo By Stanley White - TOKYO TOKYO Labour demand in Japan rose to its strongest in more than 40 years while the unemployment rate held steady at a two-decade low in April, offering hope that a tight labour market will eventually spark a turnaround in weak consumer spending. Separate data showed household spending fell more than expected in April due to lower spending on cars and education fees as consumer spending continues to lag behind improvement in other areas of the economy, such as exports and factory output. Such a tight labour market could temper pessimism about consumer spending and bolster the Bank of Japan''s argument that rising demand for workers will eventually spur inflation. "Consumer spending looks weak now, but the labour market continues to improve," said Hiroshi Miyazaki, senior economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. "As more people get work, this should support consumer spending in the future." The jobs-to-applicants ratio rose to 1.48 in April from 1.45 in the previous month, meaning 1.48 vacancies are available for each person seeking a job. Labour demand has been rising steadily due to a shortage of workers and increased activity in services and construction. The last time labour demand was this strong was in February 1974, when the ratio was 1.53. The jobless rate held steady at 2.8 percent in April, matching the lowest since June 1994. The BOJ last month maintained its projection that price growth will reach its 2 percent target in fiscal 2018 on the assumption that a tight labour market will push up wages, but not all economists are convinced. Economists say some companies are opting to cut business hours, which makes it difficult for wages to rise. "Some companies are scaling back the level of services they offer instead of going out and getting the workers they need," said Hiroaki Muto, economist at Tokai Tokyo Research Center Co. "This is not likely to lead to higher take-home pay." Japanese household spending fell 1.4 percent in April from a year earlier in price-adjusted real terms, more than the median estimate for a 0.7 percent annual decline. Excluding spending on autos and housing, household spending rose a seasonally-adjusted 3.5 percent in April from the previous month versus a 2.9 percent decline March, showing consumer spending is stronger than the headline figures, Miyazaki said. Separate data showed retail sales rose 3.2 percent in April from a year earlier, more than the median estimate for a 2.3 percent increase, but some economists say a small sample size may exaggerate the percentage change in this data. Under a new policy framework adopted last year, the BOJ has pledged to guide short-term interest rates to minus 0.1 percent and cap the 10-year government bond yield around zero percent. Consumer prices rose on 0.3 percent in April from a year ago, well below the BOJ''s 2 percent inflation target. However, growing signs of strength in exports and factory output have presented the BOJ with a new communications challenge, pushing it to be clearer with markets on how it might dial back its stimulus - even though such action remains a long way off. (Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Eric Meijer) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-jobs-idUKKBN18Q015'|'2017-05-30T08:38:00.000+03:00' +'e18474a613b99f88b19c094afc57fd995a848a44'|'ECB supervisors need flexibility in assessing risk - Nouy'|'Business News - Mon May 15, 2017 - 11:09am BST ECB supervisors need flexibility in assessing risk - Nouy Daniele Nouy, chair of the Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank, attends the 2016 Institute of International Finance (IIF) Spring Membership meeting in Madrid, Spain May 24, 2016. REUTERS/Susana Vera FRANKFURT Bank supervisors need to retain their flexibility in interpreting rules and assessing risk to avoid having to enforce a rigid, one-size-fits-all approach for distinctly different lenders, European Central Bank supervisor Daniele Nouy says on Monday. "Thats why I am worried about some legislative proposals that are being discussed," Nouy told a conference. "They would put too tight a frame around supervisors assessment of ''Pillar 2'' risks by means of a regulatory technical standard and would restrict supervisors ability to collect ad hoc reports." She said that under such inflexible rules, supervisors would no longer be able to adequately differentiate between risks, thus hurting the safest banks rather than the riskiest ones. (Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Toby Chopra)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-banks-ecb-idUKKCN18B13W'|'2017-05-15T18:09:00.000+03:00' +'67c3d30dd5cbd433e12cfc5f86815767979d11cc'|'Twitter partners with Bloomberg for streaming TV news'|'(Corrects April 30 story to add news source in headline)Twitter Inc is partnering with Bloomberg Media for a round-the-clock streaming television news service on the social networking platform, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.The channel, which is yet to be named and is expected to begin operations this fall, would be announced Monday, WSJ said.Twitter''s user growth has stalled in the past few quarters and the company has been trying to convince advertisers that it will strengthen its user base.As part of its efforts, it has updated its product offerings including live video broadcasts from its app and launched new features to attract users.Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said in an internal memo last October one of the company''s missions was defined as being the "people''s news network".Twitter has made a push into news and sports on mobile devices last year and this foray could pique the interest of a media company as an acquirer, analysts have said.(Reporting by Shalini Nagarajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-twitter-bloomberg-idINKBN17X10P'|'2017-05-01T01:03:00.000+03:00' +'71919d020d90b024b37a6d4d7e54192c538dd376'|'As Japan adapts to China''s rise, ADB wrestles with relevance'|'Money News - Thu May 4, 2017 - 3:35am IST As Japan adapts to China''s rise, ADB wrestles with relevance Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Takehiko Nakao poses in front of the logo of ADB at its headquarters in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila after a forum with members of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines January 8, 2016. REUTERS/Erik De Castro By Tetsushi Kajimoto - TOKYO TOKYO The Asian Development Bank''s 50th annual meeting is supposed to be a celebration of Japan''s economic leadership in Asia over the half-century - instead, it takes place in the shadow of China''s bid to increasingly assert itself as the regional powerhouse. The ADB is coming off a record year for lending and is the region''s major financier for development, but its four-day meeting in Yokohama starting on Thursday could quickly fade as attention turns to China''s high-profile "One Belt, One Road" (OBOR) summit the next week. Many OBOR projects are supported by China''s state-owned banks and its fledgling regional lender, the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which could become a potential rival of the Manila-based ADB but for now is much smaller. "Politically, the AIIB is a direct challenge to the ADB by providing borrowers an alternative," said Tang Siew Mun, senior fellow at the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. "OBOR with AIIB''s deep pockets offers a vision of the region for ''friendly nations'' to participate. In contrast, the ADB lacks a grand plan and focuses on smaller projects." In dealing with the AIIB, which launched operations in January 2016, the ADB has emphasised cooperation rather than competition. A year ago, they signed an agreement setting the stage for joint financing projects. "Infrastructure needs are huge and it''s simply not possible for the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank to fill the gap completely," Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, a former head of the ADB, said earlier this week. The AIIB is viewed by some as a challenger to both the Western-dominated World Bank and the ADB, which is primarily funded by Japan and the United States. The ADB was established as a Japanese initiative in 1966 to offer development assistance in Asia. All of the ADB heads up until now have been Japanese, including current president Takehiko Nakao. Last year, it extended a record $17.5 billion worth of loans to 67 projects, dwarfing the AIIB, which provided loans of about $1.7 billion to just nine projects last year, most of which was through co-financing with other institutions, including the ADB. OUTWARD SUPPORT While outwardly Japan has shown support for China''s initiatives, it remains wary of getting too close, and has not joined the AIIB. "We remain cautious about AIIB and need to examine its transparency even more closely since China plays a dominant role in its governance," Masahiko Shibayama, an adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, told Reuters. Further complicating matters for Japan, is the sudden friendliness of U.S. President Donald Trump to Beijing and a shift by Southeast Asian nations towards China. The secretary-general of Japan''s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Toshihiro Nikai, will attend the OBOR summit, a sign Abe wants to improve ties with Beijing. "The unexpected improvement in ties between China and the United States has prompted Japanese government to send...Nikai to the OBOR summit," said Xiao Minjie, senior economist at SMBC Nikko Securities in Tokyo. "Even though bureaucrats in general have an instinctive dislike for China-led AIIB and OBOR." Xiao predicts that the two development banks may fill different roles, with the ADB supporting projects concerning the environment, education and poverty-reduction, while China may focus on the kind of infrastructure-tied loans to developing countries that Japan used to provide in the 1980s. "The ADB will likely shift more towards ''soft'' infrastructure development, as demand for hard infrastructure runs its course and as Asian countries mature after experiencing high economic growth," Xiao said. (Additional reporting by Stanley White, Leika Kihara, Izumi Nakagawa; Writing by Malcolm Foster; Editing by Sam Holmes)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/adb-asia-idINKBN17Z2NE'|'2017-05-03T20:05:00.000+03:00' +'c8a1eacb257e8e01516e8b41d36da13e07006caf'|'BOJ Governor Kuroda says global uncertainties remain top risk for Japan economy'|'Economy News - Wed May 10, 2017 - 4:57am BST BOJ Governor Kuroda says global uncertainties remain top risk for Japan economy Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda attends a news conference at the BOJ headquarters in Tokyo, Japan April 27, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon TOKYO Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Wednesday overseas developments, such as uncertainty over U.S. economic policies and geopolitical risks around the world, remained the biggest risks for Japan''s economic recovery. "Japan''s economic recovery has taken hold more firmly," reflecting improvement in the global economy, Kuroda told a seminar. "While global economic growth is gaining momentum, various uncertainties remain" that could weigh on Japanese consumer and corporate sentiment, he said. (Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Christopher Cushing) U.S. Democratic senators seek probe into Icahns biofuel credit dealings WASHINGTON Eight Democratic senators asked U.S. regulators on Tuesday to launch an investigation into billionaire Carl Icahns activities in the U.S. biofuels blending credit market, saying the activist investor may have violated trading laws since becoming an adviser to President Donald Trump. U.S. Senate finance panel unlikely to support import tax: chairman WASHINGTON A 20 percent import tax, backed by Republican leaders in the House of Representatives, is unlikely to win enough support from the Senate Finance Committee to be part of any Senate tax reform bill, the panel''s Republican chairman said on Tuesday. NEW YORK/WASHINGTON JPMorgan Chase & Co is investing another $50 million in Detroit amid what city officials and bank executives describe as encouraging signs for urban renewal through public-private partnerships. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-boj-kuroda-idUKKBN1860BY'|'2017-05-10T11:52:00.000+03:00' +'e1f8e6573c174412ed9d50875e351d50a211b14d'|'LPCBankers prep 400 million pound financing for NGA sale'|' 35pm BST LPCBankers prep 400 million pound financing for NGA sale By Claire Ruckin - LONDON LONDON Bankers are working on debt financings totalling around 400 million to back a potential sale of UK human resources software company NGA Human Resources as a sale process kicks off, banking sources said on Wednesday. Former lenders Goldman Sachs and Park Square took control of NGA, formerly known as Northgate Information Solutions, from owner KKR in a debt for equity swap late in 2015, backed with a 320m leveraged loan financing, according to Thomson Reuters LPC. They have now decided to sell the business, hiring Goldman Sachs as advisers on the process, which is expected to see first round bids submitted by the end of May, the sources said. A bank education process took place yesterday, following a meeting with lenders some weeks prior, the sources said. Goldman Sachs, NGA and Park Square were not immediately available to comment. Some 400m of debt financing equates to around 5.0 times Northgates approximate 70m Ebitda, the sources said. Debt is expected to be in the form of either leveraged loans or high-yield bonds, mainly denominated in sterling, the sources said. Bonds might be preferable as a covenant-lite loan could be a hard sell to investors, due to the companys chequered past. High-yield bonds automatically come without maintenance covenants. The business consists of two units, a UK mid-market business that is performing well and an enterprise business serving larger corporates, which is more of a turnaround story, sources said. The preference will be to sell the company as a whole, but the sellers may accept bids for the units separately, the sources added. KKR took Northgate private in 2008, in a deal that valued the company at 593m plus existing debt. KKR subsequently sold divisions including Northgate Public Services to Cinven for 320m in December 2014 and the managed services division to outsourcing group Capita for 65m in 2013 leaving only NGA Human Resources. NGA Human Resources helps organizations pioneer digital HR, master payroll, ensure compliance, unlock workforce data and deliver best-in-class HR operations, according to its website. (Editing by Christopher Mangham)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-nga-loans-idUKKBN17Z1CG'|'2017-05-03T20:35:00.000+03:00' +'198ef1d608f23e8587e610906c6ca6bc55ab19ee'|'Suzuki Motor sees 10 pct drop in FY operating profit on R&D costs'|'TOKYO May 12 Suzuki Motor Corp on Friday forecast a 10 percent fall in its full-year operating profit on increased research and development costs, even as the Japanese automaker expects vehicles sales growth to continue in India and Europe.Japan''s fourth-largest automaker said it expected operating profit to come in at 240.0 billion yen ($2.11 billion) in the year to March 2018, short of an average estimate of 254.7 billion yen from 21 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.Suzuki, which specialises in compact cars and dominates the Indian market through its majority stake in Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, posted a stronger-than-expected, 36.5 percent jump in operating profit to 266.7 billion yen in the year ended in March as higher sales in the South Asian country and in Europe offset negative currency impact.Suzuki said it would pay a full-year dividend of 44 yen per share for the year ended March, up from 32 yen per share a year earlier, and forecast a dividend of 44 yen this year.The company took an accounting impairment loss of 39.9 billion yen in the year ended March, including an extraordinary loss on its Thailand operations.Suzuki''s latest forecasts are based on an assumption for the yen to average around 110 yen to the U.S. dollar, stronger than its trading rate around 114 yen on Friday, and 1.65 yen to the Indian Rupee.It expects global consolidated vehicle sales to increase 5.2 percent in the year to March to 3.07 million vehicles. In India, where it sells one in every two cars, it expect vehicles sales to rise 8 percent from a year earlier.Suzuki owns 56.2 percent of Maruti, and gets the bulk of its revenues from the Indian partnership, which has a market value of around $30 billion, higher than Suzuki''s market capitalisation of about $20.5 billion. ($1 = 113.7500 yen) (Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu and Maki Shiraki; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/suzuki-results-idINL8N1IE0EA'|'2017-05-12T05:12:00.000+03:00' +'f955c524bc03eacb12f240c8dbbbc90e2454ad9f'|'Facebook to reimburse some advertisers after discovering bug'|'Technology News - Tue May 16, 2017 - 3:00pm EDT Facebook to reimburse some advertisers after discovering bug Facebook logo is seen on a wall at a start-up companies gathering at Paris'' Station F in Paris, France, January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer Facebook Inc said on Tuesday it would refund some advertisers after finding a bug that wrongly attributed video carousel ad clicks as clicks to the advertisers'' websites. When users tried to expand and watch the video carousel on the mobile web browser, the bug inadvertently directed the click to the advertiser''s website, leading to incorrect billing, the company said in a blogpost on Tuesday. bit.ly/2rmYPg0. A video carousel ad format shows images and links within a single ad unit and also has a button that directs users to websites. The company said it had fixed the bug, which was not found on the desktop version or the mobile app. The impact from a billing perspective was 0.04 percent of ad impressions, Facebook said. Facebook in September apologized for an error in the way it measured a key metric of video viewership that significantly amplified users'' viewing times on its platform. (Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-advertising-idUSKCN18C2ES'|'2017-05-17T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'41bec61be4a2bb6b03ba53a219e1c42ebab38eb3'|'Spanish stocks lag Europe on political worries but fresh M&A helps'|'Top 44am BST Spanish stocks lag Europe on political worries but fresh M&A helps Traders work in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, May 18, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote By Danilo Masoni - MILAN MILAN European shares steadied on Monday as fresh political concerns in Spain weighed though mergers and acquisition (M&A) activity and stronger commodities underpinned broader regional benchmarks. Madrid blue chips fell 0.5 percent by 0809 GMT, while the broader pan-European STOXX 600 index was flat and commodity-heavy FTSE added 0.4 percent. Spain''s Socialists on Sunday chose former leader and hardliner Pedro Sanchez to head the party again, a vote likely to make it harder for the ruling conservatives to secure the opposition support it needs in parliament to push through legislation. "Although Sanchez was gaining traction over the past week the result comes as a surprise and could introduce political risk again into the Spanish investment case," Exane analysts said in an note to clients. "We can expect a short term negative market reaction," they added. Financials, which tend to be particularly sensitive to politics, were the biggest fallers in Madrid. Banks Banco Popular, Bankia and Santander were down 1.6-3.5 percent. The euro zone bank index was down 0.6 percent. Strategists at Credit Suisse had downgraded Spanish stocks ear them as strong economic data and corporate earnings momentum moderated. Elsewhere, basic resources stocks provided support with Europe''s sectoral index up 0.4 percent. Clariant soared 9 percent after the Swiss company and U.S. peer Huntsman agreed a merger to create a chemical manufacturer with a market value of over $14 billion. Baader Helvea analyst Markus Mayer said he viewed the deal as a defensive move and that the stock should be boosted not only by potential synergies with Huntsman but also the chance of a possible rival bid. "Clariant is the No. 1 takeover target in the sector with a long list of interested parties... (the) merger announcement might be the trigger for interested parties now to come up with a (hostile) takeover bid," he wrote in a note. Aegon soared 7.4 percent after the Dutch-based insurer said it would sell some U.S. operations to boost its financial strength. Analyst welcomed the terms of the deal, which they said also removed the risk of a possible capital increase. UCB declined heavily, down 14 percent and set for its worst day in three decades, after the drugmaker and Amgen said their experimental osteoporosis drug was unlikely to win U.S. approval this year due to safety concerns. Julius Baer rose slightly after its assets under management rose 6 percent in the first four months, echoing strong starts to the year by larger rivals. A trader said the Swiss private bank''s update was slightly better than expected. Four out of five European companies have released their updates so far, pointing to a first quarter earnings growth of 18.3 percent, according to I/B/E/S data. Even though growth has slowed from the more than 20 percent previously expected, the picture remains strong with 65 percent of the companies beating expectations and 8 percent meeting them. (Reporting by Danilo Masoni; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks-idUKKBN18I0UI'|'2017-05-22T16:44:00.000+03:00' +'3677b0da55186b60dcd1adf5eaaf665f79cf7179'|'Longer-dated JGBs gain on central bank debt-buying, yield curve flattens'|'TOKYO May 19 Longer-dated Japanese government bond prices gained on Friday, supported by a regular Bank of Japan debt-buying operation that helped flatten the yield curve.The benchmark 10-year JGB yield was flat at 0.040 percent after rising to as high as 0.045 percent earlier in response to a rise in U.S. Treasury yields.The 30-year bond yield, on the other hand, fell half a basis point to 0.800 percent after the BOJ offered to buy 300 billion yen ($2.69 billion) of longer-dated JGBs in its regular bond-buying operation.The yield curve flattened as a result, with the yield spread between 10-year and 30-year JGBs at its tightest since April 25.Treasury yields rose from one-month lows on Thursday as Wall Street stocks recovered from Wednesday''s dramatic drop, reducing demand for safe-haven bonds. ($1 = 111.3700 yen) (Reporting by the Tokyo markets team; Editing by Eric Meijer)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/japan-bonds-idINL4N1IL1X0'|'2017-05-19T02:58:00.000+03:00' +'4c7faed821eff0313d0c87c9660a35a1d7107011'|'Naspers investors see billions trapped by China success'|'Business News 38am BST Naspers investors see billions trapped by China success FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of Media 24, owned by internet, entertainment and media group Naspers, in Cape Town, South Africa, May 11, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/File Photo By TJ Strydom - JOHANNESBURG JOHANNESBURG It was the investment that transformed Naspers ( NPNJn.J ) from a small-time South African newspaper publisher into Africa''s most valuable company and made its long-serving director and chairman Koos Bekker a billionaire. Now, Naspers'' 33 percent stake in Chinese internet company Tencent ( 0700.HK ) is worth about $100 billion, or 20 percent more than Naspers itself. It dwarfs other parts of the business, including its loss-making e-commerce unit and African pay-TV. Naspers has plowed in around $3.6 billion since 2012 to drive growth in e-commerce platforms such as e-classifieds, online retail and auction sites and reduce its dependence on Tencent and pay-TV, which thrives in South Africa but faces headwinds elsewhere. So far it has little to show for its investments and some investors say Bekker and chief executive Bob van Dijk must find new ways to close the discount between Naspers'' stock and Tencent shares. "What is clear to the external observer is that developmental assets, largely e-commerce, are deteriorating in their group contribution relative to Tencent and are cash absorbing. Furthermore, it is difficult to see these assets reaching sizeable international scale," said Mark Ingham, an analyst Ingham Analytics Founded in 1915, Naspers has transformed itself from an apartheid-era newspaper publisher into a 1.2 trillion rand ($90 billion) multinational with private equity-style investments. But it owes much of that valuation to the $33 million bet in 2001 to take a stake in Tencent, whose breakneck pace of growth has catapulted it into China''s biggest internet company with a $334 billion market capitalization. As Naspers''s stake in Tencent is worth more than Naspers itself, this suggests the other assets are not reflected in the valuation. "We need to see those classifieds businesses actually in aggregate all swinging into profit, then you''ll see the discount narrowing," said a fund manager at one of Naspers biggest shareholders, declining to be named because his firm does not want to make its views public. Naspers said it is working hard to narrow the discount. "Some discount to the Naspers sum-of-the parts value is unavoidable given our underlying investments in listed entities," said Meloy Horn, head of investor relations. "Our aim is to build great businesses besides Tencent... We expect ...increased contributions from these fast growing e-commerce operations to be recognized by investors and through that process expect the discount to narrow over time." MOUNTING LOSSES Losses in Naspers'' e-commerce division - which houses assets that include OLX, the biggest classified sites in India and Brazil - have been mounting every year since 2012. The e-commerce unit''s operating losses totaled nearly 1 billion rand in 2012, and have surged nearly six-fold to 5.6 billion rand in 2016. "At the moment the (e-commerce division) as a whole is loss-making and I think the market is struggling to look through that," said Adrian Zetler, an analyst at Coronation Fund Managers - the second biggest investor in Naspers. Some investors were surprised when Naspers sold Allegro Group - one of the world''s biggest online sites with more than 20 million registered users - in October to an alliance of investor funds: Cinven, Permira and Mid Europa partners. "If leverage is the in-thing, why get rid of Allegro, one of the better assets? " said Ingham. Naspers said at the time it was selling the business to pay down debt. To get decent returns from the money splashed on e-commerce ventures, Naspers would have to generate at least $1 billion in core profit, or earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, by 2021, Ingham said. PAY-TV IN FOCUS Naspers was founded in Stellenbosch, a close-knit town about 50 km east of Cape Town, as a publishing company called De Nationale Pers (The National Press) to promote Afrikaner nationalism. Its newspapers later became mouthpieces of a party that swept to power in 1948 on an openly racist campaign. The firm has apologized for its role in South Africa''s past. Naspers began to pivot toward internet platforms at the end of the millennium, using cash from flagship pay-TV business to invest in e-commerce companies such as Mail.ru, which runs two of Russia''s three biggest social networking sites. But mounting losses and the discount to its Tencent stake have prompted some investors to ponder potential avenues for Naspers to maximize value. "They could sell or unbundle [the pay-TV unit] when the business in the rest of Africa - outside South Africa - recovers, maybe three years from now," said Philip Short, an analyst at Old Mutual Equities, a top-20 investor in Naspers. The pay-TV business provides content to more than 10 million households in sub-Saharan Africa, bringing in around $600 million in annual core earnings, or EBITDA. Analysts estimate that a spun off and separately listed pay-TV business could fetch between 90 billion rand and 120 billion rand - at least 6.5 times its 2015 core earnings. Horn declined comment on speculation that it was considering selling MultiChoice Africa, the pay-TV division outside South Africa that is grappling with high content costs, loss of subscribers and unfavorable currency swings. However, Horn said: "It is possible that, in time, we could consider the listing of some our operations/investments if there is a situation where they would benefit from market exposure, independence, valuation, etc. We will evaluate such opportunities if/when they are presented." Byron Lotter, a fund manager at Vestact, an investor in the company, said it would be a bad idea to hive off the pay-TV unit because the company depends partly on it to pick up the check for its e-commerce ventures. "There may be some value unlocked but I don''t think it is worth the impatience," said Byron Lotter of Vestact in Johannesburg. Horn said Naspers would help investors better understand how to value the stock by driving "an improved understanding of our business through ongoing engagement with investors and more transparent disclosure (to the extent that it does not impact negatively on our competitive positioning)." (Additional reporting and writing by Tiisetso Motsoeneng; editing by Anna Willard)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-naspers-strategy-idUKKBN18K0GN'|'2017-05-24T13:37:00.000+03:00' +'259696fb7cd55a18a6b343d1dd491c7015e586e9'|'Financial broker NEX''s CFO Bridges steps down'|' 28am BST Financial broker NEX''s CFO Bridges steps down UK-based financial broker NEX Group said its finance head, Stuart Bridges, had stepped down from the board and would leave the company later in the year. Samantha Wren, currently the chief commercial officer for NEX Markets, has been appointed to the role of chief financial officer, NEX Group said. Bridges, who joined NEX Group in 2009 when it was known as ICAP, took on the role of CFO in September 2015. NEX was known as ICAP before it sold its voice broking business to TP ICAP last year. (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-nex-group-cfo-idUKKBN18R0NC'|'2017-05-31T14:28:00.000+03:00' +'a1e3d43ece98e90d3cfe2e4af85d5ea289295a3e'|'Agreement on European transaction levy within reach - Austria''s Schelling'|'Business News - Sun May 21, 2017 - 1:31pm BST Agreement on European transaction levy within reach: Austria''s Schelling Austrian Finance Minister Hans Joerg Schelling waits to meet President Alexander Van der Bellen (not pictured) in Vienna, Austria, January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger ZURICH Agreement on a European tax on financial transactions is within reach as more countries sign up for the plan and the new French government gives it a final review, Austrian Finance Minister Hans Joerg Schelling said on Sunday. The proposed levy on share and derivative transactions between financial institutions, put forward by Germany and France in 2012, is seen as a political symbol as much as an effort to correct the excesses blamed for the world''s worst financial crisis for decades. "Basically it is done because I have commitments from two of the three countries -- Slovakia, Slovenia and Belgium -- that they take part," Schelling, who has the lead role in coordinating the plan, told Austrian broadcaster ORF. He did not say which two had signed, giving the plan the required nine members to move forward. The tax was originally proposed for the whole of the European Union but most of the 28 nations have pulled out and only 10 are still considering it, including Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Greece, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. The tax is already applied domestically in some EU countries. New French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire had asked for time to review the plan, Schelling said, while noting that France has traditionally been an active backer of the much-delayed plan to levy fees on trades. The next step is for the European Commission to propose draft legislation and then for ministers to decide when the tax would take effect, he said. His upbeat tone contrasts with comments last week by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who said he did not expect much to be agreed soon on a financial transaction tax. Schelling had said on Tuesday an EU-wide transaction tax could be accounted for in the European budget and be offset against other national contributions. The current EU budget, totaling around 1 trillion euros, runs from 2014 till 2020. The EU is keen to consider alternative revenues, especially in view of Britain''s planned departure from the union, one of the largest contributors to its budget. (Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eu-austria-tax-idUKKBN18H0KV'|'2017-05-21T20:07:00.000+03:00' +'69c3ea6aac3a39853f6c2779fbbee73fc363f291'|'Asian stocks set to drift higher on U.S. cues; dollar weak'|'By Hilary Russ - NEW YORK NEW YORK The euro surged to a more than six-month high on Monday after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it was "too weak," while oil prices were bolstered by expectations that top exporters will extend supply curbs this week.A one-month high for oil futures LCOc1 on hopes of a supply cut by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries helped Asian shares to their best session in weeks.U.S. crude CLcv1 rose 0.61 percent to $50.98 per barrel and Brent LCOcv1 was at $53.80, up 0.35 percent on the day.European shares struggled to maintain momentum, but the U.S. stock market gained, lifted by defense and tech stocks, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced arms deals of up to $350 billion with Saudi Arabia over the weekend. [.N]The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 68.11 points, or 0.33 percent, to 20,872.95, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 8.04 points, or 0.34 percent, to 2,389.77 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 33.64 points, or 0.55 percent, to 6,117.35.The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 lost 0.09 percent and MSCI''s gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD PUS gained 0.43 percent.MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS closed 1.05 percent higher, while Japan''s Nikkei .N225 rose 0.45 percent.Currency markets flipped 180 degrees as Merkel, during a trip to a Berlin school, made a surprise reference to the euro being weak because of the European Central Bank''s ultra-low interest rates and money printing program.Until that point, the single currency EUR= had been in the red, but the comments saw it swiftly climb to a six-month high $1.1250 and bring the morning''s rebound in the dollar to an abrupt halt. The euro was last up 0.22 percent at $1.1229."The thing with euro/dollar is that you have quite a positive mood on the euro at the moment," said ABN Amro FX strategist Georgette Boele. "And when Merkel makes comments that the euro is probably too low then this is taken as another positive reason to push it higher."Sterling GBP= was also in the firing line, last trading at $1.3002, down 0.25 percent on the day, as polls showed the country''s election race tightening. Britain''s chief Brexit negotiator again threatened to walk away from EU exit talks unless the bloc eased its demands."Last week was all about U.S. uncertainty but we have had a reminder that Europe still has plenty of uncertainty too," said Alvin Tan at Societe Generale.Against a basket of currencies, the dollar opened higher after closing lower on Friday, when it had its largest weekly drop since April 2016. But on Monday, it quickly lost steam, falling back to low levels where it was trading in November. The dollar index .DXY fell 0.15 percent.U.S. Treasury yields were little changed as selling tied to this week''s government and corporate bond supply offset safe-haven bids underpinned by worries about investigations into possible links between Trump''s campaign officials and Russia.The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield US10YT=RR was last at 2.245 percent.Spot gold XAU= added 0.4 percent to $1,259.47 an ounce. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 gained 0.52 percent to $1,260.10 an ounce.For Reuters Live Markets blog on European and UK stock markets see reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=http://emea1.apps.cp.extranet.thomsonreuters.biz/cms/?pageId=livemarkets(Additional reporting by Marc Jones in London, Tanya Agrawal in Bengaluru, and Richard Leong in New York; Editing by Bernadette Baum)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idINKBN18I01A'|'2017-05-21T22:45:00.000+03:00' +'16ec60e641b5f20a9cb1dce2b7bfe6ab504709e1'|'BRIEF-Spotlight Innovation appoints John Krohn interim CEO'|'Market News 44am EDT BRIEF-Spotlight Innovation appoints John Krohn interim CEO May 23 Spotlight Innovation Inc- * SPOTLIGHT INNOVATION appoints John Krohn interim chief executive officer * Spotlight Innovation Inc - board of directors has accepted resignation of cristopher grunewald as chief executive officer * Spotlight Innovation Inc - appointed John M. Krohn as interim ceo, effective immediately * Spotlight Innovation Inc - Krohn will continue to serve as chairman of board, president and chief operating officer Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-spotlight-innovation-appoints-john-idUSASA09QYB'|'2017-05-23T20:44:00.000+03:00' +'d19e9a64e4d05320d5ddeb9ca12773253940e177'|'Ex-RBS boss Fred Goodwin returns to spotlight in 520m court battle - Business'|'Fred Goodwin Ex-RBS boss Fred Goodwin returns to spotlight in 520m court battle Controversial banker will be forced to publicly account for banks 45bn bailout in case brought by 9,000 shareholders Fred Goodwin: the former RBS chief is being sued by 9,000 shareholders. Photograph: Murdo Macleod for the Guardian Fred Goodwin Ex-RBS boss Fred Goodwin returns to spotlight in 520m court battle Controversial banker will be forced to publicly account for banks 45bn bailout in case brought by 9,000 shareholders View more sharing options Friday 19 May 2017 14.42 BST Last modified on Friday 19 May 2017 14.51 BST For eight years, Britains most vilified banker has kept a low profile. But next week in Londons high court a 520m legal case will force Fred Goodwin into the limelight. Thousands of shareholders in Royal Bank of Scotland are accusing the institutions former chief executive along with three former board colleagues and the bank itself of misleading them when they bought the banks shares in a failed rescue attempt in April 2008. Goodwin is scheduled to appear at the high court over two days starting on the day of the general election, 8 June. It will be the first time Goodwin has been forced to publicly account for the banks 45bn taxpayer bailout since politicians on the Treasury select committee questioned him in February 2009. It will also be the first time senior bankers have been questioned about their role during the financial crisis in a London court. For the 58-year-old Scotsman it will be an unwelcome intrusion into a life that now involves playing golf and tinkering with vintage cars in Edinburgh. But for the 9,000 private shareholders and major institutions bringing the legal action, it is a moment they have been working towards for years. RBS reports first quarterly profit since 2015 as it tries to turn corner Read more RBS has tried to stop the case getting to court. In the last six months , the bailed-out bank has reached settlements with 87% of the investors that had issued lawsuits in connection with the crucial 12bn cash call in April 2008 at the heart of the case. The shareholders in the high court case, who lost all their money in the failed fund raising when RBS was rescued by the taxpayer that September, argue that they were misled about the scale of the banks problems at the time. Sir Howard Davies, the chair of RBS, told the banks annual general meeting earlier this month: The settlement does not constitute any admission of liability by the bank, but allows us to minimise material litigation expense and management distraction. The shareholders involved in the high court case who include former staff and football club owner Trevor Hemmings have not agreed to an out-of-court deal. Others such as former RBS board member Sir Angus Grossart, also a former shareholder, have attempted to join. Unless a settlement can be agreed at the 11th hour, the case involving Goodwin, his former chair Sir Tom McKillop, and two others who were at the helm of the bank during the run-up to its near collapse will begin on Monday. Goodwins defence costs will be covered by the bank and have already reached 6.5m part of the colossal 125m legal bill RBS has incurred so far. He is being prepared for the case by his legal team at Clifford Chance who will be advising him on what to expect in court and prepare his formal witness statement. It is a civil case heard before a high court judge without a jury so Goodwin does not face any criminal sanction, but RBS is facing a compensation claim of 520m plus interest which could take it up to 800m from the investors. PR expert Mark Borkowski believes the court appearance Goodwins evidence is scheduled for next month is a moment for the banker to show chastened humility. The once-feted banker he was awarded Forbes businessman of the year in 2002 has disappeared off the radar since his departure from RBS in October 2008 after the bailout, points out Borkowski. Unlike other disgraced public figures who have tried to rehabilitate themselves, Goodwin has shunned charity or voluntary work. He took on an advisory role at architects RMJM which later ran into financial difficulty before being stripped of his knighthood in 2012. One public affairs guru says that if asked to advise Goodwin, he would tell the former chief executive to expect a more forensic type form of scrutiny: Youre being cross-examined by a barrister, not a politician, and a judge will not stand for grandstanding or turning it into a media circus. In 2009 his appearance before MPs was broadcast live. The public anger was only just brewing then he still had his knighthood and full 700,000-a-year pension when he offered his profound and unqualified apology for all of the distress that has been caused. This time only those who turn up in the public gallery will hear his voice as courts do not permit recording or broadcasting. But Goodwin who eventually agreed to reduce his annual pension to 342,000 will still expect an uncomfortable ride as the lawyers bury into the detail in the 140-page prospectus that accompanied the rights issue. The investors case centres on this document, which they allege contained untrue or misleading statements that did not give a true picture of the banks financial state. Goodwin had also told the MPs about his own personal financial losses a 5m fall in the value of his shares although this does not appear to have helped him win sympathy from disgruntled shareholders. Hemmings, who owns Preston North End football club, a chain of pubs and a stable of racehorses, admits he is among the private investors who have lost a significant sum of money. He is also helping to fund the legal action. We want to and will see justice done with fair compensation. That is why I have financially backed the case for everyone who lost out, Hemmings told Reuters this week. Notable among them is John Greenwood, the private investor whose name was used in legal documents to make the original claim in the high court. A 75-year-old retired civil engineer from Huddersfield, Greenwood starting buying RBS shares in 2006 to fund his pension. He backed the cash call before selling out in October 2008, when his loses were put at 45,000. While he will not attend court on Monday he has not decided whether he will make the trip to London when Goodwin is scheduled to appear. The timing for Goodwin is fortuitous: a day when the focus may well be on the politicians fighting for their futures and not the disgraced banker fighting for his reputation. Topics'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/19/rbs-fred-goodwin-court-bank-bailout-shareholders'|'2017-05-19T22:42:00.000+03:00' +'4636f2a9827450b3cb1c04abf74061d3d0272383'|'UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on May 3'|'(Adds company news, futures)May 3 Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening 13 points lower on Wednesday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures down 0.10 percent ahead of the cash market open.* BREXIT: Britain will not be paying 100 billion euros to leave the European Union, Brexit minister David Davis said on Wednesday after the Financial Times reported that the EU was preparing to demand that amount.* MITIE: Britain''s Mitie said on Wednesday it expected to writedown 40 million to 50 million pounds ($52 million to $64 million) and might restate its accounts for the year to March 2016 after an accounting review.* DIRECT: British motor and home insurer Direct Line Insurance Group reported a 4.2 percent rise in gross written premiums in the first quarter, boosted by strong performance in its auto business, it said on Wednesday.* JD: British pubs group JD Wetherspoon warned of "significantly higher" costs in the second half of the year and said it remained cautious, while reporting quarterly comparable sales growth of 4 percent.* IMPERIAL: British tobacco company Imperial Brands reported lower half-year revenue and profit on Wednesday, excluding a benefit from the weak pound, as it was hurt by an industry slowdown and an investment programme.* ITV: ITV, Britain''s biggest free-to-air commercial broadcaster, said Chief Executive Adam Crozier was stepping down after seven years in the role.* MARKS: Marks & Spencer said it had appointed Jill McDonald, the boss of Britain''s largest bike seller Halfords, to run its clothing and home business, freeing its chief executive Steve Rowe to focus on the overall group.* SAINSBURY: British supermarket Sainsbury''s on Wednesday reported a third straight year of underlying profit decline, despite the boost to earnings from last year''s purchase of Argos, the general merchandise retailer.* BARCLAYS: Barclays Chief Executive Jes Staley is involved in a dispute with private equity firm KKR & Co KKR.N, which is a client of the bank, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.* EVRAZ: Evraz Plc, Russia''s No. 2 steelmaker, signed an agreement with Kinder Morgan Inc to supply about 250,000 metric tons of pipe to the U.S. pipeline company for the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline.* ITV: Broadcaster ITV bought a majority stake in World Productions, the company behind the popular BBC series Line of Duty, for an undisclosed sum, The Times reported on Wednesday. bit.ly/2oVqI2f* OIL: Crude oil prices bounced back on Wednesday as a decline in U.S. inventories underpinned the market, although a dip in compliance with OPEC efforts to reduce output capped gains.* COPPER: London copper dropped on Wednesday from a three-week high hit the session before as prices consolidated after failing to break technical resistance and given a lack of other drivers, traders said.* GOLD: Gold prices fell to a three-week low on Tuesday, as demand for riskier assets drove stocks higher and the dollar hit a six-week peak against the yen.* The UK blue chip index closed up 0.6 percent at 7,250.05 points on Tuesday, with well-received results from heavyweight BP helping to underpin gains in a positive start to the first trading day of the month.* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarketsTODAY''S UK PAPERS> Financial Times> Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Harish Bhaskar; Editing by Sunil Nair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idINL4N1I51WZ'|'2017-05-03T05:04:00.000+03:00' +'22a19a2d940d54f84334d21fcf1cdf215140a3d7'|'Coca-Cola South Africa sells stake in Appletiser'|'JOHANNESBURG Coca-Cola South Africa (CCBSA) said on Monday it had sold a 17.5 percent stake in carbonated fruit juice brand Appletiser to investment holding company African Pioneer Group, as part of a merger agreement with SABMiller SAB.L.CCBS also sold a 4 percent stake to Sipho Excellent Madlala, a manager at CCBS, as part of merger conditions stipulating it should sell 20 percent of Appletiser to a black economic empowerment holding.Appletiser, a fruit juice based drink, was previously owned by SABMiller which merged its African soft drink operations with Coca-Cola ( KO.N ) to become the continent''s biggest Coke drinks bottler.The agreement handed 20 brands including Appletiser, whose fruit juice concentrate is sourced from South African producers, to Coke.SABMiller was acquired by the world''s largest brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev ( ABI.BR ), in a $100 billion plus deal last year in one of the largest corporate mergers in history which takes the company into Africa for the first time.The sale of the shares will give a seat on the board of Appletiser to APG and Madlala. Madlala will retain his role in the company following the transaction, Coca-Cola said.African Pioneer Group is a holding company with interests in fishing, gaming, beverages and mining, engineering & energy.(Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg. Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-sabmiller-cocoacola-safricacoca-cola-idINKBN18412Q'|'2017-05-08T08:35:00.000+03:00' +'689df28d8e4a24150c7d92ddb976f4a4ae2dc263'|'LME head says pleased with level of feedback on reform plans'|' 10:54am BST LME head says pleased with level of feedback on reform plans Men walk past the London Metal Exchange (LME) in London, July 22, 2011. REUTERS/Paul Hackett/File Photo HONG KONG The new head of the London Metal Exchange on Wednesday said he was pleased with the level of early responses to a paper released last month discussing plans to reform parts of the bourse to fight sliding volumes. The 57-page document included proposals to change the structure of the exchange''s contracts and fees, as well as allowing metal to be used as collateral for margin trading. "We know that these are controversial topics," Matthew Chamberlain said on the sidelines of the LMEWeek Asia conference in Hong Kong. "On many of them, we have heard views from one end of the spectrum to the other. That''s what we expected ... I personally am very pleased as to the level of engagement." A perceived lack of strategy and falling volumes led to the departure of CEO Garry Jones early this year. The LME dominates the trading of metals such as aluminium, copper and zinc, but incursions into its territory from rivals such as the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) and CME Group ( CME.O ) have seen its share of overall copper trading fall to nearly 60 percent from 80 percent in 2008. The paper also included a list of products the LME is aiming to launch such as platinum and palladium futures contracts that would be added to its LMEprecious platform due to start in July. "From what I hear, the most positive feedback around the new initiatives is for example on the physical platform - I think there is very strong buy in for that and precious," said Chamberlain. The head of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) ( 0388.HK ) earlier in the day rebuffed criticism of the bourse''s handling of the LME. In his first speech since a management reshuffle last month, Charles Li reinforced his message that a major overhaul was needed at the LME when the Hong Kong bourse bought it five years ago, but acknowledged that upset among physical users had hurt turnover. (Reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Joseph Radford)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lmeweek-asia-reform-idUKKBN18615Z'|'2017-05-10T17:54:00.000+03:00' +'2442591eb696b27b386dd7c2f10bde1260a3c307'|'US SEC taps IPO legal guru for Corporation Finance unit'|'By Sarah N. Lynch - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON May 9 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton unveiled his first major personnel decision on Tuesday, saying he had hired an attorney who worked on prominent initial public offerings to lead the SEC''s division that oversees public company filings.The SEC said that William Hinman, a retired partner at the Silicon Valley office of the law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, will serve as director of the Division of Corporation Finance.According to his old law firm biography, Hinman worked on many high-profile IPOs, including those of Facebook, Google and Alibaba - an IPO that Clayton also worked on while he was a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell.(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-sec-hinman-idINEMN1IRY32'|'2017-05-09T18:28:00.000+03:00' +'1044314b786cb32dd7b2ab7e8969cb992948b06d'|'Saudis take 100% control of America''s largest oil refinery - May. 1,'|'Saudi Aramco CEO: IPO still on track for 2018 America''s largest oil refinery is now fully owned by Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco, the kingdom''s state-owned oil behemoth, took 100% control of the sprawling Port Arthur refinery in Texas on Monday, completing a deal that was first announced last year. Port Arthur is considered the crown jewel of the US refinery system. The Gulf Coast facility can process 600,000 barrels of oil per day, making it the largest refinery in North America. Aramco previously owned 50% of Port Arthur through a joint venture co-owned with Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSA ) called Motiva Enterprises. But the two oil giants had a rocky relationship and reached a deal in March 2016 to separate their assets. Shell put out a statement on Monday confirming the "completion" of that break-up. In addition to Port Arthur, Aramco is acquiring full ownership of 24 distribution terminals. Aramco also gets the exclusive right to sell Shell-branded gasoline and diesel in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, the eastern half of Texas and the majority of Florida. Related: Trump''s energy plan isn''t a game-changer Aramco''s deal allows the oil giant to shore up one of its best customers -- the US -- ahead of next year''s planned IPO . Now that it controls the largest American refinery, Aramco can send more Saudi crude into the US for refining to sell to North American drivers. Saudi Arabia is already America''s second-largest source of crude, behind only Canada. The US imported 1.3 million barrels of Saudi crude a day in February, up 32% from last year, according to the Energy Information Administration. Saudi Arabia is hoping the Aramco IPO will be valued at a stunning $2 trillion. The kingdom continues to grapple with low oil prices and a bloated budget , making it critical that the Aramco IPO goes off without a hitch. Saudi Arabia, the largest oil exporter in the world, dramatically slashed taxes on Aramco in March in an effort to quell concern about the oil giant''s valuation. Related: Saudi Arabia reverses pay cuts for state workers Even as Saudi Arabia extends its reach in the US, the Trump administration has pushed for American energy independence by unleashing the domestic energy industry . Trump said in a May 2016 speech that he wants to bring about independence from "our foes and the oil cartels." Trump also threatened before he was elected to halt imports of oil from Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries if they didn''t commit ground troops to fight ISIS. After Trump was elected, Saudi energy minister Khalid al-Falih later warned that blocking the kingdom''s crude could backfire. "Trump will see the benefits and I think the oil industry will also be advising him accordingly that blocking trade in any product is not healthy," Falih told the Financial Times in November. Despite that rhetoric, relations between the US and Saudi Arabia appear to have improved under Trump. Saudi Arabia''s powerful deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman met with Trump in the Oval Office in March, a meeting heralded by the kingdom as an "historic turning point" between the two countries. CNNMoney (New York) 1:53 PM ET'|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_news_economy.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/01/investing/saudi-arabia-buys-largest-oil-refinery-port-arthur/index.html'|'2017-05-01T21:53:00.000+03:00' +'c9c9ab34ae72a38394eef55f3ce9dc1c5d144dd4'|'Vodacom agrees $2.6 billion Safaricom deal to tap Kenyan market'|'JOHANNESBURG South Africa''s Vodacom said on Monday it will buy a 35 percent stake in Safaricom from its parent company Vodafone for 34.6 billion rand ($2.59 billion), expanding its reach into Kenya.Safaricom, which is 40 percent owned by Britain''s Vodafone and 35 percent by Kenya''s government, has the largest subscriber base in its home market and dominates the thriving mobile financial services sector through its M-Pesa platform."The proposed transaction will expose Vodacom Group to the attractive high growth Kenyan market, being one of the largest and most advanced economies in east and central Africa that has made significant strides in technological innovation," Vodacom said in a statement.Vodafone will retain a 12.5 percent interest in Vodafone Kenya, equivalent to 5 percent interest in Safaricom, after completion of the proposed transaction, the company said.(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Joe Brock)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-vodacom-grp-m-a-safaricom-idINKCN18B0K5'|'2017-05-15T04:56:00.000+03:00' +'361dbff37827bd3f4ee8951fb23180ea3c6ce657'|'HGGC to buy majority stake in Idera, values firm over $1 billion'|'Deals 1:03pm EDT HGGC to buy majority stake in Idera, values firm over $1 billion By Liana B. Baker - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO HGGC has agreed to take a majority stake in database software firm Idera, valuing the company at roughly $1.125 billion including debt, the private equity firm said in a statement. Software that maintains databases, part of the broader enterprise technology market, has become a favorite of private equity firms looking for steady revenue streams. Boston-based TA Associates, which previously controlled Idera, will keep a significant minority stake in the company, the statement said. HGGC, TA Associates and company management will contribute equity of about $400 million to $450 million as part of the deal, while Jefferies will provide roughly $700 million in financing, according to sources familiar with the matter. HGGC, based in Palo Alto, California, was co-founded by former National Football League''s San Francisco 49ers star Steve Young. Young said in a statement that HGGC is excited to become an investor in Idera since it has executed an "aggressive acquisition strategy" and "strong organic growth." The investment includes a pending acquisition of an unnamed company that Idera has made in recent months. Idera provides database software for businesses in a variety of industries from education to government and makes tools to help employees monitor and test databases. It competes with CA Inc ( CA.O ) and BMC Software, which is now private and owned by private equity firms Bain Capital and Golden Gate Capital. TA Associates acquired the Houston, Texas based company for an undisclosed sum in 2014. HGGC''s previous investments include marketing technology firm Etouches, an automated marketing software company called Selligent and FPX, software that helps tech companies price their products. It closed an $1.84 billion fund last year, its third buyout fund to date. William Blair advised Idera. HGGC was advised by Jefferies LLC and Kirkland & Ellis LLP. (Reporting by Liana B. Baker in San Francisco; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and David Gregorio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-idera-m-a-hggc-idUSKBN18R183'|'2017-05-31T21:03:00.000+03:00' +'323622e8a5be23b51f16485a891d7538d30cc664'|'South Africa reviewing five shale gas exploration applications: official'|'Commodities - Mon May 15, 2017 - 10:18am EDT South Africa may award first shale gas exploration licenses by end-Sept FILE PHOTO: A windmill pumps water from a borehole in the semi-arid Karoo region near Graaf Reinet, South Africa, October 11, 2013. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/File Photo By Wendell Roelf - JOHANNESBURG JOHANNESBURG South Africa''s government may award its first shale gas exploration licenses by the end of September, after environmental objections delayed the process, a senior government official said on Monday. The five license applications under review are for exploration in the semi-arid Karoo basin. Environmentalists criticized plans to work in the sparsely populated region, known for its rugged scenery and home to rare species such as the mountain zebra and riverine rabbit. Royal Dutch Shell, Falcon Oil and Gas and Bundu Gas & Oil are among five firms whose applications were being reviewed by the regulator, acting Petroleum Agency SA (PASA) Chief Executive Lindiwe Mekwe told Reuters. PASA would make recommendations to Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane to decide on the license awards. "We anticipate that the minister will be in a position to make a determination during the second or third quarter," Mekwe said. "If the decision is made this year the exploration rights will be valid for a period of three years, exploration activities should commence within three years," she said. South Africa is seeking to replace its dwindling offshore gas reserves and reduce reliance on coal to fuel power plants. Shell said last year its Karoo project could compete in its global shale gas and oil portfolio provided commercial terms were attractive. It had previously pulled back from the plans due to low energy prices and license delays. South Africas recoverable gas reserves from onshore shale and offshore gas fields was estimated in 2015 at about 19.5 trillion cubic feet (TCF). Officials say it would take about a decade to significantly develop these gas resources. Mekwe said Total had applied to renew its offshore exploration license, but was not expected to drill in the next two years as the French firm continued engineering work for a drill ship to deal with rough sea conditions. Sasol, Exxonmobil and Impact had received an upgrade in their technical co-operation permits, which entitle holders to conduct desktop studies, to offshore exploration licenses, she added. Mekwe called for more opportunities for black citizens to enter the oil and gas industry, expected to expand once a Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Bill is finalised. "PASA is indeed adding weight on black economic empowerment credentials," Mekwe said. (Editing by Ed Stoddard and Edmund Blair) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-safrica-shalegas-idUSKCN18B0WE'|'2017-05-15T12:52:00.000+03:00' +'029d1fa2c12ebf22e63fada3ca02f0e4b35e5e72'|'Gap profit jumps 12.6 pct'|'Market News - Thu May 18, 2017 - 4:21pm EDT Gap profit jumps 12.6 pct May 18 Clothing retailer Gap Inc reported a 12.6 percent rise in quarterly profit, helped by robust demand for its Old Navy brand. The company''s net income rose to $143 million, or 36 cents per share, in the first quarter ended April 29 from $127 million, or 32 cents per share, a year earlier. Gap''s same-store sales rose 2 percent in the quarter. Analysts on average had expected a 0.2 percent fall, according to Consensus Metrix. Revenue was flat at $3.44 billion. (Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/gap-results-idUSL4N1IK5GS'|'2017-05-19T04:21:00.000+03:00' +'8df08afd6fb88e785e87a7877ea3a9e4e2d35a5d'|'Citigroup says May to win majority of 104-190 in June 8 election'|'Business 7:28am BST Citigroup says May to win majority of 104-190 in June 8 election Britain''s Prime Minister Theresa May''s launches her election manifesto in Halifax, May 18, 2017. REUTERS/Phil Noble LONDON British Prime Minister Theresa May is likely to win a majority of 104-190 seats in the June 8 election, Citigroup said in a research note published on Friday. "Prime Minister Theresa May called early elections on 8 June to boost her mandate and win time to implement her version of ''hard-but-smooth'' Brexit," Citi said in the research note. "National polls, experts'' analyses and our own constituency-level simulations suggest that her bet should pay off." Citi added that it saw no signs that May was moving towards a so called "Singapore-upon-Thames" deregulated low-tax economic model. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Michael Holden)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-election-citi-idUKKCN18F0HN'|'2017-05-19T14:28:00.000+03:00' +'b0305c8ed1b7b87f5ee4e473491034cb49f9dd52'|'China''s Lenovo returns to profit as PC performance beats overall market'|'Asia - Thu May 25, 2017 - 12:45pm IST China''s Lenovo returns to profit as PC performance beats overall market A Lenovo logo is seen at the computer in Kiev, Ukraine April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich/File Photo By Sijia Jiang - HONG KONG HONG KONG China''s Lenovo Group Ltd ( 0992.HK ), the world''s largest personal computer (PC) maker, on Thursday said it returned to profit in a year when its PC shipments fell at a slower rate than the overall market as consumer demand continued its downward trend. Profit reached $535 million in the year to March, reversing a loss of $128 million a year prior and missing the $569 million average of 24 analyst estimates in a Thomson Reuters Poll. Revenue fell 4 percent to $43 billion. The result comes as Lenovo navigates a PC market that has shrunk markedly since the advent of smartphones and tablet computers. According to researcher Gartner, global PC shipments fell for the 10th consecutive quarter in January-March, and dipped below 63 million units for the first time since 2007. At Lenovo, annual shipments fell 1 percent versus a market fall of 3 percent, with market share rising 0.4 percentage point to a record 21.4 percent. Revenue in its PC and smart devices unit - which makes up 70 percent of the total - fell 2 percent. The company blamed the decline in results on transitions in its smartphone and data center businesses, as well as a difficult macro environment and component supply constraints in the second half of the year. "Despite market conditions that will remain challenging in the short term, the Group exited the year with stronger organization allowing for sharper customer focus and more compelling product portfolio across all our business," Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Yang Yuanqing said in a filing. MOBILE LOSS PC competition took a step up this week when China''s largest mobile phone maker, Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL], said it would enter the market for premium consumer models. Lenovo also competes with Huawei in mobile, which accounts for 18 percent of revenue. The unit''s loss widened to $566 million from $469 million a year prior, though Lenovo said it had strong growth in Latin America and Western Europe. The company''s smaller data center business, which includes servers and enterprise services, booked a loss of $343 million. Yang said Lenovo''s core PC business remained solid, transformation for its mobile business was on track, and it is accelerating efforts to improve its data center business. For the three months through March, profit fell 41 percent to $107 million on revenue that rose 5 percent to $9.58 billion. (This story has been refiled to correct to show annual profit missed, not beat, estimates in the second paragraph) (Reporting by Sijia Jiang; Editing by Christopher Cushing)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-lenovo-group-results-idINKBN18L0DT'|'2017-05-25T14:28:00.000+03:00' +'efb4f18d41171c816e61992839c9644e129435cb'|'Miner thinks small to resurrect big Canadian iron ore mine'|'Business News - Wed May 24, 2017 - 12:07pm BST Miner thinks small to resurrect big Canadian iron ore mine left right Champion Iron''s Bloom Lake mine is seen near Fermont, Quebec, Canada May 31, 2016. Picture taken May 31, 2016. REUTERS/Susan Taylor 1/8 left right Heavy haul trucks, with capacity to carry 240 tons of material, are parked at Champion Iron''s Bloom Lake mine near Fermont, Quebec, Canada May 31, 2016. Picture taken May 31, 2016. REUTERS/Susan Taylor 2/8 left right Champion Iron Chief Executive Office Michael O''Keeffe speaks to reporters at the company''s Bloom Lake mine near Fermont, Quebec, Canada May 31, 2016. Picture taken May 31, 2016. REUTERS/Susan Taylor 3/8 left right Champion Iron''s Chief Operating Officer David Cataford is interviewed at the company''s Bloom Lake mine near Fermont, Quebec, Canada May 31, 2016. Picture taken May 31, 2016. REUTERS/Susan Taylor 4/8 left right A worker uses a welding torch at Champion Iron''s Bloom Lake mine near Fermont, Quebec, Canada May 31, 2016. Picture taken May 31, 2016. REUTERS/Susan Taylor 5/8 left right Champion Iron''s Bloom Lake mine is seen near Fermont, Quebec, Canada May 31, 2016. Picture taken May 31, 2016. REUTERS/Susan Taylor 6/8 left right Champion Iron''s Bloom Lake mine is seen near Fermont, Quebec, Canada May 31, 2016. Picture taken May 31, 2016. REUTERS/Susan Taylor 7/8 left right Heavy haul trucks, with capacity to carry 240 tons of material, are parked at Champion Iron''s Bloom Lake mine near Fermont, Quebec, Canada May 31, 2016. Picture taken May 31, 2016. REUTERS/Susan Taylor 8/8 By Susan Taylor - TORONTO TORONTO Champion Iron Ltd ( CIA.AX ) ( CIA.TO ) is thinking small with its plans to bring Quebec''s giant Bloom Lake iron ore mine back to life. Chief Executive Michael O''Keeffe intends to slash costs while cutting millions of tonnes from a planned production expansion. The strategy runs counter to the traditional economy of scale formula, which bumps up production for proportional cost savings. It may prove a prescient approach as iron ore prices pull back from 30-month highs in February. The recovery sparked signs of life for a handful of hibernating miners in Canada''s metal-rich Labrador Trough, straddling the provinces of Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador, including Champion, Alderon Iron Ore ( IRON.TO ) and Tata Steel Minerals Canada ( TISC.NS ). Champion is taking a different tack with Bloom Lake than its previous owner and North America''s biggest iron ore producer, Cliffs Natural Resources ( CLF.N ), beginning with the price tag. Cliffs paid $4.9 billion (3.7 billion) for the mine in 2011, near the top of the market. Later it launched a $1.2 billion expansion to make the mine viable by doubling output to 16 million tonnes in a bid to help bring costs down. But as prices slumped, Cliffs suspended the money-losing operation. It sold the mine to Champion for C$10.5 million (6 million) in 2015, a year when spot prices bottomed at $37 a tonne, from $190 in 2011. O''Keeffe, a former Glencore ( GLEN.L ) executive, believes other miners looking to buy Bloom Lake made calculations using Cliff''s high-volume blueprint and were spooked by the costs. Walking "every inch" of the property, O''Keeffe told Reuters that he and Champion''s chief operating officer David Cataford looked for ways to reconfigure operations that would squeeze costs to $50 per tonne of delivered concentrate from over $91. Rather than trucking ore in 240-ton trucks for processing, for example, the mine will use a 3.8 kilometre (2.36 mile) conveyer belt to move the steelmaking ingredient, Cataford said. And instead of trucking some 12 million tonnes of tailings waste to on-site storage each year, that material will move through pumps, said Cataford. A new recovery process and more efficient equipment, used to sift through iron particles, will goose recovery rates to 80 percent from 68 percent, explained O''Keeffe, and cut production costs by some $12 a tonne. "We had a view which was quite contrary to everyone else," said O''Keeffe: scrapping the growth project underway and matching costs with the "big guys." "What was in everyone''s head was the only way to do this is expand. But your mining costs would have been more, and you''d have to spend a massive amount of capital," added O''Keeffe, who may be best known for building Riversdale Mining from a A$7 million (4 million) coal explorer in Mozambique into a producer that Rio Tinto ( RIO.L ) ( RIO.L ) paid nearly A$4 billion to buy. Champion''s board has yet to vote on a C$326.8 million mine restart plan, but the company said in a feasibility study it intends to be operating by the first quarter of 2018. The miner forecasts revenue of C$15 billion over a 21-year mine life, producing 7.4 million tonnes of concentrate annually. A lower stripping ratio - the amount of dirt removed to expose mineable ore - helps squeeze costs to $44.62 per tonne, while the high-grade concentrate price is seen at $78.40. At 66.2 percent iron content, the ore earns a premium above the industry standard 62 percent. Market jitters over rising low-cost global production, coupled with an oversupply of Chinese steel, have pushed spot prices down to $63.19 a tonne .IO62-CNO=MB, from $94.86 in February. Clarksons Platou analysts said the consensus price among Asian steel industry companies they recently polled was $60 per tonne, though several expect a decline to mid-$50 before a longer-term climb above $60. Signs of cooling Chinese demand is another factor at play, with BMI Research recently cutting its forecasts to $50 from $55 a tonne in 2018. Even at prices in the mid-$50s, Champion is comfortable that it can repay debt and "keep our heads above water," O''Keeffe said. But he expects demand to skyrocket for Champion''s "clean" concentrate, which will allow Chinese steelmakers to reduce emissions and pursue high-grade steel production. O''Keeffe, who recently announced C$40 million in bridge financing to restart the mine and a supply deal with Japanese trading company Sojitz Corp ( 2768.T ), acknowledges his opportune acquisition. "Cliffs were on the road to do this, they just ran out of time and money," O''Keeffe said. "So it''s easy for us to come along and pick up and build all of this and implement a lot of the changes that Cliffs were already going to do." (Reporting by Susan Taylor; Editing by Denny Thomas and Edward Tobin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-champion-iron-bloomlake-idUKKBN18K1C0'|'2017-05-24T19:07:00.000+03:00' +'1a3007fa84b3283308d21a9e4d63bc0dfdd0fe5e'|'BRIEF-India''s Housing Development Finance Corporation March-qtr profit falls about 22 pct - Reuters'|'May 4 Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd:* March quarter net profit 20.44 billion rupees* Consensus forecast for March quarter profit was 20.14 rupees* March quarter total income 85.15 billion rupees* Net profit in March quarter last year was 26.07 billion rupees ; total income was 92.26 billion rupees* Recommended final dividend of 15 rupees per share* Says debt-equity ratio as on march 31, 2017 is 7.06 Source text: ( bit.ly/2quYUS0 )'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/brief-indias-housing-development-finance-idINFWN1I609C'|'2017-05-04T07:11:00.000+03:00' +'78202c2ba11e77eb460de0820256d59b2ee9149c'|'Airbus appoints independent compliance review panel amid probes'|'Business News - Mon May 22, 2017 - 3:29am EDT Airbus hires outside monitors amid fraud investigations FILE PHOTO: The logo of Airbus Group is seen on the company''s headquarters building in Toulouse, Southwestern France, April 18, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo By Tim Hepher - PARIS PARIS Airbus ( AIR.PA ) has appointed an independent review panel including two former ministers to oversee its anti-corruption practices after Britain and France launched fraud and bribery investigations into the sale of jetliners. The European airplane maker said on Monday the three advisers, who include former German finance minister Theo Waigel and former French European affairs minister Noelle Lenoir, will report to Chief Executive Tom Enders and the board. Airbus is in the midst of a sweeping compliance shake-up after acknowledging making flawed applications for export credit support from Britain for commercial jets. Britain''s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) launched a bribery and fraud investigation last year after Airbus notified it of misstatements and omissions in its past declarations on the use of middlemen, while applying for export credits. France followed suit with a similar investigation earlier this year and authorities in the two countries have said they will cooperate in the inquiries, the most far-reaching to target the 47-year-old company''s civil activities. Airbus, which also faces an investigation into fighter sales in Austria where it has called recent allegations unfounded, has pledged to cooperate with all ongoing investigations. The independent panel will have access to all areas of the company and take a "hard look" at its systems and culture, Enders said in a statement. The decision to appoint an external panel was voluntary, Airbus said, though legal experts say it will have been done only after consulting UK and French prosecutors. The costly decision to bring in monitors appears designed to strengthen Airbus''s chances of winning a deferred prosecution agreement with the SFO and also in France, where such bargains are now possible under a recent anti-corruption law. In its 2016 annual report, Airbus said it may have to "modify its business practices and compliance program and/or have a compliance monitor imposed on it" due to the investigations. A deferred prosecution agreement involves a prosecution being launched and immediately suspended in return for stringent compliance actions, and can also involve a financial settlement. UK engineering firm Rolls-Royce ( RR.L ) agreed in January to submit to external monitoring and pay 671 million pounds ($872 million) as part of fraud settlements in Brazil, the United Kingdom and the United States. The third member of the new Airbus monitoring panel, UK lawyer and House of Lords member David Gold, reviewed Rolls-Royce''s anti-corruption policies following bribery allegations. (Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-airbus-ethics-idUSKBN18I0K6'|'2017-05-22T14:25:00.000+03:00' +'b5d852801af0c61539cad6af307eb060177a0546'|'Saudi oil minister due in Iraq to discuss extending oil output cut - official'|'Business 6:07pm BST Saudi Arabia, Iraq agree oil output cut needs nine-month extension Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih speaks to media at the Saudi-US CEO Forum 2017 ahead of the arrival of the U.S. President Donald Trump, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 20, 2017. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed By Ahmed Rasheed and Ernest Scheyder - BAGHDAD/VIENNA BAGHDAD/VIENNA OPEC heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Iraq agreed on Monday on the need to extend a global cut in oil supply by nine months in an effort to prop up crude prices, removing a potential stumbling block as producing countries prepare to meet this week. Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said he did not expect any opposition within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to extending the curbs for a further nine months, speaking after he met his Iraqi counterpart in Baghdad. OPEC meets in Vienna on Thursday to consider whether to prolong the original deal reached in December in which OPEC and 11 non-member countries, including Russia, agreed to cut output by about 1.8 million barrels per day in the first half of 2017. The Saudi minister told a joint news conference with his Iraqi counterpart Jabar Ali al-Luaibi that Iraq had given the "green light" to a proposal for a nine-month extension that would be presented to the meeting in the Austrian capital. He said a new agreement would be similar to the previous pact, with minor changes. He said any decision would not be finalised until OPEC meets. Falih was paying a rare visit to Iraq in the latest effort by the top oil producer to convince its fellow OPEC member to extend supply cuts to ease a global glut. Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi said he agreed with Saudi Arabia on the need for a nine-month extension. Saudi Arabia and non-OPEC Russia have been pushing to extend the cuts from the end of June until March 2018. Iraq, OPEC''s second-largest and fastest-growing oil producer, had until Monday voiced support only for a six-month extension. It is the first time in nearly three decades that a senior Saudi energy official has visited Baghdad. OPEC wants to reduce global oil inventories to their five-year average but so far has struggled to do so. Stockpiles are hovering near record highs, partly because of rising production in the United States, which is not part of the existing deal. "I believe we have a growing consensus (on the duration of cut extension)," OPEC''s Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo told reporters in Vienna. Iraq and Iran were the main stumbling blocks for OPEC in reaching its last output-cutting decision in December. OPEC''S CHALLENGE Baghdad argued it had just started enjoying production growth after years of stagnation and Tehran said it needed to raise output after the lifting of Western sanctions. Iraq ended up agreeing to cap output in the first half of 2017 while Iran was allowed a slight rise in production. Nigeria and Libya were granted exemptions from cuts as their output suffered from unrest. Both have regained some volumes in recent months and are expected to add more soon, adding to OPEC''s challenge in rebalancing the market. Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ), one of the most active banks in commodities trading, said on Monday a nine-month extension would help rebalance inventories in 2017 and keep Brent prices near $57 per barrel. Brent futures LCOc1 were trading 0.6 percent higher at $53.92 a barrel on Monday at 1638 GMT. Goldman said OPEC should put pressure on American shale oil producers by creating a market structure known as backwardation, when the future trading price of a commodity is below the current spot market value. By extending cuts into 2018 and promising to boost output next year, OPEC could force the oil market into backwardation that would scare away private equity and other investors who have been funding the American shale producers. "The binding force to sustainably slow shale growth lies on the funding side," Damien Courvalin, a Goldman analyst, wrote in the research note to clients. (Additional reporting by OPEC team in Vienna; Writing by Isabel Coles, Dmitry Zhdannikov and Dale Hudson; Editing by David Goodman and Edmund Blair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iraq-oil-saudi-opec-idUKKBN18I0HC'|'2017-05-22T13:49:00.000+03:00' +'359bb46af5f8f0afc64f9eca974ecd1bae34031a'|'EU regulators to rule on $38 billion Qualcomm, NXP deal by June 9'|'BRUSSELS EU antitrust regulators will decide by June 9 whether to clear smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm''s ( QCOM.O ) $38 billion bid for NXP Semiconductors NV ( NXPI.O ), which would make it the leading supplier to the fast-growing automotive chips market.Qualcomm, which provides chips to Android smartphone makers and Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ), sought EU approval for the deal on April 28, a filing on the European Commission website showed on Monday.The EU competition enforcer can either approve the deal with or without concessions or it can open an investigation lasting about five months if it has serious concerns.Qualcomm has said the deal, the biggest ever in the semiconductor industry, is a complementary one. The U.S. antitrust watchdog cleared the deal unconditionally last month.(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-nxp-m-a-qualcomm-eu-idINKBN17Y0ZZ'|'2017-05-02T08:11:00.000+03:00' +'24f26c9da666f5fb33a5159433ec25132ee58fe5'|'CHS replaces chief after earnings decline, Brazil exposure'|'By Tom Polansek - CHICAGO CHICAGO May 22 CHS Inc, the biggest U.S. agricultural cooperative, named a new chief executive on Monday, after suffering a sharp decline in income and confirming it was a creditor of a failing Brazilian commodities trader.Minnesota-based CHS picked Jay Debertin to take over immediately for Carl Casale, who had been CEO for six years. Debertin, who joined CHS in 1984, previously served as executive vice president and chief operating officer for CHS''s energy and foods business."Its a leadership change," company spokeswoman Beth LaBreche said when asked about the reason for Casale''s departure. She said Debertin will place "increased rigor around business process and organizational excellence."Last month, sources said CHS was among the largest creditors of Brazilian commodities trader Seara Ind e Com de Produtos Agropecurios Ltda, which filed for bankruptcy protection. CHS'' credits with Seara were estimated at around $200 million.Debertin said in an interview that it was too early to know how the bankruptcy would affect CHS''s results."The leadership transition occurred for a number of different reasons. I would not look at this one as being a cause and effect," he said about Seara Ind e Com''s failure.Major grain handlers have struggled lately to profit from their core grain trading businesses because large global supplies have created fewer opportunities to make money by moving crops to areas with deficits from areas with surpluses.In its fiscal year 2016, CHS reported net income dropped 46 percent from the previous year to $424.2 million. The company''s annual report said 2016 was the most challenging year in more than a decade.Earlier this month, the stock prices for rival grain companies Archer Daniels Midland Co and Bunge Ltd sank when they warned of troubles making money from global trading.ADM has shaken up its global trading unit in a bid to boost profits.Another competitor, Louis Dreyfus, has revamped operations and its head of grain trading in North America will retire at the end of the month.Casale''s spokeswoman, Valerie Martin, said he had reached out to CHS''s board to start discussions about his departure."Performance objectives had been completely achieved," Martin said. "It made sense to all involved." (Reporting by Tom Polansek, editing by G Crosse)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/chs-ceo-idINL1N1IO10C'|'2017-05-22T15:21:00.000+03:00' +'1abb7056efa8ee064cbc8d8eb9662cae85bdd2d4'|'China April home prices rise 0.7 percent month on month, 10.7 percent year on year'|'Business News - Thu May 18, 2017 - 2:57am BST China April home prices rise 0.7 percent month on month, 10.7 percent year on year A woman rides a tricycle carrying a child near a residential compound in Beijing''s Tongzhou district, China, February 25, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Lee BEIJING Average new home prices in China''s 70 major cities rose 0.7 percent in April from the previous month, faster than the 0.6 percent gain posted in March, Reuters calculated from an official survey out on Thursday. Compared with a year ago, new home prices rose 10.7 percent in April, slowing from an 11.3 percent gain in March, Reuters calculated from National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data. Analysts say China''s hot property market appeared to be peaking as regulators intensified a crackdown on speculators in big cities in late March. (Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk and Yawen Chen; Editing by Eric Meijer)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-homeprices-idUKKCN18E06E'|'2017-05-18T09:57:00.000+03:00' +'634baccdb9062093b89f521bb38d03704ae825de'|'BRIEF-TSMC orders machinery equipment from Delta Electronics'|'Market 5:02am EDT BRIEF-TSMC orders machinery equipment from Delta Electronics May 26 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd * Says orders machinery equipment worth T$383 million ($12.72 million) Source text on Eikon: * Investors take cue from policymakers, stay cautious on recovery MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories Reuters News Agency - Brand Attribution Guidelines - Careers Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters . Thomson Reuters is the world''s largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-tsmc-orders-machinery-equipment-fr-idUSS7N1I501L'|'2017-05-26T17:02:00.000+03:00' +'b3a88ad2e5f5bc826a00bff9e7ae24df84361735'|'CEOs of Target, ADM to square off on U.S. border tax at hearing'|'WASHINGTON The chief executive officers of two major American companies - retailer Target Corp and agribusiness Archer Daniels Midland Co - offered opposing views in a hearing before U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday on a proposed border adjustment tax.Target CEO Brian Cornell has been one of the most vocal opponents of the Republican-backed border adjustment tax and testified alongside Juan Luciano, president and CEO of ADM, who spoke in favor of the proposal.The border tax would imposes a tax on imports while providing a credit for exports and has been proposed by House Republicans as part of a larger tax code overhaul. Target is a big importer of goods, while ADM exports.House Speaker Paul Ryan argues the proposed border tax, which is estimated to garner $1 trillion, will not affect prices and will allow rate cuts for businesses while not creating deficits, but retailers warn that it could raise consumer prices as much as 15 percent.Cornell and Luciano took staunchly different positions on the tax."Under the new border adjustment tax, American families your constituents would pay more so many multinational corporations can pay even less," Cornell told the committee.Luciano, on the other hand, argued that the tax would make American companies more competitive."A competitive tax code will help us continue providing American-made food and feed to our customers in the United States and abroad in the face of robust and, from a tax perspective, ever strengthening competition from abroad," he said.The outlook for passage of the border tax - which drew staunch opposition from retailers - remains perilous, especially as key Senate Republicans and President Donald Trump have refused to endorse it.Several Republican members of the committee expressed concerns about the tax during the hearing that stretched more than three hours, including Republican Representative Jim Renacci who argued the proposal could hurt small businesses that rely on imports.Dimming the prospects more, lawmakers and lobbyists have begun to speculate that Congress will be unable to rally support for a sweeping tax code overhaul this year, and are beginning to look instead at cutting tax rates without broad reform.The committee heard from two additional supporters of the tax, including William Simon, the former CEO of Wal-Mart Stores Inc, who despite his past with a large retailer that opposes the tax, endorsed the measure."We will see more good middle class jobs, a robust U.S. economy and an era of growth that will be led by a new industrial revolution," Simon said.Lawrence Lindsey, the former director of the National Economic Council under President George W. Bush, also supported the tax.Economist Kimberly Clausing, of Reed College, criticized the proposal, saying she disagrees with the argument by proponents that currency markets would prevent consumer prices from increasing."This is an untested tax reform that is not ready for primetime," she said.(Reporting by Ginger Gibson; editing by Lisa Shumaker, Bernard Orr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-tax-border-idUSKBN18J193'|'2017-05-23T18:00:00.000+03:00' +'cba6eb8cba4340a8bfb6cd70bcc8be59a6552af6'|'Oil rises on expectation of extended, possibly deepened output cut'|'Business News - Mon May 22, 2017 - 1:57am BST Oil rises on expectation of extended, possibly deepened output cut Pump jacks pump oil at an oil field Buzovyazovskoye owned by Bashneft company north from Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia July 11, 2015. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo By Henning Gloystein - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Oil prices rose on Monday, supported by reports that an OPEC-led supply cut would not only be extended into next year but might also be deepened in order to tightening the market and prop up prices. Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up 25 cents, or 0.5 percent, from their last close at $53.86 per barrel at 0035 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were back above $50 per barrel, trading at $50.62, up 29 cents or 0.6 percent. Both benchmarks have risen more than 10 percent from their May lows early in the month. Prices have been lifted by expectations that a pledge by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers, including Russia, to cut supplies by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) would be extended to March 2018, instead of covering just the first half of this year to March 2018. "Crude oil prices continued to trend higher as the market becomes increasingly confident that OPEC members will commit to a rollover in the production cut agreement," ANZ bank said in a note on Monday. The option of deepening the production cut was also being discussed ahead of a meeting of OPEC and its allies in Vienna on May 25 to decide their output policy, sources said. Despite this, James Woods, investment analyst at Australia''s Rivkin Securities, said "the potential for deepening cuts remains limited... (as) officials are likely to monitor the impact of an extension of the cuts before they resort to such action." Woods said, however, that a deeper cut may be required to rein in oversupply. This is because soaring output from the United States has undermined OPEC''s efforts to tighten the market. Goldman Sachs said in a note late on Friday that "the U.S. oil rig count continued its surge (last week)," and that the rig count had added 404 oil rigs since May last year, a rise of 128 percent. U.S. oil production C-OUT-T-EIA has already risen by 10 percent, or almost 900,000 bpd, since mid-2016 to 9.3 million bpd. (Reporting by Henning Gloystein; Editing by Joseph Radford and Richard Pullin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-oil-idUKKBN18I01H'|'2017-05-22T08:57:00.000+03:00' +'77aefe80fc6d48e5499047bfe15d8ef1debc803f'|'Political risks have diminished after French election: ECB''s Weidmann'|' 9:19am BST Political risks have diminished after French election: ECB''s Weidmann FILE PHOTO: Central Bank (Bundesbank) Chief Jens Weidmann attends a press conference after the Franco-German Financial Council meeting in Berlin, Germany, September 23, 2016. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt/File Photo FRANKFURT Political risks for the euro zone and its economy are lower following the presidential election in France, ECB Governing Council member Jens Weidmann said on Wednesday, adding that even existing political risk might not hamper the bloc''s economy. French voters elected pro-European Union centrist Emmanuel Macron in early May. He beat the right-wing and eurosceptic leader of the National Front, Marine Le Pen. "The political risks have diminished somewhat", Weidmann, the president of Germany''s Bundesbank and a member of the decision making body of the European Central Bank, told an audience in Frankfurt. "And I would say that even existing political risks might not harm the euro zone economy because of lower spill-over effects." Turning to monetary policy he repeated his stance that the ECB should think about winding down stimulus - asset purchases and ultra-low interest rates - when growth picks up and inflation increases towards the ECB''s target of just below two percent. "If that''s the case then we should think about reducing the monetary stimulus," he said. (Reporting by Andreas Framke Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-weidmann-idUKKCN18E0UW'|'2017-05-18T16:19:00.000+03:00' +'9c8e6bcc6211b152875acaada78c21c759444bf6'|'Sensex rises; bank stocks lead gains'|'Money News - Thu May 4, 2017 - 3:51pm IST Sensex rises, ICICI Bank leads gains A broker smiles as he trades on his computer terminal at a stock brokerage firm in Mumbai December 31, 2009. REUTERS/Punit Paranjpe/Files Indian shares ended higher on Thursday as bank stocks climbed on a government move to tackle surging bad loans, while ICICI Bank ( ICBK.NS ) rallied 9 percent after it said additions to non-performing loans would be lower this year. The broader NSE Nifty closed up 0.51 percent, ending at a record closing high of 9,359.90, while the benchmark BSE Sensex ended 0.77 percent higher at 30,126.21. (Reporting by Samantha Kareen Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/india-sensex-nifty-stock-markets-idINKBN1800HN'|'2017-05-04T04:17:00.000+03:00' +'5a7c80e9849f7e056c7b178166d01d2f320a6a40'|'IAG expects Alitalia troubles to mean faster Vueling growth in Italy'|'Deals - Fri May 5, 2017 - 5:38am EDT IAG expects Alitalia troubles to mean faster Vueling growth in Italy Willie Walsh, CEO of International Airlines Group in Dublin, Ireland June 3, 2016. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne LONDON IAG ( ICAG.L ) expects Alitalia''s [CAITLA.UL] problems to help it grow its budget carrier Vueling in Italy, but the British Airways owner is not interested in a takeover of the struggling Italian flag carrier, IAG''s chief executive said on Friday. Alitalia filed to be put under special administration this week for the second time in less than a decade, starting a process that will lead to the loss-making Italian airline being overhauled, sold off or wound up. "We clearly see some organic growth opportunities in Italy. We will look to see if there''s an opprtunity to speed up growth... focused on Vueling," Willie Walsh told analysts after the group reported first quarter results, but added IAG had "no interest whatsoever" in Alitalia. Rivals Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) and Norwegian ( NWC.OL ) have also shown little interest in Alitalia and creditors have refused to lend it any more money. (Reporting by Alistair Smout; Writing by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Alexander Smith) '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iag-results-m-a-idUSKBN1810XG'|'2017-05-05T13:38:00.000+03:00' +'c312f099e09547d2e7a7356cdd3df5e54f85a374'|'BHP investor Tribeca calls for sale of U.S. shale assets, board shake-up'|'By Sonali Paul and Jamie Freed - MELBOURNE/SYDNEY MELBOURNE/SYDNEY A second BHP Billiton Ltd ( BHP.AX ) BHP.L shareholder has made a public push for changes at the world''s largest miner, with Sydney-based Tribeca Investment Partners pressing the company to sell its U.S. shale assets and dump its chief executive.Tribeca, a boutique Australian hedge fund, joined calls by U.S. activist investor Elliott Management for an exit from shale to free up capital, saying BHP could fetch $10 billion for the assets.Elliott last month urged BHP to unlock value by scrapping its dual-corporate structure, spinning off its entire U.S. oil business, and boosting capital returns.Tribeca sent an eight-page letter to its investors on Thursday titled "Making BHP Great Again". It called for a sale of shale assets, return of capital, and a board and management overhaul."We fear elements of the existing path could leave the company susceptible to ongoing underperformance and may ultimately result in this once great global mining force being considerably diminished," Tribeca said in the letter.Tribeca''s Global Natural Resources Fund analyst James Eginton said on Friday the fund has spoken to BHP since releasing the letter and has lined up a meeting with the company.BHP has rejected Elliott''s plan. The U.S. fund has received a generally tepid reaction from shareholders, and Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison on Thursday said he would not allow BHP to move its primary listing to London as Elliott had proposed.Tribeca, which has about A$2.5 billion ($1.9 billion) in funds under management, has spoken to some major Australian shareholders about its ideas, and hoped to talk to Elliott next week, but a wide range of investors do not see BHP as a long term holder of the shale assets, Eginton said.BT Investment Management analyst Brenton Saunders said the assets did not fit with BHP''s portfolio."I don''t think they''re particularly good at managing it. It''s a really sore point for a lot of people. But at the same time you don''t want them to give it away," said Saunders, whose fund owns BHP shares.BHP, which said last month it would pursue the sale of some, but not all, of its onshore U.S. oil and gas assets, had no immediate comment on Tribeca''s letter.Tribeca also called for BHP to shake up its board in light of the planned retirement of long-serving Chairman Jac Nasser, and Eginton said Chief Executive Andrew Mackenzie should go."The problem with the current CEO is he''s an appointment of the current board," he said.Tribeca criticized the board for having overseen the destruction of $30 billion in shareholder capital in recent years with the shale acquisitions, failed deals, scrapped projects, and an investment in potash.On energy, it called for BHP to position itself for long term change by expanding in materials used in making batteries such as lithium, graphite and cobalt.Tribeca declined to say how big a stake it has in BHP, but it holds both Australian and UK-listed shares. It is not among the top 20 shareholders, according to Thomson Reuters data.(Reporting by Jamie Freed and Sonali Paul; Editing by Richard Pullin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-bhp-billiton-elliott-shareholders-idINKBN1802UX'|'2017-05-05T06:32:00.000+03:00' +'d00bfe274516de495bf0e86f9350beb31929c398'|'Asia stocks, dollar subdued after French relief, South Korea vote eyed'|' 6:56am BST Asia stocks, dollar subdued after French relief, South Korea vote eyed FILE PHOTO: Men are refelcted in a screen displaying market indices outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan April 19, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Peter By Nichola Saminather - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Asian stock markets edged down on Tuesday following a flat close on Wall Street, as investors searched for the next catalyst following France''s presidential election, while oil inched higher on expectations OPEC supply cuts will be extended. Financial spreadbetters expect Britain''s FTSE 100, Germany''s DAX and France''s CAC 40 to all open flat. The South Korean stock market, which finished at a record high on Monday, is closed for Tuesday''s presidential election. Liberal Moon Jae-in is widely expected to win the presidency, following months of leadership vacuum after former President Park Geun-hye was removed on charges of bribery and abuse of power. The polls opened at 6 a.m. (2100 GMT on Monday) and will close at 8 p.m. (1100 GMT). The winner is expected to be sworn in on Wednesday after the Election Commission releases the official result. Allies and neighbours are closely watching the election amid escalating tensions over North Korea''s accelerating development of weapons since it conducted its fourth nuclear test in January last year. It conducted a fifth test in September and is believed ready for another. North Korea would be keen to see a Moon victory. Its official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a commentary on Monday the time had come to put confrontation behind the Koreas by ending conservative rule in the South. "South Korean markets had not registered significant risk-off sentiment similar to other economies pre-elections, and this is no surprise," Jingyi Pan, market strategist at IG in Singapore, wrote in a note. "The largely similar stance on policies by the Presidential candidates provides little chance of surprise as compared to last week''s French election. Meanwhile, the filling of the political vacuum could go a long way to benefiting the economy." The Korean won weakened 0.25 percent on Tuesday, with the dollar buying 1,135.52 won. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.2 percent on Tuesday. Japan''s Nikkei was slightly lower. China''s CSI 300 index retreated 0.3 percent in its sixth straight session of losses amid concerns over tighter financial regulations. Hong Kong''s Hang Seng reversed earlier losses to trade up 0.35 percent. Taiwan stocks pulled back to trade 0.25 percent lower on profit taking after earlier surpassing the 10,000-point mark to hit a two-year high. The MSCI World index, which touched a record high overnight, dropped about 0.1 percent. The dollar was flat at 113.285 yen, retaining most of Monday''s 0.4 percent gain. The dollar index was also steady at 99.11. The euro was steady at $1.0927 after tumbling 0.7 percent on Monday. "The euro''s retreat was driven solely by profit-taking. I think it is going to regain momentum over time," said Yukio Ishizuki, senior currency analyst at Daiwa Securities. French stocks slumped 0.9 percent overnight, their biggest one-day loss in almost three weeks, as investors took profits following strong gains in the run-up to Sunday''s vote that saw the market favourite, centrist Emmanuel Macron, elected president. Germany''s DAX closed 0.2 percent lower, while Britain''s FTSE was marginally higher. On Wall Street, all three major indexes closed flat, holding near recent all-time highs. The CBOE Volatility Index closed at 9.77, its lowest since December 1993. In commodities, oil market sentiment swung between optimism over statements from major oil-producing countries that supply cuts could be extended into 2018 and lingering concerns over slowing demand and a rise in U.S. crude output. U.S. crude inched up 0.1 percent to $46.47 a barrel. Global benchmark Brent also rose 0.1 percent to $49.39. Copper remained close to the four-month low touched on Monday after data showed a sharp drop on imports into China, the world''s biggest consumer. London copper slipped 0.1 percent to $5,481.50 a tonne on Tuesday, after falling to as low as $5,462.50 on Monday. Gold recovered from a seven-week trough touched on Monday. Spot gold rose about 0.1 percent to $1,226.60 an ounce. (Reporting by Nichola Saminather; Additional reporting by Hideyuki Sano; Editing by Eric Meijer and Sam Holmes)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets-idUKKBN185025'|'2017-05-09T13:56:00.000+03:00' +'2c937d8db46075bbafd869635c4120e5f3eadbc9'|'White House weeks away from naming anyone to Fed - official'|'Economy News - Thu May 11, 2017 - 9:10pm BST White House weeks away from naming anyone to Fed: official A police officer keeps watch in front of the U.S. Federal Reserve building in Washington, DC, U.S. on October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo By Jeff Mason and Olivia Oran U.S. President Donald Trump is weeks away from naming anyone to the board of the Federal Reserve, a White House official said, meaning it could be the fall before three currently empty seats are filled. The vacancies on the Fed''s seven member Board of Governors include the position of vice chair in charge of banking oversight, a critical role in Trump''s plan to revamp financial rules. The White House wants to get all nominees vetted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Office of Government Ethics before they name them publicly and that process can take months, according to people familiar with the matter. If the vetting drags on, it runs the risk of delaying those people from taking their jobs until sometime this fall, complicating Trump''s plan to reshape regulation of Wall Street. The Fed positions require confirmation by the Senate and could be delayed further by a five-week congressional recess from the end of July to the beginning of September. Randal Quarles, a veteran of the George W. Bush administration, is expected to be Trump''s pick for the Fed''s top bank regulator, Reuters has previously reported. Trump met him late last month, according to sources familiar with the matter. Quarles, who worked as a partner at private equity firm the Carlyle Group, currently runs a private investment firm, the Cynosure Group, from Salt Lake City, Utah. He also served in the Treasury Department under Bush and was the U.S. executive director of the International Monetary Fund. Quarles did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. A spokesman for the Federal Reserve declined to comment. The vice chair for supervision and regulation and another seat that governs community banking were created as part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law but were never filled by President Barack Obama. Former Fed governor Daniel Tarullo had stepped in to fill the supervision void before leaving the central bank in April. The White House would like to name all three regulatory positions at the Fed at the same time, according to people familiar with the matter. But Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin dismissed that idea publicly last month, saying, I dont think were going to do that. In addition to the three current vacancies, one of which must be filled by someone with community banking experience, Chair Janet Yellen and Stanley Fischer, the vice chairman, could step down when their terms expire next year. Trump could therefore fill as many as five of the boards seven seats within the next year, giving him the opportunity to nominate a block of people who will have a big say in the direction of interest rates. (Additional reporting by Pete Schroeder; Editing by Carmel Crimmins and Chris Reese)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-appointments-idUKKBN1872UD'|'2017-05-12T04:05:00.000+03:00' +'4fc6eba97b9200e9eb71c57fcf0bf712fed60e78'|'Nikkei hits 1 1/2-year high; Softbank gains on earnings'|'TOKYO May 11 Japanese stocks rose to their highest level since December 2015, helped by strong earnings from Softbank, while the yen remained near its lowest level since March after declining in the last four sessions.The yen has declined more than 5 percent in less than a month, triggering a rally in stocks.The Nikkei share average rose 0.3 percent to 19,951.55, its highest close since Dec. 1, 2015, helped by a 2 percent rise in Nikkei heavyweight Softbank after it reported strong earnings.The Tokyo Stock Exchange''s main board recorded the third highest turnover in the year so far.The broader Topix rose 0.1 percent to 1,586.86 points.The dollar was trading at 114.14 yen, near its highest level since mid-March. (Reporting By Hideyuki Sano; Editing by Vyas Mohan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-close-idINL4N1ID38I'|'2017-05-11T07:36:00.000+03:00' +'71cad03748dd706b24f36cc8e28f715bc1d07f84'|'UPDATE 1-TCI calls on Safran to drop Zodiac deal and fix engines'|'* Letter latest step in campaign to nix takeover* Follows problems with new LEAP engine* Founder Chris Hohn wants deal scrapped ''immediately'' (Adds detail from letter, background, bullet points)By Simon Jessop and Cyril AltmeyerLONDON/PARIS, May 12 Activist investor TCI Fund Management has called on the board of French aerospace firm Safran to cancel a takeover of Zodiac Aerospace immediately and instead focus on fixing design problems with a new engine.The move is the latest attempt by TCI to stop Safran''s $9 billion deal with struggling Zodiac, which the British hedge fund considered too expensive even before the latest profit warning from the maker of aircraft seats.In a letter to the Safran board dated May 12, TCI said instead of pursuing the takeover, which would take up a lot of management time and focus, it should instead look to fix a problem with its new LEAP engine.Boeing suspended some flights this week due to a problem with the design of Safran''s LEAP-1B engine, which powers its 737 MAX jets."Due to the extreme pressure that Safran is under to ramp up production of the LEAP engine, the board should immediately cancel the agreement to buy Zodiac Aerospace," TCI founder Christopher Hohn wrote in the letter."Safran management currently has no capacity to integrate Zodiac or to execute the complex restructuring that will be required. At this critical time the company should be focused solely on the ramp up of the LEAP."A spokeswoman for Safran declined to comment.Boeing says it has identified a problem with some of the low pressure turbine discs in the LEAP engine, which is made by a CFM International, a joint venture between General Electric Co and Safran.Safran, though, said on Thursday there was no design fault and that checks would be completed in a few weeks.It said production of the engines would not be affected because a second supplier for the same part was boosting its supplies. CFM aims to deliver "as close as possible to 500" in total for Boeing, Airbus and China''s COMAC.Safran recently reported forecast-beating first-quarter revenue and reaffirmed its 2017 outlook, which includes plans to boost production of the LEAP engine to 2,000 units a year during the next three years.While Hohn said he backed Safran as it was structured now, trying to hit that target while also fixing problems at Zodiac would be a "considerable and unnecessary distraction"."It would consume management time and demand a reallocation of talented Safran employees to run Zodiac''s troubled business. This would significantly increase the risk of the LEAP program developing expensive and damaging problems." (Additional reporting by Tim Hepher; editing by David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/safran-tci-letter-idINL8N1IE268'|'2017-05-12T07:39:00.000+03:00' +'46f61e37c88ab87fde04d62f73eeeacce9c53840'|'PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - May 15'|'Market News - Sun May 14, 2017 - 7:17pm EDT PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - May 15 May 15 The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. Headlines Overview The high valuations for bitcoin have helped the value of unregulated crypto currencies burst through $50 billion. UK supermarket chain Tesco Plc said it will ramp up its use of solar panels, in a pledge to cut its greenhouse gas emissions in line with the toughest goals of the Paris climate accord. The Co-operative Bank is expected to announce that it is in advanced talks with existing hedge fund investors about injecting more capital to bolster its balance sheet. Deutsche Wohnen''s new chief financial officer said that Germany''s second largest listed landlord will not block a bid from its rival, Vonovia, if the offer price was "adequate". ($1 = 113.1100 yen) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Sandra Maler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-press-ft-idUSL4N1IG0JU'|'2017-05-15T07:17:00.000+03:00' +'7461eecd8ce400d341d7259d02e3507c8a75fee2'|'LPC: US CLO market targets Chinese investors'|'By Kristen Haunss - NEW YORK NEW YORK May 19 The US Collateralized Loan Obligation (CLO) market is targeting Chinese banks and insurance companies in the hope that a more diversified investor base will help to offset the effects of falling returns and the introduction of new rules that require managers to hold some of their funds risk.Capital controls have curbed Chinese investment to date, but US CLO managers are currently laying the groundwork for future participation with visits to the country and presentations.This new and potentially very large source of capital could have a significant effect on the US$450bn US CLO market. Higher demand would help lower the spreads paid to CLO senior debt holders and increase payments to the funds most junior investors who receive the interest left over after everyone else is paid.If Chinese buyers came with even a small percentage of their capital, it could have a meaningful impact on the CLO market, said Dan Spinner, a principal at Eagle Point Credit Management, who was a keynote speaker at the annual conference of the Chinese Securitization Forum in Beijing last month.Although Japanese and South Korean investors have been investing in US CLOs for some time, the introduction of Chinese buyers opens up a new pool of capital that is willing to buy across the capital structure, from highly-rated Triple A paper to equity tranches.Chinese firms including Fosun, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Investment Corp have invested or discussed investing in US CLOs in the last year, sources said.CLOs are already a favored product in China; the internal Chinese CLO market, which securitizes loans from banks balance sheets, is one of the biggest structured finance asset classes in the country, according to Rich Mertl, an associate at law firm Dechert LLP.The funds made up almost RMB150bn (US$21.8bn) of the RMB858bn internal Chinese securitization market in 2016, according to Standard & Poors.Managers are hoping that familiarity with balance sheet CLOs will extend to US arbitrage CLOs as Chinese investors seek higher-yielding, dollar-denominated assets following the depreciation of the renminbi.CAPITAL CONTROLSSignificant Chinese investment into US CLOs was stalled by capital restrictions that went into effect late last year. Chinas foreign exchange regulator said capital outflows dropped in the first quarter, Reuters reported in April.If not for changes in regulation near the end of 2016, which impacted overseas investment, China might become the most important Triple A funding for US CLOs during 2017, said Yang Pang, the deputy secretary general of the China Securitization Forum.Representatives for the Chinese investors could not be reached or did not return e-mails seeking comment.US CLOs were a highlight of this years annual China Securitization Forum conference in April. The Structured Finance Industry Group (SFIG) first sent a delegation in 2015 when the event focused on basic, introductory panels. This year the focus was on Chinese investment in international markets, Richard Johns, SFIGs executive director, said.There is growing interest from Chinese investors and they are coming to better appreciate that US CLO equity and debt performed well historically for long-term investors who held to maturity, Spinner said.MUFG Securities held a CLO and credit conference in Shanghai on April 20, its first in the country, according to Asif Khan, who runs the banks new-issue CLO business. The event included presentations and panel discussions with US CLO managers CIFC Asset Management, Crescent Capital Group and Marathon Asset Management."There are vast pools of capital in China in the form of insurance companies, banks and other institutions, and US CLO market participants are taking the long-term view now to lay the groundwork for future investment," according to Jonathan Insull, a portfolio manager at Crescent.CIFC thinks China could be such a big growth area for CLOs and credit in general, that last month it hired Yen Li Chew as a managing director to focus on outreach to investors in China as well as Taiwan, according to Oliver Wriedt, the firms co-chief executive officer.Although the market has potential, many are cautioning that it will take time before Chinese investors become a meaningful part of the US CLO market.It may be the very early days of the Chinese securitization market, but when you look at the size of the Chinese economy very early in the growth cycle, it becomes very relevant to global capital markets, Johns said. (Reporting by Kristen Haunss; Editing By Tessa Walsh)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/clos-china-idINL2N1IL0I2'|'2017-05-19T10:52:00.000+03:00' +'d476f0f52899a8d81d6197fa797f07ea620dd290'|'HKEx head says to develop futures trading for mainland commodity platform'|'Business News - Thu May 11, 2017 - 5:33am BST HKEx head says to develop futures trading for mainland commodity platform Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEX) Chief Executive Charles Li looks on before an event celebrating the 16th anniversary of HKEX in Hong Kong, China June 28, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby Yip QIANHAI, China The head of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) ( 0388.HK ) said the bourse''s upcoming commodity platform in mainland China would eventually offer trading in futures contracts "Our strategy is to (first) develop the physical market. Without laying a solid foundation in the physical market, you cannot build a good futures market," HKEx Chief Executive Officer Charles Li said on Thursday. He made the comment on a visit to the site of the upcoming platform in Qianhai, just 50 km (30 miles) from Hong Kong, where it hopes to replicate the LME''s success. It remains unclear when the platform will start operating. (Reporting by Melanie Burton; Writing by Joseph Radford; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lmeweek-asia-qianhai-idUKKBN1870DD'|'2017-05-11T12:33:00.000+03:00' +'ea09fb2e3f9a1356ec678c244ea2e27865249fd8'|'UPDATE 1-Brazil police arrest presidential aide in World Cup probe'|'(Adds names of suspects, background on World Cup)By Lisandra Paraguassu and Ueslei MarcelinoBRASILIA May 23 Brazilian police on Tuesday said that they arrested a presidential aide and two ex-governors as part of an investigation into the 2014 World Cup''s most expensive stadium, another black eye for the country''s political establishment that adds pressure on beleaguered President Michel Temer.Tadeu Filippelli, a special adviser in Temer''s Cabinet, and former Federal District governors Jos Roberto Arruda and Agnelo Queiroz were arrested early on Tuesday.The presidential palace did not reply to requests for comments and Reuters could not immediately reach representatives of Arruda and Queiroz. The Federal District encompasses the capital Brasilia.Renovation of the Brasilia stadium for the 2014 World Cup cost about 1.5 billion reais ($459.38 million), prosecutors and police said in a statement, and an auditing court has said the construction included rampant overbilling.It was the second-most expensive soccer arena in the world after the reconstruction of Wembley Stadium in London, according to the local World Cup committee''s documents on spending.Temer has resisted growing calls for his resignation after the disclosure of a recorded conversation in which he appears to condone the payment of hush money to a jailed lawmaker in a separate corruption probe.That investigation is related to a sprawling probe into bribery and kickbacks at state oil company Petrobras that helped topple former President Dilma Rousseff last year and has sent dozens of senior politicians and business to jail.Suspicions that many of the 12 stadiums built or renovated for the 2014 World Cup were overpriced led to street protests before and during the tournament.Executives of construction group Odebrecht SA in a plea bargain deal made public last month offered evidence that builders and politicians sought to fix contracts for World Cup arenas in at least six cities.The evidence provided by Odebrecht corroborated the testimony of three executives of rival construction group Andrade Gutierrez, prosecutors said in a statement.Brasilia does not have any soccer team in the first division of the national league so the 72,800-seat stadium is almost never filled even when games are played there. ($1 = 3.2653 reais) (Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu and Ueslei Marcelino; Writing by Silvio Cascione; Editing by Christian Plumb and W Simon)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/brazil-corruption-idINL1N1IP0EJ'|'2017-05-23T12:05:00.000+03:00' +'cf5b4f4f3f530a61afd47602223de127645b1e09'|'BRIEF-Viacom sets quarterly cash dividend of $0.20 per share'|'Market News 47pm EDT BRIEF-Viacom sets quarterly cash dividend of $0.20 per share May 18 Viacom Inc Democratic attorneys general will seek to intervene in Obamacare case SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON, May 18 More than a dozen Democratic attorneys general will seek to intervene to defend a key part of the Obamacare healthcare law -- subsidy payments to insurance companies -- which is under threat in a court case, sources familiar with the litigation said. Canada oil industry get $173 mln loan to clean up abandoned wells CALGARY, Alberta, May 18 The oil industry in Canada''s resource-rich Alberta will be on the hook for a C$235 million ($172.7 million) government loan to clean up a rising number of oil wells abandoned by owners who have gone bankrupt, the province said on Thursday. JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, May 18 Saudi Aramco is due to sign deals with 12 U.S. companies on Saturday during U.S. President Donald Trump''s visit to Saudi Arabia, sources with knowledge of the matter said. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-viacom-sets-quarterly-cash-dividen-idUSFWN1IK0M8'|'2017-05-19T01:47:00.000+03:00' +'823ad9d75744fad68c38cd627f9dc2310db87825'|'The Guardian Sustainable Business Awards 2017 - Guardian Sustainable Business'|'Guardian Sustainable Business (GSB) is a global platform for companies at the cutting-edge of positive change. We have editorial teams in the UK, US and Australia.Our annual Guardian Sustainable Business Awards are a chance to showcase genuine progress in corporate sustainability and recognise those who put sustainability at the heart of their businesses.This year will be our seventh annual awards and we want to make them the best yet. So that means encouraging business to open up about the work they are doing and why it matters.So why should you enter? See five reasons to enter here .Please enter today and join us at our awards ceremony in November this year to celebrate the best of sustainable business.Laura PaddisonEditor, guardian sustainable businessTopics Sustainable Business Awards GSB awards 2017 '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/may/16/the-guardian-sustainable-business-awards-2017'|'2017-05-16T18:43:00.000+03:00' +'0351860cf3cc98261d1f95513020555f57453ad7'|'BRIEF-Williams reports Stephen Bergstrom elected chairman of board'|' 8:02am EDT BRIEF-Williams reports Stephen Bergstrom elected chairman of board May 19 Williams Companies Inc: * Williams announces Stephen W. Bergstrom elected chairman of its board of directors * Williams Companies Inc - Bergstrom will replace Dr. Kathleen B. Cooper who will become chair of board''s nominating and governance committee Source text for Eikon: May 19 Campbell Soup Co reported lower-than-expected quarterly sales and profit, hurt by higher promotions and weak demand for condensed soups, broths and V8 vegetable juices, and warned that its full-year sales could decline. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories Reuters News Agency - Brand Attribution Guidelines - Careers Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters . Thomson Reuters is the world''s largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-williams-reports-stephen-bergstrom-idUSASA09QN6'|'2017-05-19T20:02:00.000+03:00' +'1032ba8c71c62273f7abb106ab5285d47eaf3993'|'Car loans, low rates, second mortgages: all the ingredients for a new credit crunch - Business - The Guardian'|'A credit crunch is brewing and when it happens, the UK is going to get hurt. That is the message emerging from senior executives in the financial services industry, who do not think Britain has changed that much since the 2008 credit disaster and the devastating crash that followed. Three developments lie at the heart of this disturbing analysis: spectacular growth in the sale of second mortgages, car loans and credit cards.Second mortgages are widely seen as a signal of consumers taking on risky levels of debt that leave them vulnerable to a downturn in the economy.It was the same before the last banking crash. Tens of thousands of households, many of them struggling to pay monthly mortgage payments, used second mortgages to bypass borrowing limits set by their mortgage lender.The latest industry figures show the number of people opting to saddle themselves with a second mortgage leapt 22% in March to its highest level since 2008.Car loans are already on the regulators radar. Like second mortgages, they are considered secured credit on the basis that lenders have a claim against an asset when borrowers can no longer pay monthly instalments. But cars depreciate from the moment they are bought, so they rank low down the scale of secure credit. And loans have turned in recent years into leases that have customers renewing contracts every three years, keeping them in effect permanently hooked.The main consumer regulator for the financial services industry, the Financial Conduct Authority , is reviewing the market for car leasing, which now accounts for more than 90% of car sales, to check for mis-selling to poorer households who will be vulnerable to default.The Bank of England is also on the case. More importantly, it is also looking at the big picture and what happens if unemployment suddenly rises and a large number of households default on payments.Officials at the Bank have a growing list of concerns. Not only is there the second mortgage problem and the number of car loans: figures show consumer spending on unsecured credit has also rocketed in the last year. In March alone, the amount UK consumers owed on loans and cards grew by 1.9bn, the highest figure in 11 years.Households are known to have increased their reliance on short-term unsecured loans to buy cars and furniture, and to kit out new kitchens. Some use them to maintain their lifestyle in the face of a decade of flat wages. Unfortunately, another group use credit to pay the monthly rent.Shelter, the homelessness charity, says one in three renters around half a million people on low incomes are having to borrow money to pay the rent. It said the borrowing is often from family and friends, but also on credit cards and through loans.The Bank has warned about consumer credit and has attempted to allay fears that the credit industry is out of control with a review to consider possible restrictions.Talk to financial services industry executives, though, and you get a hollow laugh. Regulators are compromised by the need to keep credit flowing. Why? Because credit has kept the economy in fourth gear for the last two year. Step on the credit brake and the economy will inevitably slow.A sign of regulators weakness can be found in the relentless teaser interest rates and interest-free periods that lenders use to win customers.Ferocious competition among lenders encouraged in the name of free-market efficiency has resulted in interest-free periods on credit cards that last more than three years.The financial advice charity StepChange says 8.8 million people are showing signs of financial difficulty and risk falling into serious hardship.With the regulators afraid to pull the punch bowl away in the middle of the party, as former Bank governor Lord King put it as he surveyed the wreckage caused by the 2008 crash, those at risk must fear another credit crunch looming into view.RBS and LLoyds different, and yet sharing so muchTry as they might, the UKs two big high street lenders cannot put the financial crisis behind them. Last week, when Lloyds Banking Group was congratulating itself over its return to the private sector, it was still being haunted by the fraud perpetrated at the Reading branch of HBOS , the hotshot lender it rescued in 2008. To add to the pressure, Noel Edmonds, the TV celebrity, is leading the campaign for compensation for the victims of the fraud which took place in the run-up to the financial crisis.This week, Royal Bank of Scotland will be transported back to those calamitous days of 2008. A high court judge will begin hearing a claim for compensation from investors who backed a 12bn cash call by RBS in April 2008 only for the Edinburgh-based institution to be bailed out by taxpayers six months later.As a result of the lawsuit, disgraced former RBS boss Fred Goodwin is scheduled to give evidence to the court, along with former boardroom colleagues, including Sir Tom McKillop. Unless RBS can clinch a last-minute settlement with the remaining shareholders some 87% of them have already agreed to a deal the case will open on Monday. It will, as the current RBS chief executive Ross McEwan put it, take the organisation back to 2008.As it is, McEwan is still grappling with problems that date back a decade: the multibillion-pound penalty from the US authorities over the mis-selling of mortgage bonds, and disposal of 300 branches demanded by the EU as punishment for its bailout. Until these are sorted, there is little chance of the government selling off its RBS shareholding of more than 70% a constant reminder of the 2008 meltdown.But while this appears to set RBS apart from a Lloyds now freed from taxpayer support, the two banks fortunes are more closely tied than ever. In their efforts to throw off the 2008 crisis, they have abandoned their international ambitions and focused on the UK just at a time when Brexit is threatening the economy.Got a Basquiat in the loft? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and when the beholder is a billionaire, it commands a hell of a price. Japanese fashion mogul Yusaku Maezawa has splashed $110.5m on a painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat just a year after spending $57m on another of the artists works.These sums paint a clearer picture of Maezawas personal taste than they do of the state of the art market, which has cooled since the heady days of 2015. That year saw two works, by Willem de Kooning and Paul Gaugin, smash records by hitting the $300m mark. Since then, there has been nothing to trouble the top 10 biggest sales. But if theres one thing the super-rich enjoy more, its outdoing each other in the extravagance stakes.Now might be the time to explore the attic for those long-lost masterpieces. Any of us could be just a rare Rothko away from early retirement.Topics Regulators Business leader Financial Conduct Authority Bank of England Credit cards Borrowing & debt Banks and building societies comment Share Reuse this content'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/21/car-loans-second-mortgages-ingredients-for-new-credit-crunch'|'2017-05-21T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'614e6dff431ae0518fe94f409f1cb62ab325c214'|'British grocery sales jump on higher inflation and Easter'|'Business News - Wed May 3, 2017 - 8:48am BST British grocery sales jump on higher inflation and Easter Trolleys are stacked outside a Tesco store in London, Britain, October 3, 2012. REUTERS/Paul Hackett /File Photo LONDON Britain''s grocery market grew by 3.7 percent in the 12 weeks to April 23, the fastest rate since September 2013, driven by Britons splashing out on food at Easter and inflation edging higher, industry data showed on Wednesday. Market researcher Kantar Worldpanel said all 10 major retailers were in growth for the first time in three-and-a-half years. Grocery prices jumped 2.6 percent year-on-year in the period, up from the 2.3 percent recorded in the 12 weeks to March 26. Market leader Tesco posted growth of 1.9 percent while Sainsbury''s grew by 1.7 percent, Asda grew by 0.8 percent and Morrisons grew by 2.2 percent. Asda''s growth marked the first year-on-year sales rise since October 2014. The results were boosted by the timing of Easter, which fell later than normal this year. (Reporting by Kate Holton, Editing by Paul Sandle) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-grocers-kantar-idUKKBN17Z0KE'|'2017-05-03T15:22:00.000+03:00' +'b90c40fe8a110f656375920895f9f30960ca24b8'|'Sterling''s fall is golden for UK manufacturers as export orders rise - Business'|'UK factories have cashed in on the sharp fall in the pound since the Brexit vote, with export orders at the joint highest level in three and a half years.The stronger than expected findings from a survey by the CBI, the UK business trade body, suggest manufacturers had a decent start to the second quarter, boosting hopes that the sector will help prop up the wider economy as a consumer slowdown takes hold .The summer sun has come out early for Britains manufacturers . Robust demand at both home and abroad is reflected in strong order books, and output is picking up the pace, said Rain Newton-Smith, chief economist at the CBI.Factories also enjoyed strong demand from domestic customers, driving total order books to the highest level in more than two years, according to the CBIs latest industrial trends survey.In a further sign of strength, output at Britains factories grew at the fastest pace since December 2013, underpinned by the mechanical engineering and chemicals sectors. Firms expected production to rise again in the coming quarter. ''People still want to work here'': can British business survive Brexit? Read more Of the 432 firms that took part in the survey, conducted between 25 April and 12 May, 22% said their export order books were above normal for the time of year, while 12% said they were below normal. That gave a balance of +10%, the joint highest balance since December 2013.Economists said strong export orders were a sign that manufacturers were benefiting from a drop in the value of the pound since the Brexit vote last June. The pound is about 13% lower against the dollar than it was on the day of the referendum, making British-made goods cheaper abroad.The improvement in the export orders balance, to its joint highest since December 2013, indicates that the drop in the pound is still having substantial positive effects for manufacturing exporters, said Ruth Gregory, UK economist at Capital Economics .The upbeat survey supports our view that the manufacturing sector should perform well this year and help to offset some of the slowdown in consumer spending growth.Manufacturers have reported factories working at full capacity in recent months to meet demand from overseas customers benefiting from the low pound. The EEF, which represents manufacturing firms, said last week that orders were improving as UK exporters enjoyed an improved competitive position vis-a-vis the pound depreciation and global growth picked up strongly from a dip last year.UK inflation jump means the 2017 voter is getting poorer - Larry Elliott Read more But there is anecdotal evidence that while manufacturers have boosted production, they remain reluctant to increase investment and expand capacity. Many remain nervous that the fallout from the Brexit negotiations may harm the economy. They are also concerned that sterling could rise, wiping out the benefit for exporters, should the Brexit talks proceed smoothly and the UK strike a beneficial trade deal with Brussels.The CBI pointed out that although orders and output were up at UK factories, manufacturers were facing higher costs for imported raw materials. As a result, firms were expecting to raise their selling prices.On the other side of the coin, we have mounting cost pressures and expectations for factory-gate price rises are running high, said Newton-Smith. Boosting productivity is key to alleviating some of the cost pressures that manufacturers are facing. Sustained investment in innovation and education will be vital to shore up the success of British industry.The CBI findings ended a mixed week for economic data. The latest official jobs figures show prices rose at a faster pace than pay in the first three months of the year, putting household budgets under increased pressure. But they also show record levels of employment, with unemployment at a 42-year low.Workers average earnings rose by 2.1% year on year in the three months to March, while inflation was 2.3% in the same period.Retail sales jumped 2.3% in April , rebounding from a 1.4% fall in March as the warmer weather and Easter holidays encouraged shoppers back on to Britains high streets. It was more than double the 1% increase predicted by economists, and suggested consumers were willing to put aside fears over falling living standards.Topics Manufacturing sector Sterling Currencies Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Economic growth (GDP) Economics news '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/19/sterling-fall-uk-manufacturers-factories-export-orders-rise'|'2017-05-19T22:17:00.000+03:00' +'4335495df636059d127ca6248073ab62ce80b50b'|'Fed ties rate hike to economic rebound, sees balance sheet cuts in 2017'|'Top 7:26pm BST Fed ties rate hike to economic rebound, sees balance sheet cuts in 2017 A police officer keeps watch in front of the U.S. Federal Reserve building in Washington, DC, U.S. on October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo By Jason Lange and Howard Schneider - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers agreed they should hold off on raising interest rates until they see evidence that a recent economic slowdown was transitory, minutes from their last policy meeting showed on Wednesday. Nearly all policymakers at the May 2-3 meeting also said they favoured starting the wind-down of the Fed''s massive holdings of Treasury debt and mortgage-backed securities this year. The view on short-term interest rates, which the minutes said was "generally" shared by the nine officials who have a vote on policy this year, casts some doubt on Wall Street bets for a hike at the June 13-14 policy meeting. Fed officials, however, made clear their baseline expectation was for a return to stronger economic growth. Still, the minutes were the latest indication of the Fed''s heightened caution over policy tightening since the central bank began lifting rates from near zero in December 2015. "Members generally judged that it would be prudent to await additional evidence indicating that a recent slowdown in the pace of economic activity had been transitory before taking another step in removing accommodation," according to the minutes. U.S. economic growth slowed sharply in the first quarter, and the wider group of 16 policymakers at this month''s meeting discussed at length why that had happened and why a measure of underlying price gains also fell further below their 2 percent inflation target. Many of these policymakers said recent firming of the housing market and business fixed investment were welcome developments, and they generally agreed the slowdown in consumer spending early in the year would likely prove temporary. The discussion of winding down the Fed''s balance sheet was also framed in the minutes in terms of the wider group of policymakers. They said it could possibly be done by halting reinvestments of ever-larger amounts of maturing securities, such as through bigger cuts to reinvestments every three months. (Reporting by Jason Lange and Howard Schneider; Editing by Paul; Simao)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-fed-idUKKBN18K2N7'|'2017-05-25T02:26:00.000+03:00' +'db581309ff94de25e8952ca0ae17263ee2e3975c'|'Greece denies report it may opt out of receiving more bailout money'|'Top News - Tue May 30, 2017 - 6:39pm BST Greece denies report it may opt out of receiving more bailout money left right FILE PHOTO: A man looks down as a Greek national flag flutters atop one of the bastions of the 17th century fortress of Palamidi under an overcast sky at the southern port city of Nafplio, Greece, February 19. 2017. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis/File Photo 1/4 left right FILE PHOTO: A view of the cityscape of Athens, Greece, March 26, 2017. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis/File Photo 2/4 left right FILE PHOTO: Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos arrives for a news conference at the ministry in Athens, Greece March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis/File Photo 3/4 left right FILE PHOTO: A Greek national flag (R) and a European Union flag flutter atop the Finance Ministry building during sunset in Athens, Greece March 5, 2015. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis/File photo 4/4 By Renee Maltezou - ATHENS ATHENS Greece on Tuesday denied a German newspaper report it could refuse receipt of bailout loans needed to make a July debt repayment if its lenders fail to offer clear debt relief terms, despite it having passed more reforms. Tuesday''s report in mass-selling Bild that Athens could go without new loans of about 7 billion euros (6 billion) if it does not get comprehensive debt relief, and it was itself putting billions of euros aside preparing for this scenario, rattled the euro in early trade. Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos dismissed the report saying it distorted what he said during a news briefing a day earlier. "Bild has distorted what I said yesterday," he told Reuters when asked to comment on the report. "What I did say is that the disbursement (of bailout money) was not an issue, because all sides agreed that we have kept to our commitments," he said. "But the Greek government feels that a disbursement without clarity on debt is not enough to turn the Greek economy around." The country has about 7 billion euros of debt maturing in July, a sum it will not be able to repay unless it gets new loans out of its current bailout worth up to 86 billion euros, the third aid programme since the crisis began. Euro zone finance ministers failed to agree with the International Monetary Fund last week on debt relief terms for Greece. They did not release new loans to Athens but recognised it had made significant progress with reforms. Greece hopes that euro zone finance ministers will offer enough clarity in June on the debt relief measures that could be carried out after its bailout ends in 2018, to show investors that its debt - now at 197 percent of GDP - will be sustainable and help it return to bond markets as early as this summer. TAX HIKES Government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos also dismissed the report, saying a deal on debt relief could be reached at the next scheduled meeting of euro zone finance ministers in less than three weeks. "It is not true," Tzanakopoulos told Reuters. "There will be a solution on June 15." In a statement to the Athens News Agency, he suggested that the report was politically motivated. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron in separate phone calls on Monday that Greece needed a "clear solution on debt", a government official said. Tsipras also discussed the issue with EU Council President Donald Tusk on Tuesday, the official added. To convince the IMF to participate financially in Greece''s programme, as sought by Germany, Athens passed legislation this month on additional pension cuts and tax hikes, which will be implemented after its bailout expires in 2018, as demanded by the IMF. The Washington-based fund says Greece needs further debt relief. Germany, which is gearing for elections in September, says Greece needs to speed up reforms instead. Tsipras''s term ends in 2019 and his party is sagging in the opinion polls. Speaking to journalists on Monday, Tsakalotos said Greece had "done its part of what it promised" and called on its creditors and the IMF to reach a deal on debt relief saying it was in everyone''s benefit. "If they don''t reach a solution it will be very difficult to defend it to the international community. What will they say? That the Greek government did all that we asked for and more but we are still going to send it to the rocks? "We are looking for a good solution, we are not looking for the perfect solution. I am confident we can get a good solution," he said. (Reporting by Renee Maltezou; Writing by Michele Kambas; Editing by Alison Williams) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-greece-denial-idUKKBN18Q0J5'|'2017-05-30T19:04:00.000+03:00' +'3d7ad20844750d0802eed512035bb45a5d7fc3c6'|'Mnuchin getting questions on reform at G7 meeting'|'Mnuchin getting questions on tax reform at G7 meeting by Donna Borak @donnaborak May 12, 2017: 1:51 PM ET Steve Mnuchin in 90 seconds The world has a question for the Trump administration: How are things going with Washington''s plans to overhaul taxes? Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin met one-on-one with finance officials from Canada, Germany and Japan on Friday, as a conference of G7 nations got underway in Bari, Italy . He met with his Italian counterpart on Thursday and will sit down with U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond on Saturday. A senior Treasury official said Mnuchin''s finance counterparts haven''t been "shy about asking direct questions" about Trump''s plans to reform the U.S. tax code. He described the overall tenor of conversations to be "quite positive." The questions have centered on when Congress is likely to move forward with an overhaul plan and what it might look like, the senior official said. Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs banker, reiterated to counterparts the administration''s hope for Congress to pass a reform bill this year, according to the senior official. Others topics for discussion have included strengthening cybersecurity, reaching an agreement on international tax rules, and countering terrorism financing. Italian G7 officials said Trump''s tax proposal is not part of the weekend''s agenda , but foreign counterparts are following developments in Washington very closely. Pier Carlo Padoan, Italy''s minister of economy and finance, said he is watching the U.S. approach "closely" for lessons other countries can use in reforming their tax codes. Related: Trump says I might release tax returns - when I''m out of office Tax policy can act as an important driver of economic growth -- a top priority for the world''s largest countries and multinational organizations like the International Monetary Fund. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Friday he would convey in his meeting with Mnuchin that the world needs U.S. leadership to help drive global growth. "We need a strong United States to lead the global economy and global politics in a sustainable way," said Schaeuble. Italian officials also said it''s unclear whether G7 finance ministers will have anything specific to say on tax reform at the end of their meeting on Saturday. CNNMoney (Bari, Italy) 1:51 PM ET'|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_news_economy.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/12/news/economy/g7-treasury-mnuchin-tax-reform/index.html'|'2017-05-12T21:51:00.000+03:00' +'d09b8d876cf56ad1cf1b894cee6d2dd630aca533'|'CEE MARKETS-Stocks test multi-year high on earnings, OTP beats forecasts'|'* OTP Bank Q1 earnings beat forecasts, adds to optimism * Budapest stocks near record, Bucharest highest since 2008 * Hungarian debt yields ease on dovish central bank stance By Sandor Peto BUDAPEST, May 12 Central Europe''s main stock indices tested multi-year highs on Friday as first-quarter corporate reports showed a rise in profits and an optimistic picture about the region''s economies. Budapest led the gains. Its index rose 0.7 percent by 0832 GMT, approaching record highs, driven by a 2 percent surge of OTP Bank stocks to 6-week highs of above 8,400 forints. OTP has been rising from last week''s 5-month lows at 7,724 forints amid hopes for good results. If it sticks above 8,400, technicals could boost it to 8,800 in two to three weeks, Equilor brokerage analyst Zoltan Varga said. OTP, Central Europe''s biggest independent lender, reported a far bigger than expected jump in first-quarter net profits and retained an optimistic guidance. Several banks and other firms have reported upbeat results in the region as economies are growing at robust 3-4 percent annual rates and the process of cleaning bad loans from lenders'' portfolios advances. The index of Warsaw-listed banks hit 2-year highs earlier this week. Warsaw''s main index is also near 2-year highs, but its gains were trimmed on Friday by more than 5 percent fall in the stocks of Poland''s biggest power group PGE. It retreated from 6-week highs after PGE reported a jump in net profits as expected, but said that it would freeze dividend payouts for 2016-2018 to retain funding for its development programme. Bucharest''s stock index reached its highest levels for almost a decade. Regional currencies were rangebound, with the dinar firming slightly as the Serbian central bank was meeting and it was expected to keep the region''s highest benchmark rate on hold at 4 percent. The forint and the crown traded near one-month highs and the zloty near two-year highs against the euro. Economic growth and good trade and current account balances mostly support regional currencies even though central banks have not showed signs that they could start to reverse years of monetary loosening any time soon. Hungarian government bond yields continued to drop by a few basis points. They have been declining for days, with their curve becoming flatter, after dovish comments from central bank deputy governor Marton Nagy at a conference in London, one trader said. Nagy''s remarks that the bank may be able to push long-term BUBOR interbank rates lower showed that the bank, which "already has the largest dovish monetary conditions impulse" in emerging markets would not change its stance, Citi Group said in a note. "The Central Bank should remain very dovish, but denying any intention to curb HUF fluctuations," it added. CEE SNAPS AT 1032 MARKETS HOT CET CURRENCIES Lates Previ Daily Chang t ous e bid close chang in e 2017 Czech 26.56 26.58 +0.1 1.68% crown 00 70 0% Hungary 310.2 310.1 -0.02 -0.46 forint 500 750 % % Polish 4.216 4.219 +0.0 4.44% zloty 5 3 7% Romanian 4.545 4.548 +0.0 -0.22 leu 0 3 7% % Croatian 7.428 7.426 -0.02 1.71% kuna 0 5 % Serbian 123.0 123.1 +0.0 0.24% dinar 500 550 9% Note: calculate previ close 1800 daily d from ous at CET change STOCK S Lates Previ Daily Chang t ous e close chang in e 2017 Prague 1016. 1012. +0.3 +10. 08 81 2% 25% Budapest 34090 33858 +0.6 +6.5 .17 .88 8% 2% Warsaw 2368. 2364. +0.1 +21. 55 93 5% 59% Bucharest 8411. 8365. +0.5 +18. 05 02 5% 72% Ljubljana 782.4 789.1 -0.84 +9.0 5 1 % 4% Zagreb 1889. 1886. +0.1 -5.27 80 49 8% % Belgrade <.BELEX15 728.9 729.1 -0.03 +1.6 > 3 3 % 1% Sofia 654.7 654.2 +0.0 +11. 5 5 8% 65% BONDS Yield Yield Sprea Daily d (bid) chang vs chang e Bund e in Czech sprea Republic d 2-year 6 6 bps 5-year 8 bps s 10-year bps s Poland 2-year bps s 5-year bps 10-year 7 bps FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M inter bank Czech Rep < 0.34 0.42 0.52 0 PRIBOR=> Hungary < 0.19 0.25 0.33 0.16 BUBOR=> Poland < 1.765 1.785 1.82 1.73 WIBOR=> Note: FRA are for Quote: s ask prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets-idINL8N1IE2FX'|'2017-05-12T07:18:00.000+03:00' +'56886a0b83d5aa2daad464dc8fa8f69fedf46d44'|'Exclusive - Italy tax police seize documents from IBM in BT Italy probe'|'Business 30pm BST Exclusive - Italy tax police seize documents from IBM in BT Italy probe FILE PHOTO: The logo of BT is seen outside the headquarters in Milan, Italy January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini/File Photo By Emilio Parodi - MILAN MILAN Italian investigators have seized documents from the Milan offices of International Business Machines Corp ( IBM.N ) as part of an investigation into allegations of fraud at one of its customers, BT Italy, a unit of Britain''s BT Group ( BT.L ), sources said. Dozens of tax police visited the Italian offices of nine suppliers to BT Italy, including the U.S. tech group, on Thursday, as well as BT Italy''s own headquarters, and took boxes of documents away, said sources familiar with the probe. IBM spokesman Alessandro Ferrari said the company was cooperating with authorities. The U.S. group is not formally under investigation and none of its representatives has been accused of wrongdoing, but the warrant for Thursday''s seizures, seen by Reuters, states that some transactions between BT Italy and its suppliers were faked. The warrant authorised the search for evidence in relation to allegations that former BT Italy managers had conspired with suppliers and customers to fake orders and to issue false credit notes in order to reduce BT Italy''s costs. Investigators also sought evidence that BT Italy and suppliers contrived sale-and-leaseback transactions to artificially boost sales and profit margins. These transactions involved several firms, including IBM, according to the warrant and the sources. The accounting scandal surfaced last October when BT Group said it had discovered accounting errors at its Italy unit. In January, it characterised it as improper accounting and took a write-down of around 530 million pounds. In March, it filed a criminal complaint with Italian prosecutors, accusing several former Italy executives and other employees of breaking company rules and unlawful conduct. BT Group said in an emailed statement: "We''ve been proactively assisting prosecutors in Milan with their investigations into the inappropriate behaviour that took place at BT Italy." BT Italy''s lawyer, Marco Calleri, declined to comment. Milan prosecutors this week formally put under investigation five former executives and employees of BT Italy, on allegations that they ran a conspiracy to fake transactions in order to inflate BT Italy''s financial performance. Sources said the motive was to ensure executives and staff met their bonus targets. The five are former BT Italy chief executive Gianluca Cimini, former chief operating officer Stefania Truzzoli, former chief financial officer Luca Sebastiani, ex-employee Giacomo Ingannamorte and Sebastiani''s predecessor, Alessandro Clerici. A lawyer for Truzzoli declined to comment. Cimini did not respond to a request for comment. Lawyers for the others also did not respond. The other suppliers raided were T.A.I. Software Solution Srl, ITF Srl, Var Group Spa, NSR Srl, Servizi Tecnici per l''Elettronica Spa, Gomedia Srl, L.B. Srl and Shicon Europe Srl, according to the warrant. ITF and Var Group declined to comment. There was no immediate response to emailed requests for comment from T.A.I. Software Solution and Servizi Tecnici per l''Elettronica. Reuters was unable to immediately reach L.B., Shicon Europe, Gomedia and NSR for comment. (Additional reporting by Agnieszka Flak, Silvia Aloisi and Giulia Segreti; Editing by Mark Bendeich and Andrew Roche)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bt-italy-idUKKCN18F24L'|'2017-05-20T01:30:00.000+03:00' +'4e9fbc0fbcb268216e2ee5ecc9cbc7022af4b289'|'Japan Post Holdings mulls buying Nomura Real Estate: source'|'TOKYO Japan Post Holdings ( 6178.T ) is considering buying Nomura Real Estate Holdings ( 3231.T ) in a bid to make real estate operations its new earnings pillar, a source familiar with the matter said on Saturday.One option for the purchase will be for Japan Post to acquire a majority stake in Nomura Real Estate through an open tender, and the deal will likely be several hundred billions of yen (several billion dollars) in size, the source said.Japan Post has entered unofficial talks with Nomura Holdings ( 8604.T ), a major shareholder of Nomura Real Estate, on the potential deal, said the source, who declined to be identified.There still is a possibility that Japan Post and Nomura Real Estate will opt for a capital alliance, rather than an outright acquisition, the source also said.The possibility of Japan Post buying Nomura Real Estate was first reported by public broadcaster NHK on Friday.Following the NHK report, Japan Post said on its website: "We are exploring various possibilities regarding new capital and business alliances and will make an announcement promptly once matters that should be made public are finalised."The timing of the acquisition, if that path were chosen, could raise eyebrows because Japanese companies have stunned investors recently with losses on M&A deals that have turned sour, which is raising questions about the quality of their due diligence.Last month, Japan Post, which is 80 percent state-owned, announced a $3.6 billion writedown on its purchase of Australian logistics firm Toll Holdings Ltd.That writedown saw Japan Post join the likes of Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) in high-profile foreign takeover flops.Japan Post''s business spans from banking and insurance to parcel delivery, but limited growth in its domestic market has led the company to commit to growth through acquisitions.(Reporting by Takaya Yamaguchi; Writing by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Robert Birsel)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-japan-companies-japanpost-idINKBN18902Y'|'2017-05-13T02:21:00.000+03:00' +'99c7f93acecd5fe287c1b6859dcfd588158c0d5e'|'BRIEF-Copa Holdings SA reports April ASM 1.87 bln, up 6.3 pct'|'Market 43am EDT BRIEF-Copa Holdings SA reports April ASM 1.87 bln, up 6.3 pct May 19 Copa Holdings SA * Copa Holdings announces monthly traffic statistics for April 2017 * April load factor 83.4 percent, up 7.3 points * Copa Holdings SA says April ASM 1.87 billion , up 6.3 percent * Copa Holdings SA says April RPM 1.55 billion, up 16.5 percent Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-copa-holdings-sa-reports-april-asm-idUSASA09QMU'|'2017-05-19T19:43:00.000+03:00' +'6eedb8108da416ac36212f139096c4132731f071'|'SFR seeks $2.6 billion in damages from Orange in antitrust litigation'|'Technology News - Tue May 9, 2017 - 7:18pm BST SFR seeks $2.6 billion in damages from Orange in antitrust litigation FILE PHOTO: The logo of French telecoms operator SFR is pictured in Paris, France, August 8, 2016. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen PARIS France''s second-biggest telecoms operator SFR is seeking 2.4 billion euros ($2.6 billion) in damages from bigger rival Orange in an antitrust litigation tied to the corporate market in the country. SFR''s claim is detailed in Orange''s 2016 annual registration document and was first reported by French news magazine L''Express. "SFR has accustomed us to prohibitive demands in the past that were not put into effect," a spokesman for Orange said. SFR SFR''s initial estimates for the damages amounted to 512 million euros, Orange said in its registration document. Verizon and BT, which also provide services for the corporate sector in France, are respectively claiming 215 million and 150 million euros respectively, Orange said. The two telecoms groups were not immediately available for comment. The three legal actions against Orange are brought before the Paris Commercial Court, Orange said. These financial claims follow a 2015 decision by the French competition authority that fined Orange 350 million euros for abusing its dominant position to hold back competition in the corporate sector. ($1 = 0.9194 euros)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-orange-sfr-litigation-idUKKBN18528V'|'2017-05-10T01:56:00.000+03:00' +'152e20be4cac2a80eae11cb689d72d0f1a4c60d6'|'G7 reiterates FX pledges, vows more cyber cooperation - draft'|'Business News 29am BST G7 reiterates FX pledges, vows more cyber cooperation - draft left right Financial ministers and bank governors pose for a family photo during the G7 for Financial ministers meeting in the southern Italian city of Bari, Italy May 13, 2017. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi 1/5 left right German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble (L) shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin during the G7 for Financial ministers meeting in the southern Italian city of Bari, Italy, May 13, 2017. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi 2/5 left right France''s Finance Minister Michel Sapin (L) shakes hands with German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble during the G7 for Financial ministers meeting in the southern Italian city of Bari, Italy, May 13, 2017. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi 3/5 left right International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde (L) talks with Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso during the G7 for Financial ministers meeting in the southern Italian city of Bari, Italy, May 13, 2017. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi 4/5 left right International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde (R) talks with European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi (C) and European Economic and Financial Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici during the G7 for Financial ministers meeting in the southern Italian city of Bari, Italy, May 13, 2017. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi 5/5 BARI, Italy Financial leaders of seven leading world economies will pledge stronger cooperation against cyber crime on Saturday and not to use foreign exchange to gain competitive advantage, but stick to their cautious wording on trade, a draft communique showed. Finance ministers and central bank governors from the United States, Canada, Japan, France, Germany, Italy and Britain are meeting in the Italian city of Bari to discuss the world economy, combating terrorist funding, cyber security and taxes. A draft communique of the meeting, to be published later on Saturday, said the seven countries would use all policy tools - fiscal, structural and monetary - to boost economic growth. The draft, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, also said the G7 financial leaders would strengthen cooperation to counter cyber threats such as a global online attack which infected tens of thousands of computers in nearly 100 countries on Friday. The statement said fiscal policy should be used to help job creation while keeping public debt on a sustainable path and monetary policy should help economic activity without fuelling strong inflation. "We reaffirm our existing G7 exchange rate commitments to market-determined exchange rates and to consult closely in regard to actions in foreign exchange markets," the draft said. "We reaffirm our fiscal and monetary policies have been and will remain oriented towards meeting our respective domestic policy objectives, using domestic instruments and we will not target exchange rates for competitive purposes," the draft said, underlining the importance of refraining from competitive devaluations. But unlike a G7 leaders'' communique of 2016, the financial leaders in Bari did not endorse free trade and reject protectionism, reflecting pressure from the United States where President Donald Trump has signalled his scepticism about free trade deals. The G7 financial leaders in Bari were set to repeat a line agreed by the broader Group of 20 in March which said: "We are working to strengthen the contribution of trade to our economies." (Reporting By Jan Strupczewski; Editing by William Schomberg)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-g7-ministers-communique-idUKKBN1890A2'|'2017-05-13T18:29:00.000+03:00' +'4c37ae36780b515b7250d64f625bf94995e08895'|'Old-guard retail back in the cross hairs - Reuters'|'By Chuck Mikolajczak - NEW YORK NEW YORK A glance at the U.S. stock market''s main measure for the health of retailers suggests all is well among those companies in the business of peddling stuff directly to consumers.After all, the $1.16 trillion S&P 500 retail index .SPXRT has climbed nearly 13 percent this year to a record high, roughly double the 7 percent gain by the full S&P 500 .SPX .That stalwart performance, however, has been delivered almost entirely by a clutch of new ''retailers'' that now account for more than half of the value of the index: Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ), Netflix Inc ( NFLX.O ) and Priceline Group Inc ( PCLN.O ). Moreover, it masks a broad slump in shares of traditional retailers having their lunch eaten by disrupters like Amazon in particular.In fact, when the retail index''s big three gainers are excluded, the group''s aggregate value has gained a lacklustre 1.3 percent this year and is some 8 percent shy of its high-water mark two years ago.Against that backdrop, next week brings a fresh look at how that old guard of retail is holding up and whether a turn-around in their flagging share performance might be in the offing.First-quarter earnings reports from Macy''s Inc ( M.N ), Nordstrom Inc ( JWN.N ), Kohl''s Corp ( KSS.N ) and JCPenney Co Inc ( JCP.N ) are expected to be sobering, but could shed some light on whether wrenching turn-around plans launched by some of them, including thousands of layoffs, are starting to bear fruit.Overall corporate earnings for the first quarter have been strong, with growth for the entire S&P 500 pegged at 14.7 percent from a year earlier, the best since 2011, according to Thomson Reuters data. But the consumer discretionary sector .SPLRCD, which includes the department stores, is expected to show just 3.9 percent growth, albeit that is up from an estimated 1.4 percent a month ago."The consumer for the most part seems OK. Not everywhere," said Tobias Levkovich, chief U.S. equity strategist at Citigroup.But sales are expected to be middling for the department store chain names. Analysts caution, however, that traditional retailers may no longer be a true measure of consumer health as people have new ways to spend."There will probably be a knee-jerk reaction the wrong way when we hear some of those larger retailers come out and say foot traffic in the mall is terrible," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities in New York."Hopefully we don''t start assuming that because people aren''t going to Macy''s the consumer is dead."Far from it. The government''s main measure of the health of consumer spending, the monthly retail sales report due out Friday, is expected to show overall retail sales snapped back in April after two straight declines.Of the big four retail names set to report next week, only Nordstrom is forecast to post an increase in earnings per share, and that by just 2.8 percent, according to estimates from Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.Macy''s profit per share is seen sliding 13.5 percent and Kohl''s is expected to drop 6.4 percent. JCPenney, which posted its first quarterly profit in three years in last year''s fourth quarter, is seen sliding back to a loss."There''s a lot of headline risk attached to retailers so we''re not a big fan of owning a lot of the brick and mortar mass retailers right now," said Nathan Thooft, senior managing director, at Manulife Asset Management in Boston.Indeed, all four of those reporting next week have lagged both their own peer group and the wider market so far this year. While Nordstrom is at least in the black with a modest 2 percent gain, Macy''s and Kohl''s have both tumbled about 19 percent. JCPenney, no longer a member of the S&P 500 retail group, has plunged 34 percent.As Manulife''s Thooft puts it: "The valuations are starting to get interesting, but at the same time you can''t dismiss the fact you have the Amazons of the world and the shift of the consumer to be able to purchase more and more items online."(Additional reporting by Sinead Carew and Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by Dan Burns and James Dalgleish)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-weekahead-idINKBN18129X'|'2017-05-05T19:09:00.000+03:00' +'362afc2cab8de2d8f09c1817d281f8d040d95cc6'|'BRIEF-Nanthealth Q1 adjusted non-gaap loss per share $0.24'|' 13pm EDT BRIEF-Nanthealth Q1 adjusted non-gaap loss per share $0.24 May 10 Nanthealth Inc: * Nanthealth reports 16% increase in 2017 first quarter total net revenue; saas revenue rose 11% and gps adoption continues to climb * Q1 adjusted non-gaap loss per share $0.24 * Q1 loss per share $0.34 * Q1 revenue rose 16 percent to $22.5 million * Q1 revenue view $29.1 million -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * Q1 earnings per share view $-0.20 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-nanthealth-q1-adjusted-non-gaap-lo-idUSASA09OTS'|'2017-05-11T05:13:00.000+03:00' +'4e7ac50d495390711782ebeed706415d9e3d0656'|'Swiss stocks - Factors to watch on May 17'|'ZURICH May 17 The following are some of the main factors expected to affect Swiss stocks on Wednesday:COMPANY STATEMENTS* Evolva said shareholders approved proposals at the annual general meeting after the board of directors withdrew three of the proposals related to authorised and conditional capital increases. The company said the withdrawals will not have an effect on immediate business operations.ECONOMY(Reporting by Zurich newsroom)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/markets-swiss-stocks-idINL8N1II5KF'|'2017-05-17T02:31:00.000+03:00' +'1cedc77733c6406fcc87a471c305e00a4fed1320'|'UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on May 11'|'(Adds company news, futures)May 11 Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening 11 points lower on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures up 0.05 percent ahead of the cash market open.* SUPERGROUP: SuperGroup, the British company behind the Superdry fashion brand, forecast full-year profit in line with expectations and said trading in its latest quarter continued to benefit from the weak pound.* ALDERMORE: British bank Aldermore Group Plc said first-quarter lending rose 6 percent from the prior quarter, buoyed by strong demand from small- and medium-sized businesses, homeowners and landlords.* BT: BT, Britain''s biggest telecoms group, said it would shake up its global service division that serves multinationals and scale back its dividend growth ambitions as it recovers from an accounting scandal in Italy and a profit warning.* COCA: Soft drink bottler Coca-Cola HBC reported higher first-quarter revenue and sales volume on Thursday, helped by improving trends in Russia and other markets.* BHP: Workers at BHP Billiton''s, Cerro Colorado copper mine in Chile will strike for 24 hours in the coming weeks to protest recent layoffs and the company''s general attitude toward miners, the main union told Reuters on Wednesday.* MYLAN/GLAXO: Generic drug maker Mylan NV on Wednesday said it disagrees with the reasoning behind the U.S. Food and Drug Administration''s decision not to approve its generic for GlaxoSmithKline Plc''s blockbuster Advair in March.* Just Eat: Just Eat Plc is facing an in-depth investigation by the competition watchdog on proposed takeover of Hungryhouse over fears restaurants could end up with a worse deal, The Guardian reported on Wednesday. ( bit.ly/2q4xodg )* OIL: Oil prices rose on Thursday, and Brent was firmly back over $50 per barrel, as a fall in U.S. crude inventories and a more severe than expected cut in Saudi supplies to Asia tightened the market.* GOLD: Gold was steady early on Thursday, holding just above eight-week lows hit earlier this week, as the U.S. dollar and stocks firmed amid expectations of imminent interest rate rises.* EX-DIVS: Admiral Group, BP, Centrica, Glencore , GlaxoSmithKline, Merlin, Sainsbury, Sage Group will trade without entitlement to their latest dividend pay-out on Thursday, trimming 13.7 points off the FTSE 100 according to Reuters calculations.* The UK blue chip index ended up 0.6 percent, on Wednesday, as strong earnings updates underpinned recent gains and housebuilder Barratt outperformed peers.* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarketsTODAY''S UK PAPERS> Financial Times> Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Harish Bhaskar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idUSL4N1ID2N5'|'2017-05-11T14:49:00.000+03:00' +'d55170bb9b6ef49d01e877b3cce6274938abd5bf'|'Trump review of Wall Street rules to be done in stages - sources'|'Tue May 9, 2017 - 12:38am BST Trump review of Wall Street rules to be done in stages: sources left right U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order rolling back regulations from the 2010 Dodd-Frank law on Wall Street reform at the White House in Washington, U.S. February 3, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque 1/2 left right A street sign for Wall Street is seen outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City, U.S. December 28, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly 2/2 By Olivia Oran and Pete Schroeder - NEW YORK/WASHINGTON NEW YORK/WASHINGTON The U.S. government''s review of a landmark 2010 financial reform law will not be complete by early June as originally targeted, and officials will now report findings piece-by-piece, with priority given to banking regulations, sources familiar with the matter said on Monday. President Donald Trump has pledged to do a "big number" on the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul law, which raised banks'' capital requirements, restricted their ability to make speculative bets with customers'' money and created consumer protections in the wake of the financial crisis. In February, Trump ordered Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to review the law and report back within 120 days, saying his administration expected to be cutting large parts of it. But the Treasury Department is still filling vacancies after the transition from the Obama administration and there are not enough officials to get the full review done by early June, three sources said. A Treasury spokesperson dismissed the idea the report that would be broken up because the department is short-handed, saying the reach of the project could require several separate reports, as permitted under the executive order. "Treasury has an entire team dedicated to reviewing the financial regulatory rules and will begin reporting our findings to the president in June," the department spokesperson said. "Given the volume and scope of the issues we are reviewing that involve potential changes to the financial regulatory system, we are carefully considering the best options to begin rolling them out in the most effective and responsible manner," the spokesperson said. The Treasury Department will first report back on what banking rules could be changed, including capital requirements, restrictions on leverage and speculative trading. Examinations of capital markets, clearing houses and derivatives as well as the insurance and asset management industries and financial innovation and banking technology will come later, the sources said. It could be several months until these other stages of the financial reform review are completed, some of the sources said. The piecemeal approach could create challenges for some sectors if parts of the report are significantly delayed. The report has been highly anticipated, as it marks the new administration''s most detailed foray into outlining what it wants to do with financial rules. Trump previously has spoken only in broad terms about easing regulation surrounding lending. Any efforts to rework existing regulations or craft new legislation will be a lengthy and contentious process, something that banking lobbyists have said will make any delay to the administration''s initial findings costly for businesses eager for regulatory relief. Former BlackRock Inc executive Craig Phillips is leading the administration''s plan for financial deregulation. Alongside other Treasury officials, he is soliciting feedback from banking industry groups and executives for how banking policy should be shaped. The change in the timing of the Treasury report comes after Trump ordered a separate review of some key planks of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law. In April, Trump signed a pair of executive orders directing a review of two additional regulatory powers - orderly liquidation authority, which allows regulators to step in and wind down a failing financial institution, and systemic designation, in which certain large firms may be deemed critical to the overall health of the financial system, meriting stricter oversight. The findings from those reviews are not expected until October. (Editing by Carmel Crimmins and Leslie Adler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-wall-street-trump-idUKKBN1842DW'|'2017-05-09T06:07:00.000+03:00' +'8cbb868f0dda5b24b8a613283daaa0e1a66ab7a0'|'Sky and Vodafone move forward with appeal of NZ Commerce Commission decision'|'Business 10:05pm BST Sky and Vodafone move forward with appeal of NZ Commerce Commission decision WELLINGTON New Zealand pay television provider Sky Network TV on Thursday said it had filed a second, more detailed appeal with courts against the Commerce Commission''s decision to bar its purchase of Vodafone''s local unit. The companies had already filed an appeal in March to preserve their rights to seek a review of the Commerce Commission''s decision while they waited for the regulator to release its reasoning. The amended notice filed this week made it clear the companies were moving forward with the appeal. The Commerce Commission blocked the NZ$1.3 billion (693.87 million pounds) deal between New Zealand''s biggest pay television provider and one of its largest mobile phone operators in February, saying it would create a monopoly on premium sports content. (Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-skynetworktv-vodafonegroup-idUKKCN18D2PK'|'2017-05-18T05:05:00.000+03:00' +'c2ae1f7396bdb7709715205475fe541fcdc15724'|'Monte dei Paschi says in exclusive talks over bad loan sale'|'Business 7:14pm BST Monte dei Paschi says in exclusive talks over bad loan sale The entrance of Monte dei Paschi di Siena bank''s headquarters in Siena, Italy, July 1, 2016. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini/File Photo MILAN Monte dei Paschi di Siena ( BMPS.MI ) said on Monday it was in exclusive talks with a domestic fund and a group of investors over the sale of its bad loan portfolio, which it needs to offload before it can be taken over by the state. The negotiations mark the latest stage in a long-running process to rescue the world''s oldest bank, which includes efforts to enable it to shed its bad loans. Italy''s fourth biggest bank had 26 billion euros ($29.04 billion) in gross defaulting debts at the end of last year and has set a June 28 deadline for the talks with Quaestio, the fund which manages Italy''s banking industry rescue fund Atlante and will also conduct negotiations on behalf of other investors. The bank did not name those investors but sources have said they are U.S. private equity fund Fortress ( FIG.N ) and Italian bad loan manager Credito Fondiario, in which U.S. fund Elliott has a 44 percent stake. Monte dei Paschi, which emerged as Europe''s weakest bank in stress tests in July last year, has requested a state bailout to help to fill an 8.8 billion euro capital shortfall after failing to raise funds on the market in December. The bank expects to get a nod from European regulators by the end of June, a source close to the matter said, after months of negotiations over the terms of its bailout and a restructuring plan that is set to include thousands of job cuts. This would pave the way for the Italian government to take a stake of around 70 percent in the bank as early as in July, the source said. Part of the capital shortfall will be plugged through the conversion of junior debt into shares in line with new European rules seeking to limit the use of taxpayer money to rescue ailing banks. While talks to save the Tuscan bank seem to be heading towards a positive conclusion, Rome faces a much bigger hurdle winning EU backing for a state rescue of two Veneto-based regional lenders. The two, Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca, have a combined capital shortfall of 6.4 billion euros. To allow Monte dei Paschi to shift the bad debts off its balance sheet, Atlante and the other investors are set to take on the majority of some tranches of bad loans repackaged as securities, sources close to the matter told Reuters last week. The sources said Atlante and the other investors could buy the junior and mezzanine tranches in a securitisation of Monte dei Paschi''s bad loan portfolio for 1.3 billion euros, while the senior tranche would be backed by a state guarantee and sold to institutional investors. One of the sources said Fortress and Credito Fondiario were carrying out due diligence on the portfolio, which was expected to close on June 9. Fortress, Elliott and Credito Fondiario declined to comment. (Reporting by Silvia Aloisi. Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-banks-italy-montedeipaschi-idUKKBN18P1VS'|'2017-05-30T02:14:00.000+03:00' +'718a9fe16b7457c53f4f186343c89b416c270d8b'|'LPC: US firms boost financial firepower with add-on loans'|'Market 10:56am EDT LPC: US firms boost financial firepower with add-on loans By Jonathan Schwarzberg - NEW YORK NEW YORK May 12 Four US companies, including consumer goods company Spectrum Brands Inc, launched add-on loans this week to boost the size of existing facilities as lenders compete to offer additional debt to familiar names amid a lack of supply in 2017 so far. Pool and spa products maker KIK Custom Products, enterprise software firm Aptean Inc and veterinary services provider National Veterinary Associates also chose to increase their loans with bolt-on deals as investor appetite continues to outstrip dealflow. Companies are securing add-on loans where possible to give them greater financial flexibility and are also paying down debt under revolving credits to give more firepower for future acquisitions or other purposes. Some of it is acquisition-related. Im sure there are corporate boards that are saying the Feds going to raise (rates) three more times so we should raise money now. The market conditions are so good right now that they can, a senior banker said. KIK Custom Products is raising a US$200m add-on, US$90m of which will be used to finance a current acquisition. The rest will be added to the companys balance sheet or used to pay down its revolving credit facility. National Veterinary Associates is also financing an acquisition with an additional US$150m term loan, which includes a US$75m delayed-draw component. Aptean is raising an extra US$100m for general corporate purposes, including the ability to repay revolving credit debt and acquisitions. Investor demand was strong enough to allow Aptean to double the size of its offering and for all three issuers to move up the deadlines on their deals this week. Spectrum Brands US$250m add-on was completed in just one day. Spectrum has earmarked the proceeds to pay down revolving credit borrowings and add cash to the balance sheet. RED HOT Borrowers ability to raise additional financing without a specific purpose is typically a sign of benign market conditions fueled by excess demand as investors seek yield and a way to hedge against higher interest rates. Although leveraged M&A activity is picking up with around US$20bn of new deals announced this week, activity has otherwise been muted this year other than refinancing as demand for US leveraged loans has soared. This week saw the 26th consecutive week of inflows into loan funds. Collateralized Loan Obligation (CLO) funds are also buying and demand for US floating rate assets is increasing abroad. Weve seen new Asian accounts enter U.S. domestic sectors in size and its changed the dynamics, said a CLO investor. Its just becoming a more competitive environment when looking for investment opportunities. Companies are likely to be able to continue to raise money easily, especially issuers with existing loans that have a strong historical track record which offers lenders comfort and familiarity, as strong liquidity continues to offer prime borrowing conditions. From a new issue perspective, this is as good as it gets, the banker said. (Reporting by Jonathan Schwarzberg; Editing By Tessa Walsh)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/loan-addons-idUSL1N1IE0ZO'|'2017-05-12T22:56:00.000+03:00' +'75b4dc07ecee897fe35939ed79fb3a9a82573519'|'UPDATE 2-U.S. top court tightens rules on where companies can be sued'|'(Adds details from dissent by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, paragraphs 12-13)By Andrew ChungMay 30 The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday tightened rules on where injury lawsuits may be filed, handing a victory to corporations by undercutting the ability of plaintiffs to bring claims in friendly courts in a case involving Texas-based BNSF Railway Co.The justices, in a 8-1 decision, threw out a lower court decision in Montana allowing out-of-state residents to sue there over injuries that occurred anywhere in BNSF''s nationwide network. State courts cannot hear claims against companies when they are not based in the state or the alleged injuries did not occur there, the justices ruled.BNSF is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc .Businesses and plaintiffs have been engaged in a fight over where lawsuits seeking financial compensation for injuries should be filed.Companies typically can be sued in a state where they are headquartered or incorporated, as well as where they have significant ties. They want to curb plaintiffs'' ability to "shop" for courts in states with laws conducive to such injury lawsuits.Plaintiffs contend that corporations are trying to limit their access to compensation for injuries by denying them their day in state courts.The case involves two lawsuits against BNSF brought under the Federal Employers'' Liability Act, a U.S. law that allows injured railroad employees to sue for compensation from their companies.BNSF fuel truck driver Robert Nelson sued in 2011 over a slip-and-fall accident in which he injured his knee. Kelli Tyrrell, the widow of railroad employee Brent Tyrrell, sued in 2014 alleging her husband was exposed to chemicals that caused him to die of kidney cancer.Neither BNSF employee lived in Montana and their allegations did not occur in the state, according to court filings.BNSF argued that the Montana courts did not have jurisdiction over the cases. The Montana Supreme Court in May, however, ruled that state courts there can hear cases against BNSF without violating due process rights guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution because the company does business in the state.Writing for the majority on Tuesday, liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said that even though BNSF has more than 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of track and 2,000 employees in Montana, it cannot be held liable for "claims like Nelson''s and Tyrrell''s that are unrelated to any activity occurring in Montana."Liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented, calling the ruling a "jurisdictional windfall" for large multistate or multinational corporations."It is individual plaintiffs, harmed by the actions of a far-flung foreign corporation, who will bear the brunt of the majority''s approach and be forced to sue in distant jurisdictions with which they have no contacts or connection," Sotomayor wrote.The Supreme Court is also expected to rule before the end of June in a similar challenge brought by drug maker Bristol-Myers Squibb, which says it should not have to face injury suits filed by hundreds of out-of-state residents in California over its blood-thinning medication Plavix. The company is incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in New York.Conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch joined the majority on Tuesday, the first ruling he has participated in since joining the court in April.(Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-court-bnsf-rlwy-ptt-idINL1N1IW0NW'|'2017-05-30T13:41:00.000+03:00' +'19924a51667784a6800b1997d2b414a06b141418'|'Exclusive - ECB plan to take euro clearing from London stalled by infighting: sources'|'Business News 1:12pm BST Exclusive: ECB plan to take euro clearing from London stalled by infighting - sources The headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) are pictured in Frankfurt, Germany September 8, 2016. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo By Francesco Canepa and Balazs Koranyi - FRANKFURT FRANKFURT Discord between the euro zone''s three largest countries is stalling the European Central Bank''s efforts to come up with a way to force euro clearing out of London and put it under its watch, three sources told Reuters. Currently UK clearing houses, particularly the London Stock Exchange''s LCH.Clearnet ( LSE.L ), guarantee the vast majority of the trillions of euros worth of trades conducted every year and their location will likely be a point of contention in divorce talks between Britain and the European Union. The ECB and the central banks of the euro zone''s three largest countries - Germany, France and Italy - agree euro clearing needs to move to the euro zone after Brexit but they diverge on who should supervise it, the sources close to the matter said. The ECB has effectively proposed taking over supervision of the largest clearing houses but national authorities want to have prerogative, as they do currently, the sources added. "The question is who would supervise, the ECB or the national central banks," one of the sources said. "There is a risk now that we won''t be able to agree on a proposal and the (European) Commision will decide for us." The disagreement risks delaying the European Union''s timetable for making a legislative proposal in June on euro clearing after Brexit. Alternatively it could force the European Commission to make a proposal without ECB input. The ECB, the Bundesbank, the Banque de France and the Bank of Italy all declined to comment. The ECB, as the guardian of the euro, currently sits on ''supervisory colleges'' overseeing London-based clearing houses through EU regulation and agreements with the Bank of England. But it is afraid of losing its power over these firms, which clear more than 90 percent of all euro derivatives. This includes ensuring they are managed safely and being able to supply them with euros if they run out of cash. Asked by the European Commission, the ECB''s Executive Board has drafted a proposal for putting euro clearing under the direct supervision of the Eurosystem, which is comprised of the ECB and the euro zone''s 19 other central banks, the sources said. The proposal, however, contained no preference for any particular location. ROADBLOCK This plan, which involves changing article 22 of the Eurosystem''s statute, would effectively force any firm clearing euros to be located in the euro zone and give the ECB, as the bloc''s top banking watchdog, oversight of the largest ones. But the proposal hit a roadblock last week when it was discussed at a meeting of the ECB''s Governing Council, where board members sit alongside national governors. The central banks of Germany, France and Italy are resisting this change and favor maintaining the current system, which gives them or national authorities such as Germany''s Bafin the leading role in supervising clearing houses, the sources said. "We have a system that works so why change it?" one of the sources said. The three largest clearing houses that currently handle euro trades in the euro zone are Deutsche Boerse''s Eurex in Frankfurt, LCH SA in Paris and Cassa di Compensazione e Garanzia in Rome, with the last two being part of the London Stock Exchange Group. Instead, these central banks propose adopting a ''location policy'' for all transactions in euros to be cleared in the EU, with the implicit aim that their own financial centres would benefit. The ECB should only be given authority over any clearing house still outside the EU via changes to the European Market Infrastructure Regulation that would make that a pre-condition for that firm to access the single market. The issue will be discussed again at the ECB''s next non-monetary policy meeting on June 21, one source added, warning this may mean missing the Commission''s June deadline and risking that Brussels makes an alternative proposal. The Commission has said its legislative proposal could include, if necessary, enhanced EU supervision and location requirements. Even inside individual countries, views are not unanimous. Some of the sources said the Bundesbank was still split between those, mostly bank supervisors, who favor keeping euro clearing in London and those in the markets department who support moving it to the euro zone. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has spoken of an "appropriate" amount of euro clearing remaining in London post-Brexit. But ECB Executive Board member Yves Mersch said last week Frankfurt should consider taking "action" to keep a grip on offshore clearing for the sake of the stability of the euro. (Additional reporting By Andreas Framke and Andreas Kroener; Editing by Toby Chopra)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-clearing-ecb-idUKKBN18I1B2'|'2017-05-22T19:32:00.000+03:00' +'c582dce8573d048e194772feec38351b85d702e6'|'T-Mobile sees benefits in merger with Sprint: CFO'|'NEW YORK T-Mobile US Inc ( TMUS.O ) would benefit from greater scale in the industry if it were to combine with rival Sprint Corp ( S.N ), the chief financial officer of the No. 3 wireless carrier said at a conference on Thursday."There is a huge prize when you talk about Sprint, and that''s true hard synergies," said Braxton Carter, T-Mobile''s chief financial officer, citing more than $30 billion in estimated synergies over time between the companies.Sprint shares rose 7.5 percent to close at $7.89 while T-Mobile closed up 2.8 percent."It''s not a question of will talks happen," Carter said. "Of course, they''re going to happen as it''s been very, very widely reported in the press."Reuters reported in February that Sprint''s controlling shareholder, SoftBank Group Corp ( 9984.T ), was positioning itself for deal talks with T-Mobile''s top shareholder, Deutsche Telekom AG ( DTEGn.DE ), once a U.S. government auction of wireless airwaves ended.Carter also did not rule out a possible combination with cable companies Comcast Corp ( CMCSA.O ) and Charter Communications Inc ( CHTR.O )."What about Sprint, T-Mobile and a coalition of Comcast and Charter and the value creation that could come out of that?" Carter said.He added that "from a shareholder standpoint, that could be very, very exciting."(Reporting by Anjali Athavaley; Editing by Dan Grebler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-t-mobile-us-m-a-sprint-corp-idINKCN18E33Y'|'2017-05-18T19:24:00.000+03:00' +'992c8dd74ffa67708696b55ad365a240e544799f'|'HGGC to buy majority stake in Idera, values firm over $1 billion: sources'|'By Liana B. Baker - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO HGGC has agreed to take a majority stake in database software firm Idera, valuing the company at roughly $1.125 billion including debt, the private equity firm said in a statement.Software that maintains databases, part of the broader enterprise technology market, has become a favorite of private equity firms looking for steady revenue streams.Boston-based TA Associates, which previously controlled Idera, will keep a significant minority stake in the company, the statement said.HGGC, TA Associates and company management will contribute equity of about $400 million to $450 million as part of the deal, while Jefferies will provide roughly $700 million in financing, according to sources familiar with the matter.HGGC, based in Palo Alto, California, was co-founded by former National Football League''s San Francisco 49ers star Steve Young.Young said in a statement that HGGC is excited to become an investor in Idera since it has executed an "aggressive acquisition strategy" and "strong organic growth."The investment includes a pending acquisition of an unnamed company that Idera has made in recent months.Idera provides database software for businesses in a variety of industries from education to government and makes tools to help employees monitor and test databases. It competes with CA Inc ( CA.O ) and BMC Software, which is now private and owned by private equity firms Bain Capital and Golden Gate Capital.TA Associates acquired the Houston, Texas based company for an undisclosed sum in 2014.HGGC''s previous investments include marketing technology firm Etouches, an automated marketing software company called Selligent and FPX, software that helps tech companies price their products. It closed an $1.84 billion fund last year, its third buyout fund to date.William Blair advised Idera. HGGC was advised by Jefferies LLC and Kirkland & Ellis LLP.(Reporting by Liana B. Baker in San Francisco; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and David Gregorio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-idera-m-a-hggc-idINKBN18R183'|'2017-05-31T08:09:00.000+03:00' +'b5f94713325a93aa52c6b92f299809763793a5ec'|'PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - May 31'|'Market News 12:57am EDT PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - May 31 May 31 The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. - Federal Reserve governor Lael Brainard told the New York Association for Business Economics that the Fed should raise its benchmark interest rate "soon", despite new evidence that inflation remains below the level the Fed desires. Brainard''s comments reinforced expectations that the Fed will raise rates in mid-June at its next meeting. nyti.ms/2r9VXWV - A labor activist who had been working undercover at a Chinese factory that makes shoes for Ivanka Trump and other brands has been detained by the police. Hua Haifeng, who was working on behalf of the advocacy group China Labor Watch, was detained on suspicion of illegal eavesdropping. nyti.ms/2r9GMN5 - Scott Pelley is leaving his anchor role with "CBS Evening News", a position he has filled since 2011. Pelley will continue his duties at "60 Minutes" and devote more time to that role but no replacement has been chosen for him. nyti.ms/2r9EvBv - Uber said it had fired Anthony Levandowski, a star engineer brought in to lead the company''s self-driving automobile efforts, and who was accused of stealing trade secrets when he left a job at Google. nyti.ms/2r9TsDJ (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/press-digest-nyt-idUSL3N1IX18L'|'2017-05-31T12:57:00.000+03:00' +'f406ed160e6fdfb69aef97fd2025f26476fe3446'|'Land of make-believe: The Tory and Labour parties fail to face the realities of Brexit'|'FOG in channel: continent cut off is an (alas apocryphal) newspaper headline that points to the innate British sense of superiority. Victory in two world wars and a long history without invasion has given Britain a sense of detachment from its European neighbours. As a result, it was always a reluctant member of the European Union.Now that Britain is leaving, it must work out its own path to economic prosperity. The task is not impossible. But the superior attitude needs to be dropped. The Conservatives under Theresa May seem also certain to win the forthcoming election, with an 18-point lead on the latest polling average . Mrs May was a lukewarm member of the Remain campaign, and was only brought to power by the sudden demise of the government''s leading duumvirate, David Cameron and George Osborne. It clearly took time for her to decide on her negotiating strategy; the key Article 50 provision was not triggered until nine months after the vote. 3 8 One approach that the government could have taken was to agree a Norway-type deal with the EU, in which Britain stayed within the single market and customs union to ensure that economic ties were maintained. The idea was mooted by Leave campaigners before the referendum vote. And there was nothing on the ballot paper to say that Britain should leave either the single market or the customs union; just the EU itself. In political terms, however, Mrs May seems to have decided this was a no-no, since it would involve being subject to the EU''s rules, including free movement of labour, and continued budget payments. By opting for a so-called "hard" Brexit, Mrs May has had great political success; the UKIP vote has collapsed, with many of the party''s voters switching to the Conservatives.In economic terms, that still raises the issue of the trading relationship between Britain and the EU after departure. Government rhetoric has veered off in several different directions. It has suggested the "best possible" access to the single market (it would hardly try for the "worst possible" deal) but it has insisted that it will not comply with the other rules of membership such as being subject to the rulings of the European Court of Justice. It has also suggested that it will be able to negotiate special deals for certain industries, such as cars. It has championed hopes of a special deal with the US even though the Trump administration has a highly nationalist approach and sees a bilateral trade deficit as a sign of cheating by other countries; Britain has a trade surplus with the US so can hardly expect an easy ride. The UK government seems to think that the EU''s bargaining power will be undermined either because a) the EU has a trade surplus with the UK and will not want to see its producers lose out or b) Britain can "do a Singapore" and become an offshore haven, luring away EU businesses.The misunderstanding seems to be that the EU will put its mercantilist interest in favour of a bigger trade surplus ahead of its political interest in keeping the rules of the EU intact. Once unpicked, the four freedoms (movement of goods, services, capital and labour) might easily unravel. A favourable special deal for the UK would only store up longer-term problems. Without a special deal, the danger is that multinational fims will no longer find the UK quite so attractive a place. This is a particular problem for financial services where passporting requirements mean they need an EU base; the FT reports that more than a quarter of firms in the sector expect to move workers.What about the idea of Britain as a globally open economy, even as a tax haven? The latter threat sits oddly with all of Mrs May''s other rhetroic about readjusting capitalism in favour of the "just about managing" families that she is courting for votes. And the whole idea is undermined by Mrs May''s obsession about reducing the net migration target to the tens of thousands. Leave aside the point that Conservatives, who often bang on about the free market, want to intervene in the ability of employers to hire who they want (or rather remember this point the next time they make a free-market argument). Jonathan Portes has done an excellent demolition job on the idea that the UK can exclude "unskilled" workers by imposing a minimum salary of 35,000.only about one quarter of UK employees earn more than 35,000. Examples of jobs that for which half or more of all employees earn less than 35,000 include physiotherapists, speech therapists, nurses, primary school teachers, most technicians, skilled construction workers, chemists, environmental scientists, social workers, paralegals, electricians, chefs, butchers, (and) bakers The offer from Conservatives to business is thus: We will keep taxes low for you but we can''t guarantee you full access to the single market nor will you be allowed to hire whom you want and if you are a utility, we will cap your prices . This is neither the Norway model, nor is it the global, free market approach.What about Labour? Jeremy Corbyn, the party''s leader, had a long history of opposition to the EU and was an even more lukewarm Remainer than Mrs May on the campaign trail. Since the referendum, the party''s policy on Brexit has been hard to distinguish from that of the Tories; its MPs were instructed to vote in favour of Article 50. Labour could have opted to campaign for a Norway-style approach but didn''t do so. Even now, Mr Corbyn struggles to give a straight answer on whether Britain will leave the EU . The party seems to hope that it can simply sit back and criticise the deal that Mrs May eventually agrees.Labour is trying to steer the campaign away from the election debate and on to the ground of austerity and the need to boost public spending on a number of areas, from health to education. There might be a case for a Keynesian stimulus; as Martin Wolf points out today , British GDP per head is only 2% above its 2007 levels. The cost of UK borrowing is low (10-year gilts yield just 1.16%) and the infrastructure is creaking. Instead, Labour has plans to raise taxes to fund much of this spending (the full details will be released next week); it plans to raise taxes on those earning more than 80,000 and to push the corporation tax rate up to 26%. Now there may be a case for shelving the Conservative government''s plans for cutting corporation tax further; the rates are already the lowest in the G7. But as the IFS points out, the UK has less generous reliefs for capital expenditure than other countries. And of course, companies must pass on higher taxes to shareholders, workers or customers.All taxes are paid by people and corporation tax is no different. Higher rates can reduce the returns to company owners (shareholders), but there is also evidence that a significant share of the burden is passed to workers in the form of lower wages. The Labour case to business is that post-Brexit, we won''t guarantee full access to the single market, and we plan to tax your executives and your profits more. They can hardly expect a surge of foreign investment in the circumstances. Realism on both sides is lacking.'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/blogs/buttonwood/2017/05/land-make-believe-0?fsrc=rss'|'2017-05-10T22:24:00.000+03:00' +'7927e55311c5b274095ff8e03da9b0f6b0137d1a'|'Smith & Nephew first quarter revenue rises 3 percent on underlying basis'|'Business News - Fri May 5, 2017 - 7:18am BST Smith & Nephew first quarter revenue rises 3 percent on underlying basis LONDON Smith & Nephew ( SN.L ), Europe''s biggest artificial hip and knee maker, reported a 3 percent rise in underlying revenue in its first quarter, helped by a return to double-digit growth in emerging markets and a solid performance in knee implants. The company said it expected to see progress through the rest of the year after reporting revenue of $1.14 billion, broadly in line with expectations. (Reporting by Paul Sandle, editing by James Davey)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-smith-nephew-outlook-idUKKBN1810FW'|'2017-05-05T14:18:00.000+03:00' +'83ddea44a93d655c0ed38377f07d70217869921e'|'BRIEF-Elliott Management reports 15.3 pct stake in Gigamon'|'May 8 Elliott Associates L.P.:* Says Elliott, Elliott International and EICA have combined economic exposure in Gigamon Inc of about 15.3 percent of shares outstanding* Reports a 2.3 percent stake in Gigamon Inc as of April 28 - SEC filing* Believe securities of Gigamon Inc are "significantly undervalued and represent an attractive investment opportunity"* Seek to engage in a dialogue with Gigamon''s board of directors regarding opportunities to maximize shareholder value* May develop plans and/or make proposals with respect to, or with respect to potential changes in operations, management, among other things Source text - ( bit.ly/2pcAFZa )'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/brief-elliott-management-reports-153-pct-idINL8N1IA416'|'2017-05-08T11:26:00.000+03:00' +'be473209a67d89e357362f6aef905551340795c1'|'Imperial results hurt by slow-down, investment'|'Business 7:23am BST Imperial results hurt by slow-down, investment LONDON British tobacco company Imperial Brands reported lower half-year revenue and profit on Wednesday, excluding a benefit from the weak pound, as it was hurt by an industry slowdown and an investment programme. The maker of cigarette brands including Gauloises, Winston and Kool said it was on track to meet its full-year earnings expectations at constant exchange rates. Imperial said net revenue in its tobacco business was 3.7 billion pounds, up 9.3 percent. However, excluding the impact of exchange rates, revenue fell 5.5 percent. Total adjusted operating profit was 1.7 billion pounds, up 6.3 percent. Excluding the impact of exchange rates, it was down 7.6 percent. (Reporting by Martinne Geller; Editing by Susan Fenton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-imperial-brands-results-idUKKBN17Z0EH'|'2017-05-03T14:23:00.000+03:00' +'a9948292199f84294171fe4ac92773c7fa591e8f'|'Japan ''toushin'' funds see outflows after reprimand from FSA'|'Business News - Tue May 16, 2017 - 11:33am BST Japan ''toushin'' funds see outflows after reprimand from FSA By Tomo Uetake and Hideyuki Sano - TOKYO TOKYO Japanese investment trusts, or "toushin", saw the first net outflow of funds in six months in April, industry data showed on Tuesday, following scathing criticism of the industry from the head of the country''s financial watchdog. Investors pulled 31.1 billion yen (212.2 million) of funds from toushin in April, the first monthly net outflow since October. In another indication of the slowdown in business, the number of new fund launches in May was also likely to be around 20 - the lowest since data was available from 2007, said the Investment Trusts Association, Japan. If outflows from the toushin funds accelerate, that could force fund operators to sell assets, which will affect markets. Industry officials say many financial institutions have slowed or refrained from aggressive sales of some toushin funds after Nobuchika Mori, the commissioner of the Financial Services Agency, blasted the Japanese asset management industry for not catering to the true benefit of its customers. In a speech to financial professionals in early April, Mori railed at Japanese investment trusts'' high fees and low investment returns. The average return of about 280 active Japanese stock funds is 1.4 percent over the last 10 years after deducting fees, with a third of them making losses, compared to average annual gains of 3 percent in the Nikkei share average .N225 , he said. Noting that a panel of experts had concluded that 99 percent of toushins were unsuitable for long-term investment, Mori called on fund operators to take action. "How long are you going to keep this practise? Would customers who could not get a decent return on financial products they bought increase investment?" Mori challenged industry officials. Shocked by his blunt public rebuke, asset management firms virtually stopped sales activities, industry sources said. "After the FSA''s comments, sales staff are in the dark on what they should sell, or recommend to their customers," said an executive at a European asset management firm. They say net fund outflows appear to be increasing in May. Asset management firms are expected to disclose plans in June to make themselves more customer-oriented. "The number of new fund launches is declining because Mr. Mori''s severe comments are making it difficult for asset managers to create funds lightly," said Noriyuki Morimoto, chief executive officer at HC Asset Management. Yoshio Okubo, vice chairman of the Investment Trusts Association, said he cannot rule out the possibility Mori''s comments had some impact, adding that the industry will try to win back public confidence. The Japanese investment trust industry manages about $1 trillion yen (775.5 billion) of assets, channelling Japanese investors'' funds to stocks, foreign bonds and currency markets. (Additional reporting by Emi Emoto; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-funds-criticism-idUKKCN18C14D'|'2017-05-16T18:33:00.000+03:00' +'66f9ab2eefd729288d52333fd99e471e9f7e51a6'|'Emerging markets see strongest foreign investor run since 2015 - IIF'|'By Marc Jones - LONDON LONDON Emerging markets saw a fifth straight month of net ''non-resident'' portfolio inflows in April, their best run since the first half of 2015, data from the Institute of International Finance (IIF) showed on Tuesday.The gauge of foreign investor appetite showed that April was the third month running that inflows topped $20 billion, making it the strongest three-month streak since 2014, helped by record dollar-denominated emerging market debt issuance.Not all the signals were strong, however. Overall net flows, which take into account selling and buying of both foreign and domestic investors, declined to $18.7 billion from $30 billion, excluding China, marking the weakest quarter since early 2014.Net capital flows to China slipped back into the red too, with modest outflows of $6.3 billion in March. This took outflows to $28.8 billion in first quarter 2017, although this was still 75 percent below the average quarterly outflows of $115 billion in 2014-2016."Given the strong recovery in non-resident portfolio inflows in Q1, the slowdown in net capital inflows suggests that FDI flows and cross-border bank lending to EMs have been subdued this year," the IIF said."In addition, a rise in resident outflows appears to be an important factor behind the retrenchment, particularly for those countries facing political uncertainty."Looking at just the foreign investor data, inflows into bonds and other forms of debt were double the pace of the inflows into equities."The perception that Fed tightening will remain gradual has been a key support for capital flows from low-rate mature markets to higher yielding emerging markets," the IIF said.Regionally, emerging Asia attracted $16.3 billion combined equity and debt inflows, followed by emerging Europe at $2.3 billion. Africa and the Middle East gained $1.6 billion.Latin America was nearly flat at $400 million with the IIF saying investors were taking a "wait and see" approach ahead of potential U.S. policy changes under President Donald Trump, which could affect the region.But with growth gaining momentum, Brazil and India saw the biggest individual inflows.Turkey saw net inflows of $5.6 billion in the first quarter, well below the levels in the same period in 2016. This is a potential source of concern, the IIF said, given the scale of Turkey''s external financing needs in 2017, which is 28 percent of GDP.Despite domestic political uncertainties, flows to Indonesia remained robust against a backdrop of prudent macro policies and reforms. In contrast, Poland, Mexico and Russia saw net capital outflows.(Reporting by Marc Jones; editing by Claire Milhench)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/emerging-flows-iff-idINKBN17Y0V1'|'2017-05-02T17:22:00.000+03:00' +'a303db90da4db686805cb7254891ada3e0101f19'|'OPEC heads towards supply cut extension as Saudi signals most on board'|'Business News - Sun May 21, 2017 - 2:50pm BST OPEC heads towards supply cut extension as Saudi signals most on board Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih arrives to attend the Saudi-US CEO Forum 2017, ahead of the arrival of the U.S. President Donald Trump, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 20, 2017. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed By Reem Shamseddine and Marwa Rashad - RIYADH RIYADH OPEC and other oil producers are on course to agree an extension of supply cuts at a meeting on Thursday, with Saudi Arabia saying most participants are on board with the plan to rein in a global supply glut. Saudi Arabia''s energy minister said on Sunday that extending the supply cuts by a further nine months until next March, and adding one or two small producers to the pact, should reduce oil inventories to their five-year average, a key gauge for OPEC to monitor the success of the initiative. "Everybody I talked to... expressed support and enthusiasm to join in this direction, but of course it doesnt preempt any creative suggestions that may come about," Khalid al-Falih told a news conference in Riyadh. "We believe that continuation with the same level of cuts, plus eventually adding one or two small producers, if they wish to join, will be more than adequate to bring the five-year balance to where they need to be by the end of the first quarter 2018." The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other producers agreed last year to cut production by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) for six months starting from Jan 1. Oil prices have gained support from reduced output, but high inventories and rising supply from producers not participating in the accord, such as the United States, have limited the rally, pressing the case for extending the curbs. Saudi Arabia and non-OPEC member Russia, the world''s top two oil producers, last week agreed on the need to prolong he current deal on cuts, which expires in June, until March 2018, pushing up prices. On Friday, Brent crude LCOc1 closed up $1.10, or 2.1 percent, at $53.61, the highest settlement for the international benchmark since April 18. With a nine-month extension now the minimum expectation for the Vienna meeting, OPEC has a lot of work to do to persuade its members and some non-OPEC producers to back the move. Non-OPEC member Kazakhstan has said it would struggle to join any new deal on the old terms, as its own output was set to jump. But OPEC''s second-producer Iraq, whose output is growing fast, has said it will support extending output cuts in line with any OPEC decision, but did not specify for how long Baghdad was willing to extend the current cut. Even Iran is likely to go along with such the extension plan if there is a consensus, sources familiar with Iranian thinking have told Reuters. Falih said his understanding from a public announcement by his Iranian counterpart was that Iran was happy to stay within the production ceiling allocated to them last year. Iran was the only OPEC member allowed to increase its output under the supply cut deal. The current Iranian oil minister, Bijan Zanganeh, said earlier this month he believed producers were likely to extend the OPEC-led deal although he did not give a timeframe. INVENTORIES REMAIN HIGH OPEC''s aim is to reduce global oil inventories to the industry''s five-year average. While inventories held at sea and in producer countries have dropped, they remain stubbornly high in consumer regions, particularly in Asia and the United States. Estimated inventories in industrialized nations totaled 3.025 billion barrels at the end of March - about 300 million barrels above the five-year average, according to the International Energy Agencys latest monthly report. Preliminary April data indicated stocks would rise further, the IEA said. Crude stocks stood at a record 1.235 billion barrels. Falih said high compliance to the supply curbs by oil producers including Russia and high seasonal demand for oil in summer will help reduce oil inventories and stabilize the market. "Our expectation going forward is continuing a balanced and reasonable cut in volumes will optimize for all producers all their revenue, while at the same time keeping prices in a reasonable range for consumers and for the overall market," he said. An OPEC panel reviewing scenarios for the oil producer group''s meeting last week looked at the option of deepening and extending the agreement to reduce crude output, in an attempt to drain inventories and support prices. The panel, the Economic Commission Board (ECB), does not set policy and its meeting precedes the gathering of OPEC and non-OPEC oil ministers on May 25 to decide whether to extend the supply pact. The size of the extra supply cut being mulled by the ECB was not immediately available. OPEC sources have said that while a larger cut by existing participants was considered unlikely, one could still be debated and the size of the supply reduction could increase from 1.8 million bpd if more non-OPEC countries come into the deal. OPEC has been urging other producers to join the supply pact. Turkmenistan, along with Egypt and the Ivory Coast, are due to attend the meeting, sources have said. (Additional reporting by Katie Paul and Andrew Torchia; Writing by Rania El Gamal; Editing by Mark Potter and Clelia Oziel)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-opec-oil-saudi-idUKKBN18H0B2'|'2017-05-21T21:07:00.000+03:00' +'41bfc735b559fc5f3739f487d2c5ea2b56393831'|'Dutch court sets May 22 date to hear complaint against Akzo Nobel'|'Market News - Wed May 10, 2017 - 10:10am EDT Dutch court sets May 22 date to hear complaint against Akzo Nobel AMSTERDAM May 10 A Dutch court said on Wednesday it will convene on May 22 to hear hedge fund Elliott Advisors'' request for an investigation into possible mismanagement at Dutch paint-maker Akzo Nobel. Elliott, which holds a 3.25 percent stake in Akzo, leads a group of institutional shareholders dissatisfied with the company''s boards'' rejection of a 26.3 billion euro ($29 billion) takeover offer from U.S. rival PPG Industries. As part of its suit, Elliott will ask the court for preliminary measures including ordering an extraordinary meeting of shareholders to debate the dismissal of Chairman Antony Burgmans. Akzo earlier refused a request from Elliott to hold such a meeting, saying it supports Burgmans. Akzo said Tuesday it was disappointed in Elliott''s move to file a lawsuit. (Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/akzo-nobel-ma-elliott-idUSA5N1F901Z'|'2017-05-10T22:10:00.000+03:00' +'75738a2597aa60aedac91d40a0a4e9d220cde6a7'|'Brazil''s Petrobras wins $1.8 billion tax ruling from 2009'|'Commodities - Fri May 12, 2017 - 8:03pm EDT Brazil''s Petrobras wins $1.8 billion tax ruling from 2009 A worker paints a tank of Brazil''s state-run Petrobras oil company in Brasilia, Brazil September 30, 2015. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino SAO PAULO Brazilian state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA said tax court CARF has made a final ruling in favor of the company in a case regarding a deduction of 5.8 billion reais ($1.8 billion) related to 2009 drilling expenses. ($1 = 3.1222 reais) Exclusive: Cheniere in talks to boost LNG shipments to China HOUSTON/NEW YORK Cheniere Energy Inc said on Friday it has had extensive negotiations with China about increasing U.S. liquefied natural gas exports, as a new trade deal paves the way for a second wave of LNG investment in the world''s fastest growing gas supplier. MOSCOW Igor Sechin, the head of Russia''s largest oil producer Rosneft, said on Saturday the Russian energy ministry had his support in talks over oil production cuts, without elaborating, RIA news agency reported. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-petrobras-tax-idUSKBN188333'|'2017-05-13T04:03:00.000+03:00' +'c2b380cceeabdf5815ea8056abcb2735c6298a1a'|'CEE MARKETS-Stocks, currencies extend gains ahead of GDP data'|'* Stock indices at multi-year high before profit-taking * Strong Q1 GDP data expected, corporate earnings healthy * Forint, Czech crown touch 5-week highs By Sandor Peto BUDAPEST, May 15 Central European stocks touched multi-year highs on Monday on expectations that first-quarter regional economic output data due on Tuesday will show robust growth, though profit-taking later caused shares to retreat. Budapest''s main stock index rose to nine-year highs, extending gains from a record high close on Friday. Profit-taking set in just after 0800 GMT. The index was up 0.2 percent. Solid first-quarter earnings reported by the region''s banks and other sectors are helping optimistic mood. Hungarian lender OTP, Central Europe''s biggest independent bank, announced a bigger-then-expected profit rise last week. This helped the stock reach two-month highs though it gave up some of its gains on Monday. The forint and the Czech crown hit 5-week highs against the euro, with the Hungarian currency trading on the firmer side of its key 310 line. "After an initial (downwards) correction, OTP and (oil group) MOL can lead the rise further," Equilor brokerage chief analyst Monika Kiss said in a note. Hungary is expected to report 3.35 percent annual economic growth for the first quarter on Tuesday, Poland and Romania around 4 percent rise, and according to analysts'' estimate Czech growth picked up to above 2 percent. Prague''s main stock index touched a 21-month high. State-owned gaz producer Romgaz shares firmed 1.25 percent after it said will start production in 2019 at a newly discovered gas field, its biggest find in three decades. The leu lagged behind a firming of other regional units. Investors have been worried that the leftist Romanian government''s drive to boost wages and cut taxes could widen the country''s budget deficit and lift inflation. Romanian central bank Governor Mugur Isarescu said on Monday that the impact of excess demand in the economy on inflation was not intense. His counterparts in the region have not expressed any concern over inflation, which retreated last month after rising rapidly since 2016. The zloty firmed 0.15 percent against the euro and Warsaw''s bluechip stock index rose half a percent. In the past weeks the currency and the index have been hovering near their highest levels since mid-2015. CEE SNAPS AT 1004 MARKETS HOT CET CURRENCIES Lates Previ Daily Chang t ous e bid close chang in e 2017 Czech 26.54 26.58 +0.1 1.73% crown 80 05 2% Hungary 309.5 309.9 +0.1 -0.23 forint 200 650 4% % Polish 4.210 4.217 +0.1 4.59% zloty 5 0 5% Romanian 4.547 4.548 +0.0 -0.26 leu 0 0 2% % Croatian 7.434 7.428 -0.07 1.63% kuna 0 5 % Serbian 123.0 123.2 +0.1 0.25% dinar 400 000 3% Note: calculate previ close 1800 daily d from ous at CET change STOCK S Lates Previ Daily Chang t ous e close chang in e 2017 Prague 1018. 1017. +0.0 +10. 07 96 1% 47% Budapest 34293 34435 -0.41 +7.1 .72 .53 % 6% Warsaw 2380. 2368. +0.5 +22. 26 50 0% 19% Bucharest 8422. 8407. +0.1 +18. 57 67 8% 88% Ljubljana 777.1 782.6 -0.71 +8.3 2 8 % 0% Zagreb 1884. 1885. -0.02 -5.52 71 17 % % Belgrade <.BELEX15 723.8 725.9 -0.29 +0.9 > 3 0 % 0% Sofia 655.9 654.9 +0.1 +11. 6 7 5% 86% BONDS Yield Yield Sprea Daily d (bid) chang vs chang e Bund e in Czech sprea Republic d 2-year 8 bps ps 5-year bps s 10-year bps Poland 2-year 5 bps 5-year bps s 10-year bps FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M inter bank Czech Rep < 0.36 0.44 0.54 0 PRIBOR=> Hungary < 0.2 0.25 0.33 0.16 BUBOR=> Poland < 1.76 1.77 1.815 1.73 WIBOR=> Note: FRA are for Quote: s ask prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets-idINL8N1IH22H'|'2017-05-15T07:25:00.000+03:00' +'1506a5dc5c5363a6446e9418b2e715e6794a715c'|'French bank SocGen settles dispute with Libyan Investment Authority'|'Thu May 4, 2017 - 6:53am BST French bank SocGen settles dispute with Libyan Investment Authority A view shows the logo on the headquarters''s of French bank Societe Generale at the financial and business district of La Defense, west of Paris, France, April 18, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier PARIS French bank Societe Generale ( SOGN.PA ) and the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) have signed a confidential agreement to settle a legal dispute regarding a case focused on five trades totaling $2.1 billion, executed between 2007 and 2009. "Societe Generale and the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) jointly announce that they have signed a confidential settlement agreement that resolves all matters between both parties concerning five financial transactions entered into between 2007 and 2009 that have been the subject of legal action in the English High Court," SocGen said in a statement. "Societe Generale wishes to place on record its regret about the lack of caution of some of its employees. Societe Generale apologizes to the LIA and hopes that the challenges faced at this difficult time in Libya''s development are soon overcome," added the French bank. The Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) had been pursuing SocGen over those five trades, that took place before Colonel Muammar Gaddafi was ousted as Libyan leader. The LIA had claimed the trades were secured as part of a "fraudulent and corrupt scheme" involving the payment of $58.5 million by SocGen to a Panamanian-registered company called Lenaida, controlled at the time by Libyan businessman Walid Giahmi. Lenaida was dissolved in 2010. (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Stephen Coates)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-libya-swf-litigation-idUKKBN1800G3'|'2017-05-04T13:48:00.000+03:00' +'6c664f2e167030cf9d0496486933bf23456ec65b'|'UPDATE 1-Pembina adds natgas infrastructure with C$9.7 bln Veresen buy'|'Market News - Mon May 1, 2017 - 2:03pm EDT CORRECTED-UPDATE 3-Pembina adds natgas infrastructure with $7.1 bln Veresen buy (Corrects paragraph 14 to say the offer is at a 22.5 percent premium to the last close of Veresen, not Pembina. The error also appeared in previous versions of the story) * Pembina to pay as much as C$1.52 bln in cash, 99.5 mln in shares * Offer at 22.5 pct premium to Veresen''s last close * To pay either 0.4287 of a Pembina share or C$18.65 in cash By Swetha Gopinath May 1 Pembina Pipeline Corp said it would buy smaller rival Veresen Inc in a stock-and-cash deal valued at C$9.7 billion ($7.10 billion), including debt, giving the Canadian pipeline operator access to natural gas pipelines and processing infrastructure. The combined company will have a strong position in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, home to the world''s third largest crude reserves. A rebound in oil prices from a two-year slump and prospects of friendlier regulatory and tax policies in the United States are stoking consolidation in the pipeline industry. Pembina''s deal for Veresen comes in the wake of Enbridge Inc''s $28 billion acquisition of Spectra Energy, announced in September, and TransCanada Corp''s $10 billion purchase of Columbia Pipeline Group in March last year. After the deal with Veresen, Pembina will own about 5.8 billion cubic feet per day of gas processing infrastructure across Western Canada by 2018. "VSN''s deep inventory of well-head oriented expansions should pair nicely with Pembina''s role as liquids aggregator across the (Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin)," analysts at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co said. The combined company will have about 3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day of pipeline capacity. "When we combine with Veresen who is...68 percent pipelines, we put the P back in pipelines in our name," Pembina''s Chief Executive Michael Dilger said on a conference call, speaking of the breakup of Veresen''s operating margins. At present, pipelines account for about 46 percent of Pembina''s margins. Veresen has a stake in a pipeline delivering crude from Alberta, British Columbia and North Dakota to Midwest United States. It also holds interest in a 680-mile natural gas pipeline extending from Wyoming to Oregon, and owns the Alberta Ethane Gathering System, which is made up of three interconnected pipelines. Pembina said Veresen shareholders could opt to get either 0.4287 of a Pembina share or C$18.65 in cash. Veresen shares jumped to as much as C$18.29. Pembina''s shares were down about 2.4 percent at C$42.40. The offer is at a 22.5 percent premium to Veresen''s last close, the companies said. Pembina said it would pay as much as about C$1.52 billion in cash and 99.5 million in shares. The company also said it would increase its dividend by 5.9 percent upon deal close - expected late third quarter or early fourth quarter. CIBC World Markets Inc is Pembina''s financial adviser, while Scotiabank is advising Veresen. ($1 = 1.3668 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Swetha Gopinath in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/veresen-ma-pembina-pipe-idUSL4N1I322L'|'2017-05-01T19:10:00.000+03:00' +'bbe081d9f238f88c4c2bd62d09cbf60f97040053'|'ECB''s Nouy wants Basel deal on bank rules as quickly as possible'|' 54am BST ECB''s Nouy wants Basel deal on bank rules as quickly as possible Daniele Nouy, chair of the Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank, speaks at a Thomson Reuters newsmaker event at Canary Wharf in London November 28, 2014. REUTERS/Neil Hall FRANKFURT Global regulators should agree "as quickly as possible" on the minimum amount of capital that banks must hold, a so called ''floor'' that has held up the completion of a new rulebook known as Basel III, the European Central Bank''s top supervisor said on Tuesday. "The final design and calibration of the floor are still being discussed, and the intention is to avoid significantly increasing the overall capital requirements for banks," Daniele Nouy, chair of the ECB''s supervisory board, said in Vienna. "It is crucial that an agreement is reached as quickly as possible. We have to finalise the entire Basel III package to ensure that a global standard is in place." (Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Balazs Koranyi)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-banks-regulation-idUKKBN17Y0J6'|'2017-05-02T14:54:00.000+03:00' +'3059b2756f74b4e66a7eb5f5a6922597ec511531'|'Wealth manager Rathbone Brothers gets first quarter market boost'|'Business News 18am BST Wealth manager Rathbone Brothers gets first quarter market boost By Simon Jessop - LONDON LONDON British wealth manager Rathbone Brothers reported a 4.7 percent rise in first-quarter funds under management on Thursday, boosted by investment gains. Rathbone, in the process of expanding its distribution and private client activities, joins rival asset and wealth managers which have been generally supported by rising equity markets in the first quarter, helping to attract new money from clients. Funds at the end of March stood at 35.8 billion pounds, Rathbone said in a statement, buoyed by 427 million pounds in net inflows and 1.2 billion pounds of market gains. That in turn helped drive a 22 percent rise in fee income from the same period a year earlier to 46 million pounds. "Our investment businesses continue to perform well and activity is high across the group as we continue to progress towards our strategic goals," Chairman Mark Nicholls said. "We continue to seek further growth opportunities, but remain mindful of continuing political and economic uncertainties." Total net growth of funds under management in its investment management unit was 318 million pounds, Rathbone said, with net organic growth of 248 million pounds and acquired inflows of 70 million pounds. Funds under management in its unit trusts, meanwhile, rose 10 percent to 4.4 billion pounds. Over the same period, the FTSE 100 rose 2.6 percent, it said. KBW analyst Jonathan Richards said the growth in funds was 1 percent ahead of expectations. "Given the growth profile and established brand we continue to believe Rathbone''s is an excellent company," he wrote in a note to clients. "That said, the current rich valuation level shows the market agrees with our thesis; and thus we rate Rathbones a ''Market Perform''." Shares in Rathbone were flat at 2,403 pence at 0713 GMT, in line with the broader FTSE mid-cap index. Peel Hunt analyst Stuart Duncan said in a note to clients that Rathbone''s organic growth in the period of 3.3 percent was an improvement, flagging a ''add'' rating and 2,450 pence price target. (Reporting by Simon Jessop; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-rathbones-trading-idUKKBN1870R1'|'2017-05-11T15:38:00.000+03:00' +'8e61ce82b12de4f5ae5dfc0084050074a9f79f49'|'Oil rises on expectation of extended, possibly deepened output cut'|'By Stephen Eisenhammer - LONDON LONDON Oil prices rose on Monday, bolstered by confidence that top exporters will this week agree to extend supply curbs, with suggestions the cuts could even be deepened.Brent crude gained 48 cents o $54.09 a barrel by 1043 GMT, with U.S. light crude up 47 cents at $50.80.Both benchmarks have climbed more than 10 percent from lows earlier this month.Prices have risen on expectations that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers, including Russia, will extend for another six or nine months a deal to cut supplies by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd)."The decision (to extend cuts) seems to be almost a done deal," said Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB Markets. "There seems to be a very high harmony in the group."The possibility of deepening the cuts was also being discussed ahead of a meeting of OPEC and other producers in Vienna on May 25, sources said.But such talk could lead to disappointment if not approved, Commerzbank analysts said."If the cuts are merely to be extended, this is likely to be met at best with a neutral reception, if not even with disappointment," Commerzbank said in a note.Some analysts argue that deeper cuts are required to balance the market, pointing to a slight rise in OPEC exports this year.The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects OPEC net oil export revenues to rise in 2017, partly because of "slightly higher" OPEC output.Deeper cuts might, however, serve to stimulate U.S. shale production, said Schieldrop at SEB Markets."If you cut production, it''s no free lunch. You get something in the short term, but you get a backflip in the medium term, which is more production in 2018 and 2019," he said.Goldman Sachs says that the U.S. rig count for new oil production has jumped by 404 since May last year, representing a rise of 128 percent.U.S. oil production has already climbed by 10 percent, or almost 900,000 bpd, since mid-2016 to 9.3 million bpd.Iraqi oil minister Jabar al-Luaibi said in a speech on Monday that OPEC''s No.2 producer had met its share of production cuts, but added that the country remains ready to meet any global demand growth that may arise.(Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein; Editing by David Goodman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-oil-idINKBN18I0NO'|'2017-05-22T14:56:00.000+03:00' +'33079966e6e02848111ee54f45ce752aba31545b'|'BRIEF-Greenlight Capital Inc takes share stake of 665,000 shares in Varex Imaging Corp'|' 24pm EDT BRIEF-Greenlight Capital Inc takes share stake of 665,000 shares in Varex Imaging Corp May 15 Greenlight Capital Inc: * Greenlight Capital Inc takes share stake of 665,000 shares in Varex Imaging Corp - SEC filing * Greenlight Capital Inc dissolves share stake in Avangrid Inc * Change in holdings are as of March 31, 2017 and compared with the previous quarter ended as of Dec 31, 2016 Source text for quarter ended March 31, 2017 ( bit.ly/2qKIyFF ) Source text for quarter ended Dec. 31, 2016: ( bit.ly/2rj5c45 )'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-greenlight-capital-inc-takes-share-idUSFWN1IH192'|'2017-05-16T04:24:00.000+03:00' +'499437b005d20a29aa667d2942a19e6899bd8d30'|'Exxon plans to invest $300 mln in Mexico, cites energy reform'|'MEXICO CITY Exxon Mobil Corp said on Wednesday it plans to invest about $300 million over the coming decade to enter the Mexican fuels market, opening its first Mobil-branded station in the country later this year.Exxon will sell its Synergy gasoline and diesel fuels and will direct investments to logistics, products and marketing, the company said."Recent energy reforms present a unique opportunity to help meet the growing demand for reliable fuel supplies and quality service in Mexico," Martin Proske, a company official, said in a statement.Mexico''s 2013 energy reform ended the monopoly that state-run oil company Pemex once enjoyed in everything from crude production to retail sales.The announcement comes despite U.S.-Mexican trade relations being under strain. U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement that has defined continental commerce for a generation and vows to build a border wall between the countries at Mexico''s cost.(Reporting by Veronica Gomez and Mitra Taj Editing by W Simon)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-exxon-mobil-mexico-idUSKCN18D1XR'|'2017-05-17T22:55:00.000+03:00' +'82150bb817dec53bf32655f9ad349df6205980be'|'RWE sees no reason to sell Innogy stake at the moment'|'DUESSELDORF, Germany RWE ( RWEG.DE ) is under no pressure to sell stakes in its networks, retail and renewables unit Innogy ( IGY.DE ), Chief Executive Rolf Martin Schmitz said, but added it could make sense to diversify its financial portfolio in the long-term."There is no reason to change the level of our holding because we do not have a need for capital," Schmitz told journalists late on Monday in remarks embargoed for Tuesday, adding any sale of Innogy stakes would require investing in a better asset.In the long term, however, Schmitz said that RWE, which holds 76.8 percent in Innogy following last year''s listing, could diversify its financial portfolio.(Reporting by Tom Kaeckenhoff; Writing by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Maria Sheahan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-rwe-innogy-m-a-idINKBN1850UO'|'2017-05-09T06:50:00.000+03:00' +'d03b2ac38f700a1d92c2f7c344e54c7333f155b1'|'Total''s plans for Brazil''s new oil frontier snagged on Amazon reef'|'Business News - Fri May 12, 2017 - 6:30am BST Total''s plans for Brazil''s new oil frontier snagged on Amazon reef left right Scarlet ibis fly near the banks of a mangrove swamp located at the mouth of the Calcoene River on the coast of Amapa state, northern Brazil, April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes 1/18 left right A boat stands during low tide at the mouth of the Calcoene River where it joins the Atlantic Ocean on the coast of Amapa state, northern Brazil, April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes 2/18 left right Jailson, a crab collector, tries to pick a crab at a mangrove swamp located at the mouth of the Calcoene River on the coast of Amapa state, northern Brazil, April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes 3/18 left right Scarlet ibis fly near the banks of a mangrove swamp located at the mouth of the Calcoene River on the coast of Amapa state, northern Brazil, April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes 4/18 left right Fishermen unload fish off their boat at the banks of Amapa Grande River on the coast of Amapa state, in Amapa city, northern Brazil, April 1, 2017. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes 5/18 left right A flooded farm is seen near the mouth of Araguari River on the coast of Amapa state, near Amapa city, northern Brazil, March 31, 2017. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes 6/18 left right Valeria Leal''s home is seen on an island in the Oiapoque River in Amapa state, Brazil, April 4, 2017. Oiapoque city is seen in the background REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes 7/18 left right Fishermen navigate in the Atlantic Ocean on the coast of Amapa state, near the mouth of the Oiapoque river, northern Brazil, April 3, 2017. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes 8/18 left right A family is seen outside their house in Calcoene, northern Brazil, April 1, 2017. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes 9/18 left right Valeria Leal stands on the deck of the house where she lives on an island in the Oiapoque River in Amapa state, Brazil, April 4, 2017. Oiapoque city (R) and the French Guiana are seen in the background. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes 10/18 left right Birds fly over the mouth of the Araguari River on the coast of Amapa state, near Amapa city, northern Brazil, March 31, 2017. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes 11/18 left right A farm worker washes his pig in a boat as they wait to sail up the river during low tide at the mouth of the Calcoene River, on the coast of Amapa state, northern Brazil, April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes 12/18 A cat sits below salted fish in Calcoene, northern Brazil, April 1, 2017. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes 13/18 left right A house stands among rivers next to the mouth of Amazonas River on the coast of Amapa state, near Macapa city, northern Brazil, March 31, 2017. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes 14/18 left right Fishermen unload fish from their boat on the banks of Amapa Grande River on the coast of Amapa state, in Amapa city, northern Brazil, April 1, 2017. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes 15/18 left right Mangroves grow on the banks of Oiapoque River on the coast of Amapa state, near Oiapoque city, northern Brazil, April 3, 2017. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes 16/18 left right Jailson, a crab collector, tries to pick a crab at a mangrove swamp located at the mouth of the Calcoene River on the coast of Amapa state, northern Brazil, April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes 17/18 left right Waves reach a forest on the banks of Atlantic Ocean on the coast of Amapa state near Oiapoque city, northern Brazil, March 31, 2017. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes 18/18 By Marta Nogueira OIAPOQUE, Brazil - Deep beneath the waters of the Atlantic off Brazil''s most northern coast, French major Total SA is hunting for what it hopes will be Latin America''s next big oil discovery. Metal drill bits, pipes and containers filled with equipment sit in the tropical port of Belm, near the mouth of the vast Amazon River, ready to sink the first exploratory wells 120 km (75 miles) offshore. Some geologists say the area, known as the Foz do Amazonas Basin, may contain as many as 14 billion barrels of petroleum, more than the entire proven reserves of Mexico. But another underwater discovery threatens to derail Total''s plans: a massive system of coral reefs just 28 kilometres from where the French firm and its partners, Britain''s BP PLC and Brazilian state oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, plan to drill. Brazilian scientists had suspected since the 1970s that the area might be home to a sizeable reef. But the unusual depth of this formation - reaching more than 100 meters (400 ft) - coupled with the Amazon silt clouding the waters, delayed that confirmation until just five years ago, just as the government was putting drilling leases out for tender. Environmentalists, led by campaigner Greenpeace, are now pressuring regulators to block oil exploration in the area. They believe the thriving reef system, which is more 1,000 kilometres long and dotted with brightly coloured coral and giant sponges, may be home to new marine species. Scientists fear an oil spill could damage this treasure before it has even been studied. Leaked crude from Foz do Amazonas wells could also potentially wreak havoc on Brazil''s far north Amap state, home to the world''s largest belt of mangroves and thousands of square miles of virgin rainforest, says environmental scientist Valdenira Ferreira. "In terms of environmentally sensitive environments, this is the biggest in Brazil," said Ferreira, a researcher at the Institute for Scientific Research of Amap, who is helping prepare a study for the nation''s Environment Ministry. Total says it is scrupulously complying with all requirements by Brazilian authorities and is taking every precaution to ensure that drilling would be safe. For a graphic on Brazil''s Amazon reef, click here The dispute highlights pressures facing Brazil to protect its unique environmental patrimony as its tries to foment jobs and economic growth for its citizens. It is also reviving concerns that Brazil, which ranks among the Western hemisphere''s least open economies, remains a difficult place to do business despite a new conservative government''s efforts to cut red tape and woo foreign investment as it seeks to drag the economy out of the worst downturn since the Great Depression. Four years after Total and its partners paid 622 million reais (152 million pounds) for five exploration blocks, they are still waiting for the go-ahead from Brazil''s environmental regulator, Ibama. The agency has given no indication as to when it will make a ruling. "It''s an area that is very sensitive. We''re concerned about everything there," said Alexandre Souza, environmental analyst for Ibama. The delay has Total''s Chief Executive in Brazil, Maxime Rabilloud, suggesting the company might sit out three offshore oil license rounds that Brazil has scheduled for this year. He said Total had already invested some 200 million reais (49.6 million pounds) in developing its fields in Foz do Amazonas, with no guarantee yet that it will be able to proceed. "It''s complicated to ask for more money to enter into more exploration blocks without clarity about when the earlier blocks can be evaluated to see if they have any oil," he said in his office in Rio de Janeiro in March. Such uncertainty could prove damaging for Brazil in a year when oil companies have 25 auctions to choose from around the world, says Antonio Guimaraes, executive secretary of exploration and production at the Brazilian Petroleum Institute (IBP), an industry group. He has urged President Michel Temer''s government to speed passage of legislation currently pending in Congress that would make it easier for companies to win environmental licenses, an effort that has alarmed environmentalists. DEEPSEA DRILLING Deep-water discoveries during the 2000s off the coast of Rio de Janeiro in an area known as the pre-salt made Brazil one of the oil sector''s hottest destinations, prompting then-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to declare "God is Brazilian". The announcement of the massive Libra offshore prospect in 2010 the worlds biggest in decades - heightened the excitement around the area. Today, the pre-salt region accounts for almost half of Brazil''s oil production, and is rising fast. Success there has piqued interest in other offshore regions of Brazil, including Foz de Amazonas. The basin was the most hotly disputed area of Brazil''s 2013 oil auction. In addition to Total and BP, Brazil''s OGX and Queiroz Galvo Exploration and Production (QGEP) secured blocks in the area. Helping fuel optimism was a May 2015 offshore discovery by ExxonMobil in nearby Guyana in an area with similar geology. "I would say in terms of the opening of a new frontier in Brazil, the Amazon Basin is a strong candidate," said geologist Pedro Zalan, who did exploration work for Petrobras in the area. Total, which said it hopes to receive a decision from Ibama this year, plans to drill nine exploratory wells at water depths of more than 1,900 meters. Environmentalists say such extreme depths bring greater risks, making it harder to plug and contain any spill. BP''s 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the worst in U.S. waters, was from a deep-water well of similar depth. In a 64-page document submitted to Ibama, reviewed by Reuters, Total said the environmental risks were fully understood. "We are very aware of the sensitivity of the ecosystems," Rabilloud said. He said the company was using a well design that has been used in similar conditions in French Guiana without any incidents. In the event of an accident, Rabilloud said an emergency response could be activated within two hours. In contrast to findings by Ferreira, the environmental researcher in Amap, Total has concluded that ocean currents would carry any pollution away from the coast of Brazil. Rabilloud expressed confidence in receiving a green light from Ibama but said the uncertainty over the delay made operations difficult. "Right now, Total is ready to invest," he said. "Now, if you ask me when I will get the license, I can''t tell you." FISHING AND UNEMPLOYMENT President Temer''s government has proposed plans to simplify environmental licensing and hand companies a greater say in a bid to avoid lengthy delays. The Ibama environmental agency has also seen its budget slashed as the government scrambles to curb a massive deficit. Packed with members of the farming and business lobby, the government has been accused of downplaying environmental damage, including rising levels of deforestation. The government denies neglecting environmental rules or planning to dilute them. It says, however, its top priority is creating jobs and bringing an end to Brazil''s harshest recession in decades. In Amap, the Brazilian state with the highest rate of unemployment last year, many residents are eager for potential benefits from the oil industry. However, in the remote town of Oiapoque near the border of French Guiana, many suspect that will pass them by. Fishermen in the poor town fear the oil industry may instead hurt their livelihoods. "If we have an oil spill here, the fish will die and what will the fisherman do," said Rodolfo Antonio Ferreira da Silva, 63, who has fished for nearly 50 years, casting his net into the river. For Adair Jeanjaque, a member of the Kalina indigenous people, the oil venture smacks of colonialism. "It will be the same as when the Portuguese came here and took everything without any benefit," Jeanjaque said in his village on the outskirts of Oiapoque. (Writing by Stephen Eisenhammer and Daniel Flynn; Editing by Marla Dickerson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-brazil-oil-amazon-idUKKBN1880F1'|'2017-05-12T13:22:00.000+03:00' +'20d8352c5a8e9d1d1084ff0685063e1bdeb51177'|'TPG boosts offer for Australia''s Fairfax Media, shares leap to six-year high'|'Deals 6:25am BST TPG boosts offer for Australia''s Fairfax Media, shares leap to six-year high left right Mastheads of The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and the Australian Financial Review, all Fairfax Media publications, are pictured in this photo-illustration in Sydney June 18, 2012. REUTERS/Daniel Munoz 1/2 left right A TV crew films outside the Fairfax Media headquarters in Sydney, Australia, May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Reed 2/2 By Jamie Freed - SYDNEY SYDNEY U.S. buyout firm TPG Capital Management on Monday raised its cash bid for Fairfax Media Ltd ( FXJ.AX ), offering A$2.76 billion ($2.04 billion) for the struggling Australian publisher and sending its shares to a six-year high. The fresh offer from TPG [TPG.UL] and partner Ontario Teachers'' Pension Plan Board (OTPP) would allow shareholders to cash out completely rather than leaving them with scrip in a piecemeal collection of small assets including radio, regional newspapers and television streaming. "Its better to have a complete bid," said John Grace, co-head of equities at Ausbil Investment Management, Fairfax''s largest shareholder with a 7.8 percent stake. He added however that it was too early to say whether the bid should succeed. Fairfax is the publisher of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian Financial Review, but its best-performing asset is property listings website Domain, which has boomed amid the long-term decline of newspaper earnings. TPG is now offering A$1.20 a share for the entire business, compared with the prior offer of A$0.95 a share for Domain and top mastheads. It represents a 12 percent premium to Fairfax''s A$1.07 closing price on Friday and sent the shares up as much as 8.4 percent to a six-year high of A$1.16 on Monday. The previous offer did not include the publisher''s radio division, regional and New Zealand titles, a stake in an online television streaming start-up and its debt. DOMAIN SPIN-OFF Long-suffering shareholders had pinned their hopes on Fairfax''s plan to spin off Domain as it continues to cut costs at its newspapers. Many of its journalists this month went on strike for a week to protest editorial job cuts. Fairfax has said it is considering the TPG proposal - which is subject to a shareholder vote and foreign investment approvals - but is also continuing to progress preparations for the planned separation of Domain. "While the revised offer is clearly superior in that is an offer for the entire company, TPG may need to offer more than A$1.20 if it is to win the support of all shareholders," said Alex Waislitz, chairman of Thorney Opportunities Ltd, which holds Fairfax shares. TPG''s change of mind came after the Australian government revealed it is planning to deregulate media ownership, which could increase Fairfax''s options as either a target for another suitor or as an acquirer. A TPG spokesman declined to comment. In a statement, Fairfax said shareholders did not need to take any action in response to the revised proposal and promised to provide an update once it had been fully assessed. (Reporting by Jamie Freed; Editing by Stephen Coates)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-fairfax-media-m-a-tpg-idUKKCN18A141'|'2017-05-15T10:20:00.000+03:00' +'64836c9b3a34b9a70b66f98bb332b27b65179094'|'Wendy''s quarterly profit slumps 12 pct'|' 10:50am EDT Value meals drive Wendy''s profit, sales beat; shares soar FILE PHOTO: A Wendy''s sign and logo are shown at one of the company''s restaurant in Encinitas, California May 10, 2016 . REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo Wendy''s Co ( WEN.O ) reported quarterly same-restaurant sales and profit that topped estimates, driven by the popularity of its value meals and lower costs, sending its shares to their highest in nearly a decade in morning trading on Wednesday. The U.S. burger chain has been promoting its value meals such as "4 for $4" to attract diners, as grocery prices have fallen in recent months, encouraging more people to cook at home. Wendy''s in January added the Double Stack cheeseburger, which includes a burger, chicken nuggets, a small serving of fries and a drink, to its "4 for $4" value meals. The company brought back its popular North Pacific Cod sandwich and also promoted its Ranch Chicken Club sandwich more in the first quarter, which helped push up same-restaurant sales to 1.6 percent, beating the 1.1 percent growth expected by analysts polled by research firm Consensus Metrix. Consumers continue to spend less and save more despite higher discretionary income, leading Wendy''s and rivals to increase promotions on their value offerings, Wendy''s Chief Financial Officer Gunther Plosch said on a conference call. The company said it did not see any material impact from McDonald''s Corp ( MCD.N ) testing "Quarter Pounder" hamburgers made with fresh beef in Dallas. McDonald''s announced the test in March, a move that was expected to give competition to Wendy''s promise of "fresh never frozen beef", but would require restaurant operators to make changes to cooking routines that could slow service. Wendy''s said it would continue to offer more value-oriented products such as its 50 cent Frosty. General and administrative expenses fell 19 percent to $52.4 million in the first quarter ended April 2, due to lower professional fees, lesser incentive compensation payout and as the company sold more restaurants to franchisees. Net income fell to $22.3 million from $25.4 million in the quarter. On a per share basis, the company''s profit remained unchanged at 9 cents per share, due to fewer outstanding shares from a year earlier. Revenue fell 24.5 percent to $285.8 million from a year earlier, mainly because the company sold more restaurants to franchisees. Analysts on average had expected earnings of 8 cents per share on revenue of $282.6 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Wendy''s shares rose as much as 6.8 percent to $16.12 in morning trading on Wednesday. Up to Tuesday''s close, the stock has risen about 12 percent since the start of the year. (Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D''Couto)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-wendys-results-idUSKBN1861I7'|'2017-05-10T19:41:00.000+03:00' +'c48a69f25db0fd3344a2df522486f14ea89d0d30'|'UPDATE 1-Altice-SFR performance gap widens in first quarter'|'* Altice core profit up 9.5 pct; SFR''s down 5.1 pct* SFR margin lowest since Drahi acquisition in 2014* Deals with NBCUniversal, Discovery weigh on SFR profits (Adds shares reaction, analyst note, details)By Mathieu Rosemain and Gwnalle BarzicPARIS, May 11 The performance gap between telecoms and cable group Altice NV and its listed SFR Group division widened in the first quarter, underscoring SFR''s difficulties in attracting customers despite heavy investments in infrastructure and content.The holding company, founded by Franco-Israeli tycoon Patrick Drahi, said on Thursday that its quarterly profits in the United States grew ahead of a planned initial public offering (IPO) while those of SFR in France dropped, along with the number of customers in the country.Altice''s core operating profit rose by 9.5 percent over the first three months of year to 2.24 billion euros ($2.43 billion), in line with a Reuters poll.SFR''s contribution to that amount was 820 million euros, down by 5.1 percent from a year earlier. That figure compares with the 896 million euro core operating profit yielded by Altice USA over the same period, representing an increase of 31.2 percent.Drahi is betting on the convergence of content providers and telecommunications operators to increase margins and compete better against newcomers such as Netflix and Amazon . He saw the announcement of AT&T Inc''s $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc as an additional proof of this trend.In France, SFR bought the English Premier League''s football rights for the three seasons starting in 2016, paying more than 300 million euros for them.SFR also won the TV rights for soccer''s European Champions League for the period 2018-2021 period for an annual cost of 350 million euros, a source told Reuters on Thursday.Still, evaluating the impact of such investments on customers'' choices remains difficult and recent spending on exclusive distribution agreements with NBCUniversal and Discovery weigh on SFR margins."Yes, we believe that content has an impact on our figures," Altice''s chief executive Michel Combes said in a call with reporters. "It answers customers expectations, it clearly supports our pricing strategy," he added.SFR lost 351,000 mobile customers and 213,000 broadband customers in the first quarter compared with the same period a year ago.The French unit''s quarterly core operating margin at 30.3 percent is the worst on record since Drahi bought SFR in November 2014, and far from an initial target of 45 percent."SFR''s fundamentals will likely remain difficult in 2017, as cost savings from headcount reductions are totally reinvested in content costs," analysts for Raymond James said in a note to clients."The possible positive impact of the content strategy on customer trends remains unclear," they added. ($1 = 0.9202 euro) (Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain and Gwenaelle Barzic; Editing by G Crosse and GV De Clercq)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/altice-results-sfr-group-idUSL8N1ID1SK'|'2017-05-11T15:27:00.000+03:00' +'ea68df19b585d4df65a24f29e851dc28e0b0b1af'|'MOVES-Gatehouse Bank appoints Charles Haresnape as CEO'|'Market 7:40am EDT MOVES-Gatehouse Bank appoints Charles Haresnape as CEO May 22 London-based Gatehouse Bank Plc, a unit of Gatehouse Financial Group, said it hired Charles Haresnape as chief executive, effective May 8. He replaced Fahed Faisal Boodai, co-founder of Gatehouse Financial Group, who returned to his role as chairman of the group. Haresnape, who has worked in a number of senior lending roles including at Royal Bank of Scotland Plc, most recently served as group managing director at Aldermore Group Plc. (Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/gatehousebank-moves-charlesharesnape-idUSL4N1IO3QW'|'2017-05-22T19:40:00.000+03:00' +'e558554511a864fc3d302d7cef5ff83452852d6e'|'Adani says reaches royalties pact for its Australian coal mine'|'Deals 2:13pm IST Adani says Carmichael mine decision on track after royalty agreement SYDNEY Adani Enterprises ( ADEL.NS ) will move ahead with a final financing decision for its Carmichael coal mine project in Australia after an end to negotiations on how to pay government royalties, it said on Tuesday. "The Adani parent company board will consider the final investment decision at the next board meeting." the company said in a statement. No date has been set for the next meeting of the board though it typically meets once a month. The Adani board last week deferred a final investment decision that had been expected by the end of May because the government had yet to sign off on a royalty regime with the Queensland state government. Adani did not disclose the terms of the royalties. The company is still counting on about $1 billion in loans from Australia''s federal government under the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility to pay for rail transport work. Adani is also awaiting passage of Australias Native Title Amendment by its parliament, expected sometime next month. The bill is designed to make it easier for companies like Adani to sign land rights agreements with indigenous land owners. The Carmichael project is located in the remote Galilee Basin, a 247,000 square-kilometre (95,000 square mile) expanse in the central outback that some believe has the potential to become Australia''s largest coal-producing region. Adani has battled environment groups trying to block what would be Australia''s biggest coal mine, arguing it will contribute to global warming and damage the Great Barrier Reef. Adani says the project, at an initial cost of $4 billion, would pay billions of dollars in royalties and taxes, create jobs for the state and export coal to India help bring electricity to rural regions. (Reporting by James Regan; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/adani-ent-australia-idINKBN18Q0M4'|'2017-05-30T05:38:00.000+03:00' +'e29f9b414f69fbe44aec88485d04d7ee96159a97'|'Oil remains weak after OPEC-led output cut extension falls below expectations'|'Business News - Fri May 26, 2017 - 2:30am BST Oil remains weak after OPEC-led output cut extension falls below expectations FILE PHOTO: A worker checks the valve of an oil pipe at the Lukoil owned Imilorskoye oil field near Kogalym, Russia, January 25, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo By Henning Gloystein - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Oil markets remained weak on Friday after tumbling in the previous session when OPEC and allied producers extended output cuts but disappointed investors betting on longer or larger supply curbs. At Thursday''s meeting in Vienna, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and some non-OPEC producers agreed to extend a pledge to cut around 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) until the end of the first quarter of 2018. The initial agreement would have expired in June this year. Crude oil plunged 5 percent following the announcement, and held its losses early on Friday. Brent crude futures LCOc1 were trading at $51.47 per barrel at 0125 GMT, up just 1 cent from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were back below $50, at $48.88, down 2 cents from their previous close. Britain''s Barclays bank said the price falls were a result of some expectations ahead the meeting for longer or deeper production cuts. "Some market participants may have expected either a deeper cut, a longer one, inclusion of more countries, or other such icing on the cake," the bank said. Barclays said the ongoing production cut would result in a drawdown of bloated fuel inventories, but added that OPEC''s goal of bringing stocks down to their five-year average would not be reached within the timeframe of the production cut. Other analysts, including at Goldman Sachs and Jefferies bank said a normalization of oil inventories would occur in early 2018. Analysts also said that the OPEC-led production cuts would support a further rise in U.S. output. Ann-Louise Hittle, vice president at energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie said that the "decision in Vienna sends a signal of continued support for oil prices from OPEC which helps U.S. onshore drillers make plans" to further increase their production. U.S. oil production C-OUT-T-EIA has already risen by 10 percent since mid-2016 to over 9.3 million bpd, close to the output of top producers Russia and Saudi Arabia. "The growth in U.S. production is indeed daunting for the oil bull case," Jefferies said. Goldman Sachs warned that the biggest risk to oil markets was what would happen next year, at the end of the OPEC-led production cut. With U.S. output rising steadily and OPEC and its allies potentially ramping up production in 2018 to regain lost market share, many traders are already expect another price slump. (Reporting by Henning Gloystein; Editing by Richard Pullin) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUKKBN18M03X'|'2017-05-26T09:30:00.000+03:00' +'c2c322b2fe2740584f2c4f2b4e9763a8804dc9bd'|'ABI calls for dual rate in calculating personal injury payments'|'Business News 15am BST ABI calls for dual rate in calculating personal injury payments LONDON The Association of British Insurers on Friday called for a dual-rate system for calculating lump sum payments in personal injury claims, to reflect different investment periods, saying the current system was "flawed". An unexpected change in the rate earlier this year by the government has pushed up the size of payments, denting the profits of British, European and U.S. insurers operating in the British motor insurance market. "The current methodology used to calculate the discount rate is fundamentally flawed as it does not reflect the reality of how claimants invest their damages," James Dalton, director of general insurance policy at the ABI, said in a statement. "Retaining the status quo is not an option." The ABI was responding to a government consultation on the discount rate. (Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; editing by Simon Jessop)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-insurance-idUKKBN1881A6'|'2017-05-12T18:15:00.000+03:00' +'703d160da6d53cecc9bde7df984b14e307e08a2f'|'Royal Mail profit falls, expects letter volume decline'|'Top News 2:34pm BST Parcels growth drives Royal Mail''s profit beat, shares rise FILE PHOTO: A Royal Mail vehicle drives along the M6 motorway near Knutsford, northern England, April 8, 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo By Esha Vaish Royal Mail''s ( RMG.L ) annual profit fell by less than expected as tighter cost controls and growth in its European delivery and UK parcel businesses helped offset a continued decline in letters. After years of underinvestment, Royal Mail was privatised in 2013 and has since reduced layers of management, improved vehicle utilisation rates, upgraded technology and cut its property bill. The former monopoly has closed over 30 mail centres since 2008 and cut staff numbers by 12,000 in the past four years. But competition is getting tougher in the parcels market because of new entrants such as Amazon ( AMZN.O ), while letter volumes continue to fall. Royal Mail also needs to convince unions to back its plan to close a pension scheme. Chief Executive Moya Greene told Reuters Royal Mail accounted for about 41 percent of the revenue generated in the 6.2 billion pound UK parcels market, although Amazon''s decision to start its own deliveries had further squeezed an overcrowded market. "(Amazon''s decision has) been a very important change ... because it has, in an overcapacity situation, added more capacity and through the power of its market place given Amazon a very powerful position in our market," Greene said. "That said, Royal Mail has come through very well." The company, which has been able to replace all lost Amazon business, said it had seen an increase in parcels sent through its account and noted higher delivery productivity in its UK unit. Full-year adjusted operating profit before transformation costs fell 6 percent to 712 million pounds, versus consensus of 694 million pounds. Total dividend was up 4 percent at 23 pence. Hargreaves Lansdown senior analyst Laith Khalaf said Royal Mail was well placed to capitalise on expectations of higher parcel volumes as more shoppers use mobile devices to order goods. "Royal Mail has posted a solid set of results against a challenging backdrop...A decent rise in full-year dividend, combined with share price falls over the last year, means the stock is now yielding over 5 percent," he said. Shares were up 1.7 percent at 438 pence at 1209 GMT, making it one of the top FTSE 100 gainers .FTSE . The company''s stock is down 14 percent over the past year as its last two updates showed that uncertainty due to Brexit had worsened the decline in letters volumes. Full-year addressed letter volume, excluding the impact of political parties'' election mailings, were down 6 percent and Greene said she expected business uncertainty to continue for a while yet, with marketing and business mail volumes hit. Royal Mail said that if business uncertainty persisted the fall in volumes would be at the higher end of a previous forecast of a 4 to 6 percent decline annually. Greene said that while she did not know how soon pension talks with unions would complete, she remained optimistic. (The story was refiled to correct the spelling of the CEO''s surname throughout) (Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; editing by Jason Neely and David Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-royal-mail-results-idUKKCN18E0J0'|'2017-05-18T14:31:00.000+03:00' +'55ea8d35aeacb39ee92c5b3ccf6d244b22d5750c'|'China opens bond connect scheme applications to market makers - sources'|'Business News - Fri May 5, 2017 - 9:25am BST China opens bond connect scheme applications to market makers - sources SHANGHAI China has started accepting applications from bond market makers seeking clearance to participate in a bond connect scheme with Hong Kong, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said on Friday. The China Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS), which is supervised by the People''s Bank of China, announced the step during a promotional event in Shanghai, the sources said. Reuters reported on Tuesday that Hong Kong and Chinese regulators were set to formally unveil a long-awaited scheme to connect China''s $8 trillion bond market with overseas investors in July, with the launch expected in the Autumn. Plans for a "Bond Connect" programme have been percolating since Beijing launched a scheme allowing two-way trading between the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock markets in 2014. One of the three sources said qualifications for foreign institutional investors to participate in the bond connect scheme would be similar to the rules released by the central bank in February 2016, when China further opened up its domestic interbank bond market to overseas investors. Reuters requested a comment from CFETS on the latest development, but there was no immediate response. (Reporting by Ivy Lv and John Ruwitch; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hongkong-connect-bonds-idUKKBN1810R2'|'2017-05-05T16:25:00.000+03:00' +'9ac683b466feae0c30cdff83df0a1bcea578c3c9'|'Aviva to buy back up to $390 million in its shares'|' 7:55am BST Aviva to buy back up to $390 million in its shares FILE PHOTO: People enter and exit the AVIVA headquarters building in Dublin October 19, 2011. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton/File Photo LONDON Aviva is to buy back up to 300 million pounds ($389.55 million) of its own shares, the insurer said on Thursday. Morgan Stanley will act as principal on the transaction, Aviva said in a statement. European insurers and reinsurers such as Allianz and Munich Re have also issued share buybacks this year, as they struggle to put capital to work. Aviva chief executive Mark Wilson said this week the firm would consider small acquisitions in insurance technology businesses, but added nothing was imminent. (Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; Editing by Rachel Armstrong)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-aviva-buyback-idUKKBN18L0O8'|'2017-05-25T14:55:00.000+03:00' +'8bea8c2b92dcf51b0b0653ebde1fe5d6bb8202ba'|'ISS backs call for special audit of Deutsche Bank management'|'Company News - Wed May 3, 2017 - 6:54am EDT ISS backs call for special audit of Deutsche Bank management FRANKFURT May 3 Shareholder advisory and proxy voting firm ISS has backed a call for a special audit of Libor-manipulation and Russian money-laundering scandals at Deutsche Bank to probe what role management and supervisory boards may have played. ISS has thrown its weight behind a proposal originally put forward by shareholder Marita Lampatz. Proxy voting firm Glass Lewis has also backed calls for a special audit. ISS said, however, a vote against discharging the German lender''s management and supervisory boards at the annual shareholder meeting on May 18 was "not warranted at this time", and it would not be appropriate to vote against the re-election of Chairman Paul Achleitner. Deutsche Bank declined to comment on ISS''s letter, which was first reported by German daily Handelsblatt and seen by Reuters on Wednesday. (Reporting by Kathrin Jones and Edward Taylor; Editing by Georgina Prodhan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/deutsche-bank-audit-iss-idUSL8N1I53EA'|'2017-05-03T18:54:00.000+03:00' +'fe56cea0f88eb3ec21611f93e350bc1405d62159'|'Irish services sector growth rebounds to 10-month high - PMI'|'Business News - Thu May 4, 2017 - 6:19am BST Irish services sector growth rebounds to 10-month high - PMI DUBLIN May 4 Ireland''s services sector rebounded to post its strongest growth in 10 months in April on strong new orders and higher prices, a survey showed on Thursday. The Investec Services Purchasing Managers'' Index (PMI)climbed to 61.1 in April from 59.1 in March, its highest level since last June, the month in which neighbouring Britain voted to leave the European Union. The manufacturing PMI for March, released earlier this week, rose to a three-month high of 55.0 as new export orders came in at the fastest pace in almost two years. "Taken together, this week''s reports suggest that economic activity in Ireland picked up at the beginning of Q2," Investec Ireland chief economist Philip O''Sullivan said. Growth in Ireland''s services and manufacturing sectors slowed after the shock Brexit vote, and readings have been volatile since. But Ireland last year remained the best performing economy in the EU for the third year in a row. Services have not fallen below the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction since June 2012, when Ireland was halfway through a three-year international bailout. New orders in the services sector increased in April, but new export orders were the lowest since December, the survey showed. New export orders in the period were driven by Europe and North America, the authors said. "Irish services companies remain strongly optimistic, with more than 10 times as many firms expecting to record growth in activity over the coming 12 months as opposed to those who anticipate a decline," O''Sullivan added. (Reporting by Conor Humphries; Editing by Catherine Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ireland-economy-pmi-idUKKBN1800DS'|'2017-05-04T13:19:00.000+03:00' +'719d5c8437f0d1bad8e1f354e0b7a3fbf805e752'|'Ransomware attack again thrusts U.S. spy agency into unwanted spotlight'|'Market News - Mon May 15, 2017 - 9:41pm EDT REFILE-Ransomware attack again thrusts U.S. spy agency into unwanted spotlight (In 18th paragraph, fixes word in quote to read "and that hobbling the NSA" not "and the hobbling NSA") By Dustin Volz WASHINGTON May 15 An unprecedented global cyber attack that infected computers in at least 150 countries beginning on Friday has unleashed a new wave of criticism of the U.S. National Security Agency. The attack was made possible by a flaw in Microsoft''s Windows software that the NSA used to build a hacking tool for its own use - only to have that tool and others end up in the hands of a mysterious group called the Shadow Brokers, which then published them online. Microsoft Corp President Brad Smith sharply criticized the U.S. government on Sunday for "stockpiling" software flaws that it often cannot protect, citing recent leaks of both NSA and CIA hacking tools. "Repeatedly, exploits in the hands of governments have leaked into the public domain and caused widespread damage," Smith wrote in a blog post. "An equivalent scenario with conventional weapons would be the U.S. military having some of its Tomahawk missiles stolen." Some major technology companies, including Alphabet Inc''s Google and Facebook Inc, declined comment on the Microsoft statement. But some other technology industry executives said privately that it reflected a widely held view in Silicon Valley that the U.S. government is too willing to jeopardize internet security in order to preserve offensive cyber capabilities. The NSA did not respond to requests for comment. The NSA and other intelligence services generally aim to balance disclosing software flaws they unearth against keeping them secret for espionage and cyber warfare purposes. On Monday, senior administration officials defended the government''s handling of software flaws, without confirming the NSA link to WannaCry, the tool used in the global ransomware attack. "The United States, more than probably any other country, is extremely careful with their processes about how they handle any vulnerabilities that they''re aware of," Tom Bossert, the White House homeland security adviser, said at a press briefing on Monday. Other tools from the presumed NSA toolkit published by the Shadow Brokers have also been repurposed by criminals and are being sold on underground forums, researchers said. But they appear to be less damaging than WannaCry. It is not known who is behind the Shadow Brokers. Derek Manky, global security strategist at cyber security firm Fortinet, said he thinks WannaCry is probably the worst that will come from the Shadow Brokers publicly dumped toolkit, though the group may have held back from public revealing everything it obtained Out of that batch, it is probably a high-water mark, Manky said. "WE KNEW IT COULD BE A PROBLEM" Security experts said the NSA had engaged in responsible disclosure by informing Microsoft of the flaw at some point after learning it had been stolen and a month before the tools leaked online. Users who do not patch their systems and the Shadow Brokers were more directly responsible for the attack than NSA, they said. The Department of Homeland Security began an "aggressive awareness campaign" to alert industry partners to the importance of installing the Microsoft patch shortly after it was released in March, an agency official working on the attack said. "This one, we knew it could be a problem, the official told Reuters. "NSA should be embarrassed theyve had a lot of damaging leaks," said James Lewis, a former U.S. official who is now a cyber expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Still, he said, "Microsoft needs to admit that the 20th century is over, it''s a much more hostile environment, and that hobbling the NSA wont make us any safer." Under former President Barack Obama, the U.S. government created an inter-agency review, known as the Vulnerability Equities Process, to determine whether flaws should be shared or kept secret. White House cyber security coordinator Rob Joyce, who previously worked in the NSA''s elite hacking squad, told a Reuters reporter in April that the Trump administration was considering how to "optimize" the Vulnerability Equities Process, but he did not elaborate. The White House did not respond to a request for comment about the status of the review process. A source familiar with the matter said equities meetings still take place but less frequently than they did under the Obama administration. In Congress, Republican Senator Ron Johnson and Democratic Senator Brian Schatz are working on legislation that would codify the review process. "We have reached a turning point where it is not sustainable for governments to think they can retain vulnerabilities for very long," said Ari Schwartz, who oversaw technology security issues at the National Security Council during the Obama administration. (Reporting by Dustin Volz in Washington; Additional reporting by Joseph Menn in San Francisco; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/cyber-attack-blame-idUSL2N1IH1CB'|'2017-05-16T04:49:00.000+03:00' +'9d03b9ece0e5b74561150da25573eef7b3bad8df'|'AIG''s investors, awaiting CEO plan, uneasy ahead of results'|'Business News 28pm EDT AIG''s investors, awaiting CEO plan, uneasy ahead of results The AIG logo is seen at its building in New York''s financial district March 19, 2015. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid By Suzanne Barlyn For nearly two months, American International Group Inc ( AIG.N ) has planned to replace its chief executive but a successor has yet to be named, creating a void that has stoked investor concerns about the insurance company''s future. Indeed, analysts and investors say they want to know more about the succession plans of AIG, which reports its first-quarter earnings on Wednesday. Chief Executive Officer Peter Hancock said on March 9 he would depart once the board found a replacement, citing a lack of confidence among directors and investors. But AIG has said little about the board''s progress since then. Chairman Douglas Steenland has said AIG''s board remains committed to the existing turnaround effort. "The board and management team believe strongly that we are on the right strategic path," he said in a letter to shareholders last month. Nonetheless, analysts doubt that a new chief executive would carry out Hancock''s strategy. "We need to know" about the impending choice of CEO, said Sandler O''Neill analyst Paul Newsome. "The lack of a CEO puts the strategy for the company completely in play. There''s a very large chance that with a different CEO, you are going to have a change in the strategy, despite what the board says." An AIG spokeswoman declined to comment. UNEXPECTED LOSS Hancock''s resignation plans were announced shortly after AIG reported an unexpectedly deep loss on Feb. 14, after the company underestimated the value of claims it would have to pay for a variety of insurance products. Wall Street analysts are forecasting brighter results when AIG reports this week. They expect $1.1 billion in quarterly profit, or $1.08 per share, on average, according to Thomson Reuters data, a 37 percent increase from a year earlier. "The bad fourth quarter sets them up for a better start to this year," said Andrew Kohl, a portfolio manager at Alpine Woods Capital, who owns about 4,000 AIG shares in the financial services fund he oversees. Kohl, who sold some AIG stock in January as the insurer''s financial difficulties mounted, started to wade back in following media reports that Brian Duperreault, the current head of Hamilton Insurance Group Ltd, was among those being considered as AIG''s new CEO. An AIG spokesman said the company does not comment on speculation or rumor. Several of AIG''s largest investors, including Capital Research Global Investors, The Vanguard Group and State Street Global Advisors, would not comment for this story. But some, including funds overseen by American Funds, T. Rowe Price, FFAmerican Beacon and Invesco, have been buying AIG shares in recent weeks, according to data provided by Lipper. Even so, as of Monday''s close, the stock was down 2.9 percent since Hancock announced his planned departure. In the year to date, AIG shares have dropped 5.7 percent compared with a 6.7 percent rise in the benchmark S&P 500 stock index. YEARS OF TROUBLE Hancock''s troubles began in 2015, when billionaire activists Carl Icahn and John Paulson began building stakes and later acquired board seats. Icahn, who is AIG''s fourth-largest investor, wanted the insurer to split into three parts. Instead, Hancock embarked on a two-year turnaround plan that involved cutting costs and selling chunks of the company, with the aim of returning $25 billion to shareholders. ( reut.rs/1kp8P4I ) Hancock achieved $14.3 billion of that goal from the start of 2016 through Feb. 14. Experts have said it would be challenging to find someone capable who would want Hancock''s job, given the company''s recent performance, and its board and financial difficulties in the broader insurance sector. Though rising interest rates have helped insurers'' profits, extreme weather claims, lower premiums and weak sales could weigh on results in the near-term, analysts said. Still, some investors were hopeful that AIG would improve its bottomline, quickly. "You can''t predict the weather," said Kohl, "but you can control other aspects of your business." (This version of the story has been refiled to correct to Woods from Wood in thirteenth paragraph) (Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn; editing by Diane Craft and Bernadette Baum)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-aig-results-idUSKBN17Y0DI'|'2017-05-02T13:19:00.000+03:00' +'8cbda544f46937bac4ad2b529e8503810266f09e'|'Iraq supports extension of OPEC-led oil output cut for further six months - source'|'Business News - Wed May 10, 2017 - 4:29pm BST Iraq supports extension of OPEC-led oil output cut for further six months - source FILE PHOTO: A view shows the al-Shuaiba oil refinery in Basra, Iraq, April 20, 2017. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani/File Photo BAGHDAD Iraq supports the extension of an OPEC-led oil output cut for a further six months, said an Iraqi oil source after the country''s oil minister met with his Algerian counterpart to discuss the matter. "Iraq is on board with extending the deal in the next OPEC meeting to help stabilise oil prices and balance the market." said the source. (Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed; Writing by Isabel Coles; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iraq-oil-output-idUKKBN18625R'|'2017-05-10T23:29:00.000+03:00' +'60705187a353ac907af15af9f6d845388091e454'|'Total and Erg get four bids for Italy petrol stations -sources'|'By Giancarlo Navach and Stephen Jewkes - MILAN MILAN May 5 Total and energy group Erg have received four bids for the Italian petrol station network they jointly own, three sources close to the matter said.The bidders, which include Italian refiner API Anonima Petroli, have asked for additional information, two of the sources said, adding that details on how the sale will be structured would likely be announced by the end of May.Bidding closed at the end of April.France''s Total and Italy''s Erg jointly control TotalErg which operates close to 2,600 service stations in Italy with a market share of around 11 percent.But the joint venture also holds other assets including a quarter of Italian refinery Sarpom, controlled by ExxonMobil''s Esso unit, which is proving a stumbling block."The sale has not been wrapped up yet because the bidders have asked more questions," one of the sources said, adding it was not clear if the assets would be sold as a single block or would be broken up.TotalErg, 51 percent owned by Erg, has appointed HSBC and Rothschild to sell a business which sources have said could be worth more than 600 million euros ($657 million).A person close to the deal said that in addition to API the bidders included a foreign industrial player and private equity firms.Italian financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore reported this week that Terra Firma, TRC Capital, and Glencore had made bids.Another source said API, which already owns 2,600 stations of its own, was in talks with private equity group Advent to back its bid but added clinching a deal had been tough."It''s not clear if Advent is still on board," the source said.A deal with API would create Italy''s biggest service station operator, ahead of Eni and Kuwait Petroleum International which last year bought a network from Royal Dutch Shell.API, Erg and Advent declined to comment.($1 = 0.9127 euros) (Editing by Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/erg-ma-idINL8N1I72CT'|'2017-05-05T10:38:00.000+03:00' +'ef4d640a8aa55adaa06eb91cfbd07496585cb361'|'Netherlands central bank - margin squeeze coming for Dutch banks'|'Central Banks 47pm BST Netherlands central bank - margin squeeze coming for Dutch banks By Bart Meijer - AMSTERDAM AMSTERDAM The Netherlands'' central bank said on Thursday it expects margins at the country''s major banks, which have so far held steady despite Europe''s ultra-low interest rate regime, to finally come under pressure. The number two official at De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), Director Jan Sijbrand, said he expects banks to suffer on two fronts. First, fixed rate mortgages are being refinanced at lower rates, removing a profitable source of lending. And second, room to lower rates paid on retail deposits has run out. The country''s big banks now pay around 0.2 percent on average for retail deposits - not an attractive proposal from the banks'' perspective when they could borrow at below zero on capital markets and must pay the European Central Bank 0.4 percent if they hold excess cash. But banks see lowering the rates paid to retail savers below zero as a line they are unwilling to cross. "There appears to be a zero lower bound to the savings rate," Sijbrand said at a press briefing in Amsterdam. "All over Europe we see great hesitance towards negative rates." He said that banks were aware they would face incomprehension and probably outrage if they actually were to enact a negative deposit rate. "The already fragile trust in banks will be harmed when people get back less than what they put into their accounts," he said. Banks may be willing to sacrifice some margin in coming years, in the expectation that eventually rates will return to historical norms, restoring a more normal relationship with retail customers. "Savings deposits have been an important source of funding for decades, so you want to be careful with that," he said. (Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Toby Chopra)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-netherlands-cenbank-idUKKCN18E24C'|'2017-05-18T22:47:00.000+03:00' +'eac3d49d8c29112a1671a60f863d574f4ed51d8b'|'Italy kicks off Alitalia sale process'|'Deals - Wed May 17, 2017 - 7:25pm EDT Italy kicks off Alitalia sale process An airplane of Alitalia approaches to land at Fiumicino international airport in Rome, central Italy, May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Max Rossi MILAN Alitalia went on the auction block on Wednesday, as Italy kicked off the process of finding a buyer to save the money-losing flag carrier. In a document signed by government-appointed commissioners, Alitalia said offers from single companies or consortia had to be presented by June 5. Bids could be to buy the whole company, restructure it, or acquire assets and contracts. Alitalia was put under special administration earlier this month for the second time in less than a decade after workers rejected its latest rescue plan. Rome has ruled out re-nationalizing Alitalia, once a symbol of Italy''s post-war economic boom, which is struggling to compete at home against low-cost carriers and high speed trains. It has not invested sufficiently in higher-margin long-haul routes to revive profits. The government appointed three commissioners to assess whether Alitalia can be restructured or liquidated, and has given them six months to come up with a plan. Rome also threw the airline a short-term lifeline with a bridge loan of 600 million euros to see it through the process. As of Feb. 28, the airline had debts of around 3 billion euros, liabilities of 2.3 billion euros and assets of 921 million euros. Alitalia''s balance sheet will be scrutinized over the summer by the three commissioners, who have promised to devise a new industrial plan by July. They have said that the airline''s above-market costs, especially for leasing, fuel and maintenance, have to be slashed to attract buyers. Rival airlines including Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ), Norwegian Air ( NWC.OL ), Air France-KLM ( AIRF.PA ) have shown no interest in buying Alitalia. Local media have cited Qatar Airways as one of the few potential buyers. The Gulf carrier has declined to comment. Former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who regained the leadership of the ruling Democratic Party in April, is using his international contacts to help find a potential partner, a source told Reuters. Non-EU players cannot own more than 49 percent of a European airline, which limits an investor''s ability to run a carrier and discourages buyers. Italian Transport Minister Graziano Delrio said this week that the limit was "unrealistic" and that talks to overcome the cap were at an advanced stage. EU legislation is unlikely to be changed in time to help Alitalia, for whom the commissioners hope to secure binding interests by October. (Reporting by Agnieszka Flak and Stephen Jewkes in Milan and Alberto Sisto in Rome; Editing by Richard Chang) '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-alitalia-m-a-process-idUSKCN18D2YI'|'2017-05-18T03:25:00.000+03:00' +'f74e9838ca3394a76abcfe26eb360684ca11746c'|'As Syngenta deal closes, ChemChina and Sinochem press $120 bln deal - sources'|' 28pm BST As Syngenta deal closes, ChemChina and Sinochem press $120 billion deal - sources left right FILE PHOTO: A man rides past the office building of Sinochem in Beijing, China February 21, 2017. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: People smoke outside the headquarters of the China National Chemical Corp, or ChemChina, in Beijing, China February 3, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo 2/2 By Sumeet Chatterjee and Chen Aizhu - HONG KONG/BEIJING HONG KONG/BEIJING Chinese state-owned Sinochem and ChemChina are in merger talks to create the world''s biggest industrial chemicals firm, to be headed by Sinochem chief Ning Gaoning, four people with knowledge of the negotiations said. A deal could be announced by the end of the year, the people said, potentially just months after ChemChina completes its own $43 billion (33.1 billion) purchase of Switzerland''s Syngenta ( SYNN.S ), China''s biggest overseas deal to date. A consolidation of Sinochem and ChemChina would be worth around $120 billion, one of the people said, topping companies like industrial chemicals giant BASF ( BASFn.DE ). Talks to create a Chinese chemicals powerhouse were first reported last year, but were dismissed by both companies as rumour. Sinochem ( 600500.SS ) and China National Chemicals Corp, as ChemChina is officially known, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday. A Syngenta spokesperson said the company was not aware of any talks. The two companies have accelerated negotiations after regulators last month cleared ChemChina''s acquisition of Syngenta, the people said. With the approval also of over 80 percent of Syngenta shareholders bringing completion of that deal nearer, focus has shifted to creating a Chinese powerhouse. Beijing sees a Sinochem/ChemChina deal as a blueprint for streamlining and consolidating its sprawling, debt-heavy state-owned enterprises, the people said, leaving fewer, but more powerful, national champions. "This is the priority now for both companies. The message from the top to the managers is very clear: don''t be distracted by anything else," one of the people said, adding that the focus on this deal accounted in part for Sinochem recently ditching a plan to invest in Noble Group ( NOBG.SI ), a loss-making commodity trader. POLITICS A deal is not yet final, and China''s 19th Communist Party Congress later this year leaves room for some political uncertainty. The expected retirement of ChemChina chief Ren Jianxin in January may speed up the process, one of the people said, to allow for a handover period. Ren, known for bold deals including Syngenta and the purchase of Italian tyremaker Pirelli, has spent over a decade and billions of dollars expanding ChemChina, founding a popular noodle chain along the way. [ reut.rs/2qKfkWd ] He may, though, have irked the authorities with his chutzpah in forging ahead with high-profile deals, another of those with knowledge of the discussions said. Ning, who made a name for himself as head of state-owned food processing group Cofco, is seen as politically well connected. "The magnitude of the Syngenta deal means Beijing wants to make sure it''s securely managed," said a person from the oil and gas industry. While the ambitious Syngenta takeover brought China a portfolio of top-tier chemicals and patent-protected seeds to improve agricultural output, it also leaves ChemChina with hefty debt. ChemChina last year arranged $32.9 billion in bridge loans with more than 20 Chinese, European and Asian lenders - giving it a level of gearing that investors and analysts think is too high. QUESTIONS AHEAD Combining Sinochem and an enlarged ChemChina would put the group among the world leaders across the competitive chemicals, fertiliser and oil industries - a giant overseas and a major challenger domestically to Sinopec ( 0386.HK ) and PetroChina ( 0857.HK ). Sinochem is larger than ChemChina, but needs a long-term partner to expand globally market from its roots as an oil and chemical trader. Sinochem''s growth in its energy business has stagnated, with more competition at home in trading from companies including Unipec and Chinaoil, while its overseas oil and gas assets have struggled amid prolonged weaker oil prices. Regulators may yet prove an obstacle. During the European Commission approval process for the ChemChina/Syngenta deal, both companies indicated they were not imminently pursuing a deal with Sinochem, a separate source said at the time. (Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee, Julie Zhu and Michelle Price in HONG KONG and Aizhu Chen in BEIJING; Writing by Clara Ferreira Marques; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-chemchina-m-a-sinochem-idUKKBN18J1I1'|'2017-05-23T19:10:00.000+03:00' +'32a5c7aac8db29f7c34f5e2b9ac178dbfe5267d7'|'UPDATE 2-Whole Foods in board shake-up amid investor pressure -source'|'(Adds detail on Jana''s nominee slate, background, annual meeting)By Michael Flaherty and Lauren HirschNEW YORK May 10 More than half of the directors on Whole Foods Market Inc''s board will step down, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, in a dramatic shake-up at the grocery chain as it grapples with a sagging stock price and frustrated investors.The company is expected to announce the departure of five directors, including Chairman John Elstrott, when it reports earnings on Wednesday, the person said, with two more due to leave later this year.Whole Foods, whose board currently has 12 directors, will also announce the appointment of four new directors on Wednesday, the person said. Final details were still being worked out and could change ahead of the earnings release, the person said.The move comes after Jana Partners took an 8.3 percent stake in the company and nominated four directors to serve on the board. Mutual fund firm Neuberger Berman, which owns a 2.7 percent stake, has also pressured the company to take steps to improve its stock price, which has fallen steadily since peaking in 2013.Whole Foods has been losing shoppers to rivals as the natural and organic category it pioneered has gone mainstream at retailers including Kroger Co and Wal-Mart Stores Inc as well as newer competitors like Amazon.com Inc and meal kit provider Blue Apron.Whole Foods has not struck a standstill agreement with Jana, the source said, meaning the hedge fund can continue to pressure the company to turn around performance. So-called standstill agreements usually offer an activist hedge fund representation on the company''s board in exchange for support and silence for at least the next year.Jana Partners and a spokesman for Whole Foods were not immediately available for comment.In a filing in April, Jana said it was frustrated with Whole Foods'' lack of engagement regarding its strategic review, noting its "apparent unwillingness to engage in discussions with third parties regarding such alternatives."Jana has nominated four directors to serve on the company''s board, among them former Gap Inc Chief Executive Glenn Murphy, former Harris Teeter Supermarkets CEO Thomas "Tad" Dickson and former Barclays stock analyst Meredith Adler.Jana can still nominate that slate at the next Whole Foods annual meeting, which is expected to be held in February.Late last year, Whole Foods returned co-founder John Mackey to the role of solo CEO after six years of splitting the job with Walter Robb, who focused on operations, betting that Mackey would be best to lead a turnaround.After Jana disclosed its stake, acquisition speculation swirled around the company, though a suitor has yet to emerge.The Wall Street Journal was first to report the Whole Foods board departures.(Reporting by Michael Flaherty; Editing by Paul Simao and Meredith Mazzilli)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/whole-foods-jana-idINL1N1IC1HS'|'2017-05-10T17:51:00.000+03:00' +'1ab53c6d8e48fc7c6ef322e1df1bd37434756765'|'Puerto Rico bonds trade higher in wake of petition filing'|'May 3 Benchmark Puerto Rico general obligation bonds traded higher on Wednesday in the wake of the U.S. territory''s filing for a form of bankruptcy protection.Bonds due in 2035 with an 8 percent coupon traded at 67 cents on the dollar, up from a high of nearly 65 cents on Tuesday, according to Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board trading data.Puerto Rico filed under Title III of the PROMESA law, which allows an in-court debt restructuring process akin to U.S. bankruptcy protection. The case was filed in U.S. District Court in Puerto Rico.(Reporting By Karen Pierog; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/puertorico-debt-bankruptcy-bonds-idINL1N1I51AS'|'2017-05-03T14:40:00.000+03:00' +'224fdf449390a1ab93b1467d283b82a149d00410'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX lower as Home Capital, big banks weigh'|'Market 11:05am EDT CANADA STOCKS-TSX lower as Home Capital, big banks weigh (Adds details on specific stocks, updates prices) * TSX down 9.33 points, or 0.06 percent, to 15,541.22. * Seven of the TSX''s 10 main groups move lower TORONTO, May 12 Canada''s main stock index slipped on Friday morning after alternative lender Home Capital Group Inc acknowledged uncertainty about its ability to continue as a going concern. The heavyweight financials group slipped 0.4 percent overall. Home Capital fell 11.8 percent to C$9.53 after it said in an earnings release late on Thursday that worries about its future funding capabilities had cast "significant doubt" on its ability to continue as a going concern. At 10:25 a.m. ET (1425 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index was down 9.33 points, or 0.06 percent, to 15,541.22. With seven of the index''s 10 main groups in negative territory, the TSX was heading for a 0.3 percent fall over the week. Hudson''s Bay Co fell 6.5 percent to C$10 after the retailer reported disappointing quarterly same-store sales figures. The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 1.1 percent as higher gold prices boosted major miners of the precious metal. Diversified miner Teck Resources rose 2.3 percent to C$25.38 after agreeing to sell its stake in a British Columbia dam and related assets for C$1.2 billion ($875 million). Online gambling company Amaya rose 3.1 percent to C$26.47 after beating profit expectations. ($1 = 1.3716 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-idUSL1N1IE0YT'|'2017-05-12T23:05:00.000+03:00' +'eafa6e6948489847627f120155529d21ec90959c'|'UPDATE 2-Drug wholesaler AmerisourceBergen profit beats on cost controls'|'Thu May 4, 2017 - 11:49am EDT Cost controls help drug wholesaler AmerisourceBergen''s profit beat By Ankur Banerjee AmerisourceBergen Corp''s ( ABC.N ) profit beat analysts'' estimates as it reined in costs and the drug wholesaler raised the lower end of its earnings forecast for the fiscal year, allaying concerns that declining generic drug prices would hurt the pharma supply chain. AmerisourceBergen''s shares were up 5.50 percent at $87.22. Shares of AmerisourceBergen''s rivals Cardinal Health Inc ( CAH.N ) and McKesson Corp ( MCK.N ) were also up in late morning trade Thursday. The pharmaceutical supply chain, including pharmacy benefit managers and drug distributors, has come under pressure as scrutiny over soaring drug prices has increased. Drug pricing has become a lightning rod for criticism with several drugmakers facing federal investigations, leading to a fall in the prices of generics and a slowdown in the pace of the increase in branded drug prices. AmerisourceBergen said on Thursday it continues to expect prices of branded drugs to increase 7 percent to 9 percent and generic drug prices to decline 7 percent to 9 percent for fiscal year 2017. Leerink Partners analyst David Larsen said the unchanged drug pricing forecast bodes well for fiscal 2018, adding that operating margins for the quarter have been partly hurt by more rapid brand to generic conversions and not pricing. The company raised the lower end of its adjusted earnings forecast for fiscal 2017 to $5.77 to $5.92 per share from $5.72 to $5.92 earlier. "We feel good about the $5.77. And again, that''s the low end of our range even if generic deflation change a few percent," AmerisourceBergen Chief Executive Steven Collis said on a post-earnings call. In contrast, Cardinal Health said last month it expected full-year adjusted earnings at the lower end of its forecast, citing increased competition and falling generic drug prices. Competition in the generic drug product line, specifically in the independent customer segment, has heated up in the last few months. AmerisourceBergen''s net income fell 32 percent to $411.5 million, or $1.86 per share, in the second quarter ended March 31. Excluding items, the company earned $1.77 per share, beating average analysts'' estimate of $1.68, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Baird analyst Eric Coldwell noted that the company appeared to aggressively manage operating expenses to combat continued "environmental headwinds". Revenue rose 4 percent to $37.15 billion but came in below analysts'' estimate of $38.09 billion. AmerisourceBergen said it now expects fiscal 2017 revenue growth in the range of 5.5 percent to 6.5 percent, from 6.5 percent to 8 percent. (Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Supriya Kurane)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-amerisourcebergn-results-idUSKBN18018U'|'2017-05-04T20:30:00.000+03:00' +'76b1b1aa7912fadce7418597258fc5201bac6c92'|'Economic reversal, not politics, will reignite market volatility'|'Business News - Fri May 12, 2017 - 10:41am BST Economic reversal, not politics, will reignite market volatility left right FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S. May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo 1/2 left right Traders work in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, May 10, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote 2/2 By Jamie McGeever - LONDON LONDON Financial market volatility has slumped to historic lows despite a world full of political and policy uncertainty, a phenomenon investors expect will remain until the business cycle turns and economic growth falters. Such ultra-low volatility worries investors because the last times it was so low -- in 1993-94 and 2006-07 -- major market dislocations soon followed, respectively, the U.S. bond market rout of 1994 and the global financial crisis of 2008. This time, volatility has been crushed despite the proliferation of political risks from the global rise of nativism and protectionism, Brexit, and the election of U.S. President Donald Trump, all of which were meant to undermine market stability. But they haven''t. Record low interest rates and central bank stimulus around the world have suppressed returns, pushing usually cautious investors like pension and mutual funds to hold more equities than they normally would. This has depressed actual volatility, limiting implied volatility. Riskier assets like stocks have continued to gain, spreads have narrowed, and nearly all measures of volatility have declined further, largely because economic activity, growth and corporate profits have weathered the storm and held up well. It could go on for months, or even longer, until growth deteriorates. And that will happen when credit, lending and hiring growth slows, finally turning what is already the third longest U.S. economic expansion in history, analysts say. According to JP Morgan, the level of global economic volatility is currently its lowest in over 40 years. The tricky bit is predicting what triggers the turnaround, and when. Much of the focus is the VIX ''fear index'' of volatility .VIX on the S&P 500 .SPX . "As ever, it all comes down to one thing the business cycle. The VIX is not going to rise significantly until the business cycle weakens, nor is the generalised level of volatility," Raoul Pal, an independent investment strategist and founder of Global Macro Investor. Pal points to the close correlation between the ISM U.S. purchasing managers index, a leading indicator of business activity and growth, and a range of market volatility indices, including the VIX. He and others say that market participants are always implicitly "short" volatility before a recession. That''s when optimism is highest, borrowing is most stretched, and "long" positions in risky assets like equities are the most crowded. LOWER ... BUT FOR HOW MUCH LONGER? Torsten Slok, a managing director at Deutsche Bank in New York, notes that an investor "shorting" the VIX a year ago -- betting that it would fall -- would have gained around 160 percent today. Conversely, an investor going "long" or buying the VIX would have lost 75 percent. Researchers at the Bank for International Settlements in Switzerland say the VIX is no longer an accurate barometer of wider market risk. David Hait, chief executive and founder of research firm OptionMetrics, reckons a whopping 98.8 percent of daily changes in the VIX is due to previous VIX values and current S&P 500 returns rather than the future volatility it is supposed to gauge. Implied and actual volatility can quickly become entwined in a spiral lower because investors are less inclined to pay up for "put" options -- effectively a bet on prices falling -- when the market is rising. Complacency sets in. "The lower the VIX goes, the more vulnerable the global financial system gets to any kind of shock. This is quite worrying," said Deutsche Bank''s Slok. The VIX has closed below 11.00 for a record 14 days in a row. And the S&P 500 this week recorded a run of 11 out of 12 trading sessions with a daily close of less than +/- 0.2 percent, a period of stability not seen since 1927, according to Deutsche Bank. Jonathan Tepper, co-founder of Variant Perception Research, says the two best long-term predictors of volatility are the credit cycle and economic volatility. "High leverage always leads to higher volatility as the credit cycle matures. And we''ve been levering up for the past eight years since the 2008-09 recession," he said. Tepper draws similarities with today and 1993-94 when the Federal Reserve was also hiking interest rates, and late 2006/early 2007 before the financial crisis when companies'' borrowing levels were highly stretched. The Fed''s rate hikes of 1993-94 pushed the 10-year yield up to nearly 8 percent from 5 percent over the course of 1994. The VIX more than doubled early that year before drifting back again. There was no recession though, in large part because corporate borrowing was relatively low. This meant companies were better equipped to cope with the rise in borrowing costs. That wasn''t the case in 2006-07 when commercial and industrial loans as a share of the overall economy was on its way above 10 percent, a level associated with recession. That''s exactly what followed, and volatility exploded to record highs. Few are anticipating another great financial crisis. Equally, few expect volatility to remain so low for ever. "Recent data, such as the ISM, suggest the (growth) acceleration phase may be behind us. Coupled with policy and political uncertainty, this could drive a more sustained increase in equity volatility in the coming months," Goldman Sachs market strategists said in a recent note to clients. '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets-volatility-idUKKBN1880YV'|'2017-05-12T16:58:00.000+03:00' +'5c8113bd5e611d1a8935db1ff658760bea3008bc'|'UPS, SF Holdings plan to join forces in Chinese shipping market'|'By Alana Wise United Parcel Service Inc ( UPS.N ) on Thursday announced plans to form a joint venture agreement with Chinese express delivery firm SF Holdings ( 002352.SZ ), laying the groundwork to expand shipping services from China to the United States.SF Holdings, parent company of SF Express, is often called China''s answer to UPS rival FedEx ( FDX.N ), and is the dominant package delivery company within China. It also delivers to more than a dozen countries, including the United States and Japan.The joint venture, which is subject to Chinese regulatory approval, will initially focus on shipping goods from China to the United States "with planned expansion to markets in the rest of the world."UPS said it was "optimistic" that regulators would approve the agreement. President Donald Trump and administration officials have vowed to narrow the U.S.-China trade deficit."We believe in free trade, and we believe that the administration also sees the merits of free trade," Chief Commercial Officer Alan Gershenhorn said.UPS has operated in China since 1988 and conducts more than 200 flights to and from its Chinese hubs weekly.(Reporting by Alana Wise; Editing by Sandra Maler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-united-parcel-sf-holdings-idINKBN18M06B'|'2017-05-26T00:25:00.000+03:00' +'fdf8764ea5ad91c9240b9972a2a513a002a367d2'|'Norwegian Air adds Rome to growing list of long-haul, low-cost destinations'|'U.S. - Wed May 31, 2017 - 5:16am EDT Norwegian Air adds Rome to growing list of long-haul, low-cost destinations A view of parked aircrafts belonging to budget carrier Norwegian at Stockholm Arlanda Airport March 5, 2015. REUTERS/Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency By Alana Wise - NEW YORK NEW YORK Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA on Wednesday announced plans to introduce flights from three U.S. cities to Rome, increasing the competition U.S. and European carriers face from low-cost rivals on transatlantic flights. Introductory prices for the new routes to Rome''s Leonardo Da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport start in November at $189 one way, taxes included. Nonstop flights for the same time period found on Google flights start at $2,694. The flights, from airports in Newark, New Jersey, Los Angeles and Oakland, California, are the latest instance of low-cost carriers expanding their presence in Europe and the United States, and increasing pressure on their larger competitors to consider restricted cheaper fares and redesigned cabins to compete on routes across the Atlantic. Rome is one of the top tourist destinations in the world, and a favorite among Americans, so it was an obvious choice for us as we continue to expand our transatlantic presence, Norwegian Chief Commercial Officer Thomas Ramdahl said in a statement. More U.S. routes mean we will create more American jobs and offer American travelers even more affordable fares. The emphasis on creating American jobs is an important point for the budget Scandinavian carrier, which in December received long-awaited U.S. approval from the outgoing Obama administration for its Irish subsidiary Norwegian Air International to operate routes across the Atlantic. Airlines and labor groups in the United States had asked the administration to deny the request, arguing that it would undermine wages and working standards. U.S. carriers and unions had hoped for a more hostile environment from President Donald Trump''s administration toward foreign competition on routes, but the administration has hinted toward an interest in foreign airlines use of American products and workers. Service from Newark Liberty International Airport will launch on Nov. 9. Los Angeles International Airport to Rome flights will begin on Nov. 11, and flights from Oakland International Airport will begin February 2018. The carrier also announced on Wednesday plans to expand its service to the French Caribbean, launching nonstop service beginning in October to Guadeloupe and Martinique from Providence, Rhode Islands T.F. Green Airport. (Editing by Lisa Shumaker) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-norweg-air-shut-rome-idUSKBN18R125'|'2017-05-31T17:00:00.000+03:00' +'f38e4617015a6712a502deb83f785b44edd001e1'|'In Aramco IPO pitch, Canada plays up its natural resources expertise'|'Money 11:27pm IST In Aramco IPO pitch, Canada plays up its natural resources expertise Logo of Saudi Aramco is seen at the 20th Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference (MOES 2017) in Manama, Bahrain, March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo By Alastair Sharp - TORONTO TORONTO The Toronto Stock Exchange''s efforts to win a slice of the massive Saudi Aramco public listing plays up the country''s deep experience in natural resources as part of a broader offer to help the kingdom with its shift away from oil dependence. In pitch documents obtained by Reuters, the TSX talks up "a customized regulatory environment for resource issuers", its leading position in oil and gas equity capital raising, and strong trading interest from outside the country. The Canadian pitch is also broader than just for a slice of the Aramco IPO. On several trips to the kingdom, the most recent in late March, TMX executives have been joined by senior executives from some of the country''s biggest banks, brokerages and other financial players as Canada Inc seeks a role in delivering the kingdom''s broader Vision 2030 plan. One source directly involved in the Canadian pitch told Reuters they are focused on convincing the Saudis that Canada excels in 10 of the 12 areas they have targeted for development under that plan, including in mining and infrastructure. The source declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter. But its best chance of winning a part of the biggest IPO ever, expected to raise about $100 billion as early as next year, may lie in its geography and geopolitics, securities lawyers say. While the exchange, owned by the TMX Group Ltd, is widely considered an underdog in a race that has also excited larger exchanges in London, New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore, its case could be bolstered by a recent change in U.S. law that allows those affected by the September 11, 2001 attacks to sue the Saudi government, they said. "We feel that we have put TMX and Canada''s best foot forward and we continue to promote our strengths in pursuit of business opportunities in the region and around the world," TMX said in a statement. The London Stock Exchange is working on a completely new type of listing structure to woo Aramco, Reuters has reported. "We are inoffensive from a political perspective," said Sarah Gingrich, a Calgary-based partner at Fasken Martineau, who has previously worked in Dubai with Saudi clients for international law firm Freshfields. Nasdaq, which is a technology partner to Saudi Arabia''s exchange, is also pitching for the listing. In a March 17 interview with the Wall Street Journal, the Saudi energy minister, Khalid al-Falih, said the so-called "terror law" is one consideration in the country''s decision on whether to list in the United States. Falih, who is Aramco''s chairman, declined to comment on the IPO process when reached by Reuters. It was not clear if the issue was discussed during U.S. President Donald Trump''s recent visit. A spokeswoman for the NYSE, which sources have said planned to visit Saudi soon after Trump''s visit, declined to comment on their efforts to win Aramco''s business. SMALL MARKET, BIG ENERGY FOCUS Canada-listed oil and gas companies raised 22 percent of global energy financing over the past five years, the TMX pitch documents show, second behind the NYSE''s 44 percent. The documents put Canada in third place behind Chinese and Hong Kong exchanges, and the United States for total capital raised in 2016, noting that TSX-listed companies raised 28 percent more than fourth-placed LSE. They say more than 40 percent of TSX trading originates outside the country and that bid-ask spreads, a key measure of liquidity, are among the lowest in the world. Still, while Canada boasts significant expertise in oil and gas financing and strong interest from both institutional and retail investors, it is dwarfed by the much larger U.S. market. The oil and gas companies listed on its main TSX exchange and the junior TSXV have a total market capitalization of C$325 billion ($239 billion), TMX says. By comparison, the New York Stock Exchange says its oil and gas companies - which include super majors ExxonMobil Corp, Chevron and secondary listings for Royal Dutch Shell and Total - are worth $3.3 trillion. Neither the source in the TMX delegation nor the external lawyers said listing and regulatory requirements would prove much of an obstacle to a Canadian listing, especially if it were to be a third or fourth option. But Canada would only find a way in to the action "if their (Aramco''s) bankers think they will get sufficient enough market interest here that it will help promote the stock price and give them some liquidity and trading," said Darrell Peterson, a partner with Bennett Jones in Calgary. ($1 = 1.3603 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Additional reporting by John McCrank in NEW YORK, Reem Shamseddine in RIYADH; Editing by Denny Thomas and Nick Zieminski)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/aramco-ipo-tmx-idINKBN18M2A5'|'2017-05-26T15:57:00.000+03:00' +'a04db1d7c633ff0875e67819ccae75f458d6e84e'|'Fitch Withdraws Waste Italia SpA''s Ratings'|'(The following statement was released by the rating agency) LONDON/MILAN, May 22 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings is withdrawing the ''RD'' Long-Term Issuer Default Rating and the ''C/RR5'' senior secured notes ratings of Waste Italia SpA (WI) as Fitch will no longer have sufficient information to maintain the ratings. Accordingly, Fitch will no longer provide ratings or analytical coverage for WI. The company''s ''RD'' rating, initially assigned 17 June 2016, reflects the status of pre-bankruptcy proceedings. Creditors will be called upon to approve or reject the company''s restructuring plan in the coming months. With lack of details on the plan and no accounts available since 2015, information available to Fitch is limited. KEY RATING DRIVERS Pre-Bankruptcy Agreement: Faced with notice of acceleration by the bondholders on 26 January 2017, WI sought protection from its creditors under article 168 of the Legge Fallimentare. BNP served notice of acceleration with respect to the EUR15 million revolving credit facility on 1 February 2017. The company formally applied for concordato preventivo "con riserva" on 31 March 2017. A restructuring plan is due to be submitted to the Bankruptcy Court by 5 June 2017, but WI can apply for a 60-day extension until 4 August. The Court must decide whether to uphold the validity of the plan, which would then be followed by a vote from the creditors as to whether to accept or reject the plan. Fitch has not had any details about the debt restructuring plans from WI. However, we understand that a rejection of the plan under concordato preventivo "con riserva" would likely lead to a bankruptcy of WI. Limited Information: The publication of 2016 accounts and accounts for 1H17 have been postponed until early 2018 following the application for concordato preventive "con riserva". Fitch has been unable to update its recovery analysis for the secured notes in the absence of accounts, updated business plan and liquidity at WI, which we nevertheless view as insufficient. Contact: Principal Analyst Antonio Totaro Senior Director +39 02 879087 297 Supervisory Analyst Chris Moore Director +44 20 3530 1683 Fitch Ratings 30 North Colonnade London E14 5GN Committee Chairperson Josef Pospisil Managing Director +44 20 3530 1287 Media Relations: Stefano Bravi, Milan, Tel: +39 02 879 087 281, Email: stefano.bravi@fitchratings.com; Peter Fitzpatrick, London, Tel: +44 20 3530 1103, Email: peter.fitzpatrick@fitchratings.com. Additional information is available on www.fitchratings.com. For regulatory purposes in various jurisdictions, the supervisory analyst named above is deemed to be the primary analyst for this issuer; the principal analyst is deemed to be the secondary. Applicable Criteria Criteria for Rating Non-Financial Corporates (pub. 10 Mar 2017) here Recovery Ratings and Notching Criteria for Non-Financial Corporate Issuers (pub. 21 Nov 2016) here Additional Disclosures Dodd-Frank Rating Information Disclosure Form here Solicitation Status here #solicitation Endorsement Policy here ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: here . IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY''S PUBLIC WEB SITE AT WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA, AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH''S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE, AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE CODE OF CONDUCT SECTION OF THIS SITE. DIRECTORS AND SHAREHOLDERS RELEVANT INTERESTS ARE AVAILABLE here . FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE. Copyright 2017 by Fitch Ratings, Inc., Fitch Ratings Ltd. and its subsidiaries. 33 Whitehall Street, NY, NY 10004. Telephone: 1-800-753-4824, (212) 908-0500. Fax: (212) 480-4435. Reproduction or retransmission in whole or in part is prohibited except by permission. All rights reserved. In issuing and maintaining its ratings and in making other reports (including forecast information), Fitch relies on factual information it receives from issuers and underwriters and from other sources Fitch believes to be credible. 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The manner of Fitchs factual investigation and the scope of the third-party verification it obtains will vary depending on the nature of the rated security and its issuer, the requirements and practices in the jurisdiction in which the rated security is offered and sold and/or the issuer is located, the availability and nature of relevant public information, access to the management of the issuer and its advisers, the availability of pre-existing third-party verifications such as audit reports, agreed-upon procedures letters, appraisals, actuarial reports, engineering reports, legal opinions and other reports provided by third parties, the availability of independent and competent third- party verification sources with respect to the particular security or in the particular jurisdiction of the issuer, and a variety of other factors. Users of Fitchs ratings and reports should understand that neither an enhanced factual investigation nor any third-party verification can ensure that all of the information Fitch relies on in connection with a rating or a report will be accurate and complete. Ultimately, the issuer and its advisers are responsible for the accuracy of the information they provide to Fitch and to the market in offering documents and other reports. In issuing its ratings and its reports, Fitch must rely on the work of experts, including independent auditors with respect to financial statements and attorneys with respect to legal and tax matters. Further, ratings and forecasts of financial and other information are inherently forward-looking and embody assumptions and predictions about future events that by their nature cannot be verified as facts. As a result, despite any verification of current facts, ratings and forecasts can be affected by future events or conditions that were not anticipated at the time a rating or forecast was issued or affirmed. The information in this report is provided as is without any representation or warranty of any kind, and Fitch does not represent or warrant that the report or any of its contents will meet any of the requirements of a recipient of the report. A Fitch rating is an opinion as to the creditworthiness of a security. This opinion and reports made by Fitch are based on established criteria and methodologies that Fitch is continuously evaluating and updating. Therefore, ratings and reports are the collective work product of Fitch and no individual, or group of individuals, is solely responsible for a rating or a report. The rating does not address the risk of loss due to risks other than credit risk, unless such risk is specifically mentioned. 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Fitch receives fees from issuers, insurers, guarantors, other obligors, and underwriters for rating securities. Such fees generally vary from US$1,000 to US$750,000 (or the applicable currency equivalent) per issue. In certain cases, Fitch will rate all or a number of issues issued by a particular issuer, or insured or guaranteed by a particular insurer or guarantor, for a single annual fee. Such fees are expected to vary from US$10,000 to US$1,500,000 (or the applicable currency equivalent). The assignment, publication, or dissemination of a rating by Fitch shall not constitute a consent by Fitch to use its name as an expert in connection with any registration statement filed under the United States securities laws, the Financial Services and Markets Act of 2000 of the United Kingdom, or the securities laws of any particular jurisdiction. Due to the relative efficiency of electronic publishing and distribution, Fitch research may be available to electronic subscribers up to three days earlier than to print subscribers. For Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and South Korea only: Fitch Australia Pty Ltd holds an Australian financial services license (AFS license no. 337123) which authorizes it to provide credit ratings to wholesale clients only. Credit ratings information published by Fitch is not intended to be used by persons who are retail clients within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/fitch-withdraws-waste-italia-spas-rating-idINFit999955'|'2017-05-22T13:57:00.000+03:00' +'c70aad9f6ea48d7196eb8b26be0899e1126e2b1a'|'Pound hits two-week low after election poll gap narrows - business live - Business'|'The City of London.Pound suffers biggest fall in three weeks after election poll narrows Photograph: Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email View more sharing options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Google+ Share on WhatsApp Share on Messenger Close Graeme Wearden Friday 26 May 2017 14.23 BST First published on Friday 26 May 2017 08.02 BST Key events Show 1.57pm BST 13:57 Pound hits one-month low 1.36pm BST 13:36 US growth revised up, beating Britain 11.26am BST 11:26 Pound pummelled: What the experts say 9.53am BST 09:53 FTSE 250 hits record high too 9.41am BST 09:41 The City fears a hung parliament 9.25am BST 09:25 IFS: Politicians aren''t being honest on the econmy 9.03am BST 09:03 FTSE 100 hits new intraday high Live feed Show 2.23pm BST 14:23 Richard de Meo, managing director of Foenix Partners, reckons the Federal Reserve is now very likely to raise American interest rates next month: Upward revisions to 1.2% for first quarter growth have confirmed the worlds largest economy to be in rude health, strengthening the case for a Fed rate hike on June 14 th . [Fed chair Janet] Yellen will find the 0.60% quarterly uptick in consumer spending to be particularly pleasing ahead of what is being enthusiastically priced in by fixed income markets the implied probability of policy action was above 80% at the last count. Unless Donald Trump repeats his NATO tactics and shoulders his way into the headlines and barring any shock disappointments in the data calendar, no market event appears capable of preventing a mid-June US interest rate hike.Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 2.22pm BST 14:22 James Knightley of iNG isnt too impressed with Americas growth in the first quarter of the year, even though its been revised up to 1.2% (annualised) He points out that it still lags behind other developed countries (not Britain, alas):US 1Q 2017 GDP growth has been revised up to 1.2% annualised from the 0.7% figure initially reported. There were slight improvements in all of the key components, but it is still a very disappointing outcome, mainly caused by a clear slowdown in consumer spending and a run down in inventories.Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 1.57pm BST 13:57 Pound hits one-month low The US dollar has rallied after Americas first-quarter growth was revised up. And thats bad news for the pound, which has now spiralled to a one-month low of $1.2811, down more than a cent today.Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 1.36pm BST 13:36 US growth revised up, beating Britain Breaking! Americas growth rate in the first three months of this year has been revised up. US GDP increased at an annualised rate of 1.2% in January-March, the Commerce Department says, up from an initial estimate of 0.7%.Thats equivalent to a quarterly growth rate of 0.3%, the same as France, and faster than Britain after yesterdays downgrade to 0.2%.Its still the weakest expansion since the first three months of 2016. Economists, though, think growth is probably rebounding quite sharply in the current quarter.The Commerce Department has revised up its estimate for consumer spending, from +0.3% to +0.6%. Business investment was also strong, rising by 11.4%.Holger Zschaepitz (@Schuldensuehner) US GDP grew 1.2% ann in Q1 2017, revised up from 0.7% and also way faster than expected 0.9%. Euro dropped <$1.12. pic.twitter.com/QRFhqdyF4l May 26, 2017 Michael Hewson (@mhewson_CMC) Interesting to note that US Q1 GDP revision back to what was expected prior to the first print. 1.2%May 26, 2017 Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 1.27pm BST 13:27 Insurance group Legal & General has given Ireland a boost in its bid to attract City jobs after Brexit. L&G has picked Dublin as the new European hub for its investment management arm. And while it may not create many new jobs, the Irish government will be cheered that its efforts to woo major financial firms is paying off. Earlier this month, JP Morgan bought an office block in Dublin, seemingly in preparation for Britains exit from the EU.The Irish Independent has more details :The move remains subject to regulatory approval, he said, stressing that the relocation would have no foreseeable impact on operations and staff in other LGIM locations.The total number of new jobs may be fewer than 50, but the move represents a significant win for the Government given L&Gs status as a household name within the industry.The investment manager is Europes largest with more than 1 trillion in assets. It is known to be seeking a full EU base for after Brexit.Simon Neville (@SimonNeville) Legal and General become latest British company to move some operations to Ireland in response to Brexit, Reuters reportingMay 26, 2017 Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 1.03pm BST 13:03 Ouch! The pound just hit a three-week low of $1.2843 against the US dollar, as election nerves intensify. Chris Saint, senior analyst at HL Currency Service, says the decline in the Conservatives Partys leader over Labour is causing heavy losses.This adds an extra strand to political risks currently weighing on the pound, with markets previously taking it almost for granted that a larger parliamentary majority would hand Mrs May a stronger negotiating position in upcoming Brexit talks.Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 12.29pm BST 12:29 Several of Britains largest banks are the worst-performing stocks on the FTSE 100 so far today. Royal Bank of Scotland has shed 2.5%, with Barclays and Lloyds close behind.The top fallers on the FTSE 100 this morning Photograph: FTSE 100 Its part of a wider selloff; bank shares across Europe have dropped, amid new worries about two Italian banks.Reuters has the details:Traders cited worries over the political situation in Italy and concerns surrounding ailing regional banks Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca, even though the countys economy minister sought to reassure investors on Thursday that they will not be hit in any rescue of the two banks.Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 11.26am BST 11:26 Pound pummelled: What the experts say Sterling is likely to remain volatile until the general election is concluded, suggests Paresh Davdraof of RationalFX. With the pound sliding below $1.29 against the dollar and at a two-month low against the euro, uncertainty over the outcome of the election is beginning to trouble the markets. In April when the election was called, a Conservative victory appeared all but secured, providing the government with a strong mandate to move forward with Brexit plans for negotiations, while also providing analysts more certainty as divorce proceedings with the EU got underway. Now, the very real possibility of a Labour victory with two weeks before polling day, however unlikely, raises the prospect of further disruption for analysts and a return to volatility in the pound as a new government determines the Brexit process.Whilst the pound has been able to remain steady in face of the weeks tragic events and disappointing data, it is clear that the election is the most powerful driver behind the UKs currency. The next two weeks could see more volatility for sterling as polling figures in the run up to the election become more frequent. Analysts will be looking for any definitive signs that the Conservatives can win the election before the pound can consistently return to the levels seen recently.But, Chris Beauchamp of IG suspects that the pound might claw back some of todays losses, once traders have digested the latest polling data.Cable has spent the week trying vainly to break $1.30, but the most recent YouGov poll has empowered the bears.Such a polling bounce for Labour was also eminently predictable (a similar occurrence took place for the Conservatives in the 1997 election, and we know how that turned out), so we should see some cable buying as the session goes on.[Explainer: Cable is City slang for the pound-dollar exchange rate, dating back to the days when traders in London and New York used a cable on the Atlantic Sea bed to track it. Some bright sparks occasionally call it Betty instead ( rhyming slang from WW2 pin-up Betty Grable... )]Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 10.48am BST 10:48 The pounds weakness is good news for European tourists planning a trip to this Sceptred Isle this summer. One euro now buys 87.1p on the foreign exchanges, up from just 83.1p in mid-April.Holger Zschaepitz (@Schuldensuehner) #Euro jumps vs Pound to the highest since Mar on UK election jitters as Tory lead over Labour keeps shrinking. pic.twitter.com/56YIg46cBK May 26, 2017 The other side of the coin is that Brits face paying more to holiday in Europe this summer.Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 10.36am BST 10:36 Bloomberg have created a neat graphic, highlighting how the pound is sensitive to next months election victory. A big Conservative victory is likely to drive sterling up, but a narrow win (or even a hung parliament) would spark a selloff.Photograph: Bloomberg So YouGovs poll could potentially put sterling in the trouble zone, says Neil Jones, head of hedge-fund sales at Mizuho Bank.Sterling correlates well with anything that shows a Tory majority and vice versa, so if youve got this situation where the majority closes right down, it may come to a critical level where it may not have a sufficient number of seats in the house. The market doesnt like that.More here. Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 10.16am BST 10:16 Michael Hewson of CMC Markets says there is increased nervousness in the City over the Brexit negotiations, which should begin shortly after the election.None of the parties appears to have either a coherent plan for a post Brexit Britain, or any vision of a coherent leadership.While mid-campaign polling wobbles are nothing new, take the rogue Scottish referendum poll in 2014, neither of the main parties appears to have manifestoes which appear to add up with the Institute of Fiscal Studies criticising both .Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 9.53am BST 09:53 FTSE 250 hits record high too We also have a fresh record high on the FTSE 250 index, which contains medium-sized UK-focused companies. The FTSE 250 has romped over the 20,000 point mark for the first time ever this morning, extending its recent rally.Restaurant Group (owner of Frankie & Bennys) has jumped 9% after reporting better sales figures than the City feared (like-for-like takings only fell by 1.8%)Michael Hewson (@mhewson_CMC) #FTSE250 a new record at 20,000 levelMay 26, 2017 Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 9.41am BST 09:41 The City fears a hung parliament The Torys shrinking poll lead is raising concerns that no party might win an overall majority in Junes election, says Nomura strategist Jordan Rochester. Rochester explains:Sterling is likely to continue to be under pressure now until the election is out of the way, if polling continues to indicate its a tighter race.For the market the worst outcome is if we have further uncertainty with the chances of a hung parliament.That uncertainty is keeping the pound pinned at a two-month low against the euro:The pound vs the euro over the last six months Photograph: Thomson Reuters Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 1 of 2 Newest Newer Older Oldest Topics Eurozone Business live Sterling Currencies Oil Commodities Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Google+ Share on WhatsApp Share on Messenger Reuse this content'|'theguardian.com'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/all'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2017/may/26/pound-falls-election-poll-us-growth-opec-oil-business-live'|'2017-05-26T16:16:00.000+03:00' +'2270499fe0cc5253fc8ed9814f606b40f16b66ea'|'Lets move to Thetford, Norfolk: A rum old mix - Money'|'W hats going for it? Weve had Essex Man, Worcester Woman and the Man on the Clapham Omnibus. But these days, if editors of newspapers and broadcast news programmes want to hear the voice of the people, deepest, darkest Thetford seems to be where they dispatch their journalists. This microcosm is seen to somehow embody the state of the nation, a bundle of contradictions squished into one town. After the second world war it became an overspill town for Londoners, tripling its size. Listen hard and today you can still hear Cockney inflections grafted on to Norfolk burrs; the streetscape fuses Stevenage surreally with Burnham Market flinty cuteness jumpcut with 50s council house. Two decades of European migration for agricultural work expanded the town further. Yes, it voted for Brexit. Theres a statue of Captain Mainwaring (much of Dads Army was filmed here). But Thetford was also home to Boudicca, gave birth to Thomas Paine (though the radical didnt stay long) and voted in Britains first black mayor in 1904! Told you, rum old mix.The case against A bit of a muddle. Its postwar reimagining wasnt entirely successful: the ringroad rudely interrupts medieval streets. Its high streets are just keeping decline at bay. There have been ethnic tensions in the past.Well connected? Trains: twice hourly to Norwich (35-38 mins), hourly to Cambridge (45 mins) or Peterborough (1hr). Driving: 45 mins to Norwich or Cambridge, 1hr 30 mins to Peterborough.Schools Primaries: Admirals and Redcastle are both good, says Ofsted, with Drake outstanding. Secondaries: Thetford Academy is good.Hang out at Not the most gastronomic of spots, but the lovely Mulberry keeps hunger at bay.Where to buy Theres a handsome historic centre, where it survives scuttle around Castle Street and Lane, Old Market Street, King Street, Whitehart Street and Croxton Road for flinty cottages and town houses. A thin layer of Victorian streets follows, and then the wodge of postwar estates. For posh suburbia, look to Abbeygate, by the priory ruins, Arlington Way, Nunnery Fields or the developments around Rosecroft Way. Detacheds and town houses, 175,000-450,000. Semis, 140,000-200,000. Terraces and cottages, 115,000-175,000. Rentals: a one-bedroom flat, 450-600pcm; a three-bedroom house, 750-950pcm.Bargain of the week A flint, one-bedroom terrace house close to the centre, 120,000 with williamhbrown.co.uk .Lets move to Framplington, Suffolk: too good to be true Read more From the streets Sam Harvey Dont miss the Dads Army Museum and its ace cafe for retro treats.Danny Watts A buzzing market town with a twice-weekly market and Thetford forest on the doorstep for picnics, walks, and mountain bike trails. Try Tall Orders for a good coffee. Norwich and Cambridge are a short drive away. Live in Thetford? Join the debate below.Do you live in Helensburgh, Argyll & Bute? Do you have a favourite haunt or pet hate? If so, email lets.move@theguardian.com by Tuesday 16 May.Topics Property Let''s move to ... Homes features Share Reuse this content'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/may/12/lets-move-to-thetford-norfolk'|'2017-05-13T00:30:00.000+03:00' +'367a908508c4d6548998d7d7262f51c1a1aeb0ff'|'EU to announce capital markets union 2.0 on June 7'|'Business News - Thu May 18, 2017 - 5:31pm BST EU to announce capital markets union 2.0 on June 7 FILE PHOTO: An European Union (EU) flag is seen blowing in the wind in front of the city''s regional state administration headquarters in central Kiev, Ukraine, May 11, 2017. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko By Huw Jones - LONDON LONDON The European Commission will announce new initiatives to reconfigure its capital markets union (CMU) project on June 7 to reflect Britain''s decision to leave the bloc, a senior commission official said on Thursday. Confirming a Reuters story published on Wednesday, Ugo Bassi, a director in the European Union executive''s financial services unit, said the CMU needed reassessing because of Brexit. "We are preparing now the action plan for CMU 2.0 which will be published on June 7 in the form of a mid-term review and which will announce a number of additional initiatives we would like to take in coming months," Bassi told a conference organized by the Association for Financial Markets in Europe. "We can no longer count on liquidity pools in London." Initiatives will include making it easier to sell funds across borders using a so-called EU passport. Stronger European Union supervisory powers, probably for the bloc''s European Securities and Markets Authority, were also needed to reinforce CMU, he said. "We should move slowly and firmly towards centralized supervision," Bassi said. The departure of Britain, the EU''s biggest financial market, had raised questions about whether CMU was dead in the water but Bassi said it remained a flagship project. He said Brexit meant there was an even stronger case for CMU though the approach needed to change slightly: "We are going to develop a new agenda." Reuters reported on Wednesday that a "deep re-engineering" of CMU next month seeks a more "autonomous" capital market in an EU of 27 countries, raising concerns over access to the bloc''s market. LONDON ALTERNATIVE The CMU is now about an alternative financial center that will be able to service the needs of the EU27, Simon Puleston Jones, head of Europe at the Futures Industry Association, told the AFME conference. "The biggest risk is the EU27 looks in on itself, reboots CMU with a vision of creating one or more financial centers in Europe, basically competes toe-to-toe with London and New York, and it turns out that was not possible," Puleston Jones said. "The worst impact of Brexit is that something that was functioning pretty well in an EU of 28 and significantly falters," he added. Bassi said CMU has a global perspective in mind. EU had tried to accelerate CMU after several early initiatives unveiled in 2015 became bogged down, casting doubt that the project''s "building blocks" would be in place by 2019. A push to revive securitization, a type of debt security that can raise funds for companies, remains stalled. Bassi said securitization reform was "lagging behind a little bit too much", and the commission is having "hard" discussions with member states and the European Parliament to get agreement. (Reporting by Huw Jones; editing by David Clarke and Pritha Sarkar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eu-markets-regulations-idUKKCN18E25A'|'2017-05-19T00:26:00.000+03:00' +'63c67e801eb77e5053646dcde632b4ef8928bf5a'|'New Ford CEO eligible for $13.4 million in annual compensation'|'Wed May 24, 2017 - 8:59pm BST New Ford CEO eligible for $13.4 million in annual compensation Newly named Ford Motor Company president and CEO James Hackett answers questions during a news conference at Ford Motor World Headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, U.S., May 22, 2017. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook By David Shepardson Ford Motor Co ( F.N ) said on Wednesday that new Chief Executive James Hackett is eligible for at least $13.4 million in total annual compensation. Hackett, 62, a former chief executive of furniture manufacturer Steelcase Inc ( SCS.N ), was named Monday to replace CEO Mark Fields. Hackett will earn a $1.8 million annual salary, up from $716,000 at his previous job as chairman of the Ford unit developing self-driving cars and related projects. He will receive $7 million in stock-based compensation and pocket a $1 million bonus for becoming CEO. He is also eligible for an annual bonus of up to $3.6 million, plus compensation from his service at Ford''s mobility unit. Fields will retire from the company effective Aug. 1. He resigned from the Ford board immediately. He will be eligible for pro-rated incentive compensation through Aug. 1. Fields will also be eligible for a company retirement program, a voluntary separation program offered to some management employees. The automaker did not immediately disclose if Fields is subject to a non-compete agreement. In March, Ford said Fields received total compensation of $22.1 million for 2016, up nearly 19 percent from $18.6 million. Joe Hinrichs, head of the Americas since December 2012, who was named on Monday to manage global product development, manufacturing and labor affairs, purchasing, and environmental and safety engineering, received a $5 million restricted stock-based grant. He received total compensation of $6.7 million in 2016. Some of the compensation for Hackett will vest over three years. Hackett was elected to Ford''s board effective Friday. Ford replaced Fields amid investors'' growing unease about the U.S. automaker''s slumping stock price and its ability to counter threats from longtime rivals and Silicon Valley. Ford shares were down nearly 1 percent Wednesday to $10.95. Ford Chairman Bill Ford Jr., whose family effectively controls the U.S. No. 2 automaker, said Monday he wanted Hackett to speed up decision-making and cut costs, but did not offer specifics on how the new CEO should change operations. Hackett said after discussing some management changes announced Monday that "there''s more to come later in the week that will round out my team." Ford, which announced plans to cut 1,400 white-collar positions last week, is expected to look at further significant cost cuts in the next three to six months, according to company officials, speaking on condition of anonymity as the plans have not been finalized. (Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Chris Reese)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ford-motor-ceo-compensation-idUKKBN18K2OG'|'2017-05-25T03:55:00.000+03:00' +'f4b5c061e2f7276bdac1e45aea3584420189ef22'|'Exclusive: Billionaire investor Draper to participate in blockchain token sale for first time'|'Technology 3:37pm EDT Exclusive: Billionaire investor Draper to participate in blockchain token sale for first time Venture capital investor Tim Draper speaks at a panel in Beverly Hills, California August 5, 2015. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss - NEW YORK NEW YORK Billionaire venture capitalist Tim Draper soon plans to take a step that even he, a long-time bitcoin aficionado, has eschewed to now: buying a new digital currency offered by a technology startup. Draper, an early supporter of bitcoin and its underlying blockchain financial ledger technology, told Reuters in an interview he will for the first time participate in a so-called "initial coin offering" (ICO) of Tezos slated later this month. Tezos, a new blockchain platform launched by a husband and wife team with extensive Wall Street and in hedge fund backgrounds, will launch the ICO on May 22. Draper will also invest in U.S.-based Dynamic Ledger Solutions Inc, the creator of Tezos, but did not disclose details. Draper, who scored big as an early backer of Skype and Baidu, becomes the first prominent venture capitalist to openly embrace initial coin offerings. This would be a significant stamp of approval for this new financing mode of blockchain start-ups. Some investors have expressed concern about lack of regulatory oversight for ICOs. Over the last year, blockchain start-ups have been raising cash by creating and selling their own currencies or tokens in unregulated offerings that bypass banks or venture capital firms as intermediaries. Interest in these deals has been stoked by the run-away performance of the original cyber currency, bitcoin, which has surged more than 67 percent in the last six weeks to hit a record high. "The best thing I can do is lead by example," said Draper, on his plan to participate in Tezos'' token offering. "Over time, I actually feel that some of these tokens are going to improve the world, and I want to make sure those tokens get promoted as well. I think Tezos is one of those tokens." Most traditional venture capital firms are prohibited by agreements with investors from deploying cash into such high-risk assets as digital currencies. But Draper said the contract terms with his investors allow investing in pretty much any vehicle. "I think most investor contracts did not anticipate something like an ICO," said Draper. "But we did anticipate that certain things are going to happen and finance is going to be transformed." Draper said his firm has specifically carved out money for non-traditional investments. Tezos is similar to bitcoin and other blockchain platforms, but its design allows for decentralized and automated upgrades. Most software platforms provide for automated updates, but blockchains remain notable exceptions because update procedures are typically centralized. Tezos touts itself as the first blockchain platform to overcome that hurdle. Tezos was created over a span of three years by Kathleen and Arthur Breitman. Arthur Breitman had worked at the high frequency trading desk at Goldman Sachs and was an options market maker at Morgan Stanley, while Kathleen Breitman is a former management associate at Bridgewater Associates, the world''s largest hedge fund. Unlike previous ICOs, Kathleen Breitman said Tezos'' deal would not be capped by a set number of tokens to be created. "What we''re going to do is allow as many people who want to buy into the crowdsale over a two-week period," she said. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Dan Burns and David Gregorio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-tezos-blockchain-draper-idUSKBN181250'|'2017-05-06T03:37:00.000+03:00' +'68092159944c546a951b0cbd2124cb0e1b19798a'|'Saudi''s Alawwal Bank picks JPMorgan to advise on merger -sources'|'By Tom Arnold and Saeed Azhar - DUBAI DUBAI Saudi Arabian lender Alawwal Bank ( 1040.SE ), 40 percent owned by Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ), has picked JPMorgan ( JPM.N ) to advise it on a proposed merger with Saudi British Bank ( 1060.SE ) (SABB), sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.Senior management of SABB and Alawwal held talks with advisers on Sunday to discuss the principle of the merger and timeframe for its completion, one of the sources said.SABB has selected another, undisclosed adviser for the transaction, the sources added. Nobody was available to comment at Alawwal, while SABB and JPMorgan declined to comment.SABB and Alawwal said on April 25 they had agreed to start talks on a merger that could create the kingdom''s third biggest bank with assets of nearly $80 billion.British banks are the biggest shareholders in both lenders. RBS acquired a 40 percent stake in Alawwal when it bought ABN AMRO in 2007. RBS has been trying sell the stake for a number of years as it retreats from international operations.HSBC Holdings ( HSBA.L ) owns 40 percent of SABB, which is the kingdom''s sixth largest bank by assets.Although the timeframe for the merger has yet to be agreed, one of the sources said the accounts of the two banks could be consolidated by the end of 2017, but the merger would take longer.Mergers and acquisitions are relatively rare in Saudi Arabia''s banking sector, where 12 local commercial lenders operate.Reuters reported in March, quoting sources, that French bank Credit Agricole ( CAGR.PA ) had picked JPMorgan to advise it on a potential sale of its 31 percent stake in Banque Saudi Fransi 1050.SE, valued at nearly $2.4 billion.(Editing by Andrew Torchia and Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-saab-m-a-alawwal-bank-idINKBN18P0Q5'|'2017-05-29T06:43:00.000+03:00' +'988e6425f5ac28080602e290a31154319a44a2e2'|'Moody''s, ICRA downgrade RCom over debt concerns - Reuters'|'Money News - Tue May 30, 2017 - 11:32pm IST Moody''s, ICRA downgrade RCom over debt concerns A man opens the shutter of a shop painted with an advertisement of Reliance Communications in Mumbai, November 3, 2015. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade/Files MUMBAI Ratings agency Moody''s Investors Service has downgraded Reliance Communications Ltd deeper into "junk" territory and kept its ratings under review for further downgrade as the company struggles with a heavy debt burden. Moody''s said it had downgraded the Indian telecom operator''s "corporate family rating and senior secured bond rating to Caa1 from B2". This implies that its obligations are speculative and subject to very high credit risk, according to Moody''s website. RCom, controlled by billionaire Anil Ambani, has traditionally relied on short-term debt and covenant waivers from its banking relationships, but if these waivers are not received it could impact RCom''s $300 million bondholders "significantly", Moody''s said. It also said that owing to intense mobile competition, there is no scope for RCom to deleverage. Meanwhile, India-focused ratings agency ICRA, a subsidiary of Moody''s, also downgraded four RCom debt instruments to [ICRA]D, which signifies instruments either in default or expected to be in default soon. These include its non-convertible debentures (NCDs) and commercial paper programme. Another local rating agency, Care Ratings, downgraded the company''s NCDs and other debt instruments to default on Tuesday. RCom''s shares haven fallen by 41.9 percent so far this month. During the same time the broader index has gained 3.4 percent. Its shares dropped again on Tuesday, after a sharp slide a day earlier, hurt by concerns over its ability to service its loans. RCom sought to reassure investors in its quarterly conference call on Monday, saying it was in talks with lenders to defer loan instalments coming due in the next four months. The firm plans to repay lenders 110 billion rupees ($1.7 billion) and refinance an even larger chunk by end-September, if lenders sign off on the merger of its wireless segment with rival Aircel and sale of a majority stake in its tower unit to Canada''s Brookfield. ($1 = 64.6500 Indian rupees)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/rcom-stocks-moody-icra-idINKBN18Q26W'|'2017-05-30T16:02:00.000+03:00' +'1d2c490744851164709457e365bd98ad12174e74'|'METALS-London copper slips, traders cut risk as China growth slows'|' 47am EDT METALS-London copper slips, traders cut risk as China growth slows (Adds comment, detail) MELBOURNE May 16 London copper fell on Tuesday as worries about China''s slowing economic growth and tighter capital markets in the world''s top metals consumer triggered selling in metals. China''s growth took a step back in April after a surprisingly strong start to the year, tapering off as authorities clamped down on debt risks in an effort to stave off a potentially damaging hit to the economy. "All of the slowdown in key macro data was ... from restructuring/reform and risk controls," said Argonaut Securities in a report. "We think there is no chance of hard-landing in China as of now. That said, as there are a lack of drivers for new demand growth ahead ... commodity prices may fluctuate in a narrow range," it said. "Positive catalysts are stronger-than-expected external growth in Europe and emerging markets, and more supply side reform in China." * LME COPPER: London Metal Exchange copper had dropped 0.5 percent to $5,583 a tonne by 0526 GMT, paring gains from the previous session when it hit $5,637 which was the highest in nearly two weeks. * LME ZINC: LME zinc and lead also fell around 1 percent, and were trading near their lowest for the year, having recently broken below their 200-day moving averages, sending a sell signal to chart-following funds. * SHFE COPPER: Shanghai Futures Exchange copper traded flat at 45,220 yuan ($6,561) a tonne. ShFE zinc and Shanghai lead fell 1 and 1.4 percent respectively. * CHINA PROPERTY: China''s property resale market cooled a notch in April due to intensified government curbs, but chances are slim that prices will fall across the board as housing supply remains short, a top state think-tank said on Monday. * U.S. PROPERTY: A private gauge of U.S. home builder sentiment unexpectedly rose in May to its second strongest level since the housing bust nearly a decade ago, as the existing supply of homes remained tight. * BHP: Activist investor Elliott Management upped the pressure for strategic changes at BHP, on Tuesday, calling for an independent review of the mining giant''s petroleum business. * ORICA: Orica Ltd, the world''s No. 1 explosives maker, beat forecasts on Tuesday with a 2.7-percent rise in its half-year underlying profit, helped by cost cuts and higher sales, and said demand from its mining customers was improving. * MARKETS: Asian stocks briefly climbed to a fresh-two year high on Tuesday on the back of an overnight rise in Wall Street, while oil extended gains after major producers Saudi Arabia and Russia said supply cuts needed to continue into 2018. PRICES'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/global-metals-idUSL4N1II26U'|'2017-05-16T13:47:00.000+03:00' +'107c5ec452b4e0055cc6e057ed9c80d5f77a0451'|'Second U.S. buyout firm bids for Australia''s Fairfax Media'|'Deals - Thu May 18, 2017 - 5:48am BST Second U.S. buyout firm bids for Australia''s Fairfax Media The Fairfax Media headquarters are pictured in Sydney, Australia, May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Reed By Byron Kaye and Jamie Freed - SYDNEY SYDNEY Australia''s oldest newspaper publisher Fairfax Media Ltd ( FXJ.AX ) on Thursday said it has received a takeover bid worth as much as A$2.87 billion ($2.13 billion) from a second U.S. private equity firm, sending its shares sharply higher. The surprise offer from buyout firm Hellman & Friedman values Fairfax at A$1.225 to A$1.25 a share, compared to an earlier offer from TPG Capital Management and Ontario Teachers'' Pension Plan Board of A$1.20 a share. Investors welcomed the prospect of a bidding war for the 186-year-old publisher of the Sydney Morning Herald and the Australian Financial Review newspapers, although lawmakers have expressed concern over the possible impact on local journalism. "It is always good that there is a bit more competitive tension," said Suhas Nayak, a portfolio manager at Allan Gray, which holds Fairfax shares. "It is a waiting game from here." Fairfax shares leapt 6.7 percent to A$1.24 by mid-session on Thursday, in line with Hellman''s indicative offer range. The broader sharemarket was down 1.2 percent. The Sydney-based publisher said it would allow both suitors to conduct due diligence "to explore whether a potential whole of company proposal is available". The chairman emeritus of Hellman, Brian Powers, was the chairman of Fairfax from 1999 to 2002. Hellman declined to comment. TPG said it welcomed the opportunity to conduct due diligence and declined to comment on the Hellman bid. PUBLIC INTEREST Fairfax investors have watched the stock sink from A$4.99 in 2007 when its long-term problems began with the migration of classified advertising to the internet. The shares hit a low of 36 Australian cents in 2012 and have barely recovered despite rounds of slashing cost cuts. Its real estate classifieds unit, Domain, is now its biggest profit generator, and shareholders have been eager for the company to spin off the unit as Rupert Murdoch''s News Corp ( NWSA.O ) did with its property website in 1999. Shares in that company, REA Group Ltd ( REA.AX ), have climbed from A$6.00 to A$61.88 over the past decade. Analysts expect any private equity buyer to keep Domain and metropolitan mastheads and dump non-core regional news, radio and streaming video businesses, raising fears for the future of public interest journalism in a market already dominated by a handful of media proprietors. Any foreign takeover of Fairfax would need regulatory approval, and some lawmakers have already threatened to oppose the TPG deal on public interest grounds. Opposition Labor Senator Sam Dastyari on Wednesday told a parliamentary inquiry into the future of journalism in Australia he supported placing "controls and restrictions" on TPG if its bid was approved. (Reporting by Byron Kaye and Jamie Freed; Editing by Stephen Coates) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-fairfax-media-m-a-tpg-idUKKCN18E0CY'|'2017-05-18T12:19:00.000+03:00' +'fc3d70049c8194b3b0786b12ae8fe960bf84c220'|'U.S. prevails over ex-AIG CEO Greenberg over insurer''s bailout'|'Business News 24pm EDT Ex-AIG CEO Greenberg loses appeal over 2008 bailout left right FILE PHOTO: Maurice ''Hank'' Greenberg, former chairman of American International Group Inc., (AIG) arrives at the New York State Supreme Courthouse in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., September 29, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: A banner for American International Group Inc (AIG) hangs on the facade of the New York Stock Exchange, in New York, U.S., on October 16, 2012. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo 2/2 By Jonathan Stempel A federal appeals court threw out a ruling that the U.S. government illegally bailed out insurer American International Group Inc ( AIG.N ) during the 2008 financial crisis, in a defeat for former chief executive officer Maurice "Hank" Greenberg. The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington said Greenberg''s Starr International Co had no legal right to challenge the bailout because that right belonged to AIG, which chose not to sue. Tuesday''s decision by a three-judge panel was a victory for the government in a lawsuit testing its power to bail out companies, including those deemed "too big to fail." David Boies, Starr''s lawyer, said "we respectfully disagree" with the decision and they would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Department of Justice had no immediate comment. AIG was rescued in September 2008 after running up huge losses from insurance on shoddy mortgage securities. Starr said the government harmed shareholders through an unconstitutional "exaction," by taking a 79.9 percent stake in the stricken insurer in exchange for a high-interest $85 billion loan from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. "While punitive measures against a corporation may ultimately be borne by its shareholders, a finding that those measures targeted shareholders directly is a wholly different matter," Chief Judge Sharon Prost wrote for the appeals court. "The alleged injuries to Starr are merely incidental to injuries to AIG, and any remedy would go to AIG, not Starr," she added. Starr had been New York-based AIG''s largest shareholder, with a 12 percent stake. It sought more than $40 billion of damages for shareholders. In June 2015, Court of Federal Claims Judge Thomas Wheeler agreed with Starr that the New York Fed overstepped its authority in arranging the $85 billion loan, but he refused to award damages because AIG would have gone bankrupt without it. The judge also rejected damages for a subsequent reverse stock split. Wheeler ruled after a trial featuring testimony from former Fed chairman Ben Bernanke, and former Treasury secretaries Henry "Hank" Paulson and Tim Geithner. Greenberg appealed Wheeler''s damages ruling. The government appealed his standing and exaction rulings. Dennis Kelleher, CEO of nonprofit Better Markets, in an interview welcomed the decision, saying the case may help regulators address future financial system shocks "without worrying about courts second-guessing them years later." AIG''s bailout eventually totaled $182.3 billion but was repaid, leaving taxpayers with nearly $23 billion of profit. Greenberg, 92, led AIG for nearly four decades before being ousted in March 2005. The case is Starr International Co v U.S., Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, Nos. 2015-5103, 2015-5133. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Andrew Hay)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-aig-bailout-idUSKBN1851OU'|'2017-05-09T22:03:00.000+03:00' +'fac185cf96cca45a73ca9424570cbac6a1b91d92'|'Exclusive: North American carmakers want rules of origin untouched - Mexico lobby'|'MEXICO CITY The auto industries of the United States, Canada and Mexico agree there should be no changes to rules of origin in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the president of the Mexican automakers'' association said on Monday.Under the trade deal between the United States, Mexico and Canada, rules of origin stipulate that products must meet minimum regional, or NAFTA-wide, content requirements to be tariff-free."Our position is that the trade agreement has been a success, and we shouldn''t be touching something as important as the rules of origin," Eduardo Solis, president of Mexican automakers'' industry group AMIA, told Reuters in an interview.NAFTA''s rules of origin, said Solis, have been key in creating value and integrating the auto industry in North America."In terms of access to markets and rules of origin, what we have is a shared position," said Solis.Mexico boasts plants owned by global automakers including General Motors Co ( GM.N ), Ford Motor Co ( F.N ), Fiat Chrysler Automobiles ( FCHA.MI ) and Volkswagen AG ( VOWG_p.DE ).The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday triggered a 90-day consultation period with Congress, industries and the American public that would allow talks over NAFTA, one of the world''s biggest trading blocs, to begin by Aug. 16.Authorities and businesses in Mexico have been bracing for the looming renegotiation, as Trump has insisted that a new pact must be more beneficial to American workers and companies.Solis said it was important to not become overconfident before the actual negotiations kick off."We need to remain cautious and at the same time prepare the data that shows why NAFTA has been a success for the three nations," said Solis.Mexico''s booming auto sector has been a clear beneficiary of NAFTA as a wide range of international automakers have made Latin America''s second biggest economy a key export hub, attracted by cheap labor costs and free trade accords with dozens of nations.(Reporting by Anthony Esposito and Sharay Angulo; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-autos-exclusive-idUSKBN18I2OB'|'2017-05-23T06:43:00.000+03:00' +'32b1a8845233af9621f2611d9f68834c50057696'|'Liberty House''s founder says will list at least one business, probably in 2018'|'Business News - 24am BST Liberty House''s founder says will list at least one business, probably in 2018 FILE PHOTO: Liberty Steel boss Sanjeev Gupta stands outside steel pressing mill in Dalzell after completing its purchase, Scotland, Britain April 8, 2016. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne/File Photo LONDON The founder and chairman of Liberty House, the industrials and commodities group that has been buying up troubled steel businesses around the world, said on Thursday he would definitely list parts of the $6 billion group, probably in 2018. "(It) will happen sooner or later for sure ... 2018 is a soft target," Sanjeev Gupta told Reuters on the sidelines of the CRU World Aluminium Conference in London. "We want at least one if not more of the businesses to be in the public space, like energy for example, maybe steel eventually." (Reporting by Maytaal Angel; Editing by Greg Mahlich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-steel-liberty-uk-idUKKBN1800Y5'|'2017-05-04T17:24:00.000+03:00' +'5711fb06473f548e0e1ba41027d706a385335908'|'NYSE blasts Bats plan to compete for end-of-day NYSE stock orders'|' 36pm EDT NYSE blasts Bats plan to compete for end-of-day NYSE stock orders Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid - RTS151B8 By John McCrank - NEW YORK NEW YORK The New York Stock Exchange has urged its members to denounce a plan by rival exchange operator Bats to compete for end-of-day orders of NYSE-listed companies, saying it would make it harder to get trades done and would distort stock prices. Bats, the No. 2 U.S. stock exchange operator, said last week it plans to offer brokers a type of order that would give them the same prices as the closing auctions for NYSE- and Nasdaq-listed securities, but with lower execution fees. "The proposed order type will harm one of the most relied-upon aspects of modern market structure, the closing auction," Stacey Cunningham, NYSE''s chief operating officer, said in a letter to traders on Tuesday, which was obtained by Reuters. Intercontinental Exchange Inc''s ( ICE.N ) NYSE confirmed the contents of the letter. If approved by regulators, the move by Bats would be "detrimental to transparency, liquidity, and price discovery," Cunningham said. In response, BATS said its proposal was made at the behest of market participants asking for "long-overdue pricing competition." Some brokers already provide a similar service, it added. Closing auctions attract massive volume as fund managers generally price their assets to the closing prices of listing exchanges and execute most of their orders at that time. NYSE, the top exchange operator by market share, said diverting trades away from closing auctions would add to volatility and result in less accurate pricing. Daily volume in the auctions has risen more than 70 percent, to almost 350 million shares, in the past five years, while fees have increased from 16 percent to 60 percent at the NYSE and Nasdaq respectively, Bats said. Under Bats''s plan, orders would be pre-matched 25 minutes before the 4 p.m. market close. Those not matched would be sent to the NYSE and Nasdaq auctions. Bats lists the stock of its parent company, CBOE Holdings ( CBOE.O ), but has otherwise focused on listing exchange-traded funds. NYSE, which controls four stock exchanges, said the move by Bats, which also has four, would further fragment the market as different exchanges would have different auction cut-off times in the same security. "This increased fragmentation and complexity creates incentives for brokers to add layers of routing rules and behaviors to capture fractional cost savings to the detriment of market quality," Cunningham said. NYSE asked its members to speak out against the Bats plan through industry groups and regulatory comment letters. (Editing by Bernadette Baum)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-nyse-exchange-bats-idUSKCN18E2FV'|'2017-05-19T00:36:00.000+03:00' +'229f1e2e2957f901e06767ad48f97ffada43e824'|'Australia says would bar move of BHP Billiton offshore'|'Business News - Thu May 4, 2017 - 3:15am BST Australia would bar move of BHP Billiton offshore - Treasurer FILE PHOTO: A promotional sign adorns a stage at a BHP Billiton function in Sydney, Australia, August 20, 2013. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo By Sonali Paul - MELBOURNE MELBOURNE Australia warned on Thursday that a push by activist investor Elliott Management to ditch global miner BHP Billiton''s dual listing may be a criminal offence and was against the national interest. Elliott, led by U.S. financier Paul Singer, wants BHP to spin off its U.S. oil assets, hand back more money to shareholders and scrap dual listings in London and Sydney to consolidate them in the UK. BHP Billiton has vehemently resisted Elliott''s push and Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison backed up Australia''s biggest company on Thursday. "If foreign corporate raiders think they can come in and take the ''Big Australian'' out of Australia, they''ve got another thing coming," Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison said in a video on social media, invoking the 132-year-old company''s nickname. BHP Billiton is required to remain listed on the Australian Securities Exchange under the terms of the government''s approval of the merger of BHP and London-listed Billiton in 2001. "The consequences of seeking to change that involve criminal sanctions, and I won''t step back from instructing our agencies to take every step they need to take to prevent that from happening," he said. Elliott declined to comment on Morrison''s statement. Under the conditions set out by then Treasurer Peter Costello for the merger in 2001, BHP Billiton must also keep its global headquarters in Australia and its chief executive and chief financial officer have to be based in Australia. "The conditions set down by then Treasurer Costello are in Australia''s national interest and remain necessary and appropriate," Morrison said in a statement. He warned that BHP Billiton could also face civil penalties under the country''s foreign takeovers law if it were to carry out Elliott''s proposal and directors could be personally liable. The Treasurer could also block a takeover of BHP''s Australian assets by a London-listed company, he said. Elliott has sent representatives to Australia this week to canvas BHP Billiton shareholders over its proposals. Shareholders said they did not expect the Australian government''s opposition to deter Elliott from at least pursuing an oil spin-off and bigger returns to shareholders, given it has persisted even after BHP said the plans would not benefit investors. "I''m not sure they''re going to go away any time soon. They''re there and they own the stock, so they''re still going to be trying to get some value out of it," said Don Hamson, managing director of Plato Investment Management, whose sixth largest holding is BHP. BHP Billiton is a top holding for most Australian fund managers and households, given it is the country''s second-largest company by market capitalisation, and the largest Australian company when its UK-listed shares are included. BHP''s shares have fallen 10 percent since Elliott showed its hand on April 10, in line with a drop in oil prices. (Reporting by Sonali Paul; Additional reporting by James Regan in Sydney; Editing by Richard Pullin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bhp-billiton-elliott-australia-idUKKBN17Z2OH'|'2017-05-04T07:26:00.000+03:00' +'a17eafdec581abd77bebb21072a4a780ddaedbf1'|'UPDATE 1-TPG-backed consortium makes $1.6 bln offer for Fairfax metro newspapers, real estate arm'|'SYDNEY A consortium led by U.S. private equity firm TPG Capital made a A$2.2 billion ($1.63 billion) cash proposal to acquire Fairfax Media Ltd''s ( FXJ.AX ) metropolitan newspapers and Domain real estate classifieds unit, the Australian media group said on Monday.The proposal would involve shareholders retaining scrip exposure to the company''s regional and New Zealand newspaper assets as well as its radio and digital streaming divisions, Fairfax said in an statement.Fairfax, owner of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian Financial Review, said its board of directors was reviewing the proposal from the TPG-led consortium, which also included the Ontario Teachers'' Pension Plan Board."The Fairfax board notes that there is no certainty that the indicative proposal is capable of being implemented given the complexity involved in splitting the businesses," the company said. "This proposed split of businesses may not optimize shareholder value."The consortium is offering A$0.95 a share cash for the metropolitan newspapers and real estate classified assets, which compares with Fairfax''s closing price of A$1.06 a share on Friday.TPG could not be reached immediately for comment.Fairfax had been planning to demerge its Domain real estate classifieds unit, Australia''s second-biggest property listings website, later this year.The media company''s proposal to merge its New Zealand newspaper assets with those of NZME Ltd ( NZM.NZ ) was rejected last week by regulators in that country on the grounds it would lead to unprecedented local media influence.Many of Fairfax''s Australian newspaper journalists are on strike until Wednesday in protest of plans to cut 125 jobs, or about one-quarter of its editorial staff.(Reporting by Jamie Freed; Editing by Sandra Maler and Peter Cooney)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-fairfax-media-m-a-tpg-idUSKBN18313Y'|'2017-05-08T06:18:00.000+03:00' +'d1fd7958538fe3be7bb6302dbfab8e06228ad976'|'U.S. companies push hard for lower tax rate on offshore profits'|'WASHINGTON Major U.S. multinationals are pushing the Trump administration to deepen the tax break it has already tentatively proposed on $2.6 trillion in corporate profits being held offshore, a key piece in Washington''s intricate tax reform puzzle.As President Donald Trump tries to deliver on his campaign promise to overhaul the tax code, lobbyists for technology, drug and other manufacturers are working with officials behind closed doors, six lobbyists working with various industries told Reuters.In line with tax cuts already embraced by Republicans in the House of Representatives, the lobbyists said they are telling the White House and Treasury Department that if companies are forced to bring home, or repatriate, foreign earnings, they want a sharply reduced tax rate.The lobbyists are making an aggressive case that cutting the tax rate on offshore profits to 10 percent from 35 percent, as the administration has indicated it may favor, is not enough.Rather, the lobbyists said they want a lower, bifurcated rate of 3.5 percent on earnings already invested abroad in illiquid assets, such as factories, and 8.75 percent on cash and liquid assets.During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump proposed setting the rate at 10 percent, and argued it could be used to raise tax revenue to pay for tax cuts or infrastructure.Discussion of hard numbers in the long-running repatriation debate may indicate tax reform is advancing on Trump''s slow-moving domestic policy agenda. Or it may just be lobbyists trying to set the early framework for a long slog ahead, which could be adjusted if they get concessions elsewhere."For us, its how you create a tax environment where you give business long-term certainty," one lobbyist said. The changes being discussed are part of larger tax reform, another lobbyist said: "Our international tax system is out of whack with the rest of the world. This system is not sustainable."LATEST PUSH IN LONG CAMPAIGN The lobbyists'' demands represent the latest effort in a push by corporate America that has been under way since 2004-2005, the last time Washington let multinationals pay only a small fraction of the taxes due on their foreign profits.Repatriation and comprehensive tax reform are important to the economy, Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) CEO Tim Cook said earlier this month on CNBC. "The administration ... they''re really getting this and want to bring this back and I hope that that comes to pass," he said. Apple held $239.6 billion of cash and securities offshore as of April 1. Under current law, U.S.-based corporations are supposed to pay 35-percent income tax on profits worldwide. But companies can defer that tax on active profits left outside the country.The deferral rule has incentivized multinationals to park profits offshore and about $2.6 trillion in earnings is being held overseas by more than 500 U.S. companies, according to Audit Analytics, a corporate research firm.Nearly a third of that is held by 10 companies, including Apple, Microsoft Corp ( MSFT.O ), Pfizer Inc ( PFE.N ) and General Electric Co ( GE.N ), the firm said. All four of those companies declined to comment.These companies and hundreds of others could bring their foreign profits into the United States at any time, but they do not in order to avoid paying the 35-percent tax due.If the $2.6 trillion overseas were repatriated at once, two things would happen. First, Washington would get a big jolt of tax revenue. Second, repatriated profits not collected by the Internal Revenue Service could be put to use in the economy.As the law stands, tax-deferred profits can be held offshore indefinitely. The result of that has been companies biding their time, claiming their profits are "trapped" offshore while lobbying for a repatriation tax cut. The last time they got one was in 2004-2005 under former President George W. Bush, whose administration let multinationals voluntarily repatriate profits at a 5.25 percent tax rate.At the time, Bush tried to extract promises from companies that they would dedicate repatriated funds to investments in new plants and other job-creating projects.But in a 2011 follow-up study, a Senate committee concluded the Bush repatriation tax "holiday" cost the Treasury at least $3.3 billion in net revenue over 10 years and "produced no appreciable increase in U.S. jobs or domestic investment."Rather, the repatriated funds largely went to shareholder dividends and executive bonuses, the committee said.The repatriation tax break now being discussed differs from Bush''s: repatriation would not be voluntary, but mandatory, so foreign profits would have to be brought home.In addition, lobbyists said they have talked to the administration about ending deferral and exempting foreign profits from taxation. The administration has floated this as an option. Lobbyists said there has been discussion about limiting that exemption to 95 percent of repatriated foreign earnings.(Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Bill Rigby)FILE PHOTO: The Apple logo is pictured inside the newly opened Omotesando Apple store at a shopping district in Tokyo June 26, 2014. REUTERS/Yuya Shino/File Photo'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-tax-repatriation-idUSKCN18B13Q'|'2017-05-15T18:09:00.000+03:00' +'e6a0841925e5fe9be0c19243b42e35a65b4035dd'|'Wizz Air reports record profit and no signs of Brexit hit'|' 03am BST Wizz Air reports record profit and no signs of Brexit hit FILE PHOTO: Wizz Air''s logo is seen on the side of an aircraft parked on the tarmac at Budapest Airport, Hungary, July 10, 2014. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo/File Photo Wizz Air Holdings ( WIZZ.L ) reported a 28 percent rise in full-year profit on Thursday and said it had seen no signs of demand for flights weakening since Britain voted to leave the EU, helping to send its shares to a record high. Shares in the London-listed airline that focuses on flights to central and eastern Europe jumped as much as 11 percent to a high of 2,166 pence, with analysts also saying its profit forecast for the current financial year was above consensus. The company has faced increased pressure on pricing since larger low-cost airlines easyJet ( EZJ.L ) and Ryanair ( RYA.I ) added more capacity to rival routes, taking advantage of weak oil prices to try to capture market share. Wizz Air said its profit for the 12 months to the end of March rose to a record 246 million euros ($277 million) from 193 million euros a year earlier while revenue climbed 10 percent to 1.57 billion euros. For the financial year ending in March 2018, Wizz Air forecast net profit in a range of 250 million euros to 270 million, though it warned that the estimate would depend heavily on revenue earned in the busy summer period and its second half. "The trading environment experienced in the 2017 financial year of very low fares and increasing fuel prices unquestionably favoured our ultra-low-cost business model and we were able to increase our growth rate," Chief Executive Jzsef Vradi said. Analysts at RBC said while the full-year results were in line with expectations, the profit forecast was 8 percent to 10 percent above the current market consensus. "This guidance is heavily caveated by the revenue performance for the all-important summer period as well as the second half of the 2018 financial year, a period for which we currently have limited visibility," Vradi said. Wizz Air said the number of passengers it carried increased 19 percent to 23.8 million during the year and it planned to boost capacity to carry nearly 30 million in the current financial year. The load factor, a measure of how full its planes were, rose to 90.1 percent from 88.2 percent. Wizz Air also said the decline in sterling since the Brexit vote in June 2016 translated into a 17 million euro hit on revenue earned in pounds, but that was absorbed by the rest of its route network. ($1 = 0.8894 euros)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-wizz-air-results-idUKKBN18L0Z1'|'2017-05-25T17:03:00.000+03:00' +'5483cbb8d73972f8a76b587e384354ca10254ab7'|'Cargill to increase S.Korean feed capacity to 2.7 mln tpy by 2025'|'Market News 31pm EDT Cargill to increase S.Korean feed capacity to 2.7 mln tpy by 2025 SEOUL May 12 Global commodities trader Cargill Inc said on Friday it plans to increase its animal feed production in South Korea by 2025 in a bid to play a leading role in South Korean market. Under the expansion plan, Cargill Agri Purina, a South Korean unit of Cargill, will ramp up its total animal feed output capacity to 2.7 million tonnes per year (tpy) by 2025, from 1.6 million tpy, the company said in a statement. "The company will build on its position as one of the leading players in the Korean livestock market and aims to double its market presence by 2025," it said. Cargill Agri Purina operates four plants in South Korea, processing corn, wheat and soybean meal to produce animal feeds, mainly for the South Korean market. (Reporting By Jane Chung; Editing by Sonali Paul)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/cargill-grain-southkorea-idUSS9N0XL07L'|'2017-05-12T07:31:00.000+03:00' +'e8853f837b66eca7bf2112649a541958aa0bb825'|'Macy''s, Tailored Brands to end tuxedo rental partnership'|'Business News - Wed May 3, 2017 - 6:01pm EDT Macy''s, Tailored Brands to end tuxedo rental partnership A customer exits the Macy''s flagship department store in midtown Manhattan in New York City, November 11, 2015. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Department store operator Macy''s Inc ( M.N ) and Tailored Brands Inc ( TLRD.N ) have agreed to wind down operations of a tuxedo rental license agreement, the companies said on Wednesday. Reservations at The Tuxedo Shops at Macy''s will continue until June 1 and the operations will wind down by July 14, the companies said. The initiative did not generate the revenue that both companies had envisioned, Tailored Brands Chief Executive Officer Doug Ewert said in a statement. The agreement was signed between Macy''s and Men''s Wearhouse on June 9, 2015. Men''s Wearhouse said last year it would become Tailored Brands, a holding company that also includes brands such as Jos. A. Bank and K&G. Tailored Brands, which had flagged concerns with the performance of the Macy''s tuxedo business in its fourth-quarter earnings, said on Wednesday that it would record one-time charges of about $17 million related to the winding down, of which $2.5 million would be non-cash costs. The company had recorded an asset impairment charge of $14 million in the fourth quarter related to fixed assets in the Macy''s stores. (Reporting by Karina Dsouza in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-macy-s-tailored-brands-idUSKBN17Z2MU'|'2017-05-04T06:01:00.000+03:00' +'cf6fa29f8f1bb3e0ded44da5c9947021045d6586'|'Popolare di Vicenza, Veneto Banca close to sell 8-9 billion euros in bad debts-Cerved'|' 3:23pm BST Popolare di Vicenza, Veneto Banca close to sell 8-9 billion euros in bad debts-Cerved left right A Banca Popolare di Vicenza sign is seen in Rome, Italy, March 29, 2017. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi 1/2 left right The logo of Veneto Banca bank is seen in Venice, Italy, January 31 2016. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo 2/2 MILAN Troubled Italian banks Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca are close to finalising the long-mooted sale of 8-9 billion euros in problem loans, the chief executive of bad loan manager Cerved said on Tuesday. "We expect something to happen shortly," CEO Marco Nespolo said in reference to the two Veneto-based lenders'' bad loan sale. Nespolo also told an analyst call that a consortium comprising a fund he did not name and Cerved had been shortlisted to submit a binding bid for a 700 million euro ($762 million) bad loan sale by Banco BMP ( BAMI.MI ). Sources have said Cerved has teamed up with Cerberus in the tender. (Reporting by Massimo Gaia, writing by Valentina Za)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-italy-veneto-banks-npls-idUKKBN17Y1P0'|'2017-05-02T22:23:00.000+03:00' +'60f0450101b2e8ad694b0d9e66b1fe287d5e83be'|'Barclays CEO Staley in dispute with KKR over soured deal: WSJ'|' 09pm BST Barclays CEO Staley in dispute with KKR over soured deal: WSJ FILE PHOTO: Chief executive officer of Barclays, Jes Staley, takes part in the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit in New York, U.S., February 8, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson LONDON Barclays ( BARC.L ) Chief Executive Jes Staley is involved in a dispute with private equity firm KKR & Co ( KKR.N ), which is a client of the bank, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. KKR has complained to Barclays over Staley''s actions on behalf of his brother-in-law after a deal between Jorge Nitzan and the buyout firm went sour, the WSJ said, citing sources familiar with the case. News of the KKR dispute comes at a sensitive time for Staley who faces regulatory scrutiny in the United States and Britain over his attempts to unmask a whistleblower. KKR is unhappy about what it sees as a conflict with its interests as a Barclays client, the newspaper reported. The alleged conflict was brought about by Staley interceding on behalf of his brother-in-law late last year by vouching for him to KKR''s co-investors and helping to try and find a new investor for a Brazilian company called Aceco TI, the WSJ said. The family of Staley''s wife Debora Nitzan Staley and her brother Jorge founded data center company Aceco and sold the bulk of it to KKR in 2014. However, Aceco''s revenues have slumped since the acquisition, which KKR has blamed on wrongdoing by its former owners, alleging they concealed accounting fraud. Nitzan, Aceco''s former chief executive, has denied all allegations of wrongdoing at the company, saying its recent problems have been caused by Brazil''s economic slump and post-acquisition mismanagement. "We have a responsibility to protect the interests of our investors who we believe were defrauded in the sale of Aceco. We would also note that we have been a longtime client of Barclays, which comes with its own responsibilities for Barclays," KKR said in an emailed statement to Reuters. A spokesman for Barclays noted that the bank was not involved in the deal between Aceco and KKR. "Appropriate senior personnel within Barclays have been kept informed about this matter, and in particular regarding any management interactions with the parties concerned," the Barclays spokesman said in an emailed statement. (Reporting by Lawrence White and Dasha Afanasieva; editing by Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-barclays-ceo-idUKKBN17Y23J'|'2017-05-03T01:04:00.000+03:00' +'660a8d3975b77407306b168043b4cb7764080260'|'Puerto Rico GO bonds up on federal healthcare aid ahead of deal deadline'|'By Karen Pierog and Daniel Bases - CHICAGO CHICAGO May 1 Benchmark Puerto Rico general obligation bonds rose on Monday, bolstered by promised stopgap federal healthcare spending that would help the financially strapped U.S. territory even as it faces a midnight deadline to reach a restructuring deal on its $70 billion in debt.The healthcare assistance under a deal on federal government spending follows Saturday''s rejection by bondholders of the Puerto Rican government''s debt restructuring offer to repay as much as 77 percent of general obligation (GO) debt and 58 percent of tax-backed bonds.Without an agreement or a move by Puerto Rico to seek an in-court debt workout similar to bankruptcy, bondholders and other creditors are expected to file a wave of litigation over the island''s bond defaults starting at midnight Monday.Bond prices rose in response to Congressional negotiations late Sunday that included a $295 million boost in Medicaid funding for Puerto Rico as part of a budget deal to avoid a U.S. government shutdown.The federal government''s Medicaid help may be buoying Puerto Rico''s bonds by making "participants hopeful there will be potentially some assistance down the road that mitigates the lowball first salvo in the negotiations," said Shaun Burgess, portfolio manager and lead trader for Puerto Rico strategy at Sarasota, Florida-based Cumberland Advisors.Burgess, who is responsible for $150 million of insured Puerto Rican bonds, said the offer was "not even close to a good proposal."The spread for Puerto Rico 30-year GO bonds over Municipal Market Data''s benchmark triple-A yield scale fell to 565 basis points on Monday, after widening to 585 basis points on Friday from 575 basis points on Thursday.Benchmark Puerto Rico bonds due in 2035, and carrying an 8 percent coupon, traded up 1.1 points in price to a bid price of 64.1, up from a record low of 60.05 on March 30.Regardless of the path Puerto Rico takes, the likelihood is for cuts to government services, including healthcare. Thousands of Puerto Rican''s took to the streets on Monday to protest austerity measures that coincided with traditional May Day labor rallies."The money from Washington will get them through their fiscal year, but hard to know if it applies much beyond that," said Joe Rosenblum, director of municipal credit research at AllianceBernstein in New York."I think it was a recognition (on Washington''s part) that they were really in dire straights," he said.DEBT PROTESTSPuerto Ricos fiscal turnaround plan, which has been certified by the federal board overseeing its finances, proposes drastic cuts to debt and government services alike, including cuts to healthcare spending.The island would also cut fringe benefits to some public employees, reduce subsidies to municipalities and the University of Puerto Rico, and cut benefits to pensioners.Thousands protested the austerity measures on Monday in San Juan, the capital, marching from different points toward the city''s financial center, known as the Golden Mile. Some protesters broke windows and scrawled graffiti on buildings.There were also some scuffles with police, but no arrests have been reported by authorities. Traffic throughout metropolitan San Juan was affected throughout the morning.Ramon Rosario, public affairs secretary to Governor Ricardo Rossello, told reporters, We had some incidents of vandalism, but overall government operations are running mostly normally.Rosario said most public school and hospital staff reported to work.The government is still considering filing for bankruptcy, known as Title III under PROMESA, if a last-minute deal cannot be reached, he said."If the question is whether we discard Title III, we dont," Rosario said in Spanish. If creditors remain intransigent, we will go to Title III in defense of Puerto Ricos people.Ultimately, the decision of whether and when to file a Title III bankruptcy belongs to the oversight board, not the governor, though both sides have said they hoped to work cooperatively. (Reporting by Daniel Bases and Karen Pierog in Chicago; Additional reporting by a contributor in San Juan; Editing by Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/puertorico-bonds-idINL1N1I3127'|'2017-05-01T20:02:00.000+03:00' +'4f1a47aaa71964afddd73aa36e4b08589dc444f0'|'EU watchdog issues licensing guide for Brexit rush of financial firms'|' 1:24pm BST EU watchdog issues licensing guide for Brexit rush of financial firms FILE PHOTO: Steven Maijoor, Chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority, attends a policy dialogue during the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong, China January 18, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby Yip By Huw Jones - LONDON LONDON The European Union''s securities watchdog has published guidance to stop national supervisors from competing unfairly with each other to woo financial firms in a post-Brexit rush from Britain. Dublin complained to Brussels that rival financial centres were offering a "back door" to the EU''s single market through lax rules. In response to such concerns, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) said on Wednesday that national regulators need to prepare for greater demand for licences as financial firms in Britain seek to relocate to an EU of 27 countries after Britain''s departure in 2019. Britain is the EU''s biggest financial market and firms there may need to shift operations to continue serving customers within the bloc. "The EU27 have a shared interest in building a common approach to dealing with relocating firms that wish to continue to benefit from access to EU financial markets," ESMA Chairman Steven Maijoor said in a statement. "Firms need to be subject to the same standards of authorisation and ongoing supervision across the EU27 to avoid competition on regulatory and supervisory practices between member states." The guidance is non-binding but has the backing of ESMA''s board, making it harder for a member state''s regulator to ignore. Securities regulators authorise mutual funds, hedge funds, investment firms and trading operations. The guidance sets out nine principles that tell regulators to start from scratch when asked for a licence by a British financial firm. There should be "no automatic" recognition of authorisations granted by UK regulators, ESMA said. This contrasts with the European Central Bank (ECB), which will accept UK authorisations for parts of a bank for a certain period to speed up licensing. ''STRICT CONDITIONS'' ESMA said that regulators should not authorise "letter box" entities that have few staff or operations. Outsourcing or delegation of operations to Britain should be allowed only "under strict conditions", it said, taking a similar stance to the ECB. "Market participants wishing to engage in outsourcing or delegation remain fully responsible for the tasks or functions that are outsourced or delegated," ESMA said. London-based Aquis Exchange, a share-trading platform looking to open an EU subsidiary after Brexit, is being wooed by several national regulators, CEO Alasdair Haynes said. "I do think there are potential deals people are offering and there is nothing in the ESMA principles that would prevent anything going forward based on proper regulation and good governance," Haynes told Reuters. The aim of ESMA''s guidance is to stop national regulators seeking to attract new affiliates by allowing them to outsource or delegate a large volume of activity, such as an EU broker-dealer''s subsidiary booking trades at a central hub in London to cut costs. The EU''s insurance watchdog is due to publish similar guidance to national watchdogs. The ECB has already published guidance on what banks can expect when applying for a banking licence in the euro zone. ESMA said it would develop more specific guidance for asset managers, investment firms and secondary markets. (Editing by David Goodman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eu-markets-regulations-idUKKBN18R13Z'|'2017-05-31T17:31:00.000+03:00' +'f8b5c945633ebf0839abae502410cc054df91724'|'Chemicals groups Huntsman, Clariant set to announce merger -sources'|'Deals - Sun May 21, 2017 - 7:14pm EDT Chemical groups Huntsman, Clariant set to announce merger: sources By Greg Roumeliotis and Ludwig Burger Hunstman Corp ( HUN.N ) and Clariant AG ( CLN.S ) are set to announce their merger on Monday, creating a chemical manufacturer with a market value of more than $14 billion, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday. The deal would combine Clariant, a Muttenz, Switzerland-based maker of aircraft de-icing fluids, pesticide ingredients and plastic coloring, with Woodlands, Texas-based Huntsman, whose chemicals are used in paint, clothing and construction. The agreement comes after Reuters reported last March that Clariant and Huntsman previously ended merger talks because of disagreements over who would play the lead role. In an attempt to structure a merger of equals, the two companies have now agreed that Huntsman Chief Executive Peter Huntsman will become CEO of the combined company, while Clariant CEO Hariolf Kottmann will become chairman, the sources said. The combined company will be headquartered in Switzerland, though its operational center will be in Woodlands, Texas, one of the sources added. The sources asked not to be identified because the negotiations are confidential. A Huntsman spokesman declined to comment, while Clariant did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the deal on Sunday citing sources, said that Clariant shareholders stood to own about 52 percent of the combined company following the merger, with Huntsman shareholders owning the remainder. Clariant was under pressure from investors to find a merger partner that could help it cut costs and revive growth as part of a bigger structure, Reuters reported in March. Being part of a larger group could also help it negotiate lower costs of supplies. Kottmann has spent several years restructuring Clariant. He divested underperforming businesses including textile and paper chemicals in 2012 and placed more responsibility with lower level managers for faster decision-making. In mid-2015 he started carving out Clariant''s plastics and coatings business into a separately managed but wholly-owned entity. But with fewer opportunities left to fine-tune the business internally, investor pressure had been growing on management to identify a growth strategy for Clariant, which was formed in the mid 1990s from parts of Switzerland''s Sandoz and Germany''s Hoechst. Huntsman was founded in 1970 by Peter Huntsman''s father, Jon. One of Huntsman''s other sons is Jon Huntsman, the former governor of Utah and former U.S. ambassador to Singapore and China. He was reported in March to be U.S. President Donald Trump''s pick for ambassador to Russia. (Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York and Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt; Editing by Peter Cooney and Mary Milliken) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-clariant-m-a-hunstman-idUSKBN18H14B'|'2017-05-22T06:37:00.000+03:00' +'11cbdf20e8aeb862e0f202f29e6c86b2448b2ba5'|'France''s Macron seeks review of STX shipyard sale to Fincantieri'|'Deals - Wed May 31, 2017 - 6:31pm BST France''s Macron seeks review of STX shipyard sale to Fincantieri From L-R, French President Emmanuel Macron, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) Chairman Gianluigi Aponte and French Economy minister Bruno Le Maire are seen during a visit and christening of the MSC Meraviglia cruise ship at the STX Les Chantiers de l''Atlantique shipyard... REUTERS/Stephane Mahe SAINT-NAZAIRE, France French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday he wanted to review the terms of a recent deal to sell a large stake in the STX France shipyard to Italian group Fincantieri. Speaking at the launch of a new cruise ship, Macron said the STX France''s shareholder structure should neither put jobs at risk nor jeopardize its capacity to win new business. "I want to see the initial balance agreed in April to be revised," Macron said, adding that he was nonetheless in favor of the tie-up with the Italian company. The government in place before Macron''s election as president earlier this month struck a preliminary deal in April for Fincantieri to acquire a 48 percent stake in STX France. The company is being sold off following the collapse of South Korean parent STX, but Fincantieri''s bid had raised fears for French jobs at the Saint-Nazaire site on the Atlantic Coast, as well as for French interests. France, which is to retain its 33 percent stake in STX France under the deal, had at one point contemplated nationalizing the firm and was reluctant to allow Fincantieri alone to hold more than 50 percent of the company. (Reporting by Guillaume Frouin; writing by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Laurence Frost)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-stx-m-a-fincantieri-idUKKBN18R2OG'|'2017-06-01T01:29:00.000+03:00' +'d771edad3f9293b3ceefb7b3d41b692045ac0882'|'Japan real wages growth slowest in nearly two years, to chill spending'|'Economy News - Tue May 9, 2017 - 1:16am BST Japan real wages growth slowest in nearly two years, to chill spending A businessman walks in Tokyo''s business district, Japan January 20, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo TOKYO Japan''s March real wages fell at the fastest pace in almost two years, pressured by meager nominal pay hikes and a slight rise in consumer prices, posing a setback for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe''s attempts to revitalize the economy. The wages figures back recent data showing household spending fell more than expected and core consumer prices rose at a slower-than-expected pace in March, suggesting an exit from the central bank''s radical quantitative easing program remains distant. Inflation-adjusted real wages dropped 0.8 percent in March from a year earlier to mark their biggest rate of decline since June 2015, labor ministry data showed on Tuesday. In nominal terms, wage earners'' cash earnings fell 0.4 percent year-on-year in March, also notching the biggest rate of decrease since June 2015. The data underscores the fragile and patchy nature of Japan''s economic recovery. It also bodes ill for Abe, who has repeatedly urged companies to lift worker compensation to foster sustainable growth in the world''s third-largest economy through a virtuous cycle of increased household spending, higher business investment and production. The drop in March nominal cash earnings and real wages partly reflected a pullback from the same period a year earlier, when wage growth was solid, a labor ministry official said. In March 2016, nominal cash earnings rose 1.5 percent on-year and real wages increased 1.6 percent. "We need to look at the data for April onward. We can''t say by looking at just this month that the trend (in wage growth) has shifted," the official said. Businesses have been reluctant to raise wages despite a tight labor market. An overwhelming majority of Japanese companies said they will raise wages at a slower pace than they did last year, a Reuters poll found. Regular pay, which determines base salaries, dipped an annual 0.1 percent, falling for the first time since May last year. Overtime pay, a barometer of strength in corporate activity, fell 1.7 percent in March from a year earlier. Special payments, such as bonuses, fell 3.6 percent in March on-year, also marking the largest drop since June 2015. Special payments are generally small, so even a slight change in the amount can cause big percentage changes. To view the full tables, see the labor ministry''s website at: here (Reporting by Minami Funakoshi; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-wages-idUKKBN18500O'|'2017-05-09T08:02:00.000+03:00' +'e0085c6d031a193a7b57caf2d3ff769eb9133f8d'|'UPDATE 1-Danone eyes 2020 operating margin of above 16 pct'|'* Eyes 2020 l-f-l sales growth of 4-5 pct* Eyes 2020 operating margin above 16 pct of sales* Reiterates 2017 goals (Adds details from statement)By Dominique VidalonPARIS, May 18 French food group Danone said it banked on synergies from its acquisition of U.S. organic food producer WhiteWave and on a one billion euro cost-cutting plan to lift its recurring operating margin above 16 percent of sales in 2020.The world''s largest yoghurt maker made the forecast in a statement issued on the last of a two-day seminar in Evian, eastern France, to detail its long-term strategy.Danone also said it targeted overall like-for-like sales growth of between 4 percent and 5 percent in 2020 against 2.9 percent in 2016. Its operating margin stood at 13.77 percent last year.Danone unveiled in July 2016 plans to buy WhiteWave - maker of Silk almond milk and Earthbound Farm Organic salad - in its largest acquisition since 2007, a move it said would double the size of its U.S. business. The deal finally closed on April 12.Whitewave''s products have outperformed mainstream packaged food businesses in recent years as they are in line with a consumer shift toward natural foods and healthier eating and should help Danone as it struggles with challenging conditions in dairy in Europe and babyfood in China.Danone said on Thursday that it will generate $300 million in synergies in 2020 at recurring operating income level from the WhiteWave acquisition.The 2020 overall sales growth forecast included sales growth above 5 percent for Danone''s Essential Dairy & Plant-based (EDP) division NORAM, which includes its North American dairy business and Whitewave''s former North American business.Danone also eyed sales growth of 3-4 percent for its Essential Dairy & Plant-based (EDP) international, which includes its dairy products in the rest of the world as well as WhiteWave''s former business in Europe, Latin America and China.Danone has faced tough market conditions in Spain and problems with the relaunch of its Activia brand in Europe, which held back dairy sales growth in the final quarter of 2016, while pressures in the Chinese market have weighed on baby food sales.This led Danone to unveil in February plans to cut costs by 1 billlion euros over the next three years.The savings plan - called "Protein" by Danone - aims to cut spending on marketing and general expenses such as corporate travel, and will be partly used to fund future growth.Danone said on Thursday that at least 300 million euros net of reinvestment will fall into its margin expansion by 2020.Danone also said it will focus on growing its free cash flow to deleverage its balance sheet and improve its Return On Invested Capital, targeting a level of 12 percent in 2020.The WhiteWave acquisition led Danone in April to raise its forecast for 2017, saying it was now targeting double-digit recurring EPS at constant exchange rates and moderate like-for-like sales growth for 2017.. It confirmed these forecasts on Thursday. (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; editing by John Irish)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/danone-targets-idINL8N1IK65D'|'2017-05-18T15:45:00.000+03:00' +'1dd3d92196693480a6b0ebf05e51f520d26b8190'|'Britain''s solar power output hits record amid heat wave - National Grid'|'Business 2:30pm BST Britain''s solar power output hits record amid heat wave - National Grid FILE PHOTO - Solar panels are seen in fields near Andover in southern England May 3, 2013. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON Solar power output in Britain hit a record on Friday, power grid operator National Grid said, as the country basked in a heat-wave. A record high of 8.7 gigawatts (GW) of electricity was produced by solar panels at their peak on Friday, contributing more than 24 percent of Britain''s electricity supplies, National Grid ( NG.L ) said. The previous record was 8.48 GW, set on May 10. Britain''s Met Office said temperatures could reach up to 30 degrees Celsius in some parts on Friday, with the country poised to beat previous temperature records for May. Falling costs have seen solar power capacity soar in Britain to around 12 GW from around 2 GW five years ago. (Reporting by Susanna Twidale, editing by Ed Osmond)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-energy-solar-idUKKBN18M1MQ'|'2017-05-26T21:30:00.000+03:00' +'a1743f7bfb6165a3ed19c23cc5100e7b0fd0619c'|'Italy disappointed by EU plan to launch legal action over Fiat Chrysler'|' 50pm BST EU starts legal action against Italy over Fiat Chrysler emissions The Fiat logo is pictured at a car dealership at Motor Village in Los Angeles, California October 13, 2014.Marchionne. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni BRUSSELS/ROME The European Commission launched legal action against Italy on Wednesday for failing to respond to allegations of emission-test cheating by Fiat Chrysler ( FCHA.MI ), in a procedure that could lead to the country being taken to court. The Commission said Italy had failed to convince it that devices used to modulate emissions on Fiat Chrysler vehicles outside of narrow testing conditions were justified. "The Commission is now formally asking Italy to respond to its concerns that the manufacturer has not sufficiently justified the technical necessity and thus the legality of the defeat device used," the Commission said in a statement. Italy has two months to respond to the Commission''s request and may be eventually taken to the European Court of Justice if the answer is found to be unconvincing. Italy had asked the European Union to postpone its plan to launch legal action against Rome over emissions at Fiat Chrysler ( FCHA.MI ), Transport Minister Graziano Delrio said. "Considering that after the end of the mediation process, we did not receive any request for further information ... we ask that you delay starting the infringement procedure while we await a letter asking for clarification on issues raised by your relevant offices," Delrio told EU Industry Commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska, according to the ministry''s statement. The European Commission has been mediating a dispute between Rome and Berlin after Germany accused Fiat Chrysler of using an illegal device in its Fiat 500X, Fiat Doblo and Jeep Renegade models. That mediation ended without fanfare in March. EU officials have become increasingly frustrated with what they see as governments colluding with the powerful car industry and the legal move is the biggest stick the European Commission has available to force nations to clamp down on diesel cars that spew out polluting nitrogen oxide (NOx). Delrio, however, said the material Italy had sent to the Commission during the mediation process showed that the vehicles'' approval process was correctly performed. Under the current system, which the Commission is trying to overhaul, national regulators approve new cars and alone have the power to police manufacturers. But once a vehicle is approved in one country, it can be sold throughout the bloc. Last December, the Commission launched cases against five nations, including Germany, Britain and Spain, for failing to police the car industry adequately. Under new draft rules set to be agreed later this month, the Commission will be given the power to fine car manufacturers who cheat the system directly, up to 30,000 euros per affected vehicle. "Contrary to what your offices have stated, the Italian authorities have from the start ruled out the presence of any illegal devices in Fiat''s models, both the original ones and those that have been refitted," Delrio said. "During the mediation process we have pointed out that FCA had voluntarily initiated a campaign in February 2016 to improve emissions performance, well before Germany informed us of the results emerging from their tests." Once filed, Wednesday''s notice will be the first step in EU infringement procedures, designed to ensure the bloc''s 28 member states abide by EU-wide regulations. (Reporting by Francesca Piscioneri and Agnieszka Flak; Robert-Jan Bartunek in Brussels)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-fiatchrysler-emissions-idUKKCN18D147'|'2017-05-17T18:45:00.000+03:00' +'d3631db98f348eddf0b578a013460804a8327288'|'BRIEF-RiceBran Technologies reports Q1 2017 consolidated net loss $0.32 per share'|' 54pm EDT BRIEF-RiceBran Technologies reports Q1 2017 consolidated net loss $0.32 per share May 11 RiceBran Technologies: * Consolidated revenues in q1 2017 were $11.4 million, a 13.8% increase compared to consolidated revenues of q1 2016 * Q1 2017 consolidated net loss attributable to shareholders $ 0.32 per share * "Sees further streamlining efforts generating additional operating leverage throughout 2017" Source text: ( bit.ly/2r6GfcW ) (Bengaluru Newsroom: +91 806 749 1136)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-ricebran-technologies-reports-q-idUSFWN1ID158'|'2017-05-12T03:54:00.000+03:00' +'8bcca5563b9d25e47d03fd3a8fba47ae1c41790a'|'UPDATE 1-Merck says test shows Keytruda improves survival for bladder cancer patients'|'Regulatory News - Americas - Wed May 17, 2017 - 6:55pm EDT UPDATE 1-Merck says test shows Keytruda improves survival for bladder cancer patients (Adds Roche comment, paragraph 3) By Deena Beasley May 17 Pivotal trial results for Merck & Co Inc''s immunotherapy drug Keytruda show that it lengthened survival by three months, or nearly 40 percent, for patients with advanced bladder cancer who had stopped responding to chemotherapy. The data, to be presented next month at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, follow last week''s announcement that rival drug Tecentriq, from Roche Holding AG , did not improve survival when used as a second-line treatment for bladder cancer in a trial. The Merck drug is awaiting U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval, but Tecentriq was approved by the agency last year, contingent on verification of its clinical benefit. Roche, in an emailed statement, said it plans to discuss the data with health authorities but did not disclose the timing for the discussions. According to the FDA approval letter, the company has until December to submit the full trial data to the agency. Merck filed in February for FDA approval of Keytruda for both initial and secondary treatment of advanced urothelial cancer, the most common type of bladder cancer. Keytruda is already approved for treating melanoma, lung cancer, head and neck cancer and Hodgkin lymphoma. Merck announced in October that the second-line bladder cancer study met its main goal and was stopped early. The company is currently enrolling patients in a phase three trial of Keytruda, combined with chemotherapy, as an initial treatment for bladder cancer. In addition to Tecentriq''s approval for bladder cancer patients whose disease has stopped responding to chemotherapy, the FDA last month approved the Roche drug as an initial treatment for people with a specific type of advanced bladder cancer and in people whose cancer progressed despite at least one prior platinum-containing chemotherapy. The agency has also granted contingent approval to AstraZeneca Plc''s Imfinzi, Bristol-Myers Squibb''s Opdivo and Bavencio, developed by Pfizer Inc and Merck KGaA, as second-line bladder cancer treatments. All five drugs are part of a new class of treatments designed to unleash the body''s immune system to fight cancer by interfering with proteins known as PD-1 or PD-L1 that help malignant cells evade immune attack. Merck said data from an open-label Phase 3 trial of 542 advanced bladder cancer patients showed median survival of 10.3 months for Keytruda patients and 7.4 months for patients given second-line chemotherapy. The study''s median follow-up was 18.5 months. After 18 months, 36 percent of Keytruda patients were alive, compared with 20.5 percent of chemotherapy patients, according to research published by ASCO. The study did not detect a difference in the length of time patients lived without their disease getting worse. Severe side effects were reported in 16.5 percent of the Keytruda patients, compared with nearly half of the chemotherapy group. (Reporting By Deena Beasley; Editing by Bill Rigby and David Gregorio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/health-cancer-bladder-idUSL2N1IJ24U'|'2017-05-18T06:55:00.000+03:00' +'8daa7fd6ff97705a92b41f7d8ad5927ab79607b6'|'Thai Intouch''s VC arm to finalize two deals this year'|'Thai telecom company Intouch Holdings Pcl on Thursday said its venture capital arm plans to finalize two deals by mid-year.The company''s venture capital fund has 200 million baht ($5.8 million), which can be invested in the technology, telecommunications, and media sectors, said Tomyantee Kongpoolsilpa, vice president, group investor relations.Intouch has another 1.6 billion baht to invest in future projects, and can afford to take on more debt due to its current low levels of debt, she told reporters.The telecom firm plans to expand its home shopping company and take it to Thailand''s top three by 2018, she said.At present, the firm''s home shopping network, High Shopping, has the fourth-largest market share of 5.6 percent in Thailand. High Shopping was formed in 2015 in a joint venture with South Korea''s Hyundai Home Shopping Network.Singapore Telecommunications owns 21 percent of Intouch, which is the largest shareholder of Advanced Info Service Pcl, Thailand''s biggest mobile operator.(Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-intouch-idINKCN18E0US'|'2017-05-18T06:19:00.000+03:00' +'ab2fefdcf99e32b558c64e264046d694e39fff2f'|'Former Anglo Irish Bank chairman acquitted in loan case - court'|'Top 59pm BST Former Anglo Irish Bank chairman acquitted in loan case - court Former Chairman of Anglo Irish bank, Sean Fitzpatrick, arrives at the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin, Ireland December 5, 2016. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne DUBLIN The former chairman of the failed Anglo Irish Bank was acquitted on Tuesday on charges of misleading auditors about personal loans worth tens of millions of euros following a ruling by the judge, Ireland''s Courts Service said. Sean FitzPatrick went on trial last year accused of "artificially reducing" loans worth tens of millions of euros for a few weeks around the end of the company''s financial year to avoid their full value being shown in annual accounts. FitzPatrick pleaded not guilty to all 27 charges, including providing misleading, false or deceptive statements to auditors Ernst & Young (EY) and furnishing false information. Judge John Aylmer ruled that the investigation carried out by Ireland''s Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) fell short of the impartial, unbiased inquiry to which an accused is entitled, national broadcaster RTE said. Aylmer said key witnesses had been coached and the ODCE had failed to seek out evidence of innocence as well as guilt, according to RTE. Anglo Irish, which was nationalised in 2009 and wound down in 2011, was synonymous with the casino-style lending practices that drove the "Celtic Tiger" boom and subsequent bust, pushing the Irish state into an international bailout in 2010. Two Anglo Irish executives were among three Irish bankers jailed last year for between 24 and 42 months for conspiring to defraud investors. They were the first senior bank executives to be jailed in relation to the crisis. FitzPatrick was also found innocent in 2014 on charges of illegal lending and providing unlawful assistance to investors. (Reporting by Conor Humphries and Padraic Halpin; editing by Mark Heinrich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ireland-banking-court-idUKKBN18J1O6'|'2017-05-23T19:59:00.000+03:00' +'4be5a1cd8ed75522138f86baacca525e126a4965'|'Deutsche Bank fined for being late in justifying late disclosure of news'|'Business News - Fri May 12, 2017 - 7:05am EDT Deutsche Bank fined for being late in justifying late disclosure of news FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of Germany''s Deutsche Bank is seen early evening in Frankfurt, Germany, January 26, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo FRANKFURT German financial watchdog Bafin has fined Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) 550,000 euros ($598,000) for being late in justifying why the lender held back the immediate disclosure of important news. The fine relates to four cases including the announcement of the change of Deutsche Bank''s chief executive in 2015, Bafin said in a statement on Friday. The news was earlier reported by weekly Wirtschaftswoche. John Cryan took over as chief executive from co-heads Anshu Jain and Juergen Fitschen in 2015. German companies can ask to delay the announcement of important news by several days if it could potentially harm its business. But they have to make sure that the news does not leak and they have to present good reasoning to Bafin. All four cases occurred before 2016. Since then, Bafin has changed its rules and fines of up to 10 million euros can now be imposed for similar breaches. (Reporting by Alexander Hbner; Writing by Arno Schuetze; editing by Susan Thomas) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-deutsche-bank-bafin-idUSKBN1881FY'|'2017-05-12T19:05:00.000+03:00' +'1c175301fbf07af3e26d7d84b52decf53e788789'|'In blow to Trump, GE backs NAFTA and voices support for Mexico'|'Sat May 13, 2017 - 12:08am BST In blow to Trump, GE backs NAFTA and voices support for Mexico left right Mexico''s President Enrique Pena Nieto shakes hands with Jeffrey R. Immelt, Chief Executive of General Electric at Los Pinos presidential residence in Mexico City, in this undated handout photo released to Reuters by the Mexican Presidency on May 12, 2017. Mexico Presidency/Handout via REUTERS 1/5 left right The logo of General Electric Co. is pictured at the Global Operations Center in San Pedro Garza Garcia, neighbouring Monterrey, Mexico, May 12, 2017. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril 2/5 left right Mexico''s President Enrique Pena Nieto speaks with Jeffrey R. Immelt, Chief Executive of General Electric at Los Pinos presidential residence in Mexico City, in this undated handout photo released to Reuters by the Mexican Presidency on May 12, 2017. Mexico Presidency/Handout via REUTERS 3/5 left right Mexico''s President Enrique Pena Nieto smiles with Jeffrey R. Immelt, Chief Executive of General Electric at Los Pinos presidential residence in Mexico City, in this undated handout photo released to Reuters by the Mexican Presidency on May 12, 2017. Mexico Presidency/Handout via REUTERS 4/5 left right General Electric Co. Chief Executive Jeff Immelt delivers a speech during the opening of a new tower of the Global Operations Center in San Pedro Garza Garcia, neighbouring Monterrey, Mexico May 12, 2017. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril 5/5 By Dave Graham - MONTERREY, Mexico MONTERREY, Mexico General Electric ( GE.N ) on Friday praised Mexico as a big part of its future and said the company is "very supportive" of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that U.S President Donald Trump has threatened to ditch. GE Chief Executive Officer Jeff Immelt said on a visit that Mexico had great potential and was not properly understood. He touted the conglomerate''s Mexican operations and the trade deal binding Mexico, Canada and the United States. "GE as a company, we''re very supportive of NAFTA," Immelt told employees at an event to mark the expansion of operations in the northern city of Monterrey. He said the trade accord could be modernized, as Mexico has argued. Immelt sits on a Trump-appointed manufacturing council that Mexico has targeted for lobbying as Mexico and Canada push U.S. business leaders to defend NAFTA. The GE boss said trade meant "win-win" opportunities across North America. "We will continue to work constructively in the context of wanting to see a close relationship between the U.S. and Mexico," he said, noting that GE''s exports to the rest of the world from Mexico were worth $3 billion. "We''re optimistic about Mexico, we''re optimistic about what we can do here," Immelt added, saying Latin America''s no. 2 economy would be a "big part" of GE''s future. Earlier this month, Immelt urged the Trump administration to avoid protectionist policies, calling on it to level the playing field for U.S. companies with tax reform, revived export financing and improved trade agreements. Trump touts a "Buy American" policy and has railed against U.S. companies moving operations to Mexico. He has threatened to ditch NAFTA, a lynchpin of the Mexican economy, if he cannot rework it to secure better terms for the United States. Unlike some U.S. companies, GE has not backed off plans in Mexico, risking broadsides from Trump on Twitter. Earlier, the Mexican presidency said in a statement that GE had stated an interest in doubling purchases from Mexican suppliers next year. Immelt did not mention this. Vladimiro de la Mora, CEO for Mexico, said the figure came from an announcement last year and did not mean GE aimed to double purchases between this year and 2018. On Thursday, GE said it had won a contract to provide plants producing two new gigawatts of power in Mexico and secured a separate $120 million, multi-year service deal. De la Mora said GE could not yet reveal details of the 2 GW deal, but it was "likely" the value of the total investment in the power plants would exceed $500 million. (Reporting by Dave Graham in Monterrey, Additional Reporting by Mexico newsroom in Mexico City; editing by Grant McCool and David Gregorio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-mexico-ge-idUKKBN18829I'|'2017-05-13T06:38:00.000+03:00' +'67d3a8d54e13be12989daf725dadae34244659a8'|'BRIEF-Mosaic announces qtrly dividend of $0.15 per share'|'Market News 28pm EDT BRIEF-Mosaic announces qtrly dividend of $0.15 per share May 18 Mosaic Co: BRIEF-Salesforce.com posts Q1 GAAP loss per share $0.01 * Q1 earnings per share view $0.26 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * Arconic Inc - will redeem on June 19, 2017 all of its outstanding 6.50% bonds due 2018 and 6.75% notes due 2018 between co, Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories Reuters News Agency - Brand Attribution Guidelines - Careers Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters . Thomson Reuters is the world''s largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-mosaic-announces-qtrly-dividend-of-idUSFWN1IK0RW'|'2017-05-19T04:28:00.000+03:00' +'dc7a2257590739bd99de2a70dabb94f896f60d4b'|'Russia boosts Urals oil flow to India as OPEC cuts production - traders'|' 10:57am BST Russia boosts Urals oil flow to India as OPEC cuts production - traders FILE PHOTO: A worker checks the valve of an oil pipe at the Lukoil owned Imilorskoye oil field near Kogalym, Russia, January 25, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo MOSCOW Russia has steeply raised Urals oil supplies to India, taking market share from OPEC countries that are cutting production as part of a global pact to prop up prices, traders said and shipping reports showed on Wednesday. Historically, Russian crude oil exports to India did not exceed 500,000 tonnes per year, but since the start of 2017 supplies have surpassed 1 million tonnes and are expected to rise further, according to the traders and reports. India''s main crude suppliers, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, cut exports to India this year due to production curbs under the agreement between OPEC and other leading oil producers. Iran, also a major supplier to India, is decreasing shipments due to a row over a gas field between New Delhi and Tehran. (Reporting by Olga Yagova, additional reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Dale Hudson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-india-oil-idUKKBN186168'|'2017-05-10T17:57:00.000+03:00' +'cbcbf50d6b5cf4b7074d33e48894a197c452fda4'|'Facebook adds Snapchat-like camera filters to Instagram'|'Technology News - Tue May 16, 2017 - 2:14pm BST Facebook adds Snapchat-like camera filters to Instagram FILE PHOTO: The Facebook logo is displayed on the company''s website in an illustration photo taken in Bordeaux, France on February 1, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo Facebook Inc''s Instagram has souped up its camera tool with quirky face-tracking filters, adding another feature similar to that offered by social media rival Snap Inc''s Snapchat. Instagram users will now be able to choose from a range of filters including koala ears that move and twitch as well as math equations that spin to create humorous effects. Other new features include a rewind mode for videos, which will allow users to play video in reverse, and hashtag stickers to visit hashtag pages. Facebook has been amping up its camera tool to take on Snapchat''s features such as disappearing messages and face-tracking filters, which are hugely popular among its teenage and millennial users. The world''s largest social media network has already added several Snapchat-like features such as Stories, which allows users to upload pictures and video slideshows that disappear after 24 hours. Instagram said in April over 200 million people used Stories daily. Snap, in its first earnings report as a listed company, said it had 166 million daily active users as of March 31. Snap''s shares have been on a roller-coaster ride since their market debut on March 1. The stock plunged about 23 percent last week after the company posted disappointing quarterly results. However, it recouped some of those losses after several institutional investors including George Soros and Daniel Loeb disclosed stakes in the company. (Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-instagram-idUKKCN18C1K0'|'2017-05-16T21:13:00.000+03:00' +'18dad63db0e54146aab795e2a8ce5bc8afe55d9a'|'Unilever forms Myanmar joint venture for home and personal care products'|' 08am BST Unilever forms Myanmar joint venture for home and personal care products FILE PHOTO: The company logo for Unilever is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., February 17, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo SINGAPORE Consumer goods maker Unilever ( ULVR.L ) ( UNc.AS ) signed a joint venture deal with Myanmar''s Europe and Asia Commercial Co Ltd (EAC), combining their home and personal care businesses to accelerate sales in a newly emerging market. The joint entity, with annual sales of more than 100 million euros (84.75 million pounds), will provide both companies with a complementary portfolio, better rural reach and economies of scale, said Unilever, which entered the Myanmar market in 2010. The venture has a goal of tripling sales to 300 million euros by 2020, Pier Luigi Sigismondi, Unilever''s president for southeast Asia and Australasia, told Reuters. EAC, whose products include detergent and dishwashing liquid, will also help add to Unilever''s manufacturing capabilities. "We felt that maintaining organic growth alone will take us far, but not as far as joining forces with EAC," he said. "We have a factory there that produces shampoos, haircare products, and we believe that with this joint venture, we will be able to produce the rest of our personal care range in the country," Sigismondi said in an interview at Unilever''s regional headquarters in Singapore. Global companies have lined up to take advantage of an under-penetrated market in Myanmar, buoyed by the growing middle class and a rise in spending. The Asian Development Bank forecast Myanmar''s economy, which has been opening up after decades of military dictatorship, to grow at 7.7 percent this year - the fastest among southeast Asian countries. Sigismondi said Unilever, which sells products such as Clear shampoo, Signal toothpaste and Rexona deodorants in Myanmar, might explore exporting products from the country. (Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-unilever-myanmar-jointventure-idUKKBN1800R7'|'2017-05-04T16:08:00.000+03:00' +'4a4b51ec3356fcd6c51cff7d00961c468199d532'|'U.S. longer-dated bond net shorts hit 3-month high -JPMorgan'|'NEW YORK May 9 The margin of investors who are bearish on longer-dated U.S. Treasuries over those who are bullish grew to its widest in more than three months following the French presidential run-off on Sunday, J.P. Morgan''s latest Treasury client survey showed on Tuesday.Centrist Emmanuel Macron''s widely expected win over anti-European Union rival Marine Le Pen caused investors to reduce their safe-haven holdings of government bonds, propelling benchmark U.S. yields to a five-week high on Tuesday.Uncertainty over the demand for this week''s $62 billion bond supply for the May quarterly refunding also weighed on investor sentiment on longer-dated Treasuries, analysts said.The share of "short" investors who said they were holding fewer longer-dated U.S. government securities than their portfolio benchmarks rose to 27 percent from 25 percent in the prior week, according to the J.P. Morgan survey.J.P. Morgan surveyed clients including bond fund managers, central banks and sovereign wealth funds.The share of "long" investors who said they were holding more longer-dated Treasuries than their benchmarks held at 16 percent for a second week.Short investors outnumbered long investors by 11 points, the most since the week of Jan. 30. A week ago, they were net short by nine points.On Tuesday, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury was 2.405 percent, compared with 2.296 percent a week ago, according to Reuters data.Active clients, which included market makers and hedge funds, reduced their bullishness on longer-dated Treasuries in the latest week, the J.P. Morgan survey showed.Thirty percent of those clients said they were long, but 20 percent said they were short, up from 10 percent a week ago, while 50 percent said they were neutral, down from 60 percent a week ago. (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/treasuries-jpmorgan-idINL1N1IB0NH'|'2017-05-09T12:26:00.000+03:00' +'337bc25b451eb11c857571584b73ed471ef153a2'|'Macy''s in-store Backstage off-price unit risks harming margins'|'Market News - Thu May 11, 2017 - 3:46pm EDT Macy''s in-store Backstage off-price unit risks harming margins By Nandita Bose and Sruthi Ramakrishnan May 11 Macy''s year-old strategy of opening its Backstage off-price chain within its existing department stores drives traffic into the main store, the retailer said on Thursday, but analysts said the move confuses customers and could hurt Macy''s longer-term results. Macy''s reported a bigger-than-expected fall in quarterly profit and sales, hurt by sluggish demand for discretionary items like apparel and an inability to retain shoppers who are moving online. Despite the poor performance, the retailer doubled down on its in-store discounting plans and said it will open 19 more Backstage stores within existing Macy''s stores to drive traffic and sales. Macy''s has so far combined 26 such stores. Backstage discount stores sell excess and off-season inventory at steep discounts and compete with the likes of Nordstrom Inc''s Nordstrom Rack and TJX Cos. Macy''s said 70 percent of millennial and two-thirds of their best customers shop off-price items on a monthly basis. These core customers like the opportunity to find merchandise that offers a "deep value" within existing locations, it said. "We are encouraged by the performance of these combined stores, where the total store sales are being lifted," Chief Financial Officer Karen Hoguet said on the company''s conference call. Macy''s also assured investors it is careful not to add merchandise in the discount format that would hurt sales in the full-price section. Despite the assurances, analysts said the strategy risks undercutting full-price sales in the longer term, a development that puts Macys higher-margin sales at risk. "As much as we can see the logic for this from the perspective of trying to make space more productive, we believe the strategy will ultimately fall short," said Neil Saunders, managing director of research firm GlobalData. Saunders said customer data shows evidence that such moves send confusing messages to shoppers about the Macy''s brand. Ken Perkins, founder of research firm Retail Metrics, said he is skeptical the move will make consumers buy full-price at such locations, especially as they get used to finding bargains. "Traffic is obviously going to come at lower average unit retail and smaller transaction prices and those consumers are unlikely to gravitate to the other part of the store." Steep discounts have hurt margins of department store operators, resulting in weaker quarterly results and bleaker forecasts. But Macy''s is confident the move will offer it the distinct competitive advantage of tapping into shopping mall foot traffic. "Most of our ferocious off-price competitors are off mall right now," Chief Executive Jeff Gennette said. "We do hope that we will have a viable off-price concept that is on mall... that millions of American consumers come to each and every day." (Reporting by Nandita Bose in Chicago and Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru, Edited by David Greising and Dan Grebler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-retail-macys-idUSL4N1ID5N8'|'2017-05-12T03:46:00.000+03:00' +'04853a397860d992e5f9a0fd33222135c5af2581'|'Kotak Mahindra to raise up to $901 million via QIP - IFR'|'MUMBAI India''s Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd is selling new shares worth as much as 58 billion Indian rupees ($900 million) to boost its capital strength and raise funds for potential acquisitions.The fund-raising comes amid speculation Kotak Mahindra is looking to buy a bigger rival and the issue of new shares will also dilute the almost 32 percent stake held by the bank''s founder Uday Kotak.The billionaire has been ordered by the central bank to cut his stake in the lender, which has a market value of nearly $27 billion, to 30 percent by the end of June and to 20 percent by December 2018.Kotak Mahindra, the fourth biggest Indian bank by market capitalisation, is selling up to 62 million new shares with a price range of 930 rupees to 936 rupees apiece, according to a deal term sheet.The price range offers just a 0.1 percent to 0.7 percent discount to the stock''s closing price of 936.80 rupees on the National Stock Exchange on Thursday.In a regulatory filing, the bank said it intended to use the net proceeds to boost its Tier 1 capital ratio, which stood at 15.9 percent at the end of March, and for possible acquisitions."The funds raised would enable the bank to capitalise on inorganic opportunities, including acquisition and resolution of stressed assets through, amongst others, potentially participating in a ''Bad Bank''," Kotak Mahindra said in the filing.Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Kotak Mahindra''s investment banking division are the bankers for the placement of shares with qualified institutions. The sale will close early on Friday.($1 = 64.4080 Indian rupees)(Reporting by Anuradha Subramanyan of IFR and Devidutta Tripathy; editing by David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/kotak-mah-bk-shareissue-idINKBN1871CV'|'2017-05-11T09:14:00.000+03:00' +'1524f7ff294163d6df98713fee636ff05f30fac2'|'Faurecia, ZF partner to develop ''cockpit of the future'' for self-driving cars'|'Business 29am BST Faurecia, ZF partner to develop ''cockpit of the future'' for self-driving cars The logo of French car parts supplier Faurecia is pictured during the company''s 2016 annual results presentation in Paris, France, February 9, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer French car parts supplier Faurecia said it signed a partnership agreement with German company ZF to develop interior and safety technologies for self-driving cars, dubbing it the "cockpit of the future". Global automakers and technology companies ranging from Alphabet''s Waymo to chipmaker Qualcomm are in a crowded race to develop self-driving vehicles. "Together, we can offer complete interior safety features to meet the future challenges which will allow the interior of the future to be safe, connected, versatile and predictive," Faurecia Chief Executive Patrick Koller said. The companies will continue to work independently on current and upcoming projects, they added. Faurecia, which is 46 percent owned by Peugeot, said the partnership would involve no capital exchange. ZF, among the top suppliers in driveline and chassis technology as well as active and passive safety technology for cars and trucks, said in January that it is working with U.S.-based chipmaker Nvidia to develop artificial intelligence (AI) systems for the transportation industry. "Networked ecosystems are not only at home in Silicon Valley," ZF Chief Executive Stefan Sommer said. (Reporting by Thyagaraju Adinarayan in Gdynia; editing by Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-faurecia-zf-self-driving-idUKKBN1800IT'|'2017-05-04T14:29:00.000+03:00' +'0bef10a89563d09260b388b2129bd462b605473b'|'China to further tighten its internet controls'|'BEIJING China will further tighten its internet regulations with a pledge on Sunday to strengthen controls over search engines and online news portals, the latest step in President Xi Jinping''s push to maintain strict Communist Party control over content.Xi has made China''s "cyber sovereignty" a top priority in his sweeping campaign to bolster security. He has also reasserted the ruling Communist Party''s role in limiting and guiding online discussion.The five-year cultural development and reform plan released by the party and State Council, or Cabinet, calls for a "perfecting" of laws and rules related to the internet.That includes a qualification system for people working in online news, according to the plan, carried by the official Xinhua news agency."Strike hard against online rumors, harmful information, fake news, news extortion, fake media and fake reporters," it said, without giving details.Xi has been explicit that media must follow the party line, uphold the correct guidance on public opinion and promote "positive propaganda".The plan comes on top of existing tight internet controls, which includes the blocking of popular foreign websites such as Google and Facebook.The government last week issued tighter rules for online news portals and network providers.Regulators say such controls are necessary in the face of growing security threats, and are done in accordance with the law.Speaking more broadly about the country''s cultural sector, the plan calls for efforts to reinforce and improve "positive propaganda"."Strengthen and improve supervision over public opinion," it added.The plan also calls for more effort to be put into promoting China''s point of view and cultural soft power globally, though without giving details.(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-china-internet-idINKBN1830AG'|'2017-05-07T07:23:00.000+03:00' +'45ad3f43788fbe96a0341b1a5fea9f05b254d37a'|'Exclusive: Blackstone''s GSO snaps up J. Crew debt in restructuring gambit'|'By Jessica DiNapoli - NEW YORK NEW YORK GSO Capital Partners, private equity firm Blackstone Group LP''s ( BX.N ) credit arm, is acquiring more of J. Crew Group Inc''s debt, hoping for a profitable trade that could also give the U.S. fashion retailer more time to stave off bankruptcy, people familiar with the matter said.Sales have been declining as J. Crew, whose ballet flats and cashmere cardigans were once a staple of middle-class U.S. wardrobes, struggles to keep abreast of changing tastes and faces fierce competition from cheaper online retailers. It now has $2.1 billion in debt.Most pressing is $567 million in unsecured bonds coming due in 2019. To cut that burden, J. Crew is trying to slash more than half the bonds'' value by placing the intellectual property of its eponymous brand into a new company, but holders of other debt are resisting the move.J. Crew has said it will then offer to exchange the bonds, which are backed by no collateral, for those from the new company backed by the brand. It will also offer equity to those bondholders.Other indebted retailers will be watching the restructuring closely as competition from online rivals like Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) has driven Aeropostale Inc ( AROPQ.PK ), Payless ShoeSource and other chains into bankruptcy."I imagine a lot of companies that have the ability to do this in their credit agreements are talking to their attorneys and thinking about creative options," Moody''s Investors Service analyst Raya Sokolyanska said.But holders of a $1.53 billion loan to J. Crew, including investment firms Eaton Vance Management and Highland Capital Management LP, have told the company its bond exchange would remove the intellectual property as their collateral, and they would consider that a default, the sources said. Eaton Vance and Highland did not immediately respond to requests for comment.J. Crew has filed a lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court to prevent them from thwarting the exchange.What is more, some J. Crew bondholders have themselves been holding out for a better exchange offer, according to the company''s public disclosures.To try to resolve the impasse and increase its own chances of a profitable outcome, GSO, which owns some of J. Crew''s bonds, has been buying chunks of the company''s loan in the secondary trading market, according to the sources, who requested anonymity because the trade is not public.GSO wants to amass a controlling position in the loan, which would allow it to give J. Crew a waiver to carve out its intellectual property without risk of any legal challenge, the sources said. The Blackstone unit is working with other creditors, including hedge fund Anchorage Capital Group LLC, which focuses on distressed debt.J. Crew, GSO and Anchorage declined to comment.GSO''s plan could determine whether J. Crew manages to avoid bankruptcy. The company cannot afford to pay the bonds at face value when they come due in 2019, and credit rating agencies have warned it could face a liquidity crunch before then.The proposed exchange would push back the maturity of J. Crew''s bonds by two years, to 2021. This could give the company''s private equity owners, TPG Capital LP and Leonard Green & Partners LP, enough time to turn the business around.TPG offered no comment, and Leonard Green did not respond to requests for comment.In return for facilitating the exchange, GSO will ask J. Crew for an improved offer for its bonds, the sources said.Reuters was unable to determine what GSO and Anchorage paid for their J. Crew debt. J. Crew''s bonds trade at about 50 cents on the dollar, and the loan, which matures in 2021, trades at about 66 cents on the dollar, according to Thomson Reuters data.PROS AND CONSGSO and Anchorage may fail to amass a controlling position in the loan, the sources cautioned.While buying J. Crew more time to try to fend off bankruptcy, the carveout would burden the company with sizable licensing payments to use its own brand, Moody''s has warned.Without GSO''s intervention, however, J. Crew could be left in limbo as it battles its other lenders over the use of its brand, and it may end up in bankruptcy if it cannot cut a deal. Just the fact-discovery period in J. Crew''s lawsuit could take more than six months, according to court filings.TPG and Leonard Green took J. Crew private in 2011 in a $3 billion leveraged buyout. They subsequently added to the company''s debt pile by having it borrow more to fund $787 million in dividends to them, according to Moody''s.The company sells its merchandise through its 281 J. Crew retail stores, 113 Madewell stores and 181 factory stores, as well as through websites and catalogs. It generated $2.4 billion in sales in the 12 months to the end of January, down from $2.5 billion in the prior year.In its latest belt-tightening effort, J. Crew said last week it would eliminate 150 full-time and 100 open positions, primarily at its New York headquarters. It expects annualized savings of about $30 million from the job cuts.(Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in New York; Editing by Greg Roumeliotis and Lisa Von Ahn)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-jcrew-debtrestructuring-blackstone-idINKBN17X1KD'|'2017-05-01T09:03:00.000+03:00' +'256d2786df7d99a728b983b4349b6bf606bd3e38'|'UPDATE 1-UK services firms surprise with bounce, homebuyers cautious'|'Company News - Thu May 4, 2017 - 5:23am EDT UPDATE 1-UK services firms surprise with bounce, homebuyers cautious * Services PMI stronger than all forecasts in Reuters poll * Price growth and waning optimism are warning signs * Mortgage approvals fall to 6-month low - BoE * Consumer credit growth weakens over 12 months, rises in March (Combines separate stories) By William Schomberg and David Milliken LONDON, May 4 Britain''s economy picked up some steam in April after slowing in early 2017, a closely-watched survey suggested on Thursday, welcome news for Prime Minister Theresa May ahead of a national election in just over a month''s time. But separate figures from the Bank of England showed caution on the part of house-buyers in March, adding to signs of a slowdown in the housing market as rising inflation squeezes consumers. The Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers'' Index (PMI) of Britain''s giant services industry unexpectedly rose to a four-month high of 55.8 in April, above all the forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists. The reading was the second strongest since mid-2015, a good backdrop for May and her Conservative Party who are trying to convince voters that the opposition Labour Party cannot be trusted to run the economy after the June 8 election. At the same time, the survey included some warning signs for the economy, which has so far coped with the shock of last June''s Brexit vote much better than expected by the Bank of England and private-sector economists before the referendum. Prices charged by service firms rose at the fastest pace since July 2008 and company executives reined in their optimism about the year ahead for a third month in a row. Taken with PMIs for manufacturing and construction published this week, the April survey suggested the economy was growing at a quarterly pace of 0.6 percent at the start of the second quarter, Markit said, double the pace of the first quarter. IHS Markit economist Chris Williamson said that kind of momentum was unlikely to last as households increasingly felt the pinch from rising inflation. "We expect consumer spending to slacken in coming months, with the April survey highlighting continued weakness in sectors such as hotels, restaurants and other household-facing businesses," Williamson said. However, he said growth of at least 0.4 percent growth was possible for the second quarter as a whole. The BoE data painted a mixed picture of how consumers are coping with the rise in inflation triggered by the fall in the value of the pound since the Brexit vote and by rising global oil prices. Consumer credit in the 12 months to March grew by 10.2 percent, the weakest increase since July of last year. But on the month it picked up a bit up of speed to rise by 1.624 billion pounds ($2.09 billion), more than the increase of 1.3 billion pounds expected by analysts in a Reuters poll. British clothing retailer Next lowered its full-year profit guidance on Thursday after cash-strapped shoppers stayed away from its stores in the first quarter. The Bank of England''s top policymakers will pay close attention to Thursday''s readings of the economy as they prepare for next week''s monetary policy announcement. The BoE is widely expected to keep interest rates at their record low throughout this year and possibly until 2019 as it steers the British economy through the uncertainty linked to the exit from the European Union. One rate-setter voted last month for a rate increase, however, and others said they might follow suit soon if there were signs that economy was maintaining its momentum of 2016. ($1 = 0.7760 pounds) (Writing by William Schomberg)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-economy-pmi-idUSL8N1I62Q0'|'2017-05-04T17:23:00.000+03:00' +'3bfd8e41f3d5173deda36f06e79602a840339655'|'TABLE-Investors pour most cash into U.S.-based funds in 2 months -ICI'|'Company News 47pm EDT TABLE-Investors pour most cash into U.S.-based funds in 2 months -ICI By Trevor Hunnicutt NEW YORK, May 3 Investors jumped into U.S.-based funds at the quickest pace in two months, Investment Company Institute data for the latest week showed on Wednesday, as the market shook off concern that stocks have advanced beyond reason. Mutual funds and exchange-traded funds in the United States attracted $20.8 billion during the week ended April 26, the trade group said. That includes $11.6 billion for stocks and $8.6 billion for bonds. The figures exclude money-market funds where investors park cash. "The fear wore off," said Kristina Hooper, global market strategist at Invesco Ltd. "We are very much in an environment of disruptions. We have to recognize there will continue to be geopolitical risks around every corner, although they tend to have short-term impact." Voters head to the polls on Sunday in the French presidential election runoff, but the chances for a euroskeptic winner seemed to ebb when centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron led in the first round on April 23. That paved the way for $4.8 billion to move into world stock funds, the 21st straight week of inflows. Taxable bond funds have attracted money throughout that period as well, and brought in nearly $8 billion in the latest week. Ostensibly high prices did not scare investors away from U.S. stock funds, which attracted the most money in a month, $6.8 billion. "If we were to look over all the stock markets certainly valuations seem extended now," said Hooper. "Earnings have improved, but that doesn''t account for all the run-up." S&P 500 earnings grew 14 percent in the first quarter over the year prior, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S estimates. Seven in 10 of those companies have reported results so far. The following table shows estimated ICI flows, including mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (all figures in millions of dollars): 4/26 4/19 4/12 4/5 3/29 Equity 11,601 4,725 3,101 -6,111 1,576 -Domestic 6,757 1,253 -2,666 -12,761 276 -World 4,844 3,472 5,767 6,650 1,300 Hybrid 566 -596 -665 -1,467 -1,077 Bond 8,615 3,229 4,275 11,142 7,594 -Taxable 7,962 2,743 2,963 10,589 6,950 -Municipal 653 487 1,312 553 644 Commodity -7 740 111 -125 100 Total 20,775 8,099 6,822 3,440 8,194 (Editing by Matthew Lewis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-mutualfunds-ici-idUSL1N1I516R'|'2017-05-04T01:47:00.000+03:00' +'5f8fa729fd0d253a60917b686521279928931539'|'Australia investigates bank levy leak after share falls'|'Top News - Wed May 31, 2017 - 6:08am BST Australia investigates bank levy leak after share falls A combination of photographs shows people using automated teller machines (ATMs) at Australia''s ''''Big Four'''' banks - Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (bottom R), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (top R), National Australia Bank Ltd (bottom L) and Westpac Banking... REUTERS/Staff SYDNEY Australia''s corporate regulator said on Wednesday it is investigating how details of a A$6.2 billion (3.6 billion pounds) banking levy were leaked, a disclosure that triggered a sell-down in the stocks of the country''s five biggest banks. "We think this is important to market integrity, which goes to the heart of the Australian market," Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) Chairman Greg Medcraft told a parliamentary hearing in Canberra. The government''s plans to slap a 6-basis point tax on the banks'' liabilities were leaked to the media before the official announcement on May 9. The affected banks - Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), Westpac Banking Corp, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd, National Australia Bank Ltd and Macquarie Group Ltd - have strongly opposed the levy. Shares in each of the banks fell more than 2.5 percent after the leak on May 8, with trading volumes more than double the daily average for all but Macquarie. Analysts however also noted pressure from CBA''s third-quarter results, which observers took as a sign of rising challenges for the sector. ASIC said it was investigating accounts that traded the stocks of the five banks and was seeking information from Morrison''s office about what individuals were aware of the plan. Police were assisting with the investigation, ASIC Commissioner Cathie Armour said. (Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Stephen Coates) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-australia-banks-idUKKBN18R09D'|'2017-05-31T10:39:00.000+03:00' +'f4d59e703c63ec1f9201809b16442a03817fda9e'|'Dubai''s Emaar buys Namshi stake after Amazon buys Souq.com'|'Technology 6:23am BST Rocket''s Global Fashion sells majority of Middle East unit Namshi FRANKFURT Global Fashion Group (GFG), the emerging markets fashion retailer set up by German ecommerce investor Rocket Internet, agreed to sell a majority stake in its Middle East unit Namshi to Emaar Malls for $151 million. Rocket Internet said on Wednesday the deal was part of a strategic alliance that to would help add additional fashion brands to Namshi, further develop its logistics infrastructure and expand its geographical footprint. GFG will retain 49 percent of Namshi, it said. (Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Victoria Bryan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-rocket-internet-global-fashion-idUKKBN18K0G5'|'2017-05-24T15:11:00.000+03:00' +'f30c9d9c5ad1f57f67997ee70439b7352beb998e'|'Anthem argues for 60 days to save merger with balky Cigna'|'WILMINGTON, Del./WASHINGTON Health insurer Anthem Inc ( ANTM.N ) asked a Delaware judge on Monday to give it more time to try to win approval for a merger with rival Cigna Corp ( CI.N ), which is seeking to end the deal and collect a $1.85 billion break-up fee.Anthem asked Vice Chancellor Travis Laster of Delaware''s Court of Chancery to grant a 60-day preliminary injunction that would prevent Cigna from terminating the $54 billion deal that would create the largest U.S. health insurer.Laster said after about five hours of arguments that he would rule as soon as possible.The U.S. Justice Department and 11 states sued to stop the proposed transaction and won in both district court and an appeals court. Anthem wants the injunction while it pursues an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.Anthem attorney Glenn Kurtz of White & Case told the Delaware court on Monday that he hoped the U.S. Supreme Court would decide before July if it would take the case.Kurtz also said that Anthem would try to negotiate a solution with the Justice Department''s Antitrust Division once the Trump administration''s officials were in place.Laster expressed reservations about allowing the deal to be terminated but said it was "a long shot" for Anthem to succeed in winning merger approval.Kurtz presented documents that he said showed Cigna, including Chief Executive David Cordani, failed to help close the deal as required. Kurtz said Cigna refused to help craft a divestiture package to allay antitrust concerns and was unhelpful in the district court fight."If this case is not a breach of best efforts, then I''m not sure that ''best efforts'' has any meaning at all," said Kurtz, who called Cigna''s actions "unprecedented."Cigna''s attorney argued that it was Anthem that had breached the merger agreement by pursuing a failing antitrust strategy."Anthem drove this transaction into a regulatory ditch and had Cigna tied up in the back seat," said William Savitt of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.Regardless of Laster''s ruling on the injunction, litigation will continue over the $1.85 billion breakup fee. Kurtz said Anthem believes Cigna owes it for damages.The fight takes place as Republicans seek to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, often called Obamacare, which had brought big changes in the insurance business.Many insurers have lost money on Obamacare, and some of Cigna''s largest competitors, including Aetna Inc ( AET.N ), have largely left the market.(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Richard Chang)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cigna-m-a-anthem-idUSKBN1842DA'|'2017-05-09T05:54:00.000+03:00' +'37efcdc60f55f854818cd2e33f8b10a8c78035c0'|'UPDATE 1-LPC-Bankers line up 800 mln euros debt financing for Constantia Labels sale'|'(Adds names of potential bidders)By Claire RuckinLONDON May 17 Bankers are preparing around 800 million euros of debt financing to back a potential sale of German packaging group Constantia Labels by its owner private equity group Wendel, banking sources said.Wendel hired Goldman Sachs to handle the sale of the group, which is part of a larger packaging firm Constantia Flexibles.First round bids in an auction process are due on May 19, one of the sources said, adding that potential bidders included rivals Multi-Color Corporation and Advent-owned Fort Dearborn as well as private equity firms CVC, Cinven, Blackstone and PAI.The 800 million euro ($891.92 million) debt financing equates to around 6.5 times Constantia Labels expected 113 million euro core profit for this year, including undrawn debt, the banking sources said.Leveraged loans and high-yield bonds are both being considered, the sources said.Wendel was not immediately available to comment.Constantia Flexibles was bought by Wendel for 2.3 billion euros in 2014, after a planned initial public offering by former owner OEP had failed a year earlier.Constantia Labels said in its annual report that it posted a 2016 core profit of 100.8 million euros last year on sales of 605 million.According to its business plan, core profit could grow to 167 million euros by 2021. ($1 = 0.8969 euros) (Additional reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Christopher Mangham and Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/constantia-loans-idINL8N1IJ4WP'|'2017-05-17T14:05:00.000+03:00' +'9a27994f803c7cc432167266aa6498929f4721cb'|'BP says Caspian gas pipeline''s Georgia section ready by mid-2018'|'Global Energy News - Mon May 1, 2017 - 9:51am BST BP says Caspian gas pipeline''s Georgia section ready by mid-2018 FILE PHOTO: A BP logo is seen at a new petrol station on the outskirts of Mexico City, Mexico March 9, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso/File Photo By Margarita Antidze - TBILISI TBILISI BP plans to complete by mid-2018 the Georgian section of a $40-billion strategic pipeline bringing Caspian gas from Azerbaijan into Europe, the British energy company''s country manager for Georgia said. The so-called southern gas corridor, which is meant to reduce the European Union''s dependence on Russian energy, will start at Azerbaijan''s Shah Deniz II gas field and cross through Georgia, Turkey, Greece, Albania and Italy. It is the largest attempt so far to bring new supply sources to Europe. Around 10 billion cubic metres (bcm) per year of Azeri gas should reach Europe by 2020 through the Trans Adriatic Pipeline, with another 6 bcm destined for Georgia through the South Caucasus Pipeline and Turkey through the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline. "All of the project''s components are ... on schedule as far as their intended delivery day for when commercial operations are due to begin in the middle to the later part of the next year," Chris Schlueter told Reuters, referring to the Georgian section. The Georgian part of the project includes the construction of two compressor stations, a 65-km pipeline and a metering station near the Turkish border. Schlueter said work on the pipeline had finished, with one compressor station 95 percent ready and the other compressor station 55 percent complete. Construction of the metering station was under way, he said, without giving specifics. "Later this year we''ll start to introduce the gas to the pipeline in order to get it ready for operations," he said. Schlueter said the project''s capital expenditure in 2016 was $550 million. In the first quarter of this year the figure was around $100 million, slightly less than in the same quarter of 2016. "Peak spending was last year and we will start to slow down (in terms of investment) this year," he said. Schlueter said peak production from the Shah Deniz II field was expected to occur several years after 2020. (Editing by Dale Hudson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bp-energy-idUKKBN17X1DN'|'2017-05-01T16:51:00.000+03:00' +'158883a1d11e6f761582295612619dba8330ca14'|'German economy grew by 0.6 percent in first quarter of 2017'|' 04am BST German economy grew by 0.6 percent in first quarter of 2017 FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: Employees of German car manufacturer Mercedes Benz make final adjustments at the end of the Mercedes A class (A-Klasse) production line at the factory in Rastatt, Germany, January 22, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo BERLIN The German economy grew by 0.6 percent in the first quarter of 2017, driven by higher investment in construction, machinery and equipment, robust household and state spending as well as strong exports, the Federal Statistics Office GDP growth figure for the first three months of the year was in line with the consensus forecast in a Reuters poll. Unadjusted data showed the economy grew by 1.7 percent on the year in the first quarter, also in line with the consensus forecast. The quarterly growth rate for the fourth quarter was confirmed at 0.4 percent. (Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Joseph Nasr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-economy-gdp-idUKKBN1880IV'|'2017-05-12T14:04:00.000+03:00' +'1cc81989440cfdfe1dc1bf6f1a993570ccd3db46'|'PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - May 18'|'May 18 The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.HeadlinesFord to cut 1,400 jobs as pressure grows on profitson.ft.com/2qsRuxUDeutsche Boerse investors take aim at chief over failed LSE dealon.ft.com/2qt4R1nApple''s top suppliers dragged into Qualcomm legal battleon.ft.com/2qsUkD0Microsoft held back free patch that could have slowed WannaCryon.ft.com/2qtept5OverviewFord Motor Co said it plans to cut 1,400 salaried jobs in North America and Asia through voluntary early retirement and other financial incentives.Deutsche Boerse AG''s Chief Executive Carsten Kengeter came under fire from investors over the company''s failed merger with the London Stock Exchange Group Plc at the German exchange operator''s annual meeting.Chipmaker Qualcomm Inc filed a lawsuit against four Apple Inc contract manufacturers, including Foxconn Technology Group, for not paying royalties, as its legal battle with the iPhone maker intensifies.Microsoft Corp held back from distributing a free patch for old versions of Windows that could have slowed last week''s devastating ransomware attack, instead charging some customers $1000 a year per device for protection against such threats. (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Sandra Maler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-press-ft-idINL4N1IJ530'|'2017-05-17T21:23:00.000+03:00' +'2c18af6be486d2c0787f862fe99bb80c2cee1640'|'China-led AIIB approves seven new members ahead of new Silk Road summit'|'Business 11:35am BST China-led AIIB approves seven new members ahead of new Silk Road summit The logo of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is seen at its headquarter building in Beijing January 17, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon BEIJING The China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) said on Saturday it had approved seven new members to join the bank, a day before China''s biggest diplomatic event of the year kicks off. Leaders from 29 countries will attend China''s new Silk Road forum in Beijing on Sunday and Monday, an event orchestrated to promote President Xi Jinping''s vision of expanding links between Asia, Africa and Europe underpinned by billions of dollars in infrastructure investment. Delegations from around the world will attend including the United States and North Korea. The new members are Bahrain, Bolivia, Chile, Cyprus, Greece, Romania and Samoa, bringing the bank''s total membership to 77 countries. The bank''s president Jin Liqun held a joint press conference with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet to announce the new members. "Better infrastructure across Asia will allow Chilean goods to access new markets, more investment in Chilean infrastructure in turn will further bind together the two great continents of Asia and Latin America," said Jin. "We think there are a lot of projects that can link Asia with or through Latin America," said Bachelet, adding that she had spoken with Jin about the possibility of investing in a Trans-Pacific optic fibre cable to improve digital connectivity between Asia and Latin America. "The cable could be considered a part of the ''One Belt, One Road Initiative'' and transform the Pacific Ocean into a bridge between our regions," she added, using another name for China''s "Belt and Road Initiative" or new Silk Road plan. Other investments could include tunnels and highways across the Andes Mountains and ports to link Latin America and South America to Asia, Bachelet added. Thirteen prospective new AIIB members from around the world, including Canada, were approved in March. "Expanded membership to Africa, Europe and South America, along with the addition of further members in Asia shows the level of global commitment towards the bank''s mission and illustrates the momentum that has gathered since 20 countries signed initial memoranda on establishing the bank less than three years ago," said Jin. The multilateral institution, seen as a rival to the Western-dominated World Bank and Asian Development Bank, was initially opposed by the United States but attracted many U.S. allies including Britain, Germany, Australia and South Korea as founding members. (This version of the story was refiled to fix title and given name of President Xi in second paragraph) (Reporting by Sue-Lin Wong; Editing by Eric Meijer)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-silkroad-aiib-idUKKBN1890AY'|'2017-05-13T18:35:00.000+03:00' +'6cb52dc32af69082b5e028c0dff416a33edb1568'|'Talks to sell Urenco not dead yet - E.ON CEO'|'Business News 26pm BST Talks to sell Urenco not dead yet - E.ON CEO German police officers stand guard outside the German uranium enrichment plant of URENCO Ltd. during an anti-nuclear protest march through the western German town of Gronau close to the Dutch/German border in North-Rhine Westphalia March 11, 2012. Reuters/Wolfgang Rattay ESSEN, Germany Efforts to sell uranium enrichment company Urenco, in which E.ON ( EONGn.DE ) holds a 16.7 percent stake, have not failed, E.ON''s Chief Executive Johannes Teyssen said, but warned the process remained challenging due to the asset''s complex ownership. "The sale has not failed. Of course, talks are challenging," Johannes Teyssen told shareholders at the group''s annual general meeting on Wednesday, pointing to the involvement of several owners, including RWE ( RWEG.DE ), which also holds 16.7 percent. With a total value seen at about 10 billion euros (8.4 billion), even a sale of a stake in Urenco -- in which the British and Dutch governments also hold a third each -- could be lucrative. Talks to divest the asset have been going on for at least half a decade. (Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Maria Sheahan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-e-on-agm-urenco-idUKKBN1861N4'|'2017-05-10T20:26:00.000+03:00' +'c882293192fd265d4625c8373edcf5b6c8aa736e'|'Trump review of Wall Street rules to be done in stages: sources'|'NEW YORK/WASHINGTON The U.S. government''s review of a landmark 2010 financial reform law will not be complete by early June as originally targeted, and officials will now report findings piece-by-piece, with priority given to banking regulations, sources familiar with the matter said on Monday.President Donald Trump has pledged to do a "big number" on the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul law, which raised banks'' capital requirements, restricted their ability to make speculative bets with customers'' money and created consumer protections in the wake of the financial crisis.In February, Trump ordered Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to review the law and report back within 120 days, saying his administration expected to be cutting large parts of it.But the Treasury Department is still filling vacancies after the transition from the Obama administration and there are not enough officials to get the full review done by early June, three sources said.A Treasury spokesperson dismissed the idea the report that would be broken up because the department is short-handed, saying the reach of the project could require several separate reports, as permitted under the executive order."Treasury has an entire team dedicated to reviewing the financial regulatory rules and will begin reporting our findings to the president in June," the department spokesperson said."Given the volume and scope of the issues we are reviewing that involve potential changes to the financial regulatory system, we are carefully considering the best options to begin rolling them out in the most effective and responsible manner," the spokesperson said.The Treasury Department will first report back on what banking rules could be changed, including capital requirements, restrictions on leverage and speculative trading.Examinations of capital markets, clearing houses and derivatives as well as the insurance and asset management industries and financial innovation and banking technology will come later, the sources said.It could be several months until these other stages of the financial reform review are completed, some of the sources said.The piecemeal approach could create challenges for some sectors if parts of the report are significantly delayed. The report has been highly anticipated, as it marks the new administration''s most detailed foray into outlining what it wants to do with financial rules.Trump previously has spoken only in broad terms about easing regulation surrounding lending.Any efforts to rework existing regulations or craft new legislation will be a lengthy and contentious process, something that banking lobbyists have said will make any delay to the administration''s initial findings costly for businesses eager for regulatory relief.Former BlackRock Inc executive Craig Phillips is leading the administration''s plan for financial deregulation. Alongside other Treasury officials, he is soliciting feedback from banking industry groups and executives for how banking policy should be shaped.The change in the timing of the Treasury report comes after Trump ordered a separate review of some key planks of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law.In April, Trump signed a pair of executive orders directing a review of two additional regulatory powers - orderly liquidation authority, which allows regulators to step in and wind down a failing financial institution, and systemic designation, in which certain large firms may be deemed critical to the overall health of the financial system, meriting stricter oversight.The findings from those reviews are not expected until October.(Editing by Carmel Crimmins and Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-wall-street-trump-idUSKBN1842DW'|'2017-05-09T02:11:00.000+03:00' +'4c756708516fea31627d7b19c399db5ce6d008f4'|'Bitcoin''s murkier rivals line up to displace it as cybercriminals'' favourite'|'Technology 5:24pm BST Bitcoin''s murkier rivals line up to displace it as cybercriminals'' favorite FILE PHOTO: A Bitcoin (virtual currency) paper wallet with QR codes and a coin are seen in an illustration picture taken in Paris, France May 27, 2015. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo By Jemima Kelly - LONDON LONDON Bitcoin is well-entrenched as the preferred payment for cybercriminals like the WannaCry hackers who have hit more than 300,000 computers over the past week, but cryptocurrencies offering more anonymity are threatening to displace it. A key reason for bitcoin''s dominance in the nefarious online underworld, say technologists and cybercrime experts, is its size - the total value of all bitcoins in circulation is more than twice that of the nearest of hundreds of rivals. That makes it easy for victims to access enough to pay the ransoms demanded, and for hackers to cash out of it via online exchanges to spend money in the real world. Bitcoin was set up in 2008 by someone - or some group - calling themselves Satoshi Nakamoto, and was the first digital currency to successfully use cryptography to keep transactions secure and hidden, making traditional financial regulation difficult if not impossible. Money is sent from one anonymous online "wallet" to another with no need for a third party to validate or clear the transactions. In the WannaCry attack, the addresses of three anonymous bitcoin wallets were given to victims, with a demand for ransom payments from $300 worth of bitcoin, with a promise the affected machines would be decrypted in return, a promise that no evidence has shown will be kept. But since the way that Bitcoin functions is via the blockchain - a giant, virtually tamper-proof, shared ledger of all bitcoin transactions ever made - payments can be traced, if users do not have the sophistication to take further steps to cloak themselves using digital anonymity tools. "In the initial days of bitcoin, people...didnt realize they were recording for posterity on the blockchain every financial transaction that ever took place," said Emin Gun Sirer, a computer science professor at Cornell University. Bitcoin addresses are anonymous, but users can be traced through IP addresses or by analyzing money flows. If criminals using bitcoin want to stay truly anonymous, Gun Sirer said, they have to go through a number of additional, complex steps to make sure they do not get caught. It is not yet clear what level of sophistication the WannaCry hackers have when it comes to laundering their cryptocurrency, as none of the money has yet been moved out of the three bitcoin wallets linked to the ransomware, which have had over $80,000 worth of bitcoin paid into them so far. [ tmsnrt.rs/2rqaLyz ] But some have suggested that the fact that the WannaCry hackers demanded bitcoin shows how amateur they are. "If it was me, I would want people to use bitcoin all day, because you can trace it," said Luke Wilson, vice president for law enforcement at Elliptic, a London-based security firm that tracks illicit bitcoin transactions and that counts the U.S. Federal Bureau for Investigations (FBI) among its clients. Wilson, who used to work at the FBI, where he set up a taskforce to investigate the use of virtual currencies, did not disclose all the ways that Elliptic and law enforcement agencies find criminals using bitcoin. But sometimes, he said, the offenders make as obvious a mistake as withdrawing money from a bitcoin wallet directly into their bank accounts. CAT-AND-MOUSE GAME More sophisticated criminals use obfuscation methods that make it very hard to be tracked down. One of the most basic ones is a technique known as "chain-hopping", whereby money is moved from one cryptocurrency into another, across digital currency exchanges - the less-regulated the better - to create a money trail that is almost impossible to track. Newer and more complex money-laundering methods have also emerged in recent years, which make it very difficult for law enforcement and bitcoin security firms such as Elliptic or New-York-based Chainalysis to track down cybercriminals. "Its a cat-and-mouse game as police and companies like Elliptic catch up to criminals techniques, they invent new techniques," said Jerry Brito, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Coin Center, a not-for-profit advocacy group focusing on public policy issues around cryptocurrency. These techniques are not foolproof, however - chain-hopping, for example, relies on unregulated exchanges that do not carry out know-your-customer (KYC) checks, and security firms say they will develop ways to trace such methods. MONERO HACK Easier, perhaps, would be for cybercriminals to use next-generation cryptocurrencies that have built-in anonymity from the start, such as Monero, Dash and Z-Cash. And indeed, experts said late on Tuesday that a computer virus that exploits the same vulnerability as the WannaCry attack had latched on to more than 200,000 computers and begun using them to manufacture - or "mine" - Monero currency. But with a total value of around $425 million - a little over 1 percent of that of bitcoin - converting that currency into spendable cash might not be so easy, and it is also much harder for victims to access, alternative payments experts said. That is why the Monero attack did not demand a ransom, but rather used the infected computers'' computing power to create new currency. "This used to happen in bitcoin before it became big there were loads of botnets that went into computers that used to mine bitcoin, but you now cant basically mine bitcoin on normal computers because you need specialist hardware," said Chainalysis CEO Jonathan Levin. Levin said such bitcoin-based attacks were carried out several years ago, when mining it was still largely a hobby for tech geeks using their home computers. As the bitcoin price has risen and as transaction numbers have grown, the computers have become so specialized that only they can only perform the function of bitcoin mining. "If Monero does become adopted and is as big and liquid (as bitcoin), that means the crime (will) move from using computers to mine to getting to extortion," Levin said. (Reporting by Jemima Kelly; Editing by Eric Auchard and Philippa Fletcher)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-cyber-attack-bitcoin-idUKKCN18E2F1'|'2017-05-19T00:21:00.000+03:00' +'3230835a3afa6b52deb97129239790a555d35567'|'Kuwait says OPEC to discuss extending output cuts for 6 or 9 months'|'KUWAIT Kuwait''s oil minister said on Tuesday that global oil producers would discuss at their meeting this week whether to extend output cuts for six months or nine months, because not all were on board for nine."We have agreed on the six months. Some of the countries have agreed to six months subject to a revision in November for an additional three months," Essam al-Marzouq told reporters before heading to Vienna for the Thursday meeting."From what I have heard, some of the press releases, the Iraqi and Iranian ministers have declared that they prefer six months," he said, before adding: "For nine months not everybody (is) on board."Asked whether deeper cuts were being considered, Marzouq said: "No."He added: "We will see the results during the second half of this year and see how that will be affecting the overhang stocks, and we will decide later on."Asked whether there was any appetite for deeper cuts, he said: "I don''t think it is necessary right now."Marzouq also said Saudi Arabia had talked to three oil producers which have not so far joined the cuts - Turkmenistan, Norway and Egypt - and all three had signalled willingness to join.Kuwait is part of a joint OPEC/non-OPEC ministerial monitoring committee which also includes Algeria, Venezuela, Oman and Russia.On the issue of choosing between a six- and a nine-month extension of cuts, Marzouq said: "We are going to discuss it in the monitoring committee and we will come up with a recommendation to the ministerial conference."(Reporting by Ahmed Hagagy; Writing by Sylvia Westall; and Andrew Torchia)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/oil-opec-kuwait-idINKBN18J0YD'|'2017-05-23T06:20:00.000+03:00' +'83249383de38cbe01421a9b1aa07cf14265584b2'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Commodity rout sends emerging FX, stocks to weekly loss'|'Market News - Fri May 5, 2017 - 5:38am EDT EMERGING MARKETS-Commodity rout sends emerging FX, stocks to weekly loss By Karin Strohecker - LONDON LONDON May 5 A sharp sell-off in commodity prices and a rise in U.S. treasury yields put main emerging currencies on track for a weekly loss on Friday, while emerging market stocks hit a 10-day low and looked set to end the week in the red. Tumbling iron ore futures and a plunge in oil prices to five-month lows as OPEC and other producers appeared to rule out deeper supply cuts to reduce the world''s persistent crude glut stoked investors'' fears about the health of the global economy. MSCI''s emerging stocks index fell 0.7 percent in a third day of losses, led by a 1 percent fall in Hong Kong and India. Russian and Polish equities also slipped. Chinese mainland stocks hit fresh three-month lows and were on track for their fourth weekly loss as concerns over tighter regulations added to investors'' woes. "There are clear signs of a softening of the global business cycle, especially in China and the U.S.," said Jakob Christensen, head of emerging market research at Danske Bank. "Typically as we move into this phase of a softer business cycle, risky assets like emerging markets perform poorly and volatility increases, including on emerging market FX." Russia''s rouble, closely tracking oil prices, hit a seven-week low against the dollar before bouncing back and eking out a small gain on the day. The rouble looked on track to weaken 2.5 percent over the week, however, its steepest weekly loss in over six months. Investors have also questioned whether the central bank''s 50 basis point rate cut last week was too bold, said Commerzbank, ahead of a holiday weekend that will keep Russian markets closed until Wednesday. Copper producer South Africa saw the rand chalk up a small daily gain but the currency was on track for a second week of losses as political tensions continued to weigh. The ruling ANC party has urged President Jacob Zuma to appeal a High Court ruling on Thursday which ordered him to explain why he fired former finance minister Pravin Gordhan in a cabinet reshuffle that led to sovereign debt downgrades. The Turkish lira weakened 0.4 percent on the day and was poised for a weekly loss. Investors will also watch developments in Nigeria, where the central bank has said it will release more dollars to ease a liquidity crunch and help unify the parallel exchange rates. Across emerging Europe, currencies were slightly stronger or flat against the euro on the day, with the Polish zloty , the Hungarian forint and the Czech crown all on track for weekly gains. Romania''s central bank will announce its latest interest rate decision with policy makers expected to keep interest rates at record lows. For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2e7eoml For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2dZbdP5 Emerging Markets Prices from Reuters Equities Latest Net Chg % Chg % Chg on year Morgan Stanley Emrg Mkt Indx 974.06 -6.01 -0.61 +12.96 Czech Rep 997.94 -3.81 -0.38 +8.28 Poland 2363.26 -17.74 -0.75 +21.32 Hungary 32536.47 +246.62 +0.76 +1.67 Romania 8266.26 +30.36 +0.37 +16.67 Greece 742.35 -6.57 -0.88 +15.34 Russia 1077.70 -3.52 -0.33 -6.48 South Africa 47031.91 +284.85 +0.61 +7.13 Turkey 93521.71 +483.22 +0.52 +19.69 China 3103.36 -24.01 -0.77 -0.01 India 29913.50 -212.71 -0.71 +12.35 Currencies Latest Prev Local Local close currency currency '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-idUSL8N1I726I'|'2017-05-05T17:38:00.000+03:00' +'670c99da0df49878b094a50bcff883973e6fea16'|'UPDATE 1-Antofagasta sells solar park stake in Chile, calls for power auction'|'SANTIAGO Chilean mining company Antofagasta Minerals has sold its minority stake in a solar park in northern Chile, and will launch a power auction for one of its copper mines, the company said on Tuesday.The firm said in a statement it had agreed to sell its 40 percent stake in the 69.5-megawatt Javiera solar park in north-central Chile to Atlas Renewable Energy, a Latin America-focused solar platform launched in March by English private equity fund Actis.Antofagasta participated in the park through EnergiaAndina, a joint venture with Australia''s Origin Energy. Javiera was originally constructed by now-bankrupt SunEdison, and is now 100 percent owned by Atlas."Atlas is pleased to conclude another important acquisition to grow its footprint in Chile, with long-term contracted projects with high quality offtakers," the company''s chief executive, Carlos Barrera, wrote in an email. "We''re looking forward to explore further growth opportunities in the region."Antofagasta did not disclose a price for the sale but said that as part of the transaction, it had renegotiated the prices of the energy produced by the park.Javiera signed an agreement in 2014 to provide power at a fixed price to Antofagasta''s Los Pelambres copper mine. Power prices in the area have since dropped precipitously, meaning the terms of energy contracts inked by large mines in previous years are now largely unfavorable."This decision takes place in the context of Antofagasta Minerals reducing costs and focusing on the business that we best know: copper production," Antofagasta CEO Ivan Arriagada said in a statement.Antofagasta also said it would launch a request for tenders in the coming days to provide energy to its Zaldivar mine in Chile starting in 2020.The auction is likely to draw interest from an array of domestic and international energy companies that have flooded into the South American nation in recent years.(Reporting by Gram Slattery; Editing by Peter Cooney)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-antofagasta-actis-idUSKBN18Q2H1'|'2017-05-31T06:14:00.000+03:00' +'cbf0adb9c1be78d95535c177620b070e5203ad03'|'UDG Healthcare raises full-year outlook, eyes further deals'|'By Arathy S Nair and Justin George Varghese May 23 UDG Healthcare Plc could spend up to $600 million for acquisitions, its chief executive said, after the company raised its full-year earnings estimate as a recent acquisition helped prop up profit in the first half.The healthcare services provider on Tuesday reported a 19 percent jump in pretax profit for the first six months ended March 31, sending its shares up 6 percent to a record high of 812.50 pence."We''ve looked at acquisitions - small $20 million ones right up to $200-$300 million - and in total, the consideration we could use is $500-$600 million," Chief Executive Brendan McAtamney told Reuters.The Dublin-based company said strong performance at its recent acquisition, STEM Marketing - a provider of commercial, marketing and medical audits to pharmaceutical companies - helped boost profit in the first half.The company now expects a 15-18 percent increase in diluted earnings per share, on a constant currency basis, for the year ending September 2017.The group had earlier forecast a 13-16 percent growth in full-year EPS."With a much stronger-than-expected first half, tailwinds across its U.S. businesses building ... we think even this raised guidance looks quite conservative, and would expect consensus forecasts to increase by at least 2 percent," Liberum analyst Graham Doyle said.CEO McAtamney said UDG would look to acquire U.S.-focused businesses to strengthen its Sharp Packaging Services unit, which is engaged in contract packaging and clinical trial packaging services for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.UDG, which traces its roots to a co-operative called the United Drug Chemical Co in Ireland, is also keen on bolstering its Ashfield operations in Japan through acquisitions, he said.UDG''s first-half profit stood at $52.9 million. Revenue for the period rose 8 percent to $578.9 million. (Reporting By Justin George Varghese and Arathy S Nair; Editing by Tenzin Pema and Gopakumar Warrier)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/udg-health-results-idINL4N1IP2OQ'|'2017-05-23T08:33:00.000+03:00' +'ae217d5c39004672060cca48dfb6157406b2381c'|'UPDATE 1-Activist fund Barington calls for Avon CEO search'|'Big Story 10 - Thu May 4, 2017 - 6:33pm EDT Activist fund Barington calls for Avon CEO search By Michael Flaherty and Gayathree Ganesan Activist investor Barington Capital renewed its pressure on cosmetics maker Avon Products Inc, calling on the company to search for a new chief executive. Barington said on Thursday that Avon''s shares have suffered under Chief Executive Sheri McCoy and that the company needs "the right leadership in place" to recover its position as a leading beauty brand. The company''s shares have lost nearly 80 percent of their value since McCoy took charge as CEO in 2012. In March last year, Avon agreed to give Barington Capital the right to approve the appointment of an independent director, in a bid to avoid a proxy fight with the activist fund. As part of the deal, the Barington nominee was to be jointly selected by Avon and its top investor Cerberus Capital Management, which bought a majority of Avon''s North America business early last year. New York-based Barington owned 2.8 million shares of Avon worth $14.5 million as of Dec. 31, according to a regulatory filing. Avon, which has a market value of $1.59 billion, on Thursday reported a surprise first-quarter loss partly due to higher bad debt expense, mainly in Brazil. (Reporting by Michael Flaherty in New York and Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Maju Samuel) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-avon-prdcts-barington-idUSKBN1802SZ'|'2017-05-05T06:31:00.000+03:00' +'efb6934c3fdcbdfae98136623a92fe6cb9957010'|'Vinyl gets its groove back: Hunger for vinyl means a chronic shortage of pressing machines'|'FOR young hipsters and middle-aged sentimentalists alike, the resurgence of vinyl is cause for celebration. Since 2010 sales of vinyl records in America have tripled. Britains vinyl industry saw its biggest gains for 25 years in 2016. Big supermarkets are extending the amount of space that they allocate to the discs and even the turntables that twirl them have found a place on Amazons best-seller lists.Meeting this demand has been tricky. Vinyl accounted for 76% of total album sales in 1973; by 1994 this had dropped to 1.5% as compact discs (CDs) took over. By then the bulk of the worlds vinyl-pressing plants had closed and most of their cumbersome machines had gone to the scrapyard. Only a very few plants that could diversify into new areas of printing and production stayed open. But they did so without any further investment in vinyl, so the few machines that kept on producing often date back to the 1960s. 18 GZ Media, a Czech firm that is the biggest manufacturer of vinyl (it makes around 60% of all vinyl records), went from churning out over 13m records in 1987 to a low of 200,000 in 1993. Requests for vinyl began flooding in again about a decade ago; it is now working around the clock and will produce 24m vinyl discs in 2017.Although vinyl is still only a tiny fraction of the global music market, big orders from record labels have swamped the few pressing plants left and caused delays in production. GZ Media has kept on top of orders by building, from 2014 on, updated versions of its older pressing machines. Others are also ramping up. More than a dozen new pressing plants have cropped up across North America, Europe and beyond in the past couple of years.A chronic shortage of machines is the chief headache. Reports of people racing across the world to get their hands on an old machine have become common. That in turn is spurring investment in new options. Nordso Records, based in Copenhagens Nordhaven district, which opened its plant last year, opted for a new pressing-machine design from Newbilt, a German startup. Newbilt have sold 25 of their products across Europe for up to 500,000 ($554,000) each, including all parts. They are manual, so an operator needs to oversee each stage of the process; they churn out 400 records a day if operating flat out.On a more industrial scale, Viryl Technologies is a Canadian startup that started building new machines in 2015. One eight-hour shift presses 1,200 records. Plants across North America, Europe and Asia have already installed them.Startups, which also provide machine servicing, see further room for innovation in the mastering process, or the transferral of the recording to a master disc from which all subsequent copies will be derived. One method involves cutting the grooves onto a lacquer disc, but only two companies in the world manufacture these discs (one of them is run by an old Japanese couple in Tokyo) and they too are in short supply. A second technique uses a copper-plated disc that is easier to come by but is again hampered by the limited number of machines that can cut the disc: of the 25 that still exist, GZ Media owns four.Last year, Rebeat Digital, an Austrian company, filed a patent for a high-definition vinyl mastering technology. This produces a computer-generated image of the music before blasting it onto a lacquer master disc with a laser (rather than a spinning stylus). They reckon this slashes the time needed to produce the master disc by 60%. But audiophiles are still sceptical about the sound quality of vinyl records produced in this way.Even if vinyls fashionability fades a bit, servicing the remaining few machines and supplying parts should keep the cash flowing for the startups. And the format is unlikely to disappear entirely, as once seemed possible. Many fans buy the liquorice-black discs from Spotify, a music-streaming service, after it started in 2014 allowing artists to sell merchandise, including vinyl, from their profile pages. Another promising sign that there are more hipsters than ageing purists involved is that about half of all those who buy an album on vinyl have listened to it before, online. "Vinyl gets its groove back"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21722232-only-two-firms-still-make-lacquer-discs-used-mastering-hunger-vinyl-means-chronic?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-05-18T22:46:00.000+03:00' +'b5ea2d9701707423199970053ee6b17d28ab8953'|'What''s better than a Buffett rule? Labor''s Buffett rule by stealth - Greg Jericho - Business - The Guardian'|'A t the moment the ALP is having a fight over the merits of a Buffett rule for income tax. It is a high-profile battle involving two former treasurers. What perhaps has been ignored is that the ALP has also come up with a policy that might achieve some of its aims with much less tinkering with the tax system.The Buffett rule of tax comes from the US billionaire Warren Buffett, who in 2011 was surprised that, because of deductions and differing tax rates, he paid a lower average rate of tax than did his secretary. The rule generally involves setting a floor on the average tax that must be paid by very high income earners.In Australia, the Greens have a policy of a minimum of 35% tax for those earning over $300,000 in line with that proposed by the progressive think tank the Australia Institute in 2015 .Bill Shorten rejects Labor MPs'' push for ''Buffett rule'' as policy at next election Read more The ALP is rather split over the issue.Two frontbenchers, Terri Butler and Andrew Giles, recently argued in an essay titled Tax and Equality that the Buffett rule is a readily understandable symbol of whats wrong with the present arrangements. The left wing of the party is pushing for it to be debated at the next ALP national conference. Wayne Swan has also been advocating for a debate on the idea. However, both Bill Shorten and the shadow treasurer, Chris Bowen, have ruled out taking a Buffett rule policy to the next election.You can see why the Buffett rule is appealing.Because of our progressive income-tax system, the average amount of tax you pay rises the more your earn. Those earning around $300,000 pay roughly 36% tax just above the 35% minimum proposed by the Buffett rule advocates:But the problem of course is that tax is paid on taxable income, not total income. Deductions and tax strategies can enable peoples taxable income to actually be much lower than their total income.As Gareth Hutchens recently reported , in 2014-15 48 millionaires paid no tax at all.The Buffett rule would catch such people and, in theory at least, force them to pay 35% tax on their income. One issue Bowen has with the rule is that while we may dislike the ability for people to reduce their taxable income to zero, society does benefit from some of the ways they do for example, donations and angel investor funding.Such a reasoning is especially pertinent in light of the $400m donation made this week by Andrew Forrest, for which it has been reported he will claim a $200m tax deduction . Now I have no issue with him doing that, although I do take issue with the prime ministers assertion, made on Monday , that donations are somehow better than taxes because they are made with love. Personally Id prefer to rely on our hospitals and schools being built from money that comes from people and companies paying their fair share of taxes rather than wait for love to come to town. Bowen is right to be concerned about the impacts on other areas of the tax system. I wonder at the complexity of such a rule within the tax code, which would see some people be able to claim deductions but others not because of their total income.I suspect it would make for a tax lawyers picnic.Bowen has argued instead that if the issue is deductions themselves, get rid of or limit those deductions. The most obvious of these is negative gearing. But in Shortens budget reply he announced a new one, which I think is almost a Buffett rule by stealth.When you look at the 48 millionaires who paid no tax, one aspect really sticks out they claimed a combined $20.2m in deductions for managing tax affairs. What the ALP is proposing to do is limit the amount you are able to claim for such a purpose at $3,000. Wayne Swan: Labor must consider ''Buffett rule'' as part of inequality agenda Read more The reasoning is clear. The average amount spent by people managing their tax affairs in 2014-15 was just $378 and yet the millionaires who reduced their tax to zero paid an average of $1.1m.When the policy was announced the deputy PM, Barnaby Joyce, took to Twitter suggesting it was an attack on all accountants incomes. But Joyce incorrectly assumed the policy applied to businesses, whereas the ALPs policy will only apply to individuals.And the fact is it will apply to only a very small fraction of people. Most people dont even claim anything. In 2014-15 only 86,066 people out of 13.2 million claimed more than $2,500 for managing their tax affairs:And if we look at the average amount claimed according to total income, the $3,000 average only occurs for those earning over $500,000: But these averages can hide what is really occurring and fortunately the taxation data gives us more detailed breakdown, which allows us to see a very strong link between the amount claimed for managing tax affairs and the lack of tax paid. Take for example the 33,813 people who earned between $500,000 and $1m. Most of these individuals stayed in the $180,000 plus tax bracket, and they paid on average just $3,145 on their tax affairs. But 118 of them were able to avoid paying tax by reducing their taxable income below $18,200. For these people the average cost of their tax affairs was $128,000: The desire to get below $18,200 and thus pay no tax is strong and is led by paying for your tax accountant. In 2014-15 there were two and half million people who earned between $80,000 and $180,000. They claimed an average of $416 on their tax affairs, but the 2,663 of them who were able to get below the tax-free threshold claimed an average of $20,482:Even among the two and half million people who had a taxable income below $18,200, 473,000 people claimed for management of tax affairs and it is clear that the more you actually earned, the more you paid an accountant to help you get below the tax-free threshold: The importance of having an accountant to get your taxable income down as opposed to, for example, charitable donations is highlighted by the fact that while the millionaires who avoided paying any tax in 2014-15 accounted for just 0.4% of all millionaires, they claimed 3% of the total donations made by millionaires but a staggering 20% of all money spent on tax affairs:The Buffett rule certainly is appealing and is definitely worth debating. But the ALPs policy of limiting deductions for managing tax affairs will go some way to limiting the ability of the very wealthy to avoid paying tax. It is not a cure-all but it certainly is a sharp way to target those who pay people vast sums of money to avoid paying even more vast amounts of tax. Topics Tax Grogonomics Australian economy Australian politics Labor party Business (Australia) Warren Buffett comment Share Reuse this content'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2017/may/25/buffett-rule-labor-party-tax-debate-chris-bowen'|'2017-05-25T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'82f39a18f590200d8fee10e9fc6649b38077d030'|'Oil prices rise on expectation of output cut extension'|'Business 50pm EDT Oil slips despite talk of supply cuts being extended into 2018 A worker looks on at the Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim oil refinery outside Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia January 29, 2015. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo By Julia Simon - NEW YORK NEW YORK Oil prices edged down in a volatile trade on Monday despite Saudi Arabia''s oil minister saying that he expected OPEC and its partners to consider extending their deal to cut supply possibly into next year to end a global glut. Growing U.S. drilling and production have played a role in undermining the efforts of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC producers, such as Russia, to reduce global oil inventories with an output cut of 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first half the year. Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said oil producers would "do whatever it takes" to rebalance the market and that he expected a global deal on cutting crude output to be extended through all of 2017 and possibly into next year. News that the curbs may be extended into 2018 fueled a short-lived rally in the market, but oil gave up the gains quickly amid pessimism on how long it will take to drain brimming oil inventories. Brent crude was down 8 cents at $49.02 a barrel at 1:45 p.m. EDT (1745 GMT). U.S. light crude was down 6 cents at $46.16 a barrel. "The market is getting tired of hearing from OPEC how good they are, how compliant (with supply curbs) they are and especially how all their projections for inventories falling seemed to be moved into the future," said Eugen Weinberg, head of commodity research at Commerzbank. "Those claims do not withstand the reality check with the inventories staying stubbornly high and non-OPEC production rising strongly." Russia also said it was discussing prolonging cuts with other producers beyond 2017. OPEC will review the cuts at a meeting in Vienna on May 25. If the supply curbs are extended, then OPEC will likely struggle to keep its members adhering to the their output targets, Weinberg said. "Compliance rates, in my opinion, will not be as high as they were in past months." The Saudi oil minister said recent price falls had been caused by seasonal low demand and refinery maintenance, as well as by non-OPEC production growth, especially in the United States. U.S. energy companies last week extended a recovery in oil drilling into a 12th month, energy services firm Baker Hughes Inc said on Friday. Since a low point in May 2016, U.S. producers have added 387 oil rigs, growing about 123 percent, Goldman Sachs said. U.S. oil production has soared more than 10 percent since mid-2016 to 9.3 million bpd, its highest since August 2015 and close to the levels of top producers Russia and Saudi Arabia. Many analysts now see U.S. crude output heading toward 10 million bpd over the next year. "It''s all about inventories and U.S. shale versus OPEC," said Hussein Sayed of brokerage FXTM. "OPEC members have no choice but to talk up prices by signaling an extension to the production cuts agreement." In the week to May 2, investors cut their bullish bets on Brent to the lowest level since late November, while hedge funds and money mangers also cut gross long positions in U.S. crude futures for the second straight week, to the lowest since early November. (Additional reporting by Christopher Johnson and Karolin Schaps in London, Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Dale Hudson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUSKBN18401Z'|'2017-05-08T08:36:00.000+03:00' +'17b218f23be4c81e08c3fc01d7ef4ade5af42c18'|'Elliott to meet with BHP''s Australian shareholders to push reform plan: sources'|' 8:44am BST Elliott to court BHP''s Australian shareholders on overhaul - sources FILE PHOTO: A promotional sign adorns a stage at a BHP Billiton function in Sydney, Australia, August 20, 2013. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo SYDNEY Elliott Management will meet with BHP Billiton''s ( BHP.AX ) ( BLT.L ) Australian shareholders this week as the activist investor pushes for strategic changes at the world''s biggest miner, two sources familiar with the matter said on Monday. The sources, who could not be named because they were not authorised to speak publicly about the issue, told Reuters that Elliott was seeking feedback from other investors about its proposed overhaul of BHP. Elliott''s U.S. office did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours. Over the past year, Elliott has built up a 4.1 percent stake in BHP''s British arm and last month told the company it had failed to deliver "optimal" value. Elliott, led by U.S. financier Paul Singer, demanded BHP spin off its U.S. oil assets, ditch a corporate structure built on dual listings in London and Sydney and hand back more money to shareholders. BHP swiftly rejected the approach, saying the costs of the changes would outweigh the benefits. But Elliott could be gaining some traction according to investors. Analysts said Elliott would likely push its case for a revamp of BHP''s U.S. oil business, after BHP on April 26 said it was progressing the sale of onshore U.S. petroleum interests at two key fields. BHP said the plan had been in the works prior to Elliott going public with its proposals. "It''s clear they (Elliott) aren''t going to just give up," said Shaw and Partners analyst Peter O''Connor. I''m not surprised they are here, they have been conspicuous in their absence," he added. BHP declined to comment.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bhp-billiton-elliott-idUKKBN17X16L'|'2017-05-01T13:33:00.000+03:00' +'99652a0bc18b83f8089a71d7b0d0ac3b6b1a7abc'|'Cognizant profit narrowly beats estimates'|'Technology 8:47pm IST Cognizant to boost hiring in U.S. this year Workers are seen at their workstations on the floor of an outsourcing centre in Bangalore, February 29, 2012. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash/Files By Rishika Sadam Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit and said it would beef up hiring in the United States, a move that comes amid U.S. President Donald Trump''s tough stance on the H1-B visa rules. Cognizant gets more than 75 percent of its revenue from North America and relies heavily on workers on H1-B visas to provide IT services to clients. H1-B visas are non-immigrant visas that allow U.S. companies to temporarily employ foreign workers. The majority of Teaneck, New Jersey-based Cognizant''s roughly 260,000 employees are based in India. Trump has ordered a review of the U.S. visa program that brings high-skilled foreign workers into the country, potentially affecting hiring plans of technology firms and outsourcing companies. Cognizant plans to hire significantly more in the United States, expand delivery centers and reduce its dependence on H1-B visas, President Rajeev Mehta said on a call with analysts. "We applied for less than half the number of visas we saw last year and we expect to further reduce our need for these visas going forward," Mehta said. Cognizant said it hired 4,000 people in the United States last year. The company, however, down played concerns about pressure on costs and margins due to U.S. hiring. "I do not anticipate any significant increase in costs as a result of training and re-training," Chief Executive Francisco D''Souza told Reuters. "I do not see training having a substantial impact on our margins going forward." Indian IT firms have also been hit hard with Trump''s visa review. Infosys Ltd said earlier this month it plans to hire 10,000 U.S. workers in the next two years and open four technology centers in the United States. Wipro Ltd is also looking to hire more people in the United States. Both companies have reduced H1-B visa applications this year. Cognizant said it expected current-quarter revenue in the range of $3.63 billion to $3.68 billion. Analysts on average had expected revenue of $3.65 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Last year, The company cut its forecast thrice amid a tight cap on spending by its clients, especially in the financial and healthcare sectors. The company sees promising demand from the sectors in 2017, D''Souza said. Cognizant''s profit rose 26.3 percent to $557 million, while revenue rose 10.7 percent to $3.55 billion. Excluding items, the company earned 84 cents per share. Analysts'' were expecting 83 cents. Cognizant''s shares were up 2.2 percent at $62.12. (Reporting by Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/cognizant-tech-results-idINKBN181132'|'2017-05-05T18:39:00.000+03:00' +'54a202640b36db3f873d1094b3a5ec1931965b4c'|'German union demands end to talks between Thyssenkrupp and Tata'|'Business 19pm BST German union demands end to talks between Thyssenkrupp and Tata FILE PHOTO: A worker controls a tapping of a blast furnace at Europe''s largest steel factory of Germany''s industrial conglomerate ThyssenKrupp AG in Duisburg, Germany December 6, 2012. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender/File Photo/File Photo DORTMUND, Germany German labour union IG Metall demanded on Tuesday that industrial company Thyssenkrupp ( TKAG.DE ) end talks to merge its European steel business with that of India''s Tata Steel ( TISC.NS ). Thyssenkrupp and Tata Steel have been in discussions since July about merging their European steel assets to cut costs and reduce overcapacity, a move that has sparked concerns about job cuts in Germany. "Management should put its merger plans on ice and discuss with us how the group can make progress," said IG Metall''s Detlef Wetzel, who is a member of Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe''s supervisory board. Thyssenkrupp last month unveiled plans to cut costs by 500 million euros (422.4 million) at its steel business. IG Metall has said that could lead to 4,000 out of the 27,000 jobs at Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe being axed. Labour bosses also fear that more cuts could be made at Thyssenkrupp''s German steel sites to make room for Tata''s ailing steel plant in Port Talbot, Wales, where a deal has been struck to protect jobs and investment. The German union will stage a rally on Wednesday in the city of Duisburg, home to the headquarters of Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe, and several thousand workers are expected to attend. "You cannot just say that the UK sites won''t be touched but take the axe to Germany," Wetzel said on Tuesday. (Reporting by Tom Kaeckenhoff; writing by Maria Sheahan; editing by David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-tata-steel-m-a-thyssenkrupp-idUKKBN17Y1CE'|'2017-05-02T20:19:00.000+03:00' +'0ecbc65197032c215eac59bccc3c2ad6b49c9954'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'Market News - Wed May 10, 2017 - 6:00am EDT Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions May 10 The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1000 GMT on Wednesday: ** ChemChina has won around 82 percent support from Syngenta shareholders for its $43 billion takeover of the Swiss pesticides and seeds group, China''s biggest foreign acquisition to date, the two companies said. ** Private-equity backed French clothing retailer Vivarte, which is aiming to restructure more than 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion) of debt, has agreed to sell its Pataugas shoe brand to Hopps Group, the companies said. ** German energy group E.ON plans to quickly sell its remaining stake in Uniper, the power plant and trading unit it spun off last year in what marked the group''s most far-reaching restructuring to date. ** Chinese conglomerate HNA Group will not submit a bid for German shipping finance provider HSH Nordbank , German daily Handelsblatt reported, citing a spokesman for HNA. ** Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management expect to cut 800 jobs, nearly 10 percent of the firms'' combined workforce, as part of a merger to create Britain''s biggest listed investment manager. ** Apple has acquired a sleep tracking app and hardware maker Beddit, the Finnish startup said on its website. ** German industrial gases group Linde expects to complete its planned $70 billion merger of equals with U.S. peer Praxair in 2018 if negotiations are successfully completed, Chief Executive Aldo Belloni told shareholder. ** Norilsk Nickel Africa will press ahead with a lawsuit against Botswana over a failed $271 million deal to sell a 50 percent stake in its Nkomati Nickel Mine even though the government is still trying to raise the funds, its chief executive has told Reuters. ** Four banks are organising the bridge loan of around 11 billion euros ($12 billion) that Italy''s Atlantia will use to help fund its bid on Spanish rival Abertis, three sources close to the matter said. (Compiled by Divya Grover in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/deals-day-idUSL4N1IC3E0'|'2017-05-10T18:00:00.000+03:00' +'a7a0918c46c9e0a2c02916a7cd90ec91a366b8d6'|'Olayan family plans to list its Saudi business: sources'|'RIYADH The Olayan family, which controls one of Saudi Arabia''s largest conglomerates, is considering listing at least 30 percent of its Saudi business in a sale that could value the company at several billion dollars, banking sources say.Olayan Financing Company is working with Banque Saudi Fransi Capital, which has a deep relationship with the firm, on the potential listing on the Saudi stock market but the sources said the process could take at least a year to complete.The company could be valued at $2 billion to $3 billion in an initial public offering (IPO), one of the banking sources said.Olayan and Banque Saudi Fransi officials did not immediately respond to Reuters queries for comment.Established in 1947, Olayan is involved in product distribution, manufacturing, services and investment, often alongside leading multinational such as Coca-Cola Co ( KO.N ) and Colgate-Palmolive Co ( CL.N ).Olayan also has international investments, including a stake of 10.7 percent in Credit Suisse ( CSGN.S ), including options. It has property investments across Europe and the United States and bought 550 Madison Avenue in Manhattan, otherwise known as the Sony Tower, last year in partnership with London-based Chelsfield, according to Olayan''s website.The government has been keen to encourage more family businesses to consider listing as a way to boost investment in capital markets and improve corporate governance.One of the sources said as two of the conglomerate''s senior figures, Lubna and Khaled Olayan, were both close to retirement a listing was a way of ensuring succession planning.A former JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst, Lubna is the chief executive of Olayan Financing Company, which holds and manages all of the Olayan Group''s businesses and investments in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East.She also wields considerable influence outside the company. In 2004, she became the first woman to be elected to the board of Saudi Hollandi Bank, now called Alawwal Bank 1040.SE. Last year, Lubna was one of four new appointments by government-owned Public Investment Fund (PIF) to the board of Ma''aden 1211.SE, the Gulf''s largest miner, in which PIF owns 49.99 percent. Mining is a sector of strategic importance to the government.The Olayan family also holds 21.76 percent of Alawwal Bank and 16.98 percent in Saudi British Bank (SABB) 1060.SE, Saudi lenders backed by Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ) and HSBC Holdings ( HSBA.L ) respectively.The Saudi lenders agreed last month to start merger talks.Bloomberg had earlier reported the company''s plans for an IPO.(Additional reporting by Marwa Rashad; editing by David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-olayan-ipo-idUSKBN17Z1EE'|'2017-05-03T16:52:00.000+03:00' +'1f23b4a7c36cb80d39c80ebd2d0407d6e6e4f4b6'|'TABLE-North Sea oil projects to start up 2017-2019'|'Market News 9:48am EDT TABLE-North Sea oil projects to start up 2017-2019 LONDON, May 16 New oil projects in the North Sea aim to add 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) of new capacity, a level that will more than offset declining output from old fields, Reuters research shows. North Sea output now stands at 2 million bpd. Taking into account declining production from older fields, the net increase in overall output is expected to be 400,000 bpd in the next two years, according to investment bank Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. Below is a table of the major oil projects that are due to come onstream between 2017 and 2019: Field Major Operator/s Target Startup capacity date (bpd) Johan Sverdrup Statoil/Lundin/A 440,000 2019* ker BP Quad 204 BP 130,000 Q2 2017 Edvard Grieg Statoil/Lundin 126,000 H2 2016 Clair Ridge BP 100,000 2018 Martin Linge Total/Statoil 80,000 late 2017 Gina Krog Statoil 60,000 Q2 2017 Mariner Siccar 55,000 2018 Point/Statoil Catcher Premier Oil 50,000 mid-2017 Ivar Aasen Aker BP 50,000 late 2016 Kraken Enquest 50,000 Q2 2017 Western Isles Dana 40,000 2017 Petroleum/Cieco Greater Stella Ithaca Energy 30,000*** H1 2017 Solan Premier Oil 30,000 2018 Cheviot Alpha Petroleum 30,000 2019 Maria Wintershall/Peto -- H1 2018 ro TOTAL 1,241,000 *Phase 1 of Johan Sverdrup. Phase 2 2022 w target of 660,000 bpd **Phase 1 of Greater Stella (Reporting by Amanda Cooper and Ron Bousso in LONDON and Nerijus Adomaitis in OSLO; Editing by Edmund Blair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/oil-nsea-projects-idUSL8N1IC7L3'|'2017-05-16T21:48:00.000+03:00' +'cdfa15d1a035a55d36b327317e02464b89835e60'|'US STOCKS-Wall St opens higher after govt shutdown averted'|'* Consumer spending unchanged in March; inflation subsides* Tribune Media jumps on buyout talks* Trading volume to be light; many Asia, Europe markets shut* Indexes up: Dow 0.06 pct, S&P 0.18 pct, Nasdaq 0.35 pct (Updates to open)By Tanya AgrawalMay 1 Wall Street opened higher on Monday, led by technology and financial stocks, after U.S. Congress negotiators averted a government shutdown later this week by hammering out a federal funding deal late on Sunday.The House of Representatives and Senate must approve the deal before the end of Friday, as must President Donald Trump, to keep the government funded through the end of Sept. 30."We have some renewed optimism that the market strength will continue helped by strong earnings and as a government shutdown was averted," said Andre Bakhos, managing director at Janlyn Capital LLC in Bernardsville, New Jersey."We''re also coming off a weak trading session on Friday, and investors are keeping an eye on the jobs report later this week."At 9:35 a.m. ET (1335 GMT) the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 13.15 points, or 0.06 percent, at 20,953.66.The S&P 500 was up 4.3 points, or 0.18 percent, at 2,388.5 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 21.15 points, or 0.35 percent, at 6,068.76.Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were higher, led by identical gains of 0.35 percent in the financial and technology indexes.Apple''s 1.1 percent rise boosted all three indexes.Trading volume is expected to be light, with many markets in Asia and Europe closed for Labor Day, but will pick up through the week as major earnings reports and economic data pour in.A data-heavy week will culminate with the monthly jobs report on Friday. The Federal Reserve''s two-day meeting that starts on Tuesday could shed policymakers'' insights into weak first-quarter economic growth.U.S. consumer spending was unchanged in March for a second straight month and the overall monthly inflation rate fell for the first time in a year. But, inflation-adjusted consumer spending increased after two straight months of decline.Stocks edged lower on Friday due to the weak GDP data, but Wall Street''s major indexes ended with gains for April, helped by strong quarterly earnings.Overall, profit at S&P 500 companies are estimated to have risen 13.6 percent in the first quarter, the most since 2011, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.Shares of Caterpillar were up 0.66 percent at $102.92. Barron''s said the stock could rise another 20 percent over the next year, helped by Trump''s policies.Dish Network fell 2.22 percent to $63.01 after the satellite TV provider''s quarterly revenue missed expectations.Tribune Media jumped 8.9 percent to $39.82 after Reuters reported Twenty-First Century Fox is in talks with Blackstone to buy the television station operator. Fox shares were down 0.13 percent at $30.50.Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,663 to 857. On the Nasdaq, 1,447 issues rose and 747 fell.The S&P 500 index showed 17 new 52-week highs and three new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 40 new highs and 14 new lows. (Reporting by Tanya Agrawal in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-idINL4N1I32KS'|'2017-05-01T11:47:00.000+03:00' +'51e5880195241ccda943fbe45d501c34c94a765c'|'BT to restructure Global Services after ''challenging year'''|'Business News - Thu May 11, 2017 - 6:33pm BST BT to restructure Global Services after ''challenging year'' LONDON BT, Britain''s biggest telecoms group, said it would shake up its global service division that serves multinationals and scale back its dividend growth ambitions as it recovers from an accounting scandal in Italy and a profit warning. Reporting fourth-quarter revenue of 6.12 billion pounds, up 10 percent, and adjusted earnings of 2.07 billion pounds, up 2 percent and broadly in line with forecasts, the company said it had had a "challenging year". It said it would cut 4,000 jobs from its Global Services unit, group functions and technology operations, taking a restructuring charge of 300 million pounds. It paid a final dividend of 10.55 pence, up 10 percent, but said dividend growth in 2017/18 would be lower than the 10 percent it had previously targeted. (The story was refiled to correct the third paragraph to show job cuts will be in group functions as well as Global Services) (Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Kate Holton) FILE PHOTO: The logo for the British Telecom group is seen outside of offices in the City of London, Britain, January 16 , 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bt-group-results-idUKKBN1870J9'|'2017-05-11T14:25:00.000+03:00' +'670060d61907e3050bf0d2b69ab0ab6345e64872'|'Puerto Rico will make $13.9 million pension bond payment due on Thursday'|'NEW YORK Puerto Rico''s government on Tuesday said it will make a $13.9 million payment on June 1 to bondholders of the Employees Retirement System (ERS), the island''s largest pension.The agreement, announced at a hearing in federal court in Manhattan, settled a lawsuit filed on Friday as part of ERS'' ongoing bankruptcy. It did not resolve a similar dispute over about $16 million owed on June 1 to bondholders of Puerto Rico''s sales tax authority, COFINA.A hearing on the COFINA dispute was underway in the Manhattan court on Tuesday.The disputes are tied to Puerto Rico''s massive economic crisis, which is marked by $70 billion in bond debt and another $49 billion in pension obligations.Those debts have pushed the U.S. territory and some of its public entities, including COFINA and ERS, into the largest combined municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.COFINA IN THE SPOTLIGHTCOFINA owes more than $17 billion of the island''s overall debt, and its bondholders say they are protected by an ironclad legal structure that separates COFINA from the rest of government and gives them a lien on the island''s sales tax revenue.Holders of more than $18 billion of Puerto Rican general obligation bonds, however, say their debt is guaranteed by Puerto Rico''s constitution, and that they have a right to repurpose any revenue streams, including COFINA''s, to repay their debt.Tuesday''s hearing centers on a request by the Bank of New York Mellon ( BK.N ), the trustee for COFINA bonds, to hold onto a $16 million payment owed on Thursday to COFINA bondholders until Judge Laura Taylor Swain decides whose money it is.While that amount is a drop in the bucket, the hearing effectively begins the process of resolving sticky disputes, not only between GO and COFINA holders, but between senior and junior holders of COFINA debt.A piece of Thursday''s payment is owed to junior COFINA creditors. But senior holders, including Whitebox Advisors and Cyrus Capital Partners, argue a default has already occurred at COFINA due to Puerto Rico''s indications that it will seek to cut debt repayments.As a result, the senior group argues, BNY Mellon should accelerate payments to seniors and stop payments to juniors.(Reporting by Nick Brown; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-puertorico-debt-bankruptcy-idUSKBN18Q1VW'|'2017-05-30T20:33:00.000+03:00' +'4a8f238d9cc65884d030cc949bced0b811a4178c'|'Alfa Financial Software plans to list in London next month'|' 11am BST Alfa Financial Software plans to list in London next month By Esha Vaish Alfa Financial, which provides software for the asset finance industry, said it plans to list on the London stock exchange next month. The company, which counts Bank of America and Barclays as customers, would be aiming for a valuation of over 800 million pounds after the initial public offering (IPO), a person familiar with the matter said. London-based Alfa said in a statement that it hopes the listing will help it grab a larger chunk of the asset finance market by attracting new customers looking to replace legacy or in-house systems that have failed to keep up with evolving regulations. Uncertainty around Britain''s future outside of the EU single market has dampened sentiment for floating on the London market, with the amount raised from London IPOs falling 28 percent in the first quarter from a year ago. Alfa, however, said Brexit uncertainty had not affected its listing plans as the underlying asset finance market continued to grow strongly. "The asset finance market is an incredibly robust mart and has shown growth through all sorts of political and economic turbulence. So whatever is going on ... we''re very confident in our constituent market," Chief Executive Andrew Denton told Reuters in a phone interview. "(The listing) will be good for us to be more widely known. We believe that will greatly increase our market breakup." The asset finance market globally was estimated to be worth about $5.4 trillion (4.16 trillion) by 2015, with $2.6 trillion of this relating to new business volumes, according to PwC. Alfa said that it expected to float at least 25 percent of its shares, including the sale of shares by investor CHP Software and Consulting Ltd, which is 89.7 percent owned by Executive Chairman Andrew Page and 10.3 percent by Denton. Alfa''s business is split between the United States and Europe and funds from its highly cash-generative business would cover potential growth plans, which include growing its newly launched cloud-based service and rolling out upgrades for its existing platform. "The key thing for us is to be on the market for all of the good things that brings us, rather than raising money," Denton said. Barclays and Numis are acting as joint bookrunners for the IPO, while Rothschild is acting as financial adviser. (Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by Susan Fenton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-alfa-financial-ipo-idUKKBN18410E'|'2017-05-08T18:11:00.000+03:00' +'21cb7a371e7cee60e9deeef68ff3969af8fb9260'|'Intesa CEO criticises EU over Italy bank bailout terms'|'Business 31pm BST Intesa CEO criticises EU over Italy bank bailout terms Carlo Messina, CEO of Intesa Sanpaolo Bank looks on during a shareholders meeting in Turin, Italy April 27, 2017. REUTERS/Giorgio Perottino ROME The chief executive of Italy''s biggest retail bank, Intesa Sanpaolo ( ISP.MI ), said on Wednesday it was "unacceptable" that European authorities demand more private funds be pumped into weak Italian banks before authorising state aid. Sources told Reuters last week that the European Commission had told two ailing Veneto-based lenders to raise 1 billion euros (864.5 million) in private capital as a condition to approve their request for a state bailout. The sources said the country''s healthier banks could come under pressure to once again step in to help rescue the two banks, Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca. "It is unacceptable to start from the assumption, as someone is asking, that money has been lost but more money must be lost before state intervention is allowed," Carlo Messina told reporters on the sidelines of a business conference. "We need to move quickly. We cannot wait months and months in a bureaucratic loop where various players pass the ball round to each other. If there is a problem of financial stability, we need to act on it fast." (Reporting by Stefano Bernabei, writing by Silvia Aloisi)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-banks-italy-idUKKBN18K1SD'|'2017-05-24T21:31:00.000+03:00' +'2e28be1f03a222c4d5da0da9870aea23633f9e1a'|'Mine craft: why BHP''s strategic overhaul could help repel a hedge fund predator - Business'|'I ts been a big week for BHP Billiton. For one thing, its not even called that any more. As part of its Think Big rebranding theme, the worlds biggest mining company opted to shed the Billiton moniker it acquired in a 2001 merger with a Dutch-South African company and revert to its previous true-blue Aussie name.BHP says the rebranding complete with TV ads about how seven ordinary blokes in the outback founded what is now a global business worth $A94bn (54bn) is part of a long-term plan started 18 months ago to reconnect with communities. The timing now is good but we dont look at it as an event, the companys chief external affairs officer, Geoff Healy, says. This is a clean brand change for the company.BHP hit by perfect storm of dam disaster, falling prices and China fears Read moreThe move appeared to bookend a happy period when the Anglo-Australian mining colossus had rediscovered its direction after 19 people were killed in a disastrous dam burst at an iron ore joint venture in Brazil in 2015 and the share price sank to a 10-year low.But no sooner had BHP put the finishing touches to its fresh look on Monday than it found itself, for the second time in a month, the subject of an unflattering critique by a predatory US hedge fund.Upsetting BHPs big week was Elliott Advisors, whose Arsenal-supporting billionaire founder, Paul Singer, has earned a fearsome reputation for pursuing change at companies he thinks could make him more money. In April, Elliott wrote to investors demanding that BHP spin off its US oil assets and abolish its obsolete corporate structure that means it is listed in the UK and Australia. This week it adopted a more acrimonious tone, sledging BHPs management for chronic underperformance, adopting a do nothing approach and destroying shareholder value to the tune of billions of dollars.market cap BHP has yet to comment but its new image could appeal to the patriotism of its many small Australian shareholders and help rebuff Elliotts increasingly threatening advances. By evoking the companys gritty origins as Broken Hill Proprietary in remote New South Wales, BHP may have claimed to be thinking big but in reality is going back to basics.Even the Australian treasurer, Scott Morrison, got in on the act last week when he dismissed Elliotts initial suggestions about removing BHP from the Australian stock market as unthinkable . For good measure he added that taking the original big Australian offshore could lead to legal action against executives as it would contravene the terms of the 2001 merger.Facebook Twitter Pinterest The predatory US hedge fund Elliott Advisors says BHP should abolish its obsolete corporate structure that means it is listed in the UK and Australia. Photograph: Bhp Billiton/PR IMAGEMorrisons comments were telling and reveal that Elliott, which once seized an Argentinian warship to extract debt repayment from the Buenos Aires government , may have underestimated the attachment Australians feel towards its corporate champions.While people in the UK are used to seeing companies and utilities bought and sold to the highest bidder Cadbury, ICI, British Steel and Jaguar Land Rover have all disappeared or gone into foreign hands Australians appear more attached to their big names, especially ones worth billions and which have paid handsome dividends to shareholders and pension funds down the years.Richard Knights of the London-based investment banking and share brokerage firm Liberum Capital says Elliott had misjudged the likely political fallout from its proposal that BHP drop its stock market listing in Australia.I dont think they quite grasped how much part of the corporate fabric of Australia BHP is. It has a lot of mum and dad shareholders, a lot of pension money and retirement savings. Its a different culture to [the UK], where someone else manages your money. Theres more of a direct investment culture so theres a cultural angle that they missed.BHP sharespounds BHP shares He adds that the mining giants rebranding was also a factor. I think it ties into this whole cultural heritage, he says, because they spun off most of the Billiton assets so whats left is mostly BHP.While the finer points of brand awareness might not be a core consideration for a business that is focused on digging millions of tonnes of iron ore, coal and copper out of the ground, the significance is not lost on industry experts.Andrew Holt, the chief executive in Australia of the creative agency VCCP, says the Think Big campaign showed BHP was going back to its roots in order to restore its Australian-ness.That would seem a timely argument if youre trying to fight off a foreign investor, he says.Facebook Twitter Pinterest A rescue worker at Bento Rodrigues district after a dam owned by Vale SA and BHP Billiton Ltd burst in Mariana, Brazil, in November 2015. Photograph: Ricardo Moraes/ReutersElliott did admit this week that amid all the discussion of underperformance and unlocking optimal shareholder value, there was a cultural dimension to the number-crunching. We understood from the start that unification requires BHP to cut through certain complexity and that Australians in particular feel passionate about BHP remaining rooted in Australia, the hedge fund said.Elliott is promising to fight on. Its latest missive backtracked on scrapping the dual UK-Australia listing but it remains belligerent, claiming that BHPs purchase of the US shale interests have cost shareholders US$23bn. So although BHPs CEO, Andrew Mackenzie, has said he would consider selling the US shale oil business for the right price and met representatives of Elliott in Barcelona on Wednesday, it is unlikely the activist fund, which claims to speak for 4.1% of shareholders, will go quietly.Ric Spooner, the chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney, says many shareholders agreed with Elliott that BHP would be better off selling the US oil business and reinvesting the proceeds in other parts of the company.Profile: Argentina''s nemesis, hedge fund manager Paul Singer Read moreThe problem is BHP management has a dissenting view, he says. They dont agree that they would be better off by selling the oil assets. BHP believes that the advantage of oil is that it allows diversification and that it does well when other commodities do badly.Investec analyst Hunter Hillcoat says: In our view, BHPs chronic underperformance is not as chronic as Elliott makes out and some aspects of the Elliott presentation appear disingenuous and/or made with the benefit of hindsight.While BHP has certainly made poor investments, in our view it has been no worse than its peers in this regard.He admits there might be some merit in BHP selling its petroleum business, adding that the dispute could ultimately work in shareholders favour, even if BHP makes no major concessions. Whatever the outcome, Elliotts agitation should be good for BHP shareholders, in our view, if only to create greater transparency. And that could be a big plus at the end of the week.Topics BHP Billiton Mining Business (Australia) Fossil fuels Energy features Share Reuse this content'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/20/mine-craft-why-bhps-strategic-overhaul-could-help-repel-a-hedge-fund-predator'|'2017-05-20T07:19:00.000+03:00' +'8a0f86109806efd3ee77de77ec7eccd44984d423'|'MIDEAST STOCKS-Real estate sector lifts Egypt, Saudi volumes rise before Ramadan'|'Market News - Wed May 17, 2017 - 10:48am EDT MIDEAST STOCKS-Real estate sector lifts Egypt, Saudi volumes rise before Ramadan * Egypt''s SODIC jumps on expansion plans, strong Q1 results * Positive mood spills over to other developers * Saudi Arabia sees highest volume since January * Small caps outperform large caps * Dubai''s DAMAC continues climb on MSCI upgrade By Celine Aswad DUBAI, May 17 Egypt''s stock market outperformed its Gulf peers on Wednesday on the back of strong first-quarter earnings and positive news from a real estate developer, while Saudi Arabia saw increased activity as traders took positions ahead of Ramadan. Egypt''s index rose 1.0 percent as real estate firm Sixth of October Development (SODIC) jumped 4.2 percent to a four-month high in its heaviest trade since May 2014. The company''s chief executive told Reuters on Wednesday it planned to buy new land to the north and west of Cairo as part of an expansion plan. In total, SODIC would acquire land worth 600 million Egyptian pounds ($33.2 million). The value of contracted sales during the first quarter reached 1.2 billion pounds, beating the company''s target of 1 billion pounds. On Tuesday SODIC reported net profit of 211 million pounds for the first quarter, four times its year-ago profit. The positive sentiment spilled over into shares of other property developers with the largest by market value, Talaat Mostafa Group, adding 0.8 percent, recovering slightly from the previous day''s heavy loss on news that MSCI will remove the stock from its main Egypt index. Ezz Steel rose 2.1 percent after one of its subsidiaries reported an almost tripling in first-quarter net income compared with a year ago. Meanwhile, the Saudi index added 0.1 percent in the heaviest trading volume since January as much activity focused on second- and third-tier stocks. "Investors are taking positions or exiting them ahead of the holy month of Ramadan," said a Jeddah-based trader. Ramadan is expected to start on May 27. Saudi Paper Manufacturing gained 3.1 percent as about 3.2 million shares traded hands on Wednesday, more than triple the usual daily volume. Of the 20 most valuable companies by market capitalisation, only eight rose, with Almarai and Makkah Construction Development each gaining 1.7 percent. The Dubai index rose 0.5 percent as DAMAC Properties extended the previous session''s 2.9 percent gain to add a further 2.5 percent. Its shares have been rising since index compiler MSCI said on Monday that it would add the stock to its United Arab Emirates index on June 1. Arqaam Capital estimated the inclusion would bring $68 million of passive fund inflows into the stock. Abu Dhabi''s index edged up 0.3 percent as mid-sized Eshraq Properties, the most heavily traded share, climbed 2.8 percent and Abu Dhabi National Energy jumped 3.5 percent. Qatar''s index rose 0.2 percent with its main support from blue-chip banks; Qatar National Bank added 1.0 percent. HIGHLIGHTS * The index rose 0.1 percent to 6,947 points. DUBAI * The index added 0.5 percent to 3,395 points. ABU DHABI * The index edged up 0.3 percent to 4,594 points. QATAR * The index rose 0.2 percent to 10,145 points. EGYPT * The index gained 1.0 percent to 13,064 points. KUWAIT * The index rose 0.1 percent to 6,732 points. BAHRAIN * The index fell 0.3 percent to 1,310 points. OMAN * The index lost 0.2 percent to 5,423 points. (Editing by Andrew Torchia Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/mideast-stocks-idUSL8N1IJ3SE'|'2017-05-17T22:48:00.000+03:00' +'b0e7af59f5c4c7254ab4ab8ca9a2819809483ee8'|'TREASURIES-U.S. bond yields flat as weak auction offsets FBI Comey''s ouster'|'* Comey firing raises worries about Trump''s economic agenda * Treasuries bids diminish after poor 10-year note sale * U.S. 10-year yield retests 5-week high * Fed''s Rosengren sees possibly three more rate hikes in 2017 (Updates market action, adds Quote: ) By Richard Leong NEW YORK, May 10 U.S. Treasury yields were little changed on Wednesday as a weak 10-year note auction offset concerns about a political storm over U.S. President Donald Trump''s firing of the FBI director that could hinder his economic agenda. U.S. bond yields fell overnight in reaction to Trump''s abrupt dismissal of FBI Director James Comey late Tuesday. It drew a storm of criticism, mostly from Democrats, that the move was aimed at blunting the agency''s probe into the Trump presidential campaign''s possible collusion with Russia to sway last year''s election. The yield drop faded following below-average investor demand at a $23 billion 10-year note sale, the second leg of $62 billion quarterly refunding supply this week with benchmark yields retesting a five-week high reached on Tuesday. "It''s all taken in stride at this point," Bill Northey, chief investment officer at the private client group of U.S. Bank in Helena, Montana, said of Comey''s firing. "This is about the Fed and inflation levels." Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said on Wednesday the central bank should raise rates three more times in 2017 and start reducing its $4.5 trillion balance sheet. Interest rates futures implied traders saw an 83 percent chance that the Fed would raise its benchmark overnight rate by a quarter of a percentage point to a range of 1.00 percent to 1.25 percent at its June 13-14 policy meeting, compared with 88 percent on Tuesday, according to CME Group''s FedWatch program. Earlier Wednesday, the Labor Department said U.S. import prices grew 0.5 percent in April, which was above forecast and marked a fifth straight month of increases. Competition from a growing pipeline of higher-yielding corporate bonds also put upward pressure on Treasury yields. Companies have raised more than $23 billion with investment-grade bonds so far this week, according to IFR, a Thomson Reuters unit. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield touched 2.416 percent, a five-week high already struck on Tuesday. It was last at 2.407 percent, little changed on the day. The 30-year bond yield declined 1 basis point to 3.031 percent. It was below 3.047 percent set on Tuesday, which was its highest level since March 31. May 10 Wednesday 2:12PM New York / 1812 GMT Price US T BONDS JUN7 150-20/32 -0-4/32 10YR TNotes JUN7 124-212/256 0 Price Current Net Yield % Change (bps) Three-month bills 0.885 0.8993 -0.016 Six-month bills 1.0175 1.037 0.003 Two-year note 99-204/256 1.3548 0.000 Three-year note 99-206/256 1.5669 -0.003 Five-year note 99-184/256 1.9346 0.000 Seven-year note 98-152/256 2.2188 0.000 10-year note 98-160/256 2.4087 0.002 30-year bond 99-80/256 3.0351 -0.004 DOLLAR SWAP SPREADS Last (bps) Net Change (bps) U.S. 2-year dollar swap 25.00 -2.00 spread U.S. 3-year dollar swap 20.25 -3.50 spread U.S. 5-year dollar swap 6.25 -1.75 spread U.S. 10-year dollar swap -8.75 -1.50 spread U.S. 30-year dollar swap -46.50 -1.25 spread (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-bonds-idINL1N1IC1FR'|'2017-05-10T16:38:00.000+03:00' +'308535b2117e5fb8a5d4a08a5442b7ada09b12ca'|'Warren Buffett says he sold a third of stake in IBM - CNBC'|'Fri May 5, 2017 - 1:30am BST Warren Buffett says he sold a third of stake in IBM: CNBC Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett plays bridge during the Berkshire annual meeting weekend in Omaha, Nebraska May 3, 2015. REUTERS/Rick Wilking Berkshire Hathaway''s ( BRKa.N ) Warren Buffet has sold about a third of his stake in IBM Corp ( IBM.N ) during the first and second quarter of 2017, CNBC reported. "I don''t value IBM the same way that I did 6 years ago when I started buying... I''ve revalued it somewhat downward" Buffett told CNBC during an interview. (Reporting by Ahmed Farhatha in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-warren-buffet-ibm-stake-idUKKBN18101J'|'2017-05-05T08:24:00.000+03:00' +'ac813ba05688334aee0c867f9d7d8a85087d9754'|'U.K. election: Business is worried, whoever wins - May. 30, 2017'|'Theresa May: The UK is leaving the EU Businesses are worried about the British election. Whoever wins, they''re likely to find life harder. Prime Minister Theresa May called the surprise election for June 8 in the hope of winning a big parliamentary majority to bolster her hand in Brexit negotiations with the European Union that will begin later next month. May is still on course to win but her Conservative Party has seen its opinion poll lead over the opposition Labour Party narrow in recent weeks. The increased uncertainty has unsettled financial markets -- the pound was the worst performing major currency last week. Investors and company executives are still likely to favor May over Labour''s socialist leader Jeremy Corbyn, but they have concerns about both parties and their plans for government. Here are the biggest worries for business: Theresa May 1. Brexit threat May says she would rather have "no deal" with the EU on Brexit than a "bad deal," stoking fears that the U.K. could crash out of the EU without an agreement with its biggest trading partner. "The idea of being able to walk away empty handed might be a negotiating tactic, but it would in reality deliver a risky and expensive blow," said Terry Scuoler, the chief executive of EEF, which represents manufacturing firms. May has already said she wants to take the U.K. out of Europe''s unified market, while negotiating access to it. No deal, however, could cause chaos by introducing barriers to trade and disrupting complex supply chains. Some big banks have already started moving jobs out of the U.K. to safeguard their operations across the EU. Under EU rules, they can trade freely across the bloc as long as they have a base in one of the member states. Airlines say air traffic could be thrown into confusion because they rely on EU agreements. Automakers may have to move some production elsewhere. Labour leader Corbyn says the U.K. would leave the EU with a deal that "retains the benefits of the single market and customs union" if he were prime minister. Related: Americans are going to find it much harder to get a job in Britain 2. Fewer migrants Many voters backed Brexit because they want to reduce immigration. May has promised to cut annual net migration -- the difference between the number of migrants coming to the U.K. and the number of people leaving -- to below 100,000. That figure stood at 273,000 last year. But a sharp drop could cause serious problems for crucial sectors of the British economy, including hospitality, healthcare, construction and technology, which employ many migrant workers. May has also proposed doubling the fee British businesses have to pay for employing foreign workers . The British Chamber of Commerce said May''s approach to immigration would "worry companies of every size, sector, region and nation." Related: Brexit jobs tracker 3. Workers rights May is also promising to take a tougher approach on how companies are managed and top executive pay. She wants to make executive pay packages subject to binding annual votes by shareholders. Listed companies will also have to publish the ratio of executive pay to broader pay levels in the U.K. workforce. Under a Conservative government, workers would also be given a voice in the management of their companies, with representatives on the boards of all businesses. They will either have to nominate a director from the workforce, create a formal employee advisory council or assign responsibility for employee representation to a designated non-executive director. Related: EU citizens are leaving Brexit Britain Jeremy Corbyn 1. Higher taxes The Labour Party has promised to increase taxes on businesses and the rich to fund a huge increase in spending on education and health care. Labour wants the tax rate paid by corporations to increase to 21%, from 19% at present, and then to 26% by the start of the next decade. It plans to squeeze nearly 20 billion ($26 billion) out of businesses. Income tax would also go up for anyone earning more than 80,000 ($103,000). A new top 50% rate of tax would be introduced for anyone making over 123,000 ($158,000). "While Labour are making some specific and targeted propositions that could boost the growth prospects of small and medium-sized firms, these will be largely eclipsed by their proposals for higher personal and business taxes in the eyes of business leaders," said Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce. Related: Britain''s Bernie Sanders wants huge tax hike to make college free 2. Government intervention Corbyn wants to nationalize railways, energy companies and the Royal Mail, bringing those private companies back into state ownership. "High personal taxation, sweeping nationalization and deep intervention in business decision making are not the hallmarks of an ambitious and enterprising society," Marshall said. 3. A salary cap Corbyn has proposed capping salaries for top executives working in the public sector and for businesses bidding on government contracts. The cap would be set at 20 times the salary of the lowest paid worker in the company. That means any public sector organization or contractor employing a full time worker on the minimum wage -- equivalent to 14,382 per year -- could not pay its top executive more than 287,640. Corbyn has also proposed making unpaid internships illegal and giving more power to labor unions. CNNMoney (London) First published May 30, 2017: 11:12 AM ET'|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_news_economy.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/30/news/economy/election-uk-business-worried/index.html'|'2017-05-30T19:12:00.000+03:00' +'27fd62853458de8ab0fa2501c9142d6a77cbb578'|'Savills expects UK election to hit housing sales in next few weeks'|' 11:10am BST Savills expects UK election to hit housing sales in next few weeks FILE PHOTO - A builder assembles scaffolding as he works on new homes being built for private sale on a council housing estate, in south London June 3, 2014. REUTERS/Andrew Winning/File Photo LONDON International estate agency Savills ( SVS.L ) said it anticipated housing sales in Britain will be hit by a June 8 general election, but that its overall performance this year will be in line with expectations. Some Britons tend to put off major purchases due to the uncertainty created by an election although several builders reported that demand was not dented by 2015 polls, the last time a new government was elected. "The period leading up to the UK general election is expected to have a short-term adverse impact on residential transaction activity over the next few weeks," Savills said in a statement on Tuesday. The firm, which operates across Europe, North America, Asia and Australasia, said its overall performance in the first four months of the year was ahead of the same period last year and it would meet market expectations despite increased global political and economic uncertainty. (Reporting by Costas Pitas, editing by Louise Heavens)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-election-savills-idUKKBN185120'|'2017-05-09T18:10:00.000+03:00' +'748e41b4f5ed2e3ce84c8be554d7e1ca69738e74'|'IMF says Asia facing risks from rise in protectionism'|'Business News - 33am BST IMF says Asia facing risks from rise in protectionism SINGAPORE The International Monetary Fund said Asia''s economic outlook faces "significant" uncertainty and downside growth risks from any sudden tightening in global financial conditions or rise in protectionist trade policies. The IMF, which in April raised its 2017 Asia-Pacific growth forecast to 5.5 percent from its previous October forecast of 5.4 percent, said loose monetary and fiscal policies across most of the region would underpin domestic demand. "However, the near-term outlook is clouded with significant uncertainty, and risks, on balance, remain slanted to the downside," the IMF said in its Asia-Pacific regional economic outlook released on Tuesday. In April, the IMF kept the region''s 2018 growth forecast unchanged at 5.4 percent. Asia-Pacific recorded 5.3 percent growth in 2016. The report comes at a time when policymakers around the region are wrestling with the challenge of how to navigate rising risks of protectionism under U.S. President Donald Trump, and a potential increase in funding costs as the Federal Reserve steps up the pace of rate hikes. Continued tightening of global financial conditions could trigger volatility in capital flows, and the region could see large spillovers if China''s shift to a more consumption-driven economy proves bumpier than expected, the IMF said. "A possible shift towards protectionism in major trading partners also represents a substantial risk to the region. Asia is particularly vulnerable to a decline in global trade because the region has a high trade openness ratio, with significant participation in global supply chains," it said. The IMF said exchange rate flexibility should remain the "main shock absorber" against a sudden tightening in global financial conditions or shift toward protectionism. It added, however, that "judicious" foreign exchange intervention might be called for in certain cases, such as when disorderly market conditions or rapid exchange rate movements threaten financial or corporate stability. The IMF emphasised that foreign exchange intervention should not be used to resist currency moves that reflect changes in fundamentals including in the global trade environment or as a substitute for macroeconomic policy adjustments. Ageing demographics and a slowdown in productivity growth since the global financial crisis pose medium-term headwinds to the region''s economic growth, the IMF said, adding that parts of Asia risk "becoming old before becoming rich". "Adapting to aging could be especially challenging for Asia, as populations living at relatively low per capita income levels in many parts of the region are rapidly becoming old," it said. The IMF said monetary policy should generally remain accommodative in the region since inflation is below target and there is slack in most Asian economies. If growth weakens further, some regional central banks such as those in Malaysia and Thailand, may have room to cut interest rates as long as external stability is not compromised, while others in India, Indonesia, and Vietnam should be ready to raise interest rates if inflationary pressures strengthen, the IMF said. (Reporting by Masayuki Kitano; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-imf-asia-growth-idUKKBN185039'|'2017-05-09T09:10:00.000+03:00' +'db629a05a596ef4d0d090eb7746b9725511821e2'|'Regional bank First Horizon to buy Capital Bank for $2.2 billion'|'By Diptendu Lahiri First Horizon National Corp ( FHN.N ) said it would buy fellow regional bank Capital Bank Financial Corp ( CBF.O ) for $2.2 billion to boost its presence in the fast-growing U.S. southeast market.First Horizon''s offer price of $40.83 per share represents a discount of about 3 percent to Capital Bank''s Wednesday closing.Capital Bank''s shares, which have gained 40 percent in the past year, were trading just shy of the offer at $40.00 before the bell on Thursday.The deal is the latest in a spree of mergers between regional U.S. banks that started last year, spurred by low interest rates, lagging returns on equity and tough regulations.However, U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered reviews of major banking regulations put in place following the 2008 financial crisis. Federal Reserve policymakers have also signaled that a ''liftoff'' of interest rates may finally get underway this year.The combined company will have $40 billion in assets and $32 billion in deposits and will operate more than 300 branches across the Southeast, including Tennessee, South Carolina, Florida and Virginia.First Horizon will offer 1.750 shares and $7.90 in cash for each Capital Bank share - a ratio of 80 percent stock and 20 percent cash.Capital Bank shareholders will own a 29 percent stake in First Horizon after the deal closes.Earlier this year, Sterling Bancorp ( STL.N ) said it would buy Astoria Financial Corp ( AF.N ) in an all-stock deal valued at about $2.2 billion.In February, U.S. regional lender F.N.B. Corp ( FNB.N ) received regulatory clearances for its proposed acquisition of Yadkin Financial Corp ( YDKN.N ).Barclays Capital and Morgan Stanley & Co were financial advisers to First Horizon, while UBS Investment Bank advised Capital Bank.(Reporting by Diptendu Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Supriya Kurane and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-capitalbank-m-a-idINKBN1801DF'|'2017-05-04T10:40:00.000+03:00' +'f0f9a4a50a0a6064b90154c0a9b4b9bb40397ef8'|'Ultra-loose monetary policy raises risks, Germany''s Schaeuble says'|'Business News - 51pm BST Ultra-loose monetary policy raises risks, Germany''s Schaeuble says FILE PHOTO: German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble presents draft budget for 2018 and mid-term plans for state spending until 2021 during a news conference in Berlin, Germany, March 15, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo BERLIN The ultra-loose monetary policy environment raises new risks for the world economy, which is still feeling the effects of the 2008 financial crisis, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Tuesday, urging a timely exit strategy. Speaking at a G20 sponsored business conference in the German capital, Schaeuble rejected accusations that Germany was manipulating the euro to boost exports and rejected any form of protectionism as damaging to the world economy. "If we have learnt anything from the past, it is that nationalism and protectionism are never the right answer," he said. "We have to make our economies more robust. I am confused by those who say that Germany is unfairly manipulating monetary policy." Schaeuble warned that failure to shield the world economy from future financial shocks could spell turbulence. (Reporting by Joseph Nasr and Paul Carrel)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-g20-germany-economy-idUKKBN17Y1F2'|'2017-05-02T20:51:00.000+03:00' +'957ea91c755cf9376059ed806a154c98d0127273'|'Energy price rises help drive UK inflation up to 2.7% - Business'|'Inflation Energy price rises help drive UK inflation up to 2.7% Increases in clothing, car tax and air fares also blamed as pressure grows on living standards and consumer spending The ONS said producer output price inflation was above 5%, indicating further rises in inflation could be expected. Photograph: Rui Vieira/PA Inflation Energy price rises help drive UK inflation up to 2.7% Increases in clothing, car tax and air fares also blamed as pressure grows on living standards and consumer spending View more sharing options Tuesday 16 May 2017 15.58 BST First published on Tuesday 16 May 2017 10.04 BST The rising cost of electricity contributed to inflations rise to 2.7% in April, its highest level in three and a half years. Increases in the cost of clothing, car tax and air fares were also blamed by the Office for National Statistics for the rise in consumer price inflation (CPI) that exceeded City forecasts of 2.6%, and soared above the previous months figure of 2.3% . With wages increasing by just 1.9%, opposition parties and the TUC said the new inflation figure highlighted the growing pressure on living standards and consumer spending. UK inflation jumps to 2.7% as real wage squeeze worsens - business live Read more CPI inflation April 2017 The economy has grown over the last two years in response to a surge in consumer spending, fuelled largely by an increase in credit . But the fall in the value of sterling following the Brexit vote has pushed up the prices of imports, especially of food and clothing. The Bank of England predicted last week that inflation would peak at 2.7% in the summer. However, this forecast looks like it will need to be revised, especially after the ONS said producer output price inflation was above 3%, indicating that further rises in inflation could be expected. Liberal Democrat shadow business secretary Susan Kramer said : These worrying levels of inflation show the Brexit squeeze is hitting shopping baskets across the country. The TUC general secretary, Frances OGrady, said the government needed to protect workers from a slump in real wages . Working people are still 20 a week worse off, on average, than they were before the crash. Thats why living standards must be a key battleground at this election, she said. All the parties need to explain how theyll create better-paid jobs, especially in the parts of the UK that need them most. City economists were divided over the path of inflation over the next year, with some expecting a modest and brief rise above 3% while others said it would be more sustained. Alan Clarke, an economist at Scotia Bank, said he expected further electricity and gas price rises and that an acceleration in food price rises would push CPI inflation to 3.25% in the autumn. We remain convinced that the market is underestimating the further upside for inflation from here, he said. Clarke argued that the retail prices index (RPI), which includes some housing costs, was already at 3.5% and would rise to 4.25% before the end of the year, putting extreme pressure on consumers to cut back spending on non-essential items. The National Institute for Economic & Social Research (NIESR) forecast last week that British workers will see their disposable incomes shrinking this year as a result of rising inflation that will peak at 3.4%, while average wage rises are capped at only 2.7%. Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight, said rising inflation would put a further squeeze on real incomes and force Threadneedle Street to delay any move to raise interest rates. The Bank of England will most likely sit tight on interest rates through 2017 and 2018 and very possibly well beyond. We suspect it will end up remaining tolerant on the inflation overshoot given likely limited UK growth and the prolonged, highly uncertain outlook that the UK economy will face as the government negotiates the exit from the EU, he said. But Scott Bowman, UK economist at Capital Economics , was more optimistic that inflation would be held in check. He said many of the elements pushing up inflation were one-off factors and their effect would wane over the coming months. The sharp rise was mainly due to factors that, while they wont be reversed, shouldnt be repeated. Indeed, a large part of the rise in inflation reflected air fares reversing the previous months fall as a result of Easter shifting from March last year to April this year. Whats more, vehicle excise duty rates rose this April and tobacco and alcohol duty increased by more this year than they did last year, he said. Topics'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/16/energy-price-rises-help-drive-uk-inflation-up-to-27'|'2017-05-16T18:04:00.000+03:00' +'b03c4a8ca69dd834771fecad76ac5c830d666041'|'Santander or Bankia viewed as likely saviours for Spain''s Popular'|'Deals 09am EDT Santander or Bankia viewed as likely saviors for Spain''s Popular left right FILE PHOTO: The logo of Banco Popular is seen on its headquarter in Lisbon, Portugal, March 17, 2016. REUTERS/Rafael Marchante/File Photo 1/2 left right A logo of Santander, the euro zone''s largest lender by market value, is seen on a branch in the Andalusian capital of Seville, southern Spain January 27, 2016. REUTERS/ Marcelo del Pozo/File Photo 2/2 By Andrs Gonzlez and Jess Aguado - MADRID MADRID Spain''s biggest bank Santander ( SAN.MC ) or state-owned lender Bankia ( BKIA.MC ) are most likely to step in to save troubled Banco Popular ( POP.MC ), sources familiar with the talks told Reuters, although a deal is still far from guaranteed. Popular is racing to find a merger partner after Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos closed the door on Thursday to a potential bailout with public money, while a capital increase is facing resistance from the bank''s existing shareholders. Santander, which Popular, is attracted by the bank''s strong position in small and medium size company lending, a source close to Santander said, adding that it would probably have to raise cash to finance any bid. "I see Santander as being really motivated." Saddled with 37 billion euros of soured property assets, Popular has asked for binding offers by June 10 and aims to close a takeover by the end of next month, the sources said. The bank lost 3.6 billion euros in 2016 and has undergone three leadership shake-ups in less than a year. Its shares have fallen 65 percent over the past year and are the worst performers on the European STOXX banking index. Santander, Bankia and BBVA ( BBVA.MC ) all showed initial interest in Popular in a preliminary round of talks last week. BBVA, which declined to comment, does not rule out making an offer, but people familiar with its strategy say it sees a takeover deal as highly risky. It approached Popular with a tentative 1.2 euro per share offer late last year but never formally put forward a bid. BBVA believes any deal below this price would trigger liabilities of up to 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion), coming on top of restructuring and clean-up costs. Those liabilities relate to Popular''s capital increase in June 2016. Investors who bought into it at 1.25 euro per share could argue they were not given reliable information about the bank''s accounts and therefore paid over the odds. BAD BANK? Santander, which hired Citigroup earlier this year to work on a potential Popular deal, would have to raise at least 6 billion euros in a capital increase if it pursues a bid, the source close to the bank said, echoing analyst views. Popular''s final capital shortfall would not be known until a full due diligence has been completed, they added. Bankia, which also declined to comment, is another strong candidate, the sources said, because it not only has cash but also an excess of capital following its 22 billion euros state bailout in 2012 and a successful turnaround since then. Although it has not hired any advisers, Bankia could quickly find around 4 billion euros to buy Popular in cash and shares, paving the way for a transfer of part or all of Popular''s troubled real estate assets into Spain''s bad bank Sareb. While this would likely meet resistance in Madrid and Brussels, a condition for using the bad bank is to have received public money which would apply to Bankia, but not other bidders. "(Economy Minister) De Guindos is the one who will call the shots at the end of the day and its clear that he wants Bankia, and possibly Sareb, to be part of the solution," one source familiar with the process said. The economy ministry declined to comment. (Additional reporting by Carlos Ruano; writing by Julien Toyer; editing by Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-banco-popular-m-a-idUSKCN18F1HH'|'2017-05-19T21:02:00.000+03:00' +'288634c509868e6d43bd96bda9bd3eef253f314a'|'Puerto Rico benchmark GO debt price drops to record low'|'By Daniel Bases - NEW YORK NEW YORK Puerto Rico''s benchmark general obligation debt price fell to a record low on Tuesday in light trading as the prospect of a drawn-out restructuring of the island''s $70 billion debt load spurred selling.The financially strapped U.S. territory filed on May 3 for the largest U.S. municipal bankruptcy in the history of the $3.8 trillion market.The unprecedented filing was made under Title III, a provision of the 2016 federal rescue law known as PROMESA, which serves as an in-court debt restructuring process akin to U.S. bankruptcy.On Tuesday, a mixture of small odd-lot trades, combined with a few larger block trades, left the price on the defaulted benchmark 2035 GO bonds below a bid price of 60, its lowest price since the $3.5 billion issue was sold in March 2014, according to Thomson Reuters data. 74514LE86=MSRBThe bid price on the bonds, which were sold with an 8 percent coupon, fell as low as 58.45 points before settling around 59.41 late on Tuesday. The larger block trades, which mixed in between the odd-lot trades, briefly lifted bid prices into the 61.75/62 range before settling lower."The longer (Puerto Rico) draws out, the lower prices could end up going down because of the extending timeline," said Shaun Burgess, portfolio manager and lead trader for Puerto Rico strategy at Sarasota, Florida-based Cumberland Advisors."This is not going to be a fast process and market participants are coming to that realization and adjusting positions to newer estimated recovery time lines," he said.Puerto Rico''s bankruptcy dwarfs the prior record of $18 billion in 2013 that was held by Detroit. It took roughly 17 months to resolve Detroit''s case.On Friday, U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts appointed a U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain of the Southern District of New York to oversee the case.It remains unclear how much of the case will be handled in New York and how much will occur in San Juan. The judge''s chambers declined to comment.The federally appointed financial oversight and management board certified a 10-year fiscal turnaround plan that covers a quarter of the debt service required."And while the board is responsible for filing a restructuring plan, it will likely allow the government to craft the initial proposal. This puts creditors at a disadvantage because they may not propose alternative plans," said Sean McCarthy, head of municipal credit at PIMCO.(Reporting By Daniel Bases; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-puertorico-debt-idINKBN1852HJ'|'2017-05-09T18:42:00.000+03:00' +'de1d80b48fe84902c2ff11b213deeec383bbd466'|'U.S. judge grants partial injunction against Uber in Waymo car case'|'Technology News 3:59pm BST U.S. judge grants partial injunction against Uber in Waymo car case left right FILE PHOTO - A photo illustration shows the Uber app logo displayed on a mobile telephone, as it is held up for a posed photograph in central London, Britain October 28, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville/Illustration/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO - The Waymo logo is displayed during the company''s unveil of a self-driving Chrysler Pacifica minivan during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., January 8, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo 2/2 SAN FRANCISCO A U.S. judge granted a partial injunction against Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] in a high-profile trade secrets case with Alphabet''s ( GOOGL.O ) Waymo self-driving car unit, ordering Uber to promptly return any Waymo files downloaded by a former Waymo engineer. The ruling from U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco, made public on Monday, said Uber "likely knew" or should have known that the engineer, who now works at Uber, took Waymo materials while Uber was contemplating buying the engineer''s company. However, the judge also said few of Waymo''s alleged trade secrets have been traced to Uber''s self-driving car technology, and that Waymo''s patent claims against Uber have proved "meritless." (Reporting by Dan Levine; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-uber-alphabet-ruling-idUKKCN18B1W6'|'2017-05-15T22:55:00.000+03:00' +'633b5714dffb14c0263c217477adace768ed99ea'|'Trust office operator Intertrust: Blackstone holds 23.39 percent stake'|'AMSTERDAM Intertrust ( INTER.AS ), the Dutch trust company operator, said on Thursday a subsidiary of Blackstone Group ( BX.N ) now owns a 23.39 percent stake in the company following a transaction in which it placed 10 million Intertrust shares with institutional investors.(Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-intertrust-blackstone-group-idINKBN1870GI'|'2017-05-11T03:39:00.000+03:00' +'c384099fc84e4ff4eb32a81aa3dda7a2d8da1f89'|'Kotak Mahindra Bank to price share offer at top of range, raising $901 million'|'Money News 8:54am IST Kotak Mahindra Bank to price share offer at top of range, raising $901 million A man looks at a screen across the road displaying the Sensex on the facade of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai February 6, 2014. REUTERS/Mansi Thapliyal/Files HONG KONG Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd ( KTKM.NS ), the fourth biggest Indian lender by market capitalisation, is set to price a share offering at the top end of an indicative range, raising $901 million to bolster its balance sheet, IFR reported on Friday, citing a person close to the deal. The bank is pricing about 62 million new shares at 936 rupees each after earlier setting a 930-936 rupees indicative range, putting the total deal at 58 billion rupees ($901 million), said IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication. Kotak Mahindra Bank didn''t immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment on the share offering pricing. ($1 = 64.3900 Indian rupees)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/kotak-mahindra-bank-shareissue-idINKBN18809B'|'2017-05-12T01:24:00.000+03:00' +'504d1828b620420d7a74deaadbb963a4b1faaf96'|'EU mulls relocation of UK clearing after Brexit, but no decision yet'|'Business News - Thu May 4, 2017 - 1:44pm BST EU mulls relocation of UK clearing after Brexit, but no decision yet left right European Commission Vice-President for the Euro and Social Dialogue Valdis Dombrovskis holds a news conference at the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Vidal 1/3 left right European Commission Vice-President for the Euro and Social Dialogue Valdis Dombrovskis holds a news conference at the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Vidal 2/3 left right European Commission Vice-President for the Euro and Social Dialogue Valdis Dombrovskis holds a news conference at the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Vidal 3/3 BRUSSELS The European Commission is considering as a possible option the relocation of a big chunk of derivative clearing from London to the European Union after Britain leaves the bloc, but no decision has been taken yet, a top official said on Thursday. "At this stage we are not jumping to conclusions," Valdis Dombrovskis told a news conference. "What we are saying is we are doing an impact assessment to assess those different options, including enhanced powers of EU supervisory authorities outside the EU and including location policy," he continued, noting that maintaining the current equivalence regime for foreign-based clearing was also an option. (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio and Philip Blenkinsop)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-clearing-idUKKBN1801C4'|'2017-05-04T19:47:00.000+03:00' +'7b0381eb0fc72f33cbcd6300daf8bce14b4f58e5'|'Southern Co to manage construction of Georgia nuclear plant'|'Business News - Sat May 13, 2017 - 1:09am EDT Southern Co to manage construction of Georgia nuclear plant FILE PHOTO: The Vogtle Unit 3 and 4 site, being constructed by primary contactor Westinghouse, a business unit of Toshiba, near Waynesboro, Georgia, U.S. is seen in an aerial photo taken February 2017. Georgia Power/Handout via REUTERS SAN FRANCISCO Southern Co''s ( SO.N ) Georgia Power and Toshiba Corp''s ( 6502.T ) Westinghouse have reached a tentative deal to transfer project management of the expansion of a Georgia nuclear power plant to units of Southern Co, Georgia Power said in a statement on Friday. The interim agreement until June 3 will allow construction of the Vogtle plant expansion to continue, it said. Westinghouse Electric Co filed for bankruptcy in March, hit by billions of dollars of cost overruns at four nuclear reactors under construction, including at the Georgia project and another in South Carolina. The new interim service agreement allows Westinghouse to transfer project management to Southern Nuclear and Georgia Power, which are both units of Southern Co, after a current construction contract is rejected in Westinghouse''s bankruptcy. The Georgia project is owned by a group of utilities led by Southern Co. (Reporting by Peter Henderson; Editing by Robert Birsel)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-westinghouse-south-idUSKBN18903T'|'2017-05-13T13:09:00.000+03:00' +'3ec9335f6f9d3f62dc4b9336e104b454b6bd09f9'|'Thousands of foreign students in limbo as Careers Australia collapses'|' 54am BST Thousands of foreign students in limbo as Careers Australia collapses SYDNEY Careers Australia Group, a provider of vocational education and training, has gone into voluntary administration after losing government funding, putting 1,100 people out of work and 15,000 students in limbo, its administrators said on Friday. All work placements for students, many of them from overseas, will be suspended immediately as will all school-based apprenticeships and traineeships. Australia''s vocational education sector has been hammered by an exodus of foreign students, its main customer base, as universities offer more places in line with new rules allowing higher numbers of overseas students. "Regrettably, we have had to suspend all classes and stand down employees while we assess all options available to the business moving forward," said David McEvoy, partner at PPB Advisory, which was named as administrators late on Thursday. "We are working closely with management and key stakeholders to urgently determine whether the business can be sold or restructured." The collapse of Careers Australia, which has 14 campuses, comes as the government reviews the way funding is distributed to the sector. The Department of Education and Training said the firm had notified Careers Australia on Wednesday that it will not accredit the company for a new vocational education scheme. "Careers Australia did not meet three of the provider criteria: financial performance, management and governance and student outcomes," it said, adding that the government may provide financial assistance to affected students. The firm did not address the reasons for the denial of funding in its statement, saying only that the administration process provides an opportunity to explore options available to the group. (Reporting by Swati Pandey and Byron Kaye; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-australia-education-idUKKBN18M0P3'|'2017-05-26T15:54:00.000+03:00' +'8ffdce4ec0adfdb62979ef2e5dab5d4e4a70d2b3'|'Dutch deny PPG''s move to extend Akzo Nobel tender offer deadline: sources'|'By Greg Roumeliotis U.S. coatings maker PPG Industries Inc ( PPG.N ) said on Tuesday that the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) did not grant its request to extend a June 1 deadline for making a tender offer for Dutch paint maker Akzo Nobel NV ( AKZO.AS ).The Dutch regulator did not comment on reasons for rejecting the request.AFM''s decision ratchets up pressure on PPG to decide whether to take its offer directly to Akzo shareholders by filing formal tender offer papers with Dutch regulators by Thursday, or walk away for at least six months.Akzo has rejected three cash-and-stock offers from PPG since March. It turned down PPG''s latest offer of 26.3 billion euros ($28.8 billion) earlier this month.PPG''s board met on Tuesday to discuss its options, according to sources, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential."PPG will continue to assess all of its options including whether or not to file a preliminarily draft offer memorandum with the AFM by no later than June 1," the company said in a statement after Reuters reported on AFM''s decision.Akzo Nobel declined to comment.Akzo has argued a PPG takeover would be bad for employees and that the two companies'' cultures do not mesh. It has also said a deal faces antitrust hurdles, would be bad for the environment, and that Akzo should remain under Dutch ownership.PPG has countered that its offer represents more value for Akzo shareholders than the company''s standalone plan. It has sought to provide assurances it can close the deal and that it will uphold Akzo''s commitments to communities in the Netherlands.A Dutch court on Monday rejected a request by Akzo investors, led by activist hedge fund Elliott Advisors, for an extraordinary general meeting to remove Akzo Chairman Antony Burgmans over his reluctance to engage in talks with PPG.An unsolicited bid by PPG would be considered hostile by Akzo, which has protective measures against hostile takeovers. One of its ownership entities is a foundation that holds sufficient voting power to block any deal.Akzo has unveiled its own standalone plan, which calls for operational improvements and cost savings, as well as exploring a spin-off or sale of its specialty chemicals business.Akzo''s specialty chemicals business makes ingredients used in industrial processes and products, including polymers, salt and chloralkalines used for making everything from foodstuffs to household products, paper, vehicles and constructing buildings.(Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Matthew Lewis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-akzo-nobel-m-a-ppg-inds-idINKBN18Q2HS'|'2017-05-30T18:57:00.000+03:00' +'9ff7abb162f83bfea094a3491dce970ee678a618'|'Exclusive - Dubai looking into forming $1 billion shipping investment fund: sources'|'Business 53pm BST Exclusive - Dubai looking into forming $1 billion shipping investment fund: sources left An aerial view of Jebel Ali Port in Dubai October 25, 2010. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: A cargo ship is silhouetted as the sun sets along the coast of Manila bay in Metro Manila, Philippines January 27, 2017. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco/File Photo 2/2 By Jonathan Saul and Tom Arnold - LONDON/DUBAI LONDON/DUBAI Dubai is looking into creating a $1 billion (772 million) investment fund focused on shipping to develop the Gulf city''s maritime sector and ride out a global industry downturn, three finance sources familiar with the plans say. The sources said the Dubai Maritime City Authority, the government entity responsible for developing the maritime industry in the emirate, was examining ways to establish a fund to provide financial investment support to Dubai-based firms. "There is interest in this idea (from Dubai). At this stage it is fact finding," one source said. The Dubai Maritime City Authority was not immediately available to comment. A second source said there had been initial discussions so far, adding that a tender could be issued by the authority in the coming months to hire an adviser. The sources said the funds would not replace financing from banks, but could be used to help companies buy ships or stage transactions such as initial public offerings and mergers. The second source said the fund could either be financed by private investors or state-owned banks, or both, with the loans it provided likely to be guaranteed by the government. The sources said if the fund were established quickly, it could be used to support a bid to acquire United Arab Chemical Carriers (UACC), a shipping firm whose biggest shareholder, Dubai-run United Arab Shipping Company, is trying to sell it as part of conditions for a merger with German container line Hapag Lloyd ( HLAG.DE ). UACC has been estimated to be valued at $200 million. Two of the sources said the need for an investment fund had arisen due to difficulties that shipping-related ventures faced accessing bank capital and export credit financing in the United Arab Emirates as a whole. Like other maritime hubs, the UAE and its main shipping centre Dubai are struggling with a near decade long downturn in global shipping, which has hurt profitability and brought down companies such as South Korean container line Hanjin. Many European banks are either exiting or scaling back lending to the shipping sector, which has left a funding black hole estimated at tens of billions of dollars this year. Regional banks also do not have dedicated shipping finance desks. With 90 percent of world trade transported by sea, the sources said the idea for the initiative was also aimed at ensuring more strategic stability for Dubai. Gulf Arab countries have aimed to diversify their economies away from oil. At the same time, regional rival Iran, still struggling to attract foreign investment after Western sanctions were lifted in January 2016, is also aiming to boost its shipping sector and revitalise international trade after years of isolation. The UAE''s shipping fleet is estimated to be valued at $9.9 billion and ranked in 17th place, according to ship valuation company VesselsValue. No. 1 ship owning nation Greece''s fleet is valued at just over $95 billion. (editing by Peter Graff)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-emirates-shipping-fund-idUKKBN18K1RX'|'2017-05-24T21:27:00.000+03:00' +'e96dfb1f97a0a42acc04ccf2a1c1a684bad04929'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'(Adds Warburg Pincus, Steinhoff, Dow Chemical; Updates Shanghai Pharma)May 17 The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Wednesday:** South African retail group Steinhoff said it was kicking off a process to separately list its African retail businesses on the Johannesburg stock exchange which it said would avoid those assets being undervalued.** Brazil approved the planned merger of Dow Chemical Co and DuPont, conditioned on a global divestment plan including its Brazilian corn seed business.** An affiliate of private equity firm Warburg Pincus sold a 25 percent stake in Indian non-bank lender Capital First Ltd for 17.67 billion rupees ($275.4 million) in stock market transactions.** Big stock exchange mergers are currently off the table for German stock exchange operator Deutsche Boerse following a failed attempt to link up with London Stock Exchange , CEO Carsten Kengeter said.** Britain has sold its last remaining stake in Lloyds Banking Group, making the lender the first to re-emerge from British state ownership in a symbolic step for the country''s recovering banking sector.** Swiss trading giant Glencore and U.S. private equity investor Carlyle Group have teamed up in an attempt to buy Morocco''s only oil refinery, hoping to recoup about $600 million in loans they issued to the plant before it went bankrupt, industry sources said.** Shanghai Pharmaceutical Holding Co Ltd said it may bid for Stada Arzneimittel AG - a move that would pit it against buyout firms Bain and Cinven which have made a joint offer of nearly $6 billion for the German generics drugmaker.** Bankers are preparing around 800 million euros of debt financing to back a potential sale of German packaging group Constantia Labels, banking sources said.** Russia''s largest oil producer Rosneft and Italian energy company Eni have signed an agreement to broaden cooperation, including in possible joint oil product supplies to Egypt, Rosneft said.** Israel''s Delek Drilling and Avner Oil , both units of conglomerate Delek Group, said they have completed a long-awaited merger and will begin trading next week as one company.** Energy group Czech Coal has extended its 10 billion crown ($420 million) offer to buy the Pocerady coal-fired power plant from Czech utility CEZ, it said, giving more time for the deal to overcome state objections. (Compiled by Sruthi Shankar and Akankshita Mukhopadhyay in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/deals-day-idUSL4N1IJ4CP'|'2017-05-18T00:07:00.000+03:00' +'ecbfbb668a4291652a2934e7ba7111d5db462cb9'|'Financial broker NEX flags subdued activity since the start of the year'|' 25am BST Financial broker NEX flags subdued activity since the start of the year UK-based financial broker NEX Group reported higher profit for the year to March, but said that trading activity since the start of the year had remained subdued due to low volatility. NEX, which was known as ICAP before it sold its voice broking business to TP ICAP last year, said its trading operating profit from continuing operations rose 4 percent to 145 million pounds in the year ended March 31. Revenue from continuing operations increased by 18 percent to 543 million pounds, said Nex, which matches buyers and sellers of bonds, swaps and currencies. "Our performance remains strong in a tough market environment," Chief Executive Michael Spencer said in a statement. Financial market volatility has fallen to historic lows in recent months, despite global and political uncertainty, which Nex said was translating into relatively light trading volumes. (Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-nex-group-results-idUKKCN18B0JH'|'2017-05-15T14:25:00.000+03:00' +'9c4609555b2a0109369b9b858bc420f2741b5927'|'PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - May 25'|'May 25 The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.- The Pentagon conducted a navy patrol in the South China Sea, U.S. officials said, the first such operation under U.S. President Donald Trump designed to send a signal to China about U.S. intentions to keep critical sea lanes open in the Pacific Ocean. on.wsj.com/2rWhAY9- Federal Reserve officials expected at their policy meeting this month that it would "soon be appropriate" to raise short-term interest rates, a signal the U.S. central bank could move in June at its next gathering. on.wsj.com/2qcsDzP- Federal prosecutors filed insider-trading charges against one of Wall Street''s best sources of tradable information from the government, accusing him of relaying a series of tips from an obscure bureaucrat inside a key health-care agency to traders at a New York hedge fund. on.wsj.com/2rju3J2- Sears Holdings Corp sued a vendor for demanding what the retailer says are unjustified changes to their supply contract, the latest signal of supplier discontent with Sears'' turnaround strategy. on.wsj.com/2qRlW56- Activist investor Dan Loeb plans to publicly push for changes to the complicated combination and breakup of Dow Chemical and DuPont, according to a presentation reviewed by the Wall Street Journal. on.wsj.com/2qYqy7N (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/press-digest-wsj-idUSL4N1IR236'|'2017-05-25T12:54:00.000+03:00' +'865682ec4188b8129ed63a0cf891ae6262692c8c'|'Chile''s Ripley, Mexico''s Liverpool cancel merger -regulatory filing'|'SANTIAGO May 19 Chilean retailer Ripley said in a regulatory filing late Friday that its planned acquisition by Mexican high-end department store chain Liverpool has been scrapped."Ten months having passed since the announcement of the agreement, a series of geopolitical and economic changes in the countries and markets in which both parties operate have occurred, which brought this termination about," the company said. (Reporting by Gram Slattery; editing by Diane Craft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/puerto-liverpool-ripley-idINC0N1HI04G'|'2017-05-19T20:31:00.000+03:00' +'f1e061c6707e1ef90395fc26894fa23435dba582'|'Tax on test: do Britons pay more than most? - Money'|'L abours plan to tax incomes over 80,000 more heavily is a massive tax hike for the middle classes that will take Britain back to the misery of the 1970s, according to rightwing newspapers. But are British households that heavily taxed? A comparison of personal tax rates across Europe, Australia and the US by Guardian Money reveals how average earners in Britain on salaries of 25,000, or middle-class individuals on 40,000, enjoy among the lowest personal tax rates of the advanced countries, while high earners on 100,000 see less of their income taken in tax than almost anywhere else in Europe . Our survey found that someone earning 100,000 in the UK in effect loses about 34.3% of their pay to HM Revenue & Customs once personal allowances, income tax and national insurance are taken into account. The one-third reduction is roughly the same as the US, Australia and Spain, but a long way behind the 38% in Germany, 41% in Ireland, 45% in Sweden and up to 59% in France (though the French figures include very large pension contributions). Note that these figures are a rough guide only. International tax comparisons are bedevilled by large numbers of factors. We compared rates for a single person with no children and with no special allowances. Most countries tax individuals rather than households, but France taxes couples, which has the impact of reducing the burden on a high earner with an at-home partner. Autonomous regions within countries impose their own varying taxes. We converted euros, dollars and krona into sterling at a time when the pound had fallen rapidly; some earnings might have translated into higher tax bands abroad before sterling plunged.Some countries, such as the US, raise relatively large revenues from property taxes. Others squeeze revenue from sales taxes 25% in Sweden, 19% in Germany. While there is some harmonisation of income tax rates, social security varies dramatically. Australia imposes a small medical levy of 2%. Frances charges can be as high as 30%.One of the most striking facts to emerge is church taxes. In Germany, individuals are expected to give 8% of their income to the church. EU officials may look forward to the day when the single currency is teamed up with a single tax policy. But what emerges from our survey is how elaborate each countrys tax and social security systems are. Britains actually looks relatively simple compared with Frances. The Brexit negotiations will be a walk in the park compared with any attempt to harmonise the EUs 27 national tax and social security systems.United Kingdom Facebook Twitter Pinterest Photograph: Antenna Audio/Getty Images/GeoNova Gross salary 25,000After tax 20,279Tax rate 18.9%Gross salary 40,000After tax 30,480Tax rate 24.8%Gross salary 100,000After tax 65,780Tax rate 34.3%Britains tax system is made up of income tax bands at 20%, 40% and 45%, plus national insurance contributions of a further 12%, with low earners benefiting from a tax-free personal allowance at 11,500, which is higher than most other countries.Higher earners pay income and social security taxes that are on a par with the US, Australia and Spain, but which are much less than those in France, Sweden and Ireland. VAT, levied at a standard rate of 20%, is towards the lower end of sales tax rates across the EU, though council taxes are relatively high by comparison.Ireland Gross salary 25,000After tax 21,183 Tax rate 15.3%Gross salary 40,000After tax 29,624Tax rate 26%Gross salary 100,000After tax 59,000Tax rate 41%While Ireland remains a low-tax haven for giant multinationals, its resident population has suffered steep tax increases after its banks collapsed and it was forced into a 57bn IMF-EU bailout.Its 20% and 40% standard tax bands are identical to Britain but start at a much lower level. Unlike the UKs 11,500 personal allowance, the Irish dont have one in the same sense rather a tax credit that reduces their bill by 3,300. After the financial crisis struck, the government brought in the emergency universal social charge, which starts at 2.5% on incomes over 13,000 but rises to 8% on incomes over 70,044. That means workers in Ireland in effect pay 48% tax on earnings above 60,000.The government also brought in a local property tax (equivalent to Britains council tax), plus hugely controversial water charges.VAT, at 23%, is also higher than in many other European countries. The Irish taxpayers dont even get an equivalent to the UKs National Health Service for all this tax, having to pay 50-65 for each GP visit, and 2,000 a year for family health insurance policies. However, they enjoy a relatively high at 192 a week basic state pension. After the economy expanded by 5.2% in 2016 (Europes fastest growth rate) and with another 3.5% expected this year, there is widespread anticipation of personal tax cuts to come. The states coffers will also swell if Apple is forced to pay 11bn in back taxes demanded by the EU, which would payable to the Republic.Garry ORourke of TaxAssist in Dublin, who helped compile the figures for Guardian Money, says: Though the Irish tax system is progressive earners hit the top rate of income tax very quickly, 33,800 per annum. Generally personal tax rates in Ireland are slightly higher than the UK and they have been since the financial crisis. France Facebook Twitter Pinterest Photograph: John Macdougall/AFP/Getty Images Gross salary 25,000After tax 17,050Tax rate 31.8%Gross salary 40,000After tax 23,520Tax rate 41.2%Gross salary 100,000After tax 40,600Tax rate 59.4%What appear to be extraordinarily high tax rates should really be viewed as tax plus pension contributions. The French pay no income tax on the first 9,710 of their income, then 14% on sums up to 26,818. After that the rate is 30% through to 71,898. These rates are lower than the corresponding 20% and 40% rates in Britain, and the maximum rate 45% is the same as in the UK. The huge difference is in social security contributions, which are vastly higher and more complex than the UKs, but that pay for vastly higher welfare benefits.Most taxpayers typically pay around 25% of their salary in social security, compared with 12% in the UK. But for this they receive arguably the worlds best health service, unemployment benefit typically at 65% of your former pay (up to a ceiling of about 6,000 a month, compared with 72.40 a week in the UK), and generous state pensions worth up to 50% of your former salary. If a 40,000-a-year worker in the UK wanted a state pension similar to that in France, he or she would likely be contributing similar amounts in tax as the worker in France.The French system, though, makes Britains look simple. The Paris-based British financial journalist who helped compile the above figures for us said: After 25 years in France I still dont understand the payslip you get at the end of the month. But while it costs a lot to live in France, the benefits especially health and unemployment are very good. Additional reporting by Judith Prescott Spain (Catalonia) Gross salary 25,000After tax 20,812 Tax rate 16.7%Gross salary 40,000 After tax 31,000 Tax rate 22.1%Gross salary 100,000 After tax 65,700 Tax rate 34.3%Spains effective tax rates are surprisingly similar to the UKs, and its relatively low rate of tax on higher earners may explain why Madrid has emerged as the surprise competitor to Paris, Frankfurt and Dublin for Brexit-fleeing banks.Each autonomous region of Spain has its own tax rates, with the figures above calculated for someone living in Barcelona. The highest combined state and regional tax rate is around 48%. Chris Burke of Spectrum IFA, who calculated the figures for us, says homeowners also pay an annual tax on the value of their property, currently around 900 on a home valued at 300,000, so slightly less than typical council tax rates in the UK. However, he says that inheritance tax has shifted enormously in recent years, having been raised to 19% during the financial crisis but now starting at just 1%.Germany Gross salary 25,000After tax 18,923 Tax rate 24.3%Gross salary 40,000After tax 27,256 Tax rate 31.8%Gross salary 100,000 After tax 61,740Tax rate 38.3%Basic rates of tax are around the same as in Britain (ranging from 19% to a top rate of 45%), but workers have to pay an extra 10% for state pensions, 8% for health, 1.5% for unemployment cover and 1% for care insurance. That all adds up to a lot more than Britains 12% national insurance but, like France, Germanys public services and welfare payouts are regarded as far superior. We used the brutto-netto-rechner.info site to calculate take-home pay.The solidarity tax of 5.5% of income (to pay for German reunification) is due to be phased out soon, but the government is proving very reluctant to do so, writes our Berlin correspondent, Kate Connolly . The big shock for British taxpayers is the countrys church tax, which is 8% or 9% of income, depending on which part of Germany you live in. Under German law, anyone who has been baptised is automatically a member of the church and obliged to pay the tax, irrespective of their beliefs or whether they attend church services. Individuals can formally renounce their church membership and stop paying the tax, but they may risk losing access to some of the countrys best schools and childcare facilities. The tax brings in around 10bn a year, split roughly half and half between the Protestant and Catholic church.Sweden Gross salary 25,000After tax 19,500 Tax rate 22%Gross salary 40,000 After tax 30,000 Tax rate 25%Gross salary 100,000 After tax 55,000 Tax rate 45%The top rate of tax is 57%, but the tax agency is nearly as popular as Abba. Swedes have a small personal allowance then pay taxes averaging 32% on incomes up to 39,000, rising to 52% on incomes up to 57,000, with a top rate of 57%. VAT is nearly the highest in the EU at 25%. But there is broad support for a cradle-to-grave welfare system, with pensions that pay out about 60% of a persons final salary. A church and burial tax is about another 1%-2% of income.United States Facebook Twitter Pinterest Photograph: Royce Bair/Getty Images Gross salary 25,000After tax 19,925Tax rate 20.3%Gross salary 40,000After tax 30,280Tax rate 24.3%Gross salary 100,000After tax 65,800Tax rate 34.2%Precise tax comparisons are difficult in the US because of the myriad federal, state and local tax rates, and an equally wide range of deductions and allowances. We chose New York state for our comparison, where the state taxes are relatively high. That might help to explain the surprising discovery that people on low earnings see more of their income disappear in tax than those in the UK, while high earners are taxed relatively lightly. State and local sales taxes in New York City, at 8.875%, are markedly lower than the 19%-25% VAT rates common in the EU. However, property taxes are relatively high in the US, with homeowners in the New York/New Jersey/Connecticut area, for example, typically having to pay upwards of $5,000-$7,000 a year.Australia Photograph: Junior Gonzalez/Getty Images/fStop Gross salary 25,000After tax 21,275Tax rate 14.9%Gross salary 40,000After tax 31,080Tax rate 22.3%Gross salary 100,000After tax 66,900Tax rate 33.1%Australia emerges as one of the lower tax countries in Guardian Moneys survey. Australians currently pay nothing on the first A$18,200 (10,500) of their income, then 19% above that, with a top rate of 45% on incomes over 105,000 a year.An additional 2% medical levy (which is soon to rise to 2.5%) helps to pay for public health services, though many Australians also choose to buy private insurance. In general, Australians pay slightly more income tax than their equivalent earners in the UK, but the countrys medical levy is far lower than the UKs national insurance contributions, leaving the total tax burden lower.Despite this, the Australian basic state pension is about 12,000 a year and unemployment benefit is 145 a week, depending on past contributions.Topics Tax Tax and spending Europe Americas Family finances features '|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/may/27/tax-britons-pay-europe-australia-us'|'2017-05-27T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'3c346ae560f5bec5b22c64bc1d8f080133b031b3'|'Nikkei hits 17-month high as foreign investors buy cyclical shares'|'* Turnover, volume both heavy* Short-term hedge funds seen covering short positions - analyst* Steel shares underperform after U.S. anti-dumping probeBy Ayai TomisawaTOKYO, May 8 Japanese shares hit levels not seen in more than 17 months on Monday in heavy trade as the yen stayed weak after Emmanuel Macron was elected president of France, as a business-friendly vision of European integration helped boost investor confidence.The Nikkei share average soared 2.3 percent to 19,895.70, the highest closing level since early December 2015. It was the biggest daily percentage gain since mid-February.Macron''s resounding victory over a nationalist, who had threatened to take France out of the European Union, brought relief to investors who had feared another populist upheaval after Britain''s vote to exit the European Union last year.Traders said long-term foreign investors such as pension funds and mutual funds had chased the market higher last month by buying Japanese stocks with robust earnings. But on Monday, short-term foreign investors such as hedge fund managers who were seen shorting Japanese stocks on geopolitical risks in late March to early April were seen covering their short positions."Political risks in Europe were one of the biggest risks of the year, but with Macron winning French election, such risks have receded so they are seen buying back," said Norihiro Fujito, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.He said foreigners were seen buying cyclical stocks and companies with strong growth such as Keyence Corp, which ended 4 percent higher.All of the Topix''s 33 subsectors were in positive territory, and turnover was 3.4 trillion yen, the biggest since early December.On the other hand, steel shares underperformed after U.S. trade officials on Friday said their anti-dumping and subsidy probe found carbon and steel cut-to-length plate from eight other countries harms American producers, locking in duties on the imports for five years.JFE Holdings and Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Corp fell about 0.3 percent each.The broader Topix rose 2.3 percent to 1,585.86, with 2.408 billion shares changing hands, the highest since mid December.The JPX-Nikkei Index 400 advanced 2.3 percent to 14,168.72. (Reporting by Ayai Tomisawa; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-close-idINL4N1IA2IP'|'2017-05-08T04:47:00.000+03:00' +'6864f78cd72de030efbf3672f44257f62559e25e'|'BRIEF-Omega Advisors Inc takes share stake in Alcoa, Netflix'|'Market News - Mon May 15, 2017 - 11:32am EDT BRIEF-Omega Advisors Inc takes share stake in Alcoa, Netflix May 15 Omega Advisors Inc: * Omega Advisors Inc takes share stake in Alcoa Corp of 200,000 shares - SEC filing * Omega Advisors Inc ups share stake in Dish Network Corp by 51.6 percent to 1.1 million Class A shares * Omega Advisors Inc takes share stake in Ally Financial Inc of 790,000 shares - SEC filing * Omega Advisors cuts share stake in Microsoft to 436,570 shares from 803,620 shares * Omega Advisors Inc takes share stake of 77,700 shares in Netflix Inc * Omega Advisors Inc cuts share stake in Pandora Media Inc by 36.4 percent to 1.9 million shares * Omega Advisors Inc dissolves share stake in Delta Air Lines Inc * Omega Advisors dissolves share stake in Anadarko Petroleum Corp * Change in holdings are as of March 31, 2017 and compared with the previous quarter ended as of Dec 31, 2016 Source text for quarter ended March 31, 2017 ( bit.ly/2ri6tsb ) Source text for quarter ended Dec. 31, 2016: ( bit.ly/2ri6mNh ) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-omega-advisors-inc-takes-share-sta-idUSFWN1IH130'|'2017-05-15T23:32:00.000+03:00' +'524697a49fda49c3e03301ce1815a888721d3204'|'UPDATE 1-Manchester United lift full-year revenue and profit forecast'|'Tue May 16, 2017 - 7:53am EDT Manchester United lift full-year revenue and profit forecast FILE PHOTO: A Manchester United supporter wears an ''anti-Glazer'' protest scarf before their English Premier League soccer match against Liverpool at Old Trafford in Manchester, northern England March 21, 2010. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne English Premier League soccer club Manchester United ( MANU.N ) raised its full-year revenue and profit forecast for 2016-17 as it prepares for the Europa League final next week. United, whose best known players include Paul Pogba and Wayne Rooney, said it expected to report full-year revenue between 560-570 million pounds, better than its previous forecast of between 530-540 million pounds. The club also increased its forecast for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to 185-195 million pounds for 2016-17. Its previous forecast was for a figure of between 170 and 180 million pounds. "We look forward to a strong finish to 2016-17, both on and off the pitch," said Executive Vice Chairman Ed Woodward. United are currently only in sixth spot in the 20-team Premier League but have reached the final of the Europa League. Victory over Ajax Amsterdam in the final on May 24 would be rewarded with a place in next season''s Champions League, Europe''s most lucrative club competition. Controlled by the American Glazer family, United have won the English league title a record 20 times but had slipped from their own lofty standards in recent seasons. However, the club lifted its first title under its new coach Jose Mourinho, winning the League Cup in February by beating Southampton 3-2 at Wembley. Broadcasting revenue grew 12.9 percent to 31.4 million pounds ($40.5 million) for the quarter ended March 31, primarily due to the impact of the new Premier League broadcasting agreement, the club said. Total revenue for the quarter grew 3.1 percent to 127.2 million pounds. However, EBITDA for the three months fell to 30 million pounds from a record 44.9 million pounds a year earlier. (Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Keith Weir)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-manchester-utd-results-idUSKCN18C1C0'|'2017-05-16T19:46:00.000+03:00' +'d738384225bd1dfefef0a8256144b9c073654a8d'|'British Airways battles third day of disruption, image blow after IT meltdown'|'By Alistair Smout - LONDON LONDON British Airways (BA) said it would take steps to ensure there was no repeat of a computer system failure that stranded 75,000 passengers over a holiday weekend and turned into a public relations disaster.BA had been forced to cancel all its flights from Heathrow, Europe''s busiest airport, and Gatwick on Saturday after a power supply problem disrupted its operations worldwide and also hit its call centers and website.The airline was returning to normal on Monday, planning to run more than 95 percent of flights from London Heathrow and Gatwick, with only a handful of short-haul flights canceled.BA Chief Executive Alex Cruz said the root of the problem, which also affected passengers trying to fly into Britain, had been a power surge on Saturday morning which hit BA''s flight, baggage and communication systems. It was so strong it also rendered the back-up systems ineffective, he said."Once the disruption is over, we will carry out an exhaustive investigation into what caused this incident, and take measures to ensure it never happens again," Cruz said.Over the weekend, some stranded passengers curled up under blankets on the floor or slumped on luggage trolleys, images that played prominently online and in newspapers."Apologizes all well and good but not enough. BA has lost another loyal customer #disgraceful," tweeted Tom Callway, who had been due to fly to Budapest.The company was left counting the cost of the disruption, both in terms of a one-off impact to its profit and the longer term damage to its reputation.Spanish-listed shares of parent company IAG, which also owns carriers Iberia, Aer Lingus and Vueling, dropped 2.8 percent on Monday after the outage. The London-listed shares did not trade because of a public holiday.Flight compensation website Flightright.com said that with around 800 flights canceled at Gatwick and Heathrow on Saturday and Sunday, BA was looking at having to pay around 61 million euros ($68 million) in compensation under EU rules. That does not include the cost of reimbursing customers for hotel stays.BA would fully honor its compensation obligations, Cruz said. Of the 75,000 passengers who missed out on flights, around two-thirds would have been flown to their destinations by the end of Monday, he added.COST CUTTINGBA has been cutting costs to respond to competition on short-haul routes from Ryanair and easyJet and recently faced criticism for starting to charge passengers for their in-flight snacks.Ireland''s Ryanair was quick to seize on the marketing opportunity, tweeting "Should have flown Ryanair" with a picture of the ''Computer says no'' sketch from the TV series "Little Britain" to poke fun at BA.Ryanair said it had seen a spike in bookings over the weekend but gave no further details.The GMB union said that BA''s IT systems had shortcomings after they made a number of staff redundant and shifted their work to India in 2016."This could have all been avoided. BA in 2016 made hundreds of dedicated and loyal IT staff redundant and outsourced the work to India," Mick Rix, GMB National Officer for Aviation, said.Cruz rejected the union criticism."They''ve all been local issues around a local data center, which has been managed and fixed by local resources," he told Sky News.Several passengers complained about a lack of information from BA staff at the airport. Others said their luggage had been lost.The airline said it was working to get reunite passengers with their luggage after many items were left at Heathrow over the weekend, although staff on Twitter warned this "could take some time".While other airlines have been hit by computer problems, the scale and length of BA''s troubles were unusual.Delta Air Lines Inc canceled thousands of flights and delayed many others last August after an outage hit its computer systems.Last month, Germany''s Lufthansa and Air France suffered a global system outage which briefly prevented them from boarding passengers.(Reporting by Alistair Smout; Additional reporting by Victoria Bryan in Berlin, Costas Pitas in London and Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Keith Weir)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-britain-airports-heathrow-idINKBN18P01O'|'2017-05-29T09:08:00.000+03:00' +'84061e8e26d8a9558694539cf938518b2cdab33b'|'Credit checker Experian expects more growth after revenue rises'|'Business News 32am BST Credit checker Experian expects more growth after revenue rises Experian Plc, the world''s biggest credit data company, expects another year of good growth, it said on Thursday, after reporting a 5 percent rise in full-year organic revenue from ongoing activities at constant exchange rates, helped by strong growth across all regions. The company, best known for running consumer credit checks for banks, landlords and retailers, reported a 10.9 percent rise in pre-tax profit to $1.07 billion (825.4 million pounds). The FTSE-100 company said revenue for the year ended 2016 rose 2.3 percent to $4.34 billion, excluding the impact of a 75 percent stake sale in its email marketing division. "We anticipate another year of good growth with stable margins and further progress in benchmark earnings per share," the company said in a statement. Experian, which earns the bulk of its revenue overseas, said benchmark earnings before interest and taxes for the period rose 4.7 percent to $1.20 billion. The company said in January that it expected full-year organic revenue to grow in mid-single digits in percentage terms on a constant currency basis, and an impact of about 1 percent to full-year benchmark earnings before interest and taxes on current exchange rates. (Reporting By Justin George Varghese; editing by Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-experian-results-idUKKCN18E0OV'|'2017-05-18T15:32:00.000+03:00' +'b53d5eb19b81ab31c18350f63edd58fa31a10d73'|'Companies use kidnap insurance to guard against ransomware attacks'|'Technology News - Fri May 19, 2017 - 12:31pm EDT Companies use kidnap insurance to guard against ransomware attacks left right Cables and computers are seen inside a data centre at an office in the heart of the financial district in London, Britain May 15, 2017. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: A screenshot shows a WannaCry ransomware demand, provided by cyber security firm Symantec, in Mountain View, California, U.S. May 15, 2017. Courtesy of Symantec/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo 2/2 By Suzanne Barlyn and Carolyn Cohn - NEW YORK/LONDON NEW YORK/LONDON Companies without cyber insurance are dusting off policies covering kidnap, ransom and extortion in the world''s political hotspots to recoup losses caused by ransomware viruses such as "WannaCry", insurers say. Cyber insurance can be expensive to buy and is not widely used outside the United States, with one insurer previously describing the cost as $100,000 for $10 million in data breach insurance. Some companies do not even consider it because they do not think they are targets. The kidnap policies, known as K&R coverage, are typically used by multinational companies looking to protect their staff in areas where violence related to oil and mining operations is common, such as parts of Africa and Latin America. Companies could also tap them to cover losses following the WannaCry attack, which used malicious software, known as ransomware, to lock up more than 200,000 computers in more than 150 countries, and demand payments to free them up. Pay-outs on K&R for ransomware attacks may be lower and the policies less suitable than those offered by traditional cyber insurance, insurers say. "There will be some creative forensic lawyers who will be looking at policies," said Patrick Gage, chief underwriting officer at CNA Hardy, a specialist commercial insurer, in London. He added, however, that given that K&R policies are geared towards a threat to lives, "our absolute preference is that people buy specific cover, rather than relying on insurance coverage that is not specific". American International Group Inc ( AIG.N ), Hiscox Ltd ( HSX.L ) and the Travelers Companies Inc ( TRV.N ) have been receiving ransomware claims from some customers with K&R policies as ransomware attacks become more common, the companies said. The insurers declined to comment on total claims, citing confidentiality and client security concerns. "We are seeing claims (over the past 18 months) but not a huge uptick," a Hiscox spokeswoman said. "These are within expectations and entirely manageable." She declined to say whether the firm had seen any such claims from the WannaCry attacks though Tom Harvey, an expert in cyber risk management at catastrophe modeling firm RMS, said "insurers with kidnap and ransom books will want to look closely at their policy wordings to see whether they are exposed." A sharp rise in ransomware attacks in the past 18 months has driven companies to use K&R policies to cover some of their damages if they do not have direct cyber coverage or cannot meet initial cyber policy deductible costs, insurers said. Symantec Corp, ( SYMC.O ), a cyber security firm based in Mountain View in California, observed over 460,000 ransomware attempts in 2016, up 36 percent from 2015, the company said. The average payment demand ballooned from $294 to $1,077, a 266 percent increase. But as the threat mounts, K&R insurers are at risk from steeper claims than they had anticipated. They are responding by making changes to their policies, which were not designed around ransomware, insurance brokers said. MORE DAMAGING THEN KIDNAPPING Most of the computers affected by WannaCry were outside the United States, where companies have been slow to buy cyber insurance. Nearly 90 percent of the world''s annual cyber insurance premium of $2.5-3 billion comes from the U.S. market, according to insurance broker Aon Plc ( AON.N ). Global companies typically buy K&R policies without ransomware in mind. But instances of high-tech hacks and online ransom demands can hit a companys business more than an executive being held hostage. "If your CFO (chief financial officer) gets kidnapped, the company is going to continue to function," said Bob Parisi, cyber product leader for insurance broker Marsh, a subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc. ( MMC.N ) "If you get a piece of malware in the system, you might have two factories that stop working. The actual damage is probably greater." The K&R policies, which typically do not have deductibles, cover the ransom payments as well as crisis response services, including getting in touch with criminal and regulatory authorities, said Kevin Kalinich, global head of Aon''s cyber risk practice. Still, K&R policies may provide only a quick fix since they were not designed for ransomware. Companies can add coverage for business interruption, but the upper limits for pay-outs are usually lower than for a cyber policy, insurers say. K&R insurers have been adapting to ransomware-related claims - some are modernizing coverage by setting up Bitcoin accounts for clients to speed up ransom payments, brokers said. But insurers are mindful of their own risks. Some have added deductibles, said Anthony Dagostino, head of global cyber risk at Willis Towers Watson PLC ( WLTW.O ) advisory and brokerage. AIG has reduced business interruption coverage for K&R policies to a $1 million maximum for cyber extortion events. "Insurers didn''t anticipate there would be this much ransomware activity," said Tracie Grella, global head of cyber risk insurance at AIG. (Amends wording on AIG in penultimate paragraph.) (Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn and Carolyn Cohn; Editing by Carmel Crimmins and Timothy Heritage)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cyber-attack-insurance-idUSKCN18F1LU'|'2017-05-19T21:51:00.000+03:00' +'994abab6db6b4bfa13f4b92a5baebb2a5822c402'|'Buffett to face big crowd as Berkshire grows bigger'|'Money 49pm IST Buffett to face big crowd as Berkshire grows bigger FILE PHOTO - Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, speaks at the Fortune''s Most Powerful Women''s Summit in Washington, DC, U.S. on October 13, 2015. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo By Jonathan Stempel As the United States adapts to the presidency of Donald Trump and faces rising tensions abroad, Berkshire Hathaway Inc shareholders will descend on Omaha, Nebraska this weekend seeking reassurance, from Warren Buffett. The weekend known as "Woodstock for Capitalists" is unique in corporate America, a celebration of the billionaire''s image and success at a conglomerate whose businesses range from Geico insurance to the BNSF railroad to See''s candies to Ginsu knives. Buffett, 86, and vice chairman Charlie Munger, 93, will answer five hours of questions at Saturday''s annual meeting. Many say it reinforces their views about investing and Berkshire, even if it remains unclear how much new they learn. "Watching someone like (Buffett) with strong command on details of the economy and Berkshire''s operations is very impressive," said Meyer Shields, a Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst who rates Berkshire "market perform." "But you''re not going to learn a lot about Berkshire Hathaway the company." Last year''s attendance fell to about 37,000 from more than 40,000 a year earlier. But there were also 1.1 million real-time sign-ons to Yahoo Finance, which webcast the meeting for the first time. It will do so again, in English and Mandarin. LARGE, LARGE ORGANIZATION Much of Berkshire''s relative outperformance came decades ago when it was much smaller, and even Buffett has called the company''s huge size an "anchor on investment performance." Buffett has said Berkshire owns 10 businesses big enough to make the Fortune 500 list of large U.S. companies on their own. But details can be thin. For example, aircraft parts maker Precision Castparts, acquired last year for $32.1 billion, merited about a page in Berkshire''s annual report. Precision''s final annual report, in 2015, ran 87 pages. "It''s a large, large organization," said Jeffrey Stacey, founder of Stacey Muirhead Capital Management in Waterloo, Ontario, who is attending his 26th straight meeting. "I am willing to give it the benefit of the doubt because the track record has been so good for so long." Buffett said in February that boosting disclosure could put many Berkshire businesses at a disadvantage, and that "it''s the growth of the Berkshire forest that counts." He also knows the perils of conglomerates, saying in 2015 that dubious accounting, self-promotion and mediocre businesses make them "richly deserve" their "terrible" reputation. Buffett says Berkshire is different, in part because he took Munger''s advice to buy wonderful businesses at fair prices. Shareholders enjoy that focus less than they once did. Berkshire''s share price has slightly lagged the Standard & Poor''s 500 including dividends during the eight-year bull market, but has outperformed since the global financial crisis mushroomed in September 2008. Shields, who is not attending Saturday''s meeting, wants Buffett to reveal more, even if shareholders can "safely assume" his eventual successor as chief executive is top-flight. ISSUES APLENTY While Buffett and Munger do not know in advance the questions they will get from shareholders, journalists and analysts at Saturday''s meeting, they can anticipate many. Buffett may need to review Berkshire''s support of Wells Fargo & Co, in which it holds a roughly 10 percent stake, despite a sales scandal over bogus customer accounts. He may also get questions about his support for 3G Capital, a Brazilian firm known for ruthless cost-cutting. Berkshire controls Kraft Heinz Co with 3G, and recently tried to help 3G buy Unilever NV for $143 billion. Trump is sure to come up. Buffett did not support his election but Berkshire''s book value could swell by $36 billion with his proposed corporate tax cuts, Barclays Capital said. Buffett may also get questions about his surprise bets on Apple Inc and the four biggest U.S. airlines. Having gone over a year since a big acquisition, Buffett may be asked how he can better deploy the $86.4 billion of cash, equivalents and Treasury bills that Berkshire recently held. Succession may also come up. Indeed, Buffett has already delegated work to lieutenants like Ajit Jain, Gregory Abel, Tracy Britt Cool and Todd Combs that he once would do himself. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Jennifer Ablan and Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/berkshire-buffett-preview-idINKBN17Z0JQ'|'2017-05-03T15:19:00.000+03:00' +'f935fca2d7cce65b0be2b0942218caf9721e76a0'|'RBS sets out new pay proposals to shrink bonuses for top executives'|'Thu May 11, 2017 - 5:23pm BST RBS defends directors'' bonuses in response to criticism FILE PHOTO: The Royal Bank of Scotland is seen in the High Street Melrose in the Scottish Borders, Scotland, Britain April 27, 2017. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne By Andrew MacAskill and Lawrence White - EDINBURGH/LONDON EDINBURGH/LONDON Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ) Thursday defended its new executive pay plan at its annual shareholder meeting on Thursday after some investors criticized the policy for still being too generous. A number of firms have faced investor rebellions in recent years over excessive payouts to company bosses and a broader social backlash has prompted the British government to consider changing the rules around corporate governance. Despite the voices of dissent in Edinburgh where the state-controlled lender held its AGM, shareholders voted overwhelmingly to back the bank''s executive pay plan, with over 96 percent approving the proposals. RBS said it had recognized that its pay policies had become too complex and the new plan would reduce excessive risk-taking. "The time is right for a new, simpler approach, developed specifically to align with RBS''s culture and our thinking on pay," Sandy Crombie, the chairman of RBS''s remuneration committee, said. Pensions and Investment Research Consultants (PIRC) and Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), two leading advisory groups, had urged shareholders to vote against the pay policy. ISS said while the overall size of potential bonuses are being cut for Ross McEwan, its chief executive, and Ewen Stevenson, its finance director, the plan makes it easier to pay out. PIRC said executives should only be rewarded for the period they serve the company and not receive any payout when they leave. "We disagree with the conclusions reached in these reports and strongly challenged the view from ISS that the level of discount was insufficient," Crombie said. The board faced a barrage of questions from irate shareholders throughout the meeting, ranging from handling of past scandals to branch closures. Shareholders also criticized the bank''s decision to reject demands for greater powers for ordinary shareholders to have a say on issues such as executive pay, company strategy and director appointments. Chairman Howard Davies rebuffed criticism of the more than 100 million pounds RBS has spent defending itself against investors suing the bank over a cash call at the height of the financial crisis. RBS was criticized earlier this month for the "staggering" costs it has spent on its "Rolls-Royce" legal team by the judge overseeing its battle with investors over the firm''s then record 12 billion pound rights issue in 2008. "The costs we are having to meet are high because of the extraordinary breadth and complexity of the case," Davies said. The civil lawsuit has been brought by thousands of investors who bought shares in 2008 and lost most of their money when the bank collapsed a few months later, resulting in a 45.5 billion pound ($58.6 billion) government bailout. The case is due to begin later this month and disgraced former RBS chief executive Fred Goodwin is scheduled to appear in court early next month. (Reporting By Andrew MacAskill, Lawrence White and Simon Jessop; Editing by Jane Merriman and Elaine Hardcastle)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-rbs-agm-idUKKBN1871RP'|'2017-05-11T21:21:00.000+03:00' +'1e81b4bef23207252599eba67029a86f5dc42900'|'Credit Suisse on track to achieve end-2018 cost target - chairman'|'Business News - Thu May 18, 2017 - 10:06am BST Credit Suisse on track to achieve end-2018 cost target - chairman Chairman Urs Rohner of Swiss bank Credit Suisse attends the bank''s extraordinary shareholder meeting in Zurich, Switzerland May 18, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann ZURICH Credit Suisse is on track to hit its targeted cost base by end-2018, Chairman Urs Rohner said on Thursday, part of a broad restructure of Switzerland''s second-biggest bank. "Accordingly, we are well on track to achieve a cost target of 17 billion Swiss francs (13.4 billion pounds) by the end of 2018, which is significantly lower than our original cost target of 18.5 billion Swiss francs," Rohner said in a speech at Credit Suisse''s extraordinary general meeting. Credit Suisse shareholders are voting the board''s proposal to raise around 4 billion francs to get its financial strength on a par with rivals. (Reporting by Joshua Franklin and Oliver Hirt)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-credit-suisse-gp-egm-chairman-idUKKCN18E10U'|'2017-05-18T17:06:00.000+03:00' +'f8a3b607db945a6487431355bf08cb1e0e49bbe7'|'UPDATE 1-Linde chairman in last-ditch Praxair appeal to board members'|'FRANKFURT/MUNICH A crack has appeared in German labor opposition to Linde''s ( LING.DE ) proposed merger with U.S. peer Praxair ( PX.N ), three people familiar with the deal told Reuters, making it likely that the $73 billion deal will be approved on Thursday.One Linde labor representative on the supervisory board may not vote with the other five against the merger, the people said on Wednesday, meaning that the vote will probably be carried by the six shareholder representatives on the board.The all-share merger of equals is intended to create a market leader that will overtake France''s Air Liquide ( AIRP.PA ), in what is likely to be the last major deal in an already highly consolidated industry."It seems there is not complete unity at the moment," one of the people said, citing uncertainty over how Frank Sonntag, head of the works council at Linde''s Dresden engineering plant, would vote on Thursday.The other labor representatives including trade unions fiercely oppose the merger because they fear a dilution of the influence they enjoy under German law since the headquarters of the new company is set to be in another European country.But the struggling Dresden plant whose workers Sonntag represents is vulnerable to closure if the deal does not go ahead. The framework merger agreement includes a five-year job guarantee for German workers.Sonntag''s secretary earlier said Sonntag did not want to comment on the upcoming supervisory board meeting. Later calls to his office were not returned.Like all German companies above a certain size, Linde''s board of directors has equal representation of labor and capital interests.Imposing decisions such as a major merger without the agreement of workers is rare. Linde Chairman Wolfgang Reitzle has said repeatedly he would be reluctant - although prepared - to force it through without a consensus.Securing one abstention from a labor representative could spare him the necessity to use his casting vote.The proposed all-share merger of equals still also requires approval by Praxair''s shareholders and boards.German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries earlier urged Linde not to force the deal through against the will of workers."The proposed merger of Linde and Praxair requires the employees to accept it because a takeover cannot work well without the complete support of the workforce," Zypries said in a statement.She said she supported a call for mediation by Michael Vassiliadis, head of trade union IG BCE."The aim of all participants should be to get a broad consensus. Every day without common communication damages the company and so jobs," the minister said.Zypries is a member of the Social Democratic Party, which has strong ties to the trade unions. Federal elections will be held in Germany this September.(Additional reporting by Gernot Heller in Berlin; Writing by Georgina Prodhan and Michelle Martin; Editing by Keith Weir and Edmund Blair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-linde-m-a-praxair-minister-idUSKBN18R1D7'|'2017-05-31T22:45:00.000+03:00' +'8c80df18689a28904f1c26b3470b54aadf0d42b5'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'May 15 The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1000 GMT on Monday:** Malaysian palm oil producer Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd said it had signed an initial deal with a unit of China''s grain stockpiler aimed at expanding its palm oil supply and distribution network in its third biggest market.** Italy''s Atlantia launched a 16.34 billion euro ($18 billion) cash-and-share offer for Spain''s Abertis on Monday in a bid to create the world''s biggest operator of toll roads, with 14,095 km under its management.** The general manager of Lebanon''s Blom Bank said on Monday he thinks "there will be a new wave of consolidation" in the country''s banking sector.** South Africa''s Vodacom said on Monday it will buy a 35 percent stake in Safaricom from its parent company Vodafone for 34.6 billion rand ($2.59 billion), expanding its reach into Kenya.** SNC-Lavalin will not raise its offer for British engineering and construction firm WS Atkins unless it faces a rival bid for the British firm, the Canadian construction and engineering group said on Monday.** Gold producer Eldorado Gold Corp has agreed to buy the remaining shares of Integra Gold Corp, to expand its mining opportunities in the Eastern Abitibi region of Canada.** As U.S. paintmaker PPG Industries considers whether to keep pursuing Dutch peer Akzo Nobel after being rebuffed three times, the fate of the Dulux owner is moving into uncharted territory. (Compiled by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/deals-day-idINL4N1IH2W3'|'2017-05-15T07:47:00.000+03:00' +'68a8c21ac4597ffd02d67b1844b149c933d7b78b'|'US STOCKS-Futures flat ahead of jobs report; IBM drops'|'Market News - Fri May 5, 2017 - 7:28am EDT US STOCKS-Futures flat ahead of jobs report; IBM drops * Futures: Dow down 7 pts, S&P up 1.5 pts, Nasdaq up 3 pts By Yashaswini Swamynathan May 5 U.S. stock index futures were flat on Friday, with investors on the sidelines ahead of a crucial monthly jobs report that could influence the chances of an interest rate hike next month. * Shares of IBM tumbled 3 percent premarket after Warren Buffett said he had sold about a third of his stake in the company. The stock was the biggest loser among the Dow and S&P companies trading before the bell. * Investors are hoping for a rebound in jobs growth in April, after a sharp slowdown in March, that could pave the way for the Federal Reserve to raise rates in June. * The report from the Labor Department, due at 8:30 a.m. ET (1230 GMT), is expected to show 185,000 jobs were added last month, compared with an underwhelming gain of 98,000 in March. * Traders have priced in 70 percent odds of the Fed raising rates in June, after the central bank earlier this week downplayed weak first-quarter economic growth and emphasized the strength of the labor market. * Despite concerns over economic growth, U.S. companies have generally handed in better-than-expected earnings reports for the quarter. * Overall profits for S&P 500 companies are estimated to have risen 14.8 percent in the first quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. That is higher than the 10.1 percent growth rate estimated at the start of the earnings season. * Wall Street ended flat on Thursday as a steep fall in oil prices countered some solid earnings reports. * Oil prices are trading near five-month lows, triggering demand for safe-haven assets. Gold is likely to remain in favor ahead of the final round of the French presidential election on Sunday. * Zynga jumped nearly 11 percent to $3.14 after the creator of FarmVille gave a strong current-quarter bookings forecast. * VWR Corp slipped 4.4 percent to $32.55 after a private equity firm said it would buy the lab supplies company at a discount to its Thursday''s close. Futures snapshot at 6:59 a.m. ET: * Dow e-minis were down 7 points, or 0.03 percent, with 15,791 contracts changing hands. * S&P 500 e-minis were up 1.5 points, or 0.06 percent, with 78,359 contracts traded. * Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 3 points, or 0.05 percent, on volume of 15,463 contracts. (Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-idUSL4N1I72ZY'|'2017-05-05T19:28:00.000+03:00' +'91d71c0f95fe72eb23358f1376c3155293c79fe7'|'Audi CEO''s contract to be extended through end-2022: sources'|'BERLIN Audi ( NSUG.DE ) boss Rupert Stadler will be given another five years as chief executive, the luxury division of German carmaker Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) said on Wednesday.Stadler, who has run Audi since 2007, has faced criticism for his handling of the group''s emissions cheating scandal. The 54-year-old, along with fellow executives, is expected to face questions from shareholders on Thursday about a March 15 raid by German prosecutors looking into the scandal.The supervisory board vote to extend Stadler''s contract, which is due to expire at the end of this year, was unanimous, Audi said.Two sources close to the Volkswagen group had earlier told Reuters that Audi''s supervisory board would extend the CEO''s contract through to the end of 2022 at a meeting on Wednesday."We employees attach very clear conditions to this contract extension," Peter Mosch, chairman of Audi''s works council and a member of the presiding committee of the supervisory board, said in a statement."Rupert Stadler must safeguard employment at our sites in Germany for the long term, ensure good utilization of our plants'' capacities and systematically promote technologies that guarantee a successful future for our company."Audi admitted in November 2015 that its 3.0 liter V6 diesel engines were fitted with an auxiliary control device deemed illegal in the United States that allowed vehicles to evade U.S. emissions limits.Volkswagen has agreed to spend up to $25 billion in the United States to address claims from owners, environmental regulators, states and dealers and offered to buy back about 500,000 polluting U.S. vehicles.Audi said on Wednesday it was upgrading and expanding its area of responsibility for integrity, with the chief compliance officer in future reporting directly to the finance chief.(Writing by Andreas Cremer and Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Alexander Smith and Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-audi-ceo-idUSKCN18D15Z'|'2017-05-17T18:37:00.000+03:00' +'9eef4bd5df3be0d07c4658b265fe88976809ba90'|'UK''s Deliveroo scraps contract ban on riders seeking workers'' rights'|' 34am BST UK''s Deliveroo scraps contract ban on riders seeking workers'' rights A cyclist delivers food for Deliveroo in London, Britain, September 15, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo By Costas Pitas - LONDON LONDON British food courier firm Deliveroo has removed a contract clause which banned its self-employed riders from seeking workers'' rights, according to documents seen by Reuters, in the latest victory for unions and politicians cracking down on the "gig economy." With their distinctive black and teal jackets, Deliveroo riders have become a familiar sight on London streets since the firm started trading in 2013, tapping into the rapidly growing demand for takeaway food delivered from restaurants. But like taxi app Uber [UBER.UL], which also operates in the gig economy where people tend to work simultaneously for different firms without a fixed contract, Deliveroo has been criticised for not offering rights such as holiday and sick pay. In its new contract, the firm removed a clause which featured in some older agreements and read: "Neither you nor anyone acting on your behalf will present any claim in the Employment Tribunal or any civil court in which it is contended that you are either an employee or a worker." The stipulation was criticised by a British parliamentary inquiry last month, which said the contracts used by a series of burgeoning new apps were "unintelligible." Deliveroo, which said in March it would remove the clause, did not immediately respond to a request for comment when contacted by Reuters on Friday. Despite the clause, it faces an employment tribunal hearing later this month where a union is seeking to represent the firm''s riders in an area of London in a push for workers'' rights, the latest bid to regulate the sector. Last year, it started paying riders per delivery rather than per hour, which sparked opposition from some of its riders, forcing it to say they could opt out of the new system, although the trials are continuing in some places. Deliveroo''s new contract has also been cut by nearly half to four pages and removed the need for riders to provide a two-week notice period before quitting the firm. In an email sent to riders, the firm''s UK and Ireland Managing Director Dan Ware also made clear they could work for rivals. "As an independent contractor you are free to work with whoever you choose and wear whatever kit you want. There continues to be no requirement to wear Deliveroo-branded kit while you work with us," he said. A previous contract said riders not wearing a Deliveroo-branded T-shirt must wear the firm''s jacket and restricted the use of the box fitted to the back of bikes, making it difficult for drivers to accept multiple jobs from different providers. (Editing by Stephen Addison)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-deliveroo-idUKKBN1881CE'|'2017-05-12T18:34:00.000+03:00' +'24d14bcdbfcc7d78ab8c8c1ed342420ffd77879c'|'M&S profits dive by nearly two-thirds as clothing sales slide - Business'|'Marks & Spencer has reported a 64% drop in annual profits to 176.4m as weak clothing sales were compounded by more than 400m of restructuring costs relating to the new chief executives turnaround plan.The retailer made a headline pre-tax profit before one-off items of 613.8m on sales of 10.6bn. But once 437m of charges, including 156m relating to pay and pensions changes and 184m to cover store closures in the UK and overseas, were taken into account, its statutory pre-tax profit dived by 63.5% to 176.4m.M&Ss clothing and homewares sales tumbled by 5.9% in the first three months of 2017, which was far worse that analysts expectations of a 3.3% decline. The retailer also reported a weaker-than-expected performance from its food halls, where underlying sales fell by 2.1%. Sales in the fourth quarter were hit by calendar changes that saw key December sales days and Easter fall outside the quarter.M&S puts faith in fashion novice from Halfords and retail veteran Read more Steve Rowe, the M&S chief executive, said: I am pleased with our progress and we remain on track. As we have made improvements to our clothing and home product and proposition, our customers have noticed; we are starting to stabilise market share and importantly have seen full price market share growth, as we removed excessive discounting. The planned restructuring of M&S has come with a cost and has impacted profits, but the business is still strongly cash-generative and we reduced our net debt. Rowe , who began his retail career aged 15 with a Saturday job at M&Ss Croydon store in south London and took over as chief executive in April 2016, is seeking to revive the 132-year-old retailers declining profits. His biggest job is turning around its clothing arm, which under predecessor Marc Bolland relied on heavy discounting to attract shoppers. Rowe initially concentrated on lowering clothing prices and running fewer promotions while promising female shoppers wearable rather than catwalk fashions. He upped the ante in the autumn, unveiling a five-year plan to slash the amount of trading space devoted to clothing by 10% and instead focus on the expansion of its upmarket food halls. Rowe also pulled the plug on 53 company-run stores in loss-making overseas markets including China, France, Belgium and Poland.John Ibbotson, the director of the retail consultancy Retail Vision , described the results as awful. With inflation eating into the profits of the once reliable food offering, and a string of one-off expenses slicing into profits elsewhere, the net result has been to send pre-tax profits tanking by nearly two-thirds, he said. M&S remains a dysfunctional dichotomy premium food with dowdy clothing.Ibbotson said M&Ss new chairman, Archie Norman, could not arrive soon enough. He said: Drastic action is needed to turn around M&S and Norman will not be afraid to take it.Topics Marks & Spencer Retail industry news '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/24/m-and-s-profits-clothing-sales-restructuring'|'2017-05-24T15:59:00.000+03:00' +'923985ee6970657d1ba8bbc424b32eb7ef6461a4'|'Banks planning to move 9,000 jobs from Britain because of Brexit'|'Mon May 8, 2017 - 6:25pm BST Banks planning to move 9,000 jobs from Britain because of Brexit City workers cross the River Thames with the City of London financial district seen behind them, in Britain October 27, A man walks past the head office of Standard Chartered bank in the City of London February 27, 2015. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh 2/2 By Anjuli Davies and Andrew MacAskill - LONDON LONDON The largest global banks in London plan to move about 9,000 jobs to the continent in the next two years, public statements and information from sources shows, as the exodus of finance jobs starts to take shape. Last week Standard Chartered ( STAN.L ) and JPMorgan ( JPM.N ) were the latest global banks to outline plans for their European operations after Brexit. They are among a growing number of lenders pushing ahead with plans to move operations from London. Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) chief executive Lloyd Blankfein said in an interview on Friday that London''s growth as a financial center could "stall" as a result of the upheaval caused by Brexit. Thirteen major banks including Goldman Sachs, UBS ( UBSG.S ), and Citigroup ( C.N ) have given an indication of how they would bulk up their operations in Europe to secure market access to the European Union''s single market when Britain leaves the bloc. Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/2qRZIxW Talks with financial authorities in Europe have been underway for several months, but banks are increasingly firming up plans to move staff and operations. "It''s full speed ahead. We are in full motion with our contingency planning," said the head of investment banking at one global bank in London. "There''s no waiting." Although the moves would represent about 2 percent of London''s finance jobs, Britain''s tax revenues could be hit if it loses rich taxpayers working in financial services. The Institute for Fiscal Studies - a think tank focused on budget issues - said in a report on Thursday the rest of the population will have to pay more if top earners move. The exact number of jobs to leave will depend on the deal the British government strikes with the EU. Some politicians say bankers have exaggerated the threat to the economy from Brexit. The plans of large banks such as Credit Suisse and Bank of America and many smaller banks are still unknown. Frankfurt and Dublin are emerging as the biggest winners from the relocation plans. Six of the 13 banks favor opening a new office or moving the bulk their operations to Frankfurt. Three of the banks will look to expand in Dublin. Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) said on Apr. 26 up to 4,000 UK jobs could be moved to Frankfurt and other locations in the EU as a result of Brexit - the largest potential move of any bank. JPMorgan last week announced plans to move hundreds of roles to three European cities in the next two years. This is still significantly lower than the 4,000 figure JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon first estimated before the vote. Estimates for possible finance-related job losses from Brexit are on a broad range from 4,000 to 232,000, according to separate reports by Oliver Wyman and Ernst & Young. Banks are treading carefully, enacting two-stage contingency plans, to avoid losing nervous London-based staff as they work out how many jobs will have to eventually move. This suggests that the numbers could potentially rise further depending on what deal is eventually negotiated between the EU and Britain. This first phase involves small numbers to make sure the requisite licenses, technology and infrastructure are in place, while the next will depend on the longer term strategy of a bank''s European business. The Bank of England has given finance companies until July 14 to set out their plans. One senior bank executive at a large British bank said forcing companies to make a plan makes it more likely that they will follow through. "It is an unintended consequence, but the more and more preparation you do the more likely you are to execute those plans," the executive said. HSBC Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver said this week that the bank''s previous estimate that around 1000 staff would move to Paris following Britain''s vote to leave the EU, was based on a ''hard Brexit'' scenario. Most banks are working on the assumption that this is the most likely outcome of the separation talks and would involve losing access to the single market with no special financial services deal and no transition period. (Editing by Anna Willard)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-banks-idUKKBN18413K'|'2017-05-08T18:40:00.000+03:00' +'df9b8fb6ffeccafe6a565e43557c0f6e7d9008ae'|'Asian shares firm, dollar and U.S. bond yields slip after Fed'|'Business News - Thu May 25, 2017 - 12:05pm EDT World stocks scale new peaks on retailer results; oil slips left right Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 25, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid 1/3 left right Pedestrians stand in front of an electronic board showing stock and foreign currency markets information outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, December 1, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 2/3 left right FILE PHOTO: People walk through the lobby of the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 25, 2015. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File photo 3/3 By Hilary Russ - NEW YORK NEW YORK World stock markets scaled fresh highs on Thursday, with key U.S. indexes lifted by rosy retailer results, while the U.S. dollar dipped and oil prices fell after top oil producers extended output cuts for a shorter period than expected. The U.S. benchmark S&P 500 index .SPX and Nasdaq Composite .IXIC opened at record highs, while the VIX "fear gauge" of expected volatility in the S&P 500 opened at 9.82 .VIX, its lowest since May 10. [.N] Gains were propelled by sturdy sales data at electronics retailer Best Buy BBY.O, lifting its shares as much as 17 percent as top gainer on the S&P 500. Robust results also boosted Tommy Hilfiger-owned PVH ( PVH.N ) by 7 percent. Oil prices fell as OPEC prepared to extend supply curbs by nine months to March 2018 to drain a glut that has depressed markets for almost three years. This was a shorter period of time for such limits than some market participants had expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 90.95 points, or 0.43 percent, to 21,103.37, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 12.09 points, or 0.50 percent, to 2,416.48 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 42.81 points, or 0.69 percent, to 6,205.83. U.S. share indexes were boosted a day earlier after minutes from the Federal Reserve''s May 2-3 meeting signaled its policymakers would hold off on raising interest rates soon until it is clear that a recent U.S. economic slowdown is temporary. Federal funds futures imply traders see an 80.9 percent chance of a quarter point rate rise in June. U.S. crude CLcv1 fell 1.15 percent to $50.77 per barrel and Brent LCOcv1 was last at $53.48, down 0.89 percent on the day. "A nine-month extension of the output cuts is already baked into prices," said Olivier Jakob, energy markets analyst at Swiss consultancy Petromatrix. "This shows there''s not much more OPEC can do." In Europe, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 was little changed, losing just 0.03 percent. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was led lower by basic resources .SXPP and energy companies .SXEP earlier in the day; it still held close to 21-month highs. Steelmakers were hit after iron ore prices fell for a third day DCIOcv1, on concern over reduced Chinese demand. MSCI''s gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD PUS gained 0.47 percent. In the currency markets, the euro EUR= edged down 0.04 percent to $1.1213, pulling further away from Tuesday''s 6 1/2-month high of $1.1268 EUR= . The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, .DXY fell 0.09 percent, as key currencies tracked the drop in oil prices. U.S. bond yields dipped ahead of a $28 billion sale of seven-year notes. The benchmark 10-year yield US10YT=RR was down 1.6 basis point on Thursday at 2.25 percent. For Reuters Live Markets blog on European and UK stock markets see reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=http://emea1.apps.cp.extranet.thomsonreuters.biz/cms/?pageId=livemarkets (Additional reporting by Nigel Stephenson and Christopher Johnson in London, Tanya Agrawal in Bengaluru, Richard Leong in New York and Howard Schneider in Washington; Editing by Bernadette Baum)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUSKBN18L02E'|'2017-05-25T08:31:00.000+03:00' +'fab7c86cdf509339f59c145a9934601c71eadc07'|'Oil eases, near weakest since late March on small U.S. stocks decline'|'Business 6:47pm IST Oil wipes out OPEC-inspired gains with break below $50/bbl FILE PHOTO: Pump jacks are silhouetted against the rising sun on an oilfield in Baku, Azerbaijan, January 24, 2013. REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili/File Photo By Amanda Cooper - LONDON LONDON Oil fell to its lowest since late November on Thursday, as concern over rising global supply and stubbornly high inventories effectively wiped out most of the gains made since OPEC announced its first supply cut in eight years. Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 broke below $50 a barrel for the first time since late March, hitting an intraday low of $49.69, the lowest level since Nov. 30. The July contract was down 82 cents on the day at $49.97 by 1252 GMT (8.52 a.m. ET), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures CLc1 fell 92 cents to $46.90 a barrel. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, together with major rivals such as Russia and Oman, announced on Nov. 30 that they would cut oil output for the first six months of this year to eat into a vast global overhang of unused crude. This sparked a 25-percent rally in the price in the month that followed, pushing Brent crude to 18-month highs. Global crude inventories have begun to erode, but fast-growing production outside the signatories to the deal, who pledged to remove 1.8 million bpd in supply from the market, have severely tested investors'' faith in the ability of the world''s largest exporters to tackle the glut. The break below $50 a barrel will likely prove temporary given that OPEC is widely expected to extend its supply deal at its meeting on May 25 beyond the June expiry date, but analysts say more price weakness cannot be ruled out. "I wouldn''t be surprised to see a (price) recovery ... before the meeting. It''s likely to bring prices yet again to $50. Still, the damage is there and I wouldnt be surprised to see lower levels this summer after the meeting," Commerzbank analyst Eugen Weinberg said. "At some point, the market should recognize OPEC isn''t the most important player in the market any more. That is non-OPEC, and, above all, U.S. shale." U.S. data showed crude stocks USOILC=ECI fell 930,000 barrels in the week to April 28, while analysts had been expecting a drop of 2.3 million barrels. Stocks have steadily declined for the last four weeks, but at 527.8 million barrels they are just 7 million barrels off a record high. OPEC oil output fell for a fourth straight month in April, a Reuters survey found on Tuesday, as top exporter Saudi Arabia kept production below its target, which helped offset weaker compliance by other members. "Saudi Arabia is the only country that has fulfilled its obligation every month since January. On one hand, it shows its commitment from OPEC''s kingpin to make the supply cut agreement work. On the other hand, one can only ponder how long they are willing to shoulder the burden of supporting oil prices on their own," PVM Oil Associates analyst Tamas Varga said. Naveen Thukral in Singapore; editing by David Clarke and Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idINKBN18000F'|'2017-05-03T22:05:00.000+03:00' +'f616ce59e13dc185ed98c79ae3bf36cdf4d3f62b'|'Arrow Energy wins Australian gas pipeline license, but plan on hold'|'Business News - Mon May 1, 2017 - 5:00am BST Arrow Energy wins Australian gas pipeline license, but plan on hold MELBOURNE Arrow Energy, owned by Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) and PetroChina ( 601857.SS ), has been granted a license to build a natural gas pipeline in Australia''s Queensland state that could contribute to easing the country''s gas supply crunch. Queensland issued the pipeline license last Friday, a spokesman for the state''s Department of Natural Resources and Mines said on Monday. The 420-km (260-mile) pipeline is designed to carry gas from a coal seam gas project in Queensland''s Bowen Basin to the Gladstone area. There has been no final decision yet on the pipeline because the coal seam project has not been developed. Arrow is working on overcoming challenges with coal seam gas production in the Bowen Basin and does not know what impact that will have on the overall project''s schedule, an Arrow spokeswoman said. The Bowen project was originally going to supply a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project, which would have been the fourth on Queensland''s east coast, but Shell and PetroChina shelved that plan more than two years ago. Instead, Arrow''s gas could help ease a looming gas shortfall in Australia''s eastern market by supplying rival LNG projects, which have been blamed for taking gas out of the domestic market to help meet export contracts. Higher gas demand from the three LNG plants in Queensland have stoked a rise in local gas and power prices and led Australia''s energy market operator to warn of a looming gas shortfall within the next two years, alarming miners and manufacturers. To help avert a shortage, the government last week announced a radical plan to limit LNG exports from Queensland. Commodities giant Glencore Plc ( GLEN.L ), which has a copper refinery and smelter in the state that are some of the company''s most energy-consuming operations, warned on Monday it may hold back on future investments due to high energy costs. "If electricity prices continue to rise, Glencore will be forced to consider the future of our copper processing assets across North Queensland," Glencore''s chief operating officer for copper in Australia, Mike Westerman, told Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on a visit to its Townsville refinery. (Reporting by Sonali Paul; Additional reporting by James Regan in Sydney; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-australia-gas-pipeline-idUKKBN17X13S'|'2017-05-01T12:00:00.000+03:00' +'8b330745f2df3f4111e42dd74ccbafe5f8d0b924'|'UPDATE 1-U.S. House Democrats seek info from Deutsche Bank on Trump accounts'|'Bonds News 11am EDT UPDATE 1-U.S. House Democrats seek info from Deutsche Bank on Trump accounts (Adds details) May 24 Democrats on the U.S. House Financial Services Committee said on Wednesday they have asked Deutsche Bank to provide information on whether any accounts connected to U.S. President Donald Trump have ties to Russia. Committee Democrats sent a letter to Deutsche Bank Chief Executive Officer John Cryan on Tuesday seeking details of internal reviews to determine if Trump''s loans were backed by the Russian government. The congressional inquiry also seeks information about a Russian "mirror trading" scheme that allowed $10 billion to flow out of Russia. Congress remains in the dark on whether loans Deutsche Bank made to President Trump were guaranteed by the Russian government, or were in any way connected to Russia," the Democrats wrote. "It is critical that you provide this committee with the information necessary to assess the scope, findings and conclusions of your internal reviews. Citing media reports, the Democrats called for the bank to hand over any documents tied to internal reviews of Trumps personal accounts at the bank. They also said the bank should state publicly that it had reviewed both the "mirror trading" scheme and Trumps accounts. Mirror trading involved buying stocks, for example, in Moscow in rubles, with related parties selling the same stocks shortly thereafter through a bank''s London branch. They also called on the bank to name an independent auditor to verify the results of the reviews, which should be turned over to the committee as soon as reasonably practicable. Renee Calabro, a spokeswoman for Deutsche, did not immediately return a call for comment. (Reporting by Karen Freifeld in New York and Pete Schroeder in Washington; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-trump-russia-deutsche-bank-idUSL1N1IQ0WX'|'2017-05-24T23:11:00.000+03:00' +'f81e7e8f80e66d2bf8122dfd2f9d1659fe31d467'|'China''s HNA in talks to buy stake in Hong Kong-listed Value Partners: Bloomberg'|'HONG KONG Chinese conglomerate HNA Group is in talks to purchase a stake in Hong Kong asset management company Value Partners Group Ltd ( 0806.HK ), Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.The group is in talks to buy a part of Chairman Cheah Cheng Hyes holding in Value Partners, and may look to increase its stake further, Bloomberg said, citing the sources. It did not specify how much stake HNA was looking to buy.A deal could value Value Partners, among Asias largest independent asset managers, at more than $2 billion, the media company reported citing another source.Shares of Value Partners were suspended on Monday afternoon after rising more than 8 percent in the morning.The companies hope to reach a deal in coming weeks, but it''s not certain the talks will lead to a formal transaction, Bloomberg reported.HNA declined to comment. Value Partners and Cheah did not immediately respond to requests for comment.HNA group has been on a spending spree in recent months, as it looks to diversify away from its traditional logistics core business.The owner of Hainan Airlines Co inked about $20 billion in deals last year, snapping up a stake in Hilton Hotels and investing in catering and logistics firms and is increasingly pushing into financial services.With more than $100 billion in assets, investments this year have included a hedge fund platform, a New Zealand lender and a 9.9 percent stake in Germany''s Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ).(Reporting by Michelle Price; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-value-partners-m-a-hna-idINKBN18I0VA'|'2017-05-22T06:54:00.000+03:00' +'66f36977c6ce1393173edf23aa8c16ba75d84a54'|'Russia''s standards agency says Renault recalls 10,116 Kaptur cars'|'Autos - Fri May 19, 2017 - 9:04am BST Russia''s standards agency says Renault recalls 10,116 Kaptur cars A logotype is seen on a Renault vehicle at an assembly line of a car maker plant, which produces Renault automobiles, in Moscow, May 15, 2012. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov MOSCOW Renault is recalling 10,116 Kaptur vehicles sold in Russia in June 2016-May 2017 for repairs because of a possible risks to brake hoses, Russia''s standards watchdog said on Friday. (Reporting by Maria Kiselyova; editing by Vladimir Soldatkin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-renault-recall-idUKKCN18F0NX'|'2017-05-19T16:04:00.000+03:00' +'f336a5753fed0654af31b8863b352de06825810f'|'Irish unemployment rate revised up but jobs growth still surging'|'Business News 22am BST Irish unemployment rate revised up but jobs growth still surging Ireland''s national flag flies above a statue on O''Connell Street in Dublin in this December 5, 2011 file photo. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton/File Photo DUBLIN Ireland''s unemployment rate was revised up to 6.4 percent in April from an initial estimate of 6.2 percent although detailed figures on Tuesday showed employment growing at its fastest annual pace since the financial crisis. Unemployment has consistently fallen since hitting a peak of 15.1 percent in early 2012. Jobs growth accelerated to an annual 3.5 percent in the first quarter from 3.3 percent in the previous three months, its 18th successive quarterly expansion, central statistics office data showed. Ireland''s finance department last month estimated that the jobless rate would dip below 6 percent by the end of this year, meaning the economy could reach full employment next year with the unemployment rate forecast to remain at 5.5 percent from 2018 onwards. (Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Louise Ireland)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ireland-economy-unemployment-idUKKBN18J1AW'|'2017-05-23T18:22:00.000+03:00' +'176b3418230b1d817e91fe762cda7e0d511d204d'|'Remote air traffic control preparing for takeoff at London City airport - Business'|'Manned air traffic control towers, a reassuring fixture at airports since the dawn of civil aviation nearly a century ago, could soon be made obsolete by technological advances allowing arrivals and departures to be monitored from miles away using live streams of high-definition video.A 50-metre control tower is being built at London City airport but it will be populated by a suite of HD cameras instead of humans, as it vies to become the first major hub in the world to manage its traffic remotely.From 2019, the controllers window over the Docklands skyline in east London will be a bank of HD screens, joined in a seamless panorama in a digital control room at Nats, the UKs national air traffic control service, in Swanwick, Hampshire. They will monitor a live feed from 14 cameras at London City, 80 miles away and for now, a weeks worth of recorded action shot from a crane before the tower is built.The airport believes it will allow staff to monitor aircraft on the runway and track the skies better than before. The complete 360-degree view has been condensed into a 225-degree arc, meaning the controller can in effect have eyes in the back of their heads even if they peruse what appears to be a banana-shaped runway. From this room, the controller can pan and zoom cameras for a detailed view, sharper than the binoculars of old.Sitting in the air traffic controllers chair in Swanwick, you get a piercingly clear, birds-eye view of the aircraft lining the runway and the waves lapping the docks by the Thames, as the sound of engines revving filters through.Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Saab-designed augmented reality HD screens. Photograph: Morten Watkins/Solent News & Photo Agency/Morten Watkins/Solent News & Pho But what has most enthused controllers is the Pokmon Go-style augmented reality that the system brings. Overlaid on the live video image, at the flick of a switch, is all the data that used to occupy several other screens or terminals. While staring out of the virtual window at an incoming plane, the controller can see all the identifying flight and radar information in the skies alongside it.Alison FitzGerald, chief operations officer at London City, said: You appreciate the view, but its the augmented reality thats the real game-changer: the aircraft call signs, the ability to detect anything in the airspace, to identify things that normally wouldnt be clear, weather information, so we can make much better decisions. Its providing more tools in front of them rather than having to look away.At night, the contours of the runway can be highlighted with graphics. In low light, visibility can be improved. And should cameras detect anything that is not authorised traffic any four-pixel moving dot that could be anything from a passing helicopter to a drone the system can automatically zoom in and track it, with a pop-up inset window on the video cityscape. Steve Anderson, head of transformation at Nats, said: Its heads-up, all the info is there while they are looking at the screens, everything they dont have at the moment. Thats why its the future.The sounds of the airport are also played over speakers, to make this virtual world more realistic - potentially noisier, in fact, than some insulated control rooms - after trials showed it helped controllers. It sounds a bit silly pumping noise into a control room but its something they need to do the job, Anderson added.The system has been developed by Swedish defence manufacturer Saab, using technology from its Gripen fighter jet. Digital control towers are so far only in operational use in two small airports in Sweden, with a third at Saabs Linkping home to follow this year. Trials have taken place around the world, including in Ireland, the US and Australia.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Staff give a demonstration in the operations room at Nats in Swanwick. Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA Three separate , independent and secure super-fast fibre networks will transmit the images and data from City to Nats control room. The distance from Docklands to Swanwick is dwarfed by that of aircraft manoeuvres monitored in Australian tests: from Alice Springs to an Adelaide control room, 900 miles away, with less than a seconds delay in transmission, according to Saab. Any security fears are dismissed by Mike Stoller, Nats operations director for airports, who said this system is no more hackable than current aircraft control: much of Britains airspace outside airports is already managed remotely from Swanwick.Typically, the cost of constructing a traditional aircraft tower in the tens of millions of pounds as well as staffing it could be potentially prohibitive for smaller airfields. So is this is it for the humans? For now, according to Stoller, there is no prospect of that. But he added: At some point in the future, like any other business, we will look at efficiencies down the line.Controllers can expect to be retrained to work at more than one airport, Stoller said. Paul Winstanley, chair of the Prospect unions air traffic controllers branch, said the technology could bring safety enhancements, but cautioned: It must be introduced in a measured and appropriate way. It must never be used to allow a single controller to be responsible for more than one runway at a time.For now, the virtual London City control room at Swanwick will house the same staff who occupy the tower in London, three per shift. City says cost has not been a consideration in its 350m expansion plan. London City chief executive, Declan Collier, said: We could replicate the current system, but the way technology is moving, this kind of augmented reality is going to be the norm. We want to future-proof the airport.Topics Airline industry Air transport London Transport news '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/19/remote-air-traffic-control-preparing-for-takeoff-at-london-city-airport'|'2017-05-19T14:01:00.000+03:00' +'d62c2f1ca347611cbcbfdb265cdc5119bf141671'|'Oil stable on expectations of extended OPEC-led production cut'|'NEW YORK Oil jumped 2 percent to its highest in more than three weeks on Monday, topping $52 a barrel after Saudi Arabia and Russia said that supply cuts need to last into 2018, a step towards extending an OPEC-led deal to support prices for longer than first agreed.Energy ministers from the world''s two top producers said that supply cuts should be prolonged for nine months, until March 2018.That is longer than the optional six-month extension specified in the deal, and shows that the battle to reduce overall supply has been more difficult than originally anticipated, in part because of rising U.S. production.The ministers said they hoped other producers would join the cut, which would initially be on the same volume terms as before.Global benchmark Brent crude settled up 98 cents, or 1.9 percent, at $51.82 a barrel, having touched $52.63, the highest since April 21. U.S. crude ended $1.01 firmer at $48.85 a barrel, a 2.1 percent gain.Oil traders were surprised by the strong wording of the announcement, though it remained to be seen whether all countries participating in the deal would agree with the Saudi-Russian stance when they meet to decide policy on May 25 in Vienna."Todays announcement will likely further extend the oil price rebound started last week on decent stock draws and low positioning," said analysts at Goldman Sachs in a note. They noted the rally has been modest so far, compared with last year''s move when cuts were first announced.The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other producers originally agreed to cut output by 1.8 million barrels per day in the first half of 2017, with a possible six-month extension, in a bid to shore up prices.Oil has gained support from the deal but inventories remain high and rising output from other producers, including the United States, is keeping prices below the $60 that top exporter Saudi Arabia would like.Some analysts said that U.S. production could still threaten to disrupt the market balance unless the cuts were deepened."We are of the camp that the extension cuts might not be enough - they might need to extend the cuts and to increase them to stabilize this market," said Oliver Sloup, director of managed futures at iitrader.com.U.S. production is currently forecast to average about 9.31 million bpd this year - a level reached already, according to government figures. Sloup says it could surpass that if buoyed by higher prices.Some analysts doubted that the producers would stick to a prolonged curb."Extending the cuts until March 2018 would take account of the fact that demand in the first quarter of a year is lowest for seasonal reasons," said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch."We are skeptical about Russia''s willingness to actively participate in any extended cuts."(Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in Singapore and Alex Lawler in London; Editing by Marguerita Choy and David Goodman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUSKCN18B02Y'|'2017-05-15T09:30:00.000+03:00' +'d04a864091aaaaee860aabb0dc93d7b7517baee6'|'Singapore March retail sales rise 2.1 percent from year earlier'|'Business News - Fri May 12, 2017 - 11:39am IST Singapore March retail sales rise 2.1 percent from year earlier People shop at a pop-up store in Singapore April 24, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su SINGAPORE Singapore''s retail sales rose in March by 2.1 percent from a year earlier, supported by sales activity at petrol service stations, data showed on Friday. Total retail sales increased 2.1 percent from a year earlier, after falling in February by a revised 2.6 percent, the data from the Singapore Department of Statistics said. February''s fall was the first in 6 months. Retail sales at petrol service stations increased 11.3 percent from the year before. Retail sales in the food and beverages sector, however, slid 4.8 percent year on year. Retail sales dropped a seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent from February, after a revised 2.5 percent increase in the previous month. (Reporting by Fathin Ungku; Editing by Neil Fullick)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-singapore-economy-retail-idINKBN1880JG'|'2017-05-12T04:09:00.000+03:00' +'ebbec19879b4468d69e35ebf16dde5f6ea030e18'|'Ryanair could deploy up to 30 planes to Italy if Alitalia cuts services'|'Business News 52pm BST Ryanair could deploy up to 30 planes to Italy if Alitalia cuts services Ryanair Chief Executive Officer Michael O''Leary attends a news conference in Brussels, Belgium, February 8, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir BRUSSELS Ryanair ( RYA.I ) could deploy up to 30 planes to Italy at short notice if Alitalia collapses or is forced to slash capacity as part of restructuring, the chief executive of the Irish airline Michael O''Leary said on Tuesday. Alitalia went into administration this month for the second time in less than a decade after workers rejected a restructuring plan. Ryanair could deploy up to 20 planes at short notice this summer to fill any gap left by Alitalia contracting its short-haul services by moving capacity from other routes and by extending leases on planes, O''Leary told a press conference. In the coming months Ryanair''s capacity for possible redeployment to Italy will increase to 30 planes, O''Leary said. (Reporting by Julia Fioretti; editing by Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ryanair-italy-idUKKBN18J2HL'|'2017-05-24T00:52:00.000+03:00' +'bf53b00a6e612afc2e55b2565f633334cf7ff651'|'Italy''s Lavazza buys 80 percent of Canada''s Kicking Horse Coffee'|'Deals - Wed May 24, 2017 - 10:19am EDT Italy''s Lavazza buys 80 percent of Canada''s Kicking Horse Coffee FILE PHOTO: Lavazza''s espresso coffee cup installation is seen at the headquater in Turin, Italy, February 8, 2016. REUTERS/Giorgio Perottino MILAN Italian coffee maker Lavazza said on Wednesday it had bought 80 percent of Kicking Horse Coffee in a deal valuing the Canadian company at C$215 million ($160 million). Family-owned Lavazza is looking round for acquisitions to help boost its turnover to 2.2 billion euros ($2.46 billion) in the next four years. In a statement Lavazza said the deal was an important step in its strategy to grow in North America, seen as a key market for the group. Under the deal Elana Rosenfeld, who founded the Canadian organic coffee brand in 1996, will own the remaining 20 percent and will continue to run the company as chief executive. Lavazza sales rose 29 percent to 1.9 billion euros last year thanks to the acquisition of French coffee brand Carte Noire and Denmark''s Merrild. Lavazza was advised by JPMorgan, law firm Blake Cassels & Graydon, Boston Consulting Group and PWC. (Reporting by Stephen Jewkes, editing by Agnieszka Flak) '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-kickinghorse-m-a-lavazza-idUSKBN18K1XD'|'2017-05-24T18:19:00.000+03:00' +'2c1faa6d623dda22be853d5e2e6e26261862c40e'|'Exclusive: Italy tax police seize documents from IBM in BT Italy probe'|' 34pm EDT Exclusive: Italy tax police seize documents from IBM in BT Italy probe FILE PHOTO: A woman passes by the IBM offices in New York City, U.S., October 17, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid By Emilio Parodi MILAN - Italian investigators have seized documents from the Milan offices of International Business Machines Corp as part of an investigation into allegations of fraud at one of its customers, BT Italy, a unit of Britain''s BT Group, sources said. Dozens of tax police visited the Italian offices of nine suppliers to BT Italy, including the U.S. tech group, on Thursday, as well as BT Italy''s own headquarters, and took boxes of documents away, said sources familiar with the probe. IBM spokesman Alessandro Ferrari said the company was cooperating with authorities. The U.S. group is not formally under investigation and none of its representatives has been accused of wrongdoing, but the warrant for Thursday''s seizures, seen by Reuters, states that some transactions between BT Italy and its suppliers were faked. The warrant authorized the search for evidence in relation to allegations that former BT Italy managers had conspired with suppliers and customers to fake orders and to issue false credit notes in order to reduce BT Italy''s costs. Investigators also sought evidence that BT Italy and suppliers contrived sale-and-leaseback transactions to artificially boost sales and profit margins. These transactions involved several firms, including IBM, according to the warrant and the sources. The accounting scandal surfaced last October when BT Group said it had discovered accounting errors at its Italy unit. In January, it characterized it as improper accounting and took a write-down of around 530 million pounds ($690 million). In March, it filed a criminal complaint with Italian prosecutors, accusing several former Italy executives and other employees of breaking company rules and unlawful conduct. BT Group said in an emailed statement: "We''ve been proactively assisting prosecutors in Milan with their investigations into the inappropriate behavior that took place at BT Italy." BT Italy''s lawyer, Marco Calleri, declined to comment. Milan prosecutors this week formally put under investigation five former executives and employees of BT Italy, on allegations that they ran a conspiracy to fake transactions in order to inflate BT Italy''s financial performance. Sources said the motive was to ensure executives and staff met their bonus targets. The five are former BT Italy chief executive Gianluca Cimini, former chief operating officer Stefania Truzzoli, former chief financial officer Luca Sebastiani, ex-employee Giacomo Ingannamorte and Sebastiani''s predecessor, Alessandro Clerici. A lawyer for Truzzoli declined to comment. Cimini did not respond to a request for comment. Lawyers for the others also did not respond. The other suppliers raided were T.A.I. Software Solution Srl, ITF Srl, Var Group Spa, NSR Srl, Servizi Tecnici per l''Elettronica Spa, Gomedia Srl, L.B. Srl and Shicon Europe Srl, according to the warrant. ITF and Var Group declined to comment. There was no immediate response to emailed requests for comment from T.A.I. Software Solution and Servizi Tecnici per l''Elettronica. Reuters was unable to immediately reach L.B., Shicon Europe, Gomedia and NSR for comment. (Additional reporting by Agnieszka Flak, Silvia Aloisi and Giulia Segreti; Editing by Mark Bendeich and Andrew Roche)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-bt-italy-idUSKCN18F24X'|'2017-05-20T01:34:00.000+03:00' +'5536ac1afc20982637b52243c5e134f05049f58f'|'African Markets - Factors to watch on May 26'|'The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect African markets on Friday. - - - - - EVENTS: Judgment of Niger opposition leader on incitement and sedition charges GLOBAL MARKETS Crude prices were on the defensive on Friday after an agreement by OPEC to extend existing supply curbs disappointed investors wagering on larger cuts, prompting a move away from riskier assets and depressing Asian stocks. WORLD OIL PRICES Oil extended falls on Friday after tumbling in the previous session when OPEC and allied producers extended output cuts but disappointed investors betting on longer or larger supply curbs. EMERGING MARKETS For the top emerging markets news, double click on AFRICA STOCKS For the latest news on African stocks, click on SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS South Africa''s rand extended gains against the U.S. dollar to a two-month high on Thursday as the greenback stumbled after the Federal Reserve dialled down some expectations that it would hike interest rates soon. NIGERIA OIL Nigeria''s Senate passed a long-awaited oil governance bill on Thursday which the president of parliament''s upper chamber said would improve transparency in the OPEC member''s energy industry and stimulate growth in the sector. KENYA MARKETS The Kenyan shilling was steady against the dollar on Thursday with market players eyeing the central bank''s monetary policy meeting on Monday, traders said. KENYA AIRLINES Kenya Airways Ltd reported a reduction in pretax losses and a return to profit at the operating level on Thursday, after carrying a record number of passengers in the past year, and said it expected a financial restructuring would be completed shortly. UGANDA MARKETS The Ugandan shilling was stable on Thursday, underpinned by a central bank removal of excess liquidity via a one-week repurchase agreement (repo) and two deposit auctions of different tenors. CONGO VIOLENCE Democratic Republic of Congo opposes an international investigation into the deaths of two U.N. investigators, the foreign minister said on Thursday, amid mounting criticism of the Congolese authorities'' own probe. IVORY COAST COCOA Cocoa farmers in Ivory Coast are selling beans at below the government guaranteed minimum price as a global price decline squeezes revenues for buyers and exporters, farmers and buyers told Reuters. For the latest precious metals report click on For the latest base metals report click on For the latest crude oil report click on'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/africa-factors-idUSL8N1IS09R'|'2017-05-26T12:47:00.000+03:00' +'ad85d646fb5a58d15b63c21097fde496125b13f5'|'Facebook leaked documents show types of content it allows: Guardian'|'Leaked Facebook Inc documents show how the social media company moderates issues such as hate speech, terrorism, pornography and self-harm on its platform, the Guardian reported, citing internal guidelines seen by the newspaper.New challenges such as "revenge porn" have overwhelmed Facebook''s moderators who often have just ten seconds to make a decision, the Guardian said. The social media company reviews more than 6.5 million reports of potentially fake accounts a week, the newspaper added. bit.ly/2q7dThGMany of the company''s content moderators have concerns about the inconsistency and peculiar nature of some of the policies. Those on sexual content, for example, are said to be the most complex and confusing, the Guardian said.Facebook had no specific comment on the report but said safety was its overriding concern."Keeping people on Facebook safe is the most important thing we do. We work hard to make Facebook as safe as possible while enabling free speech. This requires a lot of thought into detailed and often difficult questions, and getting it right is something we take very seriously", Facebook''s Head of Global Policy Management Monica Bickert said in a statement.Facebook confirmed that it was using software to intercept graphic content before it went on the website, but it was still in its early stages.The leaked documents included internal training manuals, spreadsheets and flowcharts, the Guardian said.The newspaper gave the example of Facebook policy that allowed people to live-stream attempts to self-harm because it doesnt want to censor or punish people in distress."Facebook moderators were recently told to escalate to senior managers any content related to "13 Reasons Why," the Netflix original drama series based on the suicide of a high school student, because it feared inspiration of copycat behavior, the Guardian reported.Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity of the documents published on the Guardian website.(Reporting by Sangameswaran S in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Hay)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-moderation-idINKBN18I04A'|'2017-05-21T23:57:00.000+03:00' +'ba2c2931b5d2d8dd13c3d8a667de15689b34132a'|'Euro zone expands trade surplus despite protectionist calls'|'Business News - Tue May 16, 2017 - 10:30am BST Euro zone expands trade surplus despite protectionist calls A picture illustration taken with the multiple exposure function of the camera shows a one Euro coin and a map of Europe, January 9, 2013. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach By Francesco Guarascio - BRUSSELS BRUSSELS The euro zone increased its trade surplus with the rest of the world in March with both exports and imports rising markedly, in a sign that global commerce has so far not been hampered by protectionist calls. The European Union statistics office Eurostat said on Tuesday the 19-country currency area recorded a 30.9 billion euro (26.4 billion pounds) surplus in March in its goods trade balance with states outside the bloc, according to data not adjusted for seasonal factors. The March surplus is nearly double that of February when the bloc has a positive balance of 17.8 billion euros, and also higher than a year earlier when the surplus was 28.2 billion euros. The 19-country bloc, driven by Germany, expanded its exports by 13 percent in March on a yearly basis to a total value of 202.3 billion euros, unadjusted figures show. Imports to the bloc also increased by 14 percent, although from a lower basis, showing that trade flows have not been affected by growing protectionist calls, such as from U.S. President Donald Trump. Exports of the 28 EU countries to the United States in the first quarter increased by 11 percent compared with the same quarter last year. Imports from the U.S. rose a more modest 4 percent, resulting in an expanded EU trade surplus with the U.S. totalling 30.6 billion euros from 23.6 billion euros recorded in the first quarter of 2016. The EU increased its exports to all major trade partners in the first quarter of this year, with a 28 percent surge in sales to Russia and 22 percent increase in exports to China. Imports from China grew only 3 percent, reducing the EU trade deficit with Beijing to 41.7 billion euros from 47.3 billion euros a year ago. Figures adjusted for seasonal factors showed the euro zone surplus was 23.1 billion euros in March from 18.8 billion euros in February, with a 1.4 percent increase in exports on the month and a 1.1 percent drop in imports. (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio; editing by Philip Blenkinsop)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-economy-trade-idUKKCN18C0WM'|'2017-05-16T17:30:00.000+03:00' +'be6be0e00b70eefbb9238bcf12a4137e34e28097'|'Ireland to decide on AIB IPO in the next 48 hours - PM'|'Business News 4:19pm BST Ireland to decide on AIB IPO in the next 48 hours - PM A gardener mows the grass outside the headquarters of AIB on the day the bank announced it''s results, in Dublin April 12, 2011. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton DUBLIN Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan informed cabinet on Tuesday that he expects to make a decision in the next 48 hours on whether to launch an initial public offering of Allied Irish Bank ( ALBK.I ), Prime Minister Enda Kenny said. Ireland''s government has appointed several banks to act as bookrunners and global coordinators for the potential sale of its 25 percent stake in AIB, and Noonan has said the nearest window to sell the shares runs from mid-May to the end of June. "The minister informed the government of his process to this point. He said in the next 48 hours, he would expect to make a decision," Kenny told parliament. (Reporting by Padraic Halpin. Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-aib-ipo-idUKKBN18Q1TZ'|'2017-05-30T23:19:00.000+03:00' +'59f92d682efd40c691947add0cb94d7312fa7910'|'Prosecutors investigate Bosch employees in Daimler probe - Handelsblatt'|'Market News - Thu May 25, 2017 - 6:47am EDT Prosecutors investigate Bosch employees in Daimler probe - Handelsblatt FRANKFURT May 25 German prosecutors who searched Daimler''s offices this week as part of a probe into diesel pollution are also investigating employees at automotive supplier Bosch, daily Handelsblatt reported, citing the prosecutor''s office. "We are investigating Bosch employees for suspected aiding and abetting in connection with the Daimler case," the paper quoted a spokesman for the Stuttgart prosecutor''s office as saying. Neither Bosch nor the prosecutor''s office were immediately available for comment. The prosecutors searched Daimler''s offices and other premises on Tuesday as part of an investigation of Daimler employees who the prosecutor''s office said were suspected of fraud and misleading advertising connected with manipulated emissions treatment of diesel passenger cars. (Reporting by Maria Sheahan. Editing by Jane Merriman) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/daimler-emissions-r-bosch-idUSFWN1IR07W'|'2017-05-25T18:47:00.000+03:00' +'f7e4347bfba98ce71cb997e6e263485da52c0165'|'Newly discovered vulnerability raises fears of another WannaCry'|'Technology 6:15am BST Newly discovered vulnerability raises fears of another WannaCry FILE PHOTO: A hooded man holds a laptop computer as blue screen with an exclamation mark is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration SINGAPORE A newly found flaw in widely used networking software leaves tens of thousands of computers potentially vulnerable to an attack similar to that caused by WannaCry, which infected more than 300,000 computers worldwide, cybersecurity researchers said on Thursday. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday announced the vulnerability, which could be exploited to take control of an affected computer, and urged users and administrators to apply a patch. Rebekah Brown of Rapid7, a cybersecurity company, told Reuters that there were no signs yet of attackers exploiting the vulnerability in the 12 hours since its discovery was announced. But she said it had taken researchers only 15 minutes to develop malware that made use of the hole. "This one seems to be very, very easy to exploit," she said. Rapid7 said it had found more than 100,000 computers running vulnerable versions of the software, Samba, free networking software developed for Linux and Unix computers. There are likely to be many more, it said in response to emailed questions. Most of the computers found are running older versions of the software and cannot be patched, said Brown. Some of the computers appear to belong to organizations and companies, she said, but most were home users. The vulnerability could potentially be used to create a worm like the one which allowed WannaCry to spread so quickly, Brown said, but that would require an extra step for the attacker. Cybersecurity researchers have said they believe North Korean hackers were behind the WannaCry malware, which encrypted data on victims'' computers and demanded bitcoin in return for a decryption key. (Reporting and writing By Jeremy Wagstaff; Editing by Michael Perry)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-cyber-attack-samba-idUKKBN18L0GD'|'2017-05-25T12:53:00.000+03:00' +'f0d1709e18f4d89fdd320da07e741fa5cdaaceec'|'UPDATE 1-Loeb says Dow-DuPont deal can create $20 bln more value'|'Funds 35pm EDT UPDATE 1-Loeb says Dow-DuPont deal can create $20 bln more value (Adds Dow and DuPont response; background) May 24 Activist investor Daniel Loeb''s Third Point LLC said Dow Chemical and DuPont could create $20 billion in additional shareholder value by tweaking their plan to split into three companies following the merger. The $130-billion merger is expected to close in August, after which the combined company will split into three, focusing on agriculture, specialty chemicals and materials. Third Point questioned whether the three spinoffs were "appropriate or if the creation of additional companies or divestitures would further enhance shareholder value", according to a presentation posted on the hedge fund''s website. ( bit.ly/2qgAXe3 ) Dow and DuPont named the board of the combined company earlier this month and said the board''s priorities would include "undertaking, as soon as practicable, a comprehensive review of the portfolios and their alignment." "The two companies are fully aligned regarding the objective of the review, and we continually solicit and welcome input from our shareholders," Dow and DuPont said in an emailed statement on Wednesday. Third Point is Dow''s seventh-largest investor and had a 1.29 percent stake as of March 31, according to Thomson Reuters data. (Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/dow-du-pont-thirdpoint-idUSL4N1IQ4P1'|'2017-05-25T00:35:00.000+03:00' +'9df66ce26d47158433c4896ef9d006b41d880b2a'|'UPDATE 1-Slovenia finance minister offers to quit over NLB sale delay -sources'|'(Adds details, background)By Marja NovakLJUBLJANA May 28 Slovenian Finance Minister Mateja Vranicar Erman offered to resign on Monday over a likely delay in the sale of Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB) but the prime minister refused to accept her resignation, sources said.The finance ministry and the office of Prime Minister Miro Cerar were not immediately available to comment.The government has refused to give guarantees for what could amount to about 400 million euros ($450 million) in compensation payable by NLB, Slovenia''s largest bank, to Croatian banks who repaid depositors at NLB''s predecessor Ljubljanska Banka.Ljubljanska Banka closed its Croatian business after Slovenia declared independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991 and Slovenia wants any repayment agreement to be part of succession talks between the ex-Yugoslav states.State-owned Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SDH), which is coordinating the NLB sale, could decide on whether to pursue the privatisation on Thursday, sources said.Slovenia has committed to selling 75 percent of NLB in exchange for European Commission approval of aid to the bank in 2013 and planned to sell half of NLB this year and another 25 percent by the end of 2018.The Slovenian government controls about 50 percent of the economy and some 44 percent of the banking sector. (Editing by Louise Ireland)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/slovenia-nlb-idINL8N1IV3P2'|'2017-05-29T16:01:00.000+03:00' +'d5b1ff166761c79dd3a76f2ac9e8b6ffb848b2e2'|'Sovereign funds pull $18.4 billion from global markets in first-quarter 2017'|'Business News - Thu May 18, 2017 - 10:55am BST Sovereign funds pull $18.4 billion from global markets in first-quarter 2017 A specialist trader works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid By Claire Milhench - LONDON LONDON Sovereign wealth funds pulled $18.4 billion (14.1 billion) from global stock and bond markets in the first quarter of 2017, notwithstanding robust equity gains in this period, data from research firm eVestment showed on Thursday, Oil-backed sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) have been under pressure since oil prices LCOc1 tumbled from their mid-2014 highs of $115 to around $52 a barrel, with governments tapping state funds to close budget gaps. Global SWF assets effectively stalled at $6.59 trillion in the 12 months to March 2017, data from research firm Preqin showed in April, due to a combination of weak markets, low oil prices and shifts in government policy. The latest figures from eVestment, which collates data from around 4,400 firms managing money on behalf of institutional investors, showed that selling by SWFs resumed in the first quarter after modest net inflows of $382.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2016. Peter Laurelli, global head of research at eVestment, said small inflows had broken the string of consecutive quarterly net redemptions, which began in the third quarter of 2014. He added that the percentage of asset management products with outflows in the first quarter was the second highest in at least the last five years, at 70.3 percent. This is just shy of the 71.2 percent of products with outflows posted in the second quarter of 2016. Some $16.9 billion was pulled from equity strategies, with heavy selling from U.S. equities. These lost $9.5 billion, whilst global equity strategies lost only $490.6 million, and global passive equity attracted $1.7 billion. U.S. .SPX and global stock markets .MIWD PUS rallied to record levels in the wake of Donald Trump''s election as U.S. president in November, encouraged by his promises to cut taxes and boost spending. However, doubts about his ability to deliver on these promises have grown following problems getting a key healthcare reform bill passed. This week the question of whether there was collusion between Trump''s campaign team and Moscow has exploded into a crisis that may threaten the future of Trump''s presidency. This triggered the biggest one-day fall in U.S. stocks since Sept. 9. SWFs also withdrew $1.6 billion from fixed income strategies with the selling concentrated in U.S. bonds, which suffered $2.5 billion of outflows. Laurelli said this was not a strike against U.S. credit, with U.S. corporate bonds attracting $1.5 billion, but rather a result of a $3.9 billion withdrawal from U.S. short-duration strategies. Global fixed income strategies attracted around $1 billion of net inflows. Emerging market debt also pulled in $123 million, after three consecutive quarters of redemptions. But emerging market equity mandates continued to suffer withdrawals, with some $2.1 billion redeemed in the first quarter. (Reporting by Claire Milhench; Editing by Gareth Jones)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-swf-flows-idUKKCN18E14Z'|'2017-05-18T17:44:00.000+03:00' +'e6411c996aa862a5eda991e37e2461719a65aabc'|'China says domestic manufacturing push open, transparent'|'Business News 8:34am BST China says domestic manufacturing push open, transparent BEIJING China''s plan to boost its domestic manufacturing industry has been somewhat misunderstood by foreign organisations as a move to favour local companies over foreign competition, a government official said Wednesday. Xin Guobin, vice minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), reiterated the government''s stance on foreign participation in its "Made in China 2025" plan at a briefing with reporters in Beijing. Foreign business groups have grown more vociferous in criticising Beijing''s lacklustre market reforms, and worry that the plan will force members to give up key technology in order to access the market or bypass them altogether. "There has been some misreading and misunderstanding among foreign media and organizations (about the plan)," said Wu. "China always adheres to the principles of fairness, transparency and openness." Xin said all companies in China, whether Chinese or foreign-funded, will receive the same treatment under the ''China 2025'' policies. Beijing''s plan calls for a dramatic increase in domestically-made products in 10 sectors - from robotics to biopharmaceuticals - that the government hopes will accelerate an industrial upgrade as economic growth slows. But Xin said references to domestic market share numbers should be seen as estimates more than hard government targets, Xin said Wednesday. Xin said China is actively cooperating with other countries to promote industrial upgrades, but that a key problem is that developed countries have put strict limits on exports of certain technology, equipment and products to China. "We hope that both China and other countries further open up and deepen cooperation," said Wu. "We also welcome more foreign firms to actively join in China''s efforts to become a strong manufacturing nation." (Reporting by Elias Glenn; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-business-idUKKBN18K0PL'|'2017-05-24T15:34:00.000+03:00' +'ec2340ec8c1ab4547d5d770db9c22bb3706410c1'|'State bailout of Italian banks could re-ignite ''doom loop'' concerns - S&P Global'|'Business News - Tue May 23, 2017 - 3:46pm BST State bailout of Italian banks could re-ignite ''doom loop'' concerns: S&P Global A woman walks in front of the Monte dei Paschi bank in Siena, central Italy, January 29, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi By Abhinav Ramnarayan - LONDON LONDON An Italian state bailout of some of its banks could create a vicious circle of dependency between the sovereign and its banking sector and reignite concerns about the "doom loop", S&P Global''s top sovereign analyst said on Tuesday. Given that Italian banks are among the biggest lenders to the state, with a share of more than 20 percent, a potential bailout for some lenders may have an indirect impact on Italy''s sovereign rating if there is a sell-off in Italian government debt, said S&P Global''s Moritz Kraemer. He saw no immediate impact on the rating. "If you have a sell-off in Italian government paper, say if there is a tapering announcement, then the Italian banking system will be extremely exposed because of the Italian government bonds on the balance sheet," he told Reuters. "If this issue raises its head and you also have state bailouts of the banking sector, it becomes a vicious circle. It adds another layer of complexity." A senior Italian treasury official said on Tuesday that Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS), Italy''s fourth largest lender, is close to reaching an agreement with the European Commission that will pave the way for a state bailout. Italy''s parliament in December approved a 20 billion euro plan to prop up the country''s weaker banks, including BMPS. "We have been here before and its not that the Italian banking problems are idiosyncratic to one or two banks; its a widespread issue," he said. "It is uncertain it will prove to be sufficient this time round." This program raises wider concerns over whether new regulations can break the "doom loop" between the state and the banking system, Kraemer said. "The regulation that forces banks to bail in creditors, that was hailed as a major breakthrough. This is a test case for that regulation," he said. Kraemer said 20 billion euros - even if used in full - would only have a limited impact on Italy''s total debt, which is close to 2 trillion euros. (Reporting by Abhinav Ramnarayan, editing by Nigel Stephenson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-italy-banks-montedeipaschi-s-p-idUKKBN18J24Y'|'2017-05-23T22:45:00.000+03:00' +'3c4965bff6969d429f0f01a66186d7c48022f29c'|'Paris to redouble efforts to attract Brexit banks after Macron win'|'Business News - Mon May 8, 2017 - 11:25am BST Paris to redouble efforts to attract Brexit banks after Macron win FILE PHOTO: General view of the skyline of La Defense business district with its Arche behind Paris'' landmark, the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysees Avenue in Paris, France, January 13, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo By Anjuli Davies and Maya Nikolaeva - LONDON/PARIS LONDON/PARIS Emmanuel Macron''s victory in the French presidential election and his plans to swiftly implement structural reforms is a boon for Paris in its efforts to attract banks and other financial service companies seeking to move operations out of Britain, the head of lobbying group Paris Europlace said on Monday. Britain''s decision to leave the European Union has opened up fierce competition among financial centres elsewhere in the bloc, including Paris, Frankfurt, Dublin and Luxembourg, to attract banks and other financial companies seeking to secure continued access to the single market once Britain leaves. Hitherto bankers have been sceptical that France can attract much of the UK financial industry, with high labour costs and a frequently changing tax system seen as major deterrents. "Macron''s win is a sign that France is on the road to implement more structural reforms that are needed," Arnaud de Bresson, chief executive of Paris Europlace, told Reuters, estimating that Paris could attract 20,000 workers from Britain. "Macron will personally make it his mission to convince the international banks as well as investors of the benefits of Paris," he added. The new president is promising to overhaul the labour market and simplify the French tax and pension systems, while paring back regulations he says hamper innovation. But there is a lot of uncertainty about the likely pace of reforms, which could take months or even years to implement. "Macron''s victory will spur a redoubling in the sales pitch for Paris. They are going to go all out," a banking source at an international bank said. A delegation from Paris Europlace, together with Christian Noyer, the former French central bank governor, will travel to the United States on May 22 and May 23 to try to persuade the financial industry there to choose Paris as their European base. Europlace had already held about 100 meetings with large international banks as well as asset management, investment, insurance and fintech companies in London, New York, Shanghai and Tokyo, it said in March. "Lots of banks have been waiting for the results of the election before making a decision on relocation plans and Macron''s election will give a boost for the choice of Paris," said de Bresson. He added French regulators were offering fast-track solutions to banks and asset management firms seeking the required licences and that Macron has pledged to implement labour law reforms within his first 100 days in office. UGLY FIGHT Nearly a year on from the Brexit vote, most banks and asset managers have already started to implement their contingency plans, including deciding on a European City from which to base their EU operations. The five largest U.S. investment banks are set to move hundreds of key staff within two years from London to Frankfurt, the city''s chief lobbyist told Reuters on May 5. So far, only HSBC, Europe''s biggest bank, has said it could move some of its operations to Paris where it has a subsidiary that holds most of the licences needed by an investment bank thanks to its purchase of CCF in 2000. Before the vote on Sunday, Valerie Pecresse, the head of the wider Paris region, said on Twitter that London-based firms were effectively waiting for a Macron victory to pull the trigger on relocation plans to Paris. "If Marine Le Pen is elected 30 London-based companies ready to relocate to the Paris region have told us they would give up their plans." Paris has a network of international law firms and asset managers and the city is also home to the European markets authority, ESMA. "This is a fight that will get ugly, with Macron trying to attract as much business as possible away from the UK ... Macron is going to lower corporate taxes, create incentives to invest in equities, and reduce red tape. This will make Paris a magnet to wrest business away from London," said Octavio Marenzi, CEO of Opimas, a capital markets management consultancy. (Editing by Greg Mahlich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-election-banks-idUKKBN18410A'|'2017-05-08T18:25:00.000+03:00' +'b38ad6582e496e73d9a351154634fff1cbf238d1'|'Brazil''s senator in charge of drafting labor reform report halts work on the proposal'|'Bonds 49am EDT Brazil''s senator in charge of drafting labor reform report halts work on the proposal BRASILIA May 18 Brazilian Senator Ricardo Ferrao in charge of drafting a labor reform report said on Thursday he was canceling work on the proposal, an indication that President Michel Temer''s agenda has ground to a halt in the new political crisis. An aide to the senator said the agenda pushed by Temer''s government has been "suspended" after allegations that he condoned the bribery of a witness in the "Car Wash" corruption investigation, which have threatened his hold on office. (Reporting by Anthony Boadle)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-politics-reform-idUSS0N1H001O'|'2017-05-18T23:49:00.000+03:00' +'5391eede677d5007d1ee8801953f496b4a11d40e'|'BP says 1 billion additional barrels ''possible'' in Gulf of Mexico hubs'|'Business News - Mon May 1, 2017 - 6:50pm BST BP says 1 billion additional barrels ''possible'' in Gulf of Mexico hubs The logo of BP is on display at a petrol station in Moscow, Russia, July 4, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhi/File photo HOUSTON The head of BP''s Gulf of Mexico region said on Monday the oil company''s use of a new seismic imaging technology has identified 1 billion additional barrels of "possible resources" at four of its U.S. offshore fields. Richard Morrison, the BP region president, said at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston that its "full waveform inversion" imaging technology was applied to data from its Atlantis, Mad Dog, Thunder Horse and Na Kika fields. The technology enhances the clarity of images collected from existing seismic surveys, particularly those involving complex salt structures that were obscured or distorted, the company said. BP last week said its use of the imaging technology had identified 200 million barrels of possible resources at is Atlantis field alone. It plans to apply the technology to other fields in Azerbaijan, Angola, and Trinidad and Tobago, it said. (Reporting by Jessica Resnick-Ault; editing by Gary McWilliams and Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bp-oil-gulf-idUKKBN17X25I'|'2017-05-02T01:50:00.000+03:00' +'67d7c2a17bb6f6bb06d4545b38333114ee0f5561'|'U.S. consumer watchdog''s prepaid-card rule survives Congress challenge'|'Business News - Thu May 11, 2017 - 5:20pm EDT U.S. consumer watchdog''s prepaid-card rule survives Congress challenge left Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray speaks in Washington, October 17, 2014. REUTERS/Larry Downing 1/2 left right U.S. Senator David Perdue (R-GA) speaks to embers of the news media after meeting with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York, U.S., December 2, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar 2/2 By Lisa Lambert - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON A major challenge to the U.S. watchdog for consumer finances fizzled on Thursday, as Congress missed a deadline to repeal the agency''s new rule on prepaid cards. Late last year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a rule requiring greater disclosures and overdraft limits for the cards sold by companies such as Mastercard Inc. ( MA.N ) and Greendot and frequently used in place of paychecks. The timing made the rule eligible for Congress to repeal it under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), but lawmakers only had until Thursday to kill the regulation by passing a disapproval resolution in both chambers with simple majorities. Republican Senator David Perdue of Georgia, one of the agency''s biggest critics, had introduced a resolution that he tried to speed through his chamber, but congressional aides and advocacy groups said he could not gather enough votes. Perdue has repeatedly said the CFPB, created in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law to protect individuals against fraud, oversteps its authority. Earlier this week he said he intends to keep up pressure on the agency. The resolution''s failure indicates that future regulations from the CFPB, reviled by many Republicans, may have shots at survival. The agency is led by Democrat Richard Cordray, was created by former President Barack Obama, a Democrat, and was originally conceived by Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, a leader in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. The CFPB was expected to soon finalize restrictions on the fine print in contracts known as "mandatory arbitration clauses" that require consumers to give up their rights to class-action lawsuits as a condition of buying a service or product. But the rule''s fate has been caught in limbo. Congress is expected to kill it swiftly with a CRA resolution once it is official. While the first half-dozen CRA resolutions flew easily through Congress, repealing a wide spectrum of Obama-era regulations, the final resolutions faced a tougher time. One limiting methane emissions from oil and gas production on public lands failed on Wednesday. All told, Congress killed 14 regulations since Feb. 1. Lawmakers could still vote after this week to repeal rules that Obama finished in the last six months of his administration, but they will need super-majorities in each chamber, which is nearly impossible to achieve in the more closely divided Senate. (Reporting by Lisa Lambert; Editing by David Gregorio) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-congress-prepaid-idUSKBN1872XO'|'2017-05-12T05:06:00.000+03:00' +'ad6a74beb2803ee1c75f40eeaba50403b40e2830'|'EMERGING MARKETS-LatAm currencies seesaw ahead of Fed decision, U.S. data'|'Bonds News - Tue May 2, 2017 - 12:05pm EDT EMERGING MARKETS-LatAm currencies seesaw ahead of Fed decision, U.S. data By Bruno Federowski SAO PAULO, May 2 Latin American currencies seesawed on Tuesday as traders stood pat ahead of a Federal Reserve policy decision and key U.S. jobs market data later in the week. The Fed was expected to hold interest rates steady on Wednesday but may hint it was on track for an increase in June, according to a Reuters poll of economists. Higher U.S. rates could dampen the allure of high-yielding emerging market bonds, reducing the value of their currencies. Also providing hints about the path of U.S. monetary policy, the U.S. Labor Department was scheduled to release on Friday April''s nonfarm payrolls report. Analysts have generally been optimistic over the figures, with economists forecasting a 185,000 payroll gain, up from March''s 98,000. The Brazilian real strengthened 0.1 percent following a long weekend, while the Mexican peso was down 0.7 percent. The Chilean peso slipped 0.1 percent, pressured by a decline in prices of copper. Brazil''s benchmark Bovespa stock index rose 2 percent, supported by shares of banks such as Banco Bradesco SA and Ita Unibanco Holding SA. Trading volumes were thin as investors awaited further developments in the government''s efforts to pass wide structural reforms, including a pension system revamp. Bets on stronger-than-expected opposition in Congress have reduced demand for Brazilian assets in recent weeks. Falling shares of planemaker Embraer SA helped to limit gains of the index following a 59 percent drop in first-quarter net income. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1600 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % change change Latest MSCI Emerging Markets 988.26 0.87 13.63 MSCI LatAm 2653.13 1.32 11.87 Brazil Bovespa 66521.21 1.71 10.45 Mexico IPC 49590.64 0.67 8.65 Chile IPSA 4855.80 1.27 16.97 Chile IGPA 24363.48 1.14 17.50 Argentina MerVal 21053.41 0.15 24.44 Colombia IGBC 10216.25 0.18 0.87 Venezuela IBC 57972.29 0.49 82.85 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.1699 0.10 2.50 Mexico peso 18.7870 -0.31 10.42 Chile peso 668 -0.19 0.40 Colombia peso 2945.45 -0.19 1.90 Peru sol 3.249 -0.18 5.08 Argentina peso (interbank) 15.2850 0.75 3.86 Argentina peso (parallel) 15.9 0.57 5.79 (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/latam-emergingmarkets-idUSL1N1I40ZK'|'2017-05-03T00:05:00.000+03:00' +'4150de7e09e24d29a59fa74da6aab55beb697e55'|'Fiat Chrysler shares drop on U.S. diesel emissions probe'|'Thu May 18, 2017 - 9:41pm BST Fiat Chrysler shares drop on U.S. diesel emissions probe A screen displays the ticker information for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV at the post where it''s traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., January 12, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/Files By David Shepardson - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV ( FCHA.MI ) (FCA) shares fell 1 percent in U.S. trading on Thursday on reports the Justice Department is preparing to file a civil suit against the automaker for selling 104,000 vehicles that emit excess diesel emissions. Reuters reported on Wednesday the Justice Department may file a suit under the Clean Air Act as early as this week if no agreement is reached with the Italian-American automaker. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board in January accused FCA of illegally using undisclosed software to allow excess diesel emissions in 104,000 U.S. 2014-2016 Jeep Grand Cherokees and Dodge Ram 1500 trucks. That was the result of a probe that stemmed from regulators'' investigation of rival Volkswagen AG ( VOWG_p.DE ) excess emissions. Shares of the company fell as much as 4 percent on the New York Stock Exchange before closing at $10.48, down 1 percent. The vehicles engines were manufactured by VM Motori SpA, a subsidiary of FCA, and some component parts for the engines were supplied by Robert Bosch GmbH. Bosch faces about two dozen lawsuits from owners in connection with the FCA diesel vehicles. The Justice Department and the EPA have obtained internal emails and other documents written in Italian that look at engine development and emissions issues that raise significant questions, people briefed on the investigation told Reuters. The investigation has scrutinized VM Motori actions. FCA acquired a 50 percent stake in VM Motori in 2010 and the remainder in October 2013. A federal judge in California set a May 24 hearing on a series of lawsuits filed by owners of vehicles and some dealers against Fiat FCA and the Justice Department is expected to file its action by then if no agreement is reached. FCA said on Wednesday it believed any litigation would be "counterproductive" to ongoing discussions with the EPA and California. The company said it "will defend itself vigorously, particularly against any claims that the company deliberately installed defeat devices to cheat U.S. emissions tests." The automaker said in a court filing late on Wednesday it was working closely with the EPA and California in a bid to win approval to sell 2017 diesels. FCA said testing is ongoing by regulators and it hopes to "install modified emissions software" without requiring any hardware changes to address regulators'' concerns. The company said it was ensuring potentially relevant documents are preserved, disclosing it has an "investigation hold" covering about 190 current and former employees related to the diesel vehicles under investigation. The European Commission has launched legal action against Italy for failing to respond to allegations of emission-test cheating by Fiat Chrysler in a procedure that could lead to the country being taken to court. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Sandra Maler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-fiatchrysler-emissions-idUKKCN18E1ZW'|'2017-05-19T04:35:00.000+03:00' +'29f0b5e27f8a99829462305c8fc10b56cdb258cf'|'Commodity currencies nurse losses after oil slumps; pound falters'|'SINGAPORE Commodity currencies got off to a shaky start on Friday, having tracked oil prices lower, after a meeting of OPEC countries disappointed some investors who had hoped for larger production cuts.Sterling slipped after an opinion poll showed that Britain''s opposition Labor Party has cut the lead of Prime Minister Theresa May''s Conservatives to five points ahead of a June 8 national election.The pound fell 0.3 percent to $1.2908 GBP=D3 . That added to the 0.3 percent loss on Thursday, after data showed Britain''s economy slowed more than previously thought in the first quarter of the year.Commodity-linked currencies struggled to gain traction after having taken a hit overnight from a tumble in oil prices.OPEC and non-members led by Russia decided on Thursday to extend cuts in oil output by nine months to March 2018 as they battle a global glut of crude after seeing prices halve and revenues drop sharply in the past three years.But oil prices tumbled 5 percent on Thursday as the outcome disappointed some investors who had been hoping for deeper production cuts or a further extension.The Canadian dollar CAD=D4 was last trading at C$1.3484 CAD=D3 per U.S. dollar, down from a five-week high of C$1.3388 touched at one point on Thursday.The Australian dollar AUD=D3 eased 0.1 percent to $0.7447, staying on the defensive after shedding 0.7 percent on Thursday.The weakness in commodity currencies gave some respite to the U.S. dollar, which has been on the defensive after the Federal Reserve''s minutes of the May policy meeting released on Wednesday dialled down on some of the more hawkish policy expectations in the market.The greenback''s underlying trend doesn''t look very strong, however, said Satoshi Okagawa, senior global markets analyst at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation in Singapore.Okagawa said that one message from the Fed minutes was that the U.S. central bank is likely to take a gradual and flexible approach to reducing its balance sheet."That has helped U.S. yields to settle down and has led to weakness in the dollar," he added.The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, last traded at 97.307 .DXY.On Monday, the dollar index had touched a low of 96.797, its lowest level since Nov. 9. For the week, the dollar index was clinging to a gain of about 0.2 percent.The greenback has been bruised recently by uncertainty about U.S. economic policies. Markets worried that the political uproar in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump''s firing of James Comey as FBI director could delay efforts by Trump to implement his plans for pro-growth tax reforms.Against the yen, the dollar eased 0.1 percent to 111.74 yen JPY= , staying below a one-week high of 112.13 yen touched on Wednesday.The euro eased 0.1 percent to $1.1199 EUR= , having backed away from a 6-1/2 month high of $1.1268 set this week.The common currency has enjoyed a bull run this month on factors including an ebb in French political concerns and upbeat euro zone data.(Reporting by Masayuki Kitano; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-forex-idUKKBN18M02K'|'2017-05-26T09:02:00.000+03:00' +'b963627b08844755e0b187b34866c7b4cdd89f47'|'China''s reforms will not be enough to arrest rising debt - Moody''s Diron says'|'Business News - Fri May 26, 2017 - 3:18am BST China''s reforms will not be enough to arrest rising debt - Moody''s Diron says FILE PHOTO: A labourer has his dinner under his shed at a construction site of a residential complex in Hefei, Anhui province, August 1, 2012. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo BEIJING China''s structural reforms will not be enough to arrest its rising debt, Marie Diron, associate managing director of Moody''s Sovereign Risk Group, said on Friday. But its economic growth will remain robust, and the likelihood of a hard landing is slim, she told reporters on a webcast. Moody''s Investors Service downgraded China''s credit ratings on Wednesday by one notch to A1, saying it expects the financial strength of the world''s second-largest economy will erode in coming years as growth slows and debt continues to rise. China may no longer get an A1 rating if there are signs that debt is growing at a pace that exceeds the agency''s expectations, Li Xiujun, vice president of credit strategy and standards at the ratings agency, said on the webcast. (Reporting by Yawen Chen and Ryan Woo; Editing by Kim Coghill)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-rating-idUKKBN18M065'|'2017-05-26T10:18:00.000+03:00' +'a609e0b84807ea9f7026707d186bf2e0117fdf60'|'Occidental reports bigger quarterly profit on oil price rise'|'Commodities - Thu May 4, 2017 - 1:13pm EDT Occidental profit beats; shares fall on weak output forecast The North Dakota regional headquarters of oil producer Occidental Petroleum Corp is seen in Dickinson, North Dakota in this October 14, 2015 photo. REUTERS/Ernest Scheyder Occidental Petroleum Corp''s quarterly profit beat estimates on Thursday but the company''s shares fell to a near eight-year low as the oil and gas producer forecast lower-than-expected production for the current quarter. Chesapeake Energy Corp''s shares also fell, after the company posted a bigger-than-expected decline in production, even as it spent more than analysts estimated. The fall in the companies'' shares came amid a selloff in the broader industry, triggered by a more than 4 percent fall in global oil prices. Occidental expects full-year capital spending to be toward the high end of $3 billion-$3.6 billion it had forecast earlier in the year, Christopher Stavros, the company''s chief financial officer, said on a post-earning call. Stavros cited a ramp up in activity in Texas'' Permian Basin - the focus of Occidental''s oil and gas operations. The company plans to deploy 11-13 rigs in the prolific shale field this year. The company, which recently sold natural gas assets in South Texas to fund Permian drilling, hinted at disposing some non-core acreage in the Permian basin. "The tail of our portfolio includes Permian Resources acreage that is not strategic to us, but synergistic and valuable to others," Occidental''s Chief Executive Vicki Hollub said on the call. "This will be done as needed and opportunistically." The South Texas sale led to a reduction in Occidental''s 2017 production target. The company now expects to produce 595,000-615,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) this year, lower than a prior estimate of 625,000-645,000 boe/d. Occidental forecast current quarter output of 580,000595,000 boe/d. But the midpoint of that estimate fell short of the 633,000 boe/d analysts were expecting. The company''s worldwide production declined 11 percent to 584,000 boe/d on average in the first quarter. But higher oil prices during the quarter helped make up for the fall. The Houston, Texas-based company said it realized $49.04 per barrel of oil in the quarter, up from $29.42, a year earlier. Occidental''s profit rose 50 percent to $117 million, or 15 cents per share, in the latest quarter. Excluding an asset impairment charge, Occidental''s profit was 16 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, higher than the analysts'' average estimate of 7 cents. The company shares fell as much as 3.8 percent to $57.91 on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Swetha Gopinath in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-occidental-results-idUSKBN1801BZ'|'2017-05-04T15:41:00.000+03:00' +'859c695e40454d7dd141a23e3ae1a623c55c694a'|'PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - May 15'|'May 15 The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.- Waymo, the self-driving car unit that operates under Google''s parent company, has signed a deal with ride-hailing start-up Lyft to bring autonomous vehicle technology into the mainstream through pilot projects and product development efforts. nyti.ms/2pB1hTR- The components of the global cyberattack that seized hundreds of thousands of computer systems last week may be more complex than originally believed, a Trump administration official said Sunday, and experts warned that the effects of the malicious software could linger for some time. nyti.ms/2pAuD4M- WinView, which lets users make free wagers on sports games in real time, plans to announce on Monday that it has raised $12 million in a new round of financing. nyti.ms/2pAL3tO- On Sunday, Western Digital Corp said it had decided to take its conflict with Toshiba to the International Court of Arbitration, to stop the Japanese company from selling its chips arm without its consent. nyti.ms/2pAYMRA(Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/press-digest-nyt-idINL4N1IH24D'|'2017-05-15T04:48:00.000+03:00' +'dfbf6398c1c9f65ac6697532b14a299e5481afd1'|'Athletics-Kipchoge on pace for sub-two hour marathon - Reuters'|'MONZA, Italy May 6 Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge was on pace to run the first marathon in under two hours on Saturday, part of an unofficial effort at a Formula 1 track in Italy sponsored by sportswear group Nike to break through one of the greatest barriers in sport.The 32-year-old Olympic champion broke away from the only other competitors, Eritrean Zersenay Tadese and Ethiopian Lelisa Desisa, near the halfway mark and was running at pace that would see him finish a few seconds inside two hours.He was running behind an arrow-head of six pacemakers, to reduce drag, and a pace car beaming a green line on the surface of the Monza track behind it to show the speed needed to break the barrier.The world record is 2 hours 2 minutes and 57 seconds, set by Kenyan Dennis Kimetto in Berlin in 2014, and it will stand no matter the time Kipchoge achieves on Saturday, largely because of the pace-setting arrangement. (Reporting by Mark Bendeich, editing by Nick Mulvenney)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/athletics-marathon-breaking2-halfway-idINL4N1I803N'|'2017-05-06T03:08:00.000+03:00' +'3e36a633ecc2c066b79f1cca81b07778ba1e74a1'|'Zambia President steps into row with First Quantum Minerals'|'LUSAKA May 11 Zambia''s president Edgar Lungu has called for an out of court settlement with First Quantum Minerals, which is being sued for $1.4 billion by a state-owned firm, the presidency said on Thursday.First Quantum asked a Zambian court in February to dismiss the suit from Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Investment Holdings (ZCCM-IH), which is 77 percent state-owned and holds minority stakes in most of the country''s copper mines."The president decided that the finance minister leads a government team to engage First Quantum for a speedy and amicable conclusion of this matter," presidential spokesman Amos Chanda said."The government team includes the minister of mines and should start work by next week so that we can quickly have an amicable settlement as directed by the president," he said.Zambia is Africa''s second-largest copper producer and differences with mining companies over taxes, electricity prices, environmental concerns and labour matters often arise.The $1.4 billion claim by ZCCM-IH includes $228 million in interest on $2.3 billion of loans that it said First Quantum wrongly borrowed from the Kansanshi Copper Mine, as well as 20 percent of the principal amount, or $570 million.ZCCM-IH said in papers filed in the Lusaka High Court on Oct. 28, 2016 that First Quantum used the money as cheap financing for its other operations.First Quantum says the loans were at a fair market rate.Chanda said another team headed by the minister of energy would engage mining companies, including First Quantum Minerals, regarding a proposed increase in electricity prices.Zambia said in April it plans to introduce a flat tariff of 9.30 U.S. cents/kilowatt hour (kWh) backdated to January for mining companies, rather than individually negotiated rates that have averaged 6 U.S. cents/kWh. (Reporting by Chris Mfula; editing by David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/zambia-mining-idUSL8N1ID1BO'|'2017-05-11T15:45:00.000+03:00' +'4f26d8726086615fab66fc9a016c846dfd34a97a'|'Euroclear looking at post-Brexit options for UK, Irish market'|' 12:10pm BST Euroclear looking at post-Brexit options for UK, Irish market The Big Ben bell tower on the Houses of Parliament is visible through a shaped foil balloon as demonstrators protest during a ''''March for Europe'''' against the Brexit vote result earlier in the year, in London, Britain, September 3, 2016. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor DUBLIN Settlement bank Euroclear is looking at the option of setting up a branch or subsidiary to provide a route between its UK and Irish markets following Brexit, the head of its UK and Irish operation said on Friday. Brussels-based Euroclear''s UK operation Crest currently settles both UK and Irish shares. "That will have to change a bit in the light of Brexit and we are looking at the options of a branch and a subsidiary to try to provide a route by which we can provide solutions to this market," John Trundle told a conference in Dublin. (Reporting by Padraic Halpin,; Editing by John Geddie)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-euroclear-idUKKBN1881GH'|'2017-05-12T19:10:00.000+03:00' +'26a146703a2a3f82de982b21a1e4655e4a0d4254'|'Kinder Morgan to raise up to C$1.75 billion in Canadian IPO'|'TORONTO U.S. pipeline giant Kinder Morgan Inc''s ( KMI.N ) Canadian unit is looking to raise up to C$1.75 billion ($1.28 billion) in an initial public offering in Toronto, Kinder Morgan Canada said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday.The company plans to offer between 79.5 million and 92.1 million restricted voting shares, at C$19 to C$21 per share, it said.(Reporting by John Tilak)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-kinder-morgan-de-ipo-idINKBN1862CP'|'2017-05-10T14:40:00.000+03:00' +'12b4b695565abfae9bfe7c1876844b43fc35ef13'|'Novartis exercises option with Conatus for NASH product'|'Company News - Thu May 4, 2017 - 1:51am EDT Novartis exercises option with Conatus for NASH product ZURICH May 4 Novartis is exercising its option with Conatus Pharmaceuticals for an exclusive license for the global development and commercialization of emricasan for treating liver disease NASH, the Swiss drugmaker said. In December, Novartis said it signed a licensing deal to co-develop the fatty liver disease drug with Conatus, under which the small U.S. company receives $50 million up front. Novartis said on Thursday exercise of the option would take effect upon receipt of all required anti-trust approvals and payment of a $7-million option exercise fee to Conatus. (Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/novartis-conatus-pharma-idUSFWN1I516W'|'2017-05-04T13:51:00.000+03:00' +'01b975bba35f2e32030201ac08f0dc13648621c8'|'Canadian Natural posts first-quarter profit, evaluating acquisitions'|'By Nia Williams - CALGARY, Alberta CALGARY, Alberta Canadian Natural Resources Ltd ( CNQ.TO ), the country''s largest independent petroleum producer, said on Thursday it continues to evaluate any assets for sale within its core areas of operation in western Canada.However, the Calgary-based company added that it was focused on its recently announced acquisition of a majority stake in the Athabasca Oil Sands Project in northern Alberta, which is set to close in the second quarter of this year.Canadian Natural will pay C$12.74 billion ($9.28 billion) for assets belonging to Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) and Marathon Oil Corp ( MRO.N ), making it one of the three major Canadian oil sands operators, along with Suncor Energy ( SU.TO ) and Cenovus Energy ( CVE.TO ), that have been stepping in as foreign oil majors exit the region."We have got lots on our plate but that will not stop us from evaluating everything that goes through our core area," president Steve Laut said on a first-quarter earnings call.Canadian Natural, which operates in western Canada, the North Sea and offshore West Africa, reported a first-quarter profit on Thursday helped by an uptick in crude prices and increased output from its Horizon oil sands project in Alberta.Oil prices CLc1 LCOc1 began to rise late last year after a two-year slump, and are now trading within a $45-$50 a barrel range as an OPEC-led production cut and rebounding demand slowly erode a global glut.Canadian Natural posted a net profit of C$245 million, or 22 Canadian cents per share, for the quarter ended March 31, swinging to a profit after reporting a loss of C$105 million, or 10 Canadian cents per share, in the year-earlier quarter.The company said production rose nearly 4 percent to 876,907 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in the latest quarter.Cash flow from operations, a key indicator of a company''s ability to pay for new projects and drilling, surged nearly 150 percent to C$1.64 billion, or C$1.46 per share.The free cash flow was largely used to reduce debt levels by C$500 million, the company said.Production from Horizon, the company''s flagship oil sands facility, hit a record 192,000 bpd in the first quarter, up 50 percent year-on-year. Phase 3 of the project is scheduled to start up by the end of 2017, adding 80,000 bpd of capacity.(Reporting by John Benny in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza and James Dalgleish)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-cdn-natural-rsc-results-idINKBN1800XM'|'2017-05-04T15:36:00.000+03:00' +'d81ecc981041474e68d633a417d64d6ecc1f8067'|'PIRC recommends Prudential shareholders vote against pay, chairman'|'Business 03pm BST PIRC recommends Prudential shareholders vote against pay, chairman A man leaves the Prudential offices in central London May 13 2010. REUTERS/Paul Hackett LONDON Governance adviser PIRC recommended on Tuesday that Prudential ( PRU.L ) shareholders oppose the insurer''s pay policy and report, and the re-election of chairman Paul Manduca at the company''s annual general meeting next week. Prudential''s remuneration policy, which sets out future executive pay awards, has a maximum potential award for Chief Executive Mike Wells of 600 percent of salary, which PIRC said was "excessive". The maximum award for the chief executive of M&G, Anne Richards, is 1,050 percent of salary, which PIRC said in a report was "not acceptable". PIRC also recommended opposing Prudential''s remuneration report for 2016, saying Wells'' total bonus pay of 432 percent of salary was excessive, while the total bonus of 638 percent of salary for the firm''s Asia business head, Barry Stowe, was "highly excessive". It recommended opposing the re-election of Chairman Paul Manduca, citing the lack of a target to increase the number of women on the company''s board. Prudential holds its AGM on May 18. (Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; editing by Simon Jessop)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-prudential-agm-pirc-idUKKBN18516D'|'2017-05-09T19:03:00.000+03:00' +'d4195de26e1a31555198753910fd2f728f686084'|'Infosys plans to hire 10,000 American workers, open four U.S. tech centres'|'Business News - Tue May 2, 2017 - 5:02am BST Infosys plans to hire 10,000 American workers, open four U.S. tech centres The logo of Infosys is pictured inside the company''s headquarters in Bengaluru, India, April 13, 2017. REUTERS/Abhishek N. Chinnappa By Stephen Nellis - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO India-based IT services firm Infosys Ltd said late on Monday that it plans to hire 10,000 American workers in the next two years and open four technology centres in the United States, starting with a centre this August in Indiana, the home state of Vice President Mike Pence. The move comes at a time when Infosys and some of its Indian peers such as Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro have become political targets in the United States for allegedly displacing jobs of American workers by flying in foreign workers on temporary visas to service their clients in the country. The IT service firms rely heavily on the H1-B visa programme, which President Trump has ordered federal agencies to review. In a telephone interview with Reuters from Indiana, Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka said his company plans to hire American workers in fields such as artificial intelligence. He said the firm has already hired 2,000 American workers as part of a previous effort started in 2014. "When you think about it from a U.S. point of view, obviously creating more American jobs and opportunities is a good thing," Sikka said. (Editing by Euan Rocha and Muralikumar Anantharaman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-infosys-usa-idUKKBN17Y0A0'|'2017-05-02T12:02:00.000+03:00' +'de1cb5ebd0ebe919cf1538ee4867bdfe425bf4b7'|'Italy seeks pasta labels, Canada worries about durum sales'|'Business News - 24pm BST Italy seeks pasta labels, Canada worries about durum sales Different type of Gragnano''s artisan pasta are seen at the 50th Vinitaly international wine and spirits exhibition in Verona, northern Italy, April 12, 2016. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini By Rod Nickel and Isla Binnie - WINNIPEG, Manitoba/ROME WINNIPEG, Manitoba/ROME Italy has formally asked the European Commission to allow it to require country of origin labels on pasta sold there, raising alarm for Canadian durum wheat exporters who fear the move will dampen sales. Italian Agriculture Minister Maurizio Martina tweeted on Monday that Italy had sent a decree to Brussels spelling out proposals to label pasta and rice packets to show the origin of the raw materials. Rome had send a draft decree of its intent in December, but had not until now taken the formal step. Italy is proposing that pasta packets show where the wheat was grown and where it was milled. Canadian exporters and farmers fear the move would depress prices in Canada, the biggest global durum exporter, as it would require Italian pasta makers to segregate supplies by country. Italy''s move comes as a Canada-Europe free trade deal moves to its final stages of approval. "It''s something that causes us significant concern because it will increase the cost of moving durum into Italy," said Cam Dahl, president of industry group Cereals Canada, whose members include grain traders Cargill Ltd, Richardson International and Louis Dreyfus Corp. Italy is Canada''s second-biggest foreign durum buyer so far in 2016-17, purchasing 522,000 tonnes from August through March, according to Canadian government data. Annual Canadian sales to Italy are worth some C$248 million (140.3 million), based on average export volumes and International Grains Council price data. The European Commission said it had not yet received official notification from Italy and that it would then have three months to make observations. If there are no observations, the member state is free to go ahead with its plans. European lawmakers have shown an increasing appetite for labelling due to consumer demands for information about food, and Italy has also said labelling would help its pasta industry better compete with foreign competition. Canadian durum farmers last year grew their biggest-ever crop. They are expected to sow less durum this spring after disease downgraded quality last year. Cereals Canada will travel to Italy late this month to meet with pasta industry groups and to Brussels to meet with European Union officials. Canadian Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay could not be immediately reached for comment. Canada and Mexico won a similar labelling fight over United States meat labels in late 2015. India and Thailand are the biggest global rice exporters. (Additional reporting by Philip Blenkinsop in Brussels; Editing by Chris Reese)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-italy-durum-canada-idUKKBN1862BM'|'2017-05-11T00:24:00.000+03:00' +'7f9077e8f2c83830fdcefeae2017ef5bafc62a34'|'HelloFresh to be ready for autumn flotation: sources'|'By Arno Schuetze - FRANKFURT FRANKFURT German meal kit company HelloFresh is preparing for a stock market flotation, which could come as early as autumn, but will only be launched if the pre-summer listing of peer Delivery Hero proves a success, people close to the matter said.Rocket Internet, the ecommerce investor which launched Hello Fresh in 2011, has picked a new set of so-called global coordinators for the flotation, comprising Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ), JP Morgan ( JPM.N ) and Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ).Berlin-based Rocket has built up dozens of businesses from fashion ecommerce to food delivery, but investors have become concerned about heavy losses and falling valuations for its key start-ups as well as a paucity of listings.Rocket had early success with online fashion firm Zalando ( ZALG.DE ), which listed in 2014 and has performed well since. But the investor pulled a flotation of HelloFresh in 2015 and has not brought any other companies to market yet.HelloFresh, which delivers meal ingredients and recipes in seven European countries as well as the United States, Canada and Australia, was valued at valued at 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) in a funding round in December.On Tuesday, Reuters reported that Delivery Hero - Rocket''s biggest holding - is set to float before the summer break in a deal valuing one of Europe''s biggest start-ups at up to 4 billion euros.Rocket, which is due to report first-quarter financial results on May 31, owns 53 percent of HelloFresh, with other investors including British investment manager Baillie Gifford and Qatar''s sovereign wealth fund holding the rest.HelloFresh''s revenue almost doubled to 597 million euros in 2016 as it expanded rapidly in North America, while losses before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization narrowed to 83 million euros from 86 million in 2015.HelloFresh, which delivered 91 million servings in 2016 and saw its number of active subscribers rise 38 percent to 857,000, is keen to make its service ever more personalized and add more options for delivery, like wine and desserts.U.S. peers Blue Apron and Sun Basket are also preparing initial public offerings (IPOs).Separately, Rocket-backed Global Fashion Group said on Wednesday it had agreed with partner Emaar to jointly develop Namshi until a possible IPO or a full takeover.Rocket Internet and the banks declined to comment.(Additional reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Maria Sheahan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-hellofresh-ipo-idINKBN18K1PH'|'2017-05-24T11:08:00.000+03:00' +'39912e5d5f093897f5d8ef97e7510510b9aefe1f'|'EU starts legal action against Italy over Fiat Chrysler emissions'|'Wed May 17, 2017 - 12:37pm BST EU starts legal action against Italy over Fiat Chrysler emissions A Fiat logo is seen on the wheel of a Fiat car in Turin in this picture taken February 10, 2013. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini BRUSSELS/ROME The European Commission launched legal action against Italy on Wednesday for failing to respond to allegations of emission-test cheating by Fiat Chrysler ( FCHA.MI ), in a procedure that could lead to the country being taken to court. The Commission said Italy had failed to convince it that devices used to modulate emissions on Fiat Chrysler vehicles outside of narrow testing conditions were justified. "The Commission is now formally asking Italy to respond to its concerns that the manufacturer has not sufficiently justified the technical necessity and thus the legality of the defeat device used," the Commission said in a statement. Italy has two months to respond to the Commission''s request and may be eventually taken to the European Court of Justice if the answer is found to be unconvincing. Italy had asked the European Union to postpone its plan to launch legal action against Rome over emissions at Fiat Chrysler ( FCHA.MI ), Transport Minister Graziano Delrio said. "Considering that after the end of the mediation process, we did not receive any request for further information ... we ask that you delay starting the infringement procedure while we await a letter asking for clarification on issues raised by your relevant offices," Delrio told EU Industry Commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska, according to the ministry''s statement. The European Commission has been mediating a dispute between Rome and Berlin after Germany accused Fiat Chrysler of using an illegal device in its Fiat 500X, Fiat Doblo and Jeep Renegade models. That mediation ended without fanfare in March. EU officials have become increasingly frustrated with what they see as governments colluding with the powerful car industry and the legal move is the biggest stick the European Commission has available to force nations to clamp down on diesel cars that spew out polluting nitrogen oxide (NOx). Delrio, however, said the material Italy had sent to the Commission during the mediation process showed that the vehicles'' approval process was correctly performed. Under the current system, which the Commission is trying to overhaul, national regulators approve new cars and alone have the power to police manufacturers. But once a vehicle is approved in one country, it can be sold throughout the bloc. Last December, the Commission launched cases against five nations, including Germany, Britain and Spain, for failing to police the car industry adequately. Under new draft rules set to be agreed later this month, the Commission will be given the power to fine car manufacturers who cheat the system directly, up to 30,000 euros per affected vehicle. "Contrary to what your offices have stated, the Italian authorities have from the start ruled out the presence of any illegal devices in Fiat''s models, both the original ones and those that have been refitted," Delrio said. "During the mediation process we have pointed out that FCA had voluntarily initiated a campaign in February 2016 to improve emissions performance, well before Germany informed us of the results emerging from their tests." Once filed, Wednesday''s notice will be the first step in EU infringement procedures, designed to ensure the bloc''s 28 member states abide by EU-wide regulations. (Reporting by Francesca Piscioneri and Agnieszka Flak; Robert-Jan Bartunek in Brussels)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-fiatchrysler-emissions-idUKKCN18D1DS'|'2017-05-17T19:33:00.000+03:00' +'f1b9a124b4fa4381e9cac671710f47f8aa84545b'|'Wells Fargo may have created 3.5 million unauthorised accounts-lawyers'|'Business News - Fri May 12, 2017 - 11:13pm BST Wells Fargo bogus accounts balloon to 3.5 million: lawyers A Wells Fargo Bank is shown in Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S., September 26, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake By Jonathan Stempel Wells Fargo & Co ( WFC.N ) may have opened as many as 3.5 million unauthorized customer accounts, far more than previously estimated, according to lawyers seeking approval of a $142 million settlement over the practice. The new estimate was provided in a filing late Thursday night in the federal court in San Francisco, and is 1.4 million accounts higher than previously reported by federal regulators, in what became a national scandal. Keller Rohrback, a law firm for the plaintiff customers, said the higher estimate reflects "public information, negotiations, and confirmatory discovery." The Seattle-based firm also said the number "may well be over-inclusive, but provides a reasonable basis on which to estimate a maximum recovery." Wells Fargo spokesman Ancel Martinez in an email said the new estimate was "based on a hypothetical scenario" and unverified, and did not reflect "actual unauthorized accounts." Nonetheless, it could complicate Wells Fargo''s ability to win approval for the settlement, which has drawn opposition from some customers and lawyers who consider it too small. "This adds more credence to the fact there is not enough information to assess whether the settlement is fair and adequate," Lewis Garrison, a partner at Heninger Garrison Davis in Birmingham, Alabama who represents some objecting customers, said in an interview. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco is scheduled to consider preliminary approval at a May 18 hearing. The accounts scandal mushroomed after Wells Fargo agreed last September to pay $185 million in penalties to settle charges by authorities including the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Wells Fargo employees were found to have opened the accounts in part because of pressure to meet sales goals. John Stumpf and Carrie Tolstedt, who were respectively the San Francisco-based bank''s chief executive and retail banking chief, lost their jobs and had tens of millions of dollars clawed back over the scandal, and 5,300 employees were fired. The $142 million settlement covers accounts opened since May 2002. Wells Fargo originally agreed to pay $110 million covering accounts since 2009, but boosted the payout after discovering more problems. Keller Rohrback said the settlement "fairly balances the risks" of further litigation, including the possibility their clients might lose, against the benefits. Garrison''s firm said in a filing the accord underestimated the potential maximum damages by at least 50 percent, and did not properly address whether Wells Fargo committed identity theft by using customers'' personal data to open accounts. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Additional reporting by Dan Freed in New York; Editing by Tom Brown)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-wells-fargo-accounts-idUKKBN1882UV'|'2017-05-13T04:38:00.000+03:00' +'a4d886307eecdb03ac2c349d93793968810c8e9e'|'TREASURIES-Long bonds rally as Treasury keeps issuance unchanged'|'* Long bonds rally, yield curve flattens * Treasury evaluating ultra-long bonds * Fed meeting in focus By Karen Brettell NEW YORK, May 3 U.S. 30-year bond yields fell and the yield curve flattened on Wednesday after the Treasury Department said it was studying the issuance of an ultra-long bond, but did not commit to one. The U.S. Treasury said on Wednesday it will keep coupon auctions steady in the upcoming quarter and that it is studying the possibility of issuing ultra long-term bonds. That came after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Monday that his department was looking into the issuance of bonds with maturities beyond 30 years. I think a lot of people were expecting the Treasury to commit to an ultra-long issue and they basically said that theyre reviewing it but remaining non-committal, said Gennadiy Goldberg, interest rate strategist at TD Securities in New York. Thirty-year bonds were last up 20/32 in price to yield 2.95 percent, down from 2.99 percent earlier. Benchmark 10-year notes gained 2/32 in price to yield 2.29 percent, down from 2.30 percent on Tuesday. The yield curve between 5-year notes and 30-year bonds flattened to 113 basis points, from 117 basis points earlier on Wednesday. The Treasury also kept the size of its 10-year and 30-year bond sales planned for next week unchanged, after some investors had expected these issues would be increased. The Treasury said it will sell $62 billion in coupon debt next week, including $24 billion in 3-year notes, $23 billion in 10-year notes and $15 billion in 30-year bonds. Investors were focused on the conclusion of the Federal Reserves two-day meeting later on Wednesday for any new signals on when the U.S. central bank is likely to raise interest rates. The Fed was expected to keep rates steady this month after hiking in March, but investors were waiting to see if it addresses recent economic weakness and whether it indicates that another increase is likely at its June meeting. Fridays U.S. employment report for April was the next major economic focus. Bonds showed little reaction to a report by payrolls processor ADP showing that U.S. private employers added 177,000 jobs in April, slightly above economists'' expectations. (Editing by Meredith Mazzilli) )'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-bonds-idINL1N1I50N1'|'2017-05-03T11:15:00.000+03:00' +'b3196aa439a4f0587fc1297ac5db28ba49366395'|'China c.bank plans to inject funds via MLF in early June - Financial News'|'Money 4:42pm IST China c.bank plans to inject funds via MLF in early June - Financial News FILE PHOTO: A staff member walks in front of the headquarters of the People''s Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank, in Beijing, June 25, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo SHANGHAI China''s central bank plans to inject funds into the money market through its medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans in early June, the Financial News said on Friday. The Financial News, a publication under the People''s Bank of China, quoted the central bank as saying that there would be many factors weighing on the liquidity in June. In order to "keep liquidity basically stable and stabilise the market expectations", the PBOC would also resume injecting funds into the market through 28-day tenor of its reverse bond repurchase agreement (reverse repos) operations at an appropriate time, it added. Three batches of MLF loans are due to mature in June, with a total volume of 431.3 billion yuan ($62.95 billion), according to Reuters calculations based on official data from the central bank. ($1 = 6.8520 Chinese yuan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/china-economy-pboc-idINKBN18M17N'|'2017-05-26T09:12:00.000+03:00' +'a46e3a841fc0d249bcd6954b4417d4b8cf6a30e6'|'MIDEAST STOCKS - Factors to watch - May 11'|'DUBAI May 11 Here are some factors that may affect Middle East stock markets on Thursday. Reuters has not verified the press reports and does not vouch for their accuracy.INTERNATIONAL/REGIONAL* GLOBAL MARKETS-Oil price jump on U.S. inventories slide boosts stocks* MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi near flat on varying Q1 results, Qatar rebounds in otherwise quiet region* Oil prices rise on falling US crude stocks, Saudi supply cut to Asia* PRECIOUS-Gold steadies above 8-week low as dollar, stocks gain* Iraq, Algeria favour extending OPEC-led output cut for six months* Russia''s Rosneft says to abide by possible oil cuts extension deal* Wintershall says in talks with Libya to resolve oil export dispute* Iran''s Azadegan oilfield tender to open within a month -oil official to Mehr News* U.S.-backed Syria militias say Tabqa, dam captured from Islamic State* Jordanian air force brings down drone near border with Syria -statement* * Russian foreign minister: Trump team are people of action* Turkey warns U.S. of blowback from decision to arm Kurdish fighters in Syria* U.S. could distribute equipment to Syrian Kurds ''very quickly'' -spokesman* Turkey, Pakistan sign warship, training plane deals* Turkey needs to sort out price issues with Russia on S-400 missiles, defence minister says* Monitor says air strikes kill 11 people north of Syria''s Raqqa* Civilians in Mosul''s Old City face "stark choices" for survival - ICRC* Iran''s Supreme Leader warns against disrupting presidential vote* Charismatic Tehran mayor defies establishment to stay in presidential race* Tunisian president orders army to protect oil and gasfields* Tunisian vendor sets himself on fire, sparking clashes with police -residents* Tunisia starts preparatory work for debut sukuk issuance* Leading Hamas official says no softened stance towards Israel* Development bank EBRD to invest in West Bank and Gaza* Arab coalition says preparing alternatives to Yemen port for urgent aid* Senior British official to be named U.N. aid chief: diplomats* Libyan coastguard turns back nearly 500 migrants after altercation with NGO ship* Italy investigating some migrant aid workers for people smuggling* U.S. likely to expand airline laptop ban to Europe -government officials* Police carry out anti-IS raids across GermanyEGYPT* BP''s Alexandria output to lift Egypt gas production to 5.1 bln cubic feet/day* Egypt''s inflation hits three-decade high* Foreign investments in Egyptian government securities reach 103.6 bln EGP* Egypt''s Suez Canal revenue $853.7 million in April and March - statement* Egypt''s annual urban consumer price inflation rises to 31.5 pct in April- CAPMASSAUDI ARABIA* British investors wary of Aramco as London courts listing* NYSE executives to woo Aramco IPO in upcoming Saudi visit* Several injured in Saudi raid on Shi''ite district-activists* Saudi Electricity swings to Q1 profit after municipality fee exemption* Saudi contractor Khodari swings to Q1 net loss as revenues halveUNITED ARAB EMIRATES* Etisalat Nigeria says has made progress on talks to restructure $1.2 bln loan* UAE''s Mashreq expects profit growth of around 5 percent in 2017QATAR* Qatar raises crude prices in April -document* Qatar has not asked to raise Deutsche Bank stake - sourcesBAHRAIN* Bahrain to try two civilians in military court - state media (Reporting By Dubai Newsroom)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/mideast-factors-idUSL8N1ID07O'|'2017-05-11T11:04:00.000+03:00' +'a7e2f3758880c4172a934635fd39869c616d31f2'|'Oil stable on expectations of extended OPEC-led production cut'|'Business News - Fri May 12, 2017 - 9:36am BST Oil stable on expected OPEC cut extension, drop in U.S. inventories FILE PHOTO: A worker at an oil field owned by Bashneft, Bashkortostan, Russia, in this January 28, 2015 file photo. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/Files By Stephen Eisenhammer - LONDON LONDON Oil prices traded largely flat on Friday, supported by expectations of an extended OPEC-led production cut and falling U.S. crude inventories but capped by concerns over global oversupply. International benchmark Brent crude futures were at $50.73 per barrel at 0814 GMT, down 4 cents, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 2 cents at $47.81 a barrel. Analysts said a larger-than-expected fall in U.S. crude inventories last week, by 5.3 million barrels, continued to keep Brent above $50, with the data viewed as a possible sign OPEC-led cuts were tightening the market. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers including Russia have pledged to cut output by almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in the first half of the year. OPEC and the other participating producers will meet on May 25 in Vienna to decide whether to extend the cuts and, potentially, agree a deeper reduction. Saudi Arabia, the de-facto OPEC leader, has said it expects cuts to be extended. "The (U.S. crude) inventories turned the heads of market participants towards the more positive side of things," said Eugen Weinberg, Commerzbank head of commodities research. "But nevertheless the problem remains that the oil supplies are still there, the overcapacity is still there, the stocks are still quite high," he added. Norwegian consultancy Rystad Energy said "U.S. oil production has gained significant momentum" and there was "limited downside risk in the short term". "U.S. Lower 48 (all states excluding Alaska and Hawaii) oil production is set to expand by an additional 390,000 bpd from May 2017 to December 2017 assuming a WTI price of $50 per barrel," Rystad said. U.S. crude production has risen more than 10 percent since its mid-2016 trough to more than 9.3 million bpd, close to the levels of top producers Russia and Saudi Arabia. A weekly report by Baker Hughes monitoring U.S. rigs drilling for new production is due on Friday. (Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Dale Hudson) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-oil-idUKKBN18804L'|'2017-05-12T09:37:00.000+03:00' +'b1f8c479cf61ee81c1659ae0e31beacd95c16fe4'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'May 18 The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1000 GMT on Thursday:** Australia''s oldest newspaper publisher Fairfax Media Ltd on Thursday said it has received a takeover bid worth as much as A$2.87 billion ($2.13 billion) from a second U.S. private equity firm, sending its shares sharply higher.** British laundry services group Berendsen rejected on Thursday a revised, 2 billion pound ($2.6 billion) offer by French peer Elis, saying it did not reflect value being added by the UK firm''s expansion and modernisation plans.** South Africa''s Tsogo Sun Holdings has sold 29 hotels to Hospitality Property Fund for a 3.6 billion rand ($268 million) mix of cash and shares, the companies said on Thursday.** Czech utility CEZ''s supervisory board decided against the sale of the 1,000 MW Pocerady coal-fired power plant to rival Czech Coal on Thursday, CTK news agency reported, citing the board''s chairman.** Alitalia went on the auction block on Wednesday, as Italy kicked off the process of finding a buyer to save the money-losing flag carrier.** Thai telecom company Intouch Holdings Pcl on Thursday said its venture capital arm plans to finalize two deals by mid-year.** Japanese automotive chip maker Renesas Electronics Corp said on Thursday that stockholders including state-run fund Innovation Network Corp of Japan (INCJ) planned to sell a combined 16.5 percent of its shares.** Russia plans to sell part of state shipping firm Sovcomflot next month, hoping to draw in a wide range of small-stake investors rather than a strategic buyer who could threaten Moscow''s control of the group, banking and industry sources say.** OneWeb, the U.S. satellite startup backed by Japan''s SoftBank Group Corp, has increased its merger proposal for Intelsat SA by offering Intelsat''s creditors a smaller discount for their bonds than it had before. (Compiled by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/deals-day-idINL4N1IK3P2'|'2017-05-18T08:18:00.000+03:00' +'5f1380c6627610c553c42d798fcb622d21747665'|'Restoring Saudi allowances to cost about 7 billion riyals in 2017, official tells Arabiya'|'Business News - Thu May 4, 2017 - 1:25pm BST Restoring Saudi allowances to cost about 7 billion riyals in 2017, official tells Arabiya FILE PHOTO: Saudi Arabia''s King Salman poses after receiving an an honorary PhD from International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia February 28, 2017. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo DUBAI Restoring financial allowances to civil servants and military personnel will only cost the government about 7 billion riyals (1.45 billion) this year, a senior finance ministry official told Al Arabiya television on Thursday. "Restoring allowances will not have a huge impact on the budget...It will cost about 7 billion riyals this year," said Hindi al-Suhaimi, undersecretary at the ministry of finance. Its budget pressured by low oil prices, the government slashed the allowances last September in order to save money, but announced last month that it would restore them as a way to stimulate economic growth and because its deficit in the first quarter was smaller than expected. The 7 billion riyal figure is smaller than many private economists have been estimating; they have been projecting an annual boost to the economy of between 50 and 80 billion riyals due to the restoration of allowances. Suhaimi did not explain the difference. While it is restoring the allowances, the government may be considerably more careful about awarding them this year, especially for categories such as overtime work. (Reporting by Aziz El Yakoubi and Reem Shamseddine; Writing by Andrew Torchia)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-saudi-finance-allowances-idUKKBN1801HI'|'2017-05-04T20:25:00.000+03:00' +'1afdd18ef75bf35560255d035ba344ff9fe187d6'|'GameStop posts strong first-quarter sales, but leaves forecast unchanged'|'Technology Photos - Fri May 26, 2017 - 4:03am IST GameStop posts strong first-quarter sales, but leaves forecast unchanged By Aishwarya Venugopal GameStop Corp, the world''s largest retailer of videogames and gaming consoles, reported better-than-expected quarterly results on Thursday, but left its full-year earnings forecast unchanged, sending shares down 6 percent in extended trading. The Grapevine, Texas-based company benefited from robust demand for the newly launched Nintendo Switch console in the first quarter ended April 29, helping offset a decline in sales of videogames. A lack of insight into shipments of Nintendo''s latest gaming device for the rest of the year held GameStop back from raising its full-year forecast, Chief Financial Officer Robert Lloyd said in an interview. "Without visibility into the product they can deliver to us ... it is tougher for us to raise our estimates," Lloyd said. Nintendo expects the Switch to more than double its annual operating profit. "We haven''t seen supply (of the Switch) even come close to catching demand," a GameStop executive said on a post-earnings call. A delay in the launch of Take-Two Interactive''s highly awaited title, "Red Dead Redemption: 2," also contributed to GameStop keeping its full-year earnings forecast unchanged at $3.10-$3.40 per share, Lloyd said. Sales at GameStop''s mainstay videogame retail business continued to fall, with new videogame sales declining 8.2 percent to $520.5 million in the first quarter. Demand for physical copies of videogames has weakened in recent years as players increasingly buy games online by downloading them to their devices, rather than visit a store to buy game discs. The shift to downloads in recent years has helped videogame publishers such as Electronic Arts, Activision-Blizzard ( ATVI.O ) and Take-Two boost profit margins, but has dented retail sales of videogames. To counter this shift, GameStop has widened its portfolio by offering mobile phones, tablets and other devices in some of its more than 7,500 stores. Sales at those stores jumped 21.5 percent in the latest quarter but only made up 10 percent of total revenue. But GameStop posted a surprise 2.3 percent rise in sales at established stores, compared with analysts'' average expectation of a 3.6 percent decline, according to research firm Consensus Metrix. Net sales climbed 3.8 percent to $2.05 billion, beating analysts'' expectations of $1.94 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Net income fell 10.3 percent to $59 million, or 58 cents per share, as expenses rose. Excluding items, GameStop earned 63 cents per share, topping expectations of 51 cents. Through Thursday, GameStop''s shares had slipped 6.5 percent this year. (Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-gamestop-results-idINKBN18L2PH'|'2017-05-25T20:33:00.000+03:00' +'5aa318c4b0b1e3d51c685bf4b8d301303b586d4f'|'Insurance dampens Berkshire results before annual meeting'|'Business News - Fri May 5, 2017 - 11:45pm BST Insurance dampens Berkshire results before annual meeting left right Berkshire Hathaway shareholders walks by a photo of CEO Warren Buffett at the shareholder shopping day, as part of the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting weekend in Omaha, Nebraska, May 5, 2017. REUTERS/Rick Wilking 1/4 left right Berkshire Hathaway shareholders shop for shoes at the shareholder shopping day as part of the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting weekend in Omaha, Nebraska, May 5, 2017. REUTERS/Rick Wilking 2/4 left right Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman Charlie Munger visits the shareholder shopping day in a golf cart as part of the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting weekend in Omaha, Nebraska, May 5, 2017. REUTERS/Rick Wilking 3/4 left right Dolls of Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett are sale at the shareholder shopping day as part of the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting weekend in Omaha, Nebraska, May 5, 2017. REUTERS/Rick Wilking 4/4 By Jonathan Stempel - OMAHA, Neb. OMAHA, Neb. Berkshire Hathaway Inc ( BRKa.N ), the conglomerate run by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, reported a 27 percent decline in first-quarter profit on Friday, and said a loss from insurance underwriting contributed to operating results that fell short of forecasts. The results were released one day before Berkshire''s annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, where Buffett, 86, and Berkshire Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, 93, will answer five hours of questions from shareholders, journalists and analysts. That meeting is the centrepiece of a festive weekend of events throughout Omaha expected to draw more than 37,000 shareholders. Net income fell to $4.06 billion (3.13 billion pounds), or $2,469 per Class A share, from $5.59 billion, or $3,401, a year earlier, when Berkshire had a $1.9 billion gain from its swap of its Procter & Gamble Co ( PG.N ) stock for the Duracell battery business. Quarterly operating profit, which excludes investment and derivative gains and losses, fell 5 percent to a three-year low of $3.56 billion, or $2,163 per Class A share, from $3.74 billion, or $2,274. Analysts on average expected operating profit of about $2,666 per Class A share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Buffett believes Berkshire''s investment and derivative gains in any given quarter are often meaningless, but accounting rules require Berkshire to report them in its earnings statements. Despite the earnings shortfall, Buffett''s preferred measure of growth for Berkshire, book value per Class A share, or assets minus liabilities, rose 3.5 percent in the quarter to $178,073. The conglomerate also ended the quarter with roughly $96.5 billion of cash, equivalents and Treasury bills, a record sum and enough for one or more major acquisitions. Berkshire has more than 90 operating units in insurance, chemical, energy, food and clothing, railroad and other sectors, and also has large investments in stocks of companies such as Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) and Wells Fargo & Co ( WFC.N ). Many Berkshire units are selling their wares at discounted prices at the annual meeting, while others offer memorabilia such as "Berky" boxers and bras, talking Warren Buffett dolls, and rubber ducks that look like Buffett and Munger for $5 a pair. Buffett has led Berkshire since 1965. AIG DEAL WEIGHS, BNSF GAINS Berkshire said its insurance businesses swung to a $267 million underwriting loss from a year-earlier profit of $213 million. This reflected higher losses from catastrophes in 2017, including an Australian cyclone in March; unexpectedly high losses related to hurricanes and earthquakes in 2016, and weaker results at the auto insurer Geico and the reinsurer General Re. It also reflected the amortization of deferred charges from Berkshire''s January agreement to take on many long-term risks in American International Group Inc''s ( AIG.N ) property and casualty portfolio, in exchange for $10.2 billion upfront. That payment helped boost float, or the amount of insurance premiums collected before claims are paid and which helps fund Berkshire''s growth, to about $105 billion from $91 billion at the end of 2016. It also helped boost quarterly revenue 25 percent to $65.19 billion. Quarter-to-quarter swings "are about the mix of business and what is coming due, and what is being renewed," said Cole Smead, portfolio manager at Smead Capital Management in Seattle. "This is not a disaster." It is unclear whether Berkshire booked losses as Buffett began selling some of its stock in IBM Corp ( IBM.N ), which it has owned for about six years. Buffett told CNBC on Thursday he sold about one-third of Berkshire''s 81 million share stake in IBM this year, and no longer values the computer services company as highly as before. In other businesses, the BNSF railroad saw profit rise 7 percent to $838 million, helped by higher revenue from fuel surcharges and increased shipments of consumer products. Berkshire Hathaway Energy, a utility unit mostly owned by Berkshire, saw profit rise 14 percent to $501 million, helped by lower pension and maintenance costs at the PacifiCorp electric utility and a better rate structure for natural gas pipeline operator Kern River. In Friday trading, Berkshire Class A shares rose 0.2 percent to $250,000 and its Class B shares rose 0.1 percent to $166.55. The shares are roughly 6 percent below record highs set on March 2. For a graphic on Berkshire vs. broader U.S. stock amrket, click here (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in Omaha, Nebraska; Additional reporting by Jennifer Ablan; Editing by Nick Zieminski)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-berkshire-hatha-results-idUKKBN18128V'|'2017-05-06T06:45:00.000+03:00' +'20b984d268d98d8a566d55b098135ae7700656c0'|'MIDEAST STOCKS - Factors to watch - May 22'|'DUBAI May 22 Here are some factors that may affect Middle East stock markets on Monday. Reuters has not verified the press reports and does not vouch for their accuracy.INTERNATIONAL/REGIONAL* GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian stocks post biggest rise in a month; dlr weak* MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi basks in Trump glow, most of region moves little* Oil rises on expectation of extended, possibly deepened output cut* PRECIOUS-Gold holds gains as Trump concerns support* Trump tells Middle East to ''drive out'' Islamist extremists* U.S., Saudi firms sign tens of billions of dollars of deals as Trump visits* Brooding Iran hardliners say they must still be heard after Rouhani win* Trump targets ''crisis of Islamist extremism'' in Saudi trip* OPEC heads towards supply cut extension as Saudi signals most on board* Turkey''s Erdogan vows fight against enemies as returns to lead party* Bomb attack on Syrian Islamist rebel group kills 20 - Observatory* Hezbollah calls U.S. administration ''mentally impeded'' during Trump Saudi visit* Israeli minister expresses concern over U.S.-Saudi arms deal* Iran''s Zarif urges Trump to discuss avoiding another 9/11 with Saudis* Gulf states, U.S. to ink agreement against terror financing* Trump praises Sisi, says he hopes to visit Egypt* Trump says ties with Bahrain won''t be strained anymore* U.S. says Iranian-directed convoy targeted by U.S. strike in Syria* Death toll rises in southern Libya attack, defence minister suspended* Saudis, United States blacklist a Hezbollah leader* Trump to visit Israel in search of revived peace process* Iran foreign minister scorns Trump after speech, arms deal* Saudi king says Iran at forefront of global terrorismEGYPT* Egypt refers 48 Islamic State suspects to military court over church bombings* In surprise move, Egypt central bank hikes key interest rates* Cairo lantern-maker champions old craft against Chinese imports* Yields rise on Egypt''s three-month and nine-month T-bills* Egypt procures 2.33 mln tonnes of local wheat since start of harvest -statement* Egypt''s 4G wireless frequencies ready for use - minister* BRIEF-National Bank Of Kuwait Egypt unit signs $300 mln loan agreement with SUMEDSAUDI ARABIA* Saudi oil minister: continuing cuts, adding small producers to deal will reduce inventories* BUZZ-Japan''s SoftBank surges after raising $93 bln with Saudi partner for tech fund* BREAKINGVIEWS-Saudis place $20 bln bet against U.S. dysfunction* Boeing signs defense, commercial deals with Saudi Arabia* Melania Trump hails "empowerment of women" at Saudi company visitUNITED ARAB EMIRATES* UAE minister sees chance for Iran to reset "troubled" ties with neighbours* BUZZ-Dubai''s Gulf Navigation climbs on Q1 earnings* BRIEF-Arabtec Holding unit wins 1.46 bln dirhams contract* BRIEF-UAE''s Dana Gas receives additional payment of $20 mln from Egyptian GovernmentQATAR* BRIEF-Qatar National Bank Syria Q1 profit fallsKUWAIT* BRIEF-Kuwait Finance House denies any decision to merge with Ahli United BankOMAN* MIDEAST DEBT-Oman front-loading funding requirements with planned dollar sukuk* Oman appoints banks ahead of debut public dollar sukukBAHRAIN* Bahrain''s top Shi''ite cleric gets one year suspended jail sentence* TABLE-Bahrain inflation edges up to 0.9 pct in April(Compiled by Dubai Newsroom)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/mideast-factors-idINL8N1IN0JP'|'2017-05-22T02:38:00.000+03:00' +'d9915e6030cbd7b9d1aa63849b58c33331b3f769'|'CANADA FX DEBT-C$ holds near 14-month lows as oil prices decline'|'Bonds News - Mon May 1, 2017 - 9:53am EDT CANADA FX DEBT-C$ holds near 14-month lows as oil prices decline * Canadian dollar at C$1.3654, or 73.24 U.S. cents * Bond prices slightly lower across the yield curve TORONTO, May 1 The Canadian dollar was little changed on Monday against its U.S. counterpart as oil prices fell, with the currency hovering above the 14-month intraday low struck in the previous session. Last week, the loonie fell 1.1 percent pressured by an uncertain outlook for the North American Free Trade Agreement and mortgage market concerns. Home Capital Group Inc , Canada''s biggest non-bank mortgage lender, reported on Monday an initial draw down on a C$2 billion credit line it secured last week. Last month regulators accused the company of making "materially misleading statements" to investors. U.S. crude prices were down 0.81 percent at $48.93 a barrel as rising oil output and drilling in the United States countered Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries-led production cuts. Oil is one of Canada''s major exports. At 9:16 a.m. ET (1316 GMT), the Canadian dollar was trading at C$1.3654 to the greenback, or 73.24 U.S. cents, slightly weaker than Friday''s official close of at C$1.3650, or 73.26 U.S. cents. The currency traded in a range of C$1.3640 to C$1.3687. It touched on Friday its weakest since February 2016 at C$1.3697. Data on Friday showed that Canada''s economy stalled in February. But economists say that the economy remains on track for solid growth in the first quarter. Speculators have ramped up bearish bets on the Canadian dollar to the most since February 2016, data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Reuters calculations showed on Friday. Canadian dollar net short positions jumped to 42,642 contracts as of April 25 from 33,252 a week earlier. Canadian government bond prices were slightly lower across the yield curve in sympathy with U.S. Treasuries after a U.S. government shutdown was averted, and U.S. stock index futures gained ground. The two-year price dipped 0.5 Canadian cent to yield 0.725 percent, and the 10-year fell 2 Canadian cents to yield 1.552 percent. Canada''s trade report for March is due on Thursday, and the April employment report is due on Friday. (Reporting by Fergal Smith Editing by W Simon) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-forex-idUSL1N1I30F5'|'2017-05-01T21:53:00.000+03:00' +'6f41d7e535cc343ac80ab52d02fc9564a47b8b34'|'CBS anchor Pelley leaving evening news broadcast'|'LOS ANGELES CBS journalist Scott Pelley is leaving the evening news anchor chair and will work full time on news magazine "60 Minutes," the network Wednesday.Anthony Mason will serve as interim anchor of "CBS Evening News" beginning in the coming weeks, the statement said.(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Chris Reese)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cbs-news-idUSKBN18R2N7'|'2017-05-31T21:22:00.000+03:00' +'37362c977d3e19d9a40965452a17e76c317cefa8'|'MOVES-JLT Re makes new appointments to its aviation team'|'Market News - Wed May 10, 2017 - 8:54am EDT MOVES-JLT Re makes new appointments to its aviation team May 10 JLT Re, the reinsurance arm of Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group Plc, said it hired Graham Barden and Jon Warner to its aviation team as partners. Prior to joining JLT, Barden was managing partner of aviation at Lockton LLP, while Warner was a senior vice president of the aviation team at Lockton. They will both be based in London. (Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/jlt-moves-barden-idUSL4N1IC4A0'|'2017-05-10T20:54:00.000+03:00' +'6da22387cf0faf620c86b1b62d13118adbbb6bfb'|'UPDATE 1-Ryanair says wants to take Alitalia routes, not buy airline'|'Bonds News 29pm EDT UPDATE 1-Ryanair says wants to take Alitalia routes, not buy airline * Ryanair could deploy 20 planes in Italy at short notice * Deployment could rise to 30 planes * Several rivals have declared interest in routes, not Alitalia (Adds quotes, background) By Julia Fioretti BRUSSELS, May 23 Irish airline Ryanair is ready to deploy up to 30 planes in Italy to replace capacity lost if Alitalia collapses or is restructured but does not want to buy the struggling Italian carrier, Chief Executive Michael O''Leary said on Tuesday. Ryanair''s view mirrors the stance of rival easyJet and British Airways owner International Airlines Group (IAG), which have both said they are interested in replacing Alitalia capacity but say they do not want to buy the airline. Alitalia has filed for bankruptcy protection and a commissioner was appointed to review its future and determine whether it can continue under a new business model. The commissioner, Luigi Gubitosi, has said that Alitalia''s long-haul traffic is doing well and that selling the airline in one block would be the preferred option. Asked at a Brussels news conference whether Ryanair would be interested in buying Alitalia, O''Leary replied with an unequivocal "no", adding that his company had submitted an expression of interest only because it wants to "participate in the process". Ryanair is instead preparing to deploy up to 20 aircraft initially over a two-week period this summer if Alitalia cuts capacity significantly. "We''ve written to the Italian government and we''ve said ''look, if something untoward happens, don''t worry, we will step into the breach''," O''Leary said. The planes will be found by tweaking schedules and extending leases, he said, adding that the potential deployment could increase up to 30 planes over the next 12 months. Ryanair might take "a couple of additional deliveries" from Boeing over the next 18 months, he said. Last week easyJet Chief Executive Carolyn McCall said that she had no interest in buying Alitalia, adding to rejections from the heads of IAG, Lufthansa, Air France-KLM and Norwegian Air Shuttle. Any short-haul capacity cut by Alitalia would lead to "opportunities for easyJet," she told analysts after the airline reported first-half results, adding that Rome and northern Italy would be of particular interest. Willie Walsh, head of IAG - which also owns Iberia, Vueling and Aer Lingus - said this month that the group''s airlines, in particular Vueling, could speed its growth in Italy, depending on what happened with Alitalia. Italy is one of Europe''s largest travel markets and a big tourist destination, but short-haul routes are dominated by low-cost carriers such as Ryanair and easyJet. Ryanair now has a 28 percent share of capacity from Italy to western Europe, against 12 percent for easyJet. (Writing by Conor Humphries and Victoria Bryan; Editing by Susan Thomas and David Goodman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/ryanair-italy-idUSL8N1IP68U'|'2017-05-24T02:29:00.000+03:00' +'8011865ef573cef7a2cbf8736277bc5ada441aff'|'Exclusive: Abercrombie & Fitch fields takeover interest - sources'|'Deals - Tue May 9, 2017 - 10:48pm EDT Exclusive: Abercrombie & Fitch fields takeover interest - sources left right FILE PHOTO: Signage is seen at the Abercrombie & Fitch store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., February 27, 2017. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo 1/3 left right FILE PHOTO: Signage is seen at the Abercrombie & Fitch store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., February 27, 2017. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo 2/3 left right Signage is seen at the Abercrombie & Fitch store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., February 27, 2017. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly 3/3 By Lauren Hirsch and Greg Roumeliotis U.S. teen apparel retailer company Abercrombie & Fitch Co ( ANF.N ) is working with an investment bank to field takeover interest from other retailers, people familiar with the situation said on Tuesday. Abercrombie''s shares are trading at a 17-year low, making it a vulnerable acquisition target. The company has struggled as its logo-stamped t-shirts and sweaters, once popular among teenagers, have lost their fashion appeal. Abercrombie has hired investment bank Perella Weinberg Partners to handle the takeover approaches, the two sources said, asking not to be identified because the matter is confidential. There is no certainty that any deal will occur, the sources added. Abercrombie and Perella Weinberg declined to comment. Based in New Albany, Ohio, Abercrombie has a market capitalization of $862 million. It operated 709 stores in the United States and 189 stores outside the United States as of the end of January. The company''s operating income shrunk from $72.8 million in 2015 to $15.2 million last year, as fast-fashion competitors and competition from online retailers weighed on its profitability. Many of Abercrombie''s peers, which also rely on mall traffic for their sales, have faced financial pressure. Aeropostale Inc, Wet Seal and BCBG Max Azria Group LLC are among the retailers that have filed for bankruptcy over the past two years. While Abercrombie made its mark in the 1990s with its risque advertising and its large logo on apparel, millennial shoppers have more recently eschewed such heavy branding in favor of more independent style. It redesigned its logo in 2014 to renew its image. Abercrombie has been pinning much of its turnaround hopes on its surfwear-inspired brand Hollister. While the company''s overall sales are down, the Hollister brand has recorded two years of flat same-store sales performance. Abercrombie has been seeking to cut costs and downsize its retail footprint. It announced earlier this year that it would let the leases of approximately 60 U.S. stores expire, on top of several other locations it has already closed. Abercrombie has also made an electronic commerce push, partnering with Asian online retailer Zalora to sell its Abercrombie and Hollister brands. In 2014, Abercrombie split the roles of chairman and chief executive officer. It also added four independent directors to its board after settling a proxy contest with activist hedge fund Engaged Capital. Earlier this year, Abercrombie named its merchandising head Fran Horowitz as its new CEO. (Reporting by Lauren Hirsch and Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-abercrombie-m-a-idUSKBN18601I'|'2017-05-10T08:24:00.000+03:00' +'5e7e31a1e4dab07f0ab1f00c8bb6c28ccbec7801'|'Spain signals satellite firm of strategic interest in Abertis bid'|' 4:28pm BST Spain signals satellite firm of strategic interest in Abertis bid FILE PHOTO: Abertis''s logo is seen during a news conference in Barcelona, Spain, April 12, 2016. REUTERS/Albert Gea/File Photo By Sonya Dowsett - MADRID MADRID Spain signalled on Tuesday that satellite business Hispasat is a strategic asset which will be monitored if its majority-owner Abertis ( ABE.MC ) is bought by Italy''s Atlantia ( ATL.MI ). Atlantia''s 16.3 billion euro bid (14 billion) for Abertis, which would create the world''s biggest toll road operator, resuscitated a similar cross-border merger which fell through ten years ago due to opposition from the Italian government. Abertis and its biggest shareholder, Criteria, said on Monday that they would consider the bid but it may take months to respond. Criteria will seek the opinion of the government and other institutional investors before making a response, sources with knowledge of the matter said on Monday. The Spanish government would not interfere in the Italian infrastructure company''s offer for Abertis, which was a matter between private companies, Spain''s Economy Minister Luis de Guindos told journalists after an event in Barcelona. However, Hispasat, competition law and the future of Abertis-owned road concessions in Spain that are about to expire are points of interest for the Spanish government. "Everything surrounding Hispasat will be carefully studied. It is a strategic asset for the government. It has its own set of rules and implications," de Guindos said. Hispasat controls Spain''s national satellite communications system. Abertis has a 57.05 percent stake, while the government owns more than 9 percent through public companies. Alongside competition law, other points of national interest could be the future of Spanish motorway concessions owned by Abertis that are up for renewal soon, de Guindos said. Atlantia Chief Executive Giovanni Castellucci said on Tuesday it was now up to the Spanish to decide. "I will relax only after the Spanish market authority and Abertis board have given their green light (to our takeover offer)," he told Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore on Tuesday. Abertis shares were little changed on Tuesday, trading at 16.32 euros, just below Atlantia''s 16.5 euro offer for the stock. Atlantia was 1.5 percent higher. (Additional reporting by Rodrigo de Miguel, Jesus Aguado in Madrid and Francesca Landini in Milan; Editing by Angus Berwick)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-abertis-m-a-government-idUKKCN18C1XM'|'2017-05-16T23:28:00.000+03:00' +'4d7cd6968f82717cb82aa158c8f9689fd40d9ace'|'Canadian telecom company BCE says customer database hacked'|'Market News 22pm EDT Canadian telecom company BCE says customer database hacked May 15 BCE Inc, Canada''s largest telecommunications company, said a hacker had accessed customer information containing about 1.9 million active email addresses and about 1,700 names and active phone numbers. The breach was not connected to the recent global WannaCry malware attacks, the company said on Monday. There is no indication that any financial, password or other sensitive personal information was accessed, said BCE, known as Bell to customers. The company said it was working with the cyber crime unit and had informed the Office of the Privacy Commissioner. The global WannaCry "ransomware" cyber attack infected 300,000 machines in 150 countries, making it one of the fastest-spreading online extortion campaigns in history. (Reporting by Ahmed Farhatha in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/bce-cyber-idUSL4N1IH5VV'|'2017-05-16T06:22:00.000+03:00' +'5157e65d7ad6d00cacbed040fe12623e7b083821'|'TREASURIES-U.S. bond yields steady on month-end buying'|'* Month-end bond rebalancing offsets mild Q1 GDP upgrade * U.S. 2-, 10-year part of yield curve flattest in seven months * Traders see U.S. Fed on track to raise rates in June * U.S. bond market closes early at 2 p.m. (1800 GMT) * Investors (Updates market action, adds Quote: ) By Richard Leong NEW YORK, May 26 U.S. Treasury yields held steady in shortened trading on Friday as bond purchases for month-end portfolio rebalancing offset news of a larger-than-expected upward revision to gross domestic product in the first quarter. The struggle of the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes to break above the record highs set on Thursday underpinned some safe-haven demand for U.S. government debt ahead of a holiday weekend, analysts said. The U.S. bond market closed early at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) and will be shut on Monday for the U.S. Memorial Day holiday. "People are squaring up before the long weekend," said Kathy Jones, chief fixed income strategist at Schwab Center for Financial Research in New York. Bond yields bounced in a tight range this week as investors made room for a hefty amount of Treasury corporate supply. They also received news on OPEC''s plan to extend an oil output cut and minutes on the Fed''s May 2-3 policy meeting which signaled policy-makers thinking on a possible reduction of its $4.5 trillion balance sheet. "People were holding their breath before the Fed minutes and the OPEC meeting and breathed a sigh of relief after getting passed them," said Gene Tannuzzo, senior portfolio manager at Columbia Threadneedle in Minneapolis. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was down 0.5 basis point at 2.250 percent, ending marginally higher on the week. It traded in a tight seven-basis-point range this week on light trading volume, Reuters data showed. The drop in the 10-year yield narrowed its gap with the two-year yield to 95 basis points after reaching 93.6 basis points which was the tightest in seven months, according to Tradeweb. This flattening of the yield curve suggests bets on faster U.S. growth and inflation are fading as there have been little progress in Washington on tax cuts and other economic stimulus. Still Friday''s data signaled the U.S. economy was expanding, albeit at a modest clip. This may allow the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates further and to begin paring its $4.5 trillion balance sheet. Gross domestic product grew at a 1.2 percent annual rate in the first quarter, faster than the 0.7 percent pace reported last month, the Commerce Department said. Rates futures implied traders saw an 88 percent chance the Fed would increase rates by a quarter point to 1.00-1.25 percent at its June 13-14 policy meeting, up from 83 percent on Thursday, CME Group''s FedWatch program showed. Friday, May 26 at 1410 EDT (1810 GMT): Price US T BONDS JUN7 153-30/32 0-3/32 10YR TNotes JUN7 126-52/256 0-8/256 Price Current Net Yield Change (pct) (bps) Three-month bills 0.92 0.9348 0.003 Six-month bills 1.055 1.0753 0.000 Two-year note 99-232/256 1.2976 0.000 Three-year note 100-32/256 1.4566 0.000 Five-year note 99-206/256 1.791 0.002 Seven-year note 99-148/256 2.065 -0.002 10-year note 101-28/256 2.25 -0.005 30-year bond 101-172/256 2.9159 -0.005 DOLLAR SWAP SPREADS Last (bps) Net Change (bps) U.S. 2-year dollar swap 23.50 -0.25 spread S U.S. 3-year dollar swap 21.00 -0.50 spread U.S. 5-year dollar swap 8.50 0.00 spread U.S. 10-year dollar swap -5.25 0.25 spread U.S. 30-year dollar swap -43.75 0.50 spread (Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Grant McCool)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-bonds-idINL1N1IS104'|'2017-05-26T16:15:00.000+03:00' +'1823eb6f6fe150ccd0ba65180abe945df84c83ca'|'Verizon does not feel pressure to do big deal: CEO'|'NEW YORK Verizon Communications Inc ( VZ.N ) does not see an urgent need to undertake a big strategic merger or acquisition, its chief executive said on Monday, as some Wall Street analysts have urged the wireless company to do.Some analysts believe Verizon needs a more transformative acquisition than its $4.48 billion deal for Yahoo Inc''s ( YHOO.O ) core business to diversify away from the slow-growth wireless industry as it battles smaller rivals in an oversaturated market for U.S. mobile phone service.Verizon, the No. 1 U.S. wireless carrier, last month reported its first-ever quarterly loss in subscribers who pay a monthly bill, its most valuable customers.After saying he was referring to M&A speculation, Chief Executive Lowell McAdam told a meeting with analysts, "We don''t feel the urgency that seems to be out there in the analyst community, the banking community and the media."Verizon''s main competitor, AT&T Inc ( T.N ), is planning an $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc ( TWX.N ), which would give it control of cable TV channels like HBO and other coveted media assets.Cable provider Charter Communications Inc ( CHTR.O ) was at one time considered a possible target for Verizon. In January, Reuters reported Verizon was interested in exploring a combination with Charter among a long list of potential acquisition targets.But an agreement between Charter and rival cable provider Comcast Corp ( CMCSA.O ) announced on Monday would prohibit a Verizon-Charter combination.The agreement, which aims to cut costs and speed up the cable companies'' entry into the wireless market, also bars Comcast and Charter from entering into a material transaction for a year without the other company''s consent. That would prevent either company from tying up with a wireless carrier on its own.At the meeting, McAdam said the agreement does not change the companies'' relationships with Verizon. Both companies will launch wireless services using Verizon''s airwaves."Frankly, we encouraged them to work together because dealing with one customer is a lot better than dealing with multiple customers," he said.(Reporting by Anjali Athavaley; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-verizon-m-a-idUSKBN1842ET'|'2017-05-09T02:38:00.000+03:00' +'c3c09781e01fd7f4c1952ded4fd22cd22f3ec278'|'Germany rejects common euro zone debt after Commission paper'|'Business News - Wed May 31, 2017 - 1:30pm BST Germany rejects common euro zone debt after Commission paper BERLIN Germany said on Wednesday it opposed any plans for the euro zone to issue collective debt, when asked about a European Commission paper aimed at triggering debate on a joint budget and debt and deeper EU integration around the single currency after Brexit. "For us, at time of Brexit, it is important that the questions about developments in the currency union are seen in the framework of developments in the EU as a whole," said a finance ministry spokeswoman when asked about the paper. "We want no divisions between ''ins'' and ''outs'' - that is the euro members and other states," she said, adding Germany is working with France on questions of the future of EU. She said Germany would look at the Commission''s proposals and it was too early to go into individual points but Germany''s view was that Europe had to implement existing rules to boost credibility before embarking on further integration. "Member states must ... create stability and growth in the euro zone through structural reforms and cut debt," she said, adding diminishing risk in the financial market sector was needed "before we talk about further sharing of responsibility". "On the question of the mutualization of debt, it will not surprise you that the German government''s view of rejecting euro bonds, common debt, has not changed." (Reporting by Michelle Martin and Madeline Chambers)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-future-germany-idUKKBN18R1OA'|'2017-05-31T20:25:00.000+03:00' +'8f2f744d2450b54fd4ef4a22ae5f93f8bfce597c'|'RPT-Wall St Week Ahead-Technicals stand out amid a quiet market'|'NEW YORK May 12 As the strongest earnings season since 2011 draws to a close, and with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite hovering near record highs, the biggest concern for some market analysts is, well, the lack of concern.The largest daily move on the S&P 500 in almost three weeks was only 0.4 percent. The small daily moves are partly the reason for a more than 20-year closing low hit this week on the CBOE Volatility index, a measure of investor anxiety."Most of what youll find that is outright negative will have to do with sentiment," said Marc Pado, president at DowBull.com in San Francisco."People worried about the market on a technical basis are worried because there is too much complacency or optimism, but not on an indication that there is some kind of top."The S&P 500 posted record closing highs twice this week, but both were lower than the intraday high set March 1, just below 2,401. The intraday record high set Tuesday, near 2,404, doesn''t signal a breakout from the resistance level set some 11 weeks ago.Precisely because of the sideways move, momentum has not mirrored what was seen in early March. The 14-day momentum measure of the S&P peaked this year on March 1. On Friday it closed at its weakest level in nearly three weeks."The bigger risk now (to the stock market) would be overbought conditions, even more overseas than in the U.S.," said Katie Stockton, chief technical strategist at BTIG in New York."If momentum doesnt stay strong enough, which I think it will, that would be a risk to the market. Its a matter of momentum remaining strong enough."BREADTH THINNINGThe Nasdaq Composite, which closed Friday almost 4 percent above its March 1 close and set intraday and closing records this week, is showing a particularly damning pattern in terms of breadth.The 50-day average of advancing names on Nasdaq peaked this year in mid-January and is in a clear trend lower. It hit its lowest level this year on May 5, and the spread with the 50-day average of decliners has been in and out of negative territory since early March.Waning breadth suggests the market advances on less than solid ground as fewer and fewer stocks participate to the upside.On the S&P 500 the 50-day advancers average is at its lowest level since the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election. However, with the index trading basically sideways since the March record, the signal can be misleading."In every one of the (previous) legs higher we saw internal breadth indicators confirming the new high. We havent seen that over the last week but the high was marginal only," said Paul Hickey, co-founder of research firm Bespoke Investment Group in Harrison, New York, who remains with a positive view of the market."We see this as the continuation of a consolidation period the markets have been in since March 1."The case is even darker for the 30-component Dow industrials, where the 50-day average of advancers is also near the lowest level since November. Apple Inc alone is responsible for 25 percent of the Dow''s year-to-date advance, even if the index is not market-cap weighted.There''s more bad news for Dow followers. The Dow Transport Average, which peaked with the industrials on March 1, is more than 6 percent below its high, while the industrials are just 1 percent below their record.A record on the industrials without the confirmation of the transports would be another bad omen for stocks. Timing can be blunt, but there was divergence present between these two averages at major tops in 2000, 2007 and 2015.(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos and Terence Gabriel; Editing by Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-weekahead-idUSL1N1IE2B1'|'2017-05-14T21:00:00.000+03:00' +'a3620166cb8d79ae5c3aa79e733102dfe7a46bb3'|'U.S. economy seen less likely to grow 3 percent this year: Reuters poll'|'Business News - Thu May 18, 2017 - 9:38am EDT U.S. economy seen less likely to grow 3 percent this year: Reuters poll FILE PHOTO: Shipping containers sit at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California, U.S. on February 6, 2015. REUTERS/Bob Riha, Jr./File Photo By Rahul Karunakar The probability that the U.S. economy will grow 3 percent this year has fallen over the last month as weak data and political concerns have dented confidence, according to a slim majority of economists in a Reuters poll. That finding comes as hopes for tax cuts and other pro-growth policies promised by President Donald Trump have faded amid reports Trump tried to interfere with an investigation into ties between his first national security adviser and Russia. Those reports prompted the biggest sell-off in U.S. equities since early September. With Washington policymakers distracted by Trump''s political problems, the risks of a longer timeline to see the realization of tax reforms and other pro-growth fiscal policies have increased. A rapid pace of expansion is essential for Trump''s broader economic agenda but the U.S. economy grew at its slowest pace in three years in the first quarter, just 0.7 percent on an annualized basis. While the latest poll of 100 economists, taken May 12-18, showed growth will rebound in the second quarter to 3.2 percent, forecasts suggest that will be the best rate through to the end of next year, with annual averages for this year and next well below the 3 percent target. "The weak first quarter growth estimate makes it impossible for the U.S. to reach the 3 percent threshold it would require three straight quarters of over 5 percent annualized growth," said Rebecca Mitchell, economist at IHS Markit. Fifty-three percent of respondents who answered an extra question said the chance of achieving 3 percent growth had fallen over the past month; 37 percent said it had not changed and just 10 percent said it had risen. (For a graphic: reut.rs/2quCpvM ) Breaking it down further, predictions for average growth in the first two quarters taken together or the first half of the year, are slightly lower than what was expected last month. The consensus is for growth in a range of 2.4 to 2.5 percent per quarter from July this year through the end of 2018. Even inflation forecasts have been cut slightly from last month. The U.S. Federal Reserve''s preferred inflation gauge, the core PCE price index, is not expected to reach the central bank''s 2 percent target until the second quarter of next year. Those predictions not only highlight the divergence between the U.S. administration''s expectations for 3 percent growth - trimmed from an earlier 4 percent - and the economy''s actual performance, they also show the challenge that Trump faces. Indeed, economists in several Reuters polls since the start of the year, including the latest, have said chances for achieving 3 percent growth were low. "We always thought a 3 percent growth rate this year was a remote possibility. The weak economic data in the first quarter and the diminishing prospect for stimulative fiscal policy this year appear to validate that forecast," said Scott Anderson, chief economist at Bank of the West. Still, the Fed is expected to continue with its plan to hike interest rates twice more this year after March''s 25 basis point lift. The poll predicted a 25 basis point hike in the second quarter and a follow-up increase in the third, taking the fed funds rate to a range of 1.25 to 1.50 percent. "Most Fed officials, at least in their comments, still appear resolute in their normalization plan. It''s one of the reasons why the June rate hike is firmly on the table. After that rate hike it has clearly been more debatable whether or not there will be another rate hike," said Sam Bullard, senior economist at Wells Fargo. "There is still a lot of runway left before we get to the June meeting, and even after that, before hard decisions need to be made. But we still think the Fed is generally on course as long as the data comes out as expected." When asked what would stop the Fed from taking interest rates higher twice more this year, a few economists said they believed it would be a sell-off in stock markets. A handful also picked the divergence between sentiment and official economic data as a reason to stay the Fed''s hand on rates. But most economists chose a fall back in core inflation as the main reason. (For a graphic: reut.rs/2qV4ZrQ ) The core personal consumption expenditure price index is expected to remain below the central bank''s 2 percent goal until the second quarter of 2018, the poll showed. That compares with the inflation gauge that was expected to reach 2 percent toward the end of 2017 in last month''s poll. The latest consensus was again for wage growth to remain lackluster. (Additional reporting, polling and analysis by Hari Kishan and Anu Bararia; Editing by Bernadette Baum) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-poll-idUSKCN18E1W8'|'2017-05-18T21:38:00.000+03:00' +'85423837391b0a98511959b0b9e9e3048fed0458'|'Dealmakers aplenty, SoftBank''s Son looks for wonks'|'Business News - Fri May 19, 2017 - 6:05am BST Dealmakers aplenty, SoftBank''s Son looks for wonks left right SoftBank managing director, Deep Nishar is pictured in this undated photo taken in Mountain View, California, U.S., released May 17, 2017. Courtesy of SoftBank/Handout via REUTERS 1/2 left right Chief financial officer of SoftBank, Alok Sama is pictured in this undated photo taken in London, England released May 17, 2017. Courtesy of SoftBank/Handout via REUTERS 2/2 By Liana B. Baker and Greg Roumeliotis Deep Nishar spends more time roaming university hallways than he does corporate boardrooms. A former electrical engineer who helped develop Google''s mobile phone business and grow LinkedIn''s users from 30 million to half a billion, Nishar is exactly the sort of industry specialist that SoftBank Group Corp CEO Masayoshi Son wants for his new $100 billion (77.2 billion pounds) technology investment vehicle. Son, Japan''s richest man, is expected to announce on Saturday the close of the first fundraising round for what will be the world''s biggest private equity fund. Its backers, including Saudi Arabia''s sovereign wealth fund and Apple Inc, expect technology investments that will match or beat the 44 percent internal rate of return that SoftBank says Son has delivered by investing in internet companies in the last 18 years. With pitfalls aplenty among the valuation-rich, profit-poor start-ups of Silicon Valley, Son is seeking to hire dealmakers who can spot the most commercially disruptive technologies, according to people close to him. As he builds up the Vision Fund, Son has hired a roster of investment bankers, including Alex Clavel, a longtime telecommunications banker at Morgan Stanley, and technology banker Ervin Tu of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Son is looking for industry wonks to complement those hires and find potentially game-changing investments in areas ranging from genomics and artificial intelligence to robots and the internet-of-things. The sources asked not to be identified ahead of the conclusion of the fundraising. Nishar, 47, is the most senior industry expert working for SoftBank, which he joined in 2015. He sits on SoftBank''s investment committee, which includes Son, SoftBank chief financial officer Alok Sama, SoftBank board director Ronald Fisher, and head of the Vision Fund, Rajeev Misra. SoftBank has yet to finalise the investment committee for the Vision Fund, which it will manage. Even when he was working at LinkedIn and Google, Nishar had an interest in investing. The Indian-born engineer spent five years tracking the business of pre-cancer detection startup Guardant Health. He visited researchers in universities and even showed up in doctors'' offices to see which tests they prescribed to detect cancer. When Guardant sought to raise money in 2016, Nishar had an inside track. He arranged a meeting between Guardant''s founders and Son at SoftBank''s San Carlos office near San Francisco. Last week, SoftBank said it would lead a $360 million fundraising round for Guardant, with Son praising it as a potential "Rosetta Stone" of cancer. Guardant co-founder and CEO Helmy Eltoukhy said Nishar''s business experience and technical expertise made him stand out from other investment professionals. "This kind of experience, from the engineering side as well as business side, is hard to come by," he said. FRONTIER TECHNOLOGIES Nishar has four people on his team, which focuses on so-called frontier technologies, such as computational biology. He is looking to double that by the end of the year, according to people familiar with the plans. SoftBank also wants experts in other sectors, including enterprise software, artificial intelligence, robotics, digital media and financial technology, according to the sources. Other sector specialists working for SoftBank include David Thevenon, a former Google executive who handles ride-sharing investments for SoftBank, such as Didi in China, Ola in India, and Grab in Southeast Asia, and Kabir Misra, an e-commerce specialist who is helping put together the merger of Flipkart and Snapdeal in India. Son is building his team as technology investing has become increasingly competitive. Google and other technology companies are looking to invest in the areas SoftBank is focusing on, as are private equity and venture capital funds. The dealmaking team SoftBank is building will also be pivotal for 59-year-old Son''s own legacy and eventual transition, after Nikesh Arora, a former Google executive he had named as his successor, resigned last year. A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, Son does not subscribe to the traditional Japanese business culture of pecking order and hierarchy, leaving plenty of scope for people in this team to pitch investment ideas to him. "Son is not terribly hierarchical. If you know something more than him on a particular topic, you will get air time, he will listen to you," said Raine Group LLC co-founder Jeff Sine, Son''s most trusted investment banking adviser, who has participated in most of his deals. Son is the only individual listed as "key man" for the Vision Fund, meaning that, no matter how many dealmakers he hires, he is responsible for all the investment decisions, and the fund could be dissolved in his absence. Many of the hirings happen through personal connections; Nishar, for example, was recruited by Arora, based on their ties going back to Google. With so much in-house dealmaking expertise, investment bankers who have been trying to cultivate Son''s lieutenants are fretting over whether they will be hired to work on any of the Vision Fund''s deals. People close to Son say he will meet with all major investment banks, such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase & Co, but will only hire them if they bring expertise he does not already have. "As an investment banker, you need deep expertise in the specific set of skills Son has hired you for to be useful, because his team is extremely smart," said Robey Warshaw LLP co-founder Simon Robey, an investment banker who helped SoftBank navigate British takeover rules to clinch a $32 billion deal to acquire chip designer ARM Holdings. (Reporting by Liana B. Baker in San Francisco and Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Carmel Crimmins and Dan Grebler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-softbank-visionfund-idUKKCN18F0DJ'|'2017-05-19T13:05:00.000+03:00' +'136f00b9f249fe629004736a9a3008ca426f8833'|'Alibaba''s quarterly revenue beats estimates'|'By Cate Cadell and Supantha Mukherjee Alibaba Group Holding Ltd said on Thursday it would buy back shares worth up to $6 billion over two years, as it beat first quarter revenue forecasts but missed income estimates.The Chinese company, which is looking to grow its business beyond e-commerce and is targeting new lines in cloud computing, big data, entertainment and offline retail, says the repurchase will replace its existing buyback program.Alibaba said strength in the Chinese e-commerce market helped its total revenue rise to 38.6 billion yuan ($5.6 billion) in the quarter to the end of March, versus an average forecast of 36 billion yuan according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.But Alibaba''s adjusted EPS (earnings per share) was 4.35 yuan ($0.63), versus estimates of 4.48 yuan.Alibaba has ramped up expansion outside of China and consolidated its Southeast Asian retail site Lazada, which it acquired last year. This included integrating the Singapore-based platform''s payment system, Hello Pay, with Alibaba''s own payment affiliate, Alipay.It has taken steps to expand its U.S. merchant base over the past quarter and said it plans to host an event next month, which 1,000 U.S. businesses are expected to attend.This U.S. push follows a meeting between chairman Jack Ma and U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this year, at which Ma pledged to create one million jobs in the country.Revenue from Alibaba''s core e-commerce business grew by 47 percent to 31.6 billion yuan in the quarter, up from the previous quarter''s growth rate of 45 percent.Meanwhile net income attributable to shareholders rose to 10.6 billion yuan, up 98 percent from 5.4 billion yuan in the year-earlier quarter.Its digital media and entertainment business saw an increase in revenue of 234 percent to 3.9 billion yuan, reflecting the dividends from the consolidation of Youku Tudou, which Alibaba acquired for $3.5 billion in October.Alibaba''s cloud business continued its run of triple-digit growth, recording revenue of 2.2 billion yuan for the quarter, up 103 percent from a year earlier.($1 = 6.8908 Chinese yuan renminbi)(Editing by Sam Holmes, Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/alibaba-results-idINKCN18E1F9'|'2017-05-18T09:11:00.000+03:00' +'86cb3588966b572ba2258767f547c61a49572484'|'UPDATE 2-IHeartMedia raises going concern doubts'|'(Adds Breakingviews link)May 4 IHeartMedia Inc, the largest owner of U.S. radio stations, said there was substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern.IHeartMedia, which said it has more than a quarter of a billion monthly radio listeners in the United States, is struggling to find a solution that would significantly slash its debt pile outside of bankruptcy court.As of March 31, the company had debt of $20.37 billion and total assets of $12.27 billion. It had $365 million of cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet as of March 31.IHeartMedia indicated in a regulatory filing on April 20 that it would issue a going concern warning.IHeart, formerly known as Clear Channel Communications Inc, was taken over by private equity firms BainCapital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners through a leveraged buyout in 2008 for $26.7 billion, piling up the company with huge debts.The company hosts syndicated radio shows of celebrities such as Steve Harvey, Ryan Seacrest and Rush Limbaugh.Separately, the company reported a first-quarter net loss of $388.2 million, compared with $88.5 million a year earlier.(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/iheartmedia-restructuring-idINL4N1I65FJ'|'2017-05-04T18:33:00.000+03:00' +'0bce1f0267143a115fa65151d08d83a4ff4ef632'|'Renault, Peugeot commit to raise orders from troubled parts maker: ministry'|'Autos - Sun May 21, 2017 - 1:04pm EDT Renault, Peugeot commit to raise orders from troubled parts maker: ministry left right A Renault logo covered with mud and dust is seen on a car in Paris, France, March 15, 2017. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes 1/2 left right A logo of Peugeot car is seen during International Motor Show in Riga, Latvia, April 8, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins 2/2 PARIS French car makers Renault ( RENA.PA ) and Peugeot ( PEUP.PA ) have committed to increasing their orders from ailing components-maker GM&S Industry after their chief executives spoke with Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire, his ministry said on Sunday. The future of the company, which employs 277 people in central France and is facing liquidation, was a priority of President Emmanuel Macron''s new administration, a government spokesman said on Wednesday. Renault agreed to raise its orders by 5 million euros to 10 million while PSA committed to lifting its purchases by 2 million euros to 12 million, the ministry said in a statement. "These commitments will allow the firm in 2017 to reach a turnover close to 25 million euros, and make it possible for it to continue operations and pursue takeover discussions," it said. (Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide; editing by Richard Lough) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-autos-idUSKBN18H0WP'|'2017-05-22T01:04:00.000+03:00' +'0b9ac79c74c028e3fb3fe25d32277d4a49a61392'|'Top Indian telco Bharti Airtel posts smallest quarterly profit in four years on competition - Reuters'|'By Sankalp Phartiyal - MUMBAI MUMBAI Bharti Airtel, India''s largest mobile telecoms network operator, reported its smallest quarterly profit in more than four years on Tuesday, as free services offered by upstart rival Jio sparked a price war which has eroded sales and margins.The results highlight the turmoil in the world''s second-biggest cellphone market following the entry late last year of Reliance Industries'' new network operator Jio, which has forced Bharti and others to slash rates to retain customers.Bharti Airtel said its net profit plunged nearly 72 percent from a year earlier to 3.73 billion rupees ($57.7 million) in the three months ended March 31, its fiscal fourth quarter, missing analysts'' forecasts of 5.28 billion rupees.It was the company''s smallest quarterly profit since the December quarter of 2012, according to Thomson Reuters data.Revenue from operations fell 12 percent to 219.35 billion rupees."The sustained predatory pricing by the new operator has led to a decline in revenue growth for the second quarter in a row," Bharti Airtel Chief Executive Gopal Vittal said in a statement.Jio began charging for its services in April, but analysts say low tariffs will continue to pressure industry revenues.Bharti Airtel''s average revenue per user for mobile services in India fell 8 to 158 rupees.Bharti Airtel, which operates in 17 countries across Asia and Africa, said its revenue from African operations rose 2.6 percent on the same period last year at constant currencies.Jio''s onslaught has triggered consolidation in India''s ultra-competitive telecoms sector.Vodafone Group Plc''s Indian subsidiary and Idea Cellular have agreed a $23 billion merger that will create the market''s biggest carrier, overtaking Bharti Airtel.Meanwhile Bharti has taken over Norwegian Telenor''s operations in six states.(Reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal; Abhirup Roy in Mumbai; Editing by David Clarke, Greg Mahlich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-bharti-airtel-results-idINKBN1851TK'|'2017-05-09T14:30:00.000+03:00' +'c0d93475c7e23cd469f44bdf7d433034dcd0cb2e'|'Workers briefly block access to BHP''s Cerro Colorado mine in Chile'|'Business News - Wed May 10, 2017 - 1:59pm BST Workers briefly block access to BHP''s Cerro Colorado mine in Chile SANTIAGO Workers at BHP Billiton''s ( BHP.AX ) ( BLT.L ) Cerro Colorado copper mine in Chile temporarily blocked a road leading to the facility on Wednesday, protesting a series of layoffs and what it calls the company''s hostile attitude, the main union told Reuters. The protest came roughly a month and a half after a fractious 43-day strike at BHP''s much larger Escondida copper mine in Chile. By midmorning the protest had ended, and it was not clear if there had been any impact on production. The company could not be reached immediately for comment, but union president Marcelo Franco told Reuters that workers were scheduled to meet with the mine''s manager today. "We''ve established that the company has maintained a hostile attitude toward the workers," the union said in a statement. The protest occurred just hours after BHP officially started a sales process for the mine, one of its smaller operations in South America. Cerro Colorado, which together with the Spence mine forms BHP''s Pampa Norte division, produced 74,000 tonnes of copper in 2016. Banking sources have named Chile''s Empresas Copec SA COP.SN and Canadian companies such as Lundin Mining Corp ( LUN.TO ) as possible buyers for the deposit. (Reporting by Fabian Cambero; Writing by Gram Slattery; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-chile-copper-idUKKBN1861QB'|'2017-05-10T20:59:00.000+03:00' +'75fe85e6391e99139dc26ca35eb0e409f007c663'|'Alitalia board starts bankruptcy proceedings'|'Business News - Tue May 2, 2017 - 7:30pm BST Alitalia kicks off bankruptcy proceedings, government grants loan FILE PHOTO: An airplane of Alitalia is seen at the Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy, April 28, 2017. REUTERS/Tony Gentile/File Photo By Alberto Sisto and Agnieszka Flak - ROME/MILAN ROME/MILAN Alitalia filed to be put under special administration for the second time in less than a decade, starting a process that will lead to the loss-making Italian airline being overhauled, sold off or wound up. The company''s board took the formal decision on Tuesday after workers rejected its latest rescue plan last week, making it impossible for the airline to secure funds from shareholders to keep its aircraft flying. The government appointed three commissioners to assess whether Alitalia can be restructured, either as a standalone company or through a partial or total sale, or else liquidated. Rome also threw the airline a short-term lifeline by guaranteeing a bridge loan of 600 million euros ($655 million) for six months to see it through the bankruptcy process. "We wanted to protect ticketed passengers and Alitalia''s workers until a suitable buyer is found to preserve the value of a company that has such a legacy brand and is so important for domestic connections," Transport Minister Graziano Delrio told reporters after a cabinet meeting. The appointed commissioners include Luigi Gubitosi, who was set to become Alitalia chairman if the rescue had gone through, Enrico Laghi, who is also special administrator of troubled steel plant Ilva, and academic and engineer Stefano Paleari. The three now have six months to devise a plan for Alitalia. Justifying its decision to ask for administration, Alitalia''s board cited the airline''s serious economic plight, the unwillingness of its investors to refinance the company and the impossibility of finding a quick alternative. The airline said its flight schedule would remain unchanged. James Hogan, the CEO of Etihad Airways, which bought into Alitalia during the latest restructuring in 2014 and is now its largest single investor with a 49 percent stake, said in a statement the Italian airline required "fundamental and far-reaching restructuring to survive and grow in future." "Without the support of all stakeholders for that restructuring, we are not prepared to continue to invest," he said, adding Etihad would keep working with Alitalia as a commercial partner. Alitalia is losing about 1 million euros a day and without the government loan risked running out of cash by the middle of May, sources said. Rival airlines including Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) and Norwegian Air ( NWC.OL ) have shown little interest in buying Alitalia and creditors have refused to lend more money, putting more pressure on the government to find a way to save the flag carrier. The government has ruled out renationalising Alitalia, an airline that was once a symbol of Italy''s post-war economic boom but is now struggling to compete at home against low-cost carriers and has not invested sufficiently in the more profitable long-haul routes. Outraged at repeated bailouts that have cost taxpayers more than 7 billion euros over a decade, many Italians are urging the government to resist the political temptation to rush to its rescue again. But with a general election due by May 2018, few Italians believe the ruling Democratic Party (PD) will stand by and watch Alitalia crash and its 12,500 workers lose their jobs. Former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who became PD leader again on Sunday in a primary vote, has said he will have a plan for the airline by mid-May and it should not be broken up. Alitalia was privatised in 2008 after entering administration earlier that year. (Additional reporting by Giuseppe Fonte and Massimiliano di Giorgio in Rome and Alexander Cornwell in Dubai; editing by David Clarke and Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-alitalia-restructuring-idUKKBN17Y1AF'|'2017-05-02T23:20:00.000+03:00' +'68c348686c134b1b64771f4b578115b3da0fd6a5'|'Israel''s Elbit Systems gets $390 mln electronic intelligence deal'|'TEL AVIV Israeli defense electronics company Elbit Systems said on Sunday it won a $390 million contract to supply ground electronic intelligence systems to a European country.The contract, which includes various intelligence capabilities, as well as communications and command and control solutions, will be carried out over three years.Elbit did not identify the country.(Reporting by Tova Cohen)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-defence-elbit-systems-contract-idUSKBN18O04V'|'2017-05-28T14:44:00.000+03:00' +'a20c0471f1154e4fa7321ee0f6491c18d5288204'|'Cognizant profit jumps 26 percent'|'Market News - Fri May 5, 2017 - 6:05am EDT Cognizant profit jumps 26 percent May 5 IT services provider Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp reported a 26 percent rise in quarterly profit, helped by strong demand from its healthcare and financial clients. The company''s net income rose to $557 million, or 92 cents per share, in the first quarter ended March 31 from $441 million, or 72 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 10.7 percent to $3.55 billion. (Reporting by Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/cognizant-tech-results-idUSL4N1I72ZF'|'2017-05-05T18:05:00.000+03:00' +'83a55c166ba3821d55bf224efb0fb4a2c5b8ce57'|'European, Asian companies short on cyber insurance before ransomware attack'|'Business News - Mon May 15, 2017 - 1:18am BST European, Asian companies short on cyber insurance before ransomware attack A hooded man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration By Carolyn Cohn and Suzanne Barlyn - LONDON/NEW YORK LONDON/NEW YORK Many companies outside the United States may not have cover for a recent computer-system attack, leaving them potentially with millions of dollars of losses because there has been relatively little take-up of cyber insurance, insurers say. A massive ransomware worm caused damage across the globe over the weekend, stopping car factories, hospitals, shops and schools, amid fears it could wreck fresh havoc on Monday when employees return to work. Cybersecurity experts said the spread of the virus dubbed WannaCry - "ransomware" which locked up more than 200,000 computers in more than 150 countries - had slowed, but the respite might only be brief. The overall cost of getting businesses going again could run into the billions of dollars, with companies in Europe, including Russia, and Asia particularly vulnerable. Nearly nine out 10 cyber insurance policies in the world are in the United States, according to Kevin Kalinich, global head of Aon Plc''s cyber risk practice. The annual premium market stands at $2.5-$3 billion. The biggest reason for the larger penetration in the United States, says Bob Parisi, U.S. cyber product leader for insurance broker Marsh, "is that the U.S. has been living with state breach notification laws for the past 10 years." The greater transparency created an incentive for U.S. companies to get insurance to compensate for damage from incidents they were required to report. An upcoming European Union directive is expected to have the same impact there. Companies that were not prepared for WannaCry can expect to rack up business interruption costs that far exceed a ransomware payment, said Kalinich. "If youre a hospital that turned away patients, if you''re a global delivery company that can''t send package, or a telecom company in Spain, Russia or China, the financial statement impact from the business interruption is much larger than the $300 ransomware," he said. Organisations hit by the attacks, which lock up computer systems until the victims pay a ransom, included Britain''s National Health Service, French car manufacturer Renault, and Spain''s Telefonica. Sources close to Telefonica said the company had insurance to cover the attacks but it was too soon to estimate the economic impact. Renault and the NHS did not respond to requests for comment. West Coast cyber risk modelling firm Cyence estimated the average individual ransom cost from Friday''s attacks at $300, and the total economic costs from interruption to business at $4 billion. The U.S. Cyber Consequences Unit, a non-profit research institute that advises governments and businesses on the costs of cyber attacks, estimated more modest total losses. They were likely to range in the hundreds of millions of dollars, and unlikely to exceed $1 billion, the group forecast. HIGH MARGIN BUSINESS A typical cyber insurance policy will protect companies against extortion like ransomware attacks, which insurers say have spiked in the past 18 months. It would cover the investigation costs and also pay the ransom, according to Parisi. But there are caveats. Companies that did not download a Microsoft patch issued in March to protect users from vulnerabilities may be out of luck, since many cyber policies exclude coverage in such an instance. Companies using pirated software are also unlikely eligible for an insurance payout, Kalinich said. Most cyber insurance policies cover breaches of up to $50 million, with much of the losses related to the interruption of the firms'' business, Parisi said. Some policies can cover losses for as much as $500-600 million. Cyber insurance policies also typically cover the cost of notifying those whose data has been breached, hiring a PR agency to address reputational damage and arranging credit monitoring for those affected, as well as potential legal suits. It is a high-margin business. Insurer Sciemus, for example, has previously said it charges around $100,000 for $10 million in data breach insurance and as much as seven times that to cover attacks causing physical damage. Other providers include Allianz, AIG, Chubb and Zurich as well as Lloyds'' of London insurers such as Beazley and Hiscox. DEMAND TO RISE Even before the weekend attacks, demand in Europe was expected to rise after an EU directive is implemented in mid-2018 requiring companies to notify authorities of a data breach. With strong competition and uncertainty as to how many of the losses over the weekend were insured, the impact on insurance premiums, however, may be muted. Insurers are likely to more carefully scrutinize risks they take on as well as how they word policies and exclusions, Kalinich said. "They will want to pick the companies that are most prepared," Kalinich said. Other firms might be eligible for coverage, but more exclusions may apply, he said. For example, insurers may seek to deny coverage if companies pay the ransom without contacting their insurers first, he said. "There are really important intricacies. You could end up losing a couple million dollars." (Additional reporting by Andres Gonzalez in Madrid, Elizabeth Piper in London and Mathieu Rosemain in Paris; Editing by Carmel Crimmins and Mary Milliken) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-cyber-attack-insurance-idUKKCN18B00N'|'2017-05-15T08:18:00.000+03:00' +'347191baf173fade9140330773d09b72d2a9ac3d'|'Uber faces legal threat from union over London licence - Technology'|'Uber Uber faces legal threat from union over London licence GMB says it will seek judicial review if Transport for London does not guarantee more rights for drivers The GMB argues that Ubers current business model in London means drivers have to work excessive hours. Photograph: Laura Dale/PA Uber Uber faces legal threat from union over London licence GMB says it will seek judicial review if Transport for London does not guarantee more rights for drivers View more sharing options Tuesday 16 May 2017 20.39 BST First published on Tuesday 16 May 2017 17.27 BST Uber has come under further pressure in London after a union threatened legal action if the capitals transport authority renews the taxi apps licence without guaranteeing more rights for drivers. In a legal letter sent this week, the GMB union warns Transport for London (TfL) that failure to impose conditions which guarantee income for Uber drivers while limiting their number in the city and the hours they can work would breach the relevant standards of reasonableness and would accordingly be unlawful. The GMB said it would apply for permission to seek a judicial review of the licence agreement if TfL did not apply the new conditions. New Uber blow as European legal adviser says service should be licensed like taxis Read more The union argues that Ubers current business model in London necessitates drivers working excessive hours to the detriment of the health and safety of Uber drivers in London and of other road users. The dispute over the terms of Ubers licence is due to be settled via arbitration, and the GMB said if this route was chosen the companys licence should be renewed for only a six-month period in order to allow the matter to be resolved. The term of Ubers current licence is five years and the new one is expected to be of a similar length. The threat of legal action from the GMB comes after Uber drivers and the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, the trade body for Londons black-cab drivers, called for minimum employment rights and better regulation of private hire taxi operators including the US company. The GMB backed a successful employment tribunal case last year against Uber that ruled its drivers were not self-employed contractors but workers , and were therefore entitled to the national minimum wage and holiday pay. Uber has appealed against the ruling . The original case involved 19 Uber drivers. The GMB said a further 41 drivers have joined the claim. GMB has also lobbied the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who has close ties to the union, to step in. An Uber spokesperson said: Millions of Londoners rely on Uber to get a reliable ride at the touch of a button and thousands of licensed drivers make money through our app. Almost all taxi and private hire drivers in the UK have been self-employed for decades and with Uber they have more control over what they do. Drivers who use Uber are totally free to choose if, when and where they drive with no shifts, minimum hours or uniforms. Last year drivers using our app made average fares of 15 per hour and were logged in for an average of 30 hours per week. The vast majority of drivers who use Uber tell us they want to remain their own boss as thats the main reason why they signed up to us in the first place. Despite the protests, TfL is expected to renew Ubers licence. A TfL spokesperson said: We do not comment on the status of individual licence applications. Under proposed new rules, the amount that Uber and other private hire operators pay for a licence could rise dramatically. Over the next five years, Ubers bill could rise from about 3,000 at present to more than 2m, under a new scheme that would charge higher fees to operators with more cars. However, consultation on the new fees does not close until June and any new rules may not come into force for some time. Topics'|'theguardian.com'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/all'|'https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/16/uber-legal-threat-union-london-licence-gmb-transport-for-london'|'2017-05-17T01:27:00.000+03:00' +'d2d9e8de34122bee4a9de96947fcec4548614296'|'U.S. launches probe of Boeing dumping, subsidy claims vs Bombardier'|'Market News 08pm EDT U.S. launches probe of Boeing dumping, subsidy claims vs Bombardier SEATTLE May 18 The U.S. Commerce Department said on Thursday it was launching an investigation into claims by Boeing Co that Canadian plane maker Bombardier Inc dumped CSeries aircraft in the U.S. market and is being unfairly subsidized by the Canadian government. The Commerce probe, which was expected, parallels an investigation by the U.S. International Trade Commission into Boeing''s allegations that Bombardier sold 75 CSeries planes to Delta Air Lines Inc last year at a price well below cost. Bombardier has refuted the allegations, and the two sides clashed at an ITC hearing on Thursday. (Reporting by Alwyn Scott; Editing by Andrew Hay)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/boeing-bombardier-commerce-idUSL2N1IK1IF'|'2017-05-19T01:08:00.000+03:00' +'fbc41130aeadca69ff443cfbcd77debf8e7c2ed4'|'BRIEF-Symantec says it blocked nearly 22 mln WannaCry infection attempts across 300,000 endpoints'|' 12:58am EDT BRIEF-Symantec says it blocked nearly 22 mln WannaCry infection attempts across 300,000 endpoints May 16 Symantec Corp - * Blocks 22 million attempted wannacry ransomware attacks globally * Blocked nearly 22 million wannacry infection attempts across 300,000 endpoints May 15 U.S. teen fashion retailer Rue21 Inc filed for Chapter 11 protection on Monday in the Western District of Pennsylvania bankruptcy court. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories Reuters News Agency - Brand Attribution Guidelines - Careers Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters . Thomson Reuters is the world''s largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-symantec-says-it-blocked-nearly-idUSFWN1IH1CD'|'2017-05-16T12:58:00.000+03:00' +'b8a0af6000a8bad0deb567742ac935005b9ccad2'|'Wooing investors after Elliott, BHP boss to play up shale'|'Business News - Fri May 12, 2017 - 9:11am BST Wooing investors after Elliott, BHP boss to play up shale Andrew Mackenzie, CEO of BHP Billiton, addresses the audience during the first-deep water contract ceremony between Pemex and BHP Billiton, in Mexico City, Mexico March 3, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso By Jamie Freed and Barbara Lewis - SYDNEY/LONDON SYDNEY/LONDON BHP Billiton Chief Executive Andrew Mackenzie, batting off an attack by activist funds, will tell investors in Barcelona next week that the top global miner can pump more for less out of its unloved shale assets. But don''t expect a fresh public response to the attack by hedge fund Elliott Management, which last month called for an overhaul of BHP''s structure. "You are not going to see a rebuttal to Elliott," said a source close to BHP, who was not authorised to speak publicly about the matter. Mackenzie, among the executives due to address a Bank of America Merrill Lynch mining conference next week, will outline how BHP is increasing output and cutting shale drilling costs, gaining better acreage by trading assets, and extending its reach by partnering with other players, the source said. Elliott is pushing a three-point plan to collapse BHP''s dual-listed structure, spin off its U.S. oil and gas assets, and boost returns to shareholders - all of which BHP has rejected. Sydney-based Tribeca Global Natural Resources Fund last week called for a board shake-up and a sale of the shale assets. The idea that has gained the most traction among investors contacted by Reuters is that BHP should rethink its involvement in U.S. oil and gas. The source close to BHP said the company is also conscious that the oil and gas argument has generated the most discussion. However, investors differ over the timing of any sale and whether BHP should pursue a trade sale of the shale assets, a public listing of all of its U.S. assets, as Elliott has suggested, or even a total exit from petroleum. BHP says oil and gas is core to its strategy, with good growth, strong margins and fewer market-share obstacles to acquisitions compared to its iron ore, copper and coal arms. Outgoing BHP Chairman Jac Nasser said earlier this month that the petroleum business, including deepwater oil assets in the Gulf of Mexico, is the company''s highest-margin business. A BHP spokeswoman and a spokesman for Elliott declined to comment on the address or sideline meetings. It was unclear if Elliott would be travelling to Barcelona. TEST TALK "Oil as an asset has actually been good as part of the overall BHP portfolio," said Argo Investments portfolio manager Andy Forster, a top 20 investor in BHP''s Australian arm. "It''s just unfortunate they went and bought the U.S. shale assets. Potentially over time they maybe should get out of the U.S. shale business, but I just don''t think now''s the time to do it." BHP paid $20 billion (15.5 billion pounds) for the U.S. shale assets, bought in 2011 and 2012, but the subsequent collapse in oil and gas prices forced it to write down the value by $12.8 billion. The company last month said it had put its Fayetteville assets in Arkansas, bought for $4.75 billion but now valued at $919 million in its books, back on the block. Elliott is "not convinced that the piecemeal sale of little bits of assets is the best way forward," a source close to the activist fund said. London-based Bernstein analyst Paul Gait said Mackenzie needed to prove that oil majors like ExxonMobil Corp were not "missing a trick" in lacking mining divisions. "If they are not, then BHP is mistaken in its ownership of oil assets and Elliott is right. Basically, either BHP is right on this or every major oil company apart from them is wrong." (Reporting by Jamie Freed and Barbara Lewis; additional reporting by James Regan in SYDNEY; and Clara Denina in LONDON; Editing by Clara Ferreira-Marques and Sonali Paul)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bhp-billiton-elliott-idUKKBN1880V9'|'2017-05-12T16:11:00.000+03:00' +'b47c4d9c587f3280864179fabe2d7735d2a4bae6'|'Estee Lauder''s sales rise 7.5 pct on demand for makeup'|'Company News - Wed May 3, 2017 - 6:54am EDT Estee Lauder''s sales rise 7.5 pct on demand for makeup May 3 Cosmetics maker Estee Lauder Cos Inc reported a 7.5 percent jump in quarterly sales, helped by strong demand for its makeup brands, including Tom Ford, Smashbox and La Mer. Net sales rose to $2.86 billion in the third quarter ended March 31, from $2.66 billion a year earlier. Net earnings attributable to Estee Lauder increased to $298 million, or 80 cents per share, from $265 million, or 71 cents per share, a year earlier. (Reporting by Jessica Kuruthukulangara and Richa Naidu in Bengaluru; Editing by Supriya Kurane)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/estee-lauder-results-idUSL4N1FN3KX'|'2017-05-03T18:54:00.000+03:00' +'f7389c0ad657aba195707ed1a29cf592b614e7c0'|'UDG Healthcare raises full-year outlook, eyes further deals'|'Business News 37am BST UDG Healthcare raises full-year outlook, eyes further deals By Arathy S Nair and Justin George Varghese UDG Healthcare Plc ( UDG.L ) could spend up to $600 million (462.7 million) for acquisitions, its chief executive said, after the company raised its full-year earnings estimate as a recent acquisition helped prop up profit in the first half. The healthcare services provider on Tuesday reported a 19 percent jump in pretax profit for the first six months ended March 31, sending its shares up 6 percent to a record high of 812.50 pence. "We''ve looked at acquisitions - small $20 million ones right up to $200-$300 million - and in total, the consideration we could use is $500-$600 million," Chief Executive Brendan McAtamney told Reuters. The Dublin-based company said strong performance at its recent acquisition, STEM Marketing - a provider of commercial, marketing and medical audits to pharmaceutical companies - helped boost profit in the first half. The company now expects a 15-18 percent increase in diluted earnings per share, on a constant currency basis, for the year ending September 2017. The group had earlier forecast a 13-16 percent growth in full-year EPS. "With a much stronger-than-expected first half, tailwinds across its U.S. businesses building ... we think even this raised guidance looks quite conservative, and would expect consensus forecasts to increase by at least 2 percent," Liberum analyst Graham Doyle said. CEO McAtamney said UDG would look to acquire U.S.-focused businesses to strengthen its Sharp Packaging Services unit, which is engaged in contract packaging and clinical trial packaging services for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. UDG, which traces its roots to a co-operative called the United Drug Chemical Co in Ireland, is also keen on bolstering its Ashfield operations in Japan through acquisitions, he said. UDG''s first-half profit stood at $52.9 million. Revenue for the period rose 8 percent to $578.9 million. (Reporting By Justin George Varghese and Arathy S Nair; Editing by Tenzin Pema and Gopakumar Warrier)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-udg-health-results-idUKKBN18J1D3'|'2017-05-23T18:37:00.000+03:00' +'ef0cee7c79455ed9c0bf9ae6a6e8aed46569a696'|'EU securities watchdog wants new powers post Brexit'|' 5:39pm BST EU securities watchdog wants new powers post Brexit Steven Maijoor, Chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority, attends a policy dialogue during the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong, China January 18, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby Yip By Huw Jones - LONDON LONDON The European Union''s securities watchdog wants new powers over clearing houses, credit rating agencies and some financial benchmarks that operate in the EU but are based outside the bloc, as Brexit ushers in fundamental changes to markets. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) said on Tuesday that clearing houses, which are currently supervised by national regulators, warrant strengthened and potentially centralised supervision in the EU. It was responding to a European Commission consultation on whether changes are needed to financial supervision in the EU. The powers ESMA wants stop short of creating a European Securities and Exchange Commission, but would significantly beef up EU-level supervision. The watchdog said Brexit, which will remove Europe''s biggest financial market from the bloc, and efforts by the EU to build a capital markets union (CMU) meant reform is needed. "It will be important to find a new balance to foster the single market, reduce barriers, and avoid regulatory and supervisory arbitrage among jurisdictions," ESMA Chairman Steven Maijoor said in a letter to the Commission, and made public on Tuesday. Brussels is due next month to publish a draft law on supervision of clearing euro-denominated transactions after calls from EU policymakers for this activity, which London dominates, to be moved to the euro zone due to Brexit. ESMA said that while there were "divergent views" among its board members over the best approach to supervising clearing houses, it could be based on some form of "pooled expertise at EU level". ESMA also said centralised supervision of clearing could be "complemented" by a role for central banks, without elaborating. ESMA last month proposed tougher conditions on the use of credit ratings compiled outside the bloc, potentially making it harder for rating agencies in Britain to offer their services in the EU after Brexit. On Tuesday it went further, calling for powers to directly supervise credit rating agencies as well as clearing houses, trade repositories and major market indices or benchmarks that are active in the EU but based outside the bloc - again making Britain a focus as London-based firms are major players. Major benchmarks and market data providers based inside the EU should also be regulated directly by ESMA, it said. The watchdog called for a bigger role in endorsing new global accounting rules for use in the EU, thereby limiting the bloc''s existing advisory group to "purely technical advice". Patrick de Cambourg, head of French accounting standards body ANC, said in a separate letter to the Commission that he opposed giving ESMA more say over book-keeping rules because the advisory group was itself reformed only two years ago. ESMA also said it wants powers to suspend financial rules in the EU on a temporary basis, similar to the "no action" letters U.S. regulators can send financial firms when a deadline for compliance has no chance of being met. It will be up to the European Commission to propose any legislative changes, which would need approval from the European Parliament and EU states. (Reporting by Huw Jones, editing by Susan Fenton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-markets-regulator-idUKKBN18Q20R'|'2017-05-31T00:39:00.000+03:00' +'47bc42c4aaf59d9ec31201673ec229f4737abd80'|'One in three tenants borrow money to pay rent, says Shelter - Money'|'More than half a million low earners have had to resort to borrowing money via credit cards, overdrafts and other sources to pay their rent during the past year, according to new figures.The data was published by housing charity Shelter , which said many private renters were having to take on desperate or dangerous debts to keep a roof over their head.It has called on the next government to commit to building 500,000 new living rent homes, where the amount paid each month is capped at around a third of a lower-earning households income.The survey by Shelter and YouGov, carried out in April, found that of the almost 1.6 million private tenants falling into the low-earner category, one in three around 511,000 had borrowed money during the past year to keep on top of their rent.If people in work struggle with rent, what hope for people out of work? Read more The largest number, an estimated 299,000, had used an overdraft, which involves paying interest or fees (or both), while 249,000 borrowed via a credit card. Almost 100,000 tenants used money from parents that they had to pay back, while 91,000 borrowed from other family members or friends to tide themselves over.Some 57,000 took a loan from a bank or building society, while an estimated 42,000 turned to a payday loan, where the quoted interest rates can be in excess of 1,500% APR, despite price caps being in force. Many of the tenants borrowed from more than one of these sources.Shelter said it believed the figures were conservative because some of those surveyed declined to disclose their income and were therefore excluded from this category. It added that the research had shown that huge numbers of low-earning renters were only just managing to keep a roof over their heads, with 70% either struggling with or falling behind on rent.With rent swallowing up so much of their income, around 800,000 tenants on tight budgets were not even able to save 10 a month, according to the charitys analysis of government data.Anne Baxendale, director of communications for policy and campaigns at Shelter, said: No family should have to choose between relying on their credit card to keep up with the rent, or moving miles away from their jobs and schools to find a home they can afford. Right now, theres nowhere for these people to turn, but it doesnt have to be this way.The good news for some is that rents have apparently been falling in parts of the country: in April, lettings agency Your Move said typical rents in London had declined sharply , with new tenants in the capital typically paying almost 100 a month less than their counterparts a year earlier. In March, Countrywide, the UKs biggest estate and lettings agency, said rents in Britain had recorded their first annual drop for six years .Topics Borrowing & debt Renting property Property Family finances news Share Reuse this content'|'theguardian.com'|'https://www.theguardian.com/uk/business'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/may/12/tenants-borrow-money-pay-rent-low-earners-shelter'|'2017-05-12T16:01:00.000+03:00' +'08f723aa5abc0484f3c6c632406ede7e158c5038'|'Pacific trade pact nations meet to discuss future without U.S'|'OTTAWA Negotiators from the remaining members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) gathered in Canada on Tuesday seeking ways to boost free trade in the region after the United States pulled out of the 12-nation pact.The withdrawal killed off years of negotiations and left the region looking for ways to deepen economic ties without a United States that appears increasingly suspicious of multilateral deals.The two-day meeting of senior officials in Toronto will deliver recommendations in time for an Asian trade ministers'' meeting in Vietnam later this month.Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said last month Tokyo would not rule out the option of negotiating a TPP-type agreement without the United States.Joseph Pickerill, chief spokesman for Canadian Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, said officials will be looking at what kind of free trade arrangement or framework for the region would receive the most support."I wouldn''t characterize it as being TPP part two," he said.Asked about the chances of pressing ahead with "a TPP-minus-one deal," Champagne said on Monday: "We''re going to see, and that''s why we''re meeting next in Vietnam. But what''s important now is to look at all options".President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the TPP in late January, complaining about "ridiculous trade deals" he said had damaged the U.S. economy.In March, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said the TPP as originally drawn up could not exist without U.S. ratification, adding that some "sort of other combination of TPP interested countries could happen".(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/trade-tpp-idINKBN17Y25S'|'2017-05-02T15:52:00.000+03:00' +'f73ad5c01faa90e73fb7c8b56247421372e564ba'|'Cathay Pacific to cut another 200 jobs, taking total to 800-SCMP'|'Business News - 27am BST Cathay Pacific to cut another 200 jobs, taking total to 800-SCMP FILE PHOTO: Lined up banners are seen at a city check-in counter of Cathay Pacific Airways in downtown Hong Kong August 8, 2012. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo HONG KONG Hong Kong''s flagship carrier Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd ( 0293.HK ) plans to cut an additional 200 jobs on top of the 600 already announced as it seeks to return to profitability, the South China Morning Post reported on Tuesday. The report came a day after Cathay said it was slashing the 600 jobs at its head office, comprising 25 percent of management and 18 percent of non-managerial positions, its biggest headcount reduction in almost two decades. The 200 additional jobs to be cut would come from junior ranks before the conclusion of the massive restructuring at the end of this year, the newspaper said, quoting unnamed sources. Cathay did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The job cuts are the first step in a three-year reorganisation plan announced this year by the carrier. (Reporting by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Stephen Coates)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-cathay-pac-air-redundancies-idUKKBN18J01T'|'2017-05-23T08:27:00.000+03:00' +'8368e1d0f584c5db96aa9589dc1c92c8531321ae'|'U.S. 1-month T-bill sale dinged in heavy supply'|'NEW YORK May 30 Investors on Tuesday gave a cold shoulder to the latest supply of U.S. one-month Treasury bills as the government offered $142 billion worth of short-term debt.The ratio of bids to the amount of one-month bills offered was 2.68, which was the lowest since March 31, 2009. This gauge of overall auction demand was 2.85 a week ago, Treasury data showed.The weak bidding resulted in the Treasury to pay investors an interest rate of 0.840 percent on the one-month issue, which was the highest on this maturity at an auction since Sept. 30, 2008, when it was 1.010 percent.Direct and indirect bidders "received everything they bid for, which is additional testimony to how weak demand was for this auction," Jefferies'' senior money market economist Tom Simons wrote in a note on the one-month auction.The latest one-month issue will mature on June 29, about two weeks after the Federal Reserve''s June 13-14 policy meeting where traders widely expect policy-makers would raise interest rates by a quarter point to 1.00 percent to 1.25 percent.In the secondary market, actively traded one-month T-bills were last Quote: d at an interest rate of 0.7216 percent, down 1 basis point from late on Friday, Reuters data showed.In addition to the one-month auction, the Treasury Department on Tuesday sold $25 billion of 14-day cash management bills; $39 billion of three-month bills and $33 billion of six-month bills.The demand for these other T-bill maturities was stronger than the one-month supply. (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-auction-tbills-idINL1N1IW17O'|'2017-05-30T16:01:00.000+03:00' +'3efb7c0d23a43b4b7abcdef1af610b425c7c65d5'|'Greek PM ''optimistic'' about Monday''s Eurogroup, sees summer bond issue'|'Business News - Wed May 17, 2017 - 6:28pm BST Greek PM ''optimistic'' about Monday''s Eurogroup, sees summer bond issue FILE PHOTO: Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras speaks during the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing, China May 14, 2017 REUTERS/Lintao Zhang/Pool ATHENS Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Wednesday he was optimistic of a positive outcome when euro zone finance ministers meet in Brussels on Monday to discuss the progress of Greece''s bailout and the disbursement of new loans. Athens needs the funds to repay 7.5 billion euros ($8.2 billion) of debt maturing in July. Tsipras and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed during a call on Wednesday morning that a deal was "feasible" by Monday, a government official said. "I''m optimistic," Tsipras told journalists. "The messages I''m getting are that we will have a positive outcome on the 22nd." Tsipras has urged Greece''s international lenders also to reach an agreement on easing its debt burden by May 22. Should the lenders set out measures for implementing their commitment to longer-term debt relief, and the ECB include Greece in its bond-buying program, sources told Reuters on Tuesday that Athens was eyeing a sovereign bond issue as early as July. "If the signal (on debt relief) is strong, we will have early tests even within the summer," Tsipras said. Greece''s last venture onto international bond markets was with two issues in 2014. (Reporting by Renee Maltezou) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-greece-tsipras-idUKKCN18D2AE'|'2017-05-18T01:27:00.000+03:00' +'a1cbe83c75f398df51836e94d88b23e78843aed7'|'EU executive acts against Slovenia over ECB data incident'|'Business News - Fri May 5, 2017 - 11:26am BST EU executive acts against Slovenia over ECB data incident FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) are illuminated with a giant euro sign at the start of the ''''Luminale, light and building'''' event in Frankfurt, Germany, March 12, 2016. EUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo BRUSSELS The European Commission launched an infringement procedure against Slovenia on Friday over its seizure of European Central Bank data last year after Slovenian authorities failed to provide a satisfactory response to its query about the incident. Slovenian authorities seized both ECB documents and computer hardware on July 6 last year as part of a national investigation against central bank officials. The ECB had not given prior authoritisation for the Slovenian action. The Commission subsequently asked for a clarification. "The Commission was not satisfied with the response provided by the authorities and, without questioning the powers of national authorities under national procedures, decided to open an infringement procedure," the EU executive said in a statement. It gave Slovenia two months to reply to its letter. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-slovenia-ecb-idUKKBN181120'|'2017-05-05T18:26:00.000+03:00' +'9011abe7960a96d83ae8405fc57635e1f17a0902'|'British grocery sales jump on higher inflation and Easter'|'LONDON May 3 Britain''s grocery market grew by 3.7 percent in the 12 weeks to April 23, the fastest rate since September 2013, driven by Britons splashing out on food at Easter and inflation edging higher, industry data showed on Wednesday.Market researcher Kantar Worldpanel said all 10 major retailers were in growth for the first time in three-and-a-half years. Grocery prices jumped 2.6 percent year-on-year in the period, up from the 2.3 percent recorded in the 12 weeks to March 26.Market leader Tesco posted growth of 1.9 percent while Sainsbury''s grew by 1.7 percent, Asda grew by 0.8 percent and Morrisons grew by 2.2 percent. Asda''s growth marked the first year-on-year sales rise since October 2014.The results were boosted by the timing of Easter, which fell later than normal this year.(Reporting by Kate Holton, Editing by Paul Sandle)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-grocers-kantar-idINL9N1GZ009'|'2017-05-03T05:16:00.000+03:00' +'82b4c12d5d64673d2d6760f4968908436c2fca04'|'Germany''s Hapag-Lloyd to cut more than a thousand jobs after merger'|'FRANKFURT German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd ( HLAG.DE ) confirmed on Wednesday that it is looking to cut up to 12 percent of its almost 11,000 land-based workforce after completing its merger with Arab peer UASC last week.A spokesman at Hapag-Lloyd''s Hamburg headquarters said the job cuts would be made over the next 18 months to two years, confirming a report in Abu Dhabi-based The National newspaper and hints to this effect earlier this year.The company did not say where jobs would be cut. Some 2,100 sea-based jobs would not be affected because vessels would continue to travel, the spokesman said.The two businesses will start to integrate their services in about eight weeks in a process called commercial cut-over, which is due to be concluded by the end of the third quarter.Staff levels would not be cut before then, he said.Further steps entail the inclusion of UASC''s transport volumes on Hapag-Lloyd''s IT platform and the establishment of a new headquarters for the Middle East region.The spokesman said that labor costs were less important to realising synergies from merging two shipping companies than network and procurement cost savings. Overheads will be cut by merging offices, he said.(Reporting by Vera Eckert, editing by Susan Fenton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-hapag-lloyd-redundancies-idINKBN18R274'|'2017-05-31T12:51:00.000+03:00' +'c0b5db5f4cdd60be0d06b6b1fc8e3e1425b0b6e4'|'Bank of England: interest rates may need to rise before late 2019'|' 03pm IST Bank of England: interest rates may need to rise before late 2019 A plaque depicting Britannia is seen on the outside of the Bank of England in the City of London February 4, 2010. REUTERS/Toby Melville/Files By Andy Bruce and David Milliken - LONDON LONDON The Bank of England said on Thursday that it may need to raise interest rates before the late 2019 date that markets had been expecting, assuming Britain can leave the European Union smoothly in two years'' time. With only a month until a national election, the BoE said the short-term squeeze on households from inflation since June''s Brexit vote would be more severe than it predicted in February, with price growth peaking at over 2.8 percent late this year. Britain''s economy shrugged off expectations of a recession after last year''s referendum, and chalked up one of the fastest growth rates among major rich economies. But official data has soured since the start of the year. Data published on Thursday showed industrial production disappointed in the first quarter, and little boost for exporters from the fall in the pound since the Brexit vote. Many economists expect tougher times ahead as Prime Minister Theresa May starts two years of fraught Brexit talks before the country leaves the European Union at the end of March 2019. The BoE policymakers said on Thursday they could only do so much to offset the Brexit hit to the economy. "Monetary policy cannot prevent either the necessary real adjustment as the United Kingdom moves towards its new international trading arrangements or the weaker real income growth that is likely to accompany that adjustment over the next few years," the Bank said in a summary of its meeting. However, the BoE said it expected a pick-up in foreign trade and investment would offset a shortfall in domestic demand this year, and then saw a sharp pick-up in hitherto lacklustre wage growth as unemployment fell to its lowest in a generation. "Monetary policy could need to be tightened by a somewhat greater extent over the forecast period than the very gently rising path implied by the market yield curve underlying the May projections," the BoE said on Thursday. This could imply the BoE will raise rates for the first time since 2007 just as Britain leaves the EU. Sterling slipped after the Bank''s announcement which some investors had expected to show a deepening split among policymakers about the need for higher interest rates now, something that did not materialise. "The Monetary Policy Committee remained in wait-and-see mode this month," Confederation of British Industry chief economist Rain Newton-Smith said. "Any changes to monetary policy are unlikely in the near future, particularly amid ongoing uncertainty over the impact and outcomes of EU negotiations." BOE ASSUMES SMOOTH BREXIT The financial market instruments which the Bank of England uses to construct its economic forecasts have fully priced in an interest rate rise only in the final three months of 2019, nine months later than in the last set of forecasts in February. These market assumptions were based on average prices in the two weeks to May 3. Since then, markets have moved to price an earlier rate hike by the Bank of England and sterling has strengthened, which should help to push down on inflation. The BoE said its latest forecasts assumed "that the adjustment to the United Kingdom''s new relationship with the European Union is smooth". In February BoE Governor Mark Carney warned of "twists and turns" on the road to Brexit. The BoE''s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 7-1 in favour of keeping interest rates on hold at their record low 0.25 percent this month, as expected in a Reuters poll of economists. American academic Kristin Forbes, who leaves the MPC at the end of June, again voted to raise rates to 0.5 percent and warned that the overshoot in inflation could become more protracted without tightening policy now. Echoing language from the last policy meeting in March, the BoE said it would not take much upside news on growth and inflation for some other members of the MPC to join Forbes. The central bank trimmed its forecast of growth this year to 1.9 percent from 2.0 percent, but nudged up its forecasts for 2018 and 2019 to 1.7 percent and 1.8 percent. Last year Britain''s economy grew 1.8 percent. The BoE said inflation was likely to fall back to 2.16 percent in just over two years'' time - still above the BoE''s target - and then pick up slightly going into 2020. Usually Bank of England inflation forecasts show inflation falling steadily back to target. (Editing by Andrew Heavens)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-boe-idINKBN1871ME'|'2017-05-11T10:33:00.000+03:00' +'0388f6d3a6012c7b310b79a5c67b5da6d6ab75a7'|'China launches emergency probe on banks to check risky lending - sources'|'Business News - Fri May 12, 2017 - 5:04am BST China launches emergency probe on banks to check risky lending - sources By Zheng Li and John Ruwitch - SHANGHAI SHANGHAI China''s banking regulator this week launched emergency risk assessments of lenders'' new business practices, sources told Reuters, as Beijing deepens its crackdown on shadow banking. Guo Shuqing, the newly-installed chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), has vowed to clean up "chaos" in the country''s banking system. In cooperation with the central bank and other financial regulators, efforts have been stepped up to clamp down against shadow finance ahead of a key Communist Party congress in the second half of this year. The CBRC''s latest investigation will probe how lenders are using proceeds from negotiable certificates of deposit (NCDs), as well as their bond investments and outsourced investment businesses, two sources with direct knowledge of the plan said. The watchdog is also looking into possible violations of lending and investing rules, for example, by banks that invest in stocks via wealth management schemes or lend to their own shareholders, they said. China''s shadow banking sector has exploded over the past few years, reaching an estimated 64.5 trillion yuan (7.3 trillion pounds) in 2016, according to Moody''s, as banks use trust firms, brokerages and fund houses to channel deposits into risky investments, skirting lending and capital rules. More recently, smaller lenders have been aggressively raising money via NCDs, and then using the proceeds to make higher-yield, risky investments. The newly-launched assessments come after the CBRC sent a flurry of new policy directives last month aimed at eradicating regulatory arbitrage and other risky practices. Earlier this month, the Group of 20 economies'' financial risk monitoring agency criticised Beijing for being slow in providing key financial data from China, leading to the delay in a report on the risks the world faces from shadow banking. (Reporting by Li Zheng, Samuel Shen and John Ruwitch; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-shadowbanking-risks-idUKKBN1880BR'|'2017-05-12T12:04:00.000+03:00' +'3564b7ad7c18635767cb6addc277bb58ae6574dd'|'Britain''s ITV says Chief Executive Adam Crozier to step down'|'Hollywood 4:29pm IST ITV boss Crozier to quit after seven years at the broadcaster left right FILE PHOTO: A company sign is displayed outside an ITV studio in London, Britain, July 27, 2016. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo 1/3 left right FILE PHOTO - The Chief Executive of Royal Mail, Adam Crozier, leaves after appearing before the Business and Enterprise Committee at Portcullis House, in London February 24, 2009. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/File Photo 2/3 left right A company sign is displayed outside an ITV studio in London, Britain July 27, 2016. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo 3/3 By Paul Sandle - LONDON LONDON ITV boss Adam Crozier, who has restored the British broadcaster''s fortunes by reducing its reliance on advertising and expanding its production business, will step down next month after seven years in charge, the company said on Wednesday. Finance Director Ian Griffiths will take on additional responsibilities as chief operating officer and will lead the group until a successor is found, ITV said, helped by Chairman Peter Bazalgette, who will become executive chairman in the interim. Crozier, who has grown ITV''s production operations by buying independent producers in Britain and overseas, will leave at the end of June. Having spent 21 years as a chief executive across four varied industries, the 53-year-old Crozier said it was the right time to move to the next stage of his career and to build a "portfolio of roles". "Today ITV is more robust, well balanced and stronger both creatively and financially than ever before, and is well placed for the digital future," Crozier said. Although Crozier''s departure was not a surprise, some analysts questioned why the company had not managed to line up a successor and also underlined the challenges facing the next boss of Britain''s main commercial TV company. "Consumption habits are changing at pace and the shift towards streaming media and even towards non-traditional media such as video game streams leaves ITV vulnerable," said Neil Campling, global head of TMT research at Northern Trust Capital Markets. Shares in ITV slipped 0.2 percent to 211 pence on Wednesday morning. TAKEOVER TARGET? ITV said the company''s revenue from sources other than advertising had more than doubled to almost 1.9 billion pounds ($2.5 billion) in 2016, more than half of its total, under Crozier''s tenure. The broadcaster, which makes soap opera Coronation Street, has long been viewed as a takeover target in an industry that is consolidating as viewers increasingly watch content on demand and on different platforms. Speculation has centered on U.S media group Liberty Global, which owns 9.9 percent of the broadcaster, although it has previously said it did not want to buy the group. Citi analysts said ITV had often been talked about as a takeover target, but the market was likely to take Crozier''s departure as a sign that no potential takeover was imminent. ITV last year dropped plans to try to buy Canada''s Entertainment One, the owner of children''s TV character Peppa Pig. Crozier, who was paid 3.4 million pound last year according to ITV''s annual report, started his executive career at advertising group Saatchi & Saatchi in the 1990s, before moving to The Football Association and postal service Royal Mail Group. He joined ITV when the ad market was at a low point and he initiated a restructuring that diversified the business into international production and cut the cost base. It bought a majority stake in World Productions, the maker of hit BBC drama "Line of Duty", on Tuesday, increasing its productions capabilities in scripted drama. Crozier added another non-executive role to his portfolio last month when he joined the board of Costa Coffee to Premier Inn group Whitbread . (Editing by Kate Holton and Keith Weir)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-itv-moves-crozier-idINKBN17Z0GO'|'2017-05-03T05:07:00.000+03:00' +'e4474448a0a6dead40265432a5acfa931a53d9b8'|'BNP Paribas pays $350 million to settle New York currency probe'|' 22pm BST BNP Paribas pays $350 million to settle New York currency probe FILE PHOTO: A man is seen in silhouette as he walks behind the logo of BNP Paribas in a building in Issy-les-Moulineaux, near Paris, France, April 5, 2017. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes By Karen Freifeld - NEW YORK NEW YORK French bank BNP Paribas ( BNPP.PA ) on Wednesday agreed to pay $350 million to New Yorks banking regulator for allowing more than a dozen traders and salespeople in New York and other key trading hubs to manipulate foreign exchange prices. The fine, imposed by New Yorks Department of Financial Services, found the bank failed to properly supervise its global foreign exchange business. Foreign exchange traders in New York, London, colluded in online chat rooms to manipulate the currency prices, the regulator said. Traders executed fake trades to influence exchange rates of emerging market currencies, and improperly shared confidential customer information with traders at other large banks, the regulator said. The misconduct took place between 2007 and 2011, according to the regulator, and the bank agreed to improve oversight. Some employees involved were terminated, while others left the bank earlier, the regulator said. A spokeswoman for BNP Paribas did not immediately return a call for comment. (Reporting By Karen Freifeld; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-paribas-current-settlement-idUKKBN18K2AT'|'2017-05-25T00:16:00.000+03:00' +'fac69ad447672b651c1afd74eec1a1adfc7a064f'|'Inspired by Trump, Netflix revives Bluths for new ''Arrested Development'''|'Market News 30am EDT Inspired by Trump, Netflix revives Bluths for new ''Arrested Development'' LOS ANGELES May 17 The riches-to-rags saga of the fictional Bluth family and their struggling real estate business will return for a fifth season in hit comedy "Arrested Development," Netflix said Wednesday, inspired in part by U.S. President Donald Trump. In a statement from Netflix, series creator Mitchell Hurwitz quipped "that stories about a narcissistic, erratically behaving family in the building business - and their desperate abuses of power - are really underrepresented on TV these days. He added, "I am so grateful to them ... for making this dream of mine come true in bringing the Bluths, George Sr., Lucille and the kids; Michael, Ivanka, Don Jr., Eric, George-Michael, and who am I forgetting, oh Tiffany. Did I say Tiffany? back to the glorious stream of life. Ivanka, Don Jr., Eric and Tiffany are the names of four of Trump''s children, and are not names of "Arrested Development" characters from the previous four seasons. Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump currently run their father''s real estate business. The show''s leading cast - Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi, Will Arnett, Tony Hale, Jessica Walter, Jeffrey Tambor, David Cross, Michael Cera and Alia Shawkat - will all reprise their roles as the Bluth family. No details were given on the plot of the new season or when it would air next year. "Arrested Development" originally aired for three seasons on the Fox network from 2003 to 2006. It follows the riches-to-rags saga of the Bluth family after patriarch George Sr. is jailed for fraud. Netflix rebooted the show for a fourth season in 2013, its first foray into creating original comedies. Walter, who plays manipulative matriarch Lucille, compared the Bluths to the Trump family in a March interview with The Daily Beast, saying: "They''re both real estate moguls, tycoons, and businesspeople." "But the Bluths were really smart well, smarter than the Trumps. Although that''s just my opinion except for poor Gob!," she added, referring to Arnett''s character Gob Bluth. Season 4 saw George and Lucille Bluth''s unsuccessful plan to profit from a government contract to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, to "keep Mexicans out of America." During his presidential campaign, Trump said he expected Mexico to pay for a wall on the border, projected to cost more than $20 billion, to curb illegal immigration. Mexico has rejected payment for the construction project as out of the question. (Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Miral Fahmy)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/television-arresteddevelopment-idUSL2N1IJ03B'|'2017-05-17T22:30:00.000+03:00' +'fd0e4109f05a7565067ec6a63c124565279c6169'|'Brexit will leave a business support black hole,'' says report - Guardian Small Business Network - The Guardian'|'Eight in 10 SMEs have sought business support services over the past 12 months, according to a report from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). With 3.6bn of dedicated small business support coming from the EU (between 2014 and 2020) the UK must fill the shortfall to prevent economic slowdown after Brexit.In addition, the UK government has not budgeted for a regional development fund beyond 2021. Mike Cherry, national chair of the FSB, said: Small businesses across the country are staring into a business support black hole from 2021. This is a particularly pressing issue for the many small firms with growth ambitions and those in less economically developed regions.Theresa May''s industrial strategy: what took them so long? Read more The governments commitment to an industrial strategy that supports all regions cannot be delivered without new ways of supporting regional economic growth, says the report, Reformed Business Funding: what small firms want from Brexit .Businesses in Northern Ireland (32%), Wales (26%) and Yorkshire (25%) were most likely to apply for EU-funded schemes, according to the report. Most applicants (68%) said that EU funding had a positive impact on their business, and (64%) said it had a positive impact on the local area.There is a strong link between firms growth ambitions and their decision to apply for funding. Of those that applied, 89% were looking to grow the business by 20% or more.The report highlights that funding to UK regions has varied according to economic need. It says: EU funds provide a vital support structure for comparatively disadvantaged areas of the UK, such as Wales , the north east and Cornwall.The FSB recommends that the devolved governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland continue to control the allocation of funding in their respective regions after Brexit. As the Local Growth Fund spending round also comes to an end in 2021 it is particularly important that the regional split of (future) funds is maintained on the basis of need in the period after we leave the EU, says the report.Despite the level of EU funding, the FSB report finds a gap in small firms knowledge of EU-funded programmes. Of those that had not applied for EU funds, 44% said they were unaware of the opportunity.What does Brexit mean for business funding in Wales? Read more While EU funding only makes up part of the UKs business support and finance landscape, it is vital in regions where infrastructure is less developed. The FSB suggests that more small businesses have benefitted from EU funds than research suggests since much comes through intermediary sources. However, those that knowingly applied for EU schemes were frustrated by the process. The most common complaints among EU funding applicants were the amount of information required (59%) the length of the application process (47%) and the level of reporting requirements once funds were granted (44%). As such, the FSB proposes a reduction in bureaucracy in business funding post-Brexit.Cherry said: Brexit marks an unprecedented opportunity for fundamental reform. LEPs [local enterprise partnerships] and Growth Hubs must be empowered to tailor and simplify support according to local requirements. Ensuring that all small firms are aware of business support schemes should be a top priority. He added: The new government must prioritise the development of a Growth Fund for England pre-Brexit or risk a slowdown in the economy.The FSB report included a survey of 1,659 FSB members in December 2016 and interviews and focus groups with FSB members across the UK.Sign up to become a member of the Guardian Small Business Network here for more advice, insight and best practice direct to your inbox. Topics Guardian Small Business Network Entrepreneurs EU referendum and Brexit Yorkshire Wales Northern Ireland news Share Reuse this content'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/may/10/brexit-leave-business-support-black-hole-fsb-report'|'2017-05-10T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'885d7ef659001366ca13f275be365a0446388da7'|'U.S. prevails over ex-AIG CEO Greenberg over insurer''s bailout'|'May 9 A federal appeals court on Tuesday said the U.S. government did not commit an "illegal exaction" harming American International Group Inc shareholders led by former Chief Executive Maurice "Hank" Greenberg when it bailed out the insurer in 2008.The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. also said Greenberg''s Starr International Co did not have legal standing to pursue claims over the government''s acquisition of AIG stock, because those claims belonged exclusively to AIG.Tuesday''s decision vacated part of a lower court ruling that the U.S. Federal Reserve exceeded its authority in engineering the buyout. No damages had been awarded in that ruling. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/aig-bailout-idINL1N1IB0LD'|'2017-05-09T12:03:00.000+03:00' +'c5333ee5e09ee3f71425eb5756b719a4c5b98fd9'|'Auction houses see signs of art market uptick ahead of New York sales'|'By Chris Michaud - NEW YORK NEW YORK As auction powerhouses Christie''s and Sotheby''s ( BID.N ) gear up for their New York spring sales, hopes are high that a host of major works the likes of which have not hit the block for several seasons will reap strong, even record, prices.After years of gangbuster results marked by soaring prices, both auction houses staged relatively modest sales last year, owing largely, they say, to hesitancy on the part of consignors in an unsettled global market.No works carried estimates much beyond $40 million, in contrast to recent seasons when many pieces broke the $100 million barrier. Executives resorted to employing such terms as discerning, measured and selective to characterize both the market, and some flabby results.But collectors'' hunger for top-tier works also drove heavy spending in the fall, said Brook Hazelton, president of Christie''s Americas, citing its Claude Monet record in November."Those successes gave a tremendous boost to seller confidence, and since that time we have seen a meaningful increase in supply," Hazelton told Reuters."We have witnessed strong demand for breakthrough masterpieces," said Simon Shaw, co-head of Impressionist and modern art at rival Sotheby''s, citing one of its star offerings, Egon Schiele''s, "Dana," as just one example.Painted when the artist was just 19, the work which Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale head Jeremiah Evarts called "without doubt the most important early work that''s ever come to auction" is expected to fetch as much as $40 million, not including commission, which would set a new Schiele record.Traditionally the auction houses'' largest, the spring sales in New York kick off on May 15 as Christie''s features Pablo Picasso''s 1939 portrait of muse Dora Maar, "Femme assise, robe bleue," estimated between $35 million and $50 million, at its Impressionist and Modern Art sale.Other highlights of the week-long sales include Cy Twombly''s "Leda and the Swan," carrying a $55 million high estimate, and Francis Bacon''s "Three Studies for a Portrait of George Dyer," both at Christie''s.Bacon''s 1963 triptych of his lover, once owned by Roald Dahl, is expected to sell for $50 million to $70 million.Works by Andy Warhol -- one of his iconic Campbell''s soup cans -- and Roy Lichtenstein are each estimated to fetch $25 million to $35 million.At Sotheby''s, Jean-Michel Basquiat''s untitled work from 1982, last auctioned in 1984 for a mere $19,000, is now expected to reap more than $60 million, making it among the week''s highest-estimated works and setting it up to break the artist''s $57.3 million record set just a year ago.(Reporting by Chris Michaud; Editing by Sandra Maler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/art-auction-preview-idINKBN1812CU'|'2017-05-05T22:32:00.000+03:00' +'9b25e93b3fe22db30e6d921c25c44e4392210448'|'U.S. Treasury yields, dollar dip on Fed minutes, oil pulls back'|'Business News - Wed May 24, 2017 - 8:38pm BST U.S. Treasury yields, dollar dip on Fed minutes, oil pulls back left right A man walks past the New York Stock Exchange in New York City, U.S., May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid 1/4 left right People walk through the lobby of the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 25, 2015. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File photo 2/4 left right FILE PHOTO - Investors look at an electronic board showing stock information at a brokerage house in Shanghai, China, March 7, 2016. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo 3/4 left right A woman walks past electronic board showing stock prices and Japanese Yen''s exchange rate outside a brokerage at a business district in Tokyo, Japan, January 23, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 4/4 By Hilary Russ - NEW YORK NEW YORK U.S. Treasury yields fell to session lows on Wednesday after Federal Reserve minutes signaled a gradual approach to interest rate hikes, and oil pulled back on a draw of U.S. gasoline stock that was smaller than expected. While the yield curve flattened, Wall Street remained slightly higher and the dollar slipped after minutes from the Fed''s May 2-3 meeting indicated it would gradually raise interest rates and reduce its bond reinvestment. The yield gap between two-year and 10-year Treasuries narrowed 2 basis points to 95 basis points, Tradeweb data showed. "Their plan is in place to gradually phase out reinvestments beginning in the fourth quarter," said Matt Toms, chief investment officer of fixed income at Voya Investment Management in Atlanta. "Even though the Fed is reducing stimulus, I think this gives the market some comfort. It won''t lift the rate structure much," he said. Interest rate futures implied traders see about an 85-percent chance of a quarter-point rate hike at the Fed''s June meeting. The U.S. dollar index fell to session lows after the Fed minutes. It had been hovering just above its 6-/12 month lows as investors shifted from U.S. politics to monetary policy. The index was was down 0.23 percent at 97.127. The greenback fell against the euro and the yen. Wall Street was volatile but held on to small gains, despite the fall of banking stocks on the Fed minutes. The S&P financial index pared some losses but was still 0.14 percent lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 49.84 points, or 0.24 percent, to 20,987.75, the S&P 500 gained 2.91 points, or 0.12 percent, to 2,401.33 and the Nasdaq Composite added 15.31 points, or 0.25 percent, to 6,154.02. "While June seems a given for a rate hike, investors are questioning a September move, especially if economic data continue to be mixed and if inflation doesn''t gain momentum," Quincy Krosby, Chief Market Strategist at Prudential Financial in Newark, in an email. Elsewhere, world stock markets recovered from initial losses after Moody''s Investors Service issued its first credit downgrade of China in 30 years, dropping China''s sovereign debt to A1 from Aa3. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 0.01 percent and MSCI''s gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.09 percent. Emerging market stocks rose 0.25 percent. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed 0.13 percent higher, while Japan''s Nikkei rose 0.66 percent. Oil prices fell slightly after the Energy Information Administration said U.S. crude oil inventories fell for the seventh straight week. U.S. crude oil futures settled 11 cents, or 0.21 percent, lower at $51.36 per barrel. Brent crude was last down 0.39 percent, or 21 cents at $53.94. Investors await the outcome of discussions in Vienna between OPEC and other oil-exporting countries on whether to extend output cuts. (Additional reporting by Jamie McGeever in London, Saqib Iqbal Ahmed, Richard Leong, Caroline Valetkevitch and Jessica Resnick-Ault in New York; Editing by Nick Zieminski)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUKKBN18K04E'|'2017-05-25T03:36:00.000+03:00' +'2ec937f51c46a04adab17e9d5761517fd2bbcec5'|'Euro zone factory activity hits six-year high in April - PMI'|' 9:04am BST Euro zone factory activity hits six-year high in April - PMI FILE PHOTO: Nissan Motor staff work in a manufacturing chain at the Zona Franca Nissan factory near Barcelona May 23, 2012. REUTERS/Albert Gea/File Photo By Jonathan Cable - LONDON LONDON May 2 Euro zone manufacturers began the second quarter at a blistering pace, increasing activity at the fastest rate for six years as demand remained strong despite rising prices, a survey showed on Tuesday. IHS Markit''s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers'' Index for the euro zone jumped to 56.7 in April from March''s 56.2, reaching its highest level since April 2011. The figure was one tick down from a preliminary reading of 56.8. An index measuring output, which feeds into a composite PMI due on Thursday, also climbed further above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction. It registered a six-year high of 57.9, up from March''s 57.5. "Euro zone manufacturers reported buoyant business conditions in April, signalling an encouragingly solid start to the second quarter," said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit. "The latest survey readings indicate that manufacturing is growing at an annual rate of approximately 4-5 percent, which should make a significant contribution to overall economic growth." Growth in the currency bloc will be steady but modest in the coming year, an April Reuters poll of economists showed, although that forecast was partly contingent on independent candidate Emmanuel Macron winning the French presidency next weekend. Increasing demand came despite factories raising prices at the second-fastest rate in nearly six years. The output price index dipped last month to 55.4 from 55.6. Signs that the years of ultra-loose monetary policy are paying off, with solid growth and inflationary pressures, will be welcomed by the European Central Bank. Official data last week showed inflation rose more than expected in April, returning to the ECB''s target, and a Reuters poll suggested the central bank''s move would be to tighten policy. - Detailed PMI data are only available under licence from Markit and customers need to apply to Markit for a licence. (Editing by Hugh Lawson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-economy-pmi-idUKKBN17Y0NM'|'2017-05-02T16:04:00.000+03:00' +'53ccad379141d3739d71b478c9d96224d8f15ac7'|'Michael Kors slumps on weak forecast; to shut over 100 stores'|'By Gayathree Ganesan Michael Kors, the once-popular retailer that has been trying to turn itself around, said it expected same-store sales to continue to fall in 2018, and that it would shut more than 100 full-price retail stores in the next two years.Shares of the company slumped nearly 11 percent to $32.38, their lowest in more than five years.Michael Kors Holdings Ltd, once the hottest name in affordable luxury, has been grappling with declining same-store sales for the past seven quarters as fewer people visit its stores, flocking instead to rival Coach Inc and shopping online.Kors said on Wednesday sales at stores established for more than a year fell 14.1 percent in the fourth-quarter ended April 1. Analysts had estimated a fall of 13.4 percent, according to research firm Consensus Metrix.To deal with the lull in sales, the retailer has been expanding into dresses and menswear, investing in its online business, and reducing supplies to department stores, which have been discounting heavily to bring back shoppers.These efforts, however, are yet to show the results that investors are looking for.Kors said it expected revenue of $4.25 billion for fiscal year 2018 and also forecast a high single-digit drop in same-store sales.Analysts on average had estimated revenue of $4.37 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S."If you walk into a Michael Kors store, they basically have the same handbags over and over again," said Gabriella Santaniello, founder at research firm A-Line Partners."It is basically an entire wall of the Mercer handbags -small and large - and another wall of Hamilton bags," she said, referring to Kors'' flagship handbag lines.The company said on Wednesday it would close 100-125 full-price stores over the next two years due to intense price competition from other retailers. It expects to take $100 million-$125 million in related one-time costs.For the fourth quarter ended April 1, total sales fell 11.2 percent to $1.06 billion. Analysts had expected $1.05 billion.Excluding certain items, Kors earned 73 cents per share, while analysts had expected 70 cents per share.Kors, whose shares have fallen nearly 16 percent this year, also said it would buy back $1 billion worth shares.(Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva and Sayantani Ghosh)A shopper enters the Michael Kors store in the SoHo section of New York City, U.S. May 31, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/Files'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/michael-kors-results-idINKBN18R219'|'2017-05-31T12:07:00.000+03:00' +'8674c06e9c6ef3f80ef2b7fad0392e75caded0fd'|'Australia forecasts A$7.4 billion surplus in 2020/21, hits multinationals and banks with higher taxes'|'Credit RSS - Tue May 9, 2017 - 1:00pm BST Australia hits banks with higher taxes to bring budget back into black left right Australia''s Treasurer Scott Morrison delivers the federal budget in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, May 9, 2017. AAP/Lukas Coch/via REUTERS 1/4 left right Australia''s Treasurer Scott Morrison (R) delivers the federal budget in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, May 9, 2017. AAP/Mick Tsikas/via REUTERS 2/4 left right Australia''s Treasurer Scott Morrison speaks during a media conference held before he delivers the federal budget at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, May 9, 2017. AAP/Lukas Coch/via REUTERS 3/4 left right Construction workers on Sydney''s light rail infrastructure project are pictured behind a banner in Australia, May 9, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Reed 4/4 By Swati Pandey and Jane Wardell - CANBERRA CANBERRA The Australian government pledged to deliver a small budget surplus in 2020/21, slapping big banks with new taxes to end more than a decade of deficits that have threatened its prized triple-A credit rating. Flagging in the polls, the Liberal Party-led coalition conservative government, also promised to fast track major rail and road projects and delivered some sweeteners for home buyers in an overheated property market in its annual budget on Tuesday. Treasurer Scott Morrison said the country''s profitable banks, which have been under fire in recent months amid a series of misconduct scandals, would bear the brunt of a budget "re-set" as he abandoned so-called "zombie savings" worth some A$13 billion. Those savings, including welfare reforms, had artificially reduced the red ink in the budget after they were blocked by opposition lawmakers in a hostile Senate where the government has a wafer-thin majority. The backflip resulted in a bigger A$29.4 billion deficit for 2017/18 than the A$28.7 billion forecast at the mid-year review in December. But the budget forecast a A$7.4 billion surplus in 2020/21, an improvement on A$1.08 billion at the mid-year review. Australias A$1.7 trillion economy has outperformed many of its rich world peers since the global financial crisis, but it has in more recent years struggled to manage the end of a mining investment boom that underpinned much of its wealth. "We must live within our means and this is an honest budget," Morrison said, adding that a new six-basis point levy on big banks'' liabilities, to kick in on July 1, would raise A$6.2 billion over the next four years. Morrison described the measure, along with a A$8.2 billion income tax increase on workers, as "basically a Senate tax" to get the budget back into balance as demanded by ratings agencies or risk losing its triple-A credit rating. Marie Diron, associate managing director of Moody''s Investors Service, said the agency assessed Australia''s fiscal strength as "very high, a key support to the government''s triple-A rating and stable outlook" after the budget. Diron added that the removal of the zombie measures "enhances the transparency and predictability of budget outcomes, a credit positive." Mervyn Tang, director of Asia-Pacific sovereigns at Fitch Ratings, said the new revenue measures in the budget implied a faster reduction in the government deficit. He said Fitch would look closer at new policy measures on the economy and housing market, "factors we have identified as rating sensitivities in our previous review." Standard & Poor''s did not immediately comment on the budget. But Australian Bankers'' Association Chief Executive Anna Bligh criticized the new tax, which Morrison warned banks against passing on to consumers. "Contrary to the government''s claim that the tax will only be levied on banking liabilities, the reality is that it will affect the entire banking system," Bligh said in a statement. "This new tax is not a well thought out policy response to a public interest issue, it is a political tax grab to cover a budget black hole." HOUSING AFFORDABILITY With the latest Newspoll showing the government trailing the opposition Labor Party at 52 points to 48 points, the budget contained measures to appease an electorate angry that a surging property market means they are unlikely to achieve the great Australian dream of owning their home. Morrison said the government will establish a A$1 billion National Housing Infrastructure Facility and allow first time home buyers to save extra funds into their pension accounts to use for a purchase deposit. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) last week held interest rates at a record low 1.50 percent, citing concern about fuelling more borrowing in the country''s red-hot property market. Another A$1.2 billion will be raised over the next four years by imposing a levy on foreign workers, another issue that has been heavily debated publicly, with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull promising earlier this year "Australian jobs for Australians." Another A$4 billion will come from taxes on multinationals as the government expands its anti-tax avoidance laws to include trusts and foreign partnerships. The budget forecast real GDP at 2.75 percent in 2017/18, strengthening to 3 percent through to 2020/21. That compares with the RBAs estimates of 2.75-3.75 percent by mid-2018 through to June 2019. It sees the unemployment rate at 5.75 percent in 2017/18, easing from a 13-month high of 5.9 percent currently while it pegged the consumer price index (CPI) at 2 percent, climbing to 2.5 percent by 2020/21. Underlying inflation is stuck below the RBAs target band of 2-3 percent with wages crawling at their slowest pace on record. Morrison outlined plans to deliver A$75 billion in infrastructure funding and financing over the next years as the base of Australias next growth wave. The flagship project is an A$8.4 billion Melbourne to Brisbane inland railway to begin construction next financial year. (Additional reporting by Jonathan Barrett and Cecil Lefort in SYDNEY; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-australia-economy-idUKKBN1850Z9'|'2017-05-09T17:39:00.000+03:00' +'6b09bc30c8ac9e98101b06bc7c7bef4c875e0f33'|'European shares ease, Unicredit boosts Italian banks'|'Banks 8:49am BST European shares ease, Unicredit boosts Italian banks Traders work in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, May 10, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote LONDON Italian banks shone in lacklustre European trading on Thursday after results led by Unicredit whose results indicated its turnaround was gathering pace. Europe''s STOXX 600 slipped 0.1 percent while both the eurozone''s broader stocks and the blue chip index fell 0.2 percent. Financials were a bright spot on the benchmarks for the second day running, with Unicredit up 4.4 percent after rising revenues and lower loan losses boosted it to better than expected first-quarter profits. Italy''s banking index tested its highest levels in more than a year as Mediobanca, Ubi Banca, and Banco BPM rose 1.8 to 3.5 percent in concert. Telecoms stocks were among the worst-performing with BT down 1.7 percent after it announced 4,000 job cuts in a restructuring plan to recover from a year it said was ''challenging''. Shares in Britain''s biggest telecoms company have not recovered from a 20 percent drop after it revealed accounting malpractices in Italy in January. Spain''s Telefonica also fell 1.7 percent after its results. A setback in its generic drug Advair''s approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration sent Hikma shares down more than 8 percent, the worst-performing European stock. Broker downgrades weighed on some of the top fallers. Centrica fell 5.8 percent after JP Morgan cut it to ''underweight'' from ''overweight'', while a rating cut from Citigroup sent Hannover Re down 5 percent. (Reporting by Helen Reid, Editing by Vikram Subhedar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks-idUKKBN1870RZ'|'2017-05-11T15:49:00.000+03:00' +'b893e3b1dc5d2f1c6c645165c75482b4c92207bb'|'U.S. oilfield service firms lag shale recovery; old deals hold'|'Thu May 25, 2017 - 6:31am BST U.S. oilfield service firms lag shale recovery; old deals hold FILE PHOTO: An oil pump is seen operating in the Permian Basin near Midland, Texas, U.S. on May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Ernest Scheyder By Liz Hampton - HOUSTON HOUSTON U.S. oil services companies have been doing a lot more work as recovering oil prices have lifted the shale industry from a two-year slump, but producers have been pocketing much of the new cash generated by rising output and squeezing service providers to keep costs down. Oil service companies that provide the crews, labor and technology used to drill, construct and operate wells are lagging the recovery in U.S. shale producers. The lopsided situation could chill the production rebound or keep it from spreading to more shale fields, executives of services companies said. Rising demand for certain services means raising salaries to attract workers and refurbishing equipment, while often being paid under fixed contracts signed during harder times, these companies said. That has pressured margins, leading to further losses. Law firm Haynes and Boone LLP said the U.S. oilfield sector experienced 127 bankruptcies between 2015 and April 2017. Among the 10 largest oilfield service providers, just five were profitable last quarter, the same number as a year ago. In contrast, seven of the top shale oil producers posted a first quarter profit, up from just one a year ago. "Both of us have to be able to earn a return and give something back to our shareholders," David Lesar, chief executive officer of Halliburton Co ( HAL.N ), the world''s second-largest oilfield services company, said in an interview. The sector is struggling to change onerous contract terms set when oil prices were much lower. Service companies agreed to those prices out of necessity; they needed cash flow to cover expenses. Those contracts, some of which extend into next year, are contributing to losses, preventing some companies from adding equipment or moving it to oil fields where it could be put to use. The expiration of those contracts should allow prices for high-demand services to rise, oilfield services executives said. Even so, some of the changes that shale oil producers made during the downturn are likely to stick, making it harder for service firms to drive up prices. Oil producers have better returns today because of those cost controls, winning greater favor among investors. "Many of (oil producers) have reduced capex spending and are increasing capital returns to investors," said Tom Bergeron, a senior fund manager for Frost Investment Advisors. Shale firms have demanded deals that unbundle the functions of service providers, allowing them to spread the work out among more companies, who then have less leverage to raise prices. Those practices allowed shale producer profits to start rebounding just a few months after oil prices began to recover from the $26 a barrel nadir of February 2016 Clc1. But it left services companies without a way to immediately benefit from the U.S. crude benchmark''s return to about $50 a barrel. Service companies hope they can raise prices by the second half of this year, but for now there is limited scope to pass along costs, Chakra Mandava, an operations executive at Nabors Drilling USA, ( NBR.N ), said at an energy conference this month in Houston. Nabors blamed its first quarter loss on an inability to offset costs for new staff and equipment. Keane Group ( FRAC.N ), which supplies pressure pumping services, one of the highest demand services in the shale patch, reported a first-quarter loss due largely to long-term, fixed price contracts, despite a 59 percent jump in revenue from the fourth quarter. [nL2N1H0233] One proposal that might resolve the disconnect between oil price moves and contract changes is to tie deals to the cost of crude. Apache Corp ( APA.N ), which plans to drill some 250 wells this year in the Permian Basin, is looking to tie what it pays for services to the U.S. crude benchmark CLc1 - converting fixed service costs to a variable cost in order to cushion the hit to earnings of future oil-price changes. That way, if crude prices rise, Apache could afford to pay more for services, but would pay less if oil drops. Chevron ( CVX.N ) also is tying some of its contracts to indexes in a bid to remain competitive, the company said at a recent security analysts meeting. "We''re just opening up the business model to what''s possible," Michael Behounek, a senior drilling advisor for Apache, said in May at a drilling conference in Houston. "We want to put a dampener in place." "They [service companies] don''t want to ride the roller coaster either. If we go down this route, it might be good for both parties." (Reporting by Liz Hampton and Ernest Scheyder; Additional reporting by Swetha Gopinath in Bengaluru; Editing by Gary McWilliams, Simon Webb and David Gregorio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-shale-oilservices-cost-analysis-idUKKBN18L0H5'|'2017-05-25T13:16:00.000+03:00' +'272d6e7bcba4376fca1e68de7c35f81da6efbea3'|'PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - May 23'|'Funds 1:19am EDT PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - May 23 May 23 The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. - China Life Insurance Group is buying a 95 percent stake in 48 commercial properties scattered throughout the U.S. in a deal that values the portfolio at $950 million and highlights the growing appetite among foreign investors for real estate in markets they mostly have ignored until now. on.wsj.com/2qJPbXx - U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday will propose a plan he says will balance the federal budget in a decade on the strength of substantially faster economic growth and cuts to taxes and government safety-net programs. on.wsj.com/2qbN4cl - JD.com Inc, China''s second-largest e-commerce firm, said on Monday it is developing heavy-duty drones capable of delivering payloads weighing one ton or more, which it plans to deploy in Shaanxi. on.wsj.com/2qOeoOS - Hong Kong''s flagship carrier Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd said it would lay off about 600 people as it grapples with tough competition and bad bets on oil prices, despite robust travel demand in the region. on.wsj.com/2rNxJ1X - The retirement-savings regulation known as the fiduciary rule will take effect June 9 without further delay, U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta said on Monday. on.wsj.com/2q4Y4fw - Former managers of Sunrun Inc say they were told by their superiors to hold off on internally reporting hundreds of customers who canceled their contracts during a roughly five-month period in the middle of 2015. on.wsj.com/2qGGNrJ (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/press-digest-wsj-idUSL4N1IP245'|'2017-05-23T13:19:00.000+03:00' +'e12a66049bb6ecc05273a1678456946e45fb974e'|'UK''s Sainsbury''s exploring bid for Palmer & Harvey: Sky News'|'LONDON Sainsbury''s ( SBRY.L ), Britain''s second largest supermarket group, is in the early stages of examining a takeover bid for tobacco distributor Palmer & Harvey, Sky News reported.It cited unspecified sources as saying that while Sainsbury''s was exploring a bid there was no certainty it would proceed with an offer.A spokeswoman for Sainsbury''s declined to comment, while nobody was immediately available for comment at Palmer & Harvey.Palmer & Harvey is a major distributor of tobacco products to Tesco ( TSCO.L ), Britain''s biggest retailer which in January agreed a 3.7 billion pound ($4.8 billion) takeover of wholesaler Booker ( BOK.L ).Last year Sainsbury''s acquired Argos-owner Home Retail for 1.1 billion pounds.(Reporting by James Davey, Editing by Paul Sandle)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-palmer-harvey-m-a-sainsbury-s-idINKBN18M17U'|'2017-05-26T09:15:00.000+03:00' +'997261af9914a11c9d007dc77b9ac8948e3b42bb'|'LPC: US middle market lenders resist pricing erosion'|'Bonds 21am EDT LPC: US middle market lenders resist pricing erosion By Leela Parker Deo - NEW YORK NEW YORK May 24 Credit investors are drawing a line in the sand about the rates at which they are prepared to lend to US middle market companies after a wave of aggressive leveraged loan refinancings pulled yields lower in the first quarter of the year. Increased supply due to a healthy crop of new money deals backing leveraged buyouts, mergers and acquisitions, and add-on activity in the second quarter is helping middle market investors to resist downward pricing pressure. In May, at least four middle market deals boosted pricing from the initial guidance, including a deal for pet product maker Petmate, according to Thomson Reuters LPC data. Its not a tightening market anymore, said one middle market loan investor. The market has reached a point where we need more yield. We have capital to deploy but we dont need to do it at such a tight price point. Yields on middle market institutional term loan yields have risen to 6.22% so far in the second quarter from 6.09% in the first quarter, the data shows. This reverses three quarters of decline that started in the third quarter of 2016, when yields were 6.65% as the repricing wave accelerated and trickled down to riskier, less liquid smaller deals in the hunt for yield. Institutional investors, including commercial finance companies and direct lenders, need at least 450bp over Libor to invest in an unrated deal, three banking sources said. Banks have a lower cost of capital and are therefore able to lend at lower rates, particularly if the deal is rated and meets regulatory guidelines, the sources said. TOO TIGHT? A US$262.5m loan backing pet product maker Petmates buyout by Olympus Partners is the latest middle market deal to increase pricing. The spread on the buyout loan, which was arranged by middle market specialist Antares Capital, was increased by 25bp to 450bp over Libor with a 1% Libor floor and a 99.5 discount. Healthcare management services provider Kepro also hiked the spread on the first- and second-lien portions of its US$305m leveraged buyout loan by 100bp from the wide end of initial guidance to 525bp on the first-lien and 925bp on the second-lien and also widened discounts. Kepros loan was priced too aggressively at launch and needed to attract more middle market investors, which typically require higher returns, in order to circle the deal, a second investor said. All Metro Health Care Services, a provider of non-medical paraprofessional homecare services, also raised pricing by 25bp to 475bp over Libor on the US$225m term loan B portion of a US$255m credit facility that refinances existing debt. Investors also pointed to two more transactions that were sold to a middle market investor base and recently raised spreads. Specialty material-based components provider Boyd Corp wrapped a new US$1.09bn acquisition loan which priced at the wide end of revised guidance at 475bp on the first-lien and 875bp on the second-lien. APC Aftermarket also raised pricing by 50bp to 500bp over Libor on the US$315m term loan portion of its US$515m acquisition credit facility and widened the discount. Demand for assets is high and the market remains intensely competitive but some investors are no longer willing to take risk in exchange for lower returns and fewer lender protections as structures and terms also loosen. Pricing is still tight to a year ago, but we are getting back to where we should be, a third middle market investor said. (Reporting by Leela Parker Deo; Editing by Tessa Walsh and Jon Methven)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usmidmarket-pricing-idUSL1N1IQ0J9'|'2017-05-24T23:21:00.000+03:00' +'5853ba442560ce67d86dfd086862bbb2fe8c5de2'|'BRIEF-Empire Industries Ltd receives $120 mln, multi-year, multi-theme park ride system series of contracts'|'Market 38am EDT BRIEF-Empire Industries Ltd receives $120 mln, multi-year, multi-theme park ride system series of contracts May 19 Empire Industries Ltd * Empire Industries Ltd - received a $120 million, multi-year, multi-theme park ride system series of contracts Source text for Eikon: * Copa Holdings announces monthly traffic statistics for April 2017 MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories Reuters News Agency - Brand Attribution Guidelines - Careers Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters . Thomson Reuters is the world''s largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-empire-industries-ltd-receives-idUSFWN1IL07P'|'2017-05-19T19:38:00.000+03:00' +'886372e494e83839e728348465a5a163cd1e51fb'|'Nikkei edges up, high-tech shares jump on earnings'|'* Tokyo Electron, Murata, Fujitsu jump on earnings* Overall earnings results so far not a big boost* Japan Airlines, Ricoh struggleBy Hideyuki SanoTOKYO, May 1 Japanese stock prices posted modest gains on Monday as high-tech shares such as Tokyo Electron and Murata Manufacturing gained on upbeat earnings in otherwise holiday-lulled trading.The Nikkei rose 0.4 percent to 19,273.87 points, supported for now at its 100-day moving average of 19,131, though lacking momentum to re-test its one-month high of 19,289 touched on Wednesday.The Nikkei rose more than the broader Topix, which gained 0.2 percent to 1,535.00, because of a 13 percent gain in Tokyo Electron, which has a big weighting in the Nikkei."The pessimism we saw last month is ebbing. Investors are picking up companies that have improving earnings outlook," said Takaaki Yoshino, chief quantitative analyst at Daiwa Securities.Tokyo Electron, the second most traded shares by turnover by mid-morning, surged after the manufacturer of chip-making machines said it sees 38.7 percent increase in operating profits in the year to March 2018.Fujitsu gained 8.0 percent as the information technology equipment and service company posted upbeat earnings.Murata Manufacturing, an electronics parts maker and a major Apple supplier, gained 5.2 percent.While these results have underscored the strength of the semi-conductor sector globally, the overall earnings season has so far provided limited catalyst for a further rally, market players said."Japanese companies'' earnings seem to be bottoming out. But the improvement seems to be limited. The return-on-equity will be still little over eight percent," said Shingo Ide, chief equity strategist at NLI Research Institute.Honda Motor, which forecast a 16 percent fall in operating profits for the current year, slightly below analysts'' expectations, rose 0.2 percent.On the other hand, rival Mazda dropped 3.8 percent after its earning estimates fell short of market expectations.Resona Holdings, fell 4.1 percent after the banking group revised down its earnings for the financial year that ended in March.Office machine maker Ricoh dropped 6.8 percent to near six-month lows as it projected a further fall in profits in the year to March due to restructuring costs.Japan Airlines dropped 7.2 percent after the company said it saw a 16.6 percent decline in operating profits due to costs for renewing its computer systems and other investments.Trading is expected to be slow this week due to holidays in many countries.Tokyo financial markets will be closed from Wednesday to Friday for a series of national holidays called the "Golden Week". (Editing by Kim Coghill)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-midday-idINL4N1I317M'|'2017-05-01T00:19:00.000+03:00' +'ccb98e5d93371df42277c40122f2062e0b5fb7a5'|'Brazil appeals court rules Uber driver not entitled to benefits'|'SAO PAULO A Brazil appeals court on Tuesday ruled that a driver working for Uber via its ride-hailing app is not an employee of the San Francisco-based company and therefore not entitled to workers'' benefits, overturning an earlier lower court decision.The ruling adds to the global debate over labor rights for drivers on the popular platform and could establish a precedent for various similar cases in Latin America''s largest economy.A press representative for the labor court in the state of Minas Gerais confirmed that judges had overruled a January decision that granted a driver access to employee benefits, but declined to provide further details.The official ruling is due to be published on Thursday.According to Uber lawyers who were present at the hearing, the judges cited drivers'' ability to log off at will, offer their accounts to other drivers and split fares as evidence that they should be considered partners of the company and not employees.The driver may still appeal to Brazil''s top labor court.The ruling is the first by a higher court over the thorny debate circling the ride-hailing firm, which is facing the threat of higher costs due to similar cases in the United States, Britain, Switzerland and Europe.A Sao Paulo judge had also ruled on April 14 that an Uber driver should be treated as an employee of the firm.The lower house of Brazil''s Congress has also threatened Uber''s business model with a bill requiring it and other ride-hailing apps to register with city authorities as conventional taxi services. President Michel Temer has pledged to veto parts of the legislation if it passes the Senate.(Reporting by Bruno Federowski, editing by Daniel Flynn, G Crosse)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-brazil-idUSKBN18J38G'|'2017-05-24T07:47:00.000+03:00' +'4c4c52a390eb27e6361e268a3d5c7cb66c665047'|'Generali to buy portfolio management assets to boost profits'|'MILAN Italy''s biggest insurer Generali ( GASI.MI ) said on Thursday it was ready to buy portfolio management assets to beef up its fee-based business and help lift group profits.The insurer said in a statement it was targeting a net profit for its asset management business of 300 million euros ($326 million) by the end of 2020 to lift the group''s profits by 150 million euros.The asset management division aims to have 500 billion euros of assets under management by the end of 2020, it said.(Reporting by Stephen Jewkes; editing by Agnieszka Flak)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-generali-results-assetmanagement-idINKBN1870IL'|'2017-05-11T04:13:00.000+03:00' +'e92f796e9c4e6e0ff7348b33a0ae38fb73811a6f'|'EBRD sees moderate pick-up in region''s growth, cautious on global backdrop'|'Economy News - Wed May 10, 2017 - 9:26am BST EBRD sees moderate pick-up in region''s growth, cautious on global backdrop The headquarter of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is seen in London, Britain, November 22, Britain 2016. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth By Karin Strohecker - LONDON LONDON The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) predicted on Wednesday that its region''s growth would pick up moderately as stable commodity prices supporting Russia and surrounding countries offset headwinds in Turkey. The EBRD - which operates in 36 countries from eastern Europe to Morocco and Mongolia - trimmed the projections from its last round of forecasts in November, striking a cautiously positive tone though warning of increasing economic and political uncertainties ahead. "As oil prices have stabilized at levels well above those seen in the first half of 2016 and the Russian economy has emerged from a two-year recession, growth in the east of the region is projected to pick up gradually," the EBRD said in its biannual economic report. "The outlook for Turkey and Southern and Eastern Mediterranean has weakened somewhat reflecting, in part, security and geopolitical risks and a resulting drop in tourism receipts and investment." The EBRD predicted growth across its region would rise from 1.8 percent in 2016 to average 2.4 percent in 2017 and 2.8 percent next year. In November, the bank had forecast 2017 growth at 2.5 percent. While the acceleration was broad based, it fell short of both the world average growth as projected by the International Monetary Fund and the EBRD''s own region long-term average growth, it added. DOWNGRADE The EBRD slashed Turkey''s growth outlook by 0.4 percentage points to 2.6 percent this year after slow growth in 2016 due to factors including a credit rating downgrade to ''junk'', the state of emergency since the failed coup and the lira TRY= weakening by 17 percent against the dollar in 2016 which pushed inflation to double digits for the first time in five years in February. "Turkey''s external situation remains a challenge," it said. "Gross external financing needs are almost 25 percent of GDP, leaving the country exposed to global liquidity conditions." For Russia, the EBRD confirmed its previous 2017 growth forecast of 1.2 percent and predicted 1.4 percent in 2018. "Growth is also expected to pick up slightly in Central Asia and Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, reflecting a stabilization of commodity prices and resumed growth in Russia," it said. Central Asia and the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean retained their places as the bank''s two fastest growing regions, but both saw their forecasts trimmed back from November. Central Asia was expected to grow 3.8 percent this year with foreign direct investment from China as part of its One Belt One Road initiative lifting most of the region''s economies. Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries followed on the heels at 3.7 percent. However, all countries in this category - Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia - saw growth forecasts trimmed due to factors such as rising inflation hampering consumption and regional turmoil weighing on tourism. Overall, the report pointed out that forecasts were subject to major geopolitical tensions in and around its region as well as economic policy uncertainty in major developed economies following Donald Trump''s election as president of the United States and Britain''s vote to leave the European Union. "In addition, the global environment is characterized by increased political uncertainty and a number of conundrums, notably the substantial improvement in economic confidence indicators that have not been reflected in hard economic data." Capital flows to emerging markets and also the EBRD region, including bond and equity flows, strengthened in the first months of 2017, the bank noted. Russia had been one of the main beneficiaries of that trend, the EBRD added. (Reporting by Karin Strohecker; Editing by Janet Lawrence)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ebrd-meeting-forecasts-idUKKBN1860VG'|'2017-05-10T16:07:00.000+03:00' +'ab4f0386d5d116c34fd6fe752d9fc1bb5b88a985'|'FX strategists expect Tory landslide in UK vote; no big GBP move - Reuters poll'|'LONDON Britain''s ruling Conservative Party will win June''s election with a landslide, according to almost two-thirds of foreign exchange strategists polled by Reuters who said the result would have little effect on sterling.Having fallen as much as 23 percent after last June''s European Union membership referendum to touch a 31-year low of $1.1491 in October, sterling GBP= is now about 14 percent lower against the dollar, trading at $1.29 earlier on Wednesday.Sterling hit a seven-month high last week as traders closed off heavy bets against the pound. Short positions on the pound were close to record highs, making "short squeezes" -- when traders close out those positions, pushing up the value of the currency -- more likely.Medians in the poll of over 60 strategists, taken in the past week, showed sterling would be worth $1.27 in a month -- just before the general election -- but then weaken to $1.24 in six months before settling at $1.25 a year from now.Predictions for a landslide win are in line with opinion polls and those latest sterling forecasts were little -changed from an April poll. But highlighting uncertainty, the range of 12-month forecasts was $1.11 to $1.39.Against the euro, the pound EURGBP= will follow a similar path. In a month one euro will be worth 85.0 pence, in six months 87.8p and in a year 87.0p. Again, those forecasts were little changed from April.Growth in the currency bloc will be steady but modest in the coming year, an April Reuters poll of economists showed, although that forecast was partly contingent on independent candidate Emmanuel Macron winning the French presidency this weekend. [ECILT/EU]Solid growth, coupled with higher inflation, means pressure is mounting on the European Central Bank to start dialling back its still-aggressive stimulus. But it kept its policy stance steady last week, even leaving the door open to more easing.While markets expect the ECB to tone down the language in June, removing a bias for further easing, ECB President Mario Draghi gave no hint of such moves on Thursday, only venturing to say economic risks have receded.The United States Federal Reserve, which has already tightened policy, is expected to raise interest rates twice more this year. In contrast, the Bank of England is not expected to do anything until 2019 at least. [ECILT/US] [ECILT/GB]As there is so far little clarity on how divorce talks between Britain and the European Union will progress, investors may instead return to looking at monetary policies."Last year, cable fell a long way below the level implied by its formerly close relationship with expectations for the differential between official interest rates in the UK and U.S. over the next two years," said Samuel Tombs at Pantheon Macroeconomics."This decoupling seemed to reflect Brexit fears, which could not be fully encapsulated in short-term interest rate expectations. But last week, this gap closed completely; sterling now is back to the level implied purely by interest rate expectations."MAY''S JUNE LANDSLIDEThirty-two of 52 strategists who answered an extra question predicted a landslide Conservative win on June 8 and 18 a moderate win. Only two predicted a moderate Labour Party victory and none a landslide Labour win or a hung parliament.According to the median forecast of those who answered the extra question, sterling would rally 1.0 percent against the dollar but dip 1.25 percent against the euro in the immediate aftermath of an overwhelming victory for the Conservatives.Three recent opinion polls showed a rise in support for Britain''s opposition Labour Party but Prime Minister Theresa May''s Conservatives maintained a commanding lead ahead of the election, expected to define the terms of the country''s EU exit.May has said she expects divorce talks to be tough after EU leaders agreed stiff terms and voiced alarm at "illusions" in London that may wreck a deal.If opinion polls and the strategists are right, May will win a new mandate for a series of reforms she wants to introduce in Britain -- and also a vote of confidence in a vision for Brexit which sees the country outside the EU''s single market."It will likely give Theresa May the ability to pass domestic legislation with less uncertainty and, more importantly, the flexibility to negotiate the terms of Brexit without fear of being undermined," said Jordan Rochester at Nomura.Previous Reuters polls have shown the pound''s fate hangs on the tone of the Brexit negotiations. If the divorce negotiations turn fractious, sterling will fall, conversely if talks run smoothly, the forecast was for it to bounce.(Polling by Vivek Mishra and Indradip Ghosh; Editing by Catherine Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-forex-poll-sterling-idUKKBN17Z186'|'2017-05-03T20:06:00.000+03:00' +'a81488fdc64ea0742c6b0dab34d6383d27ac1784'|'Global air passenger demand rises 6.8 percent in March - IATA'|' 32am BST Global air passenger demand rises 6.8 percent in March: IATA FILE PHOTO: Travelers wait in a security check point line at O''Hare Airport before the busy Thanksgiving Day weekend in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., November 23, 2016. REUTERS/Kamil Krzaczynski Global demand for air travel rose 6.8 percent in March as lower fares and improving economies continued to support growth through the first quarter, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Thursday. The association said that it will have to wait for the April data to see the impact of restrictions on large electronic devices in the cabin on certain direct flights to the U.S. and Britain. The restrictions, on flights from predominantly Middle East countries, were brought in by U.S. and British authorities in late March. However, traffic growth at the Middle East carriers slowed to 4.9 percent in March, against 9.5 percent in February as the low oil price took its toll on demand. "This is related more to developments seen last year, while any impacts from the laptop ban will be visible from April results onward," IATA said in a statement. Globally, capacity measured in available seat kilometers rose 6.1 percent, slower than demand. That meant load factors - a measure of how full planes are - increased 0.5 percentage points to 80.4 percent, which IATA said was a record for the month of March. (Reported by Evangelo Sipsas; Editing by Victoria Bryan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-airlines-iata-passenger-idUKKBN18016E'|'2017-05-04T18:26:00.000+03:00' +'7591ff08a18cc29802066e7d0431fab3b2b8feaf'|'BUZZ-India''s United Spirits hits 2-1/2-mth high; co posts gains in margins, revenue'|'** United Spirits Ltd rises as much as 10.30 pct to 2,307.90 rupees, its highest since March 15** Quarterly net loss widened to 458 million rupees ($15,494.27), but analysts welcomed gains in margins, revenue** Morgan Stanley, Ambit Capital note the Supreme Court ban on liquor sold near highways did not have too much impact** United Spirits plans to sell 13 non-core assets, earlier owned by former non-exec chairman Vijay Mallya** "USL reported strong results given margin gains and lower-than-expected impact of de-stocking caused by the Supreme Court ban on liquor sale near highways," Ambit Capital said in a note, adding that it "expects company to double its profitability over the medium term"** Stock had gained 7.7 pct this year as of Tuesday''s close** About 1.2 mln shares change hands, double the 30-day average of 584,634 ($1 = 64.5400 Indian rupees)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/buzz-indias-united-spirits-hits-2-1-2-mt-idINL3N1IX13X'|'2017-05-31T02:40:00.000+03:00' +'a31bcbd384708ea83faa5874bc3fb70aa2ee2b7c'|'Exclusive - EU regulators set to clear EDF''s bid for Areva nuclear unit: source'|'Business 12pm BST Exclusive - EU regulators set to clear EDF''s bid for Areva nuclear unit: source The logo of France''s state-owned electricity company EDF is seen on the company''s headquarters in Paris, France, November 24, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Platiau BRUSSELS EU antitrust regulators are set to approve French utility EDF''s ( EDF.PA ) bid for a majority stake in Areva''s ( AREVA.PA ) nuclear arm without demanding concessions, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday. The European Commission, which has been examining the deal since April 18, had intense talks with state-owned EDF last week while positive feedback from rivals and customers also swept away initial competition concerns, the source said. State-controlled EDF wants to acquire 51 to 75 percent of Areva NP, which designs, makes and services nuclear reactors and is worth about 2.5 billion euros (2.1 billion). The sale is part of loss-making Areva''s rescue plan. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, editing by Julia Fioretti)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-areva-m-a-edf-eu-idUKKCN18F232'|'2017-05-20T01:12:00.000+03:00' +'16d0e272b21213869e1200ff7e128bef343ef450'|'Direct Line posts 4.2 percent rise in first quarter gross written premiums'|'Business News - Wed May 3, 2017 - 7:38am BST Direct Line posts 4.2 percent rise in first quarter gross written premiums A photo illustration shows insurance renewal notices from Direct Line in London October 10, 2012. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett LONDON British motor and home insurer Direct Line Insurance Group reported a 4.2 percent rise in gross written premiums in the first quarter, boosted by strong performance in its auto business, it said on Wednesday. Gross written premiums rose to 810 million pounds, in line with a forecast by analysts KBW. Direct Line, whose brands include Churchill, Green Flag and Privilege, said in a statement it continued to target a 2017 combined operating ratio in a 93-95 percent range for continuing operations. Combined ratio is a measure of underwriting profitability in which a level below 100 percent indicates a profit. However, performance in home insurance was "challenging", Direct Line said, due to a rise in claims costs. Gross written premiums fell 3.9 percent in home insurance from a year earlier, compared with an 8.9 percent rise in motor gross written premium. (Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; Editing by Rachel Armstrong)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-direct-line-results-idUKKBN17Z0FQ'|'2017-05-03T14:38:00.000+03:00' +'348ed4a9aeff85450cc63857abbfd2b40c3053be'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Brazil real, Mexican peso rebound from lows; U.S. rates eyed'|'Market News 11pm EDT EMERGING MARKETS-Brazil real, Mexican peso rebound from lows; U.S. rates eyed By Bruno Federowski SAO PAULO, May 9 The Brazilian and Mexican currencies inched higher on Tuesday, rebounding from the previous day''s declines as investors awaited further clues on the future pace of U.S. interest rate hikes. The Brazilian real strengthened 0.4 percent after hitting the weakest in four months the day before, while the Mexican peso rebounded from a two-week low. Emerging market currencies fell on Monday on profit-taking following Emmanuel Macron''s widely expected defeat of far-right Marine Le Pen in the French presidential elections. Traders focused their attention on incoming issues including U.S. monetary policy. Bets on a June rate increase by the Federal Reserve have mounted in recent weeks but the pace of tightening from then on remains a question mark due to mixed economic figures for the beginning of the year. A slower path of rate increases would spell good news for emerging market assets, which offer relatively high yields that lure foreign investors. Stock markets also rose, with Brazil''s benchmark Bovespa stock index the best performer. Shares of toll road operator Ecorodovias SA were the biggest gainers after the company said profit jumped more than expected in the first quarter. Shares of power utility Cia Energtica Paranaense also rose sharply after regulators set a compensation for the early renewal of transmission contracts. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1600 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % change change Latest MSCI Emerging Markets 989.71 0.47 14.25 MSCI LatAm 2636.22 1.23 11.26 Brazil Bovespa 66493.96 1.48 10.41 Mexico IPC 49978.93 0.96 9.50 Chile IPSA 4813.77 -0.2 15.96 Chile IGPA 24165.12 -0.16 16.55 Argentina MerVal 21126.39 0.23 24.88 Colombia IGBC 10473.01 0.31 3.41 Venezuela IBC 59982.02 0.89 89.19 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.1820 0.42 2.11 Mexico peso 19.1240 0.45 8.47 Chile peso 677.2 0.22 -0.96 Colombia peso 2964.03 -0.08 1.26 Peru sol 3.286 0.00 3.90 Argentina peso (interbank) 15.5500 -0.32 2.09 Argentina peso (parallel) 15.98 0.19 5.26 (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-latam-idUSL1N1IB0XV'|'2017-05-10T00:11:00.000+03:00' +'59ab17ef535e2712d896888f205a1e541cda0a26'|'Greenpeace files state aid complaint with EU over EDF recapitalisation'|'Business News - Wed May 17, 2017 - 8:25am BST Greenpeace files state aid complaint with EU over EDF recapitalization The logo of Electricite de France (EDF) is seen at the entrance of the nuclear power plant as steam rises from the cooling towers in Nogent-sur-Seine, France, October 20, 2016. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo PARIS Greenpeace is filing a complaint with the European Commission arguing that the French government''s recapitalization of state-controlled EDF amounts to illegal state aid for the utility''s plan to build nuclear plants in Hinkley Point, Britain. Greenpeace said the 3 billion euro ($3.33 billion) capital injection for EDF ( EDF.PA ) in March, plus 3.8 billion euros of foregone dividends since 2015 - the state leaves money in EDF by taking a share dividend instead of a cash dividend - are incompatible with European Union competition law. "Instead of acting like a smart investor, the state is providing unconditional support to EDF and its nuclear projects that threaten the health of the company, notably Hinkley Point. There is no economic logic," said Greenpeace France legal campaigner Laura Monnier. EDF declined to comment. The company has said in the past that the capital increase, its cost cuts and its asset sales are part of a broader plan to strengthen the company''s equity and to finance its growth, including Hinkley Point, the upgrade of its French nuclear park, and its investments in renewables and smart meters. The EU has investigated and cleared the French state''s capital increase and financial rescue package for nuclear group Areva ( AREVA.PA ), and has raised no objections over the recapitalization of EDF. ($1 = 0.8998 euros)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-edf-britain-subsidies-idUKKCN18D0MV'|'2017-05-17T15:00:00.000+03:00' +'983db4e295dd6bb4af89c2fef926baf722c368e3'|'BRIEF-Aquinox Pharmaceuticals says Q1 loss per share $0.36'|' 25am EDT BRIEF-Aquinox Pharmaceuticals says Q1 loss per share $0.36 May 9 Aquinox Pharmaceuticals Inc: * Says Q1 net loss $8.3 million * Aquinox Pharmaceuticals says plans to provide guidance on top line data availability from leadership 301 trial in early August * Says top line data from leadership 301 trial is anticipated in 2018 * Q1 loss per share $0.36 Source text:( bit.ly/2pZqDtp ) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-aquinox-pharmaceuticals-says-q1-lo-idUSFWN1IB0DW'|'2017-05-09T18:25:00.000+03:00' +'d3a6c70ff6ffb25cdea1b77e1cb436af64555e9d'|'Greek property prices slide again as bailout jitters weigh'|' 2:37pm BST Greek property prices slide again as bailout jitters weigh FILE PHOTO: A view shows the cityscape of Athens, Greece, October 18, 2015. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis/File Photo By George Georgiopoulos - ATHENS ATHENS A downturn in Greece''s property market deepened in the first quarter, as uncertainty over its bailout programme and chronic weakness in its banking sector further eroded a traditional pillar of the country''s ailing economy. Property accounts for a large chunk of household wealth in Greece, which has one of the highest home ownership rates in Europe - 80 percent versus a European Union average of 70 percent, according to the European Mortgage Federation. Apartment prices fell by 1.8 percent in the first three months of 2017 from a year earlier, Bank of Greece data showed on Thursday, accelerating from a 1.0 percent drop in the final quarter of last year. That took the cumulative fall since 2008, when the country''s protracted recession began, to 41.8 percent. The market has been hit by property taxes imposed to plug budget deficits, a tight credit market and a jobless rate hovering around 23 percent - the highest in the 19-nation euro zone. Apart from their negative effect on household wealth, falling property prices also affect collateral values on banks'' outstanding real estate loans. The slide has gradually eased from 10.8 percent in 2013 to 2.4 percent last year, and economists expect prices to level out soon. "Uncertainty related to the completion of a bailout review that prevailed in the first quarter and continued deleveraging by banks weighed on the property market," National Bank economist Nikos Magginas said. A near-term stabilisation of prices remained the baseline scenario, expected to be confirmed once economic activity picks up in the coming quarters, he added. Greece was pushed to the brink of default by a debt crisis that at one stage jeopardised its membership of the euro zone. Its economic prospects have improved since it signed up to a new bailout package worth up to 86 billion euros (74.51 billion) two years ago. Gross domestic product is still contracting, however, edging down 0.1 percent between January and March as jitters over the conclusion of a review of the bailout hurt business confidence. The European Commission projects Greece''s economy will rebound by 2.1 percent this year. (Reporting by George Georgiopoulos; editing by John Stonestreet)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-greece-economy-property-idUKKBN18L1NT'|'2017-05-25T21:37:00.000+03:00' +'76ca3004ad4c16966f2952728af1ee18303bf518'|'Citigroup says UK PM May to win majority of 104-190 in June 8 election'|'Market News - Fri May 19, 2017 - 2:26am EDT Citigroup says UK PM May to win majority of 104-190 in June 8 election LONDON May 19 British Prime Minister Theresa May is likely to win a majority of 104-190 seats in the June 8 election, Citigroup said in a research note published on Friday. "Prime Minister Theresa May called early elections on 8 June to boost her mandate and win time to implement her version of ''hard-but-smooth'' Brexit," Citi said in the research note. "National polls, experts'' analyses and our own constituency-level simulations suggest that her bet should pay off." Citi added that it saw no signs that May was moving towards a so called "Singapore-upon-Thames" deregulated low-tax economic model. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Michael Holden)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-election-citi-idUSL9N1HZ000'|'2017-05-19T14:26:00.000+03:00' +'8633e6116ae0714ce5183716e3c95cfc09b6fa83'|'Canadian Natural Resources'' profit jumps on higher crude prices'|'Thu May 4, 2017 - 11:52am EDT Canadian Natural posts first-quarter profit, evaluating acquisitions Facilities at Canadian Natural Resources Limited''s (CNRL) Primrose Lake oil sands project is seen near Cold Lake, Alberta August 8, 2013. REUTERS/Dan Riedlhuber By Nia Williams - CALGARY, Alberta CALGARY, Alberta Canadian Natural Resources Ltd ( CNQ.TO ), the country''s largest independent petroleum producer, said on Thursday it continues to evaluate any assets for sale within its core areas of operation in western Canada. However, the Calgary-based company added that it was focused on its recently announced acquisition of a majority stake in the Athabasca Oil Sands Project in northern Alberta, which is set to close in the second quarter of this year. Canadian Natural will pay C$12.74 billion ($9.28 billion) for assets belonging to Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) and Marathon Oil Corp ( MRO.N ), making it one of the three major Canadian oil sands operators, along with Suncor Energy ( SU.TO ) and Cenovus Energy ( CVE.TO ), that have been stepping in as foreign oil majors exit the region. "We have got lots on our plate but that will not stop us from evaluating everything that goes through our core area," president Steve Laut said on a first-quarter earnings call. Canadian Natural, which operates in western Canada, the North Sea and offshore West Africa, reported a first-quarter profit on Thursday helped by an uptick in crude prices and increased output from its Horizon oil sands project in Alberta. Oil prices CLc1 LCOc1 began to rise late last year after a two-year slump, and are now trading within a $45-$50 a barrel range as an OPEC-led production cut and rebounding demand slowly erode a global glut. Canadian Natural posted a net profit of C$245 million, or 22 Canadian cents per share, for the quarter ended March 31, swinging to a profit after reporting a loss of C$105 million, or 10 Canadian cents per share, in the year-earlier quarter. The company said production rose nearly 4 percent to 876,907 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in the latest quarter. Cash flow from operations, a key indicator of a company''s ability to pay for new projects and drilling, surged nearly 150 percent to C$1.64 billion, or C$1.46 per share. The free cash flow was largely used to reduce debt levels by C$500 million, the company said. Production from Horizon, the company''s flagship oil sands facility, hit a record 192,000 bpd in the first quarter, up 50 percent year-on-year. Phase 3 of the project is scheduled to start up by the end of 2017, adding 80,000 bpd of capacity. (Reporting by John Benny in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza and James Dalgleish)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cdn-natural-rsc-results-idUSKBN1800XM'|'2017-05-04T17:12:00.000+03:00' +'520a09134476a1f2eaaabdbf087ca1ee0eef4d18'|'Samsung Electronics creates new contract chip manufacturing division'|'SEOUL Tech giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Friday it has formed a new division within its semiconductor business for contract chip manufacturing in a move to strengthen its competitiveness.Samsung''s new foundry division will be responsible for making mobile processors and other non-memory chips for clients such as Qualcomm Inc and Nvidia Corp.(Reporting by Se Young Lee; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/samsung-elec-chips-idINKBN1880OK'|'2017-05-12T05:09:00.000+03:00' +'f3c20193d1aa97977a35538f0d1f7ec0ac7f2138'|'Potash CEO says SQM governance changes no signal of Potash interest in raising stake-CEO'|'Market News 27pm EDT Potash CEO says SQM governance changes no signal of Potash interest in raising stake-CEO NEW YORK May 18 Governance changes at Chile lithium producer SQM, which give shareholder Potash Corp of Saskatchewan greater influence, do not reflect any intent by Potash to raise its stake, Potash Corp''s chief executive said on Thursday. "It doesn''t demonstrate any intention," CEO Jochen Tilk told Reuters. "We''ll move forward on improved governance and that''s really all that there is at this point - no reflection on any further strategic thinking." (Reporting by Rod Nickel in New York, editing by G Crosse)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/potashcorp-ceo-idUSL2N1IK1QT'|'2017-05-19T02:27:00.000+03:00' +'60e7fe7495d823dcdaef3c09e709fc243c3da147'|'UPDATE 1-Tunisian president orders army deployment to protect energy resources'|'Middle East & North Africa 21pm EDT Tunisian president orders army to protect oil and gasfields left right Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi delivers a speech in Tunis, Tunisia May 10, 2017. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi 1/7 left right Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi delivers a speech in Tunis, Tunisia May 10, 2017. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi 2/7 left right Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi delivers a speech in Tunis, Tunisia May 10, 2017. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi 3/7 left right Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi delivers a speech, in Tunis, Tunisia May 10, 2017. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi 4/7 left right Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi delivers a speech in Tunis, Tunisia May 10, 2017. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi 5/7 left right Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi delivers a speech, in Tunis, Tunisia May 10, 2017. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi 6/7 left right Tunisia''s President Beji Caid Essebsi speaks during a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Tunis, Tunisia, March 3, 2017. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi 7/7 By Tarek Amara - TUNIS TUNIS Tunisia''s President Beji Caid Essebsi on Wednesday ordered the army to protect phosphate, gas and oil production facilities after protests aimed at disrupting output broke out in the south of the country. It is the first time troops in Tunisia will be deployed to protect industrial installations vital to Tunisia''s economy. Protests, sit-ins and strikes in recent years have cost the state billions of dollars. For several weeks, about 1,000 protesters in Tatouine province, where Italy''s ENI and Austria''s OMV have gas operations, have been demanding jobs and a share in revenue from the area''s natural resources. Protests have also broken out in another southern province, Kebili, and on Wednesday police fired tear gas to break up rioting in a town west of Tunis after a fruit seller set himself on fire in protest against the police. In an incident similar to the self-immolation in 2011 that sparked the uprising that toppled autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, the vendor in Tebourba poured gasoline over himself and set it ablaze. He was hospitalized and rioting erupted. Six years after the uprising, Tunisia is trying to enact sensitive reforms to help growth, but many unemployed youth in the marginalized south still feel they have gained few opportunities. The military deployment will take place immediately, Essebsi said. "It is a serious decision, but it must be applied to protect our resources," he said in a speech to the nation. "Our democratic path has become threatened and law must be applied but we will respect freedoms." A local resident in the southern Metaloui region - the heartland of Tunisia''s phosphate production - said troops arrived in trucks on Wednesday and started setting up barbed wire barricades around facilities. OMV has taken out around 700 non-essential staff and contractors from its operations in the south as a precaution, and Perenco and Canada-based Serinus Energy have either halted some production or closed gasfields. Tunisia is a small oil and gas producer compared to its OPEC neighbors Libya and Algeria, with production around 44,000 barrels per day. Protests that have hit the phosphate sector in past years cost the country more than $2 billion, according to officials. But production has returned to the highest levels since 2010 after officials negotiated deals with protesters. The government expects to double its phosphate production to 6.5 million tonnes in 2017. (Writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-tunisia-economy-idUSKBN1861DN'|'2017-05-10T19:30:00.000+03:00' +'4f1161efe82001156eeaee4fa7d04e38672b4939'|'New export orders boost Irish manufacturing in April - PMI'|'Business News - Tue May 2, 2017 - 6:08am BST New export orders boost Irish manufacturing in April - PMI DUBLIN May 2 Irish manufacturing activity grew more rapidly in April as new export orders came in at the fastest pace in almost two years, a survey showed on Tuesday, adding to signs the economy is weathering any early impact from Britain''s Brexit vote. The Investec Manufacturing Purchasing Managers'' index rose to a three-month high of 55.0 from 53.6 in March, staying well above the 50 mark separating growth from contraction, which it almost fell into after Britain voted to leave the European Union. Ireland, the EU''s fastest-growing economy, is widely seen as the member most at risk from Brexit due to its close trading links, but after the muted impact so far, Dublin last month raised its forecasts for economic growth for 2017 and 2018. Some of the firms most vulnerable appear to be weathering the risks as the subindex measuring new export orders, which briefly contracted ahead of last June''s referendum, rose to 58.5 from 56.2 in March, its highest level since July 2015. "One of the key highlights is the new export orders index and firms continue to invest in providing additional resources to meet this rising client demand as evidenced by the expanding employment component," Investec Ireland chief economist Philip O''Sullivan said. In contrast to the faster growth in hiring and purchases, sentiment among manufacturers softened to its lowest level since August. O''Sullivan said this was puzzling but that it could be due to seasonal issues as that sub-index is unadjusted. "In any event, we reiterate our view that the outlook for Irish manufacturing firms remains positive, supported by the improving international backdrop," O''Sullivan said. (Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Hugh Lawson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ireland-economy-pmi-idUKKBN17Y0CJ'|'2017-05-02T13:08:00.000+03:00' +'eddd294154803f7ec03ff76c8755d761a113f373'|'Alfa Financial Software set for largest London IPO so far in 2017'|'Business 4:25pm BST Alfa Financial Software''s shares rise sharply in London debut By Clara Denina and Dasha Afanasieva - LONDON LONDON Shares in Alfa Financial ALFAAL.L, which provides software for the asset finance industry, rose sharply on their London Stock Exchange debut on Friday, making the listing London''s biggest this year by market capitalisation. The shares opened trading at around 418 pence a share, up from the listing price of 325 pence, and had hit a high of 430 by 1352 GMT, valuing the company at nearly 1.3 billion pounds. A source familiar with the matter had previously said the company, which counts Bank of America ( BAC.N ) and Daimler''s ( DAIGn.DE ) Mercedes-Benz as customers and fund managers Old Mutual ( OML.L ) and Henderson Group ( HGGH.L ) as investors, was aiming for a valuation of at least 800 million pounds. London-based Alfa, which made adjusted earnings before interest and tax of 32.8 million pounds in 2016, has said it hopes the listing will raise its profile and help it win market share by attracting new customers looking to replace legacy or in-house systems that have failed to keep up with evolving regulations. Uncertainty around Britain''s future outside the EU single market has dampened investor confidence in the London IPO market this year, with IPOs by companies based in Britain totalling $1.53 billion (1.19 billion) in the first quarter, a drop of 28 percent on the same period last year, according to Thomson Reuters data. A source close to the Alfa flotation conceded the first half would be "light" on London IPOs and Alfa had bucked the trend. "The sector has huge barriers to entry at a time when companies are switching from legacy systems to modern technology," he said, adding that Alfa has the extra advantage of a bespoke system for leasing. With the listing Alfa shareholder CHP Software and Consulting Limited, which is majority owned by Executive Chairman Andrew Page, will receive gross proceeds of around 254 million pounds excluding fees and expenses, and assuming no exercise of the over-allotment option, which allows underwriters to sell more shares than originally planned. Barclays and Numis were joint bookrunners on the IPO, while Rothschild was financial adviser. (Editing by Greg Mahlich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-alfa-financial-ipo-idUKKBN18M0MC'|'2017-05-26T15:15:00.000+03:00' +'92130f1da7f31322fd56c1e3b0f3c1588138e108'|'Buffett says Trump tax proposal won''t fundamentally change Berkshire - Reuters'|'By Jennifer Ablan and Jonathan Stempel May 6 U.S. President Donald Trump''s plan to cut the corporate tax rate to 15 percent would be a tailwind for profitability at Warren Buffett''s Berkshire Hathaway Inc , but won''t fundamentally change how its business units operate, Buffett said.The deferred taxes that are applicable to unrealized gains on securities would all be applicable to us," Buffett said during Berkshire''s annual shareholders meeting on Saturday. "We have $90 or $95 billion in gains, and our owners, dollar for dollar, will participate in that ... If the rate were to drop 10 percent, that $9.5 billion is real."Buffett, a Democrat who vocally supported Hillary Clinton''s unsuccessful White House candidacy, added that the impact of lower corporate taxes would not translate into higher profits across all of Berkshire''s many dozens of businesses.Regulated utility units, for example, are not likely to enjoy lower tax rates as savings, in Buffetts view, would be passed onto customers. He also said that a lot of the benefits of lower corporate taxes would likely be competed away.Buffett, 86, said: Weve had a lot of (tax cuts) in our lifetimes its certain that some of a lower corporate rate would be competed away, and it''s sure that some of it would inure to the benefit of shareholders."In February, Barclays analyst Jay Gelb said cutting the corporate tax rate even to 20 percent could boost Berkshire''s book value by $27 billion because of a decline in its deferred tax liability. A cut to 15 percent could boost book value by $36 billion, he said."I can''t recall sending anything out to our managers saying, ''Let''s do this because the tax law is going to change,''" Buffett said.Berkshire Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, who was also answering shareholder questions during the annual meeting, agreed with the assessment."We''re not going to change anything at the railroad just for some little tax jiggle," Munger said, referring to Berkshire''s BNSF unit.(Reporting By Jennifer Ablan and Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Nick Zieminski)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/berkshire-buffett-taxes-idINL1N1I80EQ'|'2017-05-06T16:28:00.000+03:00' +'4fed6d585c2eac33a29591be8c46d1b2fb515a6b'|'SPECIAL REPORT - ''Ghost collateral'' haunts loans across China''s banking system'|'By Engen Tham - SHANGHAI SHANGHAI The banker at the other end of the phone line was furious, recalled Shanghai lawyer Wang Chaoyu. A pile of steel pledged as collateral for a loan of almost $3 million from his bank, China CITIC, had vanished from a warehouse on the outskirts of the city.Just several months earlier, in mid-2013, Wang and the banker had visited the warehouse and verified that the steel was there. "The first time I went, I saw the steel," recalled Wang, an attorney at Beijing DHH Law Firm, which represents the Shanghai branch of CITIC ( 601998.SS ). "Afterwards, the banker got in contact with me and said, ''The pledged assets are no longer there.''"The trouble had begun in 2012, after CITIC loaned the money to Shanghai Hanning Iron and Steel Co Ltd, a privately held steel trader. Hanning failed to meet payments, according to a mediation agreement reviewed by Reuters, and CITIC took ownership of the steel. It was when CITIC moved to retrieve the collateral that the banker visited the warehouse and discovered that the 291-tonne pile of steel was no longer there, Wang said. The bank is still in court trying to recoup its losses.The missing collateral is a setback for CITIC. But it is indicative of a much wider problem that could endanger the health of China''s financial system fraudulent or "ghost" collateral. When bank auditors in China go looking, they too often find that collateral recorded on the books simply isn''t there.In some cases, collateral that has been pledged simply doesn''t exist. In others, it disappears as borrowers in financial distress sell the assets. There are also instances in which the same collateral has been pledged to multiple lenders. One lawyer said he discovered that the same pile of steel was used to secure loans from 10 different lenders.With the mainland facing its slowest growth in over a quarter of a century, defaults are mounting as borrowers struggle to repay their loans. The danger of fraudulent collateral in this situation, say economists, is that it exacerbates the problem of bad debt for China''s banks, increasing the risk of financial turmoil.As growth slows, lenders can expect more nasty surprises, said Xin Qingquan, professor of accounting at Chongqing University. More instances of fake collateral will arise, he said.FAKE WAREHOUSE RECEIPTSOn May 24, Moody''s Investors Service downgraded China''s credit ratings for the first time in almost three decades. The ratings agency said it expects the financial strength of the economy will erode in the coming years as economic growth slows and debt continues to rise.The 2008 global financial crisis showed how the combination of lax lending standards and overvalued collateral can lead to disaster. The catalyst for that meltdown was the collapse in the value of housing in the United States that served as security for a mountain of highly leveraged lending, the so-called subprime mortgages.Now, banks in the world''s second-biggest economy face their own collateral risks. Fraudulent borrowers, corrupt bankers, poor risk assessment and a weak legal system are conspiring to load China''s financial system with loans lacking genuine collateral.A Reuters review of dozens of court cases involving collateralized loans and interviews with lawyers, regulators and 30 bankers in China reveal that fraudulent collateral in the form of buildings, private apartments, copper and steel is haunting loans across a wide swath of business and industry.The bankers interviewed by Reuters said they had encountered multiple methods by which loans were fraudulently secured, including the use of fake land certificates and bogus warehouse receipts. Most of the bankers said that kickbacks were prevalent, with loan officers turning a blind eye to the quality of collateral and knowingly accepting dubious and even fraudulent documents. Two of the bankers said they themselves had taken bribes to smooth the approval of loans.Overall, 23 of the 30 bankers described the existence of ghost collateral as a serious problem and expected more instances to emerge as the Chinese economy slows. The bankers interviewed come from 13 banks in China, including some of the nation''s biggest lenders.''A PONZI SCHEME''There are no official statistics or estimates of the problem. But fraudulent collateral is "a huge issue," said Violet Ho, senior managing director and co-head of Greater China Investigations and Disputes Practice at Kroll, which conducts corporate investigations on the mainland. "Often you also see that the paperwork around collateral may be dodgy, and the bank loan officer knows, the intermediary knows, and the goods owner knows so it''s essentially a Ponzi scheme."Even when banks resort to the courts, there''s no guarantee they''ll get their money back. Inadequate legal protections for collateral and the complexity of some borrowers'' business dealings can make it difficult for lenders to foreclose.That''s what happened to CITIC after it made the $2.71 million loan to Hanning Steel. When Hanning defaulted, CITIC won a court order freezing the collateral, after which the parties entered into mediation, lawyer Wang Chaoyu said. But the collateral is still missing.In response to questions from Reuters, CITIC said that the case was still being enforced in the courts and that it had since strengthened its risk management procedures. Representatives of Hanning did not respond to questions. When Reuters visited Hanning''s registered Shanghai address, there was no sign of a company office there.Total debt in China rose to 277 percent of GDP at the end of 2016, according to Swiss bank UBS. That''s a record and almost twice the figure eight years ago.Bad loans are mounting fast. Officially, just 1.74 percent of commercial bank loans were classified as non-performing at the end of March. But some analysts say lenders often mask the true level of bad debt and so the figure is likely much higher. Fitch Ratings said in a report last September that it had estimated non-performing loans in China''s financial system could be as high as 15 percent to 21 percent.This in a banking sector that has undergone a massive credit expansion. The value of outstanding bank loans ballooned to $17.2 trillion at the end of April from $5.8 trillion at the end of 2009, according to data from China''s central bank. In September last year, the Bank for International Settlements warned that excessive credit growth in China meant there was a growing risk of a banking crisis in the next three years.NOT IMMUNEIn a report last September, Fitch Ratings estimated that it would cost as much as $2.1 trillion to clean up China''s bad debt almost a fifth of annual Chinese economic output. By comparison, during the global financial crisis, the direct cost of rescuing U.S. banks was about eight percent of gross domestic product.Some economists and bankers say Beijing has the tools to avert a financial crisis. They argue that authorities have ample financial reserves to recapitalize the banks. And they say state ownership of lenders and of many large corporate borrowers means Beijing can head off a default or foreclosure that might spark a crisis.But the fact that China''s banking system has been shielded by the expectation of government bailouts means lenders haven''t developed the risk assessment tools needed to judge loan exposure as banks elsewhere have. It is this challenge of assessing the creditworthiness of borrowers that explains why physical collateral is so important for banks in China.The China Banking Regulatory Commission, which is tasked with regulating and safeguarding the sprawling banking sector, did not respond to questions from Reuters.Big foreign banks have not been immune to the risks of fraudulent collateral. In a high-profile case that came to light in June 2014, banking giants including HSBC ( HSBA.L ) ( 0005.HK ), Standard Chartered ( STAN.L ) ( 2888.HK ) and others were exposed to potential losses totaling several billion dollars on loans to Decheng Mining, a private metals trading company in Qingdao. The company faked warehouse receipts for the same batch of metal, using it as security for multiple loans.A spokesman for HSBC disputed the account, saying the bank had "no material exposure of this kind," without providing details. Standard Chartered declined to comment on the case and Decheng Mining could not be reached for comment.It''s not hard to dupe bankers and lawyers in a physical inspection of collateral. Warehouses often contain hundreds of piles of steel or copper, making it difficult for an untrained observer to identify the specific pile that is serving as security for a loan their bank has issued."One pile of iron ore looks exactly like every other pile of iron ore, so I may say it''s mine, but it could be anyone''s," says Kroll''s Violet Ho.TAKEN FOR MILLIONSThe value and quality of security in China''s real estate sector is a concern for bankers in China. Fitch Ratings has mentioned "wildly misleading" property valuations as one reason why high collateral coverage may not protect banks. Another is a sudden fall in property prices. According to Fitch''s Grace Wu, over 60 percent of financing in China uses property as collateral in some way.The lack of a consistent and open nationwide property registration system also increases the prevalence of fraudulent collateral."There is a complete lack of transparency of information," says Ho. The United States, she notes, has open property records that buyers can search to ascertain the true owner of a building. "You can''t do that in China. There is no easy way to verify the information, so you have to take people''s word for it."Bankers say borrowers often provide them with fake cash-flow statements, so property buyers can be more leveraged than they appear. The falsification of mortgage certificates is also a problem, they say.That''s how the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank''s investment arm, got taken for tens of millions of dollars by one of China''s richest men.The deception began in 2007, after the IFC lent the money to Hong Kong-listed Zhejiang Glass Co Ltd, then owned by Chinese tycoon Feng Guangcheng. Two years later, the IFC made an unpleasant discovery: In discussions with other banks it found that the collateral for the IFC loan had also been pledged to other lenders, according to a person with direct knowledge of the case.Anxious IFC officials hurriedly dispatched lawyers to the land and company registration authorities in Zhejiang Province, where they made another startling discovery: The stamps on the mortgage certificates for the land, properties and industrial machinery used to secure the loan were fake, people familiar with the case said.''DEAD PIGS AREN''T AFRAID''Concluding they''d been swindled, IFC officials traveled to the eastern city of Hangzhou in late 2009 to confront Zhejiang Glass''s chairman. Feng, who sat at the head of the table with a junior by his side, didn''t want to dwell on the loan, recalled one person who attended the meeting. He admitted right away that the documents were fake and quickly tried to move the discussion along."His attitude was, ''Dead pigs aren''t afraid of boiling water''," the person said, using a Chinese proverb to describe Feng''s attitude: Any attempt to punish him was futile because the loan was already lost.In 2010, a court ruled that Zhejiang Glass should repay the loan to the IFC. That never happened. In 2012, local media reported that Feng was convicted in a separate fraud case and was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison. The company was declared bankrupt the next year and delisted in Hong Kong. Ultimately, the IFC recovered only 2 percent of its loan, according to a person familiar with the case.In response to questions from Reuters, the IFC called the case an isolated incident related to the larger fraud perpetrated by Zhejiang Glass. Reuters was unable to contact Feng''s lawyers or representatives of Zhejiang Glass, which has been liquidated.Banks are not always unwitting or careless victims. Sometimes, their employees act as facilitators.In 2015, for instance, the former vice president of Agricultural Bank of China Ltd ( 601288.SS ), Yang Kun, was sentenced to life imprisonment for accepting bribes of more than 30 million yuan ($4.4 million) in connection with loans, among other things, according to local media reports. Reuters was unable to contact Yang for comment.In another case, heard in a Shanghai court in 2015, a 37-year-old man named Lou Zhenshen, who controlled a trading company, was convicted of bribing the president of a branch of CITIC Bank with 50,000 yuan (about $7,250) in cash and supermarket vouchers worth 10,000 yuan. According to court records, the judge said Lou had used fake warehouse receipts to apply for loans and had repeatedly used the same metal as collateral. Lou was also convicted of paying a 200,000 yuan bribe to a credit officer at China Minsheng Bank ( 600016.SS )."Kickbacks for loan approvals is routine," said Gary Tian, a professor at Macquarie University in Sydney who has researched corruption and bank lending in China.Agricultural Bank did not respond to questions from Reuters about the case involving Yang, and Reuters was unable to contact Lou or his lawyer about the cases involving Minsheng and CITIC. Minsheng didn''t respond to questions.CITIC Bank said that in the past two years it has focused on managing employee behavior, strengthening accountability and raising the cost for employees who violate rules.Still, more than three years since lawyer Wang Chaoyu took the phone call from the incensed CITIC banker about the missing collateral from Hanning Iron and Steel, the lender is still trying to get back some of its money. CITIC is now trying to sell several apartments that were put up as part of the security for the ill-fated loan.(Reporting by Engen Tham. Additional reporting by Michelle Price in Hong Kong, Elias Glenn in Beijing and Samuel Shen in Shanghai.)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/china-collateral-fake-idINKBN18R1OM'|'2017-05-31T20:40:00.000+03:00' +'de814cbd52ce0bea39aadfb16a52821810ec8bcd'|'RPT-Dealmakers aplenty, SoftBank''s Son looks for wonks'|'Funds News 9:00am EDT RPT-Dealmakers aplenty, SoftBank''s Son looks for wonks (Repeats with no changes to text) By Liana B. Baker and Greg Roumeliotis May 19 Deep Nishar spends more time roaming university hallways than he does corporate boardrooms. A former electrical engineer who helped develop Google''s mobile phone business and grow LinkedIn''s users from 30 million to half a billion, Nishar is exactly the sort of industry specialist that SoftBank Group Corp CEO Masayoshi Son wants for his new $100 billion technology investment vehicle. Son, Japan''s richest man, is expected to announce on Saturday the close of the first fundraising round for what will be the world''s biggest private equity fund. Its backers, including Saudi Arabia''s sovereign wealth fund and Apple Inc , expect technology investments that will match or beat the 44 percent internal rate of return that SoftBank says Son has delivered by investing in internet companies in the last 18 years. With pitfalls aplenty among the valuation-rich, profit-poor start-ups of Silicon Valley, Son is seeking to hire dealmakers who can spot the most commercially disruptive technologies, according to people close to him. As he builds up the Vision Fund, Son has hired a roster of investment bankers, including Alex Clavel, a longtime telecommunications banker at Morgan Stanley, and technology banker Ervin Tu of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Son is looking for industry wonks to complement those hires and find potentially game-changing investments in areas ranging from genomics and artificial intelligence to robots and the internet-of-things. The sources asked not to be identified ahead of the conclusion of the fundraising. Nishar, 47, is the most senior industry expert working for SoftBank, which he joined in 2015. He sits on SoftBank''s investment committee, which includes Son, SoftBank chief financial officer Alok Sama, SoftBank board director Ronald Fisher, and head of the Vision Fund, Rajeev Misra. SoftBank has yet to finalize the investment committee for the Vision Fund, which it will manage. Even when he was working at LinkedIn and Google, Nishar had an interest in investing. The Indian-born engineer spent five years tracking the business of pre-cancer detection startup Guardant Health. He visited researchers in universities and even showed up in doctors'' offices to see which tests they prescribed to detect cancer. When Guardant sought to raise money in 2016, Nishar had an inside track. He arranged a meeting between Guardant''s founders and Son at SoftBank''s San Carlos office near San Francisco. Last week, SoftBank said it would lead a $360 million fundraising round for Guardant, with Son praising it as a potential "Rosetta Stone" of cancer. Guardant co-founder and CEO Helmy Eltoukhy said Nishar''s business experience and technical expertise made him stand out from other investment professionals. "This kind of experience, from the engineering side as well as business side, is hard to come by," he said. FRONTIER TECHNOLOGIES Nishar has four people on his team, which focuses on so-called frontier technologies, such as computational biology. He is looking to double that by the end of the year, according to people familiar with the plans. SoftBank also wants experts in other sectors, including enterprise software, artificial intelligence, robotics, digital media and financial technology, according to the sources. Other sector specialists working for SoftBank include David Thevenon, a former Google executive who handles ride-sharing investments for SoftBank, such as Didi in China, Ola in India, and Grab in Southeast Asia, and Kabir Misra, an e-commerce specialist who is helping put together the merger of Flipkart and Snapdeal in India. Son is building his team as technology investing has become increasingly competitive. Google and other technology companies are looking to invest in the areas SoftBank is focusing on, as are private equity and venture capital funds. The dealmaking team SoftBank is building will also be pivotal for 59-year-old Son''s own legacy and eventual transition, after Nikesh Arora, a former Google executive he had named as his successor, resigned last year. A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, Son does not subscribe to the traditional Japanese business culture of pecking order and hierarchy, leaving plenty of scope for people in this team to pitch investment ideas to him. "Son is not terribly hierarchical. If you know something more than him on a particular topic, you will get air time, he will listen to you," said Raine Group LLC co-founder Jeff Sine, Son''s most trusted investment banking adviser, who has participated in most of his deals. Son is the only individual listed as "key man" for the Vision Fund, meaning that, no matter how many dealmakers he hires, he is responsible for all the investment decisions, and the fund could be dissolved in his absence. Many of the hirings happen through personal connections; Nishar, for example, was recruited by Arora, based on their ties going back to Google. With so much in-house dealmaking expertise, investment bankers who have been trying to cultivate Son''s lieutenants are fretting over whether they will be hired to work on any of the Vision Fund''s deals. People close to Son say he will meet with all major investment banks, such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase & Co , but will only hire them if they bring expertise he does not already have. "As an investment banker, you need deep expertise in the specific set of skills Son has hired you for to be useful, because his team is extremely smart," said Robey Warshaw LLP co-founder Simon Robey, an investment banker who helped SoftBank navigate British takeover rules to clinch a $32 billion deal to acquire chip designer ARM Holdings. (Reporting by Liana B. Baker in San Francisco and Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Carmel Crimmins and Dan Grebler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/softbank-visionfund-idUSL2N1IL0JI'|'2017-05-19T21:00:00.000+03:00' +'86b7e3daab4599f1c52d1de0dc35addc90ee630c'|'Palm oil: what do consumers know and do brands care? event - Guardian Sustainable Business'|' 15.09 BST Last modified on 15.55 BST From biscuits to lipstick to toothpaste, it is estimated that 50% of packaged items in our supermarkets contain palm oil. But, while the commodity might be ubiquitous, consumers are often unaware of it, far less of the impact its production can have on biodiversity and local communities . Join us for a seminar on 12 June 2017, 9.30am-12 noon (BST) , to explore the role of consumers in the palm oil debate and what impact brands can have on improving the commoditys sustainability. Well discuss This seminar will bring together an expert panel to explore the role consumers and brands can play in improving the sustainability of the palm oil industry. Topics for consideration will include: From rainforest to your cupboard: the real story of palm oil - interactive Read more How does consumer awareness of and behaviour towards the issues surrounding palm oil vary around the world? What impact does this have on driving corporate responsibility? How do consumers palm oil concerns fit into awareness of palm oil alternatives such as soybean and rapeseed oil? Why do consumers boycott palm oil and how else can they make their voices heard? How do companies engage with the concerns of consumers and how do they prioritise these alongside their own CSR initiatives? Can brands drive measurable improvements in the palm oil supply chain and is this ever as a result of consumer pressure? Our panel Chair Laura Paddison , editor, Guardian Sustainable Business Farwiza Farhan, chair, Yayasan HAkA, an Indonesian NGO working to protect Sumatras Leuser Ecosystem Jonathan Horrell , director of sustainability, Mondelez International Fiona Wheatley , sustainable development manager, Marks and Spencer More panellists to be confirmed Event information Monday 12 June 2017, 9.30am-12 noon (BST) The Guardian, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9GU To attend this seminar, please register your interest by filling in the below form. While this is a free event, please be aware that space is limited and priority will be given to individuals with relevant professional experience. Topics'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/may/11/palm-oil-what-do-consumers-know-and-do-brands-care-event'|'2017-05-11T23:09:00.000+03:00' +'019b943905b90b592c7e0dcac0f4feba247102be'|'Fosun, others eye Australia''s Origin Energy gas assets worth $1.5 billion: sources'|'By Sonali Paul and Anshuman Daga - MELBOURNE/SINGAPORE MELBOURNE/SINGAPORE Australia''s top energy retailer Origin has drawn interest from at least five potential bidders, including China''s Fosun International, for A$2.0 billion ($1.5 billion) worth of oil and gas assets it aims to spin off, sources said.Origin said in December it was going to put its smaller Australian and New Zealand gas fields in a unit, dubbed Lattice Energy, to be spun off in an initial public offering (IPO) this year to help it cut debt and boost returns.But after receiving approaches for some of the Lattice assets, Origin Chief Executive Frank Calabria said in March the company was willing to consider a trade sale, in what would be the biggest oil and gas deal in Australia since Apache Corp sold its Australian assets in 2015.Origin has opened Lattice''s books, with bids due in June, and is likely to decide whether to float the business or sell it after releasing full-year earnings in August, people familiar with the process said. It is being advised by UBS, Macquarie and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada and Citi value Lattice at A$2 billion and A$2.3 billion, respectively, including debt, on a discounted cash flow basis."Origin has set the bar quite high. It''ll be interesting to see if anyone gets there," said one banker not directly involved in the process, when asked if the business was likely to fetch more than A$1.5 billion.Australia''s Beach Energy is one of the interested parties and could be the bidder to beat, as it is the biggest of the producers in the fray, the sources said. Lattice, with annual output of around 13 million barrels of oil equivalent, would more than double Beach''s production.But even for Beach, with a market value of A$1.2 billion, Lattice would be a huge bite.Beach declined to comment on whether it was bidding, but the company has said in presentations it is reviewing several "inorganic growth" opportunities.Fosun International, which took over Roc Oil in Australia in 2014, is looking, the banker said.Private firm Questus Energy, run by former Roc Oil and Shell executives and backed by UK-based Intermediate Capital Group, is also in the running, a second banker said.Origin declined to comment beyond what it has announced. Fosun and Questus did not respond to requests for comment.Bankers expect private equity firms that have long eyed Australian oil and gas assets to team up with local producers to bid.Senex Energy is expected to work with its stakeholder, U.S. private equity firm EIG Global Energy Partners. KKR is seen lining up with AWE Ltd, two bankers said. All four firms declined to comment.Private equity fund Lone Star, which was rebuffed in a bid for AWE last year, declined to comment on whether it was looking at Lattice.All the sources did not want to be named as the process is confidential.Private firm Pathfinder Energy, which some assumed would be in the race, told Reuters it is not bidding.While Origin has said it would prefer an IPO, some analysts say a trade sale would be less risky."There is a real cost to having exposure to equity markets and the variability of the market," said RBC analyst Ben Wilson.($1 = 1.3452 Australian dollars)(Reporting by Sonali Paul and Anshuman Daga; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-origin-energy-sale-idINKBN18M0O7'|'2017-05-26T05:47:00.000+03:00' +'9a525609c110e801cfae5d3e02190ddb3eeac7fb'|'SoftBank''s OneWeb merger with Intelsat teeters: sources'|'By Jessica DiNapoli SoftBank''s ( 9984.T ) bid to merge its satellite technology startup with Intelsat SA ( I.N ) teetered on Wednesday, as some Intelsat creditors held up the deal and a few made a last-minute offer to rescue it, people familiar with the matter said.The merger is contingent upon an offer to Intelsat creditors to accept a $3.6 billion haircut on their bonds, which is set to expire on Thursday. Enough bondholders oppose the size of the haircut to block the deal, the sources said.Late on Wednesday, a handful of Intelsat bondholders who were previously resisting the deal were putting together a counter proposal that would see them accept a haircut on their holdings, albeit smaller that what Intelsat and OneWeb had proposed, according to one of the sources.It is unclear if this effort will salvage the deal. OneWeb and Intelsat will announce on Thursday if they are willing to extend their offer to Intelsat creditors any further or amend it, the sources said. OneWeb could decide to walk away from the deal and pursue another acquisition target, the sources added.The sources asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential. SoftBank and OneWeb declined to comment, while Intelsat did not respond to requests for comment.Luxembourg-based satellite operator Intelsat faces a deadline of May 29 to get its bondholders to trim some of the value of its $15 billion pile, under the terms of its original agreement with OneWeb in February.Intelsat would have to launch an improved swap to its debt investors by next week to meet this deadline. It has already agreed to extend the offer to the creditors once before. The offer was previously due to expire April 20.To be successful in consummating a deal with OneWeb, the company needs holders of at least 85 percent of the total face value of each series of Intelsat bonds to participate in the exchanges.As part of the current deal, SoftBank will buy voting and non-voting shares in the combined company for $1.7 billion in cash and take a 39.9 percent voting stake. Shares that the Japanese conglomerate will buy in the combined company will be purchased for $5 per share.OneWeb is among a handful of startups planning to build, launch and operate thousands of small satellites to provide internet access worldwide.A merger of OneWeb and Intelsat, a satellite pioneer which broadcast Neil Armstrong''s moon walk, could create a combined network of hundreds or even thousands of satellites in high and low altitudes around Earth.(Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in New York; Editing by Miral Fahmy)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-intelsat-m-a-oneweb-idINKBN1870DF'|'2017-05-11T02:33:00.000+03:00' +'c00d48a668bcb383db2467cebb6ebb0e30b49018'|'Picture perfect: how to make an art of your investments - Money'|'T his is the time of year when budding artists around the country are busy putting the finishing touches to their final degree showpieces, the fruits of their past few years of artistic labour. Starting today, Slade School of Fine Art in London and Falmouth University in Cornwall are among the art colleges running the first of about 100 graduation shows in coming months, presenting the latest hot art produced by students.The annual BA and MA shows are a great place to pick up a piece of original artwork that you can enjoy looking at, but which could also turn out to be a savvy financial investment. You are also supporting promising young artists for whom it is incredibly important to make their first sale as they leave college and step out into the real world.It has never been easier to buy art. Over the past two decades a host of online sites selling contemporary art have sprung up from small, online-only galleries to big auction houses such as Sothebys and Christies. An original piece can be snapped up for as little as 45, says Jane Eccles, who works as a programme manager for a utilities company and has amassed a personal collection of 59 pieces over the past three years.I work long hours and commute, and its really nice to get home and to be surrounded by beautiful works of art, she says. I enjoy researching artists, and its nice to support emerging artists. Her taste has evolved over time, and she now buys pieces that challenge me. She stresses that she buys for pleasure rather than monetary gain and has not sold any of them although some of the work has gone up significantly in value.Those by painter Peter Kettle , recently voted in as a fellow for the Royal Society of Arts, has nearly tripled in value in the past four years. The piece Brecon Beacons 1 which Eccles bought in 2015 for 450 is now worth 1,200.Start with a small piece that you fall in love with. Follow your instinctAnother artist she has bought from is the Polish Bartosz Beda , who has been short-listed for several prizes and was selected for the 2012 Catlin Art Guide as the most promising emerging artist in the UK. His work ranges from painting to installation and animation. Paintings that sold for 500 in 2011 are now valued at around 3,500.Eccles also likes Orlanda Broom , whose smaller, lush paintings were priced at 200-300 at her Winchester degree show in 1997 and are now worth about 7,800. Other favourites are London artist Julia Blackshaw who exclusively portrays the female form, and Slade postgraduate Lindsay Mapes who has done a series of paintings on transparent silk and has been selected as one of 12 artists worldwide for a US documentary called Looking for Picasso.Eccless advice to would-be art buyers is: Start with a small piece that you fall in love with. Follow your instinct. If you buy from an online gallery you can always return the work.Sarah Ryan, a former art teacher who set up New Blood Art in 2004 to represent emerging artists in the UK, advises buyers to look for some sort of coherence, some kind of unique voice or recognisable style. She adds that artists who produce work thats a bit jarring or uncomfortable to look at are those that go on to be something special.Ryan will spend the summer on the road, scouting for new talent at degree shows from Aberdeen to Aberystwyth, and has carved out a niche selling graduate art, with prices ranging anywhere from 175 up to 10,000. Delivery fees are capped at 5% of the value of the work which can be bought through interest-free loans, and returned within the first 14 days although this doesnt happen very often, she says.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Withdrawn, by Julia Blackshaw, is one of the works Jane Eccles has bought. Photograph: David Sillitoe for the Guardian When I started there werent really any online galleries, she recalls. I would go to degree shows and think gosh why arent people buying this?.But it has become a fiercely competitive market the advent of bigger online galleries such as Saatchi Art in 2011-12 meant that Ryan had to scale back her venture, which at one stage employed two people, to once again be a one-woman business.When visiting a degree show Ryan recommends talking to art tutors (make an appointment in advance) and suggests having a coffee with the artists themselves to try and gauge their long-term commitment.The best work sells quickly, so turn up early. Charles Saatchi, the advertising magnate and art collector, sometimes arrives at shows before all the artwork is installed and rival dealers get there (he is famed for buying up entire graduation shows).Investment experts say modern art is an effective hedge against inflation returns tend to be better at times when prices in the economy are rising, which is the case now. When selling, anything under 6,000 is exempt from capital gains tax and further tax relief applies up to 15,000.But unlike shares, bonds or property it does not produce an income and is not a very liquid asset you need to be prepared to hold it for several years and may not be able to sell when you want.Art investments are also unregulated, so you cant fall back on the Financial Services Compensation Scheme if something goes wrong. Bear in mind too that there could be insurance and storage costs.The shows to see BA art degree shows top recommendations Falmouth: 20-24 MayDundee: 20-28 MayEdinburgh: 3-11 JuneGlasgow: 10-17 JuneWimbledon: 15-24 JuneLoughborough: 16-20 JuneChelsea: 16-24 JuneAberdeen: 17-24 JuneCity & Guilds, London: 28 June-2 JulyRising stars Sarah Ryan of New Blood Art tips two artists who are graduating from their MAs this year. Michaela Hollyfield from Aberystwyth University and Myka Baum from the Royal College of Art.Hollyfield paints ambiguous, semi-abstract landscapes rich in colour, and her pieces are priced at around 275-plus.Baum, meanwhile, uses photography and printmaking and was selected for Bloomberg New Contemporaries in 2009, where the judges also included Wolfgang Tillmans. He said about her Lunar Mare series: Its a specific vision its definitely something I have never seen before and it is an achievement.Other artists to watch are Nicola Wiltshire and Steven Burden . Wiltshire, whose paintings sell for around 175-750, makes her own paint using contemporary materials such as ground aluminium, and paints on fabric.Burden, who went to Goldsmiths, University of London, and Bath Spa University and has won the Black Swan Arts Open Prize, grew up on the Pepys Estate in Deptford, south London, and says his paintings are informed by the out-of-scale fortresses of the urban jungle. They sell for between 800 and 6,000.Where and how to buy ARTOVERT is a cheap platform for artists to sell their work commission applied to sales is only 2%, the lowest in the commercial art world, compared with 40% at New Blood Art. Artists create their own pages.Good materials such as quality paints and properly stretched canvases are important, as is the artists coherent, recognisable style and long-term commitment to their work you dont want to buy from someone who quits painting soon after. Look out for expert endorsements such as prizes or scholarships. Artists with an MA are a safer bet than BAs, but their work tends to be more expensive because they usually have several years more experience. Check out the top picks section of online galleries.Topics Alternative investments Investments Art features '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/may/20/how-to-invest-in-art-degree-shows'|'2017-05-20T15:00:00.000+03:00' +'ce6a261b24d7ed2e454e15c3482d3234efac6b0f'|'Serious Fraud Office warns of 120m pension scam - Money'|'Fears are growing that large numbers of people may have lost huge sums of money after investing their retirement pots in of all things self-storage units. The Serious Fraud Office this week launched an investigation into storage unit investment schemes, and revealed that more than 120m has been poured into them. But could that just be the tip of the iceberg?One man was persuaded to transfer almost 370,000 out of his workplace pension and put it all into one such scheme supposedly offering an 8%-12% return. The Pensions Ombudsman, which looked at his case, said the blameless man had switched out of the secure and generous NHS pension scheme and may have lost all his money as a result. Others were lured in with claims that they could more than double their money in just six years.Many of us have used a self-storage facility at some point perhaps to temporarily stash our belongings when moving home. But what most people probably dont realise is that these units (also known as storage pods) have been touted as a wonder investment with double-digit returns. Many people appear to have lost some, or all, of their retirement savings after falling for the spiel of firms flogging dodgy schemes.The SFO says it is probing several, including Capita Oak Pension and Henley Retirement Benefit, plus some schemes that invested in other products. It adds that more than 1,000 individual investors are thought to be affected by the alleged fraud, though it presumably thinks the number could be higher as it is asking people who have paid into these schemes between 2011 and 2017 to complete a questionnaire available on its website.One brochure, issued by a property investment company, boasted of a 14% average annual yieldKate Smith, head of pensions at insurer Aegon, says the SFO probe is a timely reminder that unregulated unusual investments at home or abroad come with a high risk that people could lose all their hard-earned pension and other savings. She adds that it is possible that thousands more people may find they have lost money, too.Pension liberation scams where people are persuaded to transfer or cash in their pension pots and put the money into often exotic-sounding investments have been around for years, but there has been a surge in activity since April 2015 when the government introduced reforms giving over-55s more freedom in terms of what they can do with their retirement cash.Storage units on UK industrial estates might not have the exotic allure of hotel rooms in the Caribbean and palm oil plantations in Asia, but perhaps that was their selling point. Marketing tended to highlight how this was a profitable and growing industry.One glossy brochure seen by Guardian Money offered the chance to buy individual units from 3,750-30,000 said to be located in the north-west of England. The investor would buy the unit on a long-term lease from Store First Limited, and then sublet it to a management company which would subsequently rent it out.The brochure, issued by a property investment company, boasted of a 14% average annual yield and claimed that when capital growth and income were combined, the forecast net return over six years for someone investing 11,250 would be 12,180, or over 108% equating to a total return of 23,430.In December 2014, the Pensions Ombudsman published its decision in the case of Mr X who was persuaded to transfer his entire future pension 367,601 from the NHS Scotland scheme into Capita Oak. The ruling stated that Mr X was told his money would be invested in Storefirst Limited (sic), a large self-storage firm in the north of England. It was offering a 8%-12% return and therefore it seemed a good investment. He later discovered that he couldnt get his money out.The ombudsman said Mr X may well have been duped out of his entire pension, and it is not known whether he ever recovered any of his money.In April 2015 the ombudsman published two decisions relating to a man called Joseph Winning , who transferred 52,401 in pension cash from Scottish Widows and Legal & General to Capita Oak. Winnings money had apparently been invested in Store First storage pods, the rulings said.Things dont look good for Mr X or Winning (and doubtless others) because the two companies that acted as trustees to Capita Oak and Henley Retirement were wound up by the high court in July 2015. This was after an official investigation found that they were involved in a venture where people were cold called and persuaded to transfer their pensions on the basis of misrepresentations made concerning returns. The investigation found that the only investments offered to the public were storage pods marketed for sale by Store First, which paid commissions of up to 46% to another company which was part of the overall scheme.Its all been quite frustrating for the Self Storage Association UK, which describes itself as the main trade body for the industry. Its boss Rennie Schafer says investment companies have been aggressively marketing these unregulated schemes to small investors who are less informed of their perils, adding: The idea of breaking it up into little pieces and selling it off is not how self-storage works.Store First, based near Burnley, told us: The SFO investigation is not against Store First or its product of storage pods, but against the schemes named Store First is in no way connected with the running of any pension scheme being investigated by the SFO or, indeed, any scheme. In addition, Store First does not carry out any direct sales activity, and all sales are made by third party intermediaries.The company added it had no connection whatsoever with any financial advice these schemes receive or give, or to their ongoing administration.Topics Scams Investments Pensions Investing Consumer affairs '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/may/27/pensions-scam-self-storage-serious-fraud-office-warning'|'2017-05-27T15:00:00.000+03:00' +'0738ab52a69fd6a0ec61131d4310ffbd36f1084c'|'Tim Cook: Apple creating $1B fund to bring manufacturing jobs to the U.S. - May. 3, 2017'|'Apple''s renewed focus on U.S. jobs Apple CEO Tim Cook said Apple is putting $1 billion into a fund aimed at bringing advanced manufacturing jobs to the United States. Speaking on C NBC''s Mad Money on Wednesday, Cook boasted that Apple has already created two million jobs in America and said the company has plans to hire "thousands more employees in the future." But Apple ( AAPL , Tech30 ) is searching for ways to do more, Cook said. He called the $1 billion an "initial" donation to the fund and said he''s already spoken with one company that he plans to invest in. Apple declined to provide any additional details but Cook said it would announce more about the fund later this month. Related: Should Apple buy Disney? Tesla? The Raiders? "By doing that we can be the ripple in the pond," Cook said. "If we can create many manufacturing jobs, those manufacturing jobs create more jobs around them because you have a service industry that builds up around them." Cook also said Apple plans to put money into programs that will train "the next generation" of app developers, and he plans to announce more about that this summer. "You can see, we''re really looking at this thing deeply. How do we grow our employee base? How do we grow our developer base? And how do we grow manufacturing?" Cook said. "And you will see us bring things to market in all of those areas across this year." CNNMoney (New York) First published May 3, 2017: 7:25 PM ET'|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_news_economy.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/03/technology/apple-tim-cook-advanced-manufacturing/index.html'|'2017-05-04T03:32:00.000+03:00' +'c447273c3a9be74d69f9470206b37b7eb5ed99f9'|'Trump turmoil could lead investors to reassess risk appetite'|'Business News 3:34pm BST Trump turmoil could lead investors to reassess risk appetite U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the United States Coast Guard Academy Commencement Ceremony in New London, Connecticut U.S., May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque By Jamie McGeever - LONDON LONDON The turmoil in Washington surrounding Donald Trump''s presidency is rattling world markets, and the burst of volatility could force investors into a strategic or tactical rethink of how much risk they are happy to face. Increasingly damaging revelations about the Trump administration''s and election team''s dealings with Russia triggered the biggest fall on Wall Street on Wednesday since last September and a stock market slump around the world. After months of major stock markets posting record highs and historically low volatility across a range of asset classes, a reversal was always on the cards. Now that it has come, the question is whether it ends up being a one-off or marks the start of a prolonged reversal which sees investors cut back on risk and adopt more defensive positions. A broad U-turn would likely require one or a mix of the following scenarios: impeachment proceedings against Trump get underway, his growth-boosting legislative reform agenda is delayed, the U.S. economy begins to contract. None of them are mutually exclusive, and it remains to be seen if events play out that way to any degree. But the "Trump trade" that lifted stocks, the dollar and bond yields appears to have evaporated. The dollar, two- to 10-year Treasury yield curve and yields on 10-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) are all back where they were before Trump was elected in November. After months of relative plain sailing, investors are now bracing for stormier weather. "We have to be cognizant of volatility. It''s a question of keeping risk levels appropriate, and that''s something we were doing anyway. Our portfolios were well-positioned," said James Athey, portfolio manager at Aberdeen Asset Management in London. "Do we dial back further? That''s the conversation we''ll be having over the next day or two," he said, noting that he had cut back on "short" positions in safe-haven fixed income assets and the Japanese yen in recent weeks. Aberdeen has $480 billion (368.8 billion) of assets under management. SURPRISE, SURPRISE The VIX index .VIX of implied volatility on the S&P 500 .SPX was jolted from its slumber on Wednesday and chalked up its seventh-biggest rise in percentage terms since its launch in 1990. This followed news that Trump had asked then-FBI Director James Comey to close an investigation into ties between former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn and Russia. Joost van Leenders, strategist and portfolio manager, multi asset solutions at BNP Paribas Investment Partners, which oversees 580 billion (495.3 billion) euros of assets, said he and his colleagues are discussing U.S. political risk on a daily basis. "We were cautiously positioned to start with, so for now we don''t have to change our position, but I do not rule out future changes," he said. Some, like Tom Wu, chief investment officer, Global Investments, Yuanta Securities Investment Trust, Taiwan''s second-largest fund manager, aren''t holding back. "An impeachment might happen, or it might not. Any uncertainty, including this uncertainty, is something that investors don''t care for. So we''ll be unloading all of our holdings in U.S. stocks this month," he said. Few investors will follow that example, but many reckon U.S. markets are expensive. The U.S. economy is already into its third-longest expansion ever, and a recent fall in the U.S. economic surprises index suggests it is running out of steam. The gap between the U.S. and European surprises indexes is the widest in two years, U.S. corporate earnings growth is double-digit but still lagging the euro zone, and the political turmoil that was supposed to beset Europe this year is concentrated in the United States. "There is no recession in the pipeline, but the U.S. economy could slow next year," said Didier Borowski, head of macroeconomic research at Amundi, Europe''s largest asset manager with 1.27 trillion euros of assets. "So part of the correction is welcome because from a valuation standpoint, the U.S. equity market was in bubble territory," he said. CASHING IN As stocks slide, safe-haven assets like bonds that had been shunned in the months following Trump''s election win in November are back in demand. The spread between two- and 10-year Treasury yields US10US2=TWEB is its smallest since before the presidential election. This so-called yield curve flattening suggests investors are losing faith in the economy''s ability to withstand higher interest rates. Money markets have slashed the probability of the Federal Reserve raising rates next month to less than 60 percent from over 90 percent last week. John Taylor, portfolio manager at Alliance Bernstein, which has $498 billion of assets under management, said the political, economic and market volatility is keeping them on the defensive. "Our cash position is quite large 10 percent vs below 5 percent historically ... and we will stick to assets with strong fundamentals, such as bank bonds and local currency emerging market debt," Taylor said. (Reporting by Jamie McGeever; Additional reporting by Abhinav Ramnarayan in London and Faith Hung in Taiwan; Editing by Hugh Lawson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets-trump-analysis-idUKKCN18E22C'|'2017-05-18T22:34:00.000+03:00' +'c7ed110051869c765ac544a293ff39200d0cc004'|'Absent from America, French cars drive into Iran election'|'Autos - Tue May 16, 2017 - 1:10pm EDT Absent from America, French cars drive into Iran election left right Iran''s President Hassan Rouhani attends a ceremony marking the beginning of production of new Iran Khodro products, Dena+ and Peugeot 2008, in Tehran, Iran, May 2, 2017. Picture taken May 2, 2017. President.ir/Handout via REUTERS 1/4 left right Iran''s President Hassan Rouhani checks a car during a ceremony marking the beginning of production of new Iran Khodro products, Dena+ and Peugeot 2008, in Tehran, Iran, May 2, 2017. Picture taken May 2, 2017. President.ir/Handout via REUTERS 2/4 left right Iran''s President Hassan Rouhani looks at a car during a ceremony marking the beginning of production of new Iran Khodro products, Dena+ and Peugeot 2008, in Tehran, Iran, May 2, 2017. Picture taken May 2, 2017. President.ir/Handout via REUTERS 3/4 left right Iran''s President Hassan Rouhani looks at a car during a ceremony marking the beginning of production of new Iran Khodro products, Dena+ and Peugeot 2008, in Tehran, Iran, May 2, 2017. Picture taken May 2, 2017. President.ir/Handout via REUTERS 4/4 By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin , Laurence Frost and Edward Taylor - LONDON/PARIS/FRANKFURT LONDON/PARIS/FRANKFURT French carmakers PSA ( PEUP.PA ) and Renault ( RENA.PA ) are turning their U.S. absence into an Iranian advantage by piling into a resurgent market still off-limits to foreign rivals fearful of sanctions under Donald Trump''s administration. The French investment has been seized upon by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who is seeking re-election this week, as evidence that his pursuit of a nuclear detente and attempts to attract foreign money will pay off for the economy. PSA - the maker of Peugeots and Citroens - and Renault have pushed hard into Iran since its 2015 deal with world powers that saw international sanctions lifted in return for curbs on Tehran''s nuclear activities. PSA has signed production deals worth 700 million euros ($768 million), while Renault has announced a new plant investment to increase its production capacity to 350,000 vehicles a year. The French companies, unlike their German, American and Japanese competitors, do not have manufacturing or sales operations in the United States. This makes them less vulnerable to penalties for any violation of U.S. sanctions still in force which ban financial transactions with Iran. The prospect of a hardened U.S. stance under President Trump - a consistent critic of the nuclear deal - has deepened the caution of carmakers with large American exposures. Germany''s Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) and BMW ( BMWG.DE ) are among those that have put Iranian ambitions on hold, industry sources told Reuters. "We''re well aware of the market potential in Iran but we can''t afford to take any risks," said a source close to VW. The company declined to comment on specific investment discussions. PSA and Renault declined to comment on their Iranian operations in detail. Earlier this year, PSA''s Middle East chief Jean-Christophe Quemard acknowledged that the renewed U.S. pressure under Trump was helping his company stay ahead of foreign rivals who were holding back. "This is our opportunity to accelerate," Quemard said. "We''ve opened up a lead and we plan to hold on to it." Early movers to establish Iranian operations could win big in a market deprived for years of affordable state-of-the-art vehicles and where sizeable import duties hand a major advantage to locally built cars. Iranian car sales jumped 50 percent in the first quarter of 2017, according to data provider IHS Automotive, with models from Peugeot, Renault and Iran''s SAIPA showing solid gains. Tehran car salesman Mehdi Monfared, whose dealership mostly sells domestic manufacturer Iran Khodro''s namesake brand, said he had witnessed an "explosion" in demand in recent months. "People are being less careful with their money and are spending their savings on cars," he told Reuters by telephone. "And the banks are lending." PRESIDENTIAL PEUGEOT Rouhani pushed the French investment to the forefront of his election campaign when he attended a ceremony this month to mark the production launch of the Peugeot 2008, the first product of post-sanctions manufacturing deals with foreign carmakers. "When we signed the nuclear deal, critics said it was just a piece of paper that would never be implemented," the president, whose main challenger is a hardline cleric opposed to opening up Iranian markets, said in an Instagram post picturing him behind the wheel of the mini-SUV at the event in Tehran. "But now we can see that auto industry sanctions have been lifted, joint venture agreements concluded and a new car is being built." PSA and Renault have moved swiftly to sign new production deals to upgrade their pre-sanctions partnerships with Iran Khodro and SAIPA. PSA plans to add more Peugeot and Citroen models in coming months, while Renault has introduced its Sandero compact alongside the Tondar sedan. By contrast VW, which had been considering a production tie-up with Iran''s Mammut Khodro, has put the talks on the backburner because of the uncertainty, according to the source close to the group. "Any company operating in Iran or planning to enter the market needs to ask itself what could happen if there is a fundamental change of course by the U.S.," the person said. BMW has also studied production, import and distribution opportunities in Iran but concluded that the time was not right, according to a source familiar with the matter. "Once we see General Motors and Ford set up shop our plans may be revived, but not before," the person said. A BMW spokesman said the company''s future entry into Iran "will depend on political and economic developments", adding: "There are currently no concrete plans." Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ) had announced undated plans for Iranian heavy truck production before Trump''s November election victory, but now plays them down. "There is hardly any economic growth in Iran, so demand for commercial vehicles is generally low," the company said. U.S. carmakers withdrew before the 1979 Iranian revolution as ties between the countries broke down. Japanese manufacturers such as Toyota ( 7203.T ) have not signaled any Iranian investment plans since the nuclear deal. PRODUCTION REBOUND Nuclear-related sanctions were lifted after the 2015 agreement, but Washington has maintained its own pre-existing ban on financial transactions with Iran, making it harder for companies with a large U.S. presence to do business with Tehran. The Trump administration has also ordered a review of sanctions relief granted under the nuclear deal, despite acknowledging Tehran''s compliance. But the U.S. pressure has not halted a steady recovery in car production in Iran, from 796,000 cars in 2013 to 1.23 million last year. IHS expects output to keep climbing to 1.34 million cars this year and 1.49 million in 2018, nearing the 1.65 million peak recorded in 2011. "Locally built vehicles are the bestsellers by some margin," said IHS analyst Michel Jacinto, an Iran specialist. South Korea''s Hyundai ( 005380.KS ) is building its Accent compact, to be followed by the i20 mini, as Chinese brands including Chery move to defend the small but growing footholds they gained while sanctions kept their European rivals out. Affordability may be an issue for some new models. The Peugeot 2008 is expected to be priced at around $24,000 when it arrives in showrooms - more than three times the average annual urban household income in Iran. Until such market realities are tested, however, the new products are being greeted with optimism. "The 2008 launch is the result of Rouhani''s policy since the signing of the nuclear deal, so it was symbolic," PSA''s Quemard told Reuters last week. Project lead times of two years or more mean the 2008 is the international agreement''s first tangible result, Quemard said. "So it''s a good example - and it''s being used as such." (Additional reporting by Andreas Cremer in Berlin and Gilles Guillaume in Paris; Writing by Laurence Frost; Editing by Pravin Char)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-election-autos-idUSKCN18C0EJ'|'2017-05-16T14:05:00.000+03:00' +'19cb2b964946241c3e78e69b9db19e2e6d3abf87'|'French vote calls time on ''populist meltdown'' trade'|'By Patrick Graham - LONDON LONDON In December, one of the trades of 2017 for the big financial investors who play on global political and economic risk was the spread of populism in Europe and the threat that might pose to the future of the euro.Six months and two elections on, and with only a relatively traditional policy fight in prospect for Germany''s vote in September, the risks have receded.Emmanuel Macrons victory on Sunday night follows defeat for Geert Wilders'' Party for Freedom in the Netherlands and heads off Marine Le Pens promises to pull Paris out of the euro and potentially the European Union.Looking threatened six weeks ago by Martin Schulzs reboot of Germanys Social Democrats (SPD), Angela Merkel is again 6-8 points ahead in the polls and, after a regional win on Sunday, perhaps worrying chiefly about the shape of her next coalition.Even if he recovers, major global investors say the worst they expect of a Schulz-led government is it might borrow and spend more - as many mainstream economists and its international partners have been saying Berlin should for a decade.Support for the anti-euro Alternative for Germany has faded to just 5 percent of the vote."For this year for sure it is the end of political risk for Europe," said Timothy Graf, head of European macro strategy with State Street Global Investors in London."The risk for the rest of the year, if anything, is not euro downside, it is euro upside."According to Citi''s equity strategy team, Europe''s political risk premium made up half of the overall equity risk premium of 6 percent earlier this year.But the Dutch and French elections have changed that, and Macron''s win will release the "political handbrake" which has had a major impact on investor, corporate and policymaker behavior."We expect lower political risk to show in a lower PRP and ERP. A significant ''risk off'' surge has been avoided," they wrote in a note to clients on Monday, reiterating conviction in their MEGA trade - "Making Europe Great Again".The details of Monday''s reaction on global financial markets suggest many came to this conclusion weeks ago and are moving back to other concerns - about China, global commodities or the shape of U.S. and European monetary policy for the next year.The euro hit a roughly six-month high when Macron beat Le Pen and another anti-euro candidate, Jean-Luc Melenchon, in the first round last month. By the time European traders got to their desks on Monday any new boost had largely dissipated.European stock markets also looked firmly in profit-taking mood, down around half a percent after a year which has seen them gain more than a fifth in value."This marks an important shift in the narrative around European politics: not all popular discontent in Europe can be channeled as anti-EU or purely nationalistic," said Steven Andrew, macro fund manager at M&G Investments."Euro Area equities, currently attractively priced, could deliver substantial investment returns in the period ahead."MERKEL''S RIVAL DISAPPOINTEDPresident of the European Parliament until January, Schulz''s decision in January to return to domestic politics forced global investors to face the risk of the removal this year of Merkel - a key political constant through years of euro zone turbulence.A decisive victory in Germany''s northern state of Schleswig-Holstein on Sunday, however, boosted Merkel''s prospects of winning the national election in September and left Schulz admitting bluntly he was "disappointed".It follows another win for Merkel in the western state of Saarland. In both she has increased her share of the vote while that for the SPD has fallen.A third regional vote, in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) next Sunday, offers Merkel''s conservatives a chance to defeat the incumbent SPD again and build momentum in her bid to win a fourth term in office."These state elections will have a signal effect on what will happen," said Martin Lueck, Chief Investment Strategist for Germany with giant global asset manager Blackrock.5-STARItaly has been a perennial pressure-point for Europe through almost a decade of crisis - yet one that has never quite come to a head.Recent opinion polls give a clear and growing lead to the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, which wants to hold a referendum on Italy''s continued membership of the euro zone if it wins elections due early next year."I am nervous about Italy already because of the way 5-Star are polling," said Roger Hallam, Chief Investment Officer for currencies with JP Morgan Asset Management in London."It is one of the things which stopped us from forecasting the euro materially higher this year. However, you would say that elections are unlikely to be held this year, so there are maybe nine months before we need to worry about it." Helen Reid and Jamie McGeever in London; editing by Andrew Roche)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-europe-election-markets-analysis-idINKBN184196'|'2017-05-08T09:39:00.000+03:00' +'92b695addb0e0245661baaeea55947c9b8dc7155'|'MOVES-JP Morgan Asset Management names new client advisor for EMEA sales team'|'May 8 J.P. Morgan Asset Management, a unit of JP Morgan Chase & Co, appointed Tatyana Dachyshyn as an executive director and client advisor on the global liquidity EMEA sales team, effective immediately.Based in London, Dachyshyn will report to Jim Fuell, head of global liquidity sales, international, at J.P. Morgan Asset Management.Dachyshyn will be responsible for business development in Germany and Austria, the firm said.She was most recently director in global client development in securities finance at Commerzbank London. (Reporting by Divya Grover in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/jpmorganasset-moves-tatyana-dachyshyn-idUSL4N1IA3K7'|'2017-05-08T18:01:00.000+03:00' +'dbbf77ee441805f77f2ec455a456bb336d96e81b'|'China''s April trade growth slows as commodities, electronics demand cools'|'Business News - Mon May 8, 2017 - 8:04am BST China''s April trade growth slows as commodities, electronics demand cools left right FILE PHOTO: Trucks drive inside an iron ore dump site at the Huanggang Terminal of Qingdao Port, in Qingdao, Shandong province June 7, 2014. REUTERS/Fayen Wong/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: A woman walks past containers at a port in Shanghai January 13, 2009. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo 2/2 By Elias Glenn - Beijing Beijing China''s import growth slowed faster than expected in April, as inbound shipments of commodities such as iron ore and copper weakened, while export growth more than halved, in line with a general cooling in demand for electronic gadgets. China''s April imports rose 11.9 percent, cooling from March''s 20.3 percent rise, official data showed on Monday, and missing analysts'' expectations for an 18 percent rise. Exports rose 8.0 percent from a year earlier, slowing from a 16.4 percent rise in the previous month and short of expectations of 10.4 percent. While the data shows trade remained robust at the beginning of the second quarter, analysts say the spurt in China''s economic growth seen in the first three months of the year may be as good as it gets as policymakers seek to tighten speculative investment, especially in the property sector. "Looking ahead, we expect export growth to hold up well given the relatively bright outlook for the global economy this year," Capital Economics China economist Julian Evans-Pritchard said in a note. "Growth in inbound shipments will continue to face headwinds, however. In particular, policy tightening will further weigh on domestic demand in coming quarters." April''s numbers left the country with a trade surplus of $38.05 billion, (29 billion) which compared with forecasts for $35.50 billion, and above $23.93 billion in March. The April trade figures are preliminary, with revised data due on May 23. China''s imports of crude oil, iron ore and copper all fell by volume compared with March, with the data in line with a recent survey of purchasing managers in the manufacturing sector showing April expansion was the slowest in six months. Despite the slowdown, imports year-to-date are still up 20.8 percent by value, compared with 8.1 percent growth for exports over the first four months, though analysts say imports could slow further this year. While China''s economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter, policymakers have moved to reduce financial risks in the economy and stamp out speculative activity in the property market. Commodity imports have also been hit by falling prices, with iron ore and steel hitting multi-month lows on China''s future markets in April amid concern over rising inventories. China''s producer price inflation slowed in March for the first time in seven months, with price gains expected to continue to cool. Exports of electronics and machinery products increased 2 percent year-on-year in April, customs data showed, slowing from 12.3 percent growth in March. FRICTION China''s surplus with the United States widened in April, meaning pressure from the U.S. for action on the trade imbalance is not likely to go away anytime soon. The surplus with the U.S. was $21.34 billion in April, up from $17.74 billion in March and higher than the year-ago period, according to data from China''s customs bureau. Exports to the United States, China''s largest export market, rose 11.7 percent in April from a year earlier while imports from the U.S. rose 1.5 percent. China''s large trade surplus with the United States has drawn criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump. While the U.S. Treasury Department did not label China a currency manipulator in its most recent report on currency manipulation, the Trump administration has sought other fronts in which to tackle its large trade deficit with Beijing. Last month, Trump launched a trade probe against China and other exporters of cheap steel into the U.S. market. And the U.S. Commerce Department said last Tuesday it would open investigations into possible dumping and subsidisation of imports of tool chests and cabinets from China and Vietnam. As Trump moves to put America''s interest first and pull out of multilateral trade agreements, China has positioned itself as a supporter of free trade. Finance leaders of Japan, China and South Korea last week agreed to resist all forms of protectionism in a trilateral meeting, taking a stronger stand than major G20 economies against the protectionist policies advocated by Trump. While trade friction between China and some key trading partners remains, an overall improvement in global growth means shipments from the world''s largest exporter will likely remain strong this year. China''s imports and exports are expected to stabilise and improve in the near future, the Ministry of Commerce said last week in its quarterly report on trends in the country''s foreign trade. Foreign trade is expected to face a better environment in 2017 compared with the past two years, the commerce ministry report said. (Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk and Elias Glenn; Editing by Sam Holmes)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-trade-idUKKBN1840CR'|'2017-05-08T15:04:00.000+03:00' +'15d2e32d634805640eb1dd93229c6a62410413d2'|'CEE MARKETS-Hungarian bonds jump as central bank announces swaps'|'* Hungarian central bank IRS announcement lifts bond prices * Currencies, stocks mostly rebound after retreat from highs * Bucharest stocks hit highest level since early 2008 (Recasts with Hungarian government bonds, forint and zloty surge) By Sandor Peto and Robert Muller BUDAPEST/PRAGUE, May 24 Hungarian government bonds strengthened on Wednesday after the central bank said that it would offer interest rate swaps which could make bond buying more attractive to commercial banks. Central European government bonds were mixed while currencies and stocks mostly rebounded after a retreat in the past two sessions due to profit-taking. China''s credit rating downgrade by Moody''s did not have an impact and with a lack of major international market moving factors, investors are watching technical issues and comments from central bankers in the region, market participants said. Hungarian central bank deputy Governor Marton Nagy told Reuters late on Tuesday that the bank''s record low base rate could remain unchanged until 2019 or even longer. Loose policy from the region''s most dovish central bank was not a surprise. But government bonds got a boost from an announcement by the bank that it would launch the second phase of its programme to boost market-based lending to small and medium-sized businesses. Under that programme, the central bank will offer interest rate swaps, which commercial banks earlier widely used to hedge government bond buying. Hungarian bond yields fell by 4-5 basis points along the curve, with 10-year papers trading at 3.03 percent. The forint jumped to a 3-month high against the euro, touching 307.20, and traded at 307.65 at 1423 GMT, up 0.3 percent, despite the central bank''s dovish message. "Risk on is generally back now (in global markets), and with that backdrop the forint is unable to weaken in the short term," one Budapest-based currency dealer said. The zloty firmed 0.5 percent to 4.1795 against the euro. The Czech crown firmed slightly, after rebounding from an early easing. While a pick-up in economic growth backs currencies across the region, the crown could get more support from the central bank''s recent rhetoric than its regional peers, analysts said. The head of Erste Group Bank''s Czech asset management company said the Czech central bank (CNB) could be the first in the region to start lifting interest rates. CNB board member Vojtech Benda told Reuters that low interest rates boost housing prices into a spiral the bank will need to slow. He said the timing of a rate hike could hinge on third-quarter economic data and that more crown firming would mean fewer hikes, although hikes are coming anyway. Bucharest''s stock index hit a new 9-year high. Sentiment has been lifted by an initial public offering and listing by Digi Communications this month. Budapest''s index shed 1.4 percent, mainly driven by profit-taking which has pushed back the stocks of OTP Bank from 3-month highs reached on Monday. CEE MARKETS SNAPSH AT 1623 CET OT CURRENCIES Latest Previo Daily Change us bid close change in 2017 Czech crown 26.438 26.452 +0.05 2.15% 0 0 % Hungary 307.65 308.55 +0.29 0.38% forint 00 50 % Polish zloty 4.1795 4.2014 +0.52 5.37% % Romanian leu 4.5515 4.5554 +0.09 -0.36% % Croatian kuna 7.4270 7.4305 +0.05 1.72% % Serbian dinar 122.62 122.88 +0.22 0.60% 00 50 % Note: daily calculated previo close 1800 change from us at CET STOCKS Latest Previo Daily Change us close change in 2017 Prague 1011.1 1007.9 +0.32 +9.72 7 1 % % Budapest 34234. 34730. -1.43% +6.97 24 94 % Warsaw 2316.5 2307.8 +0.38 +18.9 5 4 % 2% Bucharest 8558.2 8508.2 +0.59 +20.7 7 8 % 9% Ljubljana 788.54 791.34 -0.35% +9.89 % Zagreb 1853.0 1850.8 +0.12 -7.11% 4 6 % Belgrade 735.64 739.12 -0.47% +2.55 % Sofia 660.74 655.00 +0.88 +12.6 % 7% BONDS Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs change Bund in Czech spread Republic 2-year -0.182 0 +047b +1bps ps 5-year -0.019 0.003 +032b +1bps ps 10-year 0.847 0 +045b +0bps ps Poland 2-year 1.938 -0.019 +259b -1bps ps 5-year 2.765 -0.006 +310b +0bps ps 10-year 3.338 0.007 +294b +1bps ps FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interb ank Czech Rep Hungary Poland Note: FRA are for ask Quote: s prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets-idINL8N1IQ4L6'|'2017-05-24T13:07:00.000+03:00' +'4456f2822008e81797016c817ecc0e4244b899a9'|'European shares recover at end of worst week in six months'|'Top 8:34am BST European shares recover at end of worst week in six months Traders work in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, May 18, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote MILAN European shares rose slightly in early deals on Friday, timidly recovering from heavy losses suffered earlier this week after U.S. political turmoil fuelled worries over U.S. President Donald Trump''s stimulus plans, denting risk appetite. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.3 percent by 0725 GMT, but was down 1.5 percent on the week, its biggest weekly loss since early November. Britain''s FTSE was up 0.4 percent and euro zone blue chips added 0.3 percent. While gains were spread across all sectors, pharma stocks and financials gave the biggest boost to the STOXX with shares in heavyweight drugmaker Roche up 0.6 percent, helped by a Barclays price target upgrade, and Spanish lender Banco Santander up 0.8 percent. Among the biggest movers was Dufry, up 6.9 percent after luxury group Richemont bought a 5 percent stake in the company. Hikma shares fell 4.9 percent after the drugmaker trimmed its revenue forecast to account for the delay in its U.S. generic drug launch. This week''s losses have pulled the stocks down from 21 month highs hit after a run driven by big fund inflows into Europe, solid macro data and surprisingly strong corporate earnings. With 80 percent of European companies having reported so far, 65 percent of them have beaten expectations and 8 percent have met them, according to I/B/E/S data. First quarter earnings growth is seen at 19.4 percent, slightly below the more than 20 percent previously forecast. (Reporting by Danilo Masoni, Editing by Helen Reid)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks-idUKKCN18F0M4'|'2017-05-19T15:34:00.000+03:00' +'b173b419271d466994863855e09ff27c26c6d97e'|'U.S. companies push hard for lower tax rate on offshore profits'|'Mon May 15, 2017 - 11:09am BST U.S. companies push hard for lower tax rate on offshore profits FILE PHOTO: The Apple logo is pictured inside the newly opened Omotesando Apple store at a shopping district in Tokyo June 26, 2014. REUTERS/Yuya Shino/File Photo By Ginger Gibson - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Major U.S. multinationals are pushing the Trump administration to deepen the tax break it has already tentatively proposed on $2.6 trillion in corporate profits being held offshore, a key piece in Washington''s intricate tax reform puzzle. As President Donald Trump tries to deliver on his campaign promise to overhaul the tax code, lobbyists for technology, drug and other manufacturers are working with officials behind closed doors, six lobbyists working with various industries told Reuters. In line with tax cuts already embraced by Republicans in the House of Representatives, the lobbyists said they are telling the White House and Treasury Department that if companies are forced to bring home, or repatriate, foreign earnings, they want a sharply reduced tax rate. The lobbyists are making an aggressive case that cutting the tax rate on offshore profits to 10 percent from 35 percent, as the administration has indicated it may favor, is not enough. Rather, the lobbyists said they want a lower, bifurcated rate of 3.5 percent on earnings already invested abroad in illiquid assets, such as factories, and 8.75 percent on cash and liquid assets. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump proposed setting the rate at 10 percent, and argued it could be used to raise tax revenue to pay for tax cuts or infrastructure. Discussion of hard numbers in the long-running repatriation debate may indicate tax reform is advancing on Trump''s slow-moving domestic policy agenda. Or it may just be lobbyists trying to set the early framework for a long slog ahead, which could be adjusted if they get concessions elsewhere. "For us, its how you create a tax environment where you give business long-term certainty," one lobbyist said. The changes being discussed are part of larger tax reform, another lobbyist said: "Our international tax system is out of whack with the rest of the world. This system is not sustainable." LATEST PUSH IN LONG CAMPAIGN The lobbyists'' demands represent the latest effort in a push by corporate America that has been under way since 2004-2005, the last time Washington let multinationals pay only a small fraction of the taxes due on their foreign profits. Repatriation and comprehensive tax reform are important to the economy, Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) CEO Tim Cook said earlier this month on CNBC. "The administration ... they''re really getting this and want to bring this back and I hope that that comes to pass," he said. Apple held $239.6 billion of cash and securities offshore as of April 1. Under current law, U.S.-based corporations are supposed to pay 35-percent income tax on profits worldwide. But companies can defer that tax on active profits left outside the country. The deferral rule has incentivized multinationals to park profits offshore and about $2.6 trillion in earnings is being held overseas by more than 500 U.S. companies, according to Audit Analytics, a corporate research firm. Nearly a third of that is held by 10 companies, including Apple, Microsoft Corp ( MSFT.O ), Pfizer Inc ( PFE.N ) and General Electric Co ( GE.N ), the firm said. All four of those companies declined to comment. These companies and hundreds of others could bring their foreign profits into the United States at any time, but they do not in order to avoid paying the 35-percent tax due. If the $2.6 trillion overseas were repatriated at once, two things would happen. First, Washington would get a big jolt of tax revenue. Second, repatriated profits not collected by the Internal Revenue Service could be put to use in the economy. As the law stands, tax-deferred profits can be held offshore indefinitely. The result of that has been companies biding their time, claiming their profits are "trapped" offshore while lobbying for a repatriation tax cut. The last time they got one was in 2004-2005 under former President George W. Bush, whose administration let multinationals voluntarily repatriate profits at a 5.25 percent tax rate. At the time, Bush tried to extract promises from companies that they would dedicate repatriated funds to investments in new plants and other job-creating projects. But in a 2011 follow-up study, a Senate committee concluded the Bush repatriation tax "holiday" cost the Treasury at least $3.3 billion in net revenue over 10 years and "produced no appreciable increase in U.S. jobs or domestic investment." Rather, the repatriated funds largely went to shareholder dividends and executive bonuses, the committee said. The repatriation tax break now being discussed differs from Bush''s: repatriation would not be voluntary, but mandatory, so foreign profits would have to be brought home. In addition, lobbyists said they have talked to the administration about ending deferral and exempting foreign profits from taxation. The administration has floated this as an option. Lobbyists said there has been discussion about limiting that exemption to 95 percent of repatriated foreign earnings. (Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Bill Rigby)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-tax-repatriation-idUKKCN18B13Q'|'2017-05-15T18:03:00.000+03:00' +'0f6e6ac120ad196c9385d25b5c4c7a57a20304c2'|'Direct bidders buy most U.S. 7-year notes since 2014'|'NEW YORK May 25 Small bond dealers and other direct bidders on Thursday purchased the most U.S. seven-year government notes at an auction since the summer of 2014, Treasury data showed.Direct bidders bought 17.17 percent of the $28 billion in seven-year notes issue offered by the U.S. Treasury Department, which was their largest share since the 20.43 percent at the seven-year auction held in August 2014. This group purchased 9.53 percent of the seven-year note sale in April. (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Chris Reese)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-auction-7year-idINL1N1IR19P'|'2017-05-25T15:17:00.000+03:00' +'73ca65f73cf99a84f7e17bb9554a2d601772567f'|'Falling unemployment, wages to erode Central European carmakers'' workforce'|'Autos 4:55pm BST Falling unemployment, wages to erode Central European carmakers'' workforce Workers check the chassis of a Kia car in its Slovakian factory in Zilina, 200 kilometres north of Bratislava October 3, 2012. REUTERS/Petr Josek BRATISLAVA Carmakers in four central European countries will be short of 100,000 skilled workers in coming years, automotive industry associations from Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland said on Tuesday. Falling unemployment and growing pressure on wage growth is threatening the current economic model in the so-called Visegrad countries which have so far benefited from a good geographic position and cheap labour. "This is a problem that we have to face if we want to keep our position in the region," Polish Automotive Industry Association President Jakub Farys told reporters. "Twenty-five years ago we were cheap (...) We are still relatively cheaper than other western European countries but it''s not the most important factor. We have to have a very high-quality product, for which we need skilled workforce," he said. The Visegrad countries made nearly 3.651 million cars last year, about a quarter of the EU''s production. The industry employs more than 630,000 people directly and 1.3 million indirectly. "We are approaching the limits of maximum possible capacity (of automotive plants)," Czech Automotive Industry Association President Bohdan Wojnar said. The associations called on governments to reform education systems and focus more on mathematics and sciences to prepare workers for the future needs of the automotive industry. Until then, greater support for the mobility of domestic and international workers could patch the hole in the labour market, they added. Slovakia is the world''s biggest per-capita car producer with plants run by Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ), Peugeot( PEUP.PA ), Kia( 000270.KS ) and Jaguar Land Rover [TAMOJL.UL]. The Czech Republic is home to Volkswagen''s Skoda Auto, Hyundai Motor Co( 005380.KS ) and a joint venture of Toyota ( 7203.T ) and Peugeot. In Hungary, Daimler AG ( DAIGn.DE ), Audi ( NSUG.DE ), Suzuki ( 7269.T ) and General Motors ( GM.N ) have plants, while Poland has Volkswagen, General Motors'' Opel unit and Fiat ( FCHA.MI ). (Reporting By Tatiana Jancarikova; editing by Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-centraleurope-autos-idUKKBN18J2BK'|'2017-05-23T23:55:00.000+03:00' +'04e51a867745700ec080b4e17618d8c37bfe4122'|'EU mergers and takeovers (May 19)'|'BRUSSELS May 19 The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process:APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS-- U.S. packaging company WestRock to acquire U.S. peer Multi Packaging Solutions (approved May 18)-- Italian cinema operator The Space Cinema, which is controlled by Vue International Holdco Ltd, and Italian peer UCI Italian S.p.A. which is part of Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group, to set up a joint venture (approved May 18)-- Investment companies TPG and Oaktree to take joint control over Britain''s Iona Energy Co, which owns 75 percent of two undeveloped oil fields in the North Sea and that will be active in crude oil production and sale (approved May 18)-- French aircraft engine and aerospace equipment company Safran and China Eastern Airlines Co. Ltd. to form joint venture to provide aircraft maintenance in China (approved May 18)-- Energy company Electricite de France, French state-owned bank Caisse des depots et consignations and Japan''s Mitsubishi Corporation to create a joint venture NGM to finance electric mobility projects mainly in France (approved May 18)NEW LISTINGS-- Chinese conglomerate HNA Holding Group Co to acquire Singapore-listed logistics company CWT (notified May 18/deadline June 27/simplified)-- Buyout firm Blackstone and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) to acquire indirect joint control of U.S. educational content provider Ascend Learning (notified May 18/deadline June 27/simplified)EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGESNoneFIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINEMAY 22-- Investment firms Cinven Capital Management and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to acquire joint control of Travel Holdings Parent Corporation (notified April 10/deadline May 22)MAY 29-- French EDF to acquire equipment and fuel manufacturing company Areva (notified April 18/deadline May 29)MAY 30-- French media group Vivendi to acquire de facto sole control of Italy''s Telecom Italia (notified March 31/deadline extended to May 30 from May 12 after Vivendi offered concessions)MAY 31-- Manufacturing and technology company General Electric''s Oil & Gas to acquire oilfield services company Baker Hughes (notified April 20/deadline May 31)JUNE 1-- Waste water company SGAB and Spanish infrastructure company Acciona to acquire 10 percent of Sociedad Concesionaria de la Zona Regable del Canal de Navarra (notified April 21/deadline June 1/simplified)JUNE 2-- Australian bank Macquarie and British pension fund Universities Superannuation Scheme to acquire Green Investment Bank (notified April 24/deadline June 2/simplified)JUNE 7-- German company CWS-Boco, which is part of German firm Haniel, to acquire some of British support services firm Rentokil''s workwear and hygiene units (notified April 26/deadline June 7)JUNE 8-- German chemicals company Evonik Industries to acquire U.S. company J.M. Huber Corp''s silica business (notified April 27/deadline June 8)JUNE 9-- Private equity firm Hellman & Friedman to acquire Spanish logistics platform Allfunds Bank (notified April 28/deadline June 9/simplified)-- U.S. smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm to acquire Dutch companyr NXP Semiconductors NV (notified April 28/deadline June 9)-- Chinese textiles company Shanghai Shenda to acquire International Automotive Components Group''s trim and acoustics unit business (notified April 24/deadline June 9/simplified)JUNE 12-- American healthcare company Johnson & Johnson to acquire Swiss biotech company Actelion (notified April 12/deadline extended to June 12 from May 24 after the companies offered concessions)-- Norwegian debt collection agency Nordic Capital, which is majority owned by Nordic Capital Fund VIII and Swedish peer firm Intrum Justitia to merge (notified April 12/deadline extended to June 12 from May 24 after the companies offered concessions)JUNE 14-- Private equity firms BC Partners and Pollen Street Capital Ltd to jointly acquire UK bank Shawbrook Group plc (notified May 4/deadline June 14/simplified)JUNE 15-- U.S. private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners and the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System Primary Pension Plan (OMERS) to acquire joint control of U.S. car repairs company OPE Caliber Holdings (notified May 5/deadline June 15/simplified)-- Austrian refractories materials maker RHI to acquire a controlling stake in Brazilian peer Magnesita Refratarios (notified May 5/deadline June 15)JUNE 21-- Investment bank Goldman Sachs and French investment company Eurazeo to jointly acquire Dominion Web Solutions (notified May 12/deadline June 21/simplified)-- French private equity company Ardian France and real estate agent Jones Lang LaSalle Inc to jointly acquire an office building in France (notified May 12/deadline June 21/simplified)-- French minerals company Imerys to acquire French calcium aluminate cements maker Kerneos (notified May 12/deadline June 21)JUNE 22-- German online fashion retailer Zalando and fashion company Bestseller United to set up a joint venture (notified May 15/deadline June 22/simplified)JUNE 26-- Private equity firms Advent International and Bain Capital Investors to jointly acquire payment services company RatePAY (notified May 17/deadline June 26/simplified)-- Private equity firm Oaktree to acquire German nursing care provider Vitanas P&W (notified May 17/deadline June 26/simplified)GUIDE TO EU MERGER PROCESSDEADLINES:The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company''s proposed remedies or an EU member state''s request to handle the case.Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days.SIMPLIFIED:Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until they are approved. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/eu-ma-idINL8N1IL4K0'|'2017-05-19T15:45:00.000+03:00' +'9456b6ebec9251e941d5f986ff5e27489dc52b76'|'US STOCKS-Futures flat after S&P, Nasdaq close at record levels'|'Business News 3:09pm EDT S&P 500 falls on mixed data, Nasdaq helped by tech stocks Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 15, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid By Sinead Carew - NEW YORK NEW YORK The S&P 500 was down slightly on Tuesday after a slew of mixed economic data and earnings while the Nasdaq hit another record as it was boosted by gains in technology stocks. U.S. manufacturing production showed its biggest increase in more than three years for April, bolstering a view that economic growth picked up early in the second quarter despite a surprise decline in homebuilding. While home improvement chain Home Depot ( HD.N ) reported a better-than-expected first-quarter performance, TJX Cos Inc, ( TJX.N ) the owner of T.J. Maxx and Marshalls stores, posted slowing comparable-store sales growth and a disappointing current-quarter profit forecast. The news was not positive enough to boost investment nor so negative as to make investors flee stocks and rush into bonds, according to Kate Warne, investment strategist at Edward Jones in St. Louis. "It''s a combination of earnings and better than expected industrial production countered with concerns about future economic data and the fact we continue to see weak retail sales," said Warne. "With the consumer being more than two-thirds of economic growth, if consumer spending is weak, can we continue to see solid economic growth?" Investors were also cautious about potential delays to the government''s tax and regulation reform agenda after reports late Monday that President Donald Trump disclosed highly classified information to Russia''s foreign minister about a planned Islamic State operation. At 2:36PM ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was down 7.35 points, or 0.04 percent, to 20,974.59. The S&P 500 .SPX had lost 3.48 points, or 0.14 percent, to 2,398.84 easing from an all-time high of 2,405.77. The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC had added 10.43 points, or 0.17 percent, to 6,160.11 after touching a record of 6,163.74. Only three of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were positive, with the technology sector .SPLRCT providing the biggest boost. It was up 0.3 percent, and its biggest driver was Microsoft ( MSFT.O ), which was up 1.7 percent. "A lot of technology right now is driven by worries about cyber security as investors believe more companies will have to upgrade their computer systems and add security," said Warne. The security industry was reeling after the WannaCry ransomware cyber attack that has infected more than 300,000 computers in 150 countries since Friday. The energy sector .SPNY was the biggest percentage decliner after rising sharply in Monday''s session. Pfizer ( PFE.N ) was the S&P''s biggest drag on the S&P with a 2 percent drop to $32.45 after Citigroup downgraded the drug developer''s stock to "sell" from "neutral". Staples ( SPLS.O ) was off 3.7 percent at $8.97 after the office supplies retailer reported a decline in quarterly sales. Home Depot shares were up 1 percent at $159.05 while TJX was down 3.9 percent at $73.88. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.47-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, decliners led advancers 1.31 to 1. The S&P 500 posted 58 new 52-week highs and 12 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 119 new highs and 57 new lows. (Additional reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Cynthia Osterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks-idUSKCN18C19O'|'2017-05-16T19:23:00.000+03:00' +'25f20778da1c452c0b2cab52ba6189d9a2118188'|'Buffett to face big crowd as Berkshire grows bigger'|'By Jonathan Stempel May 3 As the United States adapts to the presidency of Donald Trump and faces rising tensions abroad, Berkshire Hathaway Inc shareholders will descend on Omaha, Nebraska this weekend seeking reassurance, from Warren Buffett.The weekend known as "Woodstock for Capitalists" is unique in corporate America, a celebration of the billionaire''s image and success at a conglomerate whose businesses range from Geico insurance to the BNSF railroad to See''s candies to Ginsu knives.Buffett, 86, and vice chairman Charlie Munger, 93, will answer five hours of questions at Saturday''s annual meeting.Many say it reinforces their views about investing and Berkshire, even if it remains unclear how much new they learn."Watching someone like (Buffett) with strong command on details of the economy and Berkshire''s operations is very impressive," said Meyer Shields, a Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst who rates Berkshire "market perform." "But you''re not going to learn a lot about Berkshire Hathaway the company."Last year''s attendance fell to about 37,000 from more than 40,000 a year earlier.But there were also 1.1 million real-time sign-ons to Yahoo Finance, which webcast the meeting for the first time. It will do so again, in English and Mandarin.LARGE, LARGE ORGANIZATIONMuch of Berkshire''s relative outperformance came decades ago when it was much smaller, and even Buffett has called the company''s huge size an "anchor on investment performance."Buffett has said Berkshire owns 10 businesses big enough to make the Fortune 500 list of large U.S. companies on their own.But details can be thin. For example, aircraft parts maker Precision Castparts, acquired last year for $32.1 billion, merited about a page in Berkshire''s annual report.Precision''s final annual report, in 2015, ran 87 pages."It''s a large, large organization," said Jeffrey Stacey, founder of Stacey Muirhead Capital Management in Waterloo, Ontario, who is attending his 26th straight meeting. "I am willing to give it the benefit of the doubt because the track record has been so good for so long."Buffett said in February that boosting disclosure could put many Berkshire businesses at a disadvantage, and that "it''s the growth of the Berkshire forest that counts."He also knows the perils of conglomerates, saying in 2015 that dubious accounting, self-promotion and mediocre businesses make them "richly deserve" their "terrible" reputation.Buffett says Berkshire is different, in part because he took Munger''s advice to buy wonderful businesses at fair prices.Shareholders enjoy that focus less than they once did.Berkshire''s share price has slightly lagged the Standard & Poor''s 500 including dividends during the eight-year bull market, but has outperformed since the global financial crisis mushroomed in September 2008.Shields, who is not attending Saturday''s meeting, wants Buffett to reveal more, even if shareholders can "safely assume" his eventual successor as chief executive is top-flight.ISSUES APLENTYWhile Buffett and Munger do not know in advance the questions they will get from shareholders, journalists and analysts at Saturday''s meeting, they can anticipate many.Buffett may need to review Berkshire''s support of Wells Fargo & Co, in which it holds a roughly 10 percent stake, despite a sales scandal over bogus customer accounts.He may also get questions about his support for 3G Capital, a Brazilian firm known for ruthless cost-cutting. Berkshire controls Kraft Heinz Co with 3G, and recently tried to help 3G buy Unilever NV for $143 billion.Trump is sure to come up. Buffett did not support his election but Berkshire''s book value could swell by $36 billion with his proposed corporate tax cuts, Barclays Capital said.Buffett may also get questions about his surprise bets on Apple Inc and the four biggest U.S. airlines.Having gone over a year since a big acquisition, Buffett may be asked how he can better deploy the $86.4 billion of cash, equivalents and Treasury bills that Berkshire recently held.Succession may also come up. Indeed, Buffett has already delegated work to lieutenants like Ajit Jain, Gregory Abel, Tracy Britt Cool and Todd Combs that he once would do himself. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Jennifer Ablan and Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/berkshire-buffett-preview-idINL1N1I413O'|'2017-05-03T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'da3db000da64ac2f61c530f489f9c4223ab10520'|'China''s c.bank to focus on impact on stability of non-bank financial institutions - working paper'|'BEIJING China will pay closer attention to the influence of non-bank financial institutions on financial stability, and the impact of local policy interventions on broader global markets, according to a central bank working paper published on Tuesday.In recent years non-bank institutions such as trust and investment companies, or fund and asset management firms have expanded their activity - much of it a less regulated form of lending - even as policymakers have tried to rein in leverage in the Chinese economy."Though banks still dominate China''s financial system, non-bank financial institutions have considerable influence as well," the paper published on the People''s Bank of China website said."We believe that sufficient attention should be given to international spill-over effects of intervention policies, and the impact of non-bank financial institutions to financial stability," it said.The paper analysed the impact of changes in China''s stock market and financial sector on developed countries - the United States, Britain, Germany and Japan."China''s financial sector exerts considerable influence on global financial markets, especially on the Japanese financial sector," it said.The central bank has gingerly raised short-term rates recently to contain financial risks and encourage companies to deleverage, though economists expect authorities will move cautiously to avoid hurting economic growth.(Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk and Kevin Yao; Editing by Will Waterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/china-economy-cenbank-idINKBN18511W'|'2017-05-09T18:09:00.000+03:00' +'93071287738b4245445773bbcc31732c8b413f88'|'Earnings, resources stocks help European shares hold at 21-month highs'|'Market News - Tue May 9, 2017 - 12:08pm EDT Earnings, resources stocks help European shares hold at 21-month highs * STOXX 600 up 0.45 pct * Miners, oil stocks lend support * Results buoy Davide Campari, Nets * Micro Focus down after buyout target''s weak update (Adds closing prices) By Kit Rees and Danilo Masoni LONDON, May 9 A raft of well-received updates and a recovery in resources stocks helped European shares rebound on Tuesday from the previous session''s slight losses, ending at fresh 21-month highs. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.45 percent while France''s CAC 40 index gained 0.3 percent, recouping some of its losses from Monday following centrist Emmanuel Macron''s French presidential election victory. "Yesterday was almost a realisation that, OK, we''ve cleared one hurdle but it''s not like it''s plain sailing from here ... But today it''s looking good - the weak euro vs. the dollar is helping the DAX," Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, said, referring to Germany''s index, which rose 0.4 percent to a record high. Company results were in focus, with shares in Italy''s David Campari jumping 4.4 percent after the spirits maker reported first-quarter earnings boosted by high-margin brands. Denmark''s payment services provider Nets rose 2.9 percent following its first-quarter earnings, which saw strong organic growth. More than halfway into the first-quarter results season, earnings for European firms have been strong overall, with major euro zone blue chip firms seeing average earnings growth of around 20 percent, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S data. Elsewhere a rebound in basic resources stocks and gains among energy firms also helped support the market, with miners up after a rise in the underlying price of copper. Shares in Belgian materials group Umicore rose 3.3 percent, supported by a positive broker note from Berenberg whose analysts also upped their target price for the stock. Likewise Henderson''s shares gained 2.3 percent after UBS upgraded the asset management firm to "buy" from "neutral", citing its planned merger with U.S. fund firm Janus Capital . "Significantly enhanced scale, distribution and diversification see (Henderson) better equipped to deal with ongoing headwinds from a gradual global shift to passive and rising regulatory costs," analysts at UBS said in a note. Shares in jewellery maker Pandora gave up early gains to end down 6.6 percent lower after its update, while Apple supplier Dialog Semiconductor retreated 0.2 percent with analysts pointing to the chipmaker''s weaker guidance for the second quarter in which it expects to see a dip in revenues. Britain''s Micro Focus slumped 5.6 percent after saying that revenue at Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, the U.S. company it is buying, dropped around 10 percent in the last quarter. British utility Centrica came under pressure after Prime Minister Theresa May pledged to cap energy prices if she is re-elected in June''s general election. Centrica''s shares fell 1.2 percent. (Reporting by Kit Rees and Danilo Masoni; Editing by Gareth Jones)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/europe-stocks-idUSL8N1IB5ZQ'|'2017-05-10T00:08:00.000+03:00' +'2c63601e013537692bc73cb350bb29f02e795970'|'PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - May 30'|'May 30 The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.- Singapore''s financial regulator imposed fines on two large banks including Credit Suisse Group AG as it concluded a two-year investigation into widespread antimoney-laundering failures throughout its financial system related to alleged misappropriations from Malaysian state fund 1MDB. on.wsj.com/2rhDDvg- British Airways said a far-reaching computer outage disrupted flights for a third day and pledged to avoid a repetition of the events that led to hundreds of cancelled flights over the weekend. on.wsj.com/2qwsl2W- U.S. activist investor Elliott Management Corp lost a legal battle to remove the chairman of Akzo Nobel, increasing pressure on PPG Industries Inc to make a hostile bid for the rival Dutch paint and chemicals company or abandon its months-long takeover pursuit. on.wsj.com/2qu3Esc- Goldman Sachs Group Inc is on the defensive in Venezuela after it bought bonds that had been held by the struggling country''s central bank in a transaction the government''s opposition decried as a lifeline to President Nicols Maduro''s embattled administration. on.wsj.com/2revNk6- North Korea''s latest missile launch is its third apparent breakthrough in missile technology in less than three weeks. Pyongyang claimed the short-range ballistic missile fired on Monday had a speeded-up launch process and a precision-control guidance system that can zero in within 23 feet of a target. on.wsj.com/2qwtRlE(Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/press-digest-wsj-idUSL3N1IW0QL'|'2017-05-30T12:47:00.000+03:00' +'da1817626d65428e776c8d9762abc8ea124b65eb'|'Sharp expects first profit in four years on Foxconn''s cost cuts'|'Business 7:22am BST Sharp expects first profit in four years on Foxconn''s cost cuts FILE PHOTO: A man using his mobile phone walks past Sharp Corp''s liquid crystal display monitors showing the company''s Aquos television in Tokyo, Japan, March 30, 2016. REUTERS/Yuya Shino/File Photo By Makiko Yamazaki - CHIBA CHIBA Japan''s Sharp Corp said on Friday it expects to report its first net profit in four years in the year through March 2018 due in part to cost-cutting under the aegis of Taiwan''s Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd (Foxconn). The liquid crystal display manufacturer forecast profit of 59 billion yen (411.6 million pounds), reversing a loss of 24.9 billion yen a year earlier. The outlook compared with the 41.9 billion yen average of nine estimates from analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters. Sharp also released its first midterm business plan since Foxconn''s $3.8 billion acquisition last year, targeting operating profit of 150 billion yen through the year ending March 2020. With Foxconn having turned around the struggling panel maker, Sharp is now looking to invest in future growth drivers. It teamed up with Foxconn to bid for the chip unit of Toshiba Corp, and last week said it would invest up to $1 billion in SoftBank Group Corp''s technology-focused $100 billion Vision Fund. Sharp also aims to apply to Tokyo''s stock exchange to return to the first section of the bourse''s trading board. Sharp was demoted to the second section in August after its shareholder equity turned negative. (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Christopher Cushing)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sharp-outlook-idUKKBN18M0I2'|'2017-05-26T14:22:00.000+03:00' +'a72356fd4879ff1c006694ace0ae58ba7f3a3605'|'Deutsche Boerse CEO seeks end to insider trading probe - Handelsblatt'|'Mon May 22, 2017 - 7:11am BST Deutsche Boerse CEO seeks end to insider trading probe: Handelsblatt FILE PHOTO: Carsten Kengeter, CEO of Deutsche Boerse, attends the initial public offering of Scale at the Frankfurt stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, in this file photo dated March 1, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo FRANKFURT Deutsche Boerse ( DB1Gn.DE ) Chief Executive Carsten Kengeter''s defense team is negotiating with prosecutors to drop an insider trading investigation against him, German daily Handelsblatt reported on Monday. In return, the German stock exchange operator may face a fine for delaying the announcement of its plans to merge with the London Stock Exchange ( LSE.L ), the report said. Such a deal could still take several weeks, said Handelsblatt, which cited multiple unnamed sources. Neither Deutsche Boerse nor the Frankfurt prosecutor''s office was immediately available for comment. Kengeter has previously denied the insider trading allegations, saying he did not determine the timing of his share purchases ahead of the announcement of merger plans with the London Stock Exchange. The plan to combine the stock exchanges, however, was later struck down by European regulators, who said the deal - the pair''s fifth attempt to merge - would result in a monopoly in the processing of bond trades. Last week, Kengeter said he and Deutsche Boerse were fully cooperating with the public prosecutor''s office in the insider trading probe. "I am certain that, following detailed investigation, the allegations will turn out to be unfounded," he said at the company''s annual general meeting. (Reporting by Tom Sims, additional reporting by Hans Seidenstuecker; Editing by Himani Sarkar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-deutsche-boerse-investigation-idUKKBN18I0J6'|'2017-05-22T14:09:00.000+03:00' +'8f6360d44d76e4746fbb9841850fbcfc3579340f'|'Mexico''s Coca-Cola Femsa ditches plans to buy U.S. operations'|'Market 10am EDT Mexico''s Coca-Cola Femsa ditches plans to buy U.S. operations MEXICO CITY May 16 Mexico''s Coca-Cola Femsa , the world''s largest Coke bottler, said on Tuesday it has abandoned plans to acquire certain territories in the United States after thorough analysis and negotiations with The Coca Cola Company. Coca-Cola Femsa, a joint venture between Coca-Cola Co and Mexican bottler and retailer Fomento Economico Mexicano (Femsa), said it would continue evaluating acquisitions of other available territories currently operated by Coca-Cola''s Bottling Investments Group. (Reporting by Veronica Gomez Sparrowe; Editing by Nick Zieminski) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles Next In Market News'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/mexico-cocacolafemsa-idUSL2N1II0HK'|'2017-05-16T21:10:00.000+03:00' +'a0bfa11ff550f48bb2e237668536d6bc48cff75f'|'Bidding at U.S. 30-year auction weakest since November'|'NEW YORK May 11 Overall demand at Thursday''s $15 billion U.S. 30-year Treasury bond sale, the final leg of the $62 billion quarterly refunding this week, hit a six-month low with investor purchases coming in below recent levels, Treasury data showed.The ratio of bids to the amount of new 30-year issue offered was 2.19, which was below than the 2.23 at the prior 30-year auction in April and the lowest since the 2.11 in November. (Reporting by Richard Leong)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-auction-30year-idINL1N1ID1AK'|'2017-05-11T15:23:00.000+03:00' +'c0234037828ac72cedaab3aadbde76c18345cd09'|'Asian shares firm, dollar and U.S. bond yields slip after Fed'|'Top 31am BST Asian shares firm, dollar and U.S. bond yields slip after Fed A man looks at an electronic board showing Japan''s Nikkei average outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, December 1, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon By Hideyuki Sano - TOKYO TOKYO Asian shares eked out modest gains on Thursday while the dollar and U.S. bond yields slipped after the U.S. Federal Reserve signalled a cautious approach to future rate hikes and the reduction of its $4.5 trillion of bond holdings. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS advanced 0.3 percent, with South Korea leading with a 0.4 percent rise. .KS11 . Japan''s Nikkei .N225 dipped 0.1 percent though MSCI Japan rose 0.4 percent in dollar terms .MIJP PUS. Minutes from the Fed''s last policy meeting showed policymakers agreed they should hold off on raising interest rates until it was clear a recent U.S. economic slowdown was temporary, though most said a hike was coming soon. "Their views seem to have changed considerably. In the past, they had said the slowdown was transitory," said Daisuke Uno, chief strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Bank. The minutes also showed that policymakers favoured a gradual reduction in its massive balance sheet. Fed staff proposed that the central bank set a cap on the amount of bonds that would be allowed to run off each month, initially setting it at a low level and raising it every three months. Following the minutes, the 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield US10YT=RR fell to 2.252 percent from Wednesday''s high of 2.297 percent. Fed funds rate futures are pricing in about a 75 percent chance that the Fed will raise rates next month, moving down from more than 80 percent earlier this week . The spectre of a slower pace of policy tightening underpinned share prices, with the S&P 500 .SPX closing at a record high. In the currency market, the euro EUR= traded up 0.1 percent in Asia at $1.1225, having bounced back from Wednesday''s low of $1.1168 and coming within sight of $1.1268, its 6 1/2-month high set on Tuesday. The dollar stood at 111.59 yen JPY= , slipping from one-week highs of 112.13 touched on Wednesday. Those moves have pulled the dollar''s index against a basket of six major currencies .DXY =USD down to 97.015, near Monday''s 6-1/2-month low of 96.797. The Canadian dollar strengthened to a five-week high of C$1.3405 per U.S. dollar CAD=D4 after the Bank of Canada was more upbeat about the economy than some investors had expected. Oil prices stayed near five-week highs as investors expect oil producing countries to extend output cuts at their meeting in Vienna later in the day. Benchmark Brent crude oil LCOc1 rose 20 cents a barrel, or 0.4 percent, to $54.16. U.S. light crude CLc1 was up 20 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $51.56. Both benchmarks have gained more than 10 percent from their May lows below $50 a barrel, rebounding on a consensus that OPEC and other producers will maintain strict limits on production in an attempt to drain persistent global oversupply. Elsewhere, digital currency bitcoin BTC=BTSP hit a fresh record high, having surged 170 percent in about two months from its March low. Demand for crypto-assets soared with the creation of new tokens to raise funding for start-ups using blockchain technology. (Reporting by Hideyuki Sano; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets-idUKKBN18L02G'|'2017-05-25T08:31:00.000+03:00' +'b1d8904da8bded16b9490ba5a836553e36bb5044'|'Euro slips on Greece bailout, Italian vote concerns; stocks drift'|'Business News - Tue May 30, 2017 - 9:43pm IST Oil slides, political worries weigh on sentiment left right Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 25, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid 1/2 left right Traders work in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, May 29, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote 2/2 By Herbert Lash - NEW YORK NEW YORK Oil prices slid on Tuesday on concerns of a persistent global supply glut while U.S. and European political worries combined to subdue investor sentiment and weaken equity markets around the world. The dollar fell against most currencies, weighed by a drop in U.S. Treasury yields after U.S. inflation data reinforced the notion that the Federal Reserve will only raise interest rates one more time in 2017. Shares on Wall Street, in addition to Germany''s DAX index .GDAXI and Britain''s FTSE .FTSE , are trading near record highs, which is keeping stocks from moving higher as political uncertainty picks up on both sides of the Atlantic. Shan Osborne, chief FX strategist at Scotia in Toronto, said there is a whiff of risk aversion about the equity markets in Japan, Europe and on Wall Street fell. Markets in China and Hong Kong were closed for holidays. U.S. President Donald Trump is considering wider staff changes amid growing political fallout over U.S. probes into Russia and his presidential campaign. A senior aide to Trump resigned on Tuesday. "The uneasiness created by the political situation just continues to leave the market troubled over where this is all headed," said Rick Meckler, president of hedge fund LibertyView Capital Management LLC in Jersey City, New Jersey. Continued low interest rates and reasonably good earnings are positive, but for investors to commit new money there need to be some changes, such as tax proposals and healthcare, the Trump administration had promised, Meckler said. "They do seem just really bogged down in political battles," he said. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 36.22 points, or 0.17 percent, to 21,044.06. The S&P 500 .SPX lost 2.84 points, or 0.12 percent, to 2,412.98 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 3.84 points, or 0.06 percent, to 6,206.35. In Europe, the pan-regional FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 of leading shares fell 0.23 percent to close at a provisional 1,533.49. MSCI''s gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD PUS shed 0.08 percent. Signs that elections in Italy may come as early as September weighed on stocks and initially on the euro. British blue chips fell slightly less than two weeks before a general election that will shape talks for the country''s exit from the European Union. The dollar index was down 0.18 percent at 97.271 .DXY, with the euro EUR= was up 0.2 percent at $1.1186. Against the safe-haven yen JPY= , the dollar dropped 0.4 percent to 110.79 yen. Tuesday''s U.S. economic data, while mixed, still backed the expectation that the Fed will raise interest rates next month, analysts said. Benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 dropped to a low of $51.19 before recovering ground to trade down 86 cents at $51.44. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other oil producers, including Russia, agreed last week to keep a tight rein on supply until the end of the first quarter of 2018, nine months longer than originally planned. "The oil market remains on the back foot," said Stephen Brennock, analyst at London brokerage PVM Oil Associates. Benchmark 10-year Treasuries were last up 7/32 in price to yield 2.2237 percent. (Reporting by Herbert Lash; Editing by Nick Zieminski) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idINKBN18Q01D'|'2017-05-29T22:54:00.000+03:00' +'b6bafc486e75bc513c38928b532c78e7269b517a'|'Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visits Foxconn, after CEO goes to White House'|'Business News - Wed May 10, 2017 - 4:12am EDT China''s Li visits Apple supplier Foxconn after CEO''s White House trip left right China''s Premier Li Keqiang inspects a Foxconn Technology Group plant, in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China, May 9, 2017. Picture taken May 9, 2017. China Daily/via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. CHINA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN CHINA. 1/2 left right China''s Premier Li Keqiang inspects a Foxconn Technology Group plant accompanied by Terry Gou, founder and chairman of the company (L), in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China, May 9, 2017. Picture taken May 9, 2017. China Daily/via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. CHINA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN CHINA. 2/2 TAIPEI China is the best place for expanding manufacturing and investment, the country''s premier told the world''s largest contract electronics maker Foxconn less than two weeks after its chief executive Terry Gou went to the White House to discuss increasing investment in the United States. "We will continue to expand our development, and optimize the business environment. China has a huge market and lots of talent, it is the best investment place for expanding manufacturing," Li Keqiang was reported as saying on the State Council''s official website, which carried pictures of Li''s visit on Tuesday to Foxconn''s sprawling manufacturing facility in Zhengzhou, Henan province. The pictures showed Li being escorted by Gou around the facilities. The State Council statement said Li had encouraged Gou to further invest in high-end research and development as well as in supply chain production in China. Despite the recent rapprochement between U.S. President Donald Trump and China President Xi Jinping over North Korea issues, China remains a competitor to the United States under Trump''s "America first" agenda. Li''s visit comes weeks after Gou and other senior Foxconn executives discussed significant investments in the United States at the White House. At the time, Gou told Reuters that Foxconn was planning "capital-intensive" investments in America. On Wednesday, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters Foxconn plans to begin construction on a U.S. plant in the second half of this year. No other details were provided. When contacted about the matter, Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co ( 2317.TW ), declined to comment. Analysts have said that Gou treads a fine line in balancing his business empire that straddles both the United States and China. Foxconn is a major supplier to Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ). China is the base for its assembly of Apple''s iconic iPhones, and where Foxconn employs about a million people. Foxconn is also in the running as a suitor for Toshiba Corp''s ( 6502.T ) chip business. People familiar with the deal have told Reuters that Foxconn is considered a U.S. security risk due to ties with China. Reuters earlier reported that Japanese display maker Sharp Corp ( 6753.T ) may start building a $7 billion plant in the United States in the first half of 2017, taking the lead on a project initially outlined by its Taiwanese parent Foxconn. (Reporting by Taipei newsroom; Writing by Jess Macy Yu; Editing by Michael Perry and Miral Fahmy)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-foxconn-china-idUSKBN1860DS'|'2017-05-10T12:43:00.000+03:00' +'a3d24d7dac39beb7e4fc01c09dde590804b47f1f'|'BRIEF-Pandora is confident of deal within 30 days- CNBC, citing sources'|'Market News 11pm EDT BRIEF-Pandora is confident of deal within 30 days- CNBC, citing sources May 9 (Reuters) - * CROWN CAPITAL PARTNERS ANNOUNCES FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR Q1 2017 MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories Reuters News Agency - Brand Attribution Guidelines - Careers Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters . Thomson Reuters is the world''s largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-pandora-is-confident-of-deal-withi-idUSFWN1IB0W6'|'2017-05-10T00:11:00.000+03:00' +'71786a72ed8209aebe69f13200fa5031459eba82'|'Greek cement maker Titan narrows losses helped by U.S.'|'Thu May 11, 2017 - 5:28am EDT Greek cement maker Titan narrows losses helped by U.S ATHENS Greece''s largest cement maker Titan ( TTNr.AT ) said on Thursday first-quarter net loss narrowed helped by robust growth in the United States. Titan reported a net loss of 3.9 million euros ($4.25 million) versus a loss of 18.6 million a year earlier. Sales rose 7.1 percent to 361.8 million euros due to strong demand for building materials and continued investment in the United States. Titan has spent more than 200 million euros to expand in the United States over the last three years to offset slowed demand in crisis-hit Greece. The U.S. business, which accounts for half of the company''s turnover, will remain a driver of growth this year as well, Titan said, adding that prospects for the year were still positive. (Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-titan-cement-results-idUSKBN187127'|'2017-05-11T16:59:00.000+03:00' +'1e3e8bb3f66359014ae2755f94c5c52c3b3d42ea'|'RPT-Crushing blow to soy processors as Chinese grow wary on GMO'|'(Repeats Friday story with no changes)* China is world''s biggest consumer of soy oil* Oil mostly made from imported GMO soybeans* Use of soy oil falling while alternatives rise* Crushers struggle to find non-GMO soybeans to compensate* Soy oil futures tumble 18 pct so far in 2017By Dominique PattonBEIJING, April 28 A Chinese consumer backlash against genetically modified (GMO) crops is beginning to dent demand for soy oil, the nation''s main cooking oil, and could spell crisis for the multi-billion-dollar crushing industry, which depends on GMO soybeans from the United States and elsewhere.Soyoil sales account for about 36 percent of cooking oils used in Chinese kitchens, more than three times the next highest, and most of it is made from imported soybeans, which are nearly all genetically modified.The Chinese government says GM foods are as safe as conventional foods, but wealthier urban consumers are replacing soyoil with sunflower, peanut or sesame, all free of biotech raw materials.A Nielsen survey last year showed about 70 percent of consumers in China limited or avoided at least some foods or ingredients, compared with a global average of 64 percent, with 57 percent naming GMOs as undesirable."Everyone says soyoil has GMOs," said Mr Liu, a 70-year-old Beijinger, shopping with his wife in Walmart. "Better not eat too much. Apparently they''re not safe. It''s like those hormones. I''m just as afraid of eating GMOs as hormones."That sentiment is already hurting retail sales. Supermarket sales of soy oil fell 1 percent last year to 35.7 billion yuan ($5.19 billion), data from Euromonitor shows, versus growth of between 2 and 6 percent for alternatives."Non-GMO oil is gradually replacing (soy oil)," said Johnny An, supply chain director at food-service firm Aramark, which serves meals in banks, government offices and schools in more than 60 Chinese cities.A few years ago, 10-20 percent of Aramark''s customers asked for GMO-free oil, he said. Now it''s more than half.The mood is causing headaches for crushers, said Paul Burke, Asia director at the U.S. Soybean Export Council, forcing them to find new markets for their soyoil, though it had not yet had a noticeable impact on bean imports, as demand for soymeal used for animal feed, the larger byproduct of soybean crush, is still robust as China expands its livestock industry.PREMIUM PRODUCTThe Nielsen survey found that more than four in five Chinese shoppers would be prepared to pay more for GMO-free products, and a 5-litre bottle of GM-free soy oil already sells at a 20 percent premium to GMO oil, but that isn''t translating into a boon for the nation''s soybean crushers.China is the world''s top soyoil consumer - it will use 16 million tonnes this year - but the crushers rely on the United States and Brazil, which grow GM-soybeans, for 86 percent of China''s 84 million tonnes of soybean imports.In China, which does not permit planting of GMO soybeans, labour costs are high and productivity low on small farms, making non-GMO beans costly to grow. They sell for a third more than non-GMO beans planted elsewhere.Processors such as China Agri Industries, a unit of food and grains trader COFCO and one of the country''s top crushers, told Reuters it needs to improve its sourcing of non-GMO materials, to meet "escalating market demand".In the meantime, processors are losing money as increased competition with other edible oils and a ballooning glut has pushed soyoil futures in China down 18 percent so far this year to multi-year lows.Some crushers are taking radical steps to find more GMO-free beans.Henan Sunshine Oils and Fats wants to buy as much as 15,000 hectares of land in Ukraine to grow and process crops such as non-GMO soybeans, rapeseed and sunflowers, said Yang Renyi, group vice-president and general manager of the international affairs department.That would be a very large plot; in the United States, the largest farms average around 1,052 hectares.Yang''s team made two trips to Ukraine last year to look into the feasibility of producing, storing and processing oilseeds there."If we managed to get a large area of land to grow oilseeds, we possibly will spend at least 200-300 million yuan there," said Yang.Non-GMO oils - mainly rapeseed and sesame - already account for a fifth of the firm''s sales since it started marketing the new offering late last year, he added.SHAKEN FAITHThe shift in attitude against GMOs in China has been fuelled by social media and campaigning by high-profile personalities.The agriculture ministry has sought to assuage consumers'' fears, launching education campaigns and banning advertising that promotes non-GMO products as healthier.But years of food scares have shaken consumers'' faith in Beijing''s ability to guarantee the safety of the nation''s food supply.Cooking oil is a particularly sensitive topic after a scandal over the use of recycled oil known as gutter oil, a few years ago, so shoppers are wary."Before everyone said soybean oil has GMOs, now the advertising is all about non-GMO soyoil. But we still don''t buy it," said Maxine Li, a 28-year old bank worker, shopping at the same Walmart. "We think peanut oil is a bit healthier." ($1 = 6.8953 Chinese yuan)(Reporting by Dominique Patton. Additional reporting by Beijing Newsroom; editing by Josephine Mason and Will Waterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/china-soybean-oil-demand-idUSL4N1I03A7'|'2017-05-02T07:00:00.000+03:00' +'53c8e99352da7bf069f3edab87c65f33a2ee728e'|'M&A and pharma stocks support European shares, but profit miss hits Richemont'|'Business News - Fri May 12, 2017 - 8:39am BST M&A and pharma stocks support European shares, but profit miss hits Richemont Traders work in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, May 11, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote MILAN European shares inched higher in early deals on Friday, underpinned by gains among drugmakers and some fresh dealmaking activity, while luxury group Richemont fell on a disappointing earnings update. Cartier owner Richemont fell 5.6 percent, leading losers in Europe after saying the trading environment would stay volatile after net profit fell more than the market expected. In spite of the disappointing update from the heavyweight luxury group, results in Europe have been surprisingly strong with 67 percent of companies beating earning expectations, I/B/E/S data. Combined with easing political worries, earnings have helped the pan-European STOXX 600 hit 21-month highs earlier in the week. By 0714 GMT the STOXX and euro zone blue chips both rose by 0.1 percent, while the UK''s FTSE 100 added 0.2 percent, supported by a 4 percent surge in AstraZeneca following positive trial results from a key immunotherapy drug. Gains in the British drugmaker helped lift Europe''s healthcare index up 0.8 percent, making it the biggest sectoral gainer in Europe. United Internet was the biggest gainer on the STOXX, up 9 percent, after saying that it plans to buy a majority stake in mobile operator Drillisch to create a stronger challenger in the German telecoms market. (Reporting by Danilo Masoni)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks-idUKKBN1880SC'|'2017-05-12T15:39:00.000+03:00' +'bbdc45e0cfa8a3f3948ed05af13f423c0c9b493d'|'Pound steady, dismisses Brexit talk and positive data'|'Money News - Wed May 3, 2017 - 10:17pm IST Pound steady, dismisses Brexit talk and positive data An English five pound note and coins are seen at a restaurant in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, July 21, 2016. REUTERS/Jon Nazca/Files By Ritvik Carvalho - LONDON LONDON Sterling held below seven-month highs versus the dollar on Wednesday, largely brushing off positive construction data and an initial round of posturing by Britain and the European Union over Brexit negotiations. A better-than-expected construction PMI showing growth in Britain''s construction industry touching a four-month high in April failed to have an impact on sterling compared with Tuesday''s manufacturing data, which had given the pound a boost. The pound barely budged after the numbers, trading close to levels seen before the data. Sterling was 0.2 percent lower at $1.2910, not far off a seven-month high of $1.2965 hit on the last trading day of April. "The problem with the construction PMI is it''s always the little brother of the three (monthly PMI surveys) in terms of its importance to the UK economy," said Christopher Beauchamp, market analyst at IG Markets. The most closely watched of the surveys -- covering the services sector, which accounts for nearly 80 percent of Britain''s economic output -- is due on Thursday. Sterling largely brushed off headlines over the size of Britain''s EU exit bill, along with suggestions from both sides that negotiations to exit the bloc would be difficult. Brexit minister David Davis said on Wednesday that Britain would not pay 100 billion euros to leave the European Union, after the Financial Times reported that the bloc was preparing to demand that amount. This came a day after British Prime Minister Theresa May promised EU officials she would be "a bloody difficult woman" in the talks, after being accused of underestimating the complexity of Brexit negotiations and having "illusions" over a deal. The pound briefly dipped about 40 ticks during a speech by May on Wednesday afternoon in which she accused European politicians and officials of seeking to affect the outcome of the June 8 national election by issuing threats over Brexit. But it recovered soon after, steadying to levels seen earlier in the day. "The markets haven''t really shown too much caution on this because it''s still very much sort of empty rhetoric. There''s no actual negotiations begun," said David Cheetham, chief markets analyst at XTB. "I think there''s a kind of concept within the market that both sides are kind of overstating their hand a little bit in order to get a strong opening position in the negotiations. But this will actually have little impact once the negotiations begin in earnest." The pound was 0.1 percent lower at 84.55 pence per euro. (Editing by Catherine Evans and Ed Osmond)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-sterling-open-idINKBN17Z217'|'2017-05-03T14:47:00.000+03:00' +'040ac50c458d290137cf6163a3bfe0384bb7e553'|'Toyota forecasts 20 percent FY operating profit drop on higher marketing expenses'|'Autos - Wed May 10, 2017 - 7:32am BST Toyota forecasts 20 percent FY operating profit drop on higher marketing expenses A woman walks past Toyota Motor Corp''s C-HR model which is displayed at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, February 6, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon TOKYO Toyota Motor Corp forecast on Wednesday a 20 percent fall in operating profit this year as the world''s second largest automaker expects global vehicle sales to remain largely flat while it expects increased expenses from marketing activities. Toyota expects operating profit to come in at 1.6 trillion yen (10.8 billion pounds) in the year to March, below an average estimate of 2.3 trillion yen from 25 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, and less than the 1.99 trillion yen profit posted in the year just ended. Toyota''s forecast is based on a projection that the yen will average around 105 yen to the U.S. dollar in the year through March, compared with 108 yen in the year just ended. The automaker also said it would buy back up to 1.65 percent of its own shares, worth 250 billion yen. (Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Miral Fahmy and Muralikumar Anantharaman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toyota-results-idUKKBN1860L1'|'2017-05-10T14:32:00.000+03:00' +'b2669c11f1a11100ff48108e1ec7833591c91bda'|'UK union suspends BMW strike action to consider new pensions deal'|' 3:45pm BST UK union suspends BMW strike action to consider new pensions deal left right FILE PHOTO: Workers assemble cars at the plant for the Mini range of cars in Cowley, near Oxford, Britain June 20, 2016. REUTERS/Leon Neal/Pool/File Photo 1/2 left right Raindrops cover the bonnet of a BMW car in London, Britain, February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth 2/2 LONDON Britain''s biggest trade union Unite said it was suspending further strike action at BMW''s ( BMWG.DE ) British plants so that workers could consider a new offer from the German carmaker regarding pension provisions. Last month, Unite said it would hold a total of eight strikes at four sites, including the Mini and Rolls-Royce factories, after 93 percent of employees backed industrial action in protest at plans to close the firm''s final salary pension schemes. "The planned strike action will be suspended while members consider BMW''s offer over the coming days," National Officer Fred Hanna said. "While Unite is not recommending the offer, as it will have different outcomes for different people and their pensions, members should be proud that by standing together they have forced BMW into making this offer." Both Unite and BMW said on Wednesday they would not comment on the details of the new offer until all relevant parties had been informed. "We believe the offer to be fair and in the long-term interests of both the company and all our employees," a BMW spokeswoman said in an emailed statement. (Reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Michael Holden)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bmw-britain-idUKKCN18D1MX'|'2017-05-17T21:15:00.000+03:00' +'55b4482308b36e46b468e28a0b19756b3d8c424b'|'PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - May 4'|'Company News - Thu May 4, 2017 - 1:17am EDT PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - May 4 May 4 The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. - The National Football League has struck a deal with Verizon Communications Inc to stream one regular-season game in the coming season, in a bet that distributing the matchup free for consumers over the internet will lure more users and advertising dollars to its platforms. on.wsj.com/2pzYQzt - Facebook Inc continues to sweep digital advertising, alongside rival Google, despite unrest among marketers about how their advertising is handled. Facebook on Wednesday said first-quarter profit surged 76 percent to $3.06 billion. on.wsj.com/2pzGqPk - With just weeks left for Tesla Inc to meet his tight production deadline for its first mass-market vehicle, Chief Executive Elon Musk sounded confident the goal will be met. on.wsj.com/2pzZm03 - Apple Inc plans to create a $1 billion fund to invest in U.S. companies that do advanced manufacturing, Chief Executive Tim Cook said on Wednesday. on.wsj.com/2pA3dKH (Compiled by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/press-digest-wsj-idUSL4N1I61YC'|'2017-05-04T13:17:00.000+03:00' +'c05da2e2ee16a624de9e4e4275cdd5b465179ab3'|'BRIEF-Glass Lewis supports election of Mark Ravich to Rockwell Medical board'|'Market 06am EDT BRIEF-Glass Lewis supports election of Mark Ravich to Rockwell Medical board May 24 Rockwell Medical Inc * Glass Lewis supports election of Mark H. Ravich to Rockwell Medical Inc board * Richmond Brothers - Glass Lewis recommended that Rockwell shareholders vote on blue proxy card to elect nominee Mark Ravich to board No Greek debt relief needed if primary surplus above 3 pct/GDP for 20 years-paper BERLIN, May 24 Greece will not need any debt relief from euro zone governments if it keeps its primary surplus above 3 percent of GDP for 20 years, a confidential paper prepared by the euro zone bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), showed. * Summit Materials announces intention to offer $300 million of senior notes MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-glass-lewis-supports-election-of-m-idUSFWN1IQ0MA'|'2017-05-24T21:06:00.000+03:00' +'0dc399ffd0f08e730912c1754d92012811eaf3f6'|'Saudi Aramco says to set up new chemicals unit'|'JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia Saudi Aramco plans to set up a new chemicals subsidiary, the company said in its official magazine, The Arabian Sun, on Wednesday."The Board... approved the creation of a new subsidiary to conduct the company''s chemicals business," Aramco said. It did not give further details in the weekly in-house publication.Aramco''s board met last week in Shanghai to discuss the company''s plans and appointed a new downstream head as well as several vice presidents in other key positions.Abdulaziz al-Judaimi was named as senior vice president for downstream operations.Downstream, covering refining and chemicals, is an important area for the company as it diversifies operations as it prepares for an initial public offering (IPO) next year, when around 5 percent of the firm is expected to be listed in Riyadh and on other international bourses.Last year, Judaimi, then business line head for downstream, said Saudi Aramco aims to almost triple its chemicals production to 34 million metric tons per year by 2030.Over the same period Aramco''s global refining capacity target is to raise it to 8-10 million barrels per day (bpd) from more than 5 million bpd now.Developing petrochemicals is part of the kingdom''s major economic reform plan, known as Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the economy away from oil.This will also help Aramco boost value from hydrocarbons by securing revenue streams and become less vulnerable to oil price swings.The oil giant is planning to develop a massive oil to chemicals project with Saudi Basic Industries Corp < 2010.SE> which industry sources say will cost more than $20 billion.(Reporting by Reem Shamseddine; Editing by Rania El Gamal)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-aramco-chemicals-idUSKCN18D1MP'|'2017-05-17T17:17:00.000+03:00' +'1e0df0ddccc1a6e16b3683986b6abd9a04342f7d'|'AirAsia to launch new Chinese low cost carrier'|'KUALA LUMPUR AirAsia Bhd ( AIRA.KL ) signed a joint venture agreement with China on Sunday to establish a low cost carrier (LCC), with a base in the east-central city of Zhengzhou.AirAsia (China) is a joint venture between AirAsia, Everbright Group and Henan Government Working Group, the airline said in a statement.AirAsia (China) will also invest in aviation infrastructure, including a dedicated LCC terminal at Zhengzhou airport and an aviation academy to train pilots, crew and engineers, as well as maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities to service aircraft, the statement said.No further details of the LCC were provided.Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is on a visit to China, witnessed the signing of the joint venture agreement."This Chinese venture represents the final piece of the AirAsia puzzle," said AirAsia Group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes."In just 16 years, we have successfully built a presence in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, India and Japan, with China closing the loop on all major territories in Asia Pacific."AirAsia and AirAsia X ( AIRX.KL ) currently fly to 15 destinations in China and the group is the largest foreign LCC operating into the country.AirAsia is Asia''s largest budget airline. China''s Everbright Group is a state-backed financial firm.(Reporting by KL newsroom; Editing by Keith Weir)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-airasia-china-idINKCN18A0TL'|'2017-05-14T13:46:00.000+03:00' +'597de4732b2cc1439f3673deea8b3c9bcc541758'|'Wall St. eyes Apple and Facebook to fuel new leg of tech rally'|'Internet 10:22pm IST Wall St. eyes Apple and Facebook to fuel new leg of tech rally FILE PHOTO: An illustration picture shows the log-on screen for the Website Facebook on an Ipad, in Bordeaux, Southwestern France on January 30, 2013. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo By Noel Randewich - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Apple ( AAPL.O ) and Facebook ( FB.O ) may expand their already outsized share of U.S. technology revenue when they report their earnings this week, as investors look for evidence to justify this year''s U.S. stock market rally. The two are the last of the top five U.S. tech companies by market value to release their quarterly results, following reports from Alphabet ( GOOGL.O ), Microsoft ( MSFT.O ) and Amazon.com ( AMZN.O ) last week. Those reports impressed analysts and fueled confidence in the sector, which has so far been the top performer on Wall Street in 2017. "If we look at the lion''s share of the numbers, they''re performing above expectations," said Daniel Morgan, a portfolio manager at Synovus Trust, which owns shares of Apple worth about $41 million and shares of Facebook worth $68 million. "It gives validity to my position, which is that tech is, by far, the most exciting sector," Morgan said. Shares of Facebook and Apple both hit record highs on Tuesday, up 0.53 percent and 0.75 percent respectively. Surges in Apple, Facebook and other Silicon Valley heavyweights have pushed the S&P 500 technology index up by 16 percent this year. And planned measures by President Donald Trump for steep corporate tax cuts and the easing of tax restrictions on profits made abroad would help Apple and other technology companies return more cash to shareholders. The largest five Silicon Valley companies for years have been increasing their share of revenue and profits generated in the technology sector at the expense of smaller competitors. Those five players boosted their share of revenue among technology companies in the benchmark S&P 500 index to 46 percent in 2016, from 38 percent in 2013, according to Thomson Reuters data. Their share of net income increased to 46 percent from 42 percent during the same time. Facebook and Google, which is owned by Alphabet, received 77 percent of gross spending on digital advertising in 2016, compared to 72 percent the year before, according to industry data analyzed by Pivotal Research analyst Brian Wieser. Technology company earnings are expected to have grown 17.7 percent in the latest three months, the strongest quarterly expansion since 2014, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Apple is expected by analysts to have boosted its revenue by 4.8 percent when it reports on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Facebook is expected to post a 45.6-percent leap in revenue and a similar increase in earnings per share, according to analysts'' estimates. David Ingram; Editing by Bernadette Baum)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-technology-stocks-idINKBN17Y22D'|'2017-05-02T14:52:00.000+03:00' +'383ac558ff76e426e67840aa9a5e2d24a266bd17'|'J&J settles drug manufacturing probe by U.S. states for $33 million'|'Business 35pm EDT J&J settles drug manufacturing probe by U.S. states for $33 million A Johnson & Johnson building is shown in Irvine, California, U.S., January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake By Nate Raymond Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $33 million to resolve charges by most U.S. states that it misrepresented the manufacturing practices behind Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl and other over-the-counter drugs that were eventually recalled. The settlement, announced by attorneys general for 42 states and the District of Columbia, resolves claims related to several products, including children''s medicines, that were voluntarily recalled from 2009 to 2011. The list includes St. Joseph Aspirin, Sudafed, Pepcid, Mylanta, Rolaids, Zyrtec, and Zyrtec Eye Drops, the Illinois attorney general said in a news release. The company''s Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc unit must also ensure that its marketing and promotional practices do not unlawfully promote over-the-counter drug products, the attorneys general said. The accord followed a string of recalls of millions of packages of drugs made by J&J''s McNeil-PPC Inc unit, now part of Johnson & Johnson Consumer, over faulty manufacturing. According to the state attorneys general, McNeil put on the market batches of drugs that failed to comply with federal standards and were deemed adulterated as a matter of federal law. They claimed that McNeil misrepresented its compliance federal manufacturing rules and the quality of its over-the-counter drugs. "Johnson & Johnson''s disregard for proper manufacturing practices of children''s medications was unacceptable," Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said in a statement. In a statement, J&J said that its "recalls were precautionary and not undertaken on the basis of any health or safety risks to consumers, and we remain committed to providing consumers with safe and effective over-the-counter medicines." J&J''s McNeil unit previously in 2015 pleaded guilty to selling liquid medicine contaminated with metal and agreed to pay $25 million to resolve a U.S. Justice Department investigation. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and David Gregorio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-johnson-johnson-settlement-idUSKBN18K2BV'|'2017-05-25T00:28:00.000+03:00' +'c872840db26efd0d91a3f18a7354c4839cfb1954'|'U.S. aluminium sector urges Britain, EU to unite against China'|' 2:06pm BST U.S. aluminum sector urges Britain, EU to unite against China FILE PHOTO: An employee checks aluminium ingots for export at the Qingdao Port, Shandong province March 14, 2010. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo By Barbara Lewis - LONDON LONDON Representatives of the U.S. aluminum industry are speaking to EU counterparts and have written to British Prime Minister Theresa May urging action against what they says are "massive illegal subsidies" in China that threaten Western jobs. Trade lawyers and some governments accuse China of unfairly subsidizing major industries in breach of the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which it joined in 2001. Following European and U.S. action to protect their steel industries from China, the U.S. this year has shifted the focus to aluminum. It has lodged a complaint with the WTO and launched an investigation into whether Chinese imports compromise national security. "The WTO and U.S. and European leaders must act quickly to ensure a fair playing field," Michael Bless, CEO of Century Aluminum Company ( CENX.O ), told a news conference in London on Wednesday. China says it supports the work of the WTO. The aluminum industry, represented by the China Trade Taskforce, has written to May urging her "to actively engage with the WTO on this matter and press for action". "A strong WTO that acts swiftly in situations such as this will be a vital part of securing Britain''s post-Brexit future," the letter seen by Reuters said. The prime minister''s office had no immediate comment. The industry leaders said they were also speaking to Brussels officials and to the Russian sector, which has floated the idea of an OPEC-style body for the aluminum industry. Bless said he could not endorse that, but it was an "acknowledgement of the severity of the issue". When China, the biggest aluminum consumer, joined the WTO it represented just over 10 percent of aluminum production worldwide, the China Trade Taskforce said. Now it is the world leader, accounting for more than 50 percent of global output and China''s Hongqiao ( 1378.HK ) has overtaken Russia''s Rusal ( 0486.HK ) as the biggest producer, while the U.S. and European sectors have shrunk. Industry body European Aluminium said the number of primary European aluminum smelters fell by nearly 40 percent between 2002 and 2015. Trade lawyers say the ascendancy of China''s aluminum sector defies commercial logic as it faces higher bills for energy - the biggest input cost - than the U.S. and Europe. "China has no natural advantages other than illegal state support," Alan Price of Washington law firm Wiley Rein said. Century Aluminum, which is majority-owned by Glencore ( GLEN.L ), reported a first-quarter net loss.Part of the justification for the U.S. investigation into whether Chinese aluminum is a threat is that Century''s smelter in Kentucky is the only producer of high-purity aluminum required for U.S. combat aircraft. In Europe, the main concern is how to maintain smelting capacity as part of a strong value chain, creating thousands of indirect jobs, rather than security, European Aluminium said in an email. EU trade ministers, meeting in Brussels next week, are expected to discuss new rules on dealing with anti-dumping, which are likely to have most impact on Chinese imports. (additional reporting by Philip Blenkinsop in Brussels; editing by Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-century-aluminum-china-idUKKBN17Z1FU'|'2017-05-03T20:59:00.000+03:00' +'300b404fbd59623d3c589438f7fc995eb4f80cdc'|'Leading advisory firms urge BP shareholders to support revised pay scheme'|'Business 50pm BST Leading advisory firms urge BP shareholders to support revised pay scheme FILE PHOTO: A BP logo is seen at a petrol station in London, Britain, January 15, 2015. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/File Photo LONDON Two leading investor proxy advisories have recommended BP ( BP.L ) shareholders vote in favour of a new remuneration policy after the oil and gas company lowered Chief Executive Bob Dudley''s pay scheme, according to notes to clients seen by Reuters. ISS and the Local authority Pension Fund Forum joined a third major advisory, Glass Lewis, in the recommendation while Pensions & Investment Research Consultants (PIRC) urged shareholders to vote against the new policy. (Reporting by Ron Bousso; Editing by David Goodman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bp-pay-idUKKBN1801DV'|'2017-05-04T19:50:00.000+03:00' +'ed7910a5a9fcbe05eb2002de7861dc41514711e7'|'European day-ahead power prices jump on increased demand'|'Business News - Mon May 8, 2017 - 9:03am BST European day-ahead power prices jump on increased demand PARIS European spot electricity prices for day-ahead delivery rose on Monday, boosted by a forecast rise in demand and a sharp fall in German wind power production. The baseload German electricity price for Tuesday delivery TRDEBD1 added 7.4 euros to reach 39 euros (33) per megawatt-hour (MWh) compared with the price paid on Friday for Monday delivery. The French spot price for Tuesday TRFRBD1 rose 8 euros to 41.5 euros/MWh, compared with the price paid on Friday. Electricity demand in Germany is expected to rise by 1.7 gigawatts (GW) day-on-day on Tuesday to 68.5 GW, with the average temperature forecast to fall by 2 degrees Celsius, according to Thomson Reuters data. In France, consumption will jump by nearly 7 GW on Tuesday to 50.6 GW as businesses resume after a public holiday on Monday. ($1 = 0.9102 euros) (Reporting by Bate Felix; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-power-idUKKBN1840PB'|'2017-05-08T16:03:00.000+03:00' +'4bffff5ccf8ba3cb040d3630eac92ffcfb97a514'|'Saudi Arabia''s Falih says Brunei ready for global oil agreement extension'|' 5:05pm BST Saudi Arabia''s Falih says Brunei ready for global oil agreement extension Khalid al-Falih Saudi energy minister attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland January 19, 2017. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich Saudi Arabia''s energy minister Khalid al-Falih said in comments posted on social media on Sunday that Brunei has expressed readiness to extend the global oil cut agreement between OPEC and non-OPEC countries to support oil markets. Falih said that, during a visit to Bandar Seri Begawan, he conveyed to Brunei''s energy minister the kingdom''s keen interest in fostering cooperation with Brunei on all levels. "His Excellency expressed Brunei''s willingness to extend the oil reduction agreement to support the stability of the oil market," Falih said in a message on his Twitter account, referring to Brunei''s energy minister Mohammad Yasmin Umar. Three OPEC delegates said last week that producers from inside and outside the organisation look likely to extend their agreement to limit supplies beyond June to help clear a glut, downplaying the chances of additional steps such as a bigger cut. (Reporting by Reem Shamseddinel; Editing by Sami Aboudi and Andrew Bolton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-saudi-brunei-energy-idUKKBN1830NW'|'2017-05-08T00:05:00.000+03:00' +'7e54fb8d1b3f56516857ec30c30b66ef3f2d9ea0'|'Western banks eclipsed by China''s along the new Silk Road'|'Business News 12:11pm BST Western banks eclipsed by China''s along the new Silk Road left right FILE PHOTO: The logo on the building of HSBC''s London headquarters appears through the early morning mist in London''s Canary Wharf financial district, Britain March 28, 2017. REUTERS/Russell Boyce/File Photo 1/3 left right FILE PHOTO: A view of a Standard Chartered bank branch in Singapore October 11, 2016. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo 2/3 left right Leaders attending the Belt and Road Forum wave as they pose for a group photo at the Yanqi Lake venue on the outskirt of Beijing, China, May 15, 2017. REUTERS/Ng Han Guan/Pool 3/3 By Shu Zhang and Matthew Miller - BEIJING BEIJING For global banks, China''s new "Silk Road" is a tantalising concept: billions of dollars in deals, loans and advisory fees, and a cosier relationship with Beijing for those who step up. Dozens of senior international bankers turned up at the weekend for a Beijing summit to promote China''s "Belt and Road" initiative, an ambitious plan to open new trade corridors across the globe using roads, power lines, ports and energy pipelines. But commercial considerations, higher funding costs and compliance worries are holding Western lenders back, and some bankers say the situation is unlikely to change. That leaves the bulk of the action with China''s policy lenders and commercial banks, who are already bankrolling most key projects in some of Asia''s most challenging environments. "This is not something that will help you earn your bread and butter," said one Hong Kong-based banker, who said he turned down the opportunity to attend the Belt and Road Forum hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping. "Despite these hundreds of billions (of) dollars of investments being talked about, the fact of the matter is the share of business for foreign banks in China has actually gone down and this is not going to change that." The Belt and Road initiative - into which China''s policy banks have already pumped $200 billion (154 billion) - encompasses Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and is aimed at bolstering Beijing''s global ambitions. Asia''s infrastructure needs do not stop at Belt and Road - the Asian Development Bank puts potential infrastructure investment needs in emerging Asia and the Pacific at over $26 trillion by 2030. Among the banks sending top-ranking staff to Beijing this weekend to court that business were HSBC ( HSBA.L ), represented by Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver, Standard Chartered ( STAN.L ), with Chairman Jose Vinals, and executives from Bank of America Merrill Lynch ( BAC.N ), Credit Suisse ( CSGN.S ) and more. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China ( 601398.SS ), China''s largest bank, hosted a round table attended by executives and bankers from Silk Road states. SHOW ME THE MONEY The global banks, trying to crack mainland China in the face of cut-throat local competition, see an opportunity. HSBC and others have used the Silk Road in advertising, and speak enthusiastically of leveraging their capital markets expertise. HSBC, which has an edge over other foreign banks in China due to its Hong Kong heritage and which makes more than half of its profits in Asia, sees the Belt and Road initiative as a key business opportunity. At the summit, Gulliver said on the bank''s Twitter account that without extensive cooperation between governments, banks and investors, the benefits of the Belt and Road initiative could not be realised. Standard Chartered said it would use its presence in Southeast Asia, South Asia and Africa to capitalise on Belt and Road countries, which account for a third of the global economy and 60 percent of the world''s population. "With our market leading global investment banking franchise, Credit Suisse can support the OBOR initiative," said Neil Harvey, chairman of Greater China at Credit Suisse, referring to the acronym for One Belt, One Road, another name given to the new Silk Road. Credit Suisse, he said, had undertaken financing deals with Belt and Road countries, and was involved in some of the larger ones, including the sale of a controlling stake in Pakistan''s K-Electric to Shanghai Electric Power for $1.8 billion. But even those who attended the discussions were careful afterwards to separate rhetoric from reality. Societe Generale''s ( SOGN.PA ) chief country officer in China, Anne Marion-Bouchacourt, says foreign banks are keen to support Chinese corporates and Belt and Road projects, but need clarity around issues like tax, financial planning and risk management. "OBOR means a lot of opportunities for commercial banks, but the context in which all of these happen has still to be further defined and clarified," she said. Keith Pogson, a senior partner, Asia Pacific financial services at EY, said foreign banks were trying to find their way at a time when regulatory initiatives like Basel IV make many moves too costly. "They are unlikely to want to originate and hold long-dated and complex exposure without some form of credit enhancement and/or insurance, and even then there would be severe limitations as to scale and counterparty risk," Pogson said. For most Western banks, senior Western and Chinese bankers agreed, involvement would be ''capital light'' and based on business criteria, not just Belt and Road enthusiasm. "(It''s) not their game," one Chinese banker said. (Reporting by Shu Zhang and Matt Miller in BEIJING, Sumeet Chatterjee and Michelle Price in Hong Kong; Editing by Clara Ferreira Marques and Mike Collett-White)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-silkroad-banks-idUKKCN18D18J'|'2017-05-17T19:11:00.000+03:00' +'25ea0756a2f903d29ad3939fe4eb0e1ce35bd151'|'UPDATE 4-Dish revenue misses estimates, loses more subscribers than expected'|'* First-quarter rev $3.68 bln vs est. $3.78 bln* EPS 76 cents vs est. 69 cents* Shares down 1 pct (Adds comments from earnings conference call)By Anjali AthavaleyMay 1 Dish Network Corp would consider various options for its wireless airwaves, its chief executive said on Monday, after the U.S. satellite TV provider reported quarterly revenue that missed analysts'' estimates as it lost more subscribers than expected.Dish has been buying up spectrum, or radio frequencies that carry the data flowing through devices, making it a potential acquisition target for a U.S. wireless carriers such as Verizon Communications Inc and T-Mobile US Inc , according to industry analysts.Dish was the second-largest winner in the U.S. Federal Communications Commission auction of broadcaster airwaves this year, bidding $6.2 billion to increase its spectrum holdings.Companies taking part in the auction were restrained from holding merger talks for over a year until the ban ended last week. On the company''s post-earnings conference call, Dish Chief Executive Charlie Ergen declined to comment on whether it had been approached by other companies.But when asked whether Dish would prefer to sell or leasing its spectrum as opposed to keeping it, he said that the company was open to options that would ultimately increase shareholder value."At least today, we think that means someone looking at the wireless world in a disruptive manner," Ergen said.He also acknowledged that there could be more consolidation in the wireless industry, including a merger between T-Mobile and rival Sprint Corp, and said Dish would look to see if such a deal hurt competition.The company said it lost about 143,000 net pay-TV subscribers in its first quarter through March 31, after losing 23,000 a year earlier. The number was roughly double analysts'' average estimate of a loss of 72,000 subscribers, according to financial data and analytics firm FactSet.Churn, or the rate of customer defections among pay-TV subscribers, rose to 1.69 percent in the quarter, from 1.63 percent a year earlier.Net income attributable to Dish fell to $376 million, or 76 cents a share, in the quarter, from $400 million, or 86 cents a share, a year earlier.Revenue fell 3.9 pct to $3.68 billion from $3.83 billion.Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of 69 cents per share on revenue of $3.78 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.The company''s shares were down 0.9 percent at $63.85 in afternoon trading on Monday.Dish''s shares have surged more than 26 percent in the past 12 months. (Additional reporting by Amy Caren Daniel and Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Bernadette Baum)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/dish-network-results-idINL4N1I320D'|'2017-05-01T16:53:00.000+03:00' +'3527b8d8a708d9b9d867ccf2d186ee11731ea210'|'Tata pension deal raises questions for Thyssenkrupp merger'|'Deals 57pm BST Tata pension deal raises questions for Thyssenkrupp merger The logo of German steel-to-elevators group ThyssenKrupp AG is pictured during the company''s annual news conference in Essen, Germany, November 24, 2016. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay By Arno Schuetze and Carolyn Cohn - FRANKFURT/LONDON, Germany FRANKFURT/LONDON, Germany A Tata Steel deal to separate its 15 billion-pound ($19 billion) UK pension scheme still leaves many questions unanswered for a potential merger with Thyssenkrupp''s European steel operations, a source close to Thyssenkrupp said. The British Steel Pension Scheme has been the major hurdle to a tie-up between Tata''s British and European steel assets with those of Thyssenkrupp. After the announcement of the pension deal Thyssenkrupp''s shares jumped 3 percent to a two-month high on Wednesday. But the framework deal would still leave Tata sponsoring a new pension scheme. It also entails giving the BSPS a 33 percent equity stake in Tata''s UK business, as well as Tata''s putting 550 million pounds into the scheme. "One should not get overly optimistic about the Tata pensions deal. It''s still very vague, totally unclear what it will in the end mean for Tata," the person said. Thyssenkrupp declined to comment on what Tata''s announcement meant for the potential merger, which the two companies hope will help them address overcapacity in the European steel industry and push through efficiency measures. The deal is expected to take about two months to finalize and still has to be approved by Britain''s pensions regulator. "We are in a very positive consultation with all stakeholders," Tata Steel''s executive director for finance and corporate, Koushik Chatterjee, said late on Tuesday. While some industry experts expect this to be only an interim move, with Tata later paying an insurer to take on the scheme or putting in an agreed sum to separate itself completely, others believe regulators would never allow Tata entirely off the hook. Thyssenkrupp''s works council reiterated its opposition on Wednesday to the merger plan, which it fears will destroy jobs without making the business more sustainable. "That doesn''t remove the risk posed by the pension liabilities," works council chief Wilhelm Segerath told Reuters. "A joint venture really doesn''t make any sense." Labor representatives hold half the seats on German supervisory boards and can block strategic decisions unless the chairman uses his casting vote against them. Thyssenkrupp management made clear again last Friday it was prepared to work hard to make the deal work. "As long as we see progress... it makes sense to really have the stamina to work on it because, as I said, it has an industrial logic and creates value," Chief Executive Heinrich Hiesinger told analysts on a quarterly earnings conference call. Anthony Taylor, former local councillor for the constituency of Aberavon that includes Tata Steel Port Talbot plant in Wales, said: "The talk within Tata Steel UK is that a merger deal will be announced in July." The implications of the Tata pension deal for the relative valuations of the two parties will also be an issue. "It''s an important step but many details remain to be clarified ... for instance, the valuation of both companies," said analyst Bjoern Voss of MM Warburg. "I don''t expect there will be a conclusion in the current 2016/17 fiscal year." Thyssenkrupp''s financial year runs until the end of September. ($1 = 0.7732 pounds) (Additional reporting by Tom Kaeckenhoff in Duesseldorf and Maytaal Angel in London; Writing by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Edward Taylor and Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-thyssenkrupp-m-a-tata-steel-idUKKCN18D0O5'|'2017-05-18T01:57:00.000+03:00' +'8e98f8c64e126178e356b3f7068e6b6c9f0b04b8'|'China hopes ADB will boost ties with ''One Belt One Road'' initiatives'|'Business News - Sat May 6, 2017 - 7:51am BST China hopes ADB will boost ties with ''One Belt One Road'' initiatives left right Chinese Finance Minister Xiao Jie attends the first business session at Asian Development Bank (ADB)''s annual meeting in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan May 6, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato 1/3 left right A huge screen shows Chinese Finance Minister Xiao Jie as he delivers a speech during first business session at Asian Development Bank (ADB)''s annual meeting in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan May 6, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato 2/3 left right Finance ministers and central bank governors including Chinese Finance Minister Xiao Jie attend a photo session at Asian Development Bank (ADB)''s annual meeting in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan May 6, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato 3/3 YOKOHAMA, Japan Chinese Finance Minister Xiao Jie said on Saturday he hopes the Asian Development Bank will strengthen strategic ties with his country''s "One Belt One Road" initiative to support development in Asia. "China hopes the ADB ... strengthens the strategic ties between its programmes and the One Belt One Road initiative to maximise synergy effects and promote Asia''s further development," Xiao said at the ADB''s annual gathering in Yokohama, eastern Japan. (Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Nick Macfie) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-adb-asia-china-belt-idUKKBN18205X'|'2017-05-06T14:51:00.000+03:00' +'b50f853de61d3b85a565d31ff3884699ed43c4c8'|'Bain Capital raises $720 million for life sciences fund'|'By Carl O''Donnell Private equity firm Bain Capital LP said on Tuesday it had raised $720 million for its first investment fund focused exclusively on the life sciences sector.The fund will give Bain the ammunition to focus on targeted investments at a time when the life sciences industry seeks more capital to fund its expansion."We are excited by some of the long-term secular trends in the life sciences space," said Adam Koppel, a managing director at Bain Capital Life Sciences. "Big pharma is increasingly outsourcing R&D at the same time as many new technologies and treatments are being developed."Guided by a team of eight investment professionals, the new business will make investments of between $30 million and $70 million in public and private life sciences companies in areas ranging from medical devices to specialty pharmaceuticals to biotech.The fund will target companies at several key stages of their life cycle, including raising funds for clinical trials, scaling up after receiving regulatory approval for their products, or pursuing turnarounds.It will also partner with Bain Capital''s private equity funds to participate in leveraged buyouts.With the exception of its private equity investments, the fund will not usually seek a controlling stake in the companies it invests in, but it will aim for board representation in its portfolio companies."We are not going to be activist investors, we are going to be more like what they call ''constructivist'' investors who play an important role in companies'' strategic decisions," said Jeff Schwartz, also a managing director at Bain Capital Life Sciences.Bain Capital has already made two investments through the new fund, in publicly traded biotechnology company Dicerna Pharmaceuticals Inc ( DRNA.O ) and in privately held Solid Biosciences.Both are development-stage companies that are aiming to treat rare diseases, among other conditions.Based in Boston, Bain Capital is one of the largest alternative investment firms in the world, with around $75 billion of assets under management.It has made a number of major investments in various areas of healthcare, including contract researcher Quintiles, behavioral health facility operator Acadia Healthcare Co Inc, and drugmaker QuVa Pharma.(Reporting by Carl O''Donnell in New York; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-baincapital-lifesciencesfund-idINKBN18J1GV'|'2017-05-23T09:02:00.000+03:00' +'6ae730ebeaf8bf53fe33250e8bedbcd806b365f6'|'Israel car cyber firm Karamba raises money from Paladin, Liberty Mutual'|'Deals - Tue May 16, 2017 - 8:24am EDT Israel car cyber firm Karamba raises money from Paladin, Liberty Mutual TEL AVIV Israeli startup Karamba Security, a provider of cybersecurity for connected and self-driving cars, said on Tuesday it raised $12 million, attracting first-time investment in Israel from Washington-based cyber-focused Paladin Capital. The latest investment brings Karamba''s total fundraising to $17 million, with existing investors YL Ventures of California and Detroit-based Fontinalis Partners leading the round, followed by GlenRock Israel. Other new investors are Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures, Sumitomo Corp''s Presidio Ventures and security management provider Asgent ( 4288.T ). The global cybersecurity market for cars was estimated by Mordor Intelligence to grow to $1.1 billion by 2020 from $17 million in 2015. Karamba said its software protects cars based on their factory settings, blocking hacking attempts as they deviate from these settings and before they infiltrate the car. Paladin, with $1 billion in four funds, said this was its first investment in automotive security. "We see this notion of Karamba trying to prevent attacks as substantial progress on what exists today to detect attacks," Paladin managing director Kenneth Minihan told Reuters. Minihan, a retired Air Force lieutenant general and former director of the U.S. National Security Agency, said ransomware attacks such as those that occurred over the weekend would not be relevant to automobiles, which operate in their own network. But hackers may "attempt to disrupt data feeds that are telling you what''s happening around other cars," he said. Karamba said network security technology based on statistical modeling is prone to false alarms that could risk lives if applied to cars. For example, brakes could fail if a legitimate command is mistakenly identified as malicious and blocked. (Reporting by Tova Cohen, editing by Pritha Sarkar) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cyber-karamba-fundraising-idUSKCN18C1FK'|'2017-05-16T20:20:00.000+03:00' +'f4b27f739f6f7468f57b3d4db4a673ae5d325c77'|'Akzo Nobel wins court case filed by shareholders in PPG takeover battle - Reuters'|'AMSTERDAM A Dutch court on Monday rejected a request by Akzo Nobel investors for it to take immediate action against the company over its rejection of a takeover bid by U.S. rival PPG Industries, handing the Dutch company a victory in its efforts to repel the U.S. firm''s 25 billion-euro ($28 billion) proposed offer.The decision ratchets up the pressure on PPG to decide whether to file formal bidding papers for Akzo with Dutch regulators by a June 1 deadline - or walk away for at least six months.Presiding Judge Gijs Makkink said that Akzo''s board had been within its rights to reject entering into talks with PPG. However, he noted that the management faced dissent from a large group of shareholders which wanted it to engage in talks with PPG. A group representing around 18 percent of its equity had spoken out in support of the suit, launched by hedge fund Elliott Advisors."This is a problem that cannot be ignored by Akzo Nobel," Makkink said, though he left it up to the company to decide what steps it should take to mend the rift.Elliott Advisors had asked the court to order an extraordinary shareholders meeting to consider a motion to dismiss Chairman Antony Burgmans over the company''s decision to reject a proposed takeover offer from PPG worth 25.3 billion euros ($28.3 billion).The judge rejected that, saying that it amounted to an attempt to force the board of directors to change their strategic direction, which was not a right that shareholders have under Dutch law.A spokesman for Elliott declined to comment. PPG, which has taken legal action with a different Dutch court in seeking to extend the June 1 deadline for filing bid papers, was not immediately available for comment.Akzo Nobel spokesman Leslie McGibbon said the company was "very pleased" with Monday''s decision."Now we are focused on executing our high growth and value creation plan."He said it was too soon to say what more the company might do to explain its position to shareholders."We have been conducting a high level of shareholder engagement in the past several months and that will continue."PPG began its pursuit of Akzo Nobel in March.(Reporting by Toby Sterling and Bart Meijer; Editing by Greg Mahlich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/akzo-nobel-m-a-ppg-inds-idINKBN18P1RH'|'2017-05-29T14:50:00.000+03:00' +'11a0f4ea79ddc29fc13345d08325a9151a3d16da'|'Japan passes law to tighten regulations on high-frequency trading'|'Business 10:13am BST Japan passes law to tighten regulations on high-frequency trading TOKYO Japan tightened regulations on high-frequency trading (HFT) this week, passing into law measures that will require HFT firms to register with regulators. Other nations in Europe and elsewhere in Asia are looking to tighten the leash on high-frequency traders who programme ultra-fast computers to trade in milliseconds without human intervention. Some major U.S. exchanges want to introduce speed limits on trading. The growing presence of HFT on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) has raised concerns high-speed trading could destabilise markets and leave retail investors at a disadvantage. The law was passed by parliament on Wednesday and the new regulations could come into force as early as 2018. Japan''s market regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), has said previously it wanted HFT participants to register and to ensure proper risk management measures were in place. "The definition has not yet been created. We can guess at who might be affected, but we don''t know for sure the full scope of who will be affected," said Seth Friedman, chief executive of advisory firm Shiroyama Consulting Co.. The new rules stipulate that a company engaging in HFT will have to establish an office in Japan or be represented in the country by an agent. HFT accounted for about 70 percent of orders on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2016, FSA estimates show. High-speed trading accounted for slightly less than half of actual traded value, according to market participants, taking into account order cancellations. That would amount to slightly less than 321 trillion yen ($2.9 trillion) based on figures on the TSE website for total trade in cash equity of 643 trillion yen. (Reporting by Lisa Twaronite; Editing by)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-regulations-hft-idUKKCN18F0TU'|'2017-05-19T17:13:00.000+03:00' +'cc4113501e50148cbd20ff8d6b8dc4fb6d36d218'|'IMF reaches staff level agreement for second loan instalment to Egypt'|'Money 9:46pm IST IMF reaches staff level agreement for second loan instalment to Egypt A security personnel stands next to International Monetary Fund logo at IMF headquarters in Washington, U.S., April 19, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/Files CAIRO The International Monetary Fund said on Friday it had reached a staff-level agreement with Egypt on a second loan instalment that would make available about $1.25 billion. The IMF approved a $12-billion, three-year loan programme to Egypt in November and paid out $2.75 billion of the first $4 billion tranche of the loan. An IMF team was in Cairo this week conducting a review of Egypt''s reform efforts to decide when the next $1.25 billion would be disbursed. In a statement at the end the IMF visit, team leader Chris Jarvis said: "The IMF staff team and the Egyptian authorities have reached a staff-level agreement on the first review of Egypt''s economic reform programme supported by the IMF''s $12 billion arrangement. "The staff level agreement is subject to approval by the IMF''s Executive Board." Jarvis said completion of the review would make about $1.25 billion available to Egypt, bringing total disbursements under the programme to about $4 billion. There was no immediate comment from the Egyptian government. The IMF described the agreement as "a vote of confidence by the IMF staff" in Egypt''s reform process, which the Fund said was "off to a good start". The floating of the Egyptian currency last November, as well as the introduction of a value added tax and reform of energy subsidies had all had significant effects, it said Foreign exchange shortages are resolved and interbank market activity is recovering, the IMF added. "Egypt has regained investors'' confidence," the statement said, citing strong appetite for Egypts eurobond sale in January, while private sector remittances and portfolio investments had increased considerably. It said manufacturing was rebounding strongly and exports had increased significantly. Egypt''s GDP growth reached 3.9 percent in the first quarter of this year. The IMF said it supported the Central Bank''s objective of bringing inflation -- currently more than 30 percent -- down to single digits over the medium term. Rising prices present a challenge for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his government, which have pledged to push ahead with sensitive austerity measures like fuel and electricity price hikes. The IMF said the finance ministry had drafted a "very strong budget" which if enacted by parliament would put public debt on a "clearly declining path to sustainable levels". The statement said parliament''s approval of new industrial licensing and investment laws would help unlock Egypt''s growth potential, attract investors, increase exports and industrial production, as well as create well-paid jobs. The government''s reform programme, which the IMF supported, would "lay the foundations for strong and sustainable growth that improves the lives of all Egyptians," the statement said. (Reporting by Giles Elgood; Additional reporting by Eric Knecht; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Toby Davis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/egypt-imf-idINKBN1882B3'|'2017-05-12T14:16:00.000+03:00' +'ccb97e864e98239f8d3e15cb527c5c558a6efcf4'|'EU refuses to lower size of private cash injection for Veneto banks'' rescue - sources'|'Business News 8:14pm BST EU refuses to lower size of private cash injection for Veneto banks'' rescue: sources MILAN The European Commission has turned down a request to reduce the size of a one billion euro (849.81 million pounds) private capital injection for two ailing regional banks needed to approve a state-backed rescue plan, four sources said on Wednesday. A meeting on Wednesday between EU Commission officials, top management of Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca, and Italian Treasury representatives turned out negatively, the sources said. The two banks will attend a meeting at the Italian Treasury on Thursday to assess the situation, the sources added. The banks and the Italian Treasury declined to comment. Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca, both based near Venice, are among the country''s most troubled lenders and have requested state aid to help fill a capital shortfall of 6.4 billion euros. (Reporting by Andrea Mandala, Paola Arosio and Stefano Bernabei, writing by Stephen Jewkes, editing by Isla Binnie)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-italy-veneto-banks-eu-idUKKBN18K2SZ'|'2017-05-25T02:49:00.000+03:00' +'4d8f7edd9ebf15804b0372ce256de776a1946762'|'US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-Wall St opens higher ahead of Trump''s budget plan'|'US Market Report 32am EDT US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-Wall St opens higher ahead of Trump''s budget plan May 23 U.S. stocks opened higher on Tuesday, shrugging off a deadly bomb blast in Britain and ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump''s first full budget plan that is aimed at slashing government spending and trimming the deficit. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 43.81 points, or 0.21 percent, to 20,938.64, the S&P 500 gained 4.41 points, or 0.18 percent, to 2,398.43, while the Nasdaq Composite added 17.07 points, or 0.28 percent, to 6,150.69. (Reporting by Tanya Agrawal; Editing by Savio D''Souza)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-idUSL4N1IP4GR'|'2017-05-23T21:32:00.000+03:00' +'bb66133acf0564dc1e0c13d00a4281ee6b887479'|'Exclusive: Brazilian banks turn up heat on scandal-hit Odebrecht'|' 05am BST Exclusive: Brazilian banks turn up heat on scandal-hit Odebrecht A worker cleans the corporate logo of the Odebrecht SA construction conglomerate at its headquarters in Sao Paulo, Brazil, April 17, 2017. REUTERS/Nacho Doce By Tatiana Bautzer and Guillermo Parra-Bernal - SAO PAULO SAO PAULO Banks are raising the heat on Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht SA to put its house in order after months of treating the scandal-hit company with kid gloves because of fears its collapse could hurt their balance sheets, sources said. Odebrecht has agreed to accelerate asset sales as part of a deal with creditor banks to let the heavily indebted company keep $800 million from the divestiture of its water and waste unit announced last month, enough to fund its cash needs for two years, according to several executives, bankers and lawyers involved in the talks. The conglomerate also agreed to surrender to creditors all dividends from its crown jewel, petrochemicals unit Braskem SA, and to place more assets as collateral for loans under renegotiation, said the people, who asked not to be named because the terms of the agreement with creditors were not made public. "All the parties agreed that steps to resolve this drama once and for all must be taken carefully but quickly," said one of the people involved. The agreement shows how creditor banks holding a big chunk of Odebrecht''s 76 billion reais (18.9 billion pounds) in outstanding debt are growing increasingly assertive. In part, banks'' new-found confidence stems from a plea deal struck by Odebrecht in December with U.S., Brazilian and Swiss prosecutors, which drew a line under the main legal risks to the group. Odebrecht and Braskem admitted to bribing officials in 12 countries, mostly Latin America, and agreed to pay $3.5 billion in fines in return for freedom from prosecution. Lenders also feel they have given Odebrecht enough time and have dealt with other headaches in their credit portfolio over the last year, giving them more room to manoeuvre. "Now the leniency deal is a reality, we believe that Odebrecht can downsize assets and liabilities at a faster pace," one senior banker said. The tougher stance is evident from how banks are dealing with Odebrecht''s 38 percent stake in Braskem, Latin America''s No. 1 petrochemical firm. While Chairman Emilio Odebrecht wants Braskem to lead the group''s recovery, bankers believe they have the right to decide the fate of the stake - pledged as collateral for a debt restructuring of agribusiness unit Odebrecht Agroindustrial SA. "It should be up to us, not Odebrecht, to decide what to do with Braskem," said the chief executive officer of a large Brazilian lender. HIT BY SCANDAL, RECESSION Once the nation''s biggest employer, Odebrecht has been floored by Brazil''s "Operation Car Wash" investigation into political kickbacks on state infrastructure contracts. Brazil''s harshest recession on record has compounded problems for the family-owned group. Restricted access to capital and a tarnished reputation led Odebrecht to miss a 12 billion-real asset sale goal for mid-2017. The target has been extended until next year under the accord governing April''s sale of Odebrecht Ambiental SA. However, Brazil''s government has joined creditors in pushing for the bulk of the target to be completed this year, officials, bankers and lawyers familiar with the restructuring told Reuters. Some banks have balked at how slowly the Odebrecht family, which retains control over the company it founded in 1944, is selling shipbuilding, biofuels and oil drilling assets. Others question whether the family should retain command after its role in the corruption scandal. In a statement to Reuters, Odebrecht said it is pursuing the downsizing, noting that gross revenue fell to around 90 billion reais last year. The group declared gross revenues of 132.5 billion reais in 2015. "After reaching agreements with judicial authorities in Brazil, U.S., Switzerland and Dominican Republic, the group is working to sign similar deals with other countries to take the group to a new standard of ethics, governance and transparency." On Friday, Odebrecht named Luciano Guidolin, who played a key role in negotiating the plea deals, as its new chief executive officer. Yet revelations that Odebrecht bribed politicians across Latin America have complicated efforts to win new contracts. The backlog for civil construction unit Odebrecht Engenharia & Construo SA shrank 50 percent over two years to December 2016 to $17 billion, the lowest since 2008, according to preliminary financial data seen by Reuters. Emilio Odebrecht has created stricter compliance structures and vowed to keep family members out of the group''s boardrooms. A person familiar with Odebrecht SA''s finances said management agreed to book all of December''s fine in last year''s income statement, alongside heavy asset writedowns and charges related to the bribery scheme. That would lead to the group posting a record loss, to be announced in the coming weeks, the person said. The question is whether the company can rebuild its order book after it was banned from bidding on Brazilian public works contracts and shown the exit from at least four other Latin American countries. Several top Brazilian officials are lobbying antitrust and auditing agencies to avoid additional penalties. "I''ve seen many people spreading the word that Odebrecht will not survive, but that goes against this whole idea of designing leniency deals," said Carlos Lima, a prosecutor in the Car Wash taskforce. "We want the company working and we want it clean." (Additional reporting by Brad Brooks in So Paulo; Editing by Daniel Flynn, Christian Plumb and Mary Milliken)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-brazil-odebrecht-banks-idUKKCN18B0EM'|'2017-05-15T13:05:00.000+03:00' +'e18fb9041afefb28f293db383434967b12d8f747'|'Spain to look at Hispasat, competition law in Atlantia bid: economy minister'|'By Sonya Dowsett - MADRID MADRID Spain signaled on Tuesday that satellite business Hispasat is a strategic asset which will be monitored if its majority-owner Abertis ( ABE.MC ) is bought by Italy''s Atlantia ( ATL.MI ).Atlantia''s 16.3 billion euro bid ($18 billion) for Abertis, which would create the world''s biggest toll road operator, resuscitated a similar cross-border merger which fell through 10 years ago due to opposition from the Italian government.Abertis and its biggest shareholder, Criteria, said on Monday they would consider the bid but it may take months to respond. Criteria will seek the opinion of the government and other institutional investors before making a response, sources with knowledge of the matter said on Monday..The Spanish government would not interfere in the Italian infrastructure company''s offer for Abertis, which was a matter between private companies, Spain''s Economy Minister Luis de Guindos told journalists after an event in Barcelona.However, Hispasat, competition law and the future of Abertis-owned road concessions in Spain that are about to expire are points of interest for the Spanish government."Everything surrounding Hispasat will be carefully studied. It is a strategic asset for the government. It has its own set of rules and implications," de Guindos said.The Public Works Minister, Inigo de la Serna, said on Tuesday that aside from needing approval from Spanish competition and market authorities, any purchase of Abertis by Atlantia needed government approval due to implications for Spanish motorway concessions owned by the government and granted to Abertis and due to the future implications for Hispasat.Hispasat controls Spain''s national satellite communications system. Abertis has a 57.05 percent stake, while the government owns more than 9 percent through public companies.Alongside competition law, other points of national interest could be the future of Spanish motorway concessions owned by Abertis that are up for renewal soon, de Guindos said.Atlantia Chief Executive Giovanni Castellucci said on Tuesday it was now up to the Spanish to decide."I will relax only after the Spanish market authority and Abertis board have given their green light (to our takeover offer)," he told Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore on Tuesday.Abertis shares closed 0.3 percent down on Tuesday at 16.30 euros, just below Atlantia''s 16.5 euro offer for the stock. Atlantia closed 1.69 percent higher.(Additional reporting by Rodrigo de Miguel, Jesus Aguado in Madrid and Francesca Landini in Milan; Editing by Angus Berwick and David Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-abertis-m-a-government-idINKCN18C1R8'|'2017-05-16T12:23:00.000+03:00' +'d97b961be64276770bdfbb379aad6e27c6de1c48'|'UPDATE 2-JD.com reports record Q1, warns growth to weaken future profits'|'* JD.com revenue up 41 pct vs 36 pct expected by analysts* JD Finance spinoff expected in Q2* JD annual active customer accounts up 40 pct (Adds details from CFO interview, context)By Cate CadellBEIJING, May 9 JD.com Inc logged the first profit since its 2014 listing as an expanded product line-up lured more active users, but China''s second largest e-commerce company cautioned the cost of expanding at home and abroad could crimp future income growth.Diversifying into data, cloud and artificial intelligence services amid fierce competition in China and Southeast Asia, JD has separated its logistics unit, made new investments overseas and laid out plans to spin off it financial unit this year.The cost of some of these investments, as well as an increasingly tough domestic market, is likely to weaken quarterly profits this year, Chief Financial Officer Sidney Huang told Reuters on Tuesday.JD plans to set up a logistics network in Southeast Asia''s biggest e-commerce market Indonesia, which currently accounts for almost all its entire overseas business."The e-commerce sector in particular is very competitive... we are constantly looking for new innovations and we have to stay on top," Huang said, without elaborating.JD reported a net profit of 355.7 million yuan ($51.5 million) for the first quarter, compared with a loss of 867.3 million yuan for the same period a year earlier.Quarterly revenue came in at 76.2 billion yuan, 41 percent higher than the same 2016 period and topping the average estimate of 73.5 billion yuan from 14 analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters. Active customer accounts increased by 40 percent to 237 million in the year ended March, the company said, without giving a quarterly breakdown.Revenue from new businesses, including its overseas operations for the quarter, stood at 281 million yuan.JD''s push into Indonesia coincides with a similar drive by rival Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, which last year bought a controlling stake in Southeast Asian online retailer Lazada group for about $1 billion. Alibaba''s payment affiliate Ant Financial is also in talks to launch a payment venture in Indonesia.Asked about the Indonesia plans, Huang said JD is replicating the direct-sale model it uses in China, where brands make use of an extensive warehouse network, compared to the marketplace model favoured by Alibaba."We will build that infrastructure over the next 3-5 years," he added.JD also said it expects the spinoff of its financial arm to be completed in the second quarter.The firm said in November that it would seek to split off the unit to make it a fully Chinese-owned entity, allowing it to apply for licenses that Chinese laws forbid foreign-listed firms from holding, including mutual funds and securities.JD expects second-quarter revenue at between 86.6 million and 89.1 million yuan excluding JD Finance, a growth of 33-37 percent, in line with analyst predictions of 36 percent.It made a net profit of 0.17 yuan per American Depository Share in the first quarter, compared with a loss of 0.66 yuan a year earlier. ($1 = 6.9071 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Cate Cadell in Beijing and Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Miral Fahmy)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/jdcom-results-idINL4N1IA363'|'2017-05-09T04:32:00.000+03:00' +'fc402569b61c224649227c8ac319eecd4b6c6b49'|'Exclusive - Cerberus, Sycamore Partners wrestle with Staples buyout: sources'|'Deals - Tue May 2, 2017 - 5:04pm BST Exclusive: Cerberus, Sycamore Partners wrestle with Staples buyout FILE PHOTO: A shopping cart is seen outside a Staples office supplies store in the Chicago suburb of Glenview, Illinois, February 4, 2015. REUTERS/Jim Young/File Photo By Lauren Hirsch and Greg Roumeliotis Cerberus Capital Management LP and Sycamore Partners are the two private equity firms actively exploring an acquisition of Staples Inc ( SPLS.O ), the U.S. office supplies retailer, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Staples has held talks with several private equity firms over the last few weeks about a potential deal, the sources said. Cerberus and Sycamore have emerged as the frontrunners, as other prospective buyers have become discouraged by the challenges Staples faces in shifting its business model from serving consumers to catering to companies, the sources added. Clayton Dubilier & Rice LLC , Advent International Corp and Bain Capital LLC are among the private equity firms that have also held discussions with Staples but are now less actively pursuing a deal, according to the sources. A major hurdle for private equity firms in putting together an acquisition plan is foreseeing how they can successfully cash out on their investment a few years down the line, the sources said. While Staples has sufficient cash flow to support a leveraged buyout, many firms struggle to see how they can take the company public or divest it at a significantly higher valuation than what they will pay for it, the sources added. Private equity firms are also troubled by the divergent fortunes of its successful wholesale business and its laggard retail business, according to the sources. Staples still carries the cost burden of 1,255 stores in the United States and 304 stores in Canada. It recently announced plans to sell roughly 60 stores in North America. Staples is continuing to explore a sale, and there is no certainty it will clinch a deal with either Cerberus or Sycamore Partners, the sources said, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential. Staples, Cerberus, Sycamore Partners, Clayton Dubilier, Advent and Bain all declined to comment. Staples, which made its name selling paper, pens and other supplies in retail stores, has seen the value of its stock stagnate after its previous agreement to merge with peer Office Depot Inc ( ODP.O ) was thwarted by a judge on antitrust grounds a year ago. Staples has the largest market share of office supply stores in the United States at 48 percent, and its share has increased since 2011, according to Euromonitor. Buyout firms have watched many of their investments in retailers sink as debt loads shackle them in the struggle with industry headwinds, including changing spending habits and the popularity of internet shopping. A number of private equity-backed retailers, from Sports Authority Inc to Payless ShoeSource Inc, have filed for bankruptcy in the last two years. As a result, the value of private equity-backed acquisitions of retailers worldwide fell last year to $18 billion, less than one-third of its 2007 peak, according to Thomson Reuters data. Cerberus clinched another deal with Staples just last year, when it acquired a majority stake of Staples'' European business for 50 million euros ($53.65 million). The deal was meant to allow the retailer to focus on its North American operations. (Reporting by Lauren Hirsch and Greg Roumeliotis in New York)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-staples-m-a-exclusive-idUKKBN17Y1Z9'|'2017-05-03T00:03:00.000+03:00' +'c5b7131ab991edc50cb325c6185ff39b8c40102c'|'Microsoft to buy cyber security firm Hexadite for $100 million - report'|'Technology 35am BST Microsoft to buy cyber security firm Hexadite for $100 million: report FILE PHOTO: A sign marks the Microsoft office in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. January 25, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo JERUSALEM Microsoft has agreed to acquire cyber security firm Hexadite for $100 million, Israeli financial news website Calcalist reported on Wednesday. Hexadite, headquartered in Boston with its research and development center in Israel, provides technology to automate responses to cyber attacks that it says increases productivity and reduces costs for businesses. Microsoft officials declined to comment. Officials at Hexadite could not immediately be reach for comment. Investors in Hexadite include Hewlett Packard Ventures, and venture capital firms TenEleven and YL Ventures. Microsoft said in January it plans to continue to invest more than $1 billion annually on cyber security research and development in the coming years. Israel has already benefited from that investment. (Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch and Tova Cohen)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-microsoft-m-a-hexadite-idUKKBN18K12K'|'2017-05-24T17:34:00.000+03:00' +'268510c0d64165556901529e344403bccbd6ecde'|'CEE MARKETS-Warsaw leads stocks lower, Slovenian bonds fall as minister offers to resign'|'* Stocks mostly drop on corporate news, EU sentiment * Warsaw''s PZU leads equities decline * Currencies, bonds shrug off Draghi''s dovish comments (Adds Slovenian finance minister offering to resign, forint''s fall against the zloty) By Sandor Peto BUDAPEST, May 30 Warsaw led a retreat in central European shares as investors, underwhelmed by dividend payments and takeover offers announced by some companies on Tuesday, booked profits from the multi-year highs of recent weeks. Worries over a potential early election in Italy weighed on investor sentiment across Europe, though the main impact was on bank shares in the European Union. Central Europe''s main equities indices reached multi-year highs earlier this month, helped by reports of good first-quarter earnings and dividend payments. Bucharest retained its momentum and again set a new nine-year high on Tuesday, but Warsaw had shed 1.2 percent and Prague 0.6 percent by 1242 GMT. The decline in Warsaw was led by PZU, the biggest Polish insurer, whose stocks fell 2.6 percent after it said it would pay a dividend of 1.4 zlotys ($0.3740) per share. PZU shares hit two-year highs last week. "The market seems to be disappointed by the amount of dividend," said Jaroslaw Janusz, broker at Nobel Securities. An announcement by Polish pensions fund Aviva OFE that it had reduced its stake in PZU to below 5 percent may also be driving shares lower, Janusz said. Polish state-run energy firm PGNiG also shed 3 percent after surging last week due to good first-quarter results. Regional currencies were mixed and government bonds mostly eased slightly. The yield on Slovenia''s 10-year bonds touched 11-month highs, and had jumped to 1.286 percent by 1250 GMT from Monday''s 0.958 percent, after Finance Minister Mateja Vranicar Erman offered to step down. Prime Minister Miro Cerar did not accept Erman''s resignation. Regional markets shrugged off comments from European Central Bank head Mario Draghi that the euro zone still needs substantial stimulus given that growth is improving but inflation remains subdued. In past years, such dovish comments would often have lifted government bonds and currencies. The forint had eased 0.1 percent and the zloty firmed 0.3 percent against the euro by 1242 GMT, with the Hungarian currency falling to a 2-week low against the Polish currency. "I do not rule out forint/zloty cross trades, but even trade in the euro is very thin," one dealer said, adding the next event that could set direction for regional currencies could be the publication of U.S. payrolls data on Friday. "Weak figures pointing to no Fed rate hike in June could in theory help the forint, but if it causes uncertainty, even the opposite could happen," the dealer said. CEE MARKETS SNAPSH AT 1442 CET OT CURRENCIES Latest Previo Daily Change us bid close change in 2017 Czech crown 26.470 26.500 +0.11 2.03% 0 0 % Hungary 308.30 308.00 -0.10% 0.17% forint 00 50 Polish zloty 4.1730 4.1841 +0.26 5.53% % Romanian leu 4.5670 4.5658 -0.03% -0.70% Croatian kuna 7.4200 7.4145 -0.07% 1.82% Serbian dinar 122.52 122.67 +0.12 0.68% 00 00 % Note: daily calculated previo close 1800 change from us at CET STOCKS Latest Previo Daily Change us close change in 2017 Prague 1007.2 1012.9 -0.56% +9.29 5 0 % Budapest 34259. 34138. +0.35 +7.05 02 11 % % Warsaw 2296.0 2323.5 -1.18% +17.8 7 8 7% Bucharest 8717.8 8673.5 +0.51 +23.0 2 0 % 5% Ljubljana 782.22 785.95 -0.47% +9.01 % Zagreb 1847.6 1853.4 -0.31% -7.38% 3 2 Belgrade 719.15 717.64 +0.21 +0.25 % % Sofia 655.31 655.51 -0.03% +11.7 5% BONDS Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs change Bund in Czech spread Republic 2-year -0.16 0.023 +055b +1bps ps 5-year -0.087 -0.024 +034b -4bps ps 10-year 0.744 -0.015 +044b -2bps ps Poland 2-year 1.922 -0.053 +263b -6bps ps 5-year 2.701 0.007 +312b -1bps ps 10-year 3.28 0.007 +298b +0bps ps FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interb ank Czech Rep Hungary Poland Note: FRA are for ask Quote: s prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets-idINL8N1IW402'|'2017-05-30T11:13:00.000+03:00' +'3dc4b9ceeb59338607de339cc3807e12759822f0'|'Factbox - Impact on banks from Britain''s vote to leave the EU'|'Business News - Wed May 3, 2017 - 2:03pm BST Factbox - Impact on banks from Britain''s vote to leave the EU FILE PHOTO: The Citibank building is seen in the financial district of Canary Wharf in London, Britain January 19, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs/File Photo Global banks have warned they could move thousands of jobs out of Britain to prepare for the expected disruption caused by the country''s exit from the European Union, endangering London''s status as a major financial centre. Financial services firms need a regulated subsidiary in an EU country to offer their products across the bloc, and this could lead some to move jobs out of Britain if it loses access to the European single market. Many of the top financial firms have begun drawing up plans. Following are some details and reports on the subject: STANDARD CHARTERED Standard Chartered ( STAN.L ) is in talks with regulators about making Frankfurt its European base to secure market access to the European Union when Britain leaves the bloc. HSBC Stuart Gulliver, CEO of HSBC ( HSBA.L ), Europe''s biggest bank, said it would relocate staff responsible for generating around a fifth of its UK-based trading revenue, or around 1,000 people, to Paris. Chairman Douglas Flint has told lawmakers that banks without operations elsewhere in the EU will likely trigger migration plans immediately after EU divorce talks begin, estimating "tens of thousands" of jobs are linked to EU "passporting" rights. BARCLAYS Banks in Britain will start shifting some operations to continental Europe reasonably soon to avoid disrupting links with customers after Brexit, Barclays ( BARC.L ) Chief Executive Jes Staley said. He added that obtaining a licence to trade on the continent and changing financial contracts to another jurisdiction took a year to 18 months. The bank is preparing to make Dublin its EU headquarters after Brexit, according to a source familiar with the matter. Staley previously told BBC Radio that Barclays would keep the bulk of its activities in Britain after Brexit and any changes to how the bank operates would be small and manageable. UBS Swiss bank UBS ( UBSG.S ) would have to "move 1,500 people" from London to an EU destination in order to retain full passporting rights across the EU, according to UBS chairman Axel Weber. That would be more than a quarter of its current 5,500 staff in London. Separately, Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti has said UBS has a degree of flexibility if its UK outpost looks set to lose its ability to operate across the EU. The world''s biggest wealth manager has also set up a bank in Frankfurt to consolidate most of its European wealth management operations, after the Brexit vote dashed London''s chances of being the host city. CREDIT SUISSE Credit Suisse''s ( CSGN.S ) Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam said in September his bank was relatively well placed to deal with the impact of Brexit and that only around 15-20 percent of volumes in the investment bank would be impacted. LLOYDS BANKING GROUP Lloyds Banking Group ( LLOY.L ), Britain''s largest mortgage lender and the only major British retail bank without a subsidiary in another EU country, is close to selecting Berlin as a European base to secure market access to the EU after Britain withdraws. GOLDMAN SACHS U.S. bank Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) is considering moving up to 1,000 staff from London to Frankfurt because of concerns over Brexit, Germany''s Handelsblatt newspaper reported in January, citing financial sources. Goldman Sachs will begin moving hundreds of people out of London before any Brexit deal is struck as part of its contingency plans, the Wall Street firm''s Europe CEO said in March. Three people familiar with the matter told Reuters in November that Goldman Sachs was considering shifting some of its assets and operations from London to Frankfurt. MORGAN STANLEY U.S. bank Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) has identified many of the roles that will need to be moved from Britain after Brexit, sources involved in the processes told Reuters. Morgan Stanley, which bases the bulk of its European staff in Britain, will have to move up to 1,000 jobs in sales and trading, risk management, legal and compliance, as well as slimming the back office in favour of locations overseas, one source told Reuters. Morgan Stanley may initially shift 300 staff from Britain following its exit from the EU, and is scouting for office space in Frankfurt and Dublin, Bloomberg News reported in February. CITIGROUP Citigroup ( C.N ), which has also identified roles that will need to be moved out of the UK and has a large banking unit in Dublin, will need to move 100 posts in its sales and trading business, sources with knowledge of the matter said. Separately, Citigroup''s European chief said the U.S. bank would make a decision on its Brexit contingency plans in the first half of the year and choose from a number of potential EU countries to relocate some investment banking business. JPMORGAN The head of U.S. bank JPMorgan Chase ( JPM.N ) said the bank was not planning to move many jobs out of Britain in the next two years in a softening of tone on the likely impact from Brexit. He had previously said the bank would be forced to move 4,000 of its 16,000 staff currently based in Britain if the country loses access to the single market. BANK OF AMERICA CORP Bank of America Corp ( BAC.N ) said in August its businesses and results could be adversely affected and it may have to incur additional costs if Brexit limited the ability of its UK entities to conduct business in the EU. Dublin is Bank of America''s default option for a new base within the EU, but other centres are on the table and no decision has yet been made, an executive said in Germany on March 14. (Compiled by Noor Zainab Hussain and Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Mark Potter) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-banks-factbox-idUKKBN17Z1FO'|'2017-05-03T21:03:00.000+03:00' +'2b677c0476785318e921b836bf1f42908b9600f2'|'Ireland can expect ''meaningful share'' of Brexit moves - central bank'|' 17pm BST Ireland can expect ''meaningful share'' of Brexit moves - central bank Storm clouds are seen above the Canary Wharf financial district in London, Britain, August 3, 2010. REUTERS/Greg Bos/File Photo DUBLIN Ireland''s financial services sector can expect to receive a "meaningful share" of activities that will move from Britain as a result of Brexit, a senior central bank official said on Tuesday, citing feedback from its many meetings to date. Ed Sibley, the central bank''s director of credit institution supervision, added that the Brexit impact on domestic retail lenders in Ireland had been manageable to date with no material deposit outflows or significant deterioration in credit quality. However, he told a parliamentary committee that while banks do not currently foresee any material deviation from their strategies, there have been some reductions in forecast loan book growth and subsequent profitability estimates out to 2019. (Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Edmund Blair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-ireland-idUKKBN18Q244'|'2017-05-31T01:17:00.000+03:00' +'e1cfcdf9e3a7f7774799a0c4e84eda60a11e3774'|'Israel''s Netafim draws interest from private equity, Chinese bidders'|'By Arno Schuetze and Clara Denina - FRANKFURT/LONDON FRANKFURT/LONDON International buyout groups and Chinese investment funds are expected to submit bids for Israeli irrigation firm Netafim, which could fetch around $1.5 billion, within the next few weeks, two banking sources said on Friday.Tel Aviv-based Netafim said in March it had hired Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) to handle a possible sale or public offering of the company.Centerview and Bank of America ( BAC.N ) have also been appointed to advise on the deal.Private equity funds CVC and Bain Capital and Chinese investment funds Fosun International and Primavera Capital were named by sources as possible bidders.The firm, majority owned by London-based buyout group Permira, could still opt for a listing in New York if bids are perceived as too low, two of the sources said.The company is hoping for a valuation of between 10 and 12 times its expected 2017 earning before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of around $120 million, one of the sources said.Permira, Netafim, CVC and Bain Capital declined to comment.Fosun International ( 0656.HK ) and Primavera Capital were not immediately available to comment.Lindsay Corporation ( LNN.N ), a U.S. provider of irrigation systems, may also show an interest, one of the sources said. However, given that Netafim is larger than Lindsay it is seen as an unlikely buyer. The company was not immediately available for comment.Netafim has 4,300 employees and owns 17 factories in 10 countries and provides irrigation products for agriculture, greenhouse and mining applications.(Reporting by Arno Shuetze in Frankfurt and Clara Denina in London; additional reporting by Dasha Afanasieva in London; editing by Keith Weir)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-netafim-sale-privateequity-idINKBN18M1RJ'|'2017-05-26T12:16:00.000+03:00' +'e3e9207175e899f004929168455660f98ba06c23'|'Exclusive: Bankrupt Westinghouse ends pensions for ex-CEOs, executives'|'Business News - Thu May 25, 2017 - 12:36pm EDT Exclusive: Bankrupt Westinghouse ends pensions for ex-CEOs, executives The Vogtle Unit 3, being constructed by primary contactor Westinghouse, a business unit of Toshiba, near Waynesboro, Georgia, U.S. is seen in an aerial photo taken March 2017. Georgia Power/Handout via REUTERS By Tom Hals - WILMINGTON, Del WILMINGTON, Del Bankrupt Westinghouse Electric Co LLC, the U.S. nuclear technology firm owned by Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ), has stopped making pension payments to former executives, according to a letter seen by Reuters, removing a benefit that has helped the company retain top talent. The move comes as the company scrambles for cash and works to extract itself from two U.S. power plant projects, the first new nuclear plants in three decades, which are years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget. Westinghouse notified former senior managers that the company will no longer make payments under the Executive Pension Plan, according to an April letter seen by Reuters. Westinghouse spokeswoman Sarah Cassella said in a statement that in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the company is not permitted to make pension payments to retired executives because it is a non-qualified plan. Unlike "qualified" plans for rank-and-file workers that are funded from money set aside in a trust, Westinghouse''s executives receive their payments from the company''s ongoing operations. The pension was considered a major perk. Steve Tritch, who was CEO of Westinghouse from 2002 to 2008 and is among those who lost their pension payments, told Reuters the company may struggle to keep top talent without the plan in place. Many employees "resisted opportunities from outside the company because they were counting on those pensions," he said. The plan covers around 75 former managers, according to a court filing by Ronald Gellert, a Delaware lawyer who was hired to represent the plan participants. It includes retired senior vice presidents, directors, regional presidents and at least two former chief executives, Aris Candris and Tritch. Gellert declined to comment. Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy and has said it cannot afford to finish construction of the Plant Vogtle nuclear project in Georgia or the V.C. Summer project in South Carolina. The plants were the first in the United States to use Westinghouse''s innovative AP1000 design, but construction has been dogged by missteps, litigation and regulatory hurdles. Westinghouse has warned in court filings that its workforce is highly specialized and the loss of employees could complicate relationships with government agencies and customers, and could jeopardize its reorganization. "Westinghouse is very focused on retaining our talented employees during this time and our training and development programs continue," said Cassella, the Westinghouse spokeswoman. Under the pension plan, the amount each former executive received was based on service with the company and final salary, according to three former executives, who asked not to be identified because they may pursue Westinghouse in court. The three former executives told Reuters the plan also allowed them to defer compensation and take that money as part of their pension, which helped reduce taxes. The former executives who deferred compensation are losing their pension as well as money they could have received when they were still working, according to these former executives. (Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Nick Zieminski) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-westinghouse-pensi-idUSKBN18L2AF'|'2017-05-26T00:23:00.000+03:00' +'c3f9546eaa603c40cf5b31f02f88af638c80ba70'|'GLOBAL MARKETS-Concerns over Trump dent stocks, dollar'|'By Vikram Subhedar - LONDON LONDON May 17 Concern that U.S. President Donald Trump''s reform agenda could be slowed down, and that Trump himself could even face the threat of impeachment, added to disappointing U.S. economic data on Wednesday to hit the dollar and spur a pullback from richly valued stocks.Reports that Trump asked then-FBI Director James Comey to end a probe into his former national security adviser have raised questions over whether obstruction of justice charges could be laid against the president.This follows a week of turmoil at the White House after Trump fired Comey and then discussed sensitive national security information about Islamic State with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.So far, broadly upbeat global growth has underpinned risky assets and supported the multi-year lows in measures of market volatility.But the retreat in the dollar, which has now given up all the gains it made following Trump''s presidential election win in November, and a pull-back from record highs for world stocks points to investor unease about this week''s headlines."The Trump issue seems to come in waves, and now we have another wave," said Hans Peterson, global head of asset allocation, at SEB Investments."I have been asked if he is going to be impeached. I think that is the type of discussion some (investors) are having," Peterson said, pointing out that institutional clients are turning cautious.U.S. stock futures were off 0.5 percent, though they were still close to record highs.At nearly 18 times forward earnings, the S&P 500 trades at a significant premium to its long-term average valuations of 15 times, according to Thomson Reuters data.More attractively valued European stocks slipped slightly, although the region''s brighter economic outlook and better-than-expected corporate profits continue to draw investors.Upbeat growth prospects and signs of stronger integration also spurred flows into regional bond markets, narrowing the gap between U.S. and German government borrowing costs to its tightest level in over six months.This has started to partly reverse a trend that began during the euro zone debt crisis of 2011/2012, where the single currency bloc and the United States'' economic paths appeared to diverge.This reversal was also evident in currency markets, with the euro climbing to its highest since Nov. 7 - just before the U.S. presidential election - against the dollar.Recent U.S. data, which includes softer-than-expected retail sales and inflation, has raised concern about the strength of consumer sentiment.Meanwhile, the euro zone economy started the year with robust growth that outstripped that of the United States and set the stage for a strong 2017."At the moment everyone is focusing on the political relief in Europe and the political unrest in the U.S.," ING''s senior rates strategist Martin van Vliet said.In commodity markets, safe-haven gold hit a two-week high, climbing 0.6 percent to $1,243.31. The precious metal has risen for five straight days.Data showing an increase in U.S. crude investors hit oil prices as concerns about oversupply despite efforts by top producers Saudi Arabia and Russia to extend output cuts once again weighed.Brent crude fell 0.3 percent to $51.53 a barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude slipped 0.6 percent. (Additional reporting by Marc Jones and John Geddie; Editing by Hugh Lawson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-markets-idINL4N1IJ2T1'|'2017-05-17T07:12:00.000+03:00' +'3458009a6ffee488166d932fc6e01adcdcfff311'|'LPC-French Verallia to cut loan pricing for a third time'|'By Claire Ruckin - LONDON LONDON May 15 French glass bottle maker Verallia is launching a third repricing of its 1.375bn debt to take advantage of strong liquidity and favourable conditions in Europes leveraged loan market, banking sources said.The company is releasing first quarter numbers on Tuesday and a call was taking place at 2pm to go through them. At the end of that call, lenders were expected to be notified of a repricing, the sources said.Verallia reduced the margin on its 1.375bn loan to 375bp over Euribor with a 0% floor in December, having reduced it previously in June 2016 to 350bp with a 1% floor.The borrower''s term loan originally priced in July 2015 at 400bp with a 1% floor.Soft call protection from the December repricing runs out in June, when it is expected that the new interest margin, agreed as part of this latest repricing, will commence, the sources said.Six-month soft call protects investors against borrowers altering the terms of their loans within that period, but once that time is up, there is nothing to prevent a borrower from coming back and attempting to reduce pricing again.It is open season once six months has expired. Borrowers will keep doing it as long as the market will accept it, a banker said.Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Nomura are running Verallias latest repricing.ALARM CALLIt is the second loan to return for a third repricing, with Swedish home alarms company Verisure also looking to reduce interest margins again, having conducted repricings in June and December.Europes leveraged loan market has seen a flood of repricings since September 2016. Most of the credits in the market have repriced once, if not twice but this is the first time credits have come back for a third time, amid a lot of liquidity and very little supply that is enabling strong borrowers to continue improving the terms of their debt.Bankers have been working on repricings on a best-efforts basis rather than an underwrite, meaning there is no financial loss if the aggressive asks are not met by investors.If a deal is performing well, trading above par and has a headline margin higher than the market, then investors should expect a deal to be repriced. These are best-efforts deals and until these deals stop getting done, sponsors and bankers will keep pushing their luck. They are aggressive but because the market is not pushing back, there is no reason why they wouldnt be, a capital markets head said.Other deals touted to come back for a third repricing include German perfume and cosmetics retailer Douglas, which removed a 1% floor in January having reduced the margin on its 1.37bn term loan B to 375bp in July, from 500bp.THINK TWICEInvestors may think twice about repricings with a slug of event-driven financings on the horizon including a 1.95bn term loan B backing the buyout of German drugmaker Stada; 393m equivalent of term loans backing UK-based Element Materials Technology''s acquisition of British laboratory-based testing firm Exova Group, which forms part of a wider US$1.5bn financing; and a euro portion of a 2.5bn-equivalent leveraged loan financing for Hong Kong-based international schools operator Nord Anglia Education.Borrowers have to be careful as people think a good pipeline is coming up. Previously if a deal tried to reprice investors would agree as they didnt want their money back, but in the future they might be quite pleased to have some money back, the capital markets head said.However, if the new money deals price in line with the repricings, they be no more attractive than the existing deals.New deals will balance the market a bit but if something is trading above par and is a core holding of people then are they really going to give it back? Only if a massive supply of new deals come at a much higher price and people arent expecting that, the banker said. (Editing by Chris Mangham)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/repricing-loans-idINL8N1IH4D9'|'2017-05-15T11:04:00.000+03:00' +'c17035b3fc5f5a8e422f04b80a5d0c42e87fb71e'|'Twitter partners with Bloomberg for streaming TV news'|'Technology News - Mon May 1, 2017 - 6:10am EDT Twitter partners with Bloomberg for streaming TV news: WSJ FILE PHOTO: People holding mobile phones are silhouetted against a backdrop projected with the Twitter logo in this illustration picture taken September 27, 2013. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration/File Photo (Corrects April 30 story to add news source in headline) Twitter Inc is partnering with Bloomberg Media for a round-the-clock streaming television news service on the social networking platform, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. The channel, which is yet to be named and is expected to begin operations this fall, would be announced Monday, WSJ said. Twitter''s user growth has stalled in the past few quarters and the company has been trying to convince advertisers that it will strengthen its user base. As part of its efforts, it has updated its product offerings including live video broadcasts from its app and launched new features to attract users. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said in an internal memo last October one of the company''s missions was defined as being the "people''s news network". Twitter has made a push into news and sports on mobile devices last year and this foray could pique the interest of a media company as an acquirer, analysts have said. (Reporting by Shalini Nagarajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-twitter-bloomberg-idUSKBN17X10P'|'2017-05-01T10:55:00.000+03:00' +'6fe4ae824de0c6d6d1bfeaf4af2fa0e9090b2472'|'BRIEF-Samson Resources II to market East Texas, North Louisiana assets as part of strategic review outcome'|'May 8 Samson Resources:* Samson Resources II, LLC to market East Texas and North Louisiana assets as part of strategic review outcome* Samson Resources II LLC - owns about 210,000 net acres in East Texas and North Louisiana Areas with an 86% working interest in leasehold* Samson Resources II LLC - emerged from chapter 11 on march 1, 2017 with improved financial position after discharging approximately $4 billion in debt Source text for Eikon:'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/brief-samson-resources-ii-to-market-east-idINASA09NYV'|'2017-05-08T20:18:00.000+03:00' +'bcc6a3c101a6fcbd0cdd885e5f46f9cff455efbb'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'Market 00pm EDT Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions (Adds CPPIB, Home Capital, Rosneft, Ita Unibanco, Omnia Holdings, Enbridge and PGE; Updates Engie) May 11 The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Thursday: ** Exxon Mobil Corp said it has reached an agreement to buy a refining and petrochemical plant owned by Jurong Aromatics (JAC) in Singapore that will boost its output and meet demand in Asia. ** The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), the country''s biggest public pension fund, is considering a bid for Dominion Diamond Corp and is studying the miner''s books, people familiar with the process told Reuters. ** Home Capital Group, Canada''s biggest non-bank lender, is in talks to divest about C$2 billion in assets to help pay down a high-interest loan and delay a potential sale of the entire company, according to people familiar with the situation. ** Russian state oil firm Rosneft is struggling to close its $12.9 billion acquisition of India''s Essar Oil Ltd because six of Essar''s Indian creditors have yet to approve the deal, sources close to the talks said. ** The Australian state of New South Wales said it has sold power grid Endeavour Energy to a consortium led by Macquarie Group Ltd for A$7.62 billion ($5.61 billion), relegating foreign bidders to a minority stake. ** French engineering services group Assystem has made an offer for a 5 percent stake in the new Areva NP reactor unit being formed from the broader restructuring of Areva . ** Ita Unibanco Holding SA said it is still in talks to acquire a stake in Brazilian broker XP Investimentos SA, adding that no definitive agreement has been signed. ** South African fertiliser and mining explosives maker Omnia Holdings said on Thursday it had agreed to acquire an oil products and lubricants supplier as part of its strategy to expand its chemical business. ** Enbridge Inc,, Canada''s largest pipeline company, said it may acquire more assets and forecast a rise in adjusted earnings before interest and taxes this year following its purchase of Spectra Energy Corp. ** Poland''s biggest power group PGE said it has signed a conditional agreement to buy EDF''s Polish power and heating assets. ** Generali is looking to buy portfolio management teams to expand its asset management operations and its fee-based business after reporting a 9 percent fall in first-quarter profit. ** Engie said it had received a binding offer from Neptune Energy for its 70 percent stake in its oil and gas exploration unit based on a value of 4.7 billion euros ($5.1 billion) for 100 percent of the unit. ** TPI Triunfo Participaes & Investimentos SA TPIS3.SA and its creditors are discussing a restructuring plan allowing the indebted Brazilian infrastructure company to retain cash from potential asset sales while it downsizes further, three people familiar with the situation said. ** Fireproof industrial materials maker RHI, which is taking over Brazilian rival Magnesita, said it plans to keep the dividend payout at around $33 million in 2017 and 2018, cutting the amount per share for the enlarged group. ** Britain''s planned departure from the European Union opens the door for a UK-Swiss deal covering financial services, the head of one of Switzerland''s biggest private banks said. ** Liberty Global''s John Malone says he is open to doing separate deals with Vodafone and British broadcaster ITV, but has yet to make the valuations work. ** Founders of Indian online marketplace Snapdeal and one of its early investors, Nexus, have reached an agreement with SoftBank Group that would allow the Japanese firm to move ahead with its plan to sell Snapdeal to bigger rival Flipkart, ET Now reported, citing sources. ** T-Mobile US will very likely be part of merger talks in the United States and its strong position there should give it time to find the best fit, its parent Deutsche Telekom said. ** Slot machine maker Sega Sammy Holdings Inc said it would seek a majority stake in any Japanese casino project, one of a few domestic firms to detail plans for a sector already drawing intense interest from global gambling companies. ** Japan''s Tokyo Electric Power Co said it will seek partners for its nuclear business as part of a recovery plan after the Fukushima disaster of six years ago brought the utility to its knees and put it under state control. ** Saudi Arabia''s Al Borg Medical Laboratories, one of the largest private medical laboratory chains in the Gulf, has agreed to buy the lab business of Anglo Arabian Healthcare, majority owned by Waha Capital, sources told Reuters. ** The head of German sportswear company Adidas rejected calls from some shareholders to sell the loss-making Reebok brand, saying he was confident that a restructuring plan would restore it to profitability. ** Verizon Communications Inc snapped up wireless spectrum holder Straight Path Communications Inc in a $3.1 billion deal, trumping rival AT&T''s offer and potentially gaining an advantage in a race to build 5G networks. ** Activist investor Starboard Value LP reported a 5.7 percent stake in Parexel International Corp, calling the U.S. contract research firm''s shares "undervalued" and that it represented an attractive investment opportunity. ** Wilmar International Ltd, the world''s largest palm oil processor, posted a 51 percent rise in quarterly profit and said it was carrying out a restructuring that could possibly lead to a separate listing for its Chinese operations. ** "We want to acquire more property this year and going forward want to double what we have currently," TLG Immobilien executives told Reuters. ** The European Commission has approved Slovenia''s proposal to sell 50 percent of its largest bank Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB) this year rather than 75 percent as planned earlier, the Finance Ministry said. (Compiled by Divya Grover and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/deals-day-idUSL4N1ID3P0'|'2017-05-11T18:00:00.000+03:00' +'61e4a4762685b6ed6d6a9bde2ed79d5b7a7d7207'|'Ex-IBM employee from China pleads guilty to code theft charges'|'NEW YORK A former software engineer for IBM in China pleaded guilty on Friday to stealing proprietary source code from the company, federal prosecutors announced on Friday.Jiaqiang Xu, 31, pleaded guilty to economic espionage and theft of a trade secret before U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas in White Plains, New York, prosecutors said. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 13.Leanne Marek, Xu''s attorney, declined to comment.Xu was arrested in December 2015 after meeting with an undercover officer at a White Plains hotel, where authorities said he was recorded saying he used the code to make software to sell to customers.He was originally charged with theft of a trade secret. The economic espionage charges were added in a superseding indictment filed last June.International Business Machines Corp was not identified by name in the complaint. But a LinkedIn profile for Xu said he was employed as a system software developer at IBM during the period in question.Prosecutors said the proprietary computer code Xu stole was related to a so-called clustered file system, which facilitates faster computer performance.Xu, who began working at IBM in China in 2010, had full access to the source code before voluntarily resigning in May 2014, prosecutors said.According to the criminal complaint filed in 2015, the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2014 received a report that someone in China was claiming to have access to the code and using it for business ventures, prompting the investigation that led to the arrest.The case is USA v. Xu, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 16-cr-00010.(Reporting by Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ibm-crime-china-idUSKCN18F2LZ'|'2017-05-20T06:44:00.000+03:00' +'b5a52c399027261d3f14f1cce7d4d3d248b2b5bf'|'Israeli billionaire buys control of Germany''s Brack Capital Properties'|' 26pm BST Israeli billionaire buys control of Germany''s Brack Capital Properties JERUSALEM Israeli billionaire Teddy Sagi has agreed to buy a controlling stake in Brack Capital Properties (BCP), a property owner and developer in Germany, for about 1 billion shekels (214.7 million), the company said on Tuesday. BCP ( BCNV.TA ), which is listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, said in a statement that Sagi agreed to buy a controlling 44 percent stake, or about 2.9 million shares, for 345 shekels a share. The shares had been trading at 365 shekels when trade was halted prior to the announcement. BCP has a market capitalisation of 2.53 billion shekels. Sagi, who founded online gaming software supplier Playtech ( PTEC.L ), has been building up his real estate portfolio, which includes prime real estate in London such as Camden Market, which he holds through Market Tech Holdings ( MKT.L ). (Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch, Editing by Tova Cohen and Susan Fenton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-brack-capital-sagi-idUKKBN18J1K2'|'2017-05-23T19:26:00.000+03:00' +'958a8ac1ef801235bacd0527b12184a5edf75366'|'Electric bikes help power cycle sales at Halfords - Business'|'Bike and car parts retailer Halfords has reported a surge in demand for electric bikes.Sales of e-bikes soared 130% over the year at Halfords, helping to increase its total cycle sales by more than 5%. They start at just under 500, with a top-of-the-range model which promises a top speed without pedalling of 15mph costing 2,299.Its chief executive, Jill McDonald, said: Sales are hitting a tipping point as people understand what e-bikes are. She said they made cycling accessible to many older people and Halfords has tripled the number of outlets where the battery-assisted bikes are available. It has also trained all its staff to sell them and has increased its range. E-bikes now make up 4% of the chains total bike sales.Electric rides: the best e-bikes - Martin Love Read more However, the retailers underlying profits still fell 7.5% to 75.4m, largely down to fall in the pounds value since the Brexit vote, which increased the cost of buying goods from overseas.McDonald said cutting better deals with suppliers and improving efficiency as well as raising some prices had only partly offset the impact of sterlings fall against the dollar. Nearly all bikes are bought in dollars.McDonald said prices for premium bikes sold at independent retailers had risen by as much as 15%, while most mainstream operators had increased prices by 4% to 5%. She insisted Halfords prices had risen less than that.McDonald, who is leaving Halfords in October to become head of non-food including clothing at Marks & Spencer , said the cycle market still had good growth prospects: People want to get fit and healthier and cycling is an affordable low impact way to get fitter, she said.Topics Halfords Retail industry Cycling Sterling Currencies '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/25/electric-bikes-help-power-cycle-sales-at-halfords'|'2017-05-26T02:38:00.000+03:00' +'ef41e371a9f3f83d8cfbb0549c64daaf08859ff5'|'Commerzbank to close physical precious metals business -source'|' 42am BST Commerzbank to close physical precious metals business -source FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of Germany''s Commerzbank are photographed in Frankfurt, Germany, September 29, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo LONDON Commerzbank ( CBKG.DE ) is to close its physical precious metals business in the next year, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Thursday. The business that will be closed includes physical precious metals trading, and related activities including refinery services, vaulting and transportation of precious metals, the source said. The team is largely based in Luxembourg. No change is expected to its unallocated products business, the source added. Commerzbank had no comment to make on the matter. (Reporting by Jan Harvey; editing by Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-commerzbank-precious-idUKKCN18E14X'|'2017-05-18T17:42:00.000+03:00' +'fa9940332cfe12cc3237bae37924ed85b9829c42'|'Airbus well behind Boeing in January-April orders'|'Business News - Fri May 5, 2017 - 3:39pm EDT Airbus well behind Boeing in January-April orders The logo of Airbus Group is seen on the company''s headquarters building in Toulouse, Southwestern France, April 18, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau PARIS Airbus ( AIR.PA ) sold 25 passenger jets in April, bringing total orders for the European planemaker so far this year to 51, well behind its U.S. rival Boeing. Airbus typically makes a slow start to the year as it prefers to use the industry''s main summer air show, held in Paris in June this year, as a focal point for new business. But figures published on Friday underscore fragile demand as airlines digest record new capacity ordered in recent years, while bracing for economic weakness in key markets. Airbus said that after adjustments for cancellations and conversions between different models, net orders stood at 23 aircraft for the year so far. April''s new business included 10 of its new A350-900 aircraft, but the customer was not identified. Boeing this week posted 241 orders for the first four months, or 210 after cancellations. Orders were boosted partly by demand for military derivatives. Airbus delivered 182 aircraft between January and April. Airbus is targeting 700 deliveries for the whole year, though top executives have also issued a more optimistic forecast of 720 deliveries. Boeing is targeting 760-765 deliveries. Airbus expects deliveries once again to be weighted towards the latter half of the year as it faces problems with one brand of engine on its A320neo family, but hopes to avoid the dramatic sprint of December last year following such difficulties. Deliveries so far this year include 36 A320neo-family aircraft including the first A320neo. It is aiming to deliver about 200 of the upgraded medium-haul models this year. It delivered 17 A350 aircraft in the first four months. It delivered no A380 superjumbos in April and has handed over three of the aircraft for the year so far. (Reporting by Tim Hepher; editing by David Clarke) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-airbus-orders-idUSKBN18125J'|'2017-05-06T03:39:00.000+03:00' +'5c4a8b6e305c24a79c0f02b1deb43c4fe6b72631'|'U.S. prescription drug spending as high as $610 bln by 2021 -report'|'Company News - Thu May 4, 2017 - 12:01am EDT U.S. prescription drug spending as high as $610 bln by 2021 -report By Bill Berkrot May 4 Spending on prescription medicines in the United States will increase 4-7 percent through 2021, reaching $580 billion to $610 billion, according to a report released by QuintilesIMS Holding on Thursday that lowered its prior long-term forecast. QuintilesIMS, which compiles data for the pharmaceutical industry, had previously forecast average spending growth of 6-9 percent through 2021. It reduced its projections due to fewer new medicines approved in 2016 than prior years and as drugmakers face increasing pricing pressure and competition. Taking likely manufacturer discounts and rebates into account, spending would grow 2-5 percent to $375 billion to $405 billion in 2021, as net price increases for patent-protected branded drugs slows, the report said. Under pressure from politicians and insurers over the cost of many branded medicines, several drugmakers have pledged to limit annual price hikes to under 10 percent. "We''re forecasting moderation in pricing reflecting what ... we expect will be a continuing trend of single-digit price increases," said Murray Aitken, executive director of the QuintilesIMS Institute which compiled the report. Some of the expense of new medicines will be offset by expanded use of cheap generics as several big-selling prescription drugs lose patent exclusivity and more biosimilars - less expensive versions of pricey biotech medicines - enter the market. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved just 22 new medicines last year, down from 45 in 2015, which will also contribute to lower spending growth this year and next, the report said. That is seen picking up in 2019 and beyond as QuintilesIMS estimates 40 to 45 new brand launches per year through 2021 based on a review of experimental medicines in drugmaker pipelines. The report found more than 2,300 novel products in later stage development, including more than 600 drugs for cancer, which remain able to command very high prices. "Numbers (of approvals) are already running well ahead of where they were a year ago," Aitken said. U.S. spending on prescription medicines in 2016 increased by 5.8 percent over 2015 levels to $450 billion based on list prices, and by 4.8 percent to $323 billion when adjusted for discounts and rebates. The biggest drivers of prescription growth came from large chronic therapy areas, such as hypertension and mental health. Overall use of pain medicines declined 1 percent with restrictions on prescribing and dispensing becoming more common as healthcare providers attempt to address the growing epidemic of addiction to opioid pain drugs. (Reporting by Bill Berkrot; Editing by Andrew Hay)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-drugspending-quintilesims-idUSL1N1I31NL'|'2017-05-04T12:01:00.000+03:00' +'ad26d12e9962326f297bc78674742a63d4402fb3'|'Banco Popular under pressure to merge as Spanish rescue unlikely'|'By Sarah White and Jess Aguado - MADRID MADRID Spanish lender Banco Popular ( POP.MC ) should not expect to receive an injection of public funds, the country''s economy minister said on Thursday, increasing pressure on the bank to find a merger partner quickly.Struggling under the weight of 37 billion euros ($41 billion) of non-performing real estate assets left over from Spain''s financial crisis, Popular''s new management has said it would consider a merger as a way out.Several larger Spanish banks, including Santander ( SAN.MC ), BBVA ( BBVA.MC ) and state-owned Bankia ( BKIA.MC ), declared a preliminary interest in a merger this week after Popular said it was considering its options, which include a merger or another capital increase after it raised 2.5 billion euros last year.But sources familiar with the talks said the lenders have yet to find out Popular''s exact needs and have not made any decision on whether they would bid for the rival bank.The sources also said Popular would first try to merge, then if did not work it would seek to raise money and only if both of those options fail could a bailout be on the table.Asked whether Popular, Spain''s sixth largest bank, needed a state rescue, Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said: "The government does not foresee injecting public funds."Popular''s capital levels were still above regulatory requirements, he said at an event in Madrid, citing feedback from the Bank of Spain.Banco Popular ended March with a phase-in capital level 0.53 of a percentage point above its requirement of 11.38 percent as set by the European Central Bank.However, its capital under the strictest "fully-loaded" criteria is the lowest among listed Spanish banks at 7.33 percent, down from 8.17 percent at the end of December.Most have made good progress since Spain sought a 41 billion euro European bailout for its lenders in 2012, clearing their books of the huge volumes of toxic real estate assets amassed during the crisis years, but Popular remains saddled with the highest amount in the sector.Popular''s non-performing loan ratio is about three times above the average of its Spanish rivals.Popular reported a 3.6 billion euro loss for 2016 and has undergone three leadership shake-ups since July. Its shares have fallen 62 percent over the past year and are the worst performers on the European STOXX banking index .SX7P.(Writing by Angus Berwick; editing by Julien Toyer and David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-banco-popular-government-idINKCN18E2GV'|'2017-05-18T14:44:00.000+03:00' +'f56e88c1f0c552fb4458500d96a553e7412b9dfe'|'BHP rejects investor Elliott''s claims it has been intransigent'|'MELBOURNE BHP ( BHP.AX )( BLT.L ) on Tuesday said it was disappointed with the latest salvo from Elliott Management which said the company was not open to suggestions and had been misleading in its response to the activist investor''s calls for a change in strategy."We reject both claims," BHP said in an emailed statement after Elliott released a letter calling for an open review of BHP''s petroleum business and saying the company had exaggerated the costs of collapsing its dual-listed structure.(Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Richard Pullin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-bhp-billiton-elliott-response-idUSKCN18C05H'|'2017-05-16T09:18:00.000+03:00' +'a16bcc07cc1574dfc257a81a44979effed4d549a'|'Morocco''s Attijariwafa paid twice book value for Barclays Egypt acquisition'|'CAIRO Morocco''s Attijariwafa Bank ( ATW.CS ) paid twice book value to acquire Barclays'' Egyptian business and hopes the acquisition will enable it to increase its market share in Egypt to 5 percent within five years, the Moroccan bank''s CEO said.The bank plans to rename the unit Attijari Bank Egypt and raise its profile in Egypt, CEO Mohamed El Kettani said.Britain''s Barclays ( BARC.L ) reached a deal last year to sell its Egyptian banking unit to Attijariwafa Bank, one of Morocco''s largest banks, but the value of the deal, which closed this month, has not been disclosed by either side.Kettani, speaking to Reuters on Sunday, would not put an exact dollar figure on the acquisition but said it was twice Barclays Egypt''s 2016 book value or about seven times its expected net profit for 2017.Sources had told Reuters previously that the Barclays Egypt business was valued at around $400 million (308 million pounds).Kettani expects the cost of the deal to be recovered in five to seven years.Attijariwafa hopes the acquisition will enable it to increase its market share in Egypt to 5 percent within five years, from about 1-1.5 percent currently, and it plans to add new services such as leasing and insurance, said Kettani.In the next few days the bank will choose an international consulting firm to develop a five-year strategy for its Egypt operations."Attijari Bank Egypt will be the group''s entryway to Gulf states and East Africa," Kettani said.(Reporting by Ehab Farouk; Writing by Eric Knecht; Editing by Susan Fenton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-barclays-attijariwafa-bnk-egypt-idINKBN1830P3'|'2017-05-07T14:19:00.000+03:00' +'41bb22ba2f046df1585cd95e2df04d9508edc6aa'|'ChemChina gets nearly 95 percent of Syngenta, seeks more'|'ZURICH ChemChina has accumulated nearly 95 percent of shares in Swiss pesticides and seeds group Syngenta ( SYNN.S ) as part of its $43 billion tender offer, China''s biggest foreign takeover to date.Announcing the definitive final results for the offer on Wednesday, China National Chemical Corporation said around 94.7 percent of shares had been tendered.ChemChina re-affirmed its intention to request the cancellation of the remaining Syngenta shares if the 98 percent threshold is exceeded."To that end, it intends to acquire further shares through market purchases or in off-market transactions," it said in a statement.If it gets less than 98 percent, it plans to proceed to a squeeze-out merger.(Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Stephen Coates)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-syngenta-m-a-chemchina-idINKBN18R0HN'|'2017-05-31T03:27:00.000+03:00' +'f71b1be81fc83e7ff2ad64a9a6bff668bf476836'|'Tata Steel agrees British pensions deal'|'Deals 5:56pm BST Tata Steel agrees British pensions deal FILE PHOTO: Tata steelworks Port Talbot, Wales, April 26, 2016. REUTERS/Rebecca Naden/File Photo By Maytaal Angel and Carolyn Cohn - LONDON LONDON India''s Tata Steel ( TISC.NS ) has agreed the main terms of a deal to cut benefits for its British pension scheme in a move that will see the firm back a new plan that will pose less risk to the company. The pension scheme is a major stumbling block in talks to merge Tata''s British and European steel assets with those of Thyssenkrupp ( TKAG.DE ), because the German company is opposed to taking on 15 billion pounds ($19.37 billion) in UK pension liabilities. The fate of Tata''s British businesses, including the country''s largest steelworks at Port Talbot, has been in the air since Tata Steel said a year ago it planned to sell its British assets following heavy losses. Pensions consultants questioned, however, whether the pensions deal announced on Tuesday would be enough to satisfy Thyssenkrupp. Tata said the deal will see it plough 550 million pounds into the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS), one of Britain''s largest final salary schemes with 130,000 members. The deal is subject to formal approval by The Pensions Regulator, but Tata said it expected to get approval shortly. "We are in a very positive consultation with all stakeholders," said Tata Steel''s executive director for finance and corporate Koushik Chatterjee. Tata Steel UK has agreed, as part of the deal, to sponsor a new pension scheme that will have lower benefits than those of the original BSPS and will therefore pose less of a risk to the company. As a further safety measure, Tata will give the BSPS a 33 percent equity stake in its UK business. BSPS members who do not agree to move to the new scheme will automatically transfer to the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), which said all members, including those in the new scheme, are guaranteed at least PPF compensation levels. The PPF is a lifeboat for pension schemes in Britain that run into trouble. "Good progress is being made," The Pensions Regulator said. But it added: "We will only approve (pensions restructurings)...where stringent tests are met, so that they are not abused by employers seeking to inappropriately offload their pension liabilities." Martin Hunter, principal at pensions consultant Punter Southall, said the deal did not involve a total separation of the pension scheme from Tata. Thyssenkrupp has consistently opposed taking on Tata''s UK pension liabilities, though it continues to pursue merger talks with Tata in a bid to achieve sector consolidation and tackle Europe''s excess steel capacity. "The $64,000 question is is this good enough for Thyssenkrupp, given that Tata Steel UK is still on the hook for the pension scheme?, said independent pensions consultant John Ralfe. Thyssenkrupp declined to comment. The merger is vigorously opposed by German trade unions, who fear large-scale job cuts as a result - probably at Germany''s expense after workers at Tata Steel''s Port Talbot plant in Wales were recently given job guarantees. Tata Steel reported an unexpected fourth-quarter loss on Tuesday due to one-off exceptional items, including charges related to the pensions deal. It posted a fourth-quarter net loss of 11.68 billion rupees ($182.4 million), compared with a net loss of 30.42 billion rupees a year ago. The companys current debt is 730 billion rupees as of the end of March 2017. (Additional reporting by Promit Mukherjee, Georgina Prodhan, Tom Kaeckenhoff; Editing by Jane Merriman and Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-tata-steel-pensions-idUKKCN18C253'|'2017-05-17T00:56:00.000+03:00' +'c347d4ad116e200ef4c9fee7312dd8dc85f80837'|'GM, Ford and Toyota all post U.S. sales declines in April'|'Business 26pm EDT Wall Street fears end of boom as automakers'' April U.S. sales drop FILE PHOTO - Cars are seen in a parking lot in Palm Springs, California April 13, 2015. Picture taken April 13, 2015. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo By Nick Carey and Joseph White - DETROIT DETROIT Major automakers on Tuesday posted declines in U.S. new vehicle sales for April in a sign the long boom cycle that lifted the American auto industry to record sales last year is losing steam, sending carmaker stocks down. The drop in sales versus April 2016 came on the heels of a disappointing March, which automakers had shrugged off as just a bad month. But two straight weak months has heightened Wall Street worries the cyclical industry is on a downward swing after a nearly uninterrupted boom since the Great Recession''s end in 2010. Auto sales were a drag on U.S. first-quarter gross domestic product, with the economy growing at an annual rate of just 0.7 percent according to an advance estimate published by the Commerce Department last Friday. Excluding the auto sector the GDP growth rate would have been 1.2 percent. Industry consultant Autodata put the industry''s seasonally adjusted annualized rate of sales at 16.88 million units for April, below the average of 17.2 million units predicted by analysts polled by Reuters. General Motors Co ( GM.N ) shares fell 2.9 percent while Ford Motor Co ( F.N ) slid 4.3 percent and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV''s U.S.-traded ( FCHA.MI )( FCAU.N ) shares tumbled 4.2 percent. The U.S. auto industry faces multiple challenges. Sales are slipping and vehicle inventory levels have risen even as carmakers have hiked discounts to lure customers. A flood of used vehicles from the boom cycle are increasingly competing with new cars. The question for automakers: How much and for how long to curtail production this summer, which will result in worker layoffs? To bring down stocks of unsold vehicles, the Detroit automakers need to cut production, and offer more discounts without creating "an incentives war," said Mark Wakefield, head of the North American automotive practice for AlixPartners in Southfield, Michigan. "We see multiple weeks (of production) being taken out on the car side," he said, "and some softness on the truck side." Rival automakers will be watching each other to see if one is cutting prices to gain market share from another, he said, instead of just clearing inventory. INVESTORS DIGEST BAD NEWS Just last week GM reported a record first-quarter profit, but that had almost zero impact on the automaker''s stock. The iconic carmaker, whose own interest was once conflated with that of America''s, has slipped behind luxury carmaker Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ) in terms of valuation. On Tuesday, Tesla''s market value was $53 billion, nearly $3 billion larger than GM''s. GM said April sales fell 6 percent, but crossovers and trucks continued to see strong growth. Sales at Ford, the No. 2 U.S. automaker by sales after GM, fell 7.2 percent in April, while Toyota ( 7203.T )( TM.N ) recorded a drop of 4.4 percent and FCA sales were off 7 percent. U.S. consumers have increasingly shunned cars in favor of larger crossovers, SUVs and trucks. While automakers posted steep sales declines for cars in April, SUVs, crossovers and trucks were either up or off only slightly. New vehicle sales hit a record 17.55 million units in 2016. But as the consumer appetite for new cars has waned, automakers have leaned more heavily on discounts. GM said its consumer discounts were equivalent to 11.7 percent of the transaction price. The automaker also said its inventory level rose to 100 days of supply at the end of April versus around 70 days at the end of 2016. Recent levels have worried analysts, and GM has promised inventories will be down by the end of 2017. On a conference call Mark LaNeve, Ford''s vice president for U.S. marketing, sales and service, insisted the industry was "relatively constrained" in offering discounts in April. Ford car sales dropped 21 percent and trucks declined 4.2 percent, while SUV sales rose 1.2 percent. Toyota''s luxury Lexus brand posted an 11.1 percent slide. U.S. car sales at the Japanese automaker were down 10.4 percent, while truck sales were up 2.1 percent. Nissan Motor Co Ltd ( 7201.T ) said April U.S. sales were off 1.5 percent, but SUVs, crossovers and trucks jumped 11 percent. Honda Motor Co Ltd ( 7267.T )( HMC.N ) reported a 7 percent decline in sales in April, with cars off 7.4 percent and trucks up just 0.8 percent. (Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-autos-sales-idUSKBN17Y1OA'|'2017-05-02T22:11:00.000+03:00' +'3e6e37babb0ecc076e8890b706418d13f5db0a13'|'Alibaba injects $488 million health food assets into Ali Health'|'Business News 32am BST Alibaba injects $488 million health food assets into Ali Health FILE PHOTO: A logo of Alibaba Group is pictured at its headquarters in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, October 14, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo HONG KONG Alibaba Health Information Technology Ltd said on Friday controlling shareholder Alibaba Group Holding Ltd would sell HK$3.8 billion (377.03 million pounds) worth of health food and nutritional products businesses to the company, further developing it into Alibaba''s healthcare flagship platform. Alibaba Health will buy Ali JK Nutritional Products Ltd from Alibaba Group in a deal to be settled by the issue of 1.19 billion shares at HK$3.2 apiece, or a 6.16 percent discount to the last close, the company said in a filing to Hong Kong bourse. The deal will bring a broader set of merchants into the online healthcare community, while the company will obtain more stable and sustainable revenue growth, the Hong Kong-listed firm added. Alibaba Health saw its adjusted net loss narrowed to 98.3 million yuan (11.04 million pounds) for the year ended in March, from a 161.5 million yuan loss in the year-ago period amid rapid growth of its pharmaceutical e-commerce business. (Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Stephen Coates)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ali-health-alibaba-investment-idUKKCN18F03P'|'2017-05-19T09:32:00.000+03:00' +'342a8c65a8f56ef3ab7a499ea60788319ada2f74'|'EMERGING MARKETS-LatAm currencies down on profit-taking after Macron win'|' 39am EDT EMERGING MARKETS-LatAm currencies down on profit-taking after Macron win SAO PAULO, May 8 Latin American currencies weakened on Monday, tracking a decline in the euro on profit-taking following Emmanuel Macron''s widely expected victory in France''s presidential elections. Macron''s overwhelming win on Sunday briefly pushed the euro to a six-month peak on investor relief over the defeat of nationalist Marine Le Pen, who had threatened to take France out of the European Union. The currency soon reversed direction, dragging along assets from riskier markets. Currencies of Brazil, Mexico , Chile and Colombia weakened between 0.5 percent and 0.9 percent. Lower prices of commodities also weighed on Latin American assets, with China-listed iron ore futures extending last week''s losses as supply in the country''s ports rose to near a 13-year high. Shares of Vale SA, the world''s largest iron ore miner, fell 1.5 percent, subtracting the most points from Brazil''s benchmark Bovespa stock index. Still, rising shares of financial firms helped limit the decline of the index in the wake of higher-than-expected first-quarter profits by insurance company BB Seguridade Participaes SA. BB Seguridade, the insurance unit of Banco do Brasil SA , underwrote more dental insurance premiums, which helped to offset lower investment income amid a harsh recession. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1530 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % Latest change change MSCI Emerging Markets 983.55 0.54 13.45 MSCI LatAm 2599.84 -0.74 11.9 Brazil Bovespa 65468.16 -0.37 8.70 Mexico IPC 49468.02 -0.04 8.38 Chile IPSA 4844.20 0.01 16.69 Chile IGPA 24305.36 0.03 17.22 Argentina MerVal 21145.33 -0.11 24.99 Colombia IGBC 10393.17 0.82 2.62 Venezuela IBC 59146.56 0.06 86.55 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.1963 -0.69 1.66 Mexico peso 19.1110 -0.57 8.54 Chile peso 677.05 -0.89 -0.94 Colombia peso 2957.45 -0.49 1.49 Peru sol 3.285 -0.52 3.93 Argentina peso (interbank) 15.3700 0.03 3.29 Argentina peso (parallel) 15.86 0.32 6.05 (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Dan Grebler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-latam-idUSL1N1IA0TK'|'2017-05-08T23:39:00.000+03:00' +'dcb7268d4c4d8b88242c37719910ffdfea01001c'|'China''s tech money heads for Israel as U.S. welcome wanes'|'Business News - Thu May 11, 2017 - 3:42am BST China''s tech money heads for Israel as U.S. welcome wanes left right FILE PHOTO: People ride a double bicycle past a logo of The Alibaba Group at the company''s headquarters on the outskirts of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province November 10, 2014. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo 1/4 left right FILE PHOTO: Logos of Tencent are displayed at a news conference in Hong Kong, China March 22, 2017. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo 2/4 left right FILE PHOTO: A company logo of Fosun International is seen at the Fosun Fair held alongside the annual general meeting of the Chinese conglomerate in Hong Kong, China May 28, 2015. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo 3/4 left right FILE PHOTO: The company logos of China Everbright International are displayed at a news conference on the company''s annual results in Hong Kong, China March 23, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo 4/4 By Julie Zhu and Tova Cohen - HONG KONG/TEL AVIV HONG KONG/TEL AVIV Struggling to seal deals in the United States as regulatory scrutiny tightens, Chinese companies looking to invest in promising technology are finding a warmer welcome for their cash in Israel. Chinese firms have long hunted in the United States for deals to develop their technological know-how and open up new markets, but their quarry has become more elusive since late 2016 due to increased U.S. protectionism and a tougher regulatory stance. Last year, Chinese investment into Israel jumped more than tenfold to a record $16.5 billion (12.7 billion pounds), with money flooding into the country''s buzzing internet, cyber-security and medical device start-ups. These investments surged in the third quarter just as the U.S. regulatory crackdown began to bite, Thomson Reuters data shows. In contrast, Chinese bidders scrapped a record $26.3 billion worth of previously announced deals from the United States in 2016, the data shows. Speaking on the sidelines of a Hong Kong conference last month, TCL Corp chairman Li Dongsheng told Reuters the review of one target company, which he declined to name, had been frozen following the appointment of President Donald Trump, who has championed a protectionist agenda. Li''s phones-to-fridges group is scouting in Israel instead. "I''m flying to Israel in May where we''ve selected more than 10 potential targets," Li said, adding the group was interested in technology companies dealing in smart manufacturing, new materials, big data and internet applications. For a graphic on Chinese investment into Israel, click here China Everbright Limited (CEL), the Hong Kong investment arm of state-owned China Everbright Group, is also looking to Israel, said Chen Shuang, CEL''s chief executive. "Our Israel-focused fund has already invested in four local firms there, and we plan to invest in another three to four within this year." HURDLES The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which screens for national security risks, has become a major stumbling block for China-linked deals; China-backed Canyon Bridge Capital Partners has struggled with its $1.3 billion takeover of Lattice Semiconductor after members of Congress raised security concerns. "The review has always been rigorous, but now it will be even more so (due to) a combination of increasingly strategic transactions from China and a new administration worried about certain Chinese actions," said Miriam Sapiro, a former deputy U.S. Trade Representative who served as a CFIUS member during the administration of former President Barack Obama. With Israel being a close U.S. ally, however, Chinese investment in sensitive tech there could also raise eyebrows, sources familiar with the CFIUS process say. "Chinas international surge of state-driven investments in emerging technologies should put the United States and our allies on notice," said Representative Robert Pittenger, a Republican from North Carolina who said he was campaigning to improve information sharing on the issue with U.S. allies. Late last year, the United States blocked the takeover of German chip equipment maker Aixtron by Fujian Grand Chip Investment Fund on security grounds. CROWDED MARKET Though Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has touted Israel as a "perfect partner" for China in developing a range of life-changing technologies, it has not been all plain sailing for Chinese bidders. The government has expressed concerns over the purchase of key financial assets such as insurers, fretting over pension cash. Fosun last year scrapped its plan to buy a controlling stake in Israeli insurer Phoenix Holdings, saying conditions for the $462 million deal were "not met". Prior to 2016, China''s few investments into Israel were largely outside the high-tech space, from ChemChina''s acquisition of crop protection maker Adama to Bright Foods'' takeover of food company Tnuva. That is now more than matched by deals in the tech start-up space, from telecoms group Huawei''s bid for cyber-security firm HexaTier, to venture capital investments by the likes of PingAn Ventures and China Broadband Capital into IronSource, a company that offers business development and distribution tools for mobile apps. Tomer Bar-Zeev, chief executive of IronSource, said strategic Chinese investors are attractive because they offer Israeli firms a way in to the huge domestic Chinese market, which is otherwise difficult to crack. "Once we became a portfolio company of these Chinese investors, they helped with opening doors in China ... where the business community really relies on connections you build there." For Chinese buyers, Israeli assets are not only more easily accessible than in the United States, they are also often cheaper, say lawyers and bankers. Rising competition is, however, starting to push up prices, helping Israeli private high-tech companies raise an all-time high of $4.8 billion last year, up 11 percent from 2015, according to the Israel Venture Capital Research Center and law firm ZAG. Traditionally, many Israeli tech firms have sold out at an early stage to global giants like Cisco, IBM and Microsoft. But now start-ups like IronSource, one of Israel''s most valuable private tech firms, are using the sharp rise in private investment to pursue long-term growth. "We are not worried to take Chinese money over U.S. money," said Bar-Zeev of IronSource. "If you can deliver, there are endless opportunities." (Reporting by Julie Zhu in Hong Kong, Tova Cohen in Tel Aviv and Diane Bartz in Washington; Editing by Michelle Price and Will Waterman) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-investment-israel-idUKKBN187084'|'2017-05-11T10:42:00.000+03:00' +'8a0651a02cffbbbf1e9abb5f8fb7b82fd6bb7064'|'Hedge fund Passport nurses fresh losses as assets shrink'|'Money - Fri May 12, 2017 - 5:24pm EDT Hedge fund Passport nurses fresh losses as assets shrink John Burbank, founder & chief investment officer of Passport Capital, speaks at a panel discussion at the SALT conference in Las Vegas May 15, 2014. REUTERS/Rick Wilking By Svea Herbst-Bayliss - BOSTON BOSTON Hedge fund Passport Capital, which once grabbed headlines with triple digit returns, has been hit with fresh losses and its assets continue to shrink, the firm''s founder told investors in a letter seen by Reuters on Friday. Passport''s Global Strategy fund lost 7.5 percent in the first four months of 2017, following on the heels of last year''s 17.4 percent loss. The broader S&P 500 stock index climbed 12 percent in 2016 and gained 7.2 percent in the first four months of 2017. Assets at the San Francisco-based firm contracted to $2 billion at the end of April, half of what it had managed only a few years earlier. Global Strategy now has $751 million in assets. A Passport spokesman declined to comment. The decline in assets and sluggish performance underscore tough times across the hedge fund industry, with the average fund gaining only about 3 percent so far this year. More hedge funds shut down last year than at any time since the financial crisis. Passport''s assets shrank by $387 million in the first three months of the year, Burbank told investors in the letter. He did not say how much money may have left in April. The Global Strategy fund had $187 million in outflows during the first quarter. Burbank has made big bets on Saudi stocks, including National Commercial Bank SJSC as well as Alinma Bank. He has also been bullish on Chinese consumer and internet company Alibaba Group and he said he is sticking with them. Ten years ago, Passport was an industry darling when the Global Strategy gained an eye-popping 219 percent. It suffered a 50.9 percent loss the following year, however, and this year''s declines are just the latest in a string of setbacks for Burbank. Tim Garry, who co-managed Passport''s long-short equity fund, left the firm after an eight-year stay last year and Burbank has since decided to shut it down. Garry had also led Passport''s Portfolio Construction, Risk and Quantitative Strategies. He is currently launching his own fund, Pelorus Jack Capital, which is also based in San Francisco. After years of being a featured speaker at the Skybridge Alternatives Conference, known as SALT, Burbank is not scheduled to attend this year''s event. The SkyBridge Multi-Adviser Hedge Fund Portfolios LLC, which long had money with Passport, no longer invests, a recently regulatory filing shows. (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Tom Brown) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-hedgefunds-passport-idUSKBN1882XM'|'2017-05-13T05:15:00.000+03:00' +'7d815ec39b46cf6f4800934c4490b458549b2657'|'BRIEF-American Airlines names Nathan Gatten senior vice president'|'Market 19am EDT BRIEF-American Airlines names Nathan Gatten senior vice president May 24 American Airlines Group Inc- * American Airlines names Nathan J. Gatten senior vice president government affairs No Greek debt relief needed if primary surplus above 3 pct/GDP for 20 years-paper BERLIN, May 24 Greece will not need any debt relief from euro zone governments if it keeps its primary surplus above 3 percent of GDP for 20 years, a confidential paper prepared by the euro zone bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), showed. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-american-airlines-names-nathan-gat-idUSASA09R62'|'2017-05-24T21:19:00.000+03:00' +'aa07b7fb85c9bae1d2b2176711dca212f754a8c1'|'Suncor to apply to build new oil sands project in northern Alberta'|'Commodities 35pm EDT Suncor to apply to build new oil sands project in northern Alberta FILE PHOTO: A Suncor refinery is seen in Sherwood Park, near Edmonton, Alberta, Canada November 13, 2016. REUTERS/Chris Helgren By Nia Williams - CALGARY, Alberta CALGARY, Alberta Suncor Energy Inc ( SU.TO ), Canada''s largest oil and gas producer, said on Monday it plans to submit an application to regulators for a new thermal oil sands project later this year, which could eventually produce up 160,000 barrels per day. The Lewis project, located approximately 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) northeast of Fort McMurray in northern Alberta, will be developed in stages and produce for an estimated 25-40 years. Suncor said it has not yet formally sanctioned the project, but if it goes ahead, construction could begin in 2024, with first steam being pumped into the reservoir to liquefy and extract tarry bitumen in 2027. The Calgary-based company also said it is exploring new technologies to develop the Lewis resource, such as using solvents or electromagnetic heating instead of steam for bitumen extraction. Chris Cox, an analyst with Raymond James in Calgary said Lewis fits in with Suncor''s strategy of modular growth in the oil sands, and would be very similar to its recently approved 80,000 bpd Meadow Creek East project. "Long-term growth is predicated on almost doing a manufacturing process in (thermal) projects with standardized plant designs," Cox said. Canada''s oil sands are home to the world''s third-largest crude reserves but also carry some of the world''s highest operating costs globally due to their remote location and energy-intensive production methods. The region was hard hit by the global oil price crash that started in mid-2014, with a number of producers deferring or cancelling around 20 oil sands projects. Since then however, companies have reduced costs by around 30 percent making some plants viable even with oil prices CLc1 hovering around $50 a barrel. Meadow Creek East, also in northern Alberta, received regulatory approval in March and other companies such as Cenovus Energy ( CVE.TO ) and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd ( CNQ.TO ) have restarted deferred projects in recent months. Company spokeswoman Erin Rees said Suncor anticipates applying for regulatory approval on its 40,000 bpd Meadow Creek West thermal project later this year. (Reporting by Nia Williams; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Marguerita Choy)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-suncor-energy-oil-sands-idUSKBN1841SW'|'2017-05-08T23:34:00.000+03:00' +'6748e06b31ce40a5dc8252860a4f9a764a617454'|'Starbucks expands rewards program at grocery stores'|'Starbucks Corp ( SBUX.O ) said on Thursday it would expand its loyalty rewards program at grocery stores to include more products, as it seeks to win more customers amid a soft retail and restaurant environment in the United States.The coffee chain''s move to more than triple the number of products it sells under the rewards program comes following customer backlash after Starbucks overhauled an existing program last year.Companies have been tweaking their rewards programs in recent years to make them less-generous to consumers.Seattle-based Starbucks, which launched its rewards program in 2009, made changes to it last year, which irked some customers and caused a furor on social media.Under the changes, customers earn two "stars" for every $1 spent and need 125 stars to get a free food or drink item, which meant that some customers would have to spend more money to get free items.Customers earlier used to receive one star per purchase and could redeem 12 stars for an item.Starbucks said on Thursday its U.S. customers could now earn stars on a wider range of products, sold mainly at grocery stores, including its K-Cup packs, packaged roast & ground coffee and multi-serve chilled coffee.The move from the world''s biggest coffee chain also comes after its warning last month that full-year revenue growth would be at the lower end of a previously forecast range amid stalling growth in its U.S. business.(Reporting by Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-starbucks-rewards-idUSKBN1801ZB'|'2017-05-04T23:15:00.000+03:00' +'3c717ac1c0380e9c3e72c79366964a2604574147'|'Taiwan''s Cathay Financial units to buy Bank of Nova Scotia''s Malaysian arm'|'TAIPEI May 26 Taiwan''s Cathay Financial Holdings said its two subsidiaries have completed an agreement to acquire the Malaysia unit of The Bank of Nova Scotia for $255 million.The subsidiaries, Cathay United Bank and Cathay Life, will split the stake at 51 percent and 49 percent respectively, according to a company statement. The deal is expected to be completed in the second half of this year.Last month, Cathay Financial said its subsidiaries were participating in the equity bid for the Malaysia unit in an exclusive agreement. (Reporting by Emily Chan; Writing by Jess Macy Yu; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/taiwan-cathay-holdings-idINL4N1IS3BN'|'2017-05-26T08:13:00.000+03:00' +'e58d6249dbb15efd92bc4aac0f8d45c7c321ae2d'|'Scandinavian countries seek to liberalise Iran air travel'|' 18am BST Scandinavian countries seek to liberalise Iran air travel FILE PHOTO: An Iranian national flag flutters during the opening ceremony of the 16th International Oil, Gas & Petrochemical Exhibition (IOGPE) in Tehran April 15, 2011. REUTERS/STR/File Photo OSLO Norway, Denmark and Sweden will negotiate with Iran on May 29-30 aiming to modernise and liberalise commercial air travel agreements, the Norwegian Ministry of Transportation and Communications said in a statement on Friday. Top Scandinavian carriers SAS and Norwegian Air Shuttle currently do not fly to Iran. (Reporting by Terje Solsvik; editing by Jason Neely) Irritation with Moodys reflects Chinas Britain''s Spirax-Sarco Engineering Plc said it had agreed to buy Pittsburgh-based thermal technology company Chromalox Inc from private equity firm Irving Place Capital for $415 million (322.3 million pounds) on a cash-free, debt-free basis. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iran-nordics-airlines-idUKKBN18M0RW'|'2017-05-26T16:18:00.000+03:00' +'e3c384b64d4adfa01a20dbbce6724e97694f28ff'|'EU tells Italy''s Veneto banks to raise further 1 billion euros in private capital - source'|'Business 9:37am BST EU tells Italy''s Veneto banks to raise further 1 billion euros in private capital - source A Banca Popolare di Vicenza sign is seen in Rome, Italy, March 29, 2017. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi MILAN EU Competition authorities have asked Italian banks Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca to raise 1 billion euros (849.1 million pounds) in private capital as a condition to approve their request for state aid, a source close to the matter said on Friday. Several sources told Reuters earlier this week that the two Veneto-based lenders could not use taxpayer money to cover expected loan losses, raising the prospect healthier rivals may have to once again provide fresh capital to help them. The two banks must fill a 6.4 billion euro capital shortfall identified by the European Central Bank and have turned to the state for help under rules that allow a government to cover losses a lender may face under a potential shock scenario. Confirming a press report in Il Sole 24 Ore on Friday, the source said the two banks would need an additional 1 billion euros in private capital. This would be on top of the private contribution already envisaged under their rescue scheme through a debt-to-equity conversion and funds pumped in by their controlling shareholder bailout fund Atlante. The two banks declined to comment. (Reporting by Paola Arosio, editing by Silvia Aloisi)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-italy-veneto-banks-idUKKCN18F0PZ'|'2017-05-19T16:37:00.000+03:00' +'cfd9e04fb1f0d4c6fd0bbb637d88b4fd608e7245'|'Delta to order more Airbus A321-200 aircraft'|'Business News 19am EDT Delta delays taking delivery of 10 A350 jets FILE PHOTO: Delta planes line up at their gates while on the tarmac of Salt Lake City International Airport in Utah September 28, 2013. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo Delta Air Lines Inc ( DAL.N ) said on Thursday it was delaying taking delivery of 10 Airbus A350-900 jets and placed a fresh order for 30 smaller A321-200s, putting a question mark on the demand for wide-body aircraft. Airbus shares were down 2.1 percent at 73.64 euros in Paris, while Delta fell 1.7 percent to $49.07 on the New York Stock Exchange. Delta''s decision comes after larger U.S. rival American Airlines Group Inc ( AAL.O ) said in April that it had also delayed taking delivery of several wide-body Boeing Co ( BA.N ) and Airbus jets. An oversupply in the market of long-distance wide-body aircraft has led to airlines postponing deliveries. Delta said it would delay taking deliveries of 10 of the 25 A350-900 aircraft by about two to three years. The aircraft were to be delivered by 2019-20. "These agreements better align our widebody and narrowbody order books with our fleet replacement needs," Delta''s Chief Operating Officer Gil West said in a statement. AerCap Holdings NV ( AER.N ), the world''s largest independent aircraft leasing company, on Wednesday played down concerns about weakening demand for wide-body jets, saying there was "good solid demand" for the aircraft globally. Delta said on Thursday delivery schedule for its first A350-900 aircraft was on track, and plans to operate the first flight in the fourth quarter of 2017. The company plans to take delivery of five A350s in 2017. (Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-delta-air-orders-idUSKBN1871OK'|'2017-05-11T20:52:00.000+03:00' +'fa1fbf85cbd200b9895a1a15b5c7f12b3613669d'|'Major U.S. hotel groups sponsor tourism investment meeting in Havana'|'Business News 1:12pm EDT Major U.S. hotel groups sponsor tourism investment meeting in Havana left Tourists stroll through Havana, Cuba May 15, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer 1/4 left right Tourists pose for a photo while sitting in a vintage car in Havana, Cuba May 15, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer 2/4 Tourists sit in a restaurant in Havana, Cuba May 15, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer 3/4 left right Arturo Garcia (L), president of SAHIC and David Scowsill, president and CEO of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) adjust their ties during the annual Latin American Hotel and Tourism Investment Conferences meeting in Havana, Cuba May 15, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer 4/4 By Marc Frank - HAVANA HAVANA The annual Latin American Hotel and Tourism Investment Conferences meeting opened in Havana this week and the list of sponsors read like the whos who of the U.S. hotel industry. The head of the organization, Arturo Garcia, told Reuters it was no accident that the likes of Marriott, Hilton ( HILT.NS ), Hyatt, Choice ( CHH.N ) and Wyndham ( WYN.N ) were supportive. The next step in the development of the hotel business in Cuba is the participation of the U.S. companies here, he said. The event is the latest indication, following the signing of agreements earlier this year by major cruise companies, that the U.S. hospitality industry is betting that hotel operator and now President Donald Trump will not shut the Cuba door on his industry peers. We are very interested in Cuba as a destination for our guests, David Tarr, senior vice president for real estate and development at Hyatt, said on Tuesday. "Certainly we hope relations will be normalized. Our guests want to visit, which is why we are here." On the eve of President Barack Obama''s historic visit to Cuba last year, and after obtaining a special Treasury Department license, Starwood STRD.N became the first American hospitality company in more than half a century to operate a hotel, Four Points Sheraton, on the island. Most sponsors are waiting for this same approval and when they get it you will see their hotels all over the island, said Garcia, the conference president. U.S. travel to Cuba has already surged, albeit from very low levels, since the former Cold War foes announced a detente and the Obama administration eased travel restrictions beginning in 2015. Cuba reported 4 million arrivals last year, of which 285,000 were Americans, with their numbers increasing at a rate of 18 percent so far in 2017. World Travel and Tourism Council President David Scow said European and Canadian firms had helped attract and lodge their nationals when Cuban tourism opened up after the fall of the Soviet Union and it made sense the United States would follow. The U.S. market is opening up so you will see the U.S. companies invest once everything is ready in terms of the documentation (U.S. regulations), he said. Louis Alicea, Wyndhams Latin American and Caribbean development director, said he hoped U.S. constraints would loosen further. Slowly but surely we are learning about the conditions here and our company is working together with the U.S. authorities in this process, he said. (Reporting by Marc Frank; Editing by Dan Grebler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-tourism-usa-idUSKCN18C1YR'|'2017-05-17T01:04:00.000+03:00' +'92635d83fb13094752b1a5a957a5403aa90c5537'|'PM Tsipras says Greece has done its bit, now wants debt relief'|' 6:40pm BST PM Tsipras says Greece has done its bit, now wants debt relief left right Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras arrives for a cabinet meeting at the parliament in Athens, Greece May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Costas Baltas 1/2 left right Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos arrives for a cabinet meeting at the parliament in Athens, Greece May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Costas Baltas 2/2 By Renee Maltezou - ATHENS ATHENS Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called on Greece''s international lenders on Thursday to reach an agreement on easing its debt burden by May 22, when euro zone finance ministers meet in Brussels to discuss the bailout progress. Athens and its creditors reached a long-awaited deal this week on a series of bailout reforms Greece needs to unlock loans from its 86-billion euro (73 billion) rescue package, the country''s third since in 2010. The European Union and the International Monetary Fund, which has yet to announce if it will participate in the bailout, have now started negotiations over Greece''s post-bailout fiscal targets, a key element for granting it further debt relief. "Medium-term debt relief measures must be clearly defined by the May 22 Eurogroup meeting," Tsipras told his cabinet on Thursday, referring to the finance ministers. "Greece has done its part and all parties must now fulfil their commitments." An agreement on debt relief measures may help bring the IMF on board. It will also allow Greece to wrap up its formal bailout review after six months of tense talks, help it qualify for inclusion in the European Central Bank''s bond-buying programme, and let it return to bond markets. Greece''s debt stands at 179 percent of gross domestic product. Under discussion are its targets for a primary surplus, which excludes debt servicing cots, over a decade. Tsipras'' leftist-led government aims to legislate the recently-agreed reforms, which include cutting pensions in 2019 and reducing the tax-free threshold in 2020, by May 17. The government, which faces elections in 2019 and is sagging in opinion polls, controls 153 lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament and should succeed. Labour unions have planned a 24-hour anti-austerity strike on the day of the vote. "We decided to complete the process by May 17 in order to deprive the Eurogroup of the right to talk about delays and finding excuses to extend the discussions on debt relief," a government official said after the cabinet meeting. But the official added that euro zone finance ministers may need "a few more days" after May 22 to reach a deal, which includes debt. "We want the medium-term debt relief measures to be specified at the May 22 meeting and this is not only Greece''s but also its lenders'' target and intension," the official said. "But we may need a few more days... after all, this is a discussion which has been going on for seven years." (Editing by Jeremy Gaunt and Gareth Jones)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-greece-bailout-idUKKBN1801GH'|'2017-05-05T01:40:00.000+03:00' +'928d5d76e5e1047d3fd064130f87c9ec3bbab177'|'ECB''s Constancio says loose policy for longer is safer bet'|'Central Banks - Thu May 11, 2017 - 1:06pm BST ECB''s Constancio says loose policy for longer is safer bet European Central Bank Vice President Vitor Constancio speaks during a Reuters Newsmaker event in New York February 19, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid FRANKFURT Maintaining its ultra-loose monetary policy for longer is the safer way for the European Central Bank to avoid an economic relapse, its vice-president said on Thursday, signalling a change of tack was unlikely until the autumn. Vitor Constancio said the ECB needed to be sure that inflation in the euro zone was steadily heading to its target of almost 2 percent before withdrawing its stimulus policy of aggressive bond purchases and sub-zero interest rates. "Loose for longer is less risky than a premature withdrawal of stimulus," Constancio told Reuters on the sidelines of an ECB conference. "We need to be sure about the sustainability of the path towards inflation near to our goal." He echoed recent comments by ECB President Mario Draghi and chief economist Peter Praet, signalling the Executive Board''s doves were closing ranks in the face of growing calls from Germany to wind down the bank''s 2.3 trillion euros (1.94 trillion) bond-buying programme. With the ECB committed to buying 60 billion euros worth of bonds every month until December and to keeping rates at ultra-low levels until well after that, Constancio said a decision about what to do next would only come in the autumn. This lengthens the odds on a move at the ECB''s next meeting in June. "We are explicitly committed to our policy until December, so this of course means automatically that in the fall we will have to decide what we will do next," Constancio said. "By then we will have more information." The euro zone''s economy has been on its best run for a decade and inflation is comfortably above 1 percent, fuelling calls for a gradual tightening from hawks such as German policymakers Jens Weidmann and Sabine Lautenschlaeger. But Constancio spelt out that the ECB needed to see an increase in core euro zone inflation, which strips out more volatile energy and food prices, and higher wage growth. "We recognise that tail risks regarding growth have diminished," Constancio said. "Regarding inflation we have to be sure that sustainability and domestic drivers of inflation are there to support our medium term goal." (Reporting by Francesco Canepa; Editing by Catherine Evans) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-idUKKBN1871JT'|'2017-05-11T20:06:00.000+03:00' +'e90410d0cf1fe3e5ec60bc50720002bfc4854cf9'|'Britain to investigate use of personal data in political campaigns'|'LONDON Britain said it was investigating how politicians and campaigners use data to target voters with online advertising to make sure they comply with electoral laws and do not abuse people''s privacy.The inquiry coincides with campaigning for a national election next month although the senior official in charge of the review said the timing was unrelated.Advertising on platforms such as Facebook to relatively small numbers of voters - selected according to their opinions, attitudes and interests - played a decisive role in last year''s EU referendum in Britain and the U.S. presidential election, according to the companies involved.Britain''s Information Commissioner''s Office (ICO), which is responsible for regulating how companies use data, said it was understandable that political campaigns were exploring the potential of advanced data analysis to help win votes, but they had to comply with strict laws."This is a complex and rapidly evolving area of activity and the level of awareness among the public about how data analytics works, and how their personal data is collected, shared and used through such tools, is low," Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham said.The investigation will look into the use of targeted online advertising in the run-up to Britain''s EU referendum last year, and potentially in other campaigns, said the ICO, which can issue fines of up to 500,000 pounds and instigate criminal prosecutions.Denham said it was clear that data analytical tools had a significant potential impact on individuals'' privacy."It is important that there is greater and genuine transparency about the use of such techniques to ensure that people have control over their own data and the law is upheld," she said.Denham said she was aware that the investigation came amid a general campaign, but this was not the trigger for the probe."I would nonetheless remind all relevant organizations of the need to comply with the law," she said.(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Michael Holden and Toby Chopra)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-politics-data-idUSKCN18D1WX'|'2017-05-17T22:47:00.000+03:00' +'d8e0319b1f1d9b233cf90a9f0f3ca8f708d19c43'|'Bank shares briefly drop after Trump breakup comment'|'Money 11:13pm IST Bank shares briefly drop after Trump breakup comment U.S. President Donald Trump talks to a small group onstage after speaking to members of the Independent Community Bankers Association during an event in the Kennedy Garden at the White House in Washington, U.S., May 1, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst NEW YORK Shares of bank stocks cut gains sharply on Monday after a report from Bloomberg Television that U.S. President Donald Trump said he was actively considering breaking up big banks. The S&P 500 bank index quickly retreated following the comment from its session high of 288.46, up 1.2 percent, to 285.71, a drop of nearly 1 percent. Shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co, Wells Fargo & Co, Bank of America Corp and Citigroup Inc all experienced a similar decline. The selloff was short lived, however, with bank shares recovering within minutes. The bank index was last up 0.9 percent. Traders attributed the drop and rebound to computer-driven trading, as algorithms scan news headlines and place stock orders. "It was an extreme reaction off algorithms that read the tape," said Mark Kepner, managing director, sales and trading at Themis Trading in Chatham, New Jersey. "It has to be paid attention to, but I wouldnt be making rash decisions on buying or selling securities because of a one-liner that he just said." (Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-banks-idINKBN17X250'|'2017-05-01T15:43:00.000+03:00' +'6ea7082235660e921443413bdfbe4ee6892becf4'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Brazil stocks up on reform hopes, but political woes linger'|'Bonds News - Wed May 24, 2017 - 5:18pm EDT EMERGING MARKETS-Brazil stocks up on reform hopes, but political woes linger (Updates prices) By Bruno Federowski SAO PAULO, May 24 Brazilian stocks rose for a second day on Wednesday, supported by efforts by President Michel Temer''s government to maintain an ambitious reform agenda amid growing political unrest. Temer''s plans to streamline Brazil''s pension system cleared another hurdle in Congress on Tuesday. House speaker Rodrigo Maia said a vote in the full lower house could take place between June 5 and June 12, clearing the way for a final Senate vote. The benchmark Bovespa stock index rose nearly 1.0 percent, led by stocks which had suffered deeply since tapes showing Temer allegedly condoning bribes to silence a witness in a corruption case went public last week. Shares of logistics operator Rumo Operadora Multimodal SA rose for a second day, rebounding from a 23.5 percent three-day drop. The interest rate sensitive stock was bolstered by a decline in yields of interest rate futures as traders pared back bets that the central bank would be forced to cut rates at a slower pace than expected. Still, concerns over the political environment lingered. Traders said volatility is likely to remain elevated in the medium term as the crisis drags on. Other Latin American currencies see-sawed on thin trading volumes ahead of the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve''s last policy meeting later on Wednesday. The Mexican peso strengthened to its best level since the election of U.S. President Donald Trump in November, up 0.93 percent, while the Colombian peso was nearly flat. Traders have been eagerly seeking hints over the pace of U.S. rate hikes in coming months after a batch of mixed economic data cast doubt on expectations of a fast tightening. Higher U.S. rates could dampen demand for high-yielding emerging market assets. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 2100 GMT: Latin American market prices from Reuters Stock indexes daily % YTD % change change Latest MSCI Emerging Markets 1005.03 0.06 16.56 MSCI LatAm 2558.31 0.84 9.3 Brazil Bovespa 63257.36 0.95 5.03 Mexico IPC 49494.40 0.92 8.44 Chile IPSA 4871.34 0.77 17.34 Chile IGPA 24440.82 0.7 17.88 Argentina MerVal 21684.59 0.76 28.18 Colombia IGBC 10757.92 0.01 6.22 Venezuela IBC 72689.66 0.06 129.27 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.2754 0.08 -0.80 Mexico peso 18.4460 0.93 12.45 Chile peso 670.9 0.60 -0.03 Colombia peso 2902.98 0.00 3.39 Peru sol 3.267 0.43 4.50 Argentina peso (interbank) 16.0800 0.12 -1.27 Argentina peso (parallel) 16.24 0.25 3.57 (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by James Dalgleish) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-latam-idUSL1N1IQ25S'|'2017-05-25T05:18:00.000+03:00' +'c25cd7c527a4e106591cc192549d9d6faa5724ac'|'France''s Macron calls for higher European anti-dumping taxes'|'Tue May 2, 2017 - 11:27am BST France''s Macron calls for higher European anti-dumping taxes Emmanuel Macron, head of the political movement En Marche !, or Onwards !, and candidate for the 2017 presidential election, attends a campaign rally in Paris, France, May 1, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer PARIS French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron said if elected he would push the European Union to raise anti-dumping taxes as part of an initiative to soften the impact of globalization. Independent centrist Macron - who is facing euroskeptic, anti-globalization candidate Marine Le Pen in a second-round vote on Sunday - said that addressing the wrongs of globalization would be his top priority in talks with EU member countries. "There is a feeling of rage, an incomprehension of the way things work, of a Europe that no longer protects and a globalization with too many losers," he said on BFM TV. Macron said harmonizing corporate taxes in the EU, reviewing seconded-workers regulations and raising anti-dumping taxes would be among the issues he would put on the agenda of his first summit with EU leaders. Macron, who sought higher steel import tariffs as France''s economy minister, said he wants to protect French jobs and companies with tougher anti-dumping rules. "I want a massive increase in anti-dumping taxes when we face attacks from outside (the EU)," Macron said. He said current levies of 100 to 120 percent on imported products sold below their production cost are not enough. In the past, China and India had sold off excess steel in Europe at a loss when they had produced too much steel, he said. Pointing to the example of the United States, Macron also said he wanted at least 50 percent of European public tenders to be reserved for European companies. "Europe should not be open to all winds while other countries decide to defend their own industries," he said. Macron said he also wants a review of EU law on "posted workers" - people working on contracts outside their home country, often in the trucking or construction business. "People in the same country must receive the same salary for the same job. We can no longer have a system where a French worker is paid 100 while a worker coming from Poland is paid 40," he said. He said that unlike Le Pen he does not wants to scrap the law, as that is not possible in an open Europe and France itself sends workers abroad. The European Commission had already proposed last year that workers from one EU country posted to work in another must be legally entitled to the same pay as host country workers, not just to the host country''s minimum wage. (Reporting by Geert De Clercq)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-france-election-macron-idUKKBN17Y117'|'2017-05-02T18:25:00.000+03:00' +'d6eca1c195a88dab0df89bf821e694c9e7bf1eee'|'EMERGING MARKETS-LatAm currencies gain after Trump fires FBI chief'|'(Adds closing market prices) SAO PAULO, May 11 Mexico''s and Brazil''s currencies closed stronger on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump unexpectedly fired FBI director James Comey, fueling expectations of delays in the implementation of the government''s economic agenda. Trump has pledged to spend heavily on infrastructure and cut taxes, fostering bets on additional inflationary pressures that could force the Federal Reserve to increase interest rates faster than expected. A slower pace of rate hikes would bolster the allure of emerging market assets, which offer higher yields than their developed peers. The currencies of Brazil and Mexico gained by more than 0.5 percent, boosted by higher oil prices that helped lift the shares of Brazilian state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras. Brazil''s Bovespa stock index rose 1.62 percent on Wednesday to a more than two-month high as markets were optimistic about pension reform passing Congress. Shares of Telefonica Brasil SA also helped drive gains in Bovespa after the telecommunications carrier posted a 13 percent increase in recurring net income. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at market close: Stock indexes daily % YTD % Latest change change MSCI Emerging Markets 998.82 0.39 15.4 MSCI LatAm 2676.35 1.7 14.34 Brazil Bovespa 67349.73 1.62 11.83 Mexico IPC 49930.54 -0.02 9.39 Chile IPSA 4825.49 0.37 16.24 Chile IGPA 24203.18 0.31 16.73 Argentina MerVal 21510.00 1.74 27.14 Colombia IGBC 10541.79 0.6 4.08 Venezuela IBC 60656.97 2.16 91.32 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.1668 0.57 2.54 Mexico peso 19.0150 0.81 8.33 Chile peso 672.0 0.00 -0.19 Colombia peso 2940.41 0.02 2.08 Peru sol 3.293 0.00 3.67 Argentina peso (interbank) 15.500 0.16 2.42 Argentina peso (parallel) 15.89 0.38 5.85 (Reporting by Bruno Federowski and Mitra Taj; Editing by Tom Brown and Biju Dwarakanath)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-latam-idUSL1N1ID02V'|'2017-05-11T11:25:00.000+03:00' +'f0faa253e9e1b34c9d704c458474fda7d8119dd9'|'Brazil prosecutors say reach ''impasse'' over size of fine in JBS deal'|'NEW YORK May 19 Brazilian prosecutors said on Friday that they had reached an "impasse" in talks with the parent company of meatpacking giant JBS SA over the size of the fine it would pay as part of a leniency deal under negotiation since February.The prosecutors said in a statement that they are seeking a fine of 11.169 billion reais ($3.43 billion) over a 10-year period, while JBS'' parent, J&F Investimentos, is seeking a payment of 1 billion reais. The public proscutor''s office said its proposal would expire if it is not accepted by midnight on Friday.($1 = 3.2596 reais) (Reporting by Christian Plumb; Editing by Alonso Soto and Daniel Flynn)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/brazil-corruption-jbs-prosecutors-idINL2N1IL1CR'|'2017-05-19T16:34:00.000+03:00' +'ada51c16415dc010adb88266e6d67cdc91ee5a1c'|'Israel''s Wix.com raises 2017 outlook, Q1 loss narrows'|'Market News - Wed May 10, 2017 - 2:34am EDT Israel''s Wix.com raises 2017 outlook, Q1 loss narrows JERUSALEM May 10 Wix.com, which helps small businesses build and operate websites, reported on Wednesday a jump in revenue and a narrower loss for the first quarter, and raised its outlook for 2017. It reported a quarterly loss of 18 cents a share excluding one-time items, compared to a 30 cents per share loss a year earlier. Revenue grew 50 percent to $92.5 million. It was forecast to lose 14 cents a share excluding items on revenue of $90.1 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Israel-based Wix offers free basic features for setting up websites but users must pay for extra services such as shopping carts, individual web addresses and site traffic analysis. During the quarter it added 5.9 million registered users for a total of 103 million. Of that, it added 208,000 paid subscribers to reach 2.7 million. Wix raised its 2017 revenue outlook to $421-$423 million, from an estimate of $417-419 million for a rise of 45-46 percent on the year. For the second quarter its expects revenue of $101-102 million, up 47-48 percent. (Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; editing by Jason Neely) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/wixcom-results-idUSL8N1IC1MU'|'2017-05-10T14:34:00.000+03:00' +'f5b498994ada11438f09c3b59509c0451f3f1519'|'Sterling''s bounce should help limit UK inflation overshoot - NIESR'|'LONDON Sterling''s rise since Prime Minister Theresa May called a snap election last month should to help limit a surge in British inflation this year although it will still sail far over the Bank of England''s target, a think tank said on Wednesday.The National Institute of Economic and Social Research said annual consumer price inflation was likely to peak at 3.4 percent at around the end of this year, lower than a forecast of 3.7 percent it made in February.READ: May vows energy price cap if re-electedBritish consumer prices are rising fast, fuelled by higher global energy prices and the pound''s plunge following last June''s vote to leave the European Union.The pound has recovered some ground over the last month to strike a seven-month high near $1.30, reflecting investors'' belief that May''s Conservative Party will gain a large majority in the June 8 election - something that could give her more leeway to strike compromises with the EU in Brexit talks.RECOMMENDED: British exporters see few long-term gains from sterling windfallNIESR''s projections will be noted by Bank of England policymakers who are meeting this week to set interest rates and produce their own quarterly economic outlook.The BoE''s most recent forecasts made in February suggested inflation will rise as high as 2.75 percent early next year, above its 2 percent target although by less than NIESR expects.The consensus of economists polled by Reuters suggests inflation will likely peak at around 3.0 percent this year.The BoE is widely expected to keep interest rates on hold this week and possibly not touch them until 2019 as it waits to see the Brexit impact on the economy.NIESR stuck to its view that Britain''s economy will expand by 1.7 percent this year and 1.9 percent next year.(Reporting by Andy Bruce; Editing by William Schomberg)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-niesr-idUKKBN1852QF'|'2017-05-10T07:11:00.000+03:00' +'146093e99761ef774394d208e8ba05da198cf56a'|'Thermo Fisher in talks to buy Patheon: Bloomberg'|'Scientific instruments maker Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc ( TMO.N ) is in talks to buy Patheon NV ( PTHN.N ), Bloomberg reported late on Sunday.Thermo Fisher and Patheon could not be reached for comment outside regular business hours.An agreement between Thermo Fisher and the Dutch drug ingredients maker could be reached as early as this week, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.The discussions could still falter, and there''s no certainty a deal will be reached, Bloomberg added. bloom.bg/2qirdlRThermo Fisher has seen its stock rise over 21 percent in 2017, bringing its market value to about $67.1 billion, according to Thomson Reuters data.Shares of Patheon have fallen about 9.4 percent this year, valuing the company at about $3.8 billion.(Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-patheon-m-a-thermo-fisher-idINKCN18B0AM'|'2017-05-15T02:03:00.000+03:00' +'a7c2ddd00ecf393b409d50a1d6238104a9f0a27f'|'UBS whistleblower Birkenfeld sues bank for libel'|' 43pm BST UBS whistleblower Birkenfeld sues bank for libel FILE PHOTO: Bradley Birkenfeld makes remarks before surrendering to authorities at the Schuylkill County Federal Correctional Institution in Minersville, Pennsylvania, January 8, 2010. REUTERS/Tim Shaffer By Jonathan Stempel - NEW YORK NEW YORK A former UBS Group AG ( UBSG.S ) banker who as a whistleblower helped U.S. authorities prosecute the Swiss bank for tax fraud, only to spend 2-1/2 years in prison for helping a billionaire client evade taxes, on Monday filed a $20 million libel lawsuit against his former employer. Bradley Birkenfeld, who in 2012 got a record $104 million award from an Internal Revenue Service whistleblower programme, faulted UBS over statements published last November and this month by the New York Post and Bloomberg BNA Daily Tax Report. Birkenfeld said UBS acted with actual malice by referring to his "often unsubstantiated" recollections in a recent book and having been "convicted in the U.S. for, among other things, having lied to the U.S. authorities." He said UBS did this as part of an international campaign to impede his effort to expose its "decades-long wrongdoing," and undercut the credibility and sales of his book "Lucifer''s Banker: The Untold Story of How I Destroyed Swiss Bank Secrecy." UBS had no immediate comment on the lawsuit, which was filed in a New York state court in Manhattan and seeks $10 million of both compensatory and punitive damages. Birkenfeld also named Peter Stack, UBS'' head of media relations in the Americas, as a defendant. The New York Post and Bloomberg are not defendants. In an interview, Birkenfeld, the subject of a 2010 profile on CBS'' "60 Minutes," said he sued "to hold UBS accountable." His lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Birkenfeld provided tips that led UBS in 2010 to pay a $780 million U.S. fine for helping about 19,000 wealthy Americans hide up to $20 billion in secret bank accounts. More recently, Birkenfeld testified in a similar probe involving the bank in France. He went to prison after pleading guilty in 2008 to a charge of conspiring to defraud the United States in connection with his client Igor Olenicoff, a real estate developer. Olenicoff had pleaded guilty in 2007 to filing a false tax return but did not serve prison time. Birkenfeld''s lawsuit noted that the Post clarified its article to show he was "never charged with or convicted of perjury or lying to U.S. investigatory authorities." Now 52, Birkenfeld said in the interview he now works with whistleblowers "so they can get their message out and eradicate waste, fraud and corruption in government, as well as corporations." The case is Birkenfeld v UBS AG et al, New York State Supreme Court, New York County. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel Jonathan Oatis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ubs-group-birkenfield-idUKKBN17X27N'|'2017-05-02T02:43:00.000+03:00' +'e2f2315175176c02e97b024ceb2803179eddaa80'|'Shareholder advisors challenge SAP board in row over pay'|'FRANKFURT May 6 Leading shareholder advisors have called on SAP investors to oppose the supervisory board of Europe''s largest technology company in a dispute over management pay.Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) took issue with the supervisory board''s unwillingness to acknowledge any need to improve its remuneration system despite shareholder dissent.The move comes ahead of SAP''s annual meeting on Wednesday and follows successes that ISS has had recently in lobbying against excessive management pay.Last month, shareholders rejected German reinsurance group Munich Re''s pay policy, and energy group BP cut its CEO''s 2016 pay package by 40 percent after a shareholder revolt.ISS said in a note to SAP shareholders that a vote against signing off the actions of the supervisory board was "warranted due to the clear lack of oversight and good governance exercised".The payout to Bill McDermott, SAP''s American CEO - 15.6 million euros ($17 million) for 2016 - ranks at the top end of German corporate pay, but does not stand out alongside SAP''s main U.S. competitors.With the help of stock options, McDermott''s maximum annual pay could, however, reach a maximum of 41 million euros.Maximum executive pay levels were inappropriately high, said Hans-Christoph Hirt, head of investor and governance advisor Hermes EOS."We will vote against the approval of the supervisory board because we have significant concerns about the remuneration system and these have been ignored by the supervisory board," he told German weekly Der Spiegel.Votes to ratify the decisions by company bosses are customary in Germany and are an opportunity for shareholders to express confidence in their leadership. But such votes do not free individuals from liability for their actions.Many investment funds from the United States and Britain follow the recommendation of advisory firms such as Hermes and ISS at shareholder meetings.SAP, the most highly valued stock on the German blue-chip index DAX, said in a statement on Saturday that its executive pay was geared to the company''s size, its financial situation and rivals."SAP''s remuneration system is in accord with that of DAX companies and international competitors," the company said, adding it would address shareholder criticism on pay at the annual meeting on Wednesday.. Arno Schuetze; Editing by Keith Weir)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/sap-shareholders-idINL8N1I806Z'|'2017-05-06T11:17:00.000+03:00' +'b7445fcef3e1f6e9960d41ccd9747f40c54852a1'|'Saudi signals first cut in crude supplies to Asian customers - sources'|'Business News - Wed May 10, 2017 - 10:13am BST Saudi signals first cut in crude supplies to Asian customers - sources FILE PHOTO: Logo of Saudi Aramco is seen at the 20th Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference (MOES 2017) in Manama, Bahrain, March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo By Osamu Tsukimori and Jane Chung - TOKYO TOKYO Saudi Arabia, the world''s biggest oil exporter, has notified at least two Asian refiners of its first cuts in crude allocations for regional buyers since an OPEC output reduction took effect in January, two refining sources told Reuters on Wednesday. State-owned Saudi Aramco has told Asian buyers it is curtailing supplies for June to meet its commitments for the output cut, one of the sources at a refiner in South Korea said. "Saudi is adjusting supplies because it has somewhat supplied full volumes or even more in the previous months," the source said, declining to give specific details on the cuts. The notification of the reductions in June allocations signals added urgency among members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries as evidence mounts that the output cut has so far failed to rein in a global glut in crude. OPEC has previously kept supplies to clients in high-growth Asian markets steady, while cutting allocations to Europe and the United States. Reuters reported on Tuesday that state-owned Saudi Aramco will reduce oil supplies to Asian customers by about 7 million barrels in June, as it keeps to the production agreement and trims exports to meet rising domestic demand for power during the summer. Seven million barrels is roughly two days of oil imports into Japan, the world''s fourth-biggest importer. Aramco and other producers typically issue monthly notices to refineries and other buyers with contracted supplies outlining their intended allocations to each customer. Usually they keep volumes at previously agreed levels but sometimes will reduce or increase the supplies depending on market conditions. The second refining source that received a notice of a cut had earlier requested that Aramco provide higher supplies than it was allocated but was told instead it would be cut. After discussions with Aramco, the company will keep its volumes unchanged in June, the source said. A third Asian refiner is getting contracted volumes for June, steady from the previous month, a separate industry source said. A fourth refiner said it had not received any notifications by Wednesday. (Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Writing by Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Richard Pullin and Christian Schmollinger)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-saudi-supply-idUKKBN18610Q'|'2017-05-10T17:13:00.000+03:00' +'70d8908447beb7953782ed92c9d0dbd11b7cb3a5'|'Dutch trust company operator TMF again eying IPO -report'|'AMSTERDAM May 5 TMF Group, the Dutch operator of trust companies, is considering an initial public offering of shares after the summer, the newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad reported on Friday.Owner DH Private Equity Partners has hired Goldman Sachs and HSBC to lead the offering, the newspaper said, citing sources close to the company.On March 30 the company issued a statement saying it had appointed unnamed advisers to help it "with assessing its strategic and financial options, including the possibility of conducting an initial public offering of TMF Group".The company issued a similar statement in 2016 naming Goldman Sachs as adviser, but an IPO never materialised.DH Private Equity and TMF could not be reached for immediate comment.The company reported 2016 adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITA) of 138 million euros on revenue of 529 million.(Reporting by Toby Sterling; editing by Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/tmf-group-ipo-idINL8N1I71CZ'|'2017-05-05T05:13:00.000+03:00' +'8f45e33fda3b81373abfd210a04d1f880c71a088'|'Canada oil industry get $173 mln loan to clean up abandoned wells'|'CALGARY, Alberta May 18 The oil industry in Canada''s resource-rich Alberta will be on the hook for a C$235 million ($172.7 million) government loan to clean up a rising number of oil wells abandoned by owners who have gone bankrupt, the province said on Thursday.The loan, repayable over 10 years, will go to the government-run, industry-funded Orphan Well Association (OWA), which cleans up wells for which no party is legally responsible, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said at a news conference.The number of so-called orphan wells in Canada spiked after the 2014 oil price crash as layoffs swept the oil patch and companies went bankrupt. Alberta, which produces about 80 percent of Canada''s crude, had more than 1,500 orphan wells in February, up from 26 in 2012.The loan is lower than the C$500 million an industry group asked for in 2016.The OWA will double indefinitely its levies charged to all petroleum producers to a total of C$60 million a year, starting in 2019, Notley said.That, however, could be adjusted in the future based on how many orphan wells are left, said Brad Herald, OWA chairman and vice president of western Canadian operations for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers industry lobby group.Notley said part of the loan, C$30 million, comes from the federal government, which in this year''s budget allocated C$30 million to Alberta to stimulate economic activity and employment in the resource sector.Cleaning up the wells will create 1,650 jobs over three years, she said. (Reporting by Ethan Lou; Editing by Tom Brown)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/canada-oil-wells-idINL2N1IK1JV'|'2017-05-18T15:39:00.000+03:00' +'58b9307f158ee896b7ecc647debbeeb47234135a'|'Greece''s Tsipras talks up bailout deal with lawmakers'|'Business News - Fri May 5, 2017 - 12:30pm BST Greece''s Tsipras talks up bailout deal with lawmakers left right Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras addresses his lawmakers during a session of the ruling Syriza party parliamentary group at the parliament in Athens, Greece May 5, 2017. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis 1/8 left right Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras addresses his lawmakers during a session of the ruling Syriza party parliamentary group at the parliament in Athens, Greece May 5, 2017. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis 2/8 left right Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras addresses his lawmakers during a session of the ruling Syriza party parliamentary group at the parliament in Athens, Greece May 5, 2017. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis 3/8 left right Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras addresses his lawmakers during a session of the ruling Syriza party parliamentary group at the parliament in Athens, Greece May 5, 2017. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis 4/8 left right Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras arrives for a session of the ruling Syriza party parliamentary group at the parliament in Athens, Greece May 5, 2017. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis 5/8 left right Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras gestures during a session of the ruling Syriza party parliamentary group at the parliament in Athens, Greece May 5, 2017. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis 6/8 left right Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras addresses his lawmakers during a session of the ruling Syriza party parliamentary group at the parliament in Athens, Greece May 5, 2017. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis 7/8 left right Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras attends a cabinet meeting at the parliament in Athens, Greece May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Costas Baltas 8/8 ATHENS Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras sought on Friday to bring his leftist Syriza party on board to approve a deal reached with international lenders, sweetening the pot by saying any above-target savings this year would go to the Greek people. He also repeated his mantra that Greece has done its bit with austerity and reforms and that it is now time for the lenders -- the European Union and International Monetary Fund -- to meet their promises to consider debt relief. "After five years of promises ... our lenders are faced with the obligation to immediately adopt substantial measures to reduce the debt," Tsipras told his party lawmakers. Tsipras was speaking following Tuesday''s initial deal on a package of reforms -- including such unpopular moves as cutting pensions -- between creditors and the government The agreement ends six months of staff-level haggling and will pave the way for the disbursement of further rescue funds if approved first by the Greek parliament and then by euro zone finance ministers. (Reporting by Renee Maltezou Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-greece-syriza-idUKKBN18116F'|'2017-05-05T19:11:00.000+03:00' +'4b0eeb3f0c68d73316160a0d57a035264d893947'|'Oil price jump on U.S. inventories slide boosts stocks'|'Thu May 11, 2017 - 9:58am BST Oil bounces, world stocks hold near all-time highs left right Traders work in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, May 10, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote 1/2 left right People are seen behind an electronic board showing stock prices at the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) in Tokyo, Japan, January 4, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 2/2 LONDON World stocks held near all-time highs on Thursday, helped by a rebound in energy shares as oil prices rose after U.S. fuel inventories declined and Saudi Arabia cut supplies of crude to Asia more than expected. MSCI''s gauge of global stock markets was up 0.1 percent, bringing their gains for the year to nearly 10 percent. European shares underperformed as investors looked to lock in gains after their strong run so far this year. Government bond yields rose as rising oil prices reinforced expectations inflation would pick up. Signs that prices would rise might encourage the European Central Bank to step back from its ultra-loose monetary policy in coming months. Those expectations also underpinned the euro, which rose 0.2 percent against the dollar to $1.0883. Sterling hovered below its seven-month highs against the dollar before a Bank of England interest rate decision and inflation report due later in the day. No change is expected in bank policies. Oil prices stood out in an otherwise relatively quiet day across financial markets. Brent crude rose another 1.3 percent following a 3 percent gain in the previous session. The advance helped Brent regain the $50 level and reverse all of last week''s losses. "We saw the biggest draw in (U.S.) inventories for the year last week with stockpiles down more than 5 million barrels, and it looks like OPEC''s production cut is finally biting," said Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at brokerage AxiTrader. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers, including Russia, have agreed to cut output by almost 1.8 million barrels per day during the first half of the year to try to reduce a global fuel glut. The dollar weakened against a basket of major currencies, though most major currency pairs were all holding in tight ranges. Earlier in the Asian day, the New Zealand dollar sank as much as 1.5 percent after the country''s central bank stuck with a neutral bias on policy, warning markets they were reading the outlook wrong and expressing approval of the currency''s declines this year. The U.S. dollar came under pressure after U.S. President Donald Trump''s abrupt dismissal of FBI Director James Comey raised fears that political turmoil would derail U.S. stimulus steps and tax reform. But with markets pricing in around a 90 percent chance that the economy is strong enough for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates at its meeting next month, investors did not lose sight of fundamentals. (Additional reporting by Christopher Johnson, editing by Larry King)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUKKBN18603T'|'2017-05-11T09:23:00.000+03:00' +'5b24cf18951c929f405e00f6658ec7e782ec4ccb'|'Morning News Call - India, May 31'|'To access the newsletter, click on the link: here If you would like to receive this newsletter via email, please register at: here FACTORS TO WATCH 9:30 am: Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari at an event in New Delhi. 11:30 am: S&P''s webcast on Indian banking sector outlook in Mumbai. 5:00 pm: Jet Airways earnings conference call in Mumbai. 5:00 pm: Government to release April infrastructure output data in New Delhi. 5:30 pm: Chief Statistician TCA Anant to brief media after release of January-March GDP data in New Delhi. GMF: LIVECHAT - CHARTING FX Take a look at the FX charts with Reuters technical analyst Martin Miller at 4:00 pm IST. To join the conversation, click on the link: here INDIA TOP NEWS Deceptively quick, India''s economy seen staying course as global pacesetter India is set to hang onto its status as the world''s fastest growing major economy thanks to stronger consumer demand, if data due out later on Wednesday matches economists expectations for a 7.1 percent year-on-year expansion in the March quarter. Ban on foreign funds for non-profit may hurt India health programmes India''s ban on foreign funding for the Public Health Foundation of India, a non-profit group backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, may damage some government health programmes, according to the group and a health ministry official. Adani says Carmichael mine decision on track after royalty agreement India''s Adani Enterprises will move ahead with a final financing decision for its Carmichael coal mine project in Australia after an end to negotiations on how to pay government royalties, it said on Tuesday. Aviation ministry to cooperate with probe into Air India deals India''s civil aviation ministry will cooperate with a federal investigation into alleged irregularities in the purchase of 111 aircraft by state-run carrier Air India and into its merger with Indian Airlines, the civil aviation minister said on Tuesday. Indian court orders suspension of ban on trade in cattle for slaughter An Indian court suspended on Tuesday a government ban on the trade of cattle for slaughter, a lawyer involved in the case said, giving some relief to Muslim-dominated beef and leather industries that employ millions of poor workers. Mahindra & Mahindra Q4 profit rises about 20 percent, beats estimates Automaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd posted a nearly 20 percent rise in fourth-quarter profit after tax on Tuesday, beating analysts'' estimate. Hindalco Industries Q4 profit rises 26 percent, tops estimates Hindalco Industries Ltd, India''s biggest producer of aluminium and copper, posted a 26 percent rise in fourth-quarter profit as revenue from operations increased on higher base metal prices. Jet Airways Q4 profit falls about 91 percent India''s second largest airline, Jet Airways Ltd, reported a 91 percent slump in net profit for the March quarter, hurt by higher aircraft fuel expenses. GLOBAL TOP NEWS China factory PMI growth holds up in May, steel sector activity speeds up China manufacturing sector grew faster than expected in May as activity in the steel industry rebounded sharply, an official survey showed, allaying concerns of slowing economic momentum as Beijing cracks down on financial risks. Departure of communications aide could be first in Trump shake-up U.S. President Donald Trump''s communications director is leaving the job, the White House said on Tuesday, as the president considers wider staff changes to try to contain political damage from investigations into Russia and his presidential campaign. U.S. says expanding laptop ban ''still on the table'' The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is still considering an expansion of a ban on laptops and other large electronics in airline cabins after Secretary John Kelly spoke to European officials on Tuesday, a department spokesman said. LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK (As reported by NewsRise) The SGX Nifty Futures were trading at 9,631.00, up 0.11 percent from its previous close. The Indian rupee will likely edge higher against the dollar, tracking its Asian peers, as the greenback and U.S. Treasury yields fell after Aprils core inflation eased year-on-year. Indian government bonds will likely edge higher tracking gains in U.S. Treasuries after a slow pace of price gains raised doubts about Federal Reserves ability to meet its rate increase projection for the year. However, the gains will likely be capped in the absence of any major domestic triggers. The yield on the benchmark 6.79 percent bond maturing in 2027 is likely to trade in a 6.65 percent-6.69 percent band today. GLOBAL MARKETS U.S. stocks inched lower on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 retreating slightly from a record, as weakness in the energy and financial sectors outweighed gains in technology shares. Asian stocks climbed, capping a fifth consecutive month of gains, as data showed China''s factory activity grew at a steady clip this month, bucking expectations of a slowdown. The British pound came under pressure after a new poll found that British Prime Minister Theresa May''s Conservative Party risks falling short of an overall majority in next month''s national election. Yields on most U.S. Treasury bonds and notes fell to their lowest levels in more than a week on Tuesday on month-end buying and after U.S. inflation data reinforced doubts that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates more than one more time in 2017. Oil prices fell, as rising output from Libya added to concerns about increasing U.S. production which is undermining OPEC-led production cuts aimed at tightening the market. Gold edged lower, moving away from a one-month peak hit in the previous session as U.S. economic data boosted the case for an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve next month. CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT PNDF spot 64.61/64.64 May 30 -$33.59 mln $113.36 mln 10-yr bond yield 7.09 Month-to-date $1.39 bln $3.59 bln Year-to-date $7.83 bln $12.98 bln For additional data: India govt bond market volumes Stock market reports Non-deliverable forwards data Corporate debt stories [IN CORPD] Local market closing/intraday levels [IN SNAPSHOT] Monthly inflows [INFLOWS RTRS TABLE IN] ($1 = 64.66 Indian rupees) (Compiled by Benny Thomas in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/india-morningcall-idUSL3N1IX0S3'|'2017-05-31T07:22:00.000+03:00' +'6f0f53cd8cf2c64fb4aa014f1988a960e428e187'|'TPG-backed consortium bids for Fairfax Media assets, Australian firm says'|'SYDNEY A consortium led by U.S. private equity firm TPG Capital made an indicative proposal on Friday to acquire Fairfax Media Ltd''s ( FXJ.AX ) metropolitan newspapers and Domain real estate classifieds unit for cash, the CEO of the Australian media firm said in a memo to staff on Sunday evening.The Sydney Morning Herald, owned by Fairfax, reported the TPG proposal valued the metro newspapers and real estate classified assets at A$2.2 billion ($1.63 billion).The proposal would involve shareholders retaining scrip exposure to the company''s regional and New Zealand newspaper assets as well as its radio and digital streaming divisions, said the memo to staff seen by Reuters.Fairfax Chief Executive Greg Hywood said the board would consider the TPG proposal."There is no certainty that the indicative proposal will result in an offer for Fairfax, what the terms of any offer would be, or whether there will be a recommendation by the Fairfax board," he said.A Fairfax spokesman declined to comment. TPG could not be reached immediately for comment.(Reporting by Jamie Freed; Editing by Sandra Maler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-fairfax-media-m-a-tpg-idINKBN18313Y'|'2017-05-07T19:54:00.000+03:00' +'4346e23f6d20206870df2c53cbd9f615677897dc'|'U.S. top court rejects challenge to state retroactive tax changes'|'Market News 9:43am EDT U.S. top court rejects challenge to state retroactive tax changes By Andrew Chung - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON May 22 The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge by several major corporations to a Michigan law that retroactively changed the way businesses are taxed in the state, leading to $1 billion extra for government coffers. The justices turned away appeals by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co, IBM Corp, AT&T Inc''s DirecTV, Monster Beverage Corp and others of a lower court''s ruling in favor of the state. The companies argued that Michigan''s retroactive change to its tax regime violated their rights to due process under the U.S. Constitution. The Supreme Court also refused to take up an appeal by closely held Dot Foods Inc over a lower court ruling favoring Washington state in a similar retroactive tax dispute. (Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-court-tax-idUSL1N1HI1SA'|'2017-05-22T21:43:00.000+03:00' +'c1df0350903f25c6fdf6e524c879fd7a59e2ac52'|'US STOCKS-Futures flat ahead of start of Fed meeting, Apple results'|' 13am EDT US STOCKS-Futures flat ahead of start of Fed meeting, Apple results * Futures: Dow down 14 pts, S&P down 1.75 pts, Nasdaq up 3.25 pts By Tanya Agrawal May 2 U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Tuesday ahead of the start of the Federal Reserve''s two-day meeting and quarterly corporate results from Apple. * The Fed begins its meeting later in the day and while the central bank is widely expected to stand pat on interest rates, investors will be keeping an eye on its statement, due on Wednesday, for clues regarding the future path of rate hikes. * Shares of Apple were up 0.2 percent at $146.90 in premarket trading, after hitting a record high a day earlier. The iPhone maker is due to report results after the close of market. * Wall Street climbed on Monday, boosted by gains in marquee tech stocks, including Apple, that more than offset weak economic data and pushed the Nasdaq to another record high. * The CBOE Volatility Index, a barometer of expected near-term stock market volatility, closed at its lowest level since February, 2007. * Investors are bracing for another heavy week of corporate reports to see if quarterly earnings will be able to keep on exceeding expectations. * Overall, profits at S&P 500 companies are estimated to have risen 13.6 percent in the first quarter, the most since 2011, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. * Strong earnings have outweighed concerns about patches of weak economic data. The ISM measure of manufacturing activity undershot forecasts on Monday, coming after a report last week showed the economy grew at its slowest pace in three years in the first quarter. * A heavy week of economic data will culminate in the monthly non-farm payrolls report on Friday. * Pfizer was up 0.3 percent at $33.89, after the drugmaker''s quarterly profit rose, while Merck rose 1.6 percent to $63.40 after the company''s quarterly profit beat expectations. * Advanced Micro Devices tumbled 11.6 percent to $12.04 after the chipmaker''s second-quarter gross margins forecast raised some concerns. * Angie''s List soared 44.3 percent to $8.50 in light premarket trading after IAC/InterActiveCorp said it would buy the consumer review website operator. * Tenet Healthcare rose 15.7 percent to $17.76 after reporting a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss. Futures snapshot at 7:05 a.m. ET (1105 GMT): * Dow e-minis were down 14 points, or 0.07 percent, with 12,101 contracts changing hands. * S&P 500 e-minis were down 1.75 points, or 0.07 percent, with 71,953 contracts traded. * Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 3.25 points, or 0.06 percent, on volume of 16,344 contracts. (Reporting by Tanya Agrawal in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-idUSL4N1I42Y5'|'2017-05-02T19:13:00.000+03:00' +'07f61c4ff02cede080fe4aebc7c51e49f17664ca'|'UPDATE 1-U.S. regulators to delve into ''too big to fail'' designation'|'Business News - Mon May 1, 2017 - 6:37pm EDT U.S. regulators to delve into ''too big to fail'' designation By Lisa Lambert - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The heads of the U.S. financial regulators will meet next week to dive into the sensitive process of labeling companies "systemically important," better known as "too big to fail." The Financial Stability Oversight Council will discuss President Donald Trump''s April memorandum instructing the FSOC chair, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, to examine how the council makes the designations, according to a notice from the U.S. Treasury on Monday. The May 8 meeting will also address Trump''s executive order in February to review the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law that created the council and designations, which were intended to prevent a repeat of the 2007-2009 financial crisis and recession. The order requires Mnuchin to submit possible regulatory changes and legislation modifying Dodd-Frank by June 3. The council will also be briefed on a nonbank financial company currently designated as too big to fail, which was not identified. By law, the annual evaluations can lead to lifting a company''s designation. The meeting is closed to the public. While Treasury''s announcement did not name the firm to be discussed, only two insurance companies, American International Group ( AIG.N ), and Prudential Financial ( PRU.N ), currently have the label. Some companies are wary of the "systemically important" designation because it forces them to hold on to capital and creates extra oversight they say is burdensome. Republican senators wrote to Mnuchin in March saying the current designation process lacks transparency and consistency and that the label creates additional costs for firms while maintaining the possibility of a future bailout. Proponents say the council of experts can identify banks and nonbanks that are large enough to devastate the financial system should they fall into distress. They argue the firms should be required to take precautions to quarantine any possible problems. This will be the second FSOC meeting that Mnuchin has chaired since he was confirmed in February. The former Goldman Sachs Group Inc ( GS.N ) executive and movie producer has expressed skepticism about the council, saying during his confirmation hearings he would like to investigate its workings. AIG, which received a $182 billion government bailout during the crisis, has recently taken steps to shrink. That could be part of an attempt to shed the designation. Meanwhile, MetLife Inc ( MET.N ) successfully fought in court to have its designation removed. The FSOC appealed the decision, and the largest U.S. life insurer recently asked to have the case put on pause during Trump''s review. (Editing by Matthew Lewis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fsoc-idUSKBN17X2E4'|'2017-05-02T06:35:00.000+03:00' +'4c663d83e5397646e635d42747b7db4a6d107c12'|'Austria''s BAWAG PSK plans to buy Germany''s Suedwestbank'|'Business News - Wed May 24, 2017 - 12:32pm BST Austria''s BAWAG PSK plans to buy Germany''s Suedwestbank The logo of BAWAG PSK Bank is pictured on one of its branches in Vienna, Austria, March 2, 2016. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger By Michael Shields - ZURICH ZURICH BAWAG PSK [CCMLPB.UL], the Austrian bank owned by private equity group Cerberus Capital Management, is in advanced talks to buy German regional lender Suedwestbank to expand its network in western Europe, BAWAG said on Wednesday. It said the parties had agreed to keep details of the process confidential for now. Suedwestbank is majority owned by a holding company for twin brothers Andreas und Thomas Struengmann, billionaires from their sale of generics drugmaker Hexal to Novartis in 2005. It has around 100,000 retail and corporate customers in the prosperous Baden-Wuerttemberg province around Stuttgart. Suedwestbank has total assets of around 7.4 billion euros (6.3 billion) and 650 staff in its 28-branch network that combines traditional lending with asset and wealth management. It has more than 1 billion euros in assets under management. It made a 2016 operating profit before tax of 79 million euros. The Struengmann brothers bought Suedwestbank from DZ Bank in 2004 for around 100 million euros. They injected 400 million euros into the bank three years ago. Unlisted BAWAG, Austria''s fourth-biggest bank, has more than 2.2 million customers and 40 billion euros in assets. It has said for years it was on the lookout for takeovers -- especially in Austria, Germany and Switzerland -- to expand. "Germany is a very, very attractive market for us," Chief Executive Anas Abuzaakouk told Reuters, saying a Suedwestbank takeover would provide a platform for more deals. "Obviously our first focus will be growing organically, focusing on retail and corporate lending, but we are also looking at a number of inorganic opportunities that would be complementary to Suedwestbank...and that would be bolt-on-type acquisitions to address the German market," he said. He hoped to have the Suedwestbank deal signed and closed by the end of the year. It would be fully funded from BAWAG''s own capital. BAWAG had a fully loaded common equity tier 1 ratio -- a measure of balance sheet strength -- of 15.7 percent of risk-weighted assets at the end of the first quarter, and Abuzaakouk said it would consistently remain above 12 percent. Cerberus [CBS.UL] owns 52 percent of BAWAG and GoldenTree Asset Management 40 percent. Abuzaakouk declined to speculate about their future plans, saying only that as financial investors they would monetise their holding at some stage. BAWAG has been on the takeover trail, with five other deals over the past 18 months. In February its easybank direct bank agreed to buy the PayLife commercial card issuing business of SIX Payment Services Austria. Unlike other Austrian banks that expanded heavily in central and eastern Europe, BAWAG focuses on Austria, where it holds two-thirds of its customer loan book. It also does retail, corporate, commercial real estate and portfolio lending in western Europe and the United States. (Additonal reporting by Alexander Huebner)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bawag-m-a-suedwestbank-idUKKBN18K1FU'|'2017-05-24T19:32:00.000+03:00' +'ec22e2bb6da5d0b1fe5bc430bb21129bd9ec7f54'|'Pallinghurst makes unsolicited offer for remaining stake in Gemfields'|'Business 9:30am BST Pallinghurst makes unsolicited offer for remaining stake in Gemfields A Faberge emerald gemstone Emotion ring is seen at the Gemfields office in central London, November 17, 2014. REUTERS/Toby Melville Mining group Pallinghurst Resources Ltd ( PGLJ.J ), the largest shareholder of precious stones miner Gemfields Plc ( GEM.L ), on Friday offered to buy out the remaining 52.91 percent it does not already own for about 111.9 million pounds. Pallinghurst''s offer values each Gemfields share at 38.5 pence, just above Gemfields'' Thursday close of 38.125 pence. The offer values the entire issued capital of Gemfields at 211.45 million pounds, Pallinghurst said in a statement. Gemfields shareholders would receive 1.91 Pallinghurst shares for each share held, resulting in a 42.2 percent ownership of the enlarged group. Gemfields said it was reviewing the unsolicited offer from Pallinghurst, an investment company with interests in platinum group metals and coloured gemstones. Gemfields advised its shareholders to take no action for the time being. Gemfields shares rose as much as 4.3 percent, before paring some of the gains to trade up about 3 percent at 0821 GMT on the London Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Sanjeeban Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-gemfields-m-a-pallinghurst-idUKKCN18F0PH'|'2017-05-19T16:30:00.000+03:00' +'393643ab496061fa19dceb36351740662776aa60'|'EMERGING MARKETS-LatAm currencies weaken as Trump woes spark risk-aversion'|'Bonds News - Wed May 17, 2017 - 7:33pm EDT EMERGING MARKETS-LatAm currencies weaken as Trump woes spark risk-aversion (Updates prices) By Bruno Federowski SAO PAULO, May 17 Latin American markets and currencies weakened on Wednesday as speculation U.S. President Donald Trump could face the threat of impeachment triggered worldwide profit-taking on riskier assets. The Brazilian real slipped 1.23 percent, while the Mexican peso fell 0.71 percent. Both currencies had strengthened in the last six trading days. News reports emerged on Tuesday that Trump had asked then-Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey to end the agency''s investigation into ties between former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn and Russia. The reports fueled questions over whether Trump could be charged with obstruction of justice, potentially opening the door for an early exit from office. Uncertainty over his future drove investors away from higher-risk assets, while also fostering doubt over the implementation of his fiscal expansion pledges, traders said. Stock markets also fell, with MSCI''s emerging markets equity index down 0.63 percent. MSCI''s Latin American stock index fell 1.71 percent, following a 6 percent rally in the last six sessions. All of Latin American benchmark stock indexes were down, with Brazil''s Bovespa index the worst performer, dropping 1.67 percent. Shares of banking giant Itau Unibanco lost 2.04 percent, while those of fellow bank Bradesco fell 1.97 percent. Iron ore producer Vale also suffered, with its shares down 1.93 percent. Mexico''s IPC stock index was not immune from the pain, losing 1.44 percent during Wednesday''s session. Shares of bottler and retailer Fomento Economico Mexicano (Femsa) lost 1.93 percent after Coca-Cola Femsa, a joint venture with Coca-Cola Co, ditched plans to acquire certain distribution territories in the United States. Shares of dairy producer Grupo Lala fell 3.90 percent on Wednesday, the same day the Wall Street Journal reported the company was the lead bidder for Danone''s Stonyfield Farm, a U.S. yogurt maker. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 2307 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % Latest change change MSCI Emerging Markets 1008.63 -0.63 16.97 MSCI LatAm 2714.34 -1.71 15.97 Brazil Bovespa 67540.25 -1.67 12.14 Mexico IPC 48747.95 -1.44 6.80 Chile IPSA 4853.49 -0.45 16.91 Chile IGPA 24357.55 -0.37 17.48 Argentina MerVal 21674.24 -0.72 28.11 Colombia IGBC 10721.89 -0.97 5.86 Venezuela IBC 65376.60 1.49 106.20 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.1337 -1.23 3.69 Mexico peso 18.7825 -0.71 10.44 (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Andrea Ricci and Cynthia Osterman) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-latam-idUSL2N1IJ21J'|'2017-05-18T07:33:00.000+03:00' +'74f0f59776f1a7e180dd1e5c6d6c1c052959929f'|'Vale''s top shareholder unveils definitive terms for reorganization'|'SAO PAULO The controlling shareholder of Vale SA proposed on Thursday a definitive swap ratio of 0.9342 common share per preferred stock as part of a plan to transform the world''s No. 1 iron ore producer into a company with dispersed share ownership.As part of the proposal, the shareholder formally known as Valepar SA would be incorporated by Vale in a mechanism that would grant bonus shares to Valepar partners, according to a securities filing. The proposal needs to be approved by 54.09 percent of preferred shareholders, the filing said.(Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-vale-sa-equity-agreement-idINKBN18720L'|'2017-05-11T12:44:00.000+03:00' +'b608f1803a8d02a89e71a29e1beee7bc34cbeda6'|'Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visits Foxconn, after CEO goes to White House'|'Economy News - Wed May 10, 2017 - 5:54am BST Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visits Foxconn, after CEO goes to White House left right The logo of Foxconn, the trading name of Hon Hai Precision Industry, is seen on top of the company''s headquarters in New Taipei City, Taiwan March 29, 2016. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo 1/2 left right Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou talks to reporters as he exits the White House following a second day of meetings in Washington, U.S., April 28, 2017. REUTERS/Jim Bourg 2/2 TAIPEI China is the best place for expanding manufacturing and investment, the country''s premier told Foxconn, the world''s largest contract electronics maker, less than two weeks after its chief executive Terry Gou went to the White House to discuss increasing investment in the United States. "We will continue to expand our development, and optimize the business environment. China has a huge market and lots of talent, it is the best investment place for expanding manufacturing," Li Keqiang was summarized as saying on the State Council''s official website, which carried pictures of Li''s visit on Tuesday to Foxconn''s sprawling manufacturing facility in Zhengzhou, Henan province. The pictures showed Li being escorted by Gou around the facilities and the State Council statement saying that Li encouraged Gou to further invest in its high-end research and development as well as in supply chain production in China. Despite the recent rapprochement between U.S. President Donald Trump and China President Xi Jinping over North Korea issues, China remains a competitor to the United States under Trump''s "America first" agenda. Analysts have said that Gou treads a fine line in balancing his business empire that straddles both the United States and China. Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co ( 2317.TW ), is a major supplier to Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ). China is the base for its assembly of Apple''s iconic iPhones, and where Foxconn employs about a million people. Li''s visit comes after Gou visited the White House with senior Foxconn executives to discuss significant investments in the U.S. in late April. At the time, Gou told Reuters when he emerged from meetings at the White House for a second day that Foxconn was planning "capital-intensive" investments in America and that details could be announced in a few weeks. "After we select the location, the White House will make an announcement," Gou said. Foxconn is also in the running as a suitor for Toshiba Corp''s ( 6502.T ) chip business. People familiar with the deal have told Reuters that Foxconn is considered a U.S. security risk due to ties with China. (Reporting by Jess Macy Yu; Editing by Michael Perry)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-foxconn-china-idUKKBN1860DS'|'2017-05-10T12:54:00.000+03:00' +'68a9c3e8964c8c94bd953d8ebe11839c3e1178c4'|'MOVES-Russell Investments hires new UK consultant relations director'|' 45am EDT MOVES-Russell Investments hires new UK consultant relations director May 9 Russell Investments, a wholly owned global asset management unit of London Stock Exchange Group Plc , appointed Julian Brown as director of its UK consultant relations team. Based in London, he will report to Jim Leggate, head of the UK Institutional and Middle East businesses. Previously, Brown worked at BlackRock Inc, where he was head of consultant relations for UK. (Reporting by Divya Grover in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/russell-investments-moves-julian-brown-idUSL4N1IB523'|'2017-05-09T23:45:00.000+03:00' +'c3416374a5f7765049de593588140a8a66b8f603'|'Boeing suspends 737 MAX flights due to engine issue'|'By Alwyn Scott - SEATTLE SEATTLE Boeing Co said on Wednesday it temporarily halted flights of its new 737 MAX aircraft due to an issue with the engine, which is jointly made by General Electric Co and Safran SA of France.The grounding comes days before Boeing was due to deliver its first 737 MAX to an airline, and marks a high-profile delay in a programme that Boeing had said was ahead of schedule.It poses no safety concerns for travellers because no airlines are yet flying the 737 MAX, but it could mean a costly disruption if the problem persists. Timely delivery is important to planemakers as they get most of the payment for a plane when it is handed to the buyer.Boeing shares fell 1.3 percent to $183.15 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange. GE shares were down 0.9 percent at $28.67.Boeing said it still expects to deliver the first 737 MAX aircraft this month, and that production of both the MAX and current generation 737 will continue.Safran found a quality problem in a disc used in the low-pressure turbine at the rear of the engine and notified Boeing over the weekend, Rick Kennedy, a spokesman for GE, said.The 737 MAX replaces an older version of Boeing''s best-selling single-aisle aircraft, a key moneymaker for the aerospace company.Kennedy said the disc that prompted the concern had not been installed in an engine, but the discovery prompted Boeing to halt flights until engines could be inspected.Safran received the disc from a supplier, but there are other suppliers of that part so production of the engine, known as the LEAP 1-B, was continuing, Kennedy said.American Airlines Group Inc , which has 100 737 MAX jets on order, declined to comment and referred questions to Boeing. Southwest Airlines Co , the launch customer for the new aircraft, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.(Additional reporting by Alana Wise; Editing by Chris Reese, Leslie Adler and Bill Rigby)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/boeing-737max-engine-idINKBN1862XY'|'2017-05-11T05:40:00.000+03:00' +'98d872e559565ca165cb61f9f4e020f910483cd0'|'China April factory output, investment growth miss forecasts'|'Business News - Mon May 15, 2017 - 3:30am BST China April factory output, investment growth miss forecasts FILE PHOTO: A woman works at a textile factory in Xiangfan, Hubei province, China December 31, 2005. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo BEIJING China''s factory output and fixed asset investment growth cooled more than expected in April, adding to signs that momentum in the world''s second-biggest economy is slowing from a strong start in the first quarter. Factory output rose 6.5 percent in April from a year earlier, while fixed-asset investment grew 8.9 percent in the first four months of the year, both worse than expectations. The soft activity data, combined with weak manufacturing sector growth and slowing producer prices inflation, reinforced analysts'' view that China''s economic expansion remains solid but is starting to taper off. Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted factory output would grow by 7.1 percent in April, easing from March''s 7.6 percent. Output growth slowed on tumbling steel and iron ore prices amid concern over rising inventories after China''s mills cranked out as much metal as possible to drive factory output to its highest since December 2014. Fixed asset investment had been forecast to grow 9.1 percent over the first four months of the year, easing from 9.2 percent in Jan-March. Retail sales rose 10.7 percent in April from a year earlier. Analysts had expected a 10.6 percent rise, edging lower from the previous month. Private investment growth slowed to 6.9 percent in January-April period from 7.7 percent in the first quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday, suggesting small- and medium-sized private firms still face challenges in accessing investment-finance. Private investment accounts for about 60 percent of overall investment in China. With growth comfortably above this year''s target of around 6.5 percent, Chinese policymakers have shifted their focus to reining in financial risks and stamping out speculative activity in the property market. China''s National Bureau of Statistics said Monday that more positive factors were seen in the economy in April, though structural problems remain. China is targeting growth of around 9 percent in fixed asset investment for 2017, and expects retail sales to increase about 10 percent. The country''s first quarter economic growth came in at a faster-than-expected 6.9 percent, the quickest since 2015 on higher government infrastructure spending and a gravity-defying property boom. China has cut its economic growth target to around 6.5 percent this year to give policymakers more room to push through painful reforms and contain financial risks after years of debt-fuelled stimulus. (Reporting by Kevin Yao; Writing by Elias Glenn; Editing by Shri Navaratnam) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-activity-idUKKCN18B04B'|'2017-05-15T10:30:00.000+03:00' +'8dc5303699d859a666df81bda28ce750ef8734b6'|'REFILE-Lenovo''s struggling mobile business sets sight on high-end market'|'Business News - Sun May 28, 2017 - 8:12pm EDT Lenovo''s struggling mobile business sets sight on high-end market FILE PHOTO: Lenovo tablets and mobile phones are displayed during a news conference on the company''s annual results in Hong Kong May 23, 2013. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo By Sijia Jiang - HONG KONG HONG KONG After a bruising fall from its spot as the world''s third-largest mobile phone maker following its acquisition of Motorola three years ago, China''s Lenovo Group Ltd ( 0992.HK ) is counting on a push upmarket to stop the bleeding in its smartphone business. While the company, which vies with HP as the world''s largest PC maker, returned to profit in the year to March, losses in its smartphone business worsened as marketing expenses for new products and key component costs increased. The group''s phone problems started after it acquired Motorola Mobility from Google for $2.9 billion in 2014 but struggled to integrate the assets. That, combined with fierce competition from lower-end manufacturers in its home base of China such as Xiaomi and Oppo, saw its global position fall to eighth in 2016. A recently announced reorganization of its China business aimed at sharpening the PC brand''s consumer focus comes amid an ongoing effort to tighten its mobile branding and shift the focus to pricier models under its Moto brand. "Our strategy is to prioritize mature markets ... which need brands and innovative products, whereas emerging markets need efficiency," Chairman Yang Yuanqing said of Lenovo''s mobile business at a press conference in Hong Kong on Thursday. "So we will have two teams catering to the two kinds of markets with different product lines." Lenovo faces its toughest battle in its home base of China, where it has slipped out of the top 10 smartphone vendors. Shipments domestically declined 80 percent year-on-year or 55 percent quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter of 2017, according to data from Canalys. The company currently has three phone brands in China - the premium Moto brand, the cheaper Lenovo series, and an online-focused ZUK brand launched in 2015. A Lenovo spokeswoman said its global mobile strategy would focus on the Motorola brand, although it would continue to support its other lines, such as ZUK. Moto products, including a premium series of modular phones designed with detachable components that can be replaced or upgraded, helped propel Lenovo to be the second-biggest vendor in Brazil, after Samsung Electronics Co Ltd ( 005930.KS ), Yang said. Shipments in Brazil rose 56 percent in the first three months of the year according to Lenovo, overtaking India as its biggest market, where volume grew 34 percent. The average selling prices of Lenovo''s mobile products rose 15.1 percent in the past year, according to its financial report. Mature market competition, where Yang said Lenovo''s main rivals are Samsung and LG Electronics Inc ( 066570.KS ), is less fierce than in emerging markets, where the low entry barrier allowed in "too many Chinese vendors, some of which compete irrationally". He added Lenovo will have three more telecom partners in the U.S. this year, while its performance in Western Europe is improving. NEW PRIORITIES Yang said Lenovo is on track to meet its goal of turning around the mobile business by the second half of the fiscal year starting in April. At the same time, some analysts say the company should cut its mobile losses in China and focus on building its strength in other markets. "I think they should deep-six their China mobile business. Their non-China probably has a chance if it''s very narrowly geographic and product focused," said Bernstein analyst Alberto Moel. Lenovo is the fourth-biggest smartphone seller in India, with a 9.5 percent market share, which compares with Samsung in top place with 28.1, according to IDC. While it faces increasing competition from new entrants Oppo and Vivo, it enjoys good brand loyalty. "I like Lenovo phones for their good battery backup, smart looks and the overall experience," said Bhaskar Kotian, a Mumbai businessman who has purchased at least six Lenovo smartphones for friends and family in the past two years. Despite calls to write off its China problems, Yang insists there are no plans to walk away from its domestic mobile business. "We would never give up our China mobile business, because it is 30 percent of the world market," he said. (This story corrects to fix typographical error in headline.) (Reporting by Sijia Jiang; Additional reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal; Editing by Sam Holmes) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-lenovo-smartphones-idUSKBN18O0T7'|'2017-05-29T08:02:00.000+03:00' +'b955aeabff5f94a455526232ea85c94dc20e28a6'|'Italy''s Investindustrial bids to buy L''Oreal''s The Body Shop'|'MILAN Italy''s Investindustrial has placed a bid to buy British beauty retailer The Body Shop, the founder of the private equity firm Andrea Bonomi said on Tuesday.The sale by L''Oreal, which has owned the company since 2006, has drawn interest from a series of private equity investors and a decision is expected in the coming months.The Body Shop was a pioneer in the ethical beauty product industry four decades ago but was recently been challenged by weakening sales and profits, prompting the decision to sell it."We are trying (to buy it) and if we manage to do so, we hope a woman will lead it," Bonomi said.Italian media has previously reported Investindustrial''s plans to name former L''Oreal Italy country head Cristina Scocchia at the helm of the cosmetics group if it succeeded in the acquisition.L''Oreal declined to comment.(Reporting by Massimo Gaia and Valentina Za, additional reporting from Pascale Denis in Paris, writing by Giulia Segreti)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-l-oreal-the-body-shop-m-a-investindus-idINKCN18C1KV'|'2017-05-16T11:21:00.000+03:00' +'4a454375e449ccf248dcdb8de315fa680a443909'|'Italy lags in euro zone''s Big Five economies'|'Business News - Tue May 16, 2017 - 4:41pm BST Italy lags in euro zone''s Big Five economies People walk inside an Inditex owned Zara Home store in Milan, Italy, March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo By Jeremy Gaunt - LONDON LONDON Of the euro zone''s top five economies, Italy is struggling to keep growth going, though it is only slightly worse for wear than France. Tuesday''s first-quarter GDP growth was just 0.2 percent up on the previous period and slowed to 0.8 percent year-on-year. Add this to data showing that life has become more expensive since Italians got the euro and that Germany is barrelling ahead. The following graph shows GDP trends for Germany, France, Italy, Spain and The Netherlands. The one below shows changes in euro zone purchasing power based on GDP per capita:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-economy-italy-idUKKCN18C1YN'|'2017-05-16T23:41:00.000+03:00' +'bfc5dddd737433eccdbf7f92b48be5aa04821dbd'|'IMF improves Russia 2017 economic growth forecast to 1.4 percent'|'Business News 31pm BST IMF improves Russia 2017 economic growth forecast to 1.4 percent FILE PHOTO: Trucks carry wood for making a drill pad at Rosneft''s Samotlor oil field outside the West Siberian city of Nizhnevartovsk, Russia, January 26, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo MOSCOW The International Monetary Fund improved its forecast for Russia''s economic growth this year to 1.4 percent, saying easier financial conditions and higher oil prices would help drive a recovery, a regular IMF report showed on Friday. The Fund, which in October forecast the economy would grow by 1.1 percent this year, said Russia was exiting a two-year recession thanks to an effective policy response from the government and because the country had robust buffers. The IMF cautioned, however, that Russia''s medium-term economic outlook would remain subdued, seeing annual economic growth at around 1.5 percent. (Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by Andrey Ostroukh)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-imf-russia-idUKKCN18F1ED'|'2017-05-19T20:31:00.000+03:00' +'30a398eb2425f638d15ac2d2c9cf10b5c8f03658'|'Emergency landing: how airlines can recover from a PR disaster - Business'|'P oor old British Airways. It was bad enough that backup systems failed after a power surge brought down its IT systems on Saturday morning. But when hundreds of passengers were then left stranded, crisis-response experts accused the airline of failing them, too. Four days later, half a billion pounds have been wiped off the value of BA parent company IAG.Paul Charles, a former director of communications for Eurostar and Virgin Atlantic, where he created the airlines crisis strategy, is baffled by how long it took BA to say anything. You have to respond within an hour with a full statement on what is going on, he says. It took seven hours for the CEO to record a video Twitter message. You could fly to New York in that time, its ridiculous.In a second video , shared yesterday afternoon, Nicola Pearson, a former BBC News reporter who now runs BAs news operation, interviews her boss, the airlines chief executive lex Cruz. He says he is profusely sorry for the disruption and attempts to reassure customers that it couldnt happen again. Charles, who now runs the PC Agency, a London travel consultancy, thinks BAs brand is strong enough to survive, but it is being eroded, he adds. When airlines dont have good crisis plans in place it can lead to the decline of the brand. United Airlines stock price took a dive when it managed to blame a passenger who had been dragged off an overbooked plane in Chicago . The airline later admitted that it had messed up its initial response and the share price has since recovered. Malaysia Airlines had to be nationalised to keep it flying after the loss of two planes in as many months in 2014.Even relatively minor crises tend to get amplified. Theres something about airlines and airports that fascinates the public and the media, and means these stories are often given greater prominence than perhaps a crisis in another sector, Charles adds. Good crisis plans include command structures and a checklist of key stakeholders who the CEO calls directly, such as top corporate clients and travel agents. The biggest crisis Charles has managed? A single complaint about the food on a Virgin flight from Mumbai to London. In an email to Richard Branson that went viral in 2009 , the anonymous passenger included photos of his meal alongside a humorous review. The mashed potato appeared to have been passed through the digestive tract of a bird, he wrote. This very quickly became a global negative story and a very early lesson in social media, Charles recalls. We quickly responded and turned it around by offering the passenger a role as a food tester for future menus.Topics British Airways Shortcuts Airline industry Travel & leisure Marketing & PR blogposts '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/shortcuts/2017/may/30/british-airways-emergency-landing-how-airlines-recover-pr-disaster'|'2017-05-31T00:30:00.000+03:00' +'68b856521420cfb098cd79fd9d21dd742d6f22fd'|'Canadian insurer Intact to buy OneBeacon for $1.7 billion'|'Canadian insurer Intact Financial Corp ( IFC.TO ) said it would buy OneBeacon Insurance Group Ltd ( OB.N ) for $1.7 billion, creating a North American specialty insurance company with over C$2 billion ($1.46 billion) of annual premiums.The $18.10 cash offer represented a 15.3 percent premium to OneBeacon''s Tuesday close.($1 = 1.3710 Canadian dollars)(Corrects annual premiums in paragraph 1 to over C$2 billion, from $2 billion)(Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-onebeacon-insur-m-a-intact-financial-idINKBN17Y2GJ'|'2017-05-02T18:54:00.000+03:00' +'e5d8023db5e7501c87768f0153519b879c404c52'|'Japan finance minister says must deliver strong message on free trade at G7'|'Business News - Tue May 23, 2017 - 2:12am BST Japan finance minister says must deliver strong message on free trade at G7 Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso leaves the G7 for Financial ministers meeting in the southern Italian city of Bari, Italy, May 12, 2017. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi TOKYO Japan must deliver a strong message on free trade at this month''s summit meeting of leaders from the Group of Seven nations, Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Tuesday. Aso was speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting. (Reporting by Takashi Umekawa; Writing by Tetsushi Kajimoto) U.S. top court tightens patent suit rules in blow to ''patent trolls'' WASHINGTON The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday tightened rules for where patent lawsuits can be filed in a decision that may make it harder for so-called patent "trolls" to launch sometimes dodgy patent cases in friendly courts, a major irritant for high-tech giants like Apple and Alphabet Inc''s Google. Allowing swaps clearinghouses to turn to central banks for the same kind of emergency loans that banks can access would add to financial stability in important ways, Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans said on Tuesday in Shanghai. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-aso-idUKKBN18J05N'|'2017-05-23T09:07:00.000+03:00' +'f90517045ba20809c974f3195bbeb6ffda92ba27'|'Panasonic expects auto focus to boost annual profit by 21 percent'|'Business News 57am BST Panasonic expects auto focus to boost annual profit by 21 percent Panasonic Corp''s logo is pictured at Panasonic Center in Tokyo, Japan, February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon TOKYO Panasonic Corp said on Thursday it expects operating profit to rise by one-fifth year-on-year this financial year as investments in advanced automotive parts begin to pay off. Panasonic forecasts operating profit to increase to 335 billion yen (2.3 billion pounds) in the year to March 2018 from 276.8 billion yen a year ago. The outlook is slightly lower than the 346.28 yen average estimate compiled by Thomson Reuters. Panasonic, which marks its 100th anniversary next year, is shifting its focus to corporate clients such as automakers to escape price competition in lower-margin consumer electronics. To bolster its push into the automotive field, Panasonic this year decided to take control of Spanish automotive mirror manufacturer Ficosa International and began mass production of battery cells with Tesla Motors at the electric car maker''s $5 billion "Gigafactory". Signs of a steady profit from the automotive business would give a vote of confidence to Chief Executive Officer Kazuhiro Tsuga, who embarked on a drastic business overhaul when he took the helm of the sprawling conglomerate five years ago. Panasonic expects its automotive and industrial division to reap sales of 2.66 trillion yen in the current business year, up 10 percent from a year prior, as it begins to ship advanced infotainment systems that incorporate electronic mirrors and other safety features. (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Miral Fahmy)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-panasonic-outlook-idUKKBN1870R9'|'2017-05-11T15:57:00.000+03:00' +'8751242ec92739b5ff8e3399ef1588361b5d874b'|'Johnson & Johnson offers EU concessions over Actelion deal'|'Deals - Thu May 18, 2017 - 11:12am BST Johnson & Johnson offers EU concessions over Actelion deal left right FILE PHOTO: Bottles of Johnson''s baby oil, made by Johnson & Johnson, are seen on a supermarket shelf in Seattle, Washington, U.S., February 10, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Helgren 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: The company''s logo is seen at the headquarters of Swiss biotech company Actelion in Allschwil, Switzerland January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann 2/2 BRUSSELS U.S. healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ.N ) has offered concessions in a bid to address EU antitrust concerns over its $30 billion bid for Swiss biotech company Actelion ( ATLN.S ), the European Commission said on Thursday. The EU competition enforcer extended its review of the deal to June 12 from May 24, according to a filing on its website. It did not provide details. Johnson & Johnson put in the offer on Wednesday. The deal, the biggest in the European pharmaceutical industry in 13 years, would give J&J access to Actelion''s range of high-price, high-margin medicines for rare diseases, helping it diversify its drug portfolio as its biggest product, Remicade for arthritis, faces cheaper competition. The Commission is expected to seek feedback from consumers and rivals before deciding whether to accept the offer, demand more or open a four-month long investigation. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Philip Blenkinsop)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-actelion-m-a-johnson-johnson-eu-idUKKCN18E17L'|'2017-05-18T18:10:00.000+03:00' +'450e5e594483d3f3fceb7db5e3e487dace7f2512'|'Brazil''s Odebrecht taps VP Guidolin as new chief executive'|'Business 10:57am EDT Brazil''s Odebrecht taps VP Guidolin as new chief executive The corporate logo of Odebrecht is seen inside of one of its offices in Mexico City, Mexico May 4, 2017. Picture taken on May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso SAO PAULO Brazilian engineering conglomerate Odebrecht SA [ODBES.UL] said on Friday it had tapped Luciano Guidolin as its new chief executive officer, replacing current CEO Newton de Souza. Guidolin, currently vice-president of investments for the group, played a key role in negotiating plea deals in Brazil, Switzerland and the United States, according to an Odebrecht statement. Executives confessed to their roles in a corruption scandal that led to the arrest of former CEO Marcelo Odebrecht. (Reporting by Bruno Federowski)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-odebrecht-ceo-idUSKBN18823R'|'2017-05-12T22:55:00.000+03:00' +'bc82a23833a7d12ecfc88b2078bca1a08f8ea965'|'UPDATE 1-Epiris to keep focus on UK assets after Electra split'|'(Adds Quote: from Electra, research, clarifies manager separate entity)By Dasha AfanasievaLONDON May 25 Electra''s departing fund manager will pursue an investment strategy which focuses on assets in Britain when it splits from the listed private equity fund next month."We have a pipeline of interesting opportunities which pick up where we left off," Alex Fortescue, Managing Partner of the venture Epiris, formerly named Electra Partners, told Reuters on Thursday.Fortescue did not mention specific assets, but said that the volatility created by Britain''s decision to leave the European Union, which has created uncertainty for businesses and called into doubt UK-only strategies, could create opportunities.Despite initial fears that Brexit would deter deal making, merger and acquisition activity has avoided a collapse and with cheap debt and an influx of foreign capital, private equity firms have enjoyed higher exit multiples.Fortescue declined to comment on fundraising by Epiris, which sources have said has so far raised 500 million pounds ($649 million) for its own fund which was launched in early 2017 with a target of between 800 million pounds and 1 billion pounds.The splitting of the fund manager from Electra, which owns the British arm of restaurant chain TGI Fridays, was prompted by a long and bitter campaign by activist investor Edward Bramson to join the listed company''s board.Electra, one of Britain''s oldest private equity firms, reported its net asset value had risen to 5,544 pence per share at the end of March this year, from 5,149 pence, although at a lower rate than the year before.A research note from JP Morgan said its return made Electra the best performing London-listed private equity company over the last 10 years.The fund also declared a second special dividend of 914 pence per share when it posted its six month results, during which time it has sold a string of assets.In recent weeks it has also sold investment property portfolio Pine Unit Trust and Treetops Nurseries.Epiris will hand over responsibility for managing Electra''s remaining assets, including Britain''s TGI Fridays and Photobox, to the fund next month.The results of the second phase of Electra''s review will be announced in the fourth quarter of 2017, Neil Johnson, Chairman of Electra Private Equity said."We are looking forward to the commencement of the second phase of the strategic review in June, when the executive management team will have direct access to the portfolio companies'' management teams and financial information for the first time," he added.($1 = 0.7701 pounds) (Editing by Alexander Smith and Pritha Sarkar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/electra-pvt-eqty-results-idINL8N1IR2N7'|'2017-05-25T09:17:00.000+03:00' +'34dbd00b3a5db0342e8c2f9023c609dd69508e0f'|'CORRECTED-BRIEF-Eiffage price guidance is 77 Euros to market- Bookrunner'|'Market News - Mon May 15, 2017 - 12:39pm EDT CORRECTED-BRIEF-Eiffage price guidance is 77 Euros to market- Bookrunner (Corrects source) * Concurrent sells real-time business segment for $35 million to battery ventures; focuses on video storage & delivery market opportunity MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories Reuters News Agency - Brand Attribution Guidelines - Careers Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters . Thomson Reuters is the world''s largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFWN1IH14E'|'2017-05-16T00:39:00.000+03:00' +'7c2a94058228940603888dc7a4148df6f738a193'|'ECB''s Angeloni wants no let up in clean up of bad loans'|'Business News - Mon May 15, 2017 - 4:28pm BST ECB''s Angeloni wants no let up in clean up of bad loans FRANKFURT Euro zone banks should continue to offload their bad loans and improve their lending practices even as the economy improves, a senior European Central Bank supervisor said on Monday. "There is therefore a need for continued effort, tailored to the specific situation of individual banks, to improve lending practices and to effectively dispose of existing NPLs (non-performing loans)," Ignazio Angeloni, a member of the ECB''s supervisory board, told an event in Milan. (Reporting By Francesco Canepa)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ecb-banks-italy-idUKKCN18B1YM'|'2017-05-15T23:27:00.000+03:00' +'359e26022b57788d8803da28a9bb3d84ba9d926f'|'Former SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive will leave Tesla'|'Business News - Tue May 16, 2017 - 12:34am BST Former SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive will leave Tesla FILE PHOTO: Lyndon Rive, SolarCity co-founder and CEO, attends SolarCity''s Inside Energy Summit in Manhattan, New York October 2, 2015. REUTERS/Rashid Umar Abbasi/File Photo By Nichola Groom SolarCity founder Lyndon Rive, who steered the dramatic growth of the biggest U.S. residential solar company before driving its sale to Tesla Inc, is leaving the electric vehicle maker in June, he said on Monday. In an interview, the former SolarCity chief executive said he wanted to start a new company next year and spend more time with his family. Rive had been serving as head of sales and services for Tesla''s energy division since last year. Rive''s responsibilities will be distributed among Tesla leadership, Tesla said. Tesla acquired SolarCity for $2.6 billion in August, paving the way for Tesla CEO Elon Musk''s ambitious plans for a carbon-free energy and transportation company. The sale came as investors worried about the solar panel installer''s debt-fueled growth. Under Tesla, SolarCity has slowed installations and focused on the most profitable projects that generate cash upfront. Throughout his decade at the helm of the company, Rive had a populist vision of making rooftop solar energy affordable to all in an effort to curb demand for fossil fuels and combat climate change. Rive, 40, said SolarCity was "healthier than it''s ever been," and the time had come for him to move on. Tesla launched its innovative solar roof tiles last week, a product that generates electricity without traditional rooftop panels. Rive said he began to consider leaving a few months ago. "My skill set and what I love doing is starting and running companies," Rive said. "I can hand off the baton to somebody else and give myself the opportunity to do something else that could also have another impact." Cal Lankton, Tesla''s vice president of global infrastructure operations, will take on an expanded role as head of sales and operations for energy products, the company said. Rive co-founded SolarCity with his older brother Peter in 2006 with financial backing from their cousin Musk. Peter Rive, who was SolarCity''s chief technology officer, will remain to focus on the company''s solar roofs. Over the next decade, SolarCity expanded rapidly with innovative no-money-down financing schemes and a vast sales and installation operation. The company in 2013 aimed to have 1 million customers by 2018, but scaled back its plans at the end of 2015 as costs for funding that growth mounted and demand began to slow. SolarCity hit 300,000 customers late last year. (Reporting by Nichola Groom, editing by Peter Henderson and Richard Chang)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-tesla-solar-rive-idUKKCN18B2RR'|'2017-05-16T07:34:00.000+03:00' +'0c48f12a08e87a480cb414f344a542529fc1b1c4'|'Canada''s Frontera Energy to invest $2.5 billion in Peru'|'LIMA Canada''s Frontera Energy Corp FEC.TO plans to invest $2.5 billion in oil and gas exploration and production in Peru, the company said in a statement on Thursday.The company, known as Pacific Exploration & Production before a name change earlier this week, said it has had a presence in Peru since 2001.(Reporting by Marco Aquino; Writing by Luc Cohen; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-frontera-energy-peru-idINKBN1962NW'|'2017-06-15T17:03:00.000+03:00' +'cfb2285d1c8ecd171d1798bab8de8fa348907941'|'Hong Kong, Singapore rivalry hobbling Asia in $100 billion fintech race - lobby group'|'Business 29am BST Hong Kong, Singapore rivalry hobbling Asia in $100 billion fintech race - lobby group FILE PHOTO: People walk past the Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore April 10, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo By Michelle Price - HONG KONG HONG KONG Asia''s competitiveness in fintech is being undermined by the rivalry among the region''s financial centres that has created regulatory complexity and uncertainty, a financial lobby group has warned. Governments across Asia - most notably Hong Kong and Singapore - have launched a raft of initiatives to grab a slice of the $100 billion (78.4 billion pounds) invested in fintech globally but the regulatory hotch-potch is making it tough for firms to scale up, the Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA) said in a report on Friday. "The regulatory landscape is very fragmented and a lot of the initiatives, though well-intentioned, are not necessarily well thought through," said Mark Austen, CEO of ASIFMA. The lobby group, which represents global banks and asset managers such as Goldman Sachs and BlackRock, has called on Asian regulators to coordinate better and to adopt a consistent set of best practices for fostering fintech in the region. "By not cooperating on fintech, Asian financial centres are putting themselves at a real disadvantage relative to the rest of the world: that traditional competitive dynamic and rivalry between the likes of Hong Kong and Singapore may actually in this case be a disadvantage," said Hannah Cassidy, partner at Herbert Smith Freehills in Hong Kong, which contributed to the report. Investors poured $19 billion worldwide into fintech - including P2P lenders, distributed ledger technology and crowdfunding platforms - in 2016 alone and thousands of fintech start-ups continue to proliferate, according to a February report by global regulatory body the International Organization of Securities Commissions(IOSCO). Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia have launched a range of special programmes to attract and foster fintech ventures, from incubators and grants, to temporary license waiver schemes, with competition fiercest between rivals Hong Kong and Singapore. While all these markets operate well-defined licensing and supervisory regimes for traditional financial firms including banks, brokers, insurance companies and funds, regulators are still struggling to establish clear and consistent regimes for fintech firms because they often operate innovative business models. Cryptocurrency exchanges, for example, are licensed as money changers and regulated by the customs authority in Hong Kong but they are licensed as online shopping malls, akin to clothes retailers, in South Korea. In Singapore, the central bank has proposed regulating bitcoin exchanges as payment firms. This makes it very expensive for fintech firms based in places with small domestic markets like Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia to expand into the broader region because they are more or less starting from scratch each time they enter a new country, said Aurelien Menant, CEO of Hong Kong bitcoin exchange Gatecoin.com. "This is a very important issue for fintech firms in Asia," he said, adding he would welcome tougher standardised rules for alternative currency exchanges across the region. The lack of regulatory clarity has meant some aspiring fintech firms have struggled to gain licenses in markets like Hong Kong, Reuters reported last year. ( here ) "We are open to cooperation with regional and global regulators on fintech," the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) said in a statement, adding it would be entering into new regulatory cooperations shortly, without elaborating. The SFC added it has taken a leading role in discussions around fintech within IOSCO and conducts dialogue with other watchdogs through a dedicated fintech liaison officer. The Monetary Authority of Singapore did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Reporting by Michelle Price; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-asia-fintech-idUKKBN1900LR'|'2017-06-09T14:29:00.000+03:00' +'03bc54d7d53cd3716c52dd961838e71428f215ca'|'Ryanair interested in cooperating with, but not buying, Alitalia'|'DUBLIN Ryanair ( RYA.I ) has submitted an expression of interest to administrators trying to sell troubled airline Alitalia, but is interested in cooperating with the business rather than buying it, the Irish low-cost carrier said on Wednesday.Alitalia filed in May to be put under special administration for the second time in less than a decade, starting a process that will lead to the loss-making airline being overhauled, sold off or wound up.Administrators said on Tuesday they had received 32 expressions of interest before the deadline to submit potential offers expired on Monday, but did not provide any names."We have submitted an expression of interest," a Ryanair spokesman said in an emailed statement. "As previously stated, we are not interested in buying Alitalia. However, we have offered to feed Alitalias long haul traffic."Two weeks ago Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O''Leary said he planned to submit an expression of interest in order to participate in the process rather than to purchase the airline, and that he believed the Italian carrier had a viable future if sensibly restructured.Ryanair said it wanted to provide short-haul traffic to feed Alitalia''s long-haul network and could deploy up to 20 aircraft at two weeks'' notice this summer if Alitalia cut capacity significantly.The spokesman did not say on what terms Ryanair might provide feeder flights, but it has offered to link up to other long-haul carriers in recent months on condition Ryanair would not be responsible for any missed connections.Alitalia has refused a similar offer in the past.The Italian government appointed three commissioners to assess whether Alitalia can be restructured, and has given them six months to come up with a plan.Several Italian media said none of the expressions of interest were for the entire airline but only for certain assets, such as fleet or airport slots.The government has repeatedly said it would prefer to sell the airline in one block, partly to minimize the impact on its 12,500 staff. It has ruled out re-nationalizing Alitalia.The commissioners will now examine the submissions and select those that will be given access to Alitalia''s data room.Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said this week the German airline would look at any opportunities that arise in Italy, but it had no plans to buy Alitalia.He added Lufthansa would look at Alitalia planes should they come up for sale.Turkish Airlines denied reports it was interested in Alitalia''s assets.Alitalia could not immediately be reached for comment.(Reporting by Conor Humphries in Dublin, Agnieszka Flak in Milan and Ceyda Caglayan in Istanbul; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-alitalia-m-a-ryanair-idINKBN18Y1WY'|'2017-06-07T12:02:00.000+03:00' +'126d7ad915de104c9cc9eb69e4daf656831c5481'|'Official urges limited Fed role in addressing U.S. inequality'|'Business News - Fri Jun 23, 2017 - 12:46pm EDT Official urges limited Fed role in addressing U.S. inequality Fashionistas pose for photographs in front of a homeless man outside Moynihan Station following a showing of the Rag & Bone Spring/Summer 2013 collection during New York Fashion Week September 7, 2012. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson CLEVELAND The Federal Reserve cannot directly address the problems of inequality, globalization and the challenges facing lower-income Americans, a Fed official said on Friday, though it can help identify solutions for legislators to take up. Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester did not comment on interest rates or U.S. economic prospects in her prepared remarks. Instead she told a conference on housing and inequality here that the central bank has a limited role to play in solving problems that beset the world''s largest economy. "While monetary policy cannot address issues such as income inequality, the longer-run issues of workforce development, or the distributional effects of globalization and technological change, other government policies and private-public programs - if they are well-designed - can," said Mester said at the Fed-sponsored event. "The Fed is committed to increasing knowledge about the economic challenges facing low- and moderate-income households and communities and helping to identify effective policies and best practices to address these challenges," added Mester, a hawkish rate-setter who votes on policy next year under a rotation. Since the 2007-2009 financial crisis prompted the Fed to take extraordinary steps to revive the economy, some advocacy groups and lawmakers have argued it should play a bigger role in leveling society''s playing field. Fed Chair Janet Yellen has warned that economic inequalities, and barriers to women in the workforce, hurt broader economic growth. The Fed''s congressional mandate is to achieve the lowest sustainable level of unemployment as well as price stability, which the Fed defines as 2-percent annual inflation. (Reporting by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-mester-idUSKBN19E1YI'|'2017-06-24T00:46:00.000+03:00' +'c8e16345386f0950e4fb63ccc992484c67a22cc9'|'REFILE-MOVES-HSBC hires Ritchie to co-head global banking in UK'|'Market 26pm EDT REFILE-MOVES-HSBC hires Ritchie to co-head global banking in UK (Clarifies status in first paragraph.) By Steve Slater LONDON, June 13 (IFR) - HSBC has hired former Goldman Sachs banker Rob Ritchie to co-head its global banking business in the UK, a business the bank is attempting to expand. Ritchie will join HSBC in September and work alongside Philip Noblet, according to a memo to staff sent on Tuesday by Robin Phillips and Matthew Westerman, co-heads of global banking. Westerman joined HSBC last year from Goldman. Alan Thomas, who is co-head of UK banking with Noblet, is retiring from HSBC at the end of this month. Ritchie worked for Goldman for about a decade and was head of European corporate debt capital markets before he left the US bank in June 2016. He was responsible for senior financing relationships in Europe and established strong treasurer and CFO relationships at a number of major UK corporates and utilities and European multinationals, HSBC''s memo said. Ritchie, who worked at UBS before Goldman, will report to Phillips and Westerman. (Reporting by Steve Slater)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL8N1JA4PM'|'2017-06-14T00:26:00.000+03:00' +'696534e50368b368367e302917baa954405e023c'|'UPDATE 1-Nikkei tops 20,000 but autos, banks and yen make investors doubt sustainability'|'Business News - Fri Jun 2, 2017 - 4:15am EDT Nikkei tops 20,000 but autos, banks and yen make investors doubt sustainability Women holding parasols walk past an electronic board showing Japan''s Nikkei average rate outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai By Ayai Tomisawa and Nichola Saminather - TOKYO/SINGAPORE TOKYO/SINGAPORE A 10 percent surge over six weeks swept Japan''s Nikkei stock index above the 20,000-point barrier for the first time since late 2015 on Friday, without dispelling doubts about the rally''s shelf life given the outlook for automakers, banks and the yen. Data shows foreign investors, who make up 70 percent of trading activity in the Tokyo market, rushed to cover short positions as a rally from the year''s low on April 17 gathered momentum. But the data also shows foreigners avoided making heavy bullish bets, probably because analysts expect Japan Inc.''s earnings growth to falter. The number of companies on the MSCI Japan index .MIJP PUS with earnings estimates down from the previous month has climbed steadily since mid-April and is now at its highest since December, according to Thomson Reuters DataStream. After 16 percent profit growth in the year ended in March, Japanese firms are expected to show slower growth in the year ending March 2018. According to Nomura, consensus forecasts for full year profit growth came down to 11.4 percent in May from 13.3 percent in April. "The conservative earnings guidance has tempered sentiment toward Japanese stocks in the near term," said Jeremy Osborne, investment director at FIL Investments in Tokyo. Notching a third straight week of exits, U.S.-based Japanese stock funds posted $194 million of withdrawals during the week ended Wednesday, according to Lipper data. REASONS TO BE CAREFUL Investors'' biggest concerns are the potential for the yen to strengthen, undermining Japan''s export driven corporates, and the murky outlook for the two biggest sectors in the benchmark index - automakers and financials. "The problem is a big chunks of the market are exporters, and the biggest export sector is autos, and the outlook for the auto sector globally has turned down," said John Doyle, chief investment officer for equities and multi-asset at UOB Asset Management in Singapore. "And the low interest rates that are persistent in Japan are not good for financials," Doyle added, explaining why he is neutral on Japanese stocks in the group''s global portfolio. New vehicle sales in the United States, Japan''s top export destination, fell in April following disappointing numbers in March, signaling a long boom cycle may be losing steam. Carmakers Toyota ( 7203.T ) and Nissan ( 7201.T ), for instance, have both underperformed the Nikkei''s 5.6 percent gain this year, posting losses of 11 percent and 6.6 percent respectively. So have the biggest banks including Mitsubishi UFJ ( 8306.T ), which has only gained 0.2 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui ( 8316.T ), which has fallen 6.6 percent respectively. The yen''s JPY=D4 attraction as a safe-haven currency - it has risen 4.5 percent against the dollar this year - is another big cloud hanging over Japanese exporters. U.S. political turmoil, elections in Europe, and regional tensions arising from North Korea''s missile tests have all given an unwanted boost to the yen. Christian Nolting, global chief investment officer at Deutsche Bank Wealth Management, cited the currency factor as the main reason behind his neutral weighting on Japanese equities. P/E RATIOS TURNING For all their reservations, investors still clearly have an appetite for cherry picking. Tokyo Electron Ltd ( 8035.T ) has jumped nearly 50 percent this year after bright results on the back of strong chip manufacturing equipment demand, while factory automation sensor maker Keyence Corp ( 6861.T ) has soared 26 percent. The Nikkei, however, is trading at about 15.7 times earnings, compared with 18.7 in 2015 when it lingered above 20,000 points for a few months, DataStream shows. While that makes the index significantly cheaper than the S&P 500''s at 22.5 times earnings, investors remain hesitant. The weaker sentiment is evident in Toyota and Nissan shares, which are trading around 10 times and 6.4 times their earnings, respectively. In just three weeks between the last week of April and the second week of May, Japanese shares saw 1.5 trillion yen of inflows from foreign investors in futures on the back of a strong earnings season and receding political fears after the French election. But they had sold 1.6 trillion yen in futures in the previous seven weeks, so short-covering seems to have run its course, analysts said. Investors have also returned to selling futures in the past two weeks. "Investors are cherry-picking individual stocks... But they just finished short-covering in futures, and they probably won''t buy soon unless the yen weakens," said Norihiro Fujito, a senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. "And when foreign investors don''t buy futures, the Nikkei won''t rise much." (Reporting by Ayai Tomisawa and Nichola Saminather; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-nikkei-idUSKBN18T0XD'|'2017-06-02T16:09:00.000+03:00' +'a0931a77eb0d567efa589de2143b96b4bac2ba05'|'Deutsche Bank outlines organisation of revamped investment bank'|'Thu Jun 15, 2017 - 10:53am BST Deutsche Bank outlines organization of revamped investment bank FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of Germany''s Deutsche Bank are seen early evening in Frankfurt, Germany, January 31, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo By Tom Sims - FRANKFURT FRANKFURT Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) has outlined clearly differentiated roles for the co-heads of its revamped investment bank to make it more efficient and is also creating a new global markets division. In an email to employees on Wednesday, Deutsche Bank said it wanted to reduce bureaucracy and simplify the organization, which would in turn lead to substantial cost savings this year. Marcus Schenck and Garth Ritchie, named this year to lead the reorganized corporate and investment bank, outlined in the email how they would split their duties. Germany''s largest lender has been trying to regain its footing after a series of scandals, lawsuits and bets that went wrong pushed it to the brink of collapse last year. The memo said Schenck would concentrate on clients, overseeing corporate finance, global capital markets, and the bank''s institutional client group. Ritchie will focus on products and processes, supervising equities, fixed income and currencies, global transaction banking, electronic trading, listed derivatives and clearing, research and the division''s technology and operations. The new global capital markets division announced in the memo will be jointly headed by Alexander von zur Muehlen in Frankfurt and Mark Fedorcik in New York. Schenck and Ritchie said the changes would take effect on July 1, when Schenck moves to the corporate and investment bank full time after serving as Deutsche''s chief financial officer. Bloomberg News first reported the details of the memo. Earlier this year, Deutsche Bank said it would combine its divisions for markets, corporate finance and global transaction banking into a single corporate and investment bank (CIB) as part of a broader restructuring of Germany''s biggest lender. In the memo, Schenck and Ritchie said the executive committee of the corporate and investment bank (CIB) had asked a special team "to reduce bureaucracy and complexity, which will achieve substantial cost savings in 2017." "Their success will directly affect CIB''s 2017 profitability and compensation program," the email said. "We ask you to support them as they implement changes." Deutsche Bank transformed itself into a major player on Wall Street over the past two decades, but bets that backfired and a series of scandals resulted in a litigation bill of 15 billion euros ($16.8 billion) since 2009. While rivals spent the years since the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers cleaning up and finding new business models, Deutsche Bank did not restructure as quickly as others and was hit by a series of lawsuits over its conduct. The bank has settled its most painful litigation cases, including the alleged manipulation of interest rates and sham equities trading in Russia, which surfaced as late as 2015. At the end of last year it finally settled with the U.S. Department of Justice for misselling toxic mortgages, agreeing to pay $7.2 billion. ($1 = 0.8938 euros)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-deutsche-bank-roles-idUKKBN19610N'|'2017-06-15T17:52:00.000+03:00' +'af470649c0d571a953fb3cb59a112a4162690feb'|'Tech, oil slump sends European shares to two-month low'|'Business News - Wed Jun 28, 2017 - 8:31am BST Tech, oil slump sends European shares to two-month low Traders work in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, May 8, 2017. REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski LONDON A slump among technology stocks after a global cyber attack added to depressed crude prices to cast a cloud over European shares on Wednesday, sending them to their lowest in two months. The pan-European STOXX 600 hit its lowest since April 24 in early deals, down 0.7 percent, in step with euro zone stocks .STOXXE and blue-chips .STOXX50E . Technology stocks .SX8P fell 1.2 percent to a two-week low, the worst performer with every stock on the index in the red, hit by jitters after a ransomware attack swept the globe, disrupting computers at banks and large companies including WPP ( WPP.L ), Moeller Maersk ( MAERSKb.CO ) and Metro ( MEOG.DE ). Semiconductor makers AMS ( AMS.S ), Dialog Semiconductor ( DLGS.DE ), ASM International ( ASMI.AS ) and STMicro ( STM.MI ) were among the worst performers. Lower oil prices weighed on oil and gas stocks .SXEP, with Tullow Oil ( TLW.L ) the biggest faller after its first-half results. Meanwhile, positive results and acquisitions drove the handful of gainers. Business supplies distributor Bunzl ( BNZL.L ) rose 4 percent after saying a boost in recent acquisitions would help it increase first-half revenue 7 percent. French industrial group Legrand ( LEGD.PA ) rose 2.8 percent after saying it would buy U.S. infrastructure company Milestone. (Reporting by Helen Reid, editing by Ed Osmond) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks-idUKKBN19J0PX'|'2017-06-28T10:31:00.000+03:00' +'894fc44e6691a8f7d7e271ca31015b5171188e07'|'Barclays finishes Africa business sell down bumper $2.8 billion stake sale'|'By Anjuli Davies and Tiisetso Motsoeneng - LONDON/JOHANNESBURG LONDON/JOHANNESBURG Barclays ( BARC.L ) cut its stake in Barclays Africa Group ( BGAJ.J ) to 15 percent sooner than expected on Thursday, ending more than 90 years as a major presence in the continent.The British bank, which under Chief Executive Jes Staley is firmly focused on Britain and the United States, said it was selling 2.2 billion pounds ($2.83 billion) worth of shares in its African business due to strong investor demand.Barclays had said on Wednesday it would sell shares worth 1.5 billion pounds in its second rapid share sale since saying it would largely get out of Africa.The bigger figure lifted shares in Barclays, which is partly relying on the funds to meet capital requirements identified as a concern by the Bank of England. At 1216 GMT, the shares were up 0.2 percent, while Barclays Africa was up 4.6 percent.Barclays said that once the business is deconsolidated from its accounts, the sale should eventually boost its core capital ratio by 73 basis points, although it will lead to an initial 1.2 billion pound loss.Ian Gordon, an analyst at Investec, called the deal "utterly transformational" for Barclays'' capital position, which in turn offered opportunities for earning enhancement.OWN DESTINYThe split hands full control of Barclays Africa to its chief executive Maria Ramos.The bank operates across Kenya, Botswana, Tanzania and Ghana, and is one of South Africa''s ''big four'' along with Standard Bank ( SBKJ.J ), Nedbank ( NEDJ.J ) and FirstRand and Ramos now has to steer it through a tough economic and political environment, with no support from its deep pocketed parent.South Africa, Africa''s most industrialized economy, lost its highly prized investment grade sovereign credit ratings in April, causing knock on downgrades to its banks.But Ramos, who dealt with the fall out from global financial crisis when she took over at Barclays Africa in 2009, said the share sale, South Africa''s biggest ever rand denominated bookbuild, was "substantially oversubscribed"."This not because we''re nice people, although we''d like to believe we are, but testament to the quality of our franchise," Ramos told a news conference.Ramos, ranked 20th in Fortune Magazine''s 50 most powerful women outside the United States list for 2016, said she had no immediate plans to expand beyond the bank''s current footprint.U.S., BRITAIN FOCUSBarclays first announced in March 2016 that it would sell most of its 62.3 pct stake in Barclays Africa over two to three years. Its sold 12.2 percent in May 2016, but had since been hindered by regulatory delays and political upheaval.Since taking over 18 months ago, Staley has scaled back the bank''s geographic footprint and emphasized investment banking, although his attempts to revitalize this have been clouded by U.S. and British investigations.Staley has also faced investor criticism following his attempts to unmask a whistleblower, which Barclays insiders fear could unseat him if the findings of inquiries are damning.Barclays faces other regulatory obstacles, with an ongoing probe by Britain''s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) into its 2008 cash call at the height of the financial crisis and allegations by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) over mortgage mis-selling.(Editing by Rachel Armstrong and Alexander Smith)FILE PHOTO: The Barclays headquarters building is seen in the Canary Wharf business district of London, Britain February 6, 2013. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-barclays-africa-idINKBN18S3Z2'|'2017-06-01T04:49:00.000+03:00' +'ab239e829f06903c82c330dab73e25adb67ab321'|'Peru miner Volcan seeks copper opportunities to diversify'|'LIMA, June 6 Volcan, Peru''s largest producer of silver and zinc, seeks new opportunities in copper projects to diversify its operations and is also evaluating acquisitions, an executive said on Tuesday.Among the company''s plans, Jose Montoya, manager of corporate development, highlighted the Chumpe and Carhuacayn porphyry copper projects in Junin region as well as copper and gold project Rica Cerrea in Pasco."We are looking to increase diversification in copper opportunities," Montoya said in a presentation at the MinPro forum.He said Volcan is also looking at acquisitions that could provide "fast" value."We are investing heavily in exploration in 2017 to discover the potential we have in copper. We are betting on an aggressive drilling plan ... 30 percent of this will be destined to uncover copper opportunities," he added.Volcan last year produced some 273,400 metric tons of zinc, down 4.1 percent from 2015, as well as 22 million ounces of silver, down 11.4 percent from the previous year. (Reporting by Teresa Cespedes; Writing by Caroline Stauffer; Editing by Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/peru-volcan-idINL1N1J3288'|'2017-06-06T22:01:00.000+03:00' +'702497ee20ca497ca3b2f2f14bb78a6614522e45'|'UPDATE 1-General Mills profit beats estimates as cost cuts pay off'|' 33am EDT General Mills profit beats estimates as cost cuts pay off General Mills breakfast cereal is shown for sale in Carlsbad, California, U.S., June 27, 2017. REUTERS/ Mike Blake Cheerios cereal maker General Mills Inc ( GIS.N ) reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit as the company cut back on promotions and kept a tight lid on costs. General Mills and other U.S. packaged food makers such as Conagra Brands Inc ( CAG.N ) and Kellogg Co ( K.N ) have focused on reining in costs to counter soft demand due to a shift among consumers to fresh foods and products seen as healthier. General Mills has been cutting back on promotions, particularly on high-margin products such as Progresso soups and Pillsbury dough, even at the cost of losing some sales. Selling and other expenses fell 10.2 percent to $2.80 billion in the fourth quarter, with advertising and media expenses dropping 17 percent. Net income attributable to the company rose to $408.9 million, or 69 cents per share, in the three months ended May 28, from $379.6 million, or 62 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding items, the company earned 73 cents per share. The company''s net sales fell 3.1 percent to $3.81 billion, capping two years of falling quarterly sales, but beat the analysts'' average estimate for the first time in a year. Analysts on average had expected earnings of 71 cents per share and revenue of $3.75 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. (Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-general-mills-results-idUSKBN19J1AA'|'2017-06-28T14:30:00.000+03:00' +'72bc4fe120bfb515fc68e5069e6a34062d13ce09'|'Irish debate on debt targets has not fazed investors - funding head'|'Business News - 43pm BST Irish debate on debt targets has not fazed investors - funding head LONDON Investors have not raised concerns about proposals by the new Irish prime minister to set looser debt reduction targets or scrap a rainy day fund planned to offset future economic shocks, the country''s head of funding said on Tuesday. New Prime Minister Leo Varadkar and newly appointed Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe have proposed the plans to free up spending for infrastructure projects in a country that remains one of the most indebted in the euro zone. "Investors are asking about Brexit, they are asking about Irish economic growth but we''re not getting questions on the debt reduction target," Frank O''Connor told Reuters at the sidelines of a Euromoney event in London. "There is a debate in Ireland about our infrastructure needs and how you address that in an environment where you''ve come through a period of elevated debt. "But it is very early days for the new government, and it is not in the forefront of investors'' minds. You will have to wait and see some policy before it will become a bigger topic." Donohoe, who was promoted to the post of finance minister last week, told Reuters on Saturday that he would review the planned pace and start date of a contingency reserve or "rainy day fund" that is set to kick in from 2019. He also backed Varadkar''s plans to free up additional resources by setting a less ambitious debt reduction target than the one set last year, a policy that was questioned by the chief economist in Donohoe''s department this week. Ireland''s economy has grown faster than any other in the European Union for the past three years but its capital spending remains among the lowest in the bloc after grinding to a near halt during a financial crisis that swelled the national debt. (Reporting by John Geddie, editing by Padraic Halpin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ireland-bonds-investors-idUKKBN19B2S9'|'2017-06-21T02:43:00.000+03:00' +'1acf283f37d2bb7cf4a89651821e26fbab1d3236'|'TransDigm''s shares fall as Senator Warren seeks probe'|'Business News - Mon Jun 12, 2017 - 4:10pm EDT TransDigm''s shares fall as Senator Warren seeks probe Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks with the media following the Democratic policy luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 14, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein Shares of TransDigm Group Inc ( TDG.N ) fell as much as 7.3 percent to $250.18 on Monday, after Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren called for an investigation into the aircraft components supplier''s government contracts. TransDigm may have avoided sharing cost information with the government for parts for which it is the sole source supplier, Warren wrote in a letter dated May 19 to Acting Inspector General Glenn Fine at the U.S. Department of Defense. The company could have also "unreasonably raised prices" on many parts shortly after completing acquisitions of the companies that produce them, Warren''s letter suggested. ( bit.ly/2sUQxO5 ) Cleveland, Ohio-based TransDigm gets about 30 percent of its sales from the defense industry. The company is already facing heat from U.S. Congressman Ro Khanna, who in March asked the Department of Defense for a probe into its business practices "for potential waste, fraud and abuse in the defense industrial base". TransDigm has also been targeted by short-seller Citron Research, which issued a critical report in January suggesting that the company was vulnerable to pricing pressure as President Trump pressured defense contractors Boeing Co ( BA.N ) and Lockheed Martin Corp ( LMT.N ), two of TransDigm''s major customers, to reduce costs. However, some analysts refuted Citron''s arguments and attributed TransDigm''s strong margins mainly to its substantial exposure to the aerospace aftermarket and meaningful contributions from acquisitions. Up to Friday''s close, TransDigm''s stock had risen 8.4 percent this year, compared with a 13.3 percent increase in the Dow Jones U.S. Aerospace and Defense index .DJUSAE. (Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-transdigm-group-probe-idUSKBN193271'|'2017-06-13T02:20:00.000+03:00' +'62cd0d4e3ce5f739b724a67f1f0803f75a14fb94'|'China unlikely to see repeat of 2013 market turbulence - Financial News'|'Business News 8:25am BST China unlikely to see repeat of 2013 market turbulence: Financial News FILE PHOTO: Men look at an electronic board showing stock market information at a brokerage house in Beijing, China January 5, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo SHANGHAI China is unlikely to see a repeat of the market turbulence similar to that of June 2013 as the risk of another liquidity crisis was currently low, the state-run Financial News newspaper said on Saturday. The newspaper, which is affiliated with the People''s Bank of China (PBOC), said it was not unusual for some banks to hike their deposit rates to adjust the rate of return on some financial products. "There''s nothing to fuss about," said the newspaper, adding that the central bank had improved its risk control mechanisms and urged that market players should adopt a rational approach to mid-year liquidity conditions. "There''s no need to exaggerate the liquidity risk, panic, feel helpless or create chaos," it said. June traditionally has tight liquidity. In late June of 2013, a cash crunch in China spooked global markets. Traders said this week there were few signs of liquidity stress after central bank injections, though market expectations for tightening cash conditions toward the end of June have driven interest rates for longer-term loans higher. (Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-markets-idUKKBN19108P'|'2017-06-10T15:24:00.000+03:00' +'6c5ed470b77cd5285380db39fbeef54d7e45b6c6'|'Homebase owner to create 1,000 jobs in Britain as it accelerates expansion'|' 6:58pm BST Homebase owner to create 1,000 jobs in Britain as it accelerates expansion LONDON The Australian owner of British home improvements retailer Homebase said on Thursday it would create about 1,000 new jobs in Britain by the end of this year as it accelerates its expansion drive. Bunnings, part of Australia''s biggest retail group Wesfarmers Ltd, completed its purchase of the Homebase chain from Home Retail last year. The firm is now planning to open 20 Bunnings stores in Britain by the end of the year, up from its previous expectation of 10 stores after the success of two pilot stores. "Our decision to extend the pilot programme reflects the positive reaction weve seen from customers to the stores weve opened so far," said PJ Davis, managing director at Bunnings in the UK and Ireland. Bunnings halted the planned closure of several Homebase stores a year ago, and is investing 500 million pounds to convert the entire Homebase estate to the Bunnings name and format in three years. The piloting of new stores comes at a time when British consumer confidence has plunged following the political crisis sparked by Prime Minister Theresa May''s election gamble that backfired. Two major surveys this week showed confidence among British consumers and retailers had fallen back to levels last seen in the wake of the shock 2016 Brexit vote which thrust Britain''s $2.5 trillion economy onto an uncertain path. (Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Alistair Smout and Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bunnings-employment-britain-idUKKBN19K2LA'|'2017-06-29T20:58:00.000+03:00' +'cba03ae8b04b064018f18d58cd247a61b138216a'|'Deutsche Bank outlines organisation of revamped investment bank'|' 18pm IST Deutsche Bank outlines organisation of revamped investment bank The logo of Deutsche Bank is seen at its headquarters ahead of the bank''s annual general meeting in Frankfurt, Germany May 18, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/Files By Tom Sims - FRANKFURT FRANKFURT Deutsche Bank has outlined clearly differentiated roles for the co-heads of its revamped investment bank to make it more efficient and is also creating a new global markets division. In an email to employees on Wednesday, Deutsche Bank said it wanted to reduce bureaucracy and simplify the organisation, which would in turn lead to substantial cost savings this year. Marcus Schenck and Garth Ritchie, named this year to lead the reorganised corporate and investment bank, outlined in the email how they would split their duties. Germany''s largest lender has been trying to regain its footing after a series of scandals, lawsuits and bets that went wrong pushed it to the brink of collapse last year. The memo said Schenck would concentrate on clients, overseeing corporate finance, global capital markets, and the bank''s institutional client group. Ritchie will focus on products and processes, supervising equities, fixed income and currencies, global transaction banking, electronic trading, listed derivatives and clearing, research and the division''s technology and operations. The new global capital markets division announced in the memo will be jointly headed by Alexander von zur Muehlen in Frankfurt and Mark Fedorcik in New York. Schenck and Ritchie said the changes would take effect on July 1, when Schenck moves to the corporate and investment bank full time after serving as Deutsche''s chief financial officer. Bloomberg News first reported the details of the memo. Earlier this year, Deutsche Bank said it would combine its divisions for markets, corporate finance and global transaction banking into a single corporate and investment bank (CIB) as part of a broader restructuring of Germany''s biggest lender. In the memo, Schenck and Ritchie said the executive committee of the corporate and investment bank (CIB) had asked a special team "to reduce bureaucracy and complexity, which will achieve substantial cost savings in 2017." "Their success will directly affect CIB''s 2017 profitability and compensation programme," the email said. "We ask you to support them as they implement changes." Deutsche Bank transformed itself into a major player on Wall Street over the past two decades, but bets that backfired and a series of scandals resulted in a litigation bill of 15 billion euros ($16.8 billion) since 2009. While rivals spent the years since the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers cleaning up and finding new business models, Deutsche Bank did not restructure as quickly as others and was hit by a series of lawsuits over its conduct. The bank has settled its most painful litigation cases, including the alleged manipulation of interest rates and sham equities trading in Russia, which surfaced as late as 2015. At the end of last year it finally settled with the U.S. Department of Justice for misselling toxic mortgages, agreeing to pay $7.2 billion. ($1 = 0.8938 euros)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/deutsche-bank-roles-idINKBN19610Q'|'2017-06-15T17:48:00.000+03:00' +'e7f19aa3fec4fb385eaac6994b61f4a5e68bffb6'|'BlackRock makes technology deal in cash management business'|'Business News - Tue Jun 27, 2017 - 4:21pm BST BlackRock makes technology deal in cash management business FILE PHOTO: The BlackRock logo is seen outside of its offices in New York City, U.S., October 17, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo By Trevor Hunnicutt BlackRock, the world''s biggest asset manager, on Tuesday said it would buy a software company that helps businesses invest their cash, marking its second investment in a technology firm this month. The investment giant with oversight of $5.4 trillion in assets will buy Denver-based Cachematrix Holdings LLC in a deal slated to close next quarter, according to a statement by both companies. Terms were not disclosed. Cachematrix builds a software tool that banks can provide to corporate treasurers managing the cash and short-term debt they hold. Investments can be made in money-market funds provided by BlackRock and rival money managers, such as Fidelity Investments, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Charles Schwab Corp. Just last week, BlackRock said it would take a stake in Scalable Capital, a European digital investment manager. The deals come two months after BlackRock Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink told Reuters he was considering up to four small acquisitions to shore up the New York-based company''s technology and investment expertise. Fink has placed an unusual emphasis on technology for a company in his industry, including through the company''s Aladdin operating system for investment management, which it licenses to rivals. The latest deal gives BlackRock a new stable of bank clients and pushes Aladdin further into the business of advising companies on how to invest their cash. In a statement, BlackRock said it plans to combine some of Cachematrix''s features with Aladdin. On its website, Cachematrix lists Bank of America Corp, Morgan Stanley and HSBC among its clients and reports assisting with $200 billion of client assets. Banks trying to meet strict requirements intended to prevent another financial crisis have been looking to shed deposits that would require them to hold more capital. Businesses have been eager to find places to put cash as ultra-easy monetary policy has pushed yields on debt to historic lows. BlackRock in 2015 expanded its reach in the business of managing large institutions'' cash and short-term investments when it acquired the money-market fund business run by Bank of America. BlackRock''s cash business included nearly $400 billion in assets at the end of March. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-blackrock-moneymarket-idUKKBN19I22T'|'2017-06-27T23:21:00.000+03:00' +'81100964ceed3ac2983308af9cc6e814d0e4959b'|'Gunman in California UPS shooting targeted co-workers for slayings'|'By Steve Gorman - June 23 June 23 The UPS employee who shot three coworkers to death last week inside a United Parcel Service facility in San Francisco before killing himself appears to have singled out his victims deliberately, but a motive remains unknown, police said on Friday.Investigators have yet to examine the contents of computers, cell phones and a journal seized from the gunman''s home in their search for clues to the June 14 attack, San Francisco Police Commander Greg McEachern said at a news conference.McEachern also revealed the murder weapon was a MasterPiece Arms "assault-type pistol" that he said was "commonly known as a MAC-10," equipped with an extended 30-round magazine. He said such weapons are outlawed in California.That gun and a second, semiautomatic pistol recovered from the scene were both listed as stolen weapons - the MAC-10 from Utah and the other handgun in California, McEachern said.Police offered few new details about how the shooting itself unfolded.The gunman, Jimmy Lam, 38, was attending a morning briefing with fellow employees at the UPS package-sorting and delivery center in San Francisco when he pulled out a gun and "without warning or saying anything" opened fire on four co-workers, the police commander said.The first two victims, identified as Wayne Chan, 56, and Benson Louie, 50, were killed.In the ensuing pandemonium, Lam walked calmly outside the building, approached another co-worker, Michael Lefiti, 46, and shot him dead without uttering a word, then reentered the facility.Moments later, as police closed in, Lam put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger, McEachern said, adding that Lam fired about 20 rounds in all before the bloodshed ended. Police never fired a shot.While no motive has been established, McEachern said interviews of various witnesses have led investigators to believe that the three slayings were "purposeful and targeted," based on actions observed that day.He said surveillance video also showed that during the rampage, Lam appeared to pass by other co-workers "without there being any interactions," suggesting those he did shoot were intentionally singled out. It was less clear whether the two surviving gunshot victims were deliberately targeted, he said.News of the carnage in San Francisco was largely overshadowed that day by an unrelated shooting hours earlier in the Virginia suburbs of Washington that left a congressman and several others wounded before police killed the assailant. (Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Bill Rigby)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/california-ups-shooting-idINL1N1JL018'|'2017-06-23T23:51:00.000+03:00' +'202d528429d6df0062d77bedc1b8912560ecb16e'|'CEE MARKETS-Zloty eases, central bank chief sees no rate hike until end-2018'|'* Zloty retreats and other CEE currencies are mixed * Investors hold breath before British vote and ECB meeting * Romania to scale back wage hikes; leu eases (Recasts with Polish central bank decision and comments) By Sandor Peto BUDAPEST, June 7 The zloty weakened against the euro on Wednesday as the Polish central bank kept interest rates on hold and its governor reiterated that he did not expect them to rise until the end of next year. Central European assets were generally rangebound ahead of key global events on Thursday. "The big events will be the British elections, the testimony of (former FBI Director James) Comey (about last year''s U.S. elections), and the ECB''s meeting," one Budapest-based fixed income trader said. The Polish bank kept its main interest rate unchanged at a record low 1.5 percent, as expected. Analysts in a Reuters poll put the likely date of a rate hike in the third quarter of 2018, after projecting the second quarter a month ago. But the bank''s governor Adam Glapinski reiterated that he personally expected that rates would not be raised until the end of 2018. He also said the bank was not concerned about the zloty''s recent gains. The zloty, after an initial rebound from two-week lows set on Tuesday, eased 0.1 percent against the euro, hovering at the 4.2 psychological line. It is still near the nine-month high of 4.1619 it hit last month. Glapinski said consumer confidence was the highest in Poland for 30 years, while inflation had stabilised and might even fall slightly. Elsewhere in the region, the forint eased 0.1 percent, after disappointing Hungarian and Czech industrial output figures. Output fell in April by 3 percent in annual terms in Hungary, although analysts had predicted a rise. A 2.5 percent Czech decline was more than forecast. Analysts said the output fall was at least partly caused by fewer working days due to the Easter holidays. The leu eased 0.1 percent to 4.5735, trading near last month''s four-year highs. Romania kept its first-quarter GDP growth estimate unchanged at a robust 5.7 percent. Finance Minister Viorel Stefan said on Tuesday Romania would scale back public sector wage hikes next year to ensure it meets budget targets. Markets remain cautious as the government still plans wage hikes and tax cuts that may boost the the budget deficit. CEE MARKETS SNAPSH AT 1705 CET OT CURRENCIES Latest Previo Daily Change us bid close change in 2017 Czech crown 26.310 26.332 +0.09 2.65% 0 5 % Hungary 308.18 308.00 -0.06% 0.21% forint 00 00 Polish zloty 4.1957 4.1926 -0.08% 4.96% Romanian leu 4.5735 4.5675 -0.13% -0.84% Croatian kuna 7.4045 7.4075 +0.04 2.03% % Serbian dinar 122.31 122.29 -0.02% 0.85% 00 00 Note: daily calculated previo close 1800 change from us at CET STOCKS Latest Previo Daily Change us close change in 2017 Prague 1005.6 1005.9 -0.03% +9.12 2 6 % Budapest 35021. 34926. +0.27 +9.43 75 99 % % Warsaw 2308.6 2303.6 +0.22 +18.5 4 8 % 2% Bucharest 8686.6 8707.4 -0.24% +22.6 2 3 0% Ljubljana 793.09 798.33 -0.66% +10.5 2% Zagreb 1821.0 1827.9 -0.38% -8.71% 0 1 Belgrade 722.55 720.38 +0.30 +0.72 % % Sofia 681.10 675.82 +0.78 +16.1 % 4% BONDS Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs change Bund in Czech spread Republic 2-year -0.071 0 +066b +0bps ps 5-year -0.13 0.044 +033b +4bps ps 10-year 0.789 0 +054b +1bps ps Poland 2-year 1.905 0.003 +264b +1bps ps 5-year 2.625 0.007 +308b +1bps ps 10-year 3.19 -0.018 +294b -1bps ps FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interb ank Czech Rep Hungary Poland Note: FRA are for ask Quote: s prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets-idINL8N1J44QF'|'2017-06-07T13:55:00.000+03:00' +'dbe30bbb85465935f3d7668f061ad217542a3a89'|'MOVES-Deutsches Stefanick switches to Evercore'|'Market News 24am EDT MOVES-Deutsches Stefanick switches to Evercore By Christopher Spink LONDON, June 30 (IFR) - Paul Stefanick, Deutsche Banks chairman of global corporate and investment banking, is leaving the German lender after eight years to become a senior managing director at expanding advisory specialist Evercore. Stefanick will primarily advise major multinational clients at Evercore and be a senior leader of the company, joining its management committee. Stefanick only took up his most recent role at Deutsche in September after Mark Fedorick, global head of debt capital markets, was made head of CIB in the Americas. In March Deutsche created a new CIB division, including markets, under CFO Marcus Schenck and Garth Ritchie. Former CIB head Jeff Urwin has also left but Deutsche has been active recruiting new M&A bankers in the Americas this year too. This week it hired Bill White as head of US life sciences from Citigroup. Before joining Deutsche in 2009, Stefanick was chairman of global M&A at Merrill Lynch, where he worked for 20 years advising industrials companies. (Reporting by Christopher Spink)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/moves-deutsches-stefanick-switches-to-ev-idUSL8N1JR2F3'|'2017-06-30T13:24:00.000+03:00' +'112a30b868b4a378dfb45d37a7eab23ff633e1ce'|'Stada eyes takeovers of up to 1 billion euros: Welt am Sonntag'|'FRANKFURT German generic drug maker Stada ( STAGn.DE ) will be in a position to stem takeovers of up to 1 billion euros ($1.13 billion)thanks to its own acquisition by private equity, Chief Executive Matthias Weidenfels told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag.Stada''s management has backed a 5.3 billion euros offer from bidders Bain and Cinven, a deal which opens up new growth options for Stada, Weidenfels told the paper."We have long been on the lookout for takeover targets, even those which are actually too large for us. We are doing this in the area of generic drugs and branded drugs," Weidenfels told the paper."Large takeovers are not possible using our current means," he explained, adding that the company''s war chest was only around 350 million euros. After the takeover, Stada will be in a position to stem takeovers of up to 1 billion euros, Weidenfels said.Bain and Cinven have agreed to avoid forced redundancies for four years, assurances which Weidenfels said puts the company on a path to growth.Shareholders have until June 8 to tender their shares and a takeover will likely be completed by August 30, Weidenfels said.($1 = 0.8867 euros)(Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Andrew Bolton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-stada-m-a-mergers-idUSKBN18U0K0'|'2017-06-03T17:41:00.000+03:00' +'1d87280323158094735d84d2d2fe6e2ea4955aed'|'CDB in talks with Boeing, Airbus ahead of Le Bourget'|'Business News - Thu Jun 15, 2017 - 11:18am BST CDB in talks with Boeing, Airbus ahead of Le Bourget PARIS CDB Aviation, the aircraft leasing arm of China Development Bank, is in talks to place orders with both Boeing and Airbus and could complete at least one of the deals by as early as next week''s Paris Airshow, two people familiar with the matter said. CDB Aviation, which went public with an order for 30 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft in March, is in talks to purchase 40-50 more aircraft worth some $5 billion at list prices from Boeing including a handful of its new 737 MAX 10 model, they said. Boeing is widely expected to launch the 737 MAX 10 at the Le Bourget event on Monday to create what would be the largest member of its medium-haul family, seating 190 to 230 passengers. Leeham News reported CDB would be among its inaugural customers. CDB Aviation, Boeing ( BA.N ) and Airbus ( AIR.PA ) all declined to comment. (Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-airshow-paris-cdb-idUKKBN19614M'|'2017-06-15T18:18:00.000+03:00' +'30d5e8ba1ebfa7015f7df14bc87bd29fcd5fe078'|'ChemChina''s Syngenta says aims to become top three seeds maker'|'BASEL Switzerland''s Syngenta ( SYNN.S ), the crop protection company acquired by ChemChina, said it would pursue deals to become the third-biggest player in the seeds industry."The goal is to strengthen Syngenta''s leadership position in crop protection and to become an ambitious number three in seeds," the company said in a news release on Tuesday.Assets put up for sale by rivals involved in merger deals to allay anti-trust concerns could play a role in that, Chief Executive Erik Fyrwald told a news conference at the group''s Basel headquarters."We are very interested in seed assets from remedies and beyond that," he said in response to a question about assets to be sold by Bayer ( BAYGn.DE ) as an anti-trust remedy for its planned takeover of seeds maker Monsanto ( MON.N ).(Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Michael Shields)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-syngenta-chemchia-seeds-idINKBN19I1FK'|'2017-06-27T10:00:00.000+03:00' +'4b542d3c2e83dc9de5a6f40f8c85d5fd036dab54'|'Russian court freezes $3 billion of Sistema assets in Rosneft case'|'MOSCOW A Russian court said on Tuesday it had frozen more than $3 billion of Sistema''s ( SSAq.L ) ( AFKS.MM ) assets as it began hearing oil producer Rosneft''s ( ROSN.MM ) lawsuit against the business conglomerate.Rosneft is suing Sistema for 170.6 billion roubles in damages following its purchase of oil producer Bashneft ( BANE.MM ) last year. Rosneft has alleged that certain assets were removed from Bashneft, while Sistema has rejected these claims as groundless.Sistema, majority owned by businessman Vladimir Evtushenkov, said earlier the court had frozen part of its 50 percent stake in telecoms company MTS ( MBT.N ) and its holdings in two more businesses as part of the legal dispute with Rosneft.The value of Sistema''s frozen assets is 185 billion roubles ($3.14 billion), an order issued by the arbitration court of the Russian region of Bashkortostan showed on Tuesday after the court held the first hearing in the case.Sistema said it would file an appeal. Rosneft, in which the Russian state has a controlling stake, declined to comment.The court will continue hearing the case on July 12, Russian news agencies reported.The dispute between Sistema and Rosneft has echoes of a situation in 2014 involving Sistema, when the Russian government seized Sistema''s stake in Bashneft, saying Bashneft''s privatization had been illegal.Sistema said on Monday that in addition to the freeze on 31.76 percent of MTS, 90.47 percent of Bashkirian Power Grid company and its wholly-owned Medsi medical clinics chain, it could not receive any income on those shares.As a result it could miss out on about 15 billion roubles in dividends from subsidiaries this year, potentially limiting its scope for acquisitions, according to analyst estimates.Shares in Sistema slumped by as much as 17 percent early on Tuesday but later pared some losses to trade about 6 percent lower by 1430 GMT.VTB analysts estimated Sistema would only get about 8.5 billion roubles from MTS this year, down from 23 billion in 2016. Raiffeisenbank analysts put the overall dividend shortfall for Sistema at 15 billion roubles or more."It would not hurt Sistema''s ability to service its debt or fund its operational activity, but could restrict its freedom when it comes to mergers and acquisitions," Raiffeisenbank analyst Sergey Libin said.Sistema said earlier this year that it was looking to boost its land bank as it expands in farming with a view to listing its agricultural business in the next few years.(Reporting by Maria Kiselyova, Anastasia Teterevleva, Anastasia Lyrchikova and Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by David Clarke and Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-sistema-rosneft-idINKBN19I25P'|'2017-06-27T13:36:00.000+03:00' +'ad9f23259d30d6fb975166356d54569917992a6e'|'G-III Apparel reports Q1 loss of $0.21/shr'|'June 6 G-III Apparel Group Ltd* G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. announces first quarter fiscal 2018 results* Q1 loss per share $0.21* Q1 earnings per share view $-0.40 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S* Q1 sales $529 million versus I/B/E/S view $497.9 million* G-III Apparel Group Ltd says G-III increases full-year net sales and net income guidance* G-III Apparel Group Ltd says now expects FY net sales of approximately $2.76 billion and net income of between $1.04 and $1.14 per diluted share* G-III Apparel Group Ltd - continues to anticipate that it will incur losses from donna karan operations during first half of fiscal 2018* Sees Q2 2019 sales about $520 million* Sees Q2 adjusted non-GAAP loss per share $0.24 to $0.34 excluding items* G-III Apparel Group Ltd sees Q2 loss per share between $0.30 and $0.40* G-III Apparel Group - forecasted GAAP, non-GAAP results reflect expected operating losses of $21 million and additional interest expense of $28 million* G-III Apparel Group Ltd - now expects fiscal 2018 net sales of approximately $2.76 billion* G-III Apparel Group Ltd - now expects fiscal 2018 diluted share between $1.04 and $1.14* Q2 earnings per share view $-0.42, revenue view $491.7 million -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S* Fy 2018 earnings per share view $1.01, revenue view $2.72 billion -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-g-iii-apparel-reports-q1-loss-of-idUSASA09SSS'|'2017-06-06T15:20:00.000+03:00' +'81490b43b7101a57ce57398dfeb8a30b4ff9d70c'|'EU''s 2.4bn Google fine is no sign of anti-US bias - Nils Pratley - Technology'|'L ets start by laying one falsehood to rest. In fining Google 2.42bn (2.14bn), the European commission is not engaged in a form of underhand trade warfare against US technology companies. Instead, Margrethe Vestager, the EU competition commissioner, is addressing a central commercial question of the digital age: to what extent should companies such as Google be able to exploit their dominance in one area to gain advantage in another?Accusations of anti-American bias dont hold water if one views the commissions pro-competition patrols in aggregate. In other industries with different competition complaints, Brussels has been strong in dishing out fines against European firms. Just ask the truck makers all European who copped a collective 2.93bn fine last year for colluding on prices .The fact that most of the technology titans are American is just tribute to the fact that Silicon Valley has been extremely successful in producing companies that grow to dominate their markets. One wishes the commission had more European tech innovators to investigate. Note, too, that many of the onlookers cheering Vestagers efforts are themselves American the likes of Oracle and Yelp. There is no evidence of anti-American bias at the commission.Google fined record 2.4bn by EU over search engine results Read more As for the ruling itself, Vestager is treading on new regulatory ground but her argument seems entirely fair. If Google was over-hyping its Google Shopping facility in search results while artificially relegating rivals price comparison websites, there is bound to be an effect on competition. The consumer harm may be difficult to measure, but it surely exists. Upstarts, whose shopping services might be preferred by consumers, will struggle to get off the ground.It is also true, as Google has argued, that many online shopping rivals have still managed to prosper just look at Amazon. But that objection is hardly a clincher. This investigation had to establish when dominance in one area (search) can be used to seek advantage in an adjacent field (shopping). The finding that Google was seeking an illegal advantage chimes with common sense. Google wasnt merely giving its in-house service home advantage; it was massively distorting search results, says the commission.This finding will have far-reaching consequences if Google or others have also been privileging their products in areas such as travel and hotels. If so, consumer-friendly action by regulators should be applauded: the commission is saying dominance in new fields should be earned on merit, not by seeking to choke rivals.Such a strict pro-competition view of the world would benefit consumers everywhere, including the US. The wonder is that US regulators, who once upon a time had an honourable record of acting against powerful monopolists, have been so supine with the technology giants.Bank right to boost the buffers You dont have to be a central banker to know there is a mini-credit boom taking place in the UK. The evidence is the number of new cars on the road, many financed with loan agreements known as personal contract purchases. Is it a worry? Yes it is, which is why the Bank of England is right to force banks to hold more capital if they wish to carry on feeding the demand. Consumer credit not just in car loans, but also as credit card borrowing and personal loans rose by 10.3% in the 12 months to April, which is obviously much faster than the rate of increase in incomes.The position is not necessarily dangerous but could become so if banks, fooled by the current low levels of default, relax lending standards. The UKs experience with sudden credit booms is terrible.The Banks intervention is designed to encourage more prudence. In the jargon, counter-cyclical buffers are being increased. Banks will be obliged to hold 11.4bn of capital over the next 18 months to cover lending mistakes that, in practice, may or may not materialise.Wouldnt it be easier to raise interest rates as a way to tell overstretched consumers to go easy on the credit? It could still come to that in theory monetary policy is the last line of defence to address financial stability issues, the governor, Mark Carney, reminded his audience but the Banks tweak with the buffers is a better formula. It targets the direct problem and avoids overkill.That, at least, is the big idea. After the banking crash of 2008, the Bank asked for its regulatory toolbox to be expanded to protect financial stability. There is no point having tools and not using them. The same buffers were cut last year to cushion the shocks from the vote for Brexit. Since that danger has now passed (for the time being, at least), restoring levels to a standard setting is sensible.Nestl yields to Third Point pressure What a coincidence: activist investor Dan Loebs Third Point hedge fund is hounding Nestl to improve its performance, and the consumer goods giant has decided this is exactly the right moment to launch a SFr20bn (16bn) buy-back. The share purchase is not quite as dramatic as it sounds since it will be executed over three years. All the same, the move smells suspiciously like a panicky way to buy some peace. There is also a top-of-the-market whiff about it.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/technology/nils-pratley-on-finance/2017/jun/27/eu-google-fine-us-european-commission'|'2017-06-27T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'bc768e264b1afef21b31acd030504050d3a4a8be'|'Campari investor sells 1.95 percent stake at 6.10 euros: source'|'MILAN An unnamed investor in Italy''s Campari ( CPRI.MI ) has sold a 1.95 percent stake in the beverage company at 6.10 euros ($6.8) per share, a market source said on Friday.The sale was carried out by Nomura, a second source said.Campari was not immediately available for a comment.At 0900 GMT Campari shares were down 2.37 percent at 6.19 euros.(Reporting by Maria Pia Quaglia; writing by Stephen Jewkes; editing by Francesca Landini)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-campari-m-a-stake-idINKBN19013H'|'2017-06-09T07:06:00.000+03:00' +'d7305713607972a913ee0dc97be7c968c25b34d6'|'Solar energy boom turns to bust for Indian manufacturers'|'NEW DELHI Some of India''s biggest solar equipment makers are facing financial collapse, priced out by Chinese competitors as Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s government prioritizes cheap power over local manufacturing despite his ''Make in India'' push.Though President Donald Trump is pulling the United States out of the Paris accord on climate change, India is sticking to its huge renewable energy program. That has created a multi-billion-dollar market for Chinese solar product makers, who are facing an overcapacity at home and steep duties in Europe.India''s solar power generation capacity has already more than tripled in three years to over 12 gigawatt (GW) as Modi targets raising energy generation from all renewable sources to 175 GW by 2022.Chinese companies have gained the most from that increase, accounting for around 85 percent of India''s solar module demand and earning around $2 billion, according to industry data. The total annual market could jump to more than $10 billion in the next few years going by the government''s capacity targets.Local companies such as Jupiter Solar, Indosolar Ltd and Moser Baer India Ltd, however, are struggling to win contracts.Orders funneled through a domestic-content policy have all but dried up after the World Trade Organization last September upheld an earlier ruling that found the move violated global trade norms.As a result, Jupiter said it could shut shop by July after delivering their last orders this month; Indosolar auditors have raised doubts over it remaining as a "going concern"; and Moser Baer says it needs support from its lenders to revive its solar business."TORPEDOED"Indian solar power plant developers - including companies backed by Japan''s Softbank and Goldman Sachs - are quoting ever-lower tariffs in auctions to win big projects, encouraged by steep drop in Chinese solar equipment prices.That is squeezing out Indian cell and module makers, many of which have inferior technology, depend on imports of raw materials, have limited access to cheap loans and operate below capacity. Chinese modules are 10-20 percent cheaper than those made in India, company and industry executives said."The WTO ruling has torpedoed everything. It''s not a case of one company - we have the largest cell operating capacity - everybody below us will shut down one after another," Jupiter CEO Dhruv Sharma told Reuters by phone.Chinese companies were selling solar cells in India at 19-20 U.S. cents, around 35 percent below his production cost, he added.There are more than 110 Indian solar cell and module makers registered with the government, out of which consultancy Bridge to India expects only a handful to survive.Santosh Vaidya, a senior official in the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, said the government was working on several initiatives to promote the domestic solar manufacturing industry. He did not elaborate.GOING THE TELECOM WAYIndia''s promise, and need, as a market for solar is obvious. It is one of the lowest per-capita consumers of electricity in the world and more than 200 million of its people are still not connected to the grid, making it crucial for the government to aggressively push for cheap power.Despite its low labor costs, it is not alone in buckling under pressure from Chinese competition. Earlier this month, Germany''s SolarWorld, once Europe''s largest solar panel maker, said it would file for insolvency.Indian companies produced an estimated 1.33 GW of modules last year out of the total capacity of 5.29 GW, according to Bridge to India. Total consumption of modules - 60 percent of a solar project''s cost - was around 4 GW.Solar project developer SB Energy, a joint venture between SoftBank, Taiwan''s Foxconn and India''s Bharti Enterprises, said it had discussed the shortage of local manufacturing with the government."Lack of significant domestic solar manufacturing capacity is a concern, as this is a major gap," SB Energy Executive Chairman Manoj Kohli said, drawing a parallel with India''s huge mobile phone market but negligible local production.Several company executives said a lack of scale, absence of raw material supply chains and rapidly changing technology were some of other reasons Indian firms were unable to compete with Chinese manufacturers such as Trina Solar and Yingli."The government is busy bringing power prices down ... but you can''t build castles on graves," Gyanesh Chaudhary, CEO of module maker Vikram Solar told Reuters. "Without a domestic manufacturing ecosystem, no public policy can last for a long time."(Additional reporting by Aditi Shah; Editing by Lincoln Feast)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-solar-idUSKBN18W0L5'|'2017-06-05T14:19:00.000+03:00' +'52dfc38a6832e02779d83c4f09a8a3024f3d73d5'|'Used VW cars retain values despite emissions crisis -Moody''s'|'Autos - Wed Jun 28, 2017 - 3:07pm BST Used VW cars retain values despite emissions crisis -Moody''s A Volkswagen logo is pictured at the newly opened Volkswagen factory in Wrzesnia near Poznan, Poland September 9, 2016. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo FRANKFURT Used Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) cars have maintained their value in Europe and continue to command a premium over the competition despite an emissions crisis that has damaged the brand and the image of diesel, credit-rating agency Moody''s said. This will continue to support the performance of VW asset-backed security deals, in which residual values are a risk if they fall below the value of outstanding debt on car loans, in the key markets of Germany, the UK, France and Spain, it said. But the ratings agency said it expected negative pressure on the value of diesel vehicles would increase, as regulation against diesel may come into force in cities like Madrid, Milan, Paris and Stuttgart as well as in Britain. "We expect 2017 will see a larger decline in the proportion of new diesel vehicles sold and this shift in consumer demand will be echoed in the used car market. This will reflect stricter regulations related to diesel vehicles in most markets," it said. Bavaria said earlier it had struck a deal with BMW ( BMWG.DE ), Audi ( NSUG.DE ) and MAN ( VOWG_p.DE ) to cut diesel-engine pollution, with carmakers promising to reduce emissions from older models and the state government planning incentives to spur sales of newer, more efficient cars. That coincided with a warning by Germany''s ADAC car club, Europe''s largest and most influential, to push back planned purchases of diesel cars until more fuel-efficient Euro-6D technology becomes available in new models this autumn. Due to the more efficient fuel burn and lower carbon dioxide emissions compared with gasoline-powered cars, Germany''s three major carmakers have invested heavily in diesel technology. While only a niche market in the United States, where Volkswagen''s emissions test-rigging scandal broke, about half the new cars sold in Germany were diesel-powered before the crisis. That market share has since declined to just over 40 percent. (Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; editing by Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-volkswagen-emissions-used-idUKKBN19J1WB'|'2017-06-28T17:07:00.000+03:00' +'aa5be459d6a70e8f070d1308b3bcd7ce763a9ba5'|'Gazprom Neft, Austria''s OMV sign outline deal for joint work in Iran'|'Market News - Fri Jun 2, 2017 - 5:04am EDT Gazprom Neft, Austria''s OMV sign outline deal for joint work in Iran VIENNA, June 2 Russia''s Gazprom Neft and Austrian oil and gas group OMV signed a memorandum of understanding to work together in Iran''s oil industry in the future, OMV said in a statement on Friday. "Preliminary possible spheres of cooperation include analysis, assessment and study of certain oil deposits located in the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran in cooperation with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC)," OMV said. Vadim Yakovlev, First Deputy General Director of Gazprom Neft, said in the statement OMV could help his company in the initial geological assessment of two blocks in Iran. (Reporting by Shadia Nasralla; editing by Alexander Smith) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/omv-gazprom-iran-idUSV9N1FL01F'|'2017-06-02T17:04:00.000+03:00' +'a1c63b5bb4cf93ad2d8f9cbc137aac40c5fd5dca'|'EU antitrust regulators hit Google with record 2.42 billion euro fine'|'Technology News - Wed Jun 28, 2017 - 12:25am IST EU hits Google with record $2.7 billion fine left right European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager holds a news conference at the EU Commission''s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir 1/3 left right European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager holds a news conference at the EU Commission''s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir 2/3 left right European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager holds a news conference at the EU Commission''s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir 3/3 By Foo Yun Chee - BRUSSELS BRUSSELS EU antitrust regulators hit Google with a record 2.4-billion-euro ($2.7 billion) fine for favouring its own shopping service, taking a tough line in the first of three probes of its dominance in searches and smartphone operating systems. It is the biggest fine the European Commission has ever imposed on a single company in an antitrust case, exceeding a 1.06-billion-euro sanction handed down against U.S. chipmaker Intel in 2009 and goes far beyond what U.S. regulators have ever fined a tech company. European Union competition chief Margrethe Vestager on Tuesday gave Google 90 days to stop favouring its own shopping service in internet searches or face a further daily penalty of up to 5 percent of parent company Alphabet''s average daily global revenue. "Google''s strategy for its comparison shopping service wasn''t just about attracting customers. It wasn''t just about making its product better than those of its rivals. Instead, Google has abused its market dominance as a search engine," she told a news conference. The fine will be easy for the world''s biggest search engine to absorb, but Google must now move fast to satisfy Vestager''s concerns while limiting the longer-term hit to its highly lucrative search business. It also leaves other tech companies wondering how far Vestager may go to force U.S. tech giants to concede more ground to smaller competitors. Vestager has become one of the worlds most combative antitrust regulators with powers to impose multi-billion dollar fines and force companies to make radical changes to their businesses. Last year, the former Danish economy minister ordered Apple to pay Ireland unpaid taxes of 13 billion euros as it ruled the company had received illegal state aid. Apple is appealing the decision. The decision is the first of a series of competition rulings that Google faces from the European Commission, which has not shrunk from taking on U.S. tech giants such as Alphabet, which has annual revenues of $90 billion and a market value of $665 billion. The Commission has also charged Google with using its Android mobile operating system to crush rivals, a case that could potentially be the most damaging for the company, as it is the system used in most smartphones. The company has also been accused of blocking rivals in online search advertising. RIVALS DEMOTED The Commission found that Google, with a market share in searches of over 90 percent in most European countries, had systematically given prominent placement in searches to its own comparison shopping service and demoted those of rivals in search results. Vestager said in a statement that Google had "denied other companies the chance to compete on the merits and to innovate. And most importantly, it denied European consumers a genuine choice of services and the full benefits of innovation." Google said its data showed people preferred links taking them directly to products they want and not to websites where they have to repeat their search. "We respectfully disagree with the conclusions announced today. We will review the Commission''s decision in detail as we consider an appeal, and we look forward to continuing to make our case," Kent Walker, Google''s general counsel, said in a statement. Alphabet, whose shares were down about 1 percent, said in a separate statement it would review the Commission''s formal decision but expected to accrue the fine in the second quarter. The biggest risk to Google is not the fine but the changes demanded to its business, said Richard Windsor, an independent financial analyst who tracks competition among the biggest U.S. and Asian internet and mobile companies. Google will have to brief the Commission on what measures it plans to take within 60 days of the decision and present periodic reports. Eight complainants were involved in the case which the EU declined to name in line with its policy. According to Windsor''s calculations, the 2.42-billion-euro fine represents just 22.6 days of the operating cash flow that Alphabet reported in its latest quarter. "What has the potential to hurt Google and be far more damaging is what remedies the European Commission may or may not impose on Google as a result," Windsor said. "That''s where the real damage could be done." The fine, equivalent to 3 percent of Alphabet''s revenue, is the biggest regulatory setback for Google, which settled with U.S. enforcers in 2013 without a penalty after agreeing to change some of its search practices. The Commission''s action follows a seven-year investigation prompted by scores of complaints from rivals such as U.S. consumer review website Yelp, TripAdvisor, UK price comparison site Foundem, News Corp and lobbying group FairSearch. News Corp said it applauded "the European Commission''s leadership in confronting the discriminatory behavior of Google in the comparison shopping industry." "We strongly believe that the abuse of algorithms by dominant digital platforms should be of concern to every country and company seeking a fair, competitive and creative society," it said in a statement, accusing Google of profiting from "commodifying content and enabling the proliferation of flawed and fake news." The penalty payment for failure to comply would amount to around $12 million a day based on Alphabet''s 2016 turnover of $90.3 billion. "This decision is a game-changer. The Commission confirmed that consumers do not see what is most relevant for them on the worlds most used search engine but rather what is best for Google," said Monique Goyens, director general of EU consumer group BEUC. Thomas Vinje, legal counsel to FairSearch, welcomed the Commission''s findings and urged it to act on Google''s Android mobile operating system following its 2013 complaint that Google restricted competition in software running on mobile devices. ($1 = 0.8890 euros) (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; additional reporting by Eric Auchard in Frankfurt; editing by Philip Blenkinsop, Jason Neely and Adrian Croft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/eu-google-antitrust-idINKBN19I10V'|'2017-06-27T17:52:00.000+03:00' +'2aaccb92ad372855158d06e3bfe84368d0b5bb17'|'Brazil''s OGPar files for permission to exit bankruptcy'|'SAO PAULO, June 2 leo e Gs Participaes SA , the oil firm founded by Brazilian tycoon Eike Batista, said on Friday it filed for permission from a court in Rio de Janeiro to exit bankruptcy.In a securities filing, it said it has fulfilled all its obligations under its court reorganization plan.OGPar, as the company is known, entered bankruptcy status to protect itself from creditors in October 2013. It sought to restructure 13.8 billion reais ($4.25 billion) of debt.In June 2014, creditors approved a debt restructuring program by a 90 percent margin, according to the securities filing. As part of this plan, the company carried out a debt-for-equity swap in October of that year.Batista, once Brazil''s richest person, saw his more than $30 billion fortune evaporate in 2013 and the shares of his companies shrink to nearly zero.In January, he was jailed in a prominent corruption case. He left prison in April for house arrest ahead of his trial.($1 = 3.2495 reais) (Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by W Simon)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/oleo-e-gas-part-bankruptcy-idINL1N1IZ0BD'|'2017-06-02T11:38:00.000+03:00' +'603e39f2c6bdd9b1e1353a4cf4dac858a0ac23a8'|'AirAsia CEO shelves low-cost flights to Europe ''for now'''|'PARIS Budget carrier AirAsia X is giving up on the idea of low-cost, long-haul flying to Europe for now, and will concentrate on growth in Asia instead, AirAsia chief executive officer Tony Fernandes said on Tuesday."We looked at every aircraft, every configuration, it''s coming, but for the moment they''re all killing each other so we''ll wait," he told Reuters at the Paris Airshow.Low-cost, long-haul has taken off recently, especially across the North Atlantic, but there are doubts whether it can work in other regions."We think we have so much growth right now in Asia," Fernandes said, adding China and India were of particular interest."My core strategy is about connecting Asia''s secondary and tertiary cities rather than going into a fight with the Arab carriers," he said, referring to the likes of Etihad, Emirates and Qatar Airways, which connect Europe to Asia via their hubs in the Middle East.(Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/airshow-paris-airasia-idINKBN19B1M7'|'2017-06-20T20:04:00.000+03:00' +'de8d59d5282b22168872eb38903bd256d3fe355f'|'RBI policy panel turns less hawkish, awaits data - minutes'|'Money News - Wed Jun 21, 2017 - 6:00pm IST RBI policy panel turns less hawkish, awaits data - minutes A Reserve Bank of India (RBI) logo is seen at the entrance gate of tts headquarters in Mumbai, India June 7, 2017. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade/File Photo MUMBAI The Reserve Bank of India''s monetary policy committee welcomed data showing inflation easing below its target, but wanted more assurance the trend would continue before deciding whether to lower interest rates, minutes from its last meeting showed on Wednesday. The RBI voted 5-1 to keep the repo rate at 6.25 percent earlier this month, but issued a slightly less hawkish statement after consumer inflation eased to 2.99 percent in April, below its 4 percent target. Ravindra H. Dholakia, a professor who is one of three non-RBI members, was the lone dissenter, voting to lower the repo rate by 50 basis points by arguing that inflation had eased enough to justify a rate cut. The vote marked the first non-unanimous decision in the five meetings since the MPC was formed last September. However, the rest of the panel members, including Governor Urjit Patel, wanted more evidence that inflation would ease, while expressing concern that consumer prices would accelerate later this year. Data after the RBI''s June 6-7 policy meeting showed inflation easing further to 2.18 percent in May from a year earlier, the lowest in at least five years. India will post one more inflation data next month before the RBI''s next policy meeting on Aug. 1-2. (Reporting by Suvashree Dey Choudhury; Additional reporting by Swati Bhat, Devidutta Tripathy, Sudipto Ganguly and Euan Rocha; Editing by Rafael Nam) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/india-cenbank-minutes-idINKBN19C1MP'|'2017-06-21T20:30:00.000+03:00' +'187405837cb965c01db9f815ec4b051aa8fc6351'|'Bank of France maintains French second quarter GDP growth forecast at 0.5 percent'|'Business 7:39am BST Bank of France maintains French second quarter GDP growth forecast at 0.5 percent People and delivery vans cross a boulevard during the morning rush hour in the Opera district of Paris, France October 13, 2015. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs PARIS The Bank of France on Monday maintained its earlier estimate for second-quarter French gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 0.5 percent, and forecast a pick up in the services and construction sectors for June. The central bank''s business climate survey for the manufacturing industry gave a reading of 105 points, stable compared to the April reading, which was revised up to 105 points as well for the highest level in six years. Its business climate indicator for the services sector stood at 101 points in May, stable compared to the April level which was also revised up to 101 points. The Bank of France added that business leaders expected the construction and services sectors to improve in June, although a slower pace of growth was expected for industrial production. (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Andrew Callus)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-economy-idUKKBN1930J2'|'2017-06-12T14:39:00.000+03:00' +'74577f88e631b2caa8bbc2f0d4a9dc50e5453788'|'Finnish court confiscates Uber manager''s assets amid legal probe'|'HELSINKI Helsinki district court on Wednesday ordered the assets of Uber''s Finnish country manager be confiscated until police conclude an investigation into whether the U.S. ride-hailing firm operates an illegal taxi service in Finland.The court turned down a police request to confiscate Uber Finland''s assets, but ordered up to 246,000 euros ($279,357) of its country manager Joel Jarvinen''s personal assets be frozen.The court must revoke the order if charges are not filed within fourth months."We will continue to cooperate with the authorities to help with the investigation, but consider the district court''s decision regrettable and we are going to appeal it," Uber Finland said in a statement.Uber Technologies Inc, which has faced bans and protests from established taxi operators around the world, is legal in Finland provided its drivers hold valid taxi licenses.But the length of time it takes to get a permit has led some drivers to work without one, leading to a debate within Finland about whether the system should be reformed.The company has been the target of previous police investigations in Finland and drivers have been ordered to give up their earnings to the state for not having valid taxi permits.According to Uber, more than 100,000 Finns have downloaded its mobile app, and thousands use the service every week.($1 = 0.8806 euros)(Reporting by Tuomas Forsell; editing by Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-uber-finland-idINKBN19J26F'|'2017-06-28T13:50:00.000+03:00' +'fbf0c3164961ac42263b68303470b13d65373e81'|'Saudi energy minister says oil market fundamentals going towards right direction - paper'|'Business News - Mon Jun 19, 2017 - 5:57am BST Saudi energy minister says oil market fundamentals going towards right direction - paper OPEC President, Saudi Arabia''s Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, talks to journalists before the beginning of a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria, May 25, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger DUBAI Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said market fundamentals are going towards the right direction, but the market needs time to rebalance, the London-based newspaper Asharq al-Awsat reported on Monday. "In my opinion, market fundamentals are going in the right direction, but in light of the large surplus in stockpile over the past years, the cut needs time to take effect," he told the newspaper in an interview. Compliance in April and May to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cuts agreement was above 100 percent, he said. Al-Falih said he hopes Libya''s production levels go back to normal levels, which Libyans fully deserve. "It is inappropriate to pressurise Libya to slowdown the pace of the recovery of its production," he was quoted as saying. (Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh; Editing by Saeed Azhar) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-saudi-oil-idUKKBN19A0EZ'|'2017-06-19T12:57:00.000+03:00' +'40db7a3729216af2ec45409bbb7c24c9ede1e574'|'LPC-Lenders set to lose out on 3.175bn Stada debt after failed bid'|'By Claire Ruckin - LONDON, June 27 LONDON, June 27 Europes leveraged loan and high-yield bond markets are set to lose out on a 3.175bn jumbo buyout financing for Stada after Bain and Cinvens takeover of the German drugmaker fell apart, robbing banks of a hefty underwriting fee and depriving investors of much needed new paper.A 5.3bn takeover bid by private equity groups Bain and Cinven did not win enough shareholder support after just 65.52% of Stada''s equity capital signed up for the deal, falling short of the 67.5% acceptance threshold.The financing backing the buyout from Barclays, Citigroup, Commerzbank, Jefferies, JP Morgan, Nomura, Societe Generale and UBS had been conditional on the deal going ahead.Banks are estimated to lose out on around 60m of fees altogether -- around 7.5m each -- based on a 2% underwriting fee.It is the latest blow for lenders, which this year have been working for small fees on a relentless round of repricings and refinancings.It was a significant fee event that is no longer happening so it will impact the underwriting banks, a leveraged finance head said. LARGEST FINANCING Investors will also be disappointed as it was set to be the largest leveraged financing so far this year, offering a chance to put a hefty amount of new money to work to soak up excess liquidity and reverse the supply/demand imbalance that has plagued the market.Stada was the escape valve, a significant transaction to allow a large deployment of capital to take some of the pressure off. Although there is some supply coming to the market, there is nowhere near enough to satisfy demand so it will embolden underwriters and arrangers and worry investors who are already feeling they have too few places to put cash," the leveraged finance head said.The underwritten financing included a 1.95bn seven-year senior secure term loan B; 485m of seven-year senior secured fixed rate bonds; 340m of eight-year senior unsecured fixed rate notes; and a 400m seven-year revolving credit facility.The prospect of such a large financing had caused loan investors to push back on some of the more aggressive deals in syndication to get better terms.The more liquid names in Europes secondary loan market had also begun to soften in the last couple of weeks for the first time since March, according to Thomson Reuters LPC data, as investors sold out to make room for the new supply.Now the withdrawal of Stada from the market is expected to see investors return to accepting increasingly aggressive terms and tight pricing.Although we began to see some pushback, the concern has to be that investors will now sacrifice credit discipline for the expediency of putting cash to work. Stadas loss will inflate the bubble again, the leveraged finance head said.A second leveraged finance head said: Pricing will continue to be compressed. Without Stada, we can expect to see most deals go successfully. Its back to being a borrowers'' market.Bain and Cinven are in talks over a potential new Stada offer and are speaking with investors -- mainly with hedge funds -- about the terms.The expectation is that Bain and Cinven will look to revive the financing they had in place, if the new offer goes ahead, gifting a second chance to the underwriting banks and investors. (Editing by Christopher Mangham)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/stada-loans-idINL8N1JO2NR'|'2017-06-27T09:39:00.000+03:00' +'f5245988a01c2d3ad630f93070eaa49553231de4'|'Trump to meet with tech CEOs on government overhaul'|'Technology 12am BST Trump to meet with tech CEOs on government overhaul U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to deliver a speech on US-Cuba relations at the Manuel Artime Theater in Miami, Florida, U.S., June 16, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY By David Shepardson - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON President Donald Trump will meet with the chief executives of technology companies including Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) and Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) on Monday as the White House looks to the private sector for help in cutting government waste and improving services. White House officials said on a conference call on Friday that the administration believed there was an "economic opportunity" to save up to $1 trillion over 10 years by significantly cutting government information technology costs, reducing government costs through improved IT, leveraging government buying power and cutting fraud across government agencies. The meeting with nearly 20 chief executives comes as the White House pushes to shrink government, cut federal employees and eliminate regulations. Many business executives are eager to work with the new administration as they face numerous regulatory and other policy issues. In May, Trump created an "American Technology Council," the latest in a series of efforts to modernize the U.S. government. He signed a separate order in March to overhaul the federal government and tapped son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner to lead a White House Office of American Innovation to leverage business ideas and potentially privatize some government functions. Others planning to attend include Alphabet Inc ( GOOGL.O ) Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Chairman John Doerr and the chief executives of Microsoft Corp ( MSFT.O ) IBM Corp ( IBM.N ), Mastercard Inc ( MA.N ), Intel Corp ( INTC.O ), Qualcomm Inc ( QCOM.O ), Oracle Corp ( ORCL.N ) and Adobe Systems Inc ( ADBE.O ), a White House official said on Sunday. In May, Trump asked lawmakers to cut $3.6 trillion in government spending over the next decade, taking aim at healthcare and food assistance programs for the poor in a budget that also boosted spending on defense. A 2016 U.S. Government Accountability Office report estimated the U.S. government spent more than $80 billion in IT annually, excluding classified operations. In 2015, there were at least 7,000 separate IT investments by the U.S. government and some agencies were using systems that had components at least 50 years old. Chris Liddell, a White House official who directs the American Technology Council and is a former Microsoft and General Motors Co ( GM.N ) chief financial officer, said on Friday the Trump administration aimed to improve government services to at least the level of the private sector. VISA PROGRAM The tech CEOs and White House also plan to discuss Trump''s review announced in April of the U.S. visa program for bringing high-skilled foreign workers into the country. More than a dozen Trump administration officials including Vice President Mike Pence, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Kushner and Liddell will hold group sessions with the chief executives before they jointly meet with Trump. The council also seeks to boost the cyber security of U.S. government IT systems and wants to learn from private-sector practices. In 2015, hackers exposed the personal information of 22 million people from U.S. government databases. In a document outlining the working-group sessions, the White House said the federal government should require "making it easy for agencies to use the cloud." The White House thinks it can take lessons from credit card companies in significantly reducing fraud. A 2016 government audit found that in Medicaid alone, there was $29 billion in fraud in a single year. Following Trump''s June 1 decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accords, Tesla ( TSLA.O ) Chief Executive Elon Musk and Walt Disney ( DIS.N ) CEO Robert Iger stepped down from White House advisory panels. White House officials said the dispute had little impact and that they had to turn away tech leaders from Monday''s event because of lack of space. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Peter Cooney)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-tech-idUKKBN19A16Q'|'2017-06-19T18:05:00.000+03:00' +'7e0d71d8ed55140aaddb3872cdf90a44f3ee893d'|'Canada''s Home Capital agrees settlement with regulator'|'TORONTO Home Capital Group Inc said on Wednesday it had agreed on a settlement with the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) and accepted responsibility for misleading investors about problems with its mortgage underwriting procedures.Canada''s biggest non-bank lender said that it would make a payment of C$10 million ($7.6 million) and reimburse the commission''s costs of C$500,000. It also said that it would make a payment of C$29.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit."Home Capital will accept full responsibility for failing to meet its disclosure obligations to the marketplace and appreciates the importance of the serious concerns raised by the Commission with respect to continuous and timely disclosure," the company''s Chair Brenda Eprile said in a statement.Depositors have withdrawn 95 percent of funds from Home Capital''s high interest savings accounts since March 27, when the company terminated the employment of former Chief Executive Martin Reid.The withdrawals accelerated after April 19, when the OSC, Canada''s biggest securities regulator, accused Home Capital of making misleading statements to investors about its mortgage underwriting business.Reuters reported on Wednesday that Home Capital was in talks with a syndicate of banks, including some of Canada''s biggest lenders, to secure a loan of about C$2 billion ($1.5 billion) to replace a costly emergency credit line it agreed in April.(Reporting by Matt Scuffham; editing by Clive McKeef)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-homecapital-lender-settlement-idINKBN1953AH'|'2017-06-14T21:22:00.000+03:00' +'f9d25dd79fd37d079a732c0da6ad7ee8edd864ec'|'British consumer sentiment at 10-month low - EU Commission'|'Top News 10:08am BST British consumer sentiment at 10-month low - EU Commission Shoppers walk past a sale sign in central London, Britain June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville BRUSSELS British consumer sentiment fell to its lowest level in 10 months in June, according to a European Commission survey released on Thursday, although overall sentiment including businesses recovered from a decline in May. Consumer sentiment was likely impacted by rising inflation due to the decline of the pound after Britain''s'' vote a year ago to leave the European Union. The European Commission, whose survey covers all 28 EU countries, said consumer sentiment fell to -7.4 points from -6.1 in May. Retail sentiment turned negative and to its lowest level since July. Services also registered a drop. However, overall sentiment rose to 109.3 from 108.2 points because the mood in industry and construction improved. (Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-sentiment-idUKKBN19K0YT'|'2017-06-29T12:08:00.000+03:00' +'93ed5f685a17b9c57c031ca8c7ed87a410e6b050'|'France''s new retail golden boy takes on Carrefour challenge'|'Wed Jun 7, 2017 - 10:09am BST France''s new retail golden boy takes on Carrefour challenge left right FILE PHOTO: Alexandre Bompard, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fnac-Darty, attends a ceremony for the Prix Goncourt des Lyceens prize at the Education Ministry in Paris, France, November 17, 2016. Picture taken November 17, 2016. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: Alexandre Bompard, Chief Executive Officer of Groupe Fnac, attends the company''s 2015 annual results presentation in Paris, France, February 18, 2016. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier 2/2 By Dominique Vidalon and Pascale Denis - PARIS PARIS Fresh from combining Fnac bookstores and electricals chain Darty to better take on Amazon in France, Alexandre Bompard faces the challenge of reviving another ailing retail format when he becomes boss of Carrefour ( CARR.PA ): the hypermarket. The 44-year-old is set to be named in the coming days to succeed Georges Plassat, whose contract as chairman and chief executive of the world''s second-largest retailer expires in May 2018, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters. And according to associates, Bompard has the daring and determination that could help him succeed in revitalizing Carrefour''s core business where others have struggled or failed. Last year, the father of three stunned the retail world when as CEO of Fnac he won a bidding war with South African giant Steinhoff for electricals chain Darty to create a French market leader with annual sales of over 7 billion euros ($7.9 billion). "Alexandre Bompard made thousands of calls himself. He is someone who will not be easily deterred," said billionaire businessman Xavier Niel, who knows him well. Since taking the reins at Carrefour in June 2012, Plassat has led a recovery focused on price cuts, accelerating expansion into convenience shops and renovating stores. The 68-year-old, credited with saving Carrefour from a possible break-up, leaves a group which has progressed in most of Europe and in Brazil, its second-largest market. But a more sluggish performance in France, which accounts for 47 percent of sales and 44 percent of operating profit and where struggling hypermarkets still dominate, has hampered the stock''s performance. In March, Carrefour reported its first fall in operating profit since 2012. For some, Bompard ticks many boxes for the task ahead, with a track record of cutting costs and growing online operations - both of which could be central to reviving French hypermarkets. Shares in Fnac, which Bompard has led since January 2011, have nearly tripled in value since their stock market listing in 2013. And if radical action is needed, the avid Twitter user with a fascination for the French World War II resistance movement, will not shy away, those who know him say. "His image with the market changed with the Darty deal. He beat a large company, showing swift decision-making and daring," said French businessman and political adviser Alain Minc. ''NO LIMITS'' Arnaud Lagardere, owner of the Europe 1 radio station that Bompard headed between 2008 and 2010 and who shares with him a passion for tennis, said: "He is very friendly but he is not naive. He is extremely resolute and if he thinks he has the right strategy, he will forge ahead, with no limits." Such determination could be crucial when dealing with Carrefour''s powerful shareholders, who include the Moulin family, owner of department store Galeries Lafayette, France''s richest man Bernard Arnault, and the family of Brazilian retail tycoon Abilio Diniz. Some at Fnac Darty, however, are more critical of Bompard, disappointed that a highly paid boss is leaving with the integration of the two merged companies far from complete. "He is a man in a hurry and demanding," said Philippe Coutanceau, a representative of the CGT trade union. "We will remember an astronomical remuneration, out of line with the group''s size or results." Fnac Darty shareholders on May 24 approved Bompard''s pay package of 13.8 million euros for 2016. At Carrefour, Force Ouvriere union representative Dejan Terglav is cautious: "We will judge him on his actions. He has a reputation for cutting heads. We await his strategy on hypermarkets and new technologies where Carrefour lags," (Additional reporting Gwenaelle Barzic in Paris; Editing by Mark Potter) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-carrefour-ceo-bompard-newsmaker-idUKKBN18Y0WZ'|'2017-06-07T17:04:00.000+03:00' +'dfb52365efd8f77d3407ecb962bdfc89fd52a80d'|'Altice USA raises $1.9 billion in IPO: sources'|'By Lauren Hirsch Altice USA Inc ATUS.N, the cable operator that Netherlands-based Altice NV ( ATCA.AS ) formed by acquiring Cablevision and Suddenlink Communications, raised $1.9 billion in an initial public offering on Wednesday, people familiar with the matter said.Taking Altice USA public will give Altice''s founder, French billionaire Patrick Drahi, traded shares in the company which he can then use as currency in new acquisitions in order to expand what is already the fourth-biggest U.S. cable provider.Altice USA priced 63.9 million shares at $30, within its indicated price range of $27 to $31, giving the company a market capitalization of approximately $22 billion, the sources said.The sources asked not to be named because the information is not yet public. Altice USA declined to comment.(The story was refiled to fix a syntax in first sentence, no further changes to text)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-altice-usa-ipo-idINKBN19C2Z1'|'2017-06-21T19:32:00.000+03:00' +'159f5d166e408857d942ea7ae209e55820c6aba5'|'Japan first quarter GDP revised down to 1.0 percent annualised expansion'|'Business News - Thu Jun 8, 2017 - 4:51am BST Japan''s first quarter growth halved by oil inventory squeeze, recovery seen on track left right FILE PHOTO: People walk in Omotesando shopping district in Tokyo, Japan May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo 1/3 left right FILE PHOTO: Shipping containers are seen at a port in Tokyo, Japan, March 22, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato 2/3 left right FILE PHOTO: People cross a street in the Shinjuku shopping and business district in Tokyo, Japan May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 3/3 By Tetsushi Kajimoto - TOKYO TOKYO Japan''s economic growth was much weaker in the first quarter than initially estimated, the Cabinet Office said, but analysts made light of the decline as a "one-off" adjustment in oil inventories that would not thwart recovery. Japan''s economy, the world''s third largest, expanded at an annualised rate of 1.0 percent in the first quarter, less than half the initial estimate of 2.2 percent growth and 2.4 percent gain seen by economists, Cabinet Office data showed on Thursday. The data follows a recent run of indicators that suggests continued economic growth in the current quarter due to solid exports and factory output, although wage growth and household spending remain lacklustre, despite a tight job market. The Bank of Japan is now expected to stand pat at its next rate review on June 15-16, although a majority of the economists in a Reuters poll last month forecast the BOJ''s next move would be to pull back its stimulus. The GDP data was revised as primary oil distributors squeezed their crude oil inventory because some refineries were offline for repairs, bringing crude oil inventory levels at the end of March to the lowest since 2000, Cabinet Office officials said. "The data is not as bad as the headline figure appears. It supports the BOJ''s upbeat view on the economy," said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute. "Excluding the revision to inventory, private final demand including capital expenditure was strengthening, suggesting that export-led recovery is broadening gradually. It''s true private consumption is weak, but it will likely firm up from now on." On the quarter, the Japanese economy grew a revised 0.3 percent in real, price-adjusted terms, against a preliminary reading of a 0.5 percent increase and the median estimate of a 0.6 percent expansion. Capital expenditure, a key component of GDP, rose 0.6 percent for the quarter, outstripping the preliminary estimate of a 0.2 percent increase. Inventories shaved 0.1 percentage point off growth, revised down from a 0.1 percent point contribution originally posted. Private consumption, which accounts for roughly 60 percent of GDP, rose 0.3 percent, down from the preliminary 0.4 percent gain. Tame wages and consumer spending have kept Japan from beating deflation, posing a key challenge for the BOJ in meeting its 2 percent inflation goal via a massive bond-buying programme. Taken together, government, business and household demand contributed 0.1 percentage point to growth, versus the initial 0.4 percentage point recorded. Net exports added 0.1 point to growth, unchanged from the preliminary estimate. (Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Eric Meijer)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-gdp-idUKKBN18Y3BW'|'2017-06-08T07:57:00.000+03:00' +'99c539e672a750580003c996f9ad60dedd438146'|'UPDATE 1-German government looking into loan guarantees for Air Berlin'|' 10:23am EDT German government looking into loan guarantees for Air Berlin left right German carrier Air Berlin''s aircraft is pictured at Tegel airport in Berlin, Germany, September 29, 2016. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt/File Photo 1/2 left right German carrier Air Berlin aircrafts are pictured at Tegel airport in Berlin, Germany, June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke 2/2 By Michelle Martin and Alistair Smout - BERLIN/LONDON BERLIN/LONDON The German government is examining a request for loan guarantees from loss-making Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ), the Economy Ministry said on Wednesday. "We are looking into this application for a guarantee along with the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Berlin," a ministry spokeswoman told reporters. She added that presenting a "sustainable concept for the future" was key to getting such a guarantee. Air Berlin''s CEO Thomas Winkelmann said on Wednesday it was a "confidential figure" when asked for details of the airline''s request for loan guarantees from the two German states. "We''re not looking for any kind of taxpayers'' money. We don''t want to be state-owned. As management, we look at every opportunity over how to restructure the company, and that includes restructuring the debt," he told Reuters after the carrier''s annual general meeting in London. The German carrier, 29 percent-owned by Abu Dhabi-based carrier Etihad, last week asked Berlin and North-Rhine Westphalia (NRW) to consider loan guarantees. German Economics Minister Brigitte Zypries said on Tuesday that the airline was in a "precarious" situation. German newspaper Welt reported on Tuesday that Air Berlin is seeking loan guarantees of around 100 million euros ($112 million). Air Berlin is expecting a difficult 2017, Winkelmann told the annual general meeting, but also said that Air Berlin''s dominant position in key German hubs made it interesting to players in the European market. Air Berlin Chief Financial Officer Dimitri Courtelis told the AGM that 2017 would be a transitional year, but the company was targeting positive earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) in 2018. Air Berlin is scrambling to protect roughly 8,000 jobs in Germany, mainly based in Berlin and North Rhine-Westphalia. Winkelmann joined Air Berlin in February 2017, and said on arrival that his aim was to reposition the company. Last year, the carrier made a record net loss of 782 million euros after it faced increased competition from leaner rivals for its traditional routes to Spanish holiday destinations. Winkelmann has previously said that Air Berlin is seeking a partner, and larger rival Lufthansa, which last year agreed a long-term deal to lease 38 planes and crew from Air Berlin, is seen as the obvious investor. Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr had previously expressed interest in Air Berlin on the condition that its debt pile and costs could be brought down. Travel agencies, monopoly experts and rival carrier Ryanair have also raised competition concerns over any possible takeover of Air Berlin by Lufthansa. Winkelmann said that Air Berlin''s appeal was based in its dominance in Germany''s biggest state NRW and Berlin. "That strong market position is, I think, interesting for a couple of players in the European market," he said. "But we can''t comment who or what." (Additional reporting by Peter Maushagen in Frankfurt, Thomas Escritt and Victoria Bryan in Berlin; Editing by Madeline Chambers and Adrian Croft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-air-berlin-germany-ministry-idUSKBN19522Z'|'2017-06-14T22:06:00.000+03:00' +'724917086df17aa13d6ae968ca7e2d23895fdb10'|'Philips in deals with U.S. hospitals on use of its gene data platform for cancer research'|'Health News - Thu Jun 1, 2017 - 3:04am EDT Philips in deals with U.S. hospitals on use of its gene data platform for cancer research By Bart Meijer - AMSTERDAM AMSTERDAM Dutch healthcare technology company Philips said Thursday it had reached deals with New York''s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) and Utah-based Intermountain Healthcare for them to use its genomics platform for cancer research and treatment. MSK, the world''s largest private cancer center, will work with Philips on new methods to use genetic data in the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Intermountain Healthcare, which runs 22 hospitals and 180 clinics, aims to make its medicine program, which offers individually targeted treatments, available to hospitals worldwide. Financial details of the deals were not disclosed. The deals are part of Philips'' strategy to grow its data-driven heathcare operations after disposing of all its non-healthcare related businesses in 2016. Philips estimates the connected care and health informatics market will reach a total value of around 70 billion euros in 2019. Philips reported 3.2 billion euros ($3.6 billion) in revenues from connected care in 2016. (Reporting by Bart Meijer, editing by David Evans) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-philips-deals-hospitals-idUSKBN18S41Y'|'2017-06-01T15:00:00.000+03:00' +'ca51e06edbdc18c48506c04ecbc97a637db02e6c'|'AIRSHOW-Russia''s UAC targets sales of more than 600 long-range planes'|'Market News 35pm EDT AIRSHOW-Russia''s UAC targets sales of more than 600 long-range planes By Matthias Blamont - PARIS, June 20 PARIS, June 20 Russia''s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) said on Tuesday it hoped a long-range, widebody plane it is developing with the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) would sell more than 600 over a 20-year period. The jet represents a Russian and Chinese effort to compete in the lucrative widebody segment that is now divided between Europe''s Airbus and U.S. rival Boeing. The maiden flight for the venture''s new plane is scheduled for 2023, with first delivery expected two years later. "We have big expectations with COMAC for this product," UAC President Yury Slyusar said at the Paris Airshow, adding that he was hopeful about selling more than 600 of the planes over 20 years. UAC was established by a 2006 presidential decree that consolidated Russia''s aviation assets and aimed to revive the fortunes of the nation''s plane business. It owns Russian brands such as Tupolev, Ilyushin and MiG, as well as Sukhoi''s commercial Superjet programme. Slyusar also called for the lifting of Western sanctions from Russia. "We are interested in eliminating, cancelling any sanctions, it would be very useful in the future," he said in later comments to Reuters. The measures were imposed by the European Union and the United States after Moscow''s annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine in 2014. A Russian official earlier said Russian industry had adapted to sanctions by, for instance, building an indigenous capacity to produce parts that had previously come from European firms. (Editing by Edmund Blair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/airshow-paris-uac-idUSL8N1JH4VN'|'2017-06-21T01:35:00.000+03:00' +'89bfa90e3d4065cd65883a0f3854fa024a887b45'|'South Africa anti-graft chief open to talks on central bank - report'|'Central Banks - Sat Jun 24, 2017 - 10:50am BST South Africa anti-graft chief open to talks on central bank - report JOHANNESBURG The head of South Africa''s anti-graft watchdog is open to talks on her recommendation to change the central bank''s mandate, a proposal that has drawn sharp criticism from parliament, the ruling party and investors, a local news agency said on Saturday. Public Protector Busi Mkhwebane''s recommendation to alter the South African Reserve Bank''s principal constitutional mandate of maintaining currency and price stability to focus on economic growth has highlighted worsening divisions between the country''s state institutions. Both the central bank and parliament plan to mount legal challenges to the proposal. Mkhwebane defended her recommendation but said she was willing to hold discussions with those opposing it, news agency Eyewitness News (EWN) reported. "I haven''t overstepped and I think those will be the deliberations which we''ll be having further and again. I''ll see how the notice of motion, the content and why are they disputing that. We''ll take it from there," Mkhwebane was quoted as saying. Mkhwebane made her proposal on Monday as she delivered her findings on an apartheid-era bailout of Barclays Africa Group. The lender has denied any wrongdoing. Her call threatens to further stain South Africa''s image as an investor-friendly emerging market, coming less than a week after mines minister Mosebenzi spooked investors by raising the minimum threshold for black ownership of mining companies to 30 percent from 26 percent. The row over the central bank''s role has also highlighted divisions in the tripartite political alliance of the ruling African National Congress party (ANC), the country''s biggest union, Cosatu, and the South African Communist Party (SACP). Both the ANC and the SACP are opposed to altering the role of the central bank while Cosatu has backed calls for changes. (Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by Helen Popper)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-safrica-cenbank-idUKKBN19F08Y'|'2017-06-24T17:50:00.000+03:00' +'f47e5d402e72c0728944eddfa402829b622390ee'|'Japan Display delays investment in JOLED until at least 2018'|'Innovation and Intellectual Property - Wed Jun 7, 2017 - 3:36am EDT Japan Display delays investment in JOLED until at least 2018 TOKYO Japan Display said on Wednesday it was delaying its planned investment in organic light-emitting diode panel maker JOLED until next year at the earliest as it continues to overhaul its business strategy. The company had planned to reach an agreement by late June to buy shares in JOLED, whose largest investor is Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), and complete the purchase by the end of this year. It now aims to reach an agreement by late June 2018, with the purchase date yet to be determined, Japan Display said in a statement. (Reporting by Chris Gallagher; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman) '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-display-overhaul-joled-idUSKBN18Y0N6'|'2017-06-07T11:36:00.000+03:00' +'3948ff547178dec7d04e66aaf01c746b1af5717f'|'BASF to invest 200 mln eur in ibuprofen plants'|'Market News 4:16am EDT BASF to invest 200 mln eur in ibuprofen plants FRANKFURT, June 28 German chemicals group BASF plans to invest around 200 million euros ($228 million) in a new ibuprofen plant at its headquarters in Ludwigshafen and expanding its capacities at a production site in Bishop, Texas, it said on Wednesday. It said the expansion would come onstream in early 2018 while the new plant would go into operation in 2021. "It will be the first world-scale ibuprofen plant in Europe," board member Markus Kamieth said in a statement. "With this investment, BASF aims to ensure high supply security for its customers and meet growing global demand," BASF said. ($1 = 0.8786 euros) (Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Kirsti Knolle)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/basf-se-ibuprofen-idUSFWN1JP04H'|'2017-06-28T11:16:00.000+03:00' +'67e6bc659524c4621587a27c87c8b66c1f15ad7c'|'MOVES-Deutsche Bank hires Cannon for loan sales'|'Market News - Wed Jun 7, 2017 - 10:39am EDT MOVES-Deutsche Bank hires Cannon for loan sales By Kristen Haunss - June 7 June 7 Deutsche Bank has hired Alexandra Cannon as a director in leveraged loan sales, rounding out moves on the banks New York loan sales and trading teams, according to sources. Cannon, who was previously a salesperson at Barclays, will start at Deutsche Bank in July, reporting to Alex Bici, head of par loan sales, North America, the sources said. A Deutsche Bank spokesperson declined to comment. Cannon steps into the role that will be vacated by Liz Bodisch, who, as LPC previously reported, is moving to the loan trading team from the sales group. In her new position she will report to Mike Weir, head of par loan trading, North America. Bodisch, who has been a senior salesperson at Deutsche Bank for about seven years, is expected to move teams after Cannon starts. The bank has also hired Garret Rowan, who will join as a vice president on the loan trading desk later this month, from US Banks loan trading desk. He also reports to Weir. (Reporting by Kristen Haunss; Editing by Jon Methven) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/deutsche-cannon-moves-idUSL1N1J40RJ'|'2017-06-07T22:39:00.000+03:00' +'0213785b9d4e86934637763d65ccff49456adefc'|'Housebuilders help FTSE find solid ground'|'Top News - Wed Jun 14, 2017 - 10:28am BST Housebuilders help FTSE find solid ground People walk through the lobby of the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain November 30, 2015. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett By Kit Rees - LONDON LONDON A rise in housebuilders underpinned gains on Britain''s top share index on Wednesday following a well-received update from mid cap Bellway, with a weaker pound also lending support. Britain''s blue chip FTSE 100 index climbed 0.4 percent to 7,528.33 points by 0912 GMT, while the mid caps gained 0.8 percent. While housebuilders were hit by a selloff in the immediate aftermath of the UK''s general election, which resulted in a hung parliament, a trading update from Bellway eased investors'' concerns as the firm said that demand did not slow in the run-up to the election. "Housebuilders generally ... have been marked down because of fears over the UK economy, the UK property market, but actually the numbers that are coming out of these companies are still pretty reassuring," said Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. "There are a number of tailwinds that (the housebuilders) also have, one of which is extremely low interest rates, another of which is the chronic lack of housing in this country, and a third thing is the government help to buy scheme," Khalaf added. Bellway''s shares rose 4.5 percent to a 1-month high, while blue chip peers Barratt Developments, Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey were among the top FTSE gainers, up between 1.9 percent to 2.3 percent. British large caps extended gains after sterling weakened following UK data which showed that earnings after inflation contracted at the fastest pace since 2014, highlighting the growing post-Brexit strain on households. Budget airline easyJet also enjoyed gains, its shares advancing 1.2 percent following a supportive note from Davy Research which upgraded the stock to "neutral" from "underperform", citing its higher operating leverage in the current environment. "We believe that the European low-cost carriers will continue to see improving pricing trends as we approach peak summer, albeit a consensus among the airlines has yet to form on whether pricing will be positive or negative," analysts at Davy said in a note. Only a dozen or so more cyclical stocks such as banks Lloyds and Standard Chartered and energy stock were in negative territory on the FTSE, while equipment hire firm Ashtead dropped 2.8 percent, extending losses from the previous session after its earnings update. "Strong FY17 results, but no consensus upgrades, saw a muted investor reaction and we see more downside from here," analysts at UBS said, adding that accelerating competition and slowing end markets this summer could leave Ashtead''s valuation exposed. Likewise shares in engineering group GKN also came under pressure after Panmure cut its rating to "sell" from "hold", on the back of challenges in the U.S. auto and Middle East aircraft markets. (Reporting by Kit Rees; Editing by Keith Weir)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks-idUKKBN19510R'|'2017-06-14T17:28:00.000+03:00' +'6f9d5249a111c4dfbe02c3251c85d66f1db1e120'|'U.S. activist investor urges Hudson''s Bay to go private'|'Market News - Mon Jun 19, 2017 - 8:48am EDT U.S. activist investor urges Hudson''s Bay to go private June 19 U.S. activist investor Land & Buildings Investment Management LLC on Monday urged the management of Canadian retailer Hudson''s Bay Co to explore alternatives including taking the company private. Land & Buildings owns a 4.3 percent stake in Hudson''s Bay. (Reporting by John Benny in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/hudsons-bay-land-and-buildings-idUSL3N1JG3Y9'|'2017-06-19T20:48:00.000+03:00' +'41352730851fe881178c2bdd6ff88ade285cc378'|'French air force chief backs A400M after Germany row'|'Business 7:58am BST French air force chief backs A400M after Germany row left right An Airbus A400M Atlas military aircraft participates in a flying display before the opening of the 52nd Paris Air Show at Le Bourget airport near Paris, France, June 16, 2017. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol 1/2 left right An Airbus A400M Atlas military aircraft participates in a flying display before the opening of the 52nd Paris Air Show at Le Bourget airport near Paris, France, June 16, 2017. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol 2/2 By Cyril Altmeyer - PARIS PARIS France''s air force defended the troubled Airbus A400M military airlifter on Monday, expressing a "positive outlook" for Europe''s new army plane despite German protests over missing defensive capabilities. The reassurance from top air force general Andre Lanata offers some respite to manufacturer Airbus after months of renewed debate over the delayed plane. The A400M - ordered by Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain and Turkey - has been hit by engine gearbox problems and delays in fitting parachuting capacity and advanced defences. A confidential report by the German defence ministry warned recently that such problems as well as contract disputes could impair the full operational use of the transporter. But speaking to journalists to mark the start of the June 19-25 air show at Le Bourget, near Paris, Lanata said he believed Airbus was getting to grips with the problems. "I believe that all that is now mainly behind us," he told the AJPAE media association. Earlier this year, Airbus took a new writedown of 1.2 billion euros against losses on the A400M, and urged the seven NATO buyers to limit its exposure to heavy fines and payment delays caused by new technical snags and delays. France currently has 11 A400M planes, of which six are fully operational - a tally which Lanata called "very satisfactory", even though not all of them yet have the specifications originally envisaged in Europe''s largest defence contract. The French army is due to get another 15 A400M planes by 2019, and French President Emmanuel Macron was due to arrive at the Paris Airshow on Monday on board an A400M in a further show of support for the model. Lanata said that while there were technical issues that needed to be resolved, France remained fully behind the A400M. "It is very important that optimism and support shown by France is not hampered by any industrial problems, given how tough the Germans have been on this matter," added another French army official, asking not to be named. (Reporting by Cyril Altmeyer; Writing by Tim Hepher and Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-airshow-paris-a-idUKKBN19A0OM'|'2017-06-19T14:58:00.000+03:00' +'1f399a63d527882a4267961837dcfe898389037b'|'ConocoPhillips to sell Barnett assets for $305 million'|'Deals - Thu Jun 29, 2017 - 8:44am EDT ConocoPhillips to sell Barnett assets for $305 million Logos of ConocoPhillips are seen in its booth at Gastech, the world''s biggest expo for the gas industry, in Chiba, Japan, April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai ConocoPhillips ( COP.N ) said it would sell its assets in the Barnett shale field in Texas to Miller Thomson & Partners LLC for about $305 million, as part of the largest U.S. independent oil producer''s efforts to reduce exposure to natural gas. The Barnett assets produced 11,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) in 2016, of which about 55 percent was natural gas and 45 percent was natural gas liquids, ConocoPhillips said in a statement on Thursday. The oil producer said last month it would sell natural gas-heavy assets in San Juan basin to privately held Hilcorp Energy Co for about $3 billion and earlier agreed to sell oil sands and western Canadian natural gas assets to Cenovus Energy Inc ( CVE.TO ) for C$17.7 billion. ConocoPhillips has also marked other gas-weighted assets for sale, including some assets in the Anadarko basin and the Gulf of Mexico. The company said the Barnett shale deal, expected to close in the third quarter, may reduce its 2017 production forecast by less than 5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (MBOED). ConocoPhillips said it does not expect any material impact to 2017 cash flow or its forecast as a result of the transaction. The company said it would take a non-cash impairment charge of about $400 million after taxes in the second quarter related to the sale. (Reporting by John Benny in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Anil D''Silva) '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-conocophillips-assets-idUSKBN19K1I9'|'2017-06-29T16:44:00.000+03:00' +'0efc9ab3669eddd652a8d451f3b9831616f95a6a'|'Whole Food shares keep rising, leading to bidding war speculation'|'Business News 18pm BST Whole Food shares keep rising, leading to bidding war speculation FILE PHOTO: A Whole Foods Market is pictured in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S. June 16, 2017. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo By Sinead Carew Whole Foods Market Inc ( WFM.O ) shares rose on Monday for the second straight trading session after Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) announced plans to buy the upscale grocer, with investors appearing to bet that rivals could step in to create a bidding war. Despite that possibility, Amazon shares also gained as Wall Street analysts lauded the proposed $42-per-share deal and bet that the company would prevail in any bidding battle. After closing at $42.68 on Friday, Whole Foods shares were up 1.5 percent at $43.32 on Monday morning after rising as high as $43.64 earlier in the session, suggesting hopes it would end up fetching a higher price. Amazon hit a high of $1,017 and was last up 1.4 percent at $1,001.13. Barclays analyst Karen Short raised her Whole Foods price target to $48 from $38 and upgraded the stock to overweight from equal-weight, citing the possibility of counterbids. "Many will do anything to either make this acquisition more costly for Amazon, or prevent the asset from landing in Amazon''s lap," Short wrote in a note to clients. A $48-a-share price tag would be more than reasonable for a fellow retailer that could eliminate overhead at Whole Foods, Short said, while adding that very few companies could outbid Amazon. Benchmark Research analyst Daniel Kurnos also expects a bidding war, but he said: "Amazon will ultimately be able to outbid any other party by a meaningful amount, given the valuation gap between them and WFM." Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said the deal was a "healthy option to accelerate growth" at Amazon as it could use Whole Foods supermarkets as distribution centres for its online grocery service and to sell its own branded devices, such as Kindle e-readers. Pachter said Amazon was likely to increase spending to build its online grocery business over the next several years, so the acquisition would add only slightly to earnings while boosting revenue significantly. (Reporting by Sinead Carew; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-stocks-wholefoods-idUKKBN19A23Y'|'2017-06-19T23:18:00.000+03:00' +'197b5bc0abfa3cf8586d8716d378be179a39e695'|'Hong Kong''s Li Ka-shing says retirement won''t stop him working'|'Business News - Wed Jun 21, 2017 - 2:10am EDT Hong Kong''s Li Ka-shing says retirement won''t stop him working FILE PHOTO: Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing attends a news conference announcing CK Hutchison Holdings company results in Hong Kong, China March 22, 2017. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo By Venus Wu - HONG KONG HONG KONG Hong Kong''s richest man Li Ka-shing said on Wednesday he has not decided when to retire and will stay as group senior advisor after he steps down as the chairman of CK Hutchison Holdings ( 0001.HK ). Li''s comments came a day after the Wall Street Journal reported the tycoon had told associates he planned to retire by his 90th birthday in July next year. "When I decide to retire, I will make an announcement for sure," Li told reporters in comments carried by TVB News. "But not much will change. I will still come to the building, I will still come to the office, I will still work. I will be a senior advisor then." Li said he was in "very good health" and he was not worried his retirement would affect his companies'' stock performances. The self-made billionaire had named his eldest son, Victor, 52, as his successor five years ago. Victor, already on the board, is seen as a steady hand unlikely to change course. "Everything has been arranged many years ago," Li said. (Reporting by Venus Wu; Editing by Stephen Coates) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong-likashing-idUSKBN19C0IV'|'2017-06-21T14:10:00.000+03:00' +'f9743754b774805aeab7984383c6b36d6b3262fa'|'U.S. states could not set self-driving car rules under Republican plan'|'WASHINGTON, June 15 California and other states would be barred from setting their own rules governing design and testing of self-driving cars, while federal regulators would be blocked from demanding pre-market approval for autonomous vehicle technology, according to a U.S. House Republican proposal reviewed by Reuters on Thursday.The draft legislation, while far from becoming law, still represents a victory for General Motors Co, Alphabet Inc , Tesla Inc and other automakers and technology companies who are seeking to persuade Congress and the Trump Administration to pre-empt rules under consideration in California, New York and other states that could limit deployment of self-driving vehicles.The industry also opposed an Obama administration proposal last year that raised the possibility of giving regulators the power to review and approve self-driving car technology before it was put into service, similar to the vetting by Federal Aviation Administration of new technology for aircraft.The 45-page draft package of 14 bills would designate the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as the lead agency for regulating self-driving cars, pre-empting state rules.States could still set insurance and registration rules but could not use them as a way to regulate self-driving technologies. California has proposed changes to its self-driving car rules, but automakers said in April it has not gone far enough.One of the bills in the proposal would allow the U.S. Transportation Department to exempt up to 100,000 vehicles per year from U.S. federal motor vehicle safety rules, which currently prevent the sale of self-driving vehicles without steering wheels, pedals and other human controls.Another would declare crash data, other testing and validation reports from automated cars turned over to U.S. regulators to be "confidential business information."On Tuesday, a bipartisan trio of U.S. senators said they planned to introduce legislation to remove regulatory roadblocks to the introduction of self-driving cars, including sorting out conflicts between state and federal rules.Energy and Commerce Committee Republican members and staff have vowed to work with Democrats and industry and safety officials to try to reach a bipartisan consensus.Mitch Bainwol, head of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, an auto trade group, told Congress on Wednesday it should work to eliminate state or local laws that could "unduly burden or restrict the use of self-driving vehicles in the future." (Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Diane Craft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-selfdriving-idUSL1N1JC1PQ'|'2017-06-16T05:31:00.000+03:00' +'84b01b7e8910225cc1ad4aef34b46ec442dbbe88'|'Metals recycler Befesa attracts private equity bids - sources'|'Market News - Tue Jun 20, 2017 - 10:07am EDT Metals recycler Befesa attracts private equity bids - sources By Arno Schuetze and Claire Ruckin - FRANKFURT/LONDON, June 20 FRANKFURT/LONDON, June 20 Metals recycler Befesa has attracted bids from several private equity groups as its owner mulls whether to list the company on the stock exchange or opt for an outright sale. CVC, Blackstone and Access Industries have put in non-binding offers for the company, which is owned by buyout group Triton, the people said. One of the people said that the offers value Befesa at about 1.3-1.4 billion euros ($1.45-1.56 billion) including debt. Triton''s sell side advisers Citi and Goldman Sachs are supplying a pre-arranged staple financing package of 1 billion euros or 5.75 times Befesa''s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, the sources said. Other banks are working on financing packages of 6-6.5 times EBITDA of 150 million euros. Separately, Triton is weighing the possibility of an IPO and Befesa may send out an intention to float as early as next week if Triton deems that option more profitable, the sources said. Triton and the bidders declined to comment. Befesa - which is headquartered in Luxembourg and was listed until it was bought by Spain''s Abengoa in 2000 - specialises in recycling steel dust from the steel and galvanizing industry and salt slags from the aluminium industry. Abengoa sold the company to Triton in 2013 for 850 million in cash, or 1.1 billion euros including debt. ($1 = 0.8975 euros) (Additional reporting by Alexander Huebner Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/befesa-ipo-idUSL8N1JH3F8'|'2017-06-20T22:07:00.000+03:00' +'855baceeb034d46988019c9967353243a3ccc425'|'Your Country Is Flooding? Tough Luck'|'Twenty years ago, Senate members gathered to vote on Resolution 98, colloquially known as Byrd-Hagel. Its 700-odd words could be distilled into two ideas: The U.S. shouldnt sign any international climate agreement likely to harm its economy, and developing countries should receive no special treatment. Ninety-five senators voted in favor, none against.Byrd-Hagel is remembered mainly for keeping the U.S. out of the Kyoto Protocol, which President Bill Clinton signed the following year but never submitted to Congress for ratification. But it also codified a view that Donald Trump embraced from the Rose Garden on June 1, when he railed against not only the Paris Agreement but also the Green Climate Fund, a companion program to help poorer countries cope with global warming. To Trump, its a scam.Billions of dollars that ought to be invested right here in America will be sent to the very countries that have taken our factories and our jobs away from us, Trump said, not entirely accurately. Nobody even knows where the money is going, he said, even less accurately. He made clear the fund will get no U.S. money so long as hes president.In Tuvalu, $36 million will fund protection of the coastline after a 2015 cyclone displaced half the population.Photographer: Sokhin/UNICEF/Zuma Press The fund, created in 2010, is actually pretty straightforward. Rich countries pledged to provide an initial $10 billion for projects in poorer countries, half of which is to be spent cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The other half is to go toward protecting people against the consequences of those emissions, such as flooding, drought, and sea level rise. The funds board, which includes an American with veto power, has so far approved 43 projects. Among them is a $58 million effort to protect the capital of Samoa from worsening cyclones. Another project got $37 million to build dams and other protections in Pakistan against floods caused by melting glaciers. A third received $36 million for barriers around Tuvalu in the South Pacific.Academics who study climate agreements suggest Trumps objection to the fund reflects something more than its failure to meet his high standards for financial transparency. A better explanation may be the deep-seated American ambivalence about the notion that the U.S. owes something to poor countries afflicted by climate change. Stephen Macekura, a professor at Indiana University who focuses on U.S. foreign relations and the environment, says part of the problem is a failure to grasp the basic mechanics of global warming. It stems in part from a misunderstanding about what causes climate change, he says. While China may be the biggest emitter today, most of whats in the air came from the U.S.People who work in climate finance warn that Trumps rejection of the climate fund could encourage other rich nations to pull back. President Barack Obamas $3 billion pledge, of which only $1 billion has been transferred to the fund, pushed other countries to increase their own commitments, says Leonardo Martinez-Diaz, who oversaw the program for the U.S. Department of the Treasury. He says Trumps refusal to provide the remaining $2 billion will make it even harder to persuade other countries to honor their current pledges and give more later.Less money in the fund means fewer projects to cut emissions in poorer countries, says Brandon Wu, policy director at Washington-based nonprofit ActionAid USA, who sat on the funds board as an observer. And that puts the Paris Agreements stated goal of limiting global temperature increases to 2C out of reach. Theres no way we can expect that to happen without financial and technical support, he says.The most important business stories of the day. Get Bloomberg's daily newsletter. Sign Up The irony of U.S. antipathy to funding climate projects overseas is that withdrawing from those efforts hurts Americans. Matthew Kotchen, a Yale economics professor who represented the U.S. on the funds board under Obama, says that higher emissions overseas mean worse storms, floods, and wildfires at home. Just as important, natural disasters in poor countries, caused or amplified by climate change, lead to increased conflict and migration. Trump himself, and maybe many of his supporters, believe that focusing on just your own national interest is sufficient, Kotchen says. There isnt a recognition that we actually depend on other countries and other people for our security, stability, and prosperity.While that debate continues, the problems that the climate fund is meant to address get worse. A recent study found that the number of people exposed to storm surges has increased more than 20 percent since 2000, to 162 million. More than 1 billion people are exposed to floods, the vast majority of them in the developing world.Their governments will need to divide limited resources between protecting their residents and replacing coal-fired power plants. Macekura worries they will focus increasingly on the former, sending emissions ever higherespecially if rich countries reduce their assistance. The Obama administration acted as though the U.S. was turning over a new leaf, he says. Yet here we are again.The bottom line: Abandoning the Green Climate Fund could deter other nations from contributing, slowing emissions cuts and hurting the U.S.'|'bloomberg.com'|'https://www.bloomberg.com/businessweek'|'http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-08/your-country-is-flooding-tough-luck'|'2017-06-09T02:37:00.000+03:00' +'16b9a380bd05bdf7205c040cce9e30d9109c4320'|'CEE MARKETS-Romanian leu holds steady ahead of new PM nomination'|'By Krisztina Than BUDAPEST, June 26 The Romanian leu held steady on Monday, unrattled by the ousting of Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu last week, and stocks markets in the region opened higher, led by Polish banks. Poland''s index led gains, trading 1.2 percent higher at 0809 GMT. The country''s second-largest lender Bank Pekao SA jumped 3 percent, while mBank surged 2.4 percent. Traders said this was due to JP Morgan raising the target price for Pekao, and putting it to "overweight" from "underweight". The ruling party in Romania is expected to propose a new prime minister to President Klaus Iohannis, a centrist, on Monday to replace Grindeanu who was ousted last week in a no-confidence vote initiated by his own party. Once Iohannis endorses the candidate, a new government could be formed within days. The political uncertainty follows jitters over the government''s loose fiscal policies, but it was not expected to have a major impact on policy. "In our view, changing a prime minister will not entangle any major shifts in the current government policies except from the possibility of deviating further away from the anti-corruption path than under Grindeanu''s leadership," analysts at Nordea bank said in a note. "Regardless of who will be the new Romanian PM, the political and fiscal risks will remain in place with the government policies continuing to be quite hasty and sometimes unpredictable ... we are not too optimistic about the RON in the medium-term," they added. The leu was steady at around 4.57 to the euro but was still hovering around its weakest levels since 2012 of 4.599 hit last week. "A possibly fast implementation of a new government... and the resolving of the political uncertainty could in our view induce a quick return of EUR/RON into the 4.50-4.55 range," Raiffeisen analysts said. The Hungarian forint and the Polish zloty were both 0.1 percent firmer in early, slow trade. CEE MARKETS SNAPSH AT 0940 CET OT CURRENCIES Latest Previo Daily Change us bid close change in 2017 Czech crown n/a 26.261 n/a n/a 5 Hungary 309.30 309.68 +0.12 -0.16% forint 00 50 % Polish zloty 4.2207 4.2255 +0.11 4.34% % Romanian leu 4.5710 4.5721 +0.02 -0.79% % Croatian 7.4120 7.4155 +0.05 1.93% kuna % Serbian 121.41 121.67 +0.21 1.60% dinar 00 00 % Note: daily calculated previo close 1800 change from us at CET STOCKS Latest Previo Daily Change us close change in 2017 Prague 969.08 980.68 -1.18% +5.15 % Budapest 35780. 35599. +0.51 +11.8 40 51 % 0% Warsaw 2334.8 2304.4 +1.32 +19.8 1 8 % 6% Bucharest 8270.2 8347.5 -0.93% +16.7 2 5 3% Ljubljana 795.27 792.22 +0.38 +10.8 % 3% Zagreb 1867.4 1864.5 +0.15 -6.39% 4 8 % Belgrade 0.00 705.79 +0.00 -100.0 % 0% Sofia 687.77 687.67 +0.01 +17.2 % 8% BONDS Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs change Bund in Czech spread Republic 2-year 0.049 0 +068b +2bps ps 5-year -0.014 0.048 +036b +4bps ps 10-year 0.896 0 +064b +0bps ps Poland 2-year 1.937 -0.07 +256b -5bps ps 5-year 2.628 0.007 +300b +0bps ps 10-year 3.245 0 +299b +0bps ps FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interb ank Czech Rep Hungary Poland Note: FRA are for ask Quote: s prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets-idINL8N1JN1CG'|'2017-06-26T07:23:00.000+03:00' +'ac0dd303f891ffa36fad33e1c1c88eb9586ef144'|'European shares off to cautious start as ECB meets, UK votes'|'Top News - Thu Jun 8, 2017 - 8:34am BST European shares off to cautious start as ECB meets, UK votes Traders work in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, June 7, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote MILAN European shares inched up on Thursday helped by stronger banks and a rebound in oil prices but caution dominated as Britons vote in a general election and the European Central Bank holds its policy meeting. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.2 percent with financials providing the biggest lift, while Britain''s FTSE was flat. One day after the well-received rescue of Spanish lender Banco Popular by Santander, banks remained in focus due to fresh newsflow about a potential rescue of troubled Italian lenders Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca. The euro zone bank index added 0.6 percent. Italy''s two biggest banks Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit traded down 0.4 percent and flat respectively, while Santander was up 0.8 percent. Utilities also rose with RWE and E.ON adding to their rally in the previous session after a nuclear energy tax which penalised them was scrapped. French credit insurance company Euler Hermes rose 5 percent to a 2-year high following a report that Allianz is exploring a buyout of its smaller rival. (Reporting by Danilo Masoni, Editing by Helen Reid)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks-idUKKBN18Z0TK'|'2017-06-08T15:34:00.000+03:00' +'7586dd1347e7293798a6dbccee447f650c680d85'|'France''s Engie to buy 40 percent stake in UAE''s Tabreed'|'By Stanley Carvalho - ABU DHABI ABU DHABI Engie SA has agreed to buy a 40 percent stake in Dubai''s National Central Cooling Company (Tabreed) and help drive the company''s expansion in emerging markets such as Turkey, India and Egypt.Engie is buying the stake for 2.8 billion dirhams ($762 million) from Abu Dhabi state investor Mubadala Investment Co, making it Tabreed''s second largest shareholder after Mubadala, which will retain 42 percent, the two companies said on Monday.Mubadala''s stake is held in a combination of equity and mandatory convertible bonds (MCBs). Under the deal, it will convert its MCBs into shares equivalent to a 40 percent stake that will be transferred to Engie at 2.62 dirhams per share.Shares in Tabreed, which provides cooling for buildings and other infrastructure, surged 15 percent to hit their daily limit of 2.12 dirhams at 10.48 a.m. (0748 GMT).Reuters reported in November that Mubadala was considering the sale of a least part of its Tabreed stake."Tabreed is a company with a strong growth trajectory and will benefit from Engie''s experience as an operator of world-class utility businesses," Homaid al Shimmari, deputy group chief executive of Mubadala, said in a statement, adding that Mubadala would remain a significant, long-standing shareholder.Tabreed will become one of Engie''s main regional development platforms and the French company is expected to lead rapid growth for Tabreed in new emerging markets such as India, Egypt and Turkey, the statement said.The two companies have also agreed certain cooperation arrangements designed to support Tabreed''s growth strategy and management team, they said.The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2017.Mubadala first invested in Tabreed in 2004 and by 2008 had put in 800 million dirhams. Then in 2009, Mubadala injected some 2.9 billion dirhams as part of Tabreed''s re-capitalisation.Mubadala spokesman Brian Lott said Tabreed had returned 1.9 billion to Mubadala since 2009 through buybacks, dividends and coupons, leaving an investment of about 1.8 billion dirhams."With this 2.8 billion dirhams deal with Engie, Mubadala effectively made a gain of 1 billion dirhams on its investment, he said.Mubadala, which recently merged with fellow state fund International Petroleum Investment Co, has stakes in companies including private equity firm Carlyle and Brazilian iron-ore port terminal Porto Sudeste.($1 = 3.6729 UAE dirham)(Editing by David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/ntnl-centl-coolg-m-a-engie-idINKBN19A0WC'|'2017-06-19T16:23:00.000+03:00' +'79a025f719c0af218969d4a4e0ce77dfc5570d73'|'Madoff sons'' estates in $23 million settlement over Ponzi scheme'|'By Jonathan Stempel The trustee recouping money for Bernard Madoff''s victims has reached more than $23 million of settlements with the estates of the swindler''s late sons and related defendants, ending more than eight years of litigation.According to a Monday court filing, the settlement will strip the estates of Andrew and Mark Madoff of "all assets, cash, and other proceeds" of their father''s fraud, leaving them with a respective $2 million and $1.75 million.The estates also agreed to withdraw roughly $99.5 million of claims against the bankruptcy estate of the former Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, the filing shows.Monday''s settlement resolves some the highest-profile cases remaining in trustee Irving Picard''s efforts to compensate former Madoff customers who he estimates lost $17.5 billion. He has recovered $11.6 billion, or about two-thirds of that sum.The settlement also resolves claims against Mark Madoff''s widow, Stephanie Mack, and some entities affiliated with the Madoff family.It also ends an investigation by the U.S. Attorney''s office in Manhattan, whose criminal probe resulted in a 150-year prison term for Bernard Madoff, a 10-year term for his brother Peter, and 13 other convictions and guilty pleas.Madoff''s sons were never criminally charged, and had maintained they knew nothing about their father''s fraud until he confessed to them shortly before his Dec. 11, 2008 arrest.But in a civil lawsuit, Picard said Madoff''s firm operated as a family piggy bank, and sought to recoup $153.3 million from the sons'' estates alone.Settlement talks began in 2015, and the accord is a "global and complete resolution of all claims" against the estates, lawyers for Picard said in Monday''s filing.Mark Madoff committed suicide in December 2010 at age 46. Andrew Madoff died of cancer in September 2014 at age 48. Their father is 79.Lawyers for Picard could not immediately be reached for comment. Martin Flumenbaum, a lawyer for the Madoff sons'' estates, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Alan Levine, a lawyer for Mack, declined to comment.The office of Acting U.S. Attorney Joon Kim in Manhattan had no immediate comment.A separate $4 billion fund overseen by former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Richard Breeden expects this year to begin payouts to Madoff victims, including third parties.The case is Picard v Madoff et al, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 09-ap-01503. The main case is Securities Investor Protection Corp v. Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC in the same court, No. 08-01789.(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Marguerita Choy)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-madoff-settlement-idINKBN19H2HJ'|'2017-06-26T18:34:00.000+03:00' +'74140ffe04003dc300d2fa571247a8c80f91cc20'|'Amazons big, fresh deal with Whole Foods'|'JEFF BEZOS does not like sitting still. In his annual letter to Amazons shareholders this year, he warned of stasis. Followed by irrelevance. Followed by excruciating, painful decline. Followed by death. Competitors are toiling to avoid the same fate but it is hard to keep up. On June 16th Amazon said it would pay $13.7bn for Whole Foods, an upscale grocer known for its organic produce. Lest be accused of sloth, four days later Amazon announced a new service to let shoppers try clothes at home, for no fee, then return those they dont like.The news that Amazon would make clothes shopping even easier is a blow to Americas apparel chains, many of which are already in the middle of that excruciating decline. Yet it was the Whole Foods deal, more than ten times bigger than any acquisition Amazon has made so far, that caused the bigger stir. 7 The deals precise impact is hard to gauge. Buying Whole Foods hardly gives Amazon a stranglehold on food and drink: the combined companies will account for just 1.4% of Americas grocery market, according to GlobalData, a research firm. The people who shop at the chain are not the mass market. They are unusually wealthy and well-educated (see chart). Mr Bezos has made no big announcements about changes at Whole Foodsdrone-delivered spelt grain is unlikely to become a reality soon. Instead he simply praised its work and said we want that to continue.Nevertheless, the news prompted the shares of a large group of rival grocery firms, including Walmart and Kroger, to sink quickly. As with so much about Amazon, the Whole Foods deal is important not for what it represents now but how it might transform Amazon and up-end rivalsmost notably, Walmartin future.Up to now, grocery has been a tough nut for Amazon to crack. A growing share of office supplies and clothes are bought online, yet last year e-commerce accounted for just 2% of American spending on food and drinks. Amazon Fresh, a ten-year-old grocery-delivery service, is still in only 20-odd cities. Prime Now, a two-hour delivery service introduced in 2014, is in 31.That is because grocerys margins are low and its goods devilishly hard to deliver. Peaches bruise. Meat rots. Many consumers like to buy food in person: unlike choosing a battery or book, selecting a ripe tomato requires inspecting it or trusting someone who has.Amazon has tried to solve these problemsusing machine learning, for example, to distinguish ripe strawberries from mouldy ones. But the Whole Foods deal is the start of something new. To date Amazon has run only a handful of stores; Whole Foods will give it more than 450. Amazon knows a lot about customer behaviour online; now it will be able to marry that to data about habits in physical stores. Paul Beswick of Oliver Wyman, a consultancy, notes that Whole Foods will provide a well-established supply chain, a boon to Amazon Fresh, as well as a roster of store-brand goods, which might now be sold online.It is all a huge headache for Walmart. The beast of Bentonville remains the worlds largest store and Americas biggest grocer, with revenues of $486bn compared with Amazons $136bn. It too is trying to avoid stasis. It paid $3bn last year to acquire Jet.com, a challenger to Amazon, and has invested in technology to help customers order groceries online and have them ready to pick up from its stores. Walmart is experimenting with other services: some staff deliver groceries on their way home.Walmart is testing, reading and reacting, notes Oliver Chen of Cowen, a financial-services firm. Thats a new Walmart. On the same day that Amazon said it would buy Whole Foods, Walmart announced the purchase of a menswear brand called Bonobos for $310m, which began online and now has three dozen stores. The deal, among other things, gives Walmart new staff to help the company transform itself further.Yet Amazon is playing a different, more complex game. It is enmeshing itself in its customers lives: each new service, from streaming video to its Alexa virtual assistant, makes it more integral to a persons day. That gives it new data and revenue that help it improve services and offer additional ones. Shoppers buy groceries often. If Amazon can become part of Americans ritual of buying milk and eggs, the firm will understand its customers even better. Shoppers will have fewer reasons to go elsewhere.And Amazon is likely to integrate Whole Foods in ways that are not yet obvious. Finding ways to get more value out of its investments has been key to Amazons growth. The companys warehouses, built for its own goods, are now used by independent sellers. The same is true of its cloud-computing power, which supports not just Amazons own business but legions of other firms. Amazon may use its infrastructure for Prime Now to deliver Whole Foods groceries. In future it may develop new services for Whole Foods that are in turn deployed in new ways, suggests Ben Thompson, a tech blogger. It could, for example, supply restaurants.For Walmart, and many other rivals, the best scenario would be if regulators were to slow Amazons expansion. The company accounts for about half of new spending online in America. It has reached into many parts of the economy, from retail to cloud computing and from entertainment to advertising. Yet intervention is improbable. The Whole Foods deal gives Amazon less than one-fiftieth of the grocery market. Walmart, were it to make Whole Foods a higher offer, by contrast, would be very likely to attract regulators wrath. In such circumstances, Walmart could be forgiven a severe attack of sour grapes. "Whole hog"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21723868-buying-upscale-grocer-new-front-battle-beast-bentonville-amazons?fsrc=rss'|'2017-06-24T08:00:00.000+03:00' +'91f0b51f25e74c492ff1188d592ced614ec19728'|'What We Needand Dont NeedFrom Government in the Robot Age'|'View What We Needand Dont NeedFrom Government in the Robot Age Michael R. Bloomberg on how to think about wages, health insurance, and education in the wake of technological advances. By A robotic arm transports sheets of glass during the manufacturing of photovoltaic cells at SolarWorld AG in Freiberg, Germany. Photographer: Martin Leissl/Bloomberg Capitalism has brought opportunity to billions of people around the world and reduced poverty and disease on a monumental scale. Driving that progress have been advances in knowledge and technology that disrupt industries and create new ones. We celebrate market disruptions for the overall benefits they generate, but they also present challenges to workers whose skills are rendered obsolete. Today, as the age of automation affects more industries, those challenges are affecting more and more people. Attempting to slow the pace of technological change to preserve particular jobs is neither possible nor desirable, and there may be no better example than in the energy industry. In the 1920s more than 800,000 Americans worked in the coal mines. Many developed debilitating and deadly health problems. In 2008 national coal production peaked, yet technology had cut the number of jobs by 90 percent. Today, as consumers turn to cleaner and cheaper sources of energy, the societal benefits are widespread: Deaths from coal pollution have dropped 40 percent, and jobs in the renewable energy industry have soared. But this trend has also left coal miners, whose numbers have dwindled, in difficult positions, particularly since their employers have been walking away from their pension and health-care obligations. We can both embrace the societal benefits of technological change and confront the challenges it poses for individual workers and their communitiesbut only if we expect government leaders to look forward instead of backward and to develop effective responses rather than pitting groups against one another. There are no panaceas, including the idea that the wealthy should pay more in taxes, with the money redistributed to support those who lose jobswhich Im not averse to, if the money is spent wisely. But work is an important part of what gives our lives meaning and direction. Giving people a check isnt the same as giving them an opportunity to pursue their ambitions and fulfill their potential. Industriousness, and the chance to shape your own destiny, has always been a critical part of whats made America an exceptional nation. Finding more ways to reward and encourage work will be essential to coping with automation. The Earned Income Tax Credit is one way to do that. Its effectively a wage subsidy for low-income earnersand expanding it, or using other subsidies to encourage employment as we do with investment, may become increasingly necessary. It may even be that governments will experiment with direct employment programs, putting Americans to work performing jobs that produce some public benefits, however limited. Whatever the approachand all have their costskeeping working-age adults in the labor market, rather than them sitting at home, is a goal worth pursuing. Disruption from automation will also have an impact on Americans health. Some 150 million Americans get health insurance through their work. Employer-sponsored health insurance is an accident of historybusinesses began offering the benefit as a way around World War II wage controlsand the Affordable Care Act left the system largely in place. One way to mitigate the harmful effects on workers who lose their jobs would be to de-link health insurance from employment to ensure that everyone can receive care when they need it, including when they are between jobs or unable to find one. The most important business stories of the day. Get Bloomberg''s daily newsletter. Sign Up We will also have to rethink our approach to education, which follows an antiquated model: School years are based on an agricultural economy that required children to work the fields during the summer months. Education laws stifle innovation and parental choice. And vocational training programs are based on an industrial past, turning off many students who might opt for such programs and often leaving those who do enroll ill-prepared for careers. At the same time, community colleges too often saddle students with debt without doing enough to ensure they earn a degree and marketable skills. And continuing education and training programs, which could help save adults from getting locked out of the evolving labor market, are often divorced from the needs of employers. There will always be politicians making promises the market wont allow them to keep. But to spread the benefits of the age of automation far and wide, well need more cooperation among government, business, education, and philanthropic leaders. Before it''s here, it''s on the Bloomberg Terminal. '|'bloomberg.com'|'https://www.bloomberg.com/businessweek'|'https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-22/what-we-need-and-don-t-need-from-government-in-the-robot-age'|'2017-06-22T17:00:00.000+03:00' +'717a991e1b3c63b42ce2060ca9a1e1657a2d6ab9'|'BRIEF-Sanofi and Regeneron announce EU approval for Kevzara'|'Market News - Tue Jun 27, 2017 - 1:06am EDT BRIEF-Sanofi and Regeneron announce EU approval for Kevzara PARIS, June 27 Sanofi/Regeneron : * Sanofi and Regeneron announce approval of Kevzara() (sarilumab) to treat adult patients with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis in the European Union * "We are pleased to bring Kevzara to European patients who may not be responding to the most commonly used biologics such as TNF inhibitors, or who may be seeking an effective monotherapy to reach their treatment goals," said George D. Yancopoulos, M.D., Ph.D., Founding Scientist, President, and Chief Scientific Officer, Regeneron '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-sanofi-and-regeneron-announce-eu-a-idUSFWN1JN0KK'|'2017-06-27T13:06:00.000+03:00' +'7c638b2da591248374b3eff568ee0397633eecb2'|'Chile rescuers find water in area where two missing miners were trapped'|'SANTIAGO, June 17 A drilling probe conducted by rescuers seeking to find two workers missing in a southern Chile mine for more than a week found water in the area where they are thought to have been at the time of a June 9 flood, authorities said on Saturday.Snowfall in recent days and the frigid waters of a surrounding lagoon have complicated efforts to find the two workers in the small gold and silver mine owned by Mandalay Resources Corp.General Fernando San Cristobal, head of the rescue team, said the probe reached level 55 - where the miners are believed to have been working and where an emergency shelter is located - and found water. Rescuers are now preparing to deploy a probe with a camera attached.The workers, identified as Jorge Sanchez and Enrique Ojeda, were trapped after section two of the Delia mine, part of Mandalay''s Cerro Bayo complex in Chile''s southern Aysen region was flooded.The incident has evoked memories of a 2010 mining accident in Copiago, northern Chile, where 33 miners were trapped underground for nearly ten weeks before being rescued. (Reporting by Fabin Andrs Cambero,; additional reporting by Alvaro Vidal, writing by Luc Cohen, editing by G Crosse)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/chile-mine-idUSL1N1JE0FU'|'2017-06-18T01:55:00.000+03:00' +'c0a943a4d54e089b3138280986e89107362c0c98'|'FedEx says operations at TNT Express disrupted after virus attack'|'Cyber Risk 1:15pm EDT FedEx says operations at TNT Express disrupted after virus attack FILE PHOTO: The TNT Express logo is pictured at the headquarters in Hoofddorp April 7, 2015. REUTERS/Toussaint Kluiters/United Photos/File Photo Package delivery company FedEx Corp ( FDX.N ) said on Wednesday operations in its TNT Express unit were disrupted after its information systems were hit by a virus attack. FedEx, however, said no data breach was known to have occurred. The company said it was unable to measure the financial impact of the service disruption at TNT, but it could be "material". The Netherlands-based TNT Express said on Tuesday it was experiencing interference with some of its systems, following a global ransomware attack. The ransomware attack on Tuesday hit computers at Russia''s biggest oil company, Ukraine''s international airport, global shipping firm A.P. Moller-Maersk ( MAERSKb.CO ) and the world''s biggest advertising agency WPP ( WPP.L ). FedEx said it was implementing remediation steps and contingency plans as quickly as possible. (Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cyber-attack-fedex-idUSKBN19J2BO'|'2017-06-28T19:49:00.000+03:00' +'230529bd92d5055468a886020db70a4e74f38226'|'U.S. top court rules against SEC over recovery of ill-gotten gains'|'Business News - Mon Jun 5, 2017 - 5:39pm BST Supreme Court limits SEC''s power to recover ill-gotten gains The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission logo adorns an office door at the SEC headquarters in Washington, June 24, 2011. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst By Sarah N. Lynch and Lawrence Hurley - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday scaled back the Securities and Exchange Commission''s power to recover ill-gotten profits from defendants'' misconduct, handing Wall Street firms a victory and dealing another blow to the regulator''s enforcement powers. In a 9-0 ruling, the Supreme Court found that the SEC''s recovery remedy known as "disgorgement" is subject to a five-year statute of limitations. The justices sided with New Mexico-based investment adviser Charles Kokesh, who previously was ordered by a judge to pay $2.4 million in penalties plus $34.9 million in disgorgement of illegal profits after the SEC sued him. The decision marked the second time since 2013 that the Supreme Court has reined in the SEC''s enforcement powers. In the prior case, called Gabelli v. SEC, the justices unanimously ruled that civil monetary penalties are also subject to a five-year time bar. The ruling represented a major victory for Wall Street firms, whose Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association trade group had urged the justices to curb the SEC''s powers in order to provide more certainty and predictability to the enforcement process. Writing for the court, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said that disgorgement counts as a penalty and is therefore bound by a five-year statute of limitations that already applies to "any civil fine, penalty or forfeiture." The SEC disgorgement process "bears all the hallmarks of penalty: It is imposed as a consequence of violating a public law and is intended to deter, not to compensate," Sotomayor wrote. "We are pleased with the Supreme Court''s opinion today, which grants important protection to defendants facing enforcement actions by the SEC and other agencies," said Adam Unikowsky, one of Kokesh''s lawyers. An SEC spokesman declined to comment on the ruling. Kokesh was sued by the SEC in 2009 for misappropriating investors'' money. His penalties covered conduct within the five-year statute of limitations, but the disgorgement covered conduct that largely occurred outside that time frame. Kokesh appealed to the Supreme Court after losing at the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Kokesh''s attorney argued that a disgorgement in the case constituted a punitive "forfeiture" that is time-barred. The Justice Department argued that disgorgement is equitable relief that is not considered a punishment, but merely restores the defendant to the same position he was in prior to when the misconduct occurred. Nick Morgan, a Los Angeles-based lawyer with the Paul Hastings law firm who represents clients being investigated by the SEC, said the ruling will especially affect complicated cases that require more time for the SEC to investigate. "For the more complex cases, this will be a sea change for them, they will have to move more quickly," Morgan said. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-sec-idUKKBN18W1UQ'|'2017-06-05T22:17:00.000+03:00' +'0c07b05591197b48fbca4c8166f62bce4d360742'|'Madame Tussauds-owner Merlin says Manchester, London attacks hit demand'|'Business News - Tue Jun 13, 2017 - 7:55am BST Madame Tussauds-owner Merlin says Manchester, London attacks hit demand A woman poses with a waxwork of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump during a media event at Madame Tussauds in London, Britain January 18, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall LONDON Visitor attractions group Merlin Entertainments has seen a drop in demand from domestic tourists following recent attacks in Manchester and London and believes foreign visitors could stay away in the coming months, it said on Tuesday. The firm, which runs tourist attractions such as Madame Tussauds waxworks, Sea Life and The Dungeons, said that trading in its London business in the early part of the year had benefited from an increase in foreign visits to Britain, reflecting the weaker pound. It said this continued in the immediate aftermath of an attack in Westminster on March 22, although that incident did result in a softer domestic, day-trip market. Merlin said the subsequent attacks in Manchester on May 22 and London Bridge on June 3 resulted in a further deterioration in domestic demand. "Given the typical lag between holiday bookings and visitation, we are also cautious on trends in foreign visitation over the coming months," the firm said. Merlin said overall group trading to date has been broadly in line with expectations, noting that over 70 percent of 2016 profit was generated from outside the UK. "I remain confident in the company''s underlying growth prospects," said Chief Executive Nick Varney. Shares in Merlin, up 12 percent so far this year, closed Monday at 503 pence, valuing the business at 5.14 billion pounds. (Reporting by James Davey; editing by Kate Holton) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-merlin-ent-outlook-idUKKBN1940N6'|'2017-06-13T14:24:00.000+03:00' +'e2c9fd3e4091c2b61d70ee6773fe807b2d410e24'|'German postal service enlists Ford for electric vans drive'|'DUESSELDORF, Germany German logistics group Deutsche Post DHL Group ( DPWGn.DE ) is expanding its foray into electric delivery vans, signing Ford ( F.N ) as a components supplier for a new line of larger vehicles, the companies said on Wednesday.Deutsche Post initially developed an electric minivan dubbed Streetscooter for its own operations to avoid inner-city emissions after growth in online shopping resulted in increased parcel deliveries. But in April it took on carmakers by unveiling plans to step up production and sell to other delivery firms.For the larger van, Ford will supply vehicle technology based on the Transit model, with Deutsche Post keeping assembly, distribution and sales in-house, a Germany-based Ford spokesman told Reuters.The new model is part of a plan to build another production site for the Streetscooter unit and double annual output to 20,000 vans by the end of the year."This step emphasizes that Deutsche Post is an innovation leader. It will relieve the inner cities and increase people''s quality of life," Deutsche Post executive board member Juergen Gerdes said in a statement.Advances in manufacturing software are allowing auto industry newcomers such as Deutsche Post, Google and start-ups to tap suppliers to design, engineer and test new vehicle concepts without hiring thousands of engineering staff or investing billions in tooling and factories.Deutsche Post, which is also building a country-wide network of maintenance and repair shops, wants a fleet of at least 2,500 of the new vans on the road by the end of 2018, it said.The postal services group decided to build its own vans after it could not agree on a wider supply contract with established vehicle makers.It is phasing out use of Volkswagen''s ( VOWG_p.DE ) Caddy vans in favor of Streetscooters, and going it alone with the electric van project has upset VW.($1 = 0.9430 euros)(Reporting by Matthias Inverardi; Writing by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-deutsche-post-streetscooter-ford-idUSKBN19519U'|'2017-06-14T18:29:00.000+03:00' +'d1d369e66dfd53e32c95078ccf5a5de1e6804a2f'|'Secret aid worker: we don''t take data protection of vulnerable people seriously - Global Development Professionals Network'|' 11.34 21.08 BST U ntil recently, I worked for an international development organisation that prides itself on being evidence-driven and using data to determine its social impact. As such, it collects reams of data on its beneficiaries, much of it personal and sensitive. This includes data on health, finances, consumption, and personally identifiable information such as birthdates and national identity numbers of poor and highly vulnerable individuals. And yet, this organisation has no data protection policies and no senior-level staff charged with monitoring the collection, storage, use, or disposal of the personal data of beneficiaries. There are no threat models to assess the risks nor security protocols in place to protect the private and confidential data of the people it purports to serve. Secret aid worker: charities have been gagged in the UK election this is why Read more Worse, I know this NGO isnt the only one. Why dont organisations take data protection of beneficiaries more seriously? In this particular organisation, the entire senior leadership team lacks the strategic and technical expertise to make data protection a priority. But as in many NGOs, there is also a subtle but pervasive attitude that the beneficiaries wont care or arent as knowledgeable about the importance of data protection and even if they did, would have no channel to complain if they found out how carelessly their personal data is treated. The horror stories abound. Highly sensitive data is routinely emailed openly among staffers, without encryption. Personally-identifiable data is stored in the organisations cloud storage without protocols for who can and cannot access it, and how this data can be used or not used. There are no guidelines as to what data should be collected in the first place, and how to collect it in a secure manner. There is no data anonymisation that would remove personally identifiable information from whats collected. Informed consent protocols, if they exist within specific programmes, are inconsistent across the whole organisation and are not routinely enforced. Much of what should be confidential is accessible to all staff and even outside consultants. So what, you might say, whats the worst that could happen? Consider, for instance this scenario: You provide direct cash transfers to individuals. The recipients of the programme are selected by their level of vulnerability. The ruling party in the state is generally suspicious of foreign aid organisations, and believes that you are using these cash transfers to assist their political enemies. They then get hold of a list of addresses of your beneficiaries and all names in a household as well as detailed information about their financial status. The ruling party uses the data to harass and intimidate what they perceive are western-supported enemies of the party. Secret aid worker: Men have as many issues as women, we just dont know what they are Read more This is a somewhat hypothetical example as development practitioners do not talk much about what happens when data-driven projects go wrong. There are no incentives to share the harm done to the most vulnerable individuals that we work with. However, a number of bodies in recent years have published research on this topic and the Handbook of the Modern Development Specialist (pdf) outlines several of the categories of harm that can and have occurred: When personally identifiable information is leaked in sensitive contexts it can spark violence, discrimination, or exclusionary policies. Services can be denied to entire groups and individuals targeted. Groups can be harmed without individuals ever being identified, through discriminatory policies on the basis of data, on the basis of perceived relationships, or through subtle social dynamics or engineering. Project credibility and relationships with local partners and beneficiaries can be harmed when stakeholders feel exploited for data without receiving benefits, or when projects have adverse and unintended consequences. NGO brands and operations can be harmed, with negative consequences for funding, legal liability, high level policy discussions, or credibility with public institutions or the audience they seek to serve. There is no reason for NGOs to remain negligent and, in fact, there is a growing conversation among responsible organisations on how to limit data harm. The Engine Rooms handbook mentioned above is a very comprehensive and actionable guide. And several aid agencies stand out: The International Committee of the Red Cross has a stringent protocol in place well developed. And World Vision has laid bare its own data security framework (pdf), outlining the challenges with excruciating honesty that is well worth reading. Secret aid worker: It''s ok to not love this job all the time Read more But we need more development organisations to follow suit. If you work at one, ask yourself: what data is collected and why? How is it handled? Who owns beneficiary data and resulting information products? Who is responsible or even liable if a security breach allows data to be used in a harmful way? Staff at all levels need to conduct thorough risk and threat assessments as well as implement highly ethical data protection policies. These then need to be regularly monitored, and adapted as technologies evolve. At the same time, donors need to ensure that data collected and used as part of programmes that they fund is handled responsibly. And it is time for regulators to force NGOs to reveal what information they hold on beneficiaries and how they handle that data. The forthcoming EU General Data Protection Regulation for European organisations is a step in the right direction. It sends a clear message: data protection will no longer be aspirational but absolutely mandatory. Ultimately, NGOs must hold up the humanitarian principle of do no harm. Data protection is part of that ethos and while its not a sexy issue, its an urgent one. The consequences for the most vulnerable are severe if we continue to get it wrong. Do you have a secret aid worker story youd like to tell? You can contact us confidentially at please put Secret aid worker in the subject line. If youd like to encrypt your email to us, here are instructions on how to set up a PGP mail client and our public PGP key . Join our community of development professionals and humanitarians. Follow @GuardianGDP on Twitter. Topics'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2017/jun/13/secret-aid-worker-we-dont-take-data-protection-of-vulnerable-people-seriously'|'2017-06-13T19:34:00.000+03:00' +'3a00f07cc5575c3ebd4d12fe19731e2dbbec94d6'|'CFM says confident of reaching 500 LEAP deliveries in 2017'|'Business News - Sat Jun 17, 2017 - 7:34pm BST CFM says confident of reaching 500 LEAP deliveries in 2017 FILE PHOTO: A visitor leaves a meeting room at the CFM International booth next to a LEAP high-bypass turbofan engine at the Singapore Airshow February 13, 2014. REUTERS/Edgar Su PARIS CFM International said on Saturday it was confident of meeting a target of 500 deliveries of LEAP engines by the end of the year despite a recent quality flaw with a component. Boeing earlier this year briefly suspended 737 MAX test flights while CFM, co-owned by Safran ( SAF.PA ) and General Electric ( GE.N ), conducted checks after a problem was found in a turbine disc. Safran and GE have both recently talked of 450-500 engine deliveries but CFM officials told a briefing ahead of the Paris Airshow that they remained committed to the target of 500 and that their level of confidence had not changed. They said the engine, developed for Boeing and Airbus medium-haul planes, was proving to have higher utilisation rates than a rival model from Pratt & Whitney ( UTX.N ). Each one percent in improved utilisation has the same benefit for airline finances as a five percent fuel saving, they said. CFM also said it expects to have clearance for 180-minute extended operations by the end of June for the Boeing and Airbus versions of its LEAP engine. That means planes will be able to fly up to three hours away from the nearest airport at any one time, allowing airlines to serve long over-water routes like Hawaii to the U.S. West Coast. NON-COMMITTAL ON DESIGN CFM, like rival engine makers Pratt & Whitney ( UTX.N ) and Rolls-Royce ( RR.L ), is meanwhile poring over proposals for a new mid-market jetliner from Boeing, seating around 220-270 people. Many in the industry expect Boeing ( BA.N ) to opt for an engine with a gear to increase the efficiency of its fan, which produces most of the thrust, especially on take-off. Pratt & Whitney has introduced such a design to re-enter the civil market after mainly focusing on the U.S. military in recent years. Its Geared Turbofan is now in use on some Airbus and Bombardier ( BBDb.TO ) jets. The head of Pratt & Whitney last month warned Rolls-Royce that the use of a gear in its planned Ultrafan engine project could cause a patent dispute, according to Flightglobal. CFM officials declined on Saturday to be drawn on whether they would offer a similar design for Boeing''s new jet, but did not rule out using a gear that one described as generic technology. "We are not ruling out any architecture. We have no religion on the gear," Executive Vice President Francois Bastin said. (Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Adrian Croft and Stephen Powell) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-airshow-paris-cfm-idUKKBN1980HF'|'2017-06-17T21:08:00.000+03:00' +'f4bc7f71b957abd7e89fe4824a8fce51f0ebe0b2'|'British Airways CEO puts cost of recent IT outage at 80 million pounds'|'Business News - Thu Jun 15, 2017 - 1:41pm BST British Airways CEO puts cost of recent IT outage at 80 million pounds Willie Walsh, CEO of International Airlines Group speaks during the closing press briefing at the 2016 International Air Transport Association (IATA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit in Dublin, Ireland June 3, 2016. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne MADRID A technological failure which stranded tens of thousands of British Airways (BA) passengers in May will cost the company around 80 million pounds, Willie Walsh, chief executive of BA parent International Airlines Group (IAG), said on Thursday. The figure was an initial estimate, Walsh told at the company''s annual shareholders meeting in Madrid. In addition to BA, IAG owns Aer Lingus, Vueling and Spain''s Iberia. BA suffered a disruption at London''s Heathrow and Gatwick airports when a power surge knocked out its IT system forcing it to cancel almost two-thirds of all flights on May 27, which fell on a busy bank holiday weekend. Heathrow suffered further setbacks on Thursday after a baggage system failure prevented luggage from being checked in at terminals 3 and 5. The problem has been resolved. (Reporting by Robert Hetz; writing by Paul Day; editing by Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iag-ceo-idUKKBN1961GQ'|'2017-06-15T20:05:00.000+03:00' +'128d1e9ca074f3efa10ec482da2ef419af65e622'|'UK car output falls 10 pct in May ahead of new models'|'LONDON, June 29 British car production fell 9.7 percent in May as some major manufacturers reached the end of older product lines and prepared to begin building newer models, an industry body said on Thursday.Output stood at 136,119 last month, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said, with exports accounting for around 80 percent of demand as automakers prepare for the introduction of newer vehicle types.Jaguar Land Rover is rolling out its new Velar sport utility vehicle, Honda''s Civic Type R hatchback will be exported to more markets and a range of Nissan models are all expected to boost figures in the months ahead.But the highly successful industry, which is on course for record output by the end of the decade, remains concerned that Britain''s exit from the European Union could harm plants by imposing tariffs and border checks on vehicles and components."Maintaining our current open trade links with Europe, our biggest market, and further developing global markets is vital for this sector," said SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes. (Reporting by Costas Pitas, editing by Pritha Sarkar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-autos-production-idUSL8N1JP3OC'|'2017-06-29T02:01:00.000+03:00' +'bee3bcb8ae4810d058f8f12cc0d75aa73f6518ac'|'Western Digital considering new memory plant in western Japan: source'|'TOKYO Western Digital is considering fresh investment to build another flash memory chip plant in western Japan in an effort to show its commitment to the country, a source familiar with the matter said.The California-based company is embroiled in a dispute with business partner Toshiba Corp over plans to sell the Japanese firm''s prized semiconductor unit and is arguing that it should be given exclusive negotiating rights.The two firms operate four memory chip plants in Yokkaichi through their joint ventures. Their fifth plant is currently under construction.The amount of investment and a timeline for the plant''s construction have not been decided, the source said, who was not authorized to speak on the matter and declined to be identified.The source also said Western Digital CEO Stephen Milligan will visit Japan next week for talks with Toshiba to resolve the spat.A spokesman for Western Digital could not be immediately reached for comment.(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-western-digital-idUSKBN18S4EA'|'2017-06-01T13:15:00.000+03:00' +'c4d30e42ccafea8da9ffbb8c8bfd203beb97e6a8'|'Exclusive: Uber hires law firm to probe how it handled India rape case - source'|'Business News - Thu Jun 22, 2017 - 1:37pm EDT Exclusive: Uber hires law firm to probe how it handled India rape case - source An employee walks inside the office of ride-hailing service Uber in Gurugram, previously known as Gurgaon, on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, April 19, 2016. REUTERS/Anindito Mukherjee By Joseph Menn , Aditya Kalra and Heather Somerville - SAN FRANCISCO/NEW DELHI SAN FRANCISCO/NEW DELHI Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] has hired a law firm to investigate how it obtained the medical records of an Indian woman who was raped by an Uber driver in 2014. The review will focus in part on accusations from some current and former employees that bribes were involved, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The law firm O''Melveny & Myers LLP, which is in the early stages of the probe, was hired by the ride service after employees gave contradictory accounts of how Uber obtained the medical records, one of the people said. The firm is also exploring whether former Chief Executive Travis Kalanick knew how Uber came into possession of the records, the person added. Kalanick through a spokesman declined to comment. Uber also declined to comment, and O''Melveny & Myers did not respond to a request for comment. Members of Uber''s board were briefed about the investigation in recent days, shortly before five major Uber investors sent a letter to Kalanick to demand his resignation, said the person. The probe was likely one reason the board turned against Kalanick, who stepped down on Tuesday, the first person said. The investigation is ongoing and has not reached any conclusions on whether Uber improperly obtained the records. Reuters has no evidence that bribery occurred. The rape victim sued Uber last week, accusing the ride service operator of improperly obtaining and sharing her medical records. The suit said that shortly after the rape occurred, former Uber Asia chief Eric Alexander "met with Delhi police and intentionally obtained plaintiff''s confidential medical records." Alexander, through spokeswoman Heather Wilson, denied paying any bribes and said that the files containing the victim''s records had been obtained through appropriate, legal methods. A Delhi police spokesman did not answer multiple phone calls from Reuters to seek comment. The rapist was convicted in 2015. According to a person familiar with conversations between Kalanick and Alexander, the two executives had discussed obtaining the victim''s records because they suspected the rape might have been fabricated by an Uber rival to damage the company. Another person said Alexander showed the medical files to colleagues in New Delhi more than once. Wilson denied that Alexander had discussed or shared the records with colleagues. She said that Alexander believed the victim was raped and never expressed the view that it was a set up. Uber fired Alexander earlier this month. Kalanick, 40, announced late on Tuesday that he was resigning as chief executive, though he would remain on the board of Uber. He said he had accepted "the investors'' request to step aside so that Uber can go back to building rather than be distracted with another fight." Privately held Uber has grown from startup to a global ride service valued at $68 billion in less than a decade, driven by Kalanick, who set the tone of a company that challenged laws and norms to succeed. Confidence in Kalanick had been strained this year by claims of sexual harassment in the company and a lawsuit accusing Uber of benefiting from trade secrets stolen from self-driving car technology from Alphabet Inc''s Waymo. (Reporting by Joseph Menn and Heather Somerville in San Francisco, and Aditya Kalra in New Delhi; Additional reporting by Dan Levine; Writing by Peter Henderson; Editing by Tiffany Wu and Edward Tobin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-india-exclusive-idUSKBN19D2AY'|'2017-06-23T01:37:00.000+03:00' +'713d18edfcdd643c593c56b4e7ce214672c8e0f4'|'REFILE-UPDATE 1-Cable operator Altice USA raises $1.9 bln in IPO'|'(Fixes syntax in first sentence, no further changes to text)By Lauren Hirsch and Liana B. BakerJune 21 Altice USA Inc, the cable operator that Netherlands-based Altice NV formed by acquiring Cablevision and Suddenlink Communications, said on Wednesday it had raised $1.9 billion in an initial public offering.Taking Altice USA public will give Altice''s founder, French billionaire Patrick Drahi, traded shares in the company which he can then use as currency in new acquisitions in order to expand what is already the fourth-biggest U.S. cable provider.Altice USA priced 63.9 million shares at $30, within its indicated price range of $27 to $31, making it this year''s second largest U.S. IPO and giving the company a market capitalization of approximately $22 billion.There has only been one IPO of a U.S. cable company in the last five years, WideOpenWest Inc, which last month raised about $310 million in an IPO, pricing below its expected range.Most sizeable cable companies are already public. Those that are not often seek scale by being acquired rather than going public. Last month, private equity firm TPG Global LLC said it would buy Wave Broadband for $2.37 billion, to combine it with its existing investments, RCN Telecom Services LLC and Grande Communications Networks.A wave of dealmaking has swept the U.S. cable sector over the past few years, as consumers have dropped cable-providers in favor of internet streaming, forcing many companies in the sector to slash prices as they compete for subscribers.Some analysts have said that Altice USA could harbor ambitions to one day take on large acquisition targets such as Charter Communications Inc and privately held Cox Communications.Altice USA, which operates in 21 states, had $9.2 billion in pro forma annual revenue in 2016. It has said it plans to use IPO proceeds to pay down some of its roughly $21 billion in debt.Altice USA''s parent is a European and Israeli telecoms and cable empire that Drahi has built through debt-heavy acquisitions. It will hold 70.3 percent of Altice USA''s shares and 98.3 percent of the voting rights in the company thanks to a separate bundle of stock.Private equity firm BC Partners Ltd and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, two pre-existing minority investors in Altice USA, will jointly own a minority stake in the company.JPMorgan Chase & Co, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup Inc and Goldman Sachs Group Inc are joint bookrunners on the IPO.Altice USA will list on Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker ''ATUS''. (Reporting by Lauren Hirsch in New York and Liana B. Baker in San Francisco; Editing by Chris Reese and Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/altice-usa-ipo-idUSL1N1JI216'|'2017-06-22T02:32:00.000+03:00' +'135bd06740521f020a7ffb9ff1005d6c087c8f4e'|'Allianz expects loss of around $224 million from sale of OLB'|'Deals - Sun Jun 25, 2017 - 2:50pm EDT Allianz expects loss of around $224 million from sale of OLB FILE PHOTO: Flags with the logo of Allianz SE, Europe''s biggest insurer, are pictured before the company''s annual shareholders'' meeting in Munich, Germany May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle FRANKFURT German insurer Allianz ( ALVG.DE ) expects to book a loss of around 200 million euros ($224 million) from the sale of private bank Oldenburgische Landesbank ( OLBG.F ) to U.S. private equity firm Apollo ( APO.N ), it said on Sunday. Allianz announced late on Friday that it had agreed to sell its 90 percent stake in the bank, which was no longer of strategic importance, for 300 million euros. The insurer said the loss did not affect its profit outlook for the year, because it had already taken it into account. It added that the sale would improve its Solvency II ratio, and that this was one of the reasons for the move. (Reporting by Alexander Huebner; Writing by Georgina Prodhan; editing by Susan Thomas) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-allianz-oldburgsch-lds-loss-idUSKBN19G0UX'|'2017-06-26T02:43:00.000+03:00' +'647ca47f414b3d058ca1eb9b099a941f341d3009'|'Daihatsu plans compact cars in Brazil as Toyota thinks small to build better cars'|'* Minicar maker sees market for smaller cars in Brazil* Toyota looks to subsidiary for advice on making lower-cost cars* Toyota, Daihatsu still mulling India strategyTOKYO, June 14 Daihatsu Motors on Wednesday said it plans to launch compact cars in Brazil, as parent company Toyota Motor Corp looks to its minicar subsidiary to help it expand in emerging markets and produce lower-cost, quality vehicles.Toyota, the world''s No. 2 automaker, wants to apply its smaller partner''s expertise in affordable, reliable pint-sized cars to its own passenger models as it grapples with higher costs and stiff global competition to produce increasingly sophisticated cars."There''s a market for compact cars in markets like Brazil," Daihatsu President Soichiro Okudaira told reporters in Tokyo in comments for publication on Wednesday."Toyota sells similar models across Asia and South America, and Brazil has been an important market for models like the Corolla, although they were in a slightly larger class."Okudaira, chief engineer of the last two generations of Toyota''s Corolla series, was dispatched from Toyota earlier this month to lead Daihatsu. He declined to offer additional details on when or in what capacity the carmaker would expand in Brazil.Toyota has a market share of about 9 percent in Brazil, where it sells the Etios subcompact hatchback and the Corolla and Camry sedans, along with SUVs and trucks. Any expansion there will see it come up against market leaders FCA, General Motors Co, and Volkswagen AG.Brazil, a top-10 global market for cars, could be a tough market for expansion as a deepening recession and political uncertainty has sapped auto sales in recent years. The country posted total sales of about 2 million in 2016, having fallen sharply from 3.5 million in 2010.Daihatsu is Japan''s largest maker of minicars with engines no bigger than 660cc made specifically for the domestic market as a low-cost alternative to passenger cars. Toyota has already enlisted Daihatsu to help develop compact cars for emerging markets including India.Toyota President Akio Toyoda last month said he was betting on minicar technology to simplify the way it manufactures regular cars at lower cost. Toyota has set up in-house companies to specialise in small cars and emerging markets, which are big markets for smaller models.Okudaira said the two companies were still mulling their strategy for India and other emerging markets, including whether to launch compact cars under the Daihatsu or Toyota brands and securing a high-quality supply chain.Toyota has struggled to grow its market share at the affordable end of India''s car market, a sector dominated by domestic rival Suzuki Motor Corp. (Reporting by Maki Shiraki and Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Stephen Coates)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/daihatsu-strategy-idUSL8N1JA2A4'|'2017-06-14T14:00:00.000+03:00' +'33278c81a596433898222433f3645af95539a095'|'German shipping group Rickmers files for insolvency'|'HAMBURG, June 1 German shipping group Rickmers said it had filed for insolvency on Thursday, a day after it announced that its restructuring plan had failed to win approval of bondholder HSH Nordbank."The insolvency application was filed this morning, and the court has confirmed that it has received it," the company said in an e-mailed statement, adding that it could not yet predict further developments.Rickmers had proposed a revamp plan under which the equity stake of owner Bertram Rickmers was to be reduced to 24.9 percent, while bondholders, HSH Nordbank and potentially another bank would hold 75.1 percent.But it said late on Wednesday that HSH had "highly surprisingly" rejected that plan, forcing it to file for insolvency.(Reporting by Jan Schwartz; writing by Maria Sheahan; editing by Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/rickmers-restructuring-idINFWN1IY08Q'|'2017-06-01T08:07:00.000+03:00' +'6ad74e1be0ff69e94958686aa8e464471c0a358e'|'Hexagon holding early talks with rivals on possible sale: WSJ'|'STOCKHOLM Swedish measurement technology and software firm Hexagon AB ( HEXAb.ST ) has held talks on a possible sale to a U.S. or European rival which could value the company at about $20 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.The Journal said the talks between Hexagon and the potential buyers were at an early stage and that the company may ultimately decide not to pursue a sale.Hexagon has a current market value of around 130 billion Swedish crowns ($15 billion), and had sales of 3.1 billion euros ($3.47 billion) in 2016. It is aiming for sales of 4.6-5.1 billion euros by 2021.The company was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Reuters.According to the Journal, two factors were pushing Hexagon to consider a deal: an insider trading case against Chief Executive Ola Rollen and the bad health of Melker Schorling, whose firm is Hexagon''s main shareholder and who recently stepped down as Hexagon chairman.Rollen''s trial for insider trading in Norway, which relates to an investment that did not involve Hexagon, is expected to start in late October. Rollen denies wrongdoing.With Rollen at the helm, Hexagon has transformed from a sprawling conglomerate with a market value of a few billion crowns in 2000 into a 130 billion-crown global measurement technology market leader following a steady stream of acquisitions and high growth.In February the company made its biggest deal since 2010 by acquiring U.S.-based MSC Software in a $834 million deal to boost its product portfolio in automated manufacturing.(Reporting by Johannes Hellstrom)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-hexagon-ab-m-a-idUSKBN1942Y0'|'2017-06-14T02:10:00.000+03:00' +'e855eb40b8277d30ebdf39418eab85bcee66e8df'|'Russia''s Rosneft says to continue dispute with Sistema in court'|'Business News - Sat Jun 24, 2017 - 9:45am BST Russia''s Rosneft says to continue dispute with Sistema in court FILE PHOTO: The shadow of a worker is seen besdide the logo of the Rosneft oil company at an oil field in Russia, August 4, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo MOSCOW Russian oil major Rosneft ( ROSN.MM ) will continue court proceedings against Russian business conglomerate Sistema ( SSAq.L ) ( AFKS.MM ), Rosneft said on Saturday. Rosneft is suing Sistema for 170.6 billion roubles (2.2 billion pounds) in damages over the purchase of oil producer Bashneft ( BANE.MM ). Sistema proposed an out-of-court settlement with Rosneft last week. "There is no subject for comment. The document does not contain any proposals on resolving the dispute. We will continue the proceedings in court and we are waiting for the court decision," Rosneft said. Sistema said last week that the mechanism to resolve the dispute which it proposed would allow the results of the Bashneft reorganisation, and the financial consequences of this reorganisation for the oil company, to be evaluated out of court. (Reporting by Oksana Kobzeva; writing by Polina Devitt; Editing by Toby Chopra)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-sistema-rosneft-idUKKBN19F07J'|'2017-06-24T16:45:00.000+03:00' +'aeba7ccb05f78467e37a8fdf03a9fe20d31bbf6c'|'Chile''s miners eye expansion, but wait until political uncertainty lifts'|'Market News 26pm EDT Chile''s miners eye expansion, but wait until political uncertainty lifts By Fabian Cambero - SANTIAGO, June 28 SANTIAGO, June 28 Mining companies operating in Chile are examining restarting projects that were put on hold in recent years due to a copper price slump, the mining minister and industry executives said, though final investment decisions will wait until political uncertainty lifts after the November presidential elections. The price of copper, by far Chile''s most important export, started to slowly recover in October, after years of weak demand for the red metal. So far in 2017, prices have risen 7 percent, and analysts expect further increases as the copper market moves toward a deficit. That, in turn, is causing miners to slowly examine projects put on the back burner years ago when prices begin to slide from historic 2011 highs. "One perceives more movement from the projects that were, one way or another, delayed by price," Chilean Mining Minister Aurora Williams told Reuters in a recent interview. But even as prices rise, miners are wary of a relatively unsettled policy landscape in the South American country, various industry sources told Reuters in recent weeks. During the past three years, center-left President Michelle Bachelet has pushed through a series of reforms to the nation''s tax and labor code. While supporters say they have been necessary to lessen the nation''s biting inequality, many industry leaders say they are squeezing business, and new labor laws contributed to a massive strike at BHP Billiton''s Escondida mine earlier this year that led to $1 billion in lost production for the company. "[The reforms] have made the sector timid to announce new investments. There''s been a loss of confidence," said one high-ranking source in a foreign miner, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. While a business-friendly ex-president, Sebastian Pinera, is the favorite in the November presidential election, leftist independent Alejandro Guillier is close at his heels, and a win by him would unsettle the already-leery industry. MINERS LOOK, BUT DON''T LEAP In the meantime, miners are taking a gradual approach to any potential expansions. Former Antofagasta Minerals CEO Diego Hernandez, who now heads Chile''s mining industry body Sonami, said firms were eyeing expansion plans, though brick-and-mortar investments would probably be delayed until the second half of 2018. Canada''s Teck Resources, for instance, is taking steps in the permitting process for a potential $4.7 billion expansion at its Quebrada Blanca mine, while BHP has said it would analyze a $2.2 billion expansion of its Spence mine this August. U.S. miner Freeport-McMoRan and Chile''s state-run Codelco, meanwhile, are currently carrying out studies to determine the viability of a $5 billion expansion at their El Abra mine. Still, some projects that were shelved are unlikely to be revived any time soon. Proposed major expansions at Anglo American and Glencore''s Collahuasi mine and Antofagasta''s Los Pelambres, for instance, show no medium-term signs of going forward. (Reporting by Fabian Cambero; Writing by Gram Slattery; editing by Diane Craft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/chile-copper-investment-idUSL1N1JP130'|'2017-06-28T21:26:00.000+03:00' +'18e7139870280e4891ee7d440b63b67a5efa0de9'|'Chinese architect plans "garden city" in new economic zone'|' 21am BST Chinese architect plans "garden city" in new economic zone A woman and a girl walk toward the government building of Xiongxian county, one part of the new special economic zone Xiong''an New Area, Hebei province, China, April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee BEIJING The chief architect of China''s latest special economic zone said he expects to submit to the government by the end of this month a detailed proposal including plans for a high-tech garden city in one of the country''s most polluted provinces. The idea of developing the Xiongan New Area, about 100 km (60 miles) southwest of Beijing, was announced on April 1. The planned zone in Hebei province has been touted as having the same national significance as the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone that helped launch China''s economic transformation in 1980. "We estimate the proposal would be submitted to the central government for review by the end of June," Xu Kuangdi, chief adviser for the planning of the Xiongan economic zone, said at a forum on regional development in Beijing. All infrastructure in the zone, including transport, water and electricity, will be built underground to make room for green spaces and pedestrians, Xu said on Tuesday. Inter-city transport would be "ultra-convenient", with the commute between Xiongan and Beijing a mere 41-minute ride by high speed rail, he said. There are, however, still challenges, such as securing water supplies in such a dry area, reviving the ecology of the Baiyangdian lake, and ensuring the city is so smart and high-tech that it would "still be advanced in 100 years", a requirement set out by President Xi Jinping. "President Xi''s words have given us lots of pressure," Xu said. Xu said he was inspired by the planning of Paris, saying it was similar to the ideal envisioned by Chinese experts for Xiongan. Xiongan''s core area will be about 100 square kilometres and an "expanded area" of 1,000 square kilometres. (Reporting by Yawen Chen and Ryan Woo; Editing by Robert Birsel)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-xiongan-idUKKBN18Y10A'|'2017-06-07T17:21:00.000+03:00' +'0f4709bae34f6b5d58d4200859d0b8bff084c09a'|'Fujitsu says to reach agreement ''soon'' on integrating PC business with Lenovo'|' 9:29am EDT Fujitsu to reach agreement "soon" on integrating PC business with Lenovo left right A man uses his laptop next to Lenovo''s logos during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain February 25, 2016. REUTERS/Albert Gea 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: People are silhouetted against a screen displaying a logo of Fujitsu at CEATEC JAPAN 2012 electronics show in Chiba, east of Tokyo, October 2, 2012. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao/File Photo 2/2 By Yoshiyasu Shida - TOKYO TOKYO Japan''s Fujitsu Ltd ( 6702.T ) expects to reach an agreement "soon" on integrating its personal computer business with China''s Lenovo Group Ltd ( 0992.HK ), Fujitsu President Tatsuya Tanaka said Tuesday. Fujitsu said in October that it was in talks with Lenovo to cooperate in the design and manufacture of PCs. The companies had been aiming to finalize an agreement by the end of March. "We are in the final stages of working out how best to create synergies for our two companies," Tanaka said at a press conference on the company''s strategy. "We expect to wrap it up soon. "It''s not like something unexpected happened, but we are trying to discuss everything thoroughly," he said. The talks are unfolding at a time when sales of increasingly sophisticated smartphones and tablet computers squeeze demand in a global PC market that peaked half a decade ago. For Lenovo, the world''s largest PC maker, a deal could help boost its purchasing power and consolidate its footing in a PC market where profit margins are thin. Its previous PC deals included buying the PC division of International Business Machines Corp ( IBM.N ) in 2005 and creating a PC joint venture with NEC Corp ( 6701.T ) in 2011. "Details of any potential cooperation remain under discussion and there is no timeframe to communicate at this time," said Charlotte West, a spokeswoman for Lenovo. When asked on Tuesday about media reports that Fujitsu will join a Japanese government-led bidding consortium for struggling Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ), Tanaka said he was cautious about such a move and that it would be hard to convince Fujitsu shareholders of its merits. "We always want to be accountable to our shareholders for what we do and this is also the case. In that context I do not think we can make rational reasons why we want to join the consortium," he said. (Reporting by Yoshiyasu Shida; Writing by Junko Fujita; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Susan Fenton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-fujitsu-strategy-idUSKBN18X13P'|'2017-06-06T18:34:00.000+03:00' +'3214e2a4597990fd92ab9b4c6357b21b6695c50a'|'RBS to cut 443 jobs in UK, move many of them to India'|'Top News - Sun Jun 25, 2017 - 7:43pm BST RBS to cut 443 jobs in UK, move many of them to India FILE PHOTO: People walk past a Royal Bank of Scotland office in London, Britain, February 6, 2013. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo British lender Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ) is planning to cut 443 jobs dealing with business loans and many of them will move to India, the bank said. The Edinburgh-based bank said the cuts were part of a restructuring aimed at becoming a smaller bank."We realise this will be difficult news for staff and we will do everything we can to support those affected," the bank said in a statement. "All roles which require customer contact will remain in the UK."RBS, which is more than 70 percent state-owned, is in the midst of a major restructuring aimed at returning the bank to profit after almost a decade of straight years of losses. The bank was rescued with a 46 billion pound state bailout during the 2007-09 financial crisis. (Reporting by Andrew MacAskill in London; Additional reporting by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Adrian Croft) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-layoffs-rbs-idUKKBN19G0U2'|'2017-06-26T02:36:00.000+03:00' +'f07279fc0bca45016b72780f928941b06f38ffdc'|'U.S. Supreme Court and top patent court rarely see eye to eye'|'WASHINGTON The U.S. Supreme Court''s unanimous backing on Monday of a ruling by the country''s top patent court was a rare instance of agreement with a body whose decisions in that specialized area it regularly overturns.Tellingly, Monday''s decision related to trademarks, not patents. Since its term began last October, the Supreme Court has thrown out all six patent-related decisions by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which was set up to handle such cases.Since 2014, the high court has upheld the patent court in only two of 16 patent cases, a Reuters review showed.The lack of agreement between the high court and the patent court reflects a basic conflict at the top of the U.S. legal system over intellectual property rights, which are critical to many industries.The high court''s pattern on patent law is part of a wider trend, under Chief Justice John Roberts, of the court siding with business in legal disputes that come before it.Business interests have won a string of victories in the current term, which is scheduled to end next week.Through its repeated reversals of the patent court, the Supreme Court is making it harder to sue companies using patents. That helps major technology firms such as Google, Apple and Samsung, all frequent targets of patent infringement lawsuits by "patent trolls."Other industries, including drug and medical diagnostics companies, have warned against weaker patent rights."The patent system has been weakened, and as far as I''m concerned the Supreme Court is unaware of that," said Paul Michel, who retired as Federal Circuit chief judge in 2010.Michel said the high court''s decisions had created huge uncertainty for companies and investors over patent rights and could affect research and development and innovation.Reached by Reuters, a representative for the Federal Circuit declined to comment.The Supreme Court''s patent cases this term have been significant, including one involving Apple and Samsung over smartphones. In that case, the justices said the Federal Circuit misinterpreted the law on design patents.In another major case, the Supreme Court repudiated a 27-year-old Federal Circuit precedent and tightened where patent lawsuits may be filed, a blow to the "trolls," or entities that generate revenue by suing over patents."Its pretty safe to say that it''s one of the most impactful decisions of the term," said Allyson Ho, a business lawyer, at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event on Friday.In an exception that perhaps proves the rule, the high court on Monday upheld the Federal Circuit''s decision to strike down a law that prevents disparaging names from being trademarked. The Federal Circuit also handles some trademark cases.CONDESCENDING TONEThe justices have sometimes adopted a condescending tone toward the Federal Circuit''s patent rulings.During arguments in a 2014 case, Roberts suggested the Federal Circuit was failing at streamlining patent law, one of the reasons for its creation in 1982.Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito wrote in an opinion that same year that the Federal Circuit "fundamentally misunderstands what it means to infringe" certain patents.When the patent court was founded, the judges "saw their mission as making patents stronger, and the Supreme Court thought it went too far and started to reel them in," said Rochelle Dreyfuss, a professor of law at New York University who has studied the court. "Now the question is whether the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction."She said the patent court was doing a better job explaining its rulings. It recently seated several new judges, and Sharon Prost, viewed as less pro-patent than her predecessor, became chief judge in 2014.Duke University law professor Arti Rai said the high court seemed to disapprove of treating patent law differently from other areas of law.The situation could spark further debate over the future trajectory of the specialist court, Rai said. For several years, attorneys, judges and professors have sparred over whether the court should retain exclusive control over patent cases.Some observers note that other appeals courts also go through periods of high reversal rates.Carter Phillips, who frequently argues patent cases, said that since the Federal Circuit was the sole appeals court to decide patent issues, the Supreme Court was more likely to review only those rulings it thinks are wrong.(Additional reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Peter Cooney)A general view of the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, U.S., November 15, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Barria'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-patents-idUSKBN19A34I'|'2017-06-20T07:51:00.000+03:00' +'09bcfb0443158d600355d05f5825c4001e64be81'|'UK''s Imagination Tech up for sale after battle with Apple'|'Deals - Americas 6:56pm IST Imagination Tech up for sale after bruising Apple fight left right The headquarters of technology company Imagination Technologies is seen on the outskirts of London, Britain, June 22, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay 1/7 left right The headquarters of technology company Imagination Technologies is seen on the outskirts of London, Britain, June 22, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay 2/7 left right The headquarters of technology company Imagination Technologies is seen on the outskirts of London, Britain, June 22, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay 3/7 left right The headquarters of technology company Imagination Technologies is seen on the outskirts of London, Britain, June 22, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay 4/7 left right The headquarters of technology company Imagination Technologies is seen on the outskirts of London, Britain, June 22, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay 5/7 left right The headquarters of technology company Imagination Technologies is seen on the outskirts of London, Britain, June 22, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay 6/7 left right The headquarters of technology company Imagination Technologies is seen on the outskirts of London, Britain, June 22, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay 7/7 By Kate Holton - LONDON LONDON Imagination Technologies, the British firm that lost 70 percent of its value after being ditched by its biggest customer Apple, put itself up for sale on Thursday in a disappointing end to a once-great European tech success story. Founded in 1985 and listed in 1994, Imagination has been rocked by Apple''s announcement in April that it was developing its own graphics chips and would no longer use Imagination''s processing designs in 15 months to two years time. Apple''s decision, which analysts said posed an existential threat to the company, sent Imagination''s shares plummeting 70 percent on April 3 and they have barely recovered since. The stock jumped as much as 21 percent on Thursday, however, after the sale announcement to 149.5 pence, giving the company a market capitalization of 425 million pounds ($538 million). Analysts said potential buyers could include Intel, Qualcomm, Mediatek, CEVA and various entities from China, while Apple itself could be interested. "Imagination Technologies announces that over the last few weeks it has received interest from a number of parties for a potential acquisition of the whole group," the company said. "The board of Imagination has therefore decided to initiate a formal sale process for the group and is engaged in preliminary discussions with potential bidders." Imagination has said it doubted Apple, which accounts for about half of its sales, could go it alone without violating Imagination''s patents. Analysts said legal battles were likely and Imagination started a dispute resolution procedure in May with the U.S. giant, which is valued at $761 billion. The British company initially responded to Apple''s decision to walk away by putting two of its main divisions up for sale. "That was a pretty dire scenario, akin to selling off the family silver to keep the estate going a little longer," said Neil Wilson, Senior Market Analyst, ETX Capital. "Now the shutters are up and a buyer sought. A pretty ignominious end to what was a great British tech success story." APPLE RELIANCE Imagination has licensed its processing designs to Apple from the time of the first iPod and receives a small royalty on every device using its graphics. Imagination''s shares rose sharply between 2009 and 2012 as sales of smartphones boomed, prompting Apple and Intel to buy stakes and the company was valued at more than 2 billion pounds in April 2012. Apple owns 8 percent of the shares. Imagination struggled, however, to reduce its reliance on Apple, and has faced increased competition from the likes of chipmaker Qualcomm and British rival ARM, which developed its own graphics to complement its core processor blueprints. Imagination downplayed fears it could lose Apple contract for years. Facing reports that Apple was building a graphics operation and hiring Imagination staff, the British firm told investors that Apple was just improving its customization of the technology Imagination sold, rather than replacing it. Analysts at Stifel said they thought interested parties could include those groups that want to develop their own processing technology across platforms such as mobile, wearable tech, vehicles and the so-called Internet of Things. "This could include a coordinated Chinese bid, a hyper-scale vendor from the cloud or some other IP player," they said. Imagination said on Thursday it had received indicative proposals for its embedded MIPS technology - processors used in vehicles and home appliances - and its mobile connectivity division Ensigma, the two businesses put up for sale in the wake of the slide in its shares. While Imagination has other clients for its technology, UBS analysts estimated in April that its non-Apple business was worth just 81 million pounds and the MIPS division, which it bought for $100 million in 2013, was worth 77 million pounds. UBS said the company could be worth 110 pence per share on a sum of the parts basis. In May, Jefferies said the wind up value was about 96 pence a share while Morgan Stanley said the company could be worth as little as 106 million pounds, or just 30 pence per share, though its base case was 95 pence. The U.S. investment bank said Imagination''s headquarters was worth 40 million pounds. (Additional reporting by Tom Bergin and Tenzin Pema; editing by David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-imagination-tech-apple-sale-idINKBN19D0H8'|'2017-06-22T04:37:00.000+03:00' +'e20218f577f892ac869254230aa16a4c3c7e1f2b'|'UPDATE 1-South Africa''s Naspers lifts FY profit, Tencent robust'|'(Adds details, shares)JOHANNESBURG, June 23 South African e-commerce and pay-TV giant Naspers reported a 41 percent jump annual profit on Friday as strong results from its Chinese money spinner Tencent offset weak performances from its pay-TV and other e-commerce ventures.Founded in 1915, Naspers has transformed itself from an apartheid-era newspaper publisher into a $85 billion multinational with private equity-style investments e-commerce platforms such as auction sites, online retail and e-classifieds.But it owes much of that valuation to its 33 percent Tencent stake, which is worth about $114 billion rand, or 20 percent more than Naspers itself. The discount has prompted some investors to urge Chief Executive Bob van Dyk to find ways to narrow it.Naspers, South Africa''s biggest company by market value, said core headline earnings totalled $1.8 billion, or 406 cents per share, compared with $1.2 billion, or 298 cents per share, a year earlier.Core headline EPS is Naspers'' main profit measure that strips out non-operational and one-off items.Naspers said its e-commerce division, which excludes Tencent and houses assets such as OLX, the biggest classifieds sites in India and Brazil, widened losses to $682 million from $648 million."During the 2018 financial year the group will keep scaling its commerce businesses to drive profitability and cash generation," the company said.Naspers has ploughed around $4 billion since 2012 into the business to drive growth mainly in e-commerce platforms and reduce its dependence on Tencent and pay-TV, which thrives in South Africa but faces headwinds elsewhere.Shares in Naspers rose 2.18 percent to 2,627 rand at 1355 GMT. (Reporting by Nqobile Dludla and Tiisetso Motsoeneng, editing by David Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/naspers-results-idINL8N1JK33N'|'2017-06-23T12:05:00.000+03:00' +'9b5b6d72556943a8964b95cfa67a6cfdd0383e3f'|'Britain, France to join forces to combat online extremism - May'|'World News - Mon Jun 12, 2017 - 5:36pm EDT Britain, France to join forces to combat online extremism: May Britain''s Prime Minister Theresa May leaves Downing Street in London, June 12, 2017. REUTERS/Hannak McKay LONDON Britain and France will join forces to press companies to do more to tackle online extremism, Prime Minister Theresa May will say on Tuesday, her first foreign trip since her Conservative Party lost its majority in a parliamentary election. After winning support from the Conservatives to stay on as prime minister after Thursday''s election, May heads to France, wanting to repair her authority and possibly to bask in the popularity of Emmanuel Macron, who last month swept to victory in a presidential contest. May will also want to raise Britain''s talks to leave the European Union, which have been put in doubt since her governing Conservative Party suffered the setback in the election and now needs to strike a deal with a small Northern Irish party. But her spokesman said the two leaders will focus on counter-terrorism, and return to May''s election campaign pledge to tackle online extremism following two attacks in as many weeks in Manchester and London that killed 30 people. "The counter-terrorism cooperation between British and French intelligence agencies is already strong, but President Macron and I agree that more should be done to tackle the terrorist threat online," May will say, according to her office. She will add that the measures to "encourage corporations to do more and abide by their social responsibility" could include "creating a new legal liability for tech companies if they fail to remove unacceptable content". It was not clear how much further their talks would build on discussions at a meeting of the G7 most industrialized nations last month, where the leaders agreed to do more to purge extremist content. Internet firms, such as Google and Twitter, say they are investing heavily and employing thousands of people to take down hate speech and violent content on their platforms, with evidence their efforts are working. But the companies say they also struggle to identify replacement accounts that quickly reappear. After two Islamist attacks in less than two weeks, May''s bid to clamp down on internet extremism has struck a chord with international leaders especially Macron, whose country has suffered several jihadist attacks since 2015. "(At the G7) they had a very good conversation on how they could work together in order to make social media companies do more to address the fact their platforms are used to spread extremism," May''s spokesman said. "I would expect that conversation to continue tomorrow." (Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Angus MacSwan) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-politics-france-idUSKBN1932JT'|'2017-06-13T05:30:00.000+03:00' +'06ea96e2cd39ce97fe9be38488e85ce5157660a2'|'China''s Dalian Wanda Group denies ''rumors'' of bond sales'|'Business News - Thu Jun 22, 2017 - 1:13am EDT China''s Dalian Wanda Group denies ''rumors'' of bond sales Wang Jianlin of Dalian Wanda Group gives a speech at a university in Beijing, China May 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer BEIJING China''s Dalian Wanda Group Co denied as "malicious speculation" that some Chinese banks had ordered the sale of its bonds, the company said in a statement on Thursday. Wanda Group, controlled by billionaire Wang Jianlin, called the speculation "rumors", and said it was operating normally. Wanda-issued bonds traded on the Shanghai Stock Exchange dropped 1.8 percent on Thursday, and shares in Wanda Film Holding Co ( 002739.SZ ) fell 10 percent, before they were suspended on the Shenzhen bourse. (Reporting By Matthew Miller; Editing by Himani Sarkar) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-wanda-idUSKBN19D0EB'|'2017-06-22T13:13:00.000+03:00' +'8b4b387df5f5f3c13bac540e43cf3fedc2345a57'|'''It makes little sense'': view from frontline of Italy''s broadband war'|'* Telecom Italia and Enel division race to wire up nation* Battle driving up costs, infrastructure duplicated* Echoes Australian overspend where operators took big losses* Italy has among the slowest internet speeds in Europe* Graphic-Global broadband speeds: tmsnrt.rs/2oqZDQVBy Stephen Jewkes and Agnieszka FlakPERUGIA, Italy, June 28 In Perugia, crews from Telecom Italia (TIM) and Enel''s rival broadband divisions have been working side by side, digging cable trenches along the same roads, sometimes inches apart.At times, hundreds of workers vied for space across the medieval Umbrian city, the first battleground between the corporate heavyweights as they race to roll out superfast broadband networks across Italy.The contest to install fiber-optic cables across a country with among the lowest internet speeds in Europe is still in its early stages, but it is already shaping up to be one of the fiercest European telecom battles for years.This is likely to benefit domestic and business customers by keeping down prices, but it is testing the financial commitment and muscle of both companies, which are being forced to expand their original rollout ambitions, driving up costs.Since being launched last year, Open Fiber (OF), the broadband unit owned by Enel and state lender CDP, has more than doubled its planned investments to 6.5 billion euros ($7.4 billion), added more cities to its rollout and also included rural areas under a state-subsidised scheme.Phone group TIM said in March it would reach 95 percent of Italy''s population with ultrafast broadband by mid 2018 - almost two years ahead of its original schedule.The concern, according to industry experts, is that the race to get there first, in Perugia and beyond, could lead to a mutually damaging war where both firms lose money and infrastructure is duplicated across the country."It''s house by house combat and we''re all rushing to plant the flag first," said a person involved in one of the rollouts, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. "It makes absolutely no sense: we are digging and opening up buildings twice and all we needed was some sort of collaboration."The battle mirrors one of the most infamous overspends in telecoms history. During the 1990s internet boom in Australia, dominant carrier Telstra and new rival Optus rolled out separate networks, often wiring up the same homes.By duplicating the Optus network, Telstra''s defensive move effectively killed the economics of its rival''s plan but it was a Pyrrhic victory: Telstra and Optus both took heavy losses, writing a total of more than $2 billion off their investments.The duplication of infrastructure in Perugia might serve commercial and competitive purposes, though not a practical one given fiber-optic cable, unlike copper wire, has practically unlimited capacity."We''re happy because we now have a choice but I realise having two parallel networks doesn''t make much sense," said city manager Francesco Calabrese, part of a team that traipsed around Italy for a year to campaign for companies to digitalise Perugia.It was that effort that made Perugia OF''s first port of call.RULED ROOSTThe Rome government has long been pushing for an all-fiber optic network to be rolled out to boost productivity across a country with the lowest take-up of fixed broadband in Europe.For years it had accused TIM of acting too slowly to upgrade its ageing copper network to fiber and publicly backed state-controlled Enel to do the job instead.TIM''s reluctance was premised on the belief that the demand was not there to justify over-ambitious investments. It has focused more on cabling fiber to street cabinets - junction boxes - rather than homes, which is less costly and faster, and using alternative technologies over the last mile of copper.The struggle goes beyond corporate Italy as TIM''s biggest shareholder is French media conglomerate Vivendi, which has made no secret of its desire to use the Italian firm to help it create a southern European media empire.TIM has much at stake: it owns almost all of Italy''s wholesale market - selling access to retail telecom operators, who sell it on to consumers - and has ruled the roost for years.This business brings in about 2 billion euros a year - a significant chunk of its overall Italian revenues of 15 billion, and one which the heavily-indebted group can ill afford to lose.Morgan Stanley estimates TIM could lose a third of the 2 billion euros by 2022 as a result of the competition from OF.Retail operators such as Vodafone, Wind Tre and Tiscali are already warming up to the new infrastructure entrant."Like all other telecom operators, we want to wean ourselves off TIM, gain full control of our customers and boost our profitability," said Riccardo Ruggiero, CEO of Tiscali.STAKES RISINGIn Perugia, the population is already benefiting from jumping from the web slow lane to the expressway.IT specialist Luca Braconi is now able to stream Netflix movies without any hiccups after Enel cabled up his home with a new super-fast link.TIM will soon be laying its own 1 gigabyte cable under the cobbled streets of Perugia''s centre, but Braconi says his loyalties are with Enel for now."Enel got there first and I like what I''ve got. I''m not going to change for the sake of saving a few euros," he said.With the stakes rising and no obvious winner, the gloves are off. TIM is running more fiber past street cabinets into homes. OF is wooing banks to address concerns about its ability to stay the course.Both are competing to secure critical permits first.The row ratcheted higher last week when the government said TIM had gone back on its word not to invest in rural areas, undermining Rome''s efforts to tender them out using state subsidies and threatening the economics of OF''s project there.Industry and political sources said the two companies might ultimately have to join forces if losses become too painful, suggesting TIM could potentially spin off its network and merge it with OF or else buy out its smaller rival.Rome is already using its sway to get the two companies to reach a compromise, one industry ministry source said."They need to agree to build just one network or otherwise it''ll turn into a battlefield and the only thing battlefields throw up are dead," a person involved in the roll-out said.($1 = 0.8797 euros)(Editing by Pravin Char)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/italy-broadband-race-idINL8N1JJ4DY'|'2017-06-28T12:30:00.000+03:00' +'5d0444aa6af3eacf0a892023743b05db5d75faeb'|'Not another financial crisis in ''our lifetimes'' - Fed''s Yellen'|'Business 7:17pm BST Not another financial crisis in ''our lifetimes'': Fed''s Yellen left right The Federal Reserve Board Chairwoman Janet Yellen speaks during a discussion at The British Academy President''s Lecture in London, Britain, June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay 1/6 left right The Federal Reserve Board Chairwoman Janet Yellen speaks during a discussion at The British Academy President''s Lecture in London, Britain, June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay 2/6 left right The Federal Reserve Board Chairwoman Janet Yellen speaks during a discussion with the President of the British Academy Nicholas Stern during The British Academy President''s Lecture in London, Britain, June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay 3/6 left right The Federal Reserve Board Chairwoman Janet Yellen speaks during a discussion at The British Academy President''s Lecture in London, Britain, June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay 4/6 left right The Federal Reserve Board Chairwoman Janet Yellen speaks during a discussion at The British Academy President''s Lecture in London, Britain, June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay 5/6 left right The Federal Reserve Board Chairwoman Janet Yellen speaks during a discussion with the President of the British Academy Nicholas Stern during The British Academy President''s Lecture in London, Britain, June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay 6/6 LONDON U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said on Tuesday that she does not believe that there will be a run on the banking system at least as long as she lives. "Would I say there will never, ever be another financial crisis? You know probably that would be going too far but I do think we''re much safer and I hope that it will not be in our lifetimes and I don''t believe it will be," Yellen said at an event in London. (Reporting by William Schomberg and Marc Jones in London; Additional reporting by Jason Lange and Lindsay Dunsmuir in Washington; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-yellen-idUKKBN19I2I5'|'2017-06-28T02:13:00.000+03:00' +'ec6559036c18c1299f473fc40f41207d3fba2c90'|'MOVES-Barclays hires ex-Goldman trader Anche for quant role'|'Market News 7:59am EDT MOVES-Barclays hires ex-Goldman trader Anche for quant role By Steve Slater LONDON, June 15 (IFR) - Barclays has hired Asita Anche, a former Goldman Sachs trader, to a new position as head of cross-asset quantitative trading, a person close to the matter said. Anche will be based in London and join as a managing director in the markets business in July, the source said. Barclays has said it will selectively hire in its investment bank as part of a push by Tim Throsby, the new head of Barclays International, which includes the investment bank, to increase revenues. (Reporting by Steve Slater) FOREX-Sterling surges after BoE vote swing, Fed expectations lift dollar LONDON, June 15 Sterling surged over a full cent on Thursday following signs of a shift in the Bank of England''s stance on keeping UK interest rates at record lows, while the Federal Reserve''s sticking to expectations of further rises lifted the dollar. No need for EU mandate to negotiate Nord Stream 2-Merkel BERLIN, June 15 German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday she saw no need for a separate mandate for the European Commission to negotiate with Russia over its objection to the divisive Nord Stream 2 pipeline project to pump more Russian gas to Europe. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/moves-barclays-hires-ex-goldman-trader-a-idUSL8N1JC335'|'2017-06-15T19:59:00.000+03:00' +'7ff259c0e3040c52944e2366823624a4e6f87784'|'FTSE wallows at one-week low as energy weighs; Imagination tech rockets'|'Top News - Thu Jun 22, 2017 - 5:37pm BST Pharma, gold miners cushion losses on FTSE; Imagination Tech rockets People walk through the lobby of the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain November 30, 2015. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett By Kit Rees - LONDON LONDON A rise in defensive health care stocks and precious metals miners helped pick the FTSE 100 up from a one-week low as oil prices eased, while small cap Imagination Tech soared after putting itself up for sale. The blue chip FTSE 100 .FTSE index reduced losses gradually to end just 0.1 percent lower at 7,439.29 points, while mid cap peers also closed 0.1 percent lower. Health stock Shire ( SHP.L ) was the top gainer, up 3.7 percent after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) validated its Veyvondi drug which prevents bleeding. "With a string of positive clinical news flow, we do see Shires share price as an anomaly compared to peers, trading highly inexpensive. Shire features on several of our promotion lists, including the health care most favoured list," analysts at Credit Suisse said in a note. Peers GlaxoSmithKline ( GSK.L ) and AstraZeneca ( AZN.L ) both gained around 2 percent. Safe-haven precious metals miners Fresnillo ( FRES.L ) and Randgold ( RRS.L ) were also in demand as the price of gold rose. [GOL] Heavyweight oil firms BP ( BP.L ) and Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ), which had put the most pressure on the index earlier in the session, reduced losses to trade flat as oil prices edged up from multi-month lower. [O/R] "Oil has fallen back to levels not seen since mid-November 2016, and traders are worried it could bring about low inflation and diminished growth," David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said. Financials took the most points off the index, with Barclays ( BARC.L ) down 2.1 percent as cyclical stocks came under pressure. United Utilities was the biggest faller, dropping more than 4 percent as its shares traded without entitlement to their latest dividend payout. Shares in bruised Provident Financial ( PFG.L ) were up 3.6 percent, however, recovering a fraction of their heavy 17.6 percent loss in the previous session after the subprime lender had issued a profit warning. Outside of the blue chips, small cap constituent Imagination Technologies ( IMG.L ) jumped as much as 21 percent after putting itself up for sale. The tech firm has struggled ever since Apple, its biggest customer, said in April that it would develop its own graphics chips, sending its shares more than 60 percent lower in the immediate aftermath. It ended the session up 16.4 percent. "Without Apple we are not convinced of the long term viability of the business model," analysts at N+1 Singer said in a note. "The stock remains firmly in special situation territory, but given the likelihood of an offer emerging we move our recommendation to ''Hold''." (Reporting by Kit Rees; Editing by Alison Williams and Richard Balmforth) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks-idUKKBN19D11M'|'2017-06-22T17:54:00.000+03:00' +'fdae9722147f4f28e4f0dcaa2f18c1365cb077dd'|'Moody''s downgrade of Australian banks won''t raise funding costs - analysts'|'Business News - Tue Jun 20, 2017 - 2:01am BST Moody''s downgrade of Australian banks won''t raise funding costs: analysts By Jamie Freed - SYDNEY SYDNEY A credit ratings downgrade of Australia''s biggest banks by Moody''s Investor Service is not expected to raise their funding costs because the new rating is in line with other ratings agencies, banking analysts said. Moody''s on Monday downgraded the four largest Australian banks to a long-term credit rating of Aa3 from Aa2, citing risks from high household debt levels after sharp property price rises. The new rating is in line with the long-term AA- credit rating that Commonwealth Bank of Australia ( CBA.AX ), Westpac Banking Corp ( WBC.AX ), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd and National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB) ( NAB.AX ) have from Standard & Poor''s and Fitch Ratings. "Given this downgrade merely brings the major banks'' credit ratings under Moody''s to the equivalent notches under S&P and Fitch, we expect no impact on funding costs," Deutsche Bank analysts said in a note to clients published on Monday. However, the analysts said there was still a risk that S&P would downgrade the major banks due to a sovereign ratings downgrade or a reduction in government support, which could lift long-term funding costs by around 10 basis points. S&P revised its outlook on the major banks to negative last July but it did not downgrade them when it lowered ratings on 23 smaller lenders in May based on expectations the government would support the big banks if needed. Bell Potter analyst TS Lim said the government''s introduction of a new 6 basis points tax on certain liabilities to help return the budget to a surplus made it appear even more likely that the banks would be bailed out in the event of a crisis. "Given that, the ratings look pretty safe for the time being," he said. Both houses of Australian parliament on Monday voted in favor of a tax on four biggest banks and Macquarie Group Ltd ( MQG.AX ) designed to raise $4.6 billion over the first four years. The banks have criticized the tax as unfair and argued that foreign rivals should be included to level the playing field. A Senate committee on Monday recommended the bank tax should be reviewed in two years and possibly waived in times of financial distress, but Treasurer Scott Morrison on Tuesday rejected those arguments. "There''s no need to do any of those things," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. Moody''s also downgraded the New Zealand subsidiaries of the Australian banks in line with their parents. The banks have acknowledged the ratings downgrade but have not commented any further. Bank shares opened flat on Tuesday in line with the broader market. (Reporting by Jamie Freed; Additional reporting by Sonali Paul in MELBOURNE; Editing by Stephen Coates and Edwina Gibbs)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-australia-banks-idUKKBN19A339'|'2017-06-20T09:01:00.000+03:00' +'cc6d93dd6ebc0a3c601de0a32b04f888d235350c'|'Saab expects talks to supply jets to Bulgaria to start within months'|'Market 31am EDT Saab expects talks to supply jets to Bulgaria to start within months SOFIA, June 14 Sweden''s Saab expects to enter into talks with Bulgaria in a few months to supply it with new Gripen fighter jets, a company executive said on Wednesday. The previous interim government in Sofia had said talks should start with Sweden for the purchase of eight Gripen aircraft, but current Prime Minister Boyko Borissov has cast doubts on whether Sofia should rush into a deal, estimated at 1.5 billion levs ($860 million). The defence ministry, looking to replace ageing MiG-29 aircraft, had picked the Swedish jet over an offer from Portugal and the United States for second-hand U.S. F-16s and an Italian offer of second-hand Eurofighter Typhoons. "What we hope and expect is that we would be called to negotiate ... probably after the summer break," Magnus Lewis-Olsson, Saab''s head of Europe, told reporters in Sofia. "If Bulgaria wants their aircraft in quite quickly then obviously we hope negotiations (are going) to start soon because we''ve got to build the aircraft as well," he said. Bulgarian officials say the country, a member of the European Union and NATO, should move ahead simultaneously with buying new ships and armoured vehicles for its army, and that would require significant financial resources. Lewis-Olsson said Saab was ready to discuss different financing options, including payments over a long period, and would be prepared to provide about 4 fighter jets in 18 months upon signing. "This is something that is going to last for 40 years, it is a cost for a country for a long time, so we are prepared to discuss how we finance it," he said. Last month Saab, which has provided Gripen warplanes to Hungary and the Czech Republic, said it hoped Croatia could enter the market for fighter jets soon and that it would hold talks with Slovakia over new aircraft. ($1 = 1.7443 leva) (Reporting by Tsvetelia Tsolova; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/saab-bulgaria-gripen-idUSL8N1JB1ES'|'2017-06-14T20:31:00.000+03:00' +'d249359a3188b12c0d7440376c92c8a077dbe2aa'|'Battery storage and rooftop solar could mean new life post-grid for consumers - Guardian Sustainable Business'|'To illustrate the impact of battery storage on the electricity network in Australia, Prof Guoxiu Wang likes to compare it to the invention of refrigeration.Before people invented the fridge, we produced food, we consumed food immediately, says Wang, director of the Centre for Clean Energy Technology at the University of Technology, Sydney. With the development of appropriate electricity storage technology, the electricity is like our food you can store it and whenever you need that electricity, you can use that immediately.Batteries as a means to store electricity are nothing new. But with solar photovoltaic units now found on 16.5% of Australian residential roofs , battery storage has stepped into the big league. What was once viewed as an add-on to solar photovoltaic is now driving a revolution in the energy sector and turning the concept of a national electricity grid upside down.The chief scientist Dr Alan Finkels report on the future of the national electricity market gives a glimpse of how profound this change will be. The report cites data suggesting that by 2050, 30% to 45% of annual electricity consumption (pdf p62) could be supplied by consumer-owned generators; namely, rooftop solar photovoltaic and battery storage.This represents a huge opportunity for consumers, and a huge challenge for electricity providers.Business is leading the transition to renewables while politicians dither Read moreFor consumers, rooftop solar and battery storage combined are now affordable enough that the electricity industry is seeing a rise in what a McKinsey & Company report calls partial grid defection (pdf) . This is the scenario where, instead of rooftop solar owners selling their excess solar power back to the grid, they are using batteries to store that power for later use. This creates a new opportunity for households and businesses to effectively play the electricity market, says a senior expert at McKinsey & Company and report co-author, Amy Wagner.In a classic net energy metering environment, where you get paid the same dollars per kilowatt hour if youre using it in your house or if youre exporting it to the grid, youre paid all the same price; you dont need storage the grid is your storage, Wagner says.But as these feed-in tariffs change and they vary from state to state in Australia a new opportunity presents for rooftop solar owners.Then you start creating a market for storage that didnt exist before, because it has an arbitrage opportunity; you arbitrage between the retail rate for what they get to reduce their own consumption and the retail rate that they get to export.That means excess energy can be sold back to the grid during peak demand and therefore peak dollar. Equally, batteries can be charged directly from the grid during low demand, when electricity is at its cheapest.This could also change the playing field for industries particularly those that use a lot of electricity during peak periods.Those industries with high demand charges and peaky loads can be very attractive for storage because you can move those hours to another portion of their day, Wagner says.This partial grid defection model of combined rooftop solar and battery storage also offers an insurance policy against future electricity price rises; something that Emlyn Keane the chief executive of the energy services company Evergen - says is motivating a significant number of customers to invest in rooftop solar and battery storage.How Australia can use hydrogen to export its solar power around the world Read moreOur highest take-up is 55+ years, and thats because power prices are the number one concern as to whether my supers going to be adequate, Keane says. Were saying you can invest now while youre still working, pay it off, and your bills will be 80% less than they would otherwise be.The chief scientists energy blueprint referenced the scenario of partial grid defection, saying that consumers both residential and industrial need to be financially rewarded for managing demand and sharing their energy resources such as solar panels and battery storage.Does this mean a full grid defection scenario in which households rely entirely on rooftop solar, battery storage and a small generator is likely? Do grids even have a future?Some electricity providers are already looking to this question. Ergon Energy Queensland, with funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, is trialling a new model of centrally controlled residential rooftop solar and battery storage to create what it calls a virtual power plant at three sites in Queensland. The idea is to see whether such a system can be used to manage the supply of renewable energy into the grid, manage demand and therefore manage the periods of peak load on the network.The McKinsey & Company report suggests full grid defection is not now economical, and Wagner believes the grid will continue to have value.But there will need to be changes made by the utilities to make the grid leaner, modernisation technology that they need to put in to optimise against the distributed generation profiles; a different way of operating the grid.Topics Guardian sustainable business Innovations in renewables Energy (Australia news) Energy (Environment) Energy storage Energy (Technology) Technology startups features Share Reuse this content'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/jun/13/battery-storage-and-rooftop-solar-could-mean-new-life-post-grid-for-consumers'|'2017-06-13T08:51:00.000+03:00' +'a3d64ea76726288328cf1be65a576313eb73ef84'|'U.S. dollar net longs fall to lowest in about a year -CFTC, Reuters'|' 12pm EDT U.S. dollar net longs fall to lowest in about a year -CFTC, Reuters NEW YORK, June 30 Speculators cut net long positions on the U.S. dollar to the lowest level in nearly a year, according to calculations by Reuters and Commodity Futures Trading Commission data released on Friday. The value of the dollar''s net long position fell to $4.50 billion in the week ended June 27, from $7.82 billion the previous week, and the lowest since the first week of July last year. Euro net longs, meanwhile, rose in the latest week, CFTC data showed. (Reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) UPDATE 1-Connecticut governor to control spending after budget fails to pass NEW YORK, June 30 Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy took control of the state''s spending on Friday after lawmakers failed to pass a budget before a July 1 deadline due to discord over how to close a $5.1 billion shortfall over the next two years. Big Food hungry for meal kits, despite Blue Apron IPO flop June 30 The downsized initial public offering of Blue Apron Holdings Inc, the first U.S. meal-kit company to go public, may have disappointed venture capital investors, but food companies with stakes in the sector may still see returns in the form of insight into changing eating habits. '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/cftc-forex-idUSL1N1JR1NG'|'2017-06-30T23:12:00.000+03:00' +'4781151d8dd71eca2bdf310fb5cba7bbace38164'|'Banks'' preparations for Brexit need to improve - ECB, BoE'|' 1:43pm BST Banks'' preparations for Brexit need to improve - ECB, BoE left right Rain clouds pass over Canary Wharf financial financial district in London, Britain July 1, 2016. REUTERS/Reinhard Krause 1/3 left right Daniele Nouy, chair of the Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank, looks on during a Thomson Reuters newsmaker event at Canary Wharf in London November 28, 2014. REUTERS/Neil Hall 2/3 left right Britain''s Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney, speaks during the Bank of England''s financial stability report at the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain June 27, 2017. REUTERS/ Jonathan Brady/Pool 3/3 By Huw Jones - LONDON LONDON The European Central Bank and Bank of England warned on Friday that the Brexit plans of some banks are not good enough as they scrutinise their strategies to limit risks from an abrupt cutting in cross-border financial links. Britain leaves the European Union at the end of March 2019, forcing banks to restructure in some cases so they can be sure of continuing to serve cross border customers to and from London. "As you know, we asked the banks we directly supervise to share their Brexit strategies with us. Having analysed these strategies, I think it is fair to say that most banks are not where they should be," Daniele Nouy told a Brexit workshop in Frankfurt on Friday. The BoE meanwhile, has given domestic and foreign banks in Britain a July 14 deadline to spell out how they would cope if there is no trading deal with Europe after the UK leaves the EU. "My job is to ensure that banks are prepared and have emergency plans, which we''ll review, then ask banks to improve," Carney told German financial daily Handelsblatt. "We have been reviewing these plans since the referendum and in about ten days, banks have to give us an update. Our job is to worry about the worst case scenario, which would be no deal. But we think its possible to have an agreement in the end," Carney said. Banks have told the ECB that it was too early to plan for Brexit, but Nouy said it made no sense to adopt a "wait-and-see" attitude as the queue for new licences might be long. Some euro zone bank branches in London may have to obtain a new licence to become a subsidiary, she said. "And you should not count on transition periods that have not yet been agreed," she said. Big trading banks that decide to open new subsidiaries in the EU are trying to work out whether they could still book trades at their hubs in London after Brexit to save on costs. "The policy we choose with regard to booking models is likely to affect euro area banks'' activities in the UK and elsewhere," Nouy said. "Because this issue is relevant on a global scale, we need some time to develop our position. We want to get it right. Still, we are aware that you would like us to clearly articulate our policy stance sooner rather than later." MORE CLARITY Kieran Donoghue, head of International Financial Services at Ireland''s Investment and Development Agency, said he expects more information about how much activity and staff banks will shift from London, from July 14. "There will be much more clarity on what the groups intend to do. For the large and most complex, they will have to be Day One ready before April 2019," Donoghue told Reuters. Donoghue said the increased scrutiny by regulators means that unlike in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote, financial firms can no longer think about shifting the absolute minimum to maintain customer links. Financial centres in Dublin, Frankfurt, Paris and Luxembourg are already pitching for a slice of Britain''s financial services market. Ireland has received over 80 enquiries from banks, asset managers and insurers in Britain, with more than a handful expected to set up new operations or expand existing ones. Some big firms may shift operations from London to several sites in the EU, Donoghue said, echoing the views of Christian Noyer, the former French central bank governor who is drumming up Brexit business for Paris. But Donoghue also said: "Regulators are pragmatic. You can''t cut off London." (Reporting by Huw Jones, editing by Elaine Hardcastle)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-banks-britain-idUKKBN19L1F8'|'2017-06-30T15:43:00.000+03:00' +'9dbe5bb3b381de6bb6b62bdc3ffdce5500399444'|'Spanish stocks - Factors to watch on Thursday'|'The following Spanish stocks may be affected by newspaper reports and other factors on Thursday. Reuters has not verified the newspaper reports, and cannot vouch for their accuracy:TREASURYSpain aims to sell between 4 billion and 5 billion euros at an auction of four bonds on Thursday.INDITEXBerenburg cuts to "hold" from "buy", raises target price to 37 euros from 34 euros.AMADEUSAmadeus holds its annual shareholders meeting.OHLOHL Concesiones, a unit of Spanish construction group OHL, and IFM Global Infrastructure Fund will launch on Thursday a share buyback for OHL Mexico stock, the Mexican unit said on Wednesday.Kepler Cheuvreux raises to "hold" from "reduce"TECNICAS REUNIDASJP Morgan raises to "overweight" with target price for 39.4 euros, up from 31.3 euros.For today''s European market outlook double click on.For real-time moves on the Spanish blue-chip index IBEX please double click onFor IBEX constituent stocks highlight .IBEX in the command box and press the F3 button on your keyboardFor latest news on Spanish stock moves double clickFor Spanish language market report double click onFor latest Eurostocks report please double click on'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/markets-spain-factors-idINL8N1JC0I7'|'2017-06-15T04:52:00.000+03:00' +'c5e0a6d279c5b0c54f4e6b0d6a11affb05e74022'|'Shell says not experiencing operational disruptions in Qatar'|' 22pm BST Shell says not experiencing operational disruptions in Qatar The Shell display is seen at the 20th World Petroleum Congress in Doha December 4, 2011. REUTERS/Mohammed Dabbous LONDON Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) said on Wednesday its business is not experiencing any operational disruptions in Qatar in the wake of a decision by several Gulf countries to sever ties. "Currently we are focused on running our Qatar business as usual and are not experiencing any operational disruption as a result of the current situation," the Anglo-Dutch company said in a statement. (Reporting by Ron Bousso, editing by David Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-gulf-qatar-shell-idUKKBN18Y26R'|'2017-06-07T23:22:00.000+03:00' +'67443d8373161e5ebc113c6dad27a3fe00d465e3'|'Speculators boost net long U.S. dollars; euro longs fall -CFTC, Reuters'|'Big Story 10 3:56pm EDT Speculators boost net long U.S. dollars; euro longs fall: CFTC, Reuters A U.S. Dollar note is seen in this June 22, 2017 illustration photo. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration NEW YORK Speculators boosted net long positions on the U.S. dollar, after slashing them the previous week to their lowest level since last August, according to calculations by Reuters and Commodity Futures Trading Commission data released on Friday. The value of the dollar''s net long position rose to $7.82 billion in the week ended June 20, from $6.48 billion the previous week. Euro net longs, meanwhile, fell to a one-month low after hitting a more than six-year high the previous week, CFTC data showed. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cftc-forex-idUSKBN19E2D2'|'2017-06-24T03:51:00.000+03:00' +'f58ac66b72afa5bf2fea5368b876274807912f16'|'Fiat Chrysler recalling 297,000 vehicles for inadvertent air bag deployments'|'Autos 10:20am EDT Fiat Chrysler recalling 297,000 vehicles for inadvertent air bag deployments FILE PHOTO: A sign marks Clark Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram dealership in Methuen, Massachusetts, U.S. January 25, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo By David Shepardson - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV ( FCHA.MI )( FCAU.N ) is recalling 297,000 older minivans in North America because of a wiring problem that can lead to inadvertent air bag deployments, the company said on Thursday. The recall of 2011-2012 model year Dodge Grand Caravan minivans is linked to eight minor injuries, the automaker said, after initially reporting 13 injuries. Wiring may short-circuit, resulting in the driver-side air bag deploying without warning. The recall will begin in late July and includes 209,000 vehicles in the United States and nearly 88,000 vehicles in Canada. Dealers will replace the wiring if needed and add protective covering. Fiat Chrysler share fell nearly 2 percent to $10.69 on the New York Stock Exchange. Automakers have been recalling tens of millions of vehicles in recent years for a series of air bag problems, mainly tied to Takata Corp ( 7312.T ) inflators. More than a dozen automakers have called back 46 million Takata air bag inflators in 29 million U.S. vehicles that can rupture and emit deadly metal fragments. By 2019, automakers will recall 64 million to 69 million U.S. inflators in 42 million vehicles, U.S. regulators said in December. The new Fiat Chrysler recall is not linked to Takata, the company said. (Editing by Mark Potter and Jeffrey Benkoe)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-fiatchrysler-recall-idUSKBN19612D'|'2017-06-15T18:03:00.000+03:00' +'7cbeeca4ea5906cda3878ae037dba022d6991ca5'|'Autos, Tesco spur European shares rebound'|'Top News - Fri Jun 16, 2017 - 8:29am BST Autos, Tesco spur European shares rebound Traders work in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, June 15, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote MILAN European shares bounced back from two days of losses on Friday as auto stocks rose following higher car sales in May and a strong update from Tesco offered relief to the battered retail sector. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.5 percent in early trades while Britain''s FTSE gained 0.3 percent. Tesco was among the leading gainers, up more than 2 percent, after Britain''s biggest retailer released a first quarter update that showed UK like-for-like sales growth of 2.3 percent that beat analyst expectations. Its gains helped European retailers over part of the heavy losses suffered in the previous session when UK data showed consumers are feeling the impact of rising inflation. Autos rose 0.8 percent after data showed that European car sales returned to growth with a rise of 7.7 percent in May. While Friday''s gains were spread across the market with all sectors in positive territory, European and British indices were on track to end lower for the second week in a row, weighed by fresh growth worries, valuation concerns and political uncertainty in the UK. (Reporting by Danilo Masoni, Editing by Vikram Subhedar) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks-idUKKBN1970PA'|'2017-06-16T15:29:00.000+03:00' +'a72b2ec0ac23639367abdc746a753c2be36003b1'|'Exclusive - Norway''s $960 billion wealth fund to banks: disclose carbon footprint of your loans'|'Environment 59pm BST Exclusive: Norway''s $960 billion wealth fund to banks - disclose carbon footprint of your loans left right Norwegian sovereign wealth fund (SWF) CEO Yngve Slyngstad speaks during an interview in Oslo, Norway, June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins 1/6 left right Norwegian sovereign wealth fund (SWF) CEO Yngve Slyngstad speaks during an interview in Oslo, Norway, June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins 2/6 left right The trading floor of Norges Bank Investment Management, the Nordic countrys sovereign wealth fund in Oslo, Norway, June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins 3/6 left right Norwegian sovereign wealth fund (SWF) CEO Yngve Slyngstad speaks during an interview in Oslo, Norway, June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins 4/6 left right The trading floor of Norges Bank Investment Management, the Nordic countrys sovereign wealth fund in Oslo, Norway, June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins 5/6 left right Norwegian sovereign wealth fund (SWF) CEO Yngve Slyngstad listens during an interview in Oslo, Norway, June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins 6/6 OSLO Norway''s $960 billion sovereign wealth fund will ask the banks in which it has invested to disclose how their lending contributes to global emissions of greenhouse gases, its chief executive told Reuters on Friday. The world''s largest wealth fund, which invests in stocks, bonds and real estate abroad, has in the past measured the carbon footprint of its investments in equity and fixed-income holdings. "The third level is to look at the banks," fund CEO Yngve Slyngstad said in an interview. "What kind of loans do they have and how are their loan books specifically exposed to this issue. In practice that will mean the corporate loan books." (Reporting by Gwladys Fouche; Editing by Terje Solsvik and Dale Hudson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-norway-swf-ceo-idUKKBN18T26V'|'2017-06-02T22:44:00.000+03:00' +'bdeb05821679fbcd8f5a92a2ed0a6b119763effa'|'BOJ to keep pursuing steps for price stability - senior official'|'Central Banks - Tue Jun 13, 2017 - 3:44am BST Slowdown in BOJ''s bond buying a result of stable yields - official FILE PHOTO: A man riding a bicycle rides past the Bank of Japan building in Tokyo, Japan April 27, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon By Leika Kihara - TOKYO TOKYO The Bank of Japan rebuffed speculation that it was engaging in "stealth tapering" as its massive asset-buying programme nears its limit, stating instead its reduced bond buying reflected receding upward pressure on Japanese yields from U.S. Treasuries. Masayoshi Amamiya, the BOJ''s executive director overseeing monetary policy, told Parliament on Tuesday the pace of bond buying had slowed because U.S. Treasury yields have fallen - enabling the central bank to cap Japanese long-term rates while also reducing its purchases. "The slowdown came as a result of our policy of guiding yields at appropriate levels," he told parliament, when asked by a ruling party lawmaker why the BOJ''s purchases were slowing. "The BOJ will continue to take necessary steps to stabilise prices, while keeping an eye on how they affect its financial health," he said. After three years of heavy asset buying failed to drive up inflation, the BOJ switched its policy framework last year to one that capped long-term interest rates from a policy that had targeted the pace of money printing. BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda has repeatedly said the central bank still had plenty of bonds to buy, and that it was premature to openly debate an exit strategy from the stimulus programme. But buying large amounts of Japanese government bonds is expected to become increasingly difficult as the central bank already owns more than 42 percent of the entire JGB market. Indeed, recent data showed the BOJ''s bond buying has slowed considerably in recent months. Most analysts expect the BOJ to slow the pace further to around 60 trillion yen (431.4 billion pounds) by the end of year and to omit from its policy statement a loose pledge to increase its JGB holding by 80 trillion yen a year at some point. The fate of the pledge may be among topics the BOJ''s nine board members will discuss at their two-day policy meeting that starts on Thursday. With the BOJ now targeting interest rates, many central bank policymakers see the 80-trillion-yen pledge as obsolete and largely symbolic. But some remain wary of removing the pledge now fearing it could be misinterpreted as a sign the BOJ is contemplating withdrawing its stimulus programme at short notice. (Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Chris Gallagher and Eric Meijer) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-boj-idUKKBN19405A'|'2017-06-13T09:27:00.000+03:00' +'8d4acdb21a6c9b76dc5e787c6177c4834721a8da'|'Pound surges, FTSE falls as Haldane rows in behind BoE rate rise'|'Top News 12:27pm BST Pound surges, FTSE falls as Haldane rows in behind BoE rate rise An English ten Pound note is seen in an illustration taken March 16, 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble/Illustration/File photo LONDON Sterling surged by around half a cent on Wednesday, briefly trading above $1.27 after Bank of England Chief Economist Andy Haldane signalled he would weigh in behind a rise in interest rates in the second half of this year. Haldane''s comments ran contrary to those of Governor Mark Carney, who drove the pound lower on Tuesday by saying "now was not the time" to begin to raise interest rates and sparked a surge in bets on a rise in rates within the next year. Short sterling contracts for December of this year reversed all of their gains since Carney''s speech, pricing in a greater than 50 percent chance of the Bank raising rates by then. British gilt futures FLGcv1 shed around 25 ticks and government bond yields hit session highs.GB2YT=RR GB10YT=RR The pound rose as high as $1.2704 before settling 0.4 percent stronger on the day at $1.2684. GBP=D3 Against the euro it gained just over a third of a percent to 87.83 pence per euro. EURGBP=D3 The UK''s blue chip FTSE 100 .FTSE , which tends to fall as sterling rises, hit a session low and was last down 0.5 pct, as were British mid cap stocks .FTMC which fell further to trade 0.5 percent lower. (Reporting by Patrick Graham, Ritvik Carvalho, Andy Bruce and Kit Rees)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-sterling-haldane-idUKKBN19C1GW'|'2017-06-21T19:27:00.000+03:00' +'e7921994007d012feed26eba3a7e6de770c08933'|'Greece calls for debt relief measures ahead of crunch euro zone meeting'|'Top News - Thu Jun 15, 2017 - 9:01am BST Greece calls for debt relief measures ahead of crunch euro zone meeting German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble takes part in a eurozone finance ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium March 20, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman BERLIN Greek Economics Minister Dimitri Papadimitriou has accused German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble of being "dishonest" by blocking debt relief for Greece despite his acknowledgement that Athens has implemented significant reforms. Euro zone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are expected to strike a compromise deal on Greece on Thursday, paving the way for new loans for Athens while leaving the contentious debt relief issue for later. Papadimitriou told German newspaper Die Welt in an interview published on Thursday that Schaeuble first had acknowledged that Greece had met the requirements, but then changed his mind. "I haven''t met Schaeuble yet and I don''t want to be impolite, but his behaviour seems dishonest to me," he added. Papadimitriou said German resistance to debt relief for Greece raised questions about the very idea and structure of the euro zone. The success of right-wing populists in Europe also showed dissatisfaction with such European structures, he said. "Greece is being made a sacrificial lamb," he said. Papadimitriou also warned Schaeuble against making decisions based purely on domestic politics, noting that Germany had also received debt relief when it was rebuilding after World War Two. Debt relief is needed to help Greece expand its economy, he said, noting that Athens was not asking for a debt cut, but rather lower interest rates or longer repayment schedules. Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos also called on the euro zone finance ministers to spell out concrete measures to reduce the Greek debt burden. "Greece has fulfilled its commitments and adopted the required reforms. Now it is time for the Europeans to comply with their commitments on debt relief," Pavlopoulos said in an interview with German business daily Handelsblatt. German opposition politicians also criticised Schaeuble by honing in on the fact that the IMF is likely to participate in the third bailout, but will only disburse any loans when debt measures have been clearly outlined. Gerhard Schick from the Greens party accused Schaeuble of a "lousy trick" with the IMF participation. Thomas Oppermann, senior member of the co-governing Social Democrats (SPD), told Bild newspaper: "Schaeuble must put his cards on the table ahead of the election and say what German taxpayers will have to expect." The IMF believes Greece needs a debt haircut, which Germany rejects. IMF chief Lagarde has suggested a deal whereby the IMF would stay on board in the bailout, as Berlin wants, but not pay out further aid until debt relief measures are clarified. A spokesman for Schaeuble told a government news conference on Wednesday he expected agreement on a sustainable overall package at Thursday''s meeting, but said there was no guarantee that Athens would get debt relief. It remains Germany''s view that debt relief measures for Greece could only be decided after the existing third bailout ends in 2018, the spokesman added. Schaeuble said on Tuesday he was confident that Greece would reach a deal with lenders this week. Last month he said everything pointed to stronger growth in Greece. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Michael Nienaber; editing by Mark Heinrich) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-greece-germany-idUKKBN196001'|'2017-06-15T16:01:00.000+03:00' +'1ccaf9a9bb8293c5bf1bd977ef3a9ddba602e1cd'|'AT&T unclear what final merger conditions Justice Department will seek'|'Deals 3:26pm BST AT&T unclear what final merger conditions Justice Department will seek FILE PHOTO: An AT&T sign is seen outside a branch in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, U.S., October 24, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Young/File Photo By David Shepardson - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON AT&T Inc was confident it would win regulatory approval for its $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc ( TWX.N ) before year''s end as the Justice Department continues its review, but was still awaiting details about any final requirements for the deal, a senior executive said. Bob Quinn, AT&T''s ( T.N ) senior executive vice president for external and legislative affairs, said in a C-SPAN interview this week that the telecommunications company was unclear what final conditions the Justice Department may seek as part of any approval. "That conversation is just beginning really," Quinn said. "We''ve gotten through the point where we''re produced all the data and answered all the questions and I think that process will kick off this summer." In June, a Senate panel voted 19-1 to advance the nomination of Makan Delrahim, who was chosen by President Donald Trump to be the top U.S. antitrust regulator. The Senate must still vote to confirm Delrahim and it is not clear when they will vote. Until Delrahim is confirmed, "it is kind of hard to predict whether even the list that we see preliminarily will be the final list that they want to close on," said Quinn, without elaborating. The No. 2 U.S. wireless carrier still needs some foreign approvals. In March, it won the European Commission''s nod for the deal. Separately, a group of Senate Democrats on Wednesday, including Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Al Franken, urged the Justice Department to closely scrutinize the deal. "We have strong concerns that the combined company''s unmatched control of popular content and the distribution of that content will lead to higher prices, fewer choices, and poorer quality services for Americans," they wrote. "Before initiating the next big wave of media consolidation, you must consider how the $85 billion deal will impact Americans'' wallets, as well as their access to a wide range of news and entertainment programing." AT&T said in a statement it had previously addressed all the issues in the letter and argued that the deal would offer consumers more choice, and "will expand distribution and creative opportunities for diverse and independent voices." (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Bernadette Baum)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-time-warner-m-a-at-t-idUKKBN19D1T6'|'2017-06-22T22:26:00.000+03:00' +'0a9e70d0fad09f4c90b9887566096bae162a7464'|'Britain approves BA use of Qatar planes during upcoming cabin crew strike'|'Business 4:16pm BST Britain approves BA use of Qatar planes during upcoming cabin crew strike FILE PHOTO: People queue with their luggage for the British Airways check-in desk at Gatwick Airport in southern England, Britain, May 28, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay LONDON British authorities have given British Airways the go ahead to use Qatar Airways planes and staff during a planned two-week strike by members of its cabin crew, a spokesman for the Department for Transport said on Friday. BA has committed to fly all its customers to their destinations during the strike, which begins on Saturday. BA, owned by IAG ( ICAG.L ), had applied to use nine Qatar planes and staff in an arrangement with Qatar Airways, which is a close partner of BA. Staff in the mixed fleet crew, which flies shot and long haul routes, plan to strike for 16 days in a long-running dispute over pay and sanctions on employees. The spokesman said that the transport department''s decision had been taken on the advice of Britain''s Civil Aviation Authority. (Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Susan Fenton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iag-britishairways-qatar-idUKKBN19L282'|'2017-06-30T18:16:00.000+03:00' +'5398d5ff71808ae487388e64ae55b75872ba3a6b'|'PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - June 20'|'June 20 The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.- Timothy Cook of Apple, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Satya Nadella of Microsoft and Eric Schmidt of Alphabet were among 18 tech executives and investors many of whom have criticized the Trump administration who attended the four-hour afternoon session to discuss cloud computing and procurement systems run by government agencies. nyti.ms/2rPyJSJ- The meal-delivery service Blue Apron''s plans for a public debut come amid upheaval in the food retail industry generated by Amazon.com Inc''s takeover bid for Whole Foods Market Inc. nyti.ms/2rPjnxy- The Chicago businessman Edwin Eisendrath heads a group, whose bid sets up a potential battle with Tronc Inc, owner of The Chicago Tribune and The Los Angeles Times. nyti.ms/2rPQRvU(Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/press-digest-nyt-idINL3N1JH1UR'|'2017-06-20T02:28:00.000+03:00' +'13d94efa0460cffdf7fb5ec5b174d47a4009ccb1'|'Threatened French auto parts workers in election spotlight'|'Autos 5:22pm BST Threatened French auto parts workers in election spotlight PARIS Workers from a threatened French auto parts factory have secured a meeting with Finance Ministry officials and their main carmaker clients, Renault ( RENA.PA ) and PSA Group ( PEUP.PA ), after a union delegation accosted President Emmanuel Macron. The fate of the small company, GM&S, is in the spotlight as a test of the new president''s economic interventionism in the run-up to parliamentary elections that begin on Sunday, with a second round scheduled for June 18. Union officials from the plant, which employs 277 staff stamping metal parts in the central Creuse region, said on Saturday they would hold talks at the ministry next week. Macron, seeking a majority for his recently created Republic on the Move (LREM) party after winning the presidential election last month, met a GM&S workers'' delegation during a visit to the neighbouring Haute-Vienne region on Friday. "I promise you I will do all I can," he told one of the protesting employees. "But I''m not Father Christmas." The factory works council has also asked the local bankruptcy court to postpone its next hearing until the end of June to give potential bidders more time to submit offers. (Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau; Writing by Laurence Frost; Editing by Kevin Liffey)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-politics-gm-s-idUKKBN1910QV'|'2017-06-11T00:22:00.000+03:00' +'728159f857976a436f294973f6953c295e9ef24e'|'Anglo American names Stuart Chambers as next chairman'|' 8:33am BST Anglo American appoints Chambers as next chairman FILE PHOTO: The AngloAmerican logo is seen in Rusternburg, South Africa, October 5, 2015. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo Anglo American said on Wednesday Stuart Chambers, former chairman of technology firm ARM Holdings and beverage can maker Rexam, would become the miner''s next chairman to carry on rebuilding the company. Chambers will join as non-executive director and chairman designate on Sept. 1 and will become chairman on Nov. 1, Anglo said in a statement. Current chair John Parker, who will step down on Oct. 31, has presided over the company for eight years, including seeing it through a deep commodity price crash in 2015-16. Last year Anglo recovered strongly, leading gains on the FTSE with a 300 percent rally after a 75 percent fall in 2015. This year, the recovery has stalled as the commodity rally has faltered and challenges for the new chairman will include dealing with Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal, who bought a 2 billion pound stake in the company. CEO Mark Cutifani said Chambers was bringing relevant skills in "technology-led innovation" and would help to continue to rebuild Anglo. "We have materially restored Anglo American''s balance sheet and transformed the business performance over the last three years, and our task now is to unlock the very considerable value that we can see from our world-class asset base," Cutifani said. Chambers, aged 61, served as chairman of ARM Holdings, regarded as Britain''s most successful technology firm, and Rexam until 2016 when both companies were taken over. Before that he was non-executive director at Tesco until 2015 and he began his career at oil major Shell as a chemical engineer. "Anglo American has emerged from the commodity price downturn more resilient and with a renewed sense of purpose, both strategically and in terms of the role it plays in society," Chambers said. Shares in Anglo were up 0.14 percent at 1,047p at 0730 GMT. (Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru and Barbara Lewis in London; editing by Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-anglo-american-chairman-idUKKBN18Y0FH'|'2017-06-07T14:15:00.000+03:00' +'38c54316d36ab03f6d9bc17a0612cb5ca0ba76ed'|'TREASURIES-Yield curve flattens on bullish Fed, falling inflation'|'(Adds oil price drop, CPI data; Updates prices) * Yield curve flattest level since Dec 2007 * Thirty-year bond yields lowest since November * Fed speakers in focus this week By Karen Brettell NEW YORK, June 21 The U.S. Treasury yield curve flattened to almost 10-year lows on Wednesday as investors evaluated the impact of hawkish Federal Reserve policy on the economy even as inflation measures are deteriorating. New York Fed President William Dudley and Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren both took the view this week that keeping interest rates low may pose risks to the economy. I think the market may be pricing in a little higher odds of another rate hike before the end of the year, and that is helping drive some of the flattening, said Gennadiy Goldberg, an interest rate strategist at TD Securities in New York. Five-year note yields , which are highly sensitive to rate policy, rose to a four-week high of 1.80 percent on Tuesday. They last traded at 1.77 percent. Meanwhile, thirty-year bond yields , which are largely driven by future expectations of growth and inflation, dropped to 2.72 percent on Wednesday, the lowest since Nov. 9. The yield curve between five-year notes and 30-year bonds flattened to 95 basis points, the narrowest since December 2007. Long bonds have been supported by inflation concerns, since data last Wednesday showed that the so-called core Consumer Price Index (CPI), which strips out food and energy costs, increased 1.7 percent year-on-year in May, the smallest rise since May 2015. Oil prices fell about 3 percent to a 10-month low in heavy trading on Wednesday, as nagging fears about a global glut fed a selloff that was interrupted briefly by news of a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. inventories. With no major economic data due this week investors are focused on Fed speakers. Federal Reserve Board Governor Jerome Powell will speak on Thursday and Friday. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard and Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester will speak on Friday. (Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Bernadette Baum) )'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-bonds-idINL1N1JI1MO'|'2017-06-21T17:34:00.000+03:00' +'8c9d667aa5536441b31b086b0d5c1d5d35c635a9'|'UK Stocks-Factors to watch on June 26'|'Market News - Mon Jun 26, 2017 - 2:02am EDT UK Stocks-Factors to watch on June 26 June 26 Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening up 15 points at 7,439 on Monday, according to financial bookmakers. * RBS: British lender Royal Bank of Scotland is planning to cut 443 jobs dealing with business loans and many of them will move to India, the bank said. * SKY/VODAFONE: New Zealand pay television provider Sky Network TV on Monday said it was terminating a sales agreement to buy Vodafone''s local unit, a deal the country''s competition regulator had ruled against. * GLENCORE/RIO: Miner and trader Glencore on Friday hit back with an increased offer of $2.675 billion in cash to buy Australian coal assets from Rio Tinto, that earlier this week said it was favouring a Chinese bid. * TESCO: Tesco, Britain''s biggest private sector employer, is to raise pay for hourly paid store staff by an inflation-beating 10.5 percent over the next two years, it said on Friday. * CAPITA: Outsourcer Capita said on Friday it would sell its asset management services arm to Australian financial services firm Link Administration Holdings for 888 million pounds ($1.13 billion). * CO-OPERATIVE BANK: Britain''s Co-operative Bank is close to a 700 million pounds rescue deal with US hedge funds, while in talks about the separation of the vast pension scheme it shares with the Co-op Group, Sky News reported. bit.ly/2scCNg5 * UK CYBER ATTACK: Britain''s parliament was hit by a "sustained and determined" cyber attack on Saturday designed to identify weak email passwords, just over a month after a ransomware worm crippled parts of the country''s health service. * REINSURERS: Global reinsurers have written to the European Commission to ask it to ensure mutual access between British and European Union reinsurance markets after Britain leaves the bloc due to worries about market disruption, according to extracts from the letter seen by Reuters. * INSURANCE: The insurance industry warned the British government of the dangers of flammable external surfaces on buildings a month before the Grenfell Tower fire that killed at least 79 people. * LONDON FIRE: British investigators said on Friday they would consider manslaughter charges over the London tower block fire that killed at least 79 people, as thousands of apartment-dwellers a few miles away were told to leave their homes due to fire risk. * LONDON TOWER BLOCKS: Britain said 34 high-rise apartment blocks had failed fire safety checks carried out after the deadly Grenfell Tower blaze, including several in north London where residents were forced to evacuate amid chaotic scenes. * INVESTMENT BANKS: Some global investment banks risk losing up to $240 million in business by 2020 as a regulatory overhaul, which will change the way securities research is priced and used, makes independent firms more attractive for clients, a financial consultancy said. * GOLD: Gold prices edged lower on Monday as investors remained cautious ahead of a flurry of U.S. data due this week, with firmer Asian stocks also weighing on the market. * COPPER: London copper eased on Monday but remained within reach of the highest in more than two months, after expectations of the U.S. interest rate hike trajectory were tempered which weighed on the dollar. * OIL: Oil prices rose more than 1 percent early on Monday on a weaker dollar, but another rise in U.S. drilling activity stoked worries that a global supply glut will persist despite an OPEC-led effort to curb output. * The UK blue chip index was down 0.2 percent at 7,424.13 at its close on Friday, as one year on from Britain''s shock vote to leave the European Union, cracks are started to appear in the index''s rally, as concerns on both political and economic fronts saw UK shares fall for a third week in a row. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets * UK CORPORATE DIARY: D4t4 Solutions Plc Full Year 2017 Earnings Release Monks Investment Trust Plc Full Year 2016 Earnings Release Northgate Plc Full Year 2017 Earnings Release TODAY''S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idUSL3N1JN267'|'2017-06-26T10:02:00.000+03:00' +'9d4878431a31867ef31d0494a4753d4134efa54f'|'Australian lithium miner Neometals plans U.S listing'|' 6:03am EDT Australian lithium miner Neometals plans U.S listing * Neometals considers splitting technology from mining business * Shares down nearly 20 percent in 2017 * GRAPHIC: Global electric vehicle market - tmsnrt.rs/2ppiLi3 By Zandi Shabalala LONDON, June 15 Australian lithium miner Neometals plans to list in New York and may spin off its processing technology in an attempt to boost its share value, Chief Executive Chris Reed said. The share prices of lithium producers are volatile because of uncertainty surrounding supply, demand and pricing as analysts disagree over the potential size of the market for electric vehicles, many of which use lithium batteries. Neometals stands out from the crowd, Reed said, because it uses a combination of chemicals to accelerate the process of creating lithium, cutting costs. He predicted the U.S. market, with its large contingent of institutional investors, would value his firm''s technical expertise. "Mining is well understood in Australia. Our plan to process our mineral concentrates into lithium battery materials and development of new processing technologies is not," Reed told Reuters. He said Neometals was eyeing a listing under the Nasdaq International Designation - an upgrade of its over-the-counter offering - within the next two years. Most operators in the lithium triangle of high-altitude lakes and salt flats that straddles Chile, Argentina and Bolivia rely on salt pools. These take many months to produce lithium, although some operators say that once the process has begun, its duration becomes irrelevant because it creates a steady stream of lithium production. Rechargeable batteries containing lithium are used in mobile phones and electric cars, whose sales are forecast to rise fourfold from 2015 levels to 2.5 percent of the global car market by 2020, Wood Mackenzie consultant James Whiteside said. Consulting group CRU expects lithium demand to grow by around 20,000 tonnes per year over the next few years, from just over 200,000 tonnes in 2016. Many companies have been seeking to get into lithium, although not all projects are delivering. Lithium bulls say it would take only a slightly bigger takeup in electric vehicles than many predict to result in a shortfall. Lithium-based equities rallied over the previous two years, but have fallen this year because of a combination of profit-taking and fears of a supply bubble. Neometals shares are down nearly 20 percent since the start of the year, in line with the wider trend. Apart from a lithium and a titanium mine, Neometals has two processing plants and recycles batteries to recover cobalt in Canada. (Reporting by Zandi Shabalala; Editing by Dale Hudson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/neometals-listing-usa-idUSL8N1JA3OE'|'2017-06-15T18:03:00.000+03:00' +'cf3f1622d1c344720c76df9b9f5b6d47cac779dc'|'How to be resilient: ''self-awareness is fundamental'' - Guardian Small Business Network'|'Friday 9 June 2017 07.00 BST Last modified on Friday 9 June 2017 09.19 BST Entrepreneurs must be able to bounce back from disappointment. Its a career choice rife with rejection: failure to secure a bank loan, missing out on investment and poor sales are just some of the potential hurdles you can face. But, for many, resilience is a learning process. So how can you develop this trait? In our live Q&A on how to build resilience, our expert panel discussed strategies for managing stress, building a support network and improving work-life balance. A reader kicked off the chat with this question: Are there any downsides to resilience; can there be a fine line between being resilient and not facing up to some home truths? Ask the experts: how to build your resilience as it happened Read more Richard Reid, a psychotherapist, coach and founder of Pinnacle Therapy , said balance was key. [Resilience] is probably more about realism than unbridled positivity, he said. [We tend to] veer towards the negative. He added that setbacks should be seen as an opportunity to gather feedback, rather than as a sign of failure. Gail Kinman, an occupational health psychologist at the University of Bedfordshire and the British Psychological Society, added: My research has found that self-awareness is an important aspect of resilience in fact it is fundamental. She suggested mindfulness as one way to build this awareness. Anis Qizilbash, a motivational speaker and founder of Mindful Sales Training , suggested practising mindfulness daily, which could be as little as listening to your breathing for five minutes. It changes the way you react to things, which means you can make better decisions. Meanwhile, Emily Forbes, founder of Seenit , recommended entrepreneur support groups. She said: I can go and let my guard down and not only talk openly, but also receive really honest and relatable feedback. She added: They also help to build confidence in your decision making, which I think is a huge part of growing resilience. Samantha Kingston, co-founder of Virtual Umbrella , said she found old contacts to be a useful sounding board: Reaching out to employers, who have been running companies for a lot longer than me, really helped with support. Meanwhile, a simple, often overlooked, way to build resilience, said Reid, is taking time to pause and reflect. Slowing down means that we automatically generate fewer negative thoughts. Leon Ifayemi, co-founder and CEO of SPCE said: Becoming a creature of habit and routine has enabled me to balance work and pleasure. Technology can be a significant time and energy drain for entrepreneurs. Emails can pile up and, with a smartphone or laptop always on hand, its tempting to work on your business at all hours. Kinman said that technology has been a mixed blessing in creating a work-life balance: it enables flexible working, but also makes it harder to switch off. This can seriously compromise health, job performance and personal relationships. The key is to set boundaries for technology use and build in some down time and switch off. Running an enterprise brings day-to-day stress, but setting one up can be a particularly pressured time. One reader, who is planning to start a business, asked: I know I will face challenges can anyone give me some practical tips to minimise the stress? James Routledge, founder of Sanctus , said: Create space for yourself to explore your challenges. That space could be simply the gym in the morning. It could be meditation. It could be mindfulness. It could be coaching or therapy. It could just be writing. Meanwhile, Andy Chamberlain, deputy director of policy at the Association of Independent Professionals advised preparation. Have a business plan. Decide what corporate form you want to take (ie a sole trader or limited company). Market yourself. Have an online presence. Get a good accountant. Above all else, find clients. Reeling from a failure? Perhaps an attitude change could help Read more Kingston added: Set goals that are achievable. Its very easy to want to achieve everything in one day Forbes said creating a physical boundary between home and work is also important. I worked from a co-working space in the early days and it was awesome to be able to make a coffee next to someone who I then found out had just gone through something I was about to dive into. Pouring your energy into the startup phase of a business can take its toll. Kingston said that after two years of working on her company, she experienced burnout, which led to a spell in hospital. All my passion had gone into one thing, my health was not always a part of that. I have learned from this but Im still working to understand how to change my work-life balance. Sign up to become a member of the Guardian Small Business Network here for more advice, insight and best practice direct to your inbox. Topics '|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/jun/09/how-to-resilient-self-awareness-mindfulness-support-experts'|'2017-06-09T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'499560c0fae8c83d676f05fe97771b0171614908'|'Wall Street set to open flat as fall in oil prices weigh'|'NEW YORK U.S. stocks closed lower on Tuesday as a sharp drop in oil prices hurt energy stocks and retail stocks were pulled down by concerns about Amazon.com''s ( AMZN.O ) plan to boost its apparel business. Based on the latest available data, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 61.85 points, or 0.29 percent, to 21,467.14, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 16.43 points, or 0.67 percent, to 2,437.03 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 50.98 points, or 0.82 percent, to 6,188.03.(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by Nick Zieminski)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-idINKBN19B1SQ'|'2017-06-20T21:11:00.000+03:00' +'e6084ce797419c713f0281a36c3bc4eaec2b71ca'|'UPDATE 1-Brazil farm minister heads to U.S. over fresh beef ban'|'Market 11:05am EDT UPDATE 1-Brazil farm minister heads to U.S. over fresh beef ban (Adds share performance, comment from BTG sales desk) By Roberto Samora and Bruno Federowski SAO PAULO, June 23 Brazil''s Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi prepared to travel to the United States on Friday to fight a ban on imports of fresh Brazilian beef, which hit shares of local meatpackers and revived concerns over the image of the world''s largest exporter. The U.S. Department of Agriculture''s decision on Thursday to impose the ban over safety concerns did not affect the bulk of Brazilian beef imports, which are frozen. But it was a setback for Brazil''s recently opened fresh beef trade with the United States and another black eye for the sector after recent scandals. The USDA first cleared U.S. consumption of fresh Brazilian beef last year and it still represents just 1 percent of the Brazilian industry''s exports, according to a note from the sales desk of bank BTG Pactual. "It''s a small share, but the message behind the decision is bad," the bank told clients in a note. "The U.S. waited 17 years to open its market to fresh Brazilian beef and it''s suspending imports again a year after opening the market." Maggi, himself a billionaire soy producer, said corrective measures were already being made. He said Brazil would stick to its target of raising exports to 10 percent of Brazilian beef production in five years, up from 7 percent now. "We will fight for this market!" the minister said in a message posted to social networks late on Thursday, reiterating his commitment to keeping the U.S. market open to fresh Brazilian beef. Since March, the USDA has rejected 11 percent of Brazilian fresh beef products, compared to the rejection rate of 1 percent for shipments from the rest of the world. The shipments, totaling about 1.9 million pounds, raised concerns about public health, animal health and sanitation, the USDA said. The latest setback for Brazilian meatpackers came just three months after a scandal involving alleged bribery of health officials, which briefly shut Brazil''s protein exports out of major global markets from China to Europe. Controlling owners of JBS SA also confessed to widespread bribery of Brazilian politicians, stoking a political crisis and triggering asset sales amid fears of higher financing costs. Shares of the world''s largest meatpacker JBS and local rival Marfrig Global Foods SA both fell about 1 percent in early trading in Sao Paulo. JBS declined to comment on the matter. Marfrig did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Rival Minerva SA, whose shares were flat in morning trading, said it would ship fresh beef to the U.S. market from Uruguay rather than Brazil, adding that the change would not affect its export volumes. (Reporting by Bruno Federowski and Roberto Samora in Sao Paulo; Additional reporting by Pedro Fonseca in Rio de Janeiro; Writing by Brad Haynes; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Marguerita Choy)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-brazil-beef-idUSL1N1JK0J9'|'2017-06-23T23:05:00.000+03:00' +'3970abddc00e778b081bdf7dcb51f138e50c6f96'|'Pune moves to revive municipal market with bond sale'|' 8:47pm IST Pune moves to revive municipal market with bond sale An India Rupee note is seen in this illustration photo June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration/files By Rafael Nam and Krishna Merchant - MUMBAI MUMBAI Pune sold $31 million in 10-year bonds on Monday, as cities in Asia''s third-largest economy look to tap investors for the first time in a decade to finance infrastructure projects. Though small, the issuance is a key first step in India''s plan to revive a municipal bond market that saw its last sale in 2007. The funds raised will help pay for its ambitious "Smart Cities" project that aims to modernise 100 cities by 2020, including by improving water supply and transportation. Pune Municipal Corp sold the debt at 7.59 percent, raising 2 billion rupees ($31.04 million) SBI Capital Markets, the sole arranger, said. That compared with around 7.40 percent for a similar maturity bond from Maharashtra state. The proceeds will be used to provide uninterrupted municipal water supply in the city, up from 4-6 hours currently. Bondholders will be paid interest from money raised from property taxes. Although India is planning to spend up to 48 billion rupees in its Smart Cities project, it needs cities such as Pune to raise up to 75 billion rupees from bond investors. Pune plans to raise a total of 23 billion rupees in the year to March, while New Delhi and Hyderabad are among other cities looking to raise debt, bankers and analysts said. Subodh Rai, senior director and head analytics at CRISIL Ratings, said it was important for India to develop its municipal bond market. "We are talking billions of dollars that need to be poured into urban infrastructure, and municipal corps cannot be dependent on the state or central governments to fund all of these projects," he said. India has seen only 11 billion rupees worth of municipal bond issuance over the previous two decades, according to think tank Pahle India Foundation, which estimates only 1 percent of urban bodies'' requirements are funded by municipal bonds compared to around 10 pct in the United States. Seeking to change that, capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India this year eased rules for cities selling bonds, while the government has said it will subsidise part of the interest payments. But many challenges remain, with bankers and analysts warning most cities in India typically have antiquated or opaque accounting methods, while infrastructure projects suffer from frequent delays or cost overruns that can jeopardise the ability to pay bondholders. "Most municipal corporations will not be able to raise the required amount of money from capital markets based on their balance sheets," said Sunil Kumar Sinha, principal economist and director of public finance at India Ratings. ($1 = 64.4400 Indian rupees)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/india-municipals-pune-idINKBN19A22O'|'2017-06-19T23:17:00.000+03:00' +'1d73c374017eef768f7d771017eb19157f3fe29b'|'Instagram co-founder: you have to be willing to disrupt yourself - Guardian Small Business Network'|'How did Instagram begin?We [Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger] both went to Stanford and at that point we knew we wanted to do something entrepreneurial. I hadnt had that idea before coming to California but youre surrounded by so many people there that have an entrepreneurial venture. Its in the water, its in the air, and its very inspiring. I think Kevin was interested in entrepreneurship from an even earlier age. He was one of those high schoolers doing odds and ends to try to make a company.When we reconnected after university, we were both interested in building products that help people connect and tell their story, although we didnt know what our product would be. We both quit our jobs because we knew we wanted to pursue something; it took about nine months until we found out what that thing actually was. What makes you and Systrom a good partnership? We just get on really well, its seven years into the business and were still very close. Were good friends, but were not best friends. I think if we were best friends it would be messier because weve spent so much time with each other [on the business]. Also, we balance each other out, there are times when Im very stressed and hes very calm, and vice versa. We can be each others therapists at some points.Slack co-founder on the happy accident that led to his $1bn startup Read more We also have very complementary skills. I bring a lot of the technology and engineering side; he brings a lot of product sense and design. He was also great at working with investors and today he is great at working across the different departments at Facebook [Instagram was sold to Facebook in 2012 for $1bn ]. I like to go focus on the technology side a bit more. It works because we dont want each others jobs. Do you have any tips for winning investment? For us, one of the key things was being able to demonstrate, if not global traction, at least initial interest. Wed built this product called Burbn, which was the predecessor to Instagram [Burbn was a location check-in app that also allowed users to share photos, which proved to be its most popular feature]. I think the way we were able to raise financing on that product [Burbn secured $500,000 in seed funding] is that we had a couple of hundred people using it and some were really passionate about it, those user stories were really key.Investors have a mental check list of all the different risks a product might face: founder risk (are they the right founders?), execution risk, market risk. You need to remove some of those impediments from investors minds as early as possible by getting a product out there. From doing that you learn and you are able to say: Look, this isnt just a hope and a dream, this is something weve already put out to a couple of hundred people. I think that made a lot of difference in raising financing.Whats been your hardest decision? There have been a couple ... even in the last year and a half youve seen our product go through a major evolution. It sounds like a silly example, but going from square to non-square photos was actually a big deal. Then we changed the feed, and then added Stories [an Instagram feature that launched in 2016, which allows a user to give an overview of their day, or an event, by pulling together videos and photos into a short clip].Sometimes the most resistance [to changing the product] comes from your own staff. Its not because theyre conservative, but because change is scary it feels like driving a car that could go off a cliff. Thats where Instagram still being founder-led makes a big difference. We can say: Just take the leap of faith with us. Were going to make this change and, if were wrong, we can roll it back. There are few decisions you could make that could totally tank the company. Weve learned that when the decision feels really hard it doesnt necessarily mean its the right one, but it means were taking the right kind of risk.There was so much lost sleep in the early days and it took a toll on our healthMike Krieger What advice would you give budding tech entrepreneurs? I think the ability to make things is super important. Ive met a fair amount of people who have an incredible idea for an app, and thats great, but its even better when paired with the ability to prototype it. Today there are lots of resources around for building apps. Acquire those skills as early as possible, and develop them.Whats been your proudest moment? Once we got to Facebook we had to enter a growth phase from being a 13-person company to a team of hundreds. Every six months we have a big meeting where we get everybody together to talk about the next six months. I remember one meeting where we screened a video showing the impact Instagram was having across the world. I looked around and everybody was so proud to have created that and to work on it, that was really special. At some point you have to be ready to let go of being the one person working on a business. The fact that weve been able to make that transition means a lot. With 80% of Instagram users following at least one business, what advice would you give entrepreneurs using the platform? Firstly, create a business profile. With that entrepreneurs are able to access analytics and insights about their audience [such as what time of the day they are using Instagram]. Weve learned the value of data to Instagram, so we want to bring that to other people. Secondly, entrepreneurs should use a variety of different Instagram tools to tell their story, using their Instagram feed, but also experimenting with Stories and even posting live. They can use this to bring their audience along with them and let them view their business a new way, whether thats behind the scenes or to an event. Is there anything youd have done differently? I would have hired much faster. There was so much lost sleep in the early days and it took a toll on our health and, probably, our relationships. It also took us a while to get comfortable with making big changes to the product. You have to be willing to disrupt yourself.Mike Krieger spoke at the Instagram #Wemadeit entrepreneurs breakfast. Sign up to become a member of the Guardian Small Business Network here for more advice, insight and best practice direct to your inbox.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/jun/19/instagram-co-founder-disrupt-krieger-systrom-investors'|'2017-06-19T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'a5af5a3beca97385ae2fe3c20b342b5bae33553d'|'Exclusive: Renault-Nissan seeks Ghosn heir to drive integration - sources'|'Autos - Wed Jun 7, 2017 - 9:53am BST Exclusive - Renault-Nissan seeks Ghosn heir to drive integration: sources left right FILE PHOTO: Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, smiles before an interview during the 87th International Motor Show at Palexpo in Geneva, Switzerland, March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo 1/3 left right Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, speaks during an interview with Reuters at Nissan''s global headquarters in Yokohama, Japan, February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 2/3 left right FILE PHOTO: Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, smiles before an interview during the 87th International Motor Show at Palexpo in Geneva, Switzerland, March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo 3/3 By Laurence Frost - PARIS PARIS Renault-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn is recruiting a new operational second-in-command for the carmaking alliance, company sources told Reuters, in a move designed to prepare his own succession and advance the companies'' integration. Under the plan, the currently separate chief competitive officer (CCO) roles at Renault ( RENA.PA ) and Nissan ( 7201.T ) would be fused into a single position at the 18-year-old alliance''s helm, the sources said. Nissan Chief Performance Officer Jose Munoz and CCO Yasuhiro Yamauchi are seen internally as strong contenders, they said, along with Stefan Mueller, Munoz''s counterpart at Renault. Ghosn, 63, aims to fill the new post later this year, backed by further steps to combine Renault and Nissan manufacturing, research and development and other key activities. "He''s already preparing the next stage," one of the people said. "The process is underway." A Renault-Nissan spokeswoman declined to comment. Brazilian-born Ghosn recently stepped back from his role as Nissan chief executive officer but remains CEO at Renault, where his contract ends in 2018. He still serves as chairman of both carmakers as well as Nissan-owned Mitsubishi Motors ( 7211.T ). Ghosn has repeatedly tussled with Renault''s biggest shareholder, the French state, over the future of the company and its 44 percent stake in Nissan. For years, he sang the praises of a consensual, arm''s length approach to cooperation - often invoking the long list of failed auto deals to explain why a merger was a bad idea. Renault and Nissan are currently targeting 5.5 billion euros (4.80 billion pounds) in joint savings, or 3.8 percent of combined sales. But the tone changed in February, when Ghosn suggested the carmakers would be ready for a full tie-up if only France sold its near-20 percent Renault holding. Nissan "will not accept any move on capital structure as long as the French state remains a shareholder," Ghosn said as he presented Renault''s 2016 earnings. "The day the French state decides to get out, everything is open, and I can tell you it won''t take too much time." The new CCO hiring process began around the same time, the sources said, with senior executives at both companies vying for what is likely to be an internal appointment. Senior alliance appointments are beset by the same cultural and political sensitivities that have held back integration. Being neither French nor Japanese could be a diplomatic edge for Munoz or Mueller, respectively Spanish and German. Renault CCO Thierry Bollore is considered a long shot, the sources added. Bollore, 54, has played a prominent role in publicly defending the company against diesel fraud allegations that remain under investigation by French prosecutors. Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa will likely stay in the role he inherited in April, with Ghosn also remaining Renault CEO "for an initial period". Ghosn, who has run Nissan since 1999 and its French parent since 2005, is expected to continue presiding over the alliance from one or more chairman roles. The other changes will see Renault and Nissan departments folded into alliance teams that were created in 2014 across four key areas, the same people said: manufacturing and supply chain; research and development; purchasing; and human resources. "We''ll see convergence efforts in the same fields," said one. "But they are stepping up a notch." Renault shares were up 0.8 percent at 84.30 euros as of 0840 GMT on Wednesday. (Reporting by Laurence Frost; Additional reporting by Gilles Guillaume; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-renault-nissan-succession-idUKKBN18Y0RK'|'2017-06-07T16:25:00.000+03:00' +'adb8093808d2e891ffca109097b0c43daeac54f3'|'UPDATE 2-''Hamilton'' redux: New York man charged in $70 mln ticket scheme'|'(Adds details of charges, bail conditions)By Jonathan StempelNEW YORK May 31 A New York man has been criminally charged with running a $70 million Ponzi scheme centered on the fake resale of tickets to events including football''s Super Bowl, soccer''s World Cup, the U.S. Open tennis tournament and the Broadway musical "Hamilton."The arrest of Jason Nissen, 44, of Roslyn, on Long Island, came 14 years after he was caught selling tickets to students for a Dave Matthews Band concert at the Queens, New York high school where he then taught math. The concert was actually free.Nissen''s case is the second since January alleging that investors were defrauded over ticket sales to "Hamilton" and other popular events.Prosecutors said Nissen, the chief executive of New York-based National Event Co, lured investors since 2015 by promising to buy and resell tickets profitably.They said he diverted much of the money to enrich himself and repay earlier investors, using falsified documents and inflated accounts receivable ledgers, with the help of Photoshop, to conceal his fraud.Victims included a private equity firm that invested $40 million, and a Manhattan diamond wholesaler that has recouped only half of the $32 million it lent, prosecutors said.Nissen faces one count of wire fraud and up to 20 years in prison. He was released on $250,000 bond.His lawyer, Michael Bachner, declined to comment.Prosecutors said Nissen admitted his scheme to two victims.He allegedly told an executive at the diamond wholesaler in a May 7 phone call discussing a cache of "Hamilton" tickets that "some of it was real and some of it was fake... The numbers are just all multiplied."The next day, at a videotaped meeting with the executive and the wholesaler''s chief financial officer, Nissen said he would go to jail if they did not provide more money, prosecutors said.Court papers described the conversation."You were running a Ponzi scheme," the CFO said."I guess you want to call it... I was borrowing from Peter to pay Paul," Nissen responded."Yeah. That''s the definition of a Ponzi."In the other "Hamilton" case, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil charges accusing Joseph Meli and Matthew Harriton of running a $97 million scam involving at least 138 investors.Both have denied wrongdoing. Meli and another defendant were separately charged in a related criminal case.The Nissen case is U.S. v. Nissen, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 17-mag-04096. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Dan Grebler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-crime-ponzi-tickets-idINL1N1IX1BV'|'2017-05-31T19:16:00.000+03:00' +'125b96f0f4ed1c85cb687cc64e5468dc645cafc2'|'UK election makes ''helicopter money'' more likely - Deutsche Bank analysts'|'Banks - Mon Jun 12, 2017 - 11:52am BST UK election makes ''helicopter money'' more likely - Deutsche Bank analysts FILE PHOTO: A voter arrives at a polling station in London, Britain June 8, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth LONDON "Helicopter money" - giving people more cash in the hope they will spend it - is more likely after last week''s shock election results in Britain, Deutsche Bank analysts said on Monday. Signs of strong turnout from young voters in Thursday''s snap election, which left the ruling Conservative party without a parliamentary majority, could have major repercussions for politics and markets in Britain and possibly beyond, Deutsche analysts Jim Reid and Sukanto Chanda said. They said in a note that young voters making their voices felt suggests economic policy may be more focussed on wealth redistribution. At the same time, an unwillingness to alienate older voters means politicians will struggle to tax the old while helping the young. "In short, governments can possibly be forced to spend more across the developed world until bond markets rebel at the high level of debts that this implies and then central banks would be forced to monetise this debt," Reid and Chanda said in Deutsche Bank''s daily fixed income note. "Thursday''s election makes helicopter money more likely ... This is different from QE (quantitative easing) as it''s central banks buying bonds that are attached to fresh spending rather than independent of it." Helicopter money is a form of policy easing envisaged by U.S. economist Milton Friedman, using the metaphor of a helicopter dropping money, and has gained attention in recent years as a possible tool to fight deflation. It would be funded by a permanent increase in the money supply, not a temporary boost by bond issues that eventually have to be paid back. The idea of central banks printing money for government spending in a "people''s QE" was a prominent part of the 2015 leadership election campaign for British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn. (Reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe; Editing by Robin Pomeroy) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-election-helicopter-money-idUKKBN19314K'|'2017-06-12T18:52:00.000+03:00' +'89a0c4e71f39c40d8f66374cabd6da3f5c8df622'|'Singapore to allow banks to enter non-financial e-commerce'|'SINGAPORE Singapore''s central bank will streamline regulatory requirements to allow banks to conduct or invest in non-financial e-commerce businesses, it said late on Tuesday.Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat, speaking at an event organised by the Association of Banks in Singapore, said that these will be businesses that are related to or complementary to banks'' core financial operations."MAS (The Monetary Authority of Singapore) will allow banks to engage in the operation of digital platforms that match buyers and sellers of consumer goods or services as well as the online sale of such goods or services...," the central bank said in a statement.Banks are currently prohibited from selling consumer goods.MAS will issue a consultation paper on the operational details of the policy changes by the end of September.(Reporting by Anshuman Daga and Masayuki Kitano; Editing by David Goodman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/singapore-banks-idINKBN19I1L6'|'2017-06-27T20:50:00.000+03:00' +'232f6f0433fa5c4512c1e0b905a67f4840a43610'|'Mexico''s Televisa says court ruled against Office Depot on Roku ban'|'Intel 2:31pm EDT Mexico''s Televisa says court ruled against Office Depot on Roku ban By Noel Randewich - MEXICO CITY MEXICO CITY A cable operator belonging to Mexico''s largest television network said on Friday it won court rulings against requests by Office Depot and Radio Shack to resume sales of Roku video streaming devices after another court banned them. Cablevision, a cable TV provider owned by Televisa, told Reuters via email the judgments were made by a civil appeals court on Thursday. Copies of the rulings were not immediately publicly available. Cablevision is trying to stop the importation and distribution of Roku devices in Mexico on the grounds that they are sometimes hacked so that people can watch pirated channels. An Office Depot spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment and a Radio Shack spokesman could not immediately be reached. Connected to televisions, Roku devices provide access to Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Starz and other services over the internet. Cablevision called on Roku to change its software to make it unusable by hackers selling illegal content, the Mexican company said in a statement. Roku prohibits streaming content on its devices that does not have distribution rights, including the non-certified "channels" in question in Mexico, spokeswoman Tricia Mifsud said in an email. "We encourage our customers to be careful when adding channels to their Roku accounts, and we do not recommend, promote or encourage use of any channels not found in the Roku Channel Store," she said. Hackers in Mexico use messaging app WhatsApp to offer Roku owners illegal access to monthly packages of hundreds of television channels, including Televisa''s, HBO, ESPN and others. On Wednesday, a court reaffirmed a previous court order halting the importation of distribution of the devices in Mexico. Roku had won a suspension. (Reporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Grant McCool)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-televisa-roku-idUSKBN19L1Z5'|'2017-06-30T16:52:00.000+03:00' +'4257cdee9b9d9aa83c9632c2329a50d57110ea5c'|'Anthem plans to leave Obamacare market in Ohio in 2018'|'Market News - Tue Jun 6, 2017 - 12:58pm EDT Anthem plans to leave Obamacare market in Ohio in 2018 NEW YORK, June 6 Anthem Inc, one of the largest sellers of Obamacare individual health insurance, said it will exit most of the Ohio market next year because of volatility and uncertainty about whether the government will continue to provide subsidies aimed at making the plans affordable. Republicans are trying to cut off the subsidy payments in court proceedings and President Donald Trump has made conflicting statements about if the government should continue paying them. Anthem has been reviewing participation in all of the 14 states where it sells Blue Cross Blue Shield plans as it has faced deadlines to submit premium rates for 2018. (Reporting by Caroline Humer)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/anthem-ohio-idUSL1N1J3140'|'2017-06-07T00:58:00.000+03:00' +'cf2873c07cca2ff983a527cb019bb2b2a04752b0'|'MIDEAST STOCKS-Qatar stabilises after minister reassures on crisis'|'Market 21am EDT MIDEAST STOCKS-Qatar stabilises after minister reassures on crisis DUBAI, June 12 Qatar''s stock market stabilised in early trade on Monday from sharp falls last week after comments from the finance minister that the economy was essentially operating as normal despite a major diplomatic crisis. Doha''s index was almost flat after 45 minutes of trade; it had lost 8.7 percent as of Sunday''s close since four Arab states cut links a week ago. Among Qatari banks, which could face funding difficulties as foreign banks scale back ties, Qatar National Bank fell 0.7 percent but other institutions rebounded. Doha Bank was up 1.5 percent. Qatari Finance Minister Ali Sherif al-Emadi sounded confident when he told CNBC television that the economy was essentially operating as normal and Doha could easily defend its currency. Many investors still hope for a diplomatic solution in coming weeks. Dubai''s Drake & Scull rose 1.7 percent. It has been climbing in unusually large volumes since Thursday. Former chief executive Khaldoun Tabari has sold his stake in the company to Tabarak Investment, a source told Zawya, a Thomson Reuters publication. Tabarak Investment''s stake stands at around 18 to 20 percent after the sale, making it the largest shareholder, Zawya said. In April, DSI said it would sell 500 million dirhams ($136 million) of shares to Tabarak as part of its capital restructuring programme, subject to regulatory approval. The Dubai index was up 0.3 percent. In Abu Dhabi, Dana Gas headed for a fourth straight session of gains, rising 1.7 percent. It has rocketed 49 percent this month on news that it received a portion of its overdue payments from Egypt and on hopes for its legal efforts to recover money from Iraqi Kurdistan. The Abu Dhabi index was nearly flat, as six other shares rose and five declined. In Saudi Arabia, the index edged down 0.2 percent as 12 of 14 listed petrochemical makers fell with Brent oil futures staying below $50 a barrel. Ethylene maker National Petrochemical was down 2.5 percent; it had closed at a seven-month low on Sunday. (Reporting by Celine Aswad; Editing by Andrew Torchia and Raissa Kasolowsky)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/mideast-stocks-idUSL8N1J912O'|'2017-06-12T16:21:00.000+03:00' +'1ceda6279aff0172dcdd751c913b35f6099fcbd3'|'L''Oreal set to sell The Body Shop to Brazil''s Natura in $1.1 billion deal'|'By Sudip Kar-Gupta - PARIS PARIS French cosmetics and luxury goods group L''Oreal has started exclusive talks to sell its The Body Shop business to Brazilian make-up company Natura Cosmeticos in a possible 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) deal.L''Oreal said earlier this year it was reviewing its strategy for The Body Shop, which it bought for 652 million pounds in 2006, and that the sale of the business had attracted a wide range of bidders.L''Oreal said on Friday it had received a firm offer from Natura Cosmeticos, and that the proposed deal put an enterprise value of 1 billion euros on the four decades old beauty brand, a pioneer in mass marketing of cosmetics made without animal testing and with natural ingredients.L''Oreal shares were up 1.4 percent in early session trading, outperforming a 1 percent gain on France''s benchmark CAC-40 index and a 0.4 percent rise on the STOXX Europe 600 Personal & Household Goods index.Keren Finance fund manager Gregory Moore said the price tag had pleased L''Oreal investors, given earlier reports it could be sold for around 800 million euros."The stock has reacted well to the news, because there were some people who thought it could be sold for less," said Moore, whose firm owns L''Oreal shares in its portfolio.Founded in 1976 by British entrepreneur Anita Roddick, the company pioneered ethical beauty but has since fallen victim to increased competition from newcomers also offering similar products based on natural ingredients with no animal-testing."Natura will support The Body Shop development in the long-term and enable The Body Shop to best serve its customers while respecting its strong commitments towards its employees, franchisees and stakeholders," said L''Oreal chairman and chief executive Jean-Paul Agon in a statement.Natura chief executive Joao Paulo Ferreira said that for his part, The Body Shop would fit in well with Natura''s similar businesses, such as its "Aesop" brand.L''Oreal shares are up around 10 percent so far in 2017, broadly in line with a similar rise on the CAC-40, with the stock having touched a record high earlier this month.($1 = 0.8930 euros)(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Matthias Blamont and Andrew Callus)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/loreal-bodyshop-idINKBN1900W1'|'2017-06-09T05:56:00.000+03:00' +'052b7d9e73bac698d06eb52836b10976076673ef'|'Analysis: Yuan bears throw in the towel, say it isn''t worth fighting China''s PBOC'|'Business News - Tue Jun 20, 2017 - 1:45pm IST Yuan bears throw in the towel, say it isn''t worth fighting China''s PBOC FILE PHOTO: A China yuan note is seen in this illustration photo May 31, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration/File Photo By Vidya Ranganathan - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE A slew of Western investors and traders who placed bets in the past two years that Chinas yuan currency would drop because of a weaker Chinese economy, the threat of a debt crisis, and capital outflows, abandoned those positions in recent months. They have decided that at least in the short term - they may well be on a loser if they try to fight the Peoples Bank of China, the nations central bank, which has been taking a series of measures that appear aimed at keeping the currency stable. This is particularly the case ahead of an autumn congress of the ruling Communist Party of China, that is expected to allow Chinese leader Xi Jinping to consolidate his power. Also, the Chinese economy has been more robust than expected, the nations authorities have taken stiff measures to reduce capital outflows, and the U.S. dollar has been retreating from gains it made last year. Major global fund managers such as Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Old Mutual Global Investors, Standard Life Investments and Aviva Investors -- have taken off short yuan positions even as many of them see some weakness further down the road. The PBOC has made some moves to defend the yuan, which is also known as the renminbi. It has pushed up the cost of short-selling the currency and even changing the way it sets a daily mid-point used as a benchmark. "They are not happy with a really weaker renminbi," said Mark Nash, the London-based head of global bonds at Old Mutual Global Investors. "People obviously dont want to fight the central bank. Nash, whose firm manages $44.7 billion globally, said he had been short the yuan at the turn of 2017 but took that position off early in the year. But he said he believes the strength in the yuan is reflective more of "an exercise in financial regulation" rather than an improvement in China''s economic outlook and hopes to go short again soon. Standard Life Investments'' Hong Kong-based emerging markets fixed income fund manager, Mark Baker, said he gave up his short yuan position in the first quarter of 2017, after seeing the success China was having with capital controls and some improvement in economic data. "There is a desire to rein in expectations that the currency is merely a one-way bet, he said. The PBOC did not respond to a Reuters request for comments for this article. The yuan CNY=CFXS has risen 2 percent against the dollar so far this year. In the latest policy tweak, the PBOC has included a "counter-cyclical factor" in its method for fixing the daily mid-point around which the currency is allowed to trade. The adjustment to the fixing method in May was the second this year and came after a string of capital control moves, all aimed at stopping domestic Chinese investors from moving cash abroad. That has put a floor under a currency which fell 6.5 percent in 2016 and 4.5 percent in 2015. Concern about the decline led the central bank to spend a billion dollars over 2-1/2-years to defend the yuan. Short yuan positions are expensive. It costs about 5 percent annually to own and short the yuan directly based on short-term borrowing costs, though there are a myriad ways in which an investor or trader can structure a short bet. Some investors interviewed for this article said they mainly use offshore forward currency contracts - settled for cash at a particular date - which makes the trade somewhat cheaper.INTENTIONS UNCLEAR Beijing is also keen on keeping the yuan strong so that U.S. President Donald Trump isnt given any reason to take tough trade measures against China. During the election campaign, Trump had accused Beijing of manipulating its currency to make Chinese exports more competitive, hurting U.S. companies. The stronger yuan also helps to dissuade Chinese companies and citizens from moving money offshore. Jonathan Xiong, head of the fixed income alternatives group at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said he closed out his short yuan positions at the beginning of the year as Chinas growth prospects improved. Stuart Ritson, head of Asian rates and FX at Aviva Investors, with about $453 billion under management, removed his short position around the end of the first quarter, and is now positive on the yuan owing to the PBOC''s preference for a stronger currency, reduced capital outflows and because the yuan offers one of the best yields relative to volatility among emerging market currencies. Ritson hasnt taken a bullish bet as yet. Not everyone has left the trade. Kyle Bass, the founder of Dallas-based hedge fund Hayman Capital Management, has kept his short position because he says he believes the nations credit bubble problems are metastasizing. Bass, has long argued that the Chinese yuan is set to fall 30 percent against the U.S. dollar. The numbers are telling me that we are right. The numbers are getting so bad so quickly, he said. But even those who see the currency weakening have pulled back their forecasts. Deutsche Bank''s chief China economist, Zhiwei Zhang, sees the yuan ending the year at 7.1 per dollar, rather than the 7.4 he was forecasting at the beginning of the year. There should be some weakness, he says, because economic growth is likely to slow, capital controls could become less effective over time and the dollar may not continue depreciating, At the other end of the spectrum are fund managers such as Jan Dehn, London-based head of research at asset manager Ashmore Group, who says he believes the market shouldn''t be blind-sided by conspiracy theories. "The recent stabilization of the yuan has perfectly sound foundations and can be explained without having to resort to some suspect or obscure schemes on the part of Chinese policy makers," said Dehn. (Additional reporting by Jennifer Ablan in NEW YORK and Kevin Yao in BEIJING; Editing by Martin Howell)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-china-yuan-funds-analysis-idINKBN19B0UB'|'2017-06-20T16:15:00.000+03:00' +'722fdfaeebb8b2ab365b10c9c6150aac8d2af3fe'|'Sunrun says audit committee reviewing claims in WSJ article'|'Sunrun Inc''s ( RUN.O ) board of directors is investigating a Wall Street Journal report last month that said former employees manipulated sales data around the time of the U.S. solar installer''s 2015 initial public offering.In a brief statement posted on its website, Sunrun said its executive team had asked the board''s audit committee to review the Journal''s article. The statement is dated June 1."Sunrun''s executive team is committed to transparency and looks forward to taking any and all appropriate actions in response to the Audit Committee''s eventual findings," the statement said.Sunrun officials could not immediately be reached for comment.Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that former managers at Sunrun said they were told by their superiors to delay reporting hundreds of customer cancellations during several months in the middle of 2015. Sunrun went public in August 2015.In a statement on May 22, the date the article was published, Sunrun Chief Executive Officer Lynn Jurich said an internal review had offered no evidence that sales employees had changed cancellation dates in the company''s system as was reported.Sunrun shares were down a penny at $5.12 Friday on the Nasdaq.(Reporting by Nichola Groom; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-sunrun-probe-idINKBN18T2R1'|'2017-06-02T16:59:00.000+03:00' +'d422dcf97d90e4f00a8a594ec4b067812dd2b210'|'Russekoff''s hedge fund Smith Cove hires ex-Perry exec Gulati'|'Money 22pm EDT Russekoff''s hedge fund Smith Cove hires ex-Perry exec Gulati BOSTON Hedge fund manager David Russekoff has hired Chetan Gulati, a former colleague from Perry Capital, to beef up the investment team at his newly formed firm Smith Cove Capital. Gulati will work in London, a spokesman for Smith Cove confirmed on Tuesday. Russekoff and Gulati will reunite at Smith Cove after having worked together at Perry for eight years. Russekoff, who had been Perry''s chief investment officer, left the firm in 2015 and Gulati, who specialized in buying distressed structured securities, stayed through 2016 when Perry announced plans to shut down. Russekoff already hired former colleague Bob Carroll as his head trader. Roger Schmitz, who used to work at Monarch Alternative Capital, and Victor Consoli, who previously worked with Perella Weinberg Partners, round out the investment team. Smith Cove began trading with less than $100 million in partner capital in March and likely will begin trying to raise outside capital later in the year. The firm owned Rice Energy Inc. whose share price surged on Monday amid news that it would be acquired by EQT Corp.. (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Bill Trott)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-hedgefund-smithcove-idUSKBN19B304'|'2017-06-21T04:21:00.000+03:00' +'fe0c996cfa34a99e024d648ceece5c838ccdf1ce'|'London startup Blockchain raises $40 million in fresh funding'|'Deals - Fri Jun 23, 2017 - 1:05am BST London startup Blockchain raises $40 million in fresh funding A bitcoin ATM prints out a receipt for a user at the ''Vape Lab'' cafe where it is possible to both use and purchase the bitcoin currency, in London March 24, 2015. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls By Heather Somerville - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO London-based startup Blockchain has raised $40 million (31.5 million pounds) in a fresh round of funding as the software company rides a wave of enthusiasm for digital currency technology. The financing round, the largest for a financial technology company since Britain''s vote last year to leave the European Union, was led by the venture capital arm of Alphabet Inc ( GOOGL.O ) and Lakestar, Blockchain said on Thursday. Nokota Management and Digital Currency Group also participated in the financing round, which boosted Blockchain''s total funding to more than $70 million Tom Hulme, general partner at Alphabet''s venture firm GV, said the firm invested because "the pace of innovation in the digital currency space is unmatched." Founded in 2011, Blockchain makes software that allows consumers and businesses to make transactions using digital currencies such as bitcoin. The firm is named after the internet platform that records and validates transactions between two parties without relying on an intermediary such as a bank. Co-founder and Chief Executive Peter Smith said that, as of March, the company was completing the equivalent of $2.5 billion in transactions on a monthly basis through its consumer virtual wallet product. "Anybody with a reasonable ability to use a smartphone can use it," Smith said. "My grandmother uses our product today." The growing acceptance and adoption of digital financial products has helped startups like Blockchain attract investor attention. Last week, American International Group Inc ( AIG.N ) announced a blockchain-based insurance product. Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo and other banks have invested in blockchain startups, and many will roll out commercial blockchain products this year. In the first quarter, blockchain startups raised a total of $141 million from investors, a 57 percent increase over the fourth quarter but an 18 percent drop from the first quarter of 2016, according to data provider CB Insights. Some skeptics say blockchain will never be adopted broadly or pose a threat to traditional banks, while others point to the volatility of bitcoin, the digital currency based on the technology. While far from mainstream, digital currency has enjoyed growing popularity that Smith attributes to the instability of traditional currencies in places such as Brazil, and political uncertainty in Britain and the United States. The day after Donald Trump was elected U.S. president, Smith said, Blockchain had the second-highest number of new users sign up in a single day. "In you''re in an environment of rapidly deteriorating geopolitical stability," Smith said, "you are open to new ideas and new products." (1 British pound = $1.2686) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-blockchain-funding-idUKKBN19D2OQ'|'2017-06-23T04:49:00.000+03:00' +'37abc25a943d00a8e1ea3d539864563dd9b1bf95'|'AIRSHOW-Boeing upbeat on mid-market jet, sees composite fuselage'|'Market 9:58am EDT AIRSHOW-Boeing upbeat on mid-market jet, sees composite fuselage (Adds details, background) By Tim Hepher PARIS, June 20 Boeing''s head of airplane developments said on Tuesday he was "very optimistic" that the world''s largest planemaker would close the business for a new mid-market jet designed to open up new routes from the middle of the next decade. Mike Delaney, general manager of airplane developments at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said the final decision would be for Boeing''s top leadership but that design, production and cost characteristics were all pointing in the right direction. Speaking to Reuters, Delaney confirmed for the first time publicly that the proposed new aircraft would have a composite fuselage, a key decision likely to boost suppliers such as Boeing''s sole composites contractor Toray of Japan. In a separate briefing at the Paris Airshow, Delaney said the jet would make "extensive use" of composites and confirmed it would have a "hybrid" cross-section, apparently referring to the need for a large cabin and slimmed-down cargo space. Delaney''s keenly awaited annual briefing at the world''s largest air show gave fresh clues on how the U.S. planemaker''s newest airplane might be designed. The idea is to carve out a new market between medium-haul single-aisle planes like the 737 and Airbus A320 family and the smallest long-haul jets like the A330 and Boeing 787. Boeing faces a difficult puzzle as it tries to square conflicting airline demands for a wide twin-aisle cabin with the low operating costs of the 737 category. Delaney said airlines consulted by Boeing had stressed that what counts most is being able to carry the right number of passengers for the routes for which the jet is designed. Based on Boeing market forecasts that is likely to be 220 to 270. They are less worried about carrying cargo. That is the opposite of what airlines had said when Boeing was developing larger planes like the 787 and 777, Delaney said. In those cases, engineers had designed the fuselage around the cargo containers and then adjusted the rest of the fuselage and therefore the seating capacity around that. DESIGN CLUES Delaney''s statements give important clues about what is expected to be an unconventional fuselage for the mid-market plane, which in turn may determine whether Boeing can square that circle of wide cabins and low operating cost. Industry sources have said the fuselage will have a somewhat elliptical shape when seen from the front because the bottom of the plane will be flattened to get rid of unnecessary cargo space. Usually a pressurised fuselage is round to avoid stress points. Building the fuselage out of tough lightweight composites allows less conventional shapes. In turn, stripping away unnecessary space reduces drag and makes the plane cheaper to fly. Delaney declined to talk in detail about the design except to say the fuselage would have a "hybrid" cross-section. "It is a geometry that supports twin-aisle comfort and single-aisle economics," he said. Another Boeing executive recently said it had considered options from "mild to wild" for the new jet. The new jet is expected to enter service in 2025, if Boeing decides to go ahead and develop it. (Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/airshow-paris-boeing-jet-idUSL8N1JH3J0'|'2017-06-20T21:58:00.000+03:00' +'ed4d6f6f3ce6dc8960c8973f886b68580e506263'|'From decks to moats: the complete guide to modern office jargon - Guardian Small Business Network - The Guardian'|'Wednesday 21 June 2017 15.00 BST Last modified on Wednesday 21 June 2017 15.02 BST If you want to add value to your tell-mode paradigm in the competitive modern workplace, you need to keep up to date with the latest business jargon. Such language is widely acknowledged to make workers feel unhappy and stressed, and cause everyone to feel as though they spend their days in a nightmare of corporate newspeak, where anything that isnt completely meaningless must mean exactly the opposite of what it appears to say. The problem is that while everyone knows this, everyone is also well aware that they dont want to be the one person who is ridiculed for speaking normal English. Game theory as well as common sense dictates that being the lone voice of reason is no good to anyone. So if you cant beat them, join them, with this selection of the hippest, most bleeding-edge horror words out there. Deck People are increasingly annoying one another by asking for the deck when it comes to a particular Powerpoint presentation, as though they are card sharks in a New Orleans saloon. Cant you just say file or slides? But of course it makes no sense to use the word slides for the individual images in a slideshow: thats an obsolete tech metaphor from the days of overhead projectors. These things like the floppy disk icon that means save will presumably live on until no one can remember what they originally meant. Moat We have Game of Thrones to thank for the fact that business jargon is adopting language reminiscent of fantasy medieval warfare. According to Bloomberg, moat is the mot du jour in Silicon Valley presentations and earnings calls. But rather than a literal body of water around a castle it is used to describe products or services that protect a company from incursions by competitors. The term was popularised a decade ago by the Sage of Omaha, Warren Buffett, but over the past year it seems that if youre not busy building a moat, youre digging your own grave. O n all fours Are you on all fours with that? Should we get down on all fours and look at it from the clients point of view? Either this is supposed to be smirkingly pornographic, or implies that the client is extremely small. In any case, getting down on all fours was already advertising jargon in 1950s New York. How long it will take for us to re-evolve back to a bipedal attitude is anyones guess. S egment (verb) Overheard by a correspondent on a bus: Weve got to segment that down. How disgusting. And yet, like many apparently modern abuses of language, the transitive use of segment as a verb to divide into segments dates back to 19th-century biological science, becoming popular in computer programming in the 1970s, which is probably where the business use came from. There are also inspirational examples from other disciplines. One anthropologist asked in 1962: How do we segment the stream of speech into category-designating units? An excellent question to start any meeting. S wim lanes Business jargon likes to make itself sound fun by borrowing terms from more exciting pursuits. Sport is a fertile category, what with the awful ubiquity of close of play, deep dive and so forth. There are also swim lanes, as though everyone in the office is doing the Australian crawl in an Olympic pool. The mundane truth is that a swim lane is a column or row in a flowchart, with each lane devoted to one unit or process within the business. You can also make reference to Rummler-Brache diagrams or, simply, multi-column charts (which is what, in fact, they are), but that doesnt quite evoke the cheering crowd and overpowering stench of chlorine. S olve (noun) According to my informant, at least one person on the planet has actually said: Lets action that solve, which is a shattering two-for-one. The verb action to mean do or fulfil is now unavoidable, since it sounds so enjoyably active (and probably proactive), that people throughout the land are finding themselves screaming: Action! at their co-workers as though they are despotic film directors. Meanwhile, to use solve as a noun meaning solution seems like a weird novelty for the sake of sounding monosyllabically technical until you realise that Shakespeare uses it in sonnet 69, so its probably fine after all. S weep the sheds Oddly, sweeping the sheds has become a popular buzzphrase for a kind of humble attention to detail. It derives from sport rather than gardening, being popularised by a 2013 business book offering success lessons from the New Zealand rugby team apparently the All Blacks use brooms to sweep out their own locker room. Where sheds come into it is anyones guess. Do you know anyone who actually sweeps their shed? Isnt the whole point of a shed that you dont have to sweep it? S nackable I regret to observe that snackable content is a thing in marketing, meaning an attempt to draw people in with bite-sized nuggets of text or video or whatever so as to bolster brand visibility. This has inevitably led to a whole constellation of eating metaphors: how to make your readers hungry for snackable content; how to give them a satisfying and speedy feed, and so on ad nauseam. C hange agent The received wisdom in both business and self-help is that change is always good, which of course is rubbish. Change is often extremely bad. Yet you cannot be a modern, thrusting executive unless you are a change agent, daringly leading whatever change it happens to be. Otherwise you are an enemy of change. T ransformative These days, of course, a change is all the better if it is transformative. A change that was not transformative, however, would just be fiddling about, because a transformation is a change in form or a thorough metamorphosis. (Confusingly, however, a reform is usually just a minor improvement.) In general speech, something transformative is a particularly dramatic or delightful change: She went on a fungus-and-kale diet and within weeks she was transformed. So transformative is just a fancier way of saying big and nice. Nice, big change. Just remember that it is also a transformative change when a company goes bust or its directors are imprisoned. K aizen Alternatively, you can accomplish transformative change through gradual improvements, or so says mystical wisdom from the east. If saying: Lets try consistently to make things better, doesnt sound sufficiently impressive, just drop the word kaizen instead. Introduced to an awestruck western readership by Masaaki Imai in his 1986 book Kaizen: The Key to Japans Competitive Success, the word is now incontinently applied to methods of personal self-help as well as business processes, even though the Japanese word itself just means any change for the better with no necessary implication of continuous improvement over time. But it does have the inestimable advantage of making the anglophone user feel like a cross between a Zen master and a samurai, although bringing swords into the office is still largely discouraged. R unway How long is your runway? No, this is not some weird sex code but a normal business question, particularly in the tech industry, where as Bloomberg reports, execs used it 2,348 times in analyst calls, presentations and filings over the last decade. In this sense, your runway is simply how long your company can last before running out of money. Its therefore rather an odd metaphor, because it seems as though at the end of this particular runway every aircraft will just crash into a fence and explode into flames, rather than taking off into the wide blue yonder. This is obviously not a desirable feature of real-life civilian or military aviation, although it is an accurate description of the life-cycle of most Silicon Valley startups. I nflection point An inflection point is a moment after which things will change, no doubt in a transformative way. So says Investopedia: An event that results in a significant change in the progress of a company, industry, sector, economy or geopolitical situation. Excitingly, this phrase derives from differential calculus, where the inflection point is a point at which a curve changes from concave to convex or vice versa. Its corporate use jettisons such technical detail and, in the usual way of terminological inflation, can now be applied to pretty much anything. I feel that last cup of coffee was really an inflection point for my ability to add value today. P ivot Pivoting is an excellent euphemism for failing. Its what you do when your business model proves to be a crock: just pivot to another one, and maybe another one after that, until something sticks. Its borrowed from the military term of pivoting to swing around and come at the enemy from a different angle, although many celebrated business pivots look more like jumping ship entirely. Groupon, explains the FT, famously pivoted from their original aim to organise social advocacy campaigns and turned into the shopping giant we all know and cant unsubscribe from. This provides an exciting new jargon opportunity for creative politicians. If accused of a U-turn by an excited media, a minister should just say that, after due consideration, they have simply pivoted to an even better idea. ITL Much of the senior executives work is spent dreaming up new euphemisms for the sadly necessary business of firing people. After downsizing was considered too much of a downer, we got rightsizing, then demising, as though sacking people was actually killing them. But the best new circumlocution for getting rid of people is the innocuous-seeming initialism ITL, which stands for: Invited to leave. There is, of course, no possibility of declining such an invitation, although if there is severance involved at least therell be an ITL package, and so forth. You have to love the chutzpah of invited, as though one were being offered the chance to go to a really good party, which, lets face it, definitely isnt happening in the office.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/jun/21/from-decks-to-moats-the-complete-guide-to-modern-office-jargon'|'2017-06-21T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'95e897f10025face5a1af72f1af2dcb7d48a016e'|'China tightens grip on yuan to head off economic risks'|'Business News - Fri Jun 9, 2017 - 8:12am BST China tightens grip on yuan to head off economic risks FILE PHOTO: A China yuan note is seen in this illustration photo May 31, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration/File Photo By Kevin Yao - BEIJING BEIJING In rapid fire moves that have stunned investors, Chinese authorities have begun tightening control over the yuan, lifting it sharply in a concerted effort to restore market confidence and forestall risks of capital outflows and slower growth, policy insiders say. Caught off-guard last month by a ratings downgrade by Moody''s Investors Service that gave fresh momentum to bearish yuan bets, traders said Beijing has reverted to its old play book - intervening in markets to bend them to its will. (For a graphic on Yuan''s trading range click tmsnrt.rs/2rcyMrv ) The key priority for authorities was maintaining market confidence ahead of a leadership transition later this year, policy insiders said, as growing debt risks, higher U.S. interest rates, capital outflows and possible trade tensions with the United States threatened to knock the economy. The policy insiders say last month''s introduction of a mysterious ''counter-cyclical factor'' that increases the central bank''s influence over the yuan''s reference rate showed how serious authorities are about flushing out bearish bets and heading off any slide towards 7 yuan to the dollar. The move highlighted the challenge China faces between safeguarding economic and currency stability and speeding up capital market reforms - important steps in its quest to internationalise the yuan. "They (authorities) are clearly tightening their grip (on the yuan), which is related to politics and diplomacy," said a policy adviser. "From monetary authorities'' perspective, they definitely do not want to see the yuan falling past 7 - a landmark move that could affect market expectations," the adviser said. The People''s Bank of China (PBOC), responding to Reuters'' request for comment, denied suggestions that it''s tightening control on the yuan via the counter-cyclical factor. "Such a statement is not true," the PBOC said in a rare email response, and reiterated the official explanation that changes to the way the mid-point is calculated were geared to better reflect macroeconomic fundamentals and temper "irrational" market expectations.Beijing is especially sensitive to any renewed criticism of its currency policy by the United States, and a weaker yuan could play into President Donald Trump''s protectionist proclivities as Washington engages in 100 days of trade talks with China. A second adviser said that with the Federal Reserve set to raise rates further at next week''s policy review, authorities are worried that capital outflows could drive persistent weakness in the yuan - the last thing Chinese leaders want before the closely-watched leadership transition in the autumn. In 2015, a botched stock market rescue attempt tarnished Beijing''s reform and broad policy-making credentials. The yuan CNY=CFXS has gained 2.2 percent versus the dollar this year, including 1.3 percent since May 24 - when Moody''s downgraded China''s credit ratings for the first time in nearly 30 years, citing its mounting debt risks. A Reuters poll predicted the yuan to slip toward 7.05 per dollar in 12 months. COUNTERING BEARS Policy insiders believe authorities had been experimenting with the new mid-point regime and may have been forced to introduce it early after the Moody''s downgrade. The central bank meanwhile has also aggressively strengthened the mid-point since the start of the month. Authorities are also concerned that rapid falls in the yuan, which is allowed to trade two percent above or below the mid-point rate, could undermine Beijing''s bid to boost the Chinese currency''s global clout. "The central bank will use various means to intervene if the yuan falls to 7 - this is a so-called red line," another policy adviser said, underscoring unease that a destabilising fall in the yuan could sap confidence and hurt the economy. China burned through nearly $320 billion of reserves lastyear but the yuan still fell about 6.5 percent against the dollar, its biggest annual drop since 1994. Latest data showed foreign exchange reserves rose to a seven-month high of $3.054 trillion in May, as stringent capital control measures helped staunch outflows.. CONTROVERSIAL Policy insiders say the central bank will combine the ''counter-cyclical factor'', with its regular currency interventions and existing curbs on capital outflows to support the yuan. The change will make it harder to speculate on the yuan, but critics say the move undermines transparency of China''s currency regime - a goal of recent market-based reforms. "The central bank''s mid-point move is a step closer to the previous fixed exchange rate," said one of the advisers. "The move is controversial as it''s a retreat in reform." (Reporting by Kevin Yao; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-yuan-idUKKBN1900QG'|'2017-06-09T15:08:00.000+03:00' +'d4a42ed97a2b78968c0200704374afe4f2397c99'|'Watchdog sets July 3 deadline for EU securities licences'|'Business News - Mon Jun 19, 2017 - 11:36am BST Watchdog sets July 3 deadline for EU securities licences The logo of the new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is seen at the agency''s headquarters in the Canary Wharf business district of London April 1, 2013. REUTERS/Chris Helgren LONDON Financial firms in Britain must submit applications by July 3 for licences for sweeping new European Union securities rules that will come into effect from 2018, the Financial Conduct Authority said on Monday. Although Britain is due to leave the EU in 2019, British regulators have said that firms must still implement the new rules, known as MiFID II, on time. Without full compliance, it would be much harder for Britain to obtain a trading deal with Brussels on continued access to EU financial markets after Brexit. The new rules aim to increase transparency requirements in stock, bond and commodities markets, applying lessons from the 2008 financial crisis "Firms who need to change their regulatory permissions as a result of MiFID II should submit a complete application for authorisation or a variation of permission now, to ensure that we can we determine it before MiFID II takes effect," the FCA said in a statement. "To be sure that we can determine an application in time for 3 January 2018, it needs to be complete by 3 July 2017." There is no guarantee that late applications will be processed in time, the FCA said. The MiFID rule allow financial firms such as banks and trading companies to serve customers across the EU from a base in Britain. The FCA said that firms operating without MiFID II licences by January next year would face sanctions. (Reporting by Huw Jones. Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-regulations-idUKKBN19A19A'|'2017-06-19T18:36:00.000+03:00' +'26af043b5fc33be76b12e28c9e2d1f38cb2af989'|'Safran shareholders approve plan to buy Zodiac Aerospace'|'PARIS, June 15 Shareholders in Safran on Thursday backed resolutions that will free the French aero engine maker to pursue an agreed takeover of parts maker Zodiac .The planned merger would create the world''s third-largest aerospace supplier after U.S companies United Technologies and General Electric.Thursday''s Safran shareholder vote was a key demand of UK hedge fund TCI, which had waged an intense campaign to block the deal, or at least reshape it.In May, Zodiac accepted a 15 percent cut in Safran''s $9 billion offer after Zodiac profit warnings.Safran''s original $9 billion offer was weakened by conflicting movements in share prices and a deteriorating industrial performance at Zodiac, though on Wednesday Zodiac eased concerns by reiterating financial targets.Shareholders in Safran had been asked to vote in favour of two mechanisms that will enable the company to issue new preference shares that would then be convertible in ordinary shares after three years.Safran says it is confident of resolving Zodiac''s industrial problems after visiting its plants, including a British factory blamed for the latest profit downgrade in April.Safran is offering 25 euros per Zodiac share in cash, down from 29.47 euros previously, or an alternative of preferred shares up to a total of 31.4 percent of the $7.7 billion deal.Zodiac Aerospace shares closed up 0.9 percent at 23.92 euros. Safran eased 0.2 percent to 77.86 euros. (Reporting by Cyril Altmeyer; Writing by Matthias Blamont. Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/zodiac-ma-safran-idINL8N1JC4QP'|'2017-06-15T14:49:00.000+03:00' +'5dac3a0f834ad5163b82188a82b412c3e6f99eb2'|'BNP Paribas fined 10 million euros over weaknesses in anti-money laundering controls'|'Business News 22pm BST BNP Paribas fined over weaknesses in anti-money laundering controls The logo of the French bank BNP Paribas is seen in Paris, France, February 6, 2017. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen PARIS French bank watchdog ACPR said it had fined BNP Paribas ( BNPP.PA ) 10 million euros (8.75 million pounds) for inadequate anti-money laundering controls. The penalty followed a 2015 inspection of the bank which revealed a number of shortcomings in its provisions for preventing money laundering and financing of terrorism, ACPR said in a statement. French authorities have been leading a crackdown in these areas after a series of Islamist attacks in recent years. BNP declined to comment on whether it would contest the decision or pay the fine. The bank has two months to appeal against the decision. The ACPR said that at the time the bank did not have enough staff dedicated to spotting and notifying suspicious transactions and inefficient tools for detecting unusual customer transactions. The watchdog said that the fine takes into account the seriousness of the shortcomings and importance of BNP - given its size - in passing on information to the French finance ministry Tracfin unit, which focuses on preventing money laundering and terrorism financing. In 2014, U.S. authorities fined BNP almost $9 billion over accusations that it violated U.S. sanctions against Sudan, Cuba and Iran. (Reporting by Leigh Thomas, Maya Nikolaeva and Geert De Clercq. Editing by Jane Merriman and Adrian Croft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bnp-paribas-moneylaundering-idUKKBN18T2JE'|'2017-06-03T01:13:00.000+03:00' +'b66ea2617a714224f7b482afc5decc54bdd0acf7'|'EU nations, Parliament still divided on carbon market reform'|'Business News - Wed Jun 28, 2017 - 12:40pm BST EU nations, Parliament still divided on carbon market reform BRUSSELS European Union nations and the European Parliament remain divided on how to reform the EU carbon market and whether it should mention aviation and shipping, EU sources said on Wednesday. Negotiations to finalise a legal text on reforms to the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) post-2020, agreed in outline by the European Parliament in February, have dragged on for weeks. The ETS, a cap-and-trade system to regulate industry pollution and help the 28-nation bloc meet its climate goals, has suffered from an excess supply of permits to pollute, adding political urgency to efforts to pass reforms. The next round of talks will take place on July 10, with the Estonian presidency of the EU saying it will push hard for progress on the complex file during its six-month chairmanship. "We will get out of the blocks quickly," a spokeswoman for the Estonian presidency said. "We will work hard to reach a fair and balanced compromise." In talks this week - the first held with British deputy Julie Girling, who took over as parliament''s lead negotiator from fellow conservative Ian Duncan - the sides sought to lay out where the sticking points lay in finding common ground. The two EU institutions agreed on doubling the rate at which the scheme''s Market Stability Reserve (MSR) soaks up excess allowances, as a short-term measure to strengthen prices, the sources said. They broadly shared concerns about protecting industry from undue burden from climate legislation, including the reduction of free allocations if a cap on overall allocations known as the cross-sectoral correction factor (CSCF) is triggered, they added. But they disagree on what share of carbon credits should go to auction versus being freely dolled out to industry, how to compensate industry from indirect emission costs under the system and earmarking funds for climate friendly innovation, the sources said. Girling, who also oversaw parliament''s review of draft legislation on a cap-and-trade system for aviation, held firm on mentioning aviation and shipping sectors - included in the chamber''s draft text out of frustration with a lack of international progress on regulating their emissions. However, EU sources said these provisions would likely be traded away during ongoing talks with EU member states. The ETS is the EU''s flagship policy to meet its goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions from 11,000 industrial plants and power stations by 43 percent by 2030 when compared with levels in 2005. (Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel; Editing by Edmund Blair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-carbontrading-idUKKBN19J1DY'|'2017-06-28T14:40:00.000+03:00' +'7cc476d35df10f63657ef32374933d776595bc0c'|'China May exports rise 8.7 percent, imports up 14.8 percent, beat forecasts'|'Business News - Thu Jun 8, 2017 - 6:49am BST China May imports, exports unexpectedly speed up but seen fading Piles of steel pipes to be exported are seen in front of cranes at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province March 7, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer BEIJING China reported stronger-than-anticipated exports and imports for May despite falling commodity prices, suggesting the economy is holding up better than expected despite rising lending rates and a cooling property market. Concerns over China landed squarely back on global investors'' radar after Moody''s Investors Service downgraded its credit rating last month, saying it expects the country''s financial strength will erode in coming years as growth slows and debt continues to rise. China''s imports have been strong in recent months, driven largely by iron ore and other commodities used to feed a year-long construction boom, while exports have rebounded from several years of contraction thanks to improving global demand. While the strength of the May import data surprised economists, and suggested domestic demand remains solid, analysts still expect the world''s second-largest economy to lose momentum gradually over the course of the year due to policy tightening. Government measures to cool heated home prices are expected to dampen property investment eventually and a crackdown on riskier types of lending is pushing up financing costs. "The current strength of imports is unlikely to be sustained if, as we expect, slower credit growth feeds through into weaker economic activity in the coming quarters," Capital Economics'' Julian Evans-Pritchard wrote in a note. "Export growth is also likely to edge down but should fare better than imports given the relatively upbeat outlook for China''s main trading partners." Growth in both exports and imports accelerated from April, defying expectations of a slowdown. Exports rose 8.7 percent from a year earlier, while imports expanded 14.8 percent, official data showed on Thursday. That left the country with a trade surplus of $40.81 billion (31.5 billion pounds) for the month, the General Administration of Customs said. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected May shipments from the world''s largest exporter to have risen 7.0 percent, easing from 8.0 percent growth in April. Imports had been expected to have climbed 8.5 percent, pulling back from 11.9 percent in April. That was expected to produce a trade surplus of $46.32 billion, widening from April''s $38.05 billion. Sources at two steel mills told Reuters they expect output to remain high as profit margins and demand are still strong, even though construction activity in China tends to ease in summer due to intense heat and rain in parts of the county. "We think it''s quite obvious demand outperformed our expectations because of relatively strong housing and infrastructure sectors," Richard Lu, an analyst at commodities consulting firm CRU, said ahead of the data. "But there are some downside risks in the second half of the year. Housing sales have declined so underlying (steel) demand may ease," he said. The key unknown is whether China would continue to boost infrastructure spending for the rest of the year. Much of the building boom has been fuelled by government spending on road and rail projects and a frenzied housing market, even as authorities try to contain mounting risks from years of debt-fuelled stimulus. COMMODITY IMPORTS LEAD THE WAY Analysts had expected import growth to cool largely due to a slump in prices of iron ore and steel in recent weeks on worries about growing inventories and a seasonal slowdown in demand. Iron ore prices are near eight-month lows. But China''s imports of crude oil, copper, iron ore and soybeans all rose in May from a month earlier on a volume basis, suggesting producers remain optimistic about the outlook. "The copper imports rebound in May is more than market expectations, especially in the off season for copper, (suggesting) markets had overestimated the slowdown in China''s economic growth and sluggish domestic demand," said Helen Lau, an analyst at Argonaut Securities in Hong Kong. EXPORTS ALSO UNDER A CLOUD? Exports benefited from solid demand from Europe and the United States, though trade has been under a cloud since Donald Trump was elected president in November vowing to shrink the large U.S. trade deficit with China. The world''s two biggest economies have started 100 days of trade talks, which was agreed by Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping when they met in Florida in April in an effort to reduce the massive U.S trade gap. In a sign of progress, the two countries agreed in May to take action by mid-July to increase access for U.S. financial firms and expanding trade in beef and chicken among other steps. China does not deliberately pursue a trade surplus with the United States, vice commerce minister Yu Jianhua said recently. China''s trade surplus with the U.S. was $22.0 billion in May, the highest since November and up from $21.34 billion in April, according to data from China''s customs bureau. Exports to the United States rose 11.7 percent in May from a year earlier while imports from the U.S. rose 27.1 percent. (Reporting by Sue-Lin Wong and the Beijing Monitoring Desk; Additional reporting by Lusha Zhang and Muyu Xu in BEIJING and Manolo Serapio in MANILA; Editing by Kim Coghill) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-trade-idUKKBN18Z0C1'|'2017-06-08T11:49:00.000+03:00' +'7eaa52661e5ad4ac42f944f3f3326418a857ae91'|'US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-S&P, Dow open slightly higher as banks get Fed boost'|'Market News 32am EDT US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-S&P, Dow open slightly higher as banks get Fed boost June 29 The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average opened slightly higher on Thursday as bank stocks gained after the Federal Reserve cleared them in the second part of its annual stress test while a drag in tech stocks weighed on the Nasdaq. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 16.51 points, or 0.08 percent, to 21,471.12. The S&P 500 gained 1.17 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2,441.86. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 20.70 points, or 0.33 percent, to 6,213.71. (Reporting by Tanya Agrawal; Editing by Arun Koyyur)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-idUSL3N1JQ4L9'|'2017-06-29T16:32:00.000+03:00' +'0b38995b57cb3e3657842c84eb7336496c539e4d'|'Facebook in talks to produce original TV-quality shows - WSJ'|'Business 4:56pm BST Facebook in talks to produce original TV-quality shows - WSJ Facebook Inc is in talks with Hollywood studios about producing scripted, TV-quality shows, with an aim of launching original programming by late summer, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. The social networking giant has indicated that it was willing to commit to production budgets as high as $3 million per episode, in meetings with Hollywood talent agencies, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Facebook is hoping to target audiences from ages 13 to 34, with a focus on the 17 to 30 range. The company has already lined up "Strangers", a relationship drama, and a game show, "Last State Standing", the report said. "We''re focused on episodic shows and helping all our partners understand what works across different verticals and topics," said Nick Grudin, Facebook''s vice president for media partnerships. The company is expected to release episodes in a traditional manner, instead of dropping an entire season in one go like Netflix Inc and Amazon.com Inc, WSJ reported. The company is also willing to share its viewership data with Hollywood, the report said. Apple Inc hired co-presidents of Sony Pictures Television, Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg, earlier this month, to lead its video-programming efforts. Apple began its long-awaited move into original television series last week, with a reality show called "Planet of the Apps", an unscripted show about developers trying to interest celebrity mentors with a 60-second pitch on an escalator. The company''s future programming plans include an adaptation of comedian James Corden''s "Carpool Karaoke" segment from his CBS Corp show that will begin airing in August. (Reporting by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri) Facebook logo is seen on a wall at Paris'' Station F in Paris, France, January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-facebook-television-idUKKBN19H0IS'|'2017-06-26T14:13:00.000+03:00' +'ced0d9487ca74006a7e0b16e95c3e2561984d4f7'|'MIDEAST STOCKS-Qatar, Gulf may stabilise but Qatari banking sector still a risk'|'Market News - Wed Jun 7, 2017 - 1:45am EDT MIDEAST STOCKS-Qatar, Gulf may stabilise but Qatari banking sector still a risk DUBAI, June 7 Qatar''s stock market may stabilise on Wednesday after two days of steep declines as some investors buy shares in companies with attractive valuations, but uncertainty over pressure on Qatar''s banking sector could limit any rebound. Qatar''s stock index has now plummeted 8.7 percent to 9,059 points, its lowest close since January 2016, since Monday when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut diplomatic and transport ties, accusing Doha of backing terrorism. "From a vaulation perspective, there is now a good buying opporunity in some companies," one regional brokerage firm told its clients. Since the start of the crisis, non-Qatari Gulf shareholders - who often make up between 5 and 10 percent of the market''s turnover - and foreigners have have been exiting positions faster than usual, according to Qatar bourse data. Qatar''s huge financial reserves mean it can probably avoid a crippling crisis, but many parts of its economy, from tourism to merchandise trade and banks which obtain funding from elsewhere in the Gulf, may be hit. The Saudi Arabian, UAE and Bahraini central banks have not yet clarified how they want commercial banks in their countries to handle business ties with Qatar, which involve substantial cross-border lending, deposits and syndicated loans. If the commercial banks are advised to get rid of their Qatari assets in a short timeframe, or if authorities act against Qatari banking assets in their jurisdictions, that could provoke retaliation by Doha and turmoil in the Gulf banking and money markets. In the meantime, fund managers said that Qatari government- related entities may step in to support the market. Many Qatari companies - especially banks including Qatar National Bank and Doha Bank - are consituents of several emerging market benchmarks, so many foreign investors cannot ignore them. Overall, it still boils down for investors (abroad) that it is still an oil story with oil at $45-50, most of the countries will be able to muddle through, and I think another collapse below $40 would raise risks more," said Win Thin, global head of emerging market currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman in London. Other stock markets in the Gulf may trade sideways on Wednesday as Brent oil prices have flattened out near $50 a barrel and MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan has crept up 0.1 percent. Some buying of Saudi stocks, in anticipation of a decision by MSCI on June 20 to begin reviewing Riyadh for possible inclusion in its emerging market index, may continue. (Reporting by Celine Aswad; Additional reporting by Karin Strohecker; Editing by Andrew Torchia) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/mideast-stocks-idUSL8N1J40FX'|'2017-06-07T13:45:00.000+03:00' +'14a17d1c036cc654366abdb9ab5d1baee07333d8'|'PRESS DIGEST- British Business - June 21'|'June 21 The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.The Times* Pallinghurst Resources, a private equity group run by Brian Gilbertson, the former boss of BHP Billiton, said that it now had effective control of 61 percent of Gemfields stock, scuppering a rival offer by Fosun International. bit.ly/2syhyr3* Aston Martin has ordered a global recall of 1,658 of its Vantage model after problems with a routine software update led to cars in China stalling and losing power at high speed. bit.ly/2syhS9hThe Guardian* The Serious Fraud Office charged former Barclays Chief Executive John Varley and three former colleagues Roger Jenkins, Tom Kalaris and Richard Boath with offences after a five-year investigation into the events surrounding the 11.8 billion pounds emergency fundraising conducted by the bank in 2008. bit.ly/2syuaOI* A Brexit deal that puts jobs and prosperity first is the only way the UK will be able to deliver the strong growth that will enable it finally to escape from the long years of austerity, said British Finance Minister Philip Hammond. bit.ly/2syrEIiThe Telegraph* Bombardier has landed its biggest ever contract for its Aventra trains, with an order for 750 engines and carriages from the new operators of Britain''s South Western network. bit.ly/2syeUSb* Uber has agreed to allow its drivers to collect tips through its smartphone app and has reduced the cancellation windows for customers, in an effort to improve its troubled relationship with its drivers. bit.ly/2syq9dkSky News* Karen Bradley, the secretary of state for culture, media and sport, is expected to give her verdict on Twenty-First Century Fox''s 18.5 billion pounds takeover of Sky plc the owner of Sky News, by Thursday next week. bit.ly/2sy4TEd* Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has outlined his opposition to a rise in interest rates as pressure for an increase builds at the Bank of England. bit.ly/2syjJdXThe Independent* Speaking at an industry event in London on Tuesday, Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, cautioned that Brexit could lead to "permanent damage" and "death by a thousand cuts" in investment that could lead to a surge in the price of new cars from Europe by as much as 1,500 pounds. ind.pn/2syua1c* The Confederation of British Industry on Tuesday bumped up its forecast for economic growth in Britain, reflecting strong momentum towards the end of last year rather than any fundamental change to its view. ind.pn/2syshlk (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-press-business-idUSL8N1JH6NZ'|'2017-06-21T07:31:00.000+03:00' +'382a1c012af0964b89b5ddbaff4493c1c9ed1998'|'Action against Home Capital given class status for settlement purposes'|'Market 33pm EDT Action against Home Capital given class status for settlement purposes June 28 Home Capital Group Inc said on Wednesday that the Ontario Superior Court has certified as a class action an action against the company and certain former officers for settlement purposes only. The class consists of all parties who acquired common shares of Home Capital from Nov. 5, 2014, through July 10, 2015, Home Capital said. The settlement is part of a global settlement to resolve the action and related enforcement proceeding by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), the company said in a statement. Earlier in the month, Home Capital, Canada''s biggest non-bank lender, agreed on a settlement with the OSC and accepted responsibility for misleading investors about problems with its mortgage underwriting procedures. The company said the settlement is subject to final approval by the court and by the OSC of the settlement of the regulatory proceeding. The hearing to approve the OSC settlement is scheduled for Aug. 9, and a hearing to approve the class action settlement is scheduled for Aug. 21, the company said. (Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/home-capital-lenders-settlement-idUSL1N1JP27Z'|'2017-06-29T02:33:00.000+03:00' +'6ad29c0b346d05956e19b6ab98f8a47b861a2c89'|'Air Canada plane makes emergency landing at Seattle airport'|'U.S. - Thu Jun 8, 2017 - 1:38pm EDT Air Canada plane makes emergency landing at Seattle airport By Tom James - SEATTLE SEATTLE An Air Canada jet made an emergency landing at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Thursday and passengers were safely evacuated, according to an airport spokesman. The crew aboard the Bombardier Inc Dash 8 plane reported seeing light smoke inside the cabin on the plane''s scheduled flight to Seattle from Calgary, and declared an emergency before landing at the airport, according to airport spokesman Perry Cooper. All passengers were evacuated by the airport''s fire department as a precaution, Cooper said, and no injuries were reported. Airport crews were notified of the emergency about 15 minutes before landing, Cooper said. He added that the cause of the smoke is under investigation. He declined to say how many passengers were evacuated. The Dash 8 is a short- and medium-range turboprop plane which can carry between 37 and 86 people, depending on the model, according to Bombardier''s website. (Reporting by Tom James; Editing by Patrick Enright and Bill Rigby)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-air-canada-landing-idUSKBN18Z2H6'|'2017-06-09T01:35:00.000+03:00' +'50117b69a1ee5e85725eeee626a0ab41e8a65267'|'UPDATE 1-Investors look toward further Argentina reforms after MSCI snub'|'BUENOS AIRES/NEW YORK The surprise decision by benchmark investment index provider MSCI to not promote Argentina to its emerging markets stock index could delay much-needed investment in the country, showing that President Mauricio Macri''s reform agenda is still far from complete, investors said on Wednesday.Many funds use the MSCI benchmark stock and bond markets indices as guides for allocating investments into emerging markets.Argentina''s benchmark Merval stock index .MERV rose nearly 25 percent in 2017 as traders bet on the inclusion of the country''s stocks in the benchmark index, a move which could have triggered close to $2 billion in additional capital inflows.The decision was also a blow to Argentine companies hoping for more liquidity in their equities market to raise funds."The real damage that the MSCI''s decision may cause is the delay of IPOs and investments," said Fausto Spotorno, economist at Buenos Aires consultancy Orlando Ferreres.The Merval index slumped 4.8 percent on Wednesday, its steepest drop this year, while the Argentine peso currency ARS=RASL fell as much as 2.0 percent to a record low 16.48 per U.S. dollar.President Macri declared Argentina open for business after a decade of interventionist rule scared away foreign investors but progress has been uneven since he took office 18 months ago.MSCI''s decision underlined how Macri has struggled to lure private investments crucial to boosting a sluggish economy and to pass market-friendly legislation which has stalled in the opposition-controlled congress.Key among those bills is a capital markets reform which the administration proposed last year and which would undo measures allowing the market regulator wide leeway to intervene in company affairs.The legislation would also allow licensed wealth managers to invest Argentine citizens'' funds in overseas assets, as well as lowering some taxes."The local market is still hard to access," said Asha Mehta, senior portfolio manager at Acadian Asset Management in Boston. "It''s costly. I consider the capital gains tax environment in Argentina to be prohibitive."''IRREVERSIBLE''?Argentine Finance Minister Luis Caputo has said Congress could approve the reform this year, and local media have reported that the CNV securities regulator is mulling a decree that would accomplish some of the reform''s aims. A spokeswomen for the CNV said she had no information about a possible decree.Shortly after taking office in December 2015, Macri got rid of the most glaring distortions put in place by his populist predecessor Cristina Fernandez, including capital controls and foreign exchange restrictions. The capital controls were cited by MSCI in 2009 as the reason for downgrading Argentina to "frontier" market status in the first place.A surprise $2.75 billion sale of 100-year bonds on Monday, which was more than three times oversubscribed, reflected improving investor confidence in Macri, but foreign direct investment has been slower to come, with many eyeing midterm elections in October and a presidential vote in 2019 for signs of the longevity of Macri''s reforms.Similarly, MSCI said it needed more signs that the changes were "irreversible" to reincorporate the country''s shares into its emerging markets index .MSCIEF, which guides major developing country stock allocations worldwide by investment funds.Still, investors said the MSCI decision did not change fundamental optimism about Argentina, where the economy is expected to grow around 3.0 percent this year after falling 2.3 percent in 2016, and inflation is seen at half last year''s 40 percent.Data published on Wednesday afternoon showed the Argentine economy grew 0.3 percent in the first quarter of 2017 versus the same period the prior year, snapping three straight quarters of year-on-year declines."It probably makes us a bit more negative in the very short term, but in the long term what we''re focused on is the direction of the reforms," said Leigh Innes, lead portfolio specialist for frontier markets strategy at T Rowe Price.(Additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Caroline Valetkevich in New York, Bruno Federowski in Sao Paulo, Jorge Otaola in Buenos Aires and Michelle Price in Hong Kong; Writing by Luc Cohen; Editing by Christian Plumb)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-msci-indexes-argentina-idUSKBN19C2ZL'|'2017-06-22T05:33:00.000+03:00' +'78d1fc339de006cc1aecce51f82199f3f9085696'|'Oil to keep flowing in Dakota line while legal battle continues'|'WASHINGTON Oil will continue to flow through the Dakota Access Pipeline through the summer while authorities conduct additional review of the environmental impact, after a judge on Wednesday ordered more hearings in coming months.Last week, U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg in Washington ruled in favor of Standing Rock Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes, who said more environmental analysis of the Dakota Access line should have been carried out. The tribes had said the 1,170-mile (1,880 km) line violates their hunting, fishing and environmental rights.On Wednesday, Boasberg set out a schedule of hearings that will decide what will happen to the line while additional review is completed.A lawyer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is responsible for environmental review, would not estimate when asked by Boasberg how long additional review would take. The judge could still order the line to be shut at a later date following a series of hearings scheduled through the summer."Our view has been that the pipeline should be shut down," said Jan Hasselmann, attorney for the tribes.Energy Transfer Partners LP ( ETP.N ) built the $3.8 billion pipeline to move crude from the Northern Plains to the Midwest and then on to the Gulf of Mexico. The line runs from western North Dakota into Patoka, Illinois, where it hooks up with another line to refiners in the Gulf of Mexico.ETP said on Wednesday it was "pleased with the judge''s decision" for pipeline operations to continue while the process "unfolds."The Native American tribes have been protesting the line''s construction for more than a year. The line finally went into service in June.(Reporting by Pete Schroeder in Washington; Editing by David Gaffen and Matthew Lewis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-north-dakota-pipeline-idUSKBN19C2ZO'|'2017-06-22T05:34:00.000+03:00' +'d988ddd2db804a79ff609579022641aa016cc024'|'Linde supervisory board approves Praxair merger'|'FRANKFURT, June 1 Linde said its supervisory board voted on Thursday to approve the German industrial gases group''s $73 billion merger with U.S. peer Praxair.The all-share merger of equals is intended to create a market leader that will overtake France''s Air Liquide, reuniting a global Linde group that was split by World War One a century ago.Linde''s chairman, Wolfgang Reitzle, did not need to use his casting vote to get the deal approved by the supervisory board in the face of labour opposition, a source familiar with the matter said after a roughly 10-hour meeting.The deal must still be approved by Praxair''s board and 75 percent of Praxair investors at a shareholder meeting. (Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Sabine Wollrab)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/linde-ma-praxair-idINASN0007J5'|'2017-06-01T14:59:00.000+03:00' +'5667eb5f96fb56eb0630c3d9aac829bb5acc8bac'|'BRIEF-Nuvectra files regulatory submission with FDA for Algovita MRI-conditional approval'|' 13am EDT BRIEF-Nuvectra files regulatory submission with FDA for Algovita MRI-conditional approval June 21 Nuvectra Corp * Nuvectra files regulatory submission with fda for Algovita MRI-conditional approval * Nuvectra -submission, pending regulatory approval from FDA, would position company to achieve MRI-conditional approval at or around year end 2017 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-nuvectra-files-regulatory-submissi-idUSASA09UK0'|'2017-06-21T19:13:00.000+03:00' +'f82e6cb60bde2ac6c38ffba2569811ec4ea6cc72'|'EU to propose new powers over location of euro clearing - FT'|'Business News 7:01pm BST EU to propose new powers over location of euro clearing - FT FILE PHOTO: European Union (EU) flags fly in front of the European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, December 3, 2015. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo LONDON The European Union will present a draft law that gives itself powers to force euro-denominated clearing to shift from London to the bloc after Brexit, the Financial Times reported on Monday. The EU''s European Commission will say on Tuesday that it wants a new system to vet whether, and under what conditions, non-EU clearing houses should be allowed to handle large volumes of euro-denominated business, the FT said, citing a document. A clearing house stands between two sides of a trade to ensure its smooth and safe completion. The bulk of clearing in euro-denominated derivatives is done in London, but euro zone policymakers have objected to this, saying that after Britain leaves the EU in 2019 they would have little say over an activity they see as core to euro zone stability. The draft law will need approval from EU states and the European Parliament. The draft legislation says the bloc''s watchdog, the European Securities and Markets Authority, or ESMA, could agree with EU central banks that a particular clearing house is of "substantial systemic significance", the FT said. The Commission would then decide if the clearing house would need to relocate activities to the EU if it wants the regulatory approvals needed to operate in the EU single market. The draft law does not seek a specific cap on the amount of euro clearing that can take place outside the bloc, the FT said. Most euro-denominated clearing of derivatives is done by a unit of the London Stock Exchange ( LSE.L ), whose head said on Monday that relocation would have little financial impact as it has a clearing house in Paris that is fully authorised under EU rules. A global derivatives industry body warned on Monday that shifting clearing of euro-denominated derivatives from London to the European continent would require banks to set aside far more cash to insure trades against defaults, a cost that would be passed on to companies. (Reporting by Huw Jones, editing by Susan Fenton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-clearing-derivatives-idUKKBN19323O'|'2017-06-13T02:01:00.000+03:00' +'e9c4acb6e6a83433099357afdfe042c1290d768d'|'Syngenta must pay $217.7 mln to Kansas farmers in GMO corn case -jury'|'A U.S. jury on Friday ordered Syngenta AG ( SYNN.S ) to pay $217.7 million to more than 7,000 Kansas farmers over its decision to commercialize a genetically modified strain of corn before China approved importing it.The verdict by a federal jury in Kansas City, Kansas, was announced by lawyers for the farmers, who blamed the Swiss company for causing catastrophic damage to them after Chinese officials began refusing U.S. corn shipments in 2013.Their case was the first to go to trial. Thousands of other corn producers and traders also are seeking damages over China''s non-approval of the agrochemical giant''s corn seeds for importation.Lawyers for the corn producers said in a statement that the verdict was "only the beginning." They have claimed that damages for farmers nationally totaled $5.77 billion, according to court papers.Syngenta said it will appeal the verdict, which included only compensatory damages and no punitive damages."We are disappointed with today''s verdict because it will only serve to deny American farmers access to future technologies even when they are fully approved in the U.S.," Syngenta said in a statement.In 2010, Syngenta began selling in the United States a strain of insect-resistant genetically modified corn called Agrisure Viptera. It started selling a second strain called Agrisure Duracade in 2013.In their lawsuit, the Kansas corn farmers accused Syngenta of negligently commercializing the corn seeds before obtaining export approval in China, a major importer.In 2013, Chinese officials detected Viptera in U.S. corn shipments. The country began rejecting shipments containing millions of metric tons of U.S. corn because they contained the strain, which was unapproved for import, the farmers said.Nearly 90 percent of corn in the United States, the world''s top grains producer, is now genetically engineered, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as farmers embrace technology that helps kill weeds and fight pests.The loss of the Chinese market caused U.S. corn prices to plummet, leading to over $5 billion in losses for corn producers, the farmers'' lawyers said. China did not approve Viptera until December 2014, while Duracade is still pending approval.Syngenta denied wronging. It said at the time that no company had ever delayed launching a U.S. approved corn product in the United States just because China had yet to approve its import.It also said the decline in sales to China was offset by exports to other countries.The case is In Re: Syngenta AG MIR 162 Corn Litigation, U.S. District Court, District of Kansas, No. 14-md-02591.(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Additional reporting by Tom Polansek in Chicago; Editing by Paul Simao; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-syngenta-ag-lawsuit-idUSKBN19E1VY'|'2017-06-23T23:49:00.000+03:00' +'9dd16dbe2d48be94f6a5b9fc878745c9e9cb3feb'|'With Alphabet, Google faces a daunting challenge: organising itself'|'Technology News - Tue Jun 27, 2017 - 6:12am BST With Alphabet, Google faces a daunting challenge: organizing itself left right FILE PHOTO: A Google search page is seen through a magnifying glass in this photo illustration taken in Berlin on August 11, 2015. REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO -- Eric Schmidt, chairman of Alphabet Inc., speaks during the SALT conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Richard Brian/File Photo 2/2 By Julia Love - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Googles self-professed mission is to organize the worlds information. But a company known for engineering excellence is still trying to solve the very human problem of how to organize itself. Nearly two years ago, Google co-founder Larry Page announced the tech giant would be remade as Alphabet, a holding company whose units would include Google and an array of unrelated pursuits in areas such as healthcare, self-driving cars and urban planning. Wall Street cheered. Previously those riskier ventures had been lumped into Google''s overall financial results. Investors would now see Googles performance independent of its so-called Other Bets, an eclectic collection of 11 ventures. They include Nest, a maker of Wi-Fi enabled thermostats; Calico, which seeks to prolong the human lifespan; and X, the company''s secretive research lab. Alphabet''s top management also aimed to boost accountability by appointing chief executives to head each of the Other Bets. Few people in Google''s constellation of ventures had ever held the title prior to that. But so far Alphabet has failed to show it can convert its Other Bets from experiments to businesses with the reach, impact and money-making potential of Googles core search and advertising operations. Interviews with two dozen former Alphabet executives and employees reveal an organization grappling with how much time and resources Other Bets deserve in the pursuit of profitability. In the first quarter, which ended March 31, the ventures lost a combined $855 million; that''s on top of a collective $3.6 billion loss for 2016. As a whole, Alphabet generated $90.3 billion in revenue in 2016. Google''s share of that revenue was $89.5 billion, while its 2016 operating income was $27.9 billion. Alphabet''s early days have seen more pruning than expansion of its holdings. The company has skinned back plans for Google Fiber, which delivers rapid Internet service in 10 metro areas. This month, Alphabet agreed to sell robotics company Boston Dynamics to Japanese multinational SoftBank Group Corp ( 9984.T ). It unloaded its Terra Bella satellite imaging business in February. At one point last year, it was even looking to sell Nest, the largest of the Other Bets, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Google paid an eye-popping $3.2 billion for the start-up in 2014. (For a graphic showing Alphabet''s holdings, see: tmsnrt.rs/2rNgdKN ) Meanwhile, a series of executives have departed since the reorganization, including the heads of Nest, an Internet operation called Access and a venture capital firm known as GV. An Alphabet spokeswoman declined repeated requests for comment or to make executives available for interviews. Supporters of the restructuring frame the early struggles as typical growing pains. For now, Wall Street isn''t worried: Alphabet''s stock is near an all-time high, having reached $1,000 per share in June. Ruth Porat, the no-nonsense chief financial officer who has steered the restructuring, has won rave reviews from investors for enforcing financial accountability across Alphabet. Some Other Bets have made notable strides. Life sciences initiative Verily recently attracted $800 million in outside investment. Self-driving car project Waymo is considered among the leaders in the burgeoning industry. Still, it''s not yet clear the structure will enable Alphabet to do what most companies cannot: conceive the next wave of innovation in-house or through the development of key acquisitions. That goal is central to both the company''s mission and investor expectations, analysts say. The reason Google gets to trade at a decent multiple is because there''s a growth story beyond advertising, said analyst James Wang of ARK Investment Management. CEO or COO? The Alphabet structure is Googles stab at an age-old corporate conundrum: sustaining innovation within a giant enterprise. Alphabet''s strategy is to give entrepreneurs the autonomy of a startup, coupled with the discipline of a traditional corporate structure. Roughly once a quarter, Other Bets leaders meet with the Alphabet board comprised of Porat, Page, Google co-founder Sergey Brin and David Drummond, Alphabet''s senior vice president of corporate development to discuss funding and performance, according to two former employees. At the same time, Alphabet is establishing separate compensation plans for the Other Bets to reward employees if their ventures succeed, mirroring startup incentives. The formula has primed Alphabet''s emerging businesses for "global impact," Alphabet Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt said this month at the annual stockholders meeting at the Mountain View headquarters. "There is one solution that we know works well in capitalism, which is boards, shareholders, CEOs," Schmidt said. "My bet is that the traditional lessons of business organization will in fact result in success at Alphabet." Still, Alphabet top brass continue to hold sway over key strategy and financing decisions, a dynamic that has chafed Other Bets chief executives who''ve complained they are treated more like chief operating officers than shot callers, according to people familiar with the situation. In addition, scrutiny from Wall Street limits how generous Alphabet can be in extending Google''s resources to Other Bets, said Brian McClendon, a former vice president of engineering at Google. "As of yet, the restructuring hasnt provided what I think is one of the immediate benefits, which is risk-taking investment," he said. NICKELED AND DIMED Some companies acquired by Google found that being part of Alphabet wasn''t what they''d bargained for. Two former Nest employees said they were promised generous funding and time to achieve profitability following the company''s acquisition by Google in 2014. But after the restructuring, Alphabet executives were keenly focused on revenue, one former employee said. Pricey overhead has made the path to profitability tougher. After the restructuring, Alphabet began charging Other Bets for their portion of shared services such as security and facilities, ending what had previously amounted to a subsidy, people familiar with the situation said. The units also felt pressure to maintain Google perks such as free employee meals. One of the pitfalls (of Alphabet) is that those companies are asked to stand on their own two feet, but they may inherit the cost structure of Google," said Nest investor Peter Nieh, a partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners. In early 2016, Alphabet explored selling Nest in an effort code-named Project Amalfi, according to three people familiar with the matter. No deal materialized, and Nest co-founder Tony Fadell departed last year. Fadell declined to comment. Boston Dynamics, acquired in 2013 during a robotics shopping spree led by Android creator Andy Rubin, enjoyed generous funding at first. But it was adrift after Rubin''s departure, two former employees said. Rubin did not respond to requests for comment. GRUMPY GOOGLERS The creation of the Other Bets has also changed what it means to work for Google. Some grumble that their role now is to subsidize innovation at their sister companies, rather than to innovate themselves. It did sort of send the message to people who stayed back at Google, whether in search or in ads: Your job isnt to push the envelope, one former Googler said. Employee transfers to X, the illustrious moonshot factory, are more complicated now that it''s a separate entity, former employees say. Thats a striking shift, especially for high-performing employees accustomed to moving about the company almost at will, said Punit Soni, a former Google employee who is now chief executive of Learning Motors, an artificial intelligence startup. A basic premise of Google was people could do whatever they wanted, Soni said. I can see why people will feel like its no longer the old Google." In the meantime, co-founder Page is pursuing yet another "moonshot": flying cars. He is the primary investor in Kitty Hawk, a startup in the field that is entirely outside the Alphabet umbrella. (Editing by Marla Dickerson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-alphabet-tensions-insight-idUKKBN19I0G9'|'2017-06-27T13:06:00.000+03:00' +'b32fe164958fc8694686c0a590f1f817736e0f73'|'Porsche Cayenne diesel emissions exceed legal limits - Spiegel'|'Business News - Fri Jun 9, 2017 - 6:55pm BST Porsche Cayenne diesel emissions exceed legal limits - Spiegel FILE PHOTO: A Porsche Cayenne car is seen in the emission test centre of the University of Applied Sciences in Nidau, Switzerland November 27, 2015. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich FRANKFURT/HAMBURG Diesel models of Volkswagen''s ( VOWG_p.DE ) sports car maker Porsche ( PSHG_p.DE ) have much higher emissions than is legally allowed, German weekly Der Spiegel reported on Friday, citing test results. The magazine asked German test institute TUV Nord to check emission levels for the Porsche Cayenne V6 TDI, an SUV model, under normal driving conditions. "Emissions in this test were higher than the limits for this type of car," the magazine quoted the head of testing at TUV Nord Helge Schmidt as saying. "With these values the car would not have been approved by the authorities," Schmidt said. Porsche said in a statement that it had received and studied the test results from Spiegel. "For us they are not comprehensible," Porsche said. The company said that emissions depend on several conditions such as engine load, speed and temperature. There has been growing scrutiny of diesel vehicles since Volkswagen admitted in September 2015 that up to 11 million of its vehicles worldwide had software installed that cheated emissions tests. VW was sentenced in April after pleading guilty in the emissions scandal. VW has agreed to spend up to $25 billion in the United States to address claims from owners, environmental regulators, states and dealers and offered to buy back about 500,000 polluting U.S. vehicles. Volkswagen''s Audi unit is also under investigation. (Reporting by Harro ten Wolde and Jan Schwartz; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-volkswagen-emissions-porsche-idUKKBN1902NA'|'2017-06-10T01:55:00.000+03:00' +'e7a8c19b1272412d1ce647ec651bb0c9f78a4021'|'Stada buyout falls short of shareholder acceptance target'|'FRANKFURT Private equity groups Bain Capital and Cinven failed to win the required shareholder acceptances to take over German generic drugmaker Stada ( STAGn.DE ) by the deadline, Stada said in a statement on Monday.Investors representing 65.52 percent of Stada''s equity capital tendered shares in the agreed 5.3 billion euro ($5.9 billion) deal at 66 euros per share, short of the 67.5 percent that the bid was conditional on, Stada said.Bain Capital and Cinven said in a separate statement that tendered shares would be returned to shareholders.Stada added that the termination of the deal did not have an impact on its 2017 and 2019 targets.(Reporting by Harro ten Wolde and Ludwig Burger; editing by Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-stada-arzneimitt-m-a-idINKBN19H26K'|'2017-06-26T15:39:00.000+03:00' +'67e558d09173ad82e5e8d5c6a045e5a6f96b4f4e'|'Daimler presses ahead with Mercedes-Benz plant in Russia'|'Autos - Tue Jun 20, 2017 - 1:24pm BST Daimler presses ahead with Mercedes-Benz plant in Russia Daimler AG sign is pictured at the IAA truck show in Hanover, Germany, September 22, 2016. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo By Jack Stubbs - ESIPOVO, Russia ESIPOVO, Russia Germany''s Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ) began construction of a new Mercedes-Benz plant near Moscow on Tuesday, following through on the first new investment by a major foreign automaker in Russia since Western sanctions were imposed three years ago. Daimler said in February that it will invest more than 250 million euros (220 million pounds) in the factory, contrasting with widespread wariness among international investors after a prolonged downturn brought on by sanctions and a collapse in global oil prices. But Russia''s economy has recently shown signs of recovery, while its car market is returning to growth after four years of decline. Speaking at a ceremony to lay the factory''s first stone, Markus Schaefer, a member of the divisional board of Mercedes-Benz Cars, said Daimler had made the decision after a "very, very successful conversation" with the Russian government. Moscow Regional Governor Andrey Vorobyov said President Vladimir Putin had personally signed off on the deal, allowing the regional government to offer unspecified conditions previously not available to foreign investors. "Ultimately, we want to build cars where customers are," Schaefer said at the construction site in the town of Esipovo, 60 km (37 miles) from Moscow. "We are confident in the long-term potential of Russia." Global automakers had viewed Russia as a promising growth market until the 2014 sanctions over Moscow''s actions in Ukraine and the economic downturn prompted companies to put projects on hold. Car sales have more than halved from a 2012 peak of almost 3 million a year and U.S. auto giant General Motors ( GM.N ) quitthe market in 2015. Though Mercedes'' Russian car sales dropped 11 percent last year to 36,888, according to the Association of European Business (AEB) lobby group, Schaefer said he expects numbers to show an increase in 2017 and continue growing after the new plant opens in 2019. The company''s Russian car sales in May jumped 8 percent year on year. The factory will employ more than 1,000 people working across a 85-hectare site to produce more than 20,000 Mercedes-Benz cars and SUVs a year. Hoping to benefit from a future rebound in Russian car sales, some international manufacturers have recently started to strengthen their presence in Russia. Germany''s Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) announced projects last week to boost its VW and Skoda brands as well as commercial vehicles. (Editing by Tom Pfeiffer and David Goodman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-daimler-factory-idUKKBN19B1O2'|'2017-06-20T20:24:00.000+03:00' +'428658453f85b7d22407816709507686312c9364'|'Oil slips on worries Mideast rift could undermine OPEC cuts'|'Business 9:15am BST Oil slips on worries Mideast rift could undermine OPEC cuts A pump jack is seen at sunrise near Bakersfield, California October 14, 2014. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo By Christopher Johnson - LONDON LONDON Oil prices fell further below $50 a barrel on Tuesday on concerns that a diplomatic rift between Qatar and several Arab states including Saudi Arabia could undermine efforts by OPEC to tighten the market. Benchmark Brent crude oil LCOc1 was 15 cents a barrel lower at $49.32 by 0755 GMT, down around 8 percent from the open of futures trading on May 25, when an OPEC-led policy to cut oil output was extended into the first quarter of 2018. U.S. light crude CLc1 was down 15 cents at $47.25. Leading Arab powers including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates cut ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of support for Islamist militants and Iran. Steps taken include preventing ships coming from or going to the small peninsular nation from docking at Fujairah, in the UAE, used by Qatari oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers to take on new shipping fuel. "The measures by the anti-Qatar alliance signal commitment to forcing a complete change in Qatari policy or creating an environment for leadership change in Doha," said Ayham Kamel, head of Middle East and North Africa research for Eurasia Group. With oil production of about 620,000 barrels per day (bpd), Qatar is one of the smallest crude producers in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, but some investors fear tension within the cartel could weaken its agreement to hold back production in order to prop up prices. Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at futures brokerage AxiTrader, said there was "a real chance" OPEC solidarity surrounding its production cuts may fracture. But other analysts said these fears were exaggerated. "The OPEC agreement stands and is highly unlikely to change because of tension with Qatar. Crude production in the Middle East will not change because of Qatar," said Oystein Berentsen, managing director for oil trading company Strong Petroleum. David Wech, managing director of Vienna-based consultancy JBC Energy, agreed: "We do not see too much cause for concern at this point regarding potential risk to the OPEC-led supply accord currently in effect." Rising U.S. production is also putting pressure on oil. U.S. crude output has jumped more than 10 percent since mid-2016 to 9.34 million bpd, industry figures show. C-OUT-T-EIA "The relentless increase in U.S. oil production appears to have the market worried that the OPEC cuts will be completely nullified by the increased U.S. production," said William O''Loughlin, analyst at Rivkin Securities. (Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Dale Hudson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUKKBN18X02H'|'2017-06-06T16:13:00.000+03:00' +'b4d19e412d17eaaa1a25746f36f62e5e7bb23f78'|'JGBs steady on firm 10-year auction, higher stocks cap rise'|'TOKYO, June 1 Japanese government bond prices were mostly steady on Thursday, supported by a firm 10-year auction, but confined to a tight range as Tokyo stocks were on track to rise for the first time in five days.The benchmark 10-year JGB yield was unchanged at 0.040 percent. June 10-year JGB futures inched up 0.03 points to 150.70, drawing early support from an overnight rise by U.S. Treasuries.The bid-to-cover ratio, a gauge of demand, at Thursday''s 2.3 trillion yen ($20.73 billion) 10-year sale remained at a relatively high 3.64, from 3.76 at the previous auction in May.Analysts said the new 10-year sale attracted sufficient demand with yields on the maturities hovering around 0.05 percent, which has served as a ceiling since early April.Japan''s Nikkei rose more than 1 percent, buoyed by upbeat news of Japanese companies'' growing capital expenditure as well as the dollar''s ascent from overnight lows against the yen.Long-dated U.S. Treasury yields touched their lowest in more than five weeks on month-end buying and U.S. housing data that fanned doubts that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates again in 2017 beyond June.($1 = 110.9400 yen) (Reporting by the Tokyo markets team; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/japan-bonds-idINL3N1IY26X'|'2017-06-01T03:07:00.000+03:00' +'70dfc502c3b8c11cedb35dc43b81004bd8284d2c'|'Tobacco group Philip Morris sees iQOS as key to smokeless future in UK'|'Health News - Fri Jun 30, 2017 - 12:22pm EDT Tobacco group Philip Morris sees iQOS as key to smokeless future in UK left right FILE PHOTO: A man uses a Philip Morris iQOS e-cigarette in Tokyo, Japan May 12, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: A customer prepares to try a Philip Morris'' ''iQOS'' smokeless tobacco e-cigarette at an iQOS store in Tokyo, Japan, March 3, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo 2/2 LONDON Cigarette maker Philip Morris International thinks its iQOS heated tobacco product can make Britain smoke-free in the coming years, an executive said on Friday. Since iQOS was launched in the UK in December, Philip Morris has found that about 70 percent of people that use it are able to give up conventional cigarettes, Peter Nixon, its UK and Ireland managing director, told BBC Radio. That compares with about 15-20 percent of people who use e-cigarettes, he said. "It''s unprecedented," Nixon told the Today show. "We''re very encouraged that products like iQOS are the absolute game changer." Whereas e-cigarettes use nicotine-laced liquid, IQOS heats tobacco sticks, called Heets, to a high enough temperature to create a vapor but not smoke. Philip Morris, which has Marlboro cigarettes among its global brands, has applied to U.S. health regulators to have iQOS recognized as having "modified risk" compared with cigarettes. The relative health benefit of these products was questioned in a study last month, which found that they release chemicals linked to cancer, sometimes in higher concentrations than conventional cigarettes. British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco are also selling tobacco-based "vaping" devices, but so far Philip Morris is in the lead. The company sells about 7 billion Heets a year, which is tiny compared with the 820 billion conventional cigarettes it sells. But Nixon told the BBC that the company hopes to produce 100 billion Heets next year, up from less than 400 million in 2015. "One day we want to stop selling cigarettes," Nixon said on the program. "We''re moving very fast." There are still 7.5 million smokers in Britain, Nixon said, and Philip Morris has hired "freelancers" to help to bring that number down. These freelancers act like quitting coaches and can earn 50 pounds ($64.95) from Philip Morris for every person they convert from cigarettes to iQOS. "With these types of programs we can get that down to almost zero in coming years," Nixon said. (Reporting by Martinne Geller; Editing by David Goodman) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-philipmorris-britain-idUSKBN19L1DU'|'2017-06-30T13:36:00.000+03:00' +'c8fd9a60a7c8226be5a266e43efd57dca82bfac1'|'FTSE flirts with record as sterling boosts; Inmarsat rises'|'Top News - Thu Jun 1, 2017 - 5:07pm BST FTSE flirts with record level though sterling boost fades; Inmarsat jumps A woman is seen through a car window as she walks past the London Stock Exchange October 27, 2008. REUTERS/Alessia Pierdomenico By Helen Reid - LONDON LONDON Britain''s major share index climbed on Thursday, flirting with its record high level but underperforming European peers, while Inmarsat rose on merger speculation. The FTSE 100 .FTSE was up 0.3 percent, with consumer staples and industrials stocks providing the top boosts to send it hovering near its highest intra-day level of 7,586.45 points hit on Wednesday. A weaker sterling initially provided a boost to the London-listed multi-national firms, but the currency turned positive by the end of trading. Pressure on sterling has been intensifying over the past week as some opinion polls point to a tighter-than-expected race. The latest poll published by the Times showed May''s lead down to just 3 percentage points ahead of the opposition Labour party, with a week to go until the vote. [nL8N1IY3D3] While the large-caps were ahead on the day, they underperformed the broader European index and were handily beaten by French and Italian equities. UBS Wealth Management warned that the boost to the FTSE 100 from the weak pound could be turning stale. "The UK equity market''s tailwind from the weak pound is fading, and as we lap the currency low point during the second and third quarters of this year, the market will no longer receive a boost from currency effects," said deputy head of the UK investment office Caroline Simmons. Mid-caps, which have been outpacing their larger counterparts, lagged slightly, up just 0.2 percent. "We have seen a relative underperformance of domestic-focused UK equities as political risk increases alongside the perceived uncertainty of the Brexit outcome," said Edward Park, investment director at Brooks Macdonald. But Inmarsat ( ISA.L ) gained 5.4 percent on the day, leading the way among European satellite companies, with France''s SES ( SESFd.PA ) and Eutelsat ( ETL.PA ) also fuelled by speculation they could be takeover targets after sources said Softbank would let its planned $14 billion merger between OneWeb and Intelsat collapse. Gains among large-caps were broad-based and broker calls helped some specific stocks stand out. Private equity firm 3I Group ( III.L ) rose 3.2 percent after Barclays raised its price target on the stock, saying a trading update from Action management, which accounts for 30 percent of 3I''s portfolio, was reassuring and the group was confident on cash generation. Mediclinic ( MDCM.L ) however sank 3.4 percent, the top FTSE faller, after both Credit Suisse and Bank of America Merrill Lynch cut their rating on the private health-care provider. Meanwhile mid-cap bus and rail company FirstGroup ( FGP.L ) fell 5.7 percent after a 23-percent profit jump was overshadowed by its warning of a mixed trading outlook. Challenger bank Aldermore ( ALD.L ) fell 3 percent after Exane cut it to "underperform", citing slowing loan growth and an uptick in impairments. Online car retailer Auto Trader ( AUTOA.L ) hit a record high after Barclays upgraded the stock to "overweight." Its shares were up 4.5 percent. National Grid ( NG.L ), Taylor Wimpey ( TW.L ) and Marks & Spencer ( MKS.L ) had all gone ex-dividend on the day. Business support services firm G4S ( GFS.L ) and real estate investment trust Segro ( SGRO.L ) were confirmed as the latest additions to the blue-chip index, with changes effective on June 16. Intu Properties ( INTUP.L ) and Hikma Pharmaceuticals ( HIK.L ) were set to be demoted to the mid-cap index, as part of the quarterly review reshuffling stocks based on their relative size. (Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Andrew Heavens)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks-idUKKBN18S4HG'|'2017-06-01T17:37:00.000+03:00' +'2e8ebaa9465f125bbefaeed5ec3c97c34df567c5'|'Basic resources, retailers send European shares near two-month low'|'Top News 8:49am BST Basic resources, retailers send European shares near two-month low Traders work in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote LONDON Weak basic resources stocks amid depressed crude prices sent European shares sliding for the second straight session on Thursday. Investors awaited interest rate decisions from the Bank of England and Swiss National Bank due later in the day, though market expectations are for both to keep rates on hold. Crude prices wallowed near a seven-month low as doubts grew over OPEC''s ability to cut oil supplies, weighing on stocks worldwide. The pan-European STOXX 600 benchmark fell 0.5 percent to its lowest since April 24, while Euro zone stocks and blue-chips fell 0.8 percent. Germany''s DAX fell 0.3 percent, just off its new record high touched on Wednesday. Britain''s FTSE was down 0.6 percent while mid-caps fell 1.1 percent. Basic resource stocks Anglo American, Randgold Resources and Polymetal were among the worst fallers. Retailers were also weak, as lukewarm results and downbeat company updates sent the pan-European index to a two-month low. H&M shares fell 2.7 percent after its May sales missed forecasts, adding to a string of softer figures from the fashion retailer which blamed tough trading conditions. DFS Furniture plummeted 21 percent on Britain''s small-cap index after a profit warning which it blamed on a dip in demand, with significant declines in store footfall amid a weaker trading environment it said was market-wide. Among notable broker activity, Petrofac shares rose to the top of the European index after a Jefferies upgrade, while telecoms firm Proximus fell 3.3 percent after suffering a cut to ''sell'' from Citi. Stocks in Athens were down 0.2 percent ahead of a Eurogroup meeting which could yield a short-term debt agreement. (Reporting by Helen Reid, Editing by Vikram Subhedar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks-idUKKBN1960OJ'|'2017-06-15T15:49:00.000+03:00' +'68bebb830a4f7f2cc3c837b6d0fd489373b6eacd'|'Rio flags $180 million hit to first-half underlying profit after bond buyback'|'Rio Tinto ( RIO.AX ) ( RIO.L ) said on Friday it has completed a planned bond buyback, reducing gross debt by $2.5 billion, with the early redemption costs likely to reduce first-half underlying profit by about $180 million.The global miner said that since the start of 2016 it has reduced the face value of outstanding bonds to about $9.5 billion from around $21 billion.Analysts, on average, expect Rio to post half-year profit of $4.78 billion, Eikon data.Rio cut net debt by about $4.2 billion in 2016 and said in February it would like to see further debt reduction as it looks to withstand any volatility in commodity markets.Early redemption costs from the latest buyback would likely reduce its cash flow from operating activities by about $260 million in the first half ending on June 30, the company said.Reductions in underlying earnings and cash flow would be offset by savings in future periods, it said.Earlier this week, Rio selected Yancoal ( YAL.AX ) to buy its Coal & Allied division in Australia for $2.45 billion, surprising commodities trading giant Glencore, ( GLEN.L ) which had put in a higher bid.(Reporting by Anusha Ravindranath in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Pullin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-rio-tinto-debt-idINKBN19D2WH'|'2017-06-22T21:54:00.000+03:00' +'594fc9b0f0a4e1fd31ca0ebdea61fb5d37e3bef1'|'GE''s new CEO to review portfolio "with no constraint"'|' 8:45pm BST GE''s new CEO to review portfolio "with no constraint" FILE PHOTO: John Flannery reacts during an interview with Reuters in New Delhi, India March 31, 2011. REUTERS/B Mathur/File Photo By Alwyn Scott and Arunima Banerjee General Electric Co''s ( GE.N ) incoming chief executive said on Monday he will conduct a swift review of the business portfolio, and signalled its strategy of selling software-related services across its many divisions will remain the heart of GE for decades. The maker of jet engines, power plants, medical scanners and railroad locomotives on Monday named veteran insider John Flannery as its next chief executive. He takes over from Jeff Immelt who will step aside Aug. 1 after 16 years as the head of the conglomerate he helped steer through the financial crisis but is now worth a third less than when he took over. "I''m going to do a fast but deliberate, methodical review of the whole company," Flannery said in an interview with Reuters. "The board has encouraged me to come in and look at it afresh." On a separate call with investors earlier, Flannery said "we''ll review each of those businesses in the portfolio, how it benefits and contributes to the broader company. And it''s something you can expect us to do with speed and with urgency and with no constraint." Although not detailing specific plans, Flannery did say digital will be at the heart of GE''s strategy. GE has spent billions building a digital business that marries electronic sensors and powerful analytic computing to industrial equipment and has no plans to change that focus. "Digital is going to be a core aspect of the company for the next generation," Flannery said. GE will make the results of the review public in the fall, but major changes are not needed, Flannery said. "We''re not starting from a weak position at all." Immelt, in the interview, said Flannery has a free hand to do what he wants. "There''s nobody more open to him driving change than me." See related story: GE will press ahead with cutting overhead costs by $2 billion (1.58 billion pounds) by 2019 and boosting profits to $2 a share next year. Flannery, a 55-year-old who joined the company 30 years ago and is now the head of its healthcare unit, will also become chairman after Immelt retires on Dec. 31. The company''s shares were up 3.8 percent at $29 as Flannery''s appointment ended six years of succession planning. Immelt, 61, who took over from Jack Welch in 2001, oversaw the divestment of its massive lending unit GE Capital and TV network NBCUniversal, shifting the conglomerate''s focus away from finance and towards technology, healthcare and manufacturing. Despite investing heavily on developing digital products, from sensors in jet engines to augmented reality software, shareholders have been wary of the company''s new direction. Since Immelt became CEO in 2001, GE''s shares have declined 30 percent, while the S&P 500 index more than doubled. That underperformance had some pressing for more urgency from Immelt. Activist investor Nelson Peltz''s Trian Fund Management bought a stake in GE in October 2015, the largest single investment the firm had ever made, and now worth about $2 billion. Trian immediately pushed for asset sales and cost cuts. Trian declined comment on the CEO change on Monday. GE said Immelt''s departure was not triggered by outside influences, and that its board set the summer of 2017 for Immelt''s departure as far back as 2013. Stifel analyst Robert McCarthy said the timing was not surprising because of the serial underperformance of the stock and "investor fatigue with management''s continued perceived ungainly portfolio actions". During Immelt''s tenure, GE bought French peer Alstom''s ( ALSO.PA ) power business and announced a deal to acquire oil and gas company Baker Hughes, while jettisoning the NBC unit and even its famed appliances division. Still, the company - the oldest surviving member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average - has struggled to boost sales significantly in the past few quarters. In particular, the company''s cash flow has been a cause for concern. Flannery, who joined GE Capital in 1987, focused on leveraged buyouts and later led the corporate restructuring group. He has also ran GE''s India business, its equity business in Latin America and the GE Capital business for Argentina and Chile. Flannery has helped turn around GE''s healthcare business, increasing organic revenue by 5 percent and margins by 100 basis points in 2016, GE said in a statement. The company said Kieran Murphy, president and CEO of GE Healthcare Life Sciences, will replace Flannery. (Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru, Alwyn Scott in Seattle and Michael Flaherty in New York; Writing by Bill Rigby; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Bernard Orr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ge-ceo-idUKKBN1932D6'|'2017-06-13T03:45:00.000+03:00' +'bc46a606d12514414021070e2d8923599d7f297a'|'UPDATE 1-Nomura bought controversial Venezuelan bonds at discount - WSJ'|'(Adds details about Goldman controversy)CARACAS May 31 Japanese investment bank Nomura Securities bought about $100 million worth of Venezuelan government bonds last week as part of the same transaction that has landed Goldman Sachs Group Inc in the middle of a political storm, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.Nomura''s trading arm paid about $30 million for the debt, a steep discount to where the troubled country''s bonds trade in the market, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the matter. ( on.wsj.com/2qGSDyY )Nomura declined to comment.Goldman has said its asset-management arm acquired $2.8 billion of the October 2022 bonds issued by Venezuela''s oil company PDVSA "on the secondary market from a broker and did not interact with the Venezuelan government."The president of Venezuela''s opposition-run Congress, Julio Borges, accused Goldman of "aiding and abetting the country''s dictatorial regime" in the deal.Venezuela''s opposition has campaigned to dissuade Wall Street firms from financing the President Nicolas Maduro''s government, which has drawn international condemnation for abuses of power and human rights violations.The nation''s opposition-led National Assembly on Tuesday voted to ask the U.S. Congress to investigate the Goldman deal, which they called immoral, opaque, and hypocritical given the socialist government''s anti-Wall Street rhetoric. (Reporting by Corina Pons in Caracas, Marianna Parraga in Houston and Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Brian Ellsworth and Tomasz Janowski)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/venezuela-bonds-idINL1N1IX2A1'|'2017-05-31T20:06:00.000+03:00' +'4175e20d96df5c72ed39e294da74de8e84283271'|'U.S. top court buries CalPERS suit over Lehman collapse'|'Banks 03pm EDT U.S. top court buries CalPERS lawsuit over Lehman collapse Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts (R) walks with associate Justice Neil Gorsuch during his investiture ceremony at the Supreme Court in Washington, U.S., June 15, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts By Andrew Chung - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Nearly 30 banks that underwrote billions in debt offerings by Lehman Brothers before Lehman collapsed in 2008 will not have to defend a securities fraud lawsuit by a big California pension fund, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday. The justices ruled 5-4 that the California Public Employees'' Retirement System waited too long to sue the banks, upholding a federal appeals court decision throwing out the lawsuit. The dispute involves claims by the fund, known as CalPERS, against units of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group ( ANZ.AX ), Bank of New York Mellon Corp ( BK.N ), Royal Bank of Canada ( RY.TO ), France''s BNP Paribas SA ( BNPP.PA ) and Spanish lender BBVA ( BBVA.MC ), among others. Lehman Brothers investment bank''s collapse in 2008 helped trigger a global financial crisis. CalPERS, an investor in the banks'' securities, was a member of a class action suit filed in 2008 claiming the underwriters violated the Securities Act by misrepresenting and omitting facts about Lehman''s accounting and risk management practices. In February 2011, CalPERS decided to file a separate lawsuit. When the class action later settled, CalPERS opted out and continued with its own claims. Last year, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York threw out CalPERS'' case, saying that a federal law called the Securities Act barred claims more than three years after a security is first offered to the public. Though the Supreme Court has said class actions extend certain deadlines by which individuals who drop out may file lawsuits on their own, the appeals court said this was not one of them. CalPERS appealed to the Supreme Court, saying that if class actions do not extend such deadlines, courts would be bombarded with thousands of costly lawsuits by investors protecting their right to sue on their own later. The underwriters countered in a legal brief that there is no evidence that this "parade of horribles has actually come to pass." (Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham and Grant McCool)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-calpers-idUSKBN19H1N8'|'2017-06-26T22:16:00.000+03:00' +'c904f144a249165636ff6b7d73fbc0fae848bb0b'|'Chinese Authorities Put the Squeeze on Anbang'|'Finance Chinese Authorities Put the Squeeze on Anbang It bought the Waldorf and danced with a Kushner company. Now Chinas high-profile insurer could face a cash crunch. Bloomberg News Wu Xiaohui, chairman of Anbang Insurance Group, at the China Development Forum in Beijing on March 18, 2017. Photographer: Thomas Peter/Reuters Outside China, Anbang Insurance Group Co. has been best known for its high-profile deals . It acquired New Yorks iconic Waldorf Astoria hotel, made an aborted bid for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., and in March pulled out of talks for a real estate deal with a company owned by the family of Jared Kushner. Now its also notable for the recent detention for questioning by the Chinese government of its chairman, Wu Xiaohui. Anbang has said Wu cant perform his duties for personal reasons. In its home country, Anbang has been a place to stash savings. Many of its popular insurance products were more like high-yielding investments. Think something like a U.S. certificate of deposit but riskier, with returns paid after a specific period such as one or two years. These werent bank accounts, but 99 percent of premium income in the companys Anbang Life unit last year came from sales in banks. The products helped fuel Anbangs investing. Before authorities brought in Wu, China began a clampdown in the insurance industry thats hit Anbang hard. In May regulators temporarily banned its life insurance unit from applying for permission to sell new products. Authorities have asked lenders to suspend some business dealings with Anbang, and at least seven large banks have stopped selling Anbang policies in their branches, according to people with knowledge of the matter. If Anbang cant sell over bank counters, other channels can hardly contribute revenue in a meaningful way in the next few months, says Steven Lam, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst. The most important business stories of the day. Get Bloomberg''s daily newsletter. Sign Up The company could face a cash crunch if too many clients start asking for their money back. Anbang sold 47.6 billion yuan ($7 billion) of a policy called Longevity Sure Win No.1 in 2015. Those customers can leave this year and get back what they put in plus a 4.7 percent annual yield, though that can rise to 5.8 percent if they stay three more years. An Anbang representative says its building new sales channels, such as a mobile app, and is selling more long-term, traditional insurance products. It said in April its life unit had cash reserves of 207.8 billion yuan. In a June 20 note, political risk consultants at Eurasia Group wrote that Chinese authorities would likely act to prevent losses to retail investors or a fire sale of Anbangs long-term assets, but a disorderly implosion remained a risk. "The political costs of a sudden collapse would be high, and officials have a mandate to maintain financial stability," analyst Christopher Beddor wrote. "But Anbangs business model is clearly finished." BOTTOM LINE - Anbang has sold insurance products in China that look a lot like investments. For a while, that money helped to power the companys growth. Before it''s here, it''s on the Bloomberg Terminal. '|'bloomberg.com'|'https://www.bloomberg.com/businessweek'|'https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-21/chinese-authorities-put-the-squeeze-on-anbang'|'2017-06-22T05:00:00.000+03:00' +'45dfc3c19529a0072e07fbf200a67e883f6ccca6'|'PRESS DIGEST- British Business - June 30'|'June 30 The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.The Times- Twenty-First Century Fox Inc''s 11.7 billion pounds ($15.22 billion) bid to take control of Sky Plc faces more regulatory hurdles after the UK government said it was minded to ask Britain''s competition watchdog to examine the deal. bit.ly/2sWM9Ah- Gatwick will make a fresh pitch for a second runway as the airport says that for the first time it had carried more than 44 million passengers in a year. bit.ly/2sWWe0dThe Guardian- UK''s Financial Conduct Authority is scrutinising the fast-growing car finance sector and has held discussions with U.S. authorities about the market. bit.ly/2sXczSx- Banks should disclose lending to companies with carbon-related risks, according to recommendations in a new report by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures. bit.ly/2sWMnHzThe Telegraph- Virgin Media plans to make about 200 redundancies following a management shake-up at the cable operator. The planned cuts follow the operator''s failure earlier this year to hit network expansion targets. bit.ly/2sX7SZ2- The Turkish exile owner of the British luxury smartphone brand Vertu Corp Ltd plans to put its manufacturing arm into administration to wipe out heavy debts. bit.ly/2sX6KV4Sky News- Ron Dennis, the former boss of the McLaren automotive group, is to sever his decades-long ties with the company with the sale of his shareholding in a 275 million pounds deal. bit.ly/2sWSFXR- Australian DIY chain Bunnings says it will create over 1,000 new jobs in UK after its parent firm bought the Homebase brand last year. bit.ly/2sWGytUThe Independent- The widows of four men executed by Nigeria''s military regime in 1995 are suing oil giant Royal Dutch Shell Plc for allegedly aiding the army crackdown which led to their husbands'' deaths. ind.pn/2sWORWA ($1 = 0.7687 pounds) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Bill Trott)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-press-business-idINL3N1JR02U'|'2017-06-29T22:58:00.000+03:00' +'58c240d4a6b1b427f4931732297c18b2e8793a4e'|'BRIEF-TransCanada files for stock shelf of up to $1 bln'|' 30pm EDT BRIEF-TransCanada files for stock shelf of up to $1 bln June 13 Transcanada Corp: * Files for stock shelf of up to $1.0 billion - sec filing Source text for Eikon: * New Age Beverages - on march 23, co entered asset purchase agreement whereby co agreed to acquire all operating assets of Marley Beverage Company MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories Reuters News Agency - Brand Attribution Guidelines - Careers Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters . Thomson Reuters is the world''s largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-transcanada-files-for-stock-shelf-idUSFWN1JA0L8'|'2017-06-14T05:30:00.000+03:00' +'7a190a0d8fa31c3baec2ce3599957071d1e56dbb'|'Spain''s Bankia and BMN hold board meetings to discuss merger deal -sources'|'Deals - Europe 14pm BST Spain''s Bankia and BMN hold board meetings to discuss merger deal: sources Spain''s Bankia logo is seen inside bank''s headquarters before a news conference to present their annual results in Madrid, Spain, January 30, 2017. REUTERS/Sergio Perez MADRID Spain''s Bankia ( BKIA.MC ) and mid-sized lender BMN are holding board meetings this evening to discuss a potential merger deal, two sources with knowledge of the deal said on Monday. "Board meetings to discuss the deal are being held this evening though the final agreement may not be reached tonight," one of the sources with knowledge of the meetings said. Bankia and BMN, both controlled by the Spanish state, declined to comment. Last week, Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said that he expected both lenders to agree on a share swap for merger deal within days or weeks. (Reporting By Jess Aguado; editing by Tomas Cobos)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-bankia-mrg-bmn-idUKKBN19H298'|'2017-06-27T02:12:00.000+03:00' +'7b46f1f50b8422cd5f435fcbf417f12fa169ee5f'|'US STOCKS-Futures little changed as oil prices edge up'|'Market News - Fri Jun 23, 2017 - 7:31am EDT US STOCKS-Futures little changed as oil prices edge up * Indexes down: Dow 53 pts, S&P 1 pt, Nasdaq 9.25 pts By Sruthi Shankar June 23 U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Friday as oil prices edged up and ahead of economic data and speeches by Federal Reserve policymakers. * Crude oil bounced off this week''s 10-month lows, although prices were still set for their worst first-half performance since 1997. * Sliding oil prices have added to concerns on the inflation outlook, which along with a flattening yield curve, could pose a challenge to the Federal Reserve in deciding whether the economy was ready for another interest rate hike this year. * At current levels, the S&P 500 energy index, down 15 percent so far this year, is on track to post its worst weekly decline in about 18 months. * Wall Street ended flat on Thursday, but healthcare stocks rallied as Senate Republicans unveiled legislation that would replace Obamacare with a plan that scales back aid to the poor and kills a tax on the wealthy. * The Fed''s annual stress test results showed that 34 largest U.S. banks have all cleared the first stage, implying they would be able to maintain enough capital in an extreme recession. * Shares of Bank of America, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs were up between 0.5 percent and 0.74 percent in premarket trading. * Concerned by falling oil prices, investors sought the safety of gold, which climbed to one-week highs. * St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, Cleveland Fed chief Loretta Mester and Fed governor Jerome Powell are all scheduled to make appearances later in the day. * Data is expected to show that new U.S. single family home sales likely grew 5.4 percent in May. The data is expected at 10:00 a.m. ET (1400 GMT). * Separately, data firm Markit''s preliminary services PMI is expected to have increased to 53.7 in June, from a prior reading of 53.6. * U.S.-listed shares of Blackberry were down 7.23 percent at $10.30 premarket after the company''s quarterly revenue missed analysts'' estimates. * Caterpillar was down 1.21 percent at $102.58 following a Deutsche Bank downgrade to "hold". * Bed Bath & Beyond was down 9.28 percent after the home furnishing retailer reported a bigger-than-expected fall in same-store sales in the first quarter. Futures snapshot at 6:45 a.m. ET: * Dow e-minis were down 53 points, or 0.25 percent, with 15,691 contracts changing hands. * S&P 500 e-minis were down 1 point, or 0.04 percent, with 74,039 contracts traded. * Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 9.25 points, or 0.16 percent, on volume of 14,713 contracts. (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-idUSL3N1JK3KO'|'2017-06-23T19:31:00.000+03:00' +'4d6c944ad1987d4c4e3b8fd5ea65c567534cf7ad'|'Incoming Philippines central bank chief says concerned about rapid credit growth'|'Business News - Wed Jun 14, 2017 - 10:44am BST Incoming Philippines central bank chief says concerned about rapid credit growth Incoming Philippine Central bank Governor Nestor Espenilla speaks during a news conference at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in Manila, Philippines May 9, 2017. REUTERS/Karen Lema MANILA The Philippine central bank is closely watching the rapid pace of domestic credit growth, its incoming governor said on Wednesday, even though he said it was being driven by legitimate demand. "We''re not being complacent about it," Nestor Espenilla said in an interview. Espenilla will take the helm at the central bank next month. Espenilla also said the Philippines economy, one of Asia''s fastest growing, was in "good shape" and inflation was "under control." Amid a robust economy and tame inflation, the central bank is likely to keep benchmark interest rates steady when it holds its next policy meeting on June 22. (Reporting by Karen Lema; Writing by Manolo Serapio Jr.; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-philippine-economy-cenbank-idUKKBN19512M'|'2017-06-14T17:41:00.000+03:00' +'2782e6280d769b690abe68d70fe5d42d2ae5b0ce'|'Insurance claims processor Watchstone names Stefan Borson as CE0'|' 13am BST Insurance claims processor Watchstone names Stefan Borson as CE0 Insurance claims processor Watchstone Group Plc ( WTGW.L ), formerly known as Quindell, said Stefan Borson, the firm''s general counsel and company secretary, will succeed Indro Mukerjee as chief executive officer. Watchstone said it would cut the size of its board by January next year to comprise its non-executive chairman, CEO, finance director and two non-executive directors. This month, Watchstone was served with High Court proceeding issued by Australia''s biggest class-action law firm Slater and Gordon ( SGH.AX ) for breach of warranty and/or fraudulent misrepresentation for a total amount of up to 637 million pounds ($810.71 million) plus interest in damages. In 2015, Melbourne-based Slater & Gordon paid 637 million pounds for the professional services unit of Quindell Plc, making it one of that country''s biggest law firms. Soon after, Quindell was accused of accounting irregularities, leading to fierce selling in Slater & Gordon shares. ($1 = 0.7857 pounds)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-watchstone-group-ceo-idUKKBN19I0XL'|'2017-06-27T17:13:00.000+03:00' +'4e422f2640d651ba186132ffbf176f784a392279'|'Boeing delays delivery of third 737 MAX jetliner'|'Business News - Fri Jun 2, 2017 - 8:49pm BST Boeing delays delivery of third 737 MAX jetliner Ground crew members escort a Boeing 737 MAX as it returns from a flight test at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington January 29, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Redmond/File Photo SEATTLE Boeing Co ( BA.N ) said on Friday it had delayed the delivery of its third 737 MAX jetliner, set for next week to Norwegian Air Shuttle ( NWC.OL ), a move that comes after a brief delay in delivery of the first MAX last month. The 737 MAX is the latest version of Boeing''s best-selling aircraft. Norwegian did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Boeing did not elaborate on the cause of the delay. (Reporting by Alwyn Scott; Editing by Savio D''Souza) Alibaba''s Jack Ma invited to join bid for L''Oreal''s The Body Shop - sources LONDON European private equity firm Investindustrial has invited the investment vehicle of Alibaba''s founder Jack Ma to submit a joint bid of more than 800 million euros (700.30 million pounds) for L''Oreal''s The Body Shop, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, just days before a deadline for final bids. Wall Street sees Fed on track for rate hike in June despite tepid May jobs data - Reuters poll NEW YORK Wall Street''s top banks see the Federal Reserve as being on track to raise interest rates at its policy meeting later this month even after a government report showed a severe pullback in hiring in May, a Reuters poll showed on Friday. LONDON Chancellor Philip Hammond may be replaced by Home Secretary Amber Rudd if Prime Minister Theresa May wins a landslide victory in next week''s national election, the Telegraph newspaper reported on Friday. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-boeing-deliveries-idUKKBN18T2TA'|'2017-06-03T03:49:00.000+03:00' +'16c64dd14c68f8b4ed16a0ec2edbc69fbefc2199'|'U.S. House speaker vows to complete tax reform in 2017'|'Business News - Tue Jun 20, 2017 - 5:07am BST U.S. House speaker vows to complete tax reform in 2017 Speaker of the House Paul Ryan walks through National Statuary Hall after making a statement at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, U.S., June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein By David Morgan - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The top Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives vowed on Tuesday to complete tax reform in 2017, saying that President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans in Congress cannot allow the chance to overhaul the U.S. tax code to slip. In remarks for a speech to U.S. manufacturers released by his office, House Speaker Paul Ryan said that Congress and the Trump administration are moving "full speed ahead" to deliver fundamental tax reform for individuals, corporations and small businesses. Ryan and other Republicans are under mounting pressure from U.S. businesses and voters to make progress on tax reform, a top 2016 Republican campaign pledge that could determine whether Ryan''s party retains control of the House and the Senate in the 2018 midterm elections. But it is not clear whether Republicans in Congress can overcome infighting over healthcare legislation and government spending to move forward on tax reform legislation. "We are going to get this done in 2017. We need to get this done in 2017. We cannot let this once-in-a-generation moment slip," Ryan said in remarks prepared for a Tuesday afternoon speech to the National Association of Manufacturers, a powerful Washington lobby group. "Transformational tax reform can be done, and we are moving forward. Full speed ahead," he added. Major stock indexes hit multiple record highs from Trump''s November election to the end of the first quarter, on bets that he would improve economic growth by cutting taxes and boosting infrastructure spending. [nL2N1H81YV] The tax reform debate has largely moved behind closed doors, where Ryan is trying to hammer out an agreement with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, White House economic adviser Gary Cohn and the Republican chairmen of two congressional tax committees. The aim is to unveil tax reform legislation in September. Ryan will not delve into details about tax reform provisions on Tuesday but will describe major provisions of any major legislation including a "territorial" system that would no longer tax the foreign profits over U.S. corporations. Ryan will also emphasize the importance of permanent reforms, reject the notion that legislation should do little more than reduce tax rates and make a case for mechanisms to prevent U.S. corporations from moving income, assets and jobs overseas. (Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Leslie Adler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-congress-tax-idUKKBN19B0A3'|'2017-06-20T12:07:00.000+03:00' +'57f595cb67543c9aa8744fef7c69e30ceed7f2c8'|'Nestle ''committed'' to strategy as activist investor moves in'|'Business News - Mon Jun 26, 2017 - 7:34am EDT Nestle ''committed'' to strategy as activist investor moves in FILE PHOTO: Kit Kat chocolate bars are pictured in London, Britain May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth LONDON Nestle ( NESN.S ), the world''s largest food maker, remains committed to its strategy, as it faces criticism from activist shareholder Third Point from the United States. "As always, we keep an open dialogue with all of our shareholders and we remain committed to executing our strategy and creating long-term shareholder value," a Nestle spokesman said in a statement. "Beyond that, we have no specific comment." (Reporting by Martinne Geller, editing by Louise Heavens) Oil rebounds but still threatened by growing U.S. supply NEW YORK Oil prices rebounded on Monday after last week''s seven-month lows, but were hemmed in by a relentless rise in U.S. supply and a surge in demand for short sale contracts that signal investors see potential for a price fall. Japanese airbag maker Takata files for bankruptcy, gets Chinese backing TOKYO/WASHINGTON Japan''s Takata Corp , at the center of the auto industry''s biggest-ever product recall, filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States and Japan, and said it had agreed to be largely acquired for $1.6 billion by the Chinese-owned U.S.-based Key Safety Systems. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-nestle-thirdpoint-strategy-idUSKBN19H0ZP'|'2017-06-26T17:55:00.000+03:00' +'fd0f88da777711106cfb6c16f963aa00b51bbcca'|'PRECIOUS-Gold gains as stocks fall; weak U.S data spurs safe-haven demand'|'Market News - Thu Jun 15, 2017 - 4:10am EDT PRECIOUS-Gold gains as stocks fall; weak U.S data spurs safe-haven demand * Weaker U.S. retail sales, consumer inflation hurt dollar * Report of Trump probe hits risk sentiment (Updates prices) By Nithin ThomasPrasad BENGALURU, June 15 Gold edged up on Thursday from a near three-week low hit in the previous session, supported by softer U.S. economic data and a fall in Asian shares following a report that President Donald Trump was being probed for possible obstruction of justice. Weaker U.S. retail and inflation data overshadowed a rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday, raising doubts about the improvement in the economy and pressurizing the dollar. "Although the Fed is saying the data is transitory, the market is struggling to align with this view," said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA. "Thus we are seeing the U.S. dollar under pressure which has been positive for gold in the short-term." Spot gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,262.86 per ounce by 0800 GMT. It hit a low of $1,256.65 in the previous session, its weakest since May 26. U.S. gold futures for August delivery fell 0.9 percent to $1,264.50 an ounce. "We are looking for gold to hold support around USD $1,260, with expectations that the recent soft U.S. data and ongoing geopolitical concerns should be supportive," MKS PAMP trader Sam Laughlin said in a note. Risk sentiment was hit after Washington Post reported that Trump is being investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller for possible obstruction of justice. As long as uneasiness around the Trump government among speculators and investors exists, gold will hold up pretty well, said Yuichi Ikemizu, Tokyo branch manager at ICBC Standard Bank. Gold considered a safe haven during times of political and financial uncertainty. "Spot gold was also supported by short-term interest in physical gold in Asia, especially from Shanghai this morning," Halley said. In the wider markets, U.S. stock futures and Asian shares slid on Thursday with MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropping 0.7 percent. The dollar index was little changed against a basket of currencies on Thursday after having slid to its lowest since November on Wednesday. Among other precious metals, silver rose 0.2 percent to $16.91 per ounce after it snapped a five-session losing streak and settled higher on Wednesday. Palladium fell 1.1 percent to $853.50 per ounce, while Platinum was down 0.6 percent at $929.50 per ounce . (Additional reporting by Vijaykumar Vedala in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Pullin and Vyas Mohan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/global-precious-idUSL3N1JC22A'|'2017-06-15T12:46:00.000+03:00' +'37985670e81a6a2c76eb8c5eb978a9b048318a9d'|'Exclusive: Nordstrom family launches search for buyout partner - sources'|'By Greg Roumeliotis and Lauren Hirsch A group of Nordstrom Inc family members is talking to buyout firms about raising $1 billion to $2 billion in equity to fund a potential bid to take the U.S. department store operator private, according to people familiar with the matter.Nordstrom said on Thursday the family group, which owns 31.2 percent of the 116-year-old retailer, was studying ways to take the company private. The group is now looking for help in funding an offer that would convince the company''s other shareholders to back the deal.The family group started talks with private equity firms this week, and is expected to spend at least a couple of weeks to select an equity partner, the sources said on Friday, without identifying which firms are in talks with Nordstrom. Once the group has secured equity financing, it will begin to make arrangements for a debt financing package, the sources added.The sources asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential. Nordstrom did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Nordstrom shares were trading up 6.2 percent at $47.40 on the news in afternoon trading in New York on Friday, giving the company a market capitalization of close to $8 billion.The family group that is considering a bid for the company comprises Nordstrom Chairman Emeritus Bruce Nordstrom, his sister Anne Gittinger, President James Nordstrom and Nordstrom co-Presidents Blake, Peter and Erik Nordstrom.Nordstrom operates 354 stores in 40 states, which includes its Nordstrom branded full-line stores and off-price discount chain Nordstrom Rack. The company also operates stores in Canada and Puerto Rico.Seattle-based Nordstrom has long been viewed as the jewel of the department store industry. Its affordable high-end price point distinguishes it from less-expensive peers, such as Macy''s Inc, without making it too exclusive.However, like many mall-based retailers, Nordstrom has been hit by the rise of internet shopping, and has been seeking to downsize its department store footprint while boosting its e-commerce presence.Nordstrom reported first-quarter same-store sales last month that fell short of estimates, triggering a drop in its shares.Nordstrom has closed fewer stores than its peers. James Nordstrom said on Nordstrom''s first-quarter earnings call in May that the company will consider store closures on a case-by-case basis, rather than through any sweeping measures.Some private equity firms may be apprehensive about adding too much debt on Nordstrom.Competitor Neiman Marcus Group, which is owned by buyout firm Ares Management LP and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), offers a cautionary tale; it has been working with a financial restructuring adviser this year to cope with its $4.7 billion debt pile, much of which is down to its $6 billion leveraged buyout in 2013.(Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis and Lauren Hirsch in New York; Editing by Bill Rigby and Meredith Mazzilli)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-nordstrom-m-a-family-idINKBN1902RS'|'2017-06-09T17:47:00.000+03:00' +'e3adbe95e4ae0d2525806685de9cbb8e87610619'|'Tesla, others seek ways to ensure drivers keep their hands on the wheel'|'Technology News 12:49pm EDT Tesla, others seek ways to ensure drivers keep their hands on the wheel FILE PHOTO: A Tesla Model X is photographed alongside a Model S at a Tesla electric car dealership in Sydney, Australia, May 31, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Reed/File Photo By David Shepardson - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Automakers are using tiny cameras, sensors to track drooping heads, steering wheel monitors and audible alerts to ensure drivers pay attention when using advanced driver assistance systems, like Teslas Autopilot, that allow drivers to take their hands off the wheel. In a report this week on the May 2016 crash of a Tesla Inc Model S that killed a driver who was using Autopilot, the National Transportation Safety Board demonstrated that users could mostly keep their hands off the wheel for extended periods despite repeated warnings from the vehicle. But the crash underscored a vexing problem for automakers that want to gain an edge by launching technology that completely automates driving tasks. Unless a car is capable of driving itself safely in every situation, drivers will still have to remain alert and ready to take control even if the car is piloting itself. The NTSB, the federal agency charged with investigating significant transportation accidents, said during a 37-minute section of the 41-minute Tesla trip, the driver kept his hands on the wheel for just 25 seconds, putting his hands on the wheel for one- to- three second increments after getting repeated visual and audible warnings. General Motors Co delayed introduction of a driver assistance technology called Super Cruise that was initially planned for late last year because it said it was not ready. The technology will go on sale this fall. Barry Walkup, chief engineer of Super Cruise, said the company added "a driver attention function, to insist on driver supervision." The system uses a small camera that focuses on the driver and works with infrared lights to track head position to determine where the driver is looking. If the system - which uses facial recognition software - detects the driver is not paying attention, it will prompt the driver to return attention to the road. If the driver does not respond, it will escalate alerts, including a steering wheel light bar, visual indicators, tactile alerts in the seat and audible alerts. If the driver does not respond, the vehicle is brought to a controlled stop. Volkswagen AG''s ( VOWG_p.DE ) luxury Audi unit has a system that handles steering and braking at speeds of up to 40 miles. The system requires the driver to check in with the steering wheel every 15 seconds. Audi said the system will beep alerts at the driver, and if the driver does not respond, it will bring the vehicle to a stop. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is the lead agency for regulating self-driving cars, does not test or preapprove driver assistance systems before automakers install them. Instead, the agency responds to complaints or crashes when it investigates whether a potential defect poses an unreasonable risk to driver safety. The May 2016 Tesla accident has raised concerns about the regulation of self-driving cars. The NTSB will issue probable cause findings and may make recommendations to the NHTSA in the Tesla crash but does not plan to hold a public hearing on the incident, spokesman Keith Holloway said. In September 2016, Tesla unveiled new restrictions on Autopilot after widespread concerns the system lulled users into a false sense of security through its "hands-off" driving capability. The updated system temporarily prevents drivers from using the system if they do not respond to audible warnings to take back control of the car. The car sounds warnings if drivers take their hands off the wheel for more than a minute at speeds above 45 miles per hour (72 kph) when there is no vehicle ahead, Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk told reporters in September. If the driver ignores three audible warnings in an hour, the system temporarily shuts off until it is parked. Musk said at the time that autopilot accidents are far more likely for expert users of the system, saying some users got as many as 10 warnings in an hour under the prior system. It''s not the neophytes, it''s the experts. They get very comfortable with it and repeatedly ignore the car''s warnings and in effect it becomes like a reflex action, Musk said. Tesla monitors drivers through their interactions with the steering wheel, turn signal, and speed setting, NHTSA said in a separate report. Alphabet Inc''s Waymo unit, which is also working on self-driving technology, is taking a different approach, arguing that asking drivers to pay attention while the car drives itself is wrong. Waymo is focusing its efforts on fully autonomous vehicles where humans take no part in driving, rather driver assistance. "We''re not seeking to build a better car. Our goal is to build a better driver," Waymo Chief Executive Officer John Krafcik said earlier this year. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Sanders and Bernard Orr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-autos-selfdriving-safety-idUSKBN19E1ZA'|'2017-06-24T00:45:00.000+03:00' +'76a477ab4cfb6318dce451c6610c7d8499d08101'|'Venture capitalist DST Global sees $4 trillion of new internet firms by 2025'|'By Elzio Barreto - HONG KONG HONG KONG A surge in online consumer spending globally in coming years will create $4 trillion worth of new internet companies by the middle of the next decade, billionaire investor Yuri Milner, founder of venture capitalist DST Global, said on Friday.Milner, an early backer of internet firms Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc, expects the online proportion of global consumer spending to reach 15 percent by 2025 from 6 percent now. That means in eight years'' time, the rest of the world will match the current online spending trend of China, he said."You only need to make some relatively conservative assumptions to come up with a significant number," Milner said at the D.Live Asia technology conference in Hong Kong."We only need to assume the whole world will catch up with China to come up with the number $7 trillion worth of market cap (for internet companies). That means there will be an additional $4 trillion created in that space," said Milner.In China, DST Global invested in Xiaomi Inc [XTC.UL] along with private equity firm All-Stars Investment and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte Ltd [GIC.UL]. It expects the mobile phone maker to rebound after two years of slowing growth as sales at its branded stores expand, Milner said.Xiaomi was briefly the world''s most valuable startup following its last round of fundraising in 2014. It has since seen sales tumble due to competition from the likes of Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL] as well as brands Vivo and Oppo.The fall was mostly attributed to Xiaomi''s original strategy of online-only sales. The firm has since opened physical stores."In the last few months it''s looked like Xiaomi is turning a corner," Milner said. "The stores seem to be doing pretty well. They are only second to Apple in terms of revenue per square foot."(Reporting by Elzio Barreto; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Christopher Cushing)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-dstglobal-internet-idINKBN19006C'|'2017-06-09T01:56:00.000+03:00' +'a4f6975dd6889fa6f31884649a55457bc1e3a574'|'Toshiba faces fresh lawsuit, plans provision for year ended March'|'Business News - Tue Jun 13, 2017 - 6:16am BST Toshiba faces fresh lawsuit, plans provision for year ended March FILE PHOTO: A logo of Toshiba Corp is seen outside an electronics retail store in Tokyo, Japan, February 14, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo TOKYO Toshiba Corp on Tuesday said it was being sued by another group of foreign investors for 43.9 billion yen (315.2 million pounds) in damages over a $1.3 billion accounting scandal uncovered two years ago. Toshiba said in a statement that it plans to book an additional provision for the year ended March for the lawsuit. The laptops-to-nuclear conglomerate has now been sued by 26 groups and individuals since it first admitted to reporting inflated profits going back to 2008, with total damages of 108.4 billion yen being sought. (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Himani Sarkar) Uber CEO Kalanick likely to take leave, SVP Michael out - source SAN FRANCISCO Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] Chief Executive Travis Kalanick is likely to take a leave of absence from the troubled ride-hailing company, but no final decision has yet been made, according to a source familiar with the outcome of a Sunday board meeting. Inflation fizzle may once again leave Fed rate path in doubt SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON The Federal Reserve will probably express its confidence inflation will climb towards its 2 percent target when it meets this week and delivers a widely expected rate rise, but such assurances are a poor indicator of the Fed''s future policy. SINGAPORE Oil prices edged up on Tuesday, lifted by statements that Saudi Arabia was making significant supply cuts, although rising U.S. output meant that markets remain well supplied. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting-idUKKBN1940IN'|'2017-06-13T13:16:00.000+03:00' +'752df0da1a3ecf70f57c017b798b2ceff37f557a'|'FTC to advise blocking Walgreens deal to buy Rite Aid - CNBC'|'June 9 Regulatory authorities are set to advise blocking U.S. drugstore chain Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc''s deal to buy smaller rival Rite Aid Corp, CNBC reported on Friday, citing a report.The companies have been waiting for a year-and-a-half for approval from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) since the initial offer made in 2015.In that time, the closing date of the deal has been postponed repeatedly and the offer price reduced to $6.50 to $7.00 per Rite Aid share, down from $9.The deal would have helped Walgreens widen its U.S. footprint and negotiate for lower drug costs. (Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/rite-aid-ma-walgreens-boots-idINL3N1J64ON'|'2017-06-09T14:48:00.000+03:00' +'5b578f25e12427bc24b2b209bb5b38e9898ce15b'|'Nikkei hits 2-week high as weak yen supports; Nomura Real Estate dives'|'* Turnover, volume at lowest since May 30* Takata resumes trading, share price tumbles* Futures-led trading lifts market - traders* Domestic-demand sensitive stocks outperformBy Ayai TomisawaTOKYO, June 19 Japanese stocks hit two-week highs on Monday, as the dollar''s steady performance against the yen fuelled buying of futures, while Nomura Real Estate dived after saying Japan Post was no longer considering buying a stake in the property company.The Nikkei gained 0.6 percent to 20,067.75, its highest close since June 5.The broader Topix rose 0.6 percent to 1,606.07, but only 1.48 billion shares changed hands, the lowest volume since May 30. Turnover was also the lowest since then."Investors are buying futures today... it''s more like today''s trading is futures-led than trade-led by individual stocks," said Yutaka Miura, a senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities.The dollar was up 0.2 percent to comfortably stay above 111 yen during most of the session, which lifted U.S. futures , underpinning risk appetites in Asian trade.Investors also believe Wall Street will fare better on Monday than on Friday, when it was subdued, Mizuho''s Miura said.The Nikkei remained above the psychologically important 20,000-line as the market digested the Bank of Japan''s decision to keep policy unchanged on Friday.After the U.S. Federal Reserve''s rate hike and the BOJ''s meeting, traders see no major catalysts this week but will stay focused on coming U.S. economic indicators."We expect that the 20,000 level will become the Nikkei''s support level soon, and it will likely depend on whether the long-term U.S. yields will rise or not," said Takuya Takahashi, a strategist at Daiwa Securities.Monday''s notable gainers included domestic-demand sensitive stocks.Construction companies Taisei Corp rose 2.4 percent and Kajima Corp soared 2.5 percent.Nomura Real Estate Holdings sank 14 percent after it confirmed weekend media reports that Japan Post Holdings would likely scrap the talks to buy a stake in Nomura as the two companies had struggled to agree on terms. The potential deal, first reported in mid-May, had pushed Nomura''s shares up by 20 percent.Major exporters were mixed, with Toyota Motor Corp falling 0.1 percent, Nissan Motor Co shedding 0.9 percent and Hitachi Ltd gaining 0.3 percent.On Monday, the exchange''s suspension of Takata Corp , the troubled maker of air bag inflators, was lifted. There was a glut of sell orders and a trade at the end of the day left the stock at 404 yen, compared with 484 yen where it last traded on Thursday.Trading in Takata was suspended throughout Friday because the company offered no official statement after sources said it was preparing to file for bankruptcy as early as this week. (Editing by Richard Borsuk)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-close-idINL3N1JG2DD'|'2017-06-19T04:53:00.000+03:00' +'b52d6907d1a5082601fca233077fe7df2fd74e3f'|'Fortuna board says Penta''s buyout offer price not enough'|'PRAGUE Czech-Slovak investment bank Penta''s offer price for the remaining shares in Fortuna Entertainment ( FORE.PR ) it does not already own is below fair value, the Czech betting group said.Fortuna''s (FEG) management and supervisory boards said that Penta''s 118.04 Czech crown ($5.06) a share offer did not provide a "meaningful premium" to the market price.It added in a statement that although the offer price was not fair, the rationale had merit."However, the FEG Boards are of the view that this should be accompanied by offering the minority shareholders a reasonable opportunity to exit FEG against a price that reflects the value of FEG," the statement released late on Friday said.Penta, which holds 68 percent of Fortuna through its Fortbet Holdings unit, launched a bid to buy out minority shareholders and take the company off the market in March.Last week, it raised the offer price in the voluntary buyout from an initial offer of 98.69 crowns, which was 10 percent below the market value at the time.The new price provided an 8 percent premium when announced. Fortuna shares closed just above the raised offer price on Friday.Some minority shareholders have also complained about the offer. A group controlling 10.5 percent of the company and advised by Templeton said last week that the price was "still significantly below value".($1 = 23.3280 Czech crowns)(Reporting by Jason Hovet, editing by Louise Heavens)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-fortuna-group-m-a-penta-idINKBN18W0X9'|'2017-06-05T06:22:00.000+03:00' +'0f865119012cf2fecacfaf40dde67a59589c395b'|'Halma full-year profit rises 17 percent, aided by acquisitions'|'Business News 29am BST Halma full-year profit rises 17 percent, aided by acquisitions Halma Plc''s full-year profit rose 17 percent, the healthcare devices maker said on Tuesday, as acquisitions boosted sales across all its units. The company, which makes employee safety devices, fire and smoke detectors and medical devices, said adjusted pre-tax profit for the year ended April 1 rose to 194 million pounds from 166 million pounds a year ago. Halma''s order intake for the financial year continued to be ahead of revenue and ahead of order intake the same time last year, Chief Executive Andrew Williams said in a statement. The company said revenue rose 19 percent to 961.7 million pounds, above Barclays'' estimate of 933 million pounds, but below Investec''s estimate of 962.3 million pounds. (Reporting By Justin George Varghese; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-halma-results-idUKKBN1940O3'|'2017-06-13T14:29:00.000+03:00' +'572473847ea6930ff4f102db513f4b9c4d8be5dd'|'HSBC to create 500 new jobs in Scotland'|'Business News - Tue Jun 20, 2017 - 2:25pm BST HSBC to create 500 new jobs in Scotland The HSBC bank logo is seen at their offices in the Canary Wharf financial district in London, Britain, March 3, 2016. REUTERS/Reinhard Krause/File Photo LONDON HSBC ( HSBA.L ) will create 500 new jobs in Scotland in its Global Risk and Customer Contact units, the bank said on Tuesday, its third expansion in the country in the last three years. The new roles, which also include jobs in other parts of the bank, will increase the total number of HSBC staff in Scotland to 4,500, the bank said in a statement. "HSBC''s expansion with the creation of 500 new jobs across Scotland is fantastic news for the economy, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who visited HSBC''s Global Risk operations in Edinburgh on Tuesday, said in the bank''s statement. HSBC has also announced a fund of 500 million pounds for lending to small businesses in the country. HSBC in common with other banks has meanwhile been slashing jobs in other parts of its business in recent years, closing bank branches across Britain and trimming hundreds of roles from its investment bank and retail banking divisions. (Reporting By Lawrence White, editing by Pritha Sarkar) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hsbc-scotland-idUKKBN19B1V3'|'2017-06-20T21:25:00.000+03:00' +'965ee939240628cc78a0b871a4d48f4ddcf1ebf0'|'Accenture''s net revenue rises 5.1 pct'|'Market News 08am EDT Accenture''s net revenue rises 5.1 pct June 22 Consulting and outsourcing services provider Accenture Plc reported a 5.1 percent increase in quarterly net revenue on Thursday, as the company''s investments to boost its digital and cloud service offerings pay off. Net revenue rose to $8.87 billion from $8.43 billion in the third quarter ended May 31. Net income attributable to Accenture fell to $669.5 million or $1.05 per share, from $897.2 million or $1.41 per share, a year earlier. Accenture has been investing heavily on acquisitions to boost its digital, cloud and security-related offerings, which make up about half its total revenue. (Reporting by Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/accenture-results-idUSL3N1JJ3PV'|'2017-06-22T19:08:00.000+03:00' +'444c954dd240767bee9937656f82bf1e6e44c4dc'|'MIDEAST STOCKS-Qatar stabilises on valuations, Dubai''s Emaar jumps on unit''s IPO plan'|'Market News - Wed Jun 7, 2017 - 4:20am EDT MIDEAST STOCKS-Qatar stabilises on valuations, Dubai''s Emaar jumps on unit''s IPO plan DUBAI, June 7 Qatari shares that are members of global emerging market benchmarks helped stabilise the bourse in early trade on Wednesday, while Dubai''s Emaar Properties jumped on news it will launch an initial public offering of its local real estate unit. Qatar''s stock index was roughly flat after plummeting 8.7 percent over the last two days when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut diplomatic and transport ties, accusing Doha of backing terrorism. "From a valuation perspective, there is now a good buying opportunity in some companies," one regional brokerage firm told its clients. Reflecting the political tensions, it did not want to be publicly named. Telecommunications firm Ooredoo, for example, rose 0.9 percent to 95.40 riyals; the mean target price of 11 analysts is 114 riyals, according to Thomson Reuters data. "Tensions are still high and mediation efforts by fellow Gulf Cooperation Council state Kuwait have yet to lead to a concrete solution, so investors will likely remain on edge and the longer it takes for a resolution, the longer it will take for the (Qatari) market to heal," said a Dubai-based trader. In Dubai, shares of the largest listed real estate developer Emaar Properties surged 6.4 percent after it said it plans to offer up to 30 percent of its United Arab Emirates real estate development business in an initial public offer. Subject to market conditions, funds raised through the IPO would be distributed to shareholders of Emaar. The company said the IPO would be Dubai''s largest since its flotation of Emaar Malls, which raised 5.8 billion dirhams ($1.58 billion) in 2014 and was heavily oversubscribed. The Dubai stock index was up 1.3 percent. In Abu Dhabi, Dana Gas was up 2.2 percent after the company said it had received $40 million from the Egyptian government towards its outstanding receivables; its current receivables balance in Egypt now stands at $187 million. Most banks were also up, with First Abu Dhabi Bank up 0.9 percent. Saudi Arabia''s index barely moved with 29 shares rising and 28 falling in the first half-hour of trade. (Reporting by Celine Aswad; Editing by Andrew Torchia and Adrian Croft) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/mideast-stocks-idUSL8N1J415I'|'2017-06-07T16:20:00.000+03:00' +'6c8bd5e2b51bb4e6d54474c02761b04e51ff009b'|'Home buyers face squeeze as Shanghai curbs office-to-flats market'|'By Clare Jim and Elias Glenn - HONG KONG/BEIJING HONG KONG/BEIJING A crackdown in Shanghai on commercial office projects converted into residential apartments will squeeze speculators, but could also hurt bona fide homebuyers already struggling with high prices and buying restrictions.Some property developers in the city bought land zoned for commercial use as a cheaper alternative to plots meant for homes. Apartment blocks put up on these sites were consequently cheaper, and weren''t regulated under home-purchase rules brought in to curb speculation and soaring prices.The properties proved popular with investors and homebuyers shut out of the market by the buying restrictions.But Shanghai last month rolled out a "clean up and rectify" campaign for commercial-turned-residential developments, following similar moves in the capital, Beijing.While this may deter some speculation, it is likely also to further squeeze the mainstream housing market and push up prices."These types of apartments were quite popular in the past few years because of home purchase restrictions," said Clement Luk, CEO of East China at realtor Centaline."Clients like those who haven''t lived in Shanghai for the required amount of years or buy-for-investment purposes go for these apartments. But with the new measures, demand from both real users and investors will be wiped out all at once."In Beijing, sales of these so-called serviced apartments nearly tripled last year to more than 4 million square meters (43 million square feet), according to data from E-House China R&D Institute, accounting for a third of all residential sales, up from just 13 percent in 2015.But sales there collapsed in April, down more than 98 percent year-on-year, while unit prices fell 31 percent in May, the E-House data shows.The crackdown by Shanghai''s housing authority - ordering developers and buyers to rip out fixtures such as toilets and kitchens before properties could be sold on - prompted a protest by hundreds of people last weekend after the market effectively froze. A similar protest is planned in Beijing this weekend.The Shanghai measures have already dented buyer sentiment for similar developments in other Chinese cities in anticipation of a broader nationwide clampdown, said Centaline''s Luk.Developers in Shanghai have suspended sales of all related developments, including Hong Kong developer Sun Hung Kai Properties'' luxury serviced apartment project on the Huangpu River in Pudong, property agents said."Some cities over-planned their office supply; by converting some of this into apartments would have helped ease the glut," said Stanley Ching, head of Citic Capital''s real estate group."But the new measures seem to contradict the policy intention to clear office inventory, and removing this extra supply of serviced apartments may further drive up home prices."STILL UNCLEARFollowing the protest, Shanghai''s housing authority said buyers of commercial-turned-residential properties could take delivery of them if they had already signed purchase contracts, while developers were told to accommodate buyers seeking to cancel contracts.Some buy-and-hold investors, who want to rent out their apartments or live in them, welcomed this week''s shift."It''s OK for those of us who are holding on to them for the long term," said Ms. Ye, who said she was waiting to take delivery of a 50 square metre loft she bought two years ago that is still being built.Others, though, say they still don''t know if they''ll be allowed to re-sell these properties or if they''ll be compensated if they cancel the purchase now.Developers and anyone looking to sell one of these properties soon are likely to be hit as they will be required first to restore residential apartments back to commercial use, and office space is worth up to a fifth less than apartments.Some funds, too, are now reviewing their investments."(The measures) will have an impact on investment firms'' strategy because many involve these developments, and the policy is likely to be introduced in other cities," said Ching at Citic Capital. "We''re stalling some deal talks until we have a clearer sense of the policy direction."Greenland Holdings, whose Beijing unit was punished by local authorities last month for promoting apartments built on land designated for commercial use, said it has a few developments in Shanghai that fall into the "clean up" category, and it will adjust its marketing strategy accordingly.(Reporting by Clare Jim in HONG KONG and Elias Glenn in BEIJING; Additional reporting by John Ruwitch in SHANGHAI; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/china-economy-property-idINKBN1960B8'|'2017-06-15T12:42:00.000+03:00' +'aa8b7e48c4c081fa4ebb519249c5fec3425de4c1'|'In Amazon''s shadow, hedge funds take aim at Brexit-hit retailers'|'Hedge Funds - Tue Jun 27, 2017 - 5:33pm IST In Amazon''s shadow, hedge funds take aim at Brexit-hit retailers left right People rush past Debenhams department store on Oxford Street, in central London, Britain January 10, 2011. REUTERS/Ki Price/File Photo 1/4 left right Pedestrians walk past an M&S shop in northwest London July 8, 2014. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File photo 2/4 left right Shoppers walk past a branch of the food retailer Morrisons in west London, Britain, January 7, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville 3/4 left right Workers pack bags as a conveyer belt transports goods inside the Ocado Customer Fulfilment Centre in Hatfield on the outskirts of London, Britain, April 6, 2016 . REUTERS/Dylan Martinez 4/4 By Alasdair Pal - LONDON LONDON Hedge funds have significantly stepped up bets against Britain''s traditional high street retailers, as the sector struggles with online competition, worries about a stretched consumer and weakening sales and profits. The risks were on full display on Tuesday when shares in Debenhams ( DEB.L ) slid more than 3 percent to an eight-year low following a weak trading update and a warning on UK sales. Britain''s upcoming exit from the European Union, an inconclusive general election, and worrying data on consumer spending have muddied the outlook for bricks-and-mortar retailers like Debenhams, Marks & Spencer ( MKS.L ) and Next ( NXT.L ), whose share prices have fallen this year. Short-sellers, who borrow shares in a company before selling them into the market, hoping to buy them back at a lower price in the future and pocket the difference, are doubling down. Of the 10 most-shorted stocks in the UK, five M&S, Debenhams, Pets At Home ( PETSP.L ) and grocers Morrisons ( MRW.L ) and Ocado ( OCDO.L ) are now in the retail sector, according to data from UK regulator the Financial Conduct Authority. This comes after sofa retailer DFS ( DFSD.L ) warned on June 15 that it would miss expectations on profits this year, blaming an uncertain political and economic outlook, and that the lack of demand was market-wide. DFS''s comments sent a stock index tracking Britains retailers .FTASX5370 down 4.1 percent on June 15 its biggest one-day fall since Britain voted to leave the European Union in June 2016. That was followed a day later by Amazon ( AMZN.O ) announcing its intention to buy Whole Foods ( WFM.O ), stoking fears the online giant may push further into retail. Analysts and investors are braced for further weakness. Traditional clothing retailers are an area where I find it much harder to see how the pressure is going to go away, said Matthew Tillett, a fund manager at Allianz Global Investors. I am always asking, is it Amazon-able? If the answer to that question is yes it is always going to be hard for me to buy a bricks and mortar retailer. UK retail sales fell more sharply than expected in May, data from the Office of National Statistics showed on the same day as the DFS profit warning, with non-food retailers particularly badly affected. It is a tough backdrop, said Tineke Frikkee, a fund manager at Smith & Williamson. It owns shares in M&S and Debenhams, both of which have seen increases in short interest in the last week. The response shows you the glass is half empty on these stocks, Frikkee said. In particular, DFSs profit warning and Amazons expansion have coincided with a spike in short-selling in M&S and Debenhams. Of the 11 funds short M&Ss shares, six increased their positions on June 15 and 16, according to regulatory filings. Short interest in the retailer, which primarily sells clothing and food, has risen more than five-fold to 10.2 percent since the start of the year. Hedge funds shorting M&S include Marshall Wace, which has a 2.3 percent position in the companys shares and is also shorting pet food retailer Pets At Home. At around 130 million pounds, the bet against M&S is one of the funds largest shorts in the UK. Marshall Wace declined to comment. Debenhams, already one of the UKs most shorted stocks, has seen short interest nearly double since the start of the year to reach an all-time high of 11.9 percent. Odey Asset Management, run by billionaire investor Crispin Odey, increased its position to nearly 4 percent of the companys shares on June 15, according to filings. The firm did not respond to requests for comment. Shorting the sector has been a successful trade so far in 2017: Pets At Home has fallen 33 percent and Debenhams has lost more than a fifth of its value this year. M&S is down 3 percent. (Reporting by Alasdair Pal, Editing by Vikram Subhedar and Susan Fenton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/uk-hedgefunds-ukretail-idINKBN19I152'|'2017-06-27T10:03:00.000+03:00' +'664583ab822bd7cc093ee886e451efeee8ab68c4'|'German retail sales rise more than expected in May'|'Autos - Fri Jun 30, 2017 - 7:40am BST German retail sales rise more than expected in May Schloss-Strassen-Center shopping mall is pictured at Schlossstrasse in Berlin''s Steglitz district, Germany, February 27, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch BERLIN German retail sales rose in May, data showed on Friday, supporting expectations that private consumption will propel growth in Europe''s largest economy this year. The volatile indicator, which is often subject to revision, showed retail sales rose by 0.5 percent on the month in real terms, the Federal Statistics Office said. That was higher than the 0.3 percent rise forecast in a Reuters poll and came after a fall of 0.2 percent in April. On the year, sales rose by 4.8 percent in May, almost double the Reuters consensus forecast for a 2.5 percent increase. Consumption has taken over exports as the main driver of growth, supported by a robust labour market and low interest rates. A survey on Thursday showed German consumer sentiment at its best in almost 16 years heading into July. (Reporting by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Andrea Shalal) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-economy-retail-idUKKBN19L0LR'|'2017-06-30T09:40:00.000+03:00' +'b73415be323e89c0be74550e6feeec6baf479acb'|'Factbox - Impact on insurers from Britain''s vote to leave the EU'|'Business News - Mon Jun 5, 2017 - 2:37pm BST Factbox - Impact on insurers from Britain''s vote to leave the EU A sign of RSA insurance company is pictured outside its office in London in this December 13, 2013 file photo. REUTERS/Toby Melville/Files British insurer RSA ( RSA.L ) followed rivals on Monday in announcing plans to set up a subsidiary in Luxembourg to act as the headquarters of its European Union operations following Britain''s decision to leave the bloc. Insurers are setting up regulated EU subsidiaries in case Britain does not have access to the single market after Brexit. Below are plans for EU subsidiaries proposed by insurers: ADMIRAL British motor insurer Admiral Group Plc ( ADML.L ) said last year it could move its European business to Ireland or another country. It said earlier this year it was looking at a large number of locations and expected to make a decision within two months. AIG U.S. insurer AIG ( AIG.N ) said in March it will set up a European subsidiary in Luxembourg, in addition to its European headquarters in London. BEAZLEY Lloyd''s of London insurer Beazley Plc BEZG.L said last year it had filed an application with the Central Bank of Ireland to get approval for its Irish reinsurance business to become a European insurance company. The firm said in February it will hire additional staff in Ireland.[nL4N1FO23J] CHESNARA Chesnara Plc ( CSN.L ), an insurance-focused takeover specialist, already has an insurance company in the Netherlands but could move its headquarters there, depending on the regulatory environment in Britain after negotiations to leave the EU. FM GLOBAL U.S. commercial property insurer FM Global is planning a European hub in Luxembourg following Britain''s decision to leave the bloc, it said last month. HISCOX Lloyd''s of London underwriter Hiscox Ltd ( HSX.L ) will establish a new subsidiary in Luxembourg to underwrite its retail business in Europe, it said in May. LLOYD''S OF LONDON Lloyd''s of London, an integral part of the British business scene since the 17th century, has chosen Brussels as the site for its EU subsidiary, it said in March. MARKEL U.S. insurer Markel ( MKL.N ) plans to apply for regulatory approval to set up a European Union subsidiary in Munich. MS AMLIN Japanese-owned insurer MS Amlin operates under the "Societas Europaea" structure. That makes it relatively easy to move to a different EU jurisdiction if needed, subject to regulatory approval. ROYAL LONDON British life insurer Royal London Mutual Insurance Society plans to turn its Irish business into a regulated subsidiary, it said in March. STANDARD LIFE British insurer and asset manager Standard Life ( SL.L ) said in May it was likely to choose Dublin for its EU hub. XL CATLIN Bermuda-domiciled insurer XL Catlin ( XL.N ) said its UK business XL Insurance Company SE has branches across Europe and also operates under the "Societas Europaea" structure. RSA RSA is planning a subsidiary in Luxembourg to act as the headquarters of its European Union operations following Britain''s decision to leave the bloc. It said it chose Luxembourg because it had "multi-national expertise", was "strategically located within RSAs existing EU branch network" and had an experienced regulator. LANCASHIRE Lancashire ( LRE.L ) said in May it has options to write EU business out of its Bermuda headquarters or via Lloyd''s Of London''s SOLYD.UL Brussels base. The insurer added it was in no hurry to set up an EU base and saw itself staying in the UK for the foreseeable future. NEON Neon Underwriting Ltd may set up a Dublin business to sell insurance policies throughout the European Union if Britain loses access to the single market, chief executive of the specialist Lloyd''s of London insurer said in December. LEGAL & GENERAL British insurer Legal & General ( LGEN.L ) said in May it will move some of its investment management operations to Ireland to ensure it can continue to serve its customers after Brexit. AVIVA Aviva ( AV.L ) is going through the process of converting its Irish life and general insurance branches to regulated subsidiaries to meet the needs of its Irish insurance customers more effectively after Brexit. (Compiled by Noor Zainab Hussain and Carolyn Cohn; Editing by Keith Weir/Alexander Smith/Susan Fenton) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-insurance-factbox-idUKKBN18W1RA'|'2017-06-05T21:37:00.000+03:00' +'81b46546352e99ddcf86adc407c40563683ba452'|'Uber CEO Kalanick likely to take leave, exec Michael to leave - source'|'Top News - Mon Jun 12, 2017 - 5:32pm BST Uber CEO Kalanick likely to take leave, exec Michael to leave - source FILE PHOTO - Uber CEO Travis Kalanick speaks to students during an interaction at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campus in Mumbai, India, January 19, 2016. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/File photo Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] Chief Executive Travis Kalanick is likely to take a leave of absence from the troubled ride-hailing company, but no final decision has yet been made, according to a source familiar with the outcome of a Sunday board meeting. Emil Michael, senior vice president and a close Kalanick ally, will leave the company, the source said. Uber''s board met on Sunday to consider recommendations from an investigation into sexual harassment and related issues led by the law firm of former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. (Reporting by Jonathan Weber; Editing by Bill Rigby)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-uber-board-michael-idUKKBN1931V7'|'2017-06-13T00:16:00.000+03:00' +'96f561e38af32c705b7428e78812ba806aa80da1'|'CEE MARKETS-Romanian leu holds steady ahead of new PM nomination'|'Market News - Mon Jun 26, 2017 - 5:23am EDT CEE MARKETS-Romanian leu holds steady ahead of new PM nomination By Krisztina Than BUDAPEST, June 26 The Romanian leu held steady on Monday, unrattled by the ousting of Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu last week, and stocks markets in the region opened higher, led by Polish banks. Poland''s index led gains, trading 1.2 percent higher at 0809 GMT. The country''s second-largest lender Bank Pekao SA jumped 3 percent, while mBank surged 2.4 percent. Traders said this was due to JP Morgan raising the target price for Pekao, and putting it to "overweight" from "underweight". The ruling party in Romania is expected to propose a new prime minister to President Klaus Iohannis, a centrist, on Monday to replace Grindeanu who was ousted last week in a no-confidence vote initiated by his own party. Once Iohannis endorses the candidate, a new government could be formed within days. The political uncertainty follows jitters over the government''s loose fiscal policies, but it was not expected to have a major impact on policy. "In our view, changing a prime minister will not entangle any major shifts in the current government policies except from the possibility of deviating further away from the anti-corruption path than under Grindeanu''s leadership," analysts at Nordea bank said in a note. "Regardless of who will be the new Romanian PM, the political and fiscal risks will remain in place with the government policies continuing to be quite hasty and sometimes unpredictable ... we are not too optimistic about the RON in the medium-term," they added. The leu was steady at around 4.57 to the euro but was still hovering around its weakest levels since 2012 of 4.599 hit last week. "A possibly fast implementation of a new government... and the resolving of the political uncertainty could in our view induce a quick return of EUR/RON into the 4.50-4.55 range," Raiffeisen analysts said. The Hungarian forint and the Polish zloty were both 0.1 percent firmer in early, slow trade. CEE MARKETS SNAPSH AT 0940 CET OT CURRENCIES Latest Previo Daily Change us bid close change in 2017 Czech crown n/a 26.261 n/a n/a 5 Hungary 309.30 309.68 +0.12 -0.16% forint 00 50 % Polish zloty 4.2207 4.2255 +0.11 4.34% % Romanian leu 4.5710 4.5721 +0.02 -0.79% % Croatian 7.4120 7.4155 +0.05 1.93% kuna % Serbian 121.41 121.67 +0.21 1.60% dinar 00 00 % Note: daily calculated previo close 1800 change from us at CET STOCKS Latest Previo Daily Change us close change in 2017 Prague 969.08 980.68 -1.18% +5.15 % Budapest 35780. 35599. +0.51 +11.8 40 51 % 0% Warsaw 2334.8 2304.4 +1.32 +19.8 1 8 % 6% Bucharest 8270.2 8347.5 -0.93% +16.7 2 5 3% Ljubljana 795.27 792.22 +0.38 +10.8 % 3% Zagreb 1867.4 1864.5 +0.15 -6.39% 4 8 % Belgrade 0.00 705.79 +0.00 -100.0 % 0% Sofia 687.77 687.67 +0.01 +17.2 % 8% BONDS Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs change Bund in Czech spread Republic 2-year 0.049 0 +068b +2bps ps 5-year -0.014 0.048 +036b +4bps ps 10-year 0.896 0 +064b +0bps ps Poland 2-year 1.937 -0.07 +256b -5bps ps 5-year 2.628 0.007 +300b +0bps ps 10-year 3.245 0 +299b +0bps ps FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interb ank Czech Rep Hungary Poland Note: FRA are for ask quotes prices (Additional reporting by Luiza Ilie and BArtosz Chmielewski; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets-idUSL8N1JN1CG'|'2017-06-26T17:23:00.000+03:00' +'19c555bca5519525fa0e9f833e8aeb2a01d0523f'|'Oil prices drop as rising U.S. fuel stocks revive glut concerns'|'Wed Jun 28, 2017 - 1:30am BST Oil prices drop as rising U.S. fuel stocks revive glut concerns A pumpjack drills for oil in the Monterey Shale, California, April 29, 2013. T REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson By Henning Gloystein - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Oil prices fell early on Wednesday after a report of rising U.S. fuel inventories underscored concerns that a three-year old crude glut is far from over. Brent crude futures LCOc1 were at $46.32 per barrel at 0012 GMT, down 33 cents, or 0.7 percent, from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were down 38 cents, or 0.9 percent, at $43.86 per barrel. Oil had recovered some ground over the past week after falling nearly 20 percent since mid-May, but a report by the American Petroleum Institute showed that U.S. crude inventories rose by 851,000 barrels in the week to June 23 to 509.5 million, compared with analysts'' expectations for a decrease of 2.6 million barrels. Gasoline stocks rose by 1.4 million barrels, despite the ongoing peak demand U.S. summer driving season. The price falls come despite an ongoing effort by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut production by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) between January 2017 and March 2018. Ian Taylor, head of the world''s largest independent oil trader Vitol, says Brent crude prices will stay in a range of $40-$55 a barrel for the next few quarters as higher U.S. production slows a rebalancing of the market. "Everybody was positioned for a market rebalancing and a stocks draw to happen in the second quarter. And if you look at the macro analysis, that should start happening," Taylor said in an interview with Reuters. "But so far it hasn''t happened and everyone has made the same mistake. Nobody has distinguished themselves," he said. (Reporting by Henning Gloystein; Editing by Richard Pullin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUKKBN19J01P'|'2017-06-28T08:28:00.000+03:00' +'5a004e03f612c7118eeb99363a6358b7aace19f9'|'UPDATE 1-Brazil Senate committee shuns labor reform draft, markets drop'|'Company News 41pm EDT UPDATE 1-Brazil Senate committee shuns labor reform draft, markets drop (Recasts, adds lawmaker comments and context) BRASILIA, June 20 A Brazilian Senate committee on Tuesday rejected a preliminary draft text on President Michel Temer''s plan to revamp labor laws, in an unexpected blow to his administration that does not kill the proposal but shows weakening support for his reform agenda. The proposal, rejected in the social affairs committee by 10 to 9 votes, now moves to the constitutional and justice committee before its heads to the floor for a full vote, said Ricardo Ferraco, the senator drafting the bill. Ferraco has said he expected the bill to be approved by late June. The surprise setback comes as Temer fights off allegations that he took millions of dollars in bribes from the world''s largest meatpacking company JBS SA. Brazil''s benchmark Bovespa stock index accelerated losses on the news, shedding 1.77 percent at 1:29 p.m. l (1629 GMT). The country''s currency, the real, weakened to a one-month low of 3.33 reais to the dollar. (Reporting by Maria Carolina Marcello; Writing by Alonso Soto; Editing by W Simon)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-politics-idUSL1N1JH12V'|'2017-06-21T00:41:00.000+03:00' +'c16e4bfa68c77c6489ebcf868dceee2b8a0a0752'|'Boeing studies ''mild to wild'' design for pivotal mid-market jet'|'Money News - Thu Jun 8, 2017 - 12:48am IST Boeing studies ''mild to wild'' design for pivotal mid-market jet FILE PHOTO: The Boeing logo is seen at their headquarters in Chicago, April 24, 2013. REUTERS/Jim Young/File Photo By Tim Hepher - CANCUN, Mexico CANCUN, Mexico Boeing ( BA.N ) has looked at options "from mild to wild" for the design of a proposed mid-market jet, a senior executive said, hinting at a breakthrough that industry sources say will create building blocks for future models. Marketing Vice President Randy Tinseth said Boeing would leapfrog reported plans by Airbus ( AIR.N ) to update its hot-selling A321neo, as Boeing eyes a gap between narrow-body jets and long-haul aircraft for a potential new mid-market airplane. "We have looked at the mild and we have looked at the wild and I can tell you we know that if you are going to address that market, you need a new airplane," Tinseth told Reuters after a two-day meeting of airline leaders in Mexico. Industry sources have said the mid-market development is pivotal for Boeing since it will spawn the industrial jigsaw, systems and cockpits likely to be used for the next plane after that, a three-aircraft replacement of Boeing''s 737 cash cow. Getting the "production system" right now would partially allow Boeing to develop the next jet, which is expected to revolve around a model carrying 180 passengers, as an industrial spin-off of the mid-market one, albeit with major differences. This would result in significant cost savings and avoid repeating a patchwork of different production architectures. Two further derivatives could extend that post-737 jet family to 160-210 seats, based on current market forecasts. Boeing has not yet talked about its plans beyond the mid-market plane, which is expected to enter service by 2025. Boeing officials declined comment on the long-term options or specific details of the mid-market project, which one leasing company has dubbed "797". GOODBYE STEAM ENGINE For the mid-market jet, industry sources have said Boeing is settling on a family of two wide-body aircraft. These would effectively combine a twin-aisle cabin sitting on top of the reduced belly space of a single-aisle jet. The aim is to reduce wind resistance or drag and therefore operating costs. However, it involves a risky gamble that airlines will not need to carry much paid cargo on the routes for which the airplane is designed, delegates at the airlines meeting in Cancun said. The two mid-market models, designed to carry about 220-260 passengers over 3,500 to 5,000 nautical miles (6,400-9,260 km), will also have a wing resembling the distinctive stiletto design of the 787 Dreamliner but with significant internal differences. Seen from the front, the outline of traditional metal airplane fuselages is usually closer to a true circle. That allows pressurised air inside the cabin to push out uniformly in all directions, easing loads and removing the need for heavy strengthening materials. That well-tested concept is as old as the steam engine. Carbon composites allow manufacturers to make complex pieces in one shape and are well suited to the more elliptical design that Boeing has in mind for the new mid-market fuselage. However, composites are more expensive to produce. Reuters reported last month that the new aircraft could be built using cheaper and faster new production techniques without costly pressurised ovens, or autoclaves. That technology was used to weave the carbon wings of Russia''s new MS-21 jet, which first flew last month. Airbus this week played down a project called A321neo-plus-plus in response to the Boeing mid-market jet, first reported by Reuters, and said it was always reviewing options. (Additional reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Susan Fenton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/airlines-iata-boeing-idINKBN18Y2VF'|'2017-06-08T03:18:00.000+03:00' +'6a952261428ba17a21b75cdcea015a562fd5c731'|'Sears Canada to end pension payments-court filing'|'NEW YORK, June 22 Sears Canada Inc plans to file a motion with a Canadian court to request permission to suspend certain monthly payments to its pension plan because it is running low on cash, according to a court filing.The retailer, which filed for bankruptcy Thursday, also intends to stop payments to a post-retirement benefit plan providing retirees with life insurance and medical and dental benefits, according to the filing. Sears Canada is current on the payments for the pension and post-retirement benefit plan now.The company also said in the filing that all 32 of the Corbeil appliance stores are expected to remain operational during the insolvency. Corbeil has a separate management structure from the rest of Sears Canada, according to the filing.(Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/searscanada-bankruptcy-pension-idUSL1N1JJ1EY'|'2017-06-22T22:34:00.000+03:00' +'33bf0bee0ef9e088e6b9862073b660bab1f63a40'|'Slow wage growth down to shift back to the past - Business'|'The lack of wage growth in Britains economy is the result of turning the clock back to the days before the Industrial Revolution when there were no trade unions and self-employment was rife, the chief economist of the Bank of England has suggested.Andy Haldane said the current relationship between pay and employment had more in common with the period between 1500 and 1750 than in the subsequent period, because in the post-1750 era, collective bargaining and the expansion of full-time paid employment meant workers were able to secure generous pay awards when labour was scarce.The move towards greater self-employment and less unionisation is, in some respects, a shift back to the future in the nature of work, Haldane said, harking back to the days before James Watt, a key figure in the emergence of the steam engine, and other pioneers began the transformation of Britains largely agrarian economy.Prior to the Industrial Revolution, and indeed for some years after it, most workers were self-employed or worked in small businesses. There were no unions. Hours were flexible, depending on what work was needed to collect the crops, milk the cows or put bread on the table. Work was artisanal, task-based, divisible.Haldane, whose speech revealed differences with the Banks governor, Mark Carney, over interest rates , said the read-across from pre-industrial Britain to the 21st century was not exact but that there were parallels with todays gig economy. He added that there was evidence that changes in the nature of work had been a factor in explaining why wage growth was running at just 2% at a time when unemployment was the lowest since the mid-1970s.Facebook Twitter Pinterest James Watt was instrumental in ushering in the Industrial Revolution. Photograph: Getty ImagesThe chief economist said a period of divide and conquer had left workers less able to bargain for higher wages. There is power in numbers. A workforce that is more easily divided than in the past may find itself more easily conquered. In other words, a world of divisible work may reduce workers wage-bargaining power.Trade union membership has declined from 38% of employees in 1990 to 23% in 2016, and Haldane noted that the downward trend was likely to continue.The fact that unionisation rates have been falling within each age cohort over time, and are lowest among the young, suggests the downward trend in rates of unionisation may still have some distance to travel.For example, if unionisation rates were to continue to decline at the same average rate as over the past decade, then they are likely to fall to around 10% of employees, or 3 million people, within a generation.Self-employment had increased from 8% of the workforce in 1980 to almost 15%, or about 4.25 million people. Only one in six of the self-employed hired other workers compared with 30% in 1990. The number of people on zero-hours contracts had increased from 170,000 (0.6% of those in employment) in 2010 to almost 1 million workers (3% of employees) by 2016. At the current rate of expansion, employees on zero-hour contracts would reach about 7% within a decade.Haldane said: Gigging can be fun for some. But not everyone wants to be a roadie when it comes to the world of work.Topics Bank of England Trade unions Unemployment Gig economy Economics news'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jun/21/slow-wage-growth-down-to-return-to-the-past-bank-of-england-chief-economist'|'2017-06-22T00:09:00.000+03:00' +'a071b2e840ead452e902eab00b315a6a25f21f91'|'Opel CEO Neumann resigns, CFO Lohscheller to succeed'|'BERLIN General Motors'' ( GM.N ) European division Opel is losing its top executive just as it prepares to be acquired by France''s PSA Group ( PEUP.PA ), a move that could see the former Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) manager rejoin the German behemoth.Karl-Thomas Neumann, 56, who has restored Opel''s image and reputation since taking the helm in March 2013, on Monday resigned from his post, making way for finance chief Michael Lohscheller to become the next CEO of the 155-year-old carmaker.German-based Opel will be pressed by its new owners PSA to draw up a plan to return to profit once the acquisition, agreed in March valuing the GM division at 2.2 billion euros ($2.46 billion), closes later this year."Under Neumann''s leadership we have made enormous progress in turning around Opel," GM President Dan Ammann said. The U.S. parent''s European business also includes British brand Vauxhall.VW is looking at rehiring Neumann, possibly to lead its Audi luxury division, where chief executive Rupert Stadler has come under fire for his handling of the emissions scandal, a source told Reuters on Sunday.A growing expansion by VW group into electric cars and digital services as part of a post-dieselgate strategic shift could be another reason to join for Neumann, a trained electronic engineer, analysts said."The prospects are good that he will move to Volkswagen," said Bankhaus Metzler analyst Juergen Pieper. "He''s one of Germany''s most distinguished car managers and VW is in great need for excellent people."LASTING PROFITPSA wants Opel to return to lasting profit no later than by 2020 with operating margin goals of 2 percent that year and even around 6 percent by 2026 - a target never achieved under Neumann whose push for profitability was hampered by a weak Russian market and effects of Britain''s Brexit decision."We will vigorously proceed along the agreed path and gain more clout as part of the PSA group," Lohscheller said.Germany''s Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung reported on Saturday that while Neumann views the sale to PSA as the right strategic step, he is concerned that the new owner is underestimating the growing importance of electric cars."These comments are interesting given we have previously noted our concerns around PSA''s lack of investment in key future trends," said London-based Evercore ISI analyst Arndt Ellinghorst.PSA only came eighth in a top-ten ranking compiled by Evercore of carmakers based on average R&D spending between 2014-2016, lagging rivals such as Ford ( F.N ), Renault ( RENA.PA ) and leader Volkswagen where Neumann was formerly in charge of group-wide electronics research.Neumann said on Twitter he will stay as member of Opel''s management board until the closing of the acquisition by PSA.When he lost his post as head of VW''s vast operations in China in 2012, sources at the carmaker said at the time he was too aspiring for the then-CEO Martin Winterkorn."VW boss (Matthias) Mueller has a more open leadership style that is not authoritarian," Pieper said. "That would facilitate Neumann''s return."(Reporting by Andreas Cremer. Additional reporting by Ilona Wissenbach.; Editing by Ludwig Burger, Keith Weir and David Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-opel-moves-idUSKBN1931FM'|'2017-06-12T20:46:00.000+03:00' +'4cd3453e7efc5c15bb169068b78687304f9b272e'|'Exclusive - Cyber security firm Zscaler to hire banks for IPO: sources'|'Technology News - Thu Jun 29, 2017 - 8:26pm BST Exclusive: Cyber security firm Zscaler to hire banks for IPO - sources By Liana B. Baker and Heather Somerville - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Zscaler Inc is interviewing investment banks to hire as underwriters for an initial public offering later this year that could value the U.S. cyber security software firm at about $2 billion, people familiar with the matter said. If Zscaler succeeds in going public, it would be one of the few venture capital-backed cyber security IPOs in recent years, despite a surge in cyber attacks and hacks. Investors have been wary of the companies'' ability to constantly advance their software to stay on top of threats. Zscaler is expected to hire IPO underwriters in the coming weeks, the sources said this week, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential. Zscaler declined to comment. Okta Inc, an identity management company went public in April, the only cyber security IPO so far this year, and is trading above its IPO price. It has a market capitalization of about $2 billion. Cyber security companies such as Carbon Black, ForeScout and LogRhythm have been exploring IPOs, but have remained on the sidelines. Hundreds of security startups have sprouted in recent years, promising "next-generation" technologies to fight cyber criminals, government spies and hacker activists, who have plagued some of the world''s biggest corporations. Many of the younger companies have struggled to stand out from the crowd and grow revenue on a sustainable basis since sophisticated cyber attacks can make software obsolete very quickly. While the IPO market has reopened for technology companies this year, some investors expect more "meat-and-potatoes" technology offerings of enterprise software firms with moderate valuations but established business models. Zscaler counts Alphabet''s growth equity fund, CapitalG, and private equity firm TPG''s growth equity fund as investors. It is seeking a valuation at nearly double its last funding round in 2015. That year, it closed a $110 million funding round and was valued at more than $1 billion, Reuters has reported. San Jose, California-based Zscaler was founded in 2008 by Jay Chaudhry, who is its chief executive officer. It specializes in cloud security and its software is in 100 data centers globally that can scan incoming and outgoing traffic between corporations and the public cloud to identify threats and protect corporate intellectual property. Zscaler hired Remo Canessa as a new chief financial officer in February. He had worked as a CFO at public technology companies. (Additional reporting by Lauren Hirsch in New York; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-zscaler-ipo-exclusive-idUKKBN19K2TM'|'2017-06-29T22:23:00.000+03:00' +'bb2bd87d5badd512709cedbc2fb29b03e5be75de'|'Kroton confident Brazil will approve Estacio deal, source says'|'SAO PAULO Kroton Educacional SA expects a key appointment at Brazil''s antitrust watchdog Cade this week will help it win approval of its purchase of rival Estcio Participaes SA, creating the world''s No. 1 for-profit education company, a person directly involved in the transaction said on Friday.According to the person, who asked for anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, Kroton was exploring Estacio''s interest in requesting a delay to the Cade vote on the deal scheduled for June 28 because of opposition among Cade members.But the appointment of Alexandre Barreto de Souza on Thursday as Cade president has changed the outlook, the person said. Prior skepticism among Kroton executives quickly morphed into optimism that the deal will be cleared with Barreto''s arrival."Barreto''s appointment to Cade reignited hopes that the transaction can be cleared, because of his expertise and technical qualities," said the person. Cade did not have a comment.The situation reflects uncertainty about the deal, as Kroton rivals and consumer groups air concerns about the creation of a juggernaut with 10 times as many students as its closest rival. Investors in a Morgan Stanley & Co survey saw a 75 percent chance of the deal being rejected.Shares of Estcio ( ESTC3.SA ) and Kroton led gains in Brazil''s benchmark stock index on Friday, on news of a more sanguine outlook for the deal. Neither company commented on the current status of the deal.Shares of Kroton ( KROT3.SA ) and Estcio ( ESTC3.SA ) slumped 7 percent and 14 percent, respectively, between Monday and Tuesday, after several Brazilian newspapers warned of growing opposition to the deal at the watchdog.Reuters reported on June 5 that Cade had demanded asset sales larger than initially expected by Kroton as a condition to approve the deal. In February, a preliminary report by the watchdog''s economic analysis division said the deal could hamper competition and lead to higher costs for consumers.(Writing and additional reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-estacio-part-m-a-kroton-idUSKBN19E29V'|'2017-06-23T23:03:00.000+03:00' +'aff3706af40d81328777710abdcfc907409e0d67'|'Workers at South Africa''s Illovo sugar farms to strike over pay'|'Business News 11:31am BST Workers at South Africa''s Illovo sugar farms to strike over pay JOHANNESBURG Around 1,000 workers at sugar producer Illovo are set to go on strike over wages and other benefits after talks with employers broke down, the trade union representing the staff said on Sunday. "The Food and Allied Workers Union and employers from eight Illovo farms in Kwa-Zulu Natal province have failed to reach an amicable agreement under the auspices of the CCMA and a strike certificate has been issued," an FAWU statement said. The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) is a dispute resolution body mandated by law to mediate labour disputes. Illovo is a wholly-owned subsidiary of London-listed Associated British Foods ( ABF.L ) and operates in South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia and Swaziland. The labour dispute comes as the South African economy is in recession for the first time since 2009 because of weakness in manufacturing and trade. There is also growing opposition in the country to President Jacob Zuma, whose decision in March to fire finance minister Pravin Gordhan triggered credit downgrades by all three major credit rating agencies. FAWU members are seeking a 10 percent wage increase, versus the 5 percent annual rise the union says employers are offering, as well as pension benefits for both full-time and seasonal workers among a host of other demands. "That 5 percent is an insult. If you look at what the inflation rate has been since December, it would mean workers are toiling for nothing," provincial FAWU organiser August Mbhele said. Mbhele said the lowest paid workers on sugarcane farms earned around 2,752 rand (167.61 pounds) monthly, and that most lived over 30 km (18.6 miles) away from the farms and struggled to find or afford transport. Illovo was not immediately available for comment. Agriculture accounts for less than 5 percent of South Africa''s GDP but is expected to help to boost the economy after recovering from last year''s drought. It was one of two areas to show growth when the economy slipped into recession. (Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana. Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-safrica-strike-idUKKBN19G0EG'|'2017-06-25T18:31:00.000+03:00' +'499da45fd67bc906b50bd78560c823ab89e89fe2'|'Capita hopes for improved profitability in second half of 2017'|' 16am BST Capita hopes for improved profitability in second half of 2017 LONDON Britain''s outsourcing group Capita said it expected profitability to improve in the second half of 2017 after seeing signs of stronger trading in its European and IT Services businesses. Capita, which announced the departure of its chief executive and a bigger than expected drop in profits in March, said it still expected 2017 to be a transitional year as it restructures the group. While it is seeing improving profitability in its IT Services division and better trading in Germany and Switzerland, the firm said trading across its property, employee benefits and learning services operations was yet to improve. (Reporting by Kate Holton; editing by Costas Pitas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-capita-outlook-idUKKBN1940MK'|'2017-06-13T14:16:00.000+03:00' +'68102ea81f79f07dc919c402da5f626cc90a1bcc'|'Majestic Wine full-year sales rise on strong U.S. performance'|'Business News 8:09am BST Majestic Wine full-year sales rise on strong U.S. performance A general view of a Majestic Wine Warehouse in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport, north-west England on June 13, 2015. REUTERS/Andrew Yates Britain''s Majestic Wine Plc said on Thursday its underlying full-year revenue rose 11.4 percent as sales expanded by more than a quarter at its U.S.-focused Naked Wines unit, despite a failed e-mail campaign earlier this year. Full-year sales at Naked Wines, which was acquired in April 2015, surged 26.3 percent to 142.2 million pounds. U.S. sales for the unit rose by 28 percent. Profit for the full year at Naked Wines rose to 48.2 million pounds, despite the previously reported failed direct marketing campaign hurting profit by 2 million pounds. Under the direct mail campaign, the company sent mailers to new customers last year inviting them to support winemakers and in exchange get preferential prices. "Profits could have been much higher but we increased our rate of investment..., a portion of which was badly spent on a failed Direct Mail campaign that will not be repeated," Majestic said. The group''s full-year sales came in at 461.1 million pounds. Majestic Wine has 210 wine warehouses across Britain as well as two branches in France, while Naked Wines operates across the United States, Britain and Australia. Other than Naked Wines, sales also grew at its specialist fine wine unit, Lay & Wheeler, by 36.2 percent. However, full-year adjusted pretax profit fell to 12.9 million pounds from 15 million pounds a year ago, reflecting the investment in the business, it said. Separately, the company said chairman Phil Wrigley will retire at the annual general meeting in August. Greg Hodder, a non-executive director since October 2015, will be appointed as chairman-designate with immediate effect, Majestic Wine said. (Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Adrian Croft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-majestic-wine-results-idUKKBN1960HN'|'2017-06-15T15:09:00.000+03:00' +'5158c507c3a5a183fabe9be4113d7e914a3741f5'|'China June factory activity quickens pace vs previous month - PMI'|'Top News - Fri Jun 30, 2017 - 5:54am BST China factory growth unexpectedly quickens, but debt risks pressure economy FILE PHOTO: Employees work inside a beer factory in Shenyang, Liaoning province, October 14, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo BEIJING China''s factories grew at the quickest pace in three months in June, buoyed by strong new orders in a sign of stabilising growth, though analysts expect a further slowdown in the world''s second-biggest economy is inevitable as Beijing cracks down on debt risks. The surprising strength in the vast manufacturing sector defied expectations for a cooling, thanks to robust external demand that underscored why global central banks were confident enough to switch gears to a more hawkish stance. The official manufacturing Purchasing Managers'' Index (PMI) was at 51.7 in June, the eleventh straight month of expansion, and up from 51.2 in May, a monthly survey by the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Friday. It was the fastest pace since March and beat the 51.0 level predicted by analysts in a Reuters survey. The survey supports broad consensus that China''s economy is stabilising at a moderate pace rather than slowing sharply, suggesting that Beijing is on track to meet its annual growth target of 6.5 percent for this year - encouraging news for President Xi Jinping ahead of a major leadership reshuffle in the autumn. Production rose a strong one percentage point from May. New orders in the month also rose to 53.1 from May''s 52.3, with export orders putting on 1.3 percentage points to 52.0 in a sign of solid external demand. All the same, growth in Chinese factories does not appear broad-based as the struggles of smaller firms intensified compared to the relatively better-off larger firms. Most China observers agree that Asia''s giant economy has slowed in the second quarter, and recent data back expectations for a continued cooling as authorities reduce high levels of debt across many of the heavy industries, crack down on financial risks and tighten monetary conditions. Analysts also caution against reading too much into the official PMI figures. "We are wary of putting too much faith in the official PMIs given that they have provided false signals in the past," said Julian Evans-Pritchard, a Singapore-based China economist at Capital Economics. The official PMI surveys showed a divergence with the private Caixin/Markit PMI manufacturing survey in May, which focuses more on small and mid-sized firms. The private survey is due to be released on July 3. SMALLER FIRMS STRUGGLE One worry lies with the traditional sectors, including crude oil, chemicals, and non-metal mineral, which all continued to contract during the month and the downward pressure persists, the Statistics Bureau said. Growth in the services sector also accelerated to 54.9 in June, the highest since March, thanks to vibrant activity in commercial services and construction sectors, another official NBS survey found. The sub-index for the construction sector rebounded 1 percent point to 61.4, likely due to an infrastructure spending spree that hit the highest in at least three years in February. The manufacturing PMI showed that the impetus came mostly from larger firms, while small and medium sized industries struggled, suggesting SMEs may be bearing the brunt of the government''s deleveraging efforts. More than 40 percent of all companies surveyed reported financial stress, the Statistics Bureau said. As policy makers tighten the screws on debt risks, corporates are already facing higher financing costs, which could ripple through to decisions on investment, hiring, and wages over the next year. The real estate sector, a big contributor to economic growth, has also slowed and begun to hit property investment amid persistent curbs aimed at defusing bubble risks. To be sure, authorities are keen not to tap on the brakes too hard lest it deals a body blow to the economy which grew a solid 6.9 percent in the first quarter. China''s central bank will hold off on further monetary policy tightening and could even slightly loosen its grip in coming months as a deleveraging drive threatens economic growth and job creation, policy insiders said. Premier Li Keqiang told the World Economic Forum on Tuesday that China is capable of achieving its full-year growth target of 6.5 percent and controlling systemic risks despite challenges. However, maintaining medium to high-speed long-term growth will not be easy, Li said, reinforcing broad expectations of a period of slow growth as authorities rebalance the economic drivers toward consumption and away from its reliance on exports and investment. China''s economy grew an annual 6.7 percent in 2016 - the slowest pace in 26 years. Capital Economics'' Evans-Pritchard believes the current resilience of growth will prove temporary. "With tight monetary conditions weighing on credit growth, it will be difficult to avoid a renewed slowdown in growth later this year." (Reporting by Yawen Chen and Ryan Woo; Editing by Shri Navaratnam) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-pmi-factory-official-idUKKBN19L047'|'2017-06-30T04:14:00.000+03:00' +'4c8c1afb99c57e901d81b434e72b19e64655f5de'|'JSW steel raises bid for Italy''s troubled Ilva steel plant'|'Money News - Sat Jun 3, 2017 - 10:42pm IST JSW steel raises bid for Italy''s troubled Ilva steel plant The logo of JSW is seen on the company''s headquarters in Mumbai, February 11, 2016. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/Files ROME A consortium led by JSW Steel raised its bid for Italy''s troubled Ilva steel plant, a statement said on Saturday, in a challenge to a group that was declared the winner of the tender process last month, but whose offer faces labour union opposition. JSW, leading a consortium called AcciaItalia, said it would put up 1.85 billion euros ($2.09 billion), which is broadly in line with the winning bid, and added it would "immediately" hire 9,800 employees. It had originally offered about 1.2 billion euros. "The decision (to make a counter offer) is in the interest of Ilva, of its employees, of the supply chain, the territory of the factory and the national machine industry," the statement said. The Industry Ministry said on Friday that it could not accept a counter offer, according to procedure, if the only thing changed was the purchase price. The government has been vetting the winning bid and is supposed to decide by Monday whether to officially endorse it. Metal workers'' unions said on Saturday that they would send a letter to Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni and Industry Minister Carlo Calenda asking for an urgent meeting. In a statement, Rocco Palombella of the Uilm metal workers'' union said it was "necessary to reflect... on the counter offer by AcciaItalia". The bid that last month won the tender offer was made by a consortium called Ama Investco Italy that is led by ArcelorMittal, the world''s biggest steelmaker. It foresees some 4,800 job cuts, though the workers would receive state unemployment support until 2023. Ilva directly employs about 11,000 people in an economically depressed area of southern Italy. Some 3,300 employees are now in a state-funded temporary layoff scheme. It was unclear if AcciaItalia''s counter offer would preserve more jobs. A spokeswoman at the Industry Minister was not immediately available to comment. AcciaItalia said that its newest bid excluded two of the previous members of its consortium, Arvedi and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, and was made exclusively by JSW and Delfin. Ilva was placed under court administration in 2013 after magistrates seized 8.1 billion euros of assets belonging to its former owners, the Riva family, amid allegations that toxic emissions were causing abnormally high rates of cancer. The government took over administration of the business in 2015 to try to save jobs and clean up its polluting furnaces. ($1 = 0.8867 euros)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/ilva-italy-jsw-idINKBN18U0QL'|'2017-06-04T01:12:00.000+03:00' +'4afe5eda0ce1a8dc04cc52a6abb6060e207164db'|'European shares tread water as UK election, Spanish banks in focus'|'Business News - Wed Jun 7, 2017 - 12:23pm EDT European stocks supported by banks, utilities before UK election FILE PHOTO: A man shelters under an umbrella as he walks past the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 24, 2015. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo By Kit Rees - LONDON LONDON Banks and utilities supported European stocks on Wednesday, with relief that Spain''s struggling Banco Popular ( POP.MC ) was being rescued by Santander ( SAN.MC ) lifting bank shares. The STOXX 600 index fell 0.1 percent, weighed down by a late drop in energy stocks. Crude oil prices plunged after data showed U.S. stocks of crude oil and gasoline surprisingly rose last week.[O/R] Britain''s FTSE 100 .FTSE index fell 0.6 percent and Germany''s DAX .GDAXI inched 0.1 percent. Although shares in Santander fell 0.9 percent in choppy trade and Banco Popular''s were suspended, European banks .SX7P were among the standout performers, gaining 0.7 percent. Santander said it would buy Popular and carry out a capital increase of around 7 billion euros ($7.9 billion). "As a stand-alone bank, (Popular) was close to failing ... and the failure of any bank, as we''ve seen in the past, can set of that chain of events where the whole banking sector gets freaked out, investors especially," said Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets. Spain''s Bankia ( BKIA.MC ), Italy''s UniCredit ( CRDI.MI ) and France''s Societe Generale ( SOGN.PA ) were all up between 1 percent and 4.9 percent. European utilities .SX6P also gained, led by Germany''s E.ON ( EONGn.DE ) and RWE ( RWEG.DE ). Both rose more than 5 percent after the country''s highest court declared a nuclear fuel tax illegal, enabling them to claim back 6 billion euros in cash. Shares in Swedish biometric firm Fingerprint Cards ( FINGb.ST ) were the top STOXX risers, jumping 11.6 percent, after confirming an order for its sensors. On the downside, Covestro ( 1COV.DE ) dropped 4.6 percent after Bayer ( BAYGn.DE ) cut its stake in the plastics maker to 44.8 percent from 53.3 percent. Investors were also looking ahead to the British election on Thursday, as well as the European Central Bank''s policy meeting. "Whatever the outcome on Friday morning, markets actually have very little to go on to be able to judge whether such a new government would be more or less successful in negotiations with the EU," Don Smith, chief investment officer at Brown Shipley, said in a note. "We are unlikely to see anything like the huge fluctuations in markets that occurred in the immediate wake of last summers referendum," Smith added, referring to the Britain''s vote last June to leave the European Union. (Additional reporting by Danilo Masoni; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Alexander Smith) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks-idUSKBN18Y0P2'|'2017-06-07T15:52:00.000+03:00' +'59d331b4eb01661527f7a4b7d2a6341bcb15947f'|'U.S. awards 2-year notes to strong demand, yield at highest since 2008'|'NEW YORK, June 26 The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday sold $26 billion of two-year government notes at a yield of 1.348 percent, which was the highest yield since October 2008, to strong investor demand, Treasury data showed.The ratio of bids to the amount of two-year notes offered was 3.03, which the strongest since November 2015. This measure of overall auction demand was 2.90 at the prior two-year note sale in May. (Reporting by Richard Leong, editing by G Crosse)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-auction-2year-idINL1N1JN0ZI'|'2017-06-26T15:14:00.000+03:00' +'9c7a26b2d3a8128ad7aa174476aa1a5d415a6167'|'EXCLUSIVE: PDVSA leaves Bahamas oil terminal, expands in St Eustatius -sources'|'Money News 10:15pm IST EXCLUSIVE: PDVSA leaves Bahamas oil terminal, expands in St Eustatius -sources The corporate logo of the state oil company PDVSA is seen at a gas station in Caracas, Venezuela April 12, 2017. Picture taken April 12, 2017. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo By Marianna Parraga - HOUSTON HOUSTON Venezuelan state-run oil company PDVSA is moving millions of barrels of oil from a Bahamas storage facility after terminating a contract with the owner, U.S. Buckeye Partners LP, according to internal data and sources close to the decision. Buckeye and PDVSA had tried to resolve payment delays and other frequent problems that stalled some shipments, the sources said. But PDVSA decided to shift its oil to the Statia terminal, operated by U.S. NuStar Energy LP, in the neighboring island of St. Eustatius. The termination is another sign of how PDVSA''s deteriorating finances have strained its relationship with business partners. The state-owned company has struggled to maintain its tanker fleet on the water and to keep operations running to maximize income for the country''s most important export: oil. PDVSA''s contract with Buckeye had included storage for up to 6 million barrels of crude and fuel oil. The contract was due to expire in December, but PDVSA decided to end the lease in advance and seek some $10 million in overpayments, according to a source from the Venezuelan company. Buckeye and PDVSA did not respond to requests for comment. NuStar said it would not discuss customer activities at its terminals. Since 2016 Buckeye had intermittently suspended PDVSA from moving its stored oil out of the terminal - the Caribbean''s largest - over monthly payment delays, according to sources from the companies and Thomson Reuters Trade Flows data. In late August, PDVSA renewed a 2014 contract with NuStar to secure its presence in Statia for three more years starting in March. The state-run company is now paying some $2.3 million per month to lease 5 million barrels of crude storage excluding extra charges, according to a document seen by Reuters. PDVSA''s supply and trade department last year also approved an option to lease a single buoy mooring in St. Eustatius and extra storage capacity for up to 4.3 million barrels of refined products. "We are now consolidating blending and storage operations in St. Eustatius," the PDVSA source said. NuStar''s Statia terminal has capacity to store up to 13.03 million barrels of crude and products. It also has six mooring locations, blending and transshipment facilities. In 2011, PDVSA announced a plan to increase storage capacity nearly fourfold in three years to handle new production of blends made from the Orinoco Belt''s crudes. Since then, it has rented facilities in the Caribbean, but payment problems have recently affected its operations in several islands. PDVSA operates the 335,000-barrel-per-day Isla refinery in Curacao and an adjacent terminal. It also owns the BOPEC storage terminal in Bonaire, leases the Aruba refinery and its terminal through its subsidiary Citgo, and has stakes in refineries in the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Cuba. Buckeye''s Bahamas terminal was owned by PDVSA until 2008, when it was sold to investment firm First Reserve Corp. In 2010, Buckeye bought 80 percent of the facility, which can store up to 26.2 million barrels of oil. Buckeye also owns terminals in St. Lucia and Puerto Rico. (Reporting by Marianna Parraga in Houston, with additional reporting by Jarret Renshaw in New York; Editing by Marguerita Choy)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/pdvsa-caribbean-storage-idINKBN1942C0'|'2017-06-13T14:45:00.000+03:00' +'c239c5251a7c2ddafada4a7d2aa9c5018cab10a8'|'Germany wants EU-Mercosur trade agreement this year - official'|'Business News - Tue Jun 6, 2017 - 11:07am BST Germany wants EU-Mercosur trade agreement this year - official BERLIN The European Union wants to conclude the terms of a free trade accord between the European Union and the Mercosur trade bloc before the end of this year and Germany shares this goal, a senior German government official said on Tuesday. The EU and Mercosur launched trade negotiations in 1999, but they have faced multiple setbacks, partly due to more than a decade of leftist rule in Argentina. "If the political will is there and if we get a grip on the agriculture issue, then it is possible," the German official said. "The political will is there." The renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is also important for the German economy and will be an issue during Chancellor Angela Merkel''s trip to Mexico later this week, the official added. (Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Madeline Chambers)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-mercosur-germany-idUKKBN18X111'|'2017-06-06T18:07:00.000+03:00' +'2a509425a44b4f8a956d809a487854a6fbda4774'|'Gateway Casinos in talks C$500 mln Vancouver sale-leaseback deal'|'By Solarina Ho - TORONTO, June 14 TORONTO, June 14 Canadian gaming company Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Ltd is in talks with Asia and North America investors for a sale-lease-back agreement for up to three Vancouver properties worth over C$500 million ($378 million), top company executives told Reuters.The Burnaby, British Columbia-based company expects to sign a deal by the third quarter of 2017, Gateway Executive Chairman Gabriel de Alba said in an interview last week, without disclosing the names of the interested parties.The company, which said there was some interest from European firms as well, kicked-off a formal review to monetize its real estate portfolio after being approached by local and international developers interested in acquiring and developing the Vancouver properties, de Alba said.Gateway''s portfolio includes licenses for undeveloped land with no facilities. The company declined to provide the total value of its real estate portfolio outside the three Vancouver sites."Now that we''re formalizing the process, we''re reaching out to other bidders and certainly as the process is known, some other bidders are jumping on board as well," said de Alba.The proposals include development of condos, hotels, movie theaters, or even an Asian market place, to also attract casual gamers looking for additional forms of entertainment during a visit.Gateway Casinos was bought in 2010 by Toronto-based private equity firm, The Catalyst Capital Group Inc, which restructured the company, reduced its debt by about C$1 billion, and injected C$200 million in new capital.Gateway, which recently expanded operations in Ontario, could eventually launch an initial public offering (IPO) subject to capital market conditions, Chief Executive Tony Santo said in the interview. An IPO could help fund other opportunities Gateway is working on, Santo said, such as further expansion in Ontario or greenfield developments in British Columbia.The company dropped its 2012 IPO plans and instead did a dividend recapitalization, which allowed the owners to recoup some investments without reducing their stake in the company, De Alba said.De Alba, who is also a managing director and partner at Catalyst, said Gateway has grown from nine properties and an EBITDA of C$93 million in 2011 after restructuring, to 28 properties and an EBITDA target of more than C$235 million next year. (Reporting by Solarina Ho; Editing by Denny Thomas and Bernard Orr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/gatewaycasinos-deal-idINL1N1J21KZ'|'2017-06-14T13:23:00.000+03:00' +'5466bc6db48d433cfda23ef2b6b4e1b1b68658b6'|'Global coordination important as world economy changes - China Vice Finance Minister'|'Business News - Thu Jun 29, 2017 - 5:26am BST Global coordination important as world economy changes: China vice finance minister China''s Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao, attends a conference during the 2016 IIF G20 Conference at the financial district of Pudong in Shanghai, China, February 25, 2016. REUTERS/Aly Song BEIJING Global coordination is important as the world economy undergoes changes, including the latest increase in U.S. interest rates earlier this month, China''s Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao said ahead of a G20 summit of leaders in July. As the global economy stabilises, major countries need to normalise their interest rates, although this is happening at a very slow pace, Zhu told reporters in Beijing on Thursday. "We need to closely monitor how the normalisation of interest rates in major economies will impact global capital markets," said Zhu. The U.S. Federal Reserve has raised interest rates four times as part of a normalization of monetary policy that began in December 2015. The central bank had pushed rates to near zero in response to the financial crisis a decade ago. Zhu said the new global macroeconomic environment makes it even more important for global coordination through channels like the G20, which will convene in Hamburg next month. Earlier this week, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), an umbrella body for leading central banks, said in one of its most upbeat annual reports for years that major central banks should press ahead with interest rate increases. Policymakers should take advantage of the improving economic outlook and its surprisingly negligible effect on inflation to accelerate the "great unwinding" of quantitative easing programmes and record low interest rates, the BIS said. The Chinese central bank guided market interest rates higher in the first quarter, including immediately after a Fed rate hike in March. The move was partly an effort to counter pressure on the yuan from capital outflows, analysts say. The People''s Bank of China last adjusted its policy rates in October 2015. Efforts to rein in North Korea''s nuclear and missile programmes are likely to be a focus in bilateral meetings President Xi Jinping might hold during the G20. Asked if Xi would meet U.S. President Donald Trump, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, or Japan''s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the summit, Vice Foreign Minister Li Baodong said schedules were still being arranged. Li reiterated that China wants to resolve the situation on the Korean peninsula through dialogue. Trump is growing increasingly frustrated with China over its inaction on North Korea, according to senior U.S. administration officials, though Beijing has repeatedly said its influence over Pyongyang is limited and that it is doing all it can. (Reporting by Sue-Lin Wong and Michael Martina; Writing by Ryan Woo; Editing by Michael Perry) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-g-idUKKBN19K08V'|'2017-06-29T07:25:00.000+03:00' +'5ac4b59c15466ed62a4d1043b5bc87e51628b1b8'|'Russia''s Rosneft CEO says takeover of India''s Essar is closed'|'SOCHI, Russia The takeover of India''s Essar Oil by Russia''s largest oil producer Rosneft ( ROSN.MM ) can be now considered as closed, Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin told a shareholders'' meeting on Thursday.The deal, where Rosneft will hold a 49 percent stake, will allow the Russian company to increase oil refining output by 20 percent this year, he said.Sechin also said that the synergy effect from the privatization of oil company Bashneft ( BANE.MM ) had totaled more than 40 billion rubles ($669.9 million) in the first two quarters of this year.Rosneft''s gas production is set to be rising by more than 10 percent a year, Sechin said, while overall investments are seen at more than 1 trillion rubles annually in the coming years.($1 = 59.7109 rubles)(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Writing by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Katya Golubkova)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-rosneft-essar-idUSKBN19D1FI'|'2017-06-22T15:57:00.000+03:00' +'60ec37dec2e32299abb2601eaadd34bbab97709f'|'AIG shareholders approve $9.58 million for ex-CEO''s 2016 compensation'|'American International Group Inc shareholders on Wednesday approved the company''s 2016 compensation for executives, including the insurance giant''s former chief executive, Peter Hancock.Shareholders at the annual meeting in New York voted to award Hancock a total compensation of $9.58 million for 2016, including a $1.6 million base salary, longer-term incentive pay in stock worth more than $7.8 million and additional funds.Hancock was not awarded a cash bonus for his work last year, after the company''s dismal financial performance roiled shareholders.In May, AIG named Brian Duperreault as its new chief executive officer, selecting a protege of former CEO Hank Greenberg and an industry veteran known for his turnaround expertise.(Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn in New York; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/aig-agm-idINKBN19J272'|'2017-06-28T19:03:00.000+03:00' +'4b379cd3bce7700f5cf249ced5a027b78a77fb1b'|'Euro zone vs Britain: strong and stable, weak and wobbly - Reuters'|' 6:25pm IST Euro zone vs Britain: strong and stable, weak and wobbly By Jeremy Gaunt - LONDON LONDON Britain and the euro zone are on such different economic paths as they move on with their divorce proceedings, London probably wishes it had done a pre-nup. While Britain''s economy is showing all kinds of strain -- as underlined starkly on Tuesday by Bank of England Governor Mark Carney -- the 19-member single currency area is more buoyant that it has been in years. This also was made clear on Tuesday with a bullish upgrade for German growth from one of its main economic research institutes, Ifo. Amusingly, Ifo''s press release noted Germany''s economy is "strong and stable", echoing British Prime Minister Theresa May''s campaign mantra for a June 8 election which backfired on her by depriving her of a parliamentary majority. Instead of matching its stereotype of a lagging, moribund growth engine, the euro zone -- the EU''s core -- is now being hailed as relatively dynamic. Brian Coulton, chief economist at Fitch Ratings, noted as much late on Monday when his firm significantly upgraded its 2017 euro zone growth forecast to 2 percent from 1.7 percent, leaving it just a tad behind the United States. "Stronger incoming data, improving external demand and greater confidence that (European Central Bank policy) is gaining traction on activity have resulted in (our) upward revision," he said. Britain, by contrast, was seen by Fitch growing 1.5 percent this year, down from 1.8 percent last year and 2.1 percent in pre-Brexit vote 2015. The fall in the value of the pound after the Brexit referendum has pushed up inflation and hit consumer spending in Britain, taking it from being one of the fastest-growing economies among the Group of Seven nations in 2016 to its slowest in early 2017. The BoE''s Carney in a speech on Tuesday made no bones about his view of the danger to Britain''s economy from Brexit, saying firmly that now was not the time to raise interest rates even if inflation was at 2.9 percent. He also took at dig at leading Brexit advocate Boris Johnson, now foreign minister, who once said Britain could have its cake and eat it outside the EU. "Before long, we will all begin to find out the extent to which Brexit is a gentle stroll along a smooth path to a land of cake and consumption," he said, then added: "Monetary policy cannot prevent the weaker real income growth likely to accompany the transition to new trading arrangements with the EU." EUROPE REDUX Some of Britain''s woes will be based on uncertainty about what kind of Brexit it will have. The lucrative trade deals promised by Brexit advocates, for example, may well come but they are a long way off. There is appears little such uncertainty in the rest of Europe, however. In its latest forecast, Ifo said the upturn in the German economy that began in 2013 is becoming broader and gaining impetus -- a key for Europe as a whole given Germany''s dominant economic role. [nL8N1JH1LV} It also indicated that it did not expect Germany to suffer from Brexit. "An exit plan should emerge early on without any major negative effects on the economic interdependence between the EU and Britain," said Timo Wollmershaeuser, Ifo''s head of economic research. But it is not all Germany. Spain said on Tuesday it planned to raise its 2017 GDP growth forecast upwards from the current 2.7 percent. The Bank of France has also raised it forecast to 1.6 percent and manufacturing surveys are relatively bullish. Problems remain of course -- with Italy, in particular -- but the overall outlook is upbeat, adding strength to one side in the great Brexit divorce. (Additional reporting by William Schomberg, David Milliken and Michael Niebaber; editing by Mark John)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-eu-economy-idINKBN19B1S6'|'2017-06-20T10:55:00.000+03:00' +'712fefe39caf18cf71029fed9b0a3182a7d270fb'|'Sears Canada preparing to seek creditor protection - source'|'By John Tilak - June 20 June 20 Billionaire Eddie Lampert-controlled Sears Canada Inc is preparing to seek court protection against creditors in the coming weeks, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.A Sears Canada representative was not immediately available for comment.The business may be sold off in pieces after the court filing which will likely lead to liquidation, the person said.The company had last week said it was exploring strategic options, including a sale of the company, following years of declining sales.The company''s sales have fallen every quarter since it was spun off from Sears Holdings in 2012.Sears Canada, much like Sears Holdings, now its fourth-largest shareholder, has struggled for years to remain relevant to shoppers who have switched to stores that keep up with fast-changing fashion trends.Bloomberg had earlier reported on the company preparing to seek court protection against creditors. ( bloom.bg/2tLqg4s ) (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/sears-canada-restructuring-idINL3N1JI099'|'2017-06-20T23:22:00.000+03:00' +'c6fe9e124ee7ea172c2fd45f1f84544301bed031'|'Global reinsurers ask EU for mutual market access with Britain post-Brexit'|'Business News - Fri Jun 23, 2017 - 7:17pm BST Global reinsurers ask EU for mutual market access with Britain post-Brexit FILE PHOTO: An EU flag flies above Parliament Square during a Unite for Europe march, in London, Britain March 25, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo By Carolyn Cohn and Anjuli Davies - LONDON LONDON Global reinsurers have written to the European Commission to ask it to ensure mutual access between British and European Union reinsurance markets after Britain leaves the bloc due to worries about market disruption, according to extracts from the letter seen by Reuters. Britain and the EU started talks this week on the terms of their divorce in March 2019. Brexit risks an end to so-called passporting rights, through which financial institutions are able to sell their services across the EU without locally regulated operations. Reinsurers such as Munich Re ( MUVGn.DE ) and Scor ( SCOR.PA ), who help insurers pay for big claims like hurricanes in exchange for part of the premium, technically do not need passporting rights to operate cross-border in the large marine, aviation and transport sectors. But without regulatory regimes in Britain and the EU that are formally recognized as equivalent to one another, reinsurers based in Britain may have difficulty doing business in some EU markets due to differing national regulations, industry sources say. Reinsurers outside Britain could also find it harder to get involved in deals led by the Lloyd''s of London [LOL.UL] market. "The UK''s withdrawal from the EU raises difficult questions about the future trading relationship between the two jurisdictions," the Zurich-based Global Reinsurance Forum, which represents some of the world''s largest reinsurers, said in the letter sent in April. "If passporting arrangements for EU reinsurers into the UK and vice versa are not maintained, then national regulations will inevitably make cross-border reinsurance between the two jurisdictions more difficult and expensive." The letter called for existing arrangements to continue under a future UK/EU trade deal. The reinsurers rejected suggestions by some industry participants that Britain should make major changes to EU Solvency II capital rules after Brexit, due to stringent capital costs and red tape. "We strongly support the position that the UK should continue to operate an insurance regulatory regime which is consistent with Solvency II," they said. The Global Reinsurance Forum is chaired by Inga Beale, chief executive of Lloyd''s. Other members of the group of 13 reinsurers include Munich Re, Scor and Swiss Re ( SRENH.S ), as well as reinsurers based outside Europe. Its main aim is "to promote a stable, innovative, and competitive worldwide reinsurance market," according to its website. (Writing by Carolyn Cohn, additional reporting by Andrew MacAskill in London, Maya Nikolaeva in Paris and Tom Sims in Frankfurt, editing by David Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-reinsurance-idUKKBN19E22B'|'2017-06-24T01:27:00.000+03:00' +'17bc1ff7b58d8a63fedb317ee8e0058e4b08a5d0'|'MOVES- Macquarie, Mirova, Houlihan Lokey'|'Market News - Mon Jun 19, 2017 - 4:47pm EDT MOVES- Macquarie, Mirova, Houlihan Lokey June 19 The following financial services industry appointments were announced on Monday. To inform us of other job changes, email moves@thomsonreuters.com. MACQUARIE GROUP LTD Colin Hamilton, head of commodities research at Macquarie in London, has left the bank, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said. MIROVA The affiliate of Natixis Global Asset Management said Herve Guez will take on the additional role of head of equities and fixed income at the company. HOULIHAN LOKEY INC The investment bank said Jeffrey Baliban has joined the firm''s financial advisory services as a managing director for dispute resolution consulting. (Compiled by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/financial-moves-idUSL3N1JG4WQ'|'2017-06-20T04:47:00.000+03:00' +'709a9a5387e57f5f1d24053085eb135e6bd2a002'|'Gas prices are falling fast - Jun. 21, 2017'|'5 stunning stats about Exxon The recent drop in the cost of oil has been a happy surprise for drivers, who are enjoying the cheapest gas prices at the start of summer in 12 years. Oil prices have dipped into bear market territory and gasoline prices have followed, falling every day since June 2, according to AAA. The average price nationally for a gallon of regular is now $2.28, down 10 cents since the start of the month. And the outlook for the rest of the month is good: Wholesale gas prices suggest that prices drivers pay will keep falling, and this weekend could bring the cheapest prices so far in 2017, said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service, which tracks pump prices for AAA. "There''s a lot of oil out there right now, and that oil is being turned into gasoline," said Kloza. The start of summer is typically not a time for cheap gas, because people drive more and demand for gasoline goes up. In addition, gas stations are required to sell a special type of gas, known as the summer blend, that creates less smog -- but also pushing prices slightly higher. Kloza said for the first time this century, prices at the pump could be cheaper over the July 4 holiday weekend than during the previous Christmas and New Year. Related: Shale oil boom to hurt OPEC well into 2018 "It''s been that kind of year," he said. "Literally everyone predicted oil prices would be in the $50s, and some thought it would get to $65 to $70 because of OPEC''s actions." Instead, oil prices closed at a nine-month low of $43.23 a barrel Tuesday, before rebounding slightly on Wednesday. U.S. shale oil producers that have ramped up output in recent months, balancing out efforts by OPEC and Russia to limit supply and drive up prices. Related: Oil prices enter bear market as supply gut fears return Gas for less than $2 a gallon is becoming more common. The cheapest state right now is South Carolina, where gas is selling for an average of $1.96 a gallon, according to AAA. Several other states, including Oklahoma, Alabama and Mississippi, are poised to fall below the $2 a gallon average within days. Those prices likely overstate what most drivers are actually paying. Every state in the south -- and even a few in the north -- has some stations already selling gas for below $2 a gallon according to GasBuddy.com. "If wholesale prices predict retail, and I do believe they do, we''re poised for some very cheap gas ahead," Kloza said. CNNMoney (New York) 2:07 PM ET'|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_news_economy.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/06/21/news/economy/low-gas-prices/index.html'|'2017-06-21T22:07:00.000+03:00' +'d59e9a5bb8d9ff4ee6625a4abcd6a047fd92ddb8'|'WPP, Publicis criticise size and scope of ad conference in Cannes'|'Business News 52pm EDT WPP, Publicis criticize size and scope of ad conference in Cannes The logo of Publicis Groupe is seen at the company''s headquarters in Paris, France, February 6, 2017. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen By Mathieu Rosemain - CANNES, France CANNES, France WPP ( WPP.L ) and Publicis ( PUBP.PA ) said on Friday the world''s biggest annual advertising industry conference in Cannes had become costly, too scattered and should return to its roots of solely promoting agencies'' creativity. The criticism highlights the frustration of the world''s number one and number three advertising groups as deep-pocketed tech giants such as Facebook ( FB.O ) and Alphabet''s ( GOOGL.O ) Google have been taking a greater part in the event, first held in 1954 to exhibit advertising films. "Cannes has to change," WPP''s chief executive Martin Sorrell told Reuters. "If we would be starting the concept again today, what would we do differently?" he added, saying he would prefer it if the conference took place in another city and at another time. WPP''s boss floated the idea that his group could consider not participating in the festival, following the stir caused by his counterpart at Publicis, Arthur Sadoun, who decided to skip the event altogether next year to focus on the development of a collaborative internal network, dubbed "Marcel". "...We''re shifting our promotional budget to reinvest in our people and the future of our company," Sadoun said in the memo, sent to the group''s 80,000 employees on Thursday. "So, we are taking a pause from awards shows, festivals and industry events for 365 days," he added. His predecessor, Maurice Levy, now chairman, pointed to the high costs of the Cannes event, which he says is now more focused on networking and business than on agencies'' products. "There are many excesses and a lot of spending," Levy told Reuters. "(This trend) is dominated by tech companies at a time when we are being asked to be more frugal by advertisers." In response to the criticism, event organizer Ascential ( ASCL.L ) said in a statement it would create an advisory committee to "help shape the future of the festival and ensure it continues to respond to the needs of the industry". (Editing by David Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-advertising-cannes-conference-idUSKBN19E280'|'2017-06-24T02:49:00.000+03:00' +'6c3dcb7ea48a49ac573fdbf0f3c7f338a39e392c'|'France''s Europcar to acquire low-cost rival Goldcar'|'By Wout Vergauwen and Dominique Rodriguez Europcar ( EUCAR.PA ) has agreed to buy Europe''s largest low-cost car rental company Goldcar, the French firm said on Monday, marking its fourth acquisition this year and sending its shares to a record high.The proposed Goldcar transaction is based on an enterprise value of 550 million euros ($616 million) and a post-synergy adjusted corporate EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) multiple of about seven times.Europcar has already acquired Milan-based carsharing company GuidaMi, Danish franchisee Europcar Denmark and Germany''s Buchbinder in pursuit of its goal of reaching annual sales of more than 3 billion euros and an underlying EBITDA margin above 14 percent by the end of 2020.Goldcar, which is based in Spain and was sold to Europcar by Italian investment fund Investindustrial, has a strong position on the Iberian peninsula and adds to the French company''s low-cost businesses, which already include the InterRent brand."We are well placed to have completed the bulk of our 2020 ambition in terms of acquisitions," Chief Executive Caroline Parot said in a statement, adding that the focus now shifted to integration and delivering expected cost savings.Europcar shares rose as much as 4.6 percent to a record high of 12.60 euros on Monday.Europcar said it had agreed bridge financing with a large international banking syndicate to support the deal, which is expected to close in the second half of 2017.The French company said it planned to raise equity equivalent to up to 10 percent of its capital, or an increase of 160-165 million euros, to maintain an "efficient and resilient capital structure".Following the acquisition and capital increase, Europcar expects to reach a corporate net financial debt to EBITDA ratio comfortably below three times by the end of 2017.Parot said the capital increase was not linked to the Goldcar acquisition and no date had yet been set."We are not obliged to do so either after or before (the Goldcar transaction)," she told reporters. "It is the sound management of our balance sheet policy given the ambitious programme of non-organic growth that we have."In 2016, Goldcar generated full-year revenue of about 240 million euros and an adjusted corporate EBITDA of some 48 million euros.($1 = 0.8933 euros)(Editing by Louise Heavens and David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-goldcar-m-a-europcar-groupe-idINKBN19A0NM'|'2017-06-19T04:40:00.000+03:00' +'4e5081ddacee97b1f150dafa285f803acc3f8d05'|'Thai consumer goods giant Saha Pat, Lazada tie up for e-commerce'|'BANGKOK, June 29 Thailand''s top consumer goods manufacturer Saha Pathana Inter-Holding Pcl will partner with Southeast Asian e-commerce platform Lazada Group to tap growing demand for online shopping, Saha Pathana said on Thursday.Saha Pathana, part of Thailand''s largest consumer product conglomerate, Saha Group, expects the partnership to help boost its online sales to 10 percent of the total over the next three years from 1 percent currently, Chairman Boonsithi Chokwatana said at a news conference.The company will offer its products through the Lazada website and network, and plans to invest about 1 billion baht ($29.5 million) to build a new inventory warehouse, which is expected to be completed next year, he said.Lazada, 83-percent-owned by Alibaba Group Holding, began operations in Thailand five years ago.The group plans to invest in inventory warehouses in Thailand''s Eastern Economic Corridor, a government industrial estate project, Alessandro Piscini, CEO of Lazada Thailand, told the news conference.There is growing interest in Thailand''s e-commerce sector. Earlier this month, China''s second largest e-commerce platform, JD.com Inc, said that it was looking to make an investment in Thailand by the end of this year. ($1 = 33.96 baht) (Reporting by Wirat Buranakanokthanasan; Writing by Chayut Setboonsarng and Orathai Siring; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/thailand-sahapat-lazada-idINL3N1JQ28Y'|'2017-06-29T04:56:00.000+03:00' +'82d31d18e8f9474bb06b1356f3b851a689f61ef2'|'Twitter rolls out tweaks to its website, mobile applications'|'Business News - Thu Jun 15, 2017 - 2:31pm BST Twitter rolls out tweaks to its website, mobile applications The Twitter logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., September 28, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Twitter Inc said it would roll out a series of tweaks to its website and mobile applications from Thursday to further simplify the microblogging service''s interface for its users. The changes include a new circular profile picture, a speech bubble instead of an arrow to reply to tweets and refinements to the fonts. Tweets on the company''s mobile applications would now update instantly along with counts on "retweets", "likes" and "replies", the company said. Twitter, which has faced criticism over the complex interface of its service in the past, has been constantly adjusting its platform based on user feedback. The changes also include a consolidated profile and privacy settings and a new navigation menu for users of Apple devices. (Reporting by Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-twitter-features-idUKKBN1961QB'|'2017-06-15T21:31:00.000+03:00' +'cdb391cef5cf615de43df2d7c2765785aea07e38'|'UPDATE 1-Key Safety Systems to buy Takata''s assets for $1.57 bln'|'Market News - Sun Jun 25, 2017 - 8:53pm EDT UPDATE 1-Key Safety Systems to buy Takata''s assets for $1.57 bln (adds details, background) June 26 Key Safety Systems (KSS) said on Sunday that it had reached a deal with Takata to purchase nearly all of its assets for about 175 billion yen ($1.57 billion), after the air-bag maker filed for bankruptcy in the United States and Japan. KSS said it would retain almost all of Takata''s employees and did not intend to close any of the company''s manufacturing facilities. Takata, the firm at the centre of the auto industry''s biggest ever product recall, said proceeds from the sale would be used to settle a plea agreement with the U.S Department of Justice. The company added that the bankruptcy proceedings should have no effect on the recall. The company also said that its Japan unit had also received a commitment for up to a 25 billion yen debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. Faulty air-bag inflators made by the 84-year-old Japanese company have been linked to at least 17 deaths and more than 180 injuries around the world. The ammonium nitrate compound used in the airbags can become volatile with age and prolonged exposure to heat, causing the safety devices to explode. ($1 = 111.3000 yen) (Reporting by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Hay) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/takata-sale-key-safety-systems-idUSL1N1JN00M'|'2017-06-26T08:53:00.000+03:00' +'2995c0edb38dbae8cdf9de816e9b5cab9fa0fe34'|'MOVES-State Street appoints Steve Cook senior vice president of US investor services'|'Money 45pm EDT State Street appoints Steve Cook senior vice president of U.S. investor services Financial services provider State Street Corp said on Friday it appointed Steve Cook as senior vice president within its U.S. investment services business. Cook, an exchange trade fund (ETF) industry expert and mutual fund industry veteran, has previously spent 20 years at Bank Of New York Mellon Corp. Cook will oversee relationships with clients operating diverse fund structures in the United States and globally, the company said. (Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-state-str-moves-steve-cook-idUSKBN19E27F'|'2017-06-24T02:28:00.000+03:00' +'d2ff0ce9777169bbd4f5a421f23c646ac4dfcb8e'|'Honeywell aerospace unit under review for spinoff has performed well -chairman'|'Market News - Mon Jun 12, 2017 - 12:33pm EDT Honeywell aerospace unit under review for spinoff has performed well -chairman By Allison Lampert - MONTREAL, June 12 MONTREAL, June 12 Honeywell International ''s aerospace business, now under review as part of a proposal to spin off the unit, has performed well and has benefited from heavy investment from the U.S. technology and manufacturing company, executive chairman David Cote said on Monday. Honeywell said in May it would decide by this fall whether to separate the aerospace business, which makes auxiliary power units and engines for aircraft. "The business has actually performed pretty well," said Cote in an interview on the sidelines of the International Economic Forum of the Americas in Montreal. "And if you take a look at margin improvement and you take a look at the wins that we''ve had over a long period of time since 2013. We''ve invested very heavily in that business." Hedge fund investor Third Point LLC has argued in favor of the spinoff, which it said could create more than $20 billion in shareholder value. The business is Honeywell''s biggest, generating $14.75 billion in sales last year. (Reporting By Allison Lampert; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/honeywell-intl-aerospace-idUSL1N1J902C'|'2017-06-13T00:33:00.000+03:00' +'df8d902a3835f627a1ff7efc6ac705ed7346c47d'|'Ex-EBRD banker jailed for six years for bribery by UK court'|'Business News - Tue Jun 20, 2017 - 11:14pm BST Ex-EBRD banker jailed for six years for bribery by UK court By Marc Jones - LONDON LONDON A former banker at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) was jailed for six years by a top UK court on Tuesday for accepting bribes totaling over $3.5 million. Andrey Ryjenko, 44, who has joint UK and Russian citizenship, had been found guilty of conspiring to make or accept corrupt payments between July 2008 and November 2009 while he worked at the London-based development bank. The court was told in the trial that Ryjenko''s role at the EBRD required him to vet applications for investment from eastern European oil, gas and mining firms. It found he struck an agreement with a U.S.-based consultant who he then introduced to a number of firms in former Soviet states to help them make applications for EBRD funding. Ryjenko then took 50 percent of the consultant''s commission fee when the applications were approved, with the money paid into accounts in the name of his sister Tatjana Sanderson, who was declared unfit to stand trial. "Andrey Ryjenko repeatedly abused his position of power within a publicly-funded bank by accepting corrupt payments," Elspeth Pringle, a prosecutor with the UK''s Crime Prosecution Service''s Specialist Fraud Division said in a statement. Ryjenko was also convicted of money laundering by concealing, disguising, converting and transferring criminal property and sentenced to two years in prison, which will run concurrently. The EBRD, which was founded in 1991 to finance the transition of former communist Europe to market and whose main shareholders are G7 governments, said its internal systems had flagged up the wrongdoing. "We discovered his activities in 2010 and informed the police," it said in a statement. "The Bank did not suffer any loss as a result of his actions." Ryjenko''s lawyer in the case, Peter Lownds from the firm 2 Hare Court did not respond to an e-mailed request for a comment on the sentencing by the time this story was published. (Reporting by Marc Jones)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ebrd-corruption-prison-idUKKBN19B37Y'|'2017-06-21T06:13:00.000+03:00' +'86e48c597284b9fb88cade593c520df96add055b'|'British American Tobacco says trading well, in line with expectations'|'Business News - Wed Jun 14, 2017 - 7:30am BST British American Tobacco says trading well, in line with expectations FILE PHOTO - Cigarettes are seen during the manufacturing process in the British American Tobacco Cigarette Factory (BAT) in Bayreuth, southern Germany, April 30, 2014. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle/File Photo LONDON British American Tobacco said on Wednesday it continued to perform "very well" and was trading in line with its expectations. BAT, home to the Lucky Strike and Dunhill cigarette brands, said it continued to record market share growth and noted that profit growth was expected to be weighted to the second half of the year, reflecting the phasing of volume shipments, product investment and marketing spend. It said that if exchange rates stayed the same for the remainder of the year, there would be an adverse transactional impact on operating profit of 2 percent for both the first half and the full year. But the translation impact would be a tailwind on operating profit of about 13 percent for the half year and 7 percent for the full year. First-half earnings per share was expected to benefit from a significant translational foreign exchange tailwind of around 14 percent. (Reporting by James Davey, Editing by Paul Sandle) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-brit-am-tobacco-outlook-idUKKBN1950JA'|'2017-06-14T14:30:00.000+03:00' +'db89cc145faa7543c69773646d25b9ccf4c40fd7'|'Four of biggest Canada banks are main Trans Mountain lenders -filings'|'CALGARY, Alberta, June 22 Royal Bank of Canada , Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Bank of Nova Scotia and Toronto-Dominion Bank are the main lenders for Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd''s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, the company said in fillings on Thursday.Activists have said they would exert pressure on those banks to drop Trans Mountain once they are named. The four are among 24 banks that granted C$5.5 billion in loans to an operating subsidiary of Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd, which is majority-owned by Kinder Morgan Inc. (Reporting by Ethan Lou; Editing by Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-kinder-morgan-de-lenders-idUSL1N1JJ26K'|'2017-06-23T06:20:00.000+03:00' +'e8d45f887f6bb503a6d36848122505c449699afd'|'Foresight Group buys British battery storage project'|'Business News - Wed Jun 21, 2017 - 12:15am BST Foresight Group buys British battery storage project By Susanna Twidale - LONDON LONDON Foresight Group has made its first foray into battery energy storage, buying a 35 megawatt (MW) project in Britain, the infrastructure and private equity investment manager said on Wednesday. Attracted by the prospects of a business that aims to tap increasing demand for storage of renewable power, Foresight will use its Foresight ITS fund to buy the project in Port of Tyne in northeast England from RES (Renewable Energy Systems). Foresight, which has about 2.6 billion pounds of assets under management, did not give a price for the deal. The project, which is expected to start operations next year, already has contracts with Britain''s National Grid ( NG.L ), to provide electricity balancing services and a government contract to provide back-up power to the system when demand is high. RES, will continue to build and operate the project, Foresight said. Rapid growth of solar and wind energy means that power supplies increasingly rely on the wind blowing or sun shining. As a result, utilities are looking for new ways to store renewable energy for release into the grid when supplies are low. In Britain the challenge is especially acute because the buffer between supply and demand is tighter than in other European countries, with ageing fossil fuel plants being shut down. "The acquisition consolidates Foresight''s position as a leader in investing both in renewable energy generation and the flexible grid infrastructure required to accommodate increasing penetration of renewables," Dan Wells, a partner at Foresight, said in a statement. Foresight funds manage a portfolio of more than 80 solar power projects in the UK, southern Europe, Australia and North America, as well as 28 Energy from Waste projects in Britain. (Editing by David Goodman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-batteries-investment-idUKKBN19B3AP'|'2017-06-21T07:15:00.000+03:00' +'2bec1fa0ce2bf9cb3a125f0f1835d28ad7ef9f4c'|'Acacia Mining says would cost $30 million to close Bulyanhulu mine'|'Business News - Fri Jun 2, 2017 - 3:22pm BST Acacia Mining says would cost $30 million to close Bulyanhulu mine By Zandi Shabalala and Esha Vaish - LONDON/BENGALURU LONDON/BENGALURU Acacia Mining ( ACAA.L ) said on Friday it would cost about $30 million (23.2 million) to put its Bulyanhulu mine in Tanzania under care and maintenance as an export ban on the miner''s metals weighed. Shares in the unit of Barrick Gold ( ABX.TO ) rose 4.7 percent after the company stuck to its full-year production guidance despite the ban. Acacia is losing $15 million per month after Tanzania banned the export of all unprocessed ore in March, forcing the company to make contingency plans in case a resolution is not found. Chief Executive Brad Gordon told a conference call on Friday it would cost $30 million to shut Bulyanhulu mine for layoffs and breaking contracts and between $2-$3 million per month in care and maintenance charges. Tanzanian President John Magufuli fired his mining minister and the chief of the state-run mineral audit agency last week after an investigation into possible undeclared exports by mining companies, including Acacia, to evade tax. A second audit of Acacia is now under way after the first audit committee last week said it found Acacia had 10 times more gold in its containers than the company had declared, as well as undeclared minerals such as iron and sulphur. Acacia has denied any wrongdoing and said it still has not seen the report. "If we get to a point following the release of the second report where we see an impasse in dialogue with the government then we would put Bulyanhulu on care and maintenance," Gordon said, adding that the burn on cash could also be a trigger. The ban mainly affects the Bulyanhulu mine which is a larger, newer mine that has higher running costs. Buzwagi mine is nearing the end of its life. It said production for the year would still fall between 850,000-900,000 ounces. Acacia, which is also listed in Tanzania, said its cash at the end of May was $165 million. Gordon said he was accompanied this week by Acacia Chairman and Barrick President Kelvin Dushnisky on a trip to Tanzania in an effort to resolve the ban. (Editing by Adrian Croft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-acacia-mining-tanzania-idUKKBN18T22Y'|'2017-06-02T22:22:00.000+03:00' +'0197f80ac974384969e28ddf5614de372a4b1c6b'|'Western Digital seeks court injunction to block sale of Toshiba chip unit'|'By Makiko Yamazaki - TOKYO TOKYO Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ) has sought a court injunction to prevent Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) from selling its chip business without the U.S. firm''s consent - a move that threatens to throw the fiercely contested auction into disarray.The escalation in the spat between Western Digital, which jointly operates Toshiba''s main chip plant, and its business partner follows tense last-minute jockeying by suitors for the world''s second-biggest producer of NAND semiconductors.According to a person familiar with the matter, the California-based firm has been left out of a new Japan government-led group being formed to bid for the unit.Toshiba''s "attempts to circumvent our contractual rights have left us with no choice but to take this action," Western Digital''s Chief Executive Steve Milligan said in a statement."Left unchecked, Toshiba would pursue a course that clearly violates these rights," he added.Western Digital has filed its suit with the Superior Court of California, seeking an injunction until its arbitration case against Toshiba is heard. It is concerned about how Toshiba, the Japanese government and other stakeholders are handling the auction process, a second source said.The second source added it had submitted a revised bid on Wednesday that satisfies Toshiba''s requests on deal certainty and price but did not receive a favourable response. Toshiba has demanded at least 2 trillion yen ($18 billion) for the unit.Sources declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the negotiations concerning the auction.Toshiba said in a statement that it was proceeding with selecting a preferred bidder for its memory unit by the second half of June as planned and hoped to reach a definitive agreement on a sale by June 28.Toshiba wants to complete the deal as quickly as possible to help cover billions of dollars in cost overruns at its now-bankrupt Westinghouse nuclear unit and to dig itself out negative shareholders'' equity that could lead to a delisting.Satoru Oyama, senior principal analyst at research firm IHS, said Western Digital''s argument made sense from a common-sense point of view and that developments were moving toward a worst-case scenario for the Japanese company."Toshiba has more to lose in the dispute because it is running out of time," he said. "Toshiba and Western Digital eventually have to talk. They cannot afford to keep fighting when Samsung is taking advantage of the NAND market boom and investing massively."A third source familiar with the matter said Western Digital expects to get a ruling on its injunction request by mid-July and that arbitration cases generally take 16-24 months to resolve.A state-backed fund, the Innovation Network Corp of Japan (INCJ), has been at the center of trade ministry efforts to forge a successful bid that will keep the highly prized unit under domestic control. But the nature of its partnerships appears to be going through drastic changes compared to just last week.It has been in talks with Bain Capital and the group now includes South Korea''s SK Hynix Inc ( 000660.KS ), sources have said.INCJ was, however, also part of a proposed bid tabled by Western Digital last week that also included U.S. private equity firm KKR & Co LP ( KKR.N ), other sources familiar with the matter have said.Other bidders include Foxconn, the world''s largest contract electronics maker. Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry ( 2317.TW ), is leading a consortium that includes Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) computing giant Dell Inc and Kingston Technology Co.The highest known bid so far is one from U.S. chipmaker Broadcom ( AVGO.O ) and its partner, U.S. private equity firm Silver Lake. They have offered 2.2 trillion yen, sources have said.Toshiba''s shares were down 0.5 percent in afternoon trade.($1 = 109.5900 yen)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-idINKBN19602P'|'2017-06-14T23:33:00.000+03:00' +'c90e2dc16a9e0286666b260595d4d90749f14d60'|'Miranda Kerr returns jewelry gifted in alleged Malaysian scheme'|'Business News - Tue Jun 27, 2017 - 12:38pm EDT Miranda Kerr returns jewelry gifted in alleged Malaysian scheme 89th Academy Awards - Oscars Vanity Fair Party - Beverly Hills, California, U.S. - 26/02/17 Model Miranda Kerr REUTERS/Danny Moloshok/File Photo LOS ANGELES Australian model and actress Miranda Kerr has handed over millions of dollars worth of jewelry that U.S. authorities say was given to her as part of a Malaysian money laundering scheme, her spokesperson said on Tuesday. Kerr, a former Victoria''s Secret model, was given diamond pendants, earrings and other jewelry worth about $8 million in 2014 by Malaysian financier Jho Low, according to a June 15 U.S. Department of Justice civil lawsuit. Kerr is not accused of any wrongdoing and her spokesperson said she has co-operated fully with U.S. authorities from the start of the inquiry. "The transfer of the jewelry gifts from Ms. Kerr''s safe deposit box in Los Angeles to government agents was completed on last Friday afternoon," the spokesperson said in a statement. The gifts of jewelry were detailed in the Justice Department''s lawsuit, in a long-running case over an alleged conspiracy to launder money misappropriated from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad fund, known as 1MDB, which was set up by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2009 to promote economic development. The Justice Department alleges that more than $4.5 billion was taken from 1MDB by high-level fund officials and their associates. Kerr, who was in between marriages to actor Orlando Bloom and Snapchat co-founder Evan Spiegel at the time, was given a heart-shaped diamond necklace worth $1.8 million, with her initials inscribed on the back, as a 2014 Valentine''s Day gift from Low, according to the lawsuit. Later in 2014, investigators said, Low gave Kerr a second, pink diamond, pendant worth $4.8 million, followed by matching earrings, a bracelet and a ring worth almost $2 million. The lawsuit said the funds for the jewelry were misappropriated from the 1MDB account. Low, whose whereabouts are unknown, could not be reached for comment. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio also is tied up in the scandal after accepting artwork by Picasso and Basquiat worth more than $12 million from financiers connected with the 1MDB case, along with an Oscar once owned by actor Marlon Brando. DiCaprio is cooperating with authorities and has initiated the return of the items, his spokesman has said. DiCaprio''s involvement stems from his 2013 film "The Wolf of Wall Street," which investigators allege was financed through Hollywood production company Red Granite with $100 million diverted from the 1MDB fund. Red Granite has denied any wrongdoing and has said it is fully co-operating with the Justice Department. (Reporting by Jill Serjeant and Gina Cherelus; Editing by Steve Orlofsky) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-malaysia-scandal-miranda-kerr-idUSKBN19I29A'|'2017-06-28T00:13:00.000+03:00' +'593c184105a075fdb9fd9527537ebb2710919d70'|'Sailing-Barker bows out of another America''s Cup with pride'|'June 9 Years after losing the 2013 America''s Cup to Oracle Team USA, disappointment was still etched on Dean Barker''s face.The New Zealander had not only been at the receiving end of one of the most spectacular sporting comebacks in San Francisco, he was then dumped as skipper by Emirates Team New Zealand.Yet this month in Bermuda, the 44-year-old was back in the hunt, reborn as skipper and CEO of SoftBank Team Japan, the first Japanese challenge for the America''s Cup in 17 years.While Barker''s poker face and sunglasses hid his emotions as he raced, his wit, warmth and wisdom shone through in the post-match briefings, even when things were not going his way.After he was knocked out of the contest by Sweden''s Artemis Racing on Friday, Barker was positive in defeat."The main emotion is an immense pride in what we have achieved in two years ... we started with nothing," Barker told a televised news briefing."It''s been a fantastic honour and a privilege to be running a new team... and I would not trade that for anything."While it was "too early to say" whether SoftBank Team Japan would be back for another shot at the cup, Barker said he hoped they had a future given the fan base they have built up in both Japan and New Zealand, where many of the team are from."There''s a few things that need sorting out before we have that certainty," he added.BARKER ON BOARD?Whether Barker will be part of another campaign with Japan is also up in the air."I really haven''t given it any thought. We will have to see..." he said of his own future, adding that he had always said he loved racing and would like to continue.But Barker''s performance on Bermuda''s Great Sound has been mixed. At times his tactical and sailing brilliance shone bright, while at others he was punished for his errors."Clearly there were mistakes," he said of the last race, while pointing out that his opponents had also made some.Whether SoftBank Team Japan do return to fulfil their sponsor''s aim of bringing the cup to Japan may depend on who triumphs in this month''s competition.If Oracle Team USA or Artemis Racing win, a framework has been agreed among five of the teams for taking it through to the next event, once again in the high-octane foiling catamarans which have proved popular with sailors and broadcasters.But if New Zealand emerge victorious, they have said they will look to return to the cup''s less structured roots, something which might make it harder for SoftBank Team Japan, who bought their design from the holders, to commit to.Whoever wins, Barker is adamant that the so-called Framework Agreement signed earlier this year by the British, U.S., French, Swedish and Japanese teams is the way forward.He will certainly be back out on the water this week, as a sparring partner for his former foe Jimmy Spithill, skipper of Oracle Team USA.(Editing by Ken Ferris)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/sailing-americas-barker-idUSL8N1J65KT'|'2017-06-10T05:17:00.000+03:00' +'d7382838efbee6c574008d7c6ea2dea2fb2d2614'|'Ryanair CEO says keen on majority stake if decides to bid for Alitalia'|'Business 36pm BST Ryanair CEO says keen on majority stake if decides to bid for Alitalia File photo of Chief Executive of Ryanair Michael O''Leary. Action Images via Reuters / Andrew Boyers Livepic ROME Should Ryanair ( RYA.I ) decide to bid for Alitalia, it would go after a majority stake in the loss-making Italian airline, the low-cost carrier''s chief executive said on Tuesday. Alitalia filed in May to be put under special administration for the second time in less than a decade, starting a process that will lead to the airline being overhauled, sold off or wound up. "In case of an acquisition, we would be interested in a majority stake, not a minority one," Michael O''Leary told journalists during a press conference in Rome. "We are not interested in a 49 percent stake." The Irish carrier has submitted an expression of interest to the administrators trying to sell Alitalia, but so far has always stressed it was interested in cooperating with the business rather than buying it. (Reporting by Alberto Sisto, writing by Agnieszka Flak, editing by Isla Binnie)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-alitalia-m-a-ryanair-hldgs-idUKKBN19I1Q6'|'2017-06-27T21:36:00.000+03:00' +'2d0d2b1f4bf910b4f112df516e710839dd3ecbdd'|'Western Digital says Toshiba''s actions in chip spat harm customers'|'Technology News - Thu Jun 29, 2017 - 7:00am BST Western Digital says Toshiba''s actions in chip spat harm customers A staff member of Toshiba Corp. holds a sign board of the company''s annual shareholders meeting at an entrance of the venue in Chiba, Japan June 28, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato TOKYO Western Digital Corp said on Thursday that legal action and other moves taken by Toshiba Corp in their dispute over the sale of its prized memory chip unit were harming Toshiba''s stakeholders and customers. The two have been feuding bitterly over the $18 billion sale, particularly after Toshiba chose a different consortium as it is preferred bidder. Western Digital, which jointly runs Toshiba''s main semiconductor plant, has sought a U.S. court injunction to prevent the inking of any deal without its consent. On Wednesday Toshiba struck back with a lawsuit, saying Western Digital had interfered in the sale without due cause, adding that it is seeking 120 billion yen ($1 billion) in damages. It also blocked certain Western Digital employees from accessing databases related to their joint ventures and, in some cases, facilities as well. "This action will have the consequence of harming not only Toshiba''s stakeholders, but also our respective customers," Western Digital said in a statement. The U.S. firm called Toshiba''s lawsuit a bid to pressure it to relinquish its consent rights, and added it was confident it would succeed on the legal merits of its arbitration request. Western Digital also reiterated its commitment to invest in their joint ventures, including the Fab 6 production line in Yokkaichi, central Japan. Toshiba is rushing to sell the unit to cover billions of dollars in cost overruns at its bankrupt Westinghouse nuclear unit. (Reporting by Thomas Wilson; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-idUKKBN19K0GN'|'2017-06-29T08:04:00.000+03:00' +'5147c9fb547cd0ce58696393e41c513736b02243'|'Early Eid clouds JD Sports trading, shares dive'|'Business 11:51am BST Early Eid clouds JD Sports trading, shares dive People pass a JD Sports store in London, Britain April 11, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall LONDON Sportswear retailer JD Sports ( JD.L ) said its recent trading performance had been distorted by the Eid Muslim festival falling earlier this year, sending its high-flying share price down sharply. Shares in the seller of trainers and tracksuits, which also highlighted "anticipated margin pressure", fell up to 12 percent on Thursday, paring its year-on-year gains to 66 percent. In a trading ahead of its annual shareholders'' meeting, JD said the earlier timing of Eid this year meant it had brought its clearance, or sale, period forward a week to ensure new season stock was available for the Muslim festival. Eid, the annual festival following the month-long Ramadan fast, fell on June 25, 10 days earlier than in 2016. JD says the festival is an important period for giving gifts, which helps boost sales at its UK stores. JD did not publish any trading numbers, saying like-for-like store sale comparisons would not be truly meaningful until the end of its first half on July 29. It said that by then the impact of timing differences, as well as strong sales during last year''s European soccer Championship would have fully unwound. "The bears will seize on JD''s unwillingness to give any cumulative like-for-like sales figures," said independent retail analyst Nick Bubb. JD, which has exploited growing demand for branded sports shoes and clothes to overtake Sports Direct ( SPD.L ) as the country''s leading sportswear retailer by market value, confirmed that growth to date in like-for-like store sales and significant growth in online sales had been in line with its expectations. It also said it was on track to deliver 2016-17 results in line with market expectations - a pretax profit of 277 million pounds, up from 245 million pounds in 2015-16. The stock was down 36 pence at 362 at 1008 GMT, valuing the business at 3.5 billion pounds. (Reporting by James Davey; editing by David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-jd-sports-outlook-idUKKBN19K1AN'|'2017-06-29T13:51:00.000+03:00' +'e87045c303b67488fc0392a214be42dde0e0f0b4'|'Lone Star renews efforts to sell IKB - source'|'Market News 45am EDT Lone Star renews efforts to sell IKB - source FRANKFURT, June 29 U.S. private equity firm Lone Star Funds is making a renewed push to sell corporate bank IKB , one of the highest-profile German casualties of the financial crisis, according to a person close to the matter. IKB announced the sale of its leasing division to investment funds managed by HPS Investment Partners on Thursday, part of a reorganisation that includes buying back a hybrid bond to prepare IKB for a new owner. The lender has received indicative offers from banks and Chinese bidders, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Final bids are due by the middle of August. The sale price of the leasing unit was not disclosed but the source said it was bought for 210 million euros ($240 million). Lone Star declined to comment. Lone Star has made multiple attempts in recent months to sell the bank, which specialises in offering financial services to medium-sized German companies. IKB, which required several bailouts from the German state and development bank KfW when its investment vehicles ran into funding problems in 2007, was delisted last year. Following the rescues, IKB was taken over by KfW, which sold it to Lone Star in August 2008 for 137 million euros. By late 2012, IKB had returned all of the 12 billion euros in state guarantees it received from Germany''s bank bailout fund. In 2014, Lone Star tried to find a buyer for the bank but the results from a European Central Bank stress test, which IKB barely passed, deterred buyers. ($1 = 0.8755 euros) (Reporting by Arno Schuetze; Writing by Tom Sims; Editing by Maria Sheahan and David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/ikb-ma-idUSL8N1JQ1FO'|'2017-06-29T12:45:00.000+03:00' +'c0fd08e2c52f4095e4f14111b4cd4c13d1a3874d'|'BRIEF-Poland''s power exchange starts new trading system powered by Nasdaq'|'Market News - Mon Jun 5, 2017 - 4:58am EDT BRIEF-Poland''s power exchange starts new trading system powered by Nasdaq WARSAW, June 5 (Reuters) - * Polish power exchange TGE has launched a new trading platform provided by Nasdaq Inc that would allow it to offer new commodity and derivative instruments in future to attract new market players, it said on Monday. * The system, X-Stream Trading, will allow TGE, which is controlled by the state-run Warsaw Stock Exchange, to operate on a number of markets and offer a range of order and asset types. * "The latest technology will allow us to face European regulatory challenges and offer the necessary flexibility in shaping our offering while providing the users with enhanced portfolio management options for selling and buying instruments traded at TGE," the exchange''s chief executive was quoted as saying in a statement. * TGE, the only licensed commodity exchange in Poland, started operations 16 years ago as part of a bigger plan to liberalise Poland''s electricity market. (Reporting by Agnieszka Barteczko; editing by Jason Neely) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/power-poland-exchange-idUSL8N1J21JH'|'2017-06-05T16:58:00.000+03:00' +'7476cdea6485e176e2eb9228122c7959c3a09ef0'|'EU''s Moscovici says Greece''s creditors ''shouldn''t play with fire'''|' 31am BST EU''s Moscovici says Greece''s creditors ''shouldn''t play with fire'' European Economic and Financial Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici addresses a news conference at the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium May 22, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir PARIS Greece''s European creditors "shouldn''t play with fire" over the country''s debt relief programme, EU Economic and Financial Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said on Thursday. Athens urged its European lenders on Wednesday to offer incentives that will help break an impasse between the euro zone and the International Monetary Fund on the size of relief the country needs to make its debt sustainable. Euro zone finance ministers will meet next Monday to consider debt relief measures but a deal is far from certain as Germany has long opposed giving Greeks more help after Athens walked back on past pledges. "On the face of it, we''re not there yet," Moscovici said, adding that it was "logical" that the International Monetary Fund remained on board. Moscovici said debt-laden ridden country was reaching the limits of what its society could accept. (Reporting by Michel Rose; editing by Richard Lough)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-greece-debt-idUKKBN18Z0YY'|'2017-06-08T16:31:00.000+03:00' +'3c59f628d3dc8f694633e6c02d90914929016a53'|'UPDATE 1-RedHill Bio''s gastric drug succeeds in late-stage study'|'Market 35am EDT UPDATE 1-RedHill Bio''s gastric drug succeeds in late-stage study (Adds details, shares) June 14 Israel-based RedHill Biopharma Ltd said its experimental drug for the treatment of gastroenteritis met the main goal in a late-stage study. Gastroenteritis is the inflammation of the stomach and intestines that causes vomiting and diarrhea. The trial tested the efficacy and safety of the drug, bekinda, compared with a placebo, in 321 patients suffering from the condition. Bekinda is a once-daily oral pill formulation of the existing anti-nausea drug ondansetron and is designed to provide relief from nausea and vomiting symptoms for a 24-hour period. Data showed Bekinda can provide patients with 24 hours of relief and works regardless of the initial severity of gastroenteritis, the company said. RedHill is still analyzing the dataset and plans to discuss the path to approval with the Food and Drug Administration, it added on Wednesday. Gastroenteritis is a very common illness in the United States, with about 179 million cases annually, and can be caused by many different infectious agents, typically viral infections, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Data from a mid-stage study testing bekinda in patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome is expected in September. U.S.-listed shares of Tel Aviv-based company rose about 5 percent at $9.92 in early trading on Wednesday. (Reporting by Natalie Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/redhill-biopharm-study-idUSL3N1JB49K'|'2017-06-14T21:35:00.000+03:00' +'776592f25f18350f20428baed5b685caa1ceb9c7'|'EU set to rule out state aid for Veneto banks - report'|'Business News - Sun Jun 18, 2017 - 7:06pm BST Italy rules out winding down struggling Veneto banks - source FILE PHOTO: The logo of Veneto Banca bank is seen in Venice, Italy, January 31 2016. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo MILAN/ROME Italy has ruled out the idea of winding down two struggling lenders in the northern Veneto area, a source said on Sunday, following a report Brussels was set to tell Rome it could not use direct state support to rescue them. "The Treasury excludes any suggestion of a banking resolution," a Treasury source said. According to La Stampa daily the European Commission will tell Italy in coming days it cannot inject public money to rescue Veneto Banca [VBANC.UL] and rival Banca Popolare di Vicenza [BPVS.UL]. Citing sources at the Italian Treasury and EU institutions, the newspaper said Rome''s plan of using a precautionary recapitalisation to save the two lenders by using more than 5 billion euros (4.38 billion pounds) of public funds was no longer viable. Instead the branches and assets of the two banks would be hived off into a "good" bank while the non-performing loans would be placed in a "bad" bank, it said. A spokesman for the Commission said he could not confirm the report. "The Commission and the Italian authorities are working closely together to ensure a viable solution". Rome has been trying for months to reach an agreement over a bailout to avoid their liquidation. Talks with the European Commission have dragged on because Brussels wants private investors to pump 1.25 billion euros into the banks before any taxpayer money can be used to avert them being wound down. But La Stampa said Rome had failed to find lenders willing to provide the private capital requested by the Commission. It said talks with Italy''s main banks in recent days had spoken of a resolution - the EU procedure to wind down a failing lender - of the two Veneto lenders and their sale at a symbolic price. Earlier this month European authorities stepped in to avert a collapse of Spain''s Banco Popular following a run on the bank, orchestrating a last-minute rescue by Santander ( SAN.MC ). La Stampa said it was still not clear who might buy the performing assets of the two Veneto lenders but said talks were most advanced with Italy''s Intesa Sanpaolo ( ISP.MI ). However it cautioned that Italy''s biggest retail bank was concerned about stretching its balance sheet and jeopardising dividends, adding that any acquisition might prompt the European Central Bank to ask for a capital increase. The Italian Treasury and Intesa Sanpaolo were not immediately available for comment. Italian Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said on Friday he was confident a solution for the two banks could be reached soon. (Reporting by Stephen Jewkes and Giuseppe Fonte, additional reporting by Francesco Guarascio in Brussels and Paola Arosio in Milan, editing by Louise Heavens and Susan Fenton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-banks-italy-venetobanks-idUKKBN1990GN'|'2017-06-18T19:02:00.000+03:00' +'fd711cc2684220649e84d6b904f89427fefaead1'|'DBRS downgrades Cenovus after ConocoPhillips deal'|' 3:35pm EDT DBRS downgrades Cenovus after ConocoPhillips deal left right A warning sign is pictured near wellheads that inject steam into the ground and pump oil out at the Cenovus Energy Christina Lake Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) project 120 km (74 miles) south of Fort McMurray, Alberta, August 15, 2013. REUTERS/Todd Korol 1/2 left right Logos of ConocoPhillips are seen in its booth at Gastech, the world''s biggest expo for the gas industry, in Chiba, Japan, April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 2/2 CALGARY, Alberta Ratings agency DBRS on Friday downgraded Cenovus Energy Inc, saying the Canadian oil company''s acquisition of ConocoPhillips assets in March negatively affects its credit and more than outweighs the benefits of the deal. DBRS rated Cenovus at BBB, down one notch from BBB (high), in what the oil company said was its first downgrade following the deal. Cenovus'' debt-fueled $13.3 billion purchase of ConocoPhillips'' oil sands and natural gas assets in March sparked a near 50 percent fall in shares. The company''s aim to pay down debt to restore its once-pristine balance sheet now hinges on selling conventional oil and gas assets in a market with a shrinking pool of buyers as oil prices hit 10-month lows around $42 a barrel. Fund managers have said those efforts face a rocky road ahead. DBRS said the trend for the company is negative with Cenovus facing execution risk and uncertainty in its planned asset dispositions and ability to sufficiently reduce financial leverage. Cenovus spokesman Brett Harris said in a statement the lower rating is still of "investment grade," on par with assessments by Standard & Poor''s and Fitch, which have not downgraded Cenovus. "DBRS noted that the revision in their outlook partially reflects the overall current weak pricing environment," he said. "DBRS also noted that it would consider changing the trend to stable if we complete our asset sales at or above the midpoint of our targeted range and were able to reduce debt." Cenovus has said it would sell up to C$5 billion ($3.8 billion) of energy assets, an effort that fund managers have said is complicated by the surprise departure of Chief Executive Brian Ferguson, announced on Tuesday. (Reporting by Ethan Lou; Editing by Bill Trott)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cenovus-energy-divestiture-rating-idUSKBN19E2BP'|'2017-06-24T03:29:00.000+03:00' +'ce874b126ec7f88c7d1b605581f87314c286dabe'|'BRIEF-Ingenico Group invests in Joinedapp, a California-based start-up'|'Market News - Wed Jun 28, 2017 - 1:04am EDT BRIEF-Ingenico Group invests in Joinedapp, a California-based start-up June 28 INGENICO GROUP SA: * INGENICO GROUP INVESTS IN JOINEDAPP, A CALIFORNIA-BASED START-UP SOURCE TEXT FOR EIKON: bit.ly/2tRvxZc FURTHER COMPANY COVERAGE: (Gdynia Newsroom:) * Bunzl leads European stocks after upbeat update (ADVISORY- Follow European and UK stock markets in real time on the Reuters Live Markets blog on Eikon, see cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets) MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-ingenico-group-invests-in-joinedap-idUSFWN1JO0IH'|'2017-06-28T13:04:00.000+03:00' +'81b350938c141c2bcbf37ed60c709baeae8345a7'|'Silicon Valley giants outrank many nations, says first ''techplomat'''|'Technology Photos - Mon Jun 19, 2017 - 4:13pm IST Silicon Valley giants outrank many nations, says first ''techplomat'' left right Denmark''s tech ambassador Casper Klynge poses for a picture in Copenhagen, Denmark, June 15 2017. REUTERS/Stine Jacobsen 1/3 left right Denmark''s tech ambassador Casper Klynge poses for a picture in Copenhagen, Denmark, June 15 2017. REUTERS/Stine Jacobsen 2/3 left right Denmark''s tech ambassador Casper Klynge poses for a picture in Copenhagen, Denmark, June 15 2017. REUTERS/Stine Jacobsen 3/3 By Stine Jacobsen - COPENHAGEN COPENHAGEN The top firms in California''s Silicon Valley carry more weight on the global stage than many countries, which makes building diplomatic relations with them increasingly important, the world''s first national technology ambassador said. Chosen to fill what his country''s foreign ministry has dubbed the first "techplomacy" posting on the U.S. West Coast, Denmark''s Casper Klynge will be tasked with building direct ties between his country and the likes of Facebook, Apple and Alphabet''s Google. "We are to continue doing traditional diplomacy with countries and organizations, but we also have to start looking into what relation you can have with these big tech companies," Klynge told Reuters in an interview. The aim was to help Denmark understand the impact of rapid changes in digital technology while promoting the country''s interests and values - setting up a channel of communication that would also benefit the companies. "If you look at these companies'' involvement and significance for you and me, many of them have a much greater degree of influence than most nations," he said in comments cleared for publication late on Friday. In economic terms, the new partners are comparable. Denmark''s 2016 gross domestic product was 2.06 trillion Danish crowns ($310 billion), sitting between Facebook''s current $437 billion market value and the $185 billion of Oracle Corp. With tech companies under growing pressure to share encrypted information to prevent terrorism, Klynge also identified the ability of radical individuals or groups to exploit online platforms as a key issue. "We saw what happened after the terror acts in London when Facebook came forward and said they are ready to discuss how we prevent terror organizations using its network to promote their actions," said Klynge, who takes up his new role on Sept 1. In May, Facebook was fined 150,000 euros ($166,000) by France''s data protection watchdog for failing to prevent users'' data being accessed by advertisers. "If you look at what impacts us in our daily lives and how much data they can pull on all of us... (the firms) are truly influential players," Klynge said. Technological diplomacy is one of Denmark''s five foreign policy priorities alongside national security; Brexit; the Arctic region; and migration, instability and terrorism. (Editing by Terje Solsvik and John Stonestreet) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-denmark-tech-idINKBN19A17A'|'2017-06-19T18:37:00.000+03:00' +'94580bfcf7b3dbaf8dc1beb36fcca8e79b492c04'|'Malaysia''s RHB, AmBank in merger talks to form bank worth $9 billion'|'KUALA LUMPUR Malaysia''s RHB Bank ( RHBC.KL ) and AMMB Holdings (AmBank) ( AMMB.KL ) are starting merger talks to form a group worth about $9 billion, in what is likely to be the nation''s biggest banking deal.RHB and AmBank have received the nod from the Malaysian central bank to commence the merger negotiations, they said in a joint statement on Thursday. The transaction is expected to be an all-share deal and the two banks have until Aug. 30 to exclusively discuss a deal, they said.A merger would reinforce RHB''s ranking as the fourth largest Malaysian bank by assets behind Maybank ( MBBM.KL ), CIMB Group Holdings ( CIMB.KL ) and Public Bank ( PUBM.KL ). AmBank is currently the country''s sixth biggest bank.Sources told Reuters on Wednesday that RHB would be the acquirer in the potential merger. AmBank has a market capitalization of 15.7 billion ringgit ($3.66 billion), while RHB has a market value of about $5.0 billion.A full takeover at those price levels by RHB would put the deal above the 2006 acquisition of Southern Bank by Bumiputra-Commerce Holdings for $1.74 billion, making it the biggest Malaysian banking transaction, according to Thomson Reuters data. Bumiputra-Commerce eventually became the current CIMB Group after a series of mergers and a rebranding exercise.Rumors of a merger between RHB and AmBank go as far back as 2007, though the companies have denied it several times in the past.Trading in shares of RHB and AmBank were suspended, ahead of the announcement. They will resume trading on Friday.In a research note ahead of the merger announcement, UOB Kay Hian analyst Keith Wee Teck Keong said RHB''s shares are likely to react negatively to the announcement as the revenue synergies between the two groups are not compelling."We opine that such a merger would require a fair degree of cost rationalization given the degree of operational and revenue duplication between AMMB and RHB," he said.ANZ Banking Group ( ANZ.AX ), which owns a 24 percent stake in AmBank, has been weighing a sale of its stake since early last year.And AmBank Chairman Azman Hashim, with a 13 percent stake, has expressed his intention to pare down the shareholding, sources have said.An ANZ spokesman said on Thursday: "ANZ looks forward to considering the details of the merger proposal once finalised and the extent to which the merger provides value to ANZ shareholders."A source familiar with the matter said ANZ believes the merger would create a stronger bank. ANZ''s shareholding will be diluted in the merger, which could help the bank exit its AmBank stake in the medium term, the source said.SUBDUED DEAL ACTIVITYSources have said ANZ wants to sell its AmBank stake partly due to the Malaysian bank''s involvement in a political scandal linked to state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad and Prime Minister Najib Razak.Najib has been buffeted by allegations of graft, in particular by revelations of the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars into his AmBank accounts in 2013.Najib has denied any wrongdoing and said he did not take any money for personal gain. 1MDB is the subject of money laundering investigations in at least six countries.In 2015, AmBank was slapped with a 53.7 million ringgit fine by the Malaysian central bank for breaching certain financial regulations.Deal activity in the Malaysian banking sector has been subdued in recent years amid slowing economic growth and a slump in oil prices.In 2014-15, RHB, CIMB and Malaysian Building Society Bhd ( MBSS.KL ) were in talks for a three-way, $20 billion merger to create Malaysia''s largest bank. But the talks collapsed as the parties failed to agree on the terms.Malaysian Building Society then entered into merger talks with Bank Muamalat Bhd, but that also fell through. It is currently in merger talks with Asian Finance Bank.(Reporting by A. Ananthalakshmi; Additional reporting by Jamie Freed in Sydney and Liz Lee in Kuala Lumpur; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ambank-m-a-rhb-bank-idUSKBN18S4BM'|'2017-06-01T15:09:00.000+03:00' +'61e4cebb232a888b90ecab2de1d80c7b432b0a9a'|'CEO of Raytheon''s Forcepoint eyes IPO: Boersen-Zeitung'|'FRANKFURT U.S. missile maker Raytheon''s ( RTN.N ) cybersecurity unit could thrive were it to be listed separately, the head of the unit, Forcepoint, told German business daily Boersenzeitung in an interview published on Saturday."Raytheon has undertaken that Forcepoint will achieve for civilian cyber defense what Raytheon does for the defense of nation states, and we think that we could unleash enormous potential in our company via a stock exchange listing," Matthew Moynahan said.He said it was a little early to contemplate such a move, though, according to the newspaper.Raytheon bought an 80 percent stake in Forcepoint, then known as Websense, from private equity firm Vista in 2015 for $1.9 billion and combined it with its own cybersecurity operations. Vista owns the other 20 percent.Vista retains the right to exit the joint venture, including by requiring Raytheon to buy its 20 percent stake or by Forcepoint''s pursuing an IPO.Forcepoint made sales of $566 million and operating income of $51 million in 2016.(Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; editing by John Stonestreet)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-raytheon-forcepoint-ipo-idINKBN19F0N0'|'2017-06-24T15:33:00.000+03:00' +'508ccb273285a99872789554e802901d938bf4bf'|'BRIEF-Polish copper producer KGHM says Sierra Gorda loan to be modified'|'Market 11:55am EDT BRIEF-Polish copper producer KGHM says Sierra Gorda loan to be modified WARSAW, June 30 Polish copper producer KGHM said on Friday that conditions attached to a $1 billion loan signed in 2012 by its Chilean mine Sierra Gorda will be changed. * The changes include replacing the project finance formula with a corporate loan, which will "significantly reduce Sierra Gorda limitations and obligations" and give the mine more financial flexibility, KGHM said. * State-run KGHM gained control over Sierra Gorda in 2011 when it bought Canada''s Quadra FNX, for C$2.87 billion ($2.21 billion)in the largest-ever foreign acquisition by a Polish company. * To finance development of its business Sierra Gorda secured in 2012 a $1 billion loan for 9.5 years in a project finance formula with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and four other Japanese private banks. * Sierra Gorda failed to meet some of the production targets and fulfilling the project finance conditions became a challenge. * KGHM also said that the guarantees provided by Japan''s Sumitomo Metal Mining and Sumitomo Corporation - KGHM''s partners in Sierra Gorda - will be maintained until June 2021. * KGHM said that the loan value as of June 30 was around $760 million. ($1 = 1.2987 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Agnieszka Barteczko; Editing by Susan Fenton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/kghm-sierragirda-idUSL8N1JR4O8'|'2017-06-30T18:55:00.000+03:00' +'b778cd4cf5c04033d67855f6548042208ffe2f2a'|'UPDATE 2-Israel securities regulator opens investigation into Bezeq'|'(Adds Bezeq and analyst comments, details)By Ari RabinovitchJERUSALEM, June 20 The Israel Securities Authority said on Tuesday it had opened an investigation into the country''s largest telecom group, Bezeq Israel Telecom and its controlling shareholder.The market regulator said in a statement that the probe "deals with suspicions of violations of the securities law and the penal code relating to transactions connected to the controlling shareholder". It did not elaborate.Trading in Bezeq and its parent companies was halted in Tel Aviv following the announcement.The company said it learned of the investigation on Tuesday morning and that its offices were searched."The company does not have any additional information about the nature and circumstances of the investigation," it said.Bezeq is controlled by its chairman, Shaul Elovitch, through holding company Eurocom Group, which declined to comment.But another Eurocom subsidiary, Internet Gold, said it was suspending a planned bond issue as a result of the investigation.Eurocom gives Elovitch control over a myriad of assets like satellite operator Spacecom and Enlight Renewable Energy. He is also a close friend of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a relationship that bars Netanyahu from dealing with all things Bezeq."A prolonged trading halt is a rather rare procedure which requires approval from the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange''s chairman and cannot exceed one trading day and gives the company a chance to provide colour to the market," Barclays analyst Tavy Rosner said in a note.Israel''s financial news websites reported that investigators were focusing on a recent deal in which Bezeq bought control of its satellite TV unit from Eurocom.Bezeq has dominated Israel''s telecom sector for decades and, with a generous dividend policy of distributing all its net profit, is a favourite among foreign investors.Looking to shore up its position further, Bezeq is lobbying the government to end a forced separation of its fixed-line, mobile and satellite TV units.However, opponents say that allowing Bezeq to combine its subsidiaries into a single company will stifle competition. (Additional reporting by Steven Scheer; editing by Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/bezeq-investigation-idINL8N1JH0UU'|'2017-06-20T07:40:00.000+03:00' +'de58f8b85460b43f8aeb0f796d455174ce8f7530'|'AIRSHOW-United Airlines converts 100-jet Boeing order into 737 MAX 10s'|'Company News 16am EDT AIRSHOW-United Airlines converts 100-jet Boeing order into 737 MAX 10s PARIS, June 20 United Airlines has converted an order for 100 Boeing 737 MAX jets into one for the U.S. planemaker''s new 737 MAX 10 model, the companies said at the Paris Airshow on Tuesday. United Airlines, which will become the largest single 737 MAX 10 customer in the world, also announced an order for four additional Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. Asked by reporters why the latest deal was a conversion of a previous order, rather than a new one, United Airlines executive Gerry Laderman told Reuters: "We have a very healthy order book ... and it is very customary for us to place an order to have a certain timeline/time slots, and closer to the time we pick which model we want." Laderman added that United Airlines already had a large MAX order, so there was no need for an incremental one. (Reporting by Giulia Segreti; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/airshow-paris-boeing-unitedairlines-idUSP6N1IJ02I'|'2017-06-20T21:16:00.000+03:00' +'00c371a200b2021377e80c483b58b3f996ca677c'|'Idemitsu''s founding family to oppose CEO re-election - Nikkei'|'Business News - Sat Jun 3, 2017 - 3:45am BST Idemitsu''s founding family to oppose CEO re-election - Nikkei A signboard of Idemitsu Kosan Co is seen behind a traffic light at its gas station in Tokyo, Japan, August 15, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon TOKYO The founding family of Idemitsu Kosan Co ( 5019.T ) is set to vote against re-electing the Japanese oil refiner''s top executives who are pushing for a full merger with smaller rival Showa Shell Sekiyu ( 5002.T ), the Nikkei business daily said on Saturday. That would be a second straight year the family and related parties, which together hold 33.92 percent of Idemitsu shares, would oppose the re-election of CEO Takashi Tsukioka and other board members at Idemitsu''s annual general shareholders'' meeting scheduled in late June, the report said without citing sources. The family''s opposition to re-election of the company board came close to removing Tsukioka, along with other board members, in a vote at last year''s shareholders'' meeting. Idemitsu Kosan completed the purchase of just under a third of Showa Shell last December. The goal of combining the two companies has been delayed indefinitely due to Idemitsu''s founding family''s opposition to the merger. The family''s new lawyer, Yohei Tsuruma, is expected to announce their decision on Monday ahead of the shareholders'' meeting scheduled for June 29, the report added. Idemitsu''s management has been looking at various options to complete the merger but none of them have swayed the founding family. (Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Jacqueline Wong) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-refiners-m-a-idUKKBN18U034'|'2017-06-03T10:45:00.000+03:00' +'ff566dbe140d2e7f55ad61f9929bc5a6cb58f187'|'Diageo to buy George Clooney''s tequila brand Casamigos for $1 billion'|'LONDON Diageo PLC ( DGE.L ) has agreed to buy George Clooney''s high-end tequila brand Casamigos in a deal that values it at up to $1 billion, as the world''s largest spirits company seeks to boost its presence in a high-growth market.Diageo said on Wednesday it will pay $700 million initially for the brand, co-founded by the American actor, with a further potential $300 million to be paid, based on a performance linked earn-out over 10 years.The maker of Smirnoff vodka and Guinness beer said the deal will be neutral to earnings for the first three years and add to earnings thereafter.The deal is expected to close in second half of the year.(Reporting by Martinne Geller; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-diageo-m-a-casamigos-idINKBN19C296'|'2017-06-21T14:24:00.000+03:00' +'c7c55c83a37fd831d972dd9deb220ccae8fa4908'|'Norway oil services firms reach wage deal with two unions'|' 7:18am BST Norway oil services firms reach wage deal with two unions OSLO Norwegian oil services firms have reached a wage deal with two trade unions, the companies and the unions said on Wednesday, in a year when these unions are not allowed to go on strike. The deal was made with the two largest unions, Industri Energi and Safe, which agreed a pay rise of 7,166 crowns (656.5 pounds) and of 1 crown per hour on night shifts, with effect from June 1. A number of oil services firms operate off Norway, including Solstad, Farstad and Havila, serving oil companies such as Statoil, Eni and Lundin Petroleum. In separate talks, the Lederne union representing 150 workers in the oil sector did not reach a deal with oil companies and talks will now go to a state-appointed mediator. Lederne has the right to strike this year and if they don''t agree it could potentially hit Norwegian oil production from midnight on Friday. (Reporting by Ole Petter Skonnord; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-norway-oil-pay-unions-idUKKBN18Y0G4'|'2017-06-07T14:18:00.000+03:00' +'34bbd1ae74af9ba95cb17cc6c92e7635e8dbdd4a'|'UPDATE 1-AIRSHOW-Boeing sees strong interest in potential new 737 model - Reuters'|'(Adds details, Quote: s)By Tim HepherPARIS, June 18 Boeing has received strong interest in a potential new member of its best-selling 737 aircraft range, the planemaker''s new commercial chief said on Sunday.Boeing is expected to launch the 190-230 seat 737 MAX 10 with more seats and a modified landing gear at the opening of the Paris Airshow on Monday, adding a larger, new version to its narrowbody medium-haul family to plug a gap against Airbus."We are working very closely with a large number of customers, with offers on the table," Boeing Commercial Airplanes Chief Executive Kevin McAllister said in a briefing.He dismissed concerns by some financiers about fragmentation of the Boeing 737 MAX family into what would now be five separate models, potentially making some harder to finance."There is significant demand for each model," he said.Speaking before the world''s largest air show at Le Bourget from June 19 to 25, McAllister offered a glimpse of new Boeing market forecasts due to be published on Tuesday.The world will need 41,000 commercial jets over the next 20 years, he said, a 4 percent increase from last year''s Boeing forecast. By comparison, Airbus last week forecast 34,899 jets over the same period, which was 6 percent above its own 2016 forecast. Boeing will unveil detailed figures on Tuesday.SERVICES PUSHBoeing is working to complete a three-year study on the potential for a so-called "mid-market" jet that would sit between the existing narrowbody and widebody categories. The company is working on a cost and business case for such a plane."I would like to do it as quickly as we can," McAllister said, but added: "I would rather take the time to do it right."Airbus has dismissed the case for such an aircraft, saying its A321neo, which can seat up to 240 people in an all-economy layout, mostly fits the gap. Boeing says the potential market spans 200 to 270 seats and requires an all-new plane.McAllister, a former General Electric executive who was appointed in November, said there was huge potential for new digital technologies in production and in providing aftermarket services. Such services, which are key to engine makers and are now working their way into aircraft manufacturing, will be part of the decisions on whether to launch the mid-market jet.The Boeing official called for greater efficiency from suppliers including Spirit AeroSystems, which builds the fuselage of 737 jets and parts of the 787 Dreamliner.Boeing is involved in pricing negotiations with its former subsidiary, formed in 2005 from the sale of its Wichita base."We are still negotiating with Spirit. I expect the same accountability from the supply chain as we place on ourselves," McAllister said.Spirit said in May talks were taking longer than expected and that there was still a gap on 737 and 787..On the 777 mini-jumbo, whose production is slowing before the transition to a new model due to enter service in 2020, McAllister said the plane was sold out for 2017 but the firm had "some holes to fill" in the order book in 2018 and 2019. (Editing by Edmund Blair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/airshow-paris-boeing-idINL8N1JF0OA'|'2017-06-18T16:16:00.000+03:00' +'96e7c2f6dca45969386147a2f860183f57f62a52'|'High-tech dashboards signal big changes for auto parts suppliers'|'Technology 12am BST High-tech dashboards signal big changes for auto parts suppliers left right A ''SmartCore'' dashboard is seen at the technical center of U.S. automotive supplier Visteon in Karlsruhe, Germany June 23, 2017. Picture taken June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski 1/13 left right Alexandra Schaefer, head of the SmartCore-Center of Competence and her colleague Hector Zarate of U.S. automotive supplier Visteon work on a set-up to demonstrate their new ''SmartCore'' dashboard at the companies technical center in Karlsruhe, Germany June 23, 2017. Picture taken June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski 2/13 left right A ''SmartCore'' dashboard is seen at the technical center of U.S. automotive supplier Visteon in Karlsruhe, Germany June 23, 2017. Picture taken June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski 3/13 left right A ''SmartCore'' dashboard is seen at the technical center of U.S. automotive supplier Visteon in Karlsruhe, Germany June 23, 2017. Picture taken June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski 4/13 left right A ''SmartCore'' dashboard is seen at the technical center of U.S. automotive supplier Visteon in Karlsruhe, Germany June 23, 2017. Picture taken June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski 5/13 left right A ''SmartCore'' dashboard is seen at the technical center of U.S. automotive supplier Visteon in Karlsruhe, Germany June 23, 2017. Picture taken June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski 6/13 left right Alexandra Schaefer, head of the SmartCore-Center of Competence and her colleague Hector Zarate of U.S. automotive supplier Visteon work on a set-up to demonstrate their new ''SmartCore'' dashboard at the companies technical center in Karlsruhe, Germany June 23, 2017. Picture taken June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski 7/13 left right A ''SmartCore'' dashboard is seen at the technical center of U.S. automotive supplier Visteon in Karlsruhe, Germany June 23, 2017. Picture taken June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski 8/13 left right Alexandra Schaefer, head of the SmartCore-Center of Competence and her colleague Hector Zarate of U.S. automotive supplier Visteon work on a set-up to demonstrate their new ''SmartCore'' dashboard at the companies technical center in Karlsruhe, Germany June 23, 2017. Picture taken June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski 9/13 left right Alexandra Schaefer, head of the SmartCore-Center of Competence and her colleague Hector Zarate of U.S. automotive supplier Visteon work on a set-up to demonstrate their new ''SmartCore'' dashboard at the companies technical center in Karlsruhe, Germany June 23, 2017. Picture taken June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski 10/13 left right A person operates a ''SmartCore'' dashboard at the technical center of U.S. automotive supplier Visteon in Karlsruhe, Germany June 23, 2017. Picture taken June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski 11/13 left right A person operates a ''SmartCore'' dashboard at the technical center of U.S. automotive supplier Visteon in Karlsruhe, Germany June 23, 2017. Picture taken June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski 12/13 left right A ''SmartCore'' dashboard is seen at the technical center of U.S. automotive supplier Visteon in Karlsruhe, Germany June 23, 2017. Picture taken June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski 13/13 By Alexandria Sage - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Peer at the instrument panel on your new car and you may find sleek digital gauges and multicolored screens. But a glimpse behind the dashboard could reveal what U.S. auto supplier Visteon Corp found: a mess. As automotive cockpits become crammed with ever more digital features such as navigation and entertainment systems, the electronics holding it all together have become a rat''s nest of components made by different parts makers. Now the race is on to clean up the clutter. here :reuters.com,2017:newsml_RC11EA315070:656503749/tag:reuters.com,2017:binary_RC11EA315070-BASEIMAGE?action=download&mediatype=picture&mex_media_type=picture&token=%22lQidIVhfMdhJExh%2BrXgLdTn2%2Bh1ScdMCyfbfQ%2BHdRaQ%3D%22 Visteon is among a slew of suppliers aiming to make dashboard innards simpler, cheaper and lighter as the industry accelerates toward a so-called virtual cockpit - an all-digital dashboard that will help usher in the era of self-driving cars. What''s at stake is a piece of the $37-billion cockpit electronics market, estimated by research firm IHS Market to nearly double to $62 billion by 2022. Accounting firm PwC estimates that electronics could account for up to 20 percent of a car''s value in the next two years, up from 13 percent in 2015. Meanwhile, the number of suppliers for those components is likely to dwindle as automakers look to work with fewer companies capable of doing more, according to Mark Boyadjis, principal automotive analyst at IHS Markit. "The complexity of engineering ten different systems from ten different suppliers is no longer something an automaker wants to do," Boyadjis said. He estimates manufacturers eventually will work with two to three cockpit suppliers for each model, down from six to 10 today. DIGITAL MAKEOVER One of Visteon''s solutions is a computer module dubbed "SmartCore." This cockpit domain controller operates a vehicle''s instrument cluster, infotainment system and other features, all on the same tiny piece of silicon. So far this year, the Detroit-based company has landed two big contracts for undisclosed sums. One, announced in April, is with China''s second-largest automaker, Dongfeng Motor Corp. The other is with Mercedes-Benz, Reuters has learned. Mercedes did not respond to requests for comment. Another unnamed European automaker plans to use the system in 2018, according to Visteon. Visteon is going all in on cockpit electronics, having shed its remaining automotive climate and interiors businesses in 2016. The bet so far is paying off. The company secured $1.5 billion in new business in the first quarter, helped by growth in China. Visteon''s stock price is up more than 50 percent over the past year. It''s a major turnaround since Visteon was spun off from Ford Motor Co a decade ago. Visteon filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009 before emerging a year later. "You have to be changing and adapting fast. If not, you''re not going to keep up in this market," said Tim Yerdon, Visteon''s head of global marketing. "It''s about reinventing yourself to stay ahead." DASHBOARD DEALS Visteon''s makeover hints at the coming battle between suppliers fighting for real estate in the digital cockpit. The trend is already triggering acquisitions, as companies look to boost their offerings to automakers. Visteon in 2014 bought Johnson Controls'' electronics business, which was also developing a domain controller. In March, Samsung completed its $8-billion purchase of infotainment company Harman. France''s Faurecia, a top seating and interiors supplier, last year purchased a 20 percent stake in Paris-based infotainment firm Parrot Automotive SAS in a deal that could make Faurecia the biggest shareholder by 2019. Deal-making in the wider automotive sector has been at a fever pitch over the past two years fueled by the race to develop autonomous vehicle technology. Activity in the sector was worth $41 billion in 2016, according to PwC. Analysts say German automakers are taking the lead in consolidating functions within the dashboard. Audi was the first to debut a virtual cockpit last year that combined its instrument cluster and infotainment system. CHEAPER, LIGHTER, SMARTER Streamlined dashboards can lead to cost reductions for manufacturers, who can save as much as $175 per car with an integrated cockpit, according to Munich-based management consulting firm Roland Berger. They can also help with fuel efficiency. That''s because vehicles are lighter when there are fewer behind-the-scenes computers, known as electronic control units (ECUs). Vehicles today contain 80 to 120 ECUs, numbers expected to fall sharply in coming years. But perhaps the biggest motivation for fancy cockpits is sales. Drivers accustomed to the seamless technology of their smartphones are finding today''s dashboard offerings clunky and non-intuitive. A J.D. Power study released this month found the most complaints from new vehicle owners stemmed from audio, communications, entertainment and maps systems. Better cockpits could prove crucial to attracting younger consumers, who are not showing the same enthusiasm for cars, or even driving, that their parents did. Research company Mintel found that 41 percent of millennial car buyers are interested in having the latest technology in their vehicles. Disjointed dashboards "are one of the most noticeable gaps in user experience - what you see right in front of you," said Andrew Hart of UK-based consultancy SBD Automotive. On many car models, he said, audible warning systems to alert the driver to a potential collision are not in sync with the radio, meaning your favorite song could drown out the warning beep. "That''s a crazy example of something when you don''t consolidate ECUs," Hart said. Industry watchers say this and other safe-driving features are among the systems ripe for integration. Additional targets include rear-seat entertainment systems and so-called heads-up displays that project data such as the car''s speed onto the windshield for easy viewing. Back in Detroit, Visteon says it is in talks with carmakers in China and Europe for its domain controller, a technology it hopes can give it an edge over rivals such as Delphi, Robert Bosch [ROBG.UL], Continental, and Denso. While it isn''t clear who will prevail, electronics suppliers are seeing their products take on new importance as vehicles become more connected. Five years ago, the dashboard was "a plastic molded cockpit that we stuffed electronics into," said Yerdon, Visteon''s marketing chief. "Now it''s more about an electronic architecture that''s experience-driven, and we mold plastic around it." (Editing by Marla Dickerson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-autos-dashboard-idUKKBN19K0G3'|'2017-06-29T08:11:00.000+03:00' +'a0bd21d386409467ce463a63010ea300a406291b'|'UK Stocks-Factors to watch on June 22'|' 29am EDT UK Stocks-Factors to watch on June 22 June 22 Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening 10 points higher on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers. * DIAGEO: Diageo Plc has agreed to buy George Clooney''s high-end tequila brand Casamigos in a deal valuing it at up to $1 billion, as the world''s largest spirits maker seeks to boost its presence in a high-growth market. * GSK: A U.S. jury has ordered Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd to pay GlaxoSmithKline Plc more than $235 million for infringing a patent covering its blood pressure drug Coreg, court documents showed. * HORNBY: Phoenix Asset Management on Wednesday it would become the majority shareholder in Hornby Plc and offered to buy the rest of the company, less than three months after thwarting efforts to oust the British toymaker''s chairman. * CAIRN ENERGY: British independent oil exploration company Cairn Energy''s 9.8 percent stake in Cairn India, may be put up for sale as part of tax recovery proceedings started late last week, India''s Business Standard newspaper reported. ( bit.ly/2tvhdFn ) * BRITAIN TOURISM: Britain''s tourism industry is proving resilient despite recent militant attacks and is set for higher bookings this year, outperforming the European average, travel data analysis company ForwardKeys said on Thursday. * BREXIT: Britain''s departure from the European Union could strengthen the bloc''s political integration and make Germany more attractive as a business location, German Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Steffen said on Thursday. * BREXIT: Prime Minister Theresa May will outline on Thursday her approach to the "hugely important issue" of reassuring EU expatriates about their futures in Britain, at a summit that is her first Brexit test since an election sapped her authority. * OIL: Oil prices rose on Thursday after U.S. crude and gasoline stockpiles fell, but worries over whether OPEC-led output cuts would be able to rein in a three-year glut continued to drag. * GOLD: Gold prices climbed on Thursday as an easing U.S. dollar flattened U.S. Treasury yields to their lowest in nearly a decade. * COPPER: London copper held on to hefty overnight gains, spurred on by data showing the metal''s shift to global a supply deficit. * EX-DIVS: Experian, Land Securities Group, Mediclinic , United Utilities Group will trade without entitlement to their latest dividend pay-out on Thursday, trimming 1.88 points off the FTSE 100 according to Reuters calculations * The UK blue chip index was down 0.3 percent at 7,447.79 points at its close on Wednesday, as losses among energy stocks and sub-prime lender Provident Financial weighed, while a stronger pound was also unhelpful. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets * UK CORPORATE DIARY: Chemring Group PLC Half Year Go-Ahead Group PLC Full Year Carnival PLC Q2 TODAY''S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idUSL3N1JJ238'|'2017-06-22T13:29:00.000+03:00' +'5b13f2a151bfaaa84005944cea267046ef79722b'|'Tesco launches one-hour delivery to London customers'|'Business News 03pm BST Tesco launches one-hour delivery to London customers FILE PHOTO: A company logo is pictured outside a Tesco supermarket in Altrincham northern England, April 16, 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo LONDON Tesco ( TSCO.L ), Britain''s biggest retailer, is to offer a one-hour grocery delivery service to customers in central London, firing the latest salvo in the cut-throat online supermarket sector. Online shopping is one of the better-performing parts of Britain''s retail sector and has become a key battleground for the big supermarkets as they grapple with the growth of German discounters Aldi [ALDIEI.UL] and Lidl [LIDUK.UL]. Britain''s online food market is expected to grow by 54 percent to 16 billion pounds ($20.3 billion) in the five years to 2022, according to industry research group IGD. Tesco said on Monday the new service will allow customers to order, through the Tesco Now app, up to 20 items from a range of 1,000 products, including fruit and vegetables, meat, bakery goods and dairy. Orders will be picked in a local store and delivered to customers via moped within 60 minutes. Priced at 7.99 pounds ($10.16), Tesco Now will be available to customers in some central London postal districts between 0800 until 2300 on weekdays and 0900 until 2300 at weekends. Tesco''s service is similar in concept to Amazon''s ( AMZN.O ) ''Prime Now'' offer and follows a one-hour home delivery trial from Sainsbury''s ( SBRY.L ), Britain''s No. 2 supermarket group, that was launched last year. Last year Amazon also launched a British version of its U.S. AmazonFresh food delivery service, stepping up the pressure on the traditional big supermarkets. Earlier this month Amazon agreed a $13.7 billion takeover of Whole Foods ( WFM.O ) signalling how serious it is about food retail. (Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Adrian Croft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-tesco-internet-idUKKBN19H28J'|'2017-06-27T02:03:00.000+03:00' +'051b152b5a003b8541627c902ad892e3781fe8a0'|'S.Korea says full anti-missile deployment on hold pending environmental review'|'Environment - Wed Jun 7, 2017 - 1:06pm EDT South Korea says anti-missile deployment on hold pending environmental review By Ju-min Park - SEOUL SEOUL South Korea will hold off on installing remaining components of a U.S. anti-missile defense system until it completes an assessment of the system''s impact on the environment, the country''s presidential office said on Wednesday. The move could mean substantial delays in a full deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea, as the review may take well over a year, according to a senior official at the presidential Blue House. South Korea said last week four more launchers had been introduced, months after the controversial battery was deployed in March with just two of its maximum load of six launchers. The additional launchers had been brought in to the deployment site in the southeastern region of Seongju without being reported to the new government or to the public, new President Moon Jae-in''s office said last week, asking for a probe into why it was not informed of the move by South Korea''s defense ministry. The four launchers have yet to be installed and made operational. "It doesn''t make sense to withdraw the two initial launchers which had already been deployed and installed, but additional installation will be decided after the environmental impact assessment is over," the administration official told reporters on Wednesday. "Whether we must urgently move forward with additional installment by ignoring legal transparency and due procedure is a question." The Pentagon said it would continue to work transparently with Seoul but did not signal any expectation that the decision to deploy THAAD would be upended. "The U.S. trusts the (South Korean government''s) official stance that the THAAD deployment was an alliance decision and it will not be reversed," a Pentagon spokesman said. "We look forward to continuing our close coordination with the Moon administration," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Anna Richey-Allen said when asked about the South Korean decision. U.S. defence company Lockheed Martin Corp is the lead contractor for the THAAD system. North Korea has conducted three ballistic missile tests since Moon took office, maintaining its accelerated pace of missile and nuclear-related activities since the beginning of last year in defiance of U.N. sanctions and U.S. pressure. During his successful election campaign, Moon had pledged to review the previous South Korean government''s decision to deploy THAAD, saying the deployment was rushed without assessing its environmental impact or seeking parliamentary approval. Moon''s decision to order an investigation into the deployment came amid signs of easing tensions between South Korea and China, North Korea''s sole major diplomatic ally. The decision to deploy the system was made by Moon''s conservative predecessor Park Geun-hye, who was impeached and thrown out of office in a corruption scandal that engulfed South Korea''s business and political elite. Moon took office on May 10 without a transition period because a snap presidential election was held just two months after Park was ousted. He inherited her defense minister, along with the rest of the cabinet, and has yet to name his own. Moon has said his order for the probe at the defense ministry was purely a domestic measure and not aimed at stopping the deployment, which has drawn angry protests from China. (Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Soyoung Kim and James dalgleish) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-usa-thaad-idUSKBN18Y22M'|'2017-06-07T22:40:00.000+03:00' +'e54fe666ca730bd7a3af2176341490745ad5fade'|'Qatar can defend economy and currency, finance minister tells CNBC'|' 6:16am BST Qatar can defend economy and currency, finance minister tells CNBC Qatar''s Finance minister Ali Sherif al-Emadi speaks during a briefing on the financial outlook for Qatar, in Doha, Qatar, February 7, 2017. REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoon DUBAI Qatar can easily defend its economy and currency against sanctions by other Arab states, finance minister Ali Sherif al-Emadi told CNBC television in an interview broadcast on Monday. He said the countries which had imposed sanctions would also lose money because of the damage to business in the region. "A lot of people think we''re the only ones to lose in this... If we''re going to lose a dollar, they will lose a dollar also." (Reporting by Andrew Torchia, Editing by Sylvia Westall)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-gulf-qatar-finance-idUKKBN1930E4'|'2017-06-12T13:16:00.000+03:00' +'0d984381ade68d8fe51c3e5e74c7f1a966bbc106'|'UPDATE 2-Synnex Corp buys Westcon-Comstor Americas from S.Africa''s Datatec for $800 mln'|'JOHANNESBURG Datatec Ltd ( DTCJ.J ) unveiled plans on Tuesday to sell its Westcon-Comstor American operations to Synnex Corp ( SNX.N ), a deal worth up to $800 million that allows the South African IT firm to offload part of a problematic business.Westcon-Comstor, a distributor of technology and services for network security and data centres mostly in the United States, has been a drag on Datatec''s performance in recent months due partly to a troubled software roll-out in Europe, Asia and Africa. The business accounts for more than a third of Datatec sales and profit.Synnex would also buy 10 percent of Westcon-Comstor operations outside the United States for $30 million with an option to double that within 12 months, valuing the unit at around $1.1 billion."We decided it wasn''t good for us to monetise those other assets at the bottom of the cycle. They will take a minority interest in the remaining business, which we think has meaningful upside," Datatec''s Chief Executive Jens Montanana told Reuters. "But we would entertain a further tie-up with them at some point."Datatec, which is also listed in London ( DTC.L ), reported a hefty 66 percent drop in annual underlying earnings last month, weighed down by the tricky deployment of a business management software across Westcon-Comstor operations in Asia-Pacific and Europe, Middle East and Africa regions.Shares in Datatec rallied as much as 25 percent on the news before paring gains to trade 12 percent higher at 57.40 rand by 1424 GMT. The stock was up by the same margin in London.For Synnex, the deal hands it one the world''s major resellers of Cisco Systems'' ( CSCO.O ) products and adds data security, wireless routers and video meeting equipment to its portfolio of video graphic processors, hard-disk drives and USB thumb drives.Under the deal, Synnex will pay $500 million in stock and $130 million in cash and a further $200 million cash payment provided certain financial targets are achieved in the year to end February 2018.The stock portion of the deal would give Datatec a 10 percent stake in Synnex and Montanana would be appointed to the Fremont, California-based firm''s board.Synnex retains an option to pay all cash, based on the average share price at closing of the deal.For its fiscal year ended February 28, 2017, the Westcon Americas business generated about $2.2 billion of revenue and about $89 million in core earnings, or EBITDA.The transaction is expected to close in the third calendar quarter of 2017. The parties have agreed Datatec would pay a break fee of about $25 million if Datatec breaches the transaction agreement.(Reporting by TJ Strydom and Tiisetso Motsoeneng; editing by Alexander Smith and Adrian Croft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/uk-westcon-m-a-synnex-corp-idUSKBN18X0M0'|'2017-06-06T22:53:00.000+03:00' +'accf85f69d00af6f437cb3b6eb2b819b128a7126'|'Mexico''s Pemex to up gasoline imports after refinery fire - source'|'MEXICO CITY, June 20 Mexican state oil producer Pemex will import additional gasoline after a major fire last week at its largest refinery that halted production, a company source said on Tuesday.Pemex is still evaluating the extent of the damage from the fire at the Salina Cruz refinery in the state of Oaxaca and does not know when production will resume, said the source. (Reporting by Ana Isabel Martinez in Mexico City)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/mexico-pemex-idUSU5N1HR00T'|'2017-06-21T06:21:00.000+03:00' +'0438d343c30f1f4dd21a12c4b5e1f137899ca507'|'Three Little-Noticed Wins for Corporations at the Supreme Court'|'Three Little-Noticed Wins for Corporations at the Supreme Court Some class-action plaintiffs will have to find less-friendly courts for their lawsuits. By @AuthorPMBarrett More stories by Paul Barrett The Supreme Court wrapped up its 201617 term this week, with decisions on two high-profile cases on religion and gay rights , and the announcement that this fall it will hear arguments regarding President Donald Trumps 90-day ban on immigration from six mostly Muslim countries, which it partially revived in the meantime. For corporations threatened by lawsuits, three other, less-noticed rulings handed down in recent weeks may prove to be no less important, at least for their bottom lines. The trio of decisions place new limits on forum shopping, a longstanding practice among plaintiffs lawyers who seek out jurisdictions viewed as liberal or pro-consumer. In effect, the high court tilted the scales of justice toward corporate defendants. The rulings, which were either unanimous or nearly so, provoked an ecstatic reaction from business interests. For too long too many lower courts have encouraged litigation tourism, Tiger Joyce, president of the American Tort Reform Association, a Washington-based, corporate-supported advocacy group, wrote via email. He added that the trifecta of rulings will provide welcomed relief for companies targeted in courts in California, Montana, parts of Texas, and other venues considered plaintiff-friendly. It is a dramatic and welcome development for businesses that have had to bear extraordinary expense to defend cases in judicial hellholes, said Victor Schwartz, a partner with Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP, a firm that defends companies. The most recent, and most significant, of the decisions came on June 19, when the high court ruled (PDF) for Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. The company had been sued in California state court by consumers alleging that the drug maker had misrepresented the risk of heart attack and stroke caused by its blood thinner Plavix. Broadly speaking, the key to establishing jurisdiction is showing a connection between the court in question and the parties; the California courts had allowed plaintiffs attorneys to add almost 600 non-Californians to a suit on behalf of 86 state residents pursuing claims against Bristol-Myers. By an 8-1 vote, the justices said that state courts cant hear claims brought by out-of-state plaintiffs against companies that arent based there if the alleged injuries occurred elsewhere, too. Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito noted that consumers from multiple states could still band together to sue Bristol-Myers in New York, where the company is based, or Delaware, where its incorporated. The California plaintiffs, moreover, may proceed against the company in their home state. In dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the ruling may make it impossible to bring certain mass actions specifically when the suits include plaintiffs from across the country. Her point was demonstrated that very day, when Johnson & Johnson persuaded a St. Louis city court judge that, in light of the Supreme Court''s action, he ought to end a trial over the deaths of three women whose families blame exposure to talc for their ovarian cancers. The case was part of a much larger group filed in that courthousea well-known plaintiffs havencombining claims of Missouri residents with those of out-of-state residents. J&J has recently lost four jury verdicts in the St. Louis court, totaling $307 million in damages. (The company, which is based in New Brunswick, N.J., has also won one trial there.) On May 30, the justices issued what will be seen as a companion ruling (PDF) to the one about Bristol-Myers. By another 8-1 vote, they rejected a lower-court decision in Montana that allowed out-of-state plaintiffs to sue there over injuries suffered anywhere in the national network of Texas-based BNSF Railway. In her majority opinion, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said that, although BNSF has 2,000 miles of track and 2,000 employees in Montana, this isnt a sufficient basis to sue there for injuries unconnected to the state. Sotomayor, again in lonely dissent, called the decision a jurisdictional windfall for large corporations with far-flung operations. The third high court ruling was narrower but still important. The justices unanimously ruled (PDF) on May 22 that patent suits should be filed only in the state where the defendant is incorporated. The decision will prevent many patent owners from bringing cases in the Eastern District of Texas, a federal jurisdiction known to be especially hospitable to patent-violation claims , which has made it a favorite of so-called patent trolls. More than one-third of all infringement suits are now filed there. The most important business stories of the day. Get Bloomberg''s daily newsletter. Sign Up But while the decisions were largely agreed on by the justices, plaintiffs advocates warned of dire consequences for ordinary people harmed by faulty products or corporate misbehavior. Paul Bland, executive director of Public Justice, a pro-plaintiff law firm in Washington, said in an email that the high court had rejected the notion, embraced by some lower courts, that a broad sense of fairness ought to govern where parties may sue. Now, he added, corporations will be able to interpose all sorts of procedural and formalistic hurdles to impede plaintiffs from pursuing their claims. Raymond Brescia, an associate professor at Albany Law School, agreed that the decisions would have unfortunate effects. At a time when the Trump administration and Congress show little sign of serving as a check on corporate malfeasance, Brescia asserted, the courts, too, are taking a restrictive view of their role as a forum for plaintiffs to pursue consumer protection. '|'bloomberg.com'|'https://www.bloomberg.com/businessweek'|'https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-27/three-little-noticed-wins-for-corporations-at-the-supreme-court'|'2017-06-27T21:00:00.000+03:00' +'e9b191bee4e9c85cbda48572b1cf8fbcc34ee5e6'|'Deutsche Bank ignores U.S. Trump/Russia query - Democratic staffer'|'Business News - Sun Jun 4, 2017 - 8:21pm BST Deutsche Bank ignores U.S. Trump/Russia query - Democratic staffer FILE PHOTO: The logo of Deutsche Bank is seen at its headquarters ahead of the bank''s annual general meeting in Frankfurt, Germany May 18, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo FRANKFURT Germany''s largest bank has failed to respond to a request from Democrats on a U.S. House of Representatives panel for details about U.S. President Donald Trump''s possible ties to Russia, a Democratic staffer said on Sunday. Several Democrats on the U.S. House Financial Services Committee sent a letter last month to John Cryan, Chief Executive Officer of Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ), seeking details that might show if Trump''s loans for his real estate business were backed by the Russian government. The letter asked for details of internal reviews of Trump''s transactions and gave the prominent German bank until Friday to respond. The bank''s response did not address any of the numerous questions posed in the letter and its Frankfurt headquarters declined to comment, as it has in the past. "Deutsche Banks outside counsel has confirmed receipt of our May 23, 2017, letter but did not provide substantive responses to our requests," a Democratic member of the staff told Reuters in an email on condition of anonymity. The congressional inquiry is also seeking information about a Russian "mirror trading" scheme that allowed $10 billion to flow out of Russia. "Congress remains in the dark on whether loans Deutsche Bank made to President Trump were guaranteed by the Russian government, or were in any way connected to Russia," the Democrats wrote in their request to Deutsche Bank. "It is critical that you provide this committee with the information necessary to assess the scope, findings and conclusions of your internal reviews," they said. The Democrats cannot compel Deutsche Bank to hand over the information. The House committee has the power to subpoena the documents, but Republican committee members - who make up the majority of the panel - would have to cooperate. No Republicans have signed the document request. Citing media reports, the Democrats had called for the bank to hand over any documents tied to internal reviews of Trumps personal accounts at the bank. They also said the bank should state publicly that it had reviewed both the "mirror trading" scheme and Trumps accounts. Mirror trading involved buying stocks, for example, in Moscow in rubles, with related parties selling the same stocks shortly thereafter through a bank''s London branch. The House panel request to Deutsche Bank came as Trump was mired in controversy over FBI and congressional probes into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and potential collusion between Moscow and the Trump campaign. Moscow has denied the allegations, and Trump has denied any collusion. (Reporting by Tom Sims; Editing by Tom Heneghan) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deutsche-bank-trump-idUKKBN18V11S'|'2017-06-05T03:21:00.000+03:00' +'4d783f7e6e06583383543aa67bb22a0156bf938f'|'Popolare Vicenza chairman hopes a deal on Veneto banks can be clinched this weekend'|'MILAN Gianni Mion, the chairman of ailing Banca Popolare di Vicenza, said on Thursday he hoped a deal to save the lender and its regional rival Veneto Banca could be reached this weekend.The government is scrambling to prevent the two banks from being wound down under European banking rules that would impose losses on senior bondholders and large depositors before taxpayers money can be used.To find an alternative solution, the government put up for sale the good assets of the two lenders. On Wednesday Intesa Sanpaolo ( ISP.MI ), Italy''s biggest retail bank, filed an offer subject to strict conditions."The offer (filed by Intesa) has been judged the best possible... now we need to wait for the government response," Mion told Reuters on the sidelines of an event."We hope everything will be worked out this weekend," he said.(Reporting by Andrea Mandala; writing by Francesca Landini)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-banks-italy-veneto-idINKBN19D1D8'|'2017-06-22T09:45:00.000+03:00' +'fa58a4d0d4e24623bcd523985ed7d21d7c935ef8'|'UPDATE 1-LPC-Banks reduce loan exposure to Noble Group'|'(Adds background in para 2 and context throughout)By Tessa Walsh and Claire RuckinLONDON, June 8 Around US$300m of a US$1.1bn revolving credit loan for Noble Group has been sold to funds in the secondary loan market as banks seek to limit their losses as the company faces a potential restructuring, banking sources said on Thursday.The struggling commodities trader is trying to extend a separate US$2bn loan as finding an investor to recapitalise the business looks increasingly difficult, leaving debt restructuring or bankruptcy as the most likely options, several sources said.Noble reported a surprise quarterly loss of US$129.3m for January-March and said that it will not be profitable for two years."Im fairly bearish on the whole thing, there are rumours that the company will file for Chapter 11 in the next couple of weeks," a secondary loan trader said.Nobles market value has shrunk to just over US$300m from US$6bn in February 2015, after Iceberg Research questioned its accounts. Its share price collapsed and credit ratings downgrades, management upheavals, asset writedowns, asset sales and a fundraising ensued.The secondary price of the US$1.1bn loan, which was put in place in May 2015, has been volatile this year. The credit was trading at around 75% of face value at the beginning of the year, rose to around 90 at the end of March, but has fallen heavily in the last month, two loan traders said."There were a few trades at around 49 or 50, but the Quote: s are now lower in the 40s. It has fallen 45 points in the last month," the secondary loan trader said.Some banks are now unable to sell as the price has dropped too low to get approval for a sale, a distressed loan trader said. The companys bonds have also collapsed to distressed levels.Noble and its lenders have appointed legal counsel as the company struggles to maintain access to the US$2bn loan while time runs out to find an investor.Noble Group has appointed financial restructuring adviser Moelis and law firm Kirkland & Ellis, which typically specialise in complex and aggressive debt restructuring situations, as well as Morgan Stanley."Noble has appointed the most active and aggressive restructuring advisers. When they were mandated, the secondary loan price dropped. The view from the market was that if they were hiring those guys, things must be pretty bad," the secondary loan trader said.Restructuring adviser Alvarez & Marshal and law firm Clifford Chance have been hired to advise Nobles US lenders and Clifford Chance is acting for lenders in HK, Reuters reported.Pitches for the European lenders took place on Wednesday, with Deloitte, PwC and FTI all vying for the mandate, according to one restructuring adviser.Noble Group was not immediately available to comment. (Additional reporting by Sandrine Bradley; Editing by Christopher Mangham)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/noble-loan-idINL8N1J55M2'|'2017-06-08T15:04:00.000+03:00' +'39f266ee748ba927f3e78eb596ef9ea3061983d9'|'REFILE-Cowen to end mid-point matching in Millennium dark pool'|'(Corrects spelling of Cowen in headline)By John McCrankNEW YORK, June 1 Financial services company Cowen Inc closed its acquisition of Convergex on Thursday and said it will shutter a key part of the off-exchange trading platform, Millennium, it acquired with the brokerage.Millennium, also known as a "dark pool," will stop offering continuous trading on June 23.The private electronic trading venue is one of more than 30 broker-run dark pools, also known as alternative trading systems (ATSs), in the United States that compete with 13 public stock exchanges, including the Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange.That fragmentation, which can make it more challenging to get trades done, has been a source of frustration for many of Cowen''s customers, Jeffrey Solomon, president of the company, said in a note to clients."By discontinuing Millennium ATS''s midpoint matching engine, Cowen has the ability to proactively reduce fragmentation something we and many of our clients feel will improve U.S. equity market structure," he said.Like many other dark pools, Millennium matches trades at the midpoint of the best bid and offer shown on public exchanges, giving the potential for better prices.Millennium was the 16th-largest U.S. equities dark pool out of 31, according to the latest statistics from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, matching more than 38 million shares in the week of May 8.Dark pools are more lightly regulated than exchanges and do not have to provide information such as trade sizes or prices to the public prior to trades taking place.The electronic trading platforms were originally used to get large orders done with minimal price movement, but they gained popularity for smaller orders as well, in part because their fees are generally lower than those at exchanges.As their usage has increased, so too has the scrutiny of regulators, which have brought enforcement actions against several dark pools in recent years for fraud and conflicts of interest in order routing.Cowen, which has never operated a trading venue, said it would continue to operate a part of Millennium that executes pre-matched orders and reports the trades on behalf of exchanges and broker-dealers.Millennium was built and is hosted by Thesys Technologies LLC, on behalf of Convergex. Thesys recently won the contract to build a build and run a massive stock and options trading database aimed at helping regulators police the increasingly fast, fragmented and complex markets. (Reporting by John McCrank; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/cowen-darkpool-idINL1N1IY1QL'|'2017-06-01T18:07:00.000+03:00' +'561f3d15063ebb2bf9776c51340ca48baf9d423d'|'Humble pie on the menu for press after election defies opinion polls - Media'|'Peter Preston on press and broadcasting Humble pie on the menu for press after election defies opinion polls Its been a painful week for many media big names after predictions of a wipeout for Jeremy Corbyn failed to come true Opinion polls predicted bigger gains for Prime Minister Theresa Mays Conservative party in the general election. l Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA Peter Preston on press and broadcasting Humble pie on the menu for press after election defies opinion polls Its been a painful week for many media big names after predictions of a wipeout for Jeremy Corbyn failed to come true View more sharing options Peter Preston Sunday 18 June 2017 07.00 BST Back, one more time, to the 8 June inquest. Heres the habitually strong and stable Dominic Lawson in the Sunday Times . As I was saying last week, or at least as the headline on this column accurately summed it up: Dont panic May is well ahead. Wrong, Lawson, and not for the first time in this campaign. Its no defence that there was scarcely a single so-called expert who anticipated the actual outcome. Hes quite right, of course. John Rentoul of the Indy will now try harder to learn from his mistakes. Polly Toynbee of the Guardian heard the munch, munch of humble pie, a chomping sound washing through Observer corridors too. And why did all Dominics experts get it so wrong? Because, like TV pundits, like Tory canvassers, like shrugging Labour party wizards on the day before, they all relied on the opinion polls and judged prospects on those results. Because, one more time, the polls were frail, contradictory and wrong. Topics '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/news/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/jun/18/humble-pie-on-menu-newspaper-pundits-general-election-results'|'2017-06-18T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'4efeb01754c81bbb0ba38836291d95cf6a995dd0'|'MIDEAST STOCKS-Qatar weak on political crisis, Dubai''s Emaar jumps on unit''s IPO plan'|'* Qatar Islamic Bank sinks; dependence on Gulf deposits* Buying opportunity for some cheap Qatari shares* Abu Dhabi''s Dana Gas jumps on receipt of Egypt payments* Saudi trading volumes rise as MSCI decision nears* Ezz Steel surges as Egypt imposes import tariffBy Celine AswadDUBAI, June 7 Qatar''s stock market fell for a third straight day on Wednesday, hit by the breaking of diplomatic ties with its neighbours, though the pace of the drop slowed.Dubai''s Emaar Properties jumped on a plan for an initial public offer by one of its units.The Qatari index lost 1.0 percent to a fresh 17-month low, taking its losses to 9.7 percent since Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut diplomatic links and transport ties on Monday, accusing Doha of backing terrorism.A little over one-sixth of total traded value came from other Gulf investors, more than the usual 5 to 10 percent - suggesting some Gulf investors were liquidating assets in Qatar. Other foreign funds also traded actively, bourse data showed.The Qatari riyal slipped to an 11-year low of 3.6517 against the dollar in the spot market on Wednesday, according to Thomson Reuters data, another sign of capital outflows.Qatar Islamic Bank slumped 8.2 percent to 89 riyals, its lowest close since January 2016, in heavy trade. It is one of the Qatari banks most dependent on deposits from other Gulf states, obtaining a quarter of its deposits from that source, said Olivier Panis, analyst at Moody''s.On Wednesday, 23 other shares fell but 12 advanced, including telecommunications operator Vodafone Qatar, up 1.6 percent to 7.74 Qatari riyals.After sharp falls in stocks, "there is value there, and although the political situation is not encouraging, there are some good buys," said a regional equities fund manager. Reflecting the political tensions, he declined to be named.However, many money managers said that the longer the diplomatic crisis lasted, the higher the risk premium demanded by foreign foreign investors in Qatar would go."Tensions are still high and mediation efforts by fellow Gulf Cooperation Council state Kuwait have yet to lead to a concrete solution, so investors will likely remain on edge," said a Dubai-based trader.EMAAR PROPERTIES, EZZ STEELIn Dubai, the largest listed real estate developer Emaar Properties surged 8.6 percent in its heaviest trade since April 2015 after it said it planned to offer up to 30 percent of its United Arab Emirates real estate development business in an initial public offer. Subject to market conditions, funds raised through the IPO would be distributed to shareholders of Emaar.The company said the IPO would be Dubai''s largest since its flotation of Emaar Malls, which raised 5.8 billion dirhams ($1.58 billion) in 2014 and was heavily oversubscribed. Emaar Malls was up 1.6 percent.The Dubai index climbed 2.5 percent, its largest single-day gain since December 2016.In Abu Dhabi, Dana Gas rocketed 10.9 percent in very heavy trade after saying it had received $40 million from the Egyptian government towards its outstanding receivables; its current receivables balance in Egypt now stands at $187 million.The Abu Dhabi index, however, fell 0.1 percent, weighed down by a 1.4 percent decline of shares of the largest listed bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank.The Saudi Arabian index rose 0.2 percent in the heaviest trading volume this year as 87 shares rose and 63 declined.Buying of Saudi stocks favoured by foreign funds, in anticipation of a decision by MSCI on June 20 to begin reviewing Riyadh for possible inclusion in its emerging market index, has buoyed the market in recent days.Dairy producer Almarai rose 0.6 percent and its largest shareholder Savola Group added 0.7 percent, to its highest close in 17 months.In Cairo, the index edged up 0.1 percent in its 12th consecutive session of gains to a fresh all-time high.Ezz Steel soared 7.5 percent after the trade ministry imposed a temporary import tariff on rebar steel from China, Turkey and Ukraine to protect local manufacturers suffering from losses. The decision is valid for fourth months.HIGHLIGHTSSAUDI ARABIA* The index added 0.2 percent to 6,946 points.DUBAI* The index jumped 2.5 percent to 3,406 points.ABU DHABI* The index edged down 0.1 percent to 4,454 points.QATAR* The index lost 1.0 percent to 8,965 points.EGYPT* The index edged up 0.1 percent to 13,633 points.KUWAIT* The index added 0.3 percent to 6,820 points.BAHRAIN* The index fell 0.3 percent to 1,321 points.OMAN* The index lost 0.6 percent to 5,377 points. (Editing by Andrew Torchia)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/mideast-stocks-idINL8N1J441U'|'2017-06-07T12:21:00.000+03:00' +'6ed09c0de75628f38623b7b70aec88fc58533a80'|'Britain''s embattled fraud office bares teeth with Barclays charges'|'* SFO charges Barclays and four former top executives* Comes weeks after ruling party pledged to abolish agencyBy Kirstin RidleyLONDON, June 20 Britain''s Serious Fraud Office has defied critics who accuse it of failing to pursue top executives by criminally charging Barclays and four former senior managers, a month after the ruling party pledged to abolish the crime-fighting agency.Prime Minister Theresa May''s Conservatives pledged in the election manifesto to fold the independent investigator and prosecutor into the broader National Crime Agency to "strengthen Britain''s response to white-collar crime".That proposal drew criticism from lawyers and anti-corruption group Transparency International, which called it an "ill-conceived manifesto one-liner" and said the SFO had enjoyed increasing success in recent years.The fraud charges brought by the agency on Tuesday were over undisclosed Barclays payments to Qatari investors during emergency fundraisings in 2008 that saved the bank from a state bailout."Taking on Barclays, one of the largest banks in the world, and its most senior officials who literally were at the very top, sends a very strong message that the SFO is now fearless in terms of the companies and individuals it pursues," said Sarah Wallace, a partner at law firm Irwin Mitchell.The U.S. Department of Justice has long had a tougher reputation for pursuing multinational companies and individuals to face justice in the United States, often targeting wrongdoing outside its borders.In contrast the SFO, which has a tight annual budget of around 35 million pounds ($44 million) and has to request extra funding from the government for its top cases, has been often criticised by lawmakers over its efforts to bring companies and senior individuals to book.Some lawyers have also criticised the agency for prosecuting junior traders in its high-profile investigations into the manipulation of Libor benchmark interest rates - although SFO head David Green has said the agency merely follows the evidence.The Barclays prosecution could buy the agency more time, said Michael Potts, a lawyer at Byrne and Partners."It certainly may make it more difficult for the government to abolish the SFO at a time when they are spearheading such a high-profile case," he added."Many will be surprised that they (the SFO) have sought to take on Barclays and no doubt an army of defence lawyers but it is indicative of a more emboldened SFO that they have sought to take on such a high-profile and possibly difficult case."A spokeswoman for the Cabinet Office, which supports the Prime Minister and is responsible for the day-to-day running of the government, declined to comment when asked whether the Barclays charges had altered May''s plans for the SFO.The government''s Queen''s Speech, in which it traditionally spells out legislative programme, has been delayed after May lost her parliamentary majority in a June 8 election. It is now due on Wednesday.''BETTING THE FARM''Green, who is due to step down next April after a six-year stint running the SFO, was forced in 2015 to scrap his first corporate prosecution - that of Olympus Corp over a $1.7 billion accounting scandal - because judges ruled the SFO''s criminal charge could not be brought against a company.The corruption trial of British Canadian businessman Victor Dahdaleh collapsed in 2013 and the acquittal of eight former bankers over the last 15 months, charged with manipulating Libor, also dealt a blow to the agency.But a series of recent deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) with companies such as retailer Tesco and engineering group Rolls-Royce, and combined fines of around 630 million pounds, have been welcomed in parliament.Some lawyers are questioning if it is in the public interest to prosecute a bank over conduct a decade ago, leaving current shareholders and employees to pick up the tab."Who does it punish and what purpose does it serve?" asked Jonathan Pickworth, partner at law firm White & Case.But Green has talked tough throughout the five-year Barclays investigation.Barclays was not offered a DPA, a deal under which a company can be fined but avoids criminal prosecution if a judge agrees the terms are fair and the interests of justice served. Green has repeatedly stressed that companies need to fully cooperate with investigators to qualify.The bank locked horns with investigators over documentary evidence that it argued was protected by legal professional privilege, before deciding to relinquish the cache. This, lawyers say, is likely to have cost it a settlement.Professional legal privilege ensures the advice lawyers give clients remains confidential.The SFO''s challenge now will be to show they can bring a tricky case to trial."David Green accepted in 2012 that the SFO would be judged on the performance of its Libor prosecutions. The SFO now seems to be betting the farm and possibly its future on a highly complex and very prominent prosecution of Barclays," said Ben Rose, a lawyer at Hickman and Rose.($1 = 0.7890 pounds) (Reporting by Kirstin Ridley; Editing by Pravin Char)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/barclays-qatar-sfo-idINL8N1JH3VY'|'2017-06-20T14:54:00.000+03:00' +'993edca9bbff6149d21355e938c2c87015adb9c0'|'Airbus sales chief plays down prospect of blockbuster order'|'Wed Jun 21, 2017 - 9:25am BST Airbus sales chief plays down prospect of blockbuster order A new fuel-efficient wingtip extension or winglet is seen on an Airbus A380 on the eve of the 52nd Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport, near Paris, France, June 18, 2017. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol PARIS Airbus ( AIR.PA ) sales chief John Leahy on Wednesday played down expectations of a last-minute blockbuster order to win the Paris Airshow, while dismissing a flurry of deals for a new Boeing jet as the result of heavy conversions from existing models. Speaking to Reuters on day three of the June 19-25 air show, Leahy said: "We will have some orders today, but today''s isn''t going to be one of our record air shows." Regarding orders that Airbus could get over the rest of the Paris Airshow, Leahy added that such deals would be "nothing big, but real stuff." (Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-airshow-paris-airbus-sales-idUKKBN19C0WJ'|'2017-06-21T16:23:00.000+03:00' +'803cad98a72fe3e8ab00572cd15506961cda5956'|'Platinum receiver asks to resign over disagreements with SEC'|'NEW YORK The man in charge of unwinding a large portion of the assets held by hedge fund firm Platinum Partners wants to resign after disagreements with U.S. securities regulators about its liquidation, according to a court filing.Bart Schwartz, chairman of professional monitoring firm Guidepost Solutions LLC, was appointed by the government as a receiver for two of Platinum''s three hedge funds after prosecutors in December accused leaders of the firm of running a more than $1 billion fraud. The six men pleaded not guilty to criminal and civil charges.However, Schwartz and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission staff working on the case have "differing views" on how best to liquidate Platinum''s portfolio, according to a letter he sent on Friday to Brooklyn federal court Chief Judge Dora Irizarry, announcing his intention to resign as Platinum''s receiver.Irizarry would need to approve his resignation.Schwartz has been trying to unwind roughly 100 complicated and difficult-to-sell investments, aiming to potentially return hundreds of millions of dollars to investors and creditors. Putting more money into some of the investments could boost their value over the long term, allowing for higher redemptions, Schwartz wrote.However, SEC employees believe the underlying companies are too risky to put more money into, and want to sell the assets as quickly as possible to minimize costs, he said.SEC staffers are concerned about Schwartzs relationship with an unnamed law firm that is now a debtor to the Platinum estate, according to the letter. However, Schwartz, a former federal prosecutor, said it was not an issue."My prior involvement with this firm did not have any effect on my actions as receiver nor did it negatively affect my ability to attempt to recover assets," he wrote.Spokesmen for Schwartz and the SEC declined to comment.The SEC has already consented to his resignation and plans to suggest a new receiver if Irizarry approves the change.Platinum was the subject of a Reuters investigation published in April 2016 that highlighted its many complicated and illiquid investments in controversial companies. ( reut.rs/2sJ4OPU )An April status report said that the assets under Schwartz''s purview were worth more than $600 million. That number, however, was based on calculations by Platinum''s own staff and the December charges involved inflating asset values.The receiver, with the help of an outside expert, has been independently assessing the value of the Platinum Partners Credit Opportunities Fund and the Platinum Partners Liquid Opportunity Fund. In February, Schwartz found there had not been a "major shift" from Platinum''s estimates of the portfolio''s value since an initial review following his appointment in December.Platinum''s largest group of funds, Platinum Partners Value Arbitrage, is being wound down under the supervision of a Cayman Islands-based liquidator. Platinum represented the gross value of its funds to be $1.7 billion at the time of the criminal charges.(Reporting by Lawrence Delevingne; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Tom Brown)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-hedgefunds-platinum-idUSKBN19H216'|'2017-06-26T20:36:00.000+03:00' +'778b1e00fc0134757245007a37a9312a18321a88'|'Exclusive - Buyout fund CVC hires banks for $1.1 billion Continental Foods sale: sources'|'Business 50pm BST Exclusive - Buyout fund CVC hires banks for $1.1 billion Continental Foods sale: sources By Martinne Geller and Pamela Barbaglia - LONDON LONDON Private equity fund CVC Capital Partners has picked advisers to sell its food firm Continental Foods in a deal that could be worth more than 1 billion euros (876.34 million pounds), sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday. The business, which produces soups, sauces and bouillons, includes brands like Liebig in France and Erasco in Germany. CVC has owned it since late 2013, when it purchased it from Campbell Soup ( CPB.N ) for 400 million euros. CVC''s decision to sell Continental Foods comes amid a wave of deal-making in the packaged food sector where large companies are looking for ways to boost profits in a weak market. Unilever ( ULVR.L ) ( UNc.AS ) is trying to sell its margarines business after rebuffing a takeover bid by Kraft Heinz ( KHC.O ), while Reckitt Benckiser Group ( RB.L ) is selling its French mustard business. Nestle ( NESN.S ) said last week that it would explore options, including a possible sale, for its roughly $900 million-a-year U.S. confectionery business. London-based CVC, which recently raised a record 16 billion euros for its latest fund, is working with Swiss bank UBS ( UBSG.S ) and Paris-based investment boutique Messier Maris on a possible sale, the sources, who declined to be identified as the process is private, said. Continental Foods, CVC, UBS and Messier Maris declined to comment. Based near Antwerp in Belgium, Continental employs more than 1,000 staff across Europe. It has production facilities in France, Belgium and Germany and is active in five European markets including Finland and Sweden with revenues of about 400 million euros. It could fetch more than 1 billion euros, based on a multiple of 12 times its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of around 90 million euros, the sources said. Private equity funds typically look to sell or list their portfolio companies within three to five years, hoping to cash out with a profit. (Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-continentalfoods-m-a-exlcusive-idUKKBN19A27N'|'2017-06-19T23:50:00.000+03:00' +'5994f98fca6e2a0bfae9b9dffc80f2e94512e013'|'Boeing expands CFO Greg Smith''s role'|'Money News - Wed Jun 28, 2017 - 7:59pm IST Boeing expands CFO Greg Smith''s role Boeing Co said on Wednesday its Chief Financial Officer Greg Smith will take on additional roles, ahead of the planned retirement of some of its key executives later this year. The range of duties that will shift to Smith includes overseeing the launch of Boeing Global Services on July 1, accelerating innovation, productivity and market-based affordability projects and identifying, developing and deploying general managers and program managers. Boeing Global Services is a new business unit to be formed from the customer services groups within the company''s existing commercial airplanes and defense units. The move comes as Boeing Vice Chairman Ray Conner and Senior Vice President of program management, integration and development programs Scott Fancher are expected to retire this year. Conner joined Boeing as a mechanic 40 years ago on the 727 assembly line, working his way up to become the company''s sales chief and then boss of the commercial planemaking division. Conner was replaced as head of Boeing Commercial Airplanes last November by former General Electric executive Kevin McAllister. Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg said the planned retirements of Conner and Fancher had created a window to consolidate a range of "performance-based enterprise efforts" under Smith. (Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/boeing-cfo-idINKBN19J1YX'|'2017-06-28T12:29:00.000+03:00' +'534f826002852a1848bf33b6cbaab3ee09843c42'|'Facebook hits 2 billion monthly users - Jun. 27, 2017'|'Zuckerberg: Internet for the world is good for democracy Facebook just topped 2 billion monthly users -- a population equivalent to roughly 51 times that of California. It took the social network less than five years to go from 1 billion monthly users to 2 billion. "As of this morning, the Facebook community is now officially 2 billion people! We''re making progress connecting the world, and now let''s bring the world closer together," Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday . Related: Mark Zuckerberg explains why he just changed Facebook''s mission But it hasn''t been all smooth sailing for Facebook ( FB , Tech30 ) . The social media giant has recently faced criticism for its handling of fake news , disturbing live-streamed videos, and for creating partisan echo chambers. Last week, Facebook changed its mission to focus on building communities (largely through Facebook groups) rather than only connecting individuals to each other. Zuckerberg said connecting people online isn''t enough. "Now we realize that we need to do more too," Zuckerberg told CNN Tech last week. "It''s important to give people a voice, to get a diversity of opinions out there, but on top of that, you also need to do this work of building common ground so that way we can all move forward together." This is the first time Facebook has changed its mission. Related: What Facebook''s new mission can and can''t fix On Monday, Facebook and other tech giants formed the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism to fight extremism on their platforms. CNNMoney (New York) 1:13 PM ET'|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_technology.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/06/27/technology/facebook-2-billion-users/index.html'|'2017-06-27T21:13:00.000+03:00' +'520692dc3aa11c97cc1153c58eb22e2b9817cf2b'|'Barratt Developments appoints White as CFO'|'Business News 07am BST Barratt Developments appoints White as CFO Britain''s biggest builder, Barratt Developments, on Thursday appointed Jessica White as chief financial officer with immediate effect, five months after the former CFO left by mutual agreement. White joined Barratt 12 years ago and was appointed to the role of head of financial accounting in 2007. She was promoted to group financial controller in 2010, Barratt said. "Jessica has more than a decade of experience in the housebuilding industry, and has been integral to Barratt''s financial and operational progress," Chairman John Allan said in a statement. "We... believe she has the skills, experience and track record to help drive the future success of the company." Rising house prices, cheap mortgages and government schemes designed to help younger people enter the housing market have helped Barratt and most of its peers book bumper profits over the last few years. Barratt said last month that it expected its 2016/17 pretax profit to reach the top end of market expectations despite building barely more homes than in the previous financial year. The firm said White, a qualified chartered accountant, would also join its board as an executive director. (Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; editing by Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-barratt-dev-cfo-idUKKBN19D0LL'|'2017-06-22T15:07:00.000+03:00' +'2d71f19862f42ee6abc4c3224aac1d26754b532a'|'Blackstone sells Logicor to China Investment Corporation for $14 billion'|'Business News - Fri Jun 2, 2017 - 5:10pm BST Blackstone sells Logicor to China Investment Corporation for $14 billion FILE PHOTO - The ticker and trading information for Blackstone Group is displayed at the post where it is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) April 4, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid LONDON Private equity group Blackstone ( BX.N ) has agreed to sell warehouse company Logicor to China Investment Corporation [CIC.UL] for 12.25 billion euros ($13.8 billion)(10.72 billion pounds), the fund said on Friday. The sale, the biggest private equity real estate deal in Europe on record, has scuppered plans that were being worked on for a London initial public offering of Logicor later this year. Eastdil Secured and Goldman Sachs were lead advisors to Blackstone. (Reporting by Dasha Afanasieva; Editing by Rachel Armstrong)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-logicor-sale-blackstone-group-idUKKBN18T2EB'|'2017-06-03T00:10:00.000+03:00' +'a4f51608b564a7f300e58301ca41f83fc8ec7c82'|'CORRECTED-UPDATE 2-China approves two new GMO crop varieties for import, renews 14 -ag ministry'|'BEIJING China approved two new varieties of genetically modified (GMO) crops for import from June 12, after the world''s top buyer of GMO soybeans pledged to speed up a review of biotech products as part of a recent trade deal with the United States.The approvals of new GMO imports follow an agreement on protocols for shipments of U.S. beef to China that was also promised under the broader trade deal last month.The new GMO varieties are Dow AgroSciences'' Enlist corn and Monsanto''s Vistive Gold soybean, the Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement on Wednesday.China does not permit the planting of genetically modified food crops but does allow GMO imports, such as soybeans, for use in its animal feed industry.But getting a new GMO crop variety approved for import by China takes around six years, compared with under three in other major markets, forcing leading agrichemical players to restrict sales during China''s review process.In May, Beijing promised to speed up the evaluations of eight U.S. varieties of GMO crops by the end of the month under a trade deal with the United States.Industry comments suggest Beijing could issue additional product approvals in coming months."We are aware of the latest updates of the approval process and are encouraged by the fast progress that the Chinese government has made," said a DuPont Pioneer spokeswoman."We look forward to more products getting approval."DuPont Pioneer is awaiting approval for an insect-tolerant corn while Dow AgroSciences'' Enlist soybean is also pending approval.The agriculture ministry said it has also renewed import approvals for 14 other GMO varieties including Syngenta''s MIR162 Agrisure Viptera corn, a Monsanto sugar beet and three Bayer rapeseed products.The approvals are for a three-year period lasting to 2020, the statement said.(This version of the story corrects name of Syngenta corn trait to Agrisure Viptera, not Duracade, paragraph 11)(Reporting by Dominique Patton and Hallie Gu; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Tom Hogue)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-gmo-imports-idUSKBN1950WB'|'2017-06-14T22:50:00.000+03:00' +'ec7215fcaee1fe7d91a1007b52f387f77b138ba2'|'Bank of England comes closest to voting for rate hike since 2007'|' 5:22pm IST Bank of England comes closest to voting for rate hike since 2007 A general view shows the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain April 19, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo By David Milliken and Andy Bruce - LONDON LONDON The Bank of England shocked financial markets on Thursday, saying that three of its policymakers had backed an interest rate hike, the closest it has come to raising rates since 2007, despite signs of a slowdown in Britain''s economy. Ian McCafferty and Michael Saunders joined previous rate rise advocate Kristin Forbes in voting to reverse the BoE''s decision last August to cut rates to 0.25 percent, the BoE said on Thursday. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney and four other members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted to leave rates unchanged. Sterling jumped almost a cent against the U.S. dollar and 10-year British government bond yields rose by 8 basis points on the news, which comes just a week after Prime Minister Theresa May unexpectedly failed to secure a parliamentary majority in a snap election. Economists polled by Reuters had expected only Forbes - whose term on the MPC expires at the end of the month - to back higher rates, given the clear signs of a slowdown in economic growth in the first three months of 2017. "It''s surprising that three members voted for a hike this time given that there are signs that the period of weaker economic growth is long lasting, and we''ve had more evidence this week of softer pay growth," said Investec economist Philip Shaw. "One would have to ask in this situation where the long-term inflation pressures would be coming from." The U.S. Federal Reserve raised American interest rates late on Wednesday and - notwithstanding some softening domestic data - signalled it is likely to raise rates once more this year. The BoE said on Thursday that a jump in inflation last month to 2.9 percent meant it was likely to exceed 3 percent this autumn - higher than the BoE forecast just a few weeks ago and well above its 2 percent inflation target. Moreover, a fall in the pound after last week''s election could push prices yet higher, the central bank said. Britain''s economy was the worst performer among the world''s top seven advanced economies in the first quarter of this year as the effect of higher inflation caught up with consumers at a time of sluggish wage growth. But the central bank said it was unclear how lasting this weakness would be, as consumer confidence remained solid. Moreover, indicators of investment and exports looked upbeat, and unemployment was its lowest in over 40 years, the BoE said. "The continued growth of employment could suggest that spare capacity is being eroded, lessening the trade-off that the MPC is required to balance and, all else equal, reducing the MPC''s tolerance of above-target inflation," the BoE said. "Looking ahead, key considerations in judging the appropriate stance in monetary policy are the evolution of inflationary pressures, the persistence of weaker consumption and the degree to which it is offset by other components of demand." The last time three MPC members voted for a rate rise was in 2011 - when there were nine members serving on the MPC - and the last time a single vote could have swung the decision on rates was in June 2007 when the committee split 5-4. Later on Thursday, Carney is due to give a speech to London bankers alongside finance minister Philip Hammond, who is expected to focus on Britain''s future EU ties. Due to election campaigning, Hammond has not yet announced a replacement for U.S. academic Forbes - whose three-year term at the BoE expires at the end of the month - or for Charlotte Hogg, who has left the central bank after lawmakers criticised her failure to declare potential conflicts of interest. Most economists polled by Reuters do not expect a rate rise until 2019. The outlook is clouded by uncertainty about whether May will be able to lead a stable government as she tries to negotiate an exit deal with the EU and navigate complex legislation through parliament. May unexpectedly lost her parliamentary majority in an election last week - heavily damaging her standing with party colleagues - and is trying to get a commitment of support from Northern Ireland''s main pro-British party. (Editing by Hugh Lawson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-economy-boe-idINKBN1961EY'|'2017-06-15T09:52:00.000+03:00' +'ac50c6af643ae6bf60dd99cd9ef986180d50e4b0'|'Indonesia has reached tax deal with Google for 2016 - finance minister'|'Technology News - Tue Jun 13, 2017 - 5:19am BST Indonesia has reached tax deal with Google for 2016: finance minister left right FILE PHOTO: A Google logo is seen in a store in Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 24, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo 1/2 left right Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks on stage during the annual Google I/O developers conference in San Jose, California, U.S., May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam 2/2 JAKARTA Indonesia has reached a settlement with Alphabet Inc''s Google for 2016 in their dispute over taxes, the country''s finance minister said on Tuesday. "We already have an agreement with them based on 2016. But we can''t disclose the figure, that is a secret," Indonesia Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati told reporters. A senior tax official said in September that Indonesia planned to pursue Google for five years of back taxes and the company could face a bill of more than $400 million for 2015 alone if it were found to have avoided payments. (Reporting by Hidayat Setiaji; Writing by Eveline Danubrata; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-google-idUKKBN1940EM'|'2017-06-13T12:13:00.000+03:00' +'2855c3145e10c152ac46f21d9c4f3687884c3da1'|'Feuding China cement maker says key shareholder offers to divest stake'|'HONG KONG China Shanshui Cement Group Ltd ( 0691.HK ), at the center of a bitter boardroom battle involving investors and executives, said on Thursday that a major shareholder had offered to divest its 25 percent stake for around $600 million.China Shanshui Investment (CSI) has invited three other big shareholders to buy its holding for HK$5.50 per share, the Hong Kong-listed cement maker said in a filing, although it added that there was no certainty that a deal would be done.The stock has not traded since April 2015 after Tianrui Group raised its stake to become the company''s biggest shareholder and its public float fell below the 25 percent minimum allowed. Its last traded price was HK$6.29.Since then, hostilities between various parties have erupted. The firm made headlines in April after it said current executives had been attacked with pepper spray and smoke bombs and were held for two hours by associates of a former official when they tried to retake control of company property in eastern China.Shanshui Cement later obtained a court injunction against the former official and other former executives, who are investors in CSI.CSI made its offer to sell to Taiwan''s Asia Cement Corporation ( 1102.TW ), China National Building Material Co Ltd ( 3323.HK ), and Tianrui (International) Holding Co Ltd.Asia Cement, which owns 16 percent of the Shanshui Cement, has also sought to gain control. It originally tried to buy out the company in July 2015 but didn''t follow through with an offer. It said in March that it had a conditional agreement to buy shares in CSI.Representatives for Asia Cement and for Tianrui, which owns 28 percent of the firm, could not be reached for comment.Chang Zhangli, vice president of China National Building Material, said in an email that there was little clarity about CSI''s offer and whether the shares were fairly valued."It does not help resolve the existing problem but makes the issue even more complicated," Chang said. "I don''t really understand why they have done it. The information is not clear, and I can''t really judge."(Reporting by Donny Kwok; Additional reporting by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-shanshui-cement-management-idINKBN18S42P'|'2017-06-01T05:12:00.000+03:00' +'2e54704f95a2f0d6acbc261b17f94857f1c2264b'|'Toshiba selects Japan govt-led group as preferred bidder for chip business'|'By Makiko Yamazaki - TOKYO TOKYO Toshiba Corp has chosen a consortium of Japanese government investors and Bain Capital as the preferred bidder for its chip business, aiming to seal a deal worth some $18 billion by next week as it scrambles for funds to cover massive losses.But prospects for a clean early resolution to the sale of the world''s No. 2 producer of NAND flash chips remain unclear as Western Digital, its chips business partner that has launched legal action to prevent a deal without its consent, was not part of the winning group.The consortium has offered around 2 trillion yen ($18 billion), a Toshiba spokesman said. That appeared to be somewhat less than a 2.2 trillion yen offer from a rival bidder, U.S. chipmaker Broadcom and its partner U.S. private equity firm Silver Lake.But the government-Bain consortium, while hastily and awkwardly conceived, has been seen as the most likely suitor by many analysts as it would automatically gain an implicit stamp of approval from the Japanese government which is keen to keep key semiconductor technology under domestic control.While some analysts believe that talks over the hotly contested deal have been so complex that only a government-led solution is viable, others doubt that the group will provide the necessary leadership the chip unit needs."There are many parties involved in this consortium," said Atsushi Osanai, a professor at Waseda University Business School."It has undergone so many twists and turns during its formation process, that I''m sceptical about whether it can promptly make bold decisions. In that sense, Broadcom or Foxconn would be better suited."In addition to Bain, the group includes state-backed fund, the Innovation Network Corp of Japan and the Development Bank of Japan. South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix Inc and the core banking unit of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc are in talks to provide financing.Toshiba said in a statement it took into consideration concern about technology transfers, job security for its domestic workforce and prospects of clearing regulatory reviews in its decision.Following the announcement, Western Digital reasserted in a statement that Toshiba was in breach of their joint venture contracts and said that a U.S. court hearing on its request for an injunction was scheduled for July 14.A representative for Broadcom was not immediately available for comment. Silver Lake declined to comment.Foxconn, the world''s largest contract electronics maker, also bid. Formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, the Taiwanese firm''s consortium included Apple Inc and computing giant Dell Inc.Foxconn did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Toshiba is rushing to sell the unit to cover billions of dollars in cost overruns at its now-bankrupt Westinghouse nuclear unit and to dig itself out negative shareholders'' equity that could lead to a delisting.Toshiba''s shares were 1 percent lower in afternoon trade, compared with a 0.4 percent decline in the broader market.($1 = 111.2200 yen)(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Additional reporting by Naomi Tajitsu and Junko Fujita in Tokyo, Joyce Lee in Seoul and JR Wu in Taipei; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/toshiba-accounting-idINKBN19C09S'|'2017-06-21T01:21:00.000+03:00' +'e0f11d2c9cd7f7eecef49205270546895746164f'|'Asia firms'' confidence at three-year high on brighter global outlook -Thomson Reuters/INSEAD'|'By Brenda Goh - SHANGHAI SHANGHAI Business confidence in Asia rose to a three-year-high in the second quarter of the year, propelled by a slew of favourable economic data across the region and easing concerns over the health of China''s economy, a Thomson Reuters/INSEAD survey showed.The Thomson Reuters/INSEAD Asian Business Sentiment Index, representing the six-month outlook of 101 firms, climbed to 74 in April-June from 70 three months earlier. A reading over 50 indicates a positive view."The world economy is starting to look more solid," said Singapore-based economics professor Antonio Fatas at global business school INSEAD."The U.S. is reaching good levels of GDP and employment, with Europe finally recovering and Asia seeing less risks ahead. China looks like it''s in a more stable situation after having ups and downs because of capital outflows over the last couple of years and also the risks of a debt crisis."China is widely expected to meet its 6.5 percent economic growth target this year without too many bumps, helped by a pick-up in exports and stable growth in factory output and retail sales. The government has also sought to reduce debt.Reflecting the upbeat picture, the country upon which much of Asia depends for trade scored a business sentiment subindex of 75, up from 72 three months prior.In nearby Japan, sentiment hit its highest-ever with a subindex of 83 compared with 61 in the previous quarter and an average of 58 in the survey''s eight-year life. The country''s central bank in April offered its most optimistic assessment of the economy in nine years, saying it was turning toward expansion.Buoyant consumer confidence and export growth that exceeded initial estimates helped Indonesia''s sentiment subindex rise 8 points to 83, its highest in over a year.Sentiment rebounded the most in South Korea with a 50-point jump in its subindex to 75. The result came after the country''s new president vowed to review a decision to deploy a U.S. anti-missile system which had angered China and prompted a boycott of Korean goods."The cloud of political risk has disappeared," Fatas said. "Last quarter the data for South Korea was looking weaker. There was potential for crisis with some trading partners, in particular China."Sentiment also edged up in India and Thailand, but weakened in Australia, Taiwan and the Philippines. Singapore posted the lowest subindex of 62 - but even that was the strongest lowest subindex the survey has seen since it began in 2009.CONSTRUCTION BULLISHThomson Reuters and INSEAD polled companies from June 2 to 16. Of the 101 respondents, 56 percent rated their six-month outlook as positive, the highest proportion in over six years. 37 percent were neutral and 7 percent were negative.Respondents included Australia''s APA Group, Japan''s Hitachi Ltd, South Korea''s Kia Motors Corp, India''s Vedanta Ltd and China Eastern Airlines Co Ltd.The most bullish respondents were from the construction and engineering as well as transport and logistics industries, with half of such firms saying business volume had grown over the past three months.The two sectors are set to benefit from China''s pledge in May to lend about $56 billion for infrastructure projects across Asia, Europe and Africa as part of its Belt and Road initiative.The metals and chemicals industry registered the biggest jump in sentiment, by 41 points to 81, while confidence was also buoyant among firms in the healthcare, financial and retail sectors."E-commerce in Southeast Asia has significant potential for growth for years to come," said Magnus Ekbom, group chief strategy officer at survey respondent Lazada Group SA, an online retailer backed by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd."We are on track to achieving our goal of making 100 million products available across all of our 6 markets."The real estate sector and the household, food and beverage sector tied for the lowest subindex, while sentiment in the technology and telecommunications industry fell 7 points to 67.Survey respondent Intouch Holdings PCL, a Thai telecoms firm, said it was anticipating positive impact in the second-half of the year from the mobile and fixed broadband business."Overall, mobile competition still remains due to continued handset campaign offerings," the firm said in an email to Reuters. "However, we see an opportunity from an uplift in data consumption from customer''s behavioural changes."Firms ranked disruptive technologies as the chief risk to their six-month outlooks. Disruptive technologies include the sharing platforms of Uber Technologies Inc and Airbnb Inc which are increasingly taking market share from traditional industry leaders.Other risks cited include an inconsistent U.S. administration and protectionism. The U.S. president has pledged to pursue policies widely described as protectionist, including withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact.Note: Companies surveyed can change from quarter to quarter.(Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Christopher Cushing)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/asia-businesssentiment-idINKBN19C09M'|'2017-06-21T12:06:00.000+03:00' +'7ce069743aade97f54c6ceb5462c09e5c660be86'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Mexico rate futures down on central bank hint'|'Market News - Fri Jun 23, 2017 - 12:05pm EDT EMERGING MARKETS-Mexico rate futures down on central bank hint By Bruno Federowski SAO PAULO, June 23 Yields paid on Mexican interest-rate future contracts fell on Friday after the central bank signaled it would not increase borrowing costs any longer. In an unexpectedly divided decision, Banco de Mxico raised its benchmark rate by a notch to 7 percent, as forecast by all 17 analysts surveyed by Reuters last week. One member voted to hold rates. In its policy statement, the bank said "the reference rate has reached a level that is consistent with the process of efficient convergence of inflation to the 3 percent target," hinting that further increases are no longer necessary. "Now the debate on the timing of potential rate cuts is set to heat up," economists at Morgan Stanley wrote in a report. "We still see talk of policy easing as premature. While there is merit in arguments that real rates may be already quite high, Mexico is still not out of the inflation woods." Rate-future prices indicated a nearly 100 percent probability that the central bank will keep its reference rate at 7 percent in its August meeting, with a cut coming only in December. Despite fading expectations of further policy tightening, the Mexican peso strengthened 0.9 percent, tracking an increase in crude prices. Oil-heavy Colombia''s peso firmed 0.6 percent. The Brazilian real and the country''s benchmark Bovespa stock index seesawed as lingering political concerns kept up volatility. Shares of power utility Centrais Eltricas Brasileiras SA were the biggest decliners on the index as traders booked gains from a 6.4 percent rally on Thursday triggered by optimism over its restructuring plans. Meatpackers JBS SA and Marfrig also fell after the United States decided late on Thursday to suspend imports of Brazilian fresh beef for sanitary concerns. Shares of rival Minerva SA, which will export to the United States from Uruguay instead of Brazil, rose 0.7 percent. Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1600 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % Latest change change MSCI Emerging Markets 1013.10 0.43 16.99 MSCI LatAm 2502.75 0.72 6.16 Brazil Bovespa 61384.37 0.18 1.92 Mexico S&P/BVM IPC 49089.12 0.15 7.55 Chile IPSA 4786.82 0.63 15.31 Chile IGPA 23970.55 0.56 15.61 Argentina MerVal 20949.40 -0.22 23.83 Colombia IGBC 10620.48 -0.2 4.86 Venezuela IBC 120519.88 -0.25 280.13 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.3297 0.16 -2.42 Mexico peso 17.9650 0.86 15.47 Chile peso 659.85 0.57 1.64 Colombia peso 3003.6 0.63 -0.07 Peru sol 3.254 0.18 4.92 Argentina peso (interbank) 16.1200 0.25 -1.52 Argentina peso (parallel) 16.5 0.18 1.94 (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; editing by Grant McCool) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-latam-idUSL1N1JK0XL'|'2017-06-24T00:05:00.000+03:00' +'1472305abfdfbfae8f3bbfafbfa72009dbbaeef6'|'Merkel: Brexit-bound Britain might copy EU''s low tax islands'|'Business 5:03pm BST Merkel: Brexit-bound Britain might copy EU''s low tax islands FILE PHOTO: EU and Union flags fly above Parliament Square in London, Britain March 25, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo HAMBURG, Germany German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday that Britain might end up following the example of other islands in the European Union with low tax rates when it quits the bloc. Merkel, who said it was already hard to organize fair tax competition in Europe, also announced plans for a Franco-German corporation tax reform. Speaking to non-governmental organizations in Hamburg before she hosts a G20 summit there next month, Merkel said: "I don''t want to pillory anyone but the island states of Ireland, Malta and Cyprus say: we have a bad geographical location, we''re at such a disadvantage, we can only attract companies by having very low taxes." She added: "And when, within the context of Brexit, Britain one day decides to step into this tax competition too, then of course that would be a huge challenge for countries." Germany and France will therefore attempt a joint corporation tax reform via a common tax assessment framework "so that at least two countries can be a role model", she said, adding that this could also be a blueprint for a global tax system. The G20 summit is due to take place in Hamburg in early July. On July 13 the governments of Germany and France will meet in Paris for the Franco-German Council of Ministers, where they want to make proposals for closer cooperation in areas such as tax. In a manifesto document ahead of a June 8 election, Britain''s Conservatives - who emerged as the largest party but lost their parliamentary majority - said corporation tax would be cut to 17 percent by 2020. (Reporting by Andreas Rinke; Writing by Michelle Martin; Editing by Michael Nienaber and Ralph Boulton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-g20-germany-merkel-europe-idUKKBN19A28R'|'2017-06-20T00:02:00.000+03:00' +'701f31e33fa110e567e14182ef7f444a40da8960'|'Tesco and Booker ask UK regulator to "fast track" competition probe'|' 49am BST Tesco and Booker ask UK regulator to ''fast track'' competition probe A company logo is pictured outside a Tesco supermarket in Altrincham northern England, April 16, 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo LONDON British supermarket Tesco ( TSCO.L ) and its takeover target Booker ( BOK.L ) have asked the UK competition regulator to "fast track" examination of their 3.7 billion pounds deal to a more detailed second stage, they said on Thursday. Tesco and the wholesaler Booker announced the cash and shares deal in January and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) formally started a Phase 1 review on May 30. "We have now requested that the CMA uses the fast track process to allow it to move more quickly to examining the merger through a detailed Phase 2 process," the companies said. They said they expect the CMA to issue a decision to refer to Phase 2 within the next two weeks. (Reporting by James Davey; editing by Kate Holton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-booker-m-a-tesco-idUKKBN19K0L3'|'2017-06-29T09:21:00.000+03:00' +'c6cf84d2c63de328d1db7e862619b4287c5d4118'|'Brazil political risk leads to cautious buyout activity'|'SAO PAULO, June 5 Escalating political turmoil in Brazil will probably spark more caution among private equity firm, with fundraising potentially bearing the brunt of a more skittish behavior among investors, an industry group said on Monday.Investment commitments by private equity firms totaled 142.8 billion reais ($43.4 billion) last year, according to group ABVCAP. Fernando Borges, ABVCAP''s president, said players will adjust to new political conditions should turmoil escalate, "and asset prices will reflect that."Borges spoke at the sidelines of ABVCAP''s annual summit in So Paulo.($1 = 3.2878 reais) (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/brazil-privateequity-abvcap-idINE6N1IL00W'|'2017-06-05T13:13:00.000+03:00' +'7f54bb106dc9cc6249cdbd21ea1dd09220708025'|'JGBs mostly firm after strong demand at 2-year sale'|'TOKYO, June 27 Japanese government bonds mostly firmed on Tuesday, bolstered by strong demand at an auction of two-year notes.The 10-year cash JGB yield fell half a basis point to 0.045 percent, while the September 10-year JGB futures contract finished up 0.13 point at its session high of 150.62.The Ministry of Finance''s sale of 2.2 trillion yen ($19.69 billion) of two-year JGBs with a 0.10 percent coupon produced a lowest price of 100.4050, with some 67.1989 percent of the bids accepted at that price.The sale drew bids of 6.79 times the amount offered, even higher than the previous sale''s robust bid-to-cover ratio of 5.06 times. The tail between the average and lowest accepted prices narrowed to 0.001, compared with that of last month''s offering at 0.006, indicating even stronger demand for the bonds.The two-year JGB yield shed 1.5 basis points to minus 0.120 percent.But the superlong zone was treading water, with the 20-year JGB yield flat at 0.560 percent, while the 30-year JGB yield was unchanged on the day at 0.805 percent. ($1 = 111.7600 yen) (Reporting by Tokyo markets team; Editing by Eric Meijer)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/japan-bonds-idINL3N1JO29J'|'2017-06-27T04:23:00.000+03:00' +'0a46f345265b2895be341ce68d98c438410456ef'|'Court gives BHP, Vale until October 30 to settle $47 billion Samarco claim-BHP'|' 8:00am BST Court gives BHP, Vale until October 30 to settle $47 billion Samarco claim - BHP BHP Billiton Chief Executive Andrew Mackenzie is silhouetted against a screen projecting the company''s logo at a round table meeting with journalists in Tokyo, Japan June 5, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon SYDNEY BHP Billiton ( BHP.AX ) ( BLT.L ) and Vale ( VALE5.SA ) have won a four-month extension from a Brazilian court to negotiate a settlement to a $47 billion (36 billion) claim stemming from the Samarco mine disaster in 2015, BHP said on Friday. The 50-50 partners in the Samarco iron ore mine were served the 155 billion Brazilian real ($47 billion) claim by Brazilian federal prosecutors in May last year to pay for the social, environmental and economic costs of cleaning up Brazil''s worst environmental disaster on record. "The Court has extended the final date for negotiation of a settlement until 30 October 2017," BHP said in a statement. Nineteen people died and nearby towns were inundated with flood waters after a dam designed to hold back mine waste burst. The settlement date was originally set for June 30. (Reporting by James Regan; Editing by Richard Pullin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bhp-billiton-samarco-idUKKBN19L0N6'|'2017-06-30T09:58:00.000+03:00' +'7f8b9d5a1083454afc2694b711a6450f84642339'|'Investors elect GM''s board nominees, reject Greenlight slate'|'Deals - Tue Jun 6, 2017 - 4:31pm BST GM investors reject Greenlight share plan, board slate left right General Motors CEO Mary Barra addresses the media ahead of the start of GM''s annual shareholders meeting at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., June 6, 2017. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook 1/5 left right FILE PHOTO -- David Einhorn, president of Greenlight Capital, speaks during the Sohn Investment Conference in New York City, U.S., May 8, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo 2/5 left right General Motors CEO Mary Barra addresses the media ahead of the start of GM''s annual shareholders meeting at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., June 6, 2017. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook 3/5 left right General Motors world headquarters are seen during GM''s annual shareholders meeting at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., June 6, 2017. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook 4/5 left right General Motors world headquarters are seen before GM CEO Mary Barra addresses the media ahead of the start of GM''s annual shareholders meeting at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., June 6, 2017. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook 5/5 By Nick Carey and Joseph White - DETROIT DETROIT General Motors Co ( GM.N ) shareholders on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected proposals by hedge fund Greenlight Capital to restructure the company''s stock and reshape its board, backing Chief Executive Mary Barra''s efforts to rev up the company''s stalled share price. Seeing off the challenge from Greenlight manager David Einhorn does not mean the end of Barra''s challenges. GM shares traded on Tuesday at $34.25 a share, about 16 percent lower than when Barra became CEO, despite robust profits and a series of moves to sell or shut down money losing operations. Silicon Valley electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ) this year surpassed GM''s market value, reflecting investor confidence that, despite heavy losses, Tesla Chief Elon Musk has a better strategy as the auto industry shifts to ride services and electric, autonomous vehicles. In comments prior to the shareholder meeting, Barra acknowledged Greenlight''s point on its stock price, saying "we do believe GM stock is undervalued," and said the company "is continually looking at ideas" to increase investor interest. She did not elaborate on any new plans. Preliminary results showed more than 91 percent of shareholders voted against Greenlight''s proposal to have GM offer dividend and capital appreciation shares, according to GM officials at the automaker''s annual shareholders'' meeting. GM''s nominees were elected with between 84 percent and 99 percent of the vote, the company said. Greenlight founder David Einhorn floated his proposal in March, saying it could boost the automaker''s $52-billion market capitalization by as much as $38 billion. Greenlight controls about 3.6 percent of GM shares, and is now the fifth-largest public shareholder, the fund said in regulatory filings. But Einhorn''s pitch to rework GM''s capital structure flopped with debt rating agencies, which said Einhorn''s plan could hurt the automaker''s credit rating, and he failed to rally other shareholders to his cause. Warren Buffett''s Berkshire Hathaway Inc ( BRKa.N ) , which holds a 3.3-percent stake in GM, remained silent on the proposal. Proxy advisers Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis had also recommended GM shareholders vote for the automaker''s board nominees and against the dual-class proposal. Einhorn made his proposal as U.S. auto industry sales of new vehicles have begun to wane after a boom cycle that has lasted since 2010. Barra also said despite the Trump administration''s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate deal, the automaker will continue to push to reduce emissions. (Reporting By Nick Carey and Joseph White; Editing by Nick Zieminski) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-gm-greenlight-idUKKBN18X1QP'|'2017-06-06T21:59:00.000+03:00' +'c203f64e3835ec977b3990b92b0500fdd53cf9fb'|'UK supermarket Tesco to cut 1,200 head office jobs'|'Money News 9:22pm IST British supermarket chain Tesco to cut 1,200 head office jobs FILE PHOTO: A woman walks past a Tesco supermarket in central London, December 9, 2014. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo LONDON Tesco, Britain''s biggest supermarket group, will cut 1,200 jobs at its head office to simplify its operations, a spokesman said on Wednesday. Tesco has already cut thousands of jobs under a turnaround led by Chief Executive Dave Lewis, aimed at restoring profit at the group which has a 28 percent share of the grocery market. About a quarter of the roles at Tesco''s head office in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire near London would be abolished in the latest cuts, the spokesman said, with all roles affected. "This is a significant next step to continue the turnaround of the business," he said. "This new service model will simplify the way we organise ourselves, reduce duplication and costs but also, very importantly, allow us to invest in serving shoppers better." In October, the CEO set out plans to reduce operating costs by another 1.5 billion pounds ($1.9 billion) over three years, and increase operating profit margin to between 3.5 percent and 4.0 percent by the 2019-20 financial year. The company announced plans last week to cut 1,100 jobs in Cardiff with the proposed closure of a customer service centre. Shares in Tesco were trading up 1.6 percent at 171 pence at 1535 GMT. ($1 = 0.7735 pounds)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/tesco-redundancies-idINKBN19J195'|'2017-06-28T14:00:00.000+03:00' +'c42dcdb2ee160b2046f08e78ebed60de7d2ee1a8'|'UK pension consultants get brief reprieve from competition probe'|'Business News - Wed Jun 28, 2017 - 12:56pm BST UK pension consultants get brief reprieve from competition probe By Carolyn Cohn , Huw Jones and Simon Jessop - LONDON LONDON British pensions consultants got a brief stay of execution from a competition review on Wednesday but are still likely to face a probe later this year after the country''s financial watchdog rejected their defence. The Financial Conduct Authority proposed sweeping changes to the asset management sector in order to improve transparency and value for money for customers, including around fee disclosures and fund governance. In a toughly worded interim update in November, the FCA had raised the prospect of referring the consultants, which advise on 3 trillion pounds of investments for pension schemes and others, to the Competitions and Markets Authority, citing concerns around conflicts of interest and opaque fees. That prompted the three leading consultants, Aon ( AON.N ), Mercer ( MMC.N ) and Willis Towers Watson ( WLTW.O ), which together make up 60 percent of the market, to band together and issue a series of private pledges to the regulator to prevent a review. In its Wednesday statement, the FCA said it was inclined to reject those so-called ''undertakings in lieu'' because the proposals did not come from the whole market, and instead said it would consult further and make a decision in September. It also said it would recommend that the UK finance ministry consider allowing the watchdog to regulate the sector. Mary Starks, the FCA''s director of competition, said the "thoughtful and serious" offer of undertakings made by "big three" investment consultants cover about 60 percent of the market. "Our thinking is if we were to accept that, it would only give us partial market coverage," Starks told reporters. "We don''t think the offer does away with the need for in-depth investigation of that market." The head of the FCA, Andrew Bailey, said the move by some consultants into fiduciary management - running money like an asset manager - alongside their traditional advisory business, created potential conflicts of interest between the two. "It''s that sort of area we would recommend looking at," Bailey said. Tamasin Little, partner at law firm Reed Smith, said the attempt by the major investment consultants to head off a competition investigation by offering voluntary undertakings "appears to have failed". The consultants, which have not made their proposals public before, repeated in statements on Wednesday their belief the proposals should answer any regulatory concerns. "The combination of a mandatory tendering regime, performance and fee standards, and conflicts of interest protocols act as a powerful spur to competition," Mercer said. Willis Towers Watson, meanwhile, said the pledges provided "a solid foundation on which to build any future work on the investment consulting industry", while Aon said it was confident the proposals reflected best practice. The three firms also said they supported the plan to bring them under the regulatory remit of the FCA. Smaller consultants, however, remained eager for a shake-up of the sector. "Competition within the investment consultancy market is worth looking at, and (we) would encourage the FCA to make a recommendation to the CMA," Danny Vassiliades, head of investment consulting at Punter Southall, said in an emailed statement. "There is a clear requirement for remedies to increase competition." (Editing by Pritha Sarkar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-funds-regulations-consultants-idUKKBN19J1FO'|'2017-06-28T14:56:00.000+03:00' +'ff0cf4fd27fd2915e90db12a935f94e29b967831'|'FTSE 100 seen stumbling along as Brexit looms - Reuters poll'|'Business News 10:39am BST FTSE 100 seen stumbling along as Brexit looms - Reuters poll A worker shelters from the rain as he passes the London Stock Exchange in the City of London at lunchtime October 1, 2008. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo By Kit Rees and Helen Reid - LONDON LONDON Britain''s FTSE 100 share index .FTSE will hold onto slim gains this year though it remains hostage to swings in sterling as the country embarks on complex negotiations on the terms of its exit from the European Union, a Reuters poll showed. Since last June''s shock vote in which Britons voted to leave the EU, the FTSE has weathered growing political uncertainty in the Britain on the back of a weak sterling which helps profits of international blue-chips that dominate the index. The index hit an intra-day record high of 7,598 earlier this month before a cloudy policy outlook after an inconclusive general election along with a slide in oil prices and a firmer pound dented the appetite for British shares among foreign investors. "No-one knows where the Brexit talks and events in Westminster will lead in the short term, which may not help sentiment, while more fundamentally the mix of FTSE 100 earnings growth still does not really appeal," said Russ Mould, an investment director at AJ Bell. "Oil and metals prices are hardly buoyant and the banks and insurers are hardly any easier to forecast, especially as the UK economy is not doing a particularly great job of accelerating beyond stall speed," Mould added. Reflecting the uncertainty, the range of year-end forecasts in the poll of 24 market watchers was wider than in a March poll - which had predicted the index would be at 7,425 now - and ranged from 6,500 to 8,050. The median was for 7,550, a 2 percent rise from here. On Wednesday, the index closed at 7,387.80 and is expected to set new records next year, reaching 7,650 by end-June 2018 and 7,950 by the time 2018 is over. The FTSE, while expected to steadily rise, is set to underperform most peers in the euro zone where the mood is upbeat and political risks are seen to have largely evaporated following Emmanuel Macron''s convincing victory in the French presidential and parliamentary elections. [EPOLL/FRDE] In Britain, however, after over two weeks of talks and turmoil sparked by Prime Minister Theresa May''s failure to win a majority in a June 8 snap election, a deal was struck this week with Northern Ireland''s largest Protestant party to prop up a minority Tory government. While the UK economy has proved more resilient than expected since last June''s Brexit referendum, signs of a slowdown, particularly on consumer spending, are starting to appear. Overall, the Reuters poll of analysts and investors conducted over the past week suggests the FTSE 100 would end the year with gains of just under 6 percent. (For other stories from the Reuters global stock markets poll:) (Polling by Kit Rees and Helen Reid in London; additional polling by Indradip Ghosh, Sujith Pai and Vivek Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Chopra)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks-poll-idUKKBN19K12M'|'2017-06-29T12:39:00.000+03:00' +'8724cbc84cdf76ef044d2ab661d77c1946024930'|'Bayer to cut profit view on Brazil, consumer health setbacks'|'Business News 9:52am BST Bayer to cut profit view on Brazil, consumer health setbacks The logo of Bayer AG is pictured at the Bayer Healthcare subgroup production plant in Wuppertal February 24, 2014. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender/File Photo By Ludwig Burger - FRANKFURT FRANKFURT Bayer ( BAYGn.DE ) said on Friday it would cut its full-year earnings forecast due to high inventories at crop protection distributors in Brazil and a weaker-than-expected consumer health business. "At the end of the harvest season in Brazil, regular stock-taking revealed an unexpectedly high channel inventory level of crop protection products," the company said in an unscheduled statement. This would result in a one-time hit of 300-400 million euros (263-351 million) on full-year earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA). Bayer, in the midst of seeking regulatory approval for its $66 billion takeover of U.S. seeds group Monsanto ( MON.N ), said it would adjust its business outlook when it publishes second quarter results, due on July 27, without providing details. The shares were down 4.3 percent to 113 euros at 0758 GMT. The company also cited unfavourable currency developments but added its pharmaceuticals division and chemicals business Covestro ( 1COV.DE ) were still performing strongly, while business at its animal health unit was line with expectations. Bayer has been trying to overcome a weaker than expected performance of key consumer care brands Coppertone sun screen and Dr. Scholl''s foot care products, acquired from Merck & Co ( MRK.N ). When asked about Bayer''s plan to file for regulatory approval in Europe for the Monsanto deal this quarter, a spokesman said that remarks by Bayer CEO Werner Baumann last week, reaffirming that goal, were still valid. (Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Harro ten Wolde and Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bayer-outlook-idUKKBN19L0YI'|'2017-06-30T11:52:00.000+03:00' +'d5a29d8bc7c0ab01baf63194668ed136b3a84918'|'Danish government seeks income tax cuts to counter overheating - Finance Minister'|' 2:58pm BST Danish government seeks income tax cuts to counter overheating - Finance Minister COPENHAGEN Denmark should cut taxes to encourage people to work more, which would increase the supply of labour and help prevent the economy from overheating in 2018, Finance Minister Kristian Jensen said on Friday. "We can already now see increasing problems for the enterprises to hire the right people and to cope with the increasing demand for their products," Jensen said at a meeting with the Danish parliament''s finance committee. "This will intensify with bottlenecks for skilled workers. I see a risk for overheating of the economy in the course of 2018, unless we do something about it," he added. After the summer break the government will put forward a plan to cut income tax, which should take effect already from 2018, and to lower taxation on pension savings. The aim is to make Danes work more hours and also postpone retirement, Jensen said. The centre-right government only holds 53 seats in parliament and has to negotiate with other parties, most often populist ally the Danish People''s Party, to secure the 90 votes necessary to pass new laws. (Reporting by Erik Matzen, editing by Teis Jensen and Terje Solsvik)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-denmark-tax-idUKKBN190222'|'2017-06-09T21:58:00.000+03:00' +'73a5103be99933864a6bc934fc012484c4be2156'|'UPDATE 1-Petrobras keeps cooking gas from pricing parity on Brazil rules'|'Market News - Wed Jun 7, 2017 - 10:25am EDT UPDATE 1-Petrobras keeps cooking gas from pricing parity on Brazil rules (Recasts to add details on new LPG pricing policy, comments, background from paragraph 3; changes dateline to RIO DE JANEIRO) By Marta Nogueira RIO DE JANEIRO/SAO PAULO, June 7 (Reuters) - S tate-controlled Petrleo Brasileiro SA has kept cooking gas out of a pricing system based on international parity, in order to comply with rules set by Brazil''s most powerful energy policy body to help contain fuel costs for households. The decision, which was announced in a Wednesday securities filing, sets lower prices for smaller quantities of liquefied petroleum gas sold in domestic markets. For industrial LPG, Petrobras will follow Brazil''s National Energy Policy Council''s guidelines seeking higher prices. Final prices for LPG stored in cylinders of less than 13 kilograms and sold to Brazilian households will correspond to the average of butane and propane prices in European markets plus a 5 percent markup. The move will spark a 6.7 percent average household increase starting on Thursday, with consumer prices rising an estimated 2.2 percent. Chief Executive Pedro Parente sought to allay concern that the move would mark a comeback of state meddling in Petrobras'' pricing decisions, noting that the markup is enough to reverse years of government-mandated subsidies. Brazil''s federal government controls Petrobras, which for years was used as a policy tool to tame inflation and boost growth. The move to adjust pricing in the LPG market helped Petrobras conclude a year-long effort to peg domestic fuel costs to global prices. During the tenure of the left-wing Workers Party, between 2003 and 2016, Petrobras booked hefty losses for heavily subsidizing fuel prices in Brazil. "I don''t think this rule aims to stop us from reversing the losses that the company incurred in this market for years," Parente told reporters in Rio de Janeiro. Prices for so-called GLP-P13 natural gas will be revised at the fifth day of every month, the company said. Preferred shares, the company''s most widely traded class of stock, gained 0.8 percent to 13.28 reais in early trading on Wednesday. (Additional reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier and Alexandra Alper in Rio de Janeiro, and Bruno Federowski and Luciano Costa de Paula in So Paulo; Editing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal, Chizu Nomiyama and Meredith Mazzilli) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/petrobras-prices-lpg-idUSL1N1J40J0'|'2017-06-07T22:25:00.000+03:00' +'39d5bc5ebeaf0fe4b713e51867143f8f9bb2b243'|'Nikkei falls in thin trade before British election, Comey testimony'|'TOKYO, June 7 Japanese stocks barely moved in thin trade on Wednesday as investors continued to shun riskier assets ahead of potentially market moving global events later this week.The Nikkei was flat in choppy trade, ending at 19,984.62 points.Investors awaited Britain''s general election, a European Central Bank policy decision and former FBI director James Comey''s Senate testimony all due on Thursday. China is also releasing a raft of data this week.The broader Topix ended flat at 1,597.09. Turnover was 2.3 trillion yen, the lowest level in more than a week. (Reporting by Ayai Tomisawa; Editing by Kim Coghill)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-close-idINL3N1J4277'|'2017-06-07T04:11:00.000+03:00' +'0a9adc7a0906b421793a77339d1fd50f9aab52c6'|'Poland''s economy at risk if Ukrainians head further west'|'Money News 6:40pm IST Poland''s economy at risk if Ukrainians head further west By Marcin Goettig WARSAW - For Oleksandar Potashnyi, a Warsaw Uber driver from Kiev, the European Union''s move this month to waive visas for Ukrainians now means he can go further west as a tourist -- easily. But for work, he plans to stay in Poland, perhaps opening his own business in a few years. The issue for Poland after the EU''s waiver is how many of Potashnyi''s compatriots -- possibly as many as a million of whom work in the country -- will do the same, and how many will move on to Germany and the like. It is a crucial question for the Polish central bank, in particular, as it watches for signs of wage pressures gradually accelerating throughout the economy. Potashnyi, a 27-year-old who left Ukraine a year ago to exchange a $400 monthly wage as a taxi driver for the $1,300-$1,400 he earns with Uber, reckons some will go, mostly those who would otherwise have returned to Ukraine. "I want to stay, but those who want to return to Ukraine (now) won''t," he said. The visa waiver means some Ukrainians, especially temporary construction workers, may take advantage of visa-free travel to seek higher-paying work further west in the EU, albeit often illegally. That could be a significant part of Poland''s work force. Since Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014, plunging Ukraine into recession and instability, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have sought employment permits in Poland annually. Economists say this influx has helped keep wage pressures in Poland - a country of 38 million and 16 million workers - in check and also facilitated further economic growth. Poland has one of the fastest aging societies in the EU. The influx of Ukrainians runs contrary to most of the rest of Central Europe where years of westward EU emigration have left steep labour shortages. Polish central bankers have noted the risk. "It is very difficult to estimate, but definitely some Ukrainians working in Poland right now will move, for instance, to Germany," Monetary Policy Council member Lukasz Hardt said. "This is a very important factor." In recent months, central bankers have listed wage pressures as one of the most significant factors in their assessment of interest rates as the Polish economy recovers from a dip in growth last year. ROLE OF LABOUR For now, the central bank is signalling borrowing costs will remain at record lows, possibly through 2018, with wage growth at around 4 percent annually. Unemployment rates are at their lowest since Poland''s transition from communism in the early 1990s, but the Ukrainians are filling the job shortages and keeping wage growth from spiking. That compares with double-digit wage increases in Hungary, which has accepted significantly fewer Ukrainian workers and has mounting shortages of labour in construction, healthcare, retail and elsewhere. Polish Central Bank Governor Adam Glapinski said in May that rate-setters were watching out for potential outflows of Ukrainian workers but aren''t worried for now. Sources within the bank say, however, that a minority of policymakers believe wage growth could force a hike sooner, driven in part by government plans to raise minimum pay and its move to lower the pension age later this year. Employers organisations say Poland''s conservative government needs to do more to help migrant workers settle in Poland to plug labour shortages. "The legal labour market in Poland will have to compete with the EU''s grey economy," said Andrzej Kubisiak, a spokesman for Work Service, Poland''s biggest employment agency. One employers group, Pracodawcy RP, said on Monday it expected the number of Ukrainian workers to rise in Poland in the short term now that visa requirements are lifted, potentially reaching 2 million. But, over time, the group said, some will travel elsewhere in the EU, seeking higher pay. "It''s a pity the government isn''t doing anything to stop them," it said. In the end, Poland may end up hoping for more newcomers like Potashnyi. "You can earn well in Poland. In three to four years, you can have a normal life," he said, content to stay. (Additional reporting by Marcin Goclowski, Pawel Florkiewicz, Anna Koper, Pawel Sobczak and Justyna Pawlak in WARSAW, Jan Lopatka in PRAGUE, Gergely Szakacs in BUDAPES; editing by Justyna Pawlak/Jeremy Gaunt)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/poland-economy-ukraine-idINKBN1951UA'|'2017-06-14T21:10:00.000+03:00' +'db935a1427bfdca88ebf7d5448e02a9f375295e5'|'Builder Crest Nicholson says UK election result may bring uncertainty'|' 18am BST Builder Crest Nicholson says UK election result may bring uncertainty LONDON British builder Crest Nicholson said the inconclusive outcome of Thursday''s national election could result in uncertainty in the housing market as the firm posted a 5 percent rise in first-half pre-tax profit to 76.2 million pounds. Prime Minister Theresa May failed to secure an outright majority in the national vote and is seeking to strike a deal with Northern Ireland''s Democratic Unionist Party to support her administration. "The outcome of the UK General Election may introduce some uncertainty in the short term but we expect the new build housing market to remain robust," said Chief Executive Stephen Stone. Crest also said forward sales stood at 540 million pounds by mid-June, 4 percent ahead of last year. (Reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Kate Holton) Inflation fizzle may once again leave Fed rate path in doubt SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON The Federal Reserve will probably express its confidence inflation will climb towards its 2 percent target when it meets this week and delivers a widely expected rate rise, but such assurances are a poor indicator of the Fed''s future policy. Madame Tussauds-owner Merlin says Manchester, London attacks hit demand LONDON Visitor attractions group Merlin Entertainments said on Tuesday the attacks in Manchester and London over the past month had led to a deterioration in domestic demand and the firm is cautious on trends for foreign visits over the coming months. JAKARTA Indonesia has reached a tax settlement with Alphabet Inc''s Google for 2016, the country''s finance minister said, following a months-long dispute over allegations that the search giant had not made enough annual payments to the government. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-crestnicholson-results-idUKKBN1940MY'|'2017-06-13T14:18:00.000+03:00' +'9280e9f463aa8389226ce9e47423f1d28d6e1512'|'Facebook to add fundraising option to ''Safety Check'''|'Top News - Wed Jun 14, 2017 - 5:21pm BST Facebook to add fundraising option to ''Safety Check'' Facebook logo is seen at a start-up companies gathering at Paris'' Station F in Paris, France, January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer Facebook said on Wednesday it would soon allow its U.S. users to raise and donate money using its "Safety Check" feature, to make it easier for people affected by natural disasters and violent attacks to receive help. "Safety Check," launched in 2014, allows Facebook users to notify friends that they are safe. The feature was used for the first time in the United States last year after a gunman massacred 49 people at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The fundraising tool in "Safety Check" will roll out in the coming weeks in the United States, Facebook said in a blog post. bit.ly/2rvr6AZ The social network, which has about 1.94 billion users worldwide, activated "Safety Check" for users in London on Wednesday following a fire in a housing block that killed at least six people and injured more than seventy. It also made the tool available earlier this month following deadly attacks on London Bridge. Facebook also said its "Community Help" feature, which helps people affected by disasters find each other locally to provide and receive assistance, would soon expand to include desktop users. (Reporting by Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-facebook-safety-idUKKBN19522N'|'2017-06-14T22:18:00.000+03:00' +'6b3029802b569fa4216927f1ce5b8f701f13c5f0'|'Nomura bond trader fraud trial ends in split U.S. jury verdict'|'Money - Thu Jun 15, 2017 - 2:53pm EDT Nomura bond trader fraud trial ends in split U.S. jury verdict By Jonathan Stempel A federal jury on Thursday delivered a mixed verdict for three former Nomura Holdings Inc traders accused by the U.S. Department of Justice of lying to customers about the prices of mortgage bonds they bought and sold. Jurors in Hartford, Connecticut found Michael Gramins guilty on a conspiracy charge, but found him not guilty on six other counts and could not reach a verdict on the remaining two. Another defendant, Tyler Peters, was found not guilty on all nine counts he faced. Ross Shapiro, the third defendant, was found not guilty on eight counts, and jurors could not agree on a ninth, also for conspiracy. The trial began on May 8, and jurors began deliberating on June 6. Gramins'' conviction is the second in a federal crackdown into deceptive bond trading practices that was unveiled in January 2013, and has been overseen mainly by the office of U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly in Connecticut. It followed the January conviction in a retrial involving similar claims against former Jefferies Group trader Jesse Litvak. He was later sentenced to serve two years in prison and pay a $2 million fine. Litvak is appealing. Thursday''s verdict was confirmed by Daly''s office and lawyers involved in the case. It is unclear whether prosecutors will retry Gramins and Shapiro on the deadlocked counts. A spokesman for Daly had no immediate comment. Marc Mukasey, a lawyer for Gramins, in an email said he intends to file motions related to his client''s conspiracy conviction. A lawyer for Shapiro had no immediate comment. Alex Spiro, a lawyer for Peters, declined to comment. U.S. authorities have charged at least 10 people, including six from Nomura, in connection with the bond trading probe. Three of the eight traders facing criminal charges decided to plead guilty and cooperate: former Nomura trader Frank DiNucci, and former Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc traders Matthew Katke and Adam Siegel. David Demos, formerly of Cantor Fitzgerald & Co, was also criminally charged, and has pleaded not guilty. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission separately brought civil charges against former Nomura traders Kee Chan and James Im. Chan settled with the SEC, but Im did not. The case is U.S. v. Shapiro et al, U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut, No. 15-cr-00155. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Diane Craft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-nomura-hldgs-fraud-idUSKBN1962NE'|'2017-06-16T02:51:00.000+03:00' +'18fc1437f7071f03966b31e2495f02d125d26c25'|'CEO Zuckerberg tweaks Facebook mission to focus on groups'|'By David Ingram - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Facebook Inc ( FB.O ) Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg revised the world''s largest online social network''s mission statement on Thursday to emphasize support for hobby clubs, civil society organizations and other community groups.The move comes as Facebook faces pressure from smaller rivals such as Nextdoor and Meetup, whose online networks bring together neighbors and people in the same area with shared interests.Zuckerberg said on his Facebook page that his company''s new mission is to "give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together."The previous mission was "to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected." Facebook''s pursuit of that mission has been criticized in the past 12 months after the network became one of the main distribution points for so-called fake news, which many think influenced the 2016 U.S. presidential election.Zuckerberg said in February he wanted to boost the number of Facebook users who are members of what they called "very meaningful" groups. Only about 5 percent were members of such groups, he said then.The head of Facebook, with 1.9 billion users and $27.6 billion in revenue last year, was in Chicago on Thursday to meet people who run group pages on Facebook."If what you''re trying to do is run a group that has thousands of people, you need tools to help manage that," he told CNN in an interview. Facebook wants to build those tools, he said.Alphabet Inc''s ( GOOGL.O ) Google also hosts community groups, as do Nextdoor and Meetup. Nextdoor, a site for neighbors to meet one another and share news and advice, said on Monday it was expanding into Germany after rapid growth elsewhere.Zuckerberg told CNN that supporting organizations built around neighbors, churches, pets and the like has a larger purpose."Once people are coming together in these smaller groups, that actually grows and it ends up with much bigger changes in the world," he said.(Reporting by David Ingram; Editing by Bill Rigby)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-zuckerberg-idINKBN19D2EX'|'2017-06-22T17:26:00.000+03:00' +'6d30a7958d7c5cd847ebed5ce57d6faac02e3af8'|'Interview: Tereos sees emerging markets key to growth post-EU sugar quotas'|'By Sybille de La Hamaide - PARIS PARIS France''s Tereos, the world''s third largest sugar group, has expanded its trading desks in emerging countries as it looks to find new export markets for higher output after the European Union ends quotas later this year, its chief executive said.The EU will abolish its production and export quotas on Sept. 30, which has encouraged sugar companies in the bloc to raise production from next season by what analysts have estimated will be around 15 percent in total.That has fuelled a glut in sugar that sent prices to 16-month lows on Thursday."We already do a third of our sales in emerging countries. Only that share can rise over time, structurally, because this is where the market is expanding," Tereos CEO Alexis Duval told Reuters in an interview.For now, forecasters expect the EU to produce 18.3 million tonnes of sugar in 2017/18, with exports of 2.7 million tonnes.Part of the extra output will replace what the EU currently imports, but Tereos will also need to find new export markets to sell the 25 percent rise in sugar output the group expects in France this year after producing 2.5 million tonnes in 2016, Duval said."In Europe sales can increase through consolidation but the market is not growing organically," Duval said.More health-conscious consumers in developed countries have lowered their sugar consumption in the past years.Analyst group Platts Kingsman says world consumption may grow at its slowest pace in seven years in 2017/18 with a rise of 1.04 percent, nearly half the average growth of about 2 percent per year over the last decade.Tereos is not alone in chasing overseas growth.Germany''s second-largest sugar refiner Nordzucker said last month it is in talks on international expansion in South America, Asia and also within Europe.Meanwhile, a revival in Ukrainian sugar exports could pose a challenge for western European sugar exporters.TEREOS COMMODITIESTo boost exports further, Tereos has opened six trading desks through its Tereos Commodities unit, of which two were started last year, in New Delhi and Nairobi.Other desks are in France, Brazil, Switzerland and Singapore.Tereos Commodities traded over 1 million tonnes of sugar in the fiscal year to March 31 with a total revenue of $500 million. A large part of that came from Brazil where Tereos exports half of its output, which came to 1.6 million tonnes last year.Duval pointed to Nigeria, India, Indonesia, West and East Africa and South-east Asia as key growth markets for global sugar producers."Every day world (sugar) consumption is shifting a bit more towards emerging countries. When we look at consumption growth it''s +2.5 percent per year in emerging countries and zero in developed countries," Duval said."The difficulty for a producer is more and more, how do I make the link between my field in Europe or Brazil and the final consumer who is far from it," he added.Tereos also aims to expand output and exports of grain-based protein, a by-product of its starch activities, increasingly used in bakery, aquaculture and pet food products, Duval said.After two difficult years due to weak sugar prices, Tereos posted a 14.7 percent rise in sales to 4.8 billion euros ($5.4 billion) in the 2016/17 fiscal year to March 31, mainly helped by a rebound in sugar prices and an expansion in its international trading.Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) rose 38 percent to 607 million euros, also pulled up by its sugar cane and starch businesses.Despite the recent fall in prices, Tereos expects earnings to rise slightly in the 2017/18 fiscal year, due to higher European output and good competitiveness.Duval also expected a rebound in sugar prices after the recent slump although declined to give a forecast."Our point of view is that the correction is normal in terms of fundamentals but excessive because of the funds who amplify moves," Duval said, noting that some were now short and would have to come back into the market to cover their positions.($1 = 0.8957 euros)(Additional reporting by Ana Ionova in London, editing by David Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/france-sugar-tereos-idINKBN19D1EH'|'2017-06-22T09:52:00.000+03:00' +'7f5e61094c0802107132ede61cf75a8ef2b5f9ee'|'Nestle may sell U.S. confectionery business'|'By Martinne Geller - LONDON LONDON Swiss food group Nestle ( NESN.S ) may sell its U.S. confectionery business, which has annual sales of 900 million Swiss francs ($922.23 million), it said on Thursday.The business includes brands like Butterfinger, BabyRuth, 100Grand, SkinnyCow and Raisinets."Nestle will explore strategic options for its U.S. confectionery business, including a potential sale," the company said in a statement.The review of options does not include Nestle''s Toll House baking products in the U.S. or its international confectionery business."Nestle remains fully committed to growing its leading international confectionery activities around the world, particularly its global brand KitKat," Nestle said.Nestle said its global confectionery sales were 8.8 billion Swiss francs last year.(Reporting by Martinne Geller; Editing by Ben Hirschler and Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-nestle-confectionery-idINKBN19628Q'|'2017-06-15T14:23:00.000+03:00' +'f5fb86889b926cb2efb4d2dfb909f5479345ffc5'|'Mutual funds managers need to improve due diligence: SEBI'|'INWire - Thu Jun 29, 2017 - 3:32pm IST Mutual funds managers need to improve due diligence: SEBI The logo of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is pictured on the premises of its headquarters in Mumbai, India March 1, 2017. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade MUMBAI Indian mutual funds need to improve their due diligence before investing in corporate bonds and not rely only on credit ratings given rising concerns about potential defaults, the chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said on Thursday. The warning by SEBI Chairman Ajay Tyagi comes as several companies, including Amtek Auto, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, Ballarpur Industries, have defaulted on their debt coupon payments over the past few years. "Mutual funds need to further strengthen their own due diligence and evaluation mechanism and not only depend on credit rating agencies," Tyagi said in a speech at a mutual funds conference. Tyagi also said large institutional investors needed to be more "actively involved" in monitoring corporate governance at companies, an issue in the limelight after tussles between Tata Group and ousted Chairman Cyrus Mistry. Management at Infosys Ltd has also engaged in a public spat with founders over a range of issues, including remuneration for executives. Tyagi also reiterated the need for asset managers to consolidate schemes saying the launch of too many funds was creating confusing. (Reporting by Abhirup Roy and Samantha Kareen Nair; Writing by Suvashree Dey Choudhury; Editing by Rafael Nam) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/india-sebi-funds-idINKBN19K141'|'2017-06-29T10:06:00.000+03:00' +'e328537a71fe7c7d5036869c6423f1a41de30874'|'Home Capital to sell C$1.2 billion commercial mortgage book'|'By Matt Scuffham Canadian lender Home Capital Group Inc ( HCG.TO ) said on Tuesday it would sell a portfolio of commercial mortgage assets valued at C$1.2 billion ($904 million) to private equity firm KingSett Capital.Proceeds from the sale will bolster its liquidity and trim outstanding debt on a C$2 billion emergency facility it agreed with the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) in April.The expensive bridge financing of C$2 billion provided by HOOPP came with an effective interest rate of 22.5 percent on the first C$1 billion drawn down. That affected the company''s ability to originate new mortgages since it could not afford to lend money at lower rates than its cost of borrowing."Proceeds from the transaction are expected to have an immediate impact by enabling us to enhance our liquidity and reduce the outstanding debt under the company''s $2 billion credit facility," said Interim Chief Executive Bonita Then.Home Capital said KingSett had agreed to purchase the portfolio for 99.61 percent of its outstanding value, less a share of future losses on the loans.It expects to receive an initial cash payment of C$1.16 billion in the third quarter, equivalent to 97 percent of the value the mortgages. The balance of the payment will depend upon the level of any future losses.Shares of Home Capital rose as much as 6.8 percent on Tuesday and were trading up 4.2 percent at 1325 EST."We view the terms of this sale favorably and supportive of the high quality of Home Capital''s mortgage book," said Raymond James analyst Brenna Phelan.Home Capital said in April it was pursuing new financing and strategic options, including the possible sale of some assets.Depositors have withdrawn 95 percent of funds from Home Capital''s high interest savings accounts since March 27, when the company terminated the employment of former Chief Executive Martin Reid.The withdrawals accelerated after April 19, when the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), Canada''s biggest securities regulator, accused Home Capital of making misleading statements to investors about its mortgage underwriting business.Home Capital said last week it agreed a settlement with the OSC and accepted responsibility for misleading investors about problems with its mortgage underwriting procedures.The company still faces significant hurdles, including securing new long-term funding, finding a permanent chief executive, rebuilding relationships with brokers, and winning back the support of depositors and borrowers.(Additional reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Cynthia Osterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-home-capital-lender-divestiture-idINKBN19B1O4'|'2017-06-20T10:54:00.000+03:00' +'cbfd7ce088c0d6ca61f51e9304ddbdd1801e6963'|'Brazil''s Meirelles sees U.S. lifting Brazil beef ban soon'|'Commodities 41am EDT Brazil''s Meirelles sees U.S. lifting Brazil beef ban soon SAO PAULO Brazilian Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles said on Friday he expects the United States to lift a ban on imports of Brazilian fresh beef soon, stressing that the decision bore no relation to sanitary concerns. The U.S. Department of Agriculture decided on Thursday to impose the ban over safety concerns did not affect the bulk of Brazilian beef imports, which are frozen. Speaking to journalists, Meirelles said he sees no room to cut taxes as Brazil emerges from a deep recession. (Reporting by Thas Freitas; Writing by Bruno Federowski)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-brazil-beef-meirelles-idUSKBN19E1UG'|'2017-06-23T23:36:00.000+03:00' +'0529d209af7c84c5bccc4fb616cee0f958737a05'|'French budget deficit to overshoot at 3.2 percent in 2017 - TF1, citing audit office'|'Business 7:42pm BST French budget deficit to overshoot at 3.2 percent in 2017 - TF1, citing audit office PARIS France''s public deficit could stand at 3.2 percent in 2017, once again above the EU limit of 3 percent, broadcaster TF1 said on Monday, citing information from the national audit office. Earlier in June, France''s central bank said that public finances were on course for a deficit of 3.1 percent of economic output this year, higher than the 2.8 percent predicted by the previous government. TF1 said that national audit officials, who will publish a review of estimates on Thursday, anticipated the deficit would be at 3.2 percent this year. "We shall see on Thursday," Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told TF1. "The only thing I can confirm is that if we don''t do anything before the end of the year, then we will not meet our European commitments." (Reporting by John Irish and Sophie Louet; editing by Mark Heinrich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-economy-deficit-idUKKBN19H2B1'|'2017-06-27T02:42:00.000+03:00' +'8e39b14dbe35241e72332aa4794acabf49817449'|'Britain''s Travis Perkins names ex-ARM man as chairman'|' 19am BST Britain''s Travis Perkins names ex-ARM man as chairman Travis Perkins ( TPK.L ), Britain''s biggest supplier of building materials, named Stuart Chambers, the former chairman of chip designer ARM Holdings and packaging group Rexam, as its chairman with effect from November. Chambers will succeed Robert Walker, who will retire in November after almost eight years in the post. Chambers, who will join Travis Perkins as chairman designate on Sept. 1, is currently a member of Britain''s Takeover Panel and chairman designate at miner Anglo American ( AAL.L ). Anglo American appointed Chambers in June to succeed John Parker and carry on with its overhaul. Chambers will join as non-executive director and chairman designate on Sept. 1 before becoming chairman on Nov. 1, Anglo said then. Before serving as chairman of ARM and Rexam until 2016, Chambers, aged 61, was a non-executive director at British retailer Tesco ( TSCO.L ) until 2015 and was previously a top executive at glassmakers Pilkington and its subsequent parent Nippon Sheet Glass ( 5202.T ). He began his career at oil major Shell ( RDSa.L ) as a chemical engineer. (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-travis-perkins-chairman-idUKKBN19I0OO'|'2017-06-27T15:19:00.000+03:00' +'7c85e0e5d668e094948c06ffd2f68668dc921b15'|'U.S. Justice Department halts settlements funding out outside groups'|'Wed Jun 7, 2017 - 1:12pm BST Justice Dept. halts settlements funding out outside groups U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions addresses the National Law Enforcement Conference on Human Exploitation in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., June 6, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Aluka Berry WASHINGTON The U.S. Justice Department has barred any legal settlements in federal investigations that include donating funds to community organizations or other third-party groups, rather than to those directly harmed by the wrongdoing or involved in the cases, in a change that could impact banks and other corporations. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement released on Wednesday that settlement payments must be directed to victims impacted by the defendants'' actions and then to the federal government. It was the latest action by the Republican Trump administration to end policies from the previous Democratic Obama administration. Such agreements were a feature of several U.S. settlements with banks in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Under former President Barack Obama, the Justice Department aimed to hold banks accountable for shoddy securities that contributed to the U.S. housing market collapse. From 2013 to 2016, the department reached $46 billion in settlements with U.S. banks that in part directed funds to approved housing aid and other related groups. In Obama''s final weeks in office, the department sued Barclays PLC ( BARC.L ) over similar claims. "In recent years the Department of Justice has sometimes required or encouraged defendants to make these payments to third parties as a condition of settlement," Sessions said in the statement. "We are ending this practice and ensuring that settlement funds are only used to compensate victims, redress harm, and punish and deter unlawful conduct." The change could impact other banks still under federal investigation over mortgage issues such as Credit Suisse Group AG ( CSGN.S ), Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC ( RBS.L ), Wells Fargo & Co ( WFC.N ), UBS Group AG ( UBSG.S ) and HSBC ( HSBA.L ). Representatives for the banks could not be immediately reached for comment. Sessions, in a one-page memo dated on Monday, told the nation''s 94 U.S. attorney generals they could not make any agreements in civil or criminal cases "that directs or provides for a payment or loan to any non-governmental person or entity that is not a party to the dispute." Sessions cited three exceptions to the new policy: payments or loans that directly aim to address harm such as to the environment or official corruption; legal or other professional services from the case; and restitution, forfeiture and other payments required by law. While the new policy affects future deals, it would have impacted cases like the Environmental Protection Agency''s diesel emissions settlement with Volkswagen AG ( VOWG_p.DE ) that required the German automaker to invest $2 billion in zero emission vehicle efforts over 10 years. (Reporting by Karen Freifeld; additional reporting by David Shepardson; Writng by Susan Heavey; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-justice-settlements-idUKKBN18Y1L2'|'2017-06-07T20:07:00.000+03:00' +'ef54c9de5cb61644ca05c186b4d31dc58d542d4b'|'A trendy Asian lifestyle chain opens in North Korea'|'WHEN Miniso said in January that its stores would bring the happiness of stress-free shopping to the Koreans, you would be forgiven for thinking they were referring to emporium-loving Seoulites. In fact, the home-goods store, co-founded by a Chinese entrepreneur and a Japanese designer, was announcing that it would be taking its capitalist trinkets into (ostensibly socialist) North Korea. In a joint-venture deal with one of the countrys state-owned enterprises, it agreed to establish the first foreign-branded chain store in Pyongyang, the destitute countrys showcase capital.The first Miniso store opened there in April, eight months after its first shop in South Korea began operating, and just before it launched in America. Its arrival is remarkable in a place where displays of branding are rare (the exception is a handful of billboards advertising a local car firm, Pyeonghwa Motors).Latest updates Why falling oil isn''t hurting markets Buttonwoods notebook 13 minutes ago Retail sales, producer prices, wages and exchange rates 6 hours ago Foreign reserves 6 hours ago How the euro zone deals with failing banks The Economist explains 11 hours ago The Supreme Court says offensive trademarks are protected speech Democracy in America 20 hours ago The hope for Democrats after special-election losses Graphic detail 21 hours ago See all updates Minisos coup in the secretive kingdom is part of a global advance. Since it opened its first store in Guangzhou in China in 2013, it has signed deals to expand into more than 50 countries, from Mexico to Mongolia; it has more than 1,800 outlets in total. Revenue amounted to 10bn yuan ($1.5bn) in 2016, almost double that of the previous year.Ye Guofu, the Chinese entrepreneur who co-founded Miniso with Junya Miyake, who runs its design team in Tokyo, sends out some 200 buyers around the world in search of ideas. New household goods hit its shelves every week, from nail polishes to bath mats and frying pans. Its few pricey products cost no more than about $40. Its young fans see it as a cross between three popular Japanese retailers: Daiso, a 100 chain, where everything costs less than 90 cents; Uniqlo, a clothing company with minimalist design; and Muji, a lifestyle chain with a massive product range. Others gripe that it is misleadingly plugging its Japaneseness (it says it was founded in Tokyo, though it has only four shops there and over 1,000 in China) to appeal to Asian consumers keen on kawaii , or Japans brand of cuteness.Anecdotal evidence from Pyongyang suggests that the citys coterie of privileged North Koreans is already enthusiastic. On a recent visit a foreign resident saw mainly toys, cosmetics and home-decor baubles being bought for between $2 and $10. Price tags at Miniso are in North Korean won but customers must pay in dollars, euros or Chinese yuanan embarrassment to the regime, which knows its won are worthless. The store is in a lotus-flower-shaped building on Ryomyong Street, a cluster of high-rise apartments and shops (pictured) opened in April to fanfare by Kim Jong Un, the Norths leader, who took power on the death of his father in 2011.The young Mr Kim has promised his oppressed people more leisure and consumption: shopping centres, renovated funfairs and a water park have in recent years been unveiled in the capital. That helps to explain the entry of Miniso, which says it wants not only to enrich peoples choices in North Korea, but also improve peoples living standard. Lim Eul-chul of Kyungnam University in South Korea expects Miniso will soon be stocked with locally produced goods too. Yet this is not a market for the faint-hearted. Egypts Orascom Telecom entered into a joint venture with the state in 2008 to set up North Koreas first 3G cellular network. It has yet to repatriate any profits, and in 2015 it said that the North Korean state had established a second carrier to compete with its own network. "Minisocialist"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21723871-miniso-hopes-appeal-monied-young-consumers-pyongyang-trendy-asian-lifestyle-chain?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-06-22T21:43:00.000+03:00' +'102b5c88250f4ed021c3d7bd3066b64ccdb08c29'|'Global coordination important as world economy changes - China vice fin min'|' 01am BST Global coordination important as world economy changes - China vice fin min China''s Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao in Shanghai, China, February 25, 2016. REUTERS/Aly Song BEIJING Global coordination is important as the world economy undergoes changes, including the latest U.S. interest rate hike, China''s Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao said on Thursday. As the global economy stabilises, countries need to normalise their monetary policy, although that normalisation is happening at a very slow pace, Zhu told reporters in Beijing. G20 leaders will gather in Hamburg next month. (Reporting by Sue-Lin Wong; Writing by Ryan Woo; Editing by Michael Perry)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-g-idUKKBN19K09O'|'2017-06-29T06:01:00.000+03:00' +'d8e3481aef74e752f82eedfecdafa4966c984618'|'New York City pushes for new method to build big public projects'|'NEW YORK, June 20 The notion that governments can build big public projects on time and on budget may be a long-running joke for some skeptics, but New York City is not laughing.The largest U.S. city is not allowed to use a project delivery method called "design-build" that other cities around the country - and New York state - have increasingly adopted to save time and money on major infrastructure projects.But city officials and industry firms are making a final push for the power to use this method before the state''s legislative session ends on Wednesday.Due to New York''s existing statutes, the city must continue using the traditional design-bid-build method, which employs a different party for each stage instead of the more streamlined single entity that collaborates on all aspects of a project from the start under design-build.A bill before lawmakers would allow three New York City agencies, including its Department of Transportation, to deploy design-build for eight specific projects, with provisions for using organized labor."We will use it to save the taxpayers money, to speed up projects, and to bring innovation," said New York City DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg in an interview. "We will use it for good purposes just as the state has done and just as almost every city and state across the country is doing."Trottenberg wants to use design-build for the biggest, most complicated project on her department''s roster: a $1.9 billion renovation of a "triple cantilever" section of an old, heavily used expressway, where three tiers of traffic are stacked atop each other as they curve through the borough of Brooklyn over 21 individual bridges.Just a few miles away from the cantilever, on a separate section of the same highway, the state successfully used design-build to construct the first span of a new $555 million Kosciuszko Bridge, which opened on time and on budget in April.Firms that build and finance major New York projects -- including Skanska AB, AECOM, HNTB, Citigroup Inc., RBC Capital Markets and Delta Air Lines Inc. -- sent a letter on Monday to state lawmakers urging them to pass the bill without delay.Lisa Washington, executive director of the Design-Build Institute of America, said New York City is "behind everybody else. It seems unfortunate that everything around these core infrastructure projects is reaping the benefits (of design-build) and New York City ... has been unable to."(Reporting by Hilary Russ; Editing by Daniel Bases and Dan Grebler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/new-york-infrastructure-idUSL1N1JG1SC'|'2017-06-21T05:49:00.000+03:00' +'bcd5ff6fea5d438993c6940d7a9291e395a3a4df'|'DFS Furniture warns on profit, blames dip in demand'|'Business News 7:24am BST DFS Furniture warns on profit, blames dip in demand LONDON British upholstered furniture retailer DFS Furniture warned on Thursday that it would not meet profit expectations for the current year, blaming a weakening trading environment. The firm said it now expected to make core earnings of 82-87 million pounds. DFS said the trading environment had recently weakened beyond its expectation, with significant declines in store footfall leading to a material reduction in customer orders. "We believe these demand effects are market-wide, in line with industry indicators, and are linked to customer uncertainty regarding the general election and the uncertain macroeconomic environment," it said. (Reporting by James Davey, Editing by Paul Sandle)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-dfs-furn-outlook-idUKKBN1960HH'|'2017-06-15T14:24:00.000+03:00' +'b5ca24e76f1f55582d1c02785ab6525e29b0c637'|'Macron Confronts the Mother of All Reforms'|'Macron Confronts the Mother of All Reforms Frances president launches a campaign to free up the labor market. By Philippe Martinez, general secretary of the General Confederation of Labour union, shakes hands with Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee palace in Paris. Photographer: STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP Just past day 50 since he was elected president, Emmanuel Macron is about to take on a problem that has frustrated his predecessors: freeing up France''s labor market. Macron, whose cabinet Wednesday approved a broad outline of changes to the labor code, wants the authority to negotiate the details over the summer with unions and business groups. The government would then introduce the new framework in September by decree, short-circuiting the legislative process. After sweeping aside the establishment to claim the presidency and then cementing his dominance with a resounding majority in this months parliamentary elections, Macron intends to show Frances often frustrated European partners that he can deliver. With his political capital at a high and the economy coming off the strongest six-month period of growth since 2010, he might never get a better chance. The labor-market reform is the mother of all reforms, both from an economic and social point of view, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in an interview with Le Figaro June 24. While the context is favorable, we must not waste a minute. Macron at the Elysee Palace on June 26, 2017. Photographer: Alain Jocard/AFP Loosening Frances labor code was a central campaign issue for Macron and he began negotiations with unions and business leaders as soon as he claimed the presidency May 7. The most hard-line elements within the union movement are preparing for battle. I call on the president to be humble and prudent, and not to think that just because he was elected and has a big majority, he can do what he wants, Philippe Martinez, head of the CGT, Frances second-largest union, said in a June 25 interview in Humanite. The unions, including the CGT, are one obstacle he cant get around. General Strike The CGT has called for a general strike Sept. 12. Frances largest union, the CFDT, said it will wait to see the decrees in September before deciding what steps to take. The most important business stories of the day. Get Bloomberg''s daily newsletter. Sign Up The talks focus on three main areas: shifting some elements of labor contracts, such as working hours, from the industry level to individual companies; merging Frances myriad workers councils in companies, and setting upper and lower limits on severance pay to provide more visibility and security for employees and employers. Medef, a business lobby, is pushing for companies to have the right to agree terms with their employees, rather than being governed by industry-wide deals. The mostly symbolic 35-hour work week isnt a priority, according to Labor Minister Muriel Penicaud. I think we have found ways to adapt,'''' she said on RTL radio. Its not a major issue that requires immediate attention. France needs change, it needs reforms, Pierre Moscovici, the European Union commissioner for economic affairs, said May 21 on France Inter radio. It needs to be made more dynamic and thats what we expect from the president. Moscovici himself failed to make much progress on the labor market when he served as finance minister between 2012 and 2014 in the Socialist administration of Francois Hollande. In fact, Frances last three governments all tried to liberalize labor law, and all three watered down their plans in the face of union opposition. Past Efforts In 2003 and 2005 Jacques Chirac managed to loosen the 35-hour cap on the working week, making it easier and cheaper for companies to add extra hours. In 2008, Nicolas Sarkozy made it simpler for individual workers to negotiate their own departure. And Hollandes reforms of 2013 and 2016 made it easier to justify layoffs due to a downturn in business. Macron, as economy minister under Hollande, had worked on earlier versions of the 2016 law that went much further in easing restrictions on firing and negotiating own labor accords. After the bill was watered, Macron quit the government to set up his own political movement. When I speak to foreign clients, the first question usually they have is whether France will reform its labor code, said Philippe Waechter, director of economic research at Natixis Asset Management. Sometimes we never get on to other subjects. Frances image is really at stake in these talks. Before it''s here, it''s on the Bloomberg Terminal. '|'bloomberg.com'|'https://www.bloomberg.com/businessweek'|'https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-28/macron-confronts-the-mother-of-all-reforms'|'2017-06-28T21:45:00.000+03:00' +'77f8ccf4038fae74e2e41408aefb7bb53171c77d'|'Sinopac''s U.S. unit sale may collapse if it doesn''t provide more details: source'|'By Faith Hung - TAIPEI TAIPEI Taiwan''s financial watchdog will not approve Sinopac Financial Holdings'' ( 2890.TW ) $340 million sale of its U.S. unit to Cathay General Bancorp ( CATY.O ) unless Sinopac submits the necessary paperwork, a source with the regulator said.Some board members at Taiwan''s Sinopac are hesitant to sign off on the deal, feeling "seller''s remorse" as the price tag now looks too low, three separate sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.It has been a year since the deal was announced and the foot dragging comes ahead of a June 20 deadline imposed by the U.S. Federal Reserve, which approved the deal in March, although Cathay General, a Los Angeles-based bank, can request an extension.A collapse of the deal could also taint the reputation of Sinopac and Taiwanese banks in the U.S. market, coming in the wake of $180 million in U.S. fines for Taiwan''s Mega Financial Holding ( 2886.TW ) for violations of rules including lax attention to risk exposure in Panama."We have asked Sinopac to provide additional paperwork. If they don''t do that, they automatically forfeit the deal," said an official at Taiwan''s Financial Supervisory Commission.Sinopac needs to explain the full terms of the agreement in a satisfactory way, said the official, declining to elaborate.The official and other sources declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak to the media on matter.A spokesman for Sinopac said the company would submit the additional paperwork "soon" and hopes that the deal will close.The FSC suspended a review of the acquisition application, according to a Sinopac statement earlier this month, which did not provide further details.Cathay General did not reply to requests for comment via email.Nasdaq-listed Cathay General has complained to Sinopac for not trying hard enough to get clearance from Taiwan regulators, said the three sources with direct knowledge of the matter.One of the sources said that the price had looked good to Sinopac last year amid uncertainties about Britain''s decision to leave the European Union and the U.S. presidential election."But now things have changed. The U.S. and global economies are showing strong momentum," the source said.(Reporting by Faith Hung; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Edwina Gibbs)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-sinopac-cathaygeneral-idINKBN1970EP'|'2017-06-16T03:04:00.000+03:00' +'a5c1c2f20bc8039e876f415980d114218a9397ac'|'Amtrak names former Delta executive as next CEO'|'WASHINGTON Amtrak on Monday named a former Delta Air Lines ( DAL.N ) chief executive as its next president and CEO as the U.S. passenger rail carrier makes major repairs at its busiest U.S. hub.Richard Anderson, who spearheaded Delta''s growth into the world''s largest airline by market value when he retired in May 2016, will assume the title of president and co-CEO on July 12 and take over the CEO role exclusively on Jan. 1.Wick Moorman, who became CEO in September and recruited Anderson, will remain on the job through the end of the year and then become an advisor to the company, Amtrak said in a statement.The leadership change comes as Amtrak''s repair program at Penn Station in New York City is expected to cause major service disruptions this summer for commuters across the metropolitan region.A rift is growing between Amtrak, which owns Penn Station, and the two states that use most of the hub''s track space, New York and New Jersey.The repairs, scheduled to take years, were expedited after recent derailments and other problems from decaying infrastructure left hundreds of thousands of commuters delayed throughout the greater New York City area.The Trump administration in May proposed ending $630 million in subsidies for Amtrak to operate long-distance train service, out of $1.4 billion in annual government support for passenger rail service.Anderson, one of the most outspoken U.S. airline industry leaders, assumed Delta''s top job in 2007 and led the company through a merger with Northwest Airlines in 2008.During his tenure, Delta outpaced its peers in on-time performance, grew rapidly in top business markets such as New York and acquired stakes in airlines in the United Kingdom, China, Mexico and Brazil.Moorman retired in 2015 as chairman, CEO and president of Norfolk Southern Corp ( NSC.N ) before taking the helm at Amtrak.(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Richard Chang)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-amtrak-idINKBN19H286'|'2017-06-26T16:01:00.000+03:00' +'180466c15f65d8b2275616b1a860ded746f58509'|'Russia''s Polyus sets price range for share offer in London, Moscow'|'Business 17am BST Russia''s Polyus sets price range for share offer in London, Moscow FILE PHOTO: A melter casts an ingot of 92.96 percent pure gold at a procession plant of the Olimpiada gold operation, owned by Polyus Gold International company, in Krasnoyarsk region, Eastern Siberia, Russia, June 30, 2015. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin/File Photo MOSCOW Russia''s top gold producer Polyus said on Thursday it had set a price range for the offering of between 7 and 9 percent of its shares, including new shares, in London and Moscow. Polyus expects to raise $400 million (313.7 million pounds) from the sale of new shares. Further proceeds from existing equity will go to its controlling shareholder, the family of Russian tycoon Suleiman Kerimov. The price range was set at $33.25-$35.30 per global depositary share in London, corresponding to a price of $66.50-$70.60 per ordinary share in Moscow. The latter will be paid in roubles, it said in a statement. This price range will result in a market capitalisation of between $8.5 billion and $9.0 billion on a pre-money, fully diluted basis, including treasury shares, Polyus added. Polyus shares were down 2 percent in Moscow at 4,367 roubles ($75.9) compared with a 1.6 percent fall in the broader MICEX index. Russian stocks fell to their lowest since November on Thursday on new U.S. sanctions. The pricing for the Polyus offering is expected on June 30, the Moscow Exchange said earlier on Thursday. Goldman Sachs International, JPMorgan, Sberbank CIB and VTB Capital are acting as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners, while BMO Capital Markets, Gazprombank and Morgan Stanley are joint bookrunners. (Reporting by Polina Devitt and Diana Asonova; Editing by Dale Hudson and Katya Golubkova)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-polyus-spo-idUKKBN1960QY'|'2017-06-15T16:17:00.000+03:00' +'0a835b0d446e16453c8bcf885b7fd72034428f98'|'Tesla close to agreement on first production plant in China-Bbg'|'Market News - Mon Jun 19, 2017 - 6:23pm EDT Tesla close to agreement on first production plant in China-Bbg June 19 Tesla Inc is close to an agreement to produce its electric cars in China for the first time and gain better access to the world''s largest auto market, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. An agreement with the city of Shanghai would allow Tesla to build its facilities in Lingang development zone and could come as soon as this week, the report said. ( bloom.bg/2rOQwcG ) The electric carmaker, whose revenue from China tripled to more than $1 billion last year, would need to set up a joint venture with at least one local partner under existing rules, Bloomberg reported. Tesla was not immediately available for comment. In March, Tencent Holdings Ltd, China''s biggest internet company, bought a 5 percent stake in Tesla for $1.8 billion. (Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/tesla-china-idUSL3N1JG58N'|'2017-06-20T06:23:00.000+03:00' +'cfe27007ec48ac51bfbd21b6fa65dbcdab9deb59'|'MIDEAST STOCKS-Qatar rebounds but oil price plunge drags down Saudi'|'Market News 12am EDT MIDEAST STOCKS-Qatar rebounds but oil price plunge drags down Saudi * Qatar recovers almost a third of losses due to diplomatic crisis * Valuations relatively low, some hope for mediation efforts * Saudi''s Atheeb rises after obtaining new frequencies * Dubai''s Emaar Properties halts surge on unit''s IPO plan * Drake & Scull continues rebound in heavy trade By Andrew Torchia DUBAI, June 8 Qatar''s stock market rebounded on Thursday from a steep slide caused by its diplomatic rift with neighbouring states, while a plunge in oil prices weighed on Saudi Arabia''s bourse. The Qatari stock index, which had lost 9.7 percent over three days since Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates cut diplomatic and trade relations, bounced 3.0 percent. The mood in Doha remained nervous; Standard & Poor''s downgraded Qatar''s credit rating on Wednesday night, and the economic damage to Qatar from the rift could become serious if foreign banks pull out funds. Nevertheless, fund managers noted that many Qatari blue chips had fallen to relatively attractive valuations. Investors are also hoping that mediation efforts over the weekend will help bring a resolution for the dispute. Some of the stocks most heavily beaten down early this week on fears that Qatar''s foreign trade would suffer rebounded most strongly, with Gulf Warehousing shooting up 9.1 percent. Qatari Investors Group jumped 10 percent after saying it had won two lawsuits filed against it by Sanad Al Doha Real Estate Investment Co and Ezdan Holding. The suits had sought to oust the group''s board of directors, it said. Saudi Arabia''s index fell back 1.2 percent after the Brent oil price tumbled 4 percent overnight. Among major losers, travel firm Al Tayyar sank 3.9 percent. Atheeb Telecommunications rose 3.9 percent after saying it had obtained new frequencies for its operations at a cost of 2.07 billion riyals ($552 million). Dubai''s index fell 0.2 percent as Emaar Properties , which had surged 8.6 percent on Wednesday after saying it planned an initial public offering of up to 30 percent of its United Arab Emirates real estate development business, slipped back 0.3 percent. Ubhar Capital estimated Emaar shareholders would receive a dividend of 0.92 dirham per share as a result of the IPO, assuming the full IPO proceeds were paid out. That compares with a 2016 dividend from Emaar Properties of 0.15 dirham. Builder Drake & Scull, which has been rebounding for a couple of weeks from a 15-month low, climbed 4.3 percent in its heaviest trade since mid-February. In Abu Dhabi, the index rose 0.5 percent as Dana Gas continue to outperform, adding 3.9 percent. It leaped 10.9 percent on Wednesday after saying it had received $40 million from the Egyptian government towards its outstanding receivables. HIGHLIGHTS * The index fell 1.2 percent to 6,865 points. DUBAI * The index fell 0.2 percent to 3,400 points. ABU DHABI * The index rose 0.5 percent to 4,477 points. QATAR * The index rebounded 3.0 percent to 9,238 points. EGYPT * The index rose 0.4 percent to 13,684 points. KUWAIT * The index dropped 0.5 percent to 6,783 points. BAHRAIN * The index climbed 0.2 percent to 1,323 points. OMAN'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/mideast-stocks-idUSL8N1J51CK'|'2017-06-08T23:12:00.000+03:00' +'23a4ce8cbbe1f9deaf31ec634e5378faea76f938'|'Divided Puerto Ricans head to polls to vote on U.S. statehood'|'By Tracy Rucinski - SAN JUAN, June 11 SAN JUAN, June 11 Puerto Ricans head to the polls on Sunday to decide whether they want their struggling U.S. territory to become the 51st U.S. state, although a vote in favor would likely face an uphill battle in Congress and with President Donald Trump.The vote comes at a time of economic hardship for the island, hamstrung by $70 billion in debt, a 45-percent poverty rate, woefully underperforming schools, and near-insolvent pension and health systems.Puerto Rico''s hazy political status, dating back to its 1898 acquisition by the United States from Spain, has contributed to the economic crisis that pushed it last month into the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history."Statehood hasn''t come in the past 120 years. Why would Donald Trump want to make this bankrupt island a state now? It will be another 120 years before that happens," said Miriam Gonzalez, a 66-year-old retiree in San Juan.Heading into the plebiscite, Puerto Ricans mingling on the quaint and narrow streets of old San Juan were divided over the three options they will face on Sunday''s ballot: becoming a U.S. state; remaining a territory; or becoming an independent nation, with or without some continuing political association with the United States.Under the current system, Puerto Rico''s 3.5 million American citizens do not pay federal taxes, vote for U.S. presidents or receive proportionate federal funding on programs like Medicaid, though the U.S. government oversees policy and financial areas such as infrastructure, defense and trade.Puerto Rico''s recently elected governor Ricardo Rossello campaigned last year on holding a referendum.Rossello''s New Progressive Party (PNP) party, which controls Puerto Rico''s government, is premised on a pro-statehood stance, while the opposition Popular Democratic Party (PPD) supports versions of the current territory status and a third party, the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP), supports independence.A spokesman for the governor told Reuters he will push Congress to respect a result in favor of statehood, but Puerto Rico is seen as a low priority in Washington.The status referendum is Puerto Rico''s fifth since 1967. Statehood won in the last referendum in 2012, though PPD leaders instructed constituents to leave blank hundreds of thousands of ballots, calling the result into question."Statehood isn''t going to happen and the status quo is a trap," said 23-year-old engineering and economics student Daniel Montalvo. "At this point, I think gradual independence is the best option." (Reporting by Tracy Rucinski)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/puertorico-debt-vote-idINL1N1J70KD'|'2017-06-11T02:01:00.000+03:00' +'ae59c512fb033711647d1301b2c5e41da547d884'|'GE wins first major deal from Alstom portfolio, in Romania'|'Commodities 45am EDT GE wins first major deal from Alstom portfolio, in Romania FILE PHOTO: The logo of General Electric Co. is pictured at the Global Operations Center in San Pedro Garza Garcia, neighbouring Monterrey, Mexico, May 12, 2017. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril FRANKFURT General Electric has won a large contract to supply gas power equipment for a new 430 megawatt Romanian power plant, the first major deal to result from its $10.6 billion 2015 acquisition of Alstom''s power business. GE will supply all the core technology for the 268 million- euro ($299 million) combined-cycle plant being built in Iernut by Duro Felguera and Romelectro for state gas producer Romgaz. Before the Alstom acquisition, GE would have simply supplied the gas turbines and walked away. With Alstom, it acquired steam technology as well as the ability to supply all the peripheral equipment needed to build a complete power plant. GE told Reuters on Friday the plant would generate enough power to supply 1 million Romanian households, making it southeast Europe''s biggest gas project in five years. GE will supply four 6F gas turbines, two steam turbines and four heat-recovery steam generators for the plant, where building will start later this year and which is scheduled to be completed in 2019, replacing an existing plant at the same site. U.S.-based GE has been present in Romania since 1984. (Reporting by Georgina Prodhan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ge-romania-gas-idUSKBN19E1JT'|'2017-06-23T21:34:00.000+03:00' +'c65a370f0b15d0c3536ba0161465523280d3d12e'|'British American Tobacco says trading well, in line with expectations'|'LONDON British American Tobacco ( BATS.L ) said on Wednesday it continued to perform "very well" and was trading in line with its expectations.BAT, home to the Lucky Strike and Dunhill cigarette brands, said it continued to record market share growth and noted that profit growth was expected to be weighted to the second half of the year, reflecting the phasing of volume shipments, product investment and marketing spend.It said that if exchange rates stayed the same for the remainder of the year, there would be an adverse transactional impact on operating profit of 2 percent for both the first half and the full year.But the translation impact would be a tailwind on operating profit of about 13 percent for the half year and 7 percent for the full year.First-half earnings per share was expected to benefit from a significant translational foreign exchange tailwind of around 14 percent.(Reporting by James Davey, Editing by Paul Sandle)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-brit-am-tobacco-outlook-idUSKBN1950J8'|'2017-06-14T14:21:00.000+03:00' +'bdab8c9d79b745985a565018cbec5d1234f21864'|'CEE MARKETS-OTP lifts Budapest stocks to record, CEE markets await Fed'|'Market News - Tue Jun 13, 2017 - 5:32am EDT CEE MARKETS-OTP lifts Budapest stocks to record, CEE markets await Fed * CEE assets rangebound ahead of Fed meeting, Polish holiday * JP Morgan lifts OTP target price, Budapest stocks at record high * Investors continue to shrug off domestic politics * Czech central bank urges powers to tame home loan frenzy By Sandor Peto BUDAPEST, June 13 Budapest''s main stock index rose to a record high on Tuesday, boosted by a rise of OTP Bank shares after JP Morgan lifted its target price for the stock. OTP firmed by over 1.5 percent to a four-month high of 9,095 forints ($33.22), after JP Morgan changed its target to 12,000 forints from 9,860 forints. "The last time we saw similar value (from JP Morgan) was in 2007," Erste analysts said in a note. Central European markets were generally idle as investors awaited key signals about global interest rate trends from the Federal Reserve''s meeting on Wednesday. The week will be also short for many investors in Poland, the region''s biggest economy, which will have a national holiday on Thursday. "The tone of the Fed''s comments will be key... while it is summer and that also keeps a lid on activity," said Zoltan Varga, analyst of Equilor brokerage. Regional currencies were mixed, with the zloty and the forint firming 0.1 percent against the euro, staying well within the past few weeks'' narrow ranges. The leu eased a shade. Investors were not worried over inflation after a jump in Hungary''s annual farm producer price index to 4.1 percent in April from 1.4 percent in March and continuing double-digit annual rise in Romanian net wages in April. Romanian data published on Monday showed that annual inflation remained low at 0.6t percent in May, while concerns remain that it could jump, along with the budget deficit, by next year, keeping the leu under pressure. While European politics lacked new developments, investors also shrugged off domestic politics. Local political tension usually affects asset prices only when international markets are also nervous. The European Commission is expected to launch legal cases against the Czechs, Hungary and Poland later on Tuesday for failing to take in asylum-seekers in a quota scheme. In Croatia, foreign minister Davor Ivo Stier resigned on Monday, following the formation of a new coalition including the conservatives and the liberals. The dinar traded mildly firmer against the euro on Tuesday. The Czech central bank said it was doubling the amount banks must put aside as a precaution for hard times as of July next year because of rapid credit growth. Its governor, Jiri Rusnok also pushed lawmakers to give the bank more powers to tame the growing home loan market. Bank stocks listed in Prague were mixed. The crown was steady against the euro, off last Friday''s the 3-and-1/2-year highs. CEE MARKETS SNAPSH AT 1042 CET OT CURRENCIES Latest Previo Daily Change us bid close change in 2017 Czech crown 26.210 26.203 -0.02% 3.04% 0 5 Hungary 307.15 307.53 +0.12 0.54% forint 00 00 % Polish zloty 4.1925 4.1964 +0.09 5.04% % Romanian leu 4.5644 4.5623 -0.05% -0.64% Croatian kuna 7.4050 7.4095 +0.06 2.03% % Serbian dinar 122.27 122.40 +0.11 0.88% 00 00 % Note: daily calculated previo close 1800 change from us at CET STOCKS Latest Previo Daily Change us close change in 2017 Prague 1003.7 1004.4 -0.07% +8.91 6 6 % Budapest 35425. 35334. +0.26 +10.6 59 48 % 9% Warsaw 2290.3 2295.0 -0.20% +17.5 4 1 8% Bucharest 8446.3 8451.2 -0.06% +19.2 5 0 1% Ljubljana 790.94 797.45 -0.82% +10.2 2% Zagreb 1847.3 1841.1 +0.34 -7.40% 1 0 % Belgrade 715.82 723.54 -1.07% -0.22% Sofia 682.59 681.39 +0.18 +16.4 % 0% BONDS Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs change Bund in Czech spread Republic 2-year -0.086 0.024 +063b +2bps ps 5-year -0.051 0.052 +038b +4bps ps 10-year 0.818 0.011 +055b +0bps ps Poland 2-year 1.885 0 +260b -1bps ps 5-year 2.59 0 +303b -1bps ps 10-year 3.162 0.039 +289b +3bps ps FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interb ank Czech Rep Hungary Poland Note: FRA are for ask quotes prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets-idUSL8N1JA1XD'|'2017-06-13T17:32:00.000+03:00' +'2ba4e13fd09e2582822fd9740f63d98bc87639f6'|'Takata decides to file for bankruptcy - Japan media'|'Bonds News - Sun Jun 25, 2017 - 6:56pm EDT Takata decides to file for bankruptcy - Japan media TOKYO, June 26 Japan''s Takata Corp decided on Monday to file for bankruptcy protection in Japan with liabilities of more than 1 trillion yen ($9 billion), Japanese media reported, as the auto parts supplier has struggled due to its defective air bag inflators at the centre of the auto industry''s biggest ever product recall. The decision came at a special board meeting, public broadcaster NHK said. Nikkei also reported the decision, without citing any sources for the information. Takata is expected to file for a U.S. Chapter 11-style bankruptcy protection procedure, along with a similar filing in the United States, sources have told Reuters. This would open the door for a financial rescue from U.S. auto parts supplier Key Safety Systems, which Takata has tapped as its preferred financial sponsor. Faulty air bag inflators made by Takata have been linked to at least 17 deaths in the United States and other countries, prompting a massive global recall which began nearly a decade ago. ($1 = 111.2100 yen) (Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by William Mallard) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/takata-bankruptcy-japan-idUSL3N1JH1UY'|'2017-06-26T06:56:00.000+03:00' +'d2b458bf45a88b3883149af8c0abb19c58701de2'|'EU states spar over hosting London-based agencies after Brexit'|'Top News - Tue Jun 20, 2017 - 5:25pm BST EU states spar over hosting London-based agencies after Brexit European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir By Gabriela Baczynska - LUXEMBOURG LUXEMBOURG European Union states locked horns on Tuesday over moving the bloc''s London-based regulators for banking and drugs after Brexit, a test of unity for the 27 remaining members, most of which have expressed interest in hosting them. "Despite the high political dimension, we are committed to ensuring a successful outcome and hence the unity among the EU 27 remains our priority," said Malta''s Helena Dalli, who chaired a meeting of EU ministers on the issue. But the ministers, meeting in Luxembourg, failed to agree on procedure for choosing the new sites for the European Banking Authority (EBA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which together employ more than 1,000 people. Germany and Ireland are among states to have already said they will apply to host both bodies, though diplomats say both will not go to one single country. The newer member states in former communist eastern Europe, which have joined since 2004, complain they host fewer common EU bodies and want this disparity addressed. The EU''s executive European Commission will propose a set of criteria to choose the new locations, including logistical support, infrastructure, and access to the labour market and medical care for the employees'' relatives. Eastern bloc members say these criteria favour the wealthier west and say a geographical spread of sites should also be taken into account. Italy withheld its consent on Tuesday, saying the Commission should go further and shortlist several of the most eligible sites. The Netherlands also had reservations, diplomats said. UNITY OF 27 "This is a difficult discussion because for the first time since the Brexit decision, this theme is actually dividing the 27 whereas so far our strength in facing Brexit has been in our unity," one senior EU diplomat said. "Eventually it will be a political decision with a lot of horse-trading behind the scenes." EU leaders meeting for a summit in Brussels on Thursday are due to finalise the process and member states will have until the end of July to propose cities. A final decision is expected in October after the EU states vote, first on the medical, then on the banking authority. Barcelona, Milan, Copenhagen and Dublin have all started campaigning to host the EMA, which has an annual budget of $360 million (284.23 million pounds). Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam, Vienna, Lyon and Strasbourg are among the cities wanting the EBA, whose 160 London-based employees write and coordinate banking rules across the bloc. "The agencies are really a joke," one senior EU official said of the relatively small budgets at stake for national governments. "They don''t matter themselves but the stakes are high because it''s about the unity of the 27." (Additional reporting by Alastair Macdonald; Writing by Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Richard Balmforth) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-agencies-idUKKBN19B1LC'|'2017-06-20T19:54:00.000+03:00' +'c16dac01d9103c3ea73bee7a86ad42db9adebb08'|'Oil prices rise to two-week high on dip in U.S. output'|'Business News - Thu Jun 29, 2017 - 10:32am BST Oil prices rise to two-week high on dip in U.S. output A gas pump is seen hanging from the ceiling at a petrol station in Seoul June 27, 2011. REUTERS/Jo Yong-Hak By Karolin Schaps - LONDON LONDON Oil prices rose to a two-week high on Thursday, extending a rally into a sixth straight session, after a decline in weekly U.S. production eased concerns about deepening oversupply. Crude prices slipped to the lowest in 10 months last week but have since rebounded more than 7 percent, stretching their bull-run to the longest since April. Global benchmark Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up 33 cents at $47.64 a barrel at 0832 GMT, having touched a two-week high of $47.83 earlier in the session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 was up 32 cents at $45.06 a barrel. It registered an intraday high of $45.24, also the loftiest in two weeks. "After the steep drop in oil prices of recent weeks, I believe that especially hedge funds saw a nice buying momentum and lower U.S. crude production was the trigger to act," said Hans van Cleef, senior energy economist at ABN Amro. U.S. government data showed on Wednesday that domestic crude production dropped by 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 9.3 million bpd last week, the steepest weekly fall since July 2016. Some analysts and traders said the decline was related to temporary factors such as risks associated with Tropical Storm Cindy in the Gulf of Mexico and maintenance in Alaska. Investors shrugged off bearish news of a surprise 118,000-barrel rise in weekly U.S. crude stocks. Global oil supplies remain ample despite output cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers of 1.8 million bpd since January. OPEC and its allies, trying to reduce a crude glut, agreed in May to extend the supply cut through March 2018. OPEC has exempted Nigeria and Libya from the curbs due to unrest that has sapped those countries'' production. Royal Dutch Shell on Wednesday lifted force majeure on Nigerian Bonny Light crude exports after pipeline repairs. Analysts at investment bank Goldman Sachs said rising Nigerian and Libyan output, as well as a ramp-up in U.S. shale oil drilling, would slow the drawdown in crude inventories. "This creates risks that the normalisation in inventories will not be achieved by the time the OPEC cut ends next March. We expect this will leave prices trading near $45 (a barrel) until there is evidence of a decline in the U.S. horizontal oil rig count, sustained stock draws or additional OPEC production cuts," they wrote. (Additional reporting by Naveen Thukral in Singapore; Editing by Dale Hudson) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUKKBN19K01P'|'2017-06-29T12:26:00.000+03:00' +'c92a254e3bb19676c7420166b08cd636723cefa0'|'Rosneft ready to accept any other adequate collateral from Sistema: RIA'|'MOSCOW Russian oil company Rosneft ( ROSN.MM ) is ready to accept any other "adequate" collateral from Sistema ( SSAq.L ) ( AFKS.MM ) in a legal dispute instead of the shares in some of the assets which have been arrested, RIA newsagency reported on Monday."Sistema may secure our lawsuit by any other adequate measures," Rosneft spokesman Mikhail Leontyev was Quote: d as saying by RIA.(Reporting by Anastasia Teterevleva; writing by Katya Golubkova. Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-russia-sistema-rosneft-assets-idINKBN19H2CZ'|'2017-06-26T17:13:00.000+03:00' +'24bf0845e9e580ade1dccfff35c691da2db382b3'|'UK subprime lender Provident Financial warns on profit over operational disruption'|'Business News - Wed Jun 21, 2017 - 10:24am BST Subprime lender Provident Financial hit by shortage of debt collectors By Noor Zainab Hussain British subprime lender Provident Financial Plc said that a fall in the number of debt collection agents at its home credit division will weigh on profits for the rest of the financial year, sending its shares sharply lower The company said a reorganisation of the business had led to a rise in the number of agents leaving, with the recent vacancy rate hitting 12 percent, twice the level anticipated. The company, which provides credit to people who do not meet the lending criteria of mainstream banks, is ending its practice of using self-employed collection agents and employing them instead. However the rate of applications by its current agents has fallen short of expectations. "We didn''t get it right. The incentives we had in place and the other management actions and communications that were there, were not sufficient to retain the number of agents that we anticipated," CEO Peter Crook told analysts on Wednesday. Shares in the lender plunged 20 percent on Wednesday morning, making the stock the biggest loser on London''s blue-chip index. The unfilled jobs were in the lender''s UK business, Finance Director Andrew Fisher said on the analyst call, adding there were about 450 vacancies. It is aiming to employ a total of 2,500 in total. "When you are going through a period of 4-5 months when essentially most of the work force is on notice and you''re having to re-recruit much of your workforce into new positions within a new structure, it creates an air of uncertainty across the organisation," Fisher said. Operational disruption had led to more uncollected home credit and hit sales penetration and customer retention, Provident Financial said. The lender said the shortfall in the unit''s contribution to profit was estimated to be about 40 million pounds in the first half of the year, up from the 15 million pound hit the company forecast in April. Provident Financial said recent collections performance had "deteriorated", particularly in May. June collections were "stabilising", with performance expected to normalise next month. This operational disruption on collections and sales is forecast to reduce 2017 pre-exceptional profits from the consumer credit division to around 60 million pounds, from 115 million pounds a year earlier. Crooke said the company expects things to be back to "normal" by the fourth quarter. "We don''t have a credit quality issue, we have an issue whereby we haven''t collected on customers in the normal disciplined, diligent," he said. (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-provident-fin-outlook-idUKKBN19C0HI'|'2017-06-21T13:59:00.000+03:00' +'9d73f12c26161d50f73a1e8bedb76669a94230b9'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX barely higher as banks gain, miners fall'|'Market News 48am EDT CANADA STOCKS-TSX barely higher as banks gain, miners fall TORONTO, June 8 Canada''s main stock index was slightly higher in early trade on Thursday, weighed down by falling gold mining stocks while energy and banking shares gained and Valeant jumped on news of an asset sale. The Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index was up 1.52 points, or 0.01 percent, at 15,373.66 shortly after opening in negative territory. (Reporting by Alastair Sharp)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-open-idUSL1N1J50QF'|'2017-06-08T21:48:00.000+03:00' +'b9e41764f1bcee4807c5026407d85fdefb5b7a06'|'UAE''s Aster DM Healthcare eyes Saudi market despite past payment delays'|'By Davide Barbuscia - DUBAI DUBAI Dubai-based Aster DM Healthcare ( ATRD.NS ) is looking at acquisition opportunities in Saudi Arabia, its managing director told Reuters in an interview.This is despite previous delays in payments from the Saudi government, which could have pushed the company to default on a syndicated loan, he said.Aster, which operates hospitals, clinics and pharmacies in the Gulf and India, is attracted to Saudi Arabia because of the size of the market compared with other Gulf states, and also because of ownership rules, which would let Aster own up to 100 percent of a business, said Azad Moopen."We consider Saudi a good market despite payment difficulties which we had there," he said.Aster obtained a $295 million loan from India''s Axis Bank in April. The loan replaced and repaid $155 million of a $295 million facility which the firm raised in 2015. Aster replaced the facility to obtain better terms, such as a longer maturity and looser financial requirements for its debt-to-equity ratio.The decision to look for better terms was triggered by delays in payments of about $150 million from Saudi Arabia''s ministry of health. Many companies in the Saudi market, especially construction firms, have suffered such delays as government finances are squeezed by low oil prices."Payments were overdue for nearly 1-1/2 to two years," said Moopen, and were not made for the whole of 2016.By early 2017, with $150 million pending, "we were not sure when we were going to get this money, and we didn''t want to default, that''s why we wanted better terms from the banks."Aster''s new loan facility is being syndicated by Axis, though no bank has joined the loan yet. It has a 10-year tenor, while the previous facility was for five years.Almost half of the amount due from Saudi Arabia has been repaid in 2017. The ministry of health asked for a discount on the total debt and the company agreed, Moopen said without elaborating.The payment delays were related to Aster''s 250-bed Sanad Hospital in Riyadh, Aster''s only facility in the kingdom. The ministry of health did not respond to a request for comment.Aster also has a hospital in Qatar. "The Aster Qatar Hospital has been approved by authorities and has started functioning, even though the official inauguration has not been done," Moopen said."We shall be waiting for the prevailing situation to crystallize for the official launch," he said when asked about the diplomatic crisis that erupted this week between Qatar and neighboring states.The company filed a prospectus for an initial public offer (IPO) of shares in India in June last year. The IPO is now expected to take place in the fourth quarter of 2017, with Axis Bank, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Kotak Mahindra Bank as lead banks, said Moopen.(Additional reporting by Katie Paul; Editing by Andrew Torchia; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-aster-saudi-idINKBN1920MW'|'2017-06-11T10:14:00.000+03:00' +'7f0f0224858255c6128be688556c380e3ffc3482'|'Australia new vehicle sales rebound in May - VFACTS'|'Market News - Sun Jun 4, 2017 - 11:28pm EDT Australia new vehicle sales rebound in May - VFACTS SYDNEY, June 5 Australian new vehicle sales rebounded in May to reach a record high for that month, a promising omen for consumer demand after a run of soft results. The Australian Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries'' VFACTS report out on Monday showed 102,901 new vehicles were sold in May, up 6.4 percent on the same month last year. May this year had one more selling day than in 2016. The report noted business purchases of sport utilities climbed 14.9 percent in May, while light commercial purchases by government rose 31.7 percent. Sales to rental fleets also returned strongly during May. Overall, sales of SUVs were up 9.4 percent on May last year well ahead of the passenger vehicle gain of 1.6 percent. Sales of light commercial vehicles jumped 9.4 percent, while sales in the heavy vehicle market rose 13.6 percent. Toyota Motor Corp retained first place on the sales ladder with 19.3 percent of the market, while Mazda Motor Corp had another strong month taking 9.6 percent. Hyundai Motor took third spot with 8.1 percent, ahead of Ford on 7.4 percent. The Holden unit of General Motors trailed with 6.7 percent. (Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/australia-economy-vehicleregistrations-idUSL3N1J21P8'|'2017-06-05T11:28:00.000+03:00' +'0381c539b34dae7514d8708940239c75bea726ad'|'UK wants to revive gas extraction in oldest part of North Sea oil basin'|'Top News - Thu Jun 22, 2017 - 3:12pm BST UK wants to revive gas extraction in oldest part of North Sea oil basin A section of the BP Eastern Trough Area Project (ETAP) oil platform is seen in the North Sea, around 100 miles east of Aberdeen in Scotland February 24, 2014. REUTERS/Andy Buchanan/pool/File Photo LONDON Britain wants oil and gas drillers to recover pockets of gas that are more difficult to reach in a part of the North Sea where drilling for fossil fuels started over 50 years ago. Britain''s oil regulator, the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA), said on Thursday that some 3.8 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of tight gas remain in the southern North Sea, one of the world''s oldest offshore gas extraction areas that has produced more than 40 tcf. Drilling activity in Britain''s North Sea has been at a record low for two years as weak oil prices make projects less attractive. The basin is estimated to have billions of barrels of oil left for extraction, worth around 200 billion pounds ($250 billion) for British government coffers, which the government is keen to see developed. The regulator on Thursday published an eight-step programme it wants oil companies to follow to tap the southern North Sea tight gas deposits, which were traditionally unpopular among explorers because they were difficult to access and therefore more expensive to develop. Tight gas deposits sit in less permeable stone, such as sandstone, and are part of the unconventional type of reservoirs like shale gas or coal bed methane. New technologies allowing extraction in less permeable geologies and efforts by explorers to share equipment mean tapping these resources is now more economic. "Maximising recovery of tight gas represents a real opportunity to extend the life of the southern North Sea''s existing infrastructure," said Eric Marston, the OGA''s area manager for the southern North Sea. Companies exploring for gas in the southern North Sea are supportive of the regulator''s push to develop tight gas projects and are making plans to drill new wells. "It''s clear that there is still a lot the industry can do to maximise the potential of one of the most mature regions of the North Sea," said Fraser Weir, North Sea director at Centrica ( CNA.L ), one of the companies active in the area. The energy company said it managed to reduce costs at one of its prospective gas fields, Pegasus, by 25 percent partly by finding ways to share some of the equipment with other companies. Centrica will later this year decide whether to proceed with the project. Oil explorer Premier Oil ( PMO.L ) is also assessing whether to invest in developing a huge gas field in the area, Tolmount, which it said could contain up to 1 tcf of gas. (This story refiles to correct spelling of gas field name in final paragraph.) (Reporting by Karolin Schaps; Editing by Adrian Croft) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-gas-exploration-idUKKBN19D1MF'|'2017-06-22T21:04:00.000+03:00' +'0300ffda2ffed47646f7fc390b0382b11b24eaac'|'How PPG lost its $29.5 billion bet on Dulux paint'|'Deals - Fri Jun 2, 2017 - 12:28am BST How PPG lost its $29.5 billion bet on Dulux paint left right FILE PHOTO: Cans of Dulux paint, an Akzo Nobel brand, are seen on the shelves of a hardware store near Manchester, Britain, April 24, 2017. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo 1/3 left right FILE PHOTO: Cans of Dulux paint, an Akzo Nobel brand, are seen on the shelves of a hardware store near Manchester, Britain, April 24, 2017. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo 2/3 left right FILE PHOTO: -- Akzo Nobel''s logo is seen in Amsterdam, Netherlands, February 16, 2012. REUTERS/Robin van Lonkhuijsen/United Photos/File Photo 3/3 By Pamela Barbaglia and Toby Sterling - LONDON/AMSTERDAM LONDON/AMSTERDAM In early March, U.S. paint maker PPG ( PPG.N )''s Chief Executive Michael McGarry flew from Pittsburgh to Amsterdam to take Akzo Nobel ( AKZO.AS ) boss Ton Buechner for lunch. There, the 59-year-old American ambushed Buechner with a takeover plan and price tag that his company had been working on for months, a source familiar with the talks told Reuters. Rather than spark a discussion, McGarry''s bold move at their March 2 meeting triggered a hard-nosed response. "He was brutal in his approach and Akzo decided to respond in the same aggressive way," said the source. The offer was rebuffed on March 9. Akzo said the proposal was "not in the interests of its employees" and the firm would pursue different plans to sell its specialty chemicals business. After two more offers were rejected, the Pittsburgh-based firm on Thursday dropped its bid, whose value had risen to 26.3 billion euro ($29.48 billion). The nature of the lunchtime meeting has not previously been reported, but other elements of PPG''s pursuit emerged in news briefings and a May court hearing, exposing details of the takeover bid that would normally stay behind closed doors. "The fact that it went public made the process difficult from the beginning," Bryan Iams, PPG''S vice president for corporate and government affairs, told Reuters in an emailed response to questions. Akzo''s spokesman Leslie McGibbon confirmed two face-to-face meetings took place, including the lunchtime appointment. What PPG''S McGarry got wrong was the timing and the difficulty of pulling off such a deal in the Netherlands, where supervisory boards hold great sway and most companies including Akzo are protected by "poison pill" defenses. McGarry''s message was delivered a fortnight before a Dutch general election on March 15, which included strong nationalist themes. PPG''s swoop on Akzo caused fury among the Dutch political establishment who turned its takeover plan into a political football to be used in the election debate. McGarry, however, was determined to fight on for a deal that would give his firm access to some of the most popular paint brands in the world, such as Dulux. "I don''t think the political commentary changes the fact that there was a compelling strategic logic for the two companies to come together," said PPG''s Iams. Usually, takeover bids are followed by weeks of secretive negotiations as companies haggle over price and deal structure, and go on charm offensives with investors and regulators. But for PPG, the three-month attempt at courtship brought snubs, lawsuits and barely any negotiation time with their counterparts at Akzo. Its second bid on March 20, worth 90 euros per share, was rejected within 48 hours. "What was missing from the very start was dialogue," said the source. Akzo took the position that if it engaged in talks, it would quickly become impossible to decline PPG''s offer, which was financially attractive for shareholders but which it said was not in the best interests of other stakeholders. "FACT OFFENSIVE" PPG''s main counterpart in merger and acquisition (M&A) talks was Elliott Advisors, which along with other major investors openly urged Akzo to engage in negotiations and tried but failed to oust Akzo Chairman Antony Burgmans in court. McGarry wrote an open letter to Akzo shareholders and visited the Netherlands twice to promote his plan, but met with little success. The PPG CEO said on March 23 that his visits were "not so much a charm offensive as a fact offensive." Dutch Economic Affairs Minister Henk Kamp proposed a law giving any Dutch company targeted by a foreign firm the unrestricted right to refuse for one year. PPG was turned away from meeting top politicians. After the March 2 lunch, the second and last time PPG''s McGarry met Akzo CEO Buechner was on May 6. McGarry, based in Pennsylvania, had been given barely 24 hours notice to get to Rotterdam in time. Akzo''s chairman would also be there. McGarry flew by private jet from the United States to make the 3 p.m. appointment, only to be told that Akzo''s two top executives did not have any power to negotiate and were only there to hear any further elaboration on PPG''s latest offer. The meeting, which lasted 90 minutes, proved fruitless, despite an offer to Burgmans of a seat on the board of the merged company. Details of the dash to Rotterdam and the nature of that discussion emerged in a May 22 court hearing. Akzo rejected PPG''s third bid on May 8. During the May hearing, Akzo''s lawyer Jan de Bie Leuveling Tjeenk said McGarry "shouldn''t squawk" about the wasted trip. "He''s the one who said he was willing to meet any time, anywhere," the lawyer said. After a Dutch court ruled that Akzo''s board was under no obligation to engage in talks, the American firm''s prospects dimmed. If PPG were to pursue a hostile offer by a June 1 filing deadline, Akzo''s board still had one trump card: its poison pill defense that would give Burgmans and three other members of the supervisory board the power to make binding recommendations to the company''s managing board. Even a successful hostile bid could leave PPG powerless to control the merged firm. In a last-ditch attempt, McGarry wrote to Burgmans on Monday. "Although you declined to have my requested five-minute call, you indicated you would be open to receiving our views in writing. As a result, I am providing you with this letter," McGarry wrote. The letter went on to say PPG would even consider raising its bid again and sweetening other terms. Akzo said it received the letter but added that it didn''t have time to respond. With the June 1 deadline upon them, PPG was left with little choice but to walk away. (Editing by Edmund Blair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-akzo-m-a-ppg-inds-bid-idUKKBN18S6KU'|'2017-06-02T06:01:00.000+03:00' +'c114d676bb93d59cde34240133d3a30810da2a3c'|'India readies for new ''tryst with destiny'' in landmark tax reform'|'Business News - Fri Jun 30, 2017 - 3:14pm BST India readies for new ''tryst with destiny'' in landmark tax reform left right A supporter of India''s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) holds a placard during a rally to support implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in Mumbai, India, June 30, 2017. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade 1/2 left right Supporters of India''s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dance as they celebrate during a rally to support the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in Mumbai, India, June 30, 2017. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade 2/2 By Rajesh Kumar Singh - NEW DELHI NEW DELHI India''s prime minister, his cabinet colleagues and major company executives will gather on Friday in parliament''s central hall for the first midnight ceremony there in two decades to launch the most sweeping tax reform for nearly 70 years. After 14 years of struggle to enlist the support of India''s states, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will replace more than a dozen federal and state levies and unify a country of 1.3 billion people into one of the world''s biggest common markets. The measure is expected to make doing business easier by simplifying the tax structure and ensuring greater compliance, burnishing Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s credentials as a reformer before a planned re-election bid in 2019. But many businesses were nervous about how the change will unfold while smaller establishments staged strikes saying they would get hit by higher tax rates. Modi will mark the switch to the new tax regime with a speech in the central hall of parliament where India declared itself a free nation and first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru made his famous "tryst with destiny" speech on Aug. 15, 1947. "We are ready," Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said, hours before the new measure comes into effect. Ratan Tata, patriarch of India''s largest business group, Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan and the country''s most famous singer Lata Mangeshkar will attend the ceremony. "(It) will truly enable us to build a New India," Jayant Sinha, a federal minister wrote in the Times of India. The new sales tax has four rates and numerous exemptions. Adding to the complexity, businesses with a pan-India operation face an arduous task of filing over 1000 digital returns a year. PROTESTS, STRIKE While higher tax rates for services and non-food items are expected to fuel price pressures, compliance is feared to be a major challenge in a country where many entrepreneurs are not computer literate and rely on hand-written ledgers. "We have jumped into a river but don''t know its depth," said A. Subba Rao, an executive director at power firm CLP India. Poor implementation could deal a blow to Asia''s third-largest economy that is still recovering from Modi''s decision late last year to outlaw 86 percent of the currency in circulation. The government expects things to settle down in the coming months, helping businesses reap the benefits of the new sales tax. An end of tax arbitrage under the GST is estimated to save companies $14 billion in reduced logistics costs and efficiency gains. As the GST is a value added tax, firms will have an incentive to comply in order to avail credit for taxes already paid. This should widen the tax net, shoring up public finances. HSBC estimates the reform could add 0.4 percentage points to economic growth. "(The) GST paves the way for the ''One Nation, One Tax'' ideology," said Devendra Kumar Vyas, chief executive officer at Srei Equipment Finance Ltd. (Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Toby Davis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-india-tax-idUKKBN19L20S'|'2017-06-30T17:14:00.000+03:00' +'6fdd258385617b1c2002392da3304734ce85b96c'|'Australia''s Ten Network says Lachlan Murdoch and second backer call time on debt'|'By Byron Kaye - SYDNEY SYDNEY Australia''s Ten Network ( TEN.AX ) said two local media magnates had declined to extend their support for a $150 million debt guarantee past 2017 - a move that increases the risk of the troubled broadcaster seeking receivership.Coming under administration could, however, help Ten by allowing it to freeze and then renegotiate expensive licensing contracts with U.S. studios for shows such as NCIS and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.Broadcasters and Ten in particular have suffered large losses and are scrambling to cut costs as advertisers follow viewers who have turned to streaming services like Netflix ( NFLX.O ) and Amazon.com Inc''s ( AMZN.O ) Amazon Prime."Going into receivership, they can be very tough in their renegotiation, and more realistic," said Steve Allen, managing director of Essence Media."The programs and the ratings that they''re getting for the costs involved is a mismatch; it wasn''t five years ago, but it is now."Ten had flagged in April that it might collapse if it did not extend or secure a new borrowing arrangement, adding that it was looking to increase the size of its current facility from A$200 million ($150 million) to A$250 million.The current facility is backed by three Australian tycoons. On Tuesday, Ten said that it had been informed that two of them, News Corp ( NWSA.O ) co-chairman Lachlan Murdoch and regional TV owner Bruce Gordon would not be extending their support beyond Dec. 23, 2017.It was not immediately clear if Crown Resorts ( CWN.AX ) casino boss James Packer had also withdrawn his support. A representative for Packer was not immediately available for comment.Ten''s situation puts pressure on the Australian government to push through a deregulation package that would make it easier for local traditional media companies to buy each other.Lachlan Murdoch owns 7.7 percent of Ten and News Corp-controlled local cable TV firm Foxtel owns another 14 percent. Analysts have said they expect Foxtel would be interested in buying out Ten if the deregulation package went through.The package has wide support in the media industry but some independent senators, who control the Australian upper house, have said they are concerned the diversity of local content could suffer.While receivership could be a good opportunity for Ten to break onerous contracts, it is not without risk as the network could lose some good shows, said Laurie Fitzgerald, a business recovery specialist at corporate adviser William Buck."The MasterChef group...they could just turn around to Ten and say: you''ve broken our contract, we''ll shop it around, we might just see what Nine will offer us," said Fitzgerald.Ten also said it had asked to have its shares suspended for two days while it considers its position in light of the stance taken by its backers.Up to Friday''s close, Ten''s shares had plunged 83 percent this year, giving it a market value of A$58 million. In 2014, it rejected a $588 million takeover bid from Time Warner.($1 = 1.3224 Australian dollars)(Reporting by Byron Kaye; Additional reporting by Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-ten-network-debtrenegotiation-idINKBN19402D'|'2017-06-12T22:35:00.000+03:00' +'46392a80fcc9d82c8b6256899dd33b6771cdc20d'|'Dow, DuPont merger wins U.S. antitrust approval with conditions'|'By Diane Bartz DuPont ( DD.N ) and Dow Chemical Co ( DOW.N ) have won U.S. antitrust approval to merge on condition that the companies sell certain crop protection products and other assets, according to a court filing on Thursday.The asset sales required by U.S. antitrust enforcers were similar to what the companies had agreed to give up in a deal they struck with European regulators in March. The deal is one of several big mergers by farm suppliers, and the antitrust approval was quickly denounced by the head of the National Farmers Union, saying that farmers would face higher costs.The Justice Department said the asset sales would prevent price hikes or lost innovation.Dow and DuPont announced the deal in December 2015 in what was billed as an all-stock merger valued at $130 billion.According to the filing in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the assets to be sold include DuPont''s Finesse herbicide for winter wheat and Rynaxypyr insecticides, which the Justice Department said had U.S. annual sales of more than $100 million.In addition, Dow will sell its U.S. acid copolymers and ionomers business. The products are used to make food packaging and other goods.The president of the National Farmers Union, Roger Johnson called the antitrust approval "deeply disappointing.""Clearly, the Trump administration is content allowing our countrys consolidation complex to continue," Johnson said in a statement. "The combination of Dow and DuPont, coupled with other pending mergers, ... drives up costs for farmers inputs, and it reduces the incentive for the remaining agricultural input giants to compete."The Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission, which share the work of antitrust enforcement, have reviewed or are reviewing no fewer than four deals involving corporate titans that supply U.S. farmers.In addition to Dow and DuPont merger deal, Bayer ( BAYGn.DE ) has a deal to buy Monsanto ( MON.N ), and ChemChina is purchasing Syngenta ( SYNN.S ). In addition, fertiliser companies Potash Corp and Agrium are planning a merger.After Dow completes the merger with DuPont, the companies have said that they would split into three separate companies specializing in material sciences, speciality products, and seeds and agrochemicals."As originally proposed, the merger would have eliminated important competition between Dow and DuPont in the development and sale of insecticides and herbicides that are vital to American farmers who plant winter wheat and various speciality crops," acting Assistant Attorney General Andrew Finch said in a statement, adding that the merged company would have also gained a monopoly over ethylene derivatives used to manufacture food packaging and other products.Finch said the settlement "will preserve vigorous competition."Analyst Brett Wong of Piper Jaffrey Co said he did not foresee another round of consolidation in the agricultural supply business in the near future. "It''s going to take some time for the current dust to settle," he said.Dow and DuPont have already received clearance to merge from Europe, China and Brazil. They are now awaiting approval from just a handful of countries, including Canada and Mexico.(Reporting by Diane Bartz in Washington; Editing by Chris Sanders and Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/du-pont-m-a-dow-idINKBN1962SJ'|'2017-06-15T18:59:00.000+03:00' +'3d00a18cb3dffd31b7037649bec742b23169c6a0'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'(Adds Time Warner; Updates Liberty House Group, EQT)June 19 The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2045 GMT on Monday:** U.S. oil and gas company EQT Corp said it would buy Rice Energy for $6.7 billion in its biggest deal ever, as it looks to expand its natural gas business.** Europcar has agreed to buy Europe''s largest low-cost car rental company Goldcar, the French group said, marking its fourth acquisition this year.** Britain''s Liberty House Group said it submitted a revised bid for troubled Australian steel group Arrium Ltd, after last week conceding defeat to a South Korean private equity syndicate.** Engie SA has agreed to buy a 40 percent stake in Dubai''s National Central Cooling Company (Tabreed) and help drive the company''s expansion in emerging markets such as Turkey, India and Egypt.** Scientific instruments maker PerkinElmer Inc said it would buy Germany''s Euroimmun Medical Laboratory Diagnostics AG for about $1.3 billion in cash to expand its reach into autoimmune and allergy diagnostic markets.** Finland''s largest construction company YIT will acquire rival Lemminkainen for 632 million euros ($707 million) in an all-share deal aimed at boosting growth, the firms said.** The High Court of the Marshall Islands has dismissed with prejudice a lawsuit brought by tanker firm Frontline to stop rival DHT selling a major stake to shipper BW Group , DHT said.** A group of investors led by U.S. private equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC and Ontario Teachers'' Pension Plan Board will buy a majority stake in job portal CareerBuilder. ** Standard Life''s 11 billion pound ($14.04 billion) deal to buy Aberdeen Asset Management was approved by both companies'' shareholders at meetings. (Compiled by John Benny and Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/deals-day-idINL3N1JG38H'|'2017-06-19T18:46:00.000+03:00' +'a045789b9f617293bc5a661702bfb0c89e79535e'|'Box beats expectations with steady growth, shares jump'|'Wed May 31, 2017 - 8:25pm EDT Box beats expectations with steady growth, shares jump By Salvador Rodriguez - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Shares of Box Inc ( BOX.N ) rose more than 4 percent in after-hours trading Wednesday after the cloud storage firm''s quarterly earnings edged ahead of Wall Street analyst''s expectations. The Redwood City, California-based company posted revenue of $117.2 million for the period, ahead of a Thomson Reuters i/b/e/s consensus forecast of $114.7 million. Box also posted an adjusted loss of 13 cents per share, better than an expected 14 cents per share loss. It was a strong quarter in terms of top line growth, CEO Aaron Levie said in an interview on Wednesday afternoon. It was another quarter of positive free cash flow, which is very important for Wall Street. Though revenue growth continued to slow slightly, Levie said the company was on track to achieve goals of reaching profitability and generating over $1 billion in annual revenue by fiscal year 2021. For now, though, the company remained focused on growing its customer base, he said. We want to make sure that as were scaling the company we dont need to raise outside capital, but grow the business in a completely sustainable way, Levie said. The company projected revenues of $121 million to $122 million for the current quarter. The results showed the company was holding its own against rivals like Microsoft Corp ( MSFT.O ), Google ( GOOGL.O ), DropBox Inc and Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ), said Adam Sarhan, CEO of 50 Park Investments. Going forward, the question is whether Box can hang onto its market share. The company now claims 74,000 paying customers, up 3,000 from the previous quarter. More specifically, the company saw year-to-year growth of 70 percent when it came to its Box Governance product, a service that simplifies use of Box for enterprises that deal with complicated regulations. (This version of the story corrects paragraph four to read "by fiscal year 2021" instead of "by 2021") (Reporting by Salvador Rodriguez; Editing by Andrew Hay) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-box-results-idUSKBN18R39O'|'2017-06-01T05:54:00.000+03:00' +'6d7b831ef221d521ef32e9cb704247ec43fb1c24'|'FTSE futures, gilt yields fall as odds improve on Corbyn-led government'|'LONDON London stock exchange futures sank, gilt yields fell and the pound dived below $1.27 GBP= for the first time in almost two months on Friday as odds tightened on Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn becoming the next British Prime Minister after UK elections.With trading volumes extremely thin out of London hours, FTSE futures FFIc1 were Quote: d down 0.2 percent as voting results began to come in, backing projections that showed Prime Minister Theresa May losing her overall majority in parliament.10-year gilt yields also fell around 5 basis points GB10YT=TWEB from closing levels in London on Thursday, according to indicative data Quote: d by Tradeweb on Reuters systems, suggesting shocked investors will seek the security of bonds when markets reopen properly in London on Friday.(Writing by Patrick Graham)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-election-stocks-idUSKBN190035'|'2017-06-09T08:53:00.000+03:00' +'4add63baa699faca8e8617912afd86da8bcf9454'|'Britain''s regulator agrees deal over Hoover pension scheme'|'Business News - Fri Jun 2, 2017 - 11:46am BST Britain''s regulator agrees deal over Hoover pension scheme LONDON The Pensions Regulator, which regulates Britain''s workplace pension schemes, said on Friday it had reached a deal with Hoover Ltd that is expected to see its pension scheme enter the Pension Protection Fund. Under the deal, Hoover will pay 60 million pounds into the scheme, which has 7,500 members. The scheme will also receive ordinary shares representing a 33 percent stake in Hoover, TPR said in a statement. (Reporting by Simon Jessop; editing by Maiya Keidan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-pensions-hoover-idUKKBN18T1FE'|'2017-06-02T18:46:00.000+03:00' +'135cecb8551b30130824dad489afcd96bcaace47'|'Telenor CEO says no plans to sell units in central, eastern Europe'|'OSLO, June 13 Telenor has no plans to sell any of the companies it owns in central and eastern Europe, the company''s chief executive told Reuters on Tuesday.Media reports had suggested Telenor could sell its Serbian unit to private equity firm KKR."We''re very happy with our portfolio in central and eastern Europe ... we have no plans to make any changes to that at this time," Sigve Brekke said on the sidelines of a conference.In addition to its Nordic and Asian mobile phone companies, Telenor also has operations in Hungary, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria. (Reporting by Joachim Dagenborg, editing by Terje Solsvik)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/telenor-serbia-idINO9N1IC00Q'|'2017-06-13T08:04:00.000+03:00' +'e508ac4d236c329d35056ac064d9a68642625cad'|'Chatty billionaire Ackman grabs bigger megaphone with Twitter account'|' 7:05pm BST Chatty billionaire Ackman grabs bigger megaphone with Twitter account FILE PHOTO: William ''Bill'' Ackman, CEO and Portfolio Manager of Pershing Square Capital Management, speaks during the Sohn Investment Conference in New York City, U.S., May 8, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid By Svea Herbst-Bayliss - BOSTON BOSTON Billionaire investor William Ackman, one of the hedge fund industry''s most voluble managers with opinions ranging from how companies should be run to the dangers of sugary drinks, just got himself an even bigger megaphone: a Twitter account. Using the handle, @BillAckman1, the 51-year-old investor is the latest to join the social media network that rivals like Carl Icahn, @Carl_C_Icahn, have used to unveil investment ideas and comment on news about portfolio companies. A spokesman for Ackman confirmed the account is real. So far, the account looks bare-bones. As of Thursday afternoon, there was no picture of the widely photographed fund manager, nor were there any tweets. But Ackman had already accumulated more than 1,000 followers, including many self-described traders and financial journalists. Among the 46 users he followed were former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, tennis star Roger Federer and Goldman Sachs Group Inc ( GS.N ) Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein. Ackman also follows President Donald Trump on Twitter, and like Trump himself he has a reputation for saying exactly what is on his mind, sometimes ignoring the social norms of polite conversation. After two years of heavy losses that damaged his reputation as a savvy investor, Ackman has said this year that his investment team is working on new ideas while he also goes back to his basics to beef up performance. His Pershing Square Holdings is now nursing losses of 2.5 percent for the year so far after having had gains earlier in the year. (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Tom Brown)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hedgefunds-ackman-twitter-idUKKBN19K2ME'|'2017-06-29T21:05:00.000+03:00' +'461ffb702d791b53a1173067c1bdd6fb19b585e2'|'Israeli biopharmaceutical firm Eloxx raises $24 million'|'Business News - Wed Jun 14, 2017 - 12:51pm BST Israeli biopharmaceutical firm Eloxx raises $24 million TEL AVIV Eloxx Pharmaceuticals Ltd, a clinical stage company developing drugs for genetic diseases, raised $24 million in an investment round led by Catalyst CEL Fund and Israeli life sciences venture capital fund Pontifax, among others, Catalyst said on Wednesday. Eloxx is seeking treatments for rare genetic diseases caused by mutations such as cystic fibrosis and cystinosis. The company entered into a merger agreement with Sevion Therapeutics ( SVON.PK ) on May 31. Eloxx will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Sevion, which will change its name to Eloxx and intends to apply to have its shares listed on Nasdaq. The Catalyst CEL Fund, jointly managed by Israel''s Catalyst Equity Management and China Everbright Ltd ( 0165.HK ), primarily invests in companies whose growth strategy is oriented towards emerging markets, with a special focus on China. (Reporting by Tova Cohen)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-pharmaceuticals-eloxx-fundraising-idUKKBN1951JJ'|'2017-06-14T19:51:00.000+03:00' +'a1cbb00cb96072d30941b53f1593e6fe811b8970'|'At EU summit, Macron pleads for limits to foreign takeovers'|'Deals 8:08pm BST At EU summit, Macron pleads for limits to foreign takeovers French President Emmanuel Macron addresses a press conference at the EU summit in Brussels, Belgium, June 22, 2017. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes By Robin Emmott and Michel Rose - BRUSSELS/PARIS BRUSSELS/PARIS French President Emmanuel Macron vowed on Thursday to convince China''s closest allies in Europe that curbing foreign takeovers in strategic industries was in their interest, warning EU governments not to be naive in global trade. Smaller eastern and southern European economies that are dependent on Chinese investment have rejected any steps against Beijing, even going as far as to block EU statements criticizing China''s human rights record. But Macron, at his first EU summit, said being an attractive destination for investment did not mean exposing Europe to what he termed "the disorder of globalisation", as he seeks to make good on a campaign pledge with a so-called protective Europe. "Things are changing because we see the disorder of globalisation and the consequences in your own country. I want to build an alliance around this idea," Macron told a news conference during the summit of EU leaders. "I am for free trade ... but I am not for naivety." State-owned ChemChina''s $43 billion purchase of Swiss pesticides and seeds group Syngenta, Beijing''s biggest overseas sale to date, has deepened concerns in Europe that the bloc is ceding control of its advanced technology, EU diplomats said. Macron, who defeated the anti-Europe, far-right leader Marine Le Pen last month, said that he had always been a defender of globalisation and free trade during his time as minister but that leaders should hear from workers hit by globalisation. The issues of globalisation and "social dumping" took center-stage in France''s campaign after Le Pen used the relocation of a Whirlpool factory in northern France to Poland to paint Macron as a globalist who did not care about workers. A free-trade advocate, Macron let several national corporate champions be taken over by foreign firms as a minister. But since his election he has sought to drum up support in Europe for what he calls a "protection agenda". He has found some support from Germany and Italy. EU leaders will agree on Friday to allow the European Commission to explore ways to limit foreign takeovers in areas such as energy, banking and technology, where China seeks Europe''s know-how. In a statement, leaders will ask the Commission "to examine the need and ways to screen investments from third countries in strategic sectors, while fully respecting members states'' competences," a reference to national sovereignty on the issue. Berlin, Paris and Rome are upset that the Commission, the bloc''s competition regulator, approved ChemChina''s purchase of Syngenta while China maintains restrictions on EU investment. Chinese direct investment in the European Union jumped by 77 percent last year to more than 35 billion euros ($38 billion), compared with 2015, while EU acquisitions in China fell for the second consecutive year, according to the Rhodium Group. But free-trade advocates such as Sweden want to avoid any measures that might contradict the bloc''s rejection of the protectionism promoted by U.S. President Donald Trump. Frits Bolkestein, a former Dutch European Commissioner, poured scorn on Macron''s ideas on Thursday. "This Colbertist instinct that French wealth should serve the French state runs deep among its elite," he said in a column in Politico, referring to Jean-Baptiste Colbert, French king Louis XIV''s minister of finance and industry. "The last thing we need now is for hard-won progress to be rolled back by protectionism," he said. (Reporting by Jean-Baptiste Vey; writing by Michel Rose; Editing by Richard Lough and Hugh Lawson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eu-summit-macron-idUKKBN19D2HY'|'2017-06-23T03:03:00.000+03:00' +'40d111e90a584d1023d7ebc5e2ea38d85820ccd4'|'Uber''s open COO job in the spotlight amid leadership void'|'Technology News 2:03am BST Uber''s open COO job in the spotlight amid leadership void The logo of Uber is seen on an iPad, during a news conference to announce Uber resumes ride-hailing service, in Taipei, Taiwan April 13, 2017. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu By Heather Somerville - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO With Chief Executive Travis Kalanick taking a leave of absence from Uber Technologies Inc, the vacant job of chief operating officer takes on a lot more importance as the company frames the position as key to solving its woes. Kalanick, under fire for crass behavior and fostering a culture of sexism and rule-breaking, in early March announced he was searching for a COO to help run the ride-services company. But in the months since, Uber has suffered a string of controversies and embarrassing setbacks and the job has remained unfilled - part of a leadership vacuum that extends through the company and up to the board of directors. In a report released Tuesday, former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and his law firm, Covington & Burling, recommended sweeping management changes at Uber in the wake of sexual harassment allegations and other scandals. The report advocates for a COO who "will act as a full partner" and run "day-to-day operations." It also calls on the board of directors to take steps to limit the CEO''s responsibilities and provide "clear lines of demarcation between" the COO and the CEO. "The way the COO job is written in the recommendations makes it a really powerful and important job," said Bradley Tusk, an Uber investor and adviser. Executive recruiters and tech investors agreed that the job might look more appealing now than it did before Tuesday''s report. Still, it remains unclear if the company can attract a top-notch leader while Kalanick retains both the CEO title and, along with two allies, voting control of the company. Kalanick said on Tuesday he was stepping aside at Uber because he needed time to grieve his recently deceased mother and work on his leadership shortcomings, according to a staff email seen by Reuters. He also said his leave "may be shorter or longer than we might expect." Such ambiguity will effect Uber''s efforts to rebuild its executive ranks, startup experts say. "The lack of clarity around Travis'' position hangs over everything," said Bill Aulet, managing director of the entrepreneurship center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "You''re dealing with the most important thing, which is, who is your boss?" VACANCIES AT THE TOP In the meantime, 14 people who report to Kalanick are charged with running the company until the CEO returns or a COO is hired. The company also is without a chief financial officer, general counsel and a head of engineering, among other open positions. "We have a strong leadership team including veterans who helped make the business what it is today and new talent who are helping to drive the changes we''re committed to making," Uber said in a statement. Uber is struggling to recruit new employees and has many who are eager to leave. Ed Zschau, founder of Inductus Associates, an executive search firm for startups, said his firm has "people from Uber in the search process" for a new job, including senior-level employees. "If the board can be recomposed a bit and get the company back on track, who the COO is will be an important signal as to whether people will want to work there," Zschau said. Concerns about a lack of leadership extend to the board of directors. Holder''s recommendations, including prohibiting romantic relationships between bosses and their subordinates and drinking on the job, suggest the Uber board failed to ensure the company had even the most basic checks and balances, say experts. "The Holder report could have been written by a law student who took an introductory corporate governance course," said Erik Gordon, a technology and entrepreneurship expert at the University of Michigan''s Ross School of Business. "The board shares responsibility for the wreck." Uber retained Holder''s firm in February after a female former employee publicly accused the company of brazen sexual harassment. A wake of scandals followed, including a criminal investigation of the company''s use of technology to evade regulators, a lawsuit alleging stolen self-driving car technology and a string of allegations relating to a toxic culture. On Tuesday, David Bonderman, a founder of private equity firm TPG Capital, an Uber investor, resigned from the board after making a sexist comment about women talking too much at the Uber staff meeting convened to discuss the Holder report. The resignation leaves Uber''s board with seven voting members and four vacant seats. Unlike the boards of most big companies, Uber''s directors have little executive experience. In addition to Kalanick, the board includes co-founder and Chairman Garrett Camp, early employee Ryan Graves, venture capitalist Bill Gurley, Saudi investor Yasir al-Rumayyan and media impresaria Arianna Huffington. Wan Ling Martello, an executive vice president at Nestle, was added to the board this week as an independent director. The Holder recommendations call for a restructured board, but the recommendation to install an independent board chair was left up to the board only to consider. (Reporting by Heather Somerville; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Bill Trott)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-uber-ceo-idUKKBN1953C1'|'2017-06-15T08:09:00.000+03:00' +'48b2f358721dc70ca10225918c6f3b97ee6807ed'|'HSBC Malaysia to invest $250 million to build HQ in TRX financial district'|'Banks - Thu Jun 15, 2017 - 8:15am BST HSBC Malaysia to invest $250 million to build HQ in TRX financial district FILE PHOTO - The HSBC bank logo is seen at their offices in the Canary Wharf financial district in London, Britain, March 3, 2016. REUTERS/Reinhard Krause/File Photo KUALA LUMPUR HSBC''s Malaysian subsidiary said it would invest $250 million (196.1 million pounds) to acquire land and build its headquarters at the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) financial district. In a joint statement on Thursday, HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd and TRX City Sdn Bhd said they signed a sale-and-purchase agreement for the development of the bank''s future headquarters. While they did not give any details on when the construction would start or be completed, the bank said it planned to build a minimum office space of 568,000 square feet. HSBC is the first foreign bank to invest in the financial district - the master developer for which is TRX City, a former 1Malaysia Development Bhd division now owned by the Malaysian finance ministry. TRX City CEO Azmar Talib said around 70 percent of the plots available in the financial district have been commercialized. "TRX City continues to receive significant interest from various local and international investors and tenants, including several of the world''s major banks and financial institutions," he said. TRX is planned as an international financial district located in Kuala Lumpur city, encompassing office space, residential, hospitality, retail components. In May, TRX City called off a $1.7 billion deal in another major property development, Bandar Malaysia. TRX City said the buyers of a 60 percent stake in that development had failed to meet payment obligations. (Reporting by Liz Lee; Editing by Himani Sarkar) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-malaysia-trx-hsbc-idUKKBN1960LS'|'2017-06-15T15:15:00.000+03:00' +'1c8dba2aee5f78aecd7c4016d43d900083c09ac9'|'Boeing wins hot Paris order race'|'Davos 2:47pm BST Boeing wins hot Paris order race left A Boeing 737 Max takes part in a flying display. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol 1/8 A Boeing 737 Max takes part in flying display. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol 2/8 left right Maziar Farzam, President of Inhance Digital, demonstrates virtual reality glasses which provide digital information about the Boeing 787-10 aircraft. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol 3/8 left right Rick Anderson, Vice President of Northeast Asia Sales of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, and Xie Jinguo, President of Ruilli Airlines, are seen during a commercial announcement at the 52nd Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport near Paris, France, June 22, 2017. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol 4/8 left right An Airbus A321 neo flies during a flying display at the first day of the 52nd Paris Air Show at Le Bourget airport near Paris, France June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol 5/8 left right An Airbus A350-1000 Xwb (back) and an Airbus A321neo are seen on static display during the 52nd Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport near Paris, France, June 22, 2017. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol 6/8 left right An Airbus A350-1000 Xwb is seen on static display during the 52nd Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport near Paris, France, June 22, 2017. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol 7/8 left right President and CEO of Airbus Fabrice Bregier and Chief Operating Officer-Customers of Airbus John Leahy react during a news conferance at the 52nd Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport near Paris, France, June 22, 2017. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol 8/8 By Victoria Bryan and Tim Hepher - PARIS PARIS Boeing ( BA.N ) won a red hot race for new business at the Paris Airshow, rolling out a new model of its best-selling 737 airliner that helped it claim back the order crown from rival Airbus ( AIR.PA ) After a show in which both manufacturers did brisk business under a sweltering sun, the European planemaker said on Thursday it won 326 net new orders and commitments while U.S. rival Boeing said its total was 571. That included 147 new orders and commitments for the 737 MAX 10, plus 214 conversions to the MAX 10 from other models to support the launch of the new plane. "The MAX stole the show," Ihssane Mounir, vice president of sales and marketing at Boeing''s commercial aircraft division, told journalists. "This is probably one of our busiest air shows." Asked if Airbus had lost momentum after years in which it often trounced Boeing at annual industry gatherings, sales chief John Leahy said the slowdown in orders had been expected. "Is this a slower show than previous years? Yes, it is. Are we conceding that Boeing sold a few more airplanes than we did? Yes," he told a news conference. In a late flurry on Thursday morning, Airbus signed deals for almost 100 aircraft, with AirAsia and privately-owned Iranian carriers Zagros Airlines and Iran Airtour. Boeing topped up its tally by announcing a firm order for 125 737 MAX 8 airplanes with an undisclosed customer and another deal with lessor AerCap ( AER.N ) to convert 15 of its MAX 8 orders into the larger MAX 10. It also added a memorandum of understanding from Chinese domestic Riuli Airlines for 20 737 MAX 8 aircraft. Analyst Richard Aboulafia, of Virginia-based Teal Group, said commercial activity had been better than expected and was reminiscent of shows in 2009 and 2011, when the aircraft industry had bucked a retreating world economy. "This time we''ve got instability and uncertainty in many regions of the world, but airline traffic is strong, and as we''ve seen at this show, airlines want jets and the finance people are certainly happy to help." Leahy said he had expected the new Boeing plane to make more of a splash. "We had expected they would have had a bigger launch on the 737 MAX 10, not quite as many conversions, more incremental orders." While he did not expect the MAX 10 to be a viable competitor to the A321, Leahy said the Boeing plane''s launch could result in price pressure. "They''re clearly going to come after us on price." The A321 is larger than any previous member of the 737 family, a gap that the MAX 10 is intended to close. (Reporting by Tim Hepher and Victoria Bryan; Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal and Mike Stone; editing by John Stonestreet)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-airshow-paris-idUKKBN19D0UQ'|'2017-06-22T20:20:00.000+03:00' +'9dc411ebd0b8a00a1d7265852141e7acfac1bf60'|'Essar Oil''s creditors approve $12.9 billion Rosneft takeover: sources'|'By Promit Mukherjee and Devidutta Tripathy - MUMBAI MUMBAI Creditor banks to India''s Essar Oil approved the acquisition of the company by a group including Russia''s Rosneft, two sources familiar with the matter said, removing a key hurdle to the $12.9 billion deal that has been in the works for two years.The news comes a day after Igor Sechin, CEO of the Russian oil and gas giant, said the Essar Oil deal could be considered as closed. Kremlin-controlled Rosneft, which sees the buyout as vital to expanding in Asia''s fastest growing energy market, had aimed to close the deal at the end of 2016 but it got held up over debt issues.Those delaying what is Rosneft''s biggest foreign acquisition were India''s state-run banks and financial institutions that hold about $500 million of Essar''s debt, sources said in May.However, it is still unclear whether India''s biggest insurer Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), which also lent money to Essar Oil, had given its approval or not.LIC was not a part of the creditors'' group that gave its nod to the deal on Friday, said one of the two sources, who did not want to be named due to rules on talking to media.An LIC spokesman did not answer a call seeking comment. A call made to the Essar Oil CEO also went unanswered.The deal will give Rosneft a 49 percent stake in Essar Oil, while another 49 percent will be split between Swiss commodities trader Trafigura [TRAFGF.UL] and Russian fund United Capital Partners. Essar''s founder billionaire Ruia brothers will retain a 2 percent stake.(Reporting by Promit Mukherjee and Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Himani Sarkar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-rosneft-oil-essar-banks-idINKBN19E0TP'|'2017-06-23T06:35:00.000+03:00' +'ee19707068e8de8ccf0fa941d799261e63a9f9cc'|'British political uncertainty risks slowing M&A, dealmakers say'|'Deals - Mon Jun 12, 2017 - 2:25pm BST British political uncertainty risks slowing M&A, dealmakers say Protestor wearing a Theresa May mask is seen the day after Britain''s election in London. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne By Anjuli Davies and Pamela Barbaglia - LONDON LONDON The political shock of Prime Minister Theresa May''s failure to win a majority in a national election could put the brakes on takeover activity in Britain, dealmakers told Reuters on Monday. "So long as uncertainty is there I don''t see that as particularly positive for M&A in the short term," Karen Cook, chair of investment banking at Goldman Sachs, said at the Reuters Global M&A summit. "I think the problem is there is a government with different views amongst the Tory (Conservative) party, who are not all aligned to hard Brexit." A failed gamble on a snap election has weakened Britain''s hand just days before formal talks on leaving the European Union. It has also emboldened those within May''s own Conservative ranks and beyond who object to her plan to leave the European single market and customs union. Hernan Cristerna, co-head of global M&A at JPMorgan, said that dealmaking would likely be driven by what happens in the currency markets. "What I follow more than hard or soft Brexit is what happens to sterling and post-election there is renewed weakness in sterling," said Cristerna, noting a weaker pound could spark deals as happened after last year''s Brexit vote. "There is an opportunistic situation when companies happen to be valued in sterling but most of their assets are global." HISTORY LESSONS Going by past elections, dealmaking should in theory rise. More M&A deals involving a UK target company were announced immediately after the last two elections than immediately before, Thomson Reuters data shows. In 2015, when the Conservatives won a small majority, four percent more deals were announced during the 90 day period after the election than in the same period before. In 2010, when the election spawned a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition, there was an eight percent increase. An increase in the number of UK Outbound M&A deals was also seen after the last three UK general elections, with an increase of 47 percent in 2015. "It''s far too early to call what the consequences of last week are. The UK has had a relatively open environment for M&A," said William Rucker, Chief Executive of Lazard UK. "It''s certainly more protectionist compared with 12 months ago but a lot of these things haven''t been tested yet." May had promised to make it harder for foreign firms to take over British ones, when she set out pre-election plans to give the state more influence over corporate Britain. To protect jobs, May said her government would tighten the rules around takeovers, especially in infrastructure deals where a foreign owner could also raise security concerns. However, the Conservatives will need the help of the small Democratic Unionist Party to govern, meaning parts of their manifesto may have to be dropped or modified. "There clearly is increased protectionism in the UK and the US," said Cook. "If this government wants to have more protectionism they ought to do it through legislation not through the back door on takeover rules because I think the takeover rules broadly work." The Takeover Panel administers Britain''s code on takeovers and regulates deals to ensure fair treatment for investors. SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP Despite political upheaval around the world, with the new U.S. administration under President Donald Trump also promoting an America-first agenda, dealmaking has remained robust. Worldwide M&A is up 3 percent so far this year to total $1.4 trillion, compared to the same period in 2016, Thomson Reuters data shows. European M&A is up 44 percent this year to total $393 billion, whilst M&A in the United States is down 14 percent to total $499 billion, compared to the same period a year ago. M&A in Britain is up 89 percent year-to-date, totaling $81 billion, compared to this time last year. "U.S. companies are still very interested in Europe and European companies in the U.S., " said Steve Baronoff, chairman of global M&A at Bank of America Merrill Lynch said. "The special relationship between the UK and the U.S. - that special relationship comes from the bottom up....It may ebb and flow a bit depending on who is running the country but that is the bedrock and that doesn''t get changed depending on the president." (Reporting By Anjuli Davies; Editing by Rachel Armstrong and Keith Weir)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-election-m-a-idUKKBN1931JL'|'2017-06-12T21:24:00.000+03:00' +'f13e021790066aa12c482a64ed484ed365c65db4'|'U.S. plaintiffs'' lawyers warn of automaker role in Takata bankruptcy'|'Business 10:18pm BST U.S. plaintiffs'' lawyers warn of automaker role in Takata bankruptcy FILE PHOTO: Visitors walk behind a logo of Takata Corp on its display at a showroom for vehicles in Tokyo, Japan, November 6, 2015. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo By Tom Hals - WILMINGTON, Del. WILMINGTON, Del. Lawyers for people injured by exploding Takata Corp ( 7312.T ) air bags told a U.S. bankruptcy court judge on Tuesday that the company''s restructuring plan is being skewed to benefit automakers over victims. TK Holdings Inc, the U.S. business of Takata, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sunday due to tens of billions of dollars of liabilities from recalls and lawsuits over its air bags, along with 11 Mexican and U.S. subsidiaries. Most of Takata''s obligations are owed to automakers for recalling and replacing millions of its air bags, and the Japanese supplier''s restructuring plan relies heavily on financial support from its customers. Several personal injury lawyers told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Brendan Shannon that Takata had made too many concessions to automakers, without investigating the value of their claims. Lawyers for TK Holdings and General Motors Co ( GM.N ) argued the need for financing outweighed the need to investigate the protections granted to the automakers, which could be investigated later. "I will figure that out in due course, but Im not doing that today," Shannon said. Authorities have linked 16 deaths, mostly in the United States, and more than 180 injuries to explosions of Takata air bag inflators made with ammonium nitrate that became volatile with age and prolonged exposure to heat. Around 100 personal injury and wrongful death cases have been filed in the United States and the company has set aside $125 million (97.56 million pounds) for individual claims related to its air bags. Kevin Dean of the Motley Rice law firm urged Shannon to ensure current and future personal injury plaintiffs get an official committee, which includes a budget for lawyers and advisers. "Youll see 10 years from now these inflators involved in a volume of injuries over time," said Dean. "Were dealing with horribly injured plaintiffs." Shannon acknowledged the role of the plaintiffs and said a committee could be appointed. The U.S. case, and parallel foreign proceedings, opens the door to the acquisition of Takata''s viable operations by Key Safety Systems (KSS), a Michigan-based parts supplier owned by China''s Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp ( 600699.SS ). Ningbo Joyson acquired KSS in 2016 in a $920 million deal. The remaining operations will be reorganized to churn out millions of replacement inflators for cars that are subject to recalls. Takata in February pleaded guilty in a U.S. federal court to a felony charge as part of a $1 billion settlement that included compensation funds for automakers and victims of its faulty inflators. (Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, writing by David Shepardson in Washington)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-takata-bankruptcy-usa-idUKKBN19I2UA'|'2017-06-28T05:18:00.000+03:00' +'ceac5644212b6fed834c01fd86eb1777070bde31'|'UK to give initial ruling on Fox-Sky takeover by June 29'|'LONDON The British government will rule on whether Rupert Murdoch''s proposed takeover of European pay-TV group Sky ( SKYB.L ) needs a thorough investigation by June 29, the Culture and Media Secretary said on Tuesday.The government received reports from the independent media regulator Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority watchdog on Tuesday, looking into whether the proposed takeover would give Murdoch''s Twenty-First Century Fox ( FOXA.O ) too much control of the media in Britain.Fox has offered to buy the 61 percent of the British pay-TV group it does not already own for $14.8 billion.(Reporting by Kate Holton, Editing by Paul Sandle)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-sky-m-a-twenty-first-fox-idINKBN19B1X2'|'2017-06-20T11:51:00.000+03:00' +'2667fb683fccafbdd5b93346fdb9e1fad8c00ba2'|'WORLD NEWS SCHEDULE AT 1400 GMT/10 AM ET'|'Editor: Mark Heinrich +44 207 542 7923Picture Desk: Singapore + 65 6870 3775Graphics queries: + 65 6870 3595(All times GMT/ET)TOP STORIESIraqi forces free hundreds of civilians in Mosul Old City battles as death toll mountsMOSUL, Iraq - Iraqi forces open exit routes for hundreds of civilians to flee the Old City of Mosul as they battle to retake the ancient quarter from Islamic State militants mounting a last stand in what was the de facto capital of their "caliphate". (MIDEAST-CRISIS/IRAQ-MOSUL (UPDATE 2, TV, PIX), expect by 1500 GMT/11 AM ET, by Marius Bosch, 800 words)London tower blocks evacuated as 27 buildings fail fire testsLONDON - Britain says 27 high-rise apartment blocks have failed fire safety checks carried out after the deadly Grenfell Tower blaze, including several in north London where residents are forced to evacuate amid chaotic scenes. (BRITAIN-FIRE/ (UPDATE 1, PIX, TV), moved, by Kate Holton and Jamillah Knowles, 607 words)+ See also:- BRITAIN-FIRE/ARCONIC (UPDATE 1), by Tom Bergin, 977 words- BRITAIN-EU/BROADCASTERS-PATRIOTISM, moved, 312 wordsUAE says alternative to Qatar demands is "not escalation but parting ways"DUBAI - A senior United Arab Emirates (UAE) official says that if Qatar does not accept an ultimatum issued by Arab states that imposed a boycott this month on the tiny Gulf Arab nation, "the alternative is not escalation but parting ways". (GULF-QATAR/ (UPDATE 2, PIX, TV), expect by 1600 GMT/12 PM ET, 500 words)+ See also:- GULF-QATAR/EMIRATES, moved, by Yara Bayoumy, 352 wordsUnder pressure, Western tech firms bow to Russian demands to share cyber secretsWASHINGTON/MOSCOW - Western technology companies, including Cisco, IBM and SAP, are acceding to demands by Moscow for access to closely guarded product security secrets, at a time when Russia is accused of a growing number of cyber attacks on West, a Reuters investigation finds. (USA-RUSSIA/TECH (UPDATE 2, INSIGHT, PIX, GRAPHIC), moved, by Joel Schectman, Dustin Volz and Jack Stubbs, 1,500 words)ASIALandslide buries Chinese mountain village, fears for 141 peopleBEIJING - Fears grow for 141 people missing in China after a landslide buries their mountain village in the southwestern province of Sichuan, with reports that only three survivors had been pulled out of the mud and rock hours after the calamity struck. (CHINA-LANDSLIDE/ (UPDATE 2, PIX, TV) moved, 340 words)North Korea says U.S. student''s death a "mystery to us" tooSEOUL - North Korea says the death of U.S. university student Otto Warmbier soon after his return home was a mystery and dismisses accusations that he had died because of torture and beating during his captivity as "groundless". (USA-NORTHKOREA/ (UPDATE 5, PIX), moved, by Jack Kim, 605 words)Ahead of Modi visit, U.S. sees no threat to Pakistan from arms deal with IndiaNEW DELHI/WASHINGTON - With the United States expected to authorise India''s purchase of naval drones, a senior White House official says any U.S. military transfer to India would not represent a threat to its rival neighbour Pakistan. (INDIA-USA/ (UPDATE 5, PIX), moved, by Sanjeev Miglani and David Brunnstrom, 570 words)EUROPEUK PM May defends Brexit rights offer in face of EU doubtsBRUSSELS - British Prime Minister Theresa May defends her offer to let millions of EU citizens stay in Britain after Brexit as fellow EU leaders respond coolly to her opening move in negotiations on Britain''s withdrawal. (BRITAIN-EU/ (UPDATE 3, PIX, TV), moved, by Alastair Macdonald and Elizabeth Piper, 784 words)MIDDLE EASTAmnesty for militants in Syria''s Raqqa aims to promote stabilityAIN ISSA, Syria - A civil council expected to rule Raqqa once Islamic State is dislodged from the Syrian city pardons 83 of the jihadist group''s low-ranking militants, a goodwill gesture designed to promote stability. (MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-RAQQA-AMNESTY (PIX, TV), moved, by Michael Georgy, 471 words)If Baghdadi is dead, next IS leader likely to be Saddam-era officerBAGHDAD - If Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is confirmed dead, he is likely to be succeeded by one of his top two lieutenants, both of whom were Iraqi army officers under the late dictator Saddam Hussein. (MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-BAGHDADI-SUCCESSION (UPDATE 1, PIX), moved, by Maher Chmaytelli, 598 words)Bomber planning to attack Mecca''s Grand Mosque blows himself up - ministryDUBAI - Saudi security forces foil a suicide attack on the Grand Mosque in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, cornering the would-be attacker in an apartment where he blew himself up, the Interior Ministry says. (SAUDI-SECURITY/ (UPDATE 1), moved, 290 words)Yemen government says to investigate allegations of abuse in secret prisonsDUBAI - President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi''s government says it is investigating reports that forces backed by the United Arab Emirates are running secret prisons in southern Yemen where detainees are subjected to torture and abuse. (YEMEN-SECURITY/ABUSE, moved, 414 words)HUMAN RIGHTSEXCLUSIVE-U.S. list to drop Iraq, Myanmar as worst offenders on child soldiersWASHINGTON - Secretary of State Rex Tillerson plans to remove Iraq and Myanmar from a U.S. list of the world''s worst offenders in use of child soldiers, U.S. officials say, a step that could prompt accusations the Trump administration is prioritising security and diplomatic interests ahead of human rights. (USA-TRAFFICKING/CHILDSOLDIERS (EXCLUSIVE), moved, by Matt Spetalnick and Jason Szep, 800 words)UNITED STATESTrump reaches out to lawmakers on healthcare as another says ''no''WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump makes calls to fellow Republicans in U.S. Senate to mobilise support for their party''s healthcare overhaul while acknowledging the legislation is on "very, very narrow path" to passage. (USA-HEALTHCARE/ (UPDATE 6, PIX, TV), moved, by Jeff Mason and Yasmeen Abutaleb, 715 words)U.S. Supreme Court limits rights of property ownersWASHINGTON - The U.S. Supreme Court narrows the rights of property owners in disputes with governments and lays out a formula for determining when landowners are owed compensation in case involving a vacant lot on the picturesque St. Croix River in Wisconsin. (USA-COURT/PROPERTY (UPDATE 3, PIX), moved, by Andrew Chung, 577 words)AMERICASSlain Venezuelan protester''s father appeals to "friend" MaduroCARACAS - A man describing himself as a former boss and friend of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro urges an investigation into the killing of his son in anti-government unrest convulsing the OPEC nation for nearly three months. (VENEZUELA-POLITICS/ (UPDATE 1, PIX, TV), moved, by Silene Ramrez and Andreina Aponte, 640 words)+ See also:- VENEZUELA-POLITICS/PROTESTER (PIX), moved, 635 words'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/world-news-schedule-at-1400-gmt-10-am-et-idINL3N1JL06D'|'2017-06-24T12:29:00.000+03:00' +'8df13317c40b6014445a7fc67b5bf00a3309143b'|'UPDATE 1-U.S. meal kit service Blue Apron files for IPO'|'(Adds details, background)June 1 Blue Apron Holdings Inc, the biggest U.S. meal kit company, has filed for an initial public offering, amid increasing competition as more companies seek to deliver fresh ingredients and recipes to subscribers.New York City-based Blue Apron has selected Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Barclays among underwriters to its IPO.Reuters reported in March that Blue Apron competitor, Sun Basket, which focuses on organic ingredients, had hired banks for an IPO that could come in the second half of the year.Blue Apron, named after the uniform that apprentice chefs wear in France, delivers prepackaged ingredients and recipes to subscribers'' doorsteps for them to prepare at home, a business model attempting to disrupt traditional grocery shopping.The company, founded in 2012, is not profitable. It lost $54.9 million last year but revenue more than doubled to $795.4 million, Blue Apron said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.Blue Apron posted a net loss of $52.2 million for the first quarter of 2017 on revenue of $244.8 million.The company said it would list its class A shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "APRN".Blue Apron has two classes of voting stock, class A and class B, as well as a class C of non-voting stock, the company said.Blue Apron filed for an IPO of up to $100 million. The amount of money a company says it plans to raise in its first IPO filings is used to calculate registration fees. The final size of the IPO could be different. (Reporting by Diptendu Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/blueapron-ipo-idINL3N1IY5YW'|'2017-06-01T19:57:00.000+03:00' +'d72fd9da3964cdede2c922ab81a3807b9c021c71'|'Big U.S. banks pack results into one day, overwhelming analysts'|'June 30, 2017 / 6:18 PM / an hour ago Big U.S. banks pack results into one day, overwhelming analysts By Olivia Oran and David Henry 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: People walk by the JP Morgan & Chase Co. building in New York, U.S. on October 24, 2013. Eric Thayer/File Photo (Reuters) - For the fourth straight quarter, several of the biggest U.S. banks are reporting earnings on the same day, setting up a situation that overwhelms analysts covering the industry. In a report on Friday, Barclays analyst Jason Goldberg noted that 10 of the 19 largest banks by market value are reporting results on just two days next month, on July 14 and 21st. "Seems excessive," he wrote. Big bank earnings days can be a hectic and frazzled experience for analysts, who must interpret thick documents packed with financial arcana, juggle multiple conference calls with management teams, investor relations departments and clients, and meet hard deadlines to distribute a final take on whether stocks remain a buy, hold or sell. They arrive at work before 7 a.m. to prepare for the news and often stay late into the evening working on their reports and financial models. On July 14, analysts expect to pore through more than 200 pages of press releases, slide decks and financial supplements released by JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ), Citigroup Inc ( C.N ), Wells Fargo & Co ( WFC.N ), PNC Financial Services Group ( PNC.N ) and First Republic Bank ( FRC.N ) before the market opens. JPMorgan is due to start a conference call with analysts at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1330 GMT). That will be followed by PNC Financial Services Group''s ( PNC.N ) call beginning at 9:30 a.m, Wells Fargo at 10 a.m. and Citigroup at 11:30 a.m. Each call typically lasts an hour or more. "It can be maddening and frenetic, particularly when all these firms are reporting in the morning before the bell," said Tyler Ventura, a research analyst with investment management firm Diamond Hill. "We''re going back and forth and saying, ''What did he say on this call versus that call?''" A woman enters a Citibank branch in Buenos Aires, Argentina, February 19, 2016. Citigroup Inc said it plans to exit its retail banking and credit card operations in Brazil, Argentina and Colombia as part of its efforts to cut costs and boost profitability. Marcos Brindicci Until recently, it was rare to see more than two of the six biggest lenders report results on the same day. According to a Reuters analysis, that only happened twice in the 22 quarters leading up to the middle of 2016. It is not clear what changed. Bank representatives said earnings are determined by a combination of meeting dates for boards of directors, holidays and travel schedules of CEOs, and that banks do not coordinate with each other on scheduling. Some banks, including JPMorgan and Wells Fargo, recently began setting earnings dates years in advance, though most still schedule the event a few months ahead of time. Marty Mosby, a former chief financial officer of First Horizon National Corp ( FHN.N ), said chief executives he worked for were eager to report results as early as possible, to appear financially strong, even if it meant competing for attention with other banks. But Mosby, who is now a bank stock analyst at Vining Sparks, would advocate for reporting results later so that analysts and investors could give First Horizon their full attention, rather than having to make quick decisions to buy or sell based on the headline number alone. "If you have five banks in a day you can''t get all that done," said Mosby. "It''s just impossible. Three is about the most that we can really handle." Reporting by Olivia Oran and David Henry in New York; additional reporting by Dan Freed; editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Tom Brown 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-banks-results-idINKBN19L2LQ'|'2017-06-30T21:16:00.000+03:00' +'98675dc7f4c4bb1056dbe20a99b05770a10d822a'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Yields on Brazil rate futures rise on bets of slower rate cuts'|'(Updates prices) By Bruno Federowski SAO PAULO, June 1 Yields paid on Brazilian interest rate futures rose on Thursday after the central bank said it was ready to slow the pace of rate cuts amid a growing political crisis. Corruption allegations against President Michel Temer which could cost him his mandate have threatened to derail his agenda of structural reforms, which fueled bets on a rapid rate of policy easing. In a statement announcing a widely expected 100 basis-point cut in the benchmark Selic rate after the market close on Wednesday, the bank said a "moderate reduction" in the pace of rate cuts would likely be appropriate at its July meeting. Rate-future prices indicated a 20 percent chance of a lower 75 basis-point cut next month, traders said, with an 80 percent probability of a 100 basis-point reduction. Before the statement, investors had speculated the bank could even accelerate rate cuts in July to a brisk 125 basis-point pace. The Brazilian real and the Mexican peso both weakened, hurt by growing expectations of a U.S. rate hike this month following stronger-than-expected jobs data. Higher U.S. rates could dampen the appeal of high-yielding emerging market assets, weighing on the value of their currencies. A Reuters poll showed on Thursday that the Brazilian currency is likely to weaken only slightly over the next year despite a deepening political crisis, a sign of sustained market confidence in the country as it finally emerges from its worst-ever recession. Latin America''s No. 1 economy expanded in the first quarter at the fastest rate since 2013, matching analyst expectations. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 2123 GMT: Stock indexes Latest Daily YTD pct pct change change MSCI Emerging Markets 1,008.47 0.31 16.59 MSCI LatAm 2,533.35 0.04 8.19 Brazil Bovespa 62,297.45 -0.66 3.44 Mexico IPC 49,101.63 0.64 7.58 Chile IPSA 4,887.70 0.66 17.74 Chile IGPA 24,504.72 0.62 18.19 Argentina MerVal 22,508.35 0.71 33.04 Colombia IGBC 10,681.54 0.03 5.46 Venezuela IBC 76,130.90 1.13 140.12 Currencies Latest Daily YTD pct pct change change Brazil real 3.2460 -0.32 0.10 Mexico peso 18.6390 -0.15 11.29 Chile peso 672.05 0.12 -0.20 Colombia peso 2,891.85 0.84 3.79 Peru sol 3.273 -0.09 4.31 Argentina peso (interbank) 16.0500 0.34 -1.09 Argentina peso (parallel) 16.25 0.86 3.51 (Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Diane Craft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-latam-idUSL1N1IY2AH'|'2017-06-02T05:39:00.000+03:00' +'3b13f7ffc0fc429a57e1eb49e929016201b2f25a'|'Herbalife to cut sales guidance - CNBC'|'June 4 Nutritional supplement maker Herbalife Ltd said it will lower its sales outlook for the current quarter before Monday''s market open, CNBC reported Sunday.Herbalife now expects revenues to be 1.5 percent lower than earlier estimates, according to a press release reviewed by CNBC.The company said the transition to the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rules along with softness in Mexico was to blame for the lowered numbers, CNBC reported. cnb.cx/2qWkGu6Herbalife was not immediately available for comment outside regular business hours.(Reporting by Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/herbalife-outlook-idINL3N1J21H5'|'2017-06-05T00:32:00.000+03:00' +'fc11c876f4ef86f2117a06c63060e359b4f86cc0'|'CORRECTED-Investors scoop up U.S. 30-year TIPS supply'|'(In 2nd paragraph, corrects to highest since October 2011 not highest in a year)NEW YORK, June 22 The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday sold $5 billion of 30-year Treasury Inflation Protected Securities to robust investor demand, resulting in a yield of 0.880 percent, lower than what traders had expected, Treasury data showed.The ratio of bids to the amount of 30-year TIPS offered was 2.83, which was the highest since October 2011. The ratio was 2.25 at the prior 30-year TIPS auction in February. (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Dan Grebler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-auction-tips-idINL1N1JJ1A1'|'2017-06-22T15:51:00.000+03:00' +'49dcb3fce4ad4b231412837c34b12a0bc097e753'|'What does a CEO look like? New female ''Foundation 500'' list challenges stereotypes'|'Business News - Wed Jun 7, 2017 - 8:20pm EDT What does a CEO look like? New female ''Foundation 500'' list challenges stereotypes left right H&M Foundation Global Manager Diana Amini poses with portraits of women on its Foundation 500 list of female entrepreneurs in emerging markets in Stockholm, Sweden, June 2, 2017. Picture taken June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Anna Ringstrom 1/8 left right H&M Foundation Global Manager Diana Amini poses with portraits of women on its Foundation 500 list of female entrepreneurs in emerging markets in Stockholm, Sweden, June 2, 2017. Picture taken June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Anna Ringstrom 2/8 left right H&M Foundation Global Manager Diana Amini poses with portraits of women on its Foundation 500 list of female entrepreneurs in emerging markets in Stockholm, Sweden, June 2, 2017. Picture taken June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Anna Ringstrom EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE. 3/8 left right H&M Foundation Global Manager Diana Amini poses with portraits of women on its Foundation 500 list of female entrepreneurs in emerging markets in Stockholm, Sweden, June 2, 2017. Picture taken June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Anna Ringstrom 4/8 left right H&M Foundation Global Manager Diana Amini poses with portraits of women on its Foundation 500 list of female entrepreneurs in emerging markets in Stockholm, Sweden, June 2, 2017. Picture taken June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Anna Ringstrom 5/8 left right H&M Foundation Global Manager Diana Amini poses with portraits of women on its Foundation 500 list of female entrepreneurs in emerging markets in Stockholm, Sweden, June 2, 2017. Picture taken June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Anna Ringstrom 6/8 left right H&M Foundation Global Manager Diana Amini poses with portraits of women on its Foundation 500 list of female entrepreneurs in emerging markets in Stockholm, Sweden, June 2, 2017. Picture taken June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Anna Ringstrom 7/8 left right H&M Foundation Global Manager Diana Amini poses with portraits of women on its Foundation 500 list of female entrepreneurs in emerging markets in Stockholm, Sweden, June 2, 2017. Picture taken June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Anna Ringstrom 8/8 By Anna Ringstrom - STOCKHOLM STOCKHOLM From a Peruvian trout farm manager to the head of an Indonesian meatball company, a list of 500 women entrepreneurs in emerging markets was launched on Thursday to challenge the stereotype of a typical company boss and inspire women globally. The "Foundation 500" list features the portraits and careers of 500 female entrepreneurs in 11 emerging markets where women are often refused the same access to education, financial services and bank loans as men. The list, an initiative of humanitarian agency CARE and the non-profit H&M Foundation, mirrors the Fortune 500 list of U.S. companies but highlights unusual chief executives, ranging from a Zambian woman who set up a mobile drug store to a woman in Jordan who set up a temporary tattoo studio. Karl-Johan Persson, CEO of Swedish retailer H&M that founded the H&M Foundation, said the project was designed to create role models for women in emerging markets and challenging perceptions in developed countries of business leaders. "The entrepreneur is our time''s hero and a role model for many young but the picture given of who is an entrepreneur is still very homogenous and many probably associate it to men from the startup world," Persson told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in an email. He said all the women in the list had made an incredible effort. "But one that stands out to me is Philomene Tia, a multi-entrepreneur from the Ivory Coast who has overcome setbacks such as war and being a refugee, and who has, in spite of it, always returned to the entrepreneurship to create a better future and a strong voice in society." BUSES, FISH, TATTOOS Tia is the owner of a bus company in the Ivory Coast, a chain of beverage stores, a hotel complex, and a cattle breeding operation. "I often tell other women that it is the force inside you and your brains that will bring you wherever you want to go. I mean, I started with nothing and I don''t even speak proper French, but look at me now," she was quoted on the project''s website www.foundation500.com. The women featured are from Indonesia, the Philippines Nepal, Sri Lanka, Peru, Guatemala, Jordan, Zambia, Burundi, the Ivory Coast and Yemen. One of the women portrayed is Andrea Gala, 20, a trout farm manager in Peru and president of the women-only Trout Producers Association. "This business has worked out so well for us now we dont depend on our fields anymore, which is hard work and often badly paid," Gala said in a report on the project. "With the association we want to open a restaurant one day, next to the trout farm, so we can attract more visitors. We want to turn the area into a tourist zone, where people can come and relax and enjoy our restaurant with trout based dishes." The H&M Foundation, privately funded by the Persson family that founded retailer H&M, said this was part of a women''s empowerment program started with CARE in 2014 in Latin America, Asia and Africa. As part of this project H&M Foundation Manager Diana Amini said about 100,000 women in 20 countries had received between 2,000-15,000 euros in seed capital and skills training to start and expand businesses. In Burundi, the average rate of increase in income among women in the program was 203 percent in the three years to the end of 2016, she said. (US$1 = 8.6930 Swedish crowns) (Reporting by Anna Ringstrom, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters that covers humanitarian news, women''s rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit news.trust.org ) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sweden-women-entrepreneurs-idUSKBN18Z003'|'2017-06-08T08:20:00.000+03:00' +'775b6a8eb3613643503b3d04ecde7eaa2d086a2a'|'Former Oracle board member dogged by links to China-backed chip deal'|'Technology 6:36am IST Former Oracle board member dogged by links to China-backed chip deal Trinet Chairman of the Board Ray Bingham is shown in this undated handout photo in San Leandro, California, U.S., provided June 13, 2017. Courtesy of Trinet/Handout via REUTERS By Liana B. Baker and Michael Flaherty - SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK As the ultimate corporate insiders, board members are presented with plenty of opportunities to cash in on their sector knowledge and connections. The case of Ray Bingham, until recently Oracle Corps ( ORCL.N ) second-highest paid board member and executive chairman at U.S. chip maker Cypress Semiconductor Corp ( CY.O ), shows how taking advantage of those breaks can backfire. The 71-year old technology veteran helped set up a private equity fund backed by Chinas central government last fall. In November, the fund agreed to buy Lattice Semiconductor Corp ( LSCC.O ), another U.S. chip manufacturer, for $1.3 billion a potentially lucrative coup for Bingham. But the chip deal is in doubt over U.S. national security concerns. On Monday, Lattice and the buyout fund, Canyon Bridge Capital Partners, said they submitted the deal for review for the third time to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). The deal has also cost Bingham personally. His connection to Canyon Bridge has forced Bingham, recipient of a 2009 Financial Times Outstanding Director accolade, to relinquish two marquee board seats in the technology sector because of divergent perceptions of whether he faced conflicts of interest in his various roles. On Sunday, Bingham resigned from Cypress'' board of directors after the company''s founder and sixth-largest shareholder - T.J. Rodgers - sued the Cypress board and launched a proxy contest to remove Bingham from the board. Rodgers alleged Bingham faced irreconcilable conflicts of interest because of his involvement with Canyon Bridge. Bingham, in the Cypress announcement of his stepping down, cited this contest as a distraction. It came three months after he gave up his seat on Oracle''s board of directors due to controversy over him moonlighting for Canyon Bridge. Throughout the process (of joining Canyon Bridge), Ray conducted himself with transparency. He discussed his plans to join Canyon Bridge with Cypress'' board and outside legal counsel, who concluded there was no conflict and was given the green light to join, a Canyon Bridge spokesman told Reuters. Bingham himself did not respond to several requests for comment. Binghams reputation in the technology industry helped clinch the Lattice acquisition for Canyon Bridge, regulatory filings show. Bingham was offered a $1.2 million signing bonus by Canyon Bridge, a $2 million cut of its management fees and a 20 percent stake in Canyon Bridge itself. That is in addition to the $890,902 in 2016 he received from Oracle, making him the second-highest paid board director at the company behind founder Larry Ellison, and an annual salary and bonus from Cypress worth $900,000, as well as equity grants worth $4.5 million. The income from Oracle and Cypress is now gone because of his gamble to align with Canyon Bridge. Bingham continues to serve on the board of two other publicly listed technology companies, Flex Ltd ( FLEX.O ) and TriNet Group Inc ( TNET.N ). A COMPROMISING RELATIONSHIP U.S. board members increasingly come from business leadership backgrounds. This often presents them with new opportunities that come up through existing roles or previous corporate relationships. This was the case with Bingham, who had done business with China-born U.S. citizen, Benjamin Chow, when Bingham worked at private equity firm General Atlantic LLC a decade ago. Chow set up Canyon Bridge last summer with funding from China Reform Management, a Chinese state-owned investment firm, which became Canyon Bridge''s sole investor, according to Lattices regulatory filings. For a timeline of events in the Lattice deal, click Chow approached Bingham last August. He believed that a U.S.-based buyout fund with a U.S. partner like Bingham would trigger much less scrutiny by CFIUS compared with a Chinese buyer, Reuters reported in March. Canyon Bridges Chinese state links, first revealed by Reuters in November, were a bone of contention at Oracle. Its board told Bingham in March he could not retain his seat and continue to be a partner of Canyon Bridge, according to Binghams deposition in Rodgers lawsuit. In response, Bingham decided to step down. "Oracle expressed concern that Bingham''s affiliation with Canyon Bridge would compromise Oracle''s relationship with the United States government," Andre Bouchard, the judge presiding over Rodgers'' lawsuit, said at Delaware''s Court of Chancery earlier this month, citing Bingham''s deposition. Oracle declined to comment. Chow, approached through Canyon Bridge, declined to comment. A MATTER OF INTEREST FOR THE BOARD Bingham helped Chow set up Canyon Bridge in September and October 2016, taking on tasks ranging from setting up calls for hiring staff for Canyon Bridge to using Binghams name, a quote from him, and his phone number at Cypress on the press release announcing the Lattice deal on November 3, according to regulatory and court filings. Bingham was even given signatory authority on a $30 million Canyon Bridge bank account. Yet he had not yet formally joined Canyon Bridge, and had not let Cypress board know. On Oct. 20, Bingham contacted Cypress'' outside counsel, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, to ask if he should tell Cypress board he was considering joining Canyon Bridge, according to a regulatory filing from Cypress. Bingham concluded there was no need to do so at that time, according to Cypress. Wilson Sonsini did not respond to a request for comment. "Clearly this is a matter that would have been of interest to the other board members, and the fact that Bingham did not come forth with this information prior to that time seems odd," said Alan Seem, a corporate partner at law firm Shearman & Sterling LLP who is not involved with the case. On Nov. 4, at a regularly scheduled Cypress board meeting and a day after the Lattice deal was announced with his name on the press release, Bingham told the board that he was contemplating joining Canyon Bridge as a minority partner, according to Cypress. At the same meeting, Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) gave a presentation to Cypress'' board in which it identified Canyon Bridge as one of the top four most likely acquirers for Cypress out of a list of 30 company names. Cypress itself had been approached by Lattice twice in 2016 about making a potential acquisition offer, most recently last September, but it turned both opportunities down, according to Cypress. Nonetheless, Cypress said its board concluded there was no conflict of interest because there were no active talks or considerations about a possible deal with either Lattice or Canyon Bridge. But some Cypress board members could see that there was scope for future problems. On Nov. 7, Eric Benhamou, Cypress lead independent director at the time, told another director that Binghams role with Canyon Bridge was ripe for conflicts [of] interest, according to a Cypress regulatory filing. In December, Cypress board amended the companys code of ethics to ensure that if Cypress was having significant acquisition talks with a potential target, then any conflicted director would recuse themselves. Duty of loyalty issues are corrosive. They leave investors with the impression that the playing field isnt level," said Thomas Lys, accounting information and management professor at Northwestern University''s Kellogg School of Management. (Reporting by Liana B. Baker and Michael Flaherty in New York; Additional reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Carmel Crimmins and Edward Tobin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/lattice-m-a-canyondbridge-bingham-idINKBN19703L'|'2017-06-15T23:06:00.000+03:00' +'3f53a931197511cb634b717c60e49480b057205a'|'U.S. Justice Department opposes Wells Fargo on whistle-blower suit'|'Wed Jun 7, 2017 - 4:21am BST U.S. Justice Department opposes Wells Fargo on whistle-blower suit FILE PHOTO: A Wells Fargo logo is seen in New York City, U.S. January 10, 2017. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith The U.S. Justice Department filed a friend-of-the-court brief on Tuesday in a lawsuit brought against Wells Fargo & Co ( WFC.N ) by two former employees, who were fired after they reported misdemeanors they had noticed to their supervisors. The DOJ''s filing concluded that the appellate court, which had earlier dismissed the case, should revisit and modify its analysis. The plaintiffs, Paul Bishop and Robert Kraus, had said the Wall Street bank had requested Federal Reserve loans on various occasions when it was in violation of certain banking regulations, in a complaint filed in 2011. The suit, which was filed under the False Claims Act, is designed to encourage people to bring to light evidence of fraud against the government. "We continue to believe these claims are without merit, as the previous court decisions have confirmed," a Wells Fargo spokeswoman said in an email statement. "We look forward to the opportunity to again present legal arguments to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals," she added. The filing follows a Supreme Court ruling in February that had also asked the appellate court to review the matter, the New York Times said in a report. (Reporting by John Benny in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-wells-fargo-lawsuit-idUKKBN18Y08J'|'2017-06-07T11:17:00.000+03:00' +'ff1e1375e0761976e791f24ebdf92f68742ac278'|'Exclusive: Payless settles creditor dispute over dividends - sources'|'Payless ShoeSource Inc settled a dispute with its creditors on Tuesday, after creditors alleged that the company''s private equity owners inappropriately siphoned off $400 million before the U.S. retailer''s bankruptcy, people familiar with the matter said.The case has been monitored closely by other private equity-owned companies and their creditors, because it could spark more claims against bankrupt companies over so-called dividend recapitalizations, which involve a company borrowing money so it can pay the buyout firms which own it a special dividend.Payless'' creditors had said in court filings that private equity firms Golden Gate Capital and Blum Capital, which together hold 98.5 percent of the company and control its board, received more than $400 million in dividends in recent years.This added to the company''s debt pile. Payless filed for bankruptcy in April with $838 million of debt, joining a long list of retailers struggling in a sharp downturn in the sector.Under the settlement, the shoe chain''s unsecured creditors, largely its landlords and vendors, will receive $25 million in cash in the bankruptcy reorganization, the people said, asking not to be identified because the deal is not yet public.The payout amounts to a recovery of between 17 and 21 cents on the dollar for the claims of the creditors, a major improvement from the pennies they expected when the case began, one of the people said.The shoe seller and its owners did not to admit to any wrongdoing as part of the settlement, the people said. The deal will net an additional $7.3 million for another pool of creditors, the people said.Golden Gate and Payless declined to comment. Blum did not immediately return a request for comment.The agreement sets Payless on track to exit bankruptcy as soon as August, according to the people and court papers, avoiding winding down its business like many of its bankrupt peers.Payless said last month that independent board member Charles Cremens was conducting his own investigation of possible claims against the private equity firms. The company opposed a separate investigation by the creditors, saying it could hinder attempts to bring the company out of bankruptcy.As part of its reorganization plan, Payless has said it must renegotiate 3,600 U.S. store leases as well as joint venture partnerships in Latin America, a region it has described as a cornerstone for future growth.(Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in New York and Tracy Rucinski in Chicago; Editing by Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-payless-bankruptcy-privateequity-idUSKBN19C05W'|'2017-06-21T09:44:00.000+03:00' +'b9680725bcefb5879881cc31d137df4faf404c07'|'France''s Areva NP eyes higher sales, profits in next five years - report'|' 20am BST France''s Areva NP eyes higher sales, profits in next five years - report PARIS Areva NP, the nuclear reactor business company in which EDF ( EDF.PA ) is in the process of buying a majority stake, is eyeing a sharp rise in sales and profits over the next five years, Les Echos newspaper reported. Les Echos cited a document on Areva NP''s strategic plans from now until 2021, which said the company was eyeing sales to rise by 50 percent from now to reach 4.8 billion euros (4 billion) by 2021. It added that Areva NP was also targetting earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 600 million euros by 2021, up from 95 million euros last year. French state-owned power group EDF is currently in the process of buying a majority stake in Areva NP, following a restructuring of French nuclear group Areva. Officials at Areva NP (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Pascale Denis; Editing by Vyas Mohan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-areva-outlook-idUKKBN19H0J9'|'2017-06-26T14:20:00.000+03:00' +'5f917d1b80a29425a45c4f16aac43627d67ba40a'|'Morning News Call - India, June 30'|'Market News - Thu Jun 29, 2017 - 11:18pm EDT Morning News Call - India, June 30 To access the newsletter, click on the link: here If you would like to receive this newsletter via email, please register at: here FACTORS TO WATCH 9:15 am: CDSL Listing ceremony in Mumbai. 11:00 am: Central Bank of India annual shareholders meet in Mumbai. 11:00 am: Singapore Airlines event in Mumbai. 2:30 pm: SpiceJet to launch its first SpiceStyle Store in Gurgaon. 3:30 pm: Earth Sciences Minister Harshvardhan at an event in New Delhi. 3:30 pm: Hindustan Unilever annual shareholders meet in Mumbai. 5:00 pm: India government to release May infrastructure output data in New Delhi. 5:00 pm: RBI to release weekly foreign exchange data in Mumbai. 6:00 pm: Earth Sciences Minister Harsh Vardhan, World Bank Team at an event in New Delhi. 6:30 pm: RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya, Banks Board Bureau Chairman Vinod Rai at an event in Mumbai. LIVECHAT - WEEKAHEAD Reuters EMEA markets editor Mike Dolan discusses the upcoming week''s main market inflection points at 3:30 pm IST. To join the conversation, click on the link: here INDIA TOP NEWS Fast forward; GST set to transform face of Indian logistics industry India''s greatest tax reform - replacing an array of provincial duties with a nationwide goods and services tax - is transforming the logistics industry in a country where moving stuff around is notoriously difficult to do, executives say. IndiGo eyes Air India stake in possible privatisation India''s biggest airline, IndiGo, has expressed unsolicited interest in buying a stake in state-owned Air India, the junior aviation minister said on Thursday, a day after the cabinet approved plans to privatise the carrier. Eris Lifesciences edges lower after $264 million IPO Indian drug maker Eris Lifesciences Ltd''s shares swung between gains and losses in a tepid market debut on Thursday, after raising $263.8 million in an initial public offering. Coal India betting big on renewables, says minister Coal India Ltd, the world''s largest miner of the dirty fuel, will generate 1 gigawatt of renewable electricity this year as part of its plan to produce as much as 10 GW clean power in total, a federal minister said on Thursday. India could raise import taxes on crude, refined veg oils- government source India is likely to raise import duty on refined and crude vegetable oils, like palm and soyoil, as local oilseed prices slumped below the government support levels, a government official told Reuters on Thursday. Mutual funds managers need to improve due diligence: SEBI Indian mutual funds need to improve their due diligence before investing in corporate bonds and not rely only on credit ratings given rising concerns about potential defaults, the chairman of the country''s capital markets regulator said on Thursday. CRISIL Ratings buys 8.9 percent stake in rival CARE for $68 million CRISIL Ltd, majority owned by S&P Global Inc, bought a 8.9 percent stake in rival CARE Ratings for 4.36 billion rupees $67.55 million, expanding into the country''s ratings business at a time of surging corporate bond issuance. GLOBAL TOP NEWS China factory growth fastest in 3 months as new orders, output rise China''s manufacturing sector expanded at the quickest pace in three months in June, buoyed by strong production and new orders, reassuring news for authorities trying strike a balance between deleveraging and keeping the economy on an even keel. Trump administration reverses policy on fiancs as travel ban takes effect U.S. President Donald Trump''s administration reversed a decision late on Thursday as its revised travel ban took effect and said fiancs would be considered close family members and therefore allowed to travel to the United States. Their fortunes enmeshed, Trump and Putin to hold first meeting next week U.S. President Donald Trump will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin next week at a summit in Germany that brings two world leaders whose political fortunes have become intertwined face-to-face for the first time. LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK (As reported by NewsRise) The SGX Nifty Futures were at 9,504.50, little changed from its previous close. The Indian rupee will likely fall against the dollar on expectations local shares will follow regional peers lower, as bond yields harden in developed nations amid bets interest rates are headed higher in the U.S. and Europe. Indian government bonds are likely to edge higher today as some banks may boost debt purchases on the last day of the fiscal first quarter. However, fresh supply of bonds and higher U.S. yields may lead to selling by some investors. The yield on the benchmark 6.79 percent bond maturing in 2027 is likely to trade in a 6.49 percent-6.54 percent band today. GLOBAL MARKETS Wall Street fell sharply on Thursday, with the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials suffering their worst daily percentage drops in about six weeks, as a recent decline in technology shares deepened and outweighed strength in bank shares. Japan''s Nikkei share average stumbled to two-week lows morning after investors turned risk-averse as major central banks signalled that the era of cheap money was coming to an end, which hurt both U.S. and European markets overnight. The dollar languished near a nine-month low against a basket of currencies, bogged down by growing expectations of more hawkish monetary policies in Europe and Canada and doubts about another U.S. interest rate increase this year. Benchmark U.S. Treasury yields rose to six-week highs on Thursday on the likelihood that central banks in Europe will become less accommodative, before bonds pared price losses as stocks declined. Crude oil futures were on track for their biggest weekly gain since mid-May, ending five weeks of losses with prices underpinned by a decline in U.S. output. Gold prices steadied, supported by an easing dollar and falling equities even as comments from global central banks suggested monetary tightening in Europe and Canada. CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT PNDF spot 64.56/64.59 June 29 -$176.48 mln $145.75 mln 10-yr bond yield 6.87 Month-to-date $498.85 mln $4.55 bln Year-to-date $8.48 bln $17.99 bln For additional data: India govt bond market volumes Stock market reports Non-deliverable forwards data Corporate debt stories [IN CORPD] Local market closing/intraday levels [IN SNAPSHOT] Monthly inflows [INFLOWS RTRS TABLE IN] ($1 = 64.63 Indian rupees) (Compiled by Benny Thomas in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/india-morningcall-idUSL3N1JR1EB'|'2017-06-30T06:18:00.000+03:00' +'570bf1972674c2e1ceaf3ed6a3ca653d3932064e'|'Western Digital expects ruling on injunction request by mid-July: source'|'TOKYO Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ) expects a ruling on its request for a court injunction to stop the sale of Toshiba Corp''s ( 6502.T ) chip unit by mid-July, a source familiar with the situation said on Thursday.The California-based firm presented a revised offer for the chip unit that met Toshiba''s requests on Wednesday but did not receive a positive response, a separate source said.Western Digital is concerned about how Toshiba, the Japanese government and other stakeholders are handling the auction''s decision-making process, the second source added.The sources declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the negotiations.Toshiba declined to comment.(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-western-digital-idINKBN19606L'|'2017-06-15T00:46:00.000+03:00' +'899ba3bf66c988b58a9959574a204f5877df0151'|'Rosneft''s Sechin: U.S. oil output may erase gains of global cuts deal'|'Money News - Fri Jun 2, 2017 - 1:15pm IST Rosneft''s Sechin: U.S. oil output may erase gains of global cuts deal Rosneft Chief Executive Igor Sechin attends a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Russia, June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin ST PETERSBURG, Russia Oil producers in the United States could add up to 1.5 million barrels per day to world oil output next year, erasing any gains from a global oil output cut deal, Igor Sechin, the CEO of Russia''s largest oil producer Rosneft, said on Friday. Sechin said the resilience of Russia''s oil industry had however been seriously underestimated by the market. He said Russia could further increase its oil production to meet rising demand in future. (Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov and Olesya Astakhova; Writing by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Andrew Osborn) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/russia-economic-forum-sechin-usa-idINKBN18T0U7'|'2017-06-02T05:45:00.000+03:00' +'9e5e798215e1cf44c7cbf63c7f41be7d6007802d'|'BlackRock takes Scalable Capital stake in Europe ''robo-advisor'' push'|'Business News 28am BST BlackRock takes Scalable Capital stake in Europe ''robo-advisor'' push FILE PHOTO: The BlackRock logo is seen outside of its offices in New York City, U.S., October 17, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid By Simon Jessop and Trevor Hunnicutt - LONDON/NEW YORK LONDON/NEW YORK BlackRock ( BLK.N ), the world''s biggest asset manager, made its first push into Europe''s "robo-advice" market on Tuesday after taking a stake in Anglo-German digital investment manager Scalable Capital. BlackRock, which manages $5.4 trillion (4.24 trillion pounds) across a range of actively managed and index-tracking funds, led a 30 million euro (26.39 million pounds) funding round for Scalable alongside its two existing German venture capital backers, a joint statement said. The funding will help Scalable expand its robo-advice business - which uses low-cost exchange-based funds and online distribution - with financial institutions and corporates to help grow assets past the 250 million euros raised in the 16 months since launch from more than 6,000 retail clients. The expansion of BlackRock''s digital efforts comes as fund and wealth managers globally look to overhaul their distribution models amid tougher regulation, pressure on fees and the changing investment needs of a younger generation. Patrick Olson, BlackRock''s chief operating officer for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and who will join Scalable''s supervisory board, said the decision to invest came as investors increasingly wanted to access their holdings using technology. "This trend is prompting strong demand from European financial institutions including banks, insurers, wealth managers and advisory firms for high-quality technology-enabled investment solutions," Olsen said. Scalable Capital, founded in 2014 and based in Munich and London, uses exchange-traded funds from BlackRock and others to build low-cost portfolios for clients and is actively looking to expand into other European countries. As well as Britain and Germany, it is also active in Austria. New European rules aimed at improving transparency, value for money and protections for investors meant traditional asset and wealth managers would need to use technology to help design, manage and distribute investments, the companies said. "Technology is not just a competitive advantage but a requirement for wealth management businesses to be successful in the future," Adam French, co-founder and co-CEO at Scalable Capital, said. The deal is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the third quarter. The companies declined to specify the size of the equity stake taken by BlackRock or its growth targets. FINTECH STABLE The deal for Scalable comes several months after BlackRock Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink told Reuters he was considering up to four small acquisitions to shore up its technology and investment expertise. It also follows the purchase in 2015 of U.S.-based robo-adviser FutureAdvisor which, like Scalable, uses exchange-traded funds to build portfolios for clients and began serving retail customers. Since then, FutureAdvisor has put more emphasis on licensing its service to big wealth management companies to offer through their own advisers, typically to lower-tier clients who they might otherwise not retain. BlackRock is keen to win more market share with those wealth management firms, which are already a primary distributor of its funds to the general public. FutureAdvisor disclosed having $969 million in assets under management and 13,751 accounts in a February filing with U.S. regulators, up from $232 million and 3,460 accounts around when the BlackRock deal was announced in 2015. As well as FutureAdvisor, BlackRock''s digital wealth management business includes Aladdin Risk for Wealth, iRetire and iCapital, all of which are solely for U.S.-based clients. Fink has placed an unusual emphasis on technology for a company in his industry, including through the company''s Aladdin operating system for investment management, which it licenses to rivals. It is also exploring how computer models can improve stock picking while reducing costs and in March announced plans to bolster an internal team known for data-driven approaches to picking stocks. (Reporting by Simon Jessop, editing by David Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-blackrock-scalablecapital-idUKKBN19A32I'|'2017-06-20T07:19:00.000+03:00' +'2c89fa497bec268403b881fdbecfd6e5e22f0e87'|'Mars recalls some chocolates due to likely Salmonella presence'|'Top News - Fri Jun 9, 2017 - 5:40pm BST Mars recalls some chocolates due to likely Salmonella presence Confectioner Mars Inc, owner of the Mars and M&M brands, said on Friday that it had voluntarily recalled some products sold under the Galaxy brand in the UK and Ireland as it detected the possible presence of Salmonella in the ingredients. The products, including the Galaxy Minstrels and Galaxy Counters bars, with a best-before date ranging between May 6, 2018 and May 13, 2018 were recalled as a precautionary measure, the British and Irish units of Mars said. Mars also said it had received no complaints regarding the affected products and that it was working closely with relevant food safety authorities regarding the recall. The company, which makes the Mars Bars that Harry Potter meant to buy on his first trip aboard the Hogwarts Express, said it came across the issue during a routine testing process. (Reporting by Sanjeeban Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mars-inc-recall-idUKKBN1902EK'|'2017-06-10T00:14:00.000+03:00' +'53f1692b9d3f93115077da1f89a3071c21346ed7'|'TREASURIES-Yield curve flattens as Fed stays hawkish amid low inflation'|'* Fed''s Rosengren: Low rates are risk to financial stability * US five-, 30-year yield curve flattest since 2007 By Karen Brettell NEW YORK, June 20 The U.S. Treasury yield curve flattened to its lowest levels since December 2007 as more hawkish Federal Reserve officials led intermediate-dated notes to underperform long-term bonds, which are being supported by falling inflation. Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said on Tuesday that the era of low interest rates in the United States and elsewhere poses financial stability risks and that central bankers must factor such concerns into their decision-making. On Monday, New York Fed President William Dudley said halting the rate-hiking cycle now would imperil the economy, and unemployment at 4.3 percent now and inflation at 1.5 percent were "a pretty good place to be. The more the Fed beats in this relentlessly hawkish message, the more the yield curve just ends up flattening on it, said Aaron Kohli, an interest rate strategist at BMO Capital Markets in New York. The yield curve between five-year notes and 30-year bonds flattened to 107 basis points, the lowest since December 2007. The yield curve has flattened as the Feds hawkishness contrasts with weakening inflation. Data last Wednesday showed that the so-called core Consumer Price Index (CPI), which strips out food and energy costs, increased 1.7 percent year-on-year in May, the smallest rise since May 2015. That measure has fallen from a year-on-year rise of 2.2 percent in February. The Fed has been talking much more hawkishly than the past in the context of the recent data, said Kohli. Its not that the levels are disturbing, its that the trend is really disturbing. Five-year note yields , which are among the most sensitive to Fed policy, have jumped to 1.80 percent from a six-month low of 1.67 percent on Wednesday, before the U.S. central bank raised interest rates for the second time in three months. Thirty-year bond yields , which are most influenced by inflation expectations, by contrast have tumbled to 2.76 percent from 2.80 percent after the Feds rate hike last week. Benchmark 10-year notes were last up 3/32 in price to yield 2.18 percent, down from 2.19 percent late on Monday. (Editing by Bernadette Baum) )'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-bonds-idINL1N1JH0L8'|'2017-06-20T11:45:00.000+03:00' +'089d8fb8849f32e685a30a51b04d8a447fca61f7'|'China agrees to stop cyberattacks on Canadian private sector: Globe and Mail'|'Asia - Mon Jun 26, 2017 - 2:30pm IST China, Canada vow not to conduct cyber attacks on private sector China and Canada have signed an agreement vowing not to conduct state-sponsored cyber attacks against each other aimed at stealing trade secrets or other confidential business information. The agreement was reached during talks between Canada''s national security and intelligence adviser, Daniel Jean, and senior communist party official Wang Yongqing, a statement dated June 22 on the Canadian government''s website showed. "This is something that three or four years ago (Beijing) would not even have entertained in the conversation," an unnamed Canadian government official told the Globe and Mail, which first reported the agreement. The new agreement only covers economic cyber espionage, which includes hacking corporate secrets and proprietary technology, but does not deal with state-sponsored cyber spying for intelligence gathering. "The two sides agreed that neither country''s government would conduct or knowingly support cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property, including trade secrets or other confidential business information, with the intent of providing competitive advantages to companies or commercial sectors," the Canadian government said in the statement. A statement released by China''s official Xinhua news agency last week about the meeting contained broadly similar wording on cyber attacks. Some countries, including the United States, have long accused Beijing of sponsoring hacking attacks on companies in an effort to acquire sensitive foreign technology. China denies those accusations, and says that it is also a victim of hacking. In 2015, China and the United States came to a similar understanding on corporate cyber espionage, after the Obama administration had mulled targeted sanctions against Chinese individuals and companies for cyber attacks against U.S. commercial targets. U.S. cyber security executives and government advisers said breaches attributed to China-based groups had dropped around the time of that agreement. China this month put into effect a new cyber security law designed to strengthen critical infrastructure, even as many global tech firms and lobbies said the rules skewed the playing field against foreign firms. (Reporting by Subrat Patnaik in Bengalore and Michael Martina in Beijing; Additional reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa and Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-canada-china-cyber-idINKBN19H06A'|'2017-06-26T00:49:00.000+03:00' +'4e092e4b9a19c8cfd105144e143900454432d213'|'Exxon, partners set $4.4 bln for mega oil project in Guyana'|' 11:08pm IST Exxon, partners set $4.4 bln for mega oil project in Guyana FILE PHOTO: The logo of Exxon Mobil Corporation is shown on a monitor above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, December 30, 2015. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo By Ernest Scheyder Exxon Mobil Corp said on Friday it and partners would spend $4.4 billion to develop part of the Liza oilfield off the coast of Guyana, approving a megaproject at a time when the oil industry has grown obsessed with lower-cost shale. Exxon''s decision shows that oil companies remain interested in large projects, especially offshore, even in an era of belt-tightening after two years of low crude prices. The Guyana announcement from Exxon and partners Hess Corp and CNOOC was the fifth deepwater project to gain approvals this year. BP Plc and Reliance Industries said on Thursday they would spend $6 billion to develop natural gas reserves off the Indian coast. Exxon, which spent nearly $7 billion earlier this year to more than double its holdings in the Permian shale formation in the United States, said the Guyana project was approved due in part to its low cost of production. "We''re excited about the tremendous potential of the Liza field and accelerating first production through a phased development in this lower cost environment," Liam Mallon, Exxon''s head of development, said in a statement. Phase One of the Liza development project should tap about 450 million barrels of oil and pump about 120,000 barrels per day when it comes online in 2020, Exxon said in a statement. The Liza field is roughly 190 kilometers off the coast of Guyana. Exxon plans 17 wells as part of the project''s first phase. A second phase is possible in the future, the company said. New York-based Hess said it expects its share of the project''s cost to be about $955 million. Shares of Exxon rose 0.7 percent to $82.97 on Friday. (Reporting by Ernest Scheyder in Houston and Ahmed Farhatha in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/exxon-mobil-guyana-idINKBN1972G0'|'2017-06-16T15:38:00.000+03:00' +'aa8b8d3a38a7cd03270d2a93308d2650a57015a8'|'German truck parts maker Jost plans Frankfurt IPO in H2'|'Business 7:00am BST German truck parts maker Jost plans Frankfurt IPO in H2 FRANKFURT German truck and trailer parts maker Jost plans to list on the Frankfurt stock exchange in the second half of 2017, the group said on Monday. The initial public offering (IPO) will comprise new shares from a capital increase worth around 130 million euros (114 million) as well as stock held by existing shareholders including buyout group Cinven. Sources had told Reuters last month that Cinven was reviving plans to list Jost, having previously shelved plans for a flotation due to wobbly capital markets. (Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-jost-ipo-idUKKBN19H0HW'|'2017-06-26T14:00:00.000+03:00' +'88100ea716a7d6493cbee3dc68c731275196c706'|'Exclusive: Universal president says founder Okada ''unfit'' for board in private letter'|'Business News - Thu Jun 29, 2017 - 1:36am EDT Exclusive: Universal president says founder Okada ''unfit'' for board in private letter left right FILE PHOTO: Kazuo Okada, chairman of Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Inc. listens at the press launch of 65th annual Miss Universe competition on January 30, 2017. REUTERS/Erik De Castro/File Photo 1/4 left right The logo of the Universal Entertainment Corp. is seen at the company''s headquarters in Tokyo November 30, 2012. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 2/4 left right The logo of Universal Entertainment Corp. is seen at the company''s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 3/4 left right The logo of Universal Entertainment Corp. is seen at the company''s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 4/4 By Emi Emoto and Nathan Layne - TOKYO TOKYO The president of Japan''s Universal Entertainment Corp ( 6425.T ) said the company''s founder Kazuo Okada is "unfit" to be the director of a public company, in a private letter to a shareholder seen by Reuters. The June 21 letter was written by Jun Fujimoto ahead of an annual meeting of Universal shareholders on Thursday at which Okada lost his position as board chairman. Shareholders approved a slate of directors that did not include Okada, a company spokesman confirmed. The meeting was not open to the media. The board shake-up comes three weeks after Universal announced that it had established an internal investigative panel to probe Okadas use of company money. Universal said it had found three cases in which Okada misappropriated a total of $20 million in funds. Okada addressed those allegations for the first time on Thursday on the sidelines of the meeting in a Tokyo hotel. Okada made the comments after being told he could not attend the meeting because his stake in Universal is held indirectly by a holding company. "I''ve done nothing wrong," Okada told reporters. "I''ve been barred from the meeting in the name of this investigative panel and allegations that are a bunch of nonsense." Universal said it could not comment on letters to or from Fujimoto as an individual and declined to make him available for an interview. Peppered with criticism of Okada, the letter offers a glimpse into the mindset of Fujimoto, 59, as he pushes ahead with an attempt to sideline Okada, 74, in a rare Japanese boardroom coup. "I think Chairman Okada is unfit to be in management of a public company," Fujimoto said in the letter, which was written in Japanese. "I''m confident that I can prove that with irrefutable physical evidence." He did not say what that evidence was. The approved slate of directors included Okada''s wife, Takako. Universal also brought back a former finance executive and added an external director to the board. Those changes were made possible by the resignation of Okada in May as director of Okada Holdings Ltd, a company based in Hong Kong that owns 69 percent of Universal''s stock and therefore holds sway over appointments to Universal''s board. Okada stepped down as the result of a rift with family members, who control a majority of Okada Holdings'' stock, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Fujimoto was responding to a letter from shareholder Tsuyoshi Hosoba, who had unsuccessfully sued Universal directors in 2015 alleging they breached their fiduciary duties on a series of matters, including in relation to $40 million in payments from affiliates of Universal in 2010 to a Philippine consultant, who was working on the company''s $2.4 billion casino on Manila Bay. Okada, Fujimoto and Universal have denied any wrongdoing related to the payments, which have been the subject of regulatory scrutiny in the U.S. and the Philippines. Hosoba declined to comment. In his letter, Hosoba said he wanted to work with Fujimoto to "clean up" the company and offered to cease further legal action if Fujimoto "told the truth" about the payments and took steps to bolster corporate governance. In response, Fujimoto rejected Hosoba''s request to cooperate but urged him to consider the steps he was taking to improve the company''s compliance and the risks directors and executives were taking in investigating the "extremely powerful" Okada. Fujimoto criticized Hosoba''s threat of legal action as misguided. In the letter, Fujimoto said the investigation into Okada would look at transactions going back five years. That means the review would not include the $40 million paid to the Manila-based consultant in 2010. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has been probing the $40 million to determine if it was aimed at helping Universal gain tax and ownership concessions for its casino in the Philippines, according to the people with knowledge of the probe. Universal and Okada filed a defamation lawsuit against Reuters in 2012 for its reporting on the payments. The Tokyo District Court ruled in 2015 that Universal''s case was without merit. Last year the Tokyo High Court upheld that ruling, dismissing Universal''s appeal. Universal has appealed to the Supreme Court of Japan. (Editing by Bill Rigby and Lincoln Feast) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-universal-ent-okada-board-exclusive-idUSKBN19K04P'|'2017-06-29T04:08:00.000+03:00' +'6d4cb2e4366a1adaac62cabd3a6811ae128bc4a6'|'Deutsche Bank asks for more time for U.S. query on Trump, Russia - source'|' 42pm BST Deutsche Bank asks for more time for U.S. query on Trump, Russia - source By Tom Sims - FRANKFURT FRANKFURT Germany''s largest bank has asked for more time to respond to a request from Democrats on a U.S. House of Representatives panel for details about U.S. President Donald Trump''s possible ties to Russia, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday. Deutsche Bank''s ( DBKGn.DE ) external counsel sent a letter dated Friday June 2 to the Democrats saying it needed additional time, the source told Reuters. The person spoke on condition of anonymity and declined to specify how much more time the bank''s counsel needed. Several Democrats on the U.S. House Financial Services Committee sent a letter last month to John Cryan, chief executive officer of Deutsche Bank, seeking details that might show if Trump''s loans for his real estate business were backed by the Russian government. The letter asked for details of internal reviews of Trump''s transactions and gave the German bank until Friday to respond. Deutsche Bank has declined to comment about any business dealings with Trump. The Republican president is mired in controversy over FBI and congressional probes into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and potential collusion between Moscow and the Trump campaign. Moscow has denied the allegations, and Trump has denied any collusion. Maxine Waters, Democrat representative for California and a member of the committee, was one of the original letter''s five signatories. She confirmed through a staff member on Monday that Deutsche did not provide "substantive responses to our requests". "Congress remains in the dark on whether loans Deutsche Bank made to President Trump were guaranteed by the Russian government, or were in any way connected to Russia," the Democrats wrote in their request to Deutsche Bank. "It is critical that you provide this committee with the information necessary to assess the scope, findings and conclusions of your internal reviews," they said. The Democrats cannot compel Deutsche Bank to hand over the information. The House committee has the power to subpoena the documents, but Republican committee members - who make up the majority of the panel - would have to cooperate. No Republicans have signed the document request. The congressional inquiry is also seeking information about a Russian "mirror trading" scheme that allowed $10 billion (7.7 billion) to flow out of Russia. In January, Deutsche Bank agreed to pay $630 million in fines for organising the scheme that could have been used to launder money out of Russia. The trades involved, for example, buying Russian stocks in roubles for a client and selling the identical value of a security for U.S. dollars for a related customer. (Reporting by Tom Sims; Editing by Rachel Armstrong and Mark Potter) FILE PHOTO: The logo of Deutsche Bank is seen at its headquarters ahead of the bank''s annual general meeting in Frankfurt, Germany May 18, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deutsche-bank-trump-idUKKBN18W20Y'|'2017-06-05T23:42:00.000+03:00' +'803336ab2ff3615902f65c237af59b7e16f5d780'|'India farm protests push for rise in edible oils import tax'|'By Rajendra Jadhav - MUMBAI MUMBAI India''s government is facing mounting pressure to raise import duties on edible oils after farmers staged mass protests in key farm states amid a slump in oilseed prices to below government support levels.Local oilseed crushers are struggling to compete with cheaper edible oil imports from Indonesia, Malaysia, Brazil and Argentina, reducing demand for local rapeseed and soybeans, even after prices tumbled by a third over the past 14 months due to bumper global production.Politically powerful farm groups want the government to raise import duties, boosting margins for local oilseed crushers like Ruchi Soya and encouraging cultivation for the 2017/18 season."It''s high time to do it. The sowing has started and prices are below the support level," said Davish Jain, chairman of the Soybean Processors Association of India (SOPA). "Some farmers have already decided to switch to other crops."India, the world''s biggest palm and soybean oil importer, now relies on imports for 70 percent of its edible oils, up from 44 percent in 2001/02.Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had promised to double farmers'' incomes over five years, remains a popular leader three years into his term. But unrest has flared in states ruled by his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), catching regional leaders flat-footed.In Madhya Pradesh, the top soybean producing state, five farmers were shot dead during protests earlier this month.Farmers are demanding better prices for their produce and billions of dollars in debt relief after BJP governments in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra announced a more than $10 billion loan write-off for farmers.Industry body, the Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA), has petitioned the government to raise the duty on crude vegetable oils to 20 percent and on refined products to 35 percent, from 7.5 percent and 12.5 percent currently.Trade officials say lower food price inflation in India will make it easier for the government to raise import duties, protecting farmers without hurting consumers."Raising the import duty can help put a damper on imports as well as encourage domestic crushing and refining," said Dinesh Shahra, managing director of Ruchi Soya.Finance ministry spokesman D.S. Malik declined to comment.While the government fixes minimum prices for more than two dozen farm commodities, it mainly buys wheat and rice. In the absence of support, local prices move in tandem with overseas prices.Many farmers were forced to sell soybeans at 2,550 rupees per 100 kg in the spot market, below the support price of 2,775 rupees, which has been raised to 3,050 rupees for the 2017/18 season.Meanwhile, India''s soybean stocks are likely to hit 1.83 million tonnes at the end of this year, up from 441,000 tonnes at the start of the marketing year on Oct. 1, SOPA estimates, as an appreciating rupee makes soymeal exports unattractive."The government should try to boost oilmeal exports by giving some kind of incentives for exports. It will help in reducing inventory," said Ali Muhammad Lakdawala, procurement in charge of Oils & Fats at diversified consumer company ITC Ltd..(Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Richard Pullin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/india-edibleoils-duty-idINKBN19D0GS'|'2017-06-22T14:19:00.000+03:00' +'6a3d16c64846afbdee3be079623fd37eaf8689cb'|'Judge shoots down challenge to J. Crew debt deal'|'By Jessica DiNapoli A New York Supreme Court Justice sided with J. Crew Group Inc in a dispute with some of its senior lenders, allowing the U.S. preppy retailer to move forward with a restructuring deal to cut its $2.1 billion debt pile.The lenders had asked Justice Shirley Werner Kornreich to halt the deal because it unfairly gave collateral in the company, the J. Crew brand, to J. Crew''s junior creditors. Kornreich denied the lenders'' request because she said they did not show they would have success litigating it moving forward.The lenders can still pursue the case even though they lost an initial battle, but J. Crew is taking steps to dismiss the lawsuit. The small group of lenders is led by Eaton Vance Management and Highland Capital Management LP and they hold about $160 million of the term loan.The restructuring deal is supposed to help J. Crew avoid bankruptcy, a fate many of its peers have faced as retail goes through a major shift stemming from increasing consumer preference to shop online.Restructuring experts have been closely watching J. Crew because its deal could be a blueprint for other retailers with strong brand names to slash their debt without filing for bankruptcy. J. Crew is using its brand name to issue new debt to buy back existing bonds at a discount, helping it de-lever and avoid repayments for an additional two years.Millions in attorney fees had been spent trying to work out the restructuring deal J. Crew has achieved, Kornreich said."On the other side is 10 to 12 percent of the (lenders) who say ''Blow it up,''" she said.Attorneys for the lenders argued that J. Crew needed approvals from all of the holders before making changes to agreements that permit its restructuring. The retailer had secured 88 percent approval.Moody''s Investors Service published a report last month that named leather goods retailer Cole Haan, luxury label VINCE and canvas shoeseller TOMS Shoes as stressed brands that could pursue a path like J. Crew''s.J. Crew had said in court papers that if the judge halted the deal by granting the lenders a so-called injunction, it would "devastate J. Crew''s restructuring efforts and operations, with dire consequences for J. Crew and all of its stakeholders, including creditors and thousands of employees."(Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Bernard Orr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-jcrew-creditors-idINKBN19J25A'|'2017-06-28T13:35:00.000+03:00' +'79f310851aa365208e6d6d0c55ccc3effbdbbf91'|'UPDATE 1-S.Korea stocks may see outflow of up to 4.3 trln after MSCI includes China -official'|'(Adds currency to headline)* Overall impact on S.Korean shares won''t be significant -official* KOSPI falls 0.93 pct to 2,347.10 as of 0035 GMT* Market cap of S.Korea''s benchmark KOSPI at 1,536 trln wonSEOUL, June 21 The South Korean share market could see outflows of up to 4.3 trillion won following MSCI''s decision to add China''s mainland-listed shares to its global indexes, a senior Korean government official said on Wednesday."Considering the size of global funds that track the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, we see possible outflow of about 600 billion won ($525.92 million) to 4.3 trillion won ($3.77 billion) from our equities," Jeong Eun-bo, vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission said in a policy meeting in Seoul.While such an outflow is a possibility from South Korea''s benchmark index KOSPI and junior KOSDAQ, the overall impact won''t be significant on South Korean equities, Jeong added.Early on Wednesday, U.S. index provider MSCI Inc. said it will add domestic Chinese equities to its widely tracked Emerging Markets Index, which will draw billions of dollars to China''s A shares and decrease South Korea''s weight in the index.The South Korean regulator said the country''s weight in the index will shrink by 0.23 percentage points to 15.2 percent, as China''s weighting increases to 28.4 percent from 27.7 percent.Seoul shares will shrug off an outflow of few trillion won, analysts said, as the total market capitalization of stocks listed on the benchmark main Korean Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) reached 1,536 trillion won as of closing on June 20."Foreign investors generally buy and sell quite large amounts of local stocks, such an amount (4.3 trillion won) will not be a source of fear for local market players," said Rhoo Yong-seok, a stock analyst at KB securities.South Korean equities saw a 9 trillion won of net inflow from foreign investors between January and May this year, which will more than offset any potential outflow following China''s inclusion in the MSCI index, the FSC said.The KOSPI fell 0.93 percent to 2,347.10 points as of 0035 GMT, and the won was Quote: d at 1,141.6 to the dollar, down 0.5 percent versus Tuesday''s close. ($1 = 1,140.8500 won) (Reporting by Cynthia Kim, Dahee Kim; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/msci-indexes-southkorea-idUSL3N1JI02F'|'2017-06-21T08:52:00.000+03:00' +'fa01fe6f36c7a54b3bdc34bf4f008effb301f6e2'|'BRIEF-Fintech firm Blockchain raises $40 mln in Lakestar-led funding'|'June 22 Blockchain:* Raised $40 million in a Series B led by Lakestar with participation from GV, Nokota Management, Digital Currency Group and some existing investors* Participation from existing investors Lightspeed Venture Partners, Mosaic Venture Partners, Prudence Holdings, Virgin, and Richard Branson (Virgin Group)* Fundraising represents the most substantial investment in the fintech space since Brexit and is the largest series B raised by any digital currency co to date* New capital will support global expansion and localization efforts as well as research and development of emerging digital assets (Bengaluru Newsroom: +91 806 749 1136)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/brief-fintech-firm-blockchain-raises-idINFWN1JJ05W'|'2017-06-22T05:13:00.000+03:00' +'eb1389338b5dddd4d379c187a6faae1015cf0d35'|'Dollar Express sues Dollar Tree for driving it out of business'|'Business News - Fri Jun 2, 2017 - 6:41pm EDT Dollar Express sues Dollar Tree for driving it out of business People walk by a Dollar Tree store in Pasadena, California August 31, 2015. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni By Diane Bartz - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. discount retailer Dollar Express has filed a lawsuit accusing rival Family Dollar and its parent company Dollar Tree Inc ( DLTR.O ) of driving it out of business, the third government-required divestiture to fail in recent years. Dollar Express was formed in 2015 when private equity group Sycamore Partners II LP bought some 330 stores in 35 states from Family Dollar and Dollar Tree. Family Dollar had to sell the stores in order to win antitrust approval to merge with Dollar Tree. In the lawsuit filed Thursday, Dollar Express accuses Dollar Tree of using confidential information to open new shops near the divested stores to drive them out of business. It also accused Dollar Tree of putting underqualified and inattentive store managers in divested stores. "Dollar Express''s damages, which include the lost prospective value of the acquisition of the stores, may exceed one-half billion dollars, with the ultimate amount of damages to be determined at trial," Dollar Express said in its complaint. Dollar Express in the lawsuit says these and other actions lead to it obtaining Federal Trade Commission approval in April to go out of business and sell its stores to Dollar General Corp ( DG.N ). Dollar Tree did not respond to a request for comment. U.S. regulators often insist on divestitures as a way of protecting competition without having to file lawsuits to prevent mergers that would lead to monopolies. The FTC is reviewing divestitures that may allow Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc ( WBA.O ) to buy Rite Aid Corp ( RAD.N ). Dollar Express marks the third divestiture to fail recently. In 2015, Albertsons purchase of Safeway led to the sale of 168 stories to smaller rival Haggen, which filed for bankruptcy within months. In 2012, Hertz Global Holdings bought Dollar Thrifty and was required to sell its Advantage Rent a Car brand. Advantage filed for bankruptcy within months and is now owned by a Canadian investment firm. Chris Sagers, who teaches antitrust at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, said customers would be hurt if the companies formed from divested assets fail. "The agencies want to avoid suing to block. They don''t want to litigate merger challenges. Litigating these things is a huge resource drain," he added. "Merger parties are well-heeled and outspend them." (Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-dollar-tree-lawsuit-dollarexpress-idUSKBN18T30Z'|'2017-06-03T06:26:00.000+03:00' +'3a2386cde70ff7ac0a5f5136a53b47d12a9965c6'|'Petrofac sees higher bidding activity in core markets'|'Business News - Tue Jun 27, 2017 - 9:17am BST Petrofac says bidding opportunity pipeline robust Group Chief Executive of Petrofac Ayman Asfari speaks during the Oil & Money conference in London October 1, 2013. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor By Sanjeeban Sarkar British oilfield services company Petrofac Ltd on Tuesday said it expected an underlying net profit of $135 million (106 million pounds) to $145 million for the first half of 2017 as strong bidding activity in its core markets led to a robust order book. Shares in the company were down 2.6 percent at 415 pence at 0810 GMT on the London Stock Exchange. "High level of tendering activity is evidence of greater confidence in our core markets and we continue to have a very good pipeline of bidding opportunities," CEO Ayman Asfari said in a statement. Bidding activity in the first half of the year was consistent with Petrofac''s guidance of higher activity in its core Middle Eastern markets, CFO Alastair Cochran told Reuters. Full-year underlying net profit would be weighted towards the second half of the year in a ratio of about 40:60 percent, he added. Order book stood at $13 billion as of May 31, said the company, which builds and operates oil and gas facilities. It recorded an order book value of $14.3 billion in 2016 as orders picked up in its core Middle Eastern markets. The company''s high exposure to the Middle Eastern oil markets resulted in good backlog coverage for 2017 as record production in the region drove up contract awards. Petrofac is under investigation by the UK''s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) for its dealings with Monaco-based Unaoil, which Petrofac said it had engaged primarily in Kazakhstan to provide local consultancy services between 2002 and 2009. Petrofac suspended its chief operating officer, Marwan Chedid, last month in response to the investigation, raising concerns among investors about the company''s ability to win work. CFO Cochran said on Tuesday the company was engaged with the SFO and had not paid any penalty, when asked if the company had set aside cash in case of a fine. (Reporting by Sanjeeban Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier and Amrutha Gayathri) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-petrofac-outlook-idUKKBN19I0OD'|'2017-06-27T15:17:00.000+03:00' +'e72ce1fbbd9ca0e66c0e0ec1a4685bb9369c7a65'|'Sponsors shun banks by pre-placing second-liens on buyout loans'|'Banks - Thu Jun 8, 2017 - 4:31pm BST Sponsors shun banks by pre-placing second-liens on buyout loans By Claire Ruckin - LONDON LONDON Private equity firms are increasingly shunning banks to pre-place second-lien loans directly with cash-rich funds, which is reducing banks returns as they lose out on the most profitable part of an underwriting fee. Four buyouts, backed with loans yet to be syndicated in Europes leveraged loan market, are expected to include pre-placed second-lien loans, including Danish packaging group Faerch Plast; European industrial supplies distributor IPH Brammer; cleaning business Safetykleen Europe; and Hong Kong-based international schools operator Nord Anglia Education. By going directly to funds, buyout firms are guaranteeing placement on the most expensive and risky part of a capital structure, avoiding any costly risks that could arise during a syndication process. Borrowers are happy to lock in the terms. They dont have to take market risk with syndication and as second-lien providers cant get enough of the paper, they are offering competitive terms, a senior leverage finance banker said. The removal of a subordinated piece of debt from an underwrite is impacting banks that are already being squeezed on fees on the senior part of a capital structure to around 1.5%-1.75%, from 1.75%-2.25% a couple of years ago. Second-lien fees come in anywhere between 2%-3%. Subordinated second-lien loans have become attractive to sponsors as a means of increasing overall leverage on a deal, while maintaining control over who holds the paper -- something that cannot be achieved via the public high-yield market. Second-lien loans also dont have the restrictive call protection associated with bonds. Other pre-placed second-liens this year include deals for UK-based Element Materials Technology, Swedish dialysis clinic operator Diaverum, British holiday park operator Parkdean Resorts and Belgian aluminium systems manufacturer Corialis, among others. Funds available to take pre-placed second-lien loans include Alcentra, Apollo Capital Management, MV Credit, Ares, Park Square Capital, EQT, GSO and Partners Group. MARKET RISK Despite banks losing out on the 2%-3%underwriting fees, sponsors are having to pay out that same amount to the funds they are pre-placing the paper with, in the form of an arrangement fee. Sponsors are, however, protected from market risk if a deal goes wrong. Typical market flex on a struggling deal could see a sponsor on the hook for an additional 150bp. The reality is that there is no real difference in terms of overall fees. The margin may be wider on a pre-placed second-lien loan compared to an underwritten deal, but there is also no flex, a leverage finance head said. Deep liquidity in Europes leveraged loan market, where demand far outweighs supply, has seen pricing compression. In some cases Single B issuers are achieving market lows of 300bp on first-lien paper and arguably sponsors will achieve market lows on second-lien paper. KKR paid 675bp over Libor with a 0% floor and 650bp over Euribor with a 0% floor for a $20 million (15.4 million) and 20 million (17.3 million) second-lien add-on tranche for UK forensic sciences group LGC in January. Some banks are approaching sponsors to argue a case for syndicated second-liens. A syndicated deal in such a hot market could price significantly tighter than a pre-placed loan. However, many of those funds are telling sponsors they will not buy the second-lien paper if it is syndicated. Some funds are telling sponsors they will not take second-lien unless it is pre-placed, as all-in yield on syndication is lower. They have remits to do big tickets and they want good yield and a substantial amount of paper. It is a threat but it is a legitimate one because if it goes to a wide syndication and these funds are offered a smaller ticket at a lower yield, they will probably walk away, the leveraged finance head said. In a search for yield, there are alternative funds that may be attracted to second-lien paper that may not have otherwise been in different market conditions. If banks go to the broader market with second-lien paper there is a base of investors out there in possession of subordinated baskets and in search for yield, so they may be willing to buy, the leveraged finance head said. A syndicate head said: Investors holding sponsors to ransom may be relevant around some very big tranches where you need big ticket commitments but on the smaller second-liens of around 100 million you could sell 10 million - 15 million tickets to various funds. (Editing by Christopher Mangham)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-secondlien-loans-idUKKBN18Z266'|'2017-06-08T23:31:00.000+03:00' +'4aeb87868676fbc3d4dec28a256924b39cb66c46'|'UK Stocks-Factors to watch on June 12'|'June 12 Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening down 33 points at 7,494, on Monday, according to financial bookmakers. * The UK blue chip index closed 1 percent higher at 7527.33 on Friday, as an election upset for Prime Minister Theresa May sent the index shooting up, feeding off a weaker currency, while housebuilders suffered losses as uncertainty about the UK''s leadership grew before Brexit negotiations. * UK ELECTION: Prime Minister Theresa May reappointed most of her ministers but brought a Brexit campaigner and party rival into government to try to unite her Conservatives after a disastrous election sapped her authority, days before Brexit talks begin. * TRUMP UK STATE VISIT: Prime Minister Theresa May''s office said on Sunday there had been no change to plans for U.S. President Donald Trump''s to come to Britain on a state visit, after the Guardian newspaper reported the trip had been postponed. * BREXIT: Britain''s inconclusive election means it is more likely to opt for a softer Brexit in which it remains in the European Union''s customs union, Irish appointed EU agriculture commissioner Phil Hogan said in a newspaper interview published on Sunday. * AIRBUS/BREXIT: Airbus could move production of new aircraft models out of Britain if the European plane-maker''s "non-negotiable" demands over the free movement of people and trade tariffs are not delivered in upcoming Brexit talks, the Sunday Times reported. * GLENCORE: Miner-trader Glencore on Friday said it had offered $2.55 billion cash for coal mines owned by Rio Tinto, in Hunter Valley, Australia, outbidding a previous offer from Chinese-owned Yancoal. * TESCO/ALDI: German grocery chain Aldi Inc said on Sunday it would invest $3.4 billion to expand its U.S. store base to 2,500 by 2022, raising the stakes for rivals caught in a price war. The furious pace of expansion by Aldi and Germany''s Lidl is likely to further disrupt the U.S. grocery market, which has seen 18 bankruptcies since 2014. The two chains are also upending established UK grocers like Tesco Plc and Wal-Mart''s UK arm, ASDA. * OIL: Oil prices rose on Monday as futures traders bet the market may have bottomed after a recent steep fall, even as physical markets remain bloated by oversupply, especially from a relentless rise in U.S. drilling. * QATAR OIL: Qatar Petroleum said on Saturday that it was conducting "business as usual" throughout its upstream, midstream and downstream operations, despite rising diplomatic tensions with its Gulf neighbours. * METALS: Copper prices climbed for a forth consecutive session on Monday, underpinned by strong demand from top consumer China and concerns over tight supplies from Chile. Gold inched up on Monday as Asian stocks fell and the dollar eased ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting that could give clues on the pace of interest rate hikes over the rest of the year. * UK CONSUMER SPEND: British consumers cut their spending for the first time in nearly four years last month, figures from credit card firm Visa showed, as households turned more cautious even before last week''s shock election result. * UK EMPLOYERS/BREXIT: Almost half of British employers are unprepared for the government''s planned changes to immigration rules after Brexit, a survey from the Resolution Foundation think tank showed on Monday. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets * UK CORPORATE DIARY: Servoca PLC Half Year Motorpoint Group PLC Full Year Mitie Group PLC Full Year London Stock Exchange Group Plc Investor Day TODAY''S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idUSL3N1J9208'|'2017-06-12T13:43:00.000+03:00' +'0d069c5e2376f6d2b0e7cacbee233b35d6d185ea'|'China United Network Communications Ltd announces strategic investment plan'|'SINGAPORE China United Network Communications Ltd ( 600050.SS ) said on Monday its controlling shareholder planned to bring strategic investors into the unit via a private share placement, but said details had not been finalised.Reuters reported last week that Chinese tech giants Alibaba Group Holdings ( BABA.N ) and Tencent Holdings ( 0700.HK ) would be among new investors pouring about $10 billion into China Unicom, the country''s second largest telecom carrier.China United Network Communications Ltd said in a statement issued on the Shanghai stock exchange that its controlling shareholder, state-owned China United Network Communications Group Co Ltd (China Unicom), planned the placement."However, specific plans of the private placement, including targeted investors, issue size, price and use of proceeds, are at the preliminary stages and nothing has been decided yet," the Shanghai-listed unit said.Four sources had told Reuters that Alibaba and Tencent would invest in the Shanghai-listed unit, part of a capital-raising effort that Thomson Reuters data showed would be the biggest in Asia since the initial public offering of insurer AIA Group ( 1299.HK ) in 2010.The move by China Unicom is part of a bid by China''s government to rejuvenate state behemoths with private cash.(Reporting by Lee Chyen Yee; Editing by Edmund Blair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-china-unicom-idINKBN19H1LA'|'2017-06-26T11:54:00.000+03:00' +'ae9a98747ebc75fb5522010b5a32edc6f6315701'|'Marshall Islands court dismisses Frontline''s attempt to stop DHT-BW Group deal'|'Market News - Mon Jun 19, 2017 - 4:28am EDT Marshall Islands court dismisses Frontline''s attempt to stop DHT-BW Group deal OSLO, June 19 The High Court of the Marshall Islands has dismissed with prejudice a lawsuit brought by tanker firm Frontline to stop rival DHT selling a major stake to shipper BW Group, DHT said on Monday. Frontline, which according to Thomson Reuters Eikon data holds a 10.3 percent stake in DHT and is controlled by shipping tycoon John Fredriksen, has been trying for the past year to take over its New York-listed rival. However, DHT struck a tankers-for-shares deal with BW Group in March, making the latter DHT''s biggest shareholder with a stake of over 30 percent. On June 7 the same Marshall Islands court had rejected a preliminary injunction by Frontline in the same case. "Frontline is now precluded from bringing similar claims against DHT, its directors and BW Group in any other court," DHT said in a statement. "Under Marshall Islands'' law, the dismissal also constitutes a ruling on the merits in favor of DHT." DHT''s chairman Erik Lind said DHT "was very pleased with the dismissal". "We have consistently stated, both in court and to our shareholders, that Frontline''s claims are without merit. Two courts have now agreed with us, and we welcome the dismissal as an appropriate end to the matter," he said in the statement. Frontline declined to comment. (Reporting by Ole Petter Skonnord, writing by Gwladys Fouche, editing by Terje Solsvik) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/dht-frontline-ma-idUSL8N1JG1K7'|'2017-06-19T12:28:00.000+03:00' +'f4f6e484572df35b8c261c242e362438848ed6f9'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Brazil stocks, currency edge up as labor reform advances'|'Market News - Wed Jun 7, 2017 - 5:50pm EDT EMERGING MARKETS-Brazil stocks, currency edge up as labor reform advances (Updates with final prices, details from Mexico) By Bruno Federowski SAO PAULO, June 7 Brazil''s stock index and currency on Wednesday advanced after a planned reform of labor regulations cleared a hurdle in Congress, but uncertainty over the outcome of an electoral court trial that could oust President Michel Temer limited gains. Temer''s proposal to loosen labor laws won approval from the Senate''s economic affairs committee on Tuesday, clearing the way for a full-house vote and reducing expectations that a growing political crisis could jeopardize his reforms agenda. The benchmark Bovespa stock index rose 0.34 percent, driven higher by rising shares of banks such as Ita Unibanco Holding SA, Banco Bradesco SA and Banco do Brasil SA. Brazil''s real inched up only 0.13 percent as the TSE, Brazil''s top electoral court, argued whether Temer received illegal campaign funding in 2014, when he ran for vice president with his leftist predecessor, Dilma Rousseff. Temer''s opponents see a ruling as a way out of the political crisis set off by corruption allegations leveled against the center-right leader, but a decision could take weeks, if not months, and could be appealed by Temer. Trading was muted in much of Latin America. In Mexico, the IPC share index and the peso rose very slightly as investors eyed events scheduled for Thursday, when Britain holds a general election, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation''s former director testifies to Congress and the European Central Bank (ECB) meets to decide on policy. "Tomorrow may be the most important day of the quarter for investors," analysts at Brown Brothers Harriman wrote in a note to clients. Political noise has weighed on demand for risky assets in recent days, with MSCI''s emerging stock benchmark dipping for a second day. Contributing to caution were decisions by several Arab countries to cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism. Qatar vehemently denies the allegations. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 2100 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % change change Latest MSCI Emerging Markets 1015.75 -0.01 17.8 MSCI LatAm 2565.46 0.38 9.6 Brazil Bovespa 63170.73 0.34 4.89 Mexico IPC 49274.97 0.11 7.96 Chile IPSA 4890.39 -0.44 17.80 Chile IGPA 24508.20 -0.4 18.20 Argentina MerVal 22218.66 -0.61 31.33 Colombia IGBC 10757.84 -0.56 6.22 Venezuela IBC 83374.02 0.94 162.97 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.2721 0.13 -0.70 Mexico peso 18.22 0.02 13.85 Chile peso 668.90 -0.04 0.27 Colombia peso 2916.5 -0.74 2.91 Peru sol 3.271 -0.12 4.66 Argentina peso (interbank) 15.98 0.09 -0.66 Argentina peso (parallel) 16.31 -0.12 3.13 (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Lisa Shumaker) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-latam-idUSL1N1J41SO'|'2017-06-08T05:50:00.000+03:00' +'c667d7cbd7efdfcf2ceb0de56037114ed358a58b'|'ECB to keep taps open as economic outlook uncertain'|' 5:18pm BST ECB closes door on rate cuts but warns of weak inflation left right European Central Bank President Mario Draghi arrives to the news conference following the Governing Council meeting in Tallinn, Estonia, June 8, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins 1/9 left right European Central Bank President Mario Draghi speaks during a news conference following the Governing Council meeting in Tallinn, Estonia, June 8, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins 2/9 left right European Central Bank Vice-President Vitor Constancio, Estonian bank governor Ardo Hansson and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi attend news conference following the Governing Council meeting in Tallinn, Estonia, June 8, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins 3/9 left right European Central Bank Vice-President Vitor Constancio, Estonian bank governor Ardo Hansson and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi arrive to the news conference following the Governing Council meeting in Tallinn, Estonia, June 8, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins 4/9 left right European Central Bank President Mario Draghi listens during a news conference following the Governing Council meeting in Tallinn, Estonia, June 8, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins 5/9 left right European Central Bank Vice-President Vitor Constancio listens during a news conference following the Governing Council meeting in Tallinn, Estonia, June 8, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins 6/9 left right Estonian bank governor Ardo Hansson listens during a news conference following the Governing Council meeting in Tallinn, Estonia, June 8, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins 7/9 left right European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi delivers his speech during an event at Bank of Spain headquarters in Madrid, Spain May 24, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Medina 8/9 left right FILE PHOTO: Flags in front of the European Central Bank (ECB) before a news conference at the ECB headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, April 27, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo 9/9 By David Mardiste and Balazs Koranyi - TALLINN TALLINN The European Central Bank closed the door on more interest rate cuts on Thursday, judging the euro zone economy to be rebounding, but said inflation looks to remain weak for years so it still needs to pump out the cash. The currency bloc has been on its best economic run since the global financial crisis nearly a decade with millions of jobs created since the ECB''s stimulus effort started. But inflation is barely moving upwards and growth may be plateauing, putting the ECB into a difficult spot. Acknowledging improved prospects, the ECB dropped a pledge to cut rates if necessary and gave up a long-standing reference to risks to the economy, declaring the outlook "balanced". Yet rate setters did not even discuss winding down the ECB''s 2.3 trillion euro (2 trillion) asset purchase scheme, kept rates below zero, and pledged very substantial accommodation. The ECB also cut most of its inflation projections, even as it predicted better growth, suggesting that it has been overestimating the impact of rapid job creation on wages and ultimately prices. "We consider that risks to the growth outlook are now broadly balanced," ECB President Mario Draghi told a news conference in the Estonian capital of Tallinn. He said the bank removed the language about potentially lowering interest rates because ultra-low inflation risks have gone. "(But) if these risks were to reappear, we would certainly be ready to lower rates," he said. With Thursday''s decision, the ECB''s deposit rate, its key policy tool, remains at -0.4 percent. Its monthly asset purchases will continue to total 60 billion euros a month and to run until at least December. The euro EUR= hit a one-week low of $1.11995, down around 0.4 percent on the day, as Draghi spoke. SEPTEMBER? Playing down the significance of its new guidance and the forecast cuts, Draghi said the general path of inflation has not changed and rate cuts are not impossible, giving his message a dovish tilt. "Nothing substantial has happened to inflation except the price of oil and the price of food ... underlying inflation has remained the same year to year," he noted. The next major test will come in September, when the bank will probably decide whether to continue bond buys beyond this year or start to wind them down, known as tapering. "There is a growing risk that tapering is slower and takes longer than the market currently expects," Cosimo Marasciulo, a bond manager at Pioneer Investments said. The ECB said it now saw inflation this year at just 1.5 percent, down from a previous forecast of 1.7 percent and still short of its target of close to 2 percent. That would barely rise to 1.6 percent in 2019, down from an earlier estimate of 1.7 percent and further away from its official target of at or close to two percent. Economic growth this year was seen at 1.9 percent versus an earlier 1.8 percent forecast. That came after the EU statistics agency Eurostat earlier revised up its estimate of first quarter growth to its fastest rate in two years, saying the economy of the 19-country euro zone expanded by 0.6 percent quarter-on-quarter and by 1.9 percent year-on-year. The ECB''s nuanced stance was also motivated by the big debts overhanging governments and companies, the piles of unpaid loans weighing on banks in countries like Italy and Portugal, and political uncertainty ahead of elections in Germany and Italy. Any announcement on its quantitative easing (QE) programme is seen not coming until the autumn, when policymakers hope the economic picture will have become clearer. German politicians in particular have called for an earlier end to QE, saying it is eroding the assets of savers and discourages other eurozone countries from pursuing reforms to make their economies more efficient. However Draghi there were no visible divisions at the Governing Council''s meeting. "I didn''t hear any dissenting voice ... with respect to the proposals," he said. (Additional reporting by Michael Nienaber; Writing by Mark John and Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-idUKKBN18Y39V'|'2017-06-08T07:14:00.000+03:00' +'773e2a81d0c73d617846282093af4d9f84d24274'|'PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - June 7'|'June 7 The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.Headlines* Vivendi firms up offer for Groupe Bollors Havas stake on.ft.com/2rzbIXt* Burberry slips on worries over sales momentum on.ft.com/2ryY1YJ* New funding values Pinterest at $12.3 bln on.ft.com/2ryMA2R* Uber fires more than 20 employees after harassment probe on.ft.com/2ryRTj5Overview- Vivendi SA inked a purchase agreement with Groupe Bollor for its 60 percent stake in Havas SA at 9.25 euros a share. Vivendi intends to make an offer for the remaining stake in Havas, once the deal is finalised.- Burberry Group Plc had its sharpest sales fall in six weeks. Cost savings are protecting Burberrys short-term earnings but luxury stocks work on sales momentum, not cost containment, argued HSBC, which downgraded the stock to reduce.- Pinterest enhanced its valuation more than 10 percent to $12.3 billion in a new funding round. It closed $150 million of funding from existing investors who include Silicon Valley venture capitalists Andreessen Horowitz and SV Angel, and Wall Street investors Goldman Sachs and Wellington Management.- Uber Technologies Inc fired more than 20 employees after an investigation into sexual harassment claims.(Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-press-ft-idUSL3N1J35K4'|'2017-06-07T08:00:00.000+03:00' +'01ef656f79affb5318593c7183d770979baf6557'|'Exclusive: Elliott target Gigamon prepares to explore a sale - sources'|'By Liana B. Baker and Michael Flaherty Gigamon Inc, a U.S. network monitoring software maker targeted by activist hedge fund Elliott Management Corp, is preparing to hold talks with potential suitors interested in acquiring it, according to people familiar with the matter.The move would push Gigamon closer to being acquired, after Elliott reported a 15.3 percent stake in the company in May and said it would encourage it to undergo a strategic review process that could also include a sale.Gigamon is working with investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc as it prepares to engage in talks with companies and private equity firms interested in a deal, the sources said this week. No sale process has started yet, the sources added.The sources asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential. Gigamon, which has a market capitalization of $1.5 billion, and Goldman Sachs both declined to comment. Elliott did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Gigamon could attract interest from companies such as Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co and F5 Networks Inc, as well as technology-focused private equity firms such as Thoma Bravo Llc. Riverbed Technology, now owned by Thoma Bravo, bought Gigamon competitor Opnet in 2012 for $1 billion.Gigamon, based in Santa Clara, California, makes software that is installed in large data centers to boost the flow of traffic and prevent bottlenecks. Some of its competitors have been acquired in recent months, including Ixia, which Keysight Technologies Inc bought earlier this year for $1.6 billion.Elliott has succeeded in pushing many technology companies to sell themselves in recent years, including Mentor Graphics, LifeLock Inc and Qlik Technologies.(Reporting by Liana B. Baker in San Francisco and Michael Flaherty in New York; editing by Jonathan Oatis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-gigamon-m-a-exclusive-idINKBN18T31J'|'2017-06-02T20:34:00.000+03:00' +'359a3f4b2895c46edd1d42fa70331acdb0913b8c'|'Edinburgh Airport hit by power outage, some flights disrupted'|'Big Story 10 58am EDT Edinburgh Airport hit by power outage, some flights disrupted An aircraft lands at Edinburgh Airport in Scotland April 23, 2012. REUTERS/David Moir LONDON Scotland''s Edinburgh Airport said on Wednesday it had been hit by a power outage, disrupting some flights and forcing passengers to queue in the dark. "Everything that needs power is down, from coffee machines to security machines," a spokesman said. He added that some flights had been disrupted but were starting to return to normal. The airport said it was working to fix the problem. (Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Kate Holton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-airports-edinburgh-idUSKBN19J0WN'|'2017-06-28T11:53:00.000+03:00' +'430187417337aca676307b02326c70abd772e59f'|'Bain, Cinven collect 36.55 percent of Stada shares'|'FRANKFURT Buyout groups Bain Capital and Cinven have so far been offered 36.55 percent of German drugmaker Stada ( STAGn.DE ) shares, the private equity groups said on Monday.The tender offer for the agreed 5.3 billion euro deal runs through June 22 and is conditional on securing 67.5 percent of Stada''s shares.The investors lowered minimum acceptance threshold earlier this month.Investors typically tender shortly before the deadline.People close to the deal have said that passing the set threshold may prove a challenge given the large number of shares held by retail investors, who are more likely to forget to tender than institutional stockholders, as well as by index tracking funds that cannot tender for technical reasons.Activist investor Active Ownership Capital earlier this month sold its Stada stake to someone who is expected to tender it in the offer, according to people close to the deal.(Reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Ludwig Burger)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-stada-arzneimitt-m-a-idINKBN19A1IH'|'2017-06-19T09:47:00.000+03:00' +'f27d7868e2f4d1d98dee7f0562128e801c3a6b34'|'Lockheed wins U.S. Air Force deal for radar threat simulators'|'Business News - Wed Jun 21, 2017 - 8:16am EDT Lockheed wins U.S. Air Force deal for radar threat simulators A US Marine Corps Lockheed Martin F-35B fighter jet taxis after landing at the Royal International Air Tattoo at Fairford, Britain on July 8, 2016. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo PARIS Lockheed Martin Corp ( LMT.N ) said on Wednesday it had won a $104 million U.S. Air Force contract to develop, produce and field a threat simulator to train combat aircrews to recognize and deal with rapidly evolving threats, such as surface-to-air missiles. Tim Cahill, vice president of air and missile defense systems for Lockheed, said a number of other countries had already expressed interest in the Advanced Radar Threat System Variant 2, and talks could begin soon on possible sales. Cahill did not estimate the volume of possible future sales, but potential buyers included all countries that plan to operate the stealthy F-35 fighter jet in coming years. "It''s a cool little program," he said. "This is just the first tranche, but it has the potential to be a really big program for us." "As the capabilities on the ground from potential threat nations get stronger and better and more capable ... it''s very important that the pilots need to train against a system that is actually a high-fidelity simulation of what they would fly against in combat," he said. The contract calls for development and delivery of a production-ready system and options to produce up to 20 more. Cahill said the truck-mounted system would emit signals that simulated those of current and evolving advanced surface-to-air threats. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Mark Potter) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-airshow-paris-lockheed-threats-idUSKBN19C1LT'|'2017-06-21T20:16:00.000+03:00' +'58b3491768407959ade94eac799598eda9d0c189'|'Crude oil prices firm, set for biggest weekly gain since mid-May'|'Business News - Fri Jun 30, 2017 - 5:27pm BST Oil up for seventh session but first-half drop biggest since 1998 FILE PHOTO: An oil pumpjack is seen in Velma, Oklahoma U.S. April 7, 2016. REUTERS/Luc Cohen By Julia Simon - NEW YORK NEW YORK Oil climbed for a seventh straight session on Friday as a weaker U.S. dollar and stronger demand data from China lifted depressed prices that were still set for the biggest first-half decline since 1998. Trading volume was low ahead of the U.S. Independence Day holiday weekend. Brent and U.S. crude fell about 19 percent in the first half of 1998. Oil prices have generally increased in first half of most years. On Friday, Chinese government data showed factories grew at the quickest pace in three months, according to the Purchasing Manager''s Index. "Good PMI data from China certainly gives you hope that demand is growing globally," said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. Benchmark Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up 38 cents at $47.80 a barrel at 11:30 a.m. EDT (1530 GMT). U.S. crude futures CLc1 rose 52 cents, or more than 1 percent, to $45.45 a barrel. Both benchmarks were on track for weekly increases of more than 5 percent. The U.S. dollar .DXY fell to its lowest since October in early trading, making dollar-denominated crude oil less expensive for investors using other currencies. Crude hit a 10-month low last week as rises in output revived concerns about global oversupply, but data this week showing a temporary dip in U.S. oil production has dented the bearish sentiment. The persistent global crude glut has knocked 16 percent off Brent crude so far this year, even though the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other major producers have agreed to cut production about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd). Libya, one of two OPEC members exempt from the cuts, had surged past 1 million barrels per day. Speculators have cut long positions in recent weeks. The market has also seen traders building short positions, said Haworth. Reuters'' monthly oil price poll showed analysts have reduced their price forecasts again, with 2017 average Brent and WTI prices lowered by more than $2 since last month. [OILPOLL] Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts cut their forecast for average 2017 Brent crude prices to $50 a barrel from $54 and WTI to $47 from $52. They cited rising output from Libya, Nigeria and U.S. shale fields, which coupled with weaker demand growth should keep the glut bigger than expected. At 1 p.m. EDT energy services company Baker Hughes will release data on U.S. rig counts. U.S. drillers have added rigs for 23 straight weeks. (Additional reporting by Karolin Schaps in London, Naveen Thukral in Singapore; editing by David Clarke) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUKKBN19L02U'|'2017-06-30T09:59:00.000+03:00' +'99c95d9282f4bf0409f4ef1afc665b1f5258aed2'|'Euro zone businesses end second quarter with slower growth - PMI'|'Business News 9:38am BST Euro zone businesses end second quarter with slower growth: PMI FILE PHOTO: Inflated euro sign is seen outside the new headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, January 22, 2015. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo By Jonathan Cable - LONDON LONDON Roaring euro zone business growth tailed off unexpectedly toward the end of the first half of 2017 following a sudden slowing in the pace of expansion by services firms, a survey showed on Friday. But with inflation relatively resilient and overall growth still quite strong, pressure will likely be maintained on policymakers at the European Central Bank to pare back soon on their ultra-loose monetary policy. Earlier this month, the ECB gave up its bias for more rate cuts in a small step towards normalization. IHS Markit''s Flash Composite Purchasing Managers'' Index for June fell to 55.7 from the 56.8 it registered in April and May, which was its highest since April 2011. A reading above 50 indicates growth. A Reuters poll had predicted no change to the index, seen as a good guide to growth, and none of the economists polled had predicted such a big fall. "At the moment I''m not too worried about it," said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit. "We may be reaching the stage where growth has been strong for quite a few months and we are hitting a few ceilings in terms of degrees to which firms can expand capacity." Williamson said the PMI pointed to second quarter GDP growth of 0.7 percent, faster than the 0.5 percent predicted in a Reuters poll earlier this month. The PMIs had correctly indicated a 0.6 percent expansion last quarter. Economic data points to solid growth in the euro zone in the second quarter and inflation will hover near current levels in coming months, the ECB said in a regular economic bulletin on Thursday. As they have done for the previous seven months, firms increased prices in June, albeit at a weaker pace as input cost pressures eased. The output prices index dipped to 51.8 from 52.4. Firms operating in the bloc''s dominant service industry did not perform as expected. The services PMI fell to 54.7 from 56.3, well below even the most pessimistic forecaster in a Reuters poll of over 40 economists. "It''s not really clear what that''s about, there was no single cause we can pinpoint and I''m inclined to treat it just as some payback for the sheer strength of growth in recent months," Williamson said. In one bright spot, the employment index held at May''s 53.8. It has only been higher than that once since early 2008, in March of this year. Factories had a better month than predicted. The manufacturing PMI climbed to a more than six-year high of 57.3 from 57.0. The Reuters poll suggested it would dip to 56.8. An index measuring output nudged up to 58.5 from 58.3, its highest since April 2011. Implying the momentum would continue into July, new orders surged and factories ran down stocks of finished goods at the fastest rate for nine months. The related subindex sank to 47.9 from 49.1. (Editing by Hugh Lawson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-economy-pmi-idUKKBN19E0S2'|'2017-06-23T16:10:00.000+03:00' +'dc26886c2c358a23700df3c00cf5e3770740ec63'|'With Whole Foods, Amazon on collision course with Wal-Mart'|'By Nandita Bose and Jeffrey Dastin - CHICAGO/SAN FRANCISCO, June 18 CHICAGO/SAN FRANCISCO, June 18 When Wal-Mart Stores Inc bought online retailer Jet.com for $3 billion last year, it marked a crucial moment - the world''s largest brick-and-mortar retailer, after years of ceding e-commerce leadership to arch rival Amazon, intended to compete.On Friday, Amazon.com Inc countered. With its $14 billion purchase of grocery chain Whole Foods Market Inc , the largest e-commerce company announced its intention to take on Wal-Mart in the brick-and-mortar world.The two deals make it clear that the lines that divided traditional retail from e-commerce are disappearing and sector dominance will no longer be bound by e-commerce or brick-and-mortar, but by who is better at both.Amazon''s purchase of Whole Foods also brings disruption to the $700 billion U.S. grocery sector, a traditional area of retailing that stands on the precipice of a ferocious price war. German discounters Aldi and Lidl are battling Wal-Mart, which controls 22 percent of the U.S. grocery market, with each vowing to undercut whatever price the others offer.The stakes are highest for Wal-Mart. Amazon''s move aims at the heart of the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retail giant''s business - groceries, which account for 56 percent of Wal-Mart''s $486 billion in revenue for the year ending Jan. 31. With the deal, Whole Foods more than 460 stores become a test bed with which Amazon can learn how to compete with Wal-Marts 4,700 stores with a large grocery offering that are also within 10 miles (16 km) of 90 percent of the U.S. population.Amazon is expected to lower Whole Foods'' notoriously high prices, enabling it to pursue Wal-Mart''s customers. The push comes as Wal-Mart is headed in the opposite direction - going after Amazon''s higher-income shoppers with a recent string of acquisitions of online brands such as Moosejaw and Modcloth and on Friday, menswear e-tailer Bonobos.Wal-Mart may be ready. In preparation for the grocery price war, Wal-Mart in recent months has cut grocery prices, improved fresh food and meat offerings, modernized shelving and lighting in its grocery aisles, and expanded its online grocery pickup service.Marc Lore, the Jet.com founder who now runs Wal-Mart''s e-commerce business after selling a startup to Amazon, told Reuters in an interview that Amazon''s move does not change Wal-Mart''s game plan. "We''re playing offense," he said.Wal-Mart is offering curbside pickup of online grocery purchases at 700 locations, with 300 more planned by year end. It also is testing same-day fresh and frozen home delivery from 10 of its stores. "We see an opportunity to do a lot more of that," Lore said.Roger Davidson, who oversaw Wal-Mart''s global food procurement and now is president of Oakton Advisory Group, said the deal will reduce Wal-Mart''s brick-and-mortar advantage."I think this acquisition is a concern," he said.Some industry observers say Amazon will find it difficult to use Whole Foods to pull away Wal-Mart shoppers because the two stores appeal to different customers.But Michelle Grant, head of retailing at market research firm Euromonitor, said Amazon could use an obscure part of the Whole Foods portfolio - Whole Foods 365 - to lure Wal-Mart shoppers.Whole Foods 365 offers private-label goods and lower prices than typical Whole Foods stores, and is targeted at younger, value-conscious shoppers. Amazon could provide the financial capital and tactical ability to build that into something big."That (Whole Foods 365) may become a big problem for Wal-Mart," Grant said.Amazon, which reported $12.5 billion in cash and equivalents and a free cash flow of $10.2 billion in the year ended March 31, has plenty to spend. Wal-Mart reported $6.9 billion in cash and equivalents and $20.9 billion in free cash flow at its year ended Jan. 31.Brittain Ladd, a former senior manager at Amazon who worked on its brick-and-mortar strategy, said Amazon will use Whole Foods to test concepts for the grocery store of the future.Ladd, who left Amazon in March, said Amazon will seek to eliminate checkout lines by using technology that automatically scans goods as customers add them to their shopping carts. It will select merchandise based on Amazon''s vaunted customer data, and potentially expects the use of technology to change prices during the course of a day.Amazon declined comment on competition with Walmart but spokesman Drew Herdener said in a statement the company has no plans to cut jobs or use technology in development at its Seattle Amazon Go store to automate jobs of cashiers.Ladd, who helped with AmazonFresh''s global expansion and now is a supply chain consultant, said an Amazon-owned Whole Foods also likely will offer in-car pickup of online purchases, and home delivery from Whole Foods stores, add pharmacies and showcase Amazon devices inside the stores."Amazon will reduce prices and change the assortment of products carried in Whole Foods stores to attract a larger customer base," said Ladd. "Kroger and Wal-Mart will be impacted as their customers will defect to Amazon."(Additional reporting by Richa Naidu in Chicago; Editing by David Greising, Peter Henderson and Bill Trott)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/whole-foods-ma-amazoncom-walmart-idINL1N1JD1XU'|'2017-06-18T09:00:00.000+03:00' +'cd75f5e8eae7eccb0a2f94f876366b3b10f536af'|'UPDATE 1-AIRSHOW-Mitsubishi targets 1,000-plus sales of regional jet in 20 years'|'Market News - Mon Jun 19, 2017 - 9:59am EDT UPDATE 1-AIRSHOW-Mitsubishi targets 1,000-plus sales of regional jet in 20 years (Recasts on sales target) PARIS, June 19 Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp aims to sell more than 1,000 of its new Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) aircraft by around 2040, aided by expected growth in demand for medium-sized planes. The company brought Japan''s first passenger aircraft in half a century to the Paris Airshow, confirming that it is on track for first delivery of the 90-seat aircraft in mid-2020 and hoping to show potential customers that progress had been made despite delays and cost increases. Asked how many planes his company was hoping to sell, Yugo Fukuhara, vice president of sales and marketing at Mitsubishi Aircraft, told Reuters: "More than 1,000. That is the target during a 20-year time period." Fukuhara said earlier on Monday that the programme has taken 427 orders so far. "All customers are committed to the programme and are very supportive," he said in a reference to the announcement this year that the plane was delayed for two more years to redesign its wiring and meet requirements for certification by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Launch customer ANA, which has resorted to leasing jets and pushing back the retirement of older aircraft while its awaits the delayed MRJ, said on Sunday that it remains committed to the programme. Despite these setbacks, Fukuhara said that Mitsubishi would become one of two major regional jet manufacturers in a sector dominated by companies such as Brazil''s Embraer and Canada''s Bombardier. "We see more than 5,000 regional jet deliveries (for the sector) in the next 20 years. This segment of the market is very healthy and our goal is to establish a global customer base, Fukuhara said. (Reporting by Matthias Blamont; Editing by Mark Potter and David Goodman) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/airshow-paris-mrj-idUSL8N1JG3OP'|'2017-06-19T21:59:00.000+03:00' +'328cedf823cf3106b975bb8143d87e975087586f'|'Brazil''s Fibria eyes bid for Eldorado Brasil -filing'|'Market News 07am EDT Brazil''s Fibria eyes bid for Eldorado Brasil -filing BRASILIA, June 22 Brazil''s Fibria SA, the world''s No. 1 eucalyptus pulpmaker, is considering a bid for rival Eldorado Brasil Celulose SA, it said in a securities filing late on Wednesday. Fibria said it had not yet signed any purchase agreement as it keeps looking for opportunities to grow and preserve its market leadership. J&F Investimentos SA, controlled by the billionaire Batista 7family, owns 81 percent of Eldorado. The company is among the flagship assets that J&F put up for sale after agreeing to pay a record-setting 10.3 billion real ($3.2 billion) fine for its role in corruption scandals that threaten to topple Brazil President Michel Temer. The remaining 19 percent is owned by Brazilian pension funds Petros Fundao and Funcef Fundao dos Economiarios , and special purpose vehicle FIP Olmpia. Other possible bidders for Eldorado include Arauco, a unit of Chile''s Empresas Copec SA, which announced interest in a securities filing on Friday. Brazilian rival Suzano Papel & Celulose SA is also considering a bid, a source told Reuters last week. (Reporting by Silvio Cascione; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/eldorado-brasil-ma-idUSL1N1JJ0B1'|'2017-06-22T19:07:00.000+03:00' +'b5d1facf1d2f0fede2ae16380546412ecc19868e'|'Wall Street opens higher as tech stocks rebound'|'June 30, 2017 / 11:08 AM / 15 minutes ago Nike lifts Dow, S&P; tech stocks weigh on Nasdaq By Ankur Banerjee and Anya George Tharakan 4 Min Read The Goldman Sachs and Nike corporate logos are displayed on a post above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, September 11, 2013. Lucas Jackson (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were higher in late morning trading on Friday, boosted by Nike''s decision to sell on Amazon, while the Nasdaq was little changed as a recovery in tech stocks sputtered. Nike shares ( NKE.N ) rose as much as 9.4 percent to a three-month high after the world''s largest footwear maker said it would launch a pilot program with Amazon.com ( AMZN.O ) to sell a limited product assortment on its website. The S&P technology index .SPLRCT was up 0.18 percent but was still on track to post its biggest weekly loss in six months as worries about the sector''s valuation prompted investors to buy defensive stocks. "Tech has gone too far too fast and was due for a correction," said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. "The sector''s valuation is elevated but hasn''t reached a point of extreme concern because it is still a ''buy-the-dip'' sector and is expected to grow further." A fall in bank shares also limited gains, with the financial sector .SPNY down 0.1 percent. Wells Fargo ( WFC.N ) and Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) were the biggest drags on the S&P and the Dow. All three indexes are on track to post weekly losses. At 11:06 a.m. ET (1506 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was up 63.42 points, or 0.3 percent, at 21,350.45, the S&P 500 .SPX was up 4.79 points, or 0.19 percent, at 2,424.49. Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the opening bell in New York, U.S., June 27, 2017. Lucas Jackson The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was up 4.96 points, or 0.08 percent, at 6,149.31. With the Federal Reserve keen on further raising the interest rates this year despite inflation remaining below their 2 percent target, investors have been keeping an eye on economic data for clues on the state of the economy. Earlier in the day, data showed U.S. consumer spending rose modestly in May while inflation cooled. Even so, another set of data showed the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index at its lowest since November. "In the next four to six weeks we''ll get another set of economic data that will tell us if the Fed is justified in raising rates again this year," said Sandven. Toward the end of the second quarter, the market witnessed a few volatile days with the S&P 500 and the Dow recording their worst daily percentage drop in about six weeks on Thursday. Oil prices climbed for the seventh straight session on Friday in their longest bull run since April, but were still set for the worst first-half performance since 1998. [O/R] Micron ( MU.O ) reversed gains to fall 4 percent even after the chipmaker forecast better-than-expected profit and revenue for fourth quarter Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,596 to 1,125. On the Nasdaq, 1,437 issues fell and 1,219 advanced. Reporting by Ankur Banerjee, Anya George Tharakan and Tanya Agrawal in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks-idINKBN19L1H7'|'2017-06-30T16:35:00.000+03:00' +'993ac6a7405340db5b1a1767587f996551ed7a89'|'Fed could start reducing balance sheet ''relatively soon'' - Yellen - Reuters'|'WASHINGTON The Federal Reserve could begin trimming its holdings of bonds "relatively soon," Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Wednesday."We could put this into effect relatively soon," Yellen told a news conference, referring to the Fed''s plan to reduce reinvestments of maturing securities later this year.(Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/economy'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-fed-yellen-idINKBN1952X8'|'2017-06-14T17:43:00.000+03:00' +'d1feef6414533769202a6a2444169d35d4da0039'|'Qatar rift risks raising cost for Gulf debt issuers and slowing Saudi reforms'|'DUBAI/RIYADH Qatar''s rift with its Arab neighbors is threatening to puncture investor appetite for the Gulf region as a whole, translating into potentially higher debt costs for governments and possibly slowing the pace of Saudi Arabia''s economic reforms.Saudi, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt broke relations and transport ties with Qatar on June 5, alleging it finances terrorism, something Doha vehemently denies.The move has thrown the region -- which has been relatively stable, if troubled by Sunni and Shi''ite Muslim rivalry -- into diplomatic turmoil that is now putting off investors."We were used to a relatively peaceful region and now the landscape has changed," said Brigitte Le Bris, head of emerging debt and currencies at Paris-based Natixis Asset Management, which manages about 350 billion euros ($392 billion) in assets."We are not yet ready to increase our exposure to the region. We need to know whether this crisis is isolated to Qatar or it can spread and affect other countries or the crisis can worsen."One obvious area is sovereign debt, where the crisis has the potential of raising borrowing costs.Following the sanctions, rating agency Standard & Poor''s downgraded Qatar while Fitch put it on its watchlist for a potential downgrade.To date, foreign investors still appear to be comfortable holding Qatar paper due to the size of the country''s reserves and assets held by its sovereign wealth fund, Qatar Investment Authority.Yields on Qatars sovereign dollar bonds maturing in 2026 spiked over 40 basis points after the sanctions were announced on June 5 but have now recovered nearly 20 bps.Other Gulf Cooperation Council countries'' sovereign bonds saw some weakness in the immediate aftermath of the diplomatic crisis, but again have largely gone back to their pre-crisis levels.How long this lasts, however, may depend on how long the crisis goes on, which may be "for years" according to one UAE minister..The market''s take, however, is that the diplomatic crisis will be resolved via political mediation, said Max Wolman, senior portfolio manager at Aberdeen Asset Management in London."But if the likes of Bahrain, Oman or even Saudi Arabia were to issue these days, I think there would be a slight risk premium of 10 to 15 basis points in the primary to the secondary market because of current political uncertainty," he said.SAUDI REFORMSAnother risk could be to Saudi Arabia''s economic reforms, many of which depend on investor cash flowing in."Investors may become concerned about Saudi over-extending itself, as the war in Yemen continues and domestically reforms have adversely impacted consumer sentiment," Asha Mehta, portfolio manager at Acadian Asset Management.A senior banker, who has done extensive investment banking work in the Middle East, pointed to the high-profile listing of oil company Aramco as a potential issue."If the situation continues like this and they planned their IPO, they would be bombarded with questions on this (political upheaval)," he told Reuters, asking not to be named.Even though the Aramco IPO is not expected until 2018, Saudi Arabia was preparing the sale of government stakes in airports, healthcare and educational firms, aiming to raise $200 billion.The privatization is part of the reforms to reduce Saudi Arabia''s dependence on oil, after its price plunge hurt the kingdom''s economy and stretched its finances.Bank of America Merrill Lynch in a recent note said geopolitics may delay the reforms, although not derail them.Saudi''s reform process could get some impetus, however, from the announcement on Wednesday that Mohammed bin Salman will become the crown prince, replacing his cousin in a sudden announcement that confirms Saudi Arabia King Salman''s 31-year-old son as next ruler of the kingdom.MBS, as he is known, was behind the sweeping economic reforms aimed at ending the kingdom''s "addiction" to oil, part of his campaign.Brent was unchanged at $46.02 barrel at 0651 GMT on Wednesday at multi-month lows after falling nearly 2 percent in the previous session to its lowest settlement since November as investors discounted evidence of strong compliance to a deal to cut a global output.(additional reporting by Marc Jones in London, and Tom Arnold in Dubai Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-gulf-qatar-investment-idUSKBN19C115'|'2017-06-21T17:08:00.000+03:00' +'edf34487d61d44a8763c883df7c446eae788c02f'|'UPDATE 1-Ethiopian Airlines places order for 10 Airbus planes'|'Market 10:10am EDT UPDATE 1-Ethiopian Airlines places order for 10 Airbus planes (Adds details, background) By Aaron Maasho ADDIS ABABA, June 20 Ethiopian Airlines has placed an order for 10 Airbus A350-900 aeroplanes, it said on Tuesday, in addition to at least another 10 it already has on order. The extra A350-900s will be deployed on the airline''s long haul routes connecting Addis Ababa with destinations in Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, Chief Executive Tewolde GebreMariam said in a statement. The state-owned carrier is ranked the largest in Africa by revenue and profit by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the global industry body. It wants to increase revenue to $10 billion by 2025 and expand its fleet to 140 aircraft from less than 90 now, with sights set on Asia. It has placed orders for 50 planes altogether. In February, Tewolde told Reuters the airline''s revenue rose 10.3 percent to 54.5 billion birr ($2.43 billion) in the 2015/16 fiscal year, while passenger numbers climbed 18 percent to 7.6 million. Net profit was up 70 percent at 6 billion birr. (Reporting by Aaron Maasho; Writing by George Obulutsa; editing by Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/ethiopia-airlines-orders-idUSL8N1JH4A8'|'2017-06-20T22:10:00.000+03:00' +'732c2a24630557d94903f2b1cce7e8354cb7801a'|'European shares get tech support, Hexagon soars on M&A talk'|'LONDON Recovering technology stocks gave European shares another leg up on Wednesday, while deal chatter sent Sweden''s Hexagon soaring to a record high.The pan-European STOXX 600 benchmark and its euro zone counterpart .STOXXE rose 0.6 to 0.7 percent, in line with blue-chips .STOXX50E , with broad investor focus on the U.S. Fed rate decision later in the day in which the bank is widely expected to raise rates.They climbed to a session high after Euro zone industrial output data showed healthy economic growth, and employment hit a record high.In Britain the FTSE 100 .FTSE rose 0.5 percent while midcaps .FTMC rose 0.8 percent.Hexagon ( HEXAb.ST ) stole the limelight, jumping more than 16 percent to a new record high after a Wall Street Journal report that the Swedish measurement technology firm was in talks for a potential sale to undisclosed buyers.Hexagon said in a statement that the market would be immediately informed should evaluations lead to concrete results.Technology stocks .SX8P were the best-performing for the second session running, up 1.3 percent and clawing back after a nosedive fueled by jitters over valuations, particularly in the U.S.Chipmakers Infineon ( IFXGn.DE ), Dialog Semiconductor ( DLGS.DE ) and ASML ( ASML.AS ) all gained 1.2 to 1.5 percent.Tech sector aside, the trend of outperformance of defensives relative to cyclical sectors continued, with utilities among the best-performing sectors while banks made timid gains and autos were in the red."We expect the dominant market narrative over the coming months to be the fade in Euro area PMI momentum," said Deutsche Bank European equity strategist Sebastien Raedler."We remain underweight European cyclicals versus defensives, which have underperformed by 4 percent since early May, as Euro area macro surprises have started to roll over."British housebuilder Bellway ( BWY.L ) gained ground after its trading update showed robust demand for homes did not slow ahead of the national election on June 8.The builder''s upbeat tone also lifted peers Barratt Development ( BDEV.L ) and Taylor Wimpey ( TW.L ).Meanwhile, a changing of the guard at French utility EDF ( EDF.PA ) boosted it by 4.3 percent. EDF appointed an Italian to run its British unit handling the construction of two nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point C.Elsewhere, broker updates propelled share prices.Austria''s Raiffeisen Bank ( RBIV.VI ) sank to the bottom of the European index after Barclays cut the stock to an "underweight", saying it is relatively expensive and less geared to rising rates than its peer Erste bank."We believe that Raiffeisen''s stock has run too far on its restructuring and earnings recovery, and that its higher risk business profile makes its earnings outlook volatile," said Barclays analyst Victor Galliano.(Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Tom Heneghan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks-idUSKBN1950P1'|'2017-06-14T15:35:00.000+03:00' +'8512434a4b7fe060d523380d1fd61f91ce84ffa4'|'French PM to announce further steps to boost Paris as financial hub'|'Business News 26pm BST French PM to announce further steps to boost Paris as financial hub The financial district of La Defense is seen at dusk near Paris, France, January 5, 2017. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann PARIS French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe will announce "strong measures" in the coming weeks in order to boost the attractiveness of Paris as a global financial hub, said a government spokesman on Wednesday. Government spokesman Christophe Castaner told reporters at a news briefing that those new measures were likely to be announced by mid-July. He did not give any more precise details. Paris, along with other rival European cities such as Frankfurt, has been stepping up its plans to enhance its standing as a global business capital following Britain''s vote last year to quit the European Union. Former Bank of France governor told Reuters this week that banks from London have been quietly securing licences to operate from Paris after Brexit, with planned reforms from new president Emmanuel Macron likely to boost the French capital''s standing as a financial centre. (Reporting by Michel Rose; Writing by Sudip Kar-Gupta; editing by John Irish)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-politics-idUKKBN19J1CI'|'2017-06-28T14:26:00.000+03:00' +'cc561c6e03b1da0ee6d7b88ec929e075c21ea876'|'Factories Wont Bring Back the American Dream'|'During a phone call shortly after the November election, Apple Inc.s chief executive officer, Tim Cook, got an earful from Donald Trump on the president-elects pet economic subject: factories. He prodded Cook to manufacture his iPhones and other gear at home rather than outsource them to China. One of the things that will be a real achievement for me is when I get Apple to build a big plant in the United States, or many big plants, Trump said he told Cook.That sums up the economic vision of the Trump administration. The president and his advisers are convinced more factories can cure the trade deficits, lackluster growth, and (supposed) joblessness plaguing the U.S. economy. Trump has vowed to lure back plants that departed for cheaper locales such as China or Mexico and sanction companies that dare to leave. The result, he claims, will be investments that revitalize down-on-their-luck communities and American economic vitality. We will bring back our jobs, he pledged in his inauguration speech. We will bring back our dreams.The president, though, is plain wrong. Factories wont restore the American dream. Thats because they dont contribute as much to the economy as they once did, despite all the fuss politicians make over them. Chasing them with pro-factory policies will not only fail to bring the benefits Trump has promised but could also hurt the very middle-class families theyre designed to help.A die-hard conviction remains among many Americans that the more an economy manufactures, the stronger it is. Some workers feel that making steel or cars is more respectable than stacking shelves at a Gap, and the Trump administration readily agrees. Calling steel critical to both our economy and our military, the president signed an executive order in late April that in all likelihood will lead to curbs on imports to protect U.S. mills. Peter Navarro, one of Trumps key economic advisers, argues that bringing factories back from foreign countries will shore up the nations growth and security. One of the goals of the Trump administration is to reclaim all of the supply-chain and manufacturing capability that would otherwise exist if the playing field were level, he recently said.This strategy is based on flawed thinking. Manufacturing is certainly not as important to the U.S. economy as it once was, declining to less than 12 percent of gross domestic product in 2016 from 26 percent 50 years earlier. But the whole idea that we dont make anything, as Trump himself has put it, is a fallacy. The U.S. remains a production powerhouse, accounting for almost 19 percent of global manufacturing, behind Chinas 25 percent but bigger than Germanys and Japans shares combined. U.S. manufacturers are still extremely competitive in high-tech and hard-to-duplicate productsthink Boeing Co. aircraft. And even as some factory work has moved abroad, the U.S. economy remains remarkably strong. Home to many of the worlds most important and innovative companies, from Facebook Inc. to Tesla Inc., the U.S. boasts an unemployment rate of 4.3 percent, less than half the euro-area level.What Trump fails to appreciate is that the true value in making something is no longer in making it. Companies figured out long ago that they can capture most of the value of a product by focusing on its design and research and development, its branding, and the services that support it after its been sold. Stan Shih, the founder of Taiwans Acer Inc., illuminated this phenomenon in the early 1990s with his smile curve. The middle of the smilethe lowest point of valueis where the fabrication takes place; the highest value is found at the cornersthe R&D at the beginning and the customer service at the end.Manufacturing is at the lowest point on a curve that plots where companies profit mostThat simply reflects supply and demand. The talent necessary to conceive, brand, and market a new product is much scarcer than the skills to manufacture it. The integration of giant emerging economies such as China and India into global supply chains increased the number of available hands to screw or sew things together, dropping the cost of making a product even further. Theres a lot of supply for the actual manufacturing, but not a lot of supply for creating the next Google or Apple, says Ann Harrison, management professor at the Wharton School and co-editor of the book The Factory-Free Economy .That disparity shows clearly in the apple of Trumps eye: the iPhone. In a 2010 study, the Asian Development Bank Institute pulled apart an iPhone and figured that the process of assembling it in China accounted for 3.6 percent of its production cost. The remaining 96.4 percent was paid to the parts suppliers, and Apple, as the creator, claimed the big profits. Net income at Apple, which does almost no manufacturing, was an impressive 21 percent of revenue in its last fiscal year, and its shares trade at 18 times earnings. Meanwhile, Taiwans Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., one of the companies to which Apple outsources its manufacturing, recorded net profit of 3.5 percent of sales; investors value its shares at 12 times earnings. Apple also creates lots of jobs without big factories: It directly employs 80,000 people in the U.S. and plans to add thousands more.Trumps fixation on factories could lose, not gain, jobs for AmericansBased on Cooks reaction to Trumps nagging, he fully understands where the real profits lie. Although Cook in early May made a surprise announcement that Apple was earmarking $1 billion to invest in advanced manufacturing, the savvy CEO never said his company would build and operate factories itself. (Apples first investment was $200 million into Corning Inc., a supplier that makes the glass for iPhones.)Of course, more factories mean more jobs, and more jobs are always good. Studies show that workers who lose their job when a plant closes take a long-term hit to their standard of living. Unfortunately, the 21st century factory wont create the jobs that yesterdays did. With advancing technology in robotics and automation, a modern plant can churn out a lot more stuff with fewer workers. Thats why U.S. manufacturing output continues to swell while employment in the sector has withered.Trumps fixation on factories could lose, not gain, jobs for Americans. There are some measures he can take to woo factories home. A corporate tax cut, for instance, might make the U.S. more attractive to some manufacturers. But to entice supply chains back en masse from China and Mexico, where its cheaper and more efficient to make certain things, hed have to intervene in market forces to overturn those cost advantagesfor example, by imposing taxes and tariffs on imports lofty enough to render manufacturing outside the U.S. much more expensive, as hes already threatened to do.But whenever government tries to outmuscle the market, the result is almost always extra costs that have to be borne by the greater economy. A border tax being contemplated in a Republican tax plan could hurt shareholders, by decreasing corporate profitability and share valuations, and consumers, by hiking prices at their local Walmart or Target. That suppresses consumption, which is bad for growth and jobs. A major effort by the administration to force factories home could destroy lots of other jobs. Raising the price of imports would likely decimate the already struggling retail industry, which supports 1 of 4 American jobs, with slower sales and slimmer profitsalmost certainly causing store closings and layoffs. By obsessing over factory jobs that no longer exist, Trump may cost Americans the jobs of the future. The logic of the smile curve suggests he should focus on developing and supporting the parts of the manufacturing process that hold the real valuein other words, fostering more Apples. That would entail upgrading the skills of the U.S. workforce by devoting more resources to education and reducing the financial burden of a college degree, while encouraging foreign talent to start their next big ventures in Silicon Valley, not Shanghai. Rather than restricting trade, Trump should press for an even freer global exchange of goods and services so U.S. corporations can best organize their operations to maximize profits. Unfortunately, he and his team arent headed in that direction.Describing his talk with Cook, Trump called an Apple factory in America a real achievement for menot Apple, the American worker, or the economy. By rallying political support, his obsession with factories may be good for him, but it isnt necessarily great for the rest of us.'|'bloomberg.com'|'https://www.bloomberg.com/businessweek'|'http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-08/factories-won-t-bring-back-the-american-dream'|'2017-06-08T19:00:00.000+03:00' +'39c94e1001208adace50020efe5e934f38eaea19'|'Belgium''s Balta sets IPO at bottom of price range'|'BRUSSELS, June 13 Belgian carpet maker Balta said on Tuesday it would sell shares in its initial public offering (IPO) at 13.25 euros each, the bottom of the indicated range, and reduce the amount on sale by 10.7 percent due to tough market conditions.The number of new shares on offer will remain the same, raising some 138 million euros ($155 million) for the company.Private equity owner Lone Star, however, will sell fewer of its shares than initially planned, making the total offering worth about 204 million euros, assuming an over-allotment option is not exercised.Balta said its market capitalisation would be about 476 million euros with 35.9 million shares outstanding and a free float of 42.8 percent.Trading of the shares is due to start on June 14.The group narrowed its IPO range on Monday to 13.25-13.75 euros from an initial 13.25-16.00 euros.The flotation was not helped by a tech sell-off that drove European shares to a seven-week low on Monday, just when many investors were deciding whether or not to invest in Balta.J.P. Morgan Securities and Deutsche Bank are joint global coordinators, Barclays Bank is joint bookrunner and ING Belgium and KBC Securities are joint lead managers. ($1 = 0.8921 euros) (Reporting By Philip Blenkinsop; editing by David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/balta-group-ipo-idINL8N1JA59K'|'2017-06-13T17:07:00.000+03:00' +'42b2391a59777079d52402909df979f7c258c490'|'Oil prices struggle on doubts OPEC can rein in oversupply'|'Business News 22pm BST Oil slides, hits six-month low on rising global production left right FILE PHOTO: A section of the BP Eastern Trough Area Project (ETAP) oil platform is seen in the North Sea, around 100 miles east of Aberdeen in Scotland, Britain, February 24, 2014. REUTERS/Andy Buchanan/Pool/File Sample bottle of crude oil are seen in this illustration photo June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration 2/2 By Julia Simon - NEW YORK NEW YORK Oil prices settled more than half a percent lower on Thursday after hitting a six-month lows, as high global inventories fed fears that rising crude production in Nigeria, Libya and the United States will feed the global supply glut despite output cuts from OPEC and other producing countries . The dollar .DXY rose to its highest in more than two weeks, further weighing on oil by making it more expensive for buyers using other currencies. Saudi Arabia''s oil exports are expected to fall below 7 million barrels per day this summer, according to industry sources familiar with the matter, and Russian oil exports were seen as broadly flat in the third quarter. Still, Brent crude LCOc1 fell to a session low of $46.70 a barrel, its weakest since May 5 and near six-month lows. It settled down 8 cents at $46.92 a barrel. U.S. crude CLc1 settled down 27 cents at $44.46, after touching a six-month low of $44.32 a barrel. Oil has slumped despite output cuts of 1.8 million barrels a day by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC producers including Russia. On May 25, the countries said they agreed to extend the cuts nine months through next March. Yet crude prices have slid about 12 percent since that day as other countries have boosted output. "Libya and Nigeria have brought more oil online and thats really hindering" OPEC''s efforts, said Tariq Zahir, crude trader and managing member at Tyche Capital Advisors in New York. Libya has seen major supply disruptions from protests and contract disputes, but this week the National Oil Company said production was resuming at key fields. U.S. production is up 10 percent over the past year to 9.33 million bpd, close to top producers Russia and Saudi Arabia. C-OUT-T-EIA On Wednesday, crude prices fell nearly 4 percent after U.S. gasoline inventories rose unexpectedly and the International Energy Agency said growth in oil supply next year is expected to outpace demand even as global consumption exceeds 100 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first time. Summer boosts gasoline demand from U.S. drivers, yet gasoline inventories rose 2.1 million barrels last week, 9 percent over the five-year average for this time of year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Both Brent and U.S. crude have given up all the gains since the initial OPEC agreement in late November. "I definitely think we''re in a new trading range," said Tyche''s Zahir, "Unless you get some supply disruption, I think its going to be lower for longer." (Additional reporting by Christopher Johnson in London, Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy and David Gregorio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUKKBN196031'|'2017-06-15T08:56:00.000+03:00' +'74c35b0d37aca6878929180d59a39fbed0a4b759'|'Western Digital expects ruling on injunction request by mid-July -source'|'TOKYO, June 15 Western Digital Corp expects a ruling on its request for a court injunction to stop the sale of Toshiba Corp''s chip unit by mid-July, a source familiar with the situation said on Thursday. The California-based firm presented a revised offer for the chip unit that met Toshiba''s requests on Wednesday but did not receive a positive response, a separate source said.Western Digital is concerned about how Toshiba, the Japanese government and other stakeholders are handling the auction''s decision-making process, the second source added.The sources declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the negotiations.Toshiba declined to comment.(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/toshiba-accounting-western-digital-idUSL3N1JC1HK'|'2017-06-15T10:41:00.000+03:00' +'ab3d50262f324561c9f513298140f587d9f028cb'|'China urges banks to devolve loan approval responsibility to boost lending'|'Business News - Sat Jun 10, 2017 - 3:49am BST China urges banks to devolve loan approval responsibility to boost lending SHANGHAI China''s banking regulator has urged lenders to devolve responsibility for loan approvals in order to boost credit to small and micro businesses, but also emphasised that risks need to be kept under control. Guo Shuqing, who was appointed chairman of the regulator in February, said it would also explore preferential policies to alleviate poverty and spur industrial development to help smaller businesses. Guo''s comments were made at a forum on Friday, the China Banking Regulatory Commission said in a statement on its website. "Banks and financial institutions are encouraged to, under the premise that risks are controllable, to decentralize credit approval authority," it quoted him as saying. China launched a plan last year to promote "inclusive'' finance" with a target of launching financial services across all rungs of society, and has urged state-owned banks to take the lead. However, it has in the past had difficulties in supervising the micro-finance sector, especially in the unruly peer-to-peer lending sector which was found to be riddled with runaway managers and pyramid schemes last year. Guo said that China''s largest banks will have established "inclusive finance" departments by the end of this year. (Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Shri Navaratnam) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-banks-idUKKBN19103Y'|'2017-06-10T10:49:00.000+03:00' +'98ec23341cabd49862e68b88008190245238a9ff'|'EU mergers and takeovers (June 17)'|'BRUSSELS, June 17 The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process:APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS-- Chrysaor Holdings Ltd, which is indirectly controlled by investment company Harbour Energy, to acquire some of Shell''s offshore assets (approved June 15)-- Chinese conglomerate HNA Holding Group Co to acquire Singapore-listed logistics company CWT (approved June 15)-- Japanese telecommunications and tech investment group SoftBank, India''s Bharti and Taiwanese company Hon Hai to jointly acquire Indian renewable energy company SB Energy Holdings Ltd which is now solely solely owned by SoftBank (approved June 15)-- Australian investment bank Macquarie Group to acquire Cargill Inc''s petroleum business (approved June 15)NEW LISTINGS-- French utility group Suez SA to acquire U.S. conglomerate General Electric''s water and process technologies business (notified June 14/deadline July 19)-- Dutch state owned gas operator Gasunie, Dutch storage tank operator Vopak and German gas and chemicals storage company Oiltanking which is controlled by German joint stock company Marquard & Bahls AG to set up a joint venture (notified June 14/deadline July 19/simplified)-- Japanese conglomerate Itochu, Japaneseprinting company Toppan Printing tpnand Thailand''s Thung Hua Sinn to jointly acquire plastic bag packaging company TPN Food Packaging (notified June 12/deadline July 17/simplified)EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGESNoneFIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINEJUNE 21-- French minerals company Imerys to acquire French calcium aluminate cements maker Kerneos (notified May 12/deadline June 21)JUNE 22-- German chemicals company Evonik Industries to acquire U.S. company J.M. Huber Corp''s silica business (notified April 27/deadline extended to June 22 from June 8 after Evonik offered concessions)-- German online fashion retailer Zalando and fashion company Bestseller United to set up a joint venture (notified May 15/deadline June 22/simplified)JUNE 26-- Private equity firms Advent International and Bain Capital Investors to jointly acquire payment services company RatePAY (notified May 17/deadline June 26/simplified)JUNE 27-- Buyout firm Blackstone and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) to acquire indirect joint control of U.S. educational content provider Ascend Learning (notified May 18/deadline June 27/simplified)JUNE 28-- Japanese telecoms and technology group SoftBank Group to acquire U.S. private equity company Fortress Investment Group (notified May 19/deadline June 28/simplified)-- Japanese shippers Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha, Mitsui OSK Lines and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha to merge their container units (notified May 19/deadline June 28)-- French oil services group TechnipFMC, German industrial gases group Linde AG and Russia''s Research and Design Institute on Gas Processing (JSC NIPIgaspererabotka) to set up a joint venture (notified May 19/deadline June 28/simplified)JUNE 29-- Austrian refractories materials maker RHI to acquire a controlling stake in Brazilian peer Magnesita Refratarios (notified May 5/deadline extended to June 29 from June 15 after RHI offered concessions)JULY 3-- Petrochemicals firm Ineos to acquire Danish utility and offshore wind farm developer Dong Energy''s oil and gas business (notified May 24/deadline July 3/simplified)JULY 5-- French carmaker PSA Group to acquire General Motors''s European arm Opel (notified May 30/deadline July 5)-- French banks BNP Paribas, Caisse des Depots et Consignations, Societe Generale, stock exchange Euronext, Euroclear, S2IEM (Societe d''Investissements en Infrastructures Europeennes de Marches) and CACEIS Investor Services to set up a joint venture (notified May 30/deadline July 5/simplified)-- French construction and concessions company Vinci and Swiss airport retailer Dufry LFP to jointly acquire Portuguese retail operator Lojas Francas de Portugal (notified May 30/deadline July 5)JULY 6-- Investment bank Goldman Sachs to acquire Dutch chemical products distributor Caldic (notified May 31/deadline July 6/simplified)JULY 7-- Finnish industrial engine maker Wartsila and China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC) to set up a joint venture (notified June 1/deadline July 7/simplified)-- German brake systems maker Knorr-Bremse to acquire Swedish peer Haldex (notified June 1/deadline July 7)-- Private equity firm Apax Partners to acquire cleaning products maker Safetykleen from Warburg Pincus (notified June 1/deadline July 7/simplified)JULY 10-- Robert Tonnies and Clements Tonnies to acquire joint control of processed meat company Zur Muehlen Group (notified June 2/deadline July 10/simplified)-- Japan''s Hitachi Group and Japanese carmaker Honda to set up a joint venture (notified June 2/deadline July 10/simplified)-- Private equity firms Bain Capital Investors and Cinven Capital Management to acquire joint control of German generics drugmaker Stada Arzneimittel AG (notified June 2/deadline July 10/simplified)JULY 11-- Spanish bank Santander to acquire control of asset management company SAM Investment Holdings Ltd (notified June 6/deadline July 11/simplified)-- French power company EDF to acquire British engineering company Imtech (notified June 6/deadline July 11/simplified)-- French bank BNP Paribas to acquire sole control of German credit provider Commerz Finanz, which is a joint venture between BNP and German lender Commerzbank (notified June 6/deadline July 11/simplified)-- Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) to acquire a minority stake and joint control of British school operator Nord Anglia Education which is now solely controlled by private equity firm BPEA (notified June 6/deadline July 11/simplified)-- Swiss engineering group ABB to acquire Austrian maker of production control systems Bernecker & Rainer (B&R) (notified June 6/deadline July 11/simplified)JULY 12-- Dutch insurer NN Group to acquire the Munich-based Holiday Inn hotel (notified June 7/deadline July 12/simplified)-- German investment firm Genui GmbH and private equity firm Summit Partners to acquire negative control of Germany''s Market Logic Software (notified June 7/deadline July 12/simplified)-- U.S. chemicals company DuPont to acquire U.S. pesticide maker FMC''s health and nutrition business (notified June 7/deadline July 12)JULY 13-- Austrian rail maintenance services company OBB Technische Services-GmbH (OBB) to acquire 60 percent of Austrian peer Stadler Linz from Switzerland''s Stadler Rail (notified June 8/deadline July 13/simplified)-- U.S. pesticide maker FMC to acquire U.S. chemicals company DuPont''s crop protection business (notified June 8/deadline July 13)JULY 14-- U.S. engine maker Cummins and U.S. industrial conglomerate Eaton Corp to set up a joint venture for automated transmissions for heavy and medium duty commercial vehicles (notified June 9/deadline July 14/simplified)JULY 17-- Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and British Telecom Pension Scheme to jointly acquire Milton Park business park (notified June 12/deadline July 17/simplified)-- U.S. travel search site The Priceline Group to acquire U.S. peer Momondo Group (notified June 12/deadline July 17)-- U.S. private equity firm Lone Star to acquire Portuguese bank Novo Banco (notified June 12/deadline July 17/simplified)JULY 18-- Fund management companies Deutsche Alternative Asset Management (Global) Ltd, InfraVia and Finanziaria Internazionale Holding S.p.A (FIH) to jointly acquire FIH subsidiary Agora Investimenti S.p.A which has airport management activities (notified June 13/deadline July 18)OCT 17-- U.S. smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm to acquire Dutch company NXP Semiconductors NV (notified April 28/deadline extended to Oct. 17 from June 9 after the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation)GUIDE TO EU MERGER PROCESSDEADLINES:The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company''s proposed remedies or an EU member state''s request to handle the case.Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days.SIMPLIFIED:Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until they are approved. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/eu-ma-idINL8N1JD5FH'|'2017-06-16T21:22:00.000+03:00' +'9cb4368129f278ad4114925e11ad1fc51bcb85c4'|'Nikkei edges up, but caution prevails ahead of global events'|'* UK vote, ECB meeting, Comey testimony in focus* Yen moves away from its recent highs* Japanese markets shrug off latest N. Korea missile testTOKYO, June 8 Japan''s Nikkei share average hovered in positive terrain on Thursday, with the yen moving away from recent highs and Wall Street edging up, but market participants were on guard ahead of key events.The Nikkei was up 0.1 percent at 19,993.97 at the end of morning trade."We are just moving in a range on either side of 20,000," said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Asset Management, referring to the milestone broken last week, when Japanese shares climbed to their highest since August 2015.UK voters head to the polls for a general election, the European Central Bank holds a regular policy meeting and former FBI Director James Comey will testify to the U.S. Senate later on Thursday."All of these three events add some macro benchmarks or catalyst potential," said Stefan Worrall, director of Japan equity sales at Credit Suisse."People remember the UK referendum last year was something that affected the Friday trading day in Japan. This is not the same scale or likelihood of shock factor, but the results are unclear," he said.Comey accused U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday of asking him to drop an investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn as part of a probe into Russia''s alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election.The ECB is widely expected to keep its policy unchanged, but sources told Reuters last week the central bank will acknowledge the improved economic outlook by removing a reference to "downside risks" in its statement.Meanwhile, a decisive victory for UK Prime Minister Theresa May would ensure a smooth exit from the European Union, though opinion polls have shown May''s Conservative party''s lead over the opposition Labour party has narrowed.Shares got a bit of a tailwind from a modestly weaker yen.But sentiment was curbed by economic data early on Thursday. Japan''s economic growth in the January-March period was revised to less than half its original estimated pace because of a downward adjustment in business inventories, underscoring the fragility of its export-led expansion.Japanese markets had a muted reaction to North Korea''s latest missile tests. The rogue state fired what appeared to be several land-to-ship missiles off its east coast on Thursday, South Korea''s military said, ignoring world pressure to curb its weapons development.Toshiba Corp rose 4.5 percent after sources told Reuters it aims to name a buyer for its semiconductor business next week.The choice has narrowed to one bid from U.S. chipmaker Broadcom Ltd and U.S. tech fund Silver Lake and another from Toshiba chip partner Western Digital Corp and Japanese government-related investors, sources said.Dentsu Inc shares dropped 2.8 percent, after the advertising group said on Wednesday its net sales for May fell 6.8 percent from the same month a year ago.Japan Display was down 3.3 percent, after a source said the company was considering restructuring beyond cutting jobs and consolidating production, as its late entry into OLED technology caused loss of business with Apple Inc.The broader Topix added 0.1 percent to 1,598.21, while the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 also gained 0.1 percent to 14,238.76.(Reporting by Tokyo markets team; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-midday-idINL3N1J51L9'|'2017-06-08T01:17:00.000+03:00' +'5d10990713c2f6f85522a6af7d79e4441f4dad31'|'General Motors sale of Opel to PSA could be completed by end July'|'FRANKFURT Opel, the European arm of General Motors ( GM.N ), said its sale to France''s PSA Group ( PEUP.PA ) could be completed as early as July 31, pending regulatory approval from antitrust authorities.In March, when Peugeot owner PSA agreed to buy Opel from General Motors (GM) in a deal valuing the business at 2.2 billion euros ($2.3 billion), the companies said the transaction could be completed by year end.On Thursday, GM signalled a deal may be possible earlier than expected."We confirm that the closing is expected to take place in the second half of 2017 as planned, and that the date of 31 July constitutes a first assumption for the earliest possible date, subject to the decision of the competition authorities, Opel said in a statement.Germany''s Allgemeine Zeitung was first to report the closing date could be as early as end July.A swift closing has been made possible because GM formally agreed to protect factory jobs by signing binding contracts last week, a trade union source told Reuters.GM signed agreements handing workers co-determination rights at Opel Automobile GmbH, the new company that will be sold to PSA, and guaranteed it had set aside enough provisions to fund pension liabilities, the source said.GM projects are now guaranteed for a period of 3 years, the source added.(Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Susan Fenton and Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-opel-m-a-psapeugeot-idINKBN18Z2D8'|'2017-06-08T14:50:00.000+03:00' +'503ecb1ea6593bed4ceae6fdde9af5db92623b59'|'SoftBank invests in industrial software firm OSIsoft'|'Technology News - Thu Jun 1, 2017 - 1:50am BST SoftBank invests in industrial software firm OSIsoft People walk behind the logo of SoftBank Corp in Tokyo December 18, 2014. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo By Liana B. Baker - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO SoftBank Group Corp said on Wednesday it was taking a significant minority stake in OSIsoft LLC, a privately held maker of industrial software used to manage plants and factories. The world''s largest industrial companies, from General Electric Co to Siemens AG, have been incorporating more software into their manufacturing to cut costs and improve their supply chains. SoftBank is buying out venture capital investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, TCV and Tola Capital, it said in a statement. Japan''s Mitsui & Co will remain an investor. The investment is in the "high hundreds of millions" and values OSIsoft at several billion dollars, people familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity because of the confidential terms. SoftBank and OSIsoft declined to comment on the deal''s valuation. But OSIsoft Chief Executive and founder Pat Kennedy said in a telephone interview that the company generates about $400 million in sales per year. The investment is likely to be offered to SoftBank''s new $93 billion Vision Fund, the world''s largest private equity fund, with backers such as Saudi Arabia''s main sovereign wealth fund and Abu Dhabi''s Mubadala Investment, one of the sources said. Founded in 1980, OSIsoft makes software that captures data from machines, including ships, chemical boilers and power plants, in industries such as oil and gas, utilities, mining, pulp and paper and water. OSIsoft is a major software developer for the so-called "industrial Internet of Things," or a network of devices, vehicles and building sensors that collect and exchange data. That market could reach $120 billion by 2021, said Jake Reynolds, a general partner at investment firm TCV. SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son has stated the Internet of Things was one his main investment themes and key to the company''s $32 billion acquisition of semiconductor company ARM Holdings last year. "When I met Masa," Kennedy said, "he immediately brought up ARM and wanted to see how all the companies in his portfolio can work together." Kennedy added that OSIsoft wanted to work with another SoftBank-owned company, Sprint Corp to expand into telecommunications. The industrial software sector has undergone several mergers in recent years. Plex Systems Inc, a privately held U.S. maker of software used to run manufacturing plants, is exploring a potential sale. Last year, General Electric acquired ServiceMax, which monitors devices for maintenance and other services, for $915 million, while Roper Technologies bought software maker Deltek for $2.8 billion. (This version of the story corrects SoftBank Vision Fund size to $93 billion in paragraph 6 from $94 billion) (Reporting by Liana B. Baker in San Francisco; Editing by Richard Chang) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-softbank-funding-osisoft-idUKKBN18S3G9'|'2017-06-01T08:18:00.000+03:00' +'ac20a5b1515e269cf2e40162b8d58885bb9ed3ca'|'German jobless total unexpectedly rises in June'|'Business News - Fri Jun 30, 2017 - 9:27am BST German jobless total unexpectedly rises in June People wait inside a job centre in Berlin April 1, 2008. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke BERLIN The number of unemployed Germans rose unexpectedly in June, the Federal Labour Office said on Friday, linking the surprise rise to a mild winter that had caused a fall in the number of people out of work. The jobless total rose by 7,000 to 2.547 million in seasonally adjusted terms, data showed, confounding the consensus forecast in a Reuters poll for a fall of 10,000. The increase was the first rise since March 2016. "The positive effects of an unusually mild winter weather which had led to a recovery in spring have been balanced out," the office said in a statement. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.7 percent, the lowest level since reunification in 1990 and in line with the Reuters poll. Unadjusted figures showed the number of unemployed fell by 25,000 in June. "Employment and firms'' demand for new workers have again risen strongly," said Detlef Scheele, head of the Labour Office. (Reporting by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Paul Carrel) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-unemployment-idUKKBN19L0WC'|'2017-06-30T11:27:00.000+03:00' +'4f86d2f0b379ba2e5146ad8ca70f0dcb4260f100'|'Delay in ECB stimulus effect does not justify more easing - Hansson'|'TALLINN European Central Bank stimulus measures take time to impact the real economy but this does not necessarily mean that even more stimulus is required, Governing Council Member Ardo Hansson told Reuters on Wednesday."We can''t expect that there would be a very quick transition from monetary policy decisions to inflation," Hansson said on the sidelines of a news conference. "We believe generally that the real economy is firming up and if we believe in these measures, then we should be just a bit more patient.""We don''t necessarily need to think that more measures are necessary. They will work their way through the system," Hansson, Estonia''s central bank chief, said.He added that when assessing the impact of the ECB''s work, the accumulated stock of stimulus must also be considered, not just the fresh impulses.(Reporting by David Mardiste; Writing by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Hugh Lawson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/ecb-policy-hansson-idINKBN19517M'|'2017-06-14T18:16:00.000+03:00' +'51e121e3e755735461bce47b8054fd8d54cccc4a'|'Britain''s SSE considers venturing overseas in offshore wind'|' 04pm BST Britain''s SSE considers venturing overseas in offshore wind By Geert De Clercq - ESTORIL, Portugal ESTORIL, Portugal British energy supplier SSE ( SSE.L ) is eyeing the offshore wind power industry for a possible first foreign investment, its chief executive said on Monday. Unlike most major European utilities, Britain''s second-biggest energy supplier SSE is focused mainly on its domestic market, though it is a highly diversified group involved in nearly every aspect of the UK power and gas business. In recent years it has invested heavily in offshore wind power and other renewables, but until now it has been uninterested in emulating continental peers that have built on their specialisations at home to win market share abroad. These include France''s EDF ( EDF.PA ) operating Britain''s nuclear plants, Norway''s hydropower specialist Statkraft building dams in Asia and Latin America and Denmark''s Dong Energy ( DENERG.CO ) becoming a top player in offshore wind in Britain and Germany. SSE operates several large offshore wind farms on British and Irish coasts, often in partnerships with EU utilities such as Dong and Germany''s Innogy ( IGY.DE ), but it has no operations on foreign shores. "That is a global business where we have to think about whether we need to have more global ambitions. We have a very strong franchise around the UK and Ireland ... should we be looking further afield? That is a good question for us to ask ourselves," SSE chief executive Alistair Phillips-Davies told Reuters at the Eurelectric conference. He said that SSE last year came reasonably close to an American onshore renewables investment. Though that did not come to fruition, Phillips-Davies said he is continuing to look at opportunities while seeking value for shareholders and remaining consistent with the company''s skill base. "I would not say we are the world leader (in offshore wind) but we have possibilities there. Dong would clearly be the number one company out there at the moment ... but I think there are lots of things that we can do," he said, adding that SSE is also strong in networks and thermal generation. In terms of exporting those skills to other countries, Phillips-Davies said that SSE would look at partnerships or an acquisition rather than dropping its own staff on the ground. Centrica ( CNA.L ) and SSE are the only two UK-owned utilities among Britain''s big six energy suppliers, with European utilities EDF, E.ON ( EONGn.DE ), RWE ( RWEG.DE ) and Iberdrola ( IBE.MC ) all having built up significant shares in the market. (Editing by David Goodman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sse-windpower-idUKKBN19A2P5'|'2017-06-20T03:04:00.000+03:00' +'cc08057b0d6e6c590cb1319de608c36f90e33ec2'|'Exclusive: China''s WH Group targets beef and poultry assets in U.S. and Europe'|'Deals - Thu Jun 8, 2017 - 12:15pm EDT Exclusive: China''s WH Group targets beef and poultry assets in U.S. and Europe left right Products of Smithfield, acquired by WH Group, the largest pork company in the world, are displayed at a news conference on the company''s annual results in Hong Kong, China March 29, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby Yip 1/4 left right WH Group Chairman and CEO Wan Long (L) and Smithfield President and CEO Kenneth Sullivan attend a news conference on WH Group''s annual results in Hong Kong, China March 29, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby Yip 2/4 left right FILE PHOTO -- Some of the products of WH Group are displayed in front of maps of China (L) and the United States at a news conference on the company''s IPO in Hong Kong April 14, 2014. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo 3/4 left right A woman looks at products of WH Group, the largest pork company in the world, on display at a news conference on the company''s annual results in Hong Kong, China March 29, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby Yip 4/4 By Tom Polansek and Julie Zhu - CHICAGO/HONG KONG CHICAGO/HONG KONG Smithfield Foods Inc''s owner, China-based WH Group Ltd ( 0288.HK ), is scouting for U.S. and European beef and poultry assets to buy, in a move that would sharpen its rivalry with global meat packers Tyson Foods Inc and JBS SA. Expanding into beef and poultry would bring U.S.-based Smithfield [SFII.UL], the world''s largest pork producer, more in line with competitors Tyson ( TSN.N ), JBS ( JBSS3.SA ) and BRF SA ( BRFS3.SA ), which each process pork, chicken and beef. Smithfield Chief Executive Ken Sullivan told Reuters he is interested in the potential of diversifying into other meats to broaden the company''s product portfolio, though no deals were imminent. "We''re a food company," he said. "No one said that we''re strictly a pork company." Sullivan did not provide further detail, but parent WH Group is looking for targets in beef and poultry in the United States and Europe, according to Luis Chein, WH Group''s director of investor relations. He declined to name specific targets. Chein declined to provide a timeline for expanding into the U.S. beef and poultry business or say how much money the company aims to spend. It is an attractive time to enter the beef business, Chein said, because China last month agreed to resume U.S. imports after blocking most shipments since a U.S. scare over mad cow disease in 2003. WH Group, which spent $4.7 billion for Smithfield in 2013, still has firepower for further buying, with bank balances and cash of $1.14 billion at the end of last year and $2.72 billion in unutilized banking facilities, according to its latest annual report. Its search reflects wider disruption in the agriculture sector, where historically low grain prices have triggered a wave of consolidation among global seed and chemical companies. Cheap grain and strong demand for meat have generally helped increase operating margins for producers of pork, beef and chicken. The meat sector also has seen a major player, JBS of Brazil, struggle for sales after inspectors in the country were accused of taking bribes to allow sales of tainted food. JBS, the world''s largest meat packer, announced on Tuesday that it was selling assets in South America in the company''s first deal since its founders admitted to paying bribes to Brazilian politicians in exchange for favors. JBS, in response to questions from Reuters on Wednesday, said its core U.S. assets, including chicken company Pilgrim''s Pride Corp ( PPC.O ), are not for sale. A move to acquire beef and poultry assets would be an about-face for Smithfield, which agreed to sell U.S. beef operations to JBS in 2008 for about $565 million and a stake in turkey producer Butterball LLC for about $175 million in 2010. But it would fit into the company''s efforts to run the entire production process by reducing its dependence on outside producers, which currently supply Smithfield with beef and chicken to make into products such as hot dogs. Chein said it was "certainly the direction" for the company to mirror the vertically integrated model it has for the pork business in other meats. Smithfield owns most of the hogs it slaughters along with processing plants. "For us, the next step to develop our business is to consider other sources of animal protein," Chein said. Chein said WH Group would prefer to buy assets such as slaughterhouses and processing plants to expand into beef and will consider all types of operations in the poultry supply chain. He added that the company sees big room for growth in beef and poultry consumption in China. The United States had 808 federally inspected livestock slaughterhouses last year, down more than a third from 1990, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. (Additional reporting by Richa Naidu in Chicago; editing by Jo Winterbottom and Edward Tobin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-smithfield-m-a-idUSKBN18Z29Y'|'2017-06-09T00:15:00.000+03:00' +'4ce3d2ac0d8d63101dadf86e7739ab9940c866b5'|'Uber CEO Kalanick says he will take leave of absence'|'Technology Photos - Tue Jun 13, 2017 - 11:14pm IST Uber CEO Kalanick says he will take leave of absence left right FILE PHOTO - Uber CEO Travis Kalanick attends the summer World Economic Forum in Tianjin, China on June 26, 2016. REUTERS/Shu Zhang/File Photo 1/3 left right FILE PHOTO - Uber CEO Travis Kalanick speaks to students during an interaction at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campus in Mumbai, India on January 19, 2016. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/File Photo 2/3 left right FILE PHOTO - Uber CEO Travis Kalanick speaks to students during an interaction at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campus in Mumbai, India, January 19, 2016. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/File photo 3/3 By Heather Somerville and Joseph Menn - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Uber Technologies Inc''s [UBER.UL] embattled Chief Executive Travis Kalanick told employees in an email on Tuesday that he will take time away from the company he helped to found, citing the need to grieve for his recently deceased mother, according to a copy of the memo seen by Reuters. Uber also released the recommendations of a months-long investigation led by the law firm of former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder who was retained by Uber to look into company culture and practices. The recommendations, which were unanimously adopted by the board on Sunday, call for reducing Kalanick''s sweeping authority and instituting more controls over spending, human resources and the behavior of managers. Specifically, the recommendations call for adding independent members to the board of directors, including an independent chair. They also spell out changes to company culture, including prohibiting romances between bosses and their reports and creating clearer guidelines around use of drugs and alcohol. Kalanick''s leave of absence follows a day-long board meeting on Sunday during which members of Uber''s board of directors discussed the possibility of Kalanick temporarily stepping away from the company. In his email, Kalanick did not specify how long he would be away from the company, but cited the need to take time off to grieve the loss of his mother, who died in a recent boating accident. "If we are going to work on Uber 2.0, I also need to work on Travis 2.0 to become the leader that this company needs and that you deserve," Kalanick wrote in his email. (Reporting by Heather Somerville and Joseph Menn; Editing by Bill Rigby) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-uber-board-idINKBN1942EG'|'2017-06-13T15:44:00.000+03:00' +'9b1c36367527398f9f5b6dfe74a3d6fee048941c'|'Oracle profit beats as cloud shift gains steam, shares at record'|' 44pm BST Oracle profit beats as cloud shift gains steam, shares at record A sign marks a building housing Oracle offices in Burlington, Massachusetts, U.S., June 21, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder Oracle Corp''s quarterly profit blew past Wall Street estimates and the business software maker forecast an upbeat current-quarter earnings, indicating that the company''s transition to cloud is starting to pay off. The company''s shares were up 10.6 percent to a record high of $51.25 in after-market trading on Wednesday. They had gained about 20 percent this year. A late entrant to the cloud market, Oracle has been doubling down on efforts to bolster its cloud-based services as customers increasingly shun the costlier licensing model. As part of the efforts, the company and AT&T Inc signed in May a deal under which the U.S. telecom provider agreed to move some of its large-scale databases to Oracle''s cloud platform. "In the coming year, I expect more of our big customers to migrate their Oracle databases and database applications to the Oracle Cloud," Oracle founder and Chief Technology Officer Larry Ellison said in a statement. Total cloud revenue surged 58.4 percent to $1.36 billion (1.07 billion) in the fourth quarter ended May 31. "After several years of struggling to find its footing in cloud, Oracle seems to have turned the corner and heads into its fiscal 2018 with significant momentum," said Josh Olson, analyst at Edward Jones. The success in the cloud business was highlighted by company executives on a post-earnings call. "We sold more than $2 billion in cloud annually recurring revenue. This is the second year in a row that we sold more cloud ARR than Salesforce.com," Ellison said on the call. Buoyed by the growth in cloud, the company forecast first-quarter adjusted profit of between 59 cents and 61 cents per share on a constant currency basis, while analysts'' were expecting 59 cents. On a constant currency basis, Oracle said it expected revenue to grow between 4 percent and 6 percent in the current quarter. To increase its competitiveness in the cloud market, Oracle has also acquired companies including NetSuite, its largest purchase to date. Meanwhile, Oracle''s hardware revenue declined 13.2 percent to $1.11 billion and new software licenses fell 5.1 percent to $2.63 billion in the latest quarter. Net income rose to $3.23 billion, or 76 cents per share, in the fourth quarter, from $2.81 billion, or 66 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding items, Oracle earned 89 cents per share. The company reported an adjusted revenue of $10.94 billion. Analysts on average had estimated a profit of 78 cents per share and revenue of $10.45 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. (Reporting by Pushkala A and Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Sriraj Kalluvila)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-oracle-results-idUKKBN19C31Z'|'2017-06-22T06:44:00.000+03:00' +'6bead26a87b4231be5b0a2f2facba0b656c569da'|'UPDATE 1-Spotify loss widens ahead of potential stock market listing'|'(Adds subscriber detail, background)By Johan Ahlander and Sophie SassardSTOCKHOLM/LONDON, June 15 Music streaming company Spotify''s operating loss widened in 2016 but revenue rose significantly, the Swedish company said in its annual financial statement ahead of a possible stock market listing before the end of next year.Spotify, which recently hired advisers to explore a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange, reported an operating loss of 349 million euros ($389 million) in 2016, up 47 percent compared with the previous year."This is explained by substantial investments that have been made during the year, mostly in product development, international expansion and a general increase in personnel," Spotify''s Luxembourg-based holding company wrote in its regulatory filing on Thursday.Revenue rose by more than 50 percent to 2.93 billion euros as paid subscribers increased to 48 million in 2016 from 28 million the previous year. Overall, the service said it now has 140 million monthly active users, against 126 million at the end of last year.The company, which depends on acquiring content licences from a limited number of music majors, struck a new deal with Vivendi-owned Universal Music in April.The move could make the streaming platform more attractive to its top-selling artists, such Adele, Lady Gaga, Coldplay and Kanye West, by letting them release albums exclusively to premium users. American singer Taylor Swift recently made her music available again on Spotify and other streaming platforms.Spotify is now hoping to strike deals with Sony Music and Warner Music in the run-up to a market listing, a source close to the matter said in May.Most recently valued at $13 billion, Spotify could be floated within a year, a separate source told Reuters this month.The music streaming service, which competes for users and advertising with cash-rich rivals such as Apple Music and Amazon Music among others, will be the first major company to carry out a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange when it goes public this year or early next year, two sources have told Reuters.The company is working with investment banks Morgan Stanley , Goldman Sachs and Allen & Co to advise them on the process, the sources said.Last year Spotify raised $1 billion in convertible debt from private equity firm TPG Capital Management and hedge fund Dragoneer Investment Group. ($1 = 0.8965 euros)(Editing by Johannes Hellstrom and David Goodman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/spotify-results-idINL8N1JC3EG'|'2017-06-15T12:07:00.000+03:00' +'c09700eaae72afaff414d83bb9e05ac84e0f297f'|'French court advisor says Google not liable back taxes'|'PARIS, June 14 U.S. internet giant Google should not be held liable for over one billion euros ($1.13 billion) in back taxes in France, an independent court advisor recommended to French judges, a court official said on Tuesday.The court advisor said Google does not have "permanent establishment" or sufficient taxable presence to be left on the hook for 1.115 billion euros in back taxes, the official said.Judges at a Paris administrative court are due to hand down a ruling in the case in the first half of July, the court official told Reuters.Prosecutors opened a preliminary tax fraud investigation in 2015 and Google''s Paris offices were raided by investigators in May 2016. The company has said it fully complies with the law.Google, now part of Alphabet Inc, pays little tax in most European countries because it reports almost all revenues in low-tax Ireland.($1 = 0.8868 euros) (Reporting by Simon Carraud; writing by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Richard Lough)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/france-google-tax-idINL8N1JB4V4'|'2017-06-14T13:24:00.000+03:00' +'7a47090325a51837ffd464429aed0e3918ae6e4a'|'Goldman Sachs raises $7 billion to buy secondhand stakes in private equity: sources'|'Banks - Thu Jun 15, 2017 - 1:37pm EDT Goldman Sachs raises $7 billion to buy secondhand stakes in private equity: sources FILE PHOTO: A sign is displayed in the reception of the Sydney offices of Goldman Sachs in Australia, May 18, 2016. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo By Olivia Oran Goldman Sachs Group Inc ( GS.N ) has collected more than $7 billion for a fund which purchases secondhand stakes in private equity funds, far exceeding its initial target, according to two people familiar with the matter. The fund, called Vintage VII, is run out of the bank''s asset management division and had initially sought to raise $5 billion in capital. Nearing its final close, the fund was oversubscribed and had to turn some potential investors away, one of the people said, asking not to be named because they are not authorized to speak to the media. The fund focuses on buyout and distressed strategies in developed markets. A Goldman spokesman declined to comment on the fund. In addition to its secondaries fund, Goldman has raised $7 billion for a traditional buyouts fund which is housed in its merchant bank. Secondaries funds have become popular in recent years because they allow investors to place their cash across different markets and investment strategies without taking much concentrated risk. Investors in secondaries may also see a profit sooner than in traditional buyout funds, as investments tend to be made in more mature funds. Goldman''s last secondaries fund raised $5.8 billion in 2012 and generated a net internal rate of return of 14.4 percent, according to an investor presentation. Traditional buyout funds generate an average internal rate of return of 20 percent, but their performance may be more volatile. In 2016, secondaries funds secured a combined $23 billion of investor capital, the second highest year on record, according to industry data provider Preqin. (Reporting by Olivia Oran in New York; Editing by Phil Berlowitz) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-goldman-sachs-fund-idUSKBN1962H2'|'2017-06-16T01:37:00.000+03:00' +'c5308f18493c144ba5143b9fbb773512752310e0'|'Amazons big, fresh deal with Whole Foods'|'JEFF BEZOS does not like sitting still. In his annual letter to Amazons shareholders this year, he warned of stasis. Followed by irrelevance. Followed by excruciating, painful decline. Followed by death. Competitors are toiling to avoid the same fate but it is hard to keep up. On June 16th Amazon said it would pay $13.7bn for Whole Foods, an upscale grocer known for its organic produce. Lest be accused of sloth, four days later Amazon announced a new service to let shoppers try clothes at home, for no fee, then return those they dont like.The news that Amazon would make clothes shopping even easier is a blow to Americas apparel chains, many of which are already in the middle of that excruciating decline. Yet it was the Whole Foods deal, more than ten times bigger than any acquisition Amazon has made so far, that caused the bigger stir. 43 minutes ago Deep cuts to Medicaid remain the centerpiece of the Republicans proposals Democracy in America 16 hours ago Americas segregated labour market Graphic detail 20 hours ago How the Opera di Roma turned things around Prospero a day ago Why The deals precise impact is hard to gauge. Buying Whole Foods hardly gives Amazon a stranglehold on food and drink: the combined companies will account for just 1.4% of Americas grocery market, according to GlobalData, a research firm. The people who shop at the chain are not the mass market. They are unusually wealthy and well-educated (see chart). Mr Bezos has made no big announcements about changes at Whole Foodsdrone-delivered spelt grain is unlikely to become a reality soon. Instead he simply praised its work and said we want that to continue.Nevertheless, the news prompted the shares of a large group of rival grocery firms, including Walmart and Kroger, to sink quickly. As with so much about Amazon, the Whole Foods deal is important not for what it represents now but how it might transform Amazon and up-end rivalsmost notably, Walmartin future.Up to now, grocery has been a tough nut for Amazon to crack. A growing share of office supplies and clothes are bought online, yet last year e-commerce accounted for just 2% of American spending on food and drinks. Amazon Fresh, a ten-year-old grocery-delivery service, is still in only 20-odd cities. Prime Now, a two-hour delivery service introduced in 2014, is in 31.That is because grocerys margins are low and its goods devilishly hard to deliver. Peaches bruise. Meat rots. Many consumers like to buy food in person: unlike choosing a battery or book, selecting a ripe tomato requires inspecting it or trusting someone who has.Amazon has tried to solve these problemsusing machine learning, for example, to distinguish ripe strawberries from mouldy ones. But the Whole Foods deal is the start of something new. To date Amazon has run only a handful of stores; Whole Foods will give it more than 450. Amazon knows a lot about customer behaviour online; now it will be able to marry that to data about habits in physical stores. Paul Beswick of Oliver Wyman, a consultancy, notes that Whole Foods will provide a well-established supply chain, a boon to Amazon Fresh, as well as a roster of store-brand goods, which might now be sold online.It is all a huge headache for Walmart. The beast of Bentonville remains the worlds largest store and Americas biggest grocer, with revenues of $486bn compared with Amazons $136bn. It too is trying to avoid stasis. It paid $3bn last year to acquire Jet.com, a challenger to Amazon, and has invested in technology to help customers order groceries online and have them ready to pick up from its stores. Walmart is experimenting with other services: some staff deliver groceries on their way home.Walmart is testing, reading and reacting, notes Oliver Chen of Cowen, a financial-services firm. Thats a new Walmart. On the same day that Amazon said it would buy Whole Foods, Walmart announced the purchase of a menswear brand called Bonobos for $310m, which began online and now has three dozen stores. The deal, among other things, gives Walmart new staff to help the company transform itself further.Yet Amazon is playing a different, more complex game. It is enmeshing itself in its customers lives: each new service, from streaming video to its Alexa virtual assistant, makes it more integral to a persons day. That gives it new data and revenue that help it improve services and offer additional ones. Shoppers buy groceries often. If Amazon can become part of Americans ritual of buying milk and eggs, the firm will understand its customers even better. Shoppers will have fewer reasons to go elsewhere.And Amazon is likely to integrate Whole Foods in ways that are not yet obvious. Finding ways to get more value out of its investments has been key to Amazons growth. The companys warehouses, built for its own goods, are now used by independent sellers. The same is true of its cloud-computing power, which supports not just Amazons own business but legions of other firms. Amazon may use its infrastructure for Prime Now to deliver Whole Foods groceries. In future it may develop new services for Whole Foods that are in turn deployed in new ways, suggests Ben Thompson, a tech blogger. It could, for example, supply restaurants.For Walmart, and many other rivals, the best scenario would be if regulators were to slow Amazons expansion. The company accounts for about half of new spending online in America. It has reached into many parts of the economy, from retail to cloud computing and from entertainment to advertising. Yet intervention is improbable. The Whole Foods deal gives Amazon less than one-fiftieth of the grocery market. Walmart, were it to make Whole Foods a higher offer, by contrast, would be very likely to attract regulators wrath. In such circumstances, Walmart could be forgiven a severe attack of sour grapes. "Whole hog"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21723868-buying-upscale-grocer-new-front-battle-beast-bentonville-amazons?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-06-24T08:00:00.000+03:00' +'1bcbca3bbf94ca014dafd380f90b1548a941b60c'|'Greece says can return to bond markets even without ECB buying'|'Business News 8:36am BST Greek return to bond markets is possible with or without ECB''s QE - Finance Minister Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos attends a cabinet meeting at the parliament in Athens, Greece June 13, 2017. REUTERS/Costas Baltas ATHENS Greece''s short-term objective is to return to bond markets and this will be possible even without the inclusion of its bonds in the European Central Bank''s quantitative easing programme, the country''s finance minister said on Thursday. "The Greek government now has a short to medium-term objective which is of course access to the markets, which is... a possibility with or without QE," said Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos at an Economist conference in Athens. "We don''t want to go too early but ... when we do go we want to ensure that markets know that this is part of a strategy," he said. Tsakalotos said he was "entirely confident" that Greece would post "good growth" in 2017 and 2018. "The medium term (target) is to make sure that this growth is sustainable," he said. (Reporting by Renee Maltezou and Lefteris Papadimas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-greece-finmin-idUKKBN19K0R5'|'2017-06-29T12:07:00.000+03:00' +'7b99e75473dfd38756c266345608bfc6bd6d99b8'|'Hospital operator IHH eyes China expansion, seeks M&A targets'|'SHANGHAI Hospital operator IHH Healthcare Bhd ( IHHH.KL )( IHHH.SI ) is looking to expand its operations in China and is open to potential deals to help it grow its presence in the market, its chief executive said on Friday.The world''s second largest healthcare group by market capitalization has ample cash to fund deals in the country and beyond, helping it tap "enormous" fast-growing Chinese healthcare demand, CEO Tan See Leng told reporters in Shanghai."Greater China is our key growth market and we are committed to significantly expanding our presence here," he said at an event after the firm broke ground on a 1.36 billion yuan ($200 million) 450-bed private hospital in Shanghai."We are actually sitting on quite a lot of cash and our gearing is actually very low, so we have the ability to do fairly sizable M&As," he added when asked about looking for deals in China. " We would be on the look out for M&A opportunities."China''s healthcare market is a magnet for firms from medical devices to private hospital operators, especially as Beijing looks for help from the private sector to rein in a healthcare bill estimated to hit $1 trillion by 2020.The firm''s Greater China CEO Paul Gregersen said an aging population and rising incomes were driving demand for healthcare services, creating the need for more private care."This is going to put a huge pressure on the public healthcare system," he said. "Our private hospitals will help alleviate the strain from this pent-up demand."IHH has 50 hospitals in 10 countries, with a focus on Singapore, Malaysia, Turkey and India. It plans to open a new hospital in China each year from 2018-2020 and has a China pipeline of hospitals worth around 8 billion yuan.China has been touting greater access to private healthcare operators over the last few years, though there have been hurdles including a lack of commercial health insurance coverage and a shortage of doctors willing to move to the private sector.IHH said it was working closely with local insurer Taikang Insurance Group and that rising incomes would mean more people bought commercial health cover - important because of obstacles linking private hospitals with China''s public insurance schemes."With rising affluence we expect commercial health insurance to cover more people across Greater China, which will divert patience toward the private sector," said Gregersen.(Reporting by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Vyas Mohan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-china-hospitals-ihh-idINKBN19012Q'|'2017-06-09T06:56:00.000+03:00' +'98ebb90cc1c1ab3ec6dc1aac759f142956af9386'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX buoyed as energy, miners shine but BlackBerry sinks on miss'|'* TSX up 99.66 points, or 0.65 percent, to 15,319.56* Eight of the TSX''s 10 main groups rise* Energy stocks up 1.4 percent; materials up 1.8 percent* BlackBerry suffers biggest one-day fall since January 2015By Solarina HoTORONTO, June 23 Canada''s main stock index rallied on Friday as index heavyweights like energy and mining shone, while BlackBerry Ltd shares suffered its biggest one-day drop in 2-1/2 years after disappointing first quarter sales.BlackBerry reported an unexpected 4.7 percent drop in revenue from its software and services business, whose success is at the heart of Chief Executive John Chen''s turnaround plan for the company.Shares tumbled 12.3 percent to C$12.86, with the overall technology group gave up 0.5 percent.Enbridge Inc rose 1.2 percent to C$52.22, while Suncor Energy advanced 1.1 percent to C$38.52 as oil prices bounced from 10-month lows on the back of a softer U.S. dollar.The overall energy group saw a robust 1.4 percent gain. U.S. crude prices were up 0.8 percent to $43.1 a barrel, while Brent crude added 1.0 percent to $45.66.The Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index closed up 99.66 points, or 0.65 percent, to finish at 15,319.56. The index gained 0.83 percent on the week.Eight of the index''s 10 main groups finished in positive territory.Paul Taylor, CIO of fundamental equities at BMO Asset Management Inc, said there was widespread strength across the board."It''s just a bit of a continued rally coming out of the ''Oracle of Omaha'' betting with his dollars in favor of Canada housing. It''s a pretty strong endorsement," said Taylor, referring to news on Thursday that billionaire investor Warren Buffett''s Berkshire Hathaway Inc made a commitment to provide financing for troubled alternative mortgage lender Home Capital Group.Home Capital jumped as much as 9.2 percent on Friday before seeing some profit-taking. Shares ended down 2.1 percent at C$18.61. The overall financials group, which accounts for about a third of the index''s weight gained 0.2 percent.The materials group, home to miners and fertilizer companies, added 1.8 percent, with Barrick Gold Corp climbing 2.7 percent to C$21.86. Teck Resources climbing 4.6 percent to C$21.97.Gold prices touched a one-week high as the weaker greenback and global geopolitical uncertainties boosted the precious metal. Gold futures rose 0.7 percent to $1,256.2 an ounce. Copper prices advanced 1.0 percent to $5,800 a tonne.In economic data, Canada''s annual inflation rate cooled more than expected last month, reducing the likelihood of an interest rate hike by the Bank of Canada in July.Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the TSX by 200 to 44, for a 4.55-to-1 ratio on the upside. (Reporting by Solarina Ho; Editing by Sandra Maler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-idUSL1N1JK1OT'|'2017-06-24T04:51:00.000+03:00' +'57cea3868f9f7a8e53a52ebb81cabb4d3de4eab8'|'German postal service enlists Ford for electric vans drive'|'Autos - Wed Jun 14, 2017 - 11:30am BST German postal service enlists Ford for electric vans drive Ford cars are on sale at a dealership of Genser company in Moscow, Russia, February 14, 2017. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov DUESSELDORF, Germany German logistics group Deutsche Post DHL Group ( DPWGn.DE ) is expanding its foray into electric delivery vans, signing Ford ( F.N ) as a components supplier for a new line of larger vehicles, the companies said on Wednesday. Deutsche Post initially developed an electric minivan dubbed Streetscooter for its own operations to avoid inner-city emissions after growth in online shopping resulted in increased parcel deliveries. But in April it took on carmakers by unveiling plans to step up production and sell to other delivery firms. For the larger van, Ford will supply vehicle technology based on the Transit model, with Deutsche Post keeping assembly, distribution and sales in-house, a Germany-based Ford spokesman told Reuters. The new model is part of a plan to build another production site for the Streetscooter unit and double annual output to 20,000 vans by the end of the year. "This step emphasises that Deutsche Post is an innovation leader. It will relieve the inner cities and increase people''s quality of life," Deutsche Post executive board member Juergen Gerdes said in a statement. Advances in manufacturing software are allowing auto industry newcomers such as Deutsche Post, Google and start-ups to tap suppliers to design, engineer and test new vehicle concepts without hiring thousands of engineering staff or investing billions in tooling and factories. Deutsche Post, which is also building a country-wide network of maintenance and repair shops, wants a fleet of at least 2,500 of the new vans on the road by the end of 2018, it said. The postal services group decided to build its own vans after it could not agree on a wider supply contract with established vehicle makers. It is phasing out use of Volkswagen''s ( VOWG_p.DE ) Caddy vans in favour of Streetscooters, and going it alone with the electric van project has upset VW. (Reporting by Matthias Inverardi; Writing by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deutsche-post-streetscooter-ford-idUKKBN19519O'|'2017-06-14T18:30:00.000+03:00' +'0b64ae6b2db82d439e072f6ee91bcbccf6573517'|'L1 Retail agrees to buy Holland & Barrett for 1.77 billion pounds'|'Top News - Mon Jun 26, 2017 - 7:36am BST L1 Retail agrees to buy Holland & Barrett for 1.77 billion pounds Mikhail Fridman in Moscow, Russia March 16, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin LONDON L1 Retail has agreed to buy Holland & Barrett from The Nature''s Bounty Co. and The Carlyle Group for 1.77 billion pounds, the companies said in a statement. Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman''s L1 Retail is expected to close the transaction by September 2017 subject to customary regulatory approvals. The deal for the health and wellness chain was first reported by the Financial Times on Sunday. "We believe that the company is well positioned to benefit from structural growth in the growing 10 billion pound health and wellness market and has multiple levers for long term growth and value creation," said L1 Retail Managing Partner Stephen DuCharme. Carlyle was advised by Goldman Sachs, Houlihan Lokey, UBS, PWC, Latham Watkins and OC&C. (Reporting by Maiya Keidan; editing by Simon Jessop) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deals-carlyle-group-l-idUKKBN19H0JZ'|'2017-06-26T14:36:00.000+03:00' +'040a80f4637df00c3c7112b28bc9b8754f84f68e'|'Billionaire investor Icahn backs off demand for AIG breakup -source'|'Deals 1:34pm EDT Billionaire investor Icahn backs off demand for AIG breakup: source FILE PHOTO: A banner for American International Group Inc (AIG) hangs on the facade of the New York Stock Exchange, in New York, U.S., on October 16, 2012. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo - RTS15VEZ By Suzanne Barlyn Billionaire investor Carl Icahn is backing off his demand to break up insurance giant American International Group Inc ( AIG.N ), following the company''s sale of assets and hiring of a new chief executive officer, a person familiar with the matter said. Icahn, AIG''s third-largest investor, wants the insurer''s new CEO Brian Duperreault to have an opportunity to boost AIG''s return on equity, the person said. Icahn had a 4.95 percent stake, or 45.6 million shares, as of March 31. Icahn was not immediately available to comment. AIG named Duperreault, 70, CEO in May, selecting a protg of former CEO Hank Greenberg and an industry veteran known for his turnaround expertise. AIG has been the target of activist investors led by Icahn, who disclosed his stake in 2015 and called for breaking up the company to make it more successful. Former CEO Peter Hancock responded by launching a two-year turnaround plan last year, which included the goal of returning $25 billion of capital to investors by year-end. AIG, the largest U.S. underwriter of commercial property and casualty policies, has returned $18.1 billion to shareholders through buybacks since announcing the plan. Hancock said on March 9 that he would depart once the board found a replacement, citing a lack of confidence among directors and investors. Duperreault told reporters on Wednesday that AIG would likely slow the pace of share buybacks and instead spend on acquisitions. "The likelihood we can continue the pace of share buybacks is low because there are other things I can use the money on," Duperreault said. (Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn in New York; Additional reporting by Michael Flaherty; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-aig-icahn-idUSKBN19K2JA'|'2017-06-29T20:29:00.000+03:00' +'101e0220ae9859ed371bd4293aed1bdf6e870316'|'Shawbrook rejects third buyout offer from private equity groups'|' 15am BST Shawbrook rejects third buyout offer from private equity groups British challenger bank Shawbrook Group Plc said it rejected a raised and final 868 million pounds offer from private equity groups trying to take control of the lender. "Independent directors believe that the final offer undervalues Shawbrook and its prospects and therefore advise that shareholders take no action with regards to the final offer," Shawbrook said in a statement on Tuesday. Marlin Bidco, the buyout vehicle set up by BC Partners and Pollen Street Partners, on Monday raised its offer for Shawbrook by just over 3 percent, as the bidders try to convince another 5 percent of shareholders to accept the deal. (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru, Editing by Lawrence White)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-shawbrook-group-buyout-idUKKBN18X0GV'|'2017-06-06T14:15:00.000+03:00' +'2dd6bc90fb3707d54828d1560ddc6a6b33e93ffd'|'Spain to revise growth forecasts to reflect positive data - minister'|'Business News - Wed Jun 7, 2017 - 1:37pm BST Spain to revise growth forecasts to reflect positive data - minister Spain''s Economy Minister Luis de Guindos speaks during a news conference after the weekly cabinet meeting at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain March 31, 2017. REUTERS/Sergio Perez MADRID The Spanish government will revise its growth forecasts for this year and next to reflect recent encouraging data on job creation and confidence levels, Economy Minister Luis de Guindos told journalists on Wednesday. The fresh projections will be carried out as part of preparations for the 2018 budget, De Guindos said. The government usually outlines its budget plans in July. Spain already hiked its 2017 growth forecast in April from 2.5 percent to 2.7 percent, and De Guindos recently said that the economy may expand at a similar rate to 2016, when it grew by 3.2 percent. The Bank of Spain is also expected to raise its growth projections next week. (Reporting by Sarah White, Editing by Angus Berwick)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-spain-economy-idUKKBN18Y1O9'|'2017-06-07T20:37:00.000+03:00' +'2c5a8adea817bd3132e23b7ca847f4b6bea295cd'|'UPDATE 1-Abu Dhabi''s IPIC returns to profit as impairments drop'|'Market News - Thu Jun 8, 2017 - 7:41am EDT UPDATE 1-Abu Dhabi''s IPIC returns to profit as impairments drop (Adds details, context) By Stanley Carvalho ABU DHABI, June 8 Abu Dhabi''s state investor International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), which merged with state investment fund Mubadala Development Company last month, said it returned to profit in 2016, helped by a sharp drop in impairments and lower feedstock costs. IPIC owns energy assets across the world, including Spanish firm Cepsa and Canadian petrochemical maker NOVA Chemicals, and a majority stake in Austrian plastics company Borealis. It reported on Thursday a net profit attributable to equity holders of $446 million in 2016. In 2015 it had fallen into the red with a net loss of $2.6 billion. Revenues for 2016 fell to $33.8 billion, from $35.8 billion in 2015 due to lower oil prices. Despite lower revenues, IPIC made a profit thanks to lower feedstock costs, higher petrochemicals industry margins and lower impairments across the group, it said. Impairments fell sharply to $180 million in 2016 compared to $4.8 billion in the previous year, its financial statement showed. The firm''s total assets stood at $55 billion at the end of 2016, slightly lower than $57 billion in 2015, and its net debt decreased to $19.7 billion in 2016 from $22.2 billion in 2015. Earlier this year IPIC and Malaysia''s state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) reached an agreement to settle a debt dispute. IPIC and Mubadala Development Company began operations as a merged entity on May 1 this year. The merged entity, Mubadala Investment Company, is active in 13 business sectors in more than 30 countries. ($1 = 3.6726 UAE dirham) (Reporting by Stanley Carvalho; Editing by Susan Fenton) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/ipic-results-idUSL8N1J52HF'|'2017-06-08T19:41:00.000+03:00' +'79fd03fed0b527c85a55d599f06e21f55ce54144'|'China postal authority calls for end to data spat between Alibaba unit, SF Holdings'|'BEIJING, June 2 China''s postal authority has asked SF Holding Co and Alibaba Holding Group Ltd''s logistics unit, two of the nation''s top logistics players, to end a spat that disrupted deliveries when the two firms abruptly cut ties on Thursday.SF is one of several top logistics firms that have a strategic partnership with Alibaba''s Cainiao Network, which supports an app that allows users to track and pay for deliveries and links directly to Alibaba''s top e-commerce platform Taobao.The firms severed a data sharing agreement on Thursday following SF''s claims the Alibaba unit had requested user data not related to the current partnership, a claim Cainiao denies.China''s State Post Bureau said on its website it was communicating with both firms and urged the two sides to seek a diplomatic resolution to safeguard against "serious social impacts and negative side effects".The split highlights the stiff competition in China over hotly-contested user data assets, as top internet players including Alibaba and Tencent Holdings Group Ltd consolidate increasingly powerful cloud and big data ecosystems.The State Post Bureau said agricultural shipments were among those affected, including deliveries of fresh fruit. On Thursday Cainiao urged users and merchants to select alternative logistics firms.SF said in a statement on Friday users could still access tracking data on the firm''s official website. It said it stopped sharing data on Thursday after a May request from Cainiao to provide "unrelated customer privacy data".Cainiao, which oversees roughly 57 million deliveries a day, also tracks deliveries purchased on platforms outside the Alibaba ecosystem."Cainiao takes a collaborative approach towards logistics... We are surprised and disappointed by SF''s abrupt action to stop providing the information that is necessary for the smooth completion of parcel deliveries," a Cainiao spokeswoman said in an emailed statement.Competing data and e-commerce firms, including the cloud unit of Tencent and the CEO of e-commerce platform JD.com Inc , weighed in on the rift on social media, calling for Cainiao to promote a more open data sharing arrangement. Tencent Cloud provides existing data services to SF. (Reporting by Cate Cadell; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/china-logistics-rift-idINL3N1IZ28H'|'2017-06-02T05:15:00.000+03:00' +'3d7764904f13f5d36b1074f4a4fb623bb8182704'|'Pipeline to the classroom: how big oil promotes fossil fuels to America''s children - US news'|'Pipeline to the classroom: how big oil promotes fossil fuels to America''s children Documents show how tightly woven group of pro-industry organizations target impressionable schoolchildren and teachers desperate for resources by Jie Jenny Zou Documents show how tightly woven group of pro-industry organizations target impressionable schoolchildren and teachers desperate for resources by Jie Jenny Zou Pipeline to the classroom: how big oil promotes fossil fuels to America''s children View more sharing options Share on Messenger Close This story was a collaboration between the Center for Public Integrity and StateImpact Oklahoma , a reporting project of NPR member stations in Oklahoma. Jennifer Merritts first graders at Jefferson elementary school in Pryor, Oklahoma, were in for a treat. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, the students gathered for story time with two special guests, Republican lawmakers Tom Gann and Marty Quinn . Dressed in suits, the two men read aloud from Petro Petes Big Bad Dream , a parable in which a Bob the Builder-lookalike awakens to find his toothbrush, hard hat and even the tires on his bike missing. Abandoned by the school bus, Pete walks to Petroville elementary in his pajamas. It sounds like youre missing all of your petroleum by-products today! Petes teacher, Mrs Rigwell, exclaims, extolling oils benefits to Pete and fellow students like Sammy Shale. Before long, Pete decides that having no petroleum is like a nightmare! The tale is the latest in an illustrated series by the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board , a state agency funded by oil and gas producers. The board has spent upwards of $40m over the past two decades on providing education with a pro-industry bent, including hundreds of pages of curriculums, a speaker series and an after-school program all at no cost to educators of children from kindergarten to high school. Book cover to Petro Petes Big Bad Dream A similar program in Ohio shows teachers how to frack Twinkies using straws to pump for cream to emulate shale drilling. A national program sponsored by companies including BP and Shell claims its too soon to tell if the earth is heating up, but a little warming might be a good thing. Decades of documents reviewed by the Center for Public Integrity reveal a tightly woven network of organizations that works in concert with the oil and gas industry to paint a rosy picture of fossil fuels in Americas classrooms. Led by advertising and public-relations strategists, the groups have long plied the tools of their trade on impressionable children and teachers desperate for resources. Proponents of programs like the one in Oklahoma say they help the oil and gas industry replenish its aging workforce by stirring early interest in science, technology, engineering and math. But some experts question the educational value and ethics of lessons touting an industry that plays a central role in climate change and air pollution. Anthony Leiserowitz , director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication , likened industry-sponsored curriculums that ignore climate science to advertising. Youre exploiting that trusted relationship between the student and the teacher, he said. Leiserowitz whose research has focused on how culture, politics and psychology impact public perception of the environment said fossil-fuel companies have a stake in perpetuating a message of oil dependency. As early as the 1940s, the industrys largest and most powerful lobby group targeted schoolchildren as a key element of its fledgling marketing strategy. By the 1960s, the American Petroleum Institute was looking to shake its reputation as a monopoly which reaped excessive profits and set out to cultivate a network of thought leaders that included educators, journalists, politicians and even clergy, according to an organizational history copyrighted by API in 1990. The idea caught on. Hundreds of oil-and-gas-centric lesson plans are now available online, walking a blurry line between corporate sponsorship and promotion at a time when climate science has increasingly come under siege at the highest levels of government. On 1 June, Donald Trump, flanked by EPA administrator and former Oklahoma attorney general Scott Pruitt, announced that the United States would withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. Oklahoma is among a dozen states that have opted for watered-down versions of Next Generation Science Standards , a joint effort by states and educational organizations to revamp science teaching that has met with political backlash since 2013. The Oklahoma version strips provisions on evolution and the human causes of global warming. Along with Colorado, Kansas and Montana, Oklahoma legislators have also championed bills requiring educators teach both sides of those scientific concepts. A pro-oil video to extol the benefits of fossil fuels. A 2016 study confirmed that Americas youth receive mixed messages on climate change. Nearly a third of middle-and-high-school science teachers nationwide have wrongly suggested global warming is naturally occurring. A quarter have spent as much time rebutting evidence of warming as they have presenting it. Schools and libraries across Oklahoma have received more than 9,000 complimentary copies of Petro Petes Big Bad Dream since it was published last year. The story has been a hit with Jennifer Merritts students, who won the storytelling visit from lawmakers last November after submitting a Facebook photo to the energy resources board. Posing on a jungle gym, the students clutched stuffed animals and footballs their favorite petroleum by-products. Its not some boring thing, Merritt said of the boards Little Bits curriculum for children up to age eight, which features alliterative characters like Freddie Fuelless and Oliver Oilpatch. Without it, she said, I probably wouldnt have taught first graders about energy. Merritt is one of 14,000 Oklahoma teachers who have attended workshops on how to use the boards innovative, one-of-a-kind science and energy curriculum in their classrooms. Participants are reimbursed for supplies year-round and can register their classes for free museum field trips so long as the exhibits highlight petroleum . On a recent Saturday, a workshop was in session at Choctaw high school , east of Oklahoma City. The parking lot was bustling as teachers loaded their cars with heavy tubs, each stuffed with up to $1,200 worth of calculators, lab equipment and other materials. In classrooms, some teachers plotted oil-production trends while others watched bubbling brews simulating how the industry wrings oil from depleting fields. In an email, board chairman Danny Morgan wrote that the organization doesnt use public funds and does not function like a typical agency. Under state law, half of its revenues from oil and gas producers are spent restoring abandoned oil wells. Morgan pointed to a board safety campaign aimed at preventing children from playing on dangerous pumpjacks that dot the state, writing, if just one child is kept safe through the awareness this program created, it is well worth the effort. While the boards curriculum enlightens students about the benefits of black gold, their teachers are hard-pressed to find any information on climate change or other drawbacks of fossil fuels even as Oklahoma struggles to curb a slew of man-made earthquakes tied to its fracking boom. Morgan, an oil company executive and a former state legislator, declined to say why the boards materials fail to address global warming. Cheerleading for the industry has been central to the energy resources boards mission from the start. Lawmakers created the board in 1993 as a privatized state agency funded by a voluntary tax on local oil and gas producers to publicize the industry. Kansas , Illinois and Ohio followed suit with similar legislation. But Oklahoma remains the epicenter of oil-industry puffery in the classroom. The boards curriculums are used in an estimated 98% of Oklahoma school districts and have been adopted in neighboring Kansas . Records show that the boards programs and pro-industry ads have been held out as models to trade groups and legislators in Montana, Arkansas, North Dakota, Wyoming and Texas. Many teachers in Oklahoma have attended the OERBs workshops. Photograph: Joe Wertz/StateImpact Oklahoma Oklahomas board appears to have taken cues from the American Petroleum Institute the countrys leading oil and gas lobby group, representing more than 625 companies. The plot of Big Bad Dream bears uncanny similarities to APIs 1996 educational film, Fuel-less: you cant be cool without fuel . Records show that the boards education director, who wrote Big Bad Dream, has ordered hundreds of copies of Fuel-less to distribute locally most recently in 2013. API did not respond to requests for comment. APIs vice-president of communications delivered a special presentation to the board in 2012 on marketing strategies. The same year, an API lobbyist asked the board to host a fracking workshop on its behalf as part of the trade groups effort to reach out to legislators, regulators and other stakeholders nationwide. Morgan wrote that the board did not participate in the workshop because API never followed up on the request. He added that the board itself doesnt engage in lobbying. Copied on APIs communications with the energy resources board was Bill Whitsitt , a Devon Energy executive who helped draft Pruitts letters during his tenure as Oklahoma attorney general. In 2014, the New York Times reported on Pruitts extensive industry ties which included oil and gas companies, utilities and lobby groups. As the states legal chief, Pruitt vociferously litigated against environmental regulations like the Clean Power Plan, branding them job killers and federal overreach. Devon Energy has been cited as an early beneficiary of rollbacks under Pruitts watch since he took the helm of the EPA in late January. Carla Schaeperkoetter, the energy resources boards education director, is the creator of Big Bad Dream and Lab Time with Leo a video series featuring a bowtie-wearing scientist not unlike Bill Nye the Science Guy. Instead of exploring fundamentals like the solar system, Leo delves into the nuances of oil refining , teaching kids as young as eight about fractional distillation and residuals. Schaeperkoetter doesnt have any teaching experience and isnt a state employee. Board staff, including Schaeperkoetter, are consultants hired by a private foundation affiliated with the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association . The state trade group is listed as a partner of the Independent Petroleum Association of America , a lobbying organization that worked closely with API to roll back federal rules on fracking. Schaeperkoetters name appears on curriculums reassuring teachers that companies are spending more dollars protecting the environment than drilling new wells. A jump-rope rhyme reads, We need oil. We need gas. Where are the oil products in our class? And a high school guide asks students to create 30-second commercials on how oil and natural gas will help America be energy independent. Charles Anderson a professor at Michigan State University who studies environmental literacy and develops curriculums said the board materials are upfront about their pro-industry agenda but only tell half the story by omitting global issues like climate change in favor of niche oil knowledge. The children of Oklahoma are getting a raw deal they are getting educationally ineffective materials teaching content that will be of little use to them if they want to leave the state, Anderson said. Students also are being sold short in more immediate ways: an increasing number of Oklahoma districts are adopting four-day school weeks amid budget cuts due partly to tax breaks for the petroleum industry. The state government of Oklahoma, in its wisdom, has decided that oil and gas companies should have a whole lot of money and schools should have hardly any money, Anderson said. Thats a social decision that values oil and gas extraction over the public good of public schools. Oklahomas state department of education promotes energy board lessons online and in newsletters. Though the curriculums are described by the board as having been developed in a collaborative effort with the state, the education department has not reviewed, endorsed or had any oversight over the materials in two decades, spokeswoman Anne Price said. Fracking in Oklahoma. Photograph: David Jennings/Alamy Stock Photo We value curricula that align to our state standards and are at no cost to educators, but ultimately we encourage educators to investigate further to choose what is best for their classrooms, Price wrote in an email. Without explicit guidance, experts say, its difficult for educators to assess which materials are appropriate especially elementary-school teachers who dont have extensive science training. Historically, energy curriculums have been scarce. This provides an opportunity for anyone who has a particular point of view, whether its an oil company or an environmental concern, said David Evans, executive director of the National Science Teachers Association , which co-developed the Next Generation Science Standards. The standards specify which concepts students should grasp by grade level like the greenhouse effects of gases like carbon dioxide and methane but dont provide curriculums, leaving educators to find or create lessons themselves. So far, the standards have been adopted by 18 states and the District of Columbia. When it comes to climate change, Evans urges teachers to stick to facts and avoid politics. Science is about understanding the physical world that we live in, he said. We wouldnt say, Why should people understand gravity? But education is inherently political, said Nicole Colston , a researcher at Oklahoma State University who has studied overlap between groups that push against evolution and climate change education. Its this implied thing that you cant talk about climate change, she said of her interviews with Oklahoma teachers. Its almost, like, impolite or uncomfortable. Prominent Oklahomans like Pruitt and Republican US senator James Inhofe are climate-science deniers, a fact not lost on the states residents. Just 46% of adult Oklahomans believe global warming is caused by human activities, below the national average of 53%, according to 2016 data from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication . In 2014, Oklahoma lawmakers tried but failed to block the state board of education from adopting its version of Next Generation Science Standards. The same year, a state law was passed to give local school districts ultimate authority over curriculums. Merritt said she chose to use energy resources board materials because they were age-appropriate, factual, and free. Its just a way of life, she said of the curriculums laser focus on petroleum. We live in Oklahoma. Theres a lot of oil. Joe Wertz, a reporter with StateImpact Oklahoma, contributed to this story '|'theguardian.com'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/all'|'https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/15/big-oil-classrooms-pipeline-oklahoma-education'|'2017-06-15T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'a0c9fe2c0454ff80584c17da2fa4c4675df723fc'|'Surprise rise in German imports narrows trade surplus in April'|'Business News - Fri Jun 9, 2017 - 7:08am BST Surprise rise in German imports narrows trade surplus in April FILE PHOTO: Containers are pictured at a loading terminal in the port of Kiel, Germany, January 25, 2017. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo FRANKFURT German exports rose more strongly than expected in April and imports posted an even bigger increase, narrowing the trade surplus of Europe''s biggest economy, data showed on Friday. Seasonally adjusted exports were up 0.9 percent on the month while imports jumped 1.2 percent, data from the Federal Statistics Office showed. A Reuters poll had pointed to exports rising 0.3 percent and imports falling 1.0 percent. The seasonally adjusted trade surplus edged down to 19.8 billion euros from a revised 19.9 billion euros in March. The April reading was below the Reuters consensus forecast of 20.3 billion euros. Germany''s wider current account surplus, which measures the flow of goods, services and investments, plunged to 15.1 billion euros after a revised 31.1 billion euros in March, the data showed. Domestic demand has replaced exports as the main growth driver in Germany as consumers and the state are benefiting from record-high employment, rising tax revenues and low borrowing costs enabled by the European Central Bank''s loose monetary policy. (Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Andrea Shalal)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-economy-trade-idUKKBN1900KB'|'2017-06-09T14:08:00.000+03:00' +'d8e9cc3bdc74ba5164551f9d88f581caaa54d57e'|'Ford says new Focus cars to be initially sourced from China'|'June 20 Ford Motor Co said on Tuesday it would begin production of its next-generation Focus small car in the second half of 2019 and most of the cars for the North American market would be initially sourced from China."The new North America Focus production plan saves $1 billion in investment costs versus the original plan...," the company said in a statement.Ford had earlier said it planned to import the new Focus from its plant in Hermosillo, Mexico.Ford also said it was investing $900 million in its Kentucky truck plant for upgrades to build the all-new Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs, which will begin arriving in dealerships this fall. (Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/ford-motor-focus-idUSL3N1JH3YX'|'2017-06-20T20:48:00.000+03:00' +'ef0a5654b3c734239d77875b8e402552c278fe46'|'US STOCKS-Wall St higher as strong pvt jobs data boosts confidence'|'US Market Report 05am EDT US STOCKS-Wall St higher as strong pvt jobs data boosts confidence * Private firms add more jobs than expected * Palo Alto Networks rises after forecast beats expectations * Deere up after deal to buy Germany''s Wirtgen * Fed Governor Powell says expects three hikes in 2017 * Indexes up: Dow 0.09 pct, S&P 0.14 pct, Nasdaq 0.14 pct (Adds details, changes comment, updates prices) By Sweta Singh and Tanya Agrawal June 1 U.S. stocks trimmed gains but remained higher on Thursday as investors turned their focus to the monthly employment data on Friday, after better-than-expected private sector hiring pointed to strength in the labor market. The ADP private sector employment report showed that 253,000 jobs were added in May, well above the 185,000 jobs estimated by economists polled by Reuters. The report acts as a precursor to the much-awaited nonfarm payrolls data, due on Friday, that includes hiring in both public and private sectors. "The ADP numbers were good today and often times, but not always, they are a good indication of the monthly jobs data," said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab in Austin, Texas. The market is expected to trade mostly sideways for the rest of the day as investors await Friday''s data, Frederick added. San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams said on Wednesday he sees a total of three interest rate increases for this year as his baseline scenario, but views four hikes as also being appropriate if the U.S. economy gets an unexpected boost. Fed Governor Jerome Powell, an influential policymaker, told CNBC that he expects three rate hikes this year. Forecasts from Fed officials suggest that a median of two more hikes are planned before the end of the year. Traders priced in a 96 percent chance of a rate hike in the upcoming Fed meeting on June 14, and a 50 percent chance of a hike before the end of 2017, according to CME Group''s FedWatch tool. At 10:47 a.m. ET (1447 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 17.86 points, or 0.09 percent, at 21,026.51, the S&P 500 was up 3.4 points, or 0.14 percent, at 2,415.2. The Nasdaq Composite was up 8.89 points, or 0.14 percent, at 6,207.40. Seven of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were higher, with the health and materials sectors leading the gainers. Deere''s shares were up 2.5 percent at $125.48 after the farm and construction major said it would buy privately held German road construction company Wirtgen Group for $5.2 billion, including debt. Hewlett Packard Enterprise fell 5.6 percent to $17.76 after the company reported a steep fall in its quarterly revenue. Palo Alto Networks jumped as much as 18 percent to a more than four-month high of $139.95 after the cybersecurity company''s forecast topped expectations. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 2,019 to 719. On the Nasdaq, 1,681 issues rose and 934 fell. The S&P 500 index showed 28 new 52-week highs and 11 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 82 new highs and 70 new lows. (Reporting by Sweta Singh and Tanya Agrawal in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Anil D''Silva)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-idUSL3N1IY4QC'|'2017-06-01T23:05:00.000+03:00' +'7910d98290cbf0a456d3d7d60f90419df86f82c9'|'Nikkei ends lower as technology shares weigh; Toshiba soars'|'TOKYO, June 12 Japan''s Nikkei share average ended lower on Monday, dragged down by declines in technology shares after their U.S. counterparts were sold off sharply in the previous session.The Nikkei ended down 0.5 percent at 19,908.58.Chip manufacturing equipment makers and Apple suppliers led the declines, with Tokyo Electron ending 3 percent down, Advantest Corp closing down 3.3 percent, Alps Electric shedding 3.2 percent and Taiyo Yuden declining 3.1 percent.On Friday, Apple Inc shares dropped 3.9 percent in their biggest daily percentage decline since April 2016, after a report that iPhones to be launched this year would use modem chips with slower download speeds than rival smartphones.Bucking the weakness, Toshiba Corp surged more than 9 percent after a person familiar with the matter told Reuters that Western Digital Corp plans to raise its offer for Toshiba''s prized semiconductor unit to $18 billion or more.The broader Topix was flat at 1,591.55. (Reporting by Ayai Tomisawa; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-close-idUSL3N1J928C'|'2017-06-12T14:25:00.000+03:00' +'f55b81c5f6ab2c23153e2b405623f90e901df8eb'|'Fujifilm flags bigger loss from improper accounting at overseas units'|'Business News - Mon Jun 12, 2017 - 5:56am BST Fujifilm flags bigger loss from improper accounting at overseas units left right Fujifilm''s company logos are seen at its exhibition hall nearby the headquarters of Fujifilm Holdings Corp in Tokyo, Japan June 12, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 1/2 left right Women walk past Fujifilm''s company logo (top) in front of its exhibition hall nearby the headquarters of Fujifilm Holdings Corp in Tokyo, Japan June 12, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 2/2 TOKYO Japan''s Fujifilm Holdings Corp ( 4901.T ) said on Monday it now estimates the impact of improper accounting at its overseas units at a 37.5 billion yen (267 million pounds) loss for the past few years, up from the 22 billion yen loss it had flagged in April. A third-party panel has been looking into accounting practices used in some lease transactions at Fuji Xerox New Zealand Ltd for periods before the 2015 financial year. Fujifilm said the panel also found improper accounting at Fuji Xerox Australia Pty Ltd, in addition to the New Zealand unit, resulting in the bigger loss. But the digital camera and copier maker said the overall impact on its results for the year ended in March was minor. Shares in Fujifilm rose 1.6 percent in early trade, outperforming a 0.8 percent fall in the benchmark Nikkei average .N225 . Fujifilm separately revised up its net profit estimate for the last business year to a record 131.5 billion yen, up from the 112 billion yen forecast in January, citing gains from the sale of cross-held shares. The company will provide a detailed report on the accounting review at 3 p.m. (0600 GMT), it said. (Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Edwina Gibbs) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-fujifilm-results-idUKKBN1930CJ'|'2017-06-12T12:56:00.000+03:00' +'67b57e3669213e2c4072bc4ee9dcbabde3812e2e'|'U.S. judge allows some VW investor diesel claims to proceed'|'By David Shepardson - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON A federal judge in California on Wednesday allowed some claims to proceed by investors who sued Volkswagen AG over its diesel emissions scandal, but agreed to the German automaker''s request to dismiss parts of the lawsuit.U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer said in an 18-page order he was allowing claims that VW and then-Chief Executive Officer Martin Winterkorn intentionally or recklessly understated VW''s financial liabilities made since May 2014, but dismissing claims for financial statements issued before then.That VW "may have deliberately employed an illegal defeat device does not mean the company knew with reasonable certainty that it was going to get caught," Breyer wrote in dismissing thee older statements.Breyer also dismissed claims that VW brand chief Herbert Diess understated VW financial liabilities in 2015, but Breyer rejected a bid to throw out a claim against then VW U.S. chief Michael Horn.The plaintiffs, mostly U.S. municipal pension funds, have accused VW of not having informed the market in a timely fashion and understated possible financial liabilities.The lawsuits said VW''s market capitalisation fell by $63 billion after the diesel cheating scandal became public in September 2015.The plaintiffs had invested in VW through American Depositary Receipts, a form of equity ownership in a non-U.S. company that represents the foreign shares of the company held on deposit by a bank in the company''s home country.Volkswagen said in a statement it was pleased "with the courts decision to limit the scope of the plaintiffs allegations, and believes the remaining claims are without merit, which we intend to demonstrate as this case proceeds."CEO Winterkorn resigned days after the scandal became public and much of the company''s management has changed since 2015.VW in September 2015 admitted using sophisticated secret software in its cars to cheat exhaust emissions tests and pleaded guilty in March in a U.S. court to three felonies in connection with the scandal.Volkswagen has agreed to spend as much as $25 billion in the United States to resolve claims from owners and regulators over polluting diesel vehicles and has offered to buy back about 500,000 vehicles.Through mid-June, VW has spent $6.3 billion buying back vehicles and compensating U.S. owners.(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by David Gregorio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/volkswagen-emissions-idINKBN19J2W4'|'2017-06-29T00:19:00.000+03:00' +'c94b8a184f308a5e103485b3a6239358d3a63854'|'Oil keeps a lid on European shares, Imagination Tech soars'|'Top 31am BST Oil keeps a lid on European shares, Imagination Tech soars Traders work in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, June 21, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote LONDON European shares were in store for another weak session on Thursday pegged back by the slide in commodities-related sectors on the back of depressed oil prices. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.3 percent, on track for its third day of straight losses, while the blue chips dropped 0.4 percent. European energy sector and mining stocks were down about 1 percent. Health care was the top-gaining sector, up 0.8 percent with Switzerland''s Novartis in the driving seat as its shares advanced 2.5 percent, following a positive study result for its canakinumab medicine, which cut risks for heart attack survivors. Elsewhere, Imagination Tech, once a high flyer as a supplier of graphics technology to Apple implying only a 40 percent chance of a move by December. The market''s five-year outlook for inflation has been falling steadily and currently stands at a seven-month trough of 2.18 percent USIL5YF5Y=R. It had spiked as high as 2.52 percent last November in the wake of President Donald Trump''s surprise election victory. This leaves the market vulnerable to any hawkish spin from the Fed, which would likely slug Treasury prices while lifting the embattled U.S. dollar. The currency could do with the help having taken a fresh knock on Tuesday, when the head of Canada''s central bank put his own hawkish spin on the outlook for rates there. The U.S. dollar fell as far as C$1.3209 CAD= , its lowest since Feb. 28, having shed two cents in as many days. It also lost ground to sterling GBP= after UK inflation data surprised on the high side and amid reports Britain''s ruling Conservative Party was likely to sign a deal on Wednesday to form a minority government. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar was a whisker weaker at 96.952 .DXY. It was little changed on the Japanese yen at 110.00 JPY= and the euro at $1.1217 EUR= . In commodity markets, oil slipped after industry data showed a surprise rise in crude stocks and OPEC reported a rise in its production despite its pledge to cut back. [O/R] Benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 retreated 35 cents to $48.37 a barrel while U.S. light crude CLc1 shed 42 cents to $46.04. (Editing by Kim Coghill and Jacqueline Wong) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUKKBN195020'|'2017-06-14T10:47:00.000+03:00' +'b7ab5bc2330b31b8a8da6ab348077fece0690997'|'Ericsson begins sale of assets with power modules deal'|'Business News - 25am BST Ericsson begins sale of assets with power modules deal A general view of an office of Swedish telecom giant Ericsson is seen in Lund, Sweden, September 18, 2014. REUTERS/Stig-Ake Jonsson/TT News Agency/File Photo STOCKHOLM Swedish mobile telecom gear maker Ericsson ( ERICb.ST ) said on Wednesday it was selling its power modules business, the first exit of assets under a new strategy to focus on its core business. The company announced the strategy in March, saying it would concentrate on its main product areas of networks, digital services and Internet of Things. On Wednesday it said it had signed an agreement with software firm Flex ( FLEX.O ) to sell its power modules business, which includes a manufacturing site in China and assets in Sweden. More than 300 employees and consultants are expected to transfer from Ericsson to Flex Power, but Ericsson did not disclose any financial details about the transaction. "In line with our strategy, we are focussing our business on fewer core areas," Christian Hedelin, head of strategy for Ericsson''s Networks business, said in a statement. On Tuesday, Bloomberg, citing sources, reported that Ericsson had hired banks to explore a sale of its much larger media businesses. (Reporting by Olof Swahnberg; Editing by Niklas Pollard and Susan Fenton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ericsson-divestment-idUKKBN19C0WN'|'2017-06-21T16:25:00.000+03:00' +'5a1974a615d8f11696d5037712c1d14064ae9b0e'|'China plans U.S. visits, spurring hopes for more poultry trading'|'Business 31pm EDT China plans U.S. visits, spurring hopes for more poultry trading By Tom Polansek - CHICAGO CHICAGO Chinese agricultural delegations are set to visit the United States in the coming months, raising hopes that Beijing may lift a ban on U.S. poultry imports. A decision by Beijing to cancel the ban would benefit U.S. farmers nervous about trade policies under U.S. President Donald Trump, who pulled out of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership in January and pledged to renegotiate NAFTA. China has blocked American poultry imports since the United States suffered its worst-ever outbreak of avian flu in poultry in 2015, frustrating U.S. producers who have detected only a handful of highly lethal cases of the virus in birds since last year. The ban cut off a major market for U.S. chicken companies including Tyson Foods Inc ( TSN.N ) and Sanderson Farms Inc ( SAFM.O ), particularly for chicken feet, which Americans generally do not eat. Next month, representatives of China''s agriculture ministry and animal quarantine and inspection service will visit U.S. poultry facilities and learn how producers fight avian flu, Jim Sumner, president of the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council, a trade group, said this week. It will be the first such visit since China imposed its ban and precede the arrival of another Chinese delegation in September, he said. "We''re hoping that after the visit that they lift the ban entirely," Sumner said about the September trip. In 2014, U.S. poultry exports to China totaled $315.4 million, including $94.6 million worth of feet, according to the export council. Resuming U.S. exports could support demand for feed, benefiting U.S. grain farmers who have suffered from falling incomes due to massive global harvests. Tyson Foods, the biggest U.S. chicken company, said it had spoken with representatives from China about visiting its operations and hopes the ban is lifted soon. Last month, the farm sector cheered as China agreed to resume U.S. beef imports, after blocking most shipments since 2003. At the same time, the United States said it would issue a proposed rule to allow cooked Chinese chicken to enter U.S. markets. Sanderson Farms, the third-largest U.S. poultry producer, doubts Beijing will lift its U.S. poultry ban until Washington fully approves cooked Chinese chicken imports, Chief Financial Officer Mike Cockrell said. Before the ban, Sanderson earned about $4.3 million of operating income per month by selling chicken feet to China. "For the first time really since January 2015, when they put the avian influenza ban in place, we''re starting to see movement," Cockrell said. (Editing by Matthew Lewis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-poultry-china-idUSKBN18T2SM'|'2017-06-03T03:22:00.000+03:00' +'0855bbbccc6111932e16d38cc1154034ced39f26'|'Japan Tobacco tries to catch up with rival in smokeless tobacco'|'Japan - Wed Jun 28, 2017 - 6:12am BST Japan Tobacco tries to catch up with rival in smokeless tobacco left right A journalist tries out Japan Tobacco Inc''s Ploom Tech smokeless vaping product at the Ploom Shop in Tokyo, Japan June 28, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 1/10 left right Shop assistants explain to customers how Japan Tobacco Inc''s Ploom Tech smokeless vaping products work at its Ploom Shop in Tokyo, Japan June 28, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 2/10 left right Shop assistants explain to customers how Japan Tobacco Inc''s Ploom Tech smokeless vaping products work at its Ploom Shop in Tokyo, Japan June 28, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 3/10 left right Shop assistants present Japan Tobacco Inc''s Ploom Tech smokeless vaping products at its Ploom Shop in Tokyo, Japan June 28, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 4/10 left right A shop assistant demonstrates a Japan Tobacco Inc''s Ploom Tech smokeless vaping product at its Ploom Shop in Tokyo, Japan June 28, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 5/10 left right The logo of Japan Tobacco Inc''s Ploom Tech smokeless vaping product is seen at its Ploom Shop in Tokyo, Japan June 28, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 6/10 left right A shop assistant poses with Japan Tobacco Inc''s Ploom Tech smokeless vaping products at its Ploom Shop in Tokyo, Japan June 28, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 7/10 left right A shop assistant demonstrates a Japan Tobacco Inc''s Ploom Tech smokeless vaping product at its Ploom Shop in Tokyo, Japan June 28, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 8/10 left right Japan Tobacco Inc''s (JT) smokeless tobacco Ploom TECH is pictured as JT''s President and CEO Mitsuomi Koizumi smokes Ploom TECH during an interview with Reuters at the compnay''s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan May 29, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 9/10 left right Japan Tobacco Inc (JT) President and CEO Mitsuomi Koizumi poses with the company''s smokeless tobacco Ploom TECH after an interview with Reuters at the compnay''s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan May 29, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 10/10 TOKYO Japan Tobacco Inc ( 2914.T ) said on Wednesday it hoped to catch up with Philip Morris International Inc ( PM.N ) in smokeless tobacco by expanding the number of smoke-free restaurants and public places that allow its vaping product. Tobacco firms see Japan as a test ground for vaping products, as e-cigarettes using nicotine-laced liquid are not allowed under the country''s pharmaceutical regulations. While Marlboro maker Philip Morris''s heat-not-burn "IQOS" tobacco device is already enjoying strong demand in Japan, Japan Tobacco''s launch of its "Ploom Tech" product has run into delays due to production shortages. Japan Tobacco, a former state monopoly still a third owned by the government, will start selling Ploom Tech at its flagship shops on Thursday and 100 tobacco stores on July 10 in Tokyo. The company has said it plans to sell it nationwide in the first half of the next year. The company test-launched the product in southwestern city of Fukuoka in March last year and at its online shop. It had to temporarily suspend sales after demand overwhelmed supply. Japan Tobacco said it had sold 250,000 Ploom Tech devices by the end of last year. Unlike Philip Morris''s IQOS, Ploom Tech does not directly heat tobacco leaves. Instead, the battery-powered device generates vapor that goes through a capsule packed with tobacco leaves. Japan Tobacco said the mechanism produces less smell than "heat-not-burn" products, and the company hopes it will be a strong differentiating factor against rivals. It said Ploom Tech emits smell a five-hundredth of a conventional cigarette. The company said about 80 smoke-free restaurants, cafes and other public places in Fukuoka allow the use of Ploom Tech. In Tokyo, there are about 120 such facilities, it said. "The number of smoke-free places that allow Ploom Tech is increasing," Chito Sasaki, president of the company''s Japanese tobacco business, told reporters. (Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Stephen Coates) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-japan-tobacco-smokeless-idUKKBN19J0DU'|'2017-06-28T13:12:00.000+03:00' +'7ede41d501b8db434795180b87fc932d3c6963e0'|'China''s Fosun raises offer for Faberg owner Gemfields'|'Business News 2:11pm BST China''s Fosun raises offer for Faberg owner Gemfields A company logo of Fosun International is seen at the Fosun Fair held alongside the annual general meeting of the Chinese conglomerate in Hong Kong, China May 28, 2015. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo China''s Fosun International ( 0656.HK ) has increased its offer for Faberg owner Gemfields ( GEM.L ) to 256 million pounds, turning up the heat in a bid battle with the largest shareholder of the London-listed company. Fosun Gold, part of the acquisitive Fosun International conglomerate, said on Tuesday it had increased its offer for Gemfields to 45 pence per share from an earlier proposal of 40.85 pence per share. That trumps a rival offer of 38.5 pence per share from mining group Pallinghurst Resources Ltd ( PGLJ.J ) to buy the 52.91 percent of Gemfields it does not already own. Gemfields, which mines for emeralds and amethysts in Zambia and for crimson and pinkish-red coloured ruby and corundum in Mozambique, had rejected the offer from Pallinghurst, saying it "significantly undervalues" the company Pallinghurst has said it intends to delist Gemfields from London''s junior market. Gemfields said on Tuesday its independent committee considered the terms of Fosun''s offer were neither fair nor reasonable, but that in the light of Pallinghurst''s offer it intended to recommend shareholders to accept Fosun''s bid. Pallinghurst said on Monday it had valid acceptances for its bid from shareholders owning 61.25 percent of Gemfield''s shares, including its own stake. (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-gemfields-m-a-fosun-intl-idUKKBN19B1TI'|'2017-06-20T21:11:00.000+03:00' +'28f2d9ed10f90fc5d7c4ea3c0dbec0e8015d66ba'|'Puerto Rico oversight board says continuing talks with PREPA creditors'|'Puerto Rico''s financial oversight board on Wednesday said it is still discussing a debt restructuring with creditors of the island''s power utility, PREPA, and could be persuaded to support a proposed deal it had previously rejected, with some changes.The board, in charge of managing Puerto Rico''s finances, had on Tuesday nixed an agreement between PREPA and its creditors to restructure some $9 billion in debt, saying the deal would not do enough to structurally reform PREPA.(Reporting by Nick Brown; Editing by Sandra Maler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-puertorico-debt-prepa-idINKBN19J2UP'|'2017-06-28T19:05:00.000+03:00' +'feafd3568a9f7e715a219ccb778c72b0c85c096f'|'GM investors reject Greenlight share plan, board slate'|'Autos - Tue Jun 6, 2017 - 6:35pm BST GM investors reject Greenlight share plan, board slate left right General Motors CEO Mary Barra addresses the media ahead of the start of GM''s annual shareholders meeting at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., June 6, 2017. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook 1/4 left right FILE PHOTO -- David Einhorn, president of Greenlight Capital, speaks during the Sohn Investment Conference in New York City, U.S., May 8, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo 2/4 left right General Motors CEO Mary Barra addresses the media ahead of the start of GM''s annual shareholders meeting at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., June 6, 2017. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook 3/4 left right General Motors world headquarters are seen before GM CEO Mary Barra addresses the media ahead of the start of GM''s annual shareholders meeting at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., June 6, 2017. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook 4/4 By Nick Carey and Joseph White - DETROIT DETROIT General Motors Co ( GM.N ) shareholders on Tuesday elected all of the automaker''s board nominees, overwhelmingly rejecting a slate proposed by hedge fund Greenlight Capital and handing a major defeat to billionaire investor David Einhorn''s bid to split the company''s shares. Preliminary results showed more than 91 percent of shareholders voted against Greenlight''s proposal to have GM offer dividend and capital appreciation shares, according to GM officials at the automaker''s annual shareholders'' meeting. GM''s nominees were elected with between 84 percent and 99 percent of the vote, the company said. Greenlight founder David Einhorn floated his proposal back in March, saying it could boost the automaker''s $52 billion (40.3 billion) market capitalisation by as much as $38 billion. But right at the outset, rating agencies said Einhorn''s plan could negatively impact the automaker''s credit rating and he failed to rally other shareholders to his cause. Warren Buffett''s Berkshire Hathaway Inc ( BRKa.N ) remained conspicuously silent on the proposal. Proxy advisers Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis had also recommended GM shareholders vote for the automaker''s board nominees and against the dual-class proposal. Einhorn made his proposal as U.S. auto industry sales of new vehicles have begun to wane after a boom cycle that has lasted since 2010. In comments prior to the shareholder meeting, GM chief executive Mary Barra acknowledged Greenlight''s point on its stock price, saying "we do believe GM stock is undervalued," but reiterated the company''s opposition to the hedge fund''s proposal. "After careful, thorough and objective analysis, we decided this (Greenlight''s proposal) was not on the best interest of our shareholders," she said. She added that the company will continue to focus "aggressively" on returning value to shareholders. Barra also said despite the Trump administration''s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate deal, the automaker will continue to push to reduce emissions. GM shares were down 17 cents at $34.29. (Reporting By Nick Carey and Joseph White; Editing by Nick Zieminski)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-gm-greenlight-idUKKBN18X1QR'|'2017-06-07T01:35:00.000+03:00' +'90f442deb73ac11d187a90850da56b80b5059b94'|'RPT-Spain''s Santander buys smaller rival Popular for 1 euro with capital hike'|'Banks - Wed Jun 7, 2017 - 10:25am EDT ECB triggers overnight Santander rescue of Spain''s Banco Popular left right Santander Chairwoman Ana Botin arrives for a news conference after Santander announced on Wednesday that it would buy struggling rival Banco Popular for a nominal one euro after European authorities determined the lender was on the verge of insolvency, in Madrid, Spain, June 7, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Medina 1/7 left right FILE PHOTO: A man uses a cash dispenser at a Banco Popular branch in Madrid, Spain, April 29, 2016. REUTERS/Andrea Comas/File Photo 2/7 left right Santander Chairwoman Ana Botin arrives for a news conference after Santander announced on Wednesday that it would buy struggling rival Banco Popular for a nominal one euro after European authorities determined the lender was on the verge of insolvency, in Madrid, Spain, June 7, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Medina 3/7 left right An employee waits for the start of a news conference at Spain''s biggest bank Santander offices after it announced on Wednesday that it would buy struggling rival Banco Popular for a nominal one euro after European authorities determined the lender was on the verge of insolvency, in Madrid, Spain, June 7, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Medina 4/7 left right Santander Chairwoman Ana Botin speakds at a news conference after Santander announced on Wednesday that it would buy struggling rival Banco Popular for a nominal one euro after European authorities determined the lender was on the verge of insolvency, in Madrid, Spain, June 7, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Medina 5/7 left right FILE PHOTO: People walk past a branch of Spain''s Banco Popular in Madrid, Spain, May 26, 2016. REUTERS/Andrea Comas/File Photo 6/7 left right FILE PHOTO: A woman walks past a Banco Santander branch in downtown Rio de Janeiro August 19, 2014. REUTERS/Pilar Olivares/File Photo 7/7 By Jess Aguado and Francesco Guarascio - MADRID/BRUSSELS MADRID/BRUSSELS European authorities stepped in to avert a collapse of Spain''s Banco Popular ( POP.MC ) following a run on the bank, orchestrating a last-minute rescue on Wednesday by Santander ( SAN.MC ), the country''s biggest lender. Owners of Popular bonds faces losses of some 2 billion euros, while Santander will ask its shareholders for around 7 billion euros ($7.9 billion) of capital to absorb Spain''s sixth biggest bank. Popular''s rescue was unveiled as the European Central Bank announced the lender was set to be wound down, echoing a banking crash some five years ago that cost Spain 40 billion euros. Santander''s takeover of the bank, which has been weighed down by risky property loans, for a nominal one euro marks the first use of a stricter European Union regime to deal with failing banks adopted after the financial crisis. The sale was organized in less than 24 hours, and followed a recent acceleration in the withdrawal of deposits, which two people with knowledge of the matter said had in recent weeks hit 18 billion euros, equivalent to almost one quarter of the total. A final decision to sell Popular was made at about 0430 GMT on Wednesday, Dominique Laboureix, a member of the Single Resolution Board, told a news conference in Brussels. The SRB is the agency set up by the EU to wind down stricken banks. In contrast to earlier crises, the hurried sale of Popular did not spook markets and banking stocks rose in Europe. "This deal is good for Spain and it''s good for Europe," Santander chairman Ana Botin said of the agreement, which breaks the mold of using taxpayers'' money, instead imposing losses on shareholders and creditors of the bank. This resolution worked in Santander''s favor, and was described by two debt investors as unexpected, with the owners of so-called AT1 and AT2 bonds suffering roughly 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) of losses and shareholders losing everything. The ECB said there was a "significant deterioration of the liquidity situation of the bank in recent days" and that in the near future Popular would have been "unable to pay its debts". Up to 2 billion euros a day was being taken out of the bank by savers last week, another source told Reuters. "We got it done before markets opened. That was the target," Elke Knig, who chairs the Resolution Board, said. Unlike Italy, which has been grappling with problem lenders for years, Spain''s reaction was prompt and in contrast to the 2008 banking crisis it met with calm in the markets. "This shouldn''t pose any real problems for other banks," Aberdeen Asset Management Head of Credit Research Laurent Frings said. "But it does show that there is real risk in investing in these second-tier names." BOTIN SEES BENEFITS Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said Santander''s takeover was a good outcome for Popular given its situation in recent weeks and it would have no impact on public resources or other banks. Botin welcomed Popular customers and said that the combination of the two would strengthen Santander''s geographic reach as the economies in Spain and Portugal improved. "It gives certainty and stability to Spain''s financial sector," she said. Santander, which was unaffected by the banking crisis in Spain that forced Madrid to seek international aid, said buying Popular would accelerate growth and profit from 2019. The group, with operations from South America to Britain, said it would set aside 7.9 billion euros to cover the cost of non-performing assets, which are loans at risk of non-payment. Struggling under the weight of 37 billion euros of non-performing property assets left over from Spain''s financial crisis, Popular had seen its share price slump. It was among a handful of banks that emerged as vulnerable to stress, such as an economic downturn, in a European Banking Authority simulation last summer and had remained vulnerable with a ratio of risky loans around three times above the average of its Spanish rivals. But Popular''s small and medium-sized company loan portfolio, the largest among Spanish lenders, presents an opportunity for Santander, which said it would now lead this growing market. It will also sell off at least half of Popular''s property assets within about 18 months. ($1 = 0.8876 euros) (Additional reporting by Andres Gonzalez, Jose Elias Rodriguez, Angus Berwick and Sonya Dowsett in Madrid, Francesco Canepa in Frankfurt and Jan Strupczewski, Francesco Guarascio in Brussels and Helene Durand in London; writing by John O''Donnell; Editing by Keith Weir/Alexander Smith) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-popular-m-a-santander-idUSKBN18Y0IU'|'2017-06-07T15:02:00.000+03:00' +'6daae7cf3498b620428f7223e6394d802d6137f5'|'UPDATE 1-U.S. meal kit service Blue Apron files for IPO'|'Company News - Thu Jun 1, 2017 - 5:57pm EDT UPDATE 1-U.S. meal kit service Blue Apron files for IPO (Adds details, background) June 1 Blue Apron Holdings Inc, the biggest U.S. meal kit company, has filed for an initial public offering, amid increasing competition as more companies seek to deliver fresh ingredients and recipes to subscribers. New York City-based Blue Apron has selected Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Barclays among underwriters to its IPO. Reuters reported in March that Blue Apron competitor, Sun Basket, which focuses on organic ingredients, had hired banks for an IPO that could come in the second half of the year. Blue Apron, named after the uniform that apprentice chefs wear in France, delivers prepackaged ingredients and recipes to subscribers'' doorsteps for them to prepare at home, a business model attempting to disrupt traditional grocery shopping. The company, founded in 2012, is not profitable. It lost $54.9 million last year but revenue more than doubled to $795.4 million, Blue Apron said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Blue Apron posted a net loss of $52.2 million for the first quarter of 2017 on revenue of $244.8 million. The company said it would list its class A shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "APRN". Blue Apron has two classes of voting stock, class A and class B, as well as a class C of non-voting stock, the company said. Blue Apron filed for an IPO of up to $100 million. The amount of money a company says it plans to raise in its first IPO filings is used to calculate registration fees. The final size of the IPO could be different. (Reporting by Diptendu Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/blueapron-ipo-idUSL3N1IY5YW'|'2017-06-02T05:57:00.000+03:00' +'c118ffd9e19f1d4a29f236796b057236cb92e4a3'|'ECB should prepare for stimulus exit, says Lautenschlaeger'|'Central Banks 12:24pm BST ECB should prepare for stimulus exit, says Lautenschlaeger European Central Bank (ECB) executive board member Sabine Lautenschlaeger delivers her keynote speech during the annual regulatory conference of Austrian markets watchdog FMA in Vienna September 30, 2014. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader FRANKFURT The European Central Bank should be preparing for winding down stimulus and adapting its communication stance accordingly, even if inflation is not yet clearly on a stable upward path, ECB board member Sabine Lautenschlaeger said on Friday. The conditions for rising inflation are in place and growth is accelerating so policymakers should be ready to claw back unprecedented stimulus measures, Lautenschlaeger, a German considered one of the top hawks on the rate-setting Governing Council said in Berlin. ECB President Mario Draghi opened the door to policy tightening earlier this week, arguing that better growth conditions will naturally provide further accommodation, providing the ECB room to claw back its own stimulus. "Although inflation is not yet on a stable path towards our objective, all the conditions are in place," Lautenschlaeger, often at odds with Draghi, said. "It is just a question of time and patience." "That is why monetary policy should already be making preparations for a return to a normal stance. And it should adapt its communication accordingly," she added. The ECB is expected to decide in September whether to extend or wind down its 2.3 trillion euro asset purchase scheme from next year, having to reconcile an apparent contradiction between healthy growth and weak inflation. Inflation ticked down this month while all growth indicators suggest that the bloc is on its best economic run since before the global financial crisis. "Even if no stable trend is visible as yet, it is important to prepare for different times, for there is reason to be optimistic," Lautenschlaeger said. "Against this backdrop, monetary policy has to adjust at the right time, which is as soon as inflation is on a stable path towards our objective," she said. (Reporting by Balazs Koranyi, editing by Ed Osmond and Toby Davis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-lautenschlaeger-idUKKBN19L1ES'|'2017-06-30T14:24:00.000+03:00' +'8ef96bca73db27ba0b2062df454839a256b71cc5'|'Baidu markets dual-tranche US dollar bonds'|'By Carol Chan HONG KONG, June 28 (IFR) - Chinese internet search provider Baidu is marketing a SEC-registered dual-tranche senior unsecured US dollar benchmark bond offering.A five-year tranche is indicated at Treasuries plus 140bp area and a 10-year at Treasuries plus 165bp area.The Nasdaq-listed company is a A3 (review for downgrade) credit to Moodys and A (rating watch negative) to Fitch. The proposed notes will be similarly rated.Proceeds will be used for debt repayment and for general corporate purposes.Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and HSBC are joint bookrunners. Morgan Stanley and CICC HK Securities are co-managers.The deal will price today during New York business hours. (Reporting by Carol Chan; editing by Vincent Baby and Daniel Stanton) Reuters Messaging: c.chan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/baidu-debt-bonds-idINL3N1JP1X6'|'2017-06-28T02:23:00.000+03:00' +'a0ee6e9fcca03fb520ad877cb8cb2c0c2bce7c3a'|'Big Oil turns to big data to save big money on drilling'|'Business News - Fri Jun 23, 2017 - 6:07am BST Big Oil turns to big data to save big money on drilling FILE PHOTO - A pump jack used to help lift crude oil from a well in South Texas Eagle Ford Shale formation stands idle in Dewitt County, Texas, U.S. on January 13, 2016. REUTERS/Anna Driver/File Photo By Swetha Gopinath and Liz Hampton In today''s U.S. shale fields, tiny sensors attached to production gear harvest data on everything from pumping pressure to the heat and rotational speed of drill bits boring into the rocky earth. The sensors are leading Big Oil''s mining of so-called big data, with some firms envisioning billions of dollars in savings over time by avoiding outages, managing supplies and identifying safety hazards. The industry has long used sophisticated technologies to find oil and gas. But only recently have oil firms pooled data from across the company for wider operating efficiencies - one of many cost-cutting efforts spurred by the two-year downturn in crude oil CLc1 prices. ConocoPhillips ( COP.N ) says that sensors scattered across its well fields helped it halve the time it once took to drill new wells in Eagle Ford shale basin of South Texas. By comparing data from hundreds of sensors, its program automatically adjusts the weight placed on a drill bit and its speed, accelerating the extraction of oil, said Matt Fox, ConocoPhillips'' executive vice president for strategy, exploration and technology. It is just one application, but if applied to the more than 3,000 wells ConocoPhillips hopes to drill in the Texas basin, those small sensors could lead to "billions and billions of dollars" in savings, Fox said in an interview. "We started using data analytics in our Eagle Ford business," he said. "And everywhere we look there are applications for this." The cost and complexity of such systems vary widely. Oil giants such as ConocoPhillips buy a mix of off-the-shelf and custom programs, along with data repositories. The Houston-based producer''s employees use Tibco Software Inc''s Spotfire data visualization package to analyse information from well sites. Tibco declined to discuss its pricing. Services firms including Schlumberger NV ( SLB.N ) and General Electric Co ( GE.N ) oil and gas unit sell sensor-equipped gear, data repositories and software to improve producers'' decision-making. Back when oil traded at more than $100 a barrel - before the price crash in 2014 - data analysis was an "afterthought" for most oil firms, said Binu Mathew, who oversees digital products at GE Oil & Gas. Now - with prices at about $43 a barrel after recovering from a low of about $26 in early 2016 - "the efficiency aspect is far, far more important," Mathew said. FINDING HIDDEN VALUE A survey by Ernst & Young last year examined 75 large oil and gas companies and found that 68 percent of them had invested more than $100 million each in data analytics during the past two years. Nearly three quarters of those firms planned to allocate between 6 and 10 percent of their capital budgets to digital technology, the survey found. Effectively mining large data sets could lead to supplanting workers with artificial intelligence and machine learning systems, according to firms selling and buying data-driven technology. Simple sensors already increase safety and savings by eliminating the need to send workers to rigs or production facilities to gather data. Automating drilling decisions can produce more consistent results by cutting out human errors, said Duane Cuku, vice president of sales for rig technology at Precision Drilling Corp ( PD.TO ). "The driller is now able to focus his attention on the well - and the performance and safety of his crews - as opposed to the manual manipulation of controls," Cuku said. Occidental Petroleum Corp ( OXY.N ) also uses an analytical tool to find the best design for hydraulic fracturing wells. A new version of the software analyses data on well completions and geology to recommend whether injecting steam or water would produce more oil. Abhishek Gaurav, a petroleum engineer for closely-held Texas Standard Oil, said he uses big-data analytics to help his company choose which properties to explore. Using Spotfire, the same program utilized by Conoco, Standard applies a combination of data science and petroleum engineering to rank asking prices for land based on a variety of completion, production and geological variables - such as the amount of sand that likely would be required to complete a well in a given formation. The technique, Gaurav said, has reduced the time needed for evaluating land parcels from weeks to hours - and resulted in better decisions. "We found value in properties when many other teams did not," he said. RECRUITING IN CALIFORNIA Some of the information craved by oil firms isn''t so easy to gather or analyse. Surveys and maps that companies use to acquire acreage for drilling, for instance, are often not digitised. Older company data on wells may be unstructured or spread among suppliers using different storage formats, making integration and analysis a challenge. General Electric and its oil-and-gas unit are moving aggressively into the business of digitising industrial equipment for other firms, and have invested in large data processing centres for energy clients. GE sees huge potential for market growth: A company study estimated that only 3 percent to 5 percent of oil and gas equipment is connected digitally, and less than one percent of the data collected gets used for decision-making, the study found. Getting the industry more fully connected will take time. "There is a huge amount of data prep, data sanitization and data extraction needed for big data to be totally disruptive," said Kate Richard, chief executive at private equity investor Warwick Energy. She projects a major payoff from the technology is still five or ten years away. Oklahoma City-based Warwick - which manages interests in thousands of wells across Oklahoma and Texas - is preparing for that payoff by hiring people from tech hubs in California, Richard said. "They all have computer programming and data science backgrounds," she said. (Reporting by Swetha Gopinath and Liz Hampton; Editing by Gary McWilliams and Brian Thevenot) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-oil-bigdata-idUKKBN19E0DR'|'2017-06-23T13:07:00.000+03:00' +'de7076eb4f10b478c1440b7e5f0345c22059806a'|'Global cyber attack likely cover for covert malware installation: Ukraine police official'|'By Pavel Polityuk and Eric Auchard - KIEV/FRANKFURT KIEV/FRANKFURT The primary target of a crippling computer virus that spread from Ukraine across the world this week is highly likely to have been that country''s computer infrastructure, a top Ukrainian police official told Reuters on Thursday.Cyber security firms are trying to piece together who was behind the computer worm, dubbed NotPetya by some experts, which has paralyzed thousands of machines worldwide, shutting down ports, factories and offices as it spread through internal organizational networks to an estimated 60 countries.Ukrainian politicians were quick on Tuesday to blame Russia, but a Kremlin spokesman dismissed "unfounded blanket accusations". Kiev has accused Moscow of two previous cyber strikes on the Ukrainian power grid and other attacks since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.A growing consensus among security researchers, armed with technical evidence, suggests the main purpose of the attack was to install new malware on computers at government and commercial organizations in Ukraine. Rather than extortion, the goal may be to plant the seeds of future sabotage, experts said.International firms appear to have been hit through their operations in the country.Slovakian security software firm ESET released statistics on Thursday showing 75 percent of the infections detected among its global customer base were in Ukraine, and that all of the top 10 countries hit were located in central, eastern or southern Europe.Arne Schoenbohm, president of BSI, Germany''s federal cyber security agency, told Reuters in an interview on Thursday that most of the damage from the attack had hit Ukraine, and Russia to a lesser extent, with only a few dozen German firms affected."In all of the known cases, the companies were first infected through a Ukrainian subsidiary," the German official said.SMOKESCREENUkraine''s cyber police said in a statement on Thursday morning that it had received 1,500 requests for help from individuals and companies in connection with the virus.The malicious code in the new virus encrypted data on computers and demanded victims pay a $300 ransom, similar to the extortion tactic used in a global WannaCry ransomware attack in May.A top Ukrainian police official told Reuters that the extortion demands were likely a smokescreen, echoing working hypotheses from top cyber security firms, who consider NotPetya a "wiper", or tool for destroying data and wiping hard disks clean, that is disguised as ransomware."Since the virus was modified to encrypt all data and make decryption impossible, the likelihood of it being done to install new malware is high," the official, who declined to be identified, wrote in a phone text message to Reuters.Information Systems Security Partners (ISSP), a Kiev-based cyber research firm that has investigated previous cyber attacks against Ukraine, is pursuing the same line of inquiry.ISSP said that given that few people actually paid the $300 demanded for removing the virus, money was unlikely to be the primary object of the attack."It''s highly likely that during this attack new attacks were set up," said ISSP chairman Oleg Derevianko."At almost all organizations whose network domains were infected, not all computers went offline," he said by phone. "Why didn''t they all go offline? We are trying to understand what they might have left on those machines that weren''t hit."Ukraine''s National Security and Defence Council Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov said the virus was first and foremost spread through an update issued by an accounting services and business management software."Also involved was the hosting service of an internet provider, which the SBU (Ukraine''s state security service) has already questioned about cooperation with Russian intelligence agencies," he said, according to a statement.DESTRUCTIVE INTENTTechnical experts familiar with the recent history of the cyber escalation between Russia and Ukraine, say these latest attacks are part of the wider political and military conflict, although no "smoking gun" has been found to identify the culprits.John Hultquist, a cyber intelligence analyst with FireEye, said the failed ransomware attack disguises an as yet unseen destructive motive. "If it were an attack masquerading as crime, that would not be unprecedented at all," Hultquist said.Some cyber security researchers have said the fact that the Kremlin''s two flagship energy companies are victims of the attack could suggest Moscow was not behind it.Russian oil major Rosneft was one of the first companies to reveal it had been compromised by the virus and sources told Reuters on Thursday computers at state gas giant Gazprom had also been infected.For technical reasons, NotPetya appears to be more targeted than last month''s global ransomware attack, known as WannaCry. When first infected by WannaCry, computers scanned the internet globally for other vulnerable machines.By contrast, NotPetya does not randomly scan the Internet to find new computers to infect. It only spreads itself inside organizational networks, taking advantage of a variety of legitimate network administration tools.This makes it far harder for anti-virus software or network security technicians to detect. It also gives it the capacity to infect other Windows computers, even those with the latest security patches, several security firms warned on Thursday."Petya is proving to be more sophisticated than WannaCry in terms of scope, ability to be neutralized, and apparently, the motivation behind its launch," corporate security consulting firm Kroll has advised its clients.So far, NotPetya appears only to have been distributed inside Ukraine via a handful of so-called "watering-hole attacks" - by piggy-backing on the software updating feature of a popular national tax accounting program known as MEDoc.Kaspersky, a global cyber security firm based in Russia, also said they found a second distribution point on a local news site in the city of Bakhmut, Ukraine, which infected visitors who clicked on the site with the ransomware-like attack."Our analysis indicates the main purpose of the attack was not financial gain, but widespread destruction," said Costin Raiu, Kasperskys global head of research."NotPetya ..combined elements of a targeted watering hole attack weve traditionally seen used by nation states with traditional software exploitation to devastate a specific user base," Lesley Carhart, a Chicago-based security researcher, wrote in a blog widely shared online by top security experts. Jack Stubbs in Moscow, Andrea Shalal in Berlin and Dustin Volz and Mark Hosenball in Washington D.C.; writing by Matthias Williams; editing by Ralph Boulton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-cyber-attack-ukraine-idINKBN19K1WI'|'2017-06-29T16:51:00.000+03:00' +'a42d94bc35e248b21e29f3c4b5191e0d82d4f7ae'|'Quintiles IMS explores sale of contract sales business -sources'|'Clinical researcher and pharmaceutical market data specialist Quintiles IMS Holdings Inc ( Q.N ) is exploring a sale of its contract sales business that could value it at as much as $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.The sale process comes as Quintiles IMS seeks to prune some of its non-core businesses in the wake of the $17.6 billion merger last year that saw IMS Health Holdings Inc and Quintiles Transnational Holdings Inc combine.Contract sales organizations have been under pressure in recent years, as large pharmaceutical companies increasingly rely on their own internal salesforce.Quintiles IMS has hired investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc ( GS.N ) to carry out a sale process for the contract sales business, which is still in the early stages, four sources said, cautioning that no deal is certain.The business for sale has 12-month earnings before interest, depreciation, and amortization of around $100 million, the sources said. Private equity firms have expressed interest in the auction, the sources added.The sources asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential. Quintiles IMS, which is based in Danbury, Connecticut and Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, did not respond to a request for comment. Goldman Sachs declined to comment.The Quintiles and IMS merger is so far proving to be a win for the combined company, which says it has added $400 million in revenues that it otherwise would not have obtained thanks to its new capabilities. Quintiles IMS now has a market capitalization of $19.4 billion.The merger was largely aimed at giving Quintiles contract research business access to IMS''s rich streams of drug use data to help it better plan clinical trials and build a case for why its clients'' drugs are differentiated from the competition.The pharmaceutical outsourcing industry has been undergoing a wave of consolidation, largely driven by contract researchers, as pharmaceutical companies cut costs, reduce clinical trial times and expand their research and development presence around the world.Earlier this week, buyout firm Pamplona Capital Management agreed to buy contract researcher Parexel International Corp ( PRXL.O ) for around $4.5 billion.Last month, INC Research Holdings Inc ( INCR.O ) agreed to merge with inVentiv Health Inc in a $4.6 billion deal.(Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis and Carl O''Donnell in New York)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-quintiles-ims-contractsales-idUSKBN19C2WG'|'2017-06-22T04:54:00.000+03:00' +'c89005eb49f031099386f98f5ff4428335e6d1f9'|'BRIEF-TSMC''s Nanjing subsidiary orders machinery equipment from Applied Materials'|'Market 5:06am EDT BRIEF-TSMC''s Nanjing subsidiary orders machinery equipment from Applied Materials June 21 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd * Says its Nanjing subsidiary orders machinery equipment worth T$542 million ($17.78 million) Source text on Eikon: EMERGING MARKETS-Emerging assets mostly fall; MSCI move lifts Chinese A-shares, Saudi LONDON, June 21 Emerging equities fell for a second day on Wednesday, dragged down by weak oil prices and losses in Asian bourses that could see investment outflows as a result of MSCI''s decision to include China in a benchmark share index. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories Reuters News Agency - Brand Attribution Guidelines - Careers Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters . Thomson Reuters is the world''s largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-tsmcs-nanjing-subsidiary-orders-ma-idUSS7N1I502K'|'2017-06-21T17:06:00.000+03:00' +'32d32bf5aad592df4a25e069063c9c475b36a3b9'|'Italy''s Leonardo sees Asia, South American interest in M-346 attack fighter'|'Business News - Sun Jun 18, 2017 - 7:39pm BST Italy''s Leonardo sees Asia, South American interest in M-346 attack fighter PARIS Italian defence group Leonardo SpA ( LDOF.MI ) on Sunday unveiled the new fighter attack version of its M-346 advanced trainer, saying many air forces had already expressed interest in the planes, especially in Asia and South America. Leonardo, which presented the new fighter variant at the Paris Air Show, said the M-346 fighter would be equipped with the Grifo multi-mode fire control radar, also built by Leonardo. It said the new fighter was designed to help different air forces meet their needs rapidly by building on a common base. "The M-346FA is of interest to many international customers, specifically in the Far East and South America," a spokeswoman said. She declined to identify any specific potential customers. "The M-346FAs characteristics make it not only an excellent advanced trainer, but also a light fighter aircraft capable of carrying out operational missions at far lower costs than those of frontline fighters," Leonardo said. It said the jets had seven pylons for external weapons loads, enabling it to carry 2,000 pounds of external weapons. It said the plane could carry out air-to-surface, air-to-air and tactical reconnaissance missions. It also said the jets could perform combat air patrol missions for more than two hours at a 35,000 foot altitude. In addition, Leonardo unveiled its new single-engine M-345 basic jet trainer, which had its first flight in December. Italy has ordered five of the M-345 training aircraft. Leonardo hoped to sign a contract with a second undisclosed country by the end of the year, the spokeswoman said. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Edmund Blair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-airshow-paris-leonardo-idUKKBN1990VM'|'2017-06-19T02:39:00.000+03:00' +'cb670069a6130c23d9a0dabc055c60a29ffe9c0b'|'Wells Fargo unit hires new head of U.S. portfolio solutions'|'Money - Fri Jun 30, 2017 - 12:31pm EDT Wells Fargo unit hires new head of U.S. portfolio solutions Wells Fargo Asset Management named Jonathan Hobbs as head of U.S. portfolio solutions and Kevin Kneafsey as a senior investment strategist with the multi-asset client solutions group. Hobbs and Kneafsey will be based in San Francisco and report to the president of the unit, Nicolaas Marais, the Wells Fargo & Co division said on Friday. Wells Fargo Asset Management is a division of Wells Fargo Wealth and Investment Management, which manages top-tier investment options. Hobbs joins from BlackRock''s multi-asset team, while Kneafsey served as a senior adviser for Schroders'' multi-asset team. (Reporting By Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru; Edited by Martina D''Couto) Senate health bill would decimate long-term care coverage CHICAGO When Americans think about retirement planning, long-term care usually is a major blind spot - few of us want to contemplate the possibility of infirmity and dependency in old age. But we would do well to think about it now, as the Senate Republicans take a holiday weekend pause in their push to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. NEW YORK France will set up a special court to handle English-law cases for financial contracts after Britain leaves the European Union, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Thursday as Paris steps up its charm offensive to attract banks. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-wells-fargo-moves-idUSKBN19L2EQ'|'2017-06-30T19:23:00.000+03:00' +'07d116bcf3d64a57069391d3debad93e3e254df4'|'Nissan says CEO Ghosn''s salary rose 2.5 percent last year'|'Autos 3:17am BST Nissan says CEO Ghosn''s salary rose 2.5 percent last year Carlos Ghosn gestures during a news conference at a hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, April 26, 2017. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom YOKOHAMA Nissan Motor Co ( 7201.T ) on Tuesday said it paid CEO Carlos Ghosn 1.098 billion yen (8 million) in the year ended March, up 2.5 percent from the previous year. Ghosn, one of the best-paid auto executives, received a separate salary of 7.06 million euros ($7.89 million) last year as CEO of Renault SAC ( RENA.PA ), Nissan''s automating alliance partner. Ghosn stepped down as Nissan CEO at the end of March, but remains chairman of the Japanese company. He will also earn salaries for his positions as chairman and CEO of Renault, and as chairman of Mitsubishi Motors Corp ( 7211.T ), the newest member of the alliance. (Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Stephen Coates)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-nissan-ghosn-salary-idUKKBN19I086'|'2017-06-27T10:17:00.000+03:00' +'1707fafdd575e87b8183244f54df6c8e2123e108'|'France''s Engie says to weather LNG oversupply with long-term deals'|'Business News - Thu Jun 29, 2017 - 2:58am BST France''s Engie says to weather LNG oversupply with long-term deals By Florence Tan - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE French gas and power company Engie ( ENGIE.PA ) expects to weather festering oversupply in markets for liquefied natural gas (LNG) with long-term deals kicking off in the next couple of years, a senior company official said. Production of the superchilled gas has been outpacing demand as new supplies come online in Australia and the United States, driving down Asian spot prices LNG-AS by more than 70 percent since 2014. "In the short-term, the market is still oversupplied," Engie Executive Vice President Didier Holleaux told Reuters. "Fortunately only a fraction of LNG globally is sold in the short-term market, a significant part of it is still on long-term contracts ... We have new long-term contracts coming onstream in Asia next year and also the year after." Engie a few years ago locked in 20-year deals to supply Japanese utility Tohoku Electric Power ( 9506.T ) and Taiwanese state firm CPC Corp from its U.S. Cameron LNG project that will start production in 2018. The project will add 4 million tonnes per year of U.S. LNG to Engie''s global portfolio of 16.4 million tpy. "It''s a significant diversification for us because for the first time we''ll have LNG coming from the U.S.," Holleaux said late last week. Meanwhile, Engie, previously known as GDF Suez, is in talks to supply gas to Thailand and Myanmar and to build floating storage regasification units (FSRUs) that will supply smaller volumes of gas to power plants on Indonesian islands. "Most of the new (regasification) capacity will be in Southeast Asia," Holleaux said, adding that Indonesia could soon become a net LNG importer as "their needs are increasing and they have not had such big discoveries recently". Engie in June supplied its first LNG cargo to Indonesia''s Pertamina from the local Jangkrik field, its joint venture with Italy''s Eni ( ENI.MI ). In China, after inking an LNG supply agreement with Beijing Gas, Engie is looking at opportunities in the underground gas storage needed to hold stocks to meet seasonal demand, Holleaux said. "Chinese players have now reached a technical level where they don''t necessarily need us," Holleaux said. "It''s different in underground storage where we have specific skills and know-how and we may still help them." China, the world''s largest energy consumer, plans to generate more electricity from gas instead of coal as it fights pollution. "For a very long time, Asia, mainly Japan and Korea, has been one of the most important markets, one of the most reliable ones, in many years the best priced market. But times are changing and we will adjust," Holleaux said. (Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Joseph Radford)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-asia-lng-engie-idUKKBN19K06U'|'2017-06-29T04:58:00.000+03:00' +'02624ccc01a744779afbddbf7699a6c8f88741b3'|'Shebah is the women-only ride sharing service we should not need but do - Guardian Sustainable Business'|'T here are always a few hiccups when a start-up launches, but the founder of female-only ride sharing company Shebah wasnt expecting 45 minutes of abuse from a customer when her app didnt work properly on its launch date.She tore strips off me, says Georgina McEncroe, who launched Shebah only three months ago.Towards the end of the tirade, McEncroe asked the caller if she was all right and the reason for the womans anger and distress became apparent.The woman was an assault survivor and the trauma had kept her housebound. She was a shut-in and she had just been waiting for Shebah to launch so she could leave the house, says McEncroe.In its short life, the Shebah app has been downloaded 12,000 times and 1,400 women have begun the process of registering to be drivers, suggesting strong demand.Getting men on board is part of the solution to female disadvantage at work - Catherine Fox'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/jun/19/shebah-is-the-women-only-ride-sharing-service-we-should-not-need-but-do'|'2017-06-20T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'eda88a11a0bd57ec15adace904e0c113530a8e84'|'French tycoon Niel sees Paris overtaking London as startup leader'|'Business News - Thu Jun 29, 2017 - 8:18pm BST French tycoon Niel sees Paris overtaking London as startup leader left right France''s President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte speak with French entrepreneur and businessman Xavier Niel (R) during the inauguration of start-ups incubator ''Station F'', in Paris, France, June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Bertrand Guay/Pool 1/4 left right France''s President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte speak with French entrepreneur and businessman Xavier Niel (R) during the inauguration of start-ups incubator ''Station F'', in Paris, France, June 29, 2017 . REUTERS/Bertrand Guay/Pool 2/4 left right France''s President Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with staff during the inauguration of the world''s biggest start-up incubator ''Station F'', in Paris, France, June 29, 2017 . REUTERS/Bertrand Guay/Pool 3/4 left right France''s President Emmanuel Macron (C), his wife Brigitte (2nd row, 4-L), founder of French broadband Internet provider Iliad, Xavier Niel (R), his wife and director and vice president of Louis Vuitton, Delphine Arnault (L), Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo (3rdR) and French Minister of State for the Digital Sector Mounir Mahjoubi (2nd row, 3rdL), attend the inauguration of startup incubator ''Station F'' in Paris, France, June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Bertrand Guay/Pool 4/4 By Mathieu Rosemain and Gwnalle Barzic - PARIS PARIS Paris is now fully equipped to attract more innovative companies than London and dominate Europe''s startup scene, billionaire Xavier Niel said on Thursday as he opened the doors of a startup mega-campus in the French capital. "It''s something that is achievable in the coming months," Niel said in an interview with Reuters on the site, dubbed Station F, which plans to house 1,000 start-ups under its 1920s glass arcades. "We''re of course helped by Brexit," he added. Paris and Berlin are vying to displace London''s lead in the European start-up scene, while other cities including Dublin, Amsterdam and Frankfurt are also promoting themselves as alternative tech hubs in the face of uncertainties caused by the British vote to leave the European Union. Station F''s 34,000 square meter (366,000 sq ft) site in Paris makes it the world''s biggest startup incubator. It will shelter early stage companies, venture capital funds, a post office, a round-the-clock restaurant, a tax center and will offer 26 programs to help out entrepreneurs, Niel said. It will also have 3-D printing labs and bars. U.S. giants Facebook ( FB.O ), Microsoft ( MSFT.O ) and South Korea''s Naver ( 035420.KS ) partnered with the project, as well as French bank BNP Paribas ( BNPP.PA ), defense company Thales ( TCFP.PA ) and French online retailer vente-prive.com. France''s startup scene has been gaining traction lately thanks to booming investments and high expectations for a business-friendly government under new President Emmanuel Macron, who has said he wants to transform France into a "start-up" nation, via a mix of business-friendly reforms and the launch of a 10 billion euro ($11.4 billion) dedicated fund. "We have an environment that serves us well because foreign leaders are either old or they do not make young people dream," Niel said. Thirty-nine-year old Macron is the youngest leader in France''s modern history. The French president was guest of honor at a formal opening ceremony for the center on Thursday. "This word entrepreneur. ..is a French word, very French, which the Anglo-Saxons stole us," Macron said jokingly to a laughing audience at Station F on Thursday. Niel, a telecoms maverick who transformed France''s mobile sector via the company he founded, Iliad ( ILD.PA ), wholly funded Station F, investing 250 million euros in the project. Venture capitalists invested in 590 French startups in 2016, putting the country ahead of Britain (520 deals) and Germany (380), according to research firm Tech.eu. It was a record year with a total of 874 million euros invested in venture capital in France, up 15 percent from 2015, according to the industry lobby Afic. This remains below Germany, with investments of 937 million. (Editing by Ingrid Melander and Adrian Croft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-france-start-ups-macron-idUKKBN19K2RR'|'2017-06-29T22:06:00.000+03:00' +'3cf047ade473ba4d5e21eb111636199cefae5f3c'|'UPDATE 1-Alibaba spending $1 bln to raise stake in Southeast Asia''s Lazada'|'Company 59am EDT UPDATE 1-Alibaba spending $1 bln to raise stake in Southeast Asia''s Lazada * Deal doubles Alibaba''s investment in Lazada * Alibaba''s stake in Lazada to rise to 83 pct from 51 pct * Alibaba had option to buy stakes from Lazada shareholders (Adds details of deal, Alibaba CEO''s quote) By Aradhana Aravindan SINGAPORE, June 28 Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding is investing an additional $1 billion in Southeast Asian online retailer Lazada Group, boosting its stake by nearly a third to 83 percent and amplifying its focus on the region. The announcement by Alibaba on Wednesday of the investment comes as its rivals like Chinese e-commerce firm JD.com Inc are expanding operations in Southeast Asia and amid media reports that Amazon is eyeing an entry into the region of 600 million people where only a fraction of total retail sales are currently conducted online. ( tcrn.ch/2mSzlop ) The move doubles Alibaba''s investment in Lazada after last year''s deal to buy a controlling stake in it for about $1 billion and is a part of its efforts to boost its global sales. Alibaba had the option to buy the remaining stakes from some Lazada investors, 12-18 months after the deal closed. "The e-commerce markets in the region are still relatively untapped, and we see a very positive upward trajectory ahead of us," said Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba. "We will continue to put our resources to work in Southeast Asia through Lazada to capture these growth opportunities." On Wednesday, Alibaba said it will purchase the shares from certain Lazada shareholders at an implied valuation of $3.15 billion. It did not name the shareholders, but Germany''s Rocket Internet and Sweden''s Kinnevik in separate statements confirmed they were disposing their remaining Lazada stakes. Last year''s deal had included partial stake sales by investors, including U.K. supermarket operator Tesco Plc , Rocket and Kinnevik. Lazada, founded in 2012, is headquartered in Singapore and also operates in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. In the twelve months ended March 31, 2017, Lazada had about 23 million annual active buyers, according to Alibaba''s annual report. Lazada has been expanding its offerings over the last year, buying Singapore-based online grocer RedMart and tying up with companies such as Netflix and Uber for a membership programme. Alibaba shares were down 0.4 percent in pre-market trading, while Rocket shares were 2.3 percent lower. Amazon did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on its plans for the region. (Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan; Additional reporting by Anshuman Daga in SINGAPORE and Emma Thomasson in BERLIN; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/lazada-ma-alibaba-idUSL3N1JP38T'|'2017-06-28T13:59:00.000+03:00' +'4522c4c699ebcad972e2e5d2635669483b3dc396'|'Japan, EU press ahead on free trade pact to counter U.S. protectionism'|'Business News - Wed Jun 28, 2017 - 8:10am BST Japan, EU press ahead on free trade pact to counter U.S. protectionism A general view of a container area at a port in Tokyo June 20, 2012. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao By Kaori Kaneko and Stanley White - TOKYO TOKYO Japanese and European Union negotiators meeting in Tokyo aim to reach a free trade deal that would stand against a protectionist tide threatening the global economy, and make the United States think twice over pursuing inward-looking policies. Japan and the EU have been negotiating since 2013, but talks have intensified since last week, with almost daily meetings to overcome key hurdles, including tariffs on Japanese automobiles and car parts and European wine, cheese, pasta and other foods. A Japan-EU deal could leave U.S. firms at a disadvantage, especially after President Donald Trump''s withdrawal of the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, earlier this year. "There is an atmosphere among negotiators that Japan and the EU need to stop protectionism that is prevailing in the world," said a source familiar with the issue who declined to be identified because talks are ongoing. "The momentum is building for Japan and the EU to take leadership in promoting and executing free trade." In a sign of optimism, EU trade chief Cecilia Malmstrom said on Monday she could sign a provisional deal with Japan as early as next week. An agreement between the EU and Japan would "send a strong message to the United States that free trade is important and that you shouldn''t be too inward looking," said another source, who declined to be named while negotiations were underway. Trump favours bilateral trade deals over multilateral accords and his decision to walk away the TPP, left the other 11 members of the Pacific Rim trading bloc, including Japan, in limbo. Although, together Japan and the EU account for about a third of global GDP, their trade relationship has a lot of room to grow - EU forecasts reckon by as much as a third. Their bilateral trade totalled $144 billion (112.4 billion pounds) last year, whereas Japan-China trade was $262 billion and Japan-US trade was $192 billion. After unsuccessful attempts to conclude a deal with Tokyo the past two years, there is a sense in the EU camp that people will start to lose faith if they cannot wrap it up this year, an EU official familiar with the talks said. Japan wants to phase out the EU''s 10 percent tariff on Japanese passenger cars over the next five to 10 years and scrap a 4 percent tariff on many car parts. The Europeans, meanwhile, would like Japan to reduce its 15 percent tariff on wine and up to 30 percent on cheese. For now, the Japanese side is digging in on dairy. "Our number of dairy farmers is in decline, but we have a plan to strengthen our dairy industry, so I would like to ask for understanding," Agriculture Minister Yuji Yamamoto told reporters on Tuesday. "I don''t think there is room to compromise any further." An agreement would put American companies at a disadvantage in Japan because they compete against European businesses in many of the same markets, said Junichi Sugawara, senior research officer at Mizuho Research Institute. It could even be used by Tokyo to convince Washington to rejoin the TPP, he said. "The U.S. side is likely to come at Japan with strong requests for better market access, but Japan can use a deal with the EU as leverage to lure the United States back to TPP," he said. (Additional reporting by Philip Blenkinsop in Brussels; Editing by Malcolm Foster & Simon Cameron-Moore) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-eu-trade-idUKKBN19J0N5'|'2017-06-28T10:10:00.000+03:00' +'4a4977f6e0d8f6af16b3f6911f0b4ff998412e92'|'Western Digital seeks injunction to block Toshiba chip business transfer'|'Business News - Thu Jun 15, 2017 - 5:59am BST Western Digital seeks court injunction to block sale of Toshiba chip unit FILE PHOTO: A Western Digital office building is shown in Irvine, California, U.S., January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo By Makiko Yamazaki - TOKYO TOKYO Western Digital Corp has sought a court injunction to prevent Toshiba Corp from selling its chip business without the U.S. firm''s consent - a move that threatens to throw the fiercely contested auction into disarray. The escalation in the spat between Western Digital, which jointly operates Toshiba''s main chip plant, and its business partner follows tense last-minute jockeying by suitors for the world''s second-biggest producer of NAND semiconductors. According to a person familiar with the matter, the California-based firm has been left out of a new Japan government-led group being formed to bid for the unit. Toshiba''s "attempts to circumvent our contractual rights have left us with no choice but to take this action," Western Digital''s Chief Executive Steve Milligan said in a statement. "Left unchecked, Toshiba would pursue a course that clearly violates these rights," he added. Western Digital has filed its suit with the Superior Court of California, seeking an injunction until its arbitration case against Toshiba is heard. It is concerned about how Toshiba, the Japanese government and other stakeholders are handling the auction process, a second source said. The second source added it had submitted a revised bid on Wednesday that satisfies Toshiba''s requests on deal certainty and price but did not receive a favourable response. Toshiba has demanded at least 2 trillion yen (14.1 billion pounds) for the unit. Sources declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the negotiations concerning the auction. Toshiba said in a statement that it was proceeding with selecting a preferred bidder for its memory unit by the second half of June as planned and hoped to reach a definitive agreement on a sale by June 28. Toshiba wants to complete the deal as quickly as possible to help cover billions of dollars in cost overruns at its now-bankrupt Westinghouse nuclear unit and to dig itself out negative shareholders'' equity that could lead to a delisting. Satoru Oyama, senior principal analyst at research firm IHS, said Western Digital''s argument made sense from a common-sense point of view and that developments were moving towards a worst-case scenario for the Japanese company. "Toshiba has more to lose in the dispute because it is running out of time," he said. "Toshiba and Western Digital eventually have to talk. They cannot afford to keep fighting when Samsung is taking advantage of the NAND market boom and investing massively." A third source familiar with the matter said Western Digital expects to get a ruling on its injunction request by mid-July and that arbitration cases generally take 16-24 months to resolve. A state-backed fund, the Innovation Network Corp of Japan (INCJ), has been at the centre of trade ministry efforts to forge a successful bid that will keep the highly prized unit under domestic control. But the nature of its partnerships appears to be going through drastic changes compared to just last week. It has been in talks with Bain Capital and the group now includes South Korea''s SK Hynix Inc, sources have said. INCJ was, however, also part of a proposed bid tabled by Western Digital last week that also included U.S. private equity firm KKR & Co LP, other sources familiar with the matter have said. Other bidders include Foxconn, the world''s largest contract electronics maker. Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, is leading a consortium that includes Apple Inc computing giant Dell Inc and Kingston Technology Co. The highest known bid so far is one from U.S. chipmaker Broadcom and its partner, U.S. private equity firm Silver Lake. They have offered 2.2 trillion yen, sources have said. Toshiba''s shares were down 0.5 percent in afternoon trade. (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Writing by Tim Kelly; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting-idUKKBN19602M'|'2017-06-15T08:54:00.000+03:00' +'1faa795735463fca790fc29e6d8a075fab6bf4b7'|'ECB''s Draghi tells EU leaders expects economy, wages to grow'|'Central Banks 12:35pm BST ECB''s Draghi tells EU leaders expects economy, wages to grow European Central Bank President Mario Draghi speaks during a news conference following the Governing Council meeting in Tallinn, Estonia, June 8, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins BRUSSELS The euro zone economy is growing and unemployment is falling, but underlying inflation is not rising because wage growth has not yet picked up, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi told European Union leaders. In a presentation on the economy at a summit of the EU''s 28 leaders on Friday, Draghi said the slow price growth meant that the bank''s accommodative policy would stay as it is for now, an official with knowledge of Draghi''s remarks said. Underlying inflation, the measure of price growth that excludes volatile unprocessed food and energy costs, edged up to 1.2 percent year-on-year in April from 0.8 percent in March, but then eased again to 1.0 percent in May. But Draghi said he expected wage growth to pick up in coming months. Draghi said that sentiment was improving because one of the major uncertainties weighing down confidence last year was dispelled as new hope emerges about the future of the European Union, despite Britain''s decision to leave. Draghi quoted U.S. economist Larry Summers, the former top economic adviser to president Barack Obama, that "confidence is the cheapest stimulus". Draghi also told EU leaders that economic growth and improving business climate provided a unique opportunity for politicians to push through structural reforms and start a cycle of enhanced trust and economic convergence. (Reporting by Jan Strupczewski; editing by Robin Emmott)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-summit-draghi-idUKKBN19E1AF'|'2017-06-23T19:35:00.000+03:00' +'f5fc0cc4f7387a0e63ee95effdcae0f503610d7c'|'Woodside faces delay on Senegal oil project over ownership row'|'Commodities - Wed Jun 7, 2017 - 9:53pm EDT Woodside faces delay on Senegal oil project over ownership row Logos of Woodside Petroleum are seen at Gastech, the world''s biggest expo for the gas industry, in Chiba, Japan, April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai By Sonali Paul - MELBOURNE MELBOURNE A dispute between two Australian energy companies escalated on Thursday, potentially delaying a promising oil project off Senegal which was due to start producing as early as 2021. The deepwater SNE project is being closely watched as it would be the first oil development in the West African nation, in an offshore area that has recently attracted oil giants BP Plc, Total SA and China''s CNOOC Ltd. Woodside Petroleum, Australia''s biggest independent oil and gas producer, bought a 35 percent stake in the project from ConocoPhillips last year and as part of the deal was due to become the operator later this year. Woodside said on Thursday that minority stakeholder FAR Ltd had advised that it would not support arrangements for Woodside to take over as operator from Britain''s Cairn Energy PLC. FAR contends that it should have had pre-emptive rights over the ConocoPhillips stake, which was sold for what was considered a cheap price of $350 million, and has said the Senegalese government has yet to approve the deal. Woodside said it did not believe that FAR''s claims had any merit. "These actions by FAR put at risk the timely development of the SNE oil field in a prospective emerging basin," Woodside Chief Executive Peter Coleman said in the statement. FAR Managing Director Cath Norman, who has kept a low profile over the ownership dispute up to now, said given that Woodside was not operator of the field, it could not claim that development would be delayed. "We are correcting the mistruths that are in the announcement by Woodside stating that the development will be delayed. Cairn is the operator, not Woodside," Norman told Reuters. FAR is planning to take the dispute to international arbitration if the pre-emptive rights are not resolved, Norman said, as the SNE project is its core asset, with an estimated resource of 641 million barrels. Woodside has flagged the Senegal development as one of its key near term growth projects. FAR has a 15 percent stake in the project, while Cairn Energy has a 40 percent stake and the state owns the remainder. Spokesmen for Cairn were not immediately available to comment outside office hours. (Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Richard Pullin) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-woodside-senegal-far-idUSKBN18Z018'|'2017-06-08T08:18:00.000+03:00' +'4a45c90866dcfaef3cdb00593d4491340010cbe9'|'How Qatar is shrugging off partial Arab embargo'|'How Qatar is shrugging off partial Arab embargo... for now by Zahraa Alkhalisi @CNNMoney June 21, 2017: 12:33 PM ET Food, fuel and flights: How Qatar may suffer Qatar is not sounding the alarm bells just yet. When its neighbors severed diplomatic ties and cut land, sea and air links, panic rippled through the tiny Gulf state.There was a rush to buy food, people lined up at banks, and stock prices slumped. Now, three weeks into what Qatar calls a "blockade," it is finding ways around the sanctions imposed by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt, who have accused their fellow Arab state of funding terrorism and destabilizing the Middle East. Qatar denies those claims, and appears to be prepared for a long dispute. The UAE warned this week that the pressure on its neighbor could last "years." So how is Qatar coping with the unprecedented isolation? Oil and gas unaffected Oil and gas accounts for more than half of the country''s GDP. Qatar is the world''s largest supplier of liquified natural gas, much of which comes from a giant offshore field that it shares with Iran. Its biggest crude and gas customers include Japan, South Korea, India and Singapore. The UAE is also a big customer, sourcing 30% of its energy needs from Qatar, and a pipeline connecting the two countries is still pumping. As long as those exports keep flowing, the pressure on Qatar''s economy should be eased. New food suppliers Despite its wealth, the desert state relies heavily on imported food, a third of which used to come from Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Early fears of shortages quickly subsided, in part because the government was able to find alternative suppliers. Iran has said it plans to send 100 tons of fresh fruit and legumes every day. And Turkish dairy producers have been quick to fill the fridges at Doha''s major supermarkets. "After the initial period of chaos the government has responded, and is prepared to withstand this siege for a longer period, should there be a need," said Adel Abdel Ghafar, visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Center. Prices have risen but so far the government has been making up for the difference with subsidies, a policy that could become costly if the crisis escalates, he added. The embargo has forced freight companies to find new routes. Indian food suppliers, for example, used to make a stop in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Now they fly their products on cargo planes direct to Qatar. Migrant workers keep coming Only about 12% of Qatar''s population of 2.2 million are Qatari citizens and the state relies on foreign nationals to keep its economy ticking over. They work in every industry from healthcare and media, to education and energy. The numbers are expected to peak this year as tens of thousands of migrants come from countries such as India and Nepal to help build stadiums for the 2022 World Cup. The Philippines government was quick to ban its workers from going to Qatar when the Gulf dispute began, saying it was concerned about the welfare of its 140,000 citizens living in Doha. It has since lifted the ban "in view of the normalization of conditions within the state of Qatar and with the guarantee of the safety for Filipinos there given by the Gulf state," the Philippines'' government said in a statement. Flying high but longer The state''s national carrier was hard hit by the ban. It suddenly found 18 destinations out of bounds, forcing it to ground about 50 flights a day. It also now has to avoid the airspace above the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt and Saudi Arabia when flying anywhere in the world. This means longer flight times and more fuel costs for the airline. A direct flight from Doha to Khartoum now take about six hours, nearly twice as long as before the embargo. Qatar Airways, which this week won the Skytrax "Airline of the Year" award, is unbowed. CEO Akbar Al Baker said last week his airline is scheduling more flights to other destinations to make up for the lost business and will continue with plans to add 24 new destinations in the next 12 months. Qatar, like the UAE, has used its strategic location of straddling east and west to become a global aviation player. Sovereign wealth Thanks to its huge mineral wealth , Qatar is one of the richest countries in the world by size of population. It sits on a $335 billion sovereign wealth fund and has major investments around the world . Its portfolio spans everything from stakes in Volkswagen to Tiffany & Co. That hasn''t prevented some analysts from worrying. Standard & Poor''s has downgraded Qatar''s rating, warning that the diplomatic crisis could prompt investors to pull money out of the country. The Arab states boycotting Qatar still have major investments there. Investor confidence has been shaken, and there are concerns about a financial shock. However, Qatar''s huge funds provide some protection. "Our foreign assets and our foreign investment is more than 250% of our GDP so we are very much comfortable," Qatar''s finance minister Ali Shareef Al Emadi said last week in an interview with CNBC. The sovereign fund provides "ample cover to Qatar''s exposure[to the Gulf states], even taking into account concerns regarding the liquidity and usability of a significant portion of these assets," noted Farouk Soussa, Citibank''s chief economist for the Middle East. What about the World Cup? The Gulf crisis has the potential to disrupt preparations for the 2022 tournament because of the aviation restrictions and the closure of the land border with Saudi Arabia. But the Qatari committee in charge of delivering the World Cup said in a statement on Monday that "construction is advancing rapidly across all of the stadiums and infrastructure sites for the tournament." The Khalifa International Stadium -- one of eight under construction -- was completed in May, it said. CNNMoney (Dubai) First published June 21, 2017: 12:33 PM ET '|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_news_economy.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/06/21/news/qatar-surviving-embargo-uae-saudi-arabia/index.html'|'2017-06-21T20:33:00.000+03:00' +'00868ed1888bcb5efb088019ee0b212d544525b4'|'Alibaba''s Jack Ma invited to join bid for L''Oreal''s The Body Shop - sources'|'Autos 07pm BST Alibaba''s Jack Ma invited to join bid for L''Oreal''s The Body Shop - sources The logo of British cosmetics and skin care company The Body Shop is seen outside a store in Vienna, Austria, June 4, 2016. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger By Pamela Barbaglia and Martinne Geller - LONDON LONDON European private equity firm Investindustrial has invited the investment vehicle of Alibaba''s ( BABA.N ) founder Jack Ma to submit a joint bid of more than 800 million euros (700.30 million pounds) for L''Oreal''s ( OREP.PA ) The Body Shop, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, just days before a deadline for final bids. Hong Kong-based Blue Pool Capital has been asked to team up with Investindustrial and Brazil''s GP Investments ( GPIV33.SA ), one of Latin America''s largest private equity firms, in making a bid for the British-based cosmetics retailer, the sources said. European private equity investor CVC Capital Partners [CVC.UL] is also planning to submit a rival offer ahead of a June 7 deadline for final bids, the sources said, adding that another buyout firm, Advent, has decided to drop out of the contest. L''Oreal has asked prospective bidders to table offers of no less than 800 million euros, said the sources. L''Oreal, Investindustrial, GP Investments, Advent and CVC all declined to comment while no one at Blue Pool Capital was available for comment outside of regular business hours. Investindustrial''s Italian founder Andrea Bonomi told Reuters earlier this month that the buyout firm, which also has investments in luxury carmaker Aston Martin and shoemaker Sergio Rossi, was in the race for The Body Shop. The firm worked with GP Investments on an eventually unsuccessful joint bid for French holiday resorts operator Club Med back in 2014. L''Oreal said in February it was reviewing its strategy for The Body Shop, which it bought for 652 million pounds in 2006. Founded in 1976 by British entrepreneur Anita Roddick, the company was a pioneer in the ethical beauty industry but has since fallen victim to increased competition from newcomers also offering similar products based on natural ingredients and no animal-testing. Last year The Body Shop, which has more than 3,000 stores worldwide, saw its revenue drop 48 percent to 920.8 million euros and its operating profit fall 38 percent to 33.8 million euros. L''Oreal''s advisor, Lazard, was originally hoping for a valuation close to 1 billion euros for the business, but the sources said such a price was challenging given the chain''s recent struggles and poor performance. The Body Shop has also drawn interest from a handful of industry players including Brazilian make-up firm Natura Cosmeticos ( NATU3.SA ), which took part in the initial stages of the auction, the sources said. Natura was not immediately available to comment. (Additional reporting by Dasha Afanasieva in London, Elzio Barreto and Julie Zhu in Hong Kong and Guillermo Parra-Bernal in Sao Paulo; Editing by Greg Mahlich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-alibaba-thebodyshop-idUKKBN18T2J0'|'2017-06-03T02:07:00.000+03:00' +'4a5c3bd0d5e42562a1040bf10535e16873af8146'|'American Airlines says Qatar Airways interested in buying 10 percent stake'|'By Alexander Cornwell American Airlines Group Inc ( AAL.O ) said on Thursday that Qatar Airways, the Gulf country''s state-owned airline embroiled in a airspace row, had expressed interest in buying as much as a 10 percent stake worth at least $808 million in the U.S. airline.The potential investment comes against the background of diplomatic and competitive turbulence for Qatar Airways, its home country and U.S. airlines. Operations at Qatar Airways were disrupted after four Arab nations cut diplomatic and economic ties with Qatar this month in the worst diplomatic crisis in the region in years.Separately, American, United Continental Holdings Inc ( UAL.N ), and Delta Air Lines ( DAL.N ) have pressed the U.S. government to take action to curb U.S. flights by Qatar Airways and rival Gulf carrier''s Emirates Airline [EMIRA.UL] and Etihad Airways. The U.S. carriers charge that their Gulf rivals have received billions of dollars in unfair state subsidies, allegations the Gulf carriers deny.American said in a regulatory filing its opposition to the Gulf carriers would not be changed by Qatar Airway''s interest.Shares of American Airlines rose more than five percent in pre-market trade after it disclosed Qatar''s potential investment. The stock was up 1 percent at $48.95 midday.Qatar Airways indicated its interest in buying a stake in American on the open market, American said in the filing. ( bit.ly/2tRVFlK )Qatar Airways said in a statement that it sees a "strong investment opportunity" in American and that it "intends to build a passive position in the company with no involvement in management, operations or governance.""Qatar Airways plans to make an initial investment of up to 4.75 percent. Qatar Airways will not exceed 4.75 percent without prior consent of the American Airlines board. Qatar Airways will make all necessary regulatory filings at the appropriate time."American Airlines declined comment and it was not clear how American''s board or management would respond to Qatar''s potential investment.American, in its filing, noted potential obstacles to Qatar''s plan to acquire the stake. American said its rules prohibit "anyone from acquiring 4.75 percent or more of the company''s outstanding stock without advance approval from the board," and said it had received no request from Qatar for such approval. Further, American said, "there are foreign ownership laws that limit the total percentage of foreign voting interest to 24.9 percent."Qatar''s request for a 10 percent stake would put it on par with Warren Buffett''s Berkshire Hathaway ( BRKa.N ), which always holds a 10 percent stake in the airline.The stake in American Airlines by Qatar Airways would also add to its investment portfolio. The Middle East''s second biggest airline also owns 20 percent of British Airways-owner International Airlines Group (IAG) and 10 percent of South America''s LATAM.Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar al-Baker has said the investments were purely financial, though he has looked for opportunities to cut costs or expand service with the oneworld alliance airlines in which it owns stakes.Qatar Airways, American Airlines, IAG''s British Airways, Iberia and LATAM, are all members of the oneworld airline alliance.British Airways and Qatar Airways have a revenue sharing partnership between their respective hubs in Doha and London, and Qatar Airways plans to launch flights to LATAM''s base in Santiago, Chile.The U.S. market is strategically important to Qatar Airways and this would strengthen their ability to feed at the U.S. end," independent aviation consultant John Strickland told Reuters. "However, if it does go ahead it would not give them automatic antitrust immunity. That would have to be negotiated separately.The crisis in the Gulf has seen Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt close their airspace to Qatar Airways, forcing it to cut flights to those countries, fly longer routes and thereby adding costs. Qatar had asked the United Nations'' aviation agency to intervene in the dispute.Al-Baker, who has been highly critical of the blocking of airspace, has said Qatar Airways would use the aircraft used to fly to those countries for fast-track expansion plans elsewhere.The dispute among the Arab states is a diplomatic test for the United States which is an ally of the main parties in the conflict.In Washington''s strongest language on the dispute this week, the U.S. State Department questioned the motives of Saudi Arabia and the UAE in announcing their boycott of Qatar. U.S. President Donald Trump, however, has taken a tougher stance on Qatar, accusing it of being a "high level" sponsor of terrorism, but he has also offered help to the parties in the dispute to resolve their differences.(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell in Dubai, Rachit Vats in Bengaluru and Alana Wise in New York; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar, Bernard Orr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-american-airline-stake-qatarairways-idINKBN19D1IS'|'2017-06-22T10:58:00.000+03:00' +'817dc62fbb76bf5e9db85b859ae466cd4823249a'|'LSE eyes more index deals after agreeing to buy Citi''s Yield Book'|'By John McCrank - NEW YORK NEW YORK The London Stock Exchange Group PLC ( LSE.L ), which last week agreed to buy Citigroup Inc''s ( C.N ) Yield Book fixed-income analytics and indexing business for $685 million, is looking for similar deals, LSE''s chief financial officer said on Thursday.The Yield Book acquisition, when closed, will boost the size and capabilities of LSE''s FTSE Russell indexes business, bringing the amount of assets under management benchmarked to its indexes to around $15 trillion.Trends such as the ongoing shift in investment style to passive from active and the desire by investors to get more exposure to emerging markets, particularly China, make index businesses attractive, LSE CFO David Warren said at the Sandler ONeill Global Exchange and Brokerage Conference in New York.With nationalistic and regulatory factors making big cross-border exchange deals difficult to get done, as seen in the collapse of LSE''s merger with Deutsche Boerse AG ( DB1Gn.DE ) in March, exchanges have been looking to index and data deals to help them grow.Intercontinental Exchange Inc ( ICE.N ) said last Thursday it reached an agreement to acquire Bank of America Merrill Lynch''s ( BAC.N ) global research index platform for an undisclosed amount. Deutsche Boerse on Wednesday said it too is on the lookout for deals in the space.As a result, a number of banks that have developed analytics and index businesses using intellectual property (IP) from their internal trading operations are looking to monetize those businesses, Warren said."We come into it obviously seeing that the IP in terms of index creation has been undervalued, so that is really the opportunity," he said.Exchanges increasingly see themselves as financial markets infrastructure providers with global distribution networks, rather than just trading venues, Warren said.Index and analytics businesses provide exchanges with the intellectual property to create investment products that are in demand from global asset managers, he said."So there is a lot of investment in the business right now, but there is also still a lot of work we are doing to look at acquisition opportunities."(Editing by Bernadette Baum)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-lse-deals-index-idINKBN18Z222'|'2017-06-08T12:52:00.000+03:00' +'2a53f6237c1985ac910bf3937a5973ff72a45947'|'China Vanke in talks to join Chinese consortium bidding for Singapore''s GLP -sources'|'By Julie Zhu and Sumeet Chatterjee - HONG KONG, June 16 HONG KONG, June 16 China Vanke, the country''s No.2 homebuilder by sales, is in talks to join a Chinese consortium led by Hopu Investment Management and Hillhouse Capital Group to bid for Global Logistic Properties , three sources said.Shenzhen-based Vanke has been in discussions with the Hopu-Hillhouse consortium for a couple of weeks, said one source, adding that the bidding group was talking to at least two other potential investors from China.The consortium, also backed by the Singapore-listed firm''s CEO Ming Mei, plans to set up an investment fund for its bid, two sources said. Potential new backers, including Vanke, are considering joining the race as limited partners (LPs) of the fund, rather than potential equity holders in GLP.All the sources, familiar with the talks, declined to be named because the information was not public.Vanke, Hopu, GLP declined to comment while Hillhouse did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.GLP, which is backed by Singapore''s sovereign wealth fund GIC Private Ltd and whose customers include Amazon.com and JD.com, said last week that it had asked short-listed bidders to present firm proposals by the end of June.Private equity firms Warburg Pincus and Blackstone Group LP are among the bidders that were picked by GLP to move to a new phase of the bidding process and examine the company''s financials, Reuters reported in February.GLP, which has a market capitalization of about $10 billion, earns two-thirds of its revenue from China, where it has 15.8 million square meters of leasable or completed logistics facilities on lease.Vanke''s interest in GLP stems from the fact that it has also been diversifying into warehousing over the past two years as the property development business struggles amid intensifying competition. The company, which has a logistics joint venture with Blackstone, posted a lower first-quarter profit.Vanke has yet to finalise the terms with the Hopu-Hillhouse consortium and the composition of the bidders could be subject to changes later, two sources said.JPMorgan is advising GLP''s special committee on the proposals. (Reporting by Julie Zhu and Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Himani Sarkar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/glp-ma-idINL8N1JD1FK'|'2017-06-16T09:41:00.000+03:00' +'60d59417b5e3ca80c8b9bf7a2e10ddd1c5ab0eb2'|'LCH urges EU to avoid forced relocation of euro clearing'|'Business News - Wed Jun 7, 2017 - 12:27pm BST LCH urges EU to avoid forced relocation of euro clearing The City of London is seen from Canary Wharf, Britain May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth By Huw Jones - LONDON LONDON Forced relocation of euro-denominated clearing from London to the European Union after Brexit would harm the bloc, and the focus should be on increasing cross-border supervision, LCH ( LSE.L ) said on Wednesday. LCH, part of the London Stock Exchange, clears the bulk of euro-denominated derivatives in Europe. The EU is due on June 13 to say whether this activity should be shifted to an EU state after Britain leaves the bloc in 2019. LCH Group Chief Operating Officer Daniel Maguire said the clearing house, which stands between two sides of a trade to ensure its smooth completion, is already directly registered and supervised in many countries. It has a clearing house in Paris. Brussels is looking at several options, such as forced relocation or an EU role in directly supervising LCH in London where it is regulated by the Bank of England. Maguire said it was very encouraging that the so-called "enhanced supervision" option was on the table. "For global markets it makes sense to move towards more enhanced oversight," he told a Futures Industry Association (FIA) conference. There was talk among delegates at the event that Brussels was leaning towards caps on the volume of euro-denominated clearing that could take place outside the bloc without relocation. Maguire referred to a recent speech by Christopher Giancarlo, acting head of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, who said the United States could still supervise clearers in London that handle dollar-denominated securities, despite an ocean the size of the Atlantic between them. "We should also think that the sea as big as the Channel is not too big for us to get across and ensure you have the same level of enhanced oversight," Maguire said. "I definitely think there is a willingness to do that." "We hope that over time there will be sensible debate, cooperation and discussion, and a conclusion that keeps markets together, which is to the advantage of the EU, and the real economy, clients, members, central banks," Maguire said It did not make sense for a global currency like the euro to become "localised", he said. This week the FIA warned that forced relocation of euro clearing would lead to a near doubling of the $83 billion (64.3 billion) users currently set aside in case of contract defaults. Eurex Clearing ( DB1Gn.DE ) in Frankfurt, which has said it was ready to handle relocated euro clearing, dismissed this figure. "I think it''s very far from a realistic number," Eurex Clearing CEO Eric Mueller told the conference. He also cautioned against dismissing arguments put forward by the European Central Bank and others in favour of relocation. "We as an industry need to find answers to the concerns, instead of just saying, you know it''s not a good idea," Mueller said. "We need to work with those constituencies to find answers... There is some understanding that things on the oversight angle have to change." (Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Adrian Croft) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-clearing-idUKKBN18Y1FR'|'2017-06-07T19:27:00.000+03:00' +'5bbbff5c68260a404b4d09f5c3c434cffe5711c9'|'WORLD-NEWS-SCHEDULE AT 1400 GMT/10 AM ET'|'Market News - Mon Jun 19, 2017 - 10:03am EDT WORLD-NEWS-SCHEDULE AT 1400 GMT/10 AM ET Editor: Toby Chopra + 44 20 7542 7923 Picture Desk: Singapore + 65 6870 3775 Graphics queries: + 65 6870 3595 (All times GMT/ET) TOP STORIES Britain''s May condemns "sickening" attack as van rams Muslim worshippers LONDON - A van ploughs into worshippers near a London mosque, injuring 10 people in what Prime Minister Theresa May says was a sickening, terrorist attack on Muslims. (BRITAIN-SECURITY/ (UPDATE 12, PIX, TV, GRAPHIC), moved, by Alistair Smout and Costas Pitas, 850 words) + See also: BRITAIN-SECURITY/WALLACE (URGENT), moved, 102 words Britain seeks "special" EU ties as Brexit talks start BRUSSELS - Britain''s negotiators come to Brussels seeking a "new, deep and special partnership with the European Union" as talks on the unprecedented British withdrawal from the bloc finally get under way. (BRITAIN-EU/ (UPDATE 3, TV, PIX), moved, by Alastair Macdonald and Elizabeth Piper, 720 words) + See also: - BRITAIN-EU/HAMMOND (PICTURE, TV), moved, 865 words Real victory will be in 5 years, says Macron camp after election win PARIS - President Emmanuel Macron''s government promises to reshape France''s political landscape as final results showed he had won the commanding parliamentary majority he wanted to push through far-reaching pro-growth reforms. (FRANCE-ELECTION/ (UPDATE 2, TV, PICTURE, GRAPHIC), expect by 1200 GMT, by Richard Lough and Brian Love, 630 words) + See also: - FRANCE-ELECTION/WOMEN (UPDATE 1, PICTURE), moved, by Jemima Kelly, 590 words - FRANCE-ELECTION/UNIONS (ANALYSIS), moved, by Leigh Thomas and Caroline Pailliez, 875 words Death toll in London tower fire rises to 79, police say LONDON - The death toll from a fire that ravaged a London tower block last week has risen to 79, police say, as the government tries to show it is improving its handling of a tragedy that has angered the public. (BRITAIN-FIRE/ (UPDATE 1, TV, PIX), moved, by Estelle Shirbon and William James, 750 words) Portugal''s deadliest fire still rages after 62 people killed PEDROGAO GRANDE - More than 1,000 firefighters are still battling Portugal''s deadliest forest blaze after it killed at least 62 people over the weekend. (PORTUGAL-FIRE/ (PICTURE, TV), moved, by Axel Bugge, 435 words) UNITED STATES An hour passed before Japan authorities were notified of Fitzgerald collision TOKYO - Nearly an hour elapsed before a Philippine-flagged container ship reported a collision with a U.S. warship, the Japanese coastguard says, as investigations begin into the accident in which seven U.S. sailors were killed. (USA-NAVY/ASIA (UPDATE 5), by Tim Kelly and Kaori Kaneko, 845 words) Trump to meet with tech CEOs on government overhaul WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump will meet with the chief executives of technology companies including Apple Inc and Amazon.com Inc on Monday as the White House looks to the private sector for help in cutting government waste and improving services. (USA-TRUMP/TECH, moved, by David Shepardson, 580 words) + See also: USA-TRUMP/RUSSIA-LAWYERS (PIX), moved, by Karen Freifeld, 719 words AMERICAS U.S. top court hands Chevron victory in Ecuador pollution case WASHINGTON - The U.S. Supreme Court hands a victory to Chevron Corp by preventing Ecuadorean villagers and their American lawyer from trying to collect on an $8.65 billion pollution judgment issued against the oil company by a court in Ecuador. (USA-COURT/CHEVRON (UPDATE 1), moved, by Lawrence Hurley, 449 words) Venezuela soldiers guard Chavez symbols in seething heartland SABANETA, Venezuela - In the agricultural town of Hugo Chavez''s birth, soldiers guard an immense statue of the former Venezuelan leader while nearby opposition activists dream of pulling it down. (VENEZUELA-POLITICS/BARINAS (FEATURE, PICTURE, TV), moved, by Andrew Cawthorne, 900 words) EUROPE New Boeing jet and F-35 demand lift aerospace spirits in Paris PARIS - The Paris Airshow opens under bright blue skies, with a new member of Boeing''s best-selling 737 range set to vie for attention with a potentially huge order for F-35 fighter jets and a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron. (AIRSHOW-PARIS/ (UPDATE 1, PICTURE), expect by 1200 GMT, by Tim Hepher and Mike Stone, 400 words) MIDDLE EAST U.S., Russia, Iran draw new red lines in Syria BEIRUT - Russia, Iran and the United States are drawing new "red lines" for each other in Syria with Moscow warning Washington it would treat any U.S.-led coalition planes in its area of operations as potential targets after the U.S. air force downed a Syrian jet. (MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA (PIX), expect by 1500 GMT/11 AM ET, by Tom Perry and Babak Dehghanpisheh, 950 words) Mosul Old City battle goes house to house as Islamic State fighters defend MOSUL/BAGHDAD - Islamic State fighters defend their remaining stronghold in the Old City of Mosul, moving stealthily along narrow back alleys and slipping from house to house through holes in walls as U.S.-backed Iraqi forces slowly advance. (MIDEAST-CRISIS/IRAQ-MOSUL (UPDATE 1, TV, PIX), moved, by Sergei Karazy, Alkis Konstantinidis and Ahmed Rasheed, 650 words) UAE warns Qatar sanctions could last years DOHA/PARIS - The United Arab Emirates warns Qatar that sanctions imposed by several of its neighbours could last for years unless Doha accepts demands which Arab powers plan to reveal in coming days. (GULF-QATAR/ (UPDATE 1, TV, PIX), moved, by Tom Finn and John Irish, 810 words) + See also: - MIDEAST-CRISIS/IRAQ-SAUDI (UPDATE 1), moved, 330 words AFRICA Four guests killed in Mali resort attack BAMAKO - Unidentified gunmen kill four guests at a Mali luxury resort popular with Western expatriates just outside the capital Bamako, and one other guest is still missing, authorities say. (MALI-SECURITY/ (UPDATE 3, TV), moved, by Idrissa Sangare, 350 words) ASIA Four foreign inmates break out of Bali jail using tunnel DENPASAR, Indonesia - Indonesian police have launched a search for four foreign inmates, who escaped from an overcrowded prison on the resort island of Bali by crawling through a narrow tunnel dug under the walls, authorities say. (INDONESIA-PRISON/ESCAPE (UPDATE 1, TV), moved, 325 words) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/world-news-schedule-at-1400-gmt-10-am-et-idUSL8N1JG41L'|'2017-06-19T22:03:00.000+03:00' +'2050d36a617df4066c99fcccd0500a8627a50c6b'|'Moody''s downgrades Australia''s top banks over housing risk'|'Business 29am BST Moody''s downgrades Australia''s top banks over housing risk A combination of photographs shows people using automated teller machines (ATMs) at Australia''s ''''Big Four'''' banks - Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (bottom R), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (top R), National Australia Bank Ltd (bottom L) and Westpac Banking... REUTERS/Staff SYDNEY Moody''s Investors Service on Monday downgraded 12 Australian banks, including the four biggest lenders, reflecting what it called elevated risks in the household sector. Such risk was heightening the sensitivity of the banks'' credit profiles to an adverse shock, according to the ratings agency. "While Moody''s does not anticipate a sharp housing downturn as a core scenario, the tail risk represented by increased household sector indebtedness becomes a material consideration in the context of the very high ratings assigned to Australian banks," it said. Moody''s said the long-term credit ratings for Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank an Westpac Banking Corp were downgraded to Aa3 from Aa2. It reaffirmed their short-term ratings. The Australian government has taken steps in recent months to cool the red-hot property market amid concerns that speculation in housing could ultimately hurt consumers, banks and the economy. House prices in Sydney and Melbourne have more than doubled since 2009. With cash interest rates at a record low and house prices near record highs, the nation''s household debt-to-income ratio has climbed to an all-time peak of 189 percent, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). That means there are an increasing number of people who have little cash for discretionary spending on everything from cars to electrical appliances and new clothes - as their pay packets get consumed by large mortgages and high rental payments. "The resilience of household balance sheets and consequently bank portfolios to a serious economic downturn has not been tested at these levels of private sector indebtedness," Moody''s said. (Reporting by James Regan; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Richard Borsuk)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-australia-banks-idUKKBN19A12H'|'2017-06-19T17:29:00.000+03:00' +'dbc95f37267fb587500cb2e4f7dd45483fa9a9f9'|'Swiss banks lobby for get-out clause as end of bank secrecy nears'|'ZURICH Switzerland''s private banks, used for decades by the world''s wealthy to hide money and avoid tax, are pushing for extra legal protection of client information that could halt a much-heralded exchange of data with dozens of countries.The Alpine country is preparing to dismantle bank secrecy next year when it begins sending information about its customers'' accounts to foreign tax agencies.But Switzerland''s multi-trillion-dollar financial industry is seeking new safeguards to protect bank data against misuse that could expose clients to crimes such as kidnapping or blackmail."Data could be sold or used to put pressure on clients or their families," said Yves Mirabaud, chairman of the Association of Swiss Private Banks and senior managing partner at Mirabaud, a Geneva-based private bank."I''m referring to countries where we''re not very sure that the democratic process is the same as ours, or where corruption is very high."Wealthy clients have pulled tens of billions of dollars out of Swiss bank accounts because of a worldwide crackdown on tax evasion following the global financial crisis last decade.That culminated in the Automatic Exchange of Information programme fostered by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which aims to ensure that offshore accounts are known to authorities.The participation of Switzerland, the world''s largest center for overseas wealth, in the data exchange agreement was heralded at the time as a major breakthrough in ending tax avoidance.Banks in Switzerland are "fully committed" to implementing the Automatic Exchange of Information, said a spokeswoman for the Swiss Bankers Association, the main banking lobby.But they are lobbying to add an "activation" clause that means information would only be handed over to a country if two criteria are met -- a level playing field with other financial centers, and an assurance the data will be used properly.They say giving information to countries in regions such as South America or Africa, where data protection standards can be weak and corruption rife, risks it falling into the wrong hands.In 2018 Switzerland is due to start swapping information with 38 foreign tax authorities, including all European Union countries, and with a further 41 from 2019.The proposed clause would apply to the 2019 batch of countries, among which are several emerging markets such as Brazil, Mexico and Russia."We want to be sure that when we provide information that it does not get misused or compromise a client''s security," said Boris Collardi, chief executive at Julius Baer ( BAER.S ), Switzerland''s third-biggest private bank behind UBS ( UBSG.S ) and Credit Suisse ( CSGN.S ).The Swiss government will send to parliament a dispatch, which contains its proposals on the exchange of information with these 41 countries, by July 5. Parliament will then be asked to decide on the implementation of these plans.DIAMONDS IN A TOOTHPASTE TUBEMirabaud expressed confidence the government supports the clause, despite lobbyists for transparency saying it is a back-door attempt to continue bank secrecy rather than a genuine move to prevent criminality or persecution.A spokeswoman for the State Secretariat for International Financial Matters, an arm of the finance ministry, signaled the government would consider halting transfers of information."If there are concerns about how the data will be used in a specific jurisdiction, Switzerland could look at taking any of the measures provided for in the multilateral framework governing the automatic exchange of information," she said, referring to steps that include suspending the data exchange with a country.Campaigners against secrecy are crying foul, however, and accuse the Swiss of trying to allow the wealthy to keep cash hidden."That information might fall into the hands of kidnappers... is the perfect excuse," said Nicholas Shaxson of Tax Justice Network, an organization that lobbies on tax havens. "It''s a justification for an ocean of fraud."Pressure on Switzerland built after a U.S.-led crackdown starting in 2008 publicized practices used by its bankers to keep money hidden from tax authorities, from smuggling diamonds in toothpaste tubes to hiding documents in the pages of Sports Illustrated.This U.S. clampdown and the push by the OECD to bring in global rules on exchanging tax data between countries means that Switzerland handing over information to Europe and the United States is unavoidable."PERFECT EXCUSE"Data from the Swiss National Bank shows a sharp decline in U.S. money in Swiss accounts. U.S. customers accounted for 161 billion Swiss francs ($165.3 billion) of bank deposits in 2006, but that had more than halved in 2015.In the meantime, the size of deposits from many emerging market countries has gradually increased.Mark Herkenrath of Alliance Sud, a group that campaigns for transparency, is skeptical about the true motivation."For a lot of Swiss banks, a big part of their business is breaking away because money from the U.S. has dried up. The temptation now is to continue taking money from developing countries," he said."The suggestion that they are shielding their customers from abuse of their human rights is the perfect excuse to avoid transparency."The Paris-based OECD, which will police whether the exchange of information is working, is optimistic that Switzerland will honor the deal. But it stands ready to act in case the Swiss banks drag their feet."It''s not going to be used as an excuse," said Pascal Saint-Amans, the OECD''s tax policy director, acknowledging the banks'' argument for preventing the misuse of information. "But if it is, the country will be sanctioned."(Editing by Catherine Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-swiss-banks-secrecy-idUSKBN19622S'|'2017-06-15T23:10:00.000+03:00' +'9cd64d2608190b18fc42939c6d02364ee43ba096'|'Fed gives extension on complying with part of Volcker rule to three banks'|'Business News - Wed Jun 7, 2017 - 3:55pm EDT Fed gives extension on complying with part of Volcker rule to three banks Flags fly over the Federal Reserve Headquarters on a windy day in Washington, U.S., May 26, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque WASHINGTON The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday gave extensions of up to five years to Deutsche Bank, SVB Financial Group, and UBS Group on complying with part of the Volcker Rule that deals with illiquid funds. The central bank said the three need more time to divest legacy illiquid funds in order to comply with the rule''s limits on their stakes in private equity and hedge funds. The rule, part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law, limits the types of trading banks can conduct with their own money, as a way to curb speculation in financial institutions. But the financial services industry has said regulators have carried out the rule in a confusing and often convoluted way and are pressing the administration of President Donald Trump to make compliance easier and clearer. (Reporting by Lisa Lambert; editing by Diane Craft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-banks-volcker-idUSKBN18Y2YB'|'2017-06-08T03:52:00.000+03:00' +'487076170307429042f5d26852de0e800e7baff8'|'CalSTRS agrees to divest non-U.S. thermal coal assets'|'By Robin Respaut - June 7 June 7 The California State Teachers Retirement System board voted unanimously on Wednesday to divest from non-U.S. thermal coal, affecting a very small fraction of the public pension fund''s portfolio.The fund estimates that $8.3 million of its roughly $206.5 billion portfolio is exposed to non-U.S. thermal coal.The exposure is invested in three companies - PT Adaro Energy in Indonesia, Exxaro Resources Limited of South Africa, and Whitehaven Coal Limited of Australia."This is a serious decision," said California State Controller Betty Yee, who is a member of the CalSTRS board. But Yee noted that engagement with corporations is much harder when the companies are headquartered abroad, so CalSTRS engagement with non-U.S. thermal coal companies would be less likely.Board member Tom Unterman said the vote to divest did not impact the fund in any way.CalSTRS, the nation''s second largest public pension fund, manages the retirement benefits of 914,000 California public school educators.(Reporting by Robin Respaut; Editing by Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/california-calstrs-coal-idINL1N1J500T'|'2017-06-07T22:54:00.000+03:00' +'f1b0f1adc46be5844733de0d60b9a3cb7022e87c'|'AIRSHOW-Viva Air Peru nears $5 bln Airbus airliner deal-sources'|'PARIS, June 18 Peruvian low-cost airline startup Viva Air Peru is close to reaching a roughly $5 billion deal with Airbus to order about 30 recently upgraded A320neo jets and 15 current-generation models known as A320ceo, two industry sources said.The deal could be announced at the Paris Airshow and follows a competition against rival Boeing''s 737 MAX.A spokesman for Airbus said: "We do not comment on discussions that we may or may not be having with potential customers."Viva Air Peru, which won an operating licence earlier this year, is owned by Irelandia Aviation. Neither firm could be reached for comment.(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Edmund Blair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/airshow-paris-viva-idINL8N1JF0RT'|'2017-06-18T15:52:00.000+03:00' +'a18c3ad1b9b24685c75403e9bb69a3a36942c94c'|'EURO DEBT SUPPLY-Six euro zone states to sell debt next week'|'LONDON, June 9 The Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Spain and France are set to sell debt at auction in the coming week.* The Netherlands on Tuesday is scheduled to sell 2-3 billion euros of 10-year bonds.* Also on Tuesday, Italy will offer up to 5.5 billion euros of three- and seven-year bonds.* Germany will sell three billion euros of 10-year bonds on Wednesday.* Portugal will also offer a total of up to 1.25 billion euros of bonds at an auction on Wednesday.* Spain will issue bonds due 2022, 2027, 2032 and 2037 next Thursday at a quadruple debt auction.* France will sell up to 9.5 billion euros of fixed-rate and inflation-linked bonds on Thursday. (Compiled by John Geddie; Editing by Abhinav Ramnarayan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/eurozone-bonds-outlook-idINL8N1J649G'|'2017-06-09T11:55:00.000+03:00' +'f18d1569b57e617ffab13e5883e8cd3291b0df38'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'Market News - Wed Jun 7, 2017 - 9:37am EDT Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions June 7 The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1330 GMT on Wednesday: ** Private equity giant KKR & Co LP made a $1.66 billion takeover approach for Australia''s embattled No. 4 internet company Vocus Group Ltd, the target said, sparking a bounce in its shares which have been hit by earnings downgrades. ** European authorities stepped in to avert a collapse of Spain''s Banco Popular following a run on the bank, orchestrating a last-minute rescue by Santander, the country''s biggest lender. ** The world''s largest meat processor, JBS SA, has agreed to sell its Argentine operations to a smaller rival, retreating from a top beef-producing nation that was once a springboard for an aggressive international expansion. ** New World Department Store China Ltd said its parent firm plans to take it private for HK$934.5 million ($120 million), so that it can better tackle a challenging operating environment and take risks in implementing strategy. ** Bayer has cut its stake in plastics and chemicals subsidiary Covestro to 44.8 percent after selling an 8.5 percent stake to institutional investors as part of a plan to sever ownership ties completely in the medium term. ** Global oil traders Vitol and Gunvor are interested in buying Mozambique''s struggling state-owned fuel distributor Petromac, local media reported. ** Anders Holch Povlsen, owner of Danish fashion retailer Bestseller, is buying a stake in payments firm Klarna, one of Europe''s most highly valued tech startups, the firm said. ** Swedish private equity firm EQT made a cash offer to shareholders of DGC One valuing the telecoms company at 2.3 billion Swedish crowns ($265 million) after announcing it had bought an 85 percent stake in the company. ** Toshiba Corp asked Western Digital Corp once again to stop challenging the Japanese conglomerate''s plans to sell its chip business. ** Volcan, Peru''s largest producer of silver and zinc, seeks new opportunities in copper projects to diversify its operations and is also evaluating acquisitions, an executive said on Tuesday. ** Any suggestions that Russia could "eventually" buy back the stake in its flagship oil producer Rosneft which it had sold to Qatar are "not possible and incorrect", Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. ** Delphi Automotive PLC will partner with Paris-based Transdev Group, a public transport service controlled by the French government, to develop an automated on-demand shuttle service in Europe, the companies said. ** Algeria''s Sonatrach and Spain''s Repsol have signed an agreement to consolidate their partnership in energy exploration and amicably end their differences, APS state news agency said. ** Piraeus Bank, Greece''s largest bank by assets, aims to sell its Balkan businesses and certain other holdings and shrink its bad loans portfolio, its new chief executive told reporters, outlining the group''s plans up to 2020. (Compiled by Divya Grover and Ahmed Farhatha in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/deals-day-idUSL3N1J4384'|'2017-06-07T18:05:00.000+03:00' +'6922ce4e3f1a6095ede88227aa81a097339972d8'|'GSK wins $235 million from Teva in Coreg patent trial'|'Business News - Wed Jun 21, 2017 - 11:51pm BST GSK wins $235 million from Teva in Coreg patent trial FILE PHOTO: A building belonging to Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, the world''s biggest generic drugmaker and Israel''s largest company, is seen in Jerusalem February 8, 2017. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun By Nate Raymond A U.S. jury has ordered Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd ( TEVA.TA ) to pay GlaxoSmithKline Plc ( GSK.L ) more than $235 million (185 million) for infringing a patent covering its blood pressure drug Coreg, court documents showed. A federal jury in Wilmington, Delaware on Tuesday found that Teva wilfully infringed the patent in connection with its sales of a generic version of the drug with a label indicating it could be used for treating chronic heart failure. The jury rejected Teva''s contention that the patent was invalid. It awarded GSK $234.1 million in lost profits and said the drug company deserved an additional $1.4 million in royalties. GSK in a statement said that it was pleased with the trial''s outcome. Teva said it was disappointed. "We still intend to present our equitable defences to the court at a separate hearing which could eliminate the liability determination or significantly reduce the assessed damages," Teva said in a statement. "We are also considering an appeal." The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Teva''s generic version of Coreg, or carvedilol, in 2007. GSK said that while Teva''s FDA application had a carve-out to address its use for treating chronic heart failure, which GSK said remained under patent, the generic drugmaker changed its label in 2011 to add that use. GSK said that as a result, Teva induced healthcare providers to infringe its patent by selling a generic version of the drug and marketing it as a substitute for Coreg. The case is GlaxoSmithKline LLC et al v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc, U.S. District Court, District of Delaware, No. 14-cv-00878. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-gsk-teva-pharm-ind-idUKKBN19C329'|'2017-06-22T06:51:00.000+03:00' +'7f700f58a9bea79278c377f39d006517a825541e'|'BRIEF-MSCI says inflows to reach $340 bln if all China A shares included in futures'|'June 21 * MSCI Inc. expects initial inflows following partial inclusion of A share to be around $17 billion to $18 billion* Inflows could reach around $340 billion if China A shares fully included in futures, according to an MSCI executive* Expects roughly 450 large-and-mid-cap A shares under full inclusion, the executive says, adding it is "very difficult to say" on timeline for further China A share inclusion* Investors strongly urge Chinese exchanges, regulators to consider additional measures to curb share suspensions - executive (donny.kwok@thomsonreuters.com)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/brief-msci-says-inflows-to-reach-340-bln-idINL3N1JI008'|'2017-06-20T22:43:00.000+03:00' +'6c9ef70a5bc6f1fe84995a73481f56fbf5bb0012'|'Wealth management data startup Addepar raises $140 million'|'By Anna Irrera - NEW YORK NEW YORK Addepar, a Silicon Valley-based startup that helps wealth management firms get a more comprehensive view of their clients'' assets, has raised $140 million in a round led by Valor Equity Partners, 8VC and investment manager Harald McPike.The company said on Thursday that it will use the funding on research and development initiatives aimed at enhancing its technology.Addepar has developed software that helps wealth managers view information on their clients'' assets that might be spread out across various accounts.Ultra-wealthy clients typically hold their assets in family trusts, limited partnerships or in alternative and illiquid investments spread across several banks and accounts. This means financial advisors will often gather and compile information into one spreadsheet through a protracted process rather than meeting with clients."Wealth managers, especially the ones serving larger and more complex clients, often times have challenges in giving each client an accurate view of everything they own," said Eric Poirier, chief executive of Addepar, in an interview. The company''s platform allows wealth management firms, with client''s permission, to gather information from various accounts in one place, Poirer said.Addepar is among the growing group of young technology companies that are seeking to help established financial institutions improve their technology across a wide range of functions, including anti-money laundering checks to client-interface software.While the firm has so far focused on wealth management firms, Poirier said it had received inquiries from other buy-side companies such as pension funds.Poirier said the firm has been growing rapidly, with its clients managing more than $650 billion through its platform, up from $300 billion 18 months ago. In January Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) said it was rolling out Addepar''s platform to 20 of its top financial advisory teams.Valor Equity Partners founder and managing partner Antonio Gracias, who sits on the Addepar''s board of directors, is well known for being an investor and board member in several companies of Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ) founder Elon Musk.(Reporting by Anna Irrera; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-addepar-investment-idINKBN18Z1IO'|'2017-06-08T09:25:00.000+03:00' +'68e4c5fab002365c843e7d09e69ef1f8477ea250'|'MOVES-State Street Global names new institutional sales head for SPDR business'|'Money - Wed Jun 14, 2017 - 5:06pm EDT State Street Global names new institutional sales head for SPDR business State Street Global Advisors, the asset management business of State Street Corp, said on Wednesday it appointed Kathryn Sweeney as head of its SPDR Americas institutional sales. Sweeney joins the company from Goldman Sachs, where she was global head of distribution and product strategy for the securities division. (Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-state-str-moves-kathryn-sweeney-idUSKBN195332'|'2017-06-15T05:05:00.000+03:00' +'3f46fd466aae8284c819a2edfb4542a78d3221a8'|'UPDATE 1-NYSE proposes to list more quadruple-leveraged ETFs -filing'|'Business News - Tue Jun 20, 2017 - 4:23pm EDT More quadruple-leveraged ETFs proposed despite SEC review By Trevor Hunnicutt and John McCrank - NEW YORK NEW YORK Intercontinental Exchange Inc''s ( ICE.N ) NYSE Arca exchange is asking the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for permission to list a new set of exchange-traded funds that aim to quadruple the performance of the market, a filing this week showed. The exchange would list two "ProShares QuadPro" ETFs that would aim to deliver four times the return of an index of S&P 500 .SPX or Russell 2000 futures over a single day. A fund whose index declines 5 percent might fall by 20 percent. Another two QuadPro funds would target four times the inverse of those benchmarks. That means a fund could gain 8 percent on a day the index it tracks falls by 2 percent. The proposed listing of the quadruple-leveraged ETFs comes amid ambivalence on the part of the SEC about such products. Last month, the SEC approved what would have been the first such "4X" funds in the United States but then halted that decision pending further review. Those funds would be branded ForceShares and carry the tickers "UP" and "DOWN." ETFs offering three times leverage already trade in the United States, but more reactive products have been limited to Europe. "To the extent these products will be coming to market, we believe it is important they be offered by providers that bring the deep experience and resources necessary to manage them appropriately and to educate investors about their potential risks and benefits," said a spokesman for ProShare Advisors in a statement emailed to Reuters. Brokerage firms have been penalized for selling leveraged ETFs to investors for whom they were not suitable. BlackRock Inc ( BLK.N ) Chief Executive Larry Fink in 2014 said the leveraged ETFs'' structural problems had the potential to "blow up the whole industry one day." "Leveraged ETFs are not for the faint of heart - you can get hurt very easily if hold on to any of these products for the long haul," said Todd Rosenbluth, director of ETF and mutual fund research at CFRA. "For those that are willing to take the risk, there''s the potential for reward." "Our top priority is partnering with our ETF issuers to help them to bring new, innovative and interesting products to market," said Douglas Yones, NYSE''s head of ETFs, in an emailed statement to Reuters. A separate ProShares filing shows the company is planning additional "QuadPro" funds targeting crude oil and U.S. Treasury bond futures. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and John McCrank; Editing by Tom Brown and Steve Orlofsky)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sec-etfs-idUSKBN19B2DP'|'2017-06-21T00:34:00.000+03:00' +'508ff841d6a4666fcf9ac382905238f9e0b3aad8'|'Honda engineer debunks own claim about cause of Takata air bag failures'|'Autos - Fri Jun 23, 2017 - 7:49pm BST Honda engineer debunks own claim about cause of Takata air bag failures FILE PHOTO: The logo of Takata Corp is seen on its display at a showroom for vehicles in Tokyo, Japan, February 9, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo By Joseph White - DETROIT DETROIT Honda Motor Co ( 7267.T ) on Friday released a 2013 email in which one of its engineers suggested that he knew some hidden truth about "the root cause" of Takata Corp ( 7312.T ) air bag failures, but the engineer later said he was mistaken. The engineer''s email was disclosed in a statement from Honda as part of its defence in a class action suit in Florida, where plaintiffs are seeking compensation for the lost value of vehicles due to defects in Takata air bag inflators. The inflators can explode with excessive force, launching metal shrapnel at passengers in cars and trucks. The inflators prompted the automotive industry''s largest ever safety recall and have been linked to at least 16 deaths worldwide. Nine of the 11 U.S. deaths have been reported in 2001-2003 model Honda and Acura vehicles. The engineer''s July 18, 2013 email, originally written in Japanese and translated by Honda, is part of an exchange with a colleague at the automaker. "I am a witness in the dark who knows the truth about Takata''s inflator recall," the engineer, whose name is blacked out in Honda''s statement, wrote in his email. "If I say something to NHTSA, it will cause a complete reversal in the auto industry which adopted Takata inflators," added the engineer, who told his colleague he had been taken off air bag-related work by Honda because of his supposed inside knowledge. NHTSA is the acronym of the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In a sworn affidavit filed with a federal court and dated June 1, 2017, the engineer acknowledged he had been mistaken, however. When he wrote email to his colleague, he was referring to an Oct. 16, 1999 event in which a prototype Takata air bag inflator ruptured, the engineer stated. "I believed that the root cause of the October 16, 1999 rupture related to the root cause of the Takata inflator recalls," the affidavit stated. Based on later findings by the NHTSA, "I now understand that I was incorrect and the root cause of the field events is not related to the root cause of the October 1999 rupture." Honda did not name the engineer but said in a statement that he was still employed by the company and had refused to testify in the Florida case. (Reporting by Joe White; Editing by Tom Brown)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-autos-takata-honda-idUKKBN19E27R'|'2017-06-24T02:49:00.000+03:00' +'e3216f76ae1c51a06ff8cae767afcc09af5171d7'|'IOC sets extensive maintenance shutdown plans for units'|'NEW DELHI Indian Oil Corp has lined up an extensive maintenance turnaround plan for its refineries in 2017, sources with knowledge of the plan said, which could force the country''s top refiner to tap overseas markets for gasoline and diesel to meet rising local demand.IOC plans to shut a 150,000 barrel per day (bpd) crude unit at its 300,000 bpd Panipat refinery in northern India and an associated naphtha cracker plant for about a month in July, the sources said, freeing up some naphtha for exports.IOC also plans to shut a 160,000 bpd Mathura refinery for 15 days from Aug 25; its 120,000 bpd Barauni refinery in Bihar for about five weeks in July-August; and a 150,000 bpd Haldia plant in West Bengal of the country for about three weeks in November-December for a flare job.IOC plans to shut the only crude unit at its 300,000 bpd coastal Paradip refinery in Odisha for about three weeks for repairs in October to enhance its capability to process tough grades, the sources added.The refiner has already shut some units at its 274,000 bpd Koyali refinery in Gujarat for revamp and maintenance from June 1.There is not likely to be any planned shutdowns in the first quarter of 2018, because state refiners normally do not plan maintenance in the last quarter of their fiscal year, when they ramp up runs to meet annual production targets.The company may change dates for the planned shutdowns depending on local fuel demand and the turnaround plans of other refiners, the sources said.No comment was available from IOC.(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Tom Hogue)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/india-ioc-idINKBN18Z174'|'2017-06-08T07:51:00.000+03:00' +'ee448136fe2737abf60ff1be2e546c56666d95db'|'Synnex Corp buys Westcon-Comstor Americas from South Africa''s Datatec for $800 million'|'JOHANNESBURG Datatec Ltd ( DTCJ.J ) unveiled plans on Tuesday to sell its Westcon-Comstor American operations to Synnex Corp ( SNX.N ), a deal worth up to $800 million that allows the South African IT firm to offload part of a problematic business.Westcon-Comstor, a distributor of technology and services for network security and data centres mostly in the United States, has been a drag on Datatec''s performance in recent months due partly to a troubled software roll-out in Europe, Asia and Africa. The business accounts for more than a third of Datatec sales and profit.Synnex would also buy 10 percent of Westcon-Comstor operations outside the United States for $30 million with an option to double that within 12 months, valuing the unit at around $1.1 billion."We decided it wasn''t good for us to monetise those other assets at the bottom of the cycle. They will take a minority interest in the remaining business, which we think has meaningful upside," Datatec''s Chief Executive Jens Montanana told Reuters. "But we would entertain a further tie-up with them at some point."Datatec, which is also listed in London ( DTC.L ), reported a hefty 66 percent drop in annual underlying earnings last month, weighed down by the tricky deployment of a business management software across Westcon-Comstor operations in Asia-Pacific and Europe, Middle East and Africa regions.Shares in Datatec rallied as much as 25 percent on the news before paring gains to trade 12 percent higher at 57.40 rand by 1424 GMT. The stock was up by the same margin in London.For Synnex, the deal hands it one the world''s major resellers of Cisco Systems'' ( CSCO.O ) products and adds data security, wireless routers and video meeting equipment to its portfolio of video graphic processors, hard-disk drives and USB thumb drives.Under the deal, Synnex will pay $500 million in stock and $130 million in cash and a further $200 million cash payment provided certain financial targets are achieved in the year to end February 2018.The stock portion of the deal would give Datatec a 10 percent stake in Synnex and Montanana would be appointed to the Fremont, California-based firm''s board.Synnex retains an option to pay all cash, based on the average share price at closing of the deal.For its fiscal year ended February 28, 2017, the Westcon Americas business generated about $2.2 billion of revenue and about $89 million in core earnings, or EBITDA.The transaction is expected to close in the third calendar quarter of 2017. The parties have agreed Datatec would pay a break fee of about $25 million if Datatec breaches the transaction agreement.(Reporting by TJ Strydom and Tiisetso Motsoeneng; editing by Alexander Smith and Adrian Croft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/uk-westcon-m-a-synnex-corp-idINKBN18X0M0'|'2017-06-06T12:56:00.000+03:00' +'dd53b6f61cf67aff35d405c101d01f40aa76c273'|'Japan''s Takata apologises to victims of faulty air bags'|'TOKYO, June 27 Japanese auto parts maker Takata Corp apologised on Tuesday to victims of its faulty air bags linked to at least 16 deaths and 180 injuries around the world.Executives offered the apology at the firm''s last annual shareholder meeting as a listed company.Takata has filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan and the United States and agreed to be largely acquired for $1.6 billion by the Chinese-owned U.S.-based Key Safety Systems.(Reporting by Maki Shiraki, writing by Sam Nussey; Editing by Stephen Coates)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/takata-bankruptcy-apology-idINT9N1IK00M'|'2017-06-27T03:03:00.000+03:00' +'6b965a2e283ed44178ae6cc2421d0cc3a4754f81'|'JPMorgan operating chief to go, Dimon successor pool shrinks - Reuters'|'Business News - Thu Jun 8, 2017 - 10:36pm BST JPMorgan operating chief to go, Dimon successor pool shrinks A view of the exterior of the JP Morgan Chase & Co. corporate headquarters in New York City May 20, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar/Files By Dan Freed - NEW YORK NEW YORK JPMorgan Chase Chief Operating Officer Matt Zames, once seen as a likely successor to Chief Executive Jamie Dimon, will leave the bank in the coming weeks, and his duties are being split among other senior executives, the bank said on Thursday. In an internal memo announcing Zames'' departure, Dimon thanked him for his 13 years of service but did not say why he was going. The exit stirs up, once again, one of Wall Street''s favorite parlor games - trying to work out who will succeed Dimon, 61, at the helm of the largest U.S. bank. At 46, Zames was the youngest of the six contenders and had the advantage of knowing all segments of the bank, after overseeing areas including cyber security, technology and real estate. Zames also played a central role in keeping the bank stable amid financial turmoil. He helped stabilize Bear Stearns, after JPMorgan acquired the investment bank during the 2007-2009 crisis, and transformed JPMorgan''s chief investment office and treasury arm after the so-called "London Whale" scandal in 2012. More recently, he was focused on critical technology and cyber functions. "While I am sad to see him leave, I respect his decision and all he has done for JPMorgan Chase," said Dimon. In the memo, Dimon detailed a new organizational structure in which the five other potential successors - Chief Financial Officer Marianne Lake, Corporate and Investment Bank CEO Daniel Pinto, Consumer and Community Banking CEO Gordon Smith, Asset Management CEO Mary Erdoes and Commercial Bank CEO Doug Petno - divvy up Zames'' responsibilities. With Dimon showing no inclination to relinquish his role, a raft of potential successors has left the bank in recent years. Many have gone on to lead other institutions, including Barclays PLC CEO Jes Staley, Standard Chartered PLC CEO Bill Winters and former Visa Inc CEO Charles Scharf. Zames will receive discretionary payments of $4.625 million on Feb. 1, 2018 and $4.5 million a year later. He has agreed not to compete with JPMorgan until Feb. 1, 2018, not to solicit clients for a year after that date and not to hire employees of the bank before Feb. 1, 2020. "Jamie has been a true mentor to me, and it has been a privilege to be a member of his team. I''m confident I will continue to benefit from his guidance and wisdom in the future," Zames said in the memo. (Reporting by Dan Freed in New York; Writing by Lauren Tara LaCapra; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Tom Brown)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-jpmorgan-coo-idUKKBN18Z2JC'|'2017-06-09T05:14:00.000+03:00' +'577c862d516a25eb5e2e14a183ade4f72c6001a4'|'Pfizer, Roche and Aspen face South Africa probe over cancer drug prices'|' 5:30pm BST Pfizer, Roche and Aspen face South African probe into cancer drug prices left right FILE PHOTO: The Pfizer logo is seen at their world headquarters in New York April 28, 2014. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo 1/2 left right The logo of Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche is seen outside their headquarters in Basel, January 30, 2014. 2/2 By Nqobile Dludla - PRETORIA PRETORIA South Africa''s competition watchdog has launched an investigation into three drug companies accused of over-charging for cancer medicines, the agency''s chief said on Tuesday. Tembinkosi Bonakele, head of the Competition Commission, said the agency would investigate Aspen Pharmacare, Africa''s biggest generic drug maker, U.S. company Pfizer and Swiss-based Roche Holding. "Here we have a suspicion. We think that the reason is excessive pricing by the participants in the market. We have to investigate and bring people to book," Bonakele told a news conference. "The Competition Commission has identified the healthcare sector, and in particular, pharmaceuticals, as a priority sector for its enforcement efforts due to the likely negative impact that anti-competitive conduct in that sector would have on consumers in general and specifically the poor and vulnerable." The Commission, which investigates cases before bringing them to the Competition Tribunal for adjudication, said it suspected the lung cancer treatment xalkori crizotinib sold by Pfizer had been excessively priced as has the breast cancer drugs Herceptin and Herclon sold by Roche. It also said it would look into whether Aspen, a local company based in Durban, might have over-charged for Leukeran, Alkeran and Myleran cancer treatments in South Africa. Roche said in an email it had not received a formal notification from the Commission when asked for comment. "In case we receive a formal notification, we will be cooperating fully with the authorities, will provide all required information and will respond to the allegations," the company said. Pfizer did not immediately respond to telephone requests for comment. Aspen denied any wrongdoing, saying it had not increased its prices for medicines used to treat leukemia beyond the margin approved by the South African health department. Some medicines in South Africa, including those sold by Roche and Aspen, are considered too essential to let manufacturers set the prices. "Aspen is committed to full and constructive engagement with the Competition Commission in this investigation," the company said in a statement. Aspen is already under investigation by the European Commission over allegations that it is overcharging for five key cancer drugs. (Additional reporting by Paul Arnold in Zurich Writing by Tiisetso Motsoeneng; Editing by Mark Potter, Greg Mahlich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-safrica-pharmaceuticals-idUKKBN1941HG'|'2017-06-13T20:39:00.000+03:00' +'d4bd896c51fa0d2cb683ee6d3c9b75a3bad5d6a9'|'BP takes $750 million hit in Angola exploration write-off'|'Business 19pm BST BP takes $750 million hit in Angola exploration write-off A BP logo is seen at a petrol station in London, Britain, January 15, 2015. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/File Photo LONDON BP ( BP.L ) said on Thursday it will incur a $750 million (578.48 million pounds) write off in its second quarter 2017 results over exploration blocks it relinquished in Angola. "As part of the ongoing portfolio evaluation, BP has decided to relinquish its 50 percent interest in Block 24/11 offshore southern Angola. Katambi, a gas discovery made in the block in 2014, has not been determined to be commercial," the London-based company said. "As a result of this and other exploration write-offs in Angola, BP expects to include in its second quarter 2017 results a non-cash exploration write-off in Angola of around $750 million, which will not attract tax relief." (Reporting by Ron Bousso; Editing by Adrian Croft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bp-exploration-idUKKBN19K1Z1'|'2017-06-29T17:19:00.000+03:00' +'ab4f19636da49f88bbc46746be415d6d4195bbf0'|'UK prosecutors to decide on charges over Barclays Qatar case next week - source'|' 11:04pm IST UK prosecutors to decide on charges over Barclays Qatar case next week - source The Barclays headquarters building is seen in the Canary Wharf business district of London, Britain February 6, 2013. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo LONDON Britain''s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is to announce on Tuesday whether it will bring criminal charges against Barclays and some of its former senior executives over a 2008 emergency fundraising from Qatar, according to a person familiar with the plans. The SFO has been investigating for nearly five years whether commercial agreements between banking group Barclays Plc and Qatari investors as part of a total 12 billion pound ($15 billion) fundraising at the height of the credit crisis breached UK law. Bloomberg reported on Friday that Barclays plans to plead guilty to charges that it failed to make proper disclosures about the fundraising and is braced for a fine, which would likely range from 100 million to 200 million pounds. Barclays and the SFO declined to comment on the Bloomberg report and on the timing of the charging announcement. Qatar Holding, part of the Qatar Investment Authority sovereign wealth fund, and Challenger, an investment vehicle of former Qatari prime minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani, invested around 5.3 billion pounds ($6.7 billion) in Barclays in June and October 2008. Authorities have been examining whether payments from Barclays to Qatar at the same time, such as around 322 million pounds in "advisory services agreements" (ASA), alongside a multi-billion-dollar loan, were honest and properly disclosed. The inquiry is one of several legal issues inherited by Barclay''s current Chief Executive Jes Staley that date back to the credit crisis. The bank already faces a proposed fine of about 50 million pounds for being "reckless" after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it did not disclose all "advisory services agreements" to Qatar, although that inquiry is ongoing. (Reporting By Huw Jones and Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Rachel Armstrong and Elaine Hardcastle)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/barclays-qatar-charges-idINKBN1972FE'|'2017-06-16T15:34:00.000+03:00' +'7b4e8b2f22ffa4378e0459b882ae2492ea8de76a'|'UPDATE 2-Abu Dhabi''s Mubadala fund pulls out of Etisalat Nigeria'|'(Recasts with Mubadala''s exit from Etisalat Nigeria)By Camillus Eboh and Chijioke OhuochaABUJA/LAGOS, June 23 Abu Dhabi state investment fund Mubadala has pulled out of Etisalat Nigeria after the telecoms firm failed to renegotiate a $1.2 billion loan taken out four years ago with 13 Nigerian banks, the central bank said on Friday.It gave no details on what it meant by "pulled out" but said it had intervened in the loan renegotiation talks to prevent job losses and asset stripping.Etisalat Nigeria had repaid $500 million of the loan before it defaulted in February due to a currency devaluation and its only remaining investors are its Nigerian partners, led by company chairman Hakeem Belo-Osagie.On Tuesday, parent company United Arab Emirates'' Etisalat, said it was carrying its 45-percent stake at nil value, and that the Nigerian lenders had ordered it to transfer its shares to a loan trustee by June 23 after the renegotiation failed.Neither Etisalat nor Mubadala, which owns 40 percent of Etisalat Nigeria, could be reached for comment."Given the inability of Etisalat (Nigeria) to come to an acceptable agreement with the banks, the largest shareholder in the company, Dubai-based Mubadala Development Company of the United Arab Emirates, has now pulled out of the company as well as the ongoing negotiations," the central bank said."It was based on the attempt of the banks to takeover the company that the financial and telecommunications regulators have moved in to intervene and forestall down-sizing and asset stripping," it said.In March, the central bank, which is also the banking watchdog, and the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC)regulator tried to prevent lenders placing the firm in receivership to avoid a wider debt crisis and agreed with banks to pursue a default deal.But lenders, under pressure to avoid loan-loss provisions, have been pushing to finalise a restructuring before half-yearly audits this month.Central bank spokesman Isaac Okorafor said representatives from the central bank and the telecoms regulator would hold talks in the next few days with lenders and IHS Towers, the mobile phone tower managers, as well as "equipment suppliers".The original loan was a seven-year facility to refinance a $650 million loan and fund expansion of Etisalat Nigeria''s network. The company missed payments in February after sharp falls in the Nigerian naira bloated the loan''s value, making repayments difficult.Etisalat is Nigeria''s fourth biggest mobile operator with a 14-percent market share. South Africa''s MTN has 47 percent, Globacom 20 percent and Airtel - a subsidiary of India''s Bharti Airtel - 19 percent of Nigeria''s mobile phone market. (Additional reporting by Alexis Akwagyiram in Lagos and Stanley Carvalho in Abu Dhabi; Editing by Louise Ireland)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/etisalat-group-nigeria-idINL8N1JK4H0'|'2017-06-23T19:02:00.000+03:00' +'6beea3c6ec3fd0f223d956a4a6b2e704e179032a'|'BRIEF-Blue Apron estimates IPO price will be between $15-$17/shr'|'June 19 Blue Apron Holdings Inc:* Sees IPO of 30.0 million shares of Class A common stock - SEC filing* Blue Apron Holdings Inc says currently estimated that the initial public offering price will be between $15.00 and $17.00 per share* Blue Apron Holdings says intend to use portion of IPO net proceeds to repay outstanding borrowings under revolving credit facility of about $125 million Source text: ( bit.ly/2tjjqnp )'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/brief-blue-apron-estimates-ipo-price-wil-idINFWN1JG099'|'2017-06-19T08:29:00.000+03:00' +'0ee4d1b3d3eeceb99552bf7c4fd929a0275cba5f'|'German ministry orders probe of Porsche emissions'|'Autos 29am BST German ministry orders probe of Porsche emissions BERLIN The German Transport Ministry has ordered the KBA watchdog agency to examine the emissions of sports car maker Porsche ( PSHG_p.DE ), a unit of Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ), a ministry spokesman said on Monday following a critical media report. German newsmagazine Der Spiegel reported on Friday that diesel models of Porsche''s Cayenne V6 TDI, an SUV model, had much higher emissions than legally allowed. The company said it did not understand the test results, and noted that emissions depend on conditions such as engine load, speed and temperature. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Michael Nienaber)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-volkswagen-emissions-porsche-governme-idUKKBN19312Q'|'2017-06-12T18:29:00.000+03:00' +'fa8f648781a74d702f3ecdf8e553c9719cb80a00'|'U.S. jobless claims rise, labor market still tight'|'WASHINGTON The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits increased slightly last week, but remains at levels consistent with a tight labor market.Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 241,000 for the week ended June 17, the Labor Department said on Thursday.Economists polled by Reuters had forecast first-time applications for jobless claims rising to 240,000 in the latest week.Following the report, the dollar held at slightly lower levels against a basket of currencies while U.S. Treasuries were little changed.Jobless claims for the prior week were revised upwards by 1,000 to 238,000 from 237,000. The week''s tally is the 120th consecutive week that claims have been below 300,000, the threshold associated with a strong labor market. It''s the longest stretch that claims have remained below that level since 1970.The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it smoothes week-to-week volatility, rose 1,500 to 244,750 last week, the highest since early April.Many economists consider the labor market to be at or near full employment. The unemployment rate in May declined to a 16-year low of 4.3 percent.The U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter percentage point last week for the second time in three months and signaled it remains on track for one more rate hike this year.Fed officials have been buoyed by the tightening jobs market although it has yet to translate into significant pricing pressures.Indeed, some policymakers at the central bank have begun to show increasing concern that a recent pullback in inflation may point to sustained difficulty in returning it to the Fed''s 2 percent target.A Labor Department official said there were no special factors influencing the claims data. Only claims for Louisiana were estimated.Thursday''s claims report also showed the number of people still receiving benefits after an initial week of aid increased 8,000 to 1.94 million in the week ended June 10.The so-called continuing claims have now been below 2 million for 10 straight weeks, indicating diminishing labor market slack.(Reporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir; Editing by Andrea Ricci)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-idUSKBN19D1JL'|'2017-06-22T20:39:00.000+03:00' +'f17101258a7ab4f9281347cdbf6ad41698e7f360'|'AIRSHOW-Are you being served? Planemakers alter sales pitch to boost profit'|'Business News - Fri Jun 23, 2017 - 12:39pm EDT Are you being served? Planemakers alter sales pitch to boost profit An aerial view of the 52nd Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol By Tim Hepher and Victoria Bryan - PARIS PARIS Airbus and Boeing leave this week''s Paris Airshow with plans for ambitious growth in aviation services, as flattening demand for new jets and pressure to raise profit margins encourages planemakers to deepen their exposure to airline operations. The two largest planemakers set out their stalls at the world''s biggest air show in a series of announcements that could set them in competition with some of their suppliers and even some of the airlines that have ordered jets in recent years. The overlap reflects the complexity of the aviation market as it matures, leaving a large fleet of aircraft to service or upgrade and tens of thousands of people to train - all services that could in turn become tools to help sell even more jets. "Many customers are now looking for fixed cost per flight hour with assured outcomes on part availability. It is the (airline) CFO''s dream to get costs out and management risks under a third party," Stan Deal, head of Boeing''s newly created global services division, told Reuters. "The future state we want to get to is that we can support every element of a day of operations on the airplane." For years, air shows were all about "moving the metal," winning as many orders as possible. Orders are still buzzing, but higher-margin services have taken a prime time slot for the first time with a volley of announcements from each company. "Would you imagine having your Mercedes car without the associated services? It makes no sense," said Laurent Martinez, head of ''Services by Airbus''. "We are definitely the best placed to serve our aircraft because we know the aircraft nose to tail," he told Reuters. Boeing''s ( BA.N ) newest division starts up on July 1 with a mandate to roughly triple Boeing''s commercial and defense services to $50 billion in 10-15 years. The existing commercial unit will also keep its own services sales team to support the effort. Airbus ( AIR.PA ) said the worldwide aftermarket services business for jetliners will double to $3.2 trillion over the next 20 years. The overall services market is worth an estimated $100 billion a year: almost as much as building and selling jets but yielding fatter margins. "We are definitely on a major growth plan," Martinez told Reuters. "In 2017, we will see double-digit growth." ACQUISITIONS Both companies are ready to look at modest acquisitions to expand their services businesses. "I would characterize them as bolt-on acquisitions to accelerate our position in the market," Deal said. Competitors include the major maintenance and repair organizations (MRO) such as Air France Industrie ( AIRF.PA ) and Lufthansa Technik ( LHAG.DE ), though there are partnerships with such firms too. "The market is growing fast. ... We see more and more airlines that are concentrating on their core business and want to have all their operations subcontracted," Martinez said. Norwegian Air Shuttle ( NWC.OL ) , which had selected Boeing over Lufthansa Technik to maintain its fleet in Boeing''s biggest commercial services deal last year, returned to the show to sign a new deal for Boeing to take charge of flight training. As fleets age, upgrades are lucrative too. United Parcel Service ( UPS.N ) last month signed a deal with Airbus and Honeywell ( HON.N ) to upgrade the cockpits on 52 elderly A300-600 freighters, and arrived in Paris this week with a deal for Boeing to convert three second-hand 767 jetliners to freighters. Powering the expansion in services is a transformation in the way data can be used to connect aircraft, pepper them with sensors and predict upcoming maintenance problems. Airbus launched such a platform with four airlines, powered by analytics firm Palantir Technologies. "We are able to define the weak signals for components and ... change the component before it fails. This is the future of maintenance," Martinez said. Data can also be used to optimize a flight trajectory, saving fuel by 1-2 percent, Airbus said. Boeing offers to manage airlines'' fuel demands, even if their jets were made by Airbus. In a further step, services are being baked into the way planes like Boeing''s proposed mid-market jet are designed. The switch demands a different culture from the measured, highly regulated process of building a plane for public transport. That will stay in place wherever safety is an issue. "Part of standing it up separately (as a new services division) is to break the shackles of that, recognizing that we are going to be a fast-paced innovator with short sprints of incremental innovation and some big-bang innovation," Deal said. (Editing by Mark Potter) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-airshow-paris-services-idUSKBN19E1YE'|'2017-06-24T00:36:00.000+03:00' +'ee721a593d92028bf143cdf8655581b8ddd552ae'|'China economy improves in second quarter but delevaraging poses risks - private survey'|'Business News 5:00am BST China economy improves in second-quarter but deleveraging poses risks - private survey left A China yuan note is seen in this illustration photo May 31, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration 1/3 left right Men work on platforms at the construction site of residential highrises in Beijing, China June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter 2/3 left right A man works at the construction site of residential highrises in Beijing, China June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter 3/3 BEIJING China''s economy continued to improve in the second quarter, with corporate profits rising and hiring up, a private survey showed, but it suggested the Asian giant may have to brace for tougher times ahead even though firms have been able to weather a tighter financing environment. The quarterly survey of thousands of Chinese firms by China Beige Book International (CBB) showed that while the property sector slowed, manufacturing improved further and the retail and services industries bounced back after a difficult first quarter. That reinforced a flurry of recent data and policy makers'' comments that indicated authorities were working to curb financial risks and keep the economy on an even keel heading into a key political meeting this year. The survey showed surprisingly strong performance in the commodities sector despite some price weakness in the second quarter, with the aluminium sector particularly strong. The improving economy, especially the healthy labour market, is no doubt welcome news ahead of a leadership revamp at an autumn congress of the ruling Communist Party of China. Yet signs of stress in the corporate sector pointed to a bumpy ride for businesses. CBB said cash flow was negative for many companies and inventory levels in the second quarter was at the highest in the history of the survey. That is in line with official data showing growth in industrial inventories picked up to over 10 percent in April, sparking worries of weak demand. CBB said there are signs tougher times could be ahead for Chinese companies during a period of deleveraging and rising interest rates. "It remains true that either rates have to come plunging back down, as the (state planner) recently called for, or the present level of corporate activity is headed for a cliff," CBB said in its report. As the government stepped up its campaign to curb debt risks and stabilise the financial sector, growth of China''s broad money supply came in at the slowest in at least two decades in May, though bank lending remained solid. The CBB survey showed the corporate sector started to feel the effect of tighter credit conditions in the second quarter after escaping relatively unscathed in the first three months of the year, with the cost to take a bank loan the highest since 2014. But borrowing was not impacted much, CBB said, likely due to firms'' positive business outlook for the next six months, though CBB said that this may not last if tightening persists. "Companies assume deleveraging is transient, likely because they are skeptical the Party will allow economic pain in 2017. It will not be until 2018 when we find out whether deleveraging is genuinebecause it won''t be until 2018 that it will actually hurt", CBB said. (Reporting by Elias Glenn; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-beigebook-idUKKBN19I2XA'|'2017-06-28T06:06:00.000+03:00' +'6bb12e1836d38a96b8de990cc0a1a8c261013baa'|'Bain, Cinven collect 36.55 percent of Stada shares'|'Deals - Mon Jun 19, 2017 - 7:47am EDT Bain, Cinven collect 36.55 percent of Stada shares FRANKFURT Buyout groups Bain Capital and Cinven have so far been offered 36.55 percent of German drugmaker Stada ( STAGn.DE ) shares, the private equity groups said on Monday. The tender offer for the agreed 5.3 billion euro deal runs through June 22 and is conditional on securing 67.5 percent of Stada''s shares. The investors lowered minimum acceptance threshold earlier this month. Investors typically tender shortly before the deadline. People close to the deal have said that passing the set threshold may prove a challenge given the large number of shares held by retail investors, who are more likely to forget to tender than institutional stockholders, as well as by index tracking funds that cannot tender for technical reasons. Activist investor Active Ownership Capital earlier this month sold its Stada stake to someone who is expected to tender it in the offer, according to people close to the deal. (Reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Ludwig Burger) '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-stada-arzneimitt-m-a-idUSKBN19A1IH'|'2017-06-19T15:47:00.000+03:00' +'ff76e66abc00fdab7e15e648f1984e06e982a8c6'|'Peru miner Volcan seeks copper opportunities to diversify'|'LIMA Volcan, Peru''s largest producer of silver and zinc, seeks new opportunities in copper projects to diversify its operations and is also evaluating acquisitions, an executive said on Tuesday.Among the company''s plans, Jose Montoya, manager of corporate development, highlighted the Chumpe and Carhuacayn porphyry copper projects in Junin region as well as copper and gold project Rica Cerrea in Pasco."We are looking to increase diversification in copper opportunities," Montoya said in a presentation at the MinPro forum.He said Volcan is also looking at acquisitions that could provide "fast" value."We are investing heavily in exploration in 2017 to discover the potential we have in copper. We are betting on an aggressive drilling plan ... 30 percent of this will be destined to uncover copper opportunities," he added.Volcan last year produced some 273,400 metric tons of zinc, down 4.1 percent from 2015, as well as 22 million ounces of silver, down 11.4 percent from the previous year.(Reporting by Teresa Cespedes; Writing by Caroline Stauffer; Editing by Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-peru-volcan-idUSKBN18Y003'|'2017-06-07T08:01:00.000+03:00' +'c163ff0eb769aa4d349116ddb7ea9ea22f132a56'|'GF Financial Markets CEO Andy Gooch steps down'|'Business 7:57am BST GF Financial Markets CEO Andy Gooch steps down MELBOURNE Andy Gooch, chief executive of London-based commodity broker GF Financial Markets (GFFM), a unit of China''s GF Securities, has stepped down for personal reasons, the broker said. Gooch, a metals industry stalwart, had been at the helm of the broker for the past four years. GFFM was the first Chinese member to join the 140-year-old London Metal Exchange as a ring dealer, which it did in 2013 when it bought into the share capital of France''s Natixis SA. It is owned by GF Futures (HK) Co Ltd, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of China brokerage GF Futures Co, part of GF Securities. The business also trades energy, softs and agriculture. Gooch did not immediately respond to a LinkedIn request for comment. "It is with regret that Andy Gooch has resigned as the CEO of GFFM for personal reasons and we thank him for the work he has done in establishing and growing our business in London," GFFM said in a notice on its website dated June 21. "GFF / GFS remains committed to supporting and developing the business going forward." Gooch worked at Natixis for six years, before which he was head of Nymex Europe. (Reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-gffinancial-moves-gooch-idUKKBN19E0LM'|'2017-06-23T14:57:00.000+03:00' +'bbe50edf2b667450d333aeda52de71cbb3c9d0c4'|'DST Global''s Milner sees $4 trln of new internet companies on online spending boom'|'HONG KONG, June 9 A surge in online consumer spending in the coming years is seen creating $4 trillion worth of new internet companies, billionaire investor Yuri Milner, founder of venture capital giant DST Global, said on Friday.Milner, an early backer of internet giants, including Alibaba Group Holding, Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc, expects the percentage of global consumer spending that happens online to more than double to 15 percent by 2025 from 6 percent now, he told a conference in Hong Kong. (Reporting by Elzio Barreto; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/dstglobal-internet-idINL3N1J60KX'|'2017-06-08T23:46:00.000+03:00' +'2b5a52d2a264b3beb7321345006a0a9d81df19b2'|'Chairman Wu charts roller-coaster ride for Waldorf-owner Anbang'|'Wed Jun 14, 2017 - 10:43am BST Chairman Wu charts roller-coaster ride for Waldorf-owner Anbang FILE PHOTO: Chairman of Anbang Insurance Group Wu Xiaohui attends the China Development Forum in Beijing, China March 18, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo By Matthew Miller - BEIJING BEIJING Founded as a provincial auto insurer, Anbang Insurance burst from obscurity with a $2 billion bid for New York''s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in 2014, casting the company and its ambitious chairman as flagbearers for a new breed of Chinese dealmakers. But its headline-grabbing deals and the connections forged by chairman Wu Xiaohui - from Beijing to President Donald Trump''s son-in-law - have invited closer scrutiny. On Wednesday, the privately held company said Wu had temporarily stepped aside, following unverified reports of his detention in China. It has not provided further details. Wu, who married the grand-daughter of late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, has been the driving force at Anbang since founding the company in 2004. The group worked in obscurity before turning to more aggressive financing to catapult it over rivals who rake in much larger volumes of premiums. Over the past three years, Anbang has secured acquisitions worth more than $30 billion - a diverse list that has raised regulatory questions at home and abroad. As queries grew, the low-profile Wu made more public appearances this year at key events including the annual Boao Forum, China''s answer to the Davos World Economic Forum. On one panel there he playfully sparred with Levin Zhu, the politically powerful former CEO of China International Capital Corp and a former Anbang director, who repeatedly questioned him on the company''s finances, attendees reported. "Anbang''s rise to international prominence has been much like that of modern China itself - meteoric, with mystical origins, and often misunderstood," said Brock Silvers, managing director of Kaiyuan Capital, a Shanghai-based investment advisory firm. "The company was continuously dogged by rumors regarding its capital origins, yet continued to succeed," he added. HARD-DRIVING, HANDS-ON Known for his hard-driving, hands-on approach and single-minded ambition, Wu is not the first high-profile executive reported to be targeted or questioned by Chinese authorities. China-born billionaire Xiao Jianhua was taken from a luxury Hong Kong hotel in a wheelchair in January, a source told Reuters. Local media reported the group that took him away were mainland Chinese agents, which Chinese authorities have not commented on. Fosun chairman Guo Guangchang reportedly lost contact with the healthcare-to-insurance conglomerate in 2015 before re-emerging to say he was assisting authorities in a probe. Wu says he works at least 12 hours a day, and those working with him say calls from Wu at all hours of the day or night are not uncommon. Occasionally, he sleeps in his office. "We must win the first battle and every battle thereafter as we are representing Chinese enterprises going global," Wu, now 51, told students at Harvard University in 2015. "We must have conviction that we can make profit even under the worst case scenario in order to move forward on each investment." DEAL OR NO DEAL Many of Anbang''s latest deals, though, have faltered. The Beijing-based firm in 2016 offered $14 billion for U.S. hotel operator Starwood but pulled out from what would have been the largest Chinese takeover of a U.S. company. A year later, it held talks with Jared Kushner, Trump''s son-in-law, to develop a New York office tower. That deal foundered amid controversy over the extended family of the U.S. president selling to a politically connected Chinese tycoon. Anbang''s $1.6 billion offer for U.S. annuities and life insurer Fidelity & Guaranty Life fell through in April. Anbang had separately sought to list its life insurance business in Hong Kong and invited banks last August to pitch for the deal, sources familiar with the matter said at the time. That too went quiet. Wu''s strategy echoed that of famed U.S. investor Warren Buffett - an aggressive pursuit of yield-producing companies, funded by cash from selling insurance products and other sources. In addition to his international deals, Wu also bought significant stakes in a number of Chinese banks and financial companies. He also aligned with powerful allies. When he set up Anbang, Wu enlisted a small consortium of private and state investors, led by Shanghai Automotive Industry Group Corp (SAIC), the parent of a government-owned automaker. State-owned China Petrochemical Corp later bought a stake. In addition to Levin Zhu, Anbang''s original board included Long Yongtu, China''s chief negotiator when it joined the World Trade Organization. Wu also turned to Chen Xiaolu, a son of Chinese Marshal Chen Yi, for support. One source who has advised Anbang said Wu worked hard to cultivate connections with politically connected figures and princelings, the children of the country''s political elite, including the Deng family. "Even if you marry a princeling, that doesn''t necessarily mean you are a full member of the family," the source said. (Additional reporting by Julie Zhu in HONG KONG; Writing by Clara Ferreira Marques; Editing by Lincoln Feast)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-anbang-group-chairman-profile-idUKKBN19512V'|'2017-06-14T17:31:00.000+03:00' +'c2ed669166c3c71a70e05aee16f0063730c76153'|'Russian investors could take part in Saudi Aramco IPO: RIA cites Novak'|'Deals - Fri Jun 2, 2017 - 2:18am EDT Russian investors could take part in Saudi Aramco IPO: RIA cites Novak FILE PHOTO: A Saudi Aramco employee sits in the company stand at the Middle East Petrotech 2016, an exhibition and conference for the refining and petrochemical industries, in Manama, Bahrain, September 27, 2016. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo MOSCOW Russian investors could look into the possibility of taking part in the privatization of Saudi Arabia''s oil giant Saudi Aramco, once conditions for the sale are announced, RIA news agency quoted Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak as saying on Friday. The Saudi government plans to list up to 5 percent of Aramco on the Saudi stock exchange in Riyadh, the Tadawul, and on one or more international markets in the second quarter of 2018. (Reporting by Dmitry Solovyov; Writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Alexander Winning) '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-saudi-aramco-privatisation-idUSKBN18T0IU'|'2017-06-02T10:18:00.000+03:00' +'70e7dec38c40b7076d469887d74c47adb1913ef0'|'After oil drop, some OPEC delegates question if supply cut deal enough'|'Business After oil drop, some OPEC delegates question if supply cut deal enough FILE PHOTO: The OPEC logo is seen outside their headquarters in Vienna, Austria May 24, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo By Alex Lawler - LONDON LONDON Two weeks after an OPEC-led deal to extend oil output cuts until March, some OPEC delegates are questioning whether the agreement will be enough to reduce a glut in supplies and lift prices. Prices LCOc1 have fallen more than 10 percent to below $50 a barrel since the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies agreed on May 25 to prolong a deal to cut about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) until the end of March. The deal was initially due to run during the first half of 2017. Even a political dispute between Gulf states, the source for most of OPEC''s crude, has failed to drive prices higher. Instead, eyes are trained on Nigeria and Libya, two OPEC states that were excluded from the regime of cuts to help them recover from years of unrest that had hurt production. Both now report rising output. This is adding to concerns among some in OPEC about the effectiveness of the accord to reduce output, whose impact is already being eroded by surging U.S. shale production. One OPEC delegate told Reuters that a deal to curb production "without freezing Libya and Nigeria is useless." Nigeria''s exports are expected to reach a 15-month high in June of about 1.75 million bpd. Libyan output has hit its highest since October 2014, rising above 800,000 bpd. At the May meeting, OPEC discussed whether to assign output caps to Nigeria and Libya but agreed not to. The group also considered a larger production cut, an idea that it could revive in future, delegates have told Reuters. A second OPEC delegate also said on Friday that it was not clear that the level of existing cuts was enough. "It''s difficult to say. We hope so," the delegate said. "We need to wait another month to see how it develops. There are a lot of factors involved." A third delegate said oil-market fundamentals were improving, indicating the current drop in prices was not driven by supply and demand but rather by speculators. However, two other delegates said the oil price drop was temporary and the current supply cut pact was enough. "It is not a cause for alarm - it is normal," one of them said of the price fall, adding that he believed the market would still rebalance in the second half of the year. Oil prices have recovered from below $30 a barrel in 2016, helped by the pact. But with the price hovering below $50 now, it is half its level of mid-2014 and less than the $60 top exporter Saudi Arabia has said it would like to see. (Additional reporting by Rania El Gamal; Editing by Edmund Blair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-opec-oil-idUKKBN1902BD'|'2017-06-09T23:41:00.000+03:00' +'2fbbe6811cddf45de173fd03c4a3220f3a19e990'|'Tesla driver in fatal ''Autopilot'' crash got numerous warnings - U.S. government'|'Technology 10:36pm BST Tesla driver in fatal ''Autopilot'' crash got numerous warnings: U.S. govt. A Tesla Model S involved in the fatal crash on May 7, 2016 is shown with the top third of the car sheared off by the impact of the collision of the Tesla with a tractor-trailer truck on nearby highway and came to rest in the yard of Robert and Chrissy VanKavelaar in... REUTERS By David Shepardson - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON A man killed in a crash last year while using the semi-autonomous driving system on his Tesla Model S sedan kept his hands off the wheel for extended periods of time despite repeated automated warnings not to do so, a U.S. government report said on Monday The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released 500 pages of findings into the May 2016 death of Joshua Brown, a former Navy SEAL, near Williston, Florida. Brown''s Model S collided with a truck while it was engaged in the "Autopilot" mode and he was killed. A Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ) spokeswoman Tesla spokeswoman Keely Sulprizio declined to comment on the NTSB report. Lawyers for Brown''s family did not return messages seeking comment. The incident raised questions about the safety of systems that can perform driving tasks for long stretches with little or no human intervention, but which cannot completely replace human drivers. During a 37-minute period of the trip when Brown was required to have his hands on the wheel, he apparently did so for just 25 seconds, the NTSB said in the report. The report said the Autopilot mode remained on during most of his trip and that it gave him to a visual warning seven separate times that said "Hands Required Not Detected." In six cases, the system then sounded a chime before it returned to "Hands Required Detected" for one to three second periods. Tesla in September unveiled improvements in Autopilot, adding new limits on hands-off driving and other features that its chief executive officer said likely would have prevented the crash death. The updated system temporarily prevents drivers from using the system if they do not respond to audible warnings to take back control of the car. The NTSB makes safety recommendations but cannot order recalls. In January, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it had found no evidence of defects in the aftermath of Brown''s death. NHTSA said Brown did not apply the brakes and his last action was to set the cruise control at 74 miles (119 km) per hour less than two minutes before the crash -- above the 65 mph speed limit. The agency said the truck should have been visible to Brown for at least seven seconds before impact. Brown "took no braking, steering or other actions to avoid the collision," the report said. A Florida Highway Patrol spokesman said the truck driver was charged with a right of way traffic violation. He is due for a court hearing on Wednesday. The NTSB report disclosed that the Tesla Model S uses a proprietary system to record a vehicle''s speed and other data, which authorities cannot access with the commercial tools used to access information from event data recorders in most other cars. For that reason, the NTSB said it "had to rely on Tesla to provide the data in engineering units using proprietary manufacturer software." (Reporting by David Shepardson; Additional reporting by Bernie Woodall in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Editing by Tom Brown)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-crash-idUKKBN19A2XC'|'2017-06-20T05:36:00.000+03:00' +'4b439dfe75c62687d381090399396b1e87947183'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Argentine peso, stocks slump after surprise MSCI snub'|'(Updates with closing prices) By Bruno Federowski SAO PAULO, June 21 The Argentine peso on Wednesday fell to its weakest level ever while stocks tanked after index provider MSCI unexpectedly decided not to include the country in its emerging markets index. MSCI said it needed more signs that center-right President Mauricio Macri''s pro-market reforms were "irreversible" to reincorporate the country''s shares into its Emerging Markets Index. Macri has repealed the capital controls and foreign exchange restrictions that drove MSCI to downgrade Latin America''s No. 3 economy to "frontier" status. Argentina''s benchmark Merval stock index fell nearly 5 percent, its biggest daily decline since January 15. Shares of Pampa Energia SA led the losses, dropping 8.35 percent. The index had risen nearly 25 percent in 2017 as traders anticipated increased inflows from funds tracking the MSCI index. As those expectations faded, the peso weakened as much as 1 percent to a record low before recovering slightly. "There is no longer any rush for passive funds to get in, and those who have been buying in advance of an expected reclassification will probably now look to take some money off the table," strategists at Ita BBA wrote in a note to clients. However, "we still have a positive view of the current domestic dynamics in Argentina, both political and economic." Trading in other Latin American markets was skittish, tracking volatility in commodity prices. The Mexican peso weakened by 0.1 percent, adding to a sharp decline on Tuesday, with falling crude prices pressuring the currency. Brazil''s benchmark Bovespa stock index edged down 0.01 percent, while shares of miner Vale SA tracked iron ore higher. Shares of meatpacker Minerva SA fell 1.6 percent after Reuters reported a judge blocked the $300 million purchase of JBS SA''s South American assets. Shares of JBS rose 5.32 percent. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 2030 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % Latest change change MSCI Emerging Markets 1006.47 -0.22 16.72 MSCI LatAm 2480.19 -0.45 5.96 Brazil Bovespa 60761.74 -0.01 0.89 Mexico IPC 48983.45 -0.1 7.32 Chile IPSA 4752.45 -0.9 14.48 Chile IGPA 23818.33 -0.82 14.87 Argentina MerVal 20614.35 -4.81 21.85 Colombia IGBC 10665.48 -1.15 5.31 Venezuela IBC 121418.08 2.24 282.96 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.3292 0.08 -2.40 Mexico peso 18.2235 -0.15 13.83 Chile peso 665.2 -0.23 0.83 Colombia peso 3057.2 -0.95 -1.82 Peru sol 3.271 0.03 4.37 Argentina peso (interbank) 16.2100 -0.31 -2.07 Argentina peso (parallel) 16.65 -0.06 1.02 (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Diane Craft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-latam-idUSL1N1JI1PH'|'2017-06-22T05:02:00.000+03:00' +'5fc67a869f1e88483527296d2c868e28d4b224c0'|'China not facing same pressure as Fed to shrink balance sheet - PBOC adviser'|'Central Banks - Thu Jun 22, 2017 - 3:12am BST China not facing same pressure as Fed to shrink balance sheet - PBOC adviser FILE PHOTO: People walk past the headquarters of the People''s Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank, as two paramilitary police officials patrol around it in Beijing November 20, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo SHANGHAI China''s central bank will not take action to shrink its balance sheet like the U.S. Federal Reserve as it does not face the same pressures due to its use of different policy tools, an adviser to the People''s Bank of China (PBOC) said on Thursday. The Fed is looking to start reducing its massive $4.2 trillion (3.3 trillion pounds) portfolio of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities beginning later this year. Most of the assets were purchased in the wake of the 2007-2009 financial crisis and recession. However, the PBOC''s assets are mainly foreign exchange-based, Sheng Songcheng, former director-general of statistics and research at the central bank, wrote in the Shanghai Securities News. "The balance sheet structures of China and the United States'' are very different," he wrote in the newspaper. "The PBOC does not have the huge portfolio of securities assets that need to be dealt with and foreign exchange accounts are impacted by capital flows, which can be hedged by adjusted other subjects," he said. The PBOC also held a neutral monetary policy, he added, while the Fed is aiming to gradually normalise ultra-loose conditions. Sheng also said that while the Fed''s balance sheet expanded rapidly during the financial crisis, from less than $900 billion before 2007 to $4.5 trillion in 2014, the PBOC''s balance sheet less than doubled in size during that period. The Federal Reserve raised interest rates last week for the second time in three months and said it would begin cutting its holdings of bonds and other securities this year in a bid to shrink its balance sheet. While the PBOC''s policy stance has also been seen as super loose since the financial crisis, China''s economic stimulus has been more direct - largely coming in the form of credit extended by big state-controlled banks and increased government spending on items like big infrastructure projects. Aggregate financing in China, which includes bank loans as well as off-balance sheet lending, surged in March and was a record in the first quarter. (Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Kim Coghill) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-policy-idUKKBN19D06E'|'2017-06-22T10:12:00.000+03:00' +'8d5a2f84b3de71d38d9d8aea52e716b9087763e3'|'Carney is only BoE rate-setter scheduled to speak next week'|'Business News - Fri Jun 23, 2017 - 5:35pm BST Carney is only BoE rate-setter scheduled to speak next week The Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, delivers a speech to the Bankers and Merchants at The Mansion House in London, Britain June 20, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth LONDON Bank of England Governor Mark Carney is the only member of the central bank''s Monetary Policy Committee scheduled to speak next week, at a time when investors are keen to get a clearer sense of how close an interest rate rise might be. Carney will take part in a panel discussion hosted by the European Central Bank in Portugal on Wednesday. He is also expected to chair a news conference to mark the publication of the BoE''s half-yearly Financial Stability Report on Tuesday at which other policymakers might speak. Deputy governors Ben Broadbent and Jon Cunliffe, as well as MPC members Ian McCafferty, Michael Saunders and Gertjan Vlieghe, are yet to speak publicly since last week''s unexpected 5-3 split on the MPC over whether to start to raise rates. The BoE''s weekly events calendar is provisional and subject to change. (Reporting by William Schomberg; Writing by David Milliken)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-boe-idUKKBN19E1YA'|'2017-06-24T00:35:00.000+03:00' +'1a95b568f5a8358b6e8ec96f3244dd9e65220970'|'India''s Lanco Infratech confirms RBI order on insolvency process'|'MUMBAI, June 17 Lanco Infratech Ltd confirmed on Saturday that India''s central bank had directed the company''s lead lender IDBI Bank to initiate a corporate insolvency resolution process under the country''s bankruptcy laws.Lanco is among 12 companies that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has ordered lenders to take to bankruptcy court as it strives to cut the country''s $150 billion in soured debt, sources told Reuters on Friday.The 12 companies together account for about 2 trillion rupees ($31 billion), or roughly a quarter, of Indian bank loans that have been categorised as non-performing.Lanco, whose businesses include power and infrastructure, said it had outstanding fund-based loans of 81.46 billion rupees and another 32.21 billion rupees in non-fund-based exposure as of March 31, 2016.Non-fund-based exposure typically includes bank guarantees and letters of credit.IDBI Bank has called a meeting of the group of lenders to the company on Monday to discuss the resolution process, Lanco said in a stock exchange filing. ($1 = 64.4300 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Dale Hudson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/lanco-infra-bankruptcy-idUSL3N1JE07Z'|'2017-06-17T19:47:00.000+03:00' +'34671411352f0732c8402f250472cecea64ef319'|'Japan Display considers deeper restructuring, seeks more funding: Nikkei'|'By Makiko Yamazaki and Naomi Tajitsu - TOKYO TOKYO Japan Display Inc is considering restructuring beyond cutting jobs and consolidating production, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, as its late entry into OLED technology caused loss of business with Apple Inc.Earlier in the day, Japan''s Nikkei business daily reported the firm was looking at capital and business tie-ups, and seeking aid from investment funds including government-led technology venture Innovation Network Corp of Japan (INCJ).Deeper restructuring would come just six months after INCJ agreed to invest up to 75 billion yen ($685 million) in the liquid crystal display (LCD) maker, and five years after INCJ helped form Japan Display from the ailing display units of Sony Corp, Hitachi Ltd and Toshiba Corp.INCJ''s role in rescuing Japan''s struggling tech industry could intensify as it considers buying a stake in the chip business that Toshiba has put up for sale to help cover billions of dollars of cost overruns at its nuclear unit.INVESTMENT DELAYIn a statement on Wednesday, Japan Display said it would delay increasing investment in organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel maker JOLED Inc pending a new mid-term business plan, which would include Japan Display''s strategy for commercializing the technology for smartphones.An agreement on raising its investment from the current 15 percent would be made by June 2018, the company said, a year later than previous plans for later this month.Japan Display will announce a new medium-term business plan by August, after appointing a new management team at its annual shareholders meeting later this month, the Nikkei reported.Shares in Japan Display ended nearly 10 percent higher following the Nikkei report, which a Japan Display spokesman said was not based on any announcement by the company.The Reuters source was not authorized to speak with media on the matter and so declined to be identified.OLED DELAYLate last year, Japan Display said it would cut 30 percent of its workforce, and it has also been consolidating production.The company has posted three consecutive years of loss in part because of fluctuating demand for Apple''s iPhones, the LCDs of which account for about half of Japan Display''s sales.It forecasts more near-term losses due to falling sales and higher costs at a new factory, while it pours money into OLED.Japan Display was late to start developing OLED panels, which are thinner and more flexible than LCDs and offer higher resolution. It plans to start mass producing them next year. For a graphic of Display technology IMG click tmsnrt.rs/2r44eZ5(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki and Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Christopher Cushing)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-japan-display-overhaul-idINKBN18Y06S'|'2017-06-07T00:26:00.000+03:00' +'fcb0818298852fbf50e076460499dcf9b3e51a10'|'Volkswagen brand CEO sees new models driving profit and sales'|'Fri Jun 16, 2017 - 12:47pm BST VW brand CEO sees new models driving profit and sales left right Head of Volkswagen design Klaus Bischoff, chairman of Volkswagen board Herbert Diess and Frank Welsch, member of the Board for Development of Volkswagen, present the new Volkswagen Polo car during the World premiere of Volkswagen''s new Polo in Berlin, Germany June 16, 2017. REUTERS/Stefanie Loos 1/2 left right Herbert Diess, chairman of the board of Volkswagen, presents the new Volkswagen Polo car during the World premiere of Volkswagen''s new Polo in Berlin, Germany June 16, 2017. REUTERS/Stefanie Loos 2/2 BERLIN Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) is making headway with efforts to raise profitability at its troubled core brand and expects strong business next year thanks to a raft of new models, the division''s top executive said. The world''s largest automaker''s core division is being restructured with thousands of job cuts and retrenchments in parts and vehicle development as it struggles to fund a post-dieselgate shift to electric cars and new technologies. More than 10 new models launched this year including the top-of-the-line Arteon fastback and a redesigned Polo subcompact, one of VW''s all-time bestsellers, would stoke demand and underpin the turnaround, VW brand chief executive Herbert Diess told Reuters on Friday. "We are making good progress," Diess said during an event to present the next-generation Polo. "2018 will be a strong year for VW," he said, adding a new product always helped margins. VW brand''s operating margin jumped to 4.6 percent in the first quarter from 0.3 percent a year earlier, still lagging French rivals PSA Peugeot Citroen ( PEUP.PA ) and Renault ( RENA.PA ) but nearing its long-term 2025 target of 6 percent. Diess said VW had a goal for 2017 to maintain the brand''s first-quarter performance when operating profit surged to 869 million euros from 73 million a year ago. "The most important thing is the product offensive in coming months," Diess said. Wolfsburg-based VW is counting on the larger, technology-packed Polo model to revive its sluggish sales in the core European market where the brand''s deliveries slid 0.2 percent in the January-to-May period to 726,000 cars. The new Polo, priced from 12,975 euros ($14,500) and due to hit showrooms in October, will be the main volume product VW launches this year, preceding the all-new T-Roc, a Golf-sized sport utility vehicle (SUV) which is due out later in 2017. A spokesman declined to specify the new Polo''s on-road nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions and whether they met EU targets, saying VW at this point only had emissions estimates for the model which cannot be disclosed. The advent of the new Polo will intensify the struggle for dominance in Europe''s crowded subcompact segment where the VW model is going up against a redesigned Ford ( F.N ) Fiesta and an upgraded Renault ( RENA.PA ) Clio, all vying for the top spot. Research firm IHS Markit expects the VW model to win easily. European deliveries of the Polo may jump a quarter to 368,158 cars by 2025 from 293,700 this year, compared with a 2.7 percent gain to 328,846 models for the Fiesta and a 32 percent plunge to 185,525 cars for the Clio, according to IHS. Registrations of the Peugeot ( PEUP.PA ) 208 model may surge a fifth to 277,067 cars, IHS said. (Reporting by Andreas Cremer and Jan Schwartz; Editing by Edmund Blair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-presentation-idUKKBN1971H5'|'2017-06-16T19:32:00.000+03:00' +'3586eabae6412e2c96b0c1fa67d26fd87a27affa'|'Exclusive: Sirius XM in talks to invest in Pandora - sources'|'Technology 46am BST Exclusive: Sirius XM in talks to invest in Pandora - sources Sirius XM Holdings Inc, the U.S. satellite radio company controlled by John Malone''s Liberty Media Corp, is seeking to invest in internet music provider Pandora Media Inc, people familiar with the matter said. Sirius XM is negotiating a private investment in public equity (PIPE) after talks about Sirius XM acquiring Pandora in its entirety ended unsuccessfully over price disagreements, the sources said on Wednesday. If the negotiations between Sirius XM and Pandora come to fruition, the deal would come after private equity firm KKR & Co LP agreed last month to invest $150 million in Pandora. KKR''s agreement gave Pandora a 30-day-period to look for an alternative deal. This period expires on Thursday, and so Sirius XM was racing late on Wednesday to beat that deadline and clinch its own investment in Pandora, the sources said. The terms of Sirius XM''s proposed PIPE investment could not be learned, and sources cautioned that the latest negotiations between Sirius XM and Pandora could still fall apart. Liberty Media may also object to any deal, the sources added. The sources asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential. Pandora declined to comment, while Sirius XM and Liberty Media did not immediately respond to requests for comment. (Reporting by Liana B. Baker in San Francisco and Greg Roumeliotis; Additional reporting by Julia Love in San Francisco; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-pandora-media-m-a-sirius-xm-holdgs-ex-idUKKBN18Z0BP'|'2017-06-08T11:46:00.000+03:00' +'4057868d3f2aefa1f76d8310a39d5c4b4aff1d07'|'Soaring building costs sound sour note for ''rock star'' New Zealand economy'|'Business News - Mon Jun 26, 2017 - 12:05am BST Soaring building costs sound sour note for ''rock star'' New Zealand economy left right Recently completed residential apartment blocks are seen behind a construction site in central Auckland, New Zealand, June 25, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray 1/5 left right Cranes located on construction sites are seen in central Auckland, New Zealand, June 25, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray 2/5 left right Cranes located on construction sites are seen near the Sky Tower building in central Auckland, New Zealand, June 25, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray 3/5 left right Cranes located on construction sites are seen near high-rise residential apartment buildings in central Auckland, New Zealand, June 25, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray 4/5 left right Cranes located on construction sites are seen in front of the Sky Tower building in central Auckland, New Zealand, June 25, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray 5/5 By Charlotte Greenfield and Tom Westbrook - WELLINGTON WELLINGTON Newly qualified New Zealand carpenters are commanding six figure salaries and construction costs have risen by half in under three years, symptoms of an unprecedented building boom straining the South Pacific nation''s much-envied economy. Fueled by the record number of migrants needing houses and by repairs to roads and buildings damaged by several major earthquakes, construction accounted for 13 percent of the New Zealand economy in the March quarter. The nationwide build is forecast to hit NZ$37 billion ($26.9 billion) this year. But the sector is hitting headwinds that are frustrating companies and builders and making the central bank wary. Mark Adamson, chief executive of the country''s largest construction firm, Fletcher Building ( FBU.NZ ), said the labor market was so tight, manual workers can now command top dollar to "hold a hammer". "I got a quote yesterday: NZ$65 an hour, you''d get a hundred grand for driving a forklift - there''s just not enough people to go around," he told Reuters. Fletcher Building shares have lost a quarter of their value so far this year after the labor shortage prompted a profit warning, shocking investors who saw the company as a proxy for the "rock star" New Zealand economy. Industry-wide, costs for non-residential construction have grown around 50 percent since 2015, according to project management firm Rider Levett Bucknall. Meanwhile, unemployment is below 5 percent and laborers'' wages are the fastest-rising of any occupation, adding 17.5 percent since 2009, according to Statistics New Zealand. Across Auckland, the engine-room of the construction boom, builders told Reuters that newly qualified carpenters were demanding NZ$50 or more an hour. That puts their annual salary at over NZ$100,000 - above the median annual pay of a bank manager, and more than double that of a schoolteacher, according to job classifieds website Trade Me ( TME.NZ ). "You can''t get good staff. That''s what it comes down to really," said Steve Grant, an Auckland builder who employs four people. "We don''t get the quality of workers that we used to and you''ve gotta pay more for it." BOTTLENECKS The builders'' challenges cut to the heart of the jitters in New Zealand''s economy, which has grown at an average of nearly 3 percent a year since 2012 and was described by the OECD as the envy of the developed world. A wobble in construction activity put March-quarter growth behind expectations and raised questions over the massive building pipeline. At the same time, the country''s biggest city is bursting at the seams. The local government estimates the city needs to add 14,000 new homes a year for three decades. "Wherever you look in Auckland and the construction sector there is a capacity issue, said Ron Angel, the construction industry coordinator for union E tu. "Can we get enough concrete? Can we get enough roofing? Can we actually get a truck to get it to the job at 10am when I need it there?" The problem caught the eye of the country''s central bankers, coming as record migration spurs soaring demand for housing. "You''re certainly seeing bottlenecks appear there," said the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) governor Graeme Wheeler at a recent press conference, adding that construction was an area the bank was "watching closely". To be sure, the problems are more setbacks than portents of doom. But economists say the government''s forecasts of almost 3.7 percent growth in 2018 are now unrealistic and even the RBNZ''s projections of 3.4 percent appear too high. "Issues with labor especially are already starting to bite," said Satish Ranchod, senior economist at Westpac Bank, who was projecting GDP growth of around 3 percent by 2020. HOUSING HEAT Also of concern is the construction industry''s failure to keep up with the thousands of houses needed to meet demand from migrants and returning New Zealanders that is sending home prices ever higher. The issue has proven particularly thorny for the governing National Party, which faces an election this year and is trying to placate voters increasingly priced out of the market. It is also testing the limits of the monetary policy levers available to central bank, which moved last year to tighten lending rules. That temporarily slowed price growth, but the solution is a greater supply of housing. "The problem is we''ve got capacity constraints," said Cameron Bagrie, chief economist at ANZ Bank. "Good luck trying to find people to build the houses. (Editing by Lincoln Feast) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-newzealand-economy-idUKKBN19G0Z5'|'2017-06-26T07:03:00.000+03:00' +'c68ef7c2bec79517e79021eda7335f07b8f3e4ce'|'Oil holds near multi-month lows as glut fears persist'|'Business News - Wed Jun 21, 2017 - 1:59am BST Oil holds near multi-month lows as glut fears persist A worker fills a tank with subsidized fuel at a fuel station in Jakarta April 18, 2013. REUTERS/Beawiharta TOKYO Oil prices held around multi-month lows in early Asian trading on Wednesday as investors discounted evidence of strong compliance by OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers with a deal to cut global output. Brent LCOc1 was down 6 cents at $45.96 barrel at 0035 GMT. The global benchmark ended down 89 cents, or 1.9 percent, on Tuesday at its lowest settlement since November. U.S. crude futures CLc1 for August were trading down 3 cents at $43.48. The July contract, which expired on Tuesday, settled down than 2 percent at its lowest since September. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers agreed to cut output by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) for six months from January and compliance with the agreement has reached more than 100 percent. "The lack of a positive response in oil prices clearly suggests market participants are not convinced that the OPEC''s efforts will help shore up prices in a meaningful way in the short-term as shale supply continues to rise in the U.S.," said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at futures brokerage Forex.com. "Unless we see a marked reduction in crude stockpiles, the possibility of further short term falls in the price of oil cannot be ruled out," he added. The American Petroleum Institute said on Tuesday U.S. crude stockpiles had dropped more than forecast. A government report is due at 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT) on Wednesday and the official figures often differ sharply from those of the industry group. OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers'' compliance with the output deal has reached its highest in May at 106 percent last month, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. OPEC compliance with the output curbs in May was 108 percent, while non-OPEC compliance was 100 percent, the source said. Another source confirmed compliance by all producers in May was 106 percent. (Reporting by Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Richard Pullin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUKKBN19C02T'|'2017-06-21T08:56:00.000+03:00' +'afeb4555ecb845a2df5526c441dee618db2bd205'|'Bank of Portugal warns lenders against easing loan requirements'|'Business News - Tue Jun 6, 2017 - 4:55pm BST Bank of Portugal warns lenders against easing loan requirements A man walks with his dog outside Bank of Portugal in downtown Lisbon, Portugal, February 21, 2017. REUTERS/Rafael Marchante LISBON Portuguese banks are still vulnerable to various risks and must avoid easing strict criteria for lending or offering complex financial instruments in the hope of repairing profitability dented by low interest rates, the central bank warned. The country''s banking sector is still recovering after the state had to rescue two lenders in 2014 and 2015, their problems exacerbated by massive bad loans, while many clients lost their life''s savings by buying into toxic assets sold to them as safe. In a financial stability report released on Tuesday, the Bank of Portugal said that despite stronger solvency and loan-to-deposit ratios, the high stock of non-performing loans and assets tends to weigh on investor perception of Portuguese lenders, restricting their access to market financing. "Although the prospects for the Portuguese economy have improved ... the high public and private sector indebtedness and the low potential growth continue to pose risks to financial stability," it said, adding that record-low interest rates in the euro zone put additional pressure on Portuguese banks. It warned that in such a setting, banks could be tempted to launch complex financial instruments that allow to recover some of the lost profitability by transferring risks to clients, which could create reputation hazards and undermine confidence in the banking sector. "This context could also create incentives for excessive risk-taking via search-for-yield behaviours, particularly by being less restrictive in conceding loans... It is fundamental that financial institutions correctly evaluate risks linked to new loan flows," the central bank said. It said it was important for banks to heed its warning as new consumer and housing loans were on the rise even as the total stock of loans to the non-financial private sector still ebbed last year, continuing the trend that started during the country''s financial crisis in 2010. (Reporting By Andrei Khalip, editing by Axel Bugge and Pritha Sarkar) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-portugal-banks-idUKKBN18X22U'|'2017-06-06T23:55:00.000+03:00' +'57e5d5d934e3705ce27921603648707a57fae951'|'China''s HNA to tap M&A brake after $50 billion deal splurge'|'By Matthew Miller - BEIJING BEIJING After two years of aggressive deal-making - from buying stakes in Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc ( HLT.N ) to taking over electronics distributor Ingram Micro - Chinese conglomerate HNA Group intends to slow the pace, or at least the size, of its acquisitions overseas.A sprawling aviation-to-financial services group, HNA has emerged as China''s most active non-government player in global markets, with deals worth more than $50 billion - equal to the annual GDP of Bulgaria."This year, the merger and acquisition pace will slow a little for sure," Adam Tan, HNA Group CEO, told Reuters in a rare media interview.Political uncertainty in the United States and Europe - such as the upcoming negotiations on Britain''s departure from the European Union - and China''s broad crackdown on capital flight from the country, have changed the climate for HNA''s unbridled growth."It''s a bit more complicated than before," Tan said by phone.Tensions between China and the United States are the biggest risk, said Tan, who received an MBA from St. John''s University in New York and studied at Harvard Business School.His comments come amid increasing debate about the United States expanding its vetting process on foreign investment, and tensions over its trade deficit."This is a critical relationship," Tan said. "No good can come from fighting. We can disagree, we can talk, we can negotiate - that''s a family issue. We''re not enemies."For HNA, which has accumulated assets even as other Chinese companies find it more difficult to acquire overseas, any pivot in strategy may bring the group more into line with government policy aimed at reducing the amount of money leaving China. It would also give it more opportunity to digest and rationalize the assets it has bought using often complex bank borrowing and debt arrangements.Tan spoke to Reuters at a time when HNA''s financing and ownership structure has come under intense scrutiny.In three years, the group has more than quadrupled its assets, to 1.2 trillion yuan ($176.12 billion) at the end of last year from 266 billion yuan at the end of 2013."The scope of their ambition, the speed of these acquisitions, the enormity of the credit resources at their disposal has put HNA in a different league, where the normal rules of business don''t seem to apply," said William Kirby, a professor at Harvard Business School who has authored a case study on the group.WET MARKETFuelling HNA''s expansion has been the ambition of its founding Chairman Chen Feng, at the cost of rising debt.The group had around $89 billion in credit lines from domestic banks at the end of May. Separately, the group and its subsidiaries have issued more than $10 billion in outstanding onshore and offshore debt.Chen, a former aviation official, told Reuters in 2015 that the global financial crisis had left many assets undervalued, and the way to growth was through deals. It was, he said then, like the wet market: "You see so many fresh vegetables, you eat here, pick this and that."HNA''s top backers include China Development Bank, whose Hainan office in 2012 provided the group with a 100 billion-yuan line of credit, along with other Chinese state-owned lenders.After two significant HNA acquisitions closed in the first quarter of this year, however, some group companies are wrestling with the pace of growth.At Bohai Capital ( 000415.SZ ), a subsidiary responsible for HNA''s leasing assets, loans and bonds outstanding at end-March totaled 232.62 billion yuan - more than 600 percent of net assets.HNA says it currently has debts totaling 710 billion yuan.Launched in 1993 as a fledgling airline in partnership with the Hainan provincial government, HNA today comprises a tangled cross-shareholding web of more than 400 companies, including over a dozen listed on the stock market.The group remains heavily tied to aviation, holding a key stake in Hainan Airlines ( 600221.SS ), China''s fourth-biggest carrier, and helps operate another 18 airlines, including U.S. business aviation firm Deer Jet and Paris-based Aigle Azur. It also owns a substantial airports and airport servicing business, and Avolon, another subsidiary, is one of the world''s leading aircraft leasing companies, with a fleet of 850 planes.SLOWING, NOT STOPPINGHNA won''t, though, stop making offshore acquisitions entirely. International assets are better priced, compared to Chinese domestic assets, and low-cost capital is still available, Tan said.He refuted any notion that HNA''s deal-making flurry exposed an absence of strategic focus. HNA, he said, is scouting for "undervalued assets".So far this year, it has announced equity and asset acquisitions of more than $12 billion, indicating it will remain active in key sectors, including financial services.Among the deals is an offer to buy New Zealand''s UDC Finance from ANZ Banking Group ( ANZ.AX ) for about $460 million and the acquisition of a 25 percent stake in Old Mutual''s ( OML.L ) U.S. fund management arm ( OMAM.N ) for $446 million.. HNA also has accumulated a 9.9 percent stake in Deutsche Bank.Earning over half its revenues with more than 30 percent of its assets offshore, HNA is big enough to undertake transactions outside China utilizing offshore structures, Tan said.It has utilized increasingly complicated leveraged finance and foreign currency credit facilities, raising over $17 billion in loans over the last four years to complete global deals, according to Thomson LPC data."Our own cash flow, our own standalone credibility outside China is big enough to support this merger and acquisition (activity)," said Tan, who noted HNA''s debt-to-asset ratio dipped to below 60 percent at the end of December. A year earlier, it was around 75 percent.(Reporting by Matthew Miller, with additional reporting by Umesh Desai in Hong Kong; Editing by Ian Geoghegan and Stephen Coates)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-hna-group-strategy-idINKBN18W04O'|'2017-06-04T23:48:00.000+03:00' +'0b8c41333e9cec4dec7229f13bad028c45e9ce4a'|'MIDEAST STOCKS-Qatari banks fall after UAE red flag, Dubai''s Emaar climbs'|'DUBAI, June 11 Shares in Qatari banks fell in early trade on Sunday after the central bank of the United Arab Emirates ordered UAE banks to be wary of any accounts they hold with six Doha-based banks.In Dubai, the largest listed property developer, Emaar Properties, rose 0.9 percent as investors continued to react positively to its plan to distribute funds from a listing of its local real estate developer to shareholders.The UAE, as part of its response to the diplomatic rift in the region, told local banks to apply "enhanced due diligence" to the Qatari institutions and instructed banks to stop dealing with 59 individuals and 12 entities with alleged links to Qatar.Five of the six Doha-based banks named are listed on the stock market: Qatar National Bank, Qatar Islamic Bank , Qatar International Islamic Bank, Masraf Al Rayan and Doha Bank. Shares in all of them fell on Sunday with the largest, QNB, down 1.0 percent.Qatari banks have about 60 billion riyals ($16.5 billion) in funding in the form of customer and interbank deposits from other Gulf states, SICO Bahrain estimated, and the banks account for just over half the Qatari stock market''s value.Although the UAE stopped short of a blanket ban on dealings with Qatar, its move could have much the same effect if UAE banks - and perhaps those in other countries - reduce their exposure to Qatari institutions for fear of getting caught in the diplomatic crisis.Shares in Barwa Real Estate were down 4.9 percent and the Qatari stock index fell 1.3 percent on Sunday morning. Last week, the Doha index shed 7.1 percent.In Abu Dhabi, the banking sector helped carry the index 0.5 percent higher. First Abu Dhabi Bank - the second largest bank in the region by assets after QNB - was 0.9 percent higher.The Dubai index was almost flat, however, as nine shares rose along with Emaar but 15 declined.The Riyadh index was flat, weighed down by the petrochemical sector as Brent oil stayed near a one- month low. Propylene maker Yanbu National Petrochemicals was down 0.4 percent. (Reporting by Celine Aswad; editing by Andrew Torchia and David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/mideast-stocks-idINL8N1J8046'|'2017-06-11T06:13:00.000+03:00' +'c8705d3f2e103d94036183514641ce7bb4d44c73'|'Johnson & Johnson''s flu drug succeeds in mid-stage trial'|'Health News - Wed Jun 14, 2017 - 12:26pm BST Johnson & Johnson''s flu drug succeeds in mid-stage trial A Johnson & Johnson building is shown in Irvine, California, U.S., January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake Johnson & Johnson said on Wednesday its experimental flu drug significantly reduced viral load compared to a placebo in a mid-stage study of patients with a type of influenza. Study data also showed that adding J&J''s drug, pimodivir, to a widely-used flu treatment called oseltamivir resulted in a significantly lower viral load in some patients, compared to those who received pimodivir alone. (Reporting by Divya Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-johnson-johnson-trial-idUKKBN1951GC'|'2017-06-14T19:15:00.000+03:00' +'9b304180e17c6275bcc27ec9291552ca5f596833'|'Brazil''s Embraer to buy back up to 3 million shares'|'SAO PAULO, June 2 Brazil''s planemaker Embraer SA will buy back up to 3 million shares, equivalent to 0.4 percent of total shares in circulation, the company said in a securities filing.The buyback program will last one year and Embraer hired the brokerage unit of Ita Unibanco Holding SA as intermediary. (Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer; Editing by Bill Trott)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/embraer-buyback-idUSL1N1IZ1QU'|'2017-06-03T06:08:00.000+03:00' +'8ae6ec735ff99f8d0ede84097a171467b2e01ad4'|'Exclusive - Ericsson scraps push for new clients beyond telecoms'|' 37am BST Exclusive - Ericsson scraps push for new clients beyond telecoms left right FILE PHOTO: Borje Ekholm, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ericsson, delivers his speech at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, February 27, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/File Photo 1/5 left right FILE PHOTO: A general view of an office of Swedish telecom giant Ericsson is seen in Lund, Sweden, September 18, 2014. REUTERS/Stig-Ake Jonsson/TT News Agency/File Photo. 2/5 left right FILE PHOTO: Ericsson CEO Borje Ekholm comments on the company''s first-quarter results during an interview with TT News Agency in Stockholm, Sweden April 25, 2017. TT News Agency/Henrik Montgomery via REUTERS/File Photo 3/5 left right FILE PHOTO: Ericsson''s flag is seen at the company''s headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden March 11, 2015. TT News Agency/Jonas Ekstromer/via REUTERS/File Photo 4/5 left right FILE PHOTO: Ericsson''s employees stand inside their booth at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain February 27, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/File Photo 5/5 By Sophie Sassard and Olof Swahnberg - LONDON/STOCKHOLM LONDON/STOCKHOLM Ericsson has ditched its goal of winning more clients beyond the telecoms industry to refocus on selling networks to mobile phone companies in a move to cut costs and halt a dramatic fall in its share price. The Swedish firm''s clients in its core business include Vodafone and Verizon but profits have plunged due to competition from Nokia and China''s Huawei [HWT.UL] and as telecoms companies make savings. Its shares have fallen 30 percent in two years. Ericsson said in 2014 it would diversify so that by 2020 up to 25 percent of revenue would come from industries beyond telecoms, such as media, utilities and transport, from an estimated 10 percent in 2013. But the plan has not worked and the company will drop the target as new chief executive Borje Ekholm repositions to focus on the core business of mobile networks. "We will focus on telco clients and networks exclusively for now," Ericsson''s new head of Digital Services Ulf Ewaldsson told Reuters in a recent interview. The U-turn comes at a challenging time for Ekholm, who after only five months in the top job is being pressed by activist investor Cevian Capital, which has a $1 billion (0.78 billion) stake in the company, to make faster changes. Ekholm unveiled a cost-cutting plan in March and announced up to $1.7 billion in provisions, writedowns and restructuring costs. He said this would include exploring options for its loss-making media arm and turning its managed services business around. Investors welcomed the greater focus after years of disappointing investments from Ericsson, but they worry the new plan will not generate growth. Moody''s cut the company''s credit rating to junk in May, partly due to worries that the cost-cutting could hamper innovation. Increasing dependence on telecoms operators could be risky as they are struggling to grow revenue due to fierce competition and so are unwilling to spend more on networks even as they prepare for 5G fifth-generation wireless broadband technology. Ericsson has to prove it can remain relevant in an industry that has gone from over 10 major players to three in 20 years. Investors question whether it can do this under Ekholm who has been on the board for a decade while Ericsson lost ground. RIVALS PUSH AHEAD Gear makers have long seen an opportunity to sell network equipment directly to corporate clients but have struggled because they lack the adequate sales network, telecom consultant Roman Friedrich of AlixPartners said. Instead of spending money trying to build its own sales channels, Ewaldsson told Reuters it will sell communication networks and IT services like cloud storage through the telecoms companies. While Ericsson pulls back, arch-rivals Huawei and Nokia are forging ahead with corporate clients in the automotive, transport and energy sector. They are increasingly building in-house private communication networks, for example to strengthen security. The Chinese and Finnish companies generate about 8 and 4 percent of their revenue, respectively, from corporate clients. Ericsson had been betting on media clients but is now exploring a sale of the unit. LOSING GROUND Ericsson sees opportunities to sell products to telecom clients which will need to upgrade their networks to address a greater flow of data enabled by 5G. It will also build additional capacity to connect objects around the world when the Internet of Things becomes reality. But Bengt Nordstrom, head of consultancy firm Northstream which advises telecom operators and vendors, said 5G will only help sustain existing revenues and won''t bring additional ones in the foreseeable future. Ericsson is also betting investments in automation and artificial intelligence will make its networks more efficient and boost profits for it and its clients, Ewaldsson said while declining to give more details on the plan. Stock pickers and analysts were hoping for more details of Ekholm''s cost-cutting plan to help explain how the company will reach its target of doubling 2016 margins after 2018. An obvious way is to shed loss-making businesses such as media operations, said analyst Richard Kramer of Arete Research. But doing so will cut 10-15 percent of revenue, meaning absolute profits will shrink, he said. Ericsson has already lost its position as market leader to Huawei in mobile infrastructure and SocGen analysts expect Nokia, which has expanded by merging with French rival Alcatel, will overtake it in services in two to three years. Ewaldsson said Ericsson was hoping to become the market leader again in radio base stations that send signals to connect devices to networks. Helping customers store and process data externally - cloud services - is another priority for Ericsson. But Kramer said its products lack an edge: "Ericsson simply lacks the products to sell to the likes of Google, Facebook, or Amazon, which are the biggest incremental spenders on infrastructure." IT executives at four European telecoms companies told Reuters they increasingly look at cheaper Asian rivals, especially Huawei, while new software players are gaining market share through tailor-made solutions that undercut Ericsson''s "one-fits-all" approach. Ericsson is relying on its partner Cisco to plug a product gap in routers, but some clients say they find it easier dealing with a single supplier and therefore tend to favour Nokia or Huawei. (Additional reporting by Helena Soderpalm; editing by Anna Willard)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ericsson-strategy-exclusive-idUKKBN19I0I1'|'2017-06-27T13:37:00.000+03:00' +'a28751e6efa687610c7d2949237b5716f4d8d54e'|'UPDATE 1-North Dakota''s oil output rises 2 pct in April'|'Market News 35pm EDT UPDATE 1-North Dakota''s oil output rises 2 pct in April (Adds details) By Ernest Scheyder HOUSTON, June 13 North Dakota''s daily oil production rose 2 percent in April as rising crude prices encouraged companies to pump more, complicating OPEC''s attempts to stabilize global markets. The state pumped 1.05 million barrels of oil per day in April, up from 1.03 million bpd in March, according to data from North Dakota''s Department of Mineral Resources, which reports on a two-month lag. Natural gas production rose 6 percent to 1.8 million cubic feet per day. North Dakota''s oil well count hit 13,717 in April, an all-time high. The state''s drilling rig count has been steadily rising, with the count on Friday at 55, 10 percent higher than in April. North Dakota regulators said in a statement they expect oil prices to be weak through at least October. OPEC members last month agreed to maintain their own production cuts, though rising output in states like North Dakota has been offsetting the cartel''s moves. "The markets are watching to see if U.S. shale production offsets OPEC cuts keeping crude oil inventories high," Lynn Helms, the DMR director, said in a statement. (Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/north-dakota-oil-production-idUSL1N1JA193'|'2017-06-14T01:35:00.000+03:00' +'8baeeab17cb3eec82cf4e2d57069a53098e1967f'|'UPDATE 1-Allied Irish Banks float fully subscribed'|'(Adds background)LONDON, June 13 Allied Irish Banks'' stock market listing has been fully subscribed, including the greenshoe option, its bookrunner said on Tuesday, in a sign of investor demand for what is set to be one of Europe''s biggest bank flotations since the 2008 financial crisis.The price range for the initial public offering was set on Monday between 3.90 euros and 4.90 euros. AIB plans to raise up to 3.3 billion euros ($3.70 billion) when it sells a 25 percent stake on the Dublin and London stock markets later this month.The float is expected to be one of the largest IPOs on Britain''s main stock market in two decades and is seen as a test of whether the Irish banking sector has redeemed itself in the eyes of investors.Dublin rescued the bank in a 21 billion euro taxpayer bailout that began in early 2009 and the government has been considering cashing out some of its 99.9 percent stake since last year.The landmark deal is also a test of investor appetite in volatile conditions for IPOs. London has had few large listings this year and there were a string of cancelled flotations in the second half of 2016 after Britain''s vote to leave the European Union.The final offer price for AIB, which returned to profit three years ago, is expected to be announced on or around June 23. ($1 = 0.8931 euros) (Reporting by Dasha Afanasieva. Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/aib-ipo-book-idINL8N1JA4YM'|'2017-06-13T14:47:00.000+03:00' +'ff1b5a61b331385f3cc456530acc1aeb80887400'|'ISS backs both of former Cypress CEO''s board nominees'|'Proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services Inc recommended on Tuesday that Cypress Semiconductor Corp ( CY.O ) shareholders vote for both board nominees put forward by the company''s founder and former CEO T.J. Rodgers.The recommendation is a blow to Cypress executive chairman Ray Bingham, which ISS had previously recommended keeping, urging shareholders to withhold their support only for the company''s lead independent director, Eric Benhamou.However, ISS changed its recommendation to replacing both Bingham and Benhamou following new disclosures made by the company with regard to Bingham''s participation in a U.S. private equity fund with Chinese state funding.A Delaware judge last week delayed Cypress'' annual meeting, where shareholders will vote on the company''s board nominees, to June 20.(This story corrects date of annual meeting to June 20 from June 19)(Reporting by Michael Flaherty in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-cypress-semicond-iss-idINKBN18X1RW'|'2017-06-06T13:34:00.000+03:00' +'540667d99e434c5dc0e5e5fed036af395afb7f41'|'PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - June 30'|'Market News - Fri Jun 30, 2017 - 12:14am EDT PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - June 30 June 30 The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. - The British authorities asked regulators to further examine 21st Century Fox''s $15 billion deal for the European satellite giant Sky Plc. nyti.ms/2sssyog - U.S. President Donald Trump lashed out Thursday at the appearance and intellect of Mika Brzezinski, a co-host of MSNBC''s "Morning Joe," drawing condemnation from his fellow Republicans and reigniting the controversy over his attitudes toward women that nearly derailed his candidacy last year. nyti.ms/2ssYf0y - The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on a Chinese bank, a Chinese company and two Chinese citizens in an effort to crack down on North Korea''s financing and development of weapons of mass destruction. nyti.ms/2ssOOOJ - Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc and Rite Aid Corp said they had called off their long-planned merger after antitrust authorities indicated they were not likely to approve the combination of two of the nation''s biggest drugstore chains. nyti.ms/2ssPweB - Greta Van Susteren confirmed her departure from MSNBC, five and a half months into the job, with a post on Twitter that read "I am out at MSNBC." nyti.ms/2ssHhzm - Shares of Blue Apron Holdings Corp had a bland market debut on Thursday, as investors proved wary of the meal-kit provider and its initial public offering. nyti.ms/2ssBWIx (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/press-digest-nyt-idUSL3N1JR1RK'|'2017-06-30T07:14:00.000+03:00' +'a502315d31b2deed3cc16908da26e8270e3c6e22'|'UK must not bend rules to allow Saudi Aramco IPO - Royal London'|' 03am BST UK must not bend rules to allow Saudi Aramco IPO - Royal London FILE PHOTO: Logo of Saudi Aramco is seen at the 20th Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference (MOES 2017) in Manama, Bahrain, March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo LONDON A change in UK listing rules for a potential initial public offering of oil company Saudi Aramco would be "highly inappropriate", fund manager Royal London said on Thursday, adding it would lobby against such a move. "Any attempt to bend the listing rules in order to facilitate the IPO of Saudi Aramco is highly inappropriate and flagrantly ignores the principles which the UKs listing rules were designed to defend," Ashley Hamilton Claxton, corporate governance manager at Royal London, said in a statement. Exchanges around the world are vying for a piece of Saudi Aramco''s IPO, which is expected to be the largest in history. The London Stock Exchange and the British regulator are working on a new model that would allow the firm to avoid the most onerous corporate governance requirements of a primary listing, without being seen as second class. "We will be lobbying strongly against any concessions being granted should there be a formal attempt to IPO Aramco in the UK," Hamilton Claxton said. "As long-term investors in the UK equity market we fear this precedent could lead to a slippery slope." The Financial Conduct Authority, the UK''s financial watchdog, declined to comment. (Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; editing by Dasha Afanasieva and Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-saudi-aramco-ipo-royal-london-idUKKBN18Z0ZX'|'2017-06-08T16:52:00.000+03:00' +'cc76ee3b910b4cbc061a0498c48059ce6cf36610'|'Greek two-year bond yield falls to lowest since early 2010'|'LONDON, June 21 Greek government borrowing costs fell to their lowest level since early 2010 on Wednesday, the latest leg lower after the country reached a debt deal with its creditors last week.The move comes as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said Athens should be in a position to return to bond markets very soon, predicting yields on the country''s bonds would continue to fall.Greece''s two-year bond yield -- an indication of the level at which the country can borrow cash for two years in financial markets -- fell as far down as 4.15 percent, its lowest in more than seven years, according to Reuters data.Ten-year bond yields fell to their lowest since September 2014 at 5.56 percent. (Reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe; Editing by John Geddie)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/eurozone-bonds-greece-idINL8N1JI35A'|'2017-06-21T09:55:00.000+03:00' +'c4ed629a1854ea292d74319136e07a61c60d8b20'|'BRIEF-Oil-Dri Corp board declares increased quarterly dividends'|' 30am EDT BRIEF-Oil-Dri Corp board declares increased quarterly dividends June 14 Oil-dri Corporation Of America: * Oil-Dri board of directors declares increased quarterly dividends * Oil-Dri corporation of america - quarterly cash dividends of $0.23 per share of company''s common stock and $0.173 per share of company''s class B stock * Dividends an approximate 5% increase for both classes of stock Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-oil-dri-corp-board-declares-increa-idUSASA09TRW'|'2017-06-14T16:30:00.000+03:00' +'3db6faaa91240b5b940112301a26a626eb00ff3f'|'Fast forward; GST set to transform face of Indian logistics industry'|'Fri Jun 30, 2017 - 12:09am BST Fast forward; GST set to transform face of Indian logistics industry left right A forklift operator stacks containers at the godown of Agarwal Packers and Movers Ltd. on the outskirts of Mumbai, India June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade 1/3 left right A forklift operator stacks containers at the godown of Agarwal Packers and Movers Ltd. on the outskirts of Mumbai, India June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade 2/3 left right Containers are seen stacked at the godown of Agarwal Packers and Movers Ltd. on the outskirts of Mumbai, India June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade 3/3 By Promit Mukherjee and Sankalp Phartiyal - MUMBAI MUMBAI India''s greatest tax reform - replacing an array of provincial duties with a nationwide goods and services tax - is transforming the logistics industry in a country where moving stuff around is notoriously difficult to do, executives say. The advent of organized retail and e-commerce began modernizing warehouses in India a decade ago, but most firms still rely on musty, dilapidated "godowns", as storehouses are known colloquially. The unified tax system is expected to bring change on a far grander scale, removing distortions created by differential taxes and duty structures imposed across India''s 29 states and 7 union territories. "When we moved from one state to the other, it felt like moving from one country to another," said Ramesh Agarwal, chairman of New Delhi-based Agarwal Packers and Movers. From July 1, the new Goods and Services Tax, or GST, introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s government, will change all that, with the biggest tax reform seen since India won independence from British colonial rule 70 years ago. Companies that have previously based storage models on tax efficiency can move to the much more cost efficient, demand-based hub-and-spoke model used globally. Anticipating the change, Agarwal''s firm, for example, has carved India into five regions and is setting up one massive warehouse in each. "There''s no tax arbitrage to be gained. So decisions on manufacturing, warehousing and selling will be purely driven by the real costs of manufacturing and going to market, that is the single biggest advantage of GST," said R Subramanian, Managing Director at DHL Express in Mumbai. Subramanian still anticipates bureaucratic headaches, notably from GST''s e-way bill system, requiring vehicle details from pickup to delivery, which he reckons would generate 90 million entries daily for the express delivery sector alone. But, the reform, along with the gradual shift in Indias service dominated economy toward more manufacturing, has paved the way for ultra-modern storage sites with automated conveyers, RFID-enabled tracking and IT-enabled warehousing management systems. The potential growth, and investment needed for modernization has spurred a slew of deals between Indian firms and major global private equity players and pension funds. In the last two years alone, as Modi made GST a priority, these investors have put $1.5 billion in the warehousing business. "GST is not only a tax reform, it is also a business reform as a whole, and a lot of businesses are now restructuring their supply chains," said Rohit Jain, a partner with Economic Laws Practice in Mumbai. REPLACING ''GODOWNS'' Canada Pension Plan Investment Board last month committed to spend $500 million in a joint venture with India''s IndoSpace. Other foreign firms putting money in the sector include Carlyle Group, Warbug Pincus and Fairfax India Holdings. JSW Steel, India''s biggest domestic steel producer, is also mulling a plan to bring down the number of its 20 plus warehouses across the country to five, and many more companies are following suit, said a company executive. Reliance Retail, the retail unit of Reliance Industries , which has around 100 distribution centers across the country, also plans to "optimize some," said a company executive. Mahindra Logistics is exploring an initial public offering, or a sale to a foreign partner, while rival Future Supply Chain Solutions is looking to do likewise, according to media reports. With 45 percent of India''s gross domestic product concentrated around seven major cities, Arif A Siddiqui at Coign Consulting, specializing in supply chain management, expected investment in warehousing to focus on Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, and New Delhi. Singapore-based logistics company Ascendas-Singbridge has just signed a $600 million deal with Firstspace Realty, based in the south Indian city of Bengaluru, to create 14 million square feet (1.3 million square meters) of industrial warehousing space across six major Indian cities. "Manufacturing, modern retail and the pharma sector were already driving change in Indian warehousing. GST has just fast-tracked the growth rate in logistics," said Aloke Bhuniya, Chief Executive of Ascendas-Firstspace. He reckoned that GST has boosted the industry''s annual growth rate from 12-15 percent to 20-22 percent, and saw plenty of room for a lot more modernization. Out of the logistics industry''s 980 million square feet (91 million square meters) of captive, agri-based and cold storage warehousing, Bhuniya estimated 85 percent were old godowns and traditional structures. "This represents a huge opportunity for modern warehousing to tap into," he said. (Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-india-tax-logistics-idUKKBN19K36L'|'2017-06-30T02:05:00.000+03:00' +'b59e1a6d42a4ec6176893004905fab6080267f63'|'Tullow cuts debt, raises profit under new CEO but weak oil prices weigh'|'Business 9:55am BST Tullow cuts debt, raises profit under new CEO but weak oil prices weigh A view of Tullow Oil''s newly completed Floating Production, Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO) Prof. John Evans Atta Mills at Sembcorp Marine''s Jurong Shipyard in Singapore January 20, 2016. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo By Karolin Schaps - LONDON LONDON Africa-focused oil explorer Tullow Oil ( TLW.L ) reduced debt in the first half of the year and reported a rise in gross profit under new CEO Paul McDade but a recent drop in oil prices means the company''s bottom line remains under threat. Tullow has been under pressure to lower its mounting debt pile, racked up as it borrowed money to pay for the 2016 start-up of its giant TEN oilfields off Ghana, and to rein in spending elsewhere amid weak oil prices. On Wednesday, it reported a 17 percent fall in net debt to $3.8 billion (3 billion) in the second quarter, a level it had targeted by the end of the year. The company used proceeds from a surprise $750 million cash call made in March to reduce borrowings. Tullow also reported a year-on-year increase in gross profit to $300 million, up from $200 million a year ago, as it benefited from rising production and an insurance payment to cover lost output during a shutdown. The company also cut its annual capital expenditure budget by another $100 million to $400 million as it expects to have to spend less this year. However, as oil prices have fallen around 15 percent in just four weeks, Tullow''s share price has fallen by nearly 30 percent over the same period and bearish price expectations mean analysts are expecting further impact on Tullow''s valuation. Tullow shares were down 2.8 percent at 0919 BST. "Although Tullow is working hard to deliver on its potential, we continue to expect the stock to trend with the oil price," analysts at RBC Capital Markets said. Tullow reported a $600 million net pre-tax impairment charge on the back of weak prices in the first half. As an exploration company, Tullow continues to drill for fresh resources and is focusing much of its exploration campaign on offshore Guyana and Suriname, a region where oil major Exxon Mobil and its partners earlier this month sanctioned a $4.4 billion project. "The prospect we are drilling is of the scale of the Greater Jubilee discovery in Ghana, it''s a massive prospect," CEO McDade told Reuters. He said explorations costs continued to fall and that the well Tullow is drilling off Suriname is costing around $60 million less than the company would have paid a few years ago. (Editing by Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-tullow-outlook-idUKKBN19J0L9'|'2017-06-28T11:55:00.000+03:00' +'039e60064e52cf8ff4f783e4a9117a66399f955a'|'UPDATE 1-Brazil police search headquarters of Eletrobras unit in graft probe'|'Market 08pm EDT UPDATE 1-Brazil police search headquarters of Eletrobras unit in graft probe (Adds company comments, share performance) SAO PAULO, June 8 Brazilian federal police searched the headquarters of a unit of state-controlled power utility Centrais Eltricas Brasileiras SA on Thursday as part of a corruption investigation. According to a statement, the operation was driven by suspicions of graft and money-laundering in dealings involving an unspecified hydropower dam held by the Furnas Centrais Eltricas SA unit and former lower house Speaker Eduardo Cunha, who is currently under arrest. Police served 33 search-and-seizure warrants in So Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the statement said. The warrants are part of the so-called Operation Car Wash, a sweeping three-year investigation of money laundering and bribery that has ensnared senior politicians and key figures in corporate Brazil. In a statement, Furnas said it is collaborating with the investigations and has provided the documents requested by police. Units in Eletrobras, a blend of common and preferred shares, fell 2.5 percent, in line with a 2 percent decline of an index tracking power utilities listed on the So Paulo Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Pedro Fonseca and Bruno Federowski; Writing by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Dan Grebler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-corruption-eletrobras-idUSL1N1J516S'|'2017-06-09T00:08:00.000+03:00' +'13d4696e4c1b26a80ca0a74eb32cd1d4b5a7d3d1'|'Valeant to sell its iNova Pharma business for $930 million'|'By Divya Grover Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc ( VRX.TO ) ( VRX.N ) said on Thursday it would sell its iNova Pharmaceuticals business for $930 million, as Chief Executive Joseph Papa steps up efforts to slash the embattled Canadian drugmaker''s enormous debt pile.Papa has narrowed Valeant''s focus to its dermatology, eye care and gastrointestinal businesses by pruning other assets to repay its debt, which ballooned to nearly $30 billion following a furious spate of deal-making under former CEO Mike Pearson."It''s not my goal to get the debt to zero," Papa said in an interview. "The right place for our debt is somewhere ... in the range of $15 billion to $20 billion."In August, Valeant had pledged to cut debt by $5 billion by February next year through divestments and operational performance. Papa said on Thursday Valeant was well on pace to meet that target.Pearson''s acquisition spree sent Valeant''s shares from around $20 to a high of over $250 in 2015, before the stock went into a tailspin as Valeant''s drug pricing strategy and ties to a specialty pharmacy came under increased political and regulatory scrutiny.Valeant''s New York-listed shares were up 7.9 percent at $13.13 in morning trading on Thursday.In January, Valeant agreed to sell its Dendreon cancer treatment business and three skincare brands for $2.12 billion. That deal is expected to close in the middle of this year, Papa said.Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that Valeant was in talks to sell its Bausch & Lomb unit''s surgical products business. Its eye-surgery assets may be valued at about $2 billion in a sale, the report said.Valeant was also exploring the sale of its Salix stomach-drug business and other assets, but talks with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd ( 4502.T ) had stalled over price disagreements, Reuters reported in November. Reports have said Salix could fetch Valeant as much as $10 billion.The deal to buy iNova which markets prescription and over-the-counter products focused on weight and pain management, cardiology and cough and cold is expected to close in the second half of this year.INova, bought by Valeant in 2011, will be sold to a company jointly owned by Pacific Equity Partners and Carlyle Group LP ( CG.O ), Valeant said.Goldman Sachs & Co was Valeant''s financial adviser, while Baker McKenzie provided legal counsel.(Reporting by Divya Grover in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Natalie Grover; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Sai Sachin Ravikumar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-valeant-pharm-in-divestiture-idINKBN18Z1II'|'2017-06-08T09:36:00.000+03:00' +'d4a8afc8f8f166e7d7bfc0440971a9e7a3425c8a'|'IPO price range values Allied Irish Banks at up to 13.3 billion euros'|' 7:14pm BST IPO price range values Allied Irish Banks at up to 13.3 billion euros FILE PHOTO: A gardener mows the grass outside the headquarters of AIB on the day the bank announced it''s results, in Dublin April 12, 2011. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton DUBLIN Shares in Allied Irish Banks ( ALBK.I ) (AIB) will be priced at between 3.90 and 4.90 euros when a 25 percent stake is floated in Dublin and London, valuing the state-owned lender at up to 13.3 billion euros (11.78 billion pounds), Ireland''s finance ministry said in a statement. The initial public offering is set to be one of Europe''s largest share listings by a bank since the 2008 financial crisis. It could raise up to 3.8 billion euros assuming full exercise of the offering''s over-allotment option. The Finance Ministry said the long long-awaited sale of a 25 percent stake in the state-owned lender was still on track despite the Conservative party losing its majority in the UK election on Thursday. Finance Minister Michael Noonan had previously said the price could be driven up if the party, which still won the most seats, won a strong majority in Thursday''s election. "Market conditions remain favourable and I am encouraged by the strong level of interest shown by investors in the offering to date," Noonan said in a statement. Dublin rescued the bank in a 21 billion-euro taxpayer bailout that began in early 2009, and it has been considering partly cashing out of its 99.9 percent stake since last year. One of Ireland''s two dominant banks, AIB returned to profit three years ago. It has cut its huge stock of impaired loans by more than two-thirds since then, and this year it became the first domestically owned lender to restart dividends since the crash. AIB will list its shares on the Irish and London stock exchanges and seek admission to the main markets of each. The government said the sale was expected to be one of the UK''s largest main market IPOs of the last 20 years. AIB is less exposed to Britain''s departure from the EU than its bigger rival, Bank of Ireland ( BKIR.I ), having made just 14 percent of its pre-provision operating profit in the United Kingdom last year. (Reporting by Conor Humphries; Editing by Greg Mahlich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-aib-ipo-idUKKBN19322F'|'2017-06-13T01:35:00.000+03:00' +'1d2ad3cc4aef74fc8fd1b565539661a0ab996b99'|'CORRECTED-Nikkei tops 20,000 but autos, banks and yen make investors doubt sustainability'|'(Corrects first bullet point to underperform not outperform)* Autos, banks underperform broader market* Earnings estimates on MSCI Japan index inching lower* Investors hesitant despite Nikkei''s cheap valuations* Investors cherry-pick individual stocks in thriving sectorBy Ayai Tomisawa and Nichola SaminatherTOKYO/SINGAPORE, June 2 A 10 percent surge over six weeks swept Japan''s Nikkei stock index above the 20,000-point barrier for the first time since late 2015 on Friday, without dispelling doubts about the rally''s shelf life given the outlook for automakers, banks and the yen.Data shows foreign investors, who make up 70 percent of trading activity in the Tokyo market, rushed to cover short positions as a rally from the year''s low on April 17 gathered momentum.But the data also shows foreigners avoided making heavy bullish bets, probably because analysts expect Japan Inc.''s earnings growth to falter.The number of companies on the MSCI Japan index with earnings estimates down from the previous month has climbed steadily since mid-April and is now at its highest since December, according to Thomson Reuters DataStream.After 16 percent profit growth in the year ended in March, Japanese firms are expected to show slower growth in the year ending March 2018. According to Nomura, consensus forecasts for full year profit growth came down to 11.4 percent in May from 13.3 percent in April."The conservative earnings guidance has tempered sentiment towards Japanese stocks in the near term," said Jeremy Osborne, investment director at FIL Investments in Tokyo.Notching a third straight week of exits, U.S.-based Japanese stock funds posted $194 million of withdrawals during the week ended Wednesday, according to Lipper data.REASONS TO BE CAREFULInvestors'' biggest concerns are the potential for the yen to strengthen, undermining Japan''s export driven corporates, and the murky outlook for the two biggest sectors in the benchmark index - automakers and financials."The problem is a big chunks of the market are exporters, and the biggest export sector is autos, and the outlook for the auto sector globally has turned down," said John Doyle, chief investment officer for equities and multi-asset at UOB Asset Management in Singapore."And the low interest rates that are persistent in Japan are not good for financials," Doyle added, explaining why he is neutral on Japanese stocks in the group''s global portfolio.New vehicle sales in the United States, Japan''s top export destination, fell in April following disappointing numbers in March, signalling a long boom cycle may be losing steam.Carmakers Toyota and Nissan, for instance, have both underperformed the Nikkei''s 5.6 percent gain this year, posting losses of 11 percent and 6.6 percent respectively.So have the biggest banks including Mitsubishi UFJ, which has only gained 0.2 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui, which has fallen 6.6 percent respectively.The yen''s attraction as a safe-haven currency - it has risen 4.5 percent against the dollar this year - is another big cloud hanging over Japanese exporters.U.S. political turmoil, elections in Europe, and regional tensions arising from North Korea''s missile tests have all given an unwanted boost to the yen.Christian Nolting, global chief investment officer at Deutsche Bank Wealth Management, cited the currency factor as the main reason behind his neutral weighting on Japanese equities.P/E RATIOS TURNINGFor all their reservations, investors still clearly have an appetite for cherry picking.Tokyo Electron Ltd has jumped nearly 50 percent this year after bright results on the back of strong chip manufacturing equipment demand, while factory automation sensor maker Keyence Corp has soared 26 percent.The Nikkei, however, is trading at about 15.7 times earnings, compared with 18.7 in 2015 when it lingered above 20,000 points for a few months, DataStream shows.While that makes the index significantly cheaper than the S&P 500''s at 22.5 times earnings, investors remain hesitant.The weaker sentiment is evident in Toyota and Nissan shares, which are trading around 10 times and 6.4 times their earnings, respectively.In just three weeks between the last week of April and the second week of May, Japanese shares saw 1.5 trillion yen of inflows from foreign investors in futures on the back of a strong earnings season and receding political fears after the French election.But they had sold 1.6 trillion yen in futures in the previous seven weeks, so short-covering seems to have run its course, analysts said. Investors have also returned to selling futures in the past two weeks."Investors are cherry-picking individual stocks... But they just finished short-covering in futures, and they probably won''t buy soon unless the yen weakens," said Norihiro Fujito, a senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities."And when foreign investors don''t buy futures, the Nikkei won''t rise much."(Reporting by Ayai Tomisawa and Nichola Saminather; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/japan-nikkei-idINL3N1IY276'|'2017-06-02T06:05:00.000+03:00' +'cf00a76726a0babc0c209e7c191b084cea481a1f'|'How PPG lost its $29.5 bln bet on Dulux paint'|'Deals - Thu Jun 1, 2017 - 7:28pm EDT How PPG lost its $29.5 billion bet on Dulux paint left right FILE PHOTO: Cans of Dulux paint, an Akzo Nobel brand, are seen on the shelves of a hardware store near Manchester, Britain, April 24, 2017. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo 1/3 left right FILE PHOTO: Cans of Dulux paint, an Akzo Nobel brand, are seen on the shelves of a hardware store near Manchester, Britain, April 24, 2017. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo 2/3 left right FILE PHOTO: -- Akzo Nobel''s logo is seen in Amsterdam, Netherlands, February 16, 2012. REUTERS/Robin van Lonkhuijsen/United Photos/File Photo 3/3 By Pamela Barbaglia and Toby Sterling - LONDON/AMSTERDAM LONDON/AMSTERDAM In early March, U.S. paint maker PPG ( PPG.N )''s Chief Executive Michael McGarry flew from Pittsburgh to Amsterdam to take Akzo Nobel ( AKZO.AS ) boss Ton Buechner for lunch. There, the 59-year-old American ambushed Buechner with a takeover plan and price tag that his company had been working on for months, a source familiar with the talks told Reuters. Rather than spark a discussion, McGarry''s bold move at their March 2 meeting triggered a hard-nosed response. "He was brutal in his approach and Akzo decided to respond in the same aggressive way," said the source. The offer was rebuffed on March 9. Akzo said the proposal was "not in the interests of its employees" and the firm would pursue different plans to sell its specialty chemicals business. After two more offers were rejected, the Pittsburgh-based firm on Thursday dropped its bid, whose value had risen to 26.3 billion euro ($29.48 billion). The nature of the lunchtime meeting has not previously been reported, but other elements of PPG''s pursuit emerged in news briefings and a May court hearing, exposing details of the takeover bid that would normally stay behind closed doors. "The fact that it went public made the process difficult from the beginning," Bryan Iams, PPG''S vice president for corporate and government affairs, told Reuters in an emailed response to questions. Akzo''s spokesman Leslie McGibbon confirmed two face-to-face meetings took place, including the lunchtime appointment. What PPG''S McGarry got wrong was the timing and the difficulty of pulling off such a deal in the Netherlands, where supervisory boards hold great sway and most companies including Akzo are protected by "poison pill" defenses. McGarry''s message was delivered a fortnight before a Dutch general election on March 15, which included strong nationalist themes. PPG''s swoop on Akzo caused fury among the Dutch political establishment who turned its takeover plan into a political football to be used in the election debate. McGarry, however, was determined to fight on for a deal that would give his firm access to some of the most popular paint brands in the world, such as Dulux. "I don''t think the political commentary changes the fact that there was a compelling strategic logic for the two companies to come together," said PPG''s Iams. Usually, takeover bids are followed by weeks of secretive negotiations as companies haggle over price and deal structure, and go on charm offensives with investors and regulators. But for PPG, the three-month attempt at courtship brought snubs, lawsuits and barely any negotiation time with their counterparts at Akzo. Its second bid on March 20, worth 90 euros per share, was rejected within 48 hours. "What was missing from the very start was dialogue," said the source. Akzo took the position that if it engaged in talks, it would quickly become impossible to decline PPG''s offer, which was financially attractive for shareholders but which it said was not in the best interests of other stakeholders. "FACT OFFENSIVE" PPG''s main counterpart in merger and acquisition (M&A) talks was Elliott Advisors, which along with other major investors openly urged Akzo to engage in negotiations and tried but failed to oust Akzo Chairman Antony Burgmans in court. McGarry wrote an open letter to Akzo shareholders and visited the Netherlands twice to promote his plan, but met with little success. The PPG CEO said on March 23 that his visits were "not so much a charm offensive as a fact offensive." Dutch Economic Affairs Minister Henk Kamp proposed a law giving any Dutch company targeted by a foreign firm the unrestricted right to refuse for one year. PPG was turned away from meeting top politicians. After the March 2 lunch, the second and last time PPG''s McGarry met Akzo CEO Buechner was on May 6. McGarry, based in Pennsylvania, had been given barely 24 hours notice to get to Rotterdam in time. Akzo''s chairman would also be there. McGarry flew by private jet from the United States to make the 3 p.m. appointment, only to be told that Akzo''s two top executives did not have any power to negotiate and were only there to hear any further elaboration on PPG''s latest offer. The meeting, which lasted 90 minutes, proved fruitless, despite an offer to Burgmans of a seat on the board of the merged company. Details of the dash to Rotterdam and the nature of that discussion emerged in a May 22 court hearing. Akzo rejected PPG''s third bid on May 8. During the May hearing, Akzo''s lawyer Jan de Bie Leuveling Tjeenk said McGarry "shouldn''t squawk" about the wasted trip. "He''s the one who said he was willing to meet any time, anywhere," the lawyer said. After a Dutch court ruled that Akzo''s board was under no obligation to engage in talks, the American firm''s prospects dimmed. If PPG were to pursue a hostile offer by a June 1 filing deadline, Akzo''s board still had one trump card: its poison pill defense that would give Burgmans and three other members of the supervisory board the power to make binding recommendations to the company''s managing board. Even a successful hostile bid could leave PPG powerless to control the merged firm. In a last-ditch attempt, McGarry wrote to Burgmans on Monday. "Although you declined to have my requested five-minute call, you indicated you would be open to receiving our views in writing. As a result, I am providing you with this letter," McGarry wrote. The letter went on to say PPG would even consider raising its bid again and sweetening other terms. Akzo said it received the letter but added that it didn''t have time to respond. With the June 1 deadline upon them, PPG was left with little choice but to walk away. (Editing by Edmund Blair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-akzo-m-a-ppg-inds-bid-idUSKBN18S6KU'|'2017-06-02T05:51:00.000+03:00' +'df6e71b40583d143bc023cfda0500e59644906ef'|'Life swap landlords are being given the chance to live like their tenants - Money'|'Renting property Life swap landlords are being given the chance to live like their tenants Will they put up with the terrible conditions some tenants have to suffer? A new BBC programme is putting them to the test Multimillionaire and self-style HMO Guy Paul Preston has more than 100 tenants. Photograph: Fremantle UK Media/BBC Renting property Life swap landlords are being given the chance to live like their tenants Will they put up with the terrible conditions some tenants have to suffer? A new BBC programme is putting them to the test View more sharing options Patrick Collinson Saturday 24 June 2017 07.00 BST L inda is 66, lives alone and sets her alarm for 4.30am to start work as a carer for children with special needs. She has taken on three jobs a week, despite being close to pensionable age, to earn enough to pay the 950 rent on her two-bed flat in Chadwell Heath, a workaday suburb on the fringes of east London. The bathroom hot water tap seized up long ago. Half the rings on her electric cooker arent working. The smell from the mould and damp is overpowering. And, after paying her rent and bills, she is left with just 54.12 a week. Father and son Peter and Mark are her landlords. They own 7m-worth of property, making 15,000 a month. Its just the best way of becoming wealthy, says Mark, 36. Some people are saving for their first home. Ive got 40. He admits to hiking the rent on one flat by 100 a month above the average in that part of London. All the other agents fell in line. I was actually responsible for putting up all the rents, he boasts. Lindas last rent rise was also 100, squeezing her income even more at a time when her pay went up by just 40 a month. Michael, meanwhile, is 33 and regularly works long hours as a team leader at a Tesco store in Edmondsley, a village north of Durham. His rent and bills are 800 a month, equal to around 70% of his take-home pay. A window is broken, doors rotten, and rubbish from previous tenants is strewn outside, while inside the boiler piping is exposed. Though relatively young, single and hard-working he can rarely afford a night out. His buy-to-let landlords are young Londoners Dan and Jamie who have snapped up 14 cheap homes in the north-east. Dan lives in a penthouse flat in Leeds and wonders how he can show it off on Tinder to attract girls. Our properties are mostly in the north-east. I cant remember the last time we went to the area Jamies hobby is flying light planes. He never cooks, saying its better to outsource dull tasks such as food preparation for 10 an hour when they can make 750 an hour. There are two types of people, winners and losers and I am a winner, says Dan. He and Jamie rarely visit the homes they bought on the cheap. They are mostly in the north-east. I cant remember the last time we actually went to the area, says Jamie. This picture of broken-Britain-in-miniature is part of a BBC1 series, The Week the Landlords Moved In, that airs this coming Wednesday. The idea is that landlords are forced to spend a week in the life of one of their tenants. We are shown an HMO (house of multiple occupation) in Milton Keynes where the rent from the rooms is around 2,500 a month, but where rats run up the drainpipes. The multimillionaire landlord, Paul Preston, describes them as a furry family and something that happens in built-up areas. Preston is the self-styled HMO Guy who has more than 100 tenants and sells motivational property success seminars. Meanwhile, in Essex, landlord Prab and wife Meena run 80 properties with an income of 30,000-40,000 a month. He says he is driven by providing a service and that my tenants are my customers. He has passed day-to-day management to his 18-year-old son. In Leeds we meet Vishal and his wife who give Prab 550 a month for a two-bed flat where the paint is peeling, mould is in the childrens room, and where he has just discovered his electricity meter is supplying a second property, yet he has been paying for it. After their rent and bills they are left with 87.75 a week. Once the landlords are confronted with the condition of their properties, most say they had no idea, largely blaming the tenants for not telling them of any issues. When Lindas landlord, Peter, sees the state of his property, he says: Ive never heard from her. If there were issues I would expect her to call. After a night spent shivering in the cold, damp flat and going to bed in thermals, hoodie and a fleece, he says: It hasnt been cared for, and maintenance issues were not reported Im disappointed with Linda not coming forward. He gets angry that a repair job that could have been done for a few pounds if spotted early, will now set him back 400. Im concerned for Linda, but Im concerned for us, for our business, he says. Yet the tenants give a different story. Many say pleas to agents go unheeded. Others say they are simply too frightened to tell the landlord there are problems, as they fear being evicted if regarded as a nuisance. Housing charity Shelter says that in recent years as many as 200,000 tenants have been victims of revenge evictions after complaining. Landlords can use section 21 notices to evict a tenant without any obligation to give a reason. However, since October 2015 private renters have been better protected. Tenant Linda works three jobs to pay her 950 rent. Photograph: Screen grab/BBC Yet tenants feel almost completely disempowered. [Landlords] have the power to say youve nagged too much, youre gone, says one. If I kick up too much of a fuss its going to be easier to get a new tenant, says another. But, contrary to initial expectations, the landlords are not monsters. Many make amends, with father-and-son duo Peter and Mark appearing to be genuinely affected by Lindas predicament, albeit at the risk of turning the show into something closer to heartwarming BBC1 makeover programme DIY SOS. What do the landlords learn? That they must visit their properties far more and not rely on agents. That buy-to-let is not about buying a property and then forgetting about it as the rent rolls in. What we dont learn is how much the landlords really make. We hear lots about the value of properties, but not about the huge amounts of mortgages almost certainly attached to them. New taxes and lending criteria also make buy-to-let less of a moneyspinner than in the past. But the show is an antidote to the rogue tenant output from some channels. Those featured are the working poor, victims of spiralling rents and low wages, paying their rent on time but unable to save to buy their own home. As Michael in Durham says about his London landlords: They live down there buying cheaper houses up here. We dont have a chance. The first episode of The Week the Landlords Moved In airs on Wednesday 28 June on BBC1 at 9pm Fees ban and deposit cap proposed Landlords and letting agents will only be able to demand a deposit equal to one months rent when tenants move into a new property, if the tenants fees bill proposed in the Queens speech this week gets the go-ahead. The government also brought forward its much-anticipated ban on letting agency fees. Around 40% of renters pay deposits exceeding a months rent. With average rents across the UK around 900 a month, the cap is likely to save people 450 more in London. The government says the draft bill will ban landlords and agents from requiring tenants to make any payments as a condition of their tenancy with the exception of the rent, a capped refundable security deposit, a capped refundable holding deposit and tenant default fees; and to cap holding deposits at no more than a weeks rent and security deposits one months rent. The moves were warmly welcomed by campaign group Generation Rent, which says it is testament to the power of renters when we get organised. But the National Landlords Association condemned the move as a political gesture from a government desperate to court voters who supported their opponents at the last general election. Topics'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/jun/24/renting-property-landlords-tenants-bbc-series-buy-to-let'|'2017-06-24T14:00:00.000+03:00' +'e8cc1d1fc3fbbc3fcfcd21963328d297f1939dce'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Stocks hit 2-year high despite mounting pressure on Qatari riyal'|'By Sujata Rao - LONDON, June 9 LONDON, June 9 Emerging stocks inched to new two-year highs on Friday and were set to end the week in the black but Qatar''s riyal fell further in the offshore forwards markets after a rollercoaster week that saw its stocks lose 7 percent.Overall emerging markets were kept in check by a firmer dollar and weaker Chinese factory gate prices that again cast doubts on economic growth, but MSCI''s emerging equity index hovered near flat for a half-percent rise this week.Qatari stocks had stabilised on Thursday after sharp falls but pressure on its currency and bonds showed little sign of abating, with one-year dollar/riyal forwards hitting the lowest since December 2015 in offshore trade.The riyal has traded as low as 3.7 per dollar in onshore forward markets, Thomson Reuters data shows, a record low, and some 1.6 percent below its spot pegged rate."There is a bit of a spike but Qatar has plenty of reserves to fight the attack on the currency, so we don''t think a de-peg is on the cards," Societe Generale strategist Regis Chatellier said. He ruled out defaults despite pressure on Qatari bonds.Sovereign credit default swaps (CDS) also rose to a new seven-month high of 101 basis points (bps), almost double week-ago levels, according to IHS Markit.Saudi CDS touched their highest since February, indicating some spill over to the rest of the Gulf but this also is not expected to be serious."Obviously this is not a positive story for ... any of the other countries ... it has a negative impact on the image of GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) as one unit and it makes it potentially more difficult to implement reforms overall," MUFG strategist Trieu Pham said. He noted the GCC plan to implement a value-added tax from next year.But a positive global backdrop would limit the fallout, he said. "We see that even Qatar (assets) has not gone through the roof. At this point everything looks controllable so I don''t see it spilling out (of the Middle East)."Elsewhere, the Czech crown jumped 0.4 percent to a new three-year high versus the euro, with higher-than-expected May inflation data pointing to possible monetary tightening later this year, and contrasting with the European Central Bank''s (ECB''s) dovish stance .Czech bond yields rose across the curve, with five-year yields hitting 10-day highs.Elsewhere, investors are carefully watching developments in Venezuela, which missed a $30 million interest payment to the CAF development bank, the Development Bank of Latin America, days after missing a $1 billion repayment to Russia.The Ivory Coast meanwhile issued the first euro-denominated bond sold by any sub-Saharan African country besides South Africa.For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2e7eoml For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2dZbdP5For CENTRAL EUROPE market report, seeFor TURKISH market report, seeFor RUSSIAN market report, see)Emerging Markets Prices from Reuters Equities Latest Net Chg % Chg % Chgon yearMorgan Stanley Emrg Mkt Indx 1020.61 +1.55 +0.15 +18.36Czech Rep 1010.07 +3.85 +0.38 +9.60Poland 2344.45 +4.22 +0.18 +20.36Hungary 35255.12 -15.83 -0.04 +10.16Romania 8550.16 -123.40 -1.42 +20.68Greece 780.35 +1.30 +0.17 +21.24Russia 1043.84 +5.34 +0.51 -9.41South Africa 45725.04 -8.74 -0.02 +4.15Turkey 98894.96 +917.42 +0.94 +26.56China 3158.75 +8.41 +0.27 +1.78India 31217.71 +4.35 +0.01 +17.24Currencies Latest Prev Local Localclose currency currency% change % changein 2017Czech Rep 26.23 26.28 +0.21 +2.97Poland 4.19 4.20 +0.23 +5.19Hungary 307.55 307.68 +0.04 +0.41Romania 4.56 4.56 +0.12 -0.50Serbia 122.50 122.55 +0.04 +0.69Russia 56.97 56.88 -0.15 +7.54Kazakhstan 315.68 314.22 -0.46 +5.69Ukraine 26.13 26.12 -0.06 +3.33South Africa 12.93 12.90 -0.20 +6.22Kenya 103.15 103.35 +0.19 -0.76Israel 3.53 3.52 -0.15 +9.07Turkey 3.52 3.52 +0.02 +0.12China 6.80 6.80 +0.03 +2.15India 64.33 64.24 -0.14 +5.62Brazil 3.26 3.26 -0.00 -0.23Mexico 18.23 18.20 -0.16 +13.64Debt Index Strip Spd Chg %Rtn IndexSov''gn Debt EMBIG 318 0 .04 7 90.78 1All data taken from Reuters at 0932 GMT. Currency percent change calculated from the daily U.S. close at 2130 GMT. (Additional reporting by Claire Milhench; Editing by Louise Ireland)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-idINL8N1J62HA'|'2017-06-09T08:14:00.000+03:00' +'7082bbd9591f83e28f40a6a200edfa6cba30320d'|'Booz Allen Hamilton says DOJ investigating accounting practices'|'The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating some of the ways Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp ( BAH.N ), one of the largest consulting firms in the world, charges the government for services and accounts for costs, the company said in a filing on Thursday that sent its shares down 12 percent after the bell.The Justice Department informed a Booz Allen unit of the investigation earlier this month, Booz Allen said in the brief regulatory filing, adding that it was cooperating with the government. The company declined to comment beyond the filing and an identical statement it posted on its website.Public affairs representatives at the Justice Department did not respond to requests for comment, but the agency as a rule does not make statements about ongoing investigations.The firm said its audit processes had not identified any material weaknesses or "significant erroneous cost charging." ( bit.ly/2rB0v5C )Headquartered in McLean, Virginia near the Central Intelligence Agency and U.S. capital, Booz Allen generates almost all its revenue from government work. According to its latest annual report, the company receives nearly half of its revenues, $2.7 billion, from defense contracts, and nearly a quarter, $1.3 billion, from intelligence offices such as the National Security Agency (NSA).It also brings in about $1.6 billion from contracts with Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Veteran Affairs, Treasury and Justice and other domestic departments.Booz Allen gained attention for its NSA work. It employed Edward Snowden, who exposed the agency''s vast domestic and international surveillance operations by leaking a trove of secret files to news organizations in 2013. Then, for the second time in three years, an employee working under an NSA contract was charged last year with stealing classified information.In October, the company hired former FBI Director Robert Mueller to conduct an external review of its security practices. But Mueller has since stepped away from that review after being named in May as special counsel to oversee the Federal Bureau of Investigations probe of alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.Booz Allen has come under scrutiny in the past for its work on a U.S. government program of surveilling the global cooperative called the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, no-bid contracts it was given by Homeland Security and the high price tag for data software it provided to the National Institutes of Health.(Reporting by Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Lisa Lambert and Dustin Volz; Writing by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Diane Craft and Cynthia Osterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-booz-allen-probe-idUSKBN1962VO'|'2017-06-16T05:04:00.000+03:00' +'9dc73ff5636b3fe92427772fb5708fbdf573718f'|'UPDATE 1-Bank of England financial crisis liquidity auctions cleared by fraud agency'|' 9:59am EDT UPDATE 1-Bank of England financial crisis liquidity auctions cleared by fraud agency (Adds detail, BoE reaction) LONDON, June 23 Britain''s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has found no evidence of criminality in its investigation into how the Bank of England (BoE) pumped liquidity into the financial system to support banks during the financial crisis, it said on Friday. Auctions of central bank funds in return for collateral such as bonds took place in 2007 and 2008 during a crisis that ultimately forced taxpayers to bail out lenders such as Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds. "The focus of the investigation was whether assistance had been provided to certain financial institutions to enable them to bid successfully for the available funding, to the possible detriment of other institutions," the SFO said on Friday. "After a thorough investigation the SFO has concluded that there is no evidence of criminality in relation to this matter." The SFO said it has now closed its investigation. The BoE said the events under investigation occurred nearly a decade ago at a time when a number of Britain''s large financial institutions were under unprecedented stress. The financial crisis exposed shortcomings in the BoE''s frameworks for providing liquidity insurance, operating procedures and governance arrangements, the Bank said in a statement. After the SFO''s decision to open an investigatation, the Bank''s Court of Directors commissioned a "rigorous and comprehensive" review of other key market operations during the financial crisis. "The review resulted in a number of recommendations, which the Bank has now implemented," the BoE said, adding that details of the review were published on Friday. "The Bank is proud of the dedication and professionalism displayed by its staff during the financial crisis," it said. (Editing by David Goodman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/boe-fraud-sfo-idUSL8N1JK2ZL'|'2017-06-23T21:59:00.000+03:00' +'b5efc88648af69eac672aa70b1d035fa6d22b707'|'UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on June 13'|'(Adds futures, company news items)June 13 Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen rising 38 points at the open on Tuesday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures up 0.4 percent ahead of the cash market open.* CAPITA: Britain''s troubled outsourcing group Capita said it hoped to improve its profitability and secure more contract wins in the second half of 2017 as it slowly rebuilds from a string of profit warnings.* N BROWN: British plus-size fashion retailer N Brown Group Plc said on Tuesday its chairman, Andrew Higginson, plans to step down.* ASHTEAD: British industrial equipment hire group Ashtead Group Plc reported on Tuesday a 7 percent rise in full-year profit, boosted by strong growth in its core North American unit as well as its UK business.* HALMA: Halma Plc''s full-year profit rose 17 percent, the healthcare devices maker said on Tuesday, as acquisitions boosted sales across all its units.* MONITISE: U.S. financial technology provider Fiserv said on Tuesday it had agreed to buy British financial services technology firm Monitise Plc for about 70 million pounds ($88.72 million).* ELECTION: Theresa May told Conservative lawmakers on Monday she would serve as prime minister as long as they wanted her after a botched election gamble cost the party its majority in parliament and weakened Britain''s hand days before formal Brexit negotiations.* BREXIT/UK M&A: The political shock of Prime Minister Theresa May''s failure to win a majority in a national election could put the brakes on takeover activity in Britain, dealmakers told Reuters on Monday.* BREXIT/UK FINANCE: Finance firms in Britain say they are pushing ahead with plans to move staff and operations to continental Europe, despite a chance that the government may soften its ''Hard Brexit'' policies after losing its parliamentary majority.* ALLIED IRISH BANKS: Allied Irish Banks plans to raise up to 3.3 billion euros ($3.7 billion) when it sells a 25 percent stake on the Dublin and London stock markets in the biggest test yet of investor appetite for Irish banks.* BP: BP PLC violated its supply contract when it sold oil to refiner Monroe Energy that was a blend of lower-valued Texas crude with premium varieties, Monroe alleged in a federal court filing last week.* LSE: The London Stock Exchange expects its indices and clearing businesses to drive growth in core profit margin between now and 2019, the company said on Monday, shrugging off concerns over the collapse of a planned merger with Deutsche Boerse and uncertainty over Brexit.* RBS: Royal Bank of Scotland is close to a multibillion pound settlement with a US regulator over toxic mortgage bonds mis-selling, Sky News reported. bit.ly/2rV3h90* GOLD: Gold held steady on Tuesday as investors remained cautious ahead of a two-day U.S. Federal Reserve meeting that is likely to provide hints on the central bank''s interest rate policy for the remainder of the year.* COPPER: London copper eased on Tuesday from near a two-month high ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve''s interest rate decision due later in the week, while China zinc premiums surged on healthy demand and limited supply.* OIL: Oil prices edged up early on Tuesday, lifted by statements that OPEC-leader Saudi Arabia was making significant supply cuts to customers, although rising U.S. output meant that markets remain well supplied.* The UK blue chip index closed down 0.2 percent at 7,511.9 on Monday, as a technology sell-off spread across Europe, with investors dumping tech and other cyclical stocks, which feature heavily on the blue-chip index, and heading into defensive sectors.* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarketsTODAY''S UK PAPERS> Financial Times> Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idUSL3N1JA2M2'|'2017-06-13T15:01:00.000+03:00' +'4a92096484d5bba750e7fee9f14168ce9f9c7943'|'Italy - Factors to watch on June 28'|'The following factors could affect Italian markets on Wednesday.Reuters has not verified the newspaper reports, and cannot vouch for their accuracy. New items are marked with (*).For a complete list of diary events in Italy please click on .ECONOMYISTAT releases June flash CPI and HICP data (0900 GMT) and May-Q1 producer prices data (1000 GMT).ECB Supervisory board member Ignazio Angeloni speaks before Senate Finance Committee (1230 GMT).DEBTItaly''s Treasury said on Tuesday it would offer up to 8.0 billion euros over 3 bonds at auction on June 30.Treasury sells 6-month BOT bills. Subscriptions close at 0900 GMT.COMPANIES (*) INTESA SANPAOLOThe lender has made 5 billion euros available for any funding needs deriving from the Veneto banks deal, Chairman Gian Maria Gros-Pietro told Il Messaggero in an interview, adding that the operation will not slow down the bank''s performance.Gros-Pietro also said that once the situation of the Veneto banks and Monte dei Paschi di Siena are resolved, there are "no comparable problems" in the Italian banking sector.MONTE DEI PASCHI DI SIENAThe bank is close to reaching a final deal with an Italian bank bailout fund on the sale of its bad loan portfolio, a key plank of its rescue plan, three sources close to the matter said on Tuesday.A deadline for exclusive negotiations over bad loans sale expires on Wednesday.INTESA SANPAOLOStandard & Poor''s has affirmed its ''BBB-/A-3'' long- and short-term credit ratings on the bank, with a stable outlook, after a deal which sees Intesa Sanpaolo acquiring two Veneto lenders'' good assets for a token price, it said on Tuesday.UBI The bank said the take up of its 400-million euro capital increase stood at 99.31 percent at the close of the offer.(*) BANCA CARIGEThe lender plans to finalise by the end of next week the sale of 938 million euros of bad loans at 31 percent of their nominal value through a securitisation scheme that will tap a state guarantee scheme, Il Sole 24 Ore reported.(*) MEDIASETFrance''s Vivendi has not deposited it shares to take part in the Italian broadcaster''s annual shareholders'' meeting on Wednesday, Il Sole 24 Ore said, adding that the French group had until 0800 GMT to do so.Annual general meeting (0800 GMT)EDISONInauguration of new hydroelectric power plant with CEO Marc Benayoun in Pizzighettone (0800 GMT).IL SOLE 24 OREAnnual and extraordinary shareholders'' meeting (0830 GMT).STEFANELAnnual general meeting (0900 GMT).(*) IPOItalian tyremaker Pirelli will list on the Milan stock exchange on October 4, both La Stampa and Il Sole 24 Ore reported, adding the group aims to float 30 percent of its shares.For Italian market data and news, click on codes in brackets:20 biggest gainers (in percentage)20 biggest losers (in percentage)FTSE IT allshare indexFTSE Mib indexFTSE Allstars index...FTSE Mid Cap index....Block tradesStories on Italy IT-LENFor pan-European market data and news, click on codes in brackets: European Equities speed guide FTSEurofirst 300 index DJ STOXX index Top 10 STOXX sectors Top 10 EUROSTOXX sectors Top 10 Eurofirst 300 sectors Top 25 European pct gainers Top 25 European pct losers Main stock markets: Dow Jones Wall Street report Nikkei 225 Tokyo report FTSE 100 London report Xetra DAX Frankfurt market stories CAC-40 Paris market stories... World Indices Reuters survey of world bourse outlook Western European IPO diary European Asset Allocation Reuters News at a Glance: Equities Main currency report:'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/italy-factors-june-idINL8N1JH1TJ'|'2017-06-28T04:24:00.000+03:00' +'abe49c945a1158082cc7c9ce82f048f9225c6fe2'|'U.S. judge may tap Feinberg to run $1 billion Takata compensation fund'|'Business News - Tue Jun 6, 2017 - 12:35am BST U.S. judge may tap Feinberg to run $1 billion Takata compensation fund The logo of Takata Corp is seen on its display at a showroom for vehicles in Tokyo, Japan, February 9, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai By David Shepardson - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON A federal judge may tap attorney and longtime compensation adviser Kenneth Feinberg to oversee claims for nearly $1 billion that Takata Corp ( 7312.T ) will pay out to victims of defective air bag inflators linked to numerous deaths and injuries, court officials said on Monday. In April, U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh said he planned to name former Federal Bureau of Investigation director Robert Mueller to oversee the Takata settlement funds. But Mueller resigned from his law firm last month to head the Justice Department''s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election and told Steeh he could no longer accept the Takata assignment. Takata, which is based in Tokyo, is one of the world''s largest automotive suppliers. It pleaded guilty in February in federal court in Detroit to fraud charges as part of a settlement agreement with the U.S. government over massive recalls stemming from the faulty air bag inflators. The devices can explode with excessive force, unleashing metal shrapnel inside cars and trucks. They have been blamed for at least 16 deaths and more than 180 injuries worldwide. The Takata settlement includes a $25 million criminal fine, $125 million in victim compensation and $850 million to compensate automakers who have suffered losses from massive recalls. The Justice Department in January recommended Feinberg to oversee the Takata settlement payout. A specialist in mediation and dispute resolution, he previously oversaw the Sept. 11 attacks compensation fund, the BP ( BP.L ) oil spill fund and compensation paid by General Motors Co ( GM.N ) to victims of its faulty ignition switches. Feinberg said Monday he had not spoken recently to Judge Steeh and was unaware of any decision on who will serve as the monitor. Steeh has made no final decision on who will serve as monitor following Mueller''s withdrawal, his office said Monday. "Bob Mueller took an extraordinary monetary loss to drop this assignment and willingly gave up fees that would have amounted to millions of dollars to accept the Justice Departments Special Counsel appointment," Steeh said in a statement. Inflator recalls began around 2008 and involve around 100 million inflators around the world used in vehicles made by 19 automakers, including Honda Motor Co (7267.T), Volkswagen AG ( VOWG_p.DE ) and GM. Takata is seeking financial backers as it faces potentially billions of dollars in recall-associated costs. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Tom Brown) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-autos-takata-idUKKBN18W2WC'|'2017-06-06T07:35:00.000+03:00' +'99e9b6bb310ba808624338d72c65f3e103452f97'|'Asian currencies subdued as New York Fed president''s comments lift dollar'|' 10:58am IST Asian currencies subdued as New York Fed president''s comments lift dollar William C. Dudley, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York speaks during a panel discussion at The Bank of England in London, Britain, March 21, 2017. REUTERS/Kirsty Wigglesworth/Pool/Files By Shashwat Pradhan Most Asian currencies slipped on Tuesday, as the dollar saw support after an influential Federal Reserve official said U.S. inflation was likely to rise alongside wages, supporting expectations for the Fed to keep raising interest rates. The comments by New York Fed President William Dudley, a close ally of Fed Chair Janet Yellen, were among the first after the U.S. central bank raised rates last week in the face of a series of soft inflation readings. "This is actually a pretty good place to be" with unemployment at 4.3 percent and inflation at about 1.5 percent, Dudley told the North Country Chamber of Commerce in Plattsburg, New York. Asked about a so-called flattening of yields in the bond market, which suggest investors are sceptical that this Fed policy-tightening cycle will last much longer, Dudley said pausing policy now could raise the risk of inflation surging and would hurt the economy. Dudley''s comments have the "potential to convince markets that the U.S. economy has been and is continuing to do fine without Trumps stimulus plans," DBS said in a note. The dollar rose to 111.770 yen at one point, reaching its strongest level since May 26. Most Asian currencies depreciated against the dollar, with the Indian rupee, Malaysian ringgit and the Chinese yuan edging 0.1 percent lower. The Taiwanese dollar fell marginally, remaining on track to reverse yesterday''s gains. Taiwan''s central bank is expected to leave its policy rate unchanged for the fourth straight quarter at a meeting on Thursday, as exports continue to gather momentum and inflation remains mild. "Taiwan dollar swap rates are likely to stay around current levels. A revisit of the lows seen in 2016 appears unlikely unless the central bank allows domestic liquidity to surge again," DBS added. The Indonesian rupiah fell marginally to 13,292 against the dollar. Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Monday that she expects the country''s 2017 budget deficit might reach 2.6 percent of gross domestic product versus the 2.41 percent seen in the current plan. KOREAN WON The South Korean won fell as much as 0.5 percent to touch an eight-week low on Tuesday, leading the declines among emerging Asian currencies. South Korea on Monday announced tighter mortgage rules and curbs on speculative resales of homes in Seoul and parts of Busan - the toughest rules in almost three years as policymakers sought to stabilise hot housing markets amid soaring household debt. Despite today''s declines, the won has been one of the best performing currencies in Asia this year, strengthening more than six percent against the dollar. The non-deliverable outright market expects the currency to appreciate to 1128.3 against the dollar in a year. PHILIPPINE PESO The Philippine peso weakened as much as 0.4 percent on Tuesday to a seven-week low. The Philippine central bank is widely expected to leave interest rates steady on Thursday, a Reuters poll showed, but pressures on inflation are likely to keep an interest rate increase on the cards this year. The central bank has kept policy settings unchanged since a 25 basis point hike in interest rates in September 2014. Additionally, the Philippines posted a balance of payments deficit of $59 million in May compared with a surplus of $917 million in April, data released by the Philippine central bank showed. The following table shows rates for Asian currencies against the dollar at 0503 GMT. CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move Japan yen 111.650 111.51 -0.13 Sing dlr 1.387 1.3866 +0.01 Taiwan dlr 30.379 30.361 -0.06 Korean won 1136.800 1132.7 -0.36 Baht 33.970 33.92 -0.15'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/asia-forex-emerging-idINKBN19B0DN'|'2017-06-20T13:28:00.000+03:00' +'cb78f25605beeb1976d82e4a61d52265a799e62b'|'L1 Retail agrees to buy Holland & Barrett for $1.77 bln pounds'|'Market News - Mon Jun 26, 2017 - 2:21am EDT L1 Retail agrees to buy Holland & Barrett for $1.77 bln pounds LONDON, June 26 L1 Retail has agreed to buy Holland & Barrett from The Nature''s Bounty Co. and The Carlyle Group for 1.77 billion pounds ($2.26 billion), the companies said in a statement. Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman''s L1 Retail is expected to close the transaction by September 2017 subject to customary regulatory approvals. The deal for the health and wellness chain was first reported by the Financial Times on Sunday. "We believe that the company is well positioned to benefit from structural growth in the growing 10 billion pound health and wellness market and has multiple levers for long term growth and value creation," said L1 Retail Managing Partner Stephen DuCharme. Carlyle was advised by Goldman Sachs, Houlihan Lokey, UBS, PWC, Latham Watkins and OC&C. ($1 = 0.7846 pounds) (Reporting by Maiya Keidan; editing by Simon Jessop) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/deals-carlyle-group-l-idUSFWN1JM00U'|'2017-06-26T14:21:00.000+03:00' +'0fdbe57552738d1a2772bdee4e3ca62380c82a94'|'U.S. weighs restricting Chinese investment in artificial intelligence'|'Technology News 4:04pm EDT U.S. weighs restricting Chinese investment in artificial intelligence left right An MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted drone aircraft performs aerial maneuvers over Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, U.S., June 25, 2015. U.S. Air Force/Senior Airman Cory D. Payne/Handout via REUTERS 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 13, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein/File Photo 2/2 By Phil Stewart - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The United States appears poised to heighten scrutiny of Chinese investment in Silicon Valley to better shield sensitive technologies seen as vital to U.S. national security, current and former U.S. officials tell Reuters. Of particular concern is China''s interest in fields such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, which have increasingly attracted Chinese capital in recent years. The worry is that cutting-edge technologies developed in the United States could be used by China to bolster its military capabilities and perhaps even push it ahead in strategic industries. The U.S. government is now looking to strengthen the role of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the inter-agency committee that reviews foreign acquisitions of U.S. companies on national security grounds. An unreleased Pentagon report, viewed by Reuters, warns that China is skirting U.S. oversight and gaining access to sensitive technology through transactions that currently don''t trigger CFIUS review. Such deals would include joint ventures, minority stakes and early-stage investments in start-ups. "We''re examining CFIUS to look at the long-term health and security of the U.S. economy, given China''s predatory practices" in technology, said a Trump administration official, who was not authorized to speak publicly. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis weighed into the debate on Tuesday, calling CFIUS "outdated" and telling a Senate hearing: "It needs to be updated to deal with today''s situation." CFIUS is headed by the Treasury Department and includes nine permanent members including representatives from the departments of Defense, Justice, Homeland Security, Commerce, State and Energy. The CFIUS panel is so secretive it normally does not comment after it makes a decision on a deal. Under former President Barack Obama, CFIUS stopped a series of attempted Chinese acquisitions of high-end chip makers. Senator John Cornyn, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, is now drafting legislation that would give CFIUS far more power to block some technology investments, a Cornyn aide said. "Artificial intelligence is one of many leading-edge technologies that China seeks and that has potential military applications," said the Cornyn aide, who declined to be identified. "These technologies are so new that our export control system has not yet figured out how to cover them, which is part of the reason they are slipping through the gaps in the existing safeguards," the aide said. The legislation would require CFIUS to heighten scrutiny of buyers hailing from nations identified as potential threats to national security. CFIUS would maintain the list, the aide said, without specifying who would create it. Cornyn''s legislation would not single out specific technologies that would be subject to CFIUS scrutiny. But it would provide a mechanism for the Pentagon to lead that identification effort, with input from the U.S. technology sector, the Commerce Department, and the Energy Department, the aide said. James Lewis, an expert on military technology at the Center for Security and International Studies, said the U.S. government is playing catch-up. "The Chinese have found a way around our protections, our safeguards, on technology transfer in foreign investment. And they''re using it to pull ahead of us, both economically and militarily," Lewis said. "I think that''s a big deal." But some industry experts warn that stronger U.S. regulations may not succeed in halting technology transfer and might trigger retaliation by China, with economic repercussions for the United States. China made the United States the top destination for its foreign direct investment in 2016, with $45.6 billion in completed acquisitions and greenfield investments, according to the Rhodium Group, a research firm. Investment from January to May 2017 totaled $22 billion, which represented a 100 percent increase against the same period last year, it said. "There will be a significant pushback from the technology industry" if legislation is overly aggressive, Rhodium Group economist Thilo Hanemann said. AI''S ROLE IN DRONE WARFARE Concerns about Chinese inroads into advanced technology come as the U.S. military looks to incorporate elements of artificial intelligence and machine learning into its drone program. Project Maven, as the effort is known, aims to provide some relief to military analysts who are part of the war against Islamic State. These analysts currently spend long hours staring at big screens reviewing video feeds from drones as part of the hunt for insurgents in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. The Pentagon is trying to develop algorithms that would sort through the material and alert analysts to important finds, according to Air Force Lieutenant General John N.T. "Jack" Shanahan, director for defense intelligence for warfighting support. "A lot of times these things are flying around(and)... there''s nothing in the scene that''s of interest," he told Reuters. Shanahan said his team is currently trying to teach the system to recognize objects such as trucks and buildings, identify people and, eventually, detect changes in patterns of daily life that could signal significant developments. "We''ll start small, show some wins," he said. A Pentagon official said the U.S. government is requesting to spend around $30 million on the effort in 2018. Similar image recognition technology is being developed commercially by firms in Silicon Valley, which could be adapted by adversaries for military reasons. Shanahan said he'' not surprised that Chinese firms are making investments there. "They know what they''re targeting," he said. Research firm CB Insights says it has tracked 29 investors from mainland China investing in U.S. artificial intelligence companies since the start of 2012. The risks extend beyond technology transfer. "When the Chinese make an investment in an early stage company developing advanced technology, there is an opportunity cost to the U.S. since that company is potentially off-limits for purposes of working with (the Department of Defense)," the report said. CHINESE INVESTMENT China has made no secret of its ambition to become a major player in artificial intelligence, including through foreign acquisitions. Chinese search engine giant Baidu Inc ( BIDU.O ) launched an AI lab in March with China''s state planner, the National Development and Reform Commission. In just one recent example, Baidu Inc agreed in April to acquire U.S. computer vision firm xPerception, which makes vision perception software and hardware with applications in robotics and virtual reality. "China is investing massively in this space," said Peter Singer, an expert on robotic warfare at the New America Foundation. The draft Pentagon report cautioned that one of the factors hindering U.S. government regulation is that many Chinese investments fall short of outright acquisitions that can trigger a CFIUS review. Export controls were not designed to govern early-stage technology. It recommended that the Pentagon develop a critical technologies list and restrict Chinese investments on that list. It also proposed enhancing counterintelligence efforts. The report also signaled the need for measures that fall beyond the scope of the U.S. military. Those include altering immigration policy to allow Chinese graduate students the ability to stay in the United States after completing their studies, instead of taking their know-how back to China. Venky Ganesan, managing director at Menlo Futures, concurs about the need to keep the best and brightest in the United States. "The single biggest thing we can do is staple a green card to their diploma so that they stay here and build the technologies here not go back to their countries and compete against us," Ganesan said. (Editing by Marla Dickerson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-artificialintelligence-idUSKBN1942OX'|'2017-06-14T03:48:00.000+03:00' +'c7ca46927e2b3452541d78e85d38cacc422e69ed'|'Opel CEO plans to resign after sale to Peugeot: German newspaper'|'Autos - Sat Jun 10, 2017 - 11:08am EDT Opel CEO plans to resign after sale to Peugeot: German newspaper FILE PHOTO - Dr Karl-Thomas Neumann, CEO of Opel Group speaks during a news conference on media day at the Paris auto show, in Paris, France, September 29, 2016. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier BERLIN Karl-Thomas Neumann, chief executive of Open, the European arm of General Motors ( GM.N ), plans to resign, German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung reported on Saturday. The newspaper said Neumann planned to inform the company''s board about his decision at its next meeting on June 22. Neumann wants to stay on board only until GM completes the sale of Opel to France''s PSA Group ( PEUP.PA ), the newspaper said. Opel this week said the sale, valued at 2.2 billion euros ($2.46 billion), could be completed as early as July 31, pending regulatory approval from antitrust authorities. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal; editing by Alexander Smith) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/uk-opel-moves-idUSKBN1910NX'|'2017-06-10T23:08:00.000+03:00' +'26e45c76b5e171ba0898fca90413779e776896f6'|'BRIEF-Okta appoints Yassir Abousselham as chief security officer'|' 20am EDT BRIEF-Okta appoints Yassir Abousselham as chief security officer June 29 Okta Inc * Cardiovascular Systems - On June 27, 2017, Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint regarding Shoemaker V. Cardiovascular Systems case MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories Reuters Plus - Reuters News Agency - Brand Attribution Guidelines - Careers Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters . Thomson Reuters is the world''s largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-okta-appoints-yassir-abousselham-a-idUSASA09VJX'|'2017-06-29T16:20:00.000+03:00' +'2a19adbf84b87b2538f502cecbf4912e3ca9bdbe'|'CORRECTED-N.J. regulators conducting "comprehensive exam" of Prudential Financial'|' 59am EDT N.J. regulators conducting comprehensive exam of Prudential Financial By Suzanne Barlyn New Jersey insurance regulators are conducting a comprehensive exam of Prudential Financial Inc ( PRU.N ) as part of a new type of state supervisory role over the company, a Prudential executive said in a presentation to investors on Tuesday. The state is in the midst of the regulatory exam, launched as part of New Jersey''s role as the company''s "group supervisor," a new type of authority for the state, which in recent years has been working in tandem with U.S. federal regulators who oversee a handful of large insurance companies, including Prudential. State insurance regulators frequently examine the businesses and finances of insurers under their purview. The examination at issue is not a criminal probe, nor is it alleged that Prudential has engaged in wrongdoing. The supervisory role for New Jersey is in its "formative stages," said Vice Chairman Mark Grier. He did not elaborate on New Jersey''s "new authority." A spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance could not be immediately reached for comment. Shares of Prudential were down about 1.8 percent at $103.66 in early trade on the New York Stock Exchange. Prudential and American International Group Inc ( AIG.N ) are the two U.S. insurance companies deemed by the government as being a "systematically important financial institution", meaning that it could devastate the financial system if it failed. The label triggers stricter capital requirements and oversight from the U.S. Federal Reserve. The process of imposing the designation has drawn ire from some U.S. Republican lawmakers, who said it lacks transparency and consistency, among other concerns. The U.S. Financial Stability Oversight Council determines whether companies can be designated as systematically important financial institutions, or "SIFIs". (Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Bernard Orr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-prudential-finl-regulation-new-jersey-idUSKBN18X1M9'|'2017-06-06T22:18:00.000+03:00' +'e44f4dd0472eca733fcb6d000abe9f525af3de85'|'BoE''s Cunliffe - See how slowdown plays out before deciding on rate hike'|'Top News - Wed Jun 28, 2017 - 8:12am BST Now is not the time to raise interest rates - BoE''s Cunliffe Britain''s Deputy Governor of the Bank of England Jon Cunliffe in London, Britain June 27, 2017. REUTERS/ Jonathan Brady/Pool By Andy Bruce - LONDON LONDON Bank of England Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe on Wednesday signalled that now is not the time to raise interest rates, siding with his boss Mark Carney in a deepening split between officials on the need for higher borrowing costs. Speculation mounted last week that Governor Carney''s grip on decision-making at the BoE was weakening when chief economist Andy Haldane said he might break ranks and join dissenters who voted this month for Britain''s first rate hike in a decade. But Cunliffe said he wanted more time to see how improvements in business investment and exports could compensate for a consumer slowdown before deciding to raise interest rates from their record low 0.25 percent. He stressed weak wage growth and said the lesson from the last few years was that Britain''s economy had not generated much domestic inflation pressure, despite a sharp fall in unemployment. Asked in a BBC radio interview if now was the right time to raise interest rates, Cunliffe said: "(Consumer spending) is slowing as households'' real incomes are squeezed by higher inflation, we expect some of that slowing to be offset by growth in business investment, growth in exports. And I want to see how that plays out." "(We) do have to look at what''s happening to domestic inflation pressure, and I think that on the data we have at the moment, gives us a bit of time to see how this evolves," Cunliffe said. Earlier this month the BoE said a recent jump in inflation to 2.9 percent meant it was likely to exceed 3 percent this autumn - higher than the BoE forecast just a few weeks ago and well above its 2 percent inflation target. Three out of eight members of the Monetary Policy Committee unexpectedly voted to raise interest rates, jolting financial markets. The ninth seat on the MPC is currently vacant. The unexpectedly tight vote added questions over monetary policy to uncertainty over Britain''s political outlook since Prime Minister Theresa May failed to win a parliamentary majority in an election earlier in the month. Cunliffe said inflation overshooting the BoE''s target was "not a comfortable place" for any member of the MPC. But he said it was important to consider how much of the overshoot was generated domestically, rather than as a product of the pound''s fall in the aftermath of last year''s Brexit vote. Cunliffe highlighted that average earnings excluding bonuses rose at an annual rate of just 1.7 percent in the three months to April, the weakest increase since January 2015. Even with Haldane''s surprise intervention last week, most economists think interest rates are unlikely to rise in the next few months. One of the three MPC members who voted to hike rates, Kristin Forbes, has completed her term and has been replaced by Silvana Tenreyro, a trade-focused London School of Economics academic. On Tuesday, the BoE tightened its controls on bank credit to more normal levels, deciding the risk had passed of a big hit to the economy and to lending after last year''s Brexit vote. (Reporting by Andy Bruce; Editing by Richard Borsuk and Andrew Heavens) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-boe-cunliffe-idUKKBN19J0FH'|'2017-06-28T13:20:00.000+03:00' +'750a8426fd7cae3bc7e20409812b452e811e8bbb'|'JLR unit invests $25 million in Lyft to help develop self-driving cars'|'Technology News - Mon Jun 12, 2017 - 8:02am BST JLR unit invests $25 million in Lyft to help develop self-driving cars FILE PHOTO: A Lyft driver from Sacramento, responds to a ride request on her smartphone during a photo opportunity in San Francisco, California February 3, 2016. REUTERS/Stephen Lam/File Photo Britain''s biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover said its mobility services business, InMotion Ventures, would invest $25 million in U.S. ride services company Lyft Inc to help develop and test technology for self-driving cars. The auto industry and technology companies are racing to develop self-driving technology, which in the years to come is expected to transform transportation by cutting costs of ride services and changing the way people buy and use cars. InMotion will also supply Lyft with a fleet of Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles, the automaker said on Monday. InMotion''s investment follows its recent seed investment in SPLT, the Detroit-based digital carpool business, which works with Lyft to provide non-emergency medical transport. (Reporting by Sanjeeban Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-tata-motors-investment-idUKKBN1930L2'|'2017-06-12T15:02:00.000+03:00' +'2f94fb5381e1afae081af0088005ca8a721b3060'|'New U.S. funds would mimic ADRs but cut currency risk - filing'|'Business News 33am BST New U.S. funds would mimic ADRs but cut currency risk - filing By Trevor Hunnicutt - NEW YORK NEW YORK An investment company is planning to offer a novel kind of fund that would offer U.S. investors direct access to foreign stocks, while tamping down the risk of currency declines, regulatory filings showed on Wednesday. Companies based outside the United States, such as Toyota Motor Corp, British American Tobacco plc and Royal Dutch Shell plc, currently offer access to their shares on U.S. exchanges through what are known as American depositary receipts (ADRs). Those ADRs allow U.S. investors easily to trade foreign stocks, but the securities also gain or lose value based on the performance of their home currency against the dollar. That means a Toyota ADR traded in the United States could fall even if the Japan-listed stock stays flat - if the yen declines against the dollar. Over three years, for instance, British investors have gained 8.8 percent investing in Royal Dutch Shell, but the dollar-denominated ADRs have returned negative 18.7 percent, owing to the British pound''s dive. Precidian Funds LLC is planning to offer U.S. investors access to Toyota, Royal Dutch Shell, British American Tobacco and each of 15 other largely blue-chip stocks in a fund structure that could eliminate the risk of a falling foreign currency hurting the stock price. That said, investors using the products could also miss out on the benefits of a rising foreign currency. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Bedminster, New Jersey-based company proposed offering each stock as its own "ADRPLUS" exchange-traded fund. Unlike most funds, the ADRPLUS would use a legal structure like that used by gold-owning ETFs that could allow it to hold just one ADR and the derivatives it needs to hedge currencies. The filings did not disclose fees, ticker symbols, a scheduled launch date or a listing venue. Precidian''s chief officer, Daniel McCabe, (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Eric Meijer)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-investment-etf-adrplus-idUKKBN19606J'|'2017-06-15T10:33:00.000+03:00' +'5369161924d95a47c08b80a23d1bb6f7173d5e5c'|'Corvex Management LP reports 7.6 pct stake in Energen Corp as of June 26'|'June 28 Energen Corp* Corvex Management LP - On June 27, delivered a letter to Energen Corp''s board of directors - SEC Filing* Corvex Management LP - In letter, expressed disappointment with Energen''s decision to continue with status quo business plan without conducting road show with shareholders* Corvex Management LP - In letter, believe Energen did not conduct substantive review of alternatives to maximize shareholder value* Corvex Management LP - In letter, urge Energen board to re-examine conclusions as to best direction for co after receiving feedback from shareholders* Corvex Management LP reports 7.6 percent stake in Energen Corp as of June 26 versus 6.6 percent stake as of June 14 Source text: [ bit.ly/2tXzlbs ] '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/brief-corvex-management-lp-reports-76-pc-idINFWN1JP0EE'|'2017-06-28T10:15:00.000+03:00' +'aecec91701ee2f2a32696588e87e16d65faebd26'|'Emirates will suspend its flights to and from Doha from Tuesday morning'|'Money 22pm IST Emirates will suspend its flights to and from Doha from Tuesday morning FILE PHOTO: Emirates Airlines aircrafts are seen at Dubai International Airport, United Arab Emirates May 10, 2016. REUTERS/Ashraf Mohammad/File photo - RTX2FQ68/File Photo DUBAI Dubai-based carrier Emirates said it will suspend all flights to and from Doha from Tuesday morning until further notice, joining UAE-based Etihad Airways in a similar move amid a diplomatic spat between Qatar and some of its Gulf neigbhours. The move came after Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed their ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting terrorism, opening up the worst rift in years among some of the most powerful states in the Arab world. Emirates said the last flight from Dubai to Doha will depart at 2:30 am on Tuesday, while the last flight from Doha to Dubai will depart at 3:50 am. "All customers booked on Emirates'' flights to and from Doha will be provided with alternative options, including full refunds on unused tickets and free rebooking to the nearest alternate Emirates destinations," the airline said in an email. (Reporting By Saeed Azhar; Editing by Tom Arnold)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/emirates-qatar-idINKBN18W0UJ'|'2017-06-05T15:52:00.000+03:00' +'d2dcc536d96ed551350c2119c17a671323ae8c02'|'Toshiba to seek extension on financial filing Friday - Yomiuri'|'By Makiko Yamazaki - TOKYO TOKYO Toshiba Corp said it was open to talks with Western Digital Corp in their dispute over the sale of the Japanese conglomerate''s prized chip unit - an apparent olive branch after it chose another suitor as preferred bidder.The two have been feuding bitterly and Western Digital, which jointly runs Toshiba''s main semiconductor plant, has sought a U.S. court injunction to prevent any deal that does not have its consent.The softer tone from Toshiba comes on a day of further indignities as the crisis-wracked conglomerate saw itself demoted to the second section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and estimated bigger losses for the past financial year.This week it chose a consortium of Bain Capital and Japanese government investors as preferred bidder for the unit, the world''s No. 2 producer of NAND flash chips. It wants to clinch a deal, worth some $18 billion, by June 28, the day of its shareholders meeting."Western Digital used to be a good partner, so we want to continue talks. I''m disappointed with the current dispute," Toshiba CEO Satoshi Tsunakawa told a news conference, adding it was important that they joined forces to better compete against bigger rival Samsung Electronics."We want Western Digital to jointly invest to fight against Samsung. It will be so disappointing if we can''t do so because of the dispute," he said.But in a sign that tensions were still high, Tsunakawa also said Toshiba was not going to be the first to propose the U.S. firm join the consortium and it was still considering whether to block Western Digital employees not based at the plant from accessing joint venture data servers.Tsunakawa also said he did not expect any changes to the make-up of the consortium before June 28.Western Digital''s offer had not found favour on price and because the U.S. firm wanted to take control of the unit, he said, adding that he expected executives from Toshiba to still be running operations after the sale.His comments come after sources familiar with matter said earlier this week that the Bain consortium members had made resolving the dispute with Western Digital a condition of their investment.Representatives for Western Digital were not immediately available to comment.HYNIX HURDLES?South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix Inc is also part of the Bain consortium and its membership has raised concerns that the winning bid may find it difficult to clear anti-trust reviews.Its presence has made Western Digital reluctant to join the group in its current form due to worries that high-level technology for NAND chips, which provide long-term data storage, could be leaked to its rival, sources familiar with the matter have said.But Tsunakawa said SK Hynix would not be holding any equity and would not be involved in management - an arrangement that was unlikely to raise regulatory red flags and would prevent leaks of key technology information.SK Hynix, which is relatively weak in NAND flash memory chips, has said it has joined the group because it sees new business opportunities. It will provide half of the 850 billion yen ($7.6 billion) that Bain plans to put up in the form of financing, sources have said.Earlier in the day, Toshiba flagged a net loss of around $9 billion for the year ended in March with negative shareholders'' equity of around $5.2 billion, both worse than expected on an increase in liabilities at bankrupt nuclear unit Westinghouse and potential legal damages.With negative shareholder equity confirmed, the Tokyo Stock Exchange said it would move Toshiba''s listing to the second section of the bourse from Aug. 1 - the latest in a series of humiliating developments since December for a firm that has been in business for more than 140 years.Toshiba also received regulatory approval to delay filing its annual earnings by more than a month amid a prolonged accounting investigation at Westinghouse. It is the sixth time since 2015 that Toshiba has delayed an earnings filing.Regulators have now given Toshiba until Aug. 10 instead of June 30 to submit the filing. Failure to gain an extension would have put the troubled company''s stock exchange listing in further jeopardy, although it still needs to dig itself out of negative shareholders'' equity by the end of this financial year to stay listed.($1 = 111.2000 yen)(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki and Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Edwina Gibbs)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/toshiba-accounting-idINKBN19D2Z0'|'2017-06-22T21:54:00.000+03:00' +'594584b1b562e12dec0026dbd15c7fd484adc615'|'Linde to terminate ADRs due to Praxair merger'|'FRANKFURT German industrial gases group Linde ( LING.DE ) will terminate its American depository receipt program on Sept. 29 due to its planned $74 billion merger with U.S. peer Praxair ( PX.N ), it said on Friday."ADRs are not subject to the public offer to exchange Linde shares for shares in the new holding company, therefore ADR holders must exchange their ADRs for Linde shares in order to participate in the exchange offer," it said.Linde and Praxair plan to list shares in the new combined company in both New York and Frankfurt.(Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Maria Sheahan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-linde-adrs-idINKBN19E1EN'|'2017-06-23T10:31:00.000+03:00' +'4edcb37b9b01ab937dc965edd3fe10123cf8becd'|'Labor flags plan to crack down on non-compete clauses for employees - Business'|'Labor has flagged a plan to crack down on clauses in work contracts that make it hard for employees to work for competitors when they leave a job.It has also renewed calls for large corporations to pay bigger financial penalties for abusing their market power, and for the competition regulator to be given greater powers to prevent market problems emerging.Andrew Leigh, the shadow assistant treasurer, will warn in a speech on Wednesday that competition in Australia is getting worse, with too many industries dominated by three or four firms and fewer new businesses starting up as a consequence.Minimum wage to rise by $22 a week after Fair Work Commission ruling Read more The Turnbull government is pushing ahead with its 0.06% levy on the after-tax profits of Australias biggest banks, arguing their market dominance has made them some of the most profitable banks in the world.Leigh says Australia is experiencing a rise in companies using their market power for anti-competitive reasons, with complaints to the competition watchdog, of misleading and deceptive conduct, up one third over the last three years. He says despite the Coalitions rhetoric about innovation and agility, the rate at which new businesses are being created in Australia has actually slowed, warning something needs to be done about our growing competition problem.Back in the 2000s we would typically see a 17% increase in the number of new businesses each year, Leigh says, in notes seen by Guardian Australia.Since 2010, this has fallen to 13%. For all the talk of incubators, accelerators and innovation, our nation isnt starting as many businesses as it used to.Leigh will make his comments when he delivers the Sir Walter Murdoch school policy seminar at Murdoch University.He will also raise concerns about the growing number of non-compete clauses in employment contracts which prevent employees from working for a competitor, starting a competing firm, or poaching customers from old employers.Citing work by academics from Melbourne University and Monash University , he will warn large Australian firms are using non-compete clauses more frequently, and suggests something may have to be done about it.Non-compete clauses make it harder for employees to switch to a better job and stifle start-ups, Leigh will say.Since many new companies are created by employees who leave to start a competing company, non-compete clauses reduce innovation. We need to make it easier for more competitors to enter the market. Its perfectly reasonable for firms to prevent ex-employees stealing confidential information, but non-compete clauses are a sledgehammer to crack a nut.Studies show that making these clauses unenforceable as California has done leads to an upsurge in innovation.Leigh will also say the government needs to give the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission a market studies function, to allow it to investigate concentrated sectors and propose solutions before competition problems emerge into public view.A market studies power would have allowed Australias competition watchdog to initiate its own inquiry into the energy sector without waiting for a specific reference from the federal government, Leigh will say.Ian Harpers 2015 competition review recommended a strong market studies power and the ACCC has repeatedly requested such a power.Australia''s too-big-to-fail banks cry crocodile tears over bank levy - Greg Jericho Read more [And] when it comes to deterring bad behaviour, our laws are only as powerful as the penalties courts can impose.To clearly signal that corporate wrongdoing doesnt pay, weve advocated linking the penalty for anti-competitive conduct to total sales. Such a move would bring Australian penalties into line with jurisdictions such as the European Union.Joydeep Hor, the managing principal of law firm People & Culture Strategies, told Guardian Australia non-compete clauses were critical to many businesses, but they shouldnt be allowed to deliver a competitive benefit to an employer.Topics Australian economy Labor party Business (Australia) Australian politics news '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jun/07/labor-flags-plan-to-crack-down-on-non-compete-clauses-for-employees'|'2017-06-07T05:08:00.000+03:00' +'a48be5fe651ad4dc623272e7f4567b14f3767924'|'Mitie swings to loss after restating accounts'|'Business 7:59am BST Mitie swings to loss after restating accounts British outsourcing company Mitie swung to a full-year operating loss on Monday after it restated its accounts following a review prompted by a string of profit warnings last year. The provider of pest control, property cleaning, security and ancillary healthcare undertook a review of its accounts and strategy after issuing three profit warnings in a year, blaming uncertainty surrounding Brexit and rising costs. nL5N1F81AV] Mitie reported an adjusted operating loss of 42.9 million pounds for the year ended March 31, down from a restated year-ago profit of 107.6 million pounds. Adjusted operating profit fell 13.9 percent to 82 million pounds. The company restated year-ago results and booked a writedown in May, after its accounts review found the way it booked work-in-progress on long-term contracts and costs relating to contracts was less conservative than rivals. The company said it would not pay a final dividend. Its full-year dividend for this year was 4 pence compared with 12.1 pence a year ago. Mitie said on Monday announced a 45 million pound cost efficiency programme and a partnership with Microsoft to invest in technology to meet changing customer needs. Chief Executive Phil Bentley, who took over as CEO in December after Ruby McGregor-Smith''s departure, said it had been a "challenging" year for Mitie, but he expressed confidence for the year ahead citing a strong order book and a growing pipeline of contracts. The company said it expected a return to modest growth in underlying profit this year. "With our new investment strategy, we believe that there is a significant opportunity to transform Mitie into a more focused, higher growth/higher margin business," Mitie said. (Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru, editing by Louise Heavens)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mitie-group-results-idUKKBN1930KQ'|'2017-06-12T14:59:00.000+03:00' +'e9a22d6dbe54879ba98d57b869211a02f9c102c0'|'J&J diabetes drug shows heart benefit in large safety study'|'Health News - Mon Jun 12, 2017 - 6:19pm EDT J&J diabetes drug shows heart benefit in large safety study FILE PHOTO - A Johnson & Johnson building is shown in Irvine, California, U.S., January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo By Bill Berkrot Johnson & Johnson''s type 2 diabetes drug Invokana significantly reduced the risk of serious heart problems in patients with established heart disease or at elevated risk in a pair of large studies, according to data presented at a medical meeting on Monday. The medicine also led to a reduced risk of hospitalization for heart failure and protection against kidney function decline. But the risk of amputations, particularly of toes or feet, was double versus placebo in the studies of 10,142 patients with type 2 diabetes. On the study''s main goal Invokana, known chemically as canagliflozin, reduced the combined risk of heart-related death, nonfatal heart attack and nonfatal stroke by a statistically significant 14 percent compared with placebo. "What we actually got here was not just evidence of safety but evidence of benefit," said lead investigator Bruce Neal, professor of medicine at the University of New South Wales Sydney. "It''s a really positive result. This (heart disease) is the main thing that people with diabetes die from," said Neal, who presented the data at the American Diabetes Association meeting in San Diego. The study was required to prove Invokana did not cause heart complications. The expectation bar was raised, however, after rival drug Jardiance from Eli Lilly and Co and Boehringer Ingelheim in 2015 demonstrated heart protective qualities in a similar large trial. Reduction of heart-related death is now included in the Jardiance label. "We look forward to working with the FDA and regulators around the world with respect to getting this in the label," James List, head of cardiovascular and metabolism for J&J''s Janssen unit, said of the new data. Two-thirds of patients had confirmed heart disease and the rest were deemed at high risk. They were followed for an average of about four years. The number of amputations was small but about double that of the placebo group. A warning of increased amputation risk was added to Invokana''s prescribing label after it was discovered by safety monitors during an interim analysis of the study. "Care is warranted in the use of canagliflozin in patients at risk for amputation," a New England Journal of Medicine article on the study said. Invokana is the market leader among a newer class of type 2 diabetes treatments called SGLT-2 inhibitors, along with Jardiance and AstraZeneca Plc''s Farxiga. They work by removing blood sugar through the urine. Results from a large Farxiga heart safety trial are expected in 2019. "I think we''re going to see much greater use of canagliflozin and the class in type 2 diabetes," Neal said. Invokana and related combination treatment Invokamet had sales $284 million in the first quarter, J&J reported. (Reporting by Bill Berkrot in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-johnson-johnson-diabetes-idUSKBN1932LH'|'2017-06-13T06:15:00.000+03:00' +'d922549727b9db9dfd96a53ffb68b6746e155ee0'|'Ubisoft founding family raises stake to ward off Vivendi'|'PARIS France''s Guillemot family has raised its stake in videogames maker Ubisoft ( UBIP.PA ), according to a stock market filing released on Tuesday, as part of their ongoing battle to fend off Vivendi''s ( VIV.PA ) rival interest in the company.A filing from the AMF stock market regulator said Ubisoft''s founding Guillemot family now held 13.6 percent of Ubisoft''s share capital, and 20.02 percent of the company''s voting rights.Vivendi has also been gradually raising its stake in Ubisoft, best known for its Assassin''s Creed and South Park video games, with Vivendi currently holding 27 percent of Ubisoft''s share capital and 24.5 percent of the voting rights.Vivendi first bought a stake in Ubisoft in 2015 and raised it in 2016, prompting the Guillemot family to court Canadian investors to fend off any hostile approach.The Guillemot family has also consistently rejected any possibility of such a deal.Ubisoft shares, which hit a record high earlier this week, were down 2.2 percent in early session trading although the stock is still up by around 50 percent since the start of 2017.(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Leigh Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-ubisoft-vivendi-idINKBN19I0WC'|'2017-06-27T06:57:00.000+03:00' +'3142a21aa01699ce63ac537621c88b890e0cbc79'|'Vattenfall enters UK home energy market with iSupplyEnergy acquisition'|'Business 29am BST Vattenfall enters UK home energy market with iSupplyEnergy acquisition Vattenfall logo is seen on its headquaters in Stockholm, Sweden April 18, 2016. Pontus Lundahl/TT News Agency/File Photo via REUTERS LONDON Swedish utility Vattenfall has bought British home energy supplier iSupplyEnergy for an undisclosed sum, entering the highly competitive domestic energy retail market in Britain for the first time. The move follows state-owned Vattenfall''s announcement last month that it has started selling renewable power to British businesses, setting itself up to compete in a market that already has more than 50 suppliers. iSupplyEnergy supplies more than 120,000 gas and electricity customers and employs 170 people, Vattenfall said. "The acquisition of iSupplyEnergy is in line with Vattenfall''s strategy to grow our customer base in northern Europe," Chief Executive Magnus Hall said. Britain''s energy market has attracted a range of new suppliers that are gradually gaining market share from the ''Big Six'' incumbents which are Centrica''s British Gas, SSE, E.ON, npower, EDF Energy and Scottish Power. Theresa May''s ruling Conservative Party has pledged to cap energy prices, however, a move that would be the first government intervention since markets were opened to competition. (Reporting by Karolin Schaps; editing by Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-vattenfall-britain-idUKKBN19C0QN'|'2017-06-21T15:29:00.000+03:00' +'4603a83fb59bb18d83635875f3d9a97b8712476d'|'BRIEF-US Oil Sands announces updates on financing'|' 02pm EDT BRIEF-US Oil Sands announces updates on financing June 28 US Oil Sands Inc: * US Oil Sands Inc announces updates on financing and voluntary delisting from the TSX Venture Exchange * US Oil Sands Inc - company expects exchange to delist common shares on June 29, 2017 Source text for Eikon: UPDATE 1-Carrefour''s Brazil unit seeks up to $1.7 bln in IPO SAO PAULO/PARIS, June 28 French retailer Carrefour SA''s Brazilian unit has filed for an initial public offering that could raise 4.5 billion to 5.6 billion reais ($1.4 billion to $1.7 billion) next month, making it Brazil''s biggest listing in over four years. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories Reuters Plus - Reuters News Agency - Brand Attribution Guidelines - Careers Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters . Thomson Reuters is the world''s largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-us-oil-sands-announces-updates-on-idUSASA09VGG'|'2017-06-29T01:02:00.000+03:00' +'f24115890ec785963c79a497f9c653df0bd255d8'|'Dollar sulks as global central banks turn hawkish, stocks drop'|' 57am BST Dollar sulks as global central banks turn hawkish, stocks drop A man (3rd L) looks at an electronic stock quotation board as passers-by walk past, outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan January 20, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai By Nichola Saminather - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE The dollar extended its losses on Friday as major central banks signalled that the era of cheap money was coming to an end in a boon to sterling, the euro and Canadian dollar, while Asian shares were hit by dismal performances of European and U.S. markets. "International markets continued to adjust for a 2018 outlook where other central banks join the Fed in gradually reducing monetary stimulus," Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, wrote in a note. The dollar index .DXY fell 0.1 percent to 95.565, poised for a 1.8 percent slide this week, having fallen in all sessions but one. It is down 1.4 percent for the month, and 4.8 percent for the quarter. The dollar fell 0.2 percent to 111.925 yen, after losing 0.2 percent on Thursday. It was heading for a 1.2 percent gain for the month, but is down 4.2 percent this year. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney surprised many on Wednesday by conceding a rate hike was likely to be needed as the economy came closer to running at full capacity. Sterling GBP=D3 was 0.1 percent higher on Friday at $1.3023, adding to Thursday''s 0.6 percent gain. Two top policymakers at the Bank of Canada also suggested they might tighten monetary policy there as early as July. The dollar slipped 0.2 percent to C$1.2977 CAD= , extending Thursday''s 0.3 percent loss. Despite comments by sources that European Central Bank President Mario Draghi intended to signal tolerance for a period of weaker inflation, not an imminent policy tightening, the euro on Friday revisited the one-year high of $1.1445 hit on Thursday. The euro EUR=EBS slipped almost 0.1 percent from that level and was fetching $1.14365, retaining most of Thursday''s 0.6 percent gain. "The shifting monetary policy trajectories of other central banks is making other currencies more attractive relative to the U.S. dollar," said Kathy Lien, managing director at BK Asset Management in New York. In stocks, MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS fell 0.8 percent, set to end the month up 1.7 percent after hitting a two-year high on Thursday. It is up 5.3 percent for the quarter and has risen 18.3 percent this year. The negative sentiment infected Chinese shares despite surveys showing activity in the country''s manufacturing and services sector accelerated in June from the previous month. Manufacturers appeared to enjoy strong external demand, as new orders and production rose at a solid pace. The CSI 300 index .CSI300 fell 0.5 percent, while the Shanghai Composite .SSEC slid 0.4 percent. Hong Kong''s Hang Seng .HSI lost 1.1 percent. Japan''s Nikkei .N225 tumbled 1.1 percent, shrinking its monthly gain to 1.8 percent and its quarterly increase to 5.8 percent. Australian shares dropped 1.4 percent, while South Korea''s KOSPI .KS11 lost 0.4 percent. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq .IXIC , with its 1.4 percent loss, led declines on Wall Street. The Nasdaq is poised to post a 0.9 percent loss for the month, but is still up 14 percent this year. The decline in tech stocks overnight was due to a rotation into bank shares, which have lagged this year, after the biggest U.S. banks revealed buyback and dividend plans that beat analysts'' expectations after the Fed approved their capital proposals in its annual stress test program. The S&P financials index .SPSY rose as much as 2 percent overnight, while the S&P technology index .SPLRCT fell as much as 2.7 percent. European shares also lost about 1.3 percent as dividend-paying sectors took a hit on prospects for higher interest rates. In commodities, oil prices continued their recovery this week on a decline in weekly U.S. crude production. U.S. crude CLc1 added 0.65 percent to $45.18 a barrel in its seventh straight session of gains, bringing its weekly increase to 5.05 percent, and narrowing its monthly and quarterly losses to 6.5 percent and 10.7 percent respectively. Global benchmark Brent LCOc1 gained 0.5 percent to $47.61, poised to post a 5.4 percent loss for the month and 9.9 percent for the quarter. The dollar''s weakness this year has been a boon for gold, which is up 8.1 percent in the same period. It was little changed at $1,244.32 an ounce on Friday. (Reporting by Nichola Saminather; Additional reporting by Rodrigo Campos; '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUKKBN19L04B'|'2017-06-30T04:57:00.000+03:00' +'c00e12119c9c62c65a9861d69740ae631819c8fa'|'Seanergy Maritime announces termination of its at-the-market equity offering program'|'June 28 Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp* Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. announces termination of its "at-the-market" equity offering program* Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp says it has terminated, effective immediately, it''s up to $20 million "at--market" equity offering program Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/brief-seanergy-maritime-announces-termin-idINASA09VC9'|'2017-06-28T10:57:00.000+03:00' +'b33d1c737bdf425e0fe36653a5f2bf5fd2fa4828'|'Sharp CEO: Foxconn to continue to pursue Toshiba chip unit acquisition'|'Business News 4:47am BST Sharp CEO: Foxconn to continue to pursue Toshiba chip unit acquisition The logo of Foxconn, the trading name of Hon Hai Precision Industry, is seen on top of the company''s headquarters in New Taipei City, Taiwan June 12, 2017. REUTERS/Eason Lam TAIPEI Taiwan''s Foxconn will continue to pursue an acquisition of Toshiba Corp''s chip business, a day after the troubled conglomerate chose a rival suitor as the preferred bidder, the head of Foxconn''s Japanese unit said. "We will continue our efforts," Sharp Corp CEO Tai Jeng-wu told reporters on the sidelines of Foxconn''s annual shareholders meeting. "We will use our track record, our efforts at Sharp, Foxconn''s global reach - we are a global company, not a Taiwan company," Tai said. Foxconn is formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (Reporting by J.R. Wu; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting-foxconn-idUKKBN19D09B'|'2017-06-22T11:47:00.000+03:00' +'223d066f4bf2d0723859e0155cac5f8a92d90c3e'|'Qatar Petroleum says business as usual despite diplomatic rift'|'Market News 9:52am EDT Qatar Petroleum says business as usual despite diplomatic rift RIYADH, June 10 Qatar Petroleum(QP) said in a statement on Saturday that it was conducting "business as usual" throughout all upstream, midstream and downstream operations, despite rising diplomatic tensions with its Gulf neighbours. QP was prepared to take any "necessary decisions and measures, should the need arise, to ensure that it honored commitments to customers and partners", the statement said. Qatar is the world''s largest liquid natural gas (LNG) producer and exporter, contributing more than 30 percent of global LNG trade. (Reporting by Katie Paul; Editing by Hugh Lawson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/gulf-qatar-lng-idUSL8N1J70DW'|'2017-06-10T17:52:00.000+03:00' +'b94035f5f54c772311b98982c7c753657bbee506'|'Viva Air Peru nears $5 billion Airbus airliner deal - sources'|'Sun Jun 18, 2017 - 7:00pm BST Viva Air Peru nears $5 billion Airbus airliner deal: sources FILE PHOTO: The Airbus A320neo (New Engine Option) takes off during its first flight event in Colomiers near Toulouse, southwestern France, September 25, 2014. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau PARIS Peruvian low-cost airline startup Viva Air Peru is close to reaching a roughly $5 billion deal with Airbus ( AIR.PA ) to order about 30 recently upgraded A320neo jets and 15 current-generation models known as A320ceo, two industry sources said. The deal could be announced at the Paris Airshow and follows a competition against rival Boeing''s ( BA.N ) 737 MAX. A spokesman for Airbus said: "We do not comment on discussions that we may or may not be having with potential customers." Viva Air Peru, which won an operating license earlier this year, is owned by Irelandia Aviation. Neither firm could be reached for comment. (Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Edmund Blair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-airshow-paris-viva-idUKKBN1990U6'|'2017-06-19T01:59:00.000+03:00' +'4d0f0751a871234dac6397d5546f58fcc2620218'|'Qatar can defend economy and currency, finance minister tells CNBC'|'Business News - Mon Jun 12, 2017 - 6:46am BST Qatar can defend economy and currency, finance minister tells CNBC Qatar''s Finance minister Ali Sherif al-Emadi speaks during a briefing on the financial outlook for Qatar, in Doha, Qatar, February 7, 2017. REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoon DUBAI Qatar can easily defend its economy and currency against sanctions by other Arab states, Qatari finance minister Ali Sherif al-Emadi told CNBC television in an interview broadcast on Monday. He added that the countries which had imposed sanctions would also lose money because of the damage to business in the region. "A lot of people think we''re the only ones to lose in this... If we''re going to lose a dollar, they will lose a dollar also." Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and transport ties a week ago, accusing Doha of backing terrorism. The sanctions have disrupted flows of imports and other materials into Qatar and caused many foreign banks to scale back their business with the country. But Emadi said the energy sector and economy of the world''s top liquefied natural gas exporter were essentially operating as normal and that there had not been a serious impact on supplies of food or other goods. Qatar can import goods from Turkey, the Far East or Europe and it will respond to the crisis by diversifying its economy even more, he told CNBC. The Qatari riyal has come under pressure in the spot and forward foreign exchange markets, but Emadi said neither this nor a near 10 percent plunge in the local stock market was cause for concern. "Our reserves and investment funds are more than 250 percent of gross domestic product, so I don''t think there is any reason that people need to be concerned about what''s happening or any speculation on the Qatari riyal." Asked whether Qatar might need to raise money by selling off stakes in large Western companies held by its sovereign wealth fund, Emadi indicated this was not on the cards at present. "We are extremely comfortable with our positions, our investments and liquidity in our systems," he said. Prices of Qatar''s international bonds have dropped sharply, but in answer to another question, Emadi said he saw no need for the government to step into the market and buy those bonds to support prices. (Reporting by Andrew Torchia, Editing by Sylvia Westall) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-gulf-qatar-finance-idUKKBN1930E6'|'2017-06-12T13:40:00.000+03:00' +'8d06d2fa8b6deb01328212f9fed34033ccef81f5'|'Global cyber attack hit Auchan payment terminals in Ukraine'|'Company News 4:29am EDT Global cyber attack hit Auchan payment terminals in Ukraine PARIS, June 28 A global cyber attack on Tuesday hit the terminal payments of French retailer Auchan in its stores in Ukraine but the incident is now over, a company spokeswoman told Reuters. "Auchan was impacted but only in Ukraine. As a result payment terminals in the stores in Ukraine did not work on Tuesday. Today, however, they are working," she said on Wednesday. The retailer did not close its stores on Tuesday because of the incident, she added. Auchan, which is present in 17 countries and makes 65 percent of revenue outside France, operates 11 hypermarkets in five Ukrainian cities and employs 3,600 people in the country. Auchan said last week it was stepping up its investments in Ukraine, with the acquisition of local retailer Karavan. (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/cyber-attack-auchan-holding-idUSP6N1JF044'|'2017-06-28T11:29:00.000+03:00' +'ec9157c0838f5b801e79c243f95424c11694ff00'|'Wolseley reiterates full-year forecast after quarterly profit rise'|' 29am BST Wolseley reiterates full-year forecast after quarterly profit rise Heating and plumbing supplier Wolseley forecast full-year trading profit in line with market expectations, as it reported a 9.5 percent rise in third-quarter profit on the back of sales growth in all its regions except the UK. The company said trading profit restated to exclude some exceptional restructuring costs rose to 254 million pounds in the three months ended April 30, from 232 million pounds a year earlier. Wolseley, set to change its name at the end of next month to match its U.S. brand Ferguson Plc, said revenue grew 16.7 percent to 4.27 billion pounds. Like-for-like revenue grew 6.6 percent, ahead of the 3.2 percent comparable growth reported in the first half. "Since the end of the period revenue growth has been broadly in line with the third quarter, gross margins and cost control have been good," Chief Executive John Martin (Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-wolseley-outlook-idUKKBN19B0IE'|'2017-06-20T14:29:00.000+03:00' +'7120f2fe222ab24561aac015262fe48fe628032e'|'As inflation misses goal, Fed''s Evans calls for gradual rate hikes'|'Business News - Tue Jun 20, 2017 - 4:59am IST As inflation misses goal, Fed''s Evans calls for gradual rate hikes FILE PHOTO: Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans takes a question during a round table with the media in Shanghai, China March 23, 2010. REUTERS/Nir Elias/File Photo NEW YORK With inflation stubbornly soft despite a 16-year low in the U.S. unemployment rate, the Federal Reserve should move only slowly to raise interest rates and trim its massive bond portfolio, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said Monday. "I dont want to get hung up over small differences" between whether the Fed raises rates two, three or four times over the course of 2017, Evans said in remarks prepared for delivery to Money Marketeers of New York University. "The important feature is that the current environment supports very gradual rate hikes and slow preset reductions in our balance sheet." Repeating much of a similar talk he gave in May, Evans said that while the Fed had essentially achieved its goal of full employment, it has had a "serious policy outcome miss" on its other goal of 2-percent inflation. Unemployment fell to 4.3 percent in May, below what many Fed officials say is sustainable in the long run. But inflation, which by the Fed''s preferred gauge fell to 1.5 percent in April, has run below the Fed''s 2-percent target for years. Despite his warning on too-low inflation, Evans last week cast his vote with the 8-1 majority at the Fed who supported lifting the target range for short-term interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point. Interest rate hikes are typically aimed at slowing growth and inflation. Fed officials also reaffirmed their expectation of one more rate hike in 2017, bringing the total for the year to three, and said they expect to begin allowing the $4.5 trillion balance sheet to shrink by an initial $10 billion a month. On the margin, a smaller Fed balance sheet delivers less downward pressure on longer-run borrowing costs. "It remains to be seen whether there will be two rate hikes this year, or three, or fouror exactly when we start paring back reinvestments of maturing assets," Evans said. "Ultimately, our exact actions will appropriately be driven by how events transpire to influence the outlook for achieving our policy goals." (Reporting by Richard Leong; Writing by Ann Saphir; Editing by Diane Craft) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-evans-idINKBN19A2ZI'|'2017-06-20T06:16:00.000+03:00' +'d5921d0387d2fd2467fdc5ee3730b2315e1adde1'|'Oil prices fall on further rise in U.S. drilling, signs of slowing demand'|'Business 9:28pm BST Oil falls to seven-month low on more signs of growing crude glut FILE PHOTO: A worker walks past oil pipes at a refinery in Wuhan, Hubei province March 23, 2012. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo By Scott DiSavino - NEW YORK NEW YORK Oil prices fell about 1 percent on Monday to a seven-month low as market players saw more signs that rising crude production in the United States, Libya and Nigeria undercut OPEC-led efforts to support the market with output curbs. "We''re seeing more tankers used for storage and more crude from West Africa and Europe being offered into the U.S. Gulf Coast at the same time the Gulf Coast has been an exporter of light sweet crude," said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston. "These are all signs of an oversupplied market." Brent LCOc1 futures for August fell 46 cents, or 1 percent, to settle at $46.91 a barrel, their lowest since Nov. 29, the day before the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to cut output for the first six months of 2017. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 futures for July dropped 54 cents, or 1.2 percent, to settle at $44.20 per barrel, the lowest close since Nov. 14. The July contract will expire on Tuesday, and August will become the front month. Both benchmarks are down more than 15 percent since late May, when producers led by OPEC extended by nine months their pledge to cut output by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd). There were still almost 70,000 WTI contracts for July outstanding at the end of trade on Friday, which would require delivery of about 70 million barrels of oil to Cushing, Oklahoma after Tuesday''s expiration. "Some of the pressure on Monday is because it is hard to get rid of that many (WTI) contracts in just two days," said Phil Davis, managing partner at PSW Investments in Woodland Park, New Jersey, noting "very few traders actually want to take physical delivery." Traders noted the Brent front-month contract was at the highest premium since late May over the same WTI contract WTCLc1-LCOc1. OPEC supplies jumped in May as output recovered in Libya and Nigeria, two countries exempt from the production cut agreement. Libya''s oil production has risen more than 50,000 bpd after the state oil company settled a dispute with Germany''s Wintershall, a Libyan source told Reuters. Analysts said rising U.S. crude production has fed the global glut. Data on Friday showed a record 22nd consecutive week of increases in U.S. oil rigs. Investment bank Goldman Sachs said if the U.S. rig count holds, fourth-quarter domestic oil production would rise substantially. There are also signs of stalling demand growth in Asia, the world''s biggest oil-consuming region. Japan''s customs-cleared crude imports fell 13.5 percent in May from a year earlier. India took in 4.2 percent less crude in May than the year before. (Additional reporting by Libby George in London and Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Louise Heavens and David Gregorio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUKKBN19A029'|'2017-06-19T08:49:00.000+03:00' +'eff1fbd885429dc7e646bc89bcf32465c331dc24'|'MOVES-RBC Capital promotes Sinawi to head of US rates sales'|'Market News - 15pm EDT MOVES-RBC Capital promotes Sinawi to head of US rates sales By Philip Scipio NEW YORK, June 15 (IFR) - RBC Capital Markets has promoted Scott Sinawi to head of US rates sales in its fixed income currencies and commodities trading group. In this newly-created role, Sinawi will lead both the banks private US rates sales teams, including corporate risk solutions for rates, foreign exchange and commodities and public side teams. He was previously head of corporate risk solutions, encompassing private rates, foreign exchange & commodities. He will report to Jeff Fields, head of North American sales. (Reporting by Philip Scipio; editing by Shankar Ramakrishnan) PRECIOUS-Gold at three-week low on firmer dollar, U.S. jobs data * Dollar gains as Fed points the way to trimming bond portfolio * Report of Trump probe spurs some safe haven buying * Silver hits weakest in nearly four weeks, platinum at month low (Updates prices; adds comment, second byline, NEW YORK dateline) By Marcy Nicholson and Eric Onstad NEW YORK/LONDON, June 15 Gold fell to a three-week low on Thursday, weighed down by a stronger dollar as investors began to assess the potential for another U.S. rate hike later in th LUXEMBOURG, June 15 Below the text of the statement agreed by euro zone finance ministers on the Greek bailout programme on Thursday: MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/moves-rbc-capital-promotes-sinawi-to-hea-idUSL1N1JC1HK'|'2017-06-16T03:15:00.000+03:00' +'aad1f33402a19554cbb5d493004f6a36cf955863'|'U.S. EPA suspected Fiat Chrysler of using ''defeat device'' in 2015'|'Autos 21pm BST U.S. EPA suspected Fiat Chrysler of using ''defeat device'' in 2015 FILE PHOTO: A specialist trader works at the post where Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., March 8, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid By David Shepardson - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency told Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV ( FCAU.N ) in November 2015 it suspected some of its vehicles had at least one "defeat device" that improperly bypassed emissions controls, emails disclosed under a public records request on Friday show. The EPA and California Air Resources Board accused Fiat Chrysler in January of using undisclosed software to illegally allow excess diesel emissions in 104,000 U.S. 2014-2016 Jeep Grand Cherokees and Dodge Ram 1500 trucks. Fiat Chrysler did not immediately comment on the public records. Byron Bunker, director of the EPA''s Transportation and Air Quality compliance division, said in a January 2016 email to Fiat Chrysler obtained by Reuters under the Freedom of Information Act that he was "very concerned about the unacceptably slow pace of the efforts to understand the high NOx emissions." NOx refers to the nitrogen oxides in polluted air. Bunker''s email said the EPA had told Fiat Chrysler officials at a November 2015 meeting that at least one auxiliary emissions control device appeared to violate the agency''s regulations. Mike Dahl, head of vehicle safety and regulatory compliance for Fiat Chrysler''s U.S. unit, responded in a separate email that the company was working diligently and understood the EPA''s concerns. He added that if the EPA declared vehicles to contain defeat devices, it would result in "potentially significant regulatory and commercial consequences." The documents redacted the vehicles named, but two officials briefed on the matter said they referred to diesel models. At an event in Venice on Friday, Fiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said he was "confident of the fact that there was no intention on our part to set up a defeat device that was even remotely similar to what (Volkswagen) had in their cars." The Justice Department sued Fiat Chrysler in May, saying it placed eight undeclared "defeat devices," or auxiliary emissions controls, in 2014-2016 Fiat Chrysler diesel vehicles that led to "substantially" higher than allowable levels of nitrogen oxide, which is linked to smog formation and respiratory problems. It has a separate ongoing criminal probe into the matter. Marchionne said on Friday he was "confident that we have a solution that is acceptable to EPA and (California) in terms of 2017 certification and as flashback mechanism on all the 2014 to 2016 cars." The EPA notice was the result of a probe that arose out of regulators'' investigation of rival Volkswagen AG''s ( VOWG_p.DE ) excess diesel emissions. (Reporting by David Shepardson. Additional reporting by Agnieszka Flak in Venice; Editing by Richard Chang and Steve Orlofsky)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-fiatchrysler-emissions-idUKKBN1972L2'|'2017-06-17T03:21:00.000+03:00' +'f528b397bb00eebbce4dfc05e95864b1ce3eeb06'|'Uber fires more than 20 employees after harassment probe: BBG'|'Technology News - Tue Jun 6, 2017 - 2:55pm EDT Uber fires 20 employees after harassment probe: source FILE PHOTO: A man exits the Uber offices in Queens, New York, U.S., February 2, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo By Joseph Menn - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] told staff on Tuesday that it had fired 20 employees following an internal investigation into harassment and related claims by law firm Perkins Coie, a person familiar with the matter said. The law firm, which is investigating in parallel with a broader probe by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, investigated 215 harassment complaints going back as far as 2012, employees were told. Uber told staff it had taken remedial action in 58 cases and decided no action was needed on 100 more. Other investigations are continuing, the person said. The company also told staff it would expand its employee relations unit to better investigate claims and that it would dramatically increase management training since most Uber managers were first-time bosses, the person said. Bloomberg reported some of the details earlier on Tuesday and said that Bobbie Wilson, an attorney at Perkins Coie, gave the assessment to a meeting of Uber''s more than 12,000 employees. Uber did not immediately respond to requests for comment. (Additional reporting Heather Somerville in San Francisco, Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur, Peter Henderson and Bill Rigby) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-sexual-harassment-idUSKBN18X2GZ'|'2017-06-07T02:16:00.000+03:00' +'03754845d127729ef68a921abf545f194c256ff2'|'Nestle buys minority stake in U.S. ready meals group Freshly'|'Business News - Tue Jun 20, 2017 - 6:15am BST Nestle buys minority stake in U.S. ready meals group Freshly A Nestle company logo is pictured on a bar of Milky Bar chocolate in Manchester, Britain April 25, 2017. REUTERS/Phil Noble ZURICH Nestle said on Tuesday it has acquired a minority stake in U.S. group Freshly, a provider of direct-to-consumer freshly prepared meals, its latest step to improve the health profile of its sprawling portfolio. The Swiss food giant said it was lead investor in a round of new funding for Freshly, helping it gain access to the $10 billion market for prepared meals in the United States. It did not disclose financial terms. The investment will help Freshly build a new East Coast kitchen and distribution centre in 2018 as it prepares to expand its U.S. service nationwide. Nestle USA''s Food Division President Jeff Hamilton would join Freshly''s board of directors. Nestle said last week it may sell its roughly $900 million-a-year U.S. confectionery business, which includes Butterfinger and BabyRuth. (Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-nestle-m-a-freshly-idUKKBN19B0CY'|'2017-06-20T13:15:00.000+03:00' +'639fff6c55a1ede461e411cd7fcee4b0cf18f519'|'Toshiba says Western Digital meeting didn''t dispel concerns over chip proposal'|'TOKYO Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) said that Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ) CEO Steve Milligan met with its executives on Friday but failed to dispel concerns about the U.S. firm''s proposal to buy Toshiba''s prized chip unit.Milligan met with his Toshiba counterpart, Satoshi Tsunakawa, at Toshiba headquarters on Friday afternoon."Toshiba listened to Western Digital''s thinking, but our concerns about the prospects of success for a deal were not wiped out," a Toshiba spokeswoman said.(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-western-digital-idINKBN1901QW'|'2017-06-09T10:20:00.000+03:00' +'ce494cacbc3e717dddc10b715d3758166e71298d'|'PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - June 12'|'June 12 The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.- Michael Ortiz, a former shift manager for Amazon.com Inc in several warehouses in the San Francisco Bay Area, accused Amazon of failing to pay him overtime wages in a lawsuit. nyti.ms/2rlsrdC- Ride-hailing service Uber Technologies Inc board moved on Sunday to shake up the company''s leadership, ahead of the release this week of an investigation''s findings on its troubled culture. Uber directors were weighing a three-month leave of absence for chief executive Travis Kalanick, according to people with knowledge of the plans. nyti.ms/2rlsCWk- Attorney General Jeff Sessions will testify Tuesday before the same Senate committee that heard from former FBI Director James Comey last week, keeping national attention on a Russia investigation that White House officials have been trying to push to the background. on.wsj.com/2rlzBy8(Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/press-digest-nyt-idINL3N1J91WC'|'2017-06-12T02:32:00.000+03:00' +'ce871efdfe0aeb24325183bb1d4ad28112ecc089'|'FTSE snaps losing streak as oil bounces, banks rise'|'Top 5:09pm BST FTSE snaps losing streak as banks rise A worker shelters from the rain under a Union Flag umbrella as he passes the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain, October 1, 2008. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo By Danilo Masoni and Kit Rees - LONDON LONDON British shares rose on Monday, snapping four straight days of losses, as banks joined a broader European rally and steadier crude oil prices supported energy firms. The blue chip FTSE index .FTSE was up 0.3 percent at 7,446.80 points at its close, paring back its earlier gains slightly as energy shares eased. Financials provided the biggest boost to the FTSE, adding 11.5 points to the index, with heavyweight banks HSBC ( HSBA.L ) and Barclays ( BARC.L ) both up 1.2 percent. Banking stocks were in demand in Europe after a deal to wind up two failed Italian regional lenders. While earlier gains among oil majors BP ( BP.L ) and Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) helped underpin the market, both heavyweights saw gains ease as the price of oil steadied. [O/R] "Gains in (the) energy sector remain fragile as oil prices remain relatively soft compared to last month''s levels," Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior market analyst at London Capital Group, said. She said investors were also awaiting for the Bank of England Financial Stability Report and Governor Mark Carney''s speech on Tuesday for clues about any possible hike in interest rates as inflationary pressures rise. The news that British May had struck a deal with Northern Ireland''s Democratic Unionist Party had little impact on the internationally facing FTSE 100 index, though sterling ticked higher. While a drop among materials stocks weighed on British mid caps .FTMC , which ended the session flat, outsourcer Capita ( CPI.L ) was among standout movers. Its shares rose 2 percent after agreeing to sell its asset management services arm in a 888 million pounds deal that Jefferies said should help subside balance sheet concerns. Back on the FTSE, subprime lender Provident Financial ( PFG.L ) fell 1.7 percent as RBC downgraded the stock to "Sector Perform" from "Outperform" following last week''s profit warning. On the up were Nestle ( NESN.S ) rivals Unilever ( ULVR.L ) and Diageo ( DGE.L ), as the sector was lifted after activist investor Daniel Loeb''s Third Point urged the Swiss food giant to improve its margins, buy back stock and sell non-core assets. Top losers were precious metal miners Fresnillo ( FRES.L ) and Randgold ( RRS.L ), which declined 3.1 and 1.5 percent respectively after gold prices fell as investors remained cautious ahead of a flurry of U.S. data due this week. [GOL/] (Reporting by Danilo Masoni and Kit Rees; Editing by Alison Williams)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks-idUKKBN19H0XG'|'2017-06-26T17:38:00.000+03:00' +'1583a00cca7548bfcf26580f71d508267f29eb17'|'Tesla to exchange certain notes for about $395 million in shares'|'Tesla Inc said it entered into agreements with the holders of some of its notes with principal amount of about $144.8 million to exchange 1.16 million of the company''s shares.As of Tesla''s closing price on Wednesday, the shares would be valued at nearly $395 million.The electric luxury carmaker''s shares were marginally higher in premarket trading.(Reporting by Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-noteholders-idINKBN18S59A'|'2017-06-01T11:22:00.000+03:00' +'150226bba5192544c2012b586035130525abe9bf'|'Italy to pass emergency decree on Veneto banks after EU green light - source'|' 9:33pm BST Italy to pass emergency decree on Veneto banks after EU green light - source left right 1/2 left right A sign is seen in Rome, Italy, March 29, 2017. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi 2/2 ROME/BRUSSELS Italy is set to approve an emergency decree to wind up regional lenders Veneto Banca and using state aid said after the European Commission gave a preliminary green light to the move. The decree will create conditions for the sale of the banks'' assets to a bigger bank, the person added. has offered to buy the good assets of the two banks for one euro, while the lenders'' soured loans and legal risks will be transferred to a "bad bank" financed partly by the state. Earlier on Friday the European Central Bank ruled that the two regional lenders were failing or likely to fail and should be wound up under Italian insolvency procedures. The Commission said in a separate statement that "EU situations", adding that depositors and senior bond holders were not required to contribute to the rescue. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee in Brussels, Giuseppe Fonte in Rome, writing by Agnieszka Flak)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-banks-italy-eu-idUKKBN19E2FX'|'2017-06-24T04:33:00.000+03:00' +'00f1c90e0c134e70dfae59eb3146be11a99aceb3'|'Etisalat Nigeria loan restructuring talks fail as lenders step in'|'LAGOS/ABU DHABI Etisalat has been instructed to transfer its 45 percent stake in Etisalat Nigeria to a loan trustee after debt restructuring talks with lenders failed, the Abu Dhabi telecoms company said on Tuesday.Etisalat Nigeria had been in talks with Nigerian banks to restructure a $1.2 billion loan after missing repayments but those discussions failed to produce an agreement on restructuring the debt, Etisalat said in a statement.Nigeria''s financial system, hobbled by lower oil prices and economic recession, has suffered shortages in dollars, making it difficult for companies to make the loan repayments.Etisalat said its had been notified to transfer its stake by June 23. It said the stake had a carrying value of zero on its books.An Etisalat Nigeria spokesman said the company was still in discussions with lenders to find a "non-disruptive" solution.Etisalat said its financial exposure to Etisalat Nigeria was related to operational services worth 191 million UAE dirhams ($52 million) and that discussions were ongoing with lenders regarding the use of the Etisalat brand.($1 = 3.6729 UAE dirham)(Reporting by Stanley Carvalho and Chijioke Ohuocha; editing by Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-etisalat-group-nigeria-debtrenegotiat-idINKBN19B0SR'|'2017-06-20T06:05:00.000+03:00' +'47533e5312b31b1ea590d62a28efa2b18bcaf042'|'Trafigura sees earnings rise but margins fall on low oil volatility'|' 14am BST Trafigura sees earnings rise but margins fall on low oil volatility Trafigura logo is pictured in the company entrance in Geneva, Switzerland March 11, 2012. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo By Dmitry Zhdannikov - LONDON LONDON Swiss commodity trader Trafigura reported on Wednesday a 12 percent increase in core earnings on the back of higher turnover but also a fall in profit margins due to a lack of volatility in oil markets since the end of 2016. Trafigura, which rivals Glencore as the world''s second largest oil trader, said its first half core earnings or EBITDA rose 12 percent to $921.4 million (714.3 million pounds), while gross profit increased 6 percent to $1.238 billion, helped by better revenues in the metals unit. Revenues grew 53 percent to $67.317 billion. Trafigura reports results on an October-October basis, so the first half results reflect its performance from October to March, when oil markets saw record low volatility. The firm said its gross profit margin stood at 1.8 percent versus 2.7 percent in the first six months of 2016 due to "low levels of realised volatility, with prices largely range-bound from December". "This reduced profitable opportunities for trading," it said, adding that gross profit from oil trading fell by 17 percent from the first half of 2016 to $652 million. Gross profit and margins in oil fell despite total volumes in oil trading rising by 25 percent from the period a year earlier to an average of 4.995 million barrels per day, broadly on a par with Glencore and only behind the world''s top oil trader Vitol. "We expect our daily average volume traded for the full 2017 financial year to exceed 5 million barrels per day, compared to 2016 daily average volume of 4.3 million barrels," Trafigura said, citing its rising role in exporting U.S. shale crude and increasing sales to China and India. Trafigura also said it saw a 37 percent rise in metals and minerals volumes in the first half. As a result, gross profit in the metals division rose by more than 50 percent to $586 million. It said the market showed signs of supply tightness in zinc and copper concentrates while refined metals saw a sharp expansion in demand, with aluminium a particularly strong performer. In coal, Chinese supply curbs stimulated new import flows, for example from Indonesia, Australia and South Africa, while the iron ore market also showed new signs of life, Trafigura added in its report. "We were able to expand overall trading volumes and gross profit, with refined non-ferrous metals, coal and iron ore all showing strong tonnage growth and non-ferrous concentrates maintaining leading market positions without sacrificing margins," it said. (Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-trafigura-results-idUKKBN18Y0XD'|'2017-06-07T17:14:00.000+03:00' +'f2ecb3323cf94c3de802f17907ac580bc66c4a4a'|'Sarepta appoints former Allergan executive Douglas Ingram as CEO'|'Big Story 10 - Wed Jun 28, 2017 - 5:29pm EDT Sarepta appoints former Allergan executive Douglas Ingram as CEO Sarepta Therapeutics Inc said on Wednesday it appointed Douglas Ingram as president and chief executive officer. Ingram, who previously held a senior executive position in Allergan Plc, will also be a part of Sarepta''s board. The appointment of Ingram comes two months after Edward Kaye informed Sarepta''s board of his intention to resign as chief executive. Kaye is expected to serve Sarepta in an advisory capacity to ensure a smooth transition, the company said. (Reporting by Divya Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta) From Aldi to Zara, Western stores beef up safety for Bangladesh workers LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Major brands from Aldi to Zara agreed on Thursday to improve conditions for up to 2 million Bangladeshi garment workers, four years after a factory collapse in Dhaka killed more than 1,000 people making cheap clothes for export. DAKAR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A drive to find common ground among central Nigeria''s warring Muslim herdsmen and Christian farmers has resolved more than 500 land disputes and averted fresh violence, the charity behind the initiative said on Thursday. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sarepta-moves-douglas-ingram-idUSKBN19J2WM'|'2017-06-29T00:14:00.000+03:00' +'970e5022fbe156044847fe4f85e5dc032db42224'|'RPT-Laptop ban, protectionism hang over booming air travel industry'|'(Repeats JUNE 2 story with no changes to text)By Victoria Bryan and Tim HepherCANCUN, Mexico, June 2 Air travel is heading for a bumper year, but global airline leaders meeting in Mexico are concerned about the impact of an escalating row over laptop bans and rising protectionism.Although the industry has overcome previous losses to notch up an eighth successive year of profit, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which groups 275 airlines and meets from June 4-6, is now facing new challenges.The Geneva-based group is at odds with President Donald Trump over efforts to widen a partial U.S. and British security ban on laptops in cabin baggage.It is also worried about what it sees as protectionist rhetoric from Washington and Europe, saying this could temper growth in demand for air travel and freight."You see that in Europe, you see that in the U.S. ... Any barrier to borders, we consider as a threat," IATA director general Alexandre de Juniac told reporters.IATA said on Thursday that passenger traffic rose 10.7 percent in April, the fastest rate of growth since April 2011.But restrictions on large electronic devices in the cabin, imposed in March on certain flights, were hitting traffic between the Middle East and the United States.Airlines and airports are waiting to see if the United States will extend the restrictions, with the Department of Homeland Security yet to announce a decision.IATA has proposed more stringent passenger screening as an alternative and has joined European regulators in citing the fire risks of having many lithium-powered devices in the hold."We recognise the (security) threat, we have no doubt about that, but we doubt the measure," de Juniac said, adding the U.S. government now seemed in more of a "listening mode".The IATA conference could hear concerns from Middle East carriers who believe they are unfairly targeted by the ban, with Emirates, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines among the most affected by restrictions on U.S.-bound flights from some Middle East and North African airports.U.S. officials have denied targeting any group of airlines or acting over anything other than pressing security concerns.PROFIT TO FALLUnited Airlines'' widely-criticised removal of a passenger from one of its planes and the British Airways computer meltdown over a holiday weekend, which stranded thousands of passengers, have highlighted other challenges the industry faces."There are elements here that are specific to BA, but if airlines do not transform their operational systems and learn from this, then we could be seeing more such incidents," Euromonitor travel project manager Nadejda Popova told Reuters.Such incidents emphasise the fine line between operational success and failure in an industry transporting 10 million people a day on razor-thin margins.IATA will on Monday update forecasts that suggest the industry''s net profits will fall 16 percent to $29.8 billion this year after peaking in 2016, hit by fuel and labour costs.Although traffic is rising, this is partly driven by cheaper fares. But yields - or average revenue per passenger - look set to stabilise this year, IATA chief economist Brian Pearce said."Strong volumes don''t necessarily equal strong profitability for the air transport industry, but it''s an encouraging start."ForwardKeys, which analyses booking reservations, says global long-haul air travel bookings for June, July and August are 6.4 percent ahead of where they were last year.A surge in the popularity of low-cost long-haul travel will also weigh on IATA members, most of whom are national carriers and whose share of global traffic has already been eroded by local budget rivals outside the 72-year-old club.Highlighting the threat to traditional carriers, Norwegian Air Shuttle announced expansion plans from Rome and Iceland''s Wow Air said it would offer one-way fares between Europe and the U.S. from as little as $55. (Additional reporting by Alana Wise; editing by Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/airlines-iata-idINL8N1IZ252'|'2017-06-02T22:01:00.000+03:00' +'ec5c13cf9150282d7c6583ce9fd9d6fc0d2987c4'|'Emaar to IPO real estate development business in Dubai'|'Deals - Wed Jun 7, 2017 - 3:45am EDT Emaar to IPO real estate development business in Dubai FILE PHOTO: A logo of Dubai''s Emaar Properties is seen at an under-construction building in Dubai, UAE, March 3, 2016. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah/File Photo DUBAI Emaar Properties EMAR.DU, the builder of the world''s tallest tower, plans to offer up to 30 percent of its United Arab Emirates real estate development business in what would be the first listing on the Dubai exchange in two and a half years. The developer, whose interests span hotels, entertainment and shopping mall operations, said the decision to list in Dubai would maximize value for shareholders, and is in line with its strategy to make its businesses separate listed companies. The company floated Emaar Malls in 2014, valuing the business at 37.7 billion dirhams ($10.27 billion). "As Emaar''s other businesses have grown and expanded, we wanted to ensure that investors who value the UAE Real Estate Development business the most, the foundation of Emaars success, can do so directly," Emaar''s chairman Mohamed Alabbar said in a statement published on the Dubai bourse''s website. "This will ensure that the value of this business is properly recognized." If successful, the UAE real estate development business will be the DFM''s first new listing in two and a half years. The last IPO on the DFM was by DXB Entertainments DXBE.DU, which began trading in December 2014. The decision to hive off the unit came after an internal review of Emaar''s asset values, Emaar said. Subject to market conditions, funds raised through the sale of equity would be distributed to shareholders of Emaar Properties, it added. "What he''s trying to do is realize the future value of this company now," said Mohammed Ali Yasin, CEO of Abu Dhabi''s NBAD Securities. "What he is saying is that Emaar in parts is worth more than the sum of those parts in one share," he added. Alabbar had promised shareholders "special dividends" in 2017 at Emaar''s annual general meeting in April, Yasin said. The company said in April that its hospitality unit will be listed at an appropriate time depending on business requirements and market conditions. (Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh; editing by Louise Heavens) '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-emaar-properties-ipo-idUSKBN18Y0OA'|'2017-06-07T11:45:00.000+03:00' +'c7bb7598479d2d58f3ff14f9120cd3312a4820c5'|'Samsung to double mobile phone capacity at main Indian factory'|'MUMBAI, June 7 Samsung Electronics plans to double the production capacity for mobile phones and fridges at its main factory in India, expanding in a country where U.S. rival Apple Inc. has started assembling phones.The South Korean company said in a statement on Wednesday it would spend 49 billion rupees ($764 million) over three years to expand the factory on an additional 35 acres at the site on the outskirts of New Delhi. It also makes televisions at the plant.India is the world''s second biggest smartphone market and its fast becoming a battleground for handset makers vying for a bigger share as sales in Asian powerhouse China start to lag."Samsung would want to reduce their dependence on manufacturing in Vietnam and shift more operations to India," said Tarun Pathak, associate director at technology research firm Counterpoint."India looks like a promising manufacturing hub in the coming years and Samsung could make it their base for exports."Samsung''s expansion also comes at a time Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s government is pushing to increase technology manufacturing through its flagship "Make in India" initiative launched in 2014.Apple began assembling its iPhone SE model last month in the southern Indian technology hub of Bengaluru and a government official has said it could increase the local share of production over time. ($1 = 64.3650 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal; editing by Devidutta Tripathy and David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/samsung-elec-india-plant-idUSL3N1J44AN'|'2017-06-07T19:22:00.000+03:00' +'9bb66f7f2e20c9b35205cf08235493f4d413097d'|'New international pact launched to end tax ''treaty shopping'''|'Business News - Wed Jun 7, 2017 - 8:04pm BST New international pact launched to end tax ''treaty shopping'' PARIS About 70 countries launched a new international tax convention on Wednesday to prevent multinational companies from "treaty shopping" for jurisdictions most favourable to their tax bills. Ministers from major economies signed the new tax pact at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris, which said more countries were likely to join in the coming weeks. The new agreement will replace more than 1,100 bilateral tax treaties, or about a third of the treaties signed by countries over the last century to avoid double taxation. In the age of globalisation, multinational countries have increasingly sent cross-border transactions through third countries to take advantage of their low taxes in what has come to be called treaty shopping. The new treaty sets minimum standards to avoid abuses and defines a company''s taxable presence in a country, while also lays out plans for settling double taxation disputes between governments. "It''s going to kill treaty shopping," OECD tax policy director Pascal Saint-Amans told journalists. Under the new pact, countries have to state which provisions they sign up to and which they do not. In the coming weeks, governments will have to match their positions with others''. "This is something that companies are going to need to pay close attention to because the decisions countries make when they sign up to the MLI (multilateral instrument) will have very significant tax consequences," said Jesse Eggert, principal in the international tax group of KPMG''s Washington National Tax practice. Signatories include most major economies and countries known as treaty shopping hubs - such as the Netherlands, Belgium, the Seychelles and Singapore. Mauritius, which is often used to route transactions with India because of its low tax, has also signalled that it will sign in the coming months, Saint-Amans said. One notable absence is the United States. Saint-Amans said that was not a concern because its bilateral treaties were already of high quality. The new pact is part of a broader OECD-led drive to prevent companies from taking advantages of differences between tax systems to cut their tax bills without outright breaking the law. The OECD estimates that governments are missing out on tax revenues worth as much as $250 billion annually, or 10 percent of global corporate tax revenue, as a result of what it calls base erosion and profit shifting. Countries that sign the new treaty now have to ratify it, which means that it will probably not start to affect companies directly until next year. (Reporting by Leigh Thomas; editing by Michel Rose and Andrew Roche)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-oecd-tax-idUKKBN18Y2U2'|'2017-06-08T03:04:00.000+03:00' +'013dd2bfedd209445dc5e9780c6db167768d1af1'|'Iran''s Zagros Airlines commits to buying 28 Airbus aircraft'|' 30am BST Iran''s Zagros Airlines commits to buying 28 Airbus aircraft FILE PHOTO: The Airbus A320neo (New Engine Option) takes off during its first flight event in Colomiers near Toulouse, southwestern France, September 25, 2014. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau PARIS Iran''s Zagros Airlines has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to buy 28 new Airbus ( AIR.PA ) planes, comprising 20 A320neo jets and eight A330neo aircraft, Airbus Iran has stepped up its orders of planes after international sanctions against the country were lifted in return for curbs on the country''s nuclear activities. Airbus said the MoU with Zagros Airlines was contingent upon all necessary approvals, including from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control. Airbus said it would continue to act in full compliance with the Iran nuclear deal, also know as the Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action, and associated rules. The Zagros Airlines deal was signed at the Paris Airshow. (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; editing by David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-airshow-paris-airbus-zagros-idUKKBN19D0IG'|'2017-06-22T14:24:00.000+03:00' +'6550d0de78782ea04e8a1c4cd21dc99696970760'|'Big oil, small U.S. towns see new reward in old production technique'|'Market 1:00am EDT Big oil, small U.S. towns see new reward in old production technique * Carbon credit hike could insulate more U.S. oil from future busts * Occidental, Exxon, Chevron among the potential winners * Congress to consider boosting tax credit this summer By Ernest Scheyder HOBBS, New Mexico, June 5 Amid the frenetic activity of American shale oilfields recovering from a two-year recession sit a handful of oil towns that seemed impervious as many producers went into bankruptcy and the economy around them sank. Occidental Petroleum Corp and a few other oil producers with wells near this town on New Mexico''s border with Texas steadily pumped low-cost oil through the downturn, using a technique that has been heralded worldwide as a way to reduce carbon emissions and boost oil output. "When everyone else in the oil industry was going down, Oxy kept working," said Joshua Grassham, vice president of Lea County State Bank and a Hobbs Chamber of Commerce board member. The city of 35,000 rests on the Permian oilfield, the largest oilfield in the United States. This way of drilling brings with it a sweetener for the oil industry to keep crude flowing: a tax credit that helps insulate these wells in a downturn, and could triple in size if Congress approves a new measure this summer. Such a move could extend by decades the producing life of hundreds more wells, increasing oil supply which would be a drag on prices. To date, the technique has been employed only at conventional oilfields, rather than on shale deposits. Some firms are studying how to put the technique to work in shale drilling, too. The drilling method harnesses the carbon dioxide produced during the extraction of oil or from power plants, and forces it back into the fields. That boosts the pressure underground and drives more oil to the surface. Their success could be replicated in oilfields across the United States if Congress approves the measure, which already enjoys broad bipartisan support. While the Trump administration has yet to say whether it supports the tax credit increase, the measure could also be a boon to the coal industry, which Trump wants to revitalize. The technique, one of several so-called enhanced oil recovery (EOR) strategies used to prolong the productive lifespan of oilfields and increase output, underpins around five percent of U.S. oil output, or about 450,000 barrels per day, according to energy consultancy Advanced Resources International. EOR can help firms to produce between 30 percent and 60 percent of all the oil held in a reservoir. That''s far more than the 10 percent usually recovered from initial traditional drilling, according to the Department of Energy. The existing credit has provided a financial lift for Occidental, Denbury Resources Inc and oil producers with ready access to the gas. Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp also use the technique on some of their oil fields. None detail their tax savings from the credit, but since the it was first offered in 2008, companies have collected at least $350 million in the credits, according to Internal Revenue Service figures. In Hobbs, Occidental not only kept a 200-person workforce intact during the oil-price downturn - when tens of thousands of workers were laid off in the shale patch - it also invested $250 million to expand operations during that period, according to its public filings. That meant Hobbs and nearby Seminole, Texas, where Hess Corp has its own carbon dioxide injection facility, didn''t suffer the extreme financial pain felt by shale towns, such as Williston, North Dakota, and other shale producing communities in 2015 and 2016. "Oxy''s investment in the carbon project was a huge economic boost to our area," Grassham said. Some of the carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, comes from naturally occurring reservoirs that are a low-cost source for Occidental. Others get the gas piped from power plants that burn coal. Power companies hope the technique can help them avoid higher carbon emissions. The company spends about $18 to $25 per barrel to collect oil from its enhanced oil recovery operations. In contrast, its shale-focused well costs are lower - $16 to $19 per barrel. But because EOR wells pump consistently for decades, their value to the company over time exceeds shale wells, whose production quickly tapers off. Across Texas and New Mexico, Occidental runs one of the world''s largest fleet of enhanced oil recovery projects, injecting 2 billion cubic feet of carbon dioxide each day into wells that first produced oil nearly a century ago. "We had a very large, stable carbon dioxide EOR business in our portfolio during the downturn," said Jody Elliott, president of Occidental''s American operations. "That helped." Partly because of its carbon facilities, Occidental was able to raise its dividend during the downturn. Today, executives are using the profits from the carbon business to grow its shale business across the Permian, the largest acreage holding in the region. "These two businesses play very well off of each other," Elliott said. TAX CHANGE? Congress is expected this summer to debate extending an existing tax credit that could pave way for wider use. The proposed Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage Act would boost the credit to $35 per metric ton of carbon dioxide, up from $10 per ton today. The legislation failed to move forward during last year''s heated presidential campaign, but supporters say it will be reintroduced soon. "We want to make sure that we show a strong commitment so we continue to develop these technologies," said North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat and the bill''s lead sponsor. Electricity generator NRG Energy Inc earlier this year opened a $1.04 billion carbon capture facility at a Texas coal-fired power plant, using its carbon dioxide emissions to extract crude from a 1930s-era oilfield. Expanding the credit could, supporters hope, encourage more coal-fired power plants to follow NRG''s lead by capturing and selling carbon to oil producers. Most oilfields are not located near carbon dioxide supplies, so the tax credit also could spur the build-out of carbon pipelines. Environmentalists, including the Sierra Club, like the process because it traps carbon underground, preventing it from contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. "You''ll put more carbon in the ground than oil that is produced," said Vello Kuuskraa, president of consultancy Advanced Resources International, which studies enhanced oil recovery and carbon storage. Oxy is considering investing another $550 million in its Hobbs operation in the next several years to further expand its carbon facilities. "During all these oil industry downturns, those carbon wells keep people working," said Grassham. (Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Additional reporting by Mike Wood and by Timothy Gardner in Washington; Editing by Gary McWilliams, Simon Webb and Edward Tobin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-oil-carbon-idUSL2N1II0S8'|'2017-06-05T13:00:00.000+03:00' +'46e68ac1b0175c5333fcf48f01000856bb0d6875'|'TREASURIES-Yields inch higher; Fed speakers in focus'|'* Fed''s Powell, Bullard, Mester to speak * Yield curve steepens from almost 10-year lows By Karen Brettell NEW YORK, June 23 U.S. Treasuries yields edged higher on Friday as investors waited on Federal Reserve speakers for any new indications on when the U.S. central bank is likely to next raise interest rates, after inflation concerns this week sent the yield curve to almost 10-year lows. The yield curve between five-year notes and 30-year hit its flattest levels in almost 10 years as oil prices declined and concerns lingered over last weeks weaker-than-expected Consumer Price Index report. For the third month in a row, (CPI) was way below expectations, said Jim Vogel, an interest rate strategist at FTN Financial in Memphis, Tennessee. Continued declines in non-seasonally adjusted consumer prices played a large role in the move, he added. A decline in oil prices despite positive fundamentals added to concerns, Vogel said. The yield curve was last at 97 basis points after flattening to 95 basis points on Thursday, the lowest since December 2007. Benchmark 10-year notes were down 4/32 in price to yield 2.17 percent, up from 2.15 percent on late Thursday. Fed officials including New York Fed President William Dudley and Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren both took a hawkish tone this week on monetary policy, noting that pausing the tightening cycle could pose risks to the economy. Expectations that the Fed will continue on its tightening course has weighed on short- and intermediate-dated notes, which are the most sensitive to central bank''s policy, even as longer-dated debt rallied. Federal Reserve Board Governor Jerome Powell, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard and Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester are all due to speak on Friday. The Fed has emphasized the improving job market and an expectation that inflation will return to targets despite recent declines. The next major economic release, Junes employment report on July 7, will be watched for signs of further improvement in the labor force. If the Fed is going to continue to watch the employment rate while everyone else watches inflation, the Feds probably not going to veer off its course, said Vogel. (Editing by Lisa Von Ahn) )'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-bonds-idINL1N1JK0IT'|'2017-06-23T11:34:00.000+03:00' +'f9714b052cccfc93742f76417563a98deafde79f'|'AstraZeneca sells migraine drug for up to $302 million'|'Business News - Wed Jun 7, 2017 - 7:56am BST AstraZeneca sells migraine drug for up to $302 million FILE PHOTO: The logo of AstraZeneca is seen on medication packages in a pharmacy in London April 28, 2014. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth/File Photo LONDON AstraZeneca continued its programme of divesting old medicines on Wednesday with the sale for up to $302 million (234 million pounds) of migraine drug Zomig to Germany''s Grunenthal. The British firm, which is betting on new drugs for cancer and other diseases to revive its fortunes, has sold or licensed out a raft of aging products recently. Some analysts have criticised the trend for unduly propping up its earnings. Grunenthal will acquire global rights to Zomig in all markets outside Japan, paying AstraZeneca $200 million upon completion of the deal. AstraZeneca will also receive up to $102 million in future milestone payments. In 2016, AstraZeneca''s revenue from Zomig outside Japan was $96 million. The two companies added that Impax Pharmaceuticals, which had previously licensed rights to the drug in the United States, would continue to sell Zomig in that market. For Grunenthal - best-known as the company that initially developed thalidomide as a morning sickness drug - the acquisition builds up its growing business in pain products. Chief Executive Gabriel Baertschi said it was an important step in reaching the group''s ambition to become a company with 2 billion euros (1.7 billion pounds) of sales by 2022. Sales in 2016 totalled around 1.4 billion euros. Like other recent drug divestments, the Zomig agreement does not impact AstraZeneca''s financial guidance for 2017. (Reporting by Ben Hirschler; editing by Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-astrazeneca-migraine-grunenthal-idUKKBN18Y0JH'|'2017-06-07T14:56:00.000+03:00' +'4486374a052afc04b8f20fb013f9259c53e8942c'|'RPT-Even with Whole Foods, Amazon would need many more warehouses to reshape grocery delivery'|'(Repeats with no changes)By Jeffrey DastinJune 23 If Amazon.com Inc hopes to revolutionize grocery delivery, then its bid to buy Whole Foods Market Inc for $13.7 billion will be just the start of a long and costly process.The e-commerce giant would need to add a large network of specialized grocery distribution warehouses, former AmazonFresh employees and logistics experts said. This is something Wal-Mart Stores Inc and other competitors have already done. Whole Foods, with a relatively small distribution footprint of its own, does little to change the picture for Amazon, they said.Amazon has a little more than 3 million square feet of U.S. warehousing dedicated to its existing AmazonFresh and Prime Pantry grocery programs - a tenth of the warehouse space Wal-Mart has for specialized food distribution, according to logistics consulting firm MWPVL International Inc."AmazonFresh really was for lack of a better word an after-thought," said Brittain Ladd, who until March was a senior manager for the grocery delivery program, which launched in 2007.One key to Amazon''s success in general retail sales has been its speed in delivering products to consumers, facilitated by warehouses located strategically throughout the United States. As of 2016, the company had about 100 million square feet of space in its fulfillment and data centers, some of it outfitted with state-of-the-art robotics to boost efficiency.Facilities for distributing fresh food are far more complicated than ordinary warehouses. A single facility can need a half dozen or more temperature settings to house products from Popsicles to berries. Some require certification from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and extra care must be taken to keep shelves clean and prevent pests from contaminating food.Whole Foods has over 1 million square feet of warehouse space for distribution to its markets, and a chunk of its inventory goes straight from suppliers to stores, MWPVL said."It''s a peanut. It''s nothing," MWPVL President Marc Wulfraat said of Whole Foods'' distribution. "If Amazon wants to become a dominant grocery company in a short period of time, then there would be an investment required, and it would be big."Amazon, which did not return requests for comment, has not detailed its plans for Whole Foods.12 OR MORE GROCERY WAREHOUSES NEEDEDAmazon''s fulfillment expenses jumped 31 percent in 2016 - a bit faster than in prior years and faster than its retail sales growth - to $17.6 billion, according to its annual regulatory filing.Industry experts estimate the company would have to add a dozen or more grocery warehouses, particularly if it wanted to supply Whole Food stores in addition to homes. The cost to do that is unclear.They said Amazon would likely continue to rely on United Natural Foods Inc to supply Whole Foods with hard-to-source products, but would probably aim to cut costs and handle more of the distribution for conventional items.Even using Whole Foods stores to provide food for delivering to nearby urban shoppers would have hard limits, since many outlets lack the floor space to handle thousands of online orders."Its a space issue for stuff coming through. Its a labor issue for people tripping over each other," said Tom Furphy, former vice president of consumables and AmazonFresh, and now chief executive of Consumer Equity Partners. There would also be a risk that "the quality starts to go down because the e-commerce orders are getting better product." (Reporting By Jeffrey Dastin in San Francisco; Editing by Sue Horton and Cynthia Osterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/whole-foods-ma-amazoncom-logistics-idUSL1N1JK1Z7'|'2017-06-24T21:00:00.000+03:00' +'c450d2d4431ce695b5f7b31ab8f07d3d470bdfda'|'UPDATE 1-Whole Foods CEO hints at another brand under Amazon'|'(Adds executive comment, background, changes headline)June 19 After Amazon.com Inc completes its takeover of high-end grocer Whole Foods Market Inc, it might launch another brand with different standards, the grocery chain''s chief executive said in remarks reported in a securities filing on Monday.Amazon plans to keep the natural grocer''s high standards, Whole Foods Chief Executive John Mackey said, adding, "Theyre not stupid enough to go change that." The filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission contained a transcript of a town hall meeting for Whole Foods employees held on Friday.But Mackey, at the town hall, said, "Over time, there could be other formats that evolve that - that might - wouldn''t be branded Whole Foods Market, potentially, wouldn''t be our standards."The remarks offered a preview into how e-commerce giant Amazon might turn around the sluggish sales of Whole Foods since announcing on Friday it would buy the company for $13.7 billion, including debt. Industry observers have said that Amazon may add a selection of discounted, non-organic food to distance the chain from its "Whole Paycheck" nickname.Mackey said Amazon''s innovations will help the grocer transform from "class dunce" in technology to "class valedictorian." (Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin in San Francisco; Editing by Sandra Maler and Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/whole-foods-ma-amazoncom-ceo-idINL1N1JH00G'|'2017-06-19T23:40:00.000+03:00' +'3f724be4b979c6ce56a60f3f473b1d452ddb795f'|'Apple, Cisco want cyber security insurance discount for joint customers'|'Business News - Mon Jun 26, 2017 - 7:50pm BST Apple, Cisco want cyber security insurance discount for joint customers left right Tim Cook, CEO, speaks during Apple''s annual world wide developer conference (WWDC) in San Jose, California, U.S. June 5, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam 1/2 left right Chuck Robbins, CEO, Cisco, USA, speaks at a Cyber security conference in Tel Aviv, Israel January 31, 2017. REUTERS/Baz Ratner 2/2 Apple Inc is working with Cisco Systems to help businesses that primarily use gear from both companies to obtain a discount on cyber-security insurance premiums, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook told Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins onstage at a Cisco event in Las Vegas. Cook argued that the combination of gear from the two companies was more secure than the use of competing technology, such as the Android mobile operating system made by Alphabet Inc''s Google. "The thinking we share here is that if your enterprise or company is using Cisco and Apple, that the combination of these should make that (cyber-security) insurance cost significantly less," Cook said. "This is something we''re going to spend some energy on. You should reap that benefit." (Reporting by Stephen Nellis; editing by Jonathan Oatis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-tech-cyber-apple-cisco-systems-idUKKBN19H2BQ'|'2017-06-27T02:50:00.000+03:00' +'7a455670357b58094f1b139a4ec29d29ca754e92'|'Delivery Hero to use IPO proceeds to keep ahead of Uber'|'Business News - Tue Jun 20, 2017 - 8:52am BST Delivery Hero to use IPO proceeds to keep ahead of Uber Andreas Harte, a Foodora delivery cyclist poses in front of Delivery Hero headquarters in Berlin, Germany, June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch BERLIN Online takeaway food delivery group Delivery Hero will use the proceeds from a stock market listing to help keep it ahead in a highly competitive market, its chief executive said on Tuesday. Niklas Ostberg told journalists the entry of the likes of Uber into the delivery market was helping keep the firm on its toes, adding the capital it hoped to raise would be used to help it grow organically and through acquisitions. Delivery Hero announced on Monday it aims to raise around 927 million euros (809 million pounds) through a stock market listing that could value it at up to 4.4 billion euros. Christoph Stanger, an investment banker from Goldman Sachs who is advising Delivery Hero, said the books are already covered for the initial public offering (IPO) but said he was keen to build a "high quality book". (Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Maria Sheahan) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deliveryhero-ipo-idUKKBN19B0R7'|'2017-06-20T15:52:00.000+03:00' +'1801a65df6ba36e1f1d5ced5283da6b45578d354'|'Coca-Cola says reaches agreement with S. African government. on acquisition of local arm'|'Deals 12:30pm EDT Coca-Cola says reaches agreement with S. African government. on acquisition of local arm The logo of U.S. beverage group Coca-Cola is seen at the entrance of a visitors center of Coca-Cola Schweiz GmbH in Bruettisellen, Switzerland October 11, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann - RTX2R67E JOHANNESBURG Drinks giant Coca-Cola ( KO.N ) said on Thursday it had reached an agreement with the South African government on a package of conditions as it finalizes the purchase of a controlling 54.5 percent stake in its joint Africa venture with ABInBev ( ABI.BR ). New York-listed Coca-Cola said in a statement it would abide by merger conditions agreed with competition authorities in 2016 including a pledge to raise black ownership in Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa to 30 percent by 2021. "We are pleased to have reached this agreement with the South African government which demonstrates our alignment with the governments national imperatives for inclusive social and economic development," said Chief Executive James Quincey. Last December, Coca-Cola reached a deal to buy Anheuser-Busch InBev''s majority stake in their African bottling venture for $3.15 billion and hold onto it until it finds a new owner. nL5N1EG1RF (Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by Adrian Croft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-coca-cola-safrica-idUSKBN19K2DW'|'2017-06-29T19:30:00.000+03:00' +'460d14c201f08ba8012d70adc60bede95b379550'|'Loeb''s Third Point hedge fund targeting Nestle for strategic changes- Bloomberg'|'Business News - Sun Jun 25, 2017 - 3:57pm EDT Loeb''s Third Point hedge fund targeting Nestle for strategic changes: Bloomberg A Kitkat chocolate bar is pictured in the supermarket of Nestle headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland, February 16, 2017. REUTERS/Pierre Albouy Nestle SA ( NESN.S ), is being targeted by activist investor Daniel Loeb''s hedge fund Third Point LLC, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Loeb has recently bought a stake in the world''s largest packaged foods maker as he seeks strategic changes in the company, Bloomberg said. Nestle said earlier this month that it may sell its $900 million-a-year U.S. confectionery business in the Swiss food group''s latest effort to improve the health profile of its sprawling portfolio. Nestle and Third Point were not immediately available for comment. (Reporting by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Adrian Croft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-loeb-nestle-idUSKBN19G0W5'|'2017-06-26T03:42:00.000+03:00' +'4c1f891bafe1c9cd075573b56ea3b2ab7bbb5aa6'|'Japan''s May exports rise fastest in over two years, set to sustain growth'|'Business News - Mon Jun 19, 2017 - 4:24am BST Japan''s May exports rise fastest in over two years, set to sustain growth Newly manufactured cars of the automobile maker Subaru await export in a port in Yokohama, Japan May 30, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai By Stanley White - TOKYO TOKYO Japan''s exports surged in May by the fastest in more than two years on higher shipments of cars and steel, an encouraging sign that robust global demand will help keep the country''s modest economic recovery on track. The 14.9 percent annual increase in exports in May was the biggest rise since January 2015 and nearly twice the pace seen in April, though it was below analysts'' expectations of 16.1 percent. Japan''s imports rose more than expected in May, partly due to increasing demand for intermediate goods companies need to manufacture their products. Exports are likely to continue rising at a steady clip as overseas economies show increasing signs of strength, which should help Japan''s economy extend its recent run of expansion. "The main scenario is Japan''s exports will continue to recover," said Shuji Tonouchi, senior market economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. "However, the pace of growth could slow somewhat as inventories of certain goods, like electronics, start to build up overseas." Exports of cars and car parts rose partly because an earthquake in Kumamoto last year in May temporarily shut down production of these goods, Tonouchi noted. TRADE SURPLUS WITH U.S. SURGES Japan''s exports to the United States rose 11.6 percent in May from a year ago, the fastest increase since July 2015, due to an increase of shipments of autos and auto parts. The trade surplus with the United States was 411.1 billion yen (2.9 billion pounds) in May, up 19.0 percent from the same period a year ago. In April, Japan''s trade surplus with the United States fell an annual 4.2 percent. A large trade surplus could draw criticism from the Trump administration, which has repeatedly indicated that it prefers protectionist policies to reduce the U.S. trade deficit and increase exports. Exports to China increased 23.9 percent year-on-year in May, following a 14.8 percent annual increase in April. Larger shipments of flat panels and semiconductor manufacturing equipment drove the gains in China-bound exports. Exports to Asia, which includes China, rose 16.8 percent in May from a year ago, the fastest increase in three months, due to increased shipments of electronics to Hong Kong and steel to Indonesia, the data showed. In terms of volume, Japan''s exports rose 7.5 percent in May from a year ago, the fastest gain in three months, another indication that overseas demand is firm. IMPORT GROWTH AT MORE THAN 3-YEAR HIGH Japan''s imports rose 17.8 percent in the year to May, the strongest gain since early 2014, versus the median estimate for a 14.8 percent annual increase, as a rise in the price of oil from a year ago pushed up the value of imports. Excluding oil imports, the data showed increasing demand for chemicals, electronic parts and raw materials used in Japanese factories. In terms of volume, imports rose 5.4 percent in May from a year ago, the third consecutive month of gains in a sign of growing demand. The trade balance came to a deficit of 203.4 billion yen, versus the median estimate for a 76.0 billion yen surplus. "You can say domestic demand is doing well, but this is being driven more by the manufacturing sector," said Hidenobu Tokuda, senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute. "There are some gains in durable goods, which are related to consumer spending, but rising factory output is the bigger factor behind imports." Policymakers and economists have become more optimistic about Japan''s prospects this year as an increase in factory output and a tightening labour market show the economy is poised to extend its recent growth. The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy steady on Friday and upgraded its assessment of private consumption for the first time in six months. Consumption has been a soft spot in Japan''s otherwise strengthening economy, with its weakness blamed for keeping inflation subdued by discouraging companies from raising prices, leaving growth heavily reliant on exports. (Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Eric Meijer and Kim Coghill) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-trade-idUKKBN19A09V'|'2017-06-19T11:24:00.000+03:00' +'fcb116eab1a214ac49166e9d7e2ac4244ca10f62'|'Swedish pension fund sells out of six firms it says breach Paris climate deal'|'Business News 7:18pm BST Swedish pension fund sells out of six firms it says breach Paris climate deal By Gwladys Fouche - OSLO OSLO Sweden''s largest national pension fund, AP7, has sold its investments in six companies that it says violate the Paris climate agreement, a decision environmentalists believe is the first of its kind. AP7, which provides pensions to 3.5 million Swedes, said on Thursday it had sold out of ExxonMobil ( XOM.N ), Gazprom ( GAZP.MM ), TransCanada Corp ( TRP.TO ), Westar ( WR.N ), Entergy ( ETR.N ) and Southern Corp, and would no longer invest in companies that operate in breach of the Paris climate accord. "Since the last screening in December 2016, the Paris agreement to the U.N. Climate Convention is one of the norms we include in our analysis," the company said in a statement. AP7 said ExxonMobil, Westar, Southern Corp and Entergy had fought against introducing climate legislation in the United States. It also criticised Gazprom for looking for oil in the Russian Arctic and TransCanada for building large-scale pipelines in North America. Entergy said it was disappointed that an investor had divested and said AP7''s decision was "unfortunate in light of the fact that the rationale for the decision seems to be unfounded. "Entergy has aggressively advocated for smart carbon policies for more than a decade," said the company in an emailed statement. "In 2016, our CO2 emissions were approximately 20 percent below our year 2000 emissions." The other companies were not immediately available for comment. Environmental campaigners welcomed the decision and called on other investors to follow suit. "Responsible investments are key for the world to reach the goals in the Paris agreement, and AP7''s action today is an important step in the right direction," said Martin Norman, the head of Greenpeace Nordic''s Sustainable Finance Campaign "We expect other global investors, like the Norwegian wealth fund, to do the same," he told Reuters, adding AP7''s decision was the first known divestment by an investor based on the Paris agreement. Norway''s $950 billion (744.71 billion pounds) sovereign wealth fund, the world''s largest, has ethical ambitions. Its chief executive told Reuters on June 2 the fund would ask the banks in which it has invested to disclose how their lending contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. (Editing by Mark Potter, Larry King)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-climatechange-investment-sweden-idUKKBN1962KJ'|'2017-06-16T02:18:00.000+03:00' +'c51760731af3ba98c3a828a12231134cef52fa5a'|'Bourses say big bang mergers sidelined by ''quiet'' hunt for content'|'LONDON The collapse of Deutsche Boerse and London Stock Exchange''s attempt to create a superbourse has left exchanges focusing on low key, incremental acquisitions, top bourse officials said on Tuesday.The third attempt to link up London and Frankfurt ended in March after it faced opposition from European Union competition regulators, and from German officials who opposed the head office being based in Britain.The collapse has left exchanges looking at smaller or "quiet advances" in mergers and acquisitions, such as in financial technology, data and other content, Deutsche Boerse Chief Executive Carsten Kengeter told an IDX derivatives conference.Kengeter said the political mood was becoming more national, going against the grain of global capital markets, and rival CME Group ( CME.O ) also suggested incremental rather than "big bang" moves.CME president Bryan Durkin said the Chicago based exchange would continue to build up its services to Europe from the United States after deciding to shut its London based clearing and trading platforms."Europe is quite big in terms of the opportunities is presents for us," Durkin said."Our focus is very much on building up the very solid footprint that we have established here and taking it to the next level on an international perspective."Jeff Sprecher, chairman and chief executive of the Atlanta-based Intercontinental Exchange ( ICE.N ) said it has been "quietly expanding" to become a "network and content" business.ICE, which also operates the New York Stock Exchange, said on June 1 it planned to buy the global research index platform from Bank of America Merrill Lynch."We have increasingly thought of our business as essentially a network business that needs to continually to grow with content that needs to be relevant," Sprecher said.ICE''s purchase came just days after the London Stock Exchange said it was buying Citibank''s ( C.N ) Yield Book fixed-income analytics services and its related indexing business for $685 million.(Reporting by Huw Jones, editing by Louise Heavens)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-markets-exchange-m-a-idUSKBN18X1PX'|'2017-06-06T18:32:00.000+03:00' +'dfc35458521af5d9157e1a47c8cf7d62f6e1629a'|'ANZ says seeking to uncover metals fraudsters after big losses'|'Thu Jun 29, 2017 - 8:40pm BST ANZ says seeking to uncover metals fraudsters after big losses A man walks past a branch of the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ) in Sydney October 29, 2013. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo By Eric Onstad and Melanie Burton - LONDON/MELBOURNE LONDON/MELBOURNE Australia and New Zealand Banking Group ( ANZ.AX ) is seeking to uncover who was behind a metals fraud in Asia that cost it "substantial losses" and led to transfers of $151 million to the United States, according to court papers filed in California. ANZ, Australia''s third-biggest lender, filed papers on June 6 asking the U.S. District Court in San Francisco to allow it to interview U.S. witnesses about a fraud that involved fake ownership documents for nickel stored in Asian warehouses owned by commodities group Glencore ( GLEN.L ). ANZ and Glencore declined to comment. As part of a complex series of financial transactions, ANZ ended up with ownership documents for nickel stored in Singapore and South Korea, but discovered they were fraudulent when it tried to sell the metal, the court papers said. ANZ has not yet filed a lawsuit, but the bank told the U.S. court it planned to do so in Asia once it discovered who was behind the fraud. ANZ "has every intention of pursuing causes of action against... fraudsters, once their identities are known", the papers said. This is the second legal action that has emerged following the announcement in January by Glencore''s metals warehouse firm Access World that it became aware of fake warehouse receipts circulating in its name. Earlier this month, a court filing in London''s High Court showed French bank Natixis ( CNAT.PA ) had sued metals broker Marex Spectron for $32 million that Natixis said it lost due to fake warehouse receipts for metal stored at Access World depots. Marex had said in a statement it rejected the claim and issued a separate claim against Access World for an unspecified amount because it said the warehouse operator had verified the receipts as being authentic. Natixis and Access World had declined to comment. NICKEL WORTH $306 MLN The fraud was uncovered following repurchase transactions between ANZ and two Hong Kong firms involving 84 warehouse receipts for nickel of which 83 turned out to be fake, the court papers filed by ANZ said. ANZ''s court filing included copies of the purchase contracts, showing the transactions involved 32,964 tonnes of nickel, which at current benchmark prices CMNI3 would be worth about $306.4 million. The deals were arranged by broker ED&F Man, which was not involved in the fraud and was cooperating to identify those responsible, ANZ added in the legal documents. ED&F is not involved in this legal action and has no further comment to make, the broker said in an emailed statement. ANZ said in the U.S. court papers that it had already unearthed information in Hong Kong after it asked courts there for access to bank records. For example, those bank documents, included in the U.S. court filing, showed transfers of $151 million from the two Hong Kong firms involved in the nickel trades to people and entities in California. ANZ told the U.S. court it wanted to interview those parties in California that received the funds. (Reporting by Eric Onstad in London and Melanie Burton in Melbourne; Editing by Adrian Croft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-anz-metals-fraud-idUKKBN19K2UA'|'2017-06-29T22:38:00.000+03:00' +'3b0aefa3ff3e6cd883679361b33303159b7517c8'|'Munich prosecutors expand Audi investigation'|'Fri Jun 2, 2017 - 11:33am BST Munich prosecutors expand Audi investigation An Audi car logo is seen on media day at the Paris auto show, in Paris, France, September 29, 2016. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier MUNICH/BERLIN Munich prosecutors said they have widened an investigation at Audi ( NSUG.DE ) to examine the carmaker''s sales in Germany and elsewhere in Europe after the federal government accused the Volkswagen division of cheating on emissions tests in its home market. Audi on Thursday recalled around 24,000 older A7 and A8 models in Europe, 14,000 of which were sold in Germany, to update transmission software, which it said was causing nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions to exceed EU limits. Munich prosecutors have been investigating Audi on suspicion of fraud and criminal advertising in the United States where parent Volkswagen''s ( VOWG_p.DE ) emissions scandal broke in September 2015. They have expanded the inquiry to include vehicle sales in the brand''s home region, a spokesman for prosecutors said. Audi said late on Thursday that it would continue to fully cooperate with authorities and Germany''s KBA motor vehicle authority, which the carmaker had notified about the latest emissions irregularities. The affected Audi models with so-called Euro-5 emission standards, and built between 2009 and 2013, emit about twice the legal NOx limits when the steering wheel is turned more than 15 degrees, the German transport ministry said. Prosecutors said the suspicion in the Audi investigation still centered on fraud, adding they have not yet received updated information from the KBA on the situation in Germany. Their investigation came to a head in March when prosecutors searched Audi''s headquarters in Ingolstadt in connection with the emissions scandal, as well as a second German plant and subsequently even the law firm that VW had hired to clear up dieselgate. (Reporting by Joern Poltz.; Writing by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Maria Sheahan and Susan Fenton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-audi-idUKKBN18T19F'|'2017-06-02T18:22:00.000+03:00' +'e73e805771bee99f35803407d217a3fe8eae5487'|'UPDATE 1-Alvean''s head of sugar Jacques Gillaux leaves company'|' 52am EDT UPDATE 1-Alvean''s head of sugar Jacques Gillaux leaves company (Adds detail, background) By Ana Ionova LONDON, June 29 Geneva-based sugar merchant Alvean said on Thursday its chief risk officer and head of sugar trading Jacques Gillaux has left the company after one year in the role. Gillaux left the world''s largest sugar trader on Wednesday by mutual agreement, Alvean said in a statement to Reuters. Before joining Alvean, Gillaux headed the sugar and juices platforms at Louis Dreyfus from 2012 to 2015, according to a bio on Alvean''s website. He also spent 26 years in various roles at Cargill. Cargill and Copersucar established Alvean as a joint venture in 2014, forming the world''s largest sugar trader. Earlier this month, Copersucar said Alvean traded 12.1 million tonnes of sugar in the latest crop year, giving the venture a 26 percent share of the global raw sugar trade. Gillaux''s departure follows a reshuffle in April, when Alvean appointed Gareth Griffiths as chief executive officer after the resignation of Ivo Sarjanovic, who had been in the role since the company was set up. (Additional reporting by Nigel Hunt; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and David Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/sugar-alvean-gillaux-idUSL8N1JQ3LD'|'2017-06-29T15:52:00.000+03:00' +'27839a13abfe2176dca30ba9e90f9790e4871be3'|'In Amazon''s shadow, hedge funds take aim at Brexit-hit retailers'|' 11:42am BST In Amazon''s shadow, hedge funds take aim at Brexit-hit retailers left right People rush past Debenhams department store on Oxford Street, in central London, Britain January 10, 2011. REUTERS/Ki Price/File Photo 1/4 left right Pedestrians walk past an M&S shop in northwest London July 8, 2014. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File photo 2/4 left right Shoppers walk past a branch of the food retailer Morrisons in west London, Britain, January 7, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville 3/4 left right Workers pack bags as a conveyer belt transports goods inside the Ocado Customer Fulfilment Centre in Hatfield on the outskirts of London, Britain, April 6, 2016 . REUTERS/Dylan Martinez 4/4 By Alasdair Pal - LONDON LONDON Hedge funds have significantly stepped up bets against Britain''s traditional high street retailers, as the sector struggles with online competition, worries about a stretched consumer and weakening sales and profits. The risks were on full display on Tuesday when shares in Debenhams slid more than 3 percent to an eight-year low following a weak trading update and a warning on UK sales. Britain''s upcoming exit from the European Union, an inconclusive general election, and worrying data on consumer spending have muddied the outlook for bricks-and-mortar retailers like Debenhams, Marks & Spencer and Next, whose share prices have fallen this year. Short-sellers, who borrow shares in a company before selling them into the market, hoping to buy them back at a lower price in the future and pocket the difference, are doubling down. Of the 10 most-shorted stocks in the UK, five M&S, Debenhams, Pets At Home and grocers Morrisons and Ocado are now in the retail sector, according to data from UK regulator the Financial Conduct Authority. This comes after sofa retailer DFS warned on June 15 that it would miss expectations on profits this year, blaming an uncertain political and economic outlook, and that the lack of demand was market-wide. DFS''s comments sent a stock index tracking Britains retailers down 4.1 percent on June 15 its biggest one-day fall since Britain voted to leave the European Union in June 2016. That was followed a day later by Amazon announcing its intention to buy Whole Foods, stoking fears the online giant may push further into retail. Analysts and investors are braced for further weakness. Traditional clothing retailers are an area where I find it much harder to see how the pressure is going to go away, said Matthew Tillett, a fund manager at Allianz Global Investors. I am always asking, is it Amazon-able? If the answer to that question is yes it is always going to be hard for me to buy a bricks and mortar retailer. UK retail sales fell more sharply than expected in May, data from the Office of National Statistics showed on the same day as the DFS profit warning, with non-food retailers particularly badly affected. It is a tough backdrop, said Tineke Frikkee, a fund manager at Smith & Williamson. It owns shares in M&S and Debenhams, both of which have seen increases in short interest in the last week. The response shows you the glass is half empty on these stocks, Frikkee said. In particular, DFSs profit warning and Amazons expansion have coincided with a spike in short-selling in M&S and Debenhams. Of the 11 funds short M&Ss shares, six increased their positions on June 15 and 16, according to regulatory filings. Short interest in the retailer, which primarily sells clothing and food, has risen more than five-fold to 10.2 percent since the start of the year. Hedge funds shorting M&S include Marshall Wace, which has a 2.3 percent position in the companys shares and is also shorting pet food retailer Pets At Home. At around 130 million pounds, the bet against M&S is one of the funds largest shorts in the UK. Marshall Wace declined to comment. Debenhams, already one of the UKs most shorted stocks, has seen short interest nearly double since the start of the year to reach an all-time high of 11.9 percent. Odey Asset Management, run by billionaire investor Crispin Odey, increased its position to nearly 4 percent of the companys shares on June 15, according to filings. The firm did not respond to requests for comment. Shorting the sector has been a successful trade so far in 2017: Pets At Home has fallen 33 percent and Debenhams has lost more than a fifth of its value this year. M&S is down 3 percent. (Reporting by Alasdair Pal, Editing by Vikram Subhedar and Susan Fenton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hedgefunds-ukretail-idUKKBN19I152'|'2017-06-27T18:34:00.000+03:00' +'b6df1ec6acc9e64d902a4524e22c8d03397e0a0c'|'BRIEF-Funds managed by Oaktree increase ownership in SunOpta'|'Market News - Wed Jun 21, 2017 - 4:55pm EDT BRIEF-Funds managed by Oaktree increase ownership in SunOpta June 21 Oaktree Capital Group Llc: * Oaktree Capital Group Llc - funds managed by Oaktree increased their beneficial ownership in common shares of SunOpta Inc during Q2 of 2017 * Oaktree Capital Group Llc - on May 12, 2017, funds managed by Oaktree acquired 1.4 million common shares in aggregate at a price of US$8.00 per share * Oaktree Capital Group Llc- funds managed by Oaktree beneficially own about 16.16 percent of outstanding common shares of SunOpta on partially diluted basis Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-funds-managed-by-oaktree-increase-idUSFWN1JI0OL'|'2017-06-22T04:55:00.000+03:00' +'b9fee9d50014bb16710f786fb4f2b81747322654'|'Qatar and its neighbours may lose billions from diplomatic split'|'By Andrew Torchia and Tom Arnold - DUBAI DUBAI A diplomatic rift between Qatar and its Gulf neighbours may cost them billions of dollars by slowing trade and investment and making it more expensive for the region to borrow money as it grapples with low oil prices.With an estimated $335 billion of assets in its sovereign wealth fund, Qatar looks able to avoid an economic crisis over the decision on Monday by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to cut air, sea and land transport links.The tiny state''s newly expanded port facilities mean it can continue liquefied natural gas exports that earned it a trade surplus of $2.7 billion in April, and import by sea goods that used to come over its land border with Saudi Arabia, now closed.But parts of Qatar''s economy could suffer badly if the dispute, over Riyadh''s allegations that Doha has been supporting terrorism, drags on for months - a prospect that helped to push the Qatari stock market down more than 7 percent on Monday.Fast-growing Qatar Airways, at the centre of the tiny state''s effort to become a tourism hub, is likely to face losses from being barred some of the Middle East''s biggest hubs.Qatar''s government has been borrowing at home and abroad to help finance some $200 billion of infrastructure spending as it prepares to host the World Cup soccer tournament in 2022. A drop in Qatari bond prices on Monday suggested the borrowing will become more expensive - possibly slowing some projects.Bonds of other countries in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council barely moved on Monday, but some foreign bankers said the whole region could end up paying more to borrow if diplomatic tensions persisted.If this dispute goes on for a while, the ramifications could be huge, said an international banker based in the Gulf, declining to be named because of political sensitivities.Asset managers will not differentiate between Qatar and the rest of the GCC, and international managers will take their hands off any credit from the GCC. If Qatar is seen as a terror financing or compliance issue, then asset managers will be cautious."TRADEBecause they all rely heavily on oil and gas exports, the GCC states have only weak trade and investment ties with each other, which will limit the economic fallout of their dispute. The UAE is Qatar''s biggest trading partner from the GCC but only its fifth largest globally.Similarly, Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries traditionally account for only about 5 to 10 percent of trading on the Qatari stock market, according to exchange data, suggesting even a total pull-out would not sink the market.Nevertheless, Qatar will face higher costs in some areas. Saudi Arabia and the UAE provided $309 million of Qatar''s $1.05 billion of food imports in 2015. Much of them, especially dairy products, came over the Saudi land border; Doha will have to make other arrangements for them.Construction costs in Qatar could also rise, fuelling inflation across the economy, because aluminium and other building materials can no longer be imported by land.Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar for eight months in 2014 over Doha''s alleged support of Islamist groups, but that had minimal market or economic impact because it did not involve a ban on transport links. Trade and investment went on much as before.This time, Saudi Arabia has promised to "begin legal procedures for immediate understandings with brotherly and friendly countries and international companies to apply the same procedures as soon as possible".It is not clear that Riyadh will be able to persuade more countries to cut links with Doha. But it could try to force foreign companies to make a choice between doing business with Qatar and obtaining access to its own, much larger market, which it is opening up as part of economic reforms.Cairo-based bankers said on Monday that some Egyptian banks had halted dealings with Qatari banks. It was not clear whether GCC banks would do the same; UAE commercial bankers told Reuters they were waiting for guidance from their central bank.Stock markets in Dubai and several other Gulf centres fell on Monday - although not by nearly as much as Qatar - in a sign that investors around the region were worried.Overall it''s not good. I dont think that the region has been in such turmoil so close to home. And I think everyone is speculating how far these steps will go forward," said Mohammed Ali Yasin, chief executive of Abu Dhabi''s NBAD Securities."Everyone is hoping that there will be intervention by wise people and things will cool down. But what we have seen is a gradual escalation."(Additional reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh and Davide Barbuscia)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/gulf-qatar-economy-idINKBN18W1MN'|'2017-06-05T20:24:00.000+03:00' +'d461a7599040a7b94617f0300fcb5a56c0197585'|'VW looks at rehiring Opel CEO - source'|'* Opel CEO Neumann prepares to quit - FAS* VW looks to rehire Neumann, maybe as Audi boss - source* VW, Opel decline to commentFRANKFURT, June 11 Carmaker Volkswagen is looking at rehiring the chief executive of General Motors'' Opel, possibly to lead its Audi brand, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday, following a media report the executive will quit Opel.Opel boss Karl-Thomas Neumann plans to resign as General Motors (GM) prepares to sell the business to France''s PSA Group , German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (FAS) reported over the weekend.Without citing its sources, the newspaper said Neumann saw the sale as the right strategic step, but was concerned PSA under-estimated the growing importance of electric cars.The source said Volkswagen (VW) bosses were informally discussing giving Neumann, who quit VW in 2013 for the Opel top job, a prominent position, potentially as head of premium brand Audi.VW and Opel declined to comment.Audi CEO Rupert Stadler has come under fire for how he has handled the fallout from VW''s diesel emissions scandal.He only received a five-year contract extension last month because of an agreement among supervisory board members that he would not serve out his full term, two sources have told Reuters.Pressure has built on Stadler after Munich prosecutors widened an investigation into the premium carmaker, and after Germany''s transport ministry accused Audi of cheating on emissions tests.In an interview with trade publication Automobilwoche, Stadler over the weekend defended his record: "The diesel crisis has consumed and is still consuming resources. I''m still convinced that we have initiated the right strategic steps."Neumann, 56, planned to inform Opel''s supervisory board about his decision at its next meeting on June 22, FAS said, adding he wanted to stay on only until GM completed the sale of Opel to PSA, owner of the Peugeot, Citroen and DS brands.Opel this week said the 2.2 billion euros ($2.5 billion) deal could be completed as early as July 31, pending regulatory approval from antitrust authorities.Neumann joined GM in 2013 to lead the U.S. carmaker''s European operations, which include the Vauxhall brand, after losing out in a management reshuffle at VW. In his former roles at VW, he was in charge of electro-mobility and head of China. ($1 = 0.8935 euros) (Reporting by Frankfurt Newsroom; Editing by Georgina Prodhan and Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/vw-moves-opel-idINL8N1J80DT'|'2017-06-11T10:26:00.000+03:00' +'977fe2158c06bcc09a321c75c08b07fd900da712'|'Imperial Brands names cannabis expert to board'|'Business News - Tue Jun 13, 2017 - 5:46pm BST Imperial Brands names cannabis expert to board An illustration picture shows discarded Gauloises cigarette butts in an ashtray in a coffee house in Vienna, Austria, May 12, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/Illustration LONDON Tobacco company Imperial Brands ( IMB.L ) has named an expert in medicinal cannabis to its board of directors, it said on Tuesday, the latest example of tobacco companies moving beyond their traditional products. The maker of Gauloises and Winston cigarettes said it had appointed Simon Langelier, chairman of PharmaCielo Ltd, to its board on June 12. PharmaCielo is a Canadian-based supplier of medicinal-grade cannabis oil extracts and related products. Analysts estimate the cannabis market could exceed $50 billion over the next decade, fuelled by growing acceptance in North America for uses ranging from pharmaceutical to recreational. Langelier also worked at tobacco company Philip Morris International ( PM.N ) for 30 years, where one of his jobs was president of the company''s next-generation products, which include e-cigarettes and those that heat tobacco enough to create vapour but not smoke. Imperial''s chairman Mark Williamson said Langelier''s extensive international experience in tobacco and other consumer areas would be an asset to the board. Unlike Philip Morris, British American Tobacco ( BATS.L ) and Japan Tobacco International ( 2914.T ), Imperial has stayed away from heated tobacco products in the race for cigarette alternatives. But it has tested other products, such as mouth strips that deliver caffeine. (Reporting by Martinne Geller. Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-imperial-brands-board-idUKKBN19426I'|'2017-06-14T00:46:00.000+03:00' +'7e43fcbe16689d7ea4be8e47916235df361d48bf'|'Pan American Energy to invest $1.2 billion in Argentina in 2017'|'BUENOS AIRES Argentina-based Pan American Energy, a unit of BP Plc ( BP.L ), will invest some $1.2 billion in the South American country this year, a company spokesman said on Tuesday, down from the $1.4 billion that the company had announced for 2016.About $400 million of the 2017 investment plan is destined for oil and gas exploration in the sprawling Vaca Muerta shale formation in Argentina''s southern Patagonia region, the spokesman said in a telephone interview after government news site Telam reported the company''s investment plan.Argentine President Mauricio Macri has sought to attract investment to Vaca Muerta to help close the country''s costly energy deficit since taking office in late 2015.Argentine Energy and Mining Minister Juan Jose Aranguren said in April that investment of between $6 billion and $8 billion had been confirmed in Vaca Muerta this year.Argentine state-run oil company YPF SA ( YPFD.BA ) said in February that it would invest $2.3 billion in the shale field this year.(Reporting by Walter Bianchi; Writing by Hugh Bronstein; Editing by G Crosse and Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-argentina-energy-pan-american-idINKBN19I31R'|'2017-06-27T22:08:00.000+03:00' +'a5fb1bb6d48f5269a3287656c0270e82aba9f2ec'|'Gundlach says flatter Treasury yield curve could become a concern'|'Business 9:48pm BST Gundlach says flatter Treasury yield curve could become a concern Jeffrey Gundlach, CEO of DoubleLine Capital, speaks during the Sohn Investment Conference in New York City, U.S., May 8, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid By Jennifer Ablan - NEW YORK NEW YORK The U.S. Treasury yield curve flattening could become a concern for economic growth when two-year and three-year Treasury note yields are about the same, and the price per barrel of WTI crude oil falls into the $30-dollar range, said Jeffrey Gundlach, chief executive at DoubleLine Capital, on Wednesday. The slope of the yield curve has been flattening, with short-term rates rising faster than longer-bond yields. This typically happens when monetary policy is tightened. "Theres no hard data that you could point to that signals recession," Gundlach said in a telephone interview. But that does not mean economic growth is exploding. "Lower CPI (Consumer Price Index) in the next couple of months will be a cold bucket of water for the Fed tightening dreams," Gundlach said. "Commodities are super weak, with the dollar down year-to-date, no less." Gundlach, known on Wall Street as the Bond King, said he is becoming more positive on international equities over U.S. stock markets because the Fed is raising rates with "quantitative tightening on top of it with its plans to shrink its balance sheet." The yield curve between five-year notes and 30-year bonds US5US30=TWEB flattened to 96 basis points, the narrowest since December 2007. Five-year note yields US5YT=RR, which are highly sensitive to rate policy, rose to a four-week high of 1.80 percent on Tuesday. Thirty-year bond yields US30YT=RR, which are largely driven by future expectations of growth and inflation, meanwhile dropped to 2.72 percent on Wednesday, the lowest since Nov. 9. (Reporting By Jennifer Ablan; Editing by Chris Reese and Diane Craft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-funds-doubleline-idUKKBN19C2VM'|'2017-06-22T04:48:00.000+03:00' +'c6d124d1df582839c240ef885dcefa85aec7c904'|'Russia''s Polyus says prices its SPO at lower end of range'|'Business News - Fri Jun 30, 2017 - 6:50pm BST Russia''s Polyus returns to London, UK investors take half of share offer By Polina Devitt and Diana Asonova - MOSCOW MOSCOW Russia''s largest gold producer, Polyus ( PLZL.MM ) sold $879 million worth of shares in Moscow and London, it said on Friday, a sale that analysts said showed a high level of western investor appetite for Russian assets. Polyus, controlled by the family of Russian tycoon Suleiman Kerimov, delisted from the London Stock Exchange in 2015 after Western sanctions over Moscow''s role in the Ukraine crisis began to bite for Russian companies. It returns to London buoyed by an 8 percent rise in global gold prices XAU= this year. British investors bought about half of the shares, VTB Capital, a bookrunner on the deal, said in a statement. The share of investors from North America totalled around 20 percent. The sale of 9 percent of the company''s shares follows a separate $887 million sale of 10 percent to a Chinese consortium led by Fosun International ( 0656.HK ). The offer price was set at $33.25 per global depositary receipt (GDS), corresponding to a price of $66.50 per ordinary share, at the lower end of a previously announced range. Half of the proceeds from the deal went to Polyus and will be used for general corporate purposes, Chief Executive Pavel Grachev told an event at the Moscow Exchange. The other half went to the Kerimov family. Appetite for Russian assets has been strengthening since the start of this year, driven by a rising oil price and expectations that U.S. President Donald Trump would ease fraught U.S.-Russian relations. "We see sufficient interest towards the Russian risk and equity in general from foreign institutional investors," Kvasov told the Moscow Exchange event. "I hope that this deal will not be the last one this year. We see a window for further potential placements this year." Colin Croft, fund manager at Jupiter Fund Management, said the sale showed there was still good demand for Russian assets. "Despite all of the on-going geopolitical concerns all the worries about Trump and sanctions and so on - they still managed to get it out the door," he said. "It was a pretty sizeable deal so that shows that Russia is still open for business. Anton Malkov, head of equity capital markets at Sberbank CIB, said further Russian deals were possible in the market in the autumn if oil markets and geopolitics remained calm. Market optimism has been tempered in the past few weeks, with Trump embroiled in a row at home over his associates'' ties to Russia, and the United States imposing a fresh round of sanctions on some Russian entities. However, Polyus is a pure producer of gold, considered a safe haven during times of political and financial uncertainty. Russian, European and Middle Eastern investors each took about 10 percent of the offering, Boris Kvasov, the head of equity capital markets at VTB Capital, said. The $879 million includes an over-allotment option, the sale was worth $799 million excluding it. Long-term investors, including sovereign funds, took about 80 percent of the allocation. Russian pension funds took less than 1 percent, Kvasov said. "The quality of investors, not only the fact of the placement itself, was important to Polyus," Grachev said. A consortium formed of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) with Middle-Eastern Sovereign Wealth Funds participated in the deal. It included investors from the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain. (Reporting by Polina Devitt, Diana Asonova and Olga Popova in Moscow, Simon Jessop in London; Editing by Jack Stubbs and Robin Pomeroy)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-polyus-spo-idUKKBN19L0Q4'|'2017-06-30T10:27:00.000+03:00' +'d44e24127b744453f25fcb760dc4e5afd1815bca'|'OPEC, non-OPEC compliance with oil cuts hits highest in May - source'|'Money News 10:30pm IST OPEC, non-OPEC compliance with oil cuts hits highest in May - source The OPEC logo is seen outside the group''s headquarters in Vienna, Austria May 24, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo LONDON OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers'' compliance with a deal to cut global output has reached its highest in May since they agreed on the curbs last year, reaching 106 percent last month, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. OPEC compliance with the output curbs in May was 108 percent, while non-OPEC compliance was 100 percent, the source said. Another source confirmed compliance by all producers in May was 106 percent. "This is the highest compliance since the beginning of the deal," one of the sources said. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies agreed to cut supply by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) starting in January to get rid of a supply glut. A technical committee of OPEC and non-OPEC producers met in Vienna on Tuesday to monitor compliance with the pact. The producers agreed at a May 25 meeting to extend the accord until March 2018. But oil has declined sharply since then, with Brent crude falling to a seven-month low near $45 a barrel on Tuesday on persistent over-supply concerns. [O/R] With recovering production from Nigeria and Libya - OPEC members exempted from supply cuts due to losses caused by unrest - adding to supplies, some OPEC delegates are questioning whether the agreement is enough. But oil ministers, including Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, are of the view that the market is heading in the right direction and needs time to rebalance. The panel, which met at OPEC''s Vienna headquarters, is the Joint Technical Committee (JTC) established in January to monitor adherence to supply cuts. Top OPEC producer Saudi Arabia is also a member of the JTC in its capacity as 2017 OPEC president. (Reporting by Reuters OPEC team; editing by Susan Thomas and Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/oil-opec-compliance-idINKBN19B2H0'|'2017-06-21T01:00:00.000+03:00' +'729988a35d8fd6d9e5c338d60f27f624876ecdec'|'IMF says ''differences narrowing'' in Greek debt relief talks with Europeans'|'Business News - Thu Jun 8, 2017 - 3:49pm BST IMF says ''differences narrowing'' in Greek debt relief talks with Europeans A man looks down as a Greek national flag flutters atop one of the bastions of the 17th century fortress of Palamidi under an overcast sky at the southern port city of Nafplio, Greece, February 19. 2017. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis WASHINGTON The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday differences were narrowing in Greek debt talks with European lenders and it hoped an agreement could be reached in time for next week''s Eurogroup meeting. "I would characterize the discussions as making progress, differences are narrowing but we''re not there yet," IMF spokesman Gerry Rice told reporters without elaborating on the specifics of the progress. IMF chief Christine Lagarde is set to attend the meeting in Luxembourg on June 15. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-greece-imf-idUKKBN18Z21O'|'2017-06-08T22:47:00.000+03:00' +'e90529abc95d0953ce2fd8c31ff7afd4ecebcf0d'|'Rosneft ready to expand crude output if OPEC agreement ends abruptly -FT'|'June 4 Russian oil company Rosneft served notice that it would step up production if the agreement among major crude producers to curb output comes to a sudden end, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.The company was closely monitoring output from U.S. shale producers, Rosneft''s chief executive, Igor Sechin, told the FT.Well, if the question is how OPEC is going to exit from these arrangements abruptly, we will also be prepared. If something goes wrong, we will not let them occupy our markets. Well defend ourselves. Sechin told the newspaper.Sechin viewed the agreement and its impact on the oil market as positive, the FT said.This is what we do. We manage risks. We have to consider every trend, any trend that may affect our performance. We will be ready,, he was Quote: d as saying.Last week, Sechin said OPEC oil producers could be wasting their efforts by cutting output as rising U.S. production threatens to deliver a wave of new supply and could add up to 1.5 million barrels a day to world oil output next year.The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which accounts for around a third of global oil output, and 11 other producers led by Russia had agreed to cut oil production by 1.8 million barrels per day to prop up weak prices.Sechin had also questioned the efficiency of the production cuts that were extended last week until March 2018, saying that oil producers were losing market share to U.S. firms that are not part of the deal.(Reporting by Sangameswaran S in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Cooney)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/rosneft-oil-oil-sechin-idINL3N1J10FS'|'2017-06-04T19:05:00.000+03:00' +'a289bf1062c6262bc858cef739a9f4dece9151ab'|'AIRSHOW-Emirates, flydubai seek closer ties in leaner times'|'Market 23am EDT AIRSHOW-Emirates, flydubai seek closer ties in leaner times By Victoria Bryan - PARIS, June 21 PARIS, June 21 Emirates, the Middle East''s largest airline, and budget carrier flydubai will start to deepen their relationship over the next 18 months as their owner, the Dubai government, seeks to improve returns. Emirates President Tim Clark told reporters on Wednesday that changes could include more closely coordinated connecting - or feeder - flights, and a joint decision on schedules to soften head-to-head competition in some markets. The comments at the Paris Airshow come two months after the chairman of both airlines, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum said they had "to work with a better synergy." The carriers currently have an interline agreement allowing their passengers to connect between each other''s flights. We are minded to accelerate a greater joining of the hip, of what we do, theres a lot of work going on there to extract value for the shareholder, Clark said. The push by their state owner comes amid pressure on profits at both airlines. Emirates'' annual profit fell in the year ended March 31 for the first time in five years. Flydubai''s 2016 profit fell for a second consecutive year. A "rationalisation of assets and airport utilisation" by Emirates and flydubai could extend the life of Dubai International Airport, Clark said. Emirates operates an exclusively wide-body fleet of Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft, whereas flydubai operates narrow-body Boeing 737s. Dubai Airport, the hub for both airlines and the world''s busiest for international travel, has become increasingly congested during peak periods. It handled 30.1 million passengers in the first four months of the year, up 7.8 percent on the same period last year. Clark has previously warned congestion at the airport, which is expected to hit its maximum capacity of 118 million passengers a year by 2023, could limit Emirates'' growth. Dubai is expanding a new airport, Al Maktoum International, which is slated one day to be capable of handling 240 million passengers a year. The expansion has been delayed and Clark signalled Emirates'' plans to move there by 2025 have been pushed back until sometime between 2026 and 2030. Dubai Airport Chief Executive Paul Griffiths told Reuters its goal remained to deliver a "capacity of 120 million passengers per year by 2025." "However, given the scale of that project and the unprecedented complexity of the relocation of the Emirates hub, it is sensible for Emirates to build contingencies into its plan," he said. (Writing and additional reporting by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/airshow-paris-emirate-flydubai-idUSL8N1JI2DQ'|'2017-06-21T19:23:00.000+03:00' +'7a3d5bf5ce59e8890ef8f20b1225d8c4a0775e4b'|'Italy holds emergency cabinet meeting over Veneto banks'|' 3:54pm BST Italy holds emergency cabinet meeting over Veneto banks left right FILE PHOTO: The logo of Veneto Banca bank is seen in Venice, Italy, January 31 2016. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: A Banca Popolare di Vicenza sign is seen in Rome, Italy, March 29, 2017. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo 2/2 ROME The Italian cabinet convened on Sunday afternoon to approve an emergency decree that will start liquidation proceedings for two ailing Veneto-based lenders, Banca Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca, the prime minister''s office said. The decree must be approved by midnight on Sunday, in time for the reopening of bank branches and markets on Monday. The European Commission on Friday gave preliminary approval for the Italian plan to wind down the two banks with state money in a move that may allow Rome to solve its latest banking crisis on its own terms. The decree is expected to split the two lenders'' assets into "good" and "bad" banks. The country''s top retail bank Intesa Sanpaolo ( ISP.MI ) is set to buy the good assets for one euro, leaving the state to foot the bulk of the bill for losses stemming from the banks'' bad loans, legal risks and restructuring costs. (Reporting by Silvia Aloisi)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-banks-italy-veneto-idUKKBN19G0L9'|'2017-06-25T22:31:00.000+03:00' +'7cba03b177210df587115b6b5f8a88e6cacffe69'|'UK Stocks-Factors to watch on June 7'|'June 7 Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening 1 point higher on Wednesday, according to financial bookmakers. * EASYJET: British budget airline easyJet said on Tuesday it would close its Hamburg base next summer, as part of a strategy to focus on its core European airports. * CHESNARA: UK insurer Chesnara said on Tuesday it could move its headquarters to the Netherlands or Sweden if required, depending on the regulatory situation after Britain leaves the European Union. * ICAG: British Airways cancelled nearly 60 percent of its flights on May 27 when an IT outage knocked out the airline''s systems and stranded 75,000 people over a holiday weekend. * RIO: Rio Tinto Ltd on Wednesday detailed pricing for a $781 million cash tender as part of its already announced $2.5 billion bond buyback to reduce its debt. * SHELL/NORWAY: About 150 oil platform workers would go on strike, potentially disrupting output from several Norwegian fields, if they fail to get a pay deal by midnight on Friday, their union said on Tuesday. * The UK blue chip index closed flat in percentage terms at 7,524.95 points on Tuesday , while the more domestically-exposed mid cap index dropped more than 1 percent, as investors sought safety in precious metals miners and defensives ahead of Thursday''s general election, while British mid caps dropped close to a three-week low. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets * UK CORPORATE DIARY: Workspace Group Plc Full Year RPC Group Plc Full Year TODAY''S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idINL3N1J422H'|'2017-06-07T03:33:00.000+03:00' +'aabf97b87432010c7cc1b0bfdf33355a753f6cc2'|'Squeezed at home, Japan''s Nomura seeks to push into Wall Street''s home turf'|'By Sumeet Chatterjee and Emi Emoto - HONG KONG/TOKYO, June 19 HONG KONG/TOKYO, June 19 Under pressure in Japan from Wall Street rivals and anticipating more deals in the United States or by American companies overseas, Nomura Holdings is boosting its U.S. investment banking business, including some senior hires in the technology and finance sectors.Two sources familiar with the matter said Nomura plans to add a dozen senior- and mid-level investment bankers over the next 12 to 18 months in the United States, covering mergers and acquisitions, equity capital markets and leveraged financing - building out a team of around 200 there.Nomura has poached investment bankers from global investment banks as well as boutiques such as Jefferies and Houlihan Lokey since the beginning of this year.It has hired Jim Voorheis from UBS, where he was head of speciality finance in the Americas, as managing director for its financial institutions group, and Credit Suisse veteran Thomas Chung as managing director for U.S. equity capital markets.The number of hires could eventually be much higher, one of the sources said, depending on deals momentum and the outlook for the profitability of Nomura''s international operations.The sources, who have direct knowledge of Nomura plans, did not want to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media.They said Nomura has made a U.S. expansion of its wholesale business, which includes global markets and investment banking, one of its priorities.This comes after a major restructuring including a big shrinking of its operations in Europe last year - following its disastrous acquisition of Lehman Brothers'' Asian and European businesses in 2008. That led to internal clashes, and was followed by six consecutive years of losses for its international operations.As a result previous plans to expand in the U.S. were put on hold and Nomura reduced its total staff across all divisions in the Americas to 2,279 at the end of 2016 from 2,501 a year earlier. The number had crept back up to 2,314 by the end of March."STRONG CANDIDATE"In March, it named company veteran Kentaro Okuda, head of investment banking and a contender to become Nomuras future chief executive, as head of its Americas arm."He knows all of our clients from Japan and he can look after their deals," said one of the sources. "If Okuda does well in the U.S., he might emerge as a strong candidate to become group CEO."Two of the sources said Nomura plans to bolster its coverage of the technology, financial and healthcare sectors in the U.S. where it sees growing dealmaking opportunities within the country and outside.It expects to benefit from American companies doing deals in Japan, a market where it has strong presence and contacts in the local corporate sectors, they said, and even China - where it has been increasing its presence.Nomura currently only has about 0.5 percent of the U.S. investment banking fee pool. Even getting this up a little can make a meaningful difference given its size the fees were worth an estimated $39.6 billion last year, one of the sources said.In response to Reuters queries, Nomura said that it sees its Americas business as a key element of its international strategy and it would continue to make "strategic additions" in areas, including sales and trading, and financing."Nomura is ... well-positioned to connect markets east and west. Part of our continued strategy is to capture more cross-border client transactions," it said, without giving details on expansion plans.In part, the U.S. push is a response to concerns at home.Once a go-to bank for the Japanese firms and top of the Japanese M&A league table for years, Nomura took the number 6 rank in the home league table last year, down from second position in 2015, according to Thomson Reuters data.In the first quarter of this year, the bank slipped to 11th position, lagging behind Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, and even smaller domestic rival Daiwa Securities.In the overall investment banking fee league table, Nomura''s share of the revenue in Japan has dropped to 14 percent last year from 18 percent in 2008, the data shows. (Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee in HONG KONG and Emi Emoto in TOKYO; Additional reporting by Olivia Oran in NEW YORK and Tom Wilson in TOKYO; Editing by Clara Ferreira Marques and Martin Howell)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/nomura-hldgs-usa-idINL3N1IZ3F8'|'2017-06-19T07:12:00.000+03:00' +'d27b55e24df49558a8c82925632350759c8625c2'|'Alibaba''s Jack Ma invited to join bid for L''Oreal''s The Body Shop: sources'|'By Pamela Barbaglia and Martinne Geller - LONDON LONDON European private equity firm Investindustrial has invited the investment vehicle of Alibaba''s ( BABA.N ) founder Jack Ma to join a consortium offering to buy L''Oreal''s ( OREP.PA ) The Body Shop for more than 800 million euros ($900 million), sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.Hong Kong-based Blue Pool Capital has been asked to team up with Investindustrial and Brazil''s GP Investments ( GPIV33.SA ), one of Latin America''s largest private equity funds in making a bid for the British-based cosmetics retailer, the sources said.European private equity fund CVC Capital Partners [CVC.UL] is also planning to submit a rival offer ahead of a June 7 deadline for final bids.Another buyout firm, Advent, has decided to drop out of the contest, the sources said.L''Oreal has asked prospective bidders to table offers of no less than 800 million euros, said the sources.L''Oreal, Investindustrial and GP Investments declined to comment while no one at Blue Pool Capital was available for comment outside of regular business hours.Spokesmen at Advent and CVC all declined to comment.(Reporting By Pamela Barbaglia; Editing by Greg Mahlich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-jackma-loreal-idINKBN18T2IU'|'2017-06-02T15:09:00.000+03:00' +'acb6199c64f504f5d3d43d7db4b25a4a3de9fb24'|'Carl Icahn to fund former Sargon co-manager Schechter''s new venture'|'Billionaire Carl Icahn''s investment firm, Icahn Enterprises LP ( IEP.O ), said on Monday it had entered an agreement with the former co-manager of its Sargon Portfolio, David Schechter, to fund his new private investment management business.Last year, Icahn''s son, Brett Icahn, and David Schechter had said they would no longer be co-managers of the portfolio, and would instead stay on as consultants to exclusively advise Carl Icahn.With the new agreement, the consulting agreement between Icahn Enterprises and Schechter would be terminated, while the one with Brett Icahn would remain.(Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-icahn-enter-moves-schechter-idINKBN19H2J0'|'2017-06-26T18:59:00.000+03:00' +'b268ebbb6d3c1cb188be8e8e095bed2bb0013aeb'|'Valeant in talks to sell eye-surgery assets to Carl Zeiss: Bloomberg'|'Canadian drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc ( VRX.TO ) ( VRX.N ) is in talks to sell its Bausch & Lomb unit''s surgical products business to Germany''s Carl Zeiss Meditec AG ( AFXG.DE ), Bloomberg reported.Valeant''s eye-surgery assets may be valued at about $2 billion in a sale, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. ( bloom.bg/2sckufc )"We don''t comment on speculation or rumors," Valeant spokeswoman Lainie Keller said in an email. Carl Zeiss was not available for comment.Valeant, under Chief Executive Joe Papa, has been focusing on its dermatology, eyecare and gastrointestinal units while selling off some other assets as it looks to pay down about $30 billion in debt, racked up after years of acquisitions.Bloomberg said talks between the companies were ongoing and that other bidders could still be interested in the business.Valeant''s shares were up 2.9 percent at C$17.12 on the Toronto Stock Exchange in early trading on Tuesday.(Reporting by Ahmed Farhatha in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-valeant-pharm-in-divestiture-idINKBN18X1N1'|'2017-06-06T11:48:00.000+03:00' +'e5d19385b280f15a9ffc18dfb3e895db5daefa3d'|'UBER BOARD ADOPTS RECOMMENDATION TO ADD ADDITIONAL BOARD SEATS, CONSIDER APPOINTING INDEPENDENT CHAIR- REPORT'|'Funds News 16pm EDT UBER BOARD ADOPTS RECOMMENDATION TO ADD ADDITIONAL BOARD SEATS, CONSIDER APPOINTING INDEPENDENT CHAIR- REPORT UBER BOARD ADOPTS RECOMMENDATION TO ADD ADDITIONAL BOARD SEATS, CONSIDER APPOINTING INDEPENDENT CHAIR- REPORT NEW YORK, June 13 Large investors, whose high exposure to large-cap technology stocks boosted their returns during the first quarter of the year, are doubling down on their investments even as stocks like Apple Inc and Facebook Inc stumble. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/uber-board-adopts-recommendation-to-add-idUSL1N1JA18H'|'2017-06-14T01:16:00.000+03:00' +'3a795a867e6356091f4f0f5224a34228146584a9'|'Sharp to apply for relisting on TSE''s first section'|' 4:03am BST Sharp to apply for relisting on TSE''s first section FILE PHOTO : A logo of Sharp Corp is pictured at CEATEC (Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies) JAPAN 2016 at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan, October 3, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo TOKYO Sharp Corp will apply for relisting on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the company said on Tuesday, underlining its recovery under Taiwanese owner Foxconn. The application for relisting will be made on June 29th or 30th, the company said. Sharp''s shares jumped as much as 4.1 percent to 406 yen in morning trading in Tokyo. The electronics maker''s shares were moved to the TSE''s second section last August after it fell into negative net worth. Sharp has since returned to positive net assets after a capital infusion by Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, and is forecasting its first annual net profit in four years. (Reporting by Sam Nussey; Editing by Stephen Coates)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sharp-stocks-idUKKBN19B085'|'2017-06-20T11:03:00.000+03:00' +'0ad609bac4ba03952e061faff593fe72a6f7661d'|'Credit card losses set to climb industrywide - JPMorgan''s Smith'|'Tue Jun 13, 2017 - 10:24pm BST Credit card losses set to climb industrywide - JPMorgan''s Smith Computer chips are seen on newly-issued credit cards in this photo illustration taken in Encinitas, California September 28, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Blake U.S. credit card losses are likely to rise at JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ) and across the industry, Gordon Smith, head of the bank''s consumer businesses, said at a conference Tuesday. Smith said the largest U.S. bank is being "surgical" in determining where to tighten credit standards but he added that lenders industrywide ought to be leaning toward stricter credit card lending standards rather than looser ones. (Reporting by Dan Freed; Editing by David Gregorio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-banks-conference-jpmorgan-idUKKBN1942UM'|'2017-06-14T05:23:00.000+03:00' +'c8ba04a4cfdb44c019c5819a33e882bd3dbc09f6'|'Emaar to launch IPO of real estate development business by November: Al Arabiya TV'|'DUBAI Dubai-based Emaar Properties EMAR.DU plans to launch the initial public offering (IPO) of its real estate development business by November, Emaar''s chairman Mohamed Alabbar told Al Arabiya TV on Thursday.Emaar, whose interests span hotels, entertainment and shopping malls, said on Wednesday it had decided to list the real estate development business in Dubai to maximize value for shareholders, which would be in line with its strategy of separating its businesses into listed companies.Alabbar said the board of directors was discussing distributing 100 percent of funds from the sale of up to 30 percent of the shares of the real estate development business to shareholders of Emaar Properties.The company floated Emaar Malls in 2014, valuing the business at 37.7 billion dirhams ($10.27 billion).When asked by the channel if the valuation was close to the value of Emaar Malls, Alabbar said he expected the numbers to be close."We are still in the beginning, we are working with Goldman (Sachs) on this process," he said.Goldman Sachs declined to comment.(Reporting by Reem Shamseddine and Saeed Azhar; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-emaar-properties-ipo-idUSKBN18Z1YV'|'2017-06-08T18:23:00.000+03:00' +'47ec515a1894e17fcaf1fe5bd1ff8b31d5bb87a2'|'UK''s Bunzl sees rise in H1 revenue, more acquisitions'|' 8:29am BST UK''s Bunzl sees rise in H1 revenue, more acquisitions By Noor Zainab Hussain and Esha Vaish British business supplies distributor Bunzl Plc ( BNZL.L ) estimated a 7 percent increase in first-half revenue at constant currency, as a boost from recent acquisitions continued to play out over the second quarter. Shares in Bunzl rose 1.3 percent at 2,339 pence, making it the biggest gainer on London''s blue-chip index .FTSE . Underlying revenue growth in the range of 3 percent to 4 percent for the six months ending June 30 was mainly due to the additional business won, albeit at lower margins, in North America towards the end of 2016. Revenue grew 19 percent after accounting for currency fluctuations, Bunzl said, beating estimates from at least three analysts. The company, which supplies products ranging from safety gear for builders and packaging materials for supermarkets, said it had bought three more businesses in Spain and Canada, adding acquisitions continued to be an important part its growth strategy. Bunzl, which buys smaller businesses to expand its operations or enter new markets and uses its scale to then drive growth, added it had made eight acquisitions this year, spending about 290 million pounds and adding revenue of 370 million pounds annually. "With a promising pipeline of additional opportunities, I would expect us to complete further acquisitions as the year progresses," Chief Executive Officer Frank van Zanten said. Bunzl said in August it was still keen on purchasing smaller businesses in the UK as Britain had not become any less attractive since its move to leave the European Union. The company has made more than 136 acquisitions globally since 2004, spending on average 194 million pounds annually. The three acquisitions in Spain and Canada, coupled with an active acquisitions pipeline, suggest earnings will continue to be supported by deal flow, Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a note. As a supplier of low-value products such as carrier bags and toilet rolls to supermarkets, hospitals and hotels, Bunzl is more exposed to consumer spending than most of its support services peers that contract orders from large private firms and public budgets. Consumer confidence in the UK is beginning to slide, hitting the sales of general retailers. However, most of Bunzl''s revenue comes from North America. Bunzl said in February that it expected its U.S. business to see an uplift from President Donald Trump''s plan to encourage businesses to manufacture more locally. (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain and Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bunzl-outlook-idUKKBN19J0LP'|'2017-06-28T10:29:00.000+03:00' +'274a3b774806986e95631a894de968f91f8655ee'|'Republicans debating remedies for corporate tax avoidance'|'By David Morgan - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON President Donald Trump and Republican leaders in Congress will soon confront a complex challenge for tax reform: how to limit U.S. corporate tax avoidance schemes that take advantage of low tax rates in foreign countries.Congressional and administration staff have begun to examine options to address profit-shifting schemes that include so-called transfer pricing, earnings stripping and tax inversions.A decision on how to handle these in tax legislation could come before Congress leaves town for its one-week July 4 recess on June 29, officials and lobbyists said.Lawmakers say the current tax code incentivizes profit shifting overseas because of the high 35 percent U.S. corporate income tax rate and rules that allow companies to hold profits abroad tax free until returned to U.S. soil.Without effective measures against tax avoidance, experts and lobbyists said tax legislation could trigger a new exodus of income and assets abroad. Because Trump and Republicans in Congress also want to end U.S. taxes on foreign earnings, companies could eliminate their U.S. tax bills altogether without restrictions.Tax reduction strategies have been employed for decades by companies including Microsoft Corp ( MSFT.O ), Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) and Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ).Independent analysts estimate the federal government misses out on more than $100 billion a year in corporate tax revenues as a result of tax reduction maneuvers. That is equal to one-third of the $300 billion in annual corporate tax revenues.Many schemes seek lower corporate tax bills through "transfer pricing" - using transactions between business units to shift income abroad. The shift often coincides with the transfer of intangible assets such as intellectual property to low-tax nations where companies can expect single-digit tax rates.Last week, Senate Finance Committee Democrats asked Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to leave in place regulations adopted under President Barack Obama to combat earnings stripping and tax inversions.Companies use earnings stripping to shift income abroad as tax-deductible interest payments to foreign affiliates.Inversions are international mergers in which U.S. companies move their headquarters to foreign countries with low taxes, if only on paper, to lower their U.S. tax bills.Companies have accumulated some $2.6 trillion in abroad, equivalent to more than three-quarters of the $3.3 trillion in annual government receipts expected this year.BORDER-ADJUSTMENT TAXBut the most effective measures against corporate tax avoidance schemes, including House Speaker Paul Ryan''s controversial border-adjustment tax, or BAT, have proved unpopular, raising the possibility that tax legislation could simply cut the corporate tax rate to 15 percent to reduce the advantages offered by foreign tax havens.Aside from BAT, which taxes imports but not exports, tax reform discussions are also looking at a minimum tax on profits from tax havens, a tax on intangible income and other measures to discourage companies from shifting profits to low-tax countries where they do little actual business, according to aides and lobbyists.Lobbyists said none of the options have enjoyed consensus support in Congress. Meanwhile, the idea of a simple rate cut does not sit well with House Republican leaders."Even with a low rate, we''ll continue to see U.S. jobs and research and headquarters move overseas," said House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, a leading BAT proponent.Experts warn that the 15 percent rate sought by Trump is well above a 5 percent effective rate that some corporations pay in countries like Ireland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.Brady and Ryan are expected to address the issue in coming weeks with Mnuchin, White House economic adviser Gary Cohn, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch. The six are trying to forge legislation that could be unveiled as early as September.Trump has pledged the biggest tax overhaul since Ronald Reagan. But Republican infighting over healthcare has delayed the timetable.(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-tax-idINKBN1990HC'|'2017-06-18T09:07:00.000+03:00' +'ffeef82f6fbd78c69ea2d7f6e3805fefd0437ade'|'Ford''s China move casts new cloud on Mexican carmaking'|'Autos 5:06pm BST Ford''s China move casts new cloud on Mexican carmaking An employee uses a laptop next to a car body at an assembly line at a Ford manufacturing plant in Chongqing municipality April 20, 2012. REUTERS/Stringer By Stefanie Eschenbacher and Dave Graham - MEXICO CITY MEXICO CITY A second U-turn this year by Ford Motor Co ( F.N ) in Mexico has raised the spectre of Chinese competition for local carmaking, adding to pressure on the industry after repeated threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to saddle it with punitive tariffs. Ford announced on Tuesday it would move some production of its Focus small car to China instead of Mexico, a step that follows the U.S. automaker''s January cancellation of a planned $1.8 billion plant in the central state of San Luis Potosi. The scrapping of the Ford plant was a bitter blow, coming after U.S. President Donald Trump had blamed the country for hollowing out U.S manufacturing on the campaign trail, and threatened to impose hefty tariffs on cars made in Mexico. Since then, rhetoric from the Trump administration has become more conciliatory, and Mexico and the United States have expressed confidence that the renegotiation of the NAFTA trade deal, expected to begin in August, could benefit both nations. But the loss of the Focus business is an unwelcome reminder of competition Mexico faces from Asia at a time China''s auto exports and the quality of its cars are rising. "For a long time, the quality of vehicles coming out of China was not to global standards. There was a gap in quality that (favoured) Mexico - but that is closing," said Philippe Houchois, an analyst covering the auto industry at investment bank Jefferies. "That is probably a threat to Mexico." In the past decade, global automakers have invested heavily in Chinese factories to make them capable of building cars at quality levels that make the grade in developed markets. Ford''s decision to shift Focus production for the United States market to China from Mexico shows automakers have increasing flexibility to choose between the two countries to supply niche vehicles to American consumers or other markets. ''VERY TROUBLING'' Demand for small cars in the United States is waning and General Motors Co ( GM.N ) faces a similar situation to Ford''s with its Chevrolet Cruze compact. Were GM to go down the same path with the Cruze and shift its production out of U.S. factories, it could give more work to its Mexican plants - but might also bring its Chinese operations in Shenyang or Yantai into play. "The Cruze is a global product that is built in multiple GM plants around the world, including the U.S.," said GM spokesman Pat Morrissey. "Our general philosophy is that we like to build where we sell." Studies show Mexican manufacturing is competitive, and business leaders believe that NAFTA talks between Mexico, the United States and Canada could ultimately yield tougher regional content rules for the region that benefit local investment. Ford said its decision balanced cheaper Chinese labour rates against pricier shipping, but that in the end an already-planned refit of its Chinese factory saved it some $500 million over retooling both that facility and its Hermosillo plant in Mexico. The volatile state of U.S.-Mexican trade relations also carries big risks if Trump renews his threats to impose 35-percent tariffs on cars made in Mexico. To be sure, Trump has also threatened to levy 45-percent tariffs on Chinese goods and his Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said he found Ford''s China move "very troubling." Trump''s threats have battered the peso, ironically making Mexico''s goods cheaper. Uncertainty over the future of NAFTA pushed the currency to a record low in January, although it has since rebounded. That same month, the Boston Consulting Group published an assessment of manufacturing competitiveness that gave Mexico an 11-percent lead over China. That advantage has prompted global firms to plow billions of dollars into the Mexican auto industry, pushing output to record highs. Some officials in the automotive sector painted Ford''s move as a one-off decision. "There''s still very dynamic investment and growth in plants," said Alfredo Arzola, director of the automotive cluster in Guanajuato state, one of Mexico''s top carmaking hubs. Still, there have been "significant quality improvements" in Chinese cars, consultancy J.D. Power said in a 2016 study. Chinese car manufacturing could catch up with international standards in China by 2018 or 2019, said Jacob George, general manager of J.D. Power''s Asia Pacific Operations, citing the consultancy''s gauge of "hard quality", or failures. However, when measured in terms of "perceptual" quality, China was probably still some 4 to 6 years behind, he added. (Additional reporting by Joe White and Paul Lienert in Detroit; Editing by Christian Plumb and Nick Zieminski)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ford-motor-mexico-idUKKBN19E1W2'|'2017-06-24T00:06:00.000+03:00' +'c951f674927102aaa5b6249264b13767996b4020'|'EU regulators say Qualcomm has not offered concessions in NXP bid'|'BRUSSELS, June 2 U.S. smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm has not offered any concessions so far in its $38-billion bid for NXP Semiconductors, EU antitrust regulators said on Friday, increasing the risk of a lengthy investigation into the deal.Qualcomm, which supplies chips to Android smartphone makers and Apple, had until June 1 to propose concessions to allay possible competition concerns over the biggest-ever deal in the semiconductor industry.The EU competition authority''s preliminary review of the deal ends on June 9. It can either clear the deal unconditionally or open an investigation lasting up to four months.During an investigation, Qualcomm could seek to convince regulators that the deal was not anti-competitive. Failing that, it might have to offer concessions.Rivals had urged the European Commission to ensure they would still be able to use NXP technology known as Mifare once the deal is done, people familiar with the matter said. .The technology is embedded in access cards for buildings and public transport, as well as mobile phones which double as electronic wallets. Competitors also want Qualcomm to agree to fair licensing practices, the people said. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Edmund Blair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/nxp-ma-qualcomm-eu-idINL8N1IZ1UR'|'2017-06-02T07:20:00.000+03:00' +'1e072ba8a8a4ef92ab1ee0f2140bf045415fa983'|'UPDATE 1-Ford to export next Focus from China to U.S. in 2019 -exec'|'Autos 2:49pm EDT Ford bets on low oil prices, moves Focus production to China The Ford logo is seen on a car in a park lot in Sao Paulo, Brazil June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker - RTX38PH6 By Paul Lienert and David Shepardson - DETROIT/WASHINGTON DETROIT/WASHINGTON Ford Motor Co ( F.N ) said Tuesday it will move some production of its Focus small car to China and import the vehicles to the United States in a long-term bet on low oil prices and stable U.S.-China trade relations despite recent tensions. The move suggests China could play a much larger role in future vehicle production for North America, perhaps eclipsing Mexico as a low-cost manufacturing source. Ford painted the production shift from Mexico to China, slated in mid-2019, as a purely financial move that will save the company $500 million in reduced tooling costs. But Ford also expects to ship about 80,000 vehicles to China this year, including the redesigned Lincoln Navigator that goes into production this fall at Ford''s Kentucky truck plant. Ford''s decision to import its first vehicles from China is also the first major manufacturing investment decision made by new Chief Executive Jim Hackett, who succeeded Mark Fields in May. Discussion about the small-car production shift from Mexico to China began "a couple months ago" under Fields, said Joe Hinrichs, president of global operations. The decision also signals a shift in strategy at Ford, which is responding to dwindling U.S. consumer demand for small cars in favor of more expensive and more profitable trucks and SUVs. Ford on Tuesday said it would invest $900 million at the Kentucky truck plant to build the redesigned Navigator and Ford Expedition. It has contingency plans to build more of the big SUVs at an Ohio plant if demand grows. In January, after U.S. President Donald Trump criticized Ford for shipping small-car manufacturing to Mexico, Ford said it would kill plans to build a $1.8-billion Focus plant in San Luis Potosi and instead produce the new Focus at an existing plant in Hermosillo. "The Ford decision shows how flexible multinational companies are in terms of geography," Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement. Although it is cheaper to build and ship cars to the United States from Mexico than China, "this was not a variable cost decision," Hinrichs said in a Tuesday morning briefing. "It allows us to free up a lot of capital" because Ford now has to retool only one plant - the existing Focus factory in Chongqing - rather than two to supply North America. The current Focus will be phased out of production in Wayne, Michigan in mid-2018, according to Hinrichs. The Wayne plant will begin building a new Ranger midsize truck in late 2018 and a Bronco midsize SUV in 2020. Ford executives told Trump last year that moving production to Michigan of bigger vehicles that were more profitable would secure the Wayne plant''s future - a decision later praised by Trump. No U.S. jobs will be affected by shifting Focus production to China, Ford said, adding that it employs more U.S. hourly workers and builds more vehicles in the United States than any other automaker. The United Auto Workers declined to comment. Hinrichs said "the capital saving outweighs the risk" of having to pay a potential border tax on the Chinese-built Focus. Ford U.S. Focus sales have fallen 22 percent this year, as low gas prices have helped spur more buyers into larger vehicles. Ford''s full-size F-series pick-up remains the best-selling U.S. vehicle by a wide margin. General Motors Co ( GM.N ) has been exporting Buick and Cadillac cars from China to the United States, as has Volvo Cars, a unit of Chinese automaker Geely ( 0175.HK ). Ford shares were down 0.8 percent at $11.15 in late trading. (Reporting by Paul Lienert in Detroit, additional reporting by Steve Holland; editing by Nick Zieminski)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ford-china-idUSKBN19B1RO'|'2017-06-20T20:48:00.000+03:00' +'8831e6c61b2ba94e10adbdf3b7cb8d7251314fa7'|'CK Hutchison says Li Ka-shing will announce retirement "when he decides"'|'Business News - Tue Jun 20, 2017 - 5:56am BST CK Hutchison says Li Ka-shing will announce retirement "when he decides" FILE PHOTO: Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing attends a news conference announcing CK Hutchison Holdings company results in Hong Kong, China March 22, 2017. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo HONG KONG Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd said on Tuesday its chairman Li Ka-shing was in "very good health" and would make an announcement when he decides to step down. The group made the statement in response to a Wall Street Journal report that Li told associates he plans to step down as chairman by next year, when he turns 90. "Mr Li has from time to time talked about his retirement and his confidence in (deputy chairman) Victor (Li Tzar-kuoi) to lead the company," a company spokesman said in an email. "Mr Li is in very good health and will make his official announcement when he decides to retire." (Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Clara Ferreira Marques) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hongkong-li-kashing-idUKKBN19B0C1'|'2017-06-20T12:56:00.000+03:00' +'ee5a832fe136be438360d9bd6c2807b58cdf3c21'|'Silk Road hub or tax haven? China''s new border trade zone may be less than it seems'|'Mon Jun 5, 2017 - 12:25am BST Silk Road hub or tax haven? China''s new border trade zone may be less than it seems left right FILE PHOTO: Empty trailers for housing workers at the site of the gold and copper mine exploration project of Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) are seen in this undated photo in Reko Diq, in Balochistan, Pakistan. REUTERS/Faisal Aziz/File Photo 1/16 left right A view of a rail mounted gantry crane is seen at the Khorgos Eastern Gateway in Khorgos, Kazakhstan May 17, 2017. Picture taken May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Sue-Lin Wong 2/16 left right Cranes are seen in Horgos, China May 19 2017. Picture taken May 19, 2017. REUTERS/Sue-Lin Wong 3/16 left right Asset Seisenbek, head of the commercial department at the Khorgos Gateway dry port, is seen in Khorgos, Kazakhstan May 17, 2017. Picture taken May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Sue-Lin Wong 4/16 left right Sultan Dzhumanov, a cook from Kazakhstan, prepares pilaf at Chinese part of the China-Kazakhstan Horgos International Border Cooperation Center (ICBC), in Horgos, China May 12, 2017. Picture taken May 12, 2017. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov 5/16 left right Sultan Dzhumanov, a cook from Kazakhstan, prepares pilaf at Chinese part of the China-Kazakhstan Horgos International Border Cooperation Center (ICBC), in Horgos, China May 12, 2017. Picture taken May 12, 2017. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov 6/16 left right People stand with goods on the Chinese side of the China-Kazakhstan Horgos International Border Cooperation Center (ICBC), in Horgos, China May 19, 2017. Picture taken May 19, 2017. REUTERS/Sue-Lin Wong 7/16 left right People stand with goods on the Chinese side of the China-Kazakhstan Horgos International Border Cooperation Center (ICBC), in Horgos, China May 19, 2017. Picture taken May 19, 2017. REUTERS/Sue-Lin Wong 8/16 left right A man cooks a traditional Uyghur rice dish on the Chinese side of the China-Kazakhstan Horgos International Border Cooperation Center (ICBC), in Horgos, China May 19, 2017. Picture taken May 19, 2017. REUTERS/Sue-Lin Wong 9/16 left right A bottle of wine depicting Soviet dictator Josef Stalin is seen in a window of winery shop at Chinese part of the China-Kazakhstan Horgos International Border Cooperation Center (ICBC), in Horgos, China May 12, 2017. Picture taken May 12, 2017. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov 10/16 left right A truck rides in front of main towers at he China-Kazakhstan Horgos International Border Cooperation Center (ICBC), in Horgos, China May 12, 2017. Picture taken May 12, 2017. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov 11/16 left right A construction site is seen in Horgos, China May 19, 2017. Picture taken May 19, 2017. REUTERS/Sue-Lin Wong 12/16 left right Construction site is seen at Chinese side of the China-Kazakhstan Khorgos International Border Cooperation Center (ICBC), in Khorgos, China May 12, 2017. Picture taken May 12, 2017. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov 13/16 left right Customers wait near a line dividing Kazakh and Chinese parts at the China-Kazakhstan Khorgos International Border Cooperation Center (ICBC), in Khorgos, China May 12, 2017. Picture taken May 12, 2017. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov 14/16 left right A cleaning worker walks in front of a House of Culture at Chinese part of the China-Kazakhstan Horgos International Border Cooperation Center (ICBC), in Horgos, China May 12, 2017. Picture taken May 12, 2017. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov 15/16 left right A man cooks a traditional Uyghur rice dish on the Chinese side of the China-Kazakhstan Horgos International Border Cooperation Center (ICBC), in Horgos, China May 19, 2017. Picture taken May 19, 2017. REUTERS/Sue-Lin Wong 16/16 By Sue-Lin Wong and Mariya Gordeyeva - HORGOS, China/KHORGOS, Kazakhstan HORGOS, China/KHORGOS, Kazakhstan On the border of China and Kazakhstan, an international free trade zone has become a showpiece of Chinese President Xi Jinping''s signature "Belt and Road" Initiative to boost global trade and commerce by improving infrastructure and connectivity. Chinese state media are filled with stories about the stunning success of Horgos, the youngest city of China''s new Silk Road. Last month at China''s Belt and Road Summit - its biggest diplomatic event of the year - promotional videos about Horgos'' booming economy ran on a loop at the press centre. But Chinese business owners and prospective investors who had recently visited the China-Kazakhstan Horgos International Border Cooperation Center (ICBC), told Reuters they were disappointed by the disconnect between the hype and reality. Rather than the vibrant 21st Century trading post of Beijing''s grand vision, Horgos is instead developing a reputation as China''s very own tax haven. "We were so unimpressed by what we saw that after looking around for three hours, we turned around and drove eight hours straight back to Urumqi," said a businessman from the capital of China''s far western region of Xianjiang, who only wanted to give his surname, Ma, due to the sensitivity of the topic. Several business owners echoed complaints about poor design and low visitor numbers made by Ma, who visited Horgos to investigate the viability of opening a high-end clubhouse. "You''ve got Kazakh farmers walking around with plastic bags full of cheap Chinese t-shirts and you want me to open a club for government officials and businessmen to meet inside the zone - which, by the way, you can''t drive your car into and doesn''t have any five-star hotels?" Ma said. On the Chinese side of the border there are five malls selling cheap consumer goods, though traders complain there are not enough visitors. "Sometimes I''ll sit here for a whole day and not make a single sale," said Ma Yinggui, 56, who has a market stall selling clothes. "Some Kazakhs are rich but most are poor. They come and haggle over a 20 yuan ($2.93) t-shirt." More than five years after the 5.3 sq km trade zone opened, much of the Kazakh side remains empty. Only 25 of the 63 projects on the Kazakh side have investors, according to Ravil Budukov, ICBC press secretary on the Kazakh side. About 3-4,000 people enter from Kazakhstan each day and around 10,000 from China, he added. The Xinjiang and Horgos governments declined to make officials available for comment to Reuters for this article. Huang Sanping, a senior Xinjiang government official, told Reuters at a news conference in Beijing that he had just returned from a visit to Horgos, a city "performing extremely well. It''s full of vitality and flourishing". CHINA''S TAX HAVEN Beijing has bestowed numerous tax breaks and preferential policies on Horgos hoping to stimulate growth in this strategic border town in Xinjiang, a key link on the new Silk Road between China and Central Asia, where the government says it is battling to defeat Islamist extremism. According to Horgos'' tax bureau, 2,411 companies registered in Horgos last year, taking advantage of five years of no company tax, and a further five years paying half rate. At least half those companies are registered in Horgos solely for tax purposes, estimates Meng Shen, Director of Chanson & Co, a boutique investment bank in Beijing. Chinese celebrities are opting to register production companies in Horgos and an increasing number of financial services and IT companies are also registering there, according to Guan Xuemei from Shenzhou Shunliban, a tax advisory firm that recently opened an office there. But with no obligation to operate from Horgos or even in Xinjiang, it is unlikely this policy will create jobs or bring money to what has long been an economic backwater, say experts. "In theory this is a good policy because it aims to stimulate the local economy," said Shen. "But Beijing didn''t think through the fact lots of companies wouldn''t actually want to operate from Horgos which is very far away from China''s economic center." Those who do trade in the "free trade zone" find they face restrictions from both sides. The Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) - of which Kazakhstan is a member - limits traders from the Kazakh side to importing up to 50 kg (110 lbs) of any goods per month duty-free. China bans imports of many food products - the Kazakh goods most desired by Chinese consumers worried about food safety at home - and caps traders from taking more than 8,000 yuan ($1,175) worth of goods out each day. "The EEU is a significant barrier because Russia and Kazakhstan and other Central Asia countries want to develop their own industries, they don''t want to constantly rely on cheap Chinese goods," said a former Chinese government official turned businessman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Mao Shishi, 44, who currently raises cattle in nearby Qingshuihe, wants to import wool and wild herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine from Kazakhstan to China through Horgos. "I''m watching and waiting for any policy changes. Right now we can''t import lamb, fish or wild herbs into China," Mao said. LOGISTICS THOROUGHFARE Plans to develop a parallel special economic zone in Khorgos - as it is known on the Kazakh side - as a logistics hub appear to be having more success. Trade volumes are sky-rocketing at the Khorgos Gateway dry port in Kazakhstan, where container freight is lifted off Chinese trains and onto Kazakh ones because of different gauge rail tracks. "According to our plans, this year we are going to trans-ship around 100,000 TEUs, five times more than we are doing now," said Asset Seisenbek, head of the commercial department at Khorgos Gateway, referring to "twenty-foot equivalent units", an industry measure based on standard shipping container sizes. Electronics giants HP and Foxconn both ship goods through the dry port, which is faster than sea freight but cheaper than air cargo. One container sent by sea to Europe is about three times cheaper than rail, while air freight is between five to 10 times more expensive, according to Seisenbek. Last month China''s COSCO Shipping and Lianyungang port took a 49 percent stake in Khorgos Gateway which Seisenbek sees as an opportunity to attract more Chinese business. This sort of investment is what Horgos/Khorgos should hang its hat on, according to Ma, the businessman underwhelmed by the international free trade zone. "The free trade zone doesn''t need to be that successful if the intercontinental trains and roads take off," he said. "In the grand scheme of things, that''s the main role for this part of the world." ($1 = 6.8100 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Sue-Lin Wong from HORGOS, China and Mariya Gordeyeva from KHORGOS, Kazakhstan; Additional reporting by Olzhas Auyezov in ALMATY and Michael Martina in BEIJING; Editing by Alex Richardson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-silkroad-horgos-idUKKBN18V15Z'|'2017-06-05T07:21:00.000+03:00' +'97638b2139e35a0aabea1b42563ba02a813ff3c6'|'Fed''s Bullard: Need strong data to go it alone among global central banks'|'Company 34pm EDT Fed''s Bullard: Need strong data to go it alone among global central banks LONDON, June 29 The U.S. Federal Reserve needs to see strong economic data to have the confidence to keep tightening policy while other global central banks are maintaining easy monetary conditions, St. Louis Federal Reserve chief James Bullard said on Thursday. "The U.S. is kind of trying to go it alone...which we can do and we certainly have done historically," Bullard told an OMFIF event in London. "But if you want to go it alone in this environment you have to really have data that''s coming in strong behind you and justifying what you want to do." (Reporting by Ritvik Carvalho; Editing by John Geddie)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-fed-bullard-idUSU8N1CQ01L'|'2017-06-29T20:34:00.000+03:00' +'ee09c1afb2ae37ce610439db098551664cab919a'|'Blackstone sells Logicor to China Investment Corporation for $14 billion'|'LONDON Private equity group Blackstone ( BX.N ) has agreed to sell warehouse company Logicor to China Investment Corporation [CIC.UL] for 12.25 billion euros ($13.8 billion), the fund said on Friday.The sale, the biggest private equity real estate deal in Europe on record, has scuppered plans that were being worked on for a London initial public offering of Logicor later this year.Eastdil Secured and Goldman Sachs were lead advisors to Blackstone.(Reporting by Dasha Afanasieva; Editing by Rachel Armstrong)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-logicor-sale-blackstone-group-idINKBN18T2E8'|'2017-06-02T14:08:00.000+03:00' +'04976f2e2e890e401641c880f393202f2bb89c8e'|'Japan core machinery orders fall more than forecast in sign of economic fragility'|'By Tetsushi Kajimoto - TOKYO TOKYO Japan''s core machinery orders fell more than expected in April, casting doubt on the strength of companies'' capital spending andadding to concerns about the country''s fragile economic recovery.The 3.1 percent fall in the core orders from a month earlier was much bigger than the 1.3 percent decline expected by economists in a Reuters poll, potentially dragging on economic growth in the current quarter.It also marked the first drop in three months, following a 1.4 percent increase in March, the Cabinet Office data showed.Though the machinery order data, which excludes ships and orders from the electric power utilities, is highly volatile, it is regarded as an indicator of capital spending in the coming six to nine months.The reading follows a surprisingly sharp downward revision to first-quarter economic growth, as a reduction in inventories put annualised growth at 1.0 percent, much slower than the initially estimated 2.2 percent.More recently, a run of indicators and business activity surveys have pointed to still solid exports and factory output, although wage growth and household spending remain stubbornly sluggish despite a tightening job market.Policymakers are hoping that Japanese firms will tap their hefty profits to spur investment and boost wages to stoke a sustainable growth cycle."Capital expenditure will likely remain lacklustre in the current quarter," said Koya Miyamae, senior economist at SMBC Nikko Securities."Exports and factory output are performing well on the back of global economic recovery and a weak yen, but uncertainty over U.S. President (Donald) Trump''s trade policy makes Japanese firms hesitant about domestic investment."By sector, core orders from manufacturers rose 2.5 percent in April, up for a third straight month.The gains were led by orders from electrical machinery companies for semiconductor production equipment and computers, and all-purpose industrial machinery firms.Orders from the services sector fell 5.0 percent, dragged down by orders from financial and insurance firms for computer systems, down for a second consecutive month."The 3.1 percent may appear a big drop, but overall core orders held firm, centring on manufacturers," said a senior Cabinet Office official.Orders from manufacturers would have logged a double-digit gain if a one-off pullback in orders from nonferrous metal firms for nuclear-powered motors was excluded.Orders from abroad, which were not counted as core orders, jumped 17.4 percent in April, up for the first time in three months.The Cabinet Office stuck to its assessment of machinery orders, saying the pick-up was stalling, using the same assessment for an eighth straight month.Still, the Bank of Japan is set to upgrade its economic assessment as early as this week to signal its growing conviction the recovery is gathering momentum, people familiar with its thinking told Reuters last week.Such an upgrade would reinforce expectations that the BOJ''s next move would be to tighten monetary policy, though analysts do not expect it will begin to do so anytime soon.(Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Kim Coghill)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/japan-economy-orders-idINKBN1930AX'|'2017-06-12T02:24:00.000+03:00' +'db74ebb37a5ce44db796264823f6c39f7cd20773'|'Bulgaria to start talks with Sweden over warplane purchase'|'SOFIA, June 23 Bulgaria is to start talks to buy new Swedish Gripen warplanes to replace its Soviet-designed MiG-29s but will expect Sweden''s commitment on investments in the Balkan country before signing a deal, the prime minister said on Friday.The question of which warplanes Bulgaria should buy has been bounced around successive governments for more than a decade.Talks about the Sweden planes had looked to have been ditched last month when Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said an interim government should not have announced in April it would enter into negotiations.The interim government pledged to enter talks to buy eight new Gripens, made by SAAB, after approving a Defence Ministry-produced ranking which picked the Swedish jet over an offer from Portugal for secondhand U.S. F-16s and an Italian offer of secondhand Eurofighter Typhoons.But when Borissov took power, he said the previous government should not have made the call on a deal worth an estimated 1.5 billion levs ($858 million) as "the plane is not the most important thing in an army".Magnus Lewis-Olsson, Saab''s head of Europe, told reporters in Sofia last week it expected to enter into talks with Bulgarian within months, suggesting the deal was still alive, as confirmed by Borissov on Friday.Either next Wednesday or on Wednesday thereafter we will decide when to start negotiations (with Sweden), Borissov told reporters after meeting Sweden''s Prime Minister Stefan Lofven in Brussels.I told my Swedish colleague: we are making a decision, we are negotiating with you first, then with Eurofighter, he said, adding Bulgaria would sign the deal only after commitment about Swedish investments in the poorest European Union member.Lewis-Olsson said last week Saab was ready to discuss different financing options, including payments over a long period.Defence Minister Krassimir Karakachanov said on Friday Bulgaria would not buy the used F-16s from Portugal because the payment instalments in the first years were higher than expected.NATO member Bulgaria has said it wants to seal a deal by the year-end to acquire eight new or secondhand fighter jets between 2018 and 2022 in order to modernise its fleet and improve its compliance with the military alliance''s standards.Bulgaria joined NATO in 2004 and the European Union three years later. ($1 = 1.7483 leva) (Reporting by Angel Krasimirov; Editing by Alison Williams)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/bulgaria-defence-airplane-idINL8N1JK3DX'|'2017-06-23T12:53:00.000+03:00' +'f4fc5ae6866e8093d695df0b29a244cdc8796eda'|'Divide over listing location slows Aramco IPO - WSJ'|'Saudi Aramco''s IPO-ARMO.SE planned 2018 public share offering is being slowed down by a divide between Saudi Arabia''s ruling family and executives of the kingdom''s state oil company over where to list its shares, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.Aramco, formally known as Saudi Arabian Oil Co, was not immediately available for comment.Executives at Aramco are pushing Saudi Arabia''s king and his son, deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, on the merits of listing the giant state-owned oil company on the London Stock Exchange, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.Aramco executives believe that listing in the United States would expose the company to greater legal risks, including from potential class-action shareholder lawsuits, the newspaper said.But, according to the report, the Saudi Arabian royal court favours the New York Stock Exchange, in part because of the kingdom''s longstanding political ties to the United States, and because the U.S. market represents the deepest pool of capital in the world.Saudi authorities are aiming to list up to 5 percent of the world''s largest oil producer on both the Saudi stock exchange in Riyadh, the Tadawul, and one or more international markets in an IPO that could raise $100.(Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/saudi-aramco-ipo-idINKBN19531L'|'2017-06-14T18:44:00.000+03:00' +'10853d45e3f484f4095f6358779d8bd6b3d4d3a3'|'GE wins U.S. antitrust approval for Baker Hughes purchase'|'WASHINGTON General Electric Co ( GE.N ) won U.S. antitrust approval to merge its oil and gas business with Baker Hughes Inc ( BHI.N ), the Justice Department said on Monday.GE and Baker Hughes announced the deal in October, months after Halliburton''s effort to buy Baker Hughes collapsed under pressure from the Justice Department''s Antitrust Division. Under the agreement, GE will combine Baker Hughes with its oil and gas business to create a publicly traded company.Following news of the antitrust approval, shares of Baker Hughes added slightly to gains and were up 1.1 percent to $56.14.The deal was approved on condition that GE sell its Water & Process Technologies business, the department said. The asset sale was required because GE and Baker Hughes are two of four companies that sell refineries the specialized chemicals they need to remove impurities from hydrocarbons, the department said in a court filing.Baker Hughes has some 35 percent of the market for refinery process chemicals, while GE has about 20 percent, the department said in a court filing.(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Peter Cooney)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-baker-hughes-m-a-ge-idUSKBN1932B1'|'2017-06-13T03:15:00.000+03:00' +'a246674d253b09fbfaee49057c9577efee1eb0ea'|'Rising sales, loss-making store closures bring cheer to N Brown'|'Business News 32am BST Rising sales, loss-making store closures bring cheer to N Brown By Noor Zainab Hussain British plus-size fashion retailer N Brown Group Plc ( BWNG.L ) reported a 10 percent rise in first-quarter product revenue and said it would shutter up to five loss-making stores, sending its shares to their highest in more than a year. N Brown, whose brands target women aged 30 and above and those of a larger frame, said demand was strong for its women''s clothing and reported a 16 percent rise in online sales in the 13 weeks to June 3, amid a tough trading conditions that have hit retailers. Ladieswear and its Simply Be brand had a very strong period, with good responses to N Brown spring and summer campaigns, particularly JD Williams'' "Spring into Summer" and Simply Be''s "We Are Curves", the retailer said. Rival Bonmarche Holdings Plc ( BONB.L ), which makes women''s clothing in sizes 10-28, reported an almost 40 percent drop in full-year profit, and said the apparel market was hurt by lower demand, Britain''s move to leave the European Union and unseasonal weather patterns. Rising inflation and muted wage growth following the Brexit vote in June last year has forced consumers to rein in their spending. British retail sales posted their biggest quarterly fall in seven years in the first three months of 2017, hurt by rising prices following the Brexit vote, reinforcing views that household spending, the main driver of the UK economy, was slowing sharply. "Although the outlook for consumer confidence remains uncertain, our offering is resonating with customers," Chief Executive Angela Spindler said. Analysts at Jefferies nudged up their full-year 2018 pretax profit expectations for N Brown by 1 million pounds ($1.3 million) and pushed up 2019 estimates by 2 million pounds, accounting for the store closures. Analysts at Peel Hunt upgraded the stock to a "hold" from "reduce." N Brown said on Tuesday that it would close up to five Simply Be and Jacamo dual-fascia stores as a result of ongoing weak footfall in some locations. Together, these five stores contributed 5 million pounds to revenue, but accounted for the entire 2 million pounds operating loss of N Brown''s store estate in full year 2017, it said. The retailer expects the process to complete by the end of August and sees exceptional costs between 10 million pounds to 14 million pounds. Shares in N Brown were up 11.5 percent at 316.52 pence at 0753 GMT. ($1 = 0.7889 pounds)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-n-brown-outlook-idUKKBN19B0VU'|'2017-06-20T16:32:00.000+03:00' +'fc00113ed77cf22f0eb4fdefa24980fcd908fe8a'|'UK new car sales fall 8.5 percent in May ahead of election'|'Autos 31am BST UK new car sales fall 8.5 percent in May ahead of election Cars are displayed outside a showroom in west London October 4, 2013. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor LONDON British new car registrations fell 8.5 percent last month, an industry body said on Monday, blaming the decline on the run-up to this the effect of an April tax hike which boosted demand earlier in the year. Car sales dropped to 186,265 vehicles in May, with a 14 percent slump in demand to consumers and a 5.3 percent drop in fleet business registrations, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). "We expected demand in the new car market to remain negative in May due to the pull-forward to March," SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes said, referring to a rise in vehicle excise duty which boosted demand before it came into effect in April. "Added to this, the general election was always likely to give many pause for thought and affect purchasing patterns in the short term," he said. Demand for diesel continued to fall last month with demand down 20 percent, as a series of tax hikes in London and possible levies in other cities continued to dampen demand. (Reporting by Costas Pitas; Editing by William Schomberg)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-autos-idUKKBN18W0XF'|'2017-06-05T16:23:00.000+03:00' +'1ee3852a03953bf5f4d5f3478f15af319cf0939a'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'(Adds Freeport-McMoRan, Gateway Casinos, Wizz Air, Razen Energia, Delsey)June 14 The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Wednesday:** Swedish measurement technology and software firm Hexagon AB has held talks on a possible sale to a U.S. or European rival which could value the company at about $20 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.** A Japanese government-led consortium bidding for Toshiba Corp''s chip business will include South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix Inc, sources familiar with the matter said a move likely to add firepower to the group''s bid in the hotly contested auction.** Verizon Communications Inc said on Tuesday it closed its $4.48 billion acquisition of Yahoo Inc''s core business and that Marissa Mayer, chief executive of the internet company, had resigned.** The Brazilian government wants to speed up the privatization of Infraero, its agency responsible for operating the country''s main commercial airports, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.** Financial software and services provider SS&C Technologies Holdings Inc recently contacted several private equity firms to gauge interest in a buyout, Bloomberg reported.** Toyota Motor Corp may consider mergers or acquisitions to procure new automotive technologies, including self-driving technologies, the company''s president said, adding that it had to compete more aggressively against its rivals.** Freeport-McMoRan Inc, the world''s biggest publicly traded copper miner, and China Molybdenum Co Ltd (CMOC) have agreed to terminate discussions on CMOC''s acquisition of Freeport''s cobalt assets, Freeport said.** Glencore will pitch its $2.55 billion bid for Rio Tinto''s, Australian Coal & Allied unit directly to Rio Tinto''s board in Canada, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.** Canadian gaming company Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Ltd is in talks with Asia and North America investors for a sale-lease-back agreement for up to three Vancouver properties worth over C$500 million ($378 million), top company executives told Reuters.** Indigo Partners, the private equity firm managed by Bill Franke, the veteran U.S. low-cost airline investor, is selling its 18.7 percent stake in eastern European low-cost carrier Wizz Air, it said.** Dutch tycoon John de Mol has made a 300 million euro ($336 million) bid for Telegraaf Media Group (TMG) through his investment vehicle Talpa, the latest twist in a battle for control of the top-selling newspaper in the Netherlands.** China''s Fosun International Ltd joined the race for Faberge owner Gemfields Plc with an approach that valued the London-listed company at 225 million pounds ($288 million).** Brazil''s Razen Energia SA, the world''s largest sugar maker, is set to win on Friday a judicial auction for two sugar mills owned by Tonon Bioenergia SA, having made the highest bid, a manager at a group of cane producers told Reuters.** An auction for the French luggage brand Delsey has been called off by its private equity owners after failing to generate high enough bids from a handful of international suitors, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.** Six international companies and funds have made it to the second round of bidding for buyout group Permira''s 61.3 percent stake in Israeli irrigation firm Netafim, Israel''s Calcalist financial newspaper said.** Nordic telecom operator Telia Company is looking to sell part of its 25 percent stake in Russian mobile operator MegaFon, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. (Compiled by Diptendu Lahiri in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/deals-day-idINL3N1JB3ND'|'2017-06-14T18:40:00.000+03:00' +'d577873cc1a9c8c84847a31ee1c98ce71713a9f6'|'Irish finance minister to review ''rainy day fund'', backs new debt target'|'Business 1:47pm BST Irish finance minister to review ''rainy day fund'', backs new debt target FILE PHOTO - Irish Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe speaks during an interview with Reuters at the Ministry of Finance in Dublin, Ireland September 22, 2016. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/File Photo By Padraic Halpin - DUBLIN DUBLIN Ireland will review plans laid out last year to establish a contingency reserve by examining how much should be set aside each year and whether it should start in 2019 as planned, new Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe told Reuters on Saturday. Donohoe''s predecessor Michael Noonan had pledged to save 1 billion euros a year in the new "rainy day fund" once Ireland''s budget is balanced, arguing it was a crucial way to protect Ireland''s open economy from unforeseen events. The Sunday Business Post newspaper reported that new Prime Minister Leo Varadkar would scrap the plan, quoting him as saying a fund had merit "in the longer term" once a more ambitious capital investment plan had taken effect. "This is one of the concepts we will be examining now in the coming weeks and months. Leo never said he was against the rainy day fund, he merely and correctly asked questions regarding the rate at which we build it up and when we begin doing it," Donohoe said in an interview on the sidelines of a conference. "This is one of the options that I will be examining to see how we can deliver a meaningful capital plan." Ireland''s economy and population are growing faster than anywhere else in the European Union and Varadkar wants far greater investment in infrastructure after capital spending ground to a near halt during the financial crisis and remains among the lowest in the bloc. Noonan''s plans had laid out that, of the additional budgetary funds available from 2019-2021, more than twice as much would be saved in the rainy day fund as added to the capital budget. Donohoe said that Ireland''s demographics were so different to the European norm that if it did not generate the capacity to invest, it will impair the ability of the economy to grow and pose "really stark social challenges." Donohoe backed Varadkar''s plans to free up additional resources by setting a less ambitious debt reduction target than the one set last year, a policy that was questioned by the chief economist in Donohoe''s new department this week. The new finance minister said that he will outline plans in the coming weeks about how the government will maintain discipline in its current spending and deliver a balanced budget. Donohoe, who succeeded Noonan on Wednesday while also retaining his existing budgetary portfolio of public expenditure, also welcomed signs of a potential softening of Britain''s Brexit plans after meeting his British counterpart Philip Hammond at a meeting of EU finance minister on Friday. "My sense is that the form of Brexit that the British government is now considering due to the change in the House of Commons and due to the debate within the Conservative Party is now evolving," Donohoe said. "Certainly to hear now concepts of an open Brexit, a business friendly Brexit and a prudent or sensible Brexit is a development that could potentially help Ireland in responding back to the challenges that are coming up." (Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Adrian Croft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ireland-economy-idUKKBN1980G8'|'2017-06-17T20:47:00.000+03:00' +'82b99d93a113248aaf48ec1eeced8708736a884c'|'UK must speak up to preserve global markets role after Brexit: ICE CEO'|'LONDON Britain must show its support for markets with measures such as keeping taxes low if it wants to remain a top global financial center after Brexit, Intercontinental Exchange ( ICE.N ) Chairman and Chief Executive Jeff Sprecher said on Tuesday.He said he did not expect exchanges to be at the top of the UK government''s priority list in Brexit negotiations, but these businesses had been identified by other countries as being important for capital markets and job creation.It is unclear whether disruption to cross-border customer links can be avoided after Brexit, leaving banks, insurers, asset managers and exchanges based in London to consider new EU bases."To a certain extent, the UK has taken our presence here for granted," he told an IDX derivatives conference, and urged Britain''s government to show its support, such as by maintaining low tax and stable legal regimes.Markets were based in London because of stable regulation, taxes and predictable law, but it was not clear if this would continue in future, Sprecher said.Sprecher, whose company operates a derivatives exchange in London, said he was asked by France, Germany and the Netherlands if he wanted to build up a base on the continent after Britain leaves the European Union in 2019.Rival U.S. exchange CME ( CME.O ) is closing its UK-based trading platform and clearing house due to poor customer demand, though it continues to offer U.S.-based products in Europe.Sprecher said the CME''s decision was a "canary in the coalmine" that showed no exchange needed to be physically based in Britain.CME Group President Bryan Durkin said no UK government official had called him after the decision was announced. Government policy can impact not just where markets are based, but their "vibrancy and efficiency" as well, Durkin said.EURO CLEARINGThe EU''s executive European Commission is due this month to set out how and where euro denominated derivatives should be cleared after Brexit.The bulk of clearing is currently done in London by a London Stock Exchange ( LSE.L ) unit.The Futures Industry Association (FIA) said forcing a change in location would fragment markets and bump up costs. The amount of margin, or cash banks post in case a derivatives trade defaults, could nearly double from $83 billion to $160 billion, FIA Chief Executive Walt Lukken told the IDX conference."It''s important that we allow market forces to determine the appropriate location for euro clearing," Lukken said.Nevertheless, exchanges are quietly preparing for any shift in clearing, with ICE already getting its existing Dutch clearer ready."Brexit is going to fragment markets and will change the competitive landscape. We may see the hand of God move clients to different jurisdictions," Sprecher said."It feels pretty good right now in the face of Brexit to have continental European presence that is ready to accept business."Rival Eurex Clearing ( DB1Gn.DE ) in Frankfurt has also said it was ready to accept volumes from London.Finbarr Hutcheson, president of ICE''s benchmark unit, said if the EU forced a shift in euro clearing, the United States could retaliate by requiring dollar denominated clearing to be based in America.The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) has bought Bats, Europe''s biggest cross-border stock exchange, based in London.CBOE Chief Executive Ed Tilly said Brexit was an opportunity and he would decide in the second half of the year whether to open a second European base inside the EU27.(Reporting by Huw Jones, editing by Louise Heavens and Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-clearing-idUSKBN18X0S7'|'2017-06-06T15:20:00.000+03:00' +'b12c3351ef43e70a0e1c5c4ba498ea877083e7d6'|'Italian government decree for Veneto banks delayed to Sunday: source'|'Business News - Sat Jun 24, 2017 - 2:15pm EDT Italian government decree for Veneto banks delayed to Sunday: source left right FILE PHOTO: The Banca Popolare di Vicenza headquarters is seen in Vicenza, Italy, March 5, 2016. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: The logo of Veneto Banca bank is seen in Venice, Italy, January 31 2016. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo 2/2 MILAN An Italian government decree that will start liquidation proceedings for two ailing Veneto-based lenders, Banca Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca, is set to be delayed to Sunday, a government source said. A cabinet meeting to approve the decree had been due to take place on Saturday but the government is still working on the measure. The European Commission on Friday gave preliminary approval for the Italian plan to wind down the two banks with state money in a move that may allow Rome to solve its latest banking crisis on its own terms. The decree is expected to split the two lenders'' assets into "good" and "bad" banks. The country''s top retail bank Intesa Sanpaolo ( ISP.MI ) is set to buy the good assets for one euro, leaving the state to foot the bulk of the bill for losses stemming from the banks'' bad loans, legal risks and restructuring costs. (Reporting by Silvia Aloisi) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-banks-italy-veneto-idUSKBN19F0O6'|'2017-06-25T02:15:00.000+03:00' +'5acffc7602010935e70b08a02e0e21de3df1e57b'|'Japan Display delays investment in JOLED until at least 2018'|'TOKYO Japan Display said on Wednesday it was delaying its planned investment in organic light-emitting diode panel maker JOLED until next year at the earliest as it continues to overhaul its business strategy.The company had planned to reach an agreement by late June to buy shares in JOLED, whose largest investor is Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), and complete the purchase by the end of this year.It now aims to reach an agreement by late June 2018, with the purchase date yet to be determined, Japan Display said in a statement.(Reporting by Chris Gallagher; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-japan-display-overhaul-joled-idINKBN18Y0N6'|'2017-06-07T05:36:00.000+03:00' +'ab75040272ae7110f0f47f1fa491b55795455334'|'Verizon to incur $500 million in pre-tax costs from Yahoo deal'|' 23pm BST Verizon to incur $500 million in pre-tax costs from Yahoo deal A combination photo shows Yahoo logo in Rolle, Switzerland (top) in 2012 and a Verizon sign at a retail store in San Diego, California, U.S. In 2016. REUTERS/File Photos/ Verizon Communications Inc said on Thursday it expected to incur about $500 million in pre-tax expenses in the second quarter as a result of its $4.48 billion purchase of Yahoo Inc''s core business. The expenses are related to severance payments, acquisition and integration, Verizon said in a regulatory filing. bit.ly/2sDnZv7 Verizon also said it expected to save over $1 billion in operating costs through 2020 as a result of the Yahoo deal, which closed on Tuesday. (Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-yahoo-m-a-verizon-idUKKBN1961WC'|'2017-06-15T22:23:00.000+03:00' +'a99771b7f40b40348df1ac747a1f27bd02bb5b95'|'Qantas says still room for Emirates partnership on routes to Europe'|'Business 7:00pm BST Qantas says still room for Emirates partnership on routes to Europe Qantas aircraft are pictured on the tarmac of Sydney Airport in Australia, May 5, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Reed CANCUN, Mexico Australia''s biggest airline Qantas is still keen to work with Dubai-based Emirates on routes to Europe, even as it starts to open up more of its own routes, executives said on Tuesday. Qantas is bypassing Emirates'' hub Dubai on a new Perth-London flight and has indicated that it wants to fly to Paris and Frankfurt from Perth, in another challenge to Emirates. "Even when we start flying direct to London, still Dubai will play a big role," Qantas Group Chief Executive Alan Joyce told journalists at a briefing on the sidelines of an airline industry meeting in Mexico. "Emirates has 40 destinations in Europe. We''re never going to fly direct to places like Venice and Prague," he added. Qantas Group also sees big opportunities in China, both for its main brand and low-cost unit Jetstar. "It''s about to overtake New Zealand as the biggest inbound market into Australia," Gareth Evans, CEO of Qantas International. "Not all of that is profitable growth so we have to be careful on how we take that opportunity." On other partnerships, Qantas is planning within the next few months to refile an application for a joint venture with American Airlines ( AAL.O ) that would allow them to coordinate prices and flight schedules, Evans said. The pair''s application for a joint venture covering the United States, Australia and New Zealand markets was rejected in November under the Obama administration in the face of opposition from Hawaiian Airlines Inc and JetBlue Airways Corp. "My understanding is that it will take less time this time through, but we''ll have to wait and see," Evans said. (Reporting by Victoria Bryan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-airlines-iata-idUKKBN18X2F8'|'2017-06-07T02:00:00.000+03:00' +'276af66035d64a12e8e149aff9ece7aad0f2614f'|'Apple CEO touts India impact in push for deeper market access'|'Business News - Mon Jun 26, 2017 - 9:23pm BST Apple CEO touts India impact in push for deeper market access Tim Cook, CEO, speaks during Apple''s annual world wide developer conference (WWDC) in San Jose, California, U.S. June 5, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam By Stephen Nellis Apple CEO Tim Cook on Sunday highlighted the economic impact the company is having on India in a meeting with its prime minister as the iPhone maker seeks deeper access to the world''s third-largest smartphone market behind the United States and China. Cook met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a business summit in Washington at a time when Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) is targeting the nascent Indian market as a revenue source after its sales in China slipped. Apple has asked Indian government officials for a range of tax and policy changes to help build out its iPhone assembly work in the country. It is seeking permission to open its own retail stores in India where it currently sells iPhones through resellers. In his meeting with Modi, Cook disclosed that Apple expected its Indian operations to be run completely from renewable energy within the next six months, according to a person familiar with the discussion. Cook reiterated that Apple had generated 740,000 jobs in India through its so-called "app economy" and Indian developers had created nearly 100,000 apps for the App Store, the person said. Modi talked with Cook and other U.S. corporate leaders ahead of a meeting with President Donald Trump on Monday. Apple, working with contract manufacturer Winstron, began assembling the iPhone SE in Bengaluru last month. Indian authorities have offered Apple tax concessions for the work with the requirement that more local components be used over time. The company is looking to India after sales in the greater China region, once a major factor in Apple''s rise, fell 14 percent year over year to $10.7 billion in the most recent quarter. Apple has not disclosed how much revenue it generates in India but said that sales grew by "strong double digits" there in the most recent quarter. "We have a ton of energy going into the country on a number of fronts," Cook told analysts about Apple''s efforts in India during the company''s most recent earnings call. "We believe, particularly now that the 4G infrastructure is going in the country and it''s continuing to be expanded, there is a huge opportunity for Apple there." (Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Andrew Hay)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-apple-india-idUKKBN19H2GX'|'2017-06-27T04:23:00.000+03:00' +'e9c8e5bbb22ca8e4a5494f7367654ef219119bf2'|'How retailers are watching shoppers emotions'|'FOR eight months up to this April, a French bookstore chain had video in a Paris shop fed to software that scrutinises shoppers movements and facial expressions for surprise, dissatisfaction, confusion or hesitation. When a shopper walked to the end of an aisle only to return with a frown to a bookshelf, the software discreetly messaged clerks, who went to help. Sales rose by a tenth.The bookseller wants to keep its name quiet for now. Other French clients of the Paris startup behind the technology, Angus.ai, are testing it in research shops that are not open to the public. They include Aroports de Paris, an airport owner; LVMH, a luxury conglomerate; and Carrefour, a chain of hypermarkets. In a test at a Mothercare shop in Tallinn, Estonia, software from Realeyes, an emotion-detection firm based in London, showed that shoppers who entered smiling spent a third more than others. 2 3 5 7 Simple video yields a lot of insight. But there are far more sophisticated and initmate ways of learning about emotions of shoppers. Thermal-imaging cameras can detect the heart rate. Wirelessly captured data from smartphone accelerometers can suggest when shoppers become fascinated (movement often stops) or are fretting over prices (a phone is repeatedly raised to search for cheaper products online).For even more insights, shoppers are sometimes asked to don special kit, typically in exchange for a discount or other reward. Wearable galvanometer gadgets, for example, measure moisture and electrical resistance on hand skin to reveal arousal.All of this could be a chance, some say, for bricks-and-mortar retailers to trim the advantage that data have long given online sellers. A race is on to work out how best to collect and use emotions data, be it to improve packaging, displays, music, or the content and timing of sales pitches, says Rana June, chief executive of a firm in New York called Lightwave. It measures shoppers emotions for retailers, for malls, and for consumer-goods firms such as PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble and Unilever.Not everyone is impressed. Some find it all a little creepy. Nielsen, a consumer-research giant, deems using technology to work out shopper emotions en masse too avant-garde for now, says Ricardo Gutirrez, head of shopper insights at Nielsen Colombia in Bogot.But it is much cheaper than old-fashioned interviews. Nielsen charges roughly $10,000 to interview 25 shoppers about three products. Angus.ais service costs just 59 ($66) a month per camera. For $15,000 or so, iMotions, based in Copenhagen, gives retailers an EEG cap that detects brain activity, an eye-tracking headset that notes when an attractive object dilates pupils, and a galvanometer. iMotions 150 or so consumer-goods clients include Mondelez International, Nestl and Unilever, which use them in mock-up stores and real ones.Whats more, conventional market research can mislead. People typically edit verbal responses to make themselves sound rational, when purchases are often driven by subconscious emotions. The key is in tracking the unconscious things that shoppers do, says Jeff Hershey of VideoMining, a firm in Pennsylvania whose software also analyses store video. And surveys can also ask the wrong questionssuch as how much people like a product when what really matters, notes Simon Harrop of BrandSense, a consultancy in Britain, is whether, say, it makes them feel attractive.The notion of retail therapy, consumers driven to spend when they are feeling blue, is an obvious example of shoppings emotional side. Whichever store is first to work out how to spot mildly depressed customers could make a bundle. "Body language"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21723162-cctv-thermal-imaging-cameras-eeg-caps-and-other-kit-boost-sales-how-retailers-are-watching?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-06-08T22:46:00.000+03:00' +'f7eb02255a3aee3df776f1941be0128669f1ad10'|'UPDATE 1-Qatar Petroleum says business as usual despite diplomatic rift'|'Market News 10:12am EDT UPDATE 1-Qatar Petroleum says business as usual despite diplomatic rift (Adds background) RIYADH, June 10 Qatar Petroleum(QP) said on Saturday that it was conducting "business as usual" throughout its upstream, midstream and downstream operations, despite rising diplomatic tensions with its Gulf neighbours. QP was prepared to take any "necessary decisions and measures, should the need arise, to ensure that it honored commitments to customers and partners", the statement said. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and others severed diplomatic and transport links on Monday with Qatar, the world''s biggest LNG producer, accusing it of sponsoring terrorism. British gas prices spiked more than 4.5 percent on Thursday on concerns about how the rift could disrupt the global LNG trade, after two Qatari tankers that were likely bound for Britain changed course. Qatar''s LNG accounts for more than 30 percent of global trade. (Reporting by Tom Finn and Katie Paul; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/gulf-qatar-lng-idUSL8N1J70EI'|'2017-06-10T18:12:00.000+03:00' +'2e2eb85d6078fa0ebfcba03200ef34702a789d3b'|'Carigali and Ecopetrol win block in Mexico shallow water oil auction'|' 43pm EDT Carigali and Ecopetrol win block in Mexico shallow water oil auction MEXICO CITY, June 19 A consortium of Malaysia''s PC Carigali and Colombia''s Ecopetrol made the winning bid for the sixth shallow water oil and gas block put up for auction on Monday, Mexico''s oil regulator said. Block 6 is off the Gulf coast state of Veracruz, and includes estimated prospective resources of up to 516 million barrels of oil covering an area of 216 square miles (559 sq km). (Reporting by Adriana Barrera) EMERGING MARKETS-Brazil stocks track commodities higher, political worries linger By Bruno Federowski SAO PAULO, June 19 Brazilian stocks rose on Monday, supported by shares of miners and planemaker Embraer SA, though lingering concerns that a political crisis could delay structural reforms kept a lid on gains. Shares of miner Vale SA added the most points to Brazil''s benchmark Bovespa stock index, tracking iron ore futures higher. Embraer SA was the biggest gainer on the Bovespa as traders bet on fresh orders for the jetmaker at the start of the P BUENOS AIRES/LONDON, June 19 Argentina has offered a 100-year bond in U.S. dollars, the finance ministry said on Monday, only just over a year after the nation emerged from default. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/mexico-oil-sixth-idUSE1N1IP01F'|'2017-06-20T00:43:00.000+03:00' +'f07da135ad4bfda3ed91b97c0e2818123a616fc9'|'UPDATE 1-U.S. drillers add oil rigs for record 23rd week in a row -Baker Hughes'|'Commodities 35pm EDT U.S. drillers add oil rigs for record 23rd week in a row: Baker Hughes U.S. energy firms added oil rigs for a record 23rd week in a row, extending a year-long drilling recovery as producers boost spending on expectations crude prices will rise in future months despite this week''s decline to a 10-month low. Drillers added 11 oil rigs in the week to June 23, bringing the total count up to 758, the most since April 2015, energy services firm Baker Hughes Inc said in its closely followed report on Friday. That is more than double the same week a year ago when there were only 330 active oil rigs. Drillers have added rigs in 52 of the past 56 weeks since the start of June 2016. "The higher rig count this week reflects decisions made a couple of months ago when oil prices were higher," said James Williams, president of WTRG Economics in Arkansas, noting he expects the current low prices to cause the count to fall in some weeks over the next month or two. U.S. crude futures were trading around $43 per barrel, which puts the front-month on track for a fifth consecutive week of declines and close to a 10-month low as OPEC-led production cuts have failed to reduce a global crude glut. After agreeing in December to cut production by around 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) from January-June, OPEC and other producers in late May agreed to extend those cuts for another nine months through the end of March 2018. Analysts said those OPEC-led cuts were being frustrated by rising output from U.S. shale drillers and other producers hoping to capture higher oil prices in future months. Futures for the balance of 2017 were trading just over $43 a barrel, while calendar 2018 was fetching about $45 a barrel. Analysts said crude prices are likely to remain under pressure until there are signs the number of rigs drilling for oil in the United States is stabilizing or declining. U.S. producers are expected to increase output to 9.3 million bpd in 2017 and a record 10.0 million bpd in 2018 from 8.9 million bpd in 2016, according to federal projections. The biggest increase in rigs this week was in the Bakken formation in North Dakota where drillers added three rigs, bringing the total there to 52, the most since December 2015 and double the same week a year ago. "It''s not surprising the rig count has been rising in the Bakken because producers there will not see the full extent of the crude price drop we''ve had over the past month," Williams at WTRG said. "They just got access to a new pipeline, which will reduce the cost of transporting their crude by train," he said, referring to the Dakota Access pipeline that entered service at the start of June. The break even price for drilling new wells in the United States varies considerably among shale formations and even between different parts of the same play, but most analysts say producers need U.S. crude prices of $45-$50. However, consultancy Rystad Energy, which specializes in exploration and production, said wellhead break-evens average around $38 per barrel for the Bakken shale wells completed in 2016-2017. (Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Marguerita Choy)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-rigs-baker-hughes-idUSKBN19E20H'|'2017-06-24T02:33:00.000+03:00' +'ef291a81ac878dff31a0e435825815d0a3933881'|'Qatar launches new shipping routes to Oman amid food shortage fears'|'Business News 24am BST Qatar launches new shipping routes to Oman amid food shortage fears DOHA Qatar has launched two new shipping services to Omani ports after other Gulf states severed ties with Doha last week, raising concerns over food supplies to import-dependent Qatar. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Arab countries cut diplomatic as well as travel and trade ties with Qatar last week, accusing it of supporting Iran and funding Islamist groups. Doha denies the charges. The severing of air, sea and land transport links has closed off key import routes for Qatar and its population of around 2.7 million people. Thousands of shipping containers destined for Qatar are still stuck at Dubai''s Jebel Ali port, according to Qatari importers. Iran and Turkey have flown in food supplies to Qatar as the gas-rich country seeks other sources. Oman is a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council but takes a relatively independent diplomatic approach to the other five states in the bloc, particularly towards Iran. The two new services will each run three times a week between Qatar''s Hamad Port and Omani ports of Sohar in the north and Salalah in the south, Qatar Ports Management Company (Mwani), a Qatari shareholding company established in 2009, announced on Sunday. Doha has said the severing of trade and transport ties are hurting the country''s inhabitants. Mani Qatar posted a video on Twitter on Monday of a cargo ship arriving from Sohar port. (Reporting by John Davison; Editing by Sami Aboudi and Raissa Kasolowsky)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-gulf-qatar-ports-idUKKBN19312H'|'2017-06-12T18:24:00.000+03:00' +'584fbefab82771a4987a4424034ff513a67fe012'|'Bank of America to lay off more workers'|'Banks 30am BST Bank of America to lay off more workers The Bank of America building is shown in down town Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 6, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake By Dan Freed Bank of America Corp has begun laying off employees in its operations and technology division, part of the second-largest U.S. bank''s plan to cut costs. On Wednesday the bank cut jobs across that division, many of which came from its Charlotte, N.C., headquarters, a spokesman said. He would not specify the number of jobs lost. The cuts come as Bank of America is aiming to cut costs to boost financial targets Chief Executive Brian Moynihan has set. Although Bank of America is also hiring, the employees that it is trying to reduce cost more than those who are joining, Moynihan said at a conference last month. The bank has also been cutting costs by shuttering data centres and moving information to less costly systems run by technology firms. For any large bank, technology and operations costs run high. Old systems are reliable but dated, while new ones are expensive to develop. Separately, at a conference on Wednesday, Chief Operating Officer Tom Montag said the global banking and markets unit has roughly 1,300 applications that cost about $1.3 billion (1.02 billion pounds) to maintain and run. As the bank sorts through those platforms and decides which to eliminate, some jobs will be lost, said spokesman Dan Frahm. The Charlotte Observer first reported layoffs at Bank of America''s headquarters. (Reporting by Dan Freed in New York and Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bank-of-america-layoffs-idUKKBN1960AP'|'2017-06-15T12:30:00.000+03:00' +'55d5e7d13d607c68ef954e5c1066382ec06d1434'|'Incomes squeeze denied May a landslide now she must change course'|'Anyone seeking an explanation for the bloody nose received by the government in the election should start with wages, prices and living standards.Sure, the Conservatives fought a terrible campaign. True, Theresa Mays shortcomings were exposed. No question, the mobilisation of young voters by Labour played a big part in the result.But the bedrock of any successful election campaign is the state of the economy and, in particular, whether or not people are becoming better off . In May 2015, when David Cameron won, real incomes were rising. Currently, as the latest inflation figures show, voters are getting poorer.Britons feel the squeeze as inflation rises to four-year high of 2.9% Read more Cameron could hardly have chosen a better moment to go to the country. In the spring of 2015, the collapse in the oil price meant the annual inflation rate was hovering around zero. Average earnings were rising by almost 3% a year, which meant living standards were increasing by a similar amount.According to the Office for National Statistics, the annual inflation rate as measured by the consumer prices index was 2.9% in May, while earnings in the three months to April were 2.1% up on the same period a year earlier. The figures for May will be released on Wednesday, but are unlikely to show much change to the recent squeeze on living standards .The upward pressure on prices initially came from a recovery in oil prices, but has subsequently been the result of the fall in the value of the pound, which has made imports dearer . For a time, UK consumers were protected from the impact of the weakness of sterling because importers were hedged against currency movements. But those hedges have now expired, leaving retailers with little choice but to raise prices .Had May won the landslide she was clearly expecting , the government would have been able to ride out this difficult period. Inflation is likely to go up a bit further, but the ONSs separate figures for producer output prices , which measure the cost of goods leaving factory gates and provide a guide to inflationary pressure early in the pipeline, appear to have peaked. Moreover, weaker consumer spending will result in lower growth and this will eventually feed through into a fall in inflation.But May is a weakened prime minister heading a minority administration and she doesnt have time on her side. The government has recognised that voters are unhappy about falling living standards and have had enough of cuts. Deficit reduction will now play second fiddle to the need to raise real incomes, so expect a generous uplift in the minimum wage and an easing of curbs on public sector pay as signs that the age of austerity is over.Topics Economics Inflation General election 2017 Consumer spending Austerity Theresa May comment Reuse this content'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jun/13/incomes-theresa-may-inflation-conservatives-austerity'|'2017-06-13T22:06:00.000+03:00' +'32fe7b7fee461a776568e3370b5907fdeb624819'|'South Africa''s Sibanye says $1 rights issue oversubscribed'|'JOHANNESBURG Sibanye Gold''s ( SGLJ.J ) $1 billion rights issue, aimed at raising capital to help fund its acquisition of U.S. platinum producer Stillwater, was oversubscribed by almost five-fold, the company said on Monday.Such capital raising efforts are comparatively rare at the moment in South Africa''s troubled mining sector, which is beset by a range of challenges including policy uncertainty and labor and social unrest.But Sibanye, which has built a reputation on its dividend flow, is diversifying away from its home base with its Stillwater acquisition, reducing its exposure to the risks associated with doing business in South Africa.Those risks are underscored by a violent, wildcat strike unfolding at Sibanye''s Cooke operation west of Johannesburg, which was triggered by worker resentment at the company''s drive to root out illegal miners."Approximately 97 percent of shareholders subscribed for 1.2 billion new Sibanye shares in terms of the rights offer resulting in ... Excess applications were received for an additional 5.9 billion new shares, almost five times more than the rights offer shares available," Sibanye said.Offered at a discount of 60 percent to its closing price on May 17, the funds raised will repay a portion of a $2.65 billion loan facility it used to acquire Stillwater.Sibanye''s dividend yield is 5.64 percent, well above the 2.16 average of its South African peers, Reuters data shows.(Reporting by Ed Stoddard; editing by Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-sibanye-gold-issue-idINKBN1930JP'|'2017-06-12T06:19:00.000+03:00' +'d1dd45d581e50d5684502015b4addd4064cf9afa'|'WORLD NEWS SCHEDULE AT 1800 GMT/2 PM ET'|'Market 2:26pm EDT WORLD NEWS SCHEDULE AT 1800 GMT/2 PM ET Editor: Angus MacSwan +44 207 542 7923 Picture Desk: Singapore + 65 6870 3775 Graphics queries: + 65 6870 3595 (All times GMT/ET) TOP STORIES Iraqi forces free hundreds of civilians in Mosul Old City battles as death toll mounts MOSUL, Iraq - Iraqi forces open exit routes for hundreds of civilians to flee the Old City of Mosul as they battle to retake the quarter from Islamic State militants mounting a last stand in what was the de facto capital of their "caliphate". (MIDEAST-CRISIS/IRAQ-MOSUL (UPDATE 2, TV, PIX), moved, by Marius Bosch, 800 words) 15 dead, scores missing hours after landslide buries Chinese village BEIJING - Fifteen people were killed in a landslide in southwest China''s Sichuan Province on Saturday and about 100 were believed to be still buried in the debris and feared dead, state media said. (CHINA-LANDSLIDE/ (UPDATE 4, PIX, TV), moved, by Christian Shepherd, 358 words) London tower blocks evacuated as 27 buildings fail fire tests LONDON - Britain says 27 high-rise apartment blocks failed fire safety checks carried out after the deadly Grenfell Tower blaze, including several in north London where residents are forced to evacuate in chaotic scenes. (BRITAIN-FIRE/ (UPDATE 1, PIX, TV), moved, by Kate Holton and Jamillah Knowles, 607 words) UAE sees "parting of ways" if Qatar does not accept Arab demands DUBAI - A senior United Arab Emirates official says that if Qatar did not accept an ultimatum issued by fellow Arab states which imposed a boycott it, there would be a "parting of ways". (GULF-QATAR/ (UPDATE 2, PIX, TV), moved, by Aziz El Yaakoubi, 587 words) MIDDLE EAST Istanbul bans gay and transgender pride march for second year ISTANBUL - Istanbul''s governor bans a gay and transgender pride march which was due to take place in the city on Sunday, citing security concerns after threats from an ultra-nationalist group. (TURKEY-LGBT/PRIDE (UPDATE 1), moved, 279 words) EUROPE Under pressure, Western tech firms bow to Russian demands to share cyber secrets WASHINGTON/MOSCOW - Western technology companies, including Cisco, IBM and SAP, are acceding to demands by Moscow for access to closely guarded product security secrets, at a time when Russia is accused of a growing number of cyber attacks on West, a Reuters investigation finds. (USA-RUSSIA/TECH (UPDATE 2, INSIGHT, PIX, GRAPHIC), moved, by Joel Schectman, Dustin Volz and Jack Stubbs, 1,500 words) Arconic knowingly supplied flammable panels for use in tower -emails LONDON - Six emails sent by and to an Arconic Inc sales manager raise questions about why the company supplied combustible cladding to a distributor for use at Grenfell Tower, despite publicly warning such panels were a fire risk for tall buildings. (BRITAIN-FIRE/ARCONIC (UPDATE 1), by Tom Bergin, 977 words) British lawmakers hit by cyber security attack LONDON - Britain''s parliament is hit by a cyber attack in which hackers tried to access email accounts, just over a month after a ransomware worm crippled parts of the country''s health service. (BRITAIN-POLITICS/CYBER (UPDATE 3), moved, 293 words) MIDDLE EAST Egypt''s Sisi ratifies contested deal handing Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia CAIRO - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ratifies a maritime demarcation agreement that sees the country cede sovereignty over two uninhabited Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia. (EGYPT-SAUDI/ISLANDS (UPDATE 1), moved, 253 words) Amnesty for militants in Syria''s Raqqa aims to promote stability AIN ISSA, Syria - A civil council expected to rule Raqqa once Islamic State is dislodged from the Syrian city pardons 83 of the jihadist group''s low-ranking militants, a goodwill gesture designed to promote stability. (MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-RAQQA-AMNESTY (PIX, TV), moved, by Michael Georgy, 471 words) If Baghdadi is dead, next IS leader likely to be Saddam-era officer BAGHDAD - If Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is confirmed dead, he is likely to be succeeded by one of his top two lieutenants, both of whom were Iraqi army officers under the late dictator Saddam Hussein. (MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-BAGHDADI-SUCCESSION (UPDATE 1, PIX), moved, by Maher Chmaytelli, 598 words) Yemen government says to investigate allegations of abuse in secret prisons DUBAI - President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi''s government says it is investigating reports that forces backed by the United Arab Emirates are running secret prisons in southern Yemen where detainees are subjected to torture and abuse. (YEMEN-SECURITY/ABUSE, moved, 414 words) HUMAN RIGHTS EXCLUSIVE-U.S. list to drop Iraq, Myanmar as worst offenders on child soldiers WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Rex Tillerson plans to remove Iraq and Myanmar from a U.S. list of the world''s worst offenders in use of child soldiers, U.S. officials say, a step that could prompt accusations the Trump administration is prioritising security and diplomatic interests ahead of human rights. (USA-TRAFFICKING/CHILDSOLDIERS (EXCLUSIVE), moved, by Matt Spetalnick and Jason Szep, 800 words) UNITED STATES Trump lobbies lawmakers on healthcare as another says ''no'' WASHINGTON - makes calls to fellow Republicans in U.S. Senate to mobilise support for their party''s healthcare overhaul while acknowledging the legislation is on "very, very narrow path" to passage. (USA-HEALTHCARE/ (UPDATE 6, PIX, TV), moved, by Jeff Mason and Yasmeen Abutaleb, 715 words) AMERICAS Slain Venezuelan protester''s father appeals to "friend" Maduro CARACAS - A man describing himself as a former boss and friend of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro urges an investigation into the killing of his son in anti-government unrest. (VENEZUELA-POLITICS/ (UPDATE 1, PIX, TV), moved, by Silene Ramrez and Andreina Aponte, 640 words) + See also: - VENEZUELA-POLITICS/PROTESTER (PIX), moved, 635 words ASIA North Korea says U.S. student''s death a "mystery to us" too SEOUL - North Korea says the death of U.S. university student Otto Warmbier soon after his return home was a mystery and dismisses accusations that he had died because of torture and beating during his captivity as "groundless". (USA-NORTHKOREA/ (UPDATE 5, PIX), moved, by Jack Kim, 605 words)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/world-news-schedule-at-1800-gmt-2-pm-et-idUSL3N1JL06M'|'2017-06-25T02:26:00.000+03:00' +'b347a3b355899ff9948da5efc36ca2349955016d'|'BRIEF-Jumei announces investment in TV drama production'|' 15am EDT BRIEF-Jumei announces investment in TV drama production June 21 Jumei International Holding Ltd : * Jumei announces investment in television drama production * Jumei International Holding Ltd - to invest an aggregate of RMB96 million in production of a television drama series titled "Here To Heart" * Jumei International Holding Ltd - production is expected to take place from July to September 2017 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-jumei-announces-investment-in-tv-d-idUSFWN1JI0HU'|'2017-06-21T19:15:00.000+03:00' +'9e2e5f3267f564fa06c16155e0d46302082ca6e6'|'A hybrid startup offers AI services to business'|'BOSSES are more likely to groan than feel giddy about advances in artificial intelligence (AI). They need a strategy, but few companies can hope to own a unit like Googles DeepMind, whose algorithms not only beat the worlds best Go players but made a 40% improvement in the energy efficiency of its parents data centres. A Canadian startup, Element AI, wants to let all businesses tap into the worlds best AI minds.The brain behind the new firm is Yoshua Bengio, a pioneer in deep learning, a branch of AI. As firms such as Google and Facebook lured dozens of AI academics, some in the field expressed fears about a brain drain from academia. In 2015, for example, Uber, a ride-hailing startup, poached 40 researchers from Carnegie Mellon University. Mr Bengio meanwhile stayed at the University of Montreal (though in January he became an adviser to Microsoft). Element AI will let researchers stay in their university posts while working on corporate projects. It plans, in effect, to build an AI platform on which a network of member firms (in which it may take stakes) can serve other companies. These member firms will tap Element AIs brain trust and license its technical platform. This month the startup raised $102m of capital from backers including Intel and Nvidia, two chip giants.Its system addresses a shortcoming of many AI applications. Individual firms are awash with data but may not have enough to train AI models. Element AIs network will be able to share algorithmic learning from all the data they crunch, enabling better performance than they would achieve using only one clients data. For example, an oil major might want to use image-recognition to identify corrosion on its pipes. Element AI could develop a system to spot it and predict the likelihood of a leak, to rank which pipes get fixed first. If the client lacks images to train the algorithm, Element AIs work in an adjacent areasay, corrosion on railway trackscould be used.Jean-Franois Gagn, Element AIs boss, says that the company aims to democratise AI by making state-of-the-art technology available to companies well beyond the main technology giants. We are a neutral player you can trust, he argues. But it is notoriously hard to move techniques from the research lab into real-life applications.If AI does become the bedrock of corporate technology, there should be room for several models. Big consultancies are already believers and have begun acquiring data-analytics firms themselves. Element AIs approach is promising. But the McKinsey of AI may yet turn out to be McKinsey itself. "Deep minds for hire"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21723863-not-only-google-and-facebook-should-have-access-ai-it-argues-hybrid-startup-offers-ai?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-06-22T21:43:00.000+03:00' +'5925da4d00b1a246920d00c6cae8666fd96c3aa6'|'Toshiba says open to talks with Western Digital over chip unit sale'|'TOKYO Toshiba Corp said it was open to talks with Western Digital Corp in their dispute over the sale of the Japanese conglomerate''s prized chip unit - an apparent olive branch after it chose another suitor as preferred bidder.Toshiba would be willing to hold talks but does not expect the composition of the preferred bidder consortium, which includes Bain Capital and Japanese government investors, to change before June 28, Chief Executive Satoshi Tsunakawa told a news conference.It is aiming to clinch a deal, worth some $18 billion, by June 28, the day of its shareholders'' annual meeting.(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Writing by Sam Nussey; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/toshiba-accounting-western-digital-idINKBN19E0ZP'|'2017-06-23T07:26:00.000+03:00' +'3aef7fc96a5e558a29fe2eadb6e866e064940c10'|'Daimler says U.S. expansion not linked to Trump''s trade campaign'|'Autos - Fri Jun 2, 2017 - 5:22pm BST Daimler says U.S. expansion not linked to Trump''s trade campaign Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, takes part in the ground breaking ceremony for the second battery factory at Daimler subsidiary ACCUMOTIVE in Kamenz, Germany May 22, 2017. REUTERS/ Matthias Rietschel RASTATT, Germany German car and truck manufacturer Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ) said its plans to expand manufacturing at a plant in Alabama predates U.S. President Donald Trump''s efforts to protect U.S. jobs. "We have been expanding the Tuscaloosa factory for many years and continue to do so," Daimler Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche said on the sidelines of an event in Rastatt, Germany. "We are deepening our supplier base at the location, just like we have been in other locations," Zetsche said, explaining that a similar process was underway at the Mercedes-Benz factory in Beijing, China. A spokesman for Daimler clarified that plans to increase sourcing of parts from local suppliers in the United States have been underway for years and were further expanded with a $1.3 billion (1 billion) investment plan announced in September 2015. Daimler, which owns the Mercedes-Benz brand, makes off-road vehicles for local and overseas markets at its factory in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Trump has criticised Germany''s trade surplus with the United States. He used Twitter this week to attack Germany partly for its trade policies, flagging the United States'' "massive trade deficit with Germany." Last year, around 545,000 cars were shipped from Germany to the United States, German auto industry association VDA said. German carmakers also produced 854,000 cars at factories in the United States, of which 62 percent were exported overseas. Although the majority of cars made by German brands in the United States are exported overseas, there is a trade gap with Germany. According to the VDA, cars and engines worth 23.42 billion euros (20.5 billion) were exported to the United States in 2016, while goods - such as car components - imported from the United States to Germany were worth only 6.24 billion euros. Including other components and second-hand vehicles, exports from Germany amounted to 31.2 billion euros in 2016, while shipments from the United States to Germany amounted to 7.4 billion euros, VDA said. (Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach and Edward Taylor. Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-germany-daimler-idUKKBN18T2FG'|'2017-06-03T00:22:00.000+03:00' +'b65f166cfe6f7fd4b2e78784793047d05aee3070'|'ECB triggers overnight Santander rescue of Spain''s Banco Popular'|'Deals - Wed Jun 7, 2017 - 3:25pm BST ECB triggers overnight Santander rescue of Spain''s Banco Popular left right Santander Chairwoman Ana Botin arrives for a news conference after Santander announced on Wednesday that it would buy struggling rival Banco Popular for a nominal one euro after European authorities determined the lender was on the verge of insolvency, in Madrid, Spain, June 7, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Medina 1/7 left right FILE PHOTO: A man uses a cash dispenser at a Banco Popular branch in Madrid, Spain, April 29, 2016. REUTERS/Andrea Comas/File Photo 2/7 left right Santander Chairwoman Ana Botin arrives for a news conference after Santander announced on Wednesday that it would buy struggling rival Banco Popular for a nominal one euro after European authorities determined the lender was on the verge of insolvency, in Madrid, Spain, June 7, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Medina 3/7 left right An employee waits for the start of a news conference at Spain''s biggest bank Santander offices after it announced on Wednesday that it would buy struggling rival Banco Popular for a nominal one euro after European authorities determined the lender was on the verge of insolvency, in Madrid, Spain, June 7, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Medina 4/7 left right Santander Chairwoman Ana Botin speakds at a news conference after Santander announced on Wednesday that it would buy struggling rival Banco Popular for a nominal one euro after European authorities determined the lender was on the verge of insolvency, in Madrid, Spain, June 7, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Medina 5/7 left right FILE PHOTO: People walk past a branch of Spain''s Banco Popular in Madrid, Spain, May 26, 2016. REUTERS/Andrea Comas/File Photo 6/7 left right FILE PHOTO: A woman walks past a Banco Santander branch in downtown Rio de Janeiro August 19, 2014. REUTERS/Pilar Olivares/File Photo 7/7 By Jess Aguado and Francesco Guarascio - MADRID/BRUSSELS MADRID/BRUSSELS European authorities stepped in to avert a collapse of Spain''s Banco Popular ( POP.MC ) following a run on the bank, orchestrating a last-minute rescue on Wednesday by Santander ( SAN.MC ), the country''s biggest lender. Owners of Popular bonds faces losses of some 2 billion euros, while Santander will ask its shareholders for around 7 billion euros ($7.9 billion) of capital to absorb Spain''s sixth biggest bank. Popular''s rescue was unveiled as the European Central Bank announced the lender was set to be wound down, echoing a banking crash some five years ago that cost Spain 40 billion euros. Santander''s takeover of the bank, which has been weighed down by risky property loans, for a nominal one euro marks the first use of a stricter European Union regime to deal with failing banks adopted after the financial crisis. The sale was organized in less than 24 hours, and followed a recent acceleration in the withdrawal of deposits, which two people with knowledge of the matter said had in recent weeks hit 18 billion euros, equivalent to almost one quarter of the total. A final decision to sell Popular was made at about 0430 GMT on Wednesday, Dominique Laboureix, a member of the Single Resolution Board, told a news conference in Brussels. The SRB is the agency set up by the EU to wind down stricken banks. In contrast to earlier crises, the hurried sale of Popular did not spook markets and banking stocks rose in Europe. "This deal is good for Spain and it''s good for Europe," Santander chairman Ana Botin said of the agreement, which breaks the mold of using taxpayers'' money, instead imposing losses on shareholders and creditors of the bank. This resolution worked in Santander''s favor, and was described by two debt investors as unexpected, with the owners of so-called AT1 and AT2 bonds suffering roughly 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) of losses and shareholders losing everything. The ECB said there was a "significant deterioration of the liquidity situation of the bank in recent days" and that in the near future Popular would have been "unable to pay its debts". Up to 2 billion euros a day was being taken out of the bank by savers last week, another source told Reuters. "We got it done before markets opened. That was the target," Elke Knig, who chairs the Resolution Board, said. Unlike Italy, which has been grappling with problem lenders for years, Spain''s reaction was prompt and in contrast to the 2008 banking crisis it met with calm in the markets. "This shouldn''t pose any real problems for other banks," Aberdeen Asset Management Head of Credit Research Laurent Frings said. "But it does show that there is real risk in investing in these second-tier names." BOTIN SEES BENEFITS Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said Santander''s takeover was a good outcome for Popular given its situation in recent weeks and it would have no impact on public resources or other banks. Botin welcomed Popular customers and said that the combination of the two would strengthen Santander''s geographic reach as the economies in Spain and Portugal improved. "It gives certainty and stability to Spain''s financial sector," she said. Santander, which was unaffected by the banking crisis in Spain that forced Madrid to seek international aid, said buying Popular would accelerate growth and profit from 2019. The group, with operations from South America to Britain, said it would set aside 7.9 billion euros to cover the cost of non-performing assets, which are loans at risk of non-payment. Struggling under the weight of 37 billion euros of non-performing property assets left over from Spain''s financial crisis, Popular had seen its share price slump. It was among a handful of banks that emerged as vulnerable to stress, such as an economic downturn, in a European Banking Authority simulation last summer and had remained vulnerable with a ratio of risky loans around three times above the average of its Spanish rivals. But Popular''s small and medium-sized company loan portfolio, the largest among Spanish lenders, presents an opportunity for Santander, which said it would now lead this growing market. It will also sell off at least half of Popular''s property assets within about 18 months. ($1 = 0.8876 euros) (Additional reporting by Andres Gonzalez, Jose Elias Rodriguez, Angus Berwick and Sonya Dowsett in Madrid, Francesco Canepa in Frankfurt and Jan Strupczewski, Francesco Guarascio in Brussels and Helene Durand in London; writing by John O''Donnell; Editing by Keith Weir/Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-popular-m-a-santander-idUKKBN18Y0IU'|'2017-06-07T20:52:00.000+03:00' +'648dca434fe0ead5af5d3b5cebec05e8900abb9a'|'Italy to start winding down Veneto banks Saturday after EU green-light'|'Business News - Fri Jun 23, 2017 - 5:14pm EDT Italy to start winding down Veneto banks Saturday after EU green-light left right A Banca Popolare di Vicenza sign is seen in Rome, Italy, March 29, 2017. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi 1/2 left right The logo of Veneto Banca bank is seen in Venice, Italy, January 31, 2016. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo 2/2 By Silvia Aloisi and Balazs Koranyi - MILAN/FRANKFURT MILAN/FRANKFURT The European Commission on Friday gave preliminary approval for an Italian plan to wind down two ailing Veneto-based regional lenders with state money in a move that may allow Rome to solve its latest banking crisis on its own terms. Italy plans to start liquidation proceedings for Banca Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca on Saturday, a source close to the matter said, issuing an emergency decree that will effectively remove one its biggest banking headaches by splitting the two lenders'' assets into "good" and "bad" banks. The country''s top retail bank Intesa Sanpaolo ( ISP.MI ) is set to buy the good assets for one euro, leaving the state to foot the bulk of the bill for losses stemming from the banks'' bad loans, legal risks and restructuring costs. "EU state aid rules allow for the possibility of granting state support in these kind of situations," the European Commission, which must rule on the use of state money, said in a statement. It added it was in constructive discussions with Italian authorities. "Good progress is being made to find a solution very soon." The Italian government has been scrambling to prevent the two lenders from being wound down under European banking rules designed to stop the use of state money in banking crises. Rome feared that under those rules losses could have been imposed on senior bondholders and large depositors, a politically unpalatable prospect in the run-up to elections next year. Instead, under the Italian plan only junior bondholders and shareholders will be hit, but the cost for taxpayers is likely to be hefty. With the two banks'' soured or risky debts totaling more than 20 billion euros ($22.4 billion), one banker said the government would put in 5 billion euros, while some Italian media reports on Friday said the final bill could be as high as 12 billion euros. The emergency decree to be approved on Saturday will "create the conditions" for a sale of the banks'' good assets to Intesa, the source said. "The sale will allow the regular functioning of the banks'' branches on Monday morning," it said, adding the terms of the transaction will be made public in coming days. Earlier the European Central Bank said the two banks, which have a capital shortfall of 6.4 billion euros and are bleeding deposits, were failing or likely to fail, setting in motion the process that will lead to them being wound down. "The ECB had given the banks time to present capital plans, but the banks had been unable to offer credible solutions going forward," it said in a statement. Pressure on Rome to find a solution for the two Veneto lenders had increased since Spain''s Banco Popular POP.MC was rescued by Santander ( SAN.MC ) this month in a deal orchestrated by European authorities. In Popular''s case, no state money was used and Santander is seeking around 7 billion euros of capital from shareholders to help it take on Popular. The Italian plan instead takes advantage of an exception to EU bank rules that allows the use of routine insolvency proceedings with banks not considered systemically important, allowing the process to be handled by the member state. The plan has sparked criticism from some European officials who said Italy was being allowed to cut corners, while at home, opposition politicians have also criticized the scheme put forward by the government. "Intesa gets a free gift, the state takes on all the bad stuff and the taxpayer pays," Renato Brunetta, parliamentary leader for former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi''s Forza Italia (Go Italy!) party said on Thursday. "Did we really need to take so much time to come up with such a rubbish solution?" (Additional reporting by Francesca Piscioneri and Giuseppe Fonte in Rome, Agnieszka Flak in Milan and Foo Yun Chee in Brussels)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-banks-italy-veneto-idUSKBN19E2IH'|'2017-06-24T05:14:00.000+03:00' +'81b21cd92fc19e48cad3d50ead81cfdfc83e81b9'|'Glencore to pitch to Rio board for Australian coal unit - sources'|'Business 11am BST Glencore to pitch to Rio board for Australian coal unit - sources FILE PHOTO: The logo of Glencore is seen in front of the company''s headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, September 7, 2012. REUTERS/Michael Buholzer/File Photo By James Regan - SYDNEY SYDNEY Glencore will pitch its $2.55 billion (2 billion pounds) bid for Rio Tinto''s Australian Coal & Allied unit directly to Rio Tinto''s board in Canada on Thursday, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The meeting, headed by Glencore''s Australian Chief Executive Peter Freyberg, comes five days after Glencore outbid Chinese-owned Yancoal for Coal & Allied Industries Ltd, which operates thermal coal mines in Australia''s Hunter Valley. Glencore''s proposal is $100 million higher and fully funded, but Rio Tinto has to give Yancoal the chance to make a counter offer, opening the way for a bidding war. A formal response from Rio Tinto to Glencore''s offer could come by the end of the week, the sources said, given Glencore''s acceptance deadline of June 26. If Glencore''s offer is accepted by Rio Tinto, Yancoal will have five days to respond. Yancoal and Glencore declined to comment. Rio Tinto could not be reached for immediate comment. Freyberg will argue before the Rio Tinto directors, who are meeting this week in Canada, that Glencore''s offer provides greater financial certainty than Yancoal''s because it intends to fund the acquisition from cash on hand and committed facilities, subject only to regulatory conditions. "Glencore thinks it has the better offer because it''s higher and there are may be doubts over Yancoal''s funding," one of the sources said. Yancoal''s second-biggest shareholder is struggling commodities trader Noble Group. Yancoal plans a capital raising to help pay for Coal & Allied and Noble would have to invest $260 million in newly issued Yancoal stock to maintain its stake at 13 percent. "This is an element that Glencore will be stressing," the source said. Fitch Ratings cut Noble''s rating on May 26 on concern over its ability to address about $2 billion of debt maturing over the next 12 months. Yancoal said last month it was not concerned at that time over Noble''s financial strength. Freyberg is also expected to try and assure Rio Tinto that its bid would not run into hurdles from competition regulators in China and Australia. The bulk of the coal is sold to power companies in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, with little remaining in Australia or sold to China. (Reporting by James Regan; Additional reporting by Jamie Freed; Editing by Richard Pullin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-rio-tinto-divestiture-glencore-idUKKBN1950SV'|'2017-06-14T16:11:00.000+03:00' +'a39af477522923905e4b0b5f0d0da09dbb07f1d9'|'UK financial watchdog taking close look at auto finance'|'Business 11:35am BST UK financial watchdog taking close look at auto finance A maintenance worker cleans the entrance area of the headquarters of the new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the Canary Wharf business district of London April 1, 2013. REUTERS/Chris Helgren LONDON Britain''s financial watchdog is taking a closer look at the car financing sector and has sought advice from U.S. regulators, Andrew Bailey, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority, said on Thursday. He said the starting point is whether there has been a structural change in car financing in Britain. "My hunch is there has been. It has become more like the U.S. market," Bailey told reporters. "It has become more of a secured finance market than it was in the past." In the recent growth in consumer credit which the Bank of England has taken note of, cars were "quite a big part of the story", Bailey said. (Reporting by Huw Jones; editing by Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-regulator-carfinance-idUKKBN19K18V'|'2017-06-29T13:35:00.000+03:00' +'1e558f256631b8f2342b9e09704b9e25e6a3f355'|'Morning News Call - India, June 21'|'To access the newsletter, click on the link: here If you would like to receive this newsletter via email, please register at: here FACTORS TO WATCH 2:30 pm: Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia at an event in Kolkata. GMF: LIVECHAT - CHARTING FX Take a look at the FX charts with Reuters technical analyst Martin Miller at 3:30 pm IST. To join the conversation, click on the link: here INDIA TOP NEWS Modi to discuss visa issue with Trump next week - official Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take up the issue of visas for skilled workers when he meets U.S. President Donald Trump next week in Washington, a senior Indian government official said on Tuesday. No excuse for firms not to be ready for India''s GST - Jaitley Indian small business has been given enough time to prepare for the July 1 rollout of a new national Goods and Services Tax (GST), Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Tuesday, ruling out any further slippage in the timeline. India''s Punjab state to forgive over $1.5 billion in farm debts India''s northern Punjab state will waive more than $1.5 billion in loans to farmers, becoming the third state to do so in response to growing rural distress caused by food oversupply and weak prices. Hike rolls out India''s first payment wallet within messaging platform Indian instant messaging platform Hike rolled out an in-app electronic payments wallet on Tuesday in a bid to cash in on rising digital transactions, replicating similar services offered by its backer Tencent Holdings in China. Bombardier agrees to sell up to 50 Q400s to India''s SpiceJet Canadian airplane maker Bombardier Inc said on Tuesday it agreed to sell up to 50 Q400 turboprop aircraft to Indian budget carrier SpiceJet Ltd. India''s Eris Lifesciences up to $270 million IPO oversubscribed Indian drug maker Eris Lifesciences Ltd''s initial public offering of shares to raise up to $270 million was subscribed more than three times on the last day of the sale on Tuesday, stock exchange data showed. India asks Qatar to invest in power plants as condition for LNG deals India on Tuesday said it would sign future long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) purchase deals with Qatar if only Doha agrees to acquire stakes in the South Asian nation''s power plants, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan said. GLOBAL TOP NEWS China ''A'' shares get MSCI nod, Argentina snubbed U.S. index provider MSCI said on Tuesday it would add mainland Chinese stocks to one of its key benchmarks, but shocked many emerging market investors by failing to upgrade Argentina from the frontier market category where it has languished in recent years. Asia firms'' confidence at 3 year-high on brighter global outlook -Thomson Reuters/INSEAD Business confidence in Asia rose to a three-year-high in the second quarter of the year, propelled by a slew of favourable economic data across the region and easing concerns over the health of China''s economy, a Thomson Reuters/INSEAD survey showed. Belgium probes station bomber fatally shot by soldiers Belgian counter-terrorism police are probing the identity of a suspected suicide bomber shot dead by troops guarding a Brussels railway station after he set off explosives that failed to injure anyone. LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK (As reported by NewsRise) The SGX Nifty Futures were trading at 9,646.50, down 0.3 percent from its previous close. The Indian rupee is poised to open lower against the dollar, as an overnight slump in crude oil prices hurt investor appetite for risk assets. Indian government bonds will likely trade largely steady today before the Monetary Policy Committee releases the minutes of its June meeting, where it kept rates and policy stance unchanged, but lowered inflation projections, fuelling bets of a rate cut in coming months. The yield on the benchmark 6.79 percent bond maturing in 2027 is likely to trade in a 6.43 percent-6.47 percent band today. GLOBAL MARKETS U.S. stocks closed lower on Tuesday as a sharp drop in oil prices hurt energy stocks and retail stocks were pulled down by concerns about Amazon.com''s plan to boost its apparel business, while investors also worried about future Federal Reserve rate hikes. Japan''s Nikkei share average edged down after a slightly stronger yen sapped risk appetite, while mining stocks underperformed on the back of weaker oil prices. The dollar edged back from one-month highs against a basket of currencies as a tumble in crude oil prices pushed down U.S. yields, while the pound wobbled near a two-month low after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney shot down hopes of a British interest rate hike. The U.S. Treasury yield curve flattened to its lowest levels since December 2007 as more hawkish Federal Reserve officials led intermediate-dated notes to underperform long-term bonds, which are being supported by falling inflation. Oil prices held around multi-month lows in early Asian trading as investors discounted evidence of strong compliance by OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers with a deal to cut global output. Gold inched up after hitting its lowest in five weeks in the previous session, buoyed as equities fell. CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT PNDF spot 64.43/64.46 June 20 -$48.5 mln $76.90 mln 10-yr bond yield 6.82 Month-to-date $313.93 mln $3.73 bln Year-to-date $8.29 bln $17.17 bln For additional data: India govt bond market volumes Stock market reports Non-deliverable forwards data Corporate debt stories [IN CORPD] Local market closing/intraday levels [IN SNAPSHOT] Monthly inflows [INFLOWS RTRS TABLE IN] ($1 = 64.5350 Indian rupees) (Compiled by Nayyar Rasheed)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/india-morningcall-idUSL3N1JI1PH'|'2017-06-21T11:30:00.000+03:00' +'2520f4d7cc2a3c0368a579ccdb8f35c3c01d706d'|'Don''t believe the hype: the downside of being the next big thing - Guardian Small Business Network'|'T he history of business is littered with the debris of companies that fell prey to hype, usually of their own making. From New Coke to the Apple Newton, many have found that a wave of hype often propels an idea only so far until it is smothered by the heightened expectations it has created. The recent launch of SnapChats Snap Spectacles to much fanfare inevitably calls to mind its predecessor Google Glass, which suffered a well-documented demise .Rivalry can bring out the best in a startup'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/jun/20/dont-believe-the-hype-the-downside-of-being-the-next-big-thing'|'2017-06-20T17:00:00.000+03:00' +'d45776d59e3641a2870d919e6b9ebf5e3aec6236'|'UPDATE 2-Altice USA jumps 7.2 percent in debut'|'(New throughout, adds comment from Altice USA CEO and Cox Communications spokesman)By Anjali Athavaley and Aparajita SaxenaJune 22 Shares of Altice USA Inc rose as much as 7.2 percent in their debut on Thursday, giving the cable operator a market capitalization of $23.71 billion as it prepares for U.S. expansion.The 63.9-million share offering raised $1.9 billion after being priced at $30 per share, within the expected range of $27 to $31.That makes it the second-largest U.S. initial public offering this year behind messaging app Snap Inc''s $3.9 billion offering in March.Altice USA''s IPO is viewed as a means for its founder, Franco-Israeli billionaire Patrick Drahi, to expand his U.S. cable empire by giving the company public stock it can use as currency for new acquisitions.The company, which Netherlands-based Altice NV put together by acquiring Cablevision Systems and Suddenlink Communications, is the fourth-biggest U.S. cable provider.Shares touched a high of $32.17 before paring gains to $32.00 in midday trading.One hurdle Altice could face is that there are few U.S. cable assets out there to buy. Altice USA''s Chief Executive Officer Dexter Goei said in an interview on Thursday that there were no specific targets on his radar."It''s really about being ready for tomorrow," he said. "We''re not the type of people to be kicking down doors. There needs to be a confluence of minds if something is going to happen."Some analysts have said that Altice could harbor ambitions to one day take on large targets such as privately held Cox Communications, which has long said it does not want to sell."Hopefully, they will consider us as partners if they choose to do it," Goei said. "But it''s not going to be the driver of the success of our business."A Cox spokesman said the company has been clear it is not for sale and that it is aggressively investing in its own network, products and strategic partnerships.Following the IPO, 75.2 percent of the company''s shares will be held by its parent, Altice NV, which translates to 98.5 percent of the voting power.Altice USA, which reported a net loss of $76.2 million for the three months ended March 31, expects to use proceeds from the offering to pay down debt of nearly $21 billion.It is the second U.S. cable operator to go public in the last five years. WideOpenWest Inc raised about $310 million in its IPO last month, which was priced below the expected range. (Additional reporting by Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru; editing by Tom Brown and David Gregorio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/altice-usa-ipo-idINL3N1JJ4HA'|'2017-06-22T15:14:00.000+03:00' +'5192d8ce042dccaf2a525b8fdeeeef1b0ddd69cd'|'Investors slowly start to push climate change up their agenda'|'Business News - Thu Jun 29, 2017 - 5:24pm BST Investors slowly start to push climate change up their agenda By Simon Jessop , Gwladys Fouche and Nina Chestney - LONDON/OSLO LONDON/OSLO Investors are slowly starting to push companies to reduce their carbon footprint and help the world meet targets on limiting global warming that were agreed in the 2015 Paris climate talks. Energy firms have faced shareholder demands to do more to curb carbon emissions, while some pension funds are demanding more commitment to climate goals from firms they invest in. Yet progress has still been modest since the Paris deal agreed by almost 200 nations came into force in November last year, aiming to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times. "Lots of investors are looking to align their investments with a 2 degrees world. It''s just at what pace they all get there," said Fiona Reynolds, managing director at the United Nations-backed Principles for Responsible Investment. Advocates of the climate deal hope new impetus will come from Thursday''s document published by the Financial Stability Board''s Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), a group set up by G20 nations. The task force''s document outlines a voluntary framework for companies to disclose the financial impact of climate-related risks and opportunities, drawing support from more than 100 companies with $11 trillion of assets. It aims to help investors, lenders, insurers and other stakeholders understand how firms manage climate risk and guide companies on information they should provide to explain their climate strategy, ultimately helping ensure corporate laggards are held to account. "The more companies report effectively on climate related risks and opportunities, the easier it becomes for investors to allocate the substantial amounts of capital required to implement the Paris Agreement," said Philippe Desfosss, chief executive of French pension fund ERAFP. HIGH BENCHMARK Sweden''s largest national pension fund AP7 set a high benchmark in June when it named six companies it said had breached the Paris accord, and ditched them from its portfolio. Several energy firms have faced shareholder rebellions at annual general meetings over their stance on climate change. ExxonMobil ( XON.N ) has been accused of misleading investors by a U.S. prosecutor, allegations the U.S. firm has dismissed as "frivolous". Many energy firms have been sharing more information on their climate strategies, and some mining companies are starting to follow suit, such as iron ore miner Vale ( VALE5.SA ). In a Reuters survey, 13 leading public and corporate pension schemes in Europe, Asia and North America managing a total $1.1 trillion (848.44 billion pounds) said they were committed to engaging firms on their climate strategy. Three of those funds said explicitly that divestment was an option if talks were unsatisfactory. However, some funds said the threat of divestment was not the best approach to encouraging firms to improve environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. "We think engagement investment is about promoting companies to be involved with ESG through engagement," said Hiroichi Yagi, an adviser to the pension fund of Japan''s Secom, a leading security firm. "If you just sell and stop investing in companies that are not mindful of climate change, then you are abandoning engagement there," he said, adding that he was not aware of any Japanese pension funds advocating divestment as an option. "GLACIAL PACE" To date, most divestments have tended to be from companies mining coal, the dirtiest energy source. Some large investors, such as Norway''s $960-billion sovereign wealth fund, have set limits on how much revenues can come from that source. The most active asset owners on climate change have tended to be big pension schemes and sovereign wealth funds - Norway''s and New Zealand''s have reduced exposure to fossil fuels. Such firms have more in-house analysts to assess investments. Smaller funds are making slower progress in pushing climate issues up the agenda in determining investment policy. A survey by consultants Mercer of 1,241 European pension schemes, half of which had less than 100 million euros (87.98 million pounds) in assets, showed just 5 percent considered the financial impact of climate change on their portfolios. However, that was up from 4 percent a year earlier. "It''s ironic that the pace of response to this enormous issue is best described as glacial, outside a small group of leading funds," said Phil Edwards, Mercer''s Global Director of Strategic Research, calling for more "urgency" to be applied. Advocates of the Paris accord hope the TFCD''s framework document will particularly assist smaller firms. Britain''s Environment Agency Protection Fund, a founder member of the Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI) that aims to help asset owners assess firms, said more than 3 trillion pounds of assets were now being invested using the TPI''s guidelines. "We are aiming to be one of the first asset owners to do this to show our support for the TCFD and its pick up by other asset owners," said Faith Ward, the scheme''s chief responsible investment officer. She said her fund planned to link its annual report to the TCFD framework. (Additional reporting by Reuters correspondents in Amsterdam, Stockholm, Paris, Helsinki, Sydney, Dublin, Madrid, Lisbon and Tokyo; Editing by Edmund Blair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-climatechange-funds-idUKKBN19K2DG'|'2017-06-29T19:24:00.000+03:00' +'e5d7f0fbdfb0b26365b83b8ebca7dbe06aef251d'|'Turkish exports to Qatar triple during Gulf crisis - trade minister'|'Business News - Fri Jun 23, 2017 - 6:49am BST Turkish exports to Qatar triple during Gulf crisis: trade minister Buildings are seen on a coast line in Doha, Qatar, June 15, 2017. REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoon ANKARA Turkish exports to Qatar have tripled from their normal levels to $32.5 million since four Arab countries began boycotting the Gulf state on June 5, Turkey''s Customs and Trade Minister Bulent Tufenkci said late on Thursday. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Bahrain accuse Qatar of funding terrorism, fomenting regional instability and cosying up to revolutionary theocracy Iran. Qatar has denied the accusations. They have sent Doha a list of 13 demands including closing Al Jazeera television, reducing ties to their regional adversary Iran and closing a Turkish military base in Qatar, an official of one of the four countries told Reuters. Turkey, which has long tried to play the role of regional mediator, has backed Qatar in the dispute but is also wary of upsetting its other allies, including Saudi Arabia. "Since June 5 exports to Qatar have amounted to $32.5 million. Of this $12.5 million is food. This figure is three times the normal level," Tufenkci told reporters at a Ramadan fast-breaking dinner on Thursday evening. Turkey has sent more than 100 cargo planes of supplies to Qatar but Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci has said it was not sustainable to maintain supplies through an air lift. On Thursday, Turkey sent its first ship carrying food to Qatar and dispatched a small contingent of soldiers and armored vehicles there, while President Tayyip Erdogan spoke with Saudi Arabia''s leaders on calming tension in the region. Turkey fast-tracked legislation on June 7 to allow more troops to be deployed to a military base in Qatar that houses Turkish soldiers under an agreement signed in 2014. (Reporting by Ercan Gurses; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-gulf-qatar-turkey-idUKKBN19E0GH'|'2017-06-23T13:48:00.000+03:00' +'11a280aaa8fa833c4b4ee6c519f83eaa8b19e2ec'|'Hynix joins last-minute METI-led bid for Toshiba chips - Asahi'|'TOKYO, June 14 Japan''s government is assembling a Japan-South Korea-U.S. consortium in a last-minute bid for Toshiba Corp''s prized semiconductor business, countering a $20 billion offer from U.S. chipmaker Broadcom Ltd , the Asahi newspaper said on Wednesday.The new bid, being arranged by the Ministry for the Economy, Trade and Industry, groups government lenders Development Bank of Japan and Innovation Network Corp of Japan. It would exceed the 2 trillion yen ($18 billion) minimum sought by struggling Toshiba, the newspaper said, citing an unnamed source.INCJ, DBJ and U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital LP would each invest 300 billion yen in a special-purpose company to buy Toshiba Memory Corp. Toshiba itself would contribute up to 100 billion yen and other Japanese firms a combined 140 billion yen, while U.S. investment firm KKR & Co LP is considering putting in 100 billion yen, the Asahi said.South Korea''s SK Hynix Inc would lend 300 billion yen to the project and Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ 400 billion yen, it said.A person familiar with the matter said Hynix was involved in the bid, while another person briefed on the matter said the Asahi report was essentially correct but he could not provide details.Toshiba, DBJ and MUFJ, a unit of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc, could not immediately be reached for comment outside business hours. Hynix declined to comment. METI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.($1 = 110.0600 yen) (Reporting by Taiga Uranaka, Taro Fuse and Makiko Yamazaki in Tokyo, and Se Young Lee in Seoul; Writing by William Mallard; Editing by Stephen Coates)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/toshiba-accounting-idINL3N1JA5LM'|'2017-06-13T21:57:00.000+03:00' +'ed52ea6d8c260adb278704fc8693ddeb6bfb03ed'|'Google tightens measures to remove extremist content on YouTube'|'Top News - Mon Jun 19, 2017 - 4:15am BST Google tightens measures to remove extremist content on YouTube FILE PHOTO: A picture illustration shows a YouTube logo reflected in a person''s eye June 18, 2014. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo Alphabet Inc''s Google will implement more measures to identify and remove terrorist or violent extremist content on its video sharing platform YouTube, the company said in a blog post on Sunday. Google said it would take a tougher position on videos containing supremacist or inflammatory religious content by issuing a warning and not monetizing or recommending them for user endorsements, even if they do not clearly violate its policies. The company will also employ more engineering resources and increase its use of technology to help identify extremist videos, in addition to training new content classifiers to quickly identify and remove such content. "While we and others have worked for years to identify and remove content that violates our policies, the uncomfortable truth is that we, as an industry, must acknowledge that more needs to be done. Now," said Google''s general counsel Kent Walker. bit.ly/2rLgYEd Google will expand its collaboration with counter-extremist groups to identify content that may be used to radicalize and recruit extremists, it said. The company will also reach potential Islamic State recruits through targeted online advertising and redirect them towards anti-terrorist videos in a bid to change their minds about joining. Germany, France and Britain, countries where civilians have been killed and wounded in bombings and shootings by Islamist militants in recent years, have pressed Facebook and other providers of social media such as Google and Twitter to do more to remove militant content and hate speech. Facebook on Thursday offered additional insight on its efforts to remove terrorism content, a response to political pressure in Europe to militant groups using the social network for propaganda and recruiting. Facebook has ramped up use of artificial intelligence such as image matching and language understanding to identify and remove content quickly, the company said in a blog post. (Reporting by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-google-counterterrorism-idUKKBN19A08Z'|'2017-06-19T11:15:00.000+03:00' +'a610e7c9f8b8d0ce9a6c0ddf382b6cdc03c3ac67'|'Red hot Iceland keeps some investors out in the cold'|'Business 2:18pm BST Red hot Iceland keeps some investors out in the cold left right A general view shows the city of Reykjavik seen from Hallgrimskirkja church, Iceland February 13, 2013. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov/File Photo 1/4 left right An illustration picture shows Icelandic banknotes of one thousand Krona March 23, 2012. REUTERS/Ingolfur Juliusson/Illustration/File Photo 2/4 left right Iceland''s national flag and a church are seen in the town of Vik, Iceland April 22, 2010. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo 3/4 People look at a geyser in Geysir, Iceland April 24, 2010. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo 4/4 By Maiya Keidan and Marc Jones - LONDON LONDON Iceland spent nearly a decade trying to keep foreign money in the country after a financial collapse, now it is trying to keep some of it out. The economy is booming again and hedge funds and other foreign investors want exposure to a surging tourism sector, banks, property, infrastructure and the soaring krona currency. Most capital controls from the 2008 banking crisis were lifted in March allowing money to flow in and out of the country more freely. But with over 20 financial crises since 1875 and warnings from economists about the risk of overheating again, the government is being cautious. It has left in place restrictions making it prohibitively expensive to buy government bonds which offer returns of 4.5 percentREIISK3MD=, the highest of any developed economy. On Monday, the central bank took another step to try and break the cycle of boom and bust on the isolated North Atlantic island, clamping down on derivatives and other avenues it was worried were being used to bet on the krona. "There are a bunch of people I know who would love to put money into Iceland but they simply cant because of restrictions on the inflows," said Mark Dowding, who runs a hedge fund at BlueBay Asset Management and bought into the Icelandic government bond market in 2015, before the central bank rules were introduced. The government is preparing other steps to make Iceland less attractive - a contrast to other economies recovering from crisis which have welcomed inflows of money. The government is preparing to raise taxes for the tourism industry which has been growing at 20-25 percent a year as foreigners flock to its volcanoes, glaciers and geysers. It is also considering a currency peg for the krona. OPPORTUNITIES Iceland offers other exciting investment opportunities. Growth of more than 6 percent is forecast this year and the krona is up 20 percent versus both the dollar ISKUSD=R and euro ISKEUR=R over the last 12 months. The central bank has cut interest rates four times in the last year and analysts say it would need to cut further if it wants to slow the rise of the currency. That could further stimulate the economy. "Once every decade or two, I come across a market overseas which is most attractive and is worth considering," said Gervais Williams, a portfolio manager at London-based Miton Group. "That last happened in 1995 in Ireland and Iceland is the market I now like." Cumulative net capital inflows have gone from almost nothing to 150 billion crown (1.13 billion pounds) in two years. New cars sales are at the highest in 10 years, Marriott will open Iceland''s first five-star hotel next year. Data centre firms are also moving in as the climate and cheap geothermal energy cut the costs of cooling huge server stacks. A potential float of Arion Bank, the domestic arm that emerged from the collapsed Kaupthing bank, meanwhile is expected to lead to a surge of new foreign money into the stock market <0#.OMXIPI> which currently lists just 17 firms. Several hedge funds -- Och-Ziff Capital Management Group, Taconic Capital Advisors and Attestor Capital -- bought stakes in Arion privately, after the bulk of capital controls were lifted earlier in the year. On the back of the shifts, London and Iceland-based fund firm GAMMA Capital Management launched its first two funds --including one hedge fund -- for foreign investors in November last year after requests from abroad. "We have been getting a lot of interest ...but investing in Iceland brings a lot of hurdles, so we created a simple conduit," said Hafsteinn Hauksson, economist at GAMMA. Both funds have more than doubled in size this year, he said. RED HOT Nevertheless, there are concerns that Iceland could overheat again. The International Monetary Fund said in a report last week that there was a need for "vigilance with regards to credit growth and the real estate sector, labour market tightening and wage increases". It called for capital inflows to be managed carefully. Iceland has a history of spectacular booms and bust. The head of Iceland''s central bank regularly describes its 2007-2008 banking bust -- when the top-three banks, Kaupthing, Glitnir and Landsbanki collapsed under heavy debts -- as "the third biggest bankruptcy in the history of mankind". A 2015 report by Bank of Iceland economists noted that this was not Iceland''s first financial crisis. "In fact, over a period spanning almost one and a half century (1875-2013), we identify over twenty instances of financial crises of different types," it said. "Recognising that crises tend to come in clusters, we identify six serious multiple financial crisis episodes occurring every fifteen years on average." The report said the crises typically involved a sudden collapse in the currency and capital inflows. GLACIER BONDS Wary of its history and nervous that the end of capital controls would bring a wave of foreign money, the central bank brought in a rule in May 2016 forcing buyers of its bonds to park additional money in a low interest account. That costly ''special reserve ratio'' arrangement has meant foreign investment in Icelandic debt has dropped close to zero. Along with repeated interest rate cuts, it has taken some of the steam out of the crown over the last month. "In the current domestic and global circumstances, the risk of excessive and volatile carry-trade type capital inflows was becoming significant" a central bank spokesman said of why the measure was brought in. Monday''s decision to scale back some exemptions to its post capital controls ''Foreign Exchange Act'' aimed to make it harder for foreign investors to bet on the krona. Those exemptions had made it possible to conduct carry trades by issuing krona-denominated bonds -- nicknamed Glacier bonds -- and entering derivatives contracts with domestic banks. "Experience has shown that capital inflows in connection with foreign issuance of krona-denominated bonds (Glacier bonds) could weaken monetary policy," the central bank said. Iceland also still has controls in place that prevent proceeds from the sale of pre-crisis bonds leaving the country unless the investor signs up to the terms of the central bank''s buy back arrangement which offer a punitive exchange rate. (Additional reporting Carolyn Cohn, Sujata Rao and Abhinav Ramnarayan in London and Stine Jacobsen in Denmark; editing by Anna Willard)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iceland-investment-idUKKBN19J1Q9'|'2017-06-28T16:18:00.000+03:00' +'839e18624822f8ccc35c77dcda666422ba38ff29'|'Exclusive: Buyout fund CVC hires banks for $1.1 billion Continental Foods sale - sources'|'By Martinne Geller and Pamela Barbaglia - LONDON LONDON Private equity fund CVC Capital Partners has picked advisers to sell its food firm Continental Foods in a deal that could be worth more than 1 billion euros ($1.12 billion), sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.The business, which produces soups, sauces and bouillons, includes brands like Liebig in France and Erasco in Germany.CVC has owned it since late 2013, when it purchased it from Campbell Soup ( CPB.N ) for 400 million euros ($447.1 million).CVC''s decision to sell Continental Foods comes amid a wave of deal-making in the packaged food sector where large companies are looking for ways to boost profits in a weak market.Unilever ( ULVR.L ) ( UNc.AS ) is trying to sell its margarines business after rebuffing a takeover bid by Kraft Heinz ( KHC.O ), while Reckitt Benckiser Group ( RB.L ) is selling its French mustard business.Nestle ( NESN.S ) said last week that it would explore options, including a possible sale, for its roughly $900 million-a-year U.S. confectionery business.London-based CVC, which recently raised a record 16 billion euros for its latest fund, is working with Swiss bank UBS ( UBSG.S ) and Paris-based investment boutique Messier Maris on a possible sale, the sources, who declined to be identified as the process is private, said.Continental Foods, CVC, UBS and Messier Maris declined to comment.Based near Antwerp in Belgium, Continental employs more than 1,000 staff across Europe. It has production facilities in France, Belgium and Germany and is active in five European markets including Finland and Sweden with revenues of about 400 million euros.It could fetch more than 1 billion euros, based on a multiple of 12 times its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of around 90 million euros, the sources said.Private equity funds typically look to sell or list their portfolio companies within three to five years, hoping to cash out with a profit.($1 = 0.8946 euros)(Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-continentalfoods-m-a-idINKBN19A27L'|'2017-06-19T13:49:00.000+03:00' +'a27eabcb1ea1e6a608ff95acac38d69ec0b28db2'|'Morgan Stanley shuffles wealth management unit'|'Banks - Fri Jun 2, 2017 - 12:12pm EDT Morgan Stanley shuffles wealth management unit The corporate logo of financial firm Morgan Stanley is pictured on a building in San Diego, California September 24, 2013. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo By Olivia Oran Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) has shuffled its wealth unit, eliminating a layer of management and promoting two key executives, according to a memo reviewed by Reuters on Friday. The biggest U.S. brokerage by head count named Vince Lumia, head of private wealth management, its new head of the field. Lumia will report to wealth co-heads Andy Saperstein and Shelley O''Connor. Mandell Crawley, the bank''s chief marketing officer, will replace Lumia as head of private wealth management. The firm eliminated its divisional level with the goal of flattening the organization, naming former divisional heads Bill McMahon and Rick Skae as vice chairmen of wealth management. A bank spokesman confirmed the contents of the memo. Morgan Stanley saw its revenue from wealth management rise 11 percent in the first quarter to $4.1 billion. The unit also posted a pretax margin of 24 percent, in line with a target set by Chief Executive James Gorman. The changes come as the wealth industry prepares to implement the Department of Labor Fiduciary Rule, which sets a standard for brokers who sell retirement products and requires them to put clients'' best interests ahead of their own bottom line. The rule will take effect June 9. In another major shift for the industry, Morgan Stanley said in May it is pulling back from the expensive recruitment wars for financial advisors, following similar steps taken by peer Bank of America ( BAC.N ) Merrill Lynch. (Reporting by Olivia Oran in New York; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-morgan-stanley-wealth-idUSKBN18T2A5'|'2017-06-02T23:23:00.000+03:00' +'e0f9747a962d019b02064fd16176dcde2764016d'|'PRESS DIGEST- British Business - June 8'|'Market News - Wed Jun 7, 2017 - 8:02pm EDT PRESS DIGEST- British Business - June 8 June 8 - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. The Times Top shareholders in WPP Plc have attacked the company''s failure to put in place a proper succession plan for the chief executive, mounting a fresh rebellion over pay and governance at the FTSE 100 advertising group. bit.ly/2sF8XSX British shareholders in Banco Santander SA will be asked to dig deep into their pockets to fund the multibillion-euro rescue of a failing Spanish lender that the European Central Bank has warned will collapse without support. bit.ly/2sF1Gmb The Guardian Oil industry company Halliburton Co has been branded "obscene" for advertising unpaid UK internships, which critics say give an unfair advantage to people from privileged backgrounds. bit.ly/2sFlk1x The Telegraph Berendsen Plc has succumbed to a takeover proposal from French rival Elis SA, after the offer was raised for a second time to 2.2 billion pounds ($2.85 billion). bit.ly/2sEXx1D The plot to attack the London Bridge could have been hatched at a KFC restaurant in east London, it has emerged, following claims that two of the suspects worked there at the same time. bit.ly/2sEXGSJ Sky News BT Group Plc has picked a new auditor to replace PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP(PwC), months after the emergence of a 530 million pounds accounting crisis in its Global Services division. bit.ly/2sF8Wyc L''Oreal SA''s hopes of obtaining a bumper price for The Body Shop, the British-based ethical cosmetics retailer, have been dented by projections for a slump in profits this year. bit.ly/2sFqQ40 The Independent Theresa May will fail to secure a comprehensive free trade agreement with the rest of the EU by 2019 in a development that would mean a destructive "cliff-edge" Brexit for the United Kingdom, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has predicted. ind.pn/2sF4xv8 ($1 = 0.7716 pounds) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-press-business-idUSL3N1J45OG'|'2017-06-08T08:02:00.000+03:00' +'e4eabec037aa0a8f256c1b9fc1740a7e654ee59c'|'PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - June 26'|'Market News - Sun Jun 25, 2017 - 7:07pm EDT PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - June 26 June 25 The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. Headlines * Insurers warned of tower fire risk in month before Grenfell. on.ft.com/2sQwwc8 * Rome sets aside 17 bln euros to wind down failing lenders. on.ft.com/2sQKjzf * Mikhail Fridman fund to buy Holland & Barrett for 1.8 bln stg. on.ft.com/2sQOafR Overview * The Association of British Insurers had warned the government of the dangers of flammable cladding on buildings a month before the Grenfell Tower fire that killed at least 79 people. * Italy began winding down two failed regional banks on Sunday in a deal that could cost the state up to 17 billion euros ($19.03 billion) and will leave the lenders'' good assets in the hands of the nation''s biggest retail bank, Intesa Sanpaolo. * Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman''s fund L1 Retail has agreed to buy health food chain Holland & Barrett for about 1.8 billion pounds ($2.3 billion). ($1 = 0.8933 euros) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Andrew Hay) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-press-ft-idUSL8N1JM0SV'|'2017-06-26T07:07:00.000+03:00' +'914f3ce66205d653371556abc8c78e55fa03308c'|'After London attack, Facebook says aims to be ''hostile environment'' for terrorists'|'LONDON Facebook said it wanted to make its social media platform a "hostile environment" for terrorists in a statement issued after attackers killed seven people in London and prompted Prime Minister Theresa May to demand action from internet firms.Three attackers rammed a hired van into pedestrians on London Bridge and stabbed others nearby on Saturday night in Britain''s third major militant attack in recent months.May responded to the attack by calling for an overhaul of the strategy used to combat extremism, including a demand for greater international regulation of the internet, saying big internet companies were partly responsible for providing extreme ideology the space to develop.Facebook on Sunday said it condemned the London attacks."We want Facebook to be a hostile environment for terrorists," said Simon Milner, Director of Policy at Facebook in an emailed statement."Using a combination of technology and human review, we work aggressively to remove terrorist content from our platform as soon as we become aware of it and if we become aware of an emergency involving imminent harm to someone''s safety, we notify law enforcement."May has previously put pressure on internet firms to take more responsibility for content posted on their services. Last month she pledged, if she wins an upcoming election, to create the power to make firms pay towards the cost of policing the internet with an industry-wide levy.Twitter also said it was working to tackle the spread of militant propaganda on its website."Terrorist content has no place on Twitter," Nick Pickles, UK head of public policy at Twitter, said in a statement, adding that in the second half of 2016 it had suspended nearly 400,000 accounts."We continue to expand the use of technology as part of a systematic approach to removing this type of content."(Reporting by William James in London and Dion Rabouin; Editing by Alistair Smout and Ralph Boulton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-britain-security-facebook-idINKBN18V0ZQ'|'2017-06-04T16:48:00.000+03:00' +'d2c3b53f47eb23eca18d0bbe3a11feed454fd313'|'H&M beats profit forecasts but trading remains tough'|'By Anna Ringstrom and Helena Soderpalm - STOCKHOLM STOCKHOLM Swedish fashion chain H&M beat quarterly profit forecasts on Thursday after improving its ability to control costs as it expands across the globe.But the world''s second biggest fashion retailer said many major markets remained challenging. Unexpectedly low sales and higher inventories meant it had to step up price markdowns on its clothes to get them sold.After decades of strong growth, H&M has repeatedly missed sales forecasts because of stiffer competition from budget rivals such as Primark and new online players Zalando and Asos.Its bigger rival, Zara owner Inditex, has weathered sluggish markets better. H&M said key markets such as China and the United States remained tough.H&M''s shares, which have been on a downhill slope since 2015, rose 2.6 percent by 0720 GMT on the profit beat, taking a year-to-date fall to 17 percent, but investor uncertainty about the company''s sales outlook lingered. The shares later fell back to stand 0.9 percent higher by 0915 GMT."Whilst the outcome for the quarter is better than expected, there is plenty here for the bears too," said Morgan Stanley analysts, who have an "underweight" rating on H&M stock.INVESTING MOREH&M has in recent years made large IT investments to better integrate brick-and-mortar store and online shopping, and to speed up the supply chain to get new designs to consumers more rapidly.Analysts complain, however, that they are still seeing little sign that the investments are paying off."H&M has been investing heavily in online capability (IT, logistics, integration with the stores) for a some time now, but sales growth has yet to respond to this," said Societe Generale analyst Anne Critchlow, who rates H&M a "sell"."For the H&M concept''s young value fashion target audience, stronger investment may be required, for example through a free delivery and returns offer, in line with some of the pure online competitors."Chief Executive Karl-Johan Persson told a news conference investment levels would remain high. The company warned of more markdowns in its third quarter, after inventories increased also the second quarter.It also guided for local-currency sales growth in June, the first month of its third quarter, of 7 percent year-on-year, just below a mean forecast in a Reuters poll.It had already reported second-quarter sales.Critchlow said that implied flat like-for-like sales in June after they were flat or negative every month this year.In order to reach more shoppers and to reduce exposure to the increasingly crowded budget segment, H&M is also branching out into new separate brands with a higher price range than its core budget H&M brand.Pretax profit in the March-May period grew 10 percent from a year earlier, to 7.71 billion crowns ($904 million), against a mean forecast in a Reuters poll of analysts of less than 2 percent growth.Inditex earlier this month reported an 18 percent rise in quarterly profit, stretchingh its lead over H&M, although its sales growth slowed in the weeks before the report.H&M unveiled plans to enter Uruguay and Ukraine next year, and to roll out online in the Philippines and Cyprus this year and in India next year. The company, which doesn''t report online sales separately, predicted annual online sales growth of least 25 percent going forward.($1 = 8.5256 Swedish crowns)(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom and Helena Soderpalm; Editing by Keith Weir)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/h-m-results-idINKBN19K12H'|'2017-06-29T07:38:00.000+03:00' +'7047c31f212008af383e53eeb9d51a366fbdc736'|'Ex Top Gear presenter Hammond in hospital after crash'|'Hollywood 11:30pm IST Ex "Top Gear" presenter Hammond in hospital after crash FILE PICTURE: Richard Hammond, host of the BBC America series ''''Richard Hammond''s Crash Course,'''' speaks at the Cable portion of the Television Critics Association Summer press tour in Beverly Hills, California August 1, 2012. REUTERS/Fred Prouser LONDON Former "Top Gear" presenter Richard Hammond was airlifted to hospital in Switzerland on Saturday following a dramatic car crash while filming for his new show, but his injuries were not serious, a spokesman said. Hammond, 47, was driving an electric sports car during filming for "The Grand Tour" when the crash happened, the spokesman for the show said. "Richard was conscious and talking, and climbed out of the car himself before the vehicle burst into flames," a spokesman for "The Grand Tour" said in a statement. "He was flown by air ambulance to hospital in St Gallen to be checked over, revealing a fracture to his knee," it said. "The cause of the crash is unknown and is being investigated." Hammond was involved in a much more serious crash over a decade ago, while filming for his old show "Top Gear". He suffered serious brain injuries and was in hospital for five weeks after a Vampire drag racer he was driving burst a tire and left the course at 288 mph (463 kph) at Elvington airfield, near the British city of York, in September 2006. Hammond recovered and returned to broadcasting and to "Top Gear", which aired in more than 200 countries and was watched by 350 million viewers worldwide. He left the BBC show along with colleagues Jeremy Clarkson and James May when Clarkson was fired in 2015 for physically attacking a member of the production team. "The Grand Tour", an Amazon series, reunites the old "Top Gear" team. Saturday''s accident occurred during the filming of its second series. (Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Andrew Bolton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-britain-people-topgear-idINKBN1910UF'|'2017-06-10T16:00:00.000+03:00' +'4a6f9c461a8a02aedbcb216aa780a63e62afc620'|'UPDATE 2-CEO of Portugal''s EDP a suspect in corruption inquiry'|'Intel - Fri Jun 2, 2017 - 4:48pm EDT CEO of Portugal''s EDP a suspect in corruption inquiry FILE PHOTO: Portuguese electric power company Energia de Portugal''s (EDP) CEO Antonio Mexia announces their fourth quarterly results during a news conference in Lisbon March 5, 2013. REUTERS/Hugo Correia/File Photo LISBON Portugal''s public prosecutor named Energias de Portugal (EDP) CEO Antonio Mexia as a suspect in a corruption investigation on Friday after police searched the offices of EDP, grid operator REN and the local division of Boston Consulting Group. The prosecutor said in a statement the investigation was linked to hundreds of millions of euros in state compensation paid to former monopoly EDP for giving up some long-term power-purchase contracts as part of the liberalisation of the power sector that started in 2004. A spokeswoman for the prosecutor said Mexia, who has run Portugal''s biggest company since 2006, was a suspect in the case. Joao Manso Neto, who heads EDP''s renewables division, was also a suspect, she said. Two directors at REN, Joao Conceicao and Pedro Furtado, were also named as suspects by the prosecutor''s office. EDP said in a statement that investigators who searched its offices were given "unrestricted access to all information and all collaboration was given with a view to clarifying the facts." It said those named as suspects were the EDP representatives that had signed the power-purchase contracts at the time. The prosecutor''s office said in a second statement released on Friday evening that it had collected a large amount of documentation. "The investigation continues into what could be facts that are suspected of representing the crimes of active and passive corruption," the statement said. REN said in a statement that police searched its headquarters and it was collaborating with the authorities. Boston Consulting Group also confirmed police searched its Lisbon office and said in a statement it "will continue to collaborate with authorities in whatever is necessary, always ensuring the confidentiality of its clients". EDP shares closed 1.34 percent lower on Friday and REN slipped 0.5 percent, while the broader market in Lisbon ended little changed. (Reporting by Daniel Alvarenga and Andrei Khalip; Writing by Axel Bugge; Editing by David Clarke and Catherine Evans) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-portugal-corruption-utilities-idUSKBN18T2Q9'|'2017-06-03T04:46:00.000+03:00' +'0c66ecc03ef1095d658947c257ad63480475c7a9'|'Dont drop the energy price cap, Theresa May. You called this absolutely right - John Penrose - Opinion'|'W hatever the problems and criticisms levelled at the Conservative partys election campaign, we got one thing absolutely right: the energy price cap . Wherever I went and whoevers doorstep I was on, it was popular and its easy to see why.Tory MPs plot to water down Theresa May''s energy price cap pledge Read more Millions of us have been ripped off for years by the big six energy companies . Roughly two-thirds of all customers thats at least 20 million families are on the expensive, rip-off standard variable tariff .And while a minority of customers switch to a different energy supplier regularly, perhaps 90% of us dont either because we forget, are too busy, or simply dont know how to do it.The big six know this better than anyone. They exploit customer loyalty rather than rewarding it, by quietly switching us on to rip-off deals. Unless we do something about it, theyll keep milking us for as long as they can.The thing is, markets arent natural creations, like the laws of physics. Theyre man-made. If we get the rules right, consumers and citizens are top dogs. But if we get them wrong, then prices go up, quality goes down, and either the shareholders or the bosses make out like bandits at our expense.So how do we fix the energy market, so it works in favour of consumers and citizens instead?First, we need to make switching simple, quick, easy and safe. There are some detailed, but vital, steps that would make it less stressful and not so scary. If you could change your energy supplier, or your contract, in a few seconds, with a click of a mouse or a tick of a box, the number of people switching would go through the roof.But persuading us all to behave differently and to switch more will take time, probably years. And we cant leave more than two-thirds of the country thats 20 million households to carry on being ripped off while it happens.All parties, including Labour and the DUP, agreed in their manifestos that we need an energy price cap to stop this sort of behaviour. The 30 or so challenger energy companies that are snapping at the big six agree, and have been clamouring for a relative price cap for some time. I think we should listen to them.Simply put, the relative price cap is a maximum mark-up between each energy firms best deal, and their default tariff. It would mean that, once your existing deal comes to an end, if you forget to switch to a new one then you wont be ripped off too badly.Energy firms could still have as many tariffs as they wanted, so there would be plenty of customer choice, and competition would be red hot.It would be a lot better than an absolute price cap or freeze, which is what Ed Miliband originally proposedCrucially, it would be a lot better than an absolute price cap or freeze, which is what Ed Miliband originally proposed, because each energy firm could still adjust prices whenever it wanted, if the wholesale price of gas or electricity went up or down.A month ago the argument was won, but over the past couple of days the big six have been stirring things up and are still trying to stitch up a deal to get the whole thing dropped . The very fact that they dont like it, while their best challengers and competitors do, should tell us were on the right track.Like millions of families, Im fed up with rip-off energy prices. As the prime minister promised back in May: If I am re-elected I will take action to end this injustice by introducing a cap on unfair energy price rises.Weve got re-elected. Lets ignore the big six and deliver on our promises. Then well have won a huge prize: an energy sector that behaves like a normal industry at last, where the customer is king not the regulator or the politicians. And that would be an industry that is fair, that isnt hated by its customers, and that can hold its head up high at last.Topics Energy bills Opinion Theresa May Consumer affairs Conservatives Household bills General election 2017 comment Reuse this content'|'theguardian.com'|'https://www.theguardian.com/uk/business'|'https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jun/14/energy-price-cap-theresa-may-big-six-tory-policy'|'2017-06-15T02:24:00.000+03:00' +'2c58eeeef1cca167db53faf20f3911353bf072f1'|'Forcing clearing to leave London may be appropriate: ECB''s Coeure'|'Business News - Tue Jun 20, 2017 - 3:25pm BST Forcing clearing to leave London may be appropriate: ECB''s Coeure Benoit Coeure, board member of the European Central Bank (ECB), is photographed during an interview with Reuters journalists at the ECB headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, May 17, 2017. Picture taken May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT It may be appropriate for the European Union to force the relocation of clearing activities from London after Brexit if there is no other way to control risks, European Central Bank Executive Board Member Benoit Coeure said on Tuesday. Around 90 percent of euro denominated derivatives are cleared in London and post-Brexit options include denying recognition to a clearing house if it poses excessive risks and to require it to move to the EU. "I believe that such an approach will be justified in case EU authorities are unable to adequately control risks and fulfil their mandates through other means," Coeure said in a speech. He added that the ECB would issue an opinion on clearing in the coming months. (Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Alison Williams)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-clearing-ecb-idUKKBN19B20U'|'2017-06-20T22:25:00.000+03:00' +'5b7fad9c00eda949b239475187d774872d2369e2'|'Euro zone debt chiefs cautiously eye sustainable bond options'|'LONDON, June 20 Portugal, Ireland and Italy are all looking at the possibility of following France by issuing sustainable debt, the heads of their respective debt agencies said on Tuesday.France this year became the second sovereign after Poland to sell so-called "green bonds", where the proceeds are used to finance projects to address climate change.Portugal''s debt agency chief Cristina Casalinho told an audience at a Euromoney conference in London: "We''ve always been trying to diversify our investor base. We are considering green bonds, responsible bonds."Ireland''s head of funding Frank O''Connor added that green bonds could also be an option, alongside potentially issuing in U.S. dollars to broaden its investor base."The issue we may find in Ireland is sufficient projects that could qualify (for green investment) ... but we keep an open mind," said O''Connor.Italy''s debt chief Maria Cannata added that while she had no firm plans and was concerned about the reporting requirements of issuing sustainable debt, the Italian Treasury was "investigating all the aspects" of the new asset class. (Reporting by John Geddie and Dhara Ranasinghe)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/eurozone-bonds-green-idINU8N1CQ01I'|'2017-06-20T14:25:00.000+03:00' +'acd9a35a9f75b97f7f07887e8a4999a59bfc2e6a'|'U.S. Supreme Court ruling threatens massive talc litigation against J'|'Top News - Wed Jun 21, 2017 - 12:40am BST U.S. Supreme Court ruling threatens massive talc litigation against J&J FILE PHOTO - A Johnson & Johnson building is shown in Irvine, California, U.S., January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo By Nate Raymond Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ.N ) is seizing upon a U.S. Supreme Court ruling from Monday limiting where injury lawsuits can be filed to fight off claims it failed to warn women that talcum powder could cause ovarian cancer. New Jersey-based J&J has been battling a series of lawsuits over its talc-based products, including Johnson''s Baby Powder, brought by around 5,950 women and their families. The company denies any link between talc and cancer. A fifth of the plaintiffs have cases pending in state court in St. Louis, where juries in four trials have hit J&J and a talc supplier with $307 million (243.05 million pounds) in verdicts. Those four cases and most of the others on the St. Louis docket involve out-of-state plaintiffs suing an out-of-state company. On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 in a case involving Bristol-Myers Squibb Co ( BMY.N ) that state courts cannot hear claims against companies that are not based in the state when the alleged injuries did not occur there. The ruling immediately led a St. Louis judge at J&J''s urging to declare a mistrial in the latest talc case, in which two of the three women at issue were from out of state. It also could imperil prior verdicts and cases that have yet to go to trial. "We believe the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the Bristol-Myers Squibb matter requires reversal of the talc cases that are currently under appeal in St. Louis," J&J said in a statement. The question of where such lawsuits can be filed has been the subject of fierce debate. The business community has argued plaintiffs should not be allowed to shop around for the most favourable court to bring lawsuits, while injured parties claim corporations are trying to deny them access to justice. Along with talc cases, large-scale litigation alleging injuries from Bayer AG''s ( BAYGn.DE ) Essure birth control device in Missouri and California and GlaxoSmithKline''s ( GSK.L ) antidepressant Paxil in California and Illinois are examples of other cases where defendants could utilise the Supreme Court decision. Although he declared a mistrial on Monday, St. Louis Circuit Judge Rex Burlison left the door open for the plaintiffs to argue they still have jurisdiction. Plaintiffs lawyer Ted Meadows said he would argue the St. Louis court still had jurisdiction based on a Missouri-based bottler J&J used to package its talc products, which he said would create a sufficient connection to the state. "It''s very disappointing to mistry a case because the Supreme Court changed the rules on us," said Meadows. The lawsuit decided by the high court on Monday involved claims against Bristol-Myers and California-based drug distributor McKesson Corp ( MCK.N ) by 86 California residents and 575 non-Californians over the blood thinner Plavix. Beyond Monday''s mistrial, the Supreme Court''s ruling could bolster a pending appeal by J&J of a $72 million verdict in favour of the family of Alabama resident Jacqueline Fox, who died in 2015. A Missouri appeals court had said in May it would wait until the Supreme Court issued its decision to decide the appeal. J&J has won only one of the five trials so far in Missouri. It previously sought to move talc cases out of St. Louis, but the Missouri Supreme Court in January denied its bid. The company has also cast the St. Louis court as overly plaintiff-friendly and has allowed evidence linking talc to cancer that was rejected by a New Jersey state court judge overseeing over 200 talc cases. The plaintiffs are appealing. The talc verdicts against J&J led the business-friendly American Tort Reform Association last year to declare the St. Louis state court the nation''s top "Judicial Hellhole." Corporations like J&J facing a large volume of cases in venues chosen by plaintiffs will likely cite the Supreme Court to try to dismiss those claims, said Rusty Perdew, a defence lawyer at the law firm Locke Lord. "You have a bunch of defendants who can go back and say, ''Judge, you got that wrong and you''re going to have to dismiss claims by all those plaintiffs,''" he said. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Anthony Lin and Tom Brown)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-johnson-johnson-cancer-lawsuit-idUKKBN19B3AX'|'2017-06-21T07:19:00.000+03:00' +'f8ef6d950608b356ae040be0a7d8ec1159466481'|'ECB says Spain''s Popular likely to fail, will be bought by Santander'|'Top News - Wed Jun 7, 2017 - 7:40am BST ECB says Spain''s Popular likely to fail, will be bought by Santander People walk past a Banco Popular branch in Madrid, Spain, June 6, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Medina FRANKFURT Spain''s Banco Popular is running out of cash and is likely to fail, the European Central Bank said on Wednesday, adding the rescue plan for the bank will involve its acquisition by larger peer Banco Santander. "On 6 June, the European Central Bank (ECB) determined that Banco Popular Espaol S.A. was failing or likely to fail," the ECB said in a statement. "The significant deterioration of the liquidity situation of the bank in recent days led to a determination that the entity would have, in the near future, been unable to pay its debts or other liabilities as they fell due." "Consequently, the ECB ... informed the Single Resolution Board (SRB), which adopted a resolution scheme entailing the sale of Banco Popular Espaol S.A. to Banco Santander S.A." (Reporting By Francesco Canepa) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-spain-popular-ecb-idUKKBN18Y0GE'|'2017-06-07T14:31:00.000+03:00' +'953cb017ff50cc2d9d1bac3474c55649529ca138'|'Societe Generale launches initial public offering of ALD Automotive'|'PARIS Societe Generale ( SOGN.PA ) will sell up to 23 percent of its car leasing arm ALD Automotive in an initial public offering (IPO) this month, the French bank said on Monday, potentially raising as much as 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion).The indicative price range for the French public offering and the international offering is 14.20-17.40 euros per share, with pricing expected on June 15.SocGen has said that the share sale, France''s biggest IPO in more than 18 months, will help to accelerate development of ALD, which manages a worldwide fleet of 1.4 million vehicles.The initial sale of 80,820,728 existing shares, representing 20 percent of ALD''s share capital, will bring gross proceeds between 1.148 billion euros and 1.406 billion euros, the bank said in a statement.Assuming the exercise in full of the overallotment option, the total size of the global offering will range between about 1.32 billion euros and 1.62 billion euros, the statement said.This would value ALD at between 5.74 billion euros and 7.04 billion euros.ALD shares are expected to start trading on Euronext Paris on June 16, SocGen said, adding that it would remain ALD''s controlling shareholder.The biggest IPO on the Paris Euronext exchange since asset manager Amundi''s offering in November 2015 is expected to boost SocGen''s capital ratio by up to 20 basis points."As an indication, a disposal of 23 percent of ALD''s share capital would have a positive impact between 12 basis points and 20 basis points on the CET1 ratio," it said.Credit Suisse, JP Morgan and SocGen are joint global Coordinators on the IPO, with BofA Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and HSBC acting as joint bookrunners.(Reporting by Ingrid Melander and Dominique Rodriguez; Editing by David Goodman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-socgen-ald-ipo-idINKBN18W0K3'|'2017-06-05T04:07:00.000+03:00' +'f5cecf4db6c41b5bf100834c9cf975f00ae0553e'|'How Popular was caught off guard by Europe''s abrupt takeover'|'Top News - Thu Jun 8, 2017 - 4:33pm BST How Popular was caught off guard by Europe''s abrupt takeover A woman uses a Banco Popular''s cash dispenser (ATM) next to a Santander office in Barcelona, Spain June 7, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea By Jess Aguado and Andrs Gonzlez - MADRID MADRID When the 1,644 Spanish branches of Banco Popular ( POP.MC ) opened their doors on Monday morning, the bank''s chairman Emilio Saracho still hoped the 91-year-old lender, once the most efficient in Europe, could be saved. The previous Friday, shortly after Popular suffered another selloff on the stock market, he had sent an email to the bank''s staff to tell them it was solvent and they should keep working hard to overcome the current situation. "We need to work together and believe in what we do," Saracho wrote. JP Morgan and Lazard, which had been advising Popular since early May on finding a merger partner or raising new capital, had spent the weekend working the phones with other Spanish lenders in a bid to find a last minute solution. And the bank had requested emergency central bank liquidity that it believed meant it had a whole week to review its options and try to draw a line under a deposit flight that had wiped a quarter of its deposits. What Saracho didn''t appear to measure was that the fate of Spain''s sixth-biggest bank would be sealed in hours, not days or months as in previous European banking meltdowns. The swift manoeuvring by Europe''s bank regulators marks a sharp and brutal change in the way they deal with struggling banks, which could become a blueprint for handling other cases, especially in Italy where the rescue of troubled lenders has been under discussion for months. Previous bank rescues in the euro zone have involved protracted negotiations and government bailouts, even after new rules came in following the financial crisis, aimed at preventing taxpayer money being used in bank bailouts. However, the abruptness of the action by the authorities could raise questions about whether regulators and the Spanish government spent enough time exploring other options potentially less painful for shareholders or bondholders. That, in turn, could now pave the way for legal claims to be filed. The ECB, the Spanish government and Popular all declined to comment. TRIGGER On Saturday, the Single Resolution Board (SRB), a regulatory body responsible for dealing with the euro zone''s banking crises, met in Brussels to discuss the risks posed by Popular for Spain''s and Europe''s financial stability. Based on an independent valuation by Spanish boutique investment firm Arcano which showed Popular had a capital shortfall of up to 8 billion euros (7 billion), the SRB concluded the bank would likely fail to meet its financial obligations. It ordered an immediate fire sale, setting in motion the mechanism to take over the lender. "Saracho was left by the side of the road by the European resolution body," said one source, adding that JP Morgan''s last-ditch attempt at the weekend to find a buyer was predicated on an understanding that the SRB would soon move on Popular. The SRB declined to comment. Sources familiar with SRB strategy say the initial objective was to intervene in Popular on Friday, June 9, ahead of the weekend, to give enough time for negotiations. But both the volume of deposit withdrawals on Monday and the determination of European authorities to use their new banking resolution powers would speed things up dramatically. In the early afternoon of Tuesday, Saracho picked up the phone to call Spain''s Economy Minister Luis de Guindos and let him know Popular had run out of collateral to obtain new ECB liquidity. Branches might not open on Wednesday morning. "There was a bank run," the ECB''s deputy governor Vitor Constancio said on Thursday in response to questions about why the authorities had not spent more time analysing other options to salvage the bank. It was no longer a question of making sure the bank had enough capital to meet its long term obligations, so much as ensuring it had cash on hand to stay open. "It was not a matter of assessing the developments of solvency as such, but the liquidity issue." Within six hours, the SRB had swooped, cancelling the investments of Popular''s shareholders and junior bondholders with the stroke of a pen and selling the lender for a solitary euro to Spanish banking goliath Santander ( SAN.MC ). (Additional reporting by Carlos Ruano, Francesco Canepa in Frankfurt, Francesco Guarascio in Brussels and Pamela Barbaglia in London; writing by Julien Toyer; editing by Peter Graff) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-popular-m-a-santander-idUKKBN18Z24D'|'2017-06-08T23:11:00.000+03:00' +'5067622ba386fcca6be4cda16c4c3e34de3c099e'|'UPDATE 1-Syncrude Canada makes further cuts to June output forecast: sources'|'CALGARY, Alberta/NEW YORK Canadian synthetic crude differentials strengthened on Thursday, as market sources said June production forecasts at the Syncrude oil sands project in northern Alberta were trimmed yet again.Light synthetic crude from the oil sands for July delivery last traded at 30 cents per barrel over the West Texas Intermediate benchmark, according to Shorcan Energy brokers. That compared with a settlement price of 5 cents per barrel below the benchmark on Wednesday.The 350,000 barrel per day Syncrude project has been operating at reduced rates since a fire in March damaged the facility. Syncrude brought forward planned maintenance that is expected to be completed by the end of June.Two trading sources said Syncrude cut its most recent June production forecasts by around 3.5 percent on Thursday.One of the sources said that took the month''s production forecast down to 5.8 million barrels in total, around half the plant''s full capacity of 11 million barrels a month.A spokesman for Syncrude, which is majority-owned by Suncor Energy, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Western Canada Select heavy blend crude for July delivery last traded at $10.45 per barrel below WTI, unchanged from Wednesday''s settle.(Reporting by Catherine Ngai and Nia Williams, editing by G Crosse)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-canada-syncrude-output-idUSKBN18Z30J'|'2017-06-09T06:38:00.000+03:00' +'105e4c3b2d1f559d05032ee8ae1df2a39f44594a'|'Sky and Virgin Media join-up in targeted TV advertising'|'Market 2:16am EDT Sky and Virgin Media join-up in targeted TV advertising LONDON, June 15 British pay-TV rivals Sky and Liberty Global''s Virgin Media said on Thursday they would work together to offer advertisers targeted access to more than 30 million TV viewers in the UK and Ireland. The partnership, which covers both broadcast and video on demand (VOD) advertising, will make use of Sky''s AdSmart targeted advertising platform as well as Liberty Global''s technology, Sky said. (Reporting by Paul Sandle, editing by James Davey)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/sky-liberty-global-advertising-idUSFWN1JB0T1'|'2017-06-15T10:16:00.000+03:00' +'f2fcede18169b1a363bb11e781b67a46a228fee8'|'Revealed: chocolate and drinks shrink since Brexit vote with no price drop - Money - The Guardian'|'Exporters to the UK have been shrinking the size of products such as chocolate bars and fruit juices since the Brexit vote but not reducing the prices they charge British consumers in the shops, the government has been privately warned by European port officials.Minutes of a meeting between the Department for Transport and ports on either side of the Channel reveal concerns that the drop in the value of the pound since last June has prompted companies to offer shoppers in the UK less value for money for food and drink. The issue was raised by officials speaking for Zeebrugge, the Belgian port through which 17m tonnes of products arrive in the UK every year, the Guardian can reveal. The minutes of the meeting in Brussels note: The Port of Zeebrugge expressed its concerns over the currency devaluation of the pound sterling, which since the referendum on Brexit fell 15%.They continued: The industry that is located in the port of Zeebrugge has responded to this fall of the pound sterling by offering slightly smaller units of certain products for export to the UK, yet keeping the same selling price for those products (examples include bottling orange juice in bottles of 950ml instead of one litre, decreasing the amount of chocolate in a chocolate bar, etc).Austerity bites? Less chocolate for your money as packets shrink Read more In short, customers pay the same price and have the same quality of product, but receive less quantity.The UK imports 48% of its food and the plummeting value of the pound has increased costs for importers. Companies have until now, however, largely denied the influence of Brexit on cuts to the sizes of products, including the infamously redesigned Toblerone bar .As Theresa May took to the campaign trail championing the great opportunities of Brexit, Tim Farron, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, warned: This is a stealth Brexit squeeze on British consumers. While Theresa May is setting her rosy vision of Brexit, the reality is shoppers are already losing out.We will stand up against a bad Brexit deal that would push up prices further, and give people the final say.The shrinking of chocolate and drinks being sold in the UK was, however, only one of the issues raised during the discussions between Whitehall officials and the European Sea Ports Organisations Brexit working group on 31 January, the document reveals.Dover, Calais and Dublin ports voiced their fears about how they would cope with installing the infrastructure required for customs controls once the UK leaves the customs union and single market in March 2019.Calais said it does not have enough available space to accommodate customs controls for the vast amount of traffic passing through the port, the minutes report. The port was not planned for accommodating huge queues of lorries.The minutes add: Calais also highlighted that currently there is not enough customs personnel to perform the customs controls if the UK would leave the customs union and the UKs intention to constrain the free movement of people is considered as problematic.In this scenario, the port explained, the UK would have to conclude bilateral visa agreements with third countries, which would complicate the visa controls for the French police.The ports representatives added that given the massive amount of passenger traffic that runs through the port, the French police would not be able to deal with all the exceptions.The British transport officials present were also told that if customs controls would be reintroduced, the port of Dublin would need an estimated three hectares of land dedicated for customs.The minutes note: This would be problematic, as the port already has space constraints to expand due to its location. The ports approach in its masterplan is to further develop the land it has now, instead of expanding.Thus, dedicating three hectares of the available land to customs would be problematic. Reintroducing customs controls would also come with additional costs for customers of the port, since the turnaround time for a ship would increase. A possible solution to cope with the aforementioned customs related challenges could be to have UK customs in the port of Dublin and Irish customs on UK soil.A spokesman for the Department for Transport said they did not comment on leaks.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/jun/01/revealed-chocolate-and-drinks-shrink-since-brexit-vote-with-no-price-drop'|'2017-06-01T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'3030d67a17748be400199924a6653bf7eb5b8a76'|'UPDATE 1-BlackBerry''s revenue misses as enterprise orders fall'|'Technology News - Fri Jun 23, 2017 - 2:22pm EDT BlackBerry misses sales forecasts, shares tumble FILE PHOTO: A Blackberry smartphone is displayed in this illustrative picture taken in Bordeaux, Southwestern France, August 22, 2016. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo By Narottam Medhora and Jim Finkle - WATERLOO, Ontario WATERLOO, Ontario BlackBerry Ltd ( BB.TO ) ( BBRY.O ) posted quarterly revenue that missed analysts'' forecasts due to an unexpected sales decline, pushing shares down as much as 13 percent, which would be their biggest one-day drop in more than two years. The company reported that software and professional sales fell 4.7 percent to $101 million during the first quarter. Investors pay close attention to that category because growth of high-margin software sales is at the heart of Chief Executive Officer John Chen''s turnaround strategy for the company. Its stock had gained about 60 percent over the past quarter on expectations that sales of new software products are starting to take off. "This is a big disappointment for the stock and likely to cast a pall on the sustainability of the turnaround," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer with Solaris Asset Management who helps manage $1.5 billion. The Waterloo, Ontario-based company is focused on expanding sales to automakers and other manufacturers, and expanding in cyber security market, after ceding the smartphone market to rivals including Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ), Alphabet Inc''s ( GOOGL.O ) Google and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd ( 005930.KS ). ''ORGANIC'' GROWTH Chen said at a news conference that the company had "organic growth" in software sales of 12 percent, after adjusting for deferred-revenue from an acquisition in the year-earlier quarter. He added that the company would have to "play catch up" to meet its goal of boosting software and services revenue by 10 percent to 15 percent this year: "We intend to do that. Chen also said the first-quarter drop was due to a decline in professional services, which went from $27 million in the fourth quarter to "almost nothing" in the first quarter. "A lot of the newer markets BlackBerry is trying to position around are longer-term markets ... Managing short-term, quarter-on-quarter performance in light of that trajectory is going to be a challenge," said Nick McQuire, vice president for enterprise research at CCS Insight. BlackBerry''s U.S.- and Toronto-listed shares were down about 10 percent after falling as much as 13 percent, their biggest respective one-day falls since January 2015. The company reported revenue on adjusted basis of $244 million for the quarter ended May 31, missing analysts'' estimates of $264.5 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. It reported a quarterly profit of $671 million, or $1.23 per share, compared with a loss of $670 million, or $1.28 per share, a year earlier. ( blck.by/2sJnsFS ) The results included a previously disclosed $940 million arbitration payment from U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm Inc ( QCOM.O ). Excluding items, the company earned 2 cents per share. Analysts on average had expected the company to break even. The company also said it would buy back 31 million shares. (Reporting by Jim Finkle in Waterloo, Ontario; and Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; editing by G Crosse and Lisa Shumaker) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-blackberry-results-idUSKBN19E189'|'2017-06-23T19:21:00.000+03:00' +'ef887d0d977cd727ba16784242b24d2977d2b25a'|'Sprint in exclusive talks with Charter, Comcast on wireless deal'|'Technology 1:07pm EDT Charter, Comcast explore wireless partnership with Sprint: sources left right A screen shows a Sprint logo above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly before the opening bell in New York, U.S., June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson 1/2 left right A trader works below a screen showing a Sprint logo above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly before the opening bell in New York, U.S., June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson 2/2 By Liana B. Baker U.S. wireless carrier Sprint Corp is in talks with Charter Communications Inc and Comcast Corp about a partnership to boost the two U.S. cable companies'' wireless offerings, according to sources familiar with the matter. Sprint, controlled by Japan''s SoftBank Group Corp, has entered into a two-month period of exclusive negotiations with Charter and Comcast that has put its merger talks with U.S. wireless peer T-Mobile US Inc on hold till the end of July, the sources said on Monday. A deal with Sprint would build on a partnership that Charter and Comcast announced last month. The two cable operators have agreed that they would not do deals in the wireless space for a year without each other''s consent. Comcast has already unveiled plans for a wireless service, using its Wi-Fi hotspots and the airwaves of Verizon Communications Inc, the largest U.S. telecommunications provider, based on a deal between the two that dates back to 2011. Comcast and Charter are now in talks with Sprint to secure a similar network-resale agreement on better terms, the sources said. A previous nine-year-old network-resale agreement between Comcast and Sprint was never activated, one of the sources added. The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the negotiations, also said that Charter and Comcast were in preliminary talks to take an equity stake in Sprint as part of an agreement. Such a deal would allow Sprint to invest more in its network, the newspaper added. One of the sources said that a minority equity investment was being discussed but that it may not be part of any deal. Charter and Comcast could also look at jointly acquiring Sprint, but that is unlikely, the sources added. Sprint, Comcast and Charter declined to comment. An agreement with the cable providers over its network does not mean Sprint may not also seek a merger agreement with T-Mobile, which is controlled by Germany''s Deutsche Telekom AG, the sources said. Sprint sees the partnership as increasing competition in the market, which should help alleviate any antitrust concerns over a merger with T-Mobile, the source added. Investors have long expected a deal between T-Mobile and Sprint, the third- and fourth-largest U.S. wireless service providers, anticipating cost cuts and other synergies in the range of $6 billion to $10 billion. Three years ago, Sprint ended a previous round of talks to acquire T-Mobile amid opposition from U.S. antitrust regulators. (Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Anjali Athavaley; Editing by Sandra Maler and Muralikumar Anantharaman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sprint-corp-m-a-comcast-idUSKBN19I040'|'2017-06-27T09:09:00.000+03:00' +'e4f2f183547551ba610315c26256e7dc02b7bfb2'|'UPDATE 1-Cigna''s 2017 growth may include Medicare Advantage acquisitions'|'Market News 39am EDT UPDATE 1-Cigna''s 2017 growth may include Medicare Advantage acquisitions (Adds CEO comments, background on industry mergers) NEW YORK, June 21 Cigna Corp Chief Executive David Cordani told investors on Wednesday that the company has $7 billion to $14 billion in capital that it could use in 2017 for mergers and acquisitions in several areas, including Medicare Advantage for older people. Cordani, speaking during the company''s first meeting with investors since its deal to be bought by Anthem Inc officially broke off last month, said the company would also do at least $2 billion in share buybacks this year and set a target of $16 in earnings per share for 2021. He said M&A areas that the No. 5 health insurer is considering also include growing internationally and building out its pharmacy and physician-related businesses, its retail capabilities, and its government risk-based insurance programs. Cigna has a pharmacy management business that it is looking to expand both internally and through acquisitions, Cordani said. When an investor asked if the company was as interested now in building its Medicare Advantage business as it was two years ago, before the deal to be bought by Anthem was announced, Cordani confirmed that was the case. Several Wall Street analysts have recently written research notes about the merits of Cigna buying Humana Inc, a deal that they said had been under consideration before the Anthem deal was made. (Reporting by Caroline Humer; Editing by Nick Zieminski)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/cigna-investors-idUSL1N1JI0KL'|'2017-06-21T21:39:00.000+03:00' +'2c62375b5d030102211504612d79b607ae6f28c8'|'Russian investors could take part in Saudi Aramco IPO: RIA cites Novak'|'MOSCOW Russian investors could look into the possibility of taking part in the privatization of Saudi Arabia''s oil giant Saudi Aramco, once conditions for the sale are announced, RIA news agency Quote: d Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak as saying on Friday.The Saudi government plans to list up to 5 percent of Aramco on the Saudi stock exchange in Riyadh, the Tadawul, and on one or more international markets in the second quarter of 2018.(Reporting by Dmitry Solovyov; Writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Alexander Winning)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-russia-saudi-aramco-privatisation-idINKBN18T0IU'|'2017-06-02T04:18:00.000+03:00' +'0bee600d8484ec7ea5bbc6141ce3ebebbb8cf395'|'Sistema says court ''arrests'' stake in its largest asset over Rosneft dispute'|' 10:01pm BST Sistema says court ''arrests'' stake in its largest asset over Rosneft dispute The logo of Sistema JSFC is seen on its headquarters building in Moscow, September 17, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov By Anastasia Teterevleva and Vladimir Soldatkin - MOSCOW MOSCOW Russian conglomerate Sistema ( SSAq.L ) ( AFKS.MM ) said on Monday a Russian court had "arrested" some shares it owns, including in the country''s biggest mobile operator MTS ( MBT.N ), in a legal dispute with oil company Rosneft ( ROSN.MM ). Rosneft is suing Sistema for 170.6 billion roubles (2.28 billion pounds) in damages over the purchase of oil producer Bashneft ( BANE.MM ). Sistema proposed an out-of-court settlement last week. Rosneft spokesman Mikhail Leontyev said the arrest of the shares, which halts their use but does not seize them, was a "security measure" and the shares arrested equaled the value of Rosneft claims against Sistema. Sistema is one of the largest private holdings in Russia and is controlled by businessman Vladimir Yevtushenkov. MTS, with the market value of $8 billion according to Thomson Reuters data, is Sistema''s largest asset. Sistema interests also include agriculture, real estate and other assets. On Monday, Sistema said it had received notice of an enforcement action from the Moscow Directorate of the Federal Bailiffs Service and a copy of a court order from the Republic of Bashkortostan Arbitration Court. According to the court order, an arrest was imposed on a 31.76 percent stake in MTS, 100 percent of its Medsi chain of medical clinics, and 90.47 percent of Bashkirian Power Grid company owned by Sistema and its unit Sistema-Invest. Under the order, a relatively common device in Russia, Sistema still owns the shares but cannot carry out any action using them until the court allows it to. The court can order the shares to be seized, released or sold off as part of the dispute. Sistema owns a little over 50 percent in MTS, also present in Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia and Turkmenistan with a total 110 million clients. MTS shares lost over 6 percent in New York trade following shares arrest. "FAIR COMPENSATION" "The arrest of shares was made ... as a security in the framework of the legal claim lodged by Rosneft, Bashneft and the Republic of Bashkortostan against Sistema and Sistema-Invest," Sistema said on Monday. It said it considered the demands "unlawful and unfounded". MTS said in a separate statement: "This situation does not impact operations with MTS shares, and the rights to receive dividends on MTS shares owned by other shareholders." Bashneft, which produces around 400,000 barrels of crude oil a day, was owned by Sistema for a couple of years until 2014, when the court has ruled to return the company to the state. Yevtushenkov himself was accused in 2014 of misappropriating Bashneft shares and held for three months under house arrest. The charges, which Sistema denied, were eventually dropped Rosneft bought Bashneft from the state last year. "Shares are not being seized but a number of actions such as sale, purchase, usage as a collateral, are being suspended ... Rosneft needs a fair compensation of its claims and these assets act as guarantee for this becoming possible," Rosneft spokesman Leontyev said. He was later quoted by RIA news agency as saying that Rosneft was ready to accept any other "adequate" collateral from Sistema. Independent directors on Sistema''s board have asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to intervene in the dispute, but Kremlin has said Putin will not. (Additional reporting by Jack Stubbs,; Writing by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Alison Williams)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-sistema-rosneft-mts-idUKKBN19H2J3'|'2017-06-27T05:01:00.000+03:00' +'d3e8a3ea1ce388180aea26be68d4e56f3228bcb4'|'Manhattan Scientifics says Imagion Biosystems filed prospectus with Australian securities, investment commission'|'June 1 Manhattan Scientifics Inc:* Manhattan Scientifics says its affiliate company Imagion Biosystems filed a prospectus with Australian securities and investment commission* Manhattan Scientifics - Imagion Biosystems applied to Australian securities exchange for an IPO to raise up to a$12 million at a$0.20 per share '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/brief-manhattan-scientifics-says-imagion-idINFWN1IY0KP'|'2017-06-01T11:20:00.000+03:00' +'569fed3461a5bd67d83e0145ffa67e9bc2cf3939'|'U.S. small business borrowing drops to six-month low'|'In a sign that economic growth may soften ahead, borrowing by small U.S. firms dropped to a six-month low in April, data released on Thursday showed.The Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index dropped a third straight month in April to 123.1, down 5 percent from last April and the lowest level since October.Movements in the index typically correspond with changes in gross domestic product growth a quarter or two ahead. The U.S. economy grew at a 1.2 percent annual pace in the first quarter, though the Atlanta Fed currently projects second-quarter expansion at a brisk 3.8 percent pace.A separate barometer of small companies'' financial health suggests companies having more trouble paying off old loans. The share of loans more than 30 days past due was 1.7 percent in April, the highest rate in more than four years, PayNet data showed."That''s a bad cocktail: falling investment and rising loan delinquency," said Bill Phelan, PayNet''s chief executive and founder. "It certainly is going in the wrong direction."Though still well below the crisis-era peak of 4.7 percent, the rise suggests an erosion in financial health that could spell trouble for future borrowing.Healthcare was hit particularly hard, with borrowing falling 14 percent in April as the young Trump administration struggled to deliver on a promise to replace Obamacare with a new health insurance system.Small business borrowing is a key barometer of growth because small companies tend to do much of the hiring that drives economic gains.PayNet collects real-time loan information such as originations and delinquencies from more than 325 leading U.S. lenders.(Reporting by Ann Saphir; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-lending-idUSKBN18S4DC'|'2017-06-01T13:08:00.000+03:00' +'85f31254a00e461a15c31743ec5a94cc55e80f67'|'U.S. judge allows some VW investor diesel claims to proceed'|'Autos - Wed Jun 28, 2017 - 5:28pm EDT U.S. judge allows some VW investor diesel claims to proceed Volkswagen''s logo is seen at its dealer shop in Beijing, China, October 1, 2015. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon By David Shepardson - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON A federal judge in California on Wednesday allowed some claims to proceed by investors who sued Volkswagen AG over its diesel emissions scandal, but agreed to the German automaker''s request to dismiss parts of the lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer said in an 18-page order he was allowing claims that VW and then-Chief Executive Officer Martin Winterkorn intentionally or recklessly understated VW''s financial liabilities made since May 2014, but dismissing claims for financial statements issued before then. That VW "may have deliberately employed an illegal defeat device does not mean the company knew with reasonable certainty that it was going to get caught," Breyer wrote in dismissing thee older statements. Breyer also dismissed claims that VW brand chief Herbert Diess understated VW financial liabilities in 2015, but Breyer rejected a bid to throw out a claim against then VW U.S. chief Michael Horn. The plaintiffs, mostly U.S. municipal pension funds, have accused VW of not having informed the market in a timely fashion and understated possible financial liabilities. The lawsuits said VW''s market capitalization fell by $63 billion after the diesel cheating scandal became public in September 2015. The plaintiffs had invested in VW through American Depositary Receipts, a form of equity ownership in a non-U.S. company that represents the foreign shares of the company held on deposit by a bank in the company''s home country. Volkswagen said in a statement it was pleased "with the courts decision to limit the scope of the plaintiffs allegations, and believes the remaining claims are without merit, which we intend to demonstrate as this case proceeds." CEO Winterkorn resigned days after the scandal became public and much of the company''s management has changed since 2015. VW in September 2015 admitted using sophisticated secret software in its cars to cheat exhaust emissions tests and pleaded guilty in March in a U.S. court to three felonies in connection with the scandal. Volkswagen has agreed to spend as much as $25 billion in the United States to resolve claims from owners and regulators over polluting diesel vehicles and has offered to buy back about 500,000 vehicles. Through mid-June, VW has spent $6.3 billion buying back vehicles and compensating U.S. owners. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by David Gregorio) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-idUSKBN19J2WI'|'2017-06-29T00:15:00.000+03:00' +'18d714de038f46b96570ee80f9f7f007fa27fb85'|'UK consumer confidence plunges after PM May''s election flop - YouGov/Cebr'|' 7:45am BST UK consumer confidence plunges after May''s election flop - YouGov/Cebr A woman shops in a supermarket in London, Britain April 11, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall LONDON Britain''s messy election outcome and a weakening of the housing market have caused a sharp of loss of confidence among consumers, leaving the country dependent on exports to avoid a recession, according to a survey published on Tuesday. An index of consumer confidence produced by polling firm YouGov fell back to just above levels last seen just after last year''s shock referendum decision to leave the European Union. "Our preliminary assessment is that economic growth will fall sharply over the coming months and the country will only be saved from recession by strong international trade," said Douglas McWilliams, deputy chairman at the Centre for Economics and Business Research which produces the index with YouGov. Prime Minister Theresa May''s failure to secure a parliamentary majority in the June 8 election, raising the prospect of a weak government, weighed on consumers who were already feeling the strain of higher inflation and weak wage growth, YouGov said. "But the real cause for alarm will be the cooling of the property market, as this is one of the key things that has propped up consumer confidence over the past few years," Stephen Harmston, head of YouGov Reports, said. YouGov''s conclusions were based on data collected between June 9 and June 21. The online polling company conducts around 6,000 online surveys a month. Britain''s housing market has come under pressure in recent months. Mortgage lender Nationwide has reported three successive monthly falls in house prices for the first time since 2009, while rival Halifax says annual growth is the lowest since 2013. Britain''s economy as a whole initially withstood the shock of the Brexit vote but lost much of its momentum in early 2017. The combination of slow growth and high inflation has put the Bank of England in a difficult spot. Its interest-rate setters split 5-3 this month on the need to raise borrowing costs to see off a rise in inflation. The BoE is waiting to see if exports can offset weaker consumer demand. There was some more encouraging economic news on Tuesday from jobs website Adzuna. For the past two years it has reported year-on-year declines in available wages. May''s decline of 1.0 percent was the joint-smallest since July 2015. (Reporting by William Schomberg, editing by David Milliken)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-idUKKBN19H2P6'|'2017-06-27T07:12:00.000+03:00' +'a35fe831aa0d733810ee7f597ca5cbc644956174'|'Uncertainty over Stada bid likely to drag on over weekend: sources'|'By Alexander Hbner - FRANKFURT FRANKFURT Buyout groups Bain Capital and Cinven must wait over the weekend to see whether their takeover bid for the German generic drugmaker Stada ( STAGn.DE ) has been successful, two sources familiar with the situation said.The tender offer for the agreed 5.3 billion euro ($5.9 billion) deal at 66 euros per share ran through to the end of Thursday, June 22, and was made conditional on securing 67.5 percent of the shares in the drugmaker. By late Friday, they had not announced the threshold had been crossed."We''re not yet there. But hope springs eternal," one source told Reuters.Bain, Cinven and Stada declined to comment.By Thursday at 1030 GMT 45.3 percent of the shares had been tendered, the buyout groups said, 22 points short of the required minimum.Even though institutional investors typically tender shortly before the deadline, the bidders have grown increasingly uneasy about the slow uptake, sources close to them have told Reuters.Shares in Stada closed at 63.76 euros on Friday, under the offer price of 66 euros a share.The bid is nevertheless widely regarded as attractive, given the premium of 49 percent over the share price before initial reports emerged that a takeover was on the cards.Bain and Cinven had vied fiercely with a rival consortium comprising Advent and Permira for control of Stada.Many buyout firms are flush with cash after recent divestments and cheap borrowing costs and they are particularly attracted to healthcare assets for their reliable cash flows that are immune to swings in the business cycle.In early June Bain and Cinven lowered the minimum acceptance threshold from 75 percent and postponed the cut-off date by two weeks.A relatively large 27 percent of shares are held by individual non-professional investors, many of whom are elderly, according to the sources.Only about half of these retail investors are expected to tender, with the rest expected to ignore or forget letters from custodian banks informing them of the offer.Some custodian banks may take longer to notify Stada and its suitors of the shares tendered, meaning it may be Monday or Tuesday before the last shares arrive."Some banks still send them in the post," one investment banker said.Complicating things further for Stada''s suitors, index tracking funds that cannot tender are seen as holding about 12 percent of the shares.While German takeover rules bar Bain and Cinven from amending their offer a second time, they could make a renewed bid with Stada''s approval within a year of the first attempt failing.(Writing by Ludwig Burger and Victoria Bryan; editing by Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-stada-arzneimitt-m-a-idINKBN19E22N'|'2017-06-23T15:40:00.000+03:00' +'b6f1532c6e9ef73cb9f82cd3ca9abf4c197b70d2'|'Philippines mining bureau official says open-pit ban has ''no legal basis'''|'Environment 5:44am BST Philippines mining bureau official says open-pit ban has "no legal basis" MANILA A ban on open-pit mining in the Philippines enforced by a former environment minister has "no legal basis" and is under review, a senior official at the government''s mines bureau said on Thursday. "In the Philippines ... surface mining or ''open-pit'' is technically and financially feasible," Larry Heradez, chief of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau''s legal division, told reporters. Heradez is part of a team that is reviewing the policy orders of Regina Lopez, the former environment secretary who was dismissed last month. Heradez also said that some of the 75 mining contract cancellations that Lopez ordered may end up being upheld due to "possible violations like non-payment of taxes and non-implementation of work programmes". (Reporting by Enrico dela Cruz; Writing by Manolo Serapio Jr.)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-philippines-mining-idUKKBN19K0DQ'|'2017-06-29T07:41:00.000+03:00' +'ddb38d163dde3aebbbce37285ed1b590ca2fa727'|'Vivendi''s video-sharing website bets on new partnerships to gain viewers'|'PARIS Vivendi''s video-sharing website Dailymotion said on Tuesday it signed new partnerships with major U.S. music and media providers to stimulate its viewership and better compete world giants Facebook and Alphabet''s Google.The three new partnerships were signed with Vivendi''s Universal Music Group, Time Warner''s international news channel CNN and Vice Media, Dailymotion said in a statement.The website is betting on gaining new viewers through higher quality content and a new smartphone application that will be launched in France on July 25."The new version will favor well-produced videos," Dailymotion''s chief executive Maxime Saada said."There is an opportunity for us to serve a population aged between 18 and 49, upper-middle class, which is not necessarily well served by other platforms."About 100 engineers were recruited over the past twelve months to work on the application, which has less aggressive advertisements features, Saada added. Total staff should reach 400 by year-end.Vivendi acquired about 90 percent of Dailymotion two years ago for 246 million euros ($274 million). The group has invested about the same amount to develop the new Dailymotion offer, a source close to the matter said.The platform has 300 million unique users per month worldwide. This represents a fraction of Google''s YouTube platform, which has more than a billion users, or almost one third of all people on the internet.(Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain ang Gwenaelle Barzic; editing by John Irish)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-vivendi-dailymotion-idUSKBN19B2AZ'|'2017-06-20T23:58:00.000+03:00' +'5ca68379253d6dc6e11d936346c6baa4a500d83e'|'U.S. says hopes China will approve more GMO corn for import'|'Environment - Tue Jun 27, 2017 - 11:30pm EDT U.S. says hopes China will approve more GMO corn for import BEIJING The United States hopes that more varieties of its genetically modified corn will be approved for import by Beijing, the U.S. ambassador to China said on Wednesday. The comments came after the world''s top grains buyer this month approved two new strains of U.S. genetically modified (GMO) crops for import, from Dow AgroSciences and Monsanto. "We are hopeful that other ... corn traits can also be approved," said Terry Branstad, who arrived in Beijing on Tuesday to take up his post. China does not permit the planting of genetically modified food crops, but does allow some GMO imports for use in animal feed. But getting a new GMO crop variety approved for import typically takes around six years, compared with under three in other major markets, forcing leading agrichemical players to restrict sales during China''s review process. This month''s approvals of new GMO imports follow an agreement by the two nations in May to restart trade in U.S. beef. "We are excited about the trade expansion and the opportunity to ... market American beef here," Branstad said. (Reporting by Michael Martina; Writing by Hallie Gu; Editing by Joseph Radford) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-usa-corn-idUSKBN19J09X'|'2017-06-28T11:27:00.000+03:00' +'5d9f29cd3852f5f647241ff8fce21451201edbfc'|'In New York, France promises English-law contracts after Brexit'|' 7:50pm BST In New York, France promises English-law contracts after Brexit French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire leaves after the weekly cabinet meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, June 28, 2017. REUTERS/Charles Platiau By Jonathan Spicer - NEW YORK NEW YORK France will set up a special court to handle English-law cases for financial contracts after Britain leaves the European Union, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Thursday as Paris steps up its charm offensive to attract banks. In a roadshow in New York where he was meeting Wall Street banks, Le Maire, a conservative poached by new President Emmanuel Macron, said France no longer considered finance an enemy, in a dig to his Socialist predecessor. "Finance is not the enemy, unemployment is the enemy," Le Maire said, referring to former president Francois Hollande who swept to power in 2012 declaring finance his enemy and imposing a now-defunct tax on millionaires. Seeking to capitalize on Macron''s pro-business outlook, Le Maire told a conference at the Economic Club of New York that France would create a special court to handle disputes related to financial contracts governed by English law once Britain leaves the EU. Most loan and derivative contracts in Europe are written in English law, but Britain''s exit from the European Union raises problems about how they would be enforced outside of Britain. "All proceedings will take place in English. We will hire people with experience in common law regardless of where they come from," Le Maire said. While Macron, a former investment banker, is more relaxed about the use of English than previous French leaders, the move marks a big step for a country that takes deep pride in its language and cherishes its legal system rooted in Roman law. "Long gone are the days when you could only do business or speak to regulators in French. We will always be proud of our language, but we also understand the need to make it easier for financial institutions operating in France," Le Maire said in a speech delivered in English. Macron''s government is keen to convince Wall Street banks to dump London for Paris, hoping to override concerns about its rigid labor laws and high taxes with plans to push through reforms to make doing business easier. "Attracting major U.S. banks to Paris, rather than letting them settle in London, Dublin, Amsterdam or Frankfurt, is about creating jobs in France, bringing wealth to France," Le Maire said. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe is to announce measures in the coming weeks to boost the attractiveness of Paris as a global financial hub, a government spokesman said on Wednesday. In New York, Le Maire was due to meet executives from banks JPMorgan, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Lazard, private equity firm KKR, fund giant Blackrock and hedge fund Paulson & Co. Former Bank of France governor Christian Noyer told Reuters this week that banks from London had been quietly securing licenses to operate from Paris after Brexit. (Writing by Leigh Thomas and Michel Rose; Editing by Ingrid Melander and Janet Lawrence)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-france-britain-court-idUKKBN19K2QH'|'2017-06-29T21:22:00.000+03:00' +'51f9b7d2ef036eaa3cc8aaa4ee9c37a0440530ab'|'European shares tread water as UK election, Spanish banks in focus'|'Top News - Wed Jun 7, 2017 - 5:24pm BST European stocks supported by banks, utilities before UK election Traders work in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, June 6, 2017. REUTERS/Staff/Remote By Kit Rees - LONDON LONDON Banks and utilities supported European stocks on Wednesday, with relief that Spain''s struggling Banco Popular ( POP.MC ) was being rescued by Santander ( SAN.MC ) lifting bank shares. The STOXX 600 index fell 0.1 percent, weighed down by a late drop in energy stocks. Crude oil prices plunged after data showed U.S. stocks of crude oil and gasoline surprisingly rose last week.[O/R] Britain''s FTSE 100 .FTSE index fell 0.6 percent and Germany''s DAX .GDAXI inched 0.1 percent. Although shares in Santander fell 0.9 percent in choppy trade and Banco Popular''s were suspended, European banks .SX7P were among the standout performers, gaining 0.7 percent. Santander said it would buy Popular and carry out a capital increase of around 7 billion euros (6.1 billion). "As a stand-alone bank, (Popular) was close to failing ... and the failure of any bank, as we''ve seen in the past, can set of that chain of events where the whole banking sector gets freaked out, investors especially," said Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets. Spain''s Bankia ( BKIA.MC ), Italy''s UniCredit ( CRDI.MI ) and France''s Societe Generale ( SOGN.PA ) were all up between 1 percent and 4.9 percent. European utilities .SX6P also gained, led by Germany''s E.ON ( EONGn.DE ) and RWE ( RWEG.DE ). Both rose more than 5 percent after the country''s highest court declared a nuclear fuel tax illegal, enabling them to claim back 6 billion euros in cash. Shares in Swedish biometric firm Fingerprint Cards ( FINGb.ST ) were the top STOXX risers, jumping 11.6 percent, after confirming an order for its sensors. On the downside, Covestro ( 1COV.DE ) dropped 4.6 percent after Bayer ( BAYGn.DE ) cut its stake in the plastics maker to 44.8 percent from 53.3 percent. Investors were also looking ahead to the British election on Thursday, as well as the European Central Bank''s policy meeting. "Whatever the outcome on Friday morning, markets actually have very little to go on to be able to judge whether such a new government would be more or less successful in negotiations with the EU," Don Smith, chief investment officer at Brown Shipley, said in a note. "We are unlikely to see anything like the huge fluctuations in markets that occurred in the immediate wake of last summers referendum," Smith added, referring to the Britain''s vote last June to leave the European Union. (Additional reporting by Danilo Masoni; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Alexander Smith) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks-idUKKBN18Y0PE'|'2017-06-07T15:59:00.000+03:00' +'017c620e9bf437f65eea4bbaf6f4847c61bfbce0'|'Covestro vows to cash out to shareholders if no takeover on cards'|' 43am BST Covestro vows to cash out to shareholders if no takeover on cards FRANKFURT German plastics and chemicals group Covestro ( 1COV.DE ) pledged it would return cash to shareholders if it cannot find a suitable major takeover target within two years as it expects to generate 5 billion euros (4.39 billion) in total operating cash flow after investments over the next five years. "We intend to return excess cash to our shareholders after 24 months without significant M&A activity. This return could be done via share buybacks or special dividends," Chief Executive Patrick Thomas said in a statement on Thursday. Covestro, which parent Bayer ( BAYGn.DE ) plans to sell, is holding a capital markets day for analysts and investors on Thursday. (Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Maria Sheahan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-covestro-cashflow-idUKKBN19K0M7'|'2017-06-29T09:43:00.000+03:00' +'03c281ccb419716447395e898be8615f73b64702'|'Delivery Hero sets IPO for June 30 as it fends off Uber, Amazon'|'Business News - Mon Jun 19, 2017 - 7:11am BST Delivery Hero IPO to raise nearly 1 billion euros Andreas Harte, a Foodora delivery cyclist poses in front of Delivery Hero headquarters in Berlin, Germany, June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch FRANKFURT Online food takeaway firm Delivery Hero said it would sell up to 39 million shares in its initial public offering (IPO), raising around 927 million euros (814.3 million pounds), as it seeks to fend off new competitors such as Uber and Amazon. Delivery Hero will become the fourth major online food delivery firm to go public in recent years globally, following GrubHub, Just Eat and Takeaway.com, which have all seen their shares soar since listing. Almost 19 million of the shares to be offered to investors at 22.00 to 25.50 euros apiece will be from a capital increase, Delivery Hero said on Monday. Fifteen million shares will come from existing shareholders, including German e-commerce investor Rocket Internet. The listing will provide a much-needed boost to struggling Rocket Internet, which holds a 35 percent stake in Delivery Hero, making it the biggest holding in its portfolio. An additional 5.1 million shares indirectly held by Rocket could be placed in an over-allotment, Delivery Hero said. The shares are expected to start trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on June 30. Founded in Berlin in 2011, Delivery Hero has grown rapidly and now employs over 6,000 people, providing a digital platform to order meals from more than 150,000 restaurants in 40 countries in Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia. (Reporting by Tom Sims and Maria Sheahan; Editing by Himani Sarkar) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-delivery-hero-ipo-idUKKBN19A0H9'|'2017-06-19T13:28:00.000+03:00' +'3f8ab9d92d57845ffbbb93941377beff988082c2'|'Brazil blocks JBS deal, seeks asset freeze amid corruption probe'|'By Lisandra Paraguassu and Cesar Raizer - BRASILIA BRASILIA A Brazilian judge has blocked JBS SA''s ( JBSS3.SA ) planned sale of a South American unit while the attorney general''s office urged the company''s assets be frozen, in signs of fallout from a corruption probe involving the controlling shareholders of the world''s No. 1 meatpacker.Federal Judge Ricardo Leite blocked JBS''s $300 million sale of the unit to rival Minerva SA ( BEEF3.SA ), citing a corruption scandal ensnaring JBS''s controlling Batista family, court documents seen by Reuters showed on Wednesday.In a separate decision, the attorney general''s office urged state auditors to freeze assets of JBS and the Batistas, who own 42 percent of JBS. The move guarantees that funds reimbursing state lender BNDES [BNDES.UL] for faulty dealings with JBS will be preserved, the attorney general''s office said in a statement.Common shares in JBS surged 4.3 percent, while those of Minerva reversed early gains on the judge''s decision. Minerva''s stock shed 2.7 percent to 11.52 reais as of 4:20 p.m. local time (1920 GMT).Leite, the judge, sits on the court that will review a leniency deal the Batistas reached with prosecutors, and his decision highlights the legal risks for the meatpacker and its founding family.Last month, Prosecutor-General Rodigo Janot reached a plea agreement with billionaire brothers Wesley and Joesley Batista to avoid prosecution if they turned in 1,893 politicians involved in a bribery scheme. A separate leniency deal between the Batistas and federal prosecutors was signed on May 31, requiring the family to pay a 10.3 billion reais ($3.1 billion)fine over 25 years.The terms of the plea agreement have drawn intense scrutiny after the Batistas alleged that President Michel Temer took part in a bribery scheme, threatening to topple the president and sink his reform agenda.Leite said in his ruling that the deal to sell JBS beef plants in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay could harm the corruption investigation.(Writing by Marcelo Teixeira, Brad Haynes and Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Cynthia Osterman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-corruption-jbs-idINKBN19C24T'|'2017-06-21T19:01:00.000+03:00' +'eddf65f4ce7be44db504ac0d1ad59045ad7920f0'|'Risk of air accidents in UK up after CAA cost-cutting, warns leaked report - Business'|'Risk of air accidents in UK up after CAA cost-cutting, warns leaked report Draft internal Civil Aviation Authority report criticised significant weaknesses, including in monitoring flight training and licensing pilots Emergency services at scene of Shoreham airshow crash in 2014. An official report revealed the CAA had inspected just 2.8% of the airshows it approved in 2014. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images Risk of air accidents in UK up after CAA cost-cutting, warns leaked report Draft internal Civil Aviation Authority report criticised significant weaknesses, including in monitoring flight training and licensing pilots View more sharing options Friday 23 June 2017 15.40 BST Last modified on Friday 23 June 2017 15.42 BST Cost-cutting and overstretched staff at the Civil Aviation Authority have increased the risk of air accidents in Britain, according to a leaked internal report drafted by the air safety regulator but never released. Inspectors at the CAA, which oversees flight safety, warned bosses that they did not have the resources to do their job properly, the draft report shows. There were significant weaknesses in the CAAs safety division, including monitoring flight training and licensing pilots, the report said. The provisional report, produced by the CAAs head of strategy and safety assurance on the request of senior directors but never published, warned that the problems it identified were those most likely to feature as contributory causal factors in aircraft accidents. A staff survey detailed within the report showed that fewer than 10% believed their colleagues had time to undertake important safety activities to an acceptable standard. Fewer than 20% agreed that all of the organisations important safety functions were adequately covered. And fewer than 20% of staff agreed that its activities were sufficient to assure ourselves that we are protecting the safety of the public. Damning criticisms in the safety assurance review included: A large number of licences issued to pilots contained errors. The CAA was failing to properly oversee flight training organisations. Significant staff reductions have led in some cases to insufficient access to expertise. Important safety activities required by the European Air Safety Agency (the EU regulator) were significantly behind schedule. The CAAs capability does not match the true demands. The review and survey was proposed by the CAAs safety action group and commissioned by safety director Mark Swan, amid a shakeup of the CAA. The group proposed the review to ensure that the organisation continued to be fit for purpose to deliver effective safety oversight. While the review rated the overall fitness for purpose of the safety division as adequate, it found that in all areas reviewed, there is evidence that the resources available are at minimum levels. There is a general lack of resilience. It added: The areas that appear to be currently suffering the most are those most critical to protect public safety. Questions had been raised about the CAA regime by accident investigators in the wake of the Shoreham airshow crash in August 2015 , in which 11 people were killed after a plane crashed while attempting a stunt. The official report by the Air Accident Investigation Branch revealed that the CAA had inspected just 2.8% of the airshows it approved in 2014, and did not require to see or approve risk assessments before permitting the Shoreham show to go ahead. What happened at the Shoreham airshow crash? Read more Although the CAA was not directly affected by government cuts, it was pressured by ministers to embrace more light-touch regulation, especially with regards to general aviation, which includes airshows. Grant Shapps, at the time a minister without portfolio, had demanded the minimum necessary burden for private flying in a so-called red-tape challenge to the CAA in 2013. The chief executive of the CAA, Andrew Haines, was appointed in 2009 with a brief to modernise the agency, and was incentivised to complete a transformation programme that saw the wage bill slashed. The regulator is funded by the airlines and operators it regulates, which have lobbied to lower the charges. The CAA pledged to freeze all its fees and charges, the source of its revenues, for three years in 2011 and by 2013 said it would be saving the equivalent of 120 full-time jobs. Insiders claim that pressure to run the authority as a commercial enterprise has diminished the CAAs capacity to monitor safety. A significant number of highly trained and experienced staff in the safety division have left the CAA in recent years. The union representing safety inspectors said a significant number of its members had left the CAA. Steve Jary, national secretary, aviation, at Prospect, said: Put simply, they are no longer confident that they can do their job keeping the public safe. But they cant speak out: around 30 have left with confidentiality agreements in their exit packages. A spokesperson for the CAA said: The UK has one of the best air safety records in the world, and the CAA is recognised as one of the worlds leading aviation regulators. We are subject to rigorous independent safety audits by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Their audits show the CAA is consistently performing to a very high standard, in compliance with our regulatory duties and often provides best practice guidance for Europe and other parts of the world helping to protect UK citizens wherever they are travelling. In addition, we assess our own performance. The 2014 safety assurance review was commissioned to ensure our regulatory oversight was responding to both current and emerging safety risks. The results helped to inform changes in how we organise our work and how we communicate within the organisation. We have consistently protected frontline safety roles at a time when other parts of the public sector have had to undertake drastic cuts. Topics'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jun/23/risk-of-air-accidents-in-uk-up-after-caa-cost-cutting-warns-leaked-report'|'2017-06-23T22:40:00.000+03:00' +'b823c47d363d536e49fc2dff7f66fcb9665106ea'|'Panic averted as bonds sail gently out of decades-old bull market'|'Central Banks 15pm BST Panic averted as bonds sail gently out of decades-old bull market By Dhara Ranasinghe and John Geddie - LONDON LONDON Almost a year after the tide turned on an unbroken three-decade decline in world bond yields, stubbornly low wage growth and inflation and central bank hesitancy suggest any rise in ultra-low borrowing costs will be far slower than many had feared. Yields in Europe, Japan and the United States are all up from record lows hit a year ago as fears of deflation ebb and the global economic expansion goes up a gear. The euro zone, for example, is recording its best growth rates in a decade. But a lack of sustained consumer, wage or commodity price pressures mean there is no urgency for much tighter monetary policy over the longer term, even though the U.S. Federal Reserve last week lifted rates for the second time in 2017. And that puts long-term debt markets back on a more comfortable footing, even if the super-low yields of this time last year are behind us for good. "We have seen the end of the secular bond market bull run, but that doesn''t necessarily mean that you transition straight into a secular bear market," said Mark Dowding, a portfolio manager at BlueBay Asset Management. U.S. 10-year yields US10YT=RR have retraced almost all of the sharp rise that followed President Donald Trump''s election last November on promises of higher spending seen as likely to boost growth and inflation in the world''s biggest economy. In Europe, German equivalents are around 50 basis points above a low hit in early July 2016 DE10YT=TWEB, but have traded in a tight 30-40 bps range all year. One of the reasons is the constant demand for bonds from pension and insurance funds, who favour fixed income investments to better match liabilities and to ''de-risk'' portfolios as ageing workers move toward retirement. Data compiled by JP Morgan shows that bonds have made up 45-50 percent of the assets of G4 -- euro zone, Britain, Japan and U.S. -- pension funds and insurance companies for the last eight years, proving relatively insensitive to price changes. For the graphic on global funds hold on bonds, click reut.rs/2s5gSuy Combined with central bank holdings, this ''sticky money'' makes up at least 50 percent of investment into bonds globally, private estimates suggest. And even some of the more speculative funds polled by Reuters have shown no sign of giving up on what has historically been seen as a reliable store of wealth. Those polls show global investors -- including asset managers and private wealth funds -- have kept their allocations to fixed income fairly steady between 39 and 41 percent over the past year. [ASSET/WRAP] RETHINK The last few months appear to have given bond investors comfort that even if yields trend higher over the next few years, the final destination is less dismaying than it once seemed and it may take longer to get there. A tell-tale sign of this in markets has been a flattening of yield curves. That is when rising short-term rates are coupled with falling long-term equivalents. Comparing the current path of monetary tightening in the United States to previous cycles explains why investors may have come to this conclusion. When the Fed last embarked on successive rate hikes over a decade ago, it took two years to raise rates from 1 percent to over 5 percent, with hikes at 17 consecutive meetings. In the current cycle, it has taken 18 months for 1 percentage point of an increase. Policymakers project rates will top out at around 3 percent by late 2019 or early 2020. Yet money markets are pricing rates no higher than 2 percent in that time. Investors have also seen other major central banks turn more cautious -- with the possible exception of the Bank of England, which is battling Brexit-induced inflation pressures. The European Central Bank cut its inflation forecast this month and said it had not discussed scaling back its monetary stimulus, dampening talk that stronger growth and easing political risks could pave the way for policy tightening. The Bank of Japan last week ruled out an early exit from its stimulus scheme. "There are plenty of reasons why with the current growth/inflation path and structural pressures, yields will remain pretty subdued for some time," said Charles Diebel, head of rates at Aviva Investors. "This does not mean that higher yields will not come, but more that the transition away from emergency measures is a slow and grinding process." For the graphic on German government bond yield curve now and a month ago, click reut.rs/2sza3mp (Additional reporting by Dan Burns; Graphics by Nigel Stephenson and John Geddie; Editing by Catherine Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-bonds-sweetspot-idUKKBN19A230'|'2017-06-19T23:15:00.000+03:00' +'90e154a8199e78bde4613830770918ede6a64e7b'|'Sanofi to invest further in biologics'|'Health News - Wed Jun 14, 2017 - 12:51pm BST Sanofi to invest further in biologics A logo is seen in front of the entrance at the headquarters French drugmaker Sanofi in Paris October 30, 2014. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann/File Photo By Matthias Blamont - PARIS PARIS Sanofi announced plans to invest 600 million euros ($673 million) annually over the next two to three years in the field of biologics production, an area of strong growth potential. In contrast to most drugs that are chemically synthesized, many biologics are produced using living cells. They are seen as a promising answer in cardiovascular, neurology and cancer diseases. Experts say they also provide means to treat a variety of medical illnesses and conditions that have no other treatments available. But they are also more expensive than traditional products. In March, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Sanofi''s biologic drug for eczema, Dupixent, that will sell for a list price of $37,000 a year. Philippe Luscan, executive vice president of global industrial affairs at the French drugmaker, told reporters on Wednesday the investments would follow 3.3 billion euros already spent in this area in the last five years - representing the lion''s share of total investment in production of 4.7 billion euros. Earlier this year, Sanofi and Swiss manufacturer Lonza said they would spend 270 million euros by 2020 on a new large-scale biologics facility that will produce monoclonal antibodies. "In 2012, 43 percent of our pipeline was made of biologics. The figure stood at around 60 percent in 2016 and in 2020, it will increase even more," Luscan said. Figures compiled by EvaluatePharma show conventional drugs still represented 70 percent of the top 100 medications sold worldwide before 2010, but that the proportion would narrow to 50 percent as soon as around 2022. Such projections do not automatically translate into higher volume sales for drugmakers because of a high potential for production problems and patent disputes in a competitive segment of the industry. In addition, the U.S. Supreme Court cut the time it will take for copycat versions of biologic drugs to get to the market in a pivotal ruling on Monday. The ruling has major implications for the pharmaceutical sector because it will dictate how long brand-name makers of biologic drugs can keep near-copies, called biosimilars, off the market. Sanofi had no immediate comment on the ruling. (Editing by Andrew Callus) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-sanofi-biologics-idUKKBN1951IV'|'2017-06-14T19:40:00.000+03:00' +'989b3c574ca2a5129dc214b53dcadfaf1bea43b1'|'Syncrude Canada makes further cuts to June production forecast: sources'|'CALGARY, Alberta, June 8 Syncrude Canada has cut June production forecasts by around 3.5 percent, two trading sources said on Thursday, further reducing output at the northern Alberta oil sands plant which was already running at lower rates due to maintenance.One of the sources said June production is now expected to be 5.8 million barrels in total, roughly half what the mining and upgrading project can produce when running at full capacity. (Reporting by Catherine Ngai and Nia Williams, editing by G Crosse)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-syncrude-output-idUSL1N1J52E1'|'2017-06-09T06:28:00.000+03:00' +'8f559207263842fb42561a99286081129a9b0f5a'|'BP takes $750 million hit for Angola exploration write-off'|'Business News - Thu Jun 29, 2017 - 11:32am EDT BP takes $750 million hit for Angola exploration write-off FILE PHOTO: A BP logo is seen at a petrol station in London, Britain, January 15, 2015. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/File Photo By Ron Bousso and Karolin Schaps - LONDON LONDON BP ( BP.L ) will book a $750 million charge for unsuccessful exploration campaigns in Angola, the company said on Thursday, a write-off that will weigh on its second-quarter results. The British oil and gas company said it has decided to relinquish its 50 percent interest in Block 24/11 off the coast of southern Angola and that Katambi, a gas discovery made in the block in 2014, had been deemed uncommercial. "The write-off is fairly chunky, even by BP''s standards, for one asset," said Jack Allardyce, oil and gas analyst at Cenkos Securities. The charge will not impact cash flow and will not attract tax relief, BP said. A number of companies including France''s Total ( TOTF.PA ), Norway''s Statoil ( STL.OL ) and Maersk Oil have explored for oil and gas off Africa''s western coast in recent years but have made few commercial discoveries. "The fact that (BP) are having a write-off in Angola''s Kwanza basin is not that surprising. Industry has not experienced significant success overall in the basin," Jefferies analyst Jason Gammel said. BP has made four fossil fuel discoveries in 2017 in Trinidad, Egypt and off Senegal, all of which were gas and which the company said were part of a strategic shift to less polluting fossil fuel. "We are making disciplined choices throughout our business, including in exploration, and pursuing only opportunities that will deliver clear value for our shareholders," Bernard Looney, head of BP''s upstream operations, said in a statement. (Editing by David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-bp-exploration-idUSKBN19K28H'|'2017-06-29T18:32:00.000+03:00' +'f2ccafcffd9ceeb1c145008103f0d99b5e621d59'|'Standard Life and Aberdeen shareholders back 11 bln pound deal'|'Deals - Mon Jun 19, 2017 - 11:50am EDT Standard Life and Aberdeen shareholders back 11 billion pound deal FILE PHOTO: A worker leaves the Standard Life House in Edinburgh, Scotland, Britain, February 27, 2014. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne/File Photo By Simon Jessop and Carolyn Cohn - LONDON LONDON Standard Life''s ( SL.L ) 11 billion pound ($14.04 billion) deal to buy Aberdeen Asset Management ( ADN.L ) was approved by both companies'' shareholders at meetings on Monday. The deal announced in March is due to complete in mid-August and will create Britain''s biggest listed asset manager and one of the world''s top 25 active fund management companies. More than 95 percent of shareholders at both companies voted for the merger, comfortably passing the minimum support needed. Aberdeen Chairman Simon Troughton said that investors'' "overwhelming" support reflected the strategic and financial rationale for the deal. "The strengths of the combined businesses ... are strongly aligned to the needs of clients now and in the future," he said in a statement. "The new company will have a robust balance sheet and diverse revenue streams, by asset class and distribution channel. This will facilitate investment in the business to support long-term growth and shareholder returns." ($1 = 0.7834 pounds) '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-standard-life-aberdeen-egm-idUSKBN19A1VM'|'2017-06-19T18:42:00.000+03:00' +'a37bb56629ad3ee5f4b3e3cde20f95cf5d9df871'|'Tony Awards TV audience slumps without ''Hamilton'''|'Market 48pm EDT Tony Awards TV audience slumps without ''Hamilton'' LOS ANGELES, June 12 Some six million Americans watched the Tony Awards on television on Sunday, down sharply from last year''s televised ceremony when pop culture juggernaut "Hamilton" dominated the show. CBS said on Monday that 6.1 million people watched Sunday''s three-hour awards show, broadcast from New York''s Radio City Music Hall, where a revival of musical "Hello Dolly!" and new teenage angst musical "Dear Evan Hansen" were the big winners. This year''s TV audience marked a more than 30 percent drop from 2016''s television audience of 8.7 million viewers - a 15-year high for the annual awards show celebrating the best of American theater. The audience in advertisers'' coveted 18- to 49-year-old demographic tumbled even more steeply, by about 44 percent, the data showed. "Hamilton," a musical that tells the history of America''s founding fathers through hip-hop lyrics and casts African-American and Latino actors in the roles of figures like George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, won 11 Tony Awards in 2016. Already the hottest ticket on Broadway, productions of the Lin-Manuel Miranda musical have now opened or are about to open in Chicago, Los Angeles and London. On Sunday, "Dear Evan Hansen" won six Tonys, and "Hello Dolly!" starring Bette Midler, took home four awards in a ceremony hosted by Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey. Spacey, who spent much of the show joking about not being the first choice for the job, got mixed reviews. The New York Times deemed it an "uneven night," and Variety said Spacey "fell flat," while the Los Angeles Times said Spacey was "sweet, corny and touching." (Reporting by Jill Serjeant, editing by G Crosse)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/awards-tonys-ratings-idUSL1N1J90TE'|'2017-06-13T00:48:00.000+03:00' +'befb673fdaf7508cdb446ff9dbb10cb92577c3c3'|'LPC: Low-rated companies fuel record US syndicated lending'|'Market News 10:49am EDT LPC: Low-rated companies fuel record US syndicated lending By Lynn Adler - NEW YORK, June 30 NEW YORK, June 30 Low-rated companies, rushing to slice borrowing costs with interest rates low and demand for higher-yielding assets elevated, drove US leveraged lending to a first-half record and in turn propelled total US syndicated loan issuance to an all-time high for any half-year period. The US$732.2bn of leveraged loans issued in the first half, a 92% spike above the US$380.7bn during the same time a year ago, boosted overall syndicated volume to US$1.22trln, according to Thomson Reuters LPC. Total volume leaped almost 20% from the prior half, 27% from the year-ago half, and 14% from the previous six-month high set in the first half of 2014. Leveraged loans to companies cutting expenses and improving terms far overshadowed lending to support mergers and acquisitions. Bankers say M&A activity will ramp up as the legislative logjams around US healthcare, tax and trade policies are broken. The second half should be more of the same in terms of volume, but the composition could change to a lower percentage of refinancing and more M&A, assuming things normalize a bit, said Art de Pena, managing director and head of distribution, trading and agency at MUFGs syndications group. That will be a function of, hopefully, political stability, that will help to spur M&A and economic growth, he said. In the meantime, issuance has been skewed by borrowers that often returned to the leveraged loan market repeatedly within months to get more favorable pricing with limited investor push-back until recent weeks. Less than 30% of the leveraged loans issued in the first half of the year represented new financing. UP THE AMAZON A reluctance of corporations to pull the trigger on big M&A deals without more clarity on tax, trade and other legislation has also pressured lending to investment-grade companies. "The likely M&A catalyst in investment grade would be policy certainty -- lower corporate tax rates, repatriation etc -- coupled with a continuation of the current environment of slow revenue growth, high equity markets, low volatility and low interest rates," said Matthew Daly, head of credit research at investment management firm Conning. Certainly the debt markets are very accommodative right now for financing. Companies that did announce mergers were less likely to face antitrust rulings that scuttled several major US insurance company tie-ups earlier this year. A push for growth in a slow growing economy was the incentive to acquire a rival or a company with a complimentary line of business. The US$371.8bn of investment-grade loans issued in the first half was about 18% lower than the US$451.9bln in the first half of last year. Lending volume kicked up a notch after US drug distributor Cardinal Health Inc in April announced a deal to buy Medtronic Plcs medical supplies unit for US$6.1bn, agreeing to a US$4.5bn bridge loan before locking in longer-term debt. Most of the deals have been tack-ons or tuck-ins, which reflects the fact that equity values are at all time highs and companies are skittish about entering into a merger agreement with the legislative uncertainty, a senior banker said. Now, lenders are assessing whether Amazon.coms late June deal to buy upscale grocer Whole Foods Markets for US$13.7bn, to be supported by a bridge loan of up to the same amount not yet included in the issuance tally, can light a fire under other dealmakers later this year. A lot of people are taking a fresh look at A + B = C, meaning what can you combine with a tech company to have a leg up and a marketing advantage, the banker said. I would suggest thats not just limited to supermarkets, it could be any number of different products. LEVERAGING UP With demand surpassing supply, arrangers are boosting debt taken to back large leveraged buyouts to levels last seen in the final quarter of 2014, according to LPC. Expectations that the Trump administration could loosen leveraged lending guidelines, updated by regulators in 2013 to thwart potential systemic risk, are also enabling leverage levels to creep higher. Total leverage on broadly syndicated large buyouts averaged 6.39 times total debt to Ebitda in the second quarter. That tops the 6 times level that draws regulatory scrutiny, though remains below the post-crisis peak almost three years ago of about 7 times. Investor demand, for now, remains unrelenting. Collateralized Loan Obligation funds, the largest buyers of leveraged loans, have issued almost US$50bn so far this year, 90% more than the same period last year. (Reporting By Lynn Adler; Editing by Chris Mangham and Leela Parker Deo)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/lpc-low-rated-companies-fuel-record-us-s-idUSL1N1JR0L3'|'2017-06-30T17:49:00.000+03:00' +'c38e3d742ebf2a8abd22bf37d37a9f31814c7e28'|'South African parliament opposes calls to change central bank mandate'|'Market News - Fri Jun 23, 2017 - 2:43am EDT South African parliament opposes calls to change central bank mandate JOHANNESBURG, June 23 The South African parliament will launch a court challenge against an anti-graft watchdog''s recommendation of constitutional changes to alter the mandate of the central bank, it said. The legislative assembly joined the central bank and lender Barclays Africa in seeking a court review of Public Protector Busi Mkhwebane''s proposal to change the central bank''s primary mandate of maintaining currency and price stability to focus on economic growth. "Parliament believes that the remedial action (mandate change), which is binding in terms of the law, usurps the powers of the institution under the Constitution," it said in a statement posted on its website. "Parliament will accordingly initiate a court application to have this remedial action set aside on the basis of its unconstitutionality." Mkhwebane made her proposal to a Pretoria news conference on Monday where she delivered her findings on an apartheid-era bailout of Barclays Africa Group. The lender has denied any wrongdoing. Her call threatens to further stain South Africa''s image as an investor-friendly emerging market, coming less than a week after mines minister Mosebenzi spooked investors by raising the minimum threshold for black ownership of mining companies to 30 percent from 26 percent. The independence row over the South African Reserve Bank has also highlighted divisions within the tripartite alliance of the ruling African National Congress, the country''s biggest union, Cosatu, and the South African Communist Party. Both the ANC and the communist party are opposed to constitutional changes aimed at altering the role of the central bank while Cosatu backed calls for amendments. (Reporting by Tiisetso Motsoeneng) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/safrica-cenbank-idUSL8N1JK0OA'|'2017-06-23T14:43:00.000+03:00' +'c6b47c4eae7f73541b9fa15df6098ec41dd365dd'|'Nike to cut 2 percent of workforce, eliminate shoe styles'|'By Siddharth Cavale Nike Inc said on Thursday it would cut about 2 percent of its global workforce and eliminate a quarter of its shoe styles as it looks to become nimbler in the face of intensifying competition and fast-changing consumer trends.Nike said it would reduce the number of its business segments to four from six as part of the initiative, being rolled out at a time the company is battling for market share in North America with a resurgent Adidas AG and a fast-growing Under Armour Inc.Shares of the world''s No.1 shoemaker were down 2.7 percent at $53.59 in early trading, making them the biggest percentage loser on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.Under the plan, called "Consumer Direct Offense", Nike will concentrate on 12 key cities in 10 countries, which are expected to represent over 80 percent of its projected growth through 2020. These cities include New York, Berlin, Paris and Barcelona.The company also said it would focus on newer styles, such as ZoomX, Air VaporMax and Nike React, and on categories with high growth potential, including running, basketball and soccer.While Nike still holds a 50 percent share of the U.S. market, Adidas'' retro Superstar shoes toppled Nike last year to become the top-selling sneakers in the United States. Nike''s shoes had held the position for more than a decade.To double the speed of its innovations, the sporstwear company also laid out plans to cut the time it takes to create products by half.Trevor Edwards, the president of the Nike brand, will lead the initiative, which also involves making several changes to its leadership structure, the company said.Starting in fiscal 2018, Nike will report results based on four new operating segments: North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Greater China, and Asia Pacific and Latin America.Previously the company reported results for six units that included Western Europe, Central & Eastern Europe, and Japan and emerging markets as separate units.As part of the organizational changes, about 1,400 employees are expected to lose their jobs. Nike had 70,700 employees as of May 31, 2016.(Reporting by Siddharth Cavale in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/nike-restructuring-idINKBN19628I'|'2017-06-15T14:08:00.000+03:00' +'23aab759f93929938f813e3fb201285bfb431179'|'Greek ruling party says IMF debt proposal not helpful in impasse'|'Business News - Tue Jun 6, 2017 - 3:21pm BST Greek ruling party says IMF debt proposal not helpful in impasse FILE PHOTO: Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos attend a parliamentary session before a vote on the latest round of austerity Greece has agreed with its lenders, in Athens, Greece, May 18, 2017. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis ATHENS A proposal by IMF Chief Christine Lagarde offering a way out of Greece''s debt impasse with its European lenders does not contribute toward reaching an "honorable solution," Greece''s ruling Syriza party said on Tuesday. The IMF believes Greece needs significant debt relief, which Germany rejects. Lagarde suggested agreeing a deal whereby the IMF would stay on board in the bailout, as Berlin wants, but not pay out further aid until debt relief measures are clarified. Syriza''s political committee, in which Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his finance minister participated on Tuesday, said the proposal pushed back decisions and "does not contribute positively in the direction of finding an honorable and commonly accepted solution." The committee said any debt deal must meet sustainability conditions under the ECB''s terms and facilitate Greece''s return to bond markets. It said Greece had met its obligations toward it creditors and called on its creditors to do the same. (Reporting by Renee Maltezou)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-greece-debt-idUKKBN18X1SO'|'2017-06-06T22:19:00.000+03:00' +'640d72a1df569cd130ed6c52dae3d8591f355a54'|'Australia''s economy ties world record for longest expansion despite soft first quarter'|' 8:10am BST Australia economy ties record for longest expansion, looking tired left right Members of the public wait at a bus stop as an illuminated financial advertisement adorns the bus shelter in central Sydney, Australia April 28, 2017. Picture taken April 28, 2017. REUTERS/Steven Saphore 1/4 left right A shop assistant talks to customers in front of a sales sign on display at a retail store in central Sydney, Australia, May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Steven Saphore 2/4 left right A pedestrian walks near a worker directing traffic on a construction site in central Sydney, Australia, June 7, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Reed 3/4 left right FILE PHOTO: A canola field is seen near a new housing estate in outer Melbourne September 8, 2010. REUTERS/Mick Tsikas/File Photo 4/4 By Swati Pandey and Wayne Cole - SYDNEY SYDNEY Australia''s economy squeezed out just enough growth last quarter to match the Netherlands'' record of 103 quarters without recession, but its stamina is in doubt as households struggle with paltry wage rises and punishing debt. Government data out on Wednesday data showed gross domestic product (GDP) rose a pedestrian 0.3 percent in the first quarter, a pullback from the previous quarter''s rapid 1.1 percent. Yet that growth allayed fears of an outright contraction and helped lift the local dollar AUD=D4 a third of a U.S. cent to a one-month high of $0.7542. "The Australian economy has had to contend with a lot of factors in the past year geopolitics, weather events, the on-going unwinding of the mining construction boom and variable housing markets," said Craig James, chief economist at CommSec. "Economic growth has trekked a zig-zag path but the bottom line is that the doomsayers will need to find another target." Wednesday''s result should be a relief for the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) which just the day before conceded the March quarter would likely disappoint. But the central bank expressed confidence growth would pick up over the next couple of years to above 3 percent, and held interest rates at a record low 1.50 percent where they have been since last August. So far, investors seem almost convinced the RBA is done with its five-year easing campaign. The futures market <0#YIB:> implies a 16 percent chance of another rate cut by December. Australia has not seen a recession since 1991 and growth regularly outpaced its peers in recent years. But that changed in the March quarter when annual growth braked to 1.7 percent, below the 2 percent achieved by the United States and Britain. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed output for the 12 months to March amounted to A$1.72 trillion (1.01 trillion pounds) in current dollars, or about A$71,000 for each of the country''s 24 million people. SAVE LESS OR SPEND LESS Treasurer Scott Morrison blamed bad weather for much of the slowdown and argued things could only get better as the year progressed. Morrison launched his annual budget just a month ago and already its economic projections are looking ambitious. Many economists suspect the current quarter will be marred by the giant cyclone that barrelled through Queensland in late March and caused weeks of disruption to coal exports. Perhaps the most worrying risk to growth is subdued consumer spending as Australians are burdened by record-low wage growth and high levels of mortgage debt. The share of GDP contributed by wages is at its lowest since September 1964. Household consumption grew at just 2.3 percent in the year to March, half the pace that was considered normal a decade ago. Household debt is a dangerously high 189 percent of disposable income and well above much of the rich world. To maintain their spending habits Australians are having to save less. The savings ratio dropped to 4.7 percent in the march quarter, a fall of two full percentage points in just a year and the lowest since late 2008. "A lot of the rise in consumption was because households further reduced their saving rate to a 10-year low," said Paul Dales, chief economist at Capital Economics. "They can''t do that indefinitely, so we suspect that slow income growth will soon result in more modest consumption growth. As such, we believe signs of a more sustained slowing in GDP growth are emerging." (Reporting by Swati Pandey and Wayne Cole; Editing by Eric Meijer)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-australia-economy-gdp-idUKKBN18Y06F'|'2017-06-07T10:17:00.000+03:00' +'03c40c398b0e37333828530de1e557e3c2f72cc8'|'Oil supply growth to outpace rise in consumption in 2018 - IEA'|'Business News - Wed Jun 14, 2017 - 9:44am BST Oil supply seen outpacing consumption in 2018, demand to top 100 million bpd An oil well pump jack is seen at an oil field supply yard near Denver, Colorado, U.S., February 2, 2015. REUTERS/Rick Wilking/File Photo By Amanda Cooper - LONDON LONDON Growth in oil supply next year is expected to outpace an anticipated pick-up in demand that will push global consumption above 100 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first time, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday. The Paris-based IEA said production outside the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries would grow twice as quickly in 2018 as it will do this year, when OPEC and 11 partner nations have restrained output. "For total non-OPEC production, we expect production to grow by 700,000 bpd this year, but our first outlook for 2018 makes sobering reading for those producers looking to restrain supply," the IEA said. "In 2018, we expect non-OPEC production to grow by 1.5 million bpd which is slightly more than the expected increase in global demand." Brent crude futures extended losses after the report, falling 64 cents on the day to $48.08 a barrel by 0804 GMT, from around $48.26 prior to the release. Oil inventories across the world''s most industrial nations rose in April by 18.6 million barrels to 3.045 billion barrels, thanks to higher refinery output and imports. The IEA said stocks were 292 million barrels above the five-year average. The agency continued to forecast an implied shortfall in supply relative to demand for the second quarter of this year. But it said slowing demand growth in China and Europe in particular, as well as increasing supply, meant the deficit should narrow to 500,000 bpd from a prior estimate of 700,000. OPEC and 11 rival exporters including Russia have agreed to extend a deal to limit supply by 1.8 million bpd to March 2018, in order to cut global inventory levels. Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih has reiterated the group''s commitment to do "whatever it takes" to force a drawdown in global inventory levels. "We have regularly counselled that patience is required on the part of those looking for the rebalancing of the oil market, and new data leads us to repeat the message," the IEA said. "''Whatever it takes'' might be the mantra, but the current form of ''whatever'' is not having as quick an impact as expected." "Indeed, based on our current outlook for 2017 and 2018, incorporating the scenario that OPEC countries continue to comply with their output agreement, stocks might not fall to the desired level until close to the expiry of the agreement in March 2018," the IEA said. U.S. OUTPUT RISES The price of oil has fallen 12 percent since May 25, when OPEC and its partners agreed to extend their supply cut, as inventories around the world have been slow to drain. Rising output from the United States has been one of the main factors behind the stubbornly high stock levels and the IEA estimates U.S. production will continue to grow aggressively into next year. "Our first look at 2018 suggests that U.S. crude production will grow year-on-year by 780,000 but such is the dynamism of this extraordinary, very diverse industry it is possible that growth will be faster," the agency said. The forecast for U.S. total oil production for 2017 has been revised 90,000 bpd higher, to average 13.1 million bpd, following further rig additions and increased spending. Crude output from OPEC nations rose by 290,000 bpd in May to a 2017 high of 32.08 million bpd, still within the confines of the supply deal, after comebacks in Libya and Nigeria, which are exempt from cuts. Compared to May 2016, OPEC crude production was down by 65,000 bpd, the IEA said. Non-OPEC output rose by 295,000 bpd month-on-month in May to 57.8 million bpd, 1.25 million bpd higher than a year earlier. (Reporting by Amanda Cooper; Editing by Dale Hudson) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-oil-iea-idUKKBN1950RV'|'2017-06-14T16:03:00.000+03:00' +'334893b8cb8b00f5a4ba9b718541a0b7461dd313'|'ECB to ask banks to report all major cyber incidents'|'Business News - Mon Jun 19, 2017 - 9:48am BST ECB to ask banks to report all major cyber incidents A man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration FRANKFURT The European Central Bank will require banks it supervises to report all major cyber incidents starting this summer as it increases its focus on IT security, ECB board member Sabine Lautenschlaeger said on Monday. "We conducted a successful pilot phase in 2016. And now we will implement a long-term solution for all those banks that we directly supervise," Lautenschlaeger said. "As from this summer, they will be required to report all significant cyber incidents," she said. "This will help us to assess more objectively how many incidents there are and how cyber threats evolve." (Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Gareth Jones)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-banks-ecb-idUKKBN19A0YQ'|'2017-06-19T16:48:00.000+03:00' +'14fa118a1c32783179b0fbda3710fb679c128ae5'|'Volvo Cars relaunches Polestar as standalone electric car brand'|' 36am BST Volvo Cars relaunches Polestar as standalone electric car brand STOCKHOLM Geely-owned automaker Volvo Cars will make its Polestar Performance business a standalone brand within the group, focusing on electric cars, the company said on Wednesday. Polestar, bought by Volvo in 2015, will produce own-brand vehicles while continuing to deliver high-performance upgrades to the Volvo range. The new offering will be mainly electric vehicles, aimed at competing with Tesla and the Mercedes AMG division on battery supercars, Volvo said. "Polestar will be a credible competitor in the emerging global market for high-performance electrified cars," it said. Major markets are likely to include China and the United States. (Reporting by Anna Ringstrom; Editing by David Goodman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-geely-volvo-polestar-idUKKBN19C0L1'|'2017-06-21T14:36:00.000+03:00' +'d40893f1faa02ed3754ba48561f0f4c9f8b24f31'|'Private equity groups up offer for Shawbrook bank'|'Business News - Mon Jun 5, 2017 - 8:13am BST Private equity groups up offer for Shawbrook bank By Noor Zainab Hussain Private equity groups trying to take control of Shawbrook said on Monday they had raised their offer for the British challenger bank by just over 3 percent, as they try to convince another 5 percent of shareholders to accept the deal. The offer of 340 pence a share values Shawbrook at about 868 million pounds, up from the previous 842 million pound bid Marlin Bidco, the buyout vehicle set up by BC Partners and Pollen Street Partners, said in a statement. The offer, which is a 27 percent premium to Shawbrook''s closing share price on March 2, when the lender first received a bid from the private equity firms, would now remain open until June 19. "After carefully considering market feedback we are pleased to be able to make an improved best and final offer, which we consider offers shareholders an attractive premium and compelling value" Lindsey McMurray of Pollen Street Capital and Cdric Dubourdieu of BC Partners said in a statement. The private equity groups already hold 38.8 percent of Shawbrook shares and have so far received acceptances from investors holding another 6.6 percent of the stock, leaving them just under 5 percent short of the required 50 percent backing needed for the deal to go through. The consortium first made its bid for Shawbrook in January offering 307 pence per share, upping it to 330 pence in March. However so far Shawbrook''s directors have advised shareholders to reject the offer. Britain''s so-called challenger banks have been increasingly seen as ripe for takeovers in recent months, bankers who advise on mergers and acquisitions have said, as a prolonged period of low interest rates has squeezed earnings and the pound''s fall has made them cheaper for foreign buyers. In June last year Shawbrook booked an additional impairment charge due to some irregularities in its asset finance business, sending its share price to a record low. Shares in Shawbrook, which have already priced in an improved offer, were down 0.3 pct on Monday at 339 pence at 0706 GMT. (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Rachel Armstrong)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-shawbrook-group-buyout-idUKKBN18W0NE'|'2017-06-05T15:13:00.000+03:00' +'056ca93bafe0652bbfa6281f39bad4c8fc535422'|'Piraeus Bank to sell assets, tackle bad loans in recovery plan'|'Business 37pm BST Piraeus Bank to sell assets, tackle bad loans in recovery plan left right FILE PHOTO: The logo of Piraeus Bank is seen outside a branch in Athens, Greece, March 26, 2014. REUTERS/Yorgos Karahalis/File photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: People make transactions at an ATM machine as others wait to enter a Piraeus Bank branch in Athens, Greece June 19, 2015. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis/File photo 2/2 By George Georgiopoulos - ATHENS ATHENS Piraeus Bank ( BOPr.AT ), Greece''s largest bank by assets, aims to sell its Balkan businesses and certain other holdings and shrink its bad loans portfolio, its new chief executive told reporters on Wednesday, outlining the group''s plans up to 2020. "Our vision is to be the most credible bank in Greece," said CEO Christos Megalou, who took over in April. "Our strategy plan makes sense and is not pie in the sky," Megalou, who was previously CEO of rival Eurobank ( EURBr.AT ), said. "Our goals are demanding but achievable." Piraeus, which is 26.2 percent owned by Greece''s bank rescue fund HFSF, is still struggling with problem loans after a deep recession in Greece pushed unemployment to record highs. The bank plans to slim down by selling wholly-owned subsidiaries in Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Albania and the Ukraine as part of its "Agenda 2020" plan to reduce its foreign exposures. The group also plans to divest other holdings, including a 40 percent stake in shipping company Hellenic Seaways and the bank''s 33 percent stakes in fish farms Nireus Aquaculture ( NIRr.AT ) and Selonda ( SELr.AT ), Megalou said. Piraeus, 67 percent owned by institutional investors, will create a separate division to be known as "Piraeus Legacy Unit," as part of efforts to clean up its balance sheet. Piraeus Bank will remain as the "good bank" with risk-weighted assets of 28 billion euros (24.3 billion) and a 2 percent non-performing loans ratio, comprising corporate banking, retail operations and asset management. It will aim for a 1.1 percent return on assets. The legacy unit, with risk-weighted assets of 25 billion euros and a 64 percent non-performing loan ratio, will include international and non-core banking operations earmarked for sale. It will aim to shrink its bad loans via sales and restructuring. A mountain of non-performing exposures (NPEs), comprising non-performing loans (NPLs) and restructured loans likely to turn bad, is the biggest challenge facing Greek banks. The banks'' stock of NPEs stands at about 58 percent of economic output. Piraeus will seek to shrink its NPEs to below 20 billion euros by 2020 from 33.3 billion in the first quarter and its NPLs, loans past due more than 90 days, to around 8 billion euros from 23 billion at end-March. Piraeus, with a current market value of 1.8 billion euros, also aims to pay back 2.0 billion euros of contingent convertible bonds (CoCos) to the HFSF rescue fund by 2020. The funds were injected into the bank a recapitalisation two years ago. "By then we will have generated the cash and capital to fully pay back the bonds," Megalou said. The group also aims to restore its access to wholesale funding markets and reduce borrowing from the Greek central bank''s emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) down to zero by 2020 from 11 billion euros last year. (Reporting by George Georgiopoulos. Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-piraeusbank-strategy-ceo-idUKKBN18Y1GR'|'2017-06-07T19:37:00.000+03:00' +'5946c2092b783372015374ffca0dc8de30366981'|'Exclusive: Brazil orders Caixa to halt loans to J&F - sources'|'Wed Jun 7, 2017 - 8:09am BST Exclusive: Brazil orders Caixa to halt loans to J&F - sources FILE PHOTO: People walk past a Caixa Economica Federal bank in downtown Rio de Janeiro August 20, 2014. REUTERS/Pilar Olivares/File Photo By Aluisio Alves and Lisandra Paraguassu - SAO PAULO/BRASILIA SAO PAULO/BRASILIA The Brazilian government has ordered state-controlled lender Caixa Econmica Federal to stop providing financing to a family of billionaires who accused President Michel Temer of working to obstruct a corruption probe, people familiar with the decision said on Tuesday. According to two of the people, The Temer administration ordered management at Caixa not to refinance existing credit lines to J&F Investimentos SA, a holding company controlled by Brazil''s Batista family. Members of the Batista family offered prosecutors proof last month that Temer allegedly worked to obstruct a major corruption probe. One of the unnamed sources, who is a senior Temer government official, said under the condition of anonymity that ordering Caixa to stop doing business with J&F was in retaliation for accusations that Joesley Batista, a family member and then J&F''s chairman, made against Temer. Joesley Batista secretly taped a conversation in which Temer appeared to condone bribing a potential witness. J&F controls JBS SA, the world''s No. 1 meatpacker, and several companies in the fashion, dairy, pulp and banking industries. Caixa is J&F''s largest creditor with outstanding loans worth 9.7 billion reais ($3 billion), a third person said. Caixa has set aside extra capital to reclassify some of the loans to J&F, after deeming them riskier than before, the same person said. The extra provisioning came after Caixa asserted control of unspecified collateral put forth by J&F for a merger financing loan it took two years ago, the person added. The situation underscores the discretionary way in which state lenders are run in Brazil, and how borrowers are exposed to retaliation if they fall out of grace with the government. Caixa was used as a policy tool by Temer''s predecessor, Dilma Rousseff, sparking heavy loan losses because of reckless lending and risk-taking decisions. Caixa said it made extra provisions related to J&F, but did not elaborate on the reasons for the move. J&F declined to comment. Temer''s office said in an emailed statement to Reuters that "state banks take actions based exclusively on technical criteria," noting that "decisions based on other criteria than that count with no authorization from the president''s office." Brazil''s Federal Supreme Court released plea bargain testimony on May 19 accusing Temer and his two predecessors of receiving bribes, the most damaging development yet in the nation''s biggest ever corruption probe. SURPRISING MOVE At the core of the decision to restrict Caixa''s business with J&F is a 2.7 billion-real loan that the Batista family took late in 2015 to buy a controlling stake in apparel and fashion branding firm Alpargatas SA ( ALPA4.SA ), the people said. Losing Caixa as a key creditor means the Batistas will have to resort to other lenders or sell assets to raise cash for a heavy repayment calendar over the next year. One of the people said that companies controlled by J&F, excluding JBS, have about 14 billion reais of debt maturing over the next 12 months. Analysts including JPMorgan Securities''s Natalia Corfield have said that recent political and economic turmoil in Brazil risks slowing Caixa''s efforts to reduce defaults and provisions. Caixa''s surprising move also set off warning signs among other banks that are also lenders to J&F, one of the people said. By winning control of more guarantees, Caixa raced ahead of other lenders and has a smaller chance of undertaking loan losses if J&F defaults, the same person added. In a statement, J&F said it "does maintain long-term relationships with financial institutions," refraining from commenting further. J&F, which stands for the initials of Joesley''s parents Jos and Flora, agreed to pay a record-setting 10.3 billion-real fine for engaging in bribery, graft and other crimes. Joesley Batista''s plea deal has sent shockwaves across Brazil''s political and business establishments, and risks accelerating Temer''s ouster from office, analysts said. Most of the fine J&F will pay, or the equivalent of 8 billion reais, will be divided among Caixa, Brazil''s development bank BNDES [BNDES.UL], a state-controlled severance fund known as FGTS as well as two pension funds for employees of state-controlled companies. Reuters reported on May 22 that BNDES decided not to extend any new loans to JBS ( JBSS3.SA ) or J&F Investimentos until they signed a leniency agreement with federal prosecutors. Pension funds and state-run banks invested in or extended loans to J&F companies in return for bribes paid by the Batista brothers, according to plea deal testimony. (Writing and additional reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Andrew Hay)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-corruption-jbs-caixa-ec-federa-idUKKBN18Y0KL'|'2017-06-07T15:07:00.000+03:00' +'e3acee377e6871f101d1527518f10bc667ea7183'|'MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf mixed as Qatar falls back, Abu Dhabi''s Dana Gas soars'|'Market News 9:57am EDT MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf mixed as Qatar falls back, Abu Dhabi''s Dana Gas soars * Qatar National Bank pulls down Qatari index * Gulf Warehousing rebounds near pre-sanctions level * Emaar Properties supports Dubai market on spin-off plan * Dana proposes to restructure $700 mln sukuk at lower rates * Trade very thin in Saudi Arabia By Andrew Torchia DUBAI, June 13 Gulf stock markets were mixed on Tuesday as Qatar fell back, still affected by other Gulf states'' sanctions against Doha, while Abu Dhabi''s Dana Gas soared on its proposal to restructure a $700 million sukuk. Qatar''s index fell by 0.4 percent but remained more stable than when the sanctions were announced last week. Qatar National Bank, the region''s largest lender, fell by 1.3 percent. Like other Qatari banks, it has been hit by concern that the economic and diplomatic boycott imposed by Saudi Arabia and its allies could reduce its access to foreign funding. However, some other lenders held firm, with Doha Bank up 0.2 percent. Logistics company Gulf Warehousing, which had plunged after the boycott started, rebounded 6.9 percent to 48.80 riyals. Though Qatar''s trade has been disrupted, it has kept shipments moving thanks to measures such as changing shipping routes to operate via Oman instead of the United Arab Emirates. Dubai''s index rose 0.4 percent as Emaar Properties rose 1 percent, building on gains after last week''s announcement of plans to spin off its local real estate business. In Abu Dhabi, the index climbed 0.6 percent as Dana Gas jumped by its 15 percent daily limit to 0.69 dirhams, its highest level since late 2014. Trade in the stock was at its heaviest for three years. The company said it was proposing to restructure its $700 million of outstanding sukuk at much lower profit rates because it had discovered the paper was "unlawful" in the United Arab Emirates -- a claim that some creditors said they would contest. Saudi Arabia''s index was almost flat in thin trade but Gulf Union Cooperative Insurance jumped by its 10 percent daily limit after saying it had cut its accumulated losses to 20 percent of capital from 33.5 percent. HIGHLIGHTS * The index edged down 0.03 percent to 6,821 points. DUBAI * The index gained 0.4 percent to 3,442 points. ABU DHABI * The index added 0.6 percent to 4,538 points. QATAR * The index fell 0.4 percent to 9,095 points. EGYPT * The index rose 0.3 percent to 13,531 points. KUWAIT * The index edged up 0.03 percent to 6,777 points. BAHRAIN * The index rose 0.4 percent to 1,327 points. OMAN'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/mideast-stocks-idUSL8N1JA291'|'2017-06-13T21:57:00.000+03:00' +'ce4ecc4f4b5dfed04a930a3a0b5b7d5bf9a4006a'|'JDE bets on Brazil as it chases Nestle in global coffee retail'|'By Marcelo Teixeira - SAO PAULO SAO PAULO Global coffee retailer Jacobs Douwe Egberts BV said on Tuesday it is eyeing new acquisitions in Brazil, where it is seeking double-digit growth as it chases Nestle in the international coffee retail business.JDE executives said during a presentation of new products in Sao Paulo that the company was banking on higher quality products in the world''s second largest coffee market to increase revenues and market share.JDE has bought up a string of coffee and tea firms, establishing its position as a key player in the global retail business. It was created in 2015 when its controlling holding company, JAB Holdings BV, bought Mondelez International Inc''s coffee operations in a cash and stock deal.The company has since acquired some of the best-known brands in Brazil, such as Caf do Ponto, Pilo and Caf Pel."We want to be a leader in Brazil. We continue to look for opportunities," Lara Barns, head of JDE local unit, told reporters after presenting a new set of products aimed at the premium coffee market in Brazil, as the firm bets on higher value-added items to boost revenues.JDE has around 20 percent of the local coffee retail market, behind leader Trs Coraes, a 50-50 joint venture between Israeli holding company Strauss Group Ltd and Brazilian family-owned firm So Miguel. Trs Coraes has 24 percent of share.Brazil accounts for 20 percent of JDE global sales volumes, but only 10 percent of total revenues of 5 billion euros in 2016, said Barns, pointing to lower prices. That is thanks to abundant supply in Brazil, the world''s largest producer, but is also due to a profusion of lower quality brands which make up most of the market, Barns said."But the premium coffee segment is the one that grows the most in Brazil. That is our bet," she added.According to Euromonitor, Nestle has 22 percent of the global coffee retail market. JDE has 9.5 percent, a share that could go up to 12 percent considering businesses from U.S.-based Keurig Green Mountain, acquired by JAB Holdings two years ago in a deal valued at $13.9 billion.(Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira; Editing by Sandra Maler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-coffee-jde-idINKBN19B2Z8'|'2017-06-20T18:08:00.000+03:00' +'29140a2602e9e466dbacd80915ae2154d93299b2'|'Petropavlovsk boss Peter Hambro battles ''stealth takeover'''|'Market News - Thu Jun 8, 2017 - 8:49am EDT Petropavlovsk boss Peter Hambro battles ''stealth takeover'' * Chairman of Chelsea soccer club among nominated directors * Hambro says proposals against interests of most investors * Company returned to profit in 2016 By Barbara Lewis LONDON, June 8 Peter Hambro, who has headed Russian-focused gold miner Petropavlovsk for decades, is seeking to fend off a shareholder revolt led by Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, whom Hambro accuses of pursuing "a takeover by stealth". After nearly a quarter of a century at the helm of a company he founded in 1994, Hambro says he has begun addressing the succession issue and would consider selling at the right price. His objection is to what he terms a "takeover by stealth" of the London-listed company and a proposed change of the board, which would replace four of six board members - just when Petropavlovsk has returned to profit. One of the nominees is Bruce Buck, chairman of Chelsea Football Club, which had no immediate comment. "It is my belief that replacing the non-executive directors and myself on the board with their own nominees, is not in the interests of shareholders as a whole," Hambro said of the plans of Vekselberg and other stakeholders. Hambro said he expected a ruling from London''s takeover watchdog, which said it never comments on specific cases. Its rules on whether a formal takeover offer is necessary provide for examining whether shareholders are acting in concert, whether they have "a significant relationship" with nominees and when they crossed a threshold of 30 percent or more voting rights. Hambro is calling on an annual general meeting (AGM) in London on June 22 to vote against resolutions put forward by shareholders with a more than 30 percent stake in total. They are Vekselberg''s conglomerate Renova, Sothic Capital Management and M&G. All declined to comment. In separate resolutions, they call for new appointments to replace Hambro and non-executive directors Robert Jenkins, Alexander Green and Andrew Vickerman. In their place, in addition to Buck, they are nominating Vladislav Egorov, who works for the Renova group, Garrett Soden, who has worked for the Lundin mining companies for a decade, and Ian Ashby as chairman. Ashby headed BHP''s iron ore division from 2006 to 2012 and was named in May as a non-executive director at Anglo American, which declined to comment. Petropavlovsk in May announced Vickerman would become interim non-executive chairman after the June AGM. It has appointed recruitment specialists to find a permanent replacement for Hambro, who has agreed to stand down as chairman and become an executive director. Petropavlovsk returned to profitability in 2016 after restructuring to tackle its debts. Its share price has recovered to above eight pence from a low around 5 pence in early 2016. Following higher gold prices and lower costs, 2016 net profit stood at $31.7 million, compared with a 2015 net loss of $297.5 million. (Additional reporting by Polina Devitt in Moscow and Carolyn Cohn, Maiya Keidan and Dasha Afanasieva in London; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/petropavlovsk-agm-idUSL8N1J3536'|'2017-06-08T20:49:00.000+03:00' +'9c98090e02558a4b0f84e36f578c8a5f6325a75f'|'Nikkei falls in choppy trade after weak U.S. data overshadows Fed hike'|'* Exporters, banks weak after Fed raises rates* Exporters mostly weak as yen strengthens* Nintendo jumps 3.5 pct to best level since Jan 2009By Ayai TomisawaTOKYO, June 15 Japan''s Nikkei share average fell in choppy trade on Thursday, after weak U.S. inflation data overshadowed an interest hike by the Federal Reserve.Also souring sentiment was a Washington Post report that U.S. President Donald Trump is being investigated by a special counsel for possible obstruction of justice.By midmorning, the Nikkei was down 0.6 percent at 19,762.71, after briefly flirting with positive territory earlier.The U.S. central bank raised interest rates to a range of 1.00 to 1.25 percent as expected, and gave its first clear outline on its plan to reduce its $4.2-trillion bond portfolio. Fed policy makers also signalled they were likely to raise rates once more this year.But the rate hike was overshadowed by poor inflation and retail sales data."The market is relieved that the big event has passed. But the result left the market with lots of questions after weak U.S. economic data," said Takuya Takahashi, a strategist at Daiwa Securities.Consumer prices unexpectedly fell on month in May and the annual increase in core CPI slipped to 1.7 percent, the smallest rise since May 2015, after advancing 1.9 percent in April.Retail sales fell 0.3 percent last month - the largest fall since January 2016 and way below economists'' expectations for a 0.1 percent gain."It is difficult for investors to imagine that the U.S. economy will recover from the first quarter and inflation will rise anytime soon," Daiwa''s Takahashi said.Exporters were mostly weak after the dollar dropped to an eight-week low of 108.81 yen overnight before recovering to trade at 109.56 yen.Toyota Motor Corp dropped 1.0 percent, while Honda Motor Co shed 0.5 percent.Shares of banks, which hunt for higher yielding products, also lost ground after U.S. yields fell. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group both declined 1.4 percent.Bucking the trend was Nintendo Co, soaring 3.5 percent to 35,980, a level not seen since January 2009, extending its gains after it announced on Twitter the previous day that it would release Super Mario Odyssey for Switch on Oct. 27.The broader Topix dropped 0.5 percent to 1,583.42. (Editing by Jacqueline Wong)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-midday-idINL3N1JC1FZ'|'2017-06-15T00:44:00.000+03:00' +'7938232c9a961d8e753ced551cbb68711e352aea'|'Energen sticks to business plan as Corvex raises stake'|'Activist investor Corvex Management LP reported a 7.6 percent stake in oil and gas producer Energen Corp ( EGN.N ) on Wednesday and expressed "disappointment" with the company''s decision to stick to its business plan.Corvex, run by Carl Icahn protege Keith Meister, said Energen''s decision was made without consulting shareholders on potential strategic alternatives for the company. ( bit.ly/2tlmPV8 )However, Energen said on Wednesday it conducted a review of its business with the help of two financial advisers and input from shareholders and concluded that its best option was to continue with its present business execution.Corvex last month disclosed a 5.5 percent stake in Energen and urged the company to explore a sale. The 7.6 percent stake revealed on Wednesday will make it Energen''s fifth-largest shareholder, according to Thomson Reuters calculation.Energen has a large concentration of assets in the Permian Basin which has become a hotbed of M&A activity in the energy industry as a recovery in oil prices spurs firms to make strategic investments.Birmingham, Alabama-based Energen''s shares were up 2.5 percent at $49.15, giving the company a market value of about $4.80 billion.(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-energen-corvex-idUSKBN19J2L0'|'2017-06-28T21:26:00.000+03:00' +'f8f8f75d133ca838507cf5e3da18b6dc088afbd7'|'UK will pay for Roche breast cancer drug at centre of price row'|'Health 1:47pm BST UK will pay for Roche breast cancer drug at center of price row FILE PHOTO: Roche tablets are seen positioned in front of a displayed Roche logo in this picture illustration, January 22, 2016. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo LONDON A Roche breast cancer drug at the center of a prolonged pricing row in Britain will now be paid for routinely, following a discount deal between the company and the National Health Service, the country''s cost watchdog said on Thursday. Kadcyla, which can prolong the lives of some women with advanced disease, has been a battle-ground for campaigners wanting better access to modern cancer drugs, with 115,000 people signing a petition demanding its availability. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) said it could now recommend funding for Kadcyla, following the new commercial access arrangement with Roche. Details of the discount offer were not disclosed. At its full list price, Kadcyla costs about 90,000 pounds ($115,000) per patient, according to NICE, although Roche says this figure is exaggerated because the drug is typically given for shorter periods than NICE assumes. Until now, the drug has only been covered by the Cancer Drugs Fund, which finances drugs not routinely paid for on the NHS. With the medicine moving to routine use, NICE estimates around 1,200 women could now be eligible to receive it. Roche, the world''s biggest supplier of cancer medicines, has expressed frustration in the past at the rigid system used in Britain to determine value for money in cancer care, with CEO Severin Schwan describing the system as "stupid" in 2015. Industry critics, however, argue that medicine prices are rising far faster than inflation, especially in cancer treatment, and returns demanded by the industry on newly launched products are unsustainable. (Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Adrian Croft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-roche-britain-cancer-idUKKBN1961L1'|'2017-06-15T20:47:00.000+03:00' +'73e38128e70c072c566d0285272eecdd807b61d9'|'UPDATE 1-Brazil''s Petrobras says political turmoil unlikely to affect asset sales'|'(Adds details from presser, context)By Daniel FlynnRIO DE JANEIRO, June 1 Brazil''s state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA does not expect political turmoil caused by a massive corruption investigation to affect its asset sales and debt reduction program, Chief Executive Officer Pedro Parente said on Thursday.The Petrobras CEO also said the company will not stop deleveraging once the target of debt at 2.5 times EBITDA is reached. He said a level of 1.5 times EBITDA, or earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, is more appropriate."We don''t see the country''s current condition as altering our plans to reduce debt," he said, referring to the sweeping "Car Wash" graft probe that centers on political kickbacks on Petrobras contracts and has now led to the investigation of President Michel Temer, among scores of other lawmakers.Parente, speaking to a small group of foreign journalists, did say that some developments, such as Moody''s changing its outlooks to negative from stable for several major Brazilian firms on Wednesday, along with the political turbulence, did have some consequences for Petrobras."Our outlook for a new upgrade to our credit rating is now more complicated, but that has nothing to do with the operations of the company," Parente said.Parente''s remarks underscore the challenges still faced by the company.During the course of the "Car Wash" probe, federal judge Sergio Moro has put dozens of Petrobras industry and engineering firm executives behind bars in the investigation into political kickbacks on contracts at state companies.Oil prices near decade lows and losses incurred over many years because of government-mandated fuel subsidies also pose challenges to Petrobras.Petrobras'' aggressive turnaround helped the firm post a record operating profit in the first quarter and move ahead of schedule in reducing a debt burden that is the largest of any major oil firm. (Reporting by Daniel Flynn; Writing by Ana Mano; Editing by Alistair Bell)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/petrobras-outlook-idUSL1N1IY0U6'|'2017-06-01T23:03:00.000+03:00' +'77f4b6df58805ab13866dc06d8e08c22ddae9d12'|'Irish services sector growth slips back from 10-month high - PMI'|'Business 08am BST Irish services sector growth slips back from 10-month high - PMI Musicians play Irish traditional music in a pub in central Dublin November 21, 2010. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton DUBLIN, June 6 Ireland''s services sector growth slipped back from a 10-month high in May but remained strong thanks to a steady flow of new orders fuelling optimism about the future, a survey showed on Tuesday. The Investec Services Purchasing Managers'' Index (PMI) slipped to 59.5 in May from 61.1 in April. Services have not fallen below the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction since June 2012, when Ireland was halfway through a three-year international bailout. Ireland was the best performing economy in the EU for the third year in a row last year despite concerns that it is the country most exposed to the fallout from neighbouring Britain''s vote last year to leave the bloc. The manufacturing PMI for May, released last week, indicated that Ireland''s manufacturing sector was growing at its fastest pace in almost two years. Thirty-two percent of the services sector managers questioned reported a rise in activity in May while just 14 percent reported a fall, the survey''s authors said. And 55 percent of respondents forecast an increase in business activity over the next 12 months compared to 6 percent forecasting a decrease. "Such optimism appears well-founded given the improving international backdrop," Investec Ireland chief economist Philip O''Sullivan said. (Reporting by Conor Humphries; Editing by Catherine Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ireland-economy-pmi-idUKKBN18X0D0'|'2017-06-06T13:08:00.000+03:00' +'6d352d53606927fdeb9f814e5765d4458d164b72'|'Hyundai U.S. sales chief quits in management shake-up amid poor sales'|' 17am EDT Hyundai U.S. sales chief quits in management shake-up amid poor sales SEOUL, June 7 Hyundai Motor''s U.S. sales chief Derrick Hatami has resigned for "personal reasons", a company spokeswoman said on Wednesday, the second departure of a top U.S. executive in the past six months as the South Korean automaker grapples with slumping sales. The exit came shortly after Hyundai reported that its U.S. sales dropped 15.5 percent in May versus a 1 percent drop in the overall market, making it the worst performer among auto sellers in the United States. Hyundai has struggled to maintain sales momentum in recent years, dogged by its heavy reliance on sedans, which have been losing ground to sport utility vehicles. Hyundai''s top U.S. executive Dave Zuchowski quit in December. Hyundai also replaced its sales chief in South Korea and its China head last year after the company, along with affiliate Kia Motors, posted its first annual global sales fall in nearly two decades. Hyundai has still not named a successor to Zuchowski, with interim leader W. Gerald Flannery overseeing the automaker''s operations in its second-biggest market after China. Hyundai is struggling with sliding China sales as political tensions exacerbated its image in the world''s top market. The automaker said on Wednesday that it will boost technology partnerships with China''s internet giant Baidu in connected cars, a day after it announced the hiring of former Volkswagen executive Simon Loasby as its China design head. (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/hyundai-motor-usa-idUSL3N1J4215'|'2017-06-07T15:17:00.000+03:00' +'c8cac8e212c1f738c5c3bf1b206a76e60652544d'|'Banco Popular lining up plan to raise capital - report'|'MADRID, June 1 Banco Popular has asked Deutsche Bank to come up with a plan for the troubled Spanish lender to raise capital after its previous adviser Morgan Stanley stepped down, El Confidencial reported on Thursday.Popular is testing investor appetite for a capital increase of between 4 billion and 5 billion euros ($4.5 billion-$5.6 billion) if its plans to find a merger partner falter, the online newspaper said, citing anonymous sources.Representatives for Banco Popular, Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley declined to comment on the El Confidencial report.European banking watchdog, the Single Resolution Board (SRB), has warned European Union officials that Popular may need to be liquidated if it fails to find a buyer, an EU official told Reuters.Popular, which has been unable to sell 37 billion euros of soured property loans fast enough, is racing to find a partner after Economy Minister Luis de Guindos closed the door last month to a public bailout, while a capital increase has faced resistance from existing shareholders.The bank has said previously it could extend a June 10 deadline for binding takeover offers.At 0819 GMT, Popular shares were down 8.2 percent at a record low of 0.559 euros per share. ($1 = 0.8899 euros) (Reporting by Angus Berwick; additional reporting by Jose Elas Rodrguez; writing by Paul Day; editing by David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/spain-popular-capital-idINL8N1IY1B8'|'2017-06-01T06:27:00.000+03:00' +'425039c802773a04e5d3e940af62ba1733393f92'|'Live Q&A: What is the best model to bring healthcare to all? - Global Development Professionals Network'|'More than 400 million people around the world do not have access to health services, the World Health Organisation announced in 2015 in a report released shortly before the signing of the UNs sustainable development goals (SDGs). And the punitive cost of accessing treatment is one of the biggest barriers: 6% of people are even driven further into poverty by health spending.Global health leaders clearly have a momentous challenge on their hands if they want to deliver on their promise of achieving universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all by 2030 one of the 169 targets that make up the SDGs.So, what needs to change to bridge this gap? Which affordable healthcare models are most effective and could they be scaled up? And how much influence should the private sector have in delivering universal health coverage?Join an expert panel on Thursday 29 June from 3-4.30pm BST, to discuss these questions and more.The live chat is not video or audio-enabled but will take place in the comments section (below). Want to recommend someone for the panel or ask a question in advance? Get in touch via globaldevpros@theguardian.com or @GuardianGDP on Twitter. Follow the discussion using the hashtag #globaldevlive .Panel to be confirmed.Topics Global development professionals network Healthcare industry Global health Live Q&As'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2017/jun/23/live-qa-what-is-the-best-model-to-bring-healthcare-to-all'|'2017-06-23T22:19:00.000+03:00' +'85c209c567cbf85ba255d7ef3033d3f8d83f9ece'|'France starts judicial inquiry into LafargeHolcim''s Syrian activities - source'|'Top 8:03am BST France starts judicial inquiry into LafargeHolcim''s Syrian activities - source FILE PHOTO: The logo of LafargeHolcim is seen at its headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, March 2, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo PARIS France has launched a judicial inquiry into the Syrian activities of cement and construction group LafargeHolcim, a judicial source said on Tuesday, with the probe looking into the "financing of terrorist enterprise" and endangering lives. The source said one judge dealing with anti-terrorism matters and two financial judges were handling the matter. A spokeswoman for the company said LafargeHolcim had no immediate comment on the subject. In April, LafargeHolcim said its chief executive Eric Olsen was leaving after the company admitted it had paid armed groups to keep a factory operating in war-ravaged Syria. An independent internal inquiry found protection payments made to intermediaries to keep open the Jalabiya plant in northern Syria were not in line with its policies. (Reporting by Emmanuel Jarry; Writing by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Jean-Michel Belot and Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lafargeholcim-syria-idUKKBN1940Q5'|'2017-06-13T15:03:00.000+03:00' +'ee34f26cfd1f549f201ece9aebcb8c6938606c5b'|'BRIEF-Sarepta, Genethon announce research collaboration for DMD treatment'|' 18am EDT BRIEF-Sarepta, Genethon announce research collaboration for DMD treatment June 21 Sarepta Therapeutics Inc: * Sarepta Therapeutics and Genethon announce a gene therapy research collaboration for the treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy * Sarepta Therapeutics Inc - financial terms of collaboration have not been disclosed * Sarepta Therapeutics Inc - Sarepta has option to co-develop Genethon''s micro-dystrophin program, which includes exclusive U.S. commercial rights * Sarepta Therapeutics Inc - under terms of collaboration, Genethon will be responsible for early development work '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-sarepta-genethon-announce-research-idUSFWN1JI0FU'|'2017-06-21T19:18:00.000+03:00' +'e5010f8cf23affea2aab532a74e2803b4d7aa9ba'|'Sycamore Partners close to deal to acquire Staples - sources'|'By Greg Roumeliotis and Lauren Hirsch Private equity firm Sycamore Partners is in advanced talks to acquire Staples Inc following an auction for the U.S. office supplies retailer, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, in a deal that could top $6 billion.The acquisition would come a year after a U.S. federal judge thwarted a merger between Staples and peer Office Depot Inc on antitrust grounds.It would represent a bet by Sycamore that Staples could more quickly shift its business model from serving consumers to catering to companies if it were to go private.Sycamore is in the process of finalizing a debt financing package for its bid for Staples after it prevailed over another private equity firm, Cerberus Capital Management, three sources said.An agreement could be announced as early as next week, though negotiations between Sycamore and Staples are continuing and there is still a possibility that deal discussions could fall apart, the sources added.The sources asked not to be identified because the negotiations are confidential. Framingham, Massachusetts-based Staples and New York-based Sycamore declined to comment. Cerberus, which is also based in New York, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Staples, which made its name selling paper, pens and other supplies in retail stores, reported a smaller-than-expected fall in first-quarter comparable sales last month, while its profit met analyst estimates, helped by a growth in demand for facilities, breakroom supplies and technology solutions.Staples has 1,255 stores in the United States and 304 in Canada. It has the largest market share of office supply stores in the United States at 48 percent, and its share has increased since 2011, according to Euromonitor.Private-equity acquisitions of retailers have become increasingly rare, as the investment firms worry about increasing headwinds facing the industry and their portfolio companies struggle with the debt burden left behind from leveraged buyouts. Retail deals comprised the smallest share of mergers and acquisitions in the first quarter of the year, according to Thomson Reuters data.A number of private equity-backed retailers, from Sports Authority Inc to Payless ShoeSource Inc, have filed for bankruptcy in the last two years.Sycamore, however, specializes in retail investments and has been more bullish on the sector. Its previous investments include regional department store operator Belk Inc, discount general merchandise retailer Dollar Express and mall and web-based specialty retailer Hot Topic.(Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis and Lauren Hirsch in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/staples-m-a-sycamorepartners-idINKBN19D07M'|'2017-06-22T01:05:00.000+03:00' +'7a29087f494bbe5836ca44c6e59c6310132a5eb3'|'INVESTMENT FOCUS-Stocks flying, oil crying as 2017 hits halfway point'|'Market News - Fri Jun 23, 2017 - 11:34am EDT INVESTMENT FOCUS-Stocks flying, oil crying as 2017 hits halfway point By Marc Jones - LONDON, June 23 LONDON, June 23 World stocks could be about to record their best start to a year since 1998, when global markets were recovering from the Asian crisis, while oil and the dollar are facing their worst first-half in years. It has been a six months marked, first, by the crumbling of so-called Trump trades that were premised on U.S. President Donald Trump''s pledges of multi-trillion dollar spending. The second feature has been a political and growth outlook shift in Europe which has lured investors back to the continent. As this graphic shows reut.rs/2sxO66c 16-17 percent gains in emerging markets and Europe on a dollar-adjusted basis have boosted world stocks around 10 percent so far this year. Oil on the other hand is 2017''s worst performer, despite almost 2 million barrels-per-day of OPEC supply cuts. Undercut by high output from shale and some producers such as Nigeria, Brent crude futures have slumped 20 percent in their biggest first-half drop since 1997. The price moves have rekindled memories of the 50 percent rout seen in the second half of 2014. But equities have held up well despite a hefty tech share selloff earlier in June and a run of softer U.S. economic data which hint at slowing price growth and a major setback for the "Trumpflation" trades in vogue at the start of 2017. Despite two Federal Reserve rate hikes already this year, the dollar has fallen 4.5 percent against the world''s other top currencies -- its worst start to a year since 2006. "From a global perspective it is increasing the appetite for risky assets," said ABN Amro''s chief investment officer Didier Duret. Duret also noted the defeat for far-right, anti-establishment parties in French and Dutch elections, as well as a synchronised recovery in world growth. The euro zone is seen growing 2 percent this year, its best run in a decade, while latest data shows consumer confidence at a 16-year high. In Brexit-bound Britain, which has just been through a messy election, the pound has dropped 3 percent against the euro, whereas UK government bonds and the FTSE 100 have risen 2.4 and 6.4 percent respectively. Emerging markets too have enjoyed a trade and growth bounce. "There is a growing recognition we are seeing accumulative stability, with lower volatility and lower correlation between assets and this is constructive for creating momentum for equities," Duret said. While U.S. stocks have returned almost 10 percent year-to-date, many investors reckon European stocks offer better value - funds polled by Reuters every month have just upped euro zone equity exposure to a nine-month high. "Previously there were lots of reasons not to invest in Europe. Now Europe is growing faster than the U.S.," said Pictet Asset Management''s chief strategist Luca Paolini, who prefers European and emerging stocks. The past week has seen biggest U.S. equity outflows in five weeks. PERFECT LANDING Emerging markets have shrugged off the U.S. rate rises and the oil and tech tumbles. While emerging equities are the top performers, bonds in emerging market currencies have returned almost 10 percent in dollar terms, while hard currency sovereign debt is up 6 percent. "At the end of last year, everyone was long dollar but suddenly people realised the dollar was getting weaker. Usually when that happens it''s very good for EM assets," said Francois Savary, CIO of Swiss investment manager Prime Partners. There is likely room for more gains in the coming year, given the sector has underperformed for five years, he added. But within emerging markets there are losers as well as winners: tmsnrt.rs/2dZbdP5 Russian equities, heavily oil-reliant and a star of late 2016, have lost 17 percent but energy importer Turkey''s stock index has risen 30 percent, despite inflation, domestic political risks and policy wobbles. The Mexican peso is the world''s top performing currency, up 14 percent on the dollar, as faith wanes in Trump''s ability to implement anti-trade and anti-immigration pledges. Perhaps the biggest surprise has been Poland''s zloty which has surged more than 10 percent against the dollar, outstripping the euro''s 5.8 percent rise. Brazil''s real has been one of the worst-performing currencies, down 5 percent in 2017 due to fresh corruption scandals that have hit the country. "The question for the next six months is how far the positive European momentum should go," said ABN''s Duret. "And can China control its slowdown. Can it continue to achieve a perfect soft landing?" (Additional reporting by Sujata Rao and Dhara Ranasinghe in London; Editing by Catherine Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/markets-2017-graphic-idUSL8N1JK2J1'|'2017-06-23T23:34:00.000+03:00' +'4bad0f7e095384f23bd582c6ebe51cde62a7cc9d'|'Service with a smile: how to keep customers coming back - Guardian Small Business Network'|'L oyal customers are hard won, and easily lost. But there are simple and effective ways to encourage repeat custom. Staff training, loyalty schemes and customer reviews were some points for discussion in our live Q&A on the secrets to customer loyalty.First up were loyalty schemes, with a few questions from reader Oliver King. He asked if loyalty schemes are effective, whether customers have become less keen on them, and what they might look like in the future.Naomi Timperley, honorary industry fellow at Salford Business School, co-founder, Tech North Advocates and chair, Capital Pilot, said: I think it depends on what the customer gets. Jo Densley, founder of Relish Food Marketing , agreed with this. She said: Customers are becoming more savvy and comparing one loyalty card against another to see if they are getting good valueAsk the experts: the secrets to customer loyalty as it happened Read moreMeanwhile, Joanna Causon, chief executive of The Institute of Customer Service , added that the future of consumer buying is characterised by personalisation, so building trust is important. If I dont trust an organisation, I dont share my data, which means they cannot personalise, she said. Points based-loyalty programmes have their place, but what we need to consider is whether they are sufficiently personalised and relevant to the customers needs.Simon Wadsworth, managing director of Igniyte , added: Offering a simple, clear system of rewards is more readily seen as a win-win for current customers, giving them a more positive image of your company, which can give you an edge on the competition.Next the panel discussed staff training: how important are the staff if your aim is keeping customers on side? And what type of training works best? Calum Brannan, CEO and co-founder, No Agent , made a good point: [Staff] who deal with customer service issues need to have a good deal of emotional intelligence and a can-do attitude.According to Causon, many service staff lack this Institute of Customer Service research revealed 84% of UK customers dont think UK customer-facing staff have appropriate levels of training. The skills most important to customers revolve around competence, behaviour and attitude. Training should always have a practical element to it for those involved, making it relevant and real and not overly theoretical, she added. Causon also pointed to research suggesting that for every 1% increase in employee engagement there is around a 0.5% increase in customer satisfaction.Stephen Dorman, general manager customer quality, Kia Motors (UK) , explained that businesses should always know what they want staff training to achieve and how they will measure its success. Ensure follow-ups take place with employees, he added. This will help you see what theyve learned and to plan the next steps in their development.Small businesses can have an advantage over big players when it comes to service many know their customers personally. Armed with this knowledge, they can use simple, low-cost ways to make their customers feel valued. Densley said she often sees this approach among small food and drinks producers. Small acts such as adding a handwritten card or free sample to a customers package can encourage them to talk about your brand to their friends and family, she explained.Aine Breen, owner of Liwu Jewellery , said: If you are asking them for email addresses, etcetera, be sure to say what is in it from them ie discounts, notifications of new product or invitations to events.For the owner of a jewellery business, such as Breen, branding is important to stand out in a crowded market. But, one reader asked, what part does branding play in customer loyalty? How should small businesses start with branding, and what should they prioritise?Breen shared some practical advice: Branding should help your business be identifiable. I started with a great graphic designer (a freelancer) and we came up with a logo and colours and fonts that embodied my business. I use them consistently.Wadsworth said that where to spend on branding depends on where your customers are most likely to find you be that word-of-mouth, or a Google search, for example. He added: Its important to ensure that, when a potential customer Googles the name of your firm, theyre seeing the kind of positive content that will give them confidence in the brands integrity and trustworthiness.Asked for his top piece of advice for building loyalty, Wadsworth said businesses should respond to all customer reviews, including the positive ones. Its easy to focus attention on addressing negative feedback, but its also important to give a thumbs up to customers whove taken the time out of their day to highlight a great experience.Densley offered a valuable final point: For small brands its often all about the story if they can differentiate themselves from the big faceless brands out there and connect with consumers on an emotional, more personal, level.Sign up to become a member of the Guardian Small Business Network here for more advice, insight and best practice direct to your inbox.Topics Accessing expertise How to ... Small business Entrepreneurs Consumer affairs features Reuse this content'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/jun/02/service-smile-experts-expert-tips-keep-customers-coming-back'|'2017-06-02T15:00:00.000+03:00' +'7ace37011cf2a55decc58a566881c3217a2c015c'|'Ryanair in talks with Boeing over new 737 model - sources'|'Tue Jun 13, 2017 - 5:38pm BST Ryanair in talks with Boeing over new 737 model: sources FILE PHOTO: A Ryanair aircraft lands at Ciampino Airport in Rome, Italy December 24, 2016. REUTERS/Tony Gentile/File Photo PARIS/DUBLIN Irish budget carrier Ryanair ( RYA.I ) is in talks with Boeing ( BA.N ) about placing an order for its proposed new 737 MAX 10 jetliner, two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Boeing is expected to launch what would become the largest version of its 737 MAX medium-haul family at the opening of the Paris air show next week. A Boeing spokesman for the region declined to comment. A Ryanair spokesman said: "We do not comment upon rumor or speculation". (Reporting by Tim Hepher, Conor Humphries, editing by David Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ryanair-boeing-idUKKBN1942B5'|'2017-06-14T00:36:00.000+03:00' +'60c314101dba28e77ee7a22a7925d00c01ab492b'|'India calls for middle-income country coalition to revive globalisation'|'By Rajesh Kumar Singh India called on Thursday for a coalition of middle-income countries to drum up support for globalisation as a political backlash in the United States and parts of Europe against free trade and investment imperils its growth aspirations.Arvind Subramanian, the finance ministry''s chief economic adviser, suggested India could lead a coalition of countries with open economies to promote free trade."We, in India, now have a much bigger growing stake in ensuring that the world markets remain open, that we continue to see globalisation," Subramanian told a conference on the world''s 20 biggest economies (G20)."A coalition of middle-income countries led by India or at least where India is taking charge, would be something we should seriously explore."The proposal comes as frustration with persistently low growth, stagnant wages and diminishing job security has sparked opposition in Europe and the United States to free movement of capital, goods and services, which critics blame for eroding incomes and worsening inequality.Those worries prompted U.S. President Donald Trump last week to pull the United States out of the landmark 2015 global agreement to fight climate change.Across the Atlantic, British Prime Minister Theresa May has rejected "untrammelled free markets" and plans to cut annual net migration to the tens of thousands.Free trade and investment in the 1990s and 2000s triggered an unprecedented boom in the global economy, leading to rapid increases in per capita income and reductions in poverty.India, for example, saw average annual gross domestic product growth of 8.2 percent between 2003-2011, buoyed by 20-25 percent annual growth in exports.A slump in export markets since then has brought average growth down below 7 percent. Asia''s third-largest economy needs to expand by at least 8 percent a year for the next decade to create jobs for its burgeoning workforce.But to realise its growth ambitions, India estimates goods and services exports would have to rise 15 percent a year.Subramanian said India would have to demonstrate a commitment to open markets and do more to liberalise trade and investment without worrying about the costs."We are now an important player ... we cannot say the burden of keeping it open rests exclusively with others," he said."Wielding power and influence entails responsibility."(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani, Robert Birsel)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/india-globalisation-idINKBN18Z1RS'|'2017-06-08T21:06:00.000+03:00' +'a829ae209eb73c55a2f6ac64ab1cc58d783ba859'|'RPT-Caisse fires back at Boeing over Bombardier claims'|' 34am EDT RPT-Caisse fires back at Boeing over Bombardier claims (Repeats item initially published on June 28 with no change to text) By Matt Scuffham NEW YORK, June 28 Quebec''s largest pension fund has dismissed as "absolute nonsense" claims by Boeing Co that its $1.5 billion investment in Bombardier Inc''s rail business amounted to an unfair subsidy to the Canadian company. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec''s Chief Executive Michael Sabia said in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday that the U.S. aerospace company, headquartered in Chicago, was itself a recipient of state aid. "I guess the guys at Boeing are so used to being subsidized by the defense department in the United States that they cant understand what a subsidy is anymore because they live off them," he said. In April Boeing asked the U.S. Commerce Department to investigate alleged subsidies and unfair pricing for Bombardier''s CSeries airplane, accusing Bombardier of having sold 75 of the planes to Delta Air Lines Inc last year at a price well below cost. The U.S. International Trade Commission last month gave approval to the U.S. Commerce Department to begin preparing anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties against new jets from Bombardier "It is just outrageous that a company that''s subsidized by the U.S. government as Boeing is presumes to take such an action," Caisse''s Sabia said. However, Boeing spokesman, Dan Curran, said, "Rulings by the World Trade Organization prove that assertions about subsidies to Boeing are incorrect. "Our petition to the International Trade Commission seeks to restore a level playing field in the U.S. single-aisle airplane market. This is the normal course of resolving such commercial trade disputes between two companies, and we will let that process play out. Pentagon spokesman, U.S. Navy Commander Patrick L. Evans said, "Secretary Mattis'' priority for the Department of Defense is clear: to increase military readiness while gaining full value from every taxpayer dollar spent on the defense of our nation." The Caisse has a dual mandate both to maximise returns for depositors and support economic growth in the Canadian province. Sabia said the Caisse operated independently of the Quebec government and the decision to invest in Bombardier was a commercial one. "If somebody would give me another dozen of those I would be the happiest guy in Manhattan today to put it mildly. "We have negotiated something that has no downside risk and unlimited upside exposure. Give me another dozen. Give me 20 of those." (Additional reporting by Alwyn Scott in New York and Mike Stone in Washington DC; Editing by Carmel Crimmins)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/caisse-ceo-boeing-idUSL1N1JQ0KQ'|'2017-06-29T15:34:00.000+03:00' +'345fe8665dcbd2e02c50cdd0f51bdec585376529'|'Macron and Merkel back tougher EU approach on trade'|' 3:03pm BST Macron and Merkel back tougher EU approach on trade left right German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron addresses a joint news conference at the EU summit in Brussels, Belgium, June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes 1/3 left right German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron addresses a joint news conference at the EU summit in Brussels, Belgium, June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes 2/3 left right German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron addresses a joint news conference at the EU summit in Brussels, Belgium, June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes 3/3 BRUSSELS French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel both voiced support on Friday for a more robust European approach to trade, saying the bloc must respond if other countries block access to their markets. At a joint news conference between the two leaders at the end of a two-day European Union summit, Macron said he favoured open markets but that Europe "cannot be naive". Merkel voiced support for the concept of reciprocity in trade and investment, saying Europe "must respond" if other countries prevented its companies from competing for public contracts. She singled out the United States which has taken a more protectionist approach under President Donald Trump. "If we have access to public contracts in the United States, then we can say ''yes'' to access to public contracts in Europe," Merkel said. But if this access was not there, she said, Europe must think about an answer. (Reporting by Noah Barkin, Andreas Rinke and Jean-Baptiste Vey)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-summit-trade-idUKKBN19E1LU'|'2017-06-23T22:03:00.000+03:00' +'9ae9506f94752ccf62dbf72e70ef6ae6ec216f8f'|'NRG Energy''s GenOn unit files for bankruptcy'|'By Tom Hals - WILMINGTON, Del. WILMINGTON, Del. NRG Energy Inc''s ( NRG.N ) GenOn business filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday with an agreement with bondholders to cut $1.75 billion of its debt and restructure the power generator as a standalone business, according to a securities filing.The filing, which follows a debt restructuring agreement reached in May, comes as wholesale power companies struggle with weak electricity prices.NRG, the largest independent U.S. power producer, appointed two directors in February and agreed to cut costs and sell assets in a deal with activist investors Elliott Management and Bluescape Energy Partners. The funds acquired a 9.4 percent stake in NRG early in 2017.Shares of NRG were down 2.9 percent at $16.44 in late morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange.The bankruptcy will transfer ownership of GenOn, which operates 32 power plants in eight states, to its senior noteholders. GenOn''s plants, mostly in the Mid-Atlantic, have a total production capacity of approximately 15,394 megawatts. The company generates nearly two-thirds of its electricity from natural gas.Holders of notes issued by affiliate GenOn Americas Generation will receive in cash 92 percent of the principal of the $695 million outstanding, plus accrued interest.As part of the debt-cutting agreement, GenOn and NRG agreed to transition shared services to a third party and NRG will also pay a settlement of $261.3 million in cash to GenOn.NRG will also provide a $330 million letter of credit to GenOn.NRG acquired GenOn in 2012 for $1.7 billion.Mauricio Gutierrez, the president and chief executive of NRG, said in an emailed statement that the bankruptcy will help simplify NRG while maintaining a strong balance sheet.The senior noteholders will also receive the right to participate in an offering of $700 million of new notes to refinance the company when it emerges from Chapter 11.Cheap natural gas flowing from shale fields has brought down electricity prices in recent years, squeezing margins for wholesale power generation companies.Exelon Corp ( EXC.N ) has hired a debt restructuring adviser and said it plans to close its Three Mile Island nuclear power plant ahead of schedule. FirstEnergy Corp ( FE.N ) has said it plans to exit its merchant business by mid-2018.Energy Future Holdings Corp, the largest power generation company in Texas, filed for bankruptcy in 2014 and Panda Temple Power LLC filed earlier this year.(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-nrg-energy-genon-bankruptcy-idINKBN1952G7'|'2017-06-14T14:50:00.000+03:00' +'30863f121c55f711c2b8929d9e8d1ba1ec3471eb'|'Buyout fund CVC hires banks for $1.1 billion Continental Foods sale - sources'|' 21pm IST Buyout fund CVC hires banks for $1.1 billion Continental Foods sale - sources By Martinne Geller and Pamela Barbaglia - LONDON LONDON Private equity fund CVC Capital Partners has picked advisers to sell its food firm Continental Foods in a deal that could be worth more than 1 billion euros ($1.12 billion), sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday. The business, which produces soups, sauces and bouillons, includes brands like Liebig in France and Erasco in Germany. CVC has owned it since late 2013, when it purchased it from Campbell Soup for 400 million euros ($447.1 million). CVC''s decision to sell Continental Foods comes amid a wave of deal-making in the packaged food sector where large companies are looking for ways to boost profits in a weak market. Unilever is trying to sell its margarines business after rebuffing a takeover bid by Kraft Heinz, while Reckitt Benckiser Group is selling its French mustard business. Nestle said last week that it would explore options, including a possible sale, for its roughly $900 million-a-year U.S. confectionery business. London-based CVC, which recently raised a record 16 billion euros for its latest fund, is working with Swiss bank UBS and Paris-based investment boutique Messier Maris on a possible sale, the sources, who declined to be identified as the process is private, said. Continental Foods, CVC, UBS and Messier Maris declined to comment. Based near Antwerp in Belgium, Continental employs more than 1,000 staff across Europe. It has production facilities in France, Belgium and Germany and is active in five European markets including Finland and Sweden with revenues of about 400 million euros. It could fetch more than 1 billion euros, based on a multiple of 12 times its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of around 90 million euros, the sources said. Private equity funds typically look to sell or list their portfolio companies within three to five years, hoping to cash out with a profit. ($1 = 0.8946 euros)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/continentalfoods-m-a-idINKBN19A2DX'|'2017-06-20T00:51:00.000+03:00' +'fcfc7410ffde4df0d507c9956cd6f2120fc08a5a'|'PE firms to take Britain''s Shawbrook private after prolonged battle'|'Private equity groups trying to buy British challenger bank Shawbrook Group Plc ( SHAW.L ) said on Monday that shareholder acceptance of the takeover had exceeded a key threshold, allowing the buyers to take the lender private.Marlin Bidco, the buyout vehicle set up by BC Partners and Pollen Street Partners, said it had received valid support for its offer from other Shawbrook shareholders owning a combined 75.6 percent of the company.Shawbrook declined to comment.Valid acceptances representing 50 percent of the company were required for the deal to go through with Shawbrook remaining listed on the London Stock Exchange.Under the deal structure, the company would be de-listed if at least 75 percent of its shareholders accept the offer, with those who did not accept, being part owners of an unlisted entity.Shawbrook earlier this month rejected a raised and final 868 million pound ($1.1 billion) offer from the private equity groups, which already hold 38.8 percent of the lender.The consortium first made a bid for Shawbrook in January, offering 307 pence per share, before raising its offer to 330 pence in March. However, so far, Shawbrook''s directors had advised shareholders to reject the offers.Founded in 2011, London-listed Shawbrook is one of several ''challenger'' banks to emerge since the financial crisis to fill a gap in small-business lending after larger banks slimmed down to focus on bolstering their capital to meet tougher regulatory requirements.These challenger banks have increasingly been seen as ripe for takeovers in recent months, bankers who advise on mergers and acquisitions have said, as a prolonged period of low interest rates has squeezed earnings and the pound''s fall has made them cheaper for foreign buyers.(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain and Sanjeeban Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-shawbrook-group-buyout-idINKBN19A2KP'|'2017-06-19T15:57:00.000+03:00' +'a3a0af973ffef3614871b25dcc0810a5e9a56f26'|'Airbus A380 upgrade waits in the wings at Paris Airshow'|'Business News - Sat Jun 17, 2017 - 7:21pm BST Airbus A380 upgrade waits in the wings at Paris Airshow left right A new fuel-efficient wingtip extension or winglet is seen on an Airbus A380 at Le Bourget, France June 17, 2017. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol 1/3 left right A new fuel-efficient wingtip extension or winglet is seen on an Airbus A380 at Le Bourget, France June 17, 2017. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol 2/3 left right A new fuel-efficient wingtip extension or winglet is seen on an Airbus A380 at Le Bourget, France June 17, 2017. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol 3/3 PARIS Airbus is preparing to roll out a novel A380 wingtip design to rally support for the world''s largest passenger jet by improving its fuel efficiency, according to a prototype seen on Saturday. A Reuters photographer got up close to the roughly three-metre-high split wingtip which has been installed on an A380 belonging to the Air and Space Museum at Le Bourget airport, where the Paris Airshow opens on Monday. It confirms an upgrade reported by Reuters and Usine Nouvelle on Friday. Airbus declined comment. Drag-reducing ''scimitar'' split wingtips have been used on Boeing''s medium-haul Boeing 737 MAX, but never on a jetliner the size of the A380, which has a 79.9-metre (262-foot) wingspan. The aircraft sporting the prototype ''winglet'' will be towed out to join others on display at the June 19-25 air show, giving airlines a glimpse of an improvement that Airbus hopes will turn around weak sales of its flagship double-decker. However, a new clash is looming with rival Boeing over the future for such four-engined passenger aircraft, which have seen production fall and which also include the Boeing 747-8. Boeing looks set to revise down or even scrap its 20-year forecast for such ''very large aircraft'' in a survey next week. "The very big airplane market for the last 10-15 years has been moving downward and downward," Marketing Vice President Randy Tinseth told the Paris Air Forum on Friday. "That very big end of the market, maybe one percent, is going to be very, very small," he said, adding that the 555-seat A380 would have to be made longer to become economic and that there was little market for such a large plane. Eric Schulz, president of civil aerospace at Rolls-Royce ( RR.L ), whose engines are offered on the A380, told the same conference travel congestion underpinned demand for big jumbos. "I am convinced that without a massive and significant improvement in airport installations and air traffic control routes, there will be still a lot of congested routes and if anything the city pairs will grow for bigger airplanes". But he said questions remain over to what extent that demand would be met by four-engined jets like the A380 or big twinjets closer to 400 seats, like the Boeing 777-9 and Airbus A350-1000. Airbus last week revised down its forecast for the A380 category by six percent to 1,184 aircraft, though at four percent of total deliveries this remains more optimistic than Boeing. (Reporting by Pascal Rossignol, Tim Hepher; Editing by Stephen Powell) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-airshow-a-idUKKBN1980R7'|'2017-06-18T02:21:00.000+03:00' +'420b2c38d2be1928775fd1d46e80abdfdc6309c4'|'Eyes on AirAsia as Airbus looks for airshow comeback: sources'|'Business News - Thu Jun 22, 2017 - 3:24am EDT Eyes on AirAsia as Airbus looks for airshow comeback: sources FILE PHOTO - A man walks past the logo of AirAsia at Don Muang International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, June 14, 2016. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom/File Photo PARIS Airbus ( AIR.PA ) has seen its rival Boeing ( BA.N ) grab most of the headlines at the Paris Airshow this week, but it could turn to AirAsia - one of its largest customers - to narrow the gap after the launch of a new Boeing plane, industry sources said. AirAsia co-founder Tony Fernandes signed a services agreement with Airbus earlier this week and stayed on for further negotiations with his company''s sole aircraft supplier, sources said, while cautioning a deal could not be guaranteed. Airbus declined to comment, while officials at AirAsia could not be reached for comment. Going into the fourth trade day of the Paris Airshow, Boeing was ahead on net, new orders and commitments after launching a new version of its 737 MAX family of planes. (Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-airshow-paris-airbus-airasia-idUSKBN19D0MV'|'2017-06-22T15:24:00.000+03:00' +'9be9f051ceca03d63f1866a64da9b827ca752162'|'Exclusive: GE begins testing drones to inspect refineries, factories - executive'|'Business News - Tue Jun 13, 2017 - 6:13am BST Exclusive: GE begins testing drones to inspect refineries, factories - executive The logo of General Electric Co. is pictured at the Global Operations Center in San Pedro Garza Garcia, neighbouring Monterrey, Mexico, May 12, 2017. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril By Alwyn Scott - SEATTLE SEATTLE General Electric Co has begun testing autonomous drones and robotic "crawlers" to inspect refineries, factories, railroads and other industrial equipment with an eye on capturing a bigger slice of the $40 billion (31.6 billion pounds) companies around the globe spend annually on inspections. In trials with customers, aerial drones and robots are able to move around and inside remote or dangerous facilities while photographing corrosion or taking temperature, vibration or gas readings that can be analysed by computer algorithms and artificial intelligence, Alex Tepper, head of business development at Avitas Systems, a startup GE formed for this business, told Reuters. GE is expected to announce the new business, which is focused on the oil and gas, transportation and power sectors, as early as Tuesday at a conference in Berlin, Germany. GE is not the first to combine artificial intelligence with robots to inspect industrial facilities or processes. IBM Corp said it has been working on systems connected to its Watson artificial intelligence capability for about a year and launched some projects March. Tests IBM have been conducting include coupling cameras to Watson so they can recognise defects in electronic components zipping through assembly lines in China and Taiwan. Other projects involve acoustic sensors, or training Watson-enabled drones to spot frayed power lines on remote electrical towers. IBM and partner ABB Ltd, the Swedish-Swiss conglomerate, are combining visual inspection with ABB robots. "This is one of the hottest areas within IoT (Internet of Things) manufacturing," said Bret Greenstein, vice president of IBM Watson internet of things. He declined to cite a potential market size. GE said its Avitas business will combine computer analytics and artificial intelligence with its knowledge of the industrial systems it builds and its existing inspection business. "We know this equipment very well so we can programme the robots, regardless of type, to gather the information we need for an inspection," Tepper said. Companies spend about $40 billion annually inspecting plants and equipment within the oil and gas, transportation and power generation sectors, Tepper said. He expects robots will not replace humans, but will extend their reach and lower costs. Automated crawlers and drones also address shifting demographics. Many inspection engineers are nearing retirement, and few young workers are interested in the field, he said. (Reporting by Alwyn Scott; editing by Diane Craft) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ge-drones-idUKKBN1940I7'|'2017-06-13T13:13:00.000+03:00' +'e999e9742ede74de2a1d4a45106dcf4ff8d6f68f'|'Global FDI flows rebound in 2017, set to rise further in 2018 - U.N.'|' 21pm BST Global FDI flows rebound in 2017, set to rise further in 2018: U.N. The skyline of Manhattan in New York is seen during a rainy day from Weehawken, New Jersey, U.S., May 13, 2017. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz GENEVA Global foreign direct investment (FDI) fell by less than previously thought in 2016 and will rise this year and in 2018, although its flow will stay below the peak seen 10 years ago, the United Nations said on Wednesday. FDI, which largely comprises cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and investment in start-up projects abroad, slipped by 2 percent in 2016, much less than the 13 percent fall suggested by preliminary figures in February. FDI is a bellwether of globalization and a potential sign of the growth of corporate supply chains and future trade ties. This year it is expected to grow thanks to higher economic growth expectations, a resumption of trade growth, and increasing corporate profits, the United Nations trade and development agency UNCTAD said. "Policy uncertainty and geopolitical risks could hamper the recovery, and tax policy changes could significantly affect cross-border investment," UNCTAD said in a report. The outlook was cautiously optimistic for most regions, except for Latin America and the Caribbean, because of their uncertain macroeconomic and policy outlook, it said. The United States remained the top FDI recipient in 2016, with inflows increasing 12 percent to $391 billion, followed by Britain, which was pushed up into second position by several mega-deals and welcomed $254 billion of FDI in total. China was in third position but slipped 1 percent from 2016 to $134 billion. FDI flows have repeatedly undershot forecasts because of the stuttering recovery after the global financial crisis. In 2007, FDI flows hit an estimated $1.9 trillion, the highest on record. (Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Tom Heneghan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-economy-fdi-idUKKBN18Y2L5'|'2017-06-08T01:04:00.000+03:00' +'542c24fc401067b081b4316ba692939f89c69b6b'|'Malaysia''s Lotte Chemical to raise $1.4 billion in IPO'|'SEOUL Malaysia''s Lotte Chemical Titan Holding [TTNP.UL] will raise 1.55 trillion won ($1.38 billion) from new shares being issued in an initial public offering (IPO), its South Korean parent Lotte Chemical Corp ( 011170.KS ) said on Friday.Lotte Chemical Corp said in a regulatory filing that the funds raised in the IPO are expected to come from about 740.5 million new shares, valued at the top of an indicative range of 8 ringgit ($1.87) per share.The listing could be one of the biggest IPOs in years in Malaysia, which has not seen any listing of $1 billion and above since the $1.5 billion IPO of Astro Malaysia Holdings ( ASTR.KL ) in 2012.(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-lotte-chemical-ipo-malaysia-idINKBN18T18W'|'2017-06-02T07:54:00.000+03:00' +'729ad6c2a2b12afcfe828c1b887176f170c641d3'|'Harley-Davidson enters race to buy Italian rival Ducati - sources'|'Business 8:30pm BST Harley-Davidson enters race to buy Italian rival Ducati - sources Harley-Davidson bikes are lined up at a bike fair in Hamburg, Germany, February 24, 2017. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer By Pamela Barbaglia - LONDON LONDON U.S. motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson ( HOG.N ) is lining up a takeover bid for Italian rival Ducati, potentially bringing together two of the most famous names in motorcycling in a deal that could be worth up to 1.5 billion euros (1.3 billion), sources told Reuters. Indian motorcycle maker Bajaj Auto ( BAJA.NS ) and several buyout funds are also preparing bids for Ducati, which is being put up for sale by German carmaker Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ). A deal with Harley-Davidson would bring together the maker of touring bikes like the Electra Glide that are symbolic of America with a leading European maker whose high-performance bikes have a distinguished racing heritage. Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson has hired Goldman Sachs to work on the deal, one source familiar with the matter said, adding tentative bids were expected in July. Volkswagen, whose Audi division controls Ducati maker of the iconic Monster motorbike is working with investment boutique Evercore on the sale which will help it fund a strategic overhaul following its emissions scandal. Based in the northern Italian city of Bologna, Ducati was on the wish list of private equity funds KKR ( KKR.N ), Bain Capital and Permira, which are all working on the deal, said the sources who declined to be identified as the process is private. Ducati was launched in 1926 as a maker of vacuum tubes and radio components and its Bologna factory remained open in World War Two despite being the target of several bombings. Ducati racers have won the Superbike world championship 14 times, with Carl Fogarty and Troy Bayliss its most successful riders. Harley-Davidson, which commands about half the U.S. big-bike market, was founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at the start of the last century and was one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the great depression. Demand for Harley''s motorcycles continues to be slow as its loyal baby boomer demographic ages and rivals such as the Indian brand bike maker Polaris Industries Inc ( PII.N ) and Japan''s Honda Motor Co Ltd ( 7267.T ) offer discounts. Volkswagen''s powerful labour unions, which control half the seats on the carmaker''s 20-strong supervisory board, repeated their opposition to selling the Italian motorcycle maker. "Ducati is a jewel, the sale of which is not supported by the labour representatives on Volkswagen''s supervisory board," a spokesman for VW group''s works council said in an email. "Harley-Davidson is miles behind Ducati in technology terms," he added. BIDDING FIELD Evercore has sent out information packages to a number of potential suitors including Ducati''s previous owner Investindustrial, sources with knowledge of the matter said. Investindustrial bought a stake in Ducati before the financial crisis, subsequently taking control of the business before selling it to Audi in 2012. It is now looking to compete with heavyweight private equity firms and large industry players to regain control. Volkswagen, Audi, Harley-Davidson, KKR and Bain Capital declined to comment. Bajaj, Investindustrial and Permira were not immediately available. Volkswagen, Europe''s largest carmaker, is seeking to move beyond an emissions-cheating scandal that has tarnished its image and left it facing billions of euros in fines and settlements. A successful deal for Ducati, which last year reported revenues of 593 million euros, would show Volkswagen boss Matthias Mueller is serious about reversing his predecessor''s quest for size. Volkswagen said last June it would review its portfolio of assets and brands, rekindling speculation among analysts that "non-core" businesses could be put up for sale. Volkswagen hopes to raise between 1.4 billion and 1.5 billion euros from the sale of Ducati, valuing it at 14-15 times its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of about 100 million euros, the sources said. The German car maker wants a valuation that reflects trading multiples of similar trophy assets in the automotive industry, such as Italian car maker Ferrari ( RACE.MI ) which trades at almost 30 times its forward earnings. Yet it may need to compromise on price as some of the bidders would struggle to pay as much as 1.5 billion euros for Ducati, several sources said. Price expectations have already proved challenging for some industry players who recently decided against bidding. Indian motorcycle firm Hero MotoCorp ( HROM.NS ) and its rival TVS Motor Company ( TVSM.NS ) initially expressed interest in Ducati but were put off by its price tag and decided to walk away, the sources said. German car marker BMW ( BMWG.DE ) and Japanese motorcycle makers Honda ( 7267.T ) and Suzuki ( 7269.T ) have also decided against bidding for Ducati, sources close to the companies told Reuters. A BMW spokesman confirmed the German firm was not interested in Ducati, while Hero and TVS were not immediately available for comment. Another source close to Volkswagen said the sale of Ducati might not be finalised before the annual EICMA motorcycle show in Milan in mid-November as Volkswagen wanted to find the right buyer and the sales process might take time. (Additional reporting by Arno Schuetze in Frankfurt, Andreas Cremer in Berlin, Naomi Tajitsu in Tokyo, Aditi Shah in New Delhi and Kane Wu in Hong Kong; Editing by Adrian Croft and Edmund Blair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-volkswagen-ducati-m-a-idUKKBN19C1XP'|'2017-06-22T03:30:00.000+03:00' +'ab0fa8d5d9b6c21ac7065f19a7600d89b59e9afd'|'Samsung Electronics to invest $300 million for U.S. appliances factory - Korea Economic Daily'|'Technology 2:18am BST Samsung Electronics to invest $300 million for U.S. appliances factory: Korea Economic Daily Employees walk in the main office building of Samsung Electronics in Seoul, South Korea, January 6, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji SEOUL Tech giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd plans to invest $300 million to build an appliances factory in the United States, the Korea Economic Daily reported on Thursday citing unnamed sources. The plant in Blythewood, South Carolina, will manufacture products such as washing machines and gas oven ranges, the South Korean newspaper said. Samsung will sign a formal agreement later this month and plans to complete construction of the plant by 2019, the report said. A Samsung spokesman declined to comment. The South Korean firm said earlier this year it was in talks to build a home appliances plant in the United States amid worries about protectionist policies under new U.S. President Donald Trump. Home appliances rival LG Electronics Inc in March announced a $250 million plan to build a new home appliances factory in Tennessee. (This version of the story corrects planned date for completion of plant in paragraph 3) (Reporting by Se Young Lee; Editing by Stephen Coates)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-samsung-elec-us-idUKKBN18Y3BR'|'2017-06-08T08:53:00.000+03:00' +'5dd669ae3c1a21b7da37493f03aed1d5386bfec8'|'Singtel''s NetLink Trust launches up to $1.95 billion Singapore IPO: IFR'|'Deals - Tue Jun 27, 2017 - 7:17am EDT Singtel''s NetLink Trust launches up to $1.95 bln Singapore IPO By Elzio Barreto - HONG KONG HONG KONG NetLink NBN Trust, the broadband subsidiary of Singapore Telecommunications ( STEL.SI ) (Singtel), launched an up to $1.95 billion IPO on Tuesday in the largest new listing in Singapore in more than four years. NetLink is offering 2.9 billion units in an indicative price range of S$0.80 to S$0.93 each, putting the total issue at as much as S$2.69 billion ($1.95 billion), according to a preliminary prospectus filed with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The IPO is slated to be priced on July 7, with its debut on the Singapore stock exchange set for July 19, according to a term sheet of the transaction seen by Thomson Reuters publication IFR. The deal will be the biggest in Singapore since Mapletree Greater China Commercial Trust''s ( MAPE.SI ) $2.06 billion IPO in February 2013. NetLink will use a portion of the IPO proceeds to buy Singtel''s broadband assets, with up to S$1.4 billion paid in cash and it will use 966 million units for the remainder of the amount due. NetLink will use another 40 percent of proceeds to repay a S$1.1 billion loan owed to Singtel. Singtel''s Group CEO Chua Sock Koong previously said the company wanted to reduce its stake in NetLink to less than 25 percent. It will own 24.99 percent of NetLink after the IPO. DBS Group, Morgan Stanley and UBS AG were hired as joint global coordinators for the IPO, with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, HSBC, OCBC Bank and UOB also acting as joint bookrunners. (Additional reporting by Fiona Lau of IFR and Aradhana Aravindan in Singapore; Writing by Elzio Barreto; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Susan Fenton) '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-netlink-trust-ipo-idUSKBN19I11P'|'2017-06-27T14:00:00.000+03:00' +'94c179c01f7379699413c82f2e25464a3c1fd97f'|'China stocks regulator approves six IPOs to raise $499 million'|'Business News - Sat Jun 17, 2017 - 7:12am BST China stocks regulator approves six IPOs to raise $499 million SHANGHAI China''s securities regulator has said it has approved six initial public offerings (IPOs) that aim to raise a combined total of up to 3.4 billion yuan ($499.29 million). Three of the approved IPOs are on the Shanghai bourse, one on the Shenzhen small and medium enterprise (SME) board, and two on the start-up ChiNext board, the China Securities Regulatory Commission said in a statement on its official microblog on Friday. ($1 = 6.8845 Chinese yuan) Amazon to buy Whole Foods for $13.7 billion, wielding online might in brick-and-mortar world Amazon.com Inc said on Friday it would buy Whole Foods Market Inc for $13.7 billion (10.72 billion pounds), in an embrace of brick-and-mortar stores that could turn the high-end grocer into a mass-market merchant and upend the already struggling U.S. retail industry. LONDON Tesco , Britain''s biggest retailer, reported its strongest quarterly sales growth in seven years on Friday but its stellar performance was overshadowed by news of Amazon''s $14 billion takeover of Whole Foods Market . MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-ipo-idUKKBN198066'|'2017-06-17T14:12:00.000+03:00' +'daa1c4c17e4c48c9ed546558f08a6dc771082c0b'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'June 23 The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1000 GMT on Friday:** A Chinese consortium and two private equity firms are likely to submit bids next week to buy Singapore-listed warehouse operator Global Logistics Properties Ltd, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.** Spanish builder OHL said it was looking to sell between 25 percent and 40 percent of its concessions affiliate in an effort to find the unit a partner by the end of the year.** Creditor banks to India''s Essar Oil approved the acquisition of the company by a group including Russia''s Rosneft , two sources familiar with the matter said, removing a key hurdle to the $12.9 billion deal that has been in the works for two years.** Toshiba Corp said it was open to talks with Western Digital Corp in their dispute over the sale of the Japanese conglomerate''s prized chip unit - an apparent olive branch after it chose another suitor as preferred bidder.** Ireland raised 3 billion euros ($3.4 billion) by selling a quarter of Allied Irish Banks in a remarkable turnaround for a company at the forefront of reckless lending during the "Celtic Tiger" boom. (Compiled by John Benny in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/deals-day-idINL3N1JK3DB'|'2017-06-23T08:09:00.000+03:00' +'e0d21ae994f1b9eb9f9104df52362e1525766d0a'|'PRESS DIGEST-Canada - June 14'|'June 14 The following are the top stories from selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.THE GLOBE AND MAIL** Property developers in Ontario are calling for changes to rent-control measures announced by the province in April, saying they are too harsh and are already causing builders to cancel apartment construction projects. tgam.ca/2s9G5Cj** Days before the end of his term, the chairman of Canada''s telecom regulator, Jean-Pierre Blais, is warning that his successor may need to intervene directly in the wireless market to deliver more competition and lower prices for consumers. tgam.ca/2s9IsFeNATIONAL POST** Retailer Sears Canada Inc, whose sales have been on a steady downward trajectory, issued the direst warning yet about its future and said it is exploring strategic alternatives, including a possible sale of the business. bit.ly/2s9nkz5** Canadian natural gas producers have been forced to shut in their production after Alliance Pipeline LP, a joint venture between Enbridge Inc and Veresen Inc, declared a force majeur Tuesday on its export pipeline to Chicago, which analysts say will hurt gas prices. bit.ly/2s9t3Fe** Shaw Communications Inc announced two deals on Tuesday: it sold ViaWest, its data centre business, for C$2.3 billion ($1.7 billion) to Peak 10 Holding Corp, and announced a C$430 million deal with Quebecor Inc to buy low-band spectrum licences in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario. bit.ly/2s9I21V ($1 = 1.3191 Canadian dollars) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/press-digest-canada-idINL3N1JB3UV'|'2017-06-14T08:42:00.000+03:00' +'05559378064f442e5c2498935762589a38a8005a'|'United Launch Alliance beats SpaceX to win Air Force launch'|'Science 4:28pm BST United Launch Alliance beats SpaceX to win Air Force launch By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla () Reuters - United Launch Alliance, a partnership of Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co , for the first time beat Elon Musk''s SpaceX in competition for an Air Force satellite launch, both launch companies said on Friday. The contact covers launch services for multiple satellites aboard an Atlas 5 rocket in June 2019. The contract value is $191,141,581, the Air Force said. United Launch Alliance, which previously had a monopoly on launches, has not won a competition with SpaceX since the company won a contract for an Air Force launch business with a contract award in 2016. A SpaceX official told Reuters it did not expect to win this bidding competition because the mission required a heavy-lift launcher and its Falcon Heavy booster has not yet flown. The mission performance required that we bid Falcon Heavy, SpaceX spokesman John Taylor wrote in a email to Reuters. We did submit a bid, but with the knowledge that our first Falcon Heavy flight might occur after the time of the award. Given we have not flown Falcon Heavy, we did not anticipate winning this mission, he said. SpaceXs Falcon Heavy is expected to debut this year. (Reporting By Irene Klotz. Editing by Joseph White and David Gregorio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-space-airforce-idUKKBN19L293'|'2017-06-30T18:20:00.000+03:00' +'18d22b7eb3466575aa5bb626e8981d69518603e1'|'Brazil watchdog wants out of Oi reorganization, paper says'|'SAO PAULO, June 14 Brazil telecommunications industry watchdog Anatel has asked a bankruptcy court to exclude the 11 billion reais ($3.3 billion) in debt it is owed by phone carrier Oi SA from the purview of the carrier''s in-court reorganization plan, O Estado de S. Paulo said on Wednesday. Anatel President Juarez Quadros told Estado that the request had been presented to the judge in charge of Oi''s bankruptcy protection case last Friday. The debt corresponds to back fines and levies that Oi failed to honor before filing for creditor protection on June 20 last year.According to Estado, Quadros said excluding the Anatel debt from the Oi process will prevent the agency from accepting losses that often go north of 70 percent in similar cases.Oi Chief Executive Officer Marco Schroeder told Reuters on June 9 that he will present an amended restructuring plan this month and put it to vote at an assembly of creditors by around September.Anatel did not immediately confirm Quadros'' comments.Oi''s reorganization process, which began almost a year ago and remains Brazil''s largest bankruptcy protection case to date, has been marked by a series of disputes between creditors and shareholders over the fate of Brazil''s No. 4 wireless carrier.Anatel has repeatedly threatened to take the carrier''s licenses over should Oi stakeholders fail to reach an agreement.($1 = 3.3157 reais) (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by W Simon)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/oi-sa-restructuring-idINL1N1JB0GJ'|'2017-06-14T10:55:00.000+03:00' +'1e3261cfefd2145a02a898ce622fa81f94e88ee6'|'UK earnings after inflation shrink at fastest pace since 2014'|'Top News 10:55am BST UK earnings after inflation shrink at fastest pace since 2014 A municipal worker sweeps the street outside the cabinet office in Westminster, central London, Britain, June 9, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne By Andy Bruce and William Schomberg - LONDON LONDON British workers'' earnings after inflation are shrinking at the fastest pace since 2014, underscoring the economic challenge facing a weakened Prime Minister Theresa May as the squeeze on consumers tightens faster than expected, data showed. While a joint record-high proportion of Britons are in work, the fall in real-terms wage growth pointed to tougher times ahead for consumers, the main drivers of economic growth. Inflation hit an almost four-year high of 2.9 percent in May, fuelled by the fall in the pound since last year''s Brexit vote and adding to the strain on household budgets, according to data published on Tuesday. Wednesday''s wage figures suggest there will no let-up soon. Workers'' total earnings including bonuses after taking inflation into account fell by an annual 0.4 percent in the three months to April after edging up 0.1 percent in the first quarter. That marked the biggest real-terms drop since the three months to September 2014, potentially adding to speculation that the government might loosen its grip on public spending to help steer Britain''s economy away from a slowdown. The squeeze on earnings is also likely to add to the view among the majority of Bank of England officials to leave interest rates on hold when they announce their latest policy statement on Thursday. Sterling hit a day''s low against the dollar after the data, while British government bond prices rallied. "Unless the government gets its act together, we''ll soon be in the middle of another cost of living crisis," said Frances O''Grady, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress. May is still trying to strike a deal with a small Northern Irish party that will give her enough votes in parliament to allow her government to pass legislation, after losing her majority in a botched national election last week. MIXED SIGNALS FROM JOBS MARKET Britain''s economy has been resilient to political uncertainty since last June''s Brexit vote. But growth slowed sharply at the start of this year as the rise in inflation driven by the post-referendum fall in the pound began to bite . The Office for National Statistics said the unemployment rate in the period between February and April held steady at a more than four-decade low of 4.6 percent, in line with the median forecast in a Reuters poll of economists. In nominal terms, wages grew at the slowest pace since February 2016, rising an annual 2.1 percent in the three months to April and slowing from 2.3 percent in the first quarter. Economists taking part in a Reuters poll had expected wage growth of 2.4 percent. "The wage figures are astonishingly weak," said Samuel Tombs, economist at consultancy Pantheon Macroeconomics. The wage numbers jarred with the picture of strong jobs growth but appeared consistent with signs of rising underemployment, Tombs said. The ONS revised its data for wages to improve methodology for earnings from small businesses, resulting in lower estimates for wage levels but little change overall to growth rates. Excluding bonuses, nominal earnings rose by 1.7 percent year-on-year, the weakest increase since January 2015 and against expectations for a 2.0 percent rise. The Bank of England is watching wage growth closely as it gauges whether the increase in inflation is creating longer-lasting pressure on prices. It expects wages to rise by 2 percent this year before picking up in 2018 and 2019. The central bank is widely expected to keep interest rates at their record low of 0.25 percent on Thursday. The number of people in work increased by 109,000 in the three months to April, taking the employment rate to 74.8 percent, a joint record high, the ONS said. (Editing by Tom Heneghan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-jobs-idUKKBN1950V1'|'2017-06-14T16:36:00.000+03:00' +'aee41c9f8ad3fa457e493983d17fcc8be849ac53'|'Time Inc to cut 300 positions, or 4 percent of workforce -memo'|'Business News - Tue Jun 13, 2017 - 9:07pm BST Time Inc to cut 300 positions, or 4 percent of workforce -memo German Chancellor Angela Merkel appears on the cover of Time Magazine''s Person of the Year issue in this undated handout photo obtained by Reuters December 9, 2015. Mandatory credit REUTERS/Time Inc./Handout via Reuters NEW YORK Time Inc ( TIME.N ) said on Tuesday it is eliminating 300 positions, or 4 percent of its workforce, through layoffs and buyouts, according to an internal memo reviewed by Reuters. The cuts were being made as the New York-based media company, which publishes dozens of magazines including Time, Sports Illustrated and Fortune magazines, is looking to cut costs and reinvest in growth areas, according to the memo from Time Inc Chief Executive Officer Rich Battista to employees. Time Inc, like its peers in the publishing industry, has been struggling as print circulations shrink and advertisers shift to digital platforms. Time Inc replaced its chief executive officer and evaluated a sale earlier this year after activist hedge fund Jana Partners LLC unveiled a stake in the company. Meredith Corp ( MDP.N ) made a preliminary offer to buy Time Inc in April, but the bid fell short of price expectations and ultimately the deal failed. In May, Jana disclosed it had sold its stake in Time Inc. (Reporting by Jessica Toonkel; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-time-layoffs-idUKKBN1942PN'|'2017-06-14T04:07:00.000+03:00' +'96d23958098a190d808f0fb74b1697a1be710bef'|'Argentina sells new 3-yr peso bonds tied to cenbank policy rate'|'BUENOS AIRES, June 14 Argentina on Wednesday placed $4.723 billion in peso-denominated bonds due in 2020 paying interest linked to the central bank''s policy rate, the finance ministry said in a statement.The bank on Tuesday left the rate unchanged at 26.25 percent despite data showing slower inflation in May. Policymakers noted that expectations for inflation in 2017 and 2018 remained above target.The government also issued $1.428 billion in U.S. dollar- denominated treasury notes in tranches of 224, 364 and 532 days.($1 = 15.88 Argentine pesos) (Reporting by Maximiliano Rizzi, writing by Hugh Bronstein, editing by David Gregorio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/argentina-bonds-idINL1N1JB2IC'|'2017-06-14T20:46:00.000+03:00' +'0ab7db1463a5f18ac24e53f2f2bb8156fd5f8c21'|'More than a third of Mylan investors voted against chairman'|'Business News - Wed Jun 28, 2017 - 10:55pm EDT Investors call on Mylan chairman, director to step down File Photo: Robert J. Coury, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Mylan at the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, Israel November 4, 2015. REUTERS/Nir Elias By Michael Erman - NEW YORK NEW YORK An investor group led by New York City''s comptroller called for Mylan NV''s ( MYL.O ) Chairman Robert Coury and Director Wendy Cameron to step down, as part of a campaign against the firm''s executive pay packages and high prices for an allergy treatment. More than a third of the investors voting at the generic drugmaker''s annual meeting last week cast votes against Coury, while over half voted against Cameron - who heads Mylan''s compensation committee, a letter reviewed by Reuters shows. "We believe Mylan''s independent directors must act swiftly - or risk further erosion in shareowner confidence and value," the investors wrote in the letter to Mylan''s independent directors. "Mylan''s share price is already down nearly 50 percent since its April 2015 peak and the company remains under legal, regulatory and public scrutiny for its EpiPen pricing practices," they added in the letter. Mylan could not be immediately reached for comment. The company has been grappling with a growing backlash from U.S. consumers over the price of its life-saving allergy treatment EpiPen after it shot up to more than $600 for a two-pack of the device from less than $100 in 2007. [nL2N1HB1KX] While the sharp price spike spurred congressional, Justice Department and other government investigations, the shareholder campaign against Mylan''s board picked up steam after Chairman Coury''s nearly $100 million pay package was disclosed earlier this year. [nL1N1J41AU] The investor group, including New York City and State pension funds and the California teachers pension fund, have asked for Coury to forfeit most of the pay he received last year. It also urged Mylan to hire an independent chairman and reconstitute its board with a majority of independent directors. The investors agitating against Mylan''s board had a steep threshold to cross as more than two-thirds of the shares voted, as well as more than half of Mylan''s outstanding shares, would have needed to be cast against the directors for them to lose. Neil Dimick and Mark Parrish, directors on the company''s compensation committee, had just under 50 percent of the shares voted cast against their re-election. Investors also cast more than a quarter of the shares voted against Chief Executive Heather Bresch. Mylan announced the vote totals from the meeting in a filing with regulators on Wednesday. The company had previously only said that all its directors had been re-elected. More than 80 percent of the company''s shares voted were cast against the company''s 2016 executive pay packages. That vote was a non-binding, advisory measure. New York City comptroller Scott Stringer, who oversees the city''s pensions and is one of the leaders of the campaign against the drugmaker''s board, said the board needed to act swiftly to restore investor confidence. "This board''s oversight failures have hurt investors, consumers and American taxpayers. We need to see change," Stringer said in a statement. (Reporting by Michael Erman; Editing by Sandra Maler and Himani Sarkar) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mylan-nl-meeting-idUSKBN19J2XV'|'2017-06-29T01:11:00.000+03:00' +'d0add8ee2e0ef61758f9feb9bc2ccc24e1e433e5'|'Oil prices fall further with glut concerns persisting'|'Business News - Thu Jun 22, 2017 - 8:23am BST Oil prices fall further with glut concerns persisting An oil pump is seen operating in the Permian Basin near Midland, Texas, U.S. on May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Ernest Scheyder By Aaron Sheldrick and Henning Gloystein - TOKYO TOKYO Oil turned lower on Thursday after posting gains earlier in the session as traders look ready to test new lows for crude prices with worries persisting over a global glut. Brent crude futures were down 15 cents at $44.67 a barrel at 0715 GMT, after spending much of the Asian trading day in positive territory. They fell 2.6 percent in the previous session to their lowest since November. U.S. crude futures were down 14 cents $42.39 a barrel, after also spending much of the day trading higher. On Wednesday, they settled down at $42.53, after touching their lowest intraday level since August 2016. Since peaking in late February, crude has dropped around 20 percent, with only brief rallies, completely erasing gains at the end of the year in the wake of the initial OPEC-led production cut. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers agreed to cut output by 1.8 million barrels per day from January for six months, subsequently extended for a further nine months. "The market didn''t actually buy into the cut for fundamental reasons. It bought into it because it was a shift in strategy from OPEC and it gave the market hope," said Matt Stanley, fuel broker at Freight Investor Services in Dubai. "But (OPEC) didn''t do enough and ... other producers were always going to fill the void," he said. With output rising in Nigeria and Libya, countries exempt from the deal, and output surging in the United States, which was not part of the agreement, many bulls appear to have thrown in the towel. The market largely shrugged off comments overnight from Iran''s oil minister that members of OPEC are considering deeper cuts in production. A bigger-than-expected cut in U.S. crude stockpiles reported overnight is also barely shifting the dial. Crude inventories fell 2.5 million barrels in the week to June 16, surpassing analyst expectations for a decrease of 2.1 million barrels, as imports rose marginally by 56,000 barrels per day, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Gasoline stocks fell 578,000 barrels, compared with analyst expectations for a seasonally unusual 443,000-barrel gain, which had been seen as bearish in the market. Stocks of the motor fuel had also risen unexpectedly by 2.1 million barrels in the previous week, despite the start of the summer driving season. (Editing by Joseph Radford and Sunil Nair) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUKKBN19D023'|'2017-06-22T15:23:00.000+03:00' +'3030d41769d3a61900157c947bf065c1d7bf3df6'|'Ifo institute raises growth forecast for German economy'|'Autos 11am BST Ifo institute raises growth forecast for German economy The Frankfurt skyline, Germany, September 29, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo BERLIN The Ifo economic institute raised its 2017 growth forecast for the German economy to 1.8 percent from 1.5 percent previously, with vibrant domestic demand and strong export growth propelling employment levels to historic highs. "We''re experiencing a first half which is so strong that the impetus will carry on into the coming year," Timo Wollmershaeuser, head of economic research at Ifo, said in a statement on Tuesday. "The upswing is being driven by the domestic economy, especially construction and consumption," he added. "But now we have industry too. The improving economies of the euro zone and the rest of the world are significantly boosting exports." For 2018, the institute now predicts Germany''s gross domestic product (GDP) will expand by 2.0 percent, up from the 1.8 percent it had predicted previously. It expected there to be 44.2 million people employed this year, an all time high, compared to 43.6 million last year. That would be coupled with higher inflation, reaching 1.7 percent this year and 1.6 percent in 2018, compared with 0.6 percent in 2016. The improved outlook chimes with the projections of Germany''s central bank, which has raised its growth forecasts for the German economy to a workday-adjusted 1.9 percent in 2017 and 1.7 percent in 2018. Still, Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said in a Reuters interview last week that the government was sticking to its more cautious growth outlook for Europe''s biggest economy despite solid economic data and upbeat sentiment indicators. The government said in April that it expected an economic growth rate on a non-adjusted basis of 1.5 percent in 2017 and 1.6 percent in 2018. (Reporting by Michael Nienaber and Thomas Escritt, editing by Michelle Martin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-geermany-economy-ifo-idUKKBN19B0TH'|'2017-06-20T16:11:00.000+03:00' +'7e79f37c6d7e1352c08c8d36f45c0c8b1fb61c90'|'ECB to inspect Greek banks'' progress on cutting bad loans'|'Central Banks - Fri Jun 30, 2017 - 7:28pm BST ECB to inspect Greek banks'' progress on cutting bad loans FILE PHOTO: The European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, July 29, 2016. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo FRANKFURT The European Central Bank plans to inspect Greek banks this year to monitor their progress in working off their huge pile of unpaid loans, ECB director Sabine Lautenschlaeger said on Friday. Greek banks have been cutting their share of non-performing loans (NPL) to companies and households, which account for slightly more than half of their books as a result of a severe economic crisis, to meet targets set by the ECB. The ECB supervises Greece''s four largest banks, or significant institutions (SIs), and is one of the three bodies responsible for the country''s bailout, along with the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund. "The ECB will perform on-site missions at the Greek SIs during the second half of 2017, a period in which the main operational measures to address NPLs ... have to be already implemented," Lautenschlaeger said in a letter to IMF chief Christine Lagarde. She was responding to an IMF request for information on the ECB''s supervisory work in Greece in the context of a possible IMF programme for the country. Greece secured a credit lifeline from euro zone governments earlier this month. The IMF offered Athens a standby arrangement but said it won''t disburse any money until it obtains greater detail on debt relief for the country. (Reporting by Francesco Canepa; Editing by Hugh Lawson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-greece-banks-ecb-idUKKBN19L2MS'|'2017-06-30T21:28:00.000+03:00' +'cc042371689e151778498e1a10957b4a763e763b'|'Divide over listing location slows Aramco IPO - WSJ'|'Business News - Wed Jun 14, 2017 - 9:40pm BST Divide over listing location slows Aramco IPO - WSJ FILE PHOTO: Logo of Saudi Aramco is seen at the 20th Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference (MOES 2017) in Manama, Bahrain, March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo Saudi Aramco''s IPO-ARMO.SE planned 2018 public share offering is being slowed down by a divide between Saudi Arabia''s ruling family and executives of the kingdom''s state oil company over where to list its shares, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. Aramco, formally known as Saudi Arabian Oil Co, was not immediately available for comment. Executives at Aramco are pushing Saudi Arabia''s king and his son, deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, on the merits of listing the giant state-owned oil company on the London Stock Exchange, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Aramco executives believe that listing in the United States would expose the company to greater legal risks, including from potential class-action shareholder lawsuits, the newspaper said. But, according to the report, the Saudi Arabian royal court favours the New York Stock Exchange, in part because of the kingdom''s longstanding political ties to the United States, and because the U.S. market represents the deepest pool of capital in the world. Saudi authorities are aiming to list up to 5 percent of the world''s largest oil producer on both the Saudi stock exchange in Riyadh, the Tadawul, and one or more international markets in an IPO that could raise $100 billion (78.41 billion pounds). (Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-saudi-aramco-ipo-idUKKBN19531C'|'2017-06-15T04:40:00.000+03:00' +'a0ff6f888d4ecf26fbc86358af8f4d99b64c64d3'|'Haldex withdraws support for Knorr-Bremse bid'|'STOCKHOLM Sweden''s Haldex ( HLDX.ST ) on Thursday said it was withdrawing its support for the bid from German car parts maker Knorr-Bremse [STELLG.UL] as it is unlikely European competition authorities will approve the acquisition."Based on the feedback from the Competition Authority the Haldex board considers the probability of regulatory approval so low that the board has decided not to assist Knorr-Bremse in the continued competition investigations," Haldex said in a statement.Knorr-Bremse said on Wednesday it would apply for another extension of its takeover offer for Haldex after the European Commission indicated it was likely to launch an in-depth review of the deal.Knorr-Bremse in September made a 4.86 billion Swedish crown ($575 million) all-cash bid for the Swedish brake systems rival, reigniting a bidding war by trumping an offer from Germany''s ZF [ZFF.UL].(Reporting by Olof Swahnberg; Editing by Sandra Maler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-haldex-ab-knorr-bremse-idINKBN19K329'|'2017-06-29T19:49:00.000+03:00' +'ca926d8d7f4bfbec3e861ac1389375fd73cc2c44'|'Europe M&A surges but U.S. slows sharply amid uncertainty'|'Business 30am BST Europe M&A surges but U.S. slows sharply amid uncertainty left right FILE PHOTO - An Amazon.com Inc driver stands next to an Amazon delivery truck in Los Angeles, California, U.S. on May 21, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo 1/3 left right FILE PHOTO: A Whole Foods Market is pictured in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S. June 16, 2017. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri 2/3 left right FILE PHOTO: The logo Spanish infrastructure company Abertis is seen outside his main office in Madrid, Spain, June 1, 2016. REUTERS/Sergio Perez 3/3 By Greg Roumeliotis and Pamela Barbaglia Acquisitions of European companies surged in recent months, amid optimism about the region''s economic prospects, but global deal-making subsided and the total value of U.S. deals fell sharply due to uncertainty about President Donald Trump''s tax reform and deregulation agenda. Mergers and acquisitions in Europe rose 45 percent year-on-year to $234 billion (179.85 billion pounds) in the second quarter, as companies bet the region''s economies will bounce back, according to Thomson Reuters data released on Thursday. Global M&A dropped 12 percent to $771 billion, however, and U.S. M&A dropped 36 percent to $281 billion. "The EU recovery is happening and has made companies more attractive even if there are increased regulatory hurdles," said Hernan Cristerna, global M&A co-head at JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ). In the second quarter, Italian toll road operator Atlantia SpA ( ATL.MI ) made a 16.3 billion euro ($18.64 billion) offer for Spanish peer Abertis Infraestructuras SA ( ABE.MC ), while chemicals companies Huntsman Corp ( HUN.N ) and Clariant AG ( CLN.S ), of the United States and Switzerland, respectively, agreed a $14 billion merger. The United States also saw some big deals, including U.S. medical equipment supplier Becton Dickinson and Co''s ( BDX.N ) $24 billion acquisition of peer C R Bard Inc ( BCR.N ). But U.S. M&A volume, as measured by the total value of deals, was down. The number of deals stayed almost flat year-on-year, but the average size of transactions decreased. "Some U.S. companies are in wait-and-see mode because they are still seeking clarity on the tax and regulatory reforms that the Trump administration has been promising. This kind of uncertainty is a major obstacle to mega-deals," said Bill Curtin, global head of M&A at law firm Hogan Lovells. Coupled with high stock market valuations, the uncertainty around U.S. President Donald Trump''s policy agenda reduced the appetite of many North American chief executives for major deals. "Corporates are still actively acquiring, but they are taking less risk, so there are fewer transformational deals and the mix of M&A has shifted towards more mid-sized transactions," said Matt McClure, head of Americas M&A for Goldman Sachs Group Inc ( GS.N ). Regulatory risks to deals closing has been another factor weighing on deals. The European Commission has been flexing its antitrust muscle, while expectations that the Trump administration will adopt a more merger-friendly stance have yet to meaningfully materialise. Nevertheless, for some companies the adverse environment offers a window to make a bold acquisitive move with little competition. For example, Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) clinched a $13.4 billion deal for U.S. grocer Whole Foods Market Inc ( WFM.O ) earlier this month, which has yet to trigger any rival offers. "There is a subset of companies which view the current environment as an opportunity. There is a little bit of a ''dare-to-be-great'' mentality," said Michael Boublik, chairman of Americas M&A at Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ). In the Asia-Pacific region, M&A volumes were almost flat in the second quarter at around $207 billion. Many dealmakers say global activity could increase in the second half of the year, particularly if there is more macroeconomic certainty in the United States. "Our outlook for the second half remains positive. Economic activity is strengthening, corporate earnings are robust, and financing markets remain very attractive," said Barclays Plc ( BARC.L ) Americas head of M&A Larry Hamdan. (Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York and Pamela Barbaglia in London; Editing by Tom Brown)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-m-a-idUKKBN19K37L'|'2017-06-30T02:30:00.000+03:00' +'cef909b50c25e0b04e32723021ef50a2bb2cacf3'|'UPDATE 1-Japan''s Sumitomo Metal to buy stake in Canada gold project for $195 mln'|'* Cote Gold Project expected to start output in 2021* Sumitomo Metal looking to boost output through acquisitions* Says deal will boost company''s annual gold output to 18 T (Adds comment, detail)By Yuka ObayashiTOKYO, June 6 Japan''s Sumitomo Metal Mining Co on Tuesday said it had agreed to take a 27.75-percent interest in a Canadian gold mining project from Toronto-based IAMGOLD Corp for $195 million.The purchase of the stake in the Cote Gold Project in Ontario comes as Japan''s biggest gold miner looks to boost its output through acquisitions and exploration.IAMGOLD owns 92.5 percent of the project, currently in its so-called pre-feasiblity study phase. Production is slated to begin in 2021, with the development expected to churn out 168 tonnes of gold over a 17-year life."With this deal, we will make progress towards our long-term goal of boosting gold output from our equity holdings to 30 tonnes a year," Naoyuki Tsuchida, Sumitomo Metals senior managing executive officer, told a news conference. The deal is expected to complete by the end of September.The company said the project would boost its annual gold output to nearly 18 tonnes from 15 tonnes now."Since this project is located in the Abitibi gold belt in eastern Canada, which is one of the world''s largest gold-producing areas, there may be additional reserves, depending on future exploration," Tsuchida said.Yoshiaki Nakazato, president of Sumitomo Metal, which is also miner and smelter of copper and nickel, said last month that the firm was still willing to invest in gold mines despite the record loss it booked in the fiscal year to March 2017. (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi and Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Michael Perry and Joseph Radford)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/sumitomo-mtl-min-iamgold-corp-idINL3N1J31LA'|'2017-06-06T02:16:00.000+03:00' +'09ed803a0ff3ce77b531600bfb30c4ee2313a1d3'|'Asia stocks edge up on optimism over global growth, oil rebounds'|'Business News - Mon Jun 26, 2017 - 2:52am BST Asia stocks edge up on optimism over global growth, oil rebounds FILE PHOTO: Passersby walk past in front of stock quotation board outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, September 29, 2015. REUTERS/Issei Kato By Hideyuki Sano - TOKYO TOKYO Asian shares edged up on Monday on optimism about global growth while the dollar was on the defensive as a subdued U.S. inflation outlook capped U.S. bond yields. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS ticked up 0.2 percent while Japan''s Nikkei .N225 rose 0.3 percent. Trading was slow with many markets in the region closed for holidays to celebrate the end of Ramadan. The prospect of solid global economic growth has kept alive investors'' optimism over world equities even as some markets, including Wall Street, have slowed down from a frenetic run due to high valuations. Share prices have also been supported by relatively loose monetary policies in the developed world, with the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank still pumping in funds. While the U.S. Federal Reserve is gradually tightening its policy, investors think the pace of its tightening will be much slower than its policymakers want given subdued U.S. inflation. Money market futures price FFZ7 FFF8 in only about 50 percent chance of another rate hike by the end of the year, compared to Fed''s own projection of one more rate increase. The 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield US10YT=RR stood at 2.144 percent, not far from seven-month low of 2.103 percent hit in mid-June. The 30-year yield hit 7-1/2-month low of 2.710 percent US30YT=RR on Friday, making the yield curve the flattest in almost a decade. It last stood at 2.721 percent. The lower yields have put the dollar on the defensive, though some market players say both Treasury yields and the dollar could rise if U.S. President Donald Trump manages to push through his healthcare bill in the parliament. "There will be renewed focus on U.S. healthcare bill. Its passage in the parliament could lead to expectations that the administration will get down to stimulus next," said Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management. Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell has pushed for a vote on the bill before the July 4th Independence Day holiday recess that begins at the end of this week. Yet he can afford to lose the support of only two Republicans in the face of unanimous Democratic opposition, while five Republican senators have said they will not support the bill in its current form. [nL1N1JM06G] The dollar stood at 111.22 yen JPY= , off last week''s high of 111.79. The euro EUR= traded at $1.1198, slowly recovering from its three-week low of $1.1119 touched on Tuesday. A strong reading in Germany''s Ifo business sentiment survey due at 0800 GMT could open the way for a test of $1.1296, its seven-month high hit earlier this month. The euro was little damaged by the news that Italy began winding up two failed regional banks on Sunday in a deal that could cost the state up to 17 billion euros ($19 billion). [nL8N1JM0IK] "This won''t cause a major financial crisis considering the current strength of the euro zone economy," said Yukio Ishizuki, senior strategist at Daiwa Securities. Oil prices ticked up early on Monday after having fallen for five weeks in a row on concerns OPEC-led production cuts have failed to ease a global crude glut stemming from increased oil production in the United States. Brent crude futures LCOc1 rose 0.5 percent to $45.78 per barrel from seven month lows of $44.35 hit last week. U.S. crude futures CLc1 fetched $43.22 per barrel, up 0.5 percent on the day and extending gains from their 10-month low of $42.05 set on Wednesday. (Editing by Shri Navaratnam) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUKKBN19H03R'|'2017-06-26T09:18:00.000+03:00' +'bad704eef0123b3ea62bfe934900c3a0a07c907d'|'US STOCKS-Tech shares boost Nasdaq; energy stocks rebound'|'Market News 35pm EDT US STOCKS-Tech shares boost Nasdaq; energy stocks rebound * Nasdaq on track to post first weekly gain in three weeks * Oil bounces off 10-month lows * Bed Bath & Beyond, BlackBerry tumble * Indexes: Dow down 0.05 pct, S&P up 0.13 pct, Nasdaq up 0.38 pct (Updates to late afternoon, adds commentary, changes byline) By Sinead Carew June 23 U.S. stocks rose on Friday, with the Nasdaq set to post its first weekly gain in three weeks, helped by strength in technology stocks, while energy shares rebounded as oil prices rose. But bank stocks fell even after they passed their annual stress test as some results were weaker than expected and investors focused on a flattening yield curve. Investors were expecting heavy trading around the market close due to FTSE Russell''s completion of the annual refresh of its benchmarks. "The effect is going to be focused on small-caps but there''s an echo of that in large caps," said Don Townswick, Director of Equity Strategy at Conning & Co in Hartford, Connecticut. While most of the rebalance-related trading comes at the close "there''s jockeying all through the day from people who want to get ahead" said Townswick. Oil prices edged up after hitting their lowest point since August earlier in the week, but remained on course for a roughly 20 percent decline for the year-to-date as production cuts have failed to reduce oversupply. While the S&P 500 energy index was up 0.4 percent on the day, it was on track to post its worst weekly decline since February 2016. Oil prices have added to concerns about the inflation outlook, which, along with a flattening yield curve, could pose a challenge to the Federal Reserve''s rate hike plans. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 10 points, or 0.05 percent, to 21,387.29, the S&P 500 gained 3.16 points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,437.66 and the Nasdaq Composite added 23.93 points, or 0.38 percent, to 6,260.62. Big technology stocks, including Apple, Facebook and Microsoft, were the S&P 500''s biggest boosts on the day and sent up the tech sector 0.6 percent. The laggards included the healthcare index which was down 0.4 percent on the day after a strong week. The healthcare rally faded on Friday as investors sought to understand whether a Senate Republican bill to replace Obamacare, released Thursday, would gain enough support to pass. Healthcare stocks had rallied ahead of the bill and were still on track for a weekly gain. The S&P financial index, fell 0.44 percent with pressure from banking stocks after the stress test results and ahead of the second part of their test due on Wednesday. "It is a sell on the news effect," said R.J. Grant, head of trading at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in New York. "It might get people back to focusing on things like the yield curve." Instead, investors favored growth sectors such as tech. "People are making bets that rates will stay lower for longer and the economy will kind of muddle along and have very tepid growth," said Grant. BlackBerry''s U.S.-listed shares were down 11.6 percent after quarterly revenue missed estimates. Bed Bath & Beyond was down 12.7 percent following a bigger-than-expected drop in same-store sales. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.96-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.49-to-1 ratio favored advancers. (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Nick Zieminski)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-idUSL1N1JK1EU'|'2017-06-24T03:35:00.000+03:00' +'c26a133f81d0dc8448cd8a68b8ce35e46bdfeacf'|'Yuan bears throw in the towel, say it isn''t worth fighting China''s PBOC'|'SINGAPORE A slew of Western investors and traders who placed bets in the past two years that Chinas yuan currency would drop because of a weaker Chinese economy, the threat of a debt crisis, and capital outflows, abandoned those positions in recent months.They have decided that at least in the short term - they may well be on a loser if they try to fight the Peoples Bank of China, the nations central bank, which has been taking a series of measures that appear aimed at keeping the currency stable.This is particularly the case ahead of an autumn congress of the ruling Communist Party of China, that is expected to allow Chinese leader Xi Jinping to consolidate his power. Also, the Chinese economy has been more robust than expected, the nations authorities have taken stiff measures to reduce capital outflows, and the U.S. dollar has been retreating from gains it made last year.Major global fund managers such as Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Old Mutual Global Investors, Standard Life Investments and Aviva Investors -- have taken off short yuan positions even as many of them see some weakness further down the road.The PBOC has made some moves to defend the yuan, which is also known as the renminbi. It has pushed up the cost of short-selling the currency and even changing the way it sets a daily mid-point used as a benchmark."They are not happy with a really weaker renminbi," said Mark Nash, the London-based head of global bonds at Old Mutual Global Investors. "People obviously dont want to fight the central bank.Nash, whose firm manages $44.7 billion globally, said he had been short the yuan at the turn of 2017 but took that position off early in the year.But he said he believes the strength in the yuan is reflective more of "an exercise in financial regulation" rather than an improvement in China''s economic outlook and hopes to go short again soon.Standard Life Investments'' Hong Kong-based emerging markets fixed income fund manager, Mark Baker, said he gave up his short yuan position in the first quarter of 2017, after seeing the success China was having with capital controls and some improvement in economic data. "There is a desire to rein in expectations that the currency is merely a one-way bet, he said.The PBOC did not respond to a Reuters request for comments for this article.The yuan has risen 2 percent against the dollar so far this year. In the latest policy tweak, the PBOC has included a "counter-cyclical factor" in its method for fixing the daily mid-point around which the currency is allowed to trade.The adjustment to the fixing method in May was the second this year and came after a string of capital control moves, all aimed at stopping domestic Chinese investors from moving cash abroad.That has put a floor under a currency which fell 6.5 percent in 2016 and 4.5 percent in 2015. Concern about the decline led the central bank to spend a billion dollars over 2-1/2-years to defend the yuan. Short yuan positions are expensive. It costs about 5 percent annually to own and short the yuan directly based on short-term borrowing costs, though there are a myriad ways in which an investor or trader can structure a short bet. Some investors interviewed for this article said they mainly use offshore forward currency contracts - settled for cash at a particular date - which makes the trade somewhat cheaper.INTENTIONS UNCLEARBeijing is also keen on keeping the yuan strong so that U.S. President Donald Trump isnt given any reason to take tough trade measures against China. During the election campaign, Trump had accused Beijing of manipulating its currency to make Chinese exports more competitive, hurting U.S. companies. The stronger yuan also helps to dissuade Chinese companies and citizens from moving money offshore.Jonathan Xiong, head of the fixed income alternatives group at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said he closed out his short yuan positions at the beginning of the year as Chinas growth prospects improved.Stuart Ritson, head of Asian rates and FX at Aviva Investors, with about $453 billion under management, removed his short position around the end of the first quarter, and is now positive on the yuan owing to the PBOC''s preference for a stronger currency, reduced capital outflows and because the yuan offers one of the best yields relative to volatility among emerging market currencies. Ritson hasnt taken a bullish bet as yet.Not everyone has left the trade. Kyle Bass, the founder of Dallas-based hedge fund Hayman Capital Management, has kept his short position because he says he believes the nations credit bubble problems are metastasizing.Bass, has long argued that the Chinese yuan is set to fall 30 percent against the U.S. dollar. The numbers are telling me that we are right. The numbers are getting so bad so quickly, he said.But even those who see the currency weakening have pulled back their forecasts. Deutsche Bank''s chief China economist, Zhiwei Zhang, sees the yuan ending the year at 7.1 per dollar, rather than the 7.4 he was forecasting at the beginning of the year. There should be some weakness, he says, because economic growth is likely to slow, capital controls could become less effective over time and the dollar may not continue depreciating.At the other end of the spectrum are fund managers such as Jan Dehn, London-based head of research at asset manager Ashmore Group, who says he believes the market shouldn''t be blind-sided by conspiracy theories."The recent stabilisation of the yuan has perfectly sound foundations and can be explained without having to resort to some suspect or obscure schemes on the part of Chinese policy makers," said Dehn.(Additional reporting by Jennifer Ablan in NEW YORK and Kevin Yao in BEIJING; Editing by Martin Howell)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-yuan-funds-idUKKBN19B0WC'|'2017-06-20T16:37:00.000+03:00' +'b79447fa395b9d49740b2cf81ce0047560a0d227'|'Warburg Pincus looking to sell Polish cable operator Inea -sources'|'Market News 38am EDT Warburg Pincus looking to sell Polish cable operator Inea -sources WARSAW, June 30 Private equity firm Warburg Pincus is considering selling its controlling stake in Polish cable operator Inea, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters. Warburg Pincus invested in Inea in 2013 when then operator had 169,000 clients. Now it has around 240,000 customers and revenue of 281 million zlotys ($75.83 million). Inea, which operates mostly in the west of Poland, competes with bigger rivals such as Vectra or Liberty Global unit UPC Polska, which last year agreed to buy Multimedia Polska for 3 billion zlotys. UPC was also cited by one industry source as a potential bidder for Inea, which is valued at a few hundred million zlotys. Investment bankers also point to private equity or infrastructure funds that might be interested in the asset. Warburg Pincus and UPC were not immediately available to comment. ($1 = 3.7057 zlotys) (Reporting by Agnieszka Barteczko; Editing by Lidia Kelly and David Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/poland-ma-inea-idUSL8N1JR393'|'2017-06-30T16:38:00.000+03:00' +'28ca2b9b6f7565cc708d91cf633829f502fae9ad'|'Nestle buys minority stake in U.S. ready meals group Freshly'|'Market News - Tue Jun 20, 2017 - 1:00am EDT Nestle buys minority stake in U.S. ready meals group Freshly ZURICH, June 20 Nestle said on Tuesday it has acquired a minority stake in U.S. group Freshly, a provider of direct-to-consumer freshly prepared meals, its latest step to improve the health profile of its sprawling portfolio. The Swiss food giant said it was lead investor in a round of new funding for Freshly, helping it gain access to the $10 billion market for prepared meals in the United States. It did not disclose financial terms. The investment will help Freshly build a new East Coast kitchen and distribution centre in 2018 as it prepares to expand its U.S. service nationwide. Nestle USA''s Food Division President Jeff Hamilton would join Freshly''s board of directors. Nestle said last week it may sell its roughly $900 million-a-year U.S. confectionery business, which includes Butterfinger and BabyRuth. (Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/nestle-ma-freshly-idUSL8N1JH0BX'|'2017-06-20T13:00:00.000+03:00' +'1e1973571ef7cc1117f2f42f5c9449281f75b03f'|'UPDATE 1-Kenya central bank to extend receivership of Imperial Bank, licenses new bank'|'(Adds licensing of new commercial bank)By George ObulutsaNAIROBI, June 23 Kenya''s central bank said on Friday it planned to extend the receivership of Imperial Bank by a year to help finalise a deal with a strategic investor to take a stake in the bank.The regulator also said it had granted a licence to a new locally owned bank, Mayfair Bank Limited, the second such licence since 2015, when it imposed a moratorium on approving new lenders.The central bank gave no reason for the suspension of licensing, but it came after it had placed Imperial Bank under receivership in October 2015, following the board of the privately owned mid-sized lender alerting it to suspected malpractices.The Imperial Bank receivership rattled confidence in a financial sector where more than 40 foreign and local banks operate - especially as it came just two months after the liquidation of a smaller bank."After initial preparations, the formal process will commence with an invitation for expressions of interest from potential strategic investors, and the banks shareholders if they so wish, in taking an interest in the bank," the central bank said in a statement."Mindful of the concerns by depositors and the need for the process to be fully credible to potential strategic investors in order to maximise the value for depositors, the entire process is anticipated to be about 48 weeks."The central bank had initially hoped to get Imperial Bank out of receivership by March 2016, but this was delayed after the regulator said it needed more time for investigations to determine Imperial''s fate.In also announcing the granting of the new licence, the bank said: "Mayfair Bank Limited will principally target the corporate market segment."It said Mayfair would use an initial network of two branches in Nairobi and one in Mombasa.In April, the central bank issued a licence to DIB Bank Kenya Ltd, which is owned by United Arab Emirates-based Dubai Islamic Bank.In March, the central bank said both banks had received "approval in principle" before the 2015 suspension of licensing. (Reporting by George Obulutsa; Editing by Alison Williams)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/kenya-banking-idINL8N1JK1OQ'|'2017-06-23T08:30:00.000+03:00' +'3c2d91a5922ccaa692526524492e31562ce8b07f'|'Airlines urged to step up fight against human trafficking'|'Market News - Sun Jun 4, 2017 - 5:46pm EDT Airlines urged to step up fight against human trafficking * UN to brief IATA airline chiefs on trafficking trends * UN agency urges airlines to join anti-trafficking initiatives * Training advocate says most non-U.S. airlines not tackling issue By Tim Hepher CANCUN, Mexico, June 4 Airlines are being urged to train more flight attendants to help prevent human trafficking, placing cabin crew on the front line of the fight against sexual exploitation and slavery. Airline leaders meeting in Mexico will be briefed by the United Nations agency responsible for tackling the largely hidden crime, which the United Nations says nets smugglers $150 billion profit a year. "We want ... airlines to join our campaigns and our initiatives in order to make human trafficking and migrant smuggling visible," Felipe De La Torre of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), told Reuters ahead of the June 4-6 meeting of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). According to the International Labour Organization, almost 21 million people are in forced labour, meaning three out of every 1,000 people on the planet are enslaved at any given time. In a case that sprang to public attention in February, an Alaska Airlines flight attendant helped rescue a teenage girl from alleged trafficking onboard a domestic U.S. flight in 2011 by leaving her a note in the toilet. Shelia Frederick told NBC TV her suspicions had been aroused by the girl''s dishevelled appearance compared to the smart clothes and controlling attitude of her older male companion. The pilot alerted police who arrested the man on arrival. More than 70,000 U.S. airline staff have been trained to identify smugglers and their victims in that way under the Blue Lightning initiative, launched in 2013 with the support of JetBlue, Delta Air Lines and others. Such training has since become mandatory. But Nancy Rivard, a former flight attendant hailed as a pioneer of such training, said the U.S. federal programme is poorly funded and that the majority of foreign airlines are barely starting to focus on the problem. "This exists in every country in the world. There is room for improvement but at least we are beginning to make changes," Rivard, founder of Airline Ambassadors International, said. Current online training does not go far enough, she added. AWARENESS PLEA Airlines are asked to report suspicions to authorities but not step into the shoes of investigators. UNODC has produced a card called #BeAwareOfTheSigns it wants airlines to distribute. "When you see a person who''s afraid or threatened, or suspicious interactions in a couple, or a very old person with a small child and they are not related or emotionally connected, those are possible signs," De La Torre told Reuters. Although some airlines have mounted campaigns, this week''s meeting of around 200 airline bosses marks the first time the issue has been discussed globally in aviation. Further steps could be discussed at IATA''s next full meeting in 2018. "It''s a growing concern and our industry is strongly mobilised to fight against human trafficking," said IATA director general Alexandre de Juniac. Still, some of IATA''s 117 nations face criticism over allegations of forced labour and some delegates questioned how willing they would be to draw attention to the issue, while airline chiefs may be reluctant to put their brands at risk. JetBlue, which took part in an online discussion on the issue on Sunday, urged airlines to put aside such concerns. "There is no downside. There is only upside in saving and helping people with their lives so we encourage all airlines to get on board," senior vice-president Robert Land told Reuters. (Reporting by Tim Hepher in Cancun; Editing by James Dalgleish)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/airlines-iata-trafficking-idUSL8N1IZ07A'|'2017-06-05T05:46:00.000+03:00' +'b02834acb27331aedb0ab8157284e9de4ee40b38'|'Is your smart meter spying on you? - Money'|'The French are getting heated up about their meters collecting data on their daily lives. Perhaps the British should be concerned too View more sharing options Close Saturday 24 June 2017 07.00 BST T hey are the mini-computers being installed in 30m UK homes and businesses in an 11bn programme that will allow the energy companies to remotely monitor our gas and electricity usage. But could smart meters also become the new spies in our homes, raising fresh fears about a surveillance society as they track our daily activities? Campaigners in France, where a similar installation programme is taking place, think so. On holiday in Bordeaux recently I was struck by posters advertising a demo called Stop Linky . Linky is the name of French utility giant EDFs new smart meter, but it has sparked a more vociferous backlash than here. Dites NON! aux compteurs communicants LINKY, posters shouted ahead of a demo in mid-June, with others planned around the country. Lawyers for Stop Linky are preparing a class action against EDF and its subsidiary Enedis, which is implementing the programme. Lawyer Arnaud Durand claims smart meters pose health and privacy issues. He calls them a Trojan horse that could harvest vast amounts of data about our activities. Even rudimentary information has commercial value. For example, a telemarketing company will know if its a good moment to call your house. In Britain, privacy campaigners share their fears. Guy Herbert of NO2ID says: Smart meters are presented as an environmental and power-saving initiative. But its a highly surveillant model. It can tell how many showers you have had, when you are cooking, when you are in and out of the home. A poster for an anti-smart meter campaign in France. Evidence of the race to monetise the data from smart meters is already emerging. A video on the website of Onzo , a British analytics company, says: We take energy consumption data from smart meters and sensors. We analyse it and build a highly personalised profile for each and every utility customer. It will have the ability to monetise their customer data by providing a direct link to appropriate third party organisations based on the customers identified character. Last year Onzo was at a consumer goods hackathon hosted by Procter & Gamble to help sell more detergent, shampoo and toiletries. But, as Herbert says, this is not just about commercial activities. The Investigatory Powers Act also hands the authorities access to bulk data, including energy data. A smart meter is also a smart controller, he warns. Are these fears overblown? Bernard Lassus is head of Enedis, the company that has already installed 4.7m smart meters in France. Study after study in France, the US and Canada have disproved health fears surrounding the meters, he says. The French meters transmit energy consumption data once a day and contain no more information than a current meter. Data is not individualised and cannot be sold on to third parties without active prior consent by the household. In Britain, the industry body Smart Energy GB takes a similar line. Your smart meter stores and transmits simple information on how much energy your home has used. Personal details like your name, address and bank account details are not stored on or transmitted by the meter. Your supplier cant use any data from your smart meter for sales and marketing purposes unless you give them permission to do so. But we all know that once data is out there it is used in ways we didnt anticipate. A smart meter bill introduced in this weeks Queens speech also says there would be new powers to make changes to smart meter regulations. Its not even clear if smart meters will result in more transparent or cheaper tariffs, with some warning it is turning into an 11bn white elephant. And can someone tell me why our programme, near identical in size to that in France, is somehow costing us more than twice the 5bn it is costing them? Topics'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/jun/24/smart-meters-spying-collecting-private-data-french-british'|'2017-06-24T14:00:00.000+03:00' +'897ba9334c5398de5d75be6c89d3d1f478d8bec8'|'UK manufacturing soars thanks to weak pound and global recovery - Business'|'Manufacturing sector UK manufacturing soars thanks to weak pound and global recovery Order books at highest level for 29 years as CBI warns government to put economy first in Brexit talks A worker at the Brompton bicycle factory in London. The CBIs June report said British export orders were rising. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Manufacturing sector UK manufacturing soars thanks to weak pound and global recovery Order books at highest level for 29 years as CBI warns government to put economy first in Brexit talks View more sharing options Thursday 22 June 2017 17.10 BST First published on Thursday 22 June 2017 12.33 BST Britains manufacturers are enjoying the strongest demand for their products in almost 30 years as a recovering global economy and a weaker pound boost order books. The monthly snapshot from the CBI found that export and total order books were both at their highest for decades providing some hope that a stronger manufacturing sector would cushion the effect of higher inflation on consumer spending. The employers organisation said that particularly strong performances by the food, drink, tobacco and chemicals industries had spearheaded a pick-up in orders in 13 of the 17 industrial sub-sectors tracked each month. Brexit economy: UK faces slowdown amid living standards squeeze Read more As a result, the balance of companies reporting that order books were above normal rose from +9 percentage points in May to +16 points in June the highest since the height of the late 1980s boom in August 1988. The balance for export orders rose from +10 points to +13 points the joint highest in 22 years. But the CBI warned that manufacturers were still being affected by rising prices. The balance of companies expecting prices to rise in the coming months remained unchanged at +23 points between May and June, but was up from +1 point a year ago. Rain Newton-Smith, the CBIs chief economist, said: Britains manufacturers are continuing to see demand for Made in Britain goods rise with the temperature. Total and export order books are at highs not seen for decades, and output growth remains robust. Nevertheless, with cost pressures remaining elevated, its no surprise to see that manufacturers continue to have high expectations for the prices they plan to charge. To build the right future for Britains economy, manufacturers and workers, the government must put the economy first as it negotiates the countrys departure from the EU. This approach will deliver a deal that supports growth and raises living standards across the UK. Andrew Wishart, a UK economist at Capital Economics , said UK manufacturing was poised to record a strong performance in the second quarter of 2017. Todays strong survey supports our view that solid manufacturing and export growth will help to offset the slowdown in consumer spending growth this year, he said. Topics '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jun/22/uk-manufacturing-weak-pound-cbi-brexit-talks'|'2017-06-22T19:55:00.000+03:00' +'eb0364b062cd351c3764f0dc1885806eb1be2ef2'|'Uncertainty over Stada bid likely to drag on over weekend - sources'|'Business 6:45pm BST Uncertainty over Stada bid likely to drag on over weekend - sources The logo of the pharmaceutical company Stada Arzneimittel AG is pictured at its headquarters in Bad Vilbel near Frankfurt March 14, 2012. REUTERS/Alex Domanski By Alexander Hbner - FRANKFURT FRANKFURT Buyout groups Bain Capital and Cinven must wait over the weekend to see whether their takeover bid for the German generic drugmaker Stada ( STAGn.DE ) has been successful, two sources familiar with the situation said. The tender offer for the agreed 5.3 billion euro (4.63 billion pounds) deal at 66 euros per share ran through to the end of Thursday, June 22, and was made conditional on securing 67.5 percent of the shares in the drugmaker. By late Friday, they had not announced the threshold had been crossed. "We''re not yet there. But hope springs eternal," one source told Reuters. Bain, Cinven and Stada declined to comment. By Thursday at 1030 GMT 45.3 percent of the shares had been tendered, the buyout groups said, 22 points short of the required minimum. Even though institutional investors typically tender shortly before the deadline, the bidders have grown increasingly uneasy about the slow uptake, sources close to them have told Reuters. Shares in Stada closed at 63.76 euros on Friday, under the offer price of 66 euros a share. The bid is nevertheless widely regarded as attractive, given the premium of 49 percent over the share price before initial reports emerged that a takeover was on the cards. Bain and Cinven had vied fiercely with a rival consortium comprising Advent and Permira for control of Stada. Many buyout firms are flush with cash after recent divestments and cheap borrowing costs and they are particularly attracted to healthcare assets for their reliable cash flows that are immune to swings in the business cycle. In early June Bain and Cinven lowered the minimum acceptance threshold from 75 percent and postponed the cut-off date by two weeks. A relatively large 27 percent of shares are held by individual non-professional investors, many of whom are elderly, according to the sources. Only about half of these retail investors are expected to tender, with the rest expected to ignore or forget letters from custodian banks informing them of the offer. Some custodian banks may take longer to notify Stada and its suitors of the shares tendered, meaning it may be Monday or Tuesday before the last shares arrive. "Some banks still send them in the post," one investment banker said. Complicating things further for Stada''s suitors, index tracking funds that cannot tender are seen as holding about 12 percent of the shares. While German takeover rules bar Bain and Cinven from amending their offer a second time, they could make a renewed bid with Stada''s approval within a year of the first attempt failing. (Writing by Ludwig Burger and Victoria Bryan; editing by Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-stada-arzneimitt-m-a-idUKKBN19E22J'|'2017-06-24T01:45:00.000+03:00' +'4d30a00c6128fcce6fd76106007b544a9c8a531c'|'Japan April real wages flat, bad sign for consumption'|'Business News - Tue Jun 6, 2017 - 3:08am BST Japan April real wages flat, bad sign for consumption FILE PHOTO: Office lighting is seen through windows of a high-rise office building in Tokyo July 31, 2014. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo By Minami Funakoshi - TOKYO TOKYO Japan''s real wages were flat in April from the same period a year earlier, with rising prices offsetting gains in nominal pay and possibly hurting households'' purchasing power. Real wages, which are adjusted for moves in consumer prices, were flat in April from a year earlier, labour ministry data showed on Tuesday. It followed a revised 0.3 percent annual fall in March. Wage earners'' nominal cash earnings rose an annual 0.5 percent in April, the biggest rise in four months. Revised data showed that nominal wages were flat from a year earlier in March. Real wage growth has been flat or even negative in the past seven months, suggesting the benefits of the recent economic recovery have yet to fully reach Japanese households. This is a headache for the government and central bank, which want sustained pay hikes to spur higher consumption and prices. "Wages didn''t grow that much in April, so of course household spending won''t rise that much," said Shuji Tonouchi, senior market economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. "Prices will rise a bit (on higher energy costs) but will probably run out of breath," Tonouchi said. The world''s third-largest economy has shown signs of life in recent months as a rebound in overseas demand helped boost its exports and output. It grew in the first quarter to mark the longest period of expansion in a decade. But household consumption fell more than expected in April due to lower spending on cars and education, separate data showed, signalling consumer spending continues to lag behind improvement in other areas of the economy. Regular pay, which accounts for the bulk of total pay and determines base salaries, has been generally rising in recent months and in April grew an annual 0.4 percent, the biggest increase in three months. Special payments, such as bonuses, in April grew 5.6 percent from a year earlier, following a revised 1.7 percent annual rise the previous month, data also showed. Special payments are generally small, so even a slight change in the amount can cause big percentage changes. Overtime pay, a barometer of strength in corporate activity, dipped 0.2 percent in April from a year earlier, following a revised 0.6 percent annual decline in March. Desperate to stimulate growth and end decades of deflation, the Bank of Japan has embraced negative interest rates and bought up mammoth volumes of bonds. The massive extent of the BOJ''s money printing, however, has barely moved it nearer to its ultimate policy goal of lifting inflation to 2 percent, highlighting the difficulty facing the central bank as the scale of its bond buying appears unsustainable. The ministry defines "workers" as 1) those who are employed for more than one month at a firm that employs more than five people, or 2) those who are employed on a daily basis or have less than a one-month contract but had worked more than 18 days during the two months before the survey was conducted at a firm that employs more than five people. To view the full tables, see the labour ministry''s website at: here (Reporting by Minami Funakoshi; Editing by Jacqueline Wong) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-wages-idUKKBN18X064'|'2017-06-06T10:08:00.000+03:00' +'d3cb0517cfdeaf84a43f6f1ae8c32485046bab13'|'China, Kazakhstan sign deals worth over $8 billion - Xinhua'|'Business 9:12pm BST China, Kazakhstan sign deals worth over $8 billion: Xinhua Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands during a joint news conference following their meeting as part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) security bloc summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, June 8, 2017. REUTERS/Mukhtar Kholdorbekov Chinese President Xi Jinping signed at least 24 deals with Kazakhstan, valued at more than $8 billion, during his visit to the country, state news agency Xinhua said on Friday, citing Commerce Minister Zhong Shan. The deals aimed for cooperation between the two countries in the energy, mining, chemical, mechanical manufacturing, agriculture and infrastructure industries, Xinhua reported. The deals include the entry of Kazakhstan''s frozen mutton into China as well as China supplying Kazakhstan with super computer equipment, Xinhua reported, adding the two countries are discussing renewing their investment protection deal. The two countries also agreed to speed up implementing plans to align the China-proposed Silk Road initiative with Kazakhstan, Xinhua said. Officially named the Belt and Road initiative, the Silk Road initiative unveiled in 2013 has been touted by China as a way to boost global development through expanded links between Asia, Africa, Europe and beyond. In 2015, China and Kazakhstan had signed 33 deals worth $23.6 billion covering areas ranging from hydropower to steel. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-kazakhstan-idUKKBN1902VQ'|'2017-06-10T03:59:00.000+03:00' +'2efb086ea26476c88c5e7f59e9e256a0f6159784'|'Italy''s Mediaset files new claim against France''s Vivendi'|'Business News - Wed Jun 28, 2017 - 10:45am BST Italy''s Mediaset files new claim against France''s Vivendi The Vivendi logo is pictured at the main entrance of the entertainment-to-telecoms conglomerate headquarters in Paris, March 10, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo MILAN Italy''s Mediaset ( MS.MI ) has filed a new claim against France''s Vivendi ( VIV.PA ), the private broadcaster''s chairman Fedele Confalonieri said on Wednesday, as feuding between the two groups over a failed pay-TV deal grows. Confalonieri said the new claim was on the grounds of contract violation, unfair competition and breaking TV pluralism laws. Confalonieri, speaking at the beginning of the Milan-based group''s annual shareholder meeting, did not give any further details. The two groups are already involved in a legal battle in the Milan courts after Vivendi in July pulled out of an 800 million euro (709 million) contract that would have given it full control of Mediaset''s pay-Tv unit Premium. Confalonieri said the unexpected U-turn by the French group had not allowed the group to "express its full potential" and that Mediaset would do everything possible to bring Premium back into "equilibrium". (Reporting by Giulia Segreti)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mediaset-shareholders-claim-idUKKBN19J112'|'2017-06-28T12:45:00.000+03:00' +'67f85d90df57287f74f448e701b5a1b09a3cd7bc'|'EU, Rome seal preliminary rescue deal for Monte dei Paschi'|'Top News - Thu Jun 1, 2017 - 3:57pm BST EU, Rome seal preliminary rescue deal for Monte dei Paschi FILE PHOTO: The Monte dei Paschi bank headquarters is pictured in Siena, Italy, August 16, 2013. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini/File Photo By Robert-Jan Bartunek and Silvia Aloisi - BRUSSELS/MILAN BRUSSELS/MILAN The European Commission and Italy have reached a preliminary agreement on a state bailout for Monte dei Paschi di Siena ( BMPS.MI ) that includes heavy cost cuts, losses for some investors and a cap on pay for the bank''s top executives. The deal brings close to an end months of negotiations over the fate of the world''s oldest bank and Italy''s fourth biggest lender, the worst performer in European stress tests last year. The Commission said it had agreed in principle on a restructuring plan for the bank so that it can be bailed out by the state under new European rules for dealing with bank crises. "It would allow Italy to inject capital into MPS as a precaution, in line with EU rules, whilst limiting the burden on Italian taxpayers," Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement. The bank would undergo deep restructuring to ensure its viability, including by cleaning its balance sheet of non-performing loans, she said. Burdened by a bad loan pile and a mismanagement scandal, Monte dei Paschi has been for years at the forefront of Italy''s slow-brewing banking crisis. It was forced to request state aid in December to help cover a capital shortfall of 8.8 billion euros (7.6 billion) after it failed to raise money on the market. The accord with the European Commission exploits an exception in current EU rules allowing member states to bolster the capital buffers of a bank provided it is solvent and that shareholders and junior bondholders shoulder some of the losses. The government could end up injecting some 6.6 billion euros into the bank, taking a stake of around 70 percent. The agreement with Brussels is conditional on the European Central Bank confirming the lender meets capital requirements and on the sale of some 26 billion euros in soured debts to private investors. Monte dei Paschi said on Monday it was in exclusive talks until June 28 with a domestic fund and a group of investors to shift the debts off its balance sheet and sell them repackaged as securities. Sources close to the matter said the price at which Monte dei Paschi sells those bad debts would be key for the bailout, as a low price would require the bank to book further loan losses which could not be covered by the state. Details of Monte dei Paschi''s restructuring plan have not been made public, but it is expected to include thousands of job cuts and the closure of hundreds of branches as the bank must ensure it is profitable in the long term. "MPS will take a number of measures to substantially increase its efficiency," the Commission''s statement said. The EU deal also imposes a cap on senior management pay equivalent to 10 times the average salary of Monte dei Paschi''s staff. As a result, the annual salary of Chief Executive Marco Morelli should be cut to around 500,000 euros from more than 1.8 million euros, according to a source. The Commission said retail investors who were mis-sold the bank''s junior bonds would be eligible for compensation. Italy faces a much bigger hurdle in winning European approval for a state bailout of two other banks, Banca Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca. Sources have said the EU Commission has demanded an additional injection of 1.2 billion euros by private investors before taxpayer money can be used, but Rome is struggling to find any investor willing to stump up the money. (Editing by Adrian Croft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-banks-monte-dei-paschi-eu-idUKKBN18S4DM'|'2017-06-01T21:03:00.000+03:00' +'a84719095e936132e23f4fa3b358ddeabbf5af74'|'Trains, planes and automobiles: the transport systems embracing smart tech - Public Leaders Network'|'T he transport industry is going through a revolution. You can now buy your train tickets through apps and pay with Apple Pay. In cities, you can tap your contactless bank card to pay for public transport, and of course Uber has reinvented the taxi sector. Its already difficult to remember what journeys were like in the age of the paper ticket.Done well, digitising transport services can create a better customer experience, and improve the efficiency, and ultimately the profitability and sustainability, of our transport system. But which sectors are ahead of the curve?Every part of transport is embracing something under the digital umbrella, but they are all embracing different parts of it, says Grant Klein, transport partner at PwC.There is a glut of technologies which we think will have an impact on how transport services are provided in the coming decades, as well as on how new transport infrastructure is created and maintained.These include digital sensors, wearable smart devices and appliances, virtual reality, augmented reality, Blockchain (the database technology made famous by Bitcoin), 3-D printing, and drones, robotics and artificial intelligence.These technologies are already beginning to make a difference. Drones are being used to check the condition of infrastructure like roads and railways so maintenance crews can be better utilised. Virtual reality is helping railway staff to learn how to work on new rolling stock. In the motor industry, robotics and virtual prototyping are already being used , while in the aerospace industry, manufacturers are using the internet of things , as well as using the cloud instead of their own web servers.And as people get more comfortable with digital technology in their everyday lives, customer expectation is changing too. There is a growing demand for transport as a service. Klein says: imagine you have a single account that enables you to use the train, the bus, a cycle hire scheme or a rental car. Thats the concept behind so-called mobility as a service or Maas. Real examples of this are already happening in cities like Hannover .Facebook Twitter Pinterest The continental urban mobility experience (Cube) a robo-taxi and autonomous vehicle to transport passengers, in use in Hannover, Germany. Photograph: Alexander Koerner/Getty Images Driverless carsThe big innovation on the horizon for road transportation is driverless cars. In car manufacturing, we will see a new generation of smart motoring technology, says Kate Rock, a spokeswoman for Goodyear Tyres, who have just launched the Eagle 360 Urban, an artificial intelligence tyre.We believe strongly in the idea that shared mobility will soon become the norm and that car ownership will become less common, Rock says. There will be a tipping point where autonomous technology will reach the stage where we use on-demand services for everyday travel. As a result, our cities will ultimately begin to change, as they are no longer designed for cars and there is less need for practical road elements like car parks and traffic lights.Collaboration across industry sectors will be key to making digital technology a reality, she says. Our smart tyres need to work in harmony with other features such as navigation systems and safety tools that prevent collisions this will be the same with electric and flying cars.Theres a political will for us to work together as an industry"Kevin Ives, digital transformation director of ArrivaThis may sound like science fiction, but Rock says they could soon become a reality. Theres a good chance this technology will be with us in the next ten years, but it wont be a case of one company taking a lead. Were seeing a revolution in the way that we drive, and motoring manufacturers, tech developers and city planners will need to work together to make it happen.Klein agrees, but while the technology is almost there, not everything is worked out. One area that needs work is in how these vehicles will be made available to customers, he says. Theres a lot we can learn from how the mobile phone market evolved, with multiple packages on offer to suit customer needs.There is clearly work to be done to get to the point where our access to driverless cars is as second nature as our use of smartphones.Smarter trains The rail industry is further behind on digitisation, however Kevin Ives, digital transformation director of Arriva, says the Rail Delivery Group has helped get national schemes like passenger WiFi off the ground.When there are national schemes like smart ticketing, were much better than we used to be at mobilising ourselves as an industry, he says. Theres a political will for us to work together as an industry.One area the rail industry is making progress on is in fitting sensors, so data can be gathered and analysed to reveal patterns and behaviour. Safety and security is also a priority. Drivers now carry tablets, rather than large manuals of procedures that cant easily be updated.Aviation ahead of the curve Aviation is ahead of the curve, but there are challenges, says Mary McMillan, vice president at Inmarsat, a satellite network delivering high speed broadband to planes, improving safety and efficiency.One of the issues in the industry is were flying airplanes which are anywhere between two days and thirty years old. Technology on board can be very dated, so we have to ensure that we can integrate both newer and older planes. Its a massive issue and we have to do it safely.My beautiful commute. Your journeys to work in pictures Read moreWhile technology remains at the forefront, policy needs to keep safety as a central priority, says Juliet Jain, senior research fellow at the Centre for Transport and Society. The government is promoting the idea of high quality 5G network coverage along all transport corridors, which will significantly enhance the capabilities of automated systems, she says. However, connecting to the internet while driving could have unintended consequences for road safety.Following the recent IT collapse at British Airways due to human error, there are concerns being raised about reliance on the internet. In addition, recent attacks on businesses and the NHS have highlighted the issue of cyber-attacks on transport systems.Klein recently led a PwC masterclass that addressed the issue: Any transport system needs to be able to deal with threats, and these clearly change as we employ new technology and rely on digital innovation.But even in a digital world, threats remain either accidental, such as user or system errors, or malicious, where there is deliberate tampering or unauthorised access to systems.Sign up for your free Guardian Public Leaders newsletter with comment and sector views sent direct to you every Thursday. Follow us: @GuardianpublicTopics Public Leaders Network transforming transport Transport Technology sector features'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2017/jun/29/trains-planes-driverless-cars-public-transport-systems-smart-technology'|'2017-06-29T14:07:00.000+03:00' +'ae8aea1e44f897e98a33d6bf51a928459f96ea37'|'Exclusive - Aston Martin electric car goes limited edition after LeEco exit'|' 8:58pm BST Exclusive - Aston Martin electric car goes limited edition after LeEco exit left right FILE PHOTO: The Aston Martin logo is seen at a car repair workshop in Beijing, China June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: The Aston Martin logo on the front of a car at a dealership in Singapore June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/File Photo 2/2 By Laurence Frost and Paul Lienert - PARIS/DETROIT PARIS/DETROIT British sports car maker Aston Martin has scaled back production plans for its first electric model after cash-strapped investment partner LeEco pulled out of the project, Chief Executive Andy Palmer told Reuters on Monday. The result, though, may be an even more exclusive car, aimed at customers who consider Tesla''s ( TSLA.O ) top of the range $130,000 Model S to be a little too run of the mill. Aston Martin will build only 155 of its RapidE, about a third of the initial plan, and lean more heavily on Formula One engineering specialist Williams ( WGF1G.DE ) after the withdrawal of Chinese TV and smartphone vendor LeEco, Palmer said. The setback and Aston''s response underscore the challenges and risks niche carmakers face as they scramble to address future demand for electrification from consumers and regulators. While the privately held Aston Martin brand benefits from the endorsement of fictitious spy James Bond, it lacks the backing of a large automotive parent that many rivals enjoy. "We''ve decided to make this car rare, which will obviously tend to push the price higher," Palmer said. "Aston Martin now plans to proceed independently, funding further development of RapidE by ourselves." Palmer agreed to be interviewed after sources told Reuters Aston Martin''s partnership with LeEco had unravelled. Unveiling the alliance in February last year, LeEco and Aston pledged to launch an all-electric version of the Rapide S sedan in 2018. But the Chinese conglomerate has since slashed its electric car investments, including its U.S. startup Faraday Future''s planned $1.3 billion factory in Nevada. Some Faraday suppliers, including seat maker Futuris and media provider Mill Group, have sued the company for non-payment, according to court records. Spokesmen for LeEco and Faraday did not respond to requests for comment on the end of the Aston partnership. Aston Martin declined to discuss its partner''s business. $250,000 PRICE TAG Aston returned to profit in the first quarter, a decade after it was sold by Ford ( F.N ). Now owned by private equity groups Investindustrial and Kuwait''s Investment Dar, the company is rolling out a new model each year under a taut recovery plan drawn up by Palmer, who joined from Nissan ( 7201.T ) in 2014. Without LeEco''s backing, the sports carmaker, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire, is pushing ahead as sole investor in the electric car, after paring down production and pushing back the launch date to 2019. The plan won board approval on June 21. Aston will start taking orders next month with 10 percent down payments on the RapidE, priced just shy of 200,000 pounds ($255,000) in its home market before incentives. That''s a significant premium on the 150,000 pound entry ticket for its V12 model, whose 5.9-litre engine develops 470 horsepower. Batteries will come from a new production facility built by a consortium led by Williams Advanced Engineering, the F1 team''s technical division, with matched British government funding. Williams, which supplies power packs to the Formula E electric car racing series, also built the RapidE prototype unveiled in 2015. Beyond the RapidE, Aston''s first full-production battery car will be an electric version of the DBX crossover it is launching in 2019 - hoping for a repeat of the success that greeted its DB11 coupe, with a little help from the latest Bond film. "The RapidE project was always about learning in readiness for the DBX derivative," Palmer said. "We can do that through a limited series." (Reporting by Laurence Frost and Paul Lienert. Editing by David Clarke and Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-astonmartin-electric-exclusive-idUKKBN19H29Y'|'2017-06-27T02:28:00.000+03:00' +'359019543d7e1d4cb8e070c7d29bd0b539ee3091'|'Austal USA wins $584.2 mln U.S. defense contract -Pentagon'|'Deals - Fri Jun 23, 2017 - 5:21pm EDT Austal USA wins $584.2 million U.S. defense contract: Pentagon WASHINGTON Austal USA, a Mobile, Alabama-based subsidiary of Australian shipbuilder Austal Ltd ( ASB.AX ), is being awarded a $584.2 million contract for the construction of a littoral combat ship for the U.S. Navy, the Pentagon said on Friday. The contract includes associated LCS class services and related material and integrated data environment support, as well as options for the construction of additional LCS, class services and post-delivery availability support, the Pentagon said in a statement. (Reporting by Eric Walsh; Editing by Eric Beech) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-austal-pentagon-idUSKBN19E2J5'|'2017-06-24T05:13:00.000+03:00' +'7b3c971d4ca610a417cbf9c0fa35f98a57676bbb'|'Fed approves Sunflower Financial to create bank holding company'|'WASHINGTON The Federal Reserve on Friday approved mergers that will allow Sunflower Financial Inc to create a bank holding company.FirstSun Capital Bancorp will acquire Sunflower Financial, Inc and Sunflower Bank in the deal that will create the bank holding company: Sunflower Reincorporation Sub, Inc.The Fed also gave approval for FirstSun Capital to acquire Strategic Growth Bank Incorporated and Strategic Growth Bancorp Incorporated, both of El Paso, Texas. Capital Bank, SSB, of El Paso, Texas, and First National Bank of New Mexico will be tied up in the deal.(Reporting By Patrick Rucker; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-sunflower-bk-capital-bank-ssb-idINKBN18T2UD'|'2017-06-02T18:04:00.000+03:00' +'4f3a3a8ad9744268fc151884a9ab6b0a56105afb'|'Aviva to expand in UK cyber insurance, company pensions'|'Technology News - Thu Jun 15, 2017 - 7:13pm IST Aviva to expand in UK cyber insurance, company pensions Pedestrians walk past an Aviva logo outside the company''s head office in the city of London, Britain, March 5, 2009. REUTERS/Stephen Hird/File Photo By Carolyn Cohn - LONDON LONDON British insurer Aviva plans to launch a new product to cover small and medium-sized businesses against cyber attacks later this year as part of an expansion of its specialist insurance division, its chief executive for UK insurance said. Aviva, which made 3 billion pounds ($3.8 billion) of operating profit in 2016, also wants to take on the risk of more company pension schemes and is mulling the future of operations in several countries, including India, Andy Briggs told Reuters. Aviva, which traces its origins back to 1696 as a fire insurer, has been in turnaround mode since Chief Executive Mark Wilson took over in 2013. In 2015, it bought rival Friends Life, which Briggs ran, to become Britain''s largest life insurer. The only listed British insurer with a large presence in life insurance, general motor and home insurance, Briggs said the firm''s healthy balance sheet meant it could now grow its share of the corporate and speciality markets. "We are smaller there at the moment but it''s an area where we are building capability and we are looking to grow," Briggs said, after a period when balance sheet struggles had limited its ability to write such business. "Now we''ve got a much stronger balance sheet (and) we are more open-minded to deploying capital." Corporate and speciality risk involves insuring complex risks in anything from oil rigs to footballers'' legs and is dominated by Lloyd''s of London. It also includes cyber insurance, a market expected to grow, particularly after last month''s "ransomware" attack across the world. Aviva has an "up to five percent" share of the corporate and speciality risk market in the UK currently, Briggs said. It already has a small presence in the cyber market and also provides commercial motor, commercial property and employer''s liability insurance, but does not offer insurance in specialist sectors such as marine, energy or aviation. Briggs did not specify where the company would like to expand, beyond cyber. BULK DEALS In the bulk annuity market, Aviva has started quoting on deals up to 1 billion pounds, ratcheting up from its previous focus on sub-250 million pound deals, Briggs said. Many British companies with defined benefit, or final salary, schemes - whose liabilities total around $2 trillion - are looking to offload that risk as continued low interest rates have pushed them into deficit. The UK bulk annuity market is seen expanding to at least 12 billion pounds this year from 10 billion in 2016. "For a good four or five years, Aviva has been the major player at the smaller end of the market - we are moving into the mid-sized deals," Briggs said, where the company would compete with rivals including Legal & General. BUYING, SELLING? After the 5.6 billion pound takeover of Friends Life, Briggs said future deal plans would be more modest - sub-300 million pounds - and possibly tech-related, as traditional insurers compete with digital start-ups. Chinese online finance giant Tencent Holdings and hedge fund Hillhouse Capital took stakes in Aviva''s Hong Kong business earlier this year and Briggs said that deal could be a template for other Asian markets. A tie-up with western tech firms was also possible, he said. "(Our) technology is exactly what the Amazons and Googles and Facebooks would want, so ultimately if they want to make an insurance offering to their customers, it would be far quicker and easier for them to do that by partnering with Aviva." As Aviva looks to the tech future, it is mulling the future of more mature businesses, Briggs said, including the sale of Spanish joint venture stakes left after it pulled out of three for 475 million euros last month. "Having sold the majority of the Spanish business you need to then ask the question ''what do we do with the balance? Might it be up for a sale?'' It''s a sensible question to ask," Briggs said. Friends Provident International, which a source told Reuters earlier this year could be sold for $500-700 million, and Taiwan are both under strategic review, Briggs said, and plans for those businesses would be decided first. "That''s our focus", he said, adding that although it was too early to say what would happen, the firm would also examine its Italian business and its Indian joint venture with Dabur Invest Corp "We are not satisfied with where we are today." ($1 = 0.7831 pounds) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/aviva-insurance-idINKBN1961RX'|'2017-06-15T21:43:00.000+03:00' +'7974cbd5b7da93dcb79cab1a10e4095541341602'|'Exclusive: SoftBank to let OneWeb-Intelsat merger collapse - sources'|'By Jessica DiNapoli and Liana B. Baker Japan''s SoftBank Group Corp will let the $14 billion merger between its satellite startup OneWeb and peer Intelsat SA fall through, after failing to get enough of Intelsat creditors to back it, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.The collapse of the merger represents a rare blow to SoftBank Chief Executive Officer Masayoshi Son, a prolific dealmaker who put together a complex transaction for debt-laden Intelsat that hinged on creditors accepting a discount for their bonds.Negotiations ended on Wednesday between Intelsat and its creditors without a deal, ahead of midnight deadline for the latter to accept a debt swap, three sources said. While OneWeb and Intelsat have already extended the tender offer period for the creditors three times, and also sweetened their offer to them, there will be no more extensions, the sources added.OneWeb and Intelsat can terminate their merger as early as Friday. The sources cautioned that it was always possible that some creditors would make a last-ditch effort on Thursday to save the deal.SoftBank, OneWeb and Intelsat declined to comment.For Intelsat, a satellite pioneer which broadcast Neil Armstrong''s moon walk, a deal with OneWeb offered an opportunity to merge with a fast-growing start-up and slash its $14 billion debtload.A combined OneWeb and Intelsat would have eventually created a combined network of hundreds or even thousands of satellites in high and low altitudes to help provide internet access worldwide.However, Intelsat bondholders pushed back against a proposal for the company''s equity holders, including private equity firm BC Partners Ltd, to receive a recovery while they are offered less than their full face value for their debt.But Intelsat''s equity holders have not been willing to accept less than the $4.75 per share OneWeb offered.SoftBank in May bumped its offer for Intelsat in an effort to bring bondholders on board. It decreased the discount the holders would have to accept to $2.85 billion from $3.6 billion.While the collapse of the deal is a setback for OneWeb''s expansion plans, SoftBank''s investment thesis was always predicated on the standalone prospects of OneWeb, rather than an acquisition. SoftBank has already been in contact with other satellite companies that could be merger partners for OneWeb, sources have previously said.(Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in New York and Liana B. Baker in San Francisco; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/intelsat-m-a-oneweb-idINKBN18S3Q6'|'2017-06-01T11:05:00.000+03:00' +'70694c67c1f23f406d890420f446a11fb22b67a8'|'China''s Yida interested in Italy''s supermarket chain Esselunga - paper'|'Financials - Thu Jun 15, 2017 - 1:44am EDT China''s Yida interested in Italy''s supermarket chain Esselunga - paper MILAN, June 15 Chinese Group Yida International Investment has formally expressed interest in Esselunga, Italy''s fourth-largest supermarket chain, Italian daily la Repubblica reported on Thursday. * Offer for supermarket chain amounts to 7.5 billion euros, higher than a valuation of 4 billion euros to 6 billion euros made by private equity funds Blackstone and CVC Capital Partners in September, ahead of the death of 90-year old founder and owner Bernardo Caprotti * Offer unexpected by current owners of Esselunga, Caprotti''s second wife Giuliana Albrera and their daughter Marina Caprotti, the latter interested in maintaining ownership of the group and managing it under current chief executive, Carlo Salza (Reporting by Giulia Segreti) '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/italy-esselunga-yida-idUSL8N1JC0H1'|'2017-06-15T09:44:00.000+03:00' +'2c3062050c029e8e01b282f8ccccee7a013bb9a9'|'Foxconn says Apple, Amazon to join its bid for Toshiba chip business - Nikkei'|'Technology News - Mon Jun 5, 2017 - 4:49am BST Foxconn says Apple, Amazon to join its bid for Toshiba chip business: Nikkei left right FILE PHOTO: The logo of Toshiba is seen as a shareholder arrives at Toshiba''s extraordinary shareholders meeting in Chiba, Japan March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: The logo of Foxconn, the trading name of Hon Hai Precision Industry, is seen on top of the company''s headquarters in New Taipei City, Taiwan March 29, 2016. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo 2/2 TOKYO Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) and Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) will join Foxconn''s ( 2317.TW ) bid for Toshiba Corp''s ( 6502.T ) semiconductor business, the Nikkei business daily quoted Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou as saying on Monday. The two U.S. technology giants plan to "chip in funds", Gou said, according the interview with the newspaper. It was not immediately clear if this would take the form of a direct investment in the semiconductor unit or would be financing for the deal. Taiwan''s Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, has also partnered with its Japanese unit Sharp Corp ( 6753.T ) in its bid. Representatives for Apple and Amazon were not immediately available for comment. Toshiba is depending on the sale of the unit, the world''s second-largest NAND chip maker, to cover billions of dollars in cost overruns at its now bankrupt U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse. Foxconn is not seen as a frontrunner in the sale of the unit, which Toshiba has valued at at least $18 billion, due to its deep ties with China. The Japanese government has said it will block any deal that would risk the transfer of key chip technology out of the country. (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki in Tokyo and JR Wu in Taipei; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-idUKKBN18W0C4'|'2017-06-05T11:48:00.000+03:00' +'4a204c0a4d0f2f01fe1a2e0523c00e9660640c53'|'BRIEF-Compareeuropegroup appoints former investment banker Georgy Egorov as its CFO'|'Market News - Thu Jun 22, 2017 - 1:08am EDT BRIEF-Compareeuropegroup appoints former investment banker Georgy Egorov as its CFO June 22 Compareeuropegroup * Compareeuropegroup appoints former Goldman Sachs and UBS investment banker Georgy Egorov as its CF * CompareEuropeGroup is an European financial management platform for insurance, banking, and telco products * Egorov joins co after 19 years in the finance industry including various positions with Goldman Sachs and UBS, where he headed equity capital markets for emerging markets * CompareEuropeGroup was founded in 2015 by former McKinsey and Goldman Sachs trio, Antonio Gagliardi, Thomas Munk and Mads Faurholt-Jorgensen * CompareEuropeGroup closed their EUR 20 million Series A earlier this year led by ACE & Company and including Pacific Century Group, Nova Founders Capital, SBI Holdings alongside Mark Pincus, founder of Zynga and Peter Thiel, founder of Paypal'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-compareeuropegroup-appoints-former-idUSL3N1JJ1ZY'|'2017-06-22T13:08:00.000+03:00' +'0156581fa6f134556b8e11643499925791929b22'|'IDB, Central America line up $2.5 billion of infrastructure plans'|'Business News - Thu Jun 15, 2017 - 4:17am BST IDB, Central America line up $2.5 billion of infrastructure plans Luis Alberto Moreno President of the Inter-American Development Bank speaks during a news conference previous to the Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank in Luque, Paraguay, March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Jorge Adorno MEXICO CITY The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the governments of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras have lined up $2.5 billion (1.9 billion pounds) to fund infrastructure projects, the IDB said on Wednesday. The plans would use up to $750 million of funds from the IDB plus commitments for another $1.75 billion from private and public sources in the three countries, known as the Northern Triangle, the IDB said in a statement. The announcement came ahead of a meeting on Thursday and Friday in Miami of top U.S., Mexican and Central American officials to discuss how to cut migration and improve conditions in the three poor countries that have seen rising violence. "The key over the next five years will be to tap the private sector to help build critical infrastructure that will generate jobs, improve competitiveness, and create the conditions that encourage people to build prosperous lives in their homelands," IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno said in the statement. The Miami summit was an initiative of U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary John Kelly, who helped former President Barack Obama design his Alliance for Prosperity that sought to curb Central American migration with development projects and security spending to crack down on local gangs. Billionaire Carlos Slim''s charity will fund initiatives to help tackle crime in Central America and find new ways of slowing migration, according to a draft document about the summit seen by Reuters. (Reporting by Michael O''Boyle; Editing by Richard Pullin) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-immigration-central-america-idb-idUKKBN19607U'|'2017-06-15T11:17:00.000+03:00' +'6bd0011ccdcbd76ef9f8980835b7ce270b492270'|'Canada''s Lexin to cooperate with receivership; adjourns suit against regulator'|'Oil company Lexin Resources Ltd said it has agreed to cooperate with the receivership process to better enable the sale of its licensed assets and has adjourned its countersuit against the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER).Lexin adjourned its C$200 million ($151.31 million)countersuit against the regulator, which it filed after the AER forced it into receivership.In March, a Canadian court placed the privately held company in receivership to sell off its assets after an unprecedented application by the AER.The receivership and suspension came after the AER said Lexin failed to comply with multiple orders, lacked enough staff to manage its more than 1,600 sites and owed more than C$70 million ($52.93 million).The company''s director, Michael Smith, has agreed to pay C$175,000 for Lexin''s noncompliances, ending the AER''s investigation, Lexin said on Tuesday. bit.ly/2rZ1LCEReceivership means the 1,380 oil wells belonging to Lexin could join the more than 1,500 others in Alberta that do not have legal owners.The AER had suspended licences on all oil and gas well facilities and pipelines belonging to Lexin in February, nearly doubling the number of orphaned wells in Canada''s main crude-producing province.Lexin''s sites will continue to remain shut and custody for it will be provided by the AER, the Orphan Well Association and companies with an interest in the sites until the sales process is finished.($1 = 1.3218 Canadian dollars)(Reporting by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru and Ethan Lou in Calgary, Alberta; Editing by Sunil Nair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-canada-lexin-receivership-idINKBN19509X'|'2017-06-14T01:41:00.000+03:00' +'a8869e17a1350312a16d50720f69cd2a27d7004e'|'Bulgaria to start talks with Sweden over warplane purchase'|'Market News - Fri Jun 23, 2017 - 10:53am EDT Bulgaria to start talks with Sweden over warplane purchase SOFIA, June 23 Bulgaria is to start talks to buy new Swedish Gripen warplanes to replace its Soviet-designed MiG-29s but will expect Sweden''s commitment on investments in the Balkan country before signing a deal, the prime minister said on Friday. The question of which warplanes Bulgaria should buy has been bounced around successive governments for more than a decade. Talks about the Sweden planes had looked to have been ditched last month when Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said an interim government should not have announced in April it would enter into negotiations. The interim government pledged to enter talks to buy eight new Gripens, made by SAAB, after approving a Defence Ministry-produced ranking which picked the Swedish jet over an offer from Portugal for secondhand U.S. F-16s and an Italian offer of secondhand Eurofighter Typhoons. But when Borissov took power, he said the previous government should not have made the call on a deal worth an estimated 1.5 billion levs ($858 million) as "the plane is not the most important thing in an army". Magnus Lewis-Olsson, Saab''s head of Europe, told reporters in Sofia last week it expected to enter into talks with Bulgarian within months, suggesting the deal was still alive, as confirmed by Borissov on Friday. Either next Wednesday or on Wednesday thereafter we will decide when to start negotiations (with Sweden), Borissov told reporters after meeting Sweden''s Prime Minister Stefan Lofven in Brussels. I told my Swedish colleague: we are making a decision, we are negotiating with you first, then with Eurofighter, he said, adding Bulgaria would sign the deal only after commitment about Swedish investments in the poorest European Union member. Lewis-Olsson said last week Saab was ready to discuss different financing options, including payments over a long period. Defence Minister Krassimir Karakachanov said on Friday Bulgaria would not buy the used F-16s from Portugal because the payment instalments in the first years were higher than expected. NATO member Bulgaria has said it wants to seal a deal by the year-end to acquire eight new or secondhand fighter jets between 2018 and 2022 in order to modernise its fleet and improve its compliance with the military alliance''s standards. Bulgaria joined NATO in 2004 and the European Union three years later. ($1 = 1.7483 leva) (Reporting by Angel Krasimirov; Editing by Alison Williams) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/bulgaria-defence-airplane-idUSL8N1JK3DX'|'2017-06-23T22:53:00.000+03:00' +'eb2b7ef5c322f222caece3949685d6b008452ec1'|'World Bank says trade, manufacturing to boost 2017 global growth'|' 19pm BST World Bank says trade, manufacturing to boost 2017 global growth By David Lawder - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The World Bank on Sunday maintained its forecast that global growth will improve to 2.7 percent this year, citing a pickup in manufacturing and trade, improved market confidence and a recovery in commodity prices. The update of the multilateral development lender''s Global Economic Prospects report marked the first time in several years that its June forecasts were not reduced from those published in January due to rising growth risks. The World Bank''s 2017 global growth forecast of 2.7 percent compares to its 2.4 percent estimate for 2016, a figure that was increased by a tenth of a percentage point since January. The World Bank said advanced economies were showing signs of improvement, especially Japan and Europe, while the seven largest emerging markets - China, Brazil, Mexico, India, Indonesia, Turkey and Russia - were again helping to drive global growth. "With a fragile but real recovery now under way, countries should seize this moment to undertake institutional and market reforms that can attract private investment to help sustain growth in the long term," World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said in a statement. The bank boosted its 2017 growth forecast for Japan by 0.6 percentage point since January to 1.5 percent, while the euro zone''s forecast was increased by 0.2 percentage point to 1.7 percent. In both cases, a pickup in exports and unconventional monetary easing are helping to support growth. The World Bank said U.S. growth also is improving but it shaved 0.1 percentage point off its forecast for 2017 to 2.1 percent after weak growth early in the year caused by a pullback in consumer spending it viewed as temporary. It slightly lifted its 2018 U.S. growth forecast to 2.2 percent. It left unchanged its forecast that China''s growth would slow to 6.5 percent from 6.7 percent last year and predicted that commodity exporters Argentina, Brazil, Nigeria and Russia will see recessions end and positive growth resume this year. But the World Bank warned that new trade restrictions could derail the recovery in trade that is benefiting many advanced and developing economies, citing actions being contemplated by the Trump administration. Such restrictions could fall disproportionately on China and other Asian economies, the bank said. "Significant disruption to China''s exports would undermine its growth with large spillovers on the region," the bank said in the report. "Furthermore, trade-restricting measures in the United States could trigger retaliatory measures." It said exports and investment in Mexico also could be negatively affected by the looming renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, causing spillovers to Central America as well. (Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Andrea Ricci)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-worldbank-growth-idUKKBN18V12X'|'2017-06-05T04:19:00.000+03:00' +'8f44f5f54c63f084347df8443d6d2ebd4cf2b2b4'|'FCA reviews business models at retail banks'|'Top News - Thu Jun 29, 2017 - 2:17pm BST FCA reviews business models at retail banks left right A river ferry passes in front of the Canary Wharf business district at dusk in London, Britain December 11, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville 1/2 left right The logo of the new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is seen at the agency''s headquarters in the Canary Wharf business district of London April 1, 2013. REUTERS/Chris Helgren 2/2 By Huw Jones - LONDON LONDON The financial regulator has begun a study of how Britain''s high street banks make money and said the initial findings due next year would help determine if their approach had to be changed. The study would apply lessons from the 2007-2009 financial crisis when Northern Rock collapsed because of an unsustainable business model, Andrew Bailey, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), told a conference on Thursday. It coincides with government efforts to increase competition in a sector dominated by HSBC ( HSBA.L ), Lloyds ( LLOY.L ), Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ) and Barclays ( BARC.L ). Bailey said 16 new banks had been approved over the last five years and 38 were considering seeking authorisation. "My hope is that we can lay out a body of evidence from which conclusions can start to be drawn," Bailey told the British Bankers'' Association (BBA) conference, adding that evidence would be gathered into the first half of next year. The study will initially focus on different products and services and their profitability as fewer customers visit bank branches, preferring to use the phone or Internet instead. BBA Chief Executive Anthony Browne told the conference that apps were now the most popular way to access accounts. But he said there was a "public interest" in access to bank branches, after many have been closed as more customers bank online. Bailey said the study "should enable us to assess better the impact of changes for instance in technology on retail banking business models." In a separate review to be published in coming months, the FCA has been examining so-called high-cost credit including overdrafts, after lawmakers criticised banks for charging hefty fees for people who overdraw on their accounts. "We will then be able to decide if we need to intervene further," Bailey said. Britain has capped high interest rates on "payday" loans, where customers borrow money against their next monthly wage and usually face steep rates. Critics say the cap risks making it tougher for the most vulnerable to access credit and could drive them into the arms of unregulated "loan sharks". Bailey said this had not been the outcome so far. Some lawmakers have called for a wider use of caps, but Bailey said "capping everything" was not the right approach. Findings from a third review by the regulator, examining how banks assess customers'' understanding of their products and services, are also due to be published soon. Some lawmakers have called for the banks to end what they call "free banking" for those in credit because they say it simply means other services, such as overdrafts, are charged more heavily and that often hurts the less well off more. "I do not advocate ending free-if-in-credit banking. Why? Because there is no such thing to start with," Bailey said, adding that it simply meant some customers paid more or less than others depending on what products they used. (Editing by David Clarke and Edmund Blair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-banks-regulator-idUKKBN19K12F'|'2017-06-29T16:17:00.000+03:00' +'8c47ad51e3efc5aa33df09f2c5562bdeefd2fb16'|'BR Malls denies reports of merger talks with Aliansce'|'Market 52am EDT BR Malls denies reports of merger talks with Aliansce SAO PAULO, June 6 Brazilian mall operator BR Malls Participaes SA on Tuesday denied media reports saying it was negotiating a merger with rival Aliansce Shopping Centers SA. Shares in both firms jumped on Monday in the wake of the reports, originally published by newspaper O Globo. In a securities filing, BR Malls also denied it had hired a financial advisor to sound out such a transaction. (Reporting by Bruno Federowski and Paula Laier)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/aliansce-ma-br-malls-partic-idUSE6N1IL010'|'2017-06-06T20:52:00.000+03:00' +'8ee03c1c645465b721b32d6f17a04d3f4fa14c48'|'Irish consumer sentiment falls to lowest level this year in May'|'Business News - Fri Jun 2, 2017 - 12:11am BST Irish consumer sentiment falls to lowest level this year in May DUBLIN Irish consumer sentiment fell to its lowest level this year in May, a survey showed on Friday, a further sign that despite being Europe''s fastest growing economy, Ireland is failing to deliver the kinds of gains consumers expect. Ireland''s economy has been the best performing in Europe for the last three years, dramatically driving down unemployment but an uneven recovery has failed to spur on sentiment with many still reeling from the financial crisis of almost a decade ago. The KBC Bank Ireland/ESRI Consumer Sentiment Index fell to 100.5 from 102.0 in April, nearer a two-year low of 96.2 hit in December than the 15-year high of 108.6 reached just over a year ago. "We wouldn''t exaggerate the significance of the latest monthly fluctuation but the broader softness of recent readings does seem at odds with the strength of many other short term Irish economic indicators," KBC chief economist Austin Hughes said. "The lack of clear positive momentum in the survey strongly hints that the economic recovery is falling well short of consumers'' expectations in terms of delivering a material boost to their living standards." Hughes said the current readings suggest consumers remain modestly optimistic and are consistent with a growing economy but the survey implied that the upturn in consumer spending in the economy may remain constrained. The survey showed that while just under a quarter of Irish consumers judge that their personal finances improved in the past year, a broadly similar number reported a deterioration in their living standards. "The now long established recovery has failed to deliver anything like the scale or spread of the improvement in financial circumstances that Irish consumers had expected," Hughes said. (Reporting by Padraic Halpin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ireland-economy-consumersentiment-idUKKBN18S6NQ'|'2017-06-02T07:11:00.000+03:00' +'280decd0b307f45dfb50ac2268090be03dce031b'|'Blackstone closes 7.8 bln-euro European property fund, source says'|'June 7 Blackstone Group, has closed a 7.8 billion-euro ($8.79 billion) fund that will focus on European commercial real estate, a source familiar with the matter said.The goal of the fund is to deliver to investors double-digit returns, the person said.The fund will follow an "opportunistic" strategy, which typically means buying riskier properties that need fixing up or repositioning, the person added.It will have about 24 billion euros worth of buying power, since the U.S. private equity group often uses as much as 70 percent leverage when it buys property, according to the person.Earlier Monday, Blackstone offered to buy all shares in Finnish real estate investment company Sponda for about 1.8 billion euros, seeking to expand its real estate business in the Nordic region.Last week, the company agreed to sell European warehouse firm Logicor to China Investment Corp for 12.25 billion euros, the biggest private equity real estate deal in Europe on record.Blackstones real estate business has about $102 billion in investor capital under management.($1 = 0.8875 euros) (Reporting by Dasha Afanasieva and Sangameswaran S in Bengaluru, editing by Larry King)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/blackstone-closes-78-bln-euro-european-p-idINL3N1J453X'|'2017-06-07T18:52:00.000+03:00' +'daed3db1dafb8ff04a9f0d79249fece5d887979f'|'Gold near four-week high as political uncertainty weighs on dollar'|'July 24, 2017 / 4:42 AM / 3 hours ago Gold hits one-month high, eyes on Fed and dollar 3 Min Read An employee shows gold bullions at Degussa shop in Singapore June 16, 2017. Edgar Su/Files LONDON (Reuters) - Gold prices hit a one-month high on Monday as a weaker dollar and political turmoil in the United States boosted sentiment ahead of the Fed''s monetary policy meeting later this week. Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at $1,256.36 an ounce at 0925 GMT from an earlier $1,257.18, its highest since June 26. U.S. gold futures were up 0.1 percent at $1,256.40. Investigations into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and whether there was collusion with President Donald Trump''s campaign are viewed as obstacles to the administration''s plans to boost economic growth. That is a negative for the dollar as it reinforces the idea of softer growth in the United States and undermines the case for a further rise in U.S. interest rates. "The dollar and the decision on U.S. interest rates will be a major driver this week," said SP Angel analyst Sergey Raevskiy, adding that the market was also reacting to U.S. politics. A lower U.S. currency makes dollar-denominated gold cheaper for holders of other currencies, potentially boosting demand. A falling dollar saw gold gain more than 2 percent last week. The Federal Reserve''s two-day meeting starts on Tuesday and ends on Wednesday with a statement at 1800 GMT. "Recent rhetoric suggests a chance that an announcement on balance sheet reduction could come this week," Societe Generale analysts said in a note. "Given the current mood, however, there is no guarantee that such a decision would support the greenback; markets may simply perceive this as the dovish alternative to an actual rate hike." In the physical market, traders are watching demand in India, a top consumer of gold, where in early June the government levied a 3 percent tax on gold effective July 1, lower than the 5 percent expected. However, a deputy governor of the Indian central bank said over the weekend that a ban on high-value cash since last November had significantly boosted investment in financial products. "As a matter of comparison, the $1.27 billion invested in financial assets in June would have bought roughly 1 million ounces of gold," Investec analysts said in a note. Overall in Asia, demand is sliding due to higher prices and a seasonal slowdown. On the technical front, gold resistance comes in at around $1,260, near a Fibonacci retracement level, while support is at $1,205, the 100-day moving average. Elsewhere, silver slid 0.2 percent to $16.44 an ounce, platinum fell 0.1 percent, to $932.74 an ounce and palladium eased 0.2 percent to $843.30 per ounce. Additional reporting by Nithin Prasad and Arpan Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Adrian Croft 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-precious-idINKBN1A90BO'|'2017-07-24T07:38:00.000+03:00' +'586a55e9b8223abd75778221020748e5e52c0891'|'S&P, Dow flat as energy weighs; Fed minutes awaited'|'July 5, 2017 / 11:38 AM / 16 minutes ago S&P, Dow flat as energy weighs; Fed minutes awaited Tanya Agrawal 3 Min Read Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., July 5, 2017. Brendan McDermid (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Dow were little changed in choppy trading on Wednesday, with a fall in oil prices taking a toll on energy stocks, but the Nasdaq was propped up by gains in tech shares. Crude prices fell 3 percent, ending their longest bull-run in more than five years, hurt by rising OPEC exports and a stronger dollar. Shares of Exxon ( XOM.N ) and Chevron ( CVX.N ) were down more than 1 percent, weighing the most on the S&P and the Dow. The Federal Reserve is due to release minutes of its last meeting later in the day. Investors will look for more clues on its next rate hike and details on the central bank''s plan to cut its crisis-era bond portfolio. A recent set of tepid economic data and an inflation rate below the central bank''s 2 percent target may have a bearing on the Fed''s rate hike plans. "The biggest question mark for investors today is going to be an indication as far as timing is concerned for when the Fed is going to begin their balance sheet reduction plans," said Marcelle Daher, senior managing director, asset allocation at Manulife Asset Management. "In general they have indicated September, with the last rate hike for 2017 to fall in the December time frame, so anything that confirms or denies that assumption is going to be interesting for the market." Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., July 5, 2017. Brendan McDermid At 11:02 a.m. ET (1502 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was down 12.76 points, or 0.06 percent, at 21,466.51. The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was up 26.14 points, or 0.43 percent, at 6,136.20 and the S&P 500 .SPX was up 1.99 points, or 0.08 percent, at 2,431. The tech sector .SPLRCT led the S&P gainers with a 0.69 percent rise, with Apple ( AAPL.O ), Microsoft ( MSFT.O ) and Amazon ( AMZN.O ) lifting the sector. Slideshow (4 Images) Tech stocks have been volatile in the past few weeks on concerns over the sector''s valuation, after powering the S&P''s record run this year. "In a world of muted growth, tech stocks can still be attractive for delivering attractive rates of earnings growth ... However, because of the positioning around tech, there is to be expected a period of consolidation," Daher said. O''Reilly Automotive ( ORLY.O ) slumped as much as 19.9 percent to a near three-year low after its second-quarter same-store sales widely missed its own estimates. The stock dragged down other auto-parts retailers with Autozone ( AZO.N ) and Advance Auto Parts ( AAP.N ) falling 9.4 percent and 14 percent. Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by 1,953 to 830. On the Nasdaq, 1,637 issues fell and 1,066 advanced. Reporting by Tanya Agrawal in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks-idINKBN19Q1DZ'|'2017-07-05T18:34:00.000+03:00' +'353f78f2c02241cb498015b489f4b1d0012311c2'|'One in three Burberry shareholders vote against executive pay deal - Business - The Guardian'|'A third of Burberrys shareholders have failed to back the luxury brands remuneration report in a protest over high pay.Investors representing just over 32% of voting shares rejected the report with more investors withholding their votes despite recent attempts to appease their anger by reducing overall pay deals.The rebellion was the biggest since 2014, when more than half of shareholders voted against director pay at the British fashion house.At Burberrys annual meeting in central London on Thursday morning, the chairman, John Peace, defended the pay packages for key executives including Christopher Bailey, who was joint chief creative director and chief executive until last week, and the new chief operating officer and finance officer, Julie Brown. Baileys total remuneration last year rose from 1.9m to 3.5m. While he waived his entitlement to any annual bonus for the year, his total was boosted by a 1.4m payout from an award of shares from a 2014 plan.This month he will also receive shares worth 10.5m 600,000 of the 1m shares he was awarded in 2013, when the company was concerned that he might be poached by a rival.Brown, who joined from medical supplies group Smith & Nephew, was paid 4.7m between January and March 2017, including a golden hello of 4.5m consisting of 4m in shares and 550,000 in cash. However, she handed 1.6m of the award back after complaints from shareholder advisory groups. Peace, who has signalled he will step down by the end of next year , said after the AGM: My job is to work with the board and remuneration committee to do whats right for the longer term. My job is to get the best we can for the company and I think in Julie we have an absolute star.Fabiola Arredondo, the former Yahoo executive, who now heads Burberrys remuneration committee, said that since she took over in August last year the committee had been actively engaging with shareholders and addressing concerns.The row over pay came as shareholders got their first chance to meet Marco Gobetti, who last week took over from Bailey as chief executive. Bailey will now focus on his creative role under the title of president.The new appointment followed pressure from shareholders concerned that Bailey was struggling to handle his dual role in a luxury goods market faced with slowing sales across key markets such as China and the Middle East.Speaking after the meeting, Gobetti said both he and Bailey were used to working in partnership. Christopher is one of the reasons I came to this company. We have the same vision and same values, he said.Bailey told shareholders the partnership would let him redouble my focus on design and creating experiences that will energise the brand.Gobetti said he would spend time talking to shareholders, customers and people inside the business around the world, particular outside Asia, where he has been working for Burberry since January due to restrictions under his contract with former employer, the French brand Cline.Gobetti also reiterated Burberrys commitment to manufacturing in Leeds and said that dropping the option on developing the listed Temple Mill building, as revealed on Wednesday , simply meant dropping one option for the project. There are others, he said.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/retail/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jul/13/burberry-shareholders-vote-against-executive-pay-deal-christopher-bailey'|'2017-07-13T23:37:00.000+03:00' +'baafd2f100168619ff1d627164f53e34b4bfaff1'|'China says U.S. talks covered joint efforts on excess steel capacity'|'July 20, 2017 / 11:14 PM / 2 hours ago China says U.S. talks covered joint efforts on excess steel capacity David Lawder 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Employees work in a Hangzhou Iron and Steel Group Company workshop in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province August 4, 2009. Steven Shi/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Seeking a more positive spin on U.S.-China economic talks viewed as ending in discord, China said on Thursday that the two sides agreed to "active and effective measures" to reduce global excess steel production capacity. The statement issued a day after the talks by the Chinese embassy in Washington did not elaborate on the measures discussed by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Chinese Commerce Minister Zhong Shan on Wednesday. "In this breakout session, the two sides focused their discussion on steel, aluminum and high-tech trade," the embassy said in a statement. "The two sides had in-depth discussion on cutting excess steel production capacity in the world and agreed to active and effective measures to jointly address this global issue." A U.S. Commerce Department spokesman declined comment on the Chinese statement and referred Reuters to a joint statement from Ross and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Their statement did not mention steel and cited only one point of consensus, a "shared objective" to work toward reducing the U.S. trade deficit with China. Late on Wednesday, a Trump administration official told Reuters that China had refused to agree to U.S. demands that it eliminate excess steel capacity and take other steps to open its economy for foreign firms. The first annual economic summit between the Trump administration and their Chinese counterparts ended with canceled news conferences, no joint statement and no new transaction announcements. The Chinese embassy statement also said China agreed to "deepen its cooperation" with the United States on expanding trade in services. The two sides also will start work on a one-year economic cooperation plan, determining an "early harvest" as soon as possible. Before the latest Chinese statement, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced that China would allow imports of U.S. rice for the first time, agreeing to phytosanitary protocols. Tougher Stances The rocky dialogue session in Washington was a sharp contrast to U.S. President Donald Trump''s rosy first meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Trump''s Mar-A-Lago, Florida estate in April. Both sides found each other harder to deal with than expected, China trade experts said. The Trump team''s expectations that Beijing would agree to quick, substantial reforms to shrink the U.S. trade deficit and eliminate excess steelmaking capacity were dashed, while China found that further minor steps and vague action plans would no longer placate the U.S. side. "There was a misalignment of expectations. The Americans pushed for deliverables, and the Chinese said no, everything is fine," said Scott Miller, an Asia trade expert at the Center for Strategic and Economic Studies in Washington. "These are difficult issues that don''t lend themselves toward easy boxes to check." Domestic politics contributed to both sides taking a tougher stance, said Eswar Prasad, a trade policy professor at Cornell University and former China division chief at the International Monetary Fund. China faces a once-in-five-years Communist Party congress to set new leadership this autumn, while Trump is keen to hold to campaign promises to help ailing U.S. steel and coal industries and grow U.S. manufacturing jobs. Prasad said that China found that the Trump administration is "no pushover" on trade and may need to offer bigger concessions to keep its relationship with its biggest trading partner on an even keel. "The administration seems unwilling to settle for further symbolic, cosmetic victories in terms of access to Chinas markets and is pressing for more specific and time-bound commitments from China about opening up its markets to U.S. exporters and investors," he added. Additional reporting by Lesley Wroughton in Washington and Michael Hirtzer in Chicago; Editing by James Dalgleish 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-trade-idINKBN1A531M'|'2017-07-21T02:11:00.000+03:00' +'8c11c29f13e66566241dae006cdaa8c5e55bb994'|'Summer sunshine spurs sales surge for Sainsbury''s - Business'|'Demand for fresh fruit and veg and a dash for paddling pools, summer clothes and fans helped Sainsburys deliver its strongest sales growth in more than four years. Sales at stores open more than a year, excluding fuel, rose by 2.3% in the 16 weeks to 1 July, up from 0.3% in the previous three months partly thanks to the warm start to the summer. It was the strongest pace of growth since March 2013.Mike Coupe, the Sainsburys group chief executive, said: We have delivered a strong performance, driven by our differentiated strategy, offering customers quality, value and choice across food, general merchandise, clothing and financial services.The group, which also owns Argos, was partly helped by the timing of Easter and Mothers Day, which it said had contributed about 0.3 percentage points of the growth. Excluding that factor, the pace was still slightly ahead of City expectations of 1.9% growth.Coupe said shoppers were snapping up Sainsburys own-label products after it had implemented hundreds of quality improvements and held prices on basics including milk, chicken breast and eggs.He said inflation, which is now running at more than 2.5% according to the CPI index, had started to hit towards the end of the period but Sainsburys had managed to keep a control over prices and the impact on customers. Fresh produce performed particularly well, outperforming the market with volume growth of 1% as Sainsburys cut the price of summer favourites including Jersey Royal potatoes and British strawberries. That helped boost total grocery sales by 3% compared to 0.3% growth in the previous three months. Coupe played down the impact of the weather. He said that the number of warm days over the whole period was not far off the same as last year. He pointed to Sainsburys improvement in price position relative to its competitors for the groups step up in performance. Coupe also said there were signs that shoppers were choosing to eat at home rather than go out for meals as disposable income came under pressure from rising inflation.But he said: We are not seeing a massive change in consumer behaviour.Online grocery sales rose by 8%, Sainsburys convenience store sales were up by 10% and clothing sales rose by 7.2%.All the supermarkets have been lifted by a combination of a warm start to the summer and rising inflation .Sainsburys said the number of transactions carried out in its stores rose by 2%.Coupe said that Sainsburys general merchandise and clothing ranges, including Argos, outperformed the market, as its fast track delivery and collect-from-store services recorded a stellar performance during the quarter, particularly during the warm weather when customers wanted items such as paddling pools and electric fans on the day.Total sales rose 1% despite the closure of dozens of Argos and Habitat outlets in Homebase stores after the takeover of the DIY chain buy Australian firm Bunnings.Sainsburys said it had opened 10 convenience stores in the period but made no mention of Nisa, the wholesale buying group with which it is understood to be in exclusive talks .Coupe said: Lots of conversations are had and there is lots of speculation but lots of things dont come off.The supermarket is thought to be considering a 130m takeover of Nisa, which supplies and provides marketing support to thousands of small independent stores.Nisas 1,400 members, which include the McColls convenience store chain, operate 2,500 shops. They would have to approve any takeover and many are fiercely protective of their independence.Laith Khalaf, a senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the bigger picture remained challenging for UK supermarkets: Weaker sterling is pushing up food prices and putting a dent in consumers purses, while the trading environment remains as competitive as ever. Indeed the turf war the big supermarkets have been fighting against the discounters may start to look like a schoolyard skirmish if Amazon decides it wants a piece of the UK grocery market. David Alexander, the lead analyst at GlobalData, said: With Sainsburys receiving a significant helping hand from the upturn in fortunes for the wider grocery sector, it is too soon to judge whether this quarter represents a more positive new chapter for the grocer. That said, the change in tone is promising.Topics J Sainsbury Retail industry Supermarkets Weather news'|'theguardian.com'|'https://www.theguardian.com/uk/business'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jul/04/summer-sunshine-spurs-sales-surge-for-sainsburys'|'2017-07-04T14:53:00.000+03:00' +'d48f1ed80186dcffd4cfdb5bed76933ad8a4369b'|'Canpotex signs China potash supply contracts at higher price'|'July 21, 2017 / 3:18 PM / 3 minutes ago Canpotex signs China potash supply contracts at higher price 1 Min Read WINNIPEG, Manitoba, July 21 (Reuters) - Canpotex Ltd, the offshore sales agency for North America''s biggest producers of potash fertilizer, said on Friday that it signed supply contracts with Chinese customers for shipments of 1.4 million tonnes through 2017. Canpotex, owned by Potash Corp of Saskatchewan, Mosaic Co and Agrium Inc, said the deals represent a price increase of $11 per tonne from last year''s agreement. (Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canpotex-potash-china-idUSL1N1KC0OZ'|'2017-07-21T18:16:00.000+03:00' +'1f98a087265e2bf04e3c9e100d9dd3262d23f3f6'|'Financial watchdog says firms must have choice of location after Brexit'|'Top 6:20pm BST Finance firms need freedom to choose location after Brexit left right Andrew Bailey, Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Conduct Authority, speaks during a ''Reuters Newsmaker'' interview at the Reuters offices in London, Britain, July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay 1/6 left right Andrew Bailey, Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Conduct Authority, speaks during a ''Reuters Newsmaker'' interview at the Reuters offices in London, Britain, July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay 2/6 left right Andrew Bailey, Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Conduct Authority, speaks during a ''Reuters Newsmaker'' interview at the Reuters offices in London, Britain, July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay 3/6 left right Andrew Bailey, Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Conduct Authority, speaks during a ''Reuters Newsmaker'' interview at the Reuters offices in London, Britain, July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay 4/6 left right Andrew Bailey, Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Conduct Authority, poses for a photo as he arrives at the Reuters offices for an interview in London, Britain, July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay 5/6 left right Andrew Bailey, Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Conduct Authority, poses for a photo as he arrives at the Reuters offices for an interview in London, Britain, July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay 6/6 By Huw Jones - LONDON LONDON Finance firms should not be forced by regulators to change location after Britain leaves the European Union in 2019, Andrew Bailey, chief executive of the UK''s Financial Conduct Authority told a Reuters Newsmaker event on Thursday. Banks, insurers and asset managers based in Britain are already making contingency plans to shift some operations to continental Europe after Brexit takes effect in case access to the EU single market is closed off. But Bailey said Britain and the EU are in a position to preserve free trade for financial services, meaning such moves need not happen. "Firms should be able to take their own decisions on where they locate, subject to appropriate regulatory arrangements being in place which preserve the public interest," Bailey said, in his first major speech on Brexit since Britain triggered the formal EU divorce proceedings in March. "Authorities should not dictate the location of firms," he told an audience in Canary Wharf, home to some of the world''s biggest banks. Future financial sector relations between Britain and the EU should be based on "mutual recognition" or regulatory cooperation "but not exact mirroring" of rules, Bailey said. Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam, Luxembourg and Dublin are all vying for a slice of Britain''s financial services industry after Brexit. Bailey said such competition was good. But he also said Brexit should not be used as an excuse to restrict the ability to have open markets and freedom of location. "The roots exist to come out with sensible outcomes on this." Some companies have already announced plans to move people to continental European locations to retain access to the EU single market. Bailey said a transition period based on current trading arrangements was needed this year. This would avoid a "regrettable" situation whereby firms had to "press the button" on moves to the EU before they know what the outcome of Britain''s negotiations with the bloc will be. "It needs to be a sensible period," Bailey said. Bailey questioned whether restricting trade in this way was an inevitable or necessary response to Brexit. "When I hear people say firms need to re-locate in order to continue to benefit from access to EU financial markets, I start to seriously wonder." NO LOCATION POLICIES France and other EU countries, for example, want the clearing of euro denominated derivatives, which London dominates, "located" within the EU after Brexit. "It does not require a location policy," Bailey said. Joint oversight with the EU of clearing houses in London is "something that is very clearly preferable to the cost and risk that is introduced by a location based policy." Such joint oversight was already working well between the UK and United States regulators in clearing, he said. He dismissed talk in the EU that given the dominance of Britain''s financial services sector, the largest in Europe, there should be specific rules for the UK, rather than the existing general regime for recognising non-EU financial firms. "I do not accept that," Bailey said. Non-EU financial firms from the United States, Singapore and elsewhere can currently offer their services in the EU if their home regulation is deemed by Brussels to be "equivalent" or as tough as the bloc''s own rules. This regime should be applied to Britain in the same way. "It would not be the best outcome to adopt a special treatment for the oversight of outsourced service provision arrangements involving the UK and EU when there are already arrangements in place which can form the basis of an equivalence arrangement," Bailey said. NO RACE TO THE BOTTOM Britain was not interested in a "race to the bottom" in regulation after Brexit, he said. Britain has worked hard over the years to build up relations with EU and national regulators across the bloc, he said, though he conceded that he was already being locked out of EU regulatory discussions about Brexit. "It''s perfectly reasonable ... It does not concern me." There are already fears that asset managers in Britain will be prevented from managing funds based in the EU after Brexit, but Bailey said this longstanding cross-border "delegation" should continue. "It works well today. There is no reason to disrupt that model," Bailey said. Critics of Brexit have said that Britain will end up being a "rule taker", meaning it will have to copy and paste the bloc''s rules into UK law if it wants to maintain access in financial services. "I don''t want to be in a situation where we become a pure rule taker," Bailey said. For live link to Newsmaker click on reut.rs/2thSd4S (Reporting by Huw Jones; editing by Jason Neely and Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-regulation-bailey-idUKKBN19R0OW'|'2017-07-06T10:43:00.000+03:00' +'324e92e25b744df333ba32dbecb1f717ba24ba50'|'Abercrombie & Fitch ends talks with potential buyers'|'Deals - Mon Jul 10, 2017 - 1:32pm BST Abercrombie & Fitch ends talks with potential buyers A person carries a bag from the Abercrombie & Fitch store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., February 27, 2017. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly Abercrombie & Fitch Co ( ANF.N ) said on Monday that it terminated discussions about a potential deal following a review. The company had said earlier this year that it was in talks with a number of bidders regarding a potential sale. The teen apparel retailer''s shares plummeted 16 percent to $10.21 in premarket trading. (Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-abercrombie-m-a-idUKKBN19V1FN'|'2017-07-10T15:30:00.000+03:00' +'0a16e37a3e0d1f5bdea0da52e0aff515a48971a3'|'Exclusive: MSCI warns Chinese companies about suspending trading of shares'|'July 31, 2017 / 4:22 AM / 2 hours ago Exclusive: MSCI warns Chinese companies about suspending trading of shares 5 Min Read The MSCI logo is seen in this June 20, 2017 illustration photo. Thomas White/Illustration/Files SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Barely a month after approving the inclusion of Chinese shares in its benchmark emerging market index, MSCI is warning that companies in China that suspend trading in their shares for too long risk being dropped. MSCI''s head of research for Asia Pacific, Chin Ping Chia, said China was an outlier in global markets with too many suspensions in stock trading. He said the U.S. index provider was closely monitoring the 222 China-listed A-shares that will be added to its Emerging Markets Index next year. "If we find a company suspends for a long time, over 50 days, we will remove it from the index, and we will not bring it back to the index again for at least another 12 months," Chia said. The 12-month removal rule would be limited to Chinese companies. Companies from other markets who are removed from the index due to a long suspension of trading would be able to start a review process for reinclusion once they resumed trading. MSCI''s comments come as the number of suspended stocks in China is at its highest level in a year after volatility in smaller companies prompted many to halt share trading in order to avert a crash in prices. Suspensions have also increased among companies with larger capitalisations as Beijing steps up consolidation of state-owned enterprises. An average of 265, or one in every 13, listed companies in China suspended trade in July, according to data provided last Wednesday by the fund consultancy Z-Ben Advisors. The consultancy said the number had risen every month this year and was now up 30 percent from an average of 202 in January. Last year, MSCI cited arbitrary and long suspensions as a reason for vetoing the inclusion of shares listed on the mainland in its benchmark indices. However, MSCI said in June this year that it would add 222 A-shares to the index in May and August next year, which could trigger billions of dollars of passive investment inflows into China. "This suspension issue in China is highly unique, both in the number and frequency," Chia said. He said that failure to address the issue could discourage MSCI from adding China stocks to its indexes in the future. Investors have long worried about a tendency by Chinese companies to suspend trading in their shares. At the height of the 2015 stock market crash, over half of China''s 3,000-plus listed companies halted trading. In May last year, both the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges tightened rules on share suspensions by listed companies, requiring them to disclose more details and to shorten the length of suspensions. These measures, however, have had limited effect. A spokesman for the China Securities Regulatory Commission said at a press conference on Friday that Chinese regulators would work to improve suspension rules. Outlier Essence Securities, a Chinese brokerage, estimates that 8 percent of Chinese stocks could not be traded in May due to suspensions, compared with less than 1 percent in Hong Kong and roughly 4 percent on the Nasdaq. MSCI''s Chia said that suspensions last for a day at most in most global markets, whereas in China, suspensions can go on for months. In an extreme case, trading in shares of Xinjiang Yilu Wanyuan Industrial Investment, a loss-making ceramic products maker, has been suspended for about 20 months. "The issue is that in a freely accessible market, investors want to be able to get in and get out. If a market falls, they still want to be able to get out," said Chia. "But if you suspend, investors cannot get out, that will be a problem." Seasoned foreign investors in China''s A-share market concur. "You can tolerate losing money, but you cannot tolerate not being able to trade," said Anthony Cragg, a senior portfolio manager at Wells Fargo Asset Management who manages $2.2 billion in several funds - including one dedicated to China. Exploiting Loopholes The rules announced last year specify that in the case of a private share placement, suspension time on the Shanghai stock exchange cannot exceed one month. The Shenzhen stock exchange stipulates a maximum of six months for a trading suspension in the event of a company restructuring. Yet, plenty of companies, particularly smaller companies, are able to exploit these relatively loose suspension rules. This month, when China''s start-up board ChiNext tumbled to 2-1/2-year lows, companies listed there - including H and R Century Union Corp, Xinlong Holding Group Co and Galaxy Biomedical Investment - quickly suspended share trading, citing various reasons, ranging from margin calls to restructuring, or waiting for the release of price-sensitive information. Xu Caiyuan, a prominent activist investor, said many Chinese companies were "playing dead" to avoid price falls, so that major shareholders facing margin calls could maintain control by "trapping small investors." Editing by Vidya Ranganathan and Philip McClellan 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/china-stocks-msci-idINKBN1AG0CY'|'2017-07-31T07:21:00.000+03:00' +'6214f1f91af7fbb7349a89a90693744b2d1882a7'|'Takata''s bankruptcy to pit automakers against air bag victims'|'Edition United States July 17, 2017 / 5:03 AM / an hour ago Takata''s bankruptcy to pit automakers against air bag victims Tom Hals and Tina Bellon 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A woman stands next to a logo of Takata Corp at a showroom for vehicles in Tokyo, Japan, November 6, 2015. Toru Hanai/File Photo WILMINGTON, Del./NEW YORK (Reuters) - The global recall of Takata Corp''s defective air bags widened last week and the number of confirmed deaths rose, but legal experts said the bigger worry for car companies caught in the fallout is playing out in a Delaware bankruptcy courtroom. Earlier this month, people injured by the air bags, which degrade over time and can inflate with excessive force, were appointed to their own official committee in the Japanese company''s U.S. bankruptcy, giving them a powerful voice in the proceedings. This unusual committee, which includes people whose cars lost value due to the recall, will be pitted against Honda Motor Co, Toyota Motor Corp , and other automakers. The car companies have been trying to use the bankruptcy to limit their liability for installing the faulty air bags, said Kevin Dean, a Motley Rice attorney who represents injured drivers on the committee. Because the committee has official status, Takata must provide it with funds which can be used to investigate the automakers'' liability or to challenge financial assumptions. Without a committee, plaintiffs'' lawyers would typically have to pay for that themselves. If I were a plaintiffs lawyer, this would be a golden goose for me, said John Pottow, a professor at the University of Michigan Law School, of the appointment of the special committee. Takata, Honda, Toyota and General Motors Co declined to comment. Other carmakers did not return requests for comment. Bankruptcies typically only have one official creditors committee. In the Takata case, the committee of injured drivers will sit alongside another made up of suppliers and vendors, who are likely more interested in the future of the business than compensation disputes, according to bankruptcy attorneys who are not involved in the case. Both committees were appointed by the U.S. Trustee''s Office, the arm of the U.S. Department of Justice that acts as a bankruptcy watchdog. Seventeen fatalities, including one confirmed last week, and at least 180 injuries have been tied to Takata''s air bags since at least 2009. Last week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration widened a global recall of the airbags, which regulators expect to ultimately cover 69 million cars and 125 million inflators. Most defective air bags have not been replaced. In January, Takata entered a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, setting aside $125 million to compensate consumers and $850 million in restitution for automakers. Compensation Fund Facing up to $50 billion in liability, Takata filed for bankruptcy in June in Japan and the United States with a plan to sell its non-air bag operations for $1.6 billion to Key Safety Systems, which is owned by China''s Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp. Its air bag business would continue to make replacements for the 125 million recalled inflators. Takata said in its Chapter 11 filings that it will create a fund to compensate future injuries stemming from the air bags. Companies that wind up bankrupt due to faulty products often set up such funds, and gather contributions from insurers and other potentially liable parties, who in return get shielded from ongoing litigation. Similar funds were set up in and the 1985 bankruptcy of A.H. Robins Co, which sold Dalkon Shield contraceptive devices and the 1995 bankruptcy of Dow Corning, the maker of silicone breast implants. A $161 million fund in the 2012 bankruptcy of Blitz U.S.A. Inc, which made red plastic gas containers, included $23 million from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. In return, the retailer was protected from lawsuits that alleged it knowingly sold defective gas cans. Automakers would likely demand similar legal protections in return for contributing to a Takata fund, and the committee will likely hire experts to challenge those proposals, bankruptcy experts said. The committee''s lawyers will probably also want to investigate what car companies knew about the air bags to help determine their liability and their contributions, the experts said. If I were an injured person, I wouldnt want Takata or the carmakers to decide on the size of the fund, said Steven Todd Brown, a professor at the University at Buffalo School of Law who specializes in compensation funds. Some experts said they expected the parties to avoid protracted legal battles which have marred other product liability bankruptcies like those involving asbestos. Pottow, at the University of Michigan Law School, cautioned that may not be so simple. Were in pretty novel terrain here, given the amount of parties and the recall involved. Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware and Tina Bellon in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Lisa Shumaker 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-takata-bankruptcy-usa-plaintiffs-idUKKBN1A20BA'|'2017-07-17T08:01:00.000+03:00' +'cd557b4546ab01bed74eb140f3258fd4b6fb599c'|'Shire gets injunction against Roche over haemophilia drug'|'Health News - Sun Jul 9, 2017 - 4:34pm BST Shire gets injunction against Roche over hemophilia drug CEO of Shire, Dr Flemming Ornskov, poses for a photograph in London, Britain, July 3, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls - RTS19MDH ZURICH Pharmaceutical group Shire ( SHP.L ) said on Sunday it had obtained a preliminary injunction in a Hamburg court against rival Roche ( ROG.S ) over its hemophilia drug emicizumab, alleging incomplete and misleading statements surrounding the treatment. Swiss drugmaker Roche is hoping to win a slice of the $11 billion-a-year hemophilia drug market with emicizumab, also known as ACE910 and designed to compete with more traditional treatments from Novo Nordisk ( NOVOb.CO ) and Shire. "Shire''s goal with this action is to ensure the hemophilia community receives sufficient, accurate information from Roche about the reported serious adverse events (SAEs) in the Phase 3 emicizumab trial, enabling physicians and their patients to make properly informed decisions about patient care." Roche said in an emailed statement it would not comment on Shire''s statement but said it stood behind emicizumab data and its clinical trial protocol. "Our decisions and actions are always based on doing what is right for patients," Roche said. Last month, Roche said emicizumab cut the bleed rate by 87 percent in patients with resistance to standard therapy compared with those who received another treatment. At the time, analysts cited adverse events in Roche''s studies including thrombotic microangiopathy -- damage to blood vessels in vital organs -- that accompanied repeated high doses of bypassing agents given to counter bleeds that occurred despite emicizumab treatment. Shire said in a statement the injunction sought to "prevent further dissemination of the inaccurate and misleading characterization of the serious adverse events that occurred in the HAVEN 1 Phase 3 trial of emicizumab." "The injunction also seeks to correct promotion of the primary data results relative to ''treated bleeds'' (a secondary endpoint) as compared to the primary endpoint of ''number of bleeds over time'' established at the outset of the trial," Shire said. The preliminary injunction is an interim measure and Roche can appeal it, Shire also said. (Reporting by Joshua Franklin. Editing by Jane Merriman) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-roche-emicizumab-shire-idUKKBN19U0QW'|'2017-07-09T18:33:00.000+03:00' +'4cbbcdf7782f05231ad6db3d1e291eedfee383d1'|'Trump seeks crackdown on ''Made in America'' fakes'|'July 18, 2017 / 11:44 PM / 10 hours ago Trump seeks crackdown on ''Made in America'' fakes 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: U.S. President-elect Donald Trump addresses the "Make America Great Again! Welcome Celebration" at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, U.S., January 19, 2017. Mike Segar/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump is looking for ways to defend American-made products by certifying legitimate U.S. goods and aggressively going after imported products unfairly sporting the "Made in America" label, the White House said on Tuesday. Trump, who campaigned on reviving the U.S. manufacturing sector, vowed on Monday that his administration would crack down on "predatory online sales of foreign goods" hurting U.S. retailers. On Wednesday, Trump will discuss with small- and medium-sized manufacturers how to certify their products and keep out foreign counterfeits, a senior administration official told reporters. Their products include gutter filters, flags and pillows. "There''s just too many examples of foreigners slapping on ''Made in America'' labels to products and the worst insult is when they do it after they have actually stolen the product design," the official said. The United States loses about $300 billion a year to theft of intellectual property ranging from semiconductors to jeans, the official said. In March, Trump signed an executive order that gave customs officials more authority to stop pirated and counterfeit items, the official told reporters. The White House plans to work with the private sector on the new certification and verification system rather than create new regulations or spend taxpayer money, the official said, citing as a model the LEED system used to rate the environmental sustainability of building projects. Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Ayesha Rascoe; Editing by Howard Goller 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-counterfeit-idINKBN1A32LF'|'2017-07-19T02:39:00.000+03:00' +'d1b9cbdeef1d51ed136afc6ae1a1e44e3ff901e7'|'PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - July 28'|'July 28, 2017 / 5:18 AM / 7 minutes ago PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - July 28 2 Min Read July 28 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. - Meg Whitman, chief executive of Hewlett Packard Enterprise , said she would not become the next chief of Uber , amid a flurry of reports about who might assume leadership of the troubled ride-hailing company. nyti.ms/2h7G3sT - More than 800,000 people who took out car loans from Wells Fargo were charged for auto insurance they did not need, and some of them are still paying for it, according to an internal report prepared for the bank''s executives. nyti.ms/2tIdyUE - Rocket maker SpaceX founded by billionaire Elon Musk, has raised up to $350 million in new financing and is now valued at around $21 billion, making it one of the most valuable privately held companies in the world. nyti.ms/2uHLVwd - Discovery Communications is in advanced talks to buy Scripps Networks Interactive now that Viacom is out of the competition. Discovery is closing in on a bid of around $90 per share, or about 34 percent higher than where Scripps''s stock was trading before reports about a potential sale emerged. (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/press-digest-nyt-idUSL3N1KJ24X'|'2017-07-28T08:17:00.000+03:00' +'c691087b8a38c7faf924e7327714c0ed84b33cc4'|'City regulator plans rule change to allow Aramco flotation in London - Business'|'The City regulator is proposing to water down stock market rules in a move regarded as an attempt to attract the worlds biggest ever flotation of Saudi Aramco , the Gulf kingdoms state oil company to London.The proposals by the Financial Conduct Authority come as Aramco weighs up which financial centre to pick for the sale of 5% of its shares. The company could be valued at $2tn a huge price tag that would also generate hundreds of millions of dollars in fees for investment bankers, lawyers and other professional firms involved in stock market flotations.However, investors immediately warned that the FCAs proposal to create a new category for firms controlled by a shareholder that is a sovereign country could damage Londons reputation for protecting shareholders in companies that have dominant owners.While its consultation document did not name any companies, the FCAs proposal was widely regarded as being framed to address some of problems that Saudi Aramco faces in seeking a listing on the London Stock Exchange.The UK is keen to lure the Saudi company. The prime minister, Theresa May, and Xavier Rolet, the head of the LSE, v isited Riyadh in April to meet Aramcos chief executive Khalid al-Falih, who is also the kingdoms energy minister.The FCAs proposals would allow state-owned companies to qualify for a premium listing which has more onerous corporate governance rules without having to meet two criteria. One relates to how the company and the controlling shareholder conduct deals with each other, and the second allows investors a vote on independent directors.Chris Cummings, the chief executive of the Investment Association, which represents the Citys biggest fund managers, said: Investors believe a premium listed segment without these investor protections is not a premium segment and will not provide the protections that investors expect.But Andrew Bailey, the chief executive of the FCA, justified the changes on the basis that sovereign owners behave differently to other sorts of companies. Sovereign owners are different from private sector individuals or companies both in their motivations and in their nature. Investors have long recognised this and capital markets are well adapted to assess the treatment of other investors by sovereign countries, Bailey said.This explanation did not convince everyone. Nicholas Holmes, the equity capital markets partner at law firm Ashurst , said that while sovereign owners may have different motivations, this is did not reduce the need for proper scrutiny. The risk is a dilution of the premium listing brand, said Holmes.Ashley Hamilton Claxton, the corporate governance manager at Royal London Asset Management, said: If the proposals in this consultation document are implemented, it will be bad news for London and will reverse the progress we have made in recent years to uphold strong governance and protect minority shareholders, she added.The proposals are being made at a time when London is keen to promote its status as a leading financial centre in the wake of the Brexit vote. Miles Celic, the chief executive of lobby group TheCityUK, said: It is positive that our regulator takes an open-minded approach to regulatory change. This will become ever more critical as we come closer to Brexit and beyond.A spokesperson for LSE also welcomed the changes: We support initiatives that enable UK markets to function well and in an orderly and internationally competitive manner, with a high level of investor protection, meeting the demands of both issuers and global investors for a range of options to realise their capital raising and investment needs.Despite its size, Saudi Aramco would not quality for an entry in the FTSE 100 stock market index, which would require major City investors to buy the shares to enable them to run their tracker funds.Chris Woods, a managing director at FTSE Russell, said: The index ground rules include the requirement to have a premium listing in London, an assigned nationality of UK, and minimum free floats of 25% for UK incorporated companies and 50% for non-UK incorporated companies. All these requirements will remain unchanged.Topics Aramco Energy industry Oil Commodities Saudi Arabia Middle East and North Africa'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jul/13/city-regulator-plans-rule-change-to-allow-aramco-flotation-in-london'|'2017-07-14T01:45:00.000+03:00' +'4e36cd2be7f91effe38fcf02f41bbad4309c51bd'|'Whole Foods sought $45 per share offer from Amazon'|' 3:04pm BST Whole Foods sought $45 per share offer from Amazon left right FILE PHOTO: An Amazon.com Inc driver stands next to an Amazon delivery truck in Los Angeles, California, U.S. on May 21, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: A Whole Foods Market is pictured in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S. June 16, 2017. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo 2/2 Whole Foods Market Inc ( WFM.O ) said it had sought $45 (34.91 pounds) per share from Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) but settled for $42 per share, which the ecommerce giant called its "best and final offer". Amazon had initially offered $41 in May, Whole Foods said in a regulatory filing on Friday. ( bit.ly/2tPEsgy ) Amazon told Whole Foods it was considering other opportunities in case the final offer was turned down, the upmarket grocery chain said. Whole Foods also said it had received interest from two other companies and four private equity firms before agreeing to engage with Amazon. One of the companies, which Whole Foods did not name, had proposed a merger of equals that valued the grocery chain at $35 to $40 per share. Whole Foods'' management decided not to solicit proposals from private equity firms as the price proposed by Amazon.com likely exceeded the price a private equity buyer could be expected to pay. Amazon asked Whole Foods not to approach other potential bidders while they were engaged in talks and warned that it would call off the discussions in the event of a rumour or leak of a potential transaction. Amazon said in June it would buy Whole Foods for $13.7 billion, in a deal that could turn the high-end grocer into a mass-market merchant and upend the already struggling U.S. retail industry. Amazon''s shares were up almost 1 percent at $973.88 in early trading on Friday, while Whole Foods shares were marginally down at $41.98. (Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru: Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-whole-foods-m-a-amazon-com-idUKKBN19S1YG'|'2017-07-07T16:37:00.000+03:00' +'26dfe9f84a4ea58cbfb1fb1dfb66c9e757fc0ce2'|'Wells Fargo ordered to pay $575,000, reinstate whistleblower'|'July 21, 2017 / 8:34 PM / 7 minutes ago Wells Fargo ordered to pay $575,000, reinstate whistleblower 2 Min Read A Wells Fargo logo is seen in New York City, U.S. January 10, 2017. Stephanie Keith (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Labor on Friday ordered Wells Fargo & Co ( WFC.N ) to pay $575,000 (442,512 pounds) and to rehire a whistleblower the bank had dismissed in September 2011 after the former employee raised concerns over the opening of customer accounts without their knowledge, the agency said in a statement. The name of the whistleblower was not disclosed. "We take seriously the concerns of current and former team members," wrote Wells Fargo spokeswoman Richele Messick in an emailed statement to Reuters. "This decision is a preliminary order and to date there has been no hearing on the merits of this case. We disagree with the findings and will be requesting a full hearing of the matter." Wells Fargo was fined last year for opening up to 2.1 million customer accounts without their knowledge over several years to meet aggressive sales targets. The revelation damaged the bank''s reputation, spurred investors to sell its shares for several weeks and led to the resignation of its chief executive last year. Despite news reports and lawsuits claiming the bank had retaliated against whistleblowers, an investigative report by the bank''s board of directors released on April 10 said "based on a limited review completed to date," outside law firm Shearman & Sterling had "not identified a pattern of retaliation" against employees in Wells Fargo''s branch banking unit who complained about sales pressure or practices. In a different case, the Department of Labor in April ordered Wells Fargo to reinstate a whistleblower, though that former staffer''s concerns related to bank, mail and wire fraud -things that were not at issue in the sales practices scandal. Wells Fargo still faces probes from federal, state and local government agencies including the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as a number of private lawsuits, according to its quarterly securities filing in May. Reporting by Dan Freed in New York; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Matthew Lewis 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-wells-fargo-accounts-whistleblower-idUKKBN1A62MJ'|'2017-07-21T23:34:00.000+03:00' +'0188081d6bba08db4138a4a59e941cd85dd24552'|'US STOCKS-Wall St rises on Yellen''s dovish rate hike view'|'July 12, 2017 / 3:17 PM / 4 hours ago US STOCKS-Wall St rises on Yellen''s dovish rate hike view 3 Min Read * Rates won''t have to rise too much to reach neutral level - Yellen * Temporary factors appear to be holding down inflation - Yellen * Fed to release Beige Book at 2 p.m. ET * Indexes up: Dow 0.69 pct, S&P 0.67 pct, Nasdaq 0.83 pct (Adds details, changes comment, updates prices) By Sweta Singh and Tanya Agrawal July 12 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were higher in late morning trading on Wednesday, with the Dow hitting a record, after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said interest rates hikes would be gradual and will not have to rise much further to reach the neutral rate. Yellen, in a prepared testimony delivered to Congress, said the economy is healthy enough to absorb further gradual rate increases and the slow wind down of the Fed''s massive bond portfolio. The testimony depicted an economy that, while growing slowly, continued to add jobs, benefited from steady household consumption and a recent jump in business investment. Investors and some Fed officials, concerned with the recent dip in inflation, have been wanting to see a surer progress toward the central bank''s goal of 2 percent inflation. Yellen said some temporary factors appear to be at work in holding down inflation but the Fed was focused on achieving the target. "It was a little bit more dovish than most had thought," said Richard Scalone, co-head of foreign exchange at TJM Brokerage in Chicago. "She said rates won''t have to rise much further to get to neutral, I thought that was key. She said inflation response to economy is a key uncertainty, alluding to the inflation again, part of the dovishness." The U.S. central bank will also issue its Beige Book at 2 p.m. ET, a compendium of anecdotes on the health of the economy. The Fed''s next policy meeting is on July 25-26. At 10:47 a.m. ET (1447 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 146.9 points, or 0.69 percent, at 21,555.97. It had hit a record of 21580.79. The S&P 500 was up 16.48 points, or 0.67 percent, at 2,442.01 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 51.59 points, or 0.83 percent, at 6,244.89. All 11 major S&P 500 sectors were higher, with the defensive utilities index''s 0.91 percent rise leading the advancers. The financial index, which is sensitive to rate hikes, pared early losses to trade little changed. Chances of an interest rate hike at the Fed''s December meeting fell to 53 percent from 60 percent after the release of Yellen''s testimony, according to CME Group''s FedWatch tool. Investors will be keeping an eye on second-quarter earnings reports on Friday from big U.S. banks including JPMorgan Chase , Wells Fargo and Citigroup. Stocks of Amazon.com edged up 0.7 percent after the online retailer said its Prime Day sale was the biggest shopping event by sales in its history. The stock was among the biggest boosts on the Nasdaq. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 2,416 to 376. On the Nasdaq, 2,088 issues rose and 565 fell. (Reporting by Sweta Singh and Tanya Agrawal in Bengaluru, Additional reporting by Sinead Carew in New York; Editing by Arun Koyyur) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-idUSL4N1K34K7'|'2017-07-12T18:15:00.000+03:00' +'1bc28d9544efb0fc4243885de87762d84234bd33'|'Dutch watchdog says Suzuki Vitara, Jeep Grand Cherokee may have violated emissions rules'|'ZOETERMEER, Netherlands Dutch prosecutors said on Monday they will investigate possible misuse of vehicle emissions software by Suzuki ( 7269.T ) and Fiat Chrysler''s ( FCHA.MI ) Jeep.They were responding after the Dutch road authority (RDW) found that the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Suzuki Vitara models produced unacceptably high levels of toxic emissions during road tests. The RDW said in a statement that its tests of more than a dozen car makers in the wake of the Volkswagen emissions scandal had singled out Jeep and Suzuki. It added that other manufacturers were not found to have violated regulations.The Dutch agency has been investigating what it called "impermissible defeat devices" for the past year, following the disclosure in the United States in 2015 that Volkswagen had used software to alter its emissions during testing.The RDW''s investigation was centered on nitrogen oxide emission levels in diesel cars that appeared much higher than legally allowed during road driving rather than under laboratory test conditions.The agency said that in all cases carmakers argued that the reason for the discrepancy was software intended to protect the motor from harm under certain conditions.Such software is permissible under current European law and the agency no longer refers to it as a "defeat device" but uses the term "impermissible software" for when the pollution seems out of proportion with any need to protect the engine."For the 14 other carmakers we were able to get to the core of the matter and ask all the questions that we wanted and got satisfactory answers," said Maarten Balk, Manager for Licensing and Supervision at the RDW. "But not for these two, up to the present." The RDW said Suzuki Vitaras appeared to emit much more nitrogen oxide after a short time on the road. The company has offered a fix and is currently rolling it out for the roughly 8,000 Vitara models on Dutch roads.The Jeep Grand Cherokee appeared to emit higher levels of pollutants when its engine was hot, the RDW said. There are very few of them in the Netherlands, and the model is no longer in production. Jeep has proposed a software fix for the Cherokees this month, but the RDW hasn''t had a chance to evaluate it yet.RDW Director Paul Dietz said that this is the first time his agency has taken such an action. He said the agency has no power to levy fines, that will be up to prosecutors. The RDW will continue to pressure the two firms to offer remedies and follow up to make sure the offending models are retrofitted.European cars in the future will have to comply with a road test, rather than a laboratory test, he said, removing the motive for installing software that tries to beat the test.(Reporting by Toby Steling; additional reporting by Bart Meijer.; Writing by Anthony Deutsch; Editing by Louise Heavens/Keith Weir)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-netherlands-idUSKBN19V1EL'|'2017-07-10T15:16:00.000+03:00' +'0e7decb88c5591d77d121ce9479cd77e987a77e8'|'French deficit pledge will help euro zone budget discussions - ECB''s Coeure'|' 12:28pm BST French deficit pledge will help euro zone budget discussions: ECB''s Coeure Benoit Coeure, board member of the European Central Bank (ECB), is photographed during an interview with Reuters journalists at the ECB headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France The French government''s renewed commitment to bring its budget deficit in line with an EU limit is good not only for France but for upcoming euro zone discussions on budgets, ECB Executive Board member Benoit Coeure said on Sunday. The French government has committed to stick to plans to cut the deficit to 3 percent of economic output this year despite overspending this year by its predecessor. "One of the constraints facing the government is to keep its commitments on the budget and in particular on the three percent. This is something that we welcome in part because of the consequences for the rest of Europe," Coeure said. Speaking at an economics conference in southern France, Coeure said that France''s respect for the rules would help discussions the government hopes to launch soon about common budget measures in the euro zone. "You can''t tell others what to do if you don''t respect the rules yourself," Coeure said. Speaking at the same conference, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said that the government could cut spending and taxes at the same time. "It''s because the ECB''s monetary policy is accommodative that we must without delay launch the transformation of our economy," Le Maire said. (Reporting by Leigh Thomas and Michel Rose; Addditional reporting by Maya Nikolaeva in Paris)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-france-economy-ecb-coeure-idUKKBN19U0F6'|'2017-07-09T14:19:00.000+03:00' +'523ba8eeb47c1acff43be77d3dd370463be814a6'|'UPDATE 1-Corvex urges Clariant shareholders to reject Huntsman merger'|'Market News - Tue Jul 4, 2017 - 3:28am EDT UPDATE 2-Corvex, NYC property group seek to scuttle Clariant-Huntsman deal * Corvex''s Meister, NYC property group oppose merger * Clariant says in contact with Corvex (Adds analyst comment, recasts lead) By John Miller ZURICH, July 4 Activist investor Keith Meister''s Corvex hedge fund and New York''s 40 North said on Tuesday they had taken a 7.2 percent stake in Clariant and oppose the Swiss chemical maker''s planned merge with Huntsman Corp. "There are excellent opportunities to unlock value from the many high quality businesses that currently comprise Clariant," a spokesman for White Tale, the vehicle they created to take the stake, said. "Unfortunately, we do not believe that the proposed merger with the Huntsman Corporation is one of those options." Meister, a Carl Icahn protege, with Corvex manages assets worth $6 billion and took a 5.5 percent stake in communications company Century Inc earlier this year. 40 North, run by New York real estate investor David Winter and former Bear, Stearns & Company financial analyst David Millstone, previously held a stake in Clariant before linking with Corvex in their bid to overturn the Huntsman deal. Clariant, which on Tuesday noted the increased investment by Corvex without addressing Corvex''s opposition to the merger, said it has been in contact with the hedge fund since last year when it initially took a stake. "As with all our shareholders we maintain an open dialogue with them," a Clariant spokesman said. Huntsman did not return a phone call seeking immediate comment. Clariant and Huntsman in May announced a merger valued at around $20 billion including debt in which Clariant shareholders would hold 52 percent of the combination. At the time, they talked up the friendship between chief executives Hariolf Kottmann and Peter Huntsman as well as prospects for faster growth for the combined company as rationale for "a merger of equals". The deal, creating a company with about $13 billion in annual sales, had the support of German families that own almost 14 percent of the Swiss group. CONGLOMERATE DISCOUNT Some analysts said the transaction makes sense, in particular after Huntsman spins off its Venator materials segment in an IPO. "Huntsmans portfolio, after the pending Venator spin-off, offers a highly complementary growth portfolio, in our view - complementary in a way that it puts both companies on a sounder, broader footing," Kepler Cheuvreux''s Christian Faitz said. Still, Corvex and 40 North contend the transaction lacks strategic rationale and runs against Clariant''s strategy of becoming a pure-play specialty chemicals company. "By merging with Huntsman, Clariant will be exchanging almost half its shares for what is primarily a commodity and intermediates business which will further dilute its multiple and create a larger conglomerate discount," the White Tale spokesman said. "Shareholders ought to reject this value destructive merger," they said. No date has yet been set for shareholders to vote on the merger, a spokesman for Clariant said. Clariant shares were up 3 percent and Huntsman was up 1.6 percent on Tuesday following news of the stake purchase. Clariant shares have risen nearly 6 percent since the merger was announced. Huntsman stock have fallen 1.25 percent. (Reporting by John Miller; editing by John Revill and Jason Neely) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/clariant-corvex-idUSL8N1JV0E4'|'2017-07-04T09:03:00.000+03:00' +'06a57088c8753ffa3e91903b85e31443d0e39dcd'|'Export boom? Euro zone shows Britain how it''s done'|'Top News - Tue Jul 4, 2017 - 4:05am BST Export boom? Euro zone shows Britain how it''s done Port workers inspect containers before they are unloaded as the largest container ship in world, CSCL Globe, docks during its maiden voyage, at the port of Felixstowe in south east England, January 7, 2015. REUTERS/Toby Melville By Andy Bruce - LONDON LONDON Feted by some British newspapers as proof of a Brexit vote windfall, Britain''s recent export recovery ranks as the worst among Europe''s major economies, according to one closely-watched measure. Surveys of manufacturers across Europe published by data firm IHS Markit on Monday underlined Britain''s challenge as it tries to become an export-led dynamo outside the European Union. The export orders gauge of the UK Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers'' Index slid to a five-month low in June. While still indicating growth in exports, it left Britain as the weakest performer in terms of foreign orders, barring Greece, among big western European economies for a fourth month running. That''s a poor return for the pound''s 12 percent fall against a range of currencies since the Brexit vote a year ago. It also casts doubt over the belief among some Bank of England officials that strong exports will help make up for a slowdown in consumer spending, suggesting the British economy could cope with a first interest rate hike in a decade. "Sterling''s depreciation has been the least successful in Britain''s post-war history," said Samuel Tombs, economist at consultancy Pantheon Macroeconomics consultancy. Since sterling began to fall at the end of 2015, net trade has dragged on the economy, unlike after earlier sharp falls in the exchange rate in 1967, 1975, 1992 and 2007/08, Tombs said. Some indicators have suggested exporters are doing well. The Confederation of British Industry''s gauge of manufacturing exports, which is based on a different methodology to the PMIs, hit a 22-year high in June. But the official data is more muted: goods trade export volumes rose at an annual rate of 5.3 percent in the three months to April, the best showing since January 2016 but still below rates seen through most of 2015. As well as putting Britain''s export recovery into context, the latest figures suggest Britain''s plan to become an export-led "champion of free trade" - as trade minister Liam Fox put it - is not entirely in its own hands. Its success will hinge just as much on how well its competitors fare in winning business in the same markets and, on that score, the euro zone is showing its muscle. "I think that is a reflection of the euro area, in terms of them winning global trade gains due to the weak euro," Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit, said. The euro is 17 percent weaker against the U.S. dollar than at the end of 2014, despite a recent rally. Part of the underperformance of British exporters in relation to the euro zone may reflect the fact that they have hiked selling prices faster, to help recoup rising energy and imported material costs exacerbated by the weak pound. While the euro zone''s export price index rose 2.7 percent between the third quarter of last year and the first quarter of 2017, Britain''s increased more than 8 percent. Increased volatility in sterling, which historically has been more stable than the euro against the dollar, might also be weighing on potential buyers of British goods. "It''s not so much that the UK is doing badly, it''s just that the euro zone is doing very well at the same time," said Williamson. (Graphic by Michael Ovaska; Editing by Richard Balmforth) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-exports-idUKKBN19O1PT'|'2017-07-04T06:05:00.000+03:00' +'ccb392b503e774441979fdac54f3b918c798ef7a'|'Strong earnings buoy Nikkei but gains capped ahead of Fed decision'|'* Caterpillar''s robust results lift Komatsu, Hitachi Construction* Shin-Etsu''s strong forecast attracts buyers, then profit-takers* Jasdaq rises for 6th day* Investors await Fed decision later in the global sessionBy Ayai TomisawaTOKYO, July 26 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks rose on Wednesday, snapping a three-day losing streak, as solid gains on Wall Street boosted sentiment and Caterpillar''s strong earnings whetted investors'' appetite for companies such as Komatsu and Hitachi Construction.While overall sentiment improved, investors took profits later in some of the stocks which had risen in early trade, as they remained cautious ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve monetary policy decision later in the day.The Nikkei share average ended 0.5 percent higher at 20,050.16, rising for the first time in four days.The Nikkei Jasdaq rose 0.2 percent, climbing for a sixth day, as retail investors continued to buy shares in small to mid-sized companies.Japanese construction equipment makers attracted buying, with Komatsu Ltd surging 2.7 percent and Hitachi Construction Machinery Co soaring 2.9 percent after Caterpillar Inc, the world''s largest construction and mining equipment maker, beat expectations and raised its full-year forecast for the second time, citing global strength and particularly a rebound in China.Japan Inc has kicked off April-June earnings season, and investors have taken heart from brisk results from frontrunners such as Yaskawa Electric Corp, which gave the market an upbeat surprise last week.On Wednesday, the world''s largest silicon wafer maker Shin-Etsu Chemical soared as much as 3.4 percent to a record high, after it said it expects a 12.3 percent rise in its full-year operating profit for the fiscal year through March.But investors wasted no time in taking profits on the stock, sending its shares down 1.7 percent."We''re still in the second quarter, and the company already shows that it''s on track to achieve its full-year goal and that is raising expectations for certain sectors as well as the overall mood," said Takuya Takahashi, an equity strategist at Daiwa Securities.With the market focused on the Fed decision, gains were capped in the afternoon.The Fed is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged at its two-day meeting. Investors will be watching for any clues on whether it may raise rates again this year, and when it will begin paring its massive bond portfolio, which could impact the dollar/yen and exporters'' profits.The broader Topix gained 0.2 percent to 1,620.88. (Reporting by Ayai Tomisawa; Editing by Kim Coghill) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-close-idUSL3N1KH2IE'|'2017-07-26T09:34:00.000+03:00' +'e125ec7137097b3a472d7244202bd57fc177cc93'|'Lockheed Martin given $3.7 billion interim payment for 50 F-35s: Pentagon'|'July 28, 2017 / 9:31 PM / 17 hours ago Lockheed Martin given $3.7 billion interim payment for 50 F-35s: Pentagon Mike Stone and Eric Beech 2 Min Read File photo: A U.S. Marine Corps Lockheed Martin F-35B fighter jet taxis after landing at the Royal International Air Tattoo at Fairford, Britain July 8, 2016. Peter Nicholls WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Corp ( LMT.N ) was awarded a $3.7 billion interim payment for fifty F-35 jet fighters that are earmarked for non-U.S. customers, the Pentagon said on Friday. Lockheed and its partners have been producing the jets under a placeholder agreement known as an "undefinitized contract action." The agreement announced on Friday allows Lockheed to continue production of the F-35 jets while it finalizes the terms of the 11th contract with the Pentagon. The contract provides funds for the procurement of 50 aircraft, comprised of one F-35B aircraft for Great Britain, one F-35A for Italy, eight F-35A aircraft for Australia, eight F-35A for the Netherlands, four F-35A for Turkey, six F-35A for Norway, and 22 F-35A aircraft for other foreign military sales customers, the Pentagon said in a statement. The F-35 comes in three configurations: the A-model for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. allies; the B-model, which can handle short take-offs and vertical landings for the Marine Corps and British navy; and the carrier-variant F-35C jets. Lockheed was awarded an interim payment on 7 July of $5.6 billion to help finance construction of the 11th batch of 141 F-35 jets for the U.S. military. The F-35 Program office said the Department of Defense would continue to negotiate the 11th low rate initial production contract with Lockheed Martin and expected an agreement by the end of 2017. The F-35 joint program office said it was confident the final negotiated Lot 11 aircraft unit prices will be less than Lot 10. In February, the Pentagon agreed to a deal for the tenth batch of the fighter aircraft and agreed to pay below $95 million per F-35A model jet for the first time, compared with $102 million in the previous purchase, which was the lowest price up until that point. The Pentagon expects to buy 2,457 jets. Reporting by Mkie Stone and Eric Beech in Washington, D.C.; Editing by David Gregorio, Toni Reinhold 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-lockheed-pentagon-idUSKBN1AD2O3'|'2017-07-29T00:29:00.000+03:00' +'34f91e83f054c575d7186d76b92dea42b80d7192'|'PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - July 17'|'July 17, 2017 / 5:02 AM / 16 minutes ago PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - July 17 2 Min Read July 17 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. - China''s economy had expanded 6.9 percent in the second quarter, unchanged from the year-on-year growth rate in the first quarter. nyti.ms/2twiNFM - Barclays chief executive John Varley and three other former top managers are expected back in court on Monday to answer charges that they, along with the bank, misrepresented arrangements with the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar when the bank raised money to weather the financial crisis in 2008. nyti.ms/2tvMFCb - Securities and Exchange Commission upheld dismissal of an administrative case against a former Wells Fargo trader after two commissioners split on whether the evidence proved he had engaged in insider trading. nyti.ms/2twfYEF - John Cornyn of Texas, a top Senate Republican, vowed to bring the party''s health care bill to a vote as soon as possible. Detractors said they would use a delay caused by the absence of Senator John McCain to mobilize further opposition to the measure. nyti.ms/2tvGIFB Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/press-digest-nyt-idUSL3N1K8232'|'2017-07-17T08:01:00.000+03:00' +'239570b3d280075b7165ba9cc881a4ffc92be916'|'UPDATE 1-Safran cites LEAP-1A quality problem, delivery goals intact'|'July 28, 2017 / 6:28 AM / 11 hours ago UPDATE 1-Safran cites LEAP-1A quality problem, delivery goals intact 2 Min Read (Adds quotes) PARIS, July 28 (Reuters) - Safran has witnessed a "minor" quality problem with a part for its LEAP-1A engine for Airbus jets, but its 2017 delivery goals are unaffected, Chief Executive Philippe Petitcolin said on Friday. The problem relates to a turbine disc and does not involve concerns about the part''s design, he told reporters when discussing half-year earnings. Safran developed the engine with General Electric through their CFM International joint-venture, alongside similar models for Boeing and China''s Comac. Boeing reported a quality problem with a batch of engines earlier this year. The production ramp-up for LEAP engines is going smoothly, though the pace of deliveries can vary week by week, Petitcolin said. "At CFM we had a potential industrial risk linked to the quality of a high-pressure turbine disc. We are working on it...but it is not at all linked to the engine design," he said. "It is a quality problem that can happen during manufacturing. The situation is under control and if there were an impact, it would be very minor for Airbus and doesn''t change our annual delivery target at all," he added. Airbus said on Thursday that its own delivery targets were subject to the performance of engine makers, and put most of the emphasis on delays at CFM rival Pratt & Whitney. Petitcolin also said Safran planned formally to launch an agreed bid for Zodiac Aerospace by the end of the year after winning support from its own shareholders for a reduced offer, following industrial problems at the seats and equipment maker. (Reporting by Tim Hepher, Cyril Altmeyer; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta) 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/safran-results-ceo-idUSL5N1KJ1H7'|'2017-07-28T09:26:00.000+03:00' +'153238d5311fac38efa47ba1b9533d82ac398191'|'Strongest week since May for European shares as Fed tone spurs relief'|'July 14, 2017 / 4:02 PM / 17 minutes ago Strongest week since May for European shares as Fed tone spurs relief 4 Min Read * STOXX 600 up 0.1 pct * Steelmakers boost basic resources * Construction stocks drop, banks wilt * Nordic stocks in focus as Gjensidige, Skanska fall * SEB leads banks after Q2 beat (ADVISORY- Follow European and UK stock markets in real time on the Reuters Live Markets blog on Eikon - see cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets) By Kit Rees and Helen Reid LONDON, July 14 (Reuters) - European shares had their strongest week in more than two months as investors piled back into equities on signs that the world''s major central banks would likely not tighten monetary policy as quickly as some had feared. The move on indexes on Friday was more muted as investors digested disappointing earnings reports from major U.S. banks including JPMorgan and Citigroup, which sent banking stocks lower. The pan-European STOXX 600 index inched up 0.1 percent while euro zone bluechips fell 0.2 percent. "In Europe, we''re still not dealing with any higher interest rates, which should be benefiting the U.S. (banks) slightly in terms of net interest margin," Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, said. "That said we''ve still got the supportive QE helping, but yields are still low, which is not great for the banks." Flows data showed investors rushed back into equities this week as the Fed''s tone rekindled their enthusiasm for riskier assets. Firmer metals prices underpinned gains on mining stocks on Friday. Miners were led to a three-month high by steel firms Outokumpu, ArcelorMittal, and Tenaris which rose after U.S. President Donald Trump said that he was considering quotas and tariffs on Chinese steel dumping. Analysts at Barclays said they remained positive on the European mining sector, which has gained just 4 percent so far this year after rallying more than 60 percent in 2016. "Chinese rates are falling, demand indicators across the economy appear healthy, industry capex discipline is holding, M&A is generally off the agenda, and resulting strong cashflows are being utilised for balance sheet reconstruction and distributions to shareholders," Barclays analysts said in a note. While a rise in bond yields has hit rate-sensitive sectors such as utilities, banking stocks have benefited. On Friday, however, the sector was under pressure as earnings from major U.S. banks disappointed, and CPI data indicated inflation in the U.S. was slowing, potentially putting a dampener on the Fed''s monetary policy tightening plans. Banks gain when interest rates rise, widening their margins. Euro zone banks fell 0.7 percent, leaving them unchanged on the week after a strong performance last week. Swedish lender SEB jumped 1.3 percent after its second-quarter profit topped forecasts. Other Nordic stocks were also in focus as Norwegian insurer Gjensidige slumped 6.5 percent to the bottom of the STOXX 600 after its second quarter results came in below forecasts. It was joined by Swedish construction group Skanksa , which dropped nearly 5 percent after it warned that its second-quarter profit would be hit by project writedowns in the U.S. and Britain. European earnings get underway in earnest later this month. Overall, analysts are calling for about 9 percent year-on-year earnings growth for top European firms, compared to about 8 percent for the U.S., according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Reporting by Kit Rees, Editing by Vikram Subhedar/Toby Chopra/Ken Ferris 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/europe-stocks-idUSL8N1K53M0'|'2017-07-14T19:02:00.000+03:00' +'300b5deb1fe3483a321c33e348fed7d95674846a'|'ESM urges Greece to ready market borrowing strategy'|'Top 15pm BST ESM urges Greece to ready market borrowing strategy FILE PHOTO: Greek flags are displayed for sale for one Euro at a shop in Athens, Greece, July 26, 2015. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou/File Photo BRUSSELS Greece should develop a strategy for its return to market borrowing and raise private finance before its euro zone bailout programme ends in a year''s time, the head of the European Stability Mechanism said on Monday. Klaus Regling told reporters "Greece will not need that much borrowing from the markets in the future" once bailout funding via the ESM ends in August 2018. It would be required only to replace maturing debt, given Athens'' predicted fiscal surpluses. However, the chief executive of the euro zone bailout fund noted that other countries -- Ireland, Portugal and Cyprus -- had returned to borrowing in markets "well before" the end of their programmes, in order to avoid a possible gap in funding. Noting that Greece had, with the exception of two bonds in 2014, been absent from the markets since the onset of the euro zone debt crisis in 2009, Regling said: "Therefore it''s important for Greece to develop a strategy to go back." It was important for Greece to develop its strategy, including communicating with investors and reassuring them of its commitments to the reforms which euro zone sovereign creditors have demanded, said Regling, who added that he had discussed the issue with Greek officials in the past two weeks. He was speaking after a monthly Eurogroup meeting with euro zone finance ministers at which Greece had not been on the agenda -- an unusual occurrence in recent years, that was due to the approval last month of the latest instalment of the bailout. Regling said the funds had reached Athens on Monday. (Reporting by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Francesco Guarascio; editing by Ralph Boulton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-greece-regling-idUKKBN19V2GT'|'2017-07-10T22:06:00.000+03:00' +'b5da94b8d8ebe9ab7681f16fe0cfd130b924dfb7'|'After China spending spree, rainmaker Hu says time to look closer to home'|'Business News - Wed Jul 5, 2017 - 1:06am BST After China spending spree, rainmaker Hu says time to look closer to home Fred Hu, Chairman of Primavera Capital Group, poses for a photo ahead of a Reuters interview in Beijing, China, January 10, 2017. Picture taken on January 10, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee By Matthew Miller - BEIJING BEIJING Primavera Capital Group, one of China''s largest private-equity firms, is paying closer attention to domestic opportunities in sectors such as health and technology in the face of stricter capital controls at home and rising protectionism overseas. This year alone, Primavera joined a $1.1 billion (850.6 million) fundraising round for Koubei, the Alibaba Group Holding Ltd ( BABA.N ) online-to-offline commercial services platform. Also, it has taken a stake in Zhejiang Dasouche Finance Leasing Company, the largest service provider for second-hand automobile merchants in China. "We are doing more investments with entrepreneurs, taking equity stakes in growth companies," said Primavera''s co-founder and chairman, Fred Hu, a former head of China at Goldman Sachs Group. As a Goldman banker, Hu helped restructure China''s biggest financial services companies, including Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd ( 601398.SS ) and Ping An Insurance Group Co ( 601318.SS ). He set up Primavera in 2010 and now helps manage $8 billion in funds. He has been carving out a niche for the group as the go-to firm for domestic entrepreneurs, state enterprises and even foreign investors looking for strategic help. In September, Yum Brands Inc ( YUM.N ) selected Primavera and Ant Financial Services Group, Alibaba''s payments services arm, to take a 4 percent pre-IPO stake in its spin-off, Yum China Holdings ( YUMC.N ). Hu was named board chairman of Yum China, which operates more than 7,600 KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants in the mainland. Investing with China''s over-cashed private equity and venture capital world is a challenge, especially at a time when a regulatory clampdown in China and rising protectionist rhetoric globally mean most firms are scouting for domestic opportunities rather than overseas ones. "There''s a lot of capital sloshing around," said Hu. "Managers are aggressively chasing certain deals and valuations have been driven too high." PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates fundraising increased 48 percent last year to $72.5 billion. "It''s inevitable that mistakes will be made," Hu said. FRONT-SEAT VIEW Hu set up Primavera with former Goldman Sachs managing directors Haitao Zhai, Kenneth Wong and William Wong. Its limited partners include institutional investors such as Second Swedish National Pension Fund, Pennsylvania State Employees'' Retirement System, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd ( 2330.TW ) ( TSM.N ), Finland''s Varma Mutual Pension Insurance, Metlife Inc ( MET.N ), State Street Corp ( STT.N ), AIA Group ( 1299.HK ) and Bank of China Ltd ( 601988.SS ). The firm''s top deals include being an anchor pre-IPO investor in Alibaba, and taking stakes in its sister companies, including Alipay and Cainiao, an Alibaba-backed logistics company. Hu grew up in rural Hunan and in 1978 participated in China''s first university entrance examinations after the Cultural Revolution. He was admitted to the prestigious Tsinghua University and later earned a doctorate at Harvard University. "It was a one-in-a-million chance," said Hu, who was only 15 years old at the time. Hu''s 14-year career at Goldman Sachs - first as a regional economist, and later as a top deals'' adviser and regional chairman gave him a front-row seat in the most momentous period in China''s economic reform. He was a principle banker in the listings of Ping An, ZTE Corp and Bank of China. The restructuring of ICBC was a single defining experience, he said. "It is the biggest bank of China, the stakes were so much higher and the obstacles were much greater," said Hu, who pushed Goldman Sachs to invest in ICBC, rather than act as an advisor. At a time when many investors were sceptical, Hu was willing to push forward, ICBC''s former chairman Jiang Jianqing told Reuters. "I met with more than 40 well-known domestic and foreign bankers and executives to talk about investing in ICBC, but their response was generally cold," Jiang told Reuters. Hu maintains that China still "punches below its weight" - even after an unprecedented corporate buying spree - and over time it will be a big capital exporter to the world. "There''s still interest and appetite for Chinese companies to do deals in global markets," Hu said. "But in the near term, capital controls and uncertainty about protectionism are significant hurdles to overcome." (Reporting by Matthew Miller; Additional reporting by Shu Zhang in BEIJING; Editing by Clara Ferreira-Marques and Neil Fullick)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-primavera-idUKKBN19Q003'|'2017-07-05T03:06:00.000+03:00' +'80ee2f9bb5eafb8596ae67b8715f6e1c8c01cb5e'|'UPDATE 1-Canadian oil producer Encana posts quarterly profit'|'July 21, 2017 / 10:35 AM / 5 minutes ago UPDATE 1-Canadian oil producer Encana posts quarterly profit 2 Min Read (Adds details, background) July 21 (Reuters) - Canadian oil and gas producer Encana Corp on Friday posted a quarterly profit compared with a loss a year earlier, when it took impairment and hedging charges of about $641 million. Encana has benefited from downsizing its operations to focus on four core North American assets: the Montney and Duvernay in western Canada, and the Eagle Ford and Permian in the United States. Oil prices began to rise late last year after a two-year slump, now hovering around $50 per barrel, as an OPEC-led production cut and rebounding demand slowly erode a global glut. The Calgary-based company posted net earnings of $331 million, or 34 cents per share, in the second quarter ended June 30, compared with a loss of $601 million, or 71 cents per share, a year earlier. Operating earnings, which exclude most one-time items, doubled to $180 million in the quarter. However, total oil and gas production fell to 316,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) from 368,300 boe/d a year earlier. (Reporting by Anirban Paul in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D''Couto) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/encana-results-idUSL3N1KC3H1'|'2017-07-21T13:33:00.000+03:00' +'baa166b21738da55ff1c0fbd4b98b6bd49183b33'|'Asian stocks start new month on firm footing, bonds under pressure'|'Business News - Mon Jul 3, 2017 - 3:56am BST Asian stocks start new month on firm footing, bonds under pressure FILE PHOTO: Employees of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) work at the bourse in Tokyo, Japan, February 9, 2016. REUTERS/Issei Kato By Hideyuki Sano - TOKYO TOKYO Asian stocks held two-years highs on Monday, starting the new month on a solid footing after two quarters of gains while expectations of credit tightening by the world''s major central banks kept global bond markets under pressure. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat, staying within a stone''s throw of its two-year peak hit last week. Japan''s Nikkei ticked up 0.2 percent while U.S. stock futures gained 0.2 percent. "Global share markets have so far withstood rises in long-term bond yields," said Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management. Signs of stabilizing in China''s economy and a recovery in the European economy helped to boost global share prices in the first half of this year. A private sector survey on China''s manufacturing showed a surprise recovery in activity, adding to the evidence of steadying growth in the world''s second largest economy. The Bank of Japan''s tankan corporate survey showed Japanese business sentiment improved slightly more than expected. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 scored its biggest gain for the first half of the year since 2013 while the Nasdaq Composite''s first-half gain was its best in eight years. European shares had less luck after the European Central Bank and the Bank of England last week signaled their readiness to tighten their monetary policies, with pan-European Euro first 300 stock index hitting 10-week lows on Friday. Global bond yields have risen sharply following hawkish comments from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi last Tuesday, with German bond yields posting their biggest weekly jump since December 2015 last week. That helped to lift U.S. bond yields from lows, with the 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield hitting a 1-1/2-month high of 2.320 percent on Monday. The rise came even as data showed U.S. inflation cooled in May. The annual rise in core consumer prices excluding food and energy slowed to 1.4 percent, its lowest since December 2015. "In coming weeks, whether we can see a recovery in the U.S. momentum will be a key issue," said Hirokazu Kabeya, chief global strategist at Daiwa Securities. In the currency market, the euro traded at $1.1417, not far from last week''s high of $1.1445, which was its highest level in more than a year as the common currency drew support from expectations that the ECB will likely scale back its stimulus. Jens Weidmann, head of Germany''s Bundesbank and a member of the ECB''s rate-setting body, said on Saturday that the ECB is working on moving away from its ultra-easy monetary policy. The dollar traded at 112.35 yen, off Thursday''s six-week high of 112.93. The yen briefly gained on worries Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe''s reflationary policies may be at risk after his Liberal Democratic Party suffered an historic defeat in a local election in Tokyo on Sunday, though the impact did not last long. Oil prices held firm after having gained for seven consecutive sessions by Friday, after data on that day showed U.S. oil rig count fell last week for the first time since early January. Brent crude futures rose 0.3 percent to $48.90 per barrel while U.S. crude futures gained 0.5 percent to $46.26 per barrel. In the Middle East, Qatari shares slumped to 1 1/2-year lows on Sunday as a deadline for Doha to accept a series of political demands by four Arab states were expected to expire late in the day with no sign of the crisis ending. Saudi Arabia and three allies accusing Qatar of supporting terrorism have later agreed to a request by Kuwait to extend by 48 hours Sunday''s deadline for Doha to comply, according to a joint statement on Saudi state news agency SPA. (Editing by Sam Holmes & Shri Navaratnam) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUKKBN19O037'|'2017-07-03T04:03:00.000+03:00' +'e33aa9d46d233c30fd47c2b47811153454dbd259'|'Pensions body says backs competition review of investment consultants'|'July 26, 2017 / 9:11 AM / 42 minutes ago Pensions body says backs competition review of investment consultants LONDON (Reuters) - Britain''s Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association said on Wednesday it would support an investigation into the investment consultancy industry by the Competition and Markets Authority. Britain''s markets watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority, said in November it was considering referring the industry to the CMA amid concerns over conflicts of interest and value for money. While the three biggest consultants suggested changes to the way they work in an effort to prevent that happening, the FCA last month said it was inclined to reject them and would consult further before making a decision in September. Caroline Escott, who leads on investment policy at the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, said while consultants could add value for institutional investors, the changes proposed did not go far enough. "A Competition and Markets Authority investigation could probe competition issues in greater depth and recommend far-reaching solutions," she said in a statement. "We would therefore support a referral to the CMA and hope such a step would ensure a market which works in the best interests of pension schemes and their members." Reporting by Simon Jessop. Editing by Andrew MacAskill 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-pensions-consultants-idUKKBN1AB13G'|'2017-07-26T12:11:00.000+03:00' +'cfd17218f9c2c1f5232078c6baec20c7b068c50d'|'BMW looking to cut 1 billion euros in indirect costs'|'Autos 02pm BST BMW looking to cut 1 billion euros in indirect costs A BMW logo is seen at a car dealership in Vienna, Austria, May 30, 2017. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader BERLIN German carmaker BMW ( BMWG.DE ) wants to cut 1 billion euros (1 billion pounds) in indirect procurement costs by 2019, BMW head of production Markus Duesmann told the Handelsblatt daily. A BMW spokesman confirmed the figure. BMW''s indirect procurement costs amount to about 20 billion euros a year, but BMW needs to make savings so the company can invest more in developing electric and self-driving cars. Duesmann also said BMW is seeking damages from automotive parts supplier Bosch [ROBG.UL] after a shortage of steering components slowed production worth a "mid two-digit million euro sum", affecting delivery of around 8,000 cars. ($1 = 0.8757 euros)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bmw-costs-idUKKBN19R2ZR'|'2017-07-07T00:02:00.000+03:00' +'6af1c16bb5c8ed6566a23459be96ed42a7d74fb4'|'Western Digital says it matched rivals'' bids for Toshiba chip unit'|'July 11, 2017 / 12:28 AM / in 7 hours Western Digital says it matched rivals'' bids for Toshiba chip unit Stephen Nellis 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Western Digital office building under construction is shown in Irvine, California, U.S., January 24, 2017. Mike Blake/File Photo (Reuters) - Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ) said it matched rival bidders'' offers to acquire Japanese conglomerate Toshiba Corp''s ( 6502.T ) flash memory unit ahead of a court hearing on Friday over whether to halt the auction process. Western Digital, in court documents filed July 7, said it has made six proposals since February, including a proposal on June 27 matching the best offer. On June 21, Toshiba said its preferred bidder was a consortium of Bain Capital and Japanese government investors offering $18 billion. Since February, Toshiba has been scrambling to sell its memory chip business, the second largest in the industry after Samsung Electronics Co Ltd ( 005930.KS ), to cover losses from its ailing nuclear reactor division. But suitor Western Digital sued Toshiba in San Francisco County Superior Court for an injunction to stop the sale, arguing that a joint-venture it has with Toshiba at a plant in Japan means the chipmaker cannot sell without its consent. In a filing on July 7, Mark Long, the chief financial officer of Western Digital, said the company''s most recent offer on June 27, made with private equity firm KKR, "is in line with the highest competing bids for (Toshiba''s chip unit) that have been reported in the press." The actual dollar figure of Western Digital''s offer is redacted from the document. Western Digital declined to comment. Toshiba did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Toshiba has asked the court in San Francisco to dismiss Western Digital''s attempt to stop the sale, arguing that the U.S. court does not have proper jurisdiction over a business that is based primarily in Japan and that an injunction would cause it irreparable harm. A hearing is scheduled for Friday. Aaron Rakers, a managing director with Stifel, said in a note to clients on Sunday that the new filings suggest the two parties could reach a deal before the court hearing. "Given that some negotiations between (Western Digital) and Toshiba on proposed acquisition terms started over the past month, we think a resolution could be possible prior to the (July 14) hearing," Rakers wrote. Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Lisa Shumaker 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-western-digital-toshiba-idINKBN19W01B'|'2017-07-11T03:23:00.000+03:00' +'43558a0296873a12baf5be4179f55280965de7b5'|'Oil jumps nearly 1.5 percent; big U.S. inventory draws surprise'|'July 19, 2017 / 1:37 AM / 5 minutes ago Oil jumps nearly 1.5 percent; big U.S. inventory draws surprise Scott DiSavino 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An oil pump is seen operating in the Permian Basin near Midland, Texas, U.S. on May 3, 2017. Ernest Scheyder/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices jumped almost 1.5 percent on Wednesday, extending gains after a U.S. government report showed a bigger weekly draw than forecast in crude and gasoline stocks along with a surprise drop in distillate inventories. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) said U.S. crude stocks fell 4.7 million barrels during the week ended July 14. ENERGYUSA, exceeding estimates for a 3.2 million draw in crude stocks in a Reuters poll. A day earlier, preliminary data from the American Petroleum Institute showed a 1.6 million barrel increase. Brent LCOc1 futures for September delivery were up 69 cents, or 1.4 percent, at $49.53 a barrel by 11:09 a.m. EDT (1509 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 for August rose 64 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $47.04 on its second to last day as the U.S. front month. Before the EIA report, U.S. and Brent futures were up about 0.6 percent, supported by strong demand for gasoline. "The report was more good news for the oil industry as inventories declined across the board for crude and products by over 10 million barrels," Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston said. "Gasoline inventories are now nearly 5 percent lower than this time last year. That is a reflection of good consumer demand," Lipow said. EIA said distillate stocks decreased 2.1 million barrels and gasoline stocks declined 4.4 million barrels. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a 1.2 million barrel build in distillates and a 0.7 million barrel draw in gasoline. U.S. gasoline RBc1 and distillates futures were both up almost 2 percent after the data, boosting the products crack spread CL321-1=R, a measure of refinery margins, to its highest since November 2016. Additional reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar in London and Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Dale Hudson and David Gregorio 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUKKBN1A4042'|'2017-07-19T18:27:00.000+03:00' +'6617772f57e379c6680d7782c72b023789ac8543'|'UPDATE 2-Celgene beats profit estimates, raises 2017 forecast'|'Edition United States July 27, 2017 / 11:46 AM / 3 hours ago Revlimid drives Celgene profit beat; raises EPS forecast Bill Berkrot 3 Min Read (Reuters) - Celgene Corp rode its flagship multiple myeloma drug Revlimid and a rebound in sales of Otezla for psoriasis to a modestly higher-than-expected second-quarter profit and raised its full-year earnings forecast on Thursday. But the solid results failed to impress investors and Celgene shares, which are up about 17 percent for the year, slipped 1 percent to $136.40 after touching a two-year high of $139. Analysts said the results may have come up short of investors'' lofty expectations for Celgene. Revlimid sales rose 19.6 percent to $2.03 billion on increases in duration of use and new reimbursement agreements in Europe. Celgene said duration of Revlimid use was now well beyond 20 months in the United States and expects duration in Europe to become similar. It added that it has not yet seen the full sales impact of longer Revlimid use by patients. "Revlimid looks to have a bright future, including much remaining patent exclusivity and the opportunity to grow penetration in U.S. and ex-U.S. markets based upon recent label expansions," Cowen and Co analyst Eric Schmidt said. Sales of Otezla, which had investors nervous after a surprisingly weak first quarter, bounced back, rising 48.5 percent to $358 million, exceeding Wall Street estimates of $345 million. However Celgene head of inflammation and immunology, Terrie Curran, cautioned that full-year Otezla sales would likely come in at the low end of its $1.5 billion to $1.7 billion forecast. Celgene provided updates on its large portfolio of pipeline opportunities it believes can drive growth through 2030. The company expects U.S. approval of the leukemia drug Idhifa, developed with Agios Pharmaceuticals, by late August, and plans to file for approval of ozanimod for multiple sclerosis by year end. Celgene forecast eventual ozanimod annual sales for MS and ulcerative colitis to climb as high as $6 billion. It is also developing a wide variety of treatments for blood cancers and solid tumor cancers. Excluding items, Celgene earned $1.82 per share in the quarter, beating average analysts'' expectations by 4 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Celgene raised its 2017 adjusted earnings forecast and now expects $7.25 to $7.35 per share, up from its prior view of $7.15 to $7.30 per share. Analysts were estimating $7.28 per share. Revenue rose 18.7 percent to $3.27 billion, above average analysts estimate of $3.23 billion The company said volume was the prime driver of product sales growth with a modest contribution from price increases. Reporting by Bill Berkrot in New York and Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and James Dalgleish 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-celgene-results-idUSKBN1AC1RB'|'2017-07-27T16:41:00.000+03:00' +'b6045983d72be286653af775b0a5cf95f7204615'|'Exclusive: Spirit Realty explores Shopko stores spin-off - sources'|'(Reuters) - Spirit Realty Capital Inc ( SRC.N ), a U.S. real estate investment trust (REIT), is considering spinning off some of its real estate, including its Shopko store properties, as part of its strategic review, according to people familiar with the matter.The deliberations highlight how landlords are adapting to a wave of bankruptcies and store closings in the retail sector, as online shopping disrupts long-established brick-and-mortar shops and weighs on retailers'' ability to pay rent.Spirit is considering placing some of its retail properties, including those they lease to Shopko, into a new REIT that would then be spun off, potentially at a valuation of more than $1 billion, the sources said on Thursday.Spirit would manage the new REIT to help hold down administrative costs, the people added.The discussions are still in early stages, and Spirit may decide against pursuing the spin, the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private.Spirit and Shopko did not respond to requests for comment.Earlier this year, Spirit said it was reviewing strategic alternatives after reporting disappointing earnings, largely the result of its retail tenants failing to pay rents. Shopko is Spirit''s largest tenant as a percentage of rental revenue, according to Spirit''s financial statements."The dramatic and swift moving changes to the retail landscape in reaction to changing consumer behavior has been well documented," said Thomas Nolan, who stepped down as Spirit chief executive in May."I will say the impacts are profound, and they do impact Spirit Realty."Jackson Hsieh, Spirit''s former president and chief operating officer, replaced Nolan. Hsieh remains president.Retail bankruptcies have shaken landlords, who face a growing number of empty storefronts and declining rents in their malls and strip centers. Payless ShoeSource, children''s clothier Gymboree and teen retailers Wet Seal and American Apparel are among the chains that have shuttered hundreds of stores as part of their bankruptcies.Shopko operates over 380 stores in 26 states throughout the Central, Western and Pacific Northwest regions. It is owned by private equity firm Sun Capital Partners Inc.REITs frequently spin off properties to streamline their portfolios and increase their appeal to investors, who often prefer a REIT to focus on a single type of real estate.Earlier this week, office and retail REIT Vornado Realty Trust ( VNO.N ) completed a spin-off of its Washington D.C.-based real estate into a separately traded REIT called JBG Smith Properties ( JBGS.N ).Last year, healthcare REIT HCP Inc ( HCP.N ) completed a spin off of its skilled nursing and assisted living properties into a separate REIT, Quality Care Properties Inc ( QCP.N ).Reporting by Carl O''Donnell and Jessica DiNapoli in New York '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-spirit-realty-spinoff-idUSKBN1A52RT'|'2017-07-21T04:42:00.000+03:00' +'d6812b774b41126b1eaca978edac7254b53eaaad'|'UK mortgage approvals edge lower in June - UK Finance'|'July 26, 2017 / 8:35 AM / in 19 minutes UK mortgage approvals edge lower in June - UK Finance Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Rows of houses are seen in North Kensington, London, Britain June 29, 2017. Hannah McKay LONDON (Reuters) - British banks approved the fewest mortgages for house purchase since September 2016 last month, though the total sum lent was the highest since March 2016, industry figures showed on Wednesday. Banks approved 40,200 mortgages for house purchase in June, down from 40,287 in May but barely changed from June 2016, trade association UK Finance said. "June saw consumer borrowing from high street banks... maintain its slower pace as rising inflation put pressure on household incomes. Housing activity remained relatively stable," said UK Finance executive Eric Leenders. The data were previously produced by the British Bankers'' Association, which joined the newly formed UK Finance lobby group at the start of July. Net credit card lending rose by 276 million pounds in June after a 114 million pound increase in May. A year earlier, lending increased by 265 million pounds. On Monday the Bank of England reiterated concerns about rapid growth in unsecured borrowing and warned that several years of solid economic growth could lead banks to lower their guard and relax lending standards excessively. The UK Finance data cover most British banks, but do not include building societies, which account for a big chunk of mortgage lending. The Bank of England will release more comprehensive data on July 31. Reporting by David Milliken and Emma Rumney 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-lending-idUKKBN1AB0YU'|'2017-07-26T11:35:00.000+03:00' +'5b4f39e2eda7c169a6369160b52e895f1e9c3484'|'Benetton family in shortlist to buy Ducati - source'|'Edition United States July 29, 2017 / 4:19 PM / in 2 hours Benetton family in shortlist to buy Ducati: source Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The logo of Italian motorcycle manufacturer Ducati is seen in Dietlikon, Switzerland October 11, 2016. Arnd Wiegmann MILAN (Reuters) - Italy''s Benetton family is among five bidders shortlisted to buy Italian motorcycle brand Ducati, which is being sold by Germany''s Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ), a source close to the matter said on Saturday. The finalists will be given access to the company''s books after the summer, the source said, adding that the offers received valued Ducati at 1.3 billion-1.5 billion euros ($1.5 billion-$1.8 billion). Volkswagen''s luxury brand Audi, which is the owner of Ducati, declined to comment. Earlier on Saturday, two Italian newspapers said that besides the Benetton family''s investment vehicle, Edizione Holding, the shortlist included U.S. automotive firm Polaris Industries ( PII.N ) and private equity funds such as Ducati''s previous owner Investindustrial, France''s PAI and Bain Capital. Investindustrial declined to comment. Polaris, PAI and Bain could not immediately be reached for comment. The list of initial bidders for Ducati also included two Indian motorbike firms, Eicher Motors ( EICH.NS ) and Bajaj Auto ( BAJA.NS ), as well as private equity funds CVC Capital Parners and Advent, sources have previously said. Volkswagen, Europe''s largest carmaker, is reviewing several assets in a bid to move beyond the emissions scandal that has left it facing billions of dollars in fines and settlements. A successful deal for Ducati, which had revenue of 731 million euros last year, would show that Volkswagen boss Matthias Mueller is serious about reversing its quest for size. ($1 = 0.8512 euros) Reporting by Paola Arosio in Milan; additional reporting by Andreas Cremer in Berlin and Massimo Gaia in Milan; writing by Agnieszka Flak; editing by David Clarke 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-ducati-sale-idUKKBN1AE0LX'|'2017-07-29T19:13:00.000+03:00' +'2e03777ac4154846d64e2e8e07d80832345c8cdd'|'Unilever lifts margin target as industry pressure mounts'|'July 20, 2017 / 6:16 AM / 9 minutes ago Unilever lifts margin target as industry pressure mounts Martinne Geller 4 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Unilever lifted its annual profitability target on Thursday after cost cuts led to a big improvement in the first half of the year, showing it can boost returns after rebuffing a $143 billion takeover bid. The savings at Unilever come as the packaged goods industry''s biggest names, including Nestle and Procter & Gamble, are being targeted by shareholder activists pushing for better returns. Unilever, whose own margins came under scrutiny in the wake of February''s shock takeover bid from Kraft Heinz, said on Thursday that such investor pressure was becoming the norm. "It''s something that we keep on our radar screens here ourselves," Chief Financial Officer Graeme Pitkethly said. "We all have to deal with it and we''re realistic about that." The Anglo-Dutch conglomerate, whose products range from Hellmann''s mayonnaise to Dove soap, stepped up its savings. It now expects its underlying operating margin to grow by at least 100 basis points this year, up from the target of at least 80 basis points given in April when it announced the results of a review sparked by the Kraft bid. Unilever shares were up 1.2 percent at 1430 GMT. They remain roughly 30 percent higher than before the bid on expectations of more aggressive earnings growth. Some analysts speculate that Kraft could return with another bid, once the six-month cooling off period required by the UK takeover panel expires next month. "Unilever know they cannot relax and investors expect them to raise their game," said Steve Clayton, fund manager at Hargreaves Lansdown Select, whose funds are 5 percent invested in Unilever. Marketing and Margins Unilever''s underlying operating margin improved 180 basis points to 17.8 percent in the last six months, helped by an acceleration of cost-savings programmes, and a 130 basis point drop in brand and marketing spending. Its goal is to reach 20 percent by 2020. Analysts welcomed the margin improvement, but voiced concern that it was driven by reduced marketing, which can hit sales. The logo of the Unilever group is seen at the Miko factory in Saint-Dizier, France, May 4, 2016. Philippe Wojazer/Files "Quantity good ... quality less so," RBC Capital Markets analysts wrote. Unilever said marketing spending would rise in the second half, as new product launches were skewed to that period, adding that full-year spend should match the previous year. Unilever saved more than 1 billion euros in the first half of the year, bringing it closer to its target for 6 billion euros in three years. Cuts include reducing the number of laundry powder formulations by 65 percent, reducing employee airline flights by 30 percent and lowering middle and senior management headcount by 13 percent. No Volume Growth Underlying sales rose 3 percent in both the second quarter and the first half, excluding currency fluctuations and acquisitions. That was slightly below analysts'' average expectations for growth of 3.2 percent for the quarter and 3.1 percent for the half, according to a company-supplied consensus. Growth for the six months was due entirely to pricing, as volume was flat. But volume should accelerate in the back half of the year, Unilever said, helped by new products. The company stood by its full-year forecast for growth in the 3 to 5 percent range. Underlying earnings per share rose 14.4 percent to 1.13 euros per share. Regarding the sale of its margarine and spreads business, CFO Pitkethly said Unilever planned to distribute details by the end of autumn. The firm is carving out the whole business, which operates in some 60 countries, but could sell it in pieces. Pitkethly said industry players might be able to add value to the emerging market business, while developed markets might be more interesting to private equity players. "We don''t have to sell it in one block and will only do that if it''s a superior value solution," Pitkethly told Reuters. Reporting by Martinne Geller; Editing by Edmund Blair and Keith Weir 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-unilever-nv-results-idUKKBN1A50I9'|'2017-07-20T17:46:00.000+03:00' +'2a65d379b81cd4f756f322764c375c375f160255'|'Engine delays hit Airbus profits, delivery targets fragile'|'July 27, 2017 / 5:20 AM / 14 hours ago Engine delays hit Airbus profits, delivery targets fragile 2 Min Read PARIS, July 27 (Reuters) - Europe''s Airbus on Thursday unveiled a one-third slump in half-way operating profit on flat revenue, as delays in engine deliveries for its upgraded A320neo hit interim earnings. The world''s second largest planemaker after Boeing stuck to its financial targets and production plans, but suggested reaching its 2017 delivery target depended essentially on deliveries from Pratt & Whitney . For the second quarter, Airbus posted a lower-than-expected 859 million euro ($1 billion) operating profit, down 27 percent, on revenues of 15.271 billion. Analysts were on average expecting profit of 910 million euros on 15.823 billion euros in sales, according to a Reuters poll. Airbus also disclosed a new output cut for its slow-selling A380, saying it would now deliver eight superjumbos in 2019, down from a previously announced 12 in 2018. The figures came a day after rival Boeing saw its shares hit a record after posting second-quarter profit and cashflow well ahead of Wall Street estimates. $1 = 0.8516 euros Reporting by Tim Hepher, Cyril Altmeyer, Victoria Bryan, Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/airbus-results-idUSASM000D97'|'2017-07-27T08:20:00.000+03:00' +'736e637b178839cb74ea6596c0700234509b7f05'|'Barclays talking with regulators about Dublin unit post-Brexit'|'July 14, 2017 / 12:44 PM / 12 minutes ago Barclays talking with regulators about Dublin unit post-Brexit Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The Barclays logo is seen in front of displayed stock graph in this illustration taken June 21, 2017. Dado Ruvic/Illustration LONDON (Reuters) - Barclays ( BARC.L ) is talking with regulators about extending its activities in Dublin in preparation for when Britain leaves the European Union, the British bank said in a statement on Friday. Barclays already has a licensed entity in Dublin, Barclays Bank Ireland, with around 100 people and intends to use that so it can continue serving clients once Britain leaves the bloc. "Barclays intends to utilise an existing licensed EU-based bank subsidiary to continue passported activity," the bank said. "Barclays Bank Ireland, which has a banking licence and which we have operated for almost 40 years, provides a natural base and we are engaging with our regulators in discussions to extend its activities." Barclays chief executive Jes Staley met with Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in Dublin on Monday, the bank added. Reporting By Anjuli Davies; Editing by Rachel Armstrong 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-barclays-idUKKBN19Z1CQ'|'2017-07-14T15:43:00.000+03:00' +'eb90a9047e4b0b655febbe302d07fa15082e778b'|'Fenner sees FY profit ahead of its expectations'|'Business News 19am BST Fenner sees FY profit ahead of its expectations British engineering company Fenner Plc ( FENR.L ) said operating profit for the full-year 2017 would be comfortably ahead of its previous expectations, boosted by its medical business. Shares in the company rose as much as 9.2 pct, before paring gains to trade up 7.8 percent at 0708 GMT (8.08 a.m. BST) on the London Stock Exchange. The company, which makes polymer products and conveyor belts for industrial users including miners, said its advanced engineered products (AEP) unit continued to strengthen and said its medical unit benefited from new customer projects. (Reporting by Sanjeeban Sarkar '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-fenner-outlook-idUKKBN19S0UU'|'2017-07-07T10:19:00.000+03:00' +'7c54088fec17de69de33e482ff180a3fb0424418'|'Exclusive: ''High Times'' ready to roll with public offering - sources'|'July 27, 2017 / 10:06 AM / an hour ago ''High Times'' ready to roll with public offering Jessica Toonkel 3 Min Read (Reuters) - The publisher of marijuana enthusiast magazine, "High Times," plans to take the company public, High Times Holding Corp announced Thursday, as an increasing number of U.S. states legalize the drug. Oreva Capital, which in June announced it had bought a controlling stake in High Times for $70 million, is selling the company to special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), Origo Acquisition Corp ( OACQ.O ), for $250 million. "High Times is one of few household names in the cannabis industry," said High Times Chief Executive Adam Levin, who will continue to run the company post-merger. SPACs like Origo have no assets but use IPO proceeds and bank financing to take companies public through acquisitions. High Times expects to list by October on Nasdaq, but it is unclear what the ticker will be, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters. The source wished to remain anonymous because he is not allowed to speak to the media about the deal. Nasdaq declined to comment. Reuters exclusively reported about the impending IPO on Thursday morning. The 25th Anniversary July 1999 edition cover of High Times is shown in this handout photo provided July 26, 2017. Courtesy High Times/Handout via REUTERS Origo is taking High Times public at a time when eight U.S. states and Washington, D.C. have legalized recreational use of marijuana by adults. Investors have shied away from most companies that have direct ties to the marijuana industry because the drug remains illegal under U.S. federal law. However, this listing creates an opportunity for retail investors in a company that is close to the sale of cannabis, but not directly involved in it. "This is a market that is growing at a 27 percent annual growth rate," said Troy Dayton, chief executive officer of the Arcview Group, a cannabis investment and research firm. The market is expected to exceed $22.6 billion in revenue in 2021, up from $6.7 billion in 2016, according to Arcview. That demand continues to grow despite efforts by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to roll back federal protections for medical marijuana, Dayton said. "While there is some saber rattling at the federal level, more states keep passing laws," Dayton said. In November, California, Massachusetts, Maine and Nevada passed laws to allow marijuana use for adults. "The train has left the station." "High Times" magazine has 336,000 print and digital subscribers, as well as events, such as its Cannabis Cup, a music and product festival with awards. (This version of the story has been refiled to correct to add company stock instrument code in second paragraph) Reporting by Jessica Toonkel in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Frances Kerry 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-hightimes-ipo-exclusive-idUSKBN1AC1G8'|'2017-07-27T13:06:00.000+03:00' +'8884ac304bed3ded12483d157d8da71d7559ec46'|'France offers Italy naval ship deal to resolve STX row - paper'|'July 30, 2017 / 11:01 AM / 7 hours ago France offers Italy naval ship deal to resolve STX row - paper Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: French Economy minister Bruno Le Maire takes a picture of French President Emmanuel Macron (not pictured) near the MSC Meraviglia cruise ship during a visit to the STX Les Chantiers de l''Atlantique shipyard site in Saint-Nazaire, France, May 31, 2017. Stephane Mahe/File Photo PARIS (Reuters) - France will offer to expand shipbuilding cooperation with Italy into naval vessels, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said, after Paris thwarted a tie-up it is now seeking to renegotiate between the STX France shipyard and Italian rival Fincantieri ( FCT.MI ). Le Maire, who will reopen negotiations in Rome on Aug. 1, described the offer as "a gesture of openness by the president", in an interview published on Sunday by Le Journal du Dimanche. President Emmanuel Macron has angered Rome by ordering STX''s "temporary" nationalisation, cancelling a deal in which Fincantieri and another Italian investor had agreed to buy stakes totalling 54.6 percent of the business. Paris exercised a pre-emption right to repurchase the controlling stake in the shipyard acquired by Fincantieri from bankrupt South Korean parent STX, after failing to renegotiate the shareholder pact agreed under France''s last government. Macron now proposes to keep the shipyard under 50-50 joint ownership. His intervention has proved popular - commanding 70 percent voter approval, according to an Ifop poll in the same newspaper - while inviting comparisons with nationalisation sprees under earlier presidents including Franois Mitterand. "This isn''t 1981 and I''m not following in anybody''s footsteps," Le Maire told the paper. "It''s temporary." Le Maire gave no details of the military offer but said it would build on planned collaboration in civilian vessels, creating a "European naval shipbuilder champion". He added: "If there''s no deal (with Italy), we will stick with the current situation and look for other potential buyers. But that''s not what we want." Reporting by Laurence Frost; Editing by Dale Hudson 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-stx-m-a-fincantieri-france-idUKKBN1AF0D4'|'2017-07-30T14:00:00.000+03:00' +'740001ad8e329c406a54fdcf57d709a8fbee6629'|'OMERS in talks with buyout firms about C$3 bln Teranet sale -sources'|'July 19, 2017 / 9:05 PM / 12 hours ago OMERS in talks with buyout firms about C$3 billion Teranet sale: sources John Tilak and David French 3 Min Read TORONTO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Canadian pension plan Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System has been talking with major U.S. and Canadian private equity firms about selling land registry company Teranet in a deal that could fetch about C$3 billion ($2.4 billion), according to people familiar with the situation. Carlyle Group ( CG.O ) and KKR & Co ( KKR.N ) are among several buyout firms that have held discussions with Borealis Infrastructure Management, an investment division of OMERS that owns Teranet, the people said on condition of anonymity, since the talks were private. In 2008, Borealis acquired then-publicly listed Teranet Income Fund for about C$1.5 billion. Teranet Income Fund was spun off by the Ontario government in 2003. Toronto-based Teranet, which has exclusive rights to offer electronic land registration services in Ontario and Manitoba, collects a fee every time a home in Canada''s most populous province and its Western neighbor changes hands or is registered. It also offers housing data services. Its Teranet-National Bank ( NA.TO ) house price index, a collaboration with Canada''s sixth biggest bank, is a closely tracked economic indicator. OMERS, Carlyle and KKR all declined to comment. There is no certainty that a deal will materialize, the sources said, adding that OMERS could also choose to keep the asset. It was also not immediately clear if OMERS is running a formal sales process involving investment banks. Teranet has benefited from the boom in Canada''s housing market, the people said. Canadian housing market prices soared over the past decade, with Ontario, home to capital city Ottawa and business center Toronto, in particular seeing strong demand from foreign buyers. For example, Toronto prices rose 29.3 percent in the year to June 30, and have more than doubled since 2009. The move by OMERS to consider offloading Teranet suggests that the pension fund believes it may be time to sell and take the returns when the market might be close to the top. In April, the province of Ontario said it would introduce a property tax for foreign buyers in order to cool Toronto''s housing market. Concerns of a housing bubble have drawn warnings from both the Bank of Canada and the International Monetary Fund. While prices continue to rise, sales figures in Toronto have dipped in recent weeks. Teranet''s cash flow stream makes it attractive for private equity buyers, who are looking for steady returns over long-term investment horizons. ($1 = 1.2591 Canadian dollars) Reporting by John Tilak and David French 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-teranet-sale-canada-idUSKBN1A42GS'|'2017-07-19T23:58:00.000+03:00' +'c1b6a44c188f36f0078be5f32677e800e7c744d1'|'As day of the MiFID approaches, specialist brokers advance, not retreat'|'July 11, 2017 / 11:57 AM / 13 minutes ago As day of the MiFID approaches, specialist brokers advance, not retreat Helen Reid 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The trading floor is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, December 8, 2016. Ralph Orlowski/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Brokers specialising in researching mid-cap stocks are sharpening their focus and hiring rather than retreating ahead of sweeping regulatory changes that on the face of it could hurt their business. The idea is that as big sell-side houses cut coverage of niche areas, smaller ones can hone in on them. The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, or MiFID-II, comes into force in Europe in less than six months and one of the main impacts will be putting an explicit price on research rather than bundling payments along with trading costs. As a result, many brokers are jostling for position on buy-side clients'' research lists -- which are likely to shrink as asset managers adapt to paying directly for research. "The equity research environment is bloated -- we are going to find out who the really good houses are," said Michael Horan, head of trading services at agency broker Pershing Limited. Although there is still significant uncertainty over the impact, most market participants believe there will be significant churn in research analyst staffing levels and a reduction in coverage of small and mid-cap companies in particular. But several houses specialising in mid-caps are responding to this threat by drilling down into their speciality areas in the hope that large brokers retreat from the field, leaving a lucrative gap to fill. For example, private bank Berenberg has added six new analysts to its UK mid-cap team and plan to increase that further by the end of the year. Similarly, British mid-cap specialist house Numis has added two analysts to its team, and European peer Kepler Cheuvreux said it would hire more sector specialists in the coming months. "So far as we are concerned, if small and mid cap coverage thins out a little bit in our core markets, that is just more of an opportunity for us," said David Mortlock, head of Europe and head of investment banking at Berenberg. Niche or Nothing MiFID research "unbundling" regulations aim to shift the model from "push" -- where brokers relentlessly bombard fund managers with research, hoping some of it sticks -- to "pull". That''s when asset managers pick brokers to receive research from, and risk fines if any other analysis lands in their inbox. Brokerages, as a result, are under pressure to stand out. Theres a tremendous contraction of research provider lists going on already, said the head of account management at a European broker. Many have predicted that MiFID will negatively impact coverage of the smaller end of the market, with brokers preferring to concentrate on large stocks which frequently change hands, generating more cash for them. In those niche areas, we believe that if youre not in the top two or three (brokers) then you may no longer get onto broker lists, said Hester White, MiFID II spokesperson at Peel Hunt, a UK-focused broker. Brokers'' decisions to increase their focus on small and mid-cap companies could therefore seem counter-intuitive. But a deeper focus on small- and medium-sized companies is also a response to demand from active asset managers looking to cement their performance so far this year by digging deeper into lesser-known companies and sectors, where bargains are more likely than among extensively covered large cap stocks. Active asset managers are being squeezed by a rapid surge in the popularity of passive index-tracking funds and ETFs, and many say the mid- and small-cap area offers the greatest opportunities to find value as they seek to justify higher fees. I think managers are going to focus their research dollars where they can make more than they have previously, said Berenberg''s Mortlock. Furthermore, unbundling will enable investors to reward brokers specifically for high-quality research, for the first time. Gemma Hurtado de San Leandro, head of Spanish equities at Mirabaud Asset Management, said the regulation would enable her to use large brokers to execute trades fast and efficiently, while rewarding specialised brokers for their research. "There are brokers that have a lot of volume in the market and help me with the execution of trades, but their research doesnt add value for me at all, she said. Asset managers see research on these areas as crucial to their ability to bounce ideas off analysts in the know, and be introduced to new companies and investment propositions. Some also set such research apart from global investment bank analyses which they see as too consensual. For small, regional brokers long battling against larger rivals which have enjoyed economies of scale thanks to "bundled" payments, the new rules are a chance to claw back market share. What we really like are local brokers, said Thomas Brown, head of the European opportunities fund at Miton. Its very hard to get a differential view on a stock where theres already 36 analysts covering it. Reporting by Helen Reid Editing by Jeremy Gaunt 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-markets-brokers-mifid-idUKKBN19W19D'|'2017-07-11T14:56:00.000+03:00' +'afdd8c108a36cce7bf85c15e8c1fb62bbdf8a4cb'|'Yandex and Uber to merge in Russia and five other countries'|'July 13, 2017 / 10:10 AM / 18 minutes ago Yandex and Uber to merge in Russia and five other countries 4 Min Read A man exits the Uber offices in Queens, New York, U.S., February 2, 2017. Brendan McDermid FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Yandex, the "Google of Russia", and Uber have agreed to merge their ride-sharing businesses in Russia and five neighboring markets with Yandex as leading partner, the companies said on Thursday. The deal marks another pullback from Uber''s breakneck global expansion, coming a year after its exit from China. In a joint statement, Yandex and Uber said they will join forces in Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia and Kazakhstan to create a new company operating in some 127 cities, in a deal expected to close in the fourth quarter. As part of the deal, Uber will contribute its UberEATS food delivery business in the six-country region to the new venture. Diversified internet giant Yandex is the dominant player in Web search, maps and mobile navigation in the region. San Francisco-based Uber has agreed to invest $225 million while Yandex has agreed to invest $100 million into a new joint company in which Yandex will own 59.3 percent, Uber hold 36.6 percent and employees having a 4.1 percent stake. Uber said that the merger in Eastern Europe does not imply a strategy of further retrenchment elsewhere. Indeed, financial terms of the deal make it a lucrative one, it said. "This is an exciting opportunity in a unique situation and our operations in other countries will not be affected," Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, the head of Uber in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said in a blog post addressed to Uber employees. Gore-Coty said Uber''s 36.6 percent stake is worth $1.4 billion, based on an agreed valuation of $3.725 billion for the combined company. That marks a sizeable gain on the $170 million Uber invested since entering the region three-and-a-half years ago, even with the new $225 million investment. Uber sold its Chinese business to far larger local rival Didi Chuxing a year ago in return for Uber receiving a 17.5 percent stake in Didi which was then valued at $35 billion. A man walks outside the headquarters of Yandex company in Moscow, September 14, 2015. The sign (R) reads: "Yandex." Maxim Zmeyev While Uber no longer exists in China, the paper value of its stake in Didi has risen to around $8 billion from $6.1 billion, based on Didi''s recent funding round valued at $50 billion. Improved Driving Conditions The unified business in Russia and surrounding markets also helps Uber become more sustainable, he said, by helping it cut losses as part of a global drive toward eventual profitability. Uber reported in late May that its net loss, excluding employee stock options and other items, narrowed in the first quarter to $708 million from $991 million in the fourth quarter. The ownership stakes reflect how Yandex.Taxi is roughly twice the size of Uber in the region. As of June, Yandex.Taxi had an annual run rate of 285 million rides and gross bookings of $1.01 billion, while Uber had 134 million rides and $566 million in bookings, the companies said. Yandex and Uber compete in Russia with rivals including Fasten-owned Rutaxi and Saturn, Maxim and Gett, the Israeli startup backed by German automaker Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ). Yandex.Taxi, which was founded in 2011, is active in 127 cities across the region. Uber, founded in 2009, is active in 16 cities in Russia and five cities in Azerbaijan, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Uber does not now operate in Armenia or Georgia. Following the closing of the deal, passengers will be able to continue to use either Yandex or Uber apps. The driver apps of the two companies will be integrated into a single app for greater efficiency, they said. Yandex.Taxi Chief Executive Tigran Khudaverdyan will become the CEO of the combined business and Yandex will consolidate the new company''s results in its financial statements. Yandex will hold four board seats, while Uber holds three, they said. Uber operates in nearly 600 cities worldwide. Reporting by Eric Auchard in Frankfurt and Anastasia Teterevleva in Moscow; Editing by Keith Weir 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-uber-tech-m-a-yandex-idUKKBN19Y10V'|'2017-07-13T13:19:00.000+03:00' +'c3cd4641ecd64fbd10f5ecb047e3c9c2a23fd613'|'IMF keeps global growth forecasts; China, eurozone revised higher'|'July 24, 2017 / 3:22 AM / 8 hours ago IMF keeps global growth forecasts; China, eurozone revised higher 3 Min Read The International Monetary Fund headquarters building is seen during the IMF/World Bank spring meetings in Washington, U.S., April 21, 2017. Yuri Gripas KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund on Monday kept its growth forecasts for the world economy unchanged for this year and next, although it slightly revised up growth expectations for the eurozone and China. In its updated World Economic Outlook, the IMF said global gross domestic product would be 3.5 percent in 2017 and 3.6 percent in 2018. Its last update was released in April. "While risks around the global growth forecast appear broadly balanced in the near term, they remain skewed to the downside over the medium term," the IMF said in its updated forecasts released in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur. The IMF in June shaved its forecasts for U.S. growth to 2.1 percent for 2017 and 2018, slightly down from projections of 2.3 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively, just three months ago. The Fund reversed previous assumptions that the Trump administration''s fiscal policy plans would boost U.S. growth, largely because details of those plans have not materialized. The Fund said growth in the euro area was now expected to be slightly stronger in 2018 and pointed to "solid momentum." It upgraded GDP projections for the single-currency area for 2017 to 1.9 percent, 0.2 percentage point higher than in April. For next year, the IMF said euro-area growth would be slightly stronger at 1.7 percent, a 0.1-percentage-point change from just three months ago. It said the expected higher growth in the eurozone indicated "stronger momentum in domestic demand than previously expected." The IMF revised down its 2017 forecast for the UK by 0.3 percentage point to 1.7 percent, citing weaker-than-expected activity in the first quarter. It left its 2018 forecast unchanged at 1.5 percent. It also said it expected slightly higher growth in Japan this year to 1.3 percent from a forecast of 1.2 percent in April, citing stronger first-quarter growth buoyed by private consumption, investment and exports. Its forecast for Japan''s 2018 growth was unchanged at 0.6 percent. For China, the IMF said it now expected stronger growth of 6.7 percent in 2017, up 0.1 percentage point from the April forecast. China''s growth will still moderate in 2018 to 6.4 percent, but the IMF said that was up 0.2 percentage point from the April forecast because of expectations that Beijing will maintain high public investment. Reporting by Lesley Wroughton and David Lawder in Washington; Editing by Peter Cooney 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/imf-growth-forecasts-idINKBN1A9079'|'2017-07-24T06:19:00.000+03:00' +'4c081f976c501100e14c73b6896c5e7ffa6f6fba'|'UPDATE 1-Tennessee restricts use of Monsanto pesticide as problems spread'|'July 13, 2017 / 10:45 PM / 3 hours ago CORRECTED-UPDATE 1-Tennessee restricts use of Monsanto pesticide as problems spread 4 Min Read (Corrects date of glyphosate introduction to 1970s instead of 1990s, paragraph 11) By Karl Plume CHICAGO, July 13 (Reuters) - Tennessee on Thursday imposed restrictions on the use of dicamba, a flagship pesticide for Monsanto Co, becoming the fourth state to take action as problems spread over damage the weed killer causes to crops not genetically modified to withstand it. Dicamba is sprayed by farmers on crops genetically modified to resist it but it has drifted, damaging vulnerable soybeans, cotton and other crops across the southern United States. Farmers have fought with neighbors over lost crops and brought lawsuits against dicamba producers. Arkansas banned its use last week and Missouri, which initially halted dicamba spraying, has joined Tennessee with tight restrictions on when and in what weather spraying can be done. Kansas is investigating complaints. Monsanto, which said it has spent years working to make dicamba stickier and limit drift when it is sprayed, is campaigning to overturn the bans. It blames early-adoption headaches similar to wind drift and cross-contaminated farm equipment problems the company faced when it launched its popular Roundup Ready glyphosate-resistant crops two decades ago. "In almost every technology in that first year there are kinks that you need to work out," Robb Fraley, Monsanto''s chief technology officer, said on a news media call. He said many of the dicamba issues are caused by farmers not following application labels, using contaminated equipment or buying older formulations of dicamba that are cheaper but more prone to drift. The company, together with BASF SE and DuPont , which also produce dicamba-based weed killers, has agreed to additional safeguards for product use, Missouri Director of Agriculture Chris Chinn said in a statement. The dicamba problem is the latest regulatory woe for Monsanto after California last month announced it would list glyphosate as a probable carcinogen in the state. "It''s not good for Monsanto - if anything, this is more likely to lead to lawsuits rather than additional sales," Jonas Oxgaard, an analyst with asset management firm Bernstein, said regarding the dicamba launch woes. Dicamba is key to Monsanto''s biggest-ever biotech seed launch, which occurred last year. Its Xtend line of soybeans and cotton are designed to tolerate the weed killer, which replaces earlier products that contained only glyphosate. Some weeds have developed resistance to glyphosate, which Monsanto introduced in the 1970s. Crop seeds such as corn, soybeans and cotton are genetically modified to survive the pesticide while yield-sapping weeds die. Dicamba has long been used to kill weeds before crops are planted, but its use has spiked this season across the United States after regulators last year approved it for crops that are already growing. Monsanto sells a new dicamba formulation under the name Xtendimax. The company says that Xtendimax drifts less than older versions. BASF and DuPont also sell less drift-prone formulations. New restrictions in Tennessee include allowing application only from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to limit potential pesticide drift. "I''m confident that we can address this issue as we have in other cases to ensure the safe and effective use of these tools," Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Jai Templeton said in a statement. In Monsanto''s home state of Missouri, state Farm Bureau President Blake Hurst commended the quick action to update guidelines on dicamba use. "The Special Local Need label is designed to provide additional protection for neighboring landowners and still allow the application of Dicamba to control weed problems," he said in a statement. (Reporting by Karl Plume in Chicago; editing by Riham Alkousaa) 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/tennessee-grains-monsanto-idUSL1N1K41VT'|'2017-07-14T01:45:00.000+03:00' +'aee975a269182985733f7fcd26980b6cafb212ee'|'Harley-Davidson cuts 2017 shipments forecast'|'July 18, 2017 / 11:09 AM / 3 hours ago Harley-Davidson cuts shipments forecast; shares skid Ankit Ajmera 3 Min Read (Reuters) - Harley-Davidson Inc''s ( HOG.N ) shares skidded to a more than one-year low after the motorcycle maker cut its full-year shipments forecast as demand weakens among its aging baby-boomer customers and fewer millennials take to motorcycling. The Milwaukee-based motorcycle maker also said it would need to cut production in second half of 2017, resulting in hourly workforce reductions at some of its U.S. plants. Harley''s shares were down 9 percent at $47.17 in late morning trading on Tuesday. While demand for new models has waned, the company has also taken a hit from used motorcycles being sold off by aging customers. For the full year, Harley said it expects to ship 241,000 to 246,000 motorcycles, compared with 262,221 a year earlier. The company had previously forecast shipments to be flat to modestly down. That''s a far cry from the nearly 350,000 it shipped a year about a decade ago. "We are downgrading Harley-Davidson to ''market-perform'' based on increased conviction that motorcycle demand in the United States is in the throes of secular erosion," Bernstein analyst David Beckel said. Beckel noted that the "Generation Y" - those born in the 1980s and early 1990s - was adopting motorcycling at a far lower rate than prior generations. Like other companies in the manufacturing industry, Harley was widely expected to benefit from President Donald Trump''s proposals to boost infrastructure spending and cut taxes. A Harley-Davidson bike is displayed in their office in Singapore October 13, 2016. Edgar Su/File Photo "The hoped-for drivers of incremental Trump-related demand infrastructure spending, middle class tax cuts, corporate tax cuts, domestic production advantages are all on hold, perhaps indefinitely," Bernstein analyst David Beckel said. Harley is also up against aggressive discounting by rivals such as Polaris Industries Inc ( PII.N ), the maker of the Indian bike, and Japan''s Honda Motor Co Ltd ( 7267.T ). The company said it expected to ship 39,000 to 44,000 motorcycles in the current quarter, suggesting a decline of up to 20 percent. Retail motorcycle sales fell 9.3 percent in the United States, its biggest market, and 6.7 percent globally in the second quarter ended June 25. Harley said its share in the U.S. big-bike market fell to 48.5 percent from 49.5 percent a year earlier. The company now expects 2017 operating margin to be down about 1 percentage point. It had previously forecast operating margin to be in line with 2016. Net income fell 7.7 percent to $258.9 million, or $1.48 per share. Revenue per motorcycle rose about $437 to $15,530 in the quarter, but revenue from motorcycles and related products fell about 5.6 percent to $1.58 billion. Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-harley-davidson-results-idUSKBN1A3126'|'2017-07-18T14:08:00.000+03:00' +'370eed1e30c0117362432816475315a18ab67463'|'Italy could consider taking small stake in Alitalia - minister'|'July 19, 2017 / 1:38 PM / 8 minutes ago Italy could consider taking small stake in Alitalia - minister Reuters Staff 1 Min Read People walk in the Alitalia departure hall during a strike by Italy''s national airline Alitalia workers at Fiumicino international airport in Rome, Italy July 24, 2015. Max Rossi - RTX1LMNG ROME (Reuters) - Italy could consider taking a small stake in struggling airline Alitalia, Transport Minister Graziano Delrio said on Wednesday. "We are against nationalising (the airline) but the state taking a small stake could be a solution," Delrio told a parliamentary commission. He added that the special administrators appointed to run Alitalia after it filed for bankruptcy could stay in their roles for longer than originally planned. Reporting by Alberto Sisto, writing by Isla Binnie 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-italy-alitalia-idUKKBN1A41GI'|'2017-07-19T16:38:00.000+03:00' +'6b9fcabdcf6a58a1ca82105146b391ff2e3834ad'|'COLUMN-Psst...wanna buy some cobalt? Just don''t tell the auto guys!: Andy Home'|'Market News - Wed Jul 5, 2017 - 10:50am EDT COLUMN-Psst...wanna buy some cobalt? Just don''t tell the auto guys!: Andy Home (The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.) By Andy Home LONDON, July 5 Wanna buy into one of the hottest commodities in town? No, it''s not lithium. That''s so much last year''s thing. We''re talking about cobalt. And this one''s really hot. On the London Metal Exchange (LME) the price for three-month cobalt has leapt from $32,750 per tonne at the start of January to a current $58,500. This stellar near 80-percent price surge mirrors what happened to lithium prices a year or so ago. The linkage is both metals'' evolution from niche applications to mainstream usage in the batteries that are now powering the green technology revolution. If a minimum $58,500 bet is a bit too much for you, some bright hedge fund guys have come up with a cheaper option. For just nine Canadian dollars you can now buy a share in Cobalt 27 Capital Corp, which made its C$200 million ($150.7 million) debut on Canada''s Venture Exchange last month. Cobalt 27 describes itself as a "pure-play cobalt investment vehicle", an alternative to investing in producers such as Glencore, for whom cobalt is one small part of a much wider portfolio. Just don''t tell the automotive guys. Because if Cobalt 27 is right in its assessment there is much more upside to the cobalt price, there''s going to be some sort of reaction to a bunch of investors holding physical stocks of a strategic metal in short supply. GETTING PHYSICAL Cobalt 27 has used a sizeable chunk of its IPO proceeds to exercise options to buy a total 2,157.50 tonnes of physical cobalt. To put that figure into perspective, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimates global production of refined cobalt was 97,400 tonnes in 2015. The metal will be stored in LME warehouses operated by C. Steinweg (Baltimore, Rotterdam and Antwerp) and the Vollers Group (Rotterdam). A smaller part of the proceeds will be used to purchase royalties and cobalt streaming agreements from eight exploration-stage properties. Seven are prospects in Canada, three of them operated by Palisade Resources Corp, and one in Vietnam, operated by Asian Mineral Resources. The company''s ambition is to add to this list. In essence, Cobalt 27 will offer capital appreciation, assuming the price of cobalt does indeed rise, and cash flow from royalties. The whole thing is the brain-child of Pala Investments, which describes itself as "a multi-strategy investment company focused on the mining and metals value chain". Cobalt 27 Chairman and Chief Executive Anthony Milewski is also a managing director of the Pala team. Pala is the largest shareholder with 19.64 percent at the time of the IPO, although the stake may have fallen slightly as an over-allotment option has since been partially declared. Part of Pala''s holding represents payment for the supply of 626 tonnes of cobalt under one of the physical supply options. Pala was one of several funds to have scooped up physical cobalt last year, which was when the metal first emerged from the specialist shadows into the investment limelight. Another was Green Energy Metals Fund, part of the Portal Capital investment group, which is the second-largest shareholder in the new public entity having also supplied physical metal. Not all of the cobalt sellers chose to convert to Cobalt 27 shares. According to the company''s final prospectus, "a total of 961.9 metric tonnes of cobalt are being acquired for cash". But Pala and Portal evidently think there is more to come from the cobalt story. THE ONLY WAY IS UP? Or to quote Cobalt 27''s prospectus, "the company believes strong cobalt demand, coupled with challenged supply due to a lack of primary cobalt mines and political instability in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is the largest supplier of mined cobalt, creates an attractive proposition for cobalt price appreciation." This is a market that is widely viewed by analysts as being in transition from a state of supply surplus to one of shortfall. And as Cobalt 27 is happy to remind us, "in 2008, during the last multi-year cobalt supply deficit, the price of cobalt exceeded US$50/lb". That''s equivalent to just over $110,000 per tonne. There are any number of uncertainties in trying to forecast the price in such a fast-evolving market as cobalt, or lithium for that matter. Everyone agrees that the electric vehicle revolution has arrived but beyond that there is no consensus as to how fast it might evolve. And what sort of batteries will those vehicles use? Noting that cobalt is currently used in six main types of lithium-ion battery, analysts at RFC Ambrian write that "what the demand for cobalt as a constituent for future batteries will be is open to question." ("The Alchemist, Issue 31: Cobalt", July 2017). If prices rise too fast, they argue, battery makes will try and reduce the amount of cobalt used, even if they can''t eliminate it altogether. Ambrian''s conclusion is that cobalt demand in the year 2021 could be anything from marginally lower to 80 percent higher than today. Pala and Portal evidently believe in the more bullish of those scenarios. SUPPLY CHAIN VS SPECULATORS The irony is that if they''re right and the cobalt price does go stratospheric, it will be because there''s not enough of it around to meet burgeoning demand from the battery sector. And that''s going to draw a lot of unwelcome attention from a physical supply chain desperately seeking spare units. There''s a precedent for this sort of manufacturer-speculator showdown in the industrial metal space. In 2010 JPMorgan and BlackRock near simultaneously filed prospectuses for copper funds backed by physical metal. Copper processors were outraged. They viewed the funds as competition for physical units in a market that was at that stage suffering chronic supply shortfall. Although the regulatory and legal reactions were eventually cleared, such was the furore in the copper industry that neither fund was ever launched. Those two funds envisaged combined holdings of around 180,000 tonnes of copper, equivalent to less than 1 percent of global refined metal production at the time Cobalt 27''s holding is already more than double that level in terms of global output. Might it too risk the wrath of a supply chain struggling to keep up with demand? Only time will tell, but if that scenario does materialise, it will, of course, mean that Cobalt 27''s fund backers will have already been rewarded for their bullish views. (Editing by Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/cobalt27-ipo-ahome-idUSL8N1JW45H'|'2017-07-05T17:50:00.000+03:00' +'f46ae0efae8f5d0b903e703ced85162e9d57b969'|'Banks hope to keep staff in London if soft Brexit deal struck'|'July 20, 2017 / 2:19 PM / in 4 hours Banks hope to keep staff in London if soft Brexit deal struck Anjuli Davies and Andrew MacAskill 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The Barclays headquarters building is seen in the Canary Wharf business district of east London February 6, 2013. Neil Hall/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Banks which are shifting operations to avoid disruption once Britain leaves the European Union hope only a handful of people will eventually have to leave London, industry sources say. Wall Street''s Citigroup Inc. ( C.N ) and Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) as well as Britain''s Barclays ( BARC.L ) have all in the last week indicated they are finalising plans to set up subsidiaries within the EU. Along with other banks, they are planning for a worst-case scenario as they say they do not have time to wait to see how Britain''s talks with Brussels unfold. They are focussed on ensuring they have the right legal and operational framework to do business in the EU if Britain fails to negotiate a favourable exit deal, banking executives say. But they are holding off on implementing plans to move a significant number of people, cautious that some of their contingency plans may never need to be enacted. A senior executive at one British bank told Reuters he was reluctantly spending a few hundred million pounds building a new EU base as cheaply and quickly as possible. "It''s an insurance policy. I just have to figure out what the cheapest insurance policy is ... in a perfect world, we will just tear it up," he said. The timetable for setting up EU bases and operations is tight because it could take longer than eighteen months to arrange office space, obtain licenses and build up capital. Related Coverage Factbox - Impact on banks from Britain''s vote to leave the EU And although Bank of England Governor Mark Carney asked them to show by July 14 how they can avoid clients being cut off after Brexit, banks are treading carefully, enacting two-stage contingency plans, to avoid losing nervous London-based staff and potentially unnecessary expenses. The first phase involves moving relatively small numbers to make sure the licences, technology and infrastructure are in place, while the next requires longer term thinking on what their European business will look like in the future. If an exit deal is signed that allows, for example, euro-denominated trades to be booked at subsidiaries in the EU but executed from London, then the number of people who move in total could be fairly low. "All banks will start from where they have the entity. It may not be where they end up. This has a 2nd or 3rd or 4th phase but you have to be ready by March 2019," another senior banking source at an international bank said. FILE PHOTO: The Citibank building is seen in the financial district of Canary Wharf in London, Britain January 19, 2017. Kevin Coombs /File Photo Reversible Moves The largest global banks in London had indicated about 9,600 jobs could go to the continent in the next two years, public statements and information from sources shows, accounting for just over 2 percent of finance jobs in the City of London. JP Morgan ( JPM.N ) CEO Jamie Dimon said before the Brexit vote last year that his bank alone might move as many as 4000 jobs if Britain left the EU, but so far banks have indicated only a fraction of that number are likely to go. Citigroup executive Jim Cowles said in a memo to staff on Thursday that the bank may need to create around 150 jobs in the EU as a result of Brexit, but that was only in "certain circumstances" and depended on the outcome or timing of talks. Sources at several large investment banks in London say no staff have as yet been moved, while some financial firms are contemplating how they can reverse any such decisions. The "point of no return" is sooner the larger and more complex the institution, while customer and staff transfers are also key, Rachel Kent, partner at law firm Hogan Lovells, said. "Some firms I''ve spoken to have explicitly said if there is a (favourable) deal they would reverse that," Kent added. One such example is Lloyd''s of London, the world''s largest speciality insurance market, which said in March that it had chosen Brussels as its EU subsidiary. But Lloyd''s, which declined to comment, could reverse any changes should a "good" Brexit deal be struck, a source familiar with the matter said. And Andrew Bailey, chief executive of the UK''s Financial Conduct Authority told Reuters in July that Britain and the EU are in a position to preserve free trade for financial services, meaning such moves need not happen. However, Bob Jenkins, who served on the Bank of England''s Financial Policy Committee, warned many banks are using the threat or promise of moving to wrangle tax and rule changes. "They will play this for all its worth," Jenkins said. Editing by Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-finance-industry-idUKKBN1A51UL'|'2017-07-20T17:18:00.000+03:00' +'4e61a862d9e4710976d7be8007e4284e9ec22ad1'|'France unveils new measures to lure bankers from London'|'Business News - Fri Jul 7, 2017 - 5:19pm BST France steps up efforts to lure London banks to Paris left right French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, Valerie Pecresse, President of the Ile-de-France region, and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo attend a news conference to unveil a new raft of measures to make Paris more attractive for bankers fleeing Britain after Brexit, in Paris, France, July 7, 2017. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol 1/3 left right French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, Valerie Pecresse, President of the Ile-de-France region, and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, Junior Economy Minister Benjamin Griveaux, President of Greater Paris Metropolis Patrick Ollier attend a news conference to unveil a new raft of measures to make Paris more attractive for bankers fleeing Britain after Brexit, in Paris, France, July 7, 2017. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol 2/3 left right French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe attends a news conference to unveil a new raft of measures to make Paris more attractive for bankers fleeing Britain after Brexit, in Paris, France, July 7, 2017. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol 3/3 By Jean-Baptiste Vey - PARIS PARIS French authorities on Friday stepped up efforts to attract London banks to Paris after Brexit by pledging to cut labor costs and ensure they do not face tougher regulations than European rivals. There is fierce competition between Paris, Frankfurt and other European cities to woo the banks based in the City of London financial center as they consider where to shift some operations to maintain access to the European Union''s single market after Britain leaves the bloc. Until now, Paris'' rivals, including Frankfurt, Dublin and Luxembourg, have been making the headlines as the locations banks, insurers and asset managers have chosen to open new hubs. "We are determined to make Paris more competitive and attractive," Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said, announcing that the government would scrap the highest bracket of payroll tax for firms like banks that do not pay VAT, and cancel a planned extension of tax on share trading. It would also make sure that bankers'' bonuses are no longer taken into account when labor courts decide on unfair dismissal compensation. The payroll tax France charges banks and some other sectors such as real estate and healthcare is a charge that companies pay on each salaried employee. It is not levied in most other European countries. Tax was a big concern for London bankers at a roadshow organized by a French finance industry lobby in February this year to promote Paris as a financial center. Philippe also pledged to review and change on a case-by-case basis the way EU financial regulations are transposed into French law, saying France had sometimes gone too far by imposing additional burden on businesses, compared to European rivals. Germany has said it is looking at making it easier to hire and fire senior bankers in a relaxation of its labor laws to help to attract financial firms to Frankfurt. LAST CHANCE President Emmanuel Macron, a former investment banker, has a hard task to convince the investment community that France does not see the financial sector as an "enemy" - a phrase once used by former socialist President Francois Hollande. As part of the charm offensive, France has pledged to build three more international schools targeted at expatriates'' children in the greater Paris region by 2022. In a trip to New York last month, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said France would set up a special court to handle English-law cases for financial contracts after Britain leaves the EU. For his part, Philippe will next week give a speech to bankers at a conference in Paris, where the chief executive of U.S. investment bank JP Morgan ( JPM.N ) Jamie Dimon is expected to attend, according to the agenda on the event''s website. The European Central Bank said on June 30 that banks should step up their Brexit preparations, while the Bank of England wants details of financial firms'' contingency plans by July 14. But Britain is also pushing for a Brexit deal that would allow UK-based finance firms to continue to operate relatively freely in the EU after March 2019, when Brexit is due to take effect. "We are confident that plans to lower corporation tax to 17 percent by 2020, (and) a commitment to boost national infrastructure and developing trading relationships with new international partners in the coming years will ensure that London remains a world-leading financial hub," the City of London said in a statement on Friday. (Writing by Maya Nikolaeva and Ingrid Melander; Editing by Mark Heinrich) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-france-idUKKBN19S1FZ'|'2017-07-07T13:36:00.000+03:00' +'5b69535db0c36ff85c9ef3b0d5adf3f1e855237e'|'Paytm aims to sell gold worth $200 million this year'|'July 20, 2017 / 4:20 PM / 4 hours ago Paytm aims to sell gold worth $200 million this year Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Sankalp Phartiyal 3 Min Read Advertisements of Paytm, a digital wallet company, are seen placed at stalls of roadside vegetable vendors in Mumbai, India, November 19, 2016. Shailesh Andrade/Files BENGALURU/MUMBAI (Reuters) - Paytm plans to sell 5 tonnes of gold valued around $200 million this year, the digital payments firm said on Friday, as it strives to develop a viable business from its e-wallet platform. E-wallets like Paytm, Citrus Pay and MobiKwik, which allow users to transfer money into virtual wallets via smartphone apps, have proliferated thanks to venture capital backing, but many are struggling to find a long-term profitable model. Paytm, backed by Japan''s SoftBank Group and China''s Alibaba, is attempting to leverage its e-wallet to let customers buy and sell gold while getting a cut from each transaction. "This is our way into wealth management," Krishna Hedge, a senior executive at Paytm, told Reuters. India is the world''s No. 2 consumer of gold behind China, with many saving their money in gold, using it to hedge against inflation and for gifts at special occasions. The country imports about 800 tonnes of gold a year. The company launched its gold offering at the end of April and aims to sell 5 tonnes of gold in the fiscal year to March 2018. That amount of gold would be worth about 14 billion rupees ($217 million) at current prices. Clients will be able to buy and sell even miniscule amounts of gold digitally for as little as 1 rupees ($0.0155) via Paytm''s platform. Paytm said it will not only allow users to trade in digital gold but it will also ship gold coins across much of India for those who want the metal delivered. "This is actual physical gold that is stowed away in our vaults when you make a purchase," said Hedge. The 24-carat gold is sourced from a venture between Indian bullion importer MMTC and Swiss gold refiner PAMP. Paytm, which leads the crowded e-wallet space in India, currently has more than 225 million users. The industry enjoyed a huge boost from the federal government''s move to demonetize old high-value bank notes last year. The ensuing cash crunch sparked a surge in e-wallet transactions in a country where credit and debit-card usage is still limited. Paytm now has plans to offer limited financial services through its niche bank. "They are likely to add more such financial services in future and could even offer micro loans through tie-ups with banks," said Neil Shah of technology research firm Counterpoint. ($1 = 64.3700 Indian rupees) Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Sankalp Phartiyal; Additional reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Euan Rocha and Elaine Hardcastle 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/paytm-gold-idINKBN1A527T'|'2017-07-20T19:20:00.000+03:00' +'91d9036066527107cdbd4436e12c7df437df2299'|'MOVES-Morgan Stanley hires ex-JPMorgan exec as new CEO of Saudi office'|' 33am EDT MOVES-Morgan Stanley hires ex-JPMorgan exec as new CEO of Saudi office RIYADH, July 10 Morgan Stanley named a new chief executive of its office in Saudi Arabia on Monday, as the firm carries out work on high-profile deals like the initial public offering of state oil giant Aramco. Abdulaziz Alajaji was previously head of corporate banking at JPMorgan & Chase Co in the kingdom. Rival JPMorgan enjoys a strong position in Saudi Arabia, having been in kingdom for more than 80 years. Morgan Stanley has maintained a presence in Saudi Arabia since 2007, but has joined other banks in expanding its footprint there to take advantage of an economic reform agenda introduced last year. Chief executive James Gorman said in May that Saudi Arabia could be a "major opportunity" for the firm and that both he and bank president Colm Kelleher have been spending a significant amount of time there. Saudi Aramco appointed Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan and HSBC earlier this year as the international financial advisers for its share sale, Reuters reported in March. The IPO is expected to be world''s largest. (Reporting by Katie Paul; Editing by Saeed Azhar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/morgan-stanley-saudi-ceo-idUSL8N1K11UJ'|'2017-07-10T12:33:00.000+03:00' +'384c8e344fd5f4ffc932616ea21785f46d3aafc5'|'UPDATE 1-Brazil congressional panel votes against putting Temer on trial'|'July 13, 2017 / 9:15 PM / a minute ago UPDATE 1-Brazil congressional panel votes against putting Temer on trial 2 Min Read (Adds context, background) BRASILIA, July 13 (Reuters) - A Brazilian congressional committee on Thursday voted against sending a corruption charge against President Michel Temer to the Supreme Court for the leader to be put on trial. The vote is non-binding and the full house must still vote on the charge, which would only be approved if two-thirds of legislators vote for it. Temer was charged last month in connection with a graft scheme involving the world''s largest meatpacker, JBS SA . General Prosecutor Rodrigo Janot accused Temer of arranging to receive a total of 38 million reais ($11.85 million) in bribes from JBS in the next nine months. The full house may vote on Friday, though it looks increasingly likely that lawmakers may wait until early August, after a two-week recess. Though Temer''s support has waned, he is widely expected to survive the full house vote. Janot has said he expects to level at least two new graft charges against Temer in the coming weeks, however. Several lawmakers have told Reuters in recent weeks that if they were forced into multiple votes to protect the deeply unpopular president from a trial, the chances of one of the charges being accepted by the lower house would greatly increase. Temer, who replaced impeached President Dilma Rousseff last year, would be removed from office for at least 180 days if he were forced to stand trial in the Supreme Court. $1 = 3.2072 reais Reporting by Brad Brooks; Editing by Tom Brown 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-corruption-temer-idUSL1N1K41WO'|'2017-07-14T00:14:00.000+03:00' +'a1ac1e4a03e4676665e5f19af9cbc8dcc48b9149'|'Indonesia, Freeport agree on term of new copper mine permit -official'|'July 26, 2017 / 6:17 AM / 3 minutes ago Indonesia, Freeport agree on term of new copper mine permit -official 1 Min Read JAKARTA, July 26 (Reuters) - Indonesia has reached an agreement with U.S. miner Freeport McMoRan Inc that any new operating permit for its Grasberg copper mine will only be valid until 2021, an energy and mining ministry official said on Wednesday. Freeport would be able to apply for two 10-year extensions to this, but the new permit will only be valid once signed and both sides are still negotiating, Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry Secretary-General Teguh Pamuji told reporters. Freeport and Indonesia have been locked in a long-runing, costly permit over the future of the giant Grasberg mine. Reporting by Wilda Asmarini; Writing by Fergus Jensen; Editing by Richard Pullin 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/indonesia-freeport-idUSL3N1KH2A3'|'2017-07-26T09:17:00.000+03:00' +'9202be204d41d35ce7a84e1066b6ead036b083d2'|'Daimler finance arm expects record year after first-half gains'|'July 30, 2017 / 11:48 AM / 2 hours ago Daimler finance arm expects record year after first-half gains Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The Mercedes star logo of an E Coupe is pictured before the annual news conference of Daimler AG in Stuttgart, Germany, February 2, 2017. Michaela Rehle/File Photo BERLIN (Reuters) - Daimler''s ( DAIGn.DE ) finance arm said it was heading for another record year after signing nearly one million new leasing and finance contracts between January and June. Daimler Financial Services, which handles customer financing and leasing for the German carmaker, expects a significant increase in new business this year and further growth in leasing and finance contracts, backed by expanding sales of Mercedes-Benz luxury cars, it said on Sunday. New business at the division jumped 19 percent in the first six months to 34.7 billion euros ($40.77 billion), with earnings before interest and tax up 15 percent to 1.05 billion, the company said. The portfolio of globally financed and leased vehicles increased 17 percent to 4.6 million vehicles with a total sales value of 134 billion euros, the Stuttgart-based company said. The company more than doubled the number of customers worldwide using its mobility services, including Car2Go car sharing to 14.5 million people, it said. ($1 = 0.8512 euros) Reporting by Andreas Cremer. Editing by Jane Merriman 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-daimler-financing-idUKKBN1AF0FK'|'2017-07-30T14:47:00.000+03:00' +'15d36c20b29a0fbbf443829d3bea3beca544aad2'|'U.S. Federal Reserves fines BNP Paribas $246 million for foreign exchange fixing'|'July 17, 2017 / 5:51 PM / in 30 minutes U.S. Federal Reserves fines BNP Paribas $246 million for foreign exchange fixing Pete Schroeder 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A man is seen in silhouette as he walks behind the logo of BNP Paribas in a building in Issy-les-Moulineaux, near Paris, France, April 5, 2017. Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve announced Monday it was fining BNP Paribas ( BNPP.PA ) $246 million (188.40 million pounds) for "unsafe and unsound" practices in its foreign exchange markets. The regulator said it found deficiencies in the banks oversight and internal controls of its traders, and in particular failed to detect and address those traders use of electronic chatrooms to talk with competitors about trading positions. The fine marks the latest action taken by the U.S. central bank as part of a long-running crackdown on price-fixing across foreign exchange markets, in which several banks have already pleaded guilty to conspiring to manipulate currency prices. In January, the Fed permanently barred one of the banks former traders, Jason Katz, from participating in the industry in the future over manipulation of FX prices. The Fed also is barring the bank from re-hiring any of the people involved in the activity that led to the fines. Katz, who also spent time at Barclays, pleaded guilty to participating in a price-fixing conspiracy in January. In addition to the fine, the Fed ordered BNP Paribas to overhaul how its senior management conducts oversight, and heighten controls on its FX trading. Reporting by Pete Schroeder; editing by Diane Craft 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-banks-fed-idUKKBN1A21XD'|'2017-07-17T20:51:00.000+03:00' +'4459e887f5eee7e01f1e9b290dc937add6bd8288'|'Dollar on defensive, Asia shares make fresh highs'|'July 19, 2017 / 12:55 AM / 2 hours ago World stocks climb for ninth day as earnings kick in Lewis Krauskopf 4 Min Read Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., July 19, 2017. Brendan McDermid NEW YORK (Reuters) - A gauge of global stocks climbed for a ninth straight session on Wednesday as earnings season heated up in the United States and Europe, while the dollar bounced modestly off 10-month lows. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq tallied intraday record highs in the U.S., picking up from strong performances by major European stock indexes, with the tech sector giving a boost in both regions. After decent gains in Asia on the back of positive signs from global economic powerhouse China, MSCI''s world stocks index .MIWD PUS looked set for a ninth day of gains which would mark its longest winning streak since October 2015. The global index gained 0.40 percent, setting a record high for a fifth straight session. In the U.S., the earnings season seems to be surprising a little bit on the upside," said Bruce McCain, chief investment strategist at Key Private Bank in Cleveland. "What we have seen recently in the economic reports suggests it should be even better overseas ... So we have come to the point where things looks pretty good in the U.S. and it looks even better in prospect overseas, so whats not to like about equities." The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 31.38 points, or 0.15 percent, to 21,606.11, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 9.59 points, or 0.39 percent, to 2,470.2 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 40.18 points, or 0.63 percent, to 6,384.49. Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) shares climbed 2.4 pct after the bank''s profit report. Biotech Vertex ( VRTX.O ) soared 20.8 pct after stunning cystic fibrosis drug data. Not all was rosy in earnings season, as IBM ( IBM.N ) shares dropped 4.3 pct after its report. A man holding an umbrella walks in front of an electronic stock quotation board outside a brokerage in Tokyo April 7, 2015. Issei Kato/File Photo About a week into the heart of second-quarter reporting season, S&P 500 earnings are now expected to rise 8.7 percent, up from an expectation of an 8-percent rise from the start of July, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. In Europe, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 rose 0.71 percent. Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML''s ( ASML.AS ) shares gained 5.8 pct after the firm''s quarterly report, lifting the region''s tech sector .SX8P to its biggest daily percentage gain since September. "We would like to see those stronger earnings coming through and Europe really turning a corner," said Dafydd Davies, partner at Charles Hanover Investments. A U.S. five dollar note is seen in this picture illustration June 2, 2017. Thomas White/Illustration The dollar edged higher against a basket of currencies a day after the greenback''s sharp decline sparked by a fresh setback to President Donald Trump''s domestic agenda. The dollar index .DXY rose 0.16 percent, with the euro EUR= down 0.27 percent to $1.1521. Investors remained wary of pushing the U.S. currency lower before meetings this week with the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan. Market watchers will be looking to see if the recent strength of the euro and the yen influence their policy outlooks. U.S. Treasury yields were little changed in advance of Thursday''s ECB meeting. Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last fell 3/32 in price to yield 2.2713 percent, from 2.263 percent late on Tuesday. Oil prices jumped after a U.S. report showed a bigger weekly draw than forecast in crude and gasoline stocks along with a surprise drop in distillate inventories. U.S. crude CLcv1 rose 1.31 percent to $47.01 per barrel and Brent LCOcv1 was last at $49.53, up 1.41 percent on the day. Additional reporting by John Geddie and Kit Rees in London; editing Nick Zieminski and Chizu Nomiyama 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUSKBN1A402E'|'2017-07-19T03:55:00.000+03:00' +'309822a16e4fa57aa0b3a9fb4d6cdffd3909bcbf'|'Airbus A350 goals on track, but A320neo plans in doubt'|'July 26, 2017 / 12:42 PM / 5 hours ago Airbus A350 goals on track, but A320neo plans stretched Tim Hepher 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An Airbus A350 aircraft flies in formation with Britain''s Red Arrows flying display team at the Farnborough International Airshow in Farnborough, Britain July 15, 2016. Peter Nicholls/File Photo - RTX3CD23 PARIS (Reuters) - Airbus said it was on track to meet a target of 10 A350 deliveries a month by the end of 2018 as it hit a milestone of 100 deliveries since Europe''s newest wide-body jet came into service, but doubts remained over its A320neo plans. Airbus Chief Operating Officer and President of Commercial Aircraft Fabrice Bregier reaffirmed the A350 target after delivering a A350-900 jetliner to China Airlines ( 2610.TW ). The European planemaker is juggling complex industrial and demand factors as it increases production of the A350 and the smaller A320neo family to regenerate its portfolio. Qatar Airways last month cancelled four A350s following delays though a person familiar with the matter said the two sides were in constructive discussions on the issue. The carrier had earlier cancelled several A320neo jets due to problems with engines developed by Pratt & Whitney. It has expressed interest in the larger A321neo, but this time powered by alternative engine supplier CFM ( GE.N ) ( SAF.PA ). Airbus executive Bregier has been in the Gulf state recently for talks, according to Qatar News Agency. Pratt & Whitney parent United Technologies ( UTX.N ) on Tuesday reaffirmed its target for deliveries of its new Geared Turbofan engine for the A320neo. Airbus is expected broadly to stick to its own delivery expectations when it reports earnings on Thursday. Industry sources say it has opted for now to accept Pratt''s commitments and wait for more engines, but that it remains frustrated at the slow pace of recovery which puts pressure on the planemaker''s delivery plans for the rest of the year. Airbus aims to deliver some 200 A320neo-family jets in 2017. In a sign of the task ahead, industry sources say more than half of these were originally due to be Pratt & Whitney variants under the original confidential production plan for the year, since Pratt''s engine entered service before CFM''s model. In the first half, Airbus delivered just 16 Pratt-powered A320neo jets, barely a third of the 43 powered by competing CFM engines, several sources said. That leaves more than 80 Pratt-powered jets to deliver in the remainder of the year. Airbus declined comment. Deliveries are said to be held up partly because airlines are holding out for more spare engines which Pratt is unable to deliver. Speaking to Reuters on Tuesday, United Tech finance director Akhil Johri acknowledged pressure on the supply of spares. "There''s always a trade-off between spares versus production engines... Ideally, if we had unlimited capacity we would satisfy both, but unfortunately that''s not the case," he said. CFM has indicated that it sees rising demand for its new LEAP engines but its production plans are seen unlikely to contain enough buffer to compensate for Pratt''s difficulties, at least in the short term. It has also had some glitches with forgings and materials but is so far said to be just a few weeks behind schedule. Additional reporting by Alexander Cornwell and Alwyn Scott; Editing by Edmund Blair/Keith Weir 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-airbus-deliveries-idUKKBN1AB1PP'|'2017-07-26T15:41:00.000+03:00' +'00fe81d278268782e55eeb0bece373351047f406'|'Smith & Nephew buoyed by double-digit emerging markets growth'|'July 27, 2017 / 7:13 AM / 9 minutes ago Smith & Nephew buoyed by double-digit emerging markets growth Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Artificial hip and knee maker Smith & Nephew ( SN.L ) reported a 3 percent rise in underlying revenue growth in the second quarter, in line with its 3-4 percent forecast for the year, helped by 13 percent growth in emerging markets. Chief Executive Olivier Bohuon said on Thursday the company was seeing good momentum, keeping it on track to deliver on full year revenue and trading margin guidance. Trading profit for the half year was $493 million, against the $488 million forecast by analysts, according to a company-compiled consensus. Smith & Nephew, which competes against larger U.S. rivals in the orthopaedic replacement market, is battling to bring new technology on-stream to help it win business, with robotics a key area of innovation. Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Keith Weir 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-smith-nephew-results-idUKKBN1AC0TG'|'2017-07-27T10:13:00.000+03:00' +'b3a7bce42b33b9292b440a413b2a56a13250e5a1'|'Fiat Chrysler recalls 1.33 million vehicles over fire, air bag risks'|'July 14, 2017 / 9:17 AM / in an hour Fiat Chrysler recalls 1.33 million vehicles over fire, air bag risks David Shepardson 2 Min Read A screen displays the ticker information for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV at the post where it''s traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., January 12, 2016. Brendan McDermid WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV ( FCHA.MI ) said on Friday it is recalling 1.33 million vehicles worldwide in two separate campaigns for potential fire risks and inadvertent airbag deployments. The Italian-American automaker said it is recalling about 770,000 sport utility vehicles because of a wiring issue that may lead to inadvertent deployment of the driver-side air bag and is linked to reports of five related minor injuries, but no crashes. The company said wiring could chafe against pieces of steering-wheel trim, potentially causing a short-circuit and ultimately leading to an inadvertent air bag deployment. The issue could also cause unintended windshield wiper operation or inoperable switches. The recall covers 538,000 2011-2015 Dodge Journey vehicles in North America and 233,000 2011-2015 Fiat Freemont crossovers sold elsewhere. Dealers will inspect and replace the wiring, as needed and equip it with additional protective covering. The automaker is also recalling 565,000 vehicles to replace their alternators because of fire risks. The company said hot ambient temperatures could lead to premature diode wear, may result in a burning odor or smoke, could impact the anti-lock braking system or lead to engine stalls. The company said it is aware of two potentially related accidents but no injuries. The recall covers 2011-2014 model year Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger cars and Dodge Durango SUVs and 2012-2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs. In October, Fiat Chrysler recalled about 86,000 Ram 2500 and 3500 pickup trucks, 3500, 4500 and 5500 chassis cabs from the 2007-2013 model years and 2011-2014 Dodge Charger Pursuit sedans for the same alternator issue. Fiat Chrysler said at the time one minor injury was related to the recall. Dealers will replace the alternators. Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Lisa Shumaker 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-fiat-chrysler-recall-idUSKBN19Z0U7'|'2017-07-14T12:17:00.000+03:00' +'71a7a3d53539535ab8921e74172b1d92d958cc4c'|'China bank watchdog to tighten risk control amid regulatory shake-up'|'July 18, 2017 / 12:35 AM / 11 minutes ago China bank watchdog to tighten risk control amid regulatory shake-up 3 Min Read SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China''s banking regulator will tighten control over risks in the financial markets, work more closely with the central bank and other regulators, and "resolutely follow" the leadership of a newly-formed financial stability committee, it said late on Monday. The China Banking Regulatory Commission''s comments come after President Xi Jinping said on Saturday that the central bank would take a bigger role with a Financial Stability and Development Committee to be set up under the State Council. Beijing sees financial security as a vital part of national security and has been looking to crack down on risky behaviour in the financial markets, such as insurers selling high-risk products and companies taking on excessive debt. The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) said in the statement on its website it would strengthen controls to avoid financial risks, including those related to liquidity, credit and shadow banking. It said there was a "step-by-step" plan to reduce "chaos" in the market, without giving details. The regulator will also boost cooperation with other bodies, something Beijing sees as key to cutting risks. Regulators now oversee different parts of a complex financial sector, but no single watchdog has a complete picture of the overall system. "CBRC will resolutely follow the leadership of the Financial Stability and Development Committee, actively coordinate with the People''s Bank of China to fulfil macroprudential management duties, and strengthen cooperation with other financial regulators, ministries and local government," it said. The two other main financial regulators are the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the China Insurance Regulatory Commission. The banking watchdog added failure to catch, flag and deal with financial risks in a timely manner would be treated as a dereliction of duty, parroting comments made by Xi at the once-in-five-years government work conference that ended on Saturday. In 2015, a poorly coordinated response to a stock market crash in China led to scrutiny of the government''s response, with Premier Li Keqiang openly criticising financial regulators'' performance. The CBRC will also convene a meeting in the near future with banking regulators from around the country to discuss how to implement measures decided at the work conference. Reporting by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Eric Meijer 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/china-banking-regulator-idINKBN1A3023'|'2017-07-18T03:31:00.000+03:00' +'de4fc033174c5bef79092fcca012b6dd56575202'|'Australian state picks Tesla to provide grid-scale battery'|'Business News - Fri Jul 7, 2017 - 11:15am BST Tesla wins giant battery contract in Australia, has 100-day deadline left right Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk speaks during an official ceremony in Adelaide, Australia, July 7, 2017 to announce that Tesla will install the world''s largest grid-scale battery in the South Australian state. AAP/Ben Macmahon/via REUTERS 1/6 left right South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill (R) listens to Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk speak during an official ceremony in Adelaide, Australia, July 7, 2017 to announce that Tesla will install the world''s largest grid-scale battery in the South Australian state. AAP/Ben Macmahon/via REUTERS 2/6 left right FILE PHOTO - A Tesla representative (R) demonstrates the Tesla Powerwall battery storage device to potential customers at the Tesla store in Sydney, Australia, March 13, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Reed/File photo 3/6 left right FILE PHOTO - Tesla Model X cars are charged by superchargers at a Tesla electric car dealership in Sydney, Australia, May 31, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Reed/File photo 4/6 left right FILE PHOTO - A Tesla representative demonstrates the Tesla Powerwall battery storage device to potential customers at the Tesla store in Sydney, Australia, March 13, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Reed/File photo 5/6 left right Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk arrives for an official ceremony in Adelaide, Australia, July 7, 2017 to announce that Tesla will install the world''s largest grid-scale battery in the South Australian state. AAP/Ben Macmahon/via REUTERS 6/6 By Colin Packham and James Regan - SYDNEY SYDNEY Tesla Inc has won an Australian contract to install the world''s biggest grid-scale battery, in what experts say will be a litmus test for the reliability of large-scale renewable energy. Tesla''s CEO Elon Musk, known for his bold approach to cars, clean energy and space exploration, trumped dozens of competing proposals to build the gigantic lithium-ion battery that will serve as emergency back-up power for South Australia - a state racked by outages. But under the agreement, Tesla must deliver the 100-MW battery within 100 days of the contract being signed or it will be free - a commitment Musk made in a Tweet in March. "There will be a lot of people that will look at this -''Did they get it done within 100 days? Did it work?''" Musk told reporters in South Australia''s capital city of Adelaide. "We are going to make sure it does." The battery, designed to light up 30,000 homes if there is a blackout, will be built on a wind farm operated by France''s Neoen - parts of which are still under construction. Musk said failing to deliver the project in time would cost his company "$50 million or more", without elaborating. It will be the largest lithium-ion battery storage project in the world, overtaking an 80 megawatt-hour facility in California, also built using Tesla batteries. Over the last three years, South Australia has decided to shut down its coal-fired power stations and instead rely on wind, solar and gas. In particular it has raced ahead of the rest of the country in turning to wind power, which supplies 40 percent of its energy. The move has been applauded by environmentalists but left the state prone to outages as there is no way to store enough energy when the wind doesn''t blow. In September, South Australia''s 1.7 million residents were left without power, some of them for up to two weeks, when the grid overloaded and collapsed. The battery is aimed at getting around the problem of inadequate storage. "Cost-effective storage of electrical energy is the only problem holding us back from getting all of our power from wind and solar," said Ian Lowe a professor of science at Australia''s Griffith University. "This project is a significant innovation to demonstrate the feasibility of large-scale storage." LITHIUM AMBITIONS Dozens of companies from 10 countries, including privately owned Lyon Group, working with U.S. power company AES Corp, expressed interest in the project. Now the sector is waiting to see if Musk can make good on his promise. "Tesla has been telling the world that it can and will finish the project within three months, said a source at a Korean competitor to Tesla, declining to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. "It seems that confidence helped Tesla win, but typically this kind of project takes six months so we have to wait and see whether or not Tesla can do it," the source said. Lithium-ion batteries have been in widespread use since about 1991, but mostly on a small scale, such as in laptops and cell phones. A typical lithium-ion battery can store 150 watt-hours of electricity in 1 kilogram of battery, representing more than double the capacity of nickel batteries. For their proponents who have long been pushing for grander use, the success of Musk''s big South Australian experiment will be key to greater acceptance. "For lithium technology to take off on a global scale, they clearly need the storage capacity to make sure renewables can deliver 24 hours a day, seven days a week," said Adrian Griffin, a geologist who specialises in lithium extraction. (Reporting by Colin Packham and James Regan in SYDNEY. Additional reporting by Sonali Paul in MELBOURNE. Writing by Jonathan Barrett. Editing by Bill Tarrant and Edwina Gibbs) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-australia-power-tesla-idUKKBN19S0ER'|'2017-07-07T07:28:00.000+03:00' +'2b4eb68b8e3efae6826c0e74b5d58b18a5c028a5'|'UK to crack down on ''rip off'' card fees'|'July 18, 2017 / 11:07 PM / 3 hours ago UK to crack down on ''rip off'' card fees 2 Min Read MasterCard, VISA and Maestro credit cards are seen in this picture illustration taken June 9, 2016. Maxim Zmeyev/Illustration LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will stop companies ranging from takeaway food apps to airlines from charging an extra fee to consumers who want to use credit cards and other payment services, the finance ministry said on Wednesday. The total value of surcharges for the use of debit and credit cards, which have also included fees from government departments, was estimated at 473 million pounds ($617 million)in 2010, the ministry said. "Rip-off charges have no place in a modern Britain and that''s why card-charging in Britain is about to come to an end," Stephen Barclay, economic secretary to the Treasury, said in a statement. Shares in take-away food app Just Eat ( JE.L ) dropped by 6 percent on the news, one of Europe''s biggest share price falls on Wednesday, while shares in airlines EasyJet EZY.L and the owner of British Airways, IAG ( ICAG.L ), also weakened. British Prime Minister Theresa May has said she wants her government to do more for "just managing" households who face wage increases that are lagging behind inflation. Under the changes due to be introduced on January 2018, surcharge fees will be eliminated for payments including those made on American Express ( AXP.N ) credit cards, Paypal ( PYPL.O ) and Apple Pay ( AAPL.O ). This goes further than a European Union requirement to scrap fees for consumers using Visa ( V.N ) and Mastercard ( MA.N ) cards, the ministry said. In December 2015 Britain capped the transaction fees that banks can charge companies at 0.3 percent for credit card payments and 0.2 percent for debit cards as part of European Union-wide limits. Additional reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Alison Williams 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-payments-idUKKBN1A32JJ'|'2017-07-19T02:31:00.000+03:00' +'363b330a0cfd16cea51f259d2b5de56543bb52b6'|'Round Two: Elliott Advisors, Akzo Nobel resume combat in Dutch court'|'July 27, 2017 / 8:14 AM / a few seconds ago Round Two: Elliott Advisors, Akzo Nobel resume combat in Dutch court 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Akzo Nobel''s logo is seen in Amsterdam, Netherlands, February 16, 2012. Robin van Lonkhuijsen/United Photos/File Photo AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Activist hedge fund Elliott Advisors on Thursday pressed ahead with a second lawsuit seeking to oust the chairman of Dutch paints group Akzo Nobel over his rejection of a 26.3 billion euro ($30 billion) takeover proposal from U.S. group PPG Industries. Elliott, the largest Akzo investor with a 9.5 percent stake, was pursuing the case even after Akzo said on Tuesday that 70-year old Chairman Antony Burgmans would step down when his term expires next April. That will be too late for Elliott which is engaged in an increasingly bitter fight against Burgmans. Akzo and Pittsburgh-based PPG are in a six-month compulsory cooling off period which expires in December. Some analysts believe the departure of the two leading opponents of a deal, after Chief Executive Ton Buechner announced his immediate resignation on July 19 due to health reasons, could open the door for talks. In a preliminary ruling in May, Amsterdam''s Enterprise Chamber rejected Elliott''s bid to compel Akzo to convene an extraordinary meeting of shareholders to vote on dismissing Burgmans, saying it was an attempt to wrest control of the company''s strategic direction from the board. Buechner''s sudden departure left his successor, relatively new chemicals division chief Thierry Vanlancker, to deliver higher sales and margins promised when the Dutch paintmaker fended off PPG''s takeover attempt. Akzo''s second quarter results, announced on Tuesday, missed expectations. The company''s shares traded at 75.57 euros on Thursday morning, far below PPG''s final cash and share proposal of around 95 euros made in April. Akzo said that shareholders would have their say at an extraordinary meeting on Sept. 8, but Elliott responded furiously, saying Akzo had chosen "yet again to flout fundamental shareholder rights" by not allowing a vote on Burgmans too. On Thursday, the court will hear arguments by Elliott and York Capital Management, which is supporting the suit. They are seeking a summary ruling by the judges to call an extraordinary shareholders meeting to vote on Burgmans'' position. Akzo would present counter arguments and a ruling was expected within two weeks. Editing by Keith Weir'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-akzo-nobel-shareholders-activism-idUKKBN1AC11X'|'2017-07-27T11:04:00.000+03:00' +'58f918ffbfee78e1928879be8b4e889018e199a7'|'British ministers want post-Brexit drug regulation deal with EU'|'Business News - Mon Jul 3, 2017 - 8:20pm BST British ministers want post-Brexit drug regulation deal with EU Flags are arranged at the EU headquarters as Britain and the EU launch Brexit talks in Brussels, June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir LONDON The British government sought to reassure drug companies and biotech firms on Monday by calling for continued co-operation with the European Union over drug regulation after Brexit. Drugmakers, which overwhelmingly favored remaining in the EU, account for 25 percent of all UK business research spending and companies have warned that Brexit threatens uncertainty, added complexity and potential drug approval delays. Jeremy Hunt, the health minister, and Greg Clark, the business minister, wrote a letter to the Financial Times outlining how Britain and the EU could work together. The letter said the government''s priority was to protect patient safety, maintain Britain''s role as a center for research and promote public health globally. The ministers said there were numerous examples where the partnership between Britain and the EU had helped patients, including the licensing of 130 products for rare diseases. "We will look to continue to work closely with the European Medicines Agency (EMA)," they said. "Our overall aim is to ensure that patients in the UK and across the EU continue to be able to access the best and most innovative medicines." The London-based EMA currently acts as a one-stop-shop for approving and monitoring the safety of drugs across the EU, but Britain is expected to leave its oversight after Brexit. The agency itself is due to relocate to another city inside the EU. In a bid to limit disruption, drugmakers have been pushing for some kind of partnership deal with the EMA after Brexit, potentially allowing for mutual recognition of medicine approvals. EMA Executive Director Guido Rasi said in April this kind of arrangement was theoretically possible but it would be up to EU governments to decide whether to offer such a deal, since Britain will be outside the single market governing free movement of goods, capital, services and people. Being isolated from the EU system could put British patients at the back of the line for new drugs if companies decide to prioritize Europe, a market of 500 million people, over the UK, where commercial opportunities are far smaller. Shire ( SHP.L ) CEO Flemming Ornskov said on Monday that the future of the EMA was his principal Brexit concern. "What is going to happen with the European Medicines Agency? I have 20 projects in late-stage clinical development, so clarity is important," he told Reuters in an interview. Although the impact of Brexit on global companies like GlaxoSmithKline ( GSK.L ) and AstraZeneca ( AZN.L ) is likely to be limited, the UK pharmaceuticals trade association has warned that having Britain outside the EU could undermine future investment, research and jobs in the country. Mike Thompson, CEO of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, said the ministers'' letter was "a welcome recognition that the future of medicines regulation is a key priority for the government". (Reporting by Andrew MacAskill and Ben Hirschler; editing by Alexander Smith and Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-science-idUKKBN19O238'|'2017-07-03T22:14:00.000+03:00' +'db226b6e9193c035f020e7c1a17d226e82bd0e29'|'Most Japanese companies look to raise retirement age - Reuters poll'|'July 19, 2017 / 11:10 PM / in 14 minutes Most Japanese companies look to raise retirement age - Reuters poll Thomas Wilson and Kaori Kaneko 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: People take a break on bench seats at Tokyo''s Sugamo district, an area popular among the Japanese elderly, in Tokyo August 29, 2014. Issei Kato/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - More than half of Japanese companies are planning to raise the retirement age of their workforce, a Reuters poll shows, with many saying it would alleviate the country''s labour shortage and harness the expertise of veteran workers. Most Japanese companies require full-time employees to retire at 60, with an option of a further five years'' work on reduced pay and terms. The system is a keystone of Japan''s traditional jobs-for-life employment structure where workers are virtually guaranteed employment from graduation to retirement. However, a shrinking and ageing population is forcing Japan to change. The government intends to raise the pensionable retirement age to 65 by 2025 to leave more people in the workforce and reduce pressure on a shrivelling tax base and rising social welfare bill. Companies including Suntory Holdings and retailer Aeon Co Ltd ( 8267.T ) have already raised their retirement age to 65 for employees who want to continue working. Others plan to follow suit soon to cope with the highest jobs-to-applicants ratio in more than 40 years. "We decided to raise the retirement age to strengthen our competitive edge and add value through utilising senior workers," said Keisuke Takemasu, a human resources manager at Suntory. "There''s no doubt Japanese companies need to think about employment beyond 65, and I think attention is shifting to that." In the survey, some 60 percent of companies have raised or intend to raise the retirement age for employees, with 46 percent looking to lift the cap to 65 years of age and 6 percent considering an increase to between 66 years and 70 years. Overall, most companies - 62 percent - see raising the retirement age as a positive. Many said it would ease labour shortages and help pass on older workers'' skills and know how. "It''s tough to find younger workers, so we cannot avoid raising the retirement age," a food company manager wrote in another response. The survey showed that 47 percent of companies were already implementing the change, while more than 20 percent said they planned to roll it out over the next three years and nearly a third planned to do it over four or more years. FILE PHOTO: A man produces machine parts inside a factory in Tokyo August 12, 2013. Yuya Shino/File Photo The survey, conducted monthly for Reuters by Nikkei Research, polled 549 big and mid-sized firms that replied anonymously. Between 246-262 companies answered the retirement age questions. Japan''s population is projected to shrink to 88 million from the current 127 million in the next four decades, with the proportion of those over 65 swelling to almost 40 percent from 28 percent, according to the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research. Higher Pay For elderly workers, maintaining regular employment status ensures continued benefits and higher pay than if they became a contract worker. Such higher personnel costs were flagged by 34 percent of companies as a negative and impact on staff development was a greater concern; 55 percent said it could hinder the professional development of young workers, while 52 percent said it may reduce opportunities for younger employees. "We would be unable to balance (raising the retirement age) with the recruitment of fresh graduates," wrote a manager at a retailer. T&D Holdings Inc''s ( 8795.T ) Taiyo Life Insurance in April raised its retirement age to 65 from 60 without cutting pay or terms. It will allow employees to work until 70, on temporary contracts. Daiwa Securities Group Inc ( 8601.T ) has removed curbs on some salespeople working beyond 70. Other countries grappling with ageing populations such as Germany are also raising their pensionable age. Britain abolished its default retirement age of 65 in 2011. Yoshihiro Yamashita, a labour ministry official, said raising the retirement age will help reduce labour shortages but, mindful of the financial burden on companies, the government will not look at compelling firms to raise or abolish retirement ages until after 2020. "Companies'' profitability and financial situations vary, and as the number of employees increase (after lifting retirement age), personnel costs will also go up," he said. Reporting by Thomas Wilson and Kaori Kaneko; Additional reporting by Izumi Nakagawa. Editing by Malcolm Foster and Neil Fullick 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-companies-retirement-age-idUKKBN1A42PQ'|'2017-07-20T02:10:00.000+03:00' +'0f94b0ee3337a2b0b0c0ea11c9defff0caa2fd48'|'Nokia beats quarterly market forecasts but lowers networks outlook'|'July 27, 2017 / 5:25 AM / 5 minutes ago Nokia beats quarterly market forecasts but lowers networks outlook 3 Min Read A Nokia logo is seen at the company''s headquarters in Espoo, Finland, May 5, 2017. Ints Kalnins HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finnish network equipment maker Nokia reported larger than expected quarterly profits on Thursday thanks to a patent deal with Apple and improving profitability at its network business, but warned its key market would slow. Network gear vendors have struggled in recent years amid weak demand from telecom operators, but Nokia has been outpacing Swedish rival Ericsson due to its 2016 acquisition of Franco-American rival Alcatel-Lucent. Second-quarter group earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose 73 percent from a year ago to 574 million euros ($674 million), well above analysts'' average forecast of 447 million euros in a Reuters poll. "In summary, a good second quarter, some challenges ahead this year, but also reasons to be optimistic about Nokia''s ability to deliver," Chief Executive Rajeev Suri said in a statement. He said the global network market would be more challenging in the full year than earlier forecast, citing uncertainty related to some projects. "We now expect a decline in the market in the range of 3-5 percent, versus our earlier view of a low-single digit decline," Suri said. Nokia''s network business, which accounts for roughly 90 percent of its sales, is expected to decline in line with the market trends, he said. Second-quarter sales in the networks business fell 5 percent to 4.97 billion euros, primarily due to weakness in its mobile networks business. Nonetheless, he said Nokia was still set to meet its year operating margin target of 8 to 10 percent. "Weakening of general market outlook is a clear minus. But Nokia''s profitability shows they are able to deliver good results in weak markets," said Inderes analyst Mikael Rautanen, who has an "accumulate" rating on the stock. Nokia''s total sales during the second quarter fell just 1 percent to 5.63 billion euros, aided by a jump in revenue from its technologies licensing unit, which rose 90 percent from the year-ago quarter thanks to the Apple deal. Apple and Nokia settled their patent dispute in May with a broad agreement in which Nokia will get bigger patent royalties from Apple but will also supply network infrastructure products to the U.S. company, and collaborate with it in the digital health business. Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl and Helena Soderpalm, Editing by Eric Auchard and Richard Pullin 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-nokia-results-idUKKBN1AC0GP'|'2017-07-27T09:02:00.000+03:00' +'ca03d6b0d2835549fbac7a7795ec491f15d5a56c'|'U.S. banks pay up for big deposits as consumers get pennies'|'July 18, 2017 / 7:34 PM / 16 minutes ago U.S. banks pay up for big deposits as consumers get pennies Dan Freed and David Henry 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A sign outside the headquarters of JP Morgan Chase & Co in New York, September 19, 2013. Mike Segar (Reuters) - Big U.S. banks are starting to pay corporations, financial firms and rich people more to hold on to their deposits, but ordinary consumers will have to wait longer to see more than a few pennies for every $100 they stash in their accounts. Banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co, Bank of America Corp, Wells Fargo & Co and PNC Financial Services Group lifted rates for sophisticated customers'' deposits during the second quarter, executives said when discussing earnings in recent days. The increases followed the Federal Reserve''s decision in June to lift its key interest rate target for the third time in six months. Main Street depositors are not yet seeing the same benefits, executives said. Those customers have been slower to move money from deposit accounts into products that would pay more, partly because banks, collectively, are not competing with each other for the funds. "It is a tale of two cities," JPMorgan Chief Financial Officer Marianne Lake said, in describing how corporate customers were much quicker to demand higher rates. Bill Demchak, PNC''s chief executive officer, characterized corporate deposits as "hot money" ready to move quickly when interest rates first rise. He predicted the Fed would need to hike rates a couple more times before banks would need to compensate retail consumers more. FILE PHOTO - A Bank of America logo is seen in New York City, U.S. January 10, 2017. Stephanie Keith Several online banks pay rates above 1 percent, but big banks have not budged much since rates fell to near zero during the 2007-2009 financial crisis. The average U.S. checking account now pays 4 cents of interest each year for every $100 in deposits, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Even five-year certificates of deposit pay less than 1 percent. FILE PHOTO - A Wells Fargo branch is seen in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois, U.S. on February 10, 2015. Jim Young/File Photo Consumers will benefit when a few banks start paying higher rates, forcing others to keep up to avoid losing customers, bankers said. Wells Fargo will lift rates only as a "defensive" measure, Chief Financial Officer John Shrewsberry said. Analysts say how long the banks can hold out on consumers could determine if lenders meet expectations for net interest income. Bank of America''s consumer deposit rate rose by just one-hundredth of a percentage point, but it had to pay wealth management and corporate customers more. Executives said the earnings hit of the higher rates would appear in third-quarter results. Basic checking accounts "are zero interest and they will remain zero interest because that''s the nature of the beast," Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said. Reporting by Dan Freed and David Henry in New York; Additional reporting by Elizabeth Dilts; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Meredith Mazzilli 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-banks-deposits-idINKBN1A3274'|'2017-07-18T22:30:00.000+03:00' +'c5589e6374c3f85b678c2830f3cc323060cd3803'|'Opposition Labour alarms bankers with Robin Hood tax'|'July 26, 2017 / 11:38 AM / 6 hours ago Labour alarms bankers with Robin Hood tax Andrew MacAskill , Anjuli Davies and William James 6 Min Read The leader of Britain''s opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, speaks on the BBC''s Andrew Marr Show in London, Britain, July 23, 2017. Jeff Overs/BBC/Handout via REUTERS LONDON (Reuters) - Britain''s left-wing opposition party has held a series of meetings with top finance executives, setting out how it would levy taxes on one of the world''s biggest financial trading centres if it snatched power from Prime Minister Theresa May. With May''s grip on the leadership weakened by an ill-judged election last month and her Conservative party divided over Brexit, Labour is hoping her minority government will collapse and catapult its socialist leader Jeremy Corbyn into power. Last week, Labour''s finance spokesman John McDonnell chose the London Stock Exchange -- a bastion of British capitalism -- to invite feedback on proposals, telling leaders his party will form the next government, sources at the meeting said. Banks in London''s financial hub had paid little attention to relations with the Labour Party since 2015 when members elected Corbyn, a veteran campaigner who is seen as opposing much of what the City of London stands for. But the industry has been forced to take the party seriously after its much stronger than expected showing in the general election which left May to rely on the support of a small Northern Irish party to prop up her government. McDonnell told executives from Standard Chartered, the London Stock Exchange, the City of London Corporation, lawyers, lobbyists and accountants in two separate meetings last week about Labour''s proposals to expand an existing tax on shares to include trading on other assets such as bonds and derivatives. Labour says the tax -- proposed to be around half of a percentage point or less on the value of a trade -- could earn 4.7 billion pounds a year. Labour published details of the tax in the run up to the June election. Banking industry figures are concerned such a tax, debated in Western economies for decades, could exacerbate the impact of Brexit by prompting more businesses to flee London. Cutting Down to Size Related Coverage Factbox - How will the Labour Party''s ''Robin Hood'' plan to tax bond and derivative trading work? Avinash Persaud, an economist and a former hedge fund manager, whose work is the inspiration for the proposal and appeared alongside McDonnell at one of the events, says Britain''s finance sector is lightly taxed. Persaud said the tax would help kill off high-frequency trading and he favours reducing the size of Britain''s financial sector because it has become too large. "I do feel there is a right size for the financial sector and in some countries it is too small, but in Britain and America, in the Anglo-Saxon countries, I do think it is too large," Persaud told Reuters in an interview. "This means it is absorbing a lot of resources and as a result it becomes a very powerful player, a very powerful player in politics and is maybe exerting a disproportionate impact." Labour wants to use the higher taxes on financial services -- Britain''s most profitable industry -- to fund increased public spending and end seven years of austerity under the ruling Conservatives. The proposed levy would be based on a tax of 0.2 percent of the value of trades for banks, hedge funds and other financial companies, and 0.5 per cent for non-financial businesses. Britain has the largest foreign exchange market and the second largest derivatives market in the world, accounting for just under 40 percent of the world''s dealings in those markets, according to the Bank for International Settlements. Damage Feared One executive who attended one of the Labour meetings said the proposals would damage London at time when its status is under threat because of Brexit. "If they win power and actually go ahead with this, this would be the straw that breaks the camel''s back," according to the executive. Richard Benson, the co-head of portfolio investment at currency managers Millennium Global, said such a proposal would likely send a lot of trading activity away from Britain. "It is the selective advantage that is the problem with this, unless everyone else does it, people just leave," said Benson, who was not at the meetings. But the Labour Party''s City spokesman Jonathan Reynolds told Reuters although he has been sceptical in the past about a transaction tax it would help reduce anger towards banks for causing the financial crisis and raise revenue. Banks "need to continue to rebuild public trust and support, and the tax contribution from the sector is a significant part of that," he said. The head of one large investment bank in London said they are seeking to secure meetings with Labour''s senior team as they are a potential ally in pushing for a softer Brexit and to find out more about their policies. "We need to have some sort of dialogue with Labour because it''s been zero," the banker said. Some bankers predicted that if Labour were to be elected, it would adopt a more centrist approach like former French President Francois Hollande or Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. Another executive who attended one of the meetings with McDonnell said it was made clear that Labour was inviting reaction to the proposals. "They are actively encouraging feedback and wanting to meet people further to discuss feedback. I thought that was a very positive message," he said. Others warned though that there has been little so far from the party''s rhetoric to indicate a major softening in tone. If Labour comes to power then "it is literally game over for the UK, welcome to Venezuela without the sunshine," another banking executive said. Additional reporting by Huw Jones and Patrick Graham in London; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge/Keith Weir 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-banks-labour-idUKKBN1AB1JO'|'2017-07-26T14:38:00.000+03:00' +'5cd9afad68717f150dc9e112571f855bc41b3a67'|'Austria wants to end Eurofighter programme early amid row with Airbus'|'Fri Jul 7, 2017 - 9:11am BST Austria wants to end Eurofighter program early amid row with Airbus The first Austrian military jet fighter ''''Eurofighter Typhoon'''' lands on the military airport in the small Styrian village of Zeltweg July 12, 2007. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger VIENNA Austria wants to end its Eurofighter jet program early and replace it with a cheaper alternative fleet of aircraft leased from another government, its defense minister said on Friday, amid a legal battle over the jets with Airbus. Austria sued Airbus and the Eurofighter consortium, including Britain''s BAE Systems and Italy''s Leonardo, in February, alleging deception and fraud linked to a near 2 billion euro ($2.3 billion) jet order in 2003. Airbus and the consortium have denied the accusations. The charges were the latest in a series of rows between Austria and the consortium, which have sparked two parliamentary inquiries and resulted in Airbus boss Tom Enders being investigated by Vienna prosecutors. The defense ministry said in a statement that Austria''s 15 Eurofighter jets could be phased out from 2020. The continued use of the Eurofighter planes for 30 years - the normal life span of such jets - would cost up to 5 billion euros. Buying and operating a new fleet comprised of 15 single-seater and three twin-seater supersonic jets over the same period could be 2 billion euros cheaper than continuing its current program, the ministry said. "It is necessary to get a grip on the overflowing costs of the Eurofighter," Defence Minister Hans Peter Doskozil said. The ministry said it had already been in touch with other governments, air forces and aircraft producers. Austria prefers a government-to-government deal that would see Vienna lease the aircraft from another country, rather than organizing a tender that would take much longer and might jeopardize the 2020-2023 timeframe for the change of fleet. Such a government-to-government deal could involve the other country buying the jets from one of its national producers whose planes have self-defense systems, radar-guided missiles and can operate at night and at supersonic speed. The tranche 1 type of the Eurofighter jets which Austria uses is also in operation in Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain. (Reporting by Shadia Nasralla; Editing by Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-austria-eurofighter-idUKKBN19S0ZN'|'2017-07-07T11:07:00.000+03:00' +'ac08edbe85f12655b4bd1ede90dac71713964775'|'Electric vehicles could lift UK peak power demand by 3.5 GW by 2030 - National Grid'|'July 12, 2017 / 11:31 PM / 18 hours ago Electric vehicles could lift UK peak power demand by 3.5 GW by 2030 - National Grid Reuters Staff 3 Min Read Workers paint an electricity pylon near Lymm, northern England February 18, 2015. Phil Noble LONDON (Reuters) - The growing use of electric vehicles could increase electricity peak demand by 3.5 gigawatts (GW) in Britain by 2030, National Grid said on Thursday. In its annual Future Energy Scenarios report, the grid operator said it saw a sharp rise in the number of electric vehicles, with sales expected to be more than 90 percent of all cars by mid-century. READ MORE: Platinum demand faces massive impact from electric car growth - IPMI As a result, electricity demand will increase, driven initially by electric vehicles and later on by heat demand as the pace picks up to decarbonise the heating sector. Peak electricity demand could even rise by as much as 8 GW by 2030 without "smart charging" during off-peak hours and 18 GW by 2050, National Grid said. Peak electricity demand in Britain is currently around 50-55 GW in winter. The 18 GW increase in peak demand would happen in a world which is quite wealthy, where consumers would charge their vehicles at peak times, ignoring electricity tariffs that are cheaper during off-peak hours. In a world where cutting greenhouse gas emissions is a top priority, shared driverless vehicles could potentially make up 50 percent of electric vehicles, National Grid said. READ MORE: After dieselgate, VW loosens reins on carmaking empire With vehicle sharing and off-peak charging patterns, demand might only rise by 6 GW by 2050, it added. "The scenarios are not predictions but they aim to be a catalyst for debate, decision making and change, and provide transparency to the wider industry," said Marcus Stewart, head of energy insights at National Grid. "This new era of network operation is exciting and manageable, but it''s important there is investment in smart technologies and electricity infrastructure and a coordinated approach across the whole electricity system," he added. Reporting by Nina Chestney; Editing by Mark Potter 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-nationalgrid-energy-idUKKBN19X33X'|'2017-07-13T02:30:00.000+03:00' +'61926d92e8843da2dcbd98f0aa81af107759aede'|'Idea Cellular posts third straight quarterly loss amid price war'|'July 27, 2017 / 11:24 AM / in 4 hours Idea Cellular posts third straight loss amid price war 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A man speaks on his mobile phone as he sits in front of a shop displaying the Idea Cellular Ltd''s logo on its shutter in Mumbai, India, April 28, 2014. Danish Siddiqui/File Photo (Reuters) - Idea Cellular Ltd, India''s No. 3 telecoms firm, reported a third straight quarterly loss on Thursday, reeling in the wake of a price war wrought by upstart entrant Reliance Jio. The company reported a net loss of 8.15 billion rupees ($127.13 million) for the three months ended June 30 after posting a profit of 2.20 billion a year earlier. ( bit.ly/2u1iLpF ) Analysts on average estimated a loss of 6.71 billion rupees, Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S data showed. Idea''s capital expenditure guidance for full year 2018 is 60 billion rupees, it said. Reliance Industries, led by India''s wealthiest man Mukesh Ambani, entered India''s telecoms industry last year, spending more than $30 billion on Jio and upending the sector with its low-cost data plans. The ensuing price war has triggered consolidation in the world''s second biggest mobile phone market by users. Idea and Vodafone Group Plc''s have agreed to merge their Indian operations in a $23 billion deal that is expected to close in 2018. Bharti Airtel is taking over operations of Norway''s Telenor in six Indian states. This week, bigger rival Bharti Airtel reported its smallest profit in 18 quarters. Reporting by Arnab Paul in Bengaluru; editing by Edwina Gibbs and Jason Neely 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/idea-cellular-results-idINKBN1AC1P8'|'2017-07-27T14:23:00.000+03:00' +'67741a3de3b2db61e7a22ada2a2121634aec3550'|'MIDEAST STOCKS-Region mixed; Dubai tests chart barrier, poor earnings hit Oman'|'July 16, 2017 / 2:25 PM / 4 hours ago MIDEAST STOCKS-Region mixed; Dubai tests chart barrier, poor earnings hit Oman 3 Min Read * Dubai index closes on April peak * Abu Dhabi''s Ajman Bank rises after Q2 earnings * Qatar National Bank pulls back after last week''s surge * Foreigners'' buying and selling almost balanced in Qatar * Omantel, Bank Dhofar among Omani losers after earnings By Andrew Torchia DUBAI, July 16 (Reuters) - Stock markets in the Gulf were mixed on Sunday with the global uptrend in equities pushing Dubai''s index up to test technical resistance but weak corporate earnings hurting Oman. The Dubai index gained 1.0 percent in modest trading volume to close on its April peak of 3,573 points. Eight of the 10 most heavily traded stocks rose, with the most active, Union Properties, edging up 0.3 percent. Abu Dhabi added 0.2 percent as Ajman Bank gained 2.6 percent despite reporting a moderate fall in second-quarter net profit. Its operating income actually rose slightly. The Saudi index climbed 0.5 percent in a broad-based rally. Banque Saudi Fransi added 1.4 percent and a few second- and third-tier stocks surged in unusually heavy trade; Saudi Printing and Packaging soared 8.5 percent. Qatar''s index fell 1.3 percent with Qatar National Bank, the biggest lender, falling by the same margin. The bank had surged 4.2 percent on Thursday after it reported a 3.6 percent increase in its second-quarter profits earlier in the week. Exchange data showed foreign investors'' buying and selling of Qatari stocks roughly balanced on Sunday while non-Qatari Gulf investors were almost inactive, though they were sellers on a net basis. Some Gulf funds fear sanctions imposed by neighbouring Arab states could eventually force them to pull out of the country entirely. Oman dropped 1.1 percent as a string of weak earnings showed the strain that low oil prices and government austerity measures have placed on the economy. Raysut Cement slipped 0.8 percent after reporting that first-half net profit shrank by nearly two-thirds from a year earlier, with turnover also dropping. Oman Telecommunications sank 3.3 percent after reporting a 39 percent fall in first-half profit, with revenue stagnant. Bank Dhofar lost 3.2 percent after first-half consolidated net profit shrank 13 percent, and National Gas plunged 8.0 percent in very thin trade after it said first-half profit more than halved. Highlights * The index gained 0.5 percent to 7,349 points. Dubai * The index rose 1.0 percent to 3,573 points. Abu Dhabi * The index edged up 0.1 percent to 4,524 points. Qatar * The index dropped 1.3 percent to 9,344 points. Egypt * The index edged down 0.05 percent to 13,816 points. Kuwait * The index rose 0.3 percent to 6,809 points. Bahrain * The index fell 0.3 percent to 1,314 points. Oman * The index dropped 1.1 percent to 5,064 points. (Reporting by Andrew Torchia; editing by Susan Thomas) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/mideast-stocks-idUSL8N1K708L'|'2017-07-16T17:22:00.000+03:00' +'110fac5b6ede87a1cb46382ece4ebe7970b5e5c4'|'Samsung on track to take Intel''s chip crown with record second-quarter earnings'|'Top 43am BST Samsung on track to take Intel''s chip crown with record second-quarter earnings The logo of Samsung Electronics is seen at its office building in Seoul, South Korea, July 4, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji By Joyce Lee - SEOUL SEOUL Samsung Electronics Co Ltd ( 005930.KS ) is expected to report its best-ever quarterly profit in the second quarter, with soaring memory chip sales pushing it past Intel Corp ( INTC.O ) as the biggest semiconductor maker by revenue for the first time. The world''s largest memory chip maker is the among the biggest beneficiaries of soaring demand for processing firepower on smartphones and servers, which has fuelled an industry super-cycle amid limited supply growth. Underscoring its dominant position, Samsung said on Tuesday it plans to invest some $18.6 billion (14.3 billion) in South Korea as it seeks to extend its lead in memory chips and next-generation displays for smartphones. The South Korean tech giant, Asia''s third-largest company by market capitalisation, is now poised to knock Intel off the top of the global semiconductor market-share rankings for the first time since 1991. "From the second quarter, Samsung will become No. 1 in market share due to the recent increase in data centres and demand for solid-state drives," NH Investment & Securities analyst Peter Lee wrote in a note to clients. Samsung''s April-June operating profit is expected to leap 67 percent from a year earlier to 13.1 trillion won (8.8 billion), a new high, according to the average forecast from a Thomson Reuters survey of 18 analysts. The same survey expects July-September profit to be even higher at 13.8 trillion won. Solid sales of the Galaxy S8 smartphone launched in April likely provided an additional boost, keeping the firm ahead of rival Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) as the world''s top smartphone maker. The S8''s performance has reassured investors whose nerves were shaken last year by the costly withdrawal of Samsung''s premium Galaxy Note 7 due to fire-prone batteries. Samsung shares are trading at a near-record high of 2.35 million won each as of Tuesday. They have gained 30 percent so far this year on top of a 43 percent surge in 2016. IN THE PIPELINE "The Galaxy S8 series has been out for more than 2 months now and we see similar traction as the Galaxy S7 series," Counterpoint analyst Tom Kang said. Samsung would sell about 49 million S8s by the end of its first full-year release, in line with first-year sales of the Galaxy S7, he said. Samsung is also preparing to unveil the Galaxy Note 8 in August, a source told Reuters, restoring the company''s schedule of market-moving gadget releases after the interruption of the Note 7 debacle. The company will issue earnings guidance early on Friday but will not disclose details on its performance until late July. Nomura has predicted DRAM chip prices will continue to rise in the second half of 2017 due to limited supply and strong demand driven by servers. Demand for solid-state drives (SSD) and smartphones would maintain profits for producers of NAND semiconductors, despite an easing of a production bottleneck, it said. Memory industry forecasts - tmsnrt.rs/2k8LOqk'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-samsung-elec-results-preview-idUKKBN19P2LX'|'2017-07-05T02:12:00.000+03:00' +'24eb00b7c870eebd81bd3017badf8423fabfcab8'|'Austrian ''bad bank'' Heta suspends some compliance staff'|'July 28, 2017 / 12:29 PM / 24 minutes ago Austrian ''bad bank'' Heta suspends some compliance staff Reuters Staff 1 Min Read VIENNA (Reuters) - Austrian ''bad bank'' Heta [HAABI.UL] said it had suspended several members of its compliance team while it investigates alleged weaknesses brought to its attention by a whistleblower. Heta said on Friday it had asked unnamed "independent experts" to look into the issue and report back by the end of August as well as take over compliance work in the interim. Austria''s Heta was formed from Hypo Alpe Adria which became the country''s worst financial disaster since World War Two, costing taxpayers billions of euros, when it was nationalised in 2009. "The management board of Heta ... were given a piece of information which can be classified as whistleblowing about some procedural weaknesses in the sectors compliance and revision," Heta said in a statement. "The supervisory board currently has no evidence that the accusations are true or that Heta might have incurred damage from these alleged procedural weaknesses," it added. Reporting by Shadia Nasralla; editing by Alexander Smith 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-austria-heta-badbank-compliance-idUKKBN1AD1IM'|'2017-07-28T15:28:00.000+03:00' +'fd37dc2f62abe7853b03b361b562943405fb9949'|'Heading to Germany because of Brexit? Call this free tax hotline'|'July 26, 2017 / 11:05 AM / in 3 hours Heading to Germany because of Brexit? Call this free tax hotline Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The European Union and German nation flags are pictured before a debate on the consequences of the Brexit vote at the lower house of parliament Bundestag in Berlin, Germany, June 28, 2016. Fabrizio Bensch FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The western German state of Hesse, home to Frankfurt, has set up a toll-free hotline and website - both in English - aimed at handling tax queries from finance professionals considering a move in the age of Brexit. "Do you have any initial questions regarding your income tax matters - and in English? Then you have come to the right place!" the website, gofrankfurttax.com, welcomes visitors on its homepage, which is illustrated with a banner of the Frankfurt skyline. The English-language hotline is free for anyone calling from Germany or Britain. Hesse''s Finance Minister Thomas Schaefer also invites prospective migrants for face-to-face conversations with his tax experts. The state has been working hard to market itself as a home to the financial industry following Britain''s exit from the European Union. Wall Street banks Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) and Citigroup ( C.N ) both said last week they were going to establish their EU trading headquarters in Frankfurt to ensure they could still serve customers in the bloc after Brexit. "German tax law is a challenge even for Germans," said Bernadette Weyland, state secretary in the Hesse finance ministry. "Those who come from another country are sure to have even more questions." International banks that have said they would set up subsidiaries in Frankfurt include Mizuho Financial Group ( 8411.T ), Nomura ( 8604.T ), Daiwa Securities ( 8601.T ), Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group ( 8316.T ), and British lender Standard Chartered STAN.L. Reporting by Tom Sims; Editing by Alison Williams 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-germany-idUKKBN1AB1G8'|'2017-07-26T14:05:00.000+03:00' +'3177bcc8363f90220f80f4490afb5172199032c6'|'WTO better for solving U.S. trade spats than NAFTA tool - Mexico minister'|'July 21, 2017 / 3:56 AM / in 23 minutes WTO better for solving U.S. trade spats than NAFTA tool - Mexico minister Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Mexico''s Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo gestures during an event organised by Americas Society/Council of the Americas at National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, May 23, 2017. Ginnette Riquelme MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico''s economy minister said on Thursday the World Trade Organization (WTO) has been more effective in resolving U.S. trade disputes than the so-called Chapter 19 mechanism, which the United States hopes to ditch as part of NAFTA talks. The United States on Monday released its goals for the talks, which aim to update the North American Free Trade Agreement that came into force in 1994. These included a desire to ditch the Chapter 19 dispute settlement mechanism that has hindered the United States from pursuing anti-dumping and anti-subsidy cases against Mexican and Canadian firms. Canada has subsequently said it believes the mechanism must be kept as part of the NAFTA update. Asked in a television interview on Thursday whether Mexico would be willing to agree to scrapping Chapter 19, Ildefonso Guajardo did not directly answer the question. However, he said: "The majority of recent controversies (with the United States) ... we have won them all in the WTO, which has been for us, a much more efficient mechanism than Chapter 19 of NAFTA." Under Chapter 19, which Canada insisted be in NAFTA, binational panels hear complaints about illegal subsidies and dumping and then issue binding decisions. The United States has frequently lost such cases. Reporting by Gabriel Stargardter and Sharay Angulo; Editing by Robert Birsel 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trade-mexico-idUKKBN1A60A4'|'2017-07-21T06:56:00.000+03:00' +'98d40f31bd97c5b96d5b08786c4ac1e4c85741a6'|'Faced with possible EU fine, GE says acted in good faith'|'Deals - Thu Jul 6, 2017 - 5:55am EDT Faced with possible EU fine, GE says acted in good faith BRUSSELS General Electric ( GE.N ) said on Thursday that it had acted in good faith to meet EU disclosure requirements, after the European Commission accused the company of providing misleading information during a merger deal. "We believe we acted in good faith to meet the EC disclosure requirements and there was no intent to mislead," GE said in a statement. The European Commission said it had sent three separate charge sheets, known as statements of objections, to Merck and Sigma-Aldrich, General Electric and Canon. While the charges will not affect the EU approvals of the deals, they could lead to fines up to 1 percent of global revenue for GE. (Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek; Editing by Alissa de Carbonnel) '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-competition-ge-idUSKBN19R13L'|'2017-07-06T13:55:00.000+03:00' +'b5b378f8e5f9f474971ca4a7ea757a7d29039e96'|'Volkswagen recalls 766,000 VW cars worldwide for brake system update'|'Thu Jul 6, 2017 - 2:24pm BST Volkswagen recalls 766,000 VW cars worldwide for brake system update A man uses phone under a Volkswagen logo at the Shanghai Auto Show, in Shanghai, China April 20, 2017. REUTERS/Aly Song BERLIN Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) is recalling 766,000 vehicles of its core passenger car brand worldwide for a software update to their braking control systems, a spokesman said. The braking control system may not function properly in certain driving conditions, such as when the driver over-steers, under-steers or slams on the brakes, the spokesman said. The car maker is recalling 288,000 VW-brand cars in Germany over the issue. Including the Audi and Skoda brands, the German recall impacts about 385,000 cars, the spokesman said. The recall in Germany was first reported by news agency DPA on Saturday. (Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Victoria Bryan) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-recall-idUKKBN19R1IZ'|'2017-07-06T14:43:00.000+03:00' +'f40cb126ce9c9dd7ca6b5eb38172942cea9052d4'|'U.S. farm lobby turns up heat on Trump team as NAFTA talks near'|'July 14, 2017 / 5:17 AM / 4 minutes ago U.S. farm lobby turns up heat on Trump team as NAFTA talks near Richard Cowan 7 Min Read FILE PHOTO - U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer speaks during a ceremony at the White House in Washington, U.S. on May 15, 2017. Kevin Lamarque/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With talks to renegotiate the NAFTA trade pact just weeks away, U.S. farm groups and lawmakers from rural states are intensifying lobbying of President Donald Trump''s administration with one central message: leave farming out of it. Trump blames the North American Free Trade Agreement - the "worst trade deal ever" in his words - for millions of lost manufacturing jobs and promises to tilt it in America''s favor. But for U.S. farmers the 23-year old pact secures access to stable, lucrative markets in Mexico and Canada that now account for over a quarter of U.S. farm exports. (Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/2tNMtlc ) Now they fear this access could become a bargaining chip in efforts to get a better deal for U.S. manufacturers. "Perhaps some other sectors of our economy are given better terms and in exchange for that agriculture tariffs would be reintroduced," said Joe Schuele, a spokesman for the U.S. Meat Export Federation in Denver, Colorado. Another concern is that the mere uncertainty of open-ended trade talks could drive Mexico to alternative suppliers of grains, dairy products, beef and pork. Mexico became even more crucial after Trump''s pullout from a vast Pacific Rim trade pact negotiated under Barack Obama dashed farmers'' hopes of free access to more markets. Next week, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is due to outline the administration''s goals for the NAFTA talks to Congress and the farm lobby has turned up the heat in the past weeks to ensure that its interests will make Lighthizer''s list. Operating under the umbrella of the U.S. Food and Agriculture Dialogue for Trade, more than 130 commodity groups and agribusiness giants since Trump''s inauguration have been bombarding the new administration with phone calls and letters, public comments to USTR and face-to-face meetings with top officials who have Trump''s ear. "Our first ask is to do no harm," said Cassandra Kuball, the head of the umbrella group. Lobbyists said that Lighthizer, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross have been receptive, but the wild card is how Trump ultimately will come down on the talks. They also wonder what concessions Mexico will seek from Washington in the talks due to start in mid-August. Among the groups involved are the American Soybean Association, Corn Refiners Association and National Grain and Feed Association and firms such as Land O''Lakes, Inc., Tyson Foods( TSN.N ), Inc., Louis Dreyfus Company North America, Archer Daniels Midland Co. and others. For example, U.S. cotton producers, marketers and shippers in mid-June warned the Trump administration that any weakening of NAFTA "would threaten the health of the U.S. industry and the jobs of the 125,000 Americans employed by it." Quadrupling Exports Annual U.S. farm exports to Mexico have grown from about $4 billion in 1994, when NAFTA began, to an estimated $18.5 billion this year. With Canada included, that number is forecast to reach $40 billion, quadrupling under NAFTA. FILE PHOTO - Secretary of Agriculture nominee Sonny Perdue arrives at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Agriculture Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, U.S. on March 23, 2017. Aaron P. Bernstein/File Photo Republican lawmakers from rural states that have backed Trump in the 2016 election have sought to leverage their political clout to press farmers'' case at a time when they struggle with low crop prices. Pat Roberts, Republican senator from Kansas, who chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee, said he used an unexpected invitation for a private White House meeting with Trump to plug in agriculture''s cause in NAFTA and beyond. "He (Trump) wanted to know what was happening in farmland," Roberts said. "I told him we went through a very rough patch and if we did not have a strong, robust, predictable trade policy, it''s going to make life much more difficult in farm country," Roberts said of the 45-minute meeting in late June. In May, 18 Republican senators, mainly from pro-Trump farming states, wrote the administration about the "tremendous growth" in U.S. trade with Mexico and Canada as a result of NAFTA. "Efforts to abandon the agreement or impose unnecessary restrictions on trade with our North American partners will have devastating economic consequences," they warned. Slideshow (3 Images) Trump''s pledges to crack down on immigration and calls for a wall along the border with Mexico also vex farm state lawmakers. "What I really need is a good, solid immigration system, South Dakota Republican Senator Mike Rounds said. Given his state''s low unemployment rate of just around 2.8 percent, farmers and ranchers need better access to legal foreign labor, he said. Storm Over Sunny Slope Agriculture Secretary Perdue got a taste of farmers'' angst when met cattle ranchers in Nebraska on May 20. The event was held shortly after Washington agreed with China to resume beef exports, but some 60 ranchers who gathered at U.S. Senator Deb Fischer''s Sunny Slope Ranch quickly turned to NAFTA. "If the president wants to renegotiate that agreement with our neighbors and partners in Mexico and Canada please leave the ag portion of that discussion out," said Pete McClymont, executive vice president of Nebraska Cattlemen, summarizing the discussion. While lobbying in Washington, some Republican lawmakers have also met with Mexico''s ambassador and U.S. farming representatives traveled south to assure their partners unsettled by Trump''s "America First" mantra. "The common comment is: ''why are you here? The problem is not with us. The problem is in Washington. Why are you talking to us?''" said Tom Sleight, president and CEO of the U.S. Grains Council. "The new normal is that feed buyers, millers, grain buyers are actively looking at alternative sources," he said. It will take months to find out how effective the lobbying was. Meantime, some are willing to give Trump the benefit of the doubt. Daryl Haack, a corn and soybean farmer from Primghar in northwest Iowa, like others fears retaliation from either Canada or Mexico, but is optimistic it will not come to that. "I think President Trump is a negotiator," he said. "I think he runs bluffs. A lot of negotiators will do that." Reporting By Richard Cowan, Additional reporting by Mark Weinraub, Karl Plume and Theopolis Waters in Chicago; Editing by Caren Bohan and Tomasz Janowski 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-nafta-farming-idUKKBN19Z0DU'|'2017-07-14T08:04:00.000+03:00' +'7df6cbc4062d6b4bd56148863dbe5696a18f417b'|'Engie head of exploration to leave after Neptune takeover'|'July 11, 2017 / 6:21 AM / an hour ago Engie head of exploration to leave after Neptune takeover Karolin Schaps 3 Min Read The logo of French gas and power group Engie is seen on the company tower June 1, 2017 at La Defense business and financial district in Courbevoie near Paris, France. Charles Platiau ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Maria Moraeus Hanssen, chief executive of French Engie''s ( ENGIE.PA ) exploration and production business, said she will vacate her position following the $3.9 billion (3.03 billion pounds) takeover of the unit by private equity-backed Neptune Oil & Gas. Moraeus Hanssen, a petroleum engineer and economist, has headed Engie''s E&P business since October 2015 and oversaw the unit''s sale to Neptune, part of Engie''s strategy to sell 15 billion euro worth of assets until 2018 as it shifts focus to energy grids and services. "I''m not going to stay on. We''ll have to see what I''m going to do," Moraeus Hanssen told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of an industry conference in Istanbul. The deal is set to close in late 2017 or early next year. Neptune declined to comment. New owner Neptune, which is backed by private equity funds The Carlyle Group ( CG.O ) and CVC Capital Partners, will likely mean a return to more daring exploration investments for the business, Moraeus Hanssen said. "The good news for E&P employees is now they have dedicated owners who want to invest in E&P," she said. Engie''s E&P business was loss-making in 2015 and 2016, hit hard by writedowns on the back of weak oil prices like its peers in the business. As a result of poor returns in the business and Engie''s strategy shift, the group has been investing less in its oil and gas business, with total capital expenditure on the unit dropping below 1 billion euros ($1.14 billion) last year. Engie''s E&P business, which mainly consists of assets in the Norwegian, British and Dutch parts of the North Sea, has lately focused on finding fresh resources in areas close to existing fields. "We will go deeper and we will look at maybe things that we left behind, like the tighter and deeper zones," Moraeus Hanssen said, highlighting a wider industry trend of dropping riskier frontier exploration in favour of nearfield oil searches since prices started falling three years ago. Growth for the business lies within expanding organically like this but also within acquiring new assets in areas where Engie is present, like Britain''s gas-rich southern North Sea basin, Moraeus Hanssen said. "We would be looking at stuff that will be where we already are. This is Europe, North Africa and southeast Asia." Reporting by Karolin Schaps; Editing by Stephen Coates 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-engie-e-p-idUKKBN19W0F5'|'2017-07-11T09:20:00.000+03:00' +'25e4e51b706118b522a1eb4860026d303ab5ed1b'|'Carrefour Brasil IPO seen pricing at low end of range: sources'|'FILE PHOTO - A general view is seen of a Carrefour store in Sao Paulo December 24, 2013. Paulo Whitaker BOGOTA/SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Grupo Carrefour Brasil SA''s initial public offering may price at the bottom of a suggested price range later on Tuesday, due to concern over a stretched valuation for Brazil''s biggest supermarket chain, three people familiar with the matter said.Late on Monday night, investors had placed orders for less than twice the number of Carrefour Brasil shares on offer at the IPO, based on a price of 15 reais each, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss the deal freely.Fund managers said prices at the top half of the suggested price range would grant Carrefour Brasil a large premium against bigger rival GPA SA ( PCAR4.SA ), despite a lack of significant competitive advantages.The company and shareholders expected to raise up to 5.6 billion reais ($1.8 billion) if the IPO were to price at the 19 reais ceiling of the range. Carrefour did not respond to requests for comment.The IPO should help Carrefour Brasil add financial muscle to take on GPA, whose food division has recovered amid sliding sales of appliances. Carrefour Brasil recently surpassed GPA as Brazil''s No. 1 diversified retailer in terms of sales.At the bottom end of the suggested price range, Carrefour Brasil''s shares would trade at a slight discount relative to GPA shares, managers said.The transaction seals the first phase of an alliance between Carrefour and Brazilian retail tycoon Abilio Diniz, which started in 2014 and involved revamping the business plan in Brazil. Diniz, whose family founded GPA, is Carrefour''s third-largest shareholder and has a seat on the board.Carrefour Brasil''s IPO is the first of two such offerings slated to price this week, which would make it the busiest for share offerings since mid-February.The separate offering of Brazilian depositary receipts (BDRs) in Colombia-based pharmaceutical firm Grupo Biotoscana SA has investors willing to place three times the amount of shares on offer at the mid-point of a 24.50-28.50 reais price range, two of the people added.Pricing of the offering, originally scheduled for Tuesday, was delayed to Friday after Biotoscana revised its financial statements in response to a regulatory inquiry over the accounting of its 2015 purchase of Laboratorio LKM.Investors are wary of Brazilian IPOs after a string of new issues in recent years failed to deliver promised returns.Less than one-third of the 115 IPOs priced since the start of 2007 yielded returns above Brazil''s interbank lending rate, Thomson Reuters data shows.Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Additional reporting by Dominique Vidalon and Bruno Federowski; Writing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Bruno Federowski; Editing by Bernard Orr and Tom Brown '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-ipo-idUSKBN1A31HD'|'2017-07-18T16:47:00.000+03:00' +'29560c6631ec651658b075d93f1fd2e8e3c2a8aa'|'NRG Energy targets asset sales of up to $4 bln'|'July 12, 2017 / 11:37 AM / an hour ago NRG Energy targets asset sales of up to $4 bln 1 Min Read July 12 (Reuters) - NRG Energy Inc, the largest independent U.S. power producer, said on Wednesday it was targeting asset sales of up to $4 billion, as part of a three-year restructuring effort to cut costs. The sale would include divestiture of 50 to 100 percent of the company''s interest in NRG Yield Inc and its renewables platform, the company said in a statement. NRG had appointed two directors in February and agreed to cut costs and sell assets in a deal with activist investor Elliott Management and private equity firm Bluescape Energy Partners. The funds have an 8.2 percent stake in the company. (Reporting by John Benny in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/nrg-energy-divestiture-idUSL4N1K33UK'|'2017-07-12T14:35:00.000+03:00' +'b1124c5c25b45c28b90c1aa89723598fd6ed7cc8'|'Jury urged to convict ''pharma bro'' Martin Shkreli on fraud charges'|'July 27, 2017 / 7:19 PM / in 21 minutes Jury urged to convict ''pharma bro'' Martin Shkreli on fraud charges Brendan Pierson 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Martin Shkreli, former chief executive officer of Turing Pharmaceuticals and KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc, arrives for his trial at U.S. Federal Court in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., July 21, 2017. Brendan McDermid/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. prosecutor on Thursday urged jurors to convict former drug company executive Martin Shkreli of defrauding investors in his hedge funds and stealing from his old company to repay them. In a five-hour closing argument capping off a month-long trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Alixandra Smith told jurors in Brooklyn federal court that Shkreli told "lies upon lies" over the course of five years. "Only you can see the whole picture," she said to the jurors. Shkreli, 34, is best known for raising the price of anti-infection drug Daraprim to $750 a pill, from $13.50 in 2015, when he was chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals. The increase sparked outrage from patients and U.S. lawmakers and earned him the nickname "pharma bro." The fraud and conspiracy charges he now faces relate not to Turing but to Shkreli''s management of his previous drug company, Retrophin Inc, and hedge funds MSMB Capital and MSMB Healthcare between 2009 and 2014. Shkreli''s lawyers have emphasized in their cross-examinations that his investors did not lose money in the end. In his opening argument for Shkreli last month, lawyer Benjamin Brafman portrayed Shkreli as an awkward misfit who never intended to defraud anyone, and who was in fact manipulated and exploited by investors and other associates for his "genius." Smith on Thursday led jurors through what she described as a series of frauds, beginning in 2009 when Shkreli began wooing investors for MSMB Capital. Shkreli falsely claimed the fund had an outside auditor and managed assets worth tens of millions of dollars, Smith said. Smith told jurors that Shkreli lost all the investors'' money in 2011 but covered up the loss with fabricated performance reports, which she called the "most significant lies in this case." She said Shkreli used his other fund, MSMB Healthcare, as a vehicle to funnel money into Retrophin, which he founded in 2011, while claiming it was a hedge fund with diverse assets. Eventually, Smith said, Shkreli paid back investors with shares and cash from Retrophin, using fraudulent settlement and consulting agreements. "This was just a sham," she said of one consulting agreement. "It was a way to pull money out of Retrophin, a public company, to pay back debts that were owed by the defendant." A lawyer for Shkreli will deliver a closing argument Thursday afternoon. Shkreli''s defense team did not call any witnesses in the case. Reporting by Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Steve Orlofsky 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-crime-shkreli-idUKKBN1AC2ZL'|'2017-07-27T22:18:00.000+03:00' +'d6340dd1726610ea00625b354106b4fef0888331'|'WRAPUP 1-Qatar raises gas capacity amid Gulf dispute'|'Market News 12am EDT WRAPUP 1-Qatar raises gas capacity amid Gulf dispute July 4 Qatar announced on Tuesday it planned to raise liquefied natural gas (LNG) capacity by 30 percent in an apparent show of strength in its dispute with Gulf neighbours who have imposed political and economic sanctions on Doha. The unexpected move came as Qatar appears to be preparing itself for greater economic independence should the dispute with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain become protracted. Its immediate effect will be to worsen a glut on the LNG market where Australia, the United States and Russia vie. The Gulf states and Egypt have severed diplomatic and transport ties with Doha, accusing it of supporting terrorism and courting regional rival Iran. Qatar denies the accusation. The Arab states, who have presented Doha with a list of demands, meet on Wednesday to discuss how to end the crisis; or they could impose more sanctions, which may include asking trade partners to pick a side in the rift. Qatar Petroleum''s chief executive said the firm would increase gas production from its giant North Field, which it shares with Iran, by 20 percent after new gas development. In April, Qatar lifted a self-imposed ban on development of the North Field, the world''s biggest natural gas field, and announced a new project to develop its southern section, increasing output in five to seven years. That new project will raise Qatar''s total LNG production capacity by 30 percent to 100 million tonnes from 77 million tonnes per year, CEO Saad al-Kaabi told a news conference. "Once completed...this project will raise the production of the State of Qatar to about 6 million barrels of oil equivalent per day," Kaabi said. With such low production costs and LNG facilities closer to buyers in Europe and Asia, the Qatari move means U.S. producers could struggle to sell their LNG competitively and projects still needing finance could struggle to find investors. So far only Cheniere exports U.S. LNG, but there are project proposals with a total capacity of some 150 million tonnes/year. Energy sales have driven Qatar''s rapid rise as a regional player, with vast infrastructure projects and widening diplomatic influence as well as a role in the Syrian conflict that is viewed with suspicion by Gulf neighbours. German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said in Jeddah the stand-off between Qatar and its Arab neighbours would best be solved by an agreement across the region to prevent the financing of terrorism, "We all know that (this support) is not organised by states, but often by private persons," he added. "But we must somehow succeed in ending support in the region for extremist and terrorist organisations." IRANIAN QUESTION The glut has already driven down prices. Asian spot LNG prices LNG-AS have fallen more than 40 percent this year to $5.50 per mmBtu and by 70 percent from peaks in 2014. So far, the majority of LNG is supplied via long-term contracts between producers and users which allow little flexibility and in many cases also prevent importers from reselling cargoes. With supplies far outpacing demand, analysts expect more and more LNG to be freely traded. Many producers have already started to offer contracts without resale or destination restrictions. The political dispute started on June 5, roiling LNG trade and causing at least one tanker to change course and UK gas prices to spike. Kaabi said the company''s operations would not be affected by the diplomatic crisis or sanctions. "Qatar Petroleum will continue working...If some companies decide they don''t want to work with QP that''s their choice. We will find other foreign companies to work with," he said. Analysts said the move to boost production was partly to do with added competition in the LNG market, mainly from Ausralia, the United States and Russia. "It is also to do with Iran now set to increase production on the South Pars field, which means they can up production from their side of the field (North Field) without destabilizing the geology of the field," said Oliver Sanderson, gas analyst at Thomson Reuters. Some experts say that, while the Gulf States accus Qatar of cooperating too closely with Iran, their sanctions could push it to cooperate with Tehran more on the gas production and exports from the shared field. "Qatar needs the support of Iran now more than any time before. I don''t believe it would be possible for Qatar to increase production without the cooperation with Iran, if in the long term the (political) situation stayed same as now," said Reza Mostafavi Tabatabaei, president of London-based ENEXD, a firm involved in oil and gas equipment in the Middle East. "Also, major (oil) companies may be asked to choose between working in Qatar or Saudi/UAE and Egypt, otherwise there be sanctions against them. Thats why I dont think that developing this project by Qatar now will be as easy as before, politically not financially," he added. Qatar Petroleum''s Kaabi said there is no cooperation with Iran on any project in the North Field, but the countries have a joint committee that meets every year to discuss development of the field. He added that the company will be looking for international partners, declining to say when a tender would be issued. Qatargas, the largest LNG-producing company in the world, and RasGas also operate projects on the North Field. While QP owns a majority stake, energy firms including Total, Mitsui & Co and ConocoPhillips also possess small stakeholdings. RasGas is a 70/30 percent joint venture between QP and Exxon Mobil. "Qatar has one of the lowest LNG production costs in the world. It has followed an astute policy of maximizing value from market prices around the world," said Ajay Singh, special advisor at Japan Petroleum Exploration Co and former gas executive at Shell. "For Qatar, LNG is everything." (Reporting by Tom Finn, Issam Abdallah and Rania El Gamal; additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in Singapore, Aaaron Sheldrick in Tokyo, Jane Chung in Seoul and Nina Chestney in London; Writing by Nina Chestney; Editing by Ralph Boulton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/gulf-qatar-idUSL8N1JV387'|'2017-07-04T17:12:00.000+03:00' +'4e7092b751a423f13e98c5acfc211423e43a30b2'|'Deutsche Bank asset management IPO unlikely in 2017 - CEO'|'July 27, 2017 / 11:37 AM / in 15 minutes Deutsche Bank asset management IPO unlikely in 2017 - CEO Reuters Staff 1 head quarters of Germany''s Deutsche Bank are photographed early evening in Frankfurt, Germany, January 31, 2017. Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank''s ( DBKGn.DE ) planned listing of its asset management arm is unlikely to take place this year, Chief Executive John Cryan said on Thursday. The final decision on the timing will depend on market conditions and the final regulatory sign-off on the planned deal, he said on an analyst call to discuss the lender''s second-quarter earnings. "Our asset management businesses continue to exhibit good investment performance across many asset classes and investment styles," he added. People close to the matter had told Reuters on Wednesday that a stock market flotation of the unit is expected to take place in the first half of 2018 at the earliest. Reporting by Arno Schuetze and Tom Sims; Editing by Maria Sheahan 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deutsche-bank-results-ipo-idUKKBN1AC1QO'|'2017-07-27T14:36:00.000+03:00' +'ed20a1b1193a5de19c9c4931af561eb851f6235b'|'Europe''s oil giants recover from three-year slump'|'July 27, 2017 / 8:46 AM / 10 hours ago Europe''s oil giants recover from three-year slump Ron Bousso , Karolin Schaps and Bate Felix 4 Min Read A Shell logo is seen reflected in a car''s side mirror at a petrol station in west London, Britain, January 29, 2015. Toby Melville/File Photo LONDON/PARIS (Reuters) - Europe''s major oil and gas companies have turned a corner after a three-year slump, reporting strong growth in profits as cost cutting paid off and vowing to press on with saving more money amid a fragile recovery in oil prices. Royal Dutch Shell, France''s Total and Norway''s Statoil reported sharp increases in cash flow from operations in the second quarter as profits beat analyst expectations, meaning they can all comfortably pay dividends and reduce debt. Shell led the charge, more than tripling profits in the second quarter from a year ago, boosted by its refining and chemicals business and a 16 percent rise in oil prices. "This demonstrates they have moved themselves to a new level of profitability at $50 oil," said Colin Smith, director of oil and gas research at Panmure Gordon. Combined, the three companies more than doubled cash flow from operations to more than $41 billion from about $17 billion. Shell''s first-half cash generation rose seven-fold, a year after it completed the $54 billion acquisition of BG Group. Oil investor hopes were raised at the start of the year by a deal to cut production between members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and some non-OPEC producers. That lifted oil prices above $58 a barrel in January, well above their 2016 low of just $27. But Brent crude prices slipped back below $50 in the second quarter as U.S. shale production surged, sparking a wave of price forecast downgrades from banks and prompting investors to focus again on cost cutting by oil companies. Statoil''s Chief Financial Officer Hans Jakob Hegge said he expected oil prices to rise towards the end of the year though Total said prices would remain volatile due to high global inventories. Executives vowed to keep a tight rein on costs. FILE PHOTO: The logo of French oil giant Total is seen in front of the oil refinery of Donges, near Nantes, France, December 20, 2013. Stephane Mahe/File Photo "The external price environment and energy sector developments mean we will remain very disciplined," said Shell Chief Executive Ben van Beurden. Total Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne said the company had the flexibility to take advantage of the low-cost environment in the sector to launch profitable projects and acquire resources under attractive conditions. Total maintained its 2017 cost savings target of $3.5 billion, aiming to lower production costs further. FILE PHOTO: Norwegian oil company''s Statoil logo is seen at their headquarters in Fornebu, Norway, June 1, 2017. Ints Kalnins/File Photo Total and Statoil also beat analyst profit forecasts with Total seeing a strong lift from its high-margin upstream projects. Shell, Total and Statoil shares were up by more than one percent by 0718 GMT, slightly outperforming the broader sector index. Spain''s Repsol also posted a 43.8 percent jump in second-quarter adjusted net profit, with earnings from its oil and gas division jumping 150 percent. The companies broadly maintained their spending plans for 2017, with Statoil slightly reducing its exploration budget. Shell said it had sold some $25 billion of assets to pay off the BG acquisition and analysts said the new projects coming online meant it had a bright outlook. "What drives Shell on from here is the benefit of the new growth projects that they''ve got coming through at higher cash margins. We''re yet to really to see that come through in the numbers," Smith said. Additional reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis and Ole Petter Skonnord in Oslo and Julien Toyer in Madrid; editing by Veronica Brown and David Clarke 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-oil-majors-results-idUSKBN1AC157'|'2017-07-27T11:45:00.000+03:00' +'5ebc9f9eef5418e2fdbe8798c758209cb886f021'|'Brooklyn jurors to begin deliberating in Martin Shkreli''s fraud case'|'July 28, 2017 / 8:15 PM / 14 minutes ago Brooklyn jurors to begin deliberating in Martin Shkreli''s fraud case Brendan Pierson 3 Min Read Former drug company executive Martin Shkreli exits U.S. District Court in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, U.S., July 28, 2017. Mike Segar NEW YORK (Reuters) - The fate of former drug company executive Martin Shkreli now rests with jurors in Brooklyn federal court, who will begin deliberating Monday morning after a month-long trial. Shkreli, 34, is best known for raising the price of anti-infection drug Daraprim by 5,000 percent in 2015 as chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals. The increase sparked outrage from U.S. lawmakers and patients and earned Shkreli the nickname "pharma bro." The charges he now faces relate not to Turing but to Shkreli''s management of his previous drug company, Retrophin Inc, and hedge funds MSMB Capital and MSMB Healthcare, between 2009 and 2014. Prosecutors claim he lied to MSMB investors, lost their money and paid them back with cash and stock stolen from Retrophin. On Friday, jurors finished hearing lawyers'' closing arguments in the case. "Maybe Martin could have been more responsive to the needy investors," said Benjamin Brafman, Shkreli''s lawyer. "Maybe because of the way his mind operates at warp speed, he was doing too many things at one time." But Brafman urged jurors to see Shkreli as an eccentric genius, driven by his desire to build a drug company that would save lives. He stressed that the investors made money in the end. In a rebuttal, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn Kasulis said Brafman was describing a "mythological Martin Shkreli." Former drug company executive Martin Shkreli (C) exits U.S. District Court in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, U.S., July 28, 2017, with his lead attorney Benjamin Brafman (L). Mike Segar "He knew exactly what he was doing," she said. "We have proven his intent to deceive beyond any doubt." She described Shkreli as "calculating," saying he told investors what they wanted to hear so they would hand over their money. Slideshow (2 Images) Kasulis told the jurors it did not matter that Shkreli''s hedge fund investors were paid back by Retrophin. "If you rob a bank, and then you rob another bank to pay back the first back, you still robbed that first bank," she said. Shkreli, who did not testify in his defense, has often seemed to revel in his public reputation, posting on social media even as his trial unfolded. "My case is a silly witch hunt perpetrated by self-serving prosecutors," he posted on Facebook Thursday, after the first part of Brafman''s argument. "Thankfully my amazing attorney sent them back to junior varsity where they belong. Drain the swamp. Drain the sewer that is the (U.S. Department of Justice). MAGA." "MAGA" is widely used as an acronym for "Make America Great Again," President Donald Trump''s campaign slogan. Reporting by Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-crime-shkreli-idUKKBN1AD2KB'|'2017-07-28T23:15:00.000+03:00' +'a327dd86bb9e4fcdc5a3024f199832b682dbb978'|'Big can also be beautiful, insists founder of Camden Town Brewery'|'T he original Camden Town Brewery , which nestles under a set of railway arches in Londons fashionable Kentish Town, is one of the most Instagrammed places in the UK. Its hard to imagine the brewer, which was in the vanguard of the craft beer movement, is going to have the same appeal to hipsters after its move to a huge purpose-built shed on an anonymous north London industrial estate.But this is the new home of Hells lager: a 30m facility that Jasper Cuppaidge, the brewers founder, hopes will turn it into a national and potentially international success. It is the largest investment in London brewing for 30 years.Camden made headlines in 2015 when Cuppaidge sold the business he had founded with friends to Anheuser-Busch InBev, the worlds biggest drinks company, for an estimated 85m. The deal led to handwringing as fans complained that it had literally and metaphorically sold out.Its wonderful that people care so much about us, says Cuppaidge. I hope they can see we are better than we were 12 months ago and only getting better. I dont think weve lost any fans.Cuppaidge is hard-headed about the financial realities of succeeding in such a cash-thirsty industry. Theres 28m of investment sitting in there and that doesnt come out of the air, says the Australian, pointing to the brewhouse that backs on to the river Lee. We were always going to have investment from one of the bigger brewers because we needed to grow the brand. We wanted that expertise and distribution network, and thats what weve joined up to.On Monday, another multinational, Carlsberg, said it had bought London Fields Brewery in Hackney, east London. It joins fellow craft brewers Camden and Meantime, which now belongs to Japans Asahi, in foreign ownership. In April, BrewDog founders James Watt and Martin Dickie sold a minority stake to a private equity firm for just over 200m despite pulling Camdens beers from its bars when the AB InBev deal was announced.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jasper Cuppaidge (blue shirt) in the new brewery at Enfield. Photograph: Martin Godwin for the Observer Camden is small beer to AB InBev , which owns more than 500 brands including Budweiser, Stella Artois and Becks. Last year it also swallowed its rival SABMiller in a monster 79bn deal while simultaneously doing Camden-style deals around the world.Camdens success was a decade in the making for Cuppaidge, whose grandfather built the McLaughlins brewery in Queensland. In 2006, the entrepreneur took over a former Wetherspoon pub in Hampstead and the following year started making beer in the basement. Four years later it decamped to the arches under Kentish Town West station but, with sales growing at 70% a year, it was forced to outsource some production. Last year, two-thirds of the 100,000 hectolitres of its beer the equivalent of 17.6 million pints was made in Belgium but that outsourcing will now end.By the end of July all our production will be made between NW1 and EN3, says Cuppaidge of a shift that will bring immediate financial savings, as it will eliminate the need to truck beer all over the country.The new brewhouse, which is close to the M25 and North Circular Road, gives Camden the capacity to produce up to 500,000 hectolitres (88 million pints) a year. Ive always wanted to do something big from one location, says Cuppaidge. I like to walk out and speak to everybody. I wasnt scared of scale, but I was scared of diversifying sites.The first batches of Camden Hells are already bubbling away in giant stainless-steel vessels but ancillary areas, including the visitor centre, are still under construction, with teams of tradespeople working furiously before the grand opening on 29 July.AB InBev is led by Carlos Brito, who is famous for ruthless cost cutting at the companies he acquires. So could Cuppaidge come under pressure to cut corners ? I dont believe it will happen, he says. Were a standalone business within the mothership.I had breakfast with Carlos, he adds. He was charming and we had a great conversation. The company has a winning culture. They are saying: Camden, keep doing what you do, and do it better, and if we can help you, we will.But for many craft aficionados, small is beautiful. The Society of Independent Brewers has created a logo to use on pumps showing the brewer is not owned by a global company and produces less than 200,000 hectolitres a year criteria that Camden no longer meets.I couldnt possibly talk about being a mega-brewer because Im not one: were Camden, says Cuppaidge. There is a total authenticity to us and our brand. For us, craft is a way of thinking. It is about attention to detail and a focus, not only how you use your ingredients, but who you get them from. It doesnt matter how big a volume of beer is produced.Topics Food & drink industry The Observer Beer AB InBev London Food & drink features'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jul/08/big-also-beautiful-insists-founder-camden-town-brewery-jasper-cuppaidge'|'2017-07-08T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'13d507a7df9de1c9c51ba431cf5b73d08849dd33'|'Pratt engine issue delays Airbus plane deliveries to Indian carriers'|'July 27, 2017 / 1:46 PM / in 4 hours Pratt engine issue delays Airbus plane deliveries to Indian carriers 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The Airbus A320neo (New Engine Option) takes off during its first flight event in Colomiers near Toulouse, southwestern France, September 25, 2014. Regis Duvignau/Files NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India''s IndiGo and GoAir airlines are facing delays in receiving planes from Airbus due to ongoing problems with engines developed by Pratt & Whitney, the minister of state for civil aviation said on Thursday. The carriers "have confirmed that these issues have impacted the delivery of aircraft," Jayant Sinha said in a written reply to lawmakers. State-owned carrier Air India has also experienced some delay in getting deliveries of some A320neo aircraft fitted with engines made by rival CFM International, he said. Airbus, which reported a drop in mid-year profits earlier on Thursday, has turned up the heat on Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies, asking it to "work harder" to fix reliability problems that have disrupted its biggest production line and caused delays in deliveries to customers. The world''s second-largest planemaker aims to deliver some 200 A320neo-family jets in 2017. In the first half, it delivered just 16 Pratt-powered A320neo jets, barely a third of the 43 powered by competing CFM engines, sources have told Reuters. Technical issues with Pratt & Whitney engines have forced IndiGo, owned by InterGlobe Aviation, to ground seven of the narrow-body jets, while, according to The Times of India, GoAir has started cancelling flights. India''s aviation regulator is investigating the issue. Pratt & Whitney has told the regulator it will address the problems, Sinha said. Reporting by Aditi Shah; Editing by Mark Potter 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/india-airbus-engines-idINKBN1AC256'|'2017-07-27T16:45:00.000+03:00' +'0e8f020686ef59d27807a0b4affd2ba858d35368'|'Bids for Biotoscana Brazil IPO nearly five times supply, sources say'|'July 21, 2017 / 4:20 PM / 16 minutes ago Bids for Biotoscana Brazil IPO nearly five times supply, sources say 2 Min Read BOGOTA/SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Investors have placed bids worth nearly five times the amount of shares put on sale at the midpoint of a suggested price range for the Brazilian listing of Grupo Biotoscana SA, three people with knowledge of the transaction told Reuters. Biotoscana, a Colombia-based pharmaceutical company, is selling 40.5 million Brazilian depositary receipts (BDRs) at a suggested price range of 24.50 reais to 28.50 reais. The transaction is set to price after the market close on Friday. The transaction underscores the solid demand for a rare regional play in the biotechnological sector. It caps the busiest week since mid-February for Brazilian equity offerings. It could also spell good news for reinsurer IRB Brasil Resseguros SA and renewable power firm Omega Gerao SA, which are scheduled to list shares on the So Paulo Stock Exchange in coming weeks. Grupo Carrefour Brasil SA and shareholders on Tuesday placed 5.12 billion reais ($1.6 billion) worth of shares in Brazil''s largest initial public offering in four years, though the offering priced at the bottom end of a suggested range. Investors have been wary of Brazilian IPOs because new issues have failed to deliver promised returns over the past decade. Less than one-third of the 115 IPOs priced since the start of 2007 yielded returns above Brazil''s interbank lending rate, according to Thomson Reuters data. Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Bruno Federowski; Writing by Bruno Federowski 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-grupo-biotoscana-ipo-idUSKBN1A6240'|'2017-07-21T19:16:00.000+03:00' +'a6cc6091a168328625972aa0e0e0e334b196ceac'|'Imagination Tech says no progress on Apple dispute, sale talks continue'|'Top News - Tue Jul 4, 2017 - 7:44am BST Imagination Tech says no progress on Apple dispute, sale talks continue The headquarters of technology company Imagination Technologies is seen on the outskirts of London, Britain, June 22, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay LONDON British chip designer Imagination Technologies said it had made no progress in its battle with its biggest customer Apple , and the sale of the company triggered by the dispute was continuing with talks with potential buyers. Imagination said in April that Apple had decided to develop its own graphics chips and would no longer use Imagination''s processing designs in 15 months to two years time, sending its shares down 70 percent on the day. The company, which put itself up for sale last month, said it returned to profitability in the year to end-April, with reported operating profit of 7.8 million pounds ($10.1 million) against a loss of 26.8 million pounds a year earlier. Chief Executive Andrew Heath said: "Apple''s unsubstantiated assertions and the resultant dispute have forced us to change our course, despite the clear progress we have been making." (Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Jason Neely) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-imagntn-tchnlgs-results-idUKKBN19P0N9'|'2017-07-04T09:44:00.000+03:00' +'f1ad10bbdd8775485da78c0f424ee33473025877'|'Japan''s GPIF expects to raise ESG allocations to 10 percent - FTSE Russell CEO'|'July 14, 2017 / 10:27 AM / 5 minutes ago Japan''s GPIF expects to raise ESG allocations to 10 percent: FTSE Russell CEO Junko Fujita and Takashi Umekawa 3 Min Read The sign of Japan''s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) is seen after a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, April 1, 2016. Thomas Peter/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan''s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), the world''s largest pension fund with $1.3 trillion under management, plans to raise its allocation to environmentally and socially responsible investments to 10 percent of its stock holdings from 3 percent now, the head of FTSE Russell said. GPIF said this month it had allocated 1 trillion yen ($8.9 billion) or 3 percent of its stocks portfolio to companies that have strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices using a new ESG index created by FTSE Russell. Raising that allocation target to 10 percent based on the pension fund''s updated financials, should see GPIF pour a total of 3.5 trillion yen ($29 billion) into ESG-related investments, in a big boost for ESG investing globally. "They have been very bold. They''ve said they are putting 3 percent of their investment into ESG related investments and they have said they will increase that to 10 percent over time," Mark Makepeace, chief executive for FTSE Russell told Reuters during a trip to Tokyo on Friday. "I think that gives us opportunities to improve the ESG practices of companies in Japan," he added. GPIF has selected FTSE Blossom Japan index, a new index compiled by FTSE Russell for the Japanese pension fund, as well as MSCI Japan ESG Select Leaders index and MSCI Japan Empowering Women index. A spokesman for GPIF said on Friday the pension fund had not yet set a formal ESG allocation target, but confirmed that GPIF President Norihiro Takahashi had said publicly the fund was planning to raise its allocation to 10 percent without elaborating on the timeline. ESG investing is gaining momentum globally, especially in the United States and Europe, amid growing evidence companies with stronger environmental and governance practices deliver higher returns over a five- to 10-year investment horizon. GPIF''s move is expected to prompt smaller Asian corporate and public pension funds, which have so far been slow to adopt ESG investments, to allocate more into such stocks. "GPIF is very influential not just in Japan but across the region and internationally," said Makepeace. "I think the activities of GPIF will be very, very important. They are watched by other investors." Reporting by Junko Fujita and Takashi Umekawa; Editing by Michelle Price and Jacqueline Wong 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-japan-gpif-esg-idUKKBN19Z11Y'|'2017-07-14T13:22:00.000+03:00' +'de3ca01c5502b0f0fcd0bc4a04d8cb57df28d964'|'Amazon up ahead of Prime Day, new service hits Best Buy'|'July 10, 2017 / 11:47 PM / 5 hours ago Amazon up ahead of Prime Day, new service hits Best Buy Rodrigo Campos and Jeffrey Dastin 3 Min Read The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Lauwin-Planque, northern France, February 20, 2017. Pascal Rossignol NEW YORK (Reuters) - Amazon.com ( AMZN.O ) shares rose on Monday ahead of the world''s largest online retailer''s own version of Black Friday, while its new service to help set up ''smart homes'' weighed on rival Best Buy Co Inc ( BBY.N ). Prime Day, a 30-hour sale set to start at 9:00 p.m. EDT (0100 GMT Tuesday), is Amazon''s biggest marketing push of the year, with deals to draw new subscribers to its Prime shopping club. U.S. members pay $99 per year for streaming video and two-day shipping. Amazon shares closed up 1.8 percent at $996.47 on Nasdaq. "Prime Day is the big overriding story and what''s moved the stock up today," said Trip Miller, managing partner at Gullane Capital Partners in Memphis, Tennessee, which has a long position in Amazon. Miller said Amazon''s dominance could be seen in how a long list of retailers'' shares fell on Monday. Baird Equity Research analysts have estimated that Prime has about 60 million U.S. members, based on an April survey. Amazon does not disclose the number. "It''s a real test to see if they can raise that number," said Kim Forrest, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh. She said an Amazon disclosure on the number of subscribers and their location "would be telling, to see how big of a phenomenon this is." Spreading Out Among the stocks hurt by Amazon was Best Buy, which fell 6.3 percent to end at $54.23 in its largest daily percentage drop since late May 2016. The decline was partly prompted by reports of an Amazon service launched earlier this year, similar to one from Best Buy, that helps customers set up a ''smart home'' with Amazon''s voice-controlled assistant Alexa, analysts said. Best Buy''s Geek Squad, which offers in-home product installations and repairs, has helped distinguish the electronics retailer from its rivals. "Today''s news reflects what we know: Consumers love technology but frequently need help getting the most out of it," said Jeff Shelman, senior director of external communications at Best Buy Corp. Investors punished Best Buy shares on a growing concern that it stands to lose if Amazon branches out into its business. "That''s the vision investors and even competitors have of being ''Amazoned,''" said Fort Pitt Capital''s Forrest. Amazon''s announcement last month of the acquisition of Whole Foods Market Inc ( WFM.O ) sent stocks of food retailers, producers and packagers, among others, reeling. Fears about Amazon''s new service, which is offered only in seven top urban areas on the U.S. West Coast, may be overblown, Forrest said. "I think investors are overestimating the power of Amazon and underestimating the cost to enter all of these new markets and their geographies. America is a big place." Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin and Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Richard Chang 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-stocks-idUKKBN19V2VC'|'2017-07-11T02:43:00.000+03:00' +'4fe375929494fb94620630b757f6138f1691aaa2'|'Bharti Infratel first-quarter consolidated profit falls about 12 percent, misses estimates'|'July 24, 2017 / 12:11 PM / 7 hours ago Bharti Infratel first-quarter consolidated profit falls about 12 percent, misses estimates 1 Min Read Telecommunication towers are pictured through hanging flower pots at a residential building in Kolkata December 11, 2012. Rupak De Chowdhuri/Files (Reuters) - Telecom tower infrastructure provider Bharti Infratel Ltd on Monday said its consolidated profit fell about 12 percent in the first quarter, hurt by higher tax expenses. Consolidated profit after tax for the three months ended June 30 came in at 6.64 billion rupees ($103.20 million), while total income grew about 9 percent to 16.07 billion rupees. ( bit.ly/2tTdu3E ) Analysts on average expected net profit of 6.95 billion rupees, according to Thomson Reuters data. Total income tax expenses rose about three times to 25.88 billion rupees. ($1 = 64.3400 Indian rupees) Reporting by Arnab Paul in Bengaluru; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/bharti-infratel-results-idINKBN1A91GV'|'2017-07-24T15:10:00.000+03:00' +'bed9bfc4d36523cf31bd6820ddc54130082a804f'|'Shell sees rising investment in renewables'|'Top News 10:05am BST Shell sees rising investment in renewables Staff members work at the booth of Royal Dutch Shell at Gastech, the world''s biggest expo for the gas industry, in Chiba, Japan, April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai - RTX33Y86 ISTANBUL Royal Dutch Shell will be spending up to $1 billion a year by 2020 on projects within its new energies division, Chief Executive Ben van Beurden told an industry conference on Monday. Shell set up the division to focus on renewable energy and new technologies to help lower carbon emissions. "Shell is determined to find solutions and will be spending up to $1 billion (775.49 million pounds) a year on our new energies division by the end of the decade," van Beurden told the conference. (Reporting by Karolin Schaps; editing by Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-shell-renewables-idUKKBN19V0LF'|'2017-07-10T10:30:00.000+03:00' +'5413b8b8dc39f51e3f865d6936c31b726b20747a'|'Snap''s shares slide 3 percent in premarket trading as lockup ends'|'July 31, 2017 / 12:49 PM / 5 hours ago Snap''s shares pare losses in brisk trading as lockup ends Sinead Carew 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A woman stands in front of the logo of Snap Inc. on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) while waiting for Snap Inc. to post their IPO, in New York City, New York, U.S. on March 2, 2017. Lucas Jackson/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of Snap Inc ( SNAP.N ), owner of the Snapchat messaging app, clawed back much of its earlier losses in volatile trading on Monday, after dropping to a new low as the expiration of a share lockup allowed early investors to sell. The stock was last down 0.1 percent at $13.79 after falling as much as 5.1 percent and hitting a low of $13.10, putting it well below its early March initial public offering price of $17. Trading volume was 1.5 times the company''s 10-day moving average with more than 26 million shares having changed hands just two hours into the regular trading session. Starting on Monday and extending into August, early investors, employees and other insiders can sell shares for the first time since its $3.4 billion IPO, the third-largest for a U.S. technology company. Shares turned positive briefly and the high for the day was $13.84, a few cents higher than Friday''s close. It had fallen 53 percent below its March 3 intraday peak as investors bid it lower amid concerns over its growth prospects. "Apparently enough sell-off has taken place in the last couple of months. Some on the retail side must be viewing this as a opportunity to get in at a low price," said Morningstar analyst Ali Mogharabi. "Some of the early investors ... may have some patience to wait and see if this company becomes profitable and see if they can reaccelerate growth on the user side" said the analyst who rates the stock neutral and sees $16 per share as a fair valuation. Snap could also be seeing some short covering, according to Mogharabi. Almost 6 percent of its shares were sold short as of July 14 according to the latest Reuters data. Many investors likely positioned themselves early ahead of the expiration, according to Drexel Hamilton analyst Brian White, who recommends that investors buy the stock has a 12-month price target of $30 for the stock. "If you can look out one year, this is a great buying opportunity at this level. The company is a big disrupter and an enormous mobile advertising platform," said As of Monday, investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners will be able to sell up to 400 million shares, with employees owning another 782 million allowed to start selling on Aug. 14, four days after Snap reports results, JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth said in a recent note. Share prices can move dramatically when lockups expire. For example, Twitter Inc ( TWTR.N ) shares fell 18 percent on the day of a key lockup expiry in May 2014, and in November 2012, Facebook Inc ( FB.O ) jumped 13 percent on its lockup expiry. Snap did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Additional reporting by Megan Davies and Lance Tupper; Editing by Bernadette Baum 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-snap-stock-idUSKBN1AG1HN'|'2017-07-31T15:51:00.000+03:00' +'0411b298d41bbb0ea81f2c0b486fffc6ed34ab97'|'Cheap credit not fuelling German real estate bubble for now- central banker'|'Business News - Sat Jul 8, 2017 - 7:15am EDT Cheap credit not fuelling German real estate bubble for now- central banker The German central bank (Bundesbank) vice-president Claudia Buch poses during a photocall at the Bundesbank headquarters in Frankfurt, May 20, 2014. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France Cheap credit is for now not fuelling a destabilizing real-estate bubble in Germany but the central bank is closely watching the market, Bundesbank vice president Claudia Buch said on Saturday. Housing prices in Germany - relatively cheap compared with other European countries in the past - have risen sharply in recent years, prompting the Bundesbank to warn in May about the risk of a dangerous bubble developing. "We very closely watch the real estate market in Germany because we know that in over-valued real estate prices there might be a risk to financial stability," Buch told an economic conference in southern France. "We don''t see an immediate risk because prices are increasing, but there is not a lot of borrowing going on, so it''s not a credit-financed increase in prices." But Buch, who is in charge of financial stability at the Bundesbank, said it had less information about loan contract terms than other countries like France and was therefore less aware of credit standards. Average real estate prices in cities including Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Frankfurt have increased by more than 60 percent since 2010, the Bundesbank estimates, reflecting solid growth, low unemployment and low borrowing costs. Buch said that the Bundesbank was generally concerned about low interest rates spurring risk taking at a time when asset valuations are already high. (Reporting by Leigh Thomas; editing by John Stonestreet) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-realestate-bundesbank-idUSKBN19T0G5'|'2017-07-08T14:15:00.000+03:00' +'e714b7642243d812f010fe74b13271160b0b4976'|'Investment in UK fintech tops pre-Brexit levels in first half of 2017'|'July 25, 2017 / 11:09 PM / an hour ago Investment in UK fintech tops pre-Brexit levels in first half of 2017 Jemima Kelly 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: People are seen in the Level39 FinTech hub based in the One Canada Square tower of the Canary Wharf district of London, Britain, August 5, 2016. Jemima Kelly/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Over half a billion dollars were poured into British financial technology companies in the first half of 2017, over a third more than the same period last year, trade body Innovate Finance said on Wednesday, in the latest sign the fast-growing sector is so far weathering Brexit. UK-based fintech startups pulled in $564 million of venture capital investment in the first six months of the year, more than half of which came from outside Britain. That was up 37 percent from the first half of 2016, and put Britain in third place globally for fintech investment, behind the United States and China. Some had worried that Britain''s vote last June to leave the European Union would see Britain lose its status as the main European hub for fintech - a sector that ranges from mobile payment apps to digital currencies like bitcoin, and one that the government regards as a key source of economic growth. The latest figures paint a promising picture, with investment up almost 50 percent on the second half of last year in the aftermath of the Brexit vote. That still lags 2015, when a record $676 million was invested in the first half of the year and over $1.3 billion for the entire year. But from July 1 to July 23, the sector has already raised another $155 million. "We saw a period of uncertainty over the summer last year but I would say that by around the third quarter, things were starting to recover," Innovate Finance''s chief financial officer, Abdul Haseeb Basit, told Reuters. "Things have slowed but we''ve seen an improving recovery since the referendum last year." The government has identified fintech as a priority area, saying it provides 60,000 jobs and contributes around $9 billion to the economy. FILE PHOTO: A man uses a laptop in the Level39 FinTech hub based in the One Canada Square tower of the Canary Wharf district of London, Britain, August 5, 2016. Jemima Kelly/File Photo Basit said some deals had term sheets that included "Brexit clauses" - contractual provisions that meant investment was contingent on Britain voting to stay in the European Union - that had been triggered after the Brexit vote and meant funding had been pulled, causing concern. But investors say Britain''s prowess in both conventional finance and technology, as well as light-touch regulation, its pro-business culture and even the fact that it is Anglophone make it difficult for other centres to compete, though many - such as Berlin and Paris - are trying. Basit said while passporting rights - which give firms licenced in one EU country the right to trade freely in any other - had been a big concern for investors after Brexit, those worries had eased. Even if Britain loses passporting rights, that would affect only 20 percent of the almost 300 startups that are members of Innovate Finance. Talent Needed More of a worry, he said, was that access to highly skilled workers would dry up when Britain leaves the EU. Innovate Finance has estimated 30 percent of the sector''s workers are from overseas, mostly from the European Union. "Talent is the number one concern, and has been consistently since the referendum - we test (our members on) that every three to six months. So that''s been fairly consistent - it''s been a worry and until we have more certainty around that, it will remain a worry," he said. Globally, fintech investment for the first half of the year stood at $6.5 billion. Just over half that went into U.S. startups and $1 billion into China. That was down 45 percent from the same period last year, but Innovate Finance said that was largely because of three Chinese "megadeals" worth more than $1 billion each that had all gone through in early 2016. A third of the investment into British fintech came from venture capital firms based in the United States. "There is a lot of competition in the investment space - there''s a lot of capital available and it''s looking for good companies to invest in," said Basit. "Were they to not invest in UK companies, they feel like they might miss an opportunity. The appetite is still strong." Reporting by Jemima Kelly, editing by Larry King 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-fintech-investment-idUKKBN1AA2VN'|'2017-07-26T02:05:00.000+03:00' +'2a691d05397bf82ac2164833f62aee2b135e865a'|'Fed to announce balance sheet unwind in Sept, hike rates in Q4: Reuters poll'|'July 18, 2017 / 8:01 AM / 9 minutes ago Fed to announce balance sheet unwind in Sept, hike rates in Q4: Reuters poll Shrutee Sarkar 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A police officer keeps watch in front of the U.S. Federal Reserve building in Washington, DC, U.S. on October 12, 2016. Kevin Lamarque/File Photo BENGALURU (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve will announce plans to shrink its more than $4 trillion balance sheet in September, according to a Reuters poll of economists who also said the central bank will wait until the fourth quarter before raising rates again. Results in the survey are in line with what Fed officials have hinted at in recent weeks, even as they are split on the outlook for inflation and how the lack of it might affect the future pace of interest rate hikes. "The idea is that they (the Fed) announce balance sheet shrinkage at the September meeting and then hike in December. I think they have almost pre-announced those two decisions," said Ethan Harris, head of global economics at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. In a poll conducted just last month, predictions were for the Fed to raise rates by September. But expectations have now been pushed back by a quarter, with the consensus from the latest poll of over 100 economists predicting the fed funds rate to climb to a range of 1.25-1.50 percent by the end of this year. Financial markets are pricing in only a 43 percent chance of a 25 basis point rate hike in December. That is largely because recent U.S. economic data have been weaker than expected, especially inflation. The dollar too has taken a beating against a basket of currencies and was last trading near a 10-month low. The Fed has raised rates twice so far this year. So while the Fed pauses for the next opportunity to raise rates, about two-thirds of economists say the central bank is expected to announce the course of action it will take to unwind its massive bonds portfolio in September. Most of those who answered another question in the poll said if the Fed does so, it will not be acting too soon. (For a graphic on those expectations: reut.rs/2txiV89 ) But not everyone was convinced. "We are a little bit concerned that the Fed is getting ahead of itself. We don''t agree with the idea that the Fed seems to be selling that balance sheet shrinkage is something we should not be focused on, and it will simply occur in the background," said BofA-ML''s Harris. "In a sense, they are setting aside one of their policy tools on auto-pilot. I don''t think they should be doing that." Only a handful of economists expect the central bank to announce its balance sheet unwinding plan when it meets on July 25-26. The consensus was for the central bank to stand pat on rates too at that meeting. Inflation Outlook Slips The labor market remains strong, with the unemployment rate at 4.4 percent. But weak wage growth and cooling inflation will probably keep the Fed wary of raising rates again soon. The Reuters poll consensus for core PCE inflation, the gauge the Fed closely watches, was 1.5-1.6 percent each quarter from here until the end of the year, slightly lower than 1.6-1.7 percent expected last month. Growth has not picked up as previously thought either and is now expected to be modest at best for this year and next. The economy is forecast to have grown at a 2.7 percent pace in the second quarter and then to advance at an annualized rate of 2.2-2.5 percent each quarter to the end of next year, according to the poll median. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said at a Senate committee hearing last week that it would be "quite challenging" for the United States to reach the 3 percent growth target set by President Donald Trump''s administration. Several Reuters polls this year have been clear that the chances of 3 percent U.S. economic growth this year were low. While the Fed has been more sanguine than markets about inflation picking up, policymakers will move cautiously. "Fed officials believe that market participants are underappreciating the inflation implications of the downtrend in the unemployment rate, and that they have overreacted to some weaker-than-expected inflation data," noted Jim O''Sullivan of High Frequency Economics, the top forecaster for U.S. economic data in Reuters polls in 2016 for the second year in a row. "However, Fed officials will not follow through on their policy projections if the labor market weakens and the recent slowing in core inflation continues," O''Sullivan wrote in a note. (For other stories from the Reuters global long-term economic outlook polls package) Analysis and polling by Indradip Ghosh and Vivek Mishra; Editing by Ross Finley and Andrea Ricci 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/fed-rates-poll-idINKBN1A30MI'|'2017-07-18T10:57:00.000+03:00' +'a9f97f391ab74c0edbd78725a879d86ec7ed2de9'|'Ultra Electronics to buy U.S. warfare device maker Sparton'|'Deals 22am BST UK''s Ultra Electronics to buy U.S. warfare device maker Sparton British defense contractor Ultra Electronics said it would buy Sparton Corp for $23.50 per share, giving the maker of anti-submarine warfare devices used by the U.S. Navy an enterprise value of about $234.8 million. The deal will create a major supplier in the underwater warfare market, including to the U.S. Department of Defense, Ultra Electronics said. Ultra Electronics said it worked with Sparton''s engineered components and products unit in a joint venture for over 10 years. "This close relationship has benefited our major customer, the US DoD, through more effective use of the available engineering budget," the British firm said. U.S. President Donald Trump has sought what he called a "historic" increase in defense spending and has criticized European nations for low defense spending. Ultra Electronics will raise capital to partly fund the deal, by placing 9.9 percent of its shares under issue. The deal is expected to close by Jan. 1, 2018. (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-sparton-m-a-ultra-electronic-idUKKBN19S0V0'|'2017-07-07T10:17:00.000+03:00' +'200a44c66ebadb15b10dddf7ae704289e179c8a4'|'ECB asks pension funds for more data'|'July 26, 2017 / 10:04 AM / 23 minutes ago ECB asks pension funds for more data Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) (R) is seen next to the famous skyline in Frankfurt, Germany, April 9, 2017. Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank will require euro zone pension funds to disclose more detailed data on their operations, arguing that it lacks proper visibility in a huge sector that is vital for the transmission of monetary policy, it said on Wednesday. With 50 million customers and 2.5 trillion euros (2.2 trillion pounds) in assets, pension funds are among the biggest and fastest-growing investors. That makes them vital for the ECB in gauging the success of its policy, particularly in a period of ultra-low rates when some savers doubt their funds'' ability to generate enough for their retirement. "Current gaps in the data available and the lack of comparability across countries make it difficult to gain a comprehensive understanding of the role of the sector in the transmission mechanism of monetary policy, of the cash flows and of the risks associated with pension obligations," the ECB said. The ECB will ask large, autonomous funds in the euro zone to start reporting according to harmonised rules with more data also released to the public, it said in new draft guidelines that are still subject to a consultation with the industry. The funds, excluding for example those set up by corporations or credit institutions, will have to list transactions security by security, and provide data on both assets and liabilities, broken down by economic sector, maturity and geography. "It will help us better understand their role in the transmission mechanism of monetary policy because we will... see not just how the stocks are changing but what are they buying or what are they selling, so how do they react to our monetary policy," said Aurel Schubert, head of the ECB''s statistics unit. Given the added cost of the new reporting rules, national central banks may exempt some funds from the new rules, particularly if they hold less than 10 million euros or have fewer than 100 members, but each country must report on at least 80 to 85 percent of the sector. The full extent of the new reporting requirement should involve between 1,500 and 2,000 funds, the ECB said. The new set of quarterly data will be first collected from the first quarter of 2019, while first full-year data will have to be provided on 2018 figures. Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Mark Trevelyan 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-pensions-ecb-idUKKBN1AB19S'|'2017-07-26T13:03:00.000+03:00' +'1f27123f3626bae8e1ef2e8a64cea9f52e111a80'|'Venezuela''s PDVSA says could seek to renegotiate October debt payment'|'Business News - Tue Jul 11, 2017 - 4:37am EDT Venezuela''s PDVSA says could seek to renegotiate October debt payment FILE PHOTO: The corporate logo of the state oil company PDVSA is seen at a gas station in Caracas, Venezuela April 12, 2017. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo ISTANBUL Venezuelan state oil producer PDVSA could seek to renegotiate a looming October bond payment given low oil prices, Hector Andrade, PDVSA''s managing director for planning, said on Tuesday. "I guess there are a lot of chances of that," Andrade said when asked about a possible payment renegotiation. "Right now it''s not just about the cooperation between producers... (but) cooperation between producer and consumer." The firm also expects to invest $50 billion over the next 7 years to raise capacity by 1 million barrels per day, Andrade told reporters on the sidelines of an energy conference in Istanbul. Venezuela currently produces about 2 million barrels per day. Struggling under triple-digit inflation and Soviet-style product shortages as its socialist economy unravels, Venezuela has been hit hard by low prices for oil, its economic lifeline. The OPEC nation''s oil output has slipped and PDVSA is struggling to maintain investment in its oilfields, which hold the world''s largest crude reserves. (Reporting by David Dolan; editing by Jason Neely) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-oil-debt-idUSKBN19W0PQ'|'2017-07-11T11:37:00.000+03:00' +'a4cbccc4398907d6df63b9588edf5ca99d9eeb54'|'Macau halts cash withdrawals at non-compliant ATMs'|' 17am BST Macau halts cash withdrawals at non-compliant ATMs FILE PHOTO - Chinese visitors walk past a sign for China UnionPay outside a pawnshop in Macau November 20, 2013. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo HONG KONG Authorities in Macau, the world''s biggest gambling hub, said withdrawals using China''s state-backed UnionPay card would be suspended at automated teller machines without the latest ''know your customer'' technology from Tuesday. The announcement from Macau''s monetary authority is the latest in a series of measures being rapidly implemented in the special administrative region of Macau as the Chinese territory ramps up scrutiny on capital outflows from the mainland. Earlier in May, authorities unveiled security measures including facial recognition at ATM machines which require users of China''s state-backed UnionPay to provide identification. Since May, authorities said they have installed 834 ATMs with ''know your customer'' functions. The monetary authority said the new move was to "promote the integrity of the financial system of Macau and enhance the protection of the legal rights of mainland card holders." The monetary authority said it has been working with banks to speed up the implementation to cover all ATMs in the former Portuguese colony, including those inside the casinos, by the end of this year. In June, Macau additionally implemented new anti-money laundering legislation, beefing up the previous framework from 2006 with a much wider scope and stricter compliance measures. The flurry of steps coincided with a visit in May by Zhang Dejiang, the head of China''s parliament and its third-most powerful leader, during which he stated Macau faced challenges. A 2014 Reuters investigation found that many mainland Chinese use state-backed UnionPay cards to circumvent cash withdrawal limits of 20,000 yuan ($3,200) a day, and either use that money to gamble or transfer it abroad. Customers open multiple bank accounts, and then withdraw cash from each, or use pawn shops in Macau to make fake purchases, the investigation found. (Reporting by Farah Master; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-macau-regulation-idUKKBN19P0VC'|'2017-07-04T11:17:00.000+03:00' +'aeab00a7bdac7bc099505585100eb33e99009b8c'|'MIDEAST STOCKS-Qatar edges up before Cairo meeting, Saudi extends slide'|'Market News - Wed Jul 5, 2017 - 10:46am EDT MIDEAST STOCKS-Qatar edges up before Cairo meeting, Saudi extends slide * Foreign funds are net buyers in Doha by tiny margin * Saudi down again on profit-taking * Retailers relatively resilient ahead of Q2 earnings * Abu Dhabi buoyed by banks By Celine Aswad DUBAI, July 5 Qatar''s stock index edged up on Wednesday as foreign ministers of four Arab states prepared to meet to consider sanctions against Doha. A deadline for Qatar to comply with a list of demands made by the states expired overnight. Doha has submitted replies to mediator Kuwait that have not been disclosed. Doha has shown no sign of acquiescing to major demands, which raises the possibility of the four states imposing more sanctions. But it is not clear that any fresh steps - such as the withdrawal of deposits from Qatar''s banking system - would be crippling, given Doha''s large financial resources. Qatar''s index added 0.4 percent as 10 traded shares rose, including ones favoured by foreign funds such as Islamic lender Masraf Al Rayan, which added 1.0 percent. Foreign funds were net buyers of Qatari stocks by a very narrow margin, bourse data showed; local funds were also net buyers, while Gulf funds were sellers. Twenty-seven stocks declined. Saudi Arabia''s index fell a further 0.5 percent, taking its losses over the last two sessions to 3.0 percent. Second-quarter earnings announcements are due to start around mid-July, and Alrajhi Capital predicted in a note that consumer-related sectors would do well because of the reinstatement of civil servants'' allowances and the month of Ramadan, which traditionally sees strong consumer spending. Mobile phone and computer retailer United Electronics added 3.0 percent. Earnings momentum for the broader market, however, is expected to be weak, according to a note by EFG Hermes. "Upside is limited for most of our coverage," it said, adding that it preferred banks over petrochemicals, and secular growth stories such as the insurance and supermarket industries. In Dubai, builder Arabtec fell 1.2 percent on profit-taking to 3.19 dirhams. Earlier in the day it hit a high of 3.37 dirhams after announcing its subsidiary Target Engineering had been awarded four projects worth 289 million dirhams ($79 million). Fifteen other shares fell and 11 advanced as the Dubai index closed near flat. The banking sector helped take Abu Dhabi''s index 0.5 percent higher with bellwether First Abu Dhabi Bank adding 1.0 percent. In Cairo the blue-chip index closed near flat. The most heavily traded stock of the day was private equity firm Qalaa Holding, which jumped 6.9 percent. Earlier this week its mining subsidiary ASEC Co for Mining reported that first-quarter net profit jumped to 232.4 million Egyptian pounds ($13.0 million) from a year-earlier loss 8.9 million pounds. ASEC shares jumped 21 percent in the past two days but fell back 5.2 percent on Wednesday. The broader EGX100 index added 0.7 percent. HIGHLIGHTS * The index lost 0.5 percent to 7,266 points. DUBAI * The index added 0.1 percent to 3,417 points. ABU DHABI * The index rose 0.5 percent to 4,414 points. QATAR * The index increased 0.4 percent to 8,929 points. EGYPT * The index edged up 0.1 percent to 13,335 points. KUWAIT * The index added 0.5 percent to 6,671 points. BAHRAIN * The index fell 0.4 percent to 1,312 points. OMAN '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/mideast-stocks-idUSL8N1JW3IK'|'2017-07-05T17:46:00.000+03:00' +'394a56d4b5cb304d97f0c8abf5461c8e19e892b7'|'The fashion industry pays attention to plus-size women'|'A GOOD fit is everything, stylists often counsel, but in assessing its market Americas fashion business appears to have mislaid the measuring tape. A frequently-cited study done a few years ago by Plunkett Research, a market-research firm, found that 67% of American women were plus-size, meaning size 14 or larger. That figure will not have changed much, but in 2016, only 18% of clothing sold was plus-size, according to NPD Group, another research firm.Designers and retailers have long thought of the plus-size segment as high-risk. Predicting what these customers will buy can be difficult, as they tend to be more cautious about styles. Making larger clothes is more expensive; higher costs for fabric cannot always be passed on to consumers. In turn, plus-size women shopped less because the industry was not serving them well. We have money but nowhere to spend it, says Kristine Thompson, who runs a blog called Trendy Curvy and has nearly 150,000 followers on Instagram, a social-media site. 41 minutes At last, that is changing. Fast-fashion brands, including Forever 21 and a fashion line sold in partnership with Target, a giant retailer, have expanded their plus-size collections. Lane Bryant, a plus-size retailer, and Prabal Garung, a designer, have done the same. In March Nike extended its X-sized sportswear range.Revenue in the plus-size category increased by 14% between 2013 and 2016, compared with growth of 7% for all apparel. Takings were $21.3bn last year. Social media has played an important role in changing attitudes in the fashion business, says Madeline Jones, editor and co-founder of PLUS M odel Magazine .Nonetheless, designer brands still hold back (Walmart sells the most plus-size apparel). Some brands, such as Michael Kors, do sell plus-size ranges but do not advertise them or display them on websites. For those that are willing to take a chance, several internet startups that deliver personally styled outfits to individuals, including plus-size women, offer data to straight-size designers. Gwynnie Bee, Stitch Fix and Dia & Co, for example, share information with designers on preferred styles and fits. Tracy Reese, a designer known for creating Michelle Obamas dress for the Democratic National Convention in 2012, is one brand that recently enlisted Gwynnie Bees help to create a new plus-size collection. Gwynnie Bee prompted the label to create bigger patterns and more appealing designs.Not all plus-size shoppers are convinced. Laura Fuentes, a hairstylist from Abilene, Texas, says that many upmarket department stores still keep their plus-size clothing sections poorly organised, badly stocked and dimly lit, if they stock larger clothes at all. Yet such complaints should be taken with a pinch of salt, says Ms Thompson. Were nowhere near where we should be but weve made progress, she says.This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "The forgotten majority"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21725029-revenue-category-outstripping-total-clothing-sales-fashion-industry-pays?fsrc=rss'|'2017-07-13T23:21:00.000+03:00' +'d344fd1ecb0a2c55adc88b790d5209e4a80ce701'|'China''s Xi pledges deeper supply-side reforms - Xinhua'|'July 27, 2017 / 11:53 PM / 29 minutes ago China''s Xi pledges deeper supply-side reforms - Xinhua Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks during a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, July 18, 2017. Mark Schiefelbein/Pool SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China will deepen so-called supply-side structural reforms that include efforts to deleverage the economy and cut excess capacity, President Xi Jinping told senior Communist Party leaders according to state media. Speaking at a two-day meeting to prepare for a once-in-five-years party congress later this year, Xi urged the party to make "all-out efforts, especially in preventing and defusing major risks, relieving poverty, as well as preventing and controlling pollution", the state news agency Xinhua reported. "China will keep deepening supply-side structural reform to push forward sustained and healthy economic and social development," Xinhua said, quoting Xi. Xinhua said supply-side structural reforms included deleveraging, destocking, cutting excess capacity, reducing costs and "shoring up weak areas". Reporting by John Ruwitch; Editing by Richard Pullin 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-reform-idUKKBN1AC3GB'|'2017-07-28T02:53:00.000+03:00' +'fca3656df3406a41c41b49c6c682bdb3f46046a0'|'Brazil development bank to buy Rio sanitation company, privatize it -source'|'The state development bank BNDES headquarters (R) is pictured next to the Brazil''s state-run Petrobras oil company headquarters (L) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 12, 2017. Ricardo Moraes BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil''s government has authorized the state development bank BNDES to acquire the control of Rio de Janeiro state''s sanitation company Cedae for 3 billion reais ($953 million), a person with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.After acquiring control of Cedae, BNDES will organize a sale process for it, the source said, asking for anonymity because the plans were still private. The agreement was first reported on Wednesday by G1, the portal for the Globo TV network.($1 = 3.1486 reais)Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu; Writing by Tatiana Bautzer '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cedae-m-a-idUSKBN1A42J2'|'2017-07-20T00:20:00.000+03:00' +'978fe38b3a1fdb342b4d8d546618677b0025476a'|'Fed says Yellen was hospitalized for a few days, returning to work this week'|'WASHINGTON Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen was hospitalized over the weekend to treat a urinary tract infection while she was vacationing with her family in London, the Fed said in a statement on Monday."She was admitted Friday and released Monday," the Fed said. "She is returning to Washington, D.C., and expects to resume her schedule as planned this week."It was unclear how serious Yellen''s condition was.Yellen, who is 70 years old and the most powerful figure in world finance, had a health scare in 2015, receiving emergency medical attention following a speech during which she appeared to lose concentration. Following that episode, the Fed said Yellen felt dehydrated after speaking for nearly an hour.There was no indication of any relation between the two health incidents.Last week, Yellen was in London for a conference on Tuesday and then stayed in the city for a vacation with her family, according to the Fed statement.(Reporting by Jason Lange and Pete Schroeder; Editing by Andrea Ricci)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-yellen-idUSKBN19O29P'|'2017-07-03T22:44:00.000+03:00' +'347bd2fce074c73c2207d1335b313c3c491959a3'|'UK agrees $1.1 billion deal with EU to settle RBS state aid concerns'|'July 26, 2017 / 4:04 PM / an hour ago UK agrees $1.1 billion deal with EU to settle RBS state aid concerns Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The City of London business district is seen through windows of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) headquarters in London, Britain September 10, 2015. Toby Melville/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - The British government said on Wednesday that the European Commission had accepted its plans to free Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ) from its obligation to sell more than 300 branches after the lender''s seven-year struggle to meet bailout requirements. Britain''s finance ministry said the European Commission had in principle accepted an alternative set of proposals that mean the bank will fund about 835 million pounds of measures to help so-called challenger banks and boost competition among lenders. "It will see RBS fund and deliver a package of measures to improve the UK business banking market and is designed to boost competition, helping small and medium-sized enterprises benefit from greater choice and offers on banking services," the finance ministry said in a statement. RBS had previously failed to sell a business banking division, Williams & Glyn, to resolve earlier competition concerns after it required the world''s biggest banking bailout at the height of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. Reporting by David Milliken. Editing by Andrew MacAskill and Guy Faulconbridge 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-rbs-britain-idUKKBN1AB29F'|'2017-07-26T19:04:00.000+03:00' +'4616322a7095c0017bbacf40812bec9c993adf3c'|'An action plan for Ubers next chief executive'|'IT IS said that Travis Kalanick, who resigned as Ubers boss last month, has been reading Shakespeares Henry V. Prince Hals transformation, from wastrel prince to sober monarch, is doubtless one he would like to emulate. But as a guide to the ride-hailing firms financial dilemma, Macbeth is the best play. This line especially resonates: I am in blood steppd in so far that, should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go oer.Uber has bled money for years in an attempt to become the absolute ruler of its industry. Once Mr Kalanicks replacement is found, voices will whisper that the firm, like Macbeth himself, is in too deep to alter course. But the new boss must change Uber from a company that sacrifices anything for its ambitions, to one which has a realistic valuation and uses resources efficiently.Latest updates In America, you are what you eat Graphic detail 14 hours ago The Supreme Court says grandparents are exempt from the travel ban Democracy in America 16 hours ago City of Ghosts is an extraordinary look at journalism in Raqqa Prospero 16 hours ago A papal confidant triggers a furore among American Catholics Erasmus 20 hours ago Retail sales, producer prices, wages and exchange rates a day ago Foreign reserves a day ago See all updates Its product is elegantly simple. Uber makes a market between drivers and passengers and takes a cut of about a fifth of the fare. The more people use its service, the better it functions, with lower waiting periods for passengers, and better use of drivers time. Some 55m people in 574 cities use it every month. Underlying sales were $4bn in 2016, over double what they were the year before (all figures exclude Ubers Chinese arm, which it sold to a local rival, Didi Chuxing, last year). Ubers main trouble is high expectations. Its supporters think it will become the next Alphabet or Facebook. At its last funding round in 2016 (it is private), investors valued it at a whopping $68bn.But the next boss will have to deal with an income statement that is scarier than the Thane of Cawdor. Underlying pre-tax losses were $3bn-3.5bn last year and about $800m in the most recent quarter. Some $1bn-2bn of last years red ink was because of subsidies that Uber paid to drivers and passengers to draw them to its platform. At least another $1bn went on overheads and on developing driverless cars; money is also being splashed on a new food-delivery venture and a plan to build flying cars.To put its 2016 loss in perspective, that number was larger than the cumulative loss made by Silicon Valleys least profit-conscious big companyAmazonin 1995-2002. Measured by sales, Uber is the worlds 1,158th-biggest firm. Judged by cash losses, it ranks in the top 20. It is now eight years old, but still probably years away from being stable enough to make an initial public offering of shares. In contrast, Amazon went public at the age of three, Alphabet at six and Facebook at eight.Investors rationalise its valuation by assuming that in the long run it will be highly profitable, with a dominant share of a large market. In 2014 Bill Gurley, a well-known tech investor who was then an Uber director, estimated that the pool of consumer spending that it could try and capture might be over $1trn, with ride-hailing and ride-sharing replacing car ownership. Today many Silicon Valley types think that estimate is too conservative.But a discounted cashflow model gives a sense of the leap of faith that Ubers valuation requires. After adjusting for its net cash of $5bn and for its stake in Didi, worth $6bn, you have to believe that its sales will increase tenfold by 2026. Operating margins would have to rise to 25%, from about -80% today.That is a huge stretch. Admittedly, Amazon and Alphabet, two of historys most successful firms, both grew their sales at least that quickly in the decade after they reached Ubers level, and Facebook is likely to as well. But over the same periods these firms operating margins show an total average rise of only one percentage point. Put simply, Uber finds it desperately hard to make money. It is not clear that it breaks even reliably across the group of cities where it has been active for longest.So the new chief executive will have to deliver a bleak message; that ride-hailing is locked in a vicious circle. Low prices and high subsidies lead to losses, so firms must raise capital continually, requiring them to exhibit rising valuations. To justify these they must frequently enter new cities and dream up new products. Even more speculative capital is then drawn in by the paper gains seemingly on offer. In the past year, ten of Ubers competitors, such as Lyft in America and Grab in South-East Asia, have together raised or are raising, roughly $11bn. That will be used to finance still more price wars to win market share.Double, double toil and troubleUber is on course to use up its existing cash and credit lines in three years. Its next boss must break the cycle before then by cutting subsidies and talking down its valuation. It could lose market share and may need to exit scores of cities. On July 13th it said that it will merge its operations in Russia with a competitor. Similar deals need to follow. Although Uber should continue to invest in driverless cars, some of its more experimental moon shot projects will probably be for the chop. Its investors, including Goldman Sachs, Saudi Arabias government and Jay-Z, a rapper, could face paper losses. Staff paid in stock will be furious.Yet over time the aim should be a firm with a lower market share of a more stable industry. Successful, dominant firms, such as Google and AT&T, dont seek absolute monopolies by killing off weaker rivals. They allow them enough space to plod on. That lowers the risk of antitrust problems and deters new entrants. By signalling that Ubers valuation is too high its new boss would knock valuations across the ride-hailing industry and slow the flood of speculative capitalin the end, a good thing.Once the losses abate, the priority should be to create a more capital light model. Perhaps Uber could license its brand and technology to local partners in some markets. It could concentrate subsidies on customers who sign up to long-term contracts. The biggest impediment may be Mr Kalanick. With allies, he still controls a significant share, probably a majority, of the companys voting rights. Anyone taking on techs toughest job must have the inner steel to confront him. They should remember another Quote: from the bard; I must be cruel only to be kind. "Reinventing Uber"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21725301-ride-hailing-firm-needs-rescuing-vicious-cycle-action-plan-ubers-next-chief?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-07-20T22:44:00.000+03:00' +'6a0b29895e162fd2fce233557ff4db12d20dfc24'|'Gucci revamp, YSL strength help Kering beat forecasts'|'Edition United States July 27, 2017 / 4:19 PM / in 37 minutes Gucci revamp, YSL strength help Kering beat forecasts Dominique Vidalon 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of Kering is seen during the company''s 2015 annual results presentation in Paris, France, February 19, 2016. Charles Platiau/File Photo PARIS (Reuters) - French luxury group Kering ( PRTP.PA ) delivered a forecast-beating rise in first-half operating profit on Thursday after a successful revival of its biggest brand, Italy''s Gucci, and a strong showing by fashion house Yves Saint Laurent. Kering, whose results were further evidence of a recovery in the wider luxury sector, cautioned it would face tougher comparables in the second half while a higher euro currency could impact consumer trends and tourism flows. The group nevertheless said its "excellent" first-half performance raised confidence in its capaciy to achieve another year of sales growth and improved operating performance. Deputy CEO Jean-Francois Palus said on a call with analysts that Kering was not considering any acquisitions short-term. Finance chief Jean-Marc Duplaix said the group will continue to reinvest in the Gucci brand to boost its communication and marketing as well as to further revamp stores. First-half recurring operating profit rose 57.1 percent to 1.274 billion euros ($1.49 billion), with an operating margin at Gucci reaching a record 32 percent of sales. Analysts polled by Inquiry Financial for Reuters predicted operating profit of 1.232 billion euros. Gucci, under the leadership of designer Alessandro Michele and Chief Executive Marco Bizzarri since early 2015, has revamped its stores and adopted a new luxury aesthetic that has proved popular with customers, notably millenials. Second quarter comparable sales at Gucci, which makes over 60 percent of Kering''s profit and whose products are endorsed by celebrities such as singer Rihanna, rose 39.3 percent, beating analysts''expectations of 32 percent growth. This compared with already spectacular growth of 48.3 percent achieved in the first quarter. "The enthusiasm for the brand is quite intense," said Duplaix, who added 32 percent looked like a good estimate for Gucci''s margin in 2017. Gucci''s stellar performance was backed by all product categories with strong demand in all regions, notably in western Europe with the return of tourists and in China. Yves Saint Laurent, which accounts for over 10 percent of Kering''s luxury sales, posted comparable sales growth of 23.7 percent in the second quarter, with new designer Anthony Vaccarello at the helm since April 2016. Sales at Bottega Veneta rose 1.7 percent, pursing a rebound started in the first quarter thanks to improving tourism spending in Europe and also stronger demand in Asia. Last week Kering''s German sportwear firm Puma ( PUMG.DE ) hiked its outlook for 2017 sales and operating profit as it announced strong second quarter results. Rival LVMH ( LVMH.PA ) posted a 23 percent profit rise on Thursday while Burberry ( BRBY.L ) and Hermes ( HRMS.PA ) also signaled better demand in mainland China and improving tourist spending in Europe. Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Andrew Callus and Elaine Hardcastle 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-kering-results-idUKKBN1AC2LE'|'2017-07-27T22:04:00.000+03:00' +'ecb394e94689133390f84ff4cd69a9d8242d9ba4'|'Japan''s Mitsui to sell stake in UK''s First Hydro'|'July 21, 2017 / 2:50 AM / in 3 hours Japan''s Mitsui to sell stake in UK''s First Hydro Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The logo of the Japanese trading company Mitsui & Co. is seen in Tokyo, Japan, February 8, 2017. Toru Hanai TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co ( 8031.T ) said on Friday it has agreed to sell its entire 25 percent stake in UK hydro power firm First Hydro to Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. ( BEP_u.TO ) for more than 5 billion yen (34.73 million pounds). First Hydro operates two pumped storage hydro power plants with total capacity of 2,088 megawatts. The other 75 percent stake is owned by France''s Engie ( ENGIE.PA ). The sale is in line with Mitsui''s plans to implement steady, strategic asset recycling over the coming three years, the Tokyo-based firm said in a statement. Some of the expected capital gain from the sale has been already incorporated in the current business year ending next March, it added. Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Richard Pullin 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hydro-mitsui-co-idUKKBN1A6077'|'2017-07-21T05:50:00.000+03:00' +'6849c8fd09a9ef132a9dce3e469db39d2b183fd7'|'Brisk trade marks start of China, Hong Kong Bond Connect scheme'|'July 3, 2017 / 5:02 AM / 19 minutes ago Brisk trade marks start of China, Hong Kong Bond Connect scheme By Umesh Desai and Andrew Galbraith 5 Min Read The title of Bond Connect is seen during a launching ceremony at Hong Kong Exchanges in Hong Kong, China July 3, 2017. Bobby Yip HONG KONG/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China and Hong Kong launched a long-awaited Bond Connect scheme on Monday that links China''s $9 trillion bond market with overseas investors, the latest step in Beijing''s efforts to liberalise and strengthen the country''s capital markets. Global investors were active, purchasing 4.9 billion yuan ($721.4 million) of bonds through the programme on Monday. But traders and foreign investors warned against reading too much into first-day trading numbers. "Chinese institutions will have to meet their ''supportive obligations''," to ensure the successful launch of the programme, said a Shanghai-based trader. "Let''s wait to see one-week or one-month volume." Monday''s aggregate trading volume was 7.05 billion yuan, the China Foreign Exchange Trade System said on its website. HSBC Holdings and an asset management unit of Bank of China were the among the first to complete trades using the scheme. The launch of the connection was timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong''s handover to Chinese rule and initial trading will only be "northbound", meaning foreign investors will be able to buy and sell Chinese bonds. No launch date has been set for the southbound channel. Demand for such a channel was limited, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEx) chief executive Charles Li said. Credit Suisse Private Banking reiterated on Monday that it is negative on onshore bonds and expects yields to rise further this year. In line with broader foreign access rules, overseas investors including pension funds, central banks and sovereign wealth funds will be eligible to trade sovereign and local government bonds, policy bank bonds and corporate debt on the Bond Connect. The connection will increase the supply of yuan-denominated assets that can be held by global investors as Beijing steps up the internationalisation of its currency. In a note on Monday, Goldman Sachs said it holds the view that more than $1 trillion of global fixed income investments could be allocated to domestic Chinese bonds in the next decade. Such inflows could help to support the yuan''s value in the long run. Internationalisation Concerns However, some market watchers said a strong launch could hamper the currency''s internationalisation. "A successful Bond Connect operation will actually be counterproductive to renminbi internationalisation in the short-term. This is because it will lead to more renminbi flowing back to China and, thus, further erode the CNH pool," said Chi Lo, senior economist at BNP Paribas Asset Management. Chinese regulators formally approved the Bond Connect scheme in May. International investors have been allowed direct access to China''s interbank bond market since last year and some market participants have questioned the need for an additional trading scheme. Reluctance by overseas investors to enter the market amid fears over the stability of the Chinese yuan, and over potential delays to Beijing''s reforms of the capital markets has kept overseas holdings to less than 2 percent. This is below the international norm of about 10 percent, BNP Paribas said. Media reports said 20 market makers for the Bond Connect scheme had been approved, including 14 Chinese and six overseas institutions. BNP Paribas said it had received approval as a market maker and had also executed its first trade under the scheme. Citigroup and Standard Chartered also confirmed to Reuters that they had been approved as official dealers. The scheme will also see deals coming through the primary market. China Development Bank said it planned to issue up to 20 billion yuan ($2.95 billion) of one-year, three-year and 10-year fixed-rate bonds for tender on Monday. HSBC said it is one of the underwriters. Hong Kong''s new leader, Carrie Lam, attended the debut ceremony and said the connect scheme marked "another new chapter in the development of mutual capital markets access between the mainland and Hong Kong." The bond programme follows the launch of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Stock Connect scheme in November 2014 and the Hong Kong and Shenzhen stock programme in December 2016. Those two schemes allow both northbound and southbound trade. ($1 = 6.7925 Chinese yuan) Reporting by Umesh Desai, Donny Kwok and Andrew Galbraith; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree and Richard Borsuk 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/hongkong-china-bondconnect-idINKBN19O0CN'|'2017-07-03T16:50:00.000+03:00' +'b8100026d3da43df759918f1822489a3328e6994'|'UPDATE 1-Australian regulator investigating Takata airbag recall after death'|'July 23, 2017 / 10:07 PM / 11 minutes ago UPDATE 1-Australian regulator investigating Takata airbag recall after death 3 Min Read (Updates with more detail, quote from chairman) July 24 (Reuters) - Australia''s consumer watchdog said on Monday it was investigating the recall of Takata Corp vehicle airbags, a day after police said a man''s death in a Sydney car crash could be linked to the faulty safety equipment. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said it was seeking information from both the government department responsible for vehicle safety and car manufacturers on what information was being given to consumers about the recall. Police said over the weekend that the death of the man in Sydney earlier this month may be the 18th death related to faulty airbags by the Japanese auto parts maker. The ACCC referred to another incident in April in which a woman in the Northern Territory suffered severe injuries from her airbag after a crash. ACCC Chairman Rod Sims noted that the Takata airbags degrade over time and can become lethal by misdeploying and firing metal shards at a car''s occupants. He warned, however, that some vehicles'' airbags were being replaced with airbags that may in turn need to be replaced again in six years'' time because they were treated with a water-absorbing chemical designed to address the problem that can also degrade over time. More than 2.3 million vehicles in Australia have been targeted in a recall since 2009, the ACCC said. The airbags are in 60 makes of cars sold in Australia, including Honda and Toyota. "We would have very serious concerns if manufacturers were found to be misleading consumers about their car''s safety in breach of their obligations under consumer law," Sims said in a statement. "Our advice to consumers is not to panic, but to visit the Product Safety Australia website to see if their car is affected by the recall and if it is, to contact their cars manufacturer immediately." Takata has filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States and Japan, and said last month it had agreed to be largely acquired for $1.6 billion by the Chinese-owned U.S.-based Key Safety Systems. Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; Editing by Jane Wardell and Peter Cooney 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/australia-takata-idUSL3N1KE0AU'|'2017-07-24T01:07:00.000+03:00' +'55532ef2ebfb82edccc70a3c18a91244edfd3fba'|'Valeo profit up 20 percent on LED lights, thermal systems'|'July 20, 2017 / 5:29 PM / 2 hours ago Valeo profit up 20 percent on LED lights, thermal systems Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The company logo of auto parts maker Valeo is pictured on an electric supercharger before the company''s 2015 annual results presentation in Paris, France, February 19, 2016. Benoit Tessier/File Photo PARIS (Reuters) - French car parts maker Valeo ( VLOF.PA ) said first-half profit rose 20 percent as demand for LED lighting and fuel-efficient engine systems helped sales to outpace global auto markets. Net income rose to 506 million euros (453 million pounds) from 422 million a year earlier, the company said in a statement on Thursday. Revenue increased 16 percent to 9.464 billion euros, shy of the 9.558 billion expected by analysts, based on the median of nine estimates in an Inquiry Financial poll for Reuters. Stripping out the effects of acquisitions and currency fluctuations, the like-for-like sales gain was 9 percent, six percentage points ahead of global auto market growth. The results "confirm the growth and profitability potential of our innovations portfolio", Valeo Chief Executive Jacques Aschenbroich said in the statement. Under Aschenbroich, Paris-based Valeo is positioned to benefit from a widespread regulatory emissions crackdown thanks to its push into electric-car and other fuel-saving technologies. It has also become a major supplier of autonomous driving systems in partnership with Israel''s Mobileye ( MBLY.N ). Lighting and thermal systems both recorded 11 percent sales growth in like-for-like terms. Comfort and driving assistance posted 7 percent sales growth, with powertrain up 6 percent. Order intake - which drives future sales - rose 16 percent to 14.9 billion euros, the company said. That excludes 3 billion euros already booked by its new eAutomotive electric-car venture with Germany''s Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ), created last December. Valeo reiterated full-year goals, including sales exceeding global auto demand growth by five percentage points and a slight increase in the group''s operating margin. Reporting by Laurence Frost; Editing by Maya Nikolaeva 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-valeo-results-idUKKBN1A52E2'|'2017-07-20T20:28:00.000+03:00' +'e7f7a6951b01df33087f1bf0e7d2727f5dd2e090'|'UPDATE 2-U.S. appeals court blocks release of HSBC money laundering report'|'July 12, 2017 / 2:32 PM / 4 hours ago CORRECTED-UPDATE 2-U.S. appeals court blocks release of HSBC money laundering report 3 Min Read (Corrects judge''s first name in paragraph 10 to Robert from John) By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK, July 12 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday blocked the release of a report discussing HSBC Holdings Plc''s progress in improving its controls against money laundering, reversing a judge''s order that the report be made public. By a 3-0 vote, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said U.S. District Judge John Gleeson abused his discretion in finding that the public had a constitutional right of access to the report under the First Amendment. HSBC agreed to a monitor in December 2012, when it accepted a $1.92 billion fine and five-year deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) to resolve a U.S. Department of Justice probe. The department said HSBC had become a preferred bank for Mexican drug cartels and other money launderers, and conducted transactions in several countries barred by U.S. sanctions. Wednesday''s decision was a victory for HSBC and the Justice Department, which have said releasing the report could compromise efforts to fight money laundering, including for terrorism, and discourage cooperation with law enforcement. It was a defeat for Hubert Dean Moore, a Pennsylvania man who was an HSBC mortgage customer before filing for bankruptcy, and sought the report''s release to identify whether there remained problems in HSBC''s business practices. The report was kept under seal during the appeal. HSBC, the Justice Department, Moore and Moore''s lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In a January 2016 ruling, Gleeson said the HSBC report by Michael Cherkasky, a former New York prosecutor and now executive chairman of compliance company Exiger, implicated "matters of great public concern" and justified its release. But in Wednesday''s decision, Chief Judge Robert Katzmann said it is the Justice Department''s responsibility to oversee how DPAs are implemented, while judges lack "freestanding supervisory power" to do so even if they suspect problems. "In resting its exercise of supervisory authority on hypothesized scenarios of egregious misconduct, the district court turned this presumption on its head," Katzmann wrote. The court concluded that Cherkasky''s report was not a "judicial document" deserving of public access. Gleeson, who sat in Brooklyn and is now a partner at law firm Debevoise & Plimpton, had no immediate comment. Twenty-five media outlets also urged the release of the HSBC report. They said the release of such documents, especially if fraud or executive branch conduct are at issue, helps the public hold the government accountable and understand how courts work. The case is U.S. et al v. Moore, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 16-308. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Jonathan Oatis) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/hsbc-moneylaundering-idUSL1N1K30QR'|'2017-07-12T18:27:00.000+03:00' +'787af8eada852232723c85bae2243267f17c8377'|'Russian oligarch Vladimir Yevtushenkov falls from grace, again'|'HE WAS back in favour, or so it appeared. After spending several months under house arrest in late 2014, Vladimir Yevtushenkov, a Russian oligarch, relinquished control of Bashneft, a midsized oil firm, to the state. If you like another company tomorrow and want to take it, you are welcome, he told Vladimir Putin at the time, he later recalled. The president publicly gave his approval to Sistema, Mr Yevtushenkovs conglomerate, shares in which had plunged. Mr Yevtushenkov subsequently appeared at annual Kremlin receptions and late last year joined a presidential delegation to Crimea.Now he is under pressure again, facing a lawsuit from Rosneft, a state-run oil giant, which is demanding 171bn roubles ($2.8bn) in damages. Rosnefts boss is Igor Sechin, a Putin confidant, who many in Moscow reckon orchestrated the initial 2014 case against Mr Yevtushenkov as well. (Rosneft and Mr Sechin have denied any involvement in it.) Late last year, Rosneft purchased Bashneft from the state for $5.3bn. It now claims that Sistema inappropriately took assets in a restructuring of Bashneft. 15 hours ago How The case attests to Rosnefts appetite for deals, as well as to Mr Sechins clout. Since acquiring Bashneft, Rosneft has sold a 19.5% stake in itself to Glencore, a Swiss-based commodities firm, and the Qatar Investment Authority for 10.2bn ($11bn), despite being a target of American sanctions. Mr Sechin also just concluded a deal worth $12.9bn to acquire Indias Essar Oil. A Rosneft spokesman, Mikhail Leontyev, says theres nothing personal about its case against Mr Yevtushenkovs firm, even if many in Moscows business community see the affair as a clash of titans.The assets that Sistema is alleged to have taken from Bashneft include an energy supplier held by a subsidiary. Rosneft also asserts that Bashneft incurred damages as a result of Sistemas decision to buy out Bashnefts minority shareholders during the 2013-14 restructuring and because it cancelled some treasury stock in the firm. Sistema calls the case groundless. Under its ownership, it notes, Bashnefts market value rose eightfold and its production of oil rose by nearly half. Investors were largely happy, says Andrey Polischuk, an oil-and-gas analyst at Raiffeisen Bank.Investors in Russia will watch the suit closely. It underlines the frailty of property rights, says Oleg Kouzmin, an economist at Renaissance Capital, an investment bank in Moscow. Sistemas shares lost more than one-third of their value the day after the suit was filed in early May. Late last month a court seized as collateral Sistemas shares in MTS, Russias largest mobile operator; in Medsi, a private medical clinic; and in an electrical company in Bashkiria.The conflict also hints at rising tensions inside Russias elite as the economy continues to sputter. The chieftains are fighting each other, observes Mikhail Krutikhin of RusEnergy, a consultancy. Russias formal institutions have long had a tendency to falter, but a system of unwritten rules, known as ponyatiya , understood both by local players and foreigners, has helped govern business dealings. Thus Mr Yevtushenkov, who is loyal to the Kremlin and stays out of politics, was widely considered to be in favour before his initial arrest. His reconciliation with Mr Putin was expected to put him back on firmer ground. As Sistemas CEO, Mikhail Shamolin, said recently, In terms of ponyatiya , there are no claims to be made against us.It is unclear what the rules are now, laments Konstantin Simonov, head of the National Energy Security Fund, a consultancy. Independent members of Sistemas board have asked the Kremlin to act as an arbiter, but Mr Putin has largely remained silent on the matter. Some people say the conflict is a new version of the corporate-raiding culture of the 1990s, but carried out with lawyers and court briefs instead of the earlier periods methods, including henchmen toting Kalashnikovs.This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "Russian brawl"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/business/21724865-case-rosneft-against-his-conglomerate-worries-investors-russian-oligarch-vladimir?fsrc=rss'|'2017-07-06T22:49:00.000+03:00' +'448d357bd6c25e73578ad7d7868e181d482407c4'|'Citigroup to pick Frankfurt as EU base this week - sources'|'July 17, 2017 / 6:45 PM / an hour ago Citigroup to pick Frankfurt as EU base this week - sources Alexander Hbner and Anjuli Davies 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - People walk beneath a Citibank branch logo in the financial district of San Francisco, California, U.S. on July 17, 2009. Robert Galbraith/File Photo FRANKFURT/LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. bank Citigroup Inc ( C.N ) is set to become the latest Wall Street bank to pick Frankfurt as its European Union base this week in preparation for when Britain leaves the European Union, two sources told Reuters on Monday. Citi had earlier said it would choose Frankfurt to become its hub for sales and trading in the EU and move "a couple of hundred" jobs outside of London after Brexit. Citi''s European base move was reported on Monday by Sky News. British finance minister Philip Hammond said this month that the country should push for a transitional deal to help businesses, as the government held its first high level meeting with corporate leaders to discuss Brexit. Global banks have said they could move thousands of jobs out of Britain to prepare for the country''s planned EU exit. Financial services firms need a regulated subsidiary in an EU country to offer products across the bloc, which could prompt some to move jobs out of Britain if it loses access to the European single market. The Association of Foreign Banks in Germany expects 3,000 to 5,000 new jobs in Frankfurt over the next two years as a result of Brexit, its head Stefan Winter of UBS ( UBSG.S ) told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag in June. Deutsche Bank AG ( DBKGn.DE ), BNP Paribas SA ( BNPP.PA ), Barclays Plc ( BARC.L ) and Bank of America Corp ( BAC.N ) are among the banks contemplating shifting some operations after Brexit. Citi declined to comment. Reporting by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru; editing by Alexander Smith 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-eu-citigroup-idINKBN1A220K'|'2017-07-17T21:44:00.000+03:00' +'c6acba527fae62f9b425157795962f111b658867'|'Russian oligarch Vladimir Yevtushenkov falls from grace, again'|'HE WAS back in favour, or so it appeared. After spending several months under house arrest in late 2014, Vladimir Yevtushenkov, a Russian oligarch, relinquished control of Bashneft, a midsized oil firm, to the state. If you like another company tomorrow and want to take it, you are welcome, he told Vladimir Putin at the time, he later recalled. The president publicly gave his approval to Sistema, Mr Yevtushenkovs conglomerate, shares in which had plunged. Mr Yevtushenkov subsequently appeared at annual Kremlin receptions and late last year joined a presidential delegation to Crimea.Now he is under pressure again, facing a lawsuit from Rosneft, a state-run oil giant, which is demanding 171bn roubles ($2.8bn) in damages. Rosnefts boss is Igor Sechin, a Putin confidant, who many in Moscow reckon orchestrated the initial 2014 case against Mr Yevtushenkov as well. (Rosneft and Mr Sechin have denied any involvement in it.) Late last year, Rosneft purchased Bashneft from the state for $5.3bn. It now claims that Sistema inappropriately took assets in a restructuring of Bashneft. The case attests to Rosnefts appetite for deals, as well as to Mr Sechins clout. Since acquiring Bashneft, Rosneft has sold a 19.5% stake in itself to Glencore, a Swiss-based commodities firm, and the Qatar Investment Authority for 10.2bn ($11bn), despite being a target of American sanctions. Mr Sechin also just concluded a deal worth $12.9bn to acquire Indias Essar Oil. A Rosneft spokesman, Mikhail Leontyev, says theres nothing personal about its case against Mr Yevtushenkovs firm, even if many in Moscows business community see the affair as a clash of titans.The assets that Sistema is alleged to have taken from Bashneft include an energy supplier held by a subsidiary. Rosneft also asserts that Bashneft incurred damages as a result of Sistemas decision to buy out Bashnefts minority shareholders during the 2013-14 restructuring and because it cancelled some treasury stock in the firm. Sistema calls the case groundless. Under its ownership, it notes, Bashnefts market value rose eightfold and its production of oil rose by nearly half. Investors were largely happy, says Andrey Polischuk, an oil-and-gas analyst at Raiffeisen Bank.Investors in Russia will watch the suit closely. It underlines the frailty of property rights, says Oleg Kouzmin, an economist at Renaissance Capital, an investment bank in Moscow. Sistemas shares lost more than one-third of their value the day after the suit was filed in early May. Late last month a court seized as collateral Sistemas shares in MTS, Russias largest mobile operator; in Medsi, a private medical clinic; and in an electrical company in Bashkiria.The conflict also hints at rising tensions inside Russias elite as the economy continues to sputter. The chieftains are fighting each other, observes Mikhail Krutikhin of RusEnergy, a consultancy. Russias formal institutions have long had a tendency to falter, but a system of unwritten rules, known as ponyatiya , understood both by local players and foreigners, has helped govern business dealings. Thus Mr Yevtushenkov, who is loyal to the Kremlin and stays out of politics, was widely considered to be in favour before his initial arrest. His reconciliation with Mr Putin was expected to put him back on firmer ground. As Sistemas CEO, Mikhail Shamolin, said recently, In terms of ponyatiya , there are no claims to be made against us.It is unclear what the rules are now, laments Konstantin Simonov, head of the National Energy Security Fund, a consultancy. Independent members of Sistemas board have asked the Kremlin to act as an arbiter, but Mr Putin has largely remained silent on the matter. Some people say the conflict is a new version of the corporate-raiding culture of the 1990s, but carried out with lawyers and court briefs instead of the earlier periods methods, including henchmen toting Kalashnikovs.This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "Russian brawl"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21724865-case-rosneft-against-his-conglomerate-worries-investors-russian-oligarch-vladimir?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-07-06T22:49:00.000+03:00' +'ed629cec0a8a37ba241d53fcd445946a7ad96ee1'|'Europe seeks to set global trade rules after Trump steps back'|'July 27, 2017 / 6:09 AM / 4 hours ago Europe seeks to set global trade rules after Trump steps back Robin Emmott and Philip Blenkinsop 9 European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom speaks during an interview with Reuters at the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, July 20, 2017. Francois Lenoir /File Photo BRUSSELS (Reuters) - If Donald Trump''s ditching of a U.S.-led trade alliance with Pacific Rim nations wasn''t a gift to the European Union, then it must be the next best thing. The president''s decision on his first day in office effectively pulled the United States out of the race to frame global trade rules. With Washington preoccupied by an attempt to renegotiate its existing NAFTA treaty with Canada and Mexico, the EU has an opportunity to become the top setter of common business standards in a series of new deals. Still the world''s biggest trading bloc, the EU is recovering its self-confidence after a long economic crisis and Britain''s vote to leave the union. Now it has much of Asia and Latin America in its sights for trade treaties, while a far-reaching pact with Canada will already enter force in September. Japan turned to the Brussels this month to seal a deal on creating the world''s biggest open economic area, after being dumped by Trump''s scrapping of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free-trade accord in January. EU trade chief Cecilia Malmstrom - who until Trump''s election had been struggling to persuade Tokyo to agree tough trade-offs - acknowledges the change of fortunes. "I do not regard President Trump as a gift maybe, but it is true that many countries have started to look around more broadly," she told Reuters. "Other countries feel that they need to look out for new friends and other allies, so yes, it has increased interest in cooperation with Europe and with others." Import tariffs are already low between developed economies, so negotiations now focus more on agreeing common standards. The aim is to make it easier and cheaper for firms to do business in differing markets, avoiding the need to tailor-make products to meet varying local rules, be they for cars or cheese. While China is seeking greater influence, the battle has largely been between U.S. and EU standards as a template for deals governing how goods and services are bought and sold. Beijing may yet rival Europe provided it embraces a rules-based global trade order in the years to come, economists say. But in the meantime, the EU is pushing to conclude deals this year not only with Japan, but also Mexico and the Mercosur group led by Brazil and Argentina, while pressing ahead with Australia, New Zealand and Asian countries including Malaysia - also left high and dry by the TPP collapse - and Indonesia. Europe is still struggling with low economic growth and high unemployment, and the EU''s share of global trade in goods and services has fallen to 16.8 percent in 2016 from 18.8 percent a decade earlier, according to EU data. Unless the EU can reverse the trend, it risks losing its top spot when Britain - the world''s fifth biggest economy - departs in 2019. The U.S. share of global trade was 15.0 percent last year and China''s was 13.4 percent. So Brussels is pinning its hopes on a boost from new treaties, even though these take time to negotiate and win legislative approval - especially in a bloc which will still have at least 27 member states after Brexit. If all goes well, the EU''s existing and planned pacts will link markets of more than two billion people producing nearly half of global economic output. This excludes stalled negotiations with the United States and India. The United States'' existing trade treaties encompass a third of world output and fewer than 700 million people, with no new deals near completion - although Trump says he wants to clinch one with Britain when it leaves the EU. Remarkable Deal In trade talks, the biggest economies largely get their way in setting common standards, so a string of new agreements could make EU rules the benchmark for everything from selling farm products to running tenders for public works contracts. That would benefit EU firms, which already comply with the bloc''s rules, while those from other countries would have to adjust to new sets of regulations. Even Japan has agreed to align its standards for cars and parts produced by its motor industry with those used by the EU. Brussels has also secured better access for its companies to public tenders in Japan right down to a local level, such as for railway equipment, hospitals or electricity distribution. That means, for instance, a French or Spanish firm could sell high-speed "bullet trains" to the country that pioneered the idea. While Japan is the world''s number three economy, its share of global trade is 4.9 percent, less than a third of the EU''s. The deal also gives the EU the upper hand in its promotion of "geographical indications" to guarantee, for example, what is labelled as feta cheese comes only from Greece and as champagne only from France. This contrasts to the U.S. approach where producers anywhere can seek a trademark for what they sell. It still needs to be formally signed and ratified but the EU has scored a notable success, according to Hosuk Lee-Makiyama, director of the Brussels-based think-tank ECIPE. "If you consider the concessions the Japanese have made on cars and on public procurement, it''s quite remarkable," he said. (For a graphic on existing and planned EU trade deals, click tmsnrt.rs/2q71iyk ) u.s. "Own Goal" Trump said this month that the United States had made "some of worst trade deals in world history", arguing they have been bad for American workers. Still, the Pacific Rim TPP deal would have bound the 12 signatory nations to rules set along U.S. lines, most likely favouring American businesses. Pulling out of the TPP was "the biggest own goal of the new U.S. administration", Lee-Makiyama said. "The United States was the station manager of the international trading system and it has abdicated in a rather flamboyant way." A bilateral U.S.-Japan free trade deal was now off the table too because Tokyo could not offer agricultural concessions to Washington after yielding to EU farming demands, he added. Even Britain will probably have to agree to rules forged by negotiators in Brussels when it strikes bilateral deals after Brexit, as the EU''s main trade partners adopt the bloc''s norms. These will include systems to govern legal disputes among investors and food safety rules. Chinese Challenge? Washington could still change tack and embrace open markets. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in May it made sense to revive stalled free-trade talks with the EU, albeit towards a deal cutting the U.S. trade deficit with Europe. Senior diplomats from some EU allies including New Zealand and Canada have expressed frustration at the slow bureaucracy in the EU, whose accords have be translated into 24 languages and ratified by more than 30 national and regional parliaments. Europe''s opportunity could also be squandered if it allows internal squabbling between free trading and more protectionist member states to undermine its credibility. But with Trump focused on renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico, "the United States is out of the picture for the next three and a half years", said Jeffrey Bergstrand at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. China, which overtook Germany as the world''s biggest exporter in 2009, also has ambitions to dominate global trade, and wants to break Europe''s hold on the container shipping industry and deepen its ownership of international ports. President Xi Jinping also seeks to link Asia, Africa and Europe with billions of dollars of infrastructure investment to extend Beijing''s reach under his "Belt and Road Initiative". But Western officials, investors and economists say China''s opaque governance, regular changes to legislation and curbs on foreign investment limit its ability to emerge as a champion of the rules-based order underpinning trade deals. Capital controls imposed since November make it harder for individuals and companies to move money out of China. "Until, or unless, China transitions to a rules-based liberal political and economic regime, I have serious doubts that they can lead the world," said Erik Nielsen, chief economist at UniCredit Bank. Additional reporting by Alastair Macdonald in Brussels, Leslie Wroughton in Washington; editing by David Stamp 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-trade-analysis-idUKKBN1AC0KV'|'2017-07-27T09:10:00.000+03:00' +'4cc694779e0e78b1e6dc9df1fb78ebd24fe87567'|'Israel tech exits at 5-year low of $2 billion in first half'|'Market News - Wed Jul 5, 2017 - 5:54am EDT Israel tech exits at 5-year low of $2 billion in first half JERUSALEM, July 5 (Reuters) - * Israeli high-tech exits totalled $1.95 billion in the first half of 2017, a five-year low, the Israel Venture Capital Research Center and Meitar law firm said in a report on Wednesday. * Exits comprised 46 merger and acquisition deals for $1.5 billion, seven initial public offerings and four buyouts. * The average exit deal in the first half was $34 million, well below the average of $87 million in 2016, when there were 115 exits totalling $10 billion. * The largest deal in the first half was the $340 million acquisition of Valtech by Edwards Lifesciences. The report does not include Intel''s acquisition of Mobileye for $15.3 billion, since this deal has not yet closed. * IPOs recovered somewhat in the first half, with seven offerings grossing $227 million, compared with $22 million last year. (Reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by Tova Cohen) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/israel-tech-ma-idUSL8N1JW1WX'|'2017-07-05T12:54:00.000+03:00' +'d08f7bfb954fb0d94e295e75bbd623b2de5573b8'|'The Blockade of Qatar Airways'' Home Base Is Trouble for the World''s No. 1 Airline'|'Business The Blockade of Qatar Airways Home Base Is Trouble for the Worlds No. 1 Airline The humbled airline is losing traffic at home, but it says it wont let the diplomatic flap ground it. By More stories by Deena Kamel Illustration: 731 Youd think Qatar Airways , voted the worlds best airline in a passenger survey last month, would have no trouble keeping its seats filled. Instead, its had to cancel scores of flights after four neighboring countries barred it from their airspace; its also being kicked out of an American Airlines Group Inc. code share agreement that eased access to the crucial U.S. market. On July 12, Qatar Airs brash chief executive officer, Akbar Al Baker, issued a rare public apology after his description of U.S. flight attendants as grandmothers was condemned by other airline executives and labor unions. The carrier has now been pressed into service to fly 4,000 dairy cows into the country on cargo planes to assure fresh milk supplies during the blockade. Its a humbling turn for an airline that until recently seemed unstoppable. Over the past decade, Qatar Air more than tripled its annual traffic, to 32 million passengers, and bought hundreds of planes, with some $41 billion still on order, to fly travelers through its desert hub in Doha. It took stakes in three other airlines, including 20 percent of British Airways Plc s corporate parent, and is angling to buy 10 percent of American Airlines. Qatar Air has become a darling of high-end travelers, thanks to solicitous customer service and in-flight amenities such as suites that convert into private meeting rooms. It was named the worlds best airline by ratings group Skytrax at this years International Paris Air Showthe fourth time its won the award since 2011. Behind those successes is an extraordinarily deep-pocketed owner, the emirate of Qatars $335 billion sovereign wealth fund. But as recent setbacks have highlighted, the relationship carries risks. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates banned Qatar Air planes from their airspace in early June after accusing the Qatari government of funding terrorism. President Trump endorsed the ban, which forced Qatar Air to cancel some 125 daily flights and reroute others throughout the region. That means higher fuel costsa flight from Doha to Khartoum, Sudan, for example, now takes about six hours, almost double the preblockade time, with it being diverted hundreds of miles around Saudi Arabia. Qatar Air also is now barred from revenue-rich corporate destinations such as Dammam, near the headquarters of the Saudi national oil company. All told, the blockade could cost the airline 30 percent of its revenue, estimates consulting firm Frost & Sullivan. Al Baker says even if profits are squeezed, Qatar Air can sustain losses for as long as necessary and will continue to expand . The airline plans to spend as much as $2.6 billion to take the 10 percent stake in American, to launch 24 additional routes by the end of 2018, and to open an airline in India with a fleet of 100 planes. We need for our neighbors to know that this kind of bullying doesnt work, he said at a July 13 press conference. Others arent so sure. Corrine Png, who runs airline research group Crucial Perspective, reckons Qatar Air should be able to ride it out if the blockade ends within one year. However, she says, the airline should scale back plans to expand fleet capacity 20 percent annually over the next two years. While some aircraft from canceled flights can be redeployed to newly opened destinations such as Prague and Kiev, such routes wont generate profits soon. Qatar Air, which reported $538.7 million in earnings for the fiscal year ended March 31, could potentially swing into losses unless it trims expansion now, Png says. State ownership of Qatar Air also lies at the heart of a feud with American and other U.S. carriers, whove complained to regulators that the Qatari carrier receives subsidies that allow it to compete unfairly. (Theyve lodged similar complaints against Dubai-based Emirates airline and Abu Dhabis Etihad Airways PJSC. ) American, in what it described as an extension of our stance against illegal subsidies, informed Qatar Air on June 29 that it will end the code share agreement allowing the carriers to sell tickets for each other. Qatar Airs unsolicited American Airlines bid is an effort to strengthen its negotiating hand by essentially buying the affiliation of the largest member of the lobbying group that represents U.S. carriers in the subsidies dispute, says Diogenis Papiomytis, who heads the aerospace unit at Frost & Sullivan in Dubai. But the bid has drawn a strong rebuke from American, and the union that represents American pilots has called it an act of financial aggression. The most important business stories of the day. Get Bloomberg''s daily newsletter. Sign Up Despite Al Bakers rhetorical bluster, hes a businessman at heart and is likely to be pragmatic about keeping Qatar Air on course, says John Strickland, director of London-based JLS Consulting. The airline has recently leased some excess single-aisle planes to British Airways, and some analysts say Qatar Air might defer or cancel orders for costlier widebody jets. Qatar Air nixed orders for four Airbus A350 widebodies on July 6 but said the decision was prompted by supplier delays. It still has outstanding orders and options for 210 passenger planes from Boeing Co. and 145 from Airbus SE. Qatar Air could try cutting fares to lure business away from rivals Emirates and Etihad, which also draw much of their business from passengers transiting through the Middle East to and from Asia. Emirates, the regions dominant carrier, has about twice as much traffic as Qatar Air, which in turn has about twice as much as Etihad. Qatar could force Emirates into a price war, says Andrew Charlton of Swiss consulting firm Aviation Advocacy. Even if the blockade adds a bit to travel time on Qatar Air, he says, its amazing what cheap tickets can do. BOTTOM LINE - Hemmed in by Middle East politics and restricted airspace, Qatar Airways may need to scale back its growth plans. Before it''s here, it''s on the Bloomberg Terminal. '|'bloomberg.com'|'https://www.bloomberg.com/businessweek'|'https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-20/the-blockade-of-qatar-airways-home-base-is-trouble-for-the-world-s-no-1-airline'|'2017-07-20T16:53:00.000+03:00' +'6b49a8678b0744b92dd2874c21279c1d4ff7b618'|'Spanish businessman Manuel Jove weighs sale of energy assets: sources'|'MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish businessman Manuel Jove is considering selling renewable energy business Avantegenera to take advantage of consolidation in the sector, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Monday.Jove has hired Societe Generale as an adviser on a deal that could fetch up to 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion), the sources added, echoing an earlier report by Bloomberg.The sources said the plan was still at an early stage. The business could be sold in one block or split into different parts, they added.Avantagenera''s clean-energy assets include wind and solar power plants in countries such as Spain and Brazil.Societe General and Inveravante, Jove''s investment vehicle, declined to comment.Foreign investors have been buying renewable assets in Spain during the country''s economic recovery.Reporting by Carlos Ruano and Andres Gonzalez; Writing by Jess Aguado; Editing by Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-avantegeneral-m-a-idUSKBN1A925Z'|'2017-07-25T01:04:00.000+03:00' +'2c342b05bf23cd865d0bc9e10fc7533411376ba2'|'Swiss central bank posts 1.2 billion Swiss francs first-half profit as forex weighs'|'July 31, 2017 / 5:52 AM / 6 minutes ago Swiss central bank posts 1.2 billion Swiss francs first-half profit as forex weighs Reuters Staff 1 Min Read CCTV cameras checking the outside of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) are pictured in front of the Federal Palace (Bundeshaus) in Bern, Switzerland, May 10, 2017. Denis Balibouse ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland''s central bank on Monday reported a net profit of 1.2 billion Swiss francs (913.66 million pounds) for the first half of 2017 as big foreign exchange losses weighed on earnings from its foreign investments. The Swiss National Bank ( SNBN.S ) made a profit of 100 million francs from its foreign currency positions, as exchange related losses of 11.8 billion francs almost wiped out the earnings from bonds and shares it holds. The bank made a valuation gain of 300 million francs from its gold holdings and 970 million francs from the negative interest rates it charges on banks, a cornerstone of its campaign to weaken the Swiss franc. Making a profit is not part of the SNB''s monetary policy mandate, with its with its main target to ensure price stability in Switzerland. Reporting by John Revill'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-snb-results-idUKKBN1AG0HW'|'2017-07-31T08:52:00.000+03:00' +'c04a1e755d4c373c5190190e71cee744722bc1ae'|'British banks'' optimism slumps on Brexit uncertainty'|'Business News - Tue Jul 11, 2017 - 12:03am BST British banks'' optimism slumps on Brexit uncertainty The City of London is seen from Canary Wharf, Britain May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth - RTX366N3 LONDON Optimism about the business environment among Britain''s financial services firms declined in the second quarter of this year, according to a survey published on Tuesday. The latest quarterly survey of 94 financial services firms by business lobby CBI and consultancy PwC found sentiment about Britain''s overall business climate deteriorating, with banks and life insurers especially pessimistic. The report adds to a string of lacklustre data showing the British economy weakening. Optimism in the financial services sector - Britain''s biggest source of tax revenue - has now declined in five out of the last six quarters. "Whilst business activity is holding up strongly, optimism took another dive, which likely reflected a mix of Brexit uncertainty and concerns that financial market conditions could tighten," said Rain Newton-Smith, CBI chief economist. Britain will have to negotiate new trading terms with the EU and it is unlikely banks will retain access to sell their services and serve clients across the economic bloc. The largest global banks in London plan to move thousands of jobs to the continent in the next two years. Firms expect to cut back on most forms of capital spending, the survey showed. (Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; editing by Andrew Roche)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-banks-outlook-idUKKBN19V2TB'|'2017-07-11T02:03:00.000+03:00' +'f54d100c0233264559d86cc63e1134e3f3d0ba6d'|'Telenor, Weir Group lead European shares higher'|'July 17, 2017 / 7:38 AM / an hour ago Telenor, Weir Group lead European shares higher 2 Min Read Traders work in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, July 14, 2017. Staff/Remote LONDON (Reuters) - European shares nudged higher in early deals on Monday, though trading was characterized by thin volumes as a busy few weeks of earnings reports from top regional and U.S. firms gets underway. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.2 percent, while the blue chips struggled to hold slim gains. Last week, European indices enjoyed their strongest week in more than two months as investors quickly bought the dip spurred by central banks turning slightly hawkish. Second-quarter results season kicked off in the U.S. last Friday with numbers from Citigroup and JPMorgan. Analysts are expecting earnings to grow 9 percent year-on-year for European firms, compared with 8 percent for the U.S., according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Updates from some Nordic firms spurred some sizeable moves, however, with shares in Norway''s Telenor jumping more than 7 percent. The telecoms firm raised its outlook for 2017 earnings margins after its operating results beat expectations. Likewise shares in British engineer Weir Group rose 6.4 percent after it increased forecasts for its oil and gas units. On the downside, shares in Swedish medical technology firm Getinge dropped nearly 7 percent after its second quarter core profits lagged forecasts. While almost every sector was in positive territory, basic resources were the biggest gainers, up around 1 percent with miners Anglo American, Norsk Hydro and Glencore leading the charge higher after the price of copper hit a three-and-a-half month high following strong Chinese GDP figures, the world''s biggest consumer of metals. Volatile trading continued for trouble UK midcap construction services firm Carillion which appointed EY to help with its strategic review. The stock, which has lost two-third of its value over the past week, rose 7 percent in early trades. Reporting by Kit Rees, Editing by Vikram Subhedar 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks-idUSKBN1A20KT'|'2017-07-17T10:30:00.000+03:00' +'d2603ccf49473ef07697dc61c2f8e99534c245d8'|'Tesla deliveries at low end of forecast, starting Model 3 production'|'Business 28pm BST Tesla deliveries at low end of forecast, starting Model 3 production Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ) said it delivered about 47,100 electric sedans and SUVs in the first half of 2017, at the lower end of its own forecasts, shortly after Chief Executive Elon Musk announced that production of its mass-market Model 3 would start this week and build to 20,000 per month in December. Shares fell 2.5 percent in regular trade on Monday to $352.62 after the Model 3 comments and eased down a touch more in after hours trade, following the first-half report. Tesla said a "severe shortfall" of new battery packs had constrained vehicle manufacturing until June, and it forecast that second-half deliveries of the Model S sedan and Model X sports utility vehicle likely would exceed those of the first half. It had forecast first-half deliveries of 47,000 to 50,000. Most investors are focused on the outlook for the Model 3, and some analysts have been skeptical about its planned July launch after production delays and quality issues marred the launches of the Model S and Model X. Tesla''s shares are up more than 60 percent this year, partly on expectations of a strong launch for its Model 3, the first car the company has aimed at the mass market. Tesla has a market value of $58 billion, greater than either General Motors Co ( GM.N ) or Ford Motor Co ( F.N ). In a series of posts on Twitter late on Sunday, Musk said the Model 3 had passed all regulatory requirements for production two weeks ahead of schedule. "Production grows exponentially, so Aug should be 100 cars and Sept above 1,500," Musk said. "Looks like we can reach 20,000 Model 3 cars per month in Dec." That is in line with targets Tesla previously set, of more than 5,000 Model 3s per week by the end of this year and 10,000 vehicles per week "at some point in 2018". Musk said he expected SN1 - the first car off the assembly line for sale - to be completed on Friday. Tesla has taken deposits on more than 300,000 Model 3s, starting at $35,000 a vehicle. Its popularity stands out as major U.S. automakers face a downturn. GM and Ford both reported lower sales for June on Monday. The Model 3 marks a turning point for Tesla as it transitions from a niche luxury car manufacturer to a mass producer. The 500,000 vehicles the company plans to make next year is nearly six times its 2016 production. Reuters reported in February that Tesla shut down production at its California assembly plant for a week to prepare for production of the Model 3 sedan, in order to meet its target of starting production in July. (Reporting by Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru and Peter Henderson in San Fransisco; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri and Bill Rigby) Tesla Motors'' mass-market Model 3 electric cars are seen in this handout picture from Tesla Motors on March 31, 2016. Tesla Motors/Handout via Reuters/File Photo'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-tesla-model-idUKKBN19O0GD'|'2017-07-04T00:28:00.000+03:00' +'9dc1674e3b050bed9ab78589d0f88e5be7583d28'|'WRAPUP 1-U.S. consumer prices unchanged; retail sales fall again'|'July 14, 2017 / 12:47 PM / an hour ago Weak U.S. inflation, retail sales data dim rate hike prospects Lucia Mutikani 6 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Prices are seen on replica Statues of Liberty figures in a shop window in New York City, November 14, 2011. Mike Segar WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer prices were unchanged in June and retail sales fell for a second straight month, pointing to tame inflation and soft domestic demand that diminished prospects of a third interest rate increase from the Federal Reserve this year. Still, the economy likely regained speed in the second quarter after a sluggish performance at the start of the year. Other data on Friday showed industrial production picked up in June, driven by a surge in oil and gas drilling. "Today''s reports imply that the Fed will go very slowly normalizing rates, but it also means that businesses will have to really hustle to find ways to keep earnings growing strongly," said Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisors in Holland, Pennsylvania. The Labor Department said the unchanged reading in its Consumer Price Index came as the cost of gasoline and mobile phone services declined further. The CPI dropped 0.1 percent in May and the lack of a rebound in June could trouble Fed officials who have largely viewed the recent moderation in price pressures as transitory. Policymakers are confronted with benign inflation and a tight labor market as they weigh a third rate hike and announcing plans to start reducing the central bank''s $4.2 trillion portfolio of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities. In the 12 months through June, the CPI increased 1.6 percent - the smallest gain since October 2016 - after rising 1.9 percent in May. The year-on-year CPI has been retreating since February, when it hit 2.7 percent, which was the biggest increase in five years. The so-called core CPI, which strips out food and energy costs, edged up 0.1 percent in June, rising by the same margin for three straight months. The core CPI increased 1.7 percent year-on-year after a similar gain in May. The Fed has a 2 percent inflation target and tracks a measure which is currently at 1.4 percent. Financial markets were pricing in a 47 percent chance of a 25 basis point rate hike in December, down from 55 percent before the data, according to CME Group''s FedWatch program. As a result, the dollar fell, briefly touching a 10-month low against a basket of currencies. Prices for U.S. government bonds rose and stocks on Wall Street edged higher. Fed Chair Janet Yellen told lawmakers on Wednesday that the recent cool-off in inflation was partly the result of "a few unusual reductions in certain categories of prices" that would eventually drop out of the calculation. "We expect a little more cautious language from Fed officials on the inflation outlook going forward," said Michael Hanson, chief economist at TD Securities in New York. Broad Weakness A woman walks past a sign advertising a sale in the Old Town shopping area of Pasadena, California, U.S. June 27, 2017. Mario Anzuoni In June, gasoline prices fell 2.8 percent, decreasing for a second straight month. Food prices were unchanged after rising for five consecutive months. The cost of cellular phone services fell 0.8 percent, extending their decline amid price competition among service providers. There were also decreases in airline fares and prices for apparel, household furnishings, new motor vehicles, and used cars and trucks. But rental costs rose, with owners'' equivalent rent of primary residence increasing 0.3 percent after advancing 0.2 percent in May. Americans also paid more for hospital visits and prescription medication, as well as motor vehicle insurance. Low prices are hurting retailers. A second report from the Commerce Department showed retail sales fell 0.2 percent last month, weighed down by declines in receipts at service stations, clothing stores and supermarkets. Sales at restaurants and bars, as well as at sporting goods and hobby stores fell. May''s retail sales were revised to show a 0.1 percent dip instead of the previously reported 0.3 percent drop. Retail sales rose 2.8 percent year-on-year in June. Excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services, retail sales slipped 0.1 percent last month after being unchanged in May. These so-called core retail sales correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of gross domestic product. Despite two straight months of decreasing retail sales, consumer spending likely gained steam in the second quarter after a helping to restrict economic growth to a 1.4 percent annualized rate in the first quarter. However, that could negatively impact third-quarter GDP. "The weak trajectory of consumer spending at the end of second quarter adds some challenges to the third-quarter consumption outlook, which reinforces our view that growth will step down modestly in the current quarter," said Michael Feroli, an economist at JPMorgan in New York. That was supported by a third report showing a measure of consumer sentiment fell to a reading of 93.1 in early July from 95.1 in June. It has declined from a high of 98.5 in January. The Atlanta Federal Reserve lowered its second-quarter growth estimate by two-tenths of a percentage point to a 2.4 percent rate following the inflation and retail sales data. Still, growth in the second quarter likely got a lift from the industrial sector of the economy. In a fourth report on Friday, the Fed said industrial production increased 0.4 percent in June amid robust gains in oil and gas drilling after nudging up 0.1 percent in May. Industrial production increased at a 4.7 percent rate in the second quarter. Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Andrea Ricci 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-inflation-idUSKBN19Z1CS'|'2017-07-14T16:22:00.000+03:00' +'6b64f30e4ed6a84ffb4c8760c3c629b89b982a73'|'Europe seeks to set global trade rules after Trump steps back'|'July 27, 2017 / 6:09 AM / 2 hours ago Europe seeks to set global trade rules after Trump steps back Robin Emmott and Philip Blenkinsop 9 Min Read BRUSSELS (Reuters) - If Donald Trump''s ditching of a U.S.-led trade alliance with Pacific Rim nations wasn''t a gift to the European Union, then it must be the next best thing. The president''s decision on his first day in office effectively pulled the United States out of the race to frame global trade rules. With Washington preoccupied by an attempt to renegotiate its existing NAFTA treaty with Canada and Mexico, the EU has an opportunity to become the top setter of common business standards in a series of new deals. Still the world''s biggest trading bloc, the EU is recovering its self-confidence after a long economic crisis and Britain''s vote to leave the union. Now it has much of Asia and Latin America in its sights for trade treaties, while a far-reaching pact with Canada will already enter force in September. Japan turned to the Brussels this month to seal a deal on creating the world''s biggest open economic area, after being dumped by Trump''s scrapping of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free-trade accord in January. EU trade chief Cecilia Malmstrom - who until Trump''s election had been struggling to persuade Tokyo to agree tough trade-offs - acknowledges the change of fortunes. "I do not regard President Trump as a gift maybe, but it is true that many countries have started to look around more broadly," she told Reuters. "Other countries feel that they need to look out for new friends and other allies, so yes, it has increased interest in cooperation with Europe and with others." Import tariffs are already low between developed economies, so negotiations now focus more on agreeing common standards. The aim is to make it easier and cheaper for firms to do business in differing markets, avoiding the need to tailor-make products to meet varying local rules, be they for cars or cheese. For a graphic on EU trade deals, click tmsnrt.rs/2q71iyk While China is seeking greater influence, the battle has largely been between U.S. and EU standards as a template for deals governing how goods and services are bought and sold. Beijing may yet rival Europe provided it embraces a rules-based global trade order in the years to come, economists say. But in the meantime, the EU is pushing to conclude deals this year not only with Japan, but also Mexico and the Mercosur group led by Brazil and Argentina, while pressing ahead with Australia, New Zealand and Asian countries including Malaysia - also left high and dry by the TPP collapse - and Indonesia. Europe is still struggling with low economic growth and high unemployment, and the EU''s share of global trade in goods and services has fallen to 16.8 percent in 2016 from 18.8 percent a decade earlier, according to EU data. Unless the EU can reverse the trend, it risks losing its top spot when Britain - the world''s fifth biggest economy - departs in 2019. The U.S. share of global trade was 15.0 percent last year and China''s was 13.4 percent. So Brussels is pinning its hopes on a boost from new treaties, even though these take time to negotiate and win legislative approval - especially in a bloc which will still have at least 27 member states after Brexit. If all goes well, the EU''s existing and planned pacts will link markets of more than two billion people producing nearly half of global economic output. This excludes stalled negotiations with the United States and India. The United States'' existing trade treaties encompass a third of world output and fewer than 700 million people, with no new deals near completion - although Trump says he wants to clinch one with Britain when it leaves the EU. Remarkable Deal In trade talks, the biggest economies largely get their way in setting common standards, so a string of new agreements could make EU rules the benchmark for everything from selling farm products to running tenders for public works contracts. That would benefit EU firms, which already comply with the bloc''s rules, while those from other countries would have to adjust to new sets of regulations. FILE PHOTO: European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom speaks during an interview with Reuters at the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, July 20, 2017. Francois Lenoir /File Photo Even Japan has agreed to align its standards for cars and parts produced by its motor industry with those used by the EU. Brussels has also secured better access for its companies to public tenders in Japan right down to a local level, such as for railway equipment, hospitals or electricity distribution. That means, for instance, a French or Spanish firm could sell high-speed "bullet trains" to the country that pioneered the idea. While Japan is the world''s number three economy, its share of global trade is 4.9 percent, less than a third of the EU''s. The deal also gives the EU the upper hand in its promotion of "geographical indications" to guarantee, for example, what is labeled as feta cheese comes only from Greece and as champagne only from France. This contrasts to the U.S. approach where producers anywhere can seek a trademark for what they sell. It still needs to be formally signed and ratified but the EU has scored a notable success, according to Hosuk Lee-Makiyama, director of the Brussels-based think-tank ECIPE. "If you consider the concessions the Japanese have made on cars and on public procurement, it''s quite remarkable," he said. u.s. "Own Goal" Trump said this month that the United States had made "some of worst trade deals in world history", arguing they have been bad for American workers. Still, the Pacific Rim TPP deal would have bound the 12 signatory nations to rules set along U.S. lines, most likely favoring American businesses. Pulling out of the TPP was "the biggest own goal of the new U.S. administration", Lee-Makiyama said. "The United States was the station manager of the international trading system and it has abdicated in a rather flamboyant way." A bilateral U.S.-Japan free trade deal was now off the table too because Tokyo could not offer agricultural concessions to Washington after yielding to EU farming demands, he added. Even Britain will probably have to agree to rules forged by negotiators in Brussels when it strikes bilateral deals after Brexit, as the EU''s main trade partners adopt the bloc''s norms. These will include systems to govern legal disputes among investors and food safety rules. Chinese Challenge? Washington could still change tack and embrace open markets. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in May it made sense to revive stalled free-trade talks with the EU, albeit towards a deal cutting the U.S. trade deficit with Europe. Senior diplomats from some EU allies including New Zealand and Canada have expressed frustration at the slow bureaucracy in the EU, whose accords have be translated into 24 languages and ratified by more than 30 national and regional parliaments. Europe''s opportunity could also be squandered if it allows internal squabbling between free trading and more protectionist member states to undermine its credibility. But with Trump focused on renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico, "the United States is out of the picture for the next three and a half years", said Jeffrey Bergstrand at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. China, which overtook Germany as the world''s biggest exporter in 2009, also has ambitions to dominate global trade, and wants to break Europe''s hold on the container shipping industry and deepen its ownership of international ports. President Xi Jinping also seeks to link Asia, Africa and Europe with billions of dollars of infrastructure investment to extend Beijing''s reach under his "Belt and Road Initiative". But Western officials, investors and economists say China''s opaque governance, regular changes to legislation and curbs on foreign investment limit its ability to emerge as a champion of the rules-based order underpinning trade deals. Capital controls imposed since November make it harder for individuals and companies to move money out of China. "Until, or unless, China transitions to a rules-based liberal political and economic regime, I have serious doubts that they can lead the world," said Erik Nielsen, chief economist at UniCredit Bank. Additional reporting by Alastair Macdonald in Brussels, Leslie Wroughton in Washington; editing by David Stamp 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-trade-idUSKBN1AC0KK'|'2017-07-27T09:08:00.000+03:00' +'f50ae654269166c6c9b3d482a4763c978b47d85e'|'Air India break-up an option as Modi pushes for quick sale'|'July 9, 2017 / 3:51 PM / 4 hours ago Air India break-up an option as Modi pushes for quick sale Rupam Jain and Tommy Wilkes 5 Min Read An Air India aircraft takes off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, India, July 7, 2017. Amit Dave NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India is considering selling state-owned Air India in parts to make it attractive to potential buyers, as it reviews options to divest the loss-making flagship carrier, several government officials familiar with the situation said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s cabinet gave the go-ahead last month for the government to try to sell the airline, after successive governments spent billions of dollars in recent years to keep the airline going. Air India - founded in the 1930s and known to generations of Indians for its Maharajah mascot - is saddled with a debt burden of $8.5 billion and a bloated cost structure. The government has injected $3.6 billion since 2012 to bail out the airline. Once the nation''s largest carrier, its market share in the booming domestic market has slumped to 13 percent as private carriers such as InterGlobe Aviation''s IndiGo and Jet Airways have grown. Previous attempts to offload the airline have been unsuccessful. If Modi can pull this off, it will buttress his credentials as a reformer brave enough to wade into some of the country''s most intractable problems. His office has set a deadline of early next year to get the sale process underway, the officials said, declining to be named as they were not authorized to speak publicly about the plans. The timeline is ambitious and the process fraught, with opinion divided on the best way forward: should the government retain a stake or exit completely, and should it risk being left with the unprofitable pieces while buyers pick off the better businesses, officials said. Already, a labour union that represents 2,500 of the airline''s 40,000 employees has opposed the idea of a sale even though it is ideologically aligned to Modi''s Bharatiya Janata Party. Officials who have to make it happen are grappling with the sheer scale of the exercise. Air India has six subsidiaries three of which are loss-making with assets worth about $4.6 billion. It has an estimated $1.24 billion worth of real estate, including two hotels, where ownership is split among various government entities. No one has properly valued the company''s various businesses and assets before, two officials with direct knowledge of the process said. Earlier this month, about $30 million worth of art, including paintings by artist M. F. Husain, went missing from its Mumbai offices, chairman Ashwani Lohani said. "The exercise is complex and there is no easy way out," said Jitendra Bhargava, operational head of Air India in 1997-2010. "At this juncture, selling even part of Air India is far from certain." Lohani declined to comment on the sale process. The prime minister''s office and the civil aviation ministry also declined to comment. The Air India logo is seen on the facade of its office building in Mumbai, India, July 7, 2017. Danish Siddiqui Back to Tata? A committee of five senior federal ministers, led by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, is expected to meet this month and begin ironing out the finer details of the plan. Besides deciding about the size of the stake sale, the panel will set the bidding norms. It will also take a call on the carrier''s debt, demerger and divestment of its three profit-making subsidiaries. Modi''s office has said the government has no business being in hospitality and travel, suggesting the prime minister wants to sell as much of Air India as possible, the officials said. Analysts say the government may prefer to keep the airline in Indian hands. At least two potential Indian suitors the Tata Sons conglomerate and IndiGo - have shown early interest. The Air India logo is seen on top of its office building in Mumbai, India, July 7, 2017. Danish Siddiqui In recent weeks, officials in Modi''s office and from the civil aviation ministry met Ratan Tata, the patriarch of the $100 billion-a-year Tata Sons, to gauge the companys interest in a deal, a close aide to Modi said. Tata would be an attractive buyer for the government. The company founded and operated Air India before it was nationalised in 1953. "Seems like Tata will come forward and make the best offer," the aide said, adding the government would be keen to see that jobs are not lost. Tata, however, already has two other airline joint ventures in India, and it''s not clear what parts of Air India it would be interested in. A Tata spokeswoman declined to comment. IndiGo said on Thursday it was interested in the international operations and in Air India Express, a low-cost carrier. Modi''s office has told officials to work out exactly how much each of Air India''s subsidiaries are worth to make it easier to break up the carrier if needed, two of the officials said. The government is expected to appoint outside consultants to help with the exercise. Anshuman Deb, aviation analyst at ICICI Securities, said splitting the airline will maximize value for the government. "Let us be realistic. It''s very clear that a single buyer cannot buy an entire state-owned company," said a senior aviation ministry official involved in the process. Reporting by Rupam Jain and Tommy Wilkes, with additional reporting by Manoj Kumar, Aditi Shah and Nidhi Verma; Editing by Paritosh Bansal and Ian Geoghegan 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/air-india-privatisation-idINKBN19U0RH'|'2017-07-09T06:29:00.000+03:00' +'5d1a26de6a687b8df66b92c90ef600e510332c49'|'HSBC says first-half profit rose 5 percent, announces up to $2 billion share buyback'|'July 31, 2017 / 4:37 AM / in an hour HSBC says first-half profit rose 5 percent, announces up to $2 billion share buyback 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The HSBC headquarters building is seen in the Canary Wharf financial district in London, Britain, March 7, 2011. Toby Melville/Files HONG KONG/LONDON (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings PLC on Monday said profit rose 5 percent in the first half of the year, beating analyst estimates, and announced its third share buyback in the past year on the back of a growing capital base. Pretax profit reached $10.2 billion in the six months through June, from $9.7 billion in the same period a year earlier, HSBC said in a statement. The result compared with the $9.5 billion average estimate of analysts polled by the bank. HSBC also announced an up to $2 billion share buyback, as it uses excess capital to offset the dilutive effect of shares paid out as dividends. It completed a previously announced $1 billion buyback in April. Europe''s biggest bank said it expects to commence the latest buyback shortly for completion in the second half of 2017. The announcement takes the total of HSBC share buybacks since the second half of 2016 to $5.5 billion. HSBC, like many global banks, spent the years up to the 2008 financial crisis building its empire. Recent years have seen it cut jobs and sell assets worldwide to shrink the group back to profitability and maintain dividend payouts in an era of stricter banking regulations. "In the past 12 months we have paid more in dividends than any other European or American bank and returned $3.5 billion to shareholders through share buy-backs," Chief Executive Officer Stuart Gulliver said in HSBC''s earnings statement. "We have done this while strengthening one of the most resilient capital ratios in the industry." The bank said its common equity tier 1 ratio - a measure of financial strength - was 14.7 percent at the end of June, from 14.3 percent three months prior, and 12.1 percent in the year-earlier period. The ratio is set to increase further as the bank repatriates some $8 billion stuck at its U.S. subsidiary, following approval last year from the U.S. Federal Reserve. HSBC has kept its dividend payout ratio higher than many peers in recent years, including last year when a slowdown in banks'' earnings growth prompted rivals such as Standard Chartered PLC to withhold payments. HSBC''s dividends totalled $10.1 billion in 2016, $10 billion in 2015 and $9.6 billion in 2014. Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee and Lawrence White; Editing by Christopher Cushing 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/hsbc-results-idINKBN1AG0DQ'|'2017-07-31T07:36:00.000+03:00' +'0a4b769722b1796d2c596381be745650e17f3f39'|'German stocks - Factors to watch on July 31'|'July 31, 2017 / 5:16 AM / 4 hours ago German stocks - Factors to watch on July 31 5 Min Read FRANKFURT/BERLIN, July 31 (Reuters) - The DAX top-30 index looked set to open 0.2 percent lower on Monday, according to premarket data from brokerage Lang & Schwarz at 0612 GMT. The following are some of the factors that may move German stocks: Autos BMW indicated 0.8 percent lower Daimler indicated 0.6 percent lower VW indicated 0.7 percent lower The German environment ministry has rejected calls from two of the country''s states for tax incentives to promote the sale of low-emission modern diesels and electric cars. Auto supplier Robert Bosch plans to decide by the end of the year or early next year whether it will start producing battery cells for electric cars, Chief Executive Volkmar Denner told Welt am Sonntag. Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said late on Friday the Model 3 had over half a million advance reservations as he handed over the first 30 to employee buyers, as the company aims to become a profitable, mass market electric car maker. Commerzbank Indicated 0.1 percent lower Commerzbank''s new investor, U.S. buyout fund Cerberus, plans to claim a seat on the lender''s supervisory board, Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported, citing sources on the controlling panel. Commerzbank declined comment. Daimler Indicated 0.6 percent lower The carmaker''s finance arm said on Sunday it was heading for another record year after signing nearly one million new leasing and finance contracts between January and June. Deutsche Bank Indicated 0.3 percent higher A U.S. judge on Friday said investors may pursue part of their nationwide antitrust lawsuit accusing 12 of the world''s biggest banks of conspiring to rig the $275 trillion market for interest rate swaps. Deutsche Boerse Indicated 0.1 percent lower Executive Carsten Kengeter, who is under investigation for insider trading, frequently met and spoke by telephone with his London Stock Exchange counterpart in the months before they announced official merger talks, Der Spiegel magazine reported on Friday. Deutsche Telekom Indicated 0.2 percent higher Sprint Corp has proposed a merger with Charter Communications Inc as the wireless carrier seeks an alternative to a deal with T-Mobile US Inc that has so far not come to fruition, according to sources familiar with the matter. Munich Re Indicated unchanged Chief executive Joachim Wenning expects loss-making unit Ergo to deliver on cost cuts and to seek no parent funding, Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported on Sunday, citing an interview. Volkswagen Indicated 0.8 percent lower VW''s planned sale of motorcycle brand Ducati and transmissions maker Renk has currently no majority backing on the carmaker''s supervisory board, with opponents to asset sales feeling invigorated by the group''s strong results. Italy''s Benetton family is among five bidders short-listed to buy Italian motorcycle brand Ducati, which is being sold by the German carmaker, a source close to the matter said on Saturday. Audi aims to cut costs by 10 billion euros ($11.7 billion) by 2022 to help fund a shift to electric cars as it seeks to move on after the emissions scandal, sources close to the carmaker said. Schaeffler No indication available The automotive supplier plans to invest 500 million euros ($587 million) in electric mobility by 2020 and hire another 1,200 workers, monthly magazine Automobil Produktion reported on Saturday, citing an interview. Evotec The biotech firm plans to buy U.S. pharmaceutical company Aptuit for about 256 million euros. Rib Software No indication available The software group''s Q2 operating EBITDA increases 43.1 percent to 9.3 million euros on 10.6 percent higher sales. Bet-at-home.com '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/germany-stocks-factors-idUSL5N1KJ1ZI'|'2017-07-31T08:16:00.000+03:00' +'5d644bd65d69ab907c152cbb9ee29027d0ba457a'|'Oil prices firm on signs of U.S. production slowdown'|'July 17, 2017 / 1:43 AM / 2 hours ago Oil edges up toward $49, U.S. drilling slowdown supports Alex Lawler 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A man pumps petrol for his car at a petrol station in Hanoi, Vietnam December 20, 2016. Kham/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Oil edged up to about $49 a barrel on Monday after fewer drilling rigs were added in the United States last week, helping ease concerns that surging shale supplies will undermine OPEC-led production cuts. U.S. drillers added two oil rigs in the week to July 14, bringing the total to 765, Baker Hughes ( BHGE.N ) said on Friday. RIG-OL-USA-BHI Rig additions over the past four weeks averaged five, the slowest pace of growth since November. A sharp drop in U.S. crude inventories in the week to July 7 supported prices last week. But crude stocks in industrialized nations remained high, putting a brake on the oil price rally. "The market is not doing too much today - it feels like wait and see," said Olivier Jakob of oil analyst Petromatrix. "There is some rebalancing in products, but overall the layers of stocks are still very large." Brent crude LCOc1, the global benchmark, was up 8 cents at $48.99 a barrel by 1341 GMT. U.S. crude CLc1 traded at $46.57, up 3 cents. Oil prices are less than half their mid-2014 level because of a persistent glut, even after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries with Russia and other non-OPEC producers cut supplies since January. While OPEC-led cuts have offered prices some support, rising supplies from Nigeria and Libya, two OPEC states exempt from the pact, and increasing U.S. production have weighed on the market. Kuwait said on Friday the market was on a recovery track due to rising demand and said it was premature to cap Nigerian and Libyan output. An OPEC and non-OPEC committee meets in Russia on July 24 to discuss the impact of the deal. In a sign of strong demand, data on Monday showed refineries in China increased crude throughput in June to the second highest on record. OPEC is hoping higher demand in the second half will get rid of excess inventories. "There is almost an agreement that the second half of the year should be tighter than the first half due to significant jumps in demand forecasts," oil broker PVM said. "The net result is a rise in the demand for OPEC oil." Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein; editing by Edmund Blair and David Clarke 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUKKBN1A202Z'|'2017-07-17T04:40:00.000+03:00' +'4f66d33b0700d9709fe1a081d3b9dcf6012250cf'|'Euro zone core inflation rises, unemployment drops'|'July 31, 2017 / 9:06 AM / 2 hours ago Euro zone core inflation unexpectedly picks up in July Francesco Guarascio and Francesco Canepa 3 Min Read BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - A key measure of euro zone inflation accelerated to a four-year high this month and euro zone unemployment fell to its lowest since 2009 in June, data showed on Monday, in two encouraging signs for the European Central Bank as it considers reducing its monetary stimulus. The ECB is due to decide by the autumn whether and how to extend its 2.3 trillion euros (2.05 trillion pounds) quantitative easing programme into 2018 and President Mario Draghi has cited sluggish core inflation and wage growth as reasons to be cautious. Likely giving heart to ECB policymakers, core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, accelerated to 1.3 percent from 1.2 percent in June, Eurostat''s flash estimate showed. It was its highest level since August 2013 and confounded market expectations for a slowdown. "Today''s upside surprise in core inflation is likely to give the ECB some comfort, even though its level remains low," Morgan Stanley economist Daniele Antonucci said. "We expect a QE tapering announcement this autumn." The European Union''s statistics office estimated that headline growth in consumer prices in the euro zone was stable at 1.3 percent year-on-year in July, still far from the ECB''s objective of just under 2 percent. FILE PHOTO: An employee sews while working in a factory in the city of Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria July 2, 2015. Stoyan Nenov/File Photo In a separate release, Eurostat said unemployment in the 19-country currency bloc dropped to its lowest level since 2009 at 9.1 percent, confirming a robust recovery in the currency bloc. The jobless rate also went down in Italy and Spain, the two eurozone countries with the highest rates, excluding Greece for which fresh data were not available. In Italy unemployment dropped to 11.1 percent in June from 11.3 percent in May, meaning that nearly 60,000 were added to the Italian workforce. In Spain, the rate fell to 17.1 percent from 17.3 percent. One of the ECB''s dilemmas is that a steady decline in unemployment is not translating into higher wages, a key driver of inflation. In Germany, the largest economy of the bloc, unemployment fell to 3.8 percent in June from 3.9 percent the previous month, raising expectations of bigger wage rises that could strengthen growth in the euro zone a whole. ($1 = 0.8521 euros) Reporting by Francesco Guarascio in Brussels and Francesco Canepa in Frankfurt @fraguarascio @FranCanJourno, editing by Alister Doyle 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-economy-inflation-idUKKBN1AG0XT'|'2017-07-31T12:14:00.000+03:00' +'c6461970e5063fe3b6c7026cd98c35e5b105a852'|'U.S. lawmaker calls for hearing on Amazon purchase of Whole Foods'|'July 14, 2017 / 2:22 PM / an hour ago U.S. lawmaker calls for hearing on Amazon''s Whole Foods deal 4 Min Read A Whole Foods Market is pictured in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S. June 16, 2017. Carlo Allegri WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The top Democrat on the U.S. House of Representatives'' antitrust subcommittee has voiced concerns about Amazon.com Inc''s ( AMZN.O ) $13.7 billion plan to buy Whole Foods Market Inc ( WFM.O ) and is pushing for a hearing to look into the deal''s potential impact on consumers. The deal announced in June marks the biggest acquisition for the worlds largest online retailer. Amazon has not said what it will do with Whole Foods'' stores and other assets, but analysts and investors worry the move could upend the landscape for grocers, food delivery services and meal-kit companies. U.S. Representative David Cicilline requested the hearing on Thursday in a letter to the chair of the House Judiciary Committee and the subcommittee chairman. Shares of Amazon were up 0.3 percent in mid-morning trading on Friday. "Amazons proposed purchase of Whole Foods could impact neighborhood grocery stores and hardworking consumers across America," Cicilline said in a statement. "Congress has a responsibility to fully scrutinize this merger before it goes ahead." The deal must be approved by U.S. antitrust enforcers, in this case most likely the Federal Trade Commission. Congress plays no formal role in that process but hearings are often used to highlight the possible impact of deals on consumers. The hearing is unlikely to happen without Republican support. Amazon and Whole Foods declined to comment. Also this week, hedge fund manager Douglas Kass from Seabreeze Partners Management Inc said he was shorting shares of the retailer because of concern about Amazon in Washington. Amazon.com''s logo is seen at Amazon Japan''s office building in Tokyo, Japan, August 8, 2016. Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo Kass said he had heard rumblings on Capitol Hill regarding concern about Amazon''s size and clout but did not specify what the concerns were. "I am shorting Amazon today because I have learned that there are currently early discussions and due diligence being considered in the legislative chambers in Washington, D.C.," he wrote in a note to investors late on Wednesday. "If I am correct, word of this could lower Amazon''s shares by 10 percent overnight." Kass said in emailed comments to Reuters on Friday that he has what he called a core short position in Amazon, meaning a sizeable bet based on a long-term outlook. "This has the potential of being the biggest business news story of year, he said. Kass declined to comment when asked for more details about pressure from Capitol Hill. Kass is followed for his bets on declines in companies'' share prices. He shorted Marvel Entertainment in 1992 when its shares were in the high $60s, and the company went bankrupt 1-1/2 years later. He also bet against big U.S. banks leading into the 2007-2009 financial crisis, shorting Bank of America, MGIC, Citigroup and several other financials that ultimately averaged a 98 percent price decline by the time they bottomed in 2009. While antitrust experts have said they expect Amazon''s bid to win regulatory approval, some critics argue the deal should be blocked because it gives the retailer a big head start towards domination of online grocery delivery. They argue the Whole Foods acquisition will give Amazon an unfair advantage over traditional grocers and new players that might emerge in the market, potentially grounds for the deal to be blocked for antitrust reasons. Reporting by Diane Bartz and Jennifer Ablan; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Chris Sanders 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-wholefoods-m-a-amazon-com-idUSKBN19Z1LI'|'2017-07-14T17:26:00.000+03:00' +'7c2e3bb21ed1d5ec66d7651f66a5cbee23d797d2'|'U.S. attempt to limit Wall Street bonuses fizzles out quietly'|'July 21, 2017 / 12:49 AM / 3 hours ago U.S. attempt to limit Wall Street bonuses fizzles out quietly Lisa Lambert 3 Min Read A street sign for Wall Street is seen outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City, U.S. December 28, 2016. Andrew Kelly (This July 20 story corrects name to National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions in paragraph ten) By Lisa Lambert WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The regulatory agenda released by the Trump administration on Thursday contained a signal that the U.S. government has halted its work on restricting Wall Street executives'' bonuses and other pay incentives. The 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law called for federal banking and securities regulators to create limits on incentive-based compensation at big financial companies and prevent executives from receiving outsized rewards for overly risky gambles. Last year those regulators, many appointed by former President Barack Obama, a Democrat, rolled out a 500-page rule over many weeks that would require senior executives to return bonuses earned by making decisions that materially hurt their banks. But in the biannual White House agenda on regulation, the rule was listed under the heading "long-term action," instead of one denoting regulators were making progress toward a final version. In Washington-speak that meant the rule was dead. The move followed President Donald Trump''s campaign pledges to lighten federal regulations that hurt liquidity and strangled business. "Theyre not even working on it," said Lisa Gilbert, who closely tracks Dodd-Frank implementation for the liberal-leaning public interest group Public Citizen. She added that the rule was labeled "pending" in previous agendas. By law it was supposed to be completed by 2011. Agencies working on the proposed rule declined to comment. Regulators neglected last year''s proposal, which addressed many concerns raised about a 2011 draft, even though Obama pushed them to finish it before he left office. "We kind of knew it was on the back-burner," said Alexander Monterrubio, director of regulatory affairs for the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions trade group. "The unified agenda confirmed that thought." Each agency had a different view on regulating incentive-based compensation, making progress difficult, Monterrubio said. Congress wanted a way to hold top executives accountable after the 2007-09 financial crisis, when some banks experienced major losses partly due to risky decisions made by their leaders. The call for a rule was renewed when regulators rapped Wells Fargo & Co. for an incentive method that pushed employees to open thousands of phantom accounts in customers'' names. But it was politics that likely proved the rule''s downfall. Agencies give the White House lists of their regulatory priorities, which makes changes based on the president''s goals and then publishes what is called the "unified agenda." Monterrubio said of the rule: "It wasnt going to happen under President Trump." Additional reporting by Pete Schroeder; editing by Andrew Hay 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-regulation-banking-idUSKBN1A602B'|'2017-07-21T03:46:00.000+03:00' +'a6a7376d06665ce22d57e461662bee2e4450011b'|'Saudi Aramco gets approval to set up companies for energy industrial city'|' 6:48pm BST Saudi Aramco gets approval to set up companies for energy industrial city FILE PHOTO: Logo of Saudi Aramco is seen at the 20th Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference (MOES 2017) in Manama, Bahrain, March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia Saudi Aramco received ( IPO-ARMO.SE ) the approval of the Saudi government to set up two new companies that will develop and operate a new Energy Industrial City in Saudi Arabia, as the kingdom seeks to expand its industrial base, state news agency SPA reported on Monday. The city will be developed over 50-square km of land in the oil producing region, SPA said quoting a cabinet statement. An earlier report said the city will be close to Abqaiq and will develop energy-related industries. "The government approved Aramco''s offer to set up a developer that will undertake laying out the infrastructure of the city, manage its fixed assets." This company will eventually own the fixed assets in the city. Aramco will also set up another company to handle operations and maintenance of the city. SPA did not provide further details on the Energy Industrial City which have been in Aramco''s plans for a few years. Low oil prices have drastically slowed Saudi Arabia''s economy so it is trying to create manufacturing jobs and produce goods and services which it has traditionally imported. Its strategy is to use large amounts of government money and the procurement budgets of big state-run enterprises, such as national oil firm Aramco, to attract foreign expertise to develop strategic industries. The creation of "industrial cities" - huge projects in which state institutions play key roles in planning and raising finance, but which seek to attract private investment - is part of the government''s efforts to jump-start development. A senior Aramco official said in March, investments in the city are expected to be 16.5 billion riyals (3.41 billion pounds). In May, Saudi Aramco signed deals to build the Gulf''s largest shipyard through a joint venture with three companies, a $5.2 billion project aimed at helping reduce the economy''s reliance on oil and create jobs, a key part of Vision 2030. "The country in general is pushing manufacturing big time and Aramco is playing a bigger role to promote local manufacturing with potential added value to the industry," said a source. "Expanding energy industries will achieve the target set by the kingdom to promote local content, the energy city is the core of localising the solar industry for example as well as oil and gas services and the establishment of two companies could be seen as something that is in line with the arrangements of Aramco''s privatisation plans," said Fadl al-Buainain, a Saudi economist. Saudi Aramco said in its 2016 annual review released on Thursday the value of its direct material procurement from local manufacturers increased by $800 million to $2.9 billion in 2016, representing 43.5 percent of its material procurement spending and is the highest level of local content in the its history. Aramco launched the In-Kingdom Total Value Add (IKTVA) initiative to double the percentage of locally produced energy-related goods and services to 70 percent of the total spent by 2021. (Reporting by Reem Shamseddine, editing by David Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-saudi-aramco-industry-idUKKBN19V2BM'|'2017-07-10T20:48:00.000+03:00' +'295a1cb77fbc7a4ecac216d7cf6d91a92a05f644'|'Exclusive - Europe''s markets watchdog wants narrower time for sovereign rating releases'|'Business News - Wed Jul 5, 2017 - 1:59pm BST Exclusive: Europe''s markets watchdog wants narrower time for sovereign rating releases By Marc Jones - LONDON LONDON Europe''s markets watchdog ESMA has told credit rating agencies to publish their European sovereign ratings reports in a tighter window, between 9 pm and 11 pm on Friday London time, sources have told Reuters. The idea, they said, is to create a "more level playing field". Under European Union regulations, rating agencies such as S&P Global, Fitch, Moody''s and DBRS have to set out their planned review dates for any country rated by an analyst based in Europe. ESMA, the European Securities and Markets Authority, which regulates the agencies and brought in the rule, already requires the publication to be on a Friday evening after regulated markets in the relevant region are closed. It has created some disparities, however. S&P tends to publish most of its reviews between 5-6 pm London time (currently 1600-1700 GMT) whereas the other main agencies tend to publish theirs later. For markets it has also created issues. U.S. trading is still in full flow when Europe''s markets close, meaning futures and derivatives that can move on rating changes are still changing hands, potentially disadvantaging solely European-based investors. "It is part of the role as a regulator to ensure there is level playing field," a source who spoke on the condition of anonymity told Reuters. The source said nothing formal has been written down but the agencies had been made aware of what ESMA wanted. ESMA declined to comment on whether it had urged the changes. The rating agencies were first given the guidance in the middle of last week, a source at one of the firms told Reuters. A spokesman for S&P would not comment on whether it had been told to push its publications to later on Friday evenings. Fitch said it continued "to act in accordance with EU regulation around the publication of sovereign ratings." Three spokespeople for Moody''s did not respond to e-mailed requests for comment, while DBRS said it was already following the guidance. Despite ESMA pushing for the changes last week, some European reviews were still published just after Europe''s main markets closed on Friday. But it expects the agencies to start falling in line, the first source said. "We hope to see some convergence (in timing of publications)." (Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-markets-ratings-esma-exclusive-idUKKBN19Q1N2'|'2017-07-05T15:57:00.000+03:00' +'d0ad1a4a64f4c54e93fe472146aad9bee557fc0b'|'Britain says to link business rates tax to consumer prices from 2020'|'July 15, 2017 / 9:43 PM / 10 hours ago Britain says to link business rates tax to consumer prices from 2020 Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Britain''s finance ministry will help companies by indexing the business rates tax against consumer prices rather than faster-rising retail prices starting in 2020, a spokesman said on Saturday. Business rates are taxes to help pay for local services, such as police and firefighters, charged on most non-domestic properties, including shops, warehouses, pubs, cafes and restaurants. Traditional retailers have argued the tax unfairly benefits online retailers, as they tend not to have many large properties. "We are committed to switching business rates indexation from RPI (retail price index) to CPI (consumer price index) from 2020 and will introduce legislation in due course," the spokesman said in a telephone call. While consumer price inflation hit an almost 4-year high of 2.9 percent in May, the old retail price inflation gauge rose to 3.7 percent from 3.5 percent. Reporting by Andy Bruce; Editing by Richard Chang 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-tax-idUKKBN1A00S2'|'2017-07-16T00:42:00.000+03:00' +'5bdda5b8266e0af3cc73032fcf8c00c321feae10'|'Musk tweets pictures of first Model 3 to roll off the line'|'Technology News - Mon Jul 10, 2017 - 5:15pm BST Musk tweets pictures of first Model 3 to roll off the line FILE PHOTO - A wheel of a prototype of the Tesla Model 3 on display in front of the factory during a media tour of the Tesla Gigafactory, which will produce batteries for the electric carmaker in Sparks, Nevada, U.S. July 26, 2016. REUTERS/James Glover II/File Photo Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ) Chief Executive Elon Musk on Sunday tweeted pictures of the first Model 3 sedan to roll off the assembly line. Tesla board member Ira Ehrenpreis was the first to put down a $1,000 deposit on the Model 3 and gifted the car to Musk for his 46th birthday, Musk said in a tweet. ( bit.ly/2v3RyDX ) Musk has high hopes for the $35,000 Model 3, aimed at the mass market, and expects the rollout to help the company deliver five times its current annual sales volume. Tesla''s shares have taken a beating in the last few weeks, as investors have become increasingly concerned that demand for the company''s existing Model S sedan is weakening. Musk said in May that some "confused" Tesla buyers considered the new Model 3 as an upgrade to the Model S, hurting orders for the older car. Registrations for Tesla''s vehicles in California, its largest market, fell 24 percent in April from a year ago, according to data from research firm IHS Markit. Separately, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that new registrations of Tesla cars fell to zero in Hong Kong after authorities slashed a tax break for electric vehicles in April. Last week, Musk said production of the Model 3 would increase exponentially from 100 cars in August, more than 1,500 in September to 20,000 Model 3 cars per month in December. (Reporting by Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-model-idUKKBN19V1YL'|'2017-07-10T18:23:00.000+03:00' +'9df9adea91b4d05e31cf7d1cc1063ea3b580d4ea'|'Scottish 2 billion pounds wind power project gets go-ahead - developer'|'July 19, 2017 / 2:05 PM / 11 minutes ago Scottish 2 billion pounds wind power project gets go-ahead - developer LONDON (Reuters) - The developer of a 2 billion pound Scottish offshore wind power project said on Wednesday it had won a two-year court battle with a bird charity over plans for the site. Scottish ministers in 2014 approved plans to build the 450-megawatt Neart na Gaoithe wind farm, off Scotlands east coast. The project had been held up, however, by a legal challenge from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), which said it could cause the death of hundreds of native birds. Mainstream Renewable Power, the developer, said the decision in Scotland''s Court of Session cleared the way for the project, which could generate enough electricity to power up to 325,000 homes - almost 4 percent of Scotland''s electricity demand. "We are delighted with the decision and look forward to working constructively with the RSPB to take the wind farm into construction next year," Andy Kinsella, Mainstream Power''s chief operating officer, said in a statement. The RSPB could not immediately be reached for comment. Reporting by Susanna Twidale; Editing by Dale Hudson 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-scotland-windfarm-idUKKBN1A41IO'|'2017-07-19T17:05:00.000+03:00' +'6dddac93c1a470ef8efc2f20bd8be487c335a8da'|'Boeing expects India to order up to 2,100 aircraft over 20 years'|'July 31, 2017 / 7:02 AM / in 18 minutes Boeing expects India to order up to 2,100 aircraft over 20 years Aditi Shah 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An Air India Airlines Boeing 787 dreamliner takes part in a flying display during the 50th Paris Air Show at the Le Bourget airport near Paris, June 14, 2013. Pascal Rossignol/File Photo NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Boeing Co ( BA.N ) said on Monday it expects Indian airlines to order up to 2,100 new aircraft worth $290 billion over the next 20 years, calling it the highest-ever forecast for Asia''s third-largest economy. The planemaker said it expected single-aisle planes, such as the next generation 737 and 737 Max, to account for the bulk of the new deliveries, with India likely to take 1,780 such planes. India is one of the world''s fastest-growing aviation markets, with domestic passenger traffic growing at around 20 percent in the past few years. "The increasing number of passengers, combined with a strong exchange rate, low fuel prices and high load factor bodes well for India''s aviation market, especially for the low-cost carriers," said Dinesh Keskar, senior vice president, Asia Pacific and India sales at Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The world''s biggest maker of jetliners said it expected passenger growth of about 8 percent in South Asia, dominated by India, over the next 20 years, compared with the world average of about 4.7 percent. Last year, India overhauled rules governing its aviation industry, liberalizing norms for domestic carriers to fly overseas and incentivising air travel to smaller cities by capping air fares and opening airports. Boeing could increase its demand forecast next year depending on how quickly India''s plan for regional connectivity takes off, Keskar added. The U.S. planemaker dominates the wide-body aeroplane market in India, with Jet Airways ( JET.NS ) and state-owned carrier Air India among its biggest customers, while competitor Airbus ( AIR.PA ) sells the bulk of small planes preferred by low-cost carriers such as InterGlobe Aviation''s ( INGL.NS ) IndiGo. Low-cost carriers dominate Indian skies, accounting for more than 60 percent of flights in the country. To plug this gap in its portfolio, and following runaway sales of Airbus'' A321neo, Boeing launched the 737 MAX 10 single-aisle jet at an air show in Paris in June. India''s SpiceJet ( SPJT.BO ) airline has already placed a provisional order for 40 737 MAX 10 aircraft. Boeing also expects Indian carriers to order its new 777X family, comprising the 350-375 seat 777-8 and the 400-425 seat 777-9, due to enter service in 2020, but said it would take several years for this to happen. Air India still has to take deliveries of three of its 777-300ER and Jet Airways is on the 787-9, Keskar said, adding that when these planes need to be replaced after a few years the airlines could look at the 777X family. Boeing has won 326 orders for the latest version of its 777 but apart from an order from Singapore Airlines ( SIAL.SI ) earlier this year, demand for the world''s largest twin-engined airplane has been relatively slow since it was launched with a barrage of orders mainly from Gulf carriers in 2013. The planemaker expects worldwide demand for 41,030 aircraft over the next 20 years, putting India''s share of the total at about 5 percent. Reporting by Aditi Shah and Abhirup Roy; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Louise Heavens 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-boeing-india-idUSKBN1AG0MS'|'2017-07-31T10:01:00.000+03:00' +'13f9013344b9cf1cdbca32ef61a0ceeb83e7cb0a'|'India set to block $1.3 billion Gland Pharma-Fosun deal: Bloomberg'|'July 31, 2017 / 12:42 PM / in 4 hours India raises concerns around Chinese firm Fosun''s takeover of Gland: source 3 Min Read Signs are seen on the headquarters of Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group in Shanghai, China, March 29, 2016. Aly Song/File Photo (Reuters) - India has privately raised objections to Chinese firm Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group''s ( 600196.SS ) proposed $1.3 billion takeover of Indian drugmaker Gland Pharma, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday. The deal has won the approval of the Competition Commission of India (CCI), and India''s Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in the last few months, but some in the Indian government have expressed concerns about a Chinese group buying Gland, the source said, declining to be named. Relevant authorities in China have approved the takeover of the injectable drugmaker, but it is awaiting a nod from India''s Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs of India (CCEA), Shanghai Fosun said in a statement to Reuters. The closing of the deal, which would be China''s largest ever acquisition in India if approved, has now been extended to Sept. 26, the company added. Private-equity backed Gland Pharma and the CCEA, chaired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday. Based in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, Gland owns four factories from where it supplies a variety of injectables widely used medicines administered through vials, syringes, bags and pumps, which are harder to make than regular drugs. Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, reported earlier in the day that the CCEA was poised to block the deal, though neither company has been formally notified of the move yet. ( bloom.bg/2vaE0u7 ) India''s Finance Ministry spokesman D.S. Malik told Reuters that report was "totally speculative" and that the matter had not yet come before the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). The objections come against a backdrop of heightened India-China tensions. The two countries, share a 3,500-km (2,175-mile) frontier, are embroiled in a stand-off around India''s north eastern border. India''s concerns over the Gland-Fosun deal are not, however, a result of the border tensions, the source said. "They have more to do with giving control of a large pharma company to a Chinese entity that itself is facing questions from the regulators at home." China''s banking regulator has ordered a group of lenders to assess their exposure to offshore acquisitions by a handful of companies, including Fosun, that have been on an overseas buying spree, sources told Reuters last month. Reporting by Adam Jourdan in Shanghai, Bhanu Pratap in Bengaluru and Zeba Siddiqui; Editing by Supriya Kurane 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-gland-pharma-m-a-fosun-pharma-idINKBN1AG1GC'|'2017-07-31T15:39:00.000+03:00' +'1c48e49acffb5cb66a37cec61dc499d075cd3f4e'|'Barclays Africa''s first-half profit rises 7 percent'|'July 28, 2017 / 5:39 AM / 5 hours ago Barclays suffers 1.2 billion first-half loss from Africa sale Lawrence White and Andrew MacAskill 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The Barclays headquarters building is seen in the Canary Wharf business district of London, Britain February 6, 2013. Neil Hall/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Barclays ( BARC.L ) reported a 1.2 billion pound ($1.57 billion)attributable first half loss on Friday after taking a 2.5 billion pound hit from the sale of its Africa business and calling an end to its restructuring. The British bank said it had made a 1.4 billion pound loss on the sale of 33 percent of Barclays Africa Group ( BGAJ.J ), and took a further 1.1 billion pound impairment charge on the sale. Barclays in June cut its stake in Barclays Africa Group ( BGAJ.J ) to 15 percent, ending more than 90 years as a major presence in the continent as it shifts its focus back to Britain and the United States. The losses from the sale of unwanted assets including the Africa business showed the costs of the bank''s restructuring under Chief Executive Jes Staley, who has championed Barclays'' investment banking business as a means of boosting revenues. The bank completed the run-down of its non-core division of other assets earmarked for sale to below its goal of 25 billion pounds worth of assets, meaning the remainder can be folded back in to Barclays. "Accomplishing both of these milestones marks an end to the restructuring of the Barclays Group, and brings forward the date when our shareholders can benefit from the full earnings power of this business," Staley said in a statement. Related Coverage Barclays Africa''s first-half profit rises 7 percent despite South African downturn Staley announced a new long-term goal for Barclays of a greater than 10 percent return on equity, without giving a timetable for reaching that. The bank''s return on equity excluding the Africa loss and conduct charges was 8 percent at the end of the first half. Barclays shares fell 1.3 percent by 0700 GMT. The sale of the Africa unit boosted the bank''s core capital ratio, a key measure of financial strength and a source of concern for Barclays in recent years, to 13.1 percent. Barclays posted a half-year profit before tax of 2.3 billion pounds compared with 2 billion pounds for the same period a year ago, before the impact of the Africa sale was included. That was worse than the 2.7 billion pounds average estimate of analysts'' forecasts compiled by the bank. Weak Trading In Barclays'' investment bank, revenue at the markets division fell 5 pct in the first half to 2.6 billion pounds, as low volatility caused a 20 pct fall in earnings at its macro trading business. That was offset by a stronger showing in credit trading where revenue was up 18 pct, while its equities performance was flat compared with a year ago. The mixed trading performance followed that of Barclays'' U.S. rivals, which earlier this month saw profits slump amid low volatility levels in markets that have left investors struggling to make directional bets. Since taking over in December 2015, Staley has scaled back the bank''s geographic footprint and emphasised investment banking, although his efforts have been clouded by U.S. and British investigations. The former JPMorgan banker has faced investor criticism following his attempts to unmask a whistleblower, which Barclays insiders fear could unseat him if the findings of inquiries are damning. Barclays faces other regulatory obstacles, with an ongoing probe by Britain''s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) into its 2008 cash call at the height of the financial crisis and allegations by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) over mortgage mis-selling. The bank also took a higher than expected 700 million pound charge for mis-selling payment protection insurance, in what is Britain''s costliest consumer banking scandal. Reporting by Lawrence White and Andrew MacAskill; editing by Alexander Smith 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-barclays-group-results-idUKKBN1AD0IR'|'2017-07-28T08:38:00.000+03:00' +'ac78bf5289d960c9915143bea064510142cf2e20'|'UK Stocks-Factors to watch on July 26'|'July 26 (Reuters) - Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening up 2 points on Wednesday, according to financial bookmakers. * ACACIA MINING: Acacia Mining''s shares fell for a sixth straight session on Tuesday, a day after the gold miner was hit with a tax bill of more than $190 billion by the Tanzanian government. * VEDANTA RESOURCES: Zambia''s Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) said on Tuesday it was halting operations indefinitely at its Nchanga underground mine (NUG) in Chingola state due to theft of high voltage cables. * METRO BANK: Metro Bank Plc said successful completion of the non pre-emptive cash placing of new ordinary shares. * BREXIT: The International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday that it foresaw only a modest increase in transaction costs if clearing and other financial activities are moved from the City of London to the European Union after Brexit. * BRITAIN AUTO: Britain''s government will announce on Wednesday that it will ban the sale of petrol- and diesel-fuelled cars from 2040 when all vehicles must be fully electric as part of a plan to clean up air pollution, newspapers reported on Tuesday. * COPPER: London Metal Exchange copper was up 0.5 percent at $6,257 a tonne, as of 0221 GMT, extending from Monday''s gains. Earlier in the session, prices hit $6,280 a tonne, its highest since May 2015. * OIL: Oil prices firmed on Wednesday to hold near eight-week highs hit in the previous session, on expectations of a drawdown in U.S. stocks and as a rise in shale oil production shows signs of slowing. * The UK blue chip index FTSE 100 closed 0.8 percent higher at 7,434.82 points on Tuesday, as strong results and buoyant basic resource stocks boosted the index and small-cap luxury shoemaker Jimmy Choo soared 17 percent after an agreed bid by U.S. retailer Michael Kors. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets * UK CORPORATE DIARY: Antofagasta Q2 Production report Fresnilo Q2 Production report Vedanta Resources Plc Q1 production report Metro Bank Interim Earnings Release CNH Industrial NV Q2 2017 Earnings Release Sage Group PLC Q3 2017 Trading Statement Release Jupiter Fund Management Half Year 2017 Earnings Release Quartix Holdings PLC Half Year 2017 Earnings Release Hammerson PLC Half Year 2017 Earnings Release Berendsen PLC Half Year 2017 Earnings Release Marston''s PLC Half Year 2017 Interim Statement Unite Group PLC Half Year 2017 Earnings Release Brewin Dolphin Holdings Q3 2017 Interim Management Statement Robert Walters Plc Half Year 2017 Earnings Release Centaur Media PLC Half Year 2017 Earnings Release PayPoint plc Q1 2017 Trading Statement Release Subsea 7 SA Q2 2017 Earnings Release GKN PLC Half Year 2017 Earnings Release Compass Group PLC Q3 2017 Trading Statement Release 3i Group PLC Q1 2018 Performance Update Tullow Oil PLC Half Year 2017 Earnings Release Paragon Group Q3 2017 Trading Statement Release ITV PLC Half Year 2017 Earnings Release International Personal Half Year 2017 Earnings Release Finance GlaxoSmithKline PLC Q2 2017 Earnings Release TODAY''S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Siju Varghese) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idUSL3N1KH25W'|'2017-07-26T08:32:00.000+03:00' +'0185eff308c221367ba57bc9fe3bb92907826006'|'U.S. government ordered to solve ''Case of the Incredible Shrinking Airline Seat'''|'July 28, 2017 / 5:10 PM / 3 hours ago U.S. government ordered to solve ''Case of the Incredible Shrinking Airline Seat'' David Shepardson 3 Min Read A woman uses her laptop on a flight out of John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport in New York, U.S., May 26, 2017. Picture taken May 26, 2017. Lucas Jackson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. aviation authorities were ordered back to the drawing board on Friday to solve what a federal appeals judge called "The Case of the Incredible Shrinking Airline Seat." Judge Patricia Millett told the Federal Aviation Administration to take another look at an advocacy group''s assertion that shrinking airline seats are imperiling passenger safety. The judge rejected the FAA''s argument that seat size was unimportant to getting off the plane in an emergency. "That makes no sense," she wrote for the three-judge panel, likening the rationale to doing "a study on tooth decay that only recorded participants sugar consumption" but did not look at brushing and flossing. All three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit agreed the FAA must conduct a new review of the request for regulations setting a minimum airline seat size, but Judge Judith Rogers dissented from part of the court''s rationale. Airline seats have steadily decreased in size over the last several decades. Economy-class seat pitch has decreased from an average of 35 inches (89 cm) in the 1970s to 31 inches (79 cm), and in some airplanes to 28 inches (71 cm). Average seat width has narrowed from about 18 inches (46 cm)to 16.5 inches (42 cm) over the last decade. Critics accuse the airlines of being more interested in profit than passenger health and safety. FAA spokesman Greg Martin wrote in an e-mail the agency "does consider seat pitch in testing and assessing the safe evacuation of commercial, passenger aircraft. We are studying the ruling carefully and any potential actions we may take to address the courts findings." An airline trade group declined to comment. Seat pitch is the distance from one seat to the same spot on the one in front or behind. The ruling was limited to the question of whether smaller seats and larger passengers could have an impact on emergency egress. It did not require the FAA to look at the impact on comfort and health. A U.S. House of Representatives bill under consideration would require the FAA to set minimum seat sizes on U.S. airlines and a minimum distance between rows to "protect the safety and health of airline passengers." Last month American Airlines Group Inc said it would reduce leg room by one inch to 30 inches instead of two as originally planned on some seats in its Boeing 737 MAX jets. United Airlines President Scott Kirby told a congressional hearing in May the airline had yet to decide whether to cut pitch to 29 inches in some seats. Nearly all United seats have at least 31 inches of pitch. Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Howard Goller 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-planes-idUSKBN1AD28Y'|'2017-07-28T19:56:00.000+03:00' +'136051a403977f4f09a112d9548acf9279c1bcaf'|'African Markets - Factors to watch on July 26'|'The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect African markets on Wednesday. - - - - - GLOBAL MARKETS Asian stocks steadied on Wednesday and the dollar held firm as investors awaited the Federal Reserve''s policy decision later in the day for more clues on its tightening plans. WORLD OIL PRICES Oil prices firmed on Wednesday to hold near eight-week highs hit in the previous session, on expectations of a drawdown in U.S. stocks and as a rise in shale oil production shows signs of slowing. EMERGING MARKETS For the top emerging markets news, double click on AFRICA STOCKS For the latest news on African stocks, click on SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS South Africa''s rand weakened on Tuesday as investors looked elsewhere in high-yield emerging markets for carry-trade opportunities, but stocks gained as Kumba Iron Ore rose after resuming dividend payments. NIGERIA MARKETS Nigeria''s benchmark index hit new two-year highs on Tuesday, led by banking shares after the central bank said it was committed to opening up the local currency market to investors. NIGERIA PRESIDENT Nigeria''s President Muhammadu Buhari will return to his official duties as soon as doctors advise that he can end his medical leave, according to a statement from the presidency on Tuesday. NIGERIA RATES Nigeria''s central bank held its benchmark interest rate at 14 percent on Tuesday, its governor said, but warned that the country''s recession could be prolonged if strong and bold measures were not adopted. KENYA MARKETS Kenya''s shilling was steady on Tuesday and traders said they expected it to ease slightly due to dollar demand from oil importers. GHANA GOLD Newmont Mining Corp handily beat quarterly profit estimates on Tuesday as production improved, more than offsetting the impact of lower realized gold prices, lifting the miner''s shares as much as 7.7 percent to a five-month high. TANZANIA ACACIA MINING Acacia Mining''s shares fell for a sixth straight session on Tuesday, a day after the gold miner was hit with a tax bill of more than $190 billion by the Tanzanian government. UGANDA MARKETS The Ugandan shilling was little changed on Tuesday but was expected to lose some ground after the central bank injected local currency liquidity into the money markets on Monday. UGANDA LAND A Ugandan government plan to change its constitution so it can forcefully acquire private land for public projects has ignited widespread anger, with critics saying powerful officials and individuals would use it as an excuse to grab land. UGANDA-IMF/ OIL Uganda''s new-found oil reserves may account for as much as 4 percent of its economy annually in coming years if managed well, the International Monetary Fund''s country chief says. ZAMBIA ECONOMY Zambia''s target of 4.3 percent expansion of gross domestic product in 2017 remains feasible due to expansion in key sectors in the economy and tighter spending by the government, Finance Minister Felix Mutati said on Tuesday. ZAMBIA COPPER Zambia''s Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) said on Tuesday it was halting operations indefinitely at its Nchanga underground mine (NUG) in Chingola state due to theft of high voltage cables. CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC FIGHTING Suspected Christian militiamen killed two Moroccan peacekeepers from the United Nations mission in Central African Republic on Tuesday, the mission said, in the second deadly attack on Moroccan forces this week. CONGO VIOLENCE The United Nations accused "elements" of the Congolese army on Tuesday of digging most of the mass graves it has identified in the insurrection-ravaged Kasai region of central Democratic Republic of Congo. BURUNDI MISSING Two members of a teenage robotics team from Burundi who went missing after a competition in Washington last week have been located and are safe, the city''s Metropolitan Police Department said on Tuesday. ZIMBABWE PARLIAMENT Zimbabwe''s parliament on Tuesday changed the constitution to give back to President Robert Mugabe sole power to appoint the country''s top three judges, a move the main opposition said could undermine the independence of the judiciary. For the latest precious metals report click on For the latest base metals report click on For the latest crude oil report click on '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/africa-factors-idUSL5N1KH0A7'|'2017-07-26T07:52:00.000+03:00' +'96f76c7dbef73cf2539d2816df1875c367cf4fcd'|'Bank of England unveils new 10 pound note featuring Jane Austen'|'July 18, 2017 / 3:14 PM / 6 minutes ago Jane Austen takes pride of place on Britain''s new plastic tenner David Milliken 3 Min Read Britain''s Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney, holds the new 10 note featuring Jane Austen, at Winchester Cathedral, in Winchester, Britain July 18, 2017. Chris J Ratcliffe/Pool WINCHESTER, England (Reuters) - The Bank of England unveiled its first plastic 10 pound note on Tuesday, which features 19th century British novelist Jane Austen and will be available to the public from September. The central bank has printed an initial run of a billion of the new notes, which are known in Britain as "tenners", after last year''s launch of a five pound note made from a polymer film that the BoE said is more durable and harder to forge. Tuesday marks the 200th anniversary of Austen''s death. The writer was buried in Winchester Cathedral in 1817 and completed many of her best-known works such as "Pride and Prejudice" and "Emma" in the nearby village of Chawton. "Ten pounds would have meant a lot to Jane Austen, about the same as 1,000 pounds would mean to us today," BoE Governor Mark Carney said at the launch of the new note in Winchester. Austen received a 10 pound publisher''s advance for her first novel and the new banknote bears a quotation "I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!" from her later work, "Pride and Prejudice". The quotation came from a character who in fact had no interest in books and was merely trying to impress a potential suitor. It drew a mix of amusement and criticism in the media when it appeared on an initial design of the note in 2013. People in period costume pose with the new 10 note featuring Jane Austen, at Winchester Cathedral, in Winchester, Britain July 18, 2017. Chris J Ratcliffe/Pool Carney defended the choice on Tuesday. "It captures much of her spirit, at least in my mind," he said. "It draws out some of the essence of some of her social satire and her insight into people''s character. So it works on multiple levels." Slideshow (4 Images) Extinction Looms for Darwin With tactile features to make it easier for blind people to identify, the BoE says each new 10 pound note should last for around five years, compared to around two years for the paper note it is replacing. Existing 10 pound notes, which feature the scientist Charles Darwin, will cease to be legal tender during the first half of next year. Rolling out the new plastic notes has not been without its problems. The five pound note released last year drew criticism from vegetarians and some religious groups for containing trace amounts of animal fats - something which will also be the case for the new 10 pound note. The BoE is working to find an alternative production method in time for when it launches a new 20 pound note in 2020. Reporting by David Milliken; editing by William Schomberg and Alexander Smith 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-boe-banknote-idUKKBN1A31GV'|'2017-07-18T18:14:00.000+03:00' +'ffac78f5807135327a565576782561e8529d0981'|'Property firm British Land plans 300 million buyback'|'July 18, 2017 / 8:50 AM / in 9 minutes Property firm British Land plans 300 million buyback Esha Vaish 3 Min Read (Reuters) - British Land ( BLND.L ) plans to spend up to 300 million pounds to buy back its shares in this financial year, the property developer said on Tuesday, citing limited investment opportunities. The company, which owns the Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield and office property at Paddington Central in London, said its shares were trading at a substantial discount to its net asset value, making a buyback a "clear value opportunity". "Investment in the company''s shares at the prevailing discount offers better value than further asset acquisitions," Britain''s second-largest listed property developer said in a statement ahead of its general meeting. The company''s shares were the second-top London .FTSE gainers, up 3 percent at 622 pence by 0824 GMT, but still about 30 percent lower than the firm''s EPRA net asset value of 915 pence per share as of March 31. Rival Land Securities ( LAND.L ) was up 1.5 percent at 1,025 pence. British Land and Land Securities, both large holders of London office property, have seen the value of their assets fall since the country''s vote to leave the European Union last year. The outcome of the referendum has raised concerns that the worth and allure of London property might be hit by the departure of financial companies to Europe. In response, British Land has been reducing the amount of space it was developing before securing tenants. Chief Executive Chris Grigg said on Tuesday that the company had the flexibility to respond to a changing market and was retaining resources to develop its pipeline of opportunities. British Land''s buyback comes a decade after the company''s former chief executive announced a 500 million pound buyback, citing similar market conditions, only to quickly shelve plans. "2017 looks like a rerun of 2007 and Grigg''s gamble of running more leverage risk anticipating an extended real estate cycle is faltering as global bond yields rise," Jefferies analyst Mike Prew said in a note. "We would sell all the stock we could into this liquidity window," said Prew, who has a "underperform" rating and target price of 500 pence on British Land''s stock. Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by David Goodman and Louise Heavens 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-british-land-buyback-idUKKBN1A30QB'|'2017-07-18T11:50:00.000+03:00' +'efe163b6e6f42970db992f03c2184e48696826ab'|'UK consumer morale slips as economic mood hits four-year low - GfK'|'July 27, 2017 / 11:13 PM / 11 hours ago UK consumer morale slips as economic mood hits four-year low - GfK Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A woman shops in a supermarket in London, Britain April 11, 2017. Neil Hall/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - British consumer morale has sunk back to depths hit just after last year''s Brexit vote and worse may be to come as households'' view of the broader economic situation dropped to a four-year low, according to a survey on Friday. Market research firm GfK''s consumer confidence index fell to -12 in July from -10 in June, a one-year low and slightly below the median forecast in a Reuters poll of economists. The figures are likely to strengthen the conviction of Bank of England officials who want to keep interest rates on hold ahead of next Thursday''s policy decision. "All bets must now be on a further drift downwards in confidence," said Joe Staton, head of market dynamics at GfK. The component of the survey which measures households'' assessment of the economic situation over the past year - a good guide to official data on household spending - hit its lowest level since July 2013. This was around the time Britain''s economic recovery started in earnest. Although unemployment is running at its lowest level since the 1970s, Staton pointed to a growing squeeze on household finances. The Brexit vote in June 2016 led to a big fall in the value of sterling, which has pushed up inflation, eating into consumers'' disposable income this year. "If Brexit negotiations continue to deliver more questions than answers, it''s unlikely the overall index score will find any tailwinds for some time," Staton said. Although the minority of BoE rate-setters who want to hike interest rates think exports and investment will soon compensate for a consumer slowdown, others are wary about how long the downturn will last. Britain''s economy failed to build much momentum over the past three months after almost stalling at the start of the year, reducing an already slim chance that the BoE will soon reverse last year''s emergency interest rate cut. Reporting by Andy Bruce, editing by David Milliken 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-consumersentiment-idUKKBN1AC3ET'|'2017-07-28T02:12:00.000+03:00' +'dd9373d13a2fb36195692ead2481ef82328dc799'|'An illustrious Hong Kong container firm sells to China'|'STONECUTTERS ISLAND in Hong Kong used to be a favoured habitat for poisonous snakes and eye-catching birds such as the white-bellied sea eagle. Thanks to Hong Kongs rapid development, it is no longer so hospitable. Its sky is full of gantry cranes, stacking 20-foot-long shipping containers in multicoloured tessellations, like giant Lego bricks. A cluster of decorative containers, daubed in graffiti, line the perimeter of container terminal eight, which is partly operated by COSCO, a state-owned Chinese shipping giant. In bright yellow lettering, one slogan instructs passers-by to Respect Past, Embrace Future.Few Hong Kong companies have as much to tell about the past as Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), the worlds seventh-biggest container shipping line. Its founder, Tung Chao-yung, owned the first Chinese-crewed steamship to travel from Shanghai to France in 1947, and went on to build a shipping empire of over 150 vessels. His eldest son and successor, Tung Chee-hwa, survived the financial strains of the early 1980s (with the help of Chinese money) and became Hong Kongs first leader after it was handed back to China in 1997.Latest updates The Supreme Court says grandparents are exempt from the travel ban Democracy in America 6 minutes ago City of Ghosts is an extraordinary look at journalism in Raqqa Prospero 10 minutes ago A 3 6 6 7 The future, however, looks uninviting. The worlds shipping fleet, replenished by ever bigger vessels, has grown faster than the globalisation it serves. Reckless expansion by some firms, in an industry which overvalues market share, has hurt more prudent competitors. This has pushed OOCL into the arms of COSCO. On July 9th OOCLS owners announced its sale to COSCO for $6.3bn, pushing their Chinese rival from fourth into third place among the worlds container-shipping lines.If the merger is approved by antitrust regulators in America and Europe, it will be the latest of a string of big consolidations, including Maersks acquisition of Hamburg Sd, a proposed tie-up among Japans three biggest carriers, and COSCOs earlier merger with China Shipping Container Lines. The industry may be the handmaiden of globalisation but it is congealing into regional oligopolies. When the dust settles in 2021, by when the current crop of deals will be concluded and ships under construction delivered, the top seven firms will control roughly three-quarters of all container ships, according to Drewry Maritime Financial Research, compared with 37% in 2005.Consolidation should allow the two firms to remove any unprofitable overlap in their routes and operations. But COSCOs cost-saving plans do not include cutting people or pay, at least for two years, it has promised. OOCLs value to COSCO lies in its management talent as well as its tonnage: it is run more efficiently than many rivals. OOCL is also well attuned to global ways of doing things, as befits a company that carries more containers across the Pacific than within Asia. It now refuses to ship whales, sharks and dolphins, and has won plaudits for reducing emissions through the use of battery power in its redevelopment of the Port of Long Beach in Los Angeles.COSCOs offer price of HK$78.67 ($10.07) per share certainly seems full of respect, valuing OOCL at 40% above its book value. The premium partly reflects a nascent revival in OOCLs fortunes: revenues increased by 6.4% in the first quarter compared with a year earlier (see chart). The industry is recovering. Thanks to the demolition of many smaller ships, the global container fleet grew more slowly than traffic last year for the first time since 2011, says BIMCO, a shipping association.But OOCLs chairman, Tung Chee-chen (the founders second son), believes the recovery is vulnerable to a variety of dangers, including potential trade frictions and the remaining supply overhang. Shipping firms placed few orders for new vessels in 2016, but many older orders have yet to be delivered. More new capacity will be added this year than last, according to BIMCO. Those ships were requested in expectation of a rosy global economy that never arrived. The future would be easier to embrace if it were not so hard to grasp.This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "The other handover"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/business/21725035-cosco-will-become-worlds-third-largest-container-line-illustrious-hong-kong-container?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-07-15T08:00:00.000+03:00' +'7d266087d4bba0b0690ee8709398bfe567fa619c'|'Oil bounce, results keep global stocks on high'|'July 26, 2017 / 8:51 AM / 12 minutes ago Global Markets: Oil bounce, company results keep stocks on high Patrick Graham 3 Min Read A trader walks past the German DAX Index board on the trading floor at the Frankfurt stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany February 15, 2017. Ralph Orlowski/Files LONDON (Reuters) - Oil''s rise back above $50 a barrel helped prod stock markets higher on Wednesday, while company results and economic data continued to soothe worries that the world economy may be ripe for a another slowdown. European stock markets rose around half a percent, led by energy and commodity-linked firms after Brent crude topped the $50 mark for the first time since early June and copper added another 1 percent to this week''s surge. A slightly less bullish performance in Asia pulled the MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 46 countries, off all-time highs overnight. But early in the European session, it was up 0.1 percent on the day, and U.S. stocks futures showed Wall Street should edge higher on opening. Strong results from energy firms Subsea 7 and Tullow Oil helped European shares, but banks weighed on index-level gains as investors awaited the outcome later on Wednesday of the Federal Reserve''s two-day policy meeting. "The indications are more positive on the outlook for energy stocks," said Angelo Meda, head of equities at Banor SIM in Milan, adding that firms had reset expectations on valuations and cleaned up their balance sheets. "The outlook is not so bad (...) We are still missing one component which is the commentary from big oil firms Total, BP, Royal Dutch Shell." The pan-European STOXX 600 gained 0.4 percent, in line with euro zone stocks and blue-chips, as oil and gas stocks gained 0.7 percent. Germanys Ifo business survey on Tuesday showed confidence soaring to record highs in July amid what its economists described as a euphoric mood in German industry, while U.S. consumer confidence levels jumped to near 16-year highs. The latter numbers helped the dollar recover some ground in U.S. and Asian trading on Wednesday, with traders citing a trimming of positions ahead of the Fed meeting, not due until late in the U.S. session (1800 GMT). The dollar, hurt since March by a retreat in expectations for further rises in interest rates this year, gained just over 0.1 percent against both the euro and the euro-dominated basket of currencies most used to measure its broader strength. "Most people have an ultra benign view of what we will get out of the Fed today," said Koon Chow, a strategist at Swiss private bank UBP. "The focus is not so much on the next hike but the start of the roll off [reduction of the central bank''s balance sheet]. The Fed has already helped us a lot by indicating that when it happens it will be a very gradual process." Reporting by Patrick Graham, Helen Reid and Sujata Rao-Coverley; Editing by Mark Trevelyan 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-markets-idINKBN1AB11B'|'2017-07-26T11:51:00.000+03:00' +'3cfc430c6d3d1f5cd797b2700380c1fa203261da'|'Break in rationing on Enbridge Canada pipelines likely short lived'|'July 24, 2017 / 8:18 PM / 8 minutes ago Break in rationing on Enbridge Canada pipelines likely short lived Nia Williams 4 Min Read CALGARY, Alberta, July 24 (Reuters) - Enbridge Inc''s move not to ration space on heavy oil pipelines out of western Canada for the first time in 16 months is likely to give producers only a short respite from difficulties in getting crude to market, industry players said. Market access is a persistent headache for Canadian energy firms, who produce oil from the world''s third-largest crude reserves but often struggle to get their barrels to U.S. markets because of limited space in export pipelines. Canada''s largest pipeline company said last week apportionment - or rationing of space - on its heavy crude pipelines out of Alberta would be zero in August, meaning producers could ship all the barrels they have said they want to move. Despite the August respite, there are concerns production could again outpace capacity later this year, forcing more producers into the costlier option of shipping crude by rail, as new projects like Suncor Energy''s 194,000 bpd Fort Hills mine start up. "The pipes will probably get full again by the end of the year and rail will be a way to get those incremental barrels out," said GMP FirstEnergy analyst Martin King, adding the discount on Canadian crude would likely widen as a result. Usually shippers on Enbridge''s Mainline system, which carries the bulk of Canada''s 3 million barrels per day of crude exports to the United States, have at least some of their nominated heavy crude volumes cut every month. Some months firms like Suncor, Cenovus Energy and Husky Energy can ship only around 60 percent of their nominated pipeline volumes as demand for space outstrips capacity. Proposed new export pipelines like TransCanada Corp''s Keystone XL have run into fierce environmental opposition and regulatory roadblocks, while the newly-elected British Columbia government has vowed to halt Kinder Morgan Canada''s Trans Mountain expansion. In the past, hefty pipeline apportionment led to a glut of crude building up in Alberta, widening the discount on Canadian barrels and eating into producer revenues. It also contributed to international oil companies like Statoil ASA and Royal Dutch Shell pulling back from the oil sands over the last year, moves that have raised questions about future development of the region. Canadian Pacific Railway has seen conversations with customers about potentially shipping crude by rail ramp up over the last month, head of marketing John Brooks said on the company''s quarterly earnings call last week. Traders in Canada''s oil capital Calgary said a number of factors including oil sands supply outages, low Alberta storage inventories and steps taken by Enbridge to free up more space on its system had helped eliminate August apportionment. Two traders said Enbridge has started moving Borealis Heavy Blend crude on its 390,000 bpd Line 3 pipeline, which previously carried primarily light crude, in a bid to help lessen congestion on heavy oil lines. Enbridge declined to comment, citing client confidentiality. (Additional reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal; Editing by Andrew Hay) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-enbridge-pipelines-idUSL1N1KB23X'|'2017-07-24T23:16:00.000+03:00' +'0fe76efa81708e6df473b89dba9b6a4ad58672e4'|'Acacia seeks arbitration after Tanzania tears up mining contracts'|'Business 5:18pm BST Acacia seeks arbitration after Tanzania tears up mining contracts LONDON Acacia Mining said on Tuesday it was seeking an adjudicator to resolve its dispute with the Tanzanian government over mining contracts as President John Magufuli ordered the suspension of any new licences. Acacia''s move comes a day after the country passed two laws to force companies to re-negotiate their contracts. Magufuli has sent shock-waves through the mining community with a series of actions since his election in 2015 that he says are to distribute revenue to the Tanzanian people. "President Magufuli has ordered the Ministry of Energy and Minerals to suspend the issuance of new special mining licences and renewal of expired licences," a statement from Magufuli''s office said. It was unclear how many companies would be affected. Speaking at a public rally in northwest Tanzania on Tuesday, Magufuli said he had decided to rush through bills on Monday because Tanzania was fighting an economic war. "We couldn''t wait to pass the laws because of the large scale theft taking place in the mining sector," Magufuli said. Tanzania''s largest miner Acacia, majority owned by Barrick Gold, said in a statement that notices of arbitration were served on behalf of companies that own its Bulyanhulu and Buzwagi mines, hit by an export ban. "The serving of the notices at this time is necessary to protect the Company," Acacia said. "But, this notwithstanding, Acacia remains of the view that a negotiated resolution is the preferable outcome to the current disputes and the company will continue to work to achieve this." Tanzania accused Acacia of tax evasion in 2016 in a case that is ongoing and was this year accused of operating illegally. The miner denies the allegations. And in March, Magufuli imposed an export ban on unprocessed ore to encourage the construction of local smelters, rather than allow profits from processing to be accrued abroad. International mining companies have said mining must help to enhance the economic development of Tanzania, but the relationship has to be a fair partnership. Shares in Acacia, which have nearly halved since the export ban in March, were down nearly 1 percent by 1345 GMT. (Reporting by Zandi Shabalala in London and Fumbuka Ng''wanakilala in Dar es Salaam; Editing by Barbara Lewis and David Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-acacia-mining-tanzania-idUKKBN19P230'|'2017-07-04T19:18:00.000+03:00' +'70e83f3c797169a545a711886330be3f691a6e99'|'British online trading firm IG reports rise in annual profit'|'July 18, 2017 / 7:02 AM / an hour ago British online trading firm IG reports rise in annual profit Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - British online financial trading company IG Group Holdings Plc ( IGG.L ) said on Tuesday that full-year pretax profit rose 3 percent, beating analysts'' estimates. The company, which provides online stockbroking and trading services to retail investors, said it had made "good progress" in getting regulatory approval for a subsidiary based in the European Union as it prepares for Britain''s exit from the bloc. IG Group, founded in 1974 as the world''s first spread-betting firm, did not say where its EU subsidiary would be. The company also said it was in the early stages of exploring further opportunities outside the EU. IG reported a 3 percent in pretax profit for the year ended May to 213.7 million pounds, beating company compiled consensus estimates of 211.7 million pounds, based on 5 analysts, in a year it called one of the least volatile in financial markets for decades. Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru, editing by Louise Heavens 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ig-grp-hldgs-results-idUKKBN1A30I0'|'2017-07-18T10:01:00.000+03:00' +'a27f72b8a2b7fe4376f9f6be0aa1cd01ef302bec'|'Exclusive: India considers private cars for ridesharing to cut traffic'|'July 5, 2017 / 1:01 PM / an hour ago Exclusive: India considers private cars for ridesharing to cut traffic By Aditi Shah 3 Min Read Heavy traffic moves along a busy road as it rains during a power-cut at the toll-gates at Gurgaon on the outskirts of New Delhi July 31, 2012. Stringer/Files NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India is examining the use of private vehicles as shared taxis in an effort to reduce car ownership and curb growing traffic congestion in major cities, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Niti Aayog, which is chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has partnered with companies including ride-sharing firm Uber Technologies to assess the economic and environmental impact of using private cars as taxis, a government official involved in the process said. Increasing the availability of cars that can be used as cabs would be welcome news for Uber and its SoftBank backed local rival Ola, although it could heighten tensions with taxi operators that typically pay higher fees for commercial licences while facing more rigorous vehicle testing. Government wants to reduce private car ownership, the official said, adding the three-month study will look at the safety, regulatory, tax and insurance implications. While the study is in its early days, the broad idea is to set up a clear and reasonable regulatory framework for ride-sharing so it allows companies to operate in India without ambiguity, another source involved in the process said. Although Uber is allowed to use private cars for ride sharing in countries such as Australia and Singapore, their use has faced opposition from taxi operators in parts of North America. An Uber spokesman said sharing private vehicles can help cut congestion and ensure more efficient use of cars. "We are engaging with a range of stakeholders in India about the best way to realise this vision," he said. Heavy traffic moves along a busy road during the evening in New Delhi October 20, 2014. Vijay Mathur/Files Car Sales Impact But such a move could dent car sales in India where the ownership ratio is already low compared with other countries. There are fewer than 20 cars for every 1,000 people in India. Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motor and Tata Motors are among the top-selling carmakers in the country, which is forecast to be the world''s third-largest car market by 2020. FILE PHOTO: An employee walks inside the office of ride-hailing service Uber in Gurugram, previously known as Gurgaon, on the outskirts of New Delhi, India April 19, 2016. Anindito Mukherjee/File Photo Uber and Ola have built their taxi "fleets" in India by offering incentives such as free smartphones and cash bonuses to drivers, but both are now cutting back on these in an attempt to be profitable. Allowing the use of private cars as taxis would improve the supply of vehicles at a low cost, say analysts. "If most of these cars are affiliated with Ola and Uber then it''s a win for them," Neil Shah, research director at consultant Counterpoint Research, said. The proposal, however, could antagonise current drivers, who have paid hefty fees to get a commercial taxi licence. Concerns around the safety of passengers would also need to be addressed, said Shah, adding that any new law must ensure private car drivers go through the same background and safety checks. Editing by Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/india-ridesharing-uber-cars-idINKBN19Q1M8'|'2017-07-05T15:58:00.000+03:00' +'4dab53862be183982f348e3d23d3c83915d5d3c6'|'Britain''s finance industry faces ''tipping point'' over Brexit'|'Top News - Thu Jul 6, 2017 - 1:21pm BST Britain''s finance industry faces ''tipping point'' over Brexit FILE PHOTO: Workers walk to work during the morning rush hour in the financial district of Canary Wharf in London, Britain, January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh By Andrew MacAskill and Huw Jones - LONDON LONDON Britain will lose its status as Europe''s top financial centre unless it keeps borders open to specialist staff, improves infrastructure and expands links with emerging economies, TheCityUK said in a report published on Thursday. The report from Britain''s most powerful financial lobby group said continental Europe might eventually become the preferred destination for banks, insurers and asset managers as they relocate business there to retain access to the EU single market. Although companies may begin by initially shifting a small number of jobs to Europe this may begin to accelerate when property leases expire, they carry out business reviews, or when the cost of capital becomes uneconomical. "Shifts out of the UK may gradually erode the ''cluster effect'' of the financial ecosystem, with the threat of a tipping point in the ecosystem being reached," the group said in a 83-page document outlining how the industry can thrive over the next decade. READ MORE: Financial watchdog says firms must be free to choose location after Brexit Securing a favourable deal for financial services from the Brexit negotiations is one of the biggest challenges for the British government because it is its largest export sector and biggest source of corporate tax. Britain''s finance industry could lose up to 38 billion pounds in revenue in a so-called "hard Brexit" that would restrict its access to the EU single market, according to some estimates. The report said the government must ensure businesses can recruit people to fill skill gaps and must simplify the process of getting a visa. Brexit has already made it harder to attract people to Britain and the government is introducing policies making immigration more restrictive and expensive, the report said. It said the cost of hiring an employee on a five-year visa has risen by 250 percent to 7,000 pounds over the last year and the minimum salary a business may recruit staff for a visa has risen by almost half since 2015. Aside from Brexit, the report also looks at broader issues that threaten the competitiveness of the City of London as financial services hub, including a need to invest in transport networks and technology. READ MORE: Ominous signs from British firms, but euro zone loses momentum too It calls for government and financial services to work together closely to develop international trade policies and to improve the country''s digital and physical infrastructure, including speeding up travel times between airports and different financial centres around Britain. One financial services industry veteran who had independent access to the report said it lacked urgency and there was too little on the impact of Britain leaving the EU given that "Brexit is a catastrophe for the City." Mark Hoban, a former financial services minister who chaired the report, said that Brexit was only one of several challenges facing financial services. "The challenges facing financial services are much more than just about Brexit. It is about emerging financial centres and also, to a degree, about unmet needs in the UK as well," Hoban told Reuters. "There is a very clear appetite to tackle these issues at various levels of government."'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-finance-idUKKBN19Q31M'|'2017-07-06T02:06:00.000+03:00' +'9afcba84b415ae8d65ce5f4708ac10b3cdb6966d'|'EU, Japan seal free trade in signal to Trump'|'Top 2:03pm BST EU, Japan seal free trade in signal to Trump left right Japan''s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shakes hands with European Council President Donald Tusk at the end of a EU-JAPAN summit in Brussels, Belgium July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman 1/6 left right Japan''s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (C) is welcomed by European Council President Donald Tusk (L) and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at the start of a European Union-Japan summit in Brussels, Belgium July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Walschaerts/Pool 2/6 left right Japan''s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (L) holds a news conference with European Council President Donald Tusk (C) and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker during a EU-Japan summit in Brussels, Belgium July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman 3/6 left right Japan''s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (R) is welcomed by European Council President Donald Tusk at the start of a European Union-Japan summit in Brussels, Belgium July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman 4/6 left right Japan''s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (L) shakes hands with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at the end of a EU-JAPAN summit in Brussels, Belgium July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman 5/6 left right Japan''s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (R) is welcomed by European Council President Donald Tusk at the start of a European Union-Japan summit in Brussels, Belgium July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman 6/6 By Alastair Macdonald and Robert-Jan Bartunek - BRUSSELS BRUSSELS Japan and the European Union agreed on Thursday to a free trade pact, creating the world''s biggest open economic area and signalling resistance to what they see as U.S. President Donald Trump''s protectionist turn. Signed in Brussels on the eve of meetings with Trump at a summit in Hamburg, the "political agreement" between two economies accounting for a third of global GDP is heavy with symbolism. It leaves some areas of negotiation still to finish, though officials insist the key snags have been overcome. "Ahead of the G20 summit tomorrow, I believe Japan and the EU are demonstrating our strong political will to fly the flag for free trade against a shift towards protectionism," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a joint news conference with EU institutional chiefs Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker. "It is a strong message to the world." In the works for four years, it has been pushed over the line towards a final treaty signature in the coming months by the election of Trump and his moves to ditch a Pacific trade pact that included Japan and leave talks with the EU in limbo. "Although some are saying that the time of isolationism and disintegration is coming again, we are demonstrating that this is not the case," European Council President Tusk said. "There is no protection in protectionism," added Juncker, the president of the executive European Commission, who played down any suggestion there would be further negotiating problems and said he hoped the treaty could go into effect early in 2019. ALARM OVER "AMERICA FIRST" Fears of cheaper import competition for European carmakers and Japanese dairy producers were among the thorniest issues, but officials said the two sides were driven by a shared alarm at Trump''s apparent shift away from multilateral open trading systems towards an aggressive "America First" policy. Tariffs on much of their bilateral trade -- which Abe noted accounts for some 40 percent of total world commerce -- will be phased out over some years and other economic areas, such as Japan''s public tender system, will be opened up. Both sides, which are also forging a parallel cooperation agreement on broader political issues such as security, crisis aid and climate change, forecast that the deal will boost economic growth and employment in Japan and in Europe. One detail to be ironed out is how complaints from business over how authorities apply the treaty will be dealt with. That is a touchy subject in Europe due to concerns that trade pacts give too much power to big multinationals. European parliaments nearly blocked a deal with Canada last year over such issues. The European carmakers'' lobby had called for at least seven years to phase out tariffs of up to 10 percent on Japanese cars, and a senior EU official said they would "not be disappointed". Most EU food exports to Japan will see tariffs removed over time, although in some sensitive sectors such as cheese and other dairy products they will still be limited by quota. More than 200 European products that benefit from geographic protections -- for example Parma smoked ham must come from around the Italian city -- would not face Japanese competition under those names, he added. Scotch whisky might not benefit from such a deal, however, as Britain is due to leave the EU in 2019. Tusk took the opportunity to scoff at arguments in Britain for Brexit on the grounds that London could cut itself better trade deals outside the Union. EU leaders say the weight of the combined economy can more easily crack open foreign markets. In an ironic nod to Brexit supporters'' rallying cry of "Global Britain", Tusk, a former Polish premier, signed off a tweet confirming the Japan deal with the words "Global Europe!" (Additional reporting by Elizabeth Miles in Brussels and Kaori Kaneko in Tokyo; Editing by Gareth Jones)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-eu-trade-idUKKBN19R17E'|'2017-07-06T15:19:00.000+03:00' +'35cc6f024adccbcf7864cd54d7061fad1ae2b85d'|'UPDATE 1-Antofagasta H1 copper output up 7.1 pct, keeps guidance'|'July 26, 2017 / 6:57 AM / in 19 minutes UPDATE 1-Antofagasta H1 copper output up 7.1 pct, keeps guidance 2 Min Read * Averted strike action * Set to hit high end of guidance - analyst (Adds detail, background) LONDON, July 26 (Reuters) - Chilean copper producer Antofagasta said on Wednesday production in the first half rose 7.1 percent and kept its full-year cost and output guidance after talks to avert strike action. Copper prices have rallied this month as the global market is increasingly seen close to balanced, compared with expectations of a surplus at the start of the year, after an Indonesian strike and contract negotiations at Chile''s Escondida interrupted supply from the world''s top two mines. New labour laws in Chile, combined with still relatively low prices, have stoked fears of more widespread labour disputes, but Antofagasta averted strike action last week when it signed a wage deal with workers. The company said full-year production was still expected to be between 685,000 and 720,000 tonnes, unchanged from a forecast from the beginning of the year, although output would be higher during the second half. It also kept its forecast for costs unchanged, with cash costs before credits for by-products expected to be $1.55 per pound and net cash costs of $1.30 per pound. CEO Ivan Arriagada said the company had continued its focus on improving efficiencies and savings and as mines had improved output, costs had fallen. "This has resulted in a net cash cost of $1.20/lb for the second quarter of 2017, down more than 5 percent on the previous quarter," he said in a statement. "Production and costs remain in-line with our expectations and our guidance for the year is unchanged." Hunter Hillcoat, analyst at Investec, which rates Antofagasta a buy, said the output results were slightly higher than expected and the company "looks likely to hit the high end of its guidance". (Reporting by Barbara Lewis in London and Sanjeeban Sarkar in Bengaluru; editing by Louise Heavens and Jason Neely) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/antofagasta-results-production-idUSL5N1KH173'|'2017-07-26T09:56:00.000+03:00' +'d82e17d2005101ab15fc647943238c1e2bda33d2'|'Why record U.S. oil exports are poised for even more growth'|'July 27, 2017 / 5:05 AM / in 2 minutes Why record U.S. oil exports are poised for even more growth Devika Krishna Kumar and Marianna Parraga 7 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A view of the Tesoro refinery in Martinez California, U.S. on February 2, 2015. Robert Galbraith/File Photo NEW YORK/HOUSTON (Reuters) - U.S. refineries are producing more fuel than ever as they seek to meet rising demand - from overseas, rather than the drivers on nearby roadways. Last year, the U.S. became the world''s top net exporter of fuel, an outgrowth of booming domestic production since the shale oil revolution started in 2010. That''s a fundamental shift from the traditional U.S. role in global markets as a top importer and consumer. Net exports are on track to hit another record in 2017, making foreign fuel markets increasingly important for the future growth prospects and profit margins of U.S. refiners. Shale oil producers have provided refiners with abundant and cheap domestic crude supplies, giving them the raw material they need to produce internationally competitive fuel. The nation set a record in 2016 by sending a net 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of petroleum products to foreign markets. That compares to net fuel imports of 2.3 million just a decade ago, according to U.S. government data. Booming exports have bolstered margins at the biggest U.S. refiners - including Marathon Petroleum and Valero - and compensated for lack of strong growth this year in U.S. fuel demand. Now, the government of U.S. President Donald Trump is seeking to deregulate oil and gas production to further leverage rising U.S. exports for international political gain - a policy Trump calls "energy dominance". Surging U.S. crude production has already complicated the ongoing effort by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to tame a global glut that has halved oil prices since 2014. The United States remains a massive importer of crude oil - regularly trading the top spot with China - but American refineries now re-export much of that oil as jet fuel, diesel and gasoline. The U.S. has a growing role in satisfying demand for motor fuel in countries such as Mexico and Brazil, where the thirst for U.S. fuel is likely to accelerate amid refinery outages and high production costs. Refined U.S. exports are also going further afield to Asia, and diesel exports to Europe increased in June to levels not seen in nearly two years, traders have said. (See graphic: tmsnrt.rs/2sSqsRP ) Traditionally, oil traders, refiners and investors have considered U.S. fuel demand as one of the leading metrics for predicting international crude oil supply and price trends. Now, they are increasingly looking to foreign demand for U.S. fuel for guidance. "Globally, you''re going to have increased demand for all of our products, and so our focus will go beyond the U.S. borders," said Texas-based Valero''s Chief Executive, Joe Gorder. In contrast, he predicted a "slight decline" in U.S. gasoline demand over the next decade. U.S. gasoline demand hit a record in 2016, as low pump prices encouraged consumption, but has leveled off this year. Rising fuel efficiency in cars is expected to limit future domestic demand growth. Latin American Buyers FILE PHOTO - A view of the Exxonmobil Baton Rouge Chemical Plant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. on November 6, 2015. Lee Celano/File Photo U.S. refined products are filling shortages in countries such as Mexico and Venezuela, where refineries have been running below capacity. U.S. exports have also made inroads into Brazil''s market by undercutting the price of locally produced fuel. Latin America''s imports of U.S. fuels reached almost 2.5 million bpd in the first quarter compared with 2.32 million bpd in 2016. The growth was fueled by Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Venezuela and Central America, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Mexico - already the biggest export market for U.S. gasoline and diesel - is seeking higher-than-usual volumes in July and August to fill a void left by a fire at its biggest refinery last month. In recession-scarred Venezuela, the country''s largest refining complex has lowered operating rates this month to less than half of its 955,000-barrel-per-day capacity, a level that has required state-run oil company PDVSA to import more fuel to meet domestic demand. Between them, Mexico and Venezuela have recently said they want to buy extra volumes of almost 19 million barrels in the second half of the year - mostly from the United States - an amount suggesting that U.S. exports will grow again this year over last year''s record levels. Net U.S. exports of transport fuels could rise 8.8 percent this year, according to PIRA Energy, an analytics and forecasting unit of S&P Global Platts. In Brazil, fuel distributors have begun buying more U.S. imports because they are cheaper than fuel sold by state-run oil firm Petrobras. Petrobras had failed to align its wholesale prices with international markets, opening a window for importers to bring fuel into Brazil. Petrobras last month said it would peg its fuels more closely to international prices as it tried to slow the expansion of U.S. imports. Analysts said supply from U.S. refiners was unlikely to slow much. Beyond the Americas U.S. refiners have also boosted exports to Europe and Asia. In Europe, U.S. shipments of diesel rose to nearly 500,000 bpd in June, according to traders, well above flows that have rarely exceeded 370,000 bpd since July 2015. U.S. global distillate exports, including diesel, hit a record that month, said researcher ClipperData, which tracks global oil flows. Exports of refined products to several Asian countries, including India, Japan and South Korea, rose to record levels in 2016, and China took a record 303,000 bpd of U.S. produced fuels in February. U.S. refiners are likely to play in important role in meeting rising demand from Asia, said Nicole Leonard, senior project consultant at Platts Analytics Oil & Gas Consulting. Analysts and traders expect U.S. refined products exports to continue to grow, even with increased competition from large exporters in the Middle East, Europe and India. Demand for U.S. fuels is underpinned by refinery challenges in neighboring countries, said Sandy Fielden, director of oil and products research for Morningstar Commodities Research in Austin, Texas. "It doesn''t seem that these Latin American countries are going to cure their refining problems overnight," he said. Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar in New York, Marianna Parraga in Houston; Jarrett Renshaw 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-oil-exports-idUKKBN1AC0ER'|'2017-07-27T08:02:00.000+03:00' +'ac6b3c78b37e84c8db168edddea2b7dc3fe916b0'|'Round Two: Elliott Advisors, Akzo Nobel resume combat in Dutch court'|'July 27, 2017 / 8:15 AM / 6 hours ago Round Two: Elliott Advisors, Akzo Nobel face off in Dutch court 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Akzo Nobel''s logo is seen in Amsterdam, Netherlands, February 16, 2012. Robin van Lonkhuijsen/United Photos/File Photo AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Activist hedge fund Elliott Advisors returned to court on Thursday to try to oust the chairman of Dutch paints group Akzo Nobel ( AKZO.AS ) over his rejection of a 26.3 billion euro ($30 billion) takeover proposal from PPG Industries ( PPG.N ). Elliott, the largest Akzo investor with a 9.5 percent stake, is pursuing the case even after Akzo said on Tuesday that 70-year old Chairman Antony Burgmans would step down when his term expires next April. That will be too late for Elliott which is engaged in an increasingly bitter fight against Burgmans, who it blamed in court for financial underperformance and causing a "crisis of confidence" among Akzo shareholders. Akzo and Pittsburgh-based PPG are in a six-month compulsory cooling off period which expires in December. Elliott lawyer Jan-Willem de Groot said there was widespread shareholder support for their demands. "Almost the entire top 20 of Akzo shareholders, representing total investments of more than 6 billion euros, have been urging a meeting for months," he said, naming British pension scheme investor USS, Franklin Templeton and Dodge & Cox. Some analysts believe the departure of the two leading opponents of a deal, after Chief Executive Ton Buechner announced his immediate resignation on July 19 due to health reasons, could open the door for talks. In a preliminary ruling in May, Amsterdam''s Enterprise Chamber rejected Elliott''s first bid to compel Akzo to convene an extraordinary meeting of shareholders to vote on dismissing Burgmans, saying it was an attempt to wrest control of the company''s strategic direction from the board. Akzo said Elliott and York Capital Management, which has joined the Dutch lawsuit, were still trying to force the Dulux paintmaker to change course. "All objections to Burgmans relate to the strategy and decisions regarding PPG," lawyer Harm-Jan de Kluiver said. "But it''s already established that Akzo Nobel''s boards acted within their rights." Buechner''s sudden departure left his successor, relatively new chemicals division chief Thierry Vanlancker, to deliver higher sales and margins promised when the Dutch paintmaker fended off PPG''s takeover attempt. Akzo''s second quarter results, announced on Tuesday, missed expectations. The company''s shares traded up 1.1 percent at 76.50 euros on Thursday afternoon, far below PPG''s final cash and share proposal of around 95 euros made in April. Akzo said that shareholders would have their say at an extraordinary meeting on Sept. 8, but Elliott responded furiously, saying Akzo had chosen "yet again to flout fundamental shareholder rights" by not allowing a vote on Burgmans too. The court will present its ruling on Aug. 10. If it rules in favor of Elliott and York, Akzo will have to convene another extraordinary shareholders meeting, as it will be too late to add items to the agenda of the Sept. 8 meeting due to regulatory deadlines. Editing by Keith Weir '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-akzo-nobel-shareholders-activism-idUSKBN1AC11X'|'2017-07-27T11:13:00.000+03:00' +'9aa5a04faf2126f6caf9a926e3433b3f04271979'|'Bangladesh LNG drive likely to hit its diesel, fuel oil demand'|'July 6, 2017 / 7:42 AM / in 7 minutes Bangladesh LNG drive likely to hit its diesel, fuel oil demand Jessica Jaganathan and Ruma Paul 3 Min Read SINGAPORE/DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh''s plan to start importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) next year will likely dampen its demand for oil used in power generation, government and industry sources said. The South Asian nation typically ships in around 2.5 million tonnes of fuel oil and 3.2 million tonnes of diesel annually, making it one of the top 10 such importers in the region. But its push towards cleaner gas is likely to displace some of that appetite for oil, with the country''s first floating LNG import terminal due to begin accepting cargoes in May next year. "LNG is considered to be an environmentally friendly source of energy and its cost is cheaper than fuel oil," said Nasrul Hamid, Bangladesh junior energy minister. He added that the country would gradually shift to greener, cheaper sources of energy for electricity generation and in industry. State-run Petrobangla has signed preliminary deals for two more LNG terminals and a memorandum of understanding with Swiss commodity merchant AOT Energy for help lining up supplies. It has also said that it is in talks with top LNG producer Qatar. Of the total 13.3 gigawatts of installed electricity capacity in Bangladesh, about 63 percent is from gas-fired plants, 22 percent from plants powered by fuel oil and 8 percent from diesel, said Senthil Kumaran, senior oil analyst at energy consultancy FGE. That translates to consumption of 12,000 to 14,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) of high sulphur fuel oil for power generation and 10,000 to 12,000 bpd of diesel, he added. While it was not clear how much of the country''s import demand for oil products would be displaced by LNG, it would probably start to happen in 2019, said FGE and an official with state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corp. "At the end of this year, we will get a full picture of our imports of oil products for the next year," said the official, who declined to be identified as he was not authorised to speak with media. LNG is currently about 15 to 20 percent cheaper than fuel oil, said Kazi Mohammad Anwarul Azim, manager of Petrobangla''s LNG unit. Bangladesh''s imports of LNG are expected to reach 5 million tonnes in 2020, said FGE''s Kumaran. Still, with not many dual-feed power plants in the country and new oil-fired power plants installed over the last few years, Bangladesh will continue to import fuel oil to run those plants, he said. Reporting by Jessica Jaganathan in Singapore and Ruma Paul in Dhaka; Additional reporting by Mark Tay in Singapore; Editing by Joseph Radford 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/bangladesh-power-lng-idINKBN19R0NI'|'2017-07-06T10:38:00.000+03:00' +'4e98f9f48b76f24f82e9ac20baa17f65e96616cc'|'Britain''s statistics watchdog puts stamp of approval on CPIH inflation gauge'|'July 31, 2017 / 11:41 AM / an hour ago Britain''s statistics watchdog puts stamp of approval on CPIH inflation gauge Reuters Staff 3 Britain''s statistics watchdog on Monday put its stamp of approval on CPIH, the gauge of inflation preferred by official statisticians, following improvements to address quality concerns. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) first published CPIH, a measure that includes more housing costs, as an official statistic in 2013. But the body which supervises the ONS said in 2014 that it fell below acceptable quality standards, in part because of concerns about the way it measures owner-occupier housing costs, based on rental prices. On Monday, the UK Statistics Authority said it was now satisfied that the ONS had rectified this. "I am pleased to confirm the re-designation of CPIH as a National Statistic," said Ed Humpherson, director general for regulation at the UK Statistics Authority. "In coming to our decision about National Statistics designation, we do not have a view about whether CPIH should be presented as a headline or preferred measure of inflation." In March the ONS adopted CPIH as its official gauge of inflation in place of the widely-used Consumer Prices Index (CPI). Britain''s Treasury uses CPI as the benchmark for the Bank of England''s 2 percent inflation target, but the seal of approval for CPIH potentially paves the way for a change. Annual inflation rates measured by CPI and CPIH have generally been similar and both rates fell in June to 2.6 percent. CPIH does not measure house prices or mortgage payments, but instead estimates how much home-owners would pay to rent their own homes. It also includes council tax, a local property levy. Some statisticians think the way it uses rental values to calculate overall housing costs is flawed. On Monday the Statistics Authority said the current method was reasonable, but added that the ONS should keep it under review and publish estimates using alternative methods for measuring these costs. An older measure that also includes some housing costs, RPI, is used by the government to determine interest payments on inflation-linked bonds and student loans, as well as in many commercial contracts. RPI is typically 1 percentage point higher than CPI, and the ONS says it is not an accurate gauge of inflation. "We are building a suite of measures as an alternative to the RPI," the ONS''s director-general, Jonathan Athow, said. "CPIH is our lead measure of inflation and offers the most comprehensive picture of how prices are changing." Reporting by Andy Bruce, editing by Alister Doyle 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-inflation-cpih-idUKKBN1AG1AZ'|'2017-07-31T14:46:00.000+03:00' +'b5a6f6985952d8625aefc4c40970064a115d1a10'|'U.S. upgrades probe into 1.33 million Ford Explorers over exhaust odours'|'July 28, 2017 / 2:03 AM / in 28 minutes U.S. upgrades probe into 1.33 million Ford Explorers over exhaust odours David Shepardson 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The 2016 Ford Explorer is shown during the model''s world debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles, California November 19, 2014. Lucy Nicholson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is upgrading and expanding a probe into 1.33 million Ford Explorer SUVs over reports of exhaust odours in vehicle compartments and exposure to carbon monoxide that may be linked to crashes and injuries. The auto safety agency said in a statement on Thursday it was aware of more than 2,700 complaints and three crashes that may be linked to exposure to carbon monoxide and 41 injuries among police and civilian vehicles in the probe covering 2011-2017 model year Ford Explorer sport utility vehicles. Ford has issued multiple technical service bulletins related to the exhaust odour issue to address complaints from police fleets and other owners, NHTSA said. Ford said in a statement a dedicated company team is working with police, NHTSA and others "to investigate reported issues and solve them." The probe was opened in 2016 into 638,000 vehicles and upgraded on Thursday to an engineering analysis, a step before the agency can formally demand an automaker conduct a recall if it believes vehicles pose an unreasonable risk to safety. NHTSA said it "is actively working with law enforcement agencies that use these vehicles to determine if this issue is related to a potential safety defect." The agency said it had "no substantive data or actual evidence," such as a blood test "supporting a claim that any of the alleged injury or crash allegations were the result of carbon monoxide poisoning." But NHTSA has obtained preliminary testing that suggests carbon monoxide levels may be elevated in certain driving scenarios, "although the significance and effect of those levels remains under evaluation." The agency said it was examining vehicles used by the Austin, Texas, police department and "using professional grade detectors to monitors carbon monoxide under different driving scenarios." KXAN-TV in Austin reported this month that Austin police had pulled 40 Explorers from service and more than a half dozen officers became ill after reporting exposure to carbon monoxide. NHTSA has conducted field inspections of vehicles and crashes involving police units that occurred while the officers were on duty. NHTSA also said it recently learnt that the Police Interceptor version of the Ford Explorer was experiencing exhaust manifold cracks, "which appear to present a low level of detectability, and may explain the exhaust odour." The agency said the reported injuries include "loss of consciousness, with the majority indicating nausea, headaches, or light-headedness." Police have reported two crashes that may be linked to carbon monoxide exposure, including a rollover incident, and a third incident involving injuries related to carbon monoxide exposure. Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Peter Cooney and Richard Pullin 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ford-safety-idUKKBN1AD079'|'2017-07-28T05:02:00.000+03:00' +'f78a565f9deecc2e190d1ac64562332156b50fd2'|'Boeing raises 2017 earnings forecast'|'July 26, 2017 / 11:46 AM / 32 minutes ago Boeing raises 2017 earnings forecast Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The Boeing logo is seen at their headquarters in Chicago, April 24, 2013. Jim Young/File Photo (Reuters) - Boeing Co ( BA.N ) reported a quarterly profit compared with a loss a year ago when it booked a charge, and raised its full-year core profit forecast. The world''s biggest maker of jetliners said it expects 2017 core earnings per share in a range of $9.80 to $10.00, up from its previous forecast of $9.20 to $9.40. Boeing earned $1.76 billion (1.34 billion pounds), or $2.89 per share, in the second quarter ended June 30, compared with a loss of $234 million, or 37 cents per share, a year earlier. Last year''s results included more than $2 billion in charges related to the 787, 747 and KC-46 tanker aircraft programs. The company''s core earnings, which excluded some pension and other costs, were $2.55 per share in the quarter. Revenue fell 8.1 percent to $22.74 billion. Commercial aircraft deliveries fell to 183 from 199. Boeing said it continues to expect to deliver 760-765 commercial aircraft in 2017. Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-boeing-results-idUKKBN1AB1L7'|'2017-07-26T14:46:00.000+03:00' +'f39ca8c481a766cae6e1cdfbdf72828830be0e68'|'Exclusive - Dropbox seeks to hire IPO underwriters: sources'|'Business News - Sat Jul 1, 2017 - 3:39am BST Exclusive - Dropbox seeks to hire IPO underwriters: sources By Liana B. Baker and Lauren Hirsch Data-sharing business Dropbox Inc is seeking to hire underwriters for an that could come later this year, which would make it the biggest U.S. technology company to go public since Snap Inc ( SNAP.N ), people familiar with the matter said on Friday. The IPO will be a key test of Dropbox''s worth after it was valued at almost $10 billion in a in 2014. Dropbox will begin interviewing investment banks in the coming weeks, the sources said, asking not to be named because the deliberations are private. Dropbox declined to comment. Several big U.S. technology companies such as Uber Technologies Inc and Airbnb Inc have resisted going public in recent months, concerned that stock market investors, who focus more on profitability than do private investors, would assign lower valuations to them. Snap, owner of the popular messaging app Snapchat, was forced to lower its IPO valuation expectations earlier this year amid investor concern over its unproven business model. Its shares have since lingered just above the IPO price, with investors troubled by widening losses and missed analyst estimates. It has a market capitalisation of $21 billion. Still, for many private companies, there is increasing pressure to go pubic as investors look to cash out. Proceeds from technology IPOs slumped to $6.7 billion in2015 from $34 billion in 2014, and shrunk further to $2.9 billion in 2016, according to Thomson Reuters data. Dropbox''s main competitor, Box Inc ( BOX.N ), was valued at roughly $1.67 billion in its IPO in 2015, less than the $2.4 billion it had been valued at in previous s. San Francisco-based Dropbox, which was founded in 2007 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduates Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi, counts Sequoia Capital, T. Rowe Price and Greylock Partners as investors. Dropbox started as a free service for consumers to share and store photos, music and other large files. That business became commoditised though, as Alphabet Inc''s ( GOOGL.O ) Google, Microsoft Corp ( MSFT.O ) and Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) started offering storage for free. Dropbox has since pivoted to focus on winning business clients, and Houston, the company''s CEO, has said that Dropbox is on track to generate more than $1 billion in revenue this year. The company has expanded its Dropbox Business that requires companies to pay a fee based on the number of employees who use it. The service in January began offering Smart Sync, which allows users to see and access all of their files, whether stored in the cloud or on a local hard drive, from their desktop. (Additional reporting by Heather Somerville, Salvador Rodriguez and Stephen Nellis Leslie Adler and Stephen Coates)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-dropbox-ipo-exclusive-idUKKBN19M32W'|'2017-07-01T05:39:00.000+03:00' +'01e4344a3752d915c1a3b82b5c9a5f6ce6314642'|'MIDEAST STOCKS-Poor Q2 results dampen Saudi, bluechips buoy Dubai'|'July 31, 2017 / 8:00 AM / in 2 hours MIDEAST STOCKS-Poor Q2 results dampen Saudi, bluechips buoy Dubai 2 Min Read DUBAI, July 31 (Reuters) - Poor second quarter corporate earnings were a drag on Riyadh''s index in early trade on Monday in a generally weaker Gulf market, though Dubai bucked that trend as bluechips rose. Shares of Saudi builder Khodari fell 1.1 percent after the company reported a second-quarter net loss of 25.02 million riyals ($6.7 million), wider than EFG Hermes'' estimate of 14.40 million riyals. Quarterly revenue was half of that in the year-earlier quarter, the company said. Milk and yoghurt maker Saudi Dairy Foodstuff Co fell 0.8 percent after it reported a 5.2 percent year-on-year drop in second quarter net profit. Saudi Re for Cooperative Reinsurance jumped 3.7 percent after its net income in the second quarter expanded 50.6 percent. Saudi Paper Manufacturing was up 0.3 percent after it reported a narrower loss. The Saudi index edged down 0.3 percent. Qatar''s index, which lost 1.0 percent on Sunday, was little changed as nine on the 20 most valuable companies declined and six rose. In Dubai, Dubai Investments lost 0.8 percent after reporting a 12.6 percent drop in second quarter net profit. Other companies were more upbeat, with the largest listed developer Emaar Properties up 1.1 percent, helping take the index 0.6 percent higher. $1 = 3.7500 riyals Reporting by Celine Aswad; Editing by John Stonestreet 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/mideast-stocks-idUSL5N1KM1JC'|'2017-07-31T10:59:00.000+03:00' +'7b894db5395c10215b2c71d4de1ff3a6a19294ea'|'Credit market a bigger systemic risk than during 2008 crisis - BoE'|'July 12, 2017 / 2:55 PM / 5 hours ago Credit market a bigger systemic risk than during 2008 crisis: Bank of England Simon Jessop 3 Min Read A general view shows the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain April 19, 2017. Hannah McKay LONDON (Reuters) - European corporate bond markets could prove a bigger source of market instability during the next big shock than during the 2008 financial crisis, a study by the Bank of England showed. The study is the first to try to model how non-bank lenders would react in a stressed market environment, with the BoE particularly concerned about the effect on corporate funding rates and their impact on the real economy. The need to model the risk has arisen because capital markets have provided a bigger slice of corporate funding since the financial crisis and many of the often-illiquid bonds are held in mutual funds offering daily exits to investors. With dealers at banks making markets in bonds operating under tougher capital rules and therefore more sensitive to risk than before the crisis, the Bank of England is concerned that they may not be able to absorb panic-selling by investors. The study found that weekly mutual fund redemptions of 1 percent of assets under management -- a level seen during the 2008 crisis -- could increase corporate bond interest rates for companies with high credit ratings by about 40 basis points. But the ability of dealers to absorb those sales could be tested if redemptions are only a third higher, in what the study described as "an unlikely, but not impossible, event". "It is a first -- pilot -- step and so is an incomplete exercise, focusing on one type of stress scenario, one market and simple models of the behavior of important parts of the system," the central bank said in the report. "Nevertheless, it has allowed a scenario to be explored in which large-scale redemptions from open-ended investment funds trigger sales by those funds, with resulting spillover effects to dealers and hedge funds." The Bank said it would follow up by examining the role played by pension funds and insurance companies, and would feed into work carried out by peers globally. The results could inform future policy action, though none was recommended. Asset management companies have long argued that they are safe individually and not in need of stress tests such as those in the banking sector because the risk of losses is contained within a fund and borne by investors alone. The Bank of England agreed with that assessment but said the study showed how changes in market structure, coupled with investors'' tendency to sell into a falling market, could create a feedback loop between individually safe parts of the market that amplified the shock. Reporting by Simon Jessop and David Milliken; Editing by David Goodman 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-boe-financial-stability-idUKKBN19X20G'|'2017-07-12T17:46:00.000+03:00' +'4cf7e48633658800a529af5fe2e32eaf1aacf205'|'That was fun; now comes the slowdown'|'July 24, 2017 / 8:39 AM / an hour ago That was fun; now comes the slowdown Jeremy Gaunt 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A sign for Fletcher Building Ltd, New Zealand''s biggest builder, adorns a crane at a construction site in the New Zealand city of Auckland, June 25, 2017. David Gray /File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - For all the talk of world economies rising in sync, there does not seem to be an abundance of optimism about how long it will last. Tucked away in Reuters latest quarterly economic poll series is a projection that growth rates in nearly all of the world''s largest economies will fall over the next two years. Inflation, meanwhile, will remain benign and in some cases below target. Both findings would suggest that the current caution of central bankers is warranted. As the European Central Bank''s Mario Draghi said in the past week: "We aren''t there yet." The Reuters polls of economists around the world -- looking at 46 economies -- have been prescient in past years. If they prove right again, it means the United States, euro zone, Japan, Germany, France and China will all grow more slowly in 2019 than at present. Britain will be growing at this year''s rate -- but only after a 2018 Brexit-related hammering. James Knightley, chief international economist at ING, reckons the projected growth slowdown is a natural maturing of the economic cycle, exacerbated by the gradual tightening of monetary policy measures adopted following the financial crisis. "Consumers are getting to the point now when debt levels are starting to rise, and with central banks increasingly moving in the direction ... of tightening, then that could start to act as a brake on economic activity," he said. There will be growth. But it will be fairly humdrum. Consider the euro zone, currently running at a projected 1.9 percent growth rate. That will drop to 1.5 percent in 2019, according to the economists. Japan will see its 1.4 percent growth rate today halve to 0.7 percent. The U.S. economy will be down slightly, to 2.1 percent from 2.2 percent, way below the historical trend of above 3 percent. Did You Feel It? It may come as a surprise to the average person in many of these economies that the growth cycle is maturing. In many cases it has been a very mild rebound from the Great Recession triggered by the financial crisis a decade ago. FILE PHOTO: Painted wheelbarrow buckets arrive at the end of the assembly line at the AMES Companies factory, the largest wheelbarrow factory in the world, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. on June 29, 2017. Tim Aepp/File Photo As Stephen King, senior economic adviser at HSBC, noted this month: "Economic records are there to be broken. The U.S. is on the cusp of breaking two simultaneously. Within weeks, the U.S. may have delivered both the longest and the weakest economic upswing in post-war history." The new normal -- post-crisis and with big emerging economies having matured themselves -- may well be for less robust growth, although the Reuters polls project the world economy to grow at around 3.5 percent annually over the next three years. That is pretty much the average since 1961, according to World Bank statistics, although that of course is dragged down by the Great Recession and the big slump around 1980. This all goes some way to explaining the extreme caution of central banks in rolling back their unprecedented monetary stimulus. They do not, as the ECB''s Draghi admitted openly this past week, want to commit a policy error. FILE PHOTO: Equipment for rent outside of the United Rentals store in Denver, Colorado July 19, 2017. Rick Wilking /File Photo Their dilemma is that they want to normalise monetary policy as much as possible without killing what growth trillions of dollars of stimulus have helped achieve. So data releases are even more crucial to policymakers than usual. The coming week will give them a snapshot of monthly business activity, culminating in the first real look at what happened in the second quarter. Flash purchasing managers'' indexes for Japan, Germany, France and the euro zone have already been released. All remained in expansion territory, but for the most part fell from the previous month. The United States PMI is released later. Britain announces its preliminary second quarter growth figures on Wednesday. There is a strong consensus that it will tick up to 0.3 percent from 0.2 percent quarter-on-quarter, but slip to 1.7 percent from 2.0 percent year against year. Arguably the biggest data release comes on Friday with advance U.S. GDP numbers. An annualised rate -- that is, roughly speaking the quarterly number times four -- is seen at 2.7 percent, a large jump from the previous 1.4 percent. Reporting by Jeremy Gaunt; Additional reporting by Jonathan Cable; Editing by Catherine Evans, Larry King 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-economy-outlook-idUKKBN1A90VB'|'2017-07-24T11:38:00.000+03:00' +'52e7a6ac4c1bd5b4643e3d1779252e33a247f00a'|'Google to power Dutch data centre with solar energy'|'Environment - Fri Jul 7, 2017 - 8:22am EDT Google to power Dutch data center with solar energy The sign marking the Google offices is lit up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder AMSTERDAM Google will purchase all the electricity generated by the largest solar park in the Netherlands over the next decade to power a recently opened data center housing thousands of servers, the U.S. internet company and energy provider Eneco said on Friday. It is part of Google''s ambition to switch its data centers and offices entirely to renewable energy this year, helped by the steep fall in prices for wind and solar energy. The contract with Eneco, for which no financial details were disclosed, will supply renewable energy for "many months to come, maybe even years", Google''s European energy manager Marc Oman said. The agreement comes as the Netherlands makes a push to boost its renewable energy production and is investing 12 billion euros in 2017 in offshore wind farms. The Eemshaven data center, which cost roughly 600 million euros and opened in 2016, is one of four Google operates in Europe. (Reporting by Bart Meijer) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-netherlands-energy-google-idUSKBN19S1QZ'|'2017-07-07T15:18:00.000+03:00' +'0a572cb0f620d71d8444b75fcb7a2adb67bffc8f'|'RPT-BRIEF-Wendel: Constantia Flexibles sells Labels business to Multi-Color for 1.15 bln enterprise value'|'July 17, 2017 / 1:12 PM / 9 minutes ago RPT-BRIEF-Wendel: Constantia Flexibles sells Labels business to Multi-Color for 1.15 bln enterprise value 1 Min Read (Repeats to add country code) July 17 (Reuters) - Wendel: * Wendel welcomes todays announcement by Constantia Flexibles, one of the worlds leaders in flexible packaging, that it has signed an agreement to sell its Labels business to Multi-Color Corporation, for an enterprise value of approximatley 1.15 billion (1.3 billion USD). * Majority of the transaction is payable in cash, while Constantia Flexibles will hold a 16.6% equity holding in Multi-Color, thereby becoming its largest shareholder * Transaction will make a positive contribution to long-term value creation at Constantia Flexibles, which is 60.5% owned by Wendel, its majority shareholder 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL8N1K83Q5'|'2017-07-17T16:12:00.000+03:00' +'93252018b22f0fdbb77d94ce4f4bd64fce27280e'|'With new Camry, Toyota eyes bigger share of ailing U.S. sedan market'|'Mon Jul 10, 2017 - 12:27pm BST With new Camry, Toyota eyes bigger share of ailing U.S. sedan market left right Toyota Camry sedan is seen at a news conference for the car''s unveiling in Japan, in Tokyo, Japan July 10, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 1/7 left right Moritaka Yoshida, president of Toyota''s mid-size vehicle company, and Masato Katsumata, chief engineer of Toyota''s Camry, pose with Toyota Camry sedan at a news conference for the car''s unveiling in Japan, in Tokyo, Japan July 10, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 2/7 left right Moritaka Yoshida, president of Toyota''s mid-size vehicle company, and Masato Katsumata, chief engineer of Toyota''s Camry, pose with Toyota Camry sedan at a news conference for the car''s unveiling in Japan, in Tokyo, Japan July 10, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 3/7 left right Moritaka Yoshida, president of Toyota''s mid-size vehicle company, and Masato Katsumata, chief engineer of Toyota''s Camry, walk after posing with Toyota Camry sedan at a news conference for the car''s unveiling in Japan, in Tokyo, Japan July 10, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 4/7 left right Moritaka Yoshida, president of Toyota''s mid-size vehicle company, speaks at a news conference for Toyota Camry sedan''s unveiling in Japan, in Tokyo, Japan July 10, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 5/7 left right Masato Katsumata, chief engineer of Toyota''s Camry, speaks at a news conference for Toyota Camry sedan''s unveiling in Japan, in Tokyo, Japan July 10, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 6/7 left right Moritaka Yoshida, president of Toyota''s mid-size vehicle company, speaks at a news conference for Toyota Camry sedan''s unveiling in Japan, in Tokyo, Japan July 10, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 7/7 TOKYO Toyota Motor Corp ( 7203.T ) on Monday said it was committed to the ailing U.S. sedan market and that it expected a new model of its Camry, the top-selling passenger car in the United States for decades, to help boost the company''s sales in the segment. The automaker said it was "inconceivable" that mid-size sedans would disappear from the market, and that any move by its rivals to stop selling what was once among the most popular vehicles would allow Toyota to boost its presence. Cheap U.S. gasoline prices have prompted drivers to opt for larger SUVs and pick-up trucks. Automakers have been scrambling to meet this growing demand and, as a result, sedans have been losing their share of the U.S. market for new car sales - at 38 percent now versus around 44 percent in 2015. "If other automakers left the sedan market to focus more on SUVs, that would be an opportunity to expand our market share of the segment," Camry''s chief engineer, Masato Katsumata, said at the launch of the latest Camry model in Japan. Sedans and smaller models are a key U.S. sales segment for Toyota. In the first half of 2017, they accounted for about 43.5 percent of Toyota''s total sales, versus 48.6 percent a year ago. Toyota is targeting monthly U.S. sales of 30,000 Camrys after the new model goes on sale in August. In June, it sold 29,463 units of the current Camry model in the United States, down 9.5 percent from a year ago. "Sedans are not a growth segment these days, but we want the new Camry to rehabilitate the segment," said Moritaka Yoshida, president of Toyota''s in-house mid-size vehicle company. (Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Himani Sarkar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-toyota-strategy-idUKKBN19V18R'|'2017-07-10T14:25:00.000+03:00' +'3d233b787977060951b35f656d3feb044849a9cd'|'Oil gains ahead of producer meeting; Nigeria, Libya output in focus'|'July 23, 2017 / 10:51 PM / in 23 minutes Oil steady ahead of producer meeting; Nigeria, Libya output in focus Osamu Tsukimori 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An oil pump is seen operating in the Permian Basin near Midland, Texas, U.S. on May 3, 2017. Ernest Scheyder/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Oil prices held around a one-week low on Monday ahead of a joint OPEC and non-OPEC meeting later in the day that may address rising output in Nigeria and Libya. London Brent crude for September delivery LCOc1 was up 2 cents at $48.08 a barrel by 0551 GMT. The contract settled down $1.24, or 2.5 percent, on Friday after a consultancy forecast a rise in OPEC production for July. NYMEX crude for September delivery CLc1 was unchanged at at $45.77. Ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other non-OPEC producers will meet in the Russian city of St Petersburg on Monday to review market conditions and examine any proposals related to their pact to cut output. Sources familiar with the talks said the meeting may recommend a conditional cap on production from Nigeria and Libya - two OPEC members so far exempt from output cuts - although some analysts were deeply sceptical the group would make such a move. "Output cuts by Libya and Nigeria would be next to impossible considering Libya was just re-emerging from the civil war, for example," said Kaname Gokon, strategist for commodities brokerage Okato Shoji in Tokyo. OPEC and some non-OPEC states including Russia agreed last year to cut production by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in a deal that has been extended to March 2018. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Libya and Nigeria should cap output when their output stabilizes, the Financial Times reported. Kuwait''s oil minister, Essam al-Marzouq, said on Saturday that compliance was good with oil production cuts by OPEC and non-OPEC countries and that deeper curbs were possible. Meanwhile, OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo said on Sunday that a rebalancing of the oil market is progressing more slowly than expected, but will speed up in the second half of 2017. "Oil looks likely to remain stuck in a tight range, as investors await any signs that OPEC will intensify its effort to rebalance the market," ANZ bank said. The United States is considering financial sanctions on Venezuela that would halt dollar payments for the country''s oil, sources told Reuters, which could severely restrict the OPEC nation''s crude exports. The International Monetary Fund on Monday kept its growth forecasts for the world economy unchanged for this year and next, although it slightly revised up growth expectations for the eurozone and China. Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Joseph Radford and Richard Pullin 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-oil-idUKKBN1A80YH'|'2017-07-24T06:22:00.000+03:00' +'6bc53a3477c8d341af9b7710be599a9b0204048c'|'Ex-Bank of England deputy in talks for Visa Europe CEO job - report'|'Market News - Sat Jul 8, 2017 - 7:49am EDT Ex-Bank of England deputy in talks for Visa Europe CEO job - report LONDON, July 8 Charlotte Hogg, who resigned as the Bank of England''s deputy governor in March over concerns about a potential conflict of interest, is in talks to take over as chief executive at Visa Europe, Sky News reported on Saturday. Hogg, who was one of Governor Mark Carney''s most trusted lieutenants, stepped down following criticism by lawmakers that her role was untenable because her brother was responsible for guiding Barclays'' response to bank regulation, which is overseen by the Bank of England (BoE). Sky, citing an unnamed source close to the BoE, said Visa Europe had held preliminary talks with the central bank about the implications of Hogg taking on the job as its chief executive. A Visa Europe spokeswoman declined to comment on the report. (Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Helen Popper)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-visa-hogg-idUSL8N1JZ0CN'|'2017-07-08T14:49:00.000+03:00' +'54c86c5966b202e2ffb9568400982f4c9c4cd07e'|'Shares in Britain''s B&M rise on report Asda eyeing takeover bid'|'July 24, 2017 / 7:22 AM / 13 minutes ago Shares in Britain''s B&M rise on report Asda eyeing takeover bid Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Shares in British discount retailer B&M European Value Retail ( BMEB.L ) rose as much as 5.3 percent on Monday after a report that Asda, the UK supermarket arm of Wal-Mart Stores ( WMT.N ), was considering a 4.4 billion pounds takeover. The Sunday Times said Asda, which trails market leader Tesco ( TSCO.L ) and Sainsbury''s ( SBRY.L ) in annual sales, is in the early stages of assessing a bid for B&M, which is chaired by Terry Leahy, the former chief executive of Tesco. It said Asda had commissioned external research on B&M and cited an unidentified industry source as saying that buying B&M would reduce Asda''s reliance on food sales and provide it with a network to stock its George clothing range. Spokesmen for Asda and B&M both declined to comment. Shares in B&M, which listed at 270 pence in 2014, were up 15.6 pence at 356.6 pence at 0708 GMT, valuing the business at 3.6 billion pounds. Reporting by James Davey; editing by Kate Holton 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-b-m-european-m-a-asda-idUKKBN1A90NX'|'2017-07-24T10:22:00.000+03:00' +'22fb86990c6cf83c0334392fcf8bd15f4959d2a0'|'Buffett''s Berkshire Hathaway nears deal for bankrupt Oncor - sources'|'Business News - Fri Jul 7, 2017 - 5:25am BST Buffett''s Berkshire Hathaway Energy to buy Oncor Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett waits to play table tennis during the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting weekend in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. May 7, 2017. REUTERS/Rick Wilking Berkshire Hathaway Energy, a unit of Warren Buffett''s Berkshire Hathaway Inc ( BRKa.N ), agreed to acquire Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC for an equity value of about $11.25 billion (8.67 billion pounds), the company said in a statement on Friday. Reuters reported on Thursday Berkshire Hathaway Energy was nearing a deal to acquire Oncor. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-oncor-m-a-berkshire-hatha-idUKKBN19R32R'|'2017-07-07T00:40:00.000+03:00' +'39a6451fbd673ad865b08c6404ce6f84ac22e04c'|'Yubikey''s $18 key can protect you from hackers - Jul. 6, 2017'|'This $18 key can protect you from hackers by Selena Larson @selenalarson July 6, 2017: 12:32 PM ET How to protect yourself from hackers Your online accounts should be protected with more than just a password. And using a cheap device called YubiKey can help keep you from being hacked. By now you''ve probably heard you should be using two-factor authentication, often called 2FA, to log in to your accounts. If you''re using 2FA, you need an additional code to access your email,Facebook or other accounts. This is often sent via SMS, which may not be the most secure. For instance, if you request a texted code, it could be intercepted by someone snooping on your mobile network or a hacker who has convinced a mobile operator to redirect your phone number. Further, when you don''t have cell service, you can''t get the text. YubiKey , created by Yubico, is one solution. The $18 key connects to a USB port on your computer and tells a service, like Gmail, that you are you. You simply plug it into your computer, touch it and your identity is authenticated. It automatically creates a one-time-use password to log in to an account, and because it''s a physical key, data can''t be intercepted in transit. Security researchers say Yubikey is the best method to protect yourself from phishing, a common tactic that tricks a person into thinking a malicious message was sent by someone they trust. Usually phishing attacks are used to gain access to your personal information, like emails or bank accounts. Facebook added support for the security key in January. "We added support for U2F Security Keys because they offer the best possible account protection against the potential risk of phishing," Facebook security engineer Brad Hill said in a statement to CNN Tech. It takes just minutes to set it up with services like Facebook and Gmail, which let you add it under Security Settings. Related: Your data is not safe. Here''s how to lock it down "Security is the biggest issue on the internet," Yubico CEO Stina Ehrensvard said. "For the internet to be secure ... it should be the users who own and monitor and control what data they want to provide." YubiKey doesn''t work for all accounts that support 2FA. But Gmail, Facebook ( FB , Tech30 ) , and Dropbox are hugely popular consumer products that support this key. Yubico has a list of accounts that support its method of authentication. According to Ehrensvard, the firm has seen a major increase in Yubikey adoption recently. During the 2016 holiday season, some security researchers suggested it as a stocking stuffer, and the company said there''s been a " huge spike " in orders over the last year. Yubico, alongside Google ( GOOG ) , helped create U2F, or Universal 2nd Factor, a security standard to let users access their accounts with a physical key, like Yubikey. Ehrensvard said Yubikey has protected journalists, students, and corporations from hackers. "We got an email from a journalist who said, ''Thank you for saving my life,''" Ehrensvard said. "Because he had set up a security key with Gmail and some of his coworkers had not. And they''re no longer there." CNNMoney (San Francisco) 12:32 PM ET'|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_technology.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/07/06/technology/gadgets/yubikey-security-key/index.html'|'2017-07-06T20:32:00.000+03:00' +'229a68d5376892a73d629f30238df63c3fa2f16d'|'CANADA STOCKS-Futures edge higher as commodity prices rise'|'July 27, 2017 / 11:25 AM / 13 minutes ago CANADA STOCKS-Futures edge higher as commodity prices rise 3 Min Read July 27 (Reuters) - Stock futures pointed to a slightly higher opening for Canada''s main stock index on Thursday as commodity prices rose on dovish signals from the U.S. Federal Reserve. September futures on the S&P TSX index were up 0.10 percent at 7:15 a.m. ET. Canada''s main stock index slipped on Wednesday, as financial stocks fell after the U.S. Federal Reserve held its interest rates steady and as investors pulled back from Canadian National Railway and grocer Loblaw Cos after their earnings. Dow Jones Industrial Average e-mini futures were up 0.13 percent at 7:15 a.m. ET, while S&P 500 e-mini futures were up 0.19 percent and Nasdaq 100 e-mini futures were up 0.53 percent. (Morning News Call newsletter here ; The Day Ahead newsletter here ) Top Stories Canada''s Potash Corp of Saskatchewan reported better-than-expected revenue on Thursday as it sold more potash at higher prices compared with last year. Canadian oil and gas producer Crescent Point Energy Corp posted a quarterly profit, compared with a year-earlier loss, helped by higher realized oil prices and an increase in production. Oil producer Cenovus Energy Inc on Thursday reported a profit in the second quarter compared to a year-ago loss, helped by its purchase of ConocoPhillips'' Canadian oil sands assets. Analyst Research Highlights AGT Food and Ingredients Inc: Raymond James cuts price target to C$32 from C$35 First National Financial Corp: RBC cuts rating to "underperform" from "sector perform" Prairiesky Royalty Ltd: GMP raises target price to C$31 from C$30 COMMODITIES AT 7:15 a.m. ET Gold futures: $1,249; +0.0 pct US crude: $48.54; -0.59 pct Brent crude: $50.70; -0.53 pct LME 3-month copper: $6,355; +0.41 pct u.s. Economic Data Due on Thursday 0830 Build permits R number mm for June: Prior 1.254 mln 0830 Build permits R changes mm for June: Prior 7.4 pct 0830 Durable goods for Jun: Expected 3 pct; Prior -0.8 pct 0830 Durables ex-transport for June: Expected 0.4 pct; Prior 0.3 pct 0830 Durables ex-defense mm for June: Prior -0.3 pct 0830 Nondefense cap ex-air for June: Expected 0.3 pct; Prior 0.2 pct 0830 Advanced goods trade balance for June: Prior -$66.30 bln 0830 Advanced wholesale inventory for June: Prior 0.4 pct 0830 Advanced retail inventory ex auto for June: Prior 0.2 pct 0830 Initial jobless claims: Expected 241,000; Prior 233,000 0830 Jobless claims 4-week average: Prior 243,750 0830 Continued jobless claims: Expected 1.950 mln; Prior 1.977 mln 0830 National Activity Index for Jun: Prior -0.26 1100 KC Fed Manufacturing for July: Prior 23 1100 KC Fed Composite Index for July: Prior 11 For Canadian Markets News, Click on Codes: TSX market report Canadian dollar and bonds report Reuters global stocks poll for Canada Canadian markets directory ($1= C$1.24) (Reporting by Riniki Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-idUSL3N1KI4EK'|'2017-07-27T14:24:00.000+03:00' +'dd6808b5c525ecf22e99ac14def853d7f06f3839'|'Stocks heading for "Humpty Dumpty" big fall - BAML'|'July 7, 2017 / 3:27 PM / 10 minutes ago Stocks heading for ''Humpty Dumpty'' big fall: BAML Marc Jones 3 Min Read Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., July 5, 2017. Brendan McDermid LONDON (Reuters) - If you know your nursery rhymes, analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch think over-pumped stocks are heading for a Humpty Dumpty-style fall in the coming months. In their weekly round up of global asset flows, BAML said the prospect of more U.S. rate hikes, combined with the ECB readying to scale back its stimulus, meant markets were at a "massive inflection point" in the decade-long easy money trade. Year-to-date $170 billion has been pumped into equities while $208 billion has gone into bonds. It means both asset classes are on track for record years in terms of inflows if they keep it up, but BAML is doubtful. "Next 6 months, higher interest rates likely much more negative for stocks & credit given new central bank policies," its strategists wrote. "Will likely lead to ''Humpty Dumpty'' big fall in market in autumn, in our view." Over the last week from Wednesday-to Wednesday for BAML''s number crunchers, there were already some signs a shift may be taking place. Tech funds saw their largest redemptions in 30 weeks, for consumer sector-focused funds it was the biggest in 21 weeks, while Eurozone equity funds saw their first outflows in 15 weeks. At the same time though, banks and financials saw their biggest inflows in 20 weeks, there was an overall $2.9 billion pumped into equities and emerging market debt and equity funds enjoyed 23rd and 16th consecutive weeks of inflows respectively. For timing the expected "big fall" BAML added that monitoring corporate bonds and company profits would be key. They said credit markets remain strong, but noted the U.S. high yield has lagged high grade debt since March, which is a disconnect with European credit markets. And while corporate profit growth has accelerated, the disconnect with employment growth is notable. Further weak payroll growth would hint at profits topping out and a policy mistake from the central banks if they tighten policy. "Summer 2017 = massive inflection point in central bank liquidity trade," BAML said. Reporting by Marc Jones Editing by Jeremy Gaunt 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-markets-flows-baml-idINKBN19S298'|'2017-07-07T18:24:00.000+03:00' +'1b747201b726b60f57e85bb9441099adb9f10358'|'Alan Rubenstein to step down as head of UK''s pension rescue fund - Sky News'|'July 23, 2017 / 9:03 PM / 10 hours ago Alan Rubenstein to step down as head of UK''s pension rescue fund - Sky News Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - The chief executive of Britain''s Pension Protection Fund (PPF) will step down early next year from the role he will have held for nearly nine years, Sky News reported on Sunday. Alan Rubenstein''s departure will be announced on Monday, Sky News said, citing a Whitehall source. Rubenstein, who was appointed as CEO of the PPF in 2009, was previously responsible for managing the Pensions Advisory Group at U.S.-based Lehman Brothers. The PPF bails out under-funded schemes whose sponsors go bankrupt, financing itself by charging a levy which varies from scheme to scheme depending on their financial shape. reut.rs/2gVsm00. The PPF could not be immediately reached for comment. Reporting by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-pensions-reg-idUKKBN1A80VT'|'2017-07-24T00:03:00.000+03:00' +'cbf85a011a84d97dd4765e0e72ee8aad2cb20338'|'Tesla drops after Musk warns of ''manufacturing hell'''|'July 31, 2017 / 6:21 PM / in 19 minutes Tesla drops after Musk warns of ''manufacturing hell'' Noel Randewich 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A Tesla wall connector for charging the company''s vehicles at customers homes is pictured at a Tesla electric car dealership in Sydney, Australia, May 31, 2017. Jason Reed SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Shares of Tesla dropped 3.5 percent on Monday after Chief Executive Elon Musk warned that the electric carmaker would face "manufacturing hell" as it ramps up production of its new mass-market Model 3 sedan. At a launch event on Friday, Musk said customers had made over half a million advance reservations for the Model 3 as he handed over the first 30 cars to employee buyers, setting the stage for a major test of Tesla''s strategy to become a profitable electric car maker. Tesla is counting on the Model 3 to help turn the cash-losing company into a profitable one and transform it from a niche player to a heavyweight in the automobile industry. Investors already sceptical of Tesla''s aggressive growth targets focussed on a warning by Musk that early production would be challenging. "We''re going to go through at least six months of manufacturing hell," Musk told journalists ahead of the event. He later made similar comments on stage. Investors may get an idea of how "manufacturing hell" will affect Tesla''s rate of cash burn when the company posts its quarterly results on Wednesday. The Palo Alto, California company has spent over $2 billion in cash so far this year ahead of the launch. Also on Monday, a group of workers at the Fremont, California factory where the Model 3 is made sent an open letter to the independent members Tesla''s board. The employees, who are trying to start a union, requested access to company safety plans and information on compensation. Tesla''s stock has gained 53 percent in 2017, although it is down from a record high in June. The $35,000 Model 3 is designed for easy production, with output targeted to reach 20,000 per month by December. Tesla''s last launch was the luxury Model X SUV in 2015 which had several production problems and a price tag starting around $80,000. Tesla has promised to boost total car production to 500,000 vehicles next year, close to six times its 2016 output, a target that many auto industry experts believe is unrealistic. It sold 76,230 cars last year. At the event, Musk said the price of a Model 3 with all of available options could reach $59,000. That level could scare off potential Tesla customers, wrote Barclays analyst Brian Johnson in a note to clients. Tesla''s stock was down $11.85 at $323.21 at mid-afternoon. Reporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by Richard Chang 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-tesla-stock-idUKKBN1AG27O'|'2017-07-31T21:21:00.000+03:00' +'7020a6166e44b04b095c646da3090252f8ec4895'|'''Ditch plastic straws'' experts and campaigners on how to cut plastic waste - Guardian Sustainable Business'|'Marks & Spencer has redesigned and repackaged more than 140 best-selling products to cut plastic use, saving 75 tonnes of packaging a year in the process.But are retailers and manufacturers doing enough? What more could and should they be doing? We asked a range of packaging experts and campaigners. Heres what they said.Lily Cole: Ditch single-use plastic water bottles Facebook Twitter Pinterest Companies should be proactively designing solutions to reduce plastic waste. Single-use plastic water bottles are perhaps the most damning culprit when there are so many alternatives readily available. I recently supported Britas #SwapForGood campaign, committing to avoiding single-use plastic water bottles and carrying around a reusable bottle instead.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Britas #swapforgood campaign with Lily Cole and Henry Holland. In researching the SwapForGood campaign, Brita found that 71% of people in the UK felt embarrassed asking for tap water when not buying something else. In order for us to create a real cultural shift, we need to lose the stigma around asking for tap water, and we need companies (cafes, restaurants and even shops) to proactively welcome people to use their tap water sources for free, just as we might use their toilets. Lily Cole is an actor, co-founder of Impossible.com and patron of the Environmental Justice Foundation. Dame Ellen MacArthur: C hange the way we make and use plastic Facebook Twitter Pinterest Demand for plastics is expected to double in the next 20 years, yet our plastics system is not fit for purpose. Most plastic packaging items are used only once before being discarded, and globally only 14% of plastic packaging is collected for recycling. The remainder gets incinerated, landfilled or worse, with more than 30% leaking out into the environment. If nothing changes, there could be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050. Facebook Twitter Pinterest A turtle suffocates on an ingested plastic bag in Hawaii. Photograph: FLPA/Rex This problem cannot be fixed in isolation. It is only through systemic change bringing together the entire industry to fundamentally rethink the way we make and use plastics that we can prevent plastic from becoming waste in the first place.The $2m New Plastics Economy Innovation Prize aims to accelerate innovations that keep plastics in the economy but out of the ocean. The prize is made up of two challenges: the Circular Design Challenge looks at how to get products to people without generating plastic waste tackling small items such as shampoo sachets, straws or coffee cup lids while the Circular Materials Challenge addresses how to make all plastic packaging material recyclable. Dame Ellen MacArthur is founder of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Hannah Lownsbrough: McDonalds must take the lead on straws When did plastic straws become ubiquitous? Far too often, before youve said: No straw please, there it is, already on its way to becoming waste usually completely unnecessarily.Its estimated Americans alone use 500m plastic straws every day. Used for a few minutes then discarded, once in the environment plastic never degrades but breaks into ever smaller pieces. Straws are a particular hazard. Small and light, they can end up lodged in the nostrils of sea turtles and perforating the stomachs of penguins .Simply telling consumers to carry reusable straws around is not the answer. Its up to corporations to take responsibility and reduce the plastic waste they create. They have a variety of options at their disposal, including only handing out straws on request, moving to drink-through lids, or using a sustainable, recyclable alternative.Thats why were asking McDonalds, which hands out free plastic straws to many of the 3.5 million people who visit its UK restaurants each day, to take the lead and ditch them . A giant like McDonalds has the resources to create a shift in the fast food industrys obsession with plastic straws, before its too late .Hannah Lownsbrough is executive director of SumOfUs, a global consumer group. Ilana Taub: Take the risk of trying a new material Facebook Twitter Pinterest One pence. Thats the difference in pricing between a traditional plastic bag and a genuinely compostable one. Do we really care so little about our planet that were not willing to encourage our manufacturers to pay an extra 0.01, or pass on the cost to us?Were starting to see alternatives, like the compostable film we use to pack our snacks, but few companies are willing to take on the risk of trying a new material and the associated cost, even if the difference is miniscule.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Snacts compostable packaging. Photograph: PR Packaging manufacturers are slow to develop alternative materials that can genuinely compete with traditional plastics because theres no real market for it. And theres no market for it because there is not enough demand from consumers. Its mind-blowing that as a society involving people, government and businesses were not able to solve a problem that involves an additional few pence.Ilana Taub is the co-founder of Snact , which creates snacks from surplus fruit and uses home compostable packaging to reduce plastic waste. Hugo Tagholm: We need a nationwide deposit return system Its vital that manufacturers support much more effective recycling solutions for the packaging they produce. We use a staggering 38.5m plastic bottles in the UK every day and only manage to recycle just over half of these.A nationwide deposit return system would be a brilliant next step in stopping plastic bottle pollution on our beaches and help manufacturers get much higher quality recyclate to enable the production of new bottles, creating a more circular economy. Just as weve seen the small charge on plastic bags have a big impact , with billions fewer given out, evidence shows a deposit-return scheme could dramatically reduce the number of plastic bottles littering our streets and marine environments.Hugo Tagholm is the CEO of Surfers Against Sewage . Madeleine Berg: Stop selling plastic cotton bud sticks Facebook Twitter Pinterest In 2016, cotton bud sticks were the sixth most common item of marine litter found on UK beaches. These buds are the epitome of single use applied and immediately discarded. Worse still, consumers often litter unwittingly by flushing buds down the toilet, where our sewage system is unable to prevent them from ending up at sea.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Plastic cotton bud sticks: Sadly a familiar sight on beaches. Photograph: David Jones Retailers and manufacturers can take immediate action to reduce this source of marine litter by replacing plastic stems with fully biodegradable alternatives like rolled paper. Though they should still never be flushed, paper buds are likely to disintegrate and settle out in sewage, never reaching the sea. Last year, a number of companies including the UKs two largest supermarket chains, Tesco and Sainsburys, committed to ban the sale of plastic-stemmed cotton buds by the end of 2017. In doing so, they joined front-runners such as Marks & Spencer and The Body Shop, which have been selling paper-stemmed buds for a number of years.However, we are yet to see an industry-wide shift. France will be banning plastic stems by 2020 is this the only way to completely prevent this source of plastic pollution?Dr Madeleine Berg manages The Cotton Bud Project at Fidra, an environmental charity based in Scotland .Liz zie Carr: Boycott single-use plastic Facebook Twitter Pinterest A lot of companies are doing very little to challenge the culture of throwaway single-use plastic and consumers are often left with next to no alternative than buying products wrapped unnecessarily in plastic packaging. Coca-Colas recent pledge that all its UK bottles will be made from 50% recycled plastic by 2020 is a positive step and my hope is other big players will follow suit, but theres a long way to go. Most manufacturers are still largely irresponsible, both in terms of volume of plastic placed in products and the recycling process.As consumers we have power to drive meaningful change. Phasing out single-use plastics where possible in our day-to-day lives by taking a zero-tolerance approach to items such as plastic bottles, straws and bags is a simple first step. Every individual effort to boycott single-use plastic is a small victory but, collectively, we have an opportunity to create friction that will ultimately force companies to adapt and provide more environmentally friendly alternatives.Lizzie Carr (@LizzieOutside) I went on #PlasticPatrol across our canals, collecting 1000 plastic bottles in just 7 hours. This needs to STOP. https://t.co/2K28QOcnc4 pic.twitter.com/Ijz4kh9aix January 28, 2017 Liz zie Carr is an adventurer, environmentalist and founder of #PlasticPatrol , a UK-wide campaign to rid waterways of plastic pollution. Topics Guardian sustainable business rethinking business Recycling Ethical and green living Waste Pollution Lily Cole blogposts '|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/jul/30/retailers-manufacturers-reduce-plastic-use-waste-lily-cole-ellen-macarthur'|'2017-07-30T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'75b8ef18f4f5eccab22a1edef796179d0454ff60'|'Exclusive: China Construction Bank nominates Bank of China boss to be its next chairman - sources'|'July 31, 2017 / 11:37 AM / in an hour Exclusive: China Construction Bank nominates Bank of China boss to be its next chairman - sources 3 Min Read A customer waits at a counter of a branch of China Construction Bank Corp (CCB) at its headquarters in Beijing, China, March 31, 2016. Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo BEIJING/HONG KONG (Reuters) - China Construction Bank Corp (CCB), the country''s second-biggest bank, has nominated Tian Guoli, the boss of the smaller Bank of China Ltd, to be its next chairman, three sources with knowledge of the matter said. In a closed-door meeting on Monday, the Communist Party''s powerful organisation department, which oversees personnel decisions, told senior CCB executives that Tian, 57, has been named the bank''s party secretary, the sources told Reuters. Top personnel changes at the big four state-controlled banks normally requires the blessings of the party''s Standing Committee - the pinnacle of power in China. An announcement about Tian''s party secretary role and nomination to be CCB''s chairman could come as early as later on Monday, one of the sources said. CCB and BOC declined to comment. CCB''s current chairman, Wang Hongzhang, 63, has reached retirement age. The former central bank official has been heading the bank since late 2011. Tian''s move from BOC to CCB is "unusual", as top bosses at China''s powerful big four state banks normally get promoted to high-ranking positions at China''s financial regulatory bodies, said a source familiar with the matter. Tian was previously widely regarded in the industry as a candidate for a top job at a financial regulator, the source added. Two sources with knowledge of the matter said Chen Siqing, president of state-controlled Bank of China (BOC), the country''s fourth-largest lender, is likely to be promoted to Tian''s chairman position. Tian and Chen''s moves need to be approved by the respective boards of the banks, both of which are listed in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Tian, after graduating with a bachelor''s degree in economics, started his banking career at a local CCB branch in 1983 and climbed to a senior role as assistant governor during his 16 years of service at the bank. Tian worked under China''s current anti-corruption chief, Wang Qishan, when Wang was running CCB in the 1990s. In 1999, Tian left CCB to help establish China Cinda Asset Management Co, one of the country''s Big Four state-owned bad debt managers created to take over distressed assets from big state banks. In 2013, Tian moved to BOC to head China''s fourth-largest lender. Reporting by Shu Zhang in BEIJING, Kane Wu and Julie Zhu in HONG KONG; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Neil Fullick 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/ccb-chairman-bank-of-china-idINKBN1AG1AR'|'2017-07-31T14:36:00.000+03:00' +'fbd4dcab1e017ff55aeaf38a65bcc014d918b0d3'|'BRIEF-Delcath Systems says on June 29, board authorized establishment of new series of preferred stock designated as Series A preferred stock'|'United States 13am EDT BRIEF-Delcath Systems says on June 29, board authorized establishment of new series of preferred stock designated as Series A preferred stock July 3 Delcath Systems Inc * Delcath Systems - On June 29, board authorized establishment of new series of preferred stock designated as Series A preferred stock, $0.01 par value Source text: [ bit.ly/2sEN30W ] * Toyota Motor North America reports U.S. sales for June 2017 and first half MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories Reuters Plus - Reuters News Agency - Brand Attribution Guidelines - Careers Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters . Thomson Reuters is the world''s largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-delcath-systems-says-on-june-29-bo-idUSFWN1JU0GS'|'2017-07-03T16:13:00.000+03:00' +'80f8b14e90dbca2d17cc493f4ebd0e62e90adf07'|'Bank of America picks Dublin as EU hub post Brexit'|'July 21, 2017 / 1:27 PM / in an hour Bank of America picks Dublin as EU base after Brexit Anjuli Davies and Conor Humphries 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Bank of America logo is seen in New York City, U.S. January 10, 2017. Stephanie Keith/File Photo LONDON/DUBLIN (Reuters) - Bank of America ( BAC.N ) on Friday became the first Wall Street lender to pick Dublin as its new base for its European Union operations as Britain prepares to leave the bloc. International banks are planning to set up subsidiaries in the EU to ensure they can continue to serve clients if their London operations lose the ability to operate across the bloc once Britain leaves in March 2019. Frankfurt and Dublin are emerging as early winners for banks'' post-Brexit operations. "Bank of America has operated in Ireland and engaged in the local community for almost 50 years," said Brian Moynihan, chairman and CEO of Bank of America. The bank did not say how many roles would be moved or created in the Irish capital, where it currently has over 700 staff and a fully licensed entity, but said that some roles would also move to other EU locations. The Irish government, which has been keen to attract investment banks to Dublin, welcomed the news. "This announcement...is a strong endorsement of Ireland''s attractiveness as a location for investment, and of the government''s approach to securing Brexit-related activities," Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said following the announcement and a meeting with Moynihan in Dublin on Friday. Details of banks'' Brexit arrangements are starting to emerge following a July 14 deadline for them to submit details of their contingency plans to the Bank of England. Wall Street''s Citigroup Inc. ( C.N ) and Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) have both picked Frankfurt as bases for their EU hubs, whilst Barclays ( BARC.L ) has said it is talking with regulators about extending its activities in Dublin. Morgan Stanley is likely to spread some of its operations across the EU, with its asset management business expected to go to Dublin as well, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on July 19. Bank of America is extending its existing lease on its building in Leopardstown, Dublin, according to the Irish Times. The newspaper also reported the bank was in talks on two other office spaces in the city that would be able to accommodate up to 1,000 employees, giving it the flexibility to add up to 300 additional staff. Reporting By Anjuli Davies; Editing by Rachel Armstrong/Keith Weir 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-bank-of-america-idUKKBN1A61NW'|'2017-07-21T16:26:00.000+03:00' +'6d408500f0db791ffa5fb8874cbafa9e6de778d0'|'Trump administration''s NAFTA demands make sense - Union Pacific CEO'|'July 20, 2017 / 7:10 PM / 44 minutes ago Trump administration''s NAFTA demands make sense - Union Pacific CEO Nick Carey 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Robert Lighthizer speaks after he was sworn as U.S. Trade Representative during a ceremony at the White House in Washington, U.S. on May 15, 2017. Kevin Lamarque/File Photo DETROIT (Reuters) - The list of priorities U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer released this week for the renegotiation of NAFTA with Mexico and Canada is reasonable and in line with what the Trump administration has promised to focus on, the head of America''s largest railroad said on Thursday. "It was a very reasonable document," Union Pacific Corp ( UNP.N ) Chief Executive Lance Fritz said in an interview about a list of priorities released this week by Lighthizer. "From our perspective, he (Lighthizer) hit all of the elements that weve heard from the administration and they make sense." Republican U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to exit the North American Free Trade Agreement if it is not renegotiated in favour of the United States. Talks with Mexico and Canada on revisions to the treaty, which came into effect in 1994, are due to start in mid-August. The top priority for the talks listed by Lighthizer''s office was shrinking the U.S. trade deficit with Canada and Mexico. Union Pacific''s Fritz said that Lighthizer''s focus on intellectual property, labour laws and dispute resolution mechanisms all make sense. "What makes most sense to us is elements (of Lighthizer''s priorities) focusing on the streamlining of freight across the border," he added. About 40 percent of Union Pacific''s freight volume is based on international trade and about 12 percent is based on cross-border trade with Mexico. Fritz said that Mexico should continue to be a "good driver" for Union Pacific''s growth. The CEO spoke to Reuters after Union Pacific posted a better-than-expected second-quarter profit that was lifted in part by a 25-percent jump in coal revenue. Major U.S. railroads have seen a resurgence in coal volumes this year, following two years of precipitous declines as many utilities switched to burning cheaper natural gas and as unseasonable weather resulted in large stockpiles of unburned coal. Union Pacific said on Thursday that coal volumes in the third quarter should be relatively flat versus the same period in 2016. "We expect coal to be a bit more stable moving forward and that''s dependent on natural gas pricing and to some degree weather," Fritz said. "The large inventory overhang has largely been consumed and that''s the good news." Reporting By Nick Carey; Editing by Nick Zieminski 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-union-pacific-nafta-idUKKBN1A52LD'|'2017-07-20T22:10:00.000+03:00' +'95401edc52bb66cc5c1623564842ce5c601526b7'|'Cinema chain AMC says deals not funded by Chinese parent Wanda'|'July 18, 2017 / 11:29 PM / 4 hours ago Cinema chain AMC says deals not funded by Chinese parent Wanda Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Dalian Wanda Group''s Wanda Plaza building is pictured in Beijing, China, May 17, 2016. Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China''s Dalian Wanda Group did not fund a spate of deals made by AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc ( AMC.N ), the U.S. cinema chain majority owned by Wanda said late on Tuesday, after reports that Beijing was cracking down on the Chinese firm''s overseas deals. AMC''s shares dived over 10 percent on Monday after sources said regulators in China had told banks to stop providing funding for several of Dalian Wanda''s overseas acquisitions amid broader curbs on companies moving funds overseas. The curbs on Wanda, announced at a meeting in June, focused on six overseas deals, four of which have already been completed, an internal bank document seen by Reuters showed. AMC said deals for Starplex Cinemas, Odeon & UCI Cinemas, Nordic Cinema Group and Carmike Cinemas Inc completed between 2015 and earlier this year were fully funded by the firm''s own funds and loans from U.S.-based banks. "At no time was Wanda ever a source of funding for any of these acquisitions or individual theatre purchases," AMC said in a statement. Wanda bought AMC for $2.6 billion in 2012, part of a broader push by the Chinese company firm into cinemas. The cinema chain added it had also never "never received committed financing from any bank headquartered in mainland China for any purpose, including for acquisitions". The most recent four deals were funded by loans from syndicates of U.S. banks taken out by AMC and from AMC''s own cash reserves. Beijing is on a major drive to control risks in its financial system, including firms taking on excessive levels of debt to fund overseas deals. Chinese authorities clamped down on capital outflows and overseas acquisitions last year. Rooted in property, Wanda is one of a handful of Chinese conglomerates that have expanded aggressively abroad over the past few years, into areas beyond their original business. It is controlled by one of China''s richest men, Wang Jianlin. AMC''s chief executive Adam Aron said in the statement that Wanda "does not actively participate in the day-to-day running of AMC" beyond its three seats on the company''s board. "AMC is an American company run from its Leawood, Kansas, headquarters by our management teams located in the U.S. and Europe," he said.AMC is the top cinema chain in the United States, and has around 1,000 theatres around the world. Reporting by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Eric Meijer 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-wanda-amc-idUKKBN1A32L0'|'2017-07-19T02:29:00.000+03:00' +'1339161843d0a21320682fc7873cb6bc7270fc2f'|'MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf may move sideways, global environment mixed'|' 37am EDT MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf may move sideways, global environment mixed DUBAI, July 4 Gulf stock markets look set to move sideways on Tuesday with the international environment mixed and uncertainty prevailing over the diplomatic dispute around Qatar. Brent oil jumped 3.7 percent on Monday, its biggest one-day gain since December 2016, but has fallen back 0.5 percent to $49.41 in Tuesday''s Asian trade. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan is down 0.6 percent. Foreign ministers from the four Arab countries sanctioning Qatar will meet in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss the dispute. Kuwaiti state media reported Qatari foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani had submitted to Kuwait Doha''s formal response to the Arab states'' demands, but the contents of the response have not been revealed. Recent comments by Qatari officials suggest it is unlikely to acquiesce to enough of the demands by the late Tuesday deadline to avoid further sanctions. But Monday''s buying by foreign investors in the Qatari stock market suggests some funds do not think the additional sanctions would be crippling and there is now value in the market. Dubai-listed GFH Financial said it had obtained approval from the central bank of Bahrain to buy back up to 5 percent of its issued treasury shares. Much of this good news may already be reflected in the share price, however; the stock jumped 6.3 percent on Monday. (Reporting by Andrew Torchia)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/mideast-stocks-idUSL8N1JV0GF'|'2017-07-04T08:37:00.000+03:00' +'d44a8db0c01a350b4f7860b62db4318d21c87eec'|'EU regulators to investigate Knorr-Bremse, Haldex deal'|'July 24, 2017 / 3:28 PM / 15 minutes ago EU regulators to investigate Knorr-Bremse, Haldex deal Reuters Staff 1 Min Read BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU antitrust authorities opened on Monday an in-depth investigation into German car parts maker Knorr-Bremse''s [STELLG.UL] bid for Swedish peer Haldex, saying the deal would remove a major competitor from market already marked by few players. The European Commission listed a number of areas where competition would be reduced following the deal, among them in electronic braking systems, air disc brakes, anti-lock braking systems and air treatment systems. The EU competition enforcer said Knorr-Bremse''s offer of concessions had not addressed the concerns and therefore it had not sought feedback from rivals and users, confirming a Reuters story on July 5. It will decide by Nov. 30 whether to clear or block the deal. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-haldex-ab-m-a-knorr-bremse-eu-idUKKBN1A91YK'|'2017-07-24T18:28:00.000+03:00' +'b7b5096516713a9cd3770533438b400c80a95f82'|'BOJ''s Nakaso: companies avoiding higher labour costs by reducing hours'|'July 26, 2017 / 2:07 AM / in an hour Japanese firms avoiding price hikes now but sentiment is changing: BOJ''s Nakaso Stanley White 3 Min Read Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Hiroshi Nakaso speaks during an interview with Reuters at the BOJ headquarters in Tokyo April 9, 2015. Yuya Shino HIROSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) - Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Hiroshi Nakaso said the services sector has streamlined operations to avoid passing labor costs on to consumers, but there are signs that companies will raise prices in the future. Nakaso, in a speech to business leaders in Hiroshima, western Japan, also expressed confidence that inflation will reach the BOJ''s 2 percent price target around fiscal 2019 and said the BOJ should stick with its quantitative easing program. A pickup in consumer spending, rising exports, and an improving output gap are all reasons to be positive about the outlook, but many economists still argue that the BOJ''s inflation forecasts are overly optimistic. The BOJ last week kept monetary policy steady but once again pushed back the timing for achieving its elusive inflation target, reinforcing views it will lag well behind other major central banks in scaling back its massive stimulus program. "Companies are trying to absorb higher labor costs by revising their business processes," Nakaso said on Wednesday. "The BOJ doesn''t expect this to continue for ever. The output gap is clearly improving, so companies will become more aggressive in setting wages and prices." Nakaso gave a few examples of corporate streamlining: some companies in retail and dining have responded to a labor shortage by shortening their business hours instead of raising wages to attract workers. Some companies are also investing in labor-saving technology, such as self-checkout tills, which allows companies to maintain their current level of service with less workers. Such behavior has allowed companies to avoid passing higher costs on to consumers, but there are signs that sentiment is turning, Nakaso said. The BOJ''s tankan survey for June shows shipping, wholesale, retail, and hospitality firms are considering raising prices in the future. Despite the short-term negative impact on wages and prices, investment in labor-saving technology should be welcomed because it raises productivity in the long term, Nakaso said. It also important to put structural policies in place to make the labor market more fluid, Nakaso said. The BOJ has now postponed the inflation target timeframe six times since Governor Haruhiko Kuroda launched his huge asset-buying program in 2013. Japan''s core consumer prices rose just 0.4 percent in May Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Kim Coghill 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-boj-idUKKBN1AB073'|'2017-07-26T05:05:00.000+03:00' +'aa4c941a8860415724207e7d9827799307d7386a'|'France to ban sales of petrol and diesel cars by 2040'|'France will end sales of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040 as part of an ambitious plan to meet its targets under the Paris climate accord, Emmanuel Macrons government has announced.The announcement comes a day after Volvo said it would only make fully electric or hybrid cars from 2019 onwards , a decision hailed as the beginning of the end for the internal combustion engines dominance of motor transport after more than a century.Nicolas Hulot, the countrys new ecology minister, said: We are announcing an end to the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2040. Hulot added that the move was a veritable revolution.All Volvo cars to be electric or hybrid from 2019 Read more He said it would be a tough objective for carmakers but Frances industry was well equipped to make the switch. Our [car]makers have enough ideas in the drawer to nurture and bring about this promise ... which is also a public health issue.Hulot insisted that the decision was a question of public health policy and a way to fight against air pollution. The veteran environmental campaigner was among several political newcomers to whom Macron gave top jobs in his government.Pascal Canfin, the head of WWF France and a former Green politician who served in Franois Hollandes government, said the new policy platform to counter climate change went further than previous administrations in France. It places France among the leaders of climate action in the world, he told France Inter radio.Prof David Bailey, an automotive industry expert at Aston University, said: The timescale involved here is sufficiently long term to be taken seriously. If enacted it would send a very clear signal to manufacturers and consumers of the direction of travel and may accelerate a transition to electric cars.Norway, which has the highest penetration of electric cars in the world, has set a target of only allowing sales of 100% electric or plug-in hybrid cars by 2025.Other countries have floated the idea of banning cars powered by an internal combustion engine to meet air quality and climate change goals, but have not yet passed concrete targets. The Netherlands has mooted a 2025 ban for diesel and petrol cars , and some federal states in Germany are keen on a 2030 phase-out .India, where scores of cities are blighted by dangerous air pollution, is mulling the idea of no longer selling petrol or diesel cars by 2030 , and said it wants to introduce electric cars in a very big way.The UK has an aspiration of all new cars being electric or ultra low emission by 2040, but has been criticised by campaigners and politicans for being slow to act on air pollution.Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, said: I welcome the strong leadership the French government has shown by making the decision to end the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2040. This radical step shames the timid and insufficient response of our own government to the health threat posed by poor air quality.Frances announcement came as Bloomberg New Energy Finance predicted electric cars would come to dominate the automotive market more quickly and dramatically than previously thought. Electric vehicles will make up 54% of all light-duty vehicle sales by 2040, up from the 35% share Bloomberg was forecasting just last year, according to a new report by the research group . Bloomberg said such a widespread uptake of electric vehicles would globally reduce oil demand by 8m barrels a day and increase electricity consumption by 5% to charge all the new cars. But Tony Seba, a Stanford University economist who has published research predicting electric cars will even more rapidly take over from conventional cars , said of Frances plan: Banning sales of diesel and gasoline vehicles by 2040 is a bit like banning sales of horses for road transportation by 2040: there wont be any to ban.French car manufacturers Peugeot, Citron and Renault ranked first, second and third on a 2016 list of large car manufacturers with the lowest carbon emissions, the European Environment Agency said.Just 0.6% of new car registrations across the EU last year were for pure electric vehicles , compared with 1.1% of new cars sold in France. French-Japanese carmaker Renault-Nissan has been an enthusiastic early advocate for the vehicles, taking 14.6% of the EU market share for battery-powered vehicles. The firm has built 425,000 of the more than 2m electric cars sold globally .Frances reliance on nuclear power stations for 80% of its electricity supply means that a shift to electric vehicles rather than oil-powered ones would dramatically cut its remaining carbon emissions.Topics Automotive industry Electric, hybrid and low-emission cars Travel and transport Motoring France Europe news'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jul/06/france-ban-petrol-diesel-cars-2040-emmanuel-macron-volvo'|'2017-07-06T21:20:00.000+03:00' +'38255e553c64900bfd8759a42b59edf40c0c4932'|'German food-processing machinery maker GEA cuts 2017 profit guidance'|'July 15, 2017 / 11:59 AM / in 19 minutes German food-processing machinery maker GEA cuts 2017 profit guidance Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German food-processing machinery maker GEA ( G1AG.DE ) cut its 2017 profit guidance following a weak second quarter with depressed sales volumes and margins, as well as costs related to a bottling product line it has already stopped making. GEA said on Saturday it now targets 2017 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of 600-640 million euros, compared to an earlier guidance of 620-670 million. The company confirmed its 2017 revenue target of moderate growth. In the second quarter, GEA''s operating EBITDA decreased to 122 million, from 145 million euros in the year-earlier period, while order intake was flat at 1.2 billion euros. Full second quarter results are due on July 26. Reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Andrew Heavens 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-gea-group-results-idUKKBN1A00CV'|'2017-07-15T14:59:00.000+03:00' +'f33e65732d9996e844fbd0cab7cdcdec79af2409'|'Qatar market tumbles after Gulf states cut ties, as UK services sector growth slows -'|' markets eurozone economics banking retail home Stock markets Business live Qatar market tumbles after Gulf states cut ties, as UK services sector growth slows - as it happenedShares in Qatar plunge 8% amid diplomatic crisis, as UK service companies report that new business growth weakened last monthUS service sector survey disappoints Shares slide in Qatar Qatar crisis: Four neighbours cut ties over terrorism linksUK services sector slows as general election hits demand.......but eurozone growth sticks at six-year high UpdatedTraders monitoring screens displaying stock information at Qatar Stock Exchange in Doha today. Photograph: Naseem Zeitoon/Reuters (until 2.15) and Nick FletcherMonday 5 June 2017 17.43 BST First published on Monday 5 June 2017 07.51 BSTKey events Show 5.43pm BST 17:43 European markets close lower 3.08pm BST 15:08 US service sector comes in below forecasts 2.34pm BST 14:34 Wall Street edges lower 12.26pm BST 12:26 Business Today: sign up for a morning shot of financial news 10.32am BST 10:32 MUFG: Why Qatar crisis matters 9.46am BST 09:46 UK services sector hit by election worries and inflation 9.07am BST 09:07 Eurozone private sector growth at six-year high Live feed Show 5.43pm BST 17:43European markets close lower Stock markets made a downbeat start to an important week, which sees the UK election, the latest meeting of the European Central Bank, and the testimony of former FBI director James Comey on Donald Trumps alleged links with Russia.Markets were also unsettled by volatility in sterling, reacting to the latest opinion polls, as well as the terror attack in London. And the diplomatic crisis in the Gulf, which sparked a rise then fall in the oil price, added to the uncertainty. Jasper Lawler, senior market analyst at London Capital Group, said:Markets softened at the beginning of what could be a game-changer of a week in politics and monetary policy. Last weeks soft US jobs report, another terror attack in London in the run up to the UK election and volatile oil prices all played a role in the downbeat tone.The final scores showed:The FTSE 100 finished down 21.87 points or 0.29% at 7525.76 German market shut for public holiday Frances CAC closed 0.66% lower at 5307.89 Italys FTSE MIB fell 0.99% to 20,721.04 Spains Ibex ended down 0.19% at 10,884.7 In Greece, the Athens market added 0.6% to 786.57 On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is currently up just 2 points or 0.01%.On that note, its time to close for the day. Thanks for all your comments, and well be back tomorrow. 5.16pm BST 17:16Ahead of next weeks eurogroup meeting over Greece, some positive noises from the IMF. A report in Germanys Handelsblatt () says:The managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, is willing to participate in a Greek bailout and give European creditors more time to settle an ongoing dispute over debt relief, she told Handelsblatt in an exclusive interview.If the creditors are not yet at that stage where they can agree on and respect our assumptions, if it takes them more time to get there, we can acknowledge that and give them a bit more time, she said.Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras and Christine Lagarde at Davos in January. Photograph: Jean-Christophe Bott/EPA Updated at 5.16pm 4.37pm BST 16:37Kareem ShaheenHeres our report on how the diplomatic crisis in the Gulf is affecting Qatar . Kareem Shaheen writes:The tiny Gulf state of Qatar has been literally and figuratively isolated by the escalating row with its Arab neighbours, with land, sea and air routes closed off in an unprecedented crisis in the Arabian peninsula that threatens longstanding trade deals.The closure of the only land route into Qatar as well as the airspaces of Saudi Arabia , the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in effect established a blockade on Doha, which relies almost entirely on imports to feed its population.It will damage the prospects of a recovery for Dohas national carrier, Qatar Airways, amid a slowdown caused by the US administrations ban on electronic devices in the cabins of aircraft flying from the Middle East, and will raise questions about the future of al-Jazeera, the flagship television network established by the Gulf kingdom and which has been at the centre of diplomatic rows with the rest of the region.Along with the block on re-exports from Dubai to Qatar, together the measures could even affect the monarchys preparations for the football World Cup it is due to host in 2022.The full story is here:Qatar blockade could hit state airline, al-Jazeera and World Cup Read more 3.54pm BST 15:54The pound is continuing its recent volatility, something which is likely to continue this week in the run up to the UK election as various polls emerge but with little in the way of consistency.Sterling is currently up 0.3% against the dollar at $1.2929 and 0.6% against the euro at 1.1491. Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, said:The pound remained the days main mover, seemingly still dining out on this mornings Guardian/ICM poll.Sterling gradually widened its growth, taking 0.3% off the dollar and pushing 0.6% higher against the euro; in reality, however, this has done little to change the currencys standing. Cable still has a bit to go before it has clawed back all of the losses it suffered this time last week, while the pound has barely escaped its 7 week lows against the euro....Todays rather dreary, pound-heavy trading is likely the template for the rest of the week, as there is nothing in the run-up to the election that can topple it from its dominant perch. In fact, all of the weeks points of interest come on Thursday: alongside the UK vote there is the months ECB press conference and, perhaps most excitingly, the reappearance of former FBI chief James Comey for his testimony in front of the Senate intelligence committee.Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said:Despite a weakening in [the UK] services PMI for May to 53.8 from 55.8 in April the pound has held up rather well in the wake of the weekend terror attacks. If financial markets are nervous about Thursdays election and a weakening of economic activity they dont appear to be showing it, with opinion polls still showing divergent results.YouGov appear to be doubling down on their recent survey by suggesting that the Conservatives will fall short of a majority by 21 seats, while the latest ICM poll shows a lead of 11 points. Markets appear to be taking the view that the YouGov poll is an outlier and unreliable which when you look at the margin for error on it, and the balance of probabilities right now, seems a sensible conclusion. 3.20pm BST 15:20And heres more detail from the survey itself:Non manufacturing survey Photograph: Institute for Supply Management 3.17pm BST 15:17Here are some of the comments from the respondents to the ISM survey:Lumber tariff effects are beginning to show up. (Construction) Business is progressing steadily. No real issues or adjustments to affect annual goals/efforts. (Finance & Insurance) General feeling is caution. Too much uncertainty. (Health Care & Social Assistance) Seeing an uptick in the overall activity within the oil and gas sector, which typically will cause a trickle-down effect on the majority of businesses. (Mining) Typical transition month in terms of fresh produce and other food related categories. End of spring items and beginning of summer. Gapping of some items. Beef is increasing in price, especially grilling meat cuts. I anticipate this to increase to over $1 per pound on some items as we approach the 4th of July holiday. (Accommodation & Food Services) Continuing to feel [the] effect of overheated commercial construction market few bidders, higher prices. Scarce construction labor seems to be the driver. (Public Administration) Business outlook continues to be steady and meeting original projects, but some ups and downs in successive months. (Professional, Scientific & Technical Services) Overall, business conditions the past month were flat as compared with several months of growth. While levels havent decreased, it may be that overall conditions have reached a high watermark. (Retail Trade) Strong market conditions bring a renewed confidence. (Transportation & Warehousing) Updated at 3.17pm 3.08pm BST 15:08US service sector comes in below forecasts The second service sector survey is not only lower than expected, but also lower than the previous months figure.The ISM non-manufacturing PMI fell from 57.5 in April to 56.9 last month, just below the expected level of 57.Meanwhile US factory orders fell for the first time in five months, down 0.2% in April compared to a 1% rise in March. The March figure was revised up from the previous 0.5% increase.Updated at 3.20pm 2.56pm BST 14:56The surveys show that the US economy is enjoying steady if unspectacular growth, said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit:Although service sector business activity picked up in May, the PMI surveys for manufacturing and services collectively indicate only a modest pace of economic growth so far in the second quarter.Historical comparisons with GDP indicate the PMI is signalling second quarter GDP growth of just over 2%, suggesting there may be some downside risks to IHS Markits current forecast of a GDP growth rebound to just over 3% in the second quarter.However, the key message from the PMI is that the economy is enjoying steady, albeit unspectacular, growth, and that the pace of expansion has been slowly lifting higher in recent months.Hiring meanwhile remains on a firm footing, with the surveys employment indicators running at levels consistent with around 160,000 jobs added to the economy in May.In another sign of the economys underlying steady expansion, average prices charged for goods and services is running at the second highest in almost two years, indicating that rising demand is helping restore some pricing power.US PMI and GDP Photograph: IHS Markit 2.50pm BST 14:50The first of the days two US economic surveys has shown a month on month improvement in the service sector, albeit not as much as earlier expected.The final Markit services PMI reading for May came in at 53.6, up from 53.1 in April but lower than the initial estimate of 54. It was still the highest level since February.It was a similar picture for the composite index - services and manufacturing together - which rose from 53.2 in April to 53.6, lower than the first reading of 53.9. 2.34pm BST 14:34Wall Street edges lower Ahead of the latest service sector surveys (from Markit and ISM), US markets have indeed slipped back at the open.After hitting another record high on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is currently down 17 points of 0.08%. while the S&P 500 opened down a similar amount and the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.01%. 2.27pm BST 14:27Wall Street is about to open and the forecast is for a slight fall in initial trading:MarketWatch (@MarketWatch) Futures point to a slight dip to start the week https://t.co/ryRkqjH3d3 pic.twitter.com/uWVz5kUqDRJune 5, 2.17pm BST 14:17Meanwhile the oil price has lost its early gains, which were made on the back of the Qatar news. Strength in the dollar - which makes oil less affordable for international buyers - seems to be outweighing the prospect of supply shortages following the Gulf dispute. In any case, Qatar is not a major producer of oil, rather it specialises in liquefied natural gas (LNG). Clement Thibault, senior market analyst at Investing.com, said:According to the latest data, five of the top 10 oil producers in the world are Gulf countries (Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, UAE, Kuwait). Together, they are responsible for over 24 million barrels of crude a day, or over two and a half times the USs crude production.However, Qatar is a minor player among the OPEC big boys. Its strength is aligned with LNG. Indeed, its the worlds largest LNG producer, supplying almost 30% of global production. By land, Qatar is completely blocked by Saudi Arabia. By sea, its exporting tankers have to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, situated between Iran and the UAE, putting it in a precarious situation any way it turns. Asian customers such as Japan, India, and South Korea would be the most affected by a disruption in NG service, since they are the major importers of Qatari gas...Though we arent raising any alarms yet, we believe this is a situation worth monitoring carefully. The Middle East is after all an energy powerhouse, but also rather notorious for a lack of political stability. Any geo political incident coming out of this region could have worldwide energy implications.Despite Qatars minor role in oil, the dispute has raised new fears that the recent Opec deal to cut production could run into trouble.Brent crude is currently down 1% at $49.44 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate is 0.9% lower at $47.23.Updated at 2.42pm 1.51pm BST 13:51After a rough session of heavy losses, the Qatar stock market has closed down 7.27% .Anca I. Cighi (@anca_cighi) The Qatar Stock Exchange has closed down 7.27 per cent. All 44 stocks were in the red. https://t.co/G2UqSz5VDPJune 5, 1.41pm BST 13:41After a fairly quiet morning in London, the FTSE 100 has dropped by 22 points to 0.3% to 7525.Mining stocks such as Antofagasta (-2.7%) and BHP Billiton (-1.8%) are among the fallers, tracking a 1% drop in the copper price.The slowdown in UK service sector growth last month hasnt spooked the markets, though, as the pound is still back above $1.29 today.Connor Campbell of SpreadEx says:The pounds gains also ignored an unexpectedly weak services PMI. The figure fell from 55.8 to 53.8 month-on-month, the slowdown due to the dual pressures of rising inflation and pre-election jitters.The FTSE ended up bearing the brunt of the bad news, falling 0.3%; the index wasnt helped by its mining stocks, which dropped between 1.5% and 2.5% thanks to coppers own 1% decline.Theres not much action in Europe, where some markets are closed for the Whit Monday holidays. So City traders are getting on with business, putting last weekends terrorist attacks at London Bridge (south of the Square Mile) behind them.Yesterday, it emerged that Sunday Express business editor Geoff Ho has been injured after stepping in after a bouncer was attacked during Saturday nights atrocities.Sunday Express editor Martin Townsend summed up the mood, saying:Geoff Ho is an absolutely first class reporter and a fine and decent man and our thoughts are with him and his family at this time.We are all hoping and praying for a speedy recovery.And the good news is that Geoff has been tweeting from his hospital bed today.Geoff Ho (@FinanceHog) Thank you every one for the best wishes. I got out of surgery yesterday and am on the mend.June 5, 2017 Press Gazette (@pressgazette) Sunday Express business editor Geoff Ho injured after confronting London Bridge attacker https://t.co/ki2rTkCX4t pic.twitter.com/ZkQ3W70XXtJune 5, 2017 Suzie Neuwirth (@Suzie_Neuwirth) So upset to find out this morning that Geoff Ho @FinanceHog was caught up in last nights attacks. Praying for speedy recovery #LondonBridgeJune 4, 2017 Andrew Clark (@clarkaw) Wishing a full and speedy recovery to Geoff Ho aka @FinanceHog - a top business hack, always a pleasure to deal with https://t.co/K2tmovmZroJune 4, 12.49pm BST 12:49Reuters is reporting that some Egyptian banks have suspended links with their counterparts in Qatar:Nour E. Al-Hammoury (@NourHammoury) SOME EGYPTIAN BANKS HALT DEALINGS WITH QATARI BANKS AFTER CAIRO CUTS TIES WITH QATAR - BANKERSJune 5, 2017 Nour E. Al-Hammoury (@NourHammoury) RTRS - UAE CENTRAL BANK HAS NOT SO FAR ISSUED ANY GUIDELINES TO BANKS ON DEALING WITH QATAR -SOURCE FAMILAR WITH THE MATTERJune 5, 12.26pm BST 12:26Business Today: sign up for a morning shot of financial news Get set for the working day - well guide you to the all the business stories you need to read in one really useful email. Click here to sign up. 11.39am BST 11:39Some photos from todays Qatar stock market have arrived, showing the scene of the biggest selloff since the financial crisis.A trader uses his smartphone to keep up with events at the Qatar Stock Exchange in Doha today. Photograph: Naseem Zeitoon/ReutersScreens displaying stock information at the Qatar Exchange. Photograph: Naseem Zeitoon/Reuters Updated at 11.47am 11.26am BST 11:26Every blue-chip share on the Qatar stock market has fallen sharply this morning.Many stocks - including property and energy companies - have slumped by 10%, which is the maximum daily move allowed by regulators.Even the best-performing stock on the QSI index is down 6%, as investors are spooked by the sudden freeze in relations with other Gulf states.The main movers on the Qatar stock market today Photograph: Thomson ReutersThe Qatar index is currently down by 7.5%, hitting its worst level since early 2016.Qatars stock market Photograph: Thomson Reuters Updated at 11.52am 1 of 3 Newest Newer Older Oldest Topics Stock markets Business live Sterling Economics Currencies Services sector Qatar'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/oil/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2017/jun/05/oil-jumps-after-gulf-states-cut-qatar-ties-as-chinese-services-surges-business-live'|'2017-06-06T00:43:00.000+03:00' +'e23805693be9fc6044d78ae6dc196360bced2dc3'|'US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-Wall St opens higher on Yellen''s rate comments'|'July 12, 2017 / 1:37 PM / 3 hours ago US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-Wall St opens higher on Yellen''s rate comments 1 Min Read July 12 (Reuters) - Wall Street opened higher on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said rates hikes would be gradual and will not have to rise all that much further to reach neutral level. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 106.47 points, or 0.5 percent, to 21,515.54. The S&P 500 gained 12.81 points, or 0.52 percent, to 2,438.34. The Nasdaq Composite added 46.80 points, or 0.76 percent, to 6,240.11. Reporting by Tanya Agrawal; Editing by Arun Koyyur 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-idUSL4N1K34BY'|'2017-07-12T16:36:00.000+03:00' +'8fc856cce1c88fc18908b06fd8dc98d8dd18bf84'|'Cash no longer king as contactless payments soar in UK stores - Money - The Guardian'|'Contactless payments Cash no longer king as contactless payments soar in UK stores Landmark moment as cards now account for more than half of all purchases, according to British Retail Consortium The end for cash? There are more than 108m contactless cards in issue in the UK. Photograph: Bloomberg via Getty Images Contactless payments Cash no longer king as contactless payments soar in UK stores Landmark moment as cards now account for more than half of all purchases, according to British Retail Consortium View more sharing options Rupert Jones 06.01 BST Is this the tipping point that signals the beginning of the end for cash? For the first time, notes and coins have been toppled from their position as the UKs number one payment method. Cards now account for more than half of all retail purchases, according to the main body representing shops. The new figures from the British Retail Consortium show that 10 years after their introduction in the UK, and following an initially lukewarm reaction, contactless payment cards have finally won over the British public. Contactless cards also known as wave and pay and tap and go now account for about a third of all card purchases, up from 10% as recently at October 2015. But perhaps shops have good reason to be crowing about how Brits are embracing the contactless revolution, if you subscribe to the theory that these cards make it too easy to spend money. M&S investors spooked by slowdown in food sales Read more A London Business School professor, Niro Sivanathan, recently claimed that parting with cash is psychologically painful , but that paying for items with a contactless card anaesthetises the psychological pain that accompanies payment, seducing us into splashing out. And the Bank of England last month suggested that the popularity of contactless cards was helping to fuel the rapid growth in consumer debt . In its latest annual payments survey, the BRC said debit, credit and charge cards had firmly established their place as the dominant payment method in retail, and were increasingly displacing cash for lower-value payments. For years, cards have accounted for the majority of retail spending by value, but 2016 was the first year they also accounted for more than 50% of all transactions. It is also the first time that debit cards have overtaken cash. They now account for 42.6% of all transactions, putting them a whisker ahead of notes and coins, which fell almost five percentage points to 42.3%. One of the biggest drivers has been the increasing use of contactless payments, said the BRC. More than two-thirds of staffed payment terminals in shops are now able to accept contactless cards, up from less than half a year ago. Contactless cards were introduced in the UK in 2007, and initially the public was slow to embrace the technology. In the early days this payment revolution was largely confined to coffee shops and sandwich chains, but recently the number of wave and pay outlets has mushroomed. The technology has reached into almost every aspect of our lives. Music fans attending this months British Summer Time concerts in Londons Hyde Park were able to pay for a pint with a tap of their plastic, while the Church of England is trialling electronic collection plates in about 40 churches that will have handheld terminals to swipe for donations. There are more than 108m contactless cards in issue in the UK , and the maximum limit for a single transaction is 30 a figure that has not changed since autumn 2015 . So could the UK end up going cash-free? Perhaps, but Sweden is expected to become the worlds first truly cashless society. A study by Stockholms KTH Royal Institute of Technology has predicted cash could be history there by 2030. Victoria Cleland, chief cashier and director of notes at the Bank of England,reckons the folding stuff and loose change will be around in the UK for some time yet. Cash is very much alive and kicking, she said in a speech last month . The value of Bank of England notes in circulation peaked in the run-up to Christmas 2016, reaching more than 70bn for the first time. Topics'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/jul/12/cash-contactless-payments-uk-stores-cards-british-retail-consortium'|'2017-07-12T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'1a2d676eb17b21dbbe4168994f1d8efbe4fb7a5a'|'How Donald Trump is monetising his presidency'|'PRETTY close to a laughing stock. That is Walter Shaubs verdict on Americas standing in the world, at least from an ethics point of view, under President Donald Trump. Mr Shaubs view counts: he stepped down this week as head of the Office of Government Ethics, a federal watchdog.He is leaving his job six months early, frustrated at the presidents failure to separate himself from his businesses, at White House foot-dragging on disclosing ethics waivers for staff, at its failure to admonish a Trump adviser who plugged the familys products in an interview, and more. Its hard for the United States to pursue international anticorruption and ethics initiatives when were not even keeping our own side of the street clean, Mr Shaub told the New York Times . 18 No American leader has ever entered office with such wide business interests as Mr Trump. In the context of the countrys corporate landscape, his group is small, mostly domestic and rather mediocre, but encompasses hundreds of firms that run hotels, golf courses, licensing agreements, merchandise deals and more, in over two dozen countries. Keeping tabs on the potential for self-dealing is a monumental task, says Kathleen Clark, an ethics expert at Washington University. In some areas, particularly abroad, increased scrutiny appears to be making deals harder to pull off. But in others, such as his American hotels and golf clubs, Mr Trump already appears to be monetising the presidency.On becoming president, Mr Trump put his businesses in a trust. But it is run by two of his sons, Eric and Donald junior, and it is revocable, meaning its provisions can be changed at any time. Eric has since said he will update his father with profit reports, even though Mr Trump pledged not to talk business with his children while in office. Mr Trump, the Trump Organisation and his daughter, Ivanka, who owns a fashion business and is a White House adviser, have all hired ethics advisers to review deals for potential problems. But how the process works is opaque.Mr Shaub was unimpressed by Mr Trumps appearances at his own for-profit properties, which he has visited more than 40 times as presidentmost recently to attend the US Womens Open, held this month at one of his golf clubs, in New Jersey. The visits serve as a form of marketing, and his firm has not been shy about cashing in. Mar-a-Lago, a Trump resort in Florida where the president hosts other world leaders, doubled its initial fee for new members to $200,000 after the election. The club made a profit of $37m in the latest reporting period (January 2016-spring 2017), compared with $15.5m in 2014-15.When Eric Trump opened a golf course at Turnberry in Scotland in June, he said his family had made Turnberry great again. Staff wore Make Turnberry great again hatsa reference to Mr Trumps campaign slogan and, critics say, an attempt to cash in on his political power. Eric recently said: Our brand is the hottest it has ever beenthe stars have all aligned.American golf courses have benefited from at least one of Mr Trumps policy decisions: his move to scrap a proposed environmental rule crafted to protect drinking-water supplies. The national golf-course association had long lobbied to have the regulation ditched, arguing it could have a devastating economic impact.With some Trump projects, the benefits could flow the other way, from business to politics. Take a network of budget hotels, branded American Idea, dreamed up by the Trump sons on the campaign trail last year. They have signed letters of intent with developers in numerous cities, including four in Mississippi. Bringing jobs to Republican-leaning states that are struggling economically could further boost support for the president in such places.Mr Trumps appointments also cause concern. He has picked Lynne Patton, a former event-planner for the family, to run the Department of Housing and Urban Developments regional office covering New York. In that role Ms Patton will oversee Starrett City, a housing development that is part-owned by the Trump Organisation and that receives federal subsidies.Foreign deals are no less troubling. The ethics plan laid out by Mr Trump in January promised no new foreign contracts during his presidency. But his company will press ahead with projects already in the works. There are many: an estimated 159 of the 565 Trump firms do business abroad. Some license the Trump name for skyscrapers and hotels, often to politically connected local partners.An example of how such deals raise questions about Mr Trumps motives is the current Gulf spat over Qatars alleged support for terrorists. Mr Trump has firmly backed Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and others in their boycott of their neighbour. It is reasonable to ask if it is a coincidence that he has strong business ties with the Saudis and Emiratis but few with Qatar. Saudis are big buyers of Trump apartments, and the kingdom is investing $20bn in an American infrastructure fund. A Trump-branded golf course in the UAE made Mr Trump as much as $10m in 2015-16. By contrast, Mr Trumps past efforts to break into Qatar have failed.Tracking such business relationships is not easy because of the opacity of Mr Trumps holdings. He makes liberal use of LLCsanonymous shell companies that do not have to publish financial informationoften in complex combinations with regular corporations. He has refused to publish his tax returns.A fog surrounds those doing business with the Trumps, too. Many have grown less transparent of late. An investigation by USA Today found that the percentage of buyers of Trump condos structuring their purchases through LLCs has jumped from single digits to two-thirds. Suppliers are scuttling into the shadows, too. Those shipping goods to Ivankas businesses in America typically identified themselves on bills of lading before the Trump presidency. Now they usually do not.The Trumps fallback position is that, legally speaking, it is impossible for the president to be conflicted because he is exempt from ethics laws. The thinking when Congress blessed this exemption, in the 1980s, was that the presidents remit is so broad that any policy decision could pose a potential conflict. Nevertheless, some see avenues of attack. Several lawsuits, including one from Democratic lawmakers, accuse Mr Trump of causing harm by violating the constitutions Emoluments Clause, which forbids American officeholders from accepting money from foreign governments. One way he allegedly does so is by accepting payments from diplomats at his hotels.The lawsuits particularly focus on the newly refurbished Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC. Owned by the federal government, the hotels lease agreement includes a provision barring elected officials from holding an interest. But the General Services Administration, which manages federal property, ruled in March that Mr Trumps 60-year lease on the hotel did not breach that requirement since the property had been placed in a trust (as long as he received no proceeds while president). Having initially said it would donate all hotel profits from foreign officials to the Treasury, the Trump Organisation now says requiring such guests to identify themselves would be impractical and diminish the guest experience.UnpresidentedIt remains unclear whether controversial transactions such as these will add greatly to the Trump empires profits. Deals are often smaller than you might imagine: the developer behind Trump Tower in Mumbai, founded by a member of Indias ruling party, paid just $5m for the licence. Some deals are being scrapped under scrutinyas was the case, in January, with a tower in the Black Sea resort of Batumi.Moreover, forces beyond Mr Trumps control are likely to have a bigger impact on his businesses profits than conflicted dealmaking. A recent analysis of his properties by Bloomberg found that his three flagship office blocks in ManhattanTrump Tower, 40 Wall Street and 1290 Avenue of the Americasare making less money than envisaged when loans were issued, because of the softening of the New York office market. The combined present value of the three blocks has fallen by an estimated $380m over the past year.Mr Shaub believes that Mr Trump has rejected ethical norms embraced by all other administrations since the 1970s. He recommends several changes to federal law, including greater powers for the oversight office and stricter disclosure rules. Rightly so. Whether or not Mr Trumps group benefits materially from his spell in office, any doubt over whether policies are crafted with the American people in mind or his own bottom line is corrosive. Business "Not one to avoid a conflict"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21725303-six-months-mr-trumps-conflicts-interest-look-even-worse-how-donald-trump-monetising?fsrc=rss'|'2017-07-20T22:44:00.000+03:00' +'10ae45319f7a424a712d2df19a9376c4784e9830'|'GE quarterly revenue drops 12 percent; cash flow up on quarter'|'July 21, 2017 / 11:12 AM / an hour ago GE shares fall as profit slumps, investors await new CEO''s targets Alwyn Scott 4 Min Read A man walks past the Global Operations Center of General Electric Co. in San Pedro Garza Garcia, neighbouring Monterrey, Mexico, on May 12, 2017. Daniel Becerril (Reuters) - General Electric Co''s ( GE.N ) shares dropped sharply on Friday after it posted a 59-percent decline in second-quarter profit and put off an expected cut to 2018 earnings targets until November, when new CEO John Flannery will be four months into his job. The maker of power plants, jet engines, medical scanners and other industrial equipment said profit and sales declines largely reflected sale of its appliances business. It beat analyst expectations on adjusted profit, but cash flow was weak and GE said full-year profit and cash flow will be at the low end of its forecasts. GE also said it would update its 2018 earnings target of $2 a share in November, later than analysts had expected. Analyst consensus 2018 estimate is $1.73, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, already suggesting a significant cut. The length and scope of the review raised concern, since GE has just come through major shifts in its portfolio. "It''s discouraging that we''re going to wait again for the company to perform as we wait for the new CEO to review everything," said Jim Corridore, analyst at research firm CFRA, which cut GE shares to "hold" after Friday''s results. Incoming CEO Flannery acknowledged on a conference call that his review would take time, but said it had not altered GE''s 2017 outlook. Still, the stock could be in "in a state of limbo" until the review is finished, Deane Dray, analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said in a note. GE''s cash flow was below expectations and also weighed on the stock, said Jeff Windau, analyst at Edward Jones. "People want to get the answers sooner" to Flannery''s review. Shares were down 3 percent at $25.87 in mid-morning trading after earlier hitting a 2-year low. GE faced a "slow-growth, volatile environment" in the quarter, Chief Executive Jeff Immelt said in his final earnings release before his Aug. 1 retirement. Immelt''s tenure began days before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and included the 2008 financial crisis. While GE stock is 27 percent below its price when Immelt arrived, it has more than tripled from its nadir in 2009. Immelt sold off NBCUniversal, appliances and most of GE Capital. He acquired power assets from France''s Alstom ( ALSO.PA ), merged GE''s oil and gas business with Baker Hughes, and moved the headquarters to Boston. Flannery said he is "in the middle of a series of deep dives into the businesses." He also is "taking a hard look at our corporate spending" to ensure it contributes to earnings, and on a listening tour of investors. GE has cut $670 million (516 million pounds) in industrial overhead costs this year, Immelt said, and will "meet or exceed" its $1 billion target for 2017 - a goal set after discussion with activist investor Trian Fund Management. GE was under pressure to report strong cash flow after a weak showing in the first quarter. Cash flow from operations totalled $3.6 billion, up from $400 million in the first quarter. The figure was down 67 percent from a year ago, partly reflecting the loss of contributions from the appliances division. Revenue fell 12 percent to $29.56 billion, slightly above the $29.02 billion consensus estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. GE said its appliances sale eliminated $3.1 billion of revenue. Net profit slumped 59 percent to $1.34 billion, or 15 cents a share, in the quarter ended June 30, from $3.30 billion, or 36 cents a share, a year earlier. Adjusted earnings fell 45 percent to 28 cents a share, compared with estimates for 25 cents. Additional reporting by Rachit Vats in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Nick Zieminski 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ge-results-idUKKBN1A618Z'|'2017-07-21T14:20:00.000+03:00' +'a3cad52be8616b69dbfee5d665e29daf3102fc8a'|'MOVES-Citi names UBS exec as head of EMEA diversified industrials'|'July 24, 2017 / 3:03 PM / 42 minutes ago MOVES-Citi names UBS exec as head of EMEA diversified industrials 1 Min Read July 24 (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc named Heiko Horn as the head of diversified industrials within the industrials group for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and as the head of investment banking for Switzerland, an internal memo showed. Horn previously served as managing director and head of EMEA Capital Goods at UBS. Horn will join Citi in November and will be based in Zurich. He will report to Niraj Shah, co-head of EMEA industrials for corporate and investment banking, and Koen van Velsen, EMEA head of industrials investment banking. (Reporting by Divya Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/citigroup-moves-heiko-horn-idUSL3N1KF4OA'|'2017-07-24T17:59:00.000+03:00' +'de7ce942dd67ec9d82c231de06d82f514b0bcaaf'|'Citigroup, Deutsche Bank beef up Frankfurt presence in Brexit response'|'July 20, 2017 / 12:35 PM / 2 hours ago Citigroup, Deutsche Bank beef up Frankfurt presence in Brexit response Reuters Staff 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Citi sign is seen at the Citigroup stall on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, October 16, 2012. Brendan McDermid/File Photo LONDON/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Two global banks, Citigroup ( C.N ) and Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ), are beefing up their presence in Frankfurt to deal with the impact of Britain leaving the European Union. U.S. bank Citigroup said on Thursday that it may need to create 150 new jobs in the EU, as it confirmed it would headquarter its EU trading operations in Frankfurt. Deutsche Bank Chief Executive Officer John Cryan said in a video published on Thursday that the German lender expected to add new jobs in Frankfurt, where it will replicate a structure that is interchangeable with its London operations and evolve as Brexit negotiations unfold. Details of banks'' Brexit arrangements are starting to emerge following a July 14 deadline for them to submit details of their contingency plans to the Bank of England. "Its important not to wait until the 11th hour and 59th minute," Cryan said in the video to staff outlining Deutsche''s Brexit planning strategy. Citi is one of several banks opting to build up a subsidiary in Frankfurt so that its trading operations in the EU can continue without too much disruption when Britain leaves the bloc in March 2019. "Frankfurt is our first choice for headquartering our EU broker-dealer based on the existing infrastructure, and the people and expertise we already have on the ground," Jim Cowles, the bank''s head of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) said in a memo to staff. He added that the bank also planned to build up its private banking, treasury and trade and investment banking businesses in the EU, while the bank''s London office would remain its EMEA headquarters. This would be done by "increasing over time our footprint in other key EU cities including Amsterdam, Dublin, Luxembourg, Madrid and Paris". Banks have indicated that while they may pick one EU center to be their main regional subsidiary in the bloc, they are likely to spread their operations across several countries. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said on July 11 that his bank would probably use Frankfurt as the legal domicile of its European operations after Brexit, but that jobs may be put elsewhere as well. Deutsche Bank employs about 9,000 people in Britain and expects London to remain vital to the bank as one of the world''s two most important financial hubs. It currently books most of its business through London. But the Frankfurt-based bank with a London branch is planning for a "hard" Brexit that would entail a loss of so-called passporting rights between Britain and the EU. Cryan termed it a "reasonable worst-case" scenario. The bank''s plans to replicate its London booking operations in Frankfurt will initially mean added jobs to Frankfurt, though it could later result in jobs moving to Frankfurt from London, depending on how Brexit negotiations play out, Cryan said. "We build replicate infrastructure in Frankfurt, and over time if we end up, because of the actual Brexit, rebooking everything into Germany, Frankfurt, then there will be roles in London that get eliminated or moved," Cryan said. "People may not, but the role would move to Frankfurt," he said, without mentioning the number of people or roles. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney warned in April that EU banks wholesale branches in Britain may have to convert into subsidiaries after Brexit, which would require banks like Deutsche Bank to put a lot more capital into its London operations. Reporting by Rachel Armstrong and Tom Sims, editing by Maiya Keidan and Adrian Croft 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-citigroup-idUKKBN1A51K4'|'2017-07-20T20:29:00.000+03:00' +'d3d0167e45cb06772e6b539a912004b9a48e91ec'|'Hyundai Motor second quarter net profit halves as China, U.S. sales sag'|'SEOUL (Reuters) - Hyundai Motor posted its smallest quarterly net profit in five years, falling dismally short of estimates, and warned the second half of 2017 would be challenging as political headwinds hit sales in China and slow U.S. demand continues.The South Korean firm - which together with affiliate Kia Motors is the world''s No.5 automaker - has been betting earnings will recover gradually, but its plans have ground to a halt with China''s backlash over Seoul''s decision to deploy an anti-missile system, the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD), showing no signs of abating.Slower demand in the United States, the automaker''s No.2 market after China, has also been taking a toll, a trend the South Korean firm cautioned will persist through the rest of the year with its mainstay Sonata sedans losing ground in a market powered by sport utility vehicles (SUVs)."The challenging business environment is expected to persist in the second half because of negative external factors such as a slowdown in U.S. demand and China''s THAAD issue," Hyundai CFO Choi Byung-chul said at an earnings conference call.Earlier on Wednesday, Hyundai Motor said its second-quarter net profit halved from a year ago to 817 billion won ($729.14 million) - its 14th straight year-on-year fall and the smallest since the first quarter of 2012. Analysts on average had expected 1.35 trillion won.Its operating profit came in at 1.34 trillion won and sales at 24.31 trillion won for the period.The company is aiming to shore up its global sales through new models likes its Kona small SUV and Genesis G70 sports sedan, the CFO said at the briefing.FILE PHOTO: Hyundai Motor''s vehicles are displayed at a Hyundai Motorstudio in Goyang, South Korea May 29, 2017. Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo Bleak Sales in Top Markets Hyundai Motor''s retail sales in China, the world''s biggest auto market, slumped 29 percent in the first half of 2017.Its weak brand image has also put Hyundai at a disadvantage versus local and global rivals such as Honda Motor, Toyota Motor and General Motors, which all saw higher China sales for last month. GM, in its earnings call on Tuesday, said it set second-quarter sales record in China.Hyundai Motor plans to open a new factory in Chongqing in late August, hoping to offset some of its sales slide by tapping into the southwestern region, even as its other factories in the eastern region are underutilized.In the United States, Hyundai Motor''s sales over January-June fell 7.4 percent, the second biggest drop after affiliate Kia Motors. The slump came despite the automaker sharply boosting incentives to buoy sales.Its U.S. incentives jumped 32 percent to an average of $2,800 per vehicle in the first half, from a year earlier.It is set to face more pressure as competition rises in the United States, where Asian rivals such as Honda and Toyota will be launching their newest-generation mid-sized sedans this month, going up against the facelifted Sonata to be offered by Hyundai Motor even as sedan sales weaken worldwide.Hyundai Motor shares trimmed earlier gains after the earnings announcement, ending up 1.4 percent versus the wider market that was down 0.2 percent.Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin, additional reporting by Clara Ferreira Marques; Editing by Himani Sarkar '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-hyundai-motor-results-idUSKBN1AB0FG'|'2017-07-26T08:19:00.000+03:00' +'99488a6cc8405973ea3af39034cba091e1252eac'|'Citigroup says may need to create 150 jobs in EU due to Brexit'|'FILE PHOTO: A Citi sign is seen at the Citigroup stall on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, October 16, 2012. Brendan McDermid/File Photo LONDON/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Two global banks, Citigroup ( C.N ) and Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ), are beefing up their presence in Frankfurt to deal with the impact of Britain leaving the European Union. U.S. bank Citigroup said on Thursday that it may need to create 150 new jobs in the EU, as it confirmed it would headquarter its EU trading operations in Frankfurt. Deutsche Bank Chief Executive Officer John Cryan said in a video published on Thursday that the German lender expected to add new jobs in Frankfurt, where it will replicate a structure that is interchangeable with its London operations and evolve as Brexit negotiations unfold. Details of banks'' Brexit arrangements are starting to emerge following a July 14 deadline for them to submit details of their contingency plans to the Bank of England. "Its important not to wait until the 11th hour and 59th minute," Cryan said in the video to staff outlining Deutsche''s Brexit planning strategy. Citi is one of several banks opting to build up a subsidiary in Frankfurt so that its trading operations in the EU can continue without too much disruption when Britain leaves the bloc in March 2019. "Frankfurt is our first choice for headquartering our EU broker-dealer based on the existing infrastructure, and the people and expertise we already have on the ground," Jim Cowles, the bank''s head of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) said in a memo to staff. He added that the bank also planned to build up its private banking, treasury and trade and investment banking businesses in the EU, while the bank''s London office would remain its EMEA headquarters. This would be done by "increasing over time our footprint in other key EU cities including Amsterdam, Dublin, Luxembourg, Madrid and Paris". Banks have indicated that while they may pick one EU center to be their main regional subsidiary in the bloc, they are likely to spread their operations across several countries. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said on July 11 that his bank would probably use Frankfurt as the legal domicile of its European operations after Brexit, but that jobs may be put elsewhere as well. Deutsche Bank employs about 9,000 people in Britain and expects London to remain vital to the bank as one of the world''s two most important financial hubs. It currently books most of its business through London. But the Frankfurt-based bank with a London branch is planning for a "hard" Brexit that would entail a loss of so-called passporting rights between Britain and the EU. Cryan termed it a "reasonable worst-case" scenario. The bank''s plans to replicate its London booking operations in Frankfurt will initially mean added jobs to Frankfurt, though it could later result in jobs moving to Frankfurt from London, depending on how Brexit negotiations play out, Cryan said. "We build replicate infrastructure in Frankfurt, and over time if we end up, because of the actual Brexit, rebooking everything into Germany, Frankfurt, then there will be roles in London that get eliminated or moved," Cryan said. "People may not, but the role would move to Frankfurt," he said, without mentioning the number of people or roles. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney warned in April that EU banks wholesale branches in Britain may have to convert into subsidiaries after Brexit, which would require banks like Deutsche Bank to put a lot more capital into its London operations. Reporting by Rachel Armstrong and Tom Sims, editing by Maiya Keidan and Adrian Croft '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-citigroup-idUSKBN1A51K4'|'2017-07-20T15:56:00.000+03:00' +'e0ec1ca5ae9e377e3e60649847e13b5536de10a0'|'UK mortgage approvals drop to nine-month low in June - BoE'|'July 31, 2017 / 8:32 AM / 3 hours ago UK housing and consumer demand weaken as Bank of England meets David Milliken and Emma Rumney 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Construction cranes are seen on a residential building project behind homes in London, Britain, October 26, 2016. Toby Melville/Files - LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of England lending data showed softening consumer demand on Monday, after mortgage approvals fell to a nine-month low in June and previous red-hot growth in unsecured borrowing eased to its weakest in over a year. Though business lending was more upbeat, the figures are likely to boost the argument of those BoE policymakers meeting this week who say there is no rush to raise interest rates, despite above-target inflation and record employment. British lenders approved the fewest mortgages for house purchase since last September, with the number dropping to 64,684 from May''s 65,109 - slightly lower than economists'' average expectation of 65,000 in a Reuters poll. Three months ago, the BoE forecast that monthly mortgage approvals would rebound to 71,000 a month. "Against a backdrop of political and economic uncertainty, house purchases have hit a plateau," said Alastair McKee, managing director of mortgage brokers One 77 Mortgages. While Britain weathered the immediate aftermath of last year''s Brexit vote far better than most economists had forecast, growth so far this year has been the weakest since 2012. Unsecured consumer borrowing resumed its slowing trend after an unexpected pick-up in May, something which should reassure the BoE after one of its top regulators warned that banks might be getting complacent over credit risks. "Banks have started responding to this changing environment by reducing the availability of unsecured credit and are expected to tighten further ... citing changing appetite for risk and a worsening economic outlook," said Fabrice Montagne, an economist at Barclays. Compared with a year ago, unsecured lending in June was up 10.0 percent - still a rapid expansion, but the slowest growth since May 2016 and moving away from the 11-year high of 10.9 percent reached in November 2016. Most economists polled by Reuters expect the BoE to vote to keep rates on hold at their record low 0.25 percent on Thursday. But at least two policymakers are likely to vote to reverse last year''s emergency rate-cut post-Brexit. While headline rates of economic growth are currently below average, they expect stronger exports and business investment to soon compensate for weakness in consumer demand caused by slow wage growth and the higher inflation since the Brexit vote. Monday''s data suggest that businesses'' appetite for credit has remained solid, as the boon to exporters from a weaker pound outweighs longer-term uncertainty about Britain''s ease of access to European Union markets after it leaves in March 2019. Gross lending to non-financial businesses rose by a record amount, while net lending to large firms rose by 3.9 percent compared with a year earlier, unchanged from May and one of the biggest increases in the past five years. "It is impossible to tell, however, if the pickup ... reflects plans to invest more or firms responding to speculation that interest rates might rise soon by bringing forward planned borrowing," said Samuel Tombs of Pantheon Macroeconomics. editing by John Stonestreet'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-lending-idUKKBN1AG0TY'|'2017-07-31T11:32:00.000+03:00' +'0129d0be05cd21f34c440f299315dd2acd887496'|'ECB''s Nowotny says inflation target must be viewed flexibly'|' 28pm BST ECB''s Nowotny says inflation target must be viewed flexibly European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council member and OeNB governor Ewald Nowotny arrives for a news conference in Vienna, Austria, June 9, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger VIENNA The European Central Bank''s target of inflation under but close to 2 percent should not be applied too narrowly, Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said on Tuesday, arguing for it to be seen as a flexible and medium-term target. In a speech on monetary policy, Nowotny said the target "should also include a certain flexibility". (Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Gareth Jones)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-nowotny-inflation-idUKKBN19P27K'|'2017-07-04T20:28:00.000+03:00' +'23100c018bb9d2fe897f8cab84feb66fa0104110'|'Tanzania says not targeting Acacia staff in immigration crackdown'|'July 30, 2017 / 8:16 AM / 9 hours ago Tanzania says not targeting Acacia staff in immigration crackdown Reuters Staff 3 Min Read DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Tanzania is not targeting foreign employees of Acacia Mining Plc ( ACAA.L ), the immigration department said, adding that the temporary detainment of one the London-listed miner''s senior staff was part of wider checks in an immigration crackdown. Gold miner Acacia said on Friday that Tanzanian authorities had prevented one of its senior staff from leaving Dar es Salaam airport. After legal intervention, he was released and his passport was returned. "The immigration department ... does not target only Acacia Mining employees," the Tanzania Immigration Services Department said in a statement late on Saturday.Acacia, the country''s largest miner, said last week it had been hit with a $190 billion tax bill and warned it would have to close its flagship Bulyanhulu mine by Sept. 30 if a government ban on its exports is not lifted. "We are required by law to question any Tanzanian citizen or foreigner regardless of his position ... and release them without charge if their immigration papers are in order as in the case of employees of Acacia Mining who were recently questioned," the immigration department said. It added that there were no factors outside of the requirements of the Immigration Act that would prompt the department to restrict the entrance or exit of Acacia''s expatriate employees. President John Magufuli has threatened to shut all gold mines in the country if mining companies delay talks to resolve a dispute over billions of dollars in back taxes which the government says they owe.Majority-owned by Canada''s Barrick Gold Corp ( ABX.TO ), Acacia says it is in full compliance with the law and has paid all relevant taxes.Magufuli''s stance has rocked the mining sector in Tanzania, Africa''s fourth-largest gold producer, and driven Acacia''s shares down by more than 50 percent this year.Barrick, which owns a 63.9 percent stake in Acacia, said last week it has an "open mind" and is "very positive" about talks getting underway with Tanzania to resolve an export ban on gold and copper concentrates.Magufuli and Barrick Chairman John Thornton agreed at a mid-June meeting to hold discussions to resolve the row.Acacia has two mines affected by the ban which Tanzania introduced in March. They account for some 6 percent of Barrick''s 2017 gold production forecast. Reporting by Fumbuka Ng''wanakilala; editing by George Obulutsa and Jason Neely 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-acacia-mining-tanzania-idUKKBN1AF07Y'|'2017-07-30T11:15:00.000+03:00' +'bc7e23b01f84938a059869635100a7070809281d'|'Dassault says business jet market still weak'|'Edition United States July 26, 2017 / 5:10 PM / 2 minutes ago Dassault says business jet market still weak 2 Min Read A Dassault Rafale fighter takes part in a flying display during the 52nd Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport, near Paris, France June 24, 2017. Pascal Rossignol PARIS (Reuters) - Dassault Aviation ( AVMD.PA ), the French maker of Falcon private jets and Rafale warplanes, said on Wednesday the business jet market remained weak, with high stocks of unsold aircraft hampering a tentative recovery in benchmark second-hand trading. "The recovery is uncertain," Chief Executive Eric Trappier told a news conference. "The drop in prices is much sharper on the second-hand market than the discounts that we can provide on new aircraft." Dassault earlier said first-half earnings rose to 2.05 billion euros ($2.4 bln) from 1.662 billion in the same period last year, while new orders were basically flat at 1.381 billion euros. Operating income dipped 2 million euros to 123 million, implying weaker first-half operating margins. Dassault Aviation, however, reaffirmed forecasts for 45 Falcon and nine Rafale deliveries and higher net sales in 2017. The company''s operating margin fell 1.5 percentage points to 6 percent, weighed by research and development spending on the Falcon 5X which first flew on July 5. Trappier said he still expected that Malaysia would buy Rafale warplanes, while noting that no movement was expected on the issue before upcoming elections. A source with knowledge of the matter said earlier this month that Malaysia had put on hold the $2 billion plan to replace its aging fleet of combat aircraft, looking instead to upgrade its aerial surveillance capabilities. The recent diplomatic rift in the Middle East has had no impact on efforts to implement a deal to sell fighters to Qatar, Trappier said. He said he expected a joint study on a combat drone with Britain to lead to the launch of a demonstrator before the end of the year, without any disruption from a new Franco-German study aimed at developing a joint warplane. Dassault is offering to be architect of the warplane project but discussions are at a very early stage, he added. Reporting by Tim Hepher, Cyril Altmeyer; Editing by Ingrid Melander and Susan Fenton 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-dassault-avi-results-idUSKBN1AB2EN'|'2017-07-26T20:00:00.000+03:00' +'519b83e2fe2c7018e56d47776c9516b8440eaa4b'|'U.S. existing home sales drop as prices hit record high'|'July 24, 2017 / 2:02 PM / 2 hours ago U.S. home sales stumble as prices hit record high Lucia Mutikani 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO -- A real estate sign advertising a new home for sale is pictured in Vienna, Virginia, U.S. October 20, 2014. Larry Downing/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. home resales fell more than expected in June as a dearth of properties amid strong demand pushed prices to a record high, keeping first-time buyers on the sidelines. The housing market has experienced an acute shortage of homes for sale for about two years. As the labor market churns out more jobs and builders struggle to secure land, building materials and skilled labor, the situation could worsen. "The fact that demand is so high is actually a good sign of economic health," said Svenja Gudell, chief economist at Zillow. "But that''s probably small comfort to buyers, especially first-time buyers that are having an especially difficult time finding entry-level homes for sale."The National Association of Realtors said on Monday existing home sales dropped 1.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.52 million units last month. Economists had forecast sales falling 1.0 percent to a 5.58 million-unit rate. Sales were up 0.7 percent from June 2016. The shortage of properties has led to bidding wars, culminating in house price increases outpacing wage gains. There were 1.96 million houses on the market last month, down 7.1 percent from a year ago. Housing inventory has dropped for 25 straight months on a year-on-year basis. The median house price jumped 6.5 percent from a year ago to an all-time high of $263,800 in June. It was the 64th straight month of year-on-year price increases. The NAR, however, said the price surge did not suggest another housing market bubble was building, noting that the inflation-adjusted median price was below its peak in 2006. The PHLX index of housing stocks .HGX fell 0.3 percent, underperforming a broadly weaker U.S. stock market. Shares in the nation''s largest homebuilder, D.R. Horton ( DHI.N ), slipped 0.20 percent. Lennar Corp ( LEN.N ) shares fell 0.18 percent, but Pultegroup ( PHM.N ) stock rose 1.04 percent. Prices for U.S. Treasuries dipped, while the U.S. dollar rose slightly against a basket of currencies. Supply Squeeze Homebuilders are struggling to plug the inventory gap amid rising lumber costs. Homebuilding is also being hampered by shortages of labor and land. A report last week showed housing starts rebounding 8.3 percent to a 1.22 million-unit pace in June, but still below their historic average of 1.5 million units, a rate realtors say would eliminate the housing shortage. Housing likely subtracted from gross domestic product in the second quarter after contributing almost half a percentage point to the economy''s annualized 1.4 percent growth pace in the first three months of the year. The Atlanta Federal Reserve is forecasting GDP rising at a 2.5 percent pace in the second quarter. The government will publish its advance estimate for second-quarter GDP on Friday. The economy appears to have retained its momentum early in the third quarter, with a second report from data firm IHS Markit showing its flash manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index hit a four-month high in July. Home sales in June fell in the Northeast, West and South regions, but rose in the Midwest. At June''s sales pace, it would take 4.3 months to clear the stock of houses on the market, up from 4.2 months in May. A six-month supply is viewed as a healthy balance between supply and demand. Houses typically stayed on the market for 28 days last month, down from 34 days a year ago. The shorter market duration was concentrated in Seattle, Salt Lake City, San Jose, San Francisco and Denver. Demand for housing is being driven by a tight labor market, marked by a 4.4 percent unemployment rate, which is boosting employment opportunities for young Americans. But the tight labor market has not spurred faster wage growth. Annual wage growth has struggled to break above 2.5 percent, an obstacle for first-time home buyers, whose share of home sales has barely shifted. They accounted for 32 percent of transactions last month, well below the 40 percent share that economists and realtors say is needed for a robust housing market. "Housing demand should hold up. However, we are not optimistic that the current inventory shortage will improve this year," said Matthew Pointon, property economist at Capital Economics in New York. "Existing home sales will do no more than tread water over the next few months." Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-housing-idUSKBN1A91RU'|'2017-07-24T17:01:00.000+03:00' +'2ff44eedadd27ed73959269b4bb5200bd28d667f'|'China to turn all centrally owned giants into joint-stock firms by 2017'|'July 26, 2017 / 3:17 AM / 39 minutes ago China to convert all giant state companies into joint-stock firms by end-2017 4 Min Read BEIJING (Reuters) - All big Chinese companies owned by the central government will be registered as limited liability companies or joint-stock firms by the end of the year, as Beijing moves to make its state-owned giants more nimble, efficient and modern. About 90 percent of firms owned by the central government and local governments have already completed the process, which has helped improve their governance structures and management, the cabinet said in a statement on its website on Wednesday. It did not say whether private capital will be allowed to invest in the state giants or whether they will list shares. Through reforms, the central government hopes to revive China''s bloated and debt-ridden state-owned sector and create "bigger and stronger" conglomerates capable of competing on the global stage. Part of the reforms will involve shutting the most uncompetitive firms. The ownership structure of some SOEs will also be modernised. One of the biggest problems facing China, particularly the lumbering state-owned giants, is a spike in debt since the 2008 global financial crisis. Authorities have stepped up efforts to contain debt risks over the past year, and part of those steps have involved the restructuring of state firms. Earlier this year, People''s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said banks will withdraw support for financially unviable firms, repeating pledges by other officials to drive "zombie" firms out of the market. China is also pushing mixed ownership to allow private capital to invest in firms while retaining the government''s presence in the companies. The state-owned asset regulator has said "erroneous" notions like "privatisation" and "de-nationalisation" should be avoided. Party''s Leadership Efforts will be made to strengthen the party''s leadership at big state firms and to prevent the loss of state assets during restructuring, the cabinet said on Wednesday. The party''s leadership will also help protect employees'' legal rights and ensure the stability of corporate reforms, the cabinet said. One focus will also be on the formation of the board of directors at state-owned companies, the cabinet said, as part of efforts to bring it in line with present day corporate governance practices. The board will have a say in major corporate decisions, hiring and salary distribution. Salary corridors linked to corporate profits and productivity will also be set up, according to the cabinet. Last month, the state asset regulator said China''s centrally administered SOEs will be divided into three types - industrial groups, investment firms and operating companies. While details were sparse, the move will similarly change the way SOEs are organised. The central government now owns and administers 101 enterprises in sectors ranging from nuclear technology to medicine. The state asset regulator has told the enterprises and their subsidiaries to hand in their restructuring plans by end-September, the official Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday. Xinhua reported that 69 of the enterprises, with assets totalling 7.97 trillion yuan ($1.2 trillion), have not registered themselves as either joint-stock companies or limited liability firms. The subsidiaries of the 69 enterprises hold 5.66 trillion yuan of assets, Xinhua said. The SOE reforms come as the Communist Party prepares for a once-in-five-years congress in the fall. Ahead of the congress, one of the government''s priorities has been to ensure stability in the country''s financial system. Further opening China''s economy and markets is another focus. China''s securities regulator pledged on Wednesday to expand access to capital markets for all types of investors, while encouraging more long-term institutional participation in the financial domain. ($1 = 6.7541 Chinese yuan) Reporting by Ryan Woo, Kevin Yao and Stella Qiu; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Jacqueline Wong 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/china-economy-soe-reforms-idINKBN1AB0A0'|'2017-07-26T06:16:00.000+03:00' +'9d8a52b35262eabfcab4de318dbe208d6fb4f0bb'|'Family of woman killed on set of Gregg Allman biopic awarded $11.2 mln'|'July 18, 2017 / 4:03 PM / in 4 minutes Family of crew member killed on Allman movie set awarded $11.2 million Rich McKay 3 Min Read ATLANTA (Reuters) - A Georgia jury has awarded more than $11.2 million to the family of a film crew member who was killed in 2014 on the set of a biographical movie about rock singer Gregg Allman, court records show. A six-day trial in the State Court of Chatham County concluded late Monday with the jury unanimously agreeing on the civil award to the family of Sarah Jones, according to the court records. Jones was killed when a moving train hit props and equipment staged on a railroad bridge and trestle south of Savannah for the never-completed film "Midnight Rider," about Allman, who died in May. After the award, her parents, Richard and Elizabeth Jones, said they had spent more than three years trying to understand how their daughter lost her life. "That search has now come to a close," they said in a statement. Railroad operator CSX Corp, which owns the tracks, is responsible for $3.9 million of the liability, according to court records. The company said it will appeal the verdict. "CSX is deeply sympathetic to the terrible loss suffered by the family of Ms. Sarah Jones, but respectfully disagrees with the conclusions reached by the jury," CSX spokesman Rob Doolittle said on Tuesday. Jacksonville, Florida-based CSX has maintained that the movie production company failed to secure permits to use the tracks for filming. Filmmaker Randall Miller previously settled with the family and spent about a year in jail after pleading guilty in 2015 to involuntary manslaughter and trespassing stemming from the crash, court records show. He was sentenced to two years in county jail and eight years probation and fined $20,000. All criminal charges against Jody Savin, Miller''s wife and business partner, were dropped. Jeff Harris, a lawyer for the Jones family, said relatives have had closure. "This has been cathartic for them," Harris said, adding that the family has established a nonprofit group, "Safety for Sarah," dedicated to promoting safety on movie sets. In addition to CSX''s liability, the award included the following payments, according to court documents: --$3.14 million from Randall Miller. --$2 million from Rayonier Performance Fibers LLC, which owned the land where the tracks were located; --$785,000 from Savin; --$785,000 from movie set employee Hillary Schwartz; --$561,000 from movie set employee Jay Serdish. Schwartz was identified as the film''s first assistant director and Serdish as executive producer/unit production manager, according to the Deadline Headline website. It was not immediately clear whether the award reflected the settlements previously agreed by Miller and Savin, or whether it added to their liability. Editing by G Crosse and JS Benkoe 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-georgia-lawsuit-idUSKBN1A31TZ'|'2017-07-18T19:01:00.000+03:00' +'ffb7651336a3d48d2317735b44d90a3f6b7550f2'|'Factbox - Impact on banks from Britain''s vote to leave the EU'|'July 26, 2017 / 3:54 PM / 16 minutes ago Factbox: Impact on banks from Britain''s vote to leave the EU Reuters Staff 13 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Storm clouds are seen above the Canary Wharf financial district in London, Britain, August 3, 2010. Greg Bos/File Photo (Reuters) - Global banks have said they could move thousands of jobs out of Britain to prepare for Brexit, the country''s planned exit from the European Union. Financial services companies need a regulated subsidiary in an EU country to offer products across the bloc, which could prompt some to move jobs out of Britain if it loses access to the European single market. Following are related stories about top banks (in alphabetical order): Association of Foreign Banks in Germany The association expects 3,000 to 5,000 new jobs in Frankfurt over the next two years as a result of Brexit, its head Stefan Winter, of UBS, told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag in June. He said he expected 12 to 14 major banks to expand their Frankfurt sites significantly or build new ones. Bank of America Corp Bank of America ( BAC.N ) became the first Wall Street lender to pick Dublin as its new base for its European Union operations as Britain prepares to leave the bloc. Bank of America said in August that its businesses and results could be adversely affected and it may have to incur additional costs if Brexit limited the ability of its UK entities to conduct business in the EU. Dublin is Bank of America''s default option for a new base within the EU, but other centers are on the table and no decision has yet been made, an executive said on March 14. Barclays Barclays is talking with Irish regulators about extending its activities in Dublin, the British bank said. It already has a licensed bank in the Irish capital and is looking to expand that so it can act as its EU subsidiary. Banks in Britain will start shifting some operations to continental Europe reasonably soon to avoid disrupting links with customers after Brexit, Barclays ( BARC.L ) Chief Executive Jes Staley said. He added that obtaining a license to trade on the continent and changing financial contracts to another jurisdiction would take a year to 18 months. Staley previously told BBC Radio that Barclays would keep the bulk of its activities in Britain after Brexit and any changes to how the bank operates would be small and manageable. Bnp Paribas BNP Paribas ( BNPP.PA ) may move up to 300 London investment bank staff because of Brexit, depending how clients adapt and the French bank''s efforts to win new UK business, a source said. The company had 3,123 staff in its corporate and institutional bank in Britain at end-2016, down from 3,294 a year earlier, internal documents seen by Reuters showed. Citigroup U.S. bank Citigroup ( C.N ) said that it may need to create 150 new jobs in the EU to deal with the impact of Britain leaving the bloc, and confirmed it would headquarter its EU trading operations in Frankfurt. Citi, which has a large banking unit in Dublin, had previously said it would choose Frankfurt as its hub for sales and trading in the EU and move "a couple of hundred" jobs outside of London after Brexit. Separately, the bank''s European chief said Citi would make a decision on Brexit contingency plans in the first half of the year and choose from a number of potential EU countries to relocate some investment banking business. Credit Agricole Credit Agricole ( CAGR.PA ), France''s third-biggest listed bank, could relocate about 100 employees from its London hub to France out of 1,000 based there in the case of a "hard" Brexit, its chief executive said. Credit Suisse Credit Suisse''s ( CSGN.S ) Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam said in September that his bank was relatively well placed to deal with Brexit and that only 15-20 percent of volumes in the investment bank would be affected. Daiwa Securities Group Japan''s No. 2 brokerage Daiwa Securities Group ( 8601.T ) said it will set up a subsidiary in Frankfurt, making it one of the first banks to publicly choose Germany to keep a foothold in the EU after Britain''s exit. The group has said it would still keep staff in London even after Brexit. It has 450 staff working in the EU now, mostly in the British capital. The German city is Daiwa''s favored destination, as London-based staff can easily be transferred to its investment banking branch in Frankfurt, Chief Executive Seiji Nakata had said previously. Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) is beefing up its presence in Frankfurt to deal with the impact of Britain leaving the EU. Chief Executive John Cryan said the German lender expected to add new jobs in Frankfurt, where it will replicate a structure that is interchangeable with its London operations and evolve as Brexit negotiations unfold. Deutsche Bank warned on April 26 that up to 4,000 UK jobs could be moved to Frankfurt and other EU locations - the highest potential move of any bank. European supervisors want Deutsche Bank to prepare a fallback plan, laying out how it could shift the clearing of trades from London, one person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Euroclear Settlement bank Euroclear is looking at the option of setting up a branch or subsidiary to provide a route between its UK and Irish markets after Brexit, the head of its UK and Irish operation said. French Banking Federation French banks could shift about 1,000 jobs from London to Paris to keep staff in the EU, the French Banking Federation said. Goldman Sachs U.S. bank Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) is considering moving up to 1,000 staff from London to Frankfurt because of concerns over Brexit, Germany''s Handelsblatt newspaper reported in January, citing financial sources. Goldman will begin moving hundreds of people out of London before any Brexit deal is struck as part of its contingency plans, the Wall Street company''s Europe CEO said in March. Three people familiar with the matter told Reuters in November that Goldman was considering shifting some of its assets and operations from London to Frankfurt. Hsbc HSBC ( HSBA.L ) sees the chances of a hard Brexit receding after Britain''s shock election result, which could result in fewer jobs moving out of London, its investment bank chief said. Stuart Gulliver, CEO of HSBC, Europe''s biggest bank, had previously said that the company would relocate staff responsible for generating around a fifth of its UK-based trading revenue, or about 1,000 people, to Paris. Chairman Douglas Flint has told lawmakers that banks without operations elsewhere in the EU are likely to trigger migration plans immediately after EU divorce talks begin, estimating that "tens of thousands" of jobs are linked to EU "passporting" rights. Investec Investec ( INVP.L ) ( INLJ.J ) is considering converting its London bank''s Dublin branch into a subsidiary to ensure it has continued access to the European single market after Britain leaves the EU, Chief Executive Stephen Koseff told British newspaper The Telegraph on May 18. However, the Anglo-South African lender and asset manager was in no rush to secure the license needed for such a subsidiary and would see only a small part of its business affected by Brexit, the paper quoted Koseff as saying. ( bit.ly/2qywZzY ) Jpmorgan JPMorgan Chase ( JPM.N ), the biggest U.S. bank by assets, is planning to merge its UK-based private banking unit with its wider European wealth operation ahead of the UK''s exit from the European Union, Sky News reported. JPMorgan said in July that the bank would probably use Frankfurt as the legal domicile of its European operations after Brexit, though jobs could be moved elsewhere as well. The U.S. bank has also agreed to buy a Dublin building with room for 1,000 staff in the first sign of a financial services company expanding significantly in Ireland since the government began a major campaign to attract businesses after Brexit. However, the bank, which employs about 500 people in Dublin, did not say how many jobs would be created or whether any positions would be moved from the United Kingdom. Daniel Pinto, head of investment banking at the Wall Street bank, had told Bloomberg on May 3 that it planned to move hundreds of London-based bankers to expanded offices in Dublin, Frankfurt and Luxembourg. CEO Jamie Dimon had previously said the bank was not planning to move many jobs out of Britain in the next two years. Before the vote, Dimon said the bank would be forced to move 4,000 of its 16,000 Britain-based staff if the country loses access to the single market. Julius Baer Julius Baer, Switzerland''s third-biggest private bank is moving its European hub from Frankfurt to Luxembourg but will continue to keep its options open in London, Boris Collardi, chief executive at Julius Baer has said. Britain''s planned departure from the EU opens the door for a UK-Swiss deal covering financial services, said Collardi. Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Banking Group ( LLOY.L ), Britain''s largest mortgage lender and the only major British retail bank without a subsidiary in another EU country, is close to selecting Berlin as a European base to secure post-Brexit EU market access. Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) has chosen Frankfurt to be a new base for its EU operations as Britain prepares to leave the bloc, according to a source familiar with the matter. The bank is planning to use its Frankfurt subsidiary as the center for its EU trading operations. "That means 200 new people will be coming to Frankfurt," the source said. Morgan Stanley has identified many of the roles that will need to be moved from Britain after Brexit, sources involved in the processes had told Reuters. The U.S. bank, which bases the bulk of its European staff in Britain, will have to move up to 1,000 jobs in sales and trading, risk management, legal and compliance, as well as slimming the back office in favor of locations overseas, one source told Reuters. Morgan Stanley could initially shift 300 staff from Britain after its EU exit and is scouting for office space in Frankfurt and Dublin, Bloomberg News reported in February. The bank plans to double the number of its bankers in Frankfurt to 400, German newspaper Welt am Sonntag reported in June. Mizuho Japan''s Mizuho Financial Group ( 8411.T ) said it would set up a subsidiary in Frankfurt, the latest Japanese bank to choose the German city as its new base in the European Union as Britain prepares to leave the bloc. Nomura Nomura Holdings Inc ( 8604.T ) is applying for a license to operate a new entity in Frankfurt, as Japan''s largest brokerage gears up for Britain''s departure from the EU . Northern Trust Asset management company Northern Trust ( NTRS.O ) has said it will set up an EU banking base in Luxembourg. "Continental Europe is a strategic area of focus for Northern Trust and the creation of our EU banking presence in Luxembourg highlights our commitment to growing our business in the region," said Teresa Parker, president of Northern Trust in Europe. Around a third of Northern Trust''s institutional clients have asked it to ringfence British exposure from their broader European portfolios to protect them from Brexit-related risks. Societe Generale Societe Generale ( SOGN.PA ) could move 400 corporate and investment banking jobs from London, with most going to Paris, Chief Executive Frederic Oudea said in July. Oudea said the possible move of jobs after Brexit would affect 300-400 investment banking jobs out of 2,000 it has overall for that business in London. Standard Chartered Standard Chartered ( STAN.L ) is in talks with regulators about making Frankfurt its post-Brexit European base. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc ( 8316.T ) said its core banking unit, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp (SMBC), has decided to set up a subsidiary in Frankfurt. Ubs UBS ( UBSG.S ) is weighing up whether to move banking jobs in London to Frankfurt, Madrid or Amsterdam to cope with Britain''s planned EU departure, Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti said in an interview with CNBC in July. The bank has estimated that it would need to "move 1,500 people" from London to the EU to retain full passporting rights, according to Chairman Axel Weber. That would be more than a quarter of its 5,500 staff in London. The world''s biggest wealth manager has also set up a bank in Frankfurt to consolidate most of its European wealth management operations, after the Brexit vote dashed London''s chances of being the host city. Compiled by Noor Zainab Hussain and Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by David Goodman 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-banks-factbox-idUKKBN1AB287'|'2017-07-26T18:53:00.000+03:00' +'8981f7d636ce1b53179737f1dfd98ad2c1858415'|'U.S. retail sales fall for second straight month'|'July 14, 2017 / 12:42 PM / 5 hours ago U.S. retail sales fall for second straight month 1 Min Read A woman walks past a sign advertising a sale in the Old Town shopping area of Pasadena, California, U.S. June 27, 2017. Mario Anzuoni WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. retail sales unexpectedly fell in June for a second straight month, which could temper expectations of strong acceleration in economic growth in the second quarter. The Commerce Department said on Friday retail sales fell 0.2 percent last month, weighed down by declines in receipts at service stations, clothing stores and supermarkets. Americans also cut back on spending at restaurants and bars, as well as on hobbies. May''s retail sales were revised to show a 0.1 percent dip instead of the previously reported 0.3 percent drop. Retail sales rose 2.8 percent year-on-year in June. Excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services, retail sales slipped 0.1 percent last month after being unchanged in May. These so-called core retail sales correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of gross domestic product. Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-retail-idUSKBN19Z1CM'|'2017-07-14T15:34:00.000+03:00' +'63c736900616a901938f6395e7530ad2a5631a64'|'Russia detains CEO of turbine maker Power Machines -report'|'July 13, 2017 / 9:41 PM / 29 minutes ago Russia detains CEO of turbine maker Power Machines -report Reuters Staff 2 Min Read MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian authorities have detained the chief executive of Russian electricity turbine maker Power Machines on suspicion of attempted divulgence of state secrets, TASS news agency reported on Thursday citing a law enforcement source. Power Machines is controlled by Russian steel tycoon Alexei Mordashov and has a joint venture with Germany''s Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ) which has come under scrutiny because of a disputed turbine delivery to Crimea. No charges have been brought against Roman Filippov, the CEO of Power Machines, yet, TASS reported. It was not immediately clear if his detention was linked to the Crimea turbine affair. Interfax news agency cited an unidentified source as saying Filippov was questioned as part of a criminal case into the dissemination of a state secret and released. Power Machines and a spokeswoman for Mordashov declined to comment. Filippov''s mobile phones were switched off when Reuters tried to reach him on Thursday night. Reporting by Polina Devitt and Anastasia Lyrchikova; Writing by Maria Kiselyova; Editing by Chris Reese 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ukraine-crisis-siemens-crimea-idUKKBN19Y2V4'|'2017-07-14T00:41:00.000+03:00' +'1267ed6427ad08650cdd07dc5682c9e1e421a40a'|'Consumers, businesses likely spurred U.S. economic pickup in second quarter'|'WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy accelerated in the second quarter as consumers ramped up spending and businesses invested more on equipment, but persistent sluggish wage gains cast a dark shadow over the growth outlook. Gross domestic product increased at a 2.6 percent annual rate in the April-June period, which included a boost from trade, the Commerce Department said in its advance estimate on Friday. That was more than double the first quarter''s downwardly revised 1.2 percent growth pace. Wage growth, however, decelerated despite an unemployment rate that averaged 4.4 percent in the second quarter. Inflation also retreated, appearing to weaken the case for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates again this year. "Although growth is solid, the lack of wage pressure buys the Fed plenty of time, and works with a very ''gradual'' tightening cycle," said Alan Ruskin, global head of G10 FX strategy at Deutsche Bank in New York. "There is more here for the Fed doves than the hawks." Prices of U.S. Treasuries rose after the data but pared gains as oil prices hit two-month highs. The dollar fell against a basket of currencies and stocks on Wall Street were trading mostly lower following recent hefty gains. Economists expect the Fed to announce a plan to start reducing its $4.2 trillion portfolio of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities in September. The U.S. central bank left rates unchanged on Wednesday and said it expected to start winding down its portfolio "relatively soon." The Fed has raised rates twice this year. The rise in second-quarter GDP was in line with economists'' expectations. Output was previously reported to have increased at a 1.4 percent pace in the first quarter. The economy grew 1.9 percent in the first half of 2017, making it unlikely that GDP would top 2.5 percent for the full year. President Donald Trump has set an ambitious 3.0 percent growth target for 2017. Related Coverage 2015 economic growth strongest since 2005 U.S. labor cost growth slows in second quarter Speaking to law enforcement officers in Brentwood, New York, Trump applauded the GDP data and said it was the result of his administration''s rollback of some business and environmental regulations. "We''re doing well, we''re doing really well and we took off all those restrictions," Trump said. "Some we''re statutorily stuck with for a little while, but eventually that statute comes up and we''re going to be able to cut a lot more." But analysts are skeptical of the Republican president''s vow to push through major tax cuts in the wake of his party''s failure early on Friday in the Senate to pass a bill that would have repealed parts of former President Barack Obama''s 2010 healthcare law. So far, the political gridlock in Washington has not hurt either business and consumer confidence. Consumers Boost Growth A woman shops with her daughter at a Walmart Supercenter in Rogers, Arkansas June 6, 2013. The annual shareholders meeting for Walmart takes place on June 7. Rick Wilking A resurgence in consumer spending accounted for the bulk of the pickup in economic growth in the second quarter. Consumer spending, which makes up more than two-thirds of the U.S. economy, grew at a 2.8 percent rate. That was an acceleration from the 1.9 percent pace logged in the first quarter. But with wage growth remaining sluggish despite the labor market being near full employment, there are concerns that consumer spending could slow in the third quarter. In a separate report on Friday, the Labor Department said wages and salaries increased 0.5. percent in the April-June period after accelerating 0.8 percent in the first quarter. They rose 2.3 percent on a year-on-year basis. There were, however, strong wage gains in the information, finance and natural resources sectors. Slideshow (2 Images) "A tightening labor market ought to put upward pressure on wage rates, but employers are likely to resist increases as long as they can, given the state of productivity," said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics in New York. Inflation was subdued in the second quarter. The Fed''s preferred inflation gauge, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index excluding food and energy, increased at a 0.9 percent rate. That was the slowest rise in more than two years and followed a 1.8 percent rate of increase in the first quarter. The gross domestic purchases price index, another measure of inflation pressures in the economy, increased at a 0.8 percent rate after advancing 2.6 percent in the prior quarter. Businesses helped to carry the economy in the second quarter, with spending on equipment jumping at a rate of 8.2 percent, the fastest in nearly two years. It was the third straight quarterly increase. Spending on mining exploration, wells and shafts grew at a 116.7 percent rate, slowing from the first-quarter''s robust 272.1 percent pace. As a result, investment on nonresidential structures increased at a 4.9 percent pace, moderating from the January-March period''s brisk 14.8 percent rate. Though businesses continued to carefully manage their inventories in the second quarter, they spent more in some places. Inventory investment was neutral to GDP growth after slicing 1.46 percentage points in the first quarter. Trade added 0.18 percentage point to growth, contributing to output for a second straight quarter. Housing was a drag on growth in the last quarter, with investment on homebuilding contracting at a 6.8 percent rate, the worst performance in nearly seven years. Auto production slumped for a third straight quarter, while government spending rebounded after declining in the prior period. Alongside the second-quarter GDP report, the government published revisions to data going back to 2014, which showed little change in the growth picture. Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Additional reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Paul Simao '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-idUSKBN1AD0GX'|'2017-07-28T08:12:00.000+03:00' +'b1b8d8ed0bb90ade52d2095c5f49a95161c09cb9'|'The Head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Isnt Going Down Without a Fight'|'Remarks The Head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Isnt Going Down Without a Fight Richard Cordray, an Obama appointee, is trying to make it easier for customers to sue their banks By @AuthorPMBarrett More stories by Paul Barrett Richard Cordray, the nations top consumer watchdog, is one of the most prominent Obama administration holdovers still clinging to office. Earlier this month, in the face of unceasing hostility from the Trump administration, Congressional Republicans, and the business lobby, he announced a new rule that would make it easier for customers to sue their banks. A legislative battle over the rule is coming, perhaps the last major clash of Cordrays term, which is scheduled to end next July. It looks like hes going out fighting. Prior to his appointment in 2012 as the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the 58-year-old bureaucrat served as treasurer and attorney general of his home state of Ohio. Hes also an accomplished appellate lawyer whos argued seven cases before the U.S. Supreme Courtand, in the late 1980s, he was an undefeated five-time Jeopardy champion. The CFPB was the brainchild of Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, created in response to the financial crisis as part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial-reform law. With Cordray at the helm, the bureau has moved aggressively, resulting in nearly $12 billion in restitution and other relief for consumers, as well as $600 million in civil penalties against financial institutions large and small. Bank of America, Capital One, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase have all felt the CFPBs sting, for such offenses as charging unlawful fees or, in the case of Wells Fargo, trying to jack up sales by opening millions of phony accounts in the names of unwitting customers. None of this has made Cordray popular with Republicans. Under Mr. Cordrays leadership, the CFPB has acted unlawfully, routinely denied market participants due process, and abused its powers, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling of Texas said during a hearing in April. For all the harm inflicted upon consumers, Richard Cordray should be dismissed by the president. Hensarling was staking his position in a controversy over whether Trump can remove Cordray at will. By statute, the CFPB director can be ousted before the end of his five-year term only for cause. A 2014 enforcement case against a New Jersey mortgage company thats now pending before the federal appeals court in Washington raises the question of whether the head of the CFPB ought to serve at the pleasure of the president just as cabinet secretaries do. Trump, for all his pugnaciousness, so far has chosen not to take up congressional Republicans invitation to try to fire Cordray. That has left the CFPB director free to follow through with the arbitration rule, which has been more than two years in the making. Banks and other financial firms routinely include language in consumer contracts that blocks individuals from banding together to file class-action lawsuits. These fine-print provisions funnel disputes over credit cards, checking accounts, payday loans, and the like into private arbitration. Broadly speaking, arbitration proceedings move more quickly and arent as costly as conventional litigation. Mandatory arbitration arguably deters frivolous suits, but it doesnt afford consumers many of the rights associated with lawsuits. Not being able to pool resources and lump together claims in a class action makes it difficult for consumers to seek compensation when individual damages are relatively small. Few plaintiffs lawyers are going to take a case seeking recovery of an improperly assessed $30 credit card late fee. In a July 10 statement announcing the rule, Cordray said that mandatory arbitration clauses allow companies to avoid accountability by blocking group lawsuits and forcing people to go it alone or give up. When the rule takes effect next year, he continued, it will stop companies from sidestepping the courts and ensure that people who are harmed together can take action together. (Through a spokesman, Cordray declined to comment for this article.) Republicans reacted swiftly. The CFPB has gone rogue again, abusing its power in a particularly harmful way, said Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, adding that the arbitration rule treats consumers like helpless children, incapable of making business decisions in their own best interests. A few days before the announcement of the rule, Hensarling reportedly threatened Cordray with contempt proceedings for allegedly not responding to a committee subpoena on the topic. The GOP is already moving to overturn the arbitration rule by means of the Congressional Review Act. Enacted in 1996 and used only once prior to the Trump presidency, the act allows lawmakers to roll back a newly issued regulation within 60 legislative days from the time they formally receive the rule. Since Trump took office, it has become a potent weapon : Republicans have used it to reverse 14 Obama administration rules, including ones curbing coal-mining pollution and limiting when the mentally ill can purchase firearms. The most important business stories of the day. Get Bloomberg''s daily newsletter. Sign Up Cotton is working with Mike Crapo of Idaho, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, to get the process moving for the CFPB rule, aides to the senators confirmed via email. Theres little doubt that Trump would sign a Congressional Review Act resolution killing it. And even if lawmakers dont meet the 60-day deadlineperhaps too busy with expected debates over the federal budget and tax reformanother Trump-appointed banking regulator has suggested a method by which the plan could be killed without congressional action. Keith Noreika, the Acting Comptroller of the Currency, has said the Trump administration could unilaterally strike it down because it potentially threatens the safety and soundness of lenders. The same Dodd-Frank law that created the CFPB gives the Financial Stability Oversight Councila panel of regulators headed by the Treasury secretarypower to set aside any CFPB rule that endangers the stability of the wider financial system. In a letter to Noreika dated July 12, Cordray scoffed at the notion. At no time during this process did anyone from the [Office of the Comptroller of the Currency] express any suggestion that the rule that was under development could threaten the safety and soundness of the banking system, Cordray wrote. Nor did you express any such concerns when we have met or spoken. Unfortunately for Cordray, he doesnt have much room to maneuver in defending the arbitration rule. Depending on how the D.C. appeals court case comes out, he could even be sent packing before July 2018. However much time he has left, though, hes made it clear hell draw as much attention as possible to attempts to wipe out a policy he believes will benefit consumers. Paul Barrett '|'bloomberg.com'|'https://www.bloomberg.com/businessweek'|'https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-20/the-head-of-the-consumer-financial-protection-bureau-isn-t-going-down-without-a-fight'|'2017-07-20T17:00:00.000+03:00' +'9c24491208c62fadd4f48c8f4bff6b80b55b1dfd'|'Here is how to end austerity and still keep deficit low, says IFS - Business - The Guardian'|'Philip Hammond would need to spend an extra 33bn a year to end austerity according to a leading tax and spending watchdog.The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the chancellor could use his autumn budget to reverse major cuts scheduled to hit public spending and still keep the governments spending deficit at 2.4% of GDP by 2021.To meet a target of balancing the budget in the middle of the next decade, the IFS warned that the Treasury would need to return to its spending squeeze if the economy, as expected, only grows modestly in the aftermath of leaving the European Union, limiting the growth of tax receipts.The analysis has been released as ministers prepare to battle with the chancellor to protect their departments before the autumn budget.The chancellor has warned that government finances remain vulnerable in the event of another financial shock and the Treasurys task must remain to bring down the deficit over the next parliament.Carl Emmerson, deputy director of the IFS, said: An end to austerity as defined by no further net tax rises, benefit cuts or cuts to spending on public services would require a very sharp change of direction.It would imply a 17bn boost to planned spending on public services alongside a 5bn net tax cut and an 11bn increase in planned benefit spending ie a giveaway of 33bn a year. [That] would, on current forecasts, leave us with a deficit at its current level 2.4% of GDP in 2021-22.Emmerson said relaxing the spending squeeze was an option in a way that it was not an option back in 2010. But he warned that it would leave the chancellor with less room for manoeuvre if growth stalled as a result of Brexit.Revisions to figures for the public deficit, which soared to 9.9% of national income in 2009-10 after the financial crisis, have shown it fell to 2.4% last year and is the lowest it has been since 2003-04.Labour has argued that a deficit of 2.4% is low enough to continue to bring down the overall debt-to-GDP ratio.Emmerson, who unveiled his analysis at the Institute for Government in London, appeared to agree when he said: We could choose to continue to run deficits of around the current level over the longer term. If the economy were to grow as expected, this would be sufficient to see debt fall as a share of national income over the longer term.It would mean that over the next few years household incomes could be better supported and a greater quality and quantity of public services could be enjoyed. But it would also involve planning to live with elevated public sector debt for longer.It could give the chancellor less room for manoeuvre if the economy were to suffer badly, for Brexit-related or other reasons, over the next few years. And it would almost certainly require the abandonment of the pledge to eliminate the deficit in the mid-2020s.Topics Austerity Institute for Fiscal Studies Thinktanks Economics Budget news'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jul/12/heres-how-end-austerity-keep-deficit-low-ifs'|'2017-07-13T05:47:00.000+03:00' +'37327d1fcaa97162db3c8e297c4722764be8cb86'|'France to nationalise STX shipyard if Italy snubs ownership deal'|'July 26, 2017 / 4:51 PM / in 10 minutes France to nationalise STX shipyard if Italy snubs ownership deal Leigh Thomas 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: French Economy minister Bruno Le Maire takes a picture of French President Emmanuel Macron (not pictured) near the MSC Meraviglia cruise ship during a visit to the STX Les Chantiers de l''Atlantique shipyard site in Saint-Nazaire, France, May 31, 2017. Stephane Mahe/File Photo PARIS (Reuters) - The French state said on Wednesday it would nationalise the STX France shipyard if Italy does not accept its offer to split STX''s capital equally, putting down a marker on the limits of economic liberalism under new President Emmanuel Macron. The threat raises the stakes in a standoff over the shipyard''s fate, the only one in France with facilities large enough to build aircraft carriers. Fincantieri agreed in May to pay 79.5 million euros (71 million pounds) for two-thirds of STX France, which is being sold following the collapse of South Korean parent STX, but the Italian bid has raised fears for French jobs at the Saint-Nazaire site on the Atlantic Coast. French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said nationalisation would give the state more time to find a better shareholder deal, but even if temporary, it would mark the first major state intervention in the corporate world by Macron''s government, which was elected on a pro-business platform. Italian interests rejected the French proposal for ownership of STX France to be split equally between Italian state-owned shipbuilder Fincantieri ( FCT.MI ) and Paris. Both Fincantieri Chief Executive Giuseppe Bono and Italian Industry Minister Carlo Calenda raised the prospect that Fincantieri could walk away from the deal if France backed away from conditions agreed under the former government of President Francois Hollande, who left office in May. "We are Europeans and on STX we cannot accept being treated worse than the Koreans," Bono said on a conference call in reference to the shipyard''s previous majority owner. Italian Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan later took a more conciliatory tone, saying Italy was open to changing the terms of the deal, but insisted Fincantieri must have control. "We have offered to listen to the new government''s requirements, but there is no reason why Fincantieri should give up a majority stake and control of the French company." Unions Divided Trade unions are split over the nationalisation option, with the hardline Force Ouvriere in favour but others against. FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron greets workers as he attends a christening ceremony for the MSC Meraviglia cruise ship at the STX Les Chantiers de l''Atlantique shipyard site in Saint-Nazaire, France, May 31, 2017. Stephane Mahe/File Photo "Some people here will be glad about nationalisation but that''s not what will bring us work. Our clients need certainty," said Christophe Morel, representative of the CFDT, France''s biggest trade union. Le Maire said Fincantieri was welcome to invest in STX but on an equal footing with French partners and said that the Italians had until Thursday to make up their minds about the offer on the table. "If our Italian friends say ''this deal does not work for us, we don''t agree with 50/50'', the state will exercise its pre-emption rights on STX," Le Maire told franceinfo radio. "We will buy shares, we are majority owners and we will give ourselves time to negotiate a new shareholder pact." Under an existing pact, the French state has a pre-emption right to buy out shareholders that runs until the end of the month. Le Maire said the cost of buying out STX''s other shareholders was "on a scale of tens of millions of euros rather than in the billions of euros". Fincantieri''s shares closed down 8.7 percent at 0.959 euros a share following the STX France news and after it published first-half earnings. Macron was elected in May on promises to boost growth by lifting constraints on business and his government has since flagged plans to privatise non-strategic state holdings while easing labour regulations. However, it has also not hesitated to lean on carmakers Renault and PSA Peugeot Citroen, in which the state owns stakes, to help a struggling parts maker in a region where jobs are scarce. Macron decided after his election to review the terms of Fincantieri''s deal to acquire the STX France stake. "We are not happy with the deal negotiated by the previous government because it does not allow French shareholders to keep control of jobs, industrial capacities and regional development," Le Maire said. The French side has been concerned the Italians would shift projects from Saint-Nazaire to Italy as the shipyard''s order book for huge luxury ocean liners is currently brimming over. But the French also have a strategic interest in the shipyard for its capacity to build warships. Le Maire offered to extend naval construction cooperation as part of a 50/50 ownership deal. Additional reporting by Alberto Sisto and Isla Binnie in Rome, Elisa Anzolin in Milan, Guillaume Frouin in Nantes; Editing by Andrew Callus and Adrian Croft 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-stx-m-a-fincantieri-idUKKBN1AB2CW'|'2017-07-26T19:51:00.000+03:00' +'40a7aa2263ef7f633ef6eba41a733c46cacf9b2a'|'Luxottica on track with targets and Essilor deal after steady H1'|'July 24, 2017 / 3:45 PM / 13 minutes ago Luxottica on track with targets and Essilor deal after steady H1 Valentina Za and Claudia Cristoferi 3 Min Read MILAN, July 24 (Reuters) - Italian eyewear group Luxottica is on track to meet full-year targets and win regulatory approval for its planned merger with France''s Essilor, it said on Monday, after its first-half underlying operating profit came in just ahead of forecasts. The maker of Ray-Ban sunglasses agreed in January to merge with Essilor, the world''s biggest lens manufacturer, to create an industry leader with annual sales of more than 15 billion euros ($18 billion). Luxottica CEO Massimo Vian told Reuters on Monday the merger, which needs to clear antitrust hurdles in several countries, was progressing well. He also confirmed full-year guidance for a low-to-mid single digit percentage rise in sales at constant currencies and broadly similar operating and net profit growth, excluding one-off items. "We stick by our outlook ... and we do so with a lot of positive energy," he said. Luxottica''s sales grew 1.8 percent at constant exchange rates in the first half to 4.92 billion euros, roughly in line with estimates. Operating profit came in at 899 million euros net of one-off items, ahead of an average estimate of 873 million euros in a Reuters poll of analysts and up 1.9 percent year-on-year at constant currencies. It accounted for 18.3 percent of sales. An expanding retail network lifted European sales by 15 percent net of currency swings in January-June. But sales in North America, which account for about 57 percent of the total, fell 1 percent, hurt by Luxottica''s efforts to curb discounts applied to its spectacles both online and at its Sunglass Hut and LensCrafters retail chains. A streamlining of the group''s distribution network in China aimed at fighting counterfeiting and a parallel market for Ray Ban sunglasses drove Asia-Pacific sales down 5.6 percent. After cutting independent distributors last year to deal directly with retailers, Luxottica decided to focus on direct sales either online or through its Ray Ban shops while keeping only a few selected wholesale clients. "We became even more convinced that our strategy was right ... and we decided to speak directly to consumers," Vian said. Following news last week of the departure of another senior manager at Luxottica, Vian said he was firmly committed to the group which he considered "more as a family than as a company." Luxottica has been through several management changes since founder and top investor Leonardo Del Vecchio took back the reins of the company around three years ago. $1 = 0.8587 euros Editing by Mark Potter 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/italy-luxottica-results-idUSI6N1JX00V'|'2017-07-24T18:45:00.000+03:00' +'72564fcd6c6310f5439ca9fc17613cd162f60c11'|'Fed''s Yellen says rate and portfolio plans on track, cautions on inflation'|'July 12, 2017 / 3:09 PM / 9 minutes ago Fed''s Yellen says rate and portfolio plans on track, cautions on inflation Howard Schneider 5 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy is healthy enough for the Fed to raise rates and begin winding down its massive bond portfolio, though low inflation and a low neutral rate may leave the central bank with diminished leeway, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Wednesday. In what may be one of her last appearances before Congress, Yellen depicted an economy that, while growing slowly, continued to add jobs, benefited from steady household consumption and a recent jump in business investment, and was now being supported by stronger economic conditions abroad. The Fed "continues to expect that the evolution of the economy will warrant gradual increases in the federal funds rate over time," Yellen said in her prepared testimony. Reductions in the Fed''s portfolio of more than $4 trillion in securities are likely to begin "this year," she said. But she also noted that given current estimates, the federal funds rate "would not have to rise all that much further" to reach a neutral level that neither encourages nor discourages economic activity. The Fed still feels the economy needs loose, or accommodative, monetary policy, so a lower neutral rate means the Fed may feel compelled to slow the pace of rate hikes down the road. But for now, Yellen told members of the House Committee on Financial Services, the economy remains strong enough for the Fed to continue to gradually tighten policy. In response to questions from lawmakers, she said she expects the gradual run down of the balance sheet will "play out smoothly" in markets. The reduction in the balance sheet, which will begin slowly as the Fed reinvests only a portion of the holdings that mature each month, will mark the final exit from crisis-related policies. Economy on Even Keel Yellen''s past appearances before the House panel have sometimes involved sharp exchanges with lawmakers who think the Fed''s influence over the economy has grown too strong. Such lawmakers want policymakers to be guided more closely by a mathematical rule for setting interest rates. This session was a more sedate meeting, with Committee Chair Jeb Hensarling, an advocate "rules-based" monetary policy, complimenting the Fed for including comparisons of its monetary policy with some of the more common formulas. The Federal Reserve Board Chairwoman Janet Yellen testifies before a House Financial Services Committee hearing covering monetary policy on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 12, 2017. Aaron P. Bernstein Her appearance, coming as the Trump administration mulls whether to replace her when her term ends in February, broke little new ground in terms of policy or regulatory changes. "We have a relatively light regulatory agenda at this point," Yellen said. She confirmed the Fed was reviewing some of the requirements imposed on bank boards of directors following the financial crisis, with any eye towards possibly easing some of them. She also repeated the Fed''s strong opposition to proposals that policymakers worry could give elected officials influence over what are supposed to be independent Fed interest rate decisions. Slideshow (2 Images) According to her testimony the economy is on an even keel, near or beyond full employment. U.S. stocks rose, while yields on Treasury bonds fell and the dollar was little changed against a basket of currencies. In a separate release, the Fed''s latest beige book of reports from regional Fed banks showed "slight to moderate" economic growth across the country. A recent dip in inflation has been of concern among Fed officials who want to see surer progress toward the central bank''s 2 percent inflation goal. Yellen, however, ascribed it to "a few unusual reductions in certain categories of prices" that would eventually drop out of the calculation. The current situation "raises the stakes" for upcoming inflation data, said Jim Vogel, interest rate strategist for FTN Financial in Memphis, Tennessee. "People are going to be very anxious if that was just a statistical glitch...or if it is going to continue." Otherwise, Yellen said, the economy appeared to be in a virtuous loop of hiring, spending and investment that "should increase resource utilization somewhat further, thereby fostering a stronger pace of wage and price increases." Reporting by Howard Schneider; Additional reporting by Karen Brettell in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Andrea Ricci 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-fed-yellen-idUKKBN19X22T'|'2017-07-13T00:54:00.000+03:00' +'9bf77cf3eeafd9be89f2b7ad23b7d4581e2f8af9'|'Volvo attracts KNDS, CMI bids for Renault Trucks Defence - sources'|'July 17, 2017 / 1:53 PM / in 32 minutes Volvo attracts KNDS, CMI bids for Renault Trucks Defence: sources The logo of Swedish truck maker Volvo is pictured at the IAA truck show in Hanover, September 22, 2016. Fabian Bimmer FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Swedish truck maker Volvo ( VOLVb.ST ) has attracted two bidders for its armored vehicles maker Renault Trucks Defence (RTD) worth roughly 500 million euros ($573 million), people close to the matter said. The company put the unit up for sale late last year as it sheds non-core assets to reduce complexity across a group built through a series of large acquisitions. It has already sold its aerospace unit and external IT operations as well as a large real estate portfolio. French-German tank maker KNDS, which evolved from the merger of Nexter and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, is expected to hand in an offer for RTD by a July 24 deadline, as is Belgian group CMI, the sources told Reuters. Private equity groups which initially expressed interest in RTD are not expected to take part in the auction, which is organized by Rothschild, they added. The French government favors an industrial buyer rather than a financial investor, a source close to the defense ministry told Reuters last month. Volvo, KNDS and Rothschild declined to comment. A CMI spokesman said the company is interested in RTD. "Eighty percent of our group is owned by Bernard Sarin, a French businessman, and we have many French subsidiaries. We are a Belgo-French group that would integrate another French company and we would have synergies between Belgium and France. We are talking about more and more cooperation between the French and Belgian armies," he said. Volvo may reap less than initially expected from the sale of RTD after a slump in recent trading, people familiar with the matter said. RTD recently adjusted its business plan and now expects less than 80 million euros in 2018 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, one of them said. "Earnings are less important than the order backlog," another of them said, adding he would expect the group to sell for about 7 times its estimated core earnings. Reporting by Arno Schuetze; Additional reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek, Cyril Altmeyer, Niklas Pollard; Editing by Maria Sheahan 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-volvo-divestiture-idUKKBN1A21FG'|'2017-07-17T16:50:00.000+03:00' +'e703725e5161bdc093a34823d475668457ef7c63'|'Harris Corp, Motorola Solutions each win $461 mln U.S. defense contracts'|'Market 17pm EDT Harris Corp, Motorola Solutions each win $461 mln U.S. defense contracts WASHINGTON, July 6 Harris Corp and Motorola Solutions Inc have each been awarded $461 million contracts to upgrade existing land mobile radio system infrastructure, the Pentagon said in a statement on Thursday. (Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Tim Ahmann) UPDATE 3-Trump administration sued by 18 U.S. states over student loan relief WASHINGTON, July 6 More than one-third of U.S. states on Thursday sued the U.S. Education Department and Secretary Betsy DeVos over the recent suspension of rules that would have swiftly canceled the student-loan debt of people defrauded by Corinthian Colleges Inc and other for-profit schools. * Epigenomics AG issues change in guidance for financial year 2017 MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/harris-motorola-pentagon-idUSW1N1JN02S'|'2017-07-07T00:17:00.000+03:00' +'b2b56550e36310998f02fcf3296e4f605cb70137'|'MOVES-Two top ''quant'' researchers exit BlackRock as it revamps stock unit'|'NEW YORK, July 3 Two high-level quantitative researchers have left BlackRock Inc as the world''s largest asset manager embarks on an ambitious effort to engineer a high-tech revolution within its stockpicking business.Michael Lemmon, a former University of Utah finance professor and a senior researcher within BlackRock''s quantitative Scientific Active Equity unit, left for Citadel LLC, a spokeswoman for Ken Griffin''s hedge fund confirmed.Paddy McCrudden, a former Australia-based portfolio manager and mathematician who was most recently a senior strategist for BlackRock''s quant unit in New York, also left the company, BlackRock confirmed.Both former employees hold PhDs and were managing directors at BlackRock. Both declined to comment.A BlackRock spokeswoman confirmed the departures but declined to comment further.In March, BlackRock announced a major overhaul of its actively managed equities business, cutting jobs, dropping fees and relying more on computers to help pick stocks.The move handed over more assets and prominence to BlackRock''s high-performing Scientific Active Equity group, based primarily in San Francisco, that uses rigorous quantitative analysis of data to generate investment ideas. The project also dramatically increases the budget for a team focused on data analysis.The strategy, internally code-named "Monarch," is designed to jumpstart BlackRock''s stock funds business, which has delivered mixed performance overall.Over five years, 90 percent of assets run by the Scientific team were beating their benchmark, according to data BlackRock reported to shareholders at the end of March. That compares to 49 percent of assets run by BlackRock''s traditionalist "Fundamental" team. BlackRock will update those figures on July 17 when it reports second-quarter earnings.The asset management business is being reordered by a move from funds in which managers pick promising individual stocks to lower-cost index funds that own the entire market.Lemmon co-authored a "Financial Analysts Journal" article last year that argued that asset managers that charge high fees and struggle to justify their value face "extinction" as they compete both with fairly simple quant portfolios and highly sophisticated investors.BlackRock is a major provider of index funds through its iShares business and has seen its stock market value swell to record levels even as many of its competitors languish.BlackRock managed $5.4 trillion on March 31, with $286 billion in active equities. In all, actively managed funds represent nearly a third of BlackRock''s assets but an outsized near-50 percent of its fees. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Jennifer Ablan and Frances Kerry)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/blackrock-moves-quants-idUSL1N1JP26J'|'2017-07-03T19:14:00.000+03:00' +'fc01225001683ce8eeace2d369055aef3c8b8c9d'|'Irish first quarter GDP falls 2.6 percent quarter-on-quarter'|'July 14, 2017 / 10:04 AM / 9 minutes ago Irish first quarter GDP falls 2.6 percent quarter-on-quarter Reuters Staff 3 Min Read DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland''s gross domestic product fell by 2.6 percent quarter-on-quarter in the first three months of the year but still stood 6.1 percent higher than a year ago after data for the previous quarter was revised up sharply, data showed on Friday. Irish GDP has outperformed anywhere else in Europe for the last three years but the relevance of using the conventional measure for economic growth was called into question a year ago when 2015 growth was adjusted up to 26 percent after a massive revision to the stock of capital assets. While not as dramatic, quarterly GDP growth for the final three months of 2016 was revised up to 5.8 percent from an already strong 2.5 percent, although growth for the year as a whole was nudged down to 5.1 percent from 5.2 percent. That had a knock on effect on the quarterly comparison for January to March, with the quarter-on-quarter dip contrasting with Ireland''s fastest pace of jobs growth since the financial crisis achieved over the same period. "I think you have to take into account the fact that Q4 was so strong, that to some extent explains the negative result (for Q1 2017)," said Michael Connolly, senior statistician at the Central Statistics Office (CSO). While a swathe of other data, from retail sales and business surveys, have also pointed to a sharp recovery continuing into the first quarter, the skewed GDP figures - dubbed "leprechaun economics" by U.S. economist Paul Krugman - forced the state statistics office last year to consider new measures. The phasing in of "Modified Gross National Income" - or "GNI*" - which strips out the effects of multinational firms re-domiciling, relocating or depreciating their capital assets - began on Friday and will be fully phased in by the end of 2018. It showed that Ireland''s debt as a percentage of GNI* stood at 106 percent at the end of 2016 compared to 73 percent of GDP, putting Irish debt levels closer to those of Spain and Cyprus than Germany and the Netherlands, as implied by debt-to-GDP. Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Toby Chopra 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ireland-economy-gdp-idUKKBN19Z0Z2'|'2017-07-14T13:02:00.000+03:00' +'2b34f59796aa47508e5243ee10986f8a0d914619'|'Amazon spent $3.2 million in second quarter on Washington lobbying effort'|'WASHINGTON, July 20 (Reuters) - Amazon, facing potential criticism of its plan to buy Whole Foods Markets , continued its multi-million lobbying effort - shelling out $3.2 million in the second quarter of this year - an increase from the $2.9 million spent in the first three months.Amazon has long had a presence in Washington, lobbying on a broad range of topics ranging from taxes, immigration, trade and mobile payments.But their decision, announced in June, to buy premium grocer Whole Foods for $13.7 billion roiled the grocery industry and has sparked some opposition on Capitol Hill and among unions and other Amazon critics.That said, most antitrust experts expect the Federal Trade Commission to approve the planned merger.Complicating the company''s status in the nation''s capital, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos bought The Washington Post - a newspaper that has drawn the public ire of Donald Trump.Candidate Trump famously said in May 2016 that Amazon has "a huge antitrust problem."Amazon is on pace to spend more than $12 million this year, if they keep up their lobbying efforts at the same rate. In 2016, the online retailer spent $11 million on lobbying in Washington.The company''s lobbying effort more than doubled in 2015 compared with prior years, spending $9 million that year compared with $4.7 million the year before.Amazon added a new firm to the lobbying army in the second quarter of 2017, hiring McGuireWoods Consulting to handle work on drones, among other matters.In addition to consultants, Amazon also employs in-house lobbyists. Their latest filing lists some 15 employees who lobby on behalf of the company on a long list of topics and issues ranging from drone policy to trade regulations and immigration to food stamp programs.Amazon also employs firms to lobby on its behalf on a range of topics. In the second quarter of this year, Amazon paid lobbying megafirm Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld $80,000 to lobby, primarily focused on the Marketplace Fairness Act - a bill that would allow state government to collect sales tax from online retailers.Amazon Prime Air, a subsidiary of the company, also paid Akin Gump to lobby on drone policy. They also filed a termination, indicating they won''t be doing work for the subsidiary in future.Reporting by Ginger Gibson and Diane Bartz '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-amazon-lobbying-idUSL1N1KB1N6'|'2017-07-21T10:34:00.000+03:00' +'4352686a78d8fd31264675437fd9b956ab43ff6b'|'MOVES-Citi names UBS exec as head of EMEA diversified industrials'|'July 24, 2017 / 4:38 PM / an hour ago MOVES-Citi names UBS exec as head of EMEA diversified industrials 1 Min Read (Adds details) July 24 (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc named Heiko Horn as the head of diversified industrials within the industrials group for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and as the head of investment banking for Switzerland, an internal memo showed. Horn previously served as managing director and head of EMEA Capital Goods at UBS. Horn will join Citi in November and will be based in Zurich. He will report to Niraj Shah, co-head of EMEA industrials for corporate and investment banking, Koen van Velsen, EMEA head of industrials investment banking, and Kristine Braden, country head in Switzerland. (Reporting by Divya Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri) 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/citigroup-moves-heiko-horn-idUSL3N1KF4UD'|'2017-07-24T19:37:00.000+03:00' +'9204f898ac93695a89644016199f358281bfd1d7'|'Konica Minolta to buy Ambry Genetics, deal worth up to $1 billion'|'Deals - Thu Jul 6, 2017 - 5:51am EDT Konica Minolta to buy Ambry Genetics, deal worth up to $1 billion A logo of Konica Minolta is pictured at a trade show for Japan''s manufacturing industry in Tokyo June 20, 2012. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao By Sam Nussey - TOKYO TOKYO Konica Minolta Inc ( 4902.T ) said it was purchasing U.S. diagnostics company Ambry Genetics in a deal valued at up to $1 billion - an acquisition that marks a strategic shift for the Japanese firm''s healthcare business as it seeks a leading position in precision medicine. The deal is the largest ever for the photocopier maker, which has been seeking to diversify away its office equipment business. It pulled out of cameras about a decade ago. Konica Minolta said its advanced imaging technology complemented privately held Ambry''s genetic testing capabilities, with initial applications for combining the technologies seen in diagnosing hereditary cancer. "Together with Ambry, we will have the most comprehensive set of diagnostic technologies for mapping an individual''s genetic and biochemical makeup," Chief Executive Shoei Yamana said in a statement. In a transaction that will be partially funded by a Japanese state-backed fund, Konica Minolta said $800 million would paid in cash upon closure of the deal while $200 million could be paid over two years depending on financial performance. Konica Minolta, which has a market value of around $4 billion, will account for 60 percent of the investment, with the fund, the Innovation Network Corp of Japan (INCJ) accounting for the remaining 40 percent. INCJ, which was set up to help struggling Japanese companies, said it wanted to support the growth of the nation''s medical industry. The state-backed fund is also part of the consortium picked as preferred bidder in the $18 billion sale of Toshiba Corp''s ( 6502.T ) chip unit. (Reporting by Sam Nussey; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-konica-minolta-m-a-idUSKBN19R0PP'|'2017-07-06T10:53:00.000+03:00' +'577fcead54e3ccbb3ec64f32378aa27aa0d78257'|'Gold rises after Yellen hints at only gradual tightening'|'July 13, 2017 / 4:22 AM / an hour ago Gold prices ease in choppy trade as dollar, stocks advance Chris Prentice and Maytaal Angel 3 Min Read A customer looks at gold ornaments on display inside a jewelry showroom on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, a major gold buying festival, in Kochi April 21, 2015. Sivaram V/Files NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Gold retreated from earlier gains on Thursday as the U.S. dollar turned higher and global stocks gained on upbeat data, even as investors wagered that policy tightening in the United States would be glacial at best. Denting gold''s safe-haven appeal, the MSCI world index hit a record high for the fourth time in less than a month as investors took Yellen''s remarks as a green light for risk-taking. [MKTS/GLOB] China posted stronger-than-expected June trade figures, bolstering the U.S. dollar, which advanced against a currency basket .DXY. The greenback earlier hit its lowest since last October after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen struck a less hawkish than expected tone in testimony before Congress on Wednesday. [FRX/] A stronger U.S. currency weighs on gold, making the dollar-priced commodity more expensive for non-U.S. investors. [FRX/] Spot gold XAU= was down 0.1 pct at $1,218.59 per ounce by 1:51 p.m. EDT (1751 GMT), off Monday''s near four-month low of months at $1,204.45 this week. U.S. gold futures for August delivery GCcv1 settled down $1.80, or 0.15 percent, at $1,217.30 per ounce. The U.S. economy is healthy enough for the Fed to raise interest rates, though low inflation and a low neutral rate could leave the central bank with diminished leeway, Yellen said on Wednesday. "Without inflation pressure, Yellen won''t likely do anything until 2018. The gold market can take a breather," said Eli Tesfaye, senior market strategist for brokerage RJO Futures in Chicago. "The $1,200 (per ounce) level is good support, but it could be tested," he said. The comments, part of Yellen''s two-day monetary policy testimony, prompted a rally in treasuries, with yields on two-year notes US2YT=RR falling. Lower yields reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion. "The consolidation around $1,220 should be viewed as positive for near-term pricing, with the relatively light long positioning instilling confidence in the market that the metal is open to further top-side moves," MKS said in a note. "Geopolitical concerns out of the Korean peninsula are likely to supportive for the broader precious complex, while the very fluid Trump-Russia collusion story continues to create uncertainty across markets." Silver prices XAG= fell 0.94 pct to $15.73 per ounce. "(T)he gold/silver ratio is approaching 80, meaning that silver is very inexpensive compared with gold," said Gregor Gregersen at Singapore-based Silver Bullion Pte. Palladium ($1 = 0.7760 pounds) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-carillion-bonds-idUKKBN19X22F'|'2017-07-12T18:04:00.000+03:00' +'ed9e8fe5c6c5b40f049f69f919c5d1bcb565bdba'|'Buffett donates $3.17 billion to Gates charity, four others'|'July 10, 2017 / 10:07 PM / 11 hours ago Buffett donates $3.17 billion to Gates charity, four others Jonathan Stempel 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett plays bridge during the Berkshire annual meeting weekend in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. on May 3, 2015. Rick Wilking/File Photo (Reuters) - Warren Buffett on Monday donated roughly $3.17 billion (2.4 billion pounds) of Berkshire Hathaway Inc ( BRKa.N ) stock to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and four family charities, his largest contribution in a more than decade-long plan to give away his fortune. The billionaire investor''s 12th annual donation to the five charities comprised 18.63 million Class "B" shares of Berkshire, valued at $170.25 each as of Monday''s market close. Berkshire said Buffett, 86, has made $27.54 billion in donations since 2006 to the five charities, including roughly $21.9 billion to the Gates Foundation. Buffett still owns about 17 percent of Berkshire, the Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate he has run since 1965, despite having donated more than 40 percent of his holdings. The Gates Foundation, which focuses on improving health, reducing poverty and aiding education, is receiving about $2.42 billion of Monday''s donations. Buffett also donated to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named for his late first wife, and the Howard G. Buffett, Sherwood and NoVo Foundations, respectively overseen by his children, Howard, Susan and Peter. Following Monday''s donation, Buffet remained the world''s fourth-richest person, according to Forbes magazine. Before the donations were announced, Forbes estimated Buffett''s net worth at $76.3 billion, trailing Microsoft Corp ( MSFT.O ) co-founder Bill Gates'' $89.4 billion, Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) founder Jeff Bezos'' $84.8 billion, and Spanish retailing magnate Amancio Ortega''s $81.8 billion. Gates is a close friend of Buffett and a Berkshire director. Buffett typically reduces the number of shares he donates by 5 percent from the prior year. The charities usually sell the Berkshire shares to finance their activities, reflecting Buffett''s desire that his money be spent. Buffett also makes smaller donations to other charities. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Riham Alkousaa 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-buffett-charities-idUKKBN19V2RC'|'2017-07-11T01:07:00.000+03:00' +'b4c33355e1a64086c641d385bc5368c56e5c886c'|'Fighting tax evasion will be EC presidency priority - Austrian Finance Minister'|'July 29, 2017 / 11:42 AM / in 6 hours Fighting tax evasion will be EC presidency priority - Austrian Finance Minister Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Austrian Finance Minister Hans Joerg Schelling waits to meet President Alexander Van der Bellen (not pictured) in Vienna, Austria, January 26, 2017. Leonhard Foeger ZURICH (Reuters) - Pushing forward European and international measures to prevent profit shifting and international tax fraud will be a top priority for Austria''s European Council presidency in the second half of 2018, Austrian Finance Minister Hans Joerg Schelling said on Saturday. "The cross-border fight against tax fraud and tax avoidance is a top priority for me," Schelling said in a statement following a meeting with French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire in Vienna. "Tackling tax evasion more effectively will require European and international solutions. The European Union must finally come up with a joint strategy," he said. The finance ministry said Schelling had devised a plan to eliminate opportunities for tax avoidance and evasion, which was discussed with European Economic and Financial Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici two weeks ago. During their meeting on Saturday, Le Maire and Schelling discussed the need for a deepening of ties in the economic and monetary unions of the EU and euro zone, the finance ministry said. Estonia currently holds the presidency of the European Council, with Bulgaria due to take over from January. Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi; Editing by Andrew Bolton 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-austria-taxavoidance-idUKKBN1AE0F5'|'2017-07-29T14:42:00.000+03:00' +'a1a64fe67d3e807477090429f9e2564662d31db1'|'BGC Partners to buy Berkeley Point Financial for $875 mln'|'July 18, 2017 / 6:37 AM / 9 hours ago BGC Partners to buy Berkeley Point Financial for $875 million 1 Min Read Dealers work on a trading floor at BGC Partners in the Canary Wharf business district in London, Britain September 12, 2016. Toby Melville (Reuters) - Brokerage BGC Partners Inc said on Tuesday it would buy mortgage provider Berkeley Point Financial LLC from financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald for $875 million. BGC also said it would partner with Cantor to set up a commercial real estate business and would invest $100 million in cash for about 27 percent of the business. Cantor will contribute about $267 million of cash and non-cash assets for about 73 percent of the business and will also bear initial losses from the business, if any, up to about $37 million per year. New York-based BGC Partners said it expected the acquisition to increase its revenues and earnings and planned to fund it through debt issuance and cash on hand. Berkeley Point, acquired by an affiliate of Cantor Fitzgerald in April 2014, had a book value of $509 million as of March 31, 2017. Sandler O''Neill & Partners served as financial adviser to BGC on the transaction. Reporting by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-berkeley-point-financial-m-a-bgc-part-idUSKBN1A30GP'|'2017-07-18T09:32:00.000+03:00' +'02be95c30ba02875cf7495fae6352bd2701f3292'|'GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian stocks start new month on firm footing, bonds under pressure'|'* Asian stocks flat near 2-year high* U.S. bond yields at 1 1/2-month highs* Qatari shares at 1 1/2-year lows* China PMI, Japan tankan point to steady growth* European share futures up 0.4-0.9 pctBy Hideyuki SanoTOKYO, July 3 Asian stocks hardly budged on Monday on the first day of a new quarter while expectations of credit tightening by the world''s major central banks kept global bond markets under pressure.MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan ticked down 0.1 percent, staying within a stone''s throw of its two-year peak hit last week.Japan''s Nikkei ticked up 0.2 percent while U.S. stock futures gained 0.2 percent.European stock futures opened higher, with Germany''s DAX futures up 0.6 percent, France''s CAC futures adding 0.9 percent and Britain''s FTSE futures advancing 0.4 percent.Pan-European Euro first 300 stock index hit a 10-week low on Friday after the European Central Bank and the Bank of England last week signalled their readiness to tighten their monetary policies."Up until recently, only the Fed was tightening its policy. If the ECB is also jumping on to this, that is huge. We can''t take this lightly," said Arihiro Nagata, head of derivatives at SMBC Nikko Securities.Global bond yields have risen sharply following hawkish comments from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi last Tuesday, with German bond yields posting their biggest weekly jump since December 2015 last week.That helped to lift U.S. bond yields from lows, with the 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield hitting a 1-1/2-month high of 2.330 percent on Monday.The uptick in European bond yields could encourage European investors, who have been pouring their money on higher U.S. yielding bonds, to put their money back in Europe.The rise in U.S. bond yields came even as data showed U.S. inflation cooled in May. The annual rise in core consumer prices excluding food and energy slowed to 1.4 percent, its lowest since December 2015."In coming weeks, whether we can see a recovery in the U.S. momentum will be a key issue," said Hirokazu Kabeya, chief global strategist at Daiwa Securities.On Wall Street, the S&P 500 scored its biggest gain for the first half of the year since 2013 while the Nasdaq Composite''s first-half gain was its best in eight years.Signs of stabilising in China''s economy and a recovery in the European economy helped to boost global share prices in the first half of this year.A private sector survey on China''s manufacturing showed a surprise recovery in activity, adding to the evidence of steadying growth in the world''s second largest economy.The Bank of Japan''s tankan corporate survey showed Japanese business sentiment improved slightly more than expected.In the currency market, the euro traded at $1.1405, not far from last week''s high of $1.1445, which was its highest level in more than a year as the common currency drew support from expectations that the ECB will likely scale back its stimulus.Jens Weidmann, head of Germany''s Bundesbank and a member of the ECB''s rate-setting body, said on Saturday that the ECB is working on moving away from its ultra-easy monetary policy.The dollar traded at 112.58 yen, off Thursday''s six-week high of 112.93.The yen briefly gained on worries Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe''s reflationary policies may be at risk after his Liberal Democratic Party suffered an historic defeat in a local election in Tokyo on Sunday, though the impact did not last long.Oil prices held firm after having gained for seven consecutive sessions by Friday, after data on that day showed U.S. oil rig count RIG-OL-USA-BHI fell last week for the first time since early January.Brent crude futures rose 0.2 percent to $48.88 per barrel while U.S. crude futures gained 0.4 percent to $46.20 per barrel.In the Middle East, Qatari shares slumped to 1-1/2-year lows on Sunday as a deadline for Doha to accept a series of political demands by four Arab states were expected to expire late in the day with no sign of the crisis ending.Saudi Arabia and three allies accusing Qatar of supporting terrorism later agreed to a request by Kuwait to extend by 48 hours Sunday''s deadline for Doha to comply, according to a joint statement on Saudi state news agency SPA.(Editing by Sam Holmes & Shri Navaratnam)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/global-markets-idUSL3N1JU06D'|'2017-07-03T03:59:00.000+03:00' +'cb99009c592771795f9bf742dd0a6f11e176398f'|'Oil prices hover near eight-week high on lower U.S. inventories'|'July 27, 2017 / 2:02 PM / 27 minutes ago Oil prices hover near eight-week high on lower U.S. inventories Ahmad Ghaddar 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An oil pump is seen operating in the Permian Basin near Midland, Texas, U.S. on May 3, 2017. Picture taken May 3, 2017. Ernest Scheyder/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices traded close to eight-week highs on Thursday, boosted by a steeper-than-expected slide in U.S. crude inventories last week. Brent crude futures LCOc1 dipped by 2 cents to $50.95 a barrel at 1346 GMT, after rising about 1.5 percent in the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures CLc1 slipped 1 cent at $48.74 a barrel. Both contracts traded lower earlier in the session on a stronger dollar, but recovered most of the lost ground. A stronger U.S. currency makes dollar-denominated crude more expensive for investors holding other currencies. On Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a 7.2 million barrel drop in U.S. inventories in the week to July 21, much more than the 2.6 million barrels forecast. "As encouraging as this may seem, the price recovery wont begin in earnest until evidence of U.S. oil rebalancing is mirrored on a global scale," Stephen Brennock at oil brokerage PVM said. Expectations that the long-oversupplied market was moving towards balance were also supported by this week''s news that Saudi Arabia planned to limit crude exports to 6.6 million barrels per day (bpd) in August, about 1 million bpd below the level last year. Kuwait and United Arab Emirates, fellow members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, have also promised export cuts. U.S. shale producers including Hess Corp ( HES.N ), Anadarko Petroleum ( APC.N ) and Whiting Petroleum ( WLL.N ) announced plans this week to cut spending this year due to low oil prices. But some analysts say a slowdown in shale drilling may prove temporary. "Recent evidence of a slowdown in U.S. upstream activity has been exaggerated and will if anything be transitory," Brennock said. "Instead, a strong finish to the year is on the cards with the advent of $50 a barrel safeguarding the rebound in U.S. tight oil supply." U.S. fuel exports are on track to hit another record in 2017, making foreign fuel markets increasingly important for the future growth prospects and profit margins of U.S. refiners. In a sign Europe''s major energy firms are turning a corner after a three-year slump, Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ), France''s Total ( TOTF.PA ) and Norway''s Statoil ( STL.OL ) reported sharp rises in cash flow from second quarter operations. Profits for the three companies beat analyst expectations, meaning they can all comfortably pay dividends and reduce debt. Additional reporting by Fergus Jensen in Singapore; Editing by Edmund Blair 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-oil-idUKKBN1AC289'|'2017-07-27T17:02:00.000+03:00' +'2a1914809fdbc4e4d9c8dcb219abff8f47cf07c4'|'Airbnb says had proposed alternative to forcing Paris hosts to register rentals'|'Business News - Thu Jul 6, 2017 - 8:36pm BST Airbnb says had proposed alternative to forcing Paris hosts to register rentals A woman talks on the phone at the Airbnb office headquarters in the SOMA district of San Francisco, California, U.S., August 2, 2016. REUTERS/Gabrielle Lurie PARIS Short-term rental website Airbnb said on Thursday it had proposed for Paris and other large French cities to create automated limits to ensure its hosts did not rent their property beyond the 120 days a year legal limit for a main residence in France. Airbnb was reacting after a Paris city council decision on Tuesday made it mandatory from December for people renting their apartments on short-term rental websites such as Airbnb to register their property with the town hall. The decision had been welcomed by French hoteliers, who see the rental service as unfair competition. "We had proposed Paris and other large French cities an alternative to the registration with the automatic blocking to 120 nights of lodgings on Airbnb in order to avoid hidden professional use (of the service)," Airbnb spokesman Aurelien Perol told Reuters. Airbnb will comply with the city of Paris'' decision though its solution would have been more efficient and less costly than the one chosen, he added. In the face of intense lobbying from the French hotel industry, Airbnb also stressed that it contributed to the development of tourism in France and was a source of extra income for many Parisian families, he said. With 350,000 listings, France is Airbnb''s second-largest market after the United States, and Paris, the most visited city in the world, is its biggest single market, with 65,000 homes. (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon, editing by David Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-airbnb-hotels-reaction-idUKKBN19R2UB'|'2017-07-06T22:36:00.000+03:00' +'32556839de8338eb2888964c7ccd76e0995eac54'|'Alphabet appoints Google CEO Pichai to board'|'July 24, 2017 / 5:22 PM / in 4 minutes Alphabet appoints Google CEO Pichai to board Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc ( GOOGL.O ) said it appointed chief executive of its Google unit, Sundar Pichai, to its board. The company''s board also includes founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Alphabet is set to report second quarter earnings on Monday after markets close. [ bit.ly/2tU9lwf ] Alphabet shares were slightly lower on Monday. Reporting by Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-alphabet-pichai-board-idUKKBN1A927E'|'2017-07-24T20:22:00.000+03:00' +'ecb1c51673796f60d59b33fd8c866691a7c5c5de'|'PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - July 20'|'July 20, 2017 / 12:04 AM / 9 hours ago PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - July 20 2 Min Read July 20 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. Headlines Canadian utility Hydro One to buy Avista in $5.3 bln deal on.ft.com/2gLGs42 Theresa May criticises BBC as star salaries reveal gender gap on.ft.com/2gLFeFS Akzo Nobel chief steps down for health reasons on.ft.com/2gLGj0o Stada receives second takeover bid from Bain and Cinven on.ft.com/2gLRvdB Overview Canadian utility Hydro One Ltd said on Wednesday that it has agreed to buy U.S. energy company Avista Corp for $5.3 billion in an all-cash transaction. Theresa May called on the BBC to pay men and women equally after the corporation published the names of its 96 stars paid more than 150,000 pounds a year, exposing a wide gap between male and female broadcasters. The chief executive of Akzo Nobel NV, the Dutch paint maker, has resigned with immediate effect on health grounds just weeks after fending off a 27-billion-euro takeover attempt. A private equity consortium has made a second attempt at buying Stada, Germany''s largest maker of generic drugs, with an improved 4.1 billion euros offer. Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Sandra Maler 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-press-ft-idUSL3N1KA5UB'|'2017-07-20T03:03:00.000+03:00' +'e9fb096e25193e1bcfcf0165b7c3f6542c5e2697'|'RPT-Tesla April registrations drop in key California market'|'(Repeats without change)By Marc VartabedianSAN FRANCISCO, July 6 Registrations of Tesla Inc vehicles in California, by far the largest market of the luxury electric car maker, fell 24 percent in April from a year ago, according to data from IHS Markit.The findings come as investors worry that demand for Tesla''s luxury Model S sedan is waning ahead of the mass market Model 3 launch.Tesla earlier this week reported first-half global deliveries of its Model S and its Model X SUV at the low end of its own forecast, driving down the stock and raising questions about demand for the older models.Teslas share price more than doubled between early December and late June as investors bet on Chief Executive Elon Musks strategy to transform the low-volume luxury electric car maker into a diversified producer of mass market vehicles, storage batteries, electric commercial trucks and rooftop solar panels. The companys market value rose past larger rivals General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co.Since June 23, however, Tesla shares have fallen by nearly 20 percent amid concerns that demand for the companys existing models is weakening.Overall sales of electric vehicles in the United States remain stuck at less than 1 percent of total vehicle sales, despite a growing number of models fielded by Tesla and other car makers.Tesla declined to comment on California registration figures and noted that second-quarter global deliveries rose 53 percent from a year earlier, to just over 12,000 Model S and just over 10,000 Model X. It said earlier this week that battery pack production problems held back vehicle output in the second quarter until early June.California, a haven for environmentalists and techies, is one of the company''s leading markets. The company does not break out results by geographic area.IHS analyst Stephanie Brinley cautioned that a single month of data could not fully explain Tesla demand."If Tesla had an issue with its production for the month, that could explain" the drop in registrations, she said, noting in particular the problems with battery pack output. Still, she said, Tesla''s Model S, launched in 2012, could be in need of a refresh."They havent changed much on the exterior or much on the package," and it is a high-fashion car, she said. "I can certainly understand where Model S sales may be softening a little bit because its an older product. That could be contributing to the issue."Industry data reviewed separately by Reuters showed that the Model S registrations in California were uneven over the first four months of 2017, varying by more than 1,000 units month-to-month. In percentage terms Model S growth peaked in February, decelerated in March and turned negative in April in California.Brinley said it was difficult to assess whether that reflected demand or availability.IHS measures vehicle registration, which comes after a sale. Registration in California and overall in the United States rose sharply for the combined first four months of the year, but April showed steep declines. IHS has not released data for May or June.Chief Executive Musk in May stoked concerns that the Model 3 would cannibalize demand for the Model S when he told investors that some "confused" Tesla buyers regarded the new Model 3 as an upgrade to the Model S, affecting Model S orders. The new car is a $35,000 mass market vehicle, which costs about half the price of the Model S.Tesla reported first-half 2017 global deliveries rose to 47,100 in 2017. Tesla had predicted 47,000 to 50,000. Musk in May said there would be demand for 100,000 luxury Teslas.IHS reported April Tesla registrations fell to 2,177 from 2,867 in California. Nationally they dropped nearly 10 percent to 3,911 from 4,334. For the first four months, California registrations rose to 6,926 from 5,804 and U.S. registrations rose to 15,288 from 10,937.Tesla shares fell 5.6 percent to close at $308.83 on Thursday, although the stock is up about 45 percent for the year to date.(Additional reporting by Joe White in Detroit; Editing by Peter Henderson and Matthew Lewis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/tesla-california-idUSL1N1JY10B'|'2017-07-07T19:04:00.000+03:00' +'394e41631a8b2959bdd9dd9ffe8de059c078f183'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Fed propels emerging markets to new multi-month peaks'|'July 27, 2017 / 8:52 AM / 10 hours ago EMERGING MARKETS-Fed propels emerging markets to new multi-month peaks Sujata Rao 5 Min Read LONDON, July 27 (Reuters) - Dollar weakness propelled emerging stocks to near three-year highs on Thursday and some currencies hit multi-month peaks, boosted also by signs of healthy economic growth and a rise in Chinese corporate profits. European emerging currencies gained less, the rouble especially, an outlier due to fresh U.S. sanctions on Russia. Overall, emerging assets received a shot in the arm as U.S. Federal Reserve comments on inflation were interpreted as suggesting that a recent growth slowdown may not be temporary, reducing the pressure for interest rate hikes. The dollar touched 13-month lows against a currency basket . "This slight change of emphasis regarding how inflation is behaving has delivered a boost to risk appetite, supporting emerging market stocks and currencies as it has drawn down the value of the dollar index," said Inan Demir, senior emerging economist at Nomura. "The China data will have helped sustain that sentiment," he said, referring to a 19 percent jump in industrial firms'' June profits. MSCI''s emerging equity index rose 1 percent to the highest since September 2014, while an index for Asian shares outside Japan approached decade-highs. Many Asian currencies surged to multi-month highs against the dollar, with the Chinese yuan posting its best session in almost two months and the Thai baht at two-year peaks on a strong economic growth forecast. In emerging Europe the mood was dampened by the euro''s continued rise while the rouble was pressured by U.S. plans for sweeping new sanctions targeting Russian energy, debt, transport and other sectors. The currency was flat after a 0.7 percent gain on Wednesday against the dollar but is on track for a second week of losses while bond yields are the highest in three weeks on expectations that rate cuts will proceed less slowly. The Turkish lira firmed 0.2 percent against the dollar after closing one percent higher in the wake of the Fed meeting and the central bank is expected to stick to a hawkish tone at its meeting later in the day. Demir noted risks to the lira from the euro surge. "The lira recovery has mostly been a dollar weakness phenomenon, and euro/lira is close to all-time highs still. So the underlying depreciation pressures for the currency are still there that''s another argument for the central bank to keep short-term rates high via tight liquidity management," he said. The rand was likewise flat near one-month highs hit on Wednesday as markets awaited producer inflation data that is expected to show slowing factory prices. The zloty weakened 0.3 percent against the euro and stocks fell 0.6 percent, with investors watching for repercussions from a European Commission decision to start legal action against Poland over a controversial judicial overhaul. Commerzbank advised clients to keep a close eye on Polish political developments, adding: "We see further upside for EUR-PLN in coming weeks." For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2e7eoml For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance 2017, see tmsnrt.rs/2dZbdP5 For CENTRAL EUROPE market report, see For TURKISH market report, see For RUSSIAN market report, see) Emerging Markets Prices from Reuters Equities Latest Net Chg % Chg % Chg on year Morgan Stanley Emrg Mkt Indx 1071.36 +9.07 +0.85 +24.25 Czech Rep 1011.56 -0.29 -0.03 +9.76 Poland 2347.87 -12.39 -0.52 +20.53 Hungary 35593.98 +29.08 +0.08 +11.22 Romania 8332.06 +8.66 +0.10 +17.60 Greece 830.93 +0.72 +0.09 +29.10 Russia 1028.54 +7.94 +0.78 -10.74 South Africa 48804.68 +240.89 +0.50 +11.17 Turkey 08327.43 +1121.27 +1.05 +38.63 China 3249.29 +1.62 +0.05 +4.69 India 32526.56 +144.10 +0.44 +22.16 Currencies Latest Prev Local Local close currency currency '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-idUSL5N1KI3EB'|'2017-07-27T11:51:00.000+03:00' +'2c0dcf2b36d6325a47f73f9da49342a68366e209'|'Canada''s Exchange Income responds to Marc Cohodes shorting campaign'|'Market News - Wed Jul 5, 2017 - 10:20am EDT Canada''s Exchange Income responds to Marc Cohodes shorting campaign July 5 Canada''s Exchange Income Corp said on Wednesday it was aware of a "short and distort campaign" aimed at undermining the value of the company''s shares. Earlier on Wednesday, short seller Marc Cohodes told Reuters that he shorted the company''s stock, stating that Exchange Income cannot afford to pay its big dividend. Exchange Income said it was considering accelerating its share repurchase program. "The short report was deliberately released immediately following the end of the Company''s second quarter when EIC is in a quiet period, and is based on a number of statements, assumptions and opinions with which we strenuously disagree," Exchange Income said in a statement. (Reporting by John Benny in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/hedgefunds-cohodes-eic-idUSL3N1JW46X'|'2017-07-05T17:20:00.000+03:00' +'176e7d55072949fece147eb246f73c15d763176a'|'BRIEF-Black Dragon Gold Corp says repaid debt facility with RMB Australia Holdings'|' 14pm EDT BRIEF-Black Dragon Gold Corp says repaid debt facility with RMB Australia Holdings July 6 Black Dragon Gold Corp: * Repayment of RMB secured debt facility * Repaid its secured debt facility with RMB Australia Holdings Limited for aggregate cash consideration of US$3.5 million Source text for Eikon: (Bengaluru Newsroom: +91 806 749 1136) * Protector Forsikring ASA says delivers an operating profit of NOK 169.5 million in Q2 of 2017 MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories Reuters Plus - Reuters News Agency - Brand Attribution Guidelines - Careers Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters . Thomson Reuters is the world''s largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-black-dragon-gold-corp-says-repaid-idUSFWN1JX0HE'|'2017-07-06T21:14:00.000+03:00' +'b6c6f4f6d15c7af5ed8f0606b4a9b218c7948155'|'Poland - Factors to Watch July 14'|'July 14, 2017 / 6:16 AM / 6 minutes ago Poland - Factors to Watch July 14 2 Min Read Following are news stories, press reports and events to watch that may affect Poland''s financial markets on Friday. ALL TIMES GMT (Poland: GMT + 2 hours): Data The central bank is due to publish May current account data at 1200 GMT. Play Ipo Price The offer price in Play Communication''s initial public offering has been set at 36 zlotys ($9.72) per share for both retail and institutional investors, Play said. New Taxes The Polish government is planning to introduce new taxes including a special new tax on fuels and electric energy, a new payment for television and radio services, a recycling payment as well as potentially a new tax on shopping centres and e-cigarettes, which could amount to 25 billion zlotys ($6.75 billion) per year in total, Rzeczpospolita daily reported. Alibaba AliExpress, the online marketplace belonging to China''s Alibaba, has become the third most popular such platform in Poland following Allegro and Ceneo, Rzeczpolita daily reported. Polenergia Energy firm Polenergia is in advanced talks with six or seven potential partners to construct windfarms on the Baltic Sea, Puls Biznesu daily reported without naming its sources. The potential partners include Statoil, Vattenfall , Dong and Innogy. ****Reuters has not verified stories reported by Polish media and does not vouch for their accuracy.**** For other related news, double click on: Polish equities E.Europe equities Polish money Polish debt Eastern Europe All emerging markets Hot stocks Stock markets Market debt news Forex news For real-time index quotes, double click on: Warsaw WIG20 Budapest BUX Prague PX ($1 = 3.7028 zlotys) (Reporting by Warsaw Bureau) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/poland-factors-idUSL8N1K44QC'|'2017-07-14T09:13:00.000+03:00' +'3f02f5cde7f33b0fc09d6dfae097d2d9da7f58ba'|'FTSE Russell to exclude Snap from stock indexes'|'July 26, 2017 / 8:39 PM / 11 minutes ago FTSE Russell to exclude Snap from stock indexes Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of messaging app Snapchat is seen at a booth at TechFair LA, a technology job fair, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., January 26, 2017. Lucy Nicholson/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - FTSE Russell CEO Mark Makepeace said on Wednesday the index provider plans to exclude Snap Inc from its widely followed stock indexes because of the Snapchat owner''s unusual share structure that denies voting rights to investors. Russell said it plans to require constituents of its indexes to have more than 5 percent of the company''s voting rights in the hands of unrestricted shareholders. Russell also said it plans to seek further feedback from clients. Reporting by Ross Kerber; editing by Grant McCool 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-snap-russell-idUKKBN1AB2TY'|'2017-07-26T23:38:00.000+03:00' +'045c973652b85a28b2c1b4de4d351271596b3b85'|'Outlook for Asian currencies brightens as Trump trade fades: Reuters poll'|'July 7, 2017 / 6:44 AM / in 12 hours Outlook for Asian currencies brightens as Trump trade fades: Reuters poll 5 Min Read A China yuan note is seen in this illustration photo May 31, 2017. Thomas White/Illustration/Files BENGALURU (Reuters) - The outlook for emerging Asian currencies has brightened compared to the beginning of the year, driven largely by a weaker dollar on fading expectations for major U.S. tax cuts any time soon, a Reuters poll found. Most Asian currencies have got the better of the dollar which has taken a beating on growing concerns over the U.S. administration''s inability to deliver on promises made. The Chinese yuan, a major focal point for global markets in the past few months as authorities scrambled to stabilise it and flush out speculators betting on a steep fall, looked set to end the year in better shape than previously thought. The Taiwan dollar was among the best performers in Asia, up nearly 6 percent this year. The Korean won, Malaysian ringgit, Singapore dollar and Thai baht have gained more than 4 percent. The latest poll consensus of more than 60 foreign exchange strategists surveyed over the past week showed many of the major Asian currencies are likely to hold onto most of their gains made this year over the coming 12 months. That is in contrast to a poll in January, which predicted a steep fall against the dollar on expectations for fiscal stimulus and a faster pace of Federal Reserve rate hikes. "There has been some disappointment in lack of progress in the U.S. in terms of pushing through fiscal reforms and tax reforms, which is one of the reasons why the dollar hasn''t done that well," said Julian Evans-Pritchard, China economist at Capital Economics. "We still do expect a small fiscal package at some point probably in the next year but the market has started to question (President Donald) Trump''s ability to get as much done and I don''t expect any kind of major fiscal stimulus to help the dollar jump higher." The Chinese yuan and Indian rupee have gained over 2 percent against the dollar this year, with half of those gains made over the last two months. The yuan is predicted to trade at 6.95 per dollar by the end of this year, compared to 7.2 forecast at the beginning of the year. The Indian rupee is tipped around 65.5 to the dollar by end-2017 compared to 69.5 seen in January poll. While the outlook has definitely brightened for Asian currencies, it is mainly due to the loss of momentum in the dollar with country-specific factors playing second fiddle. Bets in the latest poll have turned less bullish for the dollar as much of the Federal Reserve''s policy tightening plan has already been priced-in and the real risk now is that the central bank may be pushed off its path. But a separate Reuters poll on positioning showed speculators trimmed their bullish bets in most of the Asian currencies, even as they increased their long positions in the Indonesian rupiah and the Thai baht. [ASIA/FXP] The outlook for the regional currencies was also supported by better economic performance and some reforms undertaken in recent months. China''s economy grew a solid 6.9 percent in the first quarter on a year earlier, supported by significant government infrastructure spending. A string of curbs on capital outflows by Beijing, and the introduction of a different methodology to calculate the mid-point reference rate for the yuan by the People''s Bank of China (PBOC) has also helped restore market confidence in the currency. "We have revised our USD/CNY forecast and the reason is that the dollar has not been stronger than we expected. The other reason is the Chinese economy has stabilized and that should be good for CNY," said Irene Cheung, senior Asia FX strategist at ANZ. Separately, the strength in the Indian rupee has been driven in part by confidence the government will likely pass through major reforms and on expectations for better economic growth. The implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) by the government, touted as the biggest tax reform since independence, has bolstered the view on the Indian economy as well as the outlook for its stocks. "We are still quite constructive on the INR and the reason is reforms," added ANZ''s Cheung. (For other stories from the FX poll:) Polling by Shaloo Shrivastava and Khushboo Mittal; Editing by Shri Navaratnam 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/forex-poll-asia-idINKBN19S0R4'|'2017-07-07T09:41:00.000+03:00' +'4025b823fc12a7832dda42af2a84208f6e22ce81'|'The government must urgently roll out rate-relief fund for SMEs - Guardian Small Business Network'|'Business rates have existed in one form or another since 1572. Over the intervening 445 years, the evolution of business has seen practices move from living above the shop, to office work, homeworking, the gig economy and online trading.Minister makes U-turn over 300m business rates relief fund Read more The shift to online trading is the most significant in the business rates story, with technological change allowing businesses of all types to move online. This move raises real questions about the relevance of a tax put on the physical structure of a building.Unfortunately, despite the nature of work changing so significantly, particularly in the online space, the business rates system has remained stuck in the past. So it is no longer fit for purpose. Currently, a business must pay 1 in business rates before it even earns 1 in turnover, let alone 1 in profit. Speaking to small businesses around the UK, this system is creating huge concern and anxiety, with many wondering how much longer they can last.The inconvenient truth is that the delay in distributing this fund is leaving many businesses on the brinkMore than half (55%) of small businesses told us they were planning to reduce, postpone or cancel investment in their business. Additionally, one in five (19%) of those businesses affected by increased rates, said they may ultimately consider closing down or selling their business as a result of the hikes in their bills.Many of these small businesses have contacted us to say that these increases in their tax bills are completely unfair and disproportionate and, as such, they are considering scaling back their business. This is in no ones interest and puts productivity and greater growth at risk.In the spring budget, small businesses were thrown a lifeline when the chancellor announced a 300 million relief fund to help keep the hardest hit businesses afloat. But fast forward four months and many small businesses are still waiting to be told whether they will receive help. If that wasnt hard enough, local authorities have now begun chasing up new inflated bills based on the April revaluation.In response the Federation of Small Businesses has sent a letter to the communities secretary, Sajid Javid. The central thrust of our message is for the department to show clear leadership by sending a letter of direction to local councils in England to urgently initiate the roll out of the hardship fund by implementing their local relief schemes.Looking at the current timetable, businesses wont get any relief for another month or two at the earliest. This is a full five or six months after the revaluation.Ill-timing has led to delay with the announcement of the relief fund being hastily followed by the call for a general election leading to a purdah period. With parliament grinding to a halt so that MPs could hit the campaign trail, many local authorities have not even started consulting on how this money is going to be distributed.Patience may be a virtue, but the inconvenient truth is that the delay in distributing this fund, has left many of these businesses on the brink.Businesses already staring down inflated bills could also be faced with court summons and liability orders as a result of their inability to pay. This just increases the pressure on small businesses as they face up to mounting costs coupled with a likely negative effect on their credit rating which would make it more difficult to secure future finance.This is a completely unacceptable situation that is putting at risk the livelihood of many entrepreneurs who have taken the brave step of opening up their own business. For some businesses, it is already too little and too late. I recently spoke to a local London business that had no choice but to close its doors after five years of trading. The reason was simple business rate hikes and the inability to make ends meet anymore.These business rates increases have come at the worst possible time, with small businesses facing the highest costs of doing business for the last four years and the political uncertainty created by the outcome of the general election.I fear that this will be an all too common conversation if small businesses cries for support continue to be met with warm words followed by inertia. Small firms are the heart and soul of our local communities, as well as acting as the engine of UK growth. Without them, our communities and economy will be irreversibly damaged.Mike Cherry is the national chair of the Federation of Small Businesses Topics Guardian Small Business Network Budget blogposts'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/jul/07/the-government-must-urgently-roll-out-rate-relief-fund-for-smes'|'2017-07-07T14:00:00.000+03:00' +'c4a0c86d59ebc754a2eb6d8314ef66efcefe444b'|'Global Markets - Oil rebounds, dollar loses to euro, stocks fall'|'July 6, 2017 / 3:48 PM / in 8 minutes Global Markets - Oil rebounds, dollar loses to euro, stocks fall Sinead Carew 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., June 2, 2017. Brendan McDermid/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil regained ground on Thursday but stocks around the world fell and the euro gained on the U.S. dollar after minutes from the European Central Bank''s latest meeting showed it could be open to scrapping its bond-buying pledge. The dollar pulled back after weaker-than-expected U.S. private jobs data affirmed expectations for a gradual pace for U.S. interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. Wall Street followed European shares lower as investors saw little reason to buy in a holiday week ahead of the second-quarter earnings reporting season. "It''s the lull before earnings. There''s not as much enthusiasm for buying," said Chris Zaccarelli, Chief Investment Officer at Cornerstone Financial Partners in Huntersville, NC. "Investors don''t think companies will surprise as positively as they did in the first quarter." The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 89.98 points, or 0.42 percent, to 21,388.19, the S&P 500 lost 15.04 points, or 0.62 percent, to 2,417.5 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 52.43 points, or 0.85 percent, to 6,098.42. Europe''s Stoxx 600 index touched its lowest point since April 21 and was last down 0.7 percent MSCI''s gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.3 percent. Some investors were also likely uneasy about geopolitical issues, according to Zaccarelli. A summit of G20 nations this week has taken on greater significance following this week''s test of a long-range missile by North Korea. Fund manager Jan Dehn of Ashmore identified a trio of concerns spooking investors, especially in emerging markets, where currencies declined "One is the Middle East and the Qatar-Saudi situation and even the oil market doesn''t know how to handle that one," he said. "The second is North Korea, which is classic geopolitical risk, and finally, and probably most importantly, there has been the recent hawkish tilt from the major central banks and it seems to be coordinated." Dehn also cited some profit-taking in emerging market assets after a stellar first half to the year. South Africa''s rand was down 0.6 percent and Turkey''s lira fell 0.5 percent in their second consecutive day of declines. [EMRG/FRX] The rand extended Wednesday''s 1.6 percent drop driven by proposals to nationalize South Africa''s central bank and expropriate land without compensation. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, fell 0.37 percent, with the euro up 0.44 percent to $1.1402. U.S. Treasury yields rose on the prospect of hawkish global central bank policy and as rising oil prices suggested a potential pickup in inflation. Benchmark 10-year notes were last down 15/32 in price to yield 2.3856 percent, from 2.334 percent on Wednesday. The 30-year Treasury bond was off 1-9/32 in price to yield 2.9172 percent, from 2.855 percent. Those yields hit a six-week high of 2.923 percent. Commodity markets continued to swing. Oil recovered some ground after a surprisingly upbeat picture of U.S. demand halted the previous day''s 4 percent slide, although the prospect of oversupply in 2018 prompted more analysts to cut price forecasts. U.S. crude rose 2.48 percent to $46.25 per barrel and Brent was last at $48.89, up 2.3 percent on the day. Gold pared losses and was last down 0.2 percent at $1,223.80 an ounce. Additional reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss and Samuel Forgione in New York, Marc Jones in London and Nichola Saminather in Singapore; Editing by Catherine Evans and James Dalgleish 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-markets-idINKBN19R2BY'|'2017-07-06T18:46:00.000+03:00' +'4fb8e06728782c6e66fe10c34bb6e1f2a90062e4'|'Asian shares ride U.S., European gains, dollar hovers near seven-week high'|'Business News - Tue Jul 4, 2017 - 4:44am BST Asian shares ride U.S., European gains, dollar hovers near seven-week high left right A man looks at a stock quotation board outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, April 18, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO - People are reflected in a stock quotation board outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan January 14, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai 2/2 By Nichola Saminather - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Asian shares rose on Tuesday, thanks to strength in Europe and the United States as oil''s longest stretch of daily price gains in over five years lifted energy shares, while markets in Seoul were briefly shaken by a missile launched by North Korea. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.3 percent. Japan''s Nikkei was up 0.4 percent, and South Korea''s KOSPI was 0.1 percent lower. The KOSPI earlier dropped as much as 0.4 percent and the South Korean won stumbled 0.3 percent after reports North Korea had launched an missile that could land in Japanese exclusive economic zone. South Korean President Moon Jae-in called a meeting of the National Security Council in response. The South Korean currency was last down 0.1 percent at 1,148.1 won to the dollar at 0210 GMT. Australian shares advanced 1.65 percent, bouncing solidly from a 2.3 percent loss over the previous two sessions. "Synchronised gains for both U.S. markets and the U.S. dollar was seen overnight with optimism channeled to the markets at the start of the week," Jingyi Pan, market strategist at IG in Singapore, wrote in a note. Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted gains of 0.2 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively, led by financials and energy shares. The Nasdaq lost 0.5 percent, as the rotation away from technology names continued. An error in Nasdaq''s computer systems caused some third-party providers to incorrectly show large after-hours swings for the prices of Amazon Inc, Microsoft Corp and Apple Inc shares. Google parent Alphabet Inc and eBay Inc shares were among others that all appeared to be priced at $123.47 on some financial news websites on Monday evening. The actual prices of the stocks were not affected and no trades were completed at that price, a Nasdaq spokesman confirmed. U.S. markets are closed on Tuesday for the independence day holiday. European markets posted even stronger gains, with the FTSEurofirst 300 jumping as much as 1.2 percent following steep losses last week. In currency markets, the dollar crept down 0.2 percent to 113.275 yen on Tuesday, but remained within a hair of a seven-week high of 113.47 touched on Monday. The dollar jumped after a private index of June domestic manufacturing activity rose more than expected while other data showed government outlays on construction projects in May at their highest in more than four years. That sent two-year U.S. Treasury yields surging to their highest level since November 2008. "Expectations towards the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates later this year had perhaps sunk too low," said Shin Kadota, a senior strategist at Barclays in Tokyo. "We are now seeing such lowered expectations being reversed a little." The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of trade-weighted peers, was down almost 0.1 percent at 96.146, holding on to most of Monday''s 0.6 percent gain. The Australian dollar climbed 0.1 percent to $0.7666 ahead of a Reserve Bank of Australia meeting at which the central bank is expected to leave benchmark interest rates unchanged at a record low 1.5 percent. The euro was little changed at $1.1366 on Tuesday. Sterling inched higher to $1.294, but failed to make up most of Monday''s 0.7 percent loss after poorer-than-expected data from Britain''s manufacturing sector. Crude futures posted their first session of losses in nine, ending their longest run of gains since February 2012, as traders closed positions ahead of the U.S. holiday. U.S. crude slipped 0.5 percent to $46.82 a barrel. Global benchmark Brent also fell 0.5 percent to $49.41. On Monday, it closed up 3.7 percent, its biggest one-day gain since December 2016. Gold inched up from its lowest level in more than seven weeks hit on Monday on the dollar''s strength. Spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $1,222.21 an ounce on Tuesday. (Reporting by Nichola Saminather; Additional reporting by Shinichi Saoshiro; Editing by Sam Holmes & Shri Navaratnam)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUKKBN19P01N'|'2017-07-04T06:20:00.000+03:00' +'13fd4ca71f91ed465da0f868a9b0aa11e2d605da'|'VW says cooperation with rivals is common industry practice'|'July 26, 2017 / 5:47 PM / 2 hours ago VW says cooperation with rivals is common industry practice 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Volkswagen (VW) logo is seen on a car''s front at a scrapyard in Fuerstenfeldbruck, Germany, May 21, 2016. Michaela Rehle/File Photo BERLIN (Reuters) - Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) said on Wednesday that cooperation among carmakers on technical matters is a common industry practice but declined comment on allegations that it engaged in anti-competitive behavior with other German automakers. VW, Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ), BMW ( BMWG.DE ), Audi ( NSUG.DE ) and Porsche have faced a barrage of public criticism after a report by German magazine Der Spiegel last Friday said carmakers had colluded for decades on pricing and technologies to the detriment of foreign rivals. "The Volkswagen Group has no comment to make at the present time on details of these issues or on speculation which has among other things become the subject of public debate," VW said on Wednesday after a meeting of its supervisory board. "It is quite common for car manufacturers all over the world to engage in an exchange on technical issues in order to accelerate the pace and quality of innovations." Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Tom Sims 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-emissions-volkswagen-idUSKBN1AB2HY'|'2017-07-26T20:47:00.000+03:00' +'b68cdbb97d8eec2b6bfc5fed2bd1da920f108927'|'Alphabet profit slumps on record $2.7 billion EU fine'|'July 24, 2017 / 8:13 PM / in 10 minutes Alphabet profit slumps on record $2.7 billion EU fine FILE PHOTO - A man holds his smartphone which displays the Google home page, in this picture illustration taken in Bordeaux, Southwestern France, August 22, 2016. Regis Duvignau (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc ( GOOGL.O ) reported a 27.7 percent drop in quarterly profit as the company recorded a previously announced charge related to a record $2.7 billion fine imposed on its Google unit by the EU. The company''s net income fell to $3.52 billion, or $5.01 per Class A and B share and Class C capital stock, in the second quarter ended June 30 from $4.88 billion, or $7 per share, a year earlier. bit.ly/2uR47WB Analysts had expected earnings of $4.46 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. It was not immediately clear if the reported results were comparable. The company changed the method it reports earnings in the first quarter, focusing on Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) earnings instead of non-GAAP results. Consolidated revenue rose to $26.01 billion from $21.50 billion. EU antitrust regulators last month hit Google with a record 2.4-billion-euro ($2.7 billion) fine for favouring its own shopping service, taking a tough line in the first of three probes of its dominance in searches and smartphone operating systems. Reporting by Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-alphabet-results-idUKKBN1A92H3'|'2017-07-24T23:13:00.000+03:00' +'b916e8e245e813463a441e0cd1b5f08c1af33e66'|'Discovery to acquire Scripps Networks Interactive'|'July 31, 2017 / 11:11 AM / 12 minutes ago Discovery to acquire Scripps Networks Interactive Jessica Toonkel 3 Min Read NEW YORK (Reuters) - Discovery Communications Inc ( DISCA.O ) is acquiring Scripps Networks Interactive ( SNI.O ) for $14.6 billion (11.12 billion pounds) in a deal that is expected to boost the combined company''s negotiating leverage with pay TV operators at a time when more people watch video online, the companies said on Monday. The acquisition, which was completed last night, brings together Scripps'' largely female audience of lifestyle channels such as HGTV, Travel Channel and Food Network with Discovery''s Animal Planet and Discovery Channel, which primarily has male viewers. With the acquisition, Discovery can cut costs and use Scripps''s shows to further its international reach. The combined company''s larger programming slate might also provide leverage in negotiations for inclusion in skinny bundles, or economy-priced cable packages that offer fewer channels than a standard contract. The combined company will have 20 percent total cable viewership, according to a recent Barclays note. That will strengthen its negotiating stance when renewing contracts with distributors. By adding Scripps programming, Discovery could also launch its own "skinny bundle" of networks at a low cost. U.S television networks and cable providers are under pressure as more viewers watch their favourite shows and movies on phones and tablets. There is also increased competition for viewers from streaming services such as Netflix Inc ( NFLX.O ) and Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ). Scripps has been considered a takeover target since the Scripps family trust that controlled the company was dissolved five years ago. This marks at least the third time that Discovery, whose shareholders include cable magnate John Malone, has tried to buy Scripps. Discovery outbid Viacom Inc ( VIAB.O ) for Scripps, which Reuters first reported Wednesday. Investors are largely positive on the deal for the synergies the combined company will see and the leverage it will have with pay TV partners. Since news of Discovery''s talks started, Discovery is up almost 3 percent, while Scripps is up almost 30 percent. But many analysts question how the combined company will compete long-term as viewers keep cutting cords to cable providers and advertising and ratings decline. "If there were no secular concern, this deal would be a slam dunk," wrote Barton Crockett an analyst at FBR Capital Markets, on July 27. While ratings for both companies have been solid, "investors don''t trust that this can continue, and we''re not sure what turns that fear around." Discovery is paying 70 percent cash and 30 percent stock for Scripps. Editing by David Gregorio'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-scripps-net-int-m-a-discovery-commns-idUKKBN1AG18D'|'2017-07-31T14:11:00.000+03:00' +'c12ae69de5e5d3eaacb90029afdf11c56c639398'|'Siemens, Bombardier close to deal on transportation tie-up - sources'|'July 21, 2017 / 1:17 PM / in 21 minutes Siemens, Bombardier near deal on transportation tie-up, sources say 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: New Siemens AG headquarters are seen in Munich, Germany, June 14, 2016. Michaela Rehle/File Photo FRANKFURT/MONTREAL (Reuters) - Canada''s Bombardier ( BBDb.TO ) and Germany''s Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ) are in the final stages of talks to combine their rail operations, several sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, in a deal that would give the two added heft to compete against Chinese rail giant CRRC ( 601766.SS ). The deal, which would create two separate joint ventures for their signalling and rolling-stock divisions, could be announced as early as August, the sources said. Siemens'' supervisory board will discuss the matter at its meeting on Aug. 2, while Bombardier''s board is expected to consider it before the company''s second-quarter earnings call next week, the sources said, adding that an announcement could come in early August. All of the sources, including one who talked to Reuters earlier in the week, spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are confidential. Rail consolidation has been a trend over the last few years, as global companies seek to contain costs and Western companies struggle with the rising ambitions of China''s state-backed CRRC at home and abroad. Media reports in April that Siemens and Bombardier explored a combination with total sales of $16 billion had sparked antitrust concerns in Europe. Bombardier would take just over a 50 percent stake in the joint rolling stock operations, one source said. Siemens would take roughly an 80 percent stake in a joint venture in the higher-margin signalling technology, two of the sources said. While a deal could be a "win-win" for both companies, any agreement that largely cedes control over Bombardier''s lucrative signalling business to Siemens, the market leader, could worry the Canadian company''s investors, an analyst said. A logo of jet manufacturer Bombardier is pictured on their booth during the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva, Switzerland, May 22, 2017. Denis Balibouse Nevertheless, a tie-up could help Bombardier, the rail industry''s fifth-largest signalling player by market share, grow that business, the analyst said. Bombardier and Siemens declined to comment. No money would be exchanged as part of the deal, two of the sources said. It was not yet clear what role Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, which owns a 30 percent stake in Bombardier Transportation, would play in the deal. A spokesman for the Caisse, Canada''s second-largest pension fund, would not comment on Friday. Caisse Chief Executive Officer Michael Sabia told Reuters in June that he supports rail consolidation in general to create value and "to begin levelling the market," given CRRC''s size advantage. The proposed deal would also address antitrust concerns and fears that a tie-up would result in job losses. The companies have offered extensive job guarantees to get backing from the strong German labour side, two of the sources said. Bombardier and Siemens also would have to sell off some high-speed train operations to address the antitrust concerns. The advisers for Siemens are Goldman Sachs and BNP Paribas, and UBS for Bombardier. The banks declined to comment or were not immediately available for comment. Siemens shares fell almost 2 percent while Bombardier was unchanged. Additional reporting by Alexander Huebner and Georgina Prodhan in Frankfurt, Irene Preisinger in Munich and Matt Scuffham in New York; Editing by Georgina Prodhan and Jeffrey Benkoe 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-siemens-bombardier-transportation-idUKKBN1A61ME'|'2017-07-21T16:16:00.000+03:00' +'e6b9027f064840609df5b9b8144fb935eb36d7ec'|'Exclusive: Former Barclays CEO close to deal to buy Hartford unit - sources'|'July 28, 2017 / 1:59 AM / in 16 hours Exclusive: Former Barclays CEO close to deal to buy Hartford unit - sources David French 3 Min Read (Reuters) - Atlas Merchant Capital LLC, the investment firm led by former Barclays Plc Chief Executive Officer Bob Diamond, is in advanced talks to acquire a Hartford Financial Services Group Inc annuity run-off business for between $3 billion and $3.5 billion, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Divesting the unit, dubbed Talcott Resolution, would help Hartford recycle capital, allowing it to shed a business that no longer writes new contracts and focus on more profitable, non-life insurance parts of its operations. Atlas has prevailed in an auction for Talcott Resolution, two sources said. While there is no certainty that the negotiations will be successful, a deal could come as early as next month, the sources added, asking not to be identified because the discussions are confidential. Hartford declined to comment, while Atlas did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Many insurance firms, struggling to maintain pay-outs at a time of low interest rates, have been placing their annuities businesses into run-off units such as Talcott Resolution - whereby no new policies are written and existing ones are managed until maturity. Often, these units have subsequently been sold. Financial investors such as private equity firms have been buyers, aiming to squeeze out greater returns on these policies by measures including cutting administrative costs. In its second-quarter earnings which were released earlier on Thursday, Hartford said Talcott Resolution''s net income was $105 million in the second quarter, almost flat to the corresponding three months of 2016, as declining core earnings were offset by lower costs. Reflecting the run-off nature of the unit, individual variable annuity and fixed annuity contract as of June 30 had declined 10 percent and 6 percent respectively on the same point of last year. No further details were given. Should the agreement be secured to sell Talcott Resolution to Atlas, it would be the latest in a string of such deals. Last month, Dutch insurance firm Aegon NV completed the sale of the majority of its U.S. run-off business, worth $14 billion and comprising of annuity and life insurance products, to Wilton Re. Reporting by David French in New York; Additional reporting by Suzanne Barlyn; Editing by Lisa Shumaker 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-hartford-fin-ser-m-a-atlas-idUSKBN1AD073'|'2017-07-28T09:59:00.000+03:00' +'aae9e012de6adeff467000b6465b32bfe9fd61ea'|'German ministry rejects calls for modern diesel tax incentives'|'July 29, 2017 / 12:52 PM / in 29 minutes German ministry rejects calls for modern diesel tax incentives Reuters Staff 2 Min Read BERLIN (Reuters) - The German environment ministry has rejected calls from two of the country''s states for tax incentives to promote the sale of low-emission modern diesels and electric cars. Representatives of Germany''s federal government, states and major automakers will meet on Wednesday to discuss ways to avert driving bans on diesel cars which have drawn public attention since Volkswagen''s ( VOWG_p.DE ) emissions test-cheating scandal broke almost two years ago. The head of Lower Saxony, where VW is based, has proposed financial incentives for drivers of older diesel cars to switch to more efficient models, while the premier of Bavaria, home to BMWG ( BMWG.DE ), wants car tax to be lowered for owners of diesel models designed to meet the latest Euro-6 emission standards. But the environment ministry, one of the hosts of the August 2 diesel summit, is rejecting the proposals. "We are not particularly interested in supporting a technology that in the foreseeable future no longer belongs on the roads anyway," a spokeswoman for the Berlin-based ministry said on Saturday. Instead, carmakers and politicians have worked on a plan to tackle diesel pollution and improve air quality by updating engine management software on some older vehicles to make exhaust filter systems more effective. However a German court ruling on Friday backing a push to ban diesel cars from Stuttgart, home to Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ) and VW''s Porsche sports-car division, is raising doubts as to whether software modifications will suffice to bring cities'' emissions levels into line with European standards. Reporting by Markus Wacket; Writing by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Andrew Bolton 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-emissions-idUKKBN1AE0GS'|'2017-07-29T15:52:00.000+03:00' +'cbb53554a12f2b2ed1fc6c8c539838dcabf596ac'|'LVMH''s Louis Vuitton launches e-commerce website in China'|'July 21, 2017 / 2:50 PM / 14 minutes ago LVMH''s Louis Vuitton launches e-commerce website in China Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A woman checks her phone after shopping at a Louis Vuitton store in the upscale shopping Serrano Street in central Madrid, Spain January 31, 2017. Picture taken January 31, 2017. Susana Vera/File Photo GLOBAL BUSINESS WEEK AHEAD - SEARCH GLOBAL BUSINESS 27 JUN FOR ALL IMAGES - RTS18RAZ PARIS (Reuters) - French fashion brand Louis Vuitton, part of luxury giant LVMH ( LVMH.PA ), said on Friday it had launched an e-commerce website in China to tap a booming online shopping market. Louis Vuitton, which opened its first store in Beijing in 1992, said the website offered leather goods, small leather goods, shoes, accessories, watch and jewellery, luggage, and the newly launched Les Parfums Louis Vuitton. Payments can be made via UnionPay, Alipay and WeChat, the statement said. The website will be available in 12 cities - Beijing, Shanghai, ChongQing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Shenyang, Dalian, Haerbin, Wuhan. More cities will be added later on. It is the 11th e-commerce market for Vuitton since it launched its first site in France in 2005. Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Maya Nikolaeva 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lvmh-vuitton-china-idUKKBN1A61W1'|'2017-07-21T17:49:00.000+03:00' +'1665c71b1d510c90ef0f954d9b68c91f5a4ec137'|'PRESS DIGEST- British Business - July 26'|'July 26 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.The TimesFactories are increasing production at the fastest rate in 22 years, according to a CBI survey that suggests manufacturing may provide a boost for the economy as the dominant services sector begins to slow. bit.ly/2vYQlOyMetro Bank Plc has warned that it will take two years longer than expected to hit its financial targets as it announced a surprise 278 million pound ($362.15 million) capital-raising amid growing speculation about a gap in its finances. bit.ly/2v6j6weThe GuardianVictims of the ground rents scandal are demanding ministers go further in tackling unfair abuses of the leasehold system, amid claims that as many as 100,000 existing homeowners remain trapped in properties that are "unsellable". bit.ly/2uutfS1Noel Edmonds has increased his compensation claim against Lloyds Banking Group Plc to 300 million pounds after he fell victim to fraud at the hands of former HBOS Reading staff. bit.ly/2vYjeumThe TelegraphThe Guardian has developed plans to erect a paywall around its website and apps if its existing membership scheme and appeals for donations do not meet financial targets amid upheaval in the news market. bit.ly/2uVk661Britain''s car industry has been given a "vote of confidence" by BMW AG, the government said after the German automotive firm announced it will build an all-electric version of the Mini in the United Kingdom. bit.ly/2h0ODJYSky NewsPrivate equity groups Clayton Dubilier & Rice and Bain Capital have joined forces to assemble a knockout takeover bid for the 6 billion pounds Unilever Plc division which houses the Flora margarine brand. bit.ly/2h1ul2OVirgin Money Holdings Plc Chief Executive Officer Jayne-Anne Gadhia has used a post-results slide in its stock market valuation to acquire about 100,000 pounds-worth of the company''s shares. bit.ly/2h1FgJVThe IndependentAmazon.com Inc plans to expand the number of people it employs in research and development across London a powerful endorsement of the capital''s booming tech sector despite the economy being steeped in uncertainty ahead of Britain''s departure from the European Union. ind.pn/2v31X6Z$1 = 0.7676 pounds Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Lisa Shumaker '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-press-business-idUSL3N1KG63Y'|'2017-07-26T03:20:00.000+03:00' +'9465ad2ee620958791211cf622f28de057040bbd'|'RPT-Wall St Week Ahead-Small-cap rally could shrink on earnings, tax reform hurdles'|'July 23, 2017 / 5:01 PM / in 3 hours RPT-Wall St Week Ahead-Small-cap rally could shrink on earnings, tax reform hurdles 4 Min Read (Repeats Friday story with no changes) By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK, July 21 (Reuters) - Optimism is souring around small-cap stocks for some investors, with a host of factors conspiring to up-end gains that have taken them to record highs. Small-caps, which led the market''s rally just after the Nov. 8 election of Donald Trump as U.S. president, are facing weak earnings forecasts, little progress on tax reform and recent outflows. "We have downside risk here. Earnings numbers aren''t great, and valuations are ... pretty rich," said Steven DeSanctis, equity strategist at Jefferies. Investors had expected the administration of Republican Trump, with his promises of aggressive tax cuts and a healthier U.S. economy, would be a boon for small-caps, which tend to be more domestically focused. Republicans so far have been unable to push through bills to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, the first leg of the Trump agenda. That has raised doubts about the likelihood of any tax reform this year. Small-caps have higher effective tax rates - about 32 percent versus 26 percent for large-caps, a note from Nuveen Asset Management showed. The performance of both the Russell 2000, a widely used gauge for small-caps, and the small-cap S&P 600 has lagged that of large-caps so far this year, but the Russell is up 20.3 percent since the election compared with a gain of 15.3 percent for the S&P 500. All three indexes hit record highs in recent sessions, just as the earnings reporting period was getting under way. But analysts estimate earnings for S&P 600 companies declined 8.3 percent in the second quarter, dragged down by projected drops in consumer discretionary, energy and health care results, according to Thomson Reuters data. Revenue is expected to have risen slightly in the quarter. Among consumer companies, weakness in apparel, accessories and luxury goods and other retailers is expected to have hurt results, said David Aurelio, Thomson Reuters senior research analyst. In the small-cap energy sector, services and equipment companies continue to be affected by project cutbacks by larger companies. The small-cap outlook is in contrast to expectations for another quarter of strong profit growth for the S&P 500 and a sharp year-over-year jump in large-cap energy. "Small-cap earnings growth has been trailing large-caps for the last four years, and that continues to be the case in the first half of this year," said Dan Suzuki, senior U.S. equity strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York. That does not bode well for valuation metrics for small-caps, which the bank calls "the most expensive segment of an expensive market." The Russell 2000 is trading at about 26 times forward earnings as per Thomson Reuters Datastream data, above a median of about 21. The S&P 500 trades at about 17.3 times, also above its median. While analysts expect small-cap earnings to rebound in the second half of the year, some strategists said those lofty expectations are not likely to hold since U.S. economic growth remains sluggish. Large-caps have benefited from recent weakness in the U.S. dollar, which makes foreign currency earnings for U.S. companies worth more in dollars. "This may explain why mid- and large-caps have seen a stronger bounce in earnings revisions than small-caps recently," Lori Calvasina, Credit Suisse''s chief U.S. equity strategist, wrote in a research note. Recent fund data also shows a weakening trend. According to Lipper, U.S.-based small-cap funds have recorded five straight weeks of withdrawals. At the same time, technical momentum indicators are trailing the Russell 2000''s recent push to new highs, a possible warning that its foray into record territory is on less than firm footing. "We''re in a longer period of underperformance," Suzuki said. Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Additional reporting by Terence Gabriel and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by James Dalgleish 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-weekahead-idUSL1N1KC0WS'|'2017-07-23T20:00:00.000+03:00' +'cd1955618bd45b81fc52499377e9037228e30eb9'|'Saudi Aramco, Hyundai Heavy to make engines and pumps together'|'Big Story 10 - Wed Jul 5, 2017 - 2:27am EDT Saudi Aramco, Hyundai Heavy to make engines and pumps together FILE PHOTO: A Saudi Aramco employee sits in the company stand at the Middle East Petrotech 2016, an exhibition and conference for the refining and petrochemical industries, in Manama, Bahrain, September 27, 2016. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo/File Photo DUBAI National oil giant Saudi Aramco said it had signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korea''s Hyundai Heavy Industries to make engines and marine pumps in the kingdom. The manufacturing facility, which is expected to create over 650 jobs, will be at the site of a $5.2 billion shipyard which Aramco and partners plan to build at Ras Al Khair on Saudi Arabia''s east coast, Aramco said in a statement on Wednesday. Also involved in the project is the Saudi Arabian Industrial Investments Co, founded in 2014 to help develop the Saudi economy beyond oil exports. Its shareholders are Aramco, top petrochemical producer Saudi Basic Industries, and the Public Investment Fund, Riyadh''s main sovereign wealth fund. The companies hope to start operations at the new facility by the end of 2019. It would make 4-stroke engines under Hyundai''s HiMSEN brand, supporting their use in remote power plants as well as marine applications for very large and small vessels, Aramco said. (Reporting by Andrew Torchia) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudiaramco-hyundai-idUSKBN19Q0KQ'|'2017-07-05T09:25:00.000+03:00' +'199956844601a7a363bc29a3601667023c5544fe'|'DIARY-U.S. refinery operations-Valero Memphis gasoline unit boosting output after restart-sources'|'July 13, 2017 / 4:58 AM / 9 hours ago DIARY-U.S. refinery operations-Valero Memphis gasoline unit boosting output after restart-sources 33 Min Read July 13 (Reuters) - The following is a list of refinery incidents reported in the United States on July 12: * CVR Wynnewood, Okla. refinery reports emissions on July 7 * HollyFrontier reports emissions at Tulsa West refinery * Phillips 66 says planned work underway at Rodeo, Calif. refinery * Total Port Arthur refinery hydrotreater shut -sources * Valero Memphis gasoline unit boosting output after restart-sources * Phillips 66 Borger, Texas refinery reports flaring * Exxon reports flaring at Beaumont, Texas refinery REFINERY INCIDENTS: (LISTED BY REGION, WITH MOST RECENT INCIDENTS FIRST) Company Location Capacity* Timing Reason/Notes Unit Cap Link EAST COAST: PHILLIPS 66 Bayway, NJ 241 June 23 Flange leak June 23 No planned work underway PES Philadelphia,PA 310 June 23 Unit startup PES Philadelphia,PA 310 June 22 Emissions June 20 865 distillate hydrotreater shut PES Philadelphia,PA 335 June 16 FCCU emissions PHILLIPS 66 Bayway, NJ 238 June 13 Restart of SRUs after trip PHILLIPS 66 Bayway, NJ 238 June 7 Planned work under way MONROE ENERGY Trainer, PA 190 June 5 Refinery wide shutdown in 2018 MONROE ENERGY Trainer, PA 190 June 1 Alky unit shutdown PES Philadelphia,PA 335 May 26 Restart of DHT May 18 Crude unit start-up on May 16 May 12 Cuts production on crude unit at Point Breeze May 12 Unit 231 restart on May 7 May 2 Flange fire put out at Point Breeze PES Philadelphia,PA 335 April 29 Power interruption at Girard Point PBF Delaware City 182.2 April 28 Unit malfunction PES Philadelphia,PA 335 April 28 Unit startup April 21 Unit startup PBF Delaware City 182.2 April 18 FCC restart next week PES Philadelphia,PA 335 April 5 Unit startup PHILLIPS 66 Bayway, NJ 238 April 3 Normal ops after weekend fire April 3 Crude unit restarted GULF COAST: EXXON Beaumont 363.30 July 12 Flaring PHILLIPS 66 BORGER, TX 146 July 12 Flaring TOTAL Port Arthur, TX 222.5 July 12 Hydrotreater shut EXXON Beaumont 363.30 July 11 Flaring SHELL Convent, LA 227.6 July 11 Gasoline, alky unit rates minimum EXXON Beaumont 363.30 July 10 HCU shut due to leak July 10 Control valve malfunction MARATHON Texas City, TX 86 July 10 Gasoline unit shut for repair July 10 FCC regenerator work TOTAL Port Arthur, TX 222.5 July 10 Reformer shut for repair SHELL Convent, LA 227.6 July 10 Restart of gasoline, alky units EXXON Beaumont 363.30 July 9 Flaring July 7 HCU weekend restart July 6 Electrical substation trip EXXON Baytown, TX 560.50 July 7 HCU work to finish in August MOTIVA Port Arthur 603 July 6 Hydrocracker restarted EXXON Beaumont 363.30 June 6 Hydrocracker shut for repairs SHELL Convent, LA 227.6 July 6 Units restart near end VALERO Port Arthur,TX 335 July 5 Hydrotreater returned to production SHELL Convent, LA 227.6 July 5 FCCU, alky units restart MOTIVA Port Arthur 603 July 5 FCCU production rates cut TOTAL Port Arthur, TX 222.5 July 3 Compressor trip ALON Big Spring 70 June 30 Diesel hydrotreater shut TOTAL Port Arthur, TX 222.5 June 28 Sulfur unit startup EXXON Beaumont 363.30 June 26 Flaring TOTAL Port Arthur, TX 222.5 June 26 Ops normal after malfunction June 25 Weather related malfunction EXXON Beaumont 363.30 June 25 FCCU shutdown PHILLIPS 66 BORGER, TX 146 June 23 Process upset June 23 No planned work EXXON Baytown, TX 560.50 June 23 Pipe repair, minimal impact SHELL Deer Park, TX 285.5 June 20 Process unit upset EXXON Baton Rouge, LA 502.5 June 20 Likely to restart CDU after repairs DELEK Tyler, TX 60 June 16 Boiler emissions TOTAL Port Arthur, TX 222.5 June 16 Prouction reduced MOTIVA Port Arthur 603 June 16 Hydrotreater to be back by Wed VALERO McKee, TX 168 June 16 FCCU snag SHELL Norco, LA 238 June 16 Crude unit, HCU work on schedule VALERO Sunray,TX 168 June 15 Gasoline unit out of production MOTIVA Port Arthur 603 June 15 Cuts back HTU for repair SHELL Norco, LA 238 June 14 Crude unit, HCU shut for overhaul EXXON Baytown, TX 560.50 June 13 HCU overhaul Planned work underway Operations normal EXXON Baytown, TX 560.50 June 12 Planned FCCU overhaul completion VALERO Meraux, LA 125 June 12 Ops normal after upset VALERO McKee, TX 168 June 11 Instrumentation failure, emissions SHELL Deer Park, TX 285.5 June 11 Onsite leak VALERO McKee, TX 168 June 9 Wet gas compressor snag SHELL Deer Park, TX 285.5 June 8 Process unit upset ALON Big Spring 70 June 7 Multiple unit upset SHELL Deer Park, TX 285.5 June 7 Release onsite SHELL Convent, LA 235 June 7 Ups output on ULSD hydrotreater June 7 Maintenance under way June 7 To restart hydrotreater furnace MOTIVA Port Arthur 603 June 7 HCU back to normal ops LYONDELL Houston, TX 263.8 June 5 Units back after malfunction Problems at offsite facility Flaring SHELL Deer Park, TX 285.5 June 5 Process unit startup underway SHELL Deer Park, TX 285.5 June 1 No impact from onsite leak Leak onsite FLINT HILLS Corpus Christi 295.6 June 1 Sulfolane unit shutdown EXXON Baton Rouge, LA 502.5 May 31 Coker overhaul complete CITGO Corpus Christi,TX 157.5 May 30 FCCU upset, power blip SHELL Convent, LA 235 May 30 Isomerization unit restart VALERO Port Arthur,TX 335 May 30 Hydrotreater overhaul from June PHILLIPS 66 Alliance, LA 247 May 30 No planned work underway PHILLIPS 66 Sweeny, TX 247 June 2 No planned work underway June 2 Transformer trip May 30 CDU, FCCU overhaul in 2018-19 VALERO Sunray,TX 168 May 30 FCCU, alky unit overhaul from Sept. MARATHON Galveston Bay,TX 459 June 6 Hydrotreater restart May 29 Unit upset ALON Big Spring 70 May 26 Propane deasphalting unit shut TOTAL Port Arthur, TX 222.5 May 26 Emissions from unit 871 EXXON Baytown, TX 560.50 June 6 Caustic oxidation unit emissions June 2 FCCU emissions May 26 Compressor shutdown CITGO Corpus Christi,TX 157.5 May 25 CDU restart complete EXXON Baytown, TX 560.50 May 25 Compressor trip SHELL Convent, LA 235 May 25 Completes alky unit restart VALERO Corpus Christi,TX 293 May 25 Process unit trip SHELL Convent, LA 235 May 24 Preparing alky unit restart SHELL Convent, LA 235 May 23 Hydrocracker completes restart TOTAL Port Arthur, TX 222.5 May 23 Shuts residual unit after fire CALUMET San Antonio, TX 16.8 May 22 Refinery shut down TOTAL Port Arthur, TX 222.5 May 22 Ops nomal after upset VALERO Port Arthur,TX 335 May 19 Process unit upset SHELL Convent, LA 235 May 19 To restart HCU on Tuesday night CITGO Corpus Christi,TX 157.5 May 19 Unit repairs continue EXXON Baton Rouge, LA 502.5 May 18 Returns CDU to full production CITGO Corpus Christi,TX 157.5 May 18 Repairing gasoline unit Shell Convent, LA 235 May 17 Restarting HCU expected to resume production early next week FLINT HILLS Corpus Christi 290 May 16 SRU upset at west plant PHILLIPS 66 BORGER, TX 146 May 16 SRU snag, equipment restarted CITGO Corpus Christi,TX 157.5 May 16 FCCU shut after leak Shell Convent, LA 235 May 16 To restart HCU on Tuesday night EXXON Baton Rouge, LA 502.5 May 16 Boosting crude unit production TOTAL Port Arthur, TX 222.5 May 15 Completes SRU restarts MOTIVA Port Arthur 603 May 15 Repairs naphtha complex leak EXXON Beaumont 344.60 May 15 Restarts large crude unit Shell Convent, LA 235 May 15 Prepares hydrocracker restart Repairs to continue at least 2 wks EXXON Baton Rouge, LA 502.5 May 12 Ops unhurt from severe weather TOTAL Port Arthur, TX 222.5 May 12 Emissions from Unit 871 Restarting sulfur units MOTIVA Port Arthur 603 May 12 Working to stop hydrogen leak FLINT HILLS Corpus Christi 290 May 9 HCU shutdown PHILLIPS 66 BORGER, TX 146 May 8 FCCU ESP work underway TOTAL Port Arthur, TX 222.5 May 5 Restarting coking unit EXXON Baton Rouge, LA 502.5 May 5 Extends work at crude unit VALERO Port Arthur,TX 335 May 5 Gasoline unit increasing production SHELL Deer Park, TX 285.5 May 5 Flaring due to process unit upset VALERO Port Arthur,TX 335 May 4 Gasoline unit remains shut Shell Convent, LA 235 May 4 HCU to resume output over weekend SHELL Deer Park, TX 285.5 May 4 All-clear issued after unit upset May 4 Process unit upset MOTIVA Port Arthur 603 May 4 To boost HCU production over weekend CITGO Corpus Christi,TX 157.5 May 4 Unit restarted after malfunction EXXON Beaumont 344.60 May 1 Coker back MOTIVA Port Arthur 603 April 28 Hydrocracker to run at reduced rates through weekend PHILLIPS 66 Lake Charles, LA 260 April 28 Developing new isomerization unit MARATHON Galveston Bay,TX 451 April 28 Leak in a tank EXXON Baton Rouge, LA 502.5 April 25 Flaring due to operational issue Crude unit shut for work ALON Big Spring 70 April 25 HDS shut for repairs after leak SHELL Deer Park, TX 285.5 April 25 Restarting hydrocracker PETROBRAS Pasadena, TX 112.2 April 25 Operating at planned rates April 24 Reformer shutdown CITGO Corpus Christi,TX 157.5 April 24 FCCU back in production VALERO Corpus Christi,TX 293 April 23 Upset at Complex 7 EXXON Beaumont, TX 344.60 April 22 Large CDU to resume production by early May April 21 May finish coker work next week CITGO Corpus Christi,TX 157.5 April 24 ESP shutdown on April 22 MOTIVA Norco, LA 238 April 20 Hydrocracker restart completed EXXON Beaumont, TX 344.60 April 20 Boiler restarted after trip MARATHON Galveston Bay,TX 451 April 20 Ultracracker 3 HCU overhaul in 2018 PHILLIPS 66 BORGER, TX 146 April 20 No planned work underway PHILLIPS 66 BORGER, TX 146 April 19 SRU emissions, equipment restart PETROBRAS Pasadena, TX 112.2 April 19 Ops normal SHELL Deer Park, TX 285.5 April 18 Oil sheen contained TOTAL Port Arthur, TX 222.5 April 18 Overhaul of cogen, SRUs, DHT units April 18 Leak during planned unit shutdown MOTIVA Norco, LA 238 April 18 Repairing shut hydrocracker PETROBRAS Pasadena, TX 112.2 April 17 All clear April 17 Ops normal April 17 Process unit upsets MOTIVA Norco, LA 238 April 17 Hit by CDU fire, HCU outage April 17 Crude unit in production after fire April 17 Minor repairs underway after small incident April 17 All clear after fire April 17 Fire, no injuries April 17 Hydrocracker shut for repair MOTIVA Convent, LA 235 April 17 Hydrocracker shut into July VALERO Port Arthur,TX 335 April 12 Restarting hydrocracker April 12 Process unit upset on April 11 PHILLIPS 66 BORGER, TX 146 April 12 Process upset TOTAL Port Arthur, TX 222.5 April 12 Benzene leak stopped, line isolated VALERO Texas City,TX 225 April 12 Loss of boiler feed water flow LYONDELL Houston, TX 263.8 April 11 Compressor trip April 11 Gasoline unit restart complete PHILLIPS 66 BORGER, TX 146 April 11 Gasoline unit restart VALERO Three Rivers, TX 79 April 10 Power loss LYONDELL Houston, TX 263.8 April 7 Gasoline unit return on schedule VALERO Port Arthur,TX 335 April 7 Gasoline unit malfunction April 6 Hydrocracker at full output SHELL Deer Park, TX 285.5 April 8 Leak onsite EXXON Beaumont, TX 344.60 April 7 Compressor trip April 7 Hydrocracker shut VALERO Houston 100 April 6 Planned work EXXON Baytown, TX 560.5 Arpil 6 Gasoline unit work continues, HCU restarts LYONDELL Houston, TX 263.8 April 6 Gasoline unit may resume production next week CITGO Corpus Christi,TX 157.5 April 4 SRU shut for 2-week planned work PETROBRAS Pasadena, TX 112.2 April 4 Process unit upsets MOTIVA Port Arthur 603 April 4 HCU production cut back Planned work VALERO Port Arthur,TX 335 April 3 HCU normal after restart MOTIVA Convent, LA 235 April 3 HCU restart within 2 weeks VALERO Houston, TX 100 Jan. 4 New alky unit startup in H1, 2019 TOTAL Port Arthur,TX 225.5 Aug. 23 Delays FCC work until Sept. 2017 MIDCONTINENT: VALERO Memphis, TN 190 July 12 Gasoline unit boosting output Hollyfrontier Tulsa West, OK 85 July 12 Emissions VALERO Memphis, TN 190 July 11 Gasoline unit boosting output 190 July 11 Gasoline unit restart July 10 Gasoline unit restart Mon/Tues July 7 Gasoline unit repairs CVR ENERGY Wynnewood, OK 70 July 7 Emissions EXXON Joliet, IL 238.6 July 6 Equipment malfunction VALERO Memphis, TN 190 July 6 Unit repairs may take longer VALERO Memphis, TN 190 July 5 FCCU shut for repairs EXXON Joliet, IL 238.6 July 4 FCCU restarted after repairs EXXON Joliet, IL 238.6 July 3 Production unit restarted PBF Toledo, OH 80 June 30 Plans large shutdown in March MARATHON Detroit, MI 130 June 29 To shut crude unit Sept. ''18 Husky Energy Lima, OH 155 June 29 Multiple shutdowns late 2018 EXXON Joliet, IL 238.6 June 28 Confirms flaring CVR ENERGY Coffeyville, Kansas 115 June 25 Process upset VALERO Ardmore, OK 86 June 24 FCCU emissions Marathon Robinson, IL 212 June 20 Sulphur plant online after shutdown EXXON Joliet, IL 238.6 June 20 Confirms leak on production unit EXXON Joliet, IL 238.6 June 19 Confirms FCCU not shut BP Whiting, IN 413.5 June 15 Output unaffected Citgo Lemont, IL 175.9 June 12 Unspecified maintenance shutdown BP Whiting, IN 413.5 June 12 Ops normal after flaring CVR ENERGY Coffeyville, Kansas 115 June 11 Emissions, planned work BP Whiting, IN 413.5 June 5 Production unaffected after flaring VALERO Memphis, TN 190 May 31 Unaffected by outage in vicinity Husky Energy Lima, OH 155 May 31 Plant-wide shutdown in Oct-2018 TESORO Mandan, ND 75 May 30 Refinery restart delayed CVR ENERGY Wynnewood, OK 70 May 22 Oil discharge due to thunderstorm BP Whiting, IN 413.5 May 18 Ops normal despite flaring Marathon Catlettsburg,KY 242 May 11 Shuts crude unit HOLLYFRONTIER El Dorado, KS 138 May 11 Restarts hydrotreater EXXON Joliet, IL 238.6 May 5 Unit startup BP Whiting, IN 413.5 May 1 CDU back in production BP Whiting, IN 413.5 April 28 Four employees injured CDUs seen back to normal Fri CVR ENERGY Wynnewood, OK 70 April 19 Malfunction on April 15 WESTERN St. Paul Park, MN 88.9 April 11 Acid leak on Saturday, 5 treated BP Whiting, IN 413.5 April 6 Crude unit back to normal ops PHILLIPS 66 Wood River, IL 336 April 4 Planned work BP Whiting, IN 413.5 April 4 Crude unit back in 24-48 hours Crude unit (11C CDU) production cut VALERO Memphis, TN 190 April 3 Production near full capacity HUSKY ENERGY Lima,OH 155 Dec. 13 5-wk turnaround in Q4, 2017 Citgo Lemont, IL 175.9 Oct. 7 Planned CDU overhaul in 2017 ROCKY MOUNTAINS: Phillips 66 Billings, MT 59 June 15 No planned work underway Phillips 66 Billings, MT 59 May 26 Planned work Phillips 66 Billings, MT 59 April 17 Planned work WEST COAST PHILLIPS 66 Rodeo, CA 120.2 July 12 Planned work PBF Torrance, CA 151.3 July 11 Planned flaring July 10 Emissions SHELL Martinez, CA 156.4 July 10 Pipe leak on July 7 VALERO Benicia, CA 145 July 6 Controlled unit shutdown VALERO Benicia, CA 145 June 30 Files lawsuit over May outage TESORO Los Angeles, CA 380 June 28 Minor leak contained VALERO Wilmington, CA 80.8 June 28 Equipment issue SHELL Martinez, CA 156.4 June 28 Ops stable after unit upset TESORO Carson, CA 257.3 June 28 Unplanned flaring PBF Torrance, CA 151.3 June 28 Restarting several units CHEVRON Richmond, CA 245.3 June 26 Shuts heavy hydrocracker CHEVRON Richmond, CA 245.3 June 26 Unit shutdown H2S leak PBF Torrance, CA 151.3 June 26 Unplanned flaring SHELL Martinez, CA 156.4 June 26 Ops normal after unit steam leak June 26 Unit steam leak CHEVRON Richmond, CA 245.3 June 25 Unit startup VALERO Benicia, CA 145 June 23 Flaring BP Cherry Point, WA 227 June 21 WESP snag, emissions SHELL Martinez, CA 156.4 June 21 Ops normal after flaring PBF Torrance, CA 151.3 June 21 Planned flaring SHELL Puget Sound, WA 145 June 20 SRU trip BP Cherry Point, WA 225 June 19 Scheduled maintenance TESORO Martinez, CA 166 June 19 Planned work underway TESORO Martinez, CA 166 June 18 Boiler trip VALERO Benicia, CA 145 June 18 Flaring PBF Torrance, CA 151.3 June 15 Unplanned flaring SHELL Martinez, CA 156.4 June 15 Process upset PBF Torrance, CA 151.3 June 14 Planned flaring PBF Torrance, CA 151.3 June 14 Unplanned flaring PBF Torrance, CA 151.3 June 13 Hydrotreater shutdown BP Cherry Point, WA 225 June 6 Planned work CHEVRON Richmond, CA 245.3 June 6 Plant upset PBF Torrance, CA 151.3 June 5 Equipment trip Hydro-treater unit snag Hydrogen plant shutdown Unplanned flaring VALERO Benicia, CA 145 May 31 Equipment start-up BP Cherry Point, WA 225 May 27 Planned work, flaring BP Cherry Point, WA 225 May 27 Upset, emissions BP Cherry Point, WA 225 May 19 Upset, emissions SHELL Puget Sound, WA 145 May 18 Reports shutdown TESORO Martinez, CA 166 May 18 No off site impact from leak Leak at exchanger Unit shut down PHILLIPS 66 Carson, CA 139 May 18 No planned work underway May 17 Unplanned flaring, breakdown PBF Torrance, CA 151.3 May 11 Ops normal after minor fire Fire outside tank May 8 Crude unit maintenance VALERO Benicia, CA 145 May 5 Power outage BP Cherry Point, WA 225 April 29 Scheduled maintenance BP Cherry Point, WA 225 April 28 Hydrocracker shutdown PBF Torrance, CA 151.3 Jan. 4 Plans 2Q turnaround'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/energy-refinery-idUSL4N1K4257'|'2017-07-13T07:57:00.000+03:00' +'c2683724df530861a20c0eb4b14f3babd8ff4c1d'|'Sterling lunge before inflation data rekindles ''leak'' concerns'|'July 18, 2017 / 12:52 PM / 3 hours ago Sterling lunge before inflation data rekindles ''leak'' concerns Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An employee is seen walking over a mosaic of pound sterling symbols set in the floor of the front hall of the Bank of England in London, March 25, 2008. Luke MacGregor/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - A sharp fall in sterling just before June UK inflation data on Tuesday reignited concern among financial traders that official economic data is seen by some market players ahead of release time, despite restrictions on official access to the numbers. Britain''s statistics chief said last month he would stop giving government officials early access to sensitive economic figures ahead of publication, reducing from July 1 how widely the figures are disseminated confidentially before publication. While the Office for National Statistics says this move was not in response to queries about leaks into the marketplace, it followed reports by Reuters and the Wall Street Journal that showed unusual pre-release trading patterns in the pound that often correctly anticipated the subsequent price direction. After rising to a 10-month high of $1.3126 half an hour before the data, sterling sank just over half a cent in the minutes before the 0830 GMT release and almost another half-cent immediately afterwards. The ONS said it did not comment on market rumours. Traders and analysts were quick to point to the currency moves as raising fresh question marks over whether the official numbers were being kept confidential. "Given the suspicions that ONS data was being leaked to the market it is worrying to see another correct move just before the release," said David Woolcock, Chair of the Committee for Professionalism at ACI the Financial Markets Association, a body representing foreign exchange dealers. "The measures taken by the ONS may possibly have been insufficient." Several market participants contacted by Reuters, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity after the data, raised concerns about the moves but also said there were other possible reasons that owed more to re-positioning of the marketplace. The pound had been lifted sharply against the dollar ahead of Tuesday''s figures by an overnight drop in the greenback, even as some major currency dealing banks such as Barclays had below-consensus forecasts for the upcoming inflation release. "You''ve got to put it in the context of where we are - a 10-month high in cable before the data and inflation already its highest in four years. It makes perfect sense for sterling to soften a little bit given those factors," said Michael Hewson, chief analyst with CMC Markets in London. "The new ONS methodology came into effect on July 1 and it''s only July 18. If it''s still happening in a few months time then they may need to have another look at it." Reporting by Patrick Graham, Jamie McGeever, Jemima Kelly and Andy Bruce Graphic by Ritvik Carvalho; Editing by Jon Boyle/Nigel Stephenson 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-sterling-ons-idUKKBN1A31CD'|'2017-07-18T15:51:00.000+03:00' +'d3921186c2a45cb7665a193ade755e065ee7ecbc'|'Fidelity shows how unicorns hurt performance at popular funds'|'July 18, 2017 / 11:17 PM / 4 hours ago Fidelity shows how unicorns hurt performance at popular funds 3 Min Read A sign marks a Fidelity Investments office in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. September 21, 2016. Brian Snyder/File Photo BOSTON (Reuters) - Fidelity''s bets on unicorn companies, the rare private firm or startup that grows in value to at least $1 billion, put a dent in the stellar performance of some of the company''s most popular mutual funds during the first half of 2017. Fidelity disclosed this week, for example, how content-sharing company Pinterest Inc had an outsize impact on the portfolio performance of Contrafund, its most popular stock fund. It was one of the first times a company that had not yet done an initial public offering (IPO) made a Fidelity fund''s quarterly list of largest contributors and detractors to benchmark performance, Fidelity spokeswoman Nicole Goodnow said. Pre-IPO investments can amplify a fund''s relative performance because they are not included in a comparison benchmark index. And the valuations attached to them by Fidelity and other mutual fund companies have far outpaced the stock market. Fidelity''s $114 billion Contrafund ( FCNTX.O ) disclosed that its small stake in Pinterest shaved 9 basis points off the fund''s relative return versus the S&P 500 Index. Contrafund''s Series E stake in Pinterest was valued at $473.3 million in the first quarter. But at the end of May, that value was marked down by 17 percent, Fidelity disclosures showed. But Pinterest was tied with TJX Companies Inc ( TJX.N ) as Contrafund''s largest detractor in the second quarter, even though the pre-IPO company accounted for only 0.34 percent of the fund''s net assets. Contrafund, which is run by star Fidelity portfolio manager Will Danoff, posted a total second-quarter return of 6.09 percent in the second quarter, easily beating the 3.09 percent total return on the S&P 500 Index. The fund''s year-to-date return of 19.84 percent is better than 75 percent of U.S. large-cap growth mutual funds, according to Morningstar Inc data. Fidelity''s valuation of Contrafunds Series E stake in Pinterest has more than doubled since an initial investment of $159.4 million in October 2013, compared to Nasdaq''s 62 percent rise. While Pinterest is a relative pipsqueak in the massive Contrafund portfolio, other Fidelity managers have made tech unicorns some of their largest holdings. At the end of May, ride-hailing company Uber was a top 20 stock in Fidelity''s $22 billion Blue Chip Growth Fund ( FBCGX.O ). The fund''s Series D stake in Uber was valued at $251.5 million, or 1.14 percent of net assets. Portfolio manager Sonu Kalra''s Uber stake is bigger than his bet on Starbucks Corp ($202 million) and Bank of America Corp ($157 million). In the first quarter, Uber was among the fund''s largest detractors, shaving 12 basis points off the fund''s relative return. Only Qualcomm Inc and Lululemon Athletica Inc detracted more. Reporting By Tim McLaughlin; Editing by Tom Brown 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/funds-fidelity-unicorns-idINKBN1A32K2'|'2017-07-19T02:13:00.000+03:00' +'aed10b5d8c7689ae4a24548f1ef800cbc1f95896'|'How an ''Airbnb for retail'' is bringing entrepreneurs back to the high street - Guardian Small Business Network'|'The Disruptors How an ''Airbnb for retail'' is bringing entrepreneurs back to the high street Appear Here launched 4,000 pop-up shops in London last year. Founder Ross Bailey believes they are democratising an industry that has been hard to access Ross Bailey started Appear Here in 2013 and says it was difficult to get landlords and investors on board initially. Photograph: Appear Here The Disruptors How an ''Airbnb for retail'' is bringing entrepreneurs back to the high street Appear Here launched 4,000 pop-up shops in London last year. Founder Ross Bailey believes they are democratising an industry that has been hard to access Supported by Thursday 6 July 2017 07.00 BST Last modified on Thursday 6 July 2017 10.11 BST F or Alex Hely-Hutchinson, launching her porridge cafe 26 Grains was the culmination of years of obsessing about an idea shed had while living in Copenhagen, where its a popular takeaway food. But she didnt know if anyone else would love it as much as she did until she organised a pop-up shop in Old Street station with Appear Here. I talked about this idea all the time but didnt really know what my route to market would be, she says. Even though starting a porridge stall in an underground station in July wasnt the best idea, it went really well. Being able to have a shopfront, actually speaking to your customers from the very beginning it was a great opportunity. Alex Hely-Hutchinson, founder of 26 Grains. Photograph: James Edwin Bettney The Old Street station pop-up was followed by another, and another. After a year doing events in London, Hely-Hutchinson was able to put a compelling business case together for a landlord. She opened a permanent store in Covent Garden in June 2015. Appear Here was founded by Ross Bailey in 2013. Billed as an Airbnb for retail, Bailey had the idea after convincing a landlord to let him borrow a shop for a week in 2012 to sell Olympics and Diamond Jubilee merchandise. Other retailers asked him to help organise their pop-ups and he realised the system wasnt set up to facilitate the growing trend of temporary retail. Everyone was talking about how the high street is dying and vacancy rates are at their highest point. I thought why cant we take the latent capacity of all these empty shops and try and make it a little more flexible, giving more people access to the high street, he says, adding that the original team faced challenges in realising this vision. None of us had run a company before. It was horribly difficult [to get landlords to give this a try]. Most people said it would never work, that we had to work through agents or they wouldnt do it. Gradually they came around. Rates revaluation could finish off high street, warn small businesses Read more A report compiled by PwC and the Local Data Company found there were 15 shops closing every day in the UK in the first half of 2016. This year is showing some signs of an uplift the British Independent Retailers Association found four new independent shops per day opened in the first three months of 2017. But recent news that one in four retailers on Bond Stree t are thinking of moving out, highlights the difficulty many retailers are having. By comparison, the pop-up sector is booming. Its estimated to be worth 2.3bn , with 44% of consumers saying theyve visited a pop-up space (pdf) in the past 12 months. Appear Here launched 4,000 stores in London last year and has recently opened offices in New York and Paris. Their users are split between thousands of landlords and 80,000 entrepreneurs who use (or have used) the site to find a space. Investors have been interested too (albeit after a period of initial reluctance) the business is about to close a $12m (9m) funding round, which follows an earlier $10m (7m) investment. Top of the agenda for Appear Here was simplifying the whole process for both parties, Bailey says. That included minimising legal jargon, having a simple two-page agreement, and making all charges transparent. As a result, it takes much less time to organise a space. Traditionally when you try and get a store, it takes three to six months to do a deal. On Appear Here, it takes three to six days. Our vision is to build a global marketplace where anyone with an idea can find space to bring it to life. Preecha Patikit found a pop-up space in Topshop on Oxford Street through Appear Here. Photograph: Katy Dillon One such business owner is Preecha Patikit, who sells personalised handmade jewellery through his company, Littlesmith . He had a market stall in Spitalfields market but had contacted Topshop to see if there was an opportunity to collaborate so he could reach a high street audience. He got no response. For a small business to approach a big retailer, its very difficult, Patikit says. But Appear Here had Topshop on their list, so I applied and was accepted. We were in the Oxford Street store for five weeks. His revenue increased dramatically from 875 a day, to 8,500 in the first week. He now has a permanent space in Topshop and Selfridges, and is discussing opportunities with John Lewis and retailers abroad. Patikit hopes they can open their own standalone shop later this year. He believes working with Appear Here has helped the business grow much more rapidly than expected. Whats perhaps surprising is that someone relatively inexperienced in retail has succeeded in reimagining the sector. But Bailey believes his naivety has been a strength. When youre naive, sometimes you look at things and think why is it that complex? Why do we need this many documents? Why are they using big words I dont really understand? he says. Not only are you giving entrepreneurs access, not only are you opening up an old school industry, youre actually bringing the real estate sector forward. Youre democratising something that was previously hard to access. Sign up to become a member of the Guardian Small Business Network here for more advice, insight and best practice direct to your inbox. Topics '|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/jul/06/airbnb-for-retail-high-street-business-rates-26-grains-littlesmith-appear-here'|'2017-07-06T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'5deff1740da87b8f65c9871d069f72375c1321c4'|'Euro hits two-year high as City awaits UK public finances business live'|'Close Skip to main content The Guardian - Back to home become a supporter subscribe find a job jobs news opinion sport arts life Menu news headlines world news UK news science cities global development tech business environment obituaries opinion opinion home the guardian view columnists cartoons opinion videos letters sport sport home football rugby union cricket tennis cycling F1 golf US sports arts culture home books music tv & radio art & design film games classical stage life lifestyle home fashion food recipes love & sex health & fitness home & garden women family travel money What term do you want to search? Search with google become a supporter subscribe Sign in/up my account Comment activity Edit profile Email preferences Change password Sign out International edition INT edition: switch to the UK edition UK switch to the US edition US switch to the Australia edition AU switch to the INT jobs dating holidays the guardian app video podcasts pictures newsletters today''s paper the observer digital archive crosswords Facebook Twitter jobs dating holidays business economics banking money markets eurozone more sign in Comment activity Edit profile Email preferences Change password Sign out become a supporter subscribe search jobs dating more from the guardian: dating jobs change edition: switch to the UK edition switch to the US edition switch to the AU edition International edition switch to the UK edition switch to the US edition switch to the Australia edition The Guardian - Back to home home business economics banking retail markets eurozone home UK world sport football opinion culture business selected lifestyle fashion environment tech travel browse all sections close Business Business live Labour blasts ''failing'' government after UK deficit jumps in June as it happened All the days economic and financial news, including coverage of the latest UK public financesLatest: Labour blame Tory cuts for economic weakness Treasury: National debt is too high BREAKING: UK borrowed 6.9bn in June, 2bn more than year earlier Treasury: National debt is too high Britain has borrowed 1.8bn more since April Higher inflation and EU contributions pushed borrowing up Full story: Budget deficit leaps as Brexit-fuelled inflation gives Hammond a headache Updated The City of London, where traders are getting ready for todays UK public finances Photograph: Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email View more sharing options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Google+ Share on WhatsApp Share on Messenger Close Graeme Wearden Friday 21 July 2017 15.28 BST First published on Friday 21 July 2017 07.58 BST Key events Show 3.09pm BST 15:09 UK deficit: What the papers say 2.35pm BST 14:35 Bank of America picks Dublin for its post-Brexit hub 1.22pm BST 13:22 Cable: It''s Brexit''s fault 12.43pm BST 12:43 OBR: Three reasons why the deficit went up 10.58am BST 10:58 Labour: Borrowing figures show government''s failure 10.39am BST 10:39 UK public finances, what the experts say 10.36am BST 10:36 Sign up to our email Live feed Show 3.27pm BST 15:27 And finally, heres our updated news story:Budget deficit leaps as Brexit-fuelled inflation gives Hammond a headache Read more Thats probably all for today. Thanks for reading and commenting. GW Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 3.09pm BST 15:09 UK deficit: What the papers say Tim Wallace of the Daily Telegraph points out that the government did rake in more tax receipts this week, but not enough to keep pace with higher borrowing costs .The Governments tax haul is on the rise as the economy grows - so far this financial year current tax receipts have come in at 164.2bn, up 4.7pc on the 156.8bn raised last year.However, total current spending has risen by 5.6pc to 176.7bn, so the Government has had to borrow more to plug that widening gap.Higher interest payments on the national debt were a particularly large cost.Financing the debt cost 4.9bn in June alone, a rise of more than 1bn from 3.7bn in the same month of 2016.Andy Bruce and William Schomberg of Reuters say the deficit figures are a headache for chancellor Philip Hammond :Hammond has come under pressure from within the ruling Conservative Party as well as from the opposition Labour Party to loosen his grip on public spending, chiefly by relaxing a cap on pay for public workers.Spending on debt interest jumped an annual 33 percent in June to 4.9 billion pounds, the highest for any month of June since 2011, reflecting a sharp rise in inflation which has pushed up the cost of index-linked bonds for the government.The deficit was also widened by higher payments to the European Union budget and bigger purchases of goods and services by the government.Lucy Meakin of Bloomberg says todays figures show the risks facing the public finances .The figures may raise fresh questions about whether Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond can limit borrowing to 58bn this year, as forecast by his budget watchdog in March.Hammond is also under pressure to boost wages for millions of public-sector workers and spend more on health and education after the Tories catastrophic election performance highlighted the frustration of voters after seven years of austerity.Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 2.35pm BST 14:35 Bank of America picks Dublin for its post-Brexit hub Newsflash: Bank of America has chosen Dublin as its European Union hub, as it prepares for life after Brexit. The decision will allow BoA to continue operating in the EU, once the City of London loses its passporting rights.Brian Moynihan, Chairman and CEO of Bank of America, said Dublin was the natural choice, as it currently houses more BoA employees than any other European City (apart from London, of course).And with no clarity on Britains final Brexit deal, BoA is pressing on with its plans.Moynihan says:We already have a fully licenced and operational Irish-domiciled bank which, combined with Irelands strong commitment to business and economic growth, makes Dublin the natural location to consolidate our legal entities as we transition.We will move roles not only to Dublin but to other EU locations, with the focus on how we can best support our clients in these markets. While we await further clarity around the Brexit negotiations, we are making all necessary preparations to serve our clients however those discussions conclude.Irelands Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, welcomed the announcement, calling it a strong endorsement of Irelands attractiveness as a location for investment.Bank of America already has 700 staff in Dublin, and has been based in Ireland for almost 50 years. Earlier this week it contributed 880,000 to a music education program, following a 700,000 contribution a few years ago. Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 1.52pm BST 13:52 This chart shows how the repayments on Britains national debt has risen in line with inflation, as measured by the retail price index.Andy Bruce (@BruceReuters) UK public finances suffer inflation hit, adding to Hammond''s headache https://t.co/B0io2cZgrN pic.twitter.com/bcag8Oxbtj July 21, 2017 (Not all UK debt is index-linked of course - some is sold with a fixed coupon that doesnt move in line with inflation)Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 1.22pm BST 13:22 Cable: It''s Brexit''s fault Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable blames last years Brexit vote, and the resulting tumble in the pound, for the rising deficit. Cable (who was appointed leader yesterday) argues that those who voted to leave the European Union to free up more money for healthcare have been misled.This rise in borrowing is a direct consequence of the dramatic fall in the pound since last years Brexit vote.Instead of the 350m for the NHS that was promised, peoples living standards are falling and borrowing is going up.It shows why we need to offer people an exit from Brexit. Nobody voted last year to become poorer or to increase the amount of their taxes spent on paying down the national debt.Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 12.43pm BST 12:43 OBR: Three reasons why the deficit went up Britains fiscal watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, has issued a commentary on todays public finances. It says Britains borrowing was forced up by higher debt costs on bonds linked to inflation, delayed payments to the European Union , and changes to the way self-assessment taxes are collected. Heres the details:Higher debt interest spending, primarily as higher RPI inflation raises accrued interest on index-linked gilts. Debt interest spending is up 24.3 per cent on a year earlier in the first three months of 2017-18, compared with our full-year forecast of 15.3 per cent.Changes to the timing of expenditure transfers to EU institutions within calendar year 2017, which move spending from the end of 2016-17 into 2017-18 . Transfers are up by 78 per cent in the first three months of 2017-18 from a year ago, having been down more than 40 per cent in the final two months of 2016-17. This timing effect explains most of the year-to-date increase, while around a fifth of it is attributable to an additional 0.3 billion payment in relation to historical adjustments to the calculations of VAT- and GNI-based contributions. Self-assessment (SA) receipts will be depressed in 2017-18 by the unwinding of the income shifting ahead of the April 2016 dividend tax rise. We expect receipts to fall 3.9 billion on a year earlier, but unlike the two spending factors, which are already evident in the data, this will only affect the public finances in early 2018 when self-assessment payments are due. OBR (@OBR_UK) Spending pushes deficit higher - read the latest commentary at https://t.co/k0nGloBMMW pic.twitter.com/6UpU6raBtG July 21, 2017 Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 11.45am BST 11:45 The big picture from todays public finances is that the national debt kept rising over the last year, and is heading towards 1.8 trillion. The ONS says:Public sector net debt (excluding public sector banks) was 1,753.5 billion at the end of June 2017, equivalent to 87.4% of gross domestic product (GDP), an increase of 128.5 billion (or 3.6 percentage points as a ratio of GDP) on June 2016. UK National debt Photograph: ONS Its more useful to look at national debt in terms of the size of an economy, rather than as a raw figure.So in GDP terms, Britains debt pile is now its largest since the 1960s, when it was paying down the cost of the second world war:Britains national debt over the decades Photograph: Office for Budget Responsibility Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 11.21am BST 11:21 Heres my colleague Phillip Inmans take on todays public finances: The UK borrowed more than expected in June, with the countrys budget deficit rising to 6.9bn - almost 50% higher than the same month last year.Higher inflation forced the government to spend more on financing its debt mountain, other factors included lower GDP growth in the first quarter, a fall in corporation tax receipts and a bigger than expected contribution to the EU budget in June . Analysts said the deficit could now exceed forecasts over the rest of the financial year.The Treasury said the persistent shortfall in the governments income compared with spending illustrated the need for a credible fiscal plan and that allowed ministers to support sound public finances while promoting a stronger economy.But opposition parties were quick to say that the higher deficit showed austerity had failed and delivered weaker public services without strengthening the public finances or the economy More here:UK budget deficit leaps as inflation pushes up debt costs Read more Updated at 11.22am BST Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 11.13am BST 11:13 Heres some more details on the public finances, via the Press Association: The ONS said Government spending rose by 8.3% to 59.9bn in June compared with last year, while tax receipts lifted by 4.6% to 54.3bn. The Treasury saw VAT climb by 400m to 11.4bn over the period, as income tax takings also stepped up by 800m to $12.7 billion. However, corporation tax dropped by 200m to 4.8bn last month. Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 10.58am BST 10:58 Labour: Borrowing figures show government''s failure Labours Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell. Photograph: Paul Davey / Barcroft Images Labours shadow chancellor John McDonnell has laid into the government over todays public finances . McDonnell argues that chancellor Hammond should raise taxes on large corporations and the rich, to help fund a pay rise for public sector workers.He says:These figures reveal the continued failure of Philip Hammond and the Conservatives. Seven years of Tory cuts have left our economy weaker, with falling wages, yet the deficit has not been eliminated two years after they claimed it would be, and the national debt continues to rise. The Chancellor should stop handing out massive tax giveaways to big businesses and the super-rich, and instead give our hard-pressed public sector workers a pay rise, so we can end the travesty in our country of nurses having to rely on food banks. Only a Labour government will set out a serious plan for the public finances, with strategic investment underpinned by our fiscal credibility rule, to help build the high wage, high skill economy of the future for the many, not the few.Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 10.55am BST 10:55 The rise in borrowing in June means chancellor Philip Hammond has less wriggle room for tax cuts or spending rises in his next budget. Howard Archer of EY Item Club says:Junes shortfall highlights the fact that the public finances are still far from healthy. At the same time rising public dissatisfaction with austerity and the public sector pay cap is exerting pressure on the government to recalibrate fiscal policy in Novembers Budget.However it currently looks more likely that there will be limited adjustments, rather than radical changes, to the fiscal approach.Howard Archer (@HowardArcherUK) Bad news for Chancellor as #UK #public #finances see clear y/y deterioration in June; PSNBex comes in at 6.9bn vs 4.8bn in June 2016.July 21, 2017 Updated at 11.02am BST Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 10.39am BST 10:39 UK public finances, what the experts say The jump in Britains borrowing last month shows that the public finances have deteriorated, according to John Hawksworth, PwC chief economist. But hes hopeful that Britain could still hit its deficit targets, as last years borrowings have been revised down.Hawksworth says:June saw a modest deterioration in public finances, with borrowing around 2 billion higher than a year earlier. This followed two months in which the deficit was almost identical to the year before. The general pattern is consistent with the OBRs March forecast that we might see some increase in the budget deficit this financial year, as the economy slows and some one-off favourable factors from last year unwind.Nonetheless, the deficit may still come in below the OBRs 58 billion forecast for 2017/18, given that the deficit in 2016/17 is now estimated to be 5.5 billion less than the OBR projected in March. So the increases in borrowing we are now seeing are from a lower base.Sam Tombs of Pantheon Economics fears that the public finances show that UK growth was weak in the last three months (leading to less tax being taken).Samuel Tombs (@samueltombs) June''s UK public finances show growth in tax receipts has remained below 2016''s rate, consistent with GDP growth having remained weak in Q2: pic.twitter.com/jrQLQm6Tty July 21, 2017 Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 10.36am BST 10:36 Sign up to our email Guardian Business has launched a daily email. Besides the key news headlines that youd expect, theres an at-a-glance agenda of the days main events, insightful opinion pieces and a quality feature to sink your teeth into each day. For your morning shot of financial news, sign up here: Business Today: sign up for a morning shot of financial news Read more Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 10.24am BST 10:24 Todays public finances also show that corporation tax receipts fell by 200m in June (year-on-year), helping to push the deficit up. VAT, income tax and stamp duty receipts rose, though:Contributions to public sector net borrowing (excluding public sector banks) by sub-sector in June 2017, compared with June 2016 Photograph: ONS Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 10.19am BST 10:19 The UK government has responded to the public finances, by admitting that Britains national debt is too high. A Treasury spokesman says:Todays release shows that our national debt, at 65,000 for every household, is still too high and leaves us vulnerable to any future shocks. That is why we have a credible fiscal plan to get debt falling and deliver the sound public finances needed for a stronger economy and higher living standards.The governments current plan is to eliminate the deficit by midway through the next decade ( around 10 years later than former chancellor George Osborne once promised.... )Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 10.07am BST 10:07 Inflation and EU contributions pushed deficit up Digging into todays disappointing public finances , you can see that the spike in inflation has pushed Britains borrowing up.Thats because the UK has issued index-linked bonds, whose interest payments are linked to the retail prices index. RPI was 3.5% in June, up from 1.6% a year ago, which has driven up the cost of servicing Britains national debt.As this chart shows, Britains interest payments jumped by 1.2bn in June, from 3.7bn to 4.9bn.Contributions to public sector net borrowing (excluding public sector banks) by sub-sector in June 2017, compared with June 2016 Photograph: ONS This chart also shows that Britains payments to the EU jumped by 700m in June.The ONS says:In June 2017, the UK paid 1,249 million to the EU budget through GNI and VAT based contributions, which are made net of the UK rebate. This payment consisted of our standard monthly VAT and GNI based contribution of 991 million, along with a 258 million payment adjustment covering earlier years, which will be subject to a further UK rebate.Shaun Richards (@notayesmansecon) The higher UK fiscal deficit in June was due to higher debt interest ( RPI based) and a higher EU contribution #BoE #GDP July 21, 2017 Updated at 10.10am BST Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 9.47am BST 09:47 The public finances report also shows that Britain is on track to borrow more this financial year than in 2016-17.As you can see, borrowing is already up compared with a year earlier:Photograph: ONS Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 1 of 2 Newest Newer Older Oldest Topics Business Business live Economics Currencies European Central Bank European monetary union Public finance'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2017/jul/21/euro-two-year-high-city-uk-public-finances-pound-ftse-business-live'|'2017-07-21T15:03:00.000+03:00' +'98faeac69c8b29581f65e60a0049fd9785e30ebf'|'Reviving euro zone inflation still long way off - ECB''s Praet'|'Top News - Sat Jul 8, 2017 - 6:15am BST Reviving euro zone inflation still long way off - ECB''s Praet FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank Executive Board Member, Peter Praet, speaks during a conference in Sofia, Bulgaria, May 24, 2017. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov FRANKFURT The euro zone economy still needs a long period of easy monetary policy and a shift in message that induced a market selloff last week was merely a nuanced change to reflect better growth, European Central Bank chief economist Peter Praet said. The ECB still needs to be patient and persistent with stimulus as inflation is a "long way" from getting back to the ECB''s 2 percent target, Praet told Belgian newspaper De Standaard, likely hoping to temper expectations of an imminent policy shift. ECB President Mario Draghi stirred markets last week when he argued that better growth in itself would provide increased support, allowing the ECB to curb its own stimulus to keep the overall level of accommodation broadly unchanged. That message was taken as a signal that the ECB could announce as soon as September a reduction in asset buys, already running for over two years with the aim of reviving spending, growth and eventually inflation. "I see it more as an evolution in our communications," Praet, a key Draghi ally said, according to an interview published on Saturday. "The tone was rather optimistic regarding growth, and rightly so." "Now indeed inflation is picking up, but that is a process that is a long way from completion," Praet added. "The process of reflation is a long one that remains highly dependent on accommodative monetary policy." The ECB will decide in September or October whether to wind down its 2.3 trillion euro bond buying scheme from next year or extend the buys, having to resolve an apparent contradiction between accelerating growth and subdued inflation. "We need to be patient because inflation convergence needs more time," Praet said. "And we need to be persistent, because our baseline for future inflation remains crucially contingent on very easy financing conditions." "As the economic prospects brighten, higher expected returns on business investment will make borrowing conditions increasingly attractive," Praet said. "This will reinforce accommodation." (Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Richard Balmforth) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-praet-idUKKBN19T065'|'2017-07-08T08:15:00.000+03:00' +'4e5c9281fe65121bb848d3ca6424d3172b8b2bd2'|'Ominous signs from British firms, but euro zone loses momentum too'|'Top 14pm BST Ominous signs from British firms, but euro zone loses momentum too FILE PHOTO: A businessman walks on the esplanade of La Defense, in the financial and business district in La Defense, west of Paris, April 10, 2014. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo By Jonathan Cable - LONDON LONDON British companies are giving ominous signs about the economy, just as the government embarks on European Union divorce negotiations, data showed on Wednesday, although momentum in the euro zone has lost some momentum. A survey published on Wednesday suggested Britain''s economy probably expanded at a quarterly pace of 0.4 percent in April-June. But its business expectations component tumbled to levels not seen since just after the June 2016 vote to leave the EU. The euro zone''s economy, meanwhile, probably grew nearly twice as fast, by 0.7 percent, during the second quarter. Business expectations dipped, but remained strong. "This shouldn''t come as a surprise," said Peter Dixon at Commerzbank of the British findings. "The UK is suffering the fallout from the Brexit (vote) of last year ... and has clearly moved onto a slower growth path." Disappointingly for some Bank of England officials who want to raise interest rates, IHS Markit''s Purchasing Managers'' Index showed business expectations not far off the lows last reached in late 2011, with growth in new orders, which tend to signal future activity, at a nine-month low. "Following on from weaker manufacturing and construction surveys, the softer services PMI points to an already-fragile economy faltering in June as heightened political and Brexit uncertainties fuel business and consumer caution," said Howard Archer at EY ITEM Club. British Prime Minister Theresa May gambled away her parliamentary majority in a snap election in June and so far there has been little clarity as to how the Brexit negotiations will proceed. In contrast, across the euro zone backlogs of work increased as new business during June came in at the second-fastest rate in over six years. Suggesting businesses in the bloc''s dominant services industry remained confident, they sped up hiring last month, taking on staff at the second fastest rate since early 2008. In other upbeat news for policymakers at the European Central Bank, retail sales increased by more than expected in May, European statistics office Eurostat said on Wednesday. TWO PATHS Britain''s economy barely grew in the first three months of the year as consumers faced both accelerating inflation, caused in large part by the fall in the pound since the Brexit vote, and slowing wage growth. Some BoE officials say the consumer drag on the economy is likely to be offset by higher exports and investment. Last month, three of the Bank''s eight monetary policymakers voted for a rate increase, although one of them has since left the BoE. But the IHS Markit/CIPS UK Services PMI edged down to a four-month low of 53.4 in June from 53.8 in May, just shy of a forecast for 53.5 in a Reuters poll of economists. "This weaker reading pours a degree of a cold water on the latest hawkish messages emanating from the Bank of England," said James Smith at ING. The final composite PMI for the euro zone, seen as a good growth indicator, was 56.3 in June, down from May''s 56.8 but comfortably beating a flash estimate of 55.7 and well into growth levels above 50. Earlier PMIs from the bloc''s big four economies of Germany, France, Spain and Italy showed faster growth in the second quarter as a whole. Britain''s potential for being out of step can also be seen in monetary policy. While the BoE is -- largely -- not expected to tinker with monetary policy anytime soon, the U.S. Federal Reserve is forecast to raise interest rates once more this year and European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi last week raised the prospect of policy-tightening. (Additional reporting by Andy Bruce Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-economy-pmi-idUKKBN19Q1BW'|'2017-07-05T14:45:00.000+03:00' +'f26fb88e553a47908b77bf3c12394815f5bec1f7'|'Financial Conduct Authority offers a plaster instead of an antidote - Gina Miller'|'Nothing in the FCA report into asset management gives investors assurance that the daily theft and duping will stop View more sharing options Close Saturday 1 July 2017 07.00 BST T he Financial Conduct Authority is finally pursuing a pro-consumer agenda but it is disappointing that it still appears to be dragging its feet on some key aspects. The UK investment industry has been ripping off the consumer for decades, and it is time for the UK regulator to act rather than have further consultations with the industry and its deeply conflicted trade bodies. Millions of people in the UK depend on the services of the fund management industry for their long-term financial needs. With an ageing population, and the fact that no government will be able to fund a demographic shift which will see the proportion of 65-year-olds rise from 14% in 1975 to a predicted 20% by 2025, investing takes on a vital role, as does the stewardship of the industry. Yet the eagerly awaited FCA report into asset management published this week, that we had hoped would be an antidote to the industrys ills, is yet another plaster. There was nothing final about it, nothing that will give investors assurance that their hard-earned money will achieve better outcomes, or that they can be assured that fund managers will be clear, fair and not misleading the FCAs own overarching principle. Regulation is still being replaced with more empty promises, more consultations, more working groups, more fudging It is particularly striking that the problems of cost opacity and cost control, which are both widespread and long-standing, will continue to be kicked down the road. How many more consultations and working groups do you need to add up costs and produce it as a single number, and in pounds and pence? Especially when you consider that a report in 2000 by the regulators earlier incarnation, the Financial Services Authority, found that as much as 50% of costs were being hidden from investors. And in 2002 the Sandler report on the UK retail investment market found the reporting of product charges is typically neither clear nor consistent. In terms of price competition there simply cannot be any genuine competition if the consumer does not know the price. This is why, as the most recent FCA report reveals, the asset management industry makes 36% profit margins that are more than double the operating margins of the FTSE pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector (14%), which is based on intellectual capital and saving and extending lives. In terms of the numerous consultations and working groups, some appear unnecessary and rules should be brought in straight away to protect savers. More consultations open the FCA to more self-interested lobbying from the industry and its anti-consumer trade bodies. However, we welcome the announcement of an investigation into the UK platform market, as many retail investors and advisers have substantial sums invested where in some cases the fees appear excessive. [These so-called platforms are companies such as Hargreaves Lansdown, where investors hold their shares and funds.] We also welcome the decision to ignore the attempts by pension consultants to avoid a formal investigation. I believed the regulator would finally do its job and ensure hugely improved stewardship of the industry, and that the daily theft and duping of the public would finally end. But courage and conviction appear to be lacking in the face of shameful lobbying by the deep-pocketed industry and its trade body. Instead, the better outcomes and improved investor protection [promised by the regulators] are being replaced with more empty promises, more consultations, more working groups and more fudging. Lack of competition, cartel-like behaviour, fee opacity and poor performance reporting are still set to plague the industry and diminish the honesty and respect with which UK investors are treated. Topics '|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/jul/01/financial-conduct-authority-report-assest-management'|'2017-07-01T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'298955aaf96c16c1caa7d1cde3ce6f95b4450dd6'|'Australia''s Myer cuts profit guidance, writes off Topshop, shares slump'|'July 20, 2017 / 4:43 AM / in an hour Australia''s Myer cuts profit guidance, writes off Topshop, shares slump 3 Min Read Shoppers exit a Topshop store in Sydney November 19, 2012. Tim Wimborne (Reuters) - Top Australian department store operator Myer Holdings Ltd gave a profit warning on Thursday after a mid-year sale fizzed and efforts to revive the local arm of British fashion chain Topshop failed, sending its shares to a record low. The operator of 67 department stores said a yearly stocktake sale in June and July was an "important period of profit generation" but weak trading conditions had persisted, meaning underlying net profit would be as low as A$66 million (39.94 million pounds), compared with its A$69 million guidance in May. It added that it wrote off its one-fifth stake in the Australian franchisee of Topshop after no agreement was reached on a rescue plan with the franchise owner, Philip Green''s Arcadia Group Ltd. Myer shares were down 11 percent at 72.5 Australian cents by 0411 GMT, their lowest intraday level since listing, while the broader market was up 0.5 percent. The stock has never traded over the A$4.10 a group of private equity firms sold it for in 2009. The profit downgrade reflects a perfect storm for Australian department stores: they are fighting fierce competition from global brick-and-mortar "fast fashion" groups such as H & M Hennes & Mauritz and also online, while wage stagnation and higher energy prices keep shoppers at home. The heightened pressures add to the fickleless of the department store business model which in Australia has traditionally relied on demand spikes at Christmas and mid-year winter sales, a pattern which retail data suggests is waning. "This business requires buoyant, healthy, strong retail conditions to achieve...targets, and it''s just not going to get there," said David Walker, senior equities analyst at fund manager Clime Asset Management. Walker listened to an analyst call to decide whether to buy Myer shares but "we just don''t think this is a robust enough business in a weak retail environment". A week earlier, South Africa''s Woolworths Holdings warned annual profit could fall by up to 10 percent because of tough trading conditions at its Australian subsidiary, David Jones, a Myer rival department store chain. Myer added that its deputy chief executive and chief merchandise officer Daniel Bracken has left the company after two and a half years, but did not provide further detail. Additional reporting by Shashwat Pradhan in BENGALURU; Editing by Jacqueline Wong 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-myer-outlook-idUKKBN1A50BM'|'2017-07-20T07:42:00.000+03:00' +'c9d647d3fa6aec6ca854b4b86b6746d6b6b2c780'|'Audi braces for fourth-quarter earnings hit over model ramp-up costs'|'July 28, 2017 / 6:35 AM / 20 minutes ago Audi braces for fourth-quarter earnings hit over model ramp-up costs Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The logo of Audi is pictured at the Auto China 2016 auto show in Beijing, April 25, 2016. Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo BERLIN (Reuters) - Audi ( NSUG.DE ) is bracing for earnings to take a hit in the fourth quarter because of ramp-up costs for new vehicles including the new A6 and A7 models, Chief Financial Officer Axel Strotbek said. First-half operating profit at Volkswagen''s ( VOWG_p.DE ) luxury brand edged up 0.5 percent to 2.68 billion euros ($3.13 billion) from 2.66 billion even as vehicle sales, Audi said on Friday. The carmaker made no further provisions for its diesel emissions scandal in the second quarter, having set aside about 1.8 billion euros in 2015 and 2016. Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Maria Sheahan 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-audi-results-idUKKBN1AD0NV'|'2017-07-28T09:35:00.000+03:00' +'aa8a77c1e0da31341b8e0caeacb4aa2b0065552e'|'Gross property insurance claims for London tower fire may reach GBP 50 million - insurer'|'July 7, 2017 / 7:49 AM / in 6 hours London''s Grenfell Tower insurer ups claims estimate to $65 million Ole Petter Skonnord 4 Min Read A banner hangs from a balcony near the Grenfell apartment tower block in North Kensington in London, Britain July 5, 2017. Hannah McKay OSLO (Reuters) - The insurer of London''s Grenfell Tower, where at least 80 people died in a devastating fire, raised its estimate for property and liability insurance claims to 50 million pounds on Friday. British police have said the final death toll from the blaze that gutted the 24-storey apartment block on June 14 may not be known until next year and the government has appointed a retired judge to lead a public inquiry into the disaster. Norway''s Protector Forsikring the insurance provider for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, which owns the building, also said it had been aware Grenfell Tower had been refurbished during the insurance underwriting process. It said it had considered this renovation, which was criticised by some residents, as a positive step. Asked whether the company was aware at the time that the cladding used for the tower block was potentially flammable, Protector Forsikring''s chief executive Sverre Bjerkeli told Reuters: "We must let the investigation run its course." Protector Forsikring said in its second-quarter earnings that it estimated gross claims would total 50 million pounds ($65 million), doubling a previous 25 million pound forecast. "Figures are preliminary, uncertain and will include both property, liability and other potential related costs," it said. Protector''s previous estimate was for claims of 20 million pounds to cover the building itself, with the remainder covering additional expenses such as alternative housing for residents. It provided no breakdown of the updated figure, but it has previously said the cost would largely be covered by reinsurance through Germany''s Munich Re, which declined to comment on Friday. Britain''s Jardine Lloyd Thompson, which was the insurance broker for Grenfell Tower, has previously said it was working closely to assist its client in the case. For Protector itself, net property and liability claims relating to the fire are not expected to change from a first estimate of 2.5 million pounds, Bjerkeli said. Before the fire, Protector Forsikring had rated the borough of Kensington and Chelsea as a good customer for the insurer. "The client is better than the London average, the London average is better than the UK average and the UK average is better than Scandinavia," Bjerkeli said. This assessment was based on data the company has gathered during 10,000 visits of properties in Britain, Bjerkeli said, adding that he remained confident in the country''s public sector and the firm would maintain its UK growth strategy. Britain said on Wednesday it was sending in a task force to help run the local authority, which has been struggling to cope with the aftermath of the fire. Kensington and Chelsea has been criticised by victims'' relatives and survivors for its handling of the disaster and its leader quit last week. Prime Minister Theresa May promised that all residents would be offered good temporary homes in the local area within three weeks, but that deadline passed on Wednesday and while 139 families had been offered homes, only 14 had been accepted and just three had moved in. ($1 = 0.7717 pounds) Additional reporting by Tom Sims in Frankfurt, writing by Gwladys Fouche; editing by Alexander Smith 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-fire-protector-forsik-idINKBN19S0XU'|'2017-07-07T10:45:00.000+03:00' +'39382273bbcfb12c89e54b65c5da9d27f6edee18'|'RPT-New life in U.S. housing market not evident in big bank results'|'July 18, 2017 / 10:13 AM / in 6 hours RPT-New life in U.S. housing market not evident in big bank results 4 Min Read (Repeats with no change to text) By Sweta Singh July 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. housing sector has seen prices, sales and financing applications soar lately as more buyers entered the market for the first time, but those trends were hard to see in big banks'' mortgage businesses during the second quarter. Four major U.S. lenders reported an average 33 percent drop in second-quarter mortgage banking revenue on Friday, compared with the same quarter of last year. An ongoing decline in refinancing activity, higher funding costs, tougher competition and a greater portion of business coming from third parties, who generally deliver lower margins, all contributed to the slide. Even so, executives sounded optimistic about the core operation of lending to people who want to buy homes. "I wouldn''t throw in the towel on the mortgage business," Tim Sloan, chief executive officer of Wells Fargo & Co, the biggest U.S. home lender, said on Friday. Wells''s quarterly mortgage banking revenue of $1.4 billion was down 19 percent from the year-ago period. A variety of factors hurt results, including the sale of a legacy portfolio of risky loans, but Wells saw improved credit quality among borrowers, and strong demand for mortgages to purchase new homes. The bank sees "huge opportunities" in growing first and second mortgages, Sloan said. JPMorgan Chase & Co, PNC Financial Services Group Inc and Citigroup Inc also reported mortgage banking revenue declines of 33 to 41 percent last week. Bank of America Corp reports results on Tuesday. Starting in 2009, banks began to benefit from a surge in mortgage refinancing, thanks to rock-bottom interest rates and federal programs to help struggling borrowers. That activity has been trailing off as rates have started to rise and many borrowers who sought lower rates have already gotten fresh loans. It will be difficult to make up for lost refinancing volumes, even though the market for home purchases has been improving, analysts said. New and existing home sales rose in May while prices reached all-time highs, according to federal housing data and the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Weekly mortgage applications shot to a seven-year high at one point during the quarter, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. NAR predicts new single-family home sales will rise 8.4 percent this year. Those improvements in the market may continue for some time, analysts said, since mortgage rates remain low by historical standards and young American millennials have only recently begun to enter the housing market. But banks'' mortgage businesses will only show improvements as comparisons with a previous year become easier, they said. "While we saw some pressure in the second quarter, we think that''s a low point for the year," Marty Mosby, an analyst at Vining Sparks brokerage and asset manager, told Reuters. "We should start to see some pickup in home purchase activity." (Reporting by Sweta Singh in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Dan Freed and David Henry in New York; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Phil Berlowitz) 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-banks-results-mortgages-idUSL1N1K90AQ'|'2017-07-18T13:12:00.000+03:00' +'5c67ce5a1ddfa66567e3106dd7dba3ea93032cf1'|'Samsung takes aim at TSMC with plans to triple chip foundry market share'|'July 24, 2017 / 10:38 AM / 13 minutes ago Samsung takes aim at TSMC with plans to triple chip foundry market share Joyce Lee and Se Young Lee 4 Min Read ES Jung, executive vice president and head of Samsung Electronics foundry business speaks at a Samsung event in Seoul in July 11, 2017. Samsung/Handout via REUTERS YONGIN, SOUTH KOREA (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics ( 005930.KS ) plans to triple the market share of its contract chip manufacturing business within the next five years by aggressively adding clients, a senior company executive said, as it targets new growth drivers for the chips business. The estimated 5.3 trillion won (3.65 billion pounds) business at Samsung was split off as a separate arm within its semiconductor division in May, in a clear statement that the technology giant was preparing to focus on the business and narrow the big market share gap with leader TSMC ( 2330.TW ). E.S. Jung, executive vice president and head of the new Samsung foundry division, told Reuters on Monday at the South Korean company''s Giheung chip campus the firm wants a 25 percent market share within five years and will seek to attract smaller customers in addition to big-name clients to fuel the growth. "We want to become a strong No. 2 player in the market," Jung said. Samsung is on track for record profits and is widely expected to pass Intel Corp ( INTC.O ) as the world''s top chipmaker by sales in 2017 on the back of a memory market boom. But the firm lags well behind Taiwan''s TSMC in contract manufacturing: TSMC held a market share of 50.6 percent last year compared with Samsung''s 7.9 percent, according to research firm IHS. It also trailed U.S.-based Global Foundry, which had a 9.6 percent share, and Taiwan-based UMC''s ( 2303.TW ) 8.1 percent. The memory industry is notoriously cyclical and unlikely to repeat the massive revenue gains seen this year. And as new applications such as cloud computing, autonomous driving and virtual reality emerge, analysts say Samsung needs to strengthen the rest of its chip portfolio to secure future growth. Jung declined to comment on revenue or investment targets, but said foundry and memory businesses will share the 6 trillion won next-generation chip production line that will be built in Hwaseong, South Korea. Samsung doesn''t reveal its chip contract manufacturing revenue, but analysts estimated it at 5.3 trillion won last year, with Daishin Securities forecasting it will see an increase of 10 percent or more this year. While TSMC splurges around $10 billion of capital expenditure annually, Jung said Samsung will be able to keep production capacity flexible depending on market demand by relying on memory chip lines. Though Samsung already counts major firms such as Qualcomm Inc ( QCOM.O ), Nvidia Corp ( NVDA.O ) and NXP Semiconductors ( NXPI.O ) as clients, it has a long way to go to catch up to TSMC. Analysts estimate Samsung lost Apple to TSMC in 2015 and the Taiwan firm has had 100 percent of Apple''s mobile processor business in 2016 and 2017. "You need a technology that can wow your clients. Without such advanced technology, it''ll be difficult to win back customers from your rivals," Jung said, without specifying any clients'' names. He said Samsung was confident of producing chips using the latest manufacturing technology called EUV (extreme ultraviolet) lithography ahead of rivals. EUV is a next-generation technology that potentially lowers the cost and complexity of chip manufacturing. Samsung and TSMC are neck-and-neck in introducing EUV. Samsung says it will start manufacturing chips with circuitry widths of 7 nano metres by using EUV tech in the second half of 2018. TSMC also said earlier this month that its chip manufacturing process using EUV technology will be the "most advanced technology in foundry industry" in 2018 in terms of density, performance and power. Editing by Miyoung Kim and Muralikumar Anantharaman 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-samsung-elec-chips-foundry-idUKKBN1A916I'|'2017-07-24T13:39:00.000+03:00' +'28ea4243cf966750d48fe68647d54b66a5663f5d'|'Sao Paulo rideshare rules draw ire of apps, rental agencies'|'FILE PHOTO - An Uber driver cleans his car as his cell phone shows the queue to pick up passengers departing Guarulhos International Airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil, February 13, 2017. Nacho Doce SAO PAULO (Reuters) - New rules restricting drivers of out-of-town vehicles from working with ride-hailing services in So Paulo came under fire from technology and rental car executives on Thursday, who threatened to legally challenge the decision in Brazil''s biggest city.So Paulo Mayor Joo Doria, whose name has been increasingly floated as a possible candidate in the 2018 presidential race, unveiled the rules last week as part of a plan to regulate ride-sharing services such as Uber and local rival 99.The move has serious implications for drivers from the So Paulo suburbs, along with the rental agencies such as Localiza Rent a Car SA ( RENT3.SA ), much of whose fleet is registered at its headquarters in the state of Minas Gerais."We have seen the city kind of taken over by cars ... using So Paulo roads and paying taxes somewhere else," said So Paulo Transportation Secretary Sergio Avelleda, defending the measure to journalists on Thursday.Rental car companies disagreed.The head of policy and communication for 99, Matheus Moraes, said the demand to register and pay local property taxes on cars was redundant for the company''s drivers, who already contribute a road usage fee per mile for using ride apps in the city."Mobility is about using the cars you already have," he said at an industry event in So Paulo. "This measure is limiting ... and we are going to work like heck with the government to see if we they will reconsider that point."Uber took an even stronger stance in an emailed statement, calling the requirement of local vehicle registration "unconstitutional," and Localiza also condemned the measure."This decision does not make legal sense," said Localiza Chief Financial Officer Roberto Mendes in a telephone interview. "We have to evaluate the situation. We understand that there are legal aspects that we could challenge."Demand from unemployed Brazilians renting cars to drive with ride-hailing services has been one of several factors driving robust revenue growth for Localiza and rival Movida Participaes SA ( MOVI3.SA ) this year, according to analysts.The rental agencies have even offered special monthly contracts for drivers on the apps. Uber''s Brazilian website promises rental savings of up to 50 percent for its drivers and lists promotions from the agencies side-by-side in major cities.The new rules could seriously complicate those arrangements, since so much of So Paulo''s rental fleet is registered in other cities.Reporting by Alberto Alerigi Jr. and Natalia Scalzaretto; Writing and additional reporting by Brad Haynes; and Leslie Adler '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-rideshare-sao-paulo-idUSKBN1A6033'|'2017-07-21T03:50:00.000+03:00' +'1338bd346ea33dc050dc12776442a6c998178960'|'Sears Canada starts liquidation sales prior to closing stores'|'July 21, 2017 / 1:24 PM / 17 minutes ago Sears Canada starts liquidation sales prior to closing stores 1 Min Read TORONTO, July 21 (Reuters) - Sears Canada Inc said it would start liquidation sales on Friday at 54 stores that it plans to close as part of a court-approved restructuring plan to improve its performance following years of declining sales. Sears Canada, which in 2012 was spun off from U.S. retailer Sears Holdings Corp, filed for creditor protection in June and laid out a restructuring plan that included the store closures as well as some 2,900 job cuts. The liquidation sales will be held at 20 full-line Sears Canada department stores, 15 Sears Home outlets, 10 Outlet stores and 9 Hometown locations. (Reporting by Jim Finkle in Toronto; Editing by Bernadette Baum) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/sears-canada-bankruptcy-liquidation-idUSL1N1KC0FT'|'2017-07-21T16:24:00.000+03:00' +'0e7ff5e60a317865b030522f6e160b8e39a898b9'|'Amundi CEO says Italian banks looking ''relatively healthy'''|'Business News - Sat Jul 8, 2017 - 1:40pm BST Amundi CEO says Italian banks looking "relatively healthy" Amundi CEO Yves Perrier poses during a ceremony for the debuts of Europe''s top asset manager on Euronext Paris stock market at La Defense business and financial district in Courbevoie near Paris, France, November 12, 2015. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France Italian banks, long plagued by bad loans burdening their balance sheets are regaining health after authorities tackled several troubled lenders recently, the head of asset manager Amundi said on Saturday. Amundi gained a major presence in Italy this year following its acquisition of rival Pioneer Investments from UniCredit ( CRDI.MI ), bringing in much needed capital to the Italian bank. Banco Popular and two small Italian banks were liquidated in June after their bad loans became unmanageable, and Monte dei Paschi di Siena ( BMPS.MI ) recently got approval for a 5.4 billion euro ($6.16 billion) state bailout to plug the capital hole caused by the sale of bad loans. "I think that Italian banks are starting to be relatively healthy after Monte Paschi (and the other banks) were dealt with," Amundi Chief Executive Yves Perrier said. Speaking at an economics conference in southern France, Perrier said those were isolated cases but nonetheless tricky politically and socially because the banks'' clients held subordinated debt issued by them. The Italian government has long come under pressure from its European partners to tackle its troubled lenders over concerns that their problems were giving investors a bad impression of the overall euro zone banking sector. Amundi says it is the largest asset manager in Europe with 1.3 trillion euros of assets under management and ranks in the top 10 globally. (Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Maya Nikolaeva; Editing by Jon Boyle)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-italy-amundi-idUKKBN19T0L0'|'2017-07-08T15:35:00.000+03:00' +'725593c8a6d11bdc4bdc4249b78fb5ac98834343'|'Spain likely to meet 2017 deficit goal - budget watchdog'|'July 19, 2017 / 2:07 PM / 9 minutes ago Spain likely to meet 2017 deficit goal - budget watchdog MADRID (Reuters) - Spain is likely to meet 2017 public deficit goals agreed with Brussels, though tax revenues are lower than targeted and it will be a close call, the country''s budget watchdog said on Wednesday. Spain is one of the few countries under the remit of the European Commission''s excessive deficit procedure, which involves strict controls and deadlines, as its budget gap exceeds the recommended threshold of 3 percent of economic output. Other EU member states that struggled to rein in public finances during recent recessions, including Portugal and Greece, have left or are set to leave the procedure shortly. Spain has trimmed its deficit gradually after it spiralled during a double-dip recession, and is only scheduled to bring it below 3 percent in 2018. The government is targeting a deficit of 3.1 percent for 2017, a goal which Airef, Spain''s independent watchdog, said was reachable. Airef said Spain was relying on keeping spending under control rather than improving its tax take, in spite of four years of economic recovery. "Almost all of the adjustment is coming from the spending side of things and not from revenues," Airef Chairman Jose Luis Escriva told a news conference. Including funds used to bail out Spanish banks in 2012, the deficit was 4.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2016, within a goal of 4.6 percent agreed with the Commission. Last year was the first time since Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy''s conservative People''s Party (PP) came to power in late 2011 that Spain met its targets. Reporting by Blanca Rodriguez; Writing by Sarah White; Editing by Angus Berwick and John Stonestreet 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-spain-deficit-idUKKBN1A41IU'|'2017-07-19T17:07:00.000+03:00' +'9dcf17ca08f97e3b3de485392de998558c11342d'|'Berlin - Daimler told German emissions inquiry it hadn''t breached rules'|'July 14, 2017 / 10:12 AM / 34 minutes ago Berlin: Daimler told German emissions inquiry it hadn''t breached rules Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Journalists wait for the arrival of Daimler AG CEO Dieter Zetsche before the car maker''s annual news conference in Stuttgart, Germany, February 2, 2017. Michaela Rehle BERLIN (Reuters) - Daimler told a German government committee investigating whether carmakers had sold cars with excessive emissions that it had not broken the law, a Transport Ministry spokesman said on Friday. The Stuttgart-based carmaker was summoned for a meeting on Thursday to address allegations that it had sold more than a million cars with excessive emissions in Europe and the United States. The Transport Ministry spokesman added that the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) was inspecting Daimler cars for possible excessive emissions. "Daimler said during the meeting on Thursday that it had acted in accordance with the law," the spokesman said during a regular government news conference. Reporting by Markus Wacket; Writing by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Michelle Martin 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-daimler-emissions-germany-idUKKBN19Z0ZQ'|'2017-07-14T13:08:00.000+03:00' +'49bf6c62aab1959c86b747d8965f8457b1a65de7'|'Why Brexit could entail a hard landing for low-cost carriers'|'THE European Commission celebrated 25 years of the EUs internal aviation market in June. The liberalisation of European aviation, which allowed EU carriers to fly between any airport within the bloc, opened the skies to the masses. Greater choice of airlines has cut faresby as much as 96% between Paris and Milan since 1992, for example, in large part because of low-cost carriers (LCCs). Cheap fares have pushed passenger volumes to record levels, from 360m in 1993 to 920m this year.Yet the bosses of Europes two biggest LCCs, Irelands Ryanair and Britains easyJet, are in no mood to cheer. The problem is the possibility of a hard Brexit. In the 1990s Britain was the country driving forward airline liberalisation in Europe, against the instincts of France and Italy, which preferred to protect their own flag carriers. The British governments plan to leave the EU by March 2019 means that the country will probably exit the European Common Aviation Area (as an expanded version of that initial aviation market is known). Continued membership would require acceptance of European court jurisdiction, a red line for British negotiators. Without a new agreement to replace it, flights between Britain and the EU might have to stop entirely, says Michael OLeary, the chief executive of Ryanair. Other airline executives do not think a complete stop in flights is on the cards. Negotiators on both sides have an incentive to avoid howls of protests from Britons denied summers in the sun and Mediterranean hoteliers left with empty resorts. Even if a permanent arrangement is not forged in time, some sort of interim deal to allow existing Britain-EU routes to continue after Britain leaves seems likely.But Mr OLeary is right to worry. Brexit is likely to create a worse environment for many European airlines. Growing rates of migration among young people in the bloc have boosted revenues. The share of passengers flying within the EU to see friends and family, rather than for tourism, has grown from 5% in the early 1990s to around a third. Restrictions on migration between Britain and the EU could sap demand.Budget airlines have the most to lose. In the past decade, LCCs have been responsible for 99% of the increase in passenger traffic at Europes 20 biggest airports, according to Olivier Jankovec of ACI Europe, an industry group. Bringing competition to routes once dominated by cosseted national carriers, they stimulated demand by slashing fares.Now their full-service rivals scent a chance to grab back some business. The flag carriers of France and Germany, which have a close relationship with their respective governments, have every incentive to make sure that rivals are caught by rules that ban foreign airlines from flying within the EU, says Andrew Charlton of Aviation Advocacy, a consultancy. In February Lufthansas CEO, Carsten Spohr, said he will oppose any attempt by easyJet or British Airways to re-enter the European Common Aviation Area after Brexit.Even if an interim deal is reached to continue flights between Britain and the EU, it is possible that Ryanair will be prevented from flying within Britain and that easyJet, a British carrier, will be unable to fly within the EU. In March 2019 they may each have to split themselves into a British-registered firm and one based in the EU.The LCCs are famously flexible. They can move aircraft around their networks in a way that legacy carriers that base their operations around specific hub airports cannot. This sort of response enables them to respond to temporary disruptions. But if Britain cannot forge a deal to replace the European Common Aviation Area, there will be fewer airlines on many routes. And that will be to the detriment of both British and European passengers.This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "Brace position"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21724857-exiting-eu-may-mean-leaving-european-common-aviation-area-why-brexit-could-entail-hard?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-07-06T22:49:00.000+03:00' +'b5d59a571b9984b06412e3acdf0e32d2c0930cf8'|'Giving up the ghost - investors bail on Snap'|'July 11, 2017 / 5:10 PM / 7 minutes ago Giving up the ghost - investors bail on Snap Anya George Tharakan and Lewis Krauskopf 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A man takes a photograph of the front of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with a Snap Inc. logo hung on the front of it shortly before the company''s IPO in New York, U.S., March 2, 2017. Lucas Jackson (Reuters) - Here one minute, gone the next. While that is the premise of Snap Incs popular messaging platform, investors also saw any gains from its red-hot IPO disappear when shares plunged far below their initial sale price on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley, a lead underwriter on the company''s initial public offering, slapped a price target of $16 on the stock - a buck below its March IPO price. Analyst Brian Nowak wrote in the note that "we have been wrong about Snap''s ability to innovate and improve its ad product this year." Snap shares got slammed, slumping nearly 9 percent in heavy trading volume to close at $15.47. It was a 47 percent bump down from the $29.44 intraday high they hit the day after the IPO. Theres a lot of people betting that this stock is going down and I think this analyst is just adding fuel to the fire, King Lip, chief investment officer at Baker Avenue Asset Management in San Francisco, said of Morgan Stanley''s downgrade. The bank cut its rating to "equal-weight" from "outperform" and slashed its price target to $16 from $28, below the median target of $19.50. The ratings move was a rarity by a lead underwriter so soon after a listing. Goldman Sachs, another lead underwriter, still has a "buy" rating on the stock and an unchanged $27 price target. Related Coverage Investors pay top dollar to short Snap "We have been wrong about Snap''s ability to innovate and improve its ad product this year and user monetization as it works to move beyond "experimental" ad budgets into larger branded and direct response ad allocations," Nowak wrote. Nowak raised concerns about Snapchat parent''s ability to compete with Facebook Inc''s Instagram. Snap''s user growth trends have been modestly weaker than expected. In the downgrade report, Morgan Stanley also cut its estimates for Snap''s 2017 revenue by 6.9 percent to $897 million and lowered its expectations for daily active users by 1.6 percent to 182 million. Snap and Morgan Stanley declined to comment on the downgrade. Longs vs Shorts Short-sellers were placing bets on Tuesday that Snap would continue to fall, representing about 2.4 percent of trading volume in the stock by midday despite it being one of the most expensive to borrow on Wall Street. A fresh round of selling could follow the July 29 expiry of the stock''s lockup period, after which certain insider investors will be allowed to unload their shares. Snapchat is popular with users under 30, but many on Wall Street have long been critical of Snap''s lofty valuation and slowing growth. The company''s current market value was about $18.3 billion. Facebook, which once made a $3 billion bid for Snapchat, has made the camera central to its own apps and offers Snapchat-like features on its Instagram and WhatsApp platforms. In June, Instagram said its Stories feature had 250 million users, compared with 166 million users for Snapchat at the end of the first quarter. "You have a one, two, three punch here: Slowing growth, advertisers are still favoring established platforms and a very, very threatening competitor," said Philippe Collard, founder of management consulting firm Yabusame Partners, which specializes in the tech industry. "Probably, people are sitting on the sideline saying, ''What do I do with Snap, is it going to be another Twitter?''" Shares of Twitter, which went public in 2013, now trade about 30 percent below their IPO price. Some big names took stakes in Snap during the first quarter, including billionaire George Soros'' hedge fund, activist hedge fund Jana Partners, Daniel Loeb''s Third Point and Daniel Och''s Och-Ziff Capital Management. Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru and Lewis Krauskopf in New York; additional reporting by Rodrigo Campos, Sheila Dang and Jessica Toonkel in New York; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli, Megan Davies and Dan Burns 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-snap-stocks-idUKKBN19W25S'|'2017-07-12T02:47:00.000+03:00' +'59647b9b47d5c76afc7d69b4cdac3592a0e37cfe'|'Morning News Call - India, July 3'|'Market News - Sun Jul 2, 2017 - 11:23pm EDT Morning News Call - India, July 3 To access the newsletter, click on the link: here If you would like to receive this newsletter via email, please register at: here FACTORS TO WATCH 10:15 am: NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa at an event in New Delhi. 11:00 am: SEBI Chairman Ajay Tyagi to address SCOPE members in New Delhi. FX WEEK AHEAD FX Buzz analyst Jeremy Boulton analyses G7 currencies at 3:30 pm IST. To join the conversation, click on the link: here INDIA TOP NEWS India launches new economic era with sales tax reform India early on Saturday introduced its biggest tax reform in the 70 years since independence from British colonial rule. Washington tells India Westinghouse could be sold by year end The U.S. administration has told India that Westinghouse Electric Co will emerge from bankruptcy and be sold by the year end, industry and diplomatic sources have said, raising the prospect of a Washington-supported sale or bailout for the nuclear firm. Modi says cancelled registration of 100,000 companies India has cancelled the registration of more than 100,000 companies which were "in violation of laws", Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, in the latest effort by the government against "black money" and tax evasion. Indian automakers, retailers lure customers with discounts as GST kicks in Some of India''s biggest automakers and retailers announced price cuts on Saturday as Asia''s third-largest economy switched to a new nationwide sales tax at the stroke of midnight, replacing a host of provincial and national levies. Modi heads to Israel, lifting the curtain on close ties Narendra Modi is making a first visit to Israel by an Indian prime minister this week, in a public embrace of a country that he has long admired for its military and technical expertise but which his predecessors kept at arm''s length. Thyssenkrupp wants less than 50 percent of Tata steel JV - Handelsblatt German industrial group Thyssenkrupp aims to hold less than half of a steel joint venture it wants to set up with Tata Steel so it can deconsolidate the business from its balance sheet, Handelsblatt reported, citing a company source. Indian Railways safety overhaul at risk due to rail shortage- documents A planned $15 billion safety overhaul of India''s ageing rail network is facing delays as the country''s state steel company is unable to meet demand for new rails, according to two government documents seen by Reuters. India presses Microsoft for Windows discount in wake of cyber attacks India is pressing Microsoft Corp to offer a sharply discounted one-time deal to the more than 50 million Windows users in the country so that they can upgrade to the latest Windows 10 operating system in the wake of ransomware attacks. GLOBAL TOP NEWS Japan PM''s party suffers historic defeat in Tokyo poll, popular governor wins big Prime Minister Shinzo Abe''s Liberal Democratic Party suffered an historic defeat in an election in the Japanese capital on Sunday, signalling trouble ahead for the premier, who has suffered from slumping support because of a favouritism scandal. U.S. warship in operation near disputed island in South China Sea A U.S. warship sailed near a disputed island in the South China Sea claimed by China, Taiwan and Vietnam on Sunday in an operation meant to challenge the competing claims of all three nations, a U.S. Defense Department official said. Japan firms most upbeat in 3 years but labour shortages weigh - BOJ tankan Confidence among Japan''s big manufacturers hit its highest level in more than three years in the June quarter, a closely-watched central bank survey showed, adding to signs the recovery in the world''s third largest economy is gaining pace. LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK (As reported by NewsRise) The SGX Nifty Futures were at 9,524.00, up 0.08 percent from previous close. The Indian rupee will likely edge lower against the dollar in early trade, tracking a shift in appetite for risk assets after major central banks signaled likely tightening in monetary policies in coming months. Indian government bonds are likely to fall today after the Reserve Bank of India announced a surprise open market sale of debt this week. The yield on the benchmark 6.79 percent bond maturing in 2027 is likely to trade in a 6.51 percent-6.57 percent band today. GLOBAL MARKETS Major U.S. stock indexes ended a volatile week on a modestly high note on Friday, led by a surge in Nike shares, and the S&P 500 scored its biggest gain for the first half of the year since 2013 while the Nasdaq Composite''s first-half gain was its best in eight years. Asian stocks held two-years highs, starting the new month on a solid footing after two quarters of gains while expectations of credit tightening by the world''s major central banks kept global bond markets under pressure. The dollar edged off from a nine-month low against a basket of currencies, but it remained shaky as signs central banks in Europe were moving away from accommodative monetary policies kept the euro and sterling well bid. U.S. Treasury yields rose on Friday as inflation data was not seen as weak enough to delay the Federal Reserves expected path on interest rate hikes, and as investors worried about less accommodative central banks in Europe. Oil prices edged up, supported by the first fall in U.S. drilling activity in months, although rising output from OPEC despite a pledge to cut supplies capped gains. Gold held steady, ahead of the U.S. Independence day holiday, as the dollar hovered at near nine-month lows hit last week on signs of monetary tightening by global central banks. CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT PNDF spot 64.69/64.72 June 30 -- $11.77 mln 10-yr bond yield 6.87 Month-to-date $385.27 mln $4.56 bln Year-to-date $8.37 bln $18.00 bln For additional data: India govt bond market volumes Stock market reports Non-deliverable forwards data Corporate debt stories [IN CORPD] Local market closing/intraday levels [IN SNAPSHOT] Monthly inflows [INFLOWS RTRS TABLE IN] ($1 = 64.58 Indian rupees) (Compiled by Benny Thomas in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/india-morningcall-idUSL3N1JU1NS'|'2017-07-03T06:23:00.000+03:00' +'875c1e0fc78ad2146637c0838213c87148b01129'|'UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on July 17'|'July 17, 2017 / 6:51 AM / 2 hours ago UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on July 17 4 Min Read (Adds company news items and futures) July 17 (Reuters) - Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening 13 points higher on Monday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures up 0.3 percent ahead of the cash market open. * BALFOUR BEATTY: Balfour Beatty Plc has been awarded two contracts by Britain''s High Speed 2 railway project worth about 2.5 billion pounds ($3.27 billion), the construction company said on Monday. * ITV: British commercial broadcaster ITV said on Monday it had appointed Carolyn McCall, the boss of airline easyJet, as its next chief executive, replacing Adam Crozier who has already stepped down. * CARILLION: Carillion has appointed accounting firm EY to support its strategic review, with a particular focus on cost cuts and cash collection, the crisis-hit British construction and support services firm said on Monday. * WORLDPAY: French payments company Worldline has agreed to buy Swedish peer Digital River World Payments as merger activity in the payments sector picks up following this month''s takeover of Worldpay. * UK''s FCA: Britain''s markets watchdog set out on Monday the scope of a study into whether the country''s 500 billion pound ($654.20 billion) online funds "supermarkets" sector offers retail investors the best deals. * ASTRAZENECA: Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca said on Friday its chief executive, Pascal Soriot, would host a results call with reporters on July 27, after refusing to comment on speculation this week that he was leaving the firm. * ITV: British broadcaster ITV is closing in on naming easyJet''s Carolyn McCall as new chief executive, the Guardian reported on Saturday. * UNILEVER: Anglo-Dutch conglomerate Unilever is vying with U.S. canned meat producer Hormel Foods Corp to buy the foods division of British consumer goods maker Reckitt Benckiser, the Sunday Times newspaper reported, citing sources. * BREXIT: Senior members of the government are becoming convinced of the need for a phased British departure from the European Union to help protect the economy, finance minister Philip Hammond said on Sunday. * COPPER: London copper edged up to its highest in two weeks on Monday, supported by a weaker dollar and an upbeat second quarter for China''s economy which brightened demand prospects for metals. * OIL: Oil prices strengthened on Monday, supported by a slowdown in the growth of rigs looking for crude in the United States and because of strong refinery demand from China. * The UK blue chip index FTSE 100 fell 0.5 percent on Friday, cutting its weekly gain from a global rally after U.S. Fed officials hinted monetary policy tightening would go ahead at a slower pace. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets Today''s Uk Papers > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Siju Varghese) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idUSL3N1K82ID'|'2017-07-17T09:50:00.000+03:00' +'b7c8658534b5eb5e6b22ced9b060d42c0397a4d8'|'Avis''s car-sharing service Zipcar quits Austria'|'Technology News - Wed Jul 5, 2017 - 5:17am EDT Avis''s car-sharing service Zipcar quits Austria FILE PHOTO: A zipcar vehicle is seen parked in downtown Washington, September 1, 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Barria VIENNA Zipcar, the car-sharing service of auto group Avis, will exit Austria by Aug. 6 after five years, a spokeswoman said on Wednesday, adding customers would be offered refunds for fees already paid beyond that date. Competition intensified in Austria after Zipcar''s rival Daimler overhauled and upgraded its Austrian Car2Go operations in April with a bigger fleet, comprising around 700 newer Smart cars and bigger Mercedes models. The third player in the Austrian market DriveNow, a joint venture between BMW and Sixt, introduced new convertibles to its fleet in May. The Zipcar spokeswoman said Austrian operations would end "as part of our ongoing process of evaluation to improve business performance across all markets". (Reporting by Shadia Nasralla; Editing by Mark Potter) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-zipcar-austria-idUSKBN19Q0XY'|'2017-07-05T12:13:00.000+03:00' +'288e98f863ad4ab8b9e03b9a25d96a5754e14841'|'China''s debt spectre could haunt Fed''s policy meetings'|'July 23, 2017 / 11:17 PM / 7 hours ago China''s debt specter could haunt Fed''s policy meetings 5 Min Read U.S. Dollar and China Yuan notes are seen in this picture illustration June 2, 2017. Thomas White/Illustration HONG KONG (Reuters) - In September 2015, the U.S. Federal Reserve cited risks from China as a key reason for delaying its first interest rate hike in a decade. A wall of Chinese debt maturing in the next few years could jolt the country back into the U.S. central bank''s policy deliberations. Two years ago, it was a collapse in Chinese stocks, a surprise yuan devaluation and shrinking foreign exchange reserves that roiled financial markets that delayed the Fed, but it did raise rates three months later and has tightened further since. Now, some see risks emerging in China''s dollar-denominated bonds that could give the Fed greater pause for thought as it raises rates, even as other central banks signal a shift from ultra-easy policy. To be sure, Fed officials have not publicly flagged China''s debt as a major risk in their policy discussions. However, debt analysts point to the possibility of another September 2015 moment in which the Fed takes its cues from concerns about China. "Back then, I said that U.S. monetary policy is not made in Washington, it''s made in Beijing," said Joachim Fels, global economic advisor at bond giant PIMCO. "China does have a major impact on monetary policies elsewhere ... This year has been smooth sailing for global central banks because there were no shockwaves from China but I expect that to change if we think beyond the next few months." The outstanding amount of dollar bonds issued by Chinese entities has grown almost 20 times since the 2008-09 global financial crisis to just over half a trillion dollars, according to data from the Bank for International Settlements. Since September 2015, it has grown almost 50 percent. China''s dollar bonds are now almost a third of the emerging market total dollar issuance, up from a quarter in September 2015 and less than 5 percent before the Fed first began printing money in December 2008. A fifth of China''s dollar bonds mature within a year, according to BIS data. More than half are due in the next five, Thomson Reuters data show. If U.S. borrowing costs start rising as a result of the Fed''s exit from its unconventional monetary policy, that debt would have to be rolled over at higher costs, chipping away at the real economy in China. Alternatively, Chinese companies might decide to refinance their debt in local currency, creating weakening pressure on the yuan. Either development would reverberate globally and create a major external challenge for Fed policy. Feedback Loop For its part, the Fed doesn''t see any immediate dangers with China''s dollar debt. "You''ll find if you look at China they certainly have dollar-denominated debt but ... you''ll see that they are not as reliant on external debt as people might have thought," Dallas Fed chief Robert Kaplan said in Mexico City on Friday. Also, a significant portion of Chinese dollar borrowing makes economic sense -- such as companies funding overseas investment projects. And if those dollars are converted into yuan, they could help ease any weakening pressure on the Chinese currency. For now, dollar borrowing conditions remain stable with 10-year benchmark U.S. yields US10YT=RR still low by historical standards, despite four Fed rate hikes since September 2015. Broadly, the dollar .DXY is as strong now as it was back then. Indeed, the bigger risk focus for many analysts currently is not China''s dollar bonds, but its local currency debt, which ratings agencies estimate to be almost three times the size of the economy. But analysts say that the longer China''s rapid accumulation of dollar debt continues, the harsher the future adjustment for the economy will be, especially if lenders start repricing Chinese credit risk. "Regardless of how you cut your pie, you''ll discover debt is a big problem. China has made a major contribution to global leverage since 2008," said Aidan Yao, senior emerging Asia economist at Axa Investment Managers. "When markets start to wobble, there''s a feedback loop that has an impact on the Fed''s trajectory. Policy normalization is not going to be in a straight line." A forced deliberating could renew weakening pressure on the yuan as dollars find their way out of the country, although capital controls help mitigate that risk. "While the market generally believes that money flows have stabilized and the worst of the yuan''s slide is over, the reality may well be the opposite," said Kevin Lai, chief economist for Asia ex-Japan at Daiwa Capital Markets. "As more dollar debt has been taken up, the pressure on outflows is merely being delayed. Such pressure is also getting bigger, not smaller. This would eventually feed into even bigger downward pressure for the yuan." Graphic: China''s outstanding dollar bonds - tmsnrt.rs/2tgncMX Additional reporting by Anthony Esposito in Mexico City; Editing by Sam Holmes 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-debt-fed-analysis-idUKKBN1A80Z1'|'2017-07-24T02:06:00.000+03:00' +'12024491e2b56cf759f87525d1c563aa0a13df17'|'Lloyds and the FCA should go public over HBOS Reading fraud'|'A nother day, another round of apologies and expressions of deep regret from Lloyds for the victims of the HBOS Reading fraud . The occasion this time was the publication of a few passages from a 2012 regulators report that had previously been redacted while police investigated the scandal.The relevant paragraphs show that Reading alone was responsible for 240m of the provisioning in HBOSs accounts in 2007. The figure tallies with sums that emerged during this years court case that led to the jailing of six individuals. But the timing of the 240m provision is interesting. It suggests that Lloyds, which bought HBOS in January 2009, would have known the size of the mess in Reading on day one of its ownership.It may be true that, at that stage, Lloyds viewed the affair as merely a case of bad lending by HBOSs out-of-control operations. But, given the size of the provision, the complaints of fraud by the small business customers were plainly worthy of investigation. How were those complaints handled, and by whom?The allegation heard consistently over the years, and very loudly since sentences were passed in February is that Lloyds tried to cover up the fraud and was deaf to the victims arguments. The bank argues its hands were tied once police started to investigate in 2010 and that, in any case, fraud was only established in court. But, at the conclusion of the trial, it appointed Dame Linda Dobbs , a retired high court judge, to review the complaints of a cover-up.The important thing now is that the Dobbs review is published in full. As things stand, Lloyds has merely committed to share the findings with the Financial Conduct Authority . That is how the regulatory system works but, between them, Lloyds and the FCA need to find a way to get the findings in the public domain. A decade on, only the full story will do.Worldpay should be predator, not prey Damn. Royal Bank of Scotland the 72% state-owned bank sold Worldpay for 2bn to a private equity crew in 2010. Now the card processor, a member of the FTSE 100 index these days, is worth 8bn as US bidders loom .Actually, the tale isnt quite so simple. RBS was under orders to sell Worldpay as a condition of the 2008 taxpayer-funded bailout. The bank held an auction and got the best price at the time. Besides, one suspects the business would have been starved of investment if it had remained within RBS. The idea that 6bn has been lost to RBS is about three-quarters illusion.Can Worldpay itself resist 8bn-plus offers, assuming Vantiv and JP Morgan convert their approaches into real bids? Well, it shouldnt surrender its independence without a fight. Card processing, were told, is a business that is going global and, in that context, Worldpay has strategic value. It has 40% of the UK market and can operate in 126 currencies in 140 countries. By rights, it ought to be predator rather than prey.In the real world, investors whose Worldpay shares were worth 320p on Monday will want to look at any bid above 400p. But the directors should push hard. Card processing enjoys fat profit margins the fees are tiny in percentage terms but add up to a big figure and the growth of ecommerce makes the long-term outlook stable.Chairman Sir Mike Rake should not feel compelled to enter negotiations unless he thinks he can get at least 450p a share. RBS was a forced seller. Worldpay is not.Nisa business if you can get it It was the best sales performance in years, said Sainsburys chief executive, Mike Coupe. Really? The 2.3% like-for-like improvement in the first quarter may be the highest figure in ages but, if were talking best, one should adjust for the inflationary breezes now blowing through grocery-land.Sainsburys didnt quantify the contribution from higher prices but a reasonable estimate is about 2%. If so, the first-quarter sales performance looks commendably solid but no more so than in the periods when Sainsburys did well to stand still when others, including Tesco, were going backwards.In the end, the spin is irrelevant. What matters more is that Argos has been digested smoothly, the store-in-store openings are happening and the eventual cost savings are still promised to be 160m. The deal now looks smart.Would a purchase of convenience store operator Nisa also fit the bill? Coupe wouldnt comment on the talks but the commercial logic looks fine. Sainsburys would bring its buying power to the party and some of the Nisa store owners would probably improve their sales by converting their shops to Sainsburys Locals.The objection that Nisa would be a distraction feels wrong. Supermarkets, knowing the old profits margins are never coming back, are obliged to find new tricks. Nisa, from the point of view of Sainsburys, looks a low-risk adventure.Topics HBOS Nils Pratley on finance Lloyds Banking Group Financial Conduct Authority Banking Regulators comment'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/nils-pratley-on-finance/2017/jul/04/lloyds-and-the-fca-should-go-public-over-hbos-reading'|'2017-07-04T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'bc0bd4897821f445703faa1bba0111f5ac100d51'|'U.S. banks pay up for big deposits as consumers get pennies'|'July 18, 2017 / 7:33 PM / an hour ago U.S. banks pay up for big deposits as consumers get pennies Dan Freed and David Henry 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A sign outside the headquarters of JP Morgan Chase & Co in New York, September 19, 2013. Mike Segar (Reuters) - Big U.S. banks are starting to pay corporations, financial firms and rich people more to hold on to their deposits, but ordinary consumers will have to wait longer to see more than a few pennies for every $100 they stash in their accounts. Banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co, Bank of America Corp, Wells Fargo & Co and PNC Financial Services Group lifted rates for sophisticated customers'' deposits during the second quarter, executives said when discussing earnings in recent days. The increases followed the Federal Reserve''s decision in June to lift its key interest rate target for the third time in six months. Main Street depositors are not yet seeing the same benefits, executives said. Those customers have been slower to move money from deposit accounts into products that would pay more, partly because banks, collectively, are not competing with each other for the funds. "It is a tale of two cities," JPMorgan Chief Financial Officer Marianne Lake said, in describing how corporate customers were much quicker to demand higher rates. Bill Demchak, PNC''s chief executive officer, characterized corporate deposits as "hot money" ready to move quickly when interest rates first rise. He predicted the Fed would need to hike rates a couple more times before banks would need to compensate retail consumers more. FILE PHOTO - A Bank of America logo is seen in New York City, U.S. January 10, 2017. Stephanie Keith Several online banks pay rates above 1 percent, but big banks have not budged much since rates fell to near zero during the 2007-2009 financial crisis. The average U.S. checking account now pays 4 cents of interest each year for every $100 in deposits, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Even five-year certificates of deposit pay less than 1 percent. FILE PHOTO - A Wells Fargo branch is seen in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois, U.S. on February 10, 2015. Jim Young/File Photo Consumers will benefit when a few banks start paying higher rates, forcing others to keep up to avoid losing customers, bankers said. Wells Fargo will lift rates only as a "defensive" measure, Chief Financial Officer John Shrewsberry said. Analysts say how long the banks can hold out on consumers could determine if lenders meet expectations for net interest income. Bank of America''s consumer deposit rate rose by just one-hundredth of a percentage point, but it had to pay wealth management and corporate customers more. Executives said the earnings hit of the higher rates would appear in third-quarter results. Basic checking accounts "are zero interest and they will remain zero interest because that''s the nature of the beast," Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said. Reporting by Dan Freed and David Henry in New York; Additional reporting by Elizabeth Dilts; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Meredith Mazzilli 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-banks-deposits-idUSKBN1A3274'|'2017-07-18T22:32:00.000+03:00' +'cac245fda5e81251de41e55638e5d1f56054d9e1'|'BoE''s Carney says Libor should be replaced by ''transaction rates'''|'July 17, 2017 / 1:44 PM / 2 hours ago Bank of England wants less Libor-centric financial world Huw Jones 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Britain''s Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney, speaks during the Bank of England''s financial stability report at the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain June 27, 2017. Jonathan Brady/Pool LONDON (Reuters) - Interest rates used to price financial contracts worth trillions of dollars globally should in future be based on actual market transactions and not banks'' judgments, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said in minutes of a meeting released on Monday. The pricing of financial contracts based on the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) led the BoE and other central banks to look at alternatives based on actual market transactions to make them harder to manipulate. Libor is based on submissions from banks of interest rates they believe they would be charged by other banks for borrowing money. Banks were fined billions of dollars for trying to rig Libor and its continental European counterpart, Euribor. Libor had been compiled by a UK banking industry body, which was stripped of this role. The benchmark is now run by an independent firm regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, but Carney''s comments signal that such reforms won''t be enough. He told industry representatives attending the BoE''s Roundtable on Sterling Risk-Free Reference Rates on July 6 that controls on Libor rate submissions from banks were now much tighter. But, according to the minutes, Carney said a situation where "a judgment-based benchmark underpinned an estimated $350 trillion-worth of contracts was not desirable." "The Governor finished by noting that a shift towards robust, fully transaction-based reference rates was necessary and, over time, would happen," the minutes said. The BoE is developing its own "risk free" benchmark known as SONIA, but widespread adoption could only proceed with broad support from benchmark users, Carney said. Major dealers said in April they would back wider use of SONIA and the BoE is now sounding out if there is wider support. Unnecessary Vulnerability Chris Salmon, the BoE''s executive director for markets, told the meeting that in many cases Libor was not the most appropriate reference rate "Put simply, we want to see a transition to a less Libor-centric world," Salmon said in comments released on Monday. The system-wide dependence on Libor "fixings" as currently compiled is an "unnecessary vulnerability", he added. "Derivatives markets in particular could be more effective if there were liquidity in alternative reference rates." The BoE has already taken over responsibility for administering SONIA or the sterling unsecured overnight interest benchmark, and is strengthening it. Its next step is to sketch out how SONIA could be used more widely. The European Central Bank said in May it was ready to work on its own index of bank-to-bank lending after an industry-led revamp of Euribor failed. The New York Federal Reserve and U.S. Office of Financial Research are also developing three benchmark rates based on overnight repurchase agreements. Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Rachel Armstrong and Mark Potter 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-boe-carney-libor-idUKKBN1A21EC'|'2017-07-17T16:35:00.000+03:00' +'4c78d144172e1c40bf6c6b951d4899a460fa6bc7'|'BlackRock supports effort to boost number of women board members'|'July 14, 2017 / 3:23 AM / 4 hours ago BlackRock supports effort to boost number of women board members Trevor Hunnicutt 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The BlackRock logo is seen outside of its offices in New York City, U.S., October 17, 2016. Brendan McDermid/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - BlackRock Inc voted for eight proposals pushing U.S. and Canadian companies to adopt policies boosting their boards'' diversity during the most recent quarter, the world''s largest asset manager said on Thursday. BlackRock said it supported the shareholder motions to press companies to develop or disclose policies geared to promote gender diversity. It did not name the companies it pushed but said the "majority" had boards of directors lacking women. "We''ve been particularly focused on increasing the number of women on U.S. boards because progress in the U.S. has been slower than in many other markets," BlackRock said in a report it distributed. "Board diversity, particularly in terms of gender, is important from a sustainable investment perspective, given that diverse groups have been demonstrated to make better decisions," it added. "This appears to be because they are better able to consider, where appropriate, alternatives to current strategies - a proposition that can ultimately lead to sustained value creation." Women hold about a fifth of board seats in the S&P 500 index, according to Catalyst Inc, an advocacy group. BlackRock said it also voted against board members at five companies who sat on nominating committees but failed to respond to investors'' concerns about diversity. It was the first year the company "decided to vote against members of the nomination committee of men-only boards in a more systematic manner," a spokesman said, although it had engaged on the topic of gender diversity for "many years." The New York-based company manages more than $5.4 trillion in assets, many in index funds that buy broad swaths of the market, making it a top shareholder in most public companies. It has been pressured by activists and investors to back shareholder-fronted propositions and vote against obstinate boards to prompt better corporate citizenship. Chief Executive Larry Fink has encouraged executives to adjust their behaviour to focus on generating long-term value for shareholders, rather than meeting short-term earnings targets. Breaking with prior practice, BlackRock this year publicly disclosed opposition to practices at oil company Exxon Mobil Corp, drugmaker Mylan NV and other firms over climate change, compensation and other policies. BlackRock''s own board includes 17 members, four of whom are women. Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Clarence Fernandez 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-blackrock-women-idUKKBN19Z09G'|'2017-07-14T06:23:00.000+03:00' +'c5956a609478f96af196c8d83413fbe194f9ed19'|'Japan''s SMFG, preparing for Brexit, to make Frankfurt EU base - Nikkei'|'Banks - Sat Jul 1, 2017 - 4:26am BST Japan''s SMFG, preparing for Brexit, to make Frankfurt EU base - Nikkei TOKYO Japanese lender Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc ( 8316.T ) will make Frankfurt its new European headquarters as it prepares for Britain''s exit from the European Union in 2019, the Nikkei business daily reported on Saturday. SMFG, Japan''s third largest lender, will move to Frankfurt as its current EU base in London will likely become unable to lead the bank''s business in the bloc after Brexit, the Nikkei said, without citing the source of its information. Financial services firms need "passporting" rights through a regulated subsidiary in an EU country to sell products across the bloc. A British exit from the EU single market almost certainly means UK-based banks will lose those rights. The move would see SMFG follow Nomura Holdings Inc ( 8604.T ) and Daiwa Securities Group Inc ( 8601.T ), respectively Japan''s No.1 and No.2 brokerage groups, in setting up bases in the German city ahead of Brexit. Several other banks are also preparing to shift their EU base to Frankfurt from London. SMFG''s banking and investment banking arms, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp and SMBC Nikko respectively, will both set up subsidiaries in Frankfurt, the report said, adding that some employees would move to the German city from London. It did not say how many employees would be affected, or detail the date of any move. SMFG''s London office employs around 1,000 people. SMFG could not be reached for comment outside business hours. Frankfurt, the financial capital of Europe''s biggest economy, has been promoting itself as a stable city for banks looking to move because of Brexit, with German politicians discreetly welcoming those looking to relocate. SMFG''s Japanese rivals, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group ( 8306.T ) and Mizuho Financial Group ( 8411.T ), have EU passporting rights through their banking units in Amsterdam. (Reporting by Thomas Wilson; Editing by Nick Macfie)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-smfg-idUKKBN19M34U'|'2017-07-01T06:26:00.000+03:00' +'13b354e1dceac705f047b1ad4346e2ecf6cd2358'|'Netflix''s subscriber growth beats on new shows'|'July 17, 2017 / 8:14 PM / 15 minutes ago Netflix beats subscriber targets, shares jump 11 percent Lisa Richwine and Aishwarya Venugopal 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The Netflix logo is pictured on a television remote in this illustration photograph taken in Encinitas, California, U.S., on January 18, 2017. Mike Blake/File Photo (Reuters) - Netflix Inc crushed Wall Street forecasts by adding 5.2 million new streaming customers in the second quarter and predicted continued momentum as it expands around the world, lifting its stock nearly 11 percent on Monday. Shares of the company that pioneered streaming television jumped to $179.16 in after-hours trading, beating their all-time intraday high of $166.87 on June 8. Netflix expects foreign growth to lead to its first full-year profit for overseas markets in 2017, the company said in a letter to shareholders. At the end of June, Netflix for the first time recorded more subscribers abroad than in the United States - 52.03 million vs. 51.92 million. The company said a strong slate of content, such as "13 Reasons Why" and the latest season of hit political drama "House of Cards," helped attract new customers in the second quarter, which is typically its slowest season of the year. Netflix added 4.14 million non-U.S. subscribers, compared with the average analyst estimate of 2.59 million, according to data from analytics firm FactSet. ( bit.ly/2usBBdF ) In the United States, it signed up 1.07 million subscribers, beating analysts'' average estimate of 631,000. Netflix is expecting international subscriber additions of 3.65 million for the current quarter, compared with analysts'' average estimate of 3.2 million. The guidance assumes much of this momentum will continue, the letter said, though it added that Netflix''s forecasts had been too optimistic at times. Netflix is spending $6 billion a year on content to win new subscribers in a quest to become the dominant movie and TV streaming service around the world even as it faces a slowdown in U.S. customer growth. It is customizing content for different countries and adding shows in various languages. The Los Gatos, California-based company said it expected to report negative free cash flow "for many years" as it invests in content to add new subscribers. Netflix said revenue rose 32.3 percent to $2.79 billion in the quarter. The company''s net income rose to $65.6 million, or 15 cents per share, in the latest quarter from $40.8 million, or 9 cents per share, a year earlier. Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva and Richard Chang 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-netflix-results-idUKKBN1A225E'|'2017-07-17T23:28:00.000+03:00' +'32099ba98919a8e668bec7829f2f04410e34825c'|'Hot, dry weather threatens global supply of top-quality wheat'|'July 18, 2017 / 7:01 AM / 3 hours ago Hot, dry weather threatens global supply of top-quality wheat 5 Min Read A farmer harvests wheat in Marquion, near Cambrai, France, July 16, 2017. Pascal Rossignol CHICAGO/SYDNEY (Reuters) - Droughts are shrivelling high-quality wheat crops across the globe, sending prices to multi-year highs as bread makers scramble for supplies. High-protein wheat has emerged as the one tight spot in a global grains market swamped with abundant stocks after four years of bumper harvests. Low prices had already discouraged U.S. farmers from planting wheat, and dry weather is now exacerbating the shortage from North America to Australia. In Europe, a drought threatens to reduce cereal production in Italy and parts of Spain to its lowest in at least 20 years. Canada''s Alberta province, another top wheat producer, is also suffering from unusually dry weather. "The million-dollar question that the trade is still trying to figure out is, of all the global supplies out there, how much is going to be high-protein wheat?" said Terry Reilly, senior commodity analyst with Futures International in Chicago. Wanted: High-Protein Wheat The world is awash in lower grades, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture projecting world wheat stocks at the end of the 2017/18 marketing year at a record high of 260.6 million tonnes. But flour millers and bakers need milling wheat, often with a protein level of 12 percent or higher, to make consistent bread. U.S. spring wheat, typically with a protein content of 14 percent or higher, is also used for blending with lower grades of wheat. Spring wheat usually commands a premium over the lower quality grades The United States is the world''s biggest wheat exporter. Latest estimates from the USDA put U.S. production of spring wheat other than durum, which is used for pasta, at 423 million bushels, the smallest since 2002. Wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade hit two-year highs earlier this month above $5.50 a bushel, while values on the Minneapolis Grain Exchange - a niche market for high-protein spring wheat - spiked above $8 a bushel for the first time in four years. Market direction will depend now in part on how the spring wheat crops in the United States and Canada, which typically have high protein levels, finish the growing season, and whether Australia''s drought persists. Next week, the market will find out how bad the damage is to wheat fields in North Dakota, by far the biggest U.S. spring wheat producer, when industry experts and farmers conduct an annual crop tour. Drought and searing heat has scorched crops in the western portion of the state, but crops along the eastern border and in neighbouring Minnesota so far have escaped major damage. The impact of weather problems is magnified because wheat plantings in the United States for 2017 were the smallest in records dating to 1919, reflecting low prices that prompted farmers to plant other crops including soybeans and corn. Australia Output Expectations Cut Due to the outlook for little soil moisture, traders and analysts are also cutting expectations for Australia''s wheat production by 20 percent below official estimates. "Some areas in Western Australia (one of the larger wheat and rapeseed producing states) are experiencing all-time record low record soil moisture levels. With conditions as they are ... drought stress will almost certainly be an issue for crops moving forward," said Thomson Reuters weather analyst Ed Whalen. "The market is beginning to factor in a crop of between 19 million to 21 million tonnes," said Matthew Pattison, trading manager at Nidera, the grains trader acquired this year by China''s COFCO Group. That compares with Australia''s chief commodity forecaster in June pegging wheat output at 24.1 million tonnes. Should Australian exporters have less wheat to ship, Indonesian and South Korean millers will be forced to turn to supplies from the Black Sea, where production has been aggressively expanded in the last decade. Australia has steadily lost market share in recent years, especially to Russia, and analysts fear there could be a permanent shift away from the world''s No. 4 exporter. A shortfall in the U.S. spring wheat crop could bolster imports of Canadian spring wheat, said Jay O''Neil, an agricultural economist with Kansas State University. Not everyone is facing shortages of high-quality wheat, however. China has increased output of better quality wheat significantly this year, and that could cut its demand for imports from major suppliers like the United States and Australia. < World''s top wheat exporters (2016) reut.rs/2vcPIl4 It is unusually dry in North Dakota reut.rs/2tAjUV6 It is unusually dry in Western Australia reut.rs/2tZVckx It is unusually dry in Italy reut.rs/2uCZRdQ > Reporting by Julie Ingwersen in CHICAGO and Colin Packham SYDNEY; Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in SINGAPORE and Hallie Gu in BEIJING; Editing by Andrew Hay and Tom Hogue 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/australia-wheat-idINKBN1A30IE'|'2017-07-18T09:59:00.000+03:00' +'aedb12399e2d34790154e6acdde39bc5357c52c6'|'JPMorgan tops Canadian M&A activity in energy-driven first half'|'TORONTO Canadian mergers and acquisitions rose about 13 percent to C$120.5 billion ($93.2 billion) in the first half of 2017, driven by big-ticket energy deals and robust cross-border activity, according to Thomson Reuters data released on Thursday.Despite strong initial public offerings, overall equity capital deals fell 12 percent to C$26.9 billion in the first half from a year ago, the data showed.JPMorgan ( JPM.N ), Toronto-Dominion Bank ( TD.TO ) and Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) took the top three spots in the M&A league tables rankings, while Royal Bank of Canada ( RY.TO ), TD and Bank of Montreal ( BMO.TO ) were the top three advisers on Canadian equity issues in the first half of 2017.Canadian companies and pension funds have been seeking investment opportunities outside of Canada, and that is expected to keep M&A bankers busy in the second half."We see the financial buyers - the pension plans, asset managers - continually active outside of Canada," said David Rawlings, head of JPMorgan Canada.The two biggest energy deals of the year so far were Cenovus Energy Inc''s ( CVE.TO ) roughly C$16.8 billion acquisition of ConocoPhillips'' ( COP.N ) oil sands and natural gas assets and Royal Dutch Shell''s ( RDSa.L ) sale of most of its Canadian oil sands assets for $8.5 billion."The large international majors are looking to delever their balance sheet and sell non-core assets," said Peter Buzzi, co-head of Canadian M&A at RBC. "And for many of them, it appears Canada falls into that non-core category," he added.Canadian IPOs, which have been rebounding after a quiet 2016, rose to C$3.4 billion, the best first half in 11 years."The IPO pipeline looks strong," said Benoit Lauz, head of equity capital markets at CIBC. "There would be very significant appetite for good technology names," he added.Kinder Morgan Canada''s ( KML.TO ) C$1.75 billion IPO and Canada Goose Holdings Inc''s ( GOOS.TO ) offering were some of the highlights in the first half.But overall, the equity capital activity in the energy sector could slow because of choppiness in oil prices, bankers said."Investors have been generally taking a risk-off approach and we''re seeing limited conviction that oil prices are going to be high in the near term," said Kirby Gavelin, head of equity capital markets at RBC.(Reporting by John Tilak; Editing by Denny Thomas and Dan Grebler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-canada-m-a-rankings-idUSKBN19R27B'|'2017-07-06T17:56:00.000+03:00' +'202a9280af2032486ccb8c5c3b6055d429711caa'|'Twitter lets users mute notifications from unknown accounts'|' 3:59pm EDT Twitter lets users mute notifications from unknown accounts The Twitter logo is displayed on a screen on the floor in New York City, U.S., September 28, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Twitter Inc ( TWTR.N ), in its latest step to curb abusive behavior on its platform, rolled out new features on Monday to help users disable notifications from accounts that they want to avoid. The microblogging website said its "advanced filter settings" will now have options for users to mute notifications from accounts that they do not follow as well as from accounts that do not follow them. ( bit.ly/2tABSdf ) Users can also filter lower-quality content from notifications such as content that appears to be automated and mute notifications related to certain words and phrases. Twitter had said in March that it would introduce new filtering options for notifications to allow users to limit what they see from certain types of accounts, such as those that do not have a profile photo. Twitter and rival Facebook Inc ( FB.O ) have been facing a barrage of criticism for failing to tackle cyber-bullying, fake news and extremist propaganda on their platforms. (Reporting by Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-twitter-abuse-idUSKBN19V2KB'|'2017-07-10T22:59:00.000+03:00' +'d20784e6e1ace78a5bc9588f41c66a2889108715'|'AB InBev earnings rise despite Brazil weakness'|'July 27, 2017 / 5:15 AM / 13 hours ago AB InBev earnings rise despite Brazil weakness 1 Min Read BRUSSELS, July 27 (Reuters) - Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world''s largest beer maker, reported an increase in second-quarter earnings on Thursday as gains in Mexico and recently acquired assets in South Africa and Australia offset weakness in Brazil. The brewer of Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona, which makes more than a quarter of the world''s beer, saw a 1 percent increase in beer volumes and shifted consumers onto higher priced beers, resulting in a 5 percent increase in revenues. Second-quarter core profit (EBITDA) was up 11.8 percent excluding currency shifts and on a like-for-like basis, at $5.35 billion, compared with the average forecast in a Reuters poll of $5.40 billion. (Reporting By Philip Blenkinsop; editing by Robert-Jan Bartunek) 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/abinbev-results-idUSL5N1KG53P'|'2017-07-27T08:15:00.000+03:00' +'6f48b85642cf8b6c16a0eed86799a515c118b965'|'India''s HDFC Life revives IPO plan as Max Life deal struggles'|'July 17, 2017 / 6:13 PM / 12 minutes ago India''s HDFC Life revives IPO plan as Max Life deal struggles Reuters Staff 2 Min Read MUMBAI (Reuters) - India''s HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co Ltd said on Monday it had revived a planned initial public offering, as it struggles to get regulatory approval to buy smaller rival Max Life. Indian mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp Ltd ( HDFC.NS ) and its joint venture partner Britain''s Standard Life Plc ( SL.L ) plan to sale a combined maximum of 20 percent in HDFC Life, according to a regulatory filing. HDFC Life agreed in August to take over smaller rival Max Life Insurance in an all-stock deal that would have created the nation''s top private life insurer. As part of the deal, Max Life was to be merged into its listed parent Max Financial Services ( MAXI.NS ), which in turn would have combined its life insurance business with HDFC Life. The deal, however, did not win approval from India''s insurance regulator. Both sides have previously said they remain committed to the deal and were evaluating various options. On Monday, HDFC Life said if the parties are able to obtain approval from the regulator, the company and its main shareholders would be willing to re-evaluate a deal with Max Life in "due course". "At the present time, no (deal) structure prior to an IPO of HDFC Life has been identified which satisfies shareholders'' requirements," it said. Standard Life also confirmed the HDFC statement. IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication, earlier on Monday reported that HDFC Life has short-listed Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley, Nomura and Haitong Securities for managing its planned IPO, with more banks set to be added this week. Before it agreed to the Max Life deal, HDFC Life had planned to go public via an IPO. HDFC Life''s rival SBI Life Insurance Co Ltd, a unit of top lender State Bank of India ( SBI.NS ), on Monday filed for an initial public offering of shares that bankers have said could raise more than $1 billion. Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy; editing by Alexander Smith 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hdfc-standard-ipo-idUKKBN1A21YY'|'2017-07-17T21:13:00.000+03:00' +'10fd365f62a4d0993d920c795278e98971b047bf'|'Trian takes off the gloves, aiming to put Peltz on P&G''s board'|'July 17, 2017 / 4:26 PM / in 8 hours Trian takes off the gloves, aiming to put Peltz on P&G''s board Michael Flaherty and Sruthi Ramakrishnan 6 Min Read (Reuters) - Activist investor Nelson Peltz is seeking a seat on Procter & Gamble Co''s ( PG.N ) board, taking public his frustrations with the company''s lagging stock price and railing against its "suffocating bureaucracy." Trian Fund Management LP on Monday announced the nomination of its chief executive and co-founder Peltz, launching the largest proxy fight ever against a $223 billion consumer products juggernaut that sells everything from Tide detergent and Gillette razors to Pampers diapers. Peltz''s nomination comes after five months of behind-the-scenes discussions between Trian and P&G''s top executives and board, according to the company''s proxy filing. At one point, the two sides nearly struck a truce in May that would involve P&G laying out certain performance metrics over the next year. But any sign of an agreement was absent on Monday when both came out swinging. The 180-year-old company, founded on a hand-shake agreement by a soap and a candle maker, issued a statement strongly backing its board and strategic plan. See Breakingviews column: Trian, which owns about $3.3 billion of P&G''s stock, or 1.5 percent of the company, has until an October annual meeting to convince fellow shareholders that Peltz deserves to be voted onto the board. The firm''s campaign website (revitalizepg.com) and press release has few immediate changes proposed for the company other than advocating for a geographic organizational structure that it believes will empower divisional leaders to make faster and better decisions. Shares of P&G were up slightly at $87.72 in afternoon trade. Trian''s previous battle with a consumer goods conglomerate was with PepsiCo Inc ( PEP.N ), where it pressured the company to spin off its beverage business from its snacks division, a campaign that the company never heeded though it did hand the investor a board seat in 2015 to make peace. ( reut.rs/2uvu0ea ) That campaign began with Trian advocating Peltz for Pepsi''s board and ended with industry veteran William Johnson joining as Trian''s representative. In a CNBC interview on Monday, Peltz, 75, talked more about Trian''s track record with companies such as H.J. Heinz than actual operational changes needed at P&G. Peltz railed against the company''s "suffocating bureaucracy," but noted he was on good terms with CEO David Taylor. Trian said it wants P&G to cut costs more efficiently, and that it does not want to replace Taylor, any board directors, or to break-up the company. Since Taylor became CEO in November, 2015, P&G''s stock has gained 0.3 percent. In contrast, the S&P 500 Household Products index .SPLRCPROD, which includes Kimberly-Clark Corp ( KMB.N ) and Clorox Co ( CLX.N ), has risen 12 percent over the same period. P&G''s quarterly organic sales, which excludes acquisitions and divestitures, has fallen just once during his one and half years at the helm. For this year, the consumer goods giant expects a 2-3 percent rise in organic sales growth. Battle Lines FILE PHOTO - Nelson Peltz speaks at the WSJD Live conference in Laguna Beach, California October 25, 2016. Mike Blake The Trian-P&G battle comes as activist investors, emboldened by years of successful campaigns for changes at corporations across the U.S. and abroad, use their growing coffers to seek bigger targets. Trian won two seats on H.J. Heinz''s board in its 2006 proxy fight, and lost its battle to get board representation at industrial conglomerate DuPont ( DD.N ) in 2015. P&G''s proxy filing, disclosed on Monday, shows that Trian''s dialogue with the company goes back to Feb. 16, when Peltz called Taylor shortly after disclosing the stake to make the introduction and set up an in-person meeting. "I am quite surprised and very disappointed because I think David (Taylor) and I have developed a very positive relationship," Peltz told CNBC, when asked if he was surprised that the dialogue had turned into a proxy fight. "I like the man." Trian said in a press release that its bid to get Peltz on the board centres on P&G''s continuing underperformance, costs, complexity and culture. ( bit.ly/2t7h62c ) October Annual Meeting With P&G''s annual meeting usually held in October, the two sides have roughly three months to discuss ways to avoid a shareholder vote on Peltz. If elected, Trian has said it wants P&G to expand the board to 12 members rather than have Peltz replace a sitting director. P&G''s current board has six past or current CEOs, including American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault and Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman. "P&G has a best-in-class board of directors that is fully supportive of and actively engaged in overseeing the companys transformation," the company said on Monday. P&G''s proxy filing noted that last Tuesday, in a meeting between Trian and members of P&G''s board, Trian said it was moving ahead to elect Peltz because the company was not moving fast enough to improve its performance. P&G directors at the meeting said they too were not happy with the performance, but that they felt that Trians representation on the board was unnecessary in light of recent initiatives undertaken by the company," the filing said. In a bid to boost profits even as sales remain stagnant, P&G has sold unprofitable brands, including 41 beauty brands to Coty Inc ( COTY.N ), and focused on core brands. However, the efforts have failed to boost the stock much beyond the level where it traded at the beginning of this year. Trian said that P&G''s last cost-cutting plan, launched in 2012, failed to impact profit or sales growth. Barclays noted on Monday that Trian is working with former P&G CFO Clayt Daley, a consultant on the campaign who could become a potential board candidate to replace Peltz as part of the negotiations. Additional reporting by Siddharth Cavale in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Bernard Orr 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-procter-gamble-stake-trian-fund-idUKKBN1A21NS'|'2017-07-18T00:40:00.000+03:00' +'35d80ea583a854934c605d438c55477a71ae1a4d'|'Italy''s Ansaldo STS looks at small acquisitions - CEO'|'July 19, 2017 / 12:17 PM / in 20 minutes Italy''s Ansaldo STS looks at small acquisitions: CEO Reuters Staff 2 Min Read MILAN (Reuters) - Italian rail signaling company Ansaldo STS ( STS.MI ) is looking for small acquisitions to offset a sector slowdown but does not see a quick solution to a battle with activist fund Elliott, its chief executive told Reuters. Funds led by New York-based Elliott Management, the group''s second largest investor, have engaged in a bitter feud with Ansaldo STS''s controlling shareholder Hitachi ( 6501.T ) since the Japanese bought the group in November 2015. CEO Andrew Barr said the tug-of-war with Elliott had hampered the group''s decision making but added it needed to press on with business. "There is still growth in business, but we see that it is slowing down so we are also looking at... small acquisitions," the 44-year old said in an interview late on Tuesday, adding there were not specific countries the group was looking at. "There is nothing concrete at the moment but we are looking hard across sectors," he said. Barr, who has been at the helm of the group for just over a year, confirmed its guidance for 2017, with new orders of between 1.5-2 billion euros and revenues between 1.35-1.45 billion euros. He said he would give more details on strategy later this year. Reporting by Giulia Segreti and Elisa Anzolin 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-italy-ansaldosts-strategy-idUKKBN1A417V'|'2017-07-19T15:16:00.000+03:00' +'cd7b053efef439ad11fa844fa5df591c63322a2a'|'Dish, Amazon chiefs discuss wireless partnership: WSJ'|'Technology News - Thu Jul 6, 2017 - 1:04pm EDT Dish, Amazon chiefs discuss wireless partnership: WSJ Amazon.com''s logo is seen at Amazon Japan''s office building in Tokyo, Japan, August 8, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo Dish Network Corp ( DISH.O ) Chief Executive Charlie Ergen and Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) head Jeff Bezos have discussed a partnership to enter the wireless business, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Amazon could help bankroll a network Dish is building focused on the "Internet of Things", and could possibly offer its Prime members an option to pay a little more per month for a connectivity or phone plan, the Journal reported on Thursday, citing one person. Dish''s shares were up 1.2 percent at $63.53, while Amazon shares were down 0.3 percent. Dish has been buying up spectrum, or radio frequencies that carry the data flowing through devices, making it a potential acquisition target for U.S. wireless carriers such as Verizon Communications Inc ( VZ.N ), according to industry analysts. Dish faces a Federal Communications Commission deadline to use the spectrum by 2021 to build its first wireless network. Some investors say Ergen will likely want a partner to help share the cost of the investment, even though he has said the company can build the network by itself. An IoT platform would possibly benefit several Amazon Web Services products as well as its drone delivery plans, Citi analysts said in a note in May. "With its own wireless network ... (Amazon) could consider real-time changes in directions or multi-stop delivery routes through messages from the network," the note said. As part of a partnership, Amazon could also offer a one-way broadcast signal for its Prime video on Dish''s airwaves, the Journal said, citing a person close to Dish''s plans. As the market for smartphones and mobile devices becomes saturated, the wireless industry is betting that "Internet of Things" will provide new revenue streams. Citi analysts added that Verizon was pressing hard on the IoT front, while T-Mobile recently announced plans for a 5G IoT network. An acquisition of Dish by Amazon is highly unlikely, the WSJ report added. Dish declined to comment, while Amazon was not immediately available for comment. Analysts have said that the telecoms and cable sectors are primed for a wave of deal activity, and executives have openly talked about potential mergers. U.S. wireless company Sprint Corp ( S.N ) was reportedly holding talks with peer T-Mobile US Inc ( TMUS.O ), before putting those plans on ice to explore a wireless partnership with Charter Communications Inc ( CHTR.O ) and Comcast Corp ( CMCSA.O ). (Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-dish-network-amazon-com-wireless-idUSKBN19R1ZZ'|'2017-07-06T17:05:00.000+03:00' +'500a3ee6d8adb8ee3688500592f1dfb0f7e63fa9'|'Exclusive: UAE oil giant in talks to obtain loan of up to $5 billion: sources'|'July 24, 2017 / 1:23 PM / 9 minutes ago Exclusive: UAE oil giant in talks to obtain loan of up to $5 billion: sources Davide Barbuscia and Stanley Carvalho 4 Logos of ADNOC are seen at Gastech, the world''s biggest expo for the gas industry, in Chiba, Japan, April 4, 2017. Toru Hanai/File Photo DUBAI (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi oil giant Adnoc is in talks to obtain a syndicated loan worth up to $5 billion, the latest sign that the region''s giant oil companies are increasingly turning to the debt markets to fund expansion. Two banking sources said on Monday that company''s talks with regional and international banks are focusing on a loan that may total several billion U.S. dollars. A third said it was expected to be in a range of $4 billion to $5 billion. The loan facility, which would have various maturities of up to five years, is one of a number of fund-raising options being considered by the company, formally called the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. It is also discussing the possibility of issuing a project bond that could be as large as $3 billion, bankers said, declining to be named because of commercial sensitivities. An Adnoc spokesman told Reuters: "As announced on July 10, Adnoc is expanding its partnership model and creating new partnership and co-investment opportunities across all areas of its value chain. "Alongside this new partnership model, Adnoc is also taking a more active approach to managing its portfolio of assets and balance sheet to both unlock value and drive growth. "Furthermore, as per the normal course of its financial planning, Adnoc is also looking at the most effective capital structure for the efficient management of its business." Before oil prices crashed in 2014, state energy firms in the Gulf largely financed themselves with money from their governments. But low oil and gas prices mean governments'' finances are under pressure, so companies are increasingly turning to the markets. First Dollar The planned loan would be Adnoc''s first large borrowing from banks beyond a deal worth up to $3.3 billion with Japanese banks that it signed last year. The project bond would be Adnoc''s first dollar bond. In April, Riyadh''s national oil firm Saudi Aramco raised 11.25 billion riyals ($3.0 billion) with a debut issue of Islamic bonds. Oman Oil is working on a pre-export financing loan of around $1 billion after closing a $2 billion loan package a few weeks ago. Adnoc''s financing strategy is driven by Sultan al Jaber, the company''s group chief executive, who took charge last year. "Adnoc is looking at funding for different projects and talks have just begun - nothing has been finalised," said a regional banker. The company has not appointed banks yet to lead the planned loan transaction, but a Dubai-based banker said "things will move quickly" and a mandate was likely to be awarded within the next couple of weeks. Adnoc is also working on an initial public offer of shares in its retail unit, Adnoc Distribution, which could raise up to $2 billion, sources told Reuters last week. First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Citigroup have been mandated for the IPO, the sources said. U.S. boutique investment firm Moelis & Co is advising Adnoc on its funding strategy, while Rothschild has been hired as adviser on the flotation of Adnoc''s distribution unit. The energy producer manages 95 percent of proven oil reserves in the United Arab Emirates and 92 percent of the country''s gas reserves. Reporting by Davide Barbuscia and Stanley Carvalho; Editing by Andrew Torchia/Jeremy Gaunt 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/adnoc-loan-idINKBN1A91ME'|'2017-07-24T16:20:00.000+03:00' +'df23387037b20c673758970582e87a2518e24cf8'|'An action plan for Ubers next chief executive'|'IT IS said that Travis Kalanick, who resigned as Ubers boss last month, has been reading Shakespeares Henry V. Prince Hals transformation, from wastrel prince to sober monarch, is doubtless one he would like to emulate. But as a guide to the ride-hailing firms financial dilemma, Macbeth is the best play. This line especially resonates: I am in blood steppd in so far that, should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go oer.Uber has bled money for years in an attempt to become the absolute ruler of its industry. Once Mr Kalanicks replacement is found, voices will whisper that the firm, like Macbeth himself, is in too deep to alter course. But the new boss must change Uber from a company that sacrifices anything for its ambitions, to one which has a realistic valuation and uses resources efficiently. 19 Its product is elegantly simple. Uber makes a market between drivers and passengers and takes a cut of about a fifth of the fare. The more people use its service, the better it functions, with lower waiting periods for passengers, and better use of drivers time. Some 55m people in 574 cities use it every month. Underlying sales were $4bn in 2016, over double what they were the year before (all figures exclude Ubers Chinese arm, which it sold to a local rival, Didi Chuxing, last year). Ubers main trouble is high expectations. Its supporters think it will become the next Alphabet or Facebook. At its last funding round in 2016 (it is private), investors valued it at a whopping $68bn.But the next boss will have to deal with an income statement that is scarier than the Thane of Cawdor. Underlying pre-tax losses were $3bn-3.5bn last year and about $800m in the most recent quarter. Some $1bn-2bn of last years red ink was because of subsidies that Uber paid to drivers and passengers to draw them to its platform. At least another $1bn went on overheads and on developing driverless cars; money is also being splashed on a new food-delivery venture and a plan to build flying cars.To put its 2016 loss in perspective, that number was larger than the cumulative loss made by Silicon Valleys least profit-conscious big companyAmazonin 1995-2002. Measured by sales, Uber is the worlds 1,158th-biggest firm. Judged by cash losses, it ranks in the top 20. It is now eight years old, but still probably years away from being stable enough to make an initial public offering of shares. In contrast, Amazon went public at the age of three, Alphabet at six and Facebook at eight.Investors rationalise its valuation by assuming that in the long run it will be highly profitable, with a dominant share of a large market. In 2014 Bill Gurley, a well-known tech investor who was then an Uber director, estimated that the pool of consumer spending that it could try and capture might be over $1trn, with ride-hailing and ride-sharing replacing car ownership. Today many Silicon Valley types think that estimate is too conservative.But a discounted cashflow model gives a sense of the leap of faith that Ubers valuation requires. After adjusting for its net cash of $5bn and for its stake in Didi, worth $6bn, you have to believe that its sales will increase tenfold by 2026. Operating margins would have to rise to 25%, from about -80% today.That is a huge stretch. Admittedly, Amazon and Alphabet, two of historys most successful firms, both grew their sales at least that quickly in the decade after they reached Ubers level, and Facebook is likely to as well. But over the same periods these firms operating margins show an total average rise of only one percentage point. Put simply, Uber finds it desperately hard to make money. It is not clear that it breaks even reliably across the group of cities where it has been active for longest.So the new chief executive will have to deliver a bleak message; that ride-hailing is locked in a vicious circle. Low prices and high subsidies lead to losses, so firms must raise capital continually, requiring them to exhibit rising valuations. To justify these they must frequently enter new cities and dream up new products. Even more speculative capital is then drawn in by the paper gains seemingly on offer. In the past year, ten of Ubers competitors, such as Lyft in America and Grab in South-East Asia, have together raised or are raising, roughly $11bn. That will be used to finance still more price wars to win market share.Double, double toil and troubleUber is on course to use up its existing cash and credit lines in three years. Its next boss must break the cycle before then by cutting subsidies and talking down its valuation. It could lose market share and may need to exit scores of cities. On July 13th it said that it will merge its operations in Russia with a competitor. Similar deals need to follow. Although Uber should continue to invest in driverless cars, some of its more experimental moon shot projects will probably be for the chop. Its investors, including Goldman Sachs, Saudi Arabias government and Jay-Z, a rapper, could face paper losses. Staff paid in stock will be furious.Yet over time the aim should be a firm with a lower market share of a more stable industry. Successful, dominant firms, such as Google and AT&T, dont seek absolute monopolies by killing off weaker rivals. They allow them enough space to plod on. That lowers the risk of antitrust problems and deters new entrants. By signalling that Ubers valuation is too high its new boss would knock valuations across the ride-hailing industry and slow the flood of speculative capitalin the end, a good thing.Once the losses abate, the priority should be to create a more capital light model. Perhaps Uber could license its brand and technology to local partners in some markets. It could concentrate subsidies on customers who sign up to long-term contracts. The biggest impediment may be Mr Kalanick. With allies, he still controls a significant share, probably a majority, of the companys voting rights. Anyone taking on techs toughest job must have the inner steel to confront him. They should remember another Quote: from the bard; I must be cruel only to be kind. Business "Reinventing Uber"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21725301-ride-hailing-firm-needs-rescuing-vicious-cycle-action-plan-ubers-next-chief?fsrc=rss'|'2017-07-20T22:44:00.000+03:00' +'a6bff8ff07ad0521f6bbe816ae306d2a5d41af0f'|'Exclusive - Toyota made UK investment decision after Brexit reassurances: sources'|'July 14, 2017 / 4:06 PM / 6 minutes ago Exclusive - Toyota made UK investment decision after Brexit reassurances: sources Costas Pitas 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: New cars are parked at Toyota''s Burnaston plant near Derby, central England February 18, 2009. Darren Staples/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - The British government helped to secure a more than 240-million pound investment from Toyota ( 7203.T ) in its English plant with a letter reassuring the Japanese carmaker over post-Brexit trading arrangements, two sources told Reuters. Toyota said on March 16 it would install its new car platform at its Burnaston plant. One source, who is familiar with the letter, said that Toyota delayed the decision due by the end of December while it weighed up a number of factors including Brexit. The business ministry has confirmed the existence of a letter but refused to release it. The source said the letter was similar to one sent to Japanese carmaker Nissan ( 7201.T ) last year when it decided to build two new models at its northern English plant. The document sparked public and lawmaker concern about secretive deals. The source, who did not say when the letter was sent, said it contained several reassurances. "They received a similar set of warm words as Nissan on electric vehicles, commitment to further training and to ensure the competitiveness of the UK automotive industry," the source said. A Toyota spokesman declined to comment on whether it had received such a letter. He referred to the company''s March 16 statement which said the British government was providing funding for training and research and development. Toyota also said at the time that "continued tariff-and-barrier free market access... will be vital for future success." Britain said in March it would back up the investment from Toyota, which builds roughly 10 percent of Britain''s 1.7 million cars, by spending 21.3 million pounds to support skills and training, research and development and innovation, subject to an independent assessment. A spokesman at the business ministry declined to provide any comment for this story. Business minister Greg Clark said last year that assurances offered to Nissan were available to other firms. Reuters made a freedom of information (FOI) request to the business ministry to see documentation relating to the investment decision, which the ministry said included a letter. In its response, an official at the ministry refused to release the letter and a company briefing note, saying the information was "both highly commercially sensitive" and "would be likely to cause harm to the company''s commercial interests if disclosed." Clark has refused to publish the Nissan letter. He said he will release the information when it is no longer commercially confidential. FILE PHOTO: A man works on the production line at the Toyota factory in Derby, central England, March 7, 2011. Darren Staples/File Photo Many of the world''s biggest car firms are worried about the long-term viability of their British plants and are using their upcoming investment decisions to push for promises to maintain free trade after Britain''s exit from the EU, which is due to take place in March 2019. Redacted Emails Toyota finalised its decision at a meeting between its Europe President and Chief Executive Johan van Zyl and Clark on March 15, the day before the official announcement, a third source, who is close to the company told Reuters. In response to the FOI request, the business ministry said there were three documents relating to discussions between the firm and top government officials since Clark was appointed in July last year: a letter, a confidential company briefing and an email exchange. It initially refused to publish all three but after Reuters appealed the decision, the department released a redacted email exchange. Reuters asked for correspondence between the company and Clark, a special advisor, a junior minister and the ministry''s automotive team. The email exchange included three messages which were written after a meeting between Clark and van Zyl. The emails are redacted so that it is not possible to know who received them. "We picked up from the recent meeting with Greg Clark that Toyota has a significant investment decision coming up before the end of the year, for a new European ''architecture plant''," according to official correspondence dated Sep. 9. "Dr Zyl noted that uncertainties over future trade arrangements are a worry, and SofS (Secretary of State Clark) sought to reassure on the alignment of company and HMG (Her Majesty''s government) goals." "It would (be) great to understand more about the decision, and if there are any ways in which HMG could help," the email from the official said. Clark had meetings with Toyota officials in September, November and March, according to an official government log. Japan''s Nissan ( 7201.T ), Toyota and Honda ( 7267.T ) account for around half of British car output. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with British Prime Minister Theresa May in April and called for a smooth Brexit to allow Japanese firms to continue to operate. Toyota has yet to say which models it will build in Burnaston over the next decade. ($1 = 0.7713 pounds) Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Anna Willard 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-toyota-idUKKBN19Z1VK'|'2017-07-14T19:05:00.000+03:00' +'6bf62c3560911b0fef3c7066e807f7b879c1cd94'|'BRIEF-Peoples Financial Services reports Q2 earnings per share $0.76'|'July 24, 2017 / 8:44 PM / 5 minutes ago BRIEF-Peoples Financial Services reports Q2 earnings per share $0.76 Peoples Financial Services Corp * Q2 earnings per share $0.76 * Q2 core earnings per share $0.59 * Qtrly net interest income $16.1 million versus $15.3 million Source text: [ bit.ly/2gXCLsb ] '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-peoples-financial-services-reports-idUSFWN1KF0LD'|'2017-07-24T23:44:00.000+03:00' +'1f0916360b17bbb1975e86d058476fb62fbee6ef'|'Snap''s shares slide 3 percent in premarket trading as lockup ends'|'July 31, 2017 / 12:52 PM / 17 minutes ago Snap''s shares slide 3 percent in premarket trading as lockup ends Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A woman stands in front of the logo of Snap Inc. on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) while waiting for Snap Inc. to post their IPO, in New York City, New York, U.S. on March 2, 2017. Lucas Jackson/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of Snap Inc ( SNAP.N ), owner of the Snapchat messaging app, fell 3 percent in premarket trading on Monday as a share lockup ended, allowing for sales by early investors and pushing it further below its March initial public offering price. Starting on Monday and extending into August, early investors, employees and other insiders will be able to sell shares for the first time since its $3.4 billion IPO, the third-largest for a U.S. technology company. As of Monday, investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners will be able to sell up to 400 million shares, with employees owning another 782 million allowed to start selling on Aug. 14, four days after Snap reports results, JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth said in a recent note. Snap''s shares were down 3 percent at $13.40 in trading before the U.S. market opening, putting it 21 percent below its $17 IPO price. It hit a low of $13.14 on Thursday. The company''s stock has been dragged lower by investor concerns about user growth and waning confidence in its ability to eventually turn a profit. Reporting by Megan Davies; Additional reporting by Lance Tupper; Editing by Bernadette Baum 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-snap-stock-idUKKBN1AG1HN'|'2017-07-31T15:50:00.000+03:00' +'30c6059e7a6e2207dfaf44f12a562400ee50b66d'|'Worldpay says agreed to be taken over by Vantiv in $10 billion deal'|'Top News - Wed Jul 5, 2017 - 1:53pm BST Worldpay says agreed to be taken over by Vantiv in $10 billion deal Worldpay logo in undated handout. REUTERS/Handout/Worldpay By Noor Zainab Hussain Worldpay Group Plc, Britain''s largest payment processor, said on Wednesday that it had agreed to be bought by U.S. credit card technology firm Vantiv Inc in a deal valuing it at 7.7 billion pounds ($9.95 billion). The agreement came a day after shares in the British firm soared more than 25 percent when said it had received approaches from both Vantiv and JPMorgan, though the U.S. bank said on Wednesday it does not plan to make an offer. The deal, seen by analysts as the start of a trend for consolidation in the payments industry, will see Vantiv give Worldpay shareholders 55 pence in cash per share plus 0.0672 new Vantiv shares plus a cash dividend of 5 pence per Worldpay share. That makes the total value for Worldpay shareholders 385 pence per share, a premium of 18.9 percent to the firm''s stock close on Monday, but down from the high of 409.5 pence the share price hit on Wednesday before the announcement. If the deal goes through, Worldpay shareholders will own about 41 percent of the new company, with the British firm delisted from London''s stock market. Vantiv Chief Charles Drucker and Worldpay CEO Philip Jansen will jointly run the new company. The deal comes less than two years after Worldpay listed in London in late 2015, when it was valued at 4.8 billion pounds. Set up in 1989, Worldpay was spun out of British bank Royal Bank of Scotland to private equity firms Bain Capital and Advent International in 2010. Payments companies have become attractive targets for credit card companies, banks and technology firms seeking to capitalise on the decline in cash transactions and growth in popularity of paying by smartphone or other mobile devices. While banks have been trying to develop and buy more sophisticated technology, payment service companies like PayPal and Worldpay gained a large part of the market share during the e-commerce boom. Danish payment services company Nets A/S, said over the weekend that it had also been approached by potential buyers. Worldpay''s stock, which rose 27.7 percent on Tuesday, was down 7.8 percent at 376 pence at 1247 GMT on Wednesday. Shares in Vantiv, which has a market capitalisation of $12.32 billion, were halted before premarket trade. (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Rachel Armstrong)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-worldpay-m-a-vantiv-inc-idUKKBN19Q1IS'|'2017-07-05T15:05:00.000+03:00' +'465297ee99ae396bc0d5c4ab97b21eb90348e4a0'|'Asia shares rise on accommodative Fed, China stocks narrow losses on strong GDP'|'July 17, 2017 / 2:39 AM / 12 minutes ago World shares hit record as strong China data lifts copper 3 Min Read Floor traders work during afternoon trading at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange November 6, 2013. Bobby Yip/Files NEW YORK (Reuters) - A gauge of world stocks hit a record high on Monday while copper prices surged to their highest levels in more than four months after robust growth data in China. China''s economy expanded at a faster-than-expected 6.9 percent clip in the second quarter, setting the country on course to comfortably meet its 2017 growth target. Commodity prices were also buoyed as the dollar fell to a 10-month low before steadying. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan hit a two-year high, as MSCI''s gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.13 percent and set a record. Wall Street opened slightly higher as investors braced for a flood of second-quarter earnings reports later in the week. "The market from a big picture perspective is just waiting on earnings," said Walter Todd, at Greenwood Capital Associates in Greenwood, South Carolina. "Can companies continue to follow through with what was a very good earnings season in Q1? I think thats what investors are looking for." The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 10.93 points, or 0.05 percent, to 21,648.67, the S&P 500 gained 2.38 points, or 0.10 percent, to 2,461.65 and the Nasdaq Composite added 3.61 points, or 0.06 percent, to 6,316.08. Shares of BlackRock fell 3.1 pct after the quarterly report from the world''s biggest asset manager fell short of Wall Street''s forecasts. Analysts expect that earnings for S&P 500 companies rose 8.2 percent in the second quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Emerging market stocks rose 0.37 percent. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index lost 0.03 percent. Shares of miners Anglo American and Glencore gained, supported by the strong China data and rising copper prices. Copper rose 1.52 percent to $6,016.00 a tonne, touching its highest level since early March. Among other commodities, U.S. crude fell 0.09 percent to $46.50 per barrel and Brent was last at $48.90, down 0.02 percent on the day. Fewer drilling rigs were added in the United States last week, helping ease concerns that surging shale supplies will undermine OPEC-led production cuts. Investors were also digesting U.S. data from Friday pointing to tame inflation and soft domestic demand that diminished prospects of a third interest rate increase from the Federal Reserve this year. U.S. Treasury yields were little changed to slightly higher, trading in narrow ranges, after a fairly volatile week. "We''re still trading off the weak inflation and retail sales data from Friday, although the market is trying to figure what to do next," said Gennadiy Goldberg, interest rates strategist, at TD Securities in New York. Benchmark 10-year notes last fell 3/32 in price to yield 2.3283 percent, from 2.319 percent late on Friday. The dollar was flat against a basket of currencies after falling to a 10-month low earlier in the session. The euro up 0.04 percent at $1.1472. Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York and Marc Jones in London; Editing by Andrea Ricci 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-markets-idINKBN1A205O'|'2017-07-17T05:37:00.000+03:00' +'eb22a0ee3e9e7c49240bef9ad7131cc532127f46'|'North Sea Ekofisk crude exports to be 240,000 bpd in Sept - source'|'July 28, 2017 / 11:18 AM / 7 hours ago North Sea Ekofisk crude exports to be 240,000 bpd in Sept - source 1 Min Read LONDON, July 28 (Reuters) - Exports of North Sea crude stream Ekofisk will be 240,000 barrels per day in September, down slightly from 252,000 bpd in August, an industry source with direct knowledge said. The programme will have 12 cargoes of 600,000 barrels each compared with 13 cargoes in August. Ekofisk is one of the four North Sea grades, along with Forties, Brent and Oseberg, that make up the key dated Brent benchmark for global oil trading. (Reporting By Julia Payne; Editing by Susan Fenton) 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/oil-nsea-ekofisk-idUSL5N1KJ49X'|'2017-07-28T14:15:00.000+03:00' +'755112c89d2511136f3122ba4273e17b337278f8'|'UPDATE 2-Drug distributor McKesson''s profit misses estimates'|'Edition United States July 27, 2017 / 11:52 AM / in 4 hours McKesson profit dragged by tepid growth in branded drug prices Ankur Banerjee and Anuron Kumar Mitra 3 Min Read (Reuters) - McKesson Corp ( MCK.N ), the biggest U.S. drug distributor, posted a much lower-than-expected quarterly profit, hurt by the lingering effects of a slowdown in the pace of price increases for branded drugs, sending its shares down as much as 6 percent. The pharmaceutical supply chain, including pharmacy benefit managers and drug distributors, has been under pressure due to intense scrutiny over soaring drug prices. McKesson said on Thursday its results were also hurt by the lapping effect of increased price competition in its independent pharmacy business. Last year, the company raised concerns about aggressive pricing tactics from competitors and moderating pace of branded drug price increases as it slashed its fiscal-year earnings forecast. "We entered this year with an assumption of branded inflation in the mid-single digits, and our first quarter experience was slightly ahead of this assumption," McKesson Chief Executive John Hammergren said. Leerink analyst David Larsen said it appears that McKesson is not extracting as much value from the price-hikes as it would have in the past. Larsen added that performance at the company''s distribution business was a significant negative surprise, given a stabilizing environment in independent pharmacy networks and improving sentiment around pricing. Net income attributable to McKesson fell 43 percent to $309 million, or $1.45 per share, in the first quarter ended June 30. Excluding items, the company earned $2.46 cents per share, well below analysts'' average estimate of $2.83, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Revenue rose nearly 3 percent to $51.05 billion, missing analysts'' average estimate of $51.23 billion. The company, however, raised its adjusted earnings forecast for fiscal 2018 to between $11.80 and $12.50 per share, up from $11.75 and $12.45. The raised forecast implies that the company results will be more heavily weighted to second half of the fiscal year. Evercore ISI analysts said some investors will question the steepness of the increase in the forecast, but expected share reaction to be modestly negative. The company''s results come a day after its shareholders voted against its executive pay policy, and said its compensation committee would conduct a thorough review of the policy. The rebuke from McKesson''s shareholders followed a campaign that criticized the drug wholesaler for its role in the U.S. opioid drug epidemic. The company''s shares pared early losses to trade down 2.5 percent at $162.20. Rivals AmerisourceBergen Corp ( ABC.N ) and Cardinal Health Inc ( CAH.N ) were both down about 1 percent. Reporting by Ankur Banerjee and Anuron Kumar Mitra in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty, Amrutha Gayathri and Martina D''Couto and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mckesson-results-idUSKBN1AC1S3'|'2017-07-27T16:03:00.000+03:00' +'f0e11eccded56fb3a547f910ecd29c03250c275b'|'America lifts its laptop ban on Etihad'|'TWO not entirely unrelated pieces of aviation news have come out of the Gulf in the past few days. The first is that America has lifted its laptop restrictions on Etihad. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) imposed a ban on large electrical devices in the cabins of planes flying from ten Middle Eastern countries in March, including from Abu Dhabi, Etihads base. Officials, it seemed, had got wind of a specific terrorist threat, possibly similar to the attempted downing of a jet in Somalia in 2016. On that occasion a passenger detonated a small explosive concealed in a laptop that was placed flush against the cabin wall. (Disaster was probably only averted because the man detonated the device too soon after take-off. The terrorist, who was sucked to his death through the resulting hole, was the only casualty.)After months of mixed messages (at one point John Kelly, the homeland security secretary, suggested that the laptop ban was likely to be extended worldwide) last week the DHS decided instead to put the onus on airports to implement more extensive screening of passengers before they board planes. Abu Dhabi seems to have been the fastest out of the blocks. Others, including Dubai, the worlds most important international hub, will probably not be far behind. The lifting of the ban is welcome news for Etihad, which runs 45 services a week from Abu Dhabi to six American airports. The airline has been having a hard time of it recently: in addition to the laptop ban, the low oil price has hit demand for travel to the Gulf. It is also suffering the financial implications of some dodgy investments, such as its 49% stake in Alitalia, Italys now-bankrupt flag-carrier.It is difficult to judge how hard the ban had hit the airline''s traffic. Emirates, its Dubai-based rival, cut flights to America by 20% shortly after restrictions were introduced. The strong dollar and Donald Trumps mooted travel ban played a part in that decision, but clearly some flyers were spooked by the idea of flying for 14 hours without access to their electronic devices. Lucrative business travellers, who rely on being productive while in the air, seemed particularly reticent.Another troubled operator in the region is Qatar Airways. Not only has it had to deal with America''s laptop ban, it has also faced sanctions from neighbouring Gulf states. They accuse Qatar of supporting terrorism, among other things. As a result much of the airspace around the tiny kingdom has been closed, and many of its short-haul flights to countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been grounded.In a surprising turn of events, Qatar''s loss has been British Airways gain. Some cabin crew at BA are in the midst of a 16-day strike. Recently hired crew are angry that their contracts are stingier than those of their longer-serving colleagues. To minimise disruption BA has wet leased nine planes from Qatar Airways (which owns 20% of IAG, BAs parent) for short-haul services. That involves not only making use of the airlines planes, but also its crew. It is apparently BAs good fortune that Qatar suddenly had a spare few short-haul jets sitting about.'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2017/07/gulf-news-0?fsrc=rss'|'2017-07-04T22:21:00.000+03:00' +'cc19e34c591d8e5582b0af02256770ecc5cfb6b5'|'IMF cuts UK growth forecast, Treasury calls for smooth Brexit'|'July 24, 2017 / 9:54 AM / 6 hours ago IMF cuts UK growth forecast, Treasury calls for smooth Brexit Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The Canary Wharf financial district is seen at dusk in London, Britain November 7, 2014. Toby Melville/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has suffered the biggest downgrade of economic growth projections by the International Monetary Fund for the world''s rich nations this year, prompting the finance ministry to renew its call for a smooth exit from the European Union. Britain''s economy now looks set to grow by 1.7 percent this year, down from a forecast made in April of 2.0 percent but still higher than growth in France, Italy and Japan, the IMF said. The IMF said its downgrade reflected Britain''s weaker-than-expected growth in the early part of this year. "The ultimate impact of Brexit on the United Kingdom remains unclear," the Fund''s chief economist Maurice Obstfeld said. The IMF in April raised its forecasts for British growth after the economy withstood the initial shock of the referendum decision in June last year to leave the EU. Britain''s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, leaves 11 Downing Street, in central London, Britain July 17, 2017. Tolga Akmen However, the world''s fifth-biggest economy grew by just 0.2 percent in the first quarter of 2016 compared with the last three months of 2016 as accelerating inflation - caused in large by part by the fall in the value of the pound since last year''s Brexit vote - prompted consumers to rein in their spending. The economy is expected to have picked up only a bit of speed to 0.3 percent in the second quarter, according to the median forecast of economists polled by Reuters ahead of the release of preliminary data on Wednesday. People shop at a Sainsbury''s store in London, Britain October 11, 2016. Neil Hall British Chancellor Philip Hammond has stressed the need for a transition deal to ease Britain out of the EU, angering some Brexit campaigners. A spokesman for the Treasury said the weaker growth seen by the IMF was a reminder of the need to smooth Brexit as much as possible. "This forecast underscores exactly why our plans to increase productivity and ensure we get the very best deal with the EU, are vitally important," the spokesman said. The 0.3 percentage-point cut to Britain''s 2017 growth forecast contrasted with upgrades for most of the big advanced economies covered by the IMF''s forecasts although the projection for U.S. growth this year was cut by 0.2 percentage points. The IMF maintained its forecast for British economic growth to slow to 1.5 percent in 2018, slightly slower than expected growth in France and Germany next year. Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Alison Williams 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-imf-idUKKBN1A911G'|'2017-07-24T12:53:00.000+03:00' +'b3c1fe80a96491ba476c2b5fdb8d739ea5c5e990'|'Wells Fargo trims auto loans as market cools, risk overhaul kicks in'|'July 12, 2017 / 5:13 AM / 3 hours ago Wells Fargo trims auto loans as market cools, risk overhaul kicks in Dan Freed 6 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A man walks by a bank machine at the Wells Fargo & Co. bank in downtown Denver, Colorado, U.S. April 13, 2016. Rick Wilking/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co ( WFC.N ) is scaling back and remolding its auto lending business in response to growing stress in the market, as well as a bank-wide push for more centralized risk controls. Wells, which was the No. 2 U.S. provider of auto loans less than a year ago, has already cut quarterly originations by nearly 30 percent over the nine months leading into March 31, according to a May 11 company presentation. It has also begun consolidating the collections operation in a move that people familiar with the business say could eliminate hundreds of jobs, after a new head of auto finance took the reins in April. Wells Fargo joins other lenders in reducing exposure to the rapidly cooling U.S. auto market. Bankers, auto industry executives, analysts and regulators have been warning since 2014 that the auto loan market could overheat after being fueled for years by low interest rates and easy financing terms. Chasing growth, some lenders, including Wells Fargo, began to embrace borrowers with shaky credit. In late 2015, however, auto default rates began creeping above other types of consumer debt, according to data compiled by Cox Automotive, prompting some lenders to tighten standards and edge away from the market. Wells Fargo began curtailing its auto exposure beginning last year. It cut the share of subprime loans in the auto portfolio to 8 over percent in the first quarter from over 11 percent a year earlier, according to a company presentation. Analysts expect to see higher delinquency and default rates when Wells Fargo reports results on Friday. "The general view, which they''ve been pretty clear about, is that loan growth will be negative for next two to three quarters," said Brian Foran, an analyst at Autonomous Research. He expects the auto pullback to shave roughly one percentage point off Wells Fargo''s net interest income growth over time. The bank''s executives have acknowledged that tightening of standards comes at a price. "Wells Fargo is willing to give up volume and share in order to protect its balance sheet from credit risk," Franklin Codel, the bank''s head of consumer lending, told the bank''s investor day in May. At the same event, Chief Executive Officer Tim Sloan singled out auto loans as the business with the biggest potential for a "negative credit event." A Wells Fargo spokeswoman declined to comment for this story beyond what executives have already said about auto lending. As Wells Fargo''s auto loan originations have dropped, it has slipped to No. 7 from No. 2 among top U.S. auto lenders, according to Experian Automotive. The bank also began a revamp of its auto business early this year as part of a broad overhaul following a sales scandal that has roiled the third-largest U.S. bank by assets. In April, Laura Schupbach took over management of the auto business, months after her predecessor, Dawn Martin Harp, announced plans to leave. Schupbach is a 22-year Wells Fargo veteran who most recently ran its insurance business after various roles in finance and expenses, according to her corporate biography. Weeks later, the bank began the process of moving collections staff from 57 locations across the country to three central hubs in Raleigh, North Carolina, Irving, Texas and Chandler, Arizona, according to an internal memo viewed by Reuters. People with knowledge of the business say hundreds of positions will likely be eliminated. A bank spokeswoman declined to say how many jobs might be lost, and would not authorize an interview with Schupbach. Martin Harp could not be reached. Less Independence The auto lending shake-up, some details of which were first reported by Auto Finance News, is the latest indication that Wells Fargo''s top management is seeking greater control over businesses that traditionally operated with much independence. In interviews, three people who have worked inside the auto lending operation raised questions about what impact the abandoning of the "run it like you own it" philosophy will have in the long term. In recent years auto lending delivered nearly twice as much in revenue per dollar of expenses as the overall bank, according to people familiar with the numbers. They attributed the performance to tight cost controls and the operational independence that was once a source of pride for Wells Fargo. But that business model has come under scrutiny after revelations that thousands of branch employees created as many as 2.1 million accounts to hit aggressive sales targets. Following an internal investigation, Wells Fargo''s directors released a report in April recommending tighter and more centralized risk management. Since then, Wells has begun moving 5,200 risk employees from business units to one "corporate risk" division. Although the changes could make businesses less nimble, tighter controls were inevitable, said Marty Mosby, analyst at Vining Sparks. "It was hard for them to give up that last piece of who they really were," he said. "That''s what made them more profitable than the other bank." Reporting by Dan Freed; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Tomasz Janowski 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-wells-fargo-autos-idUSKBN19X0FQ'|'2017-07-12T08:12:00.000+03:00' +'5a0a7e198b44dc279d4a1430f4c9c1f3dab45c23'|'Aramco CEO sees oil supply shortage as investments and discoveries drop'|'Business 29am BST Aramco CEO sees oil supply shortage as investments and discoveries drop FILE PHOTO: Logo of Saudi Aramco is seen at the 20th Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference (MOES 2017) in Manama, Bahrain, March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo By Karolin Schaps and David Dolan - ISTANBUL ISTANBUL The world might be heading for an oil supply shortage following a steep drop in investments and a lack of fresh conventional discoveries, Saudi Aramco''s chief executive said on Monday. Unconventional shale oil and alternative energy resources are an important factor to help meet future demand but it is premature to assume that they can be developed quickly to replace oil and gas, Amin Nasser told a conference in Istanbul. "If we look at the long-term situation of oil supplies, for example, the picture is becoming increasingly worrying," Nasser said. "Financial investors are shying away from making much needed large investments in oil exploration, long-term development and the related infrastructure. Investments in smaller increments such as shale oil will just not cut it," Nasser said. About $1 trillion in investments have already been lost since a decline in oil prices from 2014. Studies show that 20 million barrels per day of new production will be needed to meet demand growth and offset natural decline of developed fields over the next five years, he said. "New discoveries are also on a major downward trend. The volume of conventional oil discovered around the world over the past four years has more than halved compared with the previous four," Nasser said. State oil giant Aramco, which is preparing to sell around 5 percent in itself next year in an initial public offering, is continuing to invest in maintaining its oil production capacity of 12 million barrels per day. "We plan to invest more than $300 billion over the coming decade to reinforce our pre-eminent position in oil, maintain our spare oil production capacity, and pursue a large exploration and production program centering on conventional and unconventional gas resources," Nasser said. Nasser said that one of Aramco''s priorities was "direct conversion of crude oil into petrochemicals" while adding the company was also focusing on solar and wind projects. (Writing by Rania El Gamal and Dmitry Zhdannikov; editing by Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-aramco-oil-idUKKBN19V0KR'|'2017-07-10T10:27:00.000+03:00' +'ac44dc5aff97c80045e6df42acd39bb3a8a209e6'|'Germany under new EU pressure to increase spending'|'Business News - Mon Jul 10, 2017 - 4:56pm BST Germany under new EU pressure to increase spending left right Light-emitting diode (LED) street lamps illuminate a road in Langen, Lower Saxony, May 23, 2013. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer 1/2 left right Dutch Finance Minister and Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem arrives at Eurozone finance ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium July 10, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir 2/2 BRUSSELS European Union''s economic leaders called on Monday for euro zone countries with high growth to spend more, an attempt to persuade Germany to step up its public spending and strengthen the bloc''s economy. Germany is expected to expand by 1.8 percent this year, according to upwardly revised estimates from the International Monetary Fund, while its trade surplus keeps increasing. The solid expansion of the German economy has not, however, been matched by a similar growth in public expenditure, as the country recorded a 0.8 percent fiscal surplus last year. "It would help the economy of the euro zone as a whole if the countries that already have big growth would allow for an expansion of the demand side, in other words increase wages or lower taxes," the head of the Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers Jeroen Dijsselbloem told reporters before a regular meeting in Brussels. The bloc''s finance ministers will discuss at their monthly meeting the fiscal stance of the euro zone for next year as part of talks aimed at influencing budgetary decisions of the 19 member states. An attempt by the European Commission to aim for a slightly expansionary fiscal policy for the euro zone as a whole this year was met by German opposition and was eventually dropped. Before talks on next year''s policy, Economics Commissioner Pierre Moscovici insisted that the rationale for a fiscal stimulus was still there, even if the euro zone is now growing healthily. He said that to maintain growth the euro zone would still need to use all instruments at its disposal, including the fiscal policy. He insisted that at a certain stage the bloc should have a positive, and not neutral, fiscal policy. (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-budget-dijsselbloem-idUKKBN19V219'|'2017-07-10T18:56:00.000+03:00' +'75115b588740fe9716f1f22fe5569419ac3cb34a'|'Underwriter Hiscox''s first-half profit rises 12.5 percent on retail push'|'July 31, 2017 / 6:30 AM / 23 minutes ago Underwriter Hiscox''s first-half profit rises 12.5 percent on retail push Reuters Staff 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Lloyd''s of London underwriter Hiscox Ltd ( HSX.L ) reported a 12.5 percent rise in first-half pretax profit, driven by its retail business and a benign reinsurance claims environment. Hiscox, which decided to set up a subsidiary in Luxembourg to underwrite its retail business in Europe after Britain''s decision to leave the European Union, said pretax profit, excluding the impact of foreign exchange, rose to 133.5 million pounds in the six months ended June 30 from 118.7 million pounds a year earlier. The insurer, which underwrites a range of risks from oil refineries to kidnappings, said gross written premiums rose to 1.46 billion pounds in the period, from 1.29 billion pounds a year earlier. Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain and Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hiscox-results-idUKKBN1AG0KM'|'2017-07-31T09:30:00.000+03:00' +'8dc783cb0849caa9a7bc79e1eea5cd046d03f4f4'|'China repeats call for caution on overseas sports, media deals'|'July 27, 2017 / 5:40 AM / 10 minutes ago China repeats call for caution on overseas sports, media deals Reuters Staff 3 Min Read SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China''s commerce ministry reiterated on Thursday warnings about overseas acquisitions by local firms, especially in sectors such as entertainment and sport, underlining a recent drive to rein in offshore spending by some of the country''s biggest firms. Chinese firms should exercise "prudent" decision making regarding overseas investments in real estate, hotels, film studios, entertainment and sports clubs, a spokesman for the country''s Ministry of Commerce said at a briefing. "We will continue to work with relevant departments to guard against risks of outbound investment, and ensure the healthy and orderly development of investment overseas," ministry spokesman Gao Feng said, according to a transcript of the event. Gao was responding to a question about real estate giant Dalian Wanda Group, which has recently come under the spotlight over its overseas deals in entertainment and film. Wanda has been very active globally, with deals for U.S. cinema chain AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc ( AMC.N ), Hollywood film studio Legendary Entertainment, Odeon & UCI Cinemas and Nordic Cinema Group, as well as a UK luxury yacht maker. It also owns a stake in soccer club Atletico Madrid. China will support companies investing overseas according to market and international rules, especially in ''Belt and Road'' developments, Gao said, referring to China''s push to increase infrastructure investment along a modern day ''Silk Road''. Beijing''s crackdown on showy overseas ventures and high-profile empire builders has drawn in several corporations apart from Wanda, such as HNA Group, Anbang Insurance [ANBANG.UL], Fosun International ( 0656.HK ) and Zhejiang Luosen that was behind the purchase of A.C. Milan football club. China''s state planner said earlier this month authorities would continue to monitor the trend of "irrational" overseas investments in real estate, hospitality and film. After rising 44 percent last year, outbound direct investment by Chinese firms fell 45 percent year-on-year in the first half of this year. Reporting by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Himani Sarkar 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-deals-overseas-idUKKBN1AC0HA'|'2017-07-27T08:39:00.000+03:00' +'ca90b2c01ab9a9e40533806961558347fa864373'|'After $50 billion deal spree, China''s HNA sets out to clear ownership questions'|'July 24, 2017 / 10:27 AM / 4 minutes ago After $50 billion deal spree, China''s HNA sets out to clear ownership questions 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The HNA Group logo is seen in this illustration photo June 1, 2017. Thomas White/Illustration/File Photo (Reuters) - Privately-owned conglomerate HNA Group, one of China''s most aggressive dealmakers, is shaking up its shareholding structure with a new, charitable foundation, part of efforts to quash long-standing concerns over its ownership. As China cracks down on showy overseas ventures and high-profile empire builders, pressure is rising on sprawling, fast-growing and acquisitive companies like HNA, which has announced $50 billion of deals over two years, buying stakes in logistics companies, hotels and even Deutsche Bank. HNA said the change - to be announced later on Monday along with an unprecedented ownership list - was part of an effort to address interest in its structure, as the group expands. "Disclosing HNA Groups ownership structure, even though we are a private company, provides more transparency, and we intend to update this information on an annual basis," a spokesman said. According to a document seen by Reuters, HNA''s co-founders and senior executives Chen Feng and Wang Jian continue to hold stakes of just below 15 percent each. A newly created, New York-based, not-for-profit organization, Hainan Cihang Charity Foundation Inc, becomes the single largest shareholder with a 29.5 percent stake. Hainan Province Cihang Charity Foundation, a Haikou-based charity established by HNA in 2010 and capitalized by shares in 2013, continues to indirectly hold a 22.75 percent stake - meaning the combined foundation collectively accounts for more than 52 percent of the groups issued stock. HNA did not provide details of how the shares were placed in the new charity''s hands, how the overall foundation would be run or how it would vote or use its shares. As recently as a year ago, according to a 2016 filing, HNA Group said that Bharat Bhise, CEO of Bravia Capital, and Guan Jun, a Beijing businessman, owned 17.4 percent and 12.35 percent respectively. Collectively, that adds up to approximately the amount currently held by the new foundation. Neither name is present in the current shareholding arrangement. "Our ownership structure changes from time to time, and those filings are out-of-date," a spokesperson for HNA said. HNA described the foundation as furthering its philanthropic mission and maximizing "efforts in corporate social responsibility". It will eventually have 100 percent of HNA. According to the information provided on Monday, 12 senior HNA executives, including the group''s founders, hold the 47.54 percent in the group not held by charities. Vice Chairman Chen Wenli holds a 3.95 percent stake, and three senior executives, including CEO Adam Tan, each holds a 2.95 percent share. Transparency Push HNA''s unexpected effort to increase transparency comes as pressure increases in China over opaque corporate structures, excess debt and deals seen as overly aggressive. China is trying to control capital outflows and keep its economy on an even keel. Groups caught up in the crackdown include Dalian Wanda Group, a property-to-film empire run by one of China''s richest men. Banks have been told to stop funding several of Wanda''s overseas acquisitions. China''s banking regulator has ordered checks on offshore loans to conglomerates including Wanda, but also HNA, say people familiar with the matter. HNA, a leading shareholder in more than a dozen listed companies, has grown rapidly, more than quadrupling its assets to 1.2 trillion yuan ($177.5 billion) in 2014-16. The pace of acquisition is expected to slow. In June, HNA filed a defamation suit at New York State Supreme Court against exiled billionaire Guo Wengui, who claimed that "officials in China''s Communist Party and their relatives are undisclosed shareholders" in the group, and that subsidiary Hainan Airlines allowed government officials and their relatives to use its aircraft "for purely personal reasons", according to the court document. Questions are also coming from Europe. HNA faces a possible review by Europes top banking regulator, which is considering a special assessment of Deutsche Banks two largest shareholders, including the Qatari royal family. While the motivation for a review remains unclear, such an assessment generally aims to establish whether an investor is trustworthy and financially sound. Reporting by Matthew Miller; Editing by Clara Ferreira Marques and Ian Geoghegan 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-hna-group-structure-idUKKBN1A914O'|'2017-07-24T13:22:00.000+03:00' +'d528abe1e576470b557db01b502c629db7cdfe3c'|'Ford''s "golden noses" seek edge in slowing China car market'|'July 19, 2017 / 11:14 PM / 16 minutes ago Ford''s ''golden noses'' seek edge in slowing China car market Adam Jourdan 4 Min Read An employee conducts an "odor test" at the Polymer Laboratory at Ford''s research and development center in Nanjing, China July 12, 2017. Picture taken July 12, 2017. Aly Song NANJING, China (Reuters) - While Western drivers like the ''new car'' smell fresh off the production line, Chinese would rather their cars didn''t smell of anything - a cultural divide that''s testing car makers seeking an edge to revive sales in the world''s biggest auto market. At Ford Motor Co ( F.N ), for example, 18 smell assessors - dubbed "golden noses" - at its research plant outside the eastern city of Nanjing test the smell of each material that goes inside a Ford car to be sold in China and around Asia. The China smell test isn''t unique, but illustrates the lengths automakers go to to attract buyers in markets where consumer attitudes vary widely. "In North America, people want a new car smell and will even buy a ''new car'' spray to make older cars feel new and fresh. In China it''s the opposite," says Andy Pan, supervisor for material engineering at the Ford facility, which employs around 2,300 people. The smell of a new car in China can have an outsized effect. A J.D. Power report last year showed that unpleasant car smells were the top concern for Chinese drivers, ahead of engine issues, road noise or fuel consumption. The smell assessors at Ford, whose China sales are down 7 percent this year, carry out 300 tests a year, a third more than their counterparts in Europe. They rate the odor of all materials used in a car from "not perceptible" to "extremely disturbing". Pungent materials - from carpets to seat covers and steering wheels - are noted as smelling of anything from "burnt tire" and "bad meat" to "moth balls" or "dirty socks". Some are sent back to the supplier. Seats for Ford cars in China are stored in perforated cloth bags to keep them ventilated before being installed, as opposed to plastic wrapping in the U.S. market where consumers are less concerned about chemical smells. "The smell inside the car can often be pretty pungent," said Tom Lin, a 24-year-old high-school teacher in Zhejiang province, who bought a local Roewe brand car last October. He said there was still a bit of an odor six months later. An employee conducts an "odor test" at the Polymer Laboratory at Ford''s research and development center in Nanjing, China July 12, 2017. Picture taken July 12, 2017. Aly Song "With the next car I buy, I''m going to take more care to check out any odd smells," he said. Extra Edge To be sure, smell is just one factor for automakers to get right in China, where picky buyers are always looking for fresh car models and Beijing is making a big drive towards new energy vehicles. Slideshow (4 Images) In a slower market - consultancy IHS forecasts vehicle sales will slip slightly this year - firms are looking for an extra edge to appeal to consumers, beyond price discounts, says IHS analyst James Chao. Local rivals Geely Automobile ( 0175.HK ) and BYD Co Ltd ( 002594.SZ ) tout their in-car air filters to protect drivers from China''s harmful air pollution, and BMW ( BMWG.DE ) says it is adding larger touch screens and tweaking colors to appeal to Chinese buyers. Smell is key though, reflecting a wider concern in China about chemicals and pollution. "When I lived in the United States I might look at the suspension or the engine," said Don Yu, China general manager at CGT, which makes materials to cover car seats and dashboards for General Motors ( GM.N ), Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) and Ford. "In China, though, people open the car and sit inside, if the smell isn''t good enough they think it will jeopardize their health." For Ford''s "golden noses" that means a strict routine. Testers undergo a tough selection process, proving themselves on blind smell tests before being chosen. "We have to have very healthy habits; we can''t smoke, we can''t drink," says one of the team, 33-year-old Amy Han, adding she avoids spicy food and doesn''t wear nail polish, strong perfume or even a leather jacket to keep her smell sense sharp. Reporting by Adam Jourdan, with additional reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu and SHANGHAI newsroom; Editing by Ian Geoghegan 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ford-china-smell-idUKKBN1A42PO'|'2017-07-20T02:08:00.000+03:00' +'4e3b91450a1b27fee3469662abd35776a8a6e3ab'|'After Andrew Tyrie: the race to become the Commons new inquisitor general'|'A hotly contested race for one of Westminsters most coveted jobs enters its final stages this weekend as six Conservatives battle to run the powerful Treasury select committee.Once seen as a consolation prize for MPs passed over for a cabinet seat, since the financial crisis of 2008 the occupant has become better known and arguably more influential than many ministers.The last chairman, Andrew Tyrie, won a reputation as Westminsters inquisitor general after his relentless grillings of Mark Carney, Philip Hammond, government officials and countless bank bosses.Tyrie would have been a shoo-in had he not quit as an MP at the election. His retirement created an unexpected vacancy for a battle that ahead of a ballot in which all MPs can vote looks too hard to call.Tyrie held memorable sessions that forced Paul Flowers , the drug-taking former chairman of Co-op Bank, to admit he didnt know the size of the banks balance sheet and prompted Charlotte Hogg to resign as deputy governor of the Bank of England for failing to disclose her brothers senior role at Barclays.The prestigious nature of the job is illustrated by the list of candidates such as Nicky Morgan, sacked as education secretary by Theresa May, and two MPs who sat on the committee under Tyries chairmanship.Morgan is hoping to win the backing of Labour, Liberal Democrat and SNP members for her soft Brexit approach.Another high-profile contender is Jacob Rees-Mogg, who has sought to reach out to opposition MPs by saying he would not use the chair as a megaphone for his pro-Brexit views.The ballot is on Wednesday and the winner should be announced that evening or the following day. Here are their pitches and the issues they say are their main concerns.NICKY MORGANFacebook Twitter Pinterest Nicky Morgan.The only candidate with cabinet experience and a former City solicitor, Morgan says she has proved her independence since losing her job as education secretary, especially over Brexit. One Labour MP said Morgan would get support from opposition parties. She would be the first woman in the post.Main concerns Ensuring full parliamentary scrutiny of Brexit. Public sector pay. A focus on the wider economy and not just the City.Job prospects Seen as one of the frontrunners.JACOB REES-MOGGFacebook Twitter Pinterest Jacob Rees-Mogg.In terms of high public profile, Rees-Mogg rivals Morgan. The tussles between him and Carney were among the highlights of the committees proceedings in the last parliament, with the Somerset MP accusing the Bank governor of political partisanship because of his dire warnings over Brexit. But Rees-Mogg who is still working in City fund management insists that he would not use the chair for anti-Europe sermonising, leaving that to the Brexit committee. His aim, he says, would be to achieve consensus and balance.Main concerns Holding Hammond and Carney to account. Brexit in a non-partisan way. The failings of the banks, particularly in customer service.Job prospects Another frontrunner, but he will need to win some opposition support.JOHN PENROSEFacebook Twitter Pinterest John Penrose.The MP for Weston-super-Mare has already had one of his ideas the creation of a UK sovereign wealth fund included in the Conservative manifesto. The Treasury committee, he says, should be at the centre of the new and changing debate about the kind of post-Brexit economy we want to have. Married to Dido Harding the former chief executive of TalkTalk who sits on the court of the Bank of England he has pledged to show there is no conflict of interest.Main concerns Moving the economic debate on from Brexit. Looking at the new divides in Britain: between those who own assets and those who dont, and between the young and the old.Job prospects Dark horse.CHARLIE ELPHICKECharlie Elphicke.A former tax lawyer, Elphicke would like the committee to conduct a root-and-branch investigation of the tax system. It makes people rightly angry when large businesses pay less in tax than the person cleaning their offices, he says. He is also eager to make sure that poorer people can have access to local banks.Main concerns Cracking down on tax avoidance by multinationals. Ensuring growth is spread more evenly across the country. Getting young people on the housing ladder. Brexit preparations for the Treasury.Job prospects Will hope his views on tax and fairness will win the support of opposition MPs.RICHARD BACONFacebook Twitter Pinterest Richard Bacon.One of the less well-known candidates, Bacon has been MP for South Norfolk since 2001. He is playing up his credentials as an experienced committee hand, and has the backing of some high-profile Labour MPs. I would adopt a collegiate approach, taking account of the interests of all committee members, he says.Main concerns Public finances, ensuring growth is better balanced, and the UKs productivity puzzle.Job prospects Although he is a trained economist with cross-party support, he would be a surprise winner.STEPHEN HAMMONDFacebook Twitter Pinterest Stephen Hammond. Photograph: Julian Makey / Rex FeaturesAnother experienced contender, Hammond has been the MP for Wimbledon for 12 years. A member of the committee in the last parliament, Hammond had previously worked in the City for 20 years. As a former transport minister, he would want to see the governments proposed increased spending on infrastructure benefiting all parts of the country.Main concerns Scrutinising Brexit. The lack of competition in personal banking. Opening up the committee so that any MP can suggest subjects for investigation.Job prospects A quietly effective member in the last parliament, Hammond may lack cross-party support.Topics Economics The Observer Bank of England Financial sector EU referendum and Brexit features'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jul/08/after-andrew-tyrie-race-next-commons-inquisitor-general-treasury-select-committee'|'2017-07-08T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'0b10b3de494219126a497f7b045e573818037326'|'Another note of caution on European stocks as Credit Suisse says euro strength could bite'|'The signature of the President of the European Central Bank (ECB), Mario Draghi, is seen on the new 50 euro banknote during a presentation by the German Central Bank (Bundesbank) at its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, March 16, 2017. Kai Pfaffenbach LONDON (Reuters) - Credit Suisse''s global strategists slightly rolled back their "overweight" stance on euro zone stocks on Wednesday as a surging euro and the potential for the brisk pace of inflows to ease forces a rethink on one of the year''s most popular trades.Credit Suisse is the latest big broker to sound a note of caution on European stocks. Europe remains an "overweight" at the firm and is their most preferred region globally after emerging markets.However, the euro''s 10.5 percent rally this year has raised worries about the impact on profits for exporters, such as Europe''s auto makers, who have long benefited from a weaker currency and account for a large portion of the region''s profit pool.Those concerns come just as a brighter macroeconomic backdrop, easing political concerns and robust earnings have seen foreign investors, particularly from the U.S., return in numbers to European stocks and take valuations back above long-term averages.Credit Suisse estimated that a 10 percent rise in the euro would take around 6 percentage points off earnings growth. Economists at the firm see the euro rising to $1.22 against the dollar over the next year.Roughly half of continental European corporate profits are generated outside the euro zone, according to Credit Suisse, and the impact of the currency is an area of focus in the ongoing second-quarter earnings season.Credit Suisse pointed out that while Europe may be a consensus trade on a three or 12-month view, long-term investors are still skeptical as only 9 percent have chosen Europe as their "top long" on a five-year time horizon. index has gained around 6 percent so for this year, as has the blue chip euro zone-focused index, for which Credit Suisse cut its year-end target to 3,650 from 3,800.They also reduced their rating on French equities back to benchmark on concerns around euro strength, valuations and the economy, and also trimmed their "overweight" in Spanish equities.The broker remains "underweight" Italian stocks.Credit Suisse said it favored European stocks most geared to the domestic recovery and named "outperform" rated Deutsche Wohnen, Telenet, Aena, Cellnex, Credit Agricole, Enel, Bouygues among their picks.Reporting by Kit Rees, Editing by Vikram Subhedar '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks-euro-idUSKBN1AB14U'|'2017-07-26T12:19:00.000+03:00' +'0eaa3c2e2389f0ad8522ed12d043a7217a165176'|'Creditors seek to overturn Dana Gas sukuk injunction in UK court'|'Market News - Wed Jul 5, 2017 - 7:03am EDT Creditors seek to overturn Dana Gas sukuk injunction in UK court DUBAI, July 5 The owners of Islamic bonds issued by Abu Dhabi-listed Dana Gas have gone to London''s High Court of Justice to try to overturn an injunction that prevents them from forcing repayment of the $700 million of sukuk. Analysts say the case could have ramifications across the Islamic finance industry, with any decision against the creditors potentially undermining confidence in Islamic bonds. Dana Gas argues that because of changes in Islamic financial instruments and how they are interpreted, its sukuk are no longer sharia-compliant, and have become unlawful and unenforceable in the United Arab Emirates. The company says it is therefore halting payments on the mudaraba-style sukuk and proposing its creditors exchange them for new Islamic bonds with lower profit distributions. In mid-June, Dana Gas said it had obtained an interim injunction from London''s High Court blocking holders of the sukuk, which are due to mature in October, from enforcing claims against the company related to the bonds. Deutsche Bank, representing the sukuk holders, told the High Court on Tuesday the injunction should be set aside, according to legal documents presented to the court and seen by Reuters. Deutsche Bank told the court Dana''s case was "hopeless as a matter of law," arguing that asserting the sukuk were illegal was an "event of default" allowing the sukuk holders to demand repayment, the documents show. Dana''s actions "have sent shockwaves around the market for Islamic bonds" because they could erode trust in other sukuk issues, Deutsche Bank said. The judge did not reach a conclusion on Tuesday, and has asked Dana and the other parties to return to the court on Wednesday, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters. (Reporting by Davide Barbuscia; Editing by Andrew Torchia and Mark Potter) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/dana-gas-sukuk-court-idUSL8N1JW1SM'|'2017-07-05T14:03:00.000+03:00' +'2725ef4b20edeed23e05d81fe07bdcf48ba539fa'|'Wal-Mart shuffles U.S. leadership teams in food, merchandising'|'July 31, 2017 / 5:14 PM / 3 hours ago Wal-Mart shuffles U.S. leadership teams in food, merchandising 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A general view shows a Wal-Mart store in Monterrey, Mexico, August 10, 2016. Daniel Becerril/File Photo CHICAGO (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc ( WMT.N ) has announced changes to its food leadership team in an internal memo, as it prepares for increased competition with grocery rivals and remains caught in a price war. Charles Redfield, executive vice-president for food at Wal-Mart U.S., unveiled the changes in the memo dated Friday and seen by Reuters. He said Wal-Mart is positioning leaders from the company in new roles so it can deliver and win at a time when retail is constantly changing. A Wal-Mart spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The changes come at a time when the world''s largest retailer has been conducting price tests across several U.S. states and pushing vendors to undercut rivals. The recent entry of German grocery chain Lidl and expansion by another German rival, Aldi [ALDIEI.UL], has raised the stakes for American grocery chain operators. Some of Wal-Mart''s key changes include one for Shawn Baldwin, senior vice-president and general merchandise manager for produce and global food sourcing, who will focus on a new initiative for Hispanic customers. The memo did not elaborate on the initiative. Martin Mundo, who has worked in Argentina and other countries for Wal-Mart, will replace Baldwin. Earlier this month, Target Corp ( TGT.N ) Chief Executive Brian Cornell said at a conference that Hispanic consumers are shopping less often. Target has experienced this behavioral shift this year, especially in "border towns," Cornell said at the conference, according to media reports. Wal-Mart will also split leadership in its bakery and deli departments, the memo said. Kerry Robinson will be responsible for the bakery business but will no longer oversee the deli business. Tyler Lehr will be responsible for deli services. Wal-Mart also announced leadership changes in its merchandising operations in a separate memo sent on Friday and seen by Reuters. Deanah Baker will lead all of apparel, shoes and accessories. Scott McCall will oversee the entertainment, toys and seasonal product categories as a general merchandise manager and Jeff Evans will be general merchandise manager for products under the home category. The company also named Greg Hall as senior vice-president of merchandise operation for food among several other moves in the merchandising team. Wal-Mart shares were up 0.4 percent at $80.16 at midday on Monday. Editing by Matthew Lewis '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-walmart-moves-idUSKBN1AG23T'|'2017-07-31T20:13:00.000+03:00' +'bd83bc84312ab2afbfae94f4984f853d269cad75'|'Insight: GM''s judgment day - How two Venezuelan car dealers seized an auto factory'|'July 12, 2017 / 5:25 AM / in 25 minutes Insight: GM''s judgment day - How two Venezuelan car dealers seized an auto factory Brian Ellsworth 8 The GM logo is seen at the General Motors Assembly Plant in Valencia, April 21, 2017. Marco Bello/File Photo CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela''s government has seized assets from dozens of foreign corporations in nationalizations by the late President Hugo Chavez and the embattled current government of Nicolas Maduro. The man behind the confiscation of General Motors Cos $100 million assembly plant in April is a much more obscure figure: Kaled Kansao, the owner of two long-defunct GM dealerships. Kansao convinced a court to seize the plant as the remedy for a relatively small-time business dispute - over GM''s termination of his franchises - that mushroomed into a 17-year court battle. The legal fight that pushed GM out of Venezuela offers a unique case study in the struggles of foreign corporations to keep operations afloat - much less turn a profit - amid the OPEC nation''s economic and political chaos. The seizure stands out because it stems from a dispute with private citizens rather than the government, highlighting yet another risk of doing business in Venezuela the specter of debilitating legal judgments, said Francisco Martinez, president of Venezuela''s main business organization, Fedecamaras. "It would be impossible to say that the legal proceedings against General Motors had any legal logic," Martinez said. "Venezuela does not provide even the most minimal guarantees with respect to investment or private property." The Venezuelan government''s Information Ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Venezuela ranked 187 out of 190 countries in the World Bank''s 2017 Ease of Doing Business report, which evaluates countries'' regulatory systems. Only Eritrea, Libya and Somalia scored worse. Under Chavez, the socialist firebrand who died in 2013, some asset seizures featured gun-wielding soldiers and live television broadcasts. The GM case had its own less publicized drama, including dueling allegations of courthouse misdeeds; recusals by judges citing security concerns; a dispute over 158 vehicles that GM says "vanished"; and mysterious damage calculations awarding the dealers thousands of cars. GM stopped producing vehicles here in 2015 amid a lack of access to supplies. But the judgment appears to have doused any remaining hopes that it will produce cars again in Venezuela anytime soon. The company terminated the plant''s 2,700 workers after the decision. In its initial announcement in April, GM did not connect the plant seizure to the dealers'' lawsuit, saying only that the facility was "unexpectedly" seized by "public authorities." In response to inquiries from Reuters, the company provided a detailed history of its frustrations with the proceedings, which it called "absurd" and rife with "irregularities." In the end, a civil court in the western state of Zulia granted the dealers'' request to attach GM assets worth up to about $115 million. Venezuelan law requires the court to auction off the factory to satisfy the judgment. In the meantime, it ordered GM to pay the dealers to pay an "occupation fee" that at the time equated to about $36,000 a month - in effect, rent on its own plant. "The illegal and outrageous seizure was the final act of a series of unfortunate events beyond GMV''s control," GM told Reuters, referring to its Venezuela subsidiary. GM did not respond to questions about whether it had any intention of paying the court judgments or trying to regain control of the factory. In a May press statement, Kansao and his business partner, Elena Rodriguez, accused GM of perjury, influence trafficking, and violation of the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, without offering evidence. GM has ignored court rulings because it believes "might is right as a law," Kansao told Reuters. Idled Workers Collect Salaries Back in 2000, Kansao and Rodriguez operated two GM dealerships that had originally been founded by Kansao''s father. In an interview, Kansao said GM arbitrarily stripped him of his franchise, which he said brought "tragedy and calamity" on his family. FILE PHOTO: The GM logo is seen at the General Motors Assembly Plant in Valencia, Venezuela April 21, 2017. Marco Bello/File Photo GM said it terminated the agreement for a range of reasons, including the dealers'' failure to meet a minimum monthly sales average of 25 vehicles. Nearly two decades later, the dealers'' hopes of collecting on the judgment now hinge on whether a court-ordered auction attracts a buyer - an unlikely prospect in a nation where the auto industry has all but collapsed. Chronic shortages of hard currency have left automakers unable to import parts, while triple digit inflation has left would-be customers struggling to buy basics like food and medicine. In 2016, output at Venezuela''s seven biggest auto plants had dropped below 3,000 cars, down from a peak of 172,000 vehicles in 2007 79,000 of those from GM, according to auto industry group Cavenez. Labor laws dictate that the dealers would also have to wait behind GM workers - who contend they are owed severance payments - to collect any proceeds from a factory auction. GM did not respond to questions about workers'' severance. The automaker had agreed with union leaders to continue paying workers after the plant stopped making cars, said Adan Tortolero, one of several union leaders at the defunct plant. The GM logo is seen at the General Motors Assembly Plant in Valencia, April 21, 2017. Marco Bello GM tried to shed that obligation last year by offering buyouts of about $3,500 per worker, Tortolero said, but workers spurned the offer because it seemed small in comparison to the pay and benefits the workers had previously enjoyed. One lucrative perk was the right to buy two factory cars every year at government-regulated prices that were well below their actual market value. The regulated prices were theoretically available to anyone, but because demand for cars far outstripped supply, most buyers had to get waiting lists which usually required large under-the-table payments. GM employees had been among the first in line to buy the cars at regulated prices, which allowed them to sell the vehicles at a steep premium. 9,725 Cars In 2007, the Zulia court ordered the automaker to compensate the plaintiffs with 9,725 vehicles, according to the decision, which offered no explanation for that number of cars. It did require the plaintiffs to pay GM for the vehicles, but only after they were sold. Asked to provide evidence that the proceedings had been corrupted, GM pointed out that six judges and two court employees had recused themselves, with most citing "threats and personal security concerns." It also said that the court failed to enforce an order preventing the dealers from selling 158 cars that they seized during the dispute. GM said those vehicles later "vanished," and the dealers never paid for them. Kansao and Rodriguez did not respond to questions about the 158 cars. The case bounced through different courts for the next decade until April 4 of this year, when the Zulia court authorized the plaintiffs to encumber GM assets worth up to 477 billion bolivars - at the time worht about $115 million - as leverage to collect a cash judgment of half that amount. The court based the compensation on the full value of the 9,725 cars - rather than the much smaller profit the dealers would have made selling them, GM said. But the legal victory may have little payoff in reality, just as GM''s losses may be largely symbolic - given that it hasn''t produced or sold cars in Venezuela since 2015. Asked what sort of buyer the factory might attract in a government auction, Kansao responded: "Only God knows that." Additional by Eyanir Chinea and Corina Pons in Caracas; Editing by Brian Thevenot 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/gm-venezuela-idINKBN19X0FY'|'2017-07-12T08:23:00.000+03:00' +'e39f174763b3b108466e8092a1126ec414469916'|'Deutsche Boerse''s Kengeter in close contact with LSE in run-up to merger talks: Der Spiegel'|'FILE PHOTO: Carsten Kengeter, CEO of Deutsche Boerse in Frankfurt, Germany March 1, 2017. Ralph Orlowski/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Boerse''s ( DB1Gn.DE ) Chief Executive Carsten Kengeter, who is under investigation for insider trading, frequently met and spoke by telephone with his London Stock Exchange counterpart in the months before they announced official merger talks, Der Spiegel magazine reported on Friday.Frankfurt''s public prosecutor has been investigating Kengeter for possible insider trading for the purchase in December 2015 of 4.5 million euros ($5.3 mln) in Deutsche Boerse shares, two months before the two exchange operators announced merger negotiations.Kengeter has denied all allegations of wrongdoing, saying the shares he purchased were part of an official Deutsche Boerse compensation plan. "Insider trading goes against everything I stand for," he told shareholders in May.Der Spiegel said that Kengeter and LSE ( LSE.L ) CEO Xavier Rolet met or telephoned almost weekly in the second half of 2015, from the moment that Kengeter assumed the helm of Deutsche Boerse in June 2015.A report from German market watchdog BaFin shows that between June 2015 and January 2016 Rolet''s calendar showed the two had 15 conversations, while Deutsche Boerse disclosed four appointments between the two, Der Spiegel said.The BaFin report of the 15 meetings came from information it received from the British market watchdog, which had access to Rolet''s calendar, according to Der Spiegel.Representatives for BaFin and its British counterpart FCA declined to comment.A spokesman for Deutsche Boerse said, "From the beginning of the investigation, we said we were cooperating with the authorities."A spokesman for LSE declined to comment immediately.($1 = 0.8508 euros)Reporting by Tom Sims and Alexander Huebner in Frankfurt and Huw Jones in London; Editing by Susan Fenton '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-deutscheboerse-investigation-ceo-idUSKBN1AD23G'|'2017-07-28T19:03:00.000+03:00' +'2d0af2bf8ce56e79ed51196e4a0d2615a5008003'|'Tesla steps up auto service as Model 3 debut nears'|'Edition United States July 11, 2017 / 1:13 PM / 5 minutes ago Tesla steps up auto service as Model 3 debut nears 3 Min Read A Tesla car showroom is seen in west London, Britain, March 21, 2017. Toby Melville SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ) said it is expanding its auto service centers and adding 350 mobile service vans as it gears up to support its Model 3 sedan, a mass-market car that is expected to drive a 500 percent increase in the electric car company''s sales. A senior executive speaking on behalf of the company told Reuters that Tesla would be able to triple its global service capacity by increasing efficiency, adding to mobile service, and adding 100 service centers to its current total of more than 150. Tesla is adding 1,400 technicians this year, and the company plans to continue expanding mobile and service center capacity at a similar pace over then next few years. Tesla needs to expand service quickly to be able to handle the increase in sales and as the electric car company transforms itself from a luxury vehicle maker into a competitor with mainstream cars. Expectations for a smooth roll out are particularly high among investors. Tesla has been challenging General Motors ( GM.N ) for the title of biggest U.S. automaker by market capitalization, even though its output is a fraction of GM''s. The $35,000 Model 3 is designed for easy production, creating lower service needs, the executive said. Tesla''s last launch was the Model X SUV in 2015, which had a number of production issues. Model 3 production began in the last few days and is expected to reach 20,000 per month in December. The first deliveries are expected on July 28. Tesla had fielded 373,000 Model 3 reservations as of April 2016, the latest date at which it announced a figure. The company has learned from previous problems including issues with seatbelt latches, seats and a 53,000-vehicle parking break recall earlier this year, the executive said. Tesla said it has improved service time by automating paperwork, using cars'' wireless connections to diagnose problems, and expanding mobile support. Tesla deployed mobile vans to company charging stations to fix the seatbelt latch and cut the procedure to less than 20 minutes. About 80 percent of fixes on its vehicles do not require a lift and can be done by one of its mobile technicians, which frequently can handle an appointment in less than an hour. Reporting By Marc Vartabedian Editing by Peter Henderson 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-service-idUKKBN19W1GS'|'2017-07-11T16:02:00.000+03:00' +'a309ac11cfa40e475f3bc5fa18431c3a821b03c8'|'Court blocks $18 bln British class action against MasterCard'|'July 21, 2017 / 12:02 PM / 23 minutes ago Court blocks $18 bln British class action against MasterCard 4 Min Read A logo of Mastercard is seen at the Mastercard Centre in Beijing, October 30, 2014. Jason Lee/Files LONDON (Reuters) - A 14 billion pound ($18 billion) class action lawsuit against MasterCard for allegedly overcharging more than 45 million people in Britain over a 16-year period was blocked by a British court on Friday. The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), a newly-empowered court that oversees Britain''s fledgling class action regime, ruled that it would not grant the necessary collective proceedings order for the case to proceed to trial. Had it been allowed to proceed, the case would have been the largest and most complex in British legal history and would have tested the limits of the new Consumer Rights Act, which introduced U.S.-style "opt-out" collective class actions for breaches of UK or European Union competition law in 2015. MasterCard ( MA.N ) welcomed the judgment, saying the claim was "completely unsuitable" to be brought under the collective action regime. Law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan launched the case on behalf of adults in Britain after MasterCard lost a drawn-out appeal against a 2007 European Commission decision that ruled its fees were anti-competitive. The case centred on so-called interchange fees, the charges levied by credit and debit card companies such as Mastercard on merchants'' banks, which card companies say cover the costs of operating card services, security and innovation. It alleged these fees were a significant cost for retailers and were passed on through increased prices of goods and services to all UK consumers, including those who paid in cash and not just MasterCard holders. London-based Walter Merricks, a lawyer who once led the Financial Ombudsman Service group that handles consumer disputes with banks and who is the representative named on the proposed action, said he was considering an appeal with his advisers. "The new collective action regime was introduced by the Consumer Rights Act to overcome the difficulty for consumers seeking to recover losses from competition law infringements," he said. "I am concerned that this new regime, designed to benefit consumers, may never get off the ground." He added that concerns cited by the tribunal, which included the difficulties in providing evidence that MasterCard fees were passed on to consumers and in precisely calculating individual losses for so many consumers, could have been overcome. The planned lawsuit had been dubbed by one lawyer the "perfect exam question" for Britain''s CAT, nominated in 2015 to oversees the country''s maiden "opt-out" class action lawsuits in antitrust cases. Under the regime, UK-based members of a defined group are automatically bound into legal action unless they opt out. Critics say such regimes encourage claims without merit. But others argue they are designed to offer a more effective and economic route to compensation for UK-based consumers and businesses who fall victim to anti-competitive conduct and saves on hefty advertising costs to rally a large group together. London''s High Court ruled in January that MasterCard had charged interchange fees at a lawful level and without restricting competition in a similar dispute with retailers. ($1 = 0.7695 pounds) Reporting by Kirstin Ridley; editing by Alexander Smith 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/mastercard-court-fees-idINKBN1A61EW'|'2017-07-21T19:06:00.000+03:00' +'5bf9f860d70d01cd273e559d778b247ae4e06905'|'BoE says more defences may be needed against consumer credit'|'FILE PHOTO: A sign is displayed outside the Bank of England in London, Britain August 4, 2016. Neil Hall/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England said on Monday it could force banks to hold more capital as an "insurance policy" to protect the wider economy in case the rapid growth in consumer credit turns sour.Alex Brazier, the BoE''s executive director for financial stability, said that while lending overall has grown in line with the British economy, outstanding car loans, credit card balances and personal loans have risen by 10 percent, far outpacing rises in income.In a period of good economic performance, banks think they can reduce prices and loosen lending criteria, he said."The spiral continues and borrowers rack up more and more debt," Brazier said in a speech in Liverpool."Lending standards can go from responsible to reckless very quickly... Lenders have not entered, but they may be dicing with, the spiral of complacency."It is the latest warning on consumer credit from the BoE, which has already responded by introducing three "defense lines", including closer supervision of banks and tightening mortgage lending standards to stop "boundaries" being pushed, such as a rise in lending at higher loan-to-income multiples.The third "defense line" involves stress testing lenders to check whether they hold enough capital to deal with losses."And to make sure this defense line is kept robust in the face of rapid consumer credit growth, we are accelerating this year''s test of banks'' consumer credit loans," Brazier said."By September we will have assessed whether the rapid growth has created any small gap in the line. If it has, we''ll plug it."Brazier highlighted car loans, saying so-called personal contract purchase or PCP from the finance arms of automakers now finance almost four in five new car purchases.Even if a borrower makes all the monthly payments on a PCP contract, the lender can still lose money if used car prices fall."The finance company is left with a car that has depreciated by more than they''ve been paid," Brazier said.However, the defense lines may now be starting to kick in, he said, with consumer credit showing signs of slowing and new car registrations falling.The aim is to stop the economy having to suffer endless repeats of the "Debt Strikes Back" movie, he added."For now, settle back with your popcorn and watch the, oddly, not yet highly grossing, new blockbuster, the Return of the Regulator."Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Gareth Jones '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-boe-banks-regulator-idUSKBN1A9228'|'2017-07-24T19:00:00.000+03:00' +'6ff2b5c4f04c74ee5a8c539d18c1fc36898f0da9'|'Euro nears two-year high as ECB flags autumn tightening talk'|'July 20, 2017 / 4:24 PM / 2 hours ago Euro nears two-year high as ECB flags autumn tightening talk Patrick Graham and John Geddie 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: 10 Euro banknotes are pictured under ultraviolet light at the headquarters of Bundesbank in Frankfurt, Germany, May 7, 2014. Ralph Orlowski/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - The euro jetted to an almost two-year high on Thursday after European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi said officials would discuss possible changes to its bond-buying scheme this autumn. Though Draghi set no date for changes to the scheme and said rate-setters had been unanimous in their decision not to change their guidance on monetary policy, investors reckoned the discussions would lead to monetary tightening next year. That drove an initial rise for the euro to around $1.1570 EUR= , a move analysts said was fuelled by the fact that Draghi did not dwell on the currency''s strength. "In all probability tapering will occur as we head into 2018 and we have seen no substantive challenge to that expectation in today''s meeting. Hence the currency has received some support," Richard McGuire, a senior strategist at Rabobank, said. He added that the euro was also rising probably due to the fact that Draghi noted the single currencys appreciation had received attention but "provided no pushback to this strengthening despite having the perfect opportunity to do so". The euro gained almost another cent against the dollar in the hour that followed the meeting - helped by a report of a widening inquiry into President Donald Trump''s business affairs - taking it to its highest since August 2015 at $1.1659. "The first leg was about Draghi but the second leg up in the euro has been U.S.-related, given that we''ve had reports of more probes into Trump," said Lisa Scott-Smith, co-head of portfolio management with currency fund Millennium Global in London. Against sterling, the euro climbed 1.4 percent to an eight-month high of 89.76 pence EURGBP=D3. Germany''s 10-year bond yield - the bloc''s benchmark - climbed 2 basis points to a day''s high of 0.56 percent after Draghi''s comments but by 1530 GMT was flat at 0.54 percent. Euro zone stocks were a touch lower on the day .STOXXE "I think a positive outlook of the economy and expectations of stimulus withdrawal in the autumn, and perhaps confirmation of the fact that we will have more explicit tightening then, is driving the euro and bond yields higher," said Alexandra Russell-Oliver, an FX strategist at Caxton FX in London. Markets still expect the ECB to raise rates next year, though they now bet that a hike could come later than initially anticipated. Euro zone money markets price in roughly a 70 percent chance of a 10-basis-point hike in rates by next July, having fully priced in a move a week ago. A rise by October is fully priced in by markets ECBWATCH. Reporting by Jemima Kelly, Patrick Graham, John Geddie and Abhinav Ramnarayan; editing by Mark Heinrich 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-markets-ecb-idUKKBN1A528D'|'2017-07-20T19:24:00.000+03:00' +'0bef66b5789d9f6890011414ec629f1b43236bbf'|'Booming Business for Recruiters in Tight U.S. Job Market'|'Booming Business for Recruiters in Tight U.S. Job Market Workers are the new hot commodity By @PattyLaya More stories by Patricia Laya Its one of the best and busiest times to be a recruiter in the U.S. From headhunters engaged in searches for corporate executives to temporary staffing agencies, the industry is benefiting from unemployment at a 16-year low and a record-high number of job openings that are turning workers across all sorts of industries -- from construction to trucking to software engineering -- into hot commodities. Before it''s here, it''s on the Bloomberg Terminal. '|'bloomberg.com'|'https://www.bloomberg.com/businessweek'|'https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-06/booming-business-for-recruiters-in-tight-u-s-job-market'|'2017-07-06T20:40:00.000+03:00' +'f5c1a42391ca97c7d105b974cb229444a1ab2e82'|'Options traders bet on U.S. steel stocks ahead of tariffs decision'|'Market News 04pm EDT Options traders bet on U.S. steel stocks ahead of tariffs decision By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed - NEW YORK, July 7 NEW YORK, July 7 Traders in the options market are betting that shares of U.S. steel makers will get a boost when the U.S. Commerce Department unveils findings from its investigation into cheap steel imports, according to data and analysts on Friday. The investigation was ordered by President Donald Trump in April under the rarely used section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and could clear the way for restrictions on steel imports. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross is expected to announce the outcome of the steel inquiry after Trump has spoken with G20 leaders at the July 7-8 summit in Germany. A decision that results in a material reduction in the current level of domestic steel imports could provide a near-term boost to shares of U.S. steel companies, according to Wall Street analysts. Recent trading data in options on top steel companies, including United States Steel Corp, Nucor Corp and AK Steel Holding Corp show traders are counting on some good news. "Everything looks pretty bullish. Every factor you would look at is sort of aligned in the same direction," said Jim Strugger, MKM Partners derivatives strategist. Traders have shown a marked preference for loading up on call options. Calls convey the right to buy shares at a fixed price in the future and usually are used to place bets on shares rising, while put options convey the right to sell shares at a certain price in the future. For U.S. Steel Corp, there are 1.1 calls open for each open put contract, close to the most in more than five years, according to options analytics firm Trade Alert data. Other steel stocks also exhibit similarly elevated positioning in call contracts. "They are not trying to pick a winner within the industry. It seems like it is more of a sector bet," said Steve Claussen, vice president of trade strategy at E-Trade Financial in Chicago. Much of the bullish positioning is concentrated in contracts set to expire over the next two weeks. "The implied expectation is that you are expecting a short-term move very quickly. These are definitely event-driven trades in my opinion," Claussen said. Several of these steel companies are set to report quarterly results before the end of July. Trump''s election initially boosted steel stocks, with the S&P 1500 steel index surging 36 percent in the month after the Nov. 8 vote. The index has given up most of those gains and is up 10 percent since the election. (Reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed; Editing by Marguerita Choy)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-trade-steel-stocks-idUSL4N1JX27J'|'2017-07-07T19:04:00.000+03:00' +'ae7f770d0de6ebc5a6f3547a2a72d23965e99931'|'U.S. weekly jobless claims fall to near five-month low'|'July 20, 2017 / 12:35 PM / 23 minutes ago U.S. weekly jobless claims fall to near five-month low Lucia Mutikani 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Leaflets lie on a table at a booth at a military veterans'' job fair in Carson, California October 3, 2014. Lucy Nicholson/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, touching its lowest level in nearly five months, suggesting strong job gains that should continue to underpin economic growth. Sustained labor market strength likely keeps the Federal Reserve on track to raise interest rates for a third time this year and announce a plan to start reducing its $4.2 trillion portfolio of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities, despite a recent ebb in inflation pressures. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 233,000 for the week ended July 15, the Labor Department said on Thursday. That was the lowest level since February, when claims fell to 227,000, which was the best reading since March 1973. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims falling to 245,000. It was the 124th straight week that claims remained below 300,000, a threshold associated with a robust labor market. That is the longest such stretch since 1970, when the labor market was smaller. The labor market is near full employment, with the jobless rate at 4.4 percent. Last week''s drop in claims unwound the recent increase which economists had attributed to volatility associated with different timings of automobile plant shutdowns for annual retooling. The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, fell 2,250 to 243,750 last week. Prices for U.S. government bonds pared earlier gains following the data, while the dollar was little changed against a basket of currencies. Last week''s claims data covered the survey period for July''s non-farm payrolls. The four-week average of claims fell 1,250 between the June and July survey periods, suggesting strong job gains in July. The economy created 222,000 jobs last month, the second biggest payrolls increase this year. Other data on Thursday showed a moderation in manufacturing activity in the mid-Atlantic region in July amid a tepid increase in orders received by factories. The Philadelphia Fed said its current business conditions index fell to a reading of 19.5 this month, the lowest since November, from 27.6 in June. Thirty-seven percent of the firms surveyed reported increases in activity in July, down from 42 percent last month. The survey''s new orders index fell 24 points as nearly 31 percent of factories reported a rise in new orders, down from 45 percent in June. While manufacturers reported overall increases in factory employment this month, the current employment index fell five points. The index has been positive for eight consecutive months. Seventeen percent of manufacturers reported an increase in employment this month, while 6 percent reported a decrease. Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-unemployment-idUKKBN1A51K2'|'2017-07-20T16:12:00.000+03:00' +'5524d5b004ca8f903d447374f1ce0a80d2c72a22'|'Hoteliers welcome Paris decision forcing Airbnb hosts to register rentals'|'Technology News - Wed Jul 5, 2017 - 12:20pm EDT Hoteliers welcome Paris decision forcing Airbnb hosts to register rentals A woman talks on the phone at the Airbnb office headquarters in the SOMA district of San Francisco, California, U.S., August 2, 2016. REUTERS/Gabrielle Lurie By Dominique Vidalon - PARIS PARIS French hoteliers cheered on Wednesday a Paris City Council decision making it mandatory from December for people renting their apartments on short-term rental websites such as Airbnb to register their property with the town hall. The ruling comes as Airbnb, much like its ride-hailing peer Uber, is facing a growing crackdown from legislators worldwide triggered in part by lobbying from the hotel industry, who see the rental service as unfair competition. Airbnb and other rental platforms have also been criticized for driving up property prices and contributing to a housing shortage in some cities such as Paris or Berlin. With 350,000 listings, France is Airbnb''s second-largest market after the United States, and Paris, the most visited city in the world, is its biggest single market, with 65,000 homes. On Tuesday the Paris City Council voted to make it mandatory from Dec. 1 to obtain a registration number from the town hall before posting an advertisement for a short-term rental on a website. The ruling thus makes it harder for those renting out property to exceed the 120 days a year legal rental limit for a main residence, and makes it easier for authorities to track which properties are rented out, and also to collect local taxes. "This is a strong signal sent out to other municipalities. Local collectivities now have a tool to monitor the tourist offers and control the collection of tourist taxes," Roland Heguy, the head of French hotel federation UMIH said in a statement. An Airbnb spokesman said the rental website would comply with the new rules and ensure its clients knew about it. Like a lot of big cities Paris is cracking down on illegal tourist rentals and trying to regulate and limit the legal element of the phenomenon. The French capital lost at least 20,000 rental properties from the market over the last five years, and in the central and western part of Paris tourist rentals now make up to 20 percent of the global rental offer, the City Council said in its ruling. Due to pressure from hoteliers and officials Airbnb has agreed to charge visitors the traditional French "tourist tax". It began collecting the tax from guests in Paris in 2015 and now collects it in 50 French cities. It paid back to French authorities 7.3 million euros ($8.3 million) in tourist taxes in 2016. (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Andrew Callus and Susan Thomas) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-airbnb-idUSKBN19Q1YW'|'2017-07-05T17:26:00.000+03:00' +'4bac88294a1b81eaac9a1676dc48d5fd07c2972b'|'UK regulator proposes new listing rules for sovereign state companies'|'July 13, 2017 / 9:08 AM / 33 minutes ago UK regulator proposes new listing rules for sovereign state companies Clara Denina 2 Min Read The logo of the new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is seen at the agency''s headquarters in the Canary Wharf business district of London April 1, 2013. Chris Helgren LONDON (Reuters) - Britain''s financial watchdog is proposing new rules that will create a new listing category for companies controlled by sovereign states on the country''s stock markets. The proposals come just as exchanges around the world are trying to win the listing of state-controlled oil giant Saudi Aramco, which is expected to be the largest initial public offering (IPO) in history. Reuters reported in May that the London Stock Exchange was working on a new type of listing structure that would make it more attractive for Aramco to join the bourse. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said on Thursday that currently there is a gap in the Britain''s listing rules for companies controlled by sovereign companies. It said it is proposing a new "premium" stock market listing category that will exempt companies controlled by sovereign states from certain requirements. Under the FCA''s proposals, sovereign-controlled companies will be able to obtain a "premium" listing on the London Stock Exchange without complying with certain rules on related party transactions and controlling shareholders. Currently companies which do not meet Britain''s "premium" listing requirements have to take a standard listing. These are seen as less attractive for investors and companies as they have lower corporate governance requirements, do not qualify for entry into most stock indices and have connotations of being second best. Reporting by Clara Denina; Editing by Rachel Armstrong 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-regulation-ipos-idUKKBN19Y0VX'|'2017-07-13T12:08:00.000+03:00' +'e2219c4c34c04e5c0252dedf81be92a201b96d1f'|'European banks struggle to solve toxic shipping debt problem'|'July 24, 2017 / 6:07 AM / 34 minutes ago European banks struggle to solve toxic shipping debt problem Jonathan Saul 8 Min Read The MV Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller, the world''s biggest container ship, arrives at the harbour of Rotterdam in this file photo dated August 16, 2013. Michael Kooren LONDON (Reuters) - Dutch shipowner Vroon is finding talks with banks tough going as it tries to navigate a way out of a long slump in the shipping industry. But it is not an easy time for the lenders either. Vroon, a 127-year-old family-owned group which operates about 200 vessels and transports livestock, oil and other commodities, wants to extend its credit lines and adjust repayment schedules. But European banks that lent heavily to the sector when it boomed more than a decade ago have a heavy toxic debt burden following the 2008-09 global financial crisis and a shipping markets crash in 2010. Shipping firms and banks are caught in a vicious circle of debt, causing a credit crunch that is hindering the industry''s recovery. Overcapacity -- a glut of available ships for hire -- is a big concern, and another is a lack of profitability caused by problems such as slower demand and global economic turmoil. One of the major companies, South Korean container line Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd, has gone under. "We have difficulty in meeting all repayment obligations that we have and that is what we are in discussion with our banks about. Those discussions are constructive but are not easy -- not for us, or the banks," Herman Marks, the chief financial officer at Vroon, told Reuters. "It is the lack of profitability for the industry that is causing the lack of availability of finance." Marks said Vroon was confident of reaching agreements with its financiers soon. Shipping finance sources say the shipping industry, which transports 90 percent of the world''s goods including oil, food and industrial products such as coal and iron ore, has an estimated capital shortfall of $30 billion this year. Some banks are being driven out of shipping and those that remain are now more conservative in their financing, Marks said. "It is an industry that requires consolidation," he added. That consolidation has begun, especially in container shipping. Denmark''s Maersk Line, the global leader in the sector, is acquiring German rival Hamburg Sud and China''s COSCO Shipping Holdings Co Ltd has bid $6.3 billion for Hong Kong peer Orient Overseas International Ltd. Germany''s Rickmers filed for insolvency in June, and firms that have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since March include Singapore''s Ezra Holdings Ltd and U.S.-based firms Tidewater, GulfMark Offshore and Montco Offshore. Downturn Banks were happy to lend to the shipping industry when it boomed after the surge in trade that accompanied globalisation. Even the 2008-09 crisis did not deter all creditors. Expectations that China''s fast economic growth would revive the industry prompted a brief new wave of lending before many shipping markets crashed again. This left European banks with a debt burden of more than $100 billion and the value of at least 70 percent of those loans has fallen, according to industry estimates. Banks are struggling to find ways to recoup their mounting losses. "There is probably about $150 billion of distressed bank debt stuck with mainly European banks -- mainly German -- that has still got to be de-gorged from the system," said Michael Parker, global industry head for shipping with Citigroup. Large banks that once had a big role in the industry, such as Britain''s Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), are pulling out. Some more specialist lenders, such as Germany''s HSH Nordbank [HSH.UL], are still working through their legacy loans. Ratings agency Moody''s said in June it expected further losses as problem shipping loans continue to mount, possibly affecting banks'' profitability and capital in 2017 and potentially beyond. The European Central Bank said in May it would be carrying out on-site inspections at banks with a view to possible "remedial actions". Regulators want banks to shore up their balance sheets and comply with stress tests, which assess whether a bank has enough capital to cope with adverse developments. "The belief that the regulators will allow the banks to go back to creating the disaster they created five, 10 years ago -- I think is highly unlikely," Citi''s Parker told a Capital Link shipping conference in March. German state-controlled lenders known as landesbanken, including HSH and NordLB [NDLG.UL], are among the hardest hit. HSH was forced to take a second bailout from its public-sector owners because of provisions for bad shipping loans, and has to be privatised under European state-aid rules by the end of February 2018. HSH had reduced its total shipping portfolio to 16.6 billion euros ($19.36 billion) by the end of the first quarter of 2017, from more than 30 billion euros nearly a decade ago. By the end of the first quarter of 2017, HSH had 9.9 billion euros in its so-called bad bank that it is running down, and the remaining 6.7 billion euros in its core bank. "We have learned a lot of lessons from the past. We are conservative, we are cautious," Christian Nieswandt, global head of shipping at HSH, told Reuters. "I do not think people would do the same things now that they did in the past." Losses Piled Up NordLB set aside 2.94 billion euros in 2016 in provisions for bad shipping loans. NordLB is preparing a sale of its property lender Deutsche Hypothekenbank as it seeks to repair its balance sheet following heavy writedowns related to its exposure to bad shipping loans, people close to the matter told Reuters. Banks in Germany were exposed when a number of closed shipping investment funds known as KG houses were forced into insolvency, leaving the banks carrying the risks. The banks were also exposed when the container shipping sector, which traditionally accounted for a large segment of Germany''s shipping industry, ran into trouble. Dagfinn Lunde, former head of shipping at Germany''s DVB Bank, said a further problem arose because loans had been used to finance a type of container ship which became obsolete once the Panama Canal was extended in 2016. "The losses were clocking up without them (the banks) seeing it," Lunde said. With the shipping industry still struggling, the banks'' prospects for offloading their toxic debts are challenging. "How are they going to recoup an asset that is losing money all the time?" said Mark Clintworth, head of shipping at the European Investment Bank. "They will have to ring-fence their shipping assets and in a worst-case scenario take a complete haircut on it." Fire Sales European banks have stepped up efforts to get rid of shipping loans by selling portfolios. RBS has sold hundreds of millions of dollars in loans to buyers including Japanese financial services firm Orix Corp. Others have found selling more difficult. Attempts by HSH to sell a 500-million-euro segment of shipping loans, as part of a 3.2-billion euro portfolio sale which included other assets, proved unsuccessful because the debt was deemed toxic and attracted offers that the bank considered too low, shipping finance sources said. HSH declined to comment. NordLB said in July it had abandoned efforts to sell a 1.3-billion euro portfolio of loans to U.S. private equity group KKR. Germany''s Commerzbank said in June it had sought to shed its 4.5-billion euro portfolio of distressed shipping loans through swaps with covered bonds -- securities backed by shipping mortgages. It is not yet known whether it will succeed. Sellers still trying to offload billions of dollars in loans include Deutsche Bank, shipping finance sources say. "Investors will want to see a bit more sustained profitability to the sector - there is some way to go before that," said Paul Taylor, global head of shipping & offshore with French bank Societe Generale CIB. (For a graphic, click tmsnrt.rs/2vA9ze5 ) Editing by Timothy Heritage '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-banks-shipping-insight-idUKKBN1A90GA'|'2017-07-24T09:07:00.000+03:00' +'5e210a01205de4ec4d36f14ff91e8ec6dbf552c2'|'The European Commission levies a huge fine on Google'|'SHE was born to Lutheran ministers known to be both tough and principled. As a child, she thought it unfair that pupils were not allowed to sell fruit and milk in school and successfully lobbied for change. In her office in Brussels she keeps a statue of a raised middle finger, a gift from a trade union when she was deputy prime minister of Denmark, as a reminder that there will always be critics.It shouldnt have come as a surprise that Margrethe Vestager, the European Unions competition commissioner, took a tough line against Google this week. The size of the fine the tech giant will have to pay for abusing its monopoly in online search, 2.4bn ($2.7bn), sets a record for European antitrust penalties (see chart). Yet more important than the amount is that she provided a rough guide to how the European Commission plans to deal with online firms which not only dominate a market, but essentially are the market. 19 27 In the 2000s Microsoft got into trouble because it had expanded its Windows monopoly by bundling it with its web browser. By comparison, Googles infraction seems minor. In 2002 it launched a price-comparison service called Froogle, later renamed Google Shopping. In 2008 it changed how this service works. According to the commission, the new version systematically favoured Googles own comparison-shopping results by giving them prominent placement at the top of its generic search results and demoting links to rival offerings to pages further down in its results, where users hardly venture.This would not be a problem if there were several big search engines. But Googles market share in most European countries exceeds 90%. When the firm introduced the changes, traffic to rival websites, such as Britains Foundem, plunged. This denied other firms the chance to compete and reduced consumer choice, said Ms Vestager. Google has 90 days to find a way to treat its own comparison-shopping service and those of rivals equally.Predictably, Google wants none of this. It says its search service is far less dominant than it appears: consumers look up products on many other sites, including Amazon and eBay (the commission did not count these as search engines). Google also notes that the changes made in 2008 benefited consumers. People usually prefer links that take them directly to the products they want, Kent Walker, the firms general counsel, wrote in a blog post. Here, Google appears to have a point. Why would consumers want to click on a link which leads them to another site if they can see products and prices neatly lined up above Googles search results?The European Court of Justice, the EUs highest court, will have to weigh the merits of its argument. Google will appeal, and there are weaknesses in the commissions case, such as the difficulty of proving real consumer harm from the treatment of other price-comparison sites. Yet the commission deserves credit for tackling a question, which is increasingly important but which American trustbusting agencies have avoided: what is the responsibility of dominant online firms, including Amazon and Facebook, when direct competitors, large and small, offer products and services on their platforms?The prevailing wisdom, particularly in America, used to be that super-platforms, despite their size, do not unfairly use their market power and thrive because of their unceasing innovation. The competition is always just one click away, argues Herbert Hovenkamp of the University of Pennsylvania. If Google were to degrade its search results by demoting links to better services, users would just switch to a rival service, such as Bing or DuckDuckGo.But as digital platforms have grown ever bigger, that thinking has started to change, even in America. A growing number of antitrust experts now accept the commissions view, that network effects create high barriers to entry in online markets. This means that Google, for instance, can in fact degrade its search results selectively (and disadvantageously to its direct competitors) without having to fear that its users will defect, says Maurice Stucke of the University of Tennessee. We need these super-platforms to adhere to a principle of neutrality, he says.How can such a principle be enforced? In the case at hand Google could just feed all search queries through one algorithm and do away with the second one that produces the Google Shopping results. But what if this one algorithm still ends up putting Googles links on top? Will the commission then force the firm to reveal its inner workings and even rewrite it? If search algorithms become more personalised, as is expected to be the case with digital assistants such as Amazons Alexa, it will be even more difficult to detect bias.Ms Vestager can put such questions aside for the moment. But this weeks decision sets a precedent. Her team will now examine other offerings from Google, including travel information and reviews of local businesses. It may well push for scrupulously equal treatment in these fields, toowhich would limit how the search giant can combine and link its services, at least in Europe.Queen MargretheMs Vestager has let it be known, too, that Google is likely to be found guilty in the two other cases she has launched against it. One deals with Android, its mobile operating system, and whether the firm has used it to protect and expand its position in online search. The other examines whether Google has hurt competition in online advertising. Brussels insiders say that decisions (and further hefty fines) may come as soon as July.Fair competition is essential in an industry that is reshaping society rapidly, Ms Vestager argues. As the cases, and the fines, pile on, there is sure to be resistance from across the Atlanticand perhaps even sympathy for Google. Even her fans wonder whether Ms Vestager is too zealous. But it may require someone as forceful as the Dane to take on the biggest platforms.This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "Not so Froogle"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21724436-its-case-not-perfect-it-asks-right-questions-european-commission-levies-huge?fsrc=rss'|'2017-07-01T08:00:00.000+03:00' +'359aae0f5b2c987f5d922af159da52f76dc1d273'|'Johnson & Johnson reports dip in quarterly profit'|'A Johnson & Johnson building is shown in Irvine, California, U.S., January 24, 2017. Mike Blake (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ.N ) expects sales growth to pick up in the second half of the year on strong demand for newer, pricey treatments such as its cancer drugs Darzalex and Imbruvica.J&J, which reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and raised its full-year profit forecast on Tuesday, is banking on newer pharmaceuticals to counter slowing demand for some of its older, best-selling products, including Remicade treatment and diabetes drug Invokana.J&J''s shares were up 1.9 percent at $134.61 in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.Chief Executive Alex Gorsky said that when drugs add months or years to patient lives and make significant differences on health outcomes, as with multiple myeloma treatment Darzalex and leukemia drug Imbruvica, the company has experienced less pricing pressure.Pharmaceutical companies have come under pressure to cut prices from insurers and the federal government. J&J is one of several companies that has said it will keep annual price increases mostly below 10 percent.President Donald Trump has said that he will work to bring down drug prices and signed an executive order on the topic, though it is not clear how it will work.J&J is the first among major pharmaceutical companies to release quarterly results, and the report comes a day after a Republican effort to pass healthcare legislation in the Senate collapsed. Gorsky is in Washington, D.C., meeting with U.S. and global leaders to discuss health care related issues.Excluding special items, the maker of everything from drugs, to medical products to consumer products including Band-Aids earned $1.83 per share in the second quarter, beating analysts'' estimates by 3 cents.While sales in J&J''s consumer and medical device divisions rose, sales for pharmaceutical products - its largest business - fell marginally to $8.6 billion.This is the third quarter in a row that J&J''s pharmaceutical sales have fallen short of estimates, RBC Capital analysts said in a research note."There appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel," BMO Capital Markets analyst Joanne Wuensch said, citing Darzalex''s expanded label and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration''s recent nod for J&J''s potential blockbuster psoriasis treatment, Tremfya.J&J reported total sales of $18.84 billion for the second quarter, missing the average analyst estimate of $18.95 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.The diversified healthcare company, which completed its $30 billion acquisition of Swiss biotech Actelion ( ATLN.S ) last month, raised its 2017 profit forecast to a range of $7.12 to $7.22 per share, from $7.00 to $7.15Reporting by Michael Erman in New York and Divya Grover and Natalie Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel, Bernard Orr '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-johnson-johnson-results-idUSKBN1A311M'|'2017-07-18T13:58:00.000+03:00' +'8bb524d4514df7f0e85dae24eb7997a58a1f82be'|'Apollo raises $24.6 billion for largest private equity fund ever'|'July 27, 2017 / 3:05 PM / 4 hours ago Apollo raises $24.6 billion for largest private equity fund ever Dasha Afanasieva 2 Min Read Joshua Harris, Co-Founder and a member of the Board of Directors at Apollo Global Management, LLC, speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 1, 2017. Lucy Nicholson LONDON (Reuters) - Apollo Global Management LLC ( APO.N ) has raised the largest ever private equity fund, a regulatory filing showed, amassing $24.6 billion to be invested in North America and Western Europe, as global fundraising looked set to exceed 2007''s record. Since the financial crisis almost a decade ago, low interest rates and cheap debt have boosted capital piling into private equity funds by investors looking for higher returns. But rising valuations have made it harder to achieve high returns, so much of the money sits idle. According to industry data provider Preqin, this fund brings total buyout fundraising in the first seven months of 2017 to $184 billion meaning the year will likely surpass the last record for buyout fundraising, in 2007, when funds closed through the year raised $249 billion. "Fundraising in 2017 so far has been dominated by the re-emergence of record-breaking funds," said Christopher Elvin, Head of Private Equity Products at Preqin. "However, Apollo may not hold the title for that long: there are two other private equity funds currently in market which have larger targets, and which may be looking to hold a final close in the coming months." Delaware-incorporated Apollo Investment Fund IX, L.P. surpassed its $23.5 billion hard cap and intends to reach $24.7 billion in total, the filing from the Securities and Exchange Commission showed. Prior to this Fund VIII closed in December 2013 with more than $18 billion of commitments. Led by industry veterans, Leon Black, Joshua Harris and Marc Rowan, Apollo has investments in private equity, credit, real estate and publicly managed funds. It has around $45 billion under management in private equity. In June, CVC Capital Partners CVC.UL raised the biggest ever Europe-based fund with 16 billion euros ($18.69 billion) for private equity investments in Europe and North America. Reporting by Dasha Afanasieva, editing by Pritha Sarkar 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-apollo-fund-record-idUSKBN1AC2F7'|'2017-07-27T18:04:00.000+03:00' +'15e0f9ce6331b06f93697c17f3d58b82a46fbaac'|'Brazil''s Petrobras puts all its Paraguay operations for sale'|'Deals - Fri Jul 7, 2017 - 8:01am EDT Brazil''s Petrobras puts all its Paraguay operations for sale The logo of Brazil''s state-run Petrobras oil company is seen on a tank in at Petrobras Paulinia refinery in Paulinia, Brazil July 1, 2017. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker SAO PAULO Brazilian state-controlled oil company Petrleo Brasileiro SA ( PETR4.SA ) disclosed on Friday the initial terms for a plan to sell the entirety of its operations in Paraguay, according to a securities filing. Petrobras, as the firm is known, is planning to exit the natural gas distribution sector in Paraguay and sell hundreds of gasoline stations and convenience stores, the statement said. It will also look to sell its operations in three airports and a distribution unit near the Villa Elisa city. (Reporting by Bruno Federowski and Luciano Costa) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-petrobras-divestiture-paraguay-idUSKBN19S1PC'|'2017-07-07T14:54:00.000+03:00' +'24678846532bd976d28f686e224868a3a7170e40'|'UPDATE 2-American Airlines says Qatar Airways refiles for clearance to buy stake'|'July 12, 2017 / 10:50 PM / in an hour UPDATE 2-American Airlines says Qatar Airways refiles for clearance to buy stake 4 Min Read (Adds Etihad Airways comment) By Alana Wise and David Shepardson July 12 (Reuters) - American Airlines Inc said on Wednesday that state-owned Qatar Airways has revised its antitrust filing with U.S. regulators seeking clearance to buy up to a 10 percent stake in the U.S. carrier, but there were no details provided on the new filing. Separately, American said it is ending code-share agreements with both Qatar Airways and Abu Dhabi''s Etihad Airways amid a trade dispute with the two Middle Eastern carriers. The American-Etihad code-share, which started in 2009, would end on March 25, 2018, an Etihad spokeswoman said in a statement. American, the largest U.S. carrier, in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission said that Qatar Airways, which last month expressed interest in buying up to 10 percent of American, had withdrawn its previous antitrust filing with the Federal Trade Commission and submitted a new filing on Monday. Representatives for Qatar Airways could not be reached for comment. The chief executive of Qatar Airways, Akbar al-Baker, said last week that the carrier would push on to buy shares on the open market despite American''s opposition. The FTC did not comment. The agency typically does not disclose details of requests for antitrust approval filed by companies seeking to acquire stakes in rivals. American Airlines'' own rules require advance approval from its board for the purchase of a stake of 4.75 percent or more. The airline last month also noted that "there are foreign ownership laws that limit the total percentage of foreign voting interest to 24.9 percent." "Illegal Subsidies" American''s decision to cancel code-share agreements, which allow airlines to book passengers on each other''s flights, ramps up an acrimonious dispute between U.S. carriers and Gulf competitors. American and other U.S. carriers have charged that Qatar Airways, Etihad and Emirates get an unfair competitive edge from state subsidies that allow them to offer lower fares and more amenities to long-haul, international travelers. The U.S. carriers are pressing the United States government to curb the Middle Eastern carriers'' access to U.S. airports, and the White House is considering their request, according to government officials and airline executives who have spoken to the White House. The Middle Eastern carriers have rejected the complaints about subsidies. The decision to cancel code-sharing deals with the two carriers would not have a material financial impact on American, the carrier said, and "is an extension of our stance against the illegal subsidies that these carriers receive from their governments." Etihad, which flies to six U.S. cities, accused American of being anti-competitive and anti-consumer and said it was disappointed with the decision to end the code-share agreement. "We are committed to the U.S. market and American consumers, and are taking all possible measures to ensure that the flying public is not harmed by this decision," an Etihad spokeswoman said. An interline relationship between Etihad and American, which allows customers from two airlines to buy connecting flights on one ticket, would remain in place to connect passengers to secondary markets, the spokeswoman said. State-owned Etihad is the second-largest airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Qatar Airways is the state-owned flag carrier of Qatar. Reporting by David Shepardson and Alana Wise; Additional reporting by Alexander Cornwell in Dubai; Editing by Leslie Adler and Stephen Coates 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/american-airline-codesharing-idUSL1N1K329X'|'2017-07-13T06:01:00.000+03:00' +'120a704ed666089ab47c179791a16ebd28deddf0'|'With ''sticky'' customers, more payments processors may combine for growth'|'Business 13am BST With ''sticky'' customers, more payments processors may combine for growth Traders wait for news at the post where U.S. credit card technology firm Vantiv Inc is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., July 5, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid By David Henry and Anna Irrera - NEW YORK NEW YORK In the world of financial technology, where startups are the focus of M&A chatter, a $10 billion combination of two back-office processors whose roots date to the 1970s might seem unusual. But Vantiv Inc''s ( VNTV.N ) plan to acquire Worldpay Group PLC ( WPG.L ) shows that the sheer size of some legacy players - and the inertia of their customers - makes them more interested in buying one another than newer rivals, bankers and analysts said. The two companies facilitate payments by linking stores to customers'' bank and credit-card accounts. "It''s a pretty sticky product," said Thad Peterson, an analyst at Aite Group. "Once merchants find a processor that works for them, they are unlikely to change. Merchants aren''t in the business of payments, they are in the business of selling stuff." Vantiv started as a project inside of Cincinnati-based regional lender Fifth Third Bancorp ( FITB.O ) during the Nixon era. Worldpay, headquartered in London, was launched by a British lender in 1989 and absorbed into Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ). Both companies were spun out of their banks after the financial crisis and thrived on their own continents. Now they are poised to become the singular middleman for more sales globally than any other wholly-owned merchant payments processor based on the $1.3 trillion worth of transactions they handled in 2016, according to data from The Nilson Report. The next largest, JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ), had looked at Worldpay but ultimately did not put in a bid, a spokesman said. Buying Worldpay would have helped JPMorgan, the biggest U.S. bank by assets, expand outside of its home country where it has been getting about four-fifths of its merchant business. (GRAPHIC: tmsnrt.rs/2sN7LvJ ) The Vantiv-Worldpay deal comes at a time when more purchases are being made online, and the payments industry - long considered a backwater of banking - is facing fresh competition. PayPal Holdings Inc''s ( PYPL.O ) Braintree, Amsterdam-based Adyen and San Francisco-based Stripe Inc are among the newcomers trying to disrupt the way merchants get paid. They have managed to secure deals with high-profile technology companies including video-on-demand platform Netflix Inc ( NFLX.O ), ride-hailing app Uber and streaming music service Spotify. Despite the buzz surrounding these companies, they represent a small slice of the market. In the United States, for example, the top 10 processors account for about 90 percent of transactions, according to estimates from Mizuho Securities. They are mostly big banks or companies like First Data Corp ( FDC.N ), which also grew out of the banking industry. Even with that much concentration, big players want to get bigger to gain economies of scale, said one investment banker to the industry who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The banker predicted more traditional companies will combine, while newcomers remain independent because their stocks are much more highly valued. Once processors have the scale of big banks, the real competitive advantage comes from allowing merchants to sell products through any channel to customers anywhere in the world, analysts and executives said. Future mergers could be driven by a need to access new geographies or improve digital offerings, similar to the rationale behind Vantiv buying Worldpay, the banker said. (Reporting by David Henry and Anna Irrera; Additional reporting by David French; Writing by Lauren Tara LaCapra; Editing by Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-worldpay-grp-m-a-vantiv-inc-payments-idUKKBN19Q31U'|'2017-07-06T02:13:00.000+03:00' +'22cf2371ebd761226d8abfcfb77032b0579d293b'|'Euro zone trade booms in May, EU-Russia commerce surges'|'July 14, 2017 / 9:33 AM / 7 hours ago Euro zone trade booms in May, EU-Russia commerce surges Reuters Staff 3 Min Read Containers are pictured at a loading terminal in the port of Kiel, Germany, January 25, 2017. Fabian Bimmer BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone''s trade boomed in May with both exports and imports of goods to the rest of the world growing markedly, in a new sign that global commerce was in good health. The European Union, the world''s main trader, also saw its trade increase with all its main partners, with a surge of exchanges with Russia despite economic sanctions on Moscow. The European Union statistics office Eurostat said on Friday the 19-country currency area in May exported goods worth 189.6 billion euros (167.08 billion pounds) to the rest of the world, an increase by 12.9 percent on the year. Imports also grew yearly by 16.4 percent for a total volume of 168.1 billion euros, according to data not adjusted for seasonal factors. Both figures were the second highest ever-recorded for the euro zone after the peak reached in March when exports were above 200 billion euros and imports stood at 176 billion euros. The faster growth of imports compared to exports slightly reduced the bloc''s trade surplus which stood at 21.4 billion euros in May, lower than the 23.4 billion surplus recorded in May 2016. Commerce among the 19 euro zone states also increased by 15.3 percent in May on a yearly basis, for a volume of 162.4 billion euros of traded goods. The European Union as a whole also recorded a 15.9 percent surge of exports to the rest of the world in May year-on-year and a 17.2 percent increase of imports, Eurostat said. The 28-country bloc expanded its trade with all its main partners in the period between January and May, with exports to the United States rising on the year 6.6 percent and to China 20.3 percent, while imports increased respectively 4.0 and 6.8 percent. The highest increases were recorded with Russia, which overtook Switzerland as the third main source of imports for the EU. Despite western economic sanctions imposed after Russia''s annexation of Crimea in 2014, EU exports to Russia grew 24.6 percent between January and May, driven by manufactured goods and machinery, while imports, composed principally of oil and gas, surged by 37.6 percent. As a result, EU trade deficit with Russia expanded in May to 29.5 billion euros from 18.9 billions the year earlier. Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio; editing by Philip Blenkinsop 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-economy-trade-idUKKBN19Z0VY'|'2017-07-14T12:33:00.000+03:00' +'0ede644016d622386d27b21d2a60d52a59fefa43'|'GE revenue falls 12 pct'|'July 21, 2017 / 10:52 AM / 4 hours ago GE shares fall as profit slumps, investors await new CEO''s targets Alwyn Scott 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of General Electric Co. is pictured at the Global Operations Center in San Pedro Garza Garcia, neighbouring Monterrey, Mexico, May 12, 2017. Daniel Becerril/File Photo (Reuters) - General Electric Co''s ( GE.N ) shares dropped sharply on Friday after it posted a 59-percent decline in second-quarter profit and put off an expected cut to 2018 earnings targets until November, when new CEO John Flannery will be four months into his job. The maker of power plants, jet engines, medical scanners and other industrial equipment said profit and sales declines largely reflected sale of its appliances business. It beat analyst expectations on adjusted profit, but cash flow was weak and GE said full-year profit and cash flow will be at the low end of its forecasts. GE also said it would update its 2018 earnings target of $2 a share in November, later than analysts had expected. Analyst consensus 2018 estimate is $1.73, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, already suggesting a significant cut. The length and scope of the review raised concern, since GE has just come through major shifts in its portfolio. "It''s discouraging that we''re going to wait again for the company to perform as we wait for the new CEO to review everything," said Jim Corridore, analyst at research firm CFRA, which cut GE shares to "hold" after Friday''s results. Related Coverage GE incoming CEO Flannery to update 2018 outlook in November Incoming CEO Flannery acknowledged on a conference call that his review would take time, but said it had not altered GE''s 2017 outlook. Still, the stock could be in "in a state of limbo" until the review is finished, Deane Dray, analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said in a note. GE''s cash flow was below expectations and also weighed on the stock, said Jeff Windau, analyst at Edward Jones. "People want to get the answers sooner" to Flannery''s review. Shares were down 3 percent at $25.87 in mid-morning trading after earlier hitting a 2-year low. GE faced a "slow-growth, volatile environment" in the quarter, Chief Executive Jeff Immelt said in his final earnings release before his Aug. 1 retirement. Immelt''s tenure began days before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and included the 2008 financial crisis. While GE stock is 27 percent below its price when Immelt arrived, it has more than tripled from its nadir in 2009. Immelt sold off NBCUniversal, appliances and most of GE Capital. He acquired power assets from France''s Alstom ( ALSO.PA ), merged GE''s oil and gas business with Baker Hughes, and moved the headquarters to Boston. Flannery said he is "in the middle of a series of deep dives into the businesses." He also is "taking a hard look at our corporate spending" to ensure it contributes to earnings, and on a listening tour of investors. GE has cut $670 million in industrial overhead costs this year, Immelt said, and will "meet or exceed" its $1 billion target for 2017 - a goal set after discussion with activist investor Trian Fund Management. GE was under pressure to report strong cash flow after a weak showing in the first quarter. Cash flow from operations totaled $3.6 billion, up from $400 million in the first quarter. The figure was down 67 percent from a year ago, partly reflecting the loss of contributions from the appliances division. Revenue fell 12 percent to $29.56 billion, slightly above the $29.02 billion consensus estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. GE said its appliances sale eliminated $3.1 billion of revenue. Net profit slumped 59 percent to $1.34 billion, or 15 cents a share, in the quarter ended June 30, from $3.30 billion, or 36 cents a share, a year earlier. Adjusted earnings fell 45 percent to 28 cents a share, compared with estimates for 25 cents. Additional reporting by Rachit Vats in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Nick Zieminski 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ge-results-idUSKBN1A617Z'|'2017-07-21T13:49:00.000+03:00' +'50bc32f3bae646ffe96b99947fcd45928a5a070b'|'Construction group St. Gobain keeps outlook as half-year profits rise'|'July 27, 2017 / 4:03 PM / in 16 minutes Construction group St. Gobain keeps outlook as half-year profits rise Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The logo of the materials company Saint-Gobain is seen on the company tower at La Defense business and financial district in Courbevoie near Paris, France, March 2, 2016. Jacky Naegelen PARIS (Reuters) - French building materials group St Gobain ( SGOB.PA ), which was hit by a cyber attack earlier this year, maintained its financial targets as it posted a rise in half-year profits slightly below the consensus forecast. St Gobain said first-half recurring net income rose 20.4 percent from a year ago to 751 million euros (670.41 million pounds), while revenue advanced by 4.4 percent to 20.4 billion euros. According to the consensus forecast compiled for Reuters by Inquiry Financial, analysts had forecast a net income of 819 million euros and revenues of 20.6 billion. In June, St Gobain fell victim to a global cyber attack that spread from Ukraine across the world, paralysing thousands of machines worldwide, and shutting down ports, factories and offices as it spread through internal organisational networks to an estimated 60 countries. St Gobain said the cyber-attack was estimated to have had a negative impact of 220 million euros on first-half sales and of 65 million euros on first-half operating income. Over the full year, the negative impact of that cyber attack was estimated at less than 250 million euros on sales and 80 million on operating income. Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Andrew Callus 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-stgobain-results-idUKKBN1AC2KO'|'2017-07-27T19:02:00.000+03:00' +'90364f5862379826e6a31255b6b21f53e955078b'|'AstraZeneca shares fall for a second day over CEO uncertainty'|'July 14, 2017 / 7:46 AM / 25 minutes ago AstraZeneca shares fall for a second day over CEO uncertainty 2 Min Read LONDON, July 14 (Reuters) - Shares in AstraZeneca fell for a second day on Friday as uncertainty over the future of Chief Executive Pascal Soriot weighed on the Anglo-Swedish company ahead of a crucial period. Shares in Astra closed down 3.5 percent on Thursday and were trading down a further 2.5 percent on Friday, at a two-month low, following an Israeli report late on Wednesday that Soriot was in talks to join Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. Moving to a generics drugmaker, albeit the world''s largest, would be a big change in direction for French-born Soriot, 58, who had made research-based pharma his whole aim at AstraZeneca. The timing of the rumour has alarmed investors, coming as the company waits for an all-important data from a MYSTIC trial of a lung cancer drug which is seen as a game-changer for Astra. Analysts at Leerink, an investment bank that specialises in healthcare, said the move would come as a major surprise, if true, and leave AstraZeneca rudderless at a key time. "If true, the optics around his departure would be terrible ahead of the MYSTIC readout ... which are expected any day now." No one at AstraZeneca was immediately available to comment. Reporting by Kate Holton, editing by David Evans 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/astrazeneca-ceo-idUSL8N1K51BE'|'2017-07-14T10:44:00.000+03:00' +'f0e6a33b8708eb4c0a7b3514e686bb9f61c8e4a9'|'Southeast Asia''s Grab to get $2.5 billion extra firepower in battle with Uber'|'July 24, 2017 / 3:06 AM / 16 minutes ago Southeast Asia''s Grab to get $2.5 billion extra firepower in battle with Uber Aradhana Aravindan 4 Min Read A woman uses her phone near a sign for the online ride-hailing service Grab at the Manggarai train station in Jakarta, Indonesia July 3, 2017. Agoes Rudianto SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Southeast Asian ride-hailing service Grab expects to raise $2.5 billion (1.92 billion) in a record round of fundraising to cement its lead over Uber Technolgies Inc [UBER.UL] in the region and grow its payments platform. Southeast Asia has become a key battleground for technology startups vying for a market of over 600 million people, with a burgeoning middle class as well as a youthful, internet-savvy demographic. Grab''s Chinese peer Didi Chuxing and Japan''s SoftBank Group Corp, both of which are existing investors, will contribute up to $2 billion to lead the current financing round, it said in its statement on Monday. The firm expects to raise an additional $500 million, bringing the total to $2.5 billion in this round, which it said would be the largest-ever single financing in Southeast Asia. Grab will be valued at more than $6 billion at the close of this round, according to a source close to company. The Singapore-headquartered company said it has a Southeast Asia market share of 95 percent in third-party taxi-hailing and 71 percent in private vehicle hailing. It operates private car, motorcycle, taxi and carpooling services across seven countries in the region, with 1.1 million drivers. "With their (Didi and SoftBank''s) support, Grab will achieve an unassailable market lead in ridesharing, and build on this to make GrabPay the payment solution of choice for Southeast Asia," Anthony Tan, group chief executive officer and co-founder of Grab, said in the statement. Building on soaring user numbers of its Grab ride-hailing app and GrabPay function, the five-year-old start-up aims to transform into a consumer technology firm that also offers loans, electronic money transfer and money-market funds. Grab bought Indonesian payment service Kudo earlier this year, and has said it is seeking more acquisitions to support rapid growth. "The heterogeneity of the banking system, multiple competitors in each country, and multiple regulations to meet are barriers to success," said analyst Rushabh Doshi at researcher Canalys. "However, given no single payment solution has been able to work across all S.E. Asian markets, Grab stands a good chance of building market share via its ride-sharing business model, and then extend the payments to other adjunct businesses," he said. Grab competes with the likes of Uber, the world''s largest ride-hailing service, and Indonesia''s Go-Jek. Tencent Holdings Ltd invested around $100 million to $150 million in Go-Jek, sources told Reuters earlier this month. Grab''s fundraising comes at a time when San Francisco-based Uber has been beset by complaints about its workplace culture, a federal inquiry into software to help drivers avoid police, and an intellectual property lawsuit by Waymo, the self-driving car unit of Google parent Alphabet Inc. Uber has been expected to increase its focus on India and Southeast Asia after retreating from China last year. Grab''s previous investors include sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp [CIC.UL], hedge fund Coatue Management LLC, venture capital firm GGV Capital, and Vertex Ventures Holdings - a subsidiary of Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings (Pte) Ltd [TEM.UL]. Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan; Editing by Christopher Cushing 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-grab-fundraising-idUKKBN1A9069'|'2017-07-24T09:10:00.000+03:00' +'e9dc85998210eb92de52414f6e4139817469969e'|'Pemex says Ku Maloob Zaap maintenance to cut output until Aug 4'|'July 28, 2017 / 3:00 PM / 3 hours ago Pemex says Ku Maloob Zaap maintenance to cut output until Aug 4 1 Min Read MEXICO CITY, July 28 (Reuters) - Mexico''s state-run oil company Pemex said on Friday that production at the Ku Maloob Zaap complex in the Gulf of Mexico will drop by 90,000 barrels per day from Friday until August 4 due to scheduled maintenance. (Reporting by Adriana Barrera) 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/mexico-pemex-idUSE1N1JG01S'|'2017-07-28T17:59:00.000+03:00' +'d717d684a15fc18cdf6b1e343d2f95491559ba6a'|'China''s Sanyuan Foods, Fosun to buy France''s St Hubert'|'July 28, 2017 / 4:40 PM / in 18 minutes China''s Sanyuan Foods, Fosun to buy France''s St Hubert Reuters Staff 3 Min Read SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Beijing Sanyuan Foods Co Ltd ( 600429.SS ) and Chinese conglomerate Fosun Group plan to buy French margarine maker St Hubert for 625 million euros (558 million pounds), the companies said on Friday. Sanyuan and Fosun said they had signed an agreement with European private equity firm Montagu to acquire Brassica TopCo S.A. and PPN Management SAS, which are controlling shareholders of St Hubert. Sources had told Reuters Western buyout funds had dropped out of the auction earlier. Montagu acquired St Hubert from Dairy Crest Plc for 430 million euros in 2012. Set up in 1904, it reported consolidated net turnover of 129 million euros in the 2016 financial year and has 213 employees. It has more than 40 percent market share in France and almost 70 percent in Italy. Under pressure to improve margins, global giant Unilever ( ULVR.L ) is preparing to spin out its own spreads business, a process which is expected to launch in the autumn with several international buyout funds seen bidding. The St Hubert deal comes even as Beijing scrutinises overseas acquisitions, which include everything from football clubs and hotels to mining firms and chemical makers, to rein in offshore spending by huge Chinese firms. "The proposed acquisition also introduces healthy and innovative foods into China and is aligned with the government''s policy to support and drive technological innovation," Fosun Chairman Guo Guangchang said in the statement. Fosun Group, China''s largest private conglomerate, recently said it had a few French consumer goods companies on its radar including ski resorts and amusement parks operator Compagnie des Alpes ( CDAF.PA ). It took control of Club Med in January 2015 after a fierce battle lasting nearly two years with Italian tycoon Andrea Bonomi, the longest takeover fight in French corporate history. The proposed deal will be submitted to St Hubert''s workers'' council and is subject to approval from relevant competition and regulatory authorities, the statement said. Trading in Sanyuan''s shares, suspended since July 17, will resume on Monday. Reporting by Lee Chyen Yee in Singapore and Meg Shen in Hong Kong; additional reporting by Dasha Afanasieva; editing by Susan Thomas 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-st-hubert-m-a-sanyuan-foods-idUKKBN1AD25Y'|'2017-07-28T19:39:00.000+03:00' +'843063760cfbb5d93c0b40c54cab16df2653a0d2'|'Snapchat sinks below IPO price for first time - Jul. 10, 2017'|'Snapchat sinks below IPO price for first time by Seth Fiegerman @sfiegerman July 10, 2017: 5:02 PM ET Pondering Snap''s IPO over laser tag and paintball All of Snapchat''s stock gains since going public have officially disappeared. Snap ( SNAP ) , the parent company of Snapchat, closed below its $17 IPO price on Monday for the first time since its shares went public in early March. The stock had previously flirted with that psychologically-important level last month, closing at exactly $17 on June 15. It fell to as low as $16.95 on Monday. Snap faces concerns about its disappointing user growth, mounting losses and the upcoming end of a stock lock-up period, which will open the door for insiders to sell their shares. The young company posted a staggering $2.2 billion loss in its first earnings report in May, and added just 8 million new daily active users during the quarter. Its stock fell as much as 25% overnight following that report. Snap is now trading 42% below its peak of $29 in March. Related: Meet Snapchat''s billionaires and millionaires In an investor note last month, Nomura Instinet analyst Anthony DiClemente sounded an alarm that third-party app download data suggests Snapchat''s daily active user growth will continue to slow down this quarter. Instagram, on the other hand, continues to grow. "Instagram''s strategy of replicating key aspects of Snap''s use case is bearing fruit, limiting Snap''s ability to attract new users," DiClemente wrote. Facebook ( FB , Tech30 ) has aggressively competed with Snapchat in recent months by launching copycat features in Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram and its flagship app. Once the lockup period expires later this month, Snap''s employees and early investors will be able sell their stock, potentially flooding the market with more Snap shares. That, according to DiClemente, may only push the stock lower. CNNMoney (New York) First published July 10, 2017: 5:02 PM ET'|'cnn.com'|'http://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_technology.rss'|'http://money.cnn.com/2017/07/10/technology/business/snapchat-stock-ipo-price/index.html'|'2017-07-11T01:02:00.000+03:00' +'8bcc54a8c739f6411fa1148d82cec1215c6060ff'|'Asian shares shrug off Trump controversy, look to Yellen'|'July 12, 2017 / 12:55 AM / 20 minutes ago Global stocks rally, dollar gains on Yellen''s remarks Herbert Lash 4 Min Read NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global equity markets rallied, with the Dow hitting a new high, the dollar gained and bond yields tumbled on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen dampened growing expectations of more than one interest rate hike later this year. In remarks to the House Committee on Financial Services, Yellen said the U.S. economy is strong enough to absorb further gradual rate increases and the slow wind down of the Fed''s massive bond portfolio. The testimony depicted an economy that is growing, albeit slowly, and continues to add jobs as it benefits from steady household consumption and a recent jump in business investment. Given current estimates, the federal funds rate "would not have to rise all that much further" to reach a neutral level that neither encourages nor discourages economic activity, Yellen said in her prepared testimony. Equities markets rose on the view the Fed''s monetary policy is not going to be as aggressive as some had anticipated, said Larry Hatheway, chief economist at asset management firm GAM. "The Fed isn''t really going to upset the apple cart," Hatheway said. "There''s some softening here of what the Fed is going to do at least around rates. It doesn''t necessarily answer the question around its balance sheet." MSCI''s gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD PUS gained 0.90 percent while the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading regional shares .FTEU3 rose 1.64 percent and emerging market stocks rose 1.10 percent. . On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 130.65 points, or 0.61 percent, to 21,539.72, above a high set July 3. The S&P 500 .SPX gained 16.44 points, or 0.68 percent, to 2,441.97 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 57.55 points, or 0.93 percent, to 6,250.86. Bond yields, which move in reverse of price, fell sharply. The Federal Reserve Board Chairwoman Janet Yellen testifies before a House Financial Services Committee hearing covering monetary policy on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 12, 2017. Aaron P. Bernstein The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield fell to 2.302 percent US10YT=RR, its lowest in two weeks, before paring some gains to trade at 2.3141. At the front-end of the curve, the two-year yield US2YT=RR dropped as low as 1.331 percent from 1.379 percent on Tuesday and last traded at 1.3470 percent. Germany''s 10-year government bond yield fell to 0.515 percent DE10YT=TWEB. The dollar, which fell against the euro soon after the release of Yellen''s prepared remarks, reversed course and was trading near session highs against the common currency, as government bond yields in the euro area fell. People walk through the lobby of the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 25, 2015. Suzanne Plunkett The dollar index .DXY rose 0.11 percent, with the euro EUR= down 0.42 percent to $1.1417. The Japanese yen strengthened 0.64 percent to trade at 113.20 per dollar. Spot gold XAU= was up 0.23 percent at $1,220.11 an ounce. Oil futures pared gains despite a bigger-than-expected decline in U.S. crude stocks as the drawdown was not as big as reported by the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday. U.S. crude inventories fell 7.6 million barrels last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said, much more than the 2.9 million-barrel crude draw forecast but slightly less than the 8.1 million-barrel decline reported by the API. U.S. crude CLcv1 rose 1.02 percent to $45.50 per barrel and Brent LCOcv1 was last at $47.80, up 0.59 percent on the day. Reporting by Herbert Lash; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idINKBN19X03O'|'2017-07-12T03:51:00.000+03:00' +'ca532a75702e0b9919a52462197daef110ecdf46'|'Goldman''s bond trading slumps 40 percent'|'July 18, 2017 / 11:58 AM / 2 hours ago Goldman''s bond trading revenue slumps 40 percent Olivia Oran and Sweta Singh 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A view of the Goldman Sachs stall on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, U.S. on July 16, 2013. Brendan McDermid/File Photo (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc reported a 40 percent drop in bond trading revenue during its second-quarter earnings, mirroring a broader weakness in trading activity that has plagued big U.S. banks. Overall revenue was roughly flat, however, as gains in investing and lending and asset management helped offset the trading slump, and the bank topped Wall Street earnings estimates. Goldman''s revenue from trading fixed income, currency and commodities fell to $1.16 billion from $1.93 billion the same quarter a year earlier, when trading activity had surged around the Brexit vote. The fifth-largest U.S. bank by assets is typically more reliant on bond trading revenue than its peers and has remained committed to the business even as others backed away amid increased regulatory scrutiny since the 2007-2009 financial crisis. Goldman''s decline in bond trading was far worse than JPMorgan Chase & Co''s 19 percent fall and Citigroup Inc''s 6 percent drop, leading to Goldman''s weakest fixed-income results since the fourth quarter of 2015. Some of Goldman''s other businesses performed better, including equities which rose 8 percent to $1.89 billion to mark its best results since the second quarter of 2015. Investing and lending, which includes investments Goldman makes across the bank, jumped 42 percent. The bank has been working to cut its reliance on trading and shift to more stable businesses like investment management. That division generated revenue of $1.53 billion, up 13 percent from the year-ago quarter. Goldman''s earnings per share rose to $3.95 as the number of shares outstanding fell nearly 6 percent. It topped analysts'' average estimate of $3.39 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Investment banking revenue fell 3 percent to $1.73 billion as dealmaking and capital raising slowed slightly. The bank has also pushed into consumer lending, launching an online platform called Marcus in 2016. The Wall Street bank''s net income applicable to common shareholders was nearly flat at $1.63 billion in the quarter. Total revenue, including net interest income, fell 0.6 percent to $7.89 billion. Goldman''s operating expenses fell about 2 percent to $5.38 billion. The lender''s return on equity was 8.7 percent. Analysts typically like to see a bank produce returns of at least 10 percent to meet its cost of capital. Shares of Goldman, a Dow component, were down 0.6 percent in premarket trading. The stock has been the worst performing among shares of the six large U.S. banks. Up to Monday''s close, it had lost 4.3 percent in value this year, significantly underperforming the broader S&P 500 Financial Index, which has gained 6.7 percent. The company''s arch rival Morgan Stanley is expected to report results on Wednesday. Reporting by Sweta Singh in Bengaluru and Olivia Oran in New York; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Meredith Mazzilli 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-goldman-sachs-results-idUKKBN1A316T'|'2017-07-18T14:58:00.000+03:00' +'4816da1a201063c26427cbf139f21e97d006c007'|'Iran to sign new IPC gas deal with Total for South Pars on Monday - official'|'Business News - Sun Jul 2, 2017 - 2:07pm BST Iran to sign new IPC gas deal with Total for South Pars on Monday DUBAI Iran plans to sign a new contract to develop its giant South Pars gas field with France''s Total ( TOTF.PA ) and China''s CNPC on Monday, the first major Western energy investment since sanctions against Tehran were lifted, an Iranian oil ministry official told Reuters on Sunday. A spokesman for Total confirmed the company will sign the contract to produce gas for the Iranian market from 2021, adding that the 20-year deal with will be the first Iranian Petroleum Contract (IPC) signed in Iran. Total holds a 50.1 interest in the South Pars project with state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation owning 30 percent and Iran''s Petropars 19.9 percent. The offshore field was first developed in the 1990s and Total was one of the biggest investors in Iran until the international sanctions were imposed in 2006 over suspicions that Tehran was trying to develop nuclear arms. Total has decided to return and develop Phase 11 of the South Pars project, which will cost up to $5 billion. "The international contract for development of Phase 11 of South Pars in the framework of IPC (Iranian Petroleum Contract) will be signed on Monday, July 3, at 14:30, at a ceremony in Tehran attended by Iranian oil minister Zanganeh and senior officials from Frances Total, Chinas CNPCI and Iran''s Petropars," the Iranian oil ministry official said. Total''s Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne told Reuters last month that the group would make an initial $1 billion investment after the United States extended sanctions relief under the 2015 agreement. Iran, the third largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, hopes its new IPC contracts will attract foreign companies and boost oil and gas production after years of under-investment. The vast offshore gas field is shared between Iran and Qatar, where Total is also a major player in gas production as well as in oil and refining. Tehran calls the giant field South Pars while Doha calls it the North Field. (Reporting by Rania El Gamal; Additional reporting by Bate Felix in Paris; Editing by Andrew Torchia and Elaine Hardcastle)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iran-total-deal-idUKKBN19N0CZ'|'2017-07-02T13:33:00.000+03:00' +'f8ecb3737ba2d385850d905c043f0c85d552cd29'|'RPT-COLUMN-Renewed slide in oil price will test U.S. shale profits: Kemp'|'(Repeats with no changes to text. John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)* Chart: tmsnrt.rs/2uxKwbbBy John KempLONDON, July 7 U.S. independent oil and gas producers came close to breaking even during the first quarter of 2017 thanks to aggressive cost cutting and improvements in well productivity.Some shale producers claim they can drill wells profitably at prices well below $50 per barrel and in some cases below $40.But Harold Hamm, chief executive of Continental Resources , a major producer in North Dakota and Oklahoma, has said oil prices need to be above $50 to be sustainable.Prices below $40 would force producers to idle rigs again, he said in a recent interview (Harold Hamm warns oil prices below $40 will idle U.S. drilling, CNBC, June 28).The renewed drop in oil prices, unless quickly reversed, looks set to put these conflicting claims to the test.Fifteen independent producers with operations focused on the United States reported a combined net loss of $3.7 billion in the first three months of 2017 ( tmsnrt.rs/2uxKwbb ).But most of the losses were attributable to Marathon Oil, which reported a net loss of $4.9 billion, mostly as a result of an impairment charge linked to its Canadian oil sands businesses.The other fourteen companies in the sample reported total net income of almost $1.3 billion, up from a loss of $9.9 billion in the first quarter of 2016.Ten companies in the sample reported positive net income during the first quarter, up from just two in the previous quarter and none in the first quarter of 2016.Financial performance for the companies in the sample has been steadily improving since losses peaked at $23 billion in the third quarter of 2015.Shale producers have benefited from a combination of cost reductions, improvements in drilling efficiency and well productivity, and a significant increase in oil and gas prices.The average price of WTI, the domestic benchmark, rose from $33 per barrel in the first quarter of 2016 to $52 in the first quarter of 2017.The average price of gas delivered to Henry Hub rose from just $2 per million British thermal units to $3.07 over the same period.But benchmark oil prices fell by 7 percent in the second quarter, though gas prices were up 2 percent. Both oil and gas prices have slid so far in the third quarter.Given the precarious profitability of oil producers in the first quarter when oil prices were above $50, the slide in WTI during the second and third quarters will renew the pressure on drilling firms.Unless there are further exceptional write-downs, the sample group may be able to increase their net income in the second quarter despite the fall in prices.Many, though not all, shale producers have hedged the price of their output for the remainder of 2017 which gives them some protection in the short-term against the downturn.But very little production has been hedged so far for 2018. The current calendar strip means hedging is only possible for 2018 at a WTI price of around $47 - and many shale producers will actually receive less. (Editing by Edmund Blair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-shale-kemp-idUSL8N1JY2XN'|'2017-07-08T09:00:00.000+03:00' +'e86a02243556fecf4fee06c27faeeb947aa48104'|'Record number of advisers quit London''s AIM market, study finds'|'July 23, 2017 / 11:02 PM / 20 minutes ago Record number of advisers quit London''s AIM market, study finds 3 Min Read LONDON, July 24 (Reuters) - Companies leaving London''s junior stock market because a broker or investment bank has quit as their adviser has hit a record this year, an accountancy firm specialising in the sector said. Fourteen companies left London''s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in the year to June 30 after the resignation of their "nominated adviser", known as NOMADs. This matches the highest total and is up from just three in 2011/2, the study released on Monday by UHY Hacker Young, an accountancy firm that audits more than 20 firms on the index, found. NOMADs are responsible for ensuring their clients follow the rules of the AIM market, as well as often providing share dealing and research on the company. "AIM is facing a real crunch among NOMADs, with many brokers and investment banks reducing their exposure to riskier parts of the junior market," Laurence Sacker, managing partner at UHY Hacker Young, said of the report''s findings. "This is particularly affecting smaller or more complex AIM-listed businesses, or those based in emerging economies, as NOMADs are deciding that they are unable to take the responsibility the stock exchange requires." Advisers quit for a number of different reasons, Sacker said, but added "the most likely reason is they have lost trust in the company''s management." AIM-listed companies must replace a resigned adviser within a month, or face being removed from the index. High profile delistings in the last year include Sable Mining, whose NOMAD Cantor Fitzgerald resigned in September after its CEO was indicted for corruption in Liberia. The index, hosted at the London Stock Exchange, has struggled with its large number of Chinese listings, with a 2016 survey finding two thirds of NOMADs had faced difficulties communicating with Asian companies. A number of Chinese companies, including LED International and Asia Ceramics Holdings, have been delisted from the index after their NOMADs resigned. Earlier in July, the London Stock Exchange launched a consultation on AIM, proposing NOMADs work harder to improve their due diligence of companies they take on as clients. The average AIM stock has failed to return investors money, with the index falling 4.4 pct since it launched in 1995, according to Reuters data. That compares to a gain of more than 400 percent for the FTSE 250 over the same period. (Reporting by Alasdair Pal; editing by Alexander Smith) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/exchange-aim-idUSL3N1KB514'|'2017-07-24T02:00:00.000+03:00' +'4b1cc89afb93b61ebdffee0a2af46e4bb597c88b'|'Russian court transfers tycoon Vekselberg''s aides to house arrest - lawyers'|'July 31, 2017 / 6:42 PM / 14 minutes ago Russian court transfers tycoon Vekselberg''s aides to house arrest - lawyers Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Chairman of the Board of Directors of Renova Group Viktor Vekselberg attends a session during the Week of Russian Business, organized by the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), in Moscow, Russia March 16, 2017. Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian court has ordered two senior executives of firms controlled by Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg to be moved from a detention centre, where they have been held since last year, to house arrest, their lawyers said on Monday. Russian law enforcement officers detained Evgeny Olkhovik, a managing director of Renova, and Boris Vainzikher, chief executive of Renova subsidiary T Plus, in September 2016 under a criminal case into allegations that executives in firms controlled by Vekselberg had bribed regional officials. The court has decided to transfer both managers to house arrest until Aug. 6, Anatoly Lukinykh, Olkhovik''s lawyer, told Reuters. Evgeny Rivkin, lawyers for Vainzikher, said the court had approved the house arrest until Aug 4-5. The court will then consider possible extension of house arrest, they added. Vekselberg''s Renova group, which has interests in telecoms, mining, and utilities, declined to comment. T Plus also declined to comment. Reporting by Svetlana Reiter; writing by Polina Devitt; editing by Richard Balmforth 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-vekselberg-idUKKBN1AG28X'|'2017-07-31T21:55:00.000+03:00' +'c9d8a4f1c6a9e4eee16cd621b6bd7036101aaf1f'|'Tesla drops after Musk warns of ''manufacturing hell'''|'July 31, 2017 / 5:50 PM / 19 minutes ago Tesla drops after Musk warns of ''manufacturing hell'' Noel Randewich 3 Min Read Customer employees receive some of the first Model 3 cars off the Fremont factory''s production line during an event at the company''s facilities in Fremont, California, U.S., July 28, 2017. Alexandria Sage SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Shares of Tesla dropped 3.5 percent on Monday after Chief Executive Elon Musk warned that the electric carmaker would face "manufacturing hell" as it ramps up production of its new mass-market Model 3 sedan. At a launch event on Friday, Musk said customers had made over half a million advance reservations for the Model 3 as he handed over the first 30 cars to employee buyers, setting the stage for a major test of Tesla''s strategy to become a profitable electric car maker. Tesla is counting on the Model 3 to help turn the cash-losing company into a profitable one and transform it from a niche player to a heavyweight in the automobile industry. Investors already skeptical of Tesla''s aggressive growth targets focused on a warning by Musk that early production would be challenging. Related Coverage Tesla workers ask for employee safety plan, clarity on pay "We''re going to go through at least six months of manufacturing hell," Musk told journalists ahead of the event. He later made similar comments on stage. Investors may get an idea of how "manufacturing hell" will affect Tesla''s rate of cash burn when the company posts its quarterly results on Wednesday. The Palo Alto, California company has spent over $2 billion in cash so far this year ahead of the launch. Tesla introduces one of the first Model 3 cars off the Fremont factory''s production line during an event at the company''s facilities in Fremont, California, U.S., July 28, 2017. Alexandria Sage Also on Monday, a group of workers at the Fremont, California factory where the Model 3 is made sent an open letter to the independent members Tesla''s board. The employees, who are trying to start a union, requested access to company safety plans and information on compensation. Tesla''s stock has gained 53 percent in 2017, although it is down from a record high in June. Tesla introduces Model 3 cars off the Fremont factory''s production line during an event at the company''s facilities in Fremont, California, U.S., July 28, 2017. Alexandria Sage The $35,000 Model 3 is designed for easy production, with output targeted to reach 20,000 per month by December. Tesla''s last launch was the luxury Model X SUV in 2015 which had several production problems and a price tag starting around $80,000. Tesla has promised to boost total car production to 500,000 vehicles next year, close to six times its 2016 output, a target that many auto industry experts believe is unrealistic. It sold 76,230 cars last year. At the event, Musk said the price of a Model 3 with all of available options could reach $59,000. That level could scare off potential Tesla customers, wrote Barclays analyst Brian Johnson in a note to clients. Tesla''s stock was down $11.85 at $323.21 at mid-afternoon. Reporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by Richard Chang 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-stock-idUSKBN1AG25R'|'2017-07-31T20:50:00.000+03:00' +'da08c4aa38938b1453268f1918e48dc001066c06'|'Kors needs to buckle down for Jimmy Choo deal to shine'|'The logo of Michael Kors is seen on an outlet store in Metzingen, Germany, June 16, 2017. Michaela Rehle (Reuters) - U.S. retailer Michael Kors ( KORS.N ) is betting that its acquisition of storied shoemaker Jimmy Choo will give sales a much-needed boost, but lingering problems at Kors'' core bag business could delay potential benefits.Kors said earlier this week it would buy Jimmy Choo for $1.2 billion and plans to expand the line by opening more stores, especially in Asia.Jimmy Choo, whose towering stilettos were made famous by characters in the popular TV series "Sex and the City," is synonymous with affluence, and somewhat at odds with Kors'' image of accessible luxury.It could be argued that Jimmy Choo will give Kors''s tumbling sales and stock a leg up, but experts said Kors'' expansion plans could dilute the shoemaker''s brandname."Revenue expansion doesn''t come from opening stores today, but figuring out how to unlock the e-commerce component and (Kors) haven''t proven that they get that either," said Eric Schiffer, CEO of private equity firm Patriarch Organization.Kors has made this mistake before.Once a seller of popular Mercer and Hamilton handbags, Kors put its wares too quickly on too many shelves, making them ubiquitous.Since then, the company has struggled to come up with designs that have caught the fancy of the well-heeled buyer, who have gravitated toward bags offered by Coach Inc ( COH.N ) and Tory Burch.Kors'' has been trying to stem the sales declines by expanding into dresses, menswear and online, but has had little success."If (Kors) had fixed their U.S. market, if they''d shown improvements there and then made this acquisition, people would be a lot more comfortable with it," said Gabriella Santaniello, analyst at A-Line partners."For (Jimmy Choo), I could see them opening in another market but I think that is what makes everyone nervous. It is like: "Look what they did with the Michael Kors brand, are they going to do that to Jimmy Choo?"Products are displayed in the window of the Jimmy Choo store in New York City, U.S., April 24, 2017. Brendan McDermid Multibrand Strategy Kors'' rival Coach Inc ( COH.N ) faced similar problems not so long ago.But Coach responded quickly, by tightening supplies to department stores to regain its luxury cachet, before diversifying with the buyout of upscale shoemaker Stuart Weitzman in 2015.The company recently bought smaller rival Kate Spade, whose products are a hit with millennials.Both retailers seem to be looking to emulate the successful multibrand strategy employed by European companies LVMH ( LVMH.PA ) and Kering SA ( PRTP.PA ), where cash flows from one large brand are reinvested into smaller but faster growing ones.These two companies have grown into luxury powerhouses by buying multiple luxury brands such as Christian Dior, Tag Heuer, Gucci, and Alexander McQueen.Kors'' CEO John Idol said the company would look to grow by buying more globally recognized luxury brands like Jimmy Choo."... we are really looking to build an international luxury company and less so brands that ... have a greater reliance on wholesale than its own retail strategy," he said on a conference call on Tuesday.Idol said Jimmy Choo would be run independently with minimal interference from Kors'' management and that he doesn''t want the two brands to be linked with each other.But analysts said while this could be the right approach for Coach, which has a creative, forward-thinking team, it could overwhelm Kors, at least initially.Kors will need to have a deep understanding of demand, it will have to innovate to drive excitement, maintain the trueness of the brands it acquires, and little or no overlap with other brands in its portfolio, said Jason Green, CEO of customer strategy firm Cambridge Group.For now at least, analysts said, Kors should be looking to walk before it runs.Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan and Siddharth Cavale in Bengaluru; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-jimmy-choo-m-a-kors-strategy-idUSKBN1AD22S'|'2017-07-28T18:58:00.000+03:00' +'584deabd8eae7a97eb6582b10d6f4f717c461578'|'Qualcomm''s profit slumps amid Apple battle'|'July 19, 2017 / 8:21 PM / 19 minutes ago Qualcomm''s profit slumps amid Apple battle 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Qualcomm''s logo is seen during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, February 28, 2017. Eric Gaillard/File Photo (Reuters) - Qualcomm Inc ( QCOM.O ) reported a 40 percent slump in quarterly profit as its escalating patent battle with Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) took a toll on its business. Shares of the company were down 2.3 percent at $55.40 after the bell on Wednesday. The chipmaker said its results took a hit as Apple''s contract manufacturers did not pay royalties due on sales of Apple products. There has been long-running tension between the company and the iPhone maker over Qualcomm''s practice of taking a cut of the total price of the phone in exchange for modem chips, which connect phones to wireless networks. Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) first sued the chipmaker in January, accusing it of overcharging for chips and refusing to pay some $1 billion in promised rebates. Since then both companies have filed a series of lawsuits against each other. Qualcomm''s patent-licensing practices have also come under scrutiny from governments across the world and other customers. The company said third-quarter results included a reduction in operating cash flow due to a $940 million payment to BlackBerry Ltd ( BB.TO ) and a $927 million payment related to the Korea Free Trade Commission (KFTC) fine, in addition to the payments withheld by Apple to its contract manufacturers. Qualcomm forecast current-quarter adjusted profit of 75 cents to 85 cents per share and revenue of $5.4 billion to 6.2 billion. Analysts were expecting an adjusted profit of 90 cents per share and revenue of $5.48 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Net income attributable to the company fell to $866 million, or 58 cents per share, in the third quarter ended June 25 from $1.44 billion, or 97 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue fell 11.1 percent to $5.4 billion. ( bit.ly/2uAg96t ) Excluding items, the company earned 83 cents per share. Analysts had expected a profit of 81 cents per share. Reporting by Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-qualcomm-results-idINKBN1A42DT'|'2017-07-19T23:44:00.000+03:00' +'9c0d041da63d9a41da42749066be40a00696ce93'|'Belarussian investor seeks to buy Sberbank''s Ukraine subsidiary'|'KIEV, July 3 Belarussian investor Viktor Prokopenya is looking to buy the Ukrainian subsidiary of Russia''s biggest bank Sberbank and has asked the central bank to approve the deal, Ukraine''s central bank said on Monday.Prokopenya aims to acquire 100 percent of the Ukrainian subsidiary via Belarussian Paritetbank, the central bank said in a statement.Ukraine recently imposed sanctions on Sberbank and other Russian state-owned banks operating in Ukraine in response to tensions over pro-Russian secessionists in eastern Ukraine.Sberbank Chief Executive German Gref said in March the bank was looking "very actively" at options for a quick exit from Ukraine. Sberbank also said it had reached a preliminary agreement to sell the subsidiary to a Russian consortium.In April, Ukraine''s central bank said that Said Gutseriev, a son of Mikhail Gutseriyev, co-owner of Russian mid-sized oil producer Russneft, had submitted a proposal to buy 77.5 percent of Sberbank''s Ukrainian subsidiary, while Grigory Guselnikov, the main shareholder of Latvian Norvik Bank, had bid for the remaining 22.5 percent.Ukrainian law allows the central bank to analyse potential buyers'' proposals for three months. The regulator has not yet announced a decision on applications of Gutseriyev and Guselnikov.VP Capital company, founded by Prokopenya, has said it is working on a number of investment projects with the Larnabel Enterprises fund of the Gutseriev family.Asked about the link with Gutserievs bid, Prokopenya said: "Our applications are independent."Sberbank was not immediately available to comment outside business hours on Monday. (Reporting by Natalia Zinets. Additional reporting by Andrei Makhovsky in Minsk. Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/russia-sberbank-ukraine-idUSL8N1JU4QT'|'2017-07-03T22:37:00.000+03:00' +'b664697662609ad178b828b8d9aa70a2b9689f82'|'KKR to pay $66.50 per share for WebMD -source'|'July 24, 2017 / 10:33 AM / 2 hours ago KKR to buy WebMD in $2.8 billion deal Ankur Banerjee 3 Min Read (Reuters) - Private equity firm KKR & Co has agreed to buy WebMD Health Corp in a deal valued at about $2.8 billion, bringing a slew of popular online health information websites under one umbrella. The deal comes five months after New York-based WebMD said it would explore strategic options amid a slowdown in advertising paid for by pharmaceutical companies. KKR will fold WebMD''s websites, including WebMD.com and Medscape.com, into its Internet Brands unit, which houses sites such as DentalPlans.com and AllAboutCounseling.com. KKR will pay $66.50 per share, a premium of 20.5 percent to WebMD''s Friday closing and 33 percent higher than the stock''s trading price at the start of the year. WebMD''s shares were trading at $65.98, just shy of the offer. Analysts said the deal price was higher than expected, adding that WebMD was a good fit for Internet Brands'' portfolio. "We are pleasantly surprised by the premium valuation, given the flat growth expected," Cowen & Co analyst Charles Rhyee wrote in a note. "We think the valuation may imply that we and consensus may be too conservative." Founded in 1996, WebMD has grown into one of the most popular health websites for consumers and medical professionals, attracting more than 70 million monthly unique visitors in 2016, according to analytics company comScore Inc. Co-CEO of KKR, Henry R. Kravis at Trump Tower in New York, U.S., January 12, 2017. Mike Segar WebMD''s Medscape, a medical news and education website, accounted for about 60 percent of the company''s advertising revenue in 2016. Internet Brands, which launched as CarsDirect.com in 1998, licenses and delivers its content and internet technology products and services to small and medium-sized businesses. It was acquired by KKR in 2014 for $1.1 billion from two other private equity firms, Hellman & Friedman LLC and JMI Equity. Reuters reported on Sunday that KKR was nearing a deal to buy the online health information provider. WebMD also announced preliminary second-quarter sales that topped the average analyst estimate. The strong results highlight a rebound in regulatory drug approvals in the United States and Europe so far this year, KeyBanc Capital Markets analysts said. "This is driving biopharma advertising demand and provides a positive read going into the second quarter reporting season for companies linked to the marketing of newly approved drugs." J.P. Morgan Securities LLC was WebMD''s financial adviser, while Shearman & Sterling LLP was its legal adviser. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP was Internet Brands'' legal adviser. Reporting by Ankur Banerjee Saumyadeb Chakrabarty 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-webmd-m-a-kkr-idUSKBN1A915Y'|'2017-07-24T13:18:00.000+03:00' +'942fc2fe499c3ffac9e7273b04d918efa37c1a1c'|'Exclusive: India considers private cars for ridesharing to cut traffic'|'Technology News - Wed Jul 5, 2017 - 10:19am EDT Exclusive: India considers private cars for ridesharing to cut traffic FILE PHOTO: An employee walks inside the office of ride-hailing service Uber in Gurugram, previously known as Gurgaon, on the outskirts of New Delhi, India April 19, 2016. REUTERS/Anindito Mukherjee/File Photo By Aditi Shah - NEW DELHI NEW DELHI India is examining the use of private vehicles as shared taxis in an effort to reduce car ownership and curb growing traffic congestion in major cities, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. India''s federal think-tank, which is chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has partnered with companies including ride-sharing firm Uber Technologies [UBER.UL] to assess the economic and environmental impact of using private cars as taxis, a government official involved in the process said. Increasing the availability of cars that can be used as cabs would be welcome news for Uber and its SoftBank ( 9984.T ) backed local rival Ola, although it could heighten tensions with taxi operators that typically pay higher fees for commercial licences while facing more rigorous vehicle testing. India''s government wants to reduce private car ownership, the official said, adding the three-month study will look at the safety, regulatory, tax and insurance implications. While the study is in its early days, the broad idea is to set up a clear and reasonable regulatory framework for ride-sharing so it allows companies to operate in India without ambiguity, another source involved in the process said. Although Uber is allowed to use private cars for ride sharing in countries such as Australia and Singapore, their use has faced opposition from taxi operators in parts of North America. An Uber spokesman said sharing private vehicles can help cut congestion and ensure more efficient use of cars. "We are engaging with a range of stakeholders in India about the best way to realize this vision," he said. CAR SALES IMPACT But such a move could dent car sales in India where the ownership ratio is already low compared with other countries. There are fewer than 20 cars for every 1,000 people in India. Maruti Suzuki ( MRTI.NS ), Hyundai Motor ( 005380.KS ) and Tata Motors ( TAMO.NS ) are among the top-selling carmakers in the country, which is forecast to be the world''s third-largest car market by 2020. Uber and Ola have built their taxi "fleets" in India by offering incentives such as free smartphones and cash bonuses to drivers, but both are now cutting back on these in an attempt to be profitable. Allowing the use of private cars as taxis would improve the supply of vehicles at a low cost, say analysts. "If most of these cars are affiliated with Ola and Uber then it''s a win for them," Neil Shah, research director at consultant Counterpoint Research, said. The proposal, however, could antagonize current drivers, who have paid hefty fees to get a commercial taxi license. Concerns around the safety of passengers would also need to be addressed, said Shah, adding that any new law must ensure private car drivers go through the same background and safety checks. (Editing by Alexander Smith) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-ridesharing-exclusive-idUSKBN19Q1MC'|'2017-07-05T15:56:00.000+03:00' +'7ebdc62f789bd942119231b3402cd7277efe4165'|'Google, Facebook show power of ad duopoly as rivals stumble'|'July 28, 2017 / 4:10 PM / in 4 hours Google, Facebook show power of ad duopoly as rivals stumble David Ingram 6 Min Read A record store advertises their presence on Facebook in their shop window in Somerville, Massachusetts, U.S., July 25, 2017. Brian Snyder SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Quarterly results from Alphabet Inc ( GOOGL.O ) and Facebook Inc ( FB.O ) provided fresh evidence this week that the digital advertising market is effectively a duopoly, a dynamic with deep implications for two of Silicon Valley''s titans. Alphabet, the owner of Google and YouTube, and Facebook, the world''s largest social network, each produced billions in profits during the most recent quarter and enjoyed steep revenue increases, while smaller rivals such as Snap Inc ( SNAP.N ) and Twitter Inc ( TWTR.N ) struggle to maintain growth and reduce losses. This year, the Big Two in internet advertising are expected to take half of all revenue worldwide, and more than 60 percent in the United States, according to research firm eMarketer. In the U.S. market, no other digital ad platform has market share above 5 percent. Google suffered a minor blip in earnings due to higher payments to mobile carriers and others for search traffic. But efforts by Verizon and other network operators to compete for mobile ad dollars have had little impact thus far. Independent advertising technology companies such as Rubicon Project ( RUBI.N ) and Rocket Fuel ( FUEL.O ) have also found it tough to compete. Advertisers are flocking to Facebook and Google because they reach billions of people and have a wealth of data that can be deployed for targeted marketing. Their growing dominance, however, raises questions about how they will use their billions in profits to maintain growth when the advertising market as a whole is expanding only modestly. "Digital advertising will soon be approaching a point of saturation, indicating that there are limits to growth which may not be fully accounted for by the investment community," Brian Wieser, senior analyst at Pivotal Research, said in a client note this week. The advent of a duopoly is also spurring concerns about monopolistic practices. Google this month set aside $2.7 billion to pay a record European Union antitrust fine for favoring its shopping service in search results, and it faces two additional investigations in Europe. Facebook declined to comment on Friday. In the past, the company has rejected the idea that it is part of a duopoly, saying that it competes against more than just digital platforms and has less than 5 percent of the overall advertising market. Alphabet did not reply to requests for comment. Video Gold Video is one market that Facebook and Google both view as a crucial new frontier. With huge investments planned, the companies are preparing to do to the television advertising business what they have long since done to traditional print advertising: namely, take much of it for themselves. A Google logo is seen in a store in Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 24, 2017. Lucy Nicholson YouTube has been rolling out new series with stars such as Ellen DeGeneres and Kevin Hart, and says that the service''s overall 1.5 billion viewers watch, on average, 60 minutes a day on their phones and tablets. Facebook is expected to launch original video series of its own within weeks, after signing deals with companies such as Vox Media and BuzzFeed. Facebook''s Instagram unit is also becoming a bigger producer of revenue, with video likely to be a big part of the mix. Already, many advertisers feel they cannot ignore the massive reach of YouTube. Some big advertisers launched a boycott of YouTube this year after their ads appeared alongside videos from Islamic extremists, yet there was no evidence from Alphabet''s earnings report on Monday that it had any impact on revenues. "Marketers aren''t going to get fired for hiring Facebook and Google," said Harry Kargman, chief executive of Kargo, which manages digital marketing for media companies including Time Inc ( TIME.N ). Antitrust Risk Other owners of digital ad inventory are feeling the squeeze. This month, an alliance of U.S. news organizations started a lobbying campaign for an exemption from antitrust law that would allow them to coordinate their negotiations with Google and Facebook, although such requests from other industries generally have not succeeded. Consumer advocates worry about the giants snuffing out competition. "All of the major technology companies should be on alert that people are a bit spooked and unsettled about their size and their ability to expand into new markets," said Gene Kimmelman, president of Public Knowledge, a nonprofit that advocates for an open internet. Size is not by itself an antitrust concern, and neither is the ability to quash competitors, even through copying as Facebook has done with rival app Snapchat. Facebook and Google are not under U.S. antitrust investigation. Still, the prospect of a future probe could still affect their business strategies. "As long as they toe the line and stay in the market position they''re in, it''s going to be kind of hard to go after them under the existing antitrust laws," said Herbert Hovenkamp, a University of Pennsylvania professor of antitrust law. But acquisitions, he said, would be another matter. "Even a merger between Facebook or Google and a smaller rival would probably be looked at very closely," Hovenkamp said. Reporting by David Ingram; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Nick Zieminski 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-alphabet-facebook-analysis-idUSKBN1AD1ZY'|'2017-07-28T19:10:00.000+03:00' +'7d4a8ef042c8de4d4293bbc6d38118aa63aef17b'|'UK shoppers spend more on essentials as inflation rises'|'July 10, 2017 / 11:06 PM / 2 hours ago UK shoppers spend more on essentials as inflation rises Reuters Staff 3 Min Read Shoppers browse aisles in a supermarket in London, Britain April 11, 2017. Neil Hall LONDON (Reuters) - British households spent more money on food and other essentials last month but held back on less urgent purchases as they faced rising prices, two sets of industry figures showed on Tuesday. The data is likely to add to concerns that consumer demand has slowed further after a weak first quarter, as the effect of the fall in the pound after last year''s vote to leave the European Union increasingly makes itself felt. Payments company Barclaycard said year-on-year consumer spending growth slowed to a 15-month low of 2.5 percent in June from 2.8 percent in May, as spending on household goods and entertainment slowed. The British Retail Consortium said its measure of retail spending growth rose to 2.0 percent last month from 0.2 percent in May, above its average of 1.4 percent in the past six months. But the BRC''s chief executive, Helen Dickinson, said the pick-up reflected a temporary boost from warmer weather lifting clothing sales, as well as the higher cost of food. "Rising food prices are responsible for the main component of growth and have prompted more cautious spending towards discretionary non-food items," she said. On a like-for-like basis, which strips out changes in store size, the BRC said sales increased by 1.4 percent year-on-yaer after a 0.4 percent drop in May. The Barclaycard and BRC figures are not adjusted for inflation, which is running at a near four-year high of 2.9 percent according to the consumer prices index. As a result, consumer spending''s contribution to second-quarter economic growth - which is adjusted for inflation - may be limited. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has said that the extent to which consumer spending slows - and whether stronger exports and investment can compensate for this - will be important in determining if the BoE starts to raise rates. Three policymakers voted last month for a rate rise, and both Carney and his chief economist Andy Haldane have said they could vote for a rate rise later this year. But weakening business surveys over the past week have made many economists doubt the BoE will press ahead with its first rate rise in a decade at a time when the shape of Britain''s Brexit deal is highly uncertain. Barclaycard said its data showed shoppers were increasingly going to discount supermarkets and looking for bargains online as they "come to terms with a ''new normal'' of subdued wage growth and creeping inflation". Spending on necessities had outpaced non-essentials for most of this year, in contrast to previous years. The BRC said sales of clothing, beauty products and outdoor toys were strong last month - reflecting warm weather and the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr. But spending on home furnishings dropped, possibly reflecting a slowing housing market. Reporting by David Milliken, editing by Andy Bruce 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-retail-idUKKBN19V2TH'|'2017-07-11T02:05:00.000+03:00' +'b31bdbb06cc0650f49d70faa0a77b58b4f96ae4e'|'With new Camry, Toyota eyes bigger share of ailing U.S. sedan market'|'July 10, 2017 / 11:32 AM / in 7 hours With new Camry, Toyota eyes bigger share of ailing U.S. sedan market 2 Min Read Moritaka Yoshida, president of Toyota''s mid-size vehicle company, and Masato Katsumata, chief engineer of Toyota''s Camry, walk after posing with Toyota Camry sedan at a news conference for the car''s unveiling in Japan, in Tokyo, Japan July 10, 2017. Toru Hanai TOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp on Monday said it was committed to the ailing U.S. sedan market and that it expected a new model of its Camry, the top-selling passenger car in the United States for decades, to help boost the company''s sales in the segment. The automaker said it was "inconceivable" that mid-size sedans would disappear from the market, and that any move by its rivals to stop selling what was once among the most popular vehicles would allow Toyota to boost its presence. Cheap U.S. gasoline prices have prompted drivers to opt for larger SUVs and pick-up trucks. Automakers have been scrambling to meet this growing demand and, as a result, sedans have been losing their share of the U.S. market for new car sales - at 38 percent now versus around 44 percent in 2015. "If other automakers left the sedan market to focus more on SUVs, that would be an opportunity to expand our market share of the segment," Camry''s chief engineer, Masato Katsumata, said at the launch of the latest Camry model in Japan. Sedans and smaller models are a key U.S. sales segment for Toyota. In the first half of 2017, they accounted for about 43.5 percent of Toyota''s total sales, versus 48.6 percent a year ago. Toyota is targeting monthly U.S. sales of 30,000 Camrys after the new model goes on sale in August. In June, it sold 29,463 units of the current Camry model in the United States, down 9.5 percent from a year ago. "Sedans are not a growth segment these days, but we want the new Camry to rehabilitate the segment," said Moritaka Yoshida, president of Toyota''s in-house mid-size vehicle company. Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Himani Sarkar 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/toyota-strategy-idINKBN19V191'|'2017-07-10T14:28:00.000+03:00' +'f291318b9ca55e69952ed5cf8fb7a63670f2dd69'|'Japan''s NEC considers buying Civica for $1.2 billion - Sky News'|'July 13, 2017 / 7:50 PM / an hour ago Japan''s NEC considers buying Civica for $1.2 billion: Sky News Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A logo of NEC Corp is pictured at CEATEC (Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies) JAPAN 2016 at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan, October 3, 2016. Toru Hanai (Reuters) - Japanese information technology company NEC Corp ( 6701.T ) is looking at buying British software firm Civica for 900 million pounds ($1.2 billion) and has hired advisors to work on an offer, Sky News reported. An auction for Civica, one of the UK''s biggest public sector software providers, began several weeks ago and has drawn initial offers from three private equity firms - London-based BC Partners, Berkshire Partners and the Swiss-based Partners Group ( PGHN.S ), Sky News said, citing an industry source. A spokesman for NEC said the company is "always considering a wide range of business possibilities, but that nothing has been decided at this time." Representatives for Civica were not immediately available for comment outside regular business hours. OMERS Private Equity acquired Civica from 3i in 2013 for 390 million pounds, according to Thomson Reuters LPC data. Civica provides outsourcing services to government organizations and local authorities around the world, from running most of the UK police force''s automatic number plate recognition system to Singapore''s public library management system. NEC provides a broad range of systems and software services for both the public and private sector. Recent contracts include the provision of its facial recognition system to the UK''s South Wales Police force and one to integrate internal systems for the city of Lisbon. The Japanese firm sold most of its stake in its PC joint venture with Lenovo Group ( 0992.HK ) last year, a part of a broader trend of Japanese companies shedding struggling hardware businesses. NEC shares were flat in morning trade in Tokyo, compared with a 0.1 percent rise in the benchmark Nikkei share price index .N225 . Reporting by Mekhla Raina in Bengaluru and Sam Nussey in Tokyo; Editing by Edmund Blair and Edwina Gibbs 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-civica-m-a-nec-idUKKBN19Y2NN'|'2017-07-14T06:32:00.000+03:00' +'256d6b70e156fe487c50715da4fcc16ae9904148'|'Compass posts 3.9 pct rise in organic revenue on strength in U.S.'|'July 26, 2017 / 6:12 AM / in an hour Compass posts 3.9 pct rise in organic revenue on strength in U.S. 1 Min Read July 26 - Compass Group Plc, the world''s biggest catering firm, reported a 3.9 percent rise in quarterly organic revenue, helped by strong growth in the United States. Compass, which provides meals for office workers, members of the armed forces and schoolchildren across the world, also maintained its full-year margin expectations on Wednesday. Reporting by Esha Vaish and Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Edmund Blair 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/compass-group-results-idUSL3N1KH2CT'|'2017-07-26T09:12:00.000+03:00' +'b73bb02a7f309de8cc91c534b977dc105a342231'|'Hollywood studios dip their toes in virtual reality'|'OUTSIDE a squat grey building in Santa Monica, the California sun melts the tar. Inside, in a dark room roughly the size of a small shipping container, two men are exploring the world by means of virtual reality (VR). They squash spiders in an abandoned temple, hit a home run at Yankee Stadium and float through a Blade Runner-esque landscape, all in the span of eight minutes. It feels much longer than that, and also shortertime is hard to grasp in VR.The creator of the experience is Walter Parkes, a former boss of DreamWorks Pictures, a film studio, who last year co-founded Dreamscape Immersive. The startup plans a chain of VR multiplex cinemas offering ten-minute interactive experiences for around $15 each. The first will open at a shopping mall near Beverly Hills at the end of the year; another 14 are planned for 2018. Mr Parkes says it costs about $2m to make a ten-minute VR experience, compared with around $200m for a big-budget Hollywood movie (not counting marketing and distribution). The economics work even though people are entertained for much shorter periods, he argues. a day ago Why The men and women over in Burbank, where the big studios are based, are interested. Dreamscape has attracted around $10m in investment from Fox, Warner Brothers and MGM, along with Steven Spielberg and Westfield, a shopping-centre operator. Disney has invested $66m in Jaunt, which makes tools for creating VR content. Warner Brothers recently announced a partnership with IMAX, which specialises in large-screen cinemas, to fund and create VR experiences for three upcoming films.Promotional and extra material for films in VR is the first priority. Later on studios expect VR to become a format of its own, a cross between movies and games. The lines are getting blurred. They use a lot of the same tech, the same tools, says Thomas Husson, an analyst at Forrester, a research firm.Hollywood is in a battle for attention as well as dollars. In the future Harry Potter fans, for example, may consider it a waste to go to an attraction in the English countryside when they can visit Diagon Alley at home in a headset. They may even do both. If studios get a grip of VR, every minute spent in a cinema could mean an extra one in a park and yet another in a headset.This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "VR in La La land"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21724859-fox-mgm-warner-brothers-and-steven-spielberg-are-among-those-investing?fsrc=rss'|'2017-07-06T22:49:00.000+03:00' +'f7828fbb1d9528084b5031f15c4cf8bac4d859ab'|'Tesla steps up auto service as Model 3 debut nears'|'Business News - Tue Jul 11, 2017 - 12:31pm EDT Tesla steps up auto service as Model 3 debut nears A Tesla car showroom is seen in west London, Britain, March 21, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville By Marc Vartabedian - SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ) said it is expanding its auto service centers and adding 350 mobile service vans as it gears up to support its Model 3 sedan, a mass-market car that is expected to drive a 500 percent increase in the electric car company''s sales. A senior executive speaking on behalf of the company told Reuters that Tesla would be able to triple its global service capacity by increasing efficiency, adding to mobile service, and adding 100 service centers to its current total of more than 150. Tesla is adding 1,400 technicians this year, and the company plans to continue expanding mobile and service center capacity at a similar pace over then next few years. Tesla needs to expand service quickly to be able to handle the increase in sales and as the electric car company transforms itself from a luxury vehicle maker into a competitor with mainstream cars. Expectations for a smooth roll out are particularly high among investors. Tesla has been challenging General Motors ( GM.N ) for the title of biggest U.S. automaker by market capitalization, even though its output is a fraction of GM''s. The $35,000 Model 3 is designed for easy production, creating lower service needs, the executive said. Tesla''s last launch was the Model X SUV in 2015, which had a number of production issues. Model 3 production began in the last few days and is expected to reach 20,000 per month in December. The first deliveries are expected on July 28. Tesla had fielded 373,000 Model 3 reservations as of April 2016, the latest date at which it announced a figure. The company has learned from previous problems including issues with seatbelt latches, seats and a 53,000-vehicle parking brake recall earlier this year, the executive said. Tesla said it has improved service time by automating paperwork, using cars'' wireless connections to diagnose problems, and expanding mobile support. Tesla deployed mobile vans to company charging stations to fix the seatbelt latch and cut the procedure to less than 20 minutes. About 80 percent of fixes on its vehicles do not require a lift and can be done by one of its mobile technicians, which frequently can handle an appointment in less than an hour. (This version of the story was refiled to fix spelling in paragraph 9) (Reporting By Marc Vartabedian Editing by Peter Henderson) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-service-idUSKBN19W1GS'|'2017-07-11T16:09:00.000+03:00' +'1f296dbf16c1cc7cea90534ffb9d001989586dbf'|'Exclusive: Brazil''s Cantagalo agrees $170 million debt restructuring'|'SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Cantagalo General Grains SA, a privately-owned Brazilian firm engaged in farming and trading of commodities including soybeans and corn, has reached a deal with lenders to restructure some $170 million in debt, management told Reuters on Tuesday.Under the terms of the deal, the debt owed by its trading arm will be repaid over seven years, with principal amortizations starting after the third year.The company pledged its Itaqui port terminal, located in Maranho state in northern Brazil, as collateral for the refinanced debt. Management said the deal would allow the company to step up commodities trading and farming after completing a turnaround of its operations.Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Andrew Hay '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cantagalo-general-grains-restructurin-idUSKBN1A321A'|'2017-07-19T01:48:00.000+03:00' +'319e68cf980f8fc119ddb13a07819b2be3791ad9'|'China June trade beats expectations on robust demand, but headwinds eyed'|'July 13, 2017 / 5:52 AM / 10 minutes ago China June trade beats expectations on robust demand, but headwinds eyed Yawen Chen and Ryan Woo 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A container area is seen at the Yangshan Deep Water Port, part of the newly announced Shanghai Free Trade Zone, south of Shanghai September 26, 2013. Carlos Barria/File Photo BEIJING (Reuters) - China posted stronger-than-expected June trade figures on Thursday, bolstered by firm global demand for Chinese goods and robust appetite for construction materials at home, but local curbs on lending could weigh on imports later this year. Exports from the world''s second largest economy rose 11.3 percent from a year earlier, while imports expanded 17.2 percent, both beating analysts'' expectations, official data showed. While exports benefited from solid demand for electronics and industrial goods, a growing trade surplus, particularly with the United States, may add to trade tensions as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to boost activity in his country''s manufacturing sector. An increase in trade between China and nuclear-armed North Korea in the first half of the year could also add to diplomatic pressures between Beijing and Washington. Meanwhile, analysts say economic and political risks could undermine much of the strong trade momentum seen in the first half of this year. "Looking ahead, we expect export growth to slow on uncertainties in external demand due to rising geopolitical risks and the stronger yuan-U.S. dollar exchange rate in the first half of 2017," Nomura researchers said in a note after the data release. China posted a trade surplus of $42.77 billion in June, slightly above analyst forecasts for a surplus of $42.44 billion and wider from May''s $40.81 billion. Analysts polled by Reuters had anticipated June shipments from the world''s largest exporter to have risen 8.7 percent, in line with May''s growth. Imports were forecast to have climbed 13.1 percent, easing from the unexpectedly strong 14.8 percent jump in May. The country''s demand for imports, particularly for industrial commodities such as iron ore and coal used to feed a construction boom, has remained robust in recent months. This is thanks mostly to resilient real estate demand in smaller Chinese cities with lax property rules as authorities are keen to clear a housing glut. However, analysts say a slowdown in demand for materials from abroad may already be taking place. "Looking ahead, exports should continue to do well given the relatively positive outlook for China''s main trading partners," Julian Evans-Pritchard, China Economist at Capital Economics, said in a note. "But we are sceptical that the current pace of imports can be sustained for much longer given the increasing headwinds to China''s economy from policy tightening." Many economists still expect Beijing''s intensifying crackdown on unscrupulous lending and a cooling property market to translate to slower growth after a surprisingly optimistic first quarter. Heightened Trade Tensions? China''s trade surplus with the United States was $25.4 billion in June, up from $22.0 billion in May, official data showed, and its widest since October 2015, according to a Reuters calculation. While U.S. demand remains robust, concerns of possible trade frictions between the United States and China appear to be back on the radar. Trump has described the trade imbalances between the two countries as a "very, very big issue" that he would address. Washington is also investigating aluminium imports from China under the rarely used section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 that allows restrictions on imports for reasons of national security. The administration is conducting a separate investigation into steel. The world''s two biggest economies started their 100 days of trade talks in April and agreed in May to take action by mid-July to increase access for U.S. financial firms and expanding trade in beef and chicken among other steps. Senior U.S. and Chinese officials will hold a U.S.-China Comprehensive Economic Dialogue in Washington on July 19, which will be the first covering economic and trade issues in a new format for U.S.-China dialogue. Additional reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by Sam Holmes 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/china-economy-idINKBN19Y0FQ'|'2017-07-13T08:47:00.000+03:00' +'c85f60f81f682d4d4c4793acf7605753b81ad404'|'BMW looking to cut 1 billion euros in indirect costs'|'July 6, 2017 / 6:58 PM / an hour ago BMW looking to cut 1 billion euros in indirect costs 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A BMW employee works to install the kidney grill on an X4 along the production line at the BMW manufacturing plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina March 28, 2014. Chris Keane/File Photo BERLIN (Reuters) - German carmaker BMW ( BMWG.DE ) wants to cut 1 billion euros ($1.14 billion) in indirect procurement costs by 2019, BMW head of production Markus Duesmann told the Handelsblatt daily. A BMW spokesman confirmed the figure. BMW''s indirect procurement costs amount to about 20 billion euros a year, but BMW needs to make savings so the company can invest more in developing electric and self-driving cars. Duesmann also said BMW is seeking damages from automotive parts supplier Bosch [ROBG.UL] after a shortage of steering components slowed production worth a "mid two-digit million euro sum", affecting delivery of around 8,000 cars. ($1 = 0.8757 euros) Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Maria Sheahan and David Evans 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/bmw-costs-idINKBN19R2RD'|'2017-07-06T21:57:00.000+03:00' +'3934a71bfd828d5ef47703b5deaef26aa9df7347'|'Boots ends 130 years of manufacturing as it sells off factories - Business - The Guardian'|'Alliance Boots Boots ends 130 years of manufacturing as it sells off factories Concern over 1,100 jobs at historic Nottinghamshire site after French firm Fareva signs deal with Walgreens Boots Alliance Boots began manufacturing in a house behind its first shop in Nottingham in 1883. Photograph: Philip Toscano/PA Alliance Boots Boots ends 130 years of manufacturing as it sells off factories Concern over 1,100 jobs at historic Nottinghamshire site after French firm Fareva signs deal with Walgreens Boots Alliance View more sharing options Wednesday 26 July 2017 13.24 BST Last modified on Wednesday 26 July 2017 13.43 BST Unions have raised concerns about the future of more than 1,000 UK manufacturing jobs after the owner of Boots sold its manufacturing business to France-based specialist Fareva, including the Nottingham factory that it opened in the 1930s. Walgreens Boots Alliance said Fareva had signed a 10-year deal to supply it with products from its own ranges, including No7, Liz Earle and Soltan, after taking over its BCM manufacturing business, which has factories making toiletries and healthcare products in the UK, France and Germany. The deal will mean the transfer of about 1,100 jobs in Beeston, near Nottingham, to the French company. But Boots would not confirm if it had sought any guarantees over the future of manufacturing at D10, the grade I-listed factory that has been operating since 1933. The factory currently makes over-the-counter healthcare products such as painkillers, cold and flu remedies and insect repellents, as well as toiletries including shampoo, face cream and bubble bath. Boots, which was founded by Jesse Boot in 1870, began manufacturing in a terraced house behind its first shop in Nottingham in 1883. Fareva already operates in the UK and the company is expected to present its development plans within six months after the deal is completed. Usdaw, the union that represents workers at the site, said it was seeking an urgent meeting with BCM. Daniel Adams, Usdaw national officer, said he would be looking for reassurances about jobs, members terms and conditions, as well as intended future plans. After being informed of the companys intentions to sell its contract manufacturing operation, the hard-working and loyal staff are understandably concerned. This is an unsettling time for members as it is not clear at this point what the impact of the sale will be, he added. Boots apologises over morning-after pill pricing row Read more The deal will raise fears of the kind of closures that followed US food group Krafts takeover of Cadbury . Nestl also moved production of confectionary products Smarties and Blue Riband abroad after buying Rowntree in 1988. Fareva is the largest contract manufacturer in Europe and one of the largest in the world, employing nearly 10,000 people across 11 countries, including the US, France and Poland. It has one UK factory in Pontyclun, Wales, called Fillcare, which makes toiletries and beauty products. Globally, Fareva produces and packs pharmaceutical, beauty, industrial and household products backed by 12 research and development centres. Walgreens Boots Alliance said: The proposed agreement will create a partnership to provide Walgreens Boots Alliance with a core multinational manufacturing and development resource, enabling the company to accelerate its global product strategy. The group now has a presence in 25 countries after a series of major mergers, operating a number of retail chains as well as the worlds largest global pharmaceutical wholesale and distribution network. This week, Boots was forced to apologise for the way it responded to a campaign calling for it to cut the price of emergency contraception. Topics'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/retail/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jul/26/boots-alliance-fareva-manufacturing-beeston-d10-factory'|'2017-07-26T20:24:00.000+03:00' +'4852ebe8439b0f96371d231e1c7d395f4bbea48b'|'Trump administration''s NAFTA demands make sense: Union Pacific CEO'|'Lance Fritz, chief executive officer of Union Pacific, looks on during an interview in New York, U.S., June 28, 2017. Shannon Stapleton DETROIT (Reuters) - The list of priorities U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer released this week for the renegotiation of NAFTA with Mexico and Canada is reasonable and in line with what the Trump administration has promised to focus on, the head of America''s largest railroad said on Thursday. "It was a very reasonable document," Union Pacific Corp ( UNP.N ) Chief Executive Lance Fritz said in an interview about a list of priorities released this week by Lighthizer. "From our perspective, he (Lighthizer) hit all of the elements that weve heard from the administration and they make sense." Republican U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to exit the North American Free Trade Agreement if it is not renegotiated in favor of the United States. Talks with Mexico and Canada on revisions to the treaty, which came into effect in 1994, are due to start in mid-August. The top priority for the talks listed by Lighthizer''s office was shrinking the U.S. trade deficit with Canada and Mexico. Union Pacific''s Fritz said that Lighthizer''s focus on intellectual property, labor laws and dispute resolution mechanisms all make sense. "What makes most sense to us is elements (of Lighthizer''s priorities) focusing on the streamlining of freight across the border," he added. About 40 percent of Union Pacific''s freight volume is based on international trade and about 12 percent is based on cross-border trade with Mexico. Fritz said that Mexico should continue to be a "good driver" for Union Pacific''s growth. The CEO spoke to Reuters after Union Pacific posted a better-than-expected second-quarter profit that was lifted in part by a 25-percent jump in coal revenue. Major U.S. railroads have seen a resurgence in coal volumes this year, following two years of precipitous declines as many utilities switched to burning cheaper natural gas and as unseasonable weather resulted in large stockpiles of unburned coal. Union Pacific said on Thursday that coal volumes in the third quarter should be relatively flat versus the same period in 2016. "We expect coal to be a bit more stable moving forward and that''s dependent on natural gas pricing and to some degree weather," Fritz said. "The large inventory overhang has largely been consumed and that''s the good news." Reporting By Nick Carey; Editing by Nick Zieminski '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-union-pacific-nafta-idUSKBN1A52L0'|'2017-07-20T22:07:00.000+03:00' +'85d6cda7f1b18e62e89319143fb3bd141d340015'|'Whole Foods sought $45 per share offer from Amazon'|'Technology 37pm BST Whole Foods sought $45 per share offer from Amazon A Whole Foods Market is pictured in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S. June 16, 2017. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri Whole Foods Market Inc ( WFM.O ) had sought $45 per share from Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) but settled for $42 per share, which the ecommerce giant said was its "best and final offer". Amazon had initially offered $41 in May, Whole Foods said in a regulatory filing on Friday. ( bit.ly/2tPEsgy ) Amazon also told Whole Foods that it was considering other opportunities in case the offer was turned down. The company also asked Whole Foods not to approach other potential bidders while they were engaged in talks. Amazon said in June it would buy Whole Foods for $13.7 billion, in a deal that could turn the high-end grocer into a mass-market merchant and upend the already struggling U.S. retail industry. (Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru: Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-whole-foods-m-a-amazon-com-idUKKBN19S1XV'|'2017-07-07T16:37:00.000+03:00' +'320852a6a75dc3851045b5c63fbee781ff393160'|'Irish consumer sentiment surges in June to post-Brexit vote high'|'Business 18am BST Irish consumer sentiment surges in June to post-Brexit vote high By Conor Humphries - DUBLIN DUBLIN Irish consumer sentiment surged to its highest level in 16 months in June, a survey showed on Tuesday. It followed strong Irish economic data and signs that support in next-door Britain for a hard exit from the European Union may have weakened. Ireland''s economy has been the best performing in Europe for the last three years, dramatically cutting unemployment, but households have complained the wealth has not trickled down and Brexit -- to which Ireland is particularly vulnerable -- has hit confidence about the country''s future. The KBC Bank Ireland/ESRI Consumer Sentiment Index surged to 105.0 in June from 100.5 in May, its highest level since February last year, though well below the 15-year high of 108.6 posted in January 2016. The survey showed 52 percent of consumers expect the Irish economy to strengthen in the year ahead, the first time a majority of consumers have expressed this opinion since the British referendum last year. KBC chief economist Austin Hughes described the surge in the main index as "slightly surprising". "The scale of the improvement ... may reflect relief that the threat of a hard Brexit is seen as reduced because of the outcome of the recent UK election as well as reassurance from the continued strength of recent Irish economic indicators," Hughes said. Britain''s election in June deprived Conservative Prime of a majority in Britain''s parliament, making it harder for her to get legislation through, including on Brexit. Irish unemployment fell to 6.3 percent in June, down from 15 percent five years ago, while the government collected 4 percent more tax in the first half of the year than in the same period last year. The election last month of Ireland''s youngest ever prime minister, Leo Varadkar, could also have had an impact on sentiment, the survey''s authors said. But while confidence around the wider economy is high, only 28 percent of consumers feel their own financial circumstances will improve in the coming year. "This hints at a potentially troublesome disconnect between the perceptions of consumers and recent warnings about an overheating Irish economy," Hughes said. (Reporting by Conor Humphries)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ireland-economy-consumersentiment-idUKKBN19V2U6'|'2017-07-11T02:18:00.000+03:00' +'c39e25c68cffcc806d3c6c474599121aff8a1c43'|'PRESS DIGEST- British Business - July 19'|'July 18, 2017 / 11:31 PM / 13 hours ago PRESS DIGEST- British Business - July 19 3 Min Read July 19 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. The Times Twenty-First Century Fox Inc has written to the government urging it to reject the "most blatant form of political interference" by Ed Miliband and Sir Vince Cable in its proposed 11.7 billion pound ($15.25 billion) offer for Sky Plc. bit.ly/2uAHwwO Male presenters at the BBC are twice as likely as their female colleagues to earn more than 150,000 pounds ($195,510) a year, the corporation will admit on Wednesday. bit.ly/2uALkhT The Guardian All extra charges added to payments for goods and services made by card are to be outlawed, ending a "rip-off" that costs Britons hundreds of millions of pounds a year, the government has announced. bit.ly/2uAqTBL Financial Conduct Authority chief executive Andrew Bailey said City firms were getting near to the point where they would have to take steps to move staff and other measures to ensure that they can continue to operate seamlessly once the UK leaves the EU in March 2019. bit.ly/2uAhOsD The Telegraph McCormick & Co Inc has reportedly agreed to buy Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc''s food business for more than 3.1 billion pounds ($4.04 billion), a year after the Schwartz spices maker''s efforts to buy Premier Foods Plc were thwarted. bit.ly/2uACnoA BP Plc is considering spinning off certain U.S. pipeline assets in the U.S. Gulf and Midwest in an initial public offering, the company said in a statement late on Tuesday. bit.ly/2uAI2ee Sky News Adam Crozier, the former ITV Plc chief executive, is being lined up to become chairman of the Vue cinema chain as it examines plans for a blockbuster sale or stock market flotation. bit.ly/2uA4Rij Foreign hackers have penetrated the UK''s critical national infrastructure, including parts of the national grid, a leaked document has revealed. bit.ly/2uA4W5B The Independent The divisions tearing apart the Conservative party have been laid bare as backbench members of Parliament told the prime minister she has their backing to sack disloyal cabinet ministers. ind.pn/2uAn4fV ($1 = 0.7672 pounds) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom) 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-press-business-idUSL1N1K92A0'|'2017-07-19T02:30:00.000+03:00' +'acdb715bfac8f0808af211cfa748978c508af73a'|'Barclays sees the beak about the bailout'|'W estminster magistrates court will be the venue on Monday for the opening chapter in what is expected to be a landmark case arising from the 2008 financial crash. The former Barclays chief executive John Varley and three of his former colleagues Roger Jenkins, Tom Kalaris and Richard Boath are the first senior bankers to face criminal charges arising out of the crisis, and are due to appear in court in the afternoon.The four are charged with offences following a five-year investigation into the events surrounding the 11.8bn emergency fundraising conducted by the bank in 2008 that allowed it to avoid a bailout by the taxpayer.The decision to charge the four came after a series of postponements and amid plans in the Conservative manifesto for the Serious Fraud Office to be abolished a threat that now appears to have been dropped after it did not feature in the Queens speech, which sets out the governments agenda for the coming year.Barclays raised billions from Qatar in 2008 to avoid a bailout. The charges related to two advisory services agreements entered into with Qatar Holding, an investment vehicle for the gulf state, in June and October 2008.The four men and the bank are charged with conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation in relation to a fundraising in June 2008. In the event of conviction, the offences carry a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a fine for the bank.Poll positionsThe general election threw up all sorts of unwelcome surprises for Theresa May at the beginning of last month. What effect this latest stormy period in British politics will have on the economy will emerge to some extent this week, with the release of the purchasing managers index (PMI) data on the services and manufacturing sectors. As the general election did not have the same effect as the EU referendum just over a year ago, there is not likely to have been as sharp a decline, but analysts at Investec think there will still be a drop.We suspect that the election outcome will not have led to a steep drop in the PMIs in the way we saw immediately after the 2016 Brexit vote, but a more modest decline, said its preview of the figures.Later in the week, official figures on construction output, trade and manufacturing output for May will be released, which will give further indicators on the state of the economy. A less than robust run of data could dissuade the Bank of England from raising rates over the coming months, according to Investec.Butting heads at Bovis It has been a difficult year for Bovis Homes. And a difficult one for some of its customers. The chairman of the housebuilder admitted in May that it had let down homebuyers , cutting corners to meet targets, and that hundreds had been affected.Amid complaints of poorly built homes, the company set aside 7m for repairs earlier this year and faced accusations that it was pressuring customers to move into unfinished homes. Chief executive David Ritchie resigned shortly after a profit warning in December and was replaced by Greg Fitzgerald, the former chief executive of Galliford Try.This week will give an indication of how the company is currently faring with the release of a trading update on Thursday. Since the problems at the company have been highlighted, the majority of its staff have been retrained. But on the Bovis Homes Victims group on Facebook, there have been claims that buyers are again being pressurised into moving into incomplete homes a claim which the company has denied. There is clearly some confidence in the higher ranks as to its future, however, as Fitzgerald was reported to have spent 2m buying shares in June. This comes after Fitzgerald and his wife spent 1.4m buying stock earlier this year.Topics Barclays Observer business agenda John Varley Banking Economics Financial crisis Financial sector comment'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jul/02/barclays-sees-beak-about-bailout-qatar-sfo-court'|'2017-07-02T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'69d72294827781107ec05d0d86919825bedf5802'|'BRIEF-Instagram says introducing photo and video replies to Stories'|'Market News 11am EDT BRIEF-Instagram says introducing photo and video replies to Stories July 6 Instagram : TREASURIES-Yields jump on global central bank policy, oil price rise * Traders grapple with hawkish central bank shift * Oil price rise signals inflationary pressure * 10-year yields hit nearly 8-week high * 2-yr yields hit more than 8-year high in early trading By Sam Forgione NEW YORK, July 6 U.S. Treasury yields rose on Thursday, with benchmark yields touching nearly eight-week highs, on the prospect of hawkish global central bank policy and as rising oil prices suggested inflationary pressures. Analysts said traders w MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-instagram-says-introducing-photo-a-idUSFWN1JX0FK'|'2017-07-06T18:11:00.000+03:00' +'1aae37c68e918654ba481d7390c28a242b9eb067'|'Aramco CEO sees oil supply shortage as investments and discoveries drop'|'Business News - Mon Jul 10, 2017 - 4:46pm EDT Aramco CEO sees oil supply shortage as investments, discoveries drop By Karolin Schaps and David Dolan - ISTANBUL ISTANBUL The world might be heading for an oil supply shortage following a steep drop in investments and a lack of fresh conventional discoveries, Saudi Aramco''s chief executive said on Monday. Unconventional shale oil and alternative energy resources are an important factor to help meet future demand but it is premature to assume that they can be developed quickly to replace oil and gas, Amin Nasser told a conference in Istanbul. "If we look at the long-term situation of oil supplies, for example, the picture is becoming increasingly worrying," Nasser said. "Financial investors are shying away from making much needed large investments in oil exploration, long-term development and the related infrastructure. Investments in smaller increments such as shale oil will just not cut it," Nasser said. About $1 trillion in investments have already been lost since a decline in oil prices from 2014. Studies show that 20 million barrels per day of new production will be needed to meet demand growth and offset natural decline of developed fields over the next five years, he said. "New discoveries are also on a major downward trend. The volume of conventional oil discovered around the world over the past four years has more than halved compared with the previous four," Nasser said. INFLECTION POINT "A lack of investment is definitely not helping, so if that continues over the next couple of years there will be an inflection point where what we see today will have an impact on consumers at the end and supply will be impacted for the next couple of years," Nasser told CNBC. "What we need to see is more investments from various sectors to make sure there is an adequate supply over the long term," he said to CNBC. State oil giant Aramco, which is preparing to sell around 5 percent in itself next year in an initial public offering, is continuing to invest in maintaining its oil production capacity of 12 million barrels per day. "We plan to invest more than $300 billion over the coming decade to reinforce our pre-eminent position in oil, maintain our spare oil production capacity, and pursue a large exploration and production program centering on conventional and unconventional gas resources," Nasser said. Nasser reiterated the IPO was on track for the second half of 2018. Asked by CNBC if the current oil price will possibly delay the IPO, Nasser said the company''s investments are "geared towards the long term." "Even though we have the highest 260 billion of reserves we have the biggest exploration program," he told CNBC. Nasser said in his speech that one of Aramco''s priorities was "direct conversion of crude oil into petrochemicals" while adding the company was also focusing on solar and wind projects. (Writing by Rania El Gamal, Dmitry Zhdannikov and Reem Shamseddine; editing by Jason Neely and David Evans) FILE PHOTO: Logo of Saudi Aramco is seen at the 20th Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference (MOES 2017) in Manama, Bahrain, March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-aramco-oil-idUSKBN19V0KR'|'2017-07-10T10:29:00.000+03:00' +'ca1dd3f7ff9faf7b7854230ccdac6dac5ab97e23'|'U.S. lawyers suing Volkswagen get $300 million in fees, costs'|'July 21, 2017 / 7:25 PM / 11 minutes ago U.S. lawyers suing Volkswagen get $300 million in fees, costs Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A VW logo is seen in front of the main building of the Volkswagen brand at the Volkswagen headquarters, in Wolfsburg, Germany May 19, 2017. Fabian Bimmer WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal judge on Friday approved $125 million (96 million pounds) in fees and costs for lawyers who sued Volkswagen AG ( VOWG_p.DE ) on behalf of U.S. owners of 88,000 3.0 liter diesel vehicles over excess emissions. That is on top of $175 million in fees and costs approved by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in March for a related 2.0-liter VW diesel settlement covering nearly 500,000 owners. In the 3.0-liter settlement approved on Friday, Breyer said lawyers were billing an average of $462 an hour for all work performed and expected during the settlement. He said billing rates for partners were from $250 to $1,650 per hour. Breyer said lawyers for the owners "achieved extraordinary results" and cited the generous buyback and compensation offers as well as separate funds to offset excess emissions. In total, the world''s largest automaker has agreed to spend up to $25 billion in the United States to address claims from owners, environmental regulators, states and dealers and offered to buy back about 500,000 polluting U.S. vehicles. Of the $300 million approved in both cases, $288 million is for legal fees and $12 million is for reimbursable expenses. Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Sandra Maler 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-volkswagen-emissions-idUKKBN1A62HK'|'2017-07-21T22:24:00.000+03:00' +'f569e2ac510a56a3ab283b76bee3e6cdb5361775'|'Amazon wobble creates ripples across worldwide stock markets'|'July 28, 2017 / 8:55 AM / 3 hours ago Amazon wobble creates ripples across worldwide stock markets Abhinav Ramnarayan 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Amazon boxes are seen stacked for delivery in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S. January 29, 2016. Mike Segar/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - An earnings miss by Amazon that hit U.S. technology stocks overnight rippled through into other markets on Friday, with Asian stocks retreating from recent highs and European tech shares opening sharply lower. Amazon''s stock tumbled over 2 percent on Thursday after it reported a slump in profits, as its rapid and costly expansion into new shopping categories and countries showed no sign of slowing. "It has been a pretty good season for earnings and this is the first big company that has sown a few doubts on that, and it also raises question on where the broader tech sector is headed from here," said Investec economist Victoria Clarke. Amazon has been one of the companies powering the sector this year, with a 40 percent rise up until Thursday. Though other U.S. sectors were resilient, Wall Street''s "fear index", the VIX, rose sharply on Thursday from a record low of 8.84 percent to an intra-day high of 11.5 percent. Amazon is one of the so-called "FANG" group of the most influential tech stocks, along with Facebook, Netflix and Google, hence the broad impact of its setback, which hit Asian shares as well knocking the U.S. tech sector off recent highs. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.8 percent, with Samsung Electronics, Asia''s largest company by market capitalisation, dropping 3.5 percent. Europe''s tech index fell 1.4 percent in early trading on Friday, the region''s worst-performing sector. "In terms of one story shaping sentiment it is quite remarkable, but markets are also a bit nervous ahead of U.S. GDP numbers due out today," said Investec''s Clarke. "The trigger was Amazon but developments overnight on U.S. healthcare has not helped sentiment." U.S. Senate Republicans failed early on Friday to overturn the healthcare law known as Obamacare, in a stinging blow to President Donald Trump that may end the Republican Party''s seven-year quest to repeal the Affordable Care Act. The dollar dipped against its major peers on Friday, though second quarter U.S. economic growth data due later could potentially give it some respite from the recent sell-off. Economists expect the world''s largest economy to have grown about 2.6 percent in the second quarter, from 1.4 percent in the first quarter. Swiss Fall The Swiss franc was one of the biggest movers in the currency market and is on track to post its biggest weekly drop against the dollar for more than 22 months. The franc has been falling as investors bet the Swiss National Bank will keep monetary policy loose as other central banks move towards tightening. Oil prices held near eight-week highs hit on Thursday after key OPEC members pledged to reduce exports and the U.S. government reported a sharp decline in crude inventories. Brent crude futures were at $51.52 per barrel, up slightly in European trading and close to highs of $51.64 hit on Thursday. Reporting by Abhinav Ramnarayan; Editing by Catherine Evans 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-markets-idINKBN1AD10E'|'2017-07-28T11:54:00.000+03:00' +'71021303a9c484fcc9b010db4b137fce7b59339c'|'Big week for Brazil IPOs leaves sweet taste for Carrefour, Biotoscana'|'July 22, 2017 / 12:22 AM / 13 hours ago Big week for Brazil IPOs leaves sweet taste for Carrefour, Biotoscana 3 Min Read A general view of a Carrefour supermarket in Sao Paulo, Brazil July 18, 2017. Paulo Whitaker SAO PAULO/BOGOTA (Reuters) - The busiest week for initial public offerings in Brazil in four years ended on Friday on an upbeat note for issuers, as a nascent economic recovery and the passage of key economic reforms helped to lure global investors. Grupo Biotoscana SA, a Colombia-based pharmaceutical firm, and shareholders raised 1.34 billion reais ($426.7 million) in a Friday IPO. Three days earlier, the IPO of Brazil''s biggest diversified retailer Grupo Carrefour Brasil SA fetched 5.12 billion reais. That marked the busiest week for local equity offerings since April 25, 2013, when the IPOs of insurer BB Seguridade Participaes SA ( BBSE3.SA ) and loyalty program Smiles SA raised 12.6 billion reais. Brazilian stocks .BVSP and its currency BRBY have outperformed Latin American peers in recent weeks as President Michel Temer''s plan to revamp labour regulations cleared Congress before its winter break, suggesting resilient lawmaker support for his reform agenda despite the nation''s political crisis. "With the labour reform approved and Congress in recess, there''s a window of opportunity for companies looking to seize on demand for Brazilian equities," said one fund manager who participated in the Carrefour listing. This week''s successful transactions spell good news for reinsurer IRB Brasil Resseguros SA and renewable power firm Omega Gerao SA, whose shares are scheduled to debut on the So Paulo Stock Exchange in coming weeks. Extending the current wave of offerings hinges, at least in part, on Temer''s ability to garner support for an ambitious pension code reform when Congress returns in August, bankers said. Bankers said companies seeking to tap local equity markets needed to balance risks and returns as Brazil slowly emerges from recession against the backdrop of escalating corruption allegations against Temer. Uncertainty has kept many foreign investors - traditionally the main buyers of Brazilian IPOs - on the sidelines. Foreigners snapped up just 54 percent of Brazilian IPOs this year, prior to this week, compared with the 67 percent over the previous decade, data showed. However, most buyers in the Biotoscana listing were foreign institutional funds, a person with knowledge of the deal told Reuters, suggesting that uneasiness may be starting to abate. Investors stung by a string of deals in recent years that failed to deliver promised returns are wary of IPOs in Brazil. Less than one-third of the 115 IPOs priced since the start of 2007 yielded returns above Brazil''s interbank lending rate, Thomson Reuters data showed. Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Tom Brown 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-brazil-ipo-idUKKBN1A700Q'|'2017-07-22T03:22:00.000+03:00' +'b9ccba81e6a66dcce61fdb896ff227856e26109f'|'UK budget watchdog warns of long-term Brexit risk for public finances'|'July 13, 2017 / 10:48 AM / 27 minutes ago UK budget watchdog warns of long-term Brexit risk for public finances Reuters Staff 2 Britain''s Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond leaves Downing Street in London, Britain June 28, 2017. Stefan Wermuth/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will need to curb public spending further or raise taxes if leaving the European Union does long-term damage to economic growth, underscoring the importance of the country striking new trade deals, the government''s budget watchdog said on Thursday. The Office for Budget Responsibility said ensuring robust trade agreements was more significant for the long-run health of Britain''s public finances than the size of any ''divorce bill'' to settle one-off liabilities with the EU. "While some numbers mooted for it are very large, a one-off hit of this sort would not pose a big threat to fiscal sustainability. More important are the implications of whatever agreements are reached with the EU ... for the long-term growth of the UK economy," the OBR said. Just a 0.1 percentage-point fall in the annual growth rate of the economy and tax revenues would cause Britain''s debt-to-GDP ratio to be 50 percentage points higher after 50 years, if public spending plans remained unchanged, the public body added. A continuation of Britain''s recent weak productivity would also make tax rises or spending cuts more likely, the OBR said. Chancellor Philip Hammond said the report was "a stark reminder of why we must deliver on our commitment to deal with our country''s debts". Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by William Schomberg 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-debt-idUKKBN19Y14X'|'2017-07-13T13:52:00.000+03:00' +'d3b11515a6bfb19d86263d3b2061498e22e4a290'|'Vital for Greece to keep up reforms to secure debt market access - IMF'|'July 26, 2017 / 7:03 AM / an hour ago Vital for Greece to keep up reforms to secure debt market access - IMF Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The International Monetary Fund logo is seen during the IMF/World Bank spring meetings in Washington, U.S., April 21, 2017. Yuri Gripas ATHENS (Reuters) - The IMF told Greece on Wednesday that it was critical to keep up its drive on reforms in order to successfully conclude its bailout programme and regain access to debt markets. Greece sold debt to private investors for the first time in three years on Tuesday, making a significant first step towards to the financial independence it will need when its third bailout ends in August next year. It said more debt issues would follow. "The Greek authorities still have a full agenda ahead. Consistent policy implementation will be critical for the success of the programme and the return of trust, growth and access to market funding," IMF mission chief for Greece Delia Velculescu said in an interview with Naftemporiki newspaper. Asked about Greece testing debt markets before its bailout expires next year, Velculescu said that such moves would be beneficial if new funding was in line with the country''s bailout targets and targets set for the sustainability of its debt. IMF had refused to join the latest bailout in 2015, arguing it would not be sustainable without debt relief by Greece''s euro zone lenders and deeper spending and economic reforms. After two years of wrangling, the Fund agreed to support a conditional participation in the bailout in June as part of a deal that unlocked 8.5 billion euros ($10 billion) in loans. Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Louise Ireland 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-greece-imf-idUKKBN1AB0OB'|'2017-07-26T10:03:00.000+03:00' +'cbee2d7bb04d0d1eee6ac895ad087ac5f1761a40'|'U.S. attorney general urged to consider blocking AT&T deal for Time Warner'|'July 13, 2017 / 9:09 PM / 5 hours ago U.S. attorney general urged to consider blocking AT&T deal for Time Warner Diane Bartz 2 Min Read An AT&T logo is seen at a AT&T building in New York City, October 23, 2016. Stephanie Keith WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Seven consumer advocacy groups wrote to Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday to ask him to consider blocking AT&T''s plan to buy Time Warner on the grounds that it will lead to higher prices and slow innovation in showing video online. Common Cause, Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, Public Knowledge and other groups echoed other critics of the deal, including some lawmakers, who say that the $85.4 billion deal would give AT&T ( T.N ), owner of DirecTV, the ability to withhold Time Warner''s ( TWX.N ) content from other outlets and hurt the move to show television shows and movies on the Internet. The groups argued that after buying Time Warner, owner of HBO and TNT, AT&T would have the incentive to restrict sales of that programming to cable and online channels. That could hurt DirecTV''s rivals as well as AT&T''s competitors in providing video online, the letter said. The groups also worried that the deal would create incentives for AT&T to refrain from showing independent programmers. The groups said that the deal "poses ... grave dangers to consumers and creators in mature and emerging markets" and urged the government to consider stopping it. "If you conclude, as appears to us from the available information, that conditions and piecemeal divestitures will not be sufficient, then we hope you will challenge the merger in its entirety," the groups said in their letter to Sessions. Aside from the Justice Department''s antitrust review, the deal is at the center of a controversy over allegations that White House advisers considered using the probe as political leverage. Time Warner owns news station CNN, which President Donald Trump has criticized. AT&T did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Justice Department declined comment on the letter. Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Cynthia Osterman 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-time-warner-m-a-at-t-critics-idUSKBN19Y2SN'|'2017-07-14T00:03:00.000+03:00' +'3a8f90208c85dc903c93fc77724e868abfbd196e'|'Trump to promote U.S. natgas exports in Russia''s backyard'|'Business News - Tue Jul 4, 2017 - 1:53am BST Trump to promote U.S. natgas exports in Russia''s backyard left right U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks during an ''Unleashing American Energy'' event at the Department of Energy in Washington, U.S., June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: A general view shows the construction site of Poland''s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal, in the Baltic port of Swinoujscie July 23, 2014. Picture taken July 23, 2014. REUTERS/Filip Klimaszewski/File Photo 2/2 By Roberta Rampton and Timothy Gardner - WASHINGTON WASHINGTON President Donald Trump will use fast-growing supplies of U.S. natural gas as a political tool when he meets in Warsaw on Thursday with leaders of a dozen countries that are captive to Russia for their energy needs. In recent years, Moscow has cut off gas shipments during pricing disputes with neighbouring countries in winter months. Exports from the United States would help reduce their dependence on Russia. Trump will tell the group that Washington wants to help allies by making it as easy as possible for U.S. companies to ship more liquefied natural gas (LNG) to central and eastern Europe, the White House said. Trump will attend the "Three Seas" summit - so named because several of its members surround the Adriatic, Baltic and Black Seas - before the Group of 20 leading economies meet in Germany, where he is slated to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time. Among the aims of the Three Seas project is to expand regional energy infrastructure, including LNG import terminals and gas pipelines. Members of the initiative include Poland, Austria, Hungary and Russia''s neighbours Latvia and Estonia. Trump''s presence will give the project a lift, said James Jones, a former NATO Supreme Allied Commander. Increased U.S. gas exports to the region would help weaken the impact of Russia using energy as a weapon or bargaining chip, said Jones. "I think the United States can show itself as a benevolent country by exporting energy and by helping countries that dont have adequate supplies become more self-sufficient and less dependent and less threatened," he said. Trump''s Russia policy is still taking shape, a process made awkward by investigations into intelligence findings that Russia tried to meddle in the 2016 U.S. presidential race. Russia denies the allegations and Trump says his team did not collude with Moscow. Lawmakers in Trump''s Republican Party, many of whom want to see him take a hard line on Russia because of its interference in the election and in crises in Ukraine and Syria, support using gas exports for political leverage. "It undermines the strategies of Putin and other strong men who are trying to use the light switch as an element of strategic offense," said Senator Cory Gardner, a Republican from Colorado who is on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The Kremlin relies on oil and gas revenue to finance the state budget, so taking market share would hurt Moscow. "In many ways, the LNG exports by the U.S. is the most threatening U.S. policy to Russia," said Michal Baranowski, director of the Warsaw office of think-tank the German Marshall Fund. COMPETITIVE ARENA The U.S. is expected to become the world''s third-largest exporter of LNG in 2020, just four years after starting up its first export terminal. U.S. exporters have sold most of that gas in long-term contracts, but there are still some volumes on offer, and more export projects on the drawing board. Cheniere Energy Inc ( LNG.A ), which opened the first U.S. LNG export terminal in 2016, delivered its first cargo to Poland in June. Five more terminals are expected to be online by 2020. Tellurian Inc ( TELL.O ) has proposed a project with a price tag of as much as $16 billion that it hopes to complete by 2022, in time to compete for long-term contracts to supply Poland that expire the same year and are held by Russian gas giant Gazprom ( GAZP.MM ). "We would like to be a supplier that competes for that market," Tellurian Chief Executive Meg Gentle told Reuters. A global glut in supply may, however, limit U.S. LNG export growth, regardless of Trump''s support. The glut has depressed prices and made it difficult for LNG exporters to turn a profit, said Adam Sieminski, an energy analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Russia has the advantage in Europe due to its proximity and pipeline connections. "Europe is going to be the great competitive arena between Russian gas and LNG," said Daniel Yergin, the Pulitzer Prize-winning oil historian and vice-chairman with IHS Markit analysis firm. NORD STREAM Europeans will be watching to see whether Trump clarifies his administration''s position on a new pipeline to pump Russian gas to Germany, known as Nord Stream 2. The U.S. Senate in June passed a package of sanctions on Russia, including provisions to penalise Western firms involved in the pipeline. The new sanctions have stalled in the House of Representatives. The U.S. State Department has lobbied against the pipeline as a potential supply chokepoint that would make Europe more vulnerable to disruptions. The threat of sanctions adds to tensions between Washington and Berlin. Germany''s government supports the pipeline, and Trump''s position on it is a concern for European diplomats. (Additional reporting by Jan Pytalski in Washington, Alissa de Carbonnel and Robert-Jan Bartunek in Brussels, Agnieszka Barteczko in Warsaw; Writing by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Simon Webb and Marguerita Choy)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-lng-idUKKBN19P01U'|'2017-07-04T03:53:00.000+03:00' +'0dd0b087eb119278ae88d774305b8c42347c791a'|'JP Morgan: we''ll only move jobs from UK after Brexit if EU forces us - Business'|'The worldwide boss of JP Morgan said on Tuesday that the Wall Street bank would only have to move thousands of jobs out the UK in response to Brexit if ordered to do so by the EU.In the run-up last years referendum, Jamie Dimon had warned that up to 4,000 roles would be at risk in the event of a vote to leave. Speaking at a conference in Paris, Dimon said the initial response would require several hundred jobs to go but the final number would depend on the demands imposed by the EUs regulators and politicians.France steps up effort to woo London banks planning Brexit move Read more Some 16,000 staff are employed by JP Morgan in the UK including 4,000 in Bournemouth and around 75% of the business they conduct is for EU companies, Dimon said.Dimon said JP Morgan had to be ready for hard Brexit whether it was likely to happen or not. Its easy we plan for that ... all it means is that several hundred jobs have to legally be done through an EU sub[sidiary], he added. He said JP Morgan could handle most of its activities this through its existing operations in the EU in Dublin, Frankfurt and Luxembourg .The bank is buying a landmark office block in Dublin that could house 1,000 staff, double its current workforce in the Irish capital.Dimon said: People should focus more on the second step ... What happens next is totally up to the EU. Its not up to Britain.If the EU determines over time that they want to move a lot more jobs out of London into the EU, they can simply dictate that. The regulators can dictate it, the politicians can dictate it, he said.If regulators say one day were not comfortable with your risk people, your lawyers, your compliance being in the UK, they can make us move it. Dimon was speaking on a panel alongside Stuart Gulliver, the chief executive of HSBC, who confirmed the banks plan to move 1,000 roles to Paris out of 43,000 in the event of a hard Brexit.The conference in which Paris is making a pitch for financial services business is being held just days before the Bank of Englands deadline for hundreds of banks and fund management firms to submit plans for how they would cope with a hard Brexit.Topics JP Morgan Banking Financial sector EU referendum and Brexit European Union news'|'theguardian.com'|'https://www.theguardian.com/uk/business'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jul/11/jp-morgan-jobs-uk-brexit-eu'|'2017-07-12T00:35:00.000+03:00' +'818bc35e9731ea9e08e36b04bc4b13b087eab5df'|'Britain''s BBC to publish names of biggest earners'|'July 19, 2017 / 6:42 AM / 5 hours ago Britain''s BBC to publish names of biggest earners 2 Min Read LONDON, July 19 (Reuters) - Britain''s BBC will reveal the salaries of its highest paid employees for the first time on Wednesday in a move imposed by the government to improve transparency and value for money at the public broadcaster. The BBC, funded by a tax on every television-owning household, has for years come under pressure to say how much it pays its biggest names and the obligation to name them was part of its latest 10-year legal settlement with the government. The corporation says it has to compete with commercial broadcasters such as ITV and Sky to recruit top talent and said its approach to pay would not change. "The BBC operates in a competitive market and this will not make it easier for the BBC to retain the talent the public love," Director General Tony Hall said. The corporation will publish the details of anyone earning more than 150,000 pounds ($195,555) a year at 1000 GMT. It has already said that one third of the names on the list are women, prompting Hall to say it must "go further and faster" on gender issues. $1 = 0.7670 pounds Reporting by Kate Holton, editing by Estelle Shirbon 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-bbc-idUSL5N1KA11A'|'2017-07-19T09:42:00.000+03:00' +'725f70dbf541e1e3f9da2bd4ac0f3514613effa5'|'Rio cuts 2017 iron ore guidance as rail work hits shipments'|'July 18, 2017 / 12:56 AM / in 4 hours Rio cuts 2017 iron ore guidance as rail work hits shipments Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A sign adorns the building where mining company Rio Tinto has their office in Perth, Western Australia, November 19, 2015. David Gray/File Photo (Reuters) - Global miner Rio Tinto ( RIO.AX ) ( RIO.L ) on Tuesday lowered its forecast for shipments of iron ore in calendar 2017 by up to 10 million tonnes due to bad weather and ongoing work to modernise its rail haulage lines. Iron ore shipments were expected at 330 million tonnes, down from an earlier range of 330 million to 340 million tonnes, the world''s number two producer of the steel making raw material said in its second-quarter production report. "Iron ore shipments were impacted by an acceleration in our rail maintenance programme following poor weather in the first quarter," Chief Executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques said. Second-quarter iron ore shipments from Australia fell 6 percent from a year ago to 77.7 million tonnes, slightly below analysts'' forecasts as Rio Tinto transitions to a driverless train network. First-half shipments totalled 154.3 million tonnes, indicating the company expects to pick up shipments in the remaining two quarters. Second-quarter production from its Australian mines dipped 1 percent to 79.8 million tonnes against the year-ago period, Rio Tinto said. In other minerals, Rio Tinto cut its full-year production target for hard coking coal to 7.27.8 million tonnes following a 14 percent fall in second-quarter production after a cyclone that swept across its collieries earlier this year. Reporting by Shashwat Pradhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Pullin 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-rio-tinto-output-idUKKBN1A3038'|'2017-07-18T03:56:00.000+03:00' +'2980868274216cb7c96c6c847e9eb642a670fcd3'|'Bank of England tells lenders to respect ''spirit'' of financial rules'|'Central Banks - Mon Jul 10, 2017 - 12:18pm BST Bank of England tells lenders to respect ''spirit'' of financial rules FILE PHOTO - A general view shows the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain April 19, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay LONDON British financial firms need to respect the spirit, and not just the letter, of rules designed to prevent another financial crisis, one of the central bank''s deputy governors said on Monday. Sam Woods, who is in charge of the BoE''s day-to-day regulation of banks and insurers, said fixed rules could never keep up with financial market innovation, and that the central bank also expected firms to respect broader principles designed to reduce risk. "Some innovation is pure regulatory arbitrage - that is, action taken by firms to reduce specific regulatory requirements without any commensurate reduction in their risk," Woods said. His remarks were originally intended for a conference of Britain''s Building Society Association in May, but the BoE delayed publication until Monday to avoid clashing with campaigning for June''s parliamentary election. Last week the BoE said it would take a tougher approach towards banks over their booming lending to consumers, ordering them to apply credit rules prudently and prove by September they are not being too complacent about risks. Woods said there were several areas where he had particular concerns that financial firms were trying to get around rules. These included borrowing that did not appear on firms'' balance sheets, the accounting treatment of liquid assets, and insurers'' sales of certain savings products. Shrinking net interest margins at building societies in the face of greater competition were also a worry, Woods said, as they could spur lenders to take on too much risk. Something similar took place in the run-up to the 2007-09 financial crisis, Woods said. One concerning trend was the increased number of mortgages issued for 35 years, not 25, he added. "As survivors, (building) societies here today ought to be well aware of the warning signs, but I''m conscious that corporate memories can be shed surprisingly fast," Woods said. (Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Gareth Jones) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-boe-banks-idUKKBN19V17O'|'2017-07-10T14:18:00.000+03:00' +'ec49b1beb6d81c272d00c9f5e15a07d328c7cfaa'|'U.S. SEC chairman signals plans to scale back corporate disclosure rules'|'July 12, 2017 / 7:01 PM / in 16 minutes U.S. SEC chairman signals plans to scale back corporate disclosure rules Sarah N. Lynch and John McCrank 4 Min Read Jay Clayton, Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (S.E.C.) speaks to the Economic Club of New York in New York City, U.S., July 12, 2017. Brendan McDermid (Reuters) - Wall Street''s top U.S. regulator on Wednesday signalled his support for potentially scaling back the scope and breadth of disclosure rules and compliance costs imposed on public companies, in an effort to entice more corporations to list on the stock market. In his first major address since becoming chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier this year, Jay Clayton laid out his regulatory philosophy for how he plans to run the agency and said the SEC staff was working to prepare proposals aimed at reforming the rules on disclosure. In the speech, delivered at the Economic Club of New York, details about the specific regulations that he would like to adopt or amend were scant. But his comments broadly called for efforts to scale back unnecessary corporate disclosures, reduce compliance burdens on small- and mid-sized companies, ramp up the enforcement division''s focus on protecting retail investors from run-of-the-mill frauds, and taking better care to retrospectively review SEC rules to ensure they are having the desired effect. Such efforts would be in line with steps the SEC took late last month, when it moved to allow all public companies to file paperwork confidentially for initial public offerings. "While there are many factors that drive the decision of whether to be a public company, increased disclosure and other burdens may render alternatives for raising capital, such as the private markets, increasingly attractive to companies that only a decade ago would have been all but certain candidates for the public markets," he said. Clayton''s comments on Wednesday are likely to be seen as welcome news to corporate lobbying groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has long criticized an array of SEC disclosure rules for cluttering up corporate filings with unnecessary information. The Chamber has often sued the SEC over rules requiring disclosures that it said were not material, and has staunchly lobbied Congress to beat back other measures championed by pension funds, unions and progressive-leaning groups. Clayton appeared on Wednesday to echo some of their concerns generally, lamenting that lawmakers and regulators have "significantly expanded the scope of required disclosures beyond the core concept of materiality." He also urged companies to apply to the SEC for requests to modify what they are required to include in their routine financial reporting, a process that is allowed under current SEC rules. Clayton''s plan to scale back unnecessary disclosures could spark concerns among progressive groups pushing for new rules, particularly those who support requiring public companies to provide investors with information about their political spending. A petition submitted to the SEC in 2011 calling for a political spending rule garnered a record number of signatures, but to date, the agency has not acted on it. Lisa Gilbert, the vice president of legislative affairs for Public Citizen, a non-profit watchdog group in support of the rule, said Clayton''s interest in expanding the menu of public investment options for retail investors means she hopes he will be open to considering it. "I assume he will remain open-minded to what people are asking his agency to do," she said. In addition to his comments on public company requirements, Clayton also said he plans to have the SEC launch a new fixed income market structure advisory committee to scrutinize the current rules and identify potential reforms. Clayton said the SEC will also consider a pilot program in coming months to study the impact of the fees and rebates that exchanges charge and provide to brokers. Editing by Chris Reese, G Crosse 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-sec-regulation-idINKBN19X2ML'|'2017-07-12T21:56:00.000+03:00' +'b6f1f64cb59262c1ca98596ff6ecb073ccead812'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX rises, bolstered by gold miners, energy stocks'|'July 14, 2017 / 2:57 PM / 18 minutes ago CANADA STOCKS-TSX rises, bolstered by gold miners, energy stocks 2 Min Read * TSX up 29.61 points, or 0.2 percent, to 15,164.61 * Six of the TSX''s 10 main groups are up * Energy stocks up 0.5 percent, materials rise 0.9 percent TORONTO, July 14 (Reuters) - Canada''s main stock index rose on Friday as gold stocks, burnished by stronger gold prices, and energy firms, helped lead the market. Barrick Gold was the most influential mover on the index, rising 1.9 percent to C$20.36. Late on Thursday, a union representing workers at the Zaldivar copper mine in Chile, owned by Barick and Antofagasta Plc, said talks would resume after voting to strike earlier this week. Goldcorp advanced 1.9 percent to C$16.69. The U.S. dollar fell and bolstered the price of gold, which touched its highest level in nearly two weeks, following weak U.S. inflation and retail sales data. Gold futures rose 0.9 percent to $1,226.7 an ounce. The materials group, which encompasses miners and fertilizer producers, added 0.9 percent. The energy group was up 0.5 percent on the back of firmer oil prices, which gained on signs of greater demand. U.S. crude prices were up 1.2 percent to $46.61 a barrel. Encana Corp added 1.2 percent to C$11.90. At 10:29 a.m. ET (1429 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index rose 29.61 points, or 0.2 percent, to 15,164.61, after a brief turn into negative territory. Six of the 10 main index groups rose. Tempering gains was a 0.1 percent loss by the influential financials group, weighed by small dips among Canada''s biggest banks. Consumer discretionaries also retreated, sliding 0.1 percent. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the TSX by 165 to 77, for a 2.14-to-1 ratio on the upside. (Reporting by Solarina Ho; Editing by Phil Berlowitz) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-idUSL1N1K50SN'|'2017-07-14T17:54:00.000+03:00' +'af8919c31133661e0c4326dfd8ad29d21ac3bfe7'|'America Movil audits Guatemalan unit amid corruption probe'|'July 17, 2017 / 7:24 PM / 19 minutes ago America Movil audits Guatemalan unit amid corruption probe Julia Love 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of America Movil is pictured on the wall of a reception area in the company''s corporate offices in Mexico City, Mexico, May 18, 2017. Edgard Garrido/File Photo MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim''s telecoms company America Movil said on Monday it was auditing its Guatemalan unit, which has become embroiled in a probe into suspected money laundering and illicit election financing by a former government minister. Guatemalan police on Friday arrested 17 people on suspicion of involvement in a corruption racket allegedly directed by the country''s former communications minister Alejandro Sinibaldi, who has been on the run since June 2016. During the probe by a U.N.-backed anti-corruption body in Guatemala known as the CICIG, investigators found evidence of payments from Telecomunicaciones de Guatemala S.A. (Telgua), a subsidiary of America Movil ( AMXL.MX ), in Sinibaldi''s account. "Guatemalan law permits these contributions," a spokesman for America Movil said over the phone. "What we are trying to find out is why these contributions were made without observing the norms and requirements that Guatemalan law establishes." Interviews with a former Telgua executive revealed that the payments were intended to secure the company favorable treatment in a dispute with a Tigo, a local rival, CICIG said. The former Telgua executive took responsibility for the payments, and the company did not benefit from them, the America Movil spokesman said. "The commercial dispute between Telgua and Tigo was resolved through a private agreement ... without any intervention from the Guatemalan government." A spokeswoman for Tigo did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Sinibaldi served under former President Otto Perez, who fell from power in 2015 following a CICIG-led investigation into his alleged involvement in a lucrative corruption racket. Sinibaldi created a series of shell companies to launder money he collected in bribes to authorized state building companies, and some of that money also was intended to finance Perez Molina''s right-wing Patriot Party, the CICIG said. Reporting by Julia Love; Editing by Richard Chang 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-guatemala-corruption-americamovil-idUSKBN1A222M'|'2017-07-17T22:23:00.000+03:00' +'4494f483ec429f948ebfc5b83b46a6e0214a4548'|'Oil adds to rally on optimism over declining stocks'|'July 26, 2017 / 1:57 AM / an hour ago Oil prices rise as falling U.S. inventories stoke rebalancing hopes 3 Min Read An employee pumps petrol for clients at a petrol station in Hanoi, Vietnam December 20, 2106. Kham LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices firmed on Wednesday, holding near eight-week highs, as a fall in U.S. inventories bolstered expectations that the long-oversupplied market was moving toward balance. Brent crude futures LCOc1 rose 30 cents to $50.50 a barrel by 0959 GMT, after rallying more than 3 percent on Tuesday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures CLc1 climbed 40 cents to $48.29 a barrel. U.S. crude stockpiles fell sharply last week as refineries boosted output, while gasoline inventories increased and distillate stocks decreased, data from industry group the American Petroleum Institute showed on Tuesday. Crude inventories fell 10.2 million barrels in the week ending July 21 to 487 million, more than the expected decrease of 2.6 million barrels. Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday could provide more support, with forecasts of a drop for a fourth week in a row. Tuesday''s stock draw added to hopes the long-awaited oil market rebalancing was underway. Saudi Arabia said on Monday it would limit oil exports to 6.6 million barrels per day (bpd) in August, down nearly 1 million bpd from a year earlier. "The market has been tightening and the refinery margins are strong," said PetroMatrix managing director Olivier Jakob, saying the U.S. stock draw offered a boost to prices. "You add geopolitical risk premium for Venezuela, and you''ve got a strong market." Venezuela, an OPEC member producing about 2 million bpd of oil, faces deepening economic woes and protests. President Nicolas Maduro''s adversaries plan strikes to push him to abandon a weekend election. The United States is considering financial sanctions to halt dollar payments for the country''s oil. Nigerian output slipped this week as leaks forced Shell to shut a pipeline exporting some 180,000 bpd of oil. Nigeria, which has been exempted from OPEC-led production curbs, also agreed to cap or cut output when it stabilized at 1.8 million bpd. But analysts said the current oil price rally could encourage more production, particularly from the United States. "Relieved bulls should be careful what they wish for. Any price rebound will only embolden U.S. shale producers at a time when rumors have started to emerge that the U.S. shale boom is slowing," PVM oil analyst Stephen Brennock said in a note. Anadarko Petroleum Corp ( APC.N ) said on Monday it would cut its 2017 capital budget by $300 million because of depressed oil prices, the first major U.S. oil producer to do so, after posting a larger-than-expected quarterly loss. Additional reporting by Fergus Jensen in Singapore; Editing by Edmund Blair 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUKKBN1AB06J'|'2017-07-26T04:55:00.000+03:00' +'a16aa8326d410b069612ebb8641ad6d9d3330403'|'Worldpay says agreed to be taken over by Vantiv in $10 billion deal'|'Deals - Wed Jul 5, 2017 - 6:32pm BST U.S. card firm Vantiv goes global with $10 billion Worldpay buy left right Traders wait for news at the post where U.S. credit card technology firm Vantiv Inc is traded on Traders work at the post where U.S. credit card technology firm Vantiv Inc is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., July 5, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidx 2/3 Worldpay logo in undated handout. REUTERS/Handout/Worldpay 3/3 By Noor Zainab Hussain U.S. credit card processor Vantiv agreed to buy Britain''s Worldpay for 7.7 billion pounds ($10 billion) on Wednesday in a move expected to trigger further deals. Payments companies have become targets for credit card companies and banks seeking to capitalize on a switch from cash transactions to paying by smartphone or other mobile device, with Danish payment services firm Nets A/S ( NETS.CO ) revealing it had been approached by potential buyers. Shares in Worldpay ( WPG.L ) rose by nearly 28 percent on Tuesday when Britain''s largest payments firm said it had received approaches from both Vantiv ( VNTV.N ) and JPMorgan ( JPM.N ), which is Worldpay''s corporate broker. The U.S. bank said that while it had shown a preliminary interest, it does not plan to make a rival bid. "Given the current price, strategic rationale for Vantiv and lack of significant EPS (earnings per share) accretion we believe it is unlikely other suitors will emerge at this point," analysts at Cowen said following the announcement of the deal. Under the terms revealed on Wednesday, Vantiv will pay 55 pence in cash, 0.0672 of a new Vantiv share and a 5 pence cash dividend per Worldpay share, totaling 385 pence per share. Although this is an 18.9 percent premium to Worldpay''s closing share price on Monday, it is below the 409.5 pence hit on Wednesday before the announcement, which comes only 20 months after Worldpay listed in London with a 4.8 billion pound price tag. Worldpay''s stock was down 9.3 percent at 370 pence at 1425 GMT while Vantiv, which has a market capitalization of $12.3 billion, saw its shares fall 3.9 percent to $60.51. Shareholders in the British firm will own about 41 percent of the new company, which will be run by Vantiv Chief Charles Drucker and Worldpay CEO Philip Jansen. Set up in 1989, London-based Worldpay was spun out of Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ) to private equity firms Bain Capital and Advent International in 2010. The firm employs 4,500 people, and says it processes around 31 million mobile, online and in-store transactions every day. While banks have been trying to develop and buy more sophisticated technology, companies like PayPal ( PYPL.O ) and Worldpay have gained a large market share as consumers have adopted online shopping and cashless transactions. GLOBAL APPEAL Analysts say the most likely target is Worldpay''s e-commerce business, especially outside the United States where Vantiv is largely focused. Worldpay says it supports 400,000 merchants in 126 currencies across 146 countries. "While Vantiv owns one of the most enviable U.S. acquiring businesses - over 30 percent of revenue from integrated channels - it has no exposure outside of North America," Cowen analysts said. Worldpay''s e-commerce payments revenue, which accounts for more than a third of its total, rose by 21.7 percent to 386.6 million pounds in 2016, driven by new business wins and strength in its global retail and digital content units. Analysts at Berenberg said before the announcement that Vantiv - as well as JP Morgan, is suffering from excessive exposure to the offline U.S. market. "The acquisition of Worldpay would give them international e-commerce capabilities that they would be able to cross-sell to their U.S. client base." Increased exposure to the United States would also help Worldpay, which reported a lower than expected rise in 2016 revenue, hurt by weakness in its American business which accounts for more than a quarter of its revenue.. "Worldpay would gain scale in the U.S. market, a geography where frankly the company has floundered relative to rivals," Cowen analysts said. (Editing by Rachel Armstrong and Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-worldpay-m-a-vantiv-inc-idUKKBN19Q1JK'|'2017-07-05T15:05:00.000+03:00' +'19eee6f05816ad04c35ab3b7ce5b66ad9380cacb'|'Global pizza brands battle for Russia''s far-flung regions'|'July 21, 2017 / 3:19 PM / 9 minutes ago Global pizza brands battle for Russia''s far-flung regions Maria Kiselyova and Olga Sichkar 5 Min Read Christopher Wynne, the chief executive of Papa John''s franchisee, poses during an interview with Reuters in Moscow, Russia, July 21, 2017. Maxim Shemetov MOSCOW (Reuters) - Global pizza brands Domino''s and Papa John''s are preparing an assault on Russia''s provinces, betting they can turn a profit far from Moscow as online card payments become more widespread and consumers get to know foreign brands better. While stay-at-home Muscovites can order an array of international pizza brands from Sbarro to Domino''s to Papa John''s, regional cities such as Rostov-on-Don and Nizhny Novgorod are still chiefly the preserve of small local chains. Multiple challenges have kept global fast food brands wedded to major Russian cities, including patchy transport links, bureaucratic delays, finding an army of chefs who can maintain quality, as well as the sheer cost of shipping often perishable ingredients across a vast country that spans 11 time zones. Western fast food chains have also had to adapt menus to suit Russian palates better, once the allure of new foreign tastes has worn off. One of Domino''s best-selling pizzas is the "Russian" with 13 toppings including potato, beef, pork, bacon, mushrooms, pepperoni and cheese to help ward off the cold. But Domino''s Pizza''s DZP.N Russian franchisee, DP Eurasia ( DPEU.L ), believes the time is now right to expand beyond Moscow, where sales at the 76 outlets it had at the end of March are far outstripping growth in its main market Turkey. "The company has done its own research and realised that there''s almost no quality pizza in the regions, which gives us enormous ground for development," said DP Eurasia''s head of Russian development Elena Ivanova. Like-for-like sales in Russia have risen 30.1 percent this year up to May 21, whereas the comparable figure for Turkey was 6.3 percent growth. Aggressive Expansion Domino''s was Russia''s third-largest pizza chain last year yet its share of the fragmented market stood at less than 2 percent, according to Euromonitor International. Guvenc Donmez, DP Eurasia''s Russian head, said he saw room for 1,500 Domino''s outlets in the longer term. A staff member prepares pizzas at a Domino''s Pizza restaurant in Moscow, Russia, July 14, 2017. Picture taken July 14, 2017. Sergei Karpukhin For now, the company is using part of the 148 million pounds it raised listing shares in London in June to add 40 outlets this year, venturing as far as Krasnodar, 1,200 kilometres (750 miles) south of Moscow. Domino''s closest rival is not standing idle. The Russian franchise of U.S. chain Papa John''s International Inc ( PZZA.O ), the fourth biggest player in the country in 2016, sees room for 60-80 store openings each year over the next five years. "We still see potential in Moscow. I think we could open a further 40-50 stores there, but we are also embarking on an aggressive expansion to small towns," Christopher Wynne, the chief executive of Papa John''s franchisee, told Reuters. Another U.S. brand Sbarro was the market leader with a 4 percent market share in 2016, according to Euromonitor, followed by DoDo Pizza, a Russian chain with a presence in former Soviet states as well as China and the United States. Slideshow (3 Images) Sbarro''s Russian franchise had 88 stores last year, including in provincial cities. However, it was hit by a Russian food import ban and a drop in the rouble as Sbarro refused to let it replace imports with local products and the franchising agreement was terminated, Russia''s RBC daily has reported. Sbarro did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Wynne said Papa John''s Russia had imported 90 percent of products before the 2014 food ban came in but had replaced all its suppliers within six months. DP Eurasia acknowledged the restrictions could adversely affect its business, even though it too had managed to replace the banned imports. It also said there could be challenges in rolling out the franchise in places with less dense populations than Moscow but believes it can stay profitable thanks to greater purchasing power and economies of scale. "Russia is a huge market and is still very underpenetrated. You don''t have many options to eat," Donmez said in an interview with Reuters TV. ($1 = 0.7698 pounds) Additional reporting by Margarita Vznuzdaeva; writing by Maria Kiselyova; editing by David Clarke 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-pizzas-idUKKBN1A61YD'|'2017-07-21T18:18:00.000+03:00' +'4e61c2596de052a603f3ebdd47bb8d89ce8acaea'|'The United States of debt'|'POLITICS in America may be an arena of mutual incomprehension with few settled facts, but the debate about the health of American firms balance-sheets is, if anything, even more bewildering. Ranged on one side are those who complain that America Inc is hoarding $2trn of idle cash and that this acts as a powerful drag on the economy. On the other are those, including the IMF, who yell that firms are bingeing on debt, with borrowing hitting an all-time high of $8.4trn last year. As a result firms are simultaneously accused of being timid wimps and reckless idiots.In fact, the numbers show that they are by and large a sensible bunch (especially compared with the countrys bankers and politicians). What is more, the debate over debt, as framed, misses the most intriguing thing about their balance-sheets. These have been radically reshaped to adapt to three national economic sicknessesa financial system that companies still mistrust after the crisis; a broken tax code; and monopoly profits. 41 minutes Measuring a firms balance-sheet leverage involves a few moving parts, which may explain some of the muddle over borrowing. There is debt, cash and the profits that go to making interest payments. For the current members of the S&P 500 index, excluding financial firms, all three measures have soared in the past decade. Debt has risen by 114% and cash by 162%; gross operating profits are 51% higher. It is easy to cherry-pick from among these figures to make contradictory claims.What matters, however, is the size of firms net debts (debts less cash) relative to profits. Comparing these is rather like deducting the cash in your bank account from your debts and comparing the net amount to your salary. The ratio for S&P 500 members, adding up all their accounts, is a reasonable 1.5 times, slightly higher than a decade ago and lower than in Europe and Asia. Some firms are more geared than others. But the share of total debt owed by highly leveraged firms has been fairly stable over time. Although figures for the S&P 500 capture only big, listed firms, national-accounts data include all of them and indicate similar trends, with the net-debt ratio flat compared to 2006.That does not necessarily please central banks in rich countries, which since the financial crisis have kept interest rates low, in part to try to persuade companies to go on investment splurges funded by cheap debt. But companies do not work in the way that some economists would like. They invest in line with their long-term strategies, using tried-and-tested rules of thumb to gauge the attractiveness of new projects.Even if American firms have spent a decade ignoring the Federal Reserve, they have altered their behaviour in response to the economys three ills. First, their suspicion of the financial system means they carry a bigger buffer of cash and liquid assets. Before the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 firms assumed they could always tap the money markets or borrow from banks. Now they do not entirely trust either. For every dollar of total gross profits that the present constituents of the S&P 500 earn, they carry $1.25 of cash, compared with 72 cents a decade ago.The second change is that firms have had to adapt to a decrepit tax code that is stuck in the 1980s, before business globalised. Companies must pay a levy if they try to bring foreign profits home, and as a result many do not bother. About half of the cash of S&P 500 firms remains offshore. Many multinationals now divide their balance-sheets according to geography. They build up cash abroad and borrow in America. Apple, for example, issues bonds at home to pay for its share buy-backs, rather than tapping the $240bn it has stashed abroad. So though America Incs consolidated balance-sheet, which adds up the domestic and foreign parts, is prudently leveraged, it is more complex than before.The last change is that companies profits have soared, which partly reflects a decline in competition in the economy and the rise of oligopolies in many industries. Firms are implicitly assuming that this is a permanent change. They have allowed their net debts to rise roughly in line with their rising profits (using these bumper earnings and borrowings to finance share buy-backs).Established oligopolists such as AT&T and Kraft Heinz now boast both massive profits and high levels of net debt, reflecting the fact that their managers do not expect much competition. Likewise, Americas airlines have increased debt as their profits have shot up. Younger monopolies such as Alphabet and Facebook have net cash positions, largely because the money has only just started pouring in. Eventually they may gear up, too.God help AmericaBoth arguments, that America Inc has either lost its nerve or become reckless, are wrong. But the corporate worlds revamped balance-sheet does carry risks. One is that the liquidity buffer of $2trn might be invested unwisely. Every company insists that it parks its spare money in safe banks and low-risk bonds, but this is an area where disclosure is poor, and it would be no surprise if a few corporate treasurers were making dangerous speculative bets. Another risk is that a geopolitical or financial shock could make it harder for capital to cross borders. America Incs geographically divided balance-sheet would be harder to manage.A final risk is that abnormally high profits could fall, making it harder to service debts. Antitrust watchdogs could get tougher with telecoms and cable-TV firms, for example, pushing earnings down. Or the labour market could tighten, pushing wages up and prompting the Fed to raise interest rates. That would squeeze companies near-record margins and lift their interest costs.That is clearly not what many CEOs expect. The message that is buried in balance-sheets is not that American firms are behaving stupidly in response to todays business climate. It is that they think the disappointing status quo of high profits, muffled competition, sluggish wage growth and dysfunctional political and financial systems will continue for a long time to come.'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21725010-hidden-message-american-companies-balance-sheets-united-states-debt?fsrc=rss'|'2017-07-13T23:21:00.000+03:00' +'6cdf4bc5a2462b18d36a5ccc72841b1462f5dab8'|'UPDATE 1-Air France-KLM upbeat on pricing as bookings improve'|'July 28, 2017 / 5:43 AM / 12 hours ago UPDATE 1-Air France-KLM upbeat on pricing as bookings improve 2 Min Read * Results day after Delta, Virgin deal announced * Strikes relatively optimistic note on pricing * Lowers annual cost cut targets By Victoria Bryan and Cyril Altmeyer BERLIN, July 28 (Reuters) - Air France-KLM offered more optimism than rivals on pricing for the rest of the year, after good travel demand resulted in better than expected second-quarter profit. The results come a day after the carrier announced a new transatlantic joint venture with Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic and deals for Delta and China Eastern to enter its share capital. The Franco-Dutch carrier said on Friday that unit revenues had risen 1.5 percent in the second quarter after falling 0.5 percent in the first quarter. "We believe we will see slightly positive unit revenues throughout the whole of the second half, but some of our rivals are more cautious," Chief Financial officer Frederic Gagey told journalists. Booming travel demand has resulted in solid second quarter results so far for traditional and low-cost European airlines, including Lufthansa, easyJet and Ryanair . However, they have all sounded a note of caution on ticket prices for late summer bookings, despite seeing improvement in the first part of 2017, as carriers continue to add more seats in a race for customers. Air France-KLM last year saw demand fall in light of a wave of attacks by Islamist militants in France. Gagey said long-haul forward bookings for July and August were up 1 percent against the same time last year, while for September and October they were up 3 percent. Air France-KLM reported second-quarter operating profit of 496 million euros ($579.9 million), against a forecast in a Reuters poll for 473 million. However, it lowered its target for cost cuts for the year, saying it now expected a reduction in unit costs of 1-1.5 percent, against a previous estimate for at least 1.5 percent this year. Air France-KLM did not give a profit outlook for the year, but analysts currently expect a 2017 operating result of 1.27 billion. $1 = 0.8553 euros Reporting by Victoria Bryan and Cyril Altmeyer; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/air-france-klm-results-idUSL5N1KIABX'|'2017-07-28T08:42:00.000+03:00' +'36d766cdaab47599c91b3f8853db755c6fc81fc2'|'Exclusive: Brazil''s Triunfo clinches $673 mln restructuring with banks'|'July 22, 2017 / 1:59 PM / 18 minutes ago Brazil''s Triunfo clinches $673 million restructuring with banks Guillermo Parra-Bernal 4 Min Read BOGOTA (Reuters) - TPI Triunfo Participaes & Investimentos SA and a pool of about 20 banks have agreed on terms to restructure 2.113 billion real ($672.6 million) of debt, giving the Brazilian infrastructure firm a lifeline to finalize projects and downsize gradually. The process will take place as an out-of-court workout, in which companies seek a limit on the influence of some creditors in the upcoming rounds of their restructuring, said Andre Bucione, managing director at Alvarez & Marsal Holdings LLC, which advised Triunfo on the process. "Lenders were always satisfied with the company''s willingness to discuss how to honor its debt, facilitating an accord that will be beneficial to all parties involved," said an executive at one of Triunfo''s creditors, who requested anonymity in discussing terms of the workout. Triunfo borrowed aggressively at the start of the decade to fuel expansion in toll roads, electricity and airports. Still, Brazil''s worst-ever recession has eroded profitability at the company and about 1 billion reais of Triunfo''s debt will mature by the end of next year.[L1N1HR0WH] Triunfo had about 3.5 billion reais in total borrowings as of March. While the out-of-court workout does not impose asset sales on Triunfo, it should accelerate the reshaping of a company that grew too big, too fast, the same executive said. A total of 82 percent of Triunfo''s creditors adhered to the workout, Bucione said. Brazil''s state-controlled development bank BNDES, also a Triunfo shareholder, did not participate in the process. Under the agreement, creditors will be offered two options: to be paid in full in eight years, four of which will have a grace period and the other four, fully amortized; or to take a reduction and get paid up to 110 million reais once Triunfo''s legal team and a commercial court validate the restructuring, Bucione said. Terms of the deal are similar to those reported by Reuters on June 19, when Triunfo agreed to sell a 50 percent stake in Terminal Porturio de Navegantes SA for about 1.3 billion reais plus an earn-out. Triunfo did not immediately comment. Expensive Loan Since Reuters reported Triunfo''s exit from the terminal known as PortoNave, common shares have jumped 47 percent to 4.30 reais. A successful out-of-court workout could help Triunfo speed up the sale of stakes in a hydropower dam, a stake in an airport concession and other businesses, people told Reuters at the time of the port divestiture. Concern about the pace of negotiations with creditors and a tussle with creditor and shareholder BNDES had driven the stock down 42 percent in the two months through mid-June. Triunfo''s restructuring is the latest out-of-court workout among builders and banks in recession-hit Brazil. A recent one involved the oil drilling unit of Odebrecht SA, a builder ensnared in a massive corruption scandal that sought to renegotiate its debt. The workout was devised to help Triunfo repay an 800 million-real, foreign-currency denominated loan from hedge fund Farallon Capital Management LLC, which bore very high interest rates, Bucione said. Triunfo secured the money putting a stake in the port as collateral. For banks, the accord will help them avoid setting aside extra provisions on Triunfo''s outstanding borrowings while maintaining financing for the company''s toll road, airport and construction projects, people involved in the process said. Creditors who seek to be repaid earlier will participate in an auction that will define the optimal haircut. They would be paid 50 million reais upfront and 35 million reais after court approval. The remaining 25 million reais would hinge on other conditions and another auction.($1 = 3.1416 reais) Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Additional reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Leslie Adler and Diane Craft 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/tpi-triunfo-part-restructuring-idINKBN1A70G0'|'2017-07-22T16:57:00.000+03:00' +'b2cfb3add0d504f4e8dbf4b7cdf3d5a63f97073c'|'Organic ranchers eye Amazon distribution ahead of Whole Foods deal'|'July 24, 2017 / 4:07 PM / 6 minutes ago Organic ranchers eye Amazon distribution ahead of Whole Foods deal Rod Nickel 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Security guards stand at the reception desk of the Amazon India office in Bengaluru, India, August 14, 2015. Abhishek N. Chinnappa/File Photo (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc plans to meet on Wednesday with a dozen U.S. ranchers, seeking to expand distribution of organic and grass-fed meats as it takes over Whole Foods Market Inc, according to the meeting''s organizer. Analysts and investors have speculated that Amazon is aiming to combine its expertise in order fulfillment with the grocer''s facilities to build out delivery of fresh food, but the online retailer has not yet detailed its plans. Amazon visited Georgia grass-fed meat producer White Oak Pastures in March, 2-1/2 months before announcing the $13.7 billion Whole Foods takeover, to discuss a possible distribution deal, White Oak owner Will Harris told Reuters. The retailer later asked the farmer to invite other U.S. livestock producers to discuss distribution of organic and grass-fed meat, Harris said. Amazon declined to comment. "We are excited about exploring possibilities with them," Harris said. "It suggests that this niche in the market is becoming mainstream enough that they feel their delivery system might have traction with it." U.S. sales of organic meat and poultry, worth $991 million, climbed 17 percent last year, marking its fastest-ever annual growth, according to the Organic Trade Association (OTA). White Oak and some of the other meat producers invited to the Atlanta meeting already sell to Whole Foods, Harris said. FILE PHOTO: A Whole Foods Market is pictured in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S. June 16, 2017. Carlo Allegri/File Photo The meeting between producers and Amazon was confirmed by Carrie Balkcom, executive director of the American Grassfed Association. White Oak workers pack frozen beef, duck and lamb into boxes at the Bluffton, Georgia ranch for couriers to pick up twice a day. "I''m just certain that Amazon is better at it than us," Harris said. "I''m a farmer and they''re logistics people." The ranch sells about $2 million worth of meat online annually, making up its fastest-growing segment and 10 percent of total revenues. "I sell a very niche product," Harris said. "I think Amazon will add a whole other dimension." Amazon''s expansion in organic products through Whole Foods bodes well for the sector, said Nate Lewis, farm policy director at OTA. "If Amazon can apply its efficiencies of scale to the Whole Foods Market segment, and pass along those savings (to consumers), I would not be surprised to see more growth in the protein side," Lewis said. But some organic farmers worry that Whole Foods under Amazon might import meat from lower-cost producers rather than buy U.S. supplies. It could be as bad as shutting us out or as good as expanding the market," said Mark Smith, whose Aspen Island Ranch is not involved in the meeting. Smith''s ranch is part of a Montana co-operative that sells organic grass-fed beef to Whole Foods through a third party. Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba and Jeffrey Dastin in San Francisco; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-whole-foods-m-a-amazon-farming-idUKKBN1A921V'|'2017-07-24T19:20:00.000+03:00' +'50b41b51dce813ec903c4551d46468d4c48e7b13'|'Alibaba''s revenue to jump 45-48 pct this year - executive chairman'|'July 20, 2017 / 2:43 PM / an hour ago Alibaba''s revenue to jump 45-48 percent this year: executive chairman 2 Min Read A logo of Alibaba Group is pictured at its headquarters in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, October 14, 2015. Stringer/File photo NAIROBI (Reuters) - China''s Alibaba expects its revenue to expand by 45 to 48 percent in its fiscal year from April as more small businesses join its online community in search of sales, Executive Chairman Jack Ma said on Thursday. Alibaba had revenue of $22.99 billion in its year to the end of March. Slideshow (2 Images) "Our revenue this year, we will still have 45-48 percent growth, the money comes from solving problems for others," Ma told hundreds of senior executives who filled a large ballroom in a five-star hotel to listen to him on his first visit to Africa. Ma, who founded the Hangzhou-based e-commerce firm, said he would consider investing in Kenya after meeting young entrepreneurs and being impressed by the East African nation''s broadband infrastructure. "I was surprised by the speed of the Internet," he told the executives. He told a separate gathering at the University of Nairobi that the speed was faster than in some developed nations. He said he would consider the investment opportunities he had seen in the country, and make a firm announcement at a later date, adding that the dozens of Chinese entrepreneurs who accompanied him had also been stirred by locals'' drive to build businesses. "They say it is very difficult to find another Jack Ma in China but today we found a lot of Jack Mas in Africa," he said. Reporting by Duncan Miriri; editing by Susan Thomas 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-kenya-alibaba-idUSKBN1A51XD'|'2017-07-20T17:40:00.000+03:00' +'edca1e1819a7d78632e9abebc02a32b0c0a54e4f'|'Millions of things will soon have digital twins'|'THE factory of the future will be a building stuffed full of robots making robots. A factory in Amberg, a small town in Bavaria, is not quite that, but it gets close. The plant is run by Siemens, a German engineering giant, and it makes industrial computer-control systems, which are essential bits of kit used in a variety of automated systems, including the factorys own production lines.The Amberg plant is bright, airy and squeaky clean. It produces 15m units a yeara tenfold increase since opening in 1989, and without the building being expanded or any great increase in the 1,200 workers employed in three shifts. (Production is about 75% automated, as Siemens reckons some tasks are still best done by humans.) The defect rate is close to zero, as 99.9988% of units require no adjustment, a remarkable feat considering they come in more than 1,000 different varieties.Latest updates Trumpcare, version three Democracy in America 5 minutes ago Turkey 28 an hour 10 See all updates Such achievements are largely down to the factorys digital twin. For there is another factory, a virtual version of the physical facility that resides within a computer system. This digital twin is identical in every respect and is used to design the control units, test them, simulate how to make them and program production machines. Once everything is humming along nicely, the digital twin hands over to the physical factory to begin making things for real.The digital twin is not a new invention. The concept of pairing traces its roots to the early days of space travel, when NASA built models to help monitor and modify spacecraft that, once launched, were beyond their physical reach. As computer power increased, these analogue models turned into digital ones.The powerful systems that have since emerged bring together several elementssoftware services in computer-aided design and engineering; simulation; process control; and product life cycle management. Some digital twins are gaining artificial intelligence and virtual-reality capabilities, too. They can also help to monitor remotely and provide after-service for products that have been sold. It is a digital twin of the entire value chain, says Jan Mrosik, the chief executive of Siemenss Digital Factory Division.Siemens is not alone in equipping its factories with digital twins. Its American rival, GE, is doing the same. Both companies also sell their digital-twin software, along with firms such as Dassault Systmes, a French specialist in the area. Customers come from industries ranging from aerospace and defence to automotive, consumer products, energy, heavy machinery and pharmaceuticals.One motivation for twinning is to bring products to market faster and at a lower cost. The digital twin allows endless design iterations to be tried in the virtual world without having to stop the production line to see how they can be made, says Mr Mrosik. The twin can also model people working in a factory to improve their ergonomics. In one example, Maserati, which is part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (whose chairman is a director of The Economist s parent company), used a digital twin to put its Ghibli sports saloon into production in Grugliasco, Italy, in just 16 months instead of the typical 30 months.The spread of digital twins could shake up supply chains. For example, suppliers could be asked to submit a digital twin of their product so that it can be tested in a manufacturers virtual factory before an order is placed. It is already a requirement at the Amberg plant for suppliers to deliver a digital twin along with their product to help installation.Twins will become more responsive still as products are increasingly fitted with sensors that relay data to the internet. Formula 1 cars are full of such sensors; racing teams use these data to create digital twins of their cars so that they can rapidly design, test and manufacture parts needed to make hundreds of changes in the week or two between races. GE creates digital twins of its wind turbines and jet engines to monitor their performance and carry out preventive maintenance. Data transmitted from a jet engine while planes are in the air can provide 15-30 days advance notice of potential failures.Even mass-produced goods that are far less complex are likely to end up having digital siblings. This would help with product tracking and verification, which is increasingly important in food manufacturing and pharmaceutical production. Just about any product could have a unique identifier that links to production data, if not a full digital twin, reckons Thomas Krmendi, the chief executive of Kezzler, a Norwegian company that produces secure product codes using an algorithm.The firms codes can be scanned with a smartphone, which then connects over the internet so that information can be exchanged with a digital twin on things like a products location and use. A consumer in London checking the provenance of a bottle of fine wine, for example, could confirm the vintage, or be alerted to the possibility of counterfeiting if the bottle had actually been dispatched to a different country. Thats something everyone can raise a glass to.This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "The Gemini makers"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21725033-factories-cars-range-consumer-products-millions-things-will-soon-have-digital?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-07-13T23:21:00.000+03:00' +'6861427af035342d1f73c8bf7c730f3123e1845b'|'Let''s make a deal: Automakers, U.S. auctions align to prop up used car prices'|'Business News - Fri Jul 7, 2017 - 1:21pm BST Let''s make a deal: Automakers, U.S. auctions align to prop up used car prices left right Used vehicles are seen loaded onto transport carriers after being purchased during a dealer-only auction at Manheim Detroit auction house in Carleton, Michigan, U.S., June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook 1/10 left right Used vehicles are are lined up in lanes before being sold during a dealer-only auction at Manheim Detroit auction house in Carleton, Michigan, U.S., June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook 2/10 left right Used vehicles are lined up in lanes before being sold during a dealer-only auction at Manheim Detroit auction house in Carleton, Michigan, U.S., June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook 3/10 left right Used vehicles are sold during a dealer-only auction at Manheim Detroit auction house in Carleton, Michigan, U.S., June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook 4/10 left right Manheim Detroit general manager Mandy Savage poses in front of a reconditioned vehicle being prepared to be sold during a dealer-only auction at Manheim Detroit auction house in Carleton, Michigan, U.S., June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook 5/10 left right Potential buyers inspect used vehicles being sold during a dealer-only auction at Manheim Detroit auction house in Carleton, Michigan, U.S., June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook 6/10 left right Logan Freier works on reconditioning a used vehicle while preparing it for auction at Manheim Detroit auction house in Carleton, Michigan, U.S., June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook 7/10 left right Auctioneer Daren Bok signals a bid during a dealer-only used vehicle auction at Manheim Detroit auction house in Carleton, Michigan, U.S., June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook 8/10 left right Used vehicles are detailed, preparing them to be sold at a dealer-only auction at Manheim Detroit auction house in Carleton, Michigan, U.S., June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook 9/10 left right Logan Freier works on reconditioning a used vehicle while preparing it for auction at Manheim Detroit auction house in Carleton, Michigan, U.S., June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook 10/10 By Nick Carey - CARLETON, Mich. CARLETON, Mich. Two lanes apart at a noisy, fast-paced auto auction near Detroit, two vehicles show why major U.S. automakers have a problem with used cars. In one lane of the Manheim auction facility, a black 2015 Chevy Malibu sedan with barely 20,000 miles on it sold for just over $13,000 (10,086.12 pounds), less than half its original sticker price. In the other lane, a white 2013 Chevy Silverado pick-up truck sold for $11,500 - despite having 200,000 miles on the odometer. America''s renewed lust for new SUVs and trucks instead of smaller cars is already hurting major auto companies, which posted their fourth consecutive month of declining new vehicle sales. But millions cars that were leased two or three years ago, many of them used compact and midsized cars with low mileage, are heading towards auction lots and used car dealerships. For a graphic, click tmsnrt.rs/2pe1E2x That surge in supply threatens to depress prices for new and used vehicles, raising the risk of losses for automakers and finance companies on lease deals. It also undercuts the value of cars customers want to trade in for a new vehicle. So major carmakers, including General Motors Co ( GM.N ) and Ford Motor Co ( F.N ), are aligning with auto auction houses with aggressive moves to make sure they are getting the best prices for their vehicles. Such manoeuvres include transporting the automobiles to where the greater demand is based on real-time pricing data, spending more to spruce up used cars and slowing the pace which leased cars get moved to used car lots or auction houses. Auto auction houses such as Manheim in southeastern Michigan are where the romance of new car marketing goes to die. The dominant player in the U.S. auction market along with rival KAR Auction Services Inc ( KAR.N ), Manheim treats vehicles like commodities, grading them on a fine-tuned scale from one (poor) to five (excellent) that provides dealers with certainty and transparency. "If a dealer sees a 2015 Ford Fusion with a rating of 4.3, they know what to pay for it and what they can sell it for," said Matt Trapp, a Manheim vice president on a tour of the auction, scanning tags on vehicles with his smartphone to pull up a multitude of transactions for that make, model, year, condition and mileage. "If you don''t want to overbid on this one, wait a minute and another will be right along," he said. Increasingly, the auction houses and automakers are collaborating to try to raise the scores, and the prices, of vehicles running through auctions. Auction houses have offered add-on reconditioning services on used vehicles for decades, but after the lean years following the Great Recession, demand is rising for those higher-margin services. Manheim''s chief economist Jonathan Smoke says "we can help determine the optimal way to sell their vehicle, which includes location, timing," the level of reconditioning and whether to opt for a physical auction or online auction. Online auctions account for 30 percent of sales at Manheim versus 10 percent three years ago, he added. $2,700 SEPARATES MEMPHIS AND MIAMI Armed with detailed, real-time pricing data that was not available during the last downturn, auctioneers can now help automakers figure out where a used car could fetch the best price. Manheim has an expanded logistics arm that can aggregate cars for transport to the place they''ll fetch the highest price at auction, or arrange their sale before they even move. Jason Ferreri, KAR''s executive vice president of online services, said this is happening "significantly more often." Neither he nor Manheim officials would give specifics. In April, KAR agreed to buy DRIVIN, a data aggregator that matches vehicle inventory to dealer demand, whose founders include Brad Keywell and Eric Lefkofsky, the co-founders of Groupon Inc ( GRPN.O ), for $43 million in stock. Ferreri said the deal was in response to automakers'' demands for greater data services amid the influx of off-lease vehicles. This real-time pricing data helps the companies steer the used cars towards higher demand. For example, the national price for a 2015 Chevrolet Malibu with average mileage the week of June 11 was $15,514, according to data compiled for Reuters by car-shopping website CarGurus. In Memphis, that Malibu cost nearly 9 percent above the national average fair price, but in Miami it would sell for more than 9 percent below that price, representing a difference of $2,700. Manheim''s Matt Trapp, whose territory includes the U.S. northeast, says around 40 percent of vehicles coming off leases are returned to dealers within around five hours'' drive of New York City. Many are now being shipped to other regions. In New Jersey, for instance, one in three off-lease vehicles now leaves the state, Trapp says. "I am not seeing a glut of used cars hitting the market," said Mike Gentry, who buys cars for 20 dealerships in northwest Ohio and attended the Manheim auction outside Detroit. "Automakers have set a floor for pricing and when they can''t get that price they ship them 500 miles to where they can get a better price." MORE PRICING TOOLS IN THE GARAGE GM spokesman Jim Cain said the company is relying on "a lot more tools" including certified pre-owned vehicles "to support resale values." A Ford spokesman said the company has adopted a "disciplined approach" to maintaining used car values. Those tools include slowing the flow of vehicles to the used market, which they can afford in the short term as their balance sheets are strong. "With off-lease vehicles we are not seeing all of them coming to market, some of them are being held back," National Automobile Dealers Association chief economist Steven Szakaly told reporters on a conference call on Thursday. Automakers also allow their franchised dealers to take first pick of vehicles just coming off a lease before they go to auction. These are usually sold as "certified pre-owned" cars that come with a factory warranty, and a higher price tag than a run-of-the-mill used car. For vehicles that have suffered wear and tear, auction houses are now preparing for what Manheim''s Mandy Savage calls a "tsunami" that will hit the market in the coming years. At Manheim''s body shop here in Carleton, Savage, the facility''s general manager, says 90 percent of the vehicles being painted or undergoing small fixes are cars that have just come off lease. Automakers are increasingly willing to spend $500 to boost a car''s resale value by $750, she said. "This is not an art," she said. "It''s a science." But Mark Wakefield, head of the North American automotive practice for consultancy AlixPartners, said propping up used car values makes sense, but automakers will have to do more to stem the flow of used cars longer-term by trimming inventory levels. "I expect to see more production cuts," he said. (Reporting By Nick Carey; Editing by Joe White and Edward Tobin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-autos-auction-idUKKBN19S1NF'|'2017-07-07T15:21:00.000+03:00' +'e3b58fbd6c42a7bc528b23bb1b029e341d1d9e1b'|'UK''s SFO says opens investigation into Rio Tinto Group'|'FILE PHOTO: A sign adorns the building where mining company Rio Tinto has their office in Perth, Western Australia, November 19, 2015. David Gray/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Britain''s anti-fraud regulator said it has opened an investigation into how the miner Rio Tinto conducted business in the Republic of Guinea."The Serious Fraud Office has opened an investigation into suspected corruption in the conduct of business in the Republic of Guinea by the Rio Tinto group, its employees and others associated with it," the SFO said in a statement on Monday.U.S. listed shares in Rio Tinto fell 1.4 percent to $43.52 after news of the SFO investigation."Rio Tinto will fully co-operate with the Serious Fraud Office and any other relevant authorities, as it has done since it self-reported in November 2016," the company said in a statement on Monday.Last November Rio Tinto said that it had become aware of emails that referred to unexplained payments of $10.5 million in connection with the Simandou iron ore project in the West African nation.Reporting by Huw Jones; editing by Andrew MacAskill and Alexander Smith '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-sfo-rio-tinto-idUSKBN1A9243'|'2017-07-24T19:32:00.000+03:00' +'55f528ba219de824a6d3c3e8dfcfcfd689f594b4'|'Carrefour second-quarter sales growth accelerates as France improves'|'Business News - Thu Jul 6, 2017 - 7:54pm BST Carrefour second-quarter sales growth accelerates as France improves People push shopping cart in a Carrefour supermarket in Cabrera de Mar, near Barcelona, Spain May 19, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea By Dominique Vidalon - PARIS PARIS Carrefour ( CARR.PA ) reported an improved second quarter performance on Thursday, in a further sign the turnaround strategy of outgoing boss Georges Plassat had helped revive the world''s second-largest retailer. Closely-watched French hypermarket sales returned to positive territory for the first time since the third quarter 2015, while the rest of Europe, notably Italy and Spain had robust sales, and Carrefour kept its 2017 sales growth outlook. Chief Financial Officer Pierre-Jean Sivignon told analysts Carrefour still eyed 3-5 percent sales growth at constant exchange rates for full-year 2017. He said he would comment on the consensus of analysts for the group''s 2017 operating profit only on Aug. 30, when the French retailer announces its first-half results. The consensus currently stands at 2.49 billion euros. Second-quarter group sales reached 21.759 billion euros ($24.82 billion), above the average of analysts'' estimates of 21.5 billion euros. Stripping out fuel, currency and calendar effects, revenue grew 2.8 percent year-on-year, an acceleration from 1.4 percent growth in the first quarter. Alexandre Bompard, the former boss of French retailer Fnac Darty ( FNAC.PA ), is taking the top seat at Carrefour on July 18, replacing Plassat who has been at the helm since 2012. Investors want Carrefour''s new CEO to boost the performance of the French hypermarkets, a task in which others have struggled or failed, and to catch up in the digitalisation of retail, notably after Amazon''s ( AMZN.O ) $13.7 billion bid to buy Whole Foods Market ( WFM.O ) sent shockwaves across global food retailers. Since taking the reins in June 2012, Plassat has led a recovery focused on price cuts, accelerating expansion into convenience shops and renovating stores. Under Plassat Carrefour has made progress in most of Europe and in Brazil but it suffered a drop in group profit last year, pulled down by a tough French market, where its hypermarkets face competition from online rivals and aggressive price discounting from those such as unlisted Leclerc. In France, where Carrefour makes 47 percent of its sales, like-for-like revenue rose 1.9 percent in the quarter, an acceleration from 0.5 percent growth in the first quarter. Sales at French hypermarkets alone rose 0.5 percent after a 1.6 percent decline in the first quarter while supermarkets and convenience stores also had a good performance. Sivignon said the performance of the French hypermarkets was in a challenging environment, adding it reflected price cuts and warm weather conditions in June. Because Carrefour plans to list its Brazil business on July 20, it is not allowed to disclose figures for Brazil, its second-largest market after France. The group is reporting all emerging markets "as rest of the world" with no details given by country.. That segment had like-for-like sales growth of 3.4 percent in the second quarter against 3.1 percent in the first. In a separate statement Carmila, Carrefour''s property unit, said it raised 578 million euros in a capital increase that will give it more financial muscle to fund its development. ($= 0.8768 euros)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-carefour-results-idUKKBN19R2DB'|'2017-07-06T21:54:00.000+03:00' +'1803eab07ce6e64cba890b41eab14ae784a88bfc'|'Trian launches public fight to add Peltz to P&G''s board'|'July 17, 2017 / 10:36 AM / an hour ago Trian takes off the gloves, aiming to put Peltz on P&G''s board Michael Flaherty and Sruthi Ramakrishnan 6 Min Read (Reuters) - Activist investor Nelson Peltz is seeking a seat on Procter & Gamble Co''s ( PG.N ) board, taking public his frustrations with the company''s lagging stock price and railing against its "suffocating bureaucracy." Trian Fund Management LP on Monday announced the nomination of its chief executive and co-founder Peltz, launching the largest proxy fight ever against a $223 billion consumer products juggernaut that sells everything from Tide detergent and Gillette razors to Pampers diapers. Peltz''s nomination comes after five months of behind-the-scenes discussions between Trian and P&G''s top executives and board, according to the company''s proxy filing. At one point, the two sides nearly struck a truce in May that would involve P&G laying out certain performance metrics over the next year. But any sign of an agreement was absent on Monday when both came out swinging. The 180-year-old company, founded on a hand-shake agreement by a soap and a candle maker, issued a statement strongly backing its board and strategic plan. See Breakingviews column: Trian, which owns about $3.3 billion of P&G''s stock, or 1.5 percent of the company, has until an October annual meeting to convince fellow shareholders that Peltz deserves to be voted onto the board. The firm''s campaign website (revitalizepg.com) and press release has few immediate changes proposed for the company other than advocating for a geographic organizational structure that it believes will empower divisional leaders to make faster and better decisions. Shares of P&G were up slightly at $87.72 in afternoon trade. Trian''s previous battle with a consumer goods conglomerate was with PepsiCo Inc ( PEP.N ), where it pressured the company to spin off its beverage business from its snacks division, a campaign that the company never heeded though it did hand the investor a board seat in 2015 to make peace. ( reut.rs/2uvu0ea ) That campaign began with Trian advocating Peltz for Pepsi''s board and ended with industry veteran William Johnson joining as Trian''s representative. In a CNBC interview on Monday, Peltz, 75, talked more about Trian''s track record with companies such as H.J. Heinz than actual operational changes needed at P&G. Peltz railed against the company''s "suffocating bureaucracy," but noted he was on good terms with CEO David Taylor. Trian said it wants P&G to cut costs more efficiently, and that it does not want to replace Taylor, any board directors, or to break-up the company. Since Taylor became CEO in November, 2015, P&G''s stock has gained 0.3 percent. In contrast, the S&P 500 Household Products index .SPLRCPROD, which includes Kimberly-Clark Corp ( KMB.N ) and Clorox Co ( CLX.N ), has risen 12 percent over the same period. P&G''s quarterly organic sales, which excludes acquisitions and divestitures, has fallen just once during his one and half years at the helm. For this year, the consumer goods giant expects a 2-3 percent rise in organic sales growth. Battle Lines FILE PHOTO - Nelson Peltz speaks at the WSJD Live conference in Laguna Beach, California October 25, 2016. Mike Blake The Trian-P&G battle comes as activist investors, emboldened by years of successful campaigns for changes at corporations across the U.S. and abroad, use their growing coffers to seek bigger targets. Trian won two seats on H.J. Heinz''s board in its 2006 proxy fight, and lost its battle to get board representation at industrial conglomerate DuPont ( DD.N ) in 2015. P&G''s proxy filing, disclosed on Monday, shows that Trian''s dialogue with the company goes back to Feb. 16, when Peltz called Taylor shortly after disclosing the stake to make the introduction and set up an in-person meeting. "I am quite surprised and very disappointed because I think David (Taylor) and I have developed a very positive relationship," Peltz told CNBC, when asked if he was surprised that the dialogue had turned into a proxy fight. "I like the man." Trian said in a press release that its bid to get Peltz on the board centers on P&G''s continuing underperformance, costs, complexity and culture. ( bit.ly/2t7h62c ) October Annual Meeting With P&G''s annual meeting usually held in October, the two sides have roughly three months to discuss ways to avoid a shareholder vote on Peltz. If elected, Trian has said it wants P&G to expand the board to 12 members rather than have Peltz replace a sitting director. P&G''s current board has six past or current CEOs, including American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault and Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman. "P&G has a best-in-class board of directors that is fully supportive of and actively engaged in overseeing the companys transformation," the company said on Monday. P&G''s proxy filing noted that last Tuesday, in a meeting between Trian and members of P&G''s board, Trian said it was moving ahead to elect Peltz because the company was not moving fast enough to improve its performance. P&G directors at the meeting said they too were not happy with the performance, but that they felt that Trians representation on the board was unnecessary in light of recent initiatives undertaken by the company," the filing said. In a bid to boost profits even as sales remain stagnant, P&G has sold unprofitable brands, including 41 beauty brands to Coty Inc ( COTY.N ), and focused on core brands. However, the efforts have failed to boost the stock much beyond the level where it traded at the beginning of this year. Trian said that P&G''s last cost-cutting plan, launched in 2012, failed to impact profit or sales growth. Barclays noted on Monday that Trian is working with former P&G CFO Clayt Daley, a consultant on the campaign who could become a potential board candidate to replace Peltz as part of the negotiations. Additional reporting by Siddharth Cavale in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Bernard Orr 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-procter-gamble-stake-trian-fund-idINKBN1A20YA'|'2017-07-17T18:23:00.000+03:00' +'091ab871736d3960bf8210ed757c3d93ed8a76e2'|'Tech lifts Nasdaq; energy curbs Dow, S&P gains'|'July 5, 2017 / 3:36 PM / in an hour Tech lifts Nasdaq; energy curbs Dow, S&P gains Chuck Mikolajczak 4 Min Read NEW YORK (Reuters) - A steep drop in oil prices dragged energy shares lower and kept the Dow and S&P 500 in check on Wednesday, while the Nasdaq was buoyed by gains in tech stocks. Crude prices CLc1 LCOc1 settled about 4 percent lower, ending their longest bull run in more than five years, hurt by a stronger dollar .DXY and concerns about rising OPEC exports. [nL3N1JW1HU] "The U.S. is the swing producer and the major capitalist producer as well," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Asset Management in New York. "So the government cant dictate to the domestic industry whether to pump or not pump - they are going to keep pumping as long as it is profitable for them." Shares of Exxon ( XOM.N ) and Chevron ( CVX.N ) fell by more than 1.5 percent and were among the biggest drags on the Dow and S&P. The S&P energy index .SPNY lost 2 percent and was the worst performing out of the 11 major S&P sectors. Recent tepid economic data and an inflation rate below the Federal Reserve''s 2 percent target may have a bearing on the U.S. central bank''s plans for interest rate hikes. New orders for U.S.-made goods fell more than expected in May, data showed on Wednesday, but capital equipment orders were slightly stronger than previously reported, suggesting manufacturing remains on a path of moderate growth. Fed policymakers were increasingly split on the outlook for inflation and how it will affect the future pace of rate increases, according to minutes of the Fed''s latest policy meeting on June 13-14. The minutes revealed a few officials viewed equity prices as high when compared to standard valuation measures, even though earnings growth had been robust. Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., July 5, 2017. Brendan McDermid The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 1.1 points, or 0.01 percent, to close at 21,478.17, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 3.53 points, or 0.15 percent, to 2,432.54 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 40.80 points, or 0.67 percent, to 6,150.86. The tech sector''s .SPLRCT 1 percent rise led the S&P 500 gainers, with Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD.O ), Micron ( MU.O ) and Nvidia ( NVDA.O ) among the best performers in the sector. The PHLX semiconductor index .SOX jumped 2.1 percent. Technology shares have been volatile in recent weeks as the sector''s strong run this year raised concerns about their valuation. The tech sector index is up nearly 17 percent this year. O''Reilly Automotive ( ORLY.O ) plunged 18.9 percent to a near three-year low after its second-quarter same-store sales widely missed its own estimates. That move dragged down other auto-parts retailers, with Autozone ( AZO.N ) down 9.6 percent and Advance Auto Parts ( AAP.N ) down 11.15 percent. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.60-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.29-to-1 ratio favoured decliners. About 6.52 billion shares changed hands in U.S. exchanges, below the 7.19 billion daily average over the last 20 sessions. Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by James Dalgleish 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-idINKBN19Q25B'|'2017-07-06T00:47:00.000+03:00' +'e9892193705f36ee4ea79aa0a72237147ac193c5'|'Exclusive - Discovery in the lead to acquire Scripps Networks: sources'|'July 27, 2017 / 12:04 AM / 3 hours ago Exclusive - Discovery in the lead to acquire Scripps Networks: sources 1 Min Read The Discovery Communications headquarters building is seen in Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S. December 3, 2009. Jim Bourg/File Photo (Reuters) - U.S. media company Discovery Communications Inc ( DISCA.O ) in the lead to acquire U.S. cable TV network owner Scripps Network Interactive Inc ( SNI.O ), people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. Discovery has entered into exclusive talks with Scripps after prevailing over a rival offer from Viacom Inc ( VIAB.O ), another U.S. media company, one of the sources said. While a deal could come as early as next week, negotiations are ongoing and no agreement is certain, the sources added. The exact value of Discovery''s offer could not be learnt, but sources said it is a cash-and-stock bid, comprising mostly cash, and valuing Scripps in the region of $90 per share. The sources asked not to be identified because the negotiations are confidential. Viacom, Scripps and Discovery declined to comment. Reporting by Jessica Toonkel and Liana B. Baker in New York 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/scripps-net-int-m-a-discovery-commns-idINKBN1AC002'|'2017-07-27T03:01:00.000+03:00' +'ec4014615de9d4e48a36703c52c6d6874bd66869'|'Oil prices edge up on U.S. crude stock draw, but market remains weak'|'Business 3:05am BST Oil prices edge up on U.S. crude stock draw, but market remains weak Oil rig pumpjacks, also known as thirsty birds, extract crude from the Wilmington Field oil deposits area where Tidelands Oil Production Company operates near Long Beach, California July 30, 2013. REUTERS/David McNew By Henning Gloystein - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Oil prices nudged higher early on Thursday, supported by strong demand in the United States, but analysts cautioned that the outlook was for lower prices due to oversupply. Brent crude futures LCOc1, the international benchmark for oil prices, rose 28 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $48.07 per barrel by 0132 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were at $45.39 per barrel, up 26 cents, or 0.6 percent. Traders said the gains reflected firm fuel demand in the United States, where data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) late on Wednesday showed that U.S. crude inventories fell by 5.8 million barrels in the week to June 30 to 503.7 million. However, overall market conditions remain weak. Crude prices tumbled about 4 percent on Wednesday on rising exports by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), despite its pledge to hold back production between January this year and March 2018 to prop up prices. OPEC''s oil exports rose for the second month in a row in June, according to Thomson Reuters Oil Research. OPEC exported 25.92 million barrels per day (bpd) in June, 450,000 bpd above May and 1.9 million bpd more than a year earlier. Energy research house and brokerage firm Sanford C. Bernstein said it was reducing its average Brent crude oil price forecasts for 2017 and 2018 to $50 per barrel each, down from $60 and $70 previously. Bernstein said that the reduction was a result of an expected increase in U.S. shale oil output, especially from the Permian field. "Permian supply pummels our near term estimates," Bernstein said, adding that conventional supply additions would likely exceed or match production declines of mature fields. Denmark''s Saxo Bank said that oil prices could rise towards $55 per barrel in the coming months, but said it expected lower prices towards the end of the year and into 2018. "The price of Brent crude oil is likely to rally back towards $55 per barrel during the coming months before renewed weakness sets in as the focus turns to 2018 and the potential risk of additional barrels hitting the market if OPEC and Russia fail to extend the production cut deal beyond Q1 2018," Ole Hansen, Head of Commodity Strategy at Saxo Bank, said in a quarterly market outlook. (Reporting by Henning Gloystein; Editing by Joseph Radford and Richard Pullin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-oil-idUKKBN19R047'|'2017-07-06T05:05:00.000+03:00' +'ec914defcaf0c038262c451be476fd25641f6fe3'|'Singtel''s NetLink IPO set to price near low end, raise $1.7 billion: IFR'|'SINGAPORE NetLink NBN Trust, the broadband unit of Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) ( STEL.SI ), is set to price its IPO near the bottom of expectations, raising about $1.7 billion in Singapore''s largest listing in more than four years.The offering is set to be priced at S$0.81 ($0.5865) per unit, Thomson Reuters publication IFR reported, citing two sources with knowledge of the transaction. The IPO had an indicative range of S$0.80 to S$0.93 per unit.NetLink is offering 2.9 billion units in the IPO, which will be the biggest in Singapore since Mapletree Greater China Commercial Trust''s ( MAPE.SI ) $2.06 billion listing in February 2013.It is slated for debut on the Singapore stock exchange on July 19.Singtel, Southeast Asia''s largest telco whose biggest shareholder is Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings [TEM.UL], did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the pricing.Singtel will own 24.99 percent of NetLink, which provides high-speed broadband network, after the IPO.(Reporting by S Anuradha of IFR; Additional reporting and writing by Aradhana Aravindan; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Muralikumar Anantharaman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-netlink-trust-ipo-idUSKBN19S1H6'|'2017-07-07T14:46:00.000+03:00' +'5398a230d1ace0e358522f87238ab8f220fe0be5'|'Sweden considers joining EU''s banking union - TT news agency'|'Business 11pm BST Sweden considers joining EU''s banking union - TT news agency Per Bolund speaks during the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong, China January 18, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby Yip STOCKHOLM Sweden is looking at whether to join the European Union''s banking union, local news agency TT reported on Monday, days after neighbouring Denmark said it would decide in 2019 whether would join. Financial Markets Minister Per Bolund told TT the reasons to analyse whether joining the union would be a benefit were Britain''s decision to quit EU and top Nordic bank Nordea''s ( NDA.ST ) transformation into a branch rather than a subsidiary structure. The central bank has said that change increases the scope of Sweden''s undertakings and Bolund said the merging of subsidiaries in Denmark, Finland and Norway into a branch structure increases the size of Sweden''s banking sector in relation to the economy. "That means there may be reason to consider sharing the risk with other countries," Bolund told TT. He said the government would undertake a thorough analysis of what it would mean for Sweden to become a member. "If the inquiry would clearly show that there are big advantages for a country like Sweden to join, then it is not ruled out," Bolund said. Denmark said last week it would decide on its participation in the banking union after lawmakers concluded in 2015 that it would be in the country''s interests to participate but postponed making a decision. The banking union covers all countries in the euro zone, but European Union countries outside the currency area such as Sweden and Denmark can also join. (Reporting by Daniel Dickson; Editing by Alison Williams)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sweden-eu-banking-union-idUKKBN19V2H5'|'2017-07-10T22:11:00.000+03:00' +'dd8110a3225250d5c7008981c19bcf66a3a85e18'|'Altice aims to grow business in Portugal after Media deal'|'July 14, 2017 / 1:45 PM / 16 minutes ago Altice aims to grow business in Portugal after Media deal Patricia Vicente Rua 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of cable and mobile telecoms company Altice Group is seen during a news conference in Paris, France, March 21, 2017. Philippe Wojazer/File Photo LISBON (Reuters) - Netherlands-based Altice ( ATCA.AS ) has agreed to buy Portuguese firm Media Capital, the owner of TVI television channel, and said it wanted to expand its business in Portugal where it already owns the largest telecom operator PT. Altice Chief Executive Michel Combes, speaking on Friday after the 440 million euro ($502 million) deal to buy Media Capital from Spain''s Prisa ( PRS.MC ) was announced, said his firm wanted to grow its digital platforms and content. The Media Capital purchase has raised expectations of further acquisitions in Portugal''s media sector, prompting a 14 percent jump in the shares of Impresa ( IMPA.LS ), which owns SIC television channel. Analysts say PT''s main rivals NOS ( NOS.LS ) and Vodafone Portugal might now try to buy Impresa and its rival Cofina ( CFN.LS ), owner of CMTV. Cofina shares were up around 2 percent. The Media Capital deal still needs approvals by regulators in Portugal. But Combes said he expected that to run smoothly. Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa has criticised the sale of PT, the former state telecoms monopoly, and has said he was concerned Altice would break up the firm, leading to layoffs in a nation with a jobless rate of about 10 percent. Altice, founded and controlled by Franco-Israeli tycoon Patrick Drahi, bought PT in 2015. Combes did not comment directly on the prime minister''s concerns but when asked about plans for PT and Media Capital, he said: "We are not laying off people at PT ... We have no intention to lay off workers at Media Capital. It''s all about growing business, that''s where we are going to concentrate our efforts," he told a joint news conference with PT CEO Paulo Neves. The firm wants Media Capital to launch new television channels and export content like soap operas mainly to France and the United States. This is part of Altice''s global strategy that is being implemented in those two countries and in Israel. "We have presented a strong industrial project for (Portugal)," Combes said, adding that this involved expanding the company''s Portuguese digital business. Altice stocks were little changed. Prisa shares in Madrid rose around 20 percent after the deal was announced. Writing by Andrei Khalip; Editing by Edmund Blair 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-altice-media-capital-idUKKBN19Z1IL'|'2017-07-14T16:44:00.000+03:00' +'fd649752046de249942c03a112ee1a9610452211'|'Metro food, electronics units go their separate ways'|'July 13, 2017 / 7:44 AM / 5 minutes ago Metro food, electronics units go their separate ways Reuters Staff 3 Min Read Olaf Koch, Chairman of the Board of German retailer METRO, rings a bell during the public offering of their separated food and consumer electronics units at the Frankfurt stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany July 13, 2017. Ralph Orlowski FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German retailer Metro MEOG.DE completed its split into two companies on Thursday as its food business and consumer electronics division started trading independently on the Frankfurt and Luxembourg stock exchanges. Metro hopes the split will allow the independent companies to pursue more acquisitions and trigger a revaluation of the stock as Metro has traded at a discount to other pure wholesale retailers such as Sysco ( SYY.N ) and Britain''s Booker ( BOK.L ). "We welcome the split as it is likely to unlock value for investors," Equinet analysts Christian Bruns and Mark Josefson, who rated the combined company a "buy", wrote in a note. However, the companies have warned that trading is likely to be volatile in the early days, especially as the split means adjustments are needed in the German mid-cap index .MDAXI in which Metro was listed. Shares in the Metro food business ( B4B.DE ) traded at 19.47 euros by 0735 GMT, while those of the consumer electronics business, to be renamed Ceconomy ( CECG.DE ) were at 9.33 euros, together slightly below the 29.185 euros for the combined group at the close of trading on Wednesday. Bankers had spent the last few weeks meeting investors, informing them about the two companies and drumming up demand for the shares. Olaf Koch, Chairman of the Board of German retailer METRO attends the public offering of their separated food and consumer electronics units at the Frankfurt stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany July 13, 2017. Ralph Orlowski "The work was about the same as for a normal IPO," a person close to the deal said. Metro, a sprawling conglomerate, has spent several years restructuring and selling non-core businesses such as its Kaufhof department stores, to focus on its cash-and-carry business and Media-Saturn electronics chain. Olaf Koch, Chairman of the Board of German retailer METRO, attends the public offering of their separated food and consumer electronics units at the Frankfurt stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany July 13, 2017. Ralph Orlowski The new food business comprises wholesale stores, which serve hotels, restaurants and independent retailers, along with Real hypermarkets in Germany. Together they had 2015-16 sales of 37 billion euros ($42.4 billion) and operate in 35 countries. Ceconomy is Europe''s biggest consumer electronics business ahead of Dixons Carphone ( DC.L ), running more than 1,000 stores in 15 European countries, with sales of 22 billion euros in 2015/16. "We remain cautious on Metro''s perennial problems. It remains to be seen to what extent the new combined businesses will be able to finally reduce the high exceptional charges and optimise the tax rate," said Bernstein analyst Bruno Monteyne. Monteyne noted that the Metro food business, which makes the bulk of its profit in Russia, will be more exposed to the volatile rouble than the combined group and called on the company to disclose more details on the Russian and German businesses in future. ($1 = 0.8734 euros) Reporting by Alexander Huebner and Arno Schuetze; Writing by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Victoria Bryan and Maria Sheahan 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-metro-split-idUKKBN19Y0OB'|'2017-07-13T10:58:00.000+03:00' +'d1e3ac58e7fa928f77f64724bdd62b84bc3bd228'|'Dubai visitor numbers rise by more than 10 percent in first half of 2017'|'July 30, 2017 / 2:25 PM / 23 minutes ago Dubai visitor numbers rise by more than 10 percent in first half of 2017 Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Tourist pleasure boats navigate through Dubai Marina in Dubai, March 16, 2016. Russell Boyce DUBAI (Reuters) - The number of foreign tourists visiting Dubai in the first half of 2017 rose by 10.6 percent to 8.06 million, Dubai''s tourism department said on Sunday, with the emirate proving particular popular with Indians. Tourism is a key industry for the glitzy Middle East emirate which has spent billions of dollars trying to attract visitors with sites including the world''s tallest tower. India remained the emirate''s largest individual market over the period, with 1.05 million Indians visiting Dubai, up 21 per cent compared to a year earlier. It was the first time the number of Indian visitors had surpassed 1 million over a six month period. The number of Chinese and Russian visitors has increased sharply since the United Arab Emirates started granting visas on arrival in September and January, respectively, for those nationals. Dubai saw 413,000 Chinese visitors, up 55 percent, and 233,000 Russian visitors, up 97 percent, in the first half of 2017. Reporting by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Keith Weir 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-emirates-travel-dubai-idUKKBN1AF0LK'|'2017-07-30T17:25:00.000+03:00' +'6127b110cbaf0ae02eeff64a4297d2ee67b1d52a'|'UK retailer Dunelm''s sales rise 17.7 percent on strong online, home delivery sales'|' 15am BST Retailer Dunelm''s sales rise 17.7 percent on strong online, home delivery sales British retailer Dunelm Group Plc reported a 17.7 percent rise in fourth-quarter revenue, helped by stronger online and home delivery sales. Dunelm, which sells cushions, bedding and kitchen equipment, said revenue rose to 240 million pounds ($310.94 million) for the 13 weeks ended July 1, aided by the company''s acquisition of UK-based online retailer of home improvement products Worldstores in November last year. The company, which generates 20 percent of its sales online, said it saw an improvement in online and home delivery sales on the back of its launch of Worldstores products on the Dunelm website. The company''s like-for-like sales rose 3.8 percent in the fourth quarter. Dunelm said it expects a full-year pre-tax profit, excluding acquisition charges, in the range of 109 million pounds to 111 million pounds, lower than the 128.9 million pounds reported last year. The company had warned earlier this year that it would increase prices on a number of products to offset the impact of a weak pound. Dunelm shares were up 1.3 pct in early trade, among the top gainers on FTSE midcap index. (Reporting By Justin George Varghese; Editing by Sunil Nair)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-dunelm-group-results-idUKKBN19S0TS'|'2017-07-07T10:11:00.000+03:00' +'e0f47f4caa3625e6b982f860850cfeaa236d8551'|'Denmark charges OW Bunker''s Singapore head with fraud'|'July 13, 2017 / 12:33 PM / 9 minutes ago Denmark charges OW Bunker''s Singapore head with fraud Reuters Staff 3 Min Read COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Denmark''s state prosecutor charged the former manager of OW Bunker''s Singapore subsidiary with fraud on Thursday but cleared the Danish management of the failed marine fuel oil supplier of any criminal wrongdoing. OW Bunker filed for bankruptcy in Denmark in November 2014 after losses at its Singapore business Dynamic Oil Trading, a marked change of fortunes for a firm valued at $1 billion when it listed in March that year. The prosecutor said the former manager, a Danish citizen, has been charged with committing fraud of agent by granting credit outside his mandate worth more than 800 million Danish crowns (95 million pounds). The prosecutor did not wish to name the defendant but said no reporting restrictions had been imposed. The former head of Dynamic Oil Trading was Lars Moller. His lawyer, Arvid Andersen, could not immediately be reached by Reuters on Thursday for comment. Andersen told Danish publication Shippingwatch on Thursday that there had been no criminal activity, reiterating what he has previously told Reuters. The prosecutor said it had not found any legal grounds for the criminal prosecution of other members of management within the OW Bunker group. "In Singapore, this manager of the subsidiary has single-handed committed these credit exaggerations," state prosecutor for serious economic and international crime, Niels Vejlby Hansen, told Reuters. "There had been several suspects in the mother company but our investigation shows that this has happened in the subsidiary," he said. The bankruptcy of OW Bunker sent shockwaves through the global shipping industry and left investors and business partners scrambling to cover their losses. Hansen said claims for damages could be put forward as part of the trial though the judge could reject claims if they became "too complicated" and instead refer the matter to a civil court. A group of 26 institutional investors, including two of the largest pension funds in Denmark, ATP and PFA, is also waging a legal campaign against the former management of OW Bunker for allegedly misleading them in its 2014 initial public offering. One PFA executive said he did not think Thursday''s decisions by the state prosecutor affected their legal battle. "I don''t think it weakens our case, if he is sentenced or imprisoned. On the contrary, we think there is a civil responsibility, and that is what we''re pursuing in regard to the board," said Rasmus Bessing, chief operating officer at PFA Asset Management. Reporting by Stine Jacobsen and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; editing by David Clarke 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ow-bunker-fraud-idUKKBN19Y1FL'|'2017-07-13T15:32:00.000+03:00' +'689ad656f4e75681c14e89252cabf486b59e2eda'|'Are you a maverick or a charmer? Mastering the art of self-promotion - Guardian Small Business Network'|'After 35 years as a print journalist, I have been on the receiving end of countless pitches from public relations professionals across a range of sectors. But when I started running my own business in 2014, I found it hard to promote myself.I joined a community of solo entrepreneurs and discovered many of them were just like me creative types who had launched their own businesses after years of employment. Self-promotion was the elephant in the room. Everyone knew they had to do it, but no one found it easy.Instead I relied on personal recommendations to build my client base. It was a good start, but it only took me so far. I tried to embrace social media to spread the word about what I offered, but still wasnt sure how to leverage it most effectively as a business tool. I told myself I should be able to create my own PR campaign. I knew what worked and what didnt work. But selling myself felt different.Terrified of cold calling? How to succeed at sales as an introvert Read moreThen I met Nicky Moran, a coach for creatives and an award-winning leadership trainer. A former PR herself, she told me that many of her clients struggled with self-marketing and often took freelance work to make ends meet, rather than promote themselves to find the work they loved.This led us to investigate how creative entrepreneurs might be able to self-promote in a way that felt comfortable, authentic and enjoyable rather than unpleasant and pushy.Inspired by psychometric tests we had either taken ourselves in the past or been trained to deliver, we looked at a range of successful performers, artists and other creative types. Our aim was to identify why they had been able to thrive and stand out, while others had been ignored.We identified seven PR archetypes that describe successful creatives maverick (Madonna, Boy George), quirk of art (Lady Gaga, Grayson Perry), enigma (Beyonce, Banksy), provocateur (Sacha Baron Cohen, Lily Allen), pioneer (Andy Warhol, Bridget Riley), charmer (Dolly Parton, George Clooney) and talented everyman (Adele, Ed Sheeran).We compiled a free quiz to help people identify their primary and secondary archetypes and tried it out on friends and colleagues. Knowing your archetype gives you a ready-made hook for your marketing a lens through which you can talk about yourself and your business in a way that feels authentic and compelling. Someone who is a quirk of art (a play on the phrase work of art) for example, may have an autobiographical element to their art or business, or may dress in a way that is an artistic expression.Initial results have been encouraging. A budding author had a lightbulb moment when she emerged as a pioneer/quirk of art and it changed the way she viewed her book. She is now focusing her campaign to secure a book deal on her pioneering ideas about the healing power of hiking.Im a private person, but my life changed through the art of self-promotion Read moreA coach and trainer who discusses gender issues in the workplace in a forthright way felt vindicated when she came out as a pioneer/talented everyman. She had previously underplayed how innovative her model is, but after embracing her pioneer spirit she is getting good feedback from clients about her pragmatic, yet light-hearted approach.Knowing your archetype can also help you to identify your weaknesses and tailor your approach accordingly. A pioneer is great at coming up with disruptive concepts but not always so good at bringing them into the mainstream. If this is your leading archetype, you should learn how to communicate through stories and practical examples so your ideas become more accessible to a wider audience.A maverick thrives on standing out from the crowd, so in theory should be a fearless self-promoter. But if they are contrary for the sake of it, people might not listen. In order to raise their profile, they need to understand their deeper purpose and be clear about what they stand for.Im a talented everyman/charmer. Initially I dismissed that combination as a bit boring, but Ive since realised being able to connect with people in a down-to-earth way is a strength of mine.The way I use this knowledge to promote myself now is really quite simple: I relate to my audience in an informal and grounded way. Im honest, genuine and likeable. I share my lived experience. It helps me to not only be myself when self-promoting but also appreciate my approach in the training room, on video, and as a speaker and writer. Ive come to view self-promotion not as the elephant in the room, but a welcome opportunity to be the best version of myself.Beverley Glick is a storytelling coach and public speaking trainer.Sign up to become a member of the Guardian Small Business Network here for more advice, insight and best practice direct to your inbox.Topics Guardian Small Business Network Entrepreneurs blogposts '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/jul/26/selling-yourself-self-promotion-how-to-beverley-glick'|'2017-07-26T14:00:00.000+03:00' +'92760a52b4c9915f787a0a4bba03bb2398f4dbd0'|'BRIEF-Eminence Capital to vote against Sabra Health Care REIT, Care Capital Properties merger'|'July 24, 2017 / 12:53 PM / 36 minutes ago BRIEF-Eminence Capital to vote against Sabra Health Care REIT, Care Capital Properties merger 1 Min Read July 24 (Reuters) - Eminence Capital Lp: * Eminence Capital to vote against merger between Sabra Health Care REIT Inc and Care Capital Properties Inc Source text for Eikon: 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-eminence-capital-to-vote-against-s-idUSFWN1KF089'|'2017-07-24T15:53:00.000+03:00' +'4b8f86965960fb07ed0d2d3b04db8e5036191638'|'Euro zone sentiment unexpectedly rises for third straight month'|'July 28, 2017 / 9:21 AM / in an hour Euro zone sentiment unexpectedly rises for third straight month Reuters Staff 2 Min Read BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone economic sentiment rose slightly for a third consecutive month in July to a new 10-year high, against expectations of a dip from June, data released by the European Commission on Friday said. The sentiment indicator in the 19-country currency bloc rose to 111.2 in July from 111.1 in June and 109.2 in May, driven up by more optimism in the services sector. The average forecast in a Reuters poll of 29 economists was for a decline to 110.8 after a surge in June to its highest level in nearly a decade. The figure confirmed the robust recovery of the euro zone, with output expected to grow by another half percentage point in the second quarter after strong expansion in the Jan-March period. The preliminary estimates for output will be released on Tuesday. Despite the unexpected rise in the sentiment, the Commission''s business confidence index, which points to the phase of the economic cycle, fell to 1.05 in July from an upwardly revised 1.16 in June, its highest value since April 2011. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a more modest decline to 1.12 in July. The rise in the overall indicator of economic sentiment was driven mostly by more optimism in the services sector, the largest in the euro zone''s economy, which rose to 14.1 points in July from 13.3 in June, while the manufacturing sector remained at 4.5 points, well above the long-term average of -6.4. Sentiment among consumers was at -1.7 points in July, also well above the long-term average. It was the same as in June before an upwardly revision to -1.3 points. Consumers'' inflation expectations over the next 12 months fell to 11.7 in July from 13.0 in June while selling price expectations among manufacturers rose to 7.5 from 7.1 in June. Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; editing by Philip Blenkinsop 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-economy-sentiment-idUKKBN1AD11V'|'2017-07-28T12:21:00.000+03:00' +'3c7277a9e09bca88f26eca512c54e85d2b077568'|'How Donald Trump is monetising his presidency'|'PRETTY close to a laughing stock. That is Walter Shaubs verdict on Americas standing in the world, at least from an ethics point of view, under President Donald Trump. Mr Shaubs view counts: he stepped down this week as head of the Office of Government Ethics, a federal watchdog.He is leaving his job six months early, frustrated at the presidents failure to separate himself from his businesses, at White House foot-dragging on disclosing ethics waivers for staff, at its failure to admonish a Trump adviser who plugged the familys products in an interview, and more. Its hard for the United States to pursue international anticorruption and ethics initiatives when were not even keeping our own side of the street clean, Mr Shaub told the New York Times .Latest updates See all updates No American leader has ever entered office with such wide business interests as Mr Trump. In the context of the countrys corporate landscape, his group is small, mostly domestic and rather mediocre, but encompasses hundreds of firms that run hotels, golf courses, licensing agreements, merchandise deals and more, in over two dozen countries. Keeping tabs on the potential for self-dealing is a monumental task, says Kathleen Clark, an ethics expert at Washington University. In some areas, particularly abroad, increased scrutiny appears to be making deals harder to pull off. But in others, such as his American hotels and golf clubs, Mr Trump already appears to be monetising the presidency.On becoming president, Mr Trump put his businesses in a trust. But it is run by two of his sons, Eric and Donald junior, and it is revocable, meaning its provisions can be changed at any time. Eric has since said he will update his father with profit reports, even though Mr Trump pledged not to talk business with his children while in office. Mr Trump, the Trump Organisation and his daughter, Ivanka, who owns a fashion business and is a White House adviser, have all hired ethics advisers to review deals for potential problems. But how the process works is opaque.Mr Shaub was unimpressed by Mr Trumps appearances at his own for-profit properties, which he has visited more than 40 times as presidentmost recently to attend the US Womens Open, held this month at one of his golf clubs, in New Jersey. The visits serve as a form of marketing, and his firm has not been shy about cashing in. Mar-a-Lago, a Trump resort in Florida where the president hosts other world leaders, doubled its initial fee for new members to $200,000 after the election. The club made a profit of $37m in the latest reporting period (January 2016-spring 2017), compared with $15.5m in 2014-15.When Eric Trump opened a golf course at Turnberry in Scotland in June, he said his family had made Turnberry great again. Staff wore Make Turnberry great again hatsa reference to Mr Trumps campaign slogan and, critics say, an attempt to cash in on his political power. Eric recently said: Our brand is the hottest it has ever beenthe stars have all aligned.American golf courses have benefited from at least one of Mr Trumps policy decisions: his move to scrap a proposed environmental rule crafted to protect drinking-water supplies. The national golf-course association had long lobbied to have the regulation ditched, arguing it could have a devastating economic impact.With some Trump projects, the benefits could flow the other way, from business to politics. Take a network of budget hotels, branded American Idea, dreamed up by the Trump sons on the campaign trail last year. They have signed letters of intent with developers in numerous cities, including four in Mississippi. Bringing jobs to Republican-leaning states that are struggling economically could further boost support for the president in such places.Mr Trumps appointments also cause concern. He has picked Lynne Patton, a former event-planner for the family, to run the Department of Housing and Urban Developments regional office covering New York. In that role Ms Patton will oversee Starrett City, a housing development that is part-owned by the Trump Organisation and that receives federal subsidies.Foreign deals are no less troubling. The ethics plan laid out by Mr Trump in January promised no new foreign contracts during his presidency. But his company will press ahead with projects already in the works. There are many: an estimated 159 of the 565 Trump firms do business abroad. Some license the Trump name for skyscrapers and hotels, often to politically connected local partners.An example of how such deals raise questions about Mr Trumps motives is the current Gulf spat over Qatars alleged support for terrorists. Mr Trump has firmly backed Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and others in their boycott of their neighbour. It is reasonable to ask if it is a coincidence that he has strong business ties with the Saudis and Emiratis but few with Qatar. Saudis are big buyers of Trump apartments, and the kingdom is investing $20bn in an American infrastructure fund. A Trump-branded golf course in the UAE made Mr Trump as much as $10m in 2015-16. By contrast, Mr Trumps past efforts to break into Qatar have failed.Tracking such business relationships is not easy because of the opacity of Mr Trumps holdings. He makes liberal use of LLCsanonymous shell companies that do not have to publish financial informationoften in complex combinations with regular corporations. He has refused to publish his tax returns.A fog surrounds those doing business with the Trumps, too. Many have grown less transparent of late. An investigation by USA Today found that the percentage of buyers of Trump condos structuring their purchases through LLCs has jumped from single digits to two-thirds. Suppliers are scuttling into the shadows, too. Those shipping goods to Ivankas businesses in America typically identified themselves on bills of lading before the Trump presidency. Now they usually do not.The Trumps fallback position is that, legally speaking, it is impossible for the president to be conflicted because he is exempt from ethics laws. The thinking when Congress blessed this exemption, in the 1980s, was that the presidents remit is so broad that any policy decision could pose a potential conflict. Nevertheless, some see avenues of attack. Several lawsuits, including one from Democratic lawmakers, accuse Mr Trump of causing harm by violating the constitutions Emoluments Clause, which forbids American officeholders from accepting money from foreign governments. One way he allegedly does so is by accepting payments from diplomats at his hotels.The lawsuits particularly focus on the newly refurbished Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC. Owned by the federal government, the hotels lease agreement includes a provision barring elected officials from holding an interest. But the General Services Administration, which manages federal property, ruled in March that Mr Trumps 60-year lease on the hotel did not breach that requirement since the property had been placed in a trust (as long as he received no proceeds while president). Having initially said it would donate all hotel profits from foreign officials to the Treasury, the Trump Organisation now says requiring such guests to identify themselves would be impractical and diminish the guest experience.UnpresidentedIt remains unclear whether controversial transactions such as these will add greatly to the Trump empires profits. Deals are often smaller than you might imagine: the developer behind Trump Tower in Mumbai, founded by a member of Indias ruling party, paid just $5m for the licence. Some deals are being scrapped under scrutinyas was the case, in January, with a tower in the Black Sea resort of Batumi.Moreover, forces beyond Mr Trumps control are likely to have a bigger impact on his businesses profits than conflicted dealmaking. A recent analysis of his properties by Bloomberg found that his three flagship office blocks in ManhattanTrump Tower, 40 Wall Street and 1290 Avenue of the Americasare making less money than envisaged when loans were issued, because of the softening of the New York office market. The combined present value of the three blocks has fallen by an estimated $380m over the past year.Mr Shaub believes that Mr Trump has rejected ethical norms embraced by all other administrations since the 1970s. He recommends several changes to federal law, including greater powers for the oversight office and stricter disclosure rules. Rightly so. Whether or not Mr Trumps group benefits materially from his spell in office, any doubt over whether policies are crafted with the American people in mind or his own bottom line is corrosive. "Not one to avoid a conflict"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21725303-six-months-mr-trumps-conflicts-interest-look-even-worse-how-donald-trump-monetising?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-07-20T22:44:00.000+03:00' +'c7bdae79bf0aabb7a9f8257a032a4f54e0402d57'|'U.S. accounting watchdog probes PwC''s audits of BT Italy: source'|'Business News - Wed Jul 5, 2017 - 9:34am EDT U.S. accounting watchdog probes PwC''s audits of BT Italy: source left right The logo of BT is seen outside the headquarters in Milan, Italy January 24, 2017. REUTERS/ Stefano Rellandini 1/2 left right The logo of accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is seen on a board at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2017 (SPIEF 2017) in St. Petersburg, Russia, June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin 2/2 By Emilio Parodi - MILAN MILAN The U.S. accounting watchdog is investigating accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers''s [PWC.UL] audits of British telecoms group BT''s ( BT.L ) Italian business, which has been hit by a book-keeping scandal, a source close to the matter said. The PwC audit of the Italian business is coming under increasing scrutiny worldwide after a similar investigation launched in Britain last week. PwC said in an emailed statement it was not the company''s policy to comment on client issues. BT lost a fifth of its market value in January after revealing a 530 million-pound ($685 million) black hole in BT Italia''s accounts as a result of "improper accounting practices and a complex set of improper sales, purchase, factoring and leasing transactions". In April the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) asked Italian market watchdog Consob to send it documentation regarding the audits carried out by PwC on BT in the period 2014-2017, the source said. Consob provided the data after getting the go-ahead from the Milan prosecutors office which is carrying out a criminal probe into alleged false accounting and embezzlement. BT filed a criminal complaint in Italy in April accusing several former executives and other staff of unlawful conduct. Current and former staff told Reuters efforts to hide the Italian unit''s performance had gone on since at least 2013. A spokeswoman for PCAOB, which has the powers to fine or bar accounting firms or their individual associates, said the regulator did not confirm or comment on inspections as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Under the act the PCAOB is required to supervise and inspect all accounting firms that regularly audit companies whose securities trade in the United States. While BT''s main listing is in London, its shares are also quoted on the New York Stock Exchange in the form of American Depositary Shares. Consob declined to comment, but a source close to the watchdog said the "regulator was giving its attention to the PwC issue". Last week Britain''s accounting regulator, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), said it would investigate PwC audits of BT Group after the BT Italia scandal emerged. Reuters could not immediately confirm whether the FRC and the PCAOB were collaborating on the PwC issue, although a spokesman for the FRC said the British watchdog maintained close contact with its counterparts in other countries to improve audit quality. BT said last month it would drop PwC, its auditors since 1984, after an evaluation found "areas for improvement". It said it would move to KPMG [KPMG.UL], another one of the "Big Four" accounting firms. Since the scandal erupted, various BT shareholders in the United States have launched class action cases, accusing the telecoms group of not informing the market and shareholders soon enough of the financial irregularities at its Italian unit. In March a Reuters investigation found allegations that a network of people in BT Italia had exaggerated revenues, faked contract renewals and invoices and invented bogus supplier transactions in order to meet bonus targets and disguise the unit''s true financial performance. A source also told Reuters in March that he and two other employees at BT Italia had warned their Madrid-based supervisor about possible accounting problems at the business in November 2015, nearly a year before BT announced that it had found accounting irregularities at the Italian company. (Additional reporting by Paola Arosio in Milan and Jessica DiNapoli in New York and Kirstin Ridley in London; Writing by Stephen Jewkes and Agnieszka Flak; Editing by Mark Bendeich) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-bt-italy-pwc-idUSKBN19Q1Q8'|'2017-07-05T16:34:00.000+03:00' +'6ca693122749c6feb99c5d4284606a0e40740909'|'Major automakers post mixed U.S. June sales figures'|'Detroit, July 3 General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV posted declines in U.S. new vehicle sales for June on Monday, while major Japanese automakers reported stronger figures as demand for pickup trucks and crossovers offset a decline in sedan sales.Automakers'' shares rose as overall industry sales still came in above Wall Street expectations.The U.S. auto industry is bracing for a downturn after hitting a record 17.55 million new vehicles sold in 2016. Analysts had predicted that overall, U.S. vehicle sales would fall in June for the fourth consecutive month.As the market has shown signs of cooling, automakers have hiked discounts and loosened lending terms.Car shopping website Edmunds said on Monday the average length of a car loan reached an all-time high of 69.3 months in June."It''s financially risky, leaving borrowers exposed to being upside down on their vehicles for a large chunk of their loans," said Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds'' executive director of industry analysis.GM said its sales fell about 5 percent versus June 2016, but that the industry would see stronger sales in the second half of 2017 versus the first half.GM shares were up 2.4 percent in morning trading, while Ford rose 3.3 percent and FCA shares jumped 6 percent."U.S. total sales are moderating due to an industry-wide pullback in daily rental sales, but key U.S. economic fundamentals clearly remain positive," said GM chief economist Mustafa Mohatarem. "Under the current economic conditions, we anticipate U.S. retail vehicle sales will remain strong for the foreseeable future."Ford said its sales for June were hit by lower fleet sales to rental agencies, businesses and government entities, which fell 13.9 percent, while sales to consumers were flat.On a media call, Ford executives said an initial read of automakers'' sales figures indicated a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of around 17 million new vehicles for the month, which would be better than 16.6 million units analysts had predicted.FCA said June sales decreased 7 percent versus the same month a year earlier.Toyota Motor Corp said sales rose 2.1 percent versus June 2016 and said it saw strong gains in the RAV4, a light SUV, sales of which increased 24.7 percent. Sales of another SUV, the 4Runner, rose 16.6 percent.But sales at Toyota''s Lexus luxury car brand fell 5.4 percent on the year.Nissan Motor Co Ltd said its U.S. sales increased 2 percent. But while truck, SUV and crossover sales jumped 19.5 percent, sedan sales dropped 12.1 percent.In the past few years, Americans have increasingly shunned smaller passenger cars in favor of larger vehicles.Honda Motor Co Ltd said sales for June were up 0.8 percent. (Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/autos-sales-usa-idUSL1N1JU0I9'|'2017-07-03T18:33:00.000+03:00' +'b1a132bee64a6b59598ebf1dd9211090599f5b6a'|'UK economy likely expanded 0.3 percent in second quarter - NIESR'|'Economy - Fri Jul 7, 2017 - 1:40pm BST UK economy likely expanded 0.3 percent in second quarter - NIESR Shoppers walk past a sale sign in central London, Britain June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON British economic growth barely improved during the second quarter after a slow start to the year, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research said on Friday, after a disappointing batch of official data. The economy likely grew 0.3 percent in the three months to June over the first quarter, when the economy expanded only 0.2 percent, NIESR said. "Growth in services has offset a contraction in industrial output, yet remains subdued when compared with last year," Rebecca Piggott, research fellow at NIESR, said. Official data on Friday showed output by British factories unexpectedly fell in May, raising questions about the likelihood of the Bank of England raising interest rates this year. (Reporting by Andy Bruce. Editing by Andrew MacAskill)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-niesr-idUKKBN19S1RL'|'2017-07-07T15:40:00.000+03:00' +'8f270829b7632b204c7e78e768dbf53e358d4fbd'|'EU, Britain to present post-Brexit plan to split WTO membership'|'July 17, 2017 / 1:09 PM / 4 hours ago EU and Britain to present post-Brexit plan on WTO membership Tom Miles 3 Min Read Flags are seen at the EU Commission headquarters ahead of a first full round of talks on Brexit, Britain''s divorce terms from the European Union, in Brussels, Belgium July 17, 2017. Yves Herman GENEVA (Reuters) - The European Union and Britain plan to put forward a joint proposal for reform of the terms of their World Trade Organization (WTO) membership in September or October, an EU source said on Monday, as London negotiates to leave the EU. The two sides are also discussing sharing liabilities from trade disputes including WTO litigation over Airbus ( AIR.PA ) subsidies in a long-running case with the United States, the EU source said. Currently we are in talks with the United Kingdom to come to a joint approach on the matter, on all the aspects of the divorce, with regard to the WTO. And I would think that, come the month of September/October, we will be able to come jointly to the rest of the (WTO) membership, the EU source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The joint approach would address aspects of the EU''s WTO membership terms, known as its WTO "schedules", that are not easily split between Britain and the other 27 EU members: agricultural tariff quotas, agricultural subsidies and commitments on services trade. The plan is (that) we would explain together how we would see the disentanglement of the United Kingdom from the EU commitments and schedules, the source said. The joint approach would also deal with Britain''s wish to join the WTO''s Government Procurement Agreement, which liberalises access to procurement markets between signatories. The EU is a member of the agreement but Britain is not. Asked how important it was to finalize revision of the WTO terms of membership before the EU and Britain formally divorce, the source said: I have the impression that the United Kingdom believes that is important. Britain''s Brexit minister, David Davis, pledged to "get down to work" as he kicked off a first full round of negotiations in Brussels on Monday but, a year after Britons voted to leave the EU, their government seemed at war with itself over the divorce terms. Britain also faces a multi-billion euro bill as it leaves the EU, to cover ongoing commitments. One of those costs may be a provision to cover damages that could be awarded to the United States in the world''s largest trade dispute, the 13-year-old battle over allegedly illegal subsidies to plane giants Airbus and Seattle-based Boeing ( BA.N ). "I think that is also part of the discussion," the EU source said, without giving any details. "I''m not sure that will be clarified already. I think we''re now working first and foremost on schedules." Reporting by Tom Miles; writing by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Kevin Liffey 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-wto-idUSKBN1A21AF'|'2017-07-17T15:59:00.000+03:00' +'cb5f1ff784b08f9eea488e703245dcc2be91b18a'|'Japan''s June export growth points to sustained economy recovery'|'July 20, 2017 / 12:28 AM / 15 minutes ago Japan''s June export growth points to sustained economy recovery 3 Min Read A laborer works in a container area at a port in Tokyo, Japan July 19, 2017. Toru Hanai TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan''s exports rose for a seventh straight month in June led by shipments of cars and electronics, an indication external demand continues to support a gradual economic recovery and backing the central bank''s upbeat economic view. Ministry of Finance (MOF) data showed on Thursday that exports grew 9.7 percent year-on-year in June, versus a 9.5 percent annual gain expected by economists in a Reuters poll. It followed a 14.9 percent year-on-year rise in the previous month. The data comes hours before the Bank of Japan ends a two-day rate review, at which it is expected to raise its growth forecasts as robust exports and private consumption heighten prospects of a moderate economic recovery. However, the central bank is also likely to cut its price forecasts and hold off from expanding stimulus, highlighting a gap between strong growth and weak inflation. Some analysts say net exports - or exports minus imports - may have trimmed gross domestic product growth in the April-June period as the pace of export growth likely slowed from the previous quarter while imports surged. Japan''s economy grew at an annualised 1.0 percent at the start of this year, posting a fifth straight quarter of growth. Whether it can extend gains depends on the strength of domestic demand, which has been a soft spot in the world''s third largest economy, they say. "The economy likely expanded for a sixth straight quarter in April-June as private consumption and pubic investment probably turned out strong," said Masaki Kuwahara, senior economist at Nomura Securities. By destination, Japan''s exports to the United States rose 7.1 percent in June from a year ago, posting a fifth straight month of gains, due to increased shipments of cars. The trade surplus with the United States fell 4.9 percent to 587.4 billion yen ($5.25 billion) due as imports jumped 19.3 percent in the year to June, led by crude oil and coal. Japan''s trade surplus has been a target of criticism by U.S. President Donald Trump''s administration, which has called for cutting U.S. trade deficit and boosting exports under his "America First" protectionist policies. Exports to China, Japan''s biggest trading partner, increased 19.5 percent year-on-year in June, led by shipments of car parts and semiconductor production equipment. In terms of volume, Japan''s overall exports rose 4.0 percent, up for a fifth consecutive month. Japan''s imports rose 15.5 percent in the year to June, versus the median estimate for a 14.6 percent annual gain, led by coal and liquefied natural gas, bringing the trade balance in a surplus of 439.9 billion yen. Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Sam Holmes 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-trade-idUKKBN1A502H'|'2017-07-20T03:27:00.000+03:00' +'9d1dc86d95ce1ce1fde12b88cfa466b483e078d0'|'Deutsche Bank posts unexpectedly sharp rise in second-quarter profit'|'July 27, 2017 / 5:32 AM / 29 minutes ago Deutsche Bank sees lower 2017 revenues after mixed second quarter Tom Sims and Arno Schuetze 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A vintage clock with the logo of Deutsche Bank is pictured outside the bank''s branch in Wiesbaden, Germany, January 28, 2015. Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) forecast lower full-year revenues and only a modest improvement in earnings on Thursday, after second-quarter sales were hit by a drop in capital markets trading. Germany''s biggest lender beat forecasts with a jump in quarterly net profit to 466 million euros ($547 million) from just 20 million a year earlier, helped by cost cutting. Analysts had forecast a profit of 273 million. However, total revenues were down 10 percent in the quarter to 6.6 billion euros, and Deutsche said it expected revenues of its operating businesses to be lower in 2017 than last year - compared with its previous guidance for a broadly flat outcome. Its shares were indicated 2.4 percent lower in pre-market trade. Related Coverage Deutsche Bank to recover $47 million in bonuses from former executives - sources "This reflects our expectation that market volatility and related client activity remain muted, whereas our macro outlook remains broadly positive," Deutsche said, referring to its full-year guidance. It added credit loss provisions were likely to increase in the second half after an unusually low first half. The bank''s post-tax return on average tangible equity for the full year will improve moderately, it added. Chief Executive John Cryan said the group''s second-quarter profitability fell short of its longer-term goals. "Revenues were not as universally strong as we would have liked, in large measure because of muted client activity in many of the capital markets," he said in a statement. Revenues at Deutsche''s cash-cow bond-trading division were down 12 percent in the quarter as lower market volatility led to less client trading of interest rate and foreign exchange products, while sales were down 28 percent in equity trading. The dip in debt trading compares with a 40 percent drop at Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) and declines of 4 percent to 19 percent at Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ), Citigroup ( C.N ), Bank of America ( BAC.N ) and JPMorgan ( JPM.N ). The second-quarter slowdown has been blamed on a lack of events to spark a surge in trading, especially compared with a year ago, when Britain voted in June 2016 to leave the European Union. Low interest rates and a more guarded view on when rates will rise have added to that. Provisions for possible future legal action fell to 2.5 billion in the quarter, after the bank settled cases such as over the sale of toxic mortgages and sham Russian trades, leaving a probe into sanctions violations as the only large remaining litigation issue. Contingent liabilities were down to 1.8 billion. "Although in the first half of 2017 we recorded virtually no litigation expense we anticipate these expenses to be higher in the second half of 2017," Deutsche said. Reporting by Tom Sims and Arno Schuetze; Editing by Maria Sheahan and Mark Potter 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deutsche-bank-results-idUKKBN1AC0H6'|'2017-07-27T08:32:00.000+03:00' +'32ba40ea196920f2a00079ffc741466850037263'|'Muted inflation, wages keep Fed policymakers cautious'|'July 11, 2017 / 9:30 PM / 9 minutes ago Muted inflation, wages keep Fed policymakers cautious 3 Min Read The Federal Reserve building in Washington September 1, 2015. Kevin Lamarque (Reuters) - A day ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen''s testimony to Congress on the state of the U.S. economy, two of her colleagues cited low wage growth and muted inflation as reasons for caution on further interest rate increases. In recent months U.S. inflation has moved further below the Fed''s 2 percent target even as the labour market, as measured by a 4.4 percent unemployment rate, has strengthened. That disconnect has vexed policymakers, but Yellen has said the retreat in price pressures is likely temporary and signalled she is prepared to continue with rate hikes and a plan to start trimming the Fed''s $4.5 trillion balance sheet later this year. The Fed raised rates last month to a range of 1 percent to 1.25 percent. Fed Governor Lael Brainard supported the June rate rise and on Tuesday embraced the plan to reduce the balance sheet "soon," but suggested her support for any future rate increases will depend in part on how inflation shapes up. "I will want to monitor inflation developments carefully, and to move cautiously on further increases in the federal funds rate, so as to help guide inflation back up around our symmetric target," Brainard said, adding that she believes rates may need to top out near 2 percent, which would give the Fed little room to raise them further. At a separate event on Tuesday, Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari said he finds it hard to believe that the U.S. economy is in danger of overheating when wage growth is so low. FILE PHOTO - Federal Reserve Board Governor Lael Brainard speaks at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. on March 1, 2017. Brian Snyder/File Photo Government data on Friday showed wage growth of just 2.5 percent annually in June. "I am looking for that wage growth as an indicator that, okay, maybe the economys overheating, maybe now we are going to start seeing inflation, maybe thats going to lead us to need to raise interest rates," Kashkari told the Minnesota Women''s Economic Roundtable. Kashkari this year voted against each of the Fed''s rate hikes. "It cant be that bad to find workers because if you really were having to compete with other companies to find the scarce talent, we would see wages climbing, and we are not seeing wages climbing very quickly," he said. Kashkari said that when businesses tell him they cannot find skilled workers, he tells them to provide training and to pay more. "The bottom line from my perspective is if there are good opportunities for your business, you will raise wages you will attract workers and you will grow your company," he said. The Fed''s next policy meeting is on July 25-26. Reporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir and Richard Leong; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-fed-brainard-idUKKBN19W2OJ'|'2017-07-12T00:29:00.000+03:00' +'a96984e7873b4eaf9fbd26c3c2cac9a796525d30'|'Deutsche Bank CEO says he has no plans step down: Die Zeit'|'FRANKFURT Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) Chief Executive John Cryan has no plans to step down from running Germany''s biggest lender, he told German weekly Die Zeit in an interview.Cryan made the comments when asked whether the appointment of Christian Sewing and Markus Schenck as co-deputy CEOs earlier this year was meant to lay the groundwork for succession plans."You can be sure: I have no plans to go elsewhere, not for a long time," Cryan, who has been in the top job since 2015, told the paper.Cryan said he did not expect Deutsche Bank to make a loss this year. Analysts on average see Deutsche Bank posting a 2017 net profit of 2.29 billion euros ($2.59 billion), according to Thomson Reuters data.Cryan, who is British, also called for a quick end to a pay dispute between the supervisory board and former top executives.At issue is a move by the supervisory board to ensure former board members contribute to the costs of the bank''s past misconduct. Chairman Paul Achleitner told shareholders in May that an agreement would come soon, but discussions have dragged on."The earlier the topic is clarified, the better," Cryan told Die Zeit.He was also asked by the paper about one of his most prominent clients, U.S. President Donald Trump, who still owes the lender at least $130 million in loans for his real-estate ventures, according to an ethics disclosure last month.A small group of U.S. Democrats have been demanding that Deutsche Bank come forward with information on Trump as a client, but the bank has refused."Donald Trump himself revealed that he is among our customers, but we can''t say anything because of bank confidentiality laws," Cryan said."What gets lost in the debate is that at the time that Donald Trump received loans, he was a real-estate entrepreneur and not president," he added.(Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Balazs Koranyi/Keith Weir)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-deutsche-bank-ceo-idUSKBN19Q1CP'|'2017-07-05T14:21:00.000+03:00' +'97f55976de5b09d9e6f9f42a2c9bc54b1720bfec'|'UPDATE 1-BNP Paribas posts smaller-than-expected fall in Q2 profit'|'Edition United States July 28, 2017 / 5:24 AM / in 12 hours BNP Paribas posts smaller-than-expected fall in second quarter profit 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of BNP Paribas bank is pictured on an office building in Nantes, France, July 21, 2017. Stephane Mahe/File Photo PARIS (Reuters) - BNP Paribas, France''s biggest listed bank, posted a smaller than expected drop in second-quarter net income on Friday, as it benefited from cost cuts and stronger revenue in its investment banking division. BNP Paribas is overhauling business and chopping costs, as it invests to digitize more functions and to diversify activities even more into consumer finance or asset management to protect profits from a low interest rate environment. "CIB (corporate and institutional bank) had very good quarter," BNP Paribas said in a statement after it reported a 6.4 percent drop in net income to 2.396 billion euros, beating by far the average estimate of 1.91 billion in a Reuters poll of five analysts. CIB revenue rose 4.6 percent, as a 25.8 percent rise in equity trading and prime dealing services helped cushion a 15.9 percent fall in fixed income trading revenue. This compares with 1 percent rise for equities trading among five U.S. biggest banks on average and a 17 percent dip in fixed income trading. BNP has chosen to develop a strategy for corporate clients in Europe, called "One Bank", which focuses on cross-selling between divisions and aims at offering a wide range of products in order to win loyalty of companies. Its corporate banking revenue rose 13.5 percent, boosted by growth in cash management and trade finance. CIB expenses were down by 6.0 percent due to cost savings measures implemented as part of the banks transformation plan launched in the beginning of 2016, aimed at improving the pre-tax return on equity for the business to 19 percent in 2020 from 13.3 percent in 2016. Overall, revenue decreased to 10.94 billion euros from 11.32 billion a year earlier when it reported an exceptional capital gain of 597 million from the sale of a stake Visa Europe. Revenues also came in above the 10.84 billion euros expected by analysts, as stronger earnings in corporate and institutional banking, international financial services helped to offset a slight decline in European retail banking markets revenue. Reporting by Maya Nikolaeva and Julien Ponthus; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Leigh Thomas 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-bnp-paribas-results-idUSKBN1AD0HZ'|'2017-07-28T08:39:00.000+03:00' +'cd2b69b6a18f0ebac4410906733fde1972df3953'|'Thousands of drivers suffer loss of power following VW emissions ''fix'' - Money - The Guardian'|'Motoring Thousands of drivers suffer loss of power following VW emissions ''fix'' 41,000 owners are bringing a class action against the manufacturer citing poor performance, worse fuel consumption and no compensation A Volkswagen is tested for diesel emissions but the fix appears to have made matters worse for many. Photograph: Patrick Pleul/AFP/Getty Images Motoring Thousands of drivers suffer loss of power following VW emissions ''fix'' 41,000 owners are bringing a class action against the manufacturer citing poor performance, worse fuel consumption and no compensation View more sharing options 16.02 BST Last modified on 18.32 BST More than half of VW, Audi and Skoda owners who had their cars fixed following the diesel-gate emissions scandal have subsequently suffered poor performance and worse fuel consumption, according to a legal firm behind a class action against VW. Up in smoke: the VW emissions fix has left our car undriveable Read more Around 41,000 owners have so far joined the action by Harcus Sinclair UK. VW has recalled 1.2m cars in the UK after it was caught cheating emissions tests two years ago , but growing numbers of owners are refusing to have the free work done because of the alleged post-fix problems. Harcus Sinclair says its survey found that 53%, or 2,706 drivers, had reported reduced fuel efficiency following the fix. More than 40% suffered reduced power and acceleration, while 739 reported a sudden loss of power as the car went into limp home mode. VW has so far refused to compensate those affected in the UK and has vowed to fight the legal action. Last month it also faced fresh allegations that the the fix for affected cars may not make a difference in the real world, following a leak of internal documents in German media. Damon Parker, head of litigation at Harcus Sinclair UK, said: These results show that the fix intended to reduce NOx emissions may, in fact, have a detrimental impact on the cars performance and running costs. It has been almost two years since the scandal was exposed and the only thing that UK consumers have been offered is a so-called fix. A survey of our clients suggests it has caused other mechanical problems, leading to greater inconvenience, anxiety over their cars safety and additional cost to them. Affected cars include VW, Audi, SEAT and koda with 1.2, 1.6 and 2.0 EA 189 diesel engines manufactured between 2009 and 2015. Most require a simple software upgrade, but some those with the 1.6 litre diesel engine have needed major work. Parker says the legal case will likely focus on whether the cars should have been certified as fit for sale as they allegedly produced higher emissions of NOx than the rules allowed due to their engines being fitted with a defeat device. The UK government has supported the fix which, for most vehicles, has been approved by German regulators. Transport minister, John Hayes, said in April that he was calling on VW to offer a compensation package to UK consumers. The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs has said NOx emissions cause 23,000 premature deaths in the UK each year. In March, the Guardian featured the case of James Harrison who claimed that the fix had ruined his familys 2010 Golf 1.6 diesel. Following the work the car began to stall and was difficult to restart. Other VW owners have reported that components from the exhaust gas recirculation system and the diesel particulate filter are commonly in need of being replaced after the fix is applied. In some cases VW has paid for the work, but in others it has left the owner with large 1,000+ bills. A spokesman for VW said: This survey has been designed by a law firm to support the claim it is bringing for compensation against Volkswagen. We have serious misgivings about its impartiality and methodology. It is limited to the law firms clients who are likely to have different characteristics from the population of affected vehicle owners in the UK as a whole. Even among that interested group the survey response rate was less than 25%, and only half the respondents reported any problem. In stark contrast, in the UK Volkswagen has implemented the technical measures in over 720,000 vehicles and in over 5m vehicles across Europe. There is no systemic problem. The overwhelming majority of our customers have been fully satisfied. Put another way, around 5m customers have not reported any problems with the technical measures. He added: We also want to stress that the technical measures do not affect the performance or safety of a vehicle. Implementation of the technical measures does not cause limp home mode to engage nor does it increase the incidence of limp home mode occurring. An investigation by the BBCs Watchdog programme into cars losing power is on BBC 1 tonight at 8pm. Topics'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/jul/12/drivers-loss-of-power-vw-emissions-fix-class-action'|'2017-07-12T23:02:00.000+03:00' +'3ece220e0017d416ec861b9024c7902f1ce2f572'|'FTSE Russell to exclude Snap from stock indexes'|'July 26, 2017 / 8:39 PM / 9 minutes ago FTSE Russell to exclude Snap from stock indexes 1 Min Read The logo of messaging app Snapchat is seen at a booth at TechFair LA, a technology job fair, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., January 26, 2017. Lucy Nicholson NEW YORK (Reuters) - FTSE Russell CEO Mark Makepeace said on Wednesday the index provider plans to exclude Snap Inc ( SNAP.N ) from its widely followed stock indexes because of the Snapchat owner''s unusual share structure that denies voting rights to investors. Russell said it plans to require constituents of its indexes to have more than 5 percent of the company''s voting rights in the hands of unrestricted shareholders. Russell also said it plans to seek further feedback from clients. Reporting by Ross Kerber; editing by Grant McCool 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-snap-russell-idUSKBN1AB2TW'|'2017-07-26T23:38:00.000+03:00' +'f034d61615afc11d8b9e6f41ad188002b0e6655f'|'Stada CEO, CFO resign with immediate effect'|'FRANKFURT German generic drugmaker Stada ( STAGn.DE ) said on Tuesday both its chief executive and its finance chief had resigned from their posts with immediate effect, ahead of a possible fresh takeover bid by buyout groups Bain Capital and Cinven.Chief Executive Matthias Wiedenfels will be replaced by former Boehringer Ingelheim board member Engelbert Tjeenk Willink and CFO Helmut Kraft by Bernhard Duettmann, formerly finance chief at Beiersdorf ( BEIG.DE ) and then Lanxess ( LXSG.DE ).Both managers are appointed until the end of 2017, Stada said in a statement.(Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Victoria Bryan)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-stada-arzneimitt-m-a-ceo-idUSKBN19P1EJ'|'2017-07-04T15:40:00.000+03:00' +'46b9760db37f937926651c9173b75e7527526e96'|'Toshiba regains access to credit line but tough conditions applied: sources'|'July 12, 2017 / 9:41 AM / 5 hours ago Toshiba regains access to credit line but tough conditions applied: sources Taiga Uranaka and Taro Fuse 2 Min Read The logo of Toshiba Corp is seen behind cherry blossoms at the company''s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan April 11, 2017. Toru Hanai TOKYO (Reuters) - Crisis-hit Toshiba Corp has regained access to a crucial $6 billion credit line after stumping up shares in its chip unit as collateral but its lenders have imposed tough conditions, banking sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. Hit by massive cost overruns at its now bankrupt U.S. nuclear unit, Toshiba needs billions of dollars in fresh loans to tide it over before it can complete the $18 billion sale of the memory chip unit, which has currently stalled. Its banks, which include Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp and Mizuho Bank, had denied Toshiba access to an agreed commitment line of 680 billion yen earlier this year after its credit ratings were slashed due to writedowns for the nuclear unit, Westinghouse. Toshiba was allowed to withdraw 100 billion yen ($880 million) in loans late last month but must reseek permission every week from creditors to extend the loan, the sources said, declining to be identified as they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. A Toshiba spokeswoman declined to comment. SMBC and Mizuho officials were not immediately available for comment. Toshiba has told creditors it will need 1 trillion yen in fresh loans during the current financial year through March, banking sources have said previously. Western Digital Corp, Toshiba''s joint venture partner for its flash memory chip business, is seeking a U.S. court injunction to stop any sale of the unit without its consent and is also opposed to the use of the unit''s shares as collateral. After a long period of deliberation, Toshiba and its lenders concluded they can use the unit''s shares as collateral even without Western Digital''s consent, the sources said. Reporting by Taiga Uranaka and Taro Fuse; Additional reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Edwina Gibbs 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-banks-idUSKBN19X140'|'2017-07-12T12:41:00.000+03:00' +'3e2ff2f9480e76a1178c6e9fa0cc719e7a731b7e'|'Exclusive: Three sides agree on seven rounds of NAFTA talks - sources'|'July 19, 2017 / 3:33 PM / in 41 minutes Exclusive: U.S., Canada, Mexico agree on fast-paced NAFTA talks - sources Anthony Esposito and David Ljunggren 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO - U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Washington, DC, U.S. on February 13, 2017. Kevin Lamarque/File Photo MEXICO CITY/OTTAWA (Reuters) - U.S., Mexican and Canadian officials have agreed to an aggressive timetable to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), sources said, aiming to conclude early next year to avoid Mexicos 2018 presidential elections. The plan is to hold seven rounds of talks at three-week intervals, according to two Mexican officials who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue. Described by one Mexican official as a "very aggressive calendar," the sources said the goal was to conclude the talks before the electoral campaign was in full swing. Negotiators fear the renegotiation process could become a political punching bag in Mexico due to President Donald Trump''s repeated swipes at Mexico and as Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador from the leftist National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) party leads a number of early polls for next year''s election. Trump has pushed for a renegotiation of NAFTA, threatening to dump it if he cannot rework the accord to the benefit of the United States. He argues it has fueled a trade deficit with Mexico and cost thousands of U.S. jobs. The first round of talks to upgrade the accord underpinning over a trillion dollars of trilateral trade between the United States, Mexico and Canada is due to take place in Washington from Aug. 16-20, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Wednesday. The talks will alternate sites among the three countries and the second round is slated to happen in Mexico, one of the Mexican sources said. However, a U.S. Trade Representative spokesperson said the countries have not all agreed to the number of rounds and the frequency of talks. A well-placed Canadian source familiar with discussions said the United States had proposed the "staggering" schedule but could also not confirm whether an agreement had been reached on the timetable. U.S. administration officials said Mexico had asked for the negotiations to be completed by the end of the year before the Mexican presidential election heats up. FILE PHOTO - Robert Lighthizer speaks after he was sworn as U.S. Trade Representative during a ceremony at the White House in Washington, U.S. on May 15, 2017. Kevin Lamarque/File Photo Lighthizer has said he hopes the negotiations could be wrapped up by the end of the year, while noting that he was not prepared to set a deadline for the talks. John Melle, assistant U.S. trade representative for the Western Hemisphere, will lead the day-to-day negotiations of NAFTA for the United States. Lighthizer, who by U.S. rules is the chief NAFTA negotiator, said in June that completing the negotiations by the year end was a "very, very quick time frame and we''re not going to have a bad agreement to save time." Impact on Immigration David MacNaughton, Canada''s ambassador to Washington, told reporters on Tuesday, "Obviously if we could get a clarification of the trading relationship sooner rather than later, it would be better, but having said that, we''re not going to rush into a bad deal." Canadian officials said there is no chance of making substantial changes to NAFTA if talks wrap up by the end of 2017. Modernizing the pact in a serious way will take two years, they forecast. After the United States unveiled on Monday its much-anticipated objectives for the renegotiation, the agenda was generally viewed as fairly limited in scope and greeted as such by Mexico and Canada. A U.S. administration official and a congressional source said there were growing concerns within the Trump administration, on Capitol Hill and in the business community that Trump policies could embolden anti-U.S. populist Lopez Obrador, who has tapped into Mexico''s resentment toward Trump. Some see the series of recent high-level visits by Trump cabinet members to Mexico, including Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Energy Secretary Rick Perry, as signs of those concerns. U.S. officials caution that if things go badly on the trade front, Mexico would gain leverage on immigration. It has been praised by U.S. officials for curbing the flow of Central American immigrants through Mexico, but it could decide to reduce its border enforcement. "If the current president of Mexico were to capitulate in any major way to Trump''s unreasonable demands, then it would be a huge bonanza for Lopez Obrador," said Fred Bergsten, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Reporting by Anthony Esposito and David Ljunggren; Additional reporting by Dave Graham in Mexico City and Lesley Wroughton in Washington; Editing by Cynthia Osterman 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-nafta-exclusive-idUSKBN1A41PU'|'2017-07-19T18:35:00.000+03:00' +'d2447c9c7767add260a42a798976b57bed5bfab4'|'Ireland may need to cool economy from 2019, central bank chief warns'|'July 24, 2017 / 1:57 PM / in 5 minutes Ireland may need to cool economy from 2019, central bank chief warns Padraic Halpin 3 Min Read Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland Philip R. Lane speaks at open the new Central Bank of Ireland offices in Dublin, Ireland April 24, 2017. Clodagh Kilcoyne DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland may need to cool parts of its economy in a couple of year, potentially by raising taxes, if ramped up public investment coincides with full employment, its central bank chief was quoted as saying on Monday. The economy has grown faster than any other in Europe for the last three years and employment is showing no sign of slowing down, with a current jobless rate of 6.3 percent down from over 15 percent five years ago. "We are not overheating now and we may not overheat because of downside risks," Governor Philip Lane told Ireland''s edition of The Times newspaper in an interview, a transcript of which was published on the central bank''s website. "The big challenge for the government is that from 2019-2021 in the scenario where we do hit full employment in late 2018 or early 2019... the nature of the economy totally changes and everyone recognises that this has to be handled." Full employment means that just about everyone who wants a job has one, a situation which leads to workforce shortages and wage inflation. Dublin also plans to stimulate growth by nearly doubling capital spending over the next five years, tackling bottlenecks built up after investment ground to a near-halt during the financial crisis and which remains among the lowest in the European Union. Lane said that while there was some slack in the economy with wage growth remaining relatively modest, pay pressure built up quite quickly when Ireland last reached full employment in the late 1990s before the crash of the "Celtic Tiger" economy. "The process of adding through a surge in public investment, how does that work in full employment? Other parts of the economy may need to cool down and this is where the government''s overall fiscal strategy may come into play," Lane said. "So, raising taxes... Not saying we''re going to raise taxes forever. But raising taxes to make room for a surge in public investment or to make room for the fact the economy is operating above potential... For small economies the type of budget surplus needed could be significant." Ireland''s Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said last week that overheating was a risk that could develop and that the government needed to be ready to act. Ireland also faces an economic unknown relating to next door Britain''s leaving the EU, potentially cutting its land route to mainland Europe for exports and also creating a different trade relationship with its main UK market. Reporting by Padraic Halpin Editing by Jeremy Gaunt 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ireland-economy-idUKKBN1A91RA'|'2017-07-24T16:57:00.000+03:00' +'e8594dcd7ee62501364fb57ef996d998547cedfa'|'EU court rejects Polish bid to halt Opal pipeline deal, verdict in 2019'|'The logo of Russian gas giant Gazprom is seen on a board at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2017 (SPIEF 2017) in St. Petersburg, Russia, June 1, 2017. Picture taken June 1, 2017. Sergei Karpukhin BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A European Commission deal giving Gazprom ( GAZP.MM ) a bigger share of the Opal gas pipeline can go ahead for now until a ruling is issued in 2019, Europe''s second-highest court said on Friday in a rejection of a Polish bid to halt the move.The EU executive''s decision lifting the cap on Russian state-controlled Gazprom''s use of the pipeline in October last year angered Poland as it would erode the country''s role as a transit site and its influence in future gas supply talks.The pipeline carries gas from the Nord Stream pipeline under the Baltic Sea to customers in Germany and the Czech Republic.The Luxembourg-based General Court suspended the EU decision in December last year following a challenge by Poland, state-run gas firm PGNiG PGN.WA and PGNiG Supply & Trading.The plaintiffs said Gazprom''s increased gas transports via Opal would result in less gas for two other pipelines, threatening Polish gas supply.Court President Marc Jaeger said he was revoking the suspension because there was no proof of serious harm."The applicants have failed to show that the harm suffered as a result of the contested decision is serious and irreparable and therefore that decision remains applicable until delivery of the judgments on its lawfulness," he said."In the light of the average duration of proceedings before the General Court, the judgments on the substance in the present cases will probably be delivered during 2019."Gazprom supplies about a third of Europe''s gas needs.Reporting by Foo Yun Chee. Editing by Jane Merriman '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-gazprom-europe-gas-court-idUSKBN1A625Z'|'2017-07-22T00:48:00.000+03:00' +'e6e99c73484426064250414163ac68c00e70fc7d'|'Siemens to press charges after turbines moved from Russia to Crimea'|'Mon Jul 10, 2017 - 5:07pm BST Siemens to press charges after turbines moved from Russia to Crimea A logo of Siemens is pictured on a building in Mexico City, Mexico, May 16, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido - RTX363G4 By Andreas Rinke and Georgina Prodhan - BERLIN/FRANKFURT BERLIN/FRANKFURT Germany''s Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ) said on Monday at least two of its gas turbines had been moved "against its will" from Russia to Crimea, a region subject to sanctions barring EU firms providing it with energy technology. The European Union imposed the sanctions after Russia''s 2014 annexation of the peninsula from Ukraine, a move it sees as breaking international law. Siemens, which has repeatedly insisted it was not aware the turbines were destined for Crimea, said it would press criminal charges against those responsible for diverting the turbines. "Siemens has received information from reliable sources that at least two of the four gas turbine sets, which were delivered for the project in Taman, Southern Russia, have been moved to Crimea against our will," it said in a statement. "Over the last few months, our customer has confirmed to us numerous times in writing that a delivery to Crimea would not occur. As a consequence, Siemens will initiate criminal charges against the responsible individuals." Reuters reported last week that the Siemens turbines had been delivered to Crimea. A Siemens spokesman said the customer in question was Russian state-owned engineering company Technopromexport, which bought the turbines from Siemens. Technopromexport had no immediate comment, and Russia''s energy ministry declined to comment. Vladimir Putin, who is expected to seek reelection as Russian president next year, has vowed to ensure energy security for Crimea, but has no home-grown company that could easily supply such turbines. The Kremlin said on Monday the power turbines being installed in Crimea had been made in Russia using Russian components - an apparent reference to the fact that the turbines were produced at a factory in St. Petersburg. The plant''s owner, Siemens Gas Turbine Technologies LLC, is 65 percent owned by Siemens and uses Siemens technology. DIPLOMACY Siemens - a multinational whose activities include trains, factory automation and healthcare equipment - will mark 170 years'' presence in Russia this year, and invested about 1 billion euros ($1.14 billion) there in the early years of this decade, mostly in energy. Joe Kaeser met Putin several times during his first year as chief executive, including a widely criticized visit to Russia shortly after the annexation of Crimea during which he reaffirmed his commitment to the country. Germany is still one of Russia''s top trading partners. A spokesman for the German Economy Ministry, when asked about the Siemens affair on Monday, said that it was up to Siemens to ensure it respected the EU sanctions. The issue has been raised in diplomatic circles in Moscow, a Siemens source familiar with the matter said. Three sources close to the matter told Reuters last week that Russia''s ZAO Interautomatika had been hired to help install the turbines in Crimea. Siemens said on Monday it had expanded investigations by an internal taskforce to all of its Russian-based entities and relevant partners to ensure that no equipment or services could be supplied that could violate export control restrictions. "This also applies to Siemens'' minority stake in Interautomatika," it said, adding that Interautomatika had confirmed in writing Siemens'' insistence that all relevant activities with respect to Crimea be immediately terminated. Siemens added that it would file lawsuits to halt any further deliveries to Crimea and to return already-dispatched equipment to its original destination. It said it was evaluating what additional actions were possible. The Siemens source had earlier told Reuters that the company was taking legal steps to address the issue. (Additional reporting by Hans-Edzard Busemann and Anastasia Lyrchikova; Writing by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Sabine Wollrab, Edward Taylor and Anna Willard)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-crimea-power-idUKKBN19V13E'|'2017-07-10T18:58:00.000+03:00' +'3595e05fc9ceab4d5abe3bfb72ba3cf1a382ffc1'|'UK union begins legal push for courier rights at Addison Lee'|'July 24, 2017 / 11:05 AM / 25 minutes ago UK union begins legal push for courier rights at Addison Lee Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - A British trade union began court action against car service Addison Lee on Monday in a bid to secure workers'' rights such as holiday pay for a courier, in the latest legal threat to the "gig economy". Addison Lee, best known for its professional car service, also has around 40 people operating as couriers who transport time-sensitive documents such as contracts and luxury goods. Many of those working in the gig economy, in which people tend to work for different firms without a fixed contract, are self-employed and work for firms such as taxi app Uber [UBER.UL] and food courier Deliveroo. In law they have no entitlement to employment rights beyond basic health and safety and anti-discrimination laws, which has prompted concern from unions and members of parliament about exploitative practices. A government review released earlier this month recommended that many of those who are currently self-employed in the burgeoning sector deserved workers'' rights such as the minimum wage. On Monday, the Independent Workers'' Union of Great Britain (IWGB) began the latest legal challenge to gig economy practices at a London employment tribunal. "The IWGB... will argue that Addison Lee was unlawfully classifying courier and union member Christopher Gascoigne as an independent contractor, instead of a worker, thus denying him holiday pay," it said in a statement. Addison Lee said its couriers valued the flexibility of being able to work when they chose and that the firm would defend that principle. "Our focus remains on maintaining and enhancing the relationship between Addison Lee and its pushbike couriers and building on the flexibility and fairness that has served both parties so well," it said in a statement. Reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Michael Holden 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-addisonlee-idUKKBN1A919T'|'2017-07-24T14:04:00.000+03:00' +'d7be5677a84635b89e3c1ea53efd7fde00a55875'|'METALS-London copper buoyed near two-year peak after China data'|'July 31, 2017 / 2:23 AM / 8 hours ago METALS-London copper buoyed near two-year peak after China data 3 Min Read MELBOURNE, July 31 (Reuters) - London copper rallied to within a whisker of its highest in more than two years on Monday after manufacturing data from top user China confirmed growth tempered slightly but stayed firm in July. Fundamentals * LME COPPER: London Metal Exchange copper had risen 1.1 percent to $6,399 a tonne by 0150 GMT, after ending flat on Friday. Prices earlier matched last week''s peak since May 2015 at $6,400 a tonne. * SHFE COPPER: Shanghai Futures Exchange copper climbed 0.6 percent to 50,470 yuan ($7,496.25) a tonne. * SHFE NICKEL: SHFE nickel rallied 1.6 percent to 86,560 yuan a tonne as prices recover on ongoing concerns about supply from the Philippines, which has been cracking down on the mining sector. * CHINA: Growth in China''s manufacturing sector slowed marginally in July, but stayed firm. The official Purchasing Managers'' Index (PMI) released on Monday stood at 51.4 in July, down from the previous month''s 51.7 but still well above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis. * U.S. DOLLAR: The dollar struggled on Monday, wallowing near a 2-1/2-year low against the euro, weighed down by U.S. political uncertainty and uninspiring U.S. data that added to doubts about whether there will be another Federal Reserve rate hike this year. * Chilean mining company Antofagasta could green-light a $1.1 billion revamp of its Los Pelambres copper mine in the first months of 2018, as rising copper prices buoy spirits in the sector, the company''s CEO told Reuters on Friday. * CHINA PPP: China''s public-private partnership (PPP) project construction has entered the "fast lane" and will become a unified, standardised, transparent market, a government research office said. * COPPER SPECULATORS: Hedge funds and money managers increased their net long position in COMEX copper in the week to July 25, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday. * For the top stories in metals and other news, click or Markets News * Asian shares dipped on Monday following a lacklustre end to last week globally on some earnings disappointments, while the dollar edged up but remained capped by U.S. polit Data/Events 0600 Germany Retail sales real Monthly 0600 Germany Retail sales real Yearly 0830 U.K. BOE Consumer credit June 0900 Eurozone Inflation July 0900 Eurozone Unemployment rate June 1345 U.S. Chicago PMI June 1400 U.S. Pending home sales index June 1400 U.S. Pending sales change June 1430 U.S. Dallas Fed mfg bus index July Prices '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/global-metals-idUSL5N1KM036'|'2017-07-31T05:23:00.000+03:00' +'4306c210eb21fb904462d84156be6c7b7e5a01f1'|'Microsoft to cut ''thousands'' of jobs - source'|'Technology 6:01pm BST Microsoft to cut ''thousands'' of jobs: source The Microsoft logo is shown on the Microsoft Theatre at the E3 2017 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 13, 2017. REUTERS/ Mike Blake Microsoft Corp ( MSFT.O ) plans to cut "thousands" of jobs, with a majority of them outside the United States, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. The Redmond, Washington-based company is in the process of reorganizing its sales and marketing teams as it doubles down on its fast-growing cloud business. Reuters reported on Monday that the company would undergo a reorganization that would impact its sales and marketing teams. (Reporting by Salvador Rodriguez in San Francisco; Narottam Medhora and Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-microsoft-layoffs-idUKKBN19R2IO'|'2017-07-06T19:54:00.000+03:00' +'f50fb728366d1f5f14f1c90888d55b98887e46c2'|'Spain''s business leaders worried about Catalan secession'|'July 23, 2017 / 9:50 AM / 8 hours ago Spain''s business leaders worried about Catalan secession 2 Min Read People assemble a giant Estelada flag, a Catalan separatist flag, during a pro-independence rally in Sant Cugat del Valles, near Barcelona, Spain July 8, 2017. Albert Gea BARCELONA (Reuters) - Almost three quarters of Spanish business leaders fear Catalonia''s plans for an independence referendum on Oct. 1 could harm the country''s economy, according to a study by Deloitte published in Spanish newspaper El Pas. Madrid has condemned as illegal plans by the northeast region''s government to hold a referendum on seceding from Spain and, if the yes vote wins, declare independence unilaterally within 48 hours. Last week, the Spanish government said Catalonia would lose access to some public funds if it used the money to prepare for the unsanctioned plebiscite. Nationwide 74 percent of 265 business leaders surveyed believe the Catalan independence movement threatens the Spanish economy, while 43 percent of those based in Catalonia itself agree, according to the Deloitte Survey of Companies study commissioned for El Pais. Despite concerns about the political deadlock over Catalonia, confidence in Spains continued economic growth remains high, according to the poll. Eight out of 10 directors polled said the economy had improved in the first half of the year. Seven out of 10 expect to bill more in the second half of the year than in the first six months. Spain has surpassed expectations for GDP growth this year. Last week the International Monetary Fund said it expected Spains economy to grow by around 2.5 percent in 2018,up from its previous forecast of 2.1 percent. Opposition to seceding from Spain rose slightly to 49.4 percent in June, according to a poll by the regional government''s Centre of Opinion Studies, from 48.5 percent in March. Reporting by Sam Shephard; Editing by Mark Potter 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-spain-catalonia-idINKBN1A809T'|'2017-07-23T12:30:00.000+03:00' +'bb7c21cc6c603193ae907df13082e4bad32cda83'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Brazil real firms on slowdown in U.S. wage growth'|'By Bruno Federowski SAO PAULO, July 28 (Reuters) - The Brazilian real strengthened on Friday after data showing underwhelming wage gains in the United States reduced bets on another U.S. rate hike this year. The U.S. economy accelerated in the second quarter, matching analyst expectations, but wage growth slowed and inflation was limited, putting the Federal Reserve in a tight spot as it looks to continue raising interest rates. The report was the latest to stoke bets on a slower-than-expected pace of U.S. monetary tightening, an outlook that has boosted demand for high-yielding emerging market currencies. The Brazilian real firmed 0.4 percent on Friday to 3.14 reais, paring this week''s losses to roughly 1 percent. The currency has struggled to extend recent gains after a four-week rally drove it to its strongest level in two months. The real''s strength tracked the global weakness of the U.S. currency following Friday''s data, with the dollar weakening against a basket of benchmark currencies. The Colombian peso firmed as much as 0.9 percent, also boosted by stronger oil prices and bets that the central bank will soon halt interest rate cuts. The bank on Thursday reduced its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 5.50 percent, with one of seven policymakers voting to hold. "The fact that six board members agreed to slow the easing pace, and one even wanted to pause, seems like a clear signal that (the central bank) is preparing to end its easing cycle," economists at JPMorgan wrote in a note to clients. The Mexican peso was slightly weaker as traders avoided big bets on further appreciation of the currency, which has been the region''s best performer this year as fears eased over U.S. President Donald Trump''s protectionist pledges. Still, traders said the currency could see another rally as U.S. trade negotiations advance. The International Monetary Fund on Friday said the peso is undervalued between 5 and 15 percent in a scenario where protectionist risks don''t materialize. Brazil''s benchmark Bovespa stock index seesawed on a heavy batch of corporate earnings. Shares of Estcio Participaes SA were the biggest gainers, rising as much as 7 percent after the for-profit college operator returned to profit. Santander Brasil units, a blend of common and preferred shares, fell 2.6 percent, among the biggest losers. Brazil''s No. 4 listed bank posted record quarterly earnings but loan-loss provisions rose, triggering some profit-taking for the stock, traders said. Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1600 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % Latest change change MSCI Emerging Markets 1061.98 -0.65 23.97 MSCI LatAm 2732.28 -0.13 16.89 Brazil Bovespa 65201.82 -0.12 8.26 Mexico S&P/BVM IPC 50955.32 -0.59 11.64 Chile IPSA 5058.54 0.18 21.85 Chile IGPA 25278.83 0.18 21.92 Argentina MerVal 21452.45 0.74 26.80 Colombia IGBC 10929.98 -0.31 7.92 Venezuela IBC 134770.98 0.14 325.08 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.1424 0.41 3.40 Mexico peso 17.7525 -0.15 16.85 Chile peso 651 -0.27 3.03 Colombia peso 3000.5 0.35 0.03 Peru sol 3.245 0.00 5.21 Argentina peso (interbank) 17.7600 -0.62 -10.61 Argentina peso (parallel) 18.46 -0.22 -8.88 (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; editing by Grant McCool) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-latam-idUSL1N1KJ144'|'2017-07-28T19:15:00.000+03:00' +'fd81950fbe91a5d032f61ffd6a6563696f5cc33a'|'Wall St. weaker on labour market data, North Korea tensions'|'July 6, 2017 / 11:45 AM / 42 minutes ago Wall Street drops on labor market data, North Korea concern Chuck Mikolajczak 4 Min Read Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., July 5, 2017. Brendan McDermid (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were sharply lower on Thursday after disappointing labor market data clashed with the possibility of a more hawkish Federal Reserve, while rising tensions in the Korean peninsula providing additional pressure. Private employers added 158,000 jobs in June, the ADP National Employment Report showed, coming in below the estimated gain of 185,000 and suggesting cooling in the U.S. labor market as it nears full employment. Another set of data showed weekly jobless claims rose for the third straight week, climbing to 248,000 and topping the 243,000 expected. While the data still indicates a tight labor market, the reports hint at a soft monthly nonfarm payrolls report on Friday, which includes hiring in both the public and private sectors. The softer data comes on the heels of Wednesday''s release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve''s June meeting, which showed policymakers were increasingly split on the inflation outlook and how it might affect the pace of interest rate increases. Those two factors helped push yields on U.S. Treasuries US10YT=RR higher and dampened the attractiveness of equities. "ADP came in pretty soft, people got a little nervous there," said Anthony Conroy, president of Abel Noser in New York. "People said the Fed is pretty uneasy over low inflation but they are still going to keep doing what they are doing with rates because they have to do something." Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., July 5, 2017. Brendan McDermid Geopolitical tensions also weighed on sentiment, with U.S. President Donald Trump vowing on Thursday to confront North Korea "very strongly" following its latest missile test and urging nations to show Pyongyang that there would be consequences for its weapons program. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 158.13 points, or 0.74 percent, to 21,320.04, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 22.79 points, or 0.94 percent, to 2,409.75 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 61.39 points, or 1 percent, to 6,089.46. The declines marked the biggest percentage drop for the S&P 500 in since May 17. Shares of Tesla ( TSLA.O ) dropped 5.56 percent after the luxury electric carmaker''s Model S did not receive the top score in certain tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. General Electric ( GE.N ) lost 3.80 percent as the worst performer on the Dow after the European Commission accused the company of providing misleading information during a merger deal. L Brands ( LB.N ) plunged 14.08 percent, the worst performer on the S&P 500, after the Victoria''s Secret owner''s June sales came in below expectations. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 3.12-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.35-to-1 ratio favored decliners. About 6.66 billion shares changed hands in U.S. exchanges, compared with the 7.18 billion daily average over the last 20 sessions. Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Dan Grebler 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks-idINKBN19R1I9'|'2017-07-06T21:27:00.000+03:00' +'427837bce95fdaba1fefe6cfcdf9e66240788572'|'Total nears deal to invest up to $2 billion in Iran''s petrochemical industry'|'July 4, 2017 / 11:24 AM / 12 minutes ago Total nears deal to invest up to $2 billion in Iran''s petrochemical industry 3 Min Read The logo of French oil company Total is seen on a fuel pump at a Total gas station in Paris, France, April 19, 2016. Jacky Naegelen/Files LONDON (Reuters) - Total and Iran have reached a preliminary agreement to build three petrochemical plants in a deal that if finalised could see the French oil major investing up to $2 billion in Iran, an Iranian oil industry official said on Tuesday. "In the latest talks, the two sides have reached agreement for construction of petrochemical plants with the total capacity of 2.2 million tonnes of petrochemical and polymer products per year," the managing director of Iran''s National Petrochemical Company (NPC) was quoted as saying by the oil ministy''s news agency SHANA. "We predict that Total would invest $1.5 to $2 billion in Iran''s petrochemical industry if we reach final agreement," Marzieh Shahdaei added. A spokesman for Total said: "Total and Iran''s National Petrochemical Company are currently working on an in-depth study of an ethane-based petrochemical project whose figures (Capex especially) have to be fine-tuned." The preliminary deal on the petrochemical plants follows Monday''s agreement by Total to go ahead with the phase 11 development project for Iran''s South Pars offshore gas field, the first major Western energy investment in the Islamic Republic since the lifting of sanctions against it. A customer holds a gas pump as he fills-up his car in a Total station in Nice, France, February 9, 2017. Eric Gaillard/Files Total''s Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne said after the signing of the South Pars deal that it would open the door for more business with Tehran. South Pars is part of the world''s largest gas field which is shared with neighbouring Qatar where development of the deposit known as the North Field has made the tiny Gulf state the world''s biggest producer of liquefied natural gas. Total is active in both Iran and Qatar as well as the UAE, which together with its bigger neighbour Saudi Arabia is in dispute with Qatar over its close ties with Iran. Total''s CEO told Reuters last month the petrochemical plants project in Iran was less advanced than South Pars 11 because Total would need to fund that project with loans from banks while South Pars could be developed with its own funds. Iranian deputy oil minister, Amir Hossein Zamaninia said on Monday that Iran and Total have held "positive talks" to cooperate in petrochemicals but added that the deal was not final. An oil industry official said in January that Iran plans to build 25 petrochemical plants and is currently seeking $32 billion in foreign investment to fund projects. Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Additional reporting by Bate Felix in Paris; Editing by Louise Heavens, Greg Mahlich 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/iran-total-petrochemicals-idINKBN19P1CJ'|'2017-07-04T14:23:00.000+03:00' +'08eddfb323b9ab28c957dafafe2447a1dea2333f'|'OPEC governors pick Saudi candidate as research head - sources'|'July 18, 2017 / 12:41 PM / 26 minutes ago OPEC governors pick Saudi candidate as research head - sources 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: OPEC logo is pictured ahead of an informal meeting between members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Algiers, Algeria September 28, 2016. Ramzi Boudina/File Photo DUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC''s board of governors has picked Saudi Arabia''s candidate, Ayed al-Qahtani, to be the oil exporter group''s new head of research, two OPEC sources said on Tuesday. Three other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries - Qatar, Iraq and Libya - had also fielded candidates for the position, which is OPEC''s second most senior after the secretary general. Al-Qahtani works at the Saudi Ministry of Energy and is a member of the Saudi OPEC delegation. He has also worked for state oil company Aramco, where he was in charge of its global economic and energy outlooks and scenarios. OPEC governors are meeting at the group''s Vienna headquarters on Tuesday and the talks are continuing, sources said. Reporting by Rania El Gamal and Alex Lawler; editing by Jason Neely 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/opec-research-idINKBN1A319Y'|'2017-07-18T15:41:00.000+03:00' +'d6a1df8434292e731878f2e4412c56da528df363'|'Express Scripts to cover Mylan''s EpiPen, exclude rivals'|'July 31, 2017 / 3:13 PM / 6 minutes ago Express Scripts to cover Mylan''s EpiPen, exclude rivals 2 Min Read NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts Holding Co said on Monday it would favor drugmaker Mylan Inc''s versions of the EpiPen lifesaving allergy treatment over the allergy auto-injectors of other companies. The nation''s largest pharmacy benefit manager said it was excluding alternatives to the auto-injector made by Impax Laboratories Inc, privately held Kaleo and A-S Medication from its widely used list of covered drugs. Express Scripts has been excluding certain medicines from its coverage list or formulary since 2014, citing concern about costs to its health insurers and corporate customers. By excluding drugs from its coverage list, Express Scripts said it has been better able to negotiate lower prices from drugmakers, and will save customers an estimated $2.5 billion in 2018, up from $1.8 billion this year. Mylan faced severe criticism and congressional and legal investigations after it doubled the cost of a pair of EpiPens to around $600 last year, enraging consumers and putting it in the center of the ongoing debate over the high cost of prescription medicines in the United States. It has since offered its own generic version for about $300 in response to the furor. Mylan could not immediately be reached for comment on Monday. Express Scripts added 64 new drugs - including the EpiPen alternatives - to its list of drugs that are excluded from insurance coverage for 2018. The list determines whether millions of people with private insurance can easily use an insurance co-pay to buy medicine. Another important drug excluded from the company''s coverage this year is Neupogen, an Amgen Inc treatment used to boost infection-fighting white blood cells during chemotherapy. Express Scripts said its "preferred alternatives" to Neupogen were biosimilars Granix and Zarxio, made by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd and Novartis AG, respectively. Reporting by Michael Erman; Editing by Matthew Lewis 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-express-scripts-epipen-mylan-nl-idUSKBN1AG1TV'|'2017-07-31T18:08:00.000+03:00' +'cac834ece8e2d8e5b17cb01cabb1f42d9d5daca9'|'Tech group sides with Apple in Qualcomm''s iPhone ban dispute'|'The Apple logo is pictured on an iPhone in an illustration photo taken in Bordeaux, France, February 1, 2017. Regis Duvignau (Reuters) - A group representing major technology companies has aligned itself against Qualcomm Inc in its legal dispute with Apple Inc by calling on regulators to reject Qualcomm''s bid to ban the import of iPhones.A lobbying group that represents Alphabet Inc''s Google, Amazon.com Inc, Microsoft Corp and Facebook Inc filed comments with the U.S. International Trade Commission.They argued that barring Apple from importing foreign-assembled iPhones that use Intel Corp chips - as Qualcomm has requested - would cause "significant shocks to supply" for phones and would hurt consumers.Qualcomm declined to comment.Intel and Apple rival Samsung are members of the group, called the Computer & Communications Industry Association. Apple is not a member of the group."If the ITC were to grant this exclusion order, it would help Qualcomm use its monopoly power for further leverage against Apple and allow them to drive up prices on consumer devices," Ed Black, the CEO of the group, said in a statement. Whats at stake here is certainly the availability of iPhones and other smartphones at better prices."Qualcomm supplies so-called modem chips to Apple, which help iPhones and iPads connect to cellular data networks. The two have been locked in a sprawling legal battle in which Apple has objected to Qualcomm''s business model of requiring customers to sign patent license agreements before buying chips.In turn, Qualcomm has accused Apple of directing its contract manufacturers like Foxconn to withhold license payments in a bid to hurt Qualcomm. The conflict has taken a toll on Qualcomm''s profit outlook.Earlier this month, Qualcomm sued Apple on separate allegations that Apple infringed six patents around making iPhones work better without draining the battery.Simultaneously, Qualcomm filed a complaint with the U.S. ITC seeking to ban iPhones that use chips "other than those supplied by Qualcomm affiliates." Apple began using Intel chips in the iPhone 7.Reporting by Stephen Nellis; Editing by Cynthia Osterman '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-qualcomm-idUSKBN1A52YS'|'2017-07-21T01:14:00.000+03:00' +'3d79c3eba0c90ef70a152d787fb7ce1eb4538046'|'Workers at VW''s MAN reject sale of transmission maker Renk'|'July 18, 2017 / 9:51 AM / 15 minutes ago Workers at VW''s MAN reject sale of transmission maker Renk Reuters Staff 2 A Volkswagen logo is pictured at the newly opened Volkswagen factory in Wrzesnia near Poznan, Poland September 9, 2016. Kacper Pempel/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Workers at Volkswagen''s MAN ( MANG.DE ) rejected the idea that majority-owned transmission maker Renk ( ZARG.F ) could be sold, with the works council saying a divestment was "not an issue". "We do not see any reason to divest parts of the company. Renk is and will remain part of the MAN family ," MAN''s works council chief Saki Stimoniaris said in a statement on Tuesday. People close to the matter have told Reuters that Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) was considering options for Renk, as the German carmaker streamlines operations to help fund an overhaul following its emissions scandal. Volkswagen (VW) is working with Citi ( C.N ) to decide on the future of Renk, which may result in a sale of the maker of transmissions and bearings used in ships to wind turbines, the sources said. Renk, founded in 1873, is 76 percent owned by VW unit MAN. It currently employs 2,200 staff. Reporting by Maria Sheahan; editing by Jason Neely 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-volkswagen-unit-workers-idUKKBN1A30VI'|'2017-07-18T12:50:00.000+03:00' +'8f830da09e7d1d29c98f2fd231f795d45db64f06'|'Fiat, government, unions agree on wage rise in Serbia-based plant'|'July 24, 2017 / 9:48 AM / 19 minutes ago Fiat, government, unions agree on wage rise in Serbia-based plant Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Fiat logo is seen on a car''s back at a scrapyard in Fuerstenfeldbruck, Germany, May 21, 2016. Michaela Rehle/File Photo BELGRADE (Reuters) - The Serbian unit of Italian carmaker Fiat ( FCHA.MI ) has reached an agreement with unions to increase wages following a strike that threatened to hamper the Balkan country''s economic growth, a union spokesman said on Monday. Fiat Serbia, 67-percent owned by Fiat and 33 percent by Serbia''s government, employs around 2,400 people at its plant in Kragujevac in central Serbia. Production accounts for 3 percent of the country''s economic output and around 8 percent of exports. Workers went on strike in June, demanding better wages and a reduced workload. The unions suspended the strike on Wednesday to allow the talks to take place. Fiat offered a 9.54 percent wage increase, a spokesman for Serbia''s Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions said. "The offer by the Italians was accepted in general," he told Reuters. State television reported that under the deal the starting gross monthly salary would be increased to 42,000 dinars (349.53 euros) in 2017 and 2018, up from 38,500 dinars. Workers would also receive bonuses for efficiency and an allowance for public transport. Fiat management in Serbia could not be immediately reached for comment. The plant manufactured 100,000 cars a year in 2015. Last year it cut jobs and reduced daily production shifts from three to two. Serbia''s economy is expected to grow around 3 percent this year. The country relies on foreign investors, including Fiat, which in May launched three redesigned versions of the 500L, a larger version of the Fiat 500 mini car. Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Louise Heavens 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-fiat-serbia-idUKKBN1A910R'|'2017-07-24T12:48:00.000+03:00' +'406723a754c3c8e82dc56be575aa5ced4d5c4c30'|'OPEC delegates encouraged by Russian comments on adjusting oil cut deal'|' 2:41pm BST OPEC delegates encouraged by Russian comments on adjusting oil cut deal FILE PHOTO: OPEC logo is pictured ahead of an informal meeting between members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Algiers, Algeria September 28, 2016. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina/File Photo By Alex Lawler - LONDON LONDON OPEC delegates said on Friday they were encouraged by Russia''s openness to talking about changes to an OPEC-led deal to cut oil supplies, opening the door to more steps being considered to clear a global supply glut. OPEC and allied non-OPEC producers such as Russia agreed to limit oil supply into 2018, but crude prices LCOc1 have fallen since May, partly because of higher production from Nigeria and Libya, two OPEC members exempt from cutting output. Key energy ministers, including those for Saudi Arabia and Russia, have previously said there was no immediate need for extra measures to support oil prices. But on Friday, Russia''s Energy Ministry said Moscow was ready to consider proposals, including revising the deal if need be. OPEC delegates told Reuters that while no concrete discussions about further steps were talking place now, the Russian comments gave a positive basis for ideas, such as a larger cut, to be considered. "Encouraging indications from Russia for such thoughts like deeper cuts give better justification to promote and develop such ideas to rebalance markets," one source close to OPEC said. "It provides a good basis, but no discussion is there yet." Oil ministers from five countries monitoring the deal plus Saudi Arabia as OPEC president are scheduled to meet in Russia on July 24. They could recommend adjusting the pact to the wider group, which holds its next meeting in November. OPEC officials have been talking about whether production by Libya and Nigeria should be capped, although such a step would face resistance from those countries. In addition, OPEC also looked at a larger production cut at its last meeting held in May, only to reject it. Both ideas will probably be looked at again at the meeting this month in the form of scenarios, OPEC sources said. But one OPEC delegate said additional steps were unlikely to win sufficient support now from enough of the 24 OPEC and non-OPEC countries participating because the existing agreement runs until March 2018. "I don''t think the member countries are ready to do anything more," the delegate said. "Let''s wait and see how the agreement works." (Editing by David Clarke)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-opec-oil-idUKKBN19S1Z7'|'2017-07-07T16:41:00.000+03:00' +'1513c3bc748469fe8f0762f058f1a5fc87f7242e'|'UPDATE 2-Swatch strikes optimistic note as China rebounds'|'July 21, 2017 / 6:50 AM / 37 minutes ago UPDATE 2-Swatch strikes optimistic note as China rebounds 4 Min Read * Sees brighter H2 (Adds share price, analysts reaction) By John Revill ZURICH, July 21 (Reuters) - Swatch Group on Friday painted a brighter outlook for the rest of the year as the world''s largest watchmaker said demand for Swiss timepieces in China and Europe is improving. The maker of Longines, Tissot and Omega watches said it expected "very positive growth in local currency" for the rest of 2017 after net profit rose 7.2 percent in the first six months of the year. Net profit attributable to shareholders rose to 269 million Swiss francs ($282.8 million) from 251 million, but fell short of the 285 million expected by analysts polled by Reuters. Swatch highlighted "significant growth" in mainland China, one of its most important markets, adding that Hong Kong sales had stabilised after a long decline, with data this week showing a rise in Swiss watch exports. Chief Executive Nick Hayek told Swiss news agency AWP that he expected local currencies sales growth of 7 to 9 percent this year. "Having seen the development of Swiss watch exports this year, most people expect the watch market to improve in the second half of the year, but they don''t expect any fireworks," said Jon Cox, luxury goods analyst at Kepler Cheuvreux. In recent years Swiss watch sales in China and Hong Kong have been hit by a crackdown on gift giving and corruption under Chinese President Xi Jinpeng. There was also improvement in Europe, a market hit last year by extremist attacks which deterred many visitors from destinations such as Paris. The company reported a strong start to the second half of 2017, saying there had been accelerated growth of all brands in June and the first few weeks of July, particularly among its more expensive brands which include Breguet and Blancpain. "The Swatch Group anticipates very positive growth in local currency in the second half of the year," the company said in a statement. Apple Watch Competition Remains Swatch said sales of watches and jewellery had been "very positive" in the first half, despite the highly valued Swiss franc taking a bite out of the figures. Sales fell 0.3 percent to 3.71 billion francs versus the 3.73 billion forecast by analysts. With currency effects removed sales rose 1.2 percent. Kepler''s Cox said he expected mid single digit sales increases for Swatch for the whole of 2017 in constant currencies after an acceleration to high single digit sales improvement in the second half. But he said problems remained with weak margin improvements at Swatch, while connected watches like Apple Inc''s Apple Watch remained a threat to Swatch which generates roughly a third of its revenue from watches which sell for less than 1,000 francs. Swatch shares, weakened after rival Richemont reported disappointing results in May, were trading slightly higher in early trading, up 0.3 percent to reverse earlier losses. Luca Solca, an analyst at Exane BNP Paribas, remained cautious on the stock, saying the upswing in higher priced watches favoured Richemont - the owner of Cartier - more than Swatch. "Overall we seem to be slowly but surely seeing improvement in final demand from consumers," said Solca. "But there is a long way to go." $1 = 0.9513 Swiss francs Reporting by John Revill and Silke Koltrowitz; editing by Jason Neely 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/swatch-results-idUSL5N1KC0N7'|'2017-07-21T11:59:00.000+03:00' +'cfc3929982105cd98ae67132cd9b81b6110ce014'|'U.S. financial regulators to discuss Metlife lawsuit on July 28 -Treasury'|'FILE PHOTO - The MetLife building is seen in New York, March 8, 2010. Shannon Stapleton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Heads of the U.S. financial regulatory agencies will meet behind closed doors next Friday to discuss MetLife Inc''s ( MET.N ) lawsuit against them, according to a notice from Treasury, as the Trump administration wrestles with reforms put in place in response to the financial crisis.The regulators, who comprise the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), and MetLife both asked earlier this month for another pause in the long-running case in which the country''s largest life insurer has challenged the federal government''s decision to label it as "too big to fail." The appeals court has not yet said whether it will grant an abeyance.More than a year ago, U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer struck down the council''s designation of MetLife as "systemically important," which signifies that it could devastate the financial system if it failed and which triggers stricter oversight. Collyer said the label was "arbitrary and capricious." The administration of former Democratic President Barack Obama immediately appealed.Republican President Donald Trump, however, has expressed skepticism about the designation process, and the FSOC has ordered the Treasury Department to review both. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who chairs the council, also has said its work should be evaluated.Both sides of the lawsuit have said the appeals court should put the case on pause until Mnuchin finishes his review. In May, the court granted a 60-day abeyance, which expired this month.Only two other insurers - Prudential Insurance ( PRU.N ) and American International Group ( AIG.N ) - still carry the "systemically important" label. According to the Treasury notice, the council will also receive an update on the designation of one of the insurance companies and discuss Mnuchin''s recent recommendations to change a rule on proprietary trading, commonly called the Volcker Rule, in next week''s executive session.In a June report Mnuchin suggested easing up on the Volcker rule, which restricts banks'' ability to place speculative market bets. On Friday, banking regulators said they would review how the rule is being carried out to ensure that foreign funds are properly exempted.Reporting by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Tom Brown and Leslie Adler '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fsoc-idUSKBN1A62R1'|'2017-07-22T00:53:00.000+03:00' +'7bc9bcbf5207f65d4f9880911fd626b95d7531de'|'Twin slump in sugar, oil puts pressure back on Brazilian mills'|'July 12, 2017 / 7:26 PM / 17 minutes ago Twin slump in sugar, oil puts pressure back on Brazilian mills Marcelo Teixeira 6 Min Read SAO PAULO (Reuters) - A steep decline in sugar and oil prices over the last six months has diminished the hope of financial recovery for a number of Brazilian mills, and could put new dealmaking in the sector on hold, according to industry experts. Raw sugar prices in New York SBc1 were hovering around 13 cents per pound, down around 40 percent since the fourth quarter of 2016 to a level analysts and millers say is close to production costs in Brazil''s centre-south. At the same time, an ongoing slump in oil prices CLc1 LCOc1 has led state-controlled oil firm Petrobras ( PETR4.SA ) to repeatedly cut gasoline prices domestically. That has in turn pressured ethanol producers to follow suit since the two fuels were sold side by side at the pump. The price pressure on sugar and ethanol could cut short a nascent financial recovery for many Brazilian mills during a global sugar supply deficit in 2015 and 2016. It could also slow down talks between millers and potential investors and lead to more closures of indebted firms. "We can''t deny that the current situation strongly impacts our liquidity," said Tony Rivera, a director at Renuka do Brasil SA, the local unit of Indian sugar maker Shree Renuka Sugars ( SRES.NS ). Renuka has four mills in Brazil and is one of dozens of companies that have filed for bankruptcy protection. The company has plans to sell two of its mills to pay debt and raise working capital to continue operations in the country, even at a smaller scale. But Rivera says falling sugar and ethanol prices also impact that plan. "The current outlook is a problem, because on one side it scares those who are not fully convinced to invest in the sector. And on the other side, it brings down the price investors are willing to pay for the plants," he said. Havoc A combination of weak sugar and ethanol prices in Brazil from 2010 to 2014 wreaked havoc on the sugar industry, triggering the closure of dozens of mills and leading many others to seek bankruptcy protection, a process that is ongoing. At the time, the government kept gasoline prices artificially low to fight inflation, consequently cutting margins on ethanol sales, while a multi-year global sugar surplus depressed sugar values. Cane industry group Unica said 80 plants have been idled in Brazil since 2010. The closings reduced spare cane crushing capacity, limiting growth in the industry. According to Unica, sugar output was 35.6 million tonnes last season, up only slightly from 33.5 million tonnes in 2010/11. Some of the hardest-hit firms have been snapped up by players with stronger capital structures. Last November, Glencore Plc ( GLEN.L ) bought the Guararapes mill to add a second plant to its operations in the main cane belt of Sao Paulo state, in a judicial auction. Razen, a joint venture of Cosan SA Industria e Comercio ( CSAN3.SA ) and Royal Dutch Shell Plc ( RDSa.L ), acquired two mills last month from Tonon Bioenergia [TONONB.UL] in a similar auction. Renuka will try to sell its Brejo Alegre mill in a judicial auction as well on Sept. 4. Rivera said there were companies looking at data provided before the auction, but he declined to name them. Dario Gaeta, chief executive officer at Tiet Agroindustrial, the firm managing the two mills bought in 2015 by Cargill''s Black River Asset Management LLC from distressed group Ruette, believed dozens of mills were up for sale, but that willing buyers were scarce. "Some mills are so heavily indebted that they would need to sell themselves for 1 dollar and hope banks will accept a large haircut to allow new owners to invest and revamp operations." Debt, Funding Brazilian investment bank Ita BBA said 15 percent of Brazil''s mills were struggling with excessive debt loads. Sao Paulo-based Archer Consulting estimates the sector''s total debt at 86 billion reais ($26.4 billion). "For those firms still struggling with non-operational difficulties, the new market situation certainly does not help," Pedro Barreto, Ita BBA''s Agribusiness director, said in an interview. Fitch Ratings questioned the chances for troubled mills to recover, such as the ones under bankruptcy protection. "Positive outcomes depend largely on a successful operating environment, higher sugar and ethanol prices, and unhindered access to funding given the capital-intensive nature of the business," the debt rating agency said in a research note. International bond markets are unlikely to offer much in the way of alternatives for Brazilian mills, and funding from the domestic capital market is not a realistic option for most companies in the sector, Fitch added. Ita BBA''s Barreto sees merger and acquisition talks cooling under the current situation, since the distance between what sellers want for assets and what buyers are willing to pay tends to increase as sugar prices fall. Additional reporting by Luciano Costa and Jos Roberto Gomes; Editing by Christian Plumb and Bernadette Baum 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/brazil-sugar-restructuring-analysis-idINKBN19X2O9'|'2017-07-12T22:21:00.000+03:00' +'91d41339aea9c3847fcff5048778aec3732b539d'|'Interfering with flight crew not always violent crime -U.S. appeals court'|'July 26, 2017 / 4:46 PM / 12 minutes ago Interfering with flight crew not always violent crime -U.S. appeals court Jonathan Stempel 3 Min Read July 26 (Reuters) - Interfering with a flight crew is not always a "crime of violence," a federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday in a decision favoring a New York man who rushed the cockpit and shouted about jihad while aboard a United Airlines flight. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, ordered a lower court judge to reconsider whether David Diaz should pay $22,151.77 in restitution to United as part of a punishment that also included nine months in prison. Diaz, 38, had pleaded guilty to interfering with the crew of a late night United flight to Denver from Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C. on March 16, 2015. Prosecutors said the Poughkeepsie, New York, resident had been drinking prior to yelling about "jihad" and there being something in the belly of the plane. Passengers and the flight crew eventually restrained him and the plane returned to Dulles. In ordering restitution, U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga in Alexandria, Virginia, rejected Diaz''s claim that the crime was covered by the Victim and Witness Protection Act (VWPA), under which restitution is discretionary, rather than another law mandating restitution. In Wednesday''s 3-0 decision, Circuit Judge Henry Floyd said flight crew interference that violates federal law "criminalizes forcible touching." But he said that cannot "categorically" be deemed a crime of violence under a Supreme Court precedent requiring that such a crime include force capable of causing physical pain or injury. As a result, Diaz was not covered by the law mandating restitution, and Trenga should review his ability to pay under the VWPA before imposing restitution, the appeals court said. Patrick Bryant, a federal public defender representing Diaz, said he was pleased with the decision. The office of U.S. Attorney Dana Boente in Alexandria did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Diaz completed his prison term last Dec. 16 and remains subject to supervised release, federal records show. The case is U.S. v. Diaz, 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 16-4226. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Dan Grebler) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/airlines-crime-idUSL1N1KH15H'|'2017-07-26T19:45:00.000+03:00' +'39df4822c3b42826ecd9dcf23f992c9d6f4775ac'|'Qatar central bank says country has $340 billion in reserves, can weather Arab sanctions'|'Central Banks 10:57am BST Qatar central bank says country has $340 billion in reserves, can weather Arab sanctions FILE PHOTO - Qatar''s Central Bank is seen in Doha in this general view taken November 9, 2011. REUTERS/Mohammed Dabbous/File Photo DUBAI Qatar has $340 billion (264.27 billion pounds) in reserves that could help the Gulf country to weather the isolation by its powerful Arab neighbours, central bank governor Sheikh Abdullah Bin Saoud al-Thani said. "This is the credibility of our system, we have enough cash to preserve any... kind of shock," he told the CNBC news channel in an interview published early on Monday on its website. Al-Thani said the central bank has $40 billion in reserves plus gold, while the Qatar Investment Authority sovereign wealth fund has $300 billion in reserves that it could liquidate. Qatari stocks have weakened and the riyal QAR= has been volatile in the spot market since Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of backing terrorism. Doha has denied these allegations. "Qatar has already had a good and unique system. We have laws established against all these kinds of terrorists ," al Thani told CNBC. "We work with the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and other institutions to establish our laws and audits and reviews." "We have no challenges, we welcome those to review all our books, they are open," he added. Al-Thani said while the central bank has noticed fund outflows from some non-residents, the amounts weren''t particularly significant. An amount of less than $6 billion left Qatar over the last month, he said. "There is more [money] coming in," he said, confirming that inflows are exceeding outflows. Al-Thani said there had been an increase of up to $15 billion in the first week in the usage of central bank''s repo facility by the commercial banks. "We have enough CDs (certificate of deposits) and Treasury Bills and Treasury Bonds in the hand - in the asset side of the banking sector, that provide them with the liquidity," he said. He also said the stability of the Qatari riyal, which is pegged to the U.S. dollar, will "continue for the future." Al-Thani said long-term contracts in the gas and oil sectors were not seeing any disruptions. Rating agency Moody''s Investors Service earlier this month changed the outlook on Qatar''s credit rating to negative from stable, citing economic and financial risks arising from the ongoing dispute between Qatar and the Saudi-led alliance. Despite the market ructions, economists say Qatar, the world''s top liquefied natural gas exporter, has taken a number of measures such as a planned boost in gas output and new transport routes to weather the crisis. Qatar''s banking sector still has significant dependence on foreign funding. Thirty-six percent of commercial banks'' total liabilities in May were to foreigners, including others in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Saudi, UAE and Bahraini banks have already largely frozen new business with Qatar because of guidance from their central banks; some jittery foreign banks have followed suit. Should the rift escalate and more money flows out, the country''s banking system has enough buffers to "meet all the requirements," according to al-Thani. "We find our banking sector well-capitalized, meeting Basel III as they have high liquid assets, plus they have very good inter-banking activity inside and outside, and they are very stable at this moment. So we don''t believe there is anything to worry about at this moment." (Reporting by Saeed Azhar; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Toby Chopra)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-gulf-qatar-cenbank-idUKKBN19V0XM'|'2017-07-10T12:57:00.000+03:00' +'489059ab2e24a0ec7733f85f8b0a9bf930126338'|'Ericsson remains in the red, market outlook darkens'|'July 18, 2017 / 11:20 AM / in 3 minutes Ericsson remains in the red, market outlook darkens Reuters Staff 4 Min Read The exterior of an Ericsson building is seen in Stockholm April 30, 2009. Bob Strong/File Photo STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden''s Ericsson reported a worse than expected second-quarter loss on Tuesday and lowered its forecast for the mobile infrastructure market, blaming persistent low investment by telecoms companies. Ericsson shares fell more than 11 percent to 54.20 crowns by 1110 GMT, with the figures fuelling concerns that plans by CEO Borje Ekholm, who took charge in January, will not be enough to restore profitability. The company is facing mounting competition from China''s Huawei [HWT.UL] and Finland''s Nokia as well as weak emerging markets and falling spending by telecoms operators with demand for next-generation 5G technology still years away. Ericsson has responded by cutting jobs and costs but those efforts are yet to stop the rot. "We are in a phase of turnaround but it''s going to take some time," Ekholm said on Tuesday, repeating the firm was on course to double 2016 margins after 2018. Operating loss in the second quarter was 1.2 billion Swedish crowns ($145.3 million), compared with a 2.8 billion profit a year earlier and a mean forecast for a 244 million crown loss seen in a Reuters poll of analysts. Ekholm''s strategy to stabilize the business includes exploring options for its loss-making media arm and reviewing unprofitable managed services and network rollout contracts. "We see a more challenging investment environment in Europe and Latin America, that''s clearly the market area with the biggest impact," Ekholm added. "We see macro economic uncertainty in Middle East and Africa that is hurting investment. We see also that operators have funneled the investments more into fiber investments for example than into radio capacity." The company, backed by prominent Wallenberg family-backed Investor AB and Industrivarden, said it was targeting cost cutting to achieve an annual run rate reduction of at least 10 billion crowns by mid-2018. Market Decline Ericsson stunned investors earlier this year by announcing $1.7 billion in provisions, writedowns and restructuring costs. Moody''s cut the company''s credit rating to junk in May, partly due to worries that the cost-cutting could hamper innovation. Adding to the sense of gloom, Ericsson said it now sees the mobile infrastructure market falling by a high single-digit percentage this year, compared to its earlier guidance of a 2-6 percent decline. "Ericsson doesn''t deliver, they lose versus the market and the market is weak," said Inge Heydorn, fund manager at Sentat Asset Management, which has no position in Ericsson shares. In 2018 it expects the mobile infrastructure market to fall by a low single digit percentage and to flatten out in 2019, CFO Carl Mellander told Reuters. Sales at Ericsson, one of the top global mobile networks equipment makers, were 49.9 billion crowns below a consensus forecast of 50.5 billion, while the gross margin came in at 27.9 percent versus the 28.4 percent seen by analysts. Operating profit in the Networks segment almost halved to 2.6 billion crowns in the second quarter, while both IT & Cloud and the media segments posted higher losses versus a year ago. It had a net cash position of 24 billion crowns by the end of June, down from 28 billion at the end of March. (This version of the story was refiled to fix garble in second paragraph) Reporting by Helena Soderpalm and Olof Swahnberg; editing by Justyna Pawlak and Keith Weir 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ericsson-results-idUKKBN1A312W'|'2017-07-18T14:18:00.000+03:00' +'bbd49fbc86bf27dc0186a58cb372359d9ba6ef20'|'Analysis: First tech, now financing - U.S. shale firms get creative to pump more oil'|'July 13, 2017 / 11:19 AM / 3 hours ago First tech, now financing: U.S. shale firms get creative to pump more oil Ernest Scheyder 6 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An oil pump is seen operating in the Permian Basin near Midland, Texas, U.S. on May 3, 2017. Picture taken May 3, 2017. Ernest Scheyder/File Photo HOUSTON (Reuters) - U.S. shale producers survived an oil price crash and confounded OPEC''s efforts to drain a global glut by employing innovative drilling and production techniques. Now, some of these producers are turning to creative investments to pump more oil. Drilling joint ventures, called "DrillCos" for short, combine cash from investors like Carlyle Group LP ( CG.O ) with drillable-but-idle land already owned by producers. Investors get a pledge of double-digit returns within a few years, while producers can raise productivity without spending more of their own money. The total raised by these ventures - at least $2 billion in the last 24 months - is a small part of overall shale financing. But they represent another way for Wall Street and shale producers to increase the flow of oil, and frustrate plans by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to prop up prices. Private equity this year has showered more than $20 billion on U.S. energy ventures. Driven by shale expansion, U.S. oil production this year is forecast to increase by 570,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 9.9 million bpd, the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates. No Balance-Sheet Risk Drillcos take control of drillable land and generally turn over 100 percent of the cash flow from oil and gas production to investors until they earn a 15 percent return. At that point, control reverts to the producer, with the investor''s stake shrinking to about 10 percent of remaining production. "It''s a type of surgical, temporary capital," Mark Stoner a partner at private equity fund Bayou City Energy LP, said in an interview. Bayou City committed $256 million to an Oklahoma drillco with privately held Alta Mesa Holdings LP [ALMEH.UL] last year. "We get exposure to great, prolific oil basins, but don''t have to take on balance sheet risk." Companies such as EOG Resources Inc ( EOG.N ), one of the financially strongest U.S. shale producers, are turning to drillcos. Two months ago, EOG struck a $400 million deal with Carlyle to finance wells in Oklahoma. The investment lets EOG focus its own cash on the Permian Basin, the largest U.S. oilfield, and lifts its production without increasing its spending. The venture also allows EOG to double or triple the value of land it held on its books, Lloyd Helms, EOG''s head of exploration and production, said an industry conference in May. Legacy Reserves LP ( LGCY.O ), Exco Resources Inc ( XCO.N ), Alta Mesa and EOG are among 34 oil producers that since 2015 have formed drillcos worth more than $2.05 billion. The money has come from investors including Blackstone Group ( BX.N ), Carlyle, KKR & Co ( KKR.N ), and others, according to 1Derrick Ltd, which tracks oilfield land deals. Putting Idle Land to Use Historically, one way producers wrung more cash from financiers was to pledge future output for cash payments to finance drilling. There was no swap of land and no guaranteed return. Drillcos differ in that investors get control of land until a double-digit rate of return is met, providing insurance against a default. For producers, these ventures also help boost the total amount of oil they can eventually recover. Wall Street is rewarding those with strong production with share price gains at a time when OPEC and its allies have agreed to pull 1.8 million bpd off the global market. "This helped us drill acreage that we wouldn''t otherwise have been able to drill right away," Mike McCabe, Alta Mesa''s chief financial officer, said in an interview. For investors, the potentially high rates of return, compared with commercial loan rates running about 5 percent to 7 percent, have spurred interest despite crude prices CLc1 under $50 a barrel. "There''s a lot of money seeking a home, especially in this low interest rate environment," Mingda Zhao of Vinson & Elkins LLP, a law firm that has negotiated drillco agreements, said in an interview. Drillcos are not risk free. If oil prices tumble, investors'' ability to grab high returns within a few years fades. Shale producers also must be willing to provide more information on the land than they would under more common loan agreements. Such detailed information "gives us well-level insight into what''s going on in a basin," said Bayou City''s Stoner. For Carlyle, one of the world''s largest private equity funds, the drillco with EOG was a relatively low-risk way to invest in U.S. shale. "We were looking for very specific types of assets and drilling deals to make the risk-return work for us," David Albert, co-head of Carlyle''s Energy Mezzanine Opportunities funds, said in an interview. The funds, with more than $4 billion under management, can still make money on its drillco investment even after oil prices CLc1 slipped below $45 per barrel this month on oversupply concerns. "Even with current oil prices, there are still economic opportunities to be had out there," Albert said. Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Gary McWilliams and Marguerita Choy 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-shale-drillco-analysis-idINKBN19Y17R'|'2017-07-13T14:12:00.000+03:00' +'00412fafa4a5286bcec8d9452826390510674fc1'|'Fast internet likely to keep trading in London after Brexit: ECB'|'Business News - Wed Jul 5, 2017 - 10:13am BST Fast internet likely to keep trading in London after Brexit: ECB FILE PHOTO: Workers are seen in office windows in the financial district of Canary Wharf in London, Britain, November 3, 2015. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs/File Photo FRANKFURT Access to ultra-fast internet cables in London is likely to make financial firms reluctant to move out of London even after Britain leaves the European Union, a study by the European Central Bank has found. The City of London''s prominence as Europe''s financial hub has been put into question by Britain''s decision to leave the EU, which threatens to make it harder for London firms to access the bloc''s single market. But an ECB study found that any withdrawal from London would likely be gradual as firms would be loath to give up on Britain''s fiber-optic cables, crucial for ultra-fast electronic trading. "The UKs advantage as a hub for trading using fiber-optic cables, combined with institutional inertia, suggest that any relocation of trading after Brexit, if at all, would likely be gradual," the ECB said in its study. Around 84 percent of transactions in euro are initiated outside the euro area, with Britain taking the lion''s share at 43 percent, according to a survey by the Bank for International Settlement cited in the ECB study. "Technology has economically important implications for the distribution of foreign exchange transactions across financial centers, as a result," the ECB said. "Undersea fiber-optic cables provide a competitive advantage to financial centers located near oceans, like Singapore, because they are directly connected to the internet backbone, at the expense of landlocked cities like Zurich," it added. (Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Balazs Koranyi)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-referendum-banks-idUKKBN19Q0XH'|'2017-07-05T12:11:00.000+03:00' +'c29e218456be38994cc4c39e0565a1d77fd68c3d'|'Exclusive - Saba Capital, famed for ''London Whale'' bet, to shut London office: sources'|'Tue Jul 4, 2017 - 7:03pm BST Exclusive: Saba Capital, famed for ''London Whale'' bet, to shut London office - sources Boaz Weinstein, founder and chief investment officer at Saba Capital Management, speaks during the SALT conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Richard Brian By Maiya Keidan - LONDON LONDON New York-based Saba Capital Management, famed for its winning bet against the JPMorgan Chase trader known as the ''London Whale'', is closing its office in London''s Mayfair district, two sources close to the situation told Reuters. The $1.8 billion hedge fund firm will move European trading operations to New York, said one of the sources with direct knowledge of the matter, becoming the second U.S. fund firm to do so this year after Goldman Sachs Investment Partners. The reason for Saba Capital''s move was not clear although it comes at a time of uncertainty for fund firms based in Britain as talks begin on the country''s exit from the European Union. It is also not clear whether the three individuals at the London office currently registered with the British regulator will relocate to the U.S. office or find new jobs. Saba founder Boaz Weinstein made his name from the bet against JPMorgan, linked to corporate default rates. That helped assets at the firm - housed in New York''s art deco Chrysler Building - peak in 2012 at $6 billion. A subsequent period of underperformance saw a number of investors pull their money, only for Saba to bounce back and attract fresh capital with a market-beating 3 percent gain in 2015 and returns of 22 percent in 2016, one of the sources said. The source also said the firm''s performance was flat in the in the first four months of this year. It has had an office in London since early 2012, according to the filings from Britain''s Financial Conduct Authority. Weinstein, a former Deutsche Bank trader, started Saba in 2009. (Additional reporting by Lawrence White. Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-hedgefunds-saba-exclusive-idUKKBN19P29M'|'2017-07-04T20:50:00.000+03:00' +'d4f0b3ed632c324c55398080347b85b4cf867ace'|'Toshiba reaches $2.2 billion deal over SCANA''s South Carolina nuclear project'|'July 27, 2017 / 10:44 PM / in 19 hours Toshiba reaches $2.2 billion deal over SCANA''s South Carolina nuclear project Tom Hals 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of Toshiba Corp is seen as window cleaners work on the company''s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, February 14, 2017. Toru Hanai/File Photo (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp has agreed to pay $2.168 billion to walk away from two unfinished nuclear reactors in South Carolina being built by its Westinghouse subsidiary, according to a statement by the owners of project. SCANA Corp ( SCG.N ) and its partner, state-owned utility Santee Cooper, said Toshiba will make the payments in installments beginning in October and ending in September 2022. Toshiba''s Westinghouse Electric Co filed for bankruptcy in March, overwhelmed by the cost overruns at the VC Summer plant in South Carolina and a similar unfinished nuclear project known as Vogtle in Georgia. The projects are years behind schedule. The agreement allows Toshiba and its Westinghouse unit to exit the nuclear construction business and caps Toshiba''s liability for guaranteeing that Westinghouse complete the VC Summer contract. Toshiba reached a similar agreement for $3.7 billion in June with the utilities, led by a unit of Southern Co ( SO.N ), that own the Vogtle project. Toshiba has warned that losses from Westinghouse threaten its future and it is considering bids for its flash memory chip unit, worth around $18 billion, to raise capital. The owners of the VC Summer project said on Thursday they expect the cost of completing the project will "materially exceed" Westinghouse''s estimates and the payments due from Toshiba. They said they hope to decide soon whether they will continue with the two projects, modify them or abandon them. Westinghouse is expected to deliver this week a five-year business plan to its lender, an affiliate of Apollo Global Management ( APO.N ). That plan will help shape bids for Westinghouse, which has attracted the interest of U.S. private equity firms. As part of that plan, Westinghouse is expected to reach an agreement with SCANA under which it will continue to provide engineering and other services. Westinghouse has a similar agreement in place with the owners of the Vogtle plant. Westinghouse asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, New York, on Wednesday to give it until Dec. 6 to file a plan of reorganization. The company said it needed more time in part due to talks with SCANA. The request will be heard by the court on Sept. 7. The Georgia and South Carolina plants were the first new nuclear power projects in the United States in three decades. However, the projects have been dogged by design problems, disagreements with regulators and poor quality work by Westinghouse''s partners. Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Dan Grebler 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-westinghouse-scana-idUSKBN1AC3DN'|'2017-07-28T01:44:00.000+03:00' +'dd74c3912ec56161dca81502f34ad8e97f0f4681'|'German court paves way for diesel ban in Stuttgart'|'July 28, 2017 / 9:06 AM / 20 minutes ago German court paves way for diesel ban in Stuttgart Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A motor mechanic measures exhaust emissions in a diesel-engined car in Eichenau, Germany July 28, 2017. Michaela Rehle STUTTGART, Germany (Reuters) - A German court backed a push to ban diesel cars from the city of Stuttgart, dealing a blow to carmakers Daimler and Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) which had sought to avert legal curbs mainly by modifying emissions-control software. Since Volkswagen admitted to cheating emissions tests almost two years ago, diesel cars have been the focus of scrutiny for their nitrogen oxide emissions that are blamed for causing respiratory disease. Environmental group DUH went to court seeking a complete ban on diesel cars from Stuttgart, which said it would from next year bar diesel cars that failed to meet the latest emissions codes from the city on days with heavy pollution. Stuttgart''s home state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, which prefers measures that include improved public transport and retrofitting diesel cars to cut emissions, said it would study the ruling. It has not said if or when it would impose a complete ban. Exhaust emissions are measured in a diesel-engined car in Eichenau, Germany July 28, 2017. Michaela Rehle Analysts have said they expected other major cities would follow swiftly if Stuttgart put a diesel ban in place. "Safeguarding health is more important than the right to property and the general liberty of the car owners affected by the ban," Wolfgang Kern, the presiding judge at the Stuttgart administrative court, said in his ruling. Stuttgart''s pollution-fighting plan must provide for meeting emissions limits as soon as possible but planned retrofits of diesel cars are insufficient and would come too late, Kern said. The mayors of Paris, Madrid, Mexico City and Athens have said they plan to ban diesel vehicles from city centers by 2025. The French and British governments have said they would end the sale of new gasoline and diesel vehicles by 2040. This month, Sweden''s Volvo became the first major traditional automaker to set a date for phasing out vehicles powered solely by the internal combustion engine by saying all its car models launched after 2019 would be electric or hybrids. Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach; Writing by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Maria Sheahan and Edmund Blair 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-germany-emissions-idUKKBN1AD10Y'|'2017-07-28T13:12:00.000+03:00' +'87fb9c3abbdc0c2ca938e6c2d2cffd4c30053e7c'|'DX Group top bosses to go as business separates into two units'|'July 14, 2017 / 7:09 AM / 2 minutes ago DX Group top bosses to go as business separates into two units Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - British mail delivery company DX Group ( DXDX.L ) said on Friday its chief executive and finance director will step down with immediate effect and it will separate its operations into courier and freight divisions. The reorganisation follows DX''s agreement in June to acquire John Menzies'' ( MNZS.L ) distribution arm via a reverse takeover. DX said it would split its business into DX Express and DX Freight and the reorganisation would give greater flexibility in managing costs. Nick Cullen, its current chief operations officer will head DX Express and Stuart Godman, currently chief commercial officer, will be head of DX Freight, it said. Chief Executive Officer Petar Cvetkovic and Finance Director Daljit Basi will step down from the board On July 7 the group said it had made changes to internal businesses processes at its collection and delivery service DX Exchange, after a preliminary police investigation last month which was later dropped. "The changes we are making both to the board of directors and to the group''s operational structure are aimed at supporting business transformation," Chairman Bob Holt said in a statement. DX Express will comprise the DX Exchange, DX Secure, the courier operations and mail activities while DX Freight will comprise Logistics, DX 1-Man, and DX 2-Man, the company said. DX is preparing to buy Menzies'' distribution arm in a deal aimed at bolstering DX after a February profit warning that cited a challenging courier market and margin pressure in its freight business. DX is one of several big operators in the crowded parcels market, where DHL-owner Deutsche Post ( DPWGn.DE ) has bulked up by buying UK Mail UKM.L and Amazon ( AMZN.O ) has started its own deliveries. Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Susan Fenton and David Evans 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-dx-restructuring-idUKKBN19Z0KF'|'2017-07-14T10:08:00.000+03:00' +'939285d97f8b1ac820d3aa6c357fdd32d4c23b45'|'Daimler to spend $255 million updating diesel cars'|'The Mercedes-Benz logo is seen before the company''s annual news conference in Stuttgart, Germany, February 4, 2016. Michaela Rehle/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ) said its management board had approved measures to cut diesel pollution including an investment of 220 million euros ($255 million) to update over three million Mercedes-Benz diesel engine cars in Europe.The measures come after German lawmakers last week summoned Mercedes-Benz executives to question them about emissions. At the time the carmaker agreed with the Transport Ministry to undergo another round of emissions tests."The company is investing about 220 million euros. The service actions involve no costs for the customers," Daimler said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that the updates would commence in the coming weeks.Daimler further said it would roll out its new four-cylinder OM 654 diesel engine, first launched in the new E-Class in 2016, across its entire model portfolio.After Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) confessed to deliberate emissions cheating in 2015, the entire auto industry has come under scrutiny for producing nitrogen oxide emissions in diesel cars, which are blamed for causing respiratory disease.In May, 23 prosecutors and around 230 staff, including police and state criminal authorities, searched Daimler sites in Germany following allegations of false advertising and the possible manipulation of exhaust gas treatment systems in diesel cars.Daimler has said its vehicles are road legal but also warned investors in its quarterly report that steps by U.S. authorities to investigate "functionalities", including some which it said were common in diesel vehicles, could lead to significant penalties and vehicle recalls.Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editng by Victoria Bryan '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-daimler-emissions-mercedes-idUSKBN1A31T1'|'2017-07-18T18:51:00.000+03:00' +'d73cc377e83a87610964419964caa0f190642118'|'World stocks run win streak to nine days as earnings heat up'|'July 19, 2017 / 9:43 AM / 19 minutes ago World stocks run win streak to nine days as earnings heat up Lewis Krauskopf 4 Min Read An employee of Tokyo Stock Exchange dressed in ceremonial kimono works at the bourse after its New Year opening ceremony in Tokyo January 4, 2012. Kim Kyung-Hoon/Files NEW YORK (Reuters) - A gauge of global stocks climbed for a ninth straight session on Wednesday after a slew of corporate earnings reports in the United States and Europe, while the dollar bounced moderately off of 10-month lows. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit intraday record highs, picking up from strong performances by major European stock indexes. After decent gains in Asia on the back of positive signs from global economic powerhouse China, MSCI''s world stocks index looked set for a ninth day of gains which would mark its longest winning streak since October 2015. The global index gained 0.33 percent, setting a record high for a fifth straight session. In the U.S., the earnings season seems to be surprising a little bit on the upside," said Bruce McCain, chief investment strategist at Key Private Bank in Cleveland. "What we have seen recently in the economic reports suggests it should be even better overseas ... So we have come to the point where things looks pretty good in the U.S. and it looks even better in prospect overseas, so whats not to like about equities." The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 25.24 points, or 0.12 percent, to 21,599.97, the S&P 500 gained 6.44 points, or 0.26 percent, to 2,467.05 and the Nasdaq Composite added 28.45 points, or 0.45 percent, to 6,372.76. Morgan Stanley shares climbed 2.4 pct after the bank''s profit report. Biotech Vertex soared 22.2 pct after stunning cystic fibrosis drug data. Not all was rosy in earnings season, as IBM shares dropped 3.8 pct after its report. About a week into the heart of second-quarter reporting season, S&P 500 earnings are now expected to rise 8.7 percent, up from an expectation of an 8-percent rise from the start of July, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. In Europe, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 0.67 percent. Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML''s shares gained 6.2 pct after the firm''s quarterly report, boosting the region''s tech sector. "We would like to see those stronger earnings coming through and Europe really turning a corner," said Dafydd Davies, partner at Charles Hanover Investments. The dollar edged higher against a basket of currencies a day after the greenback''s sharp decline sparked by a fresh setback to President Donald Trump''s domestic agenda. The dollar index rose 0.13 percent, with the euro down 0.24 percent to $1.1524. Investors remained wary of pushing the U.S. currency lower before meetings this week with the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan. Market watchers will be looking to see if the recent strength of the euro and the yen influence their policy outlooks. U.S. Treasury yields were little changed on light trading volume with benchmark yields hitting their lowest levels in nearly three weeks in advance of Thursday''s ECB meeting. Benchmark 10-year notes last fell 1/32 in price to yield 2.2642 percent, from 2.263 percent late on Tuesday. Oil prices jumped, extending gains after a U.S. government report showed a bigger weekly draw than forecast in crude and gasoline stocks along with a surprise drop in distillate inventories. U.S. crude rose 1.31 percent to $47.01 per barrel and Brent was last at $49.50, up 1.35 percent on the day. Additional reporting by John Geddie and Kit Rees in London; editing by Alexander Smith and Nick Zieminski 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-markets-idINKBN1A40T6'|'2017-07-19T18:56:00.000+03:00' +'4f74421db38dc4983a639d1d9b7d41a348fc6a77'|'United Airlines is testing a novel way to bump passengers'|'IT IS a classic travellers dilemma: you are waiting in the boarding area for your flight, and an airline employee asks over the loudspeaker if anyone is willing to be bumped in exchange for a voucher. You like the idea of sacrificing the unimportant meeting you were scheduled to attend in return for a few hundred dollars of travel credit. Then again you do not fancy explaining this to your colleagues, or sitting about in an airport for three hours waiting for the next flight.Now imagine that instead of having to make this decision just before you board, you could do it do it several days in advance, in the comfort of your home. Changes the equation a bit, does it not? 31 United Airlines is contemplating a new scheme along these lines, called the Flex-Schedule Program. If a flight is overbooked, or looking like it might be, United will contact passengers who have signed up to the scheme up to five days ahead of departure. They will be given the option of switching to a less popular flight on the same day between the same airports, in exchange for a travel voucher worth as much as $250.The idea is good news for flyers with flexible travel schedules who prefer to avoid the stress of a last-minute flight change. But it was born of decidedly unhappy events for United and its flyers, most infamously the incident in April in which a passenger who refused to give up his seat to accommodate off-duty airline staff was dragged from the plane and bloodied. That PR disaster, which was compounded when Uniteds boss initially blamed the customer for his intransigence, forced it into damage-control mode. The carrier quickly made ten policy changes , including ending the practice of bumping passengers without their consent once they have boarded the plane, and increasing the compensation available to bumped flyers to $10,000. (Congress is now working to ban involuntary bumping altogether.)Evidently the airline has no desire to hand over $10,000 to customers, even though it likely that flyers will bite long before that figure is reached. But the new scheme is more than just a cure for involuntary bumping. It is also a way for United to boost its profits. Bloomberg spoke with Azim Barodawala, the chief executive of Volantio, which crafted the technology behind the Flex-Schedule Program. It pitched the scheme to United as a way to free up high-demand seats that could then be sold to people willing to pay more for them. According to Bloomberg , in a meeting between Mr Barodawala and United executives it was posited that the programme could increase profits by over $100m a year.For once, what is good for an airlines revenue does not seem to be bad for its passengers. United will remove a constraint on the seat-pricing processnamely, that once a person has bought a ticket, the price cannot be changedand open it up to something closer to the free market. For a leisure traveller who bought a ticket two months in advance, switching to a flight a few hours later might make no difference, other than the $250 voucher he can pocket. But for a business traveller buying a last-minute ticket in order to make an important meeting, getting on that specific flight can be a necessity, well worth paying hundreds of dollars extra for. The airline will not complain if, by playing middleman, it nets the difference between the additional amount the business flyer is willing to pay and the voucher the holidaymaker receives.If all goes as planned, United will not be the only airline to test the idea. According to Bloomberg , Australias Tiger Airways will unveil its own programme with Volantio next month, with Alaska Air joining in September and Qantas by October. And Mr Barodawala envisions a similar system for hotelspaying someone to move from one branch of a chain to another nearby, if the former is in high demand for a conference or other event.Generally, the trend toward more stratification in travel has been bad for travellers. (See economy, basic .) But for onceand even if it took a disastrous few months for United to adopt the ideathis move to separate flexible budget-conscious travellers from those with more resources seems like a winner.'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2017/07/sleep-it?fsrc=rss'|'2017-07-18T19:31:00.000+03:00' +'8eeed9ffbba577934cc91e8dfd3621dff6c4466a'|'Amazon''s big profit miss spooks investors, but analysts'' stay bullish'|'July 28, 2017 / 1:41 PM / in 2 hours Amazon''s big profit miss spooks investors, but analysts stay bullish Sweta Singh and Ankur Banerjee 3 Min Read (Reuters) - A steeper-than-expected drop in quarterly profit rattled some Amazon.com ( AMZN.O ) investors, but Wall Street analysts remained largely bullish about the company''s aggressive spending plans. Shares of the e-commerce juggernaut, which have risen 40 percent this year, were down 4.3 percent at $1,001 in early trading on Friday, wiping out $21 billion from its market value. The stock touched a record high on Thursday, helping CEO Jeff Bezos briefly unseat Microsoft Inc ( MSFT.O ) co-founder Bill Gates as the world''s richest person. "The overall story coming out of Amazon''s second quarter print feels a lot like it did three months ago accelerating growth, stepped-up investments, lower near-term profitability," J.P. Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth said. "But will anyone care about profit when Amazon is taking bigger chunks of market share?" The world''s largest online retailer reported a better-than-expected rise in revenue, but operating profit came in well short of analysts'' estimate as the company continued to pump in money to expand in international markets such as India. The company also guided to a possible operating loss for the current quarter. Amazon, which started as an online bookseller, has forayed into areas that historically had barriers to e-commerce. The company''s recent $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods Markets Inc ( WFM.O ) is testimony to Bezos'' far-reaching ambition. People pass a signage at Amazon''s Prime Now fulfillment centre in Singapore July 27, 2017. Edgar Su At least four brokerages, including J.P. Morgan, raised their price targets on the stock. Morgan Stanley, however, trimmed its price target by $50 to $1,150 based on valuation. The median price target is $1,150, indicating a 9.9 percent upside to Thursday''s close. Amazon currently trades 115.8 times its 12-months forward earnings. This compares with Microsoft''s 22.43 and Alphabet Inc''s ( GOOGL.O ) 26.45. The two compete with Amazon''s market leading cloud computing business, Amazon Web Services (AWS). PE is widely used on Wall Street to gauge the relative value of stocks although it is not the only such metric. AWS continued to be the company''s cash cow, bringing in $4.1 billion in sales, a 42 percent jump. Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky said on a post-earnings call that the AWS unit would expand in France, Sweden and China in the near future. "We believe the company''s ongoing heavy investments in fulfillment capacity, video content, and AWS are to match with its substantial growth rates, and should not be viewed negatively," Needham & Co analyst Kerry Rice said, who views the pullback in the stock as a "buying opportunity." (This version of the story has been refiled to remove apostrophe from headline) Reporting by Sweta Singh and Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-com-results-research-idINKBN1AD1OM'|'2017-07-28T16:41:00.000+03:00' +'46f94b49840568804a01af375cf73b024650ea79'|'Oil climbs for sixth day, near eight-week highs on U.S. crude stock declines'|'July 28, 2017 / 1:06 AM / an hour ago Oil extends gains, on track for biggest weekly rise this year Devika Krishna Kumar 4 Min Read Crude oil storage tanks are seen from above at the Cushing oil hub, in Cushing, Oklahoma, March 24, 2016. Picture taken March 24, 2016. Nick Oxford NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices edged up on Friday, reaching two-month highs and on track to post the strongest weekly percentage gains this year amid short covering and as investors digested signs of easing oversupply. U.S. crude and gasoline inventories fell much more steeply than expected this week and the world''s biggest oil exporter Saudi Arabia said it would further reduce oil output in August. Brent crude futures were up 86 cents at $52.35 a barrel at 11:35 a.m. EDT (1535 GMT) after reaching a two-month high of $52.68 a barrel. The front of the crude oil curve jumped into backwardation however, with the month-ahead trading above the subsequent month, showing investors are not expecting recent gains to last. Short covering in the September contract contributed to the rally in the front-month spread, traders said. Physical markets have firmed due in large part to very strong refining margins. Royal Dutch Shell Plc extended its force majeure on exports of Nigeria''s Bonny Light crude oil to cover the outage of the Trans Niger pipeline, a statement from the company said on Friday, providing further support to Brent crude. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 57 cents at $49.61 a barrel, after also touching a two-month peak of $49.78 a barrel. Both Brent and WTI contracts are set to post their biggest weekly percentage gains this year with a rise of more than 8 percent. "Both markets are seeing a strong move in spreads through most of 2017 and 2018 due to shorts covering into heavy producer flow," said Scott Shelton, broker at ICAP in Durham, North Carolina. "Overall, I think the bullish demand story is taking the headlines away from the supply story as products are strong globally when refinery runs are maxed and that implies that current demand expectations could be significantly below reality." The gains in Brent pushed the difference between the two benchmarks to the widest in two months. "We also see tightness in August RBOB gasoline going into Monday''s contract expiration, with futures traders apparently caught short by the inventory data for last week," Tim Evans, Citi Futures'' energy futures specialist, said in a note. U.S. gasoline futures for delivery in August were up more than 1 percent at the highest since May 24. U.S. crude stocks fell sharply by 7.2 million barrels in the week to July 21 due to strong refining activity and an increase in exports, according to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Gasoline stocks fell by 1 million barrels, compared with analyst expectations for a 614,000-barrel drop. [EIA/S] Brimming U.S. crude supplies have challenged production cuts to prop up prices led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, meaning weekly U.S. inventory data is closely watched. However, some analysts'' assessments of the oil market remained bearish. "We believe the latest price rise is on a fragile footing," analysts at Commerzbank said, adding OPEC production was likely to rise in the coming months as the group has not officially capped output from members Libya and Nigeria. Investors were eyeing an update on the U.S. rig count expected later on Friday to assess any signs of a slowing down in drilling activity. Additional reporting by Karolin Schaps in London, Jane Chung in Seoul; Editing by Adrian Croft and Chris Reese 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUKKBN1AD04I'|'2017-07-28T04:04:00.000+03:00' +'6b3c301b2d68bbca5b5724e814572cb519ac09ce'|'Kors needs to buckle down for Jimmy Choo deal to shine'|'July 28, 2017 / 3:57 PM / 23 minutes ago Kors needs to buckle down for Jimmy Choo deal to shine Gayathree Ganesan and Siddharth Cavale 4 Min Read The logo of Michael Kors is seen on an outlet store in Metzingen, Germany, June 16, 2017. Michaela Rehle (Reuters) - U.S. retailer Michael Kors ( KORS.N ) is betting that its acquisition of storied shoemaker Jimmy Choo will give sales a much-needed boost, but lingering problems at Kors'' core bag business could delay potential benefits. Kors said earlier this week it would buy Jimmy Choo for $1.2 billion and plans to expand the line by opening more stores, especially in Asia. Jimmy Choo, whose towering stilettos were made famous by characters in the popular TV series "Sex and the City," is synonymous with affluence, and somewhat at odds with Kors'' image of accessible luxury. It could be argued that Jimmy Choo will give Kors''s tumbling sales and stock a leg up, but experts said Kors'' expansion plans could dilute the shoemaker''s brandname. "Revenue expansion doesn''t come from opening stores today, but figuring out how to unlock the e-commerce component and (Kors) haven''t proven that they get that either," said Eric Schiffer, CEO of private equity firm Patriarch Organization. Kors has made this mistake before. Once a seller of popular Mercer and Hamilton handbags, Kors put its wares too quickly on too many shelves, making them ubiquitous. Since then, the company has struggled to come up with designs that have caught the fancy of the well-heeled buyer, who have gravitated toward bags offered by Coach Inc ( COH.N ) and Tory Burch. Kors'' has been trying to stem the sales declines by expanding into dresses, menswear and online, but has had little success. "If (Kors) had fixed their U.S. market, if they''d shown improvements there and then made this acquisition, people would be a lot more comfortable with it," said Gabriella Santaniello, analyst at A-Line partners. "For (Jimmy Choo), I could see them opening in another market but I think that is what makes everyone nervous. It is like: "Look what they did with the Michael Kors brand, are they going to do that to Jimmy Choo?" Products are displayed in the window of the Jimmy Choo store in New York City, U.S., April 24, 2017. Brendan McDermid Multibrand Strategy Kors'' rival Coach Inc ( COH.N ) faced similar problems not so long ago. But Coach responded quickly, by tightening supplies to department stores to regain its luxury cachet, before diversifying with the buyout of upscale shoemaker Stuart Weitzman in 2015. The company recently bought smaller rival Kate Spade, whose products are a hit with millennials. Both retailers seem to be looking to emulate the successful multibrand strategy employed by European companies LVMH ( LVMH.PA ) and Kering SA ( PRTP.PA ), where cash flows from one large brand are reinvested into smaller but faster growing ones. These two companies have grown into luxury powerhouses by buying multiple luxury brands such as Christian Dior, Tag Heuer, Gucci, and Alexander McQueen. Kors'' CEO John Idol said the company would look to grow by buying more globally recognized luxury brands like Jimmy Choo. "... we are really looking to build an international luxury company and less so brands that ... have a greater reliance on wholesale than its own retail strategy," he said on a conference call on Tuesday. Idol said Jimmy Choo would be run independently with minimal interference from Kors'' management and that he doesn''t want the two brands to be linked with each other. But analysts said while this could be the right approach for Coach, which has a creative, forward-thinking team, it could overwhelm Kors, at least initially. Kors will need to have a deep understanding of demand, it will have to innovate to drive excitement, maintain the trueness of the brands it acquires, and little or no overlap with other brands in its portfolio, said Jason Green, CEO of customer strategy firm Cambridge Group. For now at least, analysts said, Kors should be looking to walk before it runs. Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan and Siddharth Cavale in Bengaluru; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-jimmy-choo-m-a-kors-strategy-idUKKBN1AD22S'|'2017-07-28T18:53:00.000+03:00' +'19942d7a6a5c265d256924fa800fc8169ffdb906'|'Barclays former CEO and three bankers in court to face fraud charges - Business'|'John Varley, the former chief executive of Barclays , will be among three former bankers to appear at Westminster magistrates court on Monday to face charges of fraud for events that took place at the height of the financial crisis.Varley is scheduled to appear along with Roger Jenkins, Tom Kalaris and Richard Boath following the announcement by the Serious Fraud Office last month that they were to be prosecuted over the way Barclays raised billions of pounds from Qatar in 2008. They are the first senior bankers to face criminal charges for events dating back to the banking crisis almost a decade ago, when Barclays avoided a taxpayer bailout by raising 11.8bn in emergency funds from a number of major investors, including Qatar. The four are charged alongside Barclays itself.The charges relate to the two fundraisings Barclays embarked on in June and October 2008 with two investment vehicles related to Qatar, including one used by the prime minister at the time, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, and a $3bn (2.3bn) loan advanced to Qatar in November 2008.The four individuals and the bank are charged with conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation in relation to a fundraising in June 2008. Varley, Jenkins and the bank are also charged with conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation in relation to the fundraising that took place in October 2008. Varley, Jenkins and the bank face a further charge of providing unlawful financial assistance through the loan.Jenkins and Boath both said they would contest the charges; there has not been any comment from Varley and Kalaris. Barclays has said it is considering its position.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jul/02/barclays-former-ceo-and-three-bankers-in-court-to-face-charges'|'2017-07-02T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'96a438b080ad67f44e327e225315e3814f9fc165'|'Germany summons Daimler to address diesel allegations'|'July 13, 2017 / 11:50 AM / 2 hours ago Germany summons Daimler to address emissions allegations 2 Min Read Sign shows to Daimler AG headquarter near Mercedes museum in Stuttgart, Germany, January 31, 2017. Michaela Rehle BERLIN (Reuters) - A German government committee investigating carmakers has summoned Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ) for a meeting on Thursday to address allegations it sold cars with excessive emissions, the transport ministry said. German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, citing a search warrant issued by a Stuttgart court, reported on Wednesday that Daimler had been accused of selling over a million cars with excessive emissions in Europe and the United States. Daimler said it would comply with the request from the transport ministry''s expert panel, but declined to say whether Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche would attend the meeting. "We have always supported the work of the authorities in the past and will continue to do so in the future," a spokesman said by email. "This is why we are, of course, also available for discussions with the Federal Ministry of Transportation." The transport ministry set up its investigation committee after Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) admitted in September 2015 that it had installed secret software in its diesel cars in the United States to cheat nitrogen oxide emission tests. Two months ago, Stuttgart prosecutors searched Daimler sites in Germany following allegations of false advertising and the possible wrongful manipulation of exhaust gas treatment systems in diesel cars. Reporting by Markus Wacket; Additional reporting by Edward Taylor; Writing by Paul Carrel and Andreas Cremer; Editing by Madeline Chambers and Mark Potter 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-daimler-emissions-germany-idUSKBN19Y1AP'|'2017-07-13T14:49:00.000+03:00' +'0f1cecf2f94075276ad02dc90aa14d08062567fe'|'Coca-Cola profit drops 60 percent on refranchising charge'|'July 26, 2017 / 11:12 AM / in an hour Coca-Cola to sell Coke Zero Sugar in U.S.; profit beats Sruthi Ramakrishnan 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Bottles of Coca-Cola are pictured during a news conference in Paris, France, April 20, 2017. Benoit Tessier/File Photo (Reuters) - Coca-Cola Co ( KO.N ) said it would replace Coke Zero with a new sugar-free drink in the United States next month, as the company sharpens its focus on low and no-sugar versions of its sodas that helped best quarterly profit estimates. The new drink, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, is already available in Europe, Middle East & Africa and Latin America, where it grew in double digits in the second quarter ended June 30. The company said the look and taste of Coke Zero Sugar will be closer to the original Coca-Cola. "It is a reinvention of Coke Zero... it is about helping the zero-calorie part of the portfolio grow," Chief Executive James Quincey, who took over in May, said on a conference call. Coca-Cola, like rival PepsiCo Inc ( PEP.N ), has been stepping up efforts to reduce sugar in its beverages and building its non-carbonated drinks portfolio as consumers look for healthier options. Volume sales of low and no-calorie soda drinks rose in the mid-single digits in the second quarter. While Coca-Cola''s net revenue declined 16 percent in the quarter, as the company sells off its low-margin bottling operations, revenue from its core beverage business, or organic revenue, rose 3 percent, indicating strength in demand. "Organic revenue growth in sparkling soft drinks was led by innovation in and marketing support for our low- and no-sugar options like Coca-Cola Zero Sugar," Quincey said in a statement. Organic revenue was also boosted by higher unit sales of its mini-cans and small bottles, which have gained in popularity even as king-sized bottles fall out of favor. There was some concern that Coca-Cola''s organic revenue growth would be weak in the quarter, based on scanner data that showed weak beverage sales at convenience stores and PepsiCo reporting flat volume sales in North America for the quarter, JP Morgan analyst Andrea Teixeira said in a note. Coca-Cola said demand also rose for its non-aerated drinks such as innocent juice and smoothies in Europe. Net income attributable to Coca-Cola''s shareholders fell 60.2 percent to $1.37 billion, or 32 cents per share. Coca-Cola incurred a charge of $653 million related to refranchising its North America bottling operations. Excluding items, Coca-Cola earned 59 cents per share, beating the average analysts'' estimate of 57 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Revenue fell to $9.70 billion but beat the average analysts'' estimate of $9.65 billion. Coca-Cola''s shares were up about 1 pct at $45.58 in afternoon trading on Wednesday. Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-coca-cola-results-idUSKBN1AB1HJ'|'2017-07-26T14:12:00.000+03:00' +'696c89e09d0a0c9a70835e87768c5ce0e4d76204'|'BMW, VW and Daimler shares skid on EU probe of German carmakers'|'Edition United States July 24, 2017 / 8:08 AM / 18 minutes ago VW calls crisis meeting to discuss EU cartel probe: source Reuters Staff 4 Min Read BERLIN/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) will hold a special supervisory board meeting on Wednesday to discuss allegations that German carmakers operated a wide-ranging cartel, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday. The European Commission said on Saturday that antitrust regulators were investigating a possible German auto industry cartel following a tip-off. At stake is whether carmakers VW, Audi ( NSUG.DE ), Porsche, Mercedes ( DAIGn.DE ) and BMW ( BMWG.DE ) used German auto industry committees to discuss pricing of components and technologies, and whether such talks constituted anti-competitive behavior. A VW spokesman confirmed an extraordinary supervisory board meeting would be held on Wednesday, but declined to give further details. German auto stocks closed lower on Monday, weighed down by the uncertainty over possible antitrust fines, with shares in VW down 1.4 percent, while BMW and Daimler dropped 2.8 percent and 2.7 percent respectively, dragging the blue-chip DAX index .GDAXI to close 0.3 percent lower. Exane BNP Paribas automotive analyst Stuart Pearson said little was known about the allegations, but no signs had emerged about fixing prices charged to consumers. "More ugly details could yet emerge, leaving German manufacturers - and the EU auto sector - still firmly in the sin bin for now," he added. The car industry has been hit with billion-euro fines on both sides of the Atlantic in recent years for cartels related to various parts such as lighting systems, engine coolers and bearings. The industry''s record on exhaust emissions is also under close scrutiny after VW admitted in September 2015 to cheating U.S. diesel emissions tests and investigations have shown many vehicles exceeding pollution limits outside of testing labs. FILE PHOTO: A Volkswagen logo is pictured at the newly opened Volkswagen factory in Wrzesnia near Poznan, Poland September 9, 2016. Kacper Pempel/File Photo On Friday, German magazine Der Spiegel said VW, its Audi and Porsche brands, Mercedes-owner Daimler and BMW may have colluded to fix prices on components, including of diesel emissions treatment systems, using industry committees. Daimler had first raised the possible collusion with cartel authorities, which could earn the carmaker immunity, Sueddeutsche Zeitung said on Monday in a report researched jointly with broadcasters NDR and WDR. This contradicted Der Spiegel which reported last week that VW had been first to disclose the matter in July 2016. After Daimler and other truckmakers were accused in 2011 of price fixing and subsequently fined, the German company at least in part pulled out of the industry tie-ups that are now the subject of inquiries, Sueddeutsche Zeitung said. A spokeswoman for Daimler declined comment on the report. Spiegel said the talks also led to the use of smaller tanks containing AdBlue, a urea-based liquid needed to help filter nitrogen oxides (NOx) from diesel emissions. Larger tanks would have been more expensive, the magazine said. Auto industry experts, however, have said the effectiveness of exhaust filtering systems does not depend on the size of an AdBlue Tank. BMW, for example, has equipped its cars with urea injection as well as a NOx-storage catalytic converter. The two systems combined ensure vehicles fulfil emissions requirements. BMW on Sunday said emissions filtering systems in its cars were adequate and that discussions with other manufacturers about AdBlue fluid were held with a view toward building a pan-European network of AdBlue refilling stations. Daimler said on Monday it had a substantial compliance program which was "constantly improved and adapted". Daimler''s works council chief Michael Brecht demanded an immediate investigations into the allegations. Reporting by Edward Taylor, Andreas Cremer, Ilona Wissenbach; Editing by Louise Heavens/Mark Potter/Alexander Smith 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-germany-emissions-cartel-idUKKBN1A90RP'|'2017-07-24T11:00:00.000+03:00' +'7880e76d234403b1dacc10a6c5cfd234cc3b885b'|'Shell sees oil demand peaking by late 2020s as electric car sales grow'|'July 27, 2017 / 10:48 AM / 13 minutes ago Shell sees oil demand peaking by late 2020s as electric car sales grow Ron Bousso and Karolin Schaps 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Shell logo is seen on a fuel pump at a gas station In Warsaw, Poland June 1, 2017. Kacper Pempel/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - The world''s oil consumption could peak as early as the end of the next decade as electric vehicles become more popular, Royal Dutch Shell RDS.A Chief Executive Ben van Beurden said on Thursday. The prospect of a decline in oil consumption after more than a century of growth as the world switches to burning cleaner fuels is gathering pace. On Wednesday Britain announced plans to ban diesel and gasoline vehicles by 2040, following a similar move by France. "I think they are very welcome announcements, they are also very needed announcements," van Beurden told reporters after Europe''s biggest oil company reported a sharp rise in quarterly profits. Under the Anglo-Dutch company''s most aggressive scenario of battery-powered vehicles replacing traditional internal combustion engines, consumption of oil will peak in the early 2030s, he said. With a high use of biofuels in the mix, demand could peak by the late 2020s, he added. But oil will still be needed for decades to come as it is likely to remain the main fuel for planes, ships and heavy trucks, van Beurden told reporters. "Even if the UK, France and the Western world in general will all go to 100 percent electric vehicles, that would be great, but that wouldn''t be enough... We still have less advanced economics that cannot do that switch," he added. In an interview with Bloomberg TV van Beurden said he would opt for an electric car as his next vehicle purchase. The outlook from the world''s second-largest oil and gas company contrasts with others in the sector. Energy watchdog International Energy Agency does not expect oil demand to peak before 2040. Shell, which has been producing oil since 1907, and its peers are increasingly switching to less-polluting natural gas production as the world transitions to a low carbon emission energy system. "With the incubation and changes we are making in the new energies business but also in our existing business focussing on the best possible projects in LNG, gas and oil and petchems we can remain relevant," van Beurden told journalists. The company launched a new energies division last year through which it aims to invest up to $1 billion a year by 2020 in renewable energy, biofuels and hydrogen. Reporting by Ron Bousso and Karolin Schaps; editing by Susan Thomas 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-oil-demand-shell-idUKKBN1AC1LZ'|'2017-07-27T13:48:00.000+03:00' +'780146e5cad74e5692534e8472f79db0be7beb32'|'Nikkei drops to more than 2-week lows, investors eye small caps'|'July 24, 2017 / 7:07 AM / 7 hours ago Nikkei drops to more than 2-week lows, investors eye small caps 3 Min Read * Despite index falls, gainers outnumber losers * BOJ cuts amount of 5-10 year JGB purchases By Ayai Tomisawa TOKYO, July 24 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks dropped to more than two-week lows on Monday after Wall Street retreated and a stronger yen dampened sentiment, while investors looked for opportunities to buy small and mid-size stocks. The Nikkei share average declined 0.6 percent to 19.975.67, the lowest closing level since July 7. The broader Topix dropped 0.5 percent to 1,621.57 in thin trade, with turnover of only 1.9 trillion yen ($17.1 billion), the lowest level in a month. But gainers outnumbered losers. While 1,061 issues rose, or 52 percent of the broader market, 812 issues declined. "Investors were seen buying back small stocks on the dips," said Chihiro Ohta, general manager of investment research at SMBC Nikko Securities. On Friday, Wall Street indexes ended flat to about 0.15 percent lower, pressured by disappointing earnings from General Electric and energy shares. The dollar stayed on the defensive as the euro strengthened as markets wagered the European Central Bank is on track to start winding back its asset purchase programme in the not-too-distant future. "The market is already cautious against the fact that the BOJ lags behind other central banks in tapering stimulus," said Yoshinori Shigemi, global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management. On Monday morning, the Bank of Japan cut the amount of five-to 10-year government bonds it purchased at its regular operation. It bought 470 billion yen ($4.24 billion) of the maturities, down from 500 billion yen at its last operation the previous week. Shigemi said investors will continue to carefully monitor the pace of the BOJ''s asset purchases, which could trigger a rise in the yen. Last week, the BOJ once again pushed back the timing for achieving its ambitious inflation target, reinforcing views that it will lag well behind other major central banks in scaling back its massive stimulus programme. Financial stocks underperformed, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group falling 1.2 percent and Mizuho Financial Group 1.1 percent, while Dai-ichi Life Holdings declined 1.7 percent. Exporters were sold down as well, with Toyota Motor Corp shedding 0.8 percent and Honda Motor Co sliding 1.1 percent. Bucking the trend, condiment maker Kagome Co rose 1.5 percent after the company raised its profit outlook for the year ending December. It now expects an operating profit of 12.5 billion yen instead of 11.5 billion yen. ($1 = 111.12 yen) (Reporting by Ayai Tomisawa; Editing by Richard Borsuk) 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-close-idUSL3N1KF2LO'|'2017-07-24T10:06:00.000+03:00' +'a8259bb5ac961a73c485e202f201204175114e0a'|'Dividends a worry at drugmakers Astra, GSK after dramatic week'|'July 28, 2017 / 10:34 AM / in 2 hours Dividends a worry at drugmakers Astra, GSK after dramatic week Ben Hirschler 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of AstraZeneca is seen on a medication package in a pharmacy in London, Britain, April 28, 2014. Stefan Wermuth/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Britain''s two big drugmakers face very different challenges but they share a common problem: how to convince investors that their dividends are safe. With both stocks offering a dividend yield of more than 5 percent, AstraZeneca ( AZN.L ) and GlaxoSmithKline ( GSK.L ) provide islands of decent income in a sea of low returns. The chief executives of both companies faced a barrage of questions from analysts about future payouts and were forced to defend their dividend strategies at post-results meetings this week. AstraZeneca was grilled on the topic four times and GSK five times by analysts from leading banks, including Goldman Sachs, UBS, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank. Fears for AstraZeneca''s dividend have been driven by its bombshell lung cancer setback on Thursday, while GSK''s decision on Wednesday to overhaul drug research and move to a new dividend policy has raised doubts about its payouts. The danger at AstraZeneca is that a gap in expected sales following the failure of its immunotherapy treatment to help patients as hoped in the big Mystic clinical trial will further strain finances. The company''s drug sales are currently falling as it tries to transition to a new wave of products and away from reliance on old medicines that are now off patent and subject to cut-price generic competition. AstraZeneca boss Pascal Soriot, facing his most challenging time since becoming chief executive in 2012, hopes strong growth for cancer pills Tagrisso and Lynparza, as well as demand for medicines in China, can offset the Mystic hit. "Of course, we would have preferred to have everything positive. But ups and downs overall, we believe we can continue to secure the dividend," he said. "From what we can see today, there is no reason for us to change our long-range forecast, including our cash flow forecast, and therefore to have a different approach to our dividend policy." FILE PHOTO: The GlaxoSmithKline building is pictured in Hounslow, west London June 18, 2013. Luke MacGregor/File Photo AstraZeneca could also use some cash from its new cancer drug collaboration deal with Merck & Co ( MRK.N ) to help sustain the dividend if necessary, he added. For GSK shareholders the challenge is coping with a move back to the uncertainty of quarterly dividend declarations from 2019. In recent years, investors have enjoyed the safety net of a steady 80 pence a share annual payout, under a system put in place following the big $20 billion asset swap with Novartis ( NOVN.S ) that completed in 2015. GSK still plans to pay 80p in 2018 but thereafter payouts are uncertain and will be tied to free cash flows, after allowing for any acquisitions. M&A could become a more significant feature at GSK as it bolsters its pipeline in priority areas. "I thought Glaxo results were encouraging, because they have a big dividend yield, but the bears are saying although they are committed to the higher dividend for now, who knows whats going to happen next," said Eric Moore, manager of the UK equity income fund at Miton Group and an investor in GSK. The company''s aim is to build cash flow cover over time before returning the dividend to growth, a strategy analysts see as an admission it has over-distributed payments in the past. Chief Executive Emma Walmsley stressed that GSK remained very committed to the dividend but she is not giving any cast-iron pledges on specific payments. "Our intention is to be rebuilding that cover off an ''18 base. That said, I''m not going to stand here and say the dividend will never be cut if some circumstances happen to say that that is required and appropriate," she said. Additional reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Edmund Blair 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-astrazeneca-gsk-dividend-idUKKBN1AD18X'|'2017-07-28T13:37:00.000+03:00' +'e85929091502e1bb9f7137cba56e0fc5e8acbe61'|'BRIEF-Family Memorials says did not repay 15 pct debentures on maturity date'|'July 20, 2017 / 4:42 PM / 10 minutes ago BRIEF-Family Memorials says did not repay 15 pct debentures on maturity date Family Memorials Inc: * Family memorials Inc announces it did not repay 15% debentures on maturity date * Currently negotiating terms of secured loan to be obtained for purpose of settling payment of debentures Source 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-family-memorials-says-did-not-repa-idUSFWN1KB0UX'|'2017-07-20T19:41:00.000+03:00' +'09f9403bcccefff24d7900470b0ee1dfce13d5c1'|'Lloyds bank makes offers on compensation for fraud after delay'|'July 21, 2017 / 7:40 AM / in 5 hours Lloyds bank makes offers on compensation for fraud after delay Reuters Staff 2 Min Read People walk past a branch of Lloyds Bank on Oxford Street in London, Britain July 28, 2016. Peter Nicholls/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Lloyds Banking Group ( LLOY.L ) said it on Friday it was close to making compensation offers to 30 of the 67 customers impacted by one of Britain''s biggest banking frauds after criticism about the pace of redress. Britain''s biggest mortgage lender missed a self-imposed deadline of the end of June for making offers to most victims of the fraud and has said it was disappointed that the process was taking so long. Two former bankers with Lloyds'' HBOS unit in the English town of Reading were among those jailed for their involvement in the scam, which affected 67 people including Noel Edmonds, a TV presenter and former disc jockey. Lloyds said in a statement it has made offers to 16 customers and is in the final stages of assessment to make 14 more, although only 5 offers have been accepted. "We are continuing to make progress in getting offers to victims of the HBOS Reading fraud," said Adrian White, Lloyds'' chief operating officer for commercial banking. Lloyds announced the deadline for its 100 million-pound ($130 million) compensation scheme in April after six people were jailed in February for a scam that involved siphoning money from struggling businesses. Victims of the fraud have accused the bank of dragging out the compensation process and underestimating the final amount it will have to pay. The jailed bankers pushed struggling business owners to employ a costly turnaround consultancy as a condition for receiving loans and, in some cases, hand over ownership. Reporting By Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Keith Weir 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lloyds-hbos-fraud-idUKKBN1A60OS'|'2017-07-21T10:39:00.000+03:00' +'27090409b62be408660f1c05bce1696a27ceb065'|'OPEC, non-OPEC debate how to cap rising Libyan, Nigerian oil output'|'July 24, 2017 / 8:18 AM / in 5 hours OPEC moves to cap Nigerian oil output, boost compliance Katya Golubkova , Vladimir Soldatkin and Rania El Gamal 4 Min Read Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak, Kuwaiti Oil Minister Essam al-Marzouq and OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo attend a meeting of the 4th OPEC-Non-OPEC Ministerial Monitoring Committee in St. Petersburg, Russia July 24, 2017. Anton Vaganov ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - OPEC moved on Monday to cap Nigerian oil output and called on several members to boost compliance with production cuts to help clear excessive global stocks and support flagging prices. OPEC has agreed with several non-OPEC producers led by Russia to cut oil output by a combined 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) from January 2017 until the end of March 2018. OPEC states Libya and Nigeria were exempted from the limits to help their oil industries recover from years of unrest. The deal to curb output propelled crude prices above $58 a barrel in January but they have since slipped back to a $45 to $50 range as the effort to drain global inventories has taken longer than expected. Rising output from U.S. shale producers has offset the impact of the output curbs, as has climbing production from Libya and Nigeria. A ministerial committee of OPEC and non-OPEC states that monitors the global oil pact said it had agreed Nigeria would join the deal by capping or even cutting its output from 1.8 million bpd, once it stabilises at that level from 1.7 million bpd recently. Related Coverage Saudi minister sees ''healthier'' oil market, ready to take more steps The monitoring committee, known as JMMC and which met in the Russian city of St Petersburg, did not give the timeframe for when this would happen, saying it would track Nigerian production patterns in the next weeks. The committee did not back capping Libyan output as it said its production was unlikely to exceed 1 million bpd in the near future compared to its capacity of 1.4 million-1.6 million bpd before unrest erupted in 2011 and plunged the nation into chaos. Brent oil prices rose about 1 percent at about $48.50, helped by news of a cap on Nigeria and by comments from Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih that the kingdom''s exports would fall to 6.6 million bpd in August as demand at home was rising, effectively representing a cut of 1 million bpd year-on-year. He said global stocks had fallen by 90 million barrels, but were still about 250 million barrels above the five-year average for industrialised nations, which is the level OPEC and non-OPEC states are targetting with their output curbs. Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih attends a meeting of the 4th OPEC-Non-OPEC Ministerial Monitoring Committee in St. Petersburg, Russia July 24, 2017. Anton Vaganov Bearish Sentiment Russia and Saudi Arabia face mounting pressure to prop up oil prices. Russia, which is heavily reliant on oil revenues, holds a presidential election next year. Saudi Arabia needs higher prices to balance its budget and support next year''s planned listing of state oil firm Saudi Aramco. "We must acknowledge that the market has turned bearish with several key factors driving these sentiments," Falih told the meeting of the monitoring committee. Slideshow (2 Images) Falih said weaker compliance with cuts by some OPEC states and a rise in OPEC exports had led to a softer crude price. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have cut more than they pledged but others, such as the United Arab Emirates and Iraq, have shown relatively weak adherence to the limits. "Some countries continue to lag which is a concern we must address head on," Falih said. "Exports have now become the key matrix to financial markets and we need to find a way to reconcile credible exports data with production data." Falih said the committee spoke to those who were lagging, without naming them, and said they pledged to boost compliance. The Saudi minister said global oil demand was expected to grow by about 1.4 million to 1.6 million bpd next year, similar to 2017 and so should more than offset rising U.S. output. JMMC''s chair Kuwait said OPEC could call an extraordinary meeting to include Nigeria and could extend existing production curbs beyond March 2018 if markets failed to rebalance. Alongside Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, the committee includes Russia, Venezuela, Algeria and Oman. Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Edmund Blair 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-opec-meeting-output-idUKKBN1A90SG'|'2017-07-24T11:31:00.000+03:00' +'524dad10876f2e4de57c466f6f9205300498796c'|'Goldman Sachs is 2017''s worst-selling fund manager with $27 billion in outflows - FT'|' 6:42pm BST Goldman Sachs is 2017''s worst-selling fund manager with $27 billion in outflows - FT FILE PHOTO: A sign is displayed in the reception of the Sydney offices of Goldman Sachs in Australia, May 18, 2016. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo Investors have pulled an estimated $26.7 billion from Goldman Sachs Asset Managements mutual funds so far in 2017, according to Morningstar data, the Financial Times reported Sunday, making Goldman the world''s worst-selling fund manager globally. The nearly $27 billion of outflows from GSAM represent more than half of the asset managers strategies globally, FT said. Goldmans outflows were almost twice the level of withdrawals experienced by Federated Investors, the second-worst selling fund house. Revenues at GSAM dropped nearly 7 percent in 2016 and profits fell close to 17 percent. Revenues were down 7 percent in the first quarter of 2017 compared to the previous three-month period. (Reporting by Dion Rabouin; Editing by David Gregorio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-goldman-sachs-fund-idUKKBN19U0UL'|'2017-07-09T20:42:00.000+03:00' +'0808853131b7943255f337c38477a771f825e67b'|'In China''s murky waters, global sewage firms seek rewards'|'July 9, 2017 / 5:35 AM / 7 hours ago In China''s murky waters, global sewage firms seek rewards David Stanway 4 Min Read Water purification equipment by Emefcy is seen at a school campus in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, China June 20, 2017. Picture taken June 20, 2017. David Stanway CHANGZHOU, China (Reuters) - Global sewage and water treatment firms are eyeing opportunities in an unsavoury place: a growing pile of waste in China, the world''s most populous nation. The country has been for years battling contamination from fertilizer run-offs, heavy metals and untreated sewage. A survey in 2015 showed nearly two thirds of China''s underground water and a third of its surface water was unfit for human contact. To reverse this, China has pledged to lay 126,000 kilometres of new sewage pipes by 2020, enough to circle the globe three times, and raise urban wastewater treatment by 50 million cubic metres a day, equal to 20,000 Olympic-size pools. This has opened the floodgates to sewage specialists, like Israel''s Emefcy, RWL Water - controlled by Ron Lauder from Estee Lauder and France''s Veolia, who want to grab a share of the market with China''s annual environmental spend estimated at 3 trillion yuan ($441 billion) over the next five years. "Right now the problem of wastewater from agriculture and the countryside is very serious and wastewater treatment work is a weak link," said Tong Weidong, vice-chairman of the legal work commission of China''s parliament. Recently, there were reports of villages dumping sewage into the reservoir of the Three Gorges Dam, the world''s biggest power station spanning the Yangtze River in central Hubei province. But change is afoot, Tong said. Local officials will be forced to improve sewage capacity under new legislation that make them directly responsible for water quality. Cities need to hike treatment rates to 95 percent by 2020 from 92 percent in 2015, while rural regions in central and western China need to reach 50 percent. "The market is massive," said Wong-Jin Yong, China CEO for Emefcy, which estimates the potential market opportunity in Beijing and nearby provinces at over $1 billion. Foreign players have been in China for a while, such as Veolia that has water projects across the country, but the focus on a large-scale clean-up has gained impetus recently. China''s latest five-year plan released in 2016 emphasises tackling pollution, while in an action plan published in 2015 the government vowed to improve water quality nationwide by 2030, pledging to spend billions of dollars. Local authorities, meanwhile, have struggled to fund their plans, opening the door for more private sector involvement. Firms Rush in Emefcy plans to put eight small-scale sewage treatment units into operation in China by the end of this year and is currently building a local factory. It has installed a mobile plant around the size of a van at a school in southern Changzhou and runs another at a sewage works in Wuxi. Emefcy says its small-scale units can treat 20,000 litres a day, take two months to install and have significantly lower energy costs, making them ideal for the rural market. RWL Water venture is set to merge with Emefcy in July to "accelerate penetration" in China''s rural wastewater sector. They will be competing with local players such as state-run Beijing Enterprises Water Group and China Water Investment, and others like Beijing Sound Environment and Kangda International. Stricter environmental standards are drawing in companies of all sizes, but big state-owned firms still dominate major projects, said Xue Xiaohu, general manager at Jiangsu Greenway that sells water treatment technology to the textiles industry. China has promised to give environmentally friendly projects a leg up by providing banks more incentives to lend and encouraging green financing. Offshore players have the added hurdle of navigating local rules and typically also need to team up with local partners. "There are challenges in dealing with local governments and that''s why our partners kick in," said Yong from Emefcy, which has a number of Chinese partners including Zhejiang Provincial Energy Group and Jiangsu Jinzi. "Technology is our core skill and we will focus on that." ($1 = 6.7990 Chinese yuan renminbi) Additional reporting by SHANGHAI newsroom, writing by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Himani Sarkar 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/china-sewage-idINKBN19U055'|'2017-07-09T08:35:00.000+03:00' +'9276941d54d3407c32f2c379c183452882ab3934'|'CANADA STOCKS-Futures rise ahead of BoC interest rate decision'|'July 12, 2017 / 11:29 AM / an hour ago CANADA STOCKS-Futures rise ahead of BoC interest rate decision 3 Min Read July 12 (Reuters) - Stock futures pointed to a higher opening for Canada''s main stock index on Wednesday as investors await an interest rate decision by the Bank of Canada. The median consensus, according to analysts polled by Reuters on Tuesday, showed the central bank will increase rates by 25 basis points to 0.75 percent, the first hike in nearly seven years. Interest rate data is due at 10:00 a.m. ET. September futures on the S&P TSX index were up 0.2 percent at 7:15 a.m. ET. Canada''s main stock index rose on Tuesday as higher commodity prices boosted the shares of resource companies, while investors awaited the Bank of Canada''s interest rate decision on Wednesday. Dow Jones Industrial Average e-mini futures were up 0.15 percent at 7:15 a.m. ET, while S&P 500 e-mini futures were up 0.15 percent and Nasdaq 100 e-mini futures were up 0.25 percent. (Morning News Call newsletter here ; The Day Ahead newsletter here ) Top Stories Canadian lender Home Capital Group Inc appointed Yousry Bissada as its chief executive, bringing to an end a search it started in March after it terminated the employment of former CEO Martin Reid. The Bank of Canada is widely expected to raise interest rates on Wednesday for the first time since 2010, following the Federal Reserve in a bid to inch rates back towards normal after the global financial crisis a decade ago. Analyst Research Highlights Aveda Transportation: Canaccord Genuity starts coverage with "speculative buy" rating Sun Life Financial Inc: Barclays raises target price to C$53 from C$52 COMMODITIES AT 7:15 a.m. ET Gold futures: $1,218.3; +0.39 pct US crude: $45.76; +1.60 pct Brent crude: $48.18; +1.39 pct LME 3-month copper: $5,919; +0.75 pct u.s. Economic Data Due on Wednesday 1100 TR IPSOS PCSI for Jul: Prior 62.77 For Canadian Markets News, Click on Codes: TSX market report Canadian dollar and bonds report Reuters global stocks poll for Canada Canadian markets directory ($1= C$1.29) Reporting by Riniki Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-idUSL4N1K33TM'|'2017-07-12T14:29:00.000+03:00' +'ff4479b9ab97f42e57aa0d17d73bd929e9966882'|'Britain''s finance industry faces ''tipping point'' over Brexit'|'July 5, 2017 / 11:06 PM / in 3 minutes Britain''s finance industry faces ''tipping point'' over Brexit Andrew MacAskill and Huw Jones 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The Canary Wharf financial district is seen at dusk in London, Britain November 7, 2014. Toby Melville/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will lose its status as Europe''s top financial centre unless it keeps borders open to specialist staff, improves infrastructure and expands links with emerging economies, TheCityUK said in a report published on Thursday. The report from Britain''s most powerful financial lobby group said continental Europe might eventually become the preferred destination for banks, insurers and asset managers as they relocate business there to retain access to the EU single market. Although companies may begin by initially shifting a small number of jobs to Europe this may begin to accelerate when property leases expire, they carry out business reviews, or when the cost of capital becomes uneconomical. "Shifts out of the UK may gradually erode the ''cluster effect'' of the financial ecosystem, with the threat of a tipping point in the ecosystem being reached," the group said in a 83-page document outlining how the industry can thrive over the next decade. Securing a favourable deal for financial services from the Brexit negotiations is one of the biggest challenges for the British government because it is its largest export sector and biggest source of corporate tax. Britain''s finance industry could lose up to 38 billion pounds ($49 billion) in revenue in a so-called "hard Brexit" that would restrict its access to the EU single market, according to some estimates. The report said the government must ensure businesses can recruit people to fill skill gaps and must simplify the process of getting a visa. Brexit has already made it harder to attract people to Britain and the government is introducing policies making immigration more restrictive and expensive, the report said. It said the cost of hiring an employee on a five-year visa has risen by 250 percent to 7,000 pounds over the last year and the minimum salary a business may recruit staff for a visa has risen by almost half since 2015. Aside from Brexit, the report also looks at broader issues that threaten the competitiveness of the City of London as financial services hub, including a need to invest in transport networks and technology. It calls for government and financial services to work together closely to develop international trade policies and to improve the country''s digital and physical infrastructure, including speeding up travel times between airports and different financial centres around Britain. One financial services industry veteran who had independent access to the report said it lacked urgency and there was too little on the impact of Britain leaving the EU given that "Brexit is a catastrophe for the City." Mark Hoban, a former financial services minister who chaired the report, said that Brexit was only one of several challenges facing financial services. "The challenges facing financial services are much more than just about Brexit. It is about emerging financial centres and also, to a degree, about unmet needs in the UK as well," Hoban told Reuters. "There is a very clear appetite to tackle these issues at various levels of government." ($1 = 0.7748 pounds) Reporting By Andrew MacAskill and Huw Jones. Editing by Jane Merriman 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-eu-finance-idINKBN19Q31L'|'2017-07-06T02:04:00.000+03:00' +'bd9b61116d57b037a38b554a10efefd83caab01a'|'Idemitsu stock plunges 14 percent on plan to issue new shares'|'July 4, 2017 / 2:58 AM / 2 hours ago Idemitsu stock plunges 14 percent on plan to issue new shares 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO : A signboard of Idemitsu Kosan Co is seen in Tokyo, Japan, August 15, 2016. Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Shares in Japan''s Idemitsu Kosan Co Ltd plunged 14 percent early on Tuesday, their biggest decline in more than six years, after the refiner said it would issue new stock to raise $1.2 billion. Idemitsu said after the market closed on Monday that it would sell 48 million new shares, equivalent to 30 percent of its outstanding shares, in a move opposed by the founding family, which is trying to block management''s plan to merge with smaller rival Showa Shell Sekiyu KK. If the family did not take part in the raising, its stake in Idemitsu would be reduced to about 26 percent, from over a third, according to calculations by Thomson Reuters, eliminating its ability to veto the merger. "Obviously the family could participate in the global offering, but the time frame is narrow to come up with such a large amount of cash, in our view," said Thanh Ha Pham, an analyst at Jefferies in Tokyo. Idemitsu Kosan said the share issue will raise up to 138.5 billion yen ($1.23 billion), indicating an issue price of up to 2,885 yen per share, well below its close on Monday. Idemitsu shares were trading about 12 percent lower at 0159 GMT at 2,859 yen a share. They fell more than 14 percent earlier, the biggest intraday decline since 2011 when an earthquake and tsunami devastated large swathes of northern Japan. Showa Shell shares surged as investors bet the move by Idemitsu would lead to an eventual merger. "This is a positive for Showa Shell (as) Idemitsu will eventually decide to fully take over Showa Shell''s minorities and merge the two companies," said Pham. Reporting by Aaron Sheldrick and Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Richard Pullin 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/idemitsu-kosan-share-sale-idINKBN19P0AB'|'2017-07-04T05:54:00.000+03:00' +'4873065ad31d6e934b201b051dfe39e485b03504'|'China to bolster efforts to stabilise, improve trajectory of economy'|'July 31, 2017 / 10:57 AM / 8 minutes ago China to bolster efforts to stabilise, improve trajectory of economy 1 Min Read Chinese Premier Li Keqiang speaks with Ryan Lance, Chairman and CEO of CononoPhillips, at Zhongnanhai Leadership Compound in Beijing, China June 20, 2017. REUTES/Fred Dufour/Pool BEIJING (Reuters) - China will bolster efforts to stabilise and improve the trajectory of its economy, state radio on Monday quoted Premier Li Keqiang as saying. Li also asked China''s telecom companies, including China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, to keep cutting internet fees while raising internet speed, it added. Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by Clarence Fernandez 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/china-economy-li-idINKBN1AG16T'|'2017-07-31T13:55:00.000+03:00' +'fa957287dc59326a51ee39bf86f851e60523488d'|'U.S. 30-year mortgage rates fall for second week - Freddie Mac'|'July 27, 2017 / 2:20 PM / 5 hours ago U.S. 30-year mortgage rates fall for second week - Freddie Mac 1 Min Read NEW YORK, July 27 (Reuters) - Interest rates on U.S. 30-year mortgages declined for a second straight week even as benchmark Treasury yields have risen from a week earlier, Freddie Mac said on Thursday. The borrowing cost on 30-year mortgages, the most widely held type of U.S. home loan, averaged 3.92 percent in the week ended July 27, down from 3.96 percent the previous week, the mortgage finance agency said. (Reporting by Richard Leong) 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-mortgages-freddiemac-idUSW1N1H000P'|'2017-07-27T17:18:00.000+03:00' +'c459ac38eda98325cdad2b5fb55fb5f8eb745c75'|'Linde confirms outlook; no update on Praxair merger'|'July 28, 2017 / 5:50 AM / 12 hours ago Linde confirms outlook; no update on Praxair merger 1 Min Read FRANKFURT, July 28 (Reuters) - German industrial gases group Linde beat expectations with a 2 percent increase in second-quarter operating profit driven by its core gases division and confirmed its full-year outlook on Friday. It gave no update in its half-year report on its planned $74 billion all-share merger of equals with U.S. peer Praxair , which needs to be put to shareholders in both companies after management agreed terms. (Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Maria Sheahan) 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/linde-results-idUSASM000DBT'|'2017-07-28T08:49:00.000+03:00' +'3c94355362c856bff807403029ae0ce7d0955d06'|'Britain seeking stability, confidence with U.S. after Brexit - UK''s Fox'|'July 24, 2017 / 5:30 PM / in an hour Britain seeking stability, confidence with U.S. after Brexit - UK''s Fox Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Britain''s Secretary of State for International Trade, Liam Fox, arrives in Downing Street, in central London, Britain July 17, 2017. Tolga Akmen/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Britain wants to ensure commercial ties with the United States are not disrupted as it moves out of the European Union, UK trade secretary, Liam Fox, said on Monday before the start of meetings with Trump administration officials in Washington. Fox and his U.S. counterpart, Robert Lighthizer, were to chair the first meeting of a U.S.-UK trade and investment working group later on Monday to discuss cooperation and a bilateral trade agreement after Brexit. Britain is not free to enter into new trade deals until it has left the EU in 2019. It has indicated, however, that it wants to get legal documents in place to ensure that such things as flights and data flows between the countries are not interrupted. Fox, Britain''s international trade secretary, said Britain wants to "provide stability, certainty and confidence for business on both sides of the Atlantic." On Tuesday, as part of Britain''s Brexit transition campaign, Fox is due to address U.S. lawmakers on Capitol Hill and launch a report detailing British trade and investment with 435 congressional districts in the United States. He said the United States was Britain''s export market for more than $200 billion of goods and services a year, while the United States is the No. 1 destination for UK investment. "We have begun to look at our continuity agreements to maintain as open and flexible relationship as we can," he told an audience at the American Enterprise Institute think tank. "We''re looking at bilateral ways, while we''re still members of the European Union, to achieve trade liberalization on a number of fronts on science and technology, and we are looking to scope out the future free trade agreement with no preconceptions attached to that," he added. Fox defended Britain''s decision to leave the bloc and said those still hoping to change the 2015 British referendum result, which supported Brexit, "are dreaming." U.S. President Donald Trump has said his administration would work hard to get a quick bilateral trade deal done. Trade was a major issue during the Brexit campaign when former U.S. President Barack Obama said Britain would have to go "to the back of the queue" for a deal if it voted to leave the EU. Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Tom Brown 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-britain-trade-idUKKBN1A927R'|'2017-07-24T20:30:00.000+03:00' +'fdf018690012b5306aafc306e0c16ec18666d9d9'|'Fed''s Yellen says rate and portfolio plans on track, cautions on inflation'|'July 12, 2017 / 12:36 PM / 7 hours ago Fed''s Yellen says rate and portfolio plans on track, cautions on inflation Howard Schneider 5 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy is healthy enough for the Fed to raise rates and begin winding down its massive bond portfolio, though low inflation and a low neutral rate may leave the central bank with diminished leeway, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Wednesday. In what may be one of her last appearances before Congress, Yellen depicted an economy that, while growing slowly, continued to add jobs, benefited from steady household consumption and a recent jump in business investment, and was now being supported by stronger economic conditions abroad. The Fed "continues to expect that the evolution of the economy will warrant gradual increases in the federal funds rate over time," Yellen said in her prepared testimony. Reductions in the Fed''s portfolio of more than $4 trillion in securities are likely to begin "this year," she said. But she also noted that given current estimates, the federal funds rate "would not have to rise all that much further" to reach a neutral level that neither encourages nor discourages economic activity. The Fed still feels the economy needs loose, or accommodative, monetary policy, so a lower neutral rate means the Fed may feel compelled to slow the pace of rate hikes down the road. But for now, Yellen told members of the House Committee on Financial Services, the economy remains strong enough for the Fed to continue to gradually tighten policy. In response to questions from lawmakers, she said she expects the gradual run down of the balance sheet will "play out smoothly" in markets. The reduction in the balance sheet, which will begin slowly as the Fed reinvests only a portion of the holdings that mature each month, will mark the final exit from crisis-related policies. Economy on Even Keel Yellen''s past appearances before the House panel have sometimes involved sharp exchanges with lawmakers who think the Fed''s influence over the economy has grown too strong. Such lawmakers want policymakers to be guided more closely by a mathematical rule for setting interest rates. This session was a more sedate meeting, with Committee Chair Jeb Hensarling, an advocate "rules-based" monetary policy, complimenting the Fed for including comparisons of its monetary policy with some of the more common formulas. FILE PHOTO: The Federal Reserve Board Chairwoman Janet Yellen speaks during a discussion at The British Academy President''s Lecture in London, Britain, June 27, 2017. Hannah McKay/File Photo Her appearance, coming as the Trump administration mulls whether to replace her when her term ends in February, broke little new ground in terms of policy or regulatory changes. "We have a relatively light regulatory agenda at this point," Yellen said. She confirmed the Fed was reviewing some of the requirements imposed on bank boards of directors following the financial crisis, with any eye towards possibly easing some of them. She also repeated the Fed''s strong opposition to proposals that policymakers worry could give elected officials influence over what are supposed to be independent Fed interest rate decisions. According to her testimony the economy is on an even keel, near or beyond full employment. U.S. stocks rose, while yields on Treasury bonds fell and the dollar was little changed against a basket of currencies. In a separate release, the Fed''s latest beige book of reports from regional Fed banks showed "slight to moderate" economic growth across the country. A recent dip in inflation has been of concern among Fed officials who want to see surer progress toward the central bank''s 2 percent inflation goal. Yellen, however, ascribed it to "a few unusual reductions in certain categories of prices" that would eventually drop out of the calculation. The current situation "raises the stakes" for upcoming inflation data, said Jim Vogel, interest rate strategist for FTN Financial in Memphis, Tennessee. "People are going to be very anxious if that was just a statistical glitch...or if it is going to continue." Otherwise, Yellen said, the economy appeared to be in a virtuous loop of hiring, spending and investment that "should increase resource utilization somewhat further, thereby fostering a stronger pace of wage and price increases." Reporting by Howard Schneider; Additional reporting by Karen Brettell in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Andrea Ricci 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-fed-yellen-idINKBN19X1N1'|'2017-07-13T02:16:00.000+03:00' +'3aacdc06716726b5ae81da9b499e5ad3da34d20b'|'UK-U.S. trade deal will not make up for leaving the EU - minister'|'Business News - Sun Jul 9, 2017 - 3:12pm BST UK-U.S. trade deal will not make up for leaving the EU: minister left right Britain''s Justice Secretary, David Lidington, speaks on the BBC''s The Andrew Marr Show in London, Britain July 9, 2017. Jeff Overs/BBC handout via REUTERS 1/2 left right Britain''s Justice Secretary, David Lidington, speaks on the BBC''s The Andrew Marr Show in London, Britain July 9, 2017. Jeff Overs/BBC handout via REUTERS 2/2 By William James - LONDON LONDON A post-Brexit trade deal with the United States would not be enough to make up for leaving the European Union, British justice minister David Lidington said on Sunday, tempering Prime Minister Theresa May''s enthusiasm about the U.S. offer. May had warmly welcomed assurances on Saturday by U.S. President Donald Trump that a "very powerful" trade deal with Britain would be reached "very, very quickly" after Britain leaves the EU. Seeking to reassert her authority over a Brexit process thrown into chaos by a botched snap election last month, May described talks on trade with Trump and other world leaders at a G20 meeting as a "powerful vote of confidence" in Britain. But one of her senior ministers dampened that enthusiasm on Sunday, in a sign of the difficult task May faces in uniting her own party behind a single exit strategy as key legislation is due to enter parliament next week. "It wouldn''t be enough on its own, no," Lidington told the BBC''s Andrew Marr Show. "But it would be a very good thing to have - as would trade deals with the emerging economies of Asia and Latin America." The government has touted the ability to strike bilateral trade deals, rather than EU-wide deal negotiated by Brussels, as one of the key benefits of leaving the bloc. Lidington campaigned strongly for Britain to remain in the EU before the 2016 referendum, but has since said he accepts the outcome of that vote. The Confederation of British Industry, a business lobby group, also warned against placing too much emphasis on a potential deal with the United States. "Not every trade deal is necessarily a good and fair trade deal for both parties," CBI President Paul Drechsler told Sky television. "The USA has one of the best negotiating teams in the world in terms of trade deals. We don''t want to walk into a bear hug - I would be wary of trying to be too fast on a trade deal." LEADERSHIP RELAUNCH May is expected to make a speech on Tuesday marking a year since she inherited power following Britain''s surprise vote to leave the EU. The speech is seen as an attempt to move on from a tumultuous 12 months in which May set out a hardline approach to leaving the EU and called an election, but then failed to persuade the public to back her and lost her outright majority in parliament. She has struck a deal with a small Northern Irish political party to support her minority government. Her weakened status has led to speculation that members of her Conservative Party - historically split between eurosceptics and more pro-European members - would be prepared to oust her if they did not get their way. Party unity will be tested by legislation which is due to be presented to parliament next week, outlining the government''s plan to translate all EU law in British law as part of its preparation for leaving. A report in the Sunday Times newspaper cited anonymous sources as saying pro-European lawmakers could demand concessions in the bill. A separate report sourced to an unnamed Conservative in the Mail on Sunday also said a ''Kamikaze'' group of Brexit-supporting Conservatives would be prepared to oust her and force a new election if she did water down her Brexit plans. Dismissing those reports, Lidington said: "Ive been in parliament 25 years and almost every July a combination of too much sun and too much warm prosecco leads to gossipy stories in the media." (Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-trade-usa-idUKKBN19U08U'|'2017-07-09T15:35:00.000+03:00' +'37c24f271d28e218f17a6c5971ef9cf97ddf3787'|'France launches two new high-speed rail lines'|'Business News - Sat Jul 1, 2017 - 6:10pm BST France launches two new high-speed rail lines RENNES, France France inaugurated two new high-speed rail lines on Saturday linking the capital to the western cities of Bordeaux and Rennes in what is likely to be the last launches of their kind for years as public cash becomes increasingly scarce. The state-owned SNCF railway operator expects 35,000 passengers to use the new route to Bordeaux daily and 30,000 to use the line to Rennes. Nearly eight billion euros (7.02 billion pounds) were invested in the stretch to Bordeaux while 3.4 billion euros went into the Rennes line, both under public-private partnerships, SNCF said. While local politicians often fight hard to bring high-speed lines to their regions to boost jobs and activity, such projects have fallen out of favour with the central government due to the costs. A 60-kilometre (37-mile) high-speed stretch is due to open at the end of the year in the south of France, but after that nothing major is in the works, with the government preferring to support instead high-use commuter lines. With nearly 45 billion euros in debt, the SNCF capacity to finance major new projects is also now severely constrained by a rule taking effect this year limiting how much new debt it can take on as a function of its operating margin. Budgetary pressure is also adding up for France''s new government, which is due to announce a wave of spending cuts in the coming days after an audit found this week that the 2017 finances were overshooting targets. The line to Bordeaux, which links up with existing high-speed rail lines in the central city of Tours, was financed under a unique public-private partnership that will see a consortium led by construction group Vinci ( SGEF.PA ) operate it under concession for 50 years. However, the price of usage has left the SNCF concerned and its president Guillaume Pepy told Le Monde newspaper it would lose 90 million euros on the line this year. Despite the huge costs of high-speed lines, a study from the INSEE statistics agency found this year that they do bring significant economic activity, boosting companies'' profitability and productivity. (Reporting by Pierre-Henri Allain; Writing by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Stephen Powell)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-train-idUKKBN19M3OV'|'2017-07-01T20:10:00.000+03:00' +'0e8291fbb8386985f74e55cc5a97af6dcbc60f35'|'Microsoft to cut "thousands" of jobs - source'|'Microsoft Corp ( MSFT.O ) plans to cut "thousands" of jobs, with a majority of them outside the United States, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.Reuters reported on Monday that Microsoft would undergo a reorganization that would impact its sales and marketing teams as the company doubles down on its fast-growing cloud business.Microsoft''s shares were down 0.7 percent at $68.63 on Thursday.The Redmond, Washington-based company employed about 120,000 people globally as of March 31, with sales and marketing teams accounting for about 19 percent of the workforce, according to the company''s website. ( bit.ly/2tgetOg )Microsoft has notified some employees about the reductions, the source said. However, in some geographies, the company plans to notify employees that their jobs are under consideration, the source added.Since taking over as chief executive in 2014, Satya Nadella has sharpened the company''s focus on its cloud computing unit to counter a prolonged slowdown in the PC market.(Reporting by Salvador Rodriguez in San Francisco; Narottam Medhora and Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-microsoft-layoffs-idUSKBN19R2IO'|'2017-07-06T19:52:00.000+03:00' +'f899b1656f549d2d1dc60b0300b4bfc7dbdf6c8e'|'China''s debt spectre could haunt Fed''s policy meetings'|'July 24, 2017 / 3:47 AM / 2 hours ago China''s debt spectre could haunt Fed''s policy meetings 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A China yuan note is seen in this illustration photo May 31, 2017. Thomas White/Illustration/File Photo HONG KONG (Reuters) - In September 2015, the U.S. Federal Reserve cited risks from China as a key reason for delaying its first interest rate hike in a decade. A wall of Chinese debt maturing in the next few years could jolt the country back into the U.S. central bank''s policy deliberations. Two years ago, it was a collapse in Chinese stocks, a surprise yuan devaluation and shrinking foreign exchange reserves that roiled financial markets that delayed the Fed, but it did raise rates three months later and has tightened further since. Now, some see risks emerging in China''s dollar-denominated bonds that could give the Fed greater pause for thought as it raises rates, even as other central banks signal a shift from ultra-easy policy. To be sure, Fed officials have not publicly flagged China''s debt as a major risk in their policy discussions. However, debt analysts point to the possibility of another September 2015 moment in which the Fed takes its cues from concerns about China. "Back then, I said that U.S. monetary policy is not made in Washington, it''s made in Beijing," said Joachim Fels, global economic advisor at bond giant PIMCO. "China does have a major impact on monetary policies elsewhere ... This year has been smooth sailing for global central banks because there were no shockwaves from China but I expect that to change if we think beyond the next few months." The outstanding amount of dollar bonds issued by Chinese entities has grown almost 20 times since the 2008-09 global financial crisis to just over half a trillion dollars, according to data from the Bank for International Settlements. Since September 2015, it has grown almost 50 percent. China''s dollar bonds are now almost a third of the emerging market total dollar issuance, up from a quarter in September 2015 and less than 5 percent before the Fed first began printing money in December 2008. A fifth of China''s dollar bonds mature within a year, according to BIS data. More than half are due in the next five, Thomson Reuters data show. If U.S. borrowing costs start rising as a result of the Fed''s exit from its unconventional monetary policy, that debt would have to be rolled over at higher costs, chipping away at the real economy in China. Alternatively, Chinese companies might decide to refinance their debt in local currency, creating weakening pressure on the yuan. Either development would reverberate globally and create a major external challenge for Fed policy. Feedback Loop For its part, the Fed doesn''t see any immediate dangers with China''s dollar debt. "You''ll find if you look at China they certainly have dollar-denominated debt but ... you''ll see that they are not as reliant on external debt as people might have thought," Dallas Fed chief Robert Kaplan said in Mexico City on Friday. Also, a significant portion of Chinese dollar borrowing makes economic sense -- such as companies funding overseas investment projects. And if those dollars are converted into yuan, they could help ease any weakening pressure on the Chinese currency. For now, dollar borrowing conditions remain stable with 10-year benchmark U.S. yields still low by historical standards, despite four Fed rate hikes since September 2015. Broadly, the dollar is as strong now as it was back then. Indeed, the bigger risk focus for many analysts currently is not China''s dollar bonds, but its local currency debt, which ratings agencies estimate to be almost three times the size of the economy. But analysts say that the longer China''s rapid accumulation of dollar debt continues, the harsher the future adjustment for the economy will be, especially if lenders start repricing Chinese credit risk. "Regardless of how you cut your pie, you''ll discover debt is a big problem. China has made a major contribution to global leverage since 2008," said Aidan Yao, senior emerging Asia economist at Axa Investment Managers. "When markets start to wobble, there''s a feedback loop that has an impact on the Fed''s trajectory. Policy normalisation is not going to be in a straight line." A forced deleveraging could renew weakening pressure on the yuan as dollars find their way out of the country, although capital controls help mitigate that risk. "While the market generally believes that money flows have stabilised and the worst of the yuan''s slide is over, the reality may well be the opposite," said Kevin Lai, chief economist for Asia ex-Japan at Daiwa Capital Markets. "As more dollar debt has been taken up, the pressure on outflows is merely being delayed. Such pressure is also getting bigger, not smaller. This would eventually feed into even bigger downward pressure for the yuan." Additional reporting by Anthony Esposito in Mexico City; Editing by Sam Holmes 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/china-debt-fed-idINKBN1A909M'|'2017-07-24T06:43:00.000+03:00' +'98aa99ebebbe03a9914a34430ad892dc6a9c9738'|'Horror stories told by central bankers will not end in an interest rate shock'|'W herever investors looked last week, the picture was rosy. The eurozone, for so long the laggard in the global growth league, could be seen zipping along following first-quarter GDP growth that hit 0.6%.German business confidence hit a record high, and France and Italy finally joined the party with higher than expected output. In the US, official estimates upgraded growth for the first quarter to an annualised 1.4% from an initial estimate of 0.7%. Even Japan, the standard-bearer for more than 20 years of economic stagnation, is due to exceed expectations this year as exports soar.The post-crash years of political upheaval and the threat of nations going bankrupt are long gone. The upbeat global outlook prompted central bankers to allow talk of a subject that has always caused turmoil on global markets whenever it is mentioned, namely higher interest rates. Last week was no exception.When Bank of England governor Mark Carney discussed how business investment, productivity and wages would soon begin to rise, the pound jumped past $1.30. Investors, interpreting Carney as a not-so-secret hawk who would gladly increase the cost of credit, bought the pound in droves, pushing up its value against the dollar.Mario Draghi, the boss of the European Central Bank , spoke in a similar vein. He considered the day when the ECB might begin to withdraw some of the monetary stimulus that has done so much to keep the single currency and its member states afloat.The governor of the Bank of Canada joined the frenzy of hawkish comments in an interview that had him saying low rates had done their job.Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen, in London for a speech at the Royal Academy, pledged the US central bank to raising rates in accordance with its stated policy, despite some forecasts showing that recent growth upgrades could prove to be a false dawn.Bond dealers listened to all these comments and went into meltdown. Could it be, they asked, that the years of cheap and plentiful central bank funds were coming to an end? Within minutes a bond sell-off was in full swing.Fortunately, a more considered position eventually held sway and the markets settled down. A closer look at Carney, Draghi and Yellens comments showed that little had changed.Britain is still in the grip of uncertainty political and economic as the early skirmishes in a two-year battle over Brexit have clearly shown. Carneys almost academic discussion of when rates could rise was heavily caveated with doom about Brexit and its potential for harm. Draghi was essentially restating his existing position and Yellen was doing the same.To emphasise the point, Japans central bank governor, Haruhiko Kuroda, said he would maintain Tokyos loose monetary policy and low interest rates for the foreseeable future.And a look at the economic data shows there is a more mixed picture than the bald GDP numbers would have investors believe. As one leading economic consultancy said, as the stock- and bond-market gyrations eased, rising inflation and sluggish wage growth, among other things, means that UK growth is expected to deteriorate this year. As with Draghis comments, we think investors have misinterpreted Carneys message, and a rate hike this year is not the most likely outcome.Meanwhile a GfK survey of UK consumer confidence fell to within touching distance of its post-referendum low, as households face a squeeze on their real incomes.Essentially, Europe still has its problems, as the Italian bank bailouts last week illustrated. The Nordic countries have high household debt ratios and the French are only at base camp in the long climb to economic credibility. These are not overheating economies that need cooling with interest rate rises. They are economies bedevilled by the legacies of the last crisis, many of which still need to be dealt with.End of the line for heads-I-win-tails-you-lose rail franchising Whatever the fate of the east coast rail franchise, Virgin Trains has at least shown some staying power. On a line that promised easy pickings, first GNER and then National Express each lasted only 18 months before announcing they couldnt make it work. The present incumbent has managed two years before confirming it would be seeking some form of bailout , demanding that the Department for Transport renegotiate with preferential terms for the Stagecoach-Virgin partnership.The east coast line was reprivatised in 2015 after more than five years in the public sector. It had returned more than 1bn in premiums to the Treasury, with dividends on top a figure that Stagecoach confidently asserted it would trump. It may still do so. But the bulk of the promised 3.3bn was due towards the end of the eight-year franchise and it is already balking.What has reprivatisation brought? Some investment in customer service: 21m spent on train interiors and ticketing innovations. But Virgin wasted no time in making passengers pay even more: its stealth rises alone doubled the average rail fare increase across Britain in 2016.Rail franchising has teetered on the brink since the fiasco that saw Virgin and Stagecoach being left to run the other London to Scotland mainline, west coast, in 2012. Genuine competition on UK railways has been the exception ever since the network was privatised.Now there is the unedifying prospect of the government funnelling more money into the pockets of two of Britains richest men, Brian Souter and Richard Branson, who have made a fortune in dividends since privatisation. The DfT must not perpetuate the scandal of heads-I-win-tails-you-lose franchising, where business wants the taxpayer and fare-paying passenger to underwrite its losses.The government should not expend energy and money trying to bail out another private firm. Rather, it should call its bluff, harness the public mood, and nationalise east coast now.Doing the maths matters, even at miserably low interest Andy Haldane, chief economist of the Bank of England , made an interesting observation last week. For whatever reason, he said, there is far less of a social stigma attached to failings in maths than there is to reading and writing. Its socially acceptable not to have a head for figures, not to have a maths brain.Haldane was speaking in his role as trustee of charity National Numeracy , and he is quite right. Indeed, it can be a badge of honour to admit that a working out a percentage is too hard. Haldane, however, demonstrated his own prowess by calculating that 8,400 of savings at a 2.5% rate of interest would generate 210 in the first year. That was a hypothetical example, obviously, given that data from Moneyfacts shows a third of savings accounts now earn less than the 0.25% base rate. Even so, Haldane should keep banging on about numeracy.Topics Interest rates Business leader Economics Bank of England European Central Bank Virgin Trains Rail industry comment'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jul/02/horror-stories-of-central-bankers-have-no-interest-rate-shock'|'2017-07-02T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'f3d9327b3cdddeadf57d54c06ef9d2f93484121d'|'Energy Future warns delay would kill Oncor sale to Buffett'|'July 26, 2017 / 7:21 PM / an hour ago Energy Future warns delay would kill Oncor sale to Buffett Jessica DiNapoli 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett visits the BNSF booth before the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. May 6, 2017. Rick Wilking/File Photo WILMINGTON, Del. (Reuters) - Warren Buffett''s Berkshire Hathaway Inc ( BRKa.N ) will walk away from its $9 billion acquisition of Oncor Electric Delivery Co if the deal is delayed, an attorney for the parent company of Texas'' largest utility told a bankruptcy judge on Wednesday. Energy Future Holdings Corp, the bankrupt owner of Oncor, disclosed Berkshire Hathaway''s warning as the judge considers a request by the utility''s biggest creditor, hedge fund Elliott Management Corp, to hold up the deal with Buffett so it can put together its own $9.3 billion bid for Oncor. "(Berkshire Hathaway) may not go away forever, but they have told us and we have no reason to doubt them, that they will go away," Energy Future''s lawyer Chad Husnick told U.S. bankruptcy court Judge Christopher Sontchi at a hearing in Wilmington, Delaware. "They may come back but it''s ... going to be for a lower price," Husnick added. Berkshire Hathaway''s deal for Oncor is due to be approved by a bankruptcy court on Aug. 10, but Elliott is asking for a delay of 35 to 40 days so it can put together financing for its own bid for the utility. If Elliott''s request for a delay is granted, Berkshire has the right to end its deal, according to court papers. Energy Future filed bankruptcy three years ago, and two earlier deals for Oncor fell apart after facing regulatory hurdles. Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in Wilmington, Delaware; Additional reporting by David French in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-oncor-m-a-idUSKBN1AB2PK'|'2017-07-26T22:20:00.000+03:00' +'5173db40d58cce33ab54a5700413823f30d586f9'|'U.S. prosecutors ask judge to silence Shkreli during trial'|'Business News - Wed Jul 5, 2017 - 12:39am BST U.S. prosecutors ask judge to silence Shkreli during trial Martin Shkreli, former chief executive officer of Turing Pharmaceuticals and KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc, departs after a hearing at U.S. Federal Court in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., June 26, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson By Jessica DiNapoli - NEW YORK NEW YORK Federal prosecutors on Monday asked a U.S. judge for a gag order muzzling former drug company executive Martin Shkreli, on trial for securities fraud charges, arguing that his statements to media could taint the jury and disrupt the case, court papers show. Shkreli''s attorney, Benjamin Brafman, asked the judge that day to reject the request on the grounds that his client had a First Amendment right to speak freely, according to the filings. Shkreli last week told reporters outside the court that an alleged victim of his was not actually a victim because she made money from his investments, attorneys for the U.S. government told U.S. Judge Kiyo Matsumoto in a letter on Monday. He also directly spoke on camera to a journalist and appeared to be commenting on the case on social media platform Twitter under the handle @BLMBro, they added. Brafman said Shkreli was in a delicate emotional state, and believed that the press focuses unfairly on some of his negative characteristics. "His comments are the somewhat natural, though unfortunate consequence of a young man with a demonstrated history of significant anxiety being at the centre of a supremely difficult time in his life," Brafman wrote in the filing. Dubbed the "pharma bro," Shkreli, 34, gained notoriety for raising the price of a life-saving drug by 5,000 percent. The charges he faces stem from his management of pharmaceutical company Retrophin Inc ( RTRX.O ) and the hedge fund MSMB Capital Management from 2009 to 2014. Prosecutors have claimed that Shkreli engaged in a Ponzi-like scheme in which he defrauded investors in MSMB and took $11 million (8.5 million) in assets from Retrophin to repay them. Shkreli has pleaded not guilty to charges that include securities fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Federal prosecutors have asked Judge Matsumoto sequester the jury in the event that the court does not issue the gag order. In their letter, federal prosecutors said Shkreli visited reporters in a court breakroom last week and remarked on the credibility of witnesses who testified. Prosecutors also wrote that Shkreli on YouTube had identified himself as BLMBro. The BLMBro Twitter account has posted stories critical of witnesses and evidence in the trial, they added. Shkreli in January was suspended from Twitter for harassing a female journalist. Brafman has argued that Shkreli is a misunderstood genius who earned his wealthy investors millions of dollars. (Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in New York; Editing by Richard Chang) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-crime-shkreli-idUKKBN19P2MI'|'2017-07-05T02:28:00.000+03:00' +'a80114616812cc10c99f0c6e06d71b7bd1d0f54f'|'Qatar signals LNG price war for market share in Asia'|'Energy - Wed Jul 5, 2017 - 10:48am BST Qatar signals LNG price war for market share in Asia A man looks as the world''s biggest Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) tanker DUHAIL as she crosses through the Suez Canal April 1, 2008. The Qatari tanker, which was built to transfer LNG from Qatar to Europe and the U.S., is on her first trip ever from Qatar to Spain. REUTERS/Stringer (EGYPT) - RTR1YZYN By Henning Gloystein and Mark Tay - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Qatar''s plan to boost liquefied natural gas (LNG) output by 30 percent is the opening shot in a price war for customers in Asia pitting the Gulf state against competitors from the United States, Russia and Australia. Qatar, facing regional isolation in a diplomatic dispute with its Gulf neighbors, took energy markets by surprise on Tuesday when it said it would raise its LNG production to 100 million tonnes per year - equivalent to a third of current global supplies - within the next five to seven years. It suggests the wealthy kingdom is preparing for a lengthy battle with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, who were due to meet on Wednesday to decide whether to continue sanctions they imposed on Qatar over accusations it was aiding terrorism and courting regional rival Iran. Qatar''s move will add gas to an already oversupplied market in a thinly disguised challenge to other exporters who are also raising their output. With low production costs and infrastructure already in place, Qatar is well placed to come out on top, analysts say. Flooding the market with more LNG will help defend its place as the world''s top exporter, a position challenged by Australia. "Qatar is losing market share, so it could be about becoming number one again in LNG," said Neil Beveridge, senior oil and gas analyst at research and brokerage firm Sanford C. Bernstein. FOCUS ON ASIA LNG is super-cooled natural gas that is transported on tankers around the world. Long a niche product, it has become an industry darling as natural gas is a cleaner fossil fuel than oil or coal and is also versatile, with potential uses ranging from power generation to heating and as a transport fuel. For an interactive graphic on Qatar, click tmsnrt.rs/2sinDGg U.S. and European oil majors such as Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron have invested huge sums over the last decade - often more than they have spent on oil - in an attempt to dominate the LNG market, especially through mega-projects in Australia such as Chevron''s Gorgon or Shell''s Prelude. The main battleground for LNG market share is Asia, which consumes 70 percent of the fuel and where it is seen as a key fuel to meet soaring energy demand without the rampant pollution that comes with coal. The world''s biggest LNG buyers are utilities, especially from Japan and South Korea. Sources at these utilities said they were surprised by Qatar''s move. "We would have to figure out why Qatar is planning to boost its output.. We don''t have plans yet to import new LNG cargoes from Qatar," said Kim Young-ki, a spokesman at Korea Gas Corp. (KOGAS), one of the world''s biggest single LNG buyers. RAMPING UP PRODUCTION Qatar''s announcement came just a day after Iran signed its first deal with France''s Total and China''s state-owned oil company CNPC to produce gas from a field it shares with Qatar. Beveridge, at Sanford C. Bernstein, said Qatar''s move to raise output "could be a response to Total restarting development work" on Iran''s side of the gas reserves. Trying to cement its own market share, Russia''s Gazprom the world''s biggest single producer of natural gas, said late on Tuesday that it would start pumping gas to China through a new pipeline by late 2019, earlier than many expected. China is already the top consumer of most commodities, including oil and coal, and as part of a huge investment program to expand its LNG and pipeline infrastructure it is also on its way to become a top natural gas user. Australia has invested hundreds of billions of dollars in a bid to overtake Qatar as the world''s top LNG exporter by 2019, a challenge Qatar is now rising to. Qatar, whose state-owned Qatar Petroleum has partnered with U.S. oil giant Exxon Mobil to produce its LNG, has a strong interest in defending its position. LNG, as well as exports of condensate, a super-light form of crude oil that''s a byproduct of gas extraction, have made Qatar rich despite a 70 percent fall in LNG prices and a more than 50 percent drop in oil prices since 2014. Ramping up LNG exports to 100 million tonnes a year would, at current prices, reap revenues of around $30 billion, with another $6 billion coming from condensate. That equates to $120,000 per person, helping Qatar to become the world''s richest nation, according to the World Bank. STIFF COMPETITION The main producers challenged by Qatar''s move are those who have yet to attract a final investment decision, especially in the United States. So far only Cheniere exports U.S. LNG, but there are proposals with a total capacity of 150 million tonnes per year. Chong Zhi Xin, at energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie, said Qatar''s low cost LNG expansion "is pushing a lot of new projects out of the market". Flooding the market with more LNG at a time of oversupply and when buyers are reluctant to sign on new long-term contracts which have so far dominated supplies is expected to boost trading in Asia''s spot LNG market, which currently makes up just 15 percent of overall supplies, as more uncontracted supply gets exchanged according to short-term demand. The winners in this aggressive fight for market share are consumers. "Expansion of LNG capacity translates to lower for longer LNG prices," said Kerry Anne Shanks, head of Asia gas and LNG research at Wood Mackenzie. "That''s good news for gas buyers." (Reporting by Henning Gloystein and Mark Tay; Additional reporting by Aaron Sheldrick in TOKYO, Jane Chung in SEOUL; Writing by Henning Gloystein; Editing by Alex Richardson)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-qatar-lng-idUKKBN19Q0YX'|'2017-07-05T12:33:00.000+03:00' +'6363521c02f6d1279ac3082c089726cd4d555570'|'Craft beer in America goes flat'|'JULY 4th is a day to celebrate American independence, first and foremost, but also to grill meat and swill beer. For American beer lovers in particular, the pint-glass runneth over in terms of choice. They had 5,000 breweries to pick from this year; 35 years ago there were under 100. Drinkers can enjoy time-honoured traditions, guzzling Budweiser to wash down all that sizzling beef, and newer ones such as sipping ale finished with fennel, liquorice and anise at Trst, a Brooklyn bar.For the producers of beer, the mood is darker. Though the number of brands has proliferated, the number of drinkers has not. Sales have been flat for a few years and 2017 has been especially slow so far. The volumes of beer sold at stores for the three months to June 17th were 1% lower than in the same period last year, according to Nielsen, a market-research firm. Brewers are now waiting with some anxiety for data about sales during the July 4th holiday. The start of the year has been as bad as I can remember, says Trevor Stirling of Sanford C. Bernstein, a research firm. The dip is the result of two problems, one old and one new. First, the consumption of wine and spirits is growing more quickly than that of beer, and has been for nearly 20 years. Women are drinking more booze but often prefer wine and spirits. Men are turning to a wider range of drinks, including whisky and wine.The second difficulty is that after years of effervescent growth, craft beer has gone flat. Volumes grew in 2016, but half as quickly as in 2015 (see chart). In the 13 weeks to June 17th craft-beer sales and volumes both dropped, by 0.7% and 1.5%, respectively. It may be that craft beer has reached its natural limit, both because there are only so many people who want to buy it and because there is only so much shelf-space that stores can provide.Olivier Nicolai of Morgan Stanley, a bank, notes that many distributors and retailers are weary of dealing with a jumble of brands, with some cases of beer going bad before they can be sold. It is hard for retailers to know which beers to stock because consumers, spoiled for choice, have proved fickle. Sales of Saison farmhouse beers, a spicy pale ale, for example, rose by 28% in 2015, according to Nielsen, only to fall in 2016.As the market loses its fizz, debates are intensifying about whether independent beer companies can thrive in the shadow of behemoths such as AB InBev, which controls about half the American beer market. Last year the group, which is backed by 3G Capital, a New York-based private-equity firm, bulked up further by buying Britains SABMiller. By some measures AB InBevs American division, Anheuser-Busch, looks less than intimidating. It is experiencing a much steeper drop in beer demand than craft brewers. In the four weeks to June 17th its Bud Light and Budweiser brands each saw volumes drop by more than 8%, declines not seen since 2009, in the depths of the financial crisis.But small brewers still fret about its scale. It has recently shown interest in buying small brands as well as big ones, downing nine American craft brewers in just the past three years. Some small brewers worry that AB InBevs craft brands will push aside their own. Bob Pease of the Brewers Association in Boulder, Colorado, which represents independent beer firms, argues that AB InBevs expanding portfolio of beer makers and its relationships with distributors may mean that few rivals make it onto delivery trucks. His group introduced a new seal in June to help consumers find properly independent brewers.Joo Castro Neves, head of AB InBevs American business, disputes the idea that his company has a stranglehold on the market. There is no way that Anheuser-Busch or anyone else can impose a beer on the consumer, he insists. Brewers both large and small may find that increasingly hard to contest.This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "Half-empty"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21724864-slowing-beer-market-and-might-ab-inbev-has-small-brewers-worried-craft-beer-america?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-07-06T22:49:00.000+03:00' +'348cf240ca2a37e27923be41a92d9e21d4bbad8b'|'African Markets - Factors to watch on July 31'|'NAIROBI, July 31 (Reuters) - The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect African markets on Monday. - - - - - EVENTS: *UGANDA and KENYA - Statistics offices expected to release July consumer price index data. GLOBAL MARKETS Asian shares turned positive after solid Chinese data on Monday following a lacklustre start, while the dollar edged up but remained capped by U.S. political uncertainty. GLOBAL OIL Oil prices hit a two-month high on Monday, lifted by a tightening U.S. crude market and the threat of sanctions against OPEC-member Venezuela. EMERGING MARKETS For the top emerging markets news, double click on AFRICA STOCKS For the latest news on African stocks, click on SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS South Africa''s rand weakened on Friday, faltering in the face of technical barriers and political worries after an executive at the power utility Eskom was suspended pending an investigation into graft allegations. KENYA MARKETS The Kenyan shilling was broadly stable against the dollar on Friday but was expected to weaken due to a slight rise in demand from oil importers, traders said. KENYA VIOLENCE A gunman and a police officer were killed in an attack on the home of Kenya''s deputy president in the western town of Eldoret, a senior administrator said on Sunday, just over a week before a national election. NIGERIA INSURGENCY Nigeria has scaled up its military response to the Boko Haram insurgency and will secure the northeast, the acting president''s spokesman said on Sunday, adding that the search for oil workers abducted by suspected members of the jihadist group will go on. NIGERIA TELECOMS Nigeria''s Senate has withdrawn a report that largely exonerated South African mobile phone giant MTN of accusations of illegally repatriating $14 billion and that rebuked the Nigerian central bank for regulatory failures. TANZANIA MINING Tanzania is not targeting foreign employees of Acacia Mining Plc , the immigration department said, adding that the temporary detainment of one the London-listed miner''s senior staff was part of wider checks in an immigration crackdown. For the latest precious metals report click on For the latest base metals report click on For the latest crude oil report click on '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/africa-factors-idUSL5N1KM0DC'|'2017-07-31T07:54:00.000+03:00' +'01964dbd99722e27f97eb850cdac354bbde97520'|'UPDATE 1-Engine delays hit Airbus profits, delivery targets fragile'|'Edition United States July 27, 2017 / 5:26 AM / 3 hours ago Pratt & Whitney in hot seat as Airbus profits fall Tim Hepher and Cyril Altmeyer 5 Min Read An Airbus A380, the world''s largest jetliner, takes part in flying display, during the 52nd Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport near Paris, France June 25, 2017. Pascal Rossignol PARIS (Reuters) - Airbus turned up the heat on engine maker Pratt & Whitney over delays that have disrupted its biggest production line, after reporting a sharp drop in mid-year profits on Thursday. The European planemaker also said it would cut output of the A380, the world''s biggest jetliner, to just eight from 2019, putting on life support a project that has been undercut by a generation of nimbler, fuel-efficient long-haul planes. Airbus''s ( AIR.PA ) shares fell as much as 4.6 percent as investors contrasted its fortunes with those of U.S. arch-rival Boeing ( BA.N ), whose stock hit a record high on Wednesday after its quarterly profit and cashflow beat estimates. Airbus Chief Executive Tom Enders challenged Pratt & Whitney, whose fuel-saving Geared Turbofan (GTF) engine is tied to thousands of orders for small A320neo jetliners, to "work harder" to fix delays and reliability problems. In an unusual public split with a major supplier, he said the engine maker had failed to meet earlier commitments and took issue with confidence over deliveries voiced by Pratt parent United Technologies ( UTX.N ). "You can assume that Airbus is fully in the picture and knows what it is talking about," he told reporters, asked about the difference in tone accompanying their respective forecasts. "If there is a difference in messaging and perception, then there is a difference, but our picture is the picture we have at Airbus and ... the situation is unsatisfactory," he said. Pratt & Whitney had no immediate comment. United Technologies this week said it was "confident" about building a total of 350-400 GTFs this year. Airbus reiterated its own delivery goal but added a proviso, saying it depended on engine makers meeting commitments. Jefferies analyst Howard Rubel wrote that only 300 GTF engines may qualify as paid customer deliveries in 2017. Delays in A320neo deliveries helped slice a third off Airbus first-half profit on flat revenue. Its shares fell despite progress on the ramp-up of the wide-body A350 jet and confirmation of financial targets. United Technologies shares fell 1.3 percent. a380 Output Cut Enders confirmed Airbus had delivered "around 15" Pratt-powered A320neo twin-engined aircraft in the first half compared with around 100 planned for that variant in 2017. Asked how this squared with the 134 engines that Pratt says it delivered in the first half, Enders said deliveries of aircraft depended on customer acceptance. Industry sources say some airlines have been refusing to take Pratt-powered jets because of the lack of available spares. India, whose airlines have ordered hundreds of Pratt-powered A320neos, said Pratt had told its regulators it would address delays affecting GoAir and IndiGo. Air India has also had delays in getting jets with CFM engines, a minister said. The A320neo is one of several challenges as Airbus tries to accelerate output of new jetliners, fix glitches on its A400M military plane and squeeze costs out of the slow-selling A380. Airbus said it would cut output of the double-decker jet to eight in 2019, a move that insiders said was designed to stretch the dwindling order backlog into the next decade while Airbus tries to convince Emirates, IAG and others to place new orders. That compares with 15 this year and 12 in 2018 and means production will continue at what Airbus calls a marginal loss. Enders said Airbus was working on sales campaigns but the probability of immediate success was "not ... necessarily high". The second output cut in a year puts off any decision on whether to close the iconic A380, which would force the company to pay redundancies and writedowns but also ease some pressure on its balance sheet from project debts to European governments. Enders said Airbus was in "constructive talks" with Qatar Airways over a recent cancellation of four A350s, adding, "I think we will find a way out" of the issue. Airbus'' second quarter operating profit fell 27 percent to 859 million euros on revenues of 15.27 billion. That fell short of the 910 million euros on revenue of 15.82 billion expected by analysts polled by Reuters. Reporting by Tim Hepher, Cyril Altmeyer, Victoria Bryan, Aditi Shah; Editing by Mark Potter and Susan Fenton 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-airbus-results-idUSKBN1AC0GJ'|'2017-07-27T08:31:00.000+03:00' +'e0485b4581a1b0d5599561d54a65602ccc85fba2'|'Inflation elusive, but central bankers getting twitchy'|'Business 12:07pm BST Inflation elusive, but central bankers getting twitchy left right FILE PHOTO: Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz (L) speaks with Bank of England governor Mark Carney as they gather for a family photo after a meeting of G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors during the IMF-World Bank annual meetings in Washington October 10, 2014. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo 1/3 left right FILE PHOTO: U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen (R) speaks with European Central Bank President Mario Draghi at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming August 22, 2014. REUTERS/David Stubbs/File Photo 2/3 left right People walk past a retail store in downtown Sao Paulo, Brazil, June 21, 2017. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker 3/3 By Ross Finley - LONDON LONDON A significant pickup in inflation still remains tantalizingly out of reach in most developed economies -- aside from asset prices -- yet several central banks are leaning toward launching or stepping up efforts that could slow it down. What has shifted in recent months is an acceptance that fiscal policy, touted around the turn of the year as the essential comeback kid after the shock election of Donald Trump as U.S. president, has not yet come back. Much of this is because of a lack of progress on Trump''s tax cut agenda, dimming down what was called the "Trumpflation" trade in financial markets and now even calling into question a multi-year rally in the U.S. dollar. But what this does is thrust central bankers -- who only six months ago were said to be waning in influence -- back into the spotlight. Many seasoned central bank watchers say past experience shows that until inflation really accelerates convincingly, and for a sustained period for reasons other than a rise in the price of oil, the best monetary policy is to be doing nothing. The latest minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee''s policy discussions show a split over inflation, which is sure to cast unusually sharp focus on Fed Chair Janet Yellen''s testimony to both houses of Congress in the coming week. Indeed, with the exception of persistent four-decade-low first-time claims for jobless benefits, U.S. economic data has been undercutting relatively modest expectations for the past several months, particularly on measures of inflation. Wage inflation across most of the developed world, widely viewed by economists as the most compelling and potent driver of sustained overall price inflation, hasn''t picked up the way central bankers have predicted it would either. The Fed, however, remains set on further interest rate rises, and is now contemplating how and when to start reducing its $4.5 trillion balance sheet, bloated by years of mass asset purchases as stimulus once it had no interest rate left to cut. "Of course the evolution of the economic data over the next few months remains of critical importance," notes Investec''s chief economist Philip Shaw. "In particular, will the momentum of the economy be maintained and is the recent run of soft inflation idiosyncratic, as most senior Fed officials seem to believe?" WORTHWHILE CANADIAN INITIATIVE? It''s not only Yellen who might set the mood in the coming week. The Bank of Canada meets to set policy on July 12 following a run-up in the Canadian dollar, with markets leaning toward expecting the first rate rise in nearly seven years. The domestic debate is partly over whether a rate rise is now warranted in part to tamp down rampant urban housing markets -- particularly in Vancouver and Toronto -- as soaring real estate prices have pushed Canada''s household debt to income ratio to near the highest in the world. Like in other similar economies, Canada''s consumer price inflation on its own does not point convincingly to a need for the Bank of Canada to deliver higher interest rates. "Its decision one way or the other could have an effect on markets beyond its shores as it will be seen as a proxy for policy normalization over a wider jurisdiction," notes Shaw. For some, discussion of "normalization" appears eerily similar to 2011, when the European Central Bank, faced with a similarly shaky-looking inflation outlook, raised interest rates in what is now regarded as a mistake, arguing higher rates would be supportive of business confidence. A punishing sovereign debt crisis followed and a period of eye-wateringly high unemployment, ushering in an expansion of the central bank''s balance sheet by well over a trillion euros and counting, along with negative interest rate policy. For now, the ECB appears to be moving very gingerly toward unveiling how and when it will trim back its tens of billions worth of monthly bond purchases, but that date is approaching. Some of the Bank of England''s Monetary Policy Committee also now think that now is the time to raise rates -- despite the uncertainty of Britain starting to negotiate its way out of the European Union. They are prompted by a surge in inflation caused in large part from a plunge in sterling after the Brexit vote. For now, they remain in a minority, but the possibility has supported the pound and markets have been put on notice. But a change of mood appears to have taken place at the Bank of Japan, however, which is backing off initial attempts to signal an imminent shift away from its ultra-easy monetary policy. On Friday it launched a bond-buying bonanza, offering to snap up unlimited quantities in order to calm markets. (Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-economy-outlook-idUKKBN19S1HV'|'2017-07-07T13:53:00.000+03:00' +'b80c8505fa2c5bcf718044d9fe547ce6da074823'|'Record number of advisers quit London''s AIM market, study finds'|'July 23, 2017 / 11:10 PM / 12 minutes ago Record number of advisers quit London''s AIM market, study finds Reuters Staff 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Companies leaving London''s junior stock market because a broker or investment bank has quit as their adviser has hit a record this year, an accountancy firm specialising in the sector said. Fourteen companies left London''s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) .FTAI in the year to June 30 after the resignation of their "nominated adviser", known as NOMADs. This matches the highest total and is up from just three in 2011/2, the study released on Monday by UHY Hacker Young, an accountancy firm that audits more than 20 firms on the index, found. NOMADs are responsible for ensuring their clients follow the rules of the AIM market, as well as often providing share dealing and research on the company. "AIM is facing a real crunch among NOMADs, with many brokers and investment banks reducing their exposure to riskier parts of the junior market," Laurence Sacker, managing partner at UHY Hacker Young, said of the report''s findings. "This is particularly affecting smaller or more complex AIM-listed businesses, or those based in emerging economies, as NOMADs are deciding that they are unable to take the responsibility the stock exchange requires." Advisers quit for a number of different reasons, Sacker said, but added "the most likely reason is they have lost trust in the company''s management." AIM-listed companies must replace a resigned adviser within a month, or face being removed from the index. High profile delistings in the last year include Sable Mining SBLM.L, whose NOMAD Cantor Fitzgerald resigned in September after its CEO was indicted for corruption in Liberia. [nL8N19155J] [nL8N1BD4T1] [nRSN8399Ja] The index, hosted at the London Stock Exchange ( LSE.L ), has struggled with its large number of Chinese listings, with a 2016 survey finding two thirds of NOMADs had faced difficulties communicating with Asian companies. [nL5N18H3SP] A number of Chinese companies, including LED International and Asia Ceramics Holdings, have been delisted from the index after their NOMADs resigned. [nRST7368Ea] Earlier in July, the London Stock Exchange launched a consultation on AIM, proposing NOMADs work harder to improve their due diligence of companies they take on as clients. The average AIM stock has failed to return investors money, with the index falling 4.4 pct since it launched in 1995, according to Reuters data. That compares to a gain of more than 400 percent for the FTSE 250 .FTMC over the same period. Reporting by Alasdair Pal; editing by Alexander Smith 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-exchange-aim-idUKKBN1A80Z3'|'2017-07-24T02:10:00.000+03:00' +'d8aec487abefb83884efbd1d4edd3333424d26bc'|'Hail, pummeled cars loom over U.S. insurance results'|'July 24, 2017 / 5:02 AM / 9 minutes ago Hail, pummeled cars loom over U.S. insurance results Suzanne Barlyn 5 Min Read July 24 (Reuters) - A hailstorm that pounded down on a Subaru dealership in Plano, Texas, barely lasted 30 minutes, but left behind a trail of smashed windows, dented hoods and millions of dollars'' worth of claims for an insurer to cough up. Damage to thousands of cars in dealership lots across Texas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and other states are just some of the weather-related losses that have been hitting U.S. property insurers particularly hard in the first half of this year. "It got everything on the car - roofs, sides, mirrors and back glasses," said Ronnie Cohen, new car director of Subaru of Plano, describing the trail of destruction by golf-ball-sized hail that inflicted at least $4 million in damage to 311 cars plus $500,000 to the dealership building in March. Weather-related losses loom over the insurance industry, which writes policies for everything from individual homes and cars to large commercial real estate complexes. The profit damage is becoming evident in second-quarter results. On Thursday, insurer The Travelers Companies Inc reported a 10.4 percent drop in second quarter profit, hurt by higher catastrophe losses. Those losses, net of reinsurance, rose to $403 million in the second quarter, from $333 million a year earlier, mainly due to wind and hail storms across the United States, Travelers said. Higher investment returns helped offset some of the pain. Analysts expect similar losses to weigh on American International Group Inc, Allstate Corp, Hartford Financial Services Group Inc and Arch Capital Group Ltd when they announce results in the coming weeks. All told, U.S. insurers paid out $15.5 billion to cover claims related to severe storms that produced conditions such as hail and fierce winds during the first half of 2017, the second-costliest on record for such damage, according to Aon PLC''s reinsurance broker, Aon Benfield. Steady Stream of Storms The bad weather shows no signs of abating. A steady stream of storm systems that trigger hail and fierce winds has traveled out of the Rocky Mountains and into parts of the central and eastern United States, said Steve Bowen, an Aon Benfield meteorologist. A warmer-than-usual Gulf of Mexico has also helped fuel storms. "We''ve seen this type of pattern many times before, but the frequency has been higher this year," Bowen said. "Plus, these events have impacted densely populated areas - which drives the financial loss." Above average sea-surface temperatures are among factors that could set off a hyper-active Atlantic hurricane season later this year, meteorologists said. They do not predict whether any will make landfall in the United States. Weather-related losses and risks are, for the most part, already priced into insurers'' stocks, said Sandler O''Neill analyst Paul Newsome. Weather does not typically prompt insurers to hike premiums, except for unusual situations, such as after Hurricane Andrew in 1992 or Hurricane Katrina in 2005, he said. Some insurers have turned to reinsurers to protect profits. For instance, Ally Financial Inc, a bank that caters to the auto industry, put reinsurance in place midway through the first quarter after strong hail storms ravaged dealerships it insures. Nonetheless, Ally sustained $42 million in weather-related losses during the first quarter. Weather problems have continued into the second quarter, Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Brown told Reuters. "It''s nasty," Brown said, but "I sleep a lot better at night knowing that we have reinsurance in place." For their part, car dealers in hail-battered states are trying to unload dented inventory at so-called "hail sales." Prestige Imports in Lakewood, Colorado, which sells high-end brands like Porsche and Audi, was battered by hail on May 8. It is offering deals on a "huge inventory" of damaged vehicles, according to its website. At the Plano Subaru, mechanics repaired many hail-damaged cars, which have passed safety inspections and now sell at least $8,000 to $10,000 below the sticker price, Cohen said. The dealership was glad to have secured bad weather insurance before the storms, he said. It still has to pay a $240,000 deductible, but much less than the full $4 million tab. (Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Frances Kerry) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-insurance-weather-idUSL1N1KB15Z'|'2017-07-24T08:00:00.000+03:00' +'e920a74cdeda8753a3a701918b845560541ba5fe'|'China''s HNA CEO denies banks scaling back credit'|'July 24, 2017 / 6:54 PM / in 17 minutes China''s HNA CEO denies banks scaling back credit Matthew Miller and Rachel Armstrong 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - HNA Group CEO Adam Tan has pushed back against media reports that the Chinese aviation-to-financial services conglomerate faces mounting pressure from its bankers and regulators, even as the pace of its acquisitions slows. Tan told Reuters in an interview on Monday that HNA maintains a strong working relationship with its main Wall Street banks, which include JPMorgan ( JPM.N ), UBS ( UBSG.S ) and Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ), and reports that some were scaling back credit to the group were not true. "I think we are operating our company legally, we have nothing to hide, and we are fine," Tan said. "I talk to my Chinese authorities, I think they are happy. Life goes on." The only bank that has stopped working with HNA is Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Tan said, adding the bank had not dealt closely with HNA to begin with. Tan characterized as "routine" a loan check by banks ordered last month by the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), adding this was not a major hindrance to the group''s business, given it had already been subject to regular scrutiny the CBRC. "I''ve been reviewed by them (the CBRC) for more than 10 years," Tan said, adding that it was just one of many regulators the company dealt with. China''s banking regulator ordered a group of lenders to assess their exposure to offshore acquisitions by a handful of companies that have been on an overseas buying spree. "They are helping us. I am happy, I am getting used to it," Tan added. Reporting by Matthew Miller and Rachel Armstrong; Editing by Ian Geoghegan 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-hna-group-structure-ceo-idUKKBN1A92DH'|'2017-07-24T21:49:00.000+03:00' +'29cd0a1399251bb5963f4b58a0a8758f9e8335d2'|'Short seller Cohodes targets yet another Canadian firm: Exchange Income'|'Money - Wed Jul 5, 2017 - 2:28pm EDT Short seller Cohodes hits Canada again with latest target: Exchange Income By Jennifer Ablan and Alastair Sharp - NEW YORK/TORONTO NEW YORK/TORONTO Short seller Marc Cohodes, who has bet against the shares of six Canadian-based companies including Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc and Home Capital Group Inc, said on Wednesday that he is targeting yet another Canadian firm - Exchange Income Corp. Cohodes told Reuters that Exchange Income - a Winnipeg-based company focused on opportunities in aerospace and aviation services and equipment, and manufacturing - does not generate enough cash to pay the juicy dividend it provides investors. Exchange Income Corp said in a statement that the report is based on a number of statements, assumptions and opinions with which "we strenuously disagree." Cohodes'' targeting of Exchange is the latest in a string of moves against Canadian companies this year, adding to the short position in excavation company Badger Daylighting he made public in May. That same month U.S. hedge fund Muddy Waters said it was short Asanko Gold.. Short interest in Canada''s biggest banks spiked late in 2015 and remained elevated until April this year as some investors took bets on the collapse of the country''s housing market and that a rout in commodities markets would lead to a surge in bad loans. But those positions, along with record short bets against the Canadian dollar, have simmered down in recent months as prices for oil and copper have stabilized, moves by the government to cool sharp jumps in Toronto and Vancouver house prices take effect, and as the central bank turned hawkish. Cohodes said his focus on Canadian firms stems from his belief that there is no cohesive watchdog for nefarious company activity in the country, which lacks a federal regulator. Cohodes, who worked at a short-selling hedge fund but now raises chickens in California and invests his own money, has also targeted Intertain Group Ltd, Concordia International Corp and Equitable Group Inc. Wendy Berman, a securities lawyer with Cassels Brock in Toronto, said the patchwork of provincial regulators can lead to spotty enforcement of lapses in corporate reporting. "Without a national securities regulator, you don''t have a national (enforcement) agenda, you have a local agenda, Berman said, adding that the provincial regulators vary in terms of their resources, experience and priorities. Efforts to create a national body have long been stymied by political bickering, with a cooperative body incorporating the federal government and those provinces that have agreed to sign up not due to launch until 2018. Exchange Income Corp shares fell as much as 10 percent to C$29.38 soon after the Reuters report, but pared losses and were last down 6.3 percent in early afternoon trade. "They don''t have the cash flow, earnings or any form of business to generate a dividend yet they call it Exchange Income," Cohodes said in a telephone interview. Exchange said it has maintained a consistent strategy since its inception in 2004, enabling it to grow profitably and return a reliable and growing dividend to its shareholders. "Nothing has changed," the company said, adding that since 2004 it has paid shareholders C$300 million in dividends while maintaining a strong balance sheet with limited leverage. RECENT BETS PAID OFF Cohodes'' recent bets have paid off with the collapse of Valeant and Concordia and to some extent Home Capital, which Cohodes considers the "highlight" of his year so far, until Warren Buffett''s Berkshire Hathaway Inc last month agreed to make an equity infusion. "Shortsellers have been profitable in Exchange Income so far this year," said Ihor Dusaniwsky, head of research at S3 Partners, adding that they made 14.75 percent, year-to-date. He said short sellers will fail to get significant short exposure in the stock because of the limited supply and as the cost to borrow the stock goes up. Cohodes declined to disclose the size of his EIC short positions. In November, Exchange Income announced that for the fourth time in the last 24 months, the company was increasing its dividend to an annualized rate of C$2.10, up 4.5 percent. Yet over the last five years, the company has increased its debt load by C$427 million and issued over C$230 million of shares to fund its C$700 million deficit, Cohodes said. (Reporting By Jennifer Ablan; Editing by Denny Thomas and Bernard Orr) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-hedgefunds-cohodes-eic-idUSKBN19Q1QX'|'2017-07-05T16:35:00.000+03:00' +'9b571121d27ba8a802e03c9e8258af9b78138bb5'|'Safran says LEAP-1A had quality problem, delivery goals intact'|'July 28, 2017 / 6:03 AM / 12 hours ago Safran says LEAP-1A had quality problem, delivery goals intact 2 Min Read PARIS, July 28 (Reuters) - Safran has witnessed a "minor" quality problem with a part for its LEAP-1A engine for Airbus jets, but the situation is under control and will not affect 2017 delivery goals, Chief Executive Philippe Petitcolin said on Friday. The problem relates to a turbine disc and does not involve concerns about the part''s design, he told reporters when discussing half-year earnings. Safran developed the engine with General Electric through their CFM International joint-venture, alongside similar models for Boeing and China''s Comac. Boeing reported a quality problem with a batch of engines earlier this year. The production ramp-up for LEAP engines is going smoothly, though the pace of deliveries can vary week by week, Petitcolin said. He also said Safran planned formally to launch an agreed bid for Zodiac Aerospace by the end of the year after winning support from its own shareholders for a reduced offer, following industrial problems at the seats and equipment maker. (Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta) 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/safran-results-ceo-idUSL5N1KJ0V9'|'2017-07-28T09:01:00.000+03:00' +'ce948fbc3023dcc86f84caa79a4996b772118795'|'BoE to hold rates along bumpy road to Brexit - Reuters poll'|'July 18, 2017 / 5:48 AM / 12 minutes ago BoE to hold rates along bumpy road to Brexit - Reuters poll Jonathan Cable 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A man stands outside the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain April 19, 2017. Hannah McKay/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Above-target inflation won''t push the Bank of England to tighten monetary policy this year or next as it waits to see if wage increases catch up with price rises and how divorce talks with the European Union pan out, a Reuters poll found. Britons voted just over a year ago to leave the EU and envoys on Monday began a first round of negotiations on the terms of the split before Britain departs - with or without a deal - at the end of March 2019. There is still little lucidity on what tone the talks will take but several Reuters polls over the past few months have concluded that fractious negotiations would be the worst outcome for both Britain''s economy and sterling. "We expect the exit negotiations to be bumpy," economists at Morgan Stanley wrote in a note to clients. "We see MPC action as dependent on economic performance (and) we assume that the economy will slow and keep them on hold despite inflation overshooting the target." The medians in the poll of economists said the Monetary Policy Committee would hold Bank Rate at its record low of 0.25 percent until 2019. Those forecasters gave, on average, a near one-in-three chance of rates rising before this year is out. Financial markets have fully priced in a 25 basis point hike by May 2018 but the poll said rates will not rise until 2019, ending that year at 0.75 percent. Only two of the 80 economists polled in the past few days expect the MPC to tighten policy when it meets on Aug. 3, but they are joined by four others who expect an increase by end-December. The chances of a hike in August are only one-in-five, according the poll. "Weak GDP and wage growth will keep higher interest rates at bay," said Samuel Tombs at Pantheon Macroeconomics. "Households'' real incomes are set to flatline this year." Consumer spending played a large part in Britain''s economic growth last year but workers'' pay fell further behind inflation in the three months to May, even as the unemployment rate hit a new 42-year low. The MPC is watching wage growth closely as it gauges whether the increase in inflation from the fall in the pound becomes more longer-lasting pressure. The BoE expects wages to rise 2 percent this year before picking up in 2018 and 2019. But that will lag price rises as inflation will average 2.7 percent this year, 2.6 percent next and 2.2 percent in 2019, the Reuters poll found. The MPC targets it at 2 percent. Inflation hit an almost four-year high of 2.9 percent in May, a bigger increase than economists had expected. Figures due later on Tuesday will probably show prices rose at the same annual rate in June. reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=cpurl://apps.cp./Apps/econ-polls?RIC=GBHICY%3DECI Although the predicted recession after Britain voted to leave the bloc never happened, growth slowed sharply at the start of 2017 as consumers felt the hit from rising inflation. GDP growth is forecast between 0.3 and 0.4 percent through to the end of 2018, barely keeping pace with the euro zone. On an annual basis, the forecasts are for 1.6 percent this year and just 1.3 percent in 2017. Polling by Sujith Pai and Vartika Sahu; Editing by Ross Finley and Toby Chopra 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-poll-idUKKBN1A30EB'|'2017-07-18T08:48:00.000+03:00' +'0f0ef7fb096c1b2870c757b1b0a00e2503e7e6c9'|'Hutchison''s Drei buys Tele2 to rival Carlos Slim in Austria'|'July 28, 2017 / 12:26 PM / in 12 minutes Hutchison''s Drei buys Tele2 to rival Carlos Slim in Austria Shadia Nasralla and Kirsti Knolle 3 Min Read VIENNA (Reuters) - Mobile telecoms firm Hutchison Drei Austria ( 0001.HK ) is buying landline-focused Tele2 ( TEL2b.ST ) from its Swedish owner for 95 million euros (84.77 million pounds) to create a rival to Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim''s Telekom Austria ( TELA.VI ). Drei said on Friday the merged group, led by Hong Kong-based Hutchison, would have around 1 billion euros in annual sales and four million mobile, landline and internet lines. This compares with 3.4 million lines and 2016 revenue of 2.6 billion euros at Telekom Austria''s A1 unit, which has so far had a monopoly on these combined telecoms services in the country with a population of 8.7 million. "This is a clear challenge to (Telekom Austria''s) A1," said Drei Austria Chief Executive Jan Trionow at a news conference. "We want to move closer to A1 and will certainly not stop once we''ve reached them." A1 has a larger share of the lucrative market for business customers. Trionow said it was too early to give longer-term earnings and sales guidance. The new management structure was also still being discussed. Tele2 as a brand will be withdrawn from the Austrian market within the next 12 months, he said. Austria is a highly competitive market for telecoms companies, especially in mobile broadband. All major operators, including Deutsche Telekom''s ( DTEGn.DE ) Austrian unit, have an aggressive pricing policy. Hutchison and Slim''s America Movil became key players in the Austrian telecoms market in 2013 and 2014 with the Asian group buying France Telecom''s Orange Austria and Slim becoming the majority owner of former state monopoly Telekom Austria. Both groups invested about a billion euros at the time, hoping for further growth opportunities elsewhere in Europe. As these hopes did not materialise, digital broadband has become the major battleground. The Drei Austria chief said the new group will play an integral part in providing high-speed internet for companies in Austria after the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) warned recently that progress was lagging most rich countries. The government wants companies to have access to high-speed broadband internet even in the remotest parts of the Alpine country by 2020. Hutchison, the number one in mobile internet and mobile entertainment services in Austria, plans to expand its expertise to business customers and generate more than 25 percent of revenue from them in the medium term. At the merged group, that ratio would currently be 22 percent. The deal is expected to close this year, pending regulatory approval. Editing by Alexander Smith and Keith Weir 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hutchison-m-a-tele2-austria-idUKKBN1AD1IJ'|'2017-07-28T15:26:00.000+03:00' +'118352cac1446f0a0660d7cdd5be4d3513613717'|'Europe slides on Ericsson slump, souring bank mood'|'* STOXX 600 down 1.1 pct* Ericsson sinks more than 16 pct after forecast cut* Bank index slips most in 2 months as U.S. lenders drop* IG Group enjoys double-digit gains* Slower sales growth sends Zalando down 7 pctBy Helen ReidLONDON, July 18 (Reuters) - European shares fell on Tuesday after disappointing Ericsson and Lufthansa earnings, while scaled-back expectations of monetary tightening by major central banks dented financial stocks.The pan-European STOXX 600 fell by more than 1 percent, snapping a four-day winning streak, with European banks down by 1.6 percent and lower bond trading revenue at Goldman Sachs adding to the selling pressure.Barclays and Deutsche Bank, which are also major players in the bond market, were top fallers on their respective indexes after the Goldman results.Although euro zone banks are the most favoured sector along with tech among global investors, according to the latest Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) survey of fund managers, comments from Federal Reserve and European Central Bank policymakers have triggered profit-taking in recent weeks.The comments point to a slower rate of tightening on both sides of the Atlantic than many investors were expecting."The persistent overweight in Eurozone vs US equities could be more bad news for European investors," strategists at BAML said, as that could leave them more vulnerable.Elsewhere, Ericsson fell by nearly 16 percent after cutting its forecast for the mobile infrastructure market and reporting a wider than expected loss, a further blow to a company that is undertaking cost cuts.Nokia fell 3.3 percent to the bottom of the CAC 40 as the Finnish mobile equipment maker''s stock suffered too.Zalando weighed on the retail index with its shares down 8.3 percent after reporting slowing sales growth. Europe''s biggest online-only fashion retailer said capacity issues at new warehouses had held it back.The broader euro zone earnings picture is expected to weaken slightly in the third quarter, with analysts expecting a stronger currency to weighing on the bloc''s large exporters."Historically euro weakness has provided a driver for earnings beats and with that removed, expectations may be more difficult to surpass," Edward Park, investment director at Brooks Macdonald, said.German airline Lufthansa fell 1.2 percent from 10-year highs, the worst DAX performer, as cautious second-half comments overshadowed a profit forecast hike.Lufthansa''s shares had gained nearly 70 percent this year to yesterday''s close, among the best performing stocks in Europe.Norwegian fertiliser firm Yara fell 4 percent after quarterly earnings were dented by a margin squeeze."We believe this has been Yara''s darkest quarter and see an improving trend with urea prices ticking up in the U.S. and Egypt recently," Liberum analysts said.Among shares boosting the index, British spread-betting firm IG Group soared more than 16 percent, leading the gainers after beating analysts'' profit estimates.Property developer British Land jumped 3.1 percent and was among the top performers on the STOXX 600 after announcing a 300 million pound share buyback.Analysts at Morgan Stanley last week predicted European share buybacks would accelerate as corporates react to a better economic growth and solid balance sheets. (Reporting by Helen Reid; editing by John Stonestreet and Alexander Smith) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/europe-stocks-idUSL5N1K957O'|'2017-07-18T19:25:00.000+03:00' +'f07eef9dbe97bddd7ac55ef92d52cded2082e7cc'|'S.African central bank: Still oppose watchdog findings on bank bailout'|'Market News - Tue Jul 11, 2017 - 4:25am EDT S.African central bank: Still oppose watchdog findings on bank bailout JOHANNESBURG, July 11 The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) said on Tuesday it is proceeding with its legal challenge to the Public Protector''s findings over an apartheid-era bailout of a bank subsequently bought by Absa, now a unit of Barclays Africa Group. "The SARB will proceed with a separate application for the review of the Public Protectors report and evidential factual inaccuracies therein," the bank said in a statement. The central bank, however, said it was consulting its legal team on how to proceed with its challenge to Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane''s recommendation that the bank''s constitutional mandate be changed, after she decided not to oppose such a challenge. (Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by Hugh Lawson) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/safrica-cenbank-idUSJ8N1JJ017'|'2017-07-11T11:25:00.000+03:00' +'948b9c7d7cea9a7514091537291f4d572ba5bedd'|'Exclusive - Brazil banking clans may pay $1.1 billion for Havaianas maker, sources say'|'Deals - Sun Jul 9, 2017 - 3:38pm BST Exclusive: Brazil banking clans may pay $1.1 billion for Havaianas maker, sources say Pairs of Brazilian popular Havaianas brand sandals are displayed in Sao Paulo, March 18, 2003. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker/File Photo By Tatiana Bautzer and Guillermo Parra-Bernal - SAO PAULO SAO PAULO Brazil''s most prominent banking clans could pay between 3.3 billion reais and 3.5 billion reais ($1 billion and $1.1 billion) for a majority stake in Havaianas flip flop maker Alpargatas SA, two people with knowledge of the matter said. Proceeds from a sale of Alpargatas, whose shares are up sharply this year, could help pay down the heavy debt load of the owners, who are also involved in a corruption scandal. Cambuhy Investimentos Ltda and Itasa Investimentos SA ( ITSA4.SA ) are working to iron out terms of a deal by as early as next week, when exclusivity talks expire with Alpargatas'' controlling shareholder J&F Investimentos SA, the first person said. Itasa oversees the fortune of Brazil''s Villela and Setubal families, who control So Paulo-based Ita Unibanco Holding SA ( ITUB4.SA ), Latin America''s largest bank by assets. Cambuhy is the family office of Brazil''s billionaire Moreira Salles family, also a major Ita shareholder. J&F, which owns 86 percent of Alpargatas and oversees the fortune of the billionaire Batista family, must raise cash to pay a 10.3 billion real leniency fine and refinance looming loan maturities, the people said. J&F''s owners Joesley and Wesley Batista signed a leniency deal in May after admitting to bribing almost 1,900 politicians. Common shares of So Paulo-based Alpargatas ( ALPA3.SA ) are up 63 percent this year. The company''s Havaianas flip flops, created in 1962 during Brazil''s Bossa-Nova musical movement, are worn globally by celebrities from Blake Lively to Jennifer Aniston. Alpargatas, which also manages a wide array of Brazilian fashion brands including beachwear brand Osklen, is the first of J&F''s assets lined up for sale in the wake of the Batista family''s involvement in Brazil''s worst-ever corruption scandal. Reuters reported the Cambuhy-led bid on June 16, which the companies confirmed a week later. Proceeds from sale of J&F''s stake in Alpargatas will go to repay a 2.7 billion-real acquisition financing loan the Batistas took with state-controlled lender Caixa Econmica Federal, the first person said. The loan is under investigation by Brazil''s audit court TCU for potential irregularities. J&F, Cambuhy and Itasa declined to comment. The people asked not to be identified because talks remain private. PRESSURE FROM CREDITORS The pace of talks between J&F and the Cambuhy-Itasa group gained steam in recent days. Creditors have been pressuring the Batistas to renegotiate more than 30 billion reais of debt at J&F and JBS SA ( JBSS3.SA ), the world''s No. 1 meatpacker, which the brothers also control. If the bid for Alpargatas succeeds, Cambuhy and Itasa will split equally the Batistas'' stake, both companies said on June 26. The Batistas acquired Alpargatas in December 2015 from construction conglomerate Camargo Correa SA [PMORRC.UL], which was ensnared in the same scandal. J&F''s controlling stakes in dairy producer Fbrica de Produtos Alimentcios Vigor SA and pulpmaker Eldorado Brasil Celulose SA are also on the block and their sale processes advancing, the people said. The sale of Alpargatas, Vigor and Eldorado could raise 10 billion reais and cut J&F debts by another 10 billion reais, one of the people said. Joesley, the youngest of the Batista siblings and a central figure in the family''s leniency deal, is conducting talks to sell Alpargatas himself, the people added. ($1 = 3.2854 reais)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-alpargatas-sa-m-a-exclusive-idUKKBN19U0OJ'|'2017-07-09T17:34:00.000+03:00' +'caf598298937fa0f3f2e29673dec96168e4bb005'|'Daimler to spend $255 million updating diesel cars'|'Edition United States July 18, 2017 / 3:51 PM / a minute ago Daimler to spend $255 million updating diesel cars Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The Mercedes-Benz logo is seen before the company''s annual news conference in Stuttgart, Germany, February 4, 2016. Michaela Rehle/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ) said its management board had approved measures to cut diesel pollution including an investment of 220 million euros ($255 million) to update over three million Mercedes-Benz diesel engine cars in Europe. The measures come after German lawmakers last week summoned Mercedes-Benz executives to question them about emissions. At the time the carmaker agreed with the Transport Ministry to undergo another round of emissions tests. "The company is investing about 220 million euros. The service actions involve no costs for the customers," Daimler said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that the updates would commence in the coming weeks. Daimler further said it would roll out its new four-cylinder OM 654 diesel engine, first launched in the new E-Class in 2016, across its entire model portfolio. After Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) confessed to deliberate emissions cheating in 2015, the entire auto industry has come under scrutiny for producing nitrogen oxide emissions in diesel cars, which are blamed for causing respiratory disease. In May, 23 prosecutors and around 230 staff, including police and state criminal authorities, searched Daimler sites in Germany following allegations of false advertising and the possible manipulation of exhaust gas treatment systems in diesel cars. Daimler has said its vehicles are road legal but also warned investors in its quarterly report that steps by U.S. authorities to investigate "functionalities", including some which it said were common in diesel vehicles, could lead to significant penalties and vehicle recalls. Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editng by Victoria Bryan 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-daimler-emissions-mercedes-idUKKBN1A31T1'|'2017-07-18T18:55:00.000+03:00' +'d33dd18ea0a9385d4092197d4e4c1655705f93f8'|'Why has Flybe put its cheap student luggage deal on hold? - Money'|'My son is a student in the Dutch city of Groningen which, after Amsterdam, has the highest student population in the Netherlands (it has two universities and there are more than 50,000 students, with half of the population being under 35). He flies there at the end of August for the start of the academic year and returns in late June/early July for the summer holidays; he also makes a return trip at Christmas and Easter. He makes a minimum six flights a year.I was delighted to discover that Flybe, which operates out of Southend (our closest airport), flies direct to Eelde airport on the outskirts of Groningen. It also offers a student hold luggage deal offering 46kg for the price of only 23kg which, according to the website, is because Flybe appreciates that, for students, living away from home a generous hold luggage allowance is important.However, when I telephoned Flybe to find out more I was surprised to be told it doesnt provide the offer on the Southend-Groningen route. The wording makes no mention of any restrictions. ED, IpswichFlybe told us, initially, that as the Southend-Groningen route is operated by its franchise partner, Stobart Air, any query should be addressed to them. However, it then had a change of heart and agreed to look at your complaint.It confirmed that the information given to you was wrong hardly reassuring for the many students based in the south-east and east of England flying from Southend.It says: Flybe has apologised to ED for the misunderstanding. We can confirm that this is available on all Flybe routes, including those operated by our franchise partners. We have taken immediate steps to ensure that all customer service staff are fully aware of Flybes offers and products.We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone numberTopics Money Consumer champions Consumer rights Student finance Students Flights features'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/jul/30/flybe-student-luggage-deal-southend-airport'|'2017-07-30T14:00:00.000+03:00' +'2af2ed3333afb21e7d32f16f06342b99533a1680'|'Singapore to postpone bank capital rules; follows HK, Australia delays'|'July 5, 2017 / 9:42 AM / 31 minutes ago Singapore to postpone bank capital rules; follows Hong Kong, Australia delays By Michelle Price 4 Min Read People pass the skyline of the central business district along the Marina Bay Promenade in Singapore April 10, 2017. Edgar Su HONG KONG (Reuters) - Singapore''s banking regulator has told lenders it will delay by a year the implementation of global rules designed to rein in trading risks - the latest sign that the post-crisis overhaul of the world''s banking system may be stalling. The move follows similar postponements by banking regulators in Hong Kong and Australia as concerns grow over the complexity of the rules and as it is also uncertain how they will fit with other capital reforms yet to be finalised. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) notified local banks of the delay to the so-called ''fundamental review of the trading book'' (FRTB) in a letter last month that also flagged a number of other regulatory issues, two people briefed on the matter said. The people declined to be identified as the letter was not made public. The rules were finalised last year by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision as part of a decade-long international effort to prevent a repeat of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. The FRTB rules, which require banks to hold more capital against their trading books, were scheduled to become effective in January 2019. A MAS spokeswoman said the regulator remains committed to a full implementation of Basel III reforms but was not rigidly adhering to a timeline. "In determining the implementation timeline, MAS will consider factors such as the state of global implementation guidance, the industry''s readiness and implementation progress in other jurisdictions," she said in a statement. Basel has no powers of enforcement and relies on member countries to commit to the implementation of reforms agreed by the committee. A person familiar with the committee''s workings said there was no sign of the FRTB being ditched outright. In addition, capital for trading books is a small proportion of a bank''s total buffer and therefore a delay in the FRTB does not materially affect the bigger capital picture for the banking sector, this person said. Group of 20 (G20) countries meet in Germany this week to take stock of the implementation of global banking reforms. Mark Carney, chairman of the Financial Stability Board, which coordinates financial rules for the G20, warned on Monday that global growth would suffer if regulators give in to "reform fatigue" and fail to complete the agreed changes. But after an intensive decade of rule-making, some policymakers now want to prioritize growth over yet more complex banking regulation. U.S. President Donald Trump has said regulation is holding back lending and the U.S. Treasury has recommended delaying the FRTB, as well as another measure that strengthens bank funding. Regulators in Asia are worried their banks may be at a disadvantage if they push ahead with the rules while other countries hold back, the sources said. The European Unions executive European Commission has proposed delaying its full application of FRTB, and officials are now waiting to see whether U.S. regulators follow the U.S. Treasury recommendation. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority said last month the FRTB rules would be implemented no earlier than January 2020, while the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) announced a delay in March that would likely see the rules come into force in 2021. Reporting by Michelle Price; additional reporting by Anshuman Daga in SINGAPORE and Huw Jones in LONDON: Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Neil Fullick 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-basel-capital-singapore-idINKBN19Q108'|'2017-07-05T12:39:00.000+03:00' +'e7f49b72b287026bbf4e3973d5cd9232a83f342d'|'Guatemala''s court confirms suspension of Tahoe mining licenses'|'Market News 27pm EDT Guatemala''s court confirms suspension of Tahoe mining licenses GUATEMALA CITY, July 6 Guatemala''s Supreme Court on Thursday confirmed a preliminary decision to suspend two mining licenses belonging to the local unit of Tahoe Resources, citing violation of indigenous people''s rights. The decision affects the Escobal mine, Tahoe''s flagship mine and one of the world''s largest silver mines. (Reporting by Sofia Menchu)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/guatemala-mining-idUSE1N1JG006'|'2017-07-06T21:27:00.000+03:00' +'7e786e4b1a896cd5676cd8429d9b8c73a740154d'|'Carillion''s two-day slide wipes out half of company''s value'|'July 11, 2017 / 11:03 AM / 16 minutes ago Carillion''s two-day slide wipes out half co''s value Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Shares of UK construction services firm Carillion ( CLLN.L ) slumped again on Tuesday with a profit warning, suspension of dividends and a CEO departure now wiping out half the company''s value in two sessions. A build-up in accounts receivable - or money owed to the company by clients - along with a burgeoning pension deficit and a bloated balance sheet have soured sentiment on Carillion and made it one of the UK''s most heavily shorted stocks. Stifel, one of the last remaining brokers with a "buy" rating on the stock cut its rating to "hold" warning, however, that its rating "requires belief that assets and liabilities are now fairly stated". A stretched balance sheet suggests any capital shortfall will likely be met by a dilutive equity capital raise. Reporting by Vikram Subhedar, Editing by Helen Reid 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-carillion-stocks-idUKKBN19W136'|'2017-07-11T13:53:00.000+03:00' +'1e8bdfe6f7abf883806f723e462a8ae0c56e25e4'|'Exclusive: ECB wary of putting end-date on QE: sources'|'July 14, 2017 / 9:40 AM / 25 minutes ago Exclusive: ECB wary of putting end-date on QE: sources Balazs Koranyi 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) are illuminated with a giant euro sign at the start of the "Luminale, light and building" event in Frankfurt, Germany, March 12, 2016. EUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank is keen to keep its asset purchases open-ended rather than setting a potentially distant date on which bond-buying will stop, to retain flexibility in case the outlook sours, three sources familiar with the discussion said. By not saying when its net bond purchases will fall to zero, the ECB hopes to underline that there is no preset course for its stimulus programme, and that any changes remain dependent on economic data, with a special focus on wages, the sources added. They held up the Federal Reserve''s exit from its asset buying in 2014 as a potential blueprint, noting the U.S. central bank''s unwillingness to publicly target an end-date. "The Fed has done the most successful exit so it''s the example for us to study," said a source who asked not to be named. "The important thing is not to pre-commit and keep it very gradual." ECB President Mario Draghi sent a shockwave through markets earlier this month when he opened the door to potential tweaks to the quantitative easing programme. That left investors scrutinizing any potential clues to the bank''s next move, which is expected to come at its Sept. 7 meeting. ECB policymakers also meet next Thursday. Half of analysts polled by Reuters now expect the ECB to announce in September that it will gradually wind down its asset buying, a process known as tapering, while a quarter see a one-off reduction and another quarter expect no change. So far, the ECB has said its purchases are intended to run at their current pace until December 2017 "or beyond, if necessary" and that there would be winding-down phase after that. The biggest challenge could be convincing markets that tapering, once started, may still be subject to change. While the Fed emphasized the open-ended nature of its bond purchases, it scaled back the amount it bought by $10 billion at each meeting, creating the perception that it was on a preset course even if that notion was taboo. The Fed announced its first reduction in December 2013 and ended buys the following October. Its policymakers keenly avoided the discussion of an end-date throughout the tapering process, even if markets inferred it and were eventually proven right. The sources noted that adopting a similar strategy risked entrapping the ECB by making it difficult to deviate from a presumed schedule without generating undue market volatility. The ECB declined to comment. The sources added that no decision has been made and the debate remains open, with new staff forecasts due in September expected to provide a key piece of the puzzle. Wages "How can I decide in September what we''re going to do next June?" another source said. "It''s got to be data-dependent and we need to preserve the flexibility." Of particular importance for policymakers will be German wage negotiations around the start of next year and they are keen to have flexibility to respond, particularly if the results again disappoint. While growth is accelerating and unemployment is falling quicker than expected, wage growth is anaemic, partly because unions tend to look at past inflation when tabling demands, making it difficult to escape a low inflation environment. "Next year''s German wage deals will be very important," a third source said. "I think unions are not aggressive enough in making their demands given rising corporate profitability." The ECB''s problem is that even as euro zone economic growth is on its best run in a decade, inflation is expected to remain weak, and well short of the ECB''s target of almost 2 percent, at least through 2019. In a possible clue about the sort of move the ECB may contemplate, Executive Board member Benoit Coeure pointed to the bank''s decision last December when it cut its asset buys by a quarter but extended the timetable by nine months. "We scaled back our asset purchases without undermining the support given to the economy," Coeure said in a recent interview. "So, I would argue that we have already adjusted our monetary policy ... This adjustment has been done in a very careful way, as a number of factors continue to weigh on inflation." If the ECB is confident its previous move was correct, it may again consider a one-off reduction with a term extension before revisiting the subject later. Draghi argued earlier this month that with growth alone providing more accommodation, the ECB could tighten policy somewhat to keep the broad level of stimulus unchanged. Additional reporting by Francesco Canepa; Editing by Catherine Evans 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/ecb-policy-idINKBN19Z0W2'|'2017-07-14T12:35:00.000+03:00' +'901def0076587b9a8fe5010c25e1479874d1b0ff'|'Nikkei flat as upbeat earnings undermined by yen worries'|'July 31, 2017 / 3:03 AM / in 7 hours Nikkei flat as upbeat earnings undermined by yen worries 3 Min Read * Steelmakers gain after upbeat earnings * Fanuc drops after earnings fall short of expectations * Nikkei on course to end July in narrowest range in 3 decades * NT ratio at near 16-month low as small caps outperform By Hideyuki Sano TOKYO, July 31 (Reuters) - Japan''s Nikkei share average was little changed on Monday, as gains in steelmakers and other companies with upbeat earnings were offset by wariness about the yen''s creeping rise to a 1-1/2-month high against the dollar. The Nikkei stood at 19,946.32, down 0.1 percent. On the month it was down 0.4 percent, after having moved in a range of 344.23 points - its narrowest monthly trading range in 31 years. "In general, earnings so far have been pretty good, with even some conservative firms raising their annual estimates," said Tetsuro Ii, the president of Commons Asset Management. "But there aren''t many people who say they want to buy now," he added, noting that investors are wary of unwinding of stimulus by global central banks and relatively high valuations, particularly on Wall Street. The broader Topix was at 1,620.73, almost flat on the day and keeping slim monthly gains of 0.6 percent after it outperformed the Nikkei this month, thanks to firmness in small cap shares. The Nikkei''s underperformance led the ratio of Nikkei versus Topix, the so-called NT ratio, to its lowest since April 2016. On Monday the Nikkei was dragged down by 3.0 percent fall in Fanuc, a Nikkei heavyweight. The robot manufacturer''s upward revision in earnings fell short of analysts forecasts, though its conservative assumption on the yen''s exchange rates limited losses. On the other hand, steelmakers gained sharply following their positive earnings. Kobe Steel rose 6.8 percent and Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal gained 2.2 percent. That helped to make the Tokyo Stock Exchange''s iron and steel subindex the best performer among the TSE''s 33 industry subindexes. Hitachi rose 4.0 percent to 1-1/2-year highs after the company posted solid earnings for April-June. Takeda Pharmaceutical gained 2.9 percent on its earnings. But earnings optimism was curtailed as the yen rose to its firmest levels since mid-June on Monday. The Japanese currency stood around 110.42 to the dollar by 0254 GMT. The yen''s rise came even as data from a U.S. watchdog showed speculators maintained large yen short positions last week, raising worries that their short-covering could lift the yen sharply in the future. "Judging from past patterns, when speculators have a big short position in the yen, they are likely to have a long position in Japanese shares as well," said Norihiro Fujito, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. "Given that foreign investors have sold Japanese shares in August in recent years, the market could face some correction next month," he added. (Editing by Jacqueline Wong) 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-midday-idUSL4N1KM1JR'|'2017-07-31T06:00:00.000+03:00' +'77157e901f9213de2a9af14e1b8d3b4f4304bf02'|'Elliott says considering $18.5 billion offer for Oncor'|'Business 18pm BST Elliott says considering $18.5 billion offer for Oncor FILE PHOTO - Paul Singer, founder and president of Elliott Management Corporation, speaks at WSJD Live conference in Laguna Beach, California, U.S., October 25, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake Elliott Management Corp, the largest creditor of the bankrupt parent of Oncor Electric Delivery Co, said it was in the process of making an offer that values the utility at about $18.5 billion (14.36 billion pounds), including debt. Warren Buffet''s Berkshire Hathaway ( BRKa.N ) last week offered $18.1 billion for the utility. Elliott, run by billionaire Paul Singer, said in a letter to the board of Energy Future Holdings Corp, parent of Oncor, that any transaction other than one led by creditors would increase regulatory risks. ( bit.ly/2u94mMN ) Elliott''s bid would be a rare challenge to Berkshire Chairman Warren Buffett, who avoids auctions for companies and has told his investors he does not like to participate in bidding wars. (Reporting By Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-oncor-m-a-elliott-idUKKBN19V1KW'|'2017-07-10T16:18:00.000+03:00' +'787b49cd71343b52c57a2f43bde3264bd89288bd'|'Euro, bond yields climb as Draghi flags tightening talks in autumn'|'July 20, 2017 / 1:50 PM / 30 minutes ago Euro, bond yields climb as Draghi flags tightening talks in autumn 3 Min Read European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi is seen after a news conference at the ECB headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany July 20, 2017. Ralph Orlowski LONDON (Reuters) - The euro rose towards a 14-month peak against the dollar on Thursday and European bond yields hit highs for the day after European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi said policymakers would discuss possible changes to its bond-buying scheme in the autumn. Though Draghi said that no date had been set for discussing any changes to the programme and that ECB rate-setters had been unanimous in their decision not to change their guidance an monetary policy, investors reckoned discussions in the autumn would lead to monetary tightening next year. The euro climbed as high as $1.1571 as Draghi spoke, just a whisker away from 14-month highs of $1.1583 hit earlier in the week and leaving it up as much as half a percent on the day. "Draghi did his best this afternoon to cap the euro, failing quite spectacularly," wrote Alex Lydall, head of dealing at corporate brokerage Foenix Partners. Against sterling, the euro climbed 0.8 percent to an eight-day high of 89.20 pence. "I think a positive outlook of the economy and expectations of stimulus withdrawal in the autumn and perhaps confirmation of the fact that we will have more explicit tightening then is driving the euro and bond yields higher," said Alexandra Russell-Oliver, FX strategist at Caxton FX in London said. Markets still expect the ECB to raise rates next year, though they now bet that a hike could come later than initially anticipated. Euro zone money markets price in roughly a 70 percent chance of a 10 basis point hike in rates by next July, having fully priced in a move a week ago. A rise by October is fully priced in by markets. "In all probability tapering will occur as we head into 2018 and we have seen no substantive challenge to that expectation in today''s meeting. Hence the currency has received some support," Richard McGuire, a senior strategist at Rabobank said. McGuire added that the euro was rising probably due to the fact that Draghi noted the single currencys appreciation had received attention but "provided no push-back to this strengthening despite having the perfect opportunity to do so". Euro zone stocks climbed back up 0.6 percent as the euro gave back some gains. Euro zone banks gained as much as 1 percent and STOXX 600 banks turned positive again. The pan-European index reversed losses to rise 0.2 percent. Reporting by London markets team; Editing by Hugh Lawson 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/eurozone-markets-ecb-idINKBN1A51QQ'|'2017-07-20T16:47:00.000+03:00' +'942c0be42f5da98b6c61bf0118c64fc74f47cf6b'|'Reckitt leads FTSE up on food business sale'|'July 19, 2017 / 9:32 AM / 7 hours ago Reckitt leads FTSE up on food business sale Helen Reid 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A worker shelters from the rain under a Union Flag umbrella as he passes the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain, October 1, 2008. Toby Melville/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - The FTSE 100 edged up on Wednesday, helped by a buoyant consumer goods sector after Reckitt Benckiser sold its food business to a U.S. company, while disappointing earnings reports sent mid-caps lower. The FTSE 100 .FTSE gained 0.1 percent, with household goods and food sectors boosting the index while miners weighed. Reckitt Benckiser led gainers after saying it would sell its food business to U.S. spice and herbs company McCormick & Co Inc for $4.2 billion. Reckitt''s shares ( RB.L ) were up 1.4 percent at a three-week high on the deal. "By 2020, RB should be one of the fastest growing names in (the) global staples (sector), with superior returns and cash generation, in our view," said Morgan Stanley analysts. Royal Mail ( RMG.L ) gave back some of yesterday''s strong gains, falling to the bottom of the blue-chip list, down 2.4 percent. EasyJet ( EZJ.L ) and British Airways owner IAG ( ICAG.L ) were among top blue-chip losers, down 1.7 to 2.2 percent. While there were few notable releases from blue-chip companies, earnings drove strong moves on the mid-cap index. Qinetiq ( QQ.L ) led mid-caps lower, down 8 percent after the defence and aerospace manufacturer said it had seen slower than expected orders in its EMEA services unit. Just Eat ( JE.L ) shares fell 6.6 percent, among top European losers and on course for their worst day in six months. A trader linked the move to a finance ministry crackdown on extra card fees charged by companies from takeaway food apps to airlines. Motoring group AA ( AAAA.L ) led mid-caps, hitting a two-month high after Barclays initiated coverage with an overweight rating. Analysts at the bank said they expected cash flow generation to pick up. "The AA has been given a digital makeover...," they said. "From early 2018 AA should be able to integrate its vast array of different business for the first time in its 112-year history." Packaging company RPC ( RPC.L ) was also among top mid-cap gainers, up 3.9 percent at a four-month high after its first quarter revenue came in ahead of last year, helped by acquisitions and favourable currency movements. The firm also started its first share buyback programme, of up to 100 million pounds. Reporting by Helen Reid; editing by John Stonestreet 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks-idUKKBN1A40SI'|'2017-07-19T12:32:00.000+03:00' +'6d53ceb9e0c830b2557391fa62971eb1bec320bb'|'Air Canada flies record passengers in a day'|'Market News 26am EDT Air Canada flies record passengers in a day July 6 Air Canada said it flew 166,850 people on June 29, setting a single-day record for passengers carried, as part of Canada day. The country''s largest airline said it carried close to one million passengers during the six-day holiday period, which started June 29. The airline also said it expects to beat its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, impairment and aircraft rent (EBITDAR) forecast on lower fuel costs and higher revenue. (Reporting by Ahmed Farhatha in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/air-canada-passengers-idUSL4N1JX0YN'|'2017-07-06T16:26:00.000+03:00' +'2afd5fc362b425f288a01b5d8741a028051a55ad'|'Miners, banks lift European shares; Pearson jumps after Penguin stake sale'|'Market News - Tue Jul 11, 2017 - 3:26am EDT Miners, banks lift European shares; Pearson jumps after Penguin stake sale LONDON, July 11 European shares made modest gains for a second session on Tuesday as strength among miners and banks lent a helping hand. The pan-European STOXX 600 edged up 0.3 percent, in line with euro zone stocks and blue-chips, in muted trading punctuated by early earnings updates and more corporate dealmaking activity. Basic resources stocks supported the index, up 1 percent, with Anglo American the top FTSE gainer. Pearson gained 2.6 percent, a top STOXX riser after it sold 22 percent of its stake in publisher Penguin Random House, to bolster its balance sheet and return 300 million pounds ($386 million) to shareholders. Marks & Spencer reported a rise in full-price sales, but its shares fell 0.6 percent, partly on the back of underwhelming food sales. Rivals Tesco and Morrisons rose more than 1 percent. Construction equipment company Travis Perkins was lifted by a positive update from peer Galliford Try, which said it saw full-year profit at the top end of guidance. Broker notes also spurred some moves, with semiconductor makers STMicro and AMS top gainers after JP Morgan raised the Italian semiconductor maker to ''overweight''. Among the top individual drags on the STOXX 600 were Randstad and Adecco, targeted by Deutsche Bank in a note on staffing firms. Analysts at Deutsche cut ratings for the world''s two largest staffing firms, saying current employment levels in the U.S. and Europe were associated with peaking 12-month investor returns. (Reporting by Helen Reid, Editing by Vikram Subhedar) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/europe-stocks-idUSL8N1K20ZO'|'2017-07-11T10:26:00.000+03:00' +'d00df634475caf95cf41ac8d46e0719d67f468cf'|'China''s Jiangsu Shagang to be largest shareholder of Dongbei Special Steel'|'BEIJING, July 10 China''s Jiangsu Shagang Co Ltd said on Monday it is expected to be the biggest shareholder of debt-strapped Dongbei Special Steel Group after a bankruptcy restructuring process.Owned by the Liaoning provincial government in the country''s "rustbelt" northeast, Dongbei entered into the bankruptcy restructuring process in October aimed at recovering a reported $10 billion in debt, and said it faces "uncertainties" about paying interest on medium-term notes in April.Jiangsu Shagang, owner of China''s largest private-owned steel mill, said one of its subsidiary is expected to become the biggest shareholder of Dongbei once the bankruptcy restructuring process is completed.Jiangsu Shagang did not disclose further details of the investment.Meanwhile, Bengang Steel Plates Co Ltd said on Monday it plans to invest 1.04 billion yuan ($152.88 million) in Dongbei, and this would account for 10 percent of Dongbei''s registered assets after the restructuring process.Also owned by Liaoning provincial government, Benxi Iron & Steel Group, the parent company of Bengang Steel Plates, was reported to be part of a merger with local rival Anshan Iron and Steel. The merger has been getting postponed for years."The company will export enterprise management experiences to Dongbei and its subsidiaries to help them recovery soon," said Bengang Steel Plates in the statement.Dongbei''s restructuring plan has not been approved by the local court, and has not gone past an anti-trust investigation at the Commerce Ministry, said Bengang''s statement.($1 = 6.8025 Chinese yuan)(Reporting by Muyu Xu and Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)'|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/dongbeispecialsteelgroup-js-sg-idUSL4N1K12R2'|'2017-07-10T12:47:00.000+03:00' +'1ddc7772ffd489462245575fa98150eedc77490b'|'EU clears Monte Paschi precautionary recapitalisation with overhaul'|' 7:12pm BST EU clears Italy''s $6 billion state bailout for Monte dei Paschi FILE PHOTO: The entrance of Monte dei Paschi bank headquarters is pictured in Siena, Italy, June 30, 2017. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini - RTS19BD4/File Photo BRUSSELS/MILAN/ROME The European Union has approved a state bailout of Italy''s fourth-largest lender, Monte dei Paschi di Siena ( BMPS.MI ), taking the total amount of Italian taxpayer funds deployed to rescue banks over the past week to more than 20 billion euros ($23 billion). Outside Greece, Europe has not seen such big state bailouts since the aftermath of the global financial crisis, raising political concerns about the continued use of public funds to mop up losses at badly run banks despite the introduction of new EU rules designed to prevent this. In a statement on Tuesday, EU state aid regulators said Rome could inject 5.4 billion euros ($6 billion) into Monte dei Paschi after the bank agreed to a drastic overhaul, including the transfer of bad loans to a special vehicle and a salary cap for senior managers. The bank''s overall capital shortfall is 8.1 billion euros, an Italian Treasury official said, down from the 8.8 billion euros previously calculated by the European Central Bank. Monte dei Paschi, the world''s oldest bank, turned to the state for a bailout after failing to raise 5 billion euros on the market to shore up its capital. Barely a week ago Italy pledged up to 17 billion euros, mostly in guarantees, to prevent senior bondholders, depositors and staff from being hit by the winding up of two regional banks, Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca. That deal also involved Italy''s biggest retail bank, Intesa Sanpaolo ( ISP.MI ), acquiring the two banks'' best assets for a token euro. The Italian government believes a profit can still be made from the bailouts. "I am confident state money will be recouped, perhaps at a premium," finance minister Pier Carlo Padoan said on Tuesday, referring to Monte dei Paschi. VIABLE Monte dei Paschi''s five-year restructuring plan, due to be presented on Wednesday, will ensure the Tuscan bank''s long-term viability, EU state aid regulators said on Tuesday. As part of the overhaul Monte Paschi will transfer 26.1 billion euros to a privately funded special vehicle on market terms, with the operation partially funded by Italian bank rescue fund Atlante II. It will also change its business model to focus on retail customers, and small- and medium-sized companies. Monte dei Paschi said late last year it would be seeking a "precautionary recapitalisation" under EU state-aid rules after its attempt to raise capital from private investors failed. According to Padoan the state will take a 70 percent stake in the Tuscan bank while the lender''s chairman said the state would exit in 2021. "This capital injection could only be approved after junior bondholders and shareholders have contributed to the costs of restructuring, in line with "burden-sharing" requirements under EU state aid rules," said EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager. Besides the state capital injection junior bondholders and shareholders will contribute 4.3 billion euros from the conversion of junior bonds into equity. At the same time Monte dei Paschi has earmarked 1.5 billion euros to compensate retail junior bondholders who are the victims of mis-selling, it added. Burdened by bad loans and a mismanagement scandal, Monte dei Paschi has been at the forefront of Italy''s slow-moving banking crisis. It emerged as Europe''s weakest lender in stress tests last July. ($1 = 0.8812 euros) (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee in Brussels , Stephen Jewkes in Milan and Antonella Cinelli in Rome; Editing by Greg Mahlich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-eu-montepaschi-stateaid-idUKKBN19P1PQ'|'2017-07-04T16:39:00.000+03:00' +'73dac5b3302495fd63bc11c802c05d6c9dfa266b'|'Gold steady as cloudy U.S. rate hike outlook drags on dollar'|'July 18, 2017 / 1:00 AM / 3 hours ago Gold at 2-week high as cloudy U.S. rate hike outlook drags on dollar 3 Min Read An ounce of gold coin is pictured next to a 250g and a 500g ingots at Jolliet numismatic shop in Geneva November 19, 2014. Denis Balibouse BENGALURU (Reuters) - Gold prices rose to a two-week high on Tuesday as the dollar dipped to multi-month lows amid fading prospects of further rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve this year and doubts whether President Donald Trump would be able to push through healthcare reforms. The U.S. dollar sank to a 10-month low against a basket of major currencies on Tuesday, hobbled by uncertainty over the pace of the Fed''s policy tightening and setbacks to the passage of a U.S. healthcare bill. "With the street repricing its U.S. interest rate outlook following soft data and a dovish Yellen, and with President Donald Trump''s reflationary reforms seemingly lost in the legislative Bermuda Triangle of Congress, a weaker U.S. dollar should continue to support gold," said Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst at OANDA. Republicans in the U.S. Congress were in chaos over healthcare legislation after a second attempt to pass a bill in the Senate collapsed late on Monday, with President Donald Trump calling for an outright repeal of Obamacare and others seeking a change in direction toward bipartisanship. Spot gold was up 0.3 percent to $1,237.66 per ounce at 0631 GMT, after touching $1,238.76, the highest since July 3, earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures for August delivery rose 0.3 percent to $1,236.80 per ounce. "At this moment, gold is likely to be in the trading range of $1,200-1,250," said Mark To, head of research at Hong Kong''s Wing Fung Financial Group. Prices of the metal are unlikely to significantly break above these levels since there are no other major drivers, including geopolitical factors, for gold as of now, he added. Spot gold faces a resistance at $1,239 per ounce, and may temporarily hover below this level or retrace towards a support at $1,226, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao. Meanwhile, SPDR Gold Trust, the world''s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.21 percent to 827.07 tonnes on Monday from 828.84 tonnes on Friday. In other precious metals, silver rose 0.4 percent to $16.14 per ounce, after earlier touching its highest in just over two weeks at $16.23. Platinum rose 0.3 percent to $923.80 per ounce. It had touched an over one-month high of $934.40 in the previous session. Palladium was mostly unchanged at $864.98 per ounce. Reporting by Arpan Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-precious-idINKBN1A303H'|'2017-07-18T04:00:00.000+03:00' +'273a7cef283432e8c645abf978a70cbf95839c80'|'Ecuador says clinches new payment deal with Schlumberger'|'July 28, 2017 / 12:15 AM / 18 hours ago Ecuador says clinches new payment deal with Schlumberger Alexandra Valencia 1 Min Read QUITO (Reuters) - Ecuador said on Thursday it had successfully negotiated a payment plan with Schlumberger, although it did not specify if the deal included reimbursement for roughly $850 million owed to the oil service company. Ecuador''s economy has struggled since the 2014 collapse of oil prices and a devastating earthquake last year that killed some 670 people and cost an estimated $3 billion. The smallest member of OPEC has built up debts for oilfield services that Schlumberger has described as causing "considerable financial stress." Schlumberger did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Ecuador said it had reached a deal to index contracts to international crude prices to better reflect market conditions and spur investments. "As part of the renegotiation, new investments from the contractor for $1.008 billion were also agreed on," the Hydrocarbons Ministry said in a statement. Ecuador said it had also reached a deal with Argentina''s Tecpetrol. Reporting by Alexandra Valencia; Writing by Alexandra Ulmer 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ecuador-oil-idUSKBN1AD00J'|'2017-07-28T03:11:00.000+03:00' +'b1c88bbe7a8644cb8d63eec9864d11d624bf6dff'|'Spanish consumer group sues EU body over Banco Popular rescue'|'July 31, 2017 / 3:15 PM / 20 minutes ago Spanish consumer group sues EU body over Banco Popular rescue Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A man uses a cash dispenser at a branch of Spain''s biggest bank Santander next to a Banco Popular branch in Madrid, Spain, June 7, 2017. Juan Medina/File Photo MADRID (Reuters) - A Spanish consumer group representing some of the small shareholders in failed Banco Popular said on Monday it had filed a lawsuit against the EU body which orchestrated the lender''s sale and rescue, demanding the operation be annulled. European authorities stepped in to arrange a swift rescue of Spain''s Banco Popular in early June, saying it was on the verge of collapse after a bank run. Popular was sold overnight to larger rival Santander ( SAN.MC ) for a nominal one euro, in a deal that caused losses for shareholders and was the first test of a new, tougher European Union regime to deal with troubled banks. Consumer group Adicae, which has led several legal battles in Spain against practices in the banking sector, said it had lodged a claim with the European Court of Justice against the EU''s Single Resolution Board (SRB) for triggering the rescue. Adicae said it considered the operation to be untransparent and arbitrary and added there was no clear public evidence that Popular was no longer viable. The SRB was not immediately available to comment. Santander declined to comment. Various investor groups have been trying to pursue former members of the bank''s management through the courts over Popular''s demise, though it is not yet clear how many lawsuits will prosper and what financial damages might be involved. Bondholders also suffered losses through the deal. The rescue was technically carried out in Spain by the country''s bailout fund, known as FROB, at the behest of the EU. Adicae - which says it is working with several thousand consumers affected by Popular''s rescue, including clients who owned some of the shares that were wiped out - said on Saturday that Spain''s High Court had accepted its claim against the FROB. Reporting by Sarah White, Additional reporting by Francesco Guarascio in Frankfurt, editing by David Evans 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bancopopular-m-a-investors-idUKKBN1AG1UF'|'2017-07-31T18:15:00.000+03:00' +'562db74d92ccd89805b778d855d665282de41eb0'|'Aerosoles explores options including sale of shoe retailer -sources'|'(Reuters) - U.S. women''s shoe company Aerosoles Group is exploring several options including a debt restructuring or sale of the company, as it struggles to adapt to fast-changing consumer tastes, according to people familiar with the matter.Aerosoles, known for its affordable flats and wedges, has hired investment bank Piper Jaffray Companies ( PJC.N ) and financial advisory consultant Berkeley Research Group to carry out the strategic review, three sources said Thursday.The sources asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential.Aerosoles, Piper Jaffray and Berkeley Research Group did not respond to requests for comment. Palladin Consumer Retail Partners, the investment firm which acquired Aerosoles in 2014, also did not respond to a request for comment.Aerosoles has faced fierce competition from other shoe retailers. Once part of Kenneth Cole Productions Inc, Aerosoles has found it challenging to lure shoppers to its stores and website with unique products.The Edison, New Jersey-based company also faces the same headwinds as other brick-and-mortar retailers, as e-commerce companies such as Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) become more popular with shoppers looking for the cheapest price.The shoe company has about 80 stores in the United States and more than 300 around the world, including in China, India and Peru, and is also sold in stores including J C Penney Company Inc ( JCP.N ), Kohls Corp ( KSS.N ) and DSW Inc.Some of the shoeseller''s competitors, such as discounter Payless ShoeSource Inc and trendy label Nine West Holdings Inc, have also undergone debt restructurings.Payless filed for bankruptcy earlier this year with plans to close hundreds of stores, and Nine West hired an advisor to find ways to bolster its balance sheet. Nine West also sold its comfortable line that competes with Aerosoles, Easy Spirit, last year.Private equity firms acquired both Payless and Nine West in leveraged buyouts that burdened them with heavy debtloads. Aerosoles does not disclose its debt burden publicly.Aerosoles named Denise Incandela as its CEO in April, replacing R. Shawn Neville who became executive chairman of the company''s board. Incandela joined Aerosoles from Ralph Lauren Global Digital, and previously worked at Saks Fifth Avenue.Palladin''s other investments include women''s apparel line Nic+Zoe and sports medicine company KT Health LLC.Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in New York; Additional reporting by Lauren Hirsch in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-aerosoles-m-a-idUSKBN1AD03I'|'2017-07-28T03:51:00.000+03:00' +'60e6d2b74c67038fac458f64c7478e6c91cde940'|'Spain''s Popular seeks partners for 30 billion euro bad debt portfolio'|'Deals - Sat Jul 1, 2017 - 11:22am BST Spain''s Popular seeks partners for 30 billion euro bad debt portfolio People walk past a Banco Popular branch in Madrid, Spain, June 6, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Medina - RTX399G8 BARCELONA Spain''s Banco Popular will start looking for partners to buy some 30 billion euros ($34.29 billion) in repossessed assets and non-performing real estate loans as it strives to bolster its books following last month''s takeover by Santander ( SAN.MC ), it said late on Friday. Struggling under the weight of risky property assets, Popular was taken over by Spain''s largest bank for the symbolic price of one euro after European authorities stepped in to prevent its collapse. Following a review of the banks assets, the new chair of the board of directors Rodrigo Echenique said in a statement that Popular would seek partners for assets with a total gross book value of about 30 billion euros. He also announced plans to replace board members of companies in which Popular holds stakes. Meanwhile, Popular said it would buy back 51 percent of Aliseda Servicios, which carries out real estate servicing, from the funds Varde Partners and Kennedy Wilson by the third quarter of 2017. The agreed price for the stake was 180 million euros and will entail a capital consumption for Banco Popular of 302 million euros, the bank said. Morgan Stanley will advise Popular as new owner Santander attempts to meet its declared goal of reducing the volume of bad assets by half in 18 months and completely in three years. Popular said earlier on Friday that normal business operations have been restored in branches and other customer contact centers following last month''s takeover. (Reporting by Sam Edwards; Editing by Helen Popper)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-banco-popular-es-m-a-idUKKBN19M3BV'|'2017-07-01T13:05:00.000+03:00' +'9da85b3879e5535b7fbfd3799b064b81e0f08e31'|'Canadian telecom exec Scott to head industry regulator - govt'|'July 18, 2017 / 4:49 PM / 13 minutes ago Canadian telecom exec Scott to head industry regulator - govt Alastair Sharp 2 Min Read TORONTO, July 18 (Reuters) - Canada will name Ian Scott as head of the commission that regulates the telecom and broadcast industries, a spokesman said on Tuesday, tapping an executive who spent years lobbying the body on behalf of one of the country''s biggest telecommunications companies. Scott will be appointed as chairman of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, or CRTC, for a job he will start on September 5, said Pierre-Olivier Herbert, a spokesman for the minister of Canadian Heritage, Melanie Joly. The news was earlier reported by the National Post newspaper. Scott has served as vice president of government relations for Telus Corp, one of Canada''s biggest wireless companies and a provider of landline phone, internet and video services. He was most recently executive director of government and regulatory affairs at satellite communications company Telesat Holdings Inc. He has also previously worked at both the CRTC and the Competition Bureau. (Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Jim Finkle and Jonathan Oatis) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-telecom-regulator-idUSL1N1K9127'|'2017-07-18T19:47:00.000+03:00' +'abe38e2058c37d98ea6d0089e96fd9bed9c15b9c'|'Tepid data, tech weakness to weigh on Wall Street'|'July 6, 2017 / 1:23 PM / in 7 minutes Tepid data, tech weakness to weigh on Wall Street Tanya Agrawal 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A street sign for Wall Street is seen outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., December 28, 2016. Andrew Kelly/File Photo REUTERS - Wall Street looked set to open lower on Thursday after data showed lower-than-expected hiring in the private sector and as technology shares fell. The ADP National Employment Report showed private employers added 158,000 jobs in June, below the estimated addition of 185,000. The report by payrolls processor ADP acts as a precursor to monthly nonfarm payrolls data, due on Friday, that includes hiring in both the public and private sectors. Another set of data showed weekly jobless claims rose for the third straight week, with claims climbing to 248,000, above the 243,000 expected. "The ADP number has some correlation to the U.S. NFP (nonfarm payrolls) and investors always adjust their expectations on the back of this," said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Think Markets UK Ltd. "But overall we think that the number is not that bad because this is the only second time that we have seen a miss." Technology shares have come under pressure in recent weeks after their strong run this year. The S&P tech sector is up nearly 17 percent for the year. Shares of Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet were all down about 0.8 percent in premarket trading. Dow e-minis were down 61 points, or 0.28 percent, with 29,274 contracts changing hands at 8:22 a.m. ET (1222 GMT). S&P 500 e-minis were down 8.5 points, or 0.35 percent, with 180,329 contracts traded. Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 53.25 points, or 0.94 percent, on volume of 38,850 contracts. Investors are also parsing minutes from the Federal Reserve''s last meeting that showed policymakers were increasingly split on the outlook for inflation and how it might affect the future pace of interest rate hikes. The Fed''s preferred measure of underlying inflation slipped to 1.4 percent in May and has run below the 2 percent target for more than five years now. The minutes revealed a few officials viewed equity prices as high when compared to standard valuation measures, even though earnings growth has been robust. The S&P 500 has been trading at about 18 times earnings estimates for the next 12 months, compared with the long-term average of 15 times. Tesla fell 3 percent after the luxury electric carmaker''s Model S did not get the top score in certain tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. General Electric slipped 1.7 percent after the European Commission accused the company of providing misleading information during a merger deal. Costco rose 1.9 percent after the retailer reported a rise in its June sales number. Reporting by Tanya Agrawal in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-idINKBN19R1UK'|'2017-07-06T16:22:00.000+03:00' +'edf286775d4d5d548fcb944a3c56e93f85b94231'|'Chinese courier ZTO sued for ''untrue statements'' in $1.4 billion U.S. IPO'|'Edition United States July 21, 2017 / 3:46 AM / in an hour Chinese courier ZTO sued for ''untrue statements'' in $1.4 billion U.S. IPO Reuters Staff 4 Min Read A logo of ZTO Express is seen at their branch in Beijing, China October 27, 2016. Jason Lee SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese courier ZTO Express ( ZTO.N ) and the underwriters of its New York stock market listing have been sued by a U.S. pension fund that alleges the firm exaggerated its profit margins to lure investors into its $1.4 billion initial public offering. Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc ( GS.N ), which spearheaded ZTO''s IPO, are named in the class-action suit filed in Alabama state court by the city of Birmingham''s pension fund which says that they failed to do adequate due diligence. ZTO''s listing was the largest U.S. listing in 2016 and was the biggest by a Chinese company since the $25 billion IPO of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd ( BABA.N ) in 2014. Shares in Shanghai-based ZTO closed on Thursday at $15.68, about 20 percent below its IPO price of $19.50. "We believe the claims are without merit and intend to defend ourselves vigorously," a ZTO spokeswoman said in an e-mail to Reuters on Friday. In the lawsuit dated May 16, the Birmingham Retirement and Relief System said ZTO had issued "untrue statements" and omitted "crucial realities" in its registration statement. It also said ZTO inflated profit margins by keeping certain low-margin segments of its business out of its financial statements. "ZTO used a system of ''network partners'' to handle lower-margin pickup and delivery services, while maintaining ownership of core hub operations. By keeping the ''network partners'' businesses off its own books, the company was able to exaggerate its profit margins to investors," it said. Morgan Stanley declined to comment. Goldman did not immediately respond to Reuters'' requests for comment. In ZTO''s pre-IPO filings to the stock exchange it said it had achieved operating profit margins of 15.4 percent and 25.1 percent in 2014 and 2015, respectively. In unaudited results for the quarter ended March published on May 17, ZTO posted a 48 percent jump in net income from a year ago and a 34 percent spike in revenue. The lawsuit also names the ZTO IPO''s smaller underwriters China Renaissance Securities, Citigroup ( C.N ), Credit Suisse ( CSGN.S ) and J.P. Morgan ( JPM.N ). All the underwriters declined comment. Individual defendants, including ZTO''s chief executive officer and chief financial officer, were also named. The lawsuit against ZTO comes at a time when Alibaba-backed Chinese logistics company, Best Inc, is preparing to raise up to $750 million from an IPO in the United States. Reuters was not immediately able to reach Greg L. Davis, the lawyer who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the city of Birmingham pension fund, for comment outside usual office hours. According to an annual financial report published on the city of Birmingham website, the Birmingham Retirement and Relief System had assets of $1.05 billion at the end of June 2015. The case is City of Birmingham Retirement and Relief System v. ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc., 01-cv-2017-902004.00, Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Alabama (Birmingham). Reporting by Brenda Goh in SHANGHAI; Additional reporting by Julie Zhu and Elzio Barreto in HONG KONG; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Mark Potter 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-zto-ipo-lawsuit-idUKKBN1A609Z'|'2017-07-21T06:44:00.000+03:00' +'08d99c61ea4fe88275eefec8d2fdb960ae22c18d'|'Britains Economy Is Almost Flatlining'|'While the British economy performed better than many expected in the wake of last years Brexit vote, data on Wednesday are set to show U.K. growth hardly recovered in the second quarter. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg are forecasting an uptick to just 0.3 percent, from 0.2 percent three months ago. Accelerating inflation has started to crimp consumer spending, the main driver of momentum.The Bank of England announces its next policy decision on Aug. 3, and lackluster growth may weaken the case for a rate increase, even with inflation above target.'|'bloomberg.com'|'https://www.bloomberg.com/businessweek'|'https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-24/britain-s-economy-is-almost-flatlining'|'2017-07-24T12:27:00.000+03:00' +'07224434f05d1147f64ec26925a550a39be239e5'|'UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on July 24'|'(Adds company news items, futures)July 24 (Reuters) - Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening down 11 points, according to financial bookmakers, with futures down 0.16 percent ahead of the cash market open.* RECKITT BENCKISER: British consumer goods maker Reckitt Benckiser Group reported second-quarter sales that fell 2 percent, after last month''s global cyber attack disrupted its operations.* CRANSWICK: British food products supplier Cranswick Plc reported a 27 percent jump in first-quarter revenue, helped by growth in sales volumes in its domestic market.GLENCORE: Glencore PlC has signed an agreement to invest up to 66 million reais ($21 million) into Brazilian copper producer Paranapanema SA, the Brazilian firm said in a securities filing.* BAKKAVOR: Bakkavor, one of the biggest suppliers of ready meals to Marks & Spencer and Waitrose, is exploring plans for a stock market float that could value it at up to 1.5 billion pounds, The Times reported on Sunday.( bit.ly/2gVBiTo )* B&M EUROPEAN VALUE RETAIL: Asda, the British supermarket arm of Wal-Mart Stores, is considering a 4.4 billion pounds ($5.7 billion) takeover of B&M European Value Retail, the discount retailer run by the billionaire Arora brothers, The Sunday Times reported.* AIM: Companies leaving London''s junior stock market because a broker or investment bank has quit as their adviser has hit a record this year, an accountancy firm specialising in the sector said.* BRITAIN ECONOMY: British households'' financial situation has deteriorated at the fastest rate in three years this month, as families increasingly shy away from big purchases like cars, holidays and household appliances, a survey showed on Monday.* LME COPPER: London Metal Exchange copper CMCU3 was trading up 0.1 percent at $6,013 a tonne by 0520 GMT, following a 0.8-percent gain in the previous session when prices reached their highest since March 1 at $6,051.* GOLD: Gold prices touched their highest in four weeks on Monday, supported by political uncertainty in the United States that pushed the dollar to its lowest in over a year. Spot gold was nearly flat at $1,254.31 per ounce at 0346 GMT. It earlier hit a 4-week high of $1,257.18 an ounce, having risen 2.1 percent last week.* OIL: Oil prices gained on Monday after a steep fall the session before, buoyed by expectations that a joint OPEC and non-OPEC meeting later in the day may address rising output in Nigeria and Libya, two OPEC members so far exempt from a push to cut production.* The UK blue chip FTSE 100 index was down 0.5 percent on Friday but had its strongest weekly gains in two months, sheltered from the battering European stocks experienced at the mercy of a strong euro, while mid-caps had their best week in nearly a year.* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarketsToday''s Uk Papers > Financial Times> Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Siju Varghese; Editing by Sunil Nair) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idUSL3N1KF2FT'|'2017-07-24T09:37:00.000+03:00' +'82499aca5d3284022591fcebb5afb3084fcdb21c'|'Delta proceeds with New York''s LaGuardia $4 billion project without Goldman'|'July 20, 2017 / 8:49 PM / 13 hours ago Delta proceeds with New York''s LaGuardia $4 billion project without Goldman Hilary Russ 3 Min Read Stranded travellers wait in a nearly empty Delta Airlines terminal at New York''s LaGuardia Airport during a powerful winter storm in New York City, U.S., February 9, 2017. Mike Segar NEW YORK (Reuters) - Transportation officials on Thursday approved a revised $4 billion plan from Delta Air Lines ( DAL.N ) to renovate its terminal at New York''s LaGuardia Airport after Goldman, Sachs & Co ( GS.N ), a financial partner in the project, exited the deal. Delta now plans to pay for nearly the entire project by itself, although the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will still contribute up to $600 million as previously agreed. "Following a period of fiscal review, Delta has opted to directly fund and finance the costs of its LaGuardia redevelopment project, an arrangement that Delta and Goldman Sachs agree is in the best interest of both parties," Delta told Reuters in a statement. Representatives from Goldman Sachs did not reply to a request for comment. The Port Authority board signed off on the revised deal at a meeting on Thursday. The authority operates LaGuardia and other major New York City-area airports. The board had agreed in January to enter a 33-year lease for the terminal with an entity owned jointly by Delta and West Street Infrastructure Partners III, a fund managed by Goldman. The entity was to contribute $300 million in equity investments and $3.6 billion in debt financing for the design, construction and financing of a new 37-gate terminal. But without Goldman, the equity component is no longer necessary, said Huntley Lawrence, the authority''s aviation director. Delta will use a combination of direct investments and debt financing, he said. "It''s a beneficial change," Port Authority Board Chairman John Degnan said, noting that it would increase accountability. Delta alone will be responsible for any potential cost overruns. The project, expected to be substantially completed by 2026, will improve roadways, expand the East Parking Garage, connect to the central hall, build a new electrical substation and reconstruct taxi and for-hire vehicle areas. Delta''s redesigned terminal will come in addition to a separate $4 billion public-private partnership, currently under way, to rebuild the airport''s central terminal. Both are among a handful of projects that are helping the Port Authority shift construction risk - often a costly problem in big public works - to the private sector where appropriate, its executive director Pat Foye said. In total, the projects amount to "$12 billion of complicated transportation construction with risk born by the private sector and not the public," Foye said. Reporting by Hilary Russ; Editing by Daniel Bases and Phil Berlowitz 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-new-york-airport-delta-idUSKBN1A52SM'|'2017-07-20T23:48:00.000+03:00' +'e8de22fdff1a596c9058c2c3dca5eec5c50f4f77'|'Credit Suisse CEO flags start of work on 2018-2020 plan'|'Edition United States July 17, 2017 / 3:25 PM / in 16 minutes Credit Suisse CEO flags start of work on 2018-2020 plan Joshua Franklin 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - CEO Tidjane Thiam (R) of Swiss bank Credit Suisse awaits a news conference to present the bank''s halfyear results in Zurich, Switzerland July 28, 2016. Arnd Wiegmann ZURICH (Reuters) - Credit Suisse begins work this month on planning for its strategic priorities beyond the Swiss bank''s current set of targets, Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam said in a memo to staff. Credit Suisse aims to achieve its current capital, cost and pre-tax income targets by 2018 but Thiam told staff preparation will start in July on its 2018-2020 plan. Thiam, who took over as CEO just over two years ago, sent the memo after a two-day annual strategy break at the end of June attended by the board of directors and executive board. "Looking beyond 2018, we agreed there would continue to be significant value creation opportunities available to a restructured Credit Suisse, and that would translate into a growing valuation of Credit Suisse as we continue to allocate more capital towards businesses that will generate higher returns and are more capital efficient," Thiam said in the memo which was sent to staff on Friday and seen by Reuters on Monday. "Over time, this will increase the size and proportion of our capital allocated to businesses which attract a higher market multiple, driving our valuation higher." Credit Suisse confirmed the memo, which was reported earlier by Bloomberg. Thiam said the board normally holds the strategy away day at the end of August but this year decided to hold it earlier "so that its conclusions could inform the preparation of the 2018-2020 plan, which kicks off in July". Since joining from UK insurer Prudential in mid-2015, Thiam has refocused Credit Suisse away from investment banking, and looked to make wealth management and private banking its core business. He has also cut costs by several billion dollars and raised around 10 billion Swiss francs ($10.4 billion) in fresh capital. "With the progress achieved to date, we believe we are on track to deliver on our strategic ambitions," Thiam said. Since Thiam laid out his strategy blue-print in October 2015, Credit Suisse''s share price is down by around a third with the bank posting a 2.7 billion franc loss last year. For the first quarter of 2017 Credit Suisse reported net profit of 596 million francs, its highest quarterly profit since the restructuring. Zurich-based Credit Suisse, Switzerland''s second-biggest bank after UBS, reports second-quarter results on July 28. Editing by Susan Thomas'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-credit-suisse-gp-strategy-idUKKBN1A21ND'|'2017-07-17T18:19:00.000+03:00' +'11529b4fa49c60e2b5e3f6ff08c17181dfd3b569'|'Airbus signs deal to sell 140 planes to China'|' 2:15pm BST Airbus signs deal to sell 140 planes worth $23 billion to China The logo of Airbus Group is seen on the company''s headquarters building in Toulouse, Southwestern France, April 18, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau BERLIN Airbus ( AIR.PA ) has signed an agreement to sell 140 aircraft to China, it said on Wednesday, in a deal worth almost $23 billion at list prices. The agreement, signed during a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Germany, is for 100 A320 family aircraft and 40 A350 planes, Airbus said. "It''s one of the biggest deals that we''ve signed in a long time," Airbus Group Chief Executive Tom Enders told journalists after signing the deal in Berlin. The planes will be purchased by state-owned China Aviation Supplies Holding Company, which will then allocate them to Chinese airlines. The A320 planes will be a mixture of the older CEO and the new NEO version with revamped engines, while the majority of the A350 orders are for the -900 model. The deal is flexible pending negotiations with the airlines. Enders said he expected up to 50 percent of the A320 family planes would come from the Airbus final assembly line in China. Enders was making his first public appearance since Airbus rolled out a new structure, completing a recent merger between its parent company and its dominant planemaking arm, changes which included a shift in the reporting line for its commercial sales team to Enders. Enders said the shift in reporting lines for the sales team reflected the fact that commercial aircraft head Fabrice Bregier had been given more tasks in his new role as group-wide chief operating officer. With orders slowing and the focus shifting to the backlog, Enders said the shake-up allows Bregier to concentrate on deliveries. "This is merely a burden sharing mechanism because the focus should be on execution and this is what it''s all about," Enders said. "We have plenty of challenges on the execution side, be it the transition to the NEO, the ramp-up of the A320 family, the 350 family, not to mention the A400M, which is not entirely solved," he said. Enders also said the group was in talks with the Chinese over the A380 superjumbo, which has suffered slow sales. "It won''t happen overnight. It has to be intensively discussed," he said. (Reporting by Victoria Bryan; editing by Maria Sheahan and Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-airbus-china-idUKKBN19Q1A1'|'2017-07-05T13:57:00.000+03:00' +'3f3f19f6dfabad71ce0bb79d65b7406bfccc8525'|'Moscow, Beijing to inject additional $1 billion into Russia-China Investment Fund'|' Moscow, Beijing to inject additional $1 billion into Russia-China Investment Fund MOSCOW Russian and Chinese sovereign wealth funds, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and China Investment Corporation (CIC), will inject an additional $1 billion (773 million)into the capital of their joint fund, the Russia-China Investment Fund, RDIF said on Tuesday. RDIF added in a statement that another up to $2 billion could be provided by new investors which the fund did not name. In a separate statement, RDIF said it had agreed with China Development Bank to establish Russia-China Investment Cooperation Fund in yuan worth 68 billion yuan or $10 billion, for direct investments in national currencies both in Russia and China. (Reporting by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Dmitry Solovyov)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-china-funds-idUKKBN19P1QF'|'2017-07-04T16:43:00.000+03:00' +'913ae1ace93d5439c19872976848a0a25e48e9ad'|'China certifies COMAC to mass produce ARJ-21 regional jets - Xinhua'|'Business News - Sun Jul 9, 2017 - 7:13am BST China certifies COMAC to mass produce ARJ-21 regional jets - Xinhua FILE PHOTO - Models of an ARJ-21 jet is presented by Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) at an air show, the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China, November 1, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer BEIJING Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd (COMAC) [CMAFC.UL] has received approval to begin mass production of its ARJ-21 jet, the official Xinhua News Agency reported on its social media account on Sunday. The state-owned plane maker received a production certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), the news agency said. Shanghai-based COMAC last year said that orders for the twin-engine jet had reached 413 from 19 customers. COMAC is also developing a bigger C919 jet as part of its efforts to compete against Boeing ( BA.N ) and Airbus ( AIR.PA ) in the lucrative narrow-body market. The C919 had 24 customers and 600 orders, COMAC said in June. (Reporting By Matthew Miller and Fang Cheng; Editing by Himani Sarkar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-comac-approval-idUKKBN19U05M'|'2017-07-09T09:13:00.000+03:00' +'f245536b47cf07ac5a7e4e7436c0be0f067df2dd'|'GlaxoSmithKline''s new CEO prepares to trim drug pipeline'|'July 21, 2017 / 1:06 PM / 26 minutes ago GlaxoSmithKline''s new CEO prepares to trim drug pipeline 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The GlaxoSmithKline building is pictured in Hounslow, west London June 18, 2013. Luke MacGregor/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline''s ( GSK.L ) new chief executive, who has already made her mark with plans to divest some nutritional products, will turn next week to the main business of focussing the company''s pipeline of new drugs. Despite her non-pharmaceutical background in consumer brands, Emma Walmsley sees improving drug research productivity as her top priority, and she wants Britain''s biggest drugmaker to have fewer but potentially more lucrative new medicine launches in future. That means axing or licensing out some experimental drugs in non-core therapy areas, while boosting investment - as well as potential early-stage acquisitions - in the most promising fields, according to company insiders. Even after recent expansion of GSK''s vaccines and consumer health units, pharmaceuticals still account for nearly 70 percent of group operating profits. Yet while GSK now has leading positions in vaccines and consumer health, it has a lacklustre record in prescription medicines and has not come up with the kind of multibillion-dollar products launched by big pharma rivals in recent years. Walmsley will flesh out her plans for overhauling drug research when she presents second quarter results on July 26. She has already flagged her readiness to scrap products not generating sufficient value with plans to sell off malted drink Horlicks in Britain and MaxiNutrition, while considering the disposal of older antibiotics. Describing the approach after presenting her first set of results in April, she said: "We will need to be switching off some areas." The goal is to sharpen what is currently one of the more diverse drug pipelines in the pharmaceuticals industry, spread across a wide range of therapy areas. In some fields, like respiratory and HIV medicine, GSK has a clear leading position. But it lags in others such as cardiovascular, rare diseases and diabetes, and some investors worry it has been spreading its R&D budget too thinly. The result can be sub-optimal product launches, such as Tanzeum for type 2 diabetes, which has generated disappointing sales after GSK launched the injection behind rival medicines from Novo Nordisk ( NOVOb.CO ) and AstraZeneca ( AZN.L ). Others, like a novel pill for heart disease, have flopped in tests even before getting to market, while its lupus drug Benlysta has failed to hit initial blockbuster sales forecasts, despite GSK spending $3 billion to buy the firm that invented it. Following Astrazeneca? In prioritising areas where GSK has deep scientific and market expertise, Walmsley wants the R&D and commercial departments at GSK to work together much more closely in future. In some ways, GSK looks set to follow in the footsteps of its smaller British rival AstraZeneca ( AZN.L ), which has divested a large number of non-core drug projects recently as it concentrates on core areas like cancer. Significantly, former AstraZeneca executive Luke Miels will be a key lieutenant for Walmsley during the shake-up. He will join GSK in September, several months later than planned due to a legal tussle with his former employer. Analysts and investors have welcomed the idea of rationalising GSK''s R&D, but caution it will be a long haul. "Its a company which has struggled to do what you would hope a pharmaceutical company would do, which is do the R&D and successfully get the products through," said Insight Investment fund manager Tim Rees. Rees said an R&D revamp made sense but it would take 5-7 years to yield results. Fortunately, Walmsley has a window to make the changes. GSK is not expecting its next wave of new drugs until after 2020 and also has no significant patent expiries, barring the imminent loss of protection on lung drug Advair, until 2026. Additional reporting by Simon Jessop; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-gsk-ceo-idUKKBN1A61K5'|'2017-07-21T16:05:00.000+03:00' +'8121c0ed4be0cb5e95d3b0bae3bbbe4fca27bf31'|'TalkTalk adds 20,000 broadband customers in first quarter'|'July 19, 2017 / 6:19 AM / 16 minutes ago Contract offers help TalkTalk to add 20,000 broadband customers Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A spotlight shines on a company logo at a TalkTalk building in London, Britain October 23, 2015. Stefan Wermuth - RTS5S1E/File PhotoSS LONDON (Reuters) - Britain''s TalkTalk added 20,000 broadband customers to its network over the last three months, helped by take-up of its longer-term fixed price contracts. The company, under the new leadership team of executive chairman Charles Dunstone and chief executive Tristia Harrison, is returning to its roots as a low-cost challenger to BT, Sky and Virgin Media. Harrison said 1.3 million customers were now on the company''s fixed price plans, with most taking 18 or 24 month contracts. "We fully expect momentum to continue, in both consumer and in business," she said. "The price certainty we are giving to consumers, particularly in this economic environment, is playing well." However, group revenue was down 3.2 percent year on year in three months to the end of June, reflecting the cost of switching customers to the new plans and losses in its customer base last year. Harrison said she expected revenue to return to growth as the year progressed. Churn -- the number of existing subscribers leaving the network -- fell to 1.2 percent. Shares in TalkTalk were little changed at 183.9 pence at 0850 GMT and analysts said a second quarter of subscriber growth was reassuring. TalkTalk said it was sticking to its outlook for full-year earnings of 270 million - 300 million pounds ($352-391 million, a range it cut in May when it also halved its annual dividend. Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by James Davey/Keith Weir 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-talktalk-tlcm-gp-outlook-idUKKBN1A40FF'|'2017-07-19T09:24:00.000+03:00' +'3fdc9d518b7ad4da50c4bd2d94204fcf3cd26fc1'|'Citigroup sees slightly lower returns from branded cards business'|'Edition United States July 20, 2017 / 4:39 PM / 21 minutes ago Citigroup sees slightly lower returns from branded cards business 2 Min Read Traders work in the Citigroup booth on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., May 25, 2016. Brendan McDermid NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc ( C.N ) trimmed its outlook on Friday for the profitability of its North American branded credit cards business to a 2.15 percent return on assets from 2.25 percent. Chief Financial Officer John Gerspach, speaking in a quarterly conference call with fixed income investors, said the revision is a result of changing interest rates and a greater portion of the business coming from its new Costco ( COST.O ) co-branded card. The Costco card, he said, is outperforming expectations and will bring in more revenue and income but with a lower return on assets. Gerspach said the Costco card business, which Citigroup won by outbidding American Express ( AXP.N ), is exceeding the bank''s targets for numbers of accounts, use by customers, revenue and return on assets. Gerspach''s comments provided a hint of the details that analysts expect to hear from Citigroup on Tuesday when the bank holds its first "investor day" conference since the financial crisis. He also said that Citigroup''s retail services division, which mostly issues store-branded cards in the United States, is still expected to earn a 2.50 return on assets despite a rise in the rate of losses on accounts because of new problems collecting from delinquent borrowers. The two North American credit card businesses provided nearly 20 percent of Citigroup''s income from continuing operations in 2016. Reporting by David Henry in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-citigroup-outlook-cards-idUSKBN1A529W'|'2017-07-20T19:37:00.000+03:00' +'8aabe64c282fa22ab9c7533acb332961d22ff26f'|'Musk says received "verbal" approval for NY-DC hyperloop, gives no detail'|'Elon Musk, founder, CEO and lead designer at SpaceX and co-founder of Tesla, speaks at the International Space Station Research and Development Conference in Washington, U.S., July 19, 2017. Aaron P. Bernstein SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk on Thursday said he had received "verbal" approval to start building a high-speed underground transport system linking New York and Washington that could cut travel time between the cities to about half an hour.Musk, the chief executive of electric car maker Tesla Inc and rocket company SpaceX, is seeking to revolutionize transportation by sending passengers and cargo packed into pods through an intercity system of giant vacuum tubes known as the "hyperloop."He recently started a project, the Boring Company, to build transport tunnels for the system, which he says would be far faster than current high-speed trains and use electromagnetic propulsion.In tweets on Thursday Musk said he had "just received verbal government approval for the Boring Company to build an underground NY-Phil-Balt-DC hyperloop. NY-DC in 29 mins."Amtrak''s high-speed Acela train currently takes nearly three hours to cover the distance between the two cities, assuming no delays.Without clarifying, Musk also tweeted that a first set of tunnels would be to "alleviate greater LA (Los Angeles) urban congestion," adding that the company would "probably" do a loop from Los Angeles to San Francisco, and another in Texas."City center to city center in each case, with up to a dozen or more entry/exit elevators in each city," he wrote.Musk acknowledged there was still a "lot of work" to do before formal approval was granted, but said he was optimistic.Signaling that Musk''s tweets may be premature, the press secretary for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted a reply: "This is news to City Hall."Last month, Musk tweeted that he had "promising conversations" about a tunnel network with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.By traveling in vacuum tubes on magnetic cushions, hyperloop trains would avoid being slowed down by air pressure or the friction of wheels on rails, making them faster and cheaper to operate, supporters say. A number of startups have begun to develop the technology, despite concerns about the cost and practicality.On its website, the Boring Company says its goal is to lower costs by a factor of 10 or more. Some tunneling projects today cost as much as $1 billion per mile, the company said.In 2013, Musk said a hyperloop between Los Angeles and San Francisco would cost less than $6 billion and take seven to 10 years for completion.Major infrastructure projects typically require complex approval from various levels of government and likely would cost billions of dollars.President Donald Trump in March met with Musk, who raised the Boring Company idea then, White House officials said. Musk also talked about his plans to launch a mission to Mars.White House National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn in April praised the idea of Musk using tunnels to speed rail transit on the densely populated east coast of the United States and also to cut traffic congestion in Los Angeles.In a statement, the White House said it had had "promising conversations to date" with Musk and was committed to "transformative infrastructure projects."The Boring Company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Reporting By Peter Henderson, David Shepardson and Alexandria Sage; editing by Bernard Orr and Tom Brown '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-hyperloop-musk-idUSKBN1A525F'|'2017-07-20T18:53:00.000+03:00' +'f4b78c74d937c36179359847ef02e5d5e236c3f5'|'MOVES-KCG electronic trading head Tusar exits firm as Virtu closes deal'|'July 20, 2017 / 3:25 PM / 9 minutes ago MOVES-KCG electronic trading head Tusar exits firm as Virtu closes deal John McCrank 1 Min Read NEW YORK, July 20 (Reuters) - Greg Tusar, an electronic trading pioneer, confirmed that he left KCG Holdings Inc upon the closing of the firm''s $1.4 billion takeover by rival Virtu Financial Inc on Thursday. Tusar was head of electronic execution and platforms at KCG, responsible for sales, products and platforms globally. He joined KCG in 2013 after 13 years at Goldman Sachs, where he was partner and head of electronic equities trading. The 47-year-old said he planned to spend some time tending to his small Bernardsville, New Jersey-based family farm, which has apple orchards and bees, while he decides what do next. Virtu, which announced in April that it would buy rival KCG, bringing together two of the largest U.S. electronic trading and market-making firms, declined to comment. Tusar was eligible for $6.9 million in cash and stock upon termination of his position, according to a KCG regulatory filing dated June 28. (Reporting by John McCrank; Editing by Bernard Orr) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/kcg-hldgs-virtu-fincl-moves-idUSL1N1IR1S8'|'2017-07-20T18:23:00.000+03:00' +'e7abfa94f641fb2059402a5bdc763b74ecc46efb'|'Akzo Nobel CEO quits, successor must deliver merger defence promises'|'July 19, 2017 / 9:23 AM / 11 minutes ago Akzo Nobel CEO quits, successor must deliver merger defence promises 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: -- Akzo Nobel''s logo is seen in Amsterdam, Netherlands, February 16, 2012. Robin van Lonkhuijsen/United Photos/File Photo AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The chief executive of Akzo Nobel, Ton Buechner, has stepped down for health reasons, leaving his successor to deliver the higher sales and margins promised when the Dutch paintmaker fended off a U.S. takeover attempt this year. Chemicals division chief Thierry Vanlancker, 52, who joined in 2016, replaces Buechner, who repelled a 26.3 billion euro ($30.35 billion) bid by U.S. rival PPG Industries with promises to produce better investor returns alone. A chunk of the Dutch firm''s shareholders, including hedge fund Elliott Advisors, were open to a PPG buyout and frustrated by Buechner''s defence. PPG cannot swiftly launch a new bid after the change of CEO as Dutch market rules mean it must wait until November at the earliest. PPG may also be reluctant to try again as its bid was equally opposed by Akzo Chairman Antony Burgmans, who remains. Akzo shares traded flat at 77.96 euros in mid-morning trade. Vanlancker, a Belgian, now has to deliver the stronger sales growth and margin improvements that Buechner and Burgmans promised in their struggle to avoid a merger. Analysts say those targets will be tough to achieve. In his resignation statement, Buechner said: "For me this was an extraordinarily difficult decision to make but my focus must now be on my health." Burgmans declined to elaborate on details of Buechner''s illness, saying he regretted "only that he has decided to step down." Buechner "felt that if he continued to subject himself to the pressures of his office, that would endanger his health," Burgmans told reporters on a conference call. Buechner told Akzo''s board about his decision on Tuesday, Burgmans said. Vanlancker was previously identified as the person who would take Buechner''s job as part of emergency contingency planning. In his current post, Vanlancker was expected to oversee the sale or initial public offering (IPO) of Akzo''s specialty chemicals division. Vanlancker previously worked for Chemours, which was spun off from DuPont in 2015. Buechner''s surprise announcement means his tenure at Akzo Nobel has ended almost as it began. In September 2012, a half year after he took the top job, Buechner stepped down on his doctor''s advice, suffering from what the company described as "over-tiredness." He resumed work in December the same year. Buechner''s tenure was mostly regarded as successful. "Buechner has been responsible for overseeing the successful transformation of the business, including portfolio reshaping ..., de-risking of the pension funds, cutting costs and driving efficiency gains that have raised both margins and returns," Morgan Stanley analyst wrote in a note. But the firm faced a minor shareholder rebellion after it rejected talks with PPG, leading to a shareholder lawsuit still in progress seeking to have Burgmans ousted. Faced with opposition from Akzo''s board, many employees and Dutch politicians, PPG walked away from its bid for Akzo on June 1. Baader Helvea analysts said changing the CEO was "neither an indication that a renewed PPG bid with a higher success chance might occur nor that the activist investors were successful." Repeating a "sell" rating, they said Akzo Nobel''s supervisory board was the main obstacle to a merger and said the company''s operations have likely been suffering from higher raw material prices for key paint ingredients. Akzo reports second quarter earnings July 25. ($1 = 0.8666 euros) Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Edmund Blair 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/akzo-nobel-ceo-idINKBN1A40R6'|'2017-07-19T12:19:00.000+03:00' +'090590820571bc9d0d2c1e87e011916ebacf1881'|'France will nationalize disputed shipyard in standoff with Italy: Le Monde'|'July 27, 2017 / 8:57 AM / 30 minutes ago France nationalises shipyard to thwart Italian majority, angering Rome Leigh Thomas and Crispian Balmer 4 Min Read The logo of STX is seen during a press conference at the STX Les Chantiers de l''Atlantique shipyard site in Saint-Nazaire, western France, western France, January 4, 2017. Stephane Mahe PARIS/ROME (Reuters) - France will nationalize the STX France shipyard to prevent an Italian firm taking majority control, the economy minister said on Thursday, triggering an angry response from Rome to President Emmanuel Macron''s first big industrial policy decision. As France''s most avowedly pro-business leader in decades, few would have predicted the former investment banker''s first big move in the corporate sector would be a nationalization, even if the government says it will only be temporary. However, his action, which added further strain to France''s relationship with Italy, fits with the interventionist style of other postwar French leaders. It also crosses into the defense sector, where many national governments prefer to wield influence over ownership. The Italian state-owned shipbuilder Fincantieri ( FCT.MI ) had reached an agreement in May to pay 79.5 million euros ($93.20 million) for two-thirds of STX France, which is being sold because of the collapse of its South Korean parent, STX. This week it rejected a French government proposal to settle for 50-50 ownership instead. That prompted the French state, which had a minority stake, to exercise pre-emption rights to buy out other shareholders before those rights expire at the end of the month, in effect giving Paris more time to come up with another solution. Related Coverage French shipyard move ''incomprehensible'' says angry Italy "This decision is in line with the economic strategy that we want to build with the president of the Republic and the prime minister," Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire told a news conference. "We want to free up France''s exceptional productive capacities and protect our strategic interests," he said, adding that the 50-50 ownership offer was still on the table and that he would visit Rome on Tuesday. While Italy''s government warmly welcomed the election of Macron in May, viewing the pro-European centrist as someone who could help Rome on an array of issues, the STX move added to other decisions that have upset it. Macron''s talks this week with Libyan leaders irritated Rome, which had previously taken the lead in efforts to bring peace to its former North African colony, and was already disappointed by the new president''s migration policies. "Incomprehensible" The STX nationalization also goes to the heart of Italy''s long-held view that French companies'' acquisitions on its territory are a one-way street. Italian Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan and Industry Minister Carlo Calenda called France''s decision to nationalise the shipyard "grave and incomprehensible". "Nationalism and protectionism are not an acceptable basis for establishing relations between two great European countries," they said in a joint statement. The prospect of a Fincantieri takeover had raised fears in France about jobs at the Saint-Nazaire site, and the government was also concerned about the strategic importance of the yard, the only one in the country big enough to build aircraft carriers and other large warships. "The Saint-Nazaire shipyards are not destined to remain under state control," Le Maire said. "The pre-emption decision is temporary and should give us the time to negotiate in the best conditions." The decision, which was welcomed by French politicians of all political stripes, flies in the face of any expectations that Macron, who in his former post as economy minister sought to liberalise swathes of the economy, would break with the French state''s tradition of intervention in business. Even while economy minister, Macron forced through a shareholder vote that increased the government''s power over carmaker Renault. Since becoming president in May, he has also forced carmakers to help fund a failing parts manufacturer. Additional reporting by Myriam Rivet and Ingrid Melander; Editing by Kevin Liffey 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-stx-m-a-fincantieri-france-idUSKBN1AC16H'|'2017-07-27T16:57:00.000+03:00' +'ee073d932d2e095b573f60191c18d0db1f1a89a9'|'Kroger to make $1 bln contribution to its benefit plans'|'July 17, 2017 / 1:21 PM / 4 hours ago Kroger to make $1 billion contribution to its benefit plans 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A can of Kroger brand mushrooms is displayed in Golden, Colorado September 15, 2009. Rick Wilking (Reuters) - Kroger Co ( KR.N ), the biggest U.S. supermarket operator, said on Monday it would make a contribution of up to $1 billion to its under-funded benefit plans. The company will issue debt to pay for its pension liability, Kroger said in a regulatory filing, adding its overall balance sheet obligations will not change. ( bit.ly/2u0MKRP ) Kroger said contributions to the plan are "strategic opportunities" due to the current interest rate environment and potential changes to the U.S. tax code, among others. Certain benefit balances of the fund could be transferred to other retirement plan options or a lump sum payout. Kroger, which had total debt of $13.44 billion as of May 20, said it would incur a one-time expense following the settlement, but noted that the expense would not affect its 2017 earnings forecast. Last month, Kroger slashed its full-year earnings forecast as inventory accounting charges and labor costs rose amid an intensifying price war. The company, which has been looking for ways to cut costs as it selectively raises wages to retain workers, last month said talks with labor unions would be challenging as it aims to maintain "competitive cost structures". Shares of the grocer were flat in early trading on Monday. Reporting by Divya Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-kroger-debt-idUSKBN1A21B9'|'2017-07-17T16:11:00.000+03:00' +'41640e36ebca601365d438efc16f68f90ee56dcf'|'Germany to protect firms from foreign takeovers - report'|'July 11, 2017 / 10:15 PM / 28 minutes ago Germany to protect firms from foreign takeovers - report Reuters Staff 1 Min Read German Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Brigitte Zypries speaks during an interview with Reuters in Berlin, Germany June 16, 2017. Stefanie Loos BERLIN (Reuters) - The German cabinet is set to discuss plans on Wednesday that will make it easier to intervene to stop the sale of strategic firms to foreign investors, a newspaper reported. The Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily said it had obtained a copy of new regulations proposed by the economy ministry which will allow the government to block takeovers if they could endanger critical infrastructure. The move comes after the takeover of German robotics maker Kuka ( KU2G.DE ) by China''s Midea ( 000333.SZ ) sparked controversy, amid fears that China is taking control of key technologies while protecting its own companies against foreign takeovers. Earlier this year, the German economics ministry withdrew approval for Fujian Grand Chip Investment Fund (FGC) to buy chip equipment maker Aixtron ( AIXGn.DE ), citing security concerns. Reporting by Emma Thomasson; editing by Andrew Roche 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-m-a-idUKKBN19W2QX'|'2017-07-12T01:14:00.000+03:00' +'be126c812e17de300b7947f23a32f567c1f92344'|'Comcast results top estimates on film, theme parks growth'|'July 27, 2017 / 10:09 AM / 8 hours ago Comcast results top estimates on film, theme parks growth Anjali Athavaley 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The NBC and Comcast logo are displayed on top of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, formerly known as the GE building, in New York, New York, U.S. on July 1, 2015. Brendan McDermid/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - Comcast Corp''s ( CMCSA.O ) quarterly results topped Wall Street analysts'' estimates on higher revenue in its filmed entertainment and theme parks businesses, even as the No. 1 U.S. cable operator lost video subscribers. Net income attributable to Comcast rose 23.9 percent to $2.51 billion, or 52 cents a share, during the company''s second quarter ended June 30, up from $2.03 billion, or 41 cents a share. Revenue rose 9.8 percent to $21.16 billion. Analysts had expected earnings of 48 cents per share and revenue of $20.85 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Comcast and other pay TV operators are facing pressure as younger viewers drop bigger cable bundles in favor of cheaper streaming options such as Netflix Inc ( NFLX.O ). The company has tried to make its X1 set top box a destination for a variety of content. Last year, Comcast made Netflix available through X1 and announced a similar deal with Alphabet Inc''s ( GOOGL.O ) YouTube in February.Still, it lost 34,000 video subscribers in the quarter, compared to 4,000 customers it lost in the year earlier period. Comcast also added 175,000 broadband subscribers, compared to additions of 220,000 a year ago. Filmed entertainment revenue rose 59.6 percent on the strength of movies such as "The Fate of the Furious" while theme parks revenue increased 15.6 percent. Comcast introduced a wireless service in May with the hopes of bundling more services together and increasing customer loyalty. The service, called Xfinity Mobile, launched on Verizon Communications Inc''s ( VZ.N ) airwaves as part of a 2011 agreement between the companies. Sources told Reuters in June that Comcast and cable operator Charter Communications Inc ( CHTR.O ) are in talks with Sprint Corp ( S.N ) to secure a similar agreement to use the wireless carrier''s network. Reporting by Anjali Athavaley; Editing by Phil Berlowitz 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-comcast-results-idUSKBN1AC1GY'|'2017-07-27T13:09:00.000+03:00' +'14ddd6055677c8d6a7190c6009badaa623d250b2'|'Thyssenkrupp CEO keen for Tata steel merger deal before end-September: sources'|'Heinrich Hiesinger, chief executive of ThyssenKrupp addresses the company''s annual shareholders meeting in Bochum, Germany, January 27, 2017. Thilo Schmuelgen LONDON/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Thyssenkrupp''s ( TKAG.DE ) chief executive is pushing for a deal to fold its steel operations into a joint venture with India''s Tata Steel ( TISC.NS ) as early as September, after two years of talks, sources told Reuters.The talks are more advanced than previously thought, the sources said.With earnings from Thyssenkrupp''s industrials businesses sound and those at the steel unit weak due to structural overcapacity in the sector, Chief Executive Heinrich Hiesinger is facing pressure from investors to deliver the merger."The fiscal year will come to an end soon (in September) and Hiesinger wants to have a story for investors. If it would not come to a merger it would be a severe defeat for (him)," a German union source said.Hiesinger has staked his reputation on transforming Thyssenkrupp from a loss-making steelmaker into a diversified industrials group, with steel now contributing just under a quarter of the firm''s revenues.His ultimate aim is for Thyssenkrupp to exit the steel business altogether."He (Hiesinger) has invested too much time for it to now fail," a banking source familiar with the matter said.The biggest stumbling block in talks to merge the two firms'' European steel assets was largely resolved in May, when Tata said it had agreed the main terms of a deal with the British regulator to cut benefits for its 15 billion pound ($19.40 billion) UK pension scheme.With Thyssenkrupp said to be satisfied with the preliminary deal and German unions acknowledging behind the scenes that they cannot stop the merger, sources said the long-running talks should be formalized in the next couple of months.One source familiar with the matter said much still hinged on final clearance from the regulator for the Tata pensions deal and that both sides were unlikely to make any announcement before then. A pensions source, however, said regulatory clearance was pending."I would be surprised if it (clearance) didn''t happen by September," he said.Tata Steel and Thyssenkrupp declined to comment.With both companies having suffered heavy losses in steel in recent years, they are intent on a merger that would bring capacity cuts, consolidation, pricing power and synergy savings.While German unions are publicly against the venture, they privately acknowledge they cannot stop a deal even if all 10 union representatives on Thyssenkrupp''s supervisory board vote against it.They are concerned, however, that Thyssenkrupp is looking to take on a minority stake in the joint venture and is keen on handing over day to day management to Tata. Unions fear any future job cuts would fall disproportionately on them versus legacy Tata staff.It could take three to four years to integrate the two operations and deliver the sort of savings - 500 million euros a year by some estimates - that could help pave the way for an initial public offering that would see Thyssenkrupp finally exit the steel sector.The Tata pensions deal alone could take until early next year to implement even though it is due to be cleared shortly, pensions sources say.However, Martin Hunter, principal at consultants Punter Southall, said that to avoid delay, Tata and Thyssenkrupp could announce the deal but make a final tie-up contingent on the end shape of the Tata pension deal.Additional reporting by Arno Schuetze, Tom Kaeckenhoff, Alexander Huebner and Georgina Prodhan in Frankfurt; and Euan Rocha in Mumbai; Editing by Veronica Brown and Susan Thomas '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-tata-steel-m-a-thyssenkrupp-idUSKBN1AB2IU'|'2017-07-27T01:56:00.000+03:00' +'6fd7029dcaec5915d2854ffeb5473d4e0dc50706'|'Wells Fargo cuts 69 executive jobs - spokesman'|'July 29, 2017 / 6:13 PM / 25 minutes ago Wells Fargo cuts 69 executive jobs - spokesman Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A Wells Fargo Bank is shown in Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S. on September 26, 2016. Mike Blake/File Photo (Reuters) - (This version of the July 28 story corrects paragraph 2 to say some executives are retiring with benefits instead of full benefits, corrects paragraph 5 to say 91 executives instead of 91 regional and area presidents) Wells Fargo & Co ( WFC.N ) said on Friday it is cutting 69 executive jobs at its retail unit, as part of a restructuring in the division. Some of the executives will retire with benefits while others may find positions elsewhere within the bank, said Wells Fargo spokesman Paul Gomez. Some of the executives may leave the bank, Gomez added. "We have just completed the process of consolidating the Regional President and Area President roles into a new position, Region Bank President," Mary Mack, senior executive vice president for community banking, said in an internal memo seen by Reuters. There will be 91 executives in the position that was newly created as part of the reorganization. News of the scandal-hit lender cutting senior executive jobs was earlier reported by Bloomberg. ( bloom.bg/2v59m5h ) Wells Fargo has been engulfed in scandal since September, when it reached a $190 million settlement with regulators over complaints that its retail banking staff had opened as many as 2.1 million unauthorized client accounts. Wells Fargo shares ended down 2.6 percent on Friday. Reporting by Akankshita Mukhopadhyay in Bengaluru and Dan Freed in New York; Editing by Kim Coghill 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-wells-fargo-jobs-idUKKBN1AE0MZ'|'2017-07-29T20:16:00.000+03:00' +'1fc7fb344937905ceb90a81cf87726196c4a61e5'|'Fashion M&A, like a crop top, is hard to pull off'|'July 10, 2017 / 11:03 PM / 4 hours ago Fashion M&A, like a crop top, is hard to pull off Lauren Hirsch 6 Min Read Signage is seen at the Abercrombie & Fitch store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., February 27, 2017. Andrew Kelly NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mergers and acquisitions for fashion retailers are like a crop top t-shirt: a risk best braved by a select few and avoided after a certain age. Abercrombie & Fitch Co ( ANF.N ), the teen brand with a 125-year heritage, became the latest to demonstrate that on Monday, ending talks about a potential sale after failing to agree terms with potential suitors. Successful deals in the mercurial world of U.S. fashion are rare, and now look even less likely to succeed as sales dip across the board. Cost savings can be counterproductive if it means squeezing money out of marketing and design, and buyers are taking a risk on a style that can easily go out of favor. As a result, established brands like Abercrombie are having problems finding a savior. "Often, as well as spending the money to buy the brand or business, you then have to spend more to do something strategic that will propel growth, and that means paying out twice before getting a return," said Neil Saunders, managing director of market research firm GlobalData Retail. Five of the 20 companies involved in the biggest private equity apparel deals of the last decade have been restructured or gone bankrupt. All struggled under the debt load of a leveraged buyout. The biggest acquisition, Apollo Global Management''s roughly $3.1 billion leveraged buyout of Claire''s Stores Inc, restructured in 2016. The second-largest acquisition, J. Crew Group Inc, which TPG Capital and Leonard Green & Partners bought for about $3 billion, is now being restructured. Gymboree Corp filed for bankruptcy last month, seven years after Bain Capital''s $1.8 billion purchase. Mounting Pressure Many U.S. fashion bosses are finding they have no option but to consider a sale as pressure mounts from more affordable fast-fashion chains from Europe such as Zara ( ITX.MC ) and H&M ( HMb.ST ), and customers abandon malls in favor of Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) and other online retailers. Outerwear brand Eddie Bauer, for example, is exploring a sale while also seeking relief from its debt load, sources have told Reuters. Teen brand American Apparel explored a sale last year before ultimately filing for bankruptcy. As Abercrombie''s experience shows, finding a willing buyer at the right price is difficult. "Public company board members are reticent about green-lighting large-scale mergers and acquisitions because it''s hard to find a good example of a business that has been rewarded by the equity market for doing so," said Rohit Singh, who specializes in retail at UBS Investment Bank, not speaking specifically about Abercrombie. Struggling retailers are a tough sell to potential acquirers. Merging with another company risks double the trouble more brands falling flat and more stores bereft of customers. Most fashion retailers are locked into store leases, and as landlords watch their malls empty out, they are increasingly unwilling to give their tenants and easy path out. "Perhaps the reason the Abercrombie deal didnt get done was that theyve got way too many stores in way too many malls that dont make any money, and the cost to unwind those pieces and get out of those stores is just too great to compensate for the upside," said Mark Belford, a retail specialist at KPMG Corporate Finance. After failing to strike a deal, Abercrombie now has no choice but to go it alone. On Monday, the New Albany, Ohio-based retailer said it will focus on its growing surf-wear brand Hollister and try to reposition its flagship brand, which has reported falling quarterly sales since 2014. Sinking Rocks The most successful acquisitions have been those of younger brands, which have room for growth and have yet to develop expensive supply chains and costly, little-used store bases. Gap Inc''s ( GPS.N ) $150 million purchase of athletic and yoga clothing line Athleta Inc in 2008, for example, gave it a foothold in a growing fashion trend. The acquisition helped save Gap when sales of its jeans slowed as shoppers shifted to leggings. Apparel retailers which bought rivals in the hope of finding growth or eliminating competition have found little payoff. Oftentimes, the companies themselves aren''t growing, so it doesn''t solve the underlying challenge," said Josh Chernoff, managing director, retail at consultant Parthenon-EY. "If you tie two rocks together, they sink just as fast or faster." The changing winds of fashion derailed Wolverine Worldwides $1.2 billion acquisition of boat shoe maker Sperry and other brands in 2012, several of which Wolverine tried to sell this year. Shoppers addiction to discounting crushed Men''s Wearhouse Inc''s $1.8 billion acquisition of rival Jos. A. Bank, the value of which was almost written off. The suit retailer''s sales plunged after it abandoned its famous "buy-one-get-three-free" specials in the wake of the 2014 merger. Ascena Retail Group Inc ( ASNA.O ), one of the few serial acquirers in U.S. apparel, has been laid low by its roughly $2.1 billion acquisition of Ann Inc, parent of work-wear line Ann Taylor. The 2015 acquisition was meant to give it a full portfolio of womenswear brands and enable it to cut $150 million over three years in costs as it centralized the different lines internet infrastructure, distribution and manufacturing. But sales for all its brands have dropped, most recently a combined 8 percent in the third quarter of 2017. Ascena''s market value is now $400 million, roughly 85 percent lower than before the deal. "Fashion is not something you can solve with math," said Belford. "Fashion you either get it or you dont, and it either sells or it sits on the shelf." Reporting by Lauren Hirsch in New York; Additional reporting by Richa Naidu in Chicago; Editing by Carmel Crimmins and Bill Rigby 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-m-a-fashion-idINKBN19V2SX'|'2017-07-11T01:59:00.000+03:00' +'ea290889efadef93cf1d8fd87e0e3731068c7c46'|'Insurance broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson posts higher pretax profit'|'July 27, 2017 / 6:56 AM / 8 minutes ago Insurance broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson posts higher pretax profit Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Insurance broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group Plc ( JLT.L ) said on Thursday that its first-half underlying pretax profit rose 12 percent to 100.1 million pounds ($131.44 million), helped by the impact of foreign exchange movements. Pretax profit rose to 99.2 million pounds from 55.2 million pounds, driven by reduced exceptional items. Total revenue rose 11 percent to 689.9 million pounds. Reporting by Dasha Afanasieva in London and Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Rachel Armstrong 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-jardine-lloyd-results-idUKKBN1AC0RF'|'2017-07-27T09:56:00.000+03:00' +'6d9169d55258298af99b61296c36267868754cdc'|'Areva says French state completes two billion-euro capital increase'|'July 12, 2017 / 8:22 PM / an hour ago Areva says French state completes two billion-euro capital increase Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A logo is seen on the Areva Tower, the headquarters of the French nuclear reactor maker Areva, by architects Roger Saubot et Francois Jullien at La Defense business and financial district in Courbevoie near Paris, France, June 1, 2017. Charles Platiau PARIS (Reuters) - Areva ( AREVA.PA ) said on Wednesday the French state had completed its 2 billion-euro (2 billion pounds) capital increase in the company, an important step in the restructuring of the French nuclear group. The reorganisation of the company, nearly entirely state-owned, involves the sale of Areva''s nuclear reactor business as New Areva NP to power utility EDF ( EDF.PA ) by the end of this year. Its uranium mining, nuclear fuel production and decommissioning activities will be transferred to a new company, NewCo. Areva and France''s finance ministry also said the state would also inject 2.5 billion euros into NewCo by July 31, while Japan''s MHI ( 7011.T ) and JNFL would put in capital totalling 500 million euros by the end of the month. "These capital increases, which represent an extraordinary mobilisation of resources by the state, is a key component and the last phase in the restructuring of the nuclear group, before exclusive control of New Areva NP is handed over to EDF," Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in a statement. The decision in 2015 to reorganise Areva SA came after the company was hit by low demand for nuclear power after the Fukushima disaster in Japan 2011. Le Maire said the past management of Areva had been "scandalous" but the government was regaining confidence in its leadership. After the sale of New Areva NP to EDF and the creation of NewCo, Areva SA will be left with managing the EPR OL3 nuclear power plant construction project in Finland, a project which has been beset by a series of delays and extra costs. ($1 = 0.8762 euros) Reporting by Jean-Michel Belot; writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Greg Mahlich 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-arevasa-capital-idUKKBN19X2QS'|'2017-07-12T23:22:00.000+03:00' +'40af3c0080149dded889207777da755a02bbe1f1'|'UK industry and trade disappoint in May, adding to questions over economic outlook'|'Top News - Fri Jul 7, 2017 - 1:50pm BST UK economy stumbles, casting doubt on BoE rate hike talk Workers assemble cars at the plant for the Mini range of cars in Cowley, near Oxford, Britain June 20, 2016. REUTERS/Leon Neal/Pool By Andy Bruce and Jonathan Cable - LONDON LONDON Britain''s economy has struggled to gain momentum after a slow start to 2017, according to data published on Friday which raised questions about the chances of the Bank of England raising interest rates this year. Output by British factories and the construction sector unexpectedly shrank in May, on top of weak spending by consumers who are feeling the pinch from accelerating inflation since last year''s vote to exit the European Union. The signs of continued weak growth came as businesses pressed British Prime Minister Theresa May and her government to negotiate a smooth Brexit in two years'' time, saying an abrupt departure would deter investment. An employers group said on Thursday that Britain should stay in the EU''s single market for a transition period. Executives from leading British companies were due to meet Brexit minister David Davis on Friday. Sterling dipped below $1.29 after Friday''s data and hit its lowest level since June 28. British government bond prices rose. Analysts said the economy was now unlikely to recover much speed in the second quarter, after expanding by just 0.2 percent in the first three months of the year. "It''s all building up a pattern here that says the economy is clearly losing momentum," said Peter Dixon, economist at Commerzbank. "It''s not pointing to a particularly dynamic second quarter. Under those circumstances, the timing of the hawks on the Monetary Policy Committee pushing for a rate hike doesn''t look great." Growth in the second quarter was likely to edge up only slightly to 0.3 percent, the National Institute for Economic and Social Research, a leading think tank, said. The Office for National Statistics said manufacturing output edged down by a monthly 0.2 percent, confounding forecasts for a 0.5 percent rise in a Reuters poll of economists. Construction figures were also much worse than expected with output in the three months to May down 1.2 percent, the sharpest such drop since October 2015. The strength of next Wednesday''s official data on wages is now likely to be critical for BoE policymakers as they mull whether to raise interest rates from their record low 0.25 percent. Financial markets suggested there was a roughly 1-in-3 chance of a rate hike this year, down from 1-in-2 a week ago. MPCOIS=ICAP Some BoE policymakers have been pushing for the first interest rate hike in a decade. Rate-setter Michael Saunders said this week he was "reasonably confident" improving exports and investment would more or less compensate for the consumer slowdown. The manufacturing figures were hit by a 4.4 percent drop on the month in motor vehicle output, the biggest fall in over a year. Industry figures have shown a fall in new car sales. Broader industrial output fell 0.1 percent in May after a 0.2 percent rise in April. Separately on Friday, mortgage lender Halifax said house prices rose at the slowest annual pace in four years, which could erode consumer confidence. Trade data for May also looked weak. The goods trade deficit increased to 11.863 billion pounds ($15.33 billion) in May from 10.595 billion pounds in April, the ONS said, wider than all forecasts in the Reuters poll. Things looked brighter in terms of volumes of goods exported in the three months to May, which rose 3.8 percent. By comparison, import volumes rose 2.8 percent over the same period. However, business surveys have cast doubt about whether an improvement will be seen in the months ahead. Click reut.rs/2sx48dV for graphic titled Services the only game in town for UK output in 2017 (Editing by Mark Heinrich)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-idUKKBN19S125'|'2017-07-07T11:42:00.000+03:00' +'22c2ab02fdf90eeb35960092d219e2c8a68abf2b'|'EU, Japan seal free trade in signal to Trump'|'Business News - Thu Jul 6, 2017 - 5:40pm BST EU, Japan seal free trade in signal to Trump left right Japan''s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shakes hands with European Council President Donald Tusk at the end of a EU-JAPAN summit in Brussels, Belgium July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman 1/6 left right Japan''s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (C) is welcomed by European Council President Donald Tusk (L) and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at the start of a European Union-Japan summit in Brussels, Belgium July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Walschaerts/Pool 2/6 left right Japan''s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (R) is welcomed by European Council President Donald Tusk at the start of a European Union-Japan summit in Brussels, Belgium July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman 3/6 left right Japan''s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (R) is welcomed by European Council President Donald Tusk at the start of a European Union-Japan summit in Brussels, Belgium July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman 4/6 left right Japan''s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (L) holds a news conference with European Council President Donald Tusk (C) and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker during a EU-Japan summit in Brussels, Belgium July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman 5/6 left right Japan''s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (L) shakes hands with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at the end of a EU-JAPAN summit in Brussels, Belgium July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman 6/6 By Alastair Macdonald and Robert-Jan Bartunek - BRUSSELS BRUSSELS Japan and the European Union agreed a free trade pact on Thursday to create the world''s biggest open economic area and signal resistance to what they see as U.S. President Donald Trump''s protectionist turn. Concluded in Brussels on the eve of meetings with Trump at a summit in Hamburg, the "political agreement" between two economies accounting for a third of global GDP is heavy with symbolism. It leaves some areas of negotiation still to be finished, although officials insist the key snags have been overcome. "Ahead of the G20 summit tomorrow, I believe Japan and the EU are demonstrating our strong political will to fly the flag for free trade against a shift toward protectionism," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a joint news conference with EU institutional chiefs Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker. The "win-win" deal was, Abe said, "a strong message to the world". In the works for four years, it has been pushed over the line towards a final treaty signature in the coming months by the election of Trump and his moves to ditch a Pacific trade pact that included Japan and leave talks with the EU in limbo. "Although some are saying that the time of isolationism and disintegration is coming again, we are demonstrating that this is not the case," European Council President Tusk said. Juncker, president of the executive European Commission, played down prospects of any further negotiating problems and said he hoped the treaty could go into effect early in 2019. ALARM OVER "AMERICA FIRST" Fears of cheaper import competition for European carmakers and Japanese dairy producers were among the thorniest issues, but officials said the two sides were driven by a shared alarm at Trump''s apparent shift away from multilateral open trading systems towards an aggressive "America First" policy. Tariffs on much of their bilateral trade -- which Abe noted accounts for some 40 percent of total international commerce -- will be phased out over some years, and other economic areas, such as Japan''s public tender system, will be opened up. European farm lobby Copa-Cogeca called it "good news". Wine exporters alone should save 134 million euros a year in duty and no longer be a big disadvantage to U.S. and Australian wineries. The Japan Business Council in Europe, representing Japanese firms in the EU, said it would create "mutual prosperity". The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association also welcomed it. Both the EU and Japan, which are also forging a parallel cooperation pact on broader political issues such as security, crisis aid and climate change, forecast that the trade deal will boost economic growth and employment in Japan and in Europe. One detail to be ironed out is how complaints from business over how authorities apply the treaty will be dealt with. That is a touchy subject in Europe due to concerns that trade pacts give too much power to big multinationals. European parliaments nearly blocked a deal with Canada last year over such issues. Juncker stressed the EU would not accept "private tribunals" ruling between business and states. But Greens in the European Parliament, which must ratify the treaty, were not impressed, complaining of a "rushed procedure" that was "not serious". Much remained unclear or unresolved, their leader Ska Keller said, calling also for it to do more to stop Japanese whaling. CARS, CHEESE AND BREXIT EU tariffs of up to 10 percent on Japanese cars will be phased out over seven years. Most EU food exports, including chocolate and biscuits, will see tariffs end over time. Duty of up to 29 percent on hard cheeses like Parmesan will fall to zero over 15 years. Quotas on soft cheeses like feta and mozzarella will still protect Japan''s culturally sensitive dairy sector. Japan will respect over 200 EU geographic protections on product names, like Parma ham or Polish wodka. Scotch whisky might not benefit, however, as Britain leaves the EU in 2019. Tusk took the opportunity to scoff at arguments in Britain for Brexit on the grounds that London could cut itself better trade deals without the EU''s economic weight behind it. In an ironic nod to Brexit supporters'' rallying cry of "Global Britain", Tusk, a former Polish premier, signed off a tweet confirming the Japan deal with the words "Global Europe!" (Additional reporting by Elizabeth Miles and Foo Yun Chee in Brussels and Kaori Kaneko in Tokyo; Editing by Gareth Jones) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-japan-eu-trade-idUKKBN19R17U'|'2017-07-06T19:40:00.000+03:00' +'bb26c49689fa021335aef0c21ddee740ed4b4a55'|'Altice complies fully with French VAT rules - CEO'|'July 28, 2017 / 3:17 PM / 3 hours ago Altice complies fully with French VAT rules - CEO 1 Min Read PARIS, July 28 (Reuters) - Altice complies fully with French value-added tax rules, Chief Executive Michel Combes said in response to media reports on Friday that its French mobile company SFR Group benefits from lower rates because it owns newspapers. "We are in full compliance with all tax legislation and we have made significant investments in press and media assets in France and will continue to do so," Combes said during a conference call with analysts. "The estimated claims in the press are ludicrously high." (Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; editing by David Clarke) 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/altice-tax-idUSP6N1I5012'|'2017-07-28T18:17:00.000+03:00' +'93a2f9830ef7ddf9c59a20a8beb2e0288cd7bafa'|'Daimler sues SKF in wake of EU competition settlement'|'Autos 33am BST Daimler sues SKF in wake of EU competition settlement Daimler AG sign is pictured at the IAA truck show in Hanover, Germany, September 22, 2016. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo STOCKHOLM Sweden''s SKF ( SKFb.ST ) said on Tuesday it was being sued by German automaker Daimler AG ( DAIGn.DE ) in the wake of a 2014 EU settlement for violations of competition rules in the European bearings industry. European Union antitrust regulators in March 2014 fined SKF and several other suppliers a total of 953 million euros ($1.08 billion) for taking part in a ball bearings cartel. The settlement left European carmakers eyeing possible legal action. In November last year, SKF said German automaker BMW ( BMWG.DE ) had opened a lawsuit against the Swedish company and other bearings makers. "Daimler requests payment from SKF in the amount of at least EUR 59 million plus interest and reimbursement of costs," SKF said in a statement. "SKF strongly believes that the activities sanctioned by the European Commission have not caused any damage to its business partners." SKF, whose shares eased 0.9 percent versus a 0.5 percent decline in the Stockholm bourse''s blue chip index .OMXS30 , said Daimler had filed the lawsuit with Landgericht Nurnberg-Furth in Germany. (Reporting by Niklas Pollard and Johan Ahlander, editing by Louise Heavens)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-skf-daimler-idUKKBN19P0QT'|'2017-07-04T10:33:00.000+03:00' +'296e5ca7fc2ab224557cd2988944b206074b7511'|'U.S. housing starts jump to four-month high'|'July 19, 2017 / 12:38 PM / 36 minutes ago U.S. housing starts, permits rebound in June Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A man works on a building site for a luxury apartment complex in downtown Los Angeles, California March 17, 2015. Lucy Nicholson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. homebuilding rebounded more than expected in June after declining for three straight months, but construction activity remains constrained by rising lumber prices, labor and land shortages. Housing starts jumped 8.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.22 million units, the highest level since February as both single-family and multi-family construction increased, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday. May''s sales pace was revised up to 1.12 million units from the previously reported 1.09 million units. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast groundbreaking activity rising to a rate of 1.16 million units last month. Homebuilding rose 2.1 percent on a year-on-year basis. FILE PHOTO - Men work on a construction site for a luxury apartment complex in downtown Los Angeles, California March 17, 2015. Lucy Nicholson Despite the bounceback, homebuilding has lost momentum after strong gains in both the fourth and first quarters. Economists blame the slowdown on supply bottlenecks. A survey on Tuesday showed confidence among homebuilders hit an eight-month low in July amid complaints about high lumber prices and shortages of building lots and labor. Lumber prices have surged after the government in April imposed anti-subsidy duties on imports of Canadian softwood lumber. Single-family homebuilding, which accounts for the largest share of the residential housing market, surged 6.3 percent to an 849,000 unit-pace last month, also the highest level since February. Single-family construction has lost ground since vaulting to a near 9-1/2-year high in February, despite strong demand for housing. Starts for the volatile multi-family housing segment increased 13.3 percent to a 366,000 unit-pace, after five straight months of declines. Construction had slowed amid a jump in multi-family homes coming on the market. Building permits last month shot up 7.4 percent to a 1.25 million-unit rate, the highest level since March. Single-family home permits rose 4.1 percent after three straight months of declines. Permits for the construction of multi-family homes surged 13.9 percent in June. Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-housingstarts-idUKKBN1A419M'|'2017-07-19T15:59:00.000+03:00' +'7015cd52feae934ec554b38007bc7fe2723a79de'|'Black gold: Tax hike under GST could boost illegal bullion, jewellery sales'|'July 4, 2017 / 6:39 AM / 41 minutes ago Black gold: Tax hike under GST could boost illegal bullion, jewellery sales By Rajendra Jadhav 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A salesperson attends to a customer (not pictured) inside a jewellery showroom, during Akshaya Tritiya, a major gold-buying festival, in Mumbai, India April 28, 2017. Shailesh Andrade/File Photo MUMBAI (Reuters) - A hike in taxes on gold sales in India could stoke under-the-counter buying and drive up appetite for precious metal smuggled into the country, where millions of people store big chunks of their wealth in bullion and jewellery. As part of a new nationwide sales tax regime that kicked in on July 1, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on gold has jumped to 3 percent from 1.2 percent previously, with traders and buyers saying the move will likely force more transactions into the black market. "Three percent is too much. I preferred to buy without receipts. The jeweller did not have any problem," said a middle-aged buyer, who declined to be identified after making purchases on Monday at the country''s biggest bullion market, Zaveri Bazaar in Mumbai. Smaller shops could be more inclined to sell without receipts, potentially hitting sales at big jewellers that keep to the rules, said Harshad Ajmera, the proprietor of JJ Gold House, a wholesaler in the eastern Indian city Kolkata. "Just to save 1 percent, some customers were earlier buying gold without receipts. With the 3-percent GST, now many more will be tempted to make unofficial purchases from small jewellers," Ajmera said. The tax hike could also encourage more smuggling into the world''s second biggest gold consumer, which buys almost all its bullion abroad. Gold smuggling has been rife since India raised import duties on the metal to 10 percent in a series of hikes to August 2013, looking to curb demand to narrow a gaping current account deficit. The World Gold Council estimates smuggling networks imported up to 120 tonnes of gold into India in 2016. "The GST rate has increased the incentive to bring in smuggled gold. The government should reduce import duty and make smuggling unviable," said Aditya Pethe, a director at Waman Hari Pethe Jewellers in Mumbai. The country''s legal imports typically stand at around 800 tonnes a year, with the metal used in everything from investment to religious donations and wedding gifts. "A lower import duty would increase legal imports and ultimately legal sales. Tax revenue would go up instead of going down," said Daman Prakash Rathod, director at wholesaler MNC Bullion in the southern city of Chennai. Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Joseph Radford 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/india-gold-tax-idINKBN19P0M1'|'2017-07-04T09:38:00.000+03:00' +'9b3cb3b73f12f386578e457f5bb5425873683218'|'ECB keeps stimulus pledge despite stronger growth'|'July 20, 2017 / 11:55 AM / 7 hours ago ECB keeps stimulus pledge despite stronger growth Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, July 29, 2016. Ralph Orlowski/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank reaffirmed its ultra-easy policy stance on Thursday and even kept the door open to boosting its bond purchases if needed, despite an upswing in the euro zone''s economy. The ECB kept rates at record low and confirmed its asset-buying programme would continue at 60 billion euros ($69.15 billion) per month at least until December and could be expanded or extended if deemed necessary. Investors have been looking for hints that the ECB may start reducing the scheme since President Mario Draghi said late last month that policy tweaks were possible to accompany the euro zone''s economic recovery. The ECB also kept its rate on bank overnight deposits, which is currently its primary interest rate tool, at -0.40 percent, as expected. The main refinancing rate, which determines the cost of credit in the economy, was unchanged at 0.00 percent while the rate on the marginal lending facility - or emergency overnight borrowing rate for banks - remains at 0.25 percent. Attention now turns to Draghi''s press conference, due to start at 1230 GMT. Reporting By Francesco Canepa Editing by Jeremy Gaunt 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-rates-idUKKBN1A51FN'|'2017-07-20T14:54:00.000+03:00' +'713465e7099c653306e80ab9f05e9cbcbb026848'|'PRECIOUS-Gold steady ahead of U.S. Independence day holiday'|'Market News - Sun Jul 2, 2017 - 9:00pm EDT PRECIOUS-Gold steady ahead of U.S. Independence day holiday BENGALURU, July 3 Gold held steady early Monday, ahead of the U.S. Independence day holiday, as the dollar hovered at near nine-month lows hit last week on signs of monetary tightening by global central banks. FUNDAMENTALS * Spot gold was nearly flat at $1,241.04 per ounce at 0043 GMT. It fell over 2 percent in the month of June, its first monthly decline this year. * U.S. gold futures for August delivery fell 0.1 percent to $1,240.80 per ounce. * The dollar edged off a nine-month low against a basket of currencies early on Monday, but it remained shaky as expectations of central banks in Europe moving away from accommodative monetary policies supported peers like the euro and sterling. * Holdings at the SPDR Gold Trust , the world''s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell 0.14 percent to 852.50 tonnes on Friday from 853.68 tonnes on Thursday. * Hedge funds and money managers reduced their net long positions in COMEX gold and silver for the third straight week in the week to June 27, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday. * U.S. Mint American Eagle gold coin sales in the first half of 2017 were the lowest for this period in a decade, while sales of silver in the period were the weakest since 2008, government data showed on Friday. * South African precious metals producer Sibanye Gold said on Friday it would resume production on Monday at its strike-hit Cooke mine, which has been incurring losses amid illegal mining and production interruptions. * The Federal Reserve on Friday awarded $398.88 billion in repurchase agreements at an interest rate of 1.00 percent to 79 bidders, which was the highest amount since $468.36 billion on Dec. 30, the New York Federal Reserve said. * U.S. consumer spending rose modestly in May and inflation cooled, pointing to a slow-but-steady economic expansion that could still lead the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by the end of the year. * Hedge funds and money managers trimmed their bullish bets on U.S. crude oil to the lowest in more than nine months, data showed on Friday, as growing shale production kept inventories well above the five-year average. DATA AHEAD (GMT) 0145 China Caixin manufacturing PMI final June 0750 France Markit manufacturing PMI June 0755 Germany Markit/BME manufacturing PMI June 0800 Euro zone Markit manufacturing PMI final June 0900 Euro zone Unemployment rate May 1400 U.S. ISM manufacturing PMI June 1400 U.S. Construction spending May (Reporting by Nithin Prasad in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Pullin) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/global-precious-idUSL3N1JU07A'|'2017-07-03T04:00:00.000+03:00' +'5327ab00dae9746ef839df3fbf5e74be2528a74a'|'Tech stocks lead European shares lower in busy earnings day'|'July 28, 2017 / 7:43 AM / 23 minutes ago Tech stocks lead European shares lower in busy earnings day Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Traders work in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, July 27, 2017. Staff/Remote MILAN (Reuters) - European shares fell on Friday led by a slump in tech stocks which tracked losses among global peers following an earning miss at online giant Amazon ( AMZN.O ), while a flurry of earning updates failed to provide support. Europe''s tech index .SX8P, the best performer so far this year, was down 1.5 percent, helping drag the pan-European STOXX 600 index down 0.8 percent by 0717 GMT. UK''s FTSE .FTSE declined 0.4 percent. UBS ( UBSG.S ) fell 3.8 percent, making it the biggest drag to the STOXX. The Swiss bank kept a cautious outlook on the second half of 2017 after it reported an unexpected rise in second-quarter net profit. Among top fallers were shares in French car maker Renault ( RENA.PA ) and Proximus ( PROX.BR ), which also reported results. A bright spot was Adidas ( ADSGn.DE ), up 7.4 percent to a record high as the group raised its full-year outlook after improving margins helped the German sportswear maker to achieve an 18 percent jump in second-quarter operating profit. Reporting by Danilo Masoni, Editing by Vikram Subhedar 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks-idUKKBN1AD0UT'|'2017-07-28T10:43:00.000+03:00' +'63d296edd844a518cf0ece0f4bf937ff3253983c'|'No model for sale of Cedae set with BNDES, Rio governor says'|'July 20, 2017 / 4:36 PM / 2 minutes ago No model for sale of Cedae set with BNDES, Rio governor says 1 Min Read SAO PAULO (Reuters) - There is no model for the sale of Rio de Janeiro state''s water and sewage utility Cia Estadual de guas e Esgotos SA defined with state development bank BNDES [BNDES.UL], Rio Governor Luiz Fernando Pezo said on Thursday. Reuters reported on Wednesday that BNDES would acquire the control of Cedae, as the utility is known, for 3 billion reais ($957 million) and then resell it. In a news conference, Pezo said the state government is discussing a loan of 3.5 billion reais with BNDES. Reporting by Bruno Federowski'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cedae-m-a-idUSKBN1A529I'|'2017-07-20T19:32:00.000+03:00' +'570b1534905a01b7b3c12df78e950def8ac23851'|'Bank of England''s Carney - no change in big picture on inflation'|'July 18, 2017 / 4:46 PM / 2 hours ago Bank of England''s Carney: no change in big picture on inflation Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Britain''s Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney, speaks at an event to launch the new 10 note featuring Jane Austen, at Winchester Cathedral, in Winchester, Britain July 18, 2017. Chris J Ratcliffe/Pool LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said the "big picture" for inflation remained the same, despite a weaker-than-expected reading for June earlier on Tuesday, and the main driver was still the fall in sterling since last year''s Brexit vote. "That''s what''s pushing inflation up, and inflation will be above target for a period of time and today''s figures are consistent with that," he told Sky News. The BoE has so far chosen not to respond to inflation rising above its 2 percent target by raising rates, saying the Brexit hit to the pound is likely to be temporary. Inflation in June stood at 2.6 percent, down from 2.9 percent in May. However, three of the BoE''s eight rate setters voted to raise rates in June, saying they wanted to head off the risk of more persistent inflation. One of the dissenters has since left the BoE. Reporting by Andy Bruce; Writing by William Schomberg 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-boe-carney-idUKKBN1A31X6'|'2017-07-18T19:30:00.000+03:00' +'26c5b9e46d5b3cc5ddc6f5321e4977151aba5565'|'After rate hike talk, Bank of England set to keep investors guessing'|'July 28, 2017 / 2:01 PM / in 6 hours After rate hike talk, Bank of England set to keep investors guessing 4 Min Read A man stands outside the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain April 19, 2017. HannahMcKay/Files LONDON (Reuters) - For a while recently it looked as if the Bank of England might finally be getting ready to raise interest rates, but Governor Mark Carney and most of his top officials seem set to remain in wait-and-see mode when they meet next week. A run of weak data and deep uncertainty about the impact of Brexit on the economy have cooled the speculation that the BoE is poised to start removing its crisis-level stimulus. Only a few weeks ago the odds in financial markets of a rate hike on Aug. 3 jumped from near-zero to one-in-three. The trigger was a much narrower-than-expected 5-3 vote in June by the BoE''s rate setters to keep borrowing costs on hold. Sterling and British government bond yields then climbed again when BoE Chief Economist Andy Haldane said he expected to switch his vote in the second half of 2017. More cautiously, Carney suggested he was moving closer to backing a rate hike. After all, raising rates from 0.25 to 0.50 percent would only be a reversal of the emergency rate cut the BoE made in August last year shortly after the Brexit vote shock. Despite the weak run of data recently, Victoria Clarke at Investec said Carney would probably be happy to keep investors guessing about the BoE''s plans, even if he were confident that the rate-hike supporters remained in the minority. "Maintaining the debate ensures that if he does need to move to raise rates later this year, if domestically generated inflation really starts to move up, then the BoE is not caught out delivering a quick-turn surprise to markets," she said. Economists expect the BoE to push up its inflation forecasts slightly but to lower its projection for growth after the weak start to the year. That is unlikely to help the BoE''s hawks, who won''t be able to provide much evidence for their case that the lowest unemployment rate in more than 40 years is about to push up wages sharply, or that there has been a pick-up in exports and investment capable of offsetting weaker consumer spending. Britain''s Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney, speaks at an event to launch the new 10 note featuring Jane Austen, at Winchester Cathedral, in Winchester, Britain July 18, 2017. Chris J Ratcliffe/Pool/Files Furthermore, one of the three dissenters in June has since left the BoE. Doves Still in Control As a result, most economists expect a 6-2 vote to keep rates on hold, with an outside chance of another 5-3 split if Haldane follows through and changes his vote. Should Haldane switch sides and the Monetary Policy Committee''s newcomer Silvana Tenreyro unexpectedly votes for a rate hike too, the 4-4 split would be resolved by a casting vote by Carney who has suggested he is not yet ready for a rate hike. Instead, the BoE might take a baby step next week by not renewing the bank lending incentives that were part of its big stimulus push a year ago, shortly after the Brexit vote shock. The Term Funding Scheme is already three-quarters of the way towards its 100 billion-pound target. The Bank has other options to micro-manage the economy, chiefly its powers to tighten rules for bank lending. While Carney is unlikely to kill off the chance of a rate hike this year, many economists think the window is closing. They say inflation looks set to return to the Bank''s 2 percent target in mid-2018 when slower growth will add to the case for keeping rates on hold until 2019, the most likely date for a hike, according to a recent Reuters poll. "Once inflation is on the down slope - which we expect soon - we see very little opportunity for the BoE to hike rates," economists at Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in a note to clients. "Indeed, we continue to question whether the next move in rates will be down rather than up." Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Hugh Lawson 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-boe-idINKBN1AD1QU'|'2017-07-28T16:59:00.000+03:00' +'7e2f6a7c491511c13297f13909a9c1e9aeba97a2'|'Nissan expects up to 20 percent of Europe sales to be zero emission cars by 2020'|'Autos 6:04pm BST Nissan expects up to 20 percent of Europe sales to be zero emission cars by 2020 FILE PHOTO: The Nissan logo is seen at the 2017 New York International Auto Show in New York City, U.S. April 12, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan Mcdermid/File Photo PARIS Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) expects that zero-emission cars will make up to 20 percent of its sales in Europe by 2020, Gareth Dunsmore, Electric Vehicle (EV) Director for Nissan Europe said in a statement on Monday. Nissan said it welcomed France''s commitment to reward those who choose more sustainable vehicles. Last week, Ecology Minister Nicolas Hulot said France would aim to end the sale of gasoline and diesel vehicles by 2040 and become carbon neutral 10 years later. "By 2020, where the market conditions are right, I''m confident we''ll be selling up to 20 percent of our volume as zero emissions vehicles and this will only grow," Dunsmore was quoted as saying in an emailed statement. (Reporting by Ingrid Melander and Gilles Guillaume; Writing by Maya Nikolaeva)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-nissan-sales-idUKKBN19V27X'|'2017-07-10T20:04:00.000+03:00' +'839953593b93d773c9aaee67f9df67d818486cb6'|'METALS-London copper, aluminium supported by China demand hopes'|'July 14, 2017 / 8:07 AM / 13 minutes ago CORRECTED-METALS-London copper, aluminium supported by China demand hopes 3 Min Read (Corrects first bullet point to show prices were recorded in late afternoon in Asia, not at 0211 GMT) By Melanie Burton MELBOURNE, July 14 (Reuters) - London copper and aluminium were marking time near recent highs on Friday, underpinned by encouraging economic reports from China and the prospect of aluminium production cuts. China''s fiscal spending jumped 19.1 percent in June from a year earlier, quickening sharply from a 9.2 percent rise in May and signalling government efforts to cushion a gradual slowdown in the world''s second-largest economy. "(Aluminium) prices are up on talk of further (smelting) capacity cuts in China ... We really will not know whether or not these cuts will materialize until later this year when they are supposed to start," INTL FCStone said in a report. "There remains considerable ''wiggle room'' for producers to evade production cuts and this could result in only a slight decline in overall output, or more likely, a more moderate pace in the rate of production growth compared to what we are currently seeing." Fundamentals * LME COPPER: London Metal Exchange copper had eased 0.1 percent to $5,869 a tonne by late afternoon in Asia, extending small losses from the previous session. Prices have failed at the $5,930-$5,970 band five times in the past fortnight, reflecting formidable chart-based resistance at this level. Support is seen at the 100-day moving average at $5,761 a tonne. * SHFE COPPER: Shanghai Futures Exchange copper slipped 0.3 percent to 47,160 yuan ($6,955) a tonne. * OTHER METALS: Zinc and lead fell by around half a percent in London and by about 1.5 percent in Shanghai, weighed down by falls in steel prices. LME aluminium edged up by 0.3 percent. * U.S. ECONOMY: The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell last week for the first time in a month and producer prices unexpectedly rose in June, likely keeping the Federal Reserve on course for a third interest rate increase this year. * CHINA ECONOMY: China posted stronger-than-expected June trade figures on Thursday, bolstered by firm global demand for Chinese goods and robust appetite for construction materials at home, but local curbs on lending could weigh on imports later this year. * ANTOFAGASTA: Workers at the Zaldivar copper mine in Chile, owned by Antofagasta Plc and Barrick Gold Corp , will resume talks with Antofagasta after voting to strike earlier this week, the union said on Thursday. * LME STORAGE: The LME is trying to revamp its digital metal storage system LMEshield, which registers material stored in non-exchange warehouses to guard against fraud, after scant uptake since it was launched over a year ago. Prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/global-metals-idUSL4N1K52PZ'|'2017-07-14T11:06:00.000+03:00' +'f45b0798ead2f303dc835dd7eeeef4b9e521e247'|'UPDATE 3-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on July 3'|'(Adds news item)July 3 Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening up 16 points at 7,328 on Monday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures up 0.3 percent ahead of the cash market open.* BGEO: BGEO Group Plc, the holding company of JSC Bank of Georgia, said it intended to demerge into two London-listed firms - a banking business and an investment business.* SEVERN TRENT: British water utility Severn Trent Plc on Monday said it would sell its North American unit for $62 million to focus on its core UK business.* UK ENERGY REGULATOR: Britain''s energy regulator Ofgem could cap bills for some of the most vulnerable customers and make switching supplier easier, it said on Monday in response to a government request for it to set out plans to help customers on the poorest-value tariffs.* IAG: Some British Airways cabin crew began a two-week strike on Saturday in a prolonged pay dispute, risking further brand damage and travel disruption, although the airline said most passengers would be able to fly.* IAG: British authorities have given British Airways the go ahead to use Qatar Airways planes and staff during a planned two-week strike by members of its cabin crew, a spokesman for the Department for Transport said on Friday. BA, owned by IAG has committed to fly all its customers to their destinations during the strike.* GSK: The world''s leading drug companies are turning to artificial intelligence to improve the hit-and-miss business of finding new medicines, with GlaxoSmithKline unveiling a new $43 million deal in the field on Sunday.* BAE SYSTEMS: BAE Systems, the world''s third-largest defence contractor and the Ministry of Defence have signed a multi-billion pound deal to build the first three of eight new frigates for the Royal Navy, the Telegraph reported. bit.ly/2tAG11Q* TATA STEEL: The British government is said to be considering changes to its pension law law to help Tata Steel Ltd save jobs at its Port Talbot plant in south Wales, a media report claims, Mint reported citing PTI. bit.ly/2ufDlUC* UK TOBACCO: Cigarette maker Philip Morris International thinks its iQOS heated tobacco product can make Britain smoke-free in the coming years, an executive said on Friday. British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco are also selling tobacco-based "vaping" devices.* BREXIT: Britain''s minister-in-charge of exiting the European Union will host a conference for business leaders on Friday as part of a government drive to give them a bigger say in the process.* BREXIT: British business leaders have been told to brace for the possibility that Prime Minister Theresa May''s government may walk out of Brexit talks this year, according to the Sunday Telegraph.* UK ECONOMY: Prime Minister Theresa May is under pressure from her ministers to end the government''s policy of economic austerity as a new poll shows her popularity has slumped, according to the Observer.* LONDON FIRE: The head of the local council in the London borough where at least 80 people died in a fire in a social housing tower block resigned on Friday after he was criticised for the organisation''s handling of the disaster.* UK HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS: Some 181 high-rise buildings have failed safety tests carried out after a fire that killed at least 80 people in London last month, the British government said on Sunday.* UK PUBLIC-SECTOR PAY: Britain could abandon an across-the-board cap on pay for public-sector workers such as teachers and nurses if review bodies said higher rises were needed to recruit and retain workers, Environment Secretary Michael Gove said on Sunday.* BOND SCHEME: China and Hong Kong launched a long-awaited "Bond Connect" programme on Monday that links China''s $9 trillion bond market with overseas investors, the latest step in Beijing''s efforts to liberalise and strengthen the country''s capital markets.* OIL: Oil prices rose on Monday, lifted by the first fall in U.S. drilling activity in months, although gains were capped by reports of rising OPEC output last month even as the group has pledged to cut supply.* COPPER: London copper was supported just below the $6,000 level on Monday, the first trading day of the second half, as brighter factory demand from China underpinned prices.* GOLD: Gold edged lower on Monday as investors shunned safe-haven assets for equities, with Asian stocks remaining near two-year highs, and as the dollar rose from a nine-month low, reducing the demand for bullion.* The UK blue chip index closed down 0.5 percent at 7,312.72 points on Friday, as a drop among oil stocks, miners and by United Utilities kept the UK''s top share index in negative territory after a choppy day. The heavy losses sent the index to its widest monthly loss since September 2015, sealing its first negative quarter in more than a year as a tumultuous first half drew to a close.* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarketsTODAY''S UK PAPERS> Financial Times> Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idUSL3N1JU2KV'|'2017-07-03T09:53:00.000+03:00' +'122997875e065fbbc47b202b8b0e1ca0f7bc622b'|'Oil and banks stymie FTSE''s rise, WPP hit by broker downgrade'|' 10:19am BST Oil and banks stymie FTSE''s rise, WPP hit by broker downgrade People walk through the lobby of the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 25, 2015. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File photo By Kit Rees - LONDON LONDON Falls in energy and bank stocks dampened an otherwise positive week for Britain''s top share index, while changes in broker recommendations prompted moves in easyJet, WPP and Royal Mail. Britain''s blue chip FTSE 100 .FTSE index was down 0.2 percent at 7,323.50 points at 0852 GMT (9.52 a.m. BST) on Friday, on track to post its first weekly gain since the end of May. The index pared losses after weak housing data drove sterling to a nine-day low. Oil & gas stocks dropped, taking around 8 points off the FTSE, after oil prices fell more than 1 percent following a rise in U.S. output, with Royal Dutch Shell Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idUSL3N1JW2CL'|'2017-07-05T09:42:00.000+03:00' +'b9bb6c53dfabab6e8e821f36067689c2ee6059d2'|'UK financial watchdog to extend regulatory regime to 47,000 firms'|'A regulatory regime intended to crack down on the behaviour of bank bosses is to be extended to 47,000 firms including dentists, gyms and tool hire companies that offer credit to customers.The Financial Conduct Authority estimated that the new regime would cost firms 550m, with up to 190m of ongoing costs for the firms involved.It had been expected that the additional firms would be covered by the senior managers and certification regime (SMCR) from 2018, although the FCAs consultation document does not indicate if this is still the timetable.The SMCR came into force for almost 900 banks and building societies in March 2016 and was intended to tackle the fact that no bank bosses were held to account when their firms collapsed in 2008.It requires the responsibilities of top managers to be spelt out and for them to certify their key staff are suitable for their roles. This certification must now happen annually, whereas under the previous system the FCA approved individuals only once, unless they moved roles.The FCAs consultation paper sets out five conduct rules for firms: act with integrity; act with due care, skill and diligence; be open and cooperative with regulators; pay due regard to customer interests and treat them fairly; and observe proper standards of market conduct. The Treasury had called for the broadening of the new regime two years ago when it also dropped a plan to reverse the burden of proof for managers, which would have forced them to demonstrate they had done the right thing if wrongdoing emerged on their watch.Marian Bloodworth, an employment partner at law firm Kemp Little, said: The change will also mean the end of the FCA register for the majority of financial services employees ... This has been a cause for concern for those in the existing regime already, as it means there is no publicly available list of advisers for customers to review.The FCA warned that some cost increases on firms will pass through to consumers in the form of higher prices, while senior managers may demand bigger pay deals.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jul/26/uk-financial-watchdog-conduct-authority-extend-regulatory-regime-firms'|'2017-07-26T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'e4b1f0d84fb0766ae564707b0024a6ce86ea4c55'|'Fed minutes in view, stocks shift higher'|'July 5, 2017 / 12:41 PM / 24 minutes ago Fed minutes in view, stocks shift higher 4 Min Read Pound and Dollar banknotes are seen in this picture illustration taken June 13, 2017. Dado Ruvic/Illustration LONDON (Reuters) - Stock markets rode out the latest rise in tensions around North Korea on Wednesday, with the main markets in Europe, Asia and the United States all inching higher as attention moved to minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve''s last meeting. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.3 percent, regaining half the losses it saw on Tuesday when North Korea fired a missile into Japanese waters. The organisation''s global shares index, however, reflected a relatively ambivalent global mood, rising less than 0.05 percent despite a handful of solid purchasing manager surveys in Europe. New York''s main indices were also set to open a touch higher after the July 54 break. "It has been a relatively light week in terms of economic data so far and investors are desperately looking for drivers," said Arnaud Masset, an analyst with Swissquote. "Given the recent weakness in inflation and lacklustre households consumption data, it is more likely that the minutes highlight the concerns of FOMC members (about growth)." A shift towards more hawkish language by several major central banks has dominated the past week. It has, for example, left markets unsure of how much longer emergency stimulus in Europe will continue to support asset prices. For now investors seem to be giving policymakers the benefit of the doubt that the global economy can take any tightening of monetary policy, although the latest data on Wednesday was mixed -- strong in Europe and weaker in China. [PMI-M] "North Korea has rattled markets but central bankers are more important," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at City Index in London. "While North Koreas military ambitions are a background threat for markets, we dont think that this particular geopolitical event is at the stage yet where it will cause a spike in volatility." South Korea''s main index rebounded by 0.36 percent and Japan''s Nikkei ended up 0.25 percent. Shanghai stocks rose more than 1 percent, despite a drop in the Caixin/Markit services purchasing managers'' index (PMI) to 51.6 in June, from 52.8 in May. IHS Markit''s final composite Purchasing Managers'' Index for the euro zone was 56.3 in June, down from May but comfortably beating a flash estimate, chalking up the best performance last quarter in over six years. Currency markets were in limbo, the euro trading around a cent below last week''s 14-month highs against the dollar, less than 0.2 percent lower on the day. The dollar and yen were the main victims of the shift in language last week, but many analysts wonder whether the European Central Bank will be able to rein in money-printing later this year if the euro keeps gaining. "I meet a lot of people while I talk to clients who think the ECB simply won''t be able to escape its current policy setting because a stronger currency is too damaging," said Societe Generale strategist Kit Juckes. "The thought the ECB will resist pressure...is still leading many ... to look for cheaper levels to buy euro." The dollar rose 0.2 percent higher against the basket of currencies used to measure its broader strength and slightly more against the yen to an almost two-month high of 113.69 yen. For Reuters Live Markets blog on European and UK stock markets see reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=http://emea1.apps.cp.extranet.thomsonreuters.biz/cms/?pageId=livemarkets Editing by Richard Balmforth'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-markets-idINKBN19Q1KO'|'2017-07-05T15:38:00.000+03:00' +'0c49cb54f0f6fca1de6a1f293c5bdc1f5a2dc128'|'China securities regulator says will steadily expand opening of capital markets'|'July 26, 2017 / 3:22 AM / 4 hours ago China securities regulator says will steadily expand opening of capital markets 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Men look at an electronic board showing stock market information at a brokerage house in Beijing, China January 5, 2016. Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo BEIJING (Reuters) - China''s securities regulator said Wednesday it will regulate and expand access to capital markets for all types of investors, while also encouraging more long-term institutional participation. The China Securities Regulatory Commissions said in a post on its website that it will maintain "normalisation" of initial public offerings, improve the delisting mechanism and steadily expand the opening of China''s capital markets. Reporting by Stella Qiu and Elias Glenn; Editing by Eric Meijer 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/china-finance-idINKBN1AB0AC'|'2017-07-26T06:19:00.000+03:00' +'eebec0e75138c6f3d20e7ae2a13622d34af1b745'|'Fed minutes suggest increasing tensions on inflation shortfall'|'Top News - Wed Jul 5, 2017 - 7:04pm BST Fed minutes suggest increasing tensions on inflation shortfall The Federal Reserve Board Chairwoman Janet Yellen speaks during a discussion at The British Academy President''s Lecture in London, Britain, June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay By Lindsay Dunsmuir and Jason Lange WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve policymakers were increasingly split on the outlook for inflation and how it might affect the future pace of interest rate rises, according to the minutes of the Fed''s last policy meeting on June 13-14 released on Wednesday. The details of the meeting, at which the U.S. central bank voted to raise interest rates, also showed that several officials wanted to announce a start to the process of reducing the Fed''s large portfolio of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities by the end of August but others wanted to wait until later in the year. "Most participants viewed the recent softness in these price data as largely reflecting idiosyncratic factors...however, several participants expressed concern that progress...might have slowed and that the recent softness in inflation might persist," the Fed said in the minutes. Last month''s 8-1 vote to lift the benchmark interest rate another quarter percentage point, a third hike in six months, signalled the Fed''s confidence in a growing U.S. economy and the eventual inflationary effects of low unemployment. In a press conference at the time, Fed Chair Janet Yellen described a recent decline in inflation as temporary and the central bank kept its forecast of one more rate rise this year and three the next. Some policymakers since then, however, have shown increasing worry about the Fed''s struggle to get inflation back to its 2 percent objective. The Fed''s preferred measure of underlying inflation slipped again in May to 1.4 percent, the Commerce Department reported on Friday, and has run below target for more than five years. (Full Story) In the minutes, a few policymakers also said the inflation weakness made them less comfortable with the current implied path of rate hikes. "These participants expressed concern that such a path of increases...might prove inconsistent with a sustained return of inflation," according to the minutes. The issue of when to begin reducing the Fed''s $4.2 trillion portfolio of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities and how it might affect deciding future rate rises also sparked debate. At the June meeting, the Fed gave a clear outline of its plan this year to reduce its portfolio but gave no precise timing. The shedding of the bonds and other securities, most of which were purchased in the wake of the 2007-2009 financial crisis, marks the final chapter in the central bank''s normalization of monetary policy. Several Fed officials felt the reduction in the balance sheet and associated policy tightening "was one basis for believing that...the target range for the federal funds rate would follow a less steep path than it otherwise would." Some others, however, said the shedding of bonds should not figure heavily in deciding monetary policy. Economists largely expect the Fed to begin shrinking its balance sheet at its September meeting before raising rates again at its final meeting of the year in December. Investors also see the next rate increase occurring in December, according to Fed funds futures data compiled by the CME Group. The rate-setting committee is next scheduled to meet to decide interest rate policy on July 25-26. (Reporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir and Jason Lange; Editing by; Andrea Ricci)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-fed-minutes-idUKKBN19Q2K5'|'2017-07-05T21:04:00.000+03:00' +'5d644e3b12bbb21bf29d3863178085e180ce71f7'|'PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - July 26'|'July 26, 2017 / 5:10 AM / 7 minutes ago PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - July 26 2 Min Read July 26 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. - Oliver Schmidt, a Volkswagen executive accused of helping to cover up the automaker''s diesel emissions fraud has agreed to plead guilty in federal court next week, a development that could bolster the Justice Department''s efforts to prosecute individuals involved in the scandal. nyti.ms/2v6Fh5L - Former Fox News vice president Francisco Cortes sued Twenty-First Century Fox on Tuesday accusing the company of making him a scapegoat in an effort to battle negative publicity about sexual misconduct. nyti.ms/2vHljeZ - The Securities and Exchange Commission said on Tuesday that it had concluded after an internal investigation that at least some virtual currencies being sold to investors should be categorized as securities and needed to follow federal securities laws. nyti.ms/2h1tDCU - Activist hedge fund Starboard Value sued big media measurement company Comscore on Tuesday, seeking to force the company to schedule an annual meeting for the first time in two years. nyti.ms/2vHmV8r (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/press-digest-nyt-idUSL3N1KH208'|'2017-07-26T08:08:00.000+03:00' +'f523b2a1131636d142a01c839e4f4bc555244d6f'|'Black gold: India tax hike could boost illegal bullion, jewelry sales'|'Business News - Tue Jul 4, 2017 - 3:08am EDT Black gold: India tax hike could boost illegal bullion, jewelry sales FILE PHOTO: A salesman arranges gold ornaments, on a display board, inside a jewellery showroom during Akshaya Tritiya, a major gold buying festival, in Kochi, India April 28, 2017. REUTERS/Sivaram V/File Photo By Rajendra Jadhav - MUMBAI MUMBAI A hike in taxes on gold sales in India could stoke under-the-counter buying and drive up appetite for precious metal smuggled into the country, where millions of people store big chunks of their wealth in bullion and jewelry. As part of a new nationwide sales tax regime that kicked in on July 1, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on gold has jumped to 3 percent from 1.2 percent previously, with traders and buyers saying the move will likely force more transactions into the black market. "Three percent is too much. I preferred to buy without receipts. The jeweler did not have any problem," said a middle-aged buyer, who declined to be identified after making purchases on Monday at the country''s biggest bullion market, Zaveri Bazaar in Mumbai. Smaller shops could be more inclined to sell without receipts, potentially hitting sales at big jewelers that keep to the rules, said Harshad Ajmera, the proprietor of JJ Gold House, a wholesaler in the eastern Indian city Kolkata. "Just to save 1 percent, some customers were earlier buying gold without receipts. With the 3-percent GST, now many more will be tempted to make unofficial purchases from small jewelers," Ajmera said. The tax hike could also encourage more smuggling into the world''s second biggest gold consumer, which buys almost all its bullion abroad. Gold smuggling has been rife since India raised import duties on the metal to 10 percent in a series of hikes to August 2013, looking to curb demand to narrow a gaping current account deficit. The World Gold Council estimates smuggling networks imported up to 120 tonnes of gold into India in 2016. "The GST rate has increased the incentive to bring in smuggled gold. The government should reduce import duty and make smuggling unviable," said Aditya Pethe, a director at Waman Hari Pethe Jewellers in Mumbai. The country''s legal imports typically stand at around 800 tonnes a year, with the metal used in everything from investment to religious donations and wedding gifts. "A lower import duty would increase legal imports and ultimately legal sales. Tax revenue would go up instead of going down," said Daman Prakash Rathod, director at wholesaler MNC Bullion in the southern city of Chennai. (For a graphic on India''s gold market, click tmsnrt.rs/2c1U49q ) (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Joseph Radford) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-gold-tax-idUSKBN19P0M3'|'2017-07-04T10:08:00.000+03:00' +'acf3486e6cc62366dde1305736f4b73651a1fa42'|'More than half of India''s gas-fired power plants idle: Piyush Goyal'|'July 20, 2017 / 3:49 PM / an hour ago More than half of India''s gas-fired power plants idle: Piyush Goyal 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Electricity pylons of high-tension electricity power lines are seen in front of the Eiffel Tower and Montmartre Sacre Coeur Basilica from Roissy at sunset, France, November 23, 2016. Charles Platiau/File Photo NEW DELHI (Reuters) - About 57 percent of gas-fired power plants in India are lying idle due to non-availability of domestic gas, Power Minister Piyush Goyal told lawmakers on Thursday. "Domestic natural gas supply to power sector can improve only in case production levels increase in future," Goyal said. India, which has an installed gas-powered capacity of over 25 GW, is suffering from natural gas shortages that have required power plants to shut down or run at lower rates. India has asked Qatar, the world''s biggest LNG exporter, to consider investing in some of its stranded gas based power plants. Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan. Editing by Jane Merriman 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/india-power-idINKBN1A523X'|'2017-07-20T18:49:00.000+03:00' +'7d306375148b71890acb06ad21f240a5c85d1f4c'|'Nestle India second-quarter profit rises 10 percent'|'July 26, 2017 / 1:05 PM / 5 hours ago Nestle India second-quarter profit rises 10 percent 1 Min Read Packets of Nestle''s Maggi instant noodles are seen on display at a grocery store in Mumbai, June 4, 2015. Shailesh Andrade/Files REUTERS - Noodles-to-chocolates maker Nestle India Ltd said on Wednesday profit rose about 10 percent in its fiscal second quarter, helped by new product launches and a revamp of its popular Maggi noodles brand. Profit rose to 2.63 billion rupees ($40.87 million) in the quarter ended June 30, from 2.40 billion rupees a year earlier, the Indian unit of packaged foods giant Nestle SA said. bit.ly/2h2teQE Domestic sales rose 8.8 percent to 23.21 billion rupees in the quarter, it said. ($1 = 64.3575 Indian rupees) Reporting by Vishal Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/nestle-india-results-idINKBN1AB1S7'|'2017-07-26T16:05:00.000+03:00' +'4bc72635e2a6c6d120e386160780b7ed996dd1c9'|'Free, healthy and a boost to creativity: companies must get staff walking - Guardian Sustainable Business'|'F riedrich Nietzsche once declared that All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking. This is backed up by studies by Stanford University which have shown that a persons creative output increases by an average of 60% when walking.Yet while employers have become increasingly cycle friendly over the years providing cycle parking, lockers and showers, cycle training, loans to buy bikes and cycle maintenance sessions what are they doing to promote walking?Encouraging walking, both within the workplace, as well as for travelling to and from work, brings significant benefits for staff and for employers. These range from creativity to physical and mental health, including a reduced risk of depression .Physical inactivity has been identified as the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality, causing an estimated 3.2 million deaths globally. The results of a recent survey of more than 14,000 people in Scotland indicate that for adults in work, time spent being inactive during weekdays is greater than people aged 75 and above. Long periods spent sitting at work have public health implications, including increased risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and some cancers.Steve Jobs, the late co-founder of Apple made a habit of the walking meeting. Anecdotal evidence suggests that walking meetings lead to more honest exchanges with employees and are more productive than traditional sit-down meetings.A shorter working week could revolutionise city life Read more This is recognised by some companies which are designing their offices to encourage walking. Samsungs US headquarters in San Jose, California has been designed around a walking layout so that employees are never more than a floor away from stepping outside for a walk. Googles plans for its landscraper London headquarters at Kings Cross in London includes a 200-metre-long trim trail which runs on the roof.Other companies are incorporating a daily mile route to encourage employees to get out for a walk. Sagas Group Headquarters at Sandgate near Folkestone, for example, has a marked out a mile in its grounds that staff can use for a meeting or a stroll at lunchtime.We can design physical activity back into our everyday lives by incentivising and facilitating walking as regular daily transport, creating environments that encourage healthier choices. Businesses can play a key role in this and as a result will have healthier and happier staff. Getting more people walking at work would make for a healthier workforce, and not just by reducing the risk of diseases linked to physical inactivity. Research also shows that absenteeism rates are lower among staff who walk and that active commuters are better able to concentrate and under less strain than those who travel by car.Actions that businesses can take include promoting walking meetings, having a daily mile route (this could just be a convenient mile route marked on a map on local streets around a business), promoting walking initiatives (such as Living Streets walk to work month), or even having a clinic to advise on walking and gait and posture, offering incentives to buy good quality walking trainers or activity trackers.Walking is the lowest-carbon, least polluting form of transport. Its a great social leveller and having people walking through urban spaces makes them safer for others. And best of all it is free, it is reliable and it makes people happy. Who wouldnt want that for their staff?'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/jul/26/walking-work-companies-health-staff-mental'|'2017-07-26T14:00:00.000+03:00' +'02e3e39335ffd1a5ad9ac8a9e0a5dff962234525'|'BRIEF-CIT BANK enters into strategic partnership with Allstate'|' 52pm EDT BRIEF-CIT BANK enters into strategic partnership with Allstate July 10 CIT Bank: * CIT Bank (not cit group inc) - CIT Northbridge will be a financial partner for middle-market companies * CIT Bank enters into strategic partnership with Allstate * CIT Bank - joint venture will provide revolving, term-loan commitments from $15 million to $100 million to middle-market companies across various industries, business cycles * CIT Bank - CIT Asset Management LLC will serve as investment advisor to the joint venture Source text for Eikon: [ID: nPn7ZzR5Va ] (Reporting by Indranil Sarkar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-cit-bank-enters-into-strategic-par-idUSL8N1K166G'|'2017-07-10T23:52:00.000+03:00' +'c25bd01415ea7aba3b8c9aeda6919d0403cf2552'|'Former Credit Suisse banker pleads guilty to U.S. fraud charges'|'July 20, 2017 / 1:01 AM / in 24 minutes Former Credit Suisse banker pleads guilty to U.S. fraud charges Reuters Staff 1 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Swiss citizen pleaded guilty on Wednesday to conspiring to help U.S. taxpayers evade taxes from 2002 through 2011 while she headed a team of bankers in Zurich for Credit Suisse AG ( CSGN.S ), the U.S. Justice Department Susanne D. Regg Meier, who helped the taxpayers conceal assets and income in secret Swiss bank accounts, admitted that the tax loss associated with her criminal conduct was between $3.5 million and $9.5 million, the department said. She faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison, a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties at her scheduled sentencing on Sept. 8, it said. It was not clear whether Regg Meier was in the United States. Credit Suisse pleaded guilty in May 2014 to conspiring to aid and assist taxpayers in filing false returns and was sentenced in November 2014 to pay more than $2 billion (1.5 billion pounds) in fines and restitution, it said. Reporting by Eric Walsh; Editing by Sandra Maler 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-banking-fraud-idUKKBN1A503Q'|'2017-07-20T04:07:00.000+03:00' +'d957f192079d9bdde25ea5f2dfe4983e4da3895d'|'BMW to make Mini electric car plant decision by end-September'|'Autos - Sat Jul 1, 2017 - 4:13pm BST BMW to make Mini electric car plant decision by end-September left right A view shows the logo on a Mini car at a BMW dealership in Minsk, Belarus, March 2, 2017. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko 1/2 left right A Mini car is fixed onto a wall at a BMW and Mini dealership in Barcelona, Spain June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea 2/2 By Costas Pitas - CHICHESTER, England CHICHESTER, England BMW ( BMWG.DE ) will decide whether to build its new electric Mini car in Britain or elsewhere by the end of September, its board member for sales told Reuters, in a test of the country''s ability to continue to attract investment as it leaves the EU. Mini makes around 70 percent of its approximately 360,000 compact cars at its Oxford plant in southern England but the car industry is concerned about the effect any loss of unfettered access to the EU, its largest export market, could have on plants after Brexit. BMW is deciding between its English site, a plant in the Netherlands where it has built more of its conventional line-up in recent years, and its Germany plants at Leipzig and Regensburg for the new low-emissions variant. The firm''s board member for sales told Reuters that the electric Mini investment, likely to be worth tens of millions of pounds, would come in the next three months and the board was currently considering a number of factors including Brexit. "One of the elements is what is the likelihood of a tax regime and if there''s a tax regime, how would it apply," Ian Robertson said during an interview at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in southern England. "If you made the motor in a German plant and you then assembled the car in a British plant, and you took the cars back to the German market, then the duty that you would pay would be reclaimed," he said, in an example of the options companies are examining to plan for any duties or tariffs. The automaker is also looking into where the uptake of greener models is strongest and where the best supply chains are, he said. Britain could approve its first major electric battery hub in the next few weeks after officials in central England submitted proposals to ministers in May. But last month, the car industry issued its strongest warning yet on the need for politicians to strike a transitional Brexit deal after two-year talks to ensure unfettered trade is maintained. Uncertainty has also been heightened after a snap June 8 election which left Prime Minister Theresa May without a majority and has led to ministers in her administration hinting at different versions of Britain''s likely post-Brexit future. Last year, May''s administration helped secure two new models at Japanese carmaker Nissan''s plant in the north of England after what a source said was a government promise of extra support to counter any loss of competitiveness caused by Brexit. Robertson told Reuters there was an "open channel" with officials and that he had several meetings with the Brexit ministry and with business minister Greg Clark, who has visited BMW in Munich, with their teams in regular contact. But, asked whether the government could make promises now regarding future tax or tariff arrangements as BMW neared its decision, he said he did not believe that ministers were in a position to do so. "Any of these discussions about a guarantee, it''s not possible," he said. (Reporting by Costas Pitas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-bmw-mini-idUKKBN19M3KL'|'2017-07-01T18:13:00.000+03:00' +'b980a936a154e5211b6681f7f0b9effe83e81b30'|'India June services activity hits eight-month high on solid new orders'|'July 5, 2017 / 5:05 AM / in 15 hours India 3 Min Read An employee sets a table inside a restaurant at the Crown Plaza hotel, run by the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), in New Delhi, India January 31, 2014. Anindito (Reuters) - Activity in India''s dominant service sector expanded at its fastest pace in eight months in June as new business orders surged, a private survey showed on Wednesday. The Nikkei/IHS Markit Services Purchasing Managers'' Index climbed to 53.1 in June from the previous month''s 52.2. June was the fifth consecutive month the index has been above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction. "With services being the prevalent sector in India, the fainter rise in manufacturing was more than offset and growth of private sector output climbed to an eight-month peak," said Pollyanna de Lima, economist at IHS Markit. Though input prices rose significantly, firms did not fully pass that on to customers, suggesting overall inflation in coming months could remain below the Reserve Bank of India''s medium-term target of 4.0 percent. India''s annual consumer price inflation eased to 2.18 percent in May, driven down by cooling food prices, and further falls could pressure the central bank to cut interest rates by the end of this year. But weaker price rises fuelled domestic and foreign demand and drove the services PMI''s sub-index on new business to 53.3 from 51.6 in May. This is still well below the 54.3 it reached just before Prime Minister Narendra Modi banned high-value currency notes in November, stunning the business community as it struggled in day-to-day business activities. A sister survey on Monday showed growth in Indian factory activity slowed in June, with the PMI reaching a four-month low amid a slowdown in output and softer domestic demand. Taken together, the manufacturing and service indexes pushed the composite PMI to 52.7 in June, its highest in eight months. The May figures was 52.5. In June, service providers were optimistic about growth in the year ahead, although the expectations index slipped to a fourth-month low as firms remained concerned over the near-term impact of the newly-enacted goods and services tax. A strong service sector is crucial for the Indian economy as it accounts for more than 60 percent of gross domestic product, and if momentum is maintained in 2017 it would lead to a faster economic recovery. In January-March, India''s annual GDP growth was a lower-than-expected 6.1 percent, slumping to its lowest in more than two years. De Lima of IHS Markit said the June services number "contributed to the highest quarterly average for the composite PMI" since the second quarter of fiscal year 2016. "This suggests that GDP growth is likely to rebound from the sharp slowdown noted in the first three months of 2017," she said. Reporting by Vivek Mishra; Editing by Richard Borsuk 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/india-economy-pmi-idINKBN19Q0E8'|'2017-07-05T08:03:00.000+03:00' +'40b22f395b48c2cf954c76d310030a705bf831ae'|'Qatar''s $300 billion conundrum: how liquid are its reserves?'|'July 19, 2017 / 11:54 AM / in 3 hours Qatar''s $300 billion conundrum: how liquid are its reserves? 6 Min Read Buildings are seen on a coast line in Doha, Qatar, June 15, 2017. Naseem Zeitoon DUBAI/DOHA (Reuters) - When is $300 billion not enough? That question is key to Qatar''s future as some bankers and hedge funds speculate the super-rich state''s vast financial reserves may not be liquid enough to defend its currency in the long term. Nobody doubts Qatar has a lot of money to resist economic sanctions imposed on it early last month, when Saudi Arabia and three other Arab states cut diplomatic and transport ties. Central bank governor Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud al-Thani said last week that Doha could employ about $340 billion of reserves: some $40 billion plus gold at the central bank, and $300 billion at the Qatar Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund.(For graphic on Qatar Investment Authority''s largest M&A deals click tmsnrt.rs/2uZ0vit ) That suggests Qatar could cope comfortably with any capital flight due to the crisis. Bank of America has predicted $35 billion of outflows from the banking system within a year if other Gulf Arab states pull out deposits and loans. But Qatar could face larger net outflows if, for example, prices of its natural gas exports slump again. The issue is that it might only be able to use a fraction of its reserves to defend its currency. Some are domestic assets which could be hard to sell to foreign buyers in crisis conditions, while another portion is tied up in "illiquid" foreign assets that could not be sold quickly to raise cash. The portion in foreign bank accounts, tradable bonds or listed equities that could be liquidated quickly and easily if needed, is a state secret -- and that secrecy is fuelling speculation about Qatar''s real financial strength. A source close to the government told Reuters fewer than a dozen people had access to all details of the QIA''s reserves. The QIA did not respond to a request for comment. "There is basically no information. There is a lot which is hard to sell, either because of size, strategic interest or depressed values," the source said. Liquid The central bank''s net international reserves including gold totaled 126.7 billion riyals ($35 billion) at end-May, official data shows. Sheikh Abdullah said under $6 billion left Qatar in the past month; this implies the reserves could now be near $30 billion. Economic theory suggests maintaining the riyal''s peg to the dollar would require central bank reserves equivalent to Qatar''s monetary base -- $17 billion. So the central bank may have some $13 billion to play with. That implies the QIA may need to liquidate a small fraction of its assets fairly soon to rebuild central bank reserves. The $300 billion figure for QIA assets given by Sheikh Abdullah looks reasonable to many analysts. It is near the $320 billion estimated by the U.S.-based Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, which tracks the industry through public sources and contacts with officials and businessmen. It is also in line with macroeconomic data on Qatar''s build-up of wealth. Adding Qatar''s current account balances since 2000, when it began posting big surpluses due to its gas exports, and assuming an annual investment return of 3 percent on that money gives a total above $300 billion. Earlier this year the QIA transferred over $30 billion of domestic equity holdings to the finance ministry. A Reuters review of its remaining domestic assets, including real estate arm Qatari Diar and Qatar Airways, suggests they could be worth around $50-75 billion -- potentially leaving about $225 billion in foreign assets. The question for financial markets is how much of that sum is liquid and how much is in long-term assets such as London''s Harrods department store and a stake, bought for $622 million, in the owner of New York''s Empire State Building. QIA stakes in big, listed Western firms, such as a roughly 15 percent holding in Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ), may be partially liquid; they could easily be trimmed by sales into the stock market, but divesting them completely without driving down stock prices could take many months. Krisjanis Krustins, associate director at Fitch Ratings, said Fitch''s impression from meetings with Qatari authorities was that only 10-15 percent, or at most 20 percent, of QIA money was in illiquid assets such as private equity or real estate. That could mean the QIA has roughly $180 billion of liquid foreign assets -- in line with an estimate by a Western diplomat monitoring Qatar, who mostly used public information sources. But there are some reasons to think the QIA, with its appetite for foreign trophy assets, may be less liquid than other sovereign funds. U.S. Treasury data shows Qatar''s holdings of long-term U.S. securities such as Treasury bonds at $8.6 billion in April, or under 3 percent of QIA assets. Kuwait''s holdings were $203 billion, or 39 percent of its sovereign fund''s estimated size, and Saudi Arabia''s at $155 billion or 30 percent. The data may understate Qatari investment in liquid U.S. securities if some is routed through offshore centers such as the Cayman Islands. But the uncertainty suggests Qatar''s financial ammunition may not be as plentiful as it appears, argue some hedge fund managers in New York and London, who could gain from market volatility if Qatar''s currency does come under pressure. "Lets assume 20 to 30 percent of the QIA''s foreign assets are liquid -- that brings liquid assets down to $50-75 billion. All of a sudden, Qatars capacity to defend the peg isnt that strong anymore," said a manager in New York. Additional reporting by Sujata Rao in London Editing by Jeremy Gaunt 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-gulf-qatar-reserves-idUSKBN1A415X'|'2017-07-19T14:53:00.000+03:00' +'0985fb9ecb2cae8884b04cc5b5f0939d3010c522'|'BRIEF-Claim Post Resources announces board appointments, establishes special committee'|'July 24, 2017 / 8:43 PM / 6 minutes ago BRIEF-Claim Post Resources announces board appointments, establishes special committee Claim Post Resources Inc * Claim Post Resources announces board appointments and establishes special committee * Claim Post Resources - board established committee to assess merits, for splitting apart Manitoba Sand assets , Ontario gold and base metal assets Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-claim-post-resources-announces-boa-idUSASB0BAAU'|'2017-07-24T23:42:00.000+03:00' +'46aa2fd6a11352fd6818b9e8ccd537914b7a9b21'|'Roche, Shire court fight underscores high stakes in haemophilia'|'Top News - Mon Jul 10, 2017 - 8:09am BST Roche, Shire court fight underscores high stakes in haemophilia left right Vitamins made by Shire are displayed at a chemist''s in northwest London, Britain July 11, 2014. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo 1/2 left right The logo of Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche is seen outside their headquarters in Basel, January 30, 2014. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich/File Photo 2/2 By John Miller - ZURICH ZURICH Roche''s ( ROG.S ) bid to muscle in on Shire''s ( SHP.L ) share of the $11 billion haemophilia drug market took a new, contentious turn this weekend when the British drugmaker won a court injunction against how the Swiss drugmaker talks about its new medicine. Shire''s injunction on Sunday in a Hamburg, Germany, court alleges incomplete and misleading statements by Roche about its investigational emicizumab. The Swiss company is due to release its latest data on the medicine at a conference in Berlin on Monday at around 0930 GMT (10.30 a.m. BST). The court case underscores just how much is at stake with emicizumab''s impending arrival on the market, with Roche due to file for approval with regulators later this year. Some analysts estimate $5 billion (3.88 billion pounds) in peak annual sales from emicizumab, a development that would likely poach sales from older drugs made by companies such as Shire. Analysts at Bernstein say Shire''s share in haemophilia A is expected to decline to 29 percent from 49 percent by 2021 on the combined effect of Roche''s drug as well as new long-acting products from Novo Nordisk ( NOVOb.CO ) and Bayer ( BAYGn.DE ). Shire, which could not be reached for immediate comment, said in a statement the injunction "seeks to prevent further dissemination of the inaccurate and misleading characterisation of the serious adverse events" that occurred in a Roche trial of emicizumab, also known as ACE910. In Roche''s trial, patients who experienced bleeding despite getting emicizumab were treated with so-called bypassing agents. Roche has blamed several instances of thromboembolic events -- including damage to blood vessels in vital organs -- on the bypassing agents, and recommended that doctors avoid using one specific bypassing agent as they treat the bleeds. If that is not possible, Roche said, doctors should use the lowest dose possible. ''UNLAWFULLY DISPARAGED'' With Roche''s guidance, Shire contends its rival "has unlawfully disparaged Shires proven bypassing agent", known as FEIBA. "Shire''s goal with this action is to ensure the haemophilia community receives sufficient, accurate information," the British company said. A Roche spokeswoman said Monday it had not yet been served with Shire''s injunction, so it could not comment on its contents. But the Basel-based drugmaker stands by "100 percent" behind its statements about emicizumab as well as its guidance for doctors on how to respond to bleeds. Roche will release data on emicizumab on Monday in Berlin at the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis Annual Meeting. (Reporting by John Miller; editing by Jason Neely) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-roche-shire-haemophilia-idUKKBN19V0I1'|'2017-07-10T09:54:00.000+03:00' +'b7970789a27d7bc83bce43086ec6c1ba31cc4f6e'|'Ending austerity means increasing taxes or deficit, warns thinktank'|'Philip Hammond will have to rip up the governments deficit reduction plan or increase taxes for most of the population if he decides to end seven years of austerity by sanctioning higher public sector pay, reversing welfare cuts and providing extra cash for Whitehall departments, a thinktank has said.The Resolution Foundation said it was possible for the chancellor to do a U-turn in his autumn budget, but only if he was prepared to increase borrowing by more than 100bn over the next four years or to make individuals and companies pay more tax.Its report, Living With Austerity, said that given the curbs on spending since 2010 it was understandable that politicians would want to revisit the debate, but that they had to face up to the costs involved.Theresa Mays failure to win an overall majority in last months general election has led to many leading Conservatives including the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson , health secretary Jeremy Hunt and the education secretary Justine Greening , suggesting that the time has come to abandon the 1% cap on public sector pay.Boris Johnson: lift 1% ceiling on public sector pay increases Read moreHammond has been resisting calls for a more generous approach to public sector workers and has insisted that the government stick to its plan of eliminating the budget deficit by midway through the 2020s .The Resolution Foundation said public sector pay was only a small part of austerity, and that removing the 1% cap would amount merely to tinkering. Its analysis found that the public sector was facing two crunches, a squeeze on pay that would bring it back to 2005 levels by 2020 and a loss of jobs that would result in a headcount below five million for the first time this century.The report said allowing public sector pay to rise in line with pay in the private sector for the rest of the decade would cost 9.7bn by 2021-22, while expanding the public sector workforce in line with the increase in the UKs population would cost a further 11.5bn over the same period.Far more households are affected by the freeze on benefits than by the public sector pay cap, but the foundation said the cost of unfreezing them would be lower. Allowing working age benefits to rise in line with inflation from next April would cost 3.6bn by 2021-22, while reversing the cuts to work allowances in universal credit would cost around 3.2bn.Since 2010, only the NHS, international development and schools have been spared budget cuts. The report said allowing departmental spending (including public sector pay) to rise in line with GDP growth after the end of the current spending review in 2019-20 would cost 12.3bn by 2021-22. Reversing the cuts planned for the next two years would cost a further 11bn.Even the IMF says austerity doesnt work. Its the zombie idea that will not die - Phil McDuff Read moreMatt Whittaker, chief economist at the Resolution Foundation, said it was no surprise that squeeze fatigue had set in. But recognising that fatigue is very different to doing something about it. If we want a serious discussion on ending austerity, we need to get serious about prioritising what spending we really want to see rise and how we want to pay for it and that means tax rises for most of us.The chancellor can start by cancelling unneeded corporation tax cuts . But if he wants to raise serious revenues despite the challenges of having a minority government, which the Office of Budget Responsibility may force him to irrespective of plans to end aspects of austerity, then he could look at freezing tax thresholds, which could raise up to 12.5bn.The foundation said weaker than expected economic expansion and pay growth this year meant there was a significant risk that the independent Office for Budget Responsibility would downgrade its forecasts for the public finances in the budget. The chancellor would need to respond to these development even before any moves to end austerity, it added.Topics Austerity Economics Public sector pay Welfare Public services policy Philip Hammond news'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/economics/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jul/08/ending-austerity-means-increasing-taxes-or-deficit-warns-thinktank'|'2017-07-08T10:00:00.000+03:00' +'987237151fc38e6f4c14ee12ad11f92cbe907e58'|'Canada appoints ex-RBC executive Fukakusa as infrastructure bank chair'|'Market News 39pm EDT Canada appoints ex-RBC executive Fukakusa as infrastructure bank chair TORONTO, July 6 Janice Fukakusa, a former Royal Bank of Canada chief financial officer, was appointed on Thursday as the first chairperson of Canada''s new infrastructure bank, the country''s infrastructure minister said. "Today''s announcement is another step forward in fulfilling our commitment to have the Canada Infrastructure Bank operational by the end of 2017," Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi said in a statement on Thursday. Canada''s Liberal government announced last November it would set up the agency to facilitate private investment in such projects as new roads and bridges in order to supplement government investment with funding from investors such as pension and sovereign wealth funds. The creation of the new entity is part of a broader plan to invest C$180 billion ($139 billion) over 12 years in improving the country''s infrastructure. The government advisory panel that recommended the bank''s creation had said it could look to raise C$4 to C$5 of private funding for every C$1 provided by taxpayers to fund projects. The government also plans to appoint a chief executive and board members for the bank in the coming months, it said. ($1 = 1.2939 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Matt Scuffham, editing by G Crosse)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-infrastructure-chairman-idUSL1N1JX16D'|'2017-07-06T19:39:00.000+03:00' +'2bbad8350277ae98373cc4c0aa1809e3900e3c4d'|'Exclusive - U.S. toughens stance on foreign deals in blow to China''s buying spree'|'July 20, 2017 / 11:45 PM / in 5 hours Exclusive: U.S. toughens stance on foreign deals in blow to China''s buying spree Greg Roumeliotis and Diane Bartz 6 Min Read U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and China''s Vice Premier Wang Yang attend the U.S. - China Comprehensive Economic Dialogue to discuss bilateral economic and trade issues in Washington, U.S., July 19, 2017. Yuri Gripas (Reuters) - A secretive U.S. government panel has objected to at least nine acquisitions of U.S. companies by foreign buyers so far this year, people familiar with the matter said, a historically high number that bodes poorly for China''s overseas buying spree. The objections indicate that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which reviews acquisitions by foreign entities for potential national security risks, is becoming more risk-averse under U.S. President Donald Trump. Chinese companies and investors eyeing U.S. assets could face more roadblocks as a result, at a time when the Chinese government is also restricting the flow of capital out of China following a bonanza of Chinese overseas deals. There have been 87 announced acquisitions of U.S. companies by Chinese firms so far in 2017, the highest on record and up from 77 deals in the corresponding period in 2016. CFIUS''s more conservative stance toward deals coincides with growing political and economic tensions between the United States and China. On Wednesday the two countries failed to agree on major new steps to reduce the U.S. trade deficit with China. Since the start of the year, CFIUS has sent letters to companies involved in at least nine deals to say they would be blocked based on measures they have proposed to address potential national security risks, the people familiar said. Many of these deals are in the technology sector, the sources said. A rise in cyber security threats and rapid advances in technology makes it more difficult to establish whether a deal poses any threat, lawyers who represent companies before CFIUS said. An initial objection by the watchdog does not necessarily kill the deal immediately. Some companies this year have chosen to keep their CFIUS filings alive by proposing new mitigation measures, while others have pulled their applications and canceled their deals, the people said. They asked not be identified because interactions between CFIUS and the companies are confidential. "CFIUS decisions are highly sensitive and we are not going to comment on rumors of their outcome," a White House spokeswoman said. A spokesman at the Treasury Department declined to comment. Treasury leads CFIUS with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin serving as chairman. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin speaks at the U.S. - China Comprehensive Economic Dialogue in Washington, U.S., July 19, 2017. Yuri Gripas Most of the deals that CFIUS has sought to block this year have not been announced. Among the companies that have disclosed they have withdrawn their CFIUS applications and canceled their deals are U.S. electronics maker Inseego Corp ( INSG.O ), which tried to sell its MiFi mobile hotspot business to Chinese smartphone maker TCL Industries Holdings, and Texas oil producer ExL Petroleum Management LLC, which sought to sell its assets to Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman''s L1 Energy. By comparison, in the entirety of 2014, the last year for which CFIUS has released official data, nine deals were withdrawn after CFIUS began an investigation. Several more companies face protracted CFIUS reviews amid delays after Trump took office in filling important mid-level political positions at several of the 16 government departments and agencies that comprise CFIUS. CFIUS is on track to review a record-setting 250 to 300 transactions in 2017, according to Anne Salladin, a CFIUS expert with the law firm Stroock and Stroock and Lavan LLP - up sharply from 147 deals in 2014. The backlog is leading many companies that fail to gain CFIUS clearance within the standard 75 days allocated for review to refile their applications. Refiling resets the clock and gives up to another 75 days to complete the national security review and try to resolve potential issues. Key Vacancies A number of companies have said in regulatory filings that their high-profile deals are before CFIUS. They include Chinese payments company Ant Financial''s $1.2 billion acquisition of U.S. money transfer company MoneyGram International Inc ( MGI.O ) and China-backed buyout fund Canyon Bridge Capital Partners LLC''s $1.3 billion acquisition of U.S. chip maker Lattice Semiconductor Corp ( LSCC.O ). In addition, investment firm China Oceanwide Holdings Group Co Ltd''s $2.7 billion acquisition of U.S. life insurer Genworth Financial Inc ( GNW.N ) and China-based semiconductor investment fund Unic Capital Management''s $580 million acquisition of U.S. semiconductor testing equipment company Xcerra Corp ( XCRA.O ) are also with the watchdog. Ant Financial has refiled its MoneyGram deal with CFIUS once, while Canyon Bridge and China Oceanwide have refiled their deals twice, according to company disclosures and Reuters reports. Unic is still on its first filing with CFIUS on its Xcerra deal, company disclosures and Reuters reports showed. Of the two dozen political appointee positions in the Treasury Department just three have been confirmed by U.S. lawmakers. A key CFIUS nomination is that of former Allen & Overy LLP lawyer Heath Tarbert, who has been appointed as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for international markets and development, and has yet to be confirmed. Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York and Diane Bartz in Washington; additional reporting by Ayesha Rascoe in Washington; Editing by Chris Sanders and Grant McCool 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-companies-idUKKBN1A532M'|'2017-07-21T02:48:00.000+03:00' +'9fa071c7df1ee2fe4475f2f21bb22ae25ef1f05e'|'The United States of debt'|'POLITICS in America may be an arena of mutual incomprehension with few settled facts, but the debate about the health of American firms balance-sheets is, if anything, even more bewildering. Ranged on one side are those who complain that America Inc is hoarding $2trn of idle cash and that this acts as a powerful drag on the economy. On the other are those, including the IMF, who yell that firms are bingeing on debt, with borrowing hitting an all-time high of $8.4trn last year. As a result firms are simultaneously accused of being timid wimps and reckless idiots.In fact, the numbers show that they are by and large a sensible bunch (especially compared with the countrys bankers and politicians). What is more, the debate over debt, as framed, misses the most intriguing thing about their balance-sheets. These have been radically reshaped to adapt to three national economic sicknessesa financial system that companies still mistrust after the crisis; a broken tax code; and monopoly profits.Latest updates Trumpcare, version three Democracy in America 7 minutes ago Turkey 31 2 hours 10 See all updates Measuring a firms balance-sheet leverage involves a few moving parts, which may explain some of the muddle over borrowing. There is debt, cash and the profits that go to making interest payments. For the current members of the S&P 500 index, excluding financial firms, all three measures have soared in the past decade. Debt has risen by 114% and cash by 162%; gross operating profits are 51% higher. It is easy to cherry-pick from among these figures to make contradictory claims.What matters, however, is the size of firms net debts (debts less cash) relative to profits. Comparing these is rather like deducting the cash in your bank account from your debts and comparing the net amount to your salary. The ratio for S&P 500 members, adding up all their accounts, is a reasonable 1.5 times, slightly higher than a decade ago and lower than in Europe and Asia. Some firms are more geared than others. But the share of total debt owed by highly leveraged firms has been fairly stable over time. Although figures for the S&P 500 capture only big, listed firms, national-accounts data include all of them and indicate similar trends, with the net-debt ratio flat compared to 2006.That does not necessarily please central banks in rich countries, which since the financial crisis have kept interest rates low, in part to try to persuade companies to go on investment splurges funded by cheap debt. But companies do not work in the way that some economists would like. They invest in line with their long-term strategies, using tried-and-tested rules of thumb to gauge the attractiveness of new projects.Even if American firms have spent a decade ignoring the Federal Reserve, they have altered their behaviour in response to the economys three ills. First, their suspicion of the financial system means they carry a bigger buffer of cash and liquid assets. Before the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 firms assumed they could always tap the money markets or borrow from banks. Now they do not entirely trust either. For every dollar of total gross profits that the present constituents of the S&P 500 earn, they carry $1.25 of cash, compared with 72 cents a decade ago.The second change is that firms have had to adapt to a decrepit tax code that is stuck in the 1980s, before business globalised. Companies must pay a levy if they try to bring foreign profits home, and as a result many do not bother. About half of the cash of S&P 500 firms remains offshore. Many multinationals now divide their balance-sheets according to geography. They build up cash abroad and borrow in America. Apple, for example, issues bonds at home to pay for its share buy-backs, rather than tapping the $240bn it has stashed abroad. So though America Incs consolidated balance-sheet, which adds up the domestic and foreign parts, is prudently leveraged, it is more complex than before.The last change is that companies profits have soared, which partly reflects a decline in competition in the economy and the rise of oligopolies in many industries. Firms are implicitly assuming that this is a permanent change. They have allowed their net debts to rise roughly in line with their rising profits (using these bumper earnings and borrowings to finance share buy-backs).Established oligopolists such as AT&T and Kraft Heinz now boast both massive profits and high levels of net debt, reflecting the fact that their managers do not expect much competition. Likewise, Americas airlines have increased debt as their profits have shot up. Younger monopolies such as Alphabet and Facebook have net cash positions, largely because the money has only just started pouring in. Eventually they may gear up, too.God help AmericaBoth arguments, that America Inc has either lost its nerve or become reckless, are wrong. But the corporate worlds revamped balance-sheet does carry risks. One is that the liquidity buffer of $2trn might be invested unwisely. Every company insists that it parks its spare money in safe banks and low-risk bonds, but this is an area where disclosure is poor, and it would be no surprise if a few corporate treasurers were making dangerous speculative bets. Another risk is that a geopolitical or financial shock could make it harder for capital to cross borders. America Incs geographically divided balance-sheet would be harder to manage.A final risk is that abnormally high profits could fall, making it harder to service debts. Antitrust watchdogs could get tougher with telecoms and cable-TV firms, for example, pushing earnings down. Or the labour market could tighten, pushing wages up and prompting the Fed to raise interest rates. That would squeeze companies near-record margins and lift their interest costs.That is clearly not what many CEOs expect. The message that is buried in balance-sheets is not that American firms are behaving stupidly in response to todays business climate. It is that they think the disappointing status quo of high profits, muffled competition, sluggish wage growth and dysfunctional political and financial systems will continue for a long time to come.'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21725010-hidden-message-american-companies-balance-sheets-united-states-debt?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-07-13T23:21:00.000+03:00' +'e0b5b98262b7e0cd1cefc62ebfac0fd8acadfc85'|'MOVES-Citi promotes Raja to EMEA head of credit trading'|'Market News - Thu Jul 6, 2017 - 10:58am EDT MOVES-Citi promotes Raja to EMEA head of credit trading By Steve Slater LONDON, July 6 (IFR) - Citigroup has promoted Amit Raja to head of credit markets trading for Europe, Middle East and Africa, filling the position left vacant by Fred Jallot''s departure in April. Raja had been global head of distressed trading since 2014. He will remain the head of European leveraged trading, but the US distressed credit trading team, which previously reported to him, will now report to Brian Archer. Raja will have responsibility - with the credit trading product heads - for all credit trading businesses in the region, including commercial paper, investment grade, high yield, loans, distressed, EM credit, structured credit and credit opportunities, the bank said in a memo seen by IFR. Raja joined Citi in 1997 and moved into credit trading in 2009. He will report to Carey Lathrop and Mickey Bhatia from a product perspective and Leo Arduini from a regional perspective, the memo said. (Reporting by Steve Slater)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/moves-citi-promotes-raja-to-emea-head-of-idUSL8N1JX4OK'|'2017-07-06T17:58:00.000+03:00' +'dfe4ec58cfc11a0fd13559162d54ec8a0b3110c1'|'Canon falls to more than two-month low after EU threatens huge fine'|'Business News - Fri Jul 7, 2017 - 4:22am BST Canon falls to more than two-month low after EU threatens huge fine left right FILE PHOTO: A gymnast performs in front of the Canon brand logo at the Canon stall during the CP+ camera and photo trade fair in Yokohama, Japan, February 25, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: A logo of Canon Inc is pictured on a Canon EOS Kiss X50 displayed at an electronics store in Tokyo October 23, 2012. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao WX/File Photo 2/2 TOKYO, July 7 Shares of Canon Inc dropped to their lowest levels in more than two months on Friday after EU antitrust regulators said they could fine it up to 10 percent of annual revenue if they concluded it had breached merger rules. The regulators said they had reached a preliminary view that Canon breached rules by using a so-called "warehousing" two-step transaction structure involving an interim buyer to acquire Toshiba Medical Systems prior to obtaining the relevant merger approvals. Ten percent of Canon''s annual revenue would be roughly equivalent to $2.9 billion. In early morning trade, Canon fell as much as 3 percent to 3,682 yen, its lowest level since May 1. The stock was the fifth most traded stock by turnover. (Reporting by Ayai Tomisawa; Additional reporting by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-antitrust-canon-idUKKBN19S09Q'|'2017-07-07T05:18:00.000+03:00' +'5aac2622da2af2302514b00f66962cbbb72b2f3b'|'Supreme Court ruling leads to offensive trademark requests'|'FILE PHOTO: The Supreme Court is seen in Washington, DC, U.S. April 7, 2017. Aaron P. Bernstein/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - A small group of companies and individuals are looking to register racially charged words and symbols for their products, including the N-word and a swastika, based on a U.S. Supreme Court decision on trademarks last month.At least nine such applications have been filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) since the unanimous June 19 ruling throwing out a federal law prohibiting disparaging trademarks. All are pending.In the past, the agency generally rejected similar filings because they included material that denigrated an identifiable group. But the court said the law violated free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution.If the applicants follow through, such products as energy drinks, sweatshirts and fragrances could be branded with racial slurs. Federally registered trademarks, though not required to sell goods in the marketplace, can protect businesses against unauthorized uses of their brands.Attorney David Bell, a trademark expert with the law firm Haynes and Boone, said the filings could be the tip of the iceberg if more people seek trademarks on offensive and vulgar terms."We''re now opening the door, chipping away at what''s acceptable under cultural norms," he said. "I think it could be a slippery slope, where you get more people and companies thinking, ''This is okay.''"Since the decision, seven trademark applications for versions of the N-word, an offensive term aimed at black people, have been filed, PTO records show. Other applications include an epithet for people of Chinese descent, as well as a swastika symbol, the emblem of the German Nazi party.The PTO told its staff on June 26 that the federal law''s disparagement provision can no longer be used to reject a trademark, according to written guidance seen by Reuters.The Trump administration had urged the high court to keep the provision in place.In a legal brief, the Department of Justice said if the Supreme Court struck it down, the PTO would be forced to trademark "the most repellent racial slurs and white-supremacist slogans."The PTO and the Department of Justice declined to comment.Bell said he did not expect hate groups to seize on the high court ruling to further their agenda."Might the (Ku Klux Klan) or neo-Nazi groups start doing it more? They might, but I don''t think trademark filings are high on their radar," he said.''Hate Into Hope'' Steven Maynard, a Virginia consultant who helps others obtain trademarks, started Snowflake Enterprises with several investors to apply for offensive trademarks after the court ruled.The company has submitted applications to trademark a version of the N-word to appear on clothing, hard liquor and beer, and intends to turn the slur into a brand, Maynard said in an interview. The company has a dedicated website.Maynard, 50, said he is not racist but believes that saturating the market with such epithets can rob them of their racist connotations. The idea is to spark discussion and turn "hate into hope," he said in a phone interview."If you suppress it, you give it power," Maynard said.Maynard''s argument is similar to that offered by The Slants, a Portland, Oregon-based Asian-American dance rock band, which failed in 2013 to trademark its name. The band said it was trying to reclaim a term widely viewed as a derogatory reference to Asian people''s eyes.An appeal of that rejection led to the Supreme Court ruling.John Yang, president of Asian Americans Advancing Justice - AAJC, a Washington, D.C., civil rights organization, said the Slants'' motivations for reappropriating a derogatory term were honest.But he said it was unclear whether the same could be said of new applicants who might have purely commercial motivations or even racist ones. "We are concerned that once you start to peel the onion there might be different stories involved," Yang said.San Francisco entrepreneur Mike Lin, 45, whose parents are Taiwanese, submitted a trademark application for a slur against Chinese people, one he said he was called as a kid and wanted to reappropriate, or "take back."He intends to capitalize on it by selling T-shirts bearing the slur and using the trademark application to generate news coverage for his company 47/72 Inc, he said.Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Howard Goller '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-slur-idUSKBN1A80L6'|'2017-07-23T17:07:00.000+03:00' +'ef91ebeb8af9f5086b7f563a1ef31e4d333d297f'|'BoE says more defences may be needed against consumer credit'|'July 24, 2017 / 4:29 PM / an hour ago BoE says more defences may be needed against consumer credit Huw Jones 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The Bank of England is seen through the columns on the Royal Exchange building in London, Britain August 4, 2016. Neil Hall/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England said on Monday it could force banks to hold more capital as an "insurance policy" to protect the wider economy in case the rapid growth in consumer credit turns sour. Alex Brazier, the BoE''s executive director for financial stability, said that while lending overall has grown in line with the British economy, outstanding car loans, credit card balances and personal loans have risen by 10 percent, far outpacing rises in income. In a period of good economic performance, banks think they can reduce prices and loosen lending criteria, he said. "The spiral continues and borrowers rack up more and more debt," Brazier said in a speech in Liverpool. "Lending standards can go from responsible to reckless very quickly... Lenders have not entered, but they may be dicing with, the spiral of complacency." It is the latest warning on consumer credit from the BoE, which has already responded by introducing three "defence lines", including closer supervision of banks and tightening mortgage lending standards to stop "boundaries" being pushed, such as a rise in lending at higher loan-to-income multiples. The third "defence line" involves stress testing lenders to check whether they hold enough capital to deal with losses. "And to make sure this defence line is kept robust in the face of rapid consumer credit growth, we are accelerating this year''s test of banks'' consumer credit loans," Brazier said. "By September we will have assessed whether the rapid growth has created any small gap in the line. If it has, we''ll plug it." Brazier highlighted car loans, saying so-called personal contract purchase or PCP from the finance arms of automakers now finance almost four in five new car purchases. Even if a borrower makes all the monthly payments on a PCP contract, the lender can still lose money if used car prices fall. "The finance company is left with a car that has depreciated by more than they''ve been paid," Brazier said. However, the defence lines may now be starting to kick in, he said, with consumer credit showing signs of slowing and new car registrations falling. The aim is to stop the economy having to suffer endless repeats of the "Debt Strikes Back" movie, he added. "For now, settle back with your popcorn and watch the, oddly, not yet highly grossing, new blockbuster, the Return of the Regulator." Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Gareth Jones 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-boe-banks-regulator-idUKKBN1A923P'|'2017-07-24T19:28:00.000+03:00' +'fb11065614132ca372d64066d7339d96b65906b4'|'Oil prices hover near 8-week highs on lower U.S stocks'|'July 27, 2017 / 4:08 AM / 12 minutes ago Oil prices hover near eight-week highs on lower U.S. stocks Fergus Jensen 3 Min Read An offshore oil platform is seen at the Bouri Oil Field off the coast of Libya August 3, 2015. Darrin Zammit Lupi/Files SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices were sitting just below 8-week highs on Thursday, buoyed by hopes that a steeper-than-expected decline in U.S. crude oil inventories will reduce global oversupply. Brent crude futures were down 16 cents, or 0.3 percent, at $50.81 a barrel at 0536 GMT, after rising about 1.5 percent in the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were down 13 cents, or 0.3 percent, at $48.62 a barrel. U.S. crude stocks fell sharply last week as refineries increased output and imports declined, while gasoline stocks decreased and distillate inventories dropped, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. The 7.2 million barrel decline in crude inventories in the week ending July 21 was well above the 2.6 million barrel forecast. "This marks the fourth consecutive week that total hydrocarbon inventories have fallen during a time of year when they normally increase," said PIRA Energy oil analyst Jenna Delaney. U.S. shale producers including Hess Corp, Anadarko Petroleum and Whiting Petroleum this week announced plans to cut spending this year as a result of low oil prices. Optimism that the long-oversupplied market is moving towards balance was also supported by news earlier in the week that Saudi Arabia plans to limit its crude exports to 6.6 million barrels per day (bpd) in August, about 1 million bpd below its export levels a year earlier. Fellow members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Kuwait and UAE have also promised export cuts. "The narrowing of the global glut is still on track," OCBC said. But analysts say oil prices may have little room to head higher as recent gains could encourage more output, particularly from U.S. shale producers with low costs. "The market will likely be paying even more attention to drilling activity in the U.S. in the coming weeks, particularly after suggestions from certain industry players that the rig count in the U.S. is slowing," ING said in a research note on Wednesday. U.S. fuel exports are on track to hit another record in 2017, making foreign fuel markets increasingly important for the future growth prospects and profit margins of U.S. refiners. Meanwhile, Norway''s Statoil said on Thursday it expected a 5 percent increase in output this year amid higher oil prices, but the company reduced its planned exploration spending. Reporting by Fergus Jensen; Editing by Richard Pullin and Joseph Radford 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-oil-idINKBN1AC0BN'|'2017-07-27T07:06:00.000+03:00' +'cb3ae5ffb2d62a46f6136f593ec69ef1509272a8'|'Wall Street Week Ahead: Small-cap rally could shrink on earnings, tax reform hurdles'|'July 21, 2017 / 6:17 PM / 25 minutes ago Wall Street Week Ahead: Small-cap rally could shrink on earnings, tax reform hurdles Caroline Valetkevitch 4 Min Read A street sign is seen in front of the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street in New York, February 10, 2009. Eric Thayer NEW YORK (Reuters) - Optimism is souring around small-cap stocks for some investors, with a host of factors conspiring to up-end gains that have taken them to record highs. Small-caps, which led the market''s rally just after the Nov. 8 election of Donald Trump as U.S. president, are facing weak earnings forecasts, little progress on tax reform and recent outflows. "We have downside risk here. Earnings numbers aren''t great, and valuations are ... pretty rich," said Steven DeSanctis, equity strategist at Jefferies. Investors had expected the administration of Republican Trump, with his promises of aggressive tax cuts and a healthier U.S. economy, would be a boon for small-caps, which tend to be more domestically focused. Republicans so far have been unable to push through bills to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, the first leg of the Trump agenda. That has raised doubts about the likelihood of any tax reform this year. Small-caps have higher effective tax rates - about 32 percent versus 26 percent for large-caps, a note from Nuveen Asset Management showed. The performance of both the Russell 2000, a widely used gauge for small-caps, and the small-cap S&P 600 has lagged that of large-caps so far this year, but the Russell is up 20.3 percent since the election compared with a gain of 15.3 percent for the S&P 500. All three indexes hit record highs in recent sessions, just as the earnings reporting period was getting under way. But analysts estimate earnings for S&P 600 companies declined 8.3 percent in the second quarter, dragged down by projected drops in consumer discretionary, energy and health care results, according to Thomson Reuters data. Revenue is expected to have risen slightly in the quarter. Among consumer companies, weakness in apparel, accessories and luxury goods and other retailers is expected to have hurt results, said David Aurelio, Thomson Reuters senior research analyst. In the small-cap energy sector, services and equipment companies continue to be affected by project cutbacks by larger companies. The small-cap outlook is in contrast to expectations for another quarter of strong profit growth for the S&P 500 and a sharp year-over-year jump in large-cap energy. "Small-cap earnings growth has been trailing large-caps for the last four years, and that continues to be the case in the first half of this year," said Dan Suzuki, senior U.S. equity strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York. That does not bode well for valuation metrics for small-caps, which the bank calls "the most expensive segment of an expensive market." The Russell 2000 is trading at about 26 times forward earnings as per Thomson Reuters Datastream data, above a median of about 21. The S&P 500 trades at about 17.3 times, also above its median. While analysts expect small-cap earnings to rebound in the second half of the year, some strategists said those lofty expectations are not likely to hold since U.S. economic growth remains sluggish. Large-caps have benefited from recent weakness in the U.S. dollar, which makes foreign currency earnings for U.S. companies worth more in dollars. "This may explain why mid- and large-caps have seen a stronger bounce in earnings revisions than small-caps recently," Lori Calvasina, Credit Suisse''s chief U.S. equity strategist, wrote in a research note. Recent fund data also shows a weakening trend. According to Lipper, U.S.-based small-cap funds have recorded five straight weeks of withdrawals. At the same time, technical momentum indicators are trailing the Russell 2000''s recent push to new highs, a possible warning that its foray into record territory is on less than firm footing. "We''re in a longer period of underperformance," Suzuki said. Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Additional reporting by Terence Gabriel and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by James Dalgleish 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-weekahead-idINKBN1A62CA'|'2017-07-21T21:15:00.000+03:00' +'27463e637540968f11bc491c97a3ef876503b35e'|'Cathay Needs Less Swire, Not More'|'Cathay Needs Less Swire, Not More The airline''s newest big shareholder should consider embracing China rather than fighting it. By From Anthony Kwan/Bloomberg If Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd.''s newest major investor was looking to ingratiate himself with the carrier''s controlling shareholders, he''s going the right way about it. The airline needs someone from the Swire family to "come out and lead the company for a while," the South China Morning Post quoted circuit-board tycoon Cheung Kwok-wing as saying in an interview published Monday . He''d be prepared to add to his 8.3 percent stake at HK$20 ($2.56) a share and expects the airline to return to health in six to 12 months, according to the newspaper. If Cheung''s looking to make money from his investment, though, he should consider a situation where the Swires have less, not more control. Cathay Pacific isn''t exactly a foreign country to John Swire & Sons Ltd., the London-based controlling group in the conglomerate. As Gadfly has previously complained , the two companies are probably too intertwined for their own good, with the past four Cathay CEOs putting in a near-identical three-decade apprenticeship elsewhere in the Swire empire before starting in the airline''s top job. Alongside the five executive directors on Cathay''s board are four non-executives representing Swire, as well as four representatives of 30 percent shareholder Air China Ltd. and four independent non-executives. The nine Swire veterans dominate the 17-person board despite a stake of just 45 percent, and none are the sorts of new faces likely to propound fresh thinking. All of the Cathay or Swire directors joined the company at a time when Samuel Swire, the younger of the two family scions on the board, was still a child. Such a consistent structure would be reasonable enough if Cathay were in a steady-state industry, but aviation is undergoing a revolution . The changes already are upending the powerful hub carriers in the Persian Gulf and threatens still greater damage to Hong Kong, struggling to thrive in the shadow cast by the fast-growing carriers over the border. A better strategy would be to embrace, rather than fight China''s growing might. That may indeed be Cheung''s motivation. One possible explanation for his sudden swerve into Cathay from a lifetime in the laminates industry would be that he''s aiming to be a strategic player should Air China follow the example of Cosco Shipping Corp. and take over its main Hong Kong rival, Corinne Png, an analyst at Crucial Perspective in Hong Kong, argued in a note to clients last week. Such a deal would create the world''s largest cargo airline and second-largest passenger carrier, and allow Air China to build up Cathay as a premium brand, she said. But the interests of the Swire family, who''ve controlled the carrier since its founding in 1946, could be one of the biggest stumbling blocks. The attractions to Beijing are obvious. Swire''s roots in China date back to before the first Opium War, and Cathay only appointed its first ethnic Chinese chief executive in 2005. That would seem to make it an obvious irritant to the nationalist instincts of President Xi Jinping, who harangued the territory''s independent streak in a speech there earlier in July that focused on the Communist Party''s role in ending the "humiliation and sorrow" of colonialism . If Cheung could ease the path to such a handover, he has much to gain. Cosco offered a premium of almost one-third to Orient Overseas (International) Ltd.''s previous close in its takeover -- and in that case the controlling shareholders were the family of Tung Chee-hwa, the territory''s pro-Beijing former chief executive. Cathay is now the most richly valued of the world''s major airlines, despite heading to its second consecutive year of losses. Without a deal, it''s hard to see much upside from the current valuation. But what price would Beijing place on ending the national humiliation of a leading Chinese airline that''s still run by British aristocrats? The sky''s the limit. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners. Before it''s here, it''s on the Bloomberg Terminal. '|'bloomberg.com'|'https://www.bloomberg.com/businessweek'|'https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-31/cathay-needs-less-swire-not-more'|'2017-07-31T07:48:00.000+03:00' +'f082699e4e3fbb03aa6787d770ddc032c100e924'|'Moody''s gets licence to rate Saudi Arabia''s corporates'|'July 31, 2017 / 2:28 PM / 2 minutes ago Moody''s gets licence to rate Saudi Arabia''s corporates 2 Min Read DUBAI, July 31 (Reuters) - Moody''s has obtained a licence to operate rating activities in Saudi Arabia, joining the two major foreign credit rating agencies Fitch and Standard & Poor''s, as the country seeks to develop its corporate debt capital markets. Saudi Arabia''s corporate sector has traditionally relied on the bank loan market to back its funding requirements. But since low oil prices started impacting liquidity in the local banking system, authorities have encouraged more bond issuances as bonds allow a larger investor base such as insurance and pension funds to be tapped, therefore reducing the strain on the banking system. The sovereign itself issued its first international bond last year a record breaking $17.5 billion issuance to plug a budget deficit caused by lower oil prices. The bond was followed by a $9 billion international sukuk earlier this year and, this month, by the launch of a domestic sukuk programme through an issuance equivalent to $4.5 billion. Saudi Arabia''s Capital Markets Authority (CMA) said on Monday that as part of its responsibility to regulate and develop credit rating activities, it had authorised Moody''s Investors Service Middle East Limited to conduct credit rating in the country. Standard & Poor''s obtained a similar licence last October. It was followed by Fitch, which obtained the same permission last April. The CMA started receiving applications to conduct credit rating in 2015. (Reporting by Davide Barbuscia, editing by David Evans) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/moodys-saudi-idUSL5N1KM4R1'|'2017-07-31T17:25:00.000+03:00' +'d3b43d459b45b9632e553891012d9e54ad90d2b3'|'Oil adds to rally on optimism over declining stocks'|'July 26, 2017 / 1:54 AM / in 18 minutes Oil prices firm on optimism over declining stocks Fergus Jensen 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An oil pump jack pumps oil in a field near Calgary, Alberta, Canada July 21, 2014. Todd Korol/File Photo SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices firmed on Wednesday to hold near eight-week highs hit in the previous session, on expectations of a drawdown in U.S. stocks and as a rise in shale oil production shows signs of slowing. Brent crude futures LCOc1 rose 41 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $50.61 a barrel by 0617 GMT, after rallying more than 3 percent on Tuesday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures CLc1 climbed 49 cents, or 1 percent, to $48.38 a barrel. U.S. crude stocks fell sharply last week as refineries boosted output, while gasoline inventories increased and distillate stocks decreased, data from industry group the American Petroleum Institute showed on Tuesday. Crude inventories declined by 10.2 million barrels in the week ending July 21 to 487 million, compared with expectations for a decrease of 2.6 million barrels. The market has been buoyed by Saudi Arabia''s announcement at a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC producers on Monday that it would limit crude exports to 6.6 million barrels per day (bpd) in August, down nearly 1 million bpd from a year earlier. "This has seen expectations of further drawdown in inventories increase," ANZ said in a research note, referring to the Saudi plans. Nigeria also agreed to join a push to rein in production by capping or cutting its output from 1.8 million bpd once it stabilizes at that level. However, the current uptrend in oil prices could be limited to the low $50 per barrel region, according to Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney. "As we approach $50 and into the low $50s, that''s a level that could attract increased U.S. shale oil production if it stays around that level," he said. On Monday, Anadarko Petroleum Corp ( APC.N ) said it would cut its 2017 capital budget by $300 million because of depressed oil prices, the first major U.S. oil producer to do so, after posting a larger-than-expected quarterly loss. Oil prices have come under pressure from an oversupply of crude around the globe, brought on in part by rising production from U.S. shale regions. Indonesia''s energy minister said on Tuesday that Southeast Asia''s top crude producer would be open to rejoining the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as long as it is not forced to curb its own crude oil production. Writing by Fergus Jensen; Editing by Richard Pullin and Joseph Radford 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-oil-idUKKBN1AB06M'|'2017-07-26T04:55:00.000+03:00' +'5310aa496cfdfebe3f042408b20d5a4b6a2e7466'|'Uber shareholders discuss stock sale to SoftBank, others - Bbg'|'July 14, 2017 / 9:43 PM / 16 hours ago Uber shareholders discuss stock sale to SoftBank, others: Bloomberg 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A man arrives at the Uber offices in Queens, New York, U.S. on February 2, 2017. Brendan McDermid/File Photo (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc''s shareholders and its board, led by venture capital firm Benchmark, have discussed selling some of their stock to Masayoshi Son''s SoftBank Group Corp ( 9984.T ) and other potential investors, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. The deal could include investment of new money into the startup, Bloomberg reported, adding that details about the valuation of shares or how much SoftBank or other investors would buy were unclear. However, a CNBC report said Softbank was not in discussions to buy stock in the ride-hailing service. Uber, Softbank and Benchmark did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The reports came after the Wall Street Journal earlier in the day said Uber''s biggest rival in Southeast Asia, Grab, was posed to raise as much as $2 billion in funding from SoftBank and China''s top ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing. Uber has been facing a number of setbacks, including accusations of a sexist work culture and driver protests, that culminated in the departure of co-founder and Chief Executive Travis Kalanick last month. Benchmark partner Bill Gurley, who is one of Uber''s largest shareholders, along with other investors including First Round Capital and Lowercase Capital, all pressed Kalanick to quit. Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal; Additional reporting by Ishita Palli in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva and Andrew Hay 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-uber-equity-idINKBN19Z2FY'|'2017-07-15T00:33:00.000+03:00' +'59e6dd5638d3f3edb7cba63c9a78e914ca5f0221'|'Barely more than one in 10 UK firms putting Brexit plans into effect - IoD'|'July 19, 2017 / 11:14 PM / in 16 minutes Barely more than one in 10 UK firms putting Brexit plans into effect: IoD Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A view of the Canary Wharf district is seen in London, Britain July 7, 2017. John Sibley/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Barely more than one in 10 British companies has started to put Brexit contingency plans into effect as many firms remain unclear about what leaving the European Union will mean, a leading business organization said on Thursday. The warning from the Institute of Directors comes as academics said separately that there would be "widespread, damaging and pervasive" costs if Britain failed to reach at least a transitional trade deal with the EU before it leaves. The IoD said 11 percent of its members had begun implementing Brexit contingency plans while 30 percent were considering their options but had yet to act, less than two years before Britain is scheduled to leave the EU. "Some changes and costs are inevitable ... but the more information the government can provide on the process of Brexit, the more companies will be reassured they do not have to jump to relocate staff or operations," IoD Director General Stephen Martin said. A third of the nearly 1,000 firms that took part in the IoD survey this month said they expected to do no Brexit planning. Britain started full Brexit talks on Monday but Prime Minister Theresa May''s government is split over how much it should focus on minimizing the disruption of leaving the EU for businesses or prioritize other goals such as asserting the supremacy of British courts and migration controls. Major banks have started to move staff from London and the policy chief of the city''s financial district told Reuters recently that Britain must negotiate a staggered departure from the EU in the next few months or risk seeing thousands of finance jobs move overseas. Anand Menon, a politics professor at King''s College London who directs a research group into Brexit, said a failure to reach a deal with the EU would be highly costly. Nuclear plants might be unable to operate, airlines might be unable to fly and businesses would find it hard to enforce contracts without a deal, the group, UK in a Changing Europe, said. "Our findings show a chaotic Brexit would, at least in the short term, spawn a political mess, a legal morass and an economic disaster," Menon said. Credit ratings agency Moody''s said on Tuesday that ports and airports could face "dramatic" restrictions without a deal. Britain''s government says it is confident it will reach an agreement but has not ruled out abandoning talks if it believes the EU is seeking to inflict long-term damage on Britain. Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by William Schomberg/Jeremy Gaunt 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-business-idUKKBN1A42Q2'|'2017-07-20T02:11:00.000+03:00' +'a3d84ffd3f40e645df3c7cf0b19a6cf598610a63'|'Saudi Aramco reaffirms commitment to Pertamina JV as CEOs meet'|'Business 11am BST Saudi Aramco reaffirms commitment to Pertamina JV as CEOs meet Logo of Saudi Aramco is seen at the 20th Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference (MOES 2017) in Manama, Bahrain, March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia Saudi Aramco ( IPO-ARMO.SE ) CEO Amin Nasser met Pertamina [PERTM.UL] boss Elia Massa Manik in Jakarta on Friday to reaffirm its commitment to their Cilacap Refinery joint development. The meeting was held "to reaffirm Aramco''s commitment to Indonesia joint venture project development", Aramco said on its official Twitter account, without providing further details. Manik, formerly head of state-owned agriculture holding company PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) III, was appointed boss of Pertamina in March. In June, Pertamina said it was awaiting approval from Saudi Aramco to delay completion of a $5 billion (3.87 billion pounds) upgrade of the Cilacap Refinery in Central Java to 2023 from 2021. The upgrade will increase capacity to 400,000 from 348,000 barrels per day. (Reporting by Reem Shamseddine; additional reporting by Fergus Jensen in Jakarta; editing by Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-saudi-aramco-pertamina-idUKKBN19S1C4'|'2017-07-07T13:11:00.000+03:00' +'35e74125b4c672747f8ee9ed774aa99c52fb8a2c'|'Craft beer in America goes flat'|'JULY 4th is a day to celebrate American independence, first and foremost, but also to grill meat and swill beer. For American beer lovers in particular, the pint-glass runneth over in terms of choice. They had 5,000 breweries to pick from this year; 35 years ago there were under 100. Drinkers can enjoy time-honoured traditions, guzzling Budweiser to wash down all that sizzling beef, and newer ones such as sipping ale finished with fennel, liquorice and anise at Trst, a Brooklyn bar.For the producers of beer, the mood is darker. Though the number of brands has proliferated, the number of drinkers has not. Sales have been flat for a few years and 2017 has been especially slow so far. The volumes of beer sold at stores for the three months to June 17th were 1% lower than in the same period last year, according to Nielsen, a market-research firm. Brewers are now waiting with some anxiety for data about sales during the July 4th holiday. The start of the year has been as bad as I can remember, says Trevor Stirling of Sanford C. Bernstein, a research firm. a day ago Why The dip is the result of two problems, one old and one new. First, the consumption of wine and spirits is growing more quickly than that of beer, and has been for nearly 20 years. Women are drinking more booze but often prefer wine and spirits. Men are turning to a wider range of drinks, including whisky and wine.The second difficulty is that after years of effervescent growth, craft beer has gone flat. Volumes grew in 2016, but half as quickly as in 2015 (see chart). In the 13 weeks to June 17th craft-beer sales and volumes both dropped, by 0.7% and 1.5%, respectively. It may be that craft beer has reached its natural limit, both because there are only so many people who want to buy it and because there is only so much shelf-space that stores can provide.Olivier Nicolai of Morgan Stanley, a bank, notes that many distributors and retailers are weary of dealing with a jumble of brands, with some cases of beer going bad before they can be sold. It is hard for retailers to know which beers to stock because consumers, spoiled for choice, have proved fickle. Sales of Saison farmhouse beers, a spicy pale ale, for example, rose by 28% in 2015, according to Nielsen, only to fall in 2016.As the market loses its fizz, debates are intensifying about whether independent beer companies can thrive in the shadow of behemoths such as AB InBev, which controls about half the American beer market. Last year the group, which is backed by 3G Capital, a New York-based private-equity firm, bulked up further by buying Britains SABMiller. By some measures AB InBevs American division, Anheuser-Busch, looks less than intimidating. It is experiencing a much steeper drop in beer demand than craft brewers. In the four weeks to June 17th its Bud Light and Budweiser brands each saw volumes drop by more than 8%, declines not seen since 2009, in the depths of the financial crisis.But small brewers still fret about its scale. It has recently shown interest in buying small brands as well as big ones, downing nine American craft brewers in just the past three years. Some small brewers worry that AB InBevs craft brands will push aside their own. Bob Pease of the Brewers Association in Boulder, Colorado, which represents independent beer firms, argues that AB InBevs expanding portfolio of beer makers and its relationships with distributors may mean that few rivals make it onto delivery trucks. His group introduced a new seal in June to help consumers find properly independent brewers.Joo Castro Neves, head of AB InBevs American business, disputes the idea that his company has a stranglehold on the market. There is no way that Anheuser-Busch or anyone else can impose a beer on the consumer, he insists. Brewers both large and small may find that increasingly hard to contest.This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "Half-empty"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21724864-slowing-beer-market-and-might-ab-inbev-has-small-brewers-worried-craft-beer-america?fsrc=rss'|'2017-07-06T22:49:00.000+03:00' +'579d8fd60c9084893c8cde06f05fe900a5cea565'|'India''s HMEL delays full start of Bathinda refinery to end-July - sources'|'July 5, 2017 / 5:35 AM / 6 hours ago HPCL-Mittal Energy delays full start of Bathinda oil refinery to end-July: sources By Jessica Jaganathan and Nidhi Verma 3 Min Read SINGAPORE/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India''s HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL), part-owned by steel tycoon L N Mittal, has delayed the full-scale start-up of its Bathinda oil refinery in northern Punjab state to the end of July, four sources familiar with the matter said. The refinery was shut on April 30 for about 45 days to raise capacity by about 28 percent to 230,000 barrels per day. The start-up was first delayed to late June. It may only be fully operational in late July, the sources said. HMEL''s chief executive Prabh Das declined to comment. State-owned refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) and Mittal Energy Investments Pvt Ltd each own a 49 project. HMEL recently began operating some secondary units at Bathinda and despatched a small quantity of diesel for HPCL, two of the sources said, adding the crude distillation unit at the plant is not yet functional. The plant has one crude unit. The Bathinda delay along with heavy maintenance work planned by Indian Oil Corp at its plants has prompted HPCL to enter the spot market to buy diesel, one of the sources said. It has either bought or is seeking 455,000 tonnes of diesel for July delivery and is expected to buy another 130,000 tonnes of the fuel in the next two to three weeks, the source added. HPCL bought 250,000 tonnes of diesel for May and June and was largely absent from the spot market before that. India''s imports of diesel drove the profit margin for the fuel in Asia to a two-and-a-half month high of $12.14 a barrel above Dubai crude on Wednesday, Reuters data showed. During the shutdown, HMEL plans to raise the capacity of its sulphur recovery unit to 700 tonnes a day from 600 tonnes to better process high-sulphur crude grades. The refiner will also increase its vacuum gasoil hydrotreater capacity to 3.5 million tonnes a year from 3 million tonnes and build a bitumen blowing unit. The company will also convert the refinery''s power plant that currently runs on diesel and gas from the refinery to petroleum coke. Reporting by Jessica Jaganathan in SINGAPORE and Nidhi Verma in NEW DELHI; '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/india-refinery-idINKBN19Q0FT'|'2017-07-05T08:32:00.000+03:00' +'72f5fe15c51e83d6591971fc25a908fca7dce9eb'|'RPT-Hudson''s Bay real estate IPO unlikely any time soon -RioCan CEO'|'July 21, 2017 / 12:42 PM / 7 minutes ago RPT-Hudson''s Bay real estate IPO unlikely any time soon -RioCan CEO 3 Min Read (Repeats July 20 item for additional readers with no changes to headline or text) By Solarina Ho TORONTO, July 20 (Reuters) - Retailer Hudson''s Bay Co is unlikely to take its vast real estate holdings public any time soon, the head of RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust, a partner in a venture that holds some of those assets, said on Thursday. North America''s oldest company, HBC is under pressure from activist investor Jonathan Litt, who disclosed a 4.3 percent stake in the company in June, to get cash from its real estate assets or take action to boost income from them. Initial public offerings of two joint ventures with billions of dollars in U.S., European, and Canadian real estate are "unlikely at this point" because market conditions are poor, RioCan founder and Chief Executive Edward Sonshine said in an interview in his Toronto office. The retailer formed those ventures in February 2015, one with RioCan, among North America''s largest retail REITs, and another with U.S.-based Simon Property Group Inc. It said at the time the combined value was C$3.8 billion ($3 billion). The Simon joint venture, HBS Global Properties, has since added investors and European properties. Hudson''s Bay spokesman Andrew Blecher declined to comment. But he noted that Hudson''s Bay Executive Chairman Richard Baker said in a June 9 earnings conference call that the opportunity to do an IPO was still available, but that conditions had grown tougher in the past six months. Sonshine, a former real estate lawyer whose firm owns 12 percent of the Canadian real estate venture, said an IPO was not realistic. "The prevailing narrative is that retail is dead," said Sonshine, who believes otherwise. "When the market says that''s the prevailing narrative, you can''t fight it." Sonshine said Baker had many other options to get cash from HBC''s properties, including sale-leasebacks, financing or subleasing. "It shouldn''t be hard because it''s great real estate." Litt had called on HBC''s board to consider options including repurposing its real estate, shuttering stores, or taking the company private. HBC said it set up the ventures to pave the way for an IPO or alternative transaction to generate income from their holdings, which include prime real estate in Canada and the United States. RioCan, founded in 1993, focuses on major urban markets and has been reducing holdings in low-growth markets and diversifying its tenants. $1 = 1.2590 Canadian dollars Reporting by Solarina Ho; Editing by Jim Finkle and Richard Chang 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/hudsons-bay-riocan-reit-ipo-idUSL1N1KC0DE'|'2017-07-21T15:41:00.000+03:00' +'00904cf35f5337e5af865cbdda7335c56b29d49f'|'Alitalia gets some 10 non-binding offers for the airline - source'|'July 21, 2017 / 4:53 PM / in 9 minutes Alitalia gets some 10 non-binding offers for the airline - source Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Scale models of Alitalia airplanes are displayed at a shop selling models of vehicles in Rome, Italy October 31, 2013. Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo - RTS16839 ROME (Reuters) - Struggling Italian airline has received about ten non-binding offers for the company, a source close to the matter said on Friday. The deadline for the company to receive non-binding offers was 6 p.m. (1600 GMT). Separately, the company said in a statement that its administrators would inform the industry ministry of the terms of the tender by the end of next week. Reporting by Alberto Sisto, writing by Philip Pullella 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-alitalia-offers-idUKKBN1A626D'|'2017-07-21T19:52:00.000+03:00' +'1bddaaa88fa3f24c0dff2d33d1feebb5ad24b6fb'|'Telecom Italia will not become French, won''t merge with Orange - Vivendi CEO to paper'|'July 29, 2017 / 11:28 AM / 2 minutes ago Telecom Italia will not become French or merge with Orange -Vivendi CEO to paper Reuters Staff 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Vivendi''s Chief Executive Arnaud de Puyfontaine attends the company''s shareholders meeting in Paris, France, April 25, 2017. Jean-Paul Pelissier MILAN (Reuters) - Top shareholder Vivendi ( VIV.PA ) has no plans to merge Telecom Italia ( TLIT.MI ) with Orange ( ORAN.PA ) nor to make it French, Chief Executive Arnaud de Puyfontaine told newspaper La Stampa in an interview published on Saturday. Telecom Italia (TIM) named Vivendi''s Amos Genish as its general manager for operations on Friday as the French media giant tightened its grip on Italy''s biggest phone group, where it is the largest shareholder with a 24 percent stake. De Puyfontaine, who also serves as TIM''s executive chairman and its chief executive ad interim, said Vivendi was not an invader, but after investing more than 4 billion euros ($4.7 billion) was committed to the former state monopoly. "Our investment in Telecom Italia is strategic and long term," he told the newspaper, but at the same time sought to quash growing concerns about the French media group increasingly calling the shots at the Italian firm. "TIM will never be French: it is and will remain an Italian company." Vivendi, led by billionaire Vincent Bollore, has taken a more hands-on approach to Telecom Italia since winning a majority of board seats earlier this year and appointing de Puyfontaine as chairman. Clashes with Vivendi have also contributed to the early departure of TIM Chief Executive Flavio Cattaneo, who is the second CEO to leave the company in less than two years after locking horns with the top investor. The arrival of Genish has fuelled expectation among some fund investors of strategic deals, including a possible merger with a bigger competitor. Telecom Italia has long been seen as a takeover target because it is smaller than many of its European rivals and it has first-mover advantage in Italy''s ultrafast broadband market. However, de Puyfontaine said a tie-up was not on the cards. "A merger with Orange? I want to be clear: it will not happen. Telecom Italia will be a consolidator, not the prey." But he is open to discussing the idea of separating TIM''s fixed-line network - an asset valued by analysts at up to 15 billion euros - to create a neutral platform open to all or to collaborating with others for the roll-out of an ultrafast broadband network across Italy, he said. "We have a pragmatic approach," he said. ($1 = 0.8512 euros) Reporting by Agnieszka Flak; editing by Jason Neely 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-telecom-it-vivendi-idUKKBN1AE0EX'|'2017-07-29T14:28:00.000+03:00' +'921abeb068a65acb4b5e390e61a2f5088f639cce'|'Deutsche Boerse cultivates local ties after LSE deal setback'|'July 19, 2017 / 10:42 AM / an hour ago Deutsche Boerse cultivates local ties after LSE deal setback Tom Sims 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Traders work at their desks in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany February 28, 2017. Staff/Remote/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Boerse ( DB1Gn.DE ) is planning to spruce up the Frankfurt stock exchange, a familiar backdrop for TV broadcasts on the German economy, as part of a push to try to attract more retail investors. Deutsche Boerse is seeking to broaden its appeal and burnish its image following the collapse of a proposed merger with London Stock Exchange ( LSE.L ). It is still dealing with the fallout from that deal. Public prosecutors on Tuesday asked Deutsche Boerse to pay fines of 10.5 million euros ($12.1 million) for failing to notify the public in a timely way about the LSE merger talks and for the design of its executive share-buying scheme. Deutsche Boerse said the allegations are "unfounded in all respects." Potential refurbishments under discussion by the German exchange operator are an enhanced viewing gallery for visitors and a modernized area to showcase new companies making their debut on the market via initial public offerings, three people with knowledge of the situation said. The changes could bring a little of the New York Stock Exchange-style razzmatazz to Frankfurt which is seeking to rival London as a financial center after Brexit. The plans also foresee the creation of a venue for events in vacant parts of the building such as the one formerly used for bond trading. The exchange''s 19th century building on Boersenplatz in downtown Frankfurt is often used by TV crews when reporting on German financial news even though actual trading at the exchange, which has roots dating back to 1585, is now mostly done electronically. Deutsche Boerse rents the trading floor areas in the building, which is owned by the Frankfurt am Main Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The company hopes that investing in this landmark will help to spark greater interest among the German public in share trading, startups and IPOs, two of the people said. Later this month, board members will debate details and costs of the investment, one of the people said. FILE PHOTO: A guard secures the entrance of Germany''s stock exchange Deutsche Boerse Group in Frankfurt, Germany January 14, 2005. Kao Pfaffenbach/File Photo Share ownership in Germany was at 14 percent of the population in 2016, according to data from financial industry body Deutsches Aktieninstitut. That compares with 52 percent in the United States, according to a Gallup poll. IPO issuance in Germany also lags other major economies. Despite buoyant stock markets, IPOs in Germany so far this year total $1.5 billion, compared with $21 billion in the United States, $20 billion in China and $3.2 billion in Britain, according to Thomson Reuters data. Local Pride Slideshow (3 Images) Following the collapse of the LSE deal, Chief Executive Carsten Kengeter has said that major mergers are off the table, with the focus instead on partnerships, small acquisitions and investment. "It''s become clear to us, it''s become clear to me: Investment in the Frankfurt financial center is well worth the money," Kengeter told employees gathered at a town hall meeting at its glass suburban headquarters, The Cube, last month. Deutsche Boerse has also agreed a 6 million euro three-year sponsorship deal with Frankfurt''s home soccer team, Eintracht. Since July 1, Eintracht player jerseys bear the Deutsche Boerse''s blue squiggle logo and its name on the left sleeve. Eintracht already have links with the city''s dominant financial services industry, playing their home matches in the Commerzbank-Arena. The team has a patchy record in the Bundesliga and their last major trophy was when they won the German Cup back in 1988. This year it reached the cup final in Berlin but lost to Borussia Dortmund. "Too bad," Kengeter said after that game. "We are already looking forward to when the guys start up again after the summer break." Reporting by Tom Sims; Editing by Jane Merriman and Keith Weir 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-deutsche-boerse-strategy-idUSKBN1A40YA'|'2017-07-19T13:40:00.000+03:00' +'b1cc9cc3054aa1c6a6bfffa7cfb53f7cd3e59866'|'U.S. fines Exxon Mobil over Ukraine-related sanctions violations'|'July 20, 2017 / 2:20 PM / 8 minutes ago U.S. says Exxon under Tillerson violated Russia sanctions in 2014 Yeganeh Torbati and Ernest Scheyder 6 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Russia''s President Vladimir Putin, Rosneft Chief Executive Igor Sechin and Exxon Mobil Chief Executive Rex Tillerson take part in a signing ceremony at a Rosneft refinery in the Black Sea town of Tuapse, Russia on June 15, 2012. Sputnik/Kremlin/Mikhail Klimentyev via File Photo WASHINGTON/HOUSTON (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday admonished Exxon Mobil Corp ( XOM.N ) for "reckless disregard" of U.S. sanctions in dealings with Russia in 2014 when Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was the global oil company''s chief executive, and fined it $2 million. ExxonMobil said the decision was "fundamentally unfair," and sued the U.S. government in Texas in an effort to overturn the decision. The fine came after a U.S. review of deals Exxon signed with top Russian oil producer Rosneft ( ROSN.MM ) weeks after Washington imposed sanctions on Moscow for annexing Ukraine''s Crimea region. Between May 14 and May 23, 2014, top U.S.-based ExxonMobil executives signed eight documents with Igor Sechin, the head of state-run Rosneft, the U.S. Treasury''s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said in a statement on its website. ExxonMobil had "demonstrated reckless disregard for U.S. sanctions requirements" by signing the deals with Sechin just weeks after the United States blacklisted him, OFAC said in an unusually lengthy three-page statement laying out its reasoning. (For the Treasury statement, see: bit.ly/2vnvQf2 ) The Treasury announced sanctions on Sechin in April 2014 as part of measures to pressure Russia over its intervention in Ukraine, saying Sechin had shown "utter loyalty" to Russia''s President Vladimir Putin. The sanctions prohibit U.S. citizens or those located in the United States from dealing with those on the blacklist, such as Sechin. Rosneft itself is subject to narrower U.S. sanctions that still allow Americans to deal with the company on some transactions. Tillerson left ExxonMobil to become secretary of state after 10 years at the helm of the global energy power. He is now responsible for U.S. foreign policy, which includes helping to make sanctions decisions. The State Department referred questions about the fine to ExxonMobil and the Treasury. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters on Thursday that the agency was alerted to the fine on Wednesday. Though the State Department plays a part in formulating broad sanctions policy, former U.S. officials and sanctions experts said it was unlikely the agency had a role in deciding the fine announced on Thursday. ExxonMobil had fully complied with guidance from Democratic former President Barack Obama''s administration that ongoing oil and gas business activities with Rosneft were permitted, Exxon spokesman Alan Jeffers said in a statement. The Treasury Department "is trying to retroactively enforce a new interpretation of an executive order" inconsistent with its prior guidance, Jeffers said. "OFAC''s action is fundamentally unfair," he said. FILE PHOTO: A view of the Exxon Mobil refinery in Baytown, Texas September 15, 2008. Jessica Rinaldi/File Photo Sechin signed the documents on behalf of Rosneft, Jeffers said. ExxonMobil also cited a Treasury Department representative''s comments in May 2014 that BP Plc ( BP.L ) Chief Executive Bob Dudley - an American citizen - could continue to participate in Rosneft board meetings so long as they related only to Rosneft''s business. In its statement explaining the fine, OFAC said that the Treasury representative''s comments did not address ExxonMobil''s conduct. No White House or Treasury statements asserted "an exception or carve-out for the professional conduct of designated or blocked persons, nor did any materials suggest that U.S. persons could continue to conduct or engage in business with such individuals," OFAC said. Publicly available guidance on Treasury''s website at the time of Exxon''s dealings with Sechin said Americans should ensure they do not enter into contracts signed by sanctioned individuals, OFAC said. By dealing with Sechin, the company "caused significant harm" to U.S. sanctions on Russia, the Treasury said. Because Rosneft itself is not off-limits to Americans, another company executive could have signed the contract with no sanctions risk to ExxonMobil, said David Mortlock, who was a State Department and White House sanctions official during the Obama administration. "You could have Sechin standing over the guy''s shoulder," said Mortlock, now an attorney at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP in Washington. "But the problem here is that it was signed by Sechin himself." The fine is minor to ExxonMobil, which made $7.84 billion in profit in 2016. The company has long opposed sanctions on Russia. Tillerson said in 2014 that the company did not support sanctions because they are not effective "unless they are very well implemented." Nevertheless, in May 2014 Tillerson chose not to attend an oil industry forum in Moscow, instead sending top lieutenant Neil Duffin, who signed an agreement with Sechin to explore for oil in the Arctic Ocean. The deal came at a time when other oil companies, including BP and Total SA ( TOTF.PA ), were clamouring to enter Russia, aiming to tap its vast oil and natural gas reserves. As the United States and others tightened Russian sanctions, ExxonMobil''s ability to operate there dwindled. The company was allowed to finish drilling a well in the Russian Arctic in the fall of 2014 but could not produce oil. ExxonMobil has since sought permission to operate in Russia. Earlier this year, the Trump administration said it would not let any U.S. company, including ExxonMobil, drill in areas prohibited by U.S. sanctions on Russia. Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati and Ernest Scheyder; editing by Simon Webb and 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/exxon-mobil-usa-ukraine-idINKBN1A51UC'|'2017-07-20T17:19:00.000+03:00' +'9c4b429b44159242add373c0e0ec9f42b1ce4bf0'|'Asia stocks hit nine-and-a-half-year high, markets await BOJ, ECB meetings'|'July 20, 2017 / 12:59 AM / an hour ago Asia stocks hit near-decade high, yen slips as BOJ cuts inflation forecast Nichola Saminather 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An investor looks at an electronic screen at a brokerage house in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, January 26, 2016. China Daily SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asian shares scaled a near-decade peak on Thursday, bolstered by a surge in global stocks to new records on strong U.S. corporate earnings, while the yen eased slightly after the Bank of Japan reinforced expectations it will lag other central banks in dialling back stimulus. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.15 percent, hovering near its highest level since December 2007. Australian stocks rose 0.6 percent and South Korea''s KOSPI was up 0.1 percent. Chinese blue chips advanced 0.15 percent, while the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.25 percent. Hong Kong''s Hang Seng crept up 0.3 percent. The MSCI World index inched up in its 10th straight session of gains on Thursday and set a record high for the sixth consecutive day, lifted by all-time closing highs on Wall Street in the wake of strong earnings reports. "In the U.S., the earnings season seems to be surprising a little bit on the upside," said Bruce McCain, chief investment strategist at Key Private Bank in Cleveland. "What we have seen recently in the economic reports suggests it should be even better overseas...So we have come to the point where things look pretty good in the U.S. and it looks even better in prospect overseas, so what''s not to like about equities," he said. The yen weakened slightly after the BOJ pushed back its projected timing for hitting its 2 percent inflation target, as it cut price forecasts until fiscal year 2020. The Japanese currency slipped 0.2 percent to trade at 112.10 yen to the dollar following the BOJ decision. The weaker yen helped lift the Nikkei 0.4 percent. The euro was steady at $1.15195 on Thursday, ahead of a meeting of the European Central Bank later in the session. The common currency hit 14-month high this week following seemingly hawkish comments by ECB President Mario Draghi. At Thursday''s meeting, the ECB may drop a reference to its readiness to increase the size or duration of its asset-purchase programme before announcing in the autumn how and when it will start winding down its bond buying. "The euro has surged enormously on the back of hopes that the ECB is going to start the process of shutting the door on loose monetary policy," Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at ThinkMarkets UK, wrote in a note. "The ECB needs to be clear about its forward guidance and it should reinforce that in a subtle manner. Coming out of the gates too aggressively would create shock waves in the market." The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of trade-weighted peers, was flat at 94.784. The Australian dollar set a new two-year high on Thursday, still heady from the minutes of the last Reserve Bank of Australia meeting, released Tuesday, which showed the central bank had turned more upbeat on the economic outlook. It pulled back from that high to trade down 0.15 percent from Wednesday''s close at $0.7942. The Canadian dollar was about 0.1 percent weaker at C$1.2615 to the dollar. On Tuesday, it touched a 14-month high on record domestic factory sales and stronger oil prices. Oil prices, which hit a two-week peak on Wednesday on a bigger-than-expected weekly draw in crude and gasoline inventories in the United States, were marginally lower on Thursday. U.S. crude fell 0.1 percent to $47.07 a barrel, after jumping 1.6 percent overnight. Global benchmark Brent also lost 0.1 percent to $49.64, holding on to most of Wednesday''s 1.8 percent gain. Gold pulled back 0.15 percent to $1,238.55 an ounce on Thursday. Additional reporting by Lewis Krauskopf; Editing by Sam Holmes and Jacqueline Wong 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-markets-idINKBN1A503I'|'2017-07-20T03:54:00.000+03:00' +'3dc198996e9c38fd574ec5c72c8f0758628e9c42'|'US STOCKS-Futures little changed ahead of June payrolls report'|'NEW YORK Wall Street stocks closed on a high note Friday, with the S&P 500 index posting its best gain in six sessions on the heels of a U.S. payrolls report that gave investors more confidence in the strength of the U.S. economy.The economy added 222,000 jobs last month, Labor Department data showed, exceeding expectations of a 179,000 gain, putting the Federal Reserve on track to raise interest rates once more this year. However, muted wage growth may give the Fed room to pause if need be."The fears of rates rising too quickly have dissipated and market participants are looking for bargains in stocks that have sold off recently," said Andrew Frankel, co-president of Stuart Frankel & Co in New York."Maybe there was just enough bad news in a great jobs number to keep the Fed off the gas pedal."Perceived chances of a rate hike at the U.S. central bank''s December meeting stood at 48.9 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data.Policymakers have taken opposing views on inflation after it retreated further below the Fed''s 2 percent target in May, creating uncertainty over the future path of rate hikes.The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 94.3 points, or 0.44 percent, to end at 21,414.34, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 15.43 points, or 0.64 percent, to 2,425.18 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 63.62 points, or 1.04 percent, to 6,153.08.The technology sector .SPLRCT, up 1.25 percent, led the charge higher, buoyed by gains of more than 1 percent in market-cap heavyweights Apple ( AAPL.O ), Microsoft ( MSFT.O ) and Facebook ( FB.O ).Despite slumping nearly 3 percent last week, the tech sector is up more than 17 percent on the year, tops among the 11 major S&P groups.With the Fed now expected to remain on track for a rate hike later this year financials .SPSY, up 0.56 percent, also advanced as they benefit from a steepening of the yield curve.Tesla ( TSLA.O ) rose 1.42 percent after the luxury electric carmaker said about 3,500 vehicles were in transit to customers at the end of the second quarter and they would be counted as deliveries in the third quarter.Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 2.19-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.59-to-1 ratio favored advancers.About 5.74 billion shares changed hands in U.S. exchanges, well below the 7.13 billion daily average over the last 20 sessions.(Additional reporting by Sinead Carew; Editing by James Dalgleish)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks-idUSKBN19S1MD'|'2017-07-07T14:30:00.000+03:00' +'e0228fd00d9ac4e57d8139822e85dfe29507df7b'|'EU explores account freezes to prevent runs at failing banks'|'July 28, 2017 / 3:46 PM / 16 minutes ago EU explores account freezes to prevent runs at failing banks 4 Min Read European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters building is seen in Frankfurt, Germany July 20, 2017. Ralph Orlowski BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union states are considering measures which would allow them to temporarily stop people withdrawing money from their accounts to prevent bank runs, an EU document reviewed by Reuters revealed. The move is aimed at helping rescue lenders that are deemed failing or likely to fail, but critics say it could hit confidence and might even hasten withdrawals at the first rumours of a bank being in trouble. The proposal, which has been in the works since the beginning of this year, comes less than two months after a run on deposits at Banco Popular contributed to the collapse of the Spanish lender. It also come amid a bitter wrangle among European countries over how to deal with troubled banks, roughly a decade after a financial crash that required the European Central Bank to print billions of euros to prevent a prolonged economic slump. Giving supervisors the power to temporarily block bank accounts at ailing lenders is "a feasible option," a paper prepared by the Estonian presidency of the EU said, acknowledging that member states were divided on the issue. EU countries which already allow a moratorium on bank payouts in insolvency procedures at national level, like Germany, support the measure, officials said. "The desire is to prevent a bank run, so that when a bank is in a critical situation it is not pushed over the edge," a person familiar with German government''s thinking said. To cover for savers'' immediate financial needs, the Estonian paper, dated July 10, recommended the introduction of a mechanism that could allow depositors to withdraw "at least a limited amount of funds." Banks, though, say it would discourage saving. "We strongly believe that this would incentivise depositors to run from a bank at an early stage," Charlie Bannister of the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME), a banking lobby group, said. The Estonian proposal was discussed by EU envoys on July 13 but no decision was made, an EU official said. Discussions were due to continue in September. Approval of EU lawmakers would be required for any final decision. Insured Deposits The plan, if agreed, would contrast with legislative proposals made by the European Commission in November that aimed to strengthen supervisors'' powers to suspend withdrawals, but excluded from the moratorium insured depositors, which under EU rules are those below 100,000 euros ($117,000). Under the plan discussed by EU states, pay-outs could be suspended for five working days and the block could be extended to a maximum of 20 days in exceptional circumstances, the Estonian document said. Existing EU rules allow a two-day suspension of some payouts by failing banks, but the moratorium does not include deposits. The Commission, which the discussion, had previously excluded insured deposits from the scope of the moratorium tool fearing it "may have a negative impact on market confidence," according to a press release published in November. Many states supported a suspension of payouts only during the so-called resolution of a failing bank - the process which imposes losses on lenders'' investors and possibly also uninsured depositors, while preserving the continuity of the banking activities, the document said. Most countries opposed bolder plans for an early moratorium. Additional reporting by John O''Donnell in Frankfurt; Editing by Richard Balmforth and Alexander Smith 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-banks-deposits-idUKKBN1AD1SO'|'2017-07-28T18:45:00.000+03:00' +'f9ab4fb4905c2ddb5c807a63c245fc88cd6db280'|'India''s HDFC Life revives IPO plan as Max Life deal struggles'|'July 17, 2017 / 6:10 PM / 2 hours ago India''s HDFC Life revives IPO plan as Max Life deal struggles 2 Min Read MUMBAI (Reuters) - India''s HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co Ltd said on Monday it had revived a planned initial public offering, as it struggles to get regulatory approval to buy smaller rival Max Life. Indian mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp Ltd ( HDFC.NS ) and its joint venture partner Britain''s Standard Life Plc ( SL.L ) plan to sale a combined maximum of 20 percent in HDFC Life, according to a regulatory filing. HDFC Life agreed in August to take over smaller rival Max Life Insurance in an all-stock deal that would have created the nation''s top private life insurer. As part of the deal, Max Life was to be merged into its listed parent Max Financial Services ( MAXI.NS ), which in turn would have combined its life insurance business with HDFC Life. The deal, however, did not win approval from India''s insurance regulator. Both sides have previously said they remain committed to the deal and were evaluating various options. On Monday, HDFC Life said if the parties are able to obtain approval from the regulator, the company and its main shareholders would be willing to re-evaluate a deal with Max Life in "due course". "At the present time, no (deal) structure prior to an IPO of HDFC Life has been identified which satisfies shareholders'' requirements," it said. Standard Life also confirmed the HDFC statement. IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication, earlier on Monday reported that HDFC Life has short-listed Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley, Nomura and Haitong Securities for managing its planned IPO, with more banks set to be added this week. Before it agreed to the Max Life deal, HDFC Life had planned to go public via an IPO. HDFC Life''s rival SBI Life Insurance Co Ltd, a unit of top lender State Bank of India ( SBI.NS ), on Monday filed for an initial public offering of shares that bankers have said could raise more than $1 billion. Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy; editing by Alexander Smith 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/hdfc-standard-ipo-idINKBN1A21YO'|'2017-07-17T21:08:00.000+03:00' +'5602ea267dbae53ac36f51834fac47b4839ac594'|'G20 to discuss steel overcapacity as tensions simmer over U.S. tariff plan'|' 6:17pm BST G20 to discuss steel overcapacity as tensions simmer over U.S. tariff plan Workers make steel cages at a construction site in Huai''an, Jiangsu province, China May 14, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer By Tom Miles and Maytaal Angel - GENEVA/LONDON GENEVA/LONDON G20 leaders will discuss steel overcapacity at this week''s summit in Germany, European officials said, as tensions rise over U.S. President Donald Trump''s plan to use a Cold War-era law to restrict steel imports for national security reasons. Trump launched an investigation into the matter in April, in a move that diplomats and trade experts say risks undermining the global rules-based trading system and sparking retaliatory action around the world in products beyond steel. The White House confirmed last week Trump plans to use the premise of the probe as a catalyst to demand action by the Group of 20 leaders to reduce excess capacity in steel, the second biggest industry in the world after oil and gas. The U.S. recommendation on possible new tariffs will be released some time after the G20 summit, which starts on Friday. The U.S. is conducting a similar study into the case for aluminium tariffs. While tariffs on both products would be aimed primarily at China, U.S. allies fear they will bear the brunt of the measures because Chinese steel exports are already largely subject to U.S. restrictions and Canada and Mexico are likely to be exempt. Also, invoking national security is all but taboo at the World Trade Organisation, the arbiter of international trade rules, because it is largely seen as a way to wage economic warfare by citing arbitrary defence concerns. The European Union has already promised to retaliate if it is hit by U.S. steel tariffs. Moreover, trade diplomats fear U.S. security-based tariffs on steel would widen cracks in the global trading order, after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates cited national security at the WTO last week to justify their economic boycott of Qatar. Qatar has threatened legal action. Its WTO representative Ali Alwaleed Al-Thani said a national security claim was not a "free pass" and would need testing in court. WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo told Reuters it would be concerning to see countries making national security demands within the WTO''s dispute settlement system, the global trade court for the its 164 members. "That, I think, is a very sensitive course of action," Azevedo said. William Reinsch, a fellow at the Stimson Centre said if the threat of tariffs are used to pressure members of the G20''s forum on steel overcapacity - set up last year - to tackle the problem, a good outcome could yet prevail. He warned however, that a broad U.S. claim to national security would put global trade on a slippery slope. "It just opens the door to everyone else to do same thing, not just on steel," Reinsch said. "The next one that comes up is food - there''s already a debate on food security in number of countries - and then you start talking about agricultural protection, and then you really are unravelling big chunks of the trading system." Policies that could fall under national security include China''s new Cyber Security Act, which is under WTO scrutiny from Japan, South Korea, the United States and others; Ukraine''s gas pipeline reforms; and Russia''s trade restrictions on Ukraine. (Additional reporting by Paul Carrel, editing by David Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-g20-germany-steel-idUKKBN19Q2G4'|'2017-07-05T20:17:00.000+03:00' +'97cb586b1216b01e551227d1c6aea42035879e17'|'Thyssenkrupp optimistic over Tata''s UK pension deal but merger risks remain'|'Top News - Tue Jul 4, 2017 - 6:45pm BST Thyssenkrupp optimistic over Tata''s UK pension deal but merger risks remain FILE PHOTO: A worker at a blast furnace at Europe''s largest steel factory of Germany''s industrial conglomerate ThyssenKrupp AG in Duisburg, Germany December 6, 2012. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender/File Photo By Maytaal Angel and Carolyn Cohn - LONDON LONDON Germany''s Thyssenkrupp is optimistic about progress made by Tata Steel to restructure its UK pensions liabilities, investors and analysts say, but there are still issues to overcome before the two can merge their European steel assets. India-based Tata said in May it had agreed the main terms of a deal with the British regulator to cut benefits for its 15 billion pound UK pension scheme - formerly the main stumbling block in merger talks between the two firms. Though Tata would continue to back a new pension scheme under the terms of a deal that Thyssenkrupp has declined to publicly comment on, analysts and investors say the German firm sees the deal as significantly de-risking Tata''s pension. Thyssenkrupp is waiting, however, for the final terms, likely to be approved this month, and is also concerned about factors such as political uncertainty in the UK due to Brexit, achieving fair value for its assets, and winning over German unions. "It seems like the pension deal is good enough (for Thyssenkrupp)," said one top-20 Thyssenkrupp investor. A top-10 investor and two other top-20 investors contacted by Reuters were also optimistic about the pension deal. Thyssenkrupp and Tata Steel declined to comment. On a recent roadshow with investment bank Jefferies, Thyssenkrupp''s chief financial officer "communicated confidence that a merger with Tata is nearing as progress is made to restructure Tata''s UK pension", the bank said in a note. Jefferies estimates the merged entity could save 500 million euros through synergies. A source familiar with Thyssenkrupp''s thinking said CFO Guido Kerkhoff was guiding the market that merger talks were well advanced. A separate source said Thyssenkrupp had stopped working on a ''plan B'' should current talks fail. Kerkhoff recently told the head of Thyssenkrupp''s steel works council the firm will make a decision on its Europeansteel merger by end-September. Merger talks have been underway for nearly two years. Thyssenkrupp is encouraged that the new pension scheme Tata will back will start off in surplus, analysts say. This is thanks to a 550 million pound payment Tata will make into the scheme, and to benefit cuts such as linking future pension payout hikes to a lower measure of inflation - a move that will save more than 2 billion pounds. Thyssenkrupp is waiting, however, for details on other terms, including a 33 percent equity stake that the new pension will hold in Tata''s UK business. This could translate into a stake in a merged entity, making the pension scheme an additional part-owner in a company one investor estimated would be worth 4 billion to 5.5 billion euros (3.5 billion to 4.8 billion). CONSOLIDATION Tata and Thyssenkrupp are keen to combine their European operations in order to cut costs, tackle over-capacity and achieve industry consolidation. Thyssenkrupp''s ultimate plan is to exit steel altogether by spinning off the joint venture. "A 50/50 (or less) type of joint venture remains the favoured structure from Thyssenkrupp''s side. Thyssenkrupp could shift up to 3 billion euros worth of pensions into the joint venture to rebalance the ownership structure," Deutsche Bank said in a note. Thyssenkrupp''s European steel business is more valuable thanTata''s, meaning it can offload 3 billion euros worth of pension debt in order to split the joint venture on a 50/50 basis or less, analysts and investors say. One investor close to Thyssenkrupp said a "a sub-50 percent holding" for the German firm is a "very real possibility". Thyssenkrupp''s shares, trading at two-year highs, rose 5 percent on Monday on German press reports that a merger decision is near. However, over 18 percent of shares available for shorting are out on loan, according to data from FIS Astec Analytics, signalling that some investors believe the price will fall. "We believe the future of Thyssenkrupp is not steel, its technology," senior portfolio manager Ingo Speich of shareholder Union Investment said. "Steel production only makes sense if you can release scale benefits. (Additional reporting by Arno Schuetze, Tom Kaeckenhoff, Georgina Prodhan, Maiya Keidan and Pratima Desai; editing by Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-thyssenkrupp-tata-m-a-idUKKBN19P1L9'|'2017-07-04T15:53:00.000+03:00' +'67a0bf58b2ca01c9a39b707c62b66c5207e24858'|'Australian state picks Tesla to provide grid-scale battery'|'Market News - Thu Jul 6, 2017 - 11:45pm EDT Australian state picks Tesla to provide grid-scale battery SYDNEY, July 7 South Australia has picked Tesla to install a grid-scale battery to be paired with a wind farm provided by France''s Neoen, as the state battles to keep the lights on. South Australia has raced ahead of the rest of the country in turning to wind power, triggering a shutdown of coal-fired plants that has led to outages across the eastern part of the nation, driving up energy prices. Dozens of companies from 10 countries had expressed interest in the South Australian project. (Reporting by Colin Packham) Brazil''s political turmoil seems to have neutral impact on inflation -Goldfajn BRASILIA, July 7 Brazil''s political crisis seems to be having a neutral impact on inflation, central bank chief Ilan Goldfajn said in an TV interview late on Thursday, suggesting uncertainty over President Michel Temer''s grip on power may not prompt the bank to change its monetary policy. TREASURIES-Shorter-dated U.S. yields fall as wage gain disappoints NEW YORK, July 7 Yields on shorter-dated Treasury debt turned lower on Friday, erasing their initial rise, as wage growth fell short of forecast in June, offering a respite from a global bond market selloff on worries about reduced stimulus from overseas central banks. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/australia-power-tesla-idUSL4N1JY1MS'|'2017-07-07T06:24:00.000+03:00' +'62a09ab820eb58b36b2ab82c65ccfe1ce5274be0'|'AstraZeneca pain weighs on FTSE, Diageo makes merry after results'|'July 27, 2017 / 8:57 AM / an hour ago AstraZeneca pain weighs on FTSE, Diageo makes merry after results Kit Rees and Helen Reid 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A red London bus passes the Stock Exchange in London, Britain, February 9, 2011. Luke MacGregor/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - A punishing fall in AstraZeneca''s shares after the failure of a key lung cancer study for the pharma company offset the impact of earnings-led gains for drinks giant Diageo on Britain''s top share index. Britain''s FTSE 100 .FTSE index fell 0.2 percent on Thursday, in line with the broader European market. It was a rough day for AstraZeneca ( AZN.L ) which lost around $13 billion (10 billion pounds) of its market value as its shares plunged 15.7 percent, its worst day on record. The healthcare firm''s combination of two injectable immunotherapy drugs, durvalumab and tremelimumab, failed to help patients as hoped in a study which was seen as key to proving the value of the group''s new drug pipeline. Analysts at Jefferies estimated that the failure of the study, known as MYSTIC, removed around 10 to 15 percent of mid-term earnings and valuation from the stock. "With the failure of MYSTIC ... now likely to be fully factored into expectations, the dividend may now look less safe and we expect some investors will start to question its long-term sustainability, despite prior reassurances from management," analysts at Jefferies said in a note. Wednesday''s decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve to keep interest rates on hold was also weighing on the internationally-exposed FTSE, with banking stocks coming under pressure. FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: A sign is seen at an AstraZeneca site in Macclesfield, central England May 19, 2014. Phil Noble/File Photo "The general interpretation from the Fed meeting in Europe has been that it''s sending the euro and the pound higher, which is not good for our exporters," said Jasper Lawler, senior market analyst at London Capital Group. "That environment probably exacerbated the fall we are seeing in Astra and some of the other shares as well." It was better news for mid cap pharma stock Indivior ( INDV.L ), whose shares surged 17.6 percent to the top of the European index after it reported first-quarter earnings, with Jefferies analysts highlighting a boost to the firm''s operating leverage from a stronger U.S. market. [nL3N1KI30Z] An earnings update also boosted shares in distilled drinks company Diageo ( DGE.L ), which jumped 5.7 percent to an all-time high after raising its profitability target and announcing a share buyback programme. Likewise pest control company Rentokil Initial ( RTO.L ) gained 5.7 percent after reporting half-year results. News that miner Anglo American ( AAL.L ) would resume dividend payments six months early helped its shares add around 3 percent. The miner was forced to suspend its dividend during the commodity rout in 2015, but was helped by a rise in commodities prices last year as well as by cost-cutting measures. Among mid-caps Acacia Mining ( ACAA.L ) jumped 15 percent, its best day in 13 months after a seven-day losing streak. Its parent company Barrick Gold ( ABX.TO ), the world''s largest gold miner by production, said it would start talks with the Tanzanian government next week about an export ban which has helped wipe two-thirds of the stock''s market value since it was announced in March. Reporting by Kit Rees; Editing by Keith Weir and Pritha Sarkar 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks-idUKKBN1AC16Z'|'2017-07-27T11:57:00.000+03:00' +'336a77ba4d5b9f4d73e9db41ce9048f64f597533'|'Detroits car firms try to match Silicon Valley'|'IT IS fashionable to say that the city of Detroit is on the up after decades of decline. Amid the derelict buildings there are signs of revival; art shops and trendy food trucks abound. But for a truer augury of the citys possible future, consider the rock-bottom stockmarket valuations of Ford and General Motors (GM), Motor Citys two big domestic car firms. (A third, Chrysler, is owned by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, whose chairman is a director of The Economist s parent company.) If you put the members of the S&P 500 index in order of their price-earnings ratios, Ford and GM are at the bottom, among the walking dead.For their investors, creditors and 426,000 staff, about 18% of whom are in Detroit, it is a terrifying signal. A low price-earnings ratio is the stockmarkets way of telling you that business as you know it is over. GM and Ford together made $18bn of underlying profit last year but have a market value of $98bn. That ratio implies that their profits will halve or worse, and quickly. Wall Street has got the hots for a younger crowd of firms that investors think will dominate the transport technologies of the 21st century; electric engines, ride-hailing, ride-sharing and driverless cars. 15 hours ago How Three Silicon Valley firmsUber, Tesla and Waymo (Alphabets driverless-car unit)are each reckoned to be worth more than GM or Ford. All lose money and bring in no more sales in a year than Ford or GM do in a fortnight. No matter. Expectations are sky high. Morgan Stanley, a bank, expects Waymos sales to exceed $200bn by 2030, making it roughly Americas fifth-largest firm. Not bad given it does not have any products for sale.For the people running GM and Ford it is hard to ignore such huge differences in valuation, even if they reflect bubbly thinking about Silicon Valley. Shareholders and directors are becoming restless, and talented staff demoralised. The pressure to act is intense. GM recently had to fend off an activist attack from a hedge fund. In May Ford fired its boss, Mark Fields, replacing him with Jim Hackett, whose experience as a car executive consists of 15 months running Fords tech incubator. Its chairman, Bill Ford, said new blood was needed to deal with technological change.Investors are making two mistakes, the car firms argue. First, they underestimate how hard it is to mass-produce cars, and second, they discount the possibility that hidden within them are Detroits equivalent of a Tesla, an Uber or a Waymo. Certainly, when you see the view from Fords headquarters, of miles of woods, test tracks and factories owned by the company or by the Ford family, it is easy to believe that there might be some buried treasure there.Take the point on mass production, first. Detroits experts sniff that Silicon Valley has no idea how to make millions of vehicles that adhere to the safety and reliability standards of the conventional car firms. Tesla produced the equivalent of 1% of GMs vehicle volumes last year. One Detroit executive reckons it is 10,000 times harder to build an autonomous vehicle that works on real roads rather than on a Californian test track.Yet he is no Luddite, and expects a revolution. Electric vehicles will be mainstream by 2020, he says. Driverless cars will slash the cost-per-mile of travelling, especially if you count the time saved by freeing people from the hours they waste clutching steering wheels. Ride-sharing will mean that the utilisation rate of cars will go up and therefore that fewer vehicles are sold. But that could be offset by new revenue from services such as charging passengers for rides or selling data that is gathered about them.The car firms try hard to draw attention to the businesses they own that will benefit from these trends. GM has a 9% stake in Lyft (a rival to Uber that is gaining market share), and in 2016 bought Cruise, an autonomous-vehicle firm based in San Francisco, for $600m. GMs subsidiary, OnStar, connects 7m drivers to various data services. Its electric-car model, the Chevrolet Bolt, is on the road. Ford owns Chariot, a crowdsourced shuttle service, and will have 13 models of electric car on the road by 2020. It is investing $1bn over the next five years in Argo, an artificial-intelligence firm that is developing software for autonomous vehicles.Investors do not seem to care. In the past few months they have begun to fret about a new risk, that American car sales may be at a cyclical peak. In previous downturns, profits have slumped. Both GM and Ford want to emphasise that their costs can be more easily cut than before the crisis in 2008-10, when GM went bust and Ford nearly did. They also want to show that they will not waste money abroad. In March GM sold its European arm to Frances PSA Group. Ford says that it is prepared to sell some emerging-market operations if they do not produce higher profits soon. But their price-earnings ratios have not budged.Wall Street: the worlds most demanding backseat driverIn their desperation, Ford and GM are toying with a new strategy: putting their tech assets into ring-fenced divisions that can be promoted as new Ford and new GM. These units accounts will not be pretty, with few sales, and combined investments of $3bn-4bn a year. But with a speck of the glitter that Teslas Elon Musk sprinkles on his loss-making firm, they might capture investors imaginations and resuscitate their parents share prices.But by re-engineering their structures, the car companies might start something uncontrollable. Wall Street could get excited and demand that they sell or spin-off the new divisions, robbing Detroit of its best assets. In the 1990s and early 2000s stodgy telecoms firms such as AT&T spun-off their mobile arms only to be reunited with them years later. Ford and GM may be goaded into unwisely blowing their $48bn of cash on tech acquisitions.The underlying shift in the car industry is real: the way in which cars are made and are used is changing. But it is surrounded by a swirl of hyperbole. Detroits firms face a classic incumbents dilemma. They must show they can dance with the cool kids, while not losing either their wallets or their dignity.This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "My cars sexier than yours"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/business/21724843-now-their-stockmarket-valuations-indicate-decline-detroits-car-firms-try-match?fsrc=rss'|'2017-07-08T08:00:00.000+03:00' +'29ed3c2a1ec61c556970c99946183c3409769e49'|'Glitch causes prices of Apple, Google, other stocks to appear off'|'Business News - Tue Jul 4, 2017 - 4:46am BST Glitch causes prices of Apple, Google, other stocks to appear off FILE PHOTO: A view of the exterior of the Nasdaq market site in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S., October 24, 2016. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo By John McCrank - NEW YORK NEW YORK The prices of several big-name Nasdaq-listed stocks appeared on some websites to either spike or plummet well after the closing bell on Monday, seemingly due to a glitch related to the market data that runs the largely automated markets. At around 6:30 p.m., the prices of Amazon Inc and Microsoft Corp stocks appeared to have lost more than half their value, while Apple Inc shares appeared to more than double. Google parent Alphabet Inc and eBay Inc shares were among others that all appeared to be priced at $123.47 on some financial news websites on Monday evening. The actual prices of the stocks were not affected and no trades were completed at that price, a Nasdaq spokesman confirmed. Nasdaq said in a statement it was investigating the improper use of test data distributed by third parties. Prices on Nasdaq''s website were not affected. Nasdaq and other U.S. stock exchanges closed early on Monday ahead of the U.S. Independence Day holiday on Tuesday. Testing of stock exchange software is mandated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and happens on a regular basis to help prevent electronic glitches, often using test symbols and historical data. (Reporting by John McCrank; Editing by Shri Navaratnam) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-exchange-nasdaq-idUKKBN19P0BG'|'2017-07-04T06:46:00.000+03:00' +'1c5001e040f3813256c2c8f9b59137fa1ee9de8b'|'BOJ blames Japan''s unique labor practice for low wages, inflation'|'July 21, 2017 / 7:00 AM / in 42 minutes BOJ blames Japan''s unique labour practice for low wages, inflation Leika Kihara 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Office workers are reflected in a glass railing as they cross a street during lunch hour in Tokyo June 1, 2015. Thomas Peter/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - A gap in pay and working conditions between temporary and permanent employees is preventing a tightening job market from pushing up overall wages and inflation, the Bank of Japan said in a rare analysis of the country''s job market. Wages for temporary workers are "clearly on the rise" as companies struggle to lure employees, with the job market having tightened to levels not seen since Japan''s asset-inflated bubble era in the early 1990s, the BOJ said. But permanent workers'' pay remains stagnant because labour unions representing these employees, who enjoy better benefits than those on the temporary roll, tend to prioritise job security over higher pay, it said in a report on Friday. Japan''s unique pay scale, where salaries rise according to seniority, also discourages job hopping and prevents a tight job market from pushing up overall wages, the central bank said. The slow growth in permanent workers'' income, which makes up nearly 70 percent of total wage-earners'' income, partly explains why wage growth is subdued despite a strong economy, it said. "Companies are taking various steps to address a shortage of labour," such as introducing robots to automate operations and cutting back on extra services, the BOJ said. Restaurant chain operators like Royal Holdings, which used to open their outlets 24 hours, are shortening opening hours due to a paucity of staff. Such efforts will raise labour productivity and could weigh on inflation, though the downward pressure exerted on prices will be temporary as Japan''s potential growth heightens, it said. The disparity between strong growth and low inflation is a common puzzle for global central banks though the problem is more pronounced in Japan, where inflation remains ground to a halt despite four years of aggressive money printing. In a show of alarm over the problem, the BOJ included a rare analysis on wage and job growth in a full version of its quarterly report, which is issued a day after a summary of it that focuses on the long-term growth and price projections. At a two-day rate review that ended on Thursday, the BOJ kept monetary policy steady but once again pushed back the timing for achieving its ambitious inflation target, reinforcing views it will lag well behind other major central banks in scaling back its massive stimulus program. Japan''s jobless rate rose to 3.1 percent in May, while the availability of jobs rose for the third straight month to reach the highest since February 1974. But core consumer prices in May rose just 0.4 percent from a year earlier, well below the BOJ''s 2 percent target. Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Shri Navaratnam 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-boj-idUKKBN1A60LD'|'2017-07-21T10:00:00.000+03:00' +'1136628bc78008371fd787cb2624e856b5160978'|'Volkswagen to offer to refit four million diesel cars - CEO'|'Edition United States July 27, 2017 / 9:29 AM / 16 minutes ago VW to offer to refit 4 million diesel cars: CEO Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A Volkswagen logo is pictured near Poznan, Poland September 9, 2016. Kacper Pempel/File Photo WOLFSBURG, Germany (Reuters) - Volkswagen plans to offer to refit 4 million diesel cars at a meeting with German government officials to discuss ways to avoid diesel bans in major cities, Chief Executive Matthias Mueller said on Thursday. Carmakers in Germany are pressed by regulators and politicians to clean up their diesel engines. Industry officials and government ministers will meet in Berlin on Aug. 2 to discuss ways to tackle diesel pollution. "The view that the relationship between the auto industry and politics may have been a bit too close cannot be wrong," German Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks said following talks with Mueller at VW''s Wolfsburg headquarters. Reporting by Markus Wacket; Writing by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Maria Sheahan 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-idUKKBN1AC1BF'|'2017-07-27T12:25:00.000+03:00' +'f828d40f8d97f94f1d6a909e483cc920db967c86'|'Shares in Slim''s America Movil shrug off Colombian order to pay $1 billion'|'July 27, 2017 / 1:58 AM / in 18 minutes Shares in Slim''s America Movil shrug off Colombian order to pay $1 billion Julia Love 3 Min Read The logo of America Movil is pictured on the wall of a reception area in the company''s corporate offices in Mexico City, Mexico, May 18, 2017. Edgard Garrido MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - America Movil ( AMXL.MX ), the telecommunications company of Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim, and Movistar, the Colombian unit of Spain''s Telefonica SA ( TEF.MC ), may not have to pay any compensation while legal action in Colombia is under review, a government minister said on Wednesday.Shares of America Movil closed down 0.32 percent and Telefonica shares closed up 1.38 percent after a Colombian arbitration panel on Tuesday ordered America Movil to pay $1 billion (762.78 million pounds) and told Movistar to pay $529 million. David Luna, Colombia''s minister for information technology and communications, said in a radio interview that the companies can request suspension of the payment while the case makes its way through Colombia''s Council of State, the highest judicial authority for rulings involving the government. "They have established rights and obviously it''s their choice whether or not they use them," Luna said. The panel said the two rivals failed to return installed telecommunication networks and infrastructure as part of agreements to provide cellular phone service more than a decade ago, the government''s legal defence agency said. Original contracts signed in 1994 agreed that networks would be returned to the state in 10 years. New contracts were later drawn up eliminating the return of the networks, but were overruled by another legal authority that argued that the original contract could not be modified. Telefonica and Movistar logos are seen on top of a Telefonica Mexico building in Mexico City, Mexico, April 15, 2016. Edgard Garrido Movistar could not be reached for comment. Slim''s company, Latin America''s largest telecoms firm by subscribers, said it would seek legal advice. America Movil said it rejected the change to the legal framework in Colombia, noting that it had made major investments under the existing one. "(These are) changes that affect elements as indispensable as the right to private property and the legal certainty necessary for encouraging investments in the country," the company said in a statement. A legal expert questioned whether the firms would end up having to pay those amounts. The proposed payment is "a mere formality of a legal process that isn''t over yet," said Ramiro Tovar Landa, a professor at the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico. The dispute is sensitive for America Movil as Colombia is one of its most important markets, Intercam Casa de Bolsa wrote in a note to investors. The operations in Colombia have shown improvement in the latest quarters, but the regulatory risk continues to be important in the country, Intercam wrote. Reporting by Julia Love, additional reporting by Sharay Angulo in Mexico City and Julia Symmes Cobb in Bogota; Editing by Grant McCool and Lisa Shumaker 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-america-movil-fine-idUKKBN1AC06J'|'2017-07-27T04:58:00.000+03:00' +'c5abe1a2f9765f7118c79104aa75856a6681a3a0'|'Gold slips as dollar pares losses, stocks hold ground'|'July 3, 2017 / 5:17 AM / 2 hours ago Gold hits seven-week low as dollar climbs, U.S. yields rise By Jan Harvey 3 Min Read Gold bullion is displayed at Hatton Garden Metals precious metal dealers in London, Britain July 21, 2015. Neil Hall/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Gold slid to a seven-week low on Monday and headed for its biggest one-day loss in two months as the dollar rebounded and 10-year U.S. Treasury yields climbed, weighing on appetite for non-interest bearing bullion. Gold ended June with its first monthly loss of the year after the strength it saw in early 2017 ran out of steam in the second quarter, dampened by a rise in bond yields. Spot gold was down 1.3 percent at $1,225.27 an ounce at 1430 GMT, while U.S. gold futures for August delivery were down $17.10 an ounce at $1,225.20. The metal''s decline picked up speed after it broke chart support at $1,234, its 200-day moving average. It rallied $50 an ounce to a seven-month high in the three weeks after breaking above that level in May, but has since steadily fallen. Rising bond yields and soft physical demand are weighing on interest in gold, Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch said. The link between gold and yields is currently stronger than the gold-U.S. dollar connection, he said. "This is due to the fact that the exit from ultra-loose monetary policy is not only related to the Fed anymore," he said. European shares began the new quarter with solid gains, while the dollar lifted from nine-month lows as U.S. Treasury yields hit their highest since mid-May. Germany''s 10-year government bond yield pulled back after last week''s sharp selloff, but held near 3-1/2 month highs. Gold failed to benefit from dollar weakness in the second quarter, as this was driven largely by expectations for tightening monetary policy outside the United States. "Higher global rates would weigh on gold as we have highlighted on several occasions, the potential for higher EUR rates and the upward pressure this might have globally is a key risk that we are watching," UBS said in a note. "Ahead today, U.S. inflation data comes into focus given the read-through to real rates." U.S. Mint sales of American Eagle gold coins totalled 6,000 ounces in June, down 92 percent from June 2016 and bringing the tally for the first half of the year to 192,500 ounces. The Perth Mint''s gold sales fell 39 percent year on year. Silver was down 2 percent at $16.24 an ounce. Silver was the worst performer of the major precious metals in the second quarter, ending the period down 9 percent. Palladium, the last quarter''s biggest riser with a near 6 percent gain, was up 0.3 percent at $843.60 an ounce, while platinum was 1.5 percent lower at $907.15 an ounce. Reporting by Jan Harvey; additional reporting by Nithin Prasad and Koustav Samanta in Bengaluru; editing by Susan Thomas 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-precious-idINKBN19O0DV'|'2017-07-03T08:16:00.000+03:00' +'9c3b315ebc7134c83e8b37f3994bbd546c2d2d75'|'Companies have to open up about climate risks: Shell CEO'|'July 4, 2017 / 4:34 PM / 17 minutes ago Companies have to open up about climate risks: Shell CEO 2 Min Read Ben van Beurden, CEO of Royal Dutch Shell company, speaks during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia June 21, 2017. Sergei Karpukhin LONDON (Reuters) - Climate change poses one of the biggest long-term risks to the global economy and companies, including big oil and gas firms such as Shell, have to be open about how the risks will affect them, its chief executive said on Tuesday. Shell, one of the biggest oil and gas producing firms in the world, is under growing pressure from some shareholders to improve its carbon footprint and sustainability credentials. Shell said it assesses climate change risks internally but it has so far not disclosed in detail what financial impact climate-related risks could have. A think-tank estimated last month that energy companies could be wasting more than $2 trillion by 2025 on projects that will not be needed if governments'' carbon-reduction targets are met. "It is right that it should be transparent which companies are truly on firm foundations over the long-term," Shell CEO Ben van Beurden wrote in a post on social media platform LinkedIn. Shell''s press office confirmed its veracity. Last week, Shell signed up to a G20 task-force working on a framework to improve the ability to assess and price climate-related risks. Van Beurden said Shell will help the task-force determine a way to disclose commercially sensitive data. Reporting by Karolin Schaps, editing by David Evans 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/shell-climatechange-idINKBN19P232'|'2017-07-04T19:33:00.000+03:00' +'405616d80a655455429ead60dfc34a1f0358b93f'|'Price range for Landis+Gyr IPO narrows to top end of range: sources'|'FILE PHOTO - The logo of Swiss-based meter maker Landis+Gyr is seen at an office building in the Swiss town of Zug May 19, 2011. Arnd Wiegmann ZURICH (Reuters) - The price range for Landis+Gyr shares has narrowed to 78 to 82 Swiss francs per share driven by high demand ahead of the Swiss tech companys flotation, two people with knowledge of the situation told Reuters on Tuesday.Enough offers were lodged to the cover the 78 to 82 franc range, the sources said, lifting the price band to the high end of the expected 70 to 82 Swiss franc price range.Institutional investors have until Thursday to lodge their orders for shares, with the smart meter maker''s stock due to start trading on Friday.With a total value of up to 2.4 billion Swiss francs ($2.52 billion), Landis+Gyr is the largest flotation on the Swiss stock market in at least two years.The IPO was triggered after majority owner Toshiba ( 6502.T ) signaled earlier this month it wanted to wanted to sell its 60 percent stake in Landis+Gyr to raise cash. The remaining 40 percent owned by the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan has also been put up for sale.($1 = 0.9540 Swiss francs)Reporting by Rupert Pretterklieber and Oliver Hirt, writing by John Revill; Editing by Adrian Croft '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-landis-gyr-ipo-idUSKBN1A321G'|'2017-07-19T01:53:00.000+03:00' +'e93f0047f86c9506ffe83af2490a55539bcfc5d5'|'Wisconsin to consider $3 billion Foxconn incentive package'|'July 31, 2017 / 8:07 PM / 5 minutes ago Wisconsin to consider $3 billion Foxconn incentive package David Shepardson 4 Min Read Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou (R) smiles back at U.S. President Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) (L) during a White House event where the Taiwanese electronics manufacturer announced plans to build a $10 billion dollar LCD display panel screen plant in Wisconsin, in Washington, U.S. July 26, 2017. Jonathan Ernst WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Wisconsin governor ordered the state legislature back into special session on Tuesday to consider an incentive package that would award Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn $3 billion over 15 years in mostly cash incentives and waive several state environmental reviews. Foxconn said last week in a White House ceremony it plans to build a $10 billion LCD flat screen factory in southeast Wisconsin. The company, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, hopes to open the 20 million-square-foot plant in 2020 at a 1,000-acre site and will initially employ 3,000 people. Republican Governor Scott Walker and Foxconn said the company ultimately may employ 13,000 people at the site. The draft bill released Monday discloses new details of the expensive incentive package that Wisconsin offered as it competed with six other states to land the project that it says will also generate 22,000 ancillary jobs and 10,000 construction jobs. The Republican-controlled legislature will take up the measure on Tuesday but it is not clear when they will vote. If the incentives are approved, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation would then negotiate a formal contract with Foxconn on the project, said Mark Maley, a spokesman for WEDC. Tim Bartik, an economist at the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research in Michigan who studies government tax incentives, said the Foxconn package is at least six times the average U.S. award but similar to some deals for auto plants and planemaker Boeing Co. Foxconn is a major supplier to Apple Inc for its iPhones but the company has not said if the Wisconsin factory would produce any parts for Apple. Under the legislation, Foxconn can receive up to $200 million per year in refundable tax credits, capped at $2.85 billion if meets capital and employment compensation targets. It can also avoid paying $150 million in sales taxes on building materials, equipment and supplies. Although the state measures to attract Foxconn are labelled tax incentives, they largely would be paid in cash since the effective Wisconsin state tax rate is 0.4 percent on manufacturers. In addition to incentives, President Donald Trump suggested the investment decision was due to his election and promised changes in corporate regulatory and tax policy. The incentives include up to $1.5 billion in state income tax credits for job creation and up to $1.35 billion in state income tax credits for capital investment. Foxconn is eligible for additional local incentives. The company is eligible for refundable tax credits equal to 17 percent of wages paid instead of the typical 7 percent and 15 percent of capital costs instead of 10 percent. Wisconsin also agreed in the draft legislation to issue up to $252.4 million in state debt to reconstruct parts of Interstate 94 near the sites that the company is considering sites in Kenosha and Racine counties near the border with Illinois. The draft legislation released by Walker waives a required state environmental impact statement and allows the company to discharge dredged or fill material into some wetlands without state permits. The legislation also would allow Foxconn to connect artificial bodies of water with natural waterways without state permits. Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that one reason Wisconsin was appealing is because of its proximity to abundant fresh water from Lake Michigan needed to build panels. The legislation also waives requiring approval for the project by the Public Service Commission, which oversees power and water utilities in Wisconsin. Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Lisa Shumaker 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-foxconn-wisconsin-idUKKBN1AG2DS'|'2017-07-31T23:11:00.000+03:00' +'a09451bd796c09806e0c9fedf7ad4a389c9b6b9c'|'Akzo Nobel faces dilemma over shareholder vote on new CEO'|'July 21, 2017 / 11:52 AM / 17 minutes ago Akzo Nobel faces dilemma over shareholder vote on new CEO Bart Meijer and Toby Sterling 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Cans of Dulux paint, an Akzo Nobel brand, are seen on the shelves of a hardware store near Manchester, Britain, April 24, 2017. Phil Noble/File Photo AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The resignation of Akzo Nobel''s ( AKZO.AS ) CEO poses a dilemma for the Dutch paintmaker as a shareholders'' meeting to approve his replacement could open the way for a vote on chairman Antony Burgmans, who is under pressure for rejecting a takeover bid. Thierry Vanlancker was named new chief executive on Wednesday after his predecessor Ton Buechner quit abruptly for health reasons. Buechner''s departure puts the onus on Vanlancker to deliver the higher sales and margins promised when Akzo Nobel fended off a 26.3 billion euro ($30.62 billion) bid by U.S. rival PPG Industries ( PPG.N ).. Shareholders must eventually approve Vanlancker as CEO. But a meeting could give disgruntled shareholders an opportunity to push for a vote on the position of Burgmans -- which they have been demanding for months. Hedge fund Elliott Advisors, now Akzo''s largest shareholder with a 9.5 percent stake, filed a lawsuit in May seeking the ousting of Burgmans, who the hedge fund sees as the mastermind of Akzo''s refusal to talk to PPG, which dropped its attempt on June 1. In a preliminary ruling, Elliott''s request was rejected, though its legal efforts to remove Burgmans continue. [nL8N1JY1FN} Faced with the shareholders discontent, Akzo has yet to decide when it will ask shareholders to approve Vanlancker as new CEO. "We will go through the shareholder approval process in due course," Akzo Nobel spokesman Leslie McGibbon said on Friday. Vanlancker, 52, joined Akzo last year and only officially took up his position as head of Akzo''s specialty chemicals division in February, raising a technical problem: He is not yet a formal member of the management board. "But that doesn''t mean that he is not authorized" to take major decisions, McGibbon said. "In case a board member falls away, the supervisory board can appoint a temporary replacement ... Together with CFO Maelys Castella he can take any decision." Burgmans'' third term as a member of the supervisory board ends next year. It is unclear whether he might attempt to stay longer. McGibbon said he could not comment further but the company expects Vanlancker to field a wide range of questions when the company presents second-quarter earnings on July 25. Akzo rivals PPG and Sherwin-Williams ( SHW.N ) have both reported lackluster earnings for the quarter. PPG announced an acquisition on Thursday and CEO Michael McGarry told reporters that Akzo Nobel is now in the company''s "rear view mirror". Under Dutch market law, PPG cannot re-approach Akzo during a six-month cooldown period that ends in December. Akzo shares were down 2.3 percent on Friday at 75.99 euro. ($1 = 0.8590 euros) Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Adrian Croft 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-akzo-nobel-ceo-idUSKBN1A61DF'|'2017-07-21T14:45:00.000+03:00' +'eeed27944e68f5843d924adb9af12e8100f9a5bb'|'With new Takata air bag recalls, automakers may face more liabilities'|'FILE PHOTO: Visitors walk past a logo of Takata Corp on its display at a showroom for vehicles in Tokyo, Japan February 5, 2016. Toru Hanai/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Takata Corp''s ( 7312.T ) bankruptcy filing last month was meant to draw a line under the auto industry''s biggest safety recall, but last week''s announcement of more air bag inflator recalls suggests automakers could face fresh liabilities in the future.(For a graphic on air bag inflators click tmsnrt.rs/1JDZ4vq ) In late-2015, U.S. regulators gave Takata until the end of 2019 to prove that its replacement air bag inflators - which add a drying agent to combat moisture that can set off the ammonium nitrate compound in an inflator, with potentially lethal results - are also safe. If Takata fails that test - and some industry consultants, explosives experts and former employees question whether the workaround guarantees safety over the long-term - the 100 million or so replacement inflators currently being installed may themselves need to be replaced. "Absent proof that the other desiccated inflators are safe, they will also be subject to recall," the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said in a statement last week. The agency declined to comment on the risk that additional inflators may be subject to recall. NHTSA announced last Tuesday that new testing at Takata prompted the Japanese parts firm to declare 2.7 million of the new air bag inflators defective, raising questions about the risk from replacement air bags as moisture can still seep into the propellant of some inflators. Takata''s automaker customers, which have so far borne much of the estimated $10 billion cost of replacing faulty bag inflators, could be on the hook for future liabilities in the event that Takata fails to prove that the desiccant workaround is sufficient. Last week''s recall is the first to involve Takata bag inflators that use a drying agent. Nearly 20 automakers have been affected by the air bag recalls, and some still use Takata inflators for replacements in the recalls. Automakers including Honda Motor Co ( 7267.T ), Toyota Motor Corp ( 7203.T ) and Nissan Motor Co ( 7201.T ) have said they will stop using Takata inflators for new contracts for future models. "If NHTSA in the future raises issues about the safety (of desiccated inflators) we will of course comply with their orders," Nissan''s chief sustainability officer Hitoshi Kawaguchi told Reuters. "At the moment, our focus is on getting replacement inflators to our customers." Toyota said it was "working closely with all stakeholders, including Takata, other suppliers and relevant agencies, to assess any potential impact and take action accordingly" on the recall issue. Honda, Takata''s biggest client, declined to comment. "The automakers... and Takata - they all know that this is a future issue," said Scott Upham, chief executive at Valient Market Research, whose clients include auto parts suppliers. "But I think everybody is concerned about the near-term issues, and the financial arrangements of the bankruptcy." Takata says it has produced around 100 million replacement inflators containing drying agents: the 2.7 million recalled last week used calcium sulfate, and the rest contain zeolite. "We still have to prove the safety of our desiccated inflators, but we believe those using zeolite are safer than those using calcium sulfate," said spokesman Toyohiro Hishikawa. The company has declined to comment further on the testing process or the NHTSA deadline. Takata is the only global air bag maker to use ammonium nitrate as a propellant in its inflators. The compound''s vulnerability to high temperature and moisture can trigger an explosion that can spew shrapnel inside a vehicle. The defect has been linked to at least 17 deaths, mostly in the United States. ''Lengthening the Fuse'' The new inflators with the added desiccant have not been linked to any deaths or injuries, but the problems with the original inflators typically took five years or more to emerge. Keiichi Hori, who oversees automotive safety components at the Japan Explosives Society, said adding a drying agent can reduce, but not eliminate, the risk of uncontrolled explosions. If the desiccant can prevent all moisture from reaching the inflator propellant, "then it would be possible that the inflators could be used safely," he said. "Otherwise, alternatives should be considered." But Upham, the industry consultant, predicts the recalled parts will themselves eventually be recalled - because ammonium nitrate is fundamentally too volatile - and Takata''s carmaker customers may again have to foot the bill given that Takata is unlikely to be able to cover the costs. "Automakers are hoping and praying that the desiccant solves the problem... (but) this might come back to bite them," Upham said. Former Takata employees involved in manufacturing inflators have said the desiccant may buy Takata time. One told Reuters last year that by adding the desiccant, "you''re just lengthening the fuse, not correcting the problems." Key Safety Systems, a U.S.-based components supplier owned by China''s Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp ( 600699.SS ), has agreed to buy Takata''s good assets such as seat belts and steering wheels, for $1.6 billion. The plan is for Takata''s air bag business to be wound down by March 2020 after making replacement inflators for the ongoing recalls. Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu and Maki Shiraki in Tokyo; Additional reporting by Paul Lienert in Detroit and David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Ian Geoghegan '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-takata-bankruptcy-analysis-idUSKBN1A40X5'|'2017-07-19T13:25:00.000+03:00' +'e810b553c535d98a64481f2937fb25028d25ffdd'|'TalkTalk adds 20,000 broadband customers in first quarter'|'July 19, 2017 / 6:16 AM / in 6 hours TalkTalk adds 20,000 broadband customers in first quarter 1 Min Read LONDON, July 19 (Reuters) - British broadband operator TalkTalk said on Wednesday it added 20,000 broadband customers on its network in its first quarter while churn fell to 1.2 percent, helped by take-up of its fixed low price plans. The company, under the new leadership team of executive chairman Charles Dunstone and chief executive Tristia Harrison, is returning to its roots as a low-cost challenger to BT, Sky and Virgin Media. It said it was sticking to its outlook for full-year earnings of 270 million - 300 million pounds ($352-391 million, a range it cut in May. ($1 = 0.7666 pounds) (Reporting by Paul Sandle, editing by James Davey) 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/talktalk-tlcm-gp-outlook-idUSFWN1KA01L'|'2017-07-19T09:15:00.000+03:00' +'69830434632e6f0fbb930d83e22965fe41871148'|'Ford China sales post strongest growth of year in June'|'Autos - Thu Jul 6, 2017 - 2:06am EDT Ford''s China sales bounce back in June as tax impact fades FILE PHOTO: Ford Taurus cars are seen during a presentation at the 16th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition in Shanghai, April 21, 2015. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo By Jake Spring and Norihiko Shirouzu - BEIJING BEIJING Ford Motor Co said its China sales surged 15 percent in June, their strongest pace of the year, and it was optimistic about the outlook for the second half as the industry puts the phasing out of a tax cut behind it. Peter Fleet, Ford''s Asia-Pacific chief, said the first quarter had been difficult after a purchase tax on small-engine cars rose to 7.5 percent from 5 percent previously. Although Ford''s China sales declined 7 percent in the first-half from the same period a year ago, they were up 7 percent in the second quarter. Sales for June alone climbed to more than 100,000 vehicles with deliveries of sedans including the Escort and Mondeo, which were hurt by the tax increase, improving. "I would expect to see for the third quarter strong single digit percentage growth (for) the industry. That''s certainly how it looks to us based on the run rate and how the month of July has opened up," Fleet said in an interview. Ford''s level of discounting tracked an overall 4 percent price decline for the industry so far this year. "I''m not interested in driving our prices down to drive market share," Fleet said. Year-on-year comparisons will "get a bit tricky" in the fourth quarter because sales rose so fast at the end of 2016 as consumers rushed to buy cars before the purchase tax went up, he added. The purchase tax on small-engine cars is set for another increase back to its normal 10 percent rate in 2018. Ford aims to focus its efforts on the sport-utility vehicle market, the fastest growing segment in China, with plans to launch a new version of the EcoSport small SUV later this year. Outside of China, Ford continues to post positive sales growth in Southeast Asia, India and Australia, he said. (Reporting by Jake Spring and Norihiko Shirouzu; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ford-china-idUSKBN19R09C'|'2017-07-06T07:11:00.000+03:00' +'18f1ce74a584a053c4e34d7c93ba09dc8ce05b78'|'Tyson Foods defeats Ball Park hot dog legal appeal'|' 46pm EDT Tyson Foods defeats Ball Park hot dog legal appeal By Jonathan Stempel - July 6 July 6 Tyson Foods Inc and its Hillshire Brands unit on Thursday defeated an appeal by the maker of Parks'' sausages challenging their use of "Park''s Finest" to describe a high-end line of their Ball Park hot dogs. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia upheld a federal judge''s May 2016 dismissal of trademark infringement and false advertising claims by Parks LLC, which said many consumers would be fooled into thinking it made "Park''s Finest" frankfurters. Parks'' lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. John Dabney, a lawyer for Tyson, declined to comment. The appeals court filed its decision under seal, and will likely release a version within a few weeks after both sides advise whether parts of it should remain confidential. Parks is based in Pittsburgh, and known for a long-running radio and television ad campaign in which a boy begs his mother for "more Parks'' sausages, Mom ... please." Its owners have included two former star football running backs, Hall of Famer Franco Harris from the Pittsburgh Steelers and Lydell Mitchell from the Baltimore Colts, who were also teammates at Pennsylvania State University. In the May 2016 ruling, U.S. District Judge Joseph Leeson in Allentown, Pennsylvania, said a reasonable jury could not find that Tyson''s and Hillshire''s use of "Park''s Finest" tended to deceive "a substantial portion of their intended audience." He also said "Park''s Finest," an all-beef line of hot dogs launched in 2014, served merely as a "reference" to the Ball Park brand, and confused only one in 200 people Tyson surveyed. Tyson is based in Springdale, Arkansas, and has a plant about 60 miles (100 km) southwest of Allentown. The case is Parks LLC v Tyson Foods Inc et al, 3rd U.S, Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 16-2768. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/tyson-foods-parks-hotdogs-idUSL1N1JX145'|'2017-07-06T19:46:00.000+03:00' +'b1482d7996b709f3b6ae32ecb9f7e5631d4b60cc'|'Apple names new managing director for China amid localization drive'|'July 19, 2017 / 3:34 AM / 9 hours ago Apple names new managing director for China amid localization drive 2 Min Read FILEP PHOTO: The logo of Apple (AAPL) is seen in Los Angeles, California, United States, April 22, 2016. Lucy Nicholson/File Photo BEIJING (Reuters) - Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) on Wednesday said it has appointed a managing director for Greater China - a newly created role - in its latest move to localize product features and comply with new cyber regulations in China governing foreign technology firms. Isabel Ge Mahe, who worked in wireless technology at Apple for over nine years, will coordinate teams across China, the U.S. company said in a statement. "Apple is strongly committed to invest and grow in China," Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said in the statement. "We look forward to making even greater contributions under her leadership." The announcement comes as Apple works to meet compliance measures under a new law requiring foreign firms to store data locally in partnership with Chinese entities. Apple last week said it will invest in a $1 billion project in Guizhou province which will include a data center run with a local partner. It said none of its systems will have so-called backdoors that allow outside parties to access data. Ge Mahe''s previous projects include working with China''s state-backed telecom firms to develop country-specific functions including the ability to use local telephone numbers as Apple identification numbers, short message service (SMS) fraud detection, and support for quick response (QR) codes which are widely used in China for payments. "I am looking forward to deepening our team''s connections with customers, government and businesses in China to advance innovation and sustainability," said Ge Mahe in the statement. In the new role she will report directly to Cook and Chief Operating Officer Jim Williams, the company said. Reporting by Cate Cadell; Editing by Christopher Cushing 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-china-moves-idUSKBN1A4078'|'2017-07-19T06:33:00.000+03:00' +'1ceef54ba595513e67c22286705724208dec2259'|'France to launch buy-out bid to delist Areva on Aug. 1'|'July 31, 2017 / 4:06 PM / in 20 minutes France to launch buy-out bid to delist Areva on Aug. 1 Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A logo is seen on the Areva Tower, the headquarters of the French nuclear reactor maker Areva, by architects Roger Saubot et Francois Jullien at La Defense business and financial district in Courbevoie near Paris, France, June 1, 2017. Charles Platiau PARIS (Reuters) - French stock market regulator AMF said on Friday Franco-German bank Oddo BHF, acting on behalf of the French government, would launch a buyout offer for shares in Areva ( AREVA.PA ), with the aim of delisting the nuclear power engineering company from the Paris stock exchange. The buyout will take place from Aug.1 to Aug. 14. The French government, which owns more than 92 percent of Areva''s capital following a restructuring of the former Areva group, said earlier that it would buy up the remaining shares at 4.5 euros per share and then delist the company. Reporting by Maya Nikolaeva; Editing by Greg Mahlich 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-areva-restructuring-idUKKBN1AG1YM'|'2017-07-31T19:06:00.000+03:00' +'d88b7936ace3936b81fe49c75e85e922470d651d'|'UK sidelined as Europe looks beyond Brexit in aerospace'|'FILE PHOTO: An Airbus A350 aircraft flies in formation with Britain''s Red Arrows flying display team at the Farnborough International Airshow in Farnborough, Britain July 15, 2016. Peter Nicholls/File Photo PARIS (Reuters) - Britain risks losing clout in the aerospace industry, one of its largest skilled employers, due to concerns over its departure from the European Union, a corporate overhaul at Airbus and a new Franco-German push on defense, industry insiders say.Initiatives from a new continental combat jet to a decision by Airbus ( AIR.PA ) to downgrade its UK representation, as well as the redeployment of some research projects, have left the $90-billion UK sector feeling increasingly sidelined.France and Germany last week announced plans for a joint fighter, catching many in Britain off guard.Though chiefly designed to rejuvenate the Paris-Berlin axis, the move has highlighted questions over Britain''s place in the European powerhouse after Brexit and left its biggest defense firm BAE Systems ( BAES.L ) maneuvering for a place."Everyone is now simply acting on the basis that Brexit has happened, and let''s get on with life," said former French security adviser Francois Heisbourg, chairman of think-tank IISS.The move coincides with plans by Franco-German-led Airbus to shake up its UK management.Airbus Group UK President Paul Kahn is leaving as part of wider plans to shed management layers, Airbus said this week.Government affairs chief Katherine Bennett will run the Toulouse-based company''s UK arm as senior vice president.Officially, the changes are nothing to do with Brexit. A top executive in Spain is also leaving the slimmed-down firm.But the four-nation giant is aware of the intense focus on Britain''s role in flagship European ventures, while Airbus remains represented at more senior levels in France and Germany."You couldn''t say there is no link to Brexit," a person familiar with the process said.The industry''s ADS lobby, of which Kahn remains president, says aerospace and defense support 363,000 direct jobs in Britain and has warned against a ''hard Brexit'' that could see trade tariffs and restrictions on movements of workers.Airbus alone employs 12,000 in Britain where it builds wings for jetliners and campaigned to keep the country in the EU.Although Bennett will report directly to CEO Tom Enders, Kahn''s departure after three years deprives Britain of a strong voice inside Europe''s largest aerospace group, insiders said.Drip Feed The reshaping of Airbus''s UK presence does not end there.Industry sources say civil planemaking operations chief Tom Williams is unlikely to be replaced when he eventually retires, leaving a significant gap in the firm''s UK profile.Williams, who turns 65 on Friday, is Airbus''s "national representative" to Britain on key matters and has warned the country is entering a "dangerous phase" over Brexit. No departure date has been set for one of Britain''s top industrial managers.Airbus declined to comment.In the long term, Britain faces competition for wings production when design starts on the next generation of Airbus jets next decade. Germany and Spain both want the work.For now, the chill toward Britain is felt mainly though a drip feed of small changes, though these collectively represent what one insider called an "insidious" threat to UK relevance.Britain will have less responsibility for Europe''s Galileo satellite program. Some R&D work has been removed from British universities. And plans for a small but symbolic "Cyber Lab" at Airbus in Britain have been shelved."You are less likely to see UK leadership of projects with continental content. There will still be UK content but more likely under French or German leadership," one source said.That partially reverses the trend of recent years with rotary wing research placed in Britain after Airbus recently won a major military services contract.Supporters say Britain remains attractive for investment, with public funding for new technologies and a weaker pound offsetting uncertainty over Brexit.Asked whether she feared a stronger Franco-German defense axis leaving Britain in the cold, Defence Procurement Minister Harriet Baldwin told Reuters: "Far from it ... We are very happy with how things are going with our European friends and allies."Senior commentators are worried about the health of Britain''s industrial base, however, especially if it fails to win a place in the planned Franco-German fighter program."...you have a certain critical mass of design and development engineers and if they are not fed with noble work they will dissipate over time," said defense and aerospace consultant Brian Burridge, ex-commander of UK forces in Iraq.He likened this to years of under-investment in nuclear power stations, which saw Britain turn to foreign partners."Just as we saw in our nuclear power-generation industry: if suddenly, for strategic reasons, you want to change your indigenous sovereign capability that would be very difficult."Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-aerospace-analysis-idUSKBN1A616S'|'2017-07-21T13:34:00.000+03:00' +'ae2b9615c5b4c4997afb46d43c9a40775a934c25'|'Losing business as Vodafone cuts off a company phone line - Money'|'Vodafone erroneously disconnected the phone line of our company finance director when we upgraded the account four weeks ago.Since then we have called it more than 30 times, tweeted, emailed, visited Vodafone shops, all to no avail despite us having been customers for more than 20 years.Its causing severe detriment to our business and Vodafone refuses to address the issue. DW, Bonnybridge, StirlingshireIts so heartening that the day I contacted Vodafone, you were called by the directors office and assured the line would be up and running within 24 hours. Which it was five weeks after it was disconnected.Vodafone blames a technical glitch for the disconnection but offers no explanation as to why your complaints fell on deaf ears. We should have resolved this quickly and we will address the matter with the advisers involved, said a spokesperson.It has offered you 1,500 as compensation, which you have accepted reluctantly as you reckon your losses are nearer 4,000.If you need help email Anna Tims at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number.Topics Internet, phones & broadband Your problems with Anna Tims Vodafone Telecommunications industry Consumer affairs Consumer rights features'|'theguardian.com'|'https://www.theguardian.com/uk/business'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/jul/13/vodafone-cut-company-phone-line-losing-business'|'2017-07-13T08:00:00.000+03:00' +'bbe6a8c142a8d9ffb65ca0d3a2be6992c69f173f'|'ITV, defensives propel FTSE higher'|'July 26, 2017 / 9:30 AM / in 6 hours ITV, defensives propel FTSE higher Kit Rees 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A woman walks past the London Stock Exchange building in the City of London, Britain, January 16 , 2017. Toby Melville/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Strong updates from ITV and Compass Group helped Britain''s top share index advance on Wednesday, underpinned also by gains among defensive stocks and mining shares. Britain''s blue chip FTSE 100 .FTSE index was up 0.6 percent at 7,477.99 points by 0905 GMT. The index extended gains slightly after sterling fell following UK GDP figures, which showed that economic growth edged higher in the second quarter, helped by the services sector and film industry. Company earnings were front and centre of the market action as shares in ITV ( ITV.L ) jumped 2.8 percent after the broadcaster reported first half earnings, adding it expected advertising pressure to ease in the third quarter. ITV''s shares have been hit this year on concerns around a slowdown in advertising revenues, with the stock down around 10.6 percent so far in 2017. "The broadcaster revenues were also lower but the results were in line with forecasts and the guidance for the year remains unchanged," Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said. "The 5 percent increase in the interim dividend demonstrated the boards confidence in the underlying strength of the business." Results also buoyed shares in catering firm Compass Group ( CPG.L ), which rose 1.8 percent after reporting a 3.9 percent rise in quarterly revenue thanks to strength in its U.S. market. Consumer stocks were among the top risers, with British American Tobacco ( BATS.L ), AB Foods ( ABF.L ) and Diageo ( DGE.L ) all helping underpin gains. "Consumer goods and consumer services are sectors that have gained the most on the FTSE 100, as traders have confidence British consumers are willing to go out and spend money," David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said in a note. A disappointing update and downgrade to "neutral" from "outperform" from Credit Suisse weighed on Sage Group''s ( SGE.L ) shares, which fell around 3.4 percent to the bottom of the blue chip index. Likewise engineering firm ( GKN.L ) dropped 1.1 percent following its half year results. Banking stocks were weak ahead of a decision on interest rate policy by the U.S. Federal Reserve later in the day, which was expected to keep rates unchanged. Updates were also in focus among mid caps .FTMC which advanced 0.5 percent. Metro Bank ( MTRO.L ) shares were boosted nearly 3.3 percent after its second quarter figures, while a downgrade hit shares in troubled gold miner Acacia Mining ( ACAA.L ), which dropped 5 percent. Reporting by Kit Rees; Editing by Mark Potter 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks-idUKKBN1AB166'|'2017-07-26T12:30:00.000+03:00' +'e1ba6add87be7b04227358a2ffb07a0f1473ffc2'|'Ireland to spend around 80 billion euros in new 10-year capital plan, PM says'|'July 27, 2017 / 5:36 AM / an hour ago Ireland to spend around 80 billion euros in new 10-year capital plan, PM says Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Ireland''s Taoiseach Leo Varadkar arrives at a EU leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, June 22, 2017. Julien Warnand/Pool DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland''s new 10-year capital plan due later this year will continue to ramp up investment by laying out spending of around 80 billion euros ($94 billion), prime minister Leo Varadkar said. Dublin already plans to double capital spending over the next five years, tackling bottlenecks built up after investment ground to a near-halt during the financial crisis. Spending remains among the lowest in the European Union. Current plans include an investment of 27 billion euros in the four years to 2021, with the annual budget for capital expenditure increasing to 7.8 billion in 2021 from 5.3 billion euros next year when Ireland expects to balance its budget for the first time in a decade. The government has said it will finalise the new capital by the end of the year and underpin it with a national planning framework stretching out to 2040. "That will set out a capital investment plan probably in the region of 80 billion euros over 10 years. We''ll be planning for a country with a population of 5.5 million people by 2040 and that is going to require lots of capital investment," Varadkar told Ireland''s TV3 in an interview late on Wednesday. By Varadkar''s estimate, capital spending would average 8.7 billion euros a year from 2022 to 2027. Ireland''s central bank governor warned this week that the government may need to cool parts of the rapidly growing economy in a couple of years, potentially by raising taxes, if ramped up public investment coincides with full employment. Ireland''s economy has grown faster than any other in Europe for the past three years and employment is showing no sign of slowing down. The current jobless rate of 6.3 percent is down from over 15 percent five years ago. Full employment means that just about everyone who wants a job has one, a situation which leads to workforce shortages and wage inflation. Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Richard Pullin 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ireland-economy-investment-idUKKBN1AC0GV'|'2017-07-27T08:36:00.000+03:00' +'97733be8a82f286c4a7749c4fe2dac5ef0d71404'|'Thyssenkrupp CEO keen for Tata steel merger deal before end-Sept - sources'|'July 26, 2017 / 12:30 PM / 3 minutes ago Thyssenkrupp CEO keen for Tata steel merger deal before end-Sept - sources Maytaal Angel , Edward Taylor and Carolyn Cohn 4 Min Read Heinrich Hiesinger, chief executive of ThyssenKrupp addresses the company''s annual shareholders meeting in Bochum, Germany, January 27, 2017. Thilo Schmuelgen LONDON/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Thyssenkrupp''s ( TKAG.DE ) chief executive is pushing for a deal to fold its steel operations into a joint venture with India''s Tata Steel ( TISC.NS ) as early as September, after two years of talks, sources told Reuters. The talks are more advanced than previously thought, the sources said. With earnings from Thyssenkrupp''s industrials businesses sound and those at the steel unit weak due to structural overcapacity in the sector, Chief Executive Heinrich Hiesinger is facing pressure from investors to deliver the merger. "The fiscal year will come to an end soon (in September) and Hiesinger wants to have a story for investors. If it would not come to a merger it would be a severe defeat for (him)," a German union source said. Hiesinger has staked his reputation on transforming Thyssenkrupp from a loss-making steelmaker into a diversified industrials group, with steel now contributing just under a quarter of the firm''s revenues. His ultimate aim is for Thyssenkrupp to exit the steel business altogether. "He (Hiesinger) has invested too much time for it to now fail," a banking source familiar with the matter said. The biggest stumbling block in talks to merge the two firms'' European steel assets was largely resolved in May, when Tata said it had agreed the main terms of a deal with the British regulator to cut benefits for its 15 billion pound ($19.40 billion) UK pension scheme. With Thyssenkrupp said to be satisfied with the preliminary deal and German unions acknowledging behind the scenes that they cannot stop the merger, sources said the long-running talks should be formalised in the next couple of months. One source familiar with the matter said much still hinged on final clearance from the regulator for the Tata pensions deal and that both sides were unlikely to make any announcement before then. A pensions source, however, said regulatory clearance was pending. "I would be surprised if it (clearance) didn''t happen by September," he said. Tata Steel and Thyssenkrupp declined to comment. With both companies having suffered heavy losses in steel in recent years, they are intent on a merger that would bring capacity cuts, consolidation, pricing power and synergy savings. While German unions are publicly against the venture, they privately acknowledge they cannot stop a deal even if all 10 union representatives on Thyssenkrupp''s supervisory board vote against it. They are concerned, however, that Thyssenkrupp is looking to take on a minority stake in the joint venture and is keen on handing over day to day management to Tata. Unions fear any future job cuts would fall disproportionately on them versus legacy Tata staff. It could take three to four years to integrate the two operations and deliver the sort of savings - 500 million euros a year by some estimates - that could help pave the way for an initial public offering that would see Thyssenkrupp finally exit the steel sector. The Tata pensions deal alone could take until early next year to implement even though it is due to be cleared shortly, pensions sources say. However, Martin Hunter, principal at consultants Punter Southall, said that to avoid delay, Tata and Thyssenkrupp could announce the deal but make a final tie-up contingent on the end shape of the Tata pension deal. (This refiled version of the story adds dropped word ''that'' in paragraph 13). Additional reporting by Arno Schuetze, Tom Kaeckenhoff, Alexander Huebner and Georgina Prodhan in Frankfurt; and Euan Rocha in Mumbai; Editing by Veronica Brown and Susan Thomas 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-tata-steel-m-a-thyssenkrupp-idUKKBN1AB1P1'|'2017-07-26T15:30:00.000+03:00' +'0e4751e7cea1cd50a2d8ab619e143294a514b940'|'Gold steady ahead of U.S. GDP data'|'July 28, 2017 / 7:10 AM / in an hour Gold steady ahead of U.S. GDP data 3 Min Read Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central''s office in Singapore June 19, 2017. Edgar Su/Files BENGALURU (Reuters) - Gold steadied on Friday after retreating from a more than six-week high hit in the previous session, with investors looking for cues on the health of the U.S. economy from second-quarter gross domestic product data due later in the session. A recovery in the world''s biggest economy would give the beleaguered dollar some respite from the recent sell-off, and also dent the likelihood for higher interest rates which benefits non-interest yielding and safe-haven gold. "Our feeling is that the (GDP) number will be in line to somewhat below the 2.8 figure forecast, in which case we could see another modest advance in gold," said INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir. "We expect to see a lot of action around the second-quarter GDP number." Spot gold were mostly unchanged at $1,259.10 per ounce at 0656 GMT, and was up slightly this week in what could be the precious metal''s longest spell of weekly gains since May. U.S. gold futures for August delivery fell 0.1 percent to $1,258.50 per ounce. The dollar index was nearly unchanged at 93.816 against a basket of six major currencies. "I think it is more important to keep an eye on the dollar and whether it continues to support gold," said Ronald Leung, chief dealer at Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong. A weaker dollar makes bullion cheaper for non-U.S. investors. Higher interest rates would push yields up and likely boost the dollar. Meanwhile, holdings at the SPDR Gold Trust, the world''s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell 0.45 percent to 791.88 tonnes on Thursday from 795.42 tonnes on Wednesday. Spot gold is biased to break a support and fall more into a zone of $1,243.41-$1,247 per ounce, following its failure to break the resistance at $1,264, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao. Among other precious metals, silver rose 0.1 percent to $16.54 per ounce, heading for a third weekly gain. Platinum rose 0.2 percent to $924.25 per ounce but was on track for its first weekly decline in three. Palladium fell 0.1 percent to $871.25 per ounce. In the previous session, palladium hit its highest in over a month. Reporting by Nithin Prasad and Arpan Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Pullin and Subhranshu Sahu 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-precious-idINKBN1AD0RJ'|'2017-07-28T10:08:00.000+03:00' +'ee76aaf9da000582ffebb4f1e71942117361fbad'|'Oaktree takes stake in Australian driller DDH1'|'July 17, 2017 / 1:47 AM / 4 hours ago Oaktree takes stake in Australian driller DDH1 2 Min Read (Reuters) - Oaktree Capital Management placed an investment stake in Australian drilling services company DDH1 Drilling Pty Ltd, the drilling company announced in a statement on Sunday. DDH1 describes its business as a provider of deep directional mineral drilling services used to identify and extend resources, reserves and mining plans for Australia''s exploration and mining industry. The terms of the investment were not disclosed. Los Angeles-based Oaktree Capital is a global asset management firm that specializes in distressed debt and corporate debt with $100 billion of assets under management, according to the company''s website. DDH1 co-founders Murray Pollock and Matt Thurston will remain in their roles as chief executive and chief operating officer, respectively, according to a statement released by the company. "Throughout the recent mining downturn, there has been significant underinvestment in the capacity of the Australian drilling services industry due to low demand, competitive pricing and numerous insolvencies," said Byron Beath, managing director at Oaktree. "During this period, DDH1 has continued to invest in its capacity and has consolidated its market-leading position in its targeted service. Oaktree''s investment will further enable DDH1 to grow to meet the demand from its customers." Reporting by Dion Rabouin; Editing by Sandra Maler 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-oaktree-investment-idUSKBN1A2038'|'2017-07-17T04:37:00.000+03:00' +'d10f8788b9ead1ecf1386d8b79ccaff74084be14'|'Oil climbs for sixth day, near eight-week highs on U.S. crude stock declines'|'July 28, 2017 / 1:16 AM / in 14 minutes Oil extends gains, on track for biggest weekly rise this year Karolin Schaps 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Crude oil storage tanks are seen from above at the Cushing oil hub, in Cushing, Oklahoma, U.S., in this March 24, 2016. Nick Oxford/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices edged higher on Friday, reaching new two-month highs and on track to post the strongest weekly percentage gains this year as investors digested signs of an easing oversupply. U.S. crude and gasoline inventories fell much more steeply than expected this week and the world''s biggest oil exporter Saudi Arabia said it would further reduce oil output in August. Brent crude futures were up 44 cents at $51.93 a barrel at 1334 GMT after reaching a new two-month high of $52.02 a barrel. The front of the crude oil curve jumped into backwardation, with the month-ahead trading above the subsequent month, showing investors are not expecting recent gains to last. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 30 cents at $49.34 a barrel, after also touching a fresh two-month peak of $49.38 a barrel. Both contracts are set to post their biggest percentage gains this year with a rise of around 8 percent. "Positive signs came from the draw in gasoline stocks this week, as the U.S. moves into the peak driving season," said Ashley Kelty, oil analyst at Cenkos Securities. U.S. crude stocks fell sharply by 7.2 million barrels in the week to July 21 due to strong refining activity and an increase in exports, according to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). [EIA/S] Brimming U.S. crude supplies have been a challenge to production cuts to prop up prices led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, meaning weekly U.S. inventory data is closely watched. Despite these signs, analysts'' assessments of the oil market remained bearish. "We believe the latest price rise is on a fragile footing," analysts at Commerzbank said, adding OPEC production was likely to rise in the coming months as the group has not officially capped output from members Libya and Nigeria. Investors were eyeing an update on the U.S. rig count expected later on Friday to assess any signs of a slowing down in drilling activity. Additional reporting by Jane Chung in Seoul; Editing by Adrian Croft 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-oil-idINKBN1AD04S'|'2017-07-28T04:15:00.000+03:00' +'f975aacd31cc1f4eb31e93fe292a7732bda124a0'|'Peugeot sales tumble in China and Europe, while Iran fares better'|'July 13, 2017 / 5:47 AM / 31 minutes ago Peugeot sales tumble in China and Europe, while Iran fares better 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An old Peugeot 403 is pictured in Marjayoun village, southern Lebanon June 2, 2017. Aziz Taher/File Photo PARIS (Reuters) - PSA Group said its vehicle sales rose 2.3 percent in the first half, as the French carmaker''s formal return to the Iranian market helped offset a continuing sales plunge in China as well as a weak European performance. The maker of Peugeot, Citroen and DS cars said on Thursday it had recorded 1.58 million sales globally in January-June, up from 1.54 million a year earlier. But PSA''s Chinese woes continued, with sales plunging by another 49 percent to just 152,380 vehicles in the period. The year-long slide has prompted a management and distribution shake-up in the region, as well as pledges by Chief Executive Carlos Tavares to rush out more SUVs. In Europe, PSA''s home region as well as its biggest, sales also dropped by 1.9 percent to 1.04 million vehicles, essentially weighed down by a sharp decline in upscale DS brand sales, which slumped 45 percent. Iran, however, was a bright spot in the first-half numbers. The resumption of consolidated sales in the country helped PSA more than triple its Middle East and Africa sales to 277,971 vehicles. Reporting by Laurence Frost; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/peugeot-sales-idINKBN19Y0FI'|'2017-07-13T08:45:00.000+03:00' +'16fd0a5c8f4b5c29a459a43dae4be79f3a888e7b'|'Unnerved by markets, ECB rate setters wary of July move - sources'|'Central Banks - Tue Jul 4, 2017 - 7:13am BST Unnerved by markets, ECB rate setters wary of July move - sources The famous euro sign landmark is pictured outside the former headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, Germany, July 17, 2015. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach By Francesco Canepa and Balazs Koranyi - FRANKFURT FRANKFURT Spooked by a market backlash, some European Central Bank policymakers are having doubts about signalling in July that they are moving closer to dialling back their easy money policy. Conversations with six central bank officials from across the euro zone showed they had been unnerved by a rise in the euro and in government bond yields after ECB President Mario Draghi opened the door last week to policy changes. Wary of weakening the economic recovery, some rate setters have become nervous about dropping their long-standing pledge: they will expand or extend the ECB''s 2.3 trillion-euro bond-buying programme if necessary to bring inflation back to its target of just under 2 percent. Such a change is almost certain to be discussed when the bank meets on July 20. But removing the pledge would probably be taken by the market as a sign the ECB was preparing to wind down the scheme, which has made borrowing cheap and boosted euro zone exports by holding down the value of the euro. Despite declines on Monday, the euro EUR= and German bond yields DE10YT=RR, the debt benchmark for the region, were still far higher than they had been before Draghi''s speech. That is an unwelcome development for an ECB seeking to maintain ultra-easy borrowing conditions. "We have to see how the market develops between now and the meeting," one of the sources said. "Id say we should err on the side of caution." A spokesman for the ECB declined to comment. With inflation above 1 percent and the euro zone''s economy on its best run for years, officials generally agreed the way was clear for a gradual normalisation of ECB policy. They disagreed on the timing, though. In June, the ECB shut the door to further rate cuts and took a more sanguine view of the economic outlook for the euro zone - thereby removing two so-called ''easing biases'' from its policy message. The market took those changes in its stride, so economists expected the rate-setters would soon omit their pledge "to increase the (bond) programme in terms of size and/or duration" if necessary. But the officials who spoke to Reuters are no longer sure that will happen at the July 20 meeting. "I was thinking we''d drop the other easing bias in July, but after the market reaction to Draghi''s speech I''m less sure about it," one official said. The head of Germany''s Bundesbank, Jens Weidmann, said on Saturday that ECB rate setters were discussing moving away from an ultra-easy stance but were still arguing about how expansive policy should be. Another source suggested one solution might be to break up that part of the guidance: take out only the reference to increased purchases or the one to prolong them. The message could then be amended further in September, when the ECB gets updated inflation forecasts. Those might help the policymakers decide on the future of the programme beyond its December end date. (Additional reporting by Frank Siebelt, editing by Larry King) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-idUKKBN19P0KM'|'2017-07-04T09:13:00.000+03:00' +'ca84f5f1fc4def60a6806a565969d98c5426bf03'|'BoE''s Saunders tells UK households: prepare for higher rates - Guardian'|' 41pm BST BoE''s Saunders tells UK households - prepare for higher rates: Guardian FILE PHOTO: A man stands outside the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain April 19, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo LONDON A Bank of England policymaker who last month voted to raise interest rates was quoted as saying on Tuesday that he was "reasonably confident" that investment and exports would compensate for a consumer slowdown. Michael Saunders told the Guardian newspaper that households should prepare for higher rates at some point and there was no sense that they had to stay on hold due to uncertainty around Britain''s negotiations in 2019. "I think households should prepare for interest rates to go higher at some point. But if rates do go up, it will be in the context of the economy doing OK and unemployment being low and probably falling," Saunders said in an interview. The BoE''s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 5-3 last month to keep rates on hold with supporters of a hike, who included Saunders, saying investment and exports would make up for the hit to domestic consumption that has been caused by rising inflation and weak wage growth. One of the three other dissenters who voted for a hike has since left the committee, further clouding the possibility of a vote for a rate increase in August or later this year. Last week, Governor Mark Carney said a rise in rates was likely to be needed as the economy comes closer to running at full capacity and the BoE would debate when to do so "in the coming months". Other policymakers have stressed the need for patience, including Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe. On Tuesday, external MPC member Gertjan Vlieghe repeated his warning that a premature rate hike would be more costly than a late one. By contrast, Saunders said the BoE could be caught out if it fails to act quickly enough. "The risk that you run with maximum stimulus is that the jobless rate keeps falling, then at some point, if pay growth picks up, you have to reverse course very sharply," he said. "It would then be much harder for tightening to be limited and gradual. You''d be having to play catch-up." Saunders also said companies were finding it harder to hire staff from overseas, which could push up wage growth - something that has disappointed badly against the BoE''s forecasts of late. "There has been this extra pool of labour which firms can call on and most of the rise in employment, the overwhelming part of the rise in employment of the last five years, has been from people born outside the UK," he said. "It''s clear from talking to firms that it''s getting harder to persuade people to come to the UK." (Reporting by Andy Bruce; Editing by William Schomberg and Gareth Jones)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-boe-saunders-idUKKBN19P25D'|'2017-07-04T19:56:00.000+03:00' +'d9d91926d1c4707c4e84cf08f0e357181060be82'|'Preview: BOJ may concede delay in hitting price goal, but hold off on easing'|'July 13, 2017 / 11:39 AM / 3 hours ago Bank of Japan may concede delay in hitting price goal, but hold off on easing 5 Min Read People walk past the Bank of Japan building in Tokyo, Japan June 16, 2017. Toru Hanai TOKYO (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan is set to raise its economic growth forecasts but cut its rosy inflation outlook next week, sources say, reinforcing expectations it will lag well behind major global central banks in dialing back its massive stimulus program. The BOJ is expected to hold off from expanding stimulus at its two-day rate review ending next Thursday, as robust exports and private consumption heighten prospects of a moderate economic expansion. The central bank''s nine-member board is split between those who expect a strengthening economy to start pushing up inflation, and those who believe inflation will remain subdued well into next year given Japan''s sticky deflationary mindset. If the pessimists prevail, the BOJ may push back again the timing for hitting its ambitious 2 percent inflation target, sources familiar with its thinking say, in a fresh blow to Governor Haruhiko Kuroda''s radical monetary experiment aimed at putting a sustained end to deflation. "It''s taking longer than expected for inflation to pick up," one of the sources said. "Sizable cuts in the price forecasts may be inevitable," another source said, adding a delay in the projected timing for hitting the target "can''t be ruled out." Two other sources expressed a similar view, warning that the underlying weakness in inflation could hamper the BOJ''s efforts to change public perceptions that deflation will persist. Kuroda is likely to remind markets of the BOJ''s resolve to maintain its ultra-easy policy until inflation is sustainably above 2 percent. Joachim Fels, global economic adviser at PIMCO, expects the BOJ to maintain its yield targets well into next year. "The Federal Reserve is exiting, the European Central Bank will taper its bond purchases next year, but I think the yield target in Japan will stay in place for quite some time." Strong Growth, Weak Inflation The BOJ is set to slash its consumer inflation forecast for the year ending in March 2018 to around 1.0 percent from the current 1.4 percent estimate made in April, the sources said. The central bank is also seen cutting next fiscal year''s inflation forecast to 1.5 percent or below, from the current projection of 1.7 percent, they said. Depending on how big the cut in next year''s forecast will be, the BOJ may push back the timing for hitting its target from the current estimate of "around fiscal 2018," the sources said. In a testament to the improving economy, the BOJ will slightly revise up its economic growth forecasts for the current and following fiscal years, the sources said. The central bank will also offer a more upbeat assessment of the economy than last month to signal its growing conviction that it is expanding moderately, they said. [nL3N1J32XI] In its current forecasts, the BOJ expects gross domestic product (GDP) to expand 1.6 percent in the current fiscal year and 1.3 percent in the following year. The disparity between strong growth and low inflation will be a key topic of debate at next week''s rate review, when the BOJ issues its quarterly report with new long-term projections. The board is divided between those who blame structural factors for keeping inflation weak, and those who feel a tightening job market will soon push up wages and prices. Some policymakers say companies still have room to cut back on services and streamline operations, instead of luring more employees with higher pay. Only when firms run out of areas to cut costs would they start raising wages and prices, they argue. The BOJ''s report is likely to offer an analysis on why the strength in the economy hasn''t translated into higher wage and price growth, the sources said. Japan''s economy grew at an annualized 1.0 percent in the first quarter on solid exports and private consumption. But core consumer prices in May rose just 0.4 percent from a year earlier, well below the BOJ''s 2 percent target. Tokyo inflation, a leading indicator of nationwide prices, was flat in June from a year earlier, stunning BOJ officials who expected a stronger reading given a recent pick-up in consumption. Additional reporting by Sumio Ito and Yoshifumi Takemoto; Editing by Jacqueline Wong 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-boj-idINKBN19Y19M'|'2017-07-13T14:21:00.000+03:00' +'387f2abedd4238ea34f9301ece9f02692ed7a391'|'Audi seeks to eclipse emissions scandal with new technology-packed A8 car'|'Innovation and Intellectual Property - Tue Jul 11, 2017 - 10:41am EDT Audi seeks to eclipse emissions scandal with new technology-packed A8 car left right Audi Chief Executive Rupert Stadler presents the new Audi A8 at the Audi Summit in Barcelona, Spain July 11, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea 1/23 left right Audi Chief Executive Rupert Stadler presents the new Audi A8 at the Audi Summit in Barcelona, Spain July 11, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea 2/23 left right Attendees view the new Audi A8 after its presentation at the Audi Summit in Barcelona, Spain July 11, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea 3/23 left right Attendees view the new Audi A8 after its presentation at the Audi Summit in Barcelona, Spain July 11, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea 4/23 left right The new Audi A8 is seen during a presentation at the Audi Summit in Barcelona, Spain, July 11, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea 5/23 left right Attendees view the new Audi A8 after its presentation at the Audi Summit in Barcelona, Spain July 11, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea 6/23 left right Attendees view the Audi A8 at the Audi Summit in Barcelona, Spain July 11, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea 7/23 left right A futuristic concept car Audi RSQ is seen during a presentation at the Audi Summit in Barcelona, Spain, July 11, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea 8/23 left right Attendees view the interior of the Audi A8 at the Audi Summit in Barcelona, Spain July 11, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea 9/23 left right A blueprint of an Audi A8 is seen at the Audi Summit in Barcelona, Spain, July 11, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea 10/23 left right A man views the interior of the Audi A8 at the Audi Summit in Barcelona, Spain July 11, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea 11/23 left right Attendees view the Audi A8 at the Audi Summit in Barcelona, Spain July 11, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea 12/23 left right An Audi A8 engine is seen on display at the Audi Summit in Barcelona, Spain July 11, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea 13/23 left right A woman takes a picture of an Audi A8 engine on display at the Audi Summit in Barcelona, Spain July 11, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea 14/23 left right People attend a presentation at the Audi Summit in Barcelona, Spain July 11, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea 15/23 left right The engine of an Audi A8 is seen on display at the Audi Summit in Barcelona, Spain July 11, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea 16/23 left right People view the frame of an Audi A8 at the Audi Summit in Barcelona, Spain July 11, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea 17/23 left right People view the frame of an Audi A8 at the Audi Summit in Barcelona, Spain July 11, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea 18/23 left right People view the frame of an Audi A8 at the Audi Summit in Barcelona, Spain July 11, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea 19/23 left right People view the frame of an Audi A8 at the Audi Summit in Barcelona, Spain July 11, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea 20/23 left right Attendees check in at the registration desk at the Audi Summit prior to the presentation of the Audi A8 in Barcelona, Spain, July 11, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea 21/23 left right People perform on stage during a presentation at the Audi summit in Barcelona, Spain July 11, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea 22/23 left right A robotic waiter serves a beer at the the Audi Summit in Barcelona, Spain, July 11, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea 23/23 By Andreas Cremer and Irene Preisinger - BARCELONA BARCELONA Battered by its emissions scandal, Audi launched its latest technology-packed A8 luxury saloon on Tuesday, aimed at overtaking rivals Mercedes-Benz and BMW as it struggles to overcome its biggest-ever corporate crisis. Last week Munich prosecutors arrested an Audi employee in connection with "dieselgate", the latest setback to Volkswagen''s ( VOWG_p.DE ) luxury car arm and main profit driver, after the German government a month earlier had accused Audi of cheating on emissions tests. On Tuesday Audi shifted the focus back to its products with its top management hosting 2,000 guests in Barcelona to unveil the new A8, whose Level-3 self-driving technology enables the car to completely control driving at up to 60 kilometers (37 miles) per hour, beating the Mercedes S-Class and the BMW 7-Series. Having slipped behind its two German rivals on global sales last year, Audi has risked stalling without innovation and needed a new prestige product, said Stefan Bratzel, head of the Center of Automotive Management think-tank near Cologne. "Innovation is key in premium car-making," Bratzel said. "The new A8 will polish the brand''s image and line-up at a critical time." Even Audi acknowledged that amid ongoing investigations, persistent pressure on its chief executive for his crisis management and analysts'' criticism of Audi''s ageing vehicle design, the new A8 creates an opportunity for a clean break. "It''s gratifying that we are able to set a positive sign for real ''Vorsprung durch Technik'', advancement through technology," R&D chief Peter Mertens said. Mercedes and BMW have accelerated their autonomous-driving development programs with Mercedes owner Daimler joining forces with car parts maker Robert Bosch [ROBG.UL] in April and BMW collaborating with other firms including U.S. parts maker Delphi and chipmaker Intel. Featuring a more distinctive design and a foot massager for rear-seat passengers, the new A8 heralds the start of a series of redesigns and new model launches at Audi including an electric sport-utility vehicle (SUV) to take on Tesla''s Model X, the all-new Q4 and Q8 SUVs and redesigned A6 and A7 model lines. A source at Audi said development of the A8, which took about five years, suffered from changes at the brand''s research and development department, though assiduous work by division heads helped ensure that delays were kept in check. The A8 will reach German dealerships in the fourth quarter. Audi is on its third development chief since dieselgate broke in late 2015, with Mertens, who took office in May, the brand''s fifth R&D boss since 2012. "The top brass at VW group and Audi are so preoccupied with the diesel issue that the company''s management is lastingly distracted," said Christian Strenger, a supervisory board member at Deutsche Bank''s retail asset management arm DWS. With the new A8''s retail price up almost 8 percent on its predecessor at 90,600 euros ($103,000), Audi will also struggle to narrow the gap with its traditional rivals, research firm IHS Markit said. A8 sales in the core markets of Europe, China and the Americas may climb 3.2 percent to 35,571 cars by 2025 from 34,468 next year, IHS said. By comparison, IHS expects deliveries of BMW''s 7-Series to fall 7.6 percent to 52,238 cars by 2025 and deliveries of Mercedes'' S-Class to jump 24 percent to 85,389 cars. S-Class and 7-Series prices start at 88,447 euros and 78,100 euros respectively, according to company data. (Editing by Greg Mahlich) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-audi-emissions-strategy-idUSKBN19W19P'|'2017-07-11T14:53:00.000+03:00' +'06569809dbc38ac748eff5ab7faf068dab0f591d'|'Homebuilder Galliford sees full-year profit at top end of forecast'|'July 11, 2017 / 7:12 AM / 7 hours ago Homebuilder Galliford sees full-year profit at top end of forecast Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A builder assembles scaffolding as he works on new homes, in south London June 3, 2014. Andrew Winning/Files (Reuters) - British housebuilder Galliford Try, which pulled out of a 1.2 billion pound attempt to buy rival Bovis in April, said it expects full-year profit to come in at the top end of analysts'' forecasts. Galliford said that it saw a strong performance across all of its businesses, with revenue growth accelerating in the second half at its Linden Homes division. It said it was sticking to its forecasts for 2018. Analysts forecast profit before tax for the year ending June 30 to be 46 million pounds to 59 million pounds, the company said. "As we enter the new financial year, we are cautious about the impact of the current political uncertainty following the general election and the medium-term outlook for the macro economy," Galliford cautioned. Shares in the company were up 3.5 percent at 1,212.8 pence at 0705 GMT (8.05 a.m. BST), placing them second on the FTSE Mid Cap index gainers list. Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-galliford-outlook-idUKKBN19W0J3'|'2017-07-11T10:19:00.000+03:00' +'36e1db12eb80f686d67f8bbf1c41dd5f6f246776'|'Discovery and Scripps in merger talks - sources'|'July 19, 2017 / 1:05 AM / 4 hours ago Discovery and Scripps in merger talks - sources Jessica Toonkel 2 Min Read The Discovery Communications logo is seen at their office in Manhattan, New York, U.S., August 1, 2016. Andrew Kelly (Reuters) - Discovery Communications ( DISCA.O ) and Scripps Networks Interactive Inc ( SNI.O ) are in merger talks, revisiting a deal that was scrapped three years ago, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. Scripps, whose channels include HGTV, Travel Channel and a majority stake in Food Network, is looking for a buyer at a time when it and other smaller media companies are under pressure to grow to give them negotiating power with cable and satellite companies. Viacom Inc ( VIAB.O ) also has held talks to acquire Scripps, the sources said. Discovery, Scripps and Viacom declined to comment. Scripps has long been considered a takeover target since the Scripps family trust that controlled the company ended five years ago. This is at least the third time that Discovery, whose shareholders include cable magnate John Malone, has held talks to buy Scripps, according to the sources. A deal between Discovery and Scripps would create a $19 billion cable network that specializes in non-scripted shows. Discovery Communications is up 9.8 percent at $28.61 and Scripps Networks is up 13.4 percent at $76.02 in after market trading. Reporting by Gaurika Juneja in Bengaluru; editing by Diane Craft 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-scripps-net-int-m-a-discovery-commns-idUKKBN1A402X'|'2017-07-19T04:04:00.000+03:00' +'6aed7f65598344ca471913631f32e39916959559'|'U.S. trade deficit narrows as exports hit two-year high'|'July 6, 2017 / 12:40 PM / in 16 minutes U.S. trade deficit narrows as exports hit two-year high 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Shipping containers are seen at the Port Newark Container Terminal in Newark, New Jersey, U.S. on July 2, 2009. Mike Segar/File Photo WASHINGTON, (Reuters) - The U.S. trade deficit fell in May as exports increased to their highest level in just over two years, but trade could still weigh on economic growth in the second quarter. The Commerce Department said on Thursday the trade gap decreased 2.3 percent to $46.5 billion. April''s trade deficit was unrevised at $47.6 billion. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the trade gap falling to $46.2 billion in May. When adjusted for inflation, the trade deficit narrowed to $62.8 billion from $63.8 billion in April. Real goods exports surged to an all-time high in May, propelled by record high petroleum exports. Still, the real trade deficit averaged $63.3 billion in April and May, above the first quarter''s average of $62.2 billion. That suggests trade will be a drag on gross domestic product in the second quarter after contributing 0.23 percentage point to the economy''s 1.4 percent annualized growth pace in the first three months of the year. The Atlanta Federal Reserve is forecasting GDP rising at a 3.0 percent rate in the second quarter. In May, exports of goods and services rose 0.4 percent to $192.0 billion, the highest level since April 2015, lifted by a surge in exports of consumer goods such as cell phones and other household goods. There were also increases in exports of motor vehicles and parts. Food exports, however, fell by $0.7 billion amid a $0.6 billion drop in soybean shipments. Exports to China increased 3.6 percent. The value of goods shipped to Mexico and Canada rose 5.4 percent and 9.6 percent, respectively. Exports to Germany gained 7.4 percent. Imports of goods and services dipped 0.1 percent to $238.5 billion in May. Cell phone and other household goods imports fell $0.9 billion, accounting for the bulk of the $1.5 billion decrease in consumer goods imports. There were also declines in imports of motor vehicles and parts. However, imports of capital goods increase $1.3 billion. The country imported 265 million barrels of oil in May, the most since August 2012. Imports of goods from China increased 11.6 percent. The politically sensitive U.S.-China trade deficit increased 14.4 percent to $31.6 billion in May. The trade gap with Mexico surged 15.8 percent to $7.3 billion, the highest since October 2007. Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-trade-idINKBN19R1P6'|'2017-07-06T15:55:00.000+03:00' +'e5c8f049579a03224540689b0bd823f65be1f6a4'|'U.S. to drop criminal charges in ''London Whale'' case'|'July 21, 2017 / 9:09 PM / 14 hours ago U.S. to drop criminal charges in ''London Whale'' case Jonathan Stempel 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Former JPMorgan employee Javier Martin-Artajo, indicted by a U.S. grand jury in relation to the bank''s "London Whale" trading scandal, leaves Spain''s High Court in Madrid March 5, 2015. Susana Vera NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors have decided to drop criminal charges against two former JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ) derivatives traders implicated in the "London Whale" trading scandal that caused $6.2 billion (5 billion pounds) of losses in 2012. In seeking the dismissal of charges against Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout, the Department of Justice said it "no longer believes that it can rely on the testimony" of Bruno Iksil, a cooperating witness who had been dubbed the London Whale, based on recent statements he made that hurt the case. Prosecutors also said efforts to extradite Martin-Artajo and Grout, respectively citizens of Spain and France, to face the charges have been "unsuccessful or deemed futile." Acting U.S. Attorney Joon Kim in Manhattan asked a federal judge for permission to drop charges that included securities fraud, wire fraud and falsifying records. Martin-Artajo and Grout were indicted in September 2013. "After four long years of protracted litigation, we are very pleased that the government has decided to do the right thing, and dismiss the criminal case," Grout''s lawyer, Edward Little, said. Lawyers for Martin-Artajo did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The dismissal request marks a fresh setback in U.S. efforts to prosecute individuals for financial crimes. This has included the undoing of several insider trading convictions and pleas that had been won by Kim''s predecessor Preet Bharara. It has also included this week''s overturning of the convictions of two former Rabobank NA [RABO.UL] traders for rigging the Libor interest rate benchmark. Martin-Artajo and Grout were accused of hiding hundreds of millions of dollars of losses within JPMorgan''s chief investment office (CIO) in London by marking positions in a credit derivatives portfolio at inflated prices. These losses were part of the $6.2 billion loss centred on Iksil, who Martin-Artajo supervised and Grout worked for. The scandal briefly hurt the reputation of JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon, who initially called it a "tempest in a teapot." JPMorgan ultimately paid more than $1 billion and admitted wrongdoing to settle related U.S. and British probes. Ina Drew, who led the CIO, retired soon after the losses surfaced. Iksil has chafed at the London Whale moniker and being portrayed as solely at fault for the losses. In a February 2016 letter released to the media, Iksil, a French national, said he had been "instructed repeatedly" by senior management in the CIO to execute the trading strategy that caused the losses. Martin-Artajo and Grout still face U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission civil charges. Iksil''s lawyer and JPMorgan did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The cases are U.S. v. Martin-Artajo et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 13-cr-00707; and SEC v Martin-Artajo et al in the same court, No. 13-05677. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Sandra Maler and Leslie Adler 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-jpmorgan-londonwhale-idUKKBN1A62OG'|'2017-07-22T00:09:00.000+03:00' +'b0e75efb9f0e983740e143426adea15ebe634e0b'|'An overhaul of Brazilian labour law should spur job creation'|'IN THE litany of bosses gripes about Brazils inclement business climate, rigid labour laws vie for pride of place with its convoluted tax laws and its licensing rules (on everything from health and safety to protection of cultural heritage). No wonder: Brazil ranks a miserable 117th out of 138 countries on labour-market efficiency, according to the World Economic Forum. Its rigid labour law was transplanted from Benito Mussolinis Italy in 1943. Employers find it thoroughly unsuited to a modern economy and cheered on July 13th, when the president, Michel Temer, signed into law the biggest overhaul of the unwieldy statute in 50 years.The reform is a big victory for the unpopular Mr Temer, who is under investigation in a corruption scandal (he denies wrongdoing). It introduces more flexible working hours, eases restrictions on part-time work, relaxes how workers can divvy up their holidays and cuts the statutory lunch hour to 30 minutes. It also scraps dues that all employees must pay to their companys designated union, regardless of whether or not they are members. Just as important, collective agreements between employers and workers will overrule many of the labour codes provisions. Once the new rules take effect in four months time, they will be valid for existing employment contracts, not just new ones. Mr Temer hopes they will dent Brazils unemployment rate, stuck above 13% after a three-year recession.Bosses are ecstatic about the changes. The National Confederation of Industry said that the reform represents longed-for progress. Banco Santander, a Spanish-owned bank, said it reckons the reform could eventually lead to the creation of 2.3m new jobs.Small firms also have much to gain. The new rules formalise what we now do informally, enthuses a So Paulo caterer. The bank of actual hours worked by her cooks and waiters, necessary in a business where inflexible nine-to-five contracts make little sense, will now be legal. An executive at a European multinational says that an unofficial spreadsheet that keeps track of his employees real time off, which he confesses to maintaining alongside an official tally of employees annual 30 vacation days, can also be consigned to the dustbin. (The old law said that leave had to be split into at most two segments, with one holiday lasting at least 20 days.)Such ruses have been common in Brazilian workplaces, but are risky. Employees who leave or are laid off regularly sue employers over the slightest of transgressions of the labour code, spurred on by litigious lawyers. Last year Brazils labour courts heard nearly 4m cases (see chart), mostly brought by aggrieved workers. Fines levied on firms totalled 24bn reais ($7bn).The reform ought to reduce such legal risks, which can afflict firms whether they observe the rules or not. Gabriel Margulies, whose company, UnderMe, produces 50,000 pairs of undergarments a month, says he will at last be able to grant requests to staff who would prefer, say, to go home early in exchange for a shorter lunch break. Until now he has declined for fear of losing in court. That has not stopped former employees from suing in the hope that Brazils famously worker-friendly judges side with them. Even unsuccessful suits are an unwelcome distraction from running a business, Mr Margulies laments.Maurcio Guidi of Pinheiro Neto, a firm of lawyers, observes that the reform might even change this confrontational workplace culture into a more consensual one. But it remains to be seen how the labour unions will react, notes Marcelo Silva, vice-chairman of Magazine Luiza, a big retailer. The main union confederations have condemned the reform. They fume about the loss of revenue from dues. To placate them, Mr Temer has hinted he may amend the reform by decree, which is subject to a simple up-or-down vote in Congress, in order to phase out the obligatory dues gradually (and possibly water down some other provisions). But he cannot go too far. The only way for the scandal-hit president to keep his job may be to help some of his 13.8m unemployed compatriots find work.This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "Bye-bye, Benito"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/business/21725321-michel-temers-reform-has-teeth-overhaul-brazilian-labour-law-should-spur-job-creation?fsrc=rss'|'2017-07-20T22:44:00.000+03:00' +'2fbf0d4475e8a65ff11d2bc22f7797778f3bd702'|'Motor insurer St Julians plans to move to Gibraltar from Malta'|' 9:59am BST Motor insurer St Julians plans to move to Gibraltar from Malta LONDON UK-focused motor insurer St Julians, owned by Markerstudy, is considering moving to Gibraltar from Malta as a result of Britain''s vote to leave the European Union, Markerstudy said on Friday. "An application to re-domicile St Julians has been submitted to the Malta Financial Services Authority in order to protect the business and enable the insurer to continue trading with the UK," Markerstudy said in a statement. "The favoured proposal is to move the operation to Gibraltar." Markerstudy already has two insurance firms in Gibraltar focusing on UK business, Markerstudy Insurance and Zenith Insurance. (Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; editing by Simon Jessop)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-st-julians-idUKKBN19S157'|'2017-07-07T11:59:00.000+03:00' +'8b936fbd50b36778e2c45c640e406d47134632ed'|'Exclusive - Germany wants more EU sanctions on Russia over Siemens Crimea turbines: sources'|'July 24, 2017 / 10:20 AM / an hour ago Exclusive - Germany wants more EU sanctions on Russia over Siemens Crimea turbines: sources Gabriela Baczynska 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: The Siemens AG headquarters is seen in Munich, Germany, June 14, 2016. Michaela Rehle/File Photo BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Germany is urging the European Union to add up to four more Russian nationals and companies to the bloc''s sanctions blacklist over Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ) gas turbines delivered to Moscow-annexed Crimea, two sources in Brussels said. The EU has barred its firms from doing business with Crimea since the 2014 annexation, imposed sanctions on Russian individuals and entities, and curbed cooperation with Russia in energy, arms and finance over its role in the crisis in Ukraine. After it annexed Crimea from Kiev, Moscow threw its support behind a separatist rebellion in eastern Ukraine, which has killed more than 10,000 people and is still simmering. The EU''s blacklist comprises 150 people and 37 entities subject to an asset freeze and a travel ban. The restrictions are in place until Sept. 15. "The regular review would normally be the moment to look at who is on the list. In the past, when there were good grounds, we''ve added entries to the list," an EU official said. Related Coverage Siemens, trying to distance itself from the scandal, last week said it was halting deliveries of power equipment to Russian state-controlled customers and reviewing supply deals. Russia''s Energy Minister Alexander Novak played down the potential consequences of a halt. "What Siemens supplies can be delivered by other companies," Novak told reporters in St Petersburg. "As for electricity generation, we ... have now learnt to produce the necessary equipment," he said, without referring to the prospect of additional sanctions. FILE PHOTO: A still image taken from video footage shows blue tarpaulins covering equipment at the port of Feodosia, Crimea July 11, 2017. Video footage taken July 11, 2017. Staff/File Photo Sanctions Regime Siemens says it has evidence that all four turbines it delivered for a project in southern Russia had been illegally moved to Crimea. German government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer said on Monday the turbines were delivered to Crimea against the terms of the contract and despite high-ranking assurances from Russian officials that this would not happen. Berlin was consulting on what consequences this "unacceptable" operation might have, she said, adding, however, that the onus was on companies to ensure they did not violate the sanctions regime. The proposed additions to the blacklist could include Russian Energy Ministry officials and the Russian company that moved the turbines to the Black Sea peninsula, one senior diplomatic source in Brussels said. Another source said representatives of all 28 EU member states could discuss the matter for the first time in Brussels as soon as Wednesday. The EU needs unanimity to impose or extend any sanctions. Hungary, Bulgaria, Italy and Cyprus are among EU states which are usually sceptical of Russia sanctions. They take the line that punitive measures have failed to force a change of course by Moscow while hurting European business. Reuters first reported a year ago on the Siemens case, which has exposed the difficulties of imposing EU sanctions. Additional reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin in St Petersburg, Gernot Heller in Berlin; Editing by Alison Williams 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ukraine-crisis-crimea-siemens-eu-idUKKBN1A914I'|'2017-07-24T13:20:00.000+03:00' +'bec43c4c37c7f2ab0a9726dca1bcb7875f6832af'|'EU clears Italy''s $6 bln state bailout for Monte dei Paschi'|'July 4, 2017 / 1:46 PM / 8 minutes ago EU clears Italy''s $6 billion state bailout for Monte dei Paschi 4 Min Read A Monte dei Paschi di Siena advertisement is seen on a screen in a bank window in downtown Milan, Italy, January 14, 2016. Stefano Rellandini/File Photo BRUSSELS/MILAN/ROME (Reuters) - The European Union has approved a state bailout of Italy''s fourth-largest lender, Monte dei Paschi di Siena ( BMPS.MI ), taking the total amount of Italian taxpayer funds deployed to rescue banks over the past week to more than 20 billion euros ($23 billion). Outside Greece, Europe has not seen such big state bailouts since the aftermath of the global financial crisis, raising political concerns about the continued use of public funds to mop up losses at badly run banks despite the introduction of new EU rules designed to prevent this. In a statement on Tuesday, EU state aid regulators said Rome could inject 5.4 billion euros ($6 billion) into Monte dei Paschi after the bank agreed to a drastic overhaul, including the transfer of bad loans to a special vehicle and a salary cap for senior managers. The bank''s overall capital shortfall is 8.1 billion euros, an Italian Treasury official said, down from the 8.8 billion euros previously calculated by the European Central Bank. Monte dei Paschi, the world''s oldest bank, turned to the state for a bailout after failing to raise 5 billion euros on the market to shore up its capital. Barely a week ago Italy pledged up to 17 billion euros, mostly in guarantees, to prevent senior bondholders, depositors and staff from being hit by the winding up of two regional banks, Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca. That deal also involved Italy''s biggest retail bank, Intesa Sanpaolo ( ISP.MI ), acquiring the two banks'' best assets for a token euro. The Italian government believes a profit can still be made from the bailouts. "I am confident state money will be recouped, perhaps at a premium," finance minister Pier Carlo Padoan said on Tuesday, referring to Monte dei Paschi. Viable Monte dei Paschi''s five-year restructuring plan, due to be presented on Wednesday, will ensure the Tuscan bank''s long-term viability, EU state aid regulators said on Tuesday. As part of the overhaul Monte Paschi will transfer 26.1 billion euros to a privately funded special vehicle on market terms, with the operation partially funded by Italian bank rescue fund Atlante II. It will also change its business model to focus on retail customers, and small- and medium-sized companies. Monte dei Paschi said late last year it would be seeking a "precautionary recapitalisation" under EU state-aid rules after its attempt to raise capital from private investors failed. According to Padoan the state will take a 70 percent stake in the Tuscan bank while the lender''s chairman said the state would exit in 2021. "This capital injection could only be approved after junior bondholders and shareholders have contributed to the costs of restructuring, in line with "burden-sharing" requirements under EU state aid rules," said EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager. Besides the state capital injection junior bondholders and shareholders will contribute 4.3 billion euros from the conversion of junior bonds into equity. At the same time Monte dei Paschi has earmarked 1.5 billion euros to compensate retail junior bondholders who are the victims of mis-selling, it added. Burdened by bad loans and a mismanagement scandal, Monte dei Paschi has been at the forefront of Italy''s slow-moving banking crisis. It emerged as Europe''s weakest lender in stress tests last July. ($1 = 0.8812 euros) Reporting by Foo Yun Chee in Brussels , Stephen Jewkes in Milan and Antonella Cinelli in Rome; Editing by Greg Mahlich 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-eu-montepaschi-stateaid-idINKBN19P1PQ'|'2017-07-04T20:57:00.000+03:00' +'82a35bda490a97a1d601f42188e0d9afe381d60f'|'BlackRock supports effort to boost number of women board members'|'July 14, 2017 / 3:21 AM / 10 hours ago BlackRock supports effort to boost number of women board members Trevor Hunnicutt 3 Min Read The BlackRock logo is seen outside of its offices in New York January 18, 2012. B Shannon Stapleton/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - BlackRock Inc ( BLK.N ) voted for eight proposals pushing U.S. and Canadian companies to adopt policies boosting their boards'' diversity during the most recent quarter, the world''s largest asset manager said on Thursday. BlackRock said it supported the shareholder motions to press companies to develop or disclose policies geared to promote gender diversity. It did not name the companies it pushed but said the "majority" had boards of directors lacking women. "We''ve been particularly focused on increasing the number of women on U.S. boards because progress in the U.S. has been slower than in many other markets," BlackRock said in a report it distributed. "Board diversity, particularly in terms of gender, is important from a sustainable investment perspective, given that diverse groups have been demonstrated to make better decisions," it added. "This appears to be because they are better able to consider, where appropriate, alternatives to current strategies - a proposition that can ultimately lead to sustained value creation." Women hold about a fifth of board seats in the S&P 500 .SPX index, according to Catalyst Inc, an advocacy group. BlackRock said it also voted against board members at five companies who sat on nominating committees but failed to respond to investors'' concerns about diversity. It was the first year the company "decided to vote against members of the nomination committee of men-only boards in a more systematic manner," a spokesman said, although it had engaged on the topic of gender diversity for "many years." The New York-based company manages more than $5.4 trillion in assets, many in index funds that buy broad swaths of the market, making it a top shareholder in most public companies. It has been pressured by activists and investors to back shareholder-fronted propositions and vote against obstinate boards to prompt better corporate citizenship. Chief Executive Larry Fink has encouraged executives to adjust their behavior to focus on generating long-term value for shareholders, rather than meeting short-term earnings targets. Breaking with prior practice, BlackRock this year publicly disclosed opposition to practices at oil company Exxon Mobil Corp ( XOM.N ), drugmaker Mylan NV ( MYL.O ) and other firms over climate change, compensation and other policies. BlackRock''s own board includes 17 members, four of whom are women. Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Clarence Fernandez 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-blackrock-women-idUSKBN19Z09C'|'2017-07-14T06:21:00.000+03:00' +'ccaa97ce963b2210d35ee6a57e7e774325c6073a'|'Akzo Nobel says CEO Buechner steps down, cites health reasons'|'July 19, 2017 / 6:04 AM / 13 minutes ago Akzo Nobel says CEO Buechner steps down, cites health reasons 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Akzo Nobel''s logo is seen in Amsterdam, Netherlands, February 16, 2012. Robin van Lonkhuijsen/United Photos/File Photo AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch paintmaker Akzo Nobel ( AKZO.AS ) on Wednesday said Ton Buechner was stepping down as CEO due to health reasons, and would be replaced by the company''s current chemicals division chief, Thierry Vanlancker. Earlier this year, Buechner, 52, repelled a takeover attempt from U.S. rival PPG Industries ( PPG.N ). "For me this was an extraordinarily difficult decision to make but my focus must now be on my health," Buechner said. The company did not immediately specify details of Buechner''s illness. The surprise announcement means that Buechner''s tenure at Akzo Nobel has ended almost as it began. In September 2012, a half year after he took the top job, Buechner stepped down on his doctor''s advice, suffering from what was described as "over-tiredness." After several delays, he resumed work in December the same year. Vanlancker, who joined the company in 2016, has been expected to oversee the sale or IPO of Akzo Nobel''s speciality chemicals division. A Belgian, Vanlancker had previously worked for Chemours, which was spun off from DuPont in 2015. Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Amrutha Gayathri 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-akzo-nobel-ceo-idUKKBN1A40EB'|'2017-07-19T09:04:00.000+03:00' +'48c25581d581ed1c2c1e9dd584bd431a285d8671'|'Corrected: Elliott says considering $18.5 billion deal for Oncor'|'July 10, 2017 / 1:12 PM / in 19 minutes Elliott says considering $18.5 billion deal for Oncor 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Paul Singer, founder and president of Elliott Management Corporation, speaks at WSJD Live conference in Laguna Beach, California, U.S., October 25, 2016. Mike Blake (Reuters) - Elliott Management, the largest creditor of the bankrupt parent of Oncor Electric Delivery Co, said it was putting together an offer that values the utility at about $18.5 billion, including debt. Warren Buffett''s Berkshire Hathaway ( BRKa.N ) made a $9 billion offer on Friday for Oncor''s parent, Energy Future Holdings Corp, valuing the utility at $18.1 billion. Elliott, run by billionaire Paul Singer, said on Monday it was working on a $9.3 billion offer for Energy Future. In a letter to the board of Energy Future, Elliott said it would support a deal with Berkshire or a third party if those bids exceeded the value proposed by the hedge fund. "We fear that the Berkshire transaction does not provide such value," the hedge fund said. Elliott also said any transaction for Oncor other than one led by creditors would increase regulatory risks. ( bit.ly/2u94mMN ) Elliott''s bid would be a rare challenge to Buffett, who avoids auctions for companies and has told his investors he does not like to participate in bidding wars. Dallas-based Oncor delivers power to more than 3.4 million homes and businesses through roughly 122,000 miles (196,000 km) of transmission and distribution lines. Oncor did not immediately comment on Elliott''s letter, while Berkshire was not immediately available. Elliott declined to comment. (This version of the story corrects spelling of "Buffett" in paragraph 2) Reporting By Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-oncor-m-a-elliott-idINKBN19V1JM'|'2017-07-10T18:34:00.000+03:00' +'527daf1779e502a0f233df0a0f888ca03e067339'|'Australia''s Fairfax ends talks with PE suitors without formal bid'|'Deals - Sun Jul 2, 2017 - 11:03pm EDT Australia''s Fairfax ends talks with PE suitors without formal bid FILE PHOTO: People walk outside the Fairfax Media headquarters building in Sydney, Australia, May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Reed By Byron Kaye and Tom Westbrook - SYDNEY SYDNEY Australian newspaper publisher Fairfax Media Ltd said two private equity firms withdrew from rival takeover bids worth up to A$2.9 billion ($2.2 billion), leaving it to proceed with demerger plans and sending its shares sharply lower. The country''s oldest newspaper house, owner of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian Financial Review, was midway through spinning off its property listings unit when TPG Capital Management LP and Hellman & Friedman made buyout approaches in May. With neither firm lodging a binding offer by a June 30 deadline, Sydney-headquartered Fairfax said it would now press ahead with a break-up which would see it list its biggest revenue generator, Domain. "It appeared that the complication of our business was such that they didn''t want to bid for the whole business," Fairfax Chairman Nick Falloon told an analyst briefing on Monday morning. Fairfax shares fell as much as 13 percent, hitting their lowest intraday level since March, 92 cents, compared with the higher of the private equity indicative bids, A$1.25. The stock traded at A$5.00 in 2007. Traditional media companies around the world have been in decline as customers seek content more cheaply online and advertisers focus their spending on internet giants like Facebook Inc and Google. Domain however has benefited from a property boom in Sydney and Melbourne. A standalone Domain listing will see it compete more directly with REA Group Ltd, a property classifieds business two-thirds owned by News Corp. SILVER LINING REA shares have doubled in two years and Fairfax shareholders have long hoped for similar returns from a Domain listing, with Fairfax keeping up to 70 percent of the unit. "Domain''s continuing to grow and ... get closer to REA," said Reece Birtles, managing director at fund manager Martin Currie Australia, Fairfax''s second-biggest shareholder. "The digitization of the traditional newspaper business is removing significant costs, so we think they have a good future." Fairfax said that while overall revenue fell about 6 percent for the year to June 30, Domain''s revenue grew about 10 percent, including an increase of 22 percent in digital revenue. It said it expected to report pre-tax profit between $262 million and A$266 million for the year, in line with analyst expectations and down as much 7.5 percent on the previous year. A Hellman & Friedman spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment. TPG confirmed on Sunday that it had abandoned its bid without offering an explanation. The troubles for Australia''s media are not limited to newspapers. Free-to-air television broadcaster Ten Network Holdings Ltd said on Monday receivers had been appointed and it had secured funding to stay afloat until Aug. 31. (Reporting by Byron Kaye and Tom Westbrook; Editing by Stephen Coates) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-fairfax-media-m-a-idUSKBN19N0YJ'|'2017-07-03T02:22:00.000+03:00' +'2b294fb7856d459a4b8d6c6ae23c6781da15c2c2'|'Wall Street Journal adds top jobs in digital push'|'July 12, 2017 / 9:08 PM / 10 hours ago Wall Street Journal adds top jobs in digital push Sheila Dang 2 Min Read Gerard Baker welcomes participants to the Wall Street Journal''s CEO Council annual meeting in Washington November 18, 2013. Jonathan Ernst (Reuters) - The Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday it was adding more than a dozen new senior positions in a newsroom revamp to deliver news faster, with more visuals, as readers increasingly rely on smartphones. Deputy Editor in Chief Matt Murray will be promoted to executive editor, and editors for digital content strategy and strategic initiatives will be added, the Journal said in internal memo to employees reviewed by Reuters. It is also streamlining its editing process, building a newsroom focused on mobile content and promoting diversity. The total newsroom headcount will remain "roughly stable," it added. The reorganization is part of the paper''s WSJ 2020 initiative announced in October by Dow Jones & Co, the News Corp ( NWSA.O ) subsidiary that also owns The Wall Street Journal. The Journal, which News Corp Executive Chairman Rupert Murdoch bought in 2007, offered all news employees a buyout as part of the plan. In Wednesday''s memo, Journal Editor in Chief Gerard Baker emphasized the need for more diversity in the newsroom. "If we are to thrive in the competitive environment newspapers face, we must ensure that we are hiring and promoting the best people," the memo stated. In February, Rebecca Blumenstein resigned as deputy editor in chief to join the New York Times as deputy managing editor. Reporters and editors at the Journal signed a letter to Baker and Murray in March voicing concerns about the lack of gender and racial diversity among the staff, according to the letter reviewed by Reuters. In November, the Journal folded the Greater New York section into another section of the print newspaper and merged other sections like Business & Tech and Money & Investing. News Corp reported a 5.1 percent increase in third-quarter advertising revenue, partially offset by weak print advertising. Additional reporting by Jessica Toonkel; Editing by Anna Driver and Richard Chang 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-news-corp-wall-street-journal-reorgan-idUSKBN19X2VR'|'2017-07-13T00:12:00.000+03:00' +'71efc0a3b55fe4bfda9a251beed956e9e62edf22'|'Corvex urges Clariant shareholders to reject Huntsman merger'|'Business News - Tue Jul 4, 2017 - 8:37am BST Corvex, NYC property group seek to scuttle Clariant-Huntsman deal FILE PHOTO: CEO Hariolf Kottmann of Swiss chemical company Clariant addresses a news conference in Zurich, Switzerland May 22, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann By John Miller - ZURICH ZURICH Activist investor Keith Meister''s Corvex hedge fund and New York''s 40 North said on Tuesday they had taken a 7.2 percent stake in Clariant ( CLN.S ) and oppose the Swiss chemical maker''s planned merge with Huntsman Corp ( HUN.N ). "There are excellent opportunities to unlock value from the many high quality businesses that currently comprise Clariant," a spokesman for White Tale, the vehicle they created to take the stake, said. "Unfortunately, we do not believe that the proposed merger with the Huntsman Corporation is one of those options." Meister, a Carl Icahn protege, with Corvex manages assets worth $6 billion (4.64 billion pounds) and took a 5.5 percent stake in communications company Century Inc ( CTL.N ) earlier this year. 40 North, run by New York real estate investor David Winter and former Bear, Stearns & Company financial analyst David Millstone, previously held a stake in Clariant before linking with Corvex in their bid to overturn the Huntsman deal. Clariant, which on Tuesday noted the increased investment by Corvex without addressing Corvex''s opposition to the merger, said it has been in contact with the hedge fund since last year when it initially took a stake. "As with all our shareholders we maintain an open dialogue with them," a Clariant spokesman said. Huntsman did not return a phone call seeking immediate comment. Clariant and Huntsman in May announced a merger valued at around $20 billion including debt in which Clariant shareholders would hold 52 percent of the combination. At the time, they talked up the friendship between chief executives Hariolf Kottmann and Peter Huntsman as well as prospects for faster growth for the combined company as rationale for "a merger of equals". The deal, creating a company with about $13 billion in annual sales, had the support of German families that own almost 14 percent of the Swiss group. CONGLOMERATE DISCOUNT Some analysts said the transaction makes sense, in particular after Huntsman spins off its Venator materials segment in an IPO. "Huntsmans portfolio, after the pending Venator spin-off, offers a highly complementary growth portfolio, in our view - complementary in a way that it puts both companies on a sounder, broader footing," Kepler Cheuvreux''s Christian Faitz said. Still, Corvex and 40 North contend the transaction lacks strategic rationale and runs against Clariant''s strategy of becoming a pure-play specialty chemicals company. "By merging with Huntsman, Clariant will be exchanging almost half its shares for what is primarily a commodity and intermediates business which will further dilute its multiple and create a larger conglomerate discount," the White Tale spokesman said. "Shareholders ought to reject this value destructive merger," they said. No date has yet been set for shareholders to vote on the merger, a spokesman for Clariant said. Clariant shares were up 3 percent and Huntsman was up 1.6 percent on Tuesday following news of the stake purchase. Clariant shares have risen nearly 6 percent since the merger was announced. Huntsman stock have fallen 1.25 percent. (Reporting by John Miller; editing by John Revill and Jason Neely) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-clariant-m-a-huntsman-idUKKBN19P0I1'|'2017-07-04T08:39:00.000+03:00' +'5d742da3d101ea9168acea37d63ff3b8d84ffb75'|'Russia''s VEB inks 6 billion yuan deal with China Development Bank'|'Business News - Tue Jul 4, 2017 - 11:41am BST Russia''s VEB inks 6 billion yuan deal with China Development Bank FILE PHOTO: The logo of Russian state development bank Vnesheconombank (VEB) is seen on a board at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2017 (SPIEF 2017) in St. Petersburg, Russia, June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin MOSCOW Russian state development bank VEB signed an agreement on Tuesday to attract 6 billion yuan (682 million) from China Development Bank for innovations, including the development of blockchain technologies, VEB head Sergei Gorkov told reporters. Blockchain technology provides an electronic record-keeping and transaction-processing system, which lets all parties track documentation through a secure network and requires no third-party verification. In a separate statement on Tuesday on the deal, VEB said it had signed a framework agreement with China Development Bank under which the Russian lender will receive 50 billion roubles ($844 million) in financing over 15 years. VEB is under Western sanctions over the Ukraine conflict and therefore cannot raise long-term financing from U.S. and European investors. VEB has been grappling with a mountain of bad debt after projects in Russia such as construction for the Sochi Winter Olympics. The framework agreement was signed during Chinese President Xi Jinping''s visit to Moscow. The financing will be in the form of participation in private equity funds and the repurchase of bond issues. It will be targeted at supporting high-tech and innovative projects. The money provided "can be used to finance projects in energy, transport, industrial and energy infrastructure, cross-border projects in Siberia and the Far East," Gorkov said in a statement. China Development Bank has been a partner of VEB for about 11 years and has signed credit agreements with VEB for more than $10 billion, the statement said. (Reporting by Denis Dyomkin and Kira Zavyalova; writing by Dmitry Solovyov and Polina Nikolskaya; editing by Katya Golubkova and Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-china-banks-blockchain-idUKKBN19P17H'|'2017-07-04T13:41:00.000+03:00' +'b98e1508d8acf6aeee719be0a5d0fa9557e38f8a'|'France''s Alstom in deal to build metro carriages in Iran'|'July 24, 2017 / 1:16 PM / 4 hours ago France''s Alstom in deal to build metro carriages in Iran Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A scale model of an AGV high speed train with the logo of Alstom is seen before a news conference to present the company''s full year 2016/17 annual results in Saint-Ouen, near Paris, France, May 4, 2017. Gonzalo Fuentes - RTS154NV DUBAI (Reuters) - French train maker and manufacturing group Alstom ( ALSO.PA ) has signed a deal to enter into a joint venture that will build metro and suburban rail carriages in Iran, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported on Monday. Alstom is partnering with the Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran, an investment fund active throughout the country''s industry, and Iranian Rail Industries Development Co, according to the preliminary accord signed late on Sunday, Mehr added. Alstom will hold 60 percent of the project, Mehr added, without giving the value of the deal. Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Dale Hudson 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iran-transportation-alstom-idUKKBN1A91NV'|'2017-07-24T16:15:00.000+03:00' +'06eef66bf41ac75dd49c317d2f0a13f486df38a1'|'Tide turns for sulphur-rich oil in a sea of light crude'|'July 13, 2017 / 12:53 PM / an hour ago Tide turns for sulphur-rich oil in a sea of light crude Libby George and Amanda Cooper 3 Min Read An area of the mile long Ekofisk oil and gas field development complex in the middle of the North Sea at a point two hundred miles from Norway, the British Isles, and Germany, is pictured in this undated handout photo. Eon/Handout/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - The world is awash with oil, but in pockets of the market lower-quality, sulphur-rich crude is limited and buyers are competing for cargoes. Lacklustre gasoline demand growth, particularly in the United States, and fears of a repeat of last year''s poor summer gasoline profits, led refineries in the Atlantic Basin to skew their yields in favour of distillates, by running heavier oil. Strong profits for fuel oil has also encouraged refineries to run sour crudes. This has compounded supply cuts, which were concentrated in heavier oils, to keep sulphur-rich crudes, normally shunned for lighter, easier-to-process alternatives, at the top of the heap. Since OPEC-organised cuts began siphoning some 1.8 million bpd from the market in January nearly all of it medium and heavy oil the so-called "heavy" or "sour" grades have become the most sought-after barrels. Normally, refineries would snap up easier to process light grades before the summer, when they aim to run the gasoline-rich crude so they can sell the fuel to holidaying drivers. But now, in the middle of July, sour grades are still so sought after that differentials are hitting multi-year highs. "Sour grades are like gold dust at the moment," one oil trader said. "There''s a need to fill in more sour grades heading to the U.S. and there is huge demand from the East." Differentials for Urals, a sour grade exported from the Baltics and the Black Sea, are trading at their highest level versus dated Brent in two years, while light grades nearby such as CPC Blend and Azeri are at two-year lows. North Sea Ekofisk, a light crude coveted for its high gasoline yield, is also trading at its largest discount to sour Forties in two years, as are differentials for Angola''s Cabinda. Despite a summer slowdown in loadings for China, a key buyer of Angolan oil, U.S. and Indian loadings rose to their highest in roughly a year, according to Reuters tracking. "It''s an oversupplied sweet market, but a tight medium and heavy sour market," said Ehsan Ul-Haq, director of crude oil and refined products at Resource Economist Ltd. Most of the oversupply including millions of barrels from Libya and Nigeria which are exempt from the OPEC production cuts, and output from U.S. shale is light crude oil. At the same time new and sophisticated refineries in India and China designed to run sulphur-rich crudes are ramping up production. India''s IOC bought its first sour crude oil cargo from the U.S. last week. Ul-Haq added that since refineries are poised to start producing heating oil for winter demand, refineries could look for even more sour oils, threatening more tightness. Still, Ul-Haq added, the sour premiums are limited comfort to those selling the oil, including Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Angola. "The Saudis should be happier than Nigerians but a price below $60 per barrel is still a headache," he said. Benchmark Brent crude was below $48 a barrel on Thursday. Reporting by Libby George and Amanda Cooper; additional reporting by Florence Tan in Singapore and Julia Payne in London; editing by Susan Thomas 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/opec-cuts-grades-idINKBN19Y1HB'|'2017-07-13T15:51:00.000+03:00' +'83847261b1f8519411950f9546da980f0563def6'|'Morning News Call - India, July 14'|'July 14, 2017 / 3:21 AM / 2 hours ago Morning News Call - India, July 14 6 Min Read To access the newsletter, click on the link: here If you would like to receive this newsletter via email, please register at: here FACTORS TO WATCH 9:00 am: Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor S.S. Mundra to speak at India Banking Reforms Conclave in Mumbai. 10:00 am: Farm Minister Radha Mohan Singh and NITI Aayog Member Ramesh Chand at National Summit on agriculture marketing solutions in New Delhi. 10:30 am: Hero Motocorp annual shareholders meeting in New Delhi. 12:00 pm: Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari to meet committee set up to study redevelopment of port hospitals on PPP basis in New Delhi. 12:00 pm: Government to release June wholesale inflation data in New Delhi. 2:50 pm: Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu and Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha to launch passenger and freight business initiatives in New Delhi. 5:00 pm: Reserve Bank of India to release weekly foreign exchange data in Mumbai. 5:30 pm: Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha at IPTV Society anniversary event in New Delhi. LIVECHAT - QUIZ EAST The first of our Friday quizzes focuses on Asia and the week''s top news. Tests your wits and googling speed. To join the conversation at 11:00 am IST, click on the link: here INDIA TOP NEWS Tata Consultancy upbeat on client spending after Q1 profit dip Top Indian software services exporter Tata Consultancy Services said on Thursday it was optimistic about client spending on technology even as a cautious global environment and a stronger rupee dented first-quarter profit. Floods in India''s northeast kill 40; endanger rare one-horned rhinos Floods in northeast India that have killed at least 40 people and displaced nearly 1.5 million have also inundated a national park that is home to the world''s largest concentration of one-horned rhinoceros. Jaguar Land Rover to produce first car entirely outside of Britain Britain''s biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover said on Thursday it is to build its new E-PACE compact sport utility vehicle in Austria and China, the first of its cars only to be manufactured outside of its home market. GLOBAL TOP NEWS Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo dies in custody, struck by liver cancer Chinese Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo, a prominent dissident since the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests, died on Thursday after being denied permission to leave the country for treatment for late-stage liver cancer. New U.S. Senate Republicans healthcare bill already in trouble Senate Republican leaders released on Thursday a revised plan to dismantle the Obamacare law, but it drew criticism from senators on both sides of the political divide within the Republican party, indicating a treacherous path for the bill. Fitch affirms China''s A+ rating with stable outlook Fitch Ratings on Friday maintained its A+ rating on China with a stable outlook, citing the strength of the country''s external finances and macroeconomic record. LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK (As reported by NewsRise) The SGX Nifty Futures were at 9,903.50, up 0.09 percent from previous close. The Indian rupee will likely be little changed against the dollar in early trade, as traders stay cautious and shift focus to upcoming U.S. inflation data for cues on trajectory and pace of interest rate hikes in the worlds biggest economy. Indian government bonds are likely to open little changed as investors may defer purchases from the secondary market ahead of a weekly debt auction. The yield on the benchmark 6.79 percent bond maturing in 2027 is likely to trade in a 6.44 percent-6.49 percent band. GLOBAL MARKETS Wall Street posted slight gains on Thursday and the Dow hit another record high close, with financials rising ahead of profit reports due Friday from several big U.S. banks. Global stocks scaled record highs, with Asian equities rising for the fifth straight session, as signs the Federal Reserve will pursue a gradual rate tightening path and hopes of a strong earnings season lifted appetite for risk assets. The dollar trod water against a group of peers, as currency investors remained cautious ahead of U.S. inflation data due later in the session, which is expected to set the greenback''s near-term direction. U.S. Treasury yields rose on Thursday after falling for three straight days, tracking gains in German bond yields with solid U.S. economic data supporting their trend higher. Oil markets dipped, pulled down by high fuel inventories and improving industry efficiency, but were still on track for a solid weekly gain. Gold was little changed after snapping three days of gains in the previous session, and was set for its first weekly rise in three weeks as the dollar and equities steadied. CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT PNDF spot 64.44/64.47 July 13 -- -$31.87 mln 10-yr bond yield 6.84 pct Month-to-date -$134.30 mln $1.44 bln Year-to-date $8.46 bln $19.44 bln For additional data: India govt bond market volumes Stock market reports Non-deliverable forwards data Corporate debt stories [IN CORPD] Local market closing/intraday levels [IN SNAPSHOT] Monthly inflows [INFLOWS RTRS TABLE IN] ($1 = 64.44 Indian rupees) (Compiled by Benny Thomas in Bengaluru) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/india-morningcall-idUSL4N1K51BN'|'2017-07-14T06:18:00.000+03:00' +'f43913a4fddaea769e4546218fdf5edb287cba95'|'Court reinstates Uber ban in second-biggest Czech city'|'July 19, 2017 / 1:16 PM / 2 hours ago Court reinstates Uber ban in second-biggest Czech city 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The logo of Uber is seen on an iPad, during a news conference to announce Uber resumes ride-hailing service, in Taipei, Taiwan April 13, 2017. Tyrone Siu PRAGUE (Reuters) - A Czech regional court on Wednesday reinstated its ban preventing ride-hailing service Uber from operating in Brno, the country''s second-largest city, the court spokeswoman said. The court had already issued an injunction in April after the Brno city council argued Uber drivers should have to undergotests and to equip their cars with meters like a regular taxiservice. A regional appeals court dismissed the injunction for having insufficient reasons, returning the case to the same lower court. Uber, formally Uber Technologies [UBER.UL], has been operating in other parts of the Czech Republic, including the capital Prague since 2014. Uber, which expanded into Europe more than fiveyears ago, has come under attack from established taxi companiesand some European Union countries because it is not bound bylocal licensing and safety rules that apply to some of itscompetitors. Reporting by Robert Muller, editing by Louise Heavens 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-czech-idUSKBN1A41DT'|'2017-07-19T15:59:00.000+03:00' +'9e3e0830bd56f901b6858520f05345ee5028e5d5'|'Hedge fund Third Point bets on Alibaba, again'|'FILE PHOTO: Daniel S. Loeb, founder of Third Point LLC, participates in a panel discussion during the Skybridge Alternatives (SALT) Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada May 9, 2012. Steve Marcus/File Photo BOSTON (Reuters) - Hedge fund Third Point made a new bet on Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba during the second quarter and told investors in a letter that it was still finding attractive new opportunities even as the stock market has surged this year.The $16.5 billion New York-based firm, run by Daniel Loeb, gained 10.7 percent in the first half, making it one of a small number of hedge funds that beat the Standard & Poor''s 500 index''s 9.3 percent gain. The average hedge fund returned 3.68 percent in the first half, HFR data show.Calling Alibaba one of the "best business models in the global internet sector" and a "clear winner in the consolidated Chinese ecommerce market," Loeb said the company stands to benefit from changes it made to its advertising platform. Reuters saw a copy of the letter.The company listed its shares in the United States two years ago and immediately attracted wide hedge fund ownership which quickly dwindled after the listing.As part of Third Point''s focus on international investments, Loeb also underscored his bets on European stocks where the firm''s exposure is now at its highest level since 2010. Third Point last month announced an investment in Swiss conglomerate Nestle, which makes food products from baby food to chocolate.Loeb adjusted the portfolio during the second quarter to focus more on companies that will benefit from low inflation while cutting his exposure to bank financials. He also exited reflationary macro trades.Third Point also made a new bet on BlackRock, the world''s biggest asset manager with $5.7 trillion, calling it a "misunderstood franchise that is just beginning to inflect." Demand for lower cost investments like ETFs, where BlackRock is a leader, is likely to pick up, benefiting the company, Third Point said. BlackRock said "We are aware that Third Point has taken an ownership position and we welcome them as a shareholder."During the quarter, the biggest winners for Third Point were Baxter International Inc, Nestle SA, Constellation Brands Inc, auction house Sotheby''s and Honeywell International Inc. The biggest losers included JPMorgan Chase & Co and T-Mobile US Inc.Third Point also said it will stop taking in new money from new investors on Oct. 1, 2017. For years, Third Point turned away would-be investors but it had quietly opened up again for a brief time in the last year to replace money that had left.Additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by David Gregorio '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-hedgefunds-thirdpoint-idUSKBN1AB202'|'2017-07-26T17:27:00.000+03:00' +'2a09c6dd62f2f6921c6556fbc2945f33656dfbbb'|'Fed holds rates steady, expects to cut balance sheet ''relatively soon'''|'July 26, 2017 / 6:11 PM / 21 minutes ago Fed holds rates steady, expects portfolio cuts "relatively soon" Jason Lange and Lindsay Dunsmuir 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A police officer keeps watch in front of the U.S. Federal Reserve in Washington, DC, U.S. on October 12, 2016. Kevin Lamarque/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday and said it expected to start winding down its massive holdings of bonds "relatively soon" in a sign of confidence in the U.S. economy. The Fed kept its benchmark lending rate in a target range of 1.00 percent to 1.25 percent, as expected, and said it was on track to continue the slow path of monetary tightening that has lifted rates by a percentage point since 2015. In a statement following a two-day policy meeting, the U.S. central bank''s rate-setting committee indicated the economy was growing moderately and job gains had been solid. It also noted that both overall inflation and a measure of underlying price gains had declined - trends which have worried some policymakers - but that it expected the economy to continue strengthening. "The committee expects to begin implementing its balance sheet normalization program relatively soon," the Fed said, adding that it would follow a plan outlined in June to trim its holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities. U.S. stock prices rose following the release of the policy statement while yields on U.S. government debt fell. The dollar .DXY dropped against a basket of currencies. After pushing rates nearly to zero to fight the 2007-2009 financial crisis and recession, the Fed pumped over $3 trillion into the economy in a bond-buying spree to further reduce rates. Its balance sheet has grown to $4.5 trillion. The statement cemented expectations the Fed will announce at its next policy meeting in September the start of its balance sheet reduction plan, marking the end of a controversial tool that drew criticism from Republican lawmakers in Congress. "The Fed all but told the market the balance sheet run-off will start in September," said Brian Jacobsen, an investment strategist at Wells Fargo Funds Management in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. Inflation Jitters Torsten Slok, an economist at Deutsche Bank, said the Fed appeared keen to begin balance sheet reduction given the uncertainty over whether President Donald Trump will nominate Fed Chair Janet Yellen for another four-year term. Trump told the Wall Street Journal this week that Yellen, whose current term expires in February, was among several candidates he would consider to lead the central bank. While Fed researchers have concluded that bond buying only modestly boosted the economy, Yellen has said the central bank could turn to asset purchases again if the economy fell into a deep rut. Steady job creation in the economy has pushed the U.S. unemployment rate to 4.3 percent, near a 16-year low. The Fed had previously signaled it would begin to trim its balance sheet this year. At the same time, a slowdown in inflation has caused jitters among some Fed officials who are concerned inflation has been below the central bank''s 2 percent target for five years. The Fed''s preferred measure of underlying inflation dropped to 1.4 percent in May from 1.8 percent in February. The Fed had described inflation as being "somewhat" below target in its policy statement in June, but on Wednesday it simply stated that it was below 2 percent. "That, I think, is a signal that it''s a slightly more cautious tone," said Omer Esiner, an analyst at Commonwealth FX in Washington. Reporting by Jason Lange and Lindsay Dunsmuir; Additional reporting by Rodrigo Campos, Richard Leong and Saqib Ahmed in New York; Editing by Paul Simao 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-fed-idINKBN1AB2K7'|'2017-07-26T21:10:00.000+03:00' +'c2a7c34275761f70dd1b5cab9d684d4883893b8d'|'Israel, India look past defence to broaden commercial ties'|'World News - Wed Jul 5, 2017 - 12:29pm EDT Israel, India look past defense to broaden commercial ties left right Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they deliver joint statements during an exchange of co-operation agreements ceremony in Jerusalem July 5, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen 1/9 left right Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hugs with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they deliver joint statements during an exchange of co-operation agreements ceremony in Jerusalem July 5, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen 2/9 left right Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joke during an exchange of co-operation agreements ceremony in Jerusalem July 5, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen 3/9 left right Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi listens to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an exchange of co-operation agreements ceremony in Jerusalem July 5, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen 4/9 left right Israeli President Reuven Rivlin (R) shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the president''s official residence in Jerusalem July 5, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Coex/Pool 5/9 left right Israeli President Reuven Rivlin (R) meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the president''s official residence in Jerusalem July 5, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Coex/Pool 6/9 left right Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin hug upon Modi''s arrival before their meeting in Jerusalem July 5, 2017. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun 7/9 left right Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stands next to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as they meet Moshe Holtzberg whose parents were killed during the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai at Nariman House, home to the Mumbai chapter of the Chabad-Lubavitch Jewish movement, in Jerusalem July 5, 2017. REUTERS/Atef Safadi/Pool 8/9 left right Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) gestures as he speaks to Israeli President Reuven Rivlin upon Modi''s arrival before their meeting in Jerusalem July 5, 2017. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun 9/9 By Tova Cohen and Ari Rabinovitch - TEL AVIV TEL AVIV In the months leading up to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s historic visit to Israel, India signed two arms deals, spending $2.6 billion on Israeli missile defense systems. Yet since Modi arrived on Tuesday, military ties -- for decades the secretive bedrock of India-Israel relations -- have taken a back seat. The governments have instead spent time discussing companies that sell medical devices, hi-tech and water systems. Rather than making the visit, the first by a sitting Indian prime minister, all about the value of deals signed, Israel''s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Modi appear intent on playing up shared culture and values, in the hope this will give commercial ties deeper roots. Under Arab pressure, India kept its distance from Israel for decades but is now seeing advantages in a complementary relationship with Israel. There is interest on both sides in building a broad economic base, rather than merely a contractual exchange based around defense. The timing reflects a diplomatic shift toward Israel being more accepted in the region. Modi, who is acutely conscious of the need to adopt innovation and new technology to update India''s infrastructure has always had a personal affinity for Israel and came to learn more about the country before he became premier. "India and Israel are walking hand in hand into the future as partners," Modi and Netanyahu wrote in a joint editorial this week. "From start-ups to space, communications to cybernetics, Israel''s technological capabilities are merging with India''s." The two men are spending 48 hours together with Modi, accompanied by Indian business leaders, getting a political and business tour that covers Israeli history, culture and innovation, as well as the signing of economic agreements. HOPES FOR MORE DEALS "What''s it going to take to get Israeli money to take India seriously? Just open their eyes," Jon Medved, CEO of Israeli equity crowdfunding group OurCrowd said. "The problem is their eyes are ... blinded by the China opportunity," he added. There have only been a handful of Indian investments in Israel over the past decade, as opposed to the $16.5 billion received from China in 2016 alone. OurCrowd just closed three deals with India, joining with Reliance Industries ( RELI.NS ) for a hi-tech incubator that helps to grow young companies in Jerusalem, bringing Israeli technology to India with Reliance Capital ( RLCP.NS ), and collaborating with India''s Lets Venture to invest in start-ups. During Modi''s visit, Zebra Medical Vision, a company from a kibbutz near Tel Aviv, and Bangalore-based Teleradiology Solutions will sign a partnership to use analytics in 150 health-care centers. Looking to reorient Israel''s economy toward Asia, Netanyahu hopes more deals will follow, setting a goal of increasing exports to India by 25 percent in the next four years. But it may take a while before the Modi-Netanyahu relationship sparks a serious expansion in investment and trade, both of which remain relatively negligible. In many respects export-dependent Israel and India, which is focused on supplying its huge population, are complementary. Israel is a global leader in water and food systems, two critical fields India needs to upgrade. India wants to strengthen its manufacturing base and is looking to do so with technologies coming from Israel. Both countries host major diamond trading and polishing hubs. DIAMOND TRADE SPARKLES Israeli exports to India last year totaled $1.15 billion, excluding diamonds, just 2.5 percent of total exports. Bilateral trade was less than $2 billion, which jumped to $4.13 billion including diamonds. Israel''s foreign direct investment in India totals only $100 million. "It''s nothing, it''s a blip. Why hasn''t the relationship grown to the level it should have?" said A. Didar Singh, secretary general of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce. Singh said more needed to be done to ease regulations, lower non-tariff barriers and solve licensing problems. Incentives and lifting of red tape could help overcome what diplomats, lobbyists and business owners say is a cultural divide between the breakneck pace of Israel''s start-up scene and India''s more gradual approach. It can take time to cement negotiations in India, where building trust and a relationship is paramount, said Elias Ghosalkar, a former investment banker from Mumbai who is director of corporate development for OurCrowd after moving to Israel last year. "Israelis on the other hand are quite direct and lack patience in their business approach," he told Reuters. Israel''s ambassador to India, Daniel Carmon, said it is becoming easier to do business between the two countries, even if there may remain some differences in practice. "It could be that the Israeli businessman arrives on a Monday flight and wants to return on Thursday with a deal in hand. I say to him ''forget it''. It''s not going to happen. There are processes, the processes take time, not four days," he said. (Editing by Luke Baker and Peter Millership) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-india-modi-idUSKBN19Q2B2'|'2017-07-05T19:25:00.000+03:00' +'4b7bcde82b3940dd09e5720f9e330be637e875a5'|'Asia manufacturing picks up in June but momentum seen slowing into second half'|'July 3, 2017 / 5:22 AM / in 2 minutes Asia manufacturing picks up in June but momentum seen slowing into second half By Nichola Saminather 4 Min Read A labourer works on screw processing at a machinery manufacture company in Zhoushan, Zhejiang province, China May 30, 2017. Stringer/Files SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Manufacturing activity in Asia''s tech producing economies expanded in June, helped by growing global demand for electronics products, but headwinds in external markets could mean a moderation in growth in the second half of the year. Private sector surveys of manufacturers in Asia showed the factory sectors of China, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan picked up in June, driven largely by a recovery in exports. However, continued declines in energy prices, which weighed on manufacturing activity in Indonesia and Malaysia, could hurt these two economies going forward, analysts say. Meanwhile, in India, sluggish domestic demand offset strong foreign demand and led to a manufacturing slowdown in June. Factory Purchasing Managers'' Indexes for South Korea, Japan, Taiwan Vietnam and India all remained above the 50-mark that separates contraction from expansion on a monthly basis. And all of these indexes, except for Japan and India, rose from the previous month, indicating an acceleration in expansion. "Overall, the cross above the 50 waterline is not in doubt," said Vishnu Varathan, Asia head of economics and strategy at Mizuho Bank''s Treasury division. "But the ability for manufacturers to continue to accelerate, or to maintain sharp surges in production, is in question given underlying demand, apart from some bright spots, doesnt seem to have permeated more widely across the different sectors," he said. While manufacturing in June expanded at the fastest pace in three months in China, the world''s second-largest economy, business confidence slumped to its lowest level this year amid a government crackdown on debt risks and tightening financial conditions. "We believe cyclical momentum (in China) has likely peaked and will ease further due to tighter financial conditions," Yin Zhang and Helen Qiao, economists at Merrill Lynch in Hong Kong, wrote in a note. "Looking ahead, since overall growth is still higher than the policy target level at around 6.5 percent for real GDP, we expect policy makers to maintain the tightening bias in (the second half), which is likely to impose downward pressure on growth until early 2018." In Japan, confidence among big manufacturers hit its highest level in over three years in June, according to a survey from the central bank published on Monday. But despite the recovery in some parts of Asia, stubbornly low inflation globally and other economic factors could weigh on the export-dependent region in the second half. The Citi Economic Surprise Index, which moves in tandem with data beating or underclubbing expectations, has plunged for major industrial nations this year and is at negative levels not seen since 2011. And with global debt now standing at a record $217 trillion, "roll over" risks will increase as central banks start raising interest rates, weighing especially on emerging markets that have borrowed in euros and dollars. In southeast Asia, manufacturing in Vietnam was boosted by ramped up production by South Korea''s Samsung Electronics. Vietnam''s electronics output fell 1 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier on problems with Samsung''s Galaxy Note 7, which the company scrapped last year, but recovered in the second quarter. Samsung is Vietnam''s biggest foreign investor. Despite the encouraging electronics-driven headline numbers for Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, signs of weakness are showing in other parts of these economies. Household consumption remains sluggish in Japan, job creation in Taiwan was the weakest in 20 months and South Korea''s factory output shrank for a 11th straight month and factory employment fell for a 10th. "The larger story seems to be that a moderate recovery continues to be in place," Mizuho''s Varathan said. "But for a virtuous cycle of wider household consumption that leads to a pickup in industries, we still have to wait for few more quarters before that to play out. And thats the optimistic view." Reporting By Nichola Saminather; Editing by Sam Holmes 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-economy-idINKBN19O0DY'|'2017-07-03T08:18:00.000+03:00' +'2d5da45d3a024dec4be1cd3fefc4aa84f40d9b3d'|'Samsung Electronics says second-quarter operating profit likely rose 72 pct y/y'|'Top News - Fri Jul 7, 2017 - 3:05am BST Samsung Elec tips record second-quarter profit as memory prices surge left right A woman walks past an advertisement promoting Samsung Electronics''s Galaxy S8 at its office building in Seoul, South Korea July 4, 2017. Picture taken on July 4, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: The logo of Samsung Electronics is seen in Seoul, South Korea, July 4, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo 2/2 By Joyce Lee SEOUL - Tech giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd on Friday estimated a record quarterly operating profit for April-June, propelled by a memory chip boom that analysts say will continue to pad margins for the rest of 2017. The Apple Inc smartphone rival and global memory chip leader said second-quarter operating profit was likely 14 trillion won ($12.11 billion), compared with the 13.1 trillion won average of 19 analyst estimates in a Thomson Reuters poll. Revenue likely rose 18 percent from a year earlier to 60 trillion won, also a quarterly record, versus analysts'' forecast of 59 trillion won. The South Korean firm did not elaborate and will release detailed earnings in late July. The robust estimates reinforce expectations for best-ever earnings for Samsung this year, fuelled by a so-called memory chip supercycle. Analysts predict shortages for both DRAM and NAND chips to persist for the rest of this year due to limited supply growth and demand for more computing power on smartphones and servers, padding margins for memory makers. Another profit driver has also emerged in the form of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays. Samsung has a stranglehold on the market for the bendy, next-generation screens which are widely expected to be used for Apple''s latest iPhones, due out by October. "In July DRAM prices will go up again, while from mid-August on, OLED panels go out for Apple," HMC Investment analyst Greg Roh said. He expects Samsung''s third-quarter operating profit to exceed 15 trillion won. Samsung shares were down 0.3 percent in early Friday trade, compared with a 0.2 percent fall for the broader market, as the strong earnings outlook was already priced in. The stock is up more than 30 percent this year and hovering near all-time highs. While analysts say the memory chip industry will ride a super-cycle for several years on the back of consolidation and new demand from services such as cloud computing and artificial intelligence, its growth rate may slow from the massive jump expected this year. Samsung said on Tuesday it would invest $18.6 billion to extend its lead in memory chips and next-generation displays, a move likely to ease shareholder fears that major decisions were on the backburner while Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee fights bribery charges in court. On the mobile front, sales prospects for the Galaxy Note 8 will be closely watched in the third quarter, after its predecessor was pulled from the market last year due to fire-prone batteries. Samsung is preparing to unveil the handset in August, a source told Reuters, underscoring the firm''s desire to continue the Note brand. (Reporting by Joyce Lee; Additional reporting and writing by Se Young Lee; Editing by Stephen Coates)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-samsung-elec-results-idUKKBN19R3AJ'|'2017-07-07T02:47:00.000+03:00' +'5781b052a8fdf5023972a9273f907a65590782ce'|'Buyout firm Apollo to buy golf course operator ClubCorp for $1.1 billion'|'Deals - Sun Jul 9, 2017 - 4:05pm EDT Buyout firm Apollo to buy golf course operator ClubCorp for $1.1 billion Leon Black, Chairman and CEO Apollo Global Management, LLC in California April 29, 2014. REUTERS/Kevork Djansezian By Greg Roumeliotis Private equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC ( APO.N ) said on Sunday it had agreed to acquire ClubCorp Holdings Inc ( MYCC.N ), one of the largest owners and operators of private golf and country clubs in the United States, for $1.1 billion. The deal comes three months after ClubCorp announced the retirement of is CEO Eric Affeldt and said it had decided not to pursue a "strategic transaction," after efforts to explore a sale did not result in any offer for the entire company. However, the Dallas-based company had kept the strategic review committee of its board of directors in place, and had yet to announce Affeldt''s successor. It has struggled to turn a profit, as its strategy of boosting its golf club memberships through promotions, refurbishments and acquisitions has proved costly. Apollo said it will pay $17.12 per share in cash for ClubCorp, a 30.7 percent premium over its closing price on Friday, but less than the 12-month high of $17.50 the shares reached in February, on investor expectations that a sale process first reported by Reuters in January would be successful. ClubCorp also declared on Sunday a one-time dividend of 13 cents per share to be paid later this month. It said the sale to Apollo is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017. Founded in 1957, ClubCorp operates more than 200 properties, including golf and country clubs, business clubs and sports clubs across the United States, Mexico and China, serving more than 430,000 members. In May, the company reached a settlement with activist investor FrontFour Capital Group LLC to add two independent directors to its board. FrontFour had called for exploring several options, including a sale. ClubCorp has been a serial acquirer in the golf course industry, buying dozens of courses in the last three years. It has sought to buy locally owned golf courses and refurbish them by adding or improving amenities such as up-scale dining and event rooms. KSL Capital, another private equity firm, acquired ClubCorp for $1.8 billion in October 2006 and took it public in 2013. Jefferies LLC and Wells Fargo acted as financial advisers ClubCorp and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is its legal counsel. Citigroup is acting as lead financial adviser to Apollo, with RBC Capital Markets LLC, Barclays, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank also advising. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is Apollo''s legal counsel. (Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by David Gregorio)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-clubcorp-m-a-apolloglobal-idUSKBN19U0Y0'|'2017-07-09T23:05:00.000+03:00' +'bc03abb152df20b70158ce3841f20345484a170f'|'Axel Springer sells Berlin real estate assets for 755 mln eur'|'July 17, 2017 / 8:51 AM / in 2 minutes Axel Springer sells Berlin real estate assets for 755 million euros 1 Min Read The logo of the German publisher Axel Springer is seen outside its headquarters in Berlin August 7, 2013. Thomas Peter/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German publisher Axel Springer ( SPRGn.DE ) on Monday said it sold two Berlin real estate assets for 755 million euros. The new Axel Springer headquarters were sold to a business controlled by Norges Bank Real Estate Management, and the Axel-Springer-Passage was sold to Blackstone Real Estate Partners, the company said. Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Arno Schuetze 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-axel-sprngr-realestate-sale-idUSKBN1A20P7'|'2017-07-17T11:22:00.000+03:00' +'fd44efc344eaefc83e90a9bae8b0ddb054709d75'|'Asian shares edge up as investors await Yellen testimony'|'July 11, 2017 / 1:03 AM / in 43 minutes Global Markets: Asian shares rise as investors await Yellen testimony Lisa Twaronite 4 Min Read A man walks past an electronic board showing stock prices outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, January 4, 2017. Kim Kyung-Hoon TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares extended gains on Tuesday and the dollar notched a four-month high against the yen, as investors awaited testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen for clues on when the central bank would tighten U.S. monetary policy. In Europe, futures for the Eurostoxx 50 and the DAX were both up 0.3 percent, while the FTSE was 0.2 percent higher. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.8 percent, with technology-led gains on Wall Street sparking sentiment toward Asian tech shares. Japan''s Nikkei stock index ended up 0.6 percent, buoyed by the weaker yen, while Australian shares erased losses and ended slightly higher. "Except for worries about North Korea, the situation in Asia is calm at the moment, and this is giving some relief to investors," said Kyoya Okazawa, head of global markets, Japan and Korea, at BNP Paribas. "The dollar has risen above the 114 level, and this is lifting Japanese shares," he said. In China, the blue-chip CSI300 index rallied 1 percent in afternoon trade, while the Shanghai Composite Index turned positive and was 0.2 percent higher. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, added 0.2 percent to 96.183 ahead of Yellen''s semi-annual monetary policy testimony before Congress on Wednesday and Thursday. San Francisco Federal Reserve President John Williams said Tuesday in Sydney that it was a reasonable view to expect one more rate hike this year, and his own view was to start adjusting the central bank''s balance sheet in the next few months. "Normalisation of monetary policy in the coming months is almost priced in, and the Fed will start shrinking its balance sheet in September, and this does not necessarily mean a delay of rate hikes," said Masafumi Yamamoto, chief forex strategist at Mizuho Securities in Tokyo. "This is supporting the dollar as a positive factor, and limiting its downside at the moment," he said. "I think Yellen will confirm that rate hikes are coming, and that balance sheet shrinkage will come." Against its Japanese counterpart, the dollar added 0.4 percent to 114.47, its highest level since mid-March. The euro inched 0.1 percent lower on the day to $1.1385. The Canadian dollar was down slightly against its U.S. counterpart as investors awaited a Bank of Canada interest rate decision on Wednesday. Forecasters are divided on whether the central bank will raise rates but data from the overnight index swaps market shows that money markets are almost fully priced for an increase, while an 80 percent chance of a second hike has been implied by December. Crude oil prices extended their overnight gains, even as increased drilling activity in the United States and uncertainty over Libyan and Nigerian production cuts clouded the future supply outlook. U.S. crude futures rose 0.2 percent to $44.49 a barrel after adding 0.4 percent on Monday, while Brent crude was also 0.2 percent higher at $46.96. Spot gold edged 0.2 percent lower to $1,212.13 an ounce, moving back toward near four-month lows touched in the previous session. Reporting by Lisa Twaronite; Editing by Sam Holmes and Jacqueline Wong 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-markets-idINKBN19W02M'|'2017-07-11T03:59:00.000+03:00' +'cf84c09a124e9d2a1df750ae28926a80c29484aa'|'G20 watchdog says fund flows to developing countries a concern'|'Business News - Mon Jul 3, 2017 - 1:39pm BST G20 watchdog says fund flows to developing countries a concern Britain''s Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney, speaks during the Bank of England''s financial stability report at the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain June 27, 2017. REUTERS/ Jonathan Brady/Pool By Huw Jones - LONDON LONDON The rising influence of "open ended" funds and the impact on developing economies if the investment flows were abruptly reversed remain a concern for global regulators, Financial Stability Board Chairman Mark Carney said on Monday. The rapid growth in the world''s asset management sector since the financial crisis to $75 trillion (57.82 trillion pounds) assets by 2015, or 40 percent of the world''s financial assets, has been a largely positive development, Carney told reporters. An issue of concern, however is around "open ended" funds supplying a substantial proportion of cross border flows into developing economies, Carney said. Open-ended refers to a type of fund that can issue and redeem shares at any time. Carney said the concern comes at a time when liquidity, or the ability to sell at short notice to redeem investors, appears better than it is likely to be under stressed conditions. "The question is what will the consequences be when inevitably there is a period of sharp adjustment, reduced liquidity," Carney said. "What could the knock-on effects be, first and foremost for the economies, but also for the system as a whole. The best in the asset management industry absolutely gets it, and they try to manage those risks." Earlier this year, the FSB published a set of measures to address risks from such "structural vulnerabilities" in the asset management sector. The watchdog had initially sought to develop a framework for deeming big asset managers "systemically important" like big banks and thereby requiring tougher capital and other requirements. In the face of opposition from markets regulators and the industry, the work was put on ice while focussing on the sector''s activities to develop measures that were published in January. Carney said once these measures have been implemented, the FSB will look at whether any "residual" risks remain in the sector that need addressing, such as by deeming the asset management company to be systemic. "The expectation is that the answer will be ''no''," Carney said. (Reporting by Huw Jones, editing by Carolyn Cohn/Keith Weir)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-g20-funds-carney-idUKKBN19O1DJ'|'2017-07-03T15:39:00.000+03:00' +'c7da9039fda4734f777979d65b1d73383eaf0cd9'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX falls as energy stocks slump with oil prices'|'Market News - Wed Jul 5, 2017 - 10:59am EDT CANADA STOCKS-TSX falls as energy stocks slump with oil prices (Adds details on specific stocks, updates prices) * TSX falls 28.32 points, or 0.19 percent, to 15,102.29 * Half of the TSX''s 10 main groups move lower * Decliners outnumber advancers by more than 2-to-1 TORONTO, July 5 Canada''s main stock index fell on Wednesday, with shares of energy companies weighing as oil prices retreated, while financial stocks and gold miners helped limit the overall losses. At 10:25 a.m. ET (1425 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index was down 28.32 points, or 0.19 percent, at 15,102.29. The energy group, which accounts for one-fifth of the index''s weight, shed 2.5 percent as oil prices turned sharply lower after eight days of gains. The most influential movers on the index included some of its biggest energy companies, with Canadian Natural Resources Ltd off 2.4 percent at C$36.61 and Suncor Energy Inc down 1.4 percent to C$37.00. U.S. crude prices were down 3.7 percent to $45.32 a barrel, while Brent crude lost 3.1 percent to $48.05, as climbing OPEC exports and a stronger dollar weighed on sentiment. Raymond James said it had lowered its assumptions for oil and natural gas prices in 2017 and 2018 and in turn downgraded shares of a string of Canadian producers, including Cenovus Energy Inc, which declined 5.7 percent to C$9.09, and MEG Energy Corp, which lost 8.9 percent to C$3.47. Regional airline operator Exchange Income Corp was down 6.4 percent at C$30.55 after being targeted by a short-seller who said it does not generate enough cash to pay the dividends it provides investors. The company said it strenuously disagreed with a number of statements, assumptions and opinions in the report. The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 0.7 percent, with gold miners bouncing after a recent trend lower, even as bullion held steady near its lowest in eight weeks. Barrick Gold Corp advanced 3.2 percent to C$20.66 and Goldcorp Inc added 2.6 percent to C$16.62. The financials group gained 0.3 percent, with insurer Manulife Financial Corp up 0.9 percent at C$24.40. Half of the index''s 10 main groups were in negative territory, although decliners were outnumbering advancers by more than 2-to-1 overall. (Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-idUSL1N1JW0NL'|'2017-07-05T17:59:00.000+03:00' +'3d1cf8f5ea36fb32d3babf00ac425fa8b445d8f8'|'Exclusive - Spirit Realty explores Shopko stores spin-off: sources'|'July 20, 2017 / 8:50 PM / 15 minutes ago Exclusive - Spirit Realty explores Shopko stores spin-off: sources Carl O''Donnell and Jessica DiNapoli 3 Min Read (Reuters) - Spirit Realty Capital Inc ( SRC.N ), a U.S. real estate investment trust (REIT), is considering spinning off some of its real estate, including its Shopko store properties, as part of its strategic review, according to people familiar with the matter. The deliberations highlight how landlords are adapting to a wave of bankruptcies and store closings in the retail sector, as online shopping disrupts long-established brick-and-mortar shops and weighs on retailers'' ability to pay rent. Spirit is considering placing some of its retail properties, including those they lease to Shopko, into a new REIT that would then be spun off, potentially at a valuation of more than $1 billion, the sources said on Thursday. Spirit would manage the new REIT to help hold down administrative costs, the people added. The discussions are still in early stages, and Spirit may decide against pursuing the spin, the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private. Spirit and Shopko did not respond to requests for comment. Earlier this year, Spirit said it was reviewing strategic alternatives after reporting disappointing earnings, largely the result of its retail tenants failing to pay rents. Shopko is Spirit''s largest tenant as a percentage of rental revenue, according to Spirit''s financial statements. "The dramatic and swift moving changes to the retail landscape in reaction to changing consumer behaviour has been well documented," said Thomas Nolan, who stepped down as Spirit chief executive in May. "I will say the impacts are profound, and they do impact Spirit Realty." Jackson Hsieh, Spirit''s former president and chief operating officer, replaced Nolan. Hsieh remains president. Retail bankruptcies have shaken landlords, who face a growing number of empty storefronts and declining rents in their malls and strip centres. Payless ShoeSource, children''s clothier Gymboree and teen retailers Wet Seal and American Apparel are among the chains that have shuttered hundreds of stores as part of their bankruptcies. Shopko operates over 380 stores in 26 states throughout the Central, Western and Pacific Northwest regions. It is owned by private equity firm Sun Capital Partners Inc. REITs frequently spin off properties to streamline their portfolios and increase their appeal to investors, who often prefer a REIT to focus on a single type of real estate. Earlier this week, office and retail REIT Vornado Realty Trust ( VNO.N ) completed a spin-off of its Washington D.C.-based real estate into a separately traded REIT called JBG Smith Properties ( JBGS.N ). Last year, healthcare REIT HCP Inc ( HCP.N ) completed a spin off of its skilled nursing and assisted living properties into a separate REIT, Quality Care Properties Inc ( QCP.N ). Reporting by Carl O''Donnell and Jessica DiNapoli in New York 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/spirit-realty-spinoff-idINKBN1A52SV'|'2017-07-20T23:49:00.000+03:00' +'21f66822eb6ba3abe4a7058315f07ece60538636'|'BP says it is considering IPO of U.S. pipeline assets'|'July 18, 2017 / 8:47 PM / an hour ago BP mulling IPO of U.S. Midwest and Gulf Coast pipeline assets Jessica Resnick-Ault 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A BP logo is seen at a petrol station in London, Britain, January 15, 2015. Luke MacGregor/File Photo (Reuters) - BP Plc ( BP.L ) is considering an initial public offering of its vast U.S. Midwest and Gulf Coast pipeline assets, the company said on Tuesday, a move that would raise cash. The proposed spinoff, which would be called BP Midstream Partners, revives a plan first broached internally about five years ago before slumping crude oil prices caused the company to put the idea on hold, a person familiar with the proposal said. BP''s plan would spin off crude oil, natural gas and fuel pipelines in a master-limited partnership (MLP), a tax-advantaged structure often used by pipeline and other capital intensive companies. If it decides to go ahead with the idea, BP said it would register the subsidiary by year-end. The company and its underwriters have retained advisors to explore the sale, the source said. A spinoff likely would be one of the larger initial public offerings of the year, the person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity as the talks were private. BP did not comment on the details or potential valuation of a possible transaction beyond the press release. It would own the MLP''s general partner and receive all of its distribution rights, the statement said. Several other energy companies have spun off their pipeline assets to generate capital. They include rival Royal Dutch Shell Plc ( RDSa.L ), which in 2014 raised nearly $1 billion in the largest MLP IPO to date, along with refiners like Valero Energy Corp ( VLO.N ), Tesoro Corp ( TSO.N ), and Marathon Petroleum Corp ( MPC.N ). Shell was the first oil major to use this structure to generate cash from its assets. Shell''s partnership has a market value of about $5.38 billion. BP''s pipeline network is slightly smaller than Shell''s. Previous efforts by BP to sell pipeline assets have not materialized. Last year, BP approached Enbridge Inc ( ENB.TO ) to sell some of BP''s offshore Gulf of Mexico pipeline network, but the deal fell through, according to a person familiar with that transaction. BP''s U.S. pipeline business includes a network of 3,500 miles (5,633 kilometres) of pipelines and terminal facilities that transport and store more than 1.3 million barrels per day of oil, refined products and natural gas. In addition to the Gulf Coast and Midwest assets, BP operates pipelines in the Pacific Northwest. Under U.S. tax codes, MLPs are partnerships that do not pay corporate income tax on distributions, or earnings, to partners. The partners, or owners, are responsible for paying taxes on the distributions. BP''s potential IPO of its midstream assets comes at a rough time for the U.S. pipeline sector. While pipeline operators derive profit from long-term contracts not linked to commodity price gyrations, the dip in oil prices in recent years has nonetheless weighed on the sector, said Tamar Essner, director of energy and utilities at Nasdaq Corporate Solutions. "There''s this perception in the market that the midstream sector is meant to be insulated from the volatility of the commodity price movement," said Essner. "But retail investors have gotten spooked by oil markets." The price of crude oil has fallen sharply in recent months, with oil overall down nearly 14 percent this year. The Alerian MLP exchange-traded fund ( AMLP.K ), which tracks the performance of more than two dozen midstream companies, has lost more than 4 percent in 2017, according to Thomson Reuters data. Tuesday''s announcement came after the market closed. BP is worth 88 billion GBP ($114.8 billion) and its shares closed on Tuesday in London at 445.80 GBP a share. BP is still paying down costs from the deadly 2010 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion at its Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The company is set to pay up to $5.5 billion in cash payments to U.S. authorities this year as part of one settlement. BP has sharply reduced its capital spending over the past three years in the face of a drop in oil prices, but it still requires an oil price of around $60 a barrel in order to cover its costs, dividends and penalties. The lesson for BP from Shell''s experience is a master limited partnership drawing on existing assets can allow it to get cash and continuing income from its capital-intensive operations while still working closely with the asset owners. "We prioritise our assets and maintain strategic control," said John Hollowell, chief executive of Shell Midstream Partners in an interview last month referring only to Shell''s decision-making. "The key part for us is allows to have the best of both worlds. We can monetize and maintain control of the asset." Reporting By Jessica Resnick Ault in New York, Gary McWilliams and Ernest Scheyder in Houston and Ron Bousso in London; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and David Gregorio 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/bp-ipo-pipeline-idINKBN1A32C7'|'2017-07-18T23:45:00.000+03:00' +'b8116308f8cbdefae1ad2dedaf12e8882a0c0df7'|'Loan growth, better spreads fail to impress U.S. bank investors'|'July 14, 2017 / 3:31 PM / 29 minutes ago Loan growth, better spreads fail to impress U.S. bank investors David Henry and Dan Freed 4 Min Read NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. banks are starting to see some long-awaited benefits of higher interest rates, with four of the largest lenders beating analysts'' quarterly profit expectations on Friday by raising loan prices without paying much more for deposits. But shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ), Wells Fargo & Co ( WFC.N ), Citigroup Inc ( C.N ) and PNC Financial Services Group Inc ( PNC.N ) were down in afternoon trading. Investors had wanted to see even better results and hear a sunnier outlook from executives, analysts said. "Bank stocks were due for a breather," Edward Jones analyst Shannon Stemm told Reuters. "They had a lot of optimism priced into the shares as investors got excited about rising interest rates and the prospect for regulatory reform. However, the fundamental picture is more mixed." JPMorgan, for instance, reported loan growth, deposit growth and higher net interest income, which measures the difference between its cost of funding and the revenue it generates from those funds. Overall, its earnings rose 13 percent. However, management now expects net interest income to rise by $4 billion this year, down from a previous outlook of $4.5 billion, due to a combination of mortgage adjustments, weakness in markets-related income, and unexpected "downward pressure" on 10-year bonds. As JPMorgan''s stock dropped 1.1 percent to $92.05, Citigroup bank stock analyst Keith Horowitz said investors were disappointed by the gloomier outlook, and had "a high bar priced into the stock." Related Coverage Factbox: Big U.S. banks start earnings on a tepid note The Federal Reserve has raised rates three times since the second quarter of last year, with the latest increase coming in June. Rising rates are generally good for banks, but because there have been uneven movements in short- and long-term rates, lenders have not seen income grow as quickly as investors expected. Wells Fargo, Citigroup and PNC each reported year-over-year increases in their loan books. Wells and PNC said the spread between what they pay for deposits and charge for loans had grown, thanks to higher rates. They all beat analysts'' average estimates for earnings per share. But Wells Fargo''s revenue came in shy of expectations, and analysts questioned executives about elevated expenses on a conference call. Its shares were down 1.2 percent at $54.94. The J.P.Morgan logo is seen at their offices at Canary Wharf financial district in London,Britain, March 3, 2016. Reinhard Krause Citigroup''s picture was muddied by the nature of its business. The bank relies less on deposits from consumers, who have not demanded higher rates as quickly as institutional customers. A big chunk of its loan growth came from credit cards that do not carry balances, meaning it does not earn interest from those loans. Chief Financial Officer John Gerspach encouraged analysts to think not just about income tied directly to those loans, but other business it generates from underlying customers. Slideshow (2 Images) "But we like the business that we''ve been putting on," he said. "We certainly would rather have loan growth than non-loan growth." Citi shares were down 0.7 percent at $66.54. PNC showed particular strength in commercial loans, and its net interest income rose 5 percent as deposit costs rose less than the yields it earned. The bank plans to expand its corporate lending business, and stuck with its prior forecast that its loan book will grow in the mid-single digits for the full year. But even that positive outlook generated some surprise. Its shares were down 0.4 percent in afternoon trading at $126.78. "You maintained the full year ''17 guidance," Evercore ISI analyst John Pancari said on a conference call with management. "Why not up?" Management is "still comfortable" with the guidance offered earlier in the year, Chief Financial Officer Robert Reilly said. Reporting by David Henry and Dan Freed; Additional Reporting by Olivia Oran and Sweta Singh; Writing by Lauren Tara LaCapra; editing by Bernard Orr 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-banks-results-idINKBN19Z1QY'|'2017-07-14T18:22:00.000+03:00' +'d7be84cfa4051d101251a2659e74f6027a6f8679'|'SoftBank aims to raise $3 billion to $5 billion via bond issue: source'|'Deals - Thu Jul 6, 2017 - 12:36am EDT SoftBank aims to raise $3 billion to $5 billion via bond issue: source People walk behind the logo of SoftBank Corp in Tokyo December 18, 2014. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo By Kane Wu - HONG KONG HONG KONG Japan''s SoftBank Group Corp ( 9984.T ) is targetting raising between $3 billion and $5 billion through an offering of U.S. dollar bonds, according to a person familiar with the plans. The group has named Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank as joint global coordinators for a bond offering, it said in an announcement on Thursday, without disclosing the amount it plans to raise. A SoftBank spokesman said an issuance of hybrid bonds is under preparation, but declined to comment on details. The bond offering comes after the telecoms-to-investment conglomerate announced raising the world''s largest private equity fund the nearly $100 billion Vision Fund backed also by Saudi Arabia''s main sovereign wealth fund - in May. It bought British semiconductor designer ARM Holdings last year for $32 billion and has been involved in a number of deals across the globe this year including acquisitions of two robotics business from Google''s parent company Alphabet Inc. Shortly after it announced the ARM deal, SoftBank said it was considering selling around $9.8 billion worth of hybrid bonds in the financial year that ended in March to bolster its capital base and secure funds for future growth. Hybrid bonds are often treated as quasi-equity by credit-rating firms, allowing companies to raise capital without hurting their ratings. SoftBank did not specify the purpose of the proceeds in the announcement on Thursday. It will meet fixed-income investors in Hong Kong, Singapore and London from tomorrow. The group is rated Ba1 by Moody''s and BB+ by S&P. (Reporting by Kane Wu; Additional reporting by Makiko Yamazaki in TOKYO; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-softbank-group-bonds-idUSKBN19R0A4'|'2017-07-06T07:36:00.000+03:00' +'65778dc09d505a16699770d5872ffba229f3e50b'|'UPDATE 1-Australia''s Woodside Petroleum posts 6.8 pct drop in Q2 output'|'July 20, 2017 / 12:07 AM / 9 hours ago UPDATE 1-Australia''s Woodside Petroleum posts 6.8 pct drop in Q2 output 2 Min Read (Adds) July 20 (Reuters) - Woodside Petroleum reported a 6.8 percent fall in oil and gas output in the June quarter due to planned and unplanned outages and a previously flagged reduction in its share of pipeline gas from the North West Shelf. Australia''s biggest independent oil and gas producer said production fell to 20.7 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) in the second quarter from 22.2 mmboe in the same quarter last year. Second-quarter revenue rose to $867 million from $825 million a year earlier, but missed a forecast of $976 million from Royal Bank of Canada. Quarterly sales volumes fell 3.8 percent to 20.3 mmboe. The final commissioning of the Wheatstone LNG Train 1, Woodside''s main source of short-term growth, is well advanced and nearing completion, it said. Operator Chevron Corp has said it is due to start producing in the middle of this year. Woodside bought a stake in the $34 billion Wheatstone project in 2015, and it is set to contribute more than 13 mmboe to Woodside''s annual output when complete. Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonali Paul and Richard Pullin 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/woodside-output-idUSL3N1KA5T3'|'2017-07-20T03:07:00.000+03:00' +'4c8bc84215465a473c72822baa643b4fedfc2d7f'|'Washington tells India Westinghouse could be sold by year end: sources'|'July 3, 2017 / 3:02 AM / in 2 hours Washington tells India Westinghouse could be sold by year end: sources By Douglas Busvine 6 Min Read The logo of the American company Westinghouse is pictured in Le Bourget, near Paris October 14, 2014. Benoit Tessier/Files NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The U.S. administration has told India that Westinghouse Electric Co will emerge from bankruptcy and be sold by the year end, industry and diplomatic sources have said, raising the prospect of a Washington-supported sale or bailout for the nuclear firm. India, like other nuclear nations, has been closely watching the fate of Japanese-owned Westinghouse, which filed for Chapter 11 in March after an estimated $13 billion of cost overruns at two U.S. projects, casting a shadow over the nuclear industry. There has been debate over potential U.S. support for the reactor maker since owner Toshiba, the laptop-to-chips conglomerate, announced the blow-out at Westinghouse last year. Some form of U.S. backing or involvement, industry experts say, could avoid a Chinese or Russian buyer unpalatable to Washington, which would prefer to keep Westinghouse''s advanced nuclear technology out of the hands of its foreign rivals. The White House declined comment. "We were told that, by the end of the year, Westinghouse would really rework its situation and really be back in business," India''s foreign secretary, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, told a briefing, referring to an exit from bankruptcy. Civil nuclear cooperation has been a cornerstone of U.S.-India relations, and the proposed construction of six Westinghouse AP1000 reactors in India''s Andhra Pradesh, announced in 2016, crowned more than a decade of diplomatic efforts. The achievement was left in limbo by Westinghouse''s troubles. The project, however, found specific mention in the Indian government''s joint communique from Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s first meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington a week ago. ( bit.ly/2tsyEdb ) The two leaders "looked forward to conclusion of contractual agreements between Westinghouse Electric Company and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India for six nuclear reactors in India and also related project financing," the communique said. Sources familiar with the matter said the statement was backed by U.S. guidance that Westinghouse would be sold to a U.S. investor after emerging from Chapter 11 proceedings, in turn paving the way to close the reactor deal in 2018. Elaborating, one industry source with direct knowledge of Westinghouse''s talks with India said: "Both sides are engaged and once Westinghouse comes out of bankruptcy we would look to conclude the contract." The source, who was not authorised to speak to media, requested anonymity. A diplomat involved in preparations for the Modi-Trump meeting corroborated this timeline, saying: "The bankruptcy is on track and should wrap up by year end." "Massively Important" Westinghouse and India''s Department of Atomic Energy did not respond to emailed requests for comment. The state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India could not be reached for comment. Toshiba said it wasn''t in a position to predict when Westinghouse would emerge from Chapter 11. Because the bankruptcy court has not yet approved a restructuring plan, no decision has been taken on searching for a buyer, it said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi hugs U.S. President Donald Trump as they give joint statements in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S., June 26, 2017. Kevin Lamarque U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, whom diplomats say plans to lead a business delegation to India in October, last week left the door open to a potential deal. "This is a lot bigger issue than just allowing the United States a couple of plants in the southern part of the United States," he told reporters. "This is a massively important issue for the security of America and the security for America''s allies." Perry declined to elaborate on potential acquirers. But former Westinghouse executives have told Reuters that they have been approached by private equity funds to help them assess a possible deal to buy the company. Paving the way for a deal, Toshiba has agreed on a liability cap on one of the U.S. projects, the unfinished Vogtle power plant in Georgia that is being led by Southern Co. If a similar agreement can be reached for the VC Summer plant in South Carolina, which is co-owned by SCANA Corp, that would clear the path to an exit from Chapter 11, say people familiar with the matter. "The administration is hoping that the reconfigured company will be back in operation later this year - with a U.S. buyer - and the deal with India can be closed next year," said Washington-based analyst Ashley Tellis, an authority on nuclear policy and former Republican official. Tellis, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, was instrumental in negotiating a civil nuclear accord with India during the George W. Bush administration although, more than a decade on, it has yet to yield actual nuclear deals. Trump''s pick for U.S. ambassador to India, Kenneth Juster, helped lay the ground for the talks on the civil nuclear accord. He would play a "critical role" in bringing the project to completion, added Tellis. Ahead of Modi''s visit, a U.S. official had said the United States was "looking forward to U.S.-built nuclear reactors contributing to India''s energy security". "We very much support continued negotiations between Westinghouse and its Indian partners, recognising that deals on this scale can take time," the official said. Westinghouse has said it will concentrate on reactors only - and not construction - meaning it would require partners for its Indian and other projects. In India, its favoured partner would be Larsen & Toubro, industry sources say. "We are capable of doing this, but of course the technology transfer has to happen," said S.N. Roy, head of L&T''s nuclear business, who confirmed L&T had been approached by Westinghouse about being the general contractor. Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton in WASHINGTON, Tom Hals in WILMINGTON, Del., Makiko Yamazaki in TOKYO and Tommy Wilkes in NEW DELHI; Editing by Clara Ferreira Marques and Raju Gopalakrishnan 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-india-westinghouse-idINKBN19O07L'|'2017-07-03T06:11:00.000+03:00' +'bd4e38a5b1ddde1eb9d1999245347a889ea108e7'|'U.S. home sales stumble as prices hit record high'|'July 24, 2017 / 2:02 PM / 22 minutes ago U.S. home sales stumble as prices hit record high 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO -- A real estate sign advertising a new home for sale is pictured in Vienna, Virginia, U.S. October 20, 2014. Larry Downing/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. home resales volumes fell more than expected in June as a dearth of properties pushed house prices to a record high. The National Association of Realtors said on Monday existing home sales dropped 1.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.52 million units last month. May''s sales pace was unrevised at 5.62 million units. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast sales falling 1.0 percent to a 5.58 million-unit rate. Sales were up 0.7 percent from June 2016. An acute shortage of properties has hampered monthly sales. The shortage of properties has led to bidding wars, which have culminated in house price increases outpacing wage gains. Last month, the number of homes on the market slipped 0.5 percent to 1.96 million units. Supply was down 7.1 percent from a year ago. Housing inventory has dropped for 25 straight months on a year-on-year basis. As a result, the median house price jumped 6.5 percent from a year ago to an all-time high of $263,800 in June. It was the 64th straight month of year-on-year price increases. The PHLX index of housing stocks .HGX fell, underperforming a broadly weaker U.S. stock market. Prices for U.S. Treasuries bonds slipped while the U.S. dollar rose slightly against a basket of currencies after the data was published. Homebuilders are struggling to plug the inventory gap amid rising costs of lumber. Homebuilding is also being constrained by shortages of labor and land. A report last week showed housing starts rebounding 8.3 percent to a 1.22 million-unit pace in June, but still below their historic average of 1.5 million units, a rate realtors say would eliminate the housing shortage. The two reports suggest that housing subtracted from gross domestic product in the second quarter after contributing almost half a percentage point to the economy''s annualized 1.4 percent growth pace in the first three months of the year. Last month, sales fell in the Northeast, West and South regions, but rose in the Midwest. At June''s sales pace, it would take 4.3 months to clear the stock of houses on the market, up from 4.2 months in May. A six-month supply is viewed as a healthy balance between supply and demand. Houses typically stayed on the market for 28 days last month, down from 34 days a year ago. Houses spent fewer days on the market in Seattle, Salt Lake City, San Jose, San Francisco and Denver. Demand for housing is being driven by a tight labor market, marked by a 4.4 percent unemployment rate, which is boosting employment opportunities for young Americans. But the tight labor market has not spurred faster wage growth. Annual wage growth has struggled to break above 2.5 percent, sidelining first-time home buyers, whose share of home sales has barely shifted. They accounted for 32 percent of transactions last month, well below the 40 percent share that economists and realtors say is needed for a robust housing market. Reporting by Lucia Mutikani '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-housing-idINKBN1A91RU'|'2017-07-24T17:36:00.000+03:00' +'2bab4bd918743c32e59c0a74106cc0863cd3efa0'|'Brazilian renewable energy firm Omega''s IPO prices at 15.6 reais'|'July 28, 2017 / 1:10 AM / 17 hours ago Brazilian renewable energy firm Omega''s IPO prices at 15.6 reais 1 Min Read BRASILIA (Reuters) - An initial public offering by Brazil''s Omega Gerao SA, a renewable energy firm, priced at 15.6 reais ($4.95) a share on Thursday, according to data provided by the Brazilian Securities & Exchange Commission. The price was below the floor of the suggested range of 17 to 22 reais. The company sold 38 million primary shares, worth 593.6 million reais, and the shareholders sold 16 million secondary shares, worth 250.6 million reais. Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Leslie Adler 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-ipo-omega-idUSKBN1AD04Q'|'2017-07-28T03:58:00.000+03:00' +'231efb39ffab7891cf153f15546157e4249bcd6e'|'British MPs seek way for banks to keep EU access after Brexit'|'July 24, 2017 / 12:18 PM / 31 minutes ago British MPs seek way for banks to keep EU access after Brexit Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Storm clouds are seen above the Canary Wharf financial district in London, Britain, August 3, 2010. Greg Bos/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - British members of parliament launched an inquiry on Monday into how banks and insurers could maintain access to the European Union market after Britain leaves the bloc in 2019. The House of Lords financial affairs committee said it will examine how regulation and supervision can evolve to ensure financial stability and potentially to maintain some form of close regulatory relationship to preserve market access. The committee''s chairwoman, Kishwer Falkner, said there will need to be cooperation between British and EU supervisors and Britain will need to maintain its influence in global standard-setting to maintain market access. "We would like to explore the options for such engagement," she said in a statement. Banks and insurers are already announcing plans to open new subsidiaries in the EU to ensure they can continue serving customers there after March 2019. With the shape of Britain''s future trading terms with the EU unclear, the sector is focussing on persuading the government to negotiate a transition period to have more time to complete moves to Europe smoothly. The inquiry will examine the scope for Britain to adopt its own financial rules, after backers of Brexit have said that the UK can write its own rules and ditch EU "red tape". Britain''s Financial Conduct Authority has warned against a "bonfire of regulations" after Brexit. The committee will also examine if the EU''s "equivalence" regime is the best way for financial firms in Britain to access clients in the EU after Brexit. This refers to Britain applying financial rules that are similar to those in the EU in return for access, a regime critics say is too unpredictable. The committee will start public hearings in September. The government will respond to the committee''s findings. Reporting by Huw Jones; editing by Alexander Smith 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-regulations-idUKKBN1A91HZ'|'2017-07-24T15:18:00.000+03:00' +'93ccf46e21b997ef59c341230de26c3c747d1a2b'|'Air France-KLM upbeat on pricing as bookings improve'|'July 28, 2017 / 5:18 AM / 12 hours ago Air France-KLM upbeat on pricing as bookings improve 1 Min Read BERLIN, July 28 (Reuters) - Air France-KLM offered more optimism than rivals on pricing for the rest of the year, after good travel demand resulted in better than expected second-quarter profits. The Franco-Dutch carrier said unit revenues had risen 1.5 percent in the second quarter after falling 0.5 percent in the first quarter. "We believe we will see slightly positive unit revenues throughout the whole of second half, but some of our rivals are more cautious," Chief Financial officer Frederic Gagey told journalists. The results come a day after the carrier announced a new transatlantic joint venture with Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic, and deals for Delta and China Eastern to enter its share capital. Air France-KLM reported second-quarter operating profit of 496 million euros ($579.63 million), against a forecast in a Reuters poll for 473 million. $1 = 0.8557 euros Reporting by Victoria Bryan and Cyril Altmeyer; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/air-france-klm-results-idUSB4N0ZH04M'|'2017-07-28T08:18:00.000+03:00' +'96e67a9e814db1ff2550aa6740cb3baf0aef8149'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Brazil markets down on political woes; power utilities soar'|' 58am EDT EMERGING MARKETS-Brazil markets down on political woes; power utilities soar By Bruno Federowski SAO PAULO, July 6 Brazil''s stocks and currency slipped on Thursday on lingering concerns over a political crisis, but shares of power utilities rallied due to a planned regulatory overhaul of the sector. Demand for Brazilian assets has fizzled in recent months as traders feared a corruption scandal could delay the implementation of President Michel Temer''s ambitious agenda, which is seen as critical to fuel long-term economic growth. The Brazilian real weakened 0.4 percent, the biggest decliner among Latin American currencies, which were mostly flat. The Colombian peso, however, strengthened 0.3 percent, tracking rising crude oil futures. Brazil''s benchmark Bovespa stock index fell 0.7 percent, weighed down by blue-chips such as lender Ita Unibanco Holding SA and beverage producer Ambev SA. Shares of miner Vale SA also fell on the back of lower iron ore prices. Still, the index''s losses were limited by a rally in shares of power utilities after the government announced that plans to overhaul power sector rules could lead to higher rates and lower taxes. Shares of state-controlled utility Centrais Eltricas Brasileiras SA, or Eletrobras, which would benefit directly from the revamp, soared as much as 15 percent, their biggest daily increase in four years. Wider emerging markets mostly weakened, extending Wednesday''s selloff triggered by proposals to nationalize South Africa''s central bank. The South African rand held near seven-week lows even as the central bank tried to calm investors'' nerves by stressing its independence was enshrined by the constitution regardless of ownership. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1535 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % change change Latest MSCI Emerging Markets 1006.66 -0.32 17.12 MSCI LatAm 2539.50 -0.29 8.81 Brazil Bovespa 62706.88 -0.71 4.12 Mexico S&P/BVM IPC 50063.88 -0.47 9.69 Chile IPSA 4820.42 -0.58 16.12 Chile IGPA 24116.97 -0.51 16.32 Argentina MerVal 22487.48 0.24 32.92 Colombia IGBC 11024.10 0.06 8.85 Venezuela IBC 122973.02 -0.54 287.86 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.3063 -0.44 -1.73 Mexico peso 18.3280 -0.13 13.18 Chile peso 665.8 -0.02 0.74 Colombia peso 3074.6 0.27 -2.38 Peru sol 3.255 0.06 4.88 Argentina peso (interbank) 17.1000 0.29 -7.16 Argentina peso (parallel) 17.26 -0.29 -2.55 (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-latam-idUSL1N1JX12Z'|'2017-07-06T18:58:00.000+03:00' +'633b8df7595ef2d65d63f2842875a72a83de565a'|'China industrial profits jump 19.1 percent, weather higher financing costs'|'July 27, 2017 / 5:16 AM / an hour ago China industrial profits jump 19.1 percent, weather higher financing costs 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A general view of a shopping mall under construction in Chongqing, China July 13, 2017. Stringer/File Photo BEIJING (Reuters) - Earnings for China''s industrial firms surged 19.1 percent in June from a year earlier, accelerating from May in a sign economic momentum remains solid even as rising borrowing costs have raised concerns about pressure on margins. Profits in June rose to 727.78 billion yuan ($107.83 billion), the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on its website on Thursday. For the first half of the year, the firms notched up profits of 3.63 trillion yuan, a 22.0 percent jump from the same period of last year and just a touch slower from the 22.7 percent annual growth in the January-May period. The robust growth of industrial earnings in June was in part driven by continued appetite for iron ore and other commodities, whose prices have recovered modestly after taking a hit since March. Statistics bureau official He Ping said in a statement accompanying the data that accelerated profits growth in steel, auto and electronics sectors helped to boost overall earnings. "Another issue that requires close monitoring is the rising financing costs for companies," He added. Chinese policymakers launched a flurry of regulatory measures early this year to tackle financial risks from a rapid build-up in debt. That has raised borrowing rates, a headwind for businesses, particularly those struggling to reduce their debt servicing costs. With recent data showing the economy holding up better than expected, most analysts expect the regulatory restrictions to remain in place through this year, but do not see fresh tightening until after a critical leadership reshuffle in autumn. Chinese policymakers have leaned on property investment and infrastructure spending, including their plan to build a modern "Silk Road" trading route, helping fuel a building boom that has boosted demand and prices for materials from steel to cement. China''s June producer price inflation remained well off highs seen earlier this year, amid lingering oversupply issues in the steel sector. With producer price inflation having peaked, profitability and new investment are seen tapering off this year, although strong exports and investment returns have helped industrial firms to weather a tightening in monetary conditions. China''s economy grew a faster-than-expected 6.9 percent in the second quarter, matching the first quarter''s pace, thanks to solid exports, industrial production and consumption. However, some moderation in growth is expected later this year as policymakers'' efforts to rein in property and debt risks weigh on activity. The relatively solid economic growth is no doubt welcome news for President Xi Jinping ahead the major political leadership reshuffle in autumn, with authorities keen to ensure a smooth run-up to the meeting. Any sharp drop in industrial profits, a low-risk at this stage, will be a concern for policymakers as it risks rippling across the broader economy. Industrial companies'' liabilities rose 6.4 percent year-on-year as of end-June, the statistics bureau said. Profits at China''s state-owned firms were up 45.8 percent at 805.5 billion yuan in January-June, compared with a 53.3 percent rise in the first five months. The data includes companies with annual operating revenue of more than 20 million yuan from their main operations. ($1 = 6.7491 Chinese yuan renminbi) Reporting by Lusha Zhang and Ryan Woo; Editing by Shri Navaratnam 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/china-economy-industrial-profits-idINKBN1AC0FJ'|'2017-07-27T08:14:00.000+03:00' +'06e813c820940234888c3da21a46ccdc27fcc0df'|'Tesla''s Musk hands over first Model 3 electric cars to early buyers'|'July 29, 2017 / 4:13 AM / in an hour Tesla''s Musk hands over first Model 3 electric cars to early buyers Alexandria Sage 4 Min Read FREMONT, Calif. (Reuters) - Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said on Friday the Model 3 had over half a million advance reservations as he handed over the first 30 to employee buyers, setting the stage for the biggest test yet of the company''s strategy to become a profitable, mass market electric car maker. Outside Tesla''s Fremont, California factory, Musk showed off the $35,000 base vehicle with a range of 220 miles (350 km) on a charge that marks a departure from the company''s earlier luxury electric cars. Musk took to the stage driving a red Model 3, and said Tesla has produced 50 of the vehicles so far, including 20 for testing purposes. Hours before the event, Musk acknowledged it would be "quite a challenge" to build the car during the early days of production. "We''re going to go through at least six months of manufacturing hell," Musk told journalists. The over half a million reservations are up from about 373,000 disclosed in April 2016. Customers pay $1,000 refundable deposits for the car, which is eligible for tax credits. Any new buyers would likely not receive their car until the end of 2018, Musk said. A longer-range version of the car is priced at $44,000 and will drive 310 miles (500 km) on a single charge. The cars feature a streamlined dashboard devoid of buttons or knobs, with a 15-inch touchstream display to the right of the driver. Tesla faces major hurdles living up to the Model 3 hype. The 500,000 vehicles Tesla vows to produce next year are nearly six times its 2016 production. Customer employees receive some of the first Model 3 cars off the Fremont factory''s production line during an event at the company''s facilities in Fremont, California, U.S., July 28, 2017. Alexandria Sage Were Tesla to produce and sell 500,000 cars per year, the company would likely outsell the BMW, Mercedes, or Lexus brands in the United States. Production delays and quality issues marred the launches of Tesla''s Model S and Model X vehicles, and the company blamed production problems for a shortfall during the second quarter of this year. Musk has said a simpler Model 3 design will greatly reduce potential assembly-line problems. Slideshow (12 Images) Tesla has burned through over $2 billion in cash so far this year ahead of the launch. A troubled Model 3 launch could heighten the risks for the company, while a steady delivery of Model 3s could generate a stream of cash that would allow Tesla to avoid going again to the capital markets to fund its operations. Tesla''s share price has surged 54 percent since January in anticipation of the Model 3 launch, and Tesla''s pricey valuation now exceeds that of traditional rivals like General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co. Until now, Tesla has operated as a niche producer of luxury electric vehicles, with a charismatic, showman CEO who regularly interacts with fans on his Twitter account. Now loss-making Tesla is trying to move into a different league, building vehicles in high volume for customers able to pay only a few thousand dollars more than the average price of a conventional car or truck sold in the United States. The Model 3 is part of Musk''s broader plan to build a clean energy and transportation company that offers electric semi-trailer trucks, rooftop solar energy systems and large-scale battery storage systems. Reporting by Alexandria Sage; Editing by Joe White, Lisa Shumaker and Kim Coghill 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-model-idUKKBN1AE04G'|'2017-07-29T07:10:00.000+03:00' +'cf57a59715597637774963e15f625dd5676cf24c'|'With new Takata air bag recalls, automakers may face more liabilities'|'July 19, 2017 / 10:14 AM / 2 minutes ago With new Takata air bag recalls, automakers may face more liabilities Naomi Tajitsu and Maki Shiraki 6 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Visitors walk past a logo of Takata Corp on its display at a showroom for vehicles in Tokyo, Japan February 5, 2016. Toru Hanai/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Takata Corp''s ( 7312.T ) bankruptcy filing last month was meant to draw a line under the auto industry''s biggest safety recall, but last week''s announcement of more air bag inflator recalls suggests automakers could face fresh liabilities in the future. In late-2015, U.S. regulators gave Takata until the end of 2019 to prove that its replacement air bag inflators - which add a drying agent to combat moisture that can set off the ammonium nitrate compound in an inflator, with potentially lethal results - are also safe. If Takata fails that test - and some industry consultants, explosives experts and former employees question whether the workaround guarantees safety over the long-term - the 100 million or so replacement inflators currently being installed may themselves need to be replaced. "Absent proof that the other desiccated inflators are safe, they will also be subject to recall," the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said in a statement last week. The agency declined to comment on the risk that additional inflators may be subject to recall. (Graphics on ''Airbag deployment - tmsnrt.rs/2teGovm ) NHTSA announced last Tuesday that new testing at Takata prompted the Japanese parts firm to declare 2.7 million of the new air bag inflators defective, raising questions about the risk from replacement air bags as moisture can still seep into the propellant of some inflators. Takata''s automaker customers, which have so far borne much of the estimated $10 billion cost of replacing faulty bag inflators, could be on the hook for future liabilities in the event that Takata fails to prove that the desiccant workaround is sufficient. Last week''s recall is the first to involve Takata bag inflators that use a drying agent. Nearly 20 automakers have been affected by the air bag recalls, and some still use Takata inflators for replacements in the recalls. Automakers including Honda Motor Co ( 7267.T ), Toyota Motor Corp ( 7203.T ) and Nissan Motor Co ( 7201.T ) have said they will stop using Takata inflators for new contracts for future models. "If NHTSA in the future raises issues about the safety (of desiccated inflators) we will of course comply with their orders," Nissan''s chief sustainability officer Hitoshi Kawaguchi told Reuters. "At the moment, our focus is on getting replacement inflators to our customers." Toyota said it was "working closely with all stakeholders, including Takata, other suppliers and relevant agencies, to assess any potential impact and take action accordingly" on the recall issue. Honda, Takata''s biggest client, declined to comment. "The automakers... and Takata - they all know that this is a future issue," said Scott Upham, chief executive at Valient Market Research, whose clients include auto parts suppliers. "But I think everybody is concerned about the near-term issues, and the financial arrangements of the bankruptcy." FILE PHOTO: A woman stands next to a logo of Takata Corp at a showroom for vehicles in Tokyo, Japan, November 6, 2015. Toru Hanai/File Photo Takata says it has produced around 100 million replacement inflators containing drying agents: the 2.7 million recalled last week used calcium sulfate, and the rest contain zeolite. "We still have to prove the safety of our desiccated inflators, but we believe those using zeolite are safer than those using calcium sulfate," said spokesman Toyohiro Hishikawa. The company has declined to comment further on the testing process or the NHTSA deadline. Takata is the only global air bag maker to use ammonium nitrate as a propellant in its inflators. The compound''s vulnerability to high temperature and moisture can trigger an explosion that can spew shrapnel inside a vehicle. The defect has been linked to at least 17 deaths, mostly in the United States. ''Lengthening the Fuse'' The new inflators with the added desiccant have not been linked to any deaths or injuries, but the problems with the original inflators typically took five years or more to emerge. Keiichi Hori, who oversees automotive safety components at the Japan Explosives Society, said adding a drying agent can reduce, but not eliminate, the risk of uncontrolled explosions. If the desiccant can prevent all moisture from reaching the inflator propellant, "then it would be possible that the inflators could be used safely," he said. "Otherwise, alternatives should be considered." But Upham, the industry consultant, predicts the recalled parts will themselves eventually be recalled - because ammonium nitrate is fundamentally too volatile - and Takata''s carmaker customers may again have to foot the bill given that Takata is unlikely to be able to cover the costs. "Automakers are hoping and praying that the desiccant solves the problem... (but) this might come back to bite them," Upham said. Former Takata employees involved in manufacturing inflators have said the desiccant may buy Takata time. One told Reuters last year that by adding the desiccant, "you''re just lengthening the fuse, not correcting the problems." Key Safety Systems, a U.S.-based components supplier owned by China''s Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp ( 600699.SS ), has agreed to buy Takata''s good assets such as seat belts and steering wheels, for $1.6 billion. The plan is for Takata''s air bag business to be wound down by March 2020 after making replacement inflators for the ongoing recalls. Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu and Maki Shiraki in Tokyo; Additional reporting by Paul Lienert in Detroit and David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Ian Geoghegan 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-takata-bankruptcy-analysis-idUKKBN1A40VX'|'2017-07-19T13:14:00.000+03:00' +'151eee393b3b06e6e57266f2d5ecc1b38669f305'|'MOVES-RBC unit names Singapore country head'|'Market News 48am EDT MOVES-RBC unit names Singapore country head July 6 RBC Investor & Treasury Services, a unit of the Royal Bank of Canada, named Hong Paterson to lead its investor and treasury services business in Singapore. Paterson joins RBC from JPMorgan Commercial Banking in Singapore, where she was an executive director responsible for multi-national clients. (Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/rbofc-moves-idUSL4N1JX0P1'|'2017-07-06T14:48:00.000+03:00' +'91bc0374643dc7f67cf22189bc79443235c51f3c'|'UPDATE 1-Barbie maker Mattel''s profit, sales miss estimates'|'Edition United States July 27, 2017 / 8:23 PM / 19 hours ago Barbie maker Mattel''s profit, sales miss estimates 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Mattel''s toys depicting Disney car characters are seen at the 114th North American International Toy Fair in New York City, U.S., February 21, 2017. Stephanie Keith/File Photo (Reuters) - Mattel Inc ( MAT.O ) posted quarterly sales and profit that fell short of estimates as higher sales of toys based on the "Cars 3" movie failed to offset weak demand for its main brands such as American Girl, Barbie and Fisher-Price. Shares of Mattel fell about 4.1 percent to $20.42 in aftermarket trading on Thursday. Sales by the girls and boys brands unit, which includes Barbie and Hot Wheels, rose 10 percent in the second quarter ended June 30, driven by the release of its "Cars 3" toys. Those toys, die-cast and miniature models of Lightning McQueen and Jackson Storm, on May 1, rolled out ahead of the film''s June 16 release. The Cars movie franchise has been profitable for the toymaker since the series launched in 2006. But U.S. demand for "Cars 3" toys has been soft, Mattel said in a post-earnings call. Sales of Barbie dolls declined 5 percent and Fisher-Price toys fell 3 percent. Demand was also weak for American Girl, Monster High, Mega Bloks and Thomas & Friends toys in North America. "Barbie sales excluding the lapping of a license revenue event in the previous year would have been up about 5 percent, but were not enough to offset more aggressive declines in Monster High and Ever After High," Jefferies analyst Stephanie Wissink wrote in a client note. Net sales rose about 2 percent to $974.5 million, but missed analysts'' estimate of $979.7 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Sales in the company''s Asia Pacific region, of which China is a major part, rose 16 percent to $122.2 million in the latest quarter. Mattel is renewing its focus on emerging markets such as China where it has tied up with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd ( BABA.N ) and Chinese parenting website Baby Tree to set up educational development and learning centers for children. Excluding certain items, the company lost 14 cents per share, missing analysts'' average estimate of a loss of 9 cents per share. Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru; editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Richard Chang 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mattel-results-idUSKBN1AC33R'|'2017-07-27T23:42:00.000+03:00' +'f825f316211f71b881ad98bd751d5c82a9ba3f46'|'Daimler considers legal split in strategic overhaul'|'Edition United States July 26, 2017 / 5:56 AM / 35 minutes ago Daimler considers legal split in strategic overhaul Edward Taylor 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The Mercedes-Benz logo is seen before the company''s annual news conference in Stuttgart, Germany, February 4, 2016. Michaela Rehle/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Daimler may split parts of its business into separate legal entities in an overhaul, its Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche said, although the car and truck maker ruled out major divestments for now. News of Daimler''s ( DAIGn.DE ) strategic review spurred speculation on Wednesday about a break-up of the maker of Mercedes-Benz cars, trucks, buses and vans as it seeks to fund multi-billion euro autonomous and electric car investments. "We recommend taking this communication very seriously," analysts at Evercore ISI said in a note. Separating Daimler''s divisions could unlock value, with trucks and buses on their own worth 31 billion euros ($36 billion), analysts at Evercore ISI said in a note. The German company''s total market capitalization is around 65.25 billion euros, according to Thomson Reuters data. Chief Financial Officer Bodo Uebber said Daimler does not intend to divest business divisions, but left open the question about a partial listing of some businesses. "We have not decided to set up new legal structures within our group. We have decided to analyze this possibility. We had a small group in our company which was weighing this idea," Zetsche said in a call on second-quarter results. Internal deliberations within Daimler had now reached a stage where markets needed to be informed, he added. News of the strategy review comes as the auto industry faces a barrage of criticism over diesel pollution and allegations about anti-competitive behavior. "The automotive industry is currently making headlines, and not good ones," Zetsche conceded. German magazine Der Spiegel reported on Friday that German carmakers Daimler, BMW ( BMWG.DE ), VW ( VOWG_p.DE ), Porsche and Audi ( NSUG.DE ) held meetings to discuss suppliers, prices and standards to the disadvantage of foreign carmakers. The European Commission said it was investigating the matter, although Daimler pointed out it was not subject to a formal probe. Companies found guilty of breaching EU cartel rules face fines of as much as 10 percent of their global turnover unless they gain whistle-blower immunity. In a call with journalists Zetsche declined to comment on whether German carmakers had colluded. "We are well advised not to participate in speculation," Zetsche said, refusing to comment further. Asked whether such allegations could result in consequences for cooperation deals, such as a procurement agreement with BMW ( BMWG.DE ), Zetsche said: "Since we obviously operated within the law, none." Daimler''s and Volkswagen''s ( VOWG_p.DE ) supervisory boards met on Wednesday to discuss the allegations. Luxury Stars Second-quarter results showed Daimler''s star performer remained its luxury cars division which helped push up quarterly operating profit by 15 percent, slightly below consensus. Mercedes-Benz sold 595,200 cars thanks to a 28 percent rise in Chinese demand. Margins improved to 10.2 percent from 6.4 percent in the year-earlier period, mainly due to sales of a new E-Class limousine. Daimler said it expects strong sales in China in the second half, after its overall earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) rose to 3.74 billion euros in the second quarter, below the average forecast of 3.81 billion euros in a Reuters poll. The Stuttgart-based company also lifted the outlook for its trucks and vans divisions, saying it now expected EBIT to reach prior-year levels for both. Reporting by Edward Taylor; Maria Sheahan; Editing by Victoria Bryan/Susan Thomas/Alexander Smith 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-daimler-results-q-idUKKBN1AB0IA'|'2017-07-26T17:09:00.000+03:00' +'772a74b5931838c3130a02a12973985bdf1689e0'|'Federal Reserve now faces prospect of global monetary policy tightening'|'July 23, 2017 / 8:03 PM / 20 minutes ago Federal Reserve now faces prospect of global monetary policy tightening Howard Schneider 6 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Flags fly over the Federal Reserve Headquarters on a windy day in Washington, U.S., May 26, 2017. Kevin Lamarque/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Prospects for tighter monetary policy in Europe and other countries could pose a fresh problem for the Federal Reserve when it meets next week to ponder its plan to reduce its $4.2 trillion bond portfolio purchased after the 2008 financial crisis. The Fed bought U.S. Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities (MBS) for about six years in a program known as "quantitative easing" which kept interest rates at record lows to spur borrowing and economic recovery. But at its June meeting this year, as well as raising interest rates for the third time in six months, the Fed also announced a plan to begin by letting $6 billion a month in Treasuries mature without reinvestment and to increase that amount at three month intervals up to $30 billion. Similarly, the Fed said it would run down its agency debt and mortgage backed securities by $4 billion a month until it reaches $20 billion. Now, the European Central Bank (ECB) also appears likely to decide later this year on when to scale back its monthly bond purchases. When ECB President Mario Draghi first hinted at the prospect last month, world bond yields rose sharply for a while. Moreover, Canada''s central bank raised interest rates for the first time in seven years this month, and the Bank of England is expected to raise rates next year to combat rising inflation. Global Turning Point in Monetary Policy ? The Fed led the way in tightening monetary policy as the global economy recovered from the 2008 recession but must now determine how plans by other central banks'' plans may affect their own policy. While a stronger European economy has been welcomed by the Fed, lessening risks to the global economy, a move by major central banks to all tighten monetary policy simultaneously has not been seen for a decade. "The effects of ECB tapering are not limited" to euro zone countries, Cornerstone analyst Roberto Perli wrote recently. Draghi''s comments in June drove up 10-year Treasury yields US10YT=RR by the most since the U.S. election last November, and a move by the ECB to stop printing money could prompt the Fed to slow its plans for fear that financial conditions would tighten too fast. When Fed policymakers meet on July 25-26 they will need to decide a start date for reducing their bond holdings or leave more time to evaluate what Fed Governor Lael Brainard recently cited as a possible "turning point" in global monetary policy that may affect economic growth. The Fed''s plan to reduce its portfolio may well push up longer term bond yields, driving up long term borrowing rates for business, and lead to higher mortgage rates for the housing industry. Analysts have made comparisons to the so-called "taper tantrum" in 2013 when world bond yields jumped after the first signal from the Fed that it might tighten policy. "Just how sturdy is this recovery in the face of rising long rates? I would be a little more nervous about that," said former Fed research director David Stockton, now a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. "I would not feel any urgency" to reduce the balance sheet for now. Hurdles Ahead for Fed Fed officials have said they think the balance sheet reductions should begin soon, and analysts have pinpointed September as the likely month the Fed will stop reinvesting the proceeds it receives as securities mature.. But the minutes of the Fed''s June meeting indicated a split between officials ready to start balance sheet reductions in "a couple of months" and those wanting to wait for more economic data. Since then the number of hurdles for the Fed to jump before tightening policy further has multiplied. Global long-term bond yields jumped after the ECB indicated it may begin tightening policy last month and may rise again. Annual U.S. consumer price inflation increased by 1.6 percent in June, the smallest rise since October last year, and year-on-year inflation has been declining since February when it hit 2.7 percent, reducing the need for the Fed to tighten. And the prospect of the U.S. Congress failing to raise the federal debt ceiling before the Treasury runs out of cash in October has already driven up yields on three-month Treasury bills US3MT=RR due to mature on Oct. 19 to 1.17 percent on Friday, near the highest levels since October 2008. As a result the chances of a third rise in the Fed fed funds rate this year recently fell below 50 percent, according to CME Group''s FedWatch. Complicating matters more, each central bank has two policy tools in play - a target interest rate, and a massive balance sheet accumulated. Between them, the Fed and ECB own roughly $9 trillion of assets. Fed Governor Brainard has already pointed out how hard it may be to sort out what it will mean if the ECB starts to scale back its bond purchases at the same time the Fed is both raising short-term interest rates and shrinking its balance sheet. "I will want to monitor inflation developments carefully, and to move cautiously on further increases in the federal funds rate, so as to help guide inflation back up around our symmetric target," Brainard said. Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Dan Burns and Clive McKeef 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-fed-policy-idUKKBN1A80V7'|'2017-07-23T23:02:00.000+03:00' +'9120dcbc771e6efb353a55be647d236fff87ca7f'|'UPDATE 3-Daimler considers legal split in strategic overhaul'|'FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Daimler may split parts of its business into separate legal entities in an overhaul, its Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche said, although the car and truck maker ruled out major divestments for now.News of Daimler''s ( DAIGn.DE ) strategic review spurred speculation on Wednesday about a break-up of the maker of Mercedes-Benz cars, trucks, buses and vans as it seeks to fund multi-billion euro autonomous and electric car investments."We recommend taking this communication very seriously," analysts at Evercore ISI said in a note.Separating Daimler''s divisions could unlock value, with trucks and buses on their own worth 31 billion euros ($36 billion), analysts at Evercore ISI said in a note. The German company''s total market capitalization is around 65.25 billion euros, according to Thomson Reuters data.Chief Financial Officer Bodo Uebber said Daimler does not intend to divest business divisions, but left open the question about a partial listing of some businesses."We have not decided to set up new legal structures within our group. We have decided to analyze this possibility. We had a small group in our company which was weighing this idea," Zetsche said in a call on second-quarter results.Internal deliberations within Daimler had now reached a stage where markets needed to be informed, he added.News of the strategy review comes as the auto industry faces a barrage of criticism over diesel pollution and allegations about anti-competitive behavior."The automotive industry is currently making headlines, and not good ones," Zetsche conceded.German magazine Der Spiegel reported on Friday that German carmakers Daimler, BMW ( BMWG.DE ), VW ( VOWG_p.DE ), Porsche and Audi ( NSUG.DE ) held meetings to discuss suppliers, prices and standards to the disadvantage of foreign carmakers.FILE PHOTO: The Mercedes-Benz logo is seen before the company''s annual news conference in Stuttgart, Germany, February 4, 2016. Michaela Rehle/File Photo The European Commission said it was investigating the matter, although Daimler pointed out it was not subject to a formal probe. Companies found guilty of breaching EU cartel rules face fines of as much as 10 percent of their global turnover unless they gain whistle-blower immunity.In a call with journalists Zetsche declined to comment on whether German carmakers had colluded."We are well advised not to participate in speculation," Zetsche said, refusing to comment further.Asked whether such allegations could result in consequences for cooperation deals, such as a procurement agreement with BMW ( BMWG.DE ), Zetsche said: "Since we obviously operated within the law, none."Daimler''s and Volkswagen''s ( VOWG_p.DE ) supervisory boards met on Wednesday to discuss the allegations.Luxury Stars Second-quarter results showed Daimler''s star performer remained its luxury cars division which helped push up quarterly operating profit by 15 percent, slightly below consensus.Mercedes-Benz sold 595,200 cars thanks to a 28 percent rise in Chinese demand. Margins improved to 10.2 percent from 6.4 percent in the year-earlier period, mainly due to sales of a new E-Class limousine.Daimler said it expects strong sales in China in the second half, after its overall earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) rose to 3.74 billion euros in the second quarter, below the average forecast of 3.81 billion euros in a Reuters poll.The Stuttgart-based company also lifted the outlook for its trucks and vans divisions, saying it now expected EBIT to reach prior-year levels for both.Reporting by Edward Taylor; Additional reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Victoria Bryan/Susan Thomas/Alexander Smith '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-daimler-results-q-idUSKBN1AB0IA'|'2017-07-26T17:07:00.000+03:00' +'81d9e21bc0d79e09e6bc9c420018b2450813a7bf'|'Japan''s Universal loses Supreme Court appeal in Reuters case'|'The logo of Universal Entertainment Corp. is seen at the company''s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, June 29, 2017. Toru Hanai TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan''s Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Japan''s Universal Entertainment Corp ( 6425.T ) to hear its defamation case against Reuters, upholding two lower court rulings that its case against the news agency lacked merit.In a short written ruling on Wednesday, the Supreme Court said that Universal did not have grounds for appeal. Yoshinobu Onuki was the presiding judge in the case.Universal did not respond to a request for comment on the ruling.Universal had sued Reuters in Tokyo in December 2012, demanding 200 million yen ($1.79 million) and apologies, for stories relating to $40 million in payments Universal made to a consultant in relation to a casino project in the Philippines.In 2015, the Tokyo District Court ruled that the Reuters articles were accurate, and the company then lost an appeal last year at the Tokyo High Court, which upheld the lower courts ruling.The Reuters articles were about Universal''s payments to Rodolfo Soriano, a close associate of the former head of the Philippine gaming authority, and an investigation by the Nevada gambling regulator into the payments.Universal denies any wrongdoing.A Reuters spokesperson said: "We are pleased with this resolution, which upholds the right of the press to report on news in the public interest."Reporting by Nathan Layne; Editing by Martin Howell '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-universal-ent-reuters-lawsuit-idUSKBN1A61R6'|'2017-07-21T16:56:00.000+03:00' +'22b73f0fe8859629292e27b447db2ba5ffbe887f'|'Clearing houses get ultimatum to fix serious "shortcomings"'|'Market News - Wed Jul 5, 2017 - 11:00am EDT Clearing houses get ultimatum to fix serious "shortcomings" By Huw Jones - LONDON, July 5 LONDON, July 5 Global regulators warned on Wednesday of shortcomings in efforts to ensure that clearing houses can recover from a crisis without a meltdown in the financial system or a taxpayer bailout. A number of gaps have been identified at clearing houses which warrant immediate high priority action, the regulators said, adding that gaps in compliance with rules for preventing them from becoming too-big-to-fail must be plugged by December. Following the financial crisis regulators required trillions of dollars of derivatives like interest rate and credit default swaps to go through clearing to boost safety and transparency. This has led to a sharp growth in volumes passing through a clearing house, a third party that ensures a trade is completed, even if one side of the transaction goes bust. "One area was recovery planning, where a number of clearing houses had not yet put in place the full set of recovery rules and procedures," IOSCO and CPMI said. A number of clearers had also not put in place policies to ensure they maintain the required level of financial resources, such as cash and collateral, on an on-going basis. The updates were written by IOSCO, a global body of securities regulators, the Financial Stability Board, the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) - part of the Bank for International Settlements - and the global Basel Committee of banking supervisors. Clearing houses should "promptly" identify any areas where changes are necessary and implement them by no later than the end of 2017, the regulators said. They also named for the first time the clearing houses which they deem to be "systemically important" in more than one country, and must each come under their own "crisis management group" of supervisors. These groups, founded on co-operation agreements signed by regulators, would monitor the clearing house in a crisis. BME Clearing in Spain, Cassa in Italy, CME in the United States, Eurex Clearing in Germany, EuroCCP in the Netherlands, HKFE Clearing in Hong Kong, ICE Clear units in Britain and the United States, LCH units in France and Britain, Nasdaq Clearing in Sweden, and SIX x-clear in Switzerland were all named as systemic. The regulators noted how the sector has become concentrated, with the biggest two, unamed, clearing houses accounting for about a third of all financial resources in the sector. (Editing by Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/clearing-markets-regulations-idUSL8N1JW3SA'|'2017-07-05T18:00:00.000+03:00' +'1fd5c470da900348eaf8bfa057401be66773e8f1'|'PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - July 27'|'July 27, 2017 / 5:25 AM / 14 hours ago PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - July 27 2 Min Read July 27 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. - The former head of labor relations at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles was indicted on conspiracy and other charges by a federal grand jury on Wednesday, accusing him of siphoning off millions of dollars from a workers training center. nyti.ms/2uDQebD - A jury in Los Angeles on Wednesday awarded Quincy Jones $9.4 million damages, finding that he was underpaid his share of royalties for the use of music in the posthumous Jackson film "This Is It" and two Cirque du Soleil shows. nyti.ms/2uEfaQq -A Russian man, Alexander Vinnik, was arrested in Greece on Tuesday after being charged for overseeing a black market Bitcoin exchange that helped launder billions of dollars and stood at the nexus of several criminal enterprises, according to a federal indictment. nyti.ms/2v9VHdk - The Fed, in a statement after a two-day meeting of its policy-making committee, said it would start reducing its bond holdings "relatively soon" as long as moderate economic growth continues. nyti.ms/2v9HbCr - Britain announced on Wednesday that sales of new diesel and gas cars would reach the end of the road by 2040, the latest step in Europe''s battle against the damaging environmental impact of the internal combustion engine. nyti.ms/2uDS7Fw Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/press-digest-nyt-idUSL3N1KI23B'|'2017-07-27T08:24:00.000+03:00' +'e9b02a574cd32f472c05baf20494670d3dcdc56f'|'ECB should think about when it wants to wind down bond buys - Lautenschlaeger'|'July 29, 2017 / 10:19 AM / in 8 hours ECB should think about when it wants to wind down bond buys: Lautenschlaeger Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Sabine Lautenschlaeger looks on during the Bundesbank Banking Congress "Symposium on Financial Stability and the Role of Central Banks" in Frankfurt, February 28, 2014. Ralph Orlowski BERLIN (Reuters) - The European Central Bank should start thinking about how it wants to return to normal monetary policy and when it wants to wind down it bond purchases, governing council member Sabine Lautenschlaeger said in remarks published on Saturday. "The expansionary monetary policy has both advantages and side effects. As time passes, the positive effects get weaker and the risks increase," she told the Mannheimer Morgen newspaper. "So it''s important to prepare for the exit in good time. What''s crucial in that context is a stable trend in the rate of inflation towards our objective of just under 2 percent. It''s not quite there yet." She acknowledged that unwinding the ECB''s expansive policy would be a long process, saying that the governing council should start addressing the question of when it wants to start winding down its bond purchases. Reporting by Joseph Nasr Editing by Jeremy Gaunt 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ecb-policy-lautenschlaeger-idUKKBN1AE0BD'|'2017-07-29T12:54:00.000+03:00' +'060c7d6eff060184cb3479b1c0313ab4af6bc08f'|'HSBC, miners drive FTSE higher, but cigarette makers drag'|'July 31, 2017 / 9:19 AM / in 6 hours HSBC, miners drive FTSE higher, but cigarette makers drag Helen Reid 4 Min Read A worker shelters from the rain under a Union Flag umbrella as he passes the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain, October 1, 2008. Toby Melville/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Strong results from heavyweight bank HSBC helped drive British blue-chips higher on Monday as the index headed for a monthly gain on the last trading day of July, though tobacco stocks tumbled further following a new U.S. regulatory clampdown. The FTSE 100 .FTSE rose 0.5 percent, outperforming European stocks and set to close July up 1.3 percent. Mid-caps .FTMC were up 0.2 percent and headed for a monthly gain of 2.3 percent having ended June in the red - its worst month in a year. HSBC ( HSBA.L ) shares rose 2.7 percent after Europe''s biggest bank said profit grew 5 percent in the first half, and announced its third share buyback in a year. HSBC''s gains helped the FTSE banking index .FTNMX8350 stay close to a two-year high. "Beyond this buyback therefore, HSBC has $13 billion in capital above management''s 13 percent CET1 target - a focus on the investor call we think, despite the obvious uncertainties of Brexit, IFRS 9 and so on," said UBS analysts, adding their estimates already assume another $2 billion buyback will be announced at third-quarter results. Cigarette makers Imperial Brands ( IMB.L ) and British American Tobacco ( BATS.L ) pulled blue-chips lower, still affected by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration''s announcement on Friday that it would cut nicotine in cigarettes to non-addictive levels. Imperial fell 4.8 percent, making it the worst-performing large-cap stock, while BAT fell 1.7 percent. Both dropped sharply on Friday. Deutsche Bank analysts said the sharp stock reaction could be a buying opportunity in tobacco. Analysts at Morgan Stanley said the new regulation looked "extremely ambitious, in many ways impractical". A double upgrade from brokerage RBC boosted water utility Severn Trent ( SVT.L ) to the top of the STOXX, up 3.6 percent. "As [water regulator] Ofwat improves clarity on returns and costs benchmarks, we believe SVT''s position at the cost frontier and its ability to achieve incentives will be revealed," said analysts. Peer United Utilities ( UU.L ) also jumped 2.7 percent after RBC upgraded it. "With low expectations more than priced in, UU has the biggest potential to surprise and represents the best value amongst its water peers," they said. Miners underpinned gains as copper prices broke a two-year peak after strong manufacturing data from top commodity buyer China. BHP Billiton ( BLT.L ), Anglo American ( AAL.L ), Antofagasta ( ANTO.L ), Rio Tinto ( RIO.L ), and Glencore ( GLEN.L ) rose 1.9 to 2.2 percent, together adding around 11 points to the FTSE 100. Engine maker Rolls Royce ( RR.L ) fell 3.8 percent on reports the company had told investors it may not hit its target of 1 billion pounds in cashflow by 2020. Among mid-caps, miners Kaz Minerals ( KAZ.L ) and Ferrexpo ( FXPO.L ) also supported the index, while IT services firm FDM ( FDM.L ) jumped 10 percent to a record high after reporting a 35.4 percent surge in first-half revenue. Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks-idUKKBN1AG0Z4'|'2017-07-31T12:19:00.000+03:00' +'3f38d405fc9f6ff51d3454dd34cd3768a94b55c9'|'Activist Jana cashes out of Whole Foods following Amazon deal'|'July 19, 2017 / 11:18 PM / 14 hours ago Activist Jana cashes out of Whole Foods following Amazon deal 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Customers leave the Whole Foods Market in Boulder, Colorado, U.S. on May 10, 2017. Rick Wilking/File Photo (Reuters) - Activist investor Jana Partners LLC cashed out of its position in Whole Foods Market Inc ( WFM.O ), a regulatory filing showed on Wednesday, after the upscale grocer agreed to be acquired by Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) in a $13.7 billion deal last month. Jana, which was Whole Foods'' second-largest shareholder with an 8.2 percent stake, made a profit of over $300 million on the sale, according to Reuters calculations. Jana bought 27.9 million shares of the company for $721.2 million in March, and exited its position on Tuesday for a price of more than $1 billion. The investor had heaped pressure on Whole Foods to sell itself after taking a stake in the company, citing the retailer''s lagging sales and stock price. In June, Whole Foods agreed to be bought by Amazon for $13.7 billion in a sector-altering deal that could see the e-commerce giant enter the brick-and-mortar retailing industry. Reporting by Karina Dsouza in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-whole-foods-jana-idUSKBN1A42QI'|'2017-07-20T07:18:00.000+03:00' +'e37d2390ef55219dbbc450aafb315ab88dd8f524'|'UBS raises $325 million for Bono-backed impact investment fund'|'Business News 11:09am BST UBS raises $325 million for Bono-backed impact investment fund FILE PHOTO: The logo of Swiss bank UBS is seen at a branch office in Basel, Switzerland March 29, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann By Joshua Franklin - ZURICH ZURICH UBS has raised $325 million (252.71 million for a private equity impact investment fund, as the world''s biggest private bank looks to meet wealthy clients'' growing appetite to combine philanthropy with money making. The Rise Fund, which counts Irish rock star Bono among its co-founders, aims to achieve "measurable, positive social and environmental outcomes alongside competitive financial returns", UBS said in a statement on Monday. Impact investing -- a term coined in 2007 -- grew out of the desire by socially conscious individuals to extend philanthropy to their financial holdings. The fund, whose total size is around $2 billion, is managed by Bill McGlashan, founder and managing partner of TPG Growth, the growth-capital fund of U.S. private equity firm TPG. The fundraising represents a relatively minor amount for UBS, which has more than 2 trillion Swiss francs ($2.1 trillion) in invested assets. But clients want to move more of their money into these kind of investments, according to Simon Smiles, UBS Wealth Management''s chief investment officer for ultra high net worth clients. "The interest in impact investing and these kind of opportunities among the clients we speak to actually far exceeds the supply of the available opportunities," Smiles said. Interest is especially high among millennials and in Asia, Smiles said. One-third of the funds raised by UBS came from its North America wealth management division, with the rest coming from its international division, especially Asia. Investments, UBS said, will focus on seven sectors: education, energy, food and agriculture, financial services, growth infrastructure, healthcare, and technology, media and telecommunications. UBS plans to offer more impact investments to clients, said Christian Wiesendanger, UBS''s global head of investment platforms and solutions in wealth management. "This Rise Fund," Wiesendanger said, "is one of many to come." (Reporting by Joshua Franklin. Editing by Jane Merriman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ubs-group-ag-philanthropy-wealth-idUKKBN19V0ZJ'|'2017-07-10T13:09:00.000+03:00' +'26d0a10e4f225a20aa2b755df305af9bfae6b610'|'Embraer business jet mix hurt margins, but orders are solid -CFO'|'July 28, 2017 / 1:43 PM / 4 hours ago Embraer business jet mix hurt margins, but orders are solid -CFO 1 Min Read SAO PAULO, July 28 (Reuters) - Brazilian planemaker Embraer SA posted a lower second-quarter gross profit margin on its business jets due to a delivery mix with fewer of its light Phenom jets, Chief Financial Officer Jose Filippo told journalists on Friday. Filippo said on an earnings call that there signs of a recovery in the executive aviation market, albeit a slow one, and Embraer has been able to book orders for more business jets than it has delivered so far this year. (Reporting by Brad Haynes; Editing by Bernadette Baum) 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/embraer-results-bizjets-idUSE6N1K403M'|'2017-07-28T16:41:00.000+03:00' +'c115e062426ec00f8656a2bdf8fe4e1394d47996'|'Former AVG executives beef up cyber security investment fund'|'July 17, 2017 / 1:06 PM / 3 hours ago Former AVG executives beef up cyber security investment fund Jason Hovet 3 Min Read AVG computer security software is shown for sale at a computer store in San Marcos, California, U.S., May 15, 2017. Mike Blake PRAGUE (Reuters) - A group of former executives and investors from antivirus software maker AVG Technologies ( AVGTF.PK ) have raised an additional $55 million for their fund that invests in cyber security companies, its managing partner said. Evolution Equity Partners, which raised $70 million in its first funding round in 2015, is looking to bulk up its portfolio at a time when cyber attacks and hacks worldwide are surging. Last month, a computer virus dubbed GoldenEye or Petya wreaked havoc on firms in more than 60 countries, disrupting work at ports and factories while causing economic losses estimated in the billions of dollars. [nL8N1JP55N] Managing partner Richard Seewald said the fund would look to add three to five firms to its portfolio of nine companies, which includes Boston-based cyber security group Carbon Black that has been reported to be a potential stock listing. [nL1N1JQ02A] Seewald said the fund, based in New York and Zurich, ultimately wanted to have investments in 18 to 25 companies spanning the United States, Europe and Israel. "The fund is in the portfolio-building phase," he said in a telephone interview. "We are looking at opportunities systematically across all those geographies. Over the next couple of months you will see more activity." Seewald said the cyber security industry was shifting to next-generation technologies utilising artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning (ML), and firms developing this offered the biggest growth opportunities. Evolution typically invests in $5 million to $25 million chunks. Its latest deal was leading a $10 million funding round for Danish next-generation security platform provider LogPoint to help the company to expand. Seewald said competition was growing for investments. Research firm CB Insights data showed a record year for the number of deals in cyber security in 2016. At the same time, security spending is rising and should rise almost 8 percent to $90 billion in 2017 before topping $113 billion by 2020, according to information technology research company Gartner. Editing by Michael Kah, Louise Heavens and Jane Merriman 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cyber-attack-evolutionequity-idUSKBN1A21AR'|'2017-07-17T16:00:00.000+03:00' +'9facd60cc6886731fdbfdf77cb677b36f8b254aa'|'MIDEAST STOCKS-Banking shares lead Middle East higher ahead of Fed testimony'|'Market News - Tue Jul 11, 2017 - 9:32am EDT MIDEAST STOCKS-Banking shares lead Middle East higher ahead of Fed testimony * Saudi banks mixed as investors focus on Q2 results * United Electronics surges again on CEO bullish comments * Egypt reclaims all time high By Celine Aswad DUBAI, July 11 Blue-chip banks pushed Middle East stock markets slightly higher on Tuesday, a day ahead of the testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen for clues on when the central bank would tighten U.S. monetary policy. Yellen''s semi-annual monetary policy testimony before Congress will be on Wednesday and Thursday. San Francisco Federal Reserve President John Williams said on Tuesday in Sydney that it was a reasonable view to expect one more rate hike this year, and his own view was to start adjusting the central bank''s balance sheet in the next few months. Most Gulf currencies are pegged to the dollar and any monetary policy change in the United States is usually mimicked by Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar. In Doha, the majority of the listed banks were firm with the largest of them, Qatar National Bank adding 1.2 percent. The index rose 0.4 percent. In the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank added 1.6 percent and Union National Bank inched up 0.4 percent, helping take the index 0.2 percent higher. In neighbouring Dubai, Dubai Islamic Bank added 1.4 percent and the index rose 0.6 percent. Saudi Arabian banks were mixed as some investors turned their focus to upcoming second quarter results. Heavyweight National Commercial Bank edged up 0.2 percent after rising as much as 1.4 percent earlier in the day. Analysts at Riyad Capital expect net income for the sector to be flat in the second quarter from the year ago period as provisions may continue to weigh on performance - which they have been for the last several quarters - and because of a dip in credit demand. Nevertheless, they predict operating margins to witness some improvement. "While SAIBOR (the interbank lending rate) has been flat in the quarter, we believe cost of funds have declined given rising non-interest bearing deposits combined with some growth in advances," said the note by Riyad Capital. Mobile phones and home appliances retailer United Electronics Company (Extra) surged 8.1 percent in heavy trade to its highest close since November 2015 after its chief executive, Mohamed Fahmy, told financial news website, Argaam, on Monday that Extra aims to boost sales through its online portal, and strengthen partnerships with suppliers and brand offerings. Its shares soared by their 10 percent daily limit on Monday after reporting a near quadrupling in second quarter net income from a year earlier and a 15 percent growth in sales. The index added a small 0.1 percent. In Egypt, the index gained 1.5 percent to 13,684 points, reclaiming the all-time high hit on June 8. Shares of private equity firm Qalaa Holding jumped 5.2 percent in high volumes. On Saturday the company reported a narrowing first quarter net loss of 384 million Egyptian pounds ($21.54 million). Analysts at Naeem Brokerage expect positive operating trends in the coming quarters, although they "still anticipate losses" mainly because of higher debt servicing costs. Orascom Telecom, the most traded stock of the day, jumped 5.9 percent, its second straight session of strong gains. On Monday the company reported a huge leap in its first quarter net profit. HIGHLIGHTS * The index added 0.1 percent to 7,245 points. DUBAI * The index added 0.6 percent to 3,440 points. ABU DHABI * The index rose 0.2 percent to 4,409 points. QATAR * The index gained 0.4 percent to 9,030 points. EGYPT * The index climbed 1.5 percent to 13,684 points. KUWAIT * The index added 0.5 percent to 6,779 points. BAHRAIN * The index edged up 0.3 percent to 1,312 points. OMAN * The index rose 0.2 percent to 5,171 points. ($1 = 17.8700 Egyptian pounds) ($1 = 3.7501 riyals) ($1 = 17.8300 Egyptian pounds) (Editing by Pritha Sarkar) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/mideast-stocks-idUSL8N1K22XM'|'2017-07-11T16:32:00.000+03:00' +'5c490ea722429b7d4e7ae703a9f2ca115ec39ad4'|'$1 billion headache for Airbus as Qatar cancels four jets'|'Deals 22pm BST $1 billion headache for Airbus as Qatar cancels four jets left right A logo of Qatar Airways is seen at Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar June 12, 2017. REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoon 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO - A landing signal officer guides an Airbus A350-900 to be parked for the ILA Berlin Air Show in Selchow near Schoenefeld south of Berlin May 19, 2014. REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz 2/2 By Tim Hepher - PARIS PARIS Qatar Airways has axed orders for four A350s because of delivery delays, Airbus said on Thursday, handing the European planemaker a new headache over what to do with jets worth $1.2 billion at list prices as it tries to close a sales gap with rival Boeing. The Gulf carrier''s decision means Airbus will have to try to resell the 283-seat jets at a time when demand for big planes is softening, and could cost Airbus $60-80 million to rip out and replace interiors designed to fit the airline''s plush brand. "Smart players are not going to rush in, because other cancellations or deferrals may come," said veteran aircraft financier Bertrand Grabowski, former board member at DVB Bank. The cancellation follows concerns about delays and quality problems on cabin equipment for the A350, but also comes at a time when Qatar is entering the second month of a crisis caused by a ban on Qatar''s use of the airspace of four Arab nations. Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said earlier any delays were the planemaker''s responsibility. "We are asking Airbus to deliver it faster," he told a Dublin news conference. "The delay is from Airbus." An Airbus spokesman said the cancellations were related to "known supply chain issues". Asked what would happen to the undelivered A350-900 jets, he said: "They will be reallocated". Qatar Airways has a reputation for being demanding when reviewing aircraft for quality defects before delivery. Airbus has been wrestling with interior issues on the A350, including problems with the toilets. However, some analysts have said the Gulf political crisis may give the airline a further incentive to slow deliveries, compounding the impact of relatively weak oil prices. "All the Gulf carriers realize they have ordered too many wide-bodied aircraft and don''t have room for them, especially now," said an aircraft finance industry official. Al Baker last month denied the Gulf spat would interfere with Qatar Airways'' growth or aircraft deliveries. After a slow start to the year, Airbus said it had almost tripled its cumulative 2017 orders in June thanks to the Paris Airshow. But it ended the first half well behind Boeing, which grabbed most show headlines with a new version of its 737. Airbus took 248 orders between January and June, or 203 after cancellations. It delivered 306 aircraft over the same period including 30 A350s. As of June 27, Boeing had notched up 407 orders so far this year, or 361 after cancellations. (Reporting by Tim Hepher and Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Michel Rose and Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-airbus-orders-idUKKBN19R287'|'2017-07-06T20:21:00.000+03:00' +'ba140fa2311c777d8c5e716d46c75b042045b8b0'|'Austria pursues police access to messaging data with new law'|'VIENNA Austria is pursuing plans to give police access to messaging services such as WhatsApp ( FB.O ) or Skype in an attempt to "close the gap" on criminals who are no longer communicating via the telephone."Our investigators say that potentially criminal content has not been passed on for a long time solely via traditional ways of communication," a spokesman for the Justice Ministry said.Messaging services such as WhatsApp and Telegram secure private messages with end-to-end encryption, which means that messages can only be seen by the sender and the recipient.Austria sent the draft law detailing the proposals to political, technical, civil rights and legal experts on Monday.Vienna is seeking access to real-time conversation data in cases where a court has granted permission and which might be connected to terrorism or crimes that are punished by at least five years in prison, the spokesman added.Austrian courts have already sentenced several people to jail for links to terrorist organizations after verdicts which have been supported by data acquired from seized devices.The new law would give police wider, remote access. But it would not grant blanket access to hard drives, the spokesman added. The bill still needs to go to parliament after a deadline for the submission of expert opinions on Aug. 21.Austria''s government and police have said the law would provide the necessary legal basis for authorities to seek a technical solution for circumventing encrypted communication remotely and in real time.But tech experts say that weakening encryption by creating back doors for governments will leave phones, computers and other devices far more vulnerable.The justice ministry spokesman said Austria''s bill followed in the footsteps of other European countries such as Spain, France, Italy and Poland.In Germany, police and intelligence services technically have the right to install malware on suspect phones, but this is highly controversial and it is unclear how widely used it is.And the Dutch Senate is voting on a new digital security law on Tuesday that includes provisions to allow intelligence services to target criminal suspects with malware.Meanwhile, Britain''s Intelligence Act, which is still being implemented, explicitly gives power to police and intelligence services for the mass interception of communications.But the United States Senate failed last year to require firms like Apple ( AAPL.O ) to help law enforcement crack encrypted data.In Mexico the government targeted opposition officials with software designed to fight criminals, a report by the University of Toronto said last month.(Additional reporting by Eric Auchard, Peter Maushagen, Dustin Volz; Editing by Alexander Smith)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-austria-cyber-idUSKBN19V20U'|'2017-07-10T18:46:00.000+03:00' +'5293271a1a73aacfa030a9103fa86d151f5f9734'|'PayPal''s profit rises 27.2 percent'|'July 26, 2017 / 8:21 PM / 15 minutes ago PayPal''s profit rises 27.2 percent Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The PayPal logo is seen during an event at Terra Gallery in San Francisco, California May 21, 2015. Robert Galbraith/File Photo GLOBAL BUSINESS WEEK AHEAD SEARCH GLOBAL BUSINESS 24 APR FOR ALL IMAGES (Reuters) - PayPal Holdings Inc reported a 27.2 percent rise in quarterly profit as the payment processor''s growing strategic partnerships helped boost payment volumes. The company''s net income rose to $411 million (313 million pounds), or 34 cents 30, from $323 million, or 27 Revenue rose to $3.14 billion from $2.65 billion. Reporting by Nikhil Subba Maju Samuel 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-paypal-hldg-results-idUKKBN1AB2SL'|'2017-07-26T23:20:00.000+03:00' +'9be32763de92746446af990677ec37941f9a3c65'|'Digital wealth manager Flynt gets Swiss banking licence'|'July 21, 2017 / 1:50 PM / in 7 minutes Digital wealth manager Flynt gets Swiss banking licence Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi 2 Min Read ZURICH (Reuters) - Digital wealth management start-up Flynt has received a banking licence from Swiss finance watchdog FINMA, it said on Friday, representing a first for a Swiss financial technology business. The software group''s announcement comes on the heels of Swiss private bank Falcon receiving regulatory approval to allow clients to store and trade the virtual currency bitcoin, and marks a further technology inroad in the traditional banking hub which is keen to establish a strong fintech industry. Founded by the chief executive of derivatives specialist Leonteq ( LEON.S ) and based in Switzerland''s ''Crypto Valley'', Flynt aims to offer wealthy clients a platform from which to manage their asset portfolios, from bank accounts to real estate. "The banking licence allows Flynt the required independence to approach wealth management in new ways and using innovative technologies, thus enabling private and institutional clients, such as entrepreneurs and family offices, to independently control their total wealth at all times," the group said in a statement. Flynt currently employs 43 people. The Commercial Registry of the Canton of Zug confirmed Flynt''s registration as a bank and said the information would be published in two to three working days. In recent years, a variety of fintech players have received European banking licences. For many of them this has been because they want to lower the transaction fees they pay to banks, rather than to move into universal banking services themselves. Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi and Oliver Hirt; Editing by Mark Potter 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-swiss-fintech-flynt-idUKKBN1A61QI'|'2017-07-21T16:49:00.000+03:00' +'256502fe63314b9895673cac73d2f3586770d7df'|'French fashion house Lanvin to dismiss designer Bouchra Jarrar - source'|'Business News - Thu Jul 6, 2017 - 4:20pm BST French fashion house Lanvin to dismiss designer Bouchra Jarrar - source A woman walks past a Lanvin store in Paris, France, January 12, 2017. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann PARIS France''s oldest fashion brand Lanvin has decided to dismiss designer Bouchra Jarrar as it faces a deepening crisis amid slumping sales, a source close to the matter told Reuters on Thursday. Founded in 1889, Lanvin is one of France''s last major independent fashion labels in an industry dominated by multi-brand groups such as LVMH ( LVMH.PA ) and Kering ( PRTP.PA ). It has been in turmoil since the shock sacking in 2015 of previous designer Alber Elbaz after a boardroom dispute. Bouchra Jarrar, appointed in March 2016, "was seriously weakened by the lack of success of her collections," a source said, following reports of her expected departure from the fashion house. The source added that Jarrar would not be in charge of the Spring-Summer collection due for end-September. Neither Lanvin nor Jarrar could be reached for comment. Lanvin fell to net loss of 18.3 million euros (16.23 million pounds) last year, its first in nearly a decade, from a profit of 6.3 million in 2015, sources told Reuters last month. The loss is seen widening to 27 million euros in 2017, the sources said. Another source with access to the company''s results said sales fell 23 percent last year to 162 million euros and slumped a further 32 percent in the first two months of 2017. (Reporting by Pscale Denis; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Andrew Callus and Mark Potter)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lanvin-designer-idUKKBN19R29L'|'2017-07-06T18:20:00.000+03:00' +'e75d13e3bc0f5504162f922e59ffd732b53e2055'|'Global funds raise euro zone assets to over two-year highs'|'July 31, 2017 / 12:16 PM / 41 minutes ago Global funds raise euro zone assets to over two-year highs 6 Min Read European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters building is seen in Frankfurt, Germany July 20, 2017. Ralph Orlowski LONDON (Reuters) - Global investors have raised their holdings of euro zone equities and bonds to the highest levels in more than two years, a Reuters poll showed, reflecting a conviction that the European Central Bank will not rush to raise interest rates. Investors have sought signals as to when the ECB will start reducing its asset-purchase scheme, but the bank left its ultra-easy monetary policy unchanged at its July meeting and did not even discuss winding down stimulus. That probably gave fresh impetus to investor bullishness on Europe. Reuters'' monthly asset allocation survey of 49 fund managers and chief investment officers in Europe, the United States, Britain and Japan, showed assets from the single currency bloc continued to be favoured. The poll, 26, showed funds boosting euro zone equity allocations to an average 20.1 percent, the highest level since April 2015 and up 3.4 percentage points since the start of the year. They also raised euro zone bond holdings by two percentage points to 29.2 March 2015. European equities are up 5 percent year-to-date though they are set to end July flat, possibly spooked by the euro''s surge to near two-year highs EUR= . Over two-thirds of poll respondents monetary policy said they did not expect all four major central banks - the ECB, Bank of Japan (BOJ), the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England - to end-2018. The ECB and the BOJ were most often named as the central banks likely to lag the other two. Alain Zeitouni, senior portfolio manager at Russell Investments, was amongst those who cited the ECB. "We expect a slow and gradual tapering in the course of 2018 in order not to scare global capital markets," he said. "Inflation remains sub-2 percent in the euro area and with potential uncertainties around Italian elections in 2018, it is very unlikely the ECB will act before the end of the year." Trevor Greetham, Royal London Asset Management (RLAM), said their highest conviction view was that the BOJ would not raise rates. "The recent downgrade in their inflation outlook confirms our view that the underlying inflationary pressures remain low. We expect yen weakness to boost Japanese equities," he said. Investors increased Japanese equity exposure to 17.7 percent in July, the highest since November 2016, whilst raising Japanese bonds by over 1 percentage point to 13.5 percent. The BOJ kept policy unchanged in July and pushed back the timing for achieving its inflation target. Some managers also doubt the Bank of England will be able to tighten any time soon, with Justin Onuekwusi, a fund manager at Legal & General Investment Management, citing fragile consumer demand and uncertainty over Britain''s upcoming exit from the EU. "The MPC will have to balance a slowing economy and rising inflation a mild form of stagflation," he said. In contrast, the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to tighten further and to start reducing its bond holdings soon, a step it alluded to at its July meeting. Vulnerable Investors cut their U.S. equity holdings to 39.3 percent in July, the lowest level since Donald Trump''s election as U.S. President in November. Although U.S. stock markets .SPX .DJI have rallied to record highs, some investors expressed concern about stretched asset prices. With Trump''s promised tax cuts and higher spending already priced in, the market is viewed as vulnerable to disappointment. Some 85 percent of poll predicted he would see out his four-year term, notwithstanding an ongoing investigation into possible collusion between his presidential campaign and Russia. Several asset managers saw impeachment as difficult unless the Democrats made substantial gains at 2018 mid-term elections. Robeco strategist Peter van der Welle, however, put Trump''s odds of survival at 50/50. "If (special counsel Robert) Mueller manages to keep the investigation on track and presents compelling evidence, it is not unthinkable he has cleared enough smoke for Congress to trigger impeachment," he said. Overall, investors trimmed equity holdings to 46.1 percent of global portfolios, the lowest since March, while raising bond allocations to 40.8 December. In another sign of caution they raised cash levels by almost one percentage point to 5.3 percent. Just over half of those rock-bottom implied volatility expected it to spike higher, citing potential earnings disappointments as a possible trigger. "At current valuations, markets are priced for a return of Goldilocks - in the second phase of the cycle this is an assumption you should be concerned about," said Francois Savary, chief investment officer at Prime Partners. Additional reporting by Maria Pia Quaglia Regondi, editing by Larry King 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-funds-poll-global-idUKKBN1AG1E8'|'2017-07-31T15:21:00.000+03:00' +'1e744fa571d235d69caca26bf6f7f41f20b87440'|'BlackRock takes options to calm Brexit nerves despite pound positivity'|'Business News - Tue Jul 11, 2017 - 9:00am EDT BlackRock takes options to calm Brexit nerves despite pound positivity FILE PHOTO - The BlackRock logo is seen at the BlackRock Japan headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, October 20, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai LONDON BlackRock, the world''s biggest asset manager, is taking some exposure to the pound through options markets for fear of what months of messy Brexit talks may bring, although it maintains the currency is fairly valued. Scott Thiel, BlackRock''s Deputy Chief Investment Officer for global fundamental fixed income, said the money manager was buying option "calls", which entitle it to buy at around current levels rather than through spot purchases. "We remain constructive on sterling around current levels as we believe it is fairly valued, though given the headline risks around Brexit negotiations, our positioning is through buying call options," Thiel told Reuters on Tuesday. He declined to specify at what rates BlackRock was buying the options, beyond saying it was at "around current levels". Very low global market volatility has also made buying options on the pound far cheaper than they were last year, when sharp price swings were the norm. GBP1MO= The pound fell by as much as 20 percent in the aftermath of last year''s shock vote to leave the European Union, trading as low as $1.15, but it has steadied in recent months and was trading at around $1.2906 on Tuesday. However, there are still considerable nerves around the currency with surveys showing that major companies have curbed investment plans and consumers spent less on credit cards in anticipation of a rough economic period ahead. A threat by the Bank of England to raise interest rates is also broadly seen as reflecting concerns over the pound''s value. RBC strategists recommended a "short" sterling trade against the U.S. dollar this week, targeting $1.2635, while the latest Commodity Futures Trading Commission data for the week ending July 3 point to still sizeable short bets against the pound. (Reporting by Saikat Chatterjee; editing by Alexander Smith) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-sterling-blackrock-idUSKBN19W1FL'|'2017-07-11T16:00:00.000+03:00' +'163f749399769dfdc8e780532870b7ebf2a83024'|'Ex-Bank of England deputy in talks for Visa Europe CEO job - report'|'Business News - Sat Jul 8, 2017 - 1:06pm BST Ex-Bank of England deputy in talks for Visa Europe CEO job - report LONDON Charlotte Hogg, who resigned as the Bank of England''s deputy governor in March over concerns about a potential conflict of interest, is in talks to take over as chief executive at Visa Europe ( V.N ), Sky News reported on Saturday. Hogg, who was one of Governor Mark Carney''s most trusted lieutenants, stepped down following criticism by lawmakers that her role was untenable because her brother was responsible for guiding Barclays'' ( BARC.L ) response to bank regulation, which is overseen by the Bank of England (BoE). Sky, citing an unnamed source close to the BoE, said Visa Europe had held preliminary talks with the central bank about the implications of Hogg taking on the job as its chief executive. A Visa Europe spokeswoman declined to comment on the report. (Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Helen Popper)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-visa-hogg-idUKKBN19T0JU'|'2017-07-08T15:06:00.000+03:00' +'d9ccec1d75112f521a0fe8aa01862975c462fda0'|'Mike Ashley tells high court: I''m a power drinker, I like to get drunk'|'Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley has described himself as a power drinker and dismissed his 2.2bn fortune as wallpaper at the high court.The tracksuits and trainers tycoon is defending claims he agreed to pay a banker 15m while binge drinking in a London pub .He told the court on Thursday that he could not remember making any such deal with former banker and colleague Jeff Blue. He said he would have downed the first four pints of the session in about an hour and told how the beers were coming like machine guns every few minutes that night.I like to get drunk, Im a power drinker, Ashley said. My thing is not to drink regularly, its to binge drink. Im trying to get drunk will you accept that? I was drinking to get pissed and have a good night out.Ashley, the 54th wealthiest person in the UK according to the Sunday Times rich list, told the high court his fortune was mostly tied up in Sports Directs shares and he could only realise the money if he sold them, which he did not intend to do. Do you honestly think Im worth 2bn less [than] when the shares were at 9? he said. It doesnt make any difference until you sell them if theyre worth 20-a-share theyre wallpaper. Sports Direct shares peaked at 922p in 2014 but are now changing hands at 298p.Ashley told the court this week that he was so fabulously wealthy that he didnt know what to spend his money on when Sports Direct floated on the stock market 10 years ago and made him a paper billionaire. What do you think I did in the morning went out and bought the neighbours house? I already owned it.When Ashley invited the media to Sports Directs Shirebrook warehouse last year in an attempt to dispell the impression that working conditions were similar to a gulag, he revealed a wad of 50 notes as he made his way through security. Ive just been to the casino, he said at the time before adding: Dont write that.Ashley is defending himself against allegations that during a night of heavy drinking in January 2013 he agreed to pay Blue 15m if Sports Directs shares doubled to 8. The shares did hit 8 but have since collapsed, in part because of reputational damage caused by a Guardian investigation that revealed the retailer was in effect paying staff in its warehouse less than the minimum wage. A report by MPs later accused Ashley of running Sports Direct like a Victorian workhouse.Ashley, who also owns Newcastle United football club, said he would rather have put needles in my eyes than go to the meeting with boring bankers at the Horse & Groom pub in Fitzrovia, central London, in January 2013. But he said he had been asked by Blue to make it a fun night and started drinking quickly.Facebook Twitter Pinterest Former banker Jeff Blue arrives at the high court. Photograph: Barcroft Ashley said he would have had four to five pints within the first hour. We would have had the first pint in between five and 10 minutes, he said. The second pint would probably be between 10 and, longest case, 15 minutes. The third pint is what 30 minute-ish youre slowing down by then.Jeffrey Chapman QC, Blues lawyer, put it to Ashley that his recollection of drinking quite so many pints so quickly might not be true because he had not factored in the time taken to go to the bar and order more drinks. Ashley said it was the job of another banker in the pub to get the drinks in. He got the drinks in before the round was finished they were coming like machine guns.The businessman said he did not want to go the pub meeting with City brokers but Blue had all but begged him to go and told him to make it a fun night and impress the brokers with his larger-than-life personality. Ashley said he would have made Blue keep pace with the drinking early on, but doubted that he would have been able to keep up. Hes a lightweight when it comes to drinking thats a fact and he wouldnt have been physically able to keep up.Blue claims Ashley often conducts business in pubs, casinos and various other unusual venues while under the influence of alcohol and the meetings venue should not invalidate the alleged deal. This week, Blue gave the court an extraordinary picture of Ashleys working practices, including a claim that he would challenge subordinates to extreme drinking competitions that once ended with the 52-year-old billionaire vomiting into a fireplace.Asked whether Ashley took calls about player transfers at Newcastle United during the meeting in the pub, he said he could not recall that and that managers at his club were really not interested in my opinion on football. Do you think I make the decisions for Newcastle United? he said. Im like the last person to know.Ashley denied Blues allegations that he paid senior Sports Direct managers multimillion-pound bonuses from his personal funds to artificially keep down the pay of other staff. He knows thats lies. Jeff Blue knows thats utter bullshit, Ashley told the court on Wednesday. He said he had never made any payments of more than 1m to any Sports Direct employees. Blue had made the claim based on a conversation with Peter Cowgill, the boss of JD Sports, a rival of Sports Direct. Cowgill told the court on Thursday that he had no knowledge of the senior managements pay. Ashley clarified on Thursday that he had paid his brother John, who was in charge of IT at Sports Direct, millions of pounds.The case continues.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jul/06/mike-ashley-high-court-sports-direct-newcastle-united'|'2017-07-06T21:13:00.000+03:00' +'2f5731a4e5cd4e609ee1043dc2cb6232efaf03e9'|'After rate hike talk, Bank of England set to keep investors guessing'|'July 28, 2017 / 1:48 PM / 7 hours ago After rate hike talk, Bank of England set to keep investors guessing William Schomberg 4 Min Read Britain''s Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney, holds the new 10 note featuring Jane Austen, at Winchester Cathedral, in Winchester, Britain July 18, 2017. Chris J Ratcliffe/Pool LONDON (Reuters) - For a while recently it looked as if the Bank of England might finally be getting ready to raise interest rates, but Governor Mark Carney and most of his top officials seem set to remain in wait-and-see mode when they meet next week. A run of weak data and deep uncertainty about the impact of Brexit on the economy have cooled the speculation that the BoE is poised to start removing its crisis-level stimulus. Only a few weeks ago the odds in financial markets of a rate hike on Aug. 3 jumped from near-zero to one-in-three. The trigger was a much narrower-than-expected 5-3 vote in June by the BoE''s rate setters to keep borrowing costs on hold. For graphic on how the Bank of England''s rate-settlers line up click: tmsnrt.rs/2uEU8my For graphic on key issues for Bank of England at August meeting click: reut.rs/2w6lmjz Sterling and British government bond yields then climbed again when BoE Chief Economist Andy Haldane said he expected to switch his vote in the second half of 2017. More cautiously, Carney suggested he was moving closer to backing a rate hike. After all, raising rates from 0.25 to 0.50 percent would only be a reversal of the emergency rate cut the BoE made in August last year shortly after the Brexit vote shock. Despite the weak run of data recently, Victoria Clarke at Investec said Carney would probably be happy to keep investors guessing about the BoE''s plans, even if he were confident that the rate-hike supporters remained in the minority. "Maintaining the debate ensures that if he does need to move to raise rates later this year, if domestically generated inflation really starts to move up, then the BoE is not caught out delivering a quick-turn surprise to markets," she said. Economists expect the BoE to push up its inflation forecasts slightly but to lower its projection for growth after the weak start to the year. That is unlikely to help the BoE''s hawks, who won''t be able to provide much evidence for their case that the lowest unemployment rate in more than 40 years is about to push up wages sharply, or that there has been a pick-up in exports and investment capable of offsetting weaker consumer spending. Furthermore, one of the three dissenters in June has since left the BoE. Doves Still in Control As a result, most economists expect a 6-2 vote to keep rates on hold, with an outside chance of another 5-3 split if Haldane follows through and changes his vote. Should Haldane switch sides and the Monetary Policy Committee''s newcomer Silvana Tenreyro unexpectedly votes for a rate hike too, the 4-4 split would be resolved by a casting vote by Carney who has suggested he is not yet ready for a rate hike. Instead, the BoE might take a baby step next week by not renewing the bank lending incentives that were part of its big stimulus push a year ago, shortly after the Brexit vote shock. The Term Funding Scheme is already three-quarters of the way toward its 100 billion-pound target. The Bank has other options to micro-manage the economy, chiefly its powers to tighten rules for bank lending. While Carney is unlikely to kill off the chance of a rate hike this year, many economists think the window is closing. They say inflation looks set to return to the Bank''s 2 percent target in mid-2018 when slower growth will add to the case for keeping rates on hold until 2019, the most likely date for a hike, according to a recent Reuters poll. "Once inflation is on the down slope - which we expect soon - we see very little opportunity for the BoE to hike rates," economists at Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in a note to clients. "Indeed, we continue to question whether the next move in rates will be down rather than up." Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Hugh Lawson 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-boe-idUKKBN1AD1PD'|'2017-07-28T16:47:00.000+03:00' +'b82d71aed6ec638a4f8571ec45e0e240ae5a5735'|'Investor says Martin Shkreli reminded him of ''Rain Man'''|' 35am BST Investor says Martin Shkreli reminded him of ''Rain Man'' FILE PHOTO: Martin Shkreli, former chief executive officer of Turing Pharmaceuticals and KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc, departs after a hearing at U.S. Federal Court in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., June 26, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo By Brendan Pierson An investor in Martin Shkreli''s hedge fund testified on Monday that the former drug company executive, now on trial for securities fraud in federal court in New York, reminded him of Dustin Hoffman''s autistic character in the movie "Rain Man." Schuyler Marshall, chairman of the board of the real estate company Rosewood Corp, said under cross-examination by Shkreli''s lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, that he was not claiming Shkreli was autistic. "The reference here was that this was just an intensely focused, bright guy who knew his stuff," Marshall told jurors. Hoffman''s character in the 1988 film is an autistic savant with exceptional mental abilities but difficulty relating to other people. Shkreli, 34, gained notoriety in 2015 when he raised the price of a life-saving drug by 5,000 percent as the chief executive officer of Turing Pharmaceuticals, sparking outrage among patients and U.S. lawmakers and earning him the nickname "pharma bro." The charges he is on trial for stem not from his time at Turing, but from his management of hedge fund MSMB Capital Management, another fund called MSMB Healthcare and drug company Retrophin between 2009 and 2014. Prosecutors say he deceived investors in the funds and eventually repaid them with money stolen from Retrophin, which Shkreli founded in 2011 but was ousted from as CEO in 2014. Marshall''s testimony fit into the picture that Brafman painted in his fiery opening argument of Shkreli as a socially awkward "nerd" who was bullied and manipulated by others. Like other investors who have testified in the trial, Marshall, who invested more than $200,000 in MSMB Capital, said that while Shkreli misled him about the fund''s operations, he did not lose money. At one point, Marshall testified, he even used the phrase "no harm, no foul" in a communication with Shkreli. "He paid back my investment and then some," Marshall said. The trial, now in its seventh day, is expected to last up to six weeks. (Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-crime-shkreli-idUKKBN19W01V'|'2017-07-11T03:35:00.000+03:00' +'2247227e33586e55a957154f594b201ed1d5dbfd'|'Some Chinese electric car makers mull alliance to save money, time'|'July 26, 2017 / 11:13 PM / in 20 minutes Some Chinese electric car makers mull alliance to save money, time Norihiko Shirouzu 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Singulato iS6 is displayed at Shanghai Auto Show, during its media day, in Shanghai, China April 19, 2017. Aly Song/File Photo BEIJING (Reuters) - A handful of China''s many electric vehicle (EV) start-ups are considering setting up an alliance to pool resources, develop joint technology and bring cars more quickly to the world''s biggest autos market. In a sign that the country''s fledgling EV industry is already consolidating as rules get tougher and competition fiercer, Shen Haiyin, co-founder and CEO of Singulato Motors, said his company and four others - CHJ Automotive, Hongxing Automobile Manufacturing Co, AIWAYS and WM Motor - have discussed an alliance for months. Keen to push for cleaner energy cars, in part to combat air pollution and a dependence on imported oil, Beijing wants 8 percent of automakers'' sales to be so-called new energy vehicles (NEVs) - battery electric or plug-in hybrids - by next year, rising to 12 percent in 2020, according to latest draft proposals released last month. Sales of NEVs this year are forecast by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers at around 700,000, roughly 3 percent of the overall Chinese autos market. Shen, known as Tiger Shen, told Reuters the start-ups aim to finalise the move by end-September with the aim to start developing a common EV platform by the end of this year. As the industry shifts towards smart, internet-connected, battery cars, with electrified powertrains, it''s increasingly hard for automakers to differentiate, he said. "Just like smartphones, whose gut is the same Android operating system across many brands, smart EVs should compete more on ownership experience and services," Shen told Reuters. The move to pool resources and know-how highlights how Chinese start-ups are scrambling to save time and money in developing products as they face increased pressure from established global automakers shifting into a new market, so far led by Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ). Also, Chinese policymakers have put on hold approving new EV ventures because of concern that some start-ups have cut corners on technology or have set up just to access attractive subsidies. Regulators are reviewing licensing procedures and may bring in tougher technical requirements early next year, three EV start-up founders and executives told Reuters. Freeman Shen, co-founder and CEO of WM Motor, reckons the prospect of tougher new technical requirements is a big factor spurring start-ups to consider an alliance to develop basic vehicle technology. "The government worries about some new start-ups, thinking some of them actually don''t have the technology and management expertise to be a legitimate player," he told Reuters. "This shows start-ups need to work together to face competition from traditional automakers." FILE PHOTO - Singulato''s co-founder and CEO Shen Haiyin attends the launch ceremony of an electric SUV Singulato iS6 in Beijing, China April 13, 2017. Jason Lee/File Photo David Jin, spokesman for AIWAYS, said the Shanghai-based start-up "welcomes cooperation within the industry permitted (under) Chinese law and anti-monopoly law and technical exchanges. We need to make a decision after we get further information." The company''s CEO Fu Qiang declined to comment on any alliance talks, referring questions to Jin. A spokeswoman for CHJ Automotive and an official at Hongxing Automobile declined to comment. Shared Parts Slideshow (2 Images) Despite years of effort to reduce costs for traditional gasoline-fuelled cars through common vehicle platform technologies, these are still often designed separately for different car models. "Gasoline car platforms are often over-designed," said Singulato''s Shen. "Who needs cars with platforms that allow you to do a high-speed U-turn or slalom? While we want to design an advanced platform for plug-in battery cars, we don''t want to make platforms excessively over-spec''d." WM Motor''s Shen said he supports the idea of an alliance, but is unlikely to be part of it, for now, as his company''s first vehicles are to be based on vehicle architecture it has already developed itself. Singulato''s Shen said combining resources would allow alliance members to develop a far more advanced vehicle technology, and for less money. "Let''s say each player planned to spend 200 million yuan (22 million pounds) to develop a next-generation platform; if four players each threw in 100 million yuan, we''d all save money but end up with a 400 million yuan platform rather than a 200 million yuan platform," he said, "the benefits are clear." He said that if the alliance does take shape, it would set up a separate company to oversee platform development, and ask independent automotive engineering companies around the world to bid for a contract to help in advanced vehicle technologies that could be shared among alliance partners. Alliance partners would also share, and possibly jointly procure from outside suppliers, basic car platform parts like axles and suspension. "We plan to ask component suppliers to join the joint venture, too," Tiger Shen said. Reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu, with additional reporting by BEIJING NEWSROOM; Editing by Ian Geoghegan 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-autos-china-ev-idUKKBN1AB32G'|'2017-07-27T02:13:00.000+03:00' +'0c3ad06988a4d9a61f7b6b51cc87aa4d6cebda5a'|'Dollar pressured by Trump Jr. emails, focus on Yellen testimony'|'July 12, 2017 / 1:00 AM / 10 minutes ago Dollar pressured by Trump Jr. emails, focus on Yellen testimony Lisa Twaronite 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A U.S. five dollar note is seen in this illustration photo June 1, 2017. Thomas White/Illustration/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - The dollar wobbled in early Asian trading on Wednesday as investors, already wary ahead Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen''s testimony, digested emails released by President Donald Trump''s eldest son suggesting he welcomed Russia''s help in last year''s election campaign. Yellen will give her semi-annual monetary policy testimony before Congress later on Wednesday and on Thursday, and investors will be parsing it for or clues on when the Fed will start reducing its massive balance sheet. The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against a basket of six major rivals, was slightly lower on the day at 95.641 .DXY. Against its Japanese counterpart, the dollar slipped 0.2 percent to 113.675 yen JPY= , moving away from a four-month high of 114.495 yen marked on Tuesday. Emails released by Donald Trump Jr. on Tuesday showed he agreed last year to meet a woman he was told was a Russian government lawyer who might have damaging information about Democratic White House rival Hillary Clinton as part of Moscow''s official support for his father. Investors'' mood turned more hopeful later in the session after U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell announced a two-week delay in the Senate''s August recess to provide more time to work on legislation and approve nominees, which could lead to progress on tax reform and fiscal stimulus. Even after the news of the longer session, "the U.S. dollar did not return to beginning-of-the-day levels," said Bill Northey, chief investment officer at U.S. Bancorp Wealth Management in Helena, Montana. While the dollar was buffeted by the political headlines on Tuesday, it remains underpinned against the yen by divergent monetary policy expectations for the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan, he said. "Central banks around the globe seem to be either removing their accommodation or talking about removing their accommodation, except for the BOJ," said Northey. Ahead of Yellen''s remarks, Fed Governor Lael Brainard said the central bank should soon begin reducing its balance sheet, as long as economic data on U.S. jobs and growth holds up. But she wasn''t as hawkish as some investors hoped, saying that once balance sheet reduction is under way, she will assess inflation before deciding on further interest rate increases. Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker, a voter on the Federal Open Market Committee, said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday that if inflation did not move toward the Fed''s 2 percent target, then this would be a reason to hold off raising rates. The euro added 0.1 percent to $1.1473 EUR= , within sight of the previous session''s 14-month high of $1.1480. The Canadian dollar CAD= was slightly higher against its U.S. counterpart as investors awaited a Bank of Canada interest rate decision later on Wednesday. While forecasters remain divided on whether the central bank will raise rates, data from the overnight index swaps market showed that money markets have priced in a hike, as well as a second hike before the end of the year. Editing by Sam Holmes'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-forex-idINKBN19X03Y'|'2017-07-12T03:58:00.000+03:00' +'1fd7332086d0e7beb60f21db4802e30c0c79c274'|'Ground rents: aristocrats shell firms among those making millions'|'Aristocratic landowners with connections to the family of former prime minister David Cameron, mysterious Dublin-based shell companies that pay no tax, and groups based in the Channel Islands are among the freehold owners that appear to have made millions from spiralling ground rents.When Guardian Money attempted to trace the ultimate ownership of the five-bed detached home bought by Jo Darbyshire in Bolton, we uncovered the pass-the-parcel world of freehold speculation . Quick Guide Leasehold houses and ground rent Show Hide What are leasehold houses? Britain has had leasehold homes for hundreds of years, but only in the past few months has the ground rent scandal exploded. Now the government is proposing a complete ban on new houses sold as leasehold , and reducing ground rents to zero. Traditionally, houses have been sold as freehold, and the buyer has complete control over their property. When a house is sold as leasehold , the buyer is effectively only a tenant with a very long term rental, with the ground the home is built on remaining in the hands of the freeholder. The home buyer has to pay an annual ground rent to the freeholder, and has to ask the freeholder for consent if they want to make any changes to the property, such as building a conservatory or changing the windows.Why have they suddenly become such a problem? In the past, leasehold property owners were generally charged just a peppercorn ground rent, sometimes as little as 1 a year, and many freeholders did not bother to collect it. But the picture changed earlier this century, when developers started to insert clauses into leasehold contracts where the ground rent was set at 200-400 a year, doubling every ten years . Direct Line estimates the typical ground rent to be currently 371. Although unsuspecting first-time buyers were frequently told that 999-year leases were virtually freehold, the clauses meant that the ground rent would soon spiral to absurd levels. The government quotes a family house where the ground rent is expected to hit 10,000 a year by 2060.How many people are affected? The Leasehold Knowledge Partnership , which has vigorously campaigned on this issue, estimates that around 100,000 homebuyers are trapped in contracts with spiralling ground rents. There are many more people in leasehold flats, some of which also have doubling ground rents.Is it just the ground rent that is the issue? No. Freeholders are able to extract other sums out of their leaseholders in a variety of ways. Homebuyers report being charged 100 even to have a letter answered by the freeholder, and as much as 2,500 for permission to build a conservatory . These are charges that are on top of obtaining planning permission.Was this helpful? Thank you for your feedback. Darbyshire, 46, and her husband Mark, 47, bought their home from Taylor Wimpey in 2010, and are among thousands of leaseholders on doubling ground rent contracts, meaning the sum paid doubles every 10 years.Two years after the Darbyshires completed their purchase, Taylor Wimpey sold their freehold to a company called Adriatic Land 2 (GR2). It is not known how much Taylor Wimpey earned from the deal.In January 2017, that freehold ownership was transferred to Adriatic Land 1 (GR3), while some of Darbyshires neighbours have seen their freeholds transferred from Adriatic Land 2 (GR2) to Abacus Land Ltd. You have no idea who owns the land under your feet, said Darbyshire. Your dream house is traded from one offshore company to another for tax reasons, or who knows what else?Victims of ground rent scandal demand action on existing abuses Read more Adriatic Land 1 (GR3) is registered at Companies House with an address at Palmer Street in the heart of Westminster, London. The documents show that one of its directors until late 2013 was the Honourable William Waldorf Astor, the half- brother of David Camerons wife, Samantha. Astor runs the fund manager Long Harbour, which invests in residential freeholds, and is also director of HomeGround, which administers freeholds on behalf of various landlords, including the Adriatic Land vehicles.The website for the Long Harbour ground rent fund boasts: Since closing our first transaction in 2010, Long Harbour has acquired over 160,000 residential units comprising approximately 1.4bn of assets to date. It says many of the investors in its fund are pension groups looking for a secure long-term income.A Long Harbour spokesman said it met all of its tax obligations, adding that investors in its unit trusts and limited partnerships are responsible for payment of any of their own taxes. He added: The investment funds in the Long Harbour ground rent fund are UK-based pension and life assurance funds seeking a long-term inflation-proof income and as such are tax exempt.Since 2013, Darbyshires freeholder, Adriatic Land 1 (GR3), has listed its directors as individuals based in Dublin, and says its ultimate controlling party is Jetty Finance DAC, registered in Dublin. Its last reported accounts show the company had 19m in property assets and earned an income of 1.9m, on which it made a profit of 1.3m. In the year to March 2016 it paid zero corporation tax; there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing.There are numerous other Adriatic Land companies registered at Companies House. Adriatic Land 4 (GR1), for example, has interests in 27m worth of property, with its immediate parent company listed in Guernsey in the Channel Islands.Leasehold houses and the ground rent scandal: all you need to know Read more E&J Estates is another major buyer of freeholds from developers. Lindsay Lloyd in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, bought her three-bed semi from Taylor Wimpey in 2009, but as a 22-year-old with little spare cash and told by her solicitor that the ground rent would not be a burden decided against paying 2,625 for the freehold. A few years later the 999-year freehold was sold to E&J. When she approached the company to buy her freehold, she was initially rebuffed. After pressing for a quote, she says she was asked for 32,000. I just thought they were having a laugh. The property only cost us 155,000. Lloyd, who works in a creche, said she was unable to afford the 32,000. Meanwhile, her ground rent doubled from 175 a year to 350 a year on 1 July, despite promises by the developer, Taylor Wimpey, to help out buyers with a 130m assistance scheme .'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/jul/26/ground-rents-aristocrats-shell-firms-among-those-making-millions'|'2017-07-26T13:00:00.000+03:00' +'bfe21c19a865f0e9847dc324ff1322301df8d8d6'|'Boeing''s new avionics group aims to cut costs, boost quality'|'July 31, 2017 / 5:19 PM / 31 minutes ago Boeing''s new avionics group aims to cut costs, boost quality 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The Boeing logo is seen at their headquarters in Chicago, April 24, 2013. Jim Young/File Photo Boeing Co ( BA.N ) said on Monday it has set up an avionics group to make flight controls and other electronics currently made by outside suppliers for its commercial and military aircraft, aiming to bring the products into service after 2020. The move by the world''s largest plane maker appeared to be a direct attack on suppliers such as Rockwell Collins Inc ( COL.N ), United Technologies Corp ( UTX.N ) and Honeywell International Inc ( HON.N ). The three companies, which make electronics used on current Boeing jets, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In recent years, Boeing has brought propulsion, carbon fibre manufacturing and other key capabilities in-house to better control both technology and intellectual property. That strategy followed outsourcing of major systems to suppliers for the 787 Dreamliner that led to billions of dollars in cost overruns. Boeing said it has already started developing systems that would be lower cost, higher quality alternatives to existing products made by suppliers, and would deliver more services revenue to Boeing after a plane is sold. Boeing aims to "further drive cost down and value up for our customers, in all phases of a product''s life cycle," Boeing Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg said in an internal statement to employees that was seen by Reuters. While Boeing owns some intellectual property on electronic systems in its jet cockpits, current contracts with suppliers likely would not let Boeing take aftermarket business away on those planes, said analyst Robert Stallard. However, suppliers could lose significant business on future aircraft, Stallard said. Boeing is talking about creating a new mid-sized aircraft that would enter service around 2025, and would need to create a successor to its best-selling 737 model after that. Boeing shares were up 1 percent at $243.72 in midday trading. Reporting by Alwyn Scott; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Diane Craft 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-boeing-avionics-idUKKBN1AG245'|'2017-07-31T20:19:00.000+03:00' +'2b6357a2213ad9b6aeb0223e75905c30e54e423e'|'Markets worry about central banks'|'IN JANE AUSTENS novel, Sense and Sensibility, Henry Dashwoods death plunges his wife and two daughters, Elinor and Marianne, into financial distress, because his heir grants them only a meagre allowance. Bond-market investors have started to worry that something similar is about to happen to them.Since 2009 central banks have been incredibly supportive of the financial marketskeeping short-term interest rates at historic lows and buying trillions of dollars worth of bonds. But in recent weeks, several of them have been hinting at reducing their largesse. 15 hours ago How The Federal Reserve has been slowly pushing up interest rates and has talked about reducing the size of its balance-sheet, by not reinvesting the proceeds of bonds when they mature. There have been suggestions that the Bank of Canada might push up rates when it meets on July 12th. Both Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England and Andrew Haldane, its chief economist, have hinted that a rate rise may be on their agenda.But the biggest shock to markets came on June 27th, when Mario Draghi, the head of the European Central Bank, remarked that deflationary forces have been replaced by reflationary ones. The result was a sudden rise in bond yields (see chart). Super Mario carries great weight with investors; he was widely credited with halting the euro crisis back in 2012 with his vow to do whatever it took to save the single currency.The ECB tried to calm investor nerves in the aftermath of the statement. Mansoor Mohi-uddin, a strategist at Royal Bank of Scotland, thinks the markets overreacted to Mr Draghis words. The ECB is not about to stop its stimulus. He thinks that, in September, the bank will merely indicate that it will be reducing its monthly rate of purchases from 60bn ($68bn) to 40bn at the start of 2018. Mr Draghi is just preparing the ground.There was some speculation that central banks had deliberately co-ordinated their comments. But the simpler explanation is that they were reacting to similar factors. First, global growth seems have picked up in the second half of 2016, allowing banks to withdraw some stimulus. Second, Fed tightening gives other central banks cover; any bank tightening on its own would probably see its currency strengthen strongly, risking overkill.Caution is essential in calling the turn in the bond market, an event that has been predicted many times before. Bond yields have merely reversed some of the declines seen earlier in the year. Inflation in most economies remains subdued; Britain is an exception because of the decline in the pound following the Brexit referendum. British bonds may also be less attractive to international investors because of signs that the budget deficit will widen under the current Conservative government, and even more so if the Labour opposition takes power.There are also signs that the global recovery may not be that robust. Commodity prices, an indicator of global demand, have fallen since the start of the year. Chinas economy is showing signs of a loss of momentum, according to Capital Economics, a consultancy. David Owen of Jefferies, an investment bank, says that global trade and industrial production are both growing at an annualised rate of less than 2%, based on the past three months. This is not consistent with a strong recovery in investment, he adds.Central banks will have to tread very carefully. Global debt is higher as a proportion of GDP than it was before the financial crisis started in 2007. Ultra-low interest rates have made borrowing sustainable but have also encouraged companies and consumers to take on more debt. The annual report of the Bank for International Settlements, released on June 25th, warned of elevated credit risks in a number of emerging economies and smaller developed economies. Financial-cycle downturns could weaken demand and growth, not least by dampening consumption and investment, the report said. The BIS also worries that a return of trade protectionism could sap the global economys strength.It is a lot easier to begin monetary stimulus than to end it. More than a quarter of a century has passed since the Japanese bubble burst in 1990, and the Bank of Japan is still pumping money into the economy and trying to keep ten-year bond yields close to zero. By the end of the novel, Elinor (sense) and Marianne (sensibility) find contentment with a vicar and a retired colonel respectively. Unlike Austen, central banks cannot always arrange a happy ending.Economist.com/blogs/buttonwood This article appeared in the Finance and economics section of the print edition under the headline "Cutting off their allowance"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21724812-will-there-be-sudden-tightening-policy-markets-worry-about-central-banks?fsrc=rss'|'2017-07-08T08:00:00.000+03:00' +'a387ce5eaf6860666180a126b44d2d90c01fb60e'|'German economy to grow by around 0.6 percent in second quarter - finance minister'|'July 19, 2017 / 10:22 PM / 5 minutes ago German economy to grow by around 0.6 percent in second quarter - finance minister Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The skyline of the banking district in Frankfurt, Germany, September 18, 2014. Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo BERLIN (Reuters) - The German economy is humming and set for solid growth despite external risks such as the unknown outcome of Brexit negotiations and U.S. President Donald Trump''s future trade policies, the German Finance Ministry said on Thursday. "The current picture of economic indicators suggests that the economic upswing continued vigorously in the second quarter," the ministry said in its monthly report, pointing to rising industrial output and buoyant business morale. German gross domestic product (GDP) likely expanded in the second quarter by a similar rate as in the previous three months when the economy grew by 0.6 percent on the quarter, it said. "However, risks arising from the Brexit negotiations and from the future U.S. trade policy remain," the ministry added. The Federal Statistics Office will publish preliminary second quarter GDP growth figures in mid-August. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised its growth forecast for the German economy. It now expects it to expand by 1.8 percent in 2017 and by 1.6 percent in 2018 in real terms. The German government remains more cautious and so far has stuck to its estimates of 1.5 percent for 2017 and 1.6 percent for 2018, non-adjusted for workdays. This would be below the 1.9 percent in 2016, which was the strongest rate in five years. Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Toby Chopra 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-economy-idUKKBN1A42MP'|'2017-07-20T01:21:00.000+03:00' +'016ba2b7afa9ece91ee5a567b329868d6fa0194d'|'Easing inflation boosts FTSE, Carillion climbs again'|'July 18, 2017 / 9:07 AM / 10 minutes ago FTSE edges lower, IG soars after results Helen Reid 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A worker shelters from the rain under a Union Flag umbrella as he passes the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain, October 1, 2008. Toby Melville/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - British shares edged down on Tuesday after falls in financial stocks outweighed the effect of easing inflation and positive earnings updates from Royal Mail and British Land. The FTSE 100 ended down 0.2 percent but outperformed heavy losses among European stocks thanks to a weaker pound, which benefits major exporting companies. Sterling dropped as investors adjusted interest rate expectations after inflation unexpectedly eased in June for the first time since October, surprising the market and adding to the likelihood the Bank of England will keep interest rates on hold in August. "The Bank of England''s rhetoric has taken an increasingly hawkish tone in recent weeks," Hargreaves Lansdown senior economist Ben Brettell said. "However if today''s pullback in inflation marks the start of a sustained decline, the pressure on the Bank to raise rates will ease." Mid-cap IG Group soared more than 16 percent and was the top European gainer after the online spreadbetting company reported a growing client base and rising profit despite quiet markets. "We regard these as very solid results in a year where market volatility has been at a multi-year low," Shore Capital analysts said. Greater market volatility tends to bolster trading companies'' profits as investors turn investment portfolios around more frequently. Britain''s second-largest listed property developer British Land was a top blue-chip performer after it announced a 300 million pound share buyback plan, providing more evidence of a pick-up in share buybacks among European corporates. Morgan Stanley analysts last week predicted this trend would accelerate. "Given the significant discount to net asset value (NAV) at which the shares are trading, this would be NAV accretive with the scale of enhancement subject to the amount of share bought and at what price," analysts at Stifel said. A flurry of mail activity around the British election helped Royal Mail to perform more strongly in its first quarter, sending its shares up 3.1 percent to join the FTSE 100 index''s top gainers. On the downside, Barclays led banks lower after Goldman Sachs reported a 40 percent fall in fixed-income trading, weighing on sentiment about the British bank, a major player in the bond market. Data services firm Experian, down 2 percent, was the biggest faller among the FTSE''s blue-chips after its first-quarter update. "Revenue growth in line with expectations, but no indication yet of recovery in Consumer Services revenue in the U.S., and as expected under pressure in the UK," Stifel analysts said in a note. Mid-caps held on to solid gains, up 0.5 percent thanks to strong progress by IG Group and Carillion. Crisis-hit British construction company Carillion jumped 5.5 percent after its joint venture won two further contracts, worth 158 million pounds, to supply services for British military sites. The stock is up 50 percent from last week''s lows. Defence contractor G4S rose to the top of the FTSE 100 as investors read across from Carillion''s gains. Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Keith Weir and Jane Merriman 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks-idUKKBN1A30RJ'|'2017-07-18T12:08:00.000+03:00' +'9e371d08a00af50e4010c00ad1858a7d4b2bb828'|'Japan industrial output increase hints at more stable growth'|'July 31, 2017 / 4:16 AM / 2 hours ago Japan industrial output increase hints at more stable growth 3 Min Read A cargo ship is pictured at an industrial port in Tokyo, Japan, August 18, 2016. Kim Kyung-Hoon/Files TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan''s factory output rebounded in June from a decline in May as production of cars and industrial chemicals increased, suggesting economic expansion may be on a more stable footing. Industrial output rose 1.6 percent in June from the previous month, just below the median estimate for a 1.7 percent increase and following a 3.6 percent decline in May. Manufacturers forecast a steady increase in output in coming months, offering further evidence that firm overseas demand and gains in consumer spending could support overall growth in Japan''s economy. "Overall, the trend looks healthy due to domestic demand and demand from emerging markets, said Norio Miyagawa, senior economist at Mizuho Securities. "It''s safe to say the economy continued its expansion in April-June and the forecasts point to further growth in output." Transport sector output rose 4.2 percent in June, rebounding from a 13.0 percent tumble in the previous month, as output of passenger cars and automobile engines recovered. Output of chemicals rose 3.4 percent in June, also a rebound from a 2.2 percent decline in May. A laborer works in a container area at a port in Tokyo, Japan July 19, 2017. Toru Hanai/Files Inventories across all industries fell 2.2 percent in June, the biggest decline in more than six years, as inventories of cars, steel, and electronic equipment were reduced. Some economists were concerned that inventories in the past few months were too high, and that companies would have to cut output. However, the decline in inventories in June shows that companies still have room to expand output, said Mizuho Securities'' Miyagawa. Manufacturers surveyed by the ministry expect output to rise 0.8 percent in July and 3.6 percent in August, which also shows that gains in output are likely to be maintained. Industrial output rose 1.9 percent in the April-June quarter, handily exceeding the 0.2 percent increase seen in January-March. Given the close correlation between industrial output and gross domestic product this suggests the overall economy accelerated in April-June. The positive output reading follows data last week showing the biggest increase in household spending in almost two years and an increasingly tight labour market, building optimism that the economy will maintain its upward momentum. Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Eric Meijer 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/japan-economy-output-idINKBN1AG0CO'|'2017-07-31T07:15:00.000+03:00' +'127497c01ec6c444059d9cbea8549d02a5b6407e'|'COLUMN-Global investors turn to stocks - canny bet or market top?: James Saft'|'July 21, 2017 / 9:30 PM / 10 hours ago Global investors turn to stocks - canny bet or market top?: James Saft James Saft 5 Min Read Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, NY, U.S. May 18, 2017. Brendan McDermid (Reuters) - (The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters) With equity indexes at all-time highs, global mutual fund and ETF investors may be choosing now as the time to reverse a long-running move into bonds and out of equities. Thats either in harmony with retail investors legendary ability to pick the top or a canny bet on global reflation. Since the great financial crisis the broad global trend has been for mutual and exchange-traded fund investors to load up on bonds while trimming equities. Globally, funds held in equities vehicles went from above 90 percent of the whole in 2007 to about 70 percent now. And while that figure for U.S. funds bottomed at about 60 percent in 2010 and is now at 67 percent, equity funds have suffered net outflows for the majority of the last few years, except for a spike in inflows after the 2016 U.S. election. This ''de-equitisation,'' driven partly by battle-scarred individuals and partly by a large move into long-term debt by pension funds seeking to hedge long-term obligations, has been expensive. Over the past five years, the S&P 500 has returned 13.4 percent per annum, against just 2.3 percent for 10-year Treasuries. But now, what started as a mild trend in the U.S. of upping equity exposure seems to be going global, perhaps as the last bears capitulate in the face of a low-volatility march higher in equity markets. There is also the fact that major central banks are signaling they may at last start to run down their own multi-trillion-dollar portfolios of bonds. We find increasing evidence that the de-equitisation process, by which the weight of equity holdings in portfolios diminishes over time and is substituted by debt, has finally come to an end, Alain Bokobza of Societe Generale wrote in a note to clients. The main driver for re-equitisation could be gradually rising bond yields (Make reflation great again). Rising bond yields imply losses on existing bond portfolios (underweight bonds) and, when bond yields move higher, the risk budget of investors tends to increase (overweight equity)." In Europe, as bond yields bottomed, the equity share of fund holdings has crept higher this year, from a low below 60 percent in mid-2016 to about 65 percent now. Net flows to European equity funds have turned positive and assets, which decreased for about 18 months to January, have grown rapidly, indeed at a rate not seen since the bottoming of equity markets in 2009. Canny Bet or History Repeats? There is no question that a return to equity fund flows over bonds would have a significant market impact. A 10-percentage-point re-weighting into equities implies a global flow of $2.3 trillion. That compares with a cumulative net inflow into bond funds of almost $1.8 trillion since 2007. That inflow, notably, happened alongside massive official buying of bonds by central banks seeking to engineer a reflation. Those same central banks now seem ready to reverse course. The ECB is expected to announce its plans for tapering its bond portfolio sometime in the next several months, though it is currently committed to buying 60 billion euros a month until at least December. The Federal Reserve too is widely expected to start to allow its $4.5 trillion stock of bonds to dwindle, perhaps by the end of the year if not sooner. If that comes to pass it will surely change the relative attractions of stock and bonds. Longer-term Treasuries have already become more volatile than the almost comatose S&P 500. But though central banks say they want to taper, the facts on inflation are a bit more stubborn. U.S. inflation is heading further below the Feds 2 percent goal, and in the euro zone core inflation remains stuck at about only 1 percent. That does not sound like an equity-friendly reflation. There is also the possibility that equity market volatility follows bond market volatility higher as central banks sell bonds, especially if tapering comes alongside mixed economic news, as it is very likely to do. And while funds, especially ETFs, are widely held by institutions, it is a lot easier to see the intuitive sense of selling bonds with rates this low than buying stocks with prices this high. In the run-up to both the dotcom bust and the great financial crisis retail investors did what they do best: buy what has just gone up in price. A rebalancing of fund portfolios towards stocks may just happen, but it may, once again, prove a reliable sell signal. (At the time of publication James Saft did not own any direct investments in securities mentioned in this article. He may be an owner indirectly as an investor in a fund. You can email him at jamessaft@jamessaft.com and find more columns at blogs.reuters.com/james-saft ) Editing by James Dalgleish '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-markets-saft-idUSKBN1A62P6'|'2017-07-22T00:17:00.000+03:00' +'d5e620ad6c2e686d55a3332c1eab739067645f29'|'Samsung Electronics expects continued chip boom after record second quarter profit'|'July 27, 2017 / 12:17 AM / 5 hours ago Samsung Electronics expects continued chip boom after record second quarter profit Joyce Lee 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO - The logo of Samsung Electronics is seen at its office building in Seoul, South Korea, July 4, 2017. Kim Hong-Ji SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd ( 005930.KS ) on Thursday said it expected the memory chip boom to continue in the current quarter, after reporting a record operating profit for the three months through June. The world''s biggest maker of memory chips, smartphones and television sets is widely expected to break profit records for the full year, as better-than-forecast performance in its mobile business lifted quarterly operating profit slightly above its early-July guidance, analysts said. The company on Thursday also announced its third share buyback of the year, at 1.7 trillion won ($1.53 billion) worth of common shares, as part of the 9.3 trillion won annual total that Samsung promised in January. It also announced the cancellation of 2 trillion won worth of its own shares. "Looking ahead to the third quarter, the company expects favourable semiconductor conditions to continue, although overall earnings may slightly decline quarter-on-quarter as earnings weaken for the display panel and mobile businesses," Asia''s third most-valuable company by market value said in a statement. Analysts nevertheless forecast third-quarter earnings to exceed the second quarter on the strength of the so-called memory chip super-cycle. "We think more than 15 trillion won (in third-quarter profit) is more than possible," said analyst Greg Roh at HMC Investment & Securities. "The mobile business might be slightly weaker in the third quarter because the second quarter was so strong, but the expected sales from OLED (organic light-emitting diode) display supply to Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) is seen to be reflected in earnings starting in the third quarter." FILE PHOTO: A man looks at his Samsung cell phone in a park in Los Angeles, California, U.S. July 6, 2017. Lucy Nicholson/File Photo Operating profit rose 72.7 percent in the second quarter from the same period a year earlier, to 14.1 trillion won, Samsung said in a regulatory filing. That compared with 14 trillion won estimated in July. Revenue rose 19.8 percent to 61 trillion won, also in line with its earlier estimate. The chip business was Samsung''s top earner as profit rose to a record 8 trillion won from 2.6 trillion won in the second quarter of 2016. Client demand for more powerful devices and supply constraints are pushing up prices of both DRAM and NAND memory chips, widening profit margins. The mobile division, which competes with Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ), reported a profit of 4.1 trillion won, a decline from 4.3 trillion won a year prior. Some analysts and fund managers said sales of Samsung''s new flagship Galaxy S8 smartphone have not exceeded those of the S7 by as much as the market had expected. But Koh Dong-jin, head of the firm''s mobile communications business, has said cumulative sales of the S8 and S8+ handsets from April is 15 percent higher than those of its predecessor. The record earnings come as the firm''s Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee is in detention while on trial for his alleged role in a corruption scandal involving former president Park Geun-hye. He has denied wrongdoing. The lower court ruling is widely expected to come before Lee''s current detention period ends on August 27, a Seoul court spokesman said. Samsung Electronics shares were up 0.9 percent as of 0055 GMT, while the Kospi benchmark share price index .KS11 was up 0.2 percent. Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Christopher Cushing 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-samsung-elec-results-idUKKBN1AC00P'|'2017-07-27T03:20:00.000+03:00' +'a0379ffe2eade5b322cf6d4402332ed01d56715e'|'German cartel authorities receive more documents from VW - Der Spiegel'|'July 28, 2017 / 1:08 PM / 23 minutes ago German cartel authorities receive more documents from VW - Der Spiegel Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The new Volkswagen Polo car is seen during the World premiere of Volkswagen''s new Polo in Berlin, Germany June 16, 2017. Stefanie Loos FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German cartel authorities received documents from Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ), citing examples of possible collusion between Germany''s top carmakers and auto supplier Bosch, German magazine Der Spiegel said in its online edition. European Union and German antitrust regulators are investigating whether VW ( VOWG_p.DE ), Porsche, Audi ( NSUG.DE ). BMW ( BMWG.DE ) and Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ) held meetings to discuss suppliers, prices and standards to the disadvantage of foreign carmakers. The documents, received this week, are the seventh submission of documents about alleged anti-competitive behaviour received by antitrust authorities since June 2016, Der Spiegel said. Bosch is alleged to have helped carmakers to devise a "dosage" strategy to help carmakers limit the consumption of AdBlue diesel emissions filtering fluid, Der Spiegel said on its web site on Friday. Auto supplier Bosch said: "All we know about this matter so far is what we have read or heard in the media. We have had no inquiries relating to it whatsoever from German or European antitrust authorities. As we have no details about the matters under investigation, we cannot comment on them." Discussions between suppliers and carmakers about how to implement new technologies or anti-pollution measures are not unusual or illegal, unless such discussions take place with the purpose of putting competitors at a disadvantage. A person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday that Daimler first raised the issue of collusion with cartel authorities, a move that could earn it immunity. Volkswagen was not immediately available for comment. Reporting by Jan Schwartz; Writing by Edward Taylor; Editing by Keith Weir 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-emissions-cartel-idUKKBN1AD1LX'|'2017-07-28T16:08:00.000+03:00' +'e55a217337480106913f32188483f752ff8ca2e9'|'Carrefour''s Diniz hails Brazil IPO, shares slip'|'July 20, 2017 / 4:00 PM / 19 minutes ago Carrefour''s Diniz hails Brazil IPO, shares slip Aluisio Alves and Bruno Federowski 2 Min Read Abilio Diniz, the third largest Carrefour shareholder, gestures as he attends the company''s IPO at the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange in Sao Paulo, Brazil July 20, 2017. Paulo Whitaker SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Carrefour SA board member Abilio Diniz said on Thursday the initial public offering of the retailer''s Brazilian unit shows the country is overcoming its harshest recession in a century as shares slipped in their market debut. Speaking at an opening bell ceremony in the So Paulo Stock Exchange, the Brazilian retail tycoon and third-largest shareholder of Carrefour said the IPO will help the French retailer reach a "new level globally." Slideshow (2 Images) Still, shares in its Brazilian unit fell as much as 4.3 percent in Thursday trading before paring losses to 0.5 percent, at 14.92 reais in late afternoon trading. The stock had priced at the 15 reais floor of a suggested price range in a deal that raised 5.12 billion reais ($1.6 billion). At that level, it would trade at similar multiples to rival GPA SA ( PCAR4.SA ), which it recently surpassed as Brazil''s largest supermarket chain. "Carrefour overestimated the market''s appetite for its shares," said Marcelo Garbes, head of equity trading at brokerage Tullet Prebon. Analysts said Carrefour Brasil lacks a substantial competitive advantage to its rival that would justify higher share prices. Market share at GPA''s food and staples division increased in the second quarter, though Carrefour Brasil has shown consistently higher profit margins. In a Wednesday note to clients, analysts at UBS Securities set a "sell" recommendation on the stock, citing concerns that the company may be unable to compete on price. ($1 = 3.13 reais) Reporting by Aluisio Alves and Bruno Federowski; Editing by Sandra Maler 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-carrefour-brasil-ipo-idUKKBN1A525J'|'2017-07-20T23:06:00.000+03:00' +'fd831fbcab023519b1c04b3b4a8483ebf721ec6d'|'Bayer cuts profit forecast after consumer health headache'|'July 27, 2017 / 10:55 AM / 6 minutes ago Bayer cuts profit forecast after consumer health headache Ludwig Burger 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The logo of Bayer AG is pictured at the Bayer Healthcare subgroup production plant in Wuppertal, Germany February 24, 2014. Ina Fassbender/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Bayer ( BAYGn.DE ), which is buying U.S. seeds company Monsanto ( MON.N ), cut its forecast for operating profit growth this year to below 10 percent after declines in sales of consumer health products in the United States and crop chemicals in Brazil. Sales of sunscreen Coppertone, allergy remedy Claritin and painkiller Aleve, the main brands it bought from Merck & Co ( MRK.N ) in 2014, each slumped more than 10 percent in the second quarter, mainly hit by fierce competition in the United States. Bayer shares fell more than 4 percent and were down 2.9 percent at 1105 GMT, underperforming the STOXX Europe 600 Health Care .SXDP index, which was also being dragged down by a slump in AstraZeneca ( AZN.L ) following a drug study setback. Germany''s biggest drugmaker said it expected 2017 adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to rise by a "high-single-digit percentage", whereas it had previously forecast "low-teens percentage" growth. "We were negatively surprised by the substantial downgrade to consumer health guidance," Equinet analyst Marietta Miemietz said. Bayer flagged early this year that some consumer brands were in worse shape than it had appeared during the bidding for the $14 billion (10.65 billion pounds) Merck assets and their performance had been further complicated by consolidation among U.S. drugstore chains. Bayer warned last month that poor sales at crop protection distributors in Brazil and a weaker than expected consumer health business would hit earnings by at least 300 million euros ($342 million). Operating earnings at its Crop Science division, which plans to complete the Monsanto merger this year, fell by more than half, hit by 355 million euros in charges from provisions for product returns and writedowns on inventories and receivables in Brazil. Major rivals in pesticides such as BASF ( BASFn.DE ) and DuPont ( DD.N ) have flagged punishing conditions in Brazil. But unlike Bayer they were not caught out by major surplus volumes in distribution channels, which forced the Bayer division to chalk up negative Latin America sales for the quarter after taking back products from distributors'' shelves. Bayer''s adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter came in at 3.06 million euros, slightly higher than last year and the average forecast by analysts, helped by a boost in margins at plastics business Covestro ( 1COV.DE ) and continued growth in prescriptions for anti-clotting drug Xarelto. Bayer is expected to release long-awaited details on a successful drugs trial that could expand the cardiovascular conditions that Xarelto can treat at the end of August. ($1 = 0.8519 euros) Reporting by Ludwig Burger; editing by David Clarke 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bayer-results-idUKKBN1AC1ME'|'2017-07-27T13:55:00.000+03:00' +'eccf9264c7b8f2101e5c4f0936e21419c958b3b6'|'Deutsche Bank asset management listing seen in first half 2018 at earliest - sources'|'July 26, 2017 / 4:53 PM / in 5 minutes Deutsche Bank asset management listing seen in H1 2018 at earliest: sources Arno Schuetze and Simon Jessop 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A statue is pictured next to the logo of Germany''s Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, September 30, 2016. Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo FRANKFURT/LONDON (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank''s planned listing of its asset management arm is unlikely before the first half of next year and could be later, as it wants more time to refine and sell the business''s strategy to potential investors, people close to the matter said. Germany''s largest lender announced plans to list the unit, including its main DWS retail asset management brand, in March as part of a broader restructuring aimed at reviving the bank''s fortunes following costly law suits and trading scandals. While it said at the time the share sale would take place at some point over the next two years, investors expected it the bank to move quickly to take advantage of buoyant equity markets and seal a deal that could raise 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion). But its so-called "equity story" for selling the business to investors is far from ready, and Deutsche is desperate to avoid another U-turn after it put retail business Postbank up for sale, only to decide later to keep it, the sources said. Some investors have also indicated they would prefer a stronger focus at Deutsche''s asset management arm on so-called passive investments or exchange traded funds (ETFs), whereas its main business is currently with actively managed funds. "The IPO story is not ready yet," one of the people said, adding that in his view the unit needed to invest in its ETF business to keep up with competitors. Deutsche ( DBKGn.DE ), which will report second-quarter earnings on Thursday, declined to comment. Chief Executive John Cryan conceded in May it would take time to realize the benefits of the lender''s latest efforts to "plant and sow" - or breathe new life into the Deutsche brand. ETFs Deutsche Asset Management currently has 723 billion euros invested worldwide, of which 540 billion are actively managed, 103 billion in ETFs and the rest in alternatives such as real estate. Concern around the scale of Deutsche''s ETF offering comes as market leaders BlackRock ( BLK.N ) and Vanguard continue to grow assets under management in Europe, with the latter flagging plans to expand its continental operations. Underpinning that is a belief the market for ETFs in Europe will continue to grow strongly over the coming years, fueled in part by new regulations aimed at making the costs of investing more transparent. European ETF assets rose for the fifth straight year to hit a record 514.5 billion euros in 2016, data from Thomson Reuters Lipper show, up 15 percent but still just a fraction of the 9.4 trillion euros in total invested assets. But with asset managers under pressure from investors to cut fees, even in the already low-cost ETF market, a provider needs to have scale to succeed. European sales of ETFs during 2016 were led by BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street, the Lipper data show, with Deutsche Bank not even making the top-10. It still retained its position as the second-biggest ETF provider in Europe, behind BlackRock''s iShares, with assets under management of 53.3 billion euros, the data show. But by May, Deutsche''s ETF brand Xtrackers had fallen to third place behind BlackRock and Societe Generale''s Lyxor unit. [ tmsnrt.rs/2uwBywT ] An analyst at a top-50 shareholder in Deutsche Bank was more sanguine about the company''s ETF market position, with a number six position globally leaving it "probably at minimum efficient scale", but with "clearly scope to build" in the United States. Deutsche Bank is, however, making headway with the organizational work for listing the asset management division. Division head Nicolas Moreau said last month the bundling of the unit''s businesses into one holding company would be done by October, as would the finalization of distribution and service contracts between Deutsch asset management and its mothership. Investment banks vying for mandates to help organize the listing had expected Deutsche to pick a so-called global coordinator - which will work alongside Deutsche''s own investment bank on the deal - before the summer break. That has slipped into the second half of the year, people close to the matter said, adding banks that helped Deutsche with its 8.5 billion euro capital raising earlier this year stood a good chance of securing roles on the deal. Deutsche hopes that by giving its asset management arm more operational independence the unit will attract more talent, and Cryan has said the bank will maintain a "controlling and super-majority stake" in the business. Additional reporting by Kathrin Jones and Alexander Hbner; Editing by Mark Potter 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-deutsche-bank-asset-management-idUKKBN1AB2D4'|'2017-07-26T19:48:00.000+03:00' +'7dbb0b3c042d0ab89a44c66c8e3e458fdbeddce3'|'Amazon everywhere - E-commerce titan is topic companies can''t avoid'|'July 28, 2017 / 5:48 PM / in 21 minutes Amazon everywhere - E-commerce titan is topic companies can''t avoid Lewis Krauskopf 6 Amazon boxes are seen stacked for delivery in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S. January 29, 2016. Mike Segar/File Photo GLOBAL BUSINESS WEEK AHEAD SEARCH GLOBAL BUSINESS 24 JUL FOR ALL IMAGES NEW YORK (Reuters) - What looms over businesses as far flung as car repair, lab equipment and swimming pool gear? In a word, Amazon. Almost 700 U.S. companies have reported quarterly results so far this earnings season, and the e-commerce titan''s name has popped up on roughly one of every 10 earnings conference calls so far. And the retailers whose lunch has long been eaten by Amazon.com Inc haven''t even reported yet. In all, Amazon has been raised either in passing or with some urgency on 75 calls hosted by corporate chieftains in the past several weeks, according to a Reuters analysis of call transcripts from components of the S&P 1500. That''s well more than twice as many mentions as Google or its parent Alphabet Inc and over three times as many as Apple Inc. The preponderance of Amazon mentions by executives and Wall Street analysts is the latest indication of its rapidly expanding reach. Its move last month to buy upscale grocer Whole Foods Market Inc for nearly $14 billion has added fresh fuel to the concerns. Once primarily a scourge of traditional brick-and-mortar retailers, Amazons cloud over U.S. business has spread to more corners of the economy and raised worries about where it could strike next. Even executives for whom Amazon was not previously a top concern have found themselves responding to questions about how it may burst into their industries. On the call for 3M Co, which makes everything from scouring pads to stainless steel dental crowns, Amazon was raised by several analysts. Executives at diversified healthcare company Johnson & Johnson were asked how Amazon might pose a risk to its consumer brands. McDonald''s Corp CEO Stephen Easterbrook declined to respond directly to a question about implications of the Amazon-Whole Foods deal. But he did say: "It just demonstrates how disruptive the business world is and how quickly it moves." It was the first time a McDonald''s, 3M or J&J executive had faced an Amazon-related question in an earnings call, according to data from Thomson Reuters dating back to 2000. "Just that name puts fear even if it''s just a rumour that they might be going into your space," said Alan Lancz, president of Toledo, Ohio-based investment advisory firm Alan B. Lancz & Associates Inc., who has been an investor for more than 30 years. "To be over all these different sectors and all these different spaces, I cant recall anything like that." Eyes on Amazon Not all of the Amazon references reflect worry. In many instances, companies talked up existing and potential partnerships with Amazon, bounties from the recent Amazon Prime Day sale, or opportunities that might stem from a Whole Foods purchase. But Amazon emerged as a source of analyst concern on conference calls for tyre servicer Monro Muffler Brake Inc, swimming pool equipment distributor Pool Corp and water heater maker A.O. Smith. "I can tell you that we do think that they''re a force," Albert Nahmad, chief executive of Watsco Inc, a heating, ventilation and air conditioning system distributor, said in response to a question. "The economy''s never seen anything like it." "We keep our eyes on Amazon," he added. At issue is the competitive threat from Amazon''s massive size, willingness to sell at low prices and desire to push into a vast array of products or business lines. In its own quarterly report late on Thursday, Amazon reported a jump in retail sales along with a profit slump, as its rapid, costly expansion into new shopping categories and countries showed no sign of slowing. Whole Foods on Their Minds The Whole Foods deal roiled retailers, supermarkets and companies in the food-supply chain. But analysts are also asking real estate investment trusts and banks about their exposure to grocers, while Dover Corp, which manufacturers refrigeration equipment, and Silgan Holdings, which supplies packaging for consumer goods products, also were queried about the deal. "It seems like everyone''s asking that question at this stage," Silgan CEO Anthony Allott said when asked about the penetration of e-commerce in groceries in the wake of the deal, adding that he viewed it as an opportunity. Amazon is generating an outsized amount of chatter on Wall Street as well. Bank research notes and sales and trading commentary this month have contained nearly twice the number of Amazon mentions as for Microsoft and Apple, with Amazon tripling the number of Alphabet references, according to data from Street Contxt, an institutional content and data-insights platform for brokers and investors. Amazon has been mentioned nearly 17 times as much as the average company, according to Street Contxt. Jeff Hammond, an equity research analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets, said investors are concerned that distributors of a variety of industrial wares are vulnerable to Amazon. "For commodity products with low differentiation, where price is higher on the list and it''s a smaller item that''s easy to deliver, that''s probably something that Amazon can be competitive at," Hammond said. For some executives, the Amazon question has been a periodic feature, even in arenas well beyond its traditional boundaries. Executives at Thermo Fisher Scientific, whose business includes supplying equipment to research laboratories, have fielded questions about an Amazon impact as far back as five years. This month its CEO said it was investing in its e-commerce capabilities and its supply chain. "We take Amazon very seriously," Thermo Fisher Chief Executive Marc Casper said on the call, "and we always have." Additional reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Dan Burns and Nick Zieminski 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-results-amazon-com-analysis-idUKKBN1AD2CM'|'2017-07-28T20:47:00.000+03:00' +'327ce16d5117e735f1a5bf8418317369c622cc74'|'Turkey''s Simsek says no probe of Daimler, BASF, welcomes German investment'|'Edition United States July 20, 2017 / 11:04 AM / 2 hours ago Turkey''s Simsek says no probe of Daimler, BASF, welcomes German investment Reuters Staff 1 Min Read Daimler AG sign is pictured at the IAA truck show in Hanover, Germany, September 22, 2016. Fabian Bimmer/File Photo ANKARA (Reuters) - Press reports that Turkey is investigating Germany''s Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ) and chemicals giant BASF ( BASFn.DE ) are "completely false", Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said on Twitter on Thursday, adding that Ankara welcomed German investors. On Wednesday Germany''s Die Zeit newspaper reported that Turkish authorities had several weeks ago handed Berlin a list of 68 German companies, including Daimler and BASF, they accused of having links to U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, blamed by Ankara for orchestrating last July''s failed coup. "Press reports that Turkey is investigating Daimler AG and BASF SE are completely false. We welcome German investors," he said. German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Thursday he did not see how Germany could guarantee German corporate investment in Turkey under the current circumstances, in an escalating row between the two NATO allies. Reporting by Orhan Coskun; Writing by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by David Dolan 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-germany-turkey-simsek-idUKKBN1A518T'|'2017-07-20T14:18:00.000+03:00' +'c35c7e3caa6bfd16e3e9c1c45c9e90dd461b4aee'|'AT&T expands local television stations on DirecTV Now service'|'Intel - Fri Jun 30, 2017 - 4:54pm EDT AT&T expands local television stations on DirecTV Now service An AT&T sign is seen outside a branch in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, U.S., October 24, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Young By Anjali Athavaley - NEW YORK NEW YORK AT&T Inc has expanded the lineup of local channels on its DirecTV Now internet streaming service, it said on Friday, as the No. 2 wireless carrier seeks to win online subscribers who prefer not to pay for a traditional cable package. AT&T, which is in the process of buying Time Warner Inc for $85.4 billion, said the service now offers live local channels to 70 percent of U.S. households, more than double at its launch in November. The number of streaming services is growing rapidly as technology and telecommunications companies target about 20 million U.S. households which have no pay-TV package. Dish Network Corp sells a streaming service called Sling TV. Hulu LLC, owned by Walt Disney Co, Comcast Corp, Time Warner and Twenty-First Century Fox Inc , launched its service in May. New additions to DirecTV Now, which starts at $35 a month, include Disney''s ABC in 30 new markets including Atlanta and Boston. But the lineup does not include CBS Corp, which sells its own streaming service called All Access. Adding more local channels allows AT&T to offer customers a viewing experience more similar to a larger TV bundle. AT&T spokeswoman Erin McGrath said by phone that local news and sports are key considerations for consumers thinking of switching to a streaming service. AT&T has been pushing DirecTV Now by bundling the service with wireless plans and has added support for Roku streaming devices. (Reporting by Anjali Athavaley; Editing by Richard Chang) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-at-t-services-idUSKBN19L2UB'|'2017-06-30T23:38:00.000+03:00' +'f29bd4d2abe81e3fc38e878a706d05b6f4e84f1a'|'IMF warns G20 that protectionism could damage global growth - World news'|'The International Monetary Fund has warned leaders in the run-up to the G20 summit in Hamburg that they are putting at risk a recovery in global growth by pursuing national policies at the expense of internationally agreed rules on trade and climate change.Hamburg braces for G20 violence as tensions rise over police tactics Read more In a barely veiled attack on the US president, Donald Trump, and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin , who are expected to meet for the first time in the German city, the Washington-based lender of last resort said the myopic pursuit of zero-sum policies would prove damaging to all countries, including those that adopted them.Leaders of the G20 group of countries will meet on Friday amid growing concerns about the negative effects of globalisation on lower-income groups and developing countries.The IMF said the global economy was on an upswing and, in the short term, trade and GDP growth were expected to improve this year. But it warned that risks to growth remained, including from protectionist polices and a failure to cooperate in areas such as climate change.It said: A well-functioning multilateral framework for international economic relations is another key ingredient of strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth. Myopic pursuit of zero-sum policies can only end by hurting all countries, as history shows.Because national policies inevitably interact in a number of vital areas, creating strong spillovers across countries, the world economy works far better for all when policymakers engage in regular dialogue and work within agreed mechanisms to resolve disagreement, it said.Are you protesting at the G20 summit in Hamburg? Tell us why Read more Germany, which is chairing the G20, has mobilised thousands of police and deployed water cannon to deal with the huge influx of protesters expected.The G20 was set up after the 2008 financial crash to provide a broader and more inclusive institution than the G7 group of rich states. Its membership represents about 85% of global GDP and includes Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Turkey and several European Union countries, as well as the EU being a member itself. Theresa May is expected to arrive at the summit on Friday.In a blogpost to accompany the IMF report, the bodys managing director, Christine Lagarde, said: Countries need to look for ways to guard against risk, accelerate growth, and leverage the power of international cooperation. No country is an island, and policies taken by any nation can resonate stronger and last longer with coordination from the other G20 members.Lagarde is known to be concerned that many of the imbalances in the global economy that gave rise to the 2008 financial crash have yet to be addressed, especially the disparity between those countries with huge savings and those with persistent debts.Facebook Twitter Pinterest The head of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, urged countries to find ways to guard against risk. Photograph: Eric Gaillard/Reuters The report contrasts China, which it accuses of triggering a rapid expansion in output with borrowed money , with German policies that inhibit investment in infrastructure and encourage excessive saving .Lagarde is also concerned that European banks continue to lack the reserves needed to ward against another crash, and US banks will return to reckless lending under plans by Trump to loosen regulations.The report said: A broad rollback of the strengthening of financial regulation and oversight achieved since the crisis could lead to lower capital and liquidity buffers or weakened supervisory stances, with negative repercussions for global financial stability. In the medium term, failure to lift potential growth and make it more inclusive could damage social cohesion, and in a self-defeating feedback loop make it even harder to find the political consensus for necessary reforms. Topics G20 Global economy International Monetary Fund (IMF) Trump administration Vladimir Putin Economics news'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/05/imf-warns-g20-that-protectionism-could-damage-global-growth'|'2017-07-05T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'fcfc0df68b024cc78e9887524b9761001e6f723e'|'Ex-Suzuki employee pleads guilty to Clean Air Act violation'|'July 14, 2017 / 7:36 PM / 4 hours ago Ex-Suzuki employee pleads guilty to Clean Air Act violation 3 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former employee of Suzuki Motor Corp''s U.S. operations pleaded guilty on Friday to filing a false report and violating the Clean Air Act over excess emissions in more than 23,000 2012 model year motorcycles, court documents showed. The case is the latest in a series of civil and criminal actions the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Justice Department have pursued to crack down on automakers that cheat on pollution tests in an attempt to avoid paying the costs of compliance. The Justice Department said Wayne Powell, while serving as a government relations analyst based at Suzuki Motor''s U.S. headquarters in Brea, California, submitted a report to the Environmental Protection Agency in September 2013 that said the automaker had credits to offset any excess tailpipe emissions from its motorcycles. The EPA informed Powell that the company did not have any banked credits, however. Powell submitted a second report in 2014 that said Suzuki''s motorcycles did not exceed emissions limits and said he had corrected some mistakes due to a computer software problem. But the Justice Department said he had falsified the numbers in his report. Under a plea agreement made public Friday in U.S. District Court in Detroit, Powell faces up to two years in prison.Volkswagen AG ( VOWG_p.DE ) in September 2015 admitted using sophisticated secret software in its cars to cheat exhaust emissions tests and pleaded guilty in March in a U.S. court to three felonies in connection with the scandal. Last week, the government charged a former Audi manager with directing employees at the company, a division of Volkswagen, to design software to cheat U.S. emissions tests in thousands of Audi diesel cars and previously charged seven other current and former VW employees. In May, the Justice Department filed a civil lawsuit on accusing Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV of illegally using software to bypass emission controls in 104,000 U.S.diesel vehicles sold since 2014. Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Tom Brown 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-suzuki-motor-emissions-idINKBN19Z29K'|'2017-07-14T23:11:00.000+03:00' +'93a25f812baca1e225b11db9a3613dce5043874e'|'U.S. weekly jobless claims drop; producer prices unexpectedly rise'|'July 13, 2017 / 1:18 PM / an hour ago U.S. weekly jobless claims drop; producer prices unexpectedly rise Lucia Mutikani 4 Min Read A woman walks past a "help wanted" sign on a restaurant in Los Angeles, California. U.S., July 5, 2017. Mike Blake WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell last week for the first time in a month and producer prices unexpectedly rose in June, likely keeping the Federal Reserve on track for a third interest rate increase this year. Persistently low layoffs point to a buoyant labor market that is sustaining economic growth, while the uptick in producer prices suggests a recent moderation in inflation was likely temporary. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 247,000 for the week ended July 8, the Labor Department said on Thursday Claims have now been below 300,000, a threshold associated with a healthy labor market, for 123 straight weeks. That is the longest such stretch since 1970, when the labor market was smaller. The labor market is near full employment, with the jobless rate at 4.4 percent. The drop in first-time applications for jobless benefits came on the heels of data last week showing the economy created 222,000 jobs last month, the second biggest payrolls increase this year. The number of Americans on unemployment rolls dropped 20,000 to 1.95 million in the week ended July 1. The so-calledcontinuing claims have now been below 2 million for 13straight weeks, pointing to shrinking labor market slack. A Fed survey of the economy published on Wednesday showed "labor markets tightened further for both low and high-skilled positions, particularly in the construction and IT sectors." Prices for U.S. Treasuries fell, with the yield on the 30-year government bond hitting a session high. The dollar was trading slightly lower against a basket of currencies. Producer Prices Nudge Up In another report, the Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand edged up 0.1 percent last month after being unchanged in May. In the 12 months through June the PPI increased 2.0 percent, slowing after May''s 2.4 percent advance as last year''s energy-driven rise drops out of the calculation. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the PPI being unchanged last month and rising 1.9 percent from a year ago. A key gauge of underlying producer price pressures that excludes food, energy and trade services increased 0.2 percent last month. The so-called core PPI fell 0.1 percent in May. The core PPI increased 2.0 percent in the 12 months through June after climbing 2.1 percent in May. Fed officials are closely watching inflation, which has remained below the U.S. central bank''s 2 percent target for five years. They have largely viewed the recent retreat in price pressures as transitory. Labor market strength and signs of an uptick in inflation could bolster expectations that the Fed will raise interest rates in December for a third time this year and announce in September a plan to start reducing its $4.2 trillion portfolio of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities. Fed Chair Janet Yellen told lawmakers on Wednesday that the economy was healthy enough for the central bank to raise rates and begin winding down its massive bond portfolio. Last month, prices for services gained 0.2 percent, accounting for almost 80 percent of the increase in the PPI. Services were lifted by a 0.3 percent rise in the index for final demand trade services, excluding transportation and warehousing. It was the fourth straight monthly increase in services and followed a 0.3 percent gain in May. The cost of healthcare services were unchanged after dipping 0.1 percent in May. Those costs feed into the Fed''s preferred inflation measure, the core personal consumption expenditures price index. Energy prices fell 0.5 percent after declining 3.0 percent in May. Food prices jumped 0.6 percent in June following a 0.2 percent drop the prior month. Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-economy-idINKBN19Y1J0'|'2017-07-13T16:14:00.000+03:00' +'35e65e4d9cd8e87c7756d8402e28d519c980bd1e'|'Activist Jana cashes out of Whole Foods following Amazon deal'|'July 19, 2017 / 11:18 PM / in 5 minutes Activist Jana cashes out of Whole Foods following Amazon deal Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Customers leave the Whole Foods Market in Boulder, Colorado, U.S. on May 10, 2017. Rick Wilking/File Photo (Reuters) - Activist investor Jana Partners LLC cashed out of its position in Whole Foods Market Inc ( WFM.O ), a regulatory filing showed on Wednesday, after the upscale grocer agreed to be acquired by Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) in a $13.7 billion deal last month. Jana, which was Whole Foods'' second-largest shareholder with an 8.2 percent stake, made a profit of over $300 million on the sale, according to Reuters calculations. Jana bought 27.9 million shares of the company for $721.2 million in March, and exited its position on Tuesday for a price of more than $1 billion. The investor had heaped pressure on Whole Foods to sell itself after taking a stake in the company, citing the retailer''s lagging sales and stock price. In June, Whole Foods agreed to be bought by Amazon for $13.7 billion in a sector-altering deal that could see the e-commerce giant enter the brick-and-mortar retailing industry. Reporting by Karina Dsouza in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-whole-foods-jana-idUKKBN1A42QI'|'2017-07-20T02:16:00.000+03:00' +'cfe6f4de5bc49fd2f65241b6d13620219f39fbc4'|'Geely''s Volvo to go all electric with new models from 2019'|'Technology News - Wed Jul 5, 2017 - 12:40pm EDT Geely''s Volvo to go all electric with new models from 2019 left right Volvo Cars'' CEO Hakan Samuelsson speaks during an interview at the Volvo Cars Showroom in Stockholm, Sweden July 5, 2017. TT News Agency/Jonas Ekstromer/via REUTERS 1/2 left right FILE PHOTO: A Volvo logo is pictured on the stand during the 87th International Motor Show at Palexpo in Geneva, Switzerland, March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo 2/2 By Niklas Pollard - STOCKHOLM STOCKHOLM All Volvo car models launched after 2019 will be electric or hybrids, the Chinese-owned company said on Wednesday, making it the first major traditional automaker to set a date for phasing out vehicles powered solely by the internal combustion engine. The Sweden-based company will continue to produce pure combustion-engine Volvos from models launched before that date, but its move signals the eventual end of nearly a century of Volvos powered solely that way. While electric and hybrid vehicles are still only a small fraction of new cars sales, they are gaining ground at the premium end of the market, where Volvo operates and where Elon Musk''s Tesla Motors has been a pure-play battery carmaker from day one. As technology improves and prices fall, many in the industry expect mass-market adoption to follow. "This announcement marks the end of the solely combustion engine-powered car," Volvo Cars CEO Hakan Samuelsson said. The company, owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, said five new models set to be launched in 2019 through 2021 - three of them Volvos and two Polestar-branded - would all be fully electric. "These five cars will be supplemented by a range of petrol and diesel plug in hybrid and mild hybrid 48-volt options on all models," Volvo said. "This means that there will in future be no Volvo cars without an electric motor." The electric models will be produced at Volvo plants world-wide - it has factories in Europe and China and is building one in the United States - while development costs will be met from within its existing budget, Samuelsson told Reuters. "This also means we won''t be doing other things. We of course will not be developing completely new generations of combustion engines," he said about future investment needs. Volvo has invested heavily in new models and plants since being bought by Geely from Ford in 2010, establishing a niche in a premium auto market dominated by larger rivals such as Daimler''s Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Part of its strategy has also been to embrace emerging technologies that allow higher performance electric vehicles as well as, eventually, self-driving cars. Only last month, Volvo said it would reshape its Polestar business into a standalone brand, focused on high-performance electric cars aimed at competing with Tesla and the Mercedes AMG division. Volvo has also said it will build its first fully electric car in China based on its architecture for smaller cars which will be available for sale in 2019 and exported globally. Still, Volvo is not alone among traditional carmakers in pushing strongly into electrics and plug-ins or among premium brands in resorting to 48V mild hybrid systems to lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions from their combustion-engine cars. Among them, BMW plans to introduce an electric version of its popular 3 series in September to meet the challenge from Tesla, Handelsblatt reported last month. Volvo has also taken steps towards an eventual listing, raising 5 billion crowns from Swedish institutional investors through the sale of newly issued preference shares last year, though the company has said no decision on an IPO has been made. "It is still an option and a question for our owner," Samuelsson said. (Additional reporting by Laurence Frost; Editing by David Evans and Mark Potter) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volvocars-geely-electric-idUSKBN19Q0BJ'|'2017-07-05T07:00:00.000+03:00' +'8c66d69995636f5269087a0b08446fdca5da08c8'|'Oil majors face downgrades if crude prices don''t pick up - S'|'July 12, 2017 / 2:14 PM / 2 minutes ago Oil majors face downgrades if crude prices don''t pick up - S&P FILE PHOTO: Logos of ExxonMobil are seen in its booth at Gastech, the world''s biggest expo for the gas industry, in Chiba, Japan April 4, 2017. Toru Hanai LONDON (Reuters) - Big oil firms would face increased credit rating downgrade pressures if crude prices stayed below $50 a barrel on average until the end of 2018 and they did not compensate by cutting costs, S&P Global said on Wednesday. S&P currently has downgrade warnings - or negative outlooks in rating agency parlance - on ExxonMobil XOM.n, Chevron Corp ( CVX.N ) and Total ( TOTF.PA ), while the other so-called ''majors'' include Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) and BP ( BP.L ). Slideshow (2 Images) "If oil prices persistently trend below our price assumptions ($50/bbl on average until the end of 2018), downgrade pressure for many ratings would increase without material and sufficient further cost and capex efficiencies, disposals, or other countermeasures against weak credit metrics for a sustained period," S&P said in a report. It added that moderately higher oil prices would help credit metrics, but that for most of the big firms -with the exception of Shell- it "remains to be seen" whether they could see upgrades without a strong and sustained rebound in crude prices. Brent oil was trading at $48.34 a barrel on Wednesday. Oil majors'' debt levels have ballooned with aggregate debt reaching nearly $300 billion in 2014, up from just under $200 billion in 2009 according to S&P''s estimates. Reporting by Marc Jones; editing by Yumna Mohamed 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ratings-oil-majors-s-p-idUKKBN19X1VY'|'2017-07-12T17:13:00.000+03:00' +'7d2e1c0830df401f77ebe690b82c2b53088f9f4c'|'Public sector pay: why workers are squeezed more than private sector'|'Monday 3 July 2017 18.54 BST Last modified on Monday 3 July 2017 21.42 BST When Theresa May took the stage at the Conservative party conference last autumn she reprised her pledge for a fairer economy. Specifically, she homed in on pay growth, or the lack of it. Our economy should work for everyone, but if your pay has stagnated for several years in a row and fixed items of spending keep going up, it doesnt feel like its working for you, the prime minister declared. Fast-forward to this summer and the one in six workers who ply their trade in the public sector will know exactly what she is talking about. Living costs are rising at an increasingly rapid pace and, thanks to a cap imposed by Mays government, public sector pay is falling behind. Under the Conservatives austerity drive, a large part of the pain has been borne by public sector workers a broad cohort ranging from low-paid NHS workers to high-paid civil servants. Their pay was frozen in the financial years 2011-12 and 2012-13 except for the lowest earners. Rises were then limited to an average of 1% from 2013-14 to 2015-16, and then capped at 1% again for the next four years. It remains to be seen if May and her cabinet colleagues, weakened by last months election shock, will soften that stance. The current squeeze on public sector workers is in stark contrast to the years of the global financial crisis. Their pay was relatively protected after the crash while earnings in the private sector fell. Average weekly earnings for the public sector were 479 in 2011, up 9% from 439 in 2008. In the private sector, average weekly earnings were up just 3% over the same period to 448 in 2011, and that was before taking into account inflation. But thanks to government-set pay restraint, public sector workers have missed out on the recovery in wage growth in recent years. Average weekly earnings Now that the pounds sharp drop since the Brexit vote is pushing up import costs and stoking inflation, that pay restraint is being felt even more acutely. Wages are falling in real terms for many public sector workers or, in other words, the cost of many goods and services is rising faster than their pay packets. That is also the case for private sector workers , but their real wages are falling at a slower pace. As the Resolution Foundation thinktank recently noted : The scale of the current public sector pay squeeze is much tighter than in the private sector, and will continue for some time too. While real growth up to the end of 2016 was 1.6% for the private sector, it had fallen to 0.3% for the public sector. Official figures for April , when inflation was 2.7% , showed that average weekly earnings were rising 1.2% on a year ago in the private sector and just 0.8% in the public sector. For public sector employers that squeeze is causing serious problems when it comes to recruiting and retaining workers, as shown by the news that more nurses and midwives are now leaving the profession than joining it . That has knock-on costs for the public sector when hospitals and other places of work are forced to rely on agency staff to fill the gaps. Looking into what is pushing people to leave the public sector, the TUC says many workers cannot make ends meet any more. It points to polling of 21,000 health service members last year by the public sector union Unison , which found that one in 10 had pawned possessions to ease their cashflow problems, and a similar proportion had used payday loans. The TUCs own analysis suggests there is worse to come. It calculated that nurses, firefighters and border guards will all see their real pay drop by more than 2,500 by 2020 if the government sticks to its 1% cap. It is worth noting that going by simple sector-wide averages, those employed by the state are still earning more than those in the private sector. Public sector workers earn about 25,000 a year on average and for the private sector it is 22,500, says Jonathan Cribb at the Institute for Fiscal Studies thinktank. But once you control for education, age, where people live and their experience, the difference is quite small, he adds. Furthermore, the gap is narrowing. Based on current plans and on forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility, the governments independent economic forecaster, the IFS says private sector pay will rise six percentage points faster than public sector pay between 2016-17 and 2020-21. That would reduce the average difference between public and private sector pay to a level not seen in at least the last 20 years and to one that is well below the level seen in the early 2000s when there were shortages of nurses, notes Cribb. But the government will be wary of rushing into any big policy changes to fix its recruitment troubles. John Hawksworth, the chief economist of accountancy group PwC, says the public sector pay bill was about 180bn last year. So if you were to raise the public sector pay rise to 3% for the next three years it would cost you an extra 10bn by 2020 compared with current plans, he adds. So I guess theres a clear case for doing it in terms of recruitment and retention and fairness but on the other hand it is a significant amount and has to be weighed in the overall fiscal balance against other priorities. Topics '|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/economics/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jul/03/public-sector-pay-workers-conservatives-cap-inflation'|'2017-07-03T20:54:00.000+03:00' +'cd2f84d87250768c74481dff64e699ce3be0d6f8'|'Battered Carillion appoints HSBC as financial adviser, broker'|'July 14, 2017 / 7:00 AM / 8 hours ago Battered Carillion turns to HSBC amid rights issue talk Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A Carillion sign can be seen on a van in Manchester, Britain July 13, 2017. Phil Noble (Reuters) - Crisis-hit Carillion ( CLLN.L ) hired HSBC ( HSBA.L ) as joint financial adviser and joint corporate broker on Friday, fuelling speculation that the construction and support services company was preparing a rights issue. Carillion, which had seen 70 percent wiped off its market value this week, is reviewing "all options" after it booked a 845 million pound writedown on Monday against customer payments it no longer expected to be able to collect. Analysts believe Carillion might have to raise at least 500 million pounds via a share sale or that a debt-for-equity swap could be on the cards to shore up the balance sheet. Its average net borrowing in the first half of the year rose to 695 million pounds from 586.5 million over 2016. Shares bounced 9 percent to 60.65 pence by 0735 GMT, valuing the company at only about 250 million pounds. Carillion shares have been in freefall following the profit warning and exit of its chief executive at the start of the week. Its bondholders have braced for "painful" talks as a pile-up of receivables and debt spooked investors. HSBC, which has been part of Carillion''s banking group in the past, joins Morgan Stanley and Stifel as Carillion''s existing corporate brokers and Lazard as its financial adviser. A source said HSBC would complement Carillion''s existing advisor line up. "With (HSBC) having a long-standing relationship with Carillion, they''re quite supportive at this time," the source said. HSBC, which was Carillion''s adviser on its failed attempt to take over peer Balfour Beatty ( BALF.L ), relaunched its corporate broking in January 2013, and has since been targetting more mandates. Carillion was demerged from the Tarmac group in 1999 and went on to buy construction firm Alfred McAlpine. The company has worked on projects ranging from London''s Tate Modern gallery to the Twickenham rugby stadium. Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; editing by Jason Neely/Keith Weir 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-carillion-broker-idUKKBN19Z0K9'|'2017-07-14T09:59:00.000+03:00' +'bd9930104e7ce83a8d673ca46522b74094b8cdca'|'Vanguard CIO Buckley to take over as CEO from McNabb Jan. 1'|'July 13, 2017 / 8:47 PM / 6 hours ago Vanguard CIO Buckley to take over as CEO from McNabb on January 1 Ross Kerber 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Bill McNabb is pictured in the board room at the Vanguard Headquarters in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, December 2, 2010. Tim Shaffer BOSTON (Reuters) - Vanguard Group, the world''s largest mutual fund manager, said on Thursday Chief Executive Bill McNabb will step down at year end and be replaced by Chief Investment Officer Tim Buckley, betting on the internal successor to oversee rapid growth. McNabb, 60, who took the CEO job in 2008, will remain chairman of the Pennsylvania company where he oversaw massive inflows to its low-cost products, including index funds, after steering the company through the financial crisis. Vanguard now manages about $4 trillion, up from about $1.25 trillion at the start of McNabb''s reign and far eclipsing rivals like Fidelity Investments and T. Rowe Price Group ( TROW.O ) that are better known for their actively managed mutual funds. Vanguard has also suffered a string of technical glitches since last year and responded by adding staff. Software engineers make up about a quarter of its workforce of about 15,000 people. "The goal is that we not only lead on investment returns, we lead on our level of service to clients," Buckley, 48, said in an interview. Buckley also aims to continue Vanguard''s overseas expansion. Another concern has been that index funds could lose their appeal in a market downturn, which could favour some active fund managers. While Vanguard also offers active funds, Buckley said the concern is misplaced. "There''s no good environment for high costs," he said. "Markets will humble you, and volatility will return. You''ve got to stay disciplined," he said. McNabb said the timing seemed right to step back from the top job, and that there were no other internal or external candidates to succeed him after working closely with Buckley on Vanguard''s executive committee more than 16 years. Buckley will become the fourth CEO of privately held Vanguard, which began operations in 1975 under founder John C. Bogle, who remains affiliated with the company but is no longer in senior leadership. Buckley joined Vanguard in 1991 as an assistant to Bogle. He later headed Vanguard''s information technology division and its retail investor group. Buckley was also named president and a director of Vanguard. Greg Davis, 46, head of fixed income, will take over as chief investment officer. Vanguard named two other new directors, Sarah Bloom Raskin, a former U.S. Treasury official, and Deanna Mulligan, CEO of The Guardian Life Insurance Co of America. Industry observers noted that these director appointments and that of Davis, an African-American, diversify Vanguard''s leadership. They "make Vanguard look more like its client base," said Dan Wiener, who edits a newsletter for Vanguard investors. Although Vanguard''s structure makes operations more opaque than those at some publicly traded rivals, it will seek investor approval of these appointments. At a meeting set for Nov. 15 in Scottsdale, Arizona, according to a securities filing, Vanguard will ask investors to elect Buckley, Raskin and Mulligan and other nominees to a board that oversees its mutual funds. It will also seek approval for other changes, including giving funds the ability to hire external managers without shareholder permission, and to change investment objectives of two index funds. Vanguard also faces shareholder proposals including one seeking review of its tendency not to support proxy measures related to climate change. According to a securities filing, Vanguard recommends investors vote against this proposal, saying it uses behind-the-scenes talks to influence company executives on climate issues. Reporting by Ross Kerber; Editing by Richard Chang and David Gregorio 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-vanguard-buckley-idUKKBN19Y2R7'|'2017-07-13T23:47:00.000+03:00' +'00a3320775e0b3574be36d7c046d7fe436aa7cff'|'LeEco''s listed company names investor Sunac''s Sun chairman'|'July 21, 2017 / 9:08 AM / 14 minutes ago LeEco''s listed company names investor Sunac''s Sun chairman Sijia Jiang 2 Min Read Chairman of Sunac China Holdings Ltd. Sun Hongbin speaks during a strategic cooperation signing ceremony with Dalian Wanda Group and R&F Properties in Beijing, China July 19, 2017. Jason Lee HONG KONG (Reuters) - Leshi Internet Information & Technology, embattled Chinese tech group LeEco''s main listed entity, said Sun Hongbin from investor Sunac China would take over as chairman from founder Jia Yueting. A frenetic pace of growth over 13 years, from a Netflix-like video website to a business empire spanning consumer electronics to cars, has left a gaping hole in LeEco''s finances. Jia, who has described the cash crunch as "far worse than expected", stepped down from all posts at Leshi earlier this month to focus on LeEco''s electric car business and repay debts. Sun''s appointment to Leshi board chairmanship means he now controls what are widely considered to be LeEco''s healthier businesses, while Jia focuses on an expensive ambition to rival Elon Musk''s Tesla Motors in making electric vehicles via U.S. subsidiary Faraday Future. Sun is the chairman of property developer Sunac, which invested 15 billion yuan(1.70 billion pounds) in LeEco earlier this year, including taking an 8.61 percent stake in Leshi for 6.04 billion yuan. Sunac''s investment in LeEco also included a 33.5 percent stake in smart TV manufacturer Leshi Zhixin and a 15 percent stake in LeEco''s film production company, Le Vision Picutres. Leshi said earlier this month that it expected to log a net loss between 636.7 million yuan ($94 million) and 641.7 million yuan for the first half of this year. In its statement to the Shenzen stock exchange on Friday, Leshi said CEO Liang Jun had been named the company''s legal representative. Reporting by Sijia Jiang; Editing by Himani Sarkar 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-leeco-management-idUKKBN1A60XZ'|'2017-07-21T12:10:00.000+03:00' +'508913e6839c6ade705e87a4ce581cd3afc684df'|'BRIEF-Kala Pharma sees IPO of 6 mln shares priced between $14-$16/shr'|' 02am EDT BRIEF-Kala Pharma sees IPO of 6 mln shares priced between $14-$16/shr July 10 Kala Pharmaceuticals Inc: * Kala Pharmaceuticals sees IPO of 6 million shares of co''s common stock priced between $14.00 and $16.00 per share Source text: ( bit.ly/2tFlt5R ) RPT-Big financial woes linger in Illinois'' new budget CHICAGO, July 10 Illinois'' first budget after two years is filled with partial outlines to address its debt-ridden pension system and unpaid bill backlog -- signs that political fighting and the fiscal mess in the nation''s fifth-largest state are far from over. MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories Reuters Plus - Reuters News Agency - Brand Attribution Guidelines - Careers Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters . Thomson Reuters is the world''s largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products:'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-kala-pharma-sees-ipo-of-6-mln-shar-idUSFWN1K10BC'|'2017-07-10T14:02:00.000+03:00' +'c9a7aae8a39d9cdd43d2e9871c11c08d7995a0ed'|'METALS-Nickel plunges as investors look to plentiful supplies'|'Market 26pm EDT METALS-Nickel falls on abundant supplies, mine closure prospects fade * LME/ShFE arb - tmsnrt.rs/2oQ5nm2 (Updates with closing prices) By Peter Hobson LONDON, July 4 Nickel prices fell on Tuesday on expectations of plentiful supply from Indonesia and the Philippines, while industrial metals were mostly lower as investors took profits following a recent rally. Trade was thin as U.S. markets were closed for the Independence Day holiday. "Volumes are very low so markets are easily moved," a trader said. Metals had been bolstered on Monday by strong manufacturing data in China, but Capital Economics analyst Caroline Bain said broader data pointed to a slowdown in Chinese growth. "This optimism is going to fade," she said. NICKEL: Benchmark nickel on the London Metal Exchange closed down 2.2 percent at $9,180 a tonne. The stainless steel ingredient had gained nearly 9 percent since mid-June. NICKEL TECHNICALS: Nickel briefly fell below its 50-day moving average. Support was at $9,100 and $9,005-$9,025, close to a recent low, brokers Marex Spectron said in a note. FUNDAMENTALS: Capital Economics'' Bain said supplies looked solid as Indonesia exported more ore and fears of mine closures in the Philippines faded. Chinese stainless steel production, the main source of nickel demand, had also fallen, she said. INDONESIA EXPORTS: Indonesia issued recommendations that will allow PT Ceria Nugraha Indotama to export 2.3 million tonnes of nickel ore through to July 2018. NEW CALEDONIA: Brazil''s Vale said it was reassessing its loss-making New Caledonian nickel operations. COPPER: LME copper ended down 0.6 percent at $5,892 a tonne, eating into gains of more than 5 percent since mid-June. COPPER STOCKS: Prices were supported by a fall in on-warrant stockpiles available to the market at LME warehouses to 176,125 tonnes, ending two days of large stock increases. MCUSTX-TOTAL COPPER STRIKES: Chile''s Antofagasta was facing potential strikes at two mines with combined annual production of 160,000 tonnes. TIN STOCKS: At 1,690 tonnes, stocks of tin in LME warehouses are at their lowest since the 1980s. MSNSTX-TOTAL Benchmark tin finished 1 percent lower at $19,950 a tonne. TIN SPREAD: Falling stocks helped push the premium of cash tin over the three-month price to a high of $315 a tonne, the largest since September 2015 and indicating tight nearby supply. MSN0-3 MARKETS: Global equities fell but the dollar held onto Monday''s strong gains and oil prices rose for a ninth day. PRICES: Three-month aluminium ended up $1 at $1,928 a tonne and zinc closed 0.4 percent lower at $2,793 a tonne. Lead did not trade but was bid down 1.6 percent at $2,299 a tonne. (Additional reporting by James Regan; Editing by Louise Heavens and Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/global-metals-idUSL8N1JV26M'|'2017-07-04T13:26:00.000+03:00' +'35ed199eddc5b2dcdd917c29b3414cead1a655f6'|'Analysis: Singapore penthouse on sale for over $72 million, a test for luxury market''s recovery'|'July 13, 2017 / 8:13 AM / 30 minutes ago Analysis: Singapore penthouse on sale for over $72 million, a test for luxury market''s recovery Aradhana Aravindan and Masayuki Kitano 6 Min Read GuocoLand Ltd''s mixed-use Tanjong Pagar Centre (R), soon to be the tallest building in the city-state, towers over other buildings in the central business district of Singapore February 29, 2016. Edgar Su/File Photo SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The asking price for a new three-storey Singapore penthouse, complete with a private pool on the 64th floor, has reached a dizzying S$100 million ($72.6 million). Due to be formally unveiled later this year, Wallich Residence''s penthouse is in the tallest building in Singapore, the island of well-heeled stability that attracts the super-rich from its less-developed Southeast Asian neighbours, as well as multi-millionaires from mainland China. The ''bungalow in the sky'' penthouse in the GuocoLand-developed Tanjong Pagar Centre, is likely to become Singapore''s most expensive apartment. It will test the endurance of demand for luxury property in the city-state the part of the market that has taken the biggest hit from measures aimed at cooling down property prices in recent years. Prices for luxury homes in Singapore have fallen 15-20 percent from a 2013 peak, according to JLL consultancy, part of the Jones Lang LaSalle global property services group. But JLL is now starting to see the prospects of a turnaround at least at the top end of the market and is forecasting a 3-5 percent increase in luxury prices this year, citing demand from both locals and foreigners who feel the market is bottoming out. JLL said the volume of transactions in the first four months of the year in Singapore''s core central region, which is popular among wealthy foreigners and includes the Orchard Road shopping area and Sentosa island, was 35 percent higher than in the same period last year. "A lot of people think Singapore is value for money because it''s been downhill all the way - such a long winter," said Chandran VR, managing director at a real estate agency specialising in high-end homes. "Now they feel it is the right time to come in," he said. By contrast, he noted that Hong Kong apartment prices have been soaring, adding that "sensible investors will come here," instead. GuocoLand Singapore Group Managing Director Cheng Hsing Yao said buying by foreigners has picked up since the start of the year at the developer''s high-end Leedon Residence project, near the 150-year-old Singapore Botanic Gardens. GuocoLand is part of Malaysian conglomerate Hong Leong Group, headed by billionaire Quek Leng Chan. "In absolute numbers, it may not be that huge, but the ticket sizes are actually quite significant for some of them," Cheng said. Some foreigners were buying homes worth S$8-12 million in the project, he said. The recent tightening of property market controls elsewhere, such as in Hong Kong and Australia, has played a part in attracting foreign demand to Singapore''s luxury property this year, Cheng said. City Developments Ltd (CDL), one of the largest Singapore developers, also said the average sales price at its high-end Gramercy Park project has risen to more than S$2,800 per square feet in recent months, up 8 percent from a year ago, and foreign buyers accounted for three-quarters of the project so far. CDL''s billionaire Chairman Kwek Leng Beng is a cousin of the Malaysian developer Quek. Plenty of Tools Still, Singapore''s broader residential market remains subdued, having fallen for 15 straight quarters to log its longest losing streak since official records began in 1975. "We are forecasting for prices to come down between 1 to 5 percent this year before reaching an inflection point in 2018," said Eli Lee, an analyst for OCBC Investment Research. While prices in Hong Kong tripled and Sydney''s doubled over the past decade, Singapore prices rose just 29 percent. Singapore introduced property price cooling measures to curb speculation as did many other "hot property" cities in the region. While some measures were relaxed slightly this year, the authorities warned last month there would be no more rolling back for now. Singapore is not short of policy tools to ward off speculators. Most of the island''s apartment blocks were built and then managed by the government, though the vast majority of the units have been sold to citizens. This allows it to keep control of some speculative activity, and therefore prices. Initial buyers of government apartments, for example, are largely prevented from flipping a property through a fast resale. The high home ownership rate, at about 90 percent, also makes it easier for policymakers to craft measures targeting speculative demand when the market is overheated. All home buyers have to pay a stamp duty at a progressive rate of up to 3 percent, but foreigners have to pay an additional 15 percent for their purchases. Singaporeans also have to pay an extra stamp duty of 7-10 percent when they make second and subsequent purchases. "With tightening measures taken in other countries, that could lead investors to shift funds back here. So we just have to watch that very closely," Ravi Menon, managing director ofthe Monetary Authority of Singapore, said last month. New home sales more than doubled in March from a year earlier, reaching their highest level in nearly four years. And developers, led by Chinese companies, are paying record sums to secure land. Shenzhen-based developer Logan Property and its partner Nanshan Group recently paid a record S$1 billion at a government land auction. That was almost 50 percent more than the previous record set in 1997. "The strong winning bid...signals developers'' strong confidence in the Singapore residential market and their belief that prices could return to growth soon," said Christine Li, research director at Cushman and Wakefield in Singapore. Editing by Miyoung Kim and Martin Howell 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/singapore-property-luxury-idINKBN19Y0Q4'|'2017-07-13T11:09:00.000+03:00' +'2002b3281f8f40378921cdb87a009c88c97adf54'|'VW to start importing cars to Iran in August with partner Mammut Khodro'|'Tue Jul 4, 2017 - 12:18pm BST VW to start importing cars to Iran in August with partner Mammut Khodro FILE PHOTO - A Volkswagen logo is pictured near Poznan, Poland September 9, 2016. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo BERLIN Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) will start importing cars to Iran next month, returning to the resurgent Middle Eastern market after 17 years in a move that may help the German group trim reliance on volatile overseas markets such as China and Brazil. Volkswagen (VW) has signed an agreement with Iran''s Mammut Khodro to import VW brand models Tiguan and Passat via eight dealerships, focusing on the greater Tehran area, VW said on Tuesday. (Reporting by Andreas Cremer)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-iran-idUKKBN19P1C7'|'2017-07-04T14:14:00.000+03:00' +'c35976b948c6f7391bc489922569126a523dcfc3'|'Apple challenges Imagination Technologies'' disclosure timing'|'Technology 9:20pm BST Apple challenges Imagination Technologies'' disclosure timing FILE PHOTO: The Apple logo is seen on the facade of the new Apple Store in Paris, France, January 5, 2017. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo By Stephen Nellis Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ) on Friday disputed the timeline of events leading up the disclosure by Imagination Technologies Group Plc ( IMG.L ) that Apple plans to drop the graphics chip supplier, a loss of the UK company''s largest customer that sent shares plummeting. Imagination Chief Executive Officer Andrew Heath said Apple told Imagination "at the end of March" that it would no longer need its technology, according to an investor call on Tuesday. But Apple said it told Imagination about its plans on Feb. 9. Imagination ultimately notified shareholders of Apple''s decision on April 3, which sent its shares down 70 percent and eventually forced it to put itself up for sale. Apple''s claims that Imagination sat on the news for weeks without telling shareholders heaps more trouble on the company and could spur regulators to examine whether Imagination improperly withheld information from shareholders, according to one legal expert. Imagination''s Heath told investors that Apple told Imagination at the end of March that Apple''s new products "at some point in 2018 or early 2019 would not contain our IP and therefore, they were not required to pay us royalties on it." Apple contested that timeline and said it warned Imagination that it would "stop accepting new IP from them" as early as 2015 and gave a final warning a month before Imagination''s CEO claims. "After lengthy discussions, we advised them on February 9 that we expected to wind down our licensing agreement since we need unique and differentiating IP for our products," Apple said in the statement. Imagination did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside of normal UK business hours. Heath has said he does not believe Apple can replace Imagination''s technology without using some of Imagination''s patents that would require royalties. Jonathan Parry, an attorney with UK law firm White & Case who is not involved in the dispute, said European financial regulators were likely to examine the timing of Apple''s discussions with Imagination to see whether Imagination''s leaders failed to disclose material information to shareholders. Regulators would likely focus on when Imagination''s leaders decided it was "likely" that Apple would draw down its business with the company, which Imagination would then be required to disclose to shareholders. The legal bar for "likely" is different from the word''s common usage, he said. "The wording used in judgments is ''a realistic prospect'' that something might happen," Parry said. "The judge did not assign a percentage, but he made it clear that something doesn''t have to be ''more likely than not''" to trigger public disclosure requirements. (Adds missing word "to" in paragraph 4) (Reporting by Stephen Nellis; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-apple-imagntn-tchnlgs-idUKKBN19S2TW'|'2017-07-07T23:13:00.000+03:00' +'72b8fb5a647eaed5eaf25b651945ffcaa21957f9'|'Italy''s Generali to strengthen its presence in France - CEO tells paper'|'July 24, 2017 / 5:58 AM / 21 minutes ago Italy''s Generali to strengthen its presence in France - CEO tells paper Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The Assicurazioni Generali logo is seen in downtown Milan, Italy, February 8, 2016. Stefano Rellandini/File Photo MILAN (Reuters) - Assicurazioni Generali ( GASI.MI ) plans to boost its French business while it is weighing various options in Germany where it wants to manage more actively its life business, the CEO of Italy''s biggest insurer told Corriere della Sera on Monday. Philippe Donnet also said that the insurer was not asked to convert into equity some subordinated debt it owns in struggling lender Banca Carige ( CRGI.MI ). Reporting by Francesca Landini; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-generali-ceo-report-idUKKBN1A90FH'|'2017-07-24T08:57:00.000+03:00' +'835596d953185b9c49fa82a106641323c0c80e4d'|'VW profit jumps as core brand pushes cost cuts, models'|'July 27, 2017 / 7:07 AM / 6 minutes ago Volkswagen profit jumps as core brand pushes cost cuts, models Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: VW Golfs are loaded in a delivery tower at the plant of German carmaker Volkswagen in Wolfsburg, Germany, March 14, 2017. Fabian Bimmer/File Photo BERLIN (Reuters) - Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) said group operating profit more than doubled in the second quarter, helped by cost cuts and higher-margin new models at its core namesake brand. Earnings before interest and tax jumped to 4.55 billion euros ($5.34 billion) from 1.90 billion a year earlier, VW said on Thursday, beating a 4.49-billion-euro consensus forecast in a Reuters poll of analysts. First-half earnings at the core namesake brand doubled to 1.8 billion euros, VW said, citing cost cuts and higher volume sales. The group stuck to its guidance for return on sales for 2017 of between 6 and 7 percent, after reaching 6.7 percent in 2016. It said it now expects 2017 group revenue to exceed last year''s record 217 billion euros by more than 4 percent. It also affirmed an aim for a moderate rise in full-year deliveries. (This story has been corrected to read more than 4 percent, paragraph 4.) Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Maria Sheahan 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-volkswagen-results-idUKKBN1AC0RT'|'2017-07-27T10:07:00.000+03:00' +'d5ecaaaa9fcbf237cdadb05a7e1f47f7c66ead64'|'With new Takata air bag recalls, automakers may face more liabilities'|'Edition United States July 19, 2017 / 10:27 AM / a minute ago With new Takata air bag recalls, automakers may face more liabilities Naomi Tajitsu and Maki Shiraki 6 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Visitors walk past a logo of Takata Corp on its display at a showroom for vehicles in Tokyo, Japan February 5, 2016. Toru Hanai/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Takata Corp''s ( 7312.T ) bankruptcy filing last month was meant to draw a line under the auto industry''s biggest safety recall, but last week''s announcement of more air bag inflator recalls suggests automakers could face fresh liabilities in the future.(For a graphic on air bag inflators click tmsnrt.rs/1JDZ4vq ) In late-2015, U.S. regulators gave Takata until the end of 2019 to prove that its replacement air bag inflators - which add a drying agent to combat moisture that can set off the ammonium nitrate compound in an inflator, with potentially lethal results - are also safe. If Takata fails that test - and some industry consultants, explosives experts and former employees question whether the workaround guarantees safety over the long-term - the 100 million or so replacement inflators currently being installed may themselves need to be replaced. "Absent proof that the other desiccated inflators are safe, they will also be subject to recall," the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said in a statement last week. The agency declined to comment on the risk that additional inflators may be subject to recall. NHTSA announced last Tuesday that new testing at Takata prompted the Japanese parts firm to declare 2.7 million of the new air bag inflators defective, raising questions about the risk from replacement air bags as moisture can still seep into the propellant of some inflators. Takata''s automaker customers, which have so far borne much of the estimated $10 billion cost of replacing faulty bag inflators, could be on the hook for future liabilities in the event that Takata fails to prove that the desiccant workaround is sufficient. Last week''s recall is the first to involve Takata bag inflators that use a drying agent. Nearly 20 automakers have been affected by the air bag recalls, and some still use Takata inflators for replacements in the recalls. Automakers including Honda Motor Co ( 7267.T ), Toyota Motor Corp ( 7203.T ) and Nissan Motor Co ( 7201.T ) have said they will stop using Takata inflators for new contracts for future models. "If NHTSA in the future raises issues about the safety (of desiccated inflators) we will of course comply with their orders," Nissan''s chief sustainability officer Hitoshi Kawaguchi told Reuters. "At the moment, our focus is on getting replacement inflators to our customers." Toyota said it was "working closely with all stakeholders, including Takata, other suppliers and relevant agencies, to assess any potential impact and take action accordingly" on the recall issue. Honda, Takata''s biggest client, declined to comment. "The automakers... and Takata - they all know that this is a future issue," said Scott Upham, chief executive at Valient Market Research, whose clients include auto parts suppliers. "But I think everybody is concerned about the near-term issues, and the financial arrangements of the bankruptcy." Takata says it has produced around 100 million replacement inflators containing drying agents: the 2.7 million recalled last week used calcium sulfate, and the rest contain zeolite. "We still have to prove the safety of our desiccated inflators, but we believe those using zeolite are safer than those using calcium sulfate," said spokesman Toyohiro Hishikawa. The company has declined to comment further on the testing process or the NHTSA deadline. Takata is the only global air bag maker to use ammonium nitrate as a propellant in its inflators. The compound''s vulnerability to high temperature and moisture can trigger an explosion that can spew shrapnel inside a vehicle. The defect has been linked to at least 17 deaths, mostly in the United States. ''Lengthening the Fuse'' The new inflators with the added desiccant have not been linked to any deaths or injuries, but the problems with the original inflators typically took five years or more to emerge. Keiichi Hori, who oversees automotive safety components at the Japan Explosives Society, said adding a drying agent can reduce, but not eliminate, the risk of uncontrolled explosions. If the desiccant can prevent all moisture from reaching the inflator propellant, "then it would be possible that the inflators could be used safely," he said. "Otherwise, alternatives should be considered." But Upham, the industry consultant, predicts the recalled parts will themselves eventually be recalled - because ammonium nitrate is fundamentally too volatile - and Takata''s carmaker customers may again have to foot the bill given that Takata is unlikely to be able to cover the costs. "Automakers are hoping and praying that the desiccant solves the problem... (but) this might come back to bite them," Upham said. Former Takata employees involved in manufacturing inflators have said the desiccant may buy Takata time. One told Reuters last year that by adding the desiccant, "you''re just lengthening the fuse, not correcting the problems." Key Safety Systems, a U.S.-based components supplier owned by China''s Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp ( 600699.SS ), has agreed to buy Takata''s good assets such as seat belts and steering wheels, for $1.6 billion. The plan is for Takata''s air bag business to be wound down by March 2020 after making replacement inflators for the ongoing recalls. Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu and Maki Shiraki in Tokyo; Additional reporting by Paul Lienert in Detroit and David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Ian Geoghegan 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-takata-bankruptcy-analysis-idUKKBN1A40X5'|'2017-07-19T13:14:00.000+03:00' +'f941062f1f1a967a1fa5110b6b1f9ce69beda2b6'|'Investor settlement over Italian scandal hits BT profits'|'July 28, 2017 / 6:18 AM / in an hour Investor settlement over Italian scandal hits BT profits Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A BT ompany logo is pictured on the side of a convention centre in Liverpool northern England, April 9, 2016. Phil Noble/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Britain''s BT ( BT.L ) posted a 42 percent drop in first-quarter pretax profit due to a settlement with investors Deutsche Telekom ( DTEGn.DE ) and Orange ( ORAN.PA ) over an Italian accounting scandal. BT, which reported a 530 million pound ($693 million) black hole in its Italian accounts in January, said it had settled a warranty claim with the two investors, with a charge of 225 million pounds. The German and French groups bought into BT when they sold their joint venture mobile operator EE to the company. BT said its first quarter pretax profit fell to 418 million pounds, below the consensus of 751 million pounds. On an adjusted basis it was down 1 percent. The settlement overshadowed an otherwise solid trading update for a group that has also been hurt by a slowdown in government work in its home market. The Italian scandal and poor UK trading wiped 8 billion pounds off the company''s value on the day they were announced. First-quarter revenue and core earnings were in line with forecasts and BT said it would continue its restructuring by merging its EE mobile business into the rest of its Consumer division. It will continue to operate three brands: BT, EE and Plusnet. It reiterated its full-year outlook due to solid demand for EE, with 210,000 net contract subscriber additions, and 170,000 net fibre additions in its broadband business. "BT has delivered an encouraging performance in the first quarter of the year," Chief Executive Gavin Patterson said. "Our businesses are leaders in their core segments and as we drive the business forward I am confident in the outlook." Reporting by Kate Holton; editing by Jason Neely 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bt-group-results-idUKKBN1AD0MA'|'2017-07-28T09:18:00.000+03:00' +'33365df51d2856c5ea4964b3295b699f5f4ff4e8'|'U.S. Senator Warren calls on Fed to remove Wells Fargo board members'|'July 28, 2017 / 9:56 PM / 18 hours ago U.S. Senator Warren calls on Fed to remove Wells Fargo board members Pete Schroeder and Lisa Lambert 1 Min Read WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren called on Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen to remove members of Wells Fargo & Co''s board after revelations the company improperly charged customers for auto insurance. In a letter sent Friday to Yellen, Warren, a Democrat, said the recent revelation of more improper charges at the bank indicates "deep risk management problems," and called for the removal of all board members who served from 2011 to 2015, when the activity reportedly occurred. The New York Times reported Friday that more than 800,000 Wells Fargo customers were charged for auto insurance they did not request. 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/wells-fargo-insurance-warren-idUSL1N1KJ20N'|'2017-07-29T00:56:00.000+03:00' +'716805a5d86f64e230ef8b6b40af1186ec84b988'|'French PM says most tax cut measures will take effect in 2019'|' 05pm BST French PM says most tax cut measures will take effect in 2019 French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe delivers a speech on the government general policies plans at the National Assembly in Paris, France, July 4, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer PARIS French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Tuesday that the government''s plan to convert the previous administration''s flagship "CICE" tax credit for companies into a permanent reduction in payroll charges, will only take effect in 2019. President Emmanuel Macron initially planned to do the switch - which would cost public finances about 20 billion euros (17 billion)- in 2018, but a public audit ordered by the government revealed France risked overshooting its budget deficit target this year and next year as well. Philippe confirmed in an address to lawmakers that the government would exempt any non-property related wealth from the country''s wealth tax, a measure which will take effect in 2019. It will gradually cut the corporate tax level to 25 percent by 2022 from 33.33 percent today. France will also introduce a flat tax of about 30 percent on income drawn from savings, from the current level of up to 50 percent, Philippe said. (Reporting by Michel Rose and Ingrid Melander; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-economy-taxes-idUKKBN19P1S4'|'2017-07-04T17:05:00.000+03:00' +'e4c9a7ab00ea639e0394a2271335875031f4db33'|'UK Stocks-Factors to watch on July 28'|'July 28 (Reuters) - Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening down 36 points at 7406.8 on Friday, according to financial bookmakers. * UK CONSUMER MORALE: British consumer morale has sunk back to depths hit just after last year''s Brexit vote and worse may be to come as households'' view of the broader economic situation dropped to a four-year low, according to a survey on Friday. * SHELL: Royal Dutch Shell Plc plans to begin permanently shuttering the gasoline-producing unit at its 227,586 barrel-per-day (bpd) Convent, Louisiana, refinery in January 2018, said sources familiar with the company''s plans on Thursday. * OIL: Oil prices extended a rally into a sixth day on Friday, hovering near 8-week highs on a decline in U.S. inventories and OPEC''s ongoing efforts to curb production to ease a global glut. Brent crude futures were up 2 cents, or 0.04 percent, at $51.51 per barrel at 0059 GMT. * GOLD: Gold steadied on Friday after retreating from a more than six-week high hit in the previous session, with investors looking for cues on the health of the U.S. economy from second-quarter gross domestic product data due later in the session. * COPPER: Copper prices drifted in early Asian trading on Friday with little movement in currency markets, a key driver over recent sessions. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was little changed at $6,329 a tonne by 0134 GMT after trading flat in the previous session. * A punishing fall in AstraZeneca''s shares after the failure of a key lung cancer study for the pharma company offset the impact of earnings-led gains for drinks giant Diageo on Britain''s top share index. The bluechip FTSE 100 index fell 0.2 percent on Thursday, in line with the broader European market. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets * UK CORPORATE DIARY: UBM PLC Half Year 2017 UBM PLC Earnings Release Barclays PLC Half Year 2017 Barclays PLC Earnings Release BT Group PLC Q1 2018 BT Group PLC Earnings Release Essentra PLC Half Year 2017 Essentra PLC Earnings Release Rightmove PLC Half Year 2017 Rightmove PLC Earnings Release International Consolidated Half Year 2017 International Airlines Group SA Consolidated Airlines Group SA Earnings Release IMI PLC Half Year 2017 IMI PLC Earnings Call Laird PLC Half Year 2017 Laird PLC Earnings Call Essentra PLC Half Year 2017 Essentra PLC Earnings & Strategy Review Call BT Group PLC Q1 2018 BT Group PLC Earnings Call Rightmove PLC Half Year 2017 Rightmove PLC Earnings Presentation - London International Consolidated Half Year 2017 International Airlines Group SA Consolidated Airlines Group SA Earnings Call Equiniti Group PLC Half Year 2017 Equiniti Group PLC Earnings Call Barclays PLC Half Year 2017 Barclays PLC Earnings Call Morgan Advanced Materials PLC Half Year 2017 Morgan Advanced Materials PLC Earnings Call Santander UK Group Holdings Q2 2017 Santander UK Group PLC Holdings PLC Earnings Call TODAY''S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Sanjeeban Sarkar in Bengaluru) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idUSL3N1KJ20L'|'2017-07-28T08:15:00.000+03:00' +'c3d0725c4fb77fe028a8cfd8de2bba7efb60eeff'|'UK energy market regulator to probe British Gas switching terms'|'Top News - Thu Jul 6, 2017 - 9:59am BST Ofgem to probe British Gas switching terms File Photo: A gas cooker is seen in Boroughbridge, northern England in this November 13, 2012 file photograph. REUTERS/Nigel Roddis/File Photo LONDON Britain''s energy market regulator Ofgem has launched an investigation into British Gas'' switching terms, it said on Thursday. The inquiry will examine whether Centrica-owned ( CNA.L ) British Gas breached licence conditions relating to its obligations to domestic customers who switch to another supplier. The inquiry comes after consumer affairs website Moneysaving Expert raised concerns about the issue, Ofgem said in a statement. Ofgem licence conditions state that suppliers should not charge termination fees for any switch that takes place within the 49-day "switching period" before the expiry of a fixed-term contract, the regulator said. (Reporting by Nina Chestney; editing by Jason Neely) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-energy-gas-idUKKBN19R0W5'|'2017-07-06T11:53:00.000+03:00' +'fd2defce5dd3d9700967373f6bbef3e38e64d1d6'|'China''s FAW to recall 680,000 more Mazda cars over faulty Takata airbags'|'Autos - Sat Jul 8, 2017 - 8:05am BST China''s FAW to recall 680,000 more Mazda cars over faulty Takata airbags FILE PHOTO: The logo of Takata Corp is seen on its display at a showroom for vehicles in Tokyo, Japan, February 9, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo BEIJING China''s FAW Car Co Ltd, a partner of Japan''s Mazda Motor Corp ( 7261.T ), will recall over 680,000 Mazda cars due to issues with air bags that were supplied by embattled Japanese auto parts supplier Takata Corp ( 7312.T ). The recall includes Mazda 6 vehicles manufactured in China between September 2008 and January 2016, China''s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said in a statement on its website on Friday. The watchdog said the issue was related to dangerous defects in the airbag inflator on the passenger side, and follows an earlier recall of 280,000 Mazda 6 models manufactured between 2003 and 2008 for a similar issue. Takata filed for bankruptcy in Japan and the United States last month, burdened with tens of billions in liabilities related to a decade of recalls and lawsuits over faulty airbags supplied to some of the world''s biggest auto brands. The airbags have been linked to at least 16 deaths and 180 injuries. The firm will be largely acquired for $1.6 billion by Chinese-owned, U.S.-based firm Key Safety Systems as part of its financial restructuring. On Friday the Chinese watchdog said in a statement that it has asked foreign firms General Motors ( GM.N ), Daimler''s ( DAIGn.DE ) Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) to fulfil their obligations to recall vehicles in China affected by faulty Takata air bags. (Reporting by Cate Cadell; Editing by Christian Schmollinger) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-faw-china-recall-idUKKBN19T078'|'2017-07-08T10:05:00.000+03:00' +'82414e946927ae175b67d40f3f3c6bb8a88d2056'|'The worlds largest online-travel company'|'NOT since the dotcom boom at the turn of the century have technology shares been on such a tear. On July 19th the S&P 500 index of information-technology stocks hit a record high, closing above its previous peak in March 2000 (see Buttonwood ). As titans like Google, Facebook and Amazon hog the limelight, other firms can go unnoticed. One that deserves more attention is Priceline, the worlds largest online-travel company.Those old enough to remember the dotcom boom may still associate Priceline, which was founded in 1997, with its name your own price feature, which let consumers bid for hotel rooms and flights. Today it is a Goliath. Its stable of online sites for booking hotels, cars, flights and restaurants spans the world and includes Booking.com, Kayak, Agoda and OpenTable. Over the past decade Pricelines pre-tax earnings have grown at a compound annual rate of 42%, faster than Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Alphabet (see chart). It also boasts a 96% gross margin. Its share price has risen by more than 50% over the past 12 months, about four times faster than the broader stockmarket. On July 26th the firms market value rose above $100bn. 2 hours 7 9 9 hours ago Faith grows greener in the era of Donald Trump Erasmus 10 13 hours ago See all updates Perhaps because Priceline is based in Connecticut, not Silicon Valley, it is often overlooked by geeks and technology investors, who revere Airbnb, a platform for booking overnight stays in other peoples homes which is valued at around $30bn. Ask an entrepreneur in San Francisco about Priceline, and you are likely to get a blank stare. Insiders know better. Theres nothing you can point to and say, Thats something no one else could have done, says Adam Goldstein of Hipmunk, another online-travel firm. Its just that Priceline did everything better in every way.The most important reason for Pricelines success is shrewd dealmaking. In 2005 it paid around $135m to buy Booking.com, a Dutch website that aggregates hotel inventory, and merged it with another acquisition, a British travel site called Active Hotels. Today Booking.com has the worlds largest supply of hotel accommodation and accounts for the lions share of Pricelines revenue and market value. Booking.com was one of the best deals in the history of the internet, says Mark Mahaney of RBC Capital, an investment bank.Pricelines focus on accommodation helps explain why it is more profitable and more highly valued than Expedia, a rival online-travel company that operates sites such as Orbitz, Travelocity, Trivago and Hotels.com. Expedia does more business booking flights, but these are not as lucrative. Online-travel firms take a meaty commission of 15-18% of a hotel rooms price, compared with a slim 3-4% for airfares, according to Brian Nowak of Morgan Stanley, another investment bank.Unlike Google and Amazon, Priceline does not aim to be on the cutting edge of technology, but it does make clever use of it. Booking.com excels at bidding for online-search keywords. It is rumoured to be the worlds top spender on Google: last year it spent $3.5bn on performance marketing, which is mostly related to search advertising. Booking.com is also constantly trying new features: it runs around 1,000 tests a day to see what makes users more likely to click book. Some of these experiments, such as free cancellations and ranking hotels by the strength of their Wi-Fi, have become permanent features.Steady management has helped the company, too. Glenn Fogel became Pricelines boss in January, after the previous boss, Darren Huston, resigned for having an affair with an employee. But Mr Fogel, a former investment banker and trader, has worked at Priceline for 16 years and is credited with initiating the Booking.com deal. Asked about his firms success, he attributes some of it to letting acquired firms go about their business. Kayak, an aggregator of travel listings that Priceline purchased for $1.8bn in 2012, for instance, still retains separate headquarters in Connecticut, six miles away from Priceline.And then there are the lessons of the firms own history. One is not to try too many things at once. During the dotcom boom the firm took the name your own price concept to extremes, allowing people to bid on petrol, groceries and even mortgages. The ensuing bust was bleak: Pricelines market value dropped by more than 99%, to $190m (the share price is up by 30,000% since that trough). That experience taught management to prize discipline and profitability. The corporate ethos today is one of a workhorse, not show-pony, says one person close to the firm.If analysts have their numbers right, the future looks bright for Priceline. Last year travel accounted for an estimated 10% of global GDP, or $7.6trn. But only around a third of that is booked online. This share is expected to rise by a couple of percentage points a year over time, about the same pace as e-commerce more broadly. And as people become wealthier, they tend to travel more; many in emerging markets are venturing abroad for the first time.New markets beckon, too. The concept of alternative accommodationrentals of apartments, villas and homeswas popularised by such firms as Airbnb, HomeAway and VRBO (the last two are both now owned by Expedia). But Priceline is bulking up in this area: last year it offered 568,000 alternative accommodation listings on Booking.com, nearly 50% more than a year earlier. Airbnb lists 3m, but many of those are individual rooms for rent in a larger home, whereas Priceline mostly offers entire properties, many of them professionally managed.Mr Fogel argues that Pricelines approach of offering both hotels and other accommodation makes sense, because people like having a variety of choices available in one place. But Priceline will increasingly compete with Airbnb, which is expected to go public next year and is hungry for growth. Airbnb is said to have plans to add more listings of boutique hotels and bed-and-breakfasts to its own service and has suggested it could offer flights, although it has not offered any details.Priceline and Airbnb will also compete over more of consumers budgets when they travel. Earlier this year Airbnb started selling local experiences with guides. Booking.com is experimenting with selling tours and other on-the-ground activities in several cities. The idea is to offer a holistic system for travel, says Mr Fogel, so people can use the Booking.com app to check into hotels without queuing, enter their room by swiping their phone as they do to board an airline, and make dinner reservations through OpenTable. Such features are meant not only to increase the companys share of consumer spending, but also to ensure that customers continue to book on Pricelines sites rather than directly with hotels and restaurants.But becoming a one-stop-shop for all travel needs wont be easy. Pricelines least successful acquisition was OpenTable, for which it spent $2.6bn in 2014. Last year Priceline wrote down around a third of its value, acknowledging that the restaurant-booking service was not expanding as quickly as had been expected. This suggests that consumers may be comfortable using all-purpose sites to book hotels and flights, but still want to use real-life concierges for local recommendations.Airbnb is not the only rival Priceline has to worry about. Technology firms will launch more pointed attacks. Google already offers consumers the ability to research flights and routes, directly taking on Pricelines Kayak. The search giant can use its vast trove of data on consumers to push more deeply into the travel business.The most dangerous rival, however, may well come from somewhere else entirely. Were all waiting for the moment when a big Chinese company comes in and tries to take market share, says Erik Blachford, a former boss of Expedia. Ctrip, a giant based in Shanghai and worth an estimated $30bn, is the obvious candidate. But if it indeed makes a move, Priceline will not necessarily suffer. Not only is its Chinese business growing nicely, but it has also invested nearly $2bn in Ctrips debt and equity. Small wonder that some analysts consider Priceline the best-run internet company after Amazon. "The Priceline party"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21725579-and-best-run-internet-firm-after-amazon-worlds-largest-online-travel-company?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-07-29T12:00:00.000+03:00' +'c055f76b5c389885348e0979b8b95ac7a50f7fac'|'Italy tax cuts for hiring young people should be extended - Padoan'|'July 26, 2017 / 10:31 AM / 7 minutes ago Italy tax cuts for hiring young people should be extended - Padoan Reuters Staff 1 Min Read ROME (Reuters) - A temporary measure cutting taxes for Italian employers for a period after they hire young people should be extended, Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said on Wednesday. The government is considering including the tax cuts, which were introduced temporarily as part of a 2015 labour market reform, in its 2018 budget, which is due to be presented in October, Padoan said. "Selective tax cuts for young people are an important tool and these measures should be made permanent," Padoan said at a conference in Rome. He did not say how long the tax cuts would remain valid after a young worker was hired. Italy''s youth unemployment rate is one of the highest in the European Union, at 37 percent in May. Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte, writing by Isla Binnie 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-italy-economy-budget-idUKKBN1AB1D5'|'2017-07-26T13:30:00.000+03:00' +'f0ea506ddb1e9fcf19b2e9276513c900ec24cd80'|'Shire, Roche slug it out in billion-dollar blood drug battle'|'Health News 2:47pm BST Shire, Roche slug it out in billion-dollar haemophilia drug battle left right FILE PHOTO: Swiss drugmaker Roche''s logo is seen at their headquarters in Basel, Switzerland January 28, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo 1/2 left right A sign sits in front of Shire''s manufacturing facility in Lexington, Massachusetts July 18, 2014. REUTERS/Brian Snyder 2/2 By John Miller - ZURICH ZURICH Swiss drugmaker Roche''s ( ROG.S ) bid to take a chunk of the $11 billion haemophilia drug market dominated by Shire ( SHP.L ) took another blow with the Irish company winning a preliminary injunction over its Swiss rival''s medication. Shire said its injunction in a court in Germany, where Roche presented data on its drug emicizumab on Monday, sought to remedy Roche''s "incomplete and misleading" statements about the role of Shire''s drug FEIBA in adverse events in Roche trials. The fight underscores the high stakes of emicizumab''s approaching arrival on the haemophilia A market, with some analysts estimating $5 billion in annual sales. That would poach business from Shire''s older drugs for the condition in which sufferers'' blood does not clot properly. Roche blamed several instances of thromboembolic events, including damage to blood vessels in vital organs, in haemophilia A patients on Shire''s bypassing agent. It recommended doctors avoid using FEIBA, if possible, to treat bleeds that developed in patients, despite getting emicizumab. Shire, which says Roche "unlawfully disparaged" FEIBA, said it aimed "to prevent further dissemination of the inaccurate and misleading characterisation of the serious adverse events" in the Roche trial. While Shire''s drug carries warnings for thromboembolic events, Juliana Dierks, its global haematology franchise head, said Roche has failed to provide adequate data to back up its claim. "To imply a cause-and-effect of FEIBA having caused the severe adverse events is misleading," Dierks told Reuters. "We are looking forward to transparency. Give us the data, give us the facts." In the Hamburg court''s order, among other things, Roche was forbidden for now from making promotional statements describing emicizumab it as "well tolerated" or saying that adverse events occurred in four people when they received high doses of Shire''s drug concurrently with Roche''s medication. The court said it had jurisdiction because Roche was preparing to present information about emicizumab at the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis congress this week in Berlin. The injunction is an interim measure and Roche can appeal it. Roche said it was reviewing it after being served on Monday. A spokeswoman said on Monday the Basel-based drugmaker stood "100 percent" behind its statements about emicizumab and guidance for doctors treating bleeds. Roche shares were up 0.5 percent at 1300 GMT, while Shire''s were down 1.6 percent. This is the latest legal battle involving Shire against Roche over emicizumab. Baxalta, which Shire bought in 2016, is suing the Swiss company over patent infringement. Bernstein has said Shire''s share in haemophilia A is expected to fall to 29 percent from 49 percent by 2021 on the combined effect of Roche''s drug and other new medicines. Roche, which has filed emicizumab for European and U.S. approval, said the drug cut the treated bleed rate by 79 percent compared with bypassing agents, according to its latest data. (Reporting by John Miller; editing by Jason Neely and Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-roche-shire-haemophilia-idUKKBN19V0HX'|'2017-07-10T16:06:00.000+03:00' +'cf0402638a16301fd2926002c34551b512141829'|'CORRECTED-Paramount Resources to buy Apache subsidiary for C$459.5 million'|'Market News - Thu Jul 6, 2017 - 8:43pm EDT CORRECTED-Paramount Resources to buy Apache subsidiary for C$459.5 million (Corrects deal value in headline and first paragraph) July 6 Canadian energy company Paramount Resources Ltd said on Thursday that it would buy subsidiaries of U.S. oil and gas producer Apache Corp for C$459.5 million. ($353.7 million USD) The company would buy Apache''s subsidiary, Apache Canada Ltd, and fund the deal with cash on hand and no debt. Paramount said it entered into a merger agreement with petroleum and natural gas company Trilogy Energy Corp, in which the company would buy the remaining 85 percent of the common shares and non-voting shares of Trilogy. (Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Cooney and Bill Trott) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/apache-canada-ma-paramount-rsc-idUSL1N1JX24Z'|'2017-07-07T03:43:00.000+03:00' +'8288ef1f43f0ce9f12b7216e5cf15b93d24e1c40'|'Four Apple contractors accuse Qualcomm of antitrust violations'|'July 19, 2017 / 7:07 AM / an hour ago Four Apple contractors accuse Qualcomm of antitrust violations 3 Min Read One of many Qualcomm buildings is shown in San Diego, California November 3, 2015. Mike Blake (Reuters) - iPhone chip supplier Qualcomm Inc ( QCOM.O ) faces a fresh set of antitrust allegations from a group of four companies that assemble the iPhone and other products on behalf of Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ). Foxconn parent Hon Hai Precision Industry Co ( 2317.TW ), Wistron Corp ( 3231.TW ), Compal Electronics Inc ( 2324.TW ) and Pegatron Corp ( 4938.TW ) alleged that Qualcomm violated two sections of the Sherman Act, a U.S. antitrust law. The accusations, made in a filing late Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, are counterclaims to a Qualcomm lawsuit filed in May seeking to force the contractors to pay Qualcomm license fees that Apple directed them to stop paying. "Qualcomm has confirmed publicly that this lawsuit against our clients is intended to make a point about Apple and punish our clients for working with Apple," Theodore J. Boutrous, a lawyer for the four companies, said in a statement. "The companies are bringing their own claims and defenses against Qualcomm." The allegations are part of broader dispute between Apple and Qualcomm, which supplies so-called modem chip technology that lets iPhones connect to cellular data networks, over the nature of Qualcomm''s business model of linking the sale of chips and patent licenses, which has come under scrutiny by regulators in South Korea, the United States and several other countries. In January, Apple sued Qualcomm alleging that the company had withheld nearly $1 billion of patent license rebates it owed Apple in retaliation for Apple''s cooperation with South Korean regulators. Apple told its contract manufacturers to withhold license payments from Qualcomm while the dispute played out, which prompted Qualcomm to sue them in May. "Despite Apple''s claims against Qualcomm, Apple suppliers remain contractually obligated to pay royalties to Qualcomm under their license agreements with us, including for sales of iPhones to Apple," Qualcomm President Derek Aberle said of the dispute on the company''s conference call in April. Much of the language in the contractors'' allegations mirror Apple''s objections to Qualcomm''s business model. A senior Apple official confirmed that the company is helping to fund the contractors'' legal defense as part of an indemnification agreement among the firms. Apple has also formally joined the contractor case as a defendant. The lost license revenue from Apple has been a hit to Qualcomm''s sales. Analysts expect $5.2 billion in revenue for the June quarter, down from $6 billion a year earlier. Reporting by Stephen Nellis; Editing by Leslie Adler 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-apple-qualcomm-idUKKBN1A40I8'|'2017-07-19T10:15:00.000+03:00' +'9249205f6eb2942dc84098fe8834ebff7df74190'|'India''s infrastructure output grows 0.4 percent in June - govt'|'July 31, 2017 / 11:52 AM / in 5 hours India''s infrastructure output grows 0.4 percent in June - govt 1 Min Read Construction workers are pictured on a crane at a construction site in Mumbai, India, October 31, 2016. Shailesh Andrade/Files NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India''s annual infrastructure output nudged up 0.4 percent in June, crimped by a contraction in production of coal, cement and refinery products, government data showed on Monday. The output grew a revised 4.1 percent year-on-year in May. During the April-June period, it grew 2.4 percent from a year ago, data showed. Coal output contracted 6.7 percent, while cement production contracted 5.8 percent on year last month. Reporting by Manoj Kumar; Editing by Malini Menon 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/india-infrastructure-output-idINKBN1AG1BR'|'2017-07-31T14:49:00.000+03:00' +'9a2b3b3394b355772380d7adeb7effc720c25040'|'Siemens says at least two turbine sets moved to Crimea'|'Market News 9:51am EDT Siemens says at least two turbine sets moved to Crimea FRANKFURT, July 10 Siemens said at least two of four gas-turbine sets it delivered for a project in Russia had been moved to Crimea against its will, and it would take criminal action against responsible individuals at its customer, Technopromexport. Supplying energy technology to Crimea flouts sanctions imposed by the European Union following Russia''s 2014 annexation of the region. However, Russian President Vladimar Putin has vowed to ensure stable energy supply for the peninsula. "Over the last few months, our customer has confirmed to us numerous times in writing that a delivery to Crimea would not occur. As a consequence, Siemens will initiate criminal charges against the responsible individuals," it said on Monday. (Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Edward Taylor)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/ukraine-crisis-crimea-power-idUSF9N1II02G'|'2017-07-10T16:51:00.000+03:00' +'891dc4dd1b88748a03b25f45b4e5e9105aa63c59'|'Whole Foods sought $45 per share offer from Amazon'|'July 7, 2017 / 1:34 PM / in 23 minutes Whole Foods sought $45 per share offer from Amazon 1 Min Read A Whole Foods Market is pictured in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S. June 16, 2017. Carlo Allegri (Reuters) - Whole Foods Market Inc ( WFM.O ) had sought $45 per share from Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) but settled for $42 per share, which the ecommerce giant said was its "best and final offer". Amazon had initially offered $41 in May, Whole Foods said in a regulatory filing on Friday. ( bit.ly/2tPEsgy ) Amazon also told Whole Foods that it was considering other opportunities in case the offer was turned down. The company also asked Whole Foods not to approach other potential bidders while they were engaged in talks. Amazon said in June it would buy Whole Foods for $13.7 billion, in a deal that could turn the high-end grocer into a mass-market merchant and upend the already struggling U.S. retail industry. Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru: Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-whole-foods-m-a-amazon-com-idINKBN19S1XV'|'2017-07-07T16:33:00.000+03:00' +'db1a0eca60c75e83ffb3206fdd79575cd4ed8d59'|'China may match or beat America in AI'|'AT THE start of this year, two straws in the wind caught the attention of those who follow the development of artificial intelligence (AI) globally. First, Qi Lu, one of the bosses of Microsoft, said in January that he would not return to the worlds largest software firm after recovering from a cycling accident, but instead would become chief operating officer at Baidu, Chinas leading search engine. Later that month, the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence postponed its annual meeting. The planned date for the event in January conflicted with the Chinese new year.These were the latest signals that China could be a close second to Americaand perhaps even ahead of itin some areas of AI, widely considered vital to everything from digital assistants to self-driving cars. China is simply the place to be, explains Mr Lu, and Baidu the countrys most important player. We have an opportunity to lead in the future of AI, he says.Latest updates The Supreme Court says grandparents are exempt from the travel ban Democracy in America 10 minutes ago City of Ghosts is an extraordinary look at journalism in Raqqa Prospero 13 minutes ago A 4 6 6 7 Other evidence supports the claim. In October 2016 the White House noted in a report that China had overtaken America in the number of published journal articles on deep learning, a branch of AI. PwC, a consultancy, predicts that AI-related growth will boost global GDP by $16trn by 2030; nearly half of that bonanza will accrue to China, it reckons. The number of AI-related patent submissions by Chinese researchers has increased by nearly 200% in recent years, although America is still ahead in absolute numbers (see chart).To understand why China is so well placed, consider the inputs needed for AI. Of the two most basic, computing power and capital, it has an abundance. Chinese firms, from giants such as Alibaba and Tencent to startups such as CIB FinTech and UCloud, are building data centres as fast as they can. The market for cloud computing has been growing by more than 30% in recent years and will continue to do so, according to Gartner, a consultancy. In 2012-16 Chinese AI firms received $2.6bn in funding, according to the Wuzhen Institute, a think-tank. That is less than the $17.9bn that poured into their American peers, but the total is growing quickly.Yet it is two other resources that truly make China a promised land for AI. One is research talent. As well as strong skills in maths, the country has a tradition in language and translation research, says Harry Shum, who leads Microsofts AI efforts. Finding top-notch AI experts is harder in China than in America, says Wanli Min, who oversees 150 data scientists at Alibaba. But this will change over the next couple of years, he predicts, because most big universities have launched AI programmes. According to some estimates, China has more than two-fifths of the worlds trained AI scientists.The second advantage for China is data, AIs most important ingredient. In the past, software and digital products mostly obeyed rules laid down in code, giving an edge to those countries with the best coders. With the advent of deep-learning algorithms, such rules are increasingly based on patterns extracted from reams of data. The more data are available, the more algorithms can learn and the smarter AI offerings will be.Chinas sheer size and diversity provide powerful fuel for this cycle. Just by going about their daily lives, the countrys nearly 1.4bn people generate more data than almost all other nations combined. Even in the case of a rare disease, there are enough examples to teach an algorithm how to recognise it. Because typing Chinese characters is more laborious than Western ones, people also tend to use voice-recognition services more often than in the West, so firms have more voice snippets with which to improve speech offerings.The Saudi Arabia of dataWhat really sets China apart is that it has more internet users than any other country: about 730m. Almost all go online from smartphones, which generate far more valuable data than desktop computers, chiefly because they contain sensors and are carried around. In the big coastal cities, for instance, cash has all but disappeared for small purchases: people settle with their devices using services such as Alipay and WeChat Pay.Chinese do not seem to be terribly concerned about privacy, which makes collecting data easier. The countrys bike-sharing services, which have taken big cities by storm, for example, not only provide cheap transport but are what is known as a data play. When riders hire a bicycle, some firms keep track of renters movements using a GPS device attached to the bike.Young Chinese appear particularly keen on AI-powered services and relaxed about use of their data. Xiaoice, an upbeat chatbot operated by Microsoft, now has more than 100m Chinese users. Most talk to it between 11pm and 3am, often about the problems they had during the day. It is learning from interactions and becoming cleverer. Xiaoice no longer just provides encouragement and tells jokes, but has created the first collection of poems written with AI, Sunshine Lost Its Window, which caused a heated debate in Chinese literary circles over whether there can be such a thing as artificial poetry.Another important source of support for AI in China is the government. The technology figures prominently in the countrys current five-year plan. Technology firms are working closely with government agencies: Baidu, for example, has been asked to lead a national laboratory for deep learning. It is unlikely that the government will burden AI firms with over-strict regulation. The country has more than 40 laws containing rules about the protection of personal data, but these are rarely enforced.Entrepreneurs are taking advantage of Chinas talent and data strengths. Many AI firms got going only a year or two ago, but plenty have been progressing more rapidly than their Western counterparts. Chinese AI startups often iterate and execute more quickly, explains Kai-Fu Lee, who ran Googles subsidiary in China in the 2000s and now leads Sinovation Ventures, a venture-capital fund.As a result, China already has a herd of AI unicorns, meaning startups valued at more than $1bn. Toutiao, a news aggregator based in Beijing, employs machine learning to recommend articles using information such as a readers interests and location; it also uses AI to filter out fake information (which in China mainly means dubious health-care announcements). Another AI startup, iFlytek, has developed a voice assistant that translates Mandarin into several languages, including English and German, even if the speaker uses slang and talks over background noise. And Megvii Technologys face-recognition software, Face++, identifies people almost instantaneously.Skynet livesAt Megviis headquarters, visitors are treated to a demonstration. A video camera in the lobby does away with the need for showing ID: employees just walk in without showing their badges. Similar devices are positioned all over the office and their feeds are shown on a video wall. When a face pops up on the wall, it is immediately surrounded by a white rectangle and some text giving information about that person. In the upper right-hand corner of the screen big letters spell Skynet, the name of the AI system in the Terminator films that seeks to exterminate the human race. The firm already enables Alipay and Didi, a ride-hailing firm, to check the identity of new customers (their faces are compared with pictures held by the government).Reacting to the success of such startups, Chinas tech giants, too, have begun to invest heavily in AI. Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent, collectively called BAT, are working on many of the same services, including speech- and face-recognition. But they are also trying to become dominant in specific areas of AI, based on their existing strengths.Tencent has so far kept the lowest profile; it established its AI labs only in recent months. But it is bound to develop a big presence in AI: it has more data than the other two. Its WeChat messenger service has nearly 1bn accounts and is also the platform for thousands of services, from payments and news to city guides and legal help. Tencent is also a world-beater in games with blockbusters such as League of Legends and Clash of Clans, which have more than 100m players each globally.Alibaba is already a behemoth in e-commerce and is investing billions to become number one in cloud computing. At a conference in June in Shanghai it showed off an AI service called ET City Brain that uses video recognition to optimise traffic in real time. It uses footage from roadside cameras to predict the behaviour of cars and can adjust traffic lights on the spot. In its home town of Hangzhou, Alibaba claims, the system has already increased the average speed of traffic by 11%. Alibaba is also planning to beef up what it calls ET Medical Brain, which will offer AI-powered services to discover drugs and diagnose medical images. It has signed up a dozen hospitals to get the data it needs.But it is Baidu whose fate is most tied to AI, in part because the technology may be its main chance to catch up with Alibaba and Tencent. It is putting most of its resources into autonomous driving: it wants to get a self-driving car onto the market by 2018 and to provide technology for fully autonomous vehicles by 2020. On July 5th the firm announced a first version of its self-driving-car software, called Apollo, at a developer conference in Beijing.Getting Apollo right will not only involve cars safely navigating the streets, but managing a project that is open to outsiders. Rivals such as Waymo, Googles subsidiary, and Tesla, an electric-car firm, jealously guard their software and the data they collect. Baidu is planning not only to publish the recipe for its programs (making them open-source, in the jargon), but to share data. The idea is that carmakers that use Baidus technology will do the same, creating an open platform for data from self-driving carsthe Android for autonomous vehicles, in the words of Mr Lu.Drive like a BeijingerIt remains to be seen how successful Chinese firms will be in exporting their AI productsfor now, only a tiny handful are used abroad. In theory they should travel well: a self-driving car trained on Chinas chaotic streets ought to have no problem navigating the more civilised traffic in Europe (in contrast, a vehicle trained in Germany may not get far beyond the first intersection in Beijing). But consumers in the West may hesitate to use self-driving cars that have been trained in a laxer safety environment that is more tolerant of accidents. Chinese municipalities are said to be falling over themselves to be testing grounds for autonomous vehicles.There is another risk. Data are the most valuable input for AI at the moment, but their importance may yet diminish. AI firms have started to use simulated data, including those from video games. New types of algorithms may be capable of getting smart with fewer examples. The danger is that we stop innovating in algorithms because of our advantage in data, warns Gansha Wu, chief executive of UISEE, a Beijing startup which is developing self-driving technology. For now, though, China looks anything but complacent. In the race for pre-eminence in AI, it will run America close.This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "The algorithm kingdom"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/business/21725018-its-deep-pool-data-may-let-it-lead-artificial-intelligence-china-may-match-or-beat-america?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-07-15T08:00:00.000+03:00' +'b33a0a12cd13e93ff2bb2e3106049325006e41e1'|'Most Japan firms reluctant to boost shareholder returns further- Reuters poll'|'July 19, 2017 / 11:13 PM / 12 minutes ago Most Japan firms reluctant to boost shareholder returns further- Reuters poll Tetsushi Kajimoto 4 Min Read Tokyo''s downtown is seen before the first sunrise on New Year''s Day from Roppongi Hills observation deck in Tokyo, Japan, January 1, 2017. Kim Kyung-Hoon TOKYO (Reuters) - Less than a third of Japanese firms plan to boost shareholder returns this financial year although nearly half have seen cash on hand climb, a Reuters poll found, underscoring a sharp slowdown in share buyback and dividend growth. As part of major drive to improve corporate governance and make Japanese companies more attractive to foreign investors, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has urged companies to either return more to shareholders or boost capital spending. That push has yielded strong results with combined shareholder returns for firms listed on the Tokyo bourse''s main board soaring more than 20 percent in each of the three years to end-March 2016 before gains tapered to 2.2 percent in the past financial year, according to Goldman Sachs data. Those gains notwithstanding, Japan Inc''s returns to shareholders trend far below those of their peers in the West. But any investor hopes for a further big jump in shareholder returns may have to wait. The Reuters Corporate Survey, conducted June 30-July 13, showed 69 percent of companies plan to keep shareholder returns flat this year and only 29 percent plan to boost them. Two percent plan to cut returns. "We are saving ample cash on hand against a market crash that is bound to happen sooner or later," wrote a manager at a real estate firm. While a number of firms said they planned to use increases in cash on capital spending, the reply was echoed by many others who cited the need to set aside funds for "uncertainties" - illustrative of what is widely seen as an ingrained bias towards saving rather than spending for Japanese firms. The apparent lack of strong momentum for a further jump in shareholder returns comes despite cash and deposits for Japanese non-financial firms surging to a record 255 trillion yen ($2.3 trillion) as of end-March, according to central bank data. That was up 5.1 percent from a year earlier and represents a leap of 30.9 percent since the end of 2012, shortly after Abe took office. Some 45 percent of Japanese firms said that cash on hand had risen in the past financial year, the Reuters survey showed. Around a quarter said that cash had jumped by 10 percent or more. The need to save for an uncertain future was the most mentioned reason for the increase in cash during the last financial year, cited by 31 percent of companies. A lack of capital spending needs was cited by 28 percent. Firms were allowed to pick multiple reasons for the rise in their replies. According to Goldman Sachs, the ratio of shareholder returns dividends plus buybacks to operating cash flow stood at a median 17.5 percent for Japanese firms in 2015. That compares to 50.6 percent in North America and 36.9 percent in Western Europe. Kengo Nishiyama, a strategist at Nomura Securities, said efforts by Japanese firms to improve corporate governance have only hit the half-way mark. They have the leeway to lift shareholder returns and failing to do so could be counterproductive, he added. "If they don''t let cash circulate through the economy, it will remain stagnant, which will make it harder for firms to find investment opportunities, causing a vicious cycle," said Nishiyama, who reviewed the survey results. The poll, conducted monthly for Reuters by Nikkei Research, polled 549 big and mid-sized companies, who reply on condition of anonymity. Between 220 and 250 firms answered questions on cash on hand and returns to shareholders. ($1 = 112.1300 yen) Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Additional reporting by Izumi Nakagawa; Editing by Malcolm Foster and Edwina Gibbs 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-companies-cash-idUKKBN1A42PY'|'2017-07-20T02:12:00.000+03:00' +'fb491135f5476932b1358ea7a987e3b2a05474c4'|'Apple ordered to pay $506 million to university in patent dispute'|'July 26, 2017 / 12:46 AM / in 11 hours Apple ordered to pay $506 million to university in patent dispute Jan Wolfe 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An Apple logo hangs above the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in the Manhattan borough of New York City, July 21, 2015. Mike Segar/File Photo (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Monday ordered Apple Inc to pay $506 million for infringing on a patent owned by the University of Wisconsin-Madison''s patent licensing arm, more than doubling the damages initially imposed on Apple by a jury. U.S. District Judge William Conley in Madison added $272 million to a $234 million jury verdict the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation won against Apple in October 2015. Conley said WARF is owed additional damages plus interest because Apple continued to infringe the patent, which relates to computer processor technology, until it expired in December 2016. Apple is appealing Conley''s ruling, according to court papers. An Apple spokesman did not immediately return a request for comment. WARF sued Apple in 2014, alleging processors found in some versions of the iPhone infringe on a patent describing a "predictor circuit," which improves processor performance by predicting what instructions a user will give the system. University of Wisconsin computer science professor Gurindar Sohi and three of his students obtained the patent in 1998. Cupertino, California-based Apple denied any infringement during a 2015 jury trial and argued the patent is invalid. Apple also urged the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to review the patent''s validity but the agency rejected that bid. WARF brought a separate lawsuit against Apple in 2015, alleging chips in later versions of the iPhone infringe the same patent. Conley said he would not rule in that case until Apple has had an opportunity to appeal the 2015 jury verdict. Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Bill Trott 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ip-apple-patent-idUSKBN1AB023'|'2017-07-26T03:46:00.000+03:00' +'5a8daa8fab4d3f4d6a9933a5b80d401650cb860f'|'Organic ranchers eye Amazon distribution ahead of Whole Foods deal'|'July 24, 2017 / 4:06 PM / 2 hours ago Organic ranchers eye Amazon distribution ahead of Whole Foods deal Rod Nickel 3 Min Read A sign explains animal treatment standards in the meat department at a Whole Foods Market in Medford, Massachusetts, U.S., July 24, 2017. Brian Snyder (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) plans to meet on Wednesday with a dozen U.S. ranchers, seeking to expand distribution of organic and grass-fed meats as it takes over Whole Foods Market Inc ( WFM.O ), according to the meeting''s organizer. Analysts and investors have speculated that Amazon is aiming to combine its expertise in order fulfillment with the grocer''s facilities to build out delivery of fresh food, but the online retailer has not yet detailed its plans. Amazon visited Georgia grass-fed meat producer White Oak Pastures in March, 2-1/2 months before announcing the $13.7 billion Whole Foods takeover, to discuss a possible distribution deal, White Oak owner Will Harris told Reuters. The retailer later asked the farmer to invite other U.S. livestock producers to discuss distribution of organic and grass-fed meat, Harris said. Amazon declined to comment. "We are excited about exploring possibilities with them," Harris said. "It suggests that this niche in the market is becoming mainstream enough that they feel their delivery system might have traction with it." U.S. sales of organic meat and poultry, worth $991 million, climbed 17 percent last year, marking its fastest-ever annual growth, according to the Organic Trade Association (OTA). White Oak and some of the other meat producers invited to the Atlanta meeting already sell to Whole Foods, Harris said. An organic chicken is seen for sale above an explanation of animal treatment standards at a Whole Foods Market in Medford, Massachusetts, U.S., July 24, 2017. Brian Snyder The meeting between producers and Amazon was confirmed by Carrie Balkcom, executive director of the American Grassfed Association. White Oak workers pack frozen beef, duck and lamb into boxes at the Bluffton, Georgia ranch for couriers to pick up twice a day. "I''m just certain that Amazon is better at it than us," Harris said. "I''m a farmer and they''re logistics people." Slideshow (3 Images) The ranch sells about $2 million worth of meat online annually, making up its fastest-growing segment and 10 percent of total revenues. "I sell a very niche product," Harris said. "I think Amazon will add a whole other dimension." Amazon''s expansion in organic products through Whole Foods bodes well for the sector, said Nate Lewis, farm policy director at OTA. "If Amazon can apply its efficiencies of scale to the Whole Foods Market segment, and pass along those savings (to consumers), I would not be surprised to see more growth in the protein side," Lewis said. But some organic farmers worry that Whole Foods under Amazon might import meat from lower-cost producers rather than buy U.S. supplies. It could be as bad as shutting us out or as good as expanding the market," said Mark Smith, whose Aspen Island Ranch is not involved in the meeting. Smith''s ranch is part of a Montana co-operative that sells organic grass-fed beef to Whole Foods through a third party. Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba and Jeffrey Dastin in San Francisco; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-whole-foods-m-a-amazon-farming-idUSKBN1A921V'|'2017-07-24T19:06:00.000+03:00' +'bcae04abc8f43584bbe57c47f8bf101a28f421fd'|'Has Ryanair become too nice?'|'THREE years ago, Ryanair, Europes biggest budget airline, made the sudden decision to be nicer to its customers. Before that, brusqueness had been part of its strategy. Fares were low, but check-in staff were famously ruthless. One family was charged 600 ($701) to print their forgotten boarding passes (idiots according to Michael OLeary, the airlines boss, when they complained). Gatekeepers would obsessively check carry-on bags, demanding huge fees for those a smidgen over the limit. That culture started at the top. Mr OLeary liked to berate his passengers, the second their expectations rose. You''re not getting a refund so fuck off. We don''t want to hear your sob stories. What part of ''no refund'' don''t you understand?", he once told them.It was a highly successful, perhaps even clever, strategy. The airline went from being an insignificant Irish operator to Europes second largest carrier after Lufthansa, regularly reporting juicy profits. Every time Mr OLeary mooted the idea of installing coin-operated toilets on planes, or admitted that Ryanair crew were told to wake up sleeping passengers to sell them stuff, he was castigated. But the the words served to reinforce a single message to customers: we will stop at nothing to give you the lowest fares.Latest updates Has the bitcoin civil war come to a peaceful end? an hour ago Donald 13 See all updates Ryanairs epiphanythe moment it decided to stop unnecessarily pissing off its passengers, in Mr OLearys wordscame when it became interested in the business-traveller market. It is one thing to treat supply-led customers dismissively; the sort who will fly to Prague only because the fare is 10. It is quite another if you want to attract the sort of passenger who is travelling as part of his job, and is not picking up the bill.Nearly everyone was a winner from that change of heart. By opening up a new market, the airline has made even more money: last year profits were 1.24bn, up 43% on the year before. And passengers are being treated humanely even as fares have remained low (in part because they are subsidised by those who are willing to pay a bit more for perks like flexible tickets).In fact, the main losers have been journalists (including this one) who have been deprived of OLearyisms to get indignant about. So it was with a certain nostalgia that Gulliver read of a recent rant by Neil Sorahan, Ryanairs chief financial officer. Mr Sorahan was complaining about the abuse of the airlines second-bag policy. Ryanair passengers are allowed to board with a 10kg carry-on and second small bag for free. But people are starting to take the Micky. Flyers have been turning up with oversize rucksacks, rather than check them into the hold for a fee (anything up 60, or $78, a pop). Toddlers have been deployed. Ive seen two-year-olds wheeling a bag up to the plane as people try to take advantage, said Mr Sorahan, the executive, before adding that the airline''s baggage policy might have to be reviewed and, We are victims of our own niceness.It is tempting to report this as a return to the bad old days; that Ryanair, try as it might, simply cannot resist taking a pop at its own customers. And the two-year-olds grumble is laughable. Ryanair charges the full adult fair for passengers once they turn twothey are fully entitled to use the allowance that brings.But what of those who really do abuse the system? Of the many things that annoy your blogger about air travel, flyers who ignore cabin-baggage restrictions rates as among the most infuriating. Seeing passengers with full-sized suitcases trying to squeeze them into overhead lockers, crumpling Gullivers hat and forcing others into a forlorn hunt for space, drives him barmy. Nasty old Ryanair was right on that one: such allowances should be policed.Of course, reducing the cost of putting luggage in the hold would help. According to the Guardian , less than one passenger in six now pays to check-in luggage with the carrier. That is affecting revenue, which is what is really behind Mr Sorahan''s grumble. Perhaps the airline could use carrot and stick to resolve it. Reduce fees for those wanting to travel with a large suitcase. And crack down on those who still try to smuggle whoppers onto the plane.'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2017/07/emotional-baggage?fsrc=rss'|'2017-07-25T21:53:00.000+03:00' +'d52e2284c65e6e2fac239de57500176133a7d215'|'UPDATE 1-Compass'' revenue rises 3.9 pct on growth in United States'|'July 26, 2017 / 6:52 AM / 7 minutes ago UPDATE 1-Compass'' revenue rises 3.9 pct on growth in United States 2 Min Read (Adds details, background) July 26 - Compass Group Plc, the world''s biggest catering firm, reported a 3.9 percent rise in quarterly revenue, driven by strong growth in the United States. The British company, which serves around 5 billion meals each year in more than 50 countries, said organic revenue in North America jumped 7.1 percent during the quarter and said it was seeing "good" growth across all sectors except in its oil and gas business. Compass, which provides meals for office workers, members of the armed forces and school children across the world, maintained its full-year margin expectations on Wednesday. "North America is performing strongly and we anticipate further progress in Europe and Rest of World in the fourth quarter," Compass said in a statement. Its operating margin rose by 20 basis points for the nine months to June 30, helped by the offshore and remote business, Compass said. Compass, which earlier this year proposed a 1 billion pound special dividend to investors, said organic revenue fell 0.3 percent in Europe. French catering-to-vouchers group Sodexo cut its full-year sales growth goal on July 6, after its third quarter missed estimates partly due to weakness in the health care and universities sectors in North America. (Reporting by Esha Vaish and Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Edmund Blair and Louise Heavens) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/compass-group-results-idUSL5N1KH189'|'2017-07-26T09:52:00.000+03:00' +'3f731b792d6076c8b4df06ee66cba6c5b01f8f5a'|'Indian coal utilities seek state funds or tariff hike to cut emissions'|'July 28, 2017 / 3:58 AM / in 9 hours Indian coal utilities seek state funds or tariff hike to cut emissions 5 Min Read Chimneys of a coal-fired power plant are pictures in New Delhi, India, July 20, 2017. Adnan Abidi NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian power companies are seeking billions of dollars of federal funding to retrofit coal-fired plants to cut emissions, saying hefty tariff increases would otherwise be needed to pay for the technology, according to internal documents. Private companies such as Reliance Power Ltd, Adani Power Ltd and GMR and state-run NTPC Ltd, have also asked for an extension to a December deadline to meet the new pollution standards. The government, which has been pushing a clean energy campaign hard, has given no indication it would be willing to fork out the money for the new technology, which the private companies estimate to cost as much as $38 billion, potentially setting up a confrontation with the industry. Thermal power companies account for 80 percent of all industrial emissions of particulate matter, sulfur and nitrous oxides in India, and their slowness in complying with new standards shows the difficulties India faces in cleaning up its air, among the most polluted in the world. The power producers, who account for the second-biggest portion of India''s $150 billion in bad loans after the steel industry, have sought access to the more than $4 billion National Clean Energy Fund to help install cleaner technology, according to letters to the government reviewed by Reuters. The upgrades are needed to meet stringent rules set out by the environment ministry in 2015 to cut emissions that cause lung diseases, acid rain and smog. Top producer NTPC said in a letter dated Feb. 26, 2016, that it needed about $8 billion to upgrade equipment at its 28 coal-fired plants across the country to comply with the rules. Installing the new technology would raise the cost of production and lead to an increase in tariffs ranging from about 0.50 Indian rupees ($0.0078) to 1.25 rupees ($0.0195) per unit, the Association of Power Producers, which is lobbying for the private firms, said in a letter to the government. The average power tariff in India is around 5 rupees per unit. "This increase in the cost of power would have severe impact on the finances of the distribution utilities and collateral impact on the lenders," the association warned, referring to companies that buy power from producers and distribute it to industrial and domestic consumers. One producer, Talwandi Sabo Power Limited (TSPL), a unit of the Vedanta Group, told Reuters it had petitioned the regulator in the northern state of Punjab to pass on the costs of the equipment installation to the power purchaser, Punjab State Power Corporation. Adani Power said it would implement emission-cutting equipment in accordance with schedule finalised by the government. All the other companies did not respond to Reuters questions. A boy examines a pigeon on a rooftop near a coal-fired power plant in New Delhi, India, July 20, 2017. Adnan Abidi Increasing power tariffs would reverse gains made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s government to reduce costs and spur economic growth, one of the achievements it has touted in its three years in power. A source familiar with the discussions said there was no precedent for such federal funding for power firms. "Even if funding were to be given, it is difficult to decide how we allocate such funds," the source said. Deadline Extension? Around 78 percent of generated power in India comes from coal-fired plants, making it one of the biggest users of the dirty but cheap fuel globally. Slideshow (2 Images) Coal-burning plants also contribute to deadly particulate matter in the atmosphere that cause lung diseases. While federal funding seems unlikely, the government could be more willing to consider an extension of the deadline for compliance with the regulations, officials say. "We have referred to the ministry of environment pointing out the difficulties. It has been explained how much it will take to comply, including the technology issues," Anil Kumar Bhalla, the top official at the power ministry, told Reuters. Most power plants have yet to meet the new emission guidelines, the Central Electricity Authority said in May, suggesting the environment ministry extend the deadline on sulfur dioxide emissions standards by as many as six years. NTPC, in particular, is worried that if it fails to meet the deadline, it would affect its prospects to raise international funds because they are tied to meeting environmental standards. "Even in the existing loans which we are having, in case of non-compliance of environment norms, NTPC will be declared a defaulter which may have serious repercussions for the company," it said in a letter to the environment ministry, making the case for an extension. The environment ministry said no formal discussions had taken place about reviewing the December deadline. But officials acknowledged it did not expect all the power producers to be compliant with the new standards. "If you are asking if everybody will become compliant in December 2017, it doesn''t happen that way," said a top environment ministry official who did not want to be identified. Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan and Neha Dasgupta; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Alex Richardson 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-india-power-idINKBN1AD062'|'2017-07-28T05:57:00.000+03:00' +'3a6791bdbd53272a375b97a2833464a6117bbd1d'|'Record number of advisers quit London''s AIM market, study finds'|'July 23, 2017 / 11:27 PM / in 7 hours Record number of advisers quit London''s AIM market, study finds Reuters Staff 3 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Companies leaving London''s junior stock market because a broker or investment bank has quit as their adviser has hit a record this year, an accountancy firm specializing in the sector said. Fourteen companies left London''s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) .FTAI in the year to June 30 after the resignation of their "nominated adviser", known as NOMADs. This matches the highest total and is up from just three in 2011/2, the study released on Monday by UHY Hacker Young, an accountancy firm that audits more than 20 firms on the index, found. NOMADs are responsible for ensuring their clients follow the rules of the AIM market, as well as often providing share dealing and research on the company. "AIM is facing a real crunch among NOMADs, with many brokers and investment banks reducing their exposure to riskier parts of the junior market," Laurence Sacker, managing partner at UHY Hacker Young, said of the report''s findings. "This is particularly affecting smaller or more complex AIM-listed businesses, or those based in emerging economies, as NOMADs are deciding that they are unable to take the responsibility the stock exchange requires." Advisers quit for a number of different reasons, Sacker said, but added "the most likely reason is they have lost trust in the company''s management." AIM-listed companies must replace a resigned adviser within a month, or face being removed from the index. High profile delistings in the last year include Sable Mining SBLM.L, whose NOMAD Cantor Fitzgerald resigned in September after its CEO was indicted for corruption in Liberia. The index, hosted at the London Stock Exchange ( LSE.L ), has struggled with its large number of Chinese listings, with a 2016 survey finding two thirds of NOMADs had faced difficulties communicating with Asian companies. A number of Chinese companies, including LED International and Asia Ceramics Holdings, have been delisted from the index after their NOMADs resigned. Earlier in July, the London Stock Exchange launched a consultation on AIM, proposing NOMADs work harder to improve their due diligence of companies they take on as clients. The average AIM stock has failed to return investors money, with the index falling 4.4 pct since it launched in 1995, according to Reuters data. That compares to a gain of more than 400 percent for the FTSE 250 .FTMC over the same period. Reporting by Alasdair Pal; editing by Alexander Smith 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-exchange-aim-idUKKBN1A80ZL'|'2017-07-24T02:10:00.000+03:00' +'6a34d334eee51d180ff9c67bd588ebc9d29b294c'|'Google says its Drive service facing disruption'|'Technology News - Thu Jul 6, 2017 - 9:32pm EDT Google says its service disruption issue resolved FILE PHOTO - A Google Drive and Youtube logo is seen during Google I/O Conference at Moscone Center in San Francisco, California June 28, 2012. REUTERS/Stephen Lam Some of Alphabet Inc''s Google services including, Admin Console, Calendar and Hangouts, suffered some service disruption on Thursday but the outages have now been resolved, according to Google service status page. The status page also said that "the problem with Google Drive should be resolved." ( bit.ly/2tvD8wI ) Earlier on Thursday reports of an issue with Google services were being investigated. Google Drive faced a similar disruption issue early in January this year. (Reporting by Bhanu Pratap in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-google-disruption-idUSKBN19S02C'|'2017-07-07T03:37:00.000+03:00' +'2ec4229a4be9a1873eae0c7258c81e8c7942025d'|'International Personal Finance''s first-half profit rises'|'July 26, 2017 / 6:33 AM / in 10 minutes International Personal Finance''s first-half profit rises Reuters Staff 3 Min Read (Reuters) - Consumer credit lender International Personal Finance ( IPF.L ) reported a higher pretax profit from continuing operations in the first half, boosted primarily by positive currency translations. IPF, which provides small personal loans to more than 2.8 million borrowers in Europe and Mexico, said pretax profit from continuing operations rose to 43 million pounds ($56 million) in the six months ended June, from 33 million pounds a year earlier. Positive forex movements added 6.7 million pounds to the group''s profit. Revenue rose 2.6 percent to 400.8 million pounds. "Our ongoing European home credit businesses performed in line with expectations, Mexico continued to deliver positive business momentum and IPF Digital reported excellent top-line growth," Chief Executive Gerard Ryan said. The company said it was continuing to engage with the Polish Ministry of Justice concerning proposed changes to the total cost of credit regulations. Poland, which together with Lithuania makes up IPF''s biggest market, has proposed to lower the limit on non-interest costs to 75 percent of the amount of the loan from 100 percent. "While we expect the regulatory landscape in Europe to remain challenging, we continue to believe our Mexico home credit business and IPF Digital offer significant growth opportunities," Ryan said. The company, which provides small personal loans in eastern Europe and Mexico, has shut shop in Slovakia, Bulgaria and stopped lending to high-risk customers in Poland. IPF''s home credit business has been troubled by intense competition as well as regulatory upheavals. The unit saw profit rising to 58.3 million pounds in the first half, from 45 million pounds a year earlier. Home credit business accounted for more than 90 percent of the company''s total revenue in 2016, but digital lenders were luring away IPF''s higher creditworthy customers, forcing the company to spend more to retain them. IPF maintained its interim dividend at 4.6 pence per share. Total credit issued in the period rose 9.9 percent to 616 million pounds, driven by strong demand in Mexico for home credit and its digital business. Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-intl-prsnl-fin-results-idUKKBN1AB0LB'|'2017-07-26T09:59:00.000+03:00' +'d8bf45f00c07030ee7a2c7b20a39373b8b9de7f9'|'Monte Paschi looks to leave "emergency room" and return to profit'|'July 5, 2017 / 11:46 AM / in an hour Monte Paschi looks to leave "emergency room" and return to profit By Stephen Jewkes and Paola Arosio 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: People use a cash machine of Monte Dei Paschi bank in Florence, Italy March 1, 2016. Tony Gentile/File photo MILAN (Reuters) - Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena set out plans to get out of the "emergency room" and return to profit on Wednesday, clearing the way for a state bailout that should remove the biggest threat to the country''s financial stability. The world''s oldest bank said on Wednesday it expected a net profit of more than 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion) in 2021, from a loss of 3.2 billion euros last year, as part of a restructuring plan approved by European authorities. "It''s a conservative plan. We''re not shooting at unrealistic targets," Chief Executive Marco Morelli told analysts on a conference call to present the new plan. Morelli said no mergers were planned at the moment. "There is no Plan B on the table," he said. Burdened by bad loans and a mismanagement scandal, Monte dei Paschi has for years been at the forefront of Italy''s slow-brewing banking crisis. Italy''s fourth-largest lender was forced to request state aid in December after its attempt to raise capital from private investors failed. On Tuesday the European Union approved a 5.4 billion euro state bailout after it agreed to a drastic overhaul in a move that will leave Rome holding around 70 percent of the bank. EU officials speaking on condition of anonymity said Italy would have to exit the bank at the latest by the end of the 5-year plan. "What we experienced in the last nine months is pretty much unheard of: It''s like an ER department with an emergency every five minutes," Morelli said. Italy has pledged more than 20 billion euros of taxpayer money in the space of a week to rescue three of its banks, but the country''s wider financial sector is still weighed down by around 300 billion euros of non-performing loans (NPLs). At the end of last month, Rome committed up to 17 billion euros to rescue regional banks Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca though it said the final bill would be much lower, adding the state might even turn a profit from the bailouts. "The Monte Paschi plan looks good but we need to see execution. Still, coming after the Veneto rescues it settles nerves about Italy''s banking system," said Zenit fund manager Stefano Fabiani. Path to Profit In its 2017-2021 plan, Monte dei Paschi sees a headcount reduction of around 5,500 to just over 20,000 and a fall in the number of branches to around 1,400 from some 2,000 in 2016 as it seeks to ensure the lender is profitable in the long term. It expects to reach a return on equity of more than 10 percent in 2021 while its CET1 ratio, a measure of financial strength, is seen at 14.7 percent from 8.2 percent in 2016. Crucially, the bank will sell 28.6 billion euros of gross bad loans, of which 26.1 billion will be securitised through a transfer to a privately funded vehicle on market terms, with the operation partially funded by bank rescue fund Atlante II. The bank said it would sell securitised notes to Atlante II at 21 cents on the euro. "We are in line if not slightly above recent market transactions," Morelli said. The CEO, who expects the bank''s shares to relist in the second half of September, said 5.5 billion euros in deposits were recovered in the first quarter, adding liquidity was no longer an issue. "The bank managed to stay alive," he said, referring to the close shadowing of the lender by European authorities. "We negotiated the plan with the EU Commission line by line." Rome is under the spotlight for taking advantage of exceptions in EU rules designed to stop the use of taxpayer money to deal with bank crises. Policymakers now want Italy to come up with a solution for tackling NPLs without requiring any more government money to prop up its beleaguered banking sector. European Central Bank vice president Vitor Constancio said on Wednesday there needed to be swift action to establish a stronger secondary market in Europe for non-performing loans and policy changes to incentivise banks, investors and the authorities to tackle the issue more effectively. "Partial solutions and further delays are not options if we want to tackle the problem of NPLs" he wrote in Italy''s main business newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore. ($1 = 0.8807 euros) Additional reporting by Agnieszka Flak in Milan and Foo Yun Chee in Brussels; Editing by Susan Fenton/Keith Weir 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/eurozone-banks-italy-monte-dei-paschi-idINKBN19Q1DA'|'2017-07-05T14:43:00.000+03:00' +'a0d9747d31ad03b7ed808170e103f25cb257fcbc'|'Doha mall''s $1 bln-plus loan refinancing frozen amid Qatar boycott -sources'|'July 16, 2017 / 12:30 PM / 8 hours ago Doha mall''s $1 billion-plus loan refinancing frozen amid Qatar boycott: sources 4 Min Read Stores are seen inside Doha Festival City mall in Doha, Qatar, July 13, 2017. Stringer DUBAI/DOHA (Reuters) - The refinancing of a $1 billion loan by Doha Festival City, a retail and hospitality complex in Qatar, has been indefinitely postponed as a diplomatic crisis deters regional banks from doing new Qatari business, bankers said. The refinancing, coordinated by Doha-based investment bank QInvest, was marketed earlier this year to both Qatari and regional banks, including institutions in the United Arab Emirates. It was to have been larger in size than the original loan - perhaps around $1.2 billion, bankers said. But Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of supporting terrorism, and the proposed deal has been put on hold, the sources said. Two Qatari bankers involved in the deal told Reuters that the diplomatic crisis was the main reason for the deal being postponed, as it had reduced banks'' appetite for the transaction. The sanctions against Qatar meant non-Qatari banks would not participate, a senior banker in Doha said. "Originally, the refinancing included some of the original lenders plus big banks from the UAE. Now it is not clear that the deal is going to happen," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the matter is private. "After the sanctions, the deal became more and more unlikely - politics didn''t improve things." Another banker said Qatari banks looked at the refinancing when market interest rates were lower, but they were no longer keen on it now the crisis had tightened liquidity in the local market. The three-month Qatar interbank offered rate QAQAR3MD= has jumped more than 50 basis points since early June. The logo of Doha Festival City mall is seen in Doha, Qatar, July 13, 2017. Stringer "Now it''s definitely not a priority. Banks, and their shareholders, have other things to worry about," the second banker said. The boycotting countries'' central banks have stopped short of explicitly asking commercial banks under their jurisdiction to stop lending to Qatar. But unofficial guidance by their governments has caused most regional banks to freeze new loan transactions for Qatari borrowers since last month. Doha Festival City, which includes the world''s biggest store under the brand name of French retailer Monoprix, is owned and developed by Bawabat Al-Shamal Real Estate Co, a joint venture comprising Dubai-based Al-Futtaim Real Estate Services, Qatar Islamic Bank ( QISB.QA ), Aqar Real Estate Investment Co and a private Qatari investor. Slideshow (4 Images) It raised some 3.7 billion Qatari riyals ($1.02 billion)in 2012 through a 10-year syndicated loan to finance development of the project, which had an estimated total cost of around 6 billion riyals. That loan, comprising conventional and Islamic tranches, was led by QInvest with Commercial Bank of Qatar and Barwa Bank as mandated lead arrangers. Ahli Bank, Doha Bank, International Bank of Qatar, Al Khaliji Commercial Bank, Qatar International Islamic Bank and Qatar National Bank also participated. Doha Festival City''s shopping mall opened last April after a months-long delay which the owners attributed to issues with supporting infrastructure. Many of the mall''s stores have not yet opened to the public. Mall and hotel owners in Qatar have expressed concern about a dwindling customer base after government bodies fired thousands of expatriates in recent years amid declining global oil and gas prices. The sanctions against Qatar could worsen that situation, although because of Doha''s huge financial reserves, analysts do not expect an economic crisis. Editing by Andrew Torchia and David Evans 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-doha-mall-refinancing-idUSKBN1A10HM'|'2017-07-16T15:13:00.000+03:00' +'8a8d444c8dce70229ef0a0caa63dbc3961a490f8'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX flat as railway losses offset natural resource gains'|'July 26, 2017 / 3:03 PM / 17 minutes ago CANADA STOCKS-TSX flat as railway losses offset natural resource gains 3 Min Read * TSX down 5.31 points, or 0.03 percent, to 15,197.06 * Seven of the TSX''s 10 main groups move higher * Advancers outnumber decliners by 1.2-to-1 overall TORONTO, July 26 (Reuters) - Canada''s main stock index was little changed in morning trade on Wednesday, as losses for railway stocks were offset by gains among natural resource companies. The most influential movers on the index included Canadian National Railway Co, which fell 2.3 percent to C$99.17 despite reporting profit and revenue that beat expectations after the closing bell on Tuesday. Its smaller rival, Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd, also dipped, falling 1.4 percent to C$196.31. Grocery chain operator Lowbaw''s Cos Ltd fell 4.3 percent to C$68.39 after barely beating profit expectations, while electronics manufacturer Celestica Inc lost 4.1 percent to C$16.11 after its earnings missed forecasts. The energy group, which accounts for one-fifth of the index''s weight, climbed 0.5 percent as oil prices rose to near eight-week highs. The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 0.3 percent, while the industrials group declined 0.9 percent. At 10:23 a.m. ET (1423 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index was down 5.31 points, or 0.03 percent, at 15,197.06. Share price losses of oil and gas companies so far this year have weighed on the index, which is trading lower than where it ended 2016. Seven of the index''s 10 main groups were in positive territory, with advancers barely outnumbering decliners overall. Shares in Home Capital Group Inc rose as much as 4.5 percent after the company said it had repaid the outstanding balance on a C$2 billion ($1.6 billion) loan provided by Warren Buffett''s Berkshire Hathaway. However, they later retreated and were last down 0.8 percent at C$14.47. E-commerce company Shopify advanced 3.1 percent to C$118.68 as investors position for a positive surprise from its upcoming earnings report. (Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by W Simon) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-idUSL1N1KH0WK'|'2017-07-26T18:03:00.000+03:00' +'a4ae9cedd936ecb82c1e073d9c8e7b42a0ed5322'|'Total nears deal to invest up to $2 billion Iran''s petrochemical industry'|'Business 05am BST Total nears deal to invest up to $2 billion Iran''s petrochemical industry Workers fixing the logo for oil giant Total is seen at a petrol station in Cairo, Egypt, October 13, 2016. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh LONDON Total ( TOTF.PA ) and Iran have reached a preliminary agreement to build three petrochemical plants in a deal that if finalised could see the French oil major investing up to $2 billion (1.55 billion pounds) in Iran, an Iranian oil official said on Tuesday. "In the latest talks, the two sides have reached agreement for construction of petrochemical plants with the total capacity of 2.2 million tonnes of petrochemical and polymer products per year," the managing director of Iran''s National Petrochemical Company (NPC) was quoted as saying on Tuesday by SHANA. "We predict that Total would invest $1.5 to $2 billion in Iran''s petrochemical industry if we reach final agreement," Marzieh Shahdaei added. France''s Total signed a deal with Tehran on Monday to develop phase 11 of Iran''s South Pars, the world''s largest gas field, marking the first major Western energy investment in the Islamic Republic since the lifting of sanctions against it. Iranian deputy oil minister, Amir Hossein Zamaninia said on Monday that Iran and Total have held "positive talks" to cooperate in petrochemicals but added that the deal was not final. An oil official said in January that Iran plans to build 25 petrochemical plants and is currently seeking $32 billion in foreign investment to fund projects. (Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin, editing by Louise Heavens)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iran-total-petrochemicals-idUKKBN19P0ZD'|'2017-07-04T12:05:00.000+03:00' +'0b0fe07f196fa4e0a93c569132ee0f25af31be0c'|'Debt-laden Vivarte sells clothes group Kookai to Australia''s Magi'|'Business News 53am BST Debt-laden Vivarte sells clothes group Kookai to Australia''s Magi PARIS Private-equity backed French clothing retailer Vivarte, which is aiming to restructure more than 1.3 billion euros (0.77 billion pounds)of debt, has agreed to offload its Kookai brand to Australian company Magi as part of Vivarte''s ongoing sell-off programme. The sale of Kookai, announced by Vivarte on Tuesday, comes two months after it struck a similar deal to sell its Pataugas shoe brand to Hopps Group. The financial terms of the sale of Kookai, which last reported annual revenue of 76 million euros, were not disclosed. Family-owned company Magi had 2016 sales of 105 million Australian dollars ($80 million), and Magi already operates 39 Kookai stores in Australia. Vivarte has been owned since 2014 by a group led by investment funds Alcentra, Babson, Oaktree and GLG Partners. Vivarte''s profits and sales have fallen amid competition from larger clothing retail chains such as H&M ( HMb.ST ), Kiabi and Primark, leading to the company''s decision to restructure its business in order to improve its financial fortunes. (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Andrew Callus)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-vivarte-debt-idUKKBN19P0ST'|'2017-07-04T10:53:00.000+03:00' +'23ce12e53c191d6ff53adec2ff47909fa6709ddb'|'Economists argue about minimum wages'|'JUST what is the point of a minimum wage? It seems a straightforward enough question to answer. Minimum wages are designed to protect vulnerable workers who might otherwise lack the bargaining power to command a decent pay package. They are a means to limit severe poverty among those in work.Yet they also attract opposition from critics who see wage minimums as price controls that discourage firms from hiring as many workers as they otherwise might. For decades, feuding camps of dismal scientists have tussled over whether the good done by minimum wages outweighs the bad. A series of recent minimum-wage increases in America will shine a light on that question and others as well. Indeed, the time may have come for economists to broaden their view of just what a minimum wage is meant to accomplish. 15 hours ago How As voter frustration at stagnant pay has grown, politicians on the American left have spotted an opportunity to court popularity by calling for higher minimum wages. Democrats are united behind a demand for a national minimum wage of $15 an hour, more than double the current $7.25 rate. State legislatures in California and New York have enacted laws that gradually raise their minimum wages to $15. Few governments, however, have moved as aggressively as the city of Seattle. In 2014 the council voted to raise the minimum wage, the hourly rate set by the state of Washington, then $9.32, to $11 an hour from April 2015, followed by further rises, to $13 in January 2016 and $15 in January this year. Smaller firms and those that provide benefits on top of pay were given longer to implement the changes.On the surface, Seattles economy seems to have weathered the increases wellindeed, to have benefited from them. Since the initial rise, in April 2015, the unemployment rate in the surrounding area has fallen from 4.3% to 3.3% and employment has grown strongly. An analysis published in June by the Centre on Wage and Employment Dynamics at the University of California, Berkeley, compared employment in the food-services industry in Seattle with that in the same industry in comparable areas elsewhere over the period of the first two increases (to $11 and then $13). It concluded that, despite increased wages in the industry in Seattle, there was no detectable effect on employment.Another recent analysis, however, by a team from the University of Washington, arrives at a very different conclusion. Its authors use data that are not publicly available, on wages earned and hours worked by individuals. They also find that the increase in the minimum wage to $11 seems not to have had much of an effect on employment. But the second rise, to $13, led to a sharp decline in both jobs and hours worked below $13 an hour (as the new rate was phased in), which was not fully matched by increases in jobs and hours worked at or above $13. The hours lost were large enough to result in a net reduction in pay to low-wage workers averaging $125 a month in 2016.The paper attracted withering criticism from some other economists. Some noted that its analysis left out workers who adjusted to the changes by becoming contractors rather than full employees or by moving away from Seattle, or who switched to jobs at large firms with multiple locations (which were not included in the data set used by the authors). Others pointed out that even though there was no offsetting rise in employment at wages between $13 an hour and $19 an hour, employment at wages above the $19 mark rose sharply. What is more, the fine-grained data used in the report covered only the state of Washington, whereas other parts of America might have provided a better control case. Some of these criticisms are stronger than others. There are limitations to the data, as the authors themselves admit, and this is hardly the last word on the subject.Elastic bandsBut these studies raise other pressing questions. Another way of looking at the effect of higher wages on employment is by calculating what economists call the elasticity of employment with respect to wages: that is, by how much employment changes for a given change in the wage. Most studies find an elasticity of around zero, meaning that whatever employment changes occur in response to a minimum-wage change, positive or negative, they are relatively small. The University of Washington team, in contrast, finds that in moving from $11 per hour to $13 the elasticity was close to -3: that is, small jumps in the wage led to freakishly large declines in employment. Subsequent studies should provide clues about how robust that finding is. If true, however, it suggests that firms can more easily adjust their business models to reduce the role of low-wage labour than was previously believed: by automating, perhaps, or by eliminating jobs that were not particularly necessary in the first place.For politicians looking to improve the fortunes of low-paid workers, signs that higher minimum wages lead to job losses will suggest that other tools, such as wage subsidies, must be relied on more heavily. But another question might also be asked. If workers can find employment only at a low wage, is society actually better for having those jobs? Tens of millions of workers fall into such categories. Nearly 13m American workers, for example, are employed in food preparation. The Bureau of Labour Statistics reports their median hourly wage is just $10 an hour.If, at higher minimum wages, some of these low-wage workers end up being unemployed, that is personally and socially destructive. But if research suggests that large numbers of workers can find jobs only if wages are low enough to discourage firms from automation, or to encourage them to create unnecessary jobs, then the right balance between a minimum wage and other income-boosting measures might not be the big concern. Instead, politicians need to think harder about how to prepare workers for higher-paid, higher-productivity jobsor, failing that, how to help them contribute in roles outside paid private-sector work.Visit our Free exchange economics blog This article appeared in the Finance and economics section of the print edition under the headline "Wage against the machine"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21724802-two-studies-their-impact-seattle-reach-opposite-conclusions-economists-argue?fsrc=rss'|'2017-07-08T08:00:00.000+03:00' +'97ba3cdcaaaaf37ef6940cce15e91dd4e119999a'|'Amazon''s big profit miss spooks investors, but analysts stay bullish'|'July 28, 2017 / 1:39 PM / 5 hours ago Amazon''s big profit miss spooks investors, but analysts stay bullish Sweta Singh and Ankur Banerjee 3 Min Read (Reuters) - A steeper-than-expected drop in quarterly profit rattled some Amazon.com ( AMZN.O ) investors, but Wall Street analysts remained largely bullish about the company''s aggressive spending plans. Shares of the e-commerce juggernaut, which have risen 40 percent this year, were down 4.3 percent at $1,001 in early trading on Friday, wiping out $21 billion from its market value. The stock touched a record high on Thursday, helping CEO Jeff Bezos briefly unseat Microsoft Inc ( MSFT.O ) co-founder Bill Gates as the world''s richest person. "The overall story coming out of Amazon''s second quarter print feels a lot like it did three months ago accelerating growth, stepped-up investments, lower near-term profitability," J.P. Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth said. "But will anyone care about profit when Amazon is taking bigger chunks of market share?" The world''s largest online retailer reported a better-than-expected rise in revenue, but operating profit came in well short of analysts'' estimate as the company continued to pump in money to expand in international markets such as India. The company also guided to a possible operating loss for the current quarter. Amazon, which started as an online bookseller, has forayed into areas that historically had barriers to e-commerce. The company''s recent $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods Markets Inc ( WFM.O ) is testimony to Bezos'' far-reaching ambition. People pass a signage at Amazon''s Prime Now fulfillment centre in Singapore July 27, 2017. Edgar Su At least four brokerages, including J.P. Morgan, raised their price targets on the stock. Morgan Stanley, however, trimmed its price target by $50 to $1,150 based on valuation. The median price target is $1,150, indicating a 9.9 percent upside to Thursday''s close. Amazon currently trades 115.8 times its 12-months forward earnings. This compares with Microsoft''s 22.43 and Alphabet Inc''s ( GOOGL.O ) 26.45. The two compete with Amazon''s market leading cloud computing business, Amazon Web Services (AWS). PE is widely used on Wall Street to gauge the relative value of stocks although it is not the only such metric. AWS continued to be the company''s cash cow, bringing in $4.1 billion in sales, a 42 percent jump. Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky said on a post-earnings call that the AWS unit would expand in France, Sweden and China in the near future. "We believe the company''s ongoing heavy investments in fulfillment capacity, video content, and AWS are to match with its substantial growth rates, and should not be viewed negatively," Needham & Co analyst Kerry Rice said, who views the pullback in the stock as a "buying opportunity." (This version of the story has been refiled to remove apostrophe from headline) Reporting by Sweta Singh and Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-com-results-research-idUSKBN1AD1OM'|'2017-07-28T16:41:00.000+03:00' +'640563cad672bc46459f750f3a2049d21d2edacd'|'Tencent''s online publisher files for Hong Kong IPO seen worth $800 million'|'July 4, 2017 / 4:24 AM / 3 hours ago Tencent''s online publisher files for Hong Kong IPO seen worth $800 million By Elzio Barreto 3 Min Read People walk past a logo of Tencent Literature at a Tencent Interactive Entertainment stand during a book fair in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China August 17, 2014. Picture taken August 17, 2014. Stringer ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. CHINA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN CHINA. HONG KONG (Reuters) - China Literature Ltd, a Tencent Holdings Ltd unit and the country''s largest online publishing and e-book company, has filed for a Hong Kong initial public offering that is expected to raise as much as $800 million. The deal is also boost for the Hong Kong bourse, which has failed to attract a significant volume of technology deals despite being the world''s top destination for new listings in 2016. The company, which is looking to raise funds for potential acquisitions and expand its mobile reading business, has hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley as sponsors of the offering, it said in a filing late on Monday. Although the structure of the deal was not disclosed, Tencent has said it plans to hold at least 50 percent of China Literature after the spin off and that the offering will consist of 15 percent of the firm''s enlarged share capital. Thomson Reuters publication IFR has previously reported that the deal could raise between $600 million and $800 million. China Literature has a business akin to Amazon.com Inc''s Kindle Store, operating a platform with 8.4 million literary works from 5.3 million writers. The firm saw revenues jump 59 percent last year to 2.6 billion yuan ($377 million), while it posted a net profit of 30.4 million yuan, compared with a loss of 354.2 million yuan a year earlier. It is its first net profit since it began disclosing financial data in 2014. Tencent started its online reading business in 2004 and it grew substantially after the acquisition of Cloudary Corp in 2014 for $729.6 million. Cloudary had filed to go public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011 and 2012, before withdrawing the listing application in 2013 "due to market conditions", the filing showed. Tencent controls China Literature with a 62 percent stake. Private equity firm Carlyle Group LP owns 12.2 percent while Trustbridge Partners, a private equity firm founded by Shujun Li, the former CFO of Shanda Interactive, holds 6 percent. Fundraising by tech firms in Hong Kong accounted for an average 2.5 percent of all IPOs since the global financial crisis in 2008, Thomson Reuters data shows. That compares with 13.6 percent for the New York Stock Exchange. Reporting by Elzio Barreto; Editing by Edwina Gibbs 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-tencent-holdings-china-literature-ipo-idINKBN19P0ER'|'2017-07-04T07:12:00.000+03:00' +'db3737dfd560711eebf90fd0f4b8242f85736ca3'|'GE quarterly revenue drops 12 percent; cash flow up on quarter'|'July 21, 2017 / 11:32 AM / 3 hours ago GE shares fall as profit slumps, investors await new CEO''s targets Alwyn Scott 4 Min Read The logo of General Electric Co. is pictured at the Global Operations Center in San Pedro Garza Garcia, neighbouring Monterrey, Mexico, on May 12, 2017. Daniel Becerril/Files (Reuters) - General Electric Co''s shares dropped sharply on Friday after it posted a 59-percent decline in second-quarter profit and put off an expected cut to 2018 earnings targets until November, when new CEO John Flannery will be four months into his job. The maker of power plants, jet engines, medical scanners and other industrial equipment said profit and sales declines largely reflected sale of its appliances business. It beat analyst expectations on adjusted profit, but cash flow was weak and GE said full-year profit and cash flow will be at the low end of its forecasts. GE also said it would update its 2018 earnings target of $2 a share in November, later than analysts had expected. Analyst consensus 2018 estimate is $1.73, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, already suggesting a significant cut. The length and scope of the review raised concern, since GE has just come through major shifts in its portfolio. "It''s discouraging that we''re going to wait again for the company to perform as we wait for the new CEO to review everything," said Jim Corridore, analyst at research firm CFRA, which cut GE shares to "hold" after Friday''s results. Incoming CEO Flannery acknowledged on a conference call that his review would take time, but said it had not altered GE''s 2017 outlook. Still, the stock could be in "in a state of limbo" until the review is finished, Deane Dray, analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said in a note. GE''s cash flow was below expectations and also weighed on the stock, said Jeff Windau, analyst at Edward Jones. "People want to get the answers sooner" to Flannery''s review. Shares were down 3 percent at $25.87 in mid-morning trading after earlier hitting a 2-year low. GE faced a "slow-growth, volatile environment" in the quarter, Chief Executive Jeff Immelt said in his final earnings release before his Aug. 1 retirement. Immelt''s tenure began days before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and included the 2008 financial crisis. While GE stock is 27 percent below its price when Immelt arrived, it has more than tripled from its nadir in 2009. Immelt sold off NBCUniversal, appliances and most of GE Capital. He acquired power assets from France''s Alstom, merged GE''s oil and gas business with Baker Hughes, and moved the headquarters to Boston. Flannery said he is "in the middle of a series of deep dives into the businesses." He also is "taking a hard look at our corporate spending" to ensure it contributes to earnings, and on a listening tour of investors. GE has cut $670 million in industrial overhead costs this year, Immelt said, and will "meet or exceed" its $1 billion target for 2017 - a goal set after discussion with activist investor Trian Fund Management. GE was under pressure to report strong cash flow after a weak showing in the first quarter. Cash flow from operations totaled $3.6 billion, up from $400 million in the first quarter. The figure was down 67 percent from a year ago, partly reflecting the loss of contributions from the appliances division. Revenue fell 12 percent to $29.56 billion, slightly above the $29.02 billion consensus estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. GE said its appliances sale eliminated $3.1 billion of revenue. Net profit slumped 59 percent to $1.34 billion, or 15 cents a share, in the quarter ended June 30, from $3.30 billion, or 36 cents a share, a year earlier. Adjusted earnings fell 45 percent to 28 cents a share, compared with estimates for 25 cents. Additional reporting by Rachit Vats in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Nick Zieminski 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/ge-results-idINKBN1A61BB'|'2017-07-21T14:31:00.000+03:00' +'dfd7bbffbc47dbd7cb18f8dceb50c5a55a9302f5'|'Anadarko quarterly loss shrinks; capex slashed for rest of 2017'|'July 24, 2017 / 8:19 PM / 7 minutes ago Anadarko quarterly loss shrinks; capex slashed for rest of 2017 1 Min Read July 24 (Reuters) - U.S. oil producer Anadarko Petroleum Corp on Monday said its quarterly loss shrank and that it would cut its 2017 capital budget by $300 million because of depressed oil prices. The company posted a loss of $415 million, or 76 cents per share, compared to $692 million, or $1.36 per share, in the year-ago period. Average daily sales volumes, the physical amount of crude and natural gas sold, fell 20 percent to 631,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. (Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; editing by Grant McCool) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/anadarko-petrol-results-idUSL1N1KF1F2'|'2017-07-24T23:18:00.000+03:00' +'872dbd689684477117b0e389d8ded34d0b2a0792'|'Russia to press ahead with Crimea power plants despite Siemens row - RIA'|'July 21, 2017 / 11:27 AM / 8 minutes ago Russia to press ahead with Crimea power plants despite Siemens row - RIA 1 Min Read MOSCOW, July 21 (Reuters) - Russia will press ahead with plans to build two new power stations in Crimea despite a dispute with German industrial group Siemens, Andrei Cherezov, a Russian deputy energy ministry, said on Friday, the RIA news agency reported. Siemens said earlier on Friday it was halting deliveries of power equipment to Russian state-controlled customers after it said it had credible evidence that four gas turbines it had delivered to Russia had been illegally moved to annexed Crimea. "The schedule has beet set and is for the first quarter of 2018," RIA cited Cherezov as saying about the two power plants which require turbines to become operational. "Nothing has been changed. Our main task is that the stations will start generating power in the first quarter of 2018." (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Andrew Osborn) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/ukraine-crisis-crimea-siemens-russia-idUSR4N1DP012'|'2017-07-21T14:27:00.000+03:00' +'ebe4aa8f962e72582ca888f74df5ae1efe36d493'|'Eddie Lampert says might consider deal with Sears Canada'|'Deals 46am EDT Eddie Lampert says might consider deal with Sears Canada FILE PHOTO - A customers enters the Sears store in North Vancouver, British Columbia February 23, 2011. REUTERS/Andy Clark/File Photo Billionaire Eddie Lampert''s ESL Partners LP and Fairholme Capital Management LLC said they are considering a potential deal with Sears Canada as the retailer looks to restructure itself under bankruptcy protection. Lampert is the chief executive of U.S.-based Sears Holdings Co, from which Sears Canada was spun off in 2012. Sears Canada sought creditor protection last month after suffering a steady decline in sales due to competition from big-box retailers and online merchants. ESL Partners and Fairholme, which together own about two-thirds of Sears Canada, said on Monday they had engaged a legal adviser and were "evaluating, discussing and considering a potential negotiated transaction" with the retailer. The firms did not provide any details on the kind of transaction they were looking at, but said the talks could include financing, purchase and sale, or restructuring transactions. ESL, however, warned that the discussions may not result in a deal. (Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sears-canada-bankruptcy-eslpartners-idUSKBN19V1U1'|'2017-07-10T17:35:00.000+03:00' +'c50e53d66be6c8b118df19df77f06c2837708b37'|'Vodafone reports better-than-expected 2.2 percent growth in first quarter'|'July 21, 2017 / 6:19 AM / in 4 hours Vodafone beats expectations with ''robust'' performance 3 Min Read A branded sign is displayed on a Vodaphone store in London, Britain May 16, 2017. Neil Hall LONDON (Reuters) - Vodafone ( VOD.L ), the world''s second largest mobile operator, reported better-than-expected 2.2 percent revenue growth in its first quarter, reflecting a robust performance in Italy and Spain and an acceleration in demand in Turkey. The British company said the increase in organic service revenue, which beat analysts'' consensus forecast for a 1.6 percent rise, boosted its confidence in its prospects for the full year, when it expects to grow core earnings by 4-8 percent. "We made a good start to the year with a robust commercial momentum in Europe and accelerating growth in AMAP (Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific)," Chief Executive Vittorio Colao said on Friday. Shares in the group rose to a six-week high of 231 pence. "We see this as a decent performance delivered broadly across Vodafone''s markets," said Citi, which rates the stock "neutral". "However we expect growth to ease next quarter as roaming, UK handset financing, competition in Italy and tougher comparatives in some emerging markets offset an easier comparative in Spain." Vodafone expects cash flow to jump this year, enabling it to increase dividends, as it eases back on network investment, improves efficiency and tackles intense competition in India by merging with a rival. The company has invested billion of pounds in its networks to meet surging demand for mobile data. Colao said the rise in data traffic seen in the quarter was the equivalent to total data traffic just two years ago. Areas of weakness remained in Europe, however. Growth in Germany halved to 0.6 percent, from 1.2 percent in the previous quarter, which was put down to lower wholesale revenue and accounting changes a year ago. And although its performance in its problematic British market improved, it was still down 2.7 percent, with enterprise revenue declining in what it said was a competitive market. Competition was also increasing in Italy ahead of the arrival later this year of Iliad ( ILD.PA ), the operator that has seized 18 percent of the French market in just four years. Colao said operators were already "throwing a huge number of very cheap offers to the market". "We are very well prepared both from a network, from a distribution, and from a commercial point of view to give good value to our mobile customers," he said. "We are getting prepared for the newcomer." Editing by Kate Holton and Mark Potter 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-vodafone-group-outlook-idUKKBN1A60H3'|'2017-07-21T09:19:00.000+03:00' +'70e6a3bf2f8d16979548fef945c6b2d2038fe738'|'Western Digital CEO meeting Japan officials over Toshiba row: sources'|'July 18, 2017 / 2:31 PM / 6 hours ago Western Digital CEO meeting Japan officials over Toshiba: sources 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Western Digital office building is shown in Irvine, California, U.S., January 24, 2017. Mike Blake/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Western Digital Corp''s top executive is in Japan to meet government officials, aiming to resolve a dispute with Toshiba Corp over the Japanese company''s planned sale of its chip business, sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Toshiba is scrambling to sell its flash memory unit to cover losses from its bankrupt U.S. nuclear business Westinghouse but it has been locked in a legal battle with Western Digital, which is a joint venture partner in the memory chip business. In June, Toshiba announced its preferred bidder was a group made up of Japanese-government backed funds, Bain Capital and South Korean chip maker SK Hynix. Western Digital, which also wants to buy the memory chip business, sought an injunction to block the transaction, arguing that any sale required its consent. Western Digital CEO Steve Milligan is meeting with officials who were recently appointed to senior positions at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), the sources said. METI has been trying to orchestrate the sale in an effort to keep Toshiba''s semiconductor technology in domestic hands. A U.S. court judge on Friday postponed a decision on Western Digital''s injunction request and proposed requiring Toshiba to give the U.S. company two weeks notice before closing the sale. It is unclear whether Milligan will meet Toshiba executives, said the sources, who declined to be named because the talks were private. A Western Digital spokeswoman confirmed Milligan''s visit to Japan but declined to comment on details. Reporting by Taiga Uranaka and Makiko Yamazaki; editing by Ritsuko Ando and David Clarke 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-western-digital-idUSKBN1A31LA'|'2017-07-18T17:31:00.000+03:00' +'badd33c0f7a65cf038a2c179810b325a17b9a9a9'|'Brent oil remains below $50 as OPEC supplies rise again'|'Business News - Wed Jul 5, 2017 - 8:03am BST Brent oil remains below $50 as OPEC supplies rise again A flame shoots out of a chimney at a petro-industrial factory in Kawasaki near Tokyo December 18, 2014. REUTERS/Thomas Peter By Henning Gloystein - SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Brent crude oil remained below $50 per barrel on Wednesday, weighed down by another rise in OPEC supplies despite a pledge to cut production, but geopolitical tensions in the Korean peninsula and the Middle East put a floor under prices. Brent crude futures LCOc1, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $49.60 per barrel at 0651 GMT, little changed from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were down 6 cents at $47.02 per barrel. Despite the dips, both markets have recovered around 12 percent from recent lows on June 21, although crude prices seem locked below $50 per barrel. "Oil bulls have numerous obstacles to overcome," said Stephen Schork of the Schork Report, pointing to rising OPEC output and high production in the United States. Oil exports by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) climbed for a second month in June, according to Thomson Reuters Oil Research, despite its pledge to hold back production between January this year and March 2018 to prop up prices. OPEC exported 25.92 million barrels per day (bpd) in June, 450,000 bpd above May and 1.9 million bpd more than a year earlier. "With global floating storage at a five-year high and OPEC production edging higher, oversupply remains a key issue for the oil market," said Dutch bank ING. Despite ample supplies, traders said that prices were kept from falling further due to global security risks following North Korea''s repeated missile tests and the political crisis between Qatar and an alliance of Arab nations led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. "Rising geopolitical risks should provide some support to gold and oil prices," ANZ bank said on Wednesday. (Reporting by Henning Gloystein; Editing by Joseph Radford and Richard Pullin)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-oil-idUKKBN19Q05T'|'2017-07-05T10:03:00.000+03:00' +'fef163c368dd602e7fd13a4f624745dd404dd864'|'Flush times for hackers in booming cyber security job market'|'July 28, 2017 / 12:04 AM / 19 hours ago Flush times for hackers in booming cyber security job market Joseph Menn and Jim Finkle 4 Min Read A recruiter advertises a QR code to attract hackers to apply for jobs at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. July27, 2017. Joseph Menn LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - The surge in far-flung and destructive cyber attacks is not good for national security, but for an increasing number of hackers and researchers, it is great for job security. The new reality is on display in Las Vegas this week at the annual Black Hat and Def Con security conferences, which now have a booming side business in recruiting. "Hosting big parties has enabled us to meet more talent in the community, helping fill key positions and also retain great people," said Jen Ellis, a vice president with cybersecurity firm Rapid7 Inc, which filled the hip Hakkasan nightclub on Wednesday at one of the week''s most popular parties. Twenty or even 10 years ago, career options for technology tinkerers were mostly limited to security firms, handfuls of jobs inside mainstream companies, and in government agencies. But as tech has taken over the world, the opportunities in the security field have exploded. Whole industries that used to have little to do with technology now need protection, including automobiles, medical devices and the ever-expanding Internet of Things, from thermostats and fish tanks to home security devices. More insurance companies now cover breaches, with premiums reduced for strong security practices. And lawyers are making sure that cloud providers are held responsible if a customers data is stolen from them and otherwise pushing to hold tech companies liable for problems, meaning they need security experts too. The non-profit Center for Cyber Safety and Education last month predicted a global shortage of 1.8 million skilled security workers in 2022. The group, which credentials security professionals, said that a third of hiring managers plan to boost their security teams by at least 15 percent. For hackers who prefer to pick things apart rather than stand guard over them, an enormous number of companies now offer "bug bounties," or formal rewards, for warnings about vulnerabilities that leave them exposed to criminals or spies. One of the outside firms that handle such programs, HackerOne, said it has paid out $18.8 million since 2014 to fix 50,140 bugs, with about half of that work done in the past year. Mark Litchfield made it into the firm''s "Hacker Hall of Fame" last year by being the first to pull in more than $500,000 in bounties through the platform, well more than he earned at his last full-time security job, at consulting firm NCC Group. In the old days, "The only payout was publicity, free press," Litchfield said. "That was the payoff then. The payoff now is literally to be paid in dollars." There are other emerging ways to make money too. Justine Bone''s medical hacking firm, MedSec, took the unprecedented step last year of openly teaming with an investor who was selling shares short, betting that they would lose value. It was acrimonious, but St Jude Medical ultimately fixed its pacemaker monitors, which could have been hacked, and Bone predicted others will try the same path. "Us cyber security nerds have spent most of our careers trying to make the world a better place by engaging with companies, finding bugs which companies may or may not repair," Bone said. "If we can take our expertise out to customers, media, regulators, nonprofits and think tanks and out to the financial sector, the investors and analysts, we start to help companies understand in terms of their external environment." Chris Wysopal, co-founder of code auditor Veracode, bought in April by CA Technologies, said that he was initially skeptical of the MedSec approach but came around to it, in part because it worked. He appeared at Black Hat with Bone. "Many have written that the software and hardware market is dysfunctional, a lemon market, because buyers don''t know how insecure the products they purchase are," Wysopal said in an interview. "Id like to see someone fixing this broken market. Profiting off of that fix seems like the best approach for a capitalism-based economy." Reporting by Joseph Menn and Jim Finkle; additional reporting by Dustin Volz; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Grant McCool 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cyber-conference-business-idUSKBN1AD001'|'2017-07-28T08:04:00.000+03:00' +'4e4bbba54bd7a9aa81b0bd1218e628432407d065'|'UK Stocks-Factors to watch on July 21'|'July 21 (Reuters) - Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening 2 points higher at 7490 on Friday, according to financial bookmakers. * ANTOFAGASTA: Union-represented workers and management at Antofagasta''s Zaldivar copper mine failed to reach a wage deal on Thursday and agreed to extend government-mediated talks into next week, the union said. * TEN GROUP: Concierge service company Ten Group has appointed Jefferies to oversee a flotation on the junior AIM market, Sky News reported on Thursday. * BRITAIN BUSINESS: Britain''s Chambers of Commerce (BCC), an employers group, warned the government it needed to engage in "sustained and structured" discussions with business over Brexit and avoid an abrupt departure from the bloc. * BRITAIN IMMIGRATION: The British government should agree an implementation period for curbs to immigration from the European Union after Britain leaves the bloc to allow businesses time to adapt, a committee of lawmakers said in a report published on Friday. * OIL: Oil prices were little changed on Friday ahead of a key meeting of major oil producing nations next week, sitting below the $50 per barrel level that was briefly breached for the first time in 6 weeks in the previous session. * The UK blue chip index FTSE closed up 0.77 pct at 7487.87 points on Thursday, outperforming pan-European STOXX 600 as European shares dropped as a jump in the bloc''s currency following the European Central Bank''s policy meeting weighed on exporters. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets * UK CORPORATE DIARY: Beazley Interim Earnings Release Capital & Counties Properties Half Year 2017 Earnings Release Acacia Mining PLC Half Year 2017 Earnings Release Vodafone Group PLC Q1 2018 Trading Statement Euromoney Institutional Investor Trading Statement Release Close Brothers Trading Statement Release TODAY''S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Siju Varghese; Editing by Sunil Nair) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idUSL3N1KC25P'|'2017-07-21T08:34:00.000+03:00' +'d11808a8b96579cd69cf7006d79a23fdb2d2e845'|'Spain''s Santander launches 7 bln euros rights issue at 4.85 eur/share'|'MADRID, July 3 Spain''s Banco Santander on Monday launched a 7 billion euros ($7.95 billion) rights issue at a price of 4.85 euros per share, a move it had flagged a month ago when it took over rescued peer Banco Popular for a nominal euro.It also said its net profit for the first half of the year would be 3.6 billion euros, up 24 percent from last year. ($1 = 0.8800 euros) (Reporting by Jesus Aguado; Editing by Julien Toyer)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/popular-ma-santander-equity-idUSL8N1JU59S'|'2017-07-04T00:06:00.000+03:00' +'85853acbabd41aece8d9eea91059ba8393fc730f'|'Oil prices firm on rising political risk, but ample supply caps gains'|'Business News - Wed Jul 5, 2017 - 10:26am BST Oil slips after eight-session bull run on rising OPEC exports, strong dollar An employee pumps petrol for clients at a petrol station in Hanoi, Vietnam December 20, 2106. REUTERS/Kham By Karolin Schaps - LONDON LONDON Oil prices fell more than one percent on Wednesday, ending their longest bull-run in over five years, as climbing OPEC exports and a stronger dollar turned sentiment more bearish. Benchmark Brent crude futures were down 69 cents, or 1.4 percent, at $48.92 a barrel by 0900 GMT . U.S. WTI crude futures were down 80 cents, or 1.7 percent, at $46.27 a barrel after reaching a fresh one-month high of $47.32 earlier in the session. "High June OPEC production and the recent strengthening of the dollar should cap any attempt to push prices higher," said Tamas Varga, senior analyst at London brokerage PVM Oil Associates. Oil exports by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries climbed for a second month in June, Thomson Reuters Oil Research data showed. OPEC exported 25.92 million barrels per day (bpd) in June, up 450,000 bpd from May and 1.9 million bpd more than a year earlier. The rise in exports comes despite OPEC''s vow to rein in production until March 2018 and follows hot on the heels of Reuters'' monthly OPEC production survey which found output jumped to a 2017 high last month as OPEC members Nigeria and Libya continued to pump more. Traders were also eyeing weekly U.S. crude inventory data, delayed by a day due to the U.S. public holiday on Tuesday. A Reuters poll showed analysts expect weekly crude stocks to have fallen by 2.8 million barrels. The weekly data showed a surprise rise in inventories last week. [EIA/S] A firmer dollar also provided less incentive to invest in greenback-denominated commodities such as crude oil. Ongoing global security risks prevented any significant downside including North Korea''s missile test and a political crisis between Qatar and an alliance of Arab nations led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. "Rising geopolitical risks should provide some support to gold and oil prices," ANZ Bank said on Wednesday. (Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in Singapore; editing by Jason Neely) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUKKBN19Q05V'|'2017-07-05T05:01:00.000+03:00' +'f8288cf71d8bc5d61f3619fd9b721cf1108296de'|'Murdoch''s Fox unlikely to offer remedies in Sky deal - source'|'July 13, 2017 / 6:21 PM / 10 hours ago Murdoch''s Fox unlikely to offer remedies in Sky deal - source Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Media mogul Rupert Murdoch leaves his home in London, Britain March 4, 2016. Stefan Wermuth LONDON (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch is unlikely to offer any new concessions to protect the editorial independence of Sky ( SKYB.L ), increasing the chance that the $15 billion (12 billion pounds) takeover deal goes to a lengthy investigation, a person familiar with the situation said. Murdoch''s Twenty-First Century Fox ( FOXA.O ) was dealt a blow last month when Britain''s media secretary, Karen Bradley, said she was persuaded that the deal could give the Murdochs too much influence over the media, after regulator Ofcom assessed the impact of the transaction. Murdoch also owns the Sun and Times newspapers in Britain. Bradley said she would make a final decision on July 14, giving some investors hope that Fox could avert a full investigation if it offered concessions to protect the editorial independence of Sky''s 24-hour TV news channel, Sky News. A person familiar with the deal said however the company was unlikely to offer any new remedies, opting instead to let the competition watchdog examine the deal. Murdoch, 86, and his family have long coveted full control of Sky, despite the damaging failure of a previous attempt in 2011 when their British newspaper business became embroiled in a phone-hacking scandal which forced them to abandon that bid. Britain''s political leaders have long sought the backing of Murdoch and his newspapers and any attempt to expand his media empire in the country sparks intense political scrutiny. Rupert''s son James, who is chief executive of Fox and chairman of Sky, said in March that worries about his family exerting too much power were unfounded in an era of online providers such as Facebook, Buzzfeed, Netflix and Google. Fox has said any referral for an in-depth probe could mean the deal would not close before next June. Both Sky and Fox declined to comment. Reporting by Kate Holton; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sky-m-a-fox-idUKKBN19Y2FS'|'2017-07-13T21:30:00.000+03:00' +'544a7ddc7e80f27ed84c58c80e3e0e2746bf9606'|'Schaeuble hoping growth will end stimulus and ''crazy'' negative rates'|'Central Banks - Mon Jul 3, 2017 - 9:24pm BST Schaeuble hoping growth will end stimulus and ''crazy'' negative rates German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble attends a news conference in Berlin, Germany June 28, 2017. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke By Michael Nienaber - SASBACHWALDEN, Germany SASBACHWALDEN, Germany Euro zone growth is stronger than expected and this will enable the European Central Bank to slowly normalize its monetary policy and end a "crazy situation" of negative interest rates, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Monday. Senior German government officials have stepped up the pressure on the ECB to scale back its monetary stimulus of bond purchases and sub-zero rates as Germany heads towards federal elections and voters complain about meagre savings returns. Critics of the ECB''s decision to buy sovereign bonds on the secondary market also argue that the programme has reduced pressure on euro zone governments to implement reforms. Speaking to voters in his constituency in the southern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg less than three months before the Sept. 24 election, Schaeuble said that the euro zone was recovering surprisingly well and that the threat of deflation had vanished. "If we have more growth and if there is no threat of a deflation, then the ECB will -- it cannot do this fast because the problems in some countries in Europe are too big -- then it can slowly start to normalize monetary policy so that we can hopefully soon end this crazy situation of zero interest rates and negative interest rates," he said. Schaeuble said that inflation in the euro zone was slowly picking up and that it was moving towards the ECB''s price stability target of just under 2 percent. This development would help ECB policymakers find a case for normalisation of their ultra-loose monetary policy, he added. "We must quickly come back to a situation in which interest rates are what they used to be," Schaeuble said. He also pointed out that euro zone governments still had some work to do when it comes to reforms and that France and Germany next week would press ahead with proposals to strengthen bilateral cooperation and European integration. The veteran finance minister, 74, is the longest serving lawmaker in the Bundestag lower house of parliament and he will run for another four years as parliamentarian in September. "I''m ready to continue," Schaeuble told the crowd of some 400 voters in the tiny Black Forest town of Sasbachwalden near Offenburg. "But for this, we first need a clear majority." (Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Thomas Escritt and Catherine Evans) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-schaeuble-idUKKBN19O2FK'|'2017-07-03T23:24:00.000+03:00' +'c68b326a3475eb8389843235f0c2dafc24456134'|'Gold on track for first weekly gain in three'|'July 14, 2017 / 1:24 AM / 39 minutes ago Gold on track for first weekly gain in three Nithin ThomasPrasad 3 Min Read 24 karat gold bars are seen at the United States West Point Mint facility in West Point, New York June 5, 2013. Shannon Stapleton BENGALURU (Reuters) - Gold prices were largely unchanged on Friday as the dollar steadied ahead of key U.S. economic data, but the metal remained on course for its first weekly gain in three. "Most of the downside in gold this morning was largely due to profit-taking, but more importantly, market sentiment is still on the rosy side and in a more positive environment," said OCBC analyst Barnabas Gan. Spot gold was nearly flat at $1,216.58 per ounce at 0403 GMT, but is up 0.3 percent for the week so far. U.S. gold futures for August delivery fell 0.14 percent to $1,215.60 per ounce. "I''m still bearish on my gold forecasts, but I think there are still some upside risks in the short-term, simply because there''s still some uncertainty on the horizon," said Gan. "The rate hike and the balance sheet tapering should inject a more positive growth outlook ... globally and that should push gold prices down to our $1,200 an ounce estimate by the end of the year." The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell last week for the first time in a month and producer prices unexpectedly rose in June, likely keeping the U.S. Federal Reserve on course for a third interest rate increase this year. "We remain neutral on gold at this point as the dollar''s short-term trend is inconclusive, allowing higher yields to fill the space and throttle any gold rallies," said INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir. The dollar was little changed against a group of peers early on Friday, as currency investors remained cautious ahead of U.S. inflation data due later in the session. A stronger greenback would weigh on gold, making the dollar-priced commodity more expensive for investors holding other currencies. Global stocks scaled record highs on Friday, with Asian equities rising for the fifth straight session, boosted by signs the Fed will pursue a gradual rate tightening path and hopes for a strong earnings season. Meanwhile, holdings at the SPDR Gold Trust, the world''s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund fell 0.43 percent to 828.84 tonnes on Thursday from 832.39 tonnes on Wednesday. Among other precious metals, silver prices dropped 0.4 percent to $15.60 per ounce. Palladium advanced 0.4 percent to $855.49 per ounce, set to end the week almost 2 percent higher. Platinum rose 0.6 percent to $906.70 per ounce. Reporting by Nithin Prasad and Arpan Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Pullin 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/global-precious-idINKBN19Z04K'|'2017-07-14T07:36:00.000+03:00' +'6e92fdcb9584e4915721d220070aeeea44d1ff06'|'Roche, Shire court fight underscores high stakes in hemophilia'|'ZURICH Swiss drugmaker Roche''s ( ROG.S ) bid to take a chunk of the $11 billion haemophilia drug market dominated by Shire ( SHP.L ) took another blow with the Irish company winning a preliminary injunction over its Swiss rival''s medication.Shire said its injunction in a court in Germany, where Roche presented data on its drug emicizumab on Monday, sought to remedy Roche''s "incomplete and misleading" statements about the role of Shire''s drug FEIBA in adverse events in Roche trials.The fight underscores the high stakes of emicizumab''s approaching arrival on the haemophilia A market, with some analysts estimating $5 billion in annual sales. That would poach business from Shire''s older drugs for the condition in which sufferers'' blood does not clot properly.Roche blamed several instances of thromboembolic events, including damage to blood vessels in vital organs, in haemophilia A patients on Shire''s bypassing agent. It recommended doctors avoid using FEIBA, if possible, to treat bleeds that developed in patients, despite getting emicizumab.Shire, which says Roche "unlawfully disparaged" FEIBA, said it aimed "to prevent further dissemination of the inaccurate and misleading characterisation of the serious adverse events" in the Roche trial.While Shire''s drug carries warnings for thromboembolic events, Juliana Dierks, its global haematology franchise head, said Roche has failed to provide adequate data to back up its claim."To imply a cause-and-effect of FEIBA having caused the severe adverse events is misleading," Dierks told Reuters. "We are looking forward to transparency. Give us the data, give us the facts."In the Hamburg court''s order, among other things, Roche was forbidden for now from making promotional statements describing emicizumab it as "well tolerated" or saying that adverse events occurred in four people when they received high doses of Shire''s drug concurrently with Roche''s medication.The court said it had jurisdiction because Roche was preparing to present information about emicizumab at the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis congress this week in Berlin.The injunction is an interim measure and Roche can appeal it. Roche said it was reviewing it after being served on Monday.A spokeswoman said on Monday the Basel-based drugmaker stood "100 percent" behind its statements about emicizumab and guidance for doctors treating bleeds.Roche shares were up 0.5 percent at 1300 GMT, while Shire''s were down 1.6 percent.This is the latest legal battle involving Shire against Roche over emicizumab. Baxalta, which Shire bought in 2016, is suing the Swiss company over patent infringement.Bernstein has said Shire''s share in haemophilia A is expected to fall to 29 percent from 49 percent by 2021 on the combined effect of Roche''s drug and other new medicines.Roche, which has filed emicizumab for European and U.S. approval, said the drug cut the treated bleed rate by 79 percent compared with bypassing agents, according to its latest data.(Reporting by John Miller; editing by Jason Neely and Susan Thomas)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-roche-shire-haemophilia-idUSKBN19V0HX'|'2017-07-10T09:54:00.000+03:00' +'64777001df2b388af6c3a63c4af8c6db67b3e977'|'Clariant CEO: none of top 20 investors oppose Huntsman merger'|'July 27, 2017 / 8:49 AM / 10 hours ago Clariant CEO: none of top 20 investors oppose Huntsman merger 2 Min Read ZURICH, July 27 (Reuters) - Swiss chemicals maker Clariant''s 20 largest shareholders with the exception of activist investor White Tale Holdings do not oppose a planned $20 billion merger with peer Huntsman Corp, Chief Executive Hariolf Kottmann said on Thursday. "We''ve spoken to our top 20 investors - who represent more than 50 percent of our share capital - multiple times," Kottmann said in an interview with Reuters. "We didn''t experience a single investor who rejected the deal." Clariant earlier on Thursday said the merger was on track to close late this year or early next despite criticism from activist investor White Tale Holdings, which increased its stake to more than 10 percent in July. Kottmann also said Clariant could foresee divesting 25 percent of its portfolio including its Pigments and Masterbatches businesses following the merger. "We''ve always said that we could part from these items when the time is right," the chief executive added. The group expects the negative impact from raw materials costs to lessen in the second half of the year as price increases kick in, mitigating margin pressure from oil-derived inputs like ethylene and propylene, Chief Financial Officer Patrick Jany said. (Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi and Oliver Hirt; Editing by Michael Shields) 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/clariant-ma-huntsman-c-idUSZ8N1IS025'|'2017-07-27T11:49:00.000+03:00' +'1715110a7e8b88e83fbecbd25a49b6ef852a50c2'|'Exclusive: Ahead of privatisation, Air India eyes bumper staff buyout'|'July 18, 2017 / 10:11 AM / 3 hours ago Exclusive: Ahead of privatisation, Air India eyes bumper staff buyout Rupam Jain 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: An Air India Airlines Boeing 787 dreamliner takes part in a flying display during the 50th Paris Air Show at the Le Bourget airport near Paris, June 14, 2013. Pascal Rossignol/File Photo NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Air India is drawing up a proposal to offer voluntary buyouts to just over a third of its 40,000 employees, a senior company official said, one of the largest such offers in India''s state sector, as the airline slashes costs ahead of a 2018 sale. The official, who could not be named as the plans are not public, said the state-owned airline had also put fleet expansion on hold, scrapping a proposal to lease eight Boeing 787 wide-body aircraft. Air India''s board approved the proposal in April but nothing further had been done. India''s flag carrier is on the block after Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s cabinet last month approved plans to privatise the loss-making airline by selling part or all of the company and ending decades of state support. Founded in the 1930s and known to generations of Indians for its Maharajah mascot, Air India has a complex fleet, too many staff relative to rivals and $8.5 billion in debt. Since 2012, New Delhi has injected $3.6 billion to keep it afloat. An official in Modi''s office said the prime minister, under pressure to cut spending and boost basic infrastructure such as ports and roads, was in "no mood" to provide fresh monetary assistance to any loss-making public sector company. The official said top bureaucrats in the civil aviation ministry and at Air India had been asked to present a report on how a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) could be offered to some 15,000 of Air India''s 40,000 staff, including contractors. "Nothing has been finalised but our aim is to make the strategic sale as simple as we can," said a second top official in New Delhi, who is involved in the airline''s daily operations, adding that any fresh investment would also be put on hold. Previous attempts to offload the airline have failed mainly because of the scale and complexity of Air India''s problems, as well as its influential unions. If Modi can pull the privatisation off it will buttress his credentials as a reformer brave enough to wade into some of the country''s most intractable problems. United Front In its heyday, Air India boasted a talent pool that newly founded airlines dipped into. The government will, however, need to convince seven trade unions to accept the plan to make the airline attractive to potential buyers, including buyouts and other efforts to slash costs. Their initial response was not positive. The Air India logo is seen on the facade of its office building in Mumbai, India, July 7, 2017. Danish Siddiqui/Files "The government will propose a VRS scheme and we will throw their proposal in the dustbin," said J.B. Kadian, leader of a union that represents 8,000 non-technical Air India staff. Kadian said a joint forum of unions representing Air India employees will launch an "agitation" in August if the government pursues its privatisation plans. On Tuesday, dozens of members of the Air Corporations Employees'' Union gathered near Delhi airport holding placards and shouting slogans opposing the privatisation and demanding the airline''s debt be written off, marking the first protest against the government''s plan. A committee of five senior federal ministers, led by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, is expected to meet this month and begin ironing out the finer details of the privatisation plan. In the meantime, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said he wanted Air India to begin cutting at all levels. Earlier this month, the airline decided to stop serving non-vegetarian meals in economy class on domestic flights in a bid to save up to 100 million rupees ($1.6 million) over 10 months. The action provoked uproar on social media and was belittled by aviation experts, who argue that Air India''s management needs a massive structural overhaul, tackling thornier issues such as its fleet and staff, rather than meals. The airline is also working to reduce the time its planes spend on the ground and launching direct flights to new international destinations. In July, Air India started a direct flight to Washington and it will start flying to Stockholm, Copenhagen and Los Angeles later this year. "Keeping planes in the hangar makes no sense when Air India is trying to find new sources of income. We should optimize the use of all possible resources," Raju said. "The idea is to present a robust company to potential buyers." ($1 = 64.3400 Indian rupees) Additional reporting by Aditi Shah and Adnan Abidi; editing by Clara Ferreira Marques and Raju Gopalakrishnan 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/air-india-privatisation-idINKBN1A30VY'|'2017-07-18T14:19:00.000+03:00' +'9d6a1325225539568c4405dafa76d83a56d8b347'|'Hyperoptic hopes to challenge giants with $130 million funding'|'July 27, 2017 / 11:04 PM / 6 hours ago Hyperoptic hopes to challenge giants with $130 million funding Emma Rumney 2 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Britain''s Hyperoptic, which delivers super-fast broadband via fibre optic cables, has borrowed 100 million pounds to increase the size of its network and take on industry giants like BT. Founded in 2011, Hyperoptic is currently available to 350,000 premises. It said on Friday it had secured a new round of funding from European banks BNP Paribas, ING, RBS and NIBC with a seven-year term. The firm said it will use the funds to increase the size of its network to reach two million premises by 2022, and to a further five million by 2025. "This investment will enable us to repeat the same fivefold increase in coverage that we have achieved over the last six years," said Hyperoptic Chairman Boris Ivanovic. Previous funding totalling 75 million pounds, including 21 million pounds from the European Investment Bank, have seen Hyperoptic''s coverage expand across 28 UK cities. In November 2016, the government dedicated 400 million pounds to ramping up the country''s fibre-to-home network, seen as the gold standard of broadband, to help boost the economy. The funding round focused on smaller emerging providers, to introduce more competition to the sector. Infrastructure like that used by Hyperoptic allows broadband speeds to surpass 1 gigabyte per second, compared to 76 megabytes per second on BT''s network. ($1 = 0.7658 pounds) Reporting by Emma Rumney; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-hyperoptic-idUKKBN1AC3EH'|'2017-07-28T02:04:00.000+03:00' +'9b87f181833e21e50500b6c9e5a0d6d93f96a3e6'|'Alphabet spins out geothermal startup Dandelion'|'Deals - Thu Jul 6, 2017 - 5:34pm EDT Alphabet spins out geothermal startup Dandelion Geothermal energy startup Dandelion has left Alphabet Inc''s ( GOOGL.O ) moonshot accelerator X to become an independent company, Dandelion CEO Kathy Hannun said in a blog post on Thursday. Alphabet''s X project confirmed the spin-off when contacted by Reuters and said Dandelion has successfully secured an initial $2 million round of seed funding to fast-track the expansion of their operations in northeastern United States. ( bit.ly/2tRMMw3 ) Dandelion will offer geothermal heating and cooling systems to homeowners, starting in the northeastern United States, according to the blog post. (Reporting by Bhanu Pratap in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-alphabet-spinoff-dandelion-idUSKBN19R32F'|'2017-07-07T00:31:00.000+03:00' +'024310cfb41864bfc35cd964be4cceddb44a0f39'|'Why record U.S. oil exports are poised for even more growth'|'July 27, 2017 / 9:15 AM / in 2 hours Why record U.S. oil exports are poised for even more growth Devika Krishna Kumar and Marianna Parraga 7 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A view of the Tesoro refinery in Martinez California, U.S. on February 2, 2015. Robert Galbraith/File Photo NEW YORK/HOUSTON (Reuters) - U.S. refineries are producing more fuel than ever as they seek to meet rising demand - from overseas, rather than the drivers on nearby roadways. Last year, the U.S. became the world''s top net exporter of fuel, an outgrowth of booming domestic production since the shale oil revolution started in 2010. That''s a fundamental shift from the traditional U.S. role in global markets as a top importer and consumer. Net exports are on track to hit another record in 2017, making foreign fuel markets increasingly important for the future growth prospects and profit margins of U.S. refiners. Shale oil producers have provided refiners with abundant and cheap domestic crude supplies, giving them the raw material they need to produce internationally competitive fuel. The nation set a record in 2016 by sending a net 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of petroleum products to foreign markets. That compares to net fuel imports of 2.3 million just a decade ago, according to U.S. government data. Booming exports have bolstered margins at the biggest U.S. refiners - including Marathon Petroleum and Valero - and compensated for lack of strong growth this year in U.S. fuel demand. Now, the government of U.S. President Donald Trump is seeking to deregulate oil and gas production to further leverage rising U.S. exports for international political gain - a policy Trump calls "energy dominance". Surging U.S. crude production has already complicated the ongoing effort by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to tame a global glut that has halved oil prices since 2014. The United States remains a massive importer of crude oil - regularly trading the top spot with China - but American refineries now re-export much of that oil as jet fuel, diesel and gasoline. The U.S. has a growing role in satisfying demand for motor fuel in countries such as Mexico and Brazil, where the thirst for U.S. fuel is likely to accelerate amid refinery outages and high production costs. Refined U.S. exports are also going further afield to Asia, and diesel exports to Europe increased in June to levels not seen in nearly two years, traders have said. (See graphic: tmsnrt.rs/2sSqsRP ) Traditionally, oil traders, refiners and investors have considered U.S. fuel demand as one of the leading metrics for predicting international crude oil supply and price trends. Now, they are increasingly looking to foreign demand for U.S. fuel for guidance. "Globally, you''re going to have increased demand for all of our products, and so our focus will go beyond the U.S. borders," said Texas-based Valero''s Chief Executive, Joe Gorder. In contrast, he predicted a "slight decline" in U.S. gasoline demand over the next decade. U.S. gasoline demand hit a record in 2016, as low pump prices encouraged consumption, but has leveled off this year. Rising fuel efficiency in cars is expected to limit future domestic demand growth. Latin American Buyers FILE PHOTO - A view of the Exxonmobil Baton Rouge Chemical Plant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. on November 6, 2015. Lee Celano/File Photo U.S. refined products are filling shortages in countries such as Mexico and Venezuela, where refineries have been running below capacity. U.S. exports have also made inroads into Brazil''s market by undercutting the price of locally produced fuel. Latin America''s imports of U.S. fuels reached almost 2.5 million bpd in the first quarter compared with 2.32 million bpd in 2016. The growth was fueled by Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Venezuela and Central America, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Mexico - already the biggest export market for U.S. gasoline and diesel - is seeking higher-than-usual volumes in July and August to fill a void left by a fire at its biggest refinery last month. In recession-scarred Venezuela, the country''s largest refining complex has lowered operating rates this month to less than half of its 955,000-barrel-per-day capacity, a level that has required state-run oil company PDVSA to import more fuel to meet domestic demand. Between them, Mexico and Venezuela have recently said they want to buy extra volumes of almost 19 million barrels in the second half of the year - mostly from the United States - an amount suggesting that U.S. exports will grow again this year over last year''s record levels. Net U.S. exports of transport fuels could rise 8.8 percent this year, according to PIRA Energy, an analytics and forecasting unit of S&P Global Platts. In Brazil, fuel distributors have begun buying more U.S. imports because they are cheaper than fuel sold by state-run oil firm Petrobras. Petrobras had failed to align its wholesale prices with international markets, opening a window for importers to bring fuel into Brazil. Petrobras last month said it would peg its fuels more closely to international prices as it tried to slow the expansion of U.S. imports. Analysts said supply from U.S. refiners was unlikely to slow much. Beyond the Americas U.S. refiners have also boosted exports to Europe and Asia. In Europe, U.S. shipments of diesel rose to nearly 500,000 bpd in June, according to traders, well above flows that have rarely exceeded 370,000 bpd since July 2015. U.S. global distillate exports, including diesel, hit a record that month, said researcher ClipperData, which tracks global oil flows. Exports of refined products to several Asian countries, including India, Japan and South Korea, rose to record levels in 2016, and China took a record 303,000 bpd of U.S. produced fuels in February. U.S. refiners are likely to play in important role in meeting rising demand from Asia, said Nicole Leonard, senior project consultant at Platts Analytics Oil & Gas Consulting. Analysts and traders expect U.S. refined products exports to continue to grow, even with increased competition from large exporters in the Middle East, Europe and India. Demand for U.S. fuels is underpinned by refinery challenges in neighboring countries, said Sandy Fielden, director of oil and products research for Morningstar Commodities Research in Austin, Texas. "It doesn''t seem that these Latin American countries are going to cure their refining problems overnight," he said. Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar in New York, Marianna Parraga in Houston; Additional reporting by Jarrett Renshaw 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-oil-exports-idINKBN1AC18X'|'2017-07-27T12:10:00.000+03:00' +'801fe7a2e6fed938eb91551b4d30b44ab4b999eb'|'Oil prices edge up on first drop in U.S. drilling in months'|'Market News - Sun Jul 2, 2017 - 9:38pm EDT Oil prices edge up on first drop in U.S. drilling in months * U.S. drillers cut rig count for first time in 23 weeks * But rising output from within OPEC weighs on market By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE, July 3 Oil prices edged up on Monday, supported by the first fall in U.S. drilling activity in months, although rising output from OPEC despite a pledge to cut supplies capped gains. Brent crude futures added 6 cents or 0.1 percent to $48.83 per barrel by 0137 GMT, after jumping 5 percent last week for the first gain in six weeks. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 15 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $46.19 per barrel after a more than 7 percent gain last week from depressed levels. Traders said U.S. prices were relatively stronger than Brent after U.S. drilling activity fell for the first time since January. Sentiment for the global Brent benchmark was more subdued due to rising output from within the the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). "For the first time in 23 weeks, the number of drill rigs operating in the U.S. fell, down 2 to 756," ANZ bank said on Monday, but added that "this exuberance may be tempered by news over the weekend that Libya oil production hit another record." Despite the drop, the total rig count was still more than double the 341 rigs in the same week a year ago, according to energy services firm Baker Hughes Inc. The slight cut in U.S. drilling for new production was met by a rise in output from within OPEC in June, up by 280,000 barrels per day (bpd) to an estimated 2017 high of 32.72 million bpd despite the group''s pledge to hold back production in an effort to tighten the market. OPEC''s high output is largely down to rising production from members Nigeria and Libya, which were exempted from the output cuts, and whose surge in supplies has undermined efforts by other members like Saudi Arabia to restrict supplies. (Reporting by Henning Gloystein; Editing by Richard Pullin) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/global-oil-idUSL3N1JU16R'|'2017-07-03T04:38:00.000+03:00' +'76dccf59679458bac4d23f17273f19ad9b08618c'|'Energy Capital in advanced talks to buy Calpine - Bloomberg'|'July 26, 2017 / 11:37 PM / 2 minutes ago Energy Capital in advanced talks to buy Calpine: Bloomberg 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Energy Capital Partners LLC is in advanced talks to buy power producer Calpine Corp ( CPN.N ), Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Energy Capital may announce a deal to buy the Houston-based company as soon as next week, Bloomberg reported. ( bloom.bg/2u0t3GN ) Calpine declined to comment and Energy Capital could not be immediately reached for comment. The Wall Street Journal had reported in May that Calpine was exploring a sale, and was working with investment bankers at Lazard Ltd ( LAZ.N ) to find possible buyers. Shares of Calpine, which generates electricity from natural gas and geothermal resources, rose more than 5 percent in late trade on Wednesday. The company had a market value of $5 billion as of Tuesday''s close. Reporting by Akankshita Mukhopadhyay in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-calpine-m-a-idUSKBN1AB33P'|'2017-07-27T02:30:00.000+03:00' +'a5a234456d58f2eebaa076066b5de86dbc418625'|'BRIEF-PrairieSky announces second quarter 2017 results'|'July 24, 2017 / 8:40 PM / 9 minutes ago BRIEF-PrairieSky announces second quarter 2017 results PrairieSky Royalty Ltd * PrairieSky announces second quarter 2017 results * PrairieSky Royalty Ltd qtrly funds from operations of $0.32 per share * Qtrly average royalty production of 25,706 boe per day, 48% liquids Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-prairiesky-announces-second-quarte-idUSASB0BAB0'|'2017-07-24T23:39:00.000+03:00' +'d66512dd0dce9c800ba5f2dc444cc77c77d70a7f'|'France to sell 10 billion euros in stakes of firms to finance innovation programme'|'Business News - Wed Jul 5, 2017 - 6:37pm BST France to sell 10 billion euros in stakes of firms to finance innovation programme French Finance Minister Bruno le Maire attends a national tribute ceremony for late French politician Simone Veil, Holocaust survivor and pro-abortion campaigner, at the Hotel des Invalides in Paris, France, July 5, 2017. REUTERS/Michel Euler/Pool PARIS Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Wednesday France would sell some 10 billion euros ($11.34 billion) worth of stakes it holds in companies to finance innovation. "This 10 billion euros will be from the sale of stakes owned by the state in a certain number of firms," Le Maire said in a speech. ($1 = 0.8822 euros)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-innovation-stakes-idUKKBN19Q2II'|'2017-07-05T20:37:00.000+03:00' +'313d856446325739ba8acc62f43d5810bca60dc8'|'Forget austerity, heres who is to blame for your empty pockets - Patrick Collinson'|'Its less to do with government cuts and more to do with profiteering by private companies View more sharing options Close Saturday 1 July 2017 07.00 BST T he mood of the country, we are told, is turning against years of government-imposed austerity. We are fed up with being squeezed by spending cuts; we are rebelling against 1% pay caps and we are absolutely right to do so. But the real reason the average household feels so badly off is less to do with government cuts and more to do with profiteering by private companies. Research this week by Santander blows the whistle on the ever-growing portion of our monthly pay that goes on largely unavoidable household bills. It looked at bills for gas, electricity, water, TV, phone and so on and found they have escalated in price far, far ahead of average wage rises. Since 2006, average pay packets in Britain have gone up by 19% in pounds and pence terms (in other words, not adjusting for inflation). Meanwhile, the average gas bill has gone up 73%, electricity 72%, and water 41%. SSE boss gets 72% pay rise weeks after arguing against cap on bills Read more These are extraordinarily large real rises, and all the grimmer for families and pensioners on very tight budgets. These are the bills that simply have to be paid, leaving families with harsh choices about what to cut elsewhere. For those on average incomes, it means the axe falls on the nicer things in life, such as the annual holiday or the occasional meal out. At the bottom of the income scale, already suffering from cuts to welfare benefits, the choice is not between an iPhone 5 or 6, but between shivering or eating. At the top of the utility companies the view is very different. Just weeks after arguing against consumers having their bills capped to save them 100 a year, the boss of one utility, SSE, was given a 72% pay rise to 2.92m after this robust performance. The reward comes after years of bumper dividend payouts which have doubled from 32.7p a share 10 years ago to 62.5p most recently. The water companies have also been fabulous performers for the stock market, not you. As a study by the University of Greenwich found last month, consumers are paying around 2.3bn more a year in water and sewerage bills to the privatised companies than if they had remained in state ownership. It found they have invested no significant new shareholder equity, but have managed to extract nearly all of their post-tax profit as dividends. The report calculated that every household is worse off by around 100 a year as a result. The Santander research into household costs found that it wasnt just the energy and water companies stiffing us with rising bills. Council tax has risen by 27% since 2006, while TV, phone and broadband prices are up 24%. Every bill that Santander looked at had risen faster than wages. Whats more, its research didnt include the biggest bill for most young adults the rent. These are extraordinarily large real rises, and all the grimmer for families and pensioners on very tight budgets Is the rise in bills a failure of privatisation? Mostly. But its also a failure of the sector regulators who are immersed in the neoliberal consensus that private markets and competition always provide the best outcomes for consumers. They can but very often do not. In my column last week I asked why Britains smart meter rollout was costing 11bn and Frances just 4bn. One industry insider contacted me to say that it was partly because Frances Linky programme is for electricity meters only, whereas the UKs is both electricity and gas. But its also because France does not have competition among utility providers, and we do. Here, each supplier has to install smart meters only for their own customers, which means they cant just go street to street they have to contact individual customers wherever they live, agree for them to allow access and organise engineers around that. The result is that we will be wasting billions in duplicated activity, with the bill passed on to consumers to satisfy the rules on competition and also ensuring shareholders continue to receive those dividends. Topics '|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/blog/2017/jul/01/forget-austerity-government-cuts-profiteering-private-companies'|'2017-07-01T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'277b8bcb1f28894806de5022b0935660333b91ef'|'Daimler second-quarter EBIT lags despite record Mercedes-Benz sales'|'July 26, 2017 / 5:55 AM / 21 minutes ago Daimler second-quarter earnings lag as cartel allegations loom Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The Mercedes-Benz logo is seen before the company''s annual news conference in Stuttgart, Germany, February 4, 2016. Michaela Rehle/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Booming sales of new Mercedes-Benz cars pushed up quarterly operating profit at Germany''s Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ) by 15 percent, slightly below consensus and overshadowed by allegations that German carmakers were involved in anti-competitive behaviour. Daimler''s group earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) rose to 3.74 billion euros in the second quarter, below the average forecast for 3.81 billion euros in a Reuters poll. Mercedes-Benz Cars sold 595,200 automobiles thanks to a 28 percent rise in demand in China. Margins improved to 10.2 percent from 6.4 percent in the year-earlier period, mainly thanks to sales of a new E-Class limousine. The Stuttgart-based company lifted the outlook for its trucks and vans divisions, saying it now expected EBIT to reach prior-year levels for both businesses. But much focus is likely to be on an investigation by European Union and German antitrust regulators into whether Daimler, BMW ( BMWG.DE ), VW ( VOWG_p.DE ), Porsche and Audi ( NSUG.DE ) held meetings to discuss suppliers, prices and standards to the disadvantage of foreign carmakers. German magazine Der Spiegel reported on Friday that German carmakers colluded to fix the prices of diesel emissions treatment systems using industry committees. Companies found guilty of breaching EU cartel rules face fines of as much as 10 percent of their global revenue. The supervisory boards of both Daimler and Volkswagen are due to meet on Wednesday to discuss the matter. A person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday that Daimler first raised the issue of collusion with cartel authorities, a move that could earn it immunity. Related Coverage Reporting by Edward Taylor; Additional reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Victoria Bryan 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-daimler-results-q-idUKKBN1AB0HT'|'2017-07-26T08:54:00.000+03:00' +'cd31e5cfec1cc799daa2ab217b760ef8207305fe'|'VW recalls 385,000 cars in Germany for brake system update'|'Autos 18am EDT VW recalls 385,000 cars in Germany for brake system update A man uses phone under a Volkswagen logo at the Shanghai Auto Show, in Shanghai, China April 20, 2017. REUTERS/Aly Song FRANKFURT Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ) is recalling 385,000 cars in Germany for a software update to their anti-lock brake systems, news agency DPA reported, citing a spokesman for the automaker. Volkswagen''s VW, Audi and Skoda brands were affected, it said. According to DPA, the braking control system may not function properly in certain driving conditions, such as when the driver over-steers, under-steers or slams on the brakes. Volkswagen had no immediate comment. (Reporting by Andreas Cremer; writing by Maria Sheahan; editing by Jason Neely)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-recall-idUSKBN19M3KV'|'2017-07-01T18:18:00.000+03:00' +'ecdcf90fc52aac9a1d5afbc2f621c784dd55d487'|'METALS-Copper steady after overnight exit on supply signs'|'SYDNEY, July 11 Copper held largely steady in Asia on Tuesday amid modest support from investors after losing ground overnight on fresh signs of oversupply."We are seeing little of the selling that occurred in London (on Monday)," a commodities trader in Perth said. "Steady, with a slant to the downside is the way I would phrase it."Stocks in LME warehouses rose by 4,900 tonnes to 319,975 on Monday and have ballooned 32 percent since June 28, showing supplies are adequate.FUNDAMENTALS* Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange stood $1 lower at $5,823 a tonne by 0100 GMT, extending losses from the previous session.* The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was down 0.09 percent to 46,820 yuan ($6,882.66) a tonne.* COPPER STRIKE: Workers at the Zaldivar copper mine in Chile, owned by Antofagasta and Barrick Gold Corp , voted to approve a strike on Monday after talks with the company failed.* NORSK HYDRO: Norwegian metals firm Norsk Hydro will take full ownership of aluminium products maker Sapa by buying a 50 percent stake from conglomerate Orkla* Steel related LME base metals nickel and zinc were each down about 0.03 percent, despite a China steel futures trading higher.* For the top stories in metals and other news, click orMARKETS NEWS* Asian shares and the dollar cautiously edged higher on Tuesday, as investors awaited testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen for clues on when the central bank would tighten U.S. monetary policy.DATA AHEAD (GMT)1000 U.S. Small business confidence index Jun1255 U.S. Job openings (JOLTS) May1400 U.S. Wholesale inventories MayPRICESThree month LME copperMost active ShFE copperThree month LME aluminiumMost active ShFE aluminiumThree month LME zincMost active ShFE zincThree month LME leadMost active ShFE leadThree month LME nickelMost active ShFE nickelThree month LME tinMost active ShFE tinARBS ($1 = 6.8026 Chinese yuan)(Reporting by James Regan; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/global-metals-idUSL4N1K219E'|'2017-07-11T04:39:00.000+03:00' +'f98fb66591cdc1f63598d8075032ebe62789166a'|'Hot and cold - Euro zone grows but inflation slows'|'July 31, 2017 / 6:22 AM / in 21 minutes Hot and cold - Euro zone grows but inflation slows Philip Blenkinsop 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Customers push shopping trolleys on an escalator at the Bercy shopping centre in Charenton Le Pont, near Paris, August 29, 2013. Charles Platiau BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Data in the coming week should confirm the euro zone economy is running hot, after the IMF upgraded growth forecasts and Greece returned to the debt market, although inflation figures could throw cold water on ECB plans to start tightening policy. Growth in the single currency area outstripped paltry expansion in the United States and Britain in the first quarter and the pace did not let up in the April-June period. The euro zone may not be growth champion in the second quarter, after the U.S. rebounded to an annualised 2.6 percent thanks to consumer spending and business equipment investment. But it should again fare better than Britain, whose economy failed to build momentum. A forecast expansion of 0.6 percent in the April-June period, equivalent to an annualised 2.4 percent, would be the third consecutive quarter in which the euro zone has grown at or above a half percentage point, for the first time since 2007-08. "The global economy has been a jumbo jet running on just one engine for the last five, six years, the U.S., but now it seems there''s more from the euro zone as well, with encouraging signs from Asia too," said James Knightley, chief international economist at ING. Data on Friday showed the euro zone''s second-largest economy, France, grew by 0.5 percent for a third successive quarter, while Spanish GDP returned to pre-crisis levels with 0.9 percent expansion. "Momentum is there. We''re getting a broadening out of countries in terms of economic performance. It''s not just the likes of Germany driving it all forward ... There does seem to be self-sustaining momentum," said Knightley. Euro zone economic sentiment, as compiled by the European Commission, grew for a third straight month in July to a new 10-year high due to a pick-up of the dominant services sector. And confidence levels in all sectors, as well as for consumers, are far above historical averages. The International Monetary Fund has hiked outlooks for China and the euro zone, while trimming those for the United States and Britain. The Fund said the euro zone''s recovery was firming and becoming broad-based, with stronger domestic demand, although it warned of downside risks. Stubborn Inflation, Euro Strength Political risks seen at the start of the year ahead of elections in France and the Netherlands have diminished, while Greece has returned to the bond market after a three-year exile. Five years ago, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi pledged to do "whatever it takes" to save the euro. His ultra-easy monetary policy is partly behind the robust economic recovery, showing more effect this year as growth in bank loans to the private sector hit a 10-year high in May. Now the question is when to taper. Strong economic growth should steer the ECB towards reining in asset purchases, but policymakers are still waiting on inflation. The flash estimate for July, due on Monday, is seen stable at 1.3 percent, well short of the ECB''s target of just below 2 percent. Perhaps more significantly, the core figure, without volatile energy and unprocessed food prices, is seen falling. "The economy is recovering and the labour market is doing quite well, but we think core inflation will be at 1 percent and below for the rest of 2017," said Marco Wagner, economist at Commerzbank. "Except Germany, if you look at France, Italy, Spain or Portugal there are still overcapacities, still relatively high unemployment." Among the clearest signs of a rebound has been the euro''s pick-up to around $1.17, from $1.05 at the start of the year. UniCredit on Thursday raised its forecast for the euro-dollar rate to $1.20 for the end of the year and an "equilibrium" rate of $1.25 for end-2018, from $1.14 and $1.18 respectively before. "The political risk factor has been taken out," said Vasileios Gkionakis, co-head of strategy research at UniCredit. "It would bring the rate in line with our estimate of fair value and in all likelihood the market will overshoot." Of course a stronger euro could dampen euro area growth and cap inflation, a further issue for ECB policymakers to consider. Outside Europe, U.S. monthly jobs data for July on Friday is likely to be the key figure for economists and the Federal Reserve, whose policy-setters next meet on Sept. 19-20. U.S. job creation surged by more than expected in June and is seen lower but still strong in July, a sign of labour market strength that could keep the Fed on course for a third interest rate hike this year. More significant may prove to be average wage growth, however. It is seen at 0.3 percent, the highest rate since February, after months of hovering between 0.1 and 0.2 percent. Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Catherine Evans 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-economy-outlook-idUKKBN1AG0JM'|'2017-07-31T09:22:00.000+03:00' +'6b744fbf3d208cbe1505d1897f56deef0c5c4735'|'German discounter Aldi to create 4,000 jobs in Britain'|'July 11, 2017 / 9:17 AM / an hour ago German discounter Aldi to create 4,000 jobs in Britain Reuters Staff 2 Min Read A staff member stacks shelves at the Aldi store in Atherstone, Britain February 9, 2017. Darren Staples LONDON (Reuters) - German discount grocer Aldi [ALDIEI.UL] plans to create 4,000 jobs in Britain in its biggest ever recruitment drive, as it steps up its expansion plans in order to match rising sales, it said on Tuesday. Discounters Aldi and Lidl [LIDUK.UL] have grown rapidly in Britain in recent years, putting the squeeze on the major four supermarkets - market leader Tesco ( TSCO.L ), Sainsbury''s ( SBRY.L ), Asda ( WMT.N ) and Morrisons ( MRW.L ). Aldi currently has over 700 stores in Britain and said it remains on course to open 1,000 stores by 2022. The grocer said the jobs would be as store assistants and deputy store managers, and would help to meet an increase in sales after the group attracted nearly a million new customers in the last year. "The success of Aldi in the UK is due to the hard work and commitment of our employees, and they are crucial to our future expansion plans," said Matthew Barnes, Chief Executive Officer for Aldi UK and Ireland. Reporting by Alistair Smout, editing by James Davey 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-aldi-jobs-britain-idUKKBN19W0SY'|'2017-07-11T12:17:00.000+03:00' +'d04131a30c3b51bd158db134241289045b3db5da'|'Deutsche Bank sees progress towards IPO of asset management arm - memo'|'Deals - Fri Jul 7, 2017 - 5:26pm BST Deutsche Bank sees progress toward IPO of asset management arm: memo left right A Deutsche Bank logo adorns a wall at the company''s headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany June 9, 2015. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo 1/2 left right The logo of Deutsche Bank is seen at its headquarters ahead of the bank''s annual general meeting in Frankfurt, Germany May 18, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski 2/2 ZURICH Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) said that it is making progress in its planned partial initial public offering (IPO) of its asset management unit, according to a recent memo to staff. Germany''s largest lender announced its plans for a partial IPO of the unit in March as part of a broader restructuring of the bank reeling from law suits and trading scandals. Nicolas Moreau, a board member who oversees Deutsche Asset Management, said in an email to staff seen by Reuters, that Swiss regulator FINMA had approved the establishment of Deutsche Asset Management (Schweiz) AG. The new entity incorporates the existing Swiss asset management activities formerly part of Deutsche Bank (Suisse) S.A. "We continue to make excellent progress with our IPO preparations and achieve notable milestones in our preparations," Moreau said in the note. John Cryan, Deutsche''s CEO, has said the bank would maintain a "controlling and super-majority stake" in the business. The sale would take place at some point over the next two years, Deutsche said at the time, and could raise 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion). Deutsche hopes that by giving its asset management unit more operational independence the unit will be more attractive to talent. Deutsche Asset Management has more than 700 billion euros invested worldwide. (Reporting by Oliver Hirt; Writing by Tom Sims; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-deutsche-bank-asset-management-idUKKBN19S2E1'|'2017-07-07T19:11:00.000+03:00' +'f5f4572355705d5310940a909e4580c2e5f20998'|'Hammond told Goldman Sachs he wants long Brexit transition - source'|'July 21, 2017 / 4:13 PM / 2 hours ago Hammond told Goldman Sachs he wants long Brexit transition - source Reuters Staff 3 Min Read Britain''s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, leaves 11 Downing Street, in central London, Britain July 17, 2017. Tolga Akmen LONDON (Reuters) - British finance minister Philip Hammond told the board of U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs that he was pushing for a lengthy transition period after Britain leaves the European Union, a source familiar with the talks said. The source said Hammond made a presentation to the Goldman Sachs board on June 29 when chief executive Lloyd Blankfein was in London for the annual board meeting. The source confirmed an earlier Sky News report which said Hammond had offered private reassurances that he wanted a long transition period to help banks prepare for Brexit and ease concerns of a "cliff-edge" exit from the bloc. The Sky report said Hammond did not offer Goldman assurances above or beyond his public attempts to reassure the business community that the government was aware of its concerns. Goldman Sachs declined to comment. Asked to confirm the Sky report and its contents, a Treasury spokesman said: "As you would expect, the chancellor (Hammond)regularly meets with businesses to hear their views, most recently participating in the prime minister''s business advisory group and hosting a roundtable with asset managers." Banks are keen to see transitional arrangements put in place to give them time to adapt to the huge legal and regulatory change Brexit is likely to bring. But while Prime Minister Theresa May has said she wants a "phased process of implementation" to smooth the country''s path out of the EU, many in her party fear a lengthy transition period could be used to water down or block Britain''s eventual exit. Hammond, who is seen as one of the most pro-European members of May''s cabinet, said on Sunday that the majority of senior ministers now agreed on the need for a transition period. Leading Brexiteer Michael Gove endorsed that view on Friday. However, in response to the uncertainty over what the transition will look like, international banks are planning to set up subsidiaries in the EU to ensure they can continue to serve clients if their London operations lose the ability to operate across the bloc once Britain leaves in March 2019. Bank of America on Friday became the first Wall Street lender to pick Dublin as its new base for its European Union operations. Goldman has not formally announced any similar plans but Blankfein has previously said he would like to see an implementation period of at least "a couple of years" once the British exit deal is agreed. He has said the bank has "contingency plans" to move people depending on the outcome of the negotiations. Reporting by Anjuli Davies and William James; Editing by Alison Williams 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-transition-idUKKBN1A623S'|'2017-07-21T19:58:00.000+03:00' +'265394182f61d6d84d7aaee9d22d359d0735c3c7'|'"Hard works starts now": Brexit bargaining to begin'|'July 14, 2017 / 4:21 PM / 3 hours ago "Hard works starts now": Brexit bargaining to begin Alastair Macdonald 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Flags are arranged at the EU headquarters as Britain and the EU launch Brexit talks in Brussels, June 19, 2017. Francois Lenoir/File Photo BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU officials hope the British government shows more sense of urgency about a Brexit deal when its negotiators come to Brussels on Monday for a first full round of talks aimed at smoothing Britain''s departure. "The hard work starts now," the European Union''s chief negotiator Michel Barnier said on Wednesday, again sounding a note of alarm that London has yet to provide detailed proposals on a range of key issues, with barely a year left for bargaining. A year after the referendum vote to leave the bloc propelled her to power, Prime Minister Theresa May still faces a complex task in finding consensus at home on what kind of Brexit Britain wants -- a job made all the harder by losing her parliamentary majority in an election last month. Her Brexit minister, veteran anti-EU campaigner David Davis, is expected to meet Barnier, a French former cabinet minister, at the European Commission''s Berlaymont headquarters on Monday morning. They and their teams will then spend up to four days in a mixture of smaller working groups and plenary sessions, with the priority being to identify areas of accord and discord on a set of issues agreed on during an initial day of talks on June 19. These issues, notably the rights of expatriate citizens, how much Britain may owe to the EU budget and how to manage the new EU-UK border, especially with Ireland, are ones both sides want to settle in a withdrawal treaty. Barnier says this must be ready by about October next year if it is to be ratified on both sides of the Channel before Britain leaves in March 2019. "The clock is ticking," he said on Wednesday, displaying a degree of impatience with British ministers who continue to dismiss EU demands that they first must agree in principle that London will owe the Union a hefty amount -- probably in the tens of billions of euros -- to cover its existing commitments. "The first serious test of the negotiations will be them agreeing to pay the bill," a senior EU official said, describing the coming week as a vital moment to establish rapport among the senior civil servants who will handle what is arguably the most convoluted and far-reaching diplomatic deal of modern times. Progress Required Without "significant progress" on all three priority areas of the divorce package, Barnier warns, EU leaders will not let Davis open talks on a free trade relationship, which May and much of British business want to have ready by the time Britain leaves. For now, the EU says May''s offer to guarantee the rights of 3 million Europeans in Britain falls short. It is also unhappy at Britain''s refusal to accept EU judges as the ultimate arbiters of disputes -- an issue that could get an early airing as London seeks a quick fix to prevent its withdrawal from the Euratom pact disrupting its nuclear industry and medical imaging. Committed to keep all 27 other EU governments informed and on board with a process in which all have differing interests, the Commission negotiators are insisting on publishing negotiating documents and holding regular news conferences -- a cause of some discomfort in London. EU officials expect Barnier and Davis to brief reporters again on Thursday, partly to nail down the week''s achievements. "It''s important to describe our progress," the senior EU official said, likening the Brexit process to trade negotiations that the Commission more typically runs with other governments. "If you don''t cash the week''s progress in public, by having both sides talk to the media, you never know if your partner will go back later on what they promised to agree." EU leaders hold a regular quarterly summit in mid-October and could use that moment to instruct Barnier to prepare trade negotiations; but that will require good progress next week and in three further week-long rounds of talks. On that timetable, Barnier reckons, a broad political deal on the outlines of a new, open trading relationship could be in place by late next year, allowing for a transitional phase of up to a few years after Brexit to negotiate all the details. Editing by Kevin Liffey '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/britain-eu-negotiations-idINKBN19Z1WY'|'2017-07-14T19:21:00.000+03:00' +'b6cacb1da7ad0c459ccd7be8d10e4054a7bf08e6'|'UK employers call for bigger role in Brexit talks'|'July 20, 2017 / 4:06 PM / 20 minutes ago UK employers call for bigger role in Brexit talks Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: UK Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union David Davis (L) is welcomed by the European Commission''s Chief Brexit Negotiator Michel Barnier at the start of a first full round of talks on Britain''s divorce terms from the European Union, in Brussels, Belgium July 17, 2017. Yves Herman/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Britain''s Chambers of Commerce (BCC), an employers group, warned the government it needed to engage in "sustained and structured" discussions with business over Brexit and avoid an abrupt departure from the bloc. Prime Minister Theresa May chaired a discussion with the heads of several industry groups and chief executives on Thursday at the first meeting of a new business council designed to heal wounds after many felt they were being ignored. The BCC welcomed the move but said regular discussions were needed ahead of Britain''s departure from the European Union due by the end of March 2019. "High-level discussions with the prime minister and her cabinet must continue, but we also need to see sustained and structured discussion with business on the dozens of practical, real-world questions that firms face as a consequence of Brexit," BCC President Francis Martin said in a statement. "The prospect of multiple, costly, adjustments to trading conditions is a concern for many, so starting discussions on transition arrangements as soon as possible would go a long way to boost business confidence," he said. Reporting by Costas Pitas; Editing by William Schomberg 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-business-idUKKBN1A526F'|'2017-07-20T19:06:00.000+03:00' +'60fd6fc450834637a3006ce71a74fabfca15b84c'|'Roche''s Tecentriq receives positive opinion from EU medicines agency'|'July 22, 2017 / 10:54 AM / 4 hours ago Roche''s Tecentriq receives positive opinion from EU medicines agency 1 Min Read ZURICH (Reuters) - A European Medicines Agency (EMA) panel said on Friday it has recommended Roche''s immunotherapy Tecentriq as a treatment for advanced bladder and lung cancer, setting the stage for European Commission approval this year. Roche received a positive opinion for the treatment from the EMA''s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP). Tecentriq, which Roche has designed to help the immune system find and kill tumours that otherwise may avoid detection, won approval in the United States this year as an initial treatment for bladder cancer. It has also been approved as a treatment for lung cancer. Reporting by Joshua Franklin and John Miller; Editing by Jason Neely 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/roche-hldg-tecentriq-eu-idINKBN1A70CN'|'2017-07-22T13:53:00.000+03:00' +'b6b0412fe0ebfec1d70688d6624db43fbb3f6726'|'Walmart Chile workers vote to go on strike'|'July 28, 2017 / 5:28 PM / 3 hours ago Walmart Chile workers vote to go on strike 2 Min Read Shopping carts are seen at a supermarket brand of Wal-Mart company, in Santiago, Chile March 22, 2017. Pablo Sanhueza SANTIAGO (Reuters) - The union representing workers at Lider, Wal-Mart Stores Inc''s ( WMT.N ) main supermarket chain in Chile, said on Friday they had voted to go on strike for higher pay. "We are awaiting the final result from the work directorate, but we can say that our union approves the strike with 9,850 votes, or 63.4 percent of the total," the union announced on its Facebook site. Walmart Chile said it did not have an immediate comment on the announcement. Either the union or the company may now request government-mediated talks that would last five days to try to reach an agreement and avert the strike. The union encompasses 16,500 workers, one of the South American country''s largest unions. Some workers have been demonstrating outside stores across the country in recent months as they have pushed their demands for better pay. Walmart Chile, the local unit of U.S. retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc, is one of the leading supermarket operators in Chile, with 380 stores. Reporting by Rosalba O''Brien and Felipe Iturrieta; Editing by Matthew Lewis 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-walmart-chile-idUSKBN1AD2AY'|'2017-07-28T20:23:00.000+03:00' +'beb16a78764a75aebd47f4ced5823b44b31849fa'|'Demand for exorcists is soaring in France'|'FOR A man poised for combat with evil spirits, Philippe Moscato looks remarkably at ease. In casual clothes and chatting about the tools of his tradea Vogel crystal, compass, steel crucifix, pendulum and bag of salt from Jerusalemhe says he can deliver unreal results. Hired to exorcise an apartment in a wealthy district of central Paris, he predicts that the air will change. In the winter, he says, the owners will no longer need their central heating, the result of beneficial vibrations.Mr Moscatos work involves first waggling a pendulum, supposedly to assess the flats readiness, then lighting a candle, reciting from an exorcism manual, before blessing salty water that he splashes in every room. As he sprinkles, he delivers a flow of incantations. For an hours work he pockets 155 ($178). He has requests three or four times a week to de-spook property, and exorcises a person on average once a week. Paris, Lyon and the French Riviera are the areas most contaminated by bad spirits, he says. Demand for ghostbusting fluctuates. Following terrorist attacks in France and Belgium, late in 2015 and early in 2016, respectively, Mr Moscato said he had an incredible avalanche of requests. Alessandra Nucci, a writer on Catholic affairs, says that there are more and more independent operators like Mr Moscato in Europe. The church has neglected exorcisms for a long time, she says, despite strong demand from the public for them. There are some 100 exorcist priests licensed by the church in France, according to the International Association of Exorcists in Rome, but most are inactive.Another independent operator, Grgory Noel, makes a speciality of exorcising farms. For up to 500 a pop, Jean Clment provides a ceremony to release harmful waves. A third, Jean de Paracol, in southern France, markets a service to help small businesses that have been blighted by black magic. Gabriel Despraux, near to Paris, says he has practised for decades but only started charging a fee two years ago. He now works as many as 15 hours a day dealing with clients. In a good month his business is generating 12,000 before tax.What might explain rising demand? Television programmes that depict exorcism, notably imports from America such as Foxs The Exorcist, may play a part. The relative ease of finding practitioners online is also a factor. Word-of-mouth recommendations from satisfied customers matter, too. The owner of the Paris apartment is reluctant to say if her experiment helped to improve the air. The whole thing is freakish, but just by believing, it might make a difference, she says. Then, as Mr Moscato leaves, a sunbeam suddenly lights up her apartment.This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "Who you gonna call?"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/business/21725320-catholic-church-has-left-big-gap-market-demand-exorcists-soaring-france?fsrc=rss'|'2017-07-20T22:44:00.000+03:00' +'6c0b3ccdfdb3fcd49fd574b455fab93ff3518100'|'BRIEF-Caledonia Mining accident led to a fatality at Zimbabwe mine'|' 10am EDT BRIEF-Caledonia Mining accident led to a fatality at Zimbabwe mine July 10 Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc : * Accident at blanket mine * Announces a fatality at blanket mine in Zimbabwe in a mining-related accident on 7 July 2017 * Accident occurred in number 6 shaft area of mine; management notified minister of mines, mining development, inspector of mines (Bengaluru Newsroom) After Iran move, Total seen in pole position to snap up Qatar gas deals DOHA/LONDON, July 10 Total is well placed to take a lead role in helping Qatar expand output from the world''s largest gas field, largely thanks to its involvement in the Iranian side of the shared deposit, two sources familiar with Doha''s thinking said. * Trade figures likely to add fuel to surplus debate (Adds details, analysts, background) MORE FROM REUTERS From Around the Web Promoted by Revcontent Trending Stories'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/brief-caledonia-mining-accident-led-to-a-idUSFWN1K103H'|'2017-07-10T10:10:00.000+03:00' +'73d741a7345a3ebd9224ef13497cec1ef40d9d1c'|'Brazil''s Petrobras halts output at P-62 platform after accident'|'Market News - Wed Jul 5, 2017 - 11:45am EDT Brazil''s Petrobras halts output at P-62 platform after accident SAO PAULO, July 5 Petrleo Brasileiro SA halted production at its P-62 platform in the Campos basin due to an accident that left three people injured, the state-controlled oil company said on Wednesday. In a statement, Petrobras, as the company is known, said the accident happened at 8:20 a.m. local time (1120 GMT) and led to an oil leak. (Reporting by Luciano Costa; Writing by Bruno Federowski) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/petrobras-accident-idUSE6N1JB00E'|'2017-07-05T18:45:00.000+03:00' +'736f4a2f5140539877a92845751923c3619e18ec'|'Unilever CEO to ask UK''s May for extended Brexit transition'|'July 20, 2017 / 10:15 AM / 9 hours ago Unilever CEO to ask UK''s May for extended Brexit transition Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer of Unilever attends the session "The New Climate and Development Imperative" during the Annual Meeting 2016 of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland January 21, 2016. Ruben Sprich - RTX23FIW LONDON (Reuters) - Unilever ( ULVR.L ) Chief Executive Paul Polman on Thursday will ask British Prime Minister Theresa May to give businesses more time to adapt to Brexit. "We will be talking about the possibility of a longer transition period," Polman told reporters ahead of a planned visit to 10 Downing Street, May''s official residence. He said that a lengthy transition for Britain''s exit from the European Union was "becoming more realistic now". Polman, a Dutch national, said talks will also cover how the private sector can influence the process so that complex issues - such as border taxes, intellectual property, regulations or data protection - "can proceed as smoothly as possible without doing further damage than what we have to deal with already". "You can imagine from where I''m sitting, as a European but having my heart in the UK as well, that I have some concrete suggestions of what can be done there," Polman said on a call with reporters following release of the consumer goods company''s second-quarter results. "There is no doubt that the quicker we can get some of the initial issues out of the way - like financial arrangements, citizens'' rights, the issue of Ireland - the quicker we can focus on the trade side and the trade relations side," he said. Unilever, whose products range from Dove soap to Ben & Jerry''s ice cream, currently has a dual structure, with headquarters, boards of directors and stock listings in both Britain and the Netherlands. This is under review in the wake of a rebuffed $143 billion takeover bid from Kraft Heinz ( KHC.O ), and the company expects to say by the end of the year whether it will combine into one. Reporting by Martinne Geller; Editing by Ben Hirschler and Jane Merriman 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-unilever-nv-brexit-idUKKBN1A513Q'|'2017-07-20T14:04:00.000+03:00' +'fcd90a134af637fb507075a8eb71962429f9f2a1'|'Blackstone, CVC make $3.7 billion bid for payments firm Paysafe'|'July 21, 2017 / 6:27 AM / 2 hours ago Private equity bid for Paysafe stokes payments M&A boom Esha Vaish and Simon Jessop 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A customer pays with a contactless credit card at a store in Paris, France, April 11, 2016. Philippe Wojazer/File Photo (Reuters) - Private equity firms Blackstone ( BX.N ) and CVC Capital Partners [CVC.UL] joined a rush to snap up payments companies on Friday with a 2.9 billion pound bid for Paysafe Group. Britain''s Paysafe ( PAYS.L ), which offers pre-paid cashcards and online wallets, said separately it was also planning to buy Merchants'' Choice Payments Solutions for $470 million, strengthening its presence in the United States. Payments companies have become sought-after targets as more shoppers switch from cash to paying for purchases by smartphone or other mobile devices and a series of deals has driven share prices in the sector higher in recent weeks. Mastercard made the first move last year by buying Britain''s Vocalink and deals have picked up in recent weeks. Danish payment services firm Nets A/S ( NETS.CO ) said in early July that it had been approached by potential buyers, while days later U.S. credit card processor Vantiv ( VNTV.N ) agreed to buy Britain''s Worldpay ( WPG.L ) for 7.7 billion pounds to expand outside the United States. That has been followed by a 1.5 billion euro bid on Thursday for Stockholm-based Bambora by France''s Ingenico ( INGC.PA ), and, on Friday, news that private equity firm Permira had bought a stake in Sweden''s Klarna. Previous Experience Paysafe said it had been approached in early May, when its shares were trading at about 450 pence, banking sources said. Shares in Paysafe were up 7.4 percent to 582.5 pence a share at 0955 GMT, leading the gainers in Britain''s mid-cap index but slightly below the 590 pence per share proposed offer price. If successful, the private equity bid would mark a return to the payments sector for CVC. It previously owned Skrill, a payments company which was bought by Optimal Payments, the AIM-listed forerunner to Paysafe. "CVC knows the space extremely well," said a banking source, adding Paysafe had a "very positive" outlook with some strong growth fundamentals given the drive to go cashless. The ticker and trading information for Blackstone Group is displayed at the post where it is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) April 4, 2016. Brendan McDermid "And that''s the reason why they (CVC) are interested. They know the actors, they like the dynamics around the sector, which is underpinned by growth." CVC and Blackstone have until Aug. 18 to make a formal offer. Lazard are lead advisors to Paysafe, while Credit Suisse is working with CVC. Old Mutual on Board Paysafe said that after turning down a number of indicative proposals, it had granted the bidders due diligence access on the basis of the 590 pence per share proposal. The deal is conditional on the buyers being able to sell off Paysafe''s Asia Gateway business, with a buyer already lined up, although no further details were given. A source with knowledge of the situation said Blackstone and CVC''s experience of a partnership in British group Merlin Entertainments ( MERL.L ) made them a good fit. And a source familiar with CVC''s thinking said that Paysafe was potentially a good buy given its current valuation and the consortium''s ability to add further value. UBS analyst David Mulholland said the deal value implied a valuation of 14 times Paysafe''s estimated 2018 price-to-earnings ratio and 10.4 times enterprise value to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. Old Mutual Global Investors, Paysafe''s largest shareholder with a stake of about 10.3 percent in the group, has signed a non-binding letter of support for the possible offer. Paysafe said its deal for Delta Card Service Inc, the holding company for Houston-based Merchants'' Choice Payment Solutions ("MCPS"), will see Paysafe add around 60,000 clients across 50 states and over $14 billion in sales volume annually. The cash deal will be part-funded by $380 million in bank loans and $90 million from existing cash funds, it added. "We would initially highlight that on first impressions the acquisition appears to make sense, (but) is not a particularly high multiple in the context of payments," UBS''s Mulholland said in a note to clients, flagging a ''buy'' rating. Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru and Simon Jessop in London; editing by Keith Weir and Alexander Smith 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-paysafe-group-m-a-idUKKBN1A60HD'|'2017-07-21T09:26:00.000+03:00' +'1de8e1656861b2aa8c3e75758b5dd8216eaf0062'|'Australia''s Qantas firms up plans for world''s longest commercial flight'|'August 24, 2017 / 2:06 PM / 8 hours ago Australia''s Qantas firms up plans for world''s longest commercial flight Jamie Freed 4 Min Read Qantas flight QF1, an A380 aircraft, takes off from Sydney International Airport en route to Dubai, above Botany Bay, in Australia August 22, 2017. Jason Reed SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Qantas Airways ( QAN.AX ) is set to formally announce plans to offer 20-hour non-stop flights from Sydney to London by 2022 if Airbus SE ( AIR.PA ) or Boeing Co ( BA.N ) can deliver aircraft that meet the distance, a source familiar with the matter said. The flight from Sydney to London will on most days take a northern polar route rather than the usual western crossing over Asia and Europe, said the source, who did not want to be named as he was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. An announcement is expected alongside the airline''s annual results on Friday, the source added. The polar route is longer than the 9,200 nautical miles (17,038 kilometers) western route but has the benefit of strong tailwinds rather than fierce headwinds. The route could vary depending on the time of year, but the return flight will likely follow the traditional route, the source added. "The smart way is not to fight the winds. Use them," Leeham Co analyst Bjorn Fehrm said in a note to clients speculating about a 10,000 nautical miles polar route in June. A non-stop Sydney-London route that is three hours shorter than flights involving stops would allow Qantas to charge a premium and differentiate its product from the around two dozen other airlines plying the so-called Kangaroo route with stop-offs in Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong. Analysts estimate Qantas could price its tickets at a 20 percent premium in return for delivering business travelers to their destination more quickly. It will cut a current stop in Dubai, the hub of Qantas partner Emirates. To improve passenger experience during what is slated to be the world''s longest-ever commercial flight, cutting across 10 time zones, Qantas has said it will work with the University of Sydney''s Charles Perkins Centre on research projects including strategies to counteract jetlag, on-board exercise and movement, and cabin environment including lighting and temperature. Chief Executive Alan Joyce has previously told Reuters the Airbus A350-900ULR and Boeing 777-8 are contenders for non-stop flights from Sydney to London and New York, but Qantas has not yet placed an aircraft order. Qantas is pushing the planemakers hard on a stretch goal of completing the Sydney-London flight with 300 seats to give it the highest possible revenue and fleet flexibility. However, there are concerns of missing that target if Qantas wants to avoid a fuel stop on the challenging Sydney-London leg. The new aircraft, which will replace retiring 747s, would sit alongside A380s and 787s to form the backbone of the airline''s international fleet servicing medium and long-haul routes and help it maintain its competitiveness. Qantas has already announced plans for 17-hour non-stop Perth-London flights from March 2018 with 787-9 aircraft. Rival Air New Zealand Ltd ( AIR.NZ ) on Wednesday said it was considering an order for A350 and 777X aircraft that would allow it to fly non-stop from its Auckland hub to New York and Brazil by 2021, targeting Australian transit traffic in competition with Qantas. Reporting by Jamie Freed; Editing by Himani Sarkar 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-qantas-strategy-idUSKCN1B41QY'|'2017-08-24T17:00:00.000+03:00' +'a5adfca72b653318790b00e50edb7ee795cf8fe1'|'Brazil''s Alesat ponders ways to fund expansion after takeover blocked-CEO'|'SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Alesat Combustveis SA, a Brazilian fuel distribution company whose takeover was blocked by antitrust regulators on Wednesday, is pondering how best to accelerate domestic expansion, including bringing in a partner to help close the gap with lager rivals, its chief executive officer said.CEO and shareholder Marcelo Alecrim said in an interview on Wednesday that watchdog Cade''s decision to reject Alesat''s takeover by Ultrapar Participaes SA "took me by surprise." The decision practically "kills the idea" of tying up Alesat with any of Brazil''s top-three gas station chains, he added.Alecrim said that, years prior to Alesat shareholders'' acceptance of Ultrapar''s 2.17 billion-real ($696 million) bid, the company held talks with France''s Total SA ( TOTF.PA ) and Bunge Ltd ( BG.N ) - which has domestic biofuels operations. Alesat, which is equally controlled by Alecrim and investment holding company Asamar SA, accepted Ultrapar''s bid over a year ago."We may discuss partnerships, but that is not a priority now," Alecrim said. The company has 12.5 billion reais in annual revenue and may consider issuing debt in local markets to fund expansion, he added.The failed deal underscores how Brazilian authorities have turned tougher with deals that could give large conglomerates extra market power. On June 28, the majority of Cade''s board rejected Kroton Educacional SA''s purchase of smaller rival Estcio Participaes SA, a deal that would have created the world''s No. 1 for-profit education firm.Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer and Alberto Alerigi Jr.; Writing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by James Dalgleish'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-alesat-m-a-idINKBN1AI2VQ'|'2017-08-02T20:11:00.000+03:00' +'379ba40a4e901bb6a2602763f92ab7cc2c8ba021'|'Uber''s Graves stepping down from full-time job, stays on board'|' 22 PM / 20 minutes ago Uber''s Graves stepping down from full-time job, stays on board 1 Min Read SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Ride services company Uber Technologies Inc''s head of operations, Ryan Graves, a long-time ally of former chief executive Travis Kalanick, is stepping down from his full-time operations job, according to a copy of a letter from Graves to Uber employees obtained by CNBC. Graves will, however, continue to serve on Uber''s board, it said. (Reporting by Peter Henderson, editing by G Crosse) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/uber-graves-idUSL1N1KW1DG'|'2017-08-10T20:22:00.000+03:00' +'f03a376ecc3ec674519090f03a8d11261a4b8833'|'Moody''s says G20 GDP growth to exceed three percent, warns of geopolitical risks'|'August 30, 2017 / 3:46 AM / 3 hours ago Moody''s says G20 GDP growth to exceed three percent, warns of geopolitical risks Reuters Staff 3 Min Read A Moody''s sign is displayed on 7 World Trade Center, the company''s corporate headquarters in New York, February 6, 2013. Brendan McDermid HONG KONG (Reuters) - Moody''s Investors Service kept its forecast for G20 economic growth at just over 3 percent for this year and next, but warned of geopolitical risks, U.S. protectionism and spillovers from global monetary tightening and China''s deleveraging measures. The ratings agency said surprisingly strong data in the first half of the year prompted it to raise 2017 growth forecasts for China to 6.8 percent from 6.6 percent, for South Korea to 2.8 percent from 2.5 percent, and for Japan to 1.5 percent from 1.1 percent. It also expected the euro zone to accelerate in the rest of the year as suggested by robust sentiment indicators and revised upwards its forecasts for Germany, France and Italy. The agency cut its forecast for the United States, however, to 2.2 percent in 2017 and 2.3 percent in 2018 from a previous 2.4 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively, citing its weaker-than-expected first half performance and expectations of more modest fiscal stimulus than previously assumed. "The balance of risks is more favourable than it was at the beginning of the year," Moody''s said. "However, we note event risks related to conflicts in the Korean Peninsula, the South China Sea, and the Middle East." "The test firing of missiles by North Korea, intensification of aggressive rhetoric on both sides, and a hardline stance from the Trump administration have raised the risk of a conflict in the Korean Peninsula." The agency also said there appeared to be "renewed momentum" to address bilateral trade issues that the Donald Trump administration deemed as unfair trade practices, which could hurt growth if wide-ranging measures were introduced. For markets, it warned of risks of increased volatility due to historically elevated asset prices and broad investor expectations that interest rates would remain low even as the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank said they were preparing to start rolling back unconventional stimulus. While raising its China forecasts, the agency warned the economy has become increasingly reliant on new debt to foster growth. The agency downgraded China''s ratings by one notch to A1 in May, saying the financial strength of the economy would erode in coming years. The agency revised its India forecast slightly lower to 7.1 percent as the government''s demonetisation move last year led to several months of acute shortages for manufacturing and construction firms in particular, although it said it expected the impact to ease in coming months. Reporting by Marius Zaharia; Editing by Jacqueline Wong '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-moody-s-ratings-global-idUKKCN1BA0BC'|'2017-08-30T06:46:00.000+03:00' +'7a85316af501261fc47e24af0edf2386376264fe'|'China''s stable economic performance should continue in H2 - stats bureau'|'FILE PHOTO: A woman walks next to a McDonald''s restaurant and a Starbucks coffee store at a shopping mall in Shanghai, China July 28, 2014. Carlos Barria/File Photo BEIJING (Reuters) - China''s stable economic performance should continue in the second half of this year and the overheated property market has cooled somewhat, a spokesman of National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.China created 8.55 million new jobs in the January-July period, and the July survey-based unemployment rate in major cities was under 5 percent, Mao Shengyong told a news conference.Reporting by Elias Glenn; Editing by Jacqueline Wong'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/china-economy-idINKCN1AU09L'|'2017-08-14T06:25:00.000+03:00' +'22cf1968f039c65fb1e3d94ba777408f6f54e1a6'|'UK watchdog appoints funds critic to come up with fee disclosure format'|'August 2, 2017 / 1:58 PM / 11 minutes ago UK watchdog appoints funds critic to come up with fee disclosure format Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The logo of the new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is seen at the agency''s headquarters in the Canary Wharf business district of London April 1, 2013. Chris Helgren LONDON (Reuters) - Britain''s markets watchdog has asked an academic who accused the funds industry of being in "collective denial" over fees to come up with a common format for asset managers to publish their charges. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is scrutinising the 6 trillion pound sector to see how it can offer better value for money. Making it easier for investors to compare charges is one way of doing this. "We want to see more consistent and standardised disclosure of costs and charges to institutional investors," the FCA said on its website on Wednesday. The watchdog said it has appointed Chris Sier, a professor at Newcastle University Business School, to chair a working group of industry and investor representatives to agree a template for fund managers to disclose their costs and charges. "Dr Sier... is an expert in pension scheme costs and charges who has worked closely with the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) in developing their template for institutional disclosure," the FCA said. Sier is also the government''s "fintech" envoy for the north of England. The new group will be assembled by Sier and will start meeting in September. It should agree on a template for "mainstream" asset managers by year end, the FCA said. Sier told Reuters last year that the funds sector was in "collective denial" over fees. "If the asset management industry thinks things are going to carry on the way they are, they are sad, they are wrong," he said at the time, adding he had previously been threatened with lawsuits and had his phone tapped by an asset manager upset with his work. Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Susan Fenton 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-funds-regulations-idUKKBN1AI1SH'|'2017-08-02T16:58:00.000+03:00' +'68ddad8bf0491e44feec5a937ee1227f3ceb889e'|'Solaris Oilfield Infrastructure posts Q2 earnings $0.01/ Class A share'|'Aug 14 (Reuters) - Solaris Oilfield Infrastructure Inc* Solaris Oilfield Infrastructure Inc announces second quarter 2017 results* Q2 revenue $13.4 million versus I/B/E/S view $12.3 million* Solaris Oilfield Infrastructure Inc qtrly earnings per share of Class A common stock $0.01* Solaris Oilfield Infrastructure Inc - expects to end year with a system count between 68 to 72 systems, up from previous outlook of 60 to 64 systems* Q2 earnings per share view $0.08 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-solaris-oilfield-infrastructure-po-idUSASB0BFJN'|'2017-08-14T20:29:00.000+03:00' +'83fc89b1408c73b9f6a7933fb555e99e0239743c'|'Swiss bank Julius Baer opens UK offices to seize on Brexit nerves'|'August 3, 2017 / 12:27 PM / 4 hours ago Swiss bank Julius Baer opens UK offices to seize on Brexit nerves Joshua Franklin 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Logo of Swiss private bank Julius Baer is seen at an office building in Zurich, Switzerland July 24, 2016. Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss private Julius Baer ( BAER.S ) is opening three new UK offices as it looks to bank for wealthy residents spooked by uncertainty over Britain''s planned exit from the European Union. The offices will be in Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow while Julius Baer will also establish a small team in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the Zurich-based bank said in a statement on Thursday. Julius Baer had a UK presence only in London so far. A person familiar with the plans said Julius Baer would likely staff the offices with around 30 employees. Speaking last week, Chief Executive Boris Collardi had highlighted Britain as "one of the biggest opportunities for Julius Baer" because of the wider uncertainties created by Brexit. "The typical high-net-worth individual in the UK is feeling very uncertain about the future in terms of assets, in terms of currency risk, in terms of diversification and in terms of how they should be positioning themselves in this market," he said. It bucks a trend set by many investment banks planning to reduce their UK presence in anticipation of Brexit, a process which could cost banks their ability to serve the EU from London - commonly referred to as passporting rights. However, passporting rights are of less significance in private banking, where stability is one of the main priorities. Britain is one of the most attractive markets for private banks with the world''s fourth-largest population of millionaire households behind the United Sates, China and Japan, according to Boston Consulting Group. Two-thirds of Britain''s wealth is held by individuals outside of London and the southeast, said Julius Baer, Switzerland''s third-biggest private bank behind UBS ( UBSG.S ) and Credit Suisse ( CSGN.S ). UBS has UK offices in London, Birmingham, Newcastle, Manchester, Edinburgh and Leeds. Credit Suisse serves the UK market through its London office. Reporting by Joshua Franklin; Editing by Michael Shields 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-julius-baer-britain-idUKKBN1AJ1RT'|'2017-08-03T15:27:00.000+03:00' +'6eedabaf42fba03dc5f1213eb283279c7bf73b12'|'Exclusive: Exxon mulls Beaumont refinery crude unit addition'|'The Exxon Mobil gas station in Denver, Colorado United States July 28, 2017. Rick Wilking HOUSTON (Reuters) - ExxonMobil Corp is considering expanding light crude processing capacity at its Beaumont, Texas, refinery with the addition of a third crude distillation unit, a company spokeswoman said on Thursday.If approved, construction could begin on Unit C in 2019 and be completed in 2022, said Exxon spokeswoman Charlotte Huffaker. She declined to disclose the contemplated capacity or possible cost of the Unit C expansion."These investments reflect the increased availability of abundant, affordable supplies of U.S. light crude," Huffaker said.The expansion would be part of the $20-billion ''Growing the Gulf'' project announced in March by Exxon Chairman and Chief Executive Darren Woods.While Exxon has mentioned potential expansion of light oil refining capacity at the Beaumont plant as part of that project, this is the first time the company has talked about Unit C and given a timeline for possible construction.Since at least 2014, Exxon has been considering the addition of a large distillation unit that would boost Beaumont''s crude oil refining capacity from 362,300 barrels per day (bpd) to between 700,000 and 850,000 bpd, sources told Reuters in 2014 and 2015.The contemplated crude capacity expansion was put on hold in early 2016 due to cuts in capital spending, sources said at the time.On Thursday night, sources familiar with Exxon''s plans said the company was now looking at adding a large crude distillation unit at the refinery.The two crude units currently at the Beaumont refinery are Units A and B.The last major expansion of a U.S. refinery was the 5-year, $10-billion addition of a crude distillation unit and other units at Motiva Enterprises Port Arthur, Texas, refinery which more than doubled its size to 603,000 bpd. The expansion was completed in 2012.The Motiva expansion was originally budgeted at $5 billion, but went through a year-long review in 2009.Last year, Exxon added 20,000 bpd in light crude refining capacity to Unit A at the Beaumont refinery, Huffaker said.Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Joseph Radford'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/refinery-operations-exxon-beaumont-idINKBN1AK0ME'|'2017-08-04T10:13:00.000+03:00' +'13d355af451fed4c903f74e1908756e82ffb8db7'|'Diverging paths: As China''s big banks improve, smaller lenders lag'|'FILE PHOTO: People walk past the headquarters of the ICBC bank in Beijing, China June 12, 2017. Thomas Peter/File Photo SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - After a tough two years, China''s largest banks are reporting green shoots, with the top four turning in consensus-beating profits and promising an upbeat second half.But smaller, national and regional lenders - which control about a third of China''s banking assets - are still feeling the strain, hit by a regulatory crackdown on risky activity that has made it difficult to sell some products and access the capital on which they have often relied. Many have reported shrinking balance sheets after years of expansion.The result, analysts say, is likely to be a funding squeeze for China''s struggling firms, which have depended on these banks for life-or-death credit and could now be pushed to costlier borrowing or grey market offers."Small- and medium-sized companies would suffer along with smaller banks," said Du Yang, acting head of the asset management team at China Securities International.Lending may slow in any case into the second half, as some banks have exhausted most of their annual credit quota amid the push to bring shadow financing activities to the main loan book, raising the spectre of corporate defaults as financing costs climb in the world''s No.2 economy.And the pain, as ever, is likely to be concentrated in China''s rust-belt regions.Sophie Jiang, analyst at Nomura, however, believes smaller balance sheets at mid-tier and regional lenders will lead to better capital allocation, as inefficient firms are squeezed out. "We think this is good for the real economy."TWO HALVES For now, it is a tale of diverging paths."This year, there has been some differentiation among banks. Large banks have experienced relatively better stability in their operations," Fang Heying, the vice president of China CITIC Bank, told reporters last week.By contrast joint stock banks - smaller lenders that are not fully state-owned - have "generally seen a decline in revenue". Fang''s own bank saw operating income slip and assets shrink.At Shengjing Bank Co, a regional bank based in the northern province of Liaoning, first-half operating income fell almost 17 percent. Total assets, after increasing 29 percent in 2016, slowed to a more modest 3.7 percent growth.China Minsheng Bank, the nation''s biggest private lender, saw assets drop 2.18 percent in the first half, after increasing more than 30 percent in 2016. Deposits also fell."A lot of these small banks need to rely on the interbank market to seek their source of funding," said Ken Shih, a DBS analyst, adding that higher interest rates have also increased costs. Larger banks fare better.Indeed, most medium-sized listed banks reported contracting net interest margins (NIMs) - the difference between interest paid and earned, a key indicator of profitability.But recovery seems to have set in for the bigger players, such as Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) and Bank of China Ltd (BoC), that saw NIMs widen for the first time in more than two years, following six benchmark interest rate cuts in 2014-15.GOOD NEWS AT THE TOP The emerging gulf in the sector comes as China''s financial watchdogs unleash a ''regulatory storm'' aimed at controlling risk, reckless loans and at improving supervision.The government has focused particularly on non-traditional interbank borrowing and financing, a key source of balance sheet expansion for many smaller national and regional banks.Xiao Yuanqi, head of the prudential regulation bureau of the China Banking Regulatory Committee, has said the crackdown, including efforts to tighten disclosure rules on off-balance sheet wealth management products - a key component of shadow banking credit - was working."Taking the ox by the nose, we grasped the three main problems of the banking sector: interbank, wealth management products and off-balance-sheet business," Xiao said.But for the top lenders, pushing into the consumer segment with a boost in personal loans, 2017 still looks good, with asset quality, even overdue loans, improving.Bankers at ICBC, BoC and Bank of Communications Co Ltd (BoCom) expect core lending business to improve during the rest of this year.At the world''s largest bank, ICBC, personal loans were up 9 percent at the end of June from end-2016, helped by a 11.6 percent rise in residential mortgages.For China Construction Bank Corp, personal consumer loans more than doubled over the same period.Investor confidence in the biggest five state-owned banks has soared and fuelled a share price rally, led by ICBC which has gained more than 30 percent in Shanghai so far this year.Reporting by Engen Tham and Matthew Miller; Additional reporting by Shu Zhang; Editing by Clara Ferreira Marques and Himani Sarkar '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/china-banks-idINKCN1BB17W'|'2017-08-31T08:29:00.000+03:00' +'a98abb0943d6ba458b5eb7cd8bfa46f4e643e531'|'South Korea''s CJ buys Brazil soy protein maker from Chile''s Corpesca'|'SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian soy protein maker Selecta said its owners had sold a 90 percent stake to South Korea''s CJ CheilJedang Corp ( 097950.KS ) for 450 million reais ($143 million).CJ Chief Executive Officer Chul Ha Kim on Friday will host an event in Goiania, where Selecta is based, to provide additional details on its investment plans for Brazil.Chile''s Corpesca SA PES.SN sold its 60 percent stake, according to a statement from Selecta, one of the world''s largest producers of soy protein concentrate, which is used to produce animal feed.Minority shareholders also agreed to sell 30 percent of the company, which reports $360 million in annual revenue.Brazil''s agricultural sector has been a bright spot for an economy recovering from a brutal recession.Selecta said its name would change to CJ Selecta and that CJ had the option to acquire the remaining 10 percent stake in the next two years.The contract marks CJ''s debut in Brazil''s soy protein concentrate industry, where it already runs logistics, soy trading and bioscience businesses, Selecta said.The company, whose current soy processing capacity is 700,000 tonnes, said it expected to ramp up production by 50 percent with investments promised by the new owner.Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-selecta-m-a-cj-cheiljedang-idINKCN1B5296'|'2017-08-25T15:57:00.000+03:00' +'69e244e9d387d9c9e3d797f6357945a6ffab45b6'|'Oil prices flat as oversupply concerns linger'|'August 11, 2017 / 12:51 AM / an hour ago Oil prices drop as IEA sees slow market rebalancing 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A pump jack is seen at sunrise near Bakersfield, California October 14, 2014. Lucy Nicholson LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Friday after the International Energy Agency said weak OPEC compliance with production cuts was prolonging a rebalancing of the market despite strong demand growth. Brent crude LCOc1, the global benchmark, was at $51.83 a barrel at 1220 GMT, down 7 cents, having earlier fallen 50 cents or around 1 percent to its lowest since Aug. 1. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 was down 10 cents at $48.49 per barrel, having earlier dropped 1 percent to its lowest since July 26. Oil touched 2-1/2-month highs on Thursday but closed down around 1.5 percent, with U.S. prices slipping back below $50 amid oversupply concerns. "There would be more confidence that rebalancing is here to stay if some producers party to the output agreements were not, just as they are gaining the upper hand, showing signs of weakening their resolve," the IEA said in its monthly report. The IEA said OPEC''s compliance with the cuts in July had fallen to 75 percent, the lowest since those curbs began in January. It cited weak compliance by Algeria, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates. In addition, OPEC member Libya, which is exempt from the cuts, steeply increased output. "Crude oil prices failed to hold recent gains, with a nervous market starting to doubt recent falls in inventories," ANZ bank said in a note. "Supply-side issues also weighed on prices." The IEA also said it had revised historic demand data for 2015-2016, meaning a lower demand base in 2017-2018 combined with unchanged high supply numbers could lead to lower stock draws than initially anticipated. Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said the kingdom did not rule out additional oil production cuts, the Saudi-owned Al Sharq Al Awsat newspaper reported. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump stepped up his rhetoric against North Korea again, saying his earlier threat to unleash "fire and fury" on Pyongyang if it launched an attack may not have been tough enough. "I think the issue that is affecting the market is the general risk sentiment of sabre-rattling between Washington and Pyongyang," said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets. Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Dale Hudson and Jason Neely 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-oil-idUKKBN1AR01R'|'2017-08-11T03:51:00.000+03:00' +'d313c86467f89582dd19c3403da57743ec6ccb19'|'EMERGING MARKETS-Mexico peso slips to nearly 1-month low on NAFTA jitters'|'By Miguel Gutierrez MEXICO CITY, Aug 7(Reuters) - Mexico''s peso slipped to a nearly one-month low against the dollar on Monday as the impending start of talks to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement gave the market a renewed bout of jitters. The peso sank to a record low in January on fears that U.S. President Donald Trump would rip up NAFTA, but it has rallied as his administration has taken a more conciliatory tone and moved to renegotiate the 23-year-old accord. However, market participants are again taking a more cautious tone as Canada, Mexico and the United States are due to start talks in Washington on Aug. 16 to revamp NAFTA, which underpins some $1 trillion in annual trilateral trade. The peso fell as much as 0.47 percent on Monday to 17.9910 to the dollar, its weakest intraday level since July 11. "Over the next two weeks, the main risk for the peso will be the comments related to the NAFTA renegotiation," said Banco BASE analyst Gabriela Siller. "If the initial talks between Mexico and the United States seem cooperative, the peso could gain ground towards the end of the month." In Brazil, the benchmark Bovespa stock index rose 1.03 percent, breaking above 67,500 points, as mining and steel shares gained. Still, market observers remained vigilant about ongoing investigations targeting Brazilian President Michel Temer, who is trying to push through overhauls of the nation''s pension and tax laws to close a gaping budget deficit and get an economic recovery back on track. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1636 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % change change Latest MSCI Emerging Markets 1074.36 0.67 23.77 MSCI LatAm 2792.59 0.51 18.71 Brazil Bovespa 67647.72 1.12 12.32 Mexico S&P/BVM IPC 51411.20 0.16 12.64 Chile IPSA 5107.97 0.03 23.04 Chile IGPA 25480.89 0 22.89 Argentina MerVal 21722.67 0.09 28.40 Venezuela IBC 195693.89 10.9 517.23 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.1257 -0.03 3.95 Mexico peso 17.9510 -0.25 15.56 Chile peso 650.4 0.03 3.12 Peru sol 3.243 0.06 5.27 Argentina peso (interbank) 17.7250 -0.28 -10.44 Argentina peso (parallel) 18.18 -0.17 -7.48 (Reporting by Miguel Gutierrez; Writing by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-latam-idINL1N1950O1'|'2017-08-07T15:19:00.000+03:00' +'bd6b84121d6c3be681e689f7f54d82ea7d97da9c'|'Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions'|'Aug 15 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1300 GMT on Tuesday:** Warren Buffett''s Berkshire Hathaway Inc said it added a stake in Synchrony Financial, boosting its bet on the credit card industry, and shed its investment in the company''s former parent, General Electric Co.** Transocean, one of the world''s biggest drilling rig operators, has agreed a deal to buy Norwegian competitor Songa Offshore for 9.1 billion Norwegian crowns ($1.1 bln), the two companies said on Tuesday.** Corvex Management threatened a proxy battle against Energen Corp if the U.S. oil and gas producer did not agree to add the activist investor''s nominees to its board.** Slovak government leaders have agreed on a timetable to change their coalition agreement, a government spokeswoman said on Tuesday, a step toward ending a political crisis after one junior party quit the coalition last week.** Britain''s second largest supermarket group Sainsbury''s has suspended bid talks with wholesaler Nisa until it has a clear idea of whether the competition regulator will approve takeovers in the fast-growing convenience sector.** Shares in Bahrain''s GFH Financial Group fell sharply on Tuesday as the firm said it had acquired $1.2 billion of infrastructure assets in Africa and the Middle East by increasing its capital, diluting minority shareholders.** Bulgaria plans to launch a tender to sell its abandoned 2,000 megawatt nuclear power project Belene in early 2018, Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova said on Tuesday.** Shareholders in Latvian gas utility Latvijas Gaze voted on Tuesday to separate its gas distribution business from gas sales to comply with European Union competition rules.** Struggling German airline Air Berlin filed for insolvency on Tuesday after years of losses caught up with it and shareholder Etihad withdrew funding, with rival Lufthansa saying it was in talks to take over parts of its business.** Britain''s second largest supermarket group Sainsbury''s has suspended bid talks with wholesaler Nisa until it has a clear idea of whether the competition regulator will approve takeovers in the fast-growing convenience sector.** CCR SA''s second-quarter net income more than quadrupled from a year earlier to 667 million reais ($209 million) after Brazil''s biggest toll road operator bought its partner''s stakes in a Sao Paulo subway and Rio de Janeiro roads, according to a securities filing on Monday.** Activist hedge fund Corvex Management owns shares in French food group Danone SA worth about $400 million, viewing the world''s largest yogurt maker as significantly undervalued, Bloomberg reported late on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.** Japanese insurer MS&AD said it has agreed to buy 6.3 percent of Australian annuity provider Challenger Ltd for A$500 million ($393 million), to tap the growing market for managing retirement savings.** Amec Foster Wheeler Plc''s proposal to sell almost all of its upstream offshore oil and gas servicing assets may be adequate for regulatory approval of its merger with John Wood Group Plc, the UK''s Competition And Markets Authority (CMA) said.** German industrial gases group Linde said the 10-week acceptance period for its proposed $74 billion merger with U.S. peer Praxair started on Tuesday and would run through Oct. 24. (Compiled by Roopal Verma in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/deals-day-idINL4N1L1470'|'2017-08-15T11:22:00.000+03:00' +'220674f5ef9bd53db0da1b19b355c9dc61aa6587'|'UPDATE 1-Canada''s ultra-long bond attracts solid demand at C$750 mln auction'|'(Adds analyst Quote: s and details throughout)By Fergal SmithTORONTO, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Canada sold C$750 million of its ultra-long bond, the first reopening since November 2014, at an allotment yield of 2.220 percent, the Bank of Canada said after an auction on Tuesday.The value of bids submitted by distributors of government securities for the 2.75 percent bond, which matures on Dec. 1, 2064, was more than C$2 billion to leave a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.72."There was pretty good demand for the bond," said Jimmy Jean, senior economist at Desjardins Capital Markets.Reopening of the ultra-long bond comes after the Bank of Canada raised interest rates last month for the first time in nearly seven years, pushing up borrowing costs for shorter-dated issues. Meanwhile, yields on longer-dated bonds have held at historically low levels."The government has chosen to seize on that opportunity," Jean said.The difference between the 2-year yield and the 30-year yield has narrowed by more than 50 basis points this year to a spread of 103 basis points.Ultra-long bonds have a term to maturity of 40 years or more and are not as common as 30-year issuance. Canada is one of the few leading industrialized nations with an undisputed AAA rating, and its bonds are in high demand.C$4.25 billion was outstanding on the 2064 bond after the auction. The low yield was 2.150 percent, while the median was 2.197 percent.Details on Bank of Canada webpage: here (Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Andrew Hay) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/canada-bonds-idINL2N1LF150'|'2017-08-29T15:45:00.000+03:00' +'0794c5b40638317cb4e61c1d6d21f83945c43eaf'|'Brazil lower house approves main text of new BNDES benchmark rate'|'August 24, 2017 / 4:30 PM / 14 minutes ago Brazil lower house approves main text of new BNDES benchmark rate Reuters Staff 1 Min Read BRASILIA, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Brazil''s lower house of Congress on Thursday approved the main text of a bill creating a market-based benchmark rate for state lender BNDES, in a major victory for President Michel Temer. The proposal is one of Temer''s top priorities to fix the country''s long-term public finances and pave the way for lower interest rates as it reduces the scope for discretionary subsidies through BNDES lending. (Reporting by Silvio Cascione) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-economy-bndes-idUSE4N1IY00Z'|'2017-08-24T19:28:00.000+03:00' +'d48889b8ed0189854d906c0d60788a484ab31924'|'Online lenders upbeat about turnaround progress, but worries linger'|'August 8, 2017 / 12:03 AM / in 18 hours Online lenders upbeat about turnaround progress, but worries linger Anna Irrera and David French 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A woman looks at her phone as she passes by a Lending Club banner on the facade of the the New York Stock Exchange December 11, 2014. Brendan McDermid/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - LendingClub Corp and OnDeck Capital Inc surprised investors on Monday with strong growth forecasts that sent the online lenders'' stocks soaring, but analysts said the sector''s health was still a concern. Online lenders soared in popularity after the financial crisis when banks pulled back from traditional lending and borrowers sought other options. But rising delinquencies have made it harder to raise funds for fresh loans, prompting the sector to review its business model, which tends to attract borrowers with low credit quality. LendingClub, which serves individuals, and OnDeck, which caters to small businesses, are cutting costs and trying to attract borrowers with better credit. Executives of both companies were upbeat about the progress in their turnaround plans after they reported second-quarter results. "It''s great to be back to growth," LendingClub Chief Executive Scott Sanborn said in an interview. "We are excited about the momentum building in the business and the massive opportunity that lies ahead." Sanborn took on the CEO role last year after his predecessor, LendingClub founder Renaud Laplanche, was ousted in a scandal over disclosures and potential conflicts of interest. In a post-earnings interview, OnDeck CEO Noah Breslow called it "a positive quarter." "We have done a lot of work to restructure the business," he said. OnDeck shares closed 18.5 percent higher at $5, and LendingClub ended up 4.8 percent $5.46. The stocks rose in after-hours trading but remain far below their initial public offering prices of $20 and $15, respectively. On conference calls, analysts probed executives about their forecasts, questioning whether online lenders could deliver on promises for loan growth, credit quality and profitability. While OnDeck''s initiatives were bearing fruit, the company remains a "''show me'' story for investors," BTIG analyst Mark Palmer wrote in a research note. Prosper Marketplace Inc, another online lender, has been looking to raise a new round of funding in exchange for equity at a price that would slash its market value by more than 70 percent, people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday. The sources requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. The Information first reported last week on Prosper''s fundraising effort. Earnest Corp is looking to sell itself for $200 million, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, far less than the $300 million it has raised from investors. The sector has been expected to consolidate for several months, and mergers could be on the horizon, venture capitalists, investment bankers and analysts said in recent weeks. In theory, companies can improve profits by merging because they would need to spend less money on marketing and technology, and be able reach more customers. "There have been too many princes wanting to be kings and they will not all be successful," Ryan Gilbert, partner of financial technology venture capital firm Propel Venture Partners, said in an interview. Reporting by Anna Irrera and David French; Writing by Lauren Tara LaCapra; Editing by Richard Chang 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-online-lenders-results-idUSKBN1AN2LN'|'2017-08-08T03:04:00.000+03:00' +'7b9893fa47cf61831c6375b2e98cfa5c39cb4bc0'|'Insurer AXA says first-half net income rises two percent'|'Edition United States August 3, 2017 / 5:22 AM / in 16 minutes Insurer AXA says first half net income rises 2 percent Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The AXA logo is seen at its headquarters in Melbourne May 31, 2010. Mick Tsikas/File Photo PARIS (Reuters) - AXA, Europe''s second-biggest insurer, reported a 2 percent rise in net profit for the first half of the year, helped by higher asset management and property and casualty earnings, and by lower restructuring costs. Net income rose to 3.27 billion euros ($3.9 billion) in the first half of 2017, while revenues rose 0.5 percent to 54.28 billion euros. "We are very confident in our capacity to reach our targets, according to the Ambition 2020 plan," AXA''s chief financial officer Gerald Harlin told reporters on a conference call. Reporting by Maya Nikolaeva and Matthieu Protard; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-axa-sa-results-idUKKBN1AJ0GW'|'2017-08-03T08:13:00.000+03:00' +'c6d8534c0d0ba3ca86b824041fc275fec2160bbb'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX slides at open as riskier assets shunned'|'TORONTO, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Canada''s main stock index opened lower on Friday, as investors fled to safety amid global geopolitical uncertainties, with the heavily weighted financial stocks leading broad declines.The Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index fell 69.62 points, or 0.46 percent, to 14,964.02.Materials was the only group that advanced out of the index''s 10 main sectors, as gold mining stocks benefited from higher safe-haven gold prices. (Reporting by Solarina Ho; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-open-idINL2N1L40JV'|'2017-08-18T11:37:00.000+03:00' +'b3aa1e449ab7d08daa9fb8655dcde66f6bdb698f'|'Expedia picks CFO Okerstrom to replace Khosrowshahi as CEO'|'August 30, 2017 / 9:23 PM / an hour ago Expedia picks CFO Okerstrom to replace Khosrowshahi as CEO Reuters Staff 1 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Visitors browse at the stand of global online travel brand Expedia during the International Tourism Trade Fair (ITB) in Berlin, Germany, March 9, 2016. Fabrizio Bensch (Reuters) - Expedia Inc ( EXPE.O ) named Chief Financial Officer Mark Okerstrom as its new chief executive, replacing Dara Khosrowshahi, who left to take over the top job at Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL]. Khosrowshahi, who led the travel-booking site for 12 years, will continue to be a board member, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. Okerstrom, who has been Expedia''s CFO and executive vice president of operations for the last six years, was also named to the company''s board, the travel-booking site said. "There was no other candidate that the board considered," Expedia Chairman Barry Diller said. Okerstrom was Khosrowshahi''s "principal partner" in running Expedia, the company said. During Khosrowshahi''s tenure, Expedia became the largest online travel agency by bookings and its stock price grew more than six-fold. Expedia shares were marginally up in extended trading on Wednesday. Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D''Silva'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-expedia-ceo-idUKKCN1BA2VI'|'2017-08-31T01:04:00.000+03:00' +'630ca5f0a20e1aaf5ae3824374c408e734b85efd'|'British online betting company 888 fined $1 million for failing to protect customers'|' 36 PM / 21 minutes ago British online betting company 888 fined $1 million for failing to protect customers Reuters Staff 3 Min Read (Reuters) - British online betting company 888 Holdings was fined a record 7.8 million pounds ($10 million) on Thursday for failing to protect vulnerable customers from addictive gambling. Britain''s Gambling Commission said that a technical glitch in 888''s system allowed more than 7,000 customers between October 2015 and September 2016 to keep accessing one of 888''s platforms, and deposit 3.5 million pounds, even though they had chosen to be excluded from it. The issue went undetected for a "prolonged period of time" during which those customers were able to gamble 50.6 million pounds in total, using deposits and recycled winnings, the commission said. Its fine of 7.8 million pounds was the highest it has ever handed out to a company. 888 operates two separate technological platforms: one for casino, poker and sport and a separate one for bingo. However, the glitch meant people who excluded themselves from the casino, poker and sport platform still had access to these accounts on their bingo platform. In addition, the commission said that 888 also failed to recognise visible signs of problem gambling behaviour displayed by an individual customer, which was so significant that it resulted in criminal activity. The commission said that the particular individual customer staked over 1.3 million pounds -- 55,000 pounds stolen from an employer -- and gambled over three to four hours a day over a 13-month period. The fine of 7.8 million pounds includes repayment of the 3.5 million pounds of deposits made by the 7,000 customers affected and compensation of 62,000 pounds to the employer from whom money was stolen. 888 agreed to pay a further 4.25 million pounds to a socially responsible cause to invest in measures to tackle gambling-related harm. Sarah Harrison, chief executive at the Gambling Commission said, "safeguarding consumers is not optional" and said the fine will ensure that "lessons are learnt". 888 said in a statement that it accepted the conclusion of the review. Gambling companies in the UK made over 13 billion pound between October 2015 and September 2016, according to data from the commission. Charities have warned that fixed-odds betting machines are highly addictive and can enable gamblers to lose hundreds of pounds in less than a minute. Britain''s ministry for culture, media and sports, which regulates the gambling industry, launched a consultation last October into the maximum wagers that should be allowed on gambling machines, including those known as fixed-odds betting terminals. Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Susan Fenton'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-888-holdings-fine-idUKKCN1BB21U'|'2017-08-31T17:36:00.000+03:00' +'6b0d4267a03d910700268c9fb8e58884b1923108'|'Britain to dodge recession but pay to keep getting squeezed'|'August 10, 2017 / 5:53 AM / 17 minutes ago Britain to dodge recession but pay to keep getting squeezed: Reuters poll 3 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The City of London is seen from Canary Wharf, Britain May 17, 2017. Stefan Wermuth/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will avoid recession in the coming year but economic growth is expected to lag the euro zone, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday. Consumers will feel the pinch from wage increases failing to keep up with rising prices. It is just over a year since Britons voted to leave the European Union, a decision that has knocked around 13 percent from sterling''s value, in turn driving inflation well above the Bank of England''s 2 percent target as imports became more expensive. Inflation will peak at 2.9 percent in the last quarter of 2017, according to the poll of almost 70 economists taken this week, but that won''t push the central bank to tighten its ultra-loose monetary policy anytime soon. Bank Rate was cut to a record low 0.25 percent in the months after the Brexit referendum and won''t be lifted until 2019, the poll found. "UK monetary policy is likely to be (as it should be) ''data dependent''," said Simon Wells at HSBC. "The data are likely to stay fairly weak as consumers continue to face an income squeeze and firms wait for more clarity on the Brexit deal before growing investment rapidly." Consumers played a key role in driving economic growth last year but pay increases have been lagging inflation, something that is expected to continue. Wages will rise 2.2 percent this year and 2.5 percent next whereas inflation will average 2.7 percent in 2017 and 2.6 percent in 2018, according to medians. The BoE forecasts wages will rise 3.0 percent next year. BREXIT WOUND Reuters polls over the past few months have repeatedly said a disorderly Brexit, where no deal is reached when the two years of talks are due to conclude, would be the worst outcome for sterling and Britain''s economy. Negotiations over leaving the EU have not begun well due to disagreements among Prime Minister Theresa May''s team of ministers about the kind of deal they should be seeking, a former top British diplomat said this week. In the first full round of Brexit talks last month there was little compromise between the two sides on key disputes and the lack of clarity around how the divorce ends has stopped firms from investing. BoE Governor Mark Carney has said uncertainty about Brexit -- in particular, lower investment by companies -- meant the economy could not grow as fast as before without pushing up inflation. But the economy is still expected to grow, albeit slowly, and there is a median likelihood of a recession in the coming year of just 20 percent. Only two economists polled -- at Fathom Consulting and BayernLB -- gave a forecast above 50 percent. Britain''s economy -- one of the fastest growing among the Group of Seven rich nations last year but now one of the slowest -- will expand just 0.3 percent per quarter through to the middle of next year, the poll found. That compares with predicted 0.4 percent per quarter forecasts for the euro zone. Reporting by Jonathan Cable Polling by Sarmista Sen and Anisha Sheth; Editing by Ross Finley/Jeremy Gaunt 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-economy-poll-idUKKBN1AQ0HL'|'2017-08-10T08:48:00.000+03:00' +'2f6bca7097d4f193e075b12ee717567e4ce877bc'|'Dollar, Asia shares find relief in U.S. economic rebound'|' 47 AM / 5 minutes ago U.S. data sends stocks higher; yields slip Saqib Iqbal Ahmed 4 Min Read Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., August 31, 2017. Brendan McDermid NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose and Treasury prices gained slightly on Thursday after data showed U.S. inflation increased at its slowest pace since late 2015, boosting expectations that the Federal Reserve will hold off from increasing interest rates again this year. The dollar gave up early gains against a basket of major currencies, and gold prices rose as simmering tensions on the Korean peninsula supported sentiment. U.S. consumer spending rose slightly less than expected in July and annual inflation increased at its slowest pace since late 2015. Investors'' focus will then turn to the monthly U.S. payrolls report, to be released on Friday. "The outlook for the U.S. and the global economy remains relatively positive and most investors do not see a recession ahead," said Michael Sheldon, chief investment officer of RDM Financial Group at HighTower. "Given that backdrop, equity markets are likely to grind higher over the next few quarters and pullbacks are likely to be bought by investors." U.S. stocks extended gains after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said President Donald Trump''s administration has a detailed plan on tax reform and is still on track to execute the agenda by the end of this year. "Even if investors aren''t taking him at his word they expect him to do all he can. This is a market that has heard tax reform so often. It wants to see if they can deliver," said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey. MSCI''s world index .MIWD PUS, which tracks shares in 46 countries, was up 0.6 percent, and touched a three week high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 59.76 points, or 0.27 percent, to 21,952.19, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 14.06 points, or 0.57 percent, to 2,471.65 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 57.33 points, or 0.9 percent, to 6,425.64. European stocks rallied after Reuters reported that the euro''s rapid gains are worrying a growing number of European Central Bank policymakers, raising the chance asset purchases will be phased out only slowly. The pan-European STOXX 600 closed up 0.77 percent. The euro EUR= , which hit a more than 2-1/2-year high against the dollar on Tuesday, slipped on the Reuters report, before recovering to trade up 0.18 percent at $1.1902. The dollar index .DXY, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, weakened after the U.S. inflation data. The index was 0.21 percent lower on the day at 92.686, having risen as high as 93.347. The weaker dollar and continued security concerns related to North Korea helped gold prices rise. Spot gold XAU= was up 0.83 percent at $1,319.22 an ounce. In the bond market, benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes US10YT=RR were up 4/32 in price to yield 2.133 percent, down from 2.145 percent on Wednesday. Trading volumes were relatively low, however, with some investors reluctant to buy Treasuries given yields are near their lowest since November. Gasoline futures RBc1 surged 13.5 percent as almost a quarter of U.S. refining capacity remained offline due to Tropical Storm Harvey and traders scrambled to reroute millions of barrels of fuel. U.S. crude CLc1 settled up $1.27 or 2.76 percent, at $47.23 a barrel and Brent traded up $1.45 or 2.85 percent at $52.31 Reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed; Additional reporting by Karen Brettell and Sam Forgione in New York and Sruthi Shankar and Tanya Agrawal in Bengaluru; Editing by James Dalgleish'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUKKCN1BB02Y'|'2017-08-31T03:55:00.000+03:00' +'a6d913a3b9a3184df98c368e2fb7d344eec0a1b7'|'Toshiba auditor to split opinion on finances, governance - sources'|' 08 AM / 32 minutes ago Toshiba auditor to split opinion on finances, governance - sources Reuters Staff 1 logo of Toshiba Corp is seen at an electronics store in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, June 25, 2013. Toru Hanai/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - The auditor for Toshiba Corp ( 6502.T ) is likely to sign off on the conglomerate''s annual results while giving a thumbs down on the corporate governance behind a series of crises for the group, people with direct knowledge of the discussions said on Tuesday. PricewaterhouseCoopers Aarata LLC will give a "qualified opinion" endorsing Toshiba''s finances in the financial statement for the year ended in March, the two sources told Reuters. That will end a limbo in which the auditor withheld its opinion as it checked problems during the year, which bankrupted Toshiba''s U.S. nuclear unit in December. However, PwC will give an "adverse statement" on the company''s internal controls, they said. The auditor could not be reached for comment outside business hours. Reporting by Taro Fuse; Writing by William Mallard; Editing by Susan Fenton 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-toshiba-accounting-idUKKBN1AO16D'|'2017-08-08T14:08:00.000+03:00' +'8ac04863a0313070baf81fb7652a33e2f94e0a03'|'JGBs inch down, taking cue from Treasuries'|'TOKYO, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Japanese government bonds edged down on Monday, taking their lead from weaker U.S. Treasuries after last week''s strong employment data as investors awaited the next session''s 30-year JGB sale.U.S. yields rose on Friday after the July jobs reports showed that U.S. employers hired more workers than expected last month, and wage growth met economists'' expectations.The 10-year cash JGB yield rose half a basis point to 0.065 percent, while the September 10-year JGB futures contract finished 0.02 point lower at 150.24.In the superlong zone, the 20-year JGB yield inched up half a basis point to 0.575 percent, while the 30-year JGB yield added 1 basis point to 0.875 percent.The Ministry of Finance will auction 800 billion yen ($7.23 billion) of 30-year JGBs on Tuesday.The 5-year JGB yield added half a basis point to minus 0.060 percent. ($1 = 110.7000 yen) (Reporting by Tokyo markets team; Editing by Eric Meijer)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/japan-bonds-idINL4N1KT2C3'|'2017-08-07T04:18:00.000+03:00' +'1159be742e7c2adb67874aab9b0e41900dadfc2b'|'UPDATE 1-Philadelphia refiner, grappling with debt, says operations uninterrupted -letter'|'(Adds company comment)By Jarrett RenshawNEW YORK, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Philadelphia Energy Solutions will continue to operate its refinery without interruption as it seeks ways to tackle its debt burden, the company''s chief executive officer told employees in a letter reviewed by Reuters.It followed a Reuters report on Tuesday which said that the company tapped investment bank PJT Partners Inc for advice on dealing with its near-term debt maturities, including a $550 million loan that comes due in 2018."PES is in the midst of an ongoing process to assess our capital structure with the goal of improving financial flexibility," CEO Greg Gatta told employees in the letter dated Aug. 1. "We have engaged financial and legal advisors and are working constructively with our lenders to find a solution that will support the business for years to come."Gatta cited the Reuters report as the impetus for the letter.The PES-owned refinery, located in South Philadelphia, is the largest on the East Coast. It has a capacity of 335,000 barrels per day.When asked about the letter, a PES spokeswoman said the company''s examining its debt amid industry challenges but does not expect operations to be disrupted.The latest developments come five years after private equity firm Carlyle Group LP and Energy Transfer Partners LP''s Sunoco Inc cut a deal, supported by tax breaks and grants, to rescue the refinery owner from bankruptcy.The company had success in the initial years but has been whipsawed by weakening discounts on Bakken crude, high regulatory costs associated with the U.S. renewable fuel standard program and an industry-wide downturn, Gatta said. (Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by W Simon, Bernard Orr)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/philadelphia-energy-solutions-refinery-r-idINL1N1KO1FW'|'2017-08-02T16:24:00.000+03:00' +'f75ade088f5bb7a1cf32f7f5882aa9c2d587ffac'|'Codelco chairman says cautious about short-term copper price'|'August 29, 2017 / 1:51 PM / 7 minutes ago Codelco chairman says cautious about short-term copper price Reuters Staff 1 Min Read SANTIAGO, Aug 29 (Reuters) - The chairman of Chilean state-owned copper company Codelco said on Tuesday that he is cautious about a recent rally in copper prices , even as he is more optimistic in the medium- and long-term. "I''m a little skeptical...in the short-term," Oscar Landerretche said a mining conference in Chilean capital Santiago. "It''s true that all of the fundamentals are good in the medium- and long-term...but I would be very cautious." (Reporting by Fabian Cambero; Writing by Gram Slattery; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/codelco-copper-idUSC0N1IK01F'|'2017-08-29T16:47:00.000+03:00' +'ec702b5791e7b192e99fc72950db0cad2f2a8bad'|'KKR to take PharMerica private in $1.4 billion deal'|'August 2, 2017 / 11:25 AM / in 18 minutes KKR to take PharMerica private in $1.4 billion deal 1 Min Read (Reuters) - PharMerica Corp ( PMC.N ), a U.S. pharmacy manager for long-term care facilities, said on Wednesday it agreed to be acquired by a newly formed company controlled by buyout firm KKR & Co LP ( KKR.N ) for $1.4 billion, including debt. Under the deal, PharMerica''s shareholders will receive $29.25 per share in cash, representing a 16.8 percent premium to the company''s Tuesday closing price. Drugstore chain operator Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc ( WBA.O ) will be a minority investor in the newly formed company. Reporting by Natalie Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/pharmeric-m-a-kkr-idINKBN1AI1EA'|'2017-08-02T09:25:00.000+03:00' +'965e50d3bbb333747188427c774e154aa8833b65'|'Efficiency eludes the construction industry'|'NINE years ago the first concrete was poured for Berlin Brandenburg airport. It was expected to open in 2012, to cost 1.2bn ($1.8bn) and to welcome 34m passengers each year. Today the only people in its terminals are those with hard hats. Six times over budget, the project has had 66,500 building errors in need of fixing. Last year its spokesman was sacked after calling the project a shit-show and saying no manager who was not addicted to pills could guarantee an opening date.Berlins airport is an extreme example of a broader problem. Superficially, the construction industry would seem healthy enough. The global market is worth $10trn. Euler Hermes, an insurer, expects 3.5% growth this year. Yet more than 90% of the worlds infrastructure projects are either late or over-budget, says Bent Flyvbjerg of Sad Business School at Oxford University. Even the sharpest of tech firms suffer. Apples new headquarters in Silicon Valley opened two years behind schedule and cost $2bn more than budgeted. Smaller projects have similar woes. One survey of British architects found that 60% of their buildings were late. an hour 11 13 16 19 hours ago Retail sales, producer prices, wages and exchange rates 21 hours ago See all updates Construction holds the dubious honour of having the lowest productivity gains of any industry, according to McKinsey, a consultancy. In the past 20 years the global average for the value-added per hour has inched up by 1% a year, about one-quarter the rate of growth in manufacturing. Trends in rich countries are especially bad. Over the same period Germany and Japan, paragons of industrial efficiency, have seen nearly no growth in construction productivity. In France and Italy productivity has fallen by one-sixth. In America, astonishingly, it has plunged by half since the late 1960s.Prices for building materials are not to blame. They are subtracted from measures of value-added (and have not risen in any case). The burden over time of complying with regulationapplying for permits, for instanceis only partly responsible. In America such rules account for one-eighth of the productivity lost since 1987, according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics.More culpable are two broader structural trends. First, the industry has become less capital-intensive, with workers replacing machinery. This shift is more understandable in countries with access to inexpensive labour. In Saudi Arabia, for example, it is cheaper to import workers from India or Pakistan than to buy machinery. In many countries, however, labour costs might be expected to spur firms to substitute workers with capital.Instead, volatility in demand for construction has trained builders to curb investment. The industry has learned through bitter experience to prepare for the next recession, says Luc Luyten of Bain & Company, a consultancy. Capital-heavy approaches to construction bring high fixed costs that are difficult to cut in downturns. Workers, in contrast, can be fired.The second big problem is that the industry has, for the most part, failed to consolidate. Efficient firms should theoretically squash laggards, yielding bigger, more productive companies. But construction is an industry that appears to have defied Adam Smith, says Mr Luyten. That is partly because building codes differ not just between countries but within them, which makes it harder to reap the benefits of scale. The customised nature of most projects further limits the usual advantages of size. Because the designs of most projects differ, contractors have to start from scratch for each one.America now has about 730,000 building outfits, with an average of ten employees each. In Europe there are 3.3m with an average of just four workers. Competition is fierce and profit margins are thinner than for any industry except retail. This fragmentation creates its own problems. Slim margins make investment even less likely. Often projects have more than a dozen subcontractors, each keen to maximise profit rather than collaborate to contain costs, says Thijs Asselbergs, a professor at Delft University of Technology.The result is an industry that raises prices for clients and mostly ignores tools that might improve productivity. While we are all using iPhones, construction is still in the Walkman phase, says Ben van Berkel, a Dutch architect. Many building professionals use hand-drawn plans riddled with errors. A builder of concrete-framed towers from the 1960s would find little has changed on building sites today, except for better safety standards.Examples of how the industry might move forward are not hard to find. More builders could use computer-aided design, as is standard among architects. Other methods are in earlier stages, but show promise, such as remote-controlled cranes and self-driving bulldozers (Komatsu, a Japanese equipment-maker, is developing the latter). A few niches, such as maritime construction, have shown how investments in technology and mass production can boost efficiency (see article ).On land, a few firms are mass-producing homes. BoKlok, a spin-off from IKEA, a Swedish flat-pack-furniture seller, does only one-fifth of its construction work on site; the rest is done in factories. Parts can be standardised and costs cut as a result. BoKlok reckons that it builds twice as quickly as the industry norm. An American firm called Katerra also builds prefabricated sections of apartments at a factory in Arizona. It helps that each firm does every stage of construction itself, rather than relying on a tangle of subcontractors.The fastest gains are in China. Labour productivity is racing ahead at 7% a year, albeit from a low base. Tightening labour supply has prompted firms to test automationWinSun, a construction company, has built flats using 3D printing. Modular building is also on the rise, with one company erecting a 57-storey tower in 19 days.However, such techniques remain unusual. For most firms, slim margins and the spectre of future downturns continue to restrain investment. Even for companies that do adopt new methods, growth may be limited by doubts about the quality of new techniques. A few modular towers in China have seen water seep between units. In Britain, past attempts at mass-produced housing are a sour memory: poorly built modular social housing from the 1960s has been demolished. British mortgage lenders shun homes built with non-traditional construction methods. BoKlok and Katerra hope their buildings will last a century. But perceptions, like so much else in construction, can be slow to change. "Least improved"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/business/21726714-american-builders-productivity-has-plunged-half-late-1960s-efficiency-eludes?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-08-17T22:47:00.000+03:00' +'094b6c9706f22b1a4ed6d537ac01179bf51e51b1'|'Japanese insurer Mitsui Sumitomo to buy First Capital for $1.6 billion from Canada''s Fairfax'|'Logos of Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company are seen at the company''s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, May 19, 2016. Toru Hanai/File Photo SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company Ltd has agreed to buy Singapore-based non-life insurer First Capital Insurance Ltd from Canada''s Fairfax Financial Holdings ( FFH.TO ) for $1.6 billion, underscoring growing appetite among Japanese insurers to expand outside their home markets.Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, the core firm of MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings ( 8725.T ), and Fairfax will also explore a broad global partnership in various areas, including reinsurance relationships, Fairfax said in a statement on Thursday.It said the all-cash purchase will result in a realized net investment gain of approximately $900 million after tax.First Capital, the largest non-life insurer in Singapore, writes both personal and commercial lines of non-life insurance business across various classes such as fire, marine hull, marine cargo, motor and personal accident.The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in late 2017 or early next year.Reporting by Anshuman Daga in SINGAPORE and Kanishka Singh in BENGALURU; Editing by Edwina Gibbs'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/fairfax-fin-sale-mitsui-sumitomo-idINKCN1B32RJ'|'2017-08-23T21:28:00.000+03:00' +'55a1cc708db8fad4510d7ff9cffcb9d7078250f5'|'Yancoal shareholder lodges complaint over raising for $2.69 billion Rio coal deal'|'SYDNEY (Reuters) - Hedge fund Senrigan Capital Management has asked Australian regulators to intervene in Yancoal Australia''s efforts to fund its $2.69 billion purchase of the Coal & Allied division of Rio Tinto, saying it is unfair to minority shareholders.Senrigan is seeking an order from Australia''s Takeovers Panel that a proposed renounceable entitlement offer to raise up $2.35 billion be prevented from proceeding in its current form without shareholder approval.A second minority shareholder, commodities trader Noble Group is also considering taking the deal to the Takeovers Panel, a source close to Noble said last week.The Takeovers Panel said in a statement it had made no decision whether to conduct proceedings. The entitlement offer is due to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 25.The purchase of the Rio assets would give Yancoal, which is 78 percent owned by Chinese coal giant Yanzhou Coal Mining Ltd, majority interests in three of the 10 largest low-cost thermal coal mining operations in Australia.The panel said Senrigan had submitted that the 23.6 for 1 renounceable entitlement offer priced at $0.10 a share, a deep discount to Yancoal''s share price before the announcement, was "unnecessarily highly dilutive and value shifting."The offer was also underwritten by two groups that were associates of Yanzhou, which could take its voting power in Yancoal from 78 percent to 89.15 percent, Senrigan said.The offer does not allow existing minority shareholders a "reasonable and equal opportunity to participate and is prejudicial to the ongoing ownership interests of existing minority shareholders," the fund said.Senrigan and Noble argued successfully before the Takeovers Panel in 2014 that a rights offer by Yancoal was part of a strategy to enable Yanzhou to convert notes into shares to allow for the compulsory acquisition of minority shareholdings without a shareholder vote.Senrigan founder Nick Taylor declined to comment on the application. Yancoal also declined comment.Separately, Glencore has agreed to buy a 49 percent interestin a key part of Coal & Allied, comprising a 16.6 percent stake directly from Yancoal and 32.4 percent from Mitsubishi Development Corp contingent on the deal going through.Reporting by James Regan; Editing by Richard Pullin'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-yancoal-australia-m-a-idINKBN1AP0O1'|'2017-08-09T05:30:00.000+03:00' +'8ceb080c2999cfbe2c0e402906f3304a58412bd1'|'Smartphone maker HTC exploring strategic options - Bloomberg'|'August 24, 2017 / 4:44 PM / 4 minutes ago Smartphone maker HTC exploring strategic options: Bloomberg Reuters Staff 2 Min Read The logo of HTC is seen at its store, in Taipei, Taiwan August 1, 2017. Tyrone Siu (Reuters) - Smartphone maker HTC Corp ( 2498.TW ) is exploring options that could range from spinning off its virtual reality (VR) business to selling itself, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. The Taiwanese firm is working with an adviser as it considers bringing in an investor or selling its Vive VR headset business, according to the Bloomberg report. ( bloom.bg/2iu4j9r ) A full sale of the company is less likely as it does not fit obviously with one buyer, Bloomberg reported. HTC''s market value has fallen almost 75 percent to $1.78 billion in the last five years as its smartphone business has suffered heavily. The company has been trying to turn around its business by focusing on high-end VR headsets. HTC has a 8.4 percent share of the AR/VR headset market, as of the first quarter of 2017, according to research firm IDC. Earlier in June, HTC said its VR headset will be compatible with Apple Inc''s ( AAPL.O ) High Sierra operating system, which is scheduled for release later this year. HTC competes with Sony Corp''s ( 6758.T ) PlayStation VR headset and Oculus'' Rift headset which retails in the same price range. HTC did not immediately respond to a request for comment, outside regular business hours. Reporting by Diptendu Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar and Shounak Dasgupta 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-htc-divestiture-idUSKCN1B423A'|'2017-08-24T19:39:00.000+03:00' +'fc08ef53830de2f63955ded7e2ef03482bb40b5c'|'Israeli real estate developer Gazit-Globe Q2 profit gains'|' 23 AM / 26 minutes ago Israeli real estate developer Gazit-Globe Q2 profit gains Reuters Staff 1 Min Read JERUSALEM, Aug 22 (Reuters) - * Gazit-Globe, Israel''s largest real-estate company, reported higher net profit in the second quarter due to the depreciation of a number of currencies versus the shekel. * Net profit rose to 371 million shekels ($102.5 million) from 97 million a year earlier. * Property rental income slipped 3.8 percent to 689 million shekels, while net operating income (NOI) adjusted for exchange rates grew 4.7 percent to 490 million shekels. * Economic FFO (funds from operation) adjusted for exchange rates gained 43 percent to 175 million shekels. * Gazit-Globe raised its outlook for economic FFO to 635-649 million shekels in 2017 from 606-626 million, or to 3.25-3.32 shekels per share from 3.10-3.20 shekels a share. * The company said it would pay a quarterly dividend of 0.35 shekel per share, unchanged from the first quarter. ($1 = 3.6210 shekels) (Reporting by Steven Scheer, editing by Louise Heavens) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/israeli-real-estate-developer-gazit-glob-idUSL8N1L82SV'|'2017-08-22T14:23:00.000+03:00' +'9affda08607ceaed24138055572ef7612c261c9f'|'Cochin Shipyard shares jump on trading debut after $225 million IPO'|'MUMBAI (Reuters) - Shares in Cochin Shipyard Ltd rose more than 20 percent on their trading debut on Friday after the state-run company''s 14.42 billion rupees ($224.7 million) initial public offering.The stock was trading at 528.15 rupees by 0432 GMT, 22.25 percent higher than its IPO issue price of 432 rupees. Retail investors were issued shares at a discounted price of 411 rupees.The shipbuilder, which also repairs ships, had seen strong investor interest in the IPO with the sale last week being subscribed more than 76 times.($1 = 64.1875 Indian rupees)Reporting by Swati Bhat and Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/cochin-shipyard-listing-idINKBN1AR0CZ'|'2017-08-11T08:23:00.000+03:00' +'a0a63bef44d5aef1476402d67a302fbeb8e255d1'|'Why I proudly support Nissan workers fight to form a union in Mississippi - Bernie Sanders - US news'|'A few months before the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Dr Martin Luther King Jr wrote in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail : We know from painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.This week, thousands of courageous workers at a Nissan plant in Canton, Mississippi, are doing just that . They are voting for the right to join a union, the right to make a living wage and the right to job security and pensions. And they are doing so by connecting workers rights with civil rights, as the plants workforce is over 80% African American.Bernie Sanders attacks ''greedy'' Nissan for anti-union campaign Read more But Nissan, like other large corporations, is doing everything it can to stop these workers from forming a union. In the lead up to the vote, Nissan management has been deluging employees with anti-union literature and is threatening to close the plant if a majority of its workers vote to establish a union.Supervisors have called workers off assembly lines for one-on-one interrogations. Anti-union videos are being run on a constant loop in employee break rooms. Groups of workers have been called into roundtable meetings to hear management disparage the United Auto Workers ( UAW ). Nissan has been saturating local TV and radio with anti-union propaganda. This could go down as one of the most vicious, and illegal, anti-union crusades in decades. Workers should never have to endure this type of threatening campaign or walk through a minefield just to vote for a union. The truth is Nissan is an all-too-familiar story of how greedy corporations divide and conquer working people. The company has brought in large numbers of contract employees and paid them less than they paid full-timers for the same work an old trick for driving down everyones wages. The company is also telling those undecided about the union that their pro-union co-workers would cost them their jobs. They have threatened the local community, saying that if the plant in Canton was unionized, it would move somewhere else.Sadly, these kinds of threats matter a great deal in towns like Canton. Mississippi is the poorest state in the country, with over 30% of children living in poverty. The average weekly wage is just $727, the lowest in the nation. Very few people in the state have a defined benefit pension plan, and one out of five suffer from food insecurity.Large corporations like Nissan like to set up shop in states like Mississippi because they know that when safety nets are frayed, and people hit hard times, theyre more likely to accept low wages and poor working conditions. They know how to exploit human misery and insecurity, and turn them into high profits.Our goal must be to raise wages in Mississippi and all over this country, not engage in a destructive race to the bottomNissan is no stranger to trade unions. It has union representation in 42 out of 45 of its plants throughout the world from Japan to France, Australia to Britain. But the company does not want unions in the US south, because unions mean higher wages, safer working conditions, decent healthcare and a secure retirement.Corporations like Nissan know that if they stop workers in Mississippi from forming a union, wages will continue to be abysmally low in this state. Further, if workers are unable to form unions and engage in collective bargaining, Americans throughout this country will continue to work for longer hours for lower wages. As Americans, our goal must be to raise wages in Mississippi and all over this country, not engage in a destructive race to the bottom.Nissan is not a poor company. It is not losing money. Last year, it made a record-breaking $6.6bn in profits and it gave its CEO more than $9.5m in total compensation.Those kinds of obscene profits are a direct result of corporations decades-long assault on workers and their unions. Forty years ago, more than a quarter of all workers belonged to a union. Today, that number has gone down to just 11%, and in the private sector it is less than 7%. And as corporations and Republican politicians succeed in decimating the right of workers to bargain collectively for better wages and benefits, the American middle class, once the envy of the world, is disappearing while income and wealth inequality is soaring. We have got to turn that around.I proudly support Nissan workers fight to form a union. What they are doing takes tremendous courage. If they succeed in forming a union it will not only improve their wages and working conditions, but will benefit workers across the south and all across this country.But regardless of what happens this week, Nissan workers should be very proud. They have exposed the system of racial and economic injustice that corporations like Nissan are perpetrating. We need to build on their courageous efforts, and fight for an economy that works for all of us, not just the top one percent.Topics US unions Bernie Sanders Mississippi Automotive industry Nissan Democrats comment'|'theguardian.com'|'https://www.theguardian.com/uk/business'|'https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/03/nissan-workers-union-bernie-sanders'|'2017-08-03T13:00:00.000+03:00' +'1e0ab915a47e0f086281df37fac586d76cb875fa'|'Oil steady on falling crude inventories, but rising output weighs'|'FILE PHOTO: Crude oil storage tanks are seen from above at the Cushing oil hub, appearing to run out of space to contain a historic supply glut that has hammered prices, in Cushing, Oklahoma, March 24, 2016. Picture taken March 24, 2016. Nick Oxford/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices steadied on Thursday, holding on to most of their recent gains after another fall in U.S. crude inventories indicated a tighter market, and as a tropical storm headed towards oil producing facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.Benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 was down 5 cents a barrel at $52.52 by 0745 GMT. U.S. light, sweet crude CLc1 was 5 cents lower at $48.36 a barrel.Both contracts had risen more than 1 percent on Wednesday, buoyed by potential output disruptions from the Gulf of Mexico storm Tropical Depression Harvey."For the next few days, the U.S. market is going to be focused on Texas as Tropical Depression Harvey is expected to strengthen into a Category I hurricane by Friday," said Sukrit Vijayakar, director of energy consultancy Trifecta."Operators in the area are already closing down platforms and evacuating workers as a precaution," he added.Harvey strengthened into a tropical storm late on Wednesday night with winds of about 40 miles per hour (65 km per hour) and was located about 440 miles (705 km) southeast of Port Mansfield, Texas, the U.S. National Hurricane Center reported.Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.AS ), Anadarko Petroleum ( APC.N ) and Exxon Mobil ( XOM.N ) have all taken steps to curb some oil and gas output at platforms in the Gulf.Beyond the weather, traders said declines in U.S. commercial crude storage levels were a sign of a gradually tightening market, although another rise in output held the market back.U.S. crude oil production hit 9.53 million barrels per day (bpd) last week, its highest since July 2015 and up over 13 percent from their most recent low in mid-2016. C-OUT-T-EIADespite this, U.S. crude stocks fell last week and gasoline stocks were down as well, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. nL2N1L90VGCrude inventories fell by 3.3 million barrels in the week ending Aug. 18 to 463.17 million barrels, down 13.5 percent from record levels last March. C-STK-T-EIAAdditional teporting by Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by David Holmes'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idINKCN1B402S'|'2017-08-24T04:05:00.000+03:00' +'8456c4f9aabcf0705d60eab552c823c38cd85e39'|'No let-up likely in Trump trade war talk'|'August 4, 2017 / 4:37 PM / 5 minutes ago No let-up likely in Trump trade war talk Andy Bruce 4 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Talk of trade war looks here to stay for the time being, especially as data over the coming week seems more likely than not to aggravate U.S. President Donald Trump''s gripes with China and Germany. While global trade has bubbled back into life after a lean few years, so too have fears of protectionism, leaving financial markets wary in an otherwise improving global economy. German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said last month it was a cause of "great concern" that the United States could start a trade war with Europe, while tension between Washington and Beijing has escalated. In the last week U.S. senators from both sides of the house urged Trump to stand up to China as he prepares to launch an inquiry into its intellectual property and trade practices in coming days. At the moment, the working assumption for most investors is that international cooperation will win the day - as the International Monetary Fund pushed for earlier this year - before a full-blown trade war starts. "Do I think that the U.S. will be dumb enough to go ahead and put in place a series of measures which will act as an obstacle to trade with these countries? I suspect not," said Peter Dixon, global financial economist at Commerzbank in London. The United States posted a much smaller goods trade deficit than expected for June, helped by an improvement in exports. But this may be eclipsed by figures from China and Germany due in coming days. BUMPY ROAD China''s goods trade surplus for July, due on Tuesday, looks set to top $46 billion (35.29 billion pounds), according to a Reuters poll of economists. That would be the second highest this year. Although the surplus has fallen sharply year on year over the first half of 2017, against the United States it has increased 6.5 percent. "We see a bumpy road ahead for the trade relationship between the two countries", said Yang Zhao, Nomura''s chief China economist. "But it is unlikely that the two nations will enter a true trade war." Part of the reason for China''s bigger surplus with the U.S. this year is the better performance of the world''s no. 1 economy, Zhao said. German figures also due on Tuesday are expected to show its goods trade surplus widened too, to 21 billion euros ($24.7 billion) in June from 20.3 billion in May, according to the Reuters poll. Germany had the world''s biggest current account surplus in 2016 at $289 billion and has been under pressure to boost domestic demand to lessen its reliance on exports - not least from European Union peers that want to raise their own competitiveness. Berlin can point to the fact its trade surplus has actually fallen 2 percent in the 12 months to May compared with the same period a year ago, but that pace of progress may not be enough to spare it criticism from the United States. "I suspect it''s a lot of rhetoric at the moment," said Dixon at Commerzbank. "But that doesn''t mean to say we can dismiss the risk." (This version of the story corrects time reference in third paragraph). Additional reporting by Elias Glenn and Shaloo Shrivastava; editing by John Stonestreet 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-economy-outlook-idUKKBN1AK20L'|'2017-08-04T19:37:00.000+03:00' +'705fa46a57d5bfd74fc766685b7ec016234a0e15'|'Golden Ocean to move some vessels from spot market to longer contracts'|'OSLO, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Dry bulk shipper Golden Ocean''s Chief Executive Birgitte Vartdal made the following remarks during the company''s second-quarter earnings presentation on Thursday:* We are slowly starting to consider chartering opportunities at the rate levels that we see now. It will be a step-wise process and we''ll have to build exposure slowly when the rates are increasing* Except for four long-term charters, we are more or less spot exposed for next year and we''ll slowly start to add some charter cover. But we''re still talking low percentages* We have seen some increased interest on the time charter side over the last few weeks, and the period market is slowly coming back following better spot rates* Activity is better now than what we''ve seen for a while* Golden Ocean earlier posted adjusted earnings above forecast, while its net loss was in line with analysts'' expectations* By 1350 GMT the shares traded 4.3 percent lower for the day (Reporting by Joachim Dagenborg, editing by Terje Solsvik)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/golden-ocean-grp-results-ceo-idUSL8N1L33W6'|'2017-08-17T16:54:00.000+03:00' +'4e4e874e9af743528dbb7ba92860882c93f7ec61'|'Insurer Aviva first-half operating profit up 11 percent to 1.47 billion'|'August 3, 2017 / 6:34 AM / an hour ago Insurer Aviva first-half operating profit up 11 percent to 1.47 billion Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Pedestrians walk past an Aviva logo outside the company''s head office in the city of London, Britain March 5, 2009. Stephen Hird/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - British insurer Aviva ( AV.L ) posted an 11 percent rise in operating profit in the first half of 2017 to 1.47 billion pounds ($1.94 billion), it said on Thursday, boosted by strong performances in its general insurance and fund management units. Analysts in a company-supplied poll had forecast an operating profit of 1.45 billion pounds. The company has been selling businesses it considers underperforming, including most recently Asia and Middle East-focused Friends Provident International and three Spanish joint ventures. "Aviva is getting leaner and stronger and we are confident in our ability to sustain growth in the coming years," chief executive Mark Wilson said. Aviva Investors'' operating profit rose 45 percent to 71 million pounds and the firm''s general insurance business saw a 25 percent rise in operating profit to 417 million. Aviva''s life business'' operating profit rose 8 percent to 1.3 billion pounds. "Aviva is transforming its ''no growth'' businesses to ''organic growth'' businesses," said analysts at JP Morgan, reiterating their overweight rating on the stock. Aviva also announced a 10-year extension of its UK general insurance distribution agreement with HSBC ( HSBA.L ), which it said was one of the largest ever in UK insurance. Combined operating ratio for the firm''s general insurance business strengthened to 94.5 percent from 95.7 percent, where a level below 100 percent indicates an underwriting profit. The company said it would pay an interim dividend of 8.4 pence per share, up 13 percent and compared with a forecast 8.28 pence. Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; Editing by Rachel Armstrong 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-aviva-results-idUKKBN1AJ0O5'|'2017-08-03T09:37:00.000+03:00' +'1d9d078f9c0b0df2eabd3798c44796eeb83da3c9'|'Russian court orders Sistema to pay Rosneft $2.3 bln in damages - agencies'|'MOSCOW, Aug 23 (Reuters) - A Russian court has ruled on Wednesday that Sistema conglomerate should pay more than 136 billion roubles ($2.3 billion) to oil major Rosneft over an acquisition of Bashneft oil producer, news agencies reported.This was less than the initial claim of almost 171 billion roubles. Interfax news agency was quoting a Sistema layer as saying that they will appeal the decision.$1 = 59.0800 roubles Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Polina Devitt'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/russia-rosneft-sistema-court-idINR4N1L101G'|'2017-08-23T12:59:00.000+03:00' +'0fbf05b3b622d9100a94d79a81b23c992cfbc2ff'|'Ryanair CEO says won''t make offer for Air Berlin assets'|'August 30, 2017 / 1:56 PM / 29 minutes ago Ryanair CEO says won''t make offer for Air Berlin assets Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Ryanair CEO Michael O''Leary poses before a press conference in Berlin, Germany, August 30, 2017. Hannibal Hanschke BERLIN (Reuters) - Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair ( RYA.I ) will not make an offer for assets of insolvent German airline Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ), its Chief Executive Michael O''Leary said on Wednesday, citing what he said was an intransparent carve-up process. Air Berlin, Germany''s second-largest airline, filed for bankruptcy protection this month after shareholder Etihad Airways withdrew funding following years of losses. O''Leary has complained that the insolvency process was designed to help strengthen German flagship carrier Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ). "If there was a fair and open process we would get involved but we are not getting involved in this process because it''s a stitch-up," he told a news conference on Wednesday. He said Ryanair had asked German and European anti-trust authorities to investigate what he said was a "conspiracy" between Air Berlin, Lufthansa and the German government. "We believe (the insolvency) was triggered to put maximum pressure on politicians ahead of federal elections in September," he said. Reporting by Caroline Copley and Klaus Lauer; Writing by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Georgina Prodhan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-air-berlin-lufthansa-ryanair-hldgs-idUKKCN1BA1RZ'|'2017-08-30T16:56:00.000+03:00' +'848cb65188e063c53dcd24828180bceded9c6040'|'Socially responsible retailers aim to end the rent-to-own rip-off - Money'|'How can the store chain BrightHouse get away with charging someone up to 1,560 for a washing machine when the exact same model can be bought elsewhere for 599?Perhaps it is examples like this that explain why the City watchdog this week tore a strip off pay-weekly retailers that target low-income families, saying it was concerned about the high costs and harmful consequences of this type of credit.Many of us are aware that this is an expensive way to buy household items, but if you are hard-up and urgently need a bed for your child, or a cooker or new washing machine, you may feel you have no choice but to turn to a company such as BrightHouse. But the good news is that things are changing. A new breed of socially responsible companies is emerging that aim to break the stranglehold of the major pay-weekly retailers by helping poorer families to buy the things they need without having to pay a poverty premium.This new wave is being spearheaded by Fair for You , which describes itself as the UKs only national not-for-profit company that provides a hassle-free and fair alternative to the likes of BrightHouse. Fair for You offers thousands of items for sale via its website at prices broadly in line with those on the high street, which people pay for by taking out a flexible loan at an interest rate of 3% a month (equal to a 42.6% APR).The company, which is owned by a charity, has only been trading for 18 months but it emerged as the big winner at last months Consumer Credit Awards, has a glowing 9.8 out of 10 score on the Trustpilot website and is in the process of receiving 5m in social investment to fund the next phase of its expansion.With 283 stores across the country, BrightHouse is the dominant player in a sector known in financial circles as rent-to-own. The other two big names are PerfectHome, which has 18 stores, and the online retailer Buy As You View. Between them, these three account for about 90% of the market. Consumers typically pay for items on a weekly basis: you sign up to a payment plan, and at the end of the rental term you own the product. But there has long been criticism of the high cost of items and the steep interest rates charged: a March 2016 report from the Financial Inclusion Centre thinktank stated that rent-to-own customers can easily find themselves paying three times as much for goods and services than they would from more conventional retail outlets.A couple of months after that, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that following its intervention, the three firms had agreed to make major improvements to their product affordability, price transparency and arrears handling. On top of that, the largest firms can no longer compel consumers to fork out extra for often-unwanted insurance on the items they buy.Many Britons are hooked on costly credit. Heres what the new minister should do - Rowena Young Read more On Monday the Financial Conduct Authority announced measures to rein in mounting consumer debt, and said rent-to-own customers were a particularly vulnerable group. About 200,000 people signed up to a rent-to-own payment plan last year, while 400,000 people had outstanding debt at the end of 2016. The FCA said it was concerned that there are harmful consequences of this high-cost borrowing for a significant number of consumers, and that it would be investigating further but added it was not yet considering new rules for this sector.Guardian Money carried out a quick price test. We went on to the BrightHouse website and chose a Samsung 9kg AddWash washing machine priced at 730.01, plus 55 for delivery and installation. The site said we could pay for it with 156 weekly payments of 10, giving a total outlay of 1,560. This assumes a representative interest rate of 69.9% APR. If we opted for a shorter period and higher payments, the total payable comes down eg, 52 weekly payments of 19.35 would add up to 1,006.20. Yet that same washing machine is available from the website of retailer RGB Direct at 599 and from John Lewis for 669.BrightHouse argues its customers typically dont have the luxury of being able to walk into a shop and hand over 600-plus to pay for something. Other options are pricey, too: borrow 750 over 52 weeks from doorstep lender Provident Financial, say, and you would pay a total of 1,404 (a 299.3% APR).So what about more ethical alternatives to the established rent-to-own players? Fair for You, which was set up in 2015 as a not-for-profit community interest company, has seen a 200% growth rate in customers in the last nine months. It provides small loans to households to buy essential items such as white goods via its website, where it has linked up with major brands including Hotpoint and Indesit.The premise is that prices should be broadly in line with high street prices, and customers browse and choose the item they need and set the price they want to pay back each week in line with their budget, says chief executive Angela Clements, a former banker. We are currently finalising adding a national carpet retailer and a national major furnishing chain to our high street.Someone taking a 750 loan from Fair for You over 52 weeks would hand over a total of 895 (52 lots of 17.22), working out at a 42.6% APR.Other rent-to-own alternatives include the Smarterbuys Store , a not-for-profit charity based in County Durham which offers credit and provides household goods to housing association tenants. It describes itself as the ethical weekly payment store and works with more than a dozen housing associations and local authorities. Its typical loan interest rate is 24.19% APR, and in April it announced it had loaned its two millionth pound and helped almost 3,000 customers.There is also the The Square , based in Bolton, and Newcastle-based Own Your Own , though the latter is not running at the moment.In a statement, BrightHouse said it plays a critical role helping people with low incomes and damaged credit histories to get everyday items they otherwise couldnt have. It added: We have worked closely with the FCA to update and refine our practices and processes, a fact recognised by the regulator this summer when it said it is minded to authorise our business.Topics Family finances Borrowing & debt Consumer affairs Consumer rights Financial Conduct Authority features'|'theguardian.com'|'http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/business/uk-edition/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/aug/05/fair-for-you-rent-to-own-rip-off-retailers'|'2017-08-05T03:00:00.000+03:00' +'982a8e57bc489e771fc0a5ed32a9f38d61cd97dd'|'Puerto Rico oversight board asks court to enforce furloughs'|'Aug 28 (Reuters) - Puerto Rico''s federal oversight board on Monday said it filed a lawsuit to enforce planned furloughs and pension cuts for government employees, which the island''s governor has said he will not impose.The lawsuit asks a U.S. federal judge in San Juan to declare the measures to be part of the fiscal turnaround plan for Puerto Rico that the board approved earlier this year, and which the governor has no authority to refuse, the board said in a statement on Monday. (Reporting by Nick Brown; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/puertorico-debt-labor-idUSL2N1LE0ZY'|'2017-08-29T01:40:00.000+03:00' +'9c97c31c1ca59154a3a067bbb0baafc15818632e'|'Income investors run for cover as dependable UK dividends in jeopardy'|'August 9, 2017 / 11:35 AM / 18 minutes ago Income investors run for cover as dependable UK dividends in jeopardy 7 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Attractively high dividend payouts by companies listed on Britain''s stock market could be in danger. The sectors currently delivering the biggest dividends -- those that have kept yield-hungry investors in the UK market -- are showing signs of strain. Oil and gas, pharmaceutical and consumer stocks account for nearly half of the UK market''s total dividend payouts, Societe Generale data shows. But factors from industry regulation to currency exchange are feeding concerns these dividends may erode, and causing investors to seek diversification into sectors where payouts may grow. One headwind is currency. Many of Britains major international exporting companies pay dividends in other currencies, so a weaker sterling has flattered income for UK investors and meant payouts increased even when companies kept dividends flat in dollar terms. This helped the total dividend payout balloon to 33.3 billion pounds this quarter, up 14.5 percent from the same period last year, according to Capita Asset Services data. But base effects from a weaker sterling will begin to disappear next quarter, with the pound strengthening and the dollar now on the back foot, down 9 percent year-to-date, raising doubts as to how long the currency windfall can be relied upon. Other headwinds materialised when regulatory pressures and corporate events dented stocks in some of the sectors income investors rely on most. Shares in British American Tobacco ( BATS.L ) and Imperial Brands ( IMB.L ), two of the most dependable dividend payers, plummeted after U.S. regulators proposed tighter rules on the amount of nicotine in cigarettes, causing investors to fret over their ability to maintain steady payouts. "Investors are desperate for yield so they pay close attention to anything which could threaten their income stream," said Alex Dryden, global market strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management. "We have been getting a few questions about the ability of these companies to continue to meet lofty dividend expectations," Dryden said. RED FLAGS Growing dividends show companies feel confident enough about earnings to hand more cash over to shareholders, but cracks are starting to appear. High dividend yields, the ratio of dividend payouts to share price, are a tell-tale sign of concerns over some of the biggest contributors to income in the FTSE 100. "If something yields more than 6 percent it''s a red flag more than an opportunity," said Eric Moore, manager of the UK Equity Income fund at Miton Group. "The market is pricing in the fact that these dividends will ultimately prove to be unsustainable." Oil majors Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa.L ) and BP ( BP.L ) are both on dividend yields of 7 percent -- well above the FTSE 100 average of 3.89 -- indicating concerns are being priced in. Investors raised doubts about the viability of high dividend payouts from GSK ( GSK.L ) and AstraZeneca ( AZN.L ) after disappointing results and a drug trial failure threw the respective companies dividend strategies into question. Both firms have dividend yields above their sector average, and payouts are already eroding. The healthcare sector paid out 35 percent less in the second quarter this year than Q2 2016, data from Capita Asset Services showed. Deutsche Bank analysts on Monday estimated GSKs dividend outlook would be flat until 2022. MINERS AND BANKS TURN ON THE TAPS AGAIN So frustrated investors are turning to areas where dividends are likely to grow, like the mining and banking sectors. But these are vulnerable to the removal of the currency support. Dividends in the FTSE are a currency story, a Brexit story and a U.S. story, said Kokou Agbo-Bloua, flows strategist at Societe Generale. People liked buying the FTSE 100 and dividends because the pound went down (after the vote to leave the European Union - but now that the dollar is falling that trade is becoming less profitable. Miners are only just coming back into the dividend-paying fold, and yields for the likes of Rio Tinto and Glencore are at or below the index average, indicating investors are far less concerned than in 2015 when management was on the brink of slashing dividends as the sector entered a painful commodity downturn Basic resource companies accounted for 1.1 billion of the total 2.6 billion pound year-on-year increase in FTSE 100 dividends in the second quarter, Capita Asset Services said. This quarter every FTSE 100 mining company increased dividend payout, with sterlings weakness a big boost to all of them. Glencore ( GLEN.L ) returned to its dividend this year for the first time since 2015, and its current dividend yield of just under 2 percent signals investors predict it will increase. Banks reviving from a multi-year downturn are also beginning to give money back to shareholders, with Lloyds ( LLOY.L ) increasing its payout last week, while HSBC ( HSBA.L ) kept its dividend flat. But investors keen to benefit from banks'' recovery would be better placed looking in euro zone blue chips, where financials are the biggest contributor to dividends, with 30 percent of the total Euro Stoxx 50 .STOXX50E payouts.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks-dividends-analysis-idUKKBN1AP19L'|'2017-08-09T18:43:00.000+03:00' +'b6871d471fc64f2f195d3c9d101f633bd3d1eb19'|'Australia''s Vocus flags profit miss and impairments amid takeover battle'|'SYDNEY, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Australian internet company Vocus Group Ltd said on Thursday it had missed its target net profit for the 2017 financial year and would take a A$1.53 billion ($1.21 billion) impairment charge.The disclosure, which comes ahead of the company''s full-year results next week, was released to the market amid a takeover battle for the company.Net profit came at A$152.3 million, below its A$160-to-$165 million guidance, the company said.$1 = 1.2612 Australian dollars Reporting by Paulina Duran; Editing by Stephen Coates'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/vocus-group-results-idINL4N1L25TM'|'2017-08-16T22:35:00.000+03:00' +'b26f5150aceb3fb98aadfcf488fa8641882d93dd'|'Oil major Total''s shares rise as analysts welcome Maersk Oil deal'|' 17 AM / 9 minutes ago Oil major Total''s shares rise as analysts welcome Maersk Oil deal Sudip Kar-Gupta 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A customer holds a gas pump as he fills-up his car in a Total station in Nice, France, February 9, 2017. Eric Gaillard/File Photo PARIS (Reuters) - Shares in Total rose on Tuesday on the back of upbeat analyst comments regarding the French oil major''s $7.45 billion (5.78 billion pounds) takeover of Maersk Oil. Total was up 0.8 percent in early session trading, among the top performers on France''s benchmark CAC-40 index. "The credentials of this deal, and the deals in Brazil and Uganda last year, suggest that Total is able to realign the portfolio in a manner that is not value-destructive," Citigroup analysts said in a research note. Over the last year, Total has expanded its holding in Uganda''s Lake Albert oil project by snapping up most of Tullow Oil''s stake, and has agreed to buy some assets in Brazil from Petroleo Brasileiro. Citigroup kept a "buy" rating on Total, while UBS increased its rating on Total to "buy" from "neutral". Ion-Marc Valahu, a fund manager at Geneva-based firm Clairinvest said he thought the price paid for Maersk Oil was a reasonable one for Total. "I think it''s positive. It''s not too expensive," said Valahu, whose firm owns some Total shares. Total''s shares remain down by around 10 percent since the start of 2017, impacted by pressure on crude oil prices. [O/R] Yet Total expects Maersk Oil - its biggest oil deal since buying Elf in 2000 - to generate financial synergies of more than $400 million per year, in particular by combining assets in the North Sea. It also said the acquisition would boost earnings and cash flow. Deutsche Bank analysts also gave a positive reception to the Maersk Oil takeover, nudging up their price target on Total to 51 euros from 50, and keeping a "buy" rating on the stock. "This looks a good deal. The addition of material production offering modest 5-year growth, with scope for sizeable synergies, at a price which is both accretive to annual free cash flow and earnings shouldn''t be scoffed at," they wrote. Additional reporting by Blandine Henault; Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Louise Heavens and David Evans 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-total-stocks-idUKKCN1B20L8'|'2017-08-22T10:16:00.000+03:00' +'4673db13ff2c24575607021c38bed6670c19650d'|'China regulator says shadow banking crackdown reaches initial targets'|'August 18, 2017 / 8:03 AM / 17 minutes ago China regulator says shadow banking crackdown reaches initial targets Reuters Staff 3 Min Read BEIJING (Reuters) - China''s moves to crack down on illicit banking activities have achieved initial targets and 20 sets of new regulations to increase supervision will be issued this year, the chief of the banking regulator''s Prudential Regulation Bureau said on Friday. The new regulations will cover policy banks, online lending, interest rate risks and asset management firms, Xiao Yuanqi told a briefing. The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) will make sure to minimise any negative impact on the economy from the regulator''s crackdown on illegal practices, he said. The CBRC said that banks have basically completed self-assessment on risks that authorities had mandated under a regulatory crackdown on shadow banking activities. The CBRC extended by two months a June deadline for banks to submit risk assessments over concerns it was putting strain on the lenders, sources told Reuters earlier. Xiao said that interbank, wealth management products, and off-balance sheet businesses are core problems for the banking sector. In the second quarter, outstanding interbank assets and liabilities both shrank for the first time since 2010, he said. Interbank assets and liabilities both shed 1.8 trillion yuan ($269.64 billion) in the first half this year. The total amount of Chinese banks'' wealth management products was 28.4 trillion yuan at end-June, Xiao added. The central bank this year has increased checks on banks'' off-balance sheet wealth management products - a key component of shadow banking credit - while the banking regulator has stepped up a crackdown on risky lending behaviour. The People''s Bank of China (PBOC) will start to include negotiable certificates of deposit (NCDs) - a popular short-term debt instrument for smaller banks in interbank market - in its quarterly risk assessments from the first quarter of 2018. The CBRC is also encouraging banks to speed up disposal of non-performing loans and will maintain its push for asset-backed securitisation of NPLs, said Xu Jieqin, vice chief of the Policy Research Bureau. It will also go ahead with a creditor committee system to tackle the corporate debt problem and encourage banks to conduct debt restructuring of companies facing temporary difficulties and support banks to conduct debt-for-equity swaps, Xu added. China''s commercial banks reported higher first-half profits, while overall non-performing loans in June did not increase from March, the banking regulator said on Monday. Reporting by Shu Zhang and Beijing Monitoring Desk; Writing by Stella Qiu; Editing by Richard Borsuk 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-banks-debt-idUKKCN1AY0QJ'|'2017-08-18T13:44:00.000+03:00' +'4297530b8c3b4dd5fecb79d85060752418ef518c'|'China Poly Group to merge with Sinolight, China National Arts and Crafts Group'|' 31 AM / 19 minutes ago China Poly Group to merge with Sinolight, China National Arts and Crafts Group Reuters Staff 1 Min Read BEIJING (Reuters) - China Poly Group Corp., a real estate developer, will merge with Sinolight Corp. and China National Arts and Crafts Group, the state asset regulator said on Monday, part of China''s ongoing efforts to slim down its bloated state sector. China''s cabinet had already approved the merger plan, which will make Sinolight and China National Arts and Crafts Group subsidiaries of China Poly Group, the State Asset Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) said in a notice. In late June, SASAC announced the merger of the China National Machinery Industry Corp (Sinomach) and the China High-Tech Group. Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by Nick Macfie 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-soe-m-a-idUKKCN1B10X7'|'2017-08-21T12:29:00.000+03:00' +'b2d8dfc0a3f831a578bb1c7817f62953699e209e'|'Energy Future drops Oncor deal with Buffett in favour of $9.45 billion Sempra bid - sources'|'August 21, 2017 / 1:59 AM / 2 hours ago Sempra Energy to buy Oncor for $9.45 billion in cash Reuters Staff 1 Min Read The Sempra Energy building is pictured in San Diego, California March 10, 2015. Mike Blake (Reuters) - Sempra Energy said it will buy power transmission company Oncor, 80 percent owned by Energy Future Holdings Corp, for $9.45 billion (7.34 billion pounds) in cash, resolving the Texas utility''s long-standing bankruptcy case. San Diego-based Sempra expects to own about 60 percent of the reorganized holding company after the transaction that is valued at $18.8 billion, including Oncor''s debt, it said late on Sunday. Energy Future''s board on Sunday favoured Sempra''s offer over Berkshire Hathaway $9 billion deal to buy Oncor, sources told Reuters, after Sempra also offered assurances it could get its acquisition of Oncor approved by Public Utility Commission of Texas, as well as a U.S. bankruptcy judge. The deal represents a rare blow for Buffett, who avoids bidding wars and had swooped in two months ago to buy Oncor after two previous attempts by Energy Future to sell it were blocked by Texas regulators. Berkshire said last week it would not be raising its offer for Oncor. Reporting by Rama Venkat Raman in Bengaluru; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-oncor-m-a-sempraenergy-idUKKCN1B103D'|'2017-08-21T04:58:00.000+03:00' +'eeb6836d38abe77380682da9ccd1d661852153f8'|'Infosys to consider share buyback proposal'|'August 16, 2017 / 6:39 PM / an hour ago Infosys to consider share buyback proposal 1 Min Read The logo of Infosys is pictured inside the company''s headquarters in Bengaluru, India, April 13, 2017. Abhishek N. Chinnappa (Reuters) - India''s Infosys Ltd ( INFY.NS ) ( INFY.N ) said on Wednesday its board will consider a proposal, to buy back equity shares, at its meeting later this month. The country''s No. 2 software services exporter said in April, it would return up to 130 billion rupees ($2.03 billion) to shareholders in the fiscal year ending March 2018, adding the manner of the payout will be decided by later by the board. The company, which did not provide any details on the buyback, said the outcome of the board meeting will be announced after the meeting on Aug. 19. ( bit.ly/2fLYbs6 ) Reporting by Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/infosys-buyback-idINKCN1AW2DR'|'2017-08-16T21:41:00.000+03:00' +'7b631f9f700713ba4ec9e19053a5b34a4e819986'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX slides as inflation, stronger loonie cloud sentiment'|'* TSX down 81.31 points, or 0.54 percent, to 14,952.33* Nine of the index''s 10 main groups fall* Materials down 1.1 percent as gold under pressureTORONTO, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Canada''s main stock index fell on Friday, led lower by bank and gold mining shares, as concerns about the impact of a stronger Canadian dollar and higher inflation on the economy clouded sentiment.Domestic data showed that Canada''s annual inflation rate ticked higher in July, suggesting price pressures are picking up after June''s subdued reading and clearing the way for the Bank of Canada to raise interest rates in the fall. The news helped lift the Canadian dollar."As the inflation rate ticks up, the Bank of Canada can be more aggressive in terms of raising rates" and that could slow the economy, said Manash Goswami, a portfolio manager at investment firm First Asset, adding that a stronger currency could also pose a headwind for the country''s exporters.The index''s losses stood in contrast to U.S. stocks, which rebounded in a volatile session on reports that President Donald Trump fired his controversial chief strategist Steve Bannon.The Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index finished down 81.31 points, or 0.54 percent, at 14,952.33.Healthcare was the only sector that advanced.Manulife Financial Corp fell 2.4 percent to C$24.50, while the overall financials group declined 0.5 percent.The materials group gave up 1.1 percent, hurt by gold mining stocks that reversed course after the price of gold cooled. Prices had jumped to their highest in more than nine months on geopolitical worries, but came under pressure following news of Bannon''s firing.Barrick Gold fell 1.9 percent to C$20.95, while Goldcorp Inc slumped 3 percent to C$16.20.Technology stocks retreated 0.9 percent with CGI Group Inc down 1.3 percent at C$62.67. Absolute Software Corp slumped 6.6 percent to C$7.46 after it reported fourth quarter results that missed expectations.The broader energy group was off 0.1 percent, even as the price of oil jumped 3 percent. U.S. crude prices settled at $48.51 a barrel."I think for the Canadian markets to catch fire you are going to need the energy sector to do a lot better. A lot of foreign investors don''t want to be in Canada unless they see energy recovering," said Goswami.Industrials fell 1 percent, as Canadian National Railway Co fell 1.2 percent to C$100.00.Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the TSX by 165 to 76, for a 2.17-to-1 ratio on the downside. (Reporting by Solarina Ho and Fergal Smith; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-idINL2N1L41KG'|'2017-08-18T18:54:00.000+03:00' +'850dbe17bd2ab9f2648797f498134e02f5dfe7c9'|'African Markets - Factors to watch on Aug 11'|'The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect African markets on Friday. - - - - - EVENTS: *Uganda''s central bank announces key policy rate GLOBAL MARKETS Asian equity markets extended a global slide on Friday as tensions ramped up between the United States and North Korea, sending investors fleeing to less risky assets such the yen, the Swiss franc and U.S. Treasuries. WORLD OIL PRICES Oil prices fell on Friday, dragged lower by persistent worries about oversupply despite a bigger-than-expected drawdown in U.S. crude inventories. EMERGING MARKETS For the top emerging markets news, double click on AFRICA STOCKS For the latest news on African stocks, click on SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS South African stocks pulled away from record highs on Thursday as rising tensions on the Korean peninsula drove investors to limit risks and shift to safe havens. AFRICA CURRENCIES Kenya''s local currency is expected to be stable or firm up as election-related uncertainty lingers, while Nigeria''s naira could post gains as offshore inflows boost dollar liquidity. KENYA ELECTION Celebrations broke out in pockets of Kenya on Thursday after the opposition said its candidate Raila Odinga should be declared winner of the presidential vote, a claim an election commission official said was "ridiculous". UGANDA MARKETS The Ugandan shilling firmed on Thursday, helped by sagging demand for dollars from both commercial banks and importers. TANZANIA ECONOMY Tanzanian growth slowed to 5.7 percent in the first quarter of this year, hurt by slower-than-expected performance of construction, transport, agriculture and the financial services sectors, the statistics office said on Thursday. RWANDA INFLATION Rwanda''s inflation fell to 3.5 percent year-on-year in July from 4.8 percent a month earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday. CONGO VIOLENCE At least 27 people, including three police officers, were killed in clashes between protesters and police in Democratic Republic of Congo earlier this week, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday. For the latest precious metals report click on For the latest base metals report click on For the latest crude oil report click on'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/africa-factors-idINL5N1KX0DD'|'2017-08-11T02:56:00.000+03:00' +'de20eb907348d9c28a91c584c0a476217d225b74'|'Western Digital CEO in Japan to finalize Toshiba chip deal: source'|'FILE PHOTO: A logo of Toshiba Corp is seen on a printed circuit board in this photo illustration taken in Tokyo July 31, 2012. Yuriko Nakao/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - A consortium led by Western Digital Corp ( WDC.O ) is close to an agreement to buy Toshiba Corp''s ( 6502.T ) $17.4 billion chip business, with the U.S. firm''s CEO in Tokyo to finalize the long and contentious talks, a person familiar with the matter said.The consortium and Toshiba aim to announce a deal on Thursday when the board of the embattled Japanese conglomerate is due to meet, separate people familiar with the matter also said.A deal would mark an end to months of uncertainty for Toshiba, which is scrambling to sell its flash memory unit - the world''s No. 2 producer of NAND chips - to cover billions in losses at its bankrupt U.S. nuclear business Westinghouse.It would also be a remarkable victory for Western Digital, Toshiba''s joint venture partner for its chip business, after relations with the Japanese firm frayed to point where other bidders were chosen first and the U.S. firm initiated legal action that threatened to derail any deal.Sources declined to be identified as the discussions were private.Western Digital, Toshiba and a state-backed fund, the Innovation Network of Japan, which is a member of the consortium declined to comment. Representatives for U.S. private equity firm KKR & Co ( KKR.N ) and the Development Bank of Japan, also members, were not immediately available for comment.While Western Digital is very much in the driver''s seat in talks, it has made several key concessions to secure a deal that Toshiba is willing to accept and that will keep the unit out of the hands of rival chip firms, sources have said.Its financial participation in the deal is limited to 150 billion yen ($1.4 billion) through convertible bonds, and its stake will be no more than a third when those bonds are converted, they said. A stake of more than a third would allow Western Digital to veto board decisions.The U.S. firm will also not seek a management role, they said.Other members of group, which is offering 1.9 trillion yen ($17.4 billion), will include the Innovation Network Corp of Japan and the Development Bank of Japan as well as KKR, with each putting up 300 billion yen, they said. Japanese banks and companies will also provide financing.But it remains to be seen if a deal will be concluded by Thursday. Some senior executives at Toshiba Memory have threatened to quit if a deal with Western Digital is struck, sources say.Both sides, however, have reason to cooperate.Toshiba wants to close the sale by the end of the financial year in March to ensure it is not in negative net worth, where its liabilities exceed assets, for a second year running. This could result in a delisting from the Tokyo Stock Exchange.Given regulatory approvals could take more than six months, Toshiba has been hoping to reach a deal by the end of the month to ensure it can close the sale in time.For its part, Western Digital is eager to keep investing in their joint venture to keep up with industry leader Samsung Electronics ( 005930.KS ), which recently announced 20.4 trillion won ($18.2 billion) of new investments into NAND production lines.The U.S. firm, which has taken legal action against Toshiba arguing that any deal will need its consent, only appeared to gain the upper hand in talks over the past month.Before that, Toshiba had picked a consortium of Japanese government-backed funds, U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital LP and South Korean chip maker SK Hynix Inc ( 000660.KS ) as its preferred bidder.Shares in Toshiba ended trade on Monday up 0.6 percent. It has lost around 30 percent in market value since late last year when the company flagged that its Westinghouse division was facing billions in losses.Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Additional reporting by Kentaro Hamada and Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Edwina Gibbs '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-idINKCN1B806H'|'2017-08-28T01:24:00.000+03:00' +'5df570436097d870de51eddf41012cf93a8bc622'|'MOVES-Duff & Phelps hires analyst to cover global utilities'|'August 10, 2017 / 3:56 PM / 19 minutes ago MOVES-Duff & Phelps hires analyst to cover global utilities 1 Min Read Aug 10 (Reuters) - Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co, an affiliated manager of Virtus Investment Partners Inc appointed Benjamin Bielawski as senior research analyst to cover global utilities. Bielawski, the fourth analyst to join Duff & Phelps'' infrastructure group in the past year, comes from Institutional Capital LLC (ICAP), where he worked for 18 years. (Reporting by Vibhuti Sharma in Bengaluru) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/duff-phelps-moves-benjamin-bielawski-idUSL4N1KW5O4'|'2017-08-10T18:53:00.000+03:00' +'f6e698f92d80322c3574c097823ce38269d30c52'|'US STOCKS-Futures higher as traders pick up beaten-down stocks'|'August 22, 2017 / 11:37 AM / an hour ago Wall Street bounces back with gains in tech stocks Sruthi Shankar 4 Min Read Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., August 17, 2017. Brendan McDermid (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were higher in early afternoon trading on Tuesday, with all the three major indexes poised for their best one-day percentage gains in more than a week, led by technology stocks. Nine of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, with the heavyweight tech index .SPLRCT up 1.27 percent, rising for the first time in four days. The materials .SPLRCM index also jumped more than 1 percent, poised for its best day in four weeks, boosted by rising commodity and metals prices. Metals prices, including of copper CMCU3, zinc CMZN3 and nickel CMNI3, were higher, despite a slight pullback, against a backdrop of strong results for mining firms and talk of shortages in some metals. [MET/L] The absence of major news from the White House and on the tensions between the United States and North Korea two major factors that roiled the market in the past two weeks also helped calm nerves. "As the pockets of political worries that have caused short-term spikes and volatility ebb and flow, the market is rightfully focused on the solid fundamentals," said Brent Schutte, chief investment strategist for Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company. "We''ve had a decent economic backdrop against moderate inflation. As long as inflation remains moderate, I think the market continues to move higher". At 12:50 p.m. ET (1650 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was up 148.23 points, or 0.68 percent, at 21,851.98 and the S&P 500 .SPX was up 19.15 points, or 0.79 percent, at 2,447.52. The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was up 70.75 points, or 1.14 percent, at 6,283.87. So far, 257 stocks have hit new 52-week highs, while 244 have hit fresh 52-week lows across all U.S. exchanges. If the ratio holds, it will mark the first time in ten sessions that more stocks have hit highs than lows. Investors await the annual central bankers meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, later this week. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen''s speech on Friday will be closely watched for a steer on U.S. monetary policy, but central bank observers do not expect her to give new guidance. Among stocks, Freeport ( FCX.N ) jumped 3.9 percent on news that Indonesia expects to strike an agreement this month to allow the miner to keep operating its copper mine in Papua. Macy''s ( M.N ) rose as much as 4.6 percent putting the stock on track for its best day in nearly 7 months, after announcing restructuring and job cuts. [nL4N1L755K] Coty ( COTY.N ) tumbled 17.7 percent, on course for its worst single-day percentage fall, after the beauty products maker posted a surprise quarterly loss. [nL4N1L83N1] DSW ( DSW.N ) shares jumped 23.5 percent after the footwear retailer reported a surprise rise in comparable sales. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,955 to 847. On the Nasdaq, 1,965 issues rose and 855 fell. Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D''Souza 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks-idUSKCN1B218U'|'2017-08-22T14:34:00.000+03:00' +'a5195d3142d2f2c5c0cba773024bbb08fcc27f1d'|'UPDATE 1-BBVA in talks to sell Chilean bank to Scotiabank'|'FILE PHOTO: A woman with an umbrella walks past a BBVA bank branch in central Madrid, Spain, April 4, 2016. Andrea Comas/File Photo MADRID/TORONTO (Reuters) - BBVA ( BBVA.MC ) said on Thursday it was looking at the possible sale of its retail bank in Chile after Canada''s Bank of Nova Scotia ( BNS.TO ) expressed an interest in buying up to 100 percent.On Wednesday, BBVA Chile BHI.SN had a market value of 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion).Spain''s second-biggest lender said it could not say if the negotiations would lead to an agreement or what the terms of an eventual agreement would be.A spokesman at BBVA said the Spanish bank was not considering exiting Chile altogether, where it also has a consumer finance unit.Bank of Nova Scotia, or Scotiabank, confirmed in a statement on Thursday that it is in "non-binding, exploratory discussions" with BBVA Spain to acquire BBVA Chile."At this time, no formal agreement is in place and there can be no assurance that this process will result in a final agreement," it said.Scotiabank, which has the biggest foreign presence of any Canadian bank, is focusing its international strategy on the Pacific Alliance, a Latin American trade bloc comprising Mexico, Peru, Chile and Colombia.The bank said this week its capital strength, which is the strongest of Canada''s major banks, gave it "flexibility to grow and invest."BBVA has a 68 percent stake in BBVA Chile, while 29 percent belongs to the Chilean family Said and the rest of the shares are in free float.A weak first-half performance for BBVA in Spain showed margins were still under pressure from record low interest rates and it has been relying on its strong performance in Mexico to boost earnings.Mexico accounts for around 40 percent of group profits.In South America, which accounts for around 15 percent of group profits, earnings fell 3 percent to 404 million euros in the first six months of 2017. In Chile it booked a net profit of 96 million euros in the first half.BBVA''s shares were up 1.85 percent at 7.475 euros at 0923 GMT, when Spain''s blue-chip Ibex index .IBEX was up nearly 0.7 percent.Several brokers, including Alantra Equities and Jefferies, said such a deal could be positive for BBVA, helping to simplify its structure and providing a boost of up to 0.9 percentage points to BBVA''s capital adequacy ratio.Reporting By Jess Aguado; Editing by Greg Mahlich and Bernadette Baum '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bbva-chile-bank-of-nova-scotia-idUSKCN1BB109'|'2017-08-31T12:24:00.000+03:00' +'9965b5a7ebfb50b71e6bcd820094f05cbd8d104f'|'China says will tighten controls over intellectual property theft'|'August 25, 2017 / 3:18 AM / 14 minutes ago China says will tighten controls over intellectual property theft Reuters Staff 1 Min Read BEIJING (Reuters) - China will tighten controls over intellectual property to provide better opportunities for foreign investors, the commerce ministry said on Friday. The government''s crackdown on intellectual property violations will focus on trademark registration abuse and business secret theft, Wang Shouwen, a vice commerce minister told a news conference in Beijing. Wang also said China''s IP protection was "not perfect" as a developing country. China expressed "strong dissatisfaction" on Monday with the U.S. launch of an investigation into China''s alleged theft of U.S. intellectual property, calling it "irresponsible". Reporting by Yawen Chen and Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by Jacqueline Wong 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-trade-ip-idUKKCN1B509R'|'2017-08-25T06:17:00.000+03:00' +'cf9823b3186c28efbb37139d0172bcaf6793558f'|'UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Aug 29'|'Aug 29 (Reuters) - Britain''s FTSE 100 index is seen opening down 35 points on Tuesday, according to financial bookmakers. * GLENCORE: Glencore on Monday said it was looking to sell a second Australian coal mine, part of the Swiss-based resource giant''s rethink on how it deploys capital as its reins in debt and commodities prices rise. Separately, Zambian President Edgar Lungu has told Glencore''s Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) unit to accept higher electricity prices caused by the removal of state energy subsidies, his spokesman said on Saturday. * SHELL: Royal Dutch Shell Plc said on Sunday no damage from Harvey was seen to the Perdido production platform in the Gulf of Mexico by a U.S. Coast Guard overflight. Separately, Shell said it was shutting the Deer Park, Texas, refinery and chemical plant complex on Sunday due to Tropical Storm Harvey. Meanwhile, Brazil''s Razen Combustveis SA is close to buying parent Shell''s Argentina gas station network for more than $1 billion, two people familiar with the plan said. * PREMIER OIL: Premier Oil is in talks with UK government for Falkland oilfield financing, Financial Times reported on Monday.( on.ft.com/2iAGlcq ) * RESTAURANT GROUP: Restaurant Group is expected to post a steep drop in half-year profits, Telegraph reported on Monday.( bit.ly/2iCiRnx ) * BP: BP Plc said on Monday that its offshore oil platforms in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and its Texas City chemical plant remain online during Tropical Storm Harvey. * BHP: Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton is considering selling a 25 percent interest in its Canadian potash mine project, a stake that could be worth close to $2 billion, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. * BRITAIN ECONOMY: Optimism across Britain''s services sector fell during the three months to August, and companies felt the pinch from rising costs even though new business largely held up, an industry survey showed on Tuesday. * OIL: Flooding from tropical storm Harvey caused ongoing large-scale U.S. refinery outages on Tuesday, while crude prices rose on the back of supply disruptions in Colombia and Libya. * The UK blue chip FTSE 100 index closed 0.1 percent down at 7,401.46 points on Friday, as strength in banks and energy firms was not enough to offset a drop in retailers, which fell back as concern over competition from Amazon reared its head again. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets * UK CORPORATE DIARY: Bunzl PLC BNZL.L Half Year 2017 Earnings Release Polymetal International POLYP.L Half Year 2017 Earnings Release TODAY''S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Siju Varghese) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks-factors-idUSL4N1LF2E9'|'2017-08-29T08:37:00.000+03:00' +'fa48a92906912ddcb271a5009e304554eb97bf60'|'Fed policymakers grow more worried about weak inflation - minutes'|'August 16, 2017 / 6:08 PM / in 17 minutes Fed policymakers grow more worried about weak inflation: minutes Lindsay Dunsmuir and Jason Lange 4 Min Read The seal for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is displayed in Washington, U.S., June 14, 2017. Joshua Roberts WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve policymakers appeared increasingly wary about recent weak inflation and some called for a halt to further interest rate hikes until it was clear the trend was transitory, according to the minutes of the central bank''s last policy meeting. The readout of the July 25-26 meeting, at which policymakers voted unanimously to keep rates unchanged, also showed the Fed increasingly ready to begin reducing its $4.2 trillion portfolio of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities. In the minutes, released on Wednesday, policymakers had a lengthy discussion about a recent streak of soft inflation readings. Inflation has remained below the central bank''s 2 percent target for more than five years. "Many participants ... saw some likelihood that inflation might remain below 2 percent for longer than they currently expected, and several indicated that the risks to the inflation outlook could be tilted to the downside," the Fed said in the minutes. Some participants on the policy-setting committee argued against further rate rises until data had confirmed inflation was moving back toward the Fed''s objective. Some other Fed officials, however, cautioned that such a delay could cause an eventual overshooting in inflation "that would likely be costly to reverse." Related Coverage Factbox: Fed staff forecasts from FOMC minutes Voting members of the committee agreed to monitor inflation closely "in light of their concern about the recent slowing," according to the minutes. The Fed has raised its benchmark overnight lending rate twice this year compared to once in each of the previous two years amid low unemployment and continued moderate economic growth. It currently forecasts one more rate rise before the end of this year. But a retreat in inflation in the past few months has caused some disquiet that the Fed may have to cool its current pace of monetary tightening, despite senior central bank officials largely dismissing the softness as transitory. Fed Chair Janet Yellen told lawmakers last month that "some special factors," including a drop in prices for mobile phone plans and prescription drugs, were partly responsible for the weak inflation data. In the minutes, however, a few Fed policymakers cautioned that the framework the central bank uses to analyze inflation "was not particularly useful." The Fed''s preferred inflation measure dropped to 1.5 percent in June from 1.8 percent in February. The dollar .DXY weakened against a basket of currencies after the release of the minutes. U.S. stocks pared gains while prices of U.S. Treasuries were largely unchanged. BALANCE SHEET REDUCTION NEARS Policymakers also cast a keener light on financial stability and agreed it was important to look for signs of declining market volatility or concentration of investors in particular assets. Elsewhere in the minutes, Fed officials showed they are closer to beginning to reduce the central bank''s bond portfolio. Several policymakers were prepared to announce a start date at the June meeting, but the Fed decided to wait as "most preferred to defer that decision until an upcoming meeting." Fed officials have been priming markets for a probable move at their next policy meeting on Sept. 19-20 to begin reducing the bond holdings, bought in the wake of the 2007-2009 financial crisis and recession. New York Fed President William Dudley said on Monday the expectation of such an announcement next month was not unreasonable. Reporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir and Jason Lange; Editing by Paul Simao 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-minutes-idUKKCN1AW2AW'|'2017-08-16T21:07:00.000+03:00' +'507fc83aef5a7724028f2f69951d9a01a95235d0'|'Q&A-Twists and turns in Toshiba''s chip business sale'|'TOKYO, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp is unlikely to seal a long-awaited $17.3 billion deal to sell its memory chip unit by its self-imposed deadline of Aug 31, as a last-minute offer on Wednesday left executives comparing rival offers with hours to go.The following are key questions and answers on the protracted sale, why the delays matter and what comes next.Q. What''s going on with Toshiba''s memory chip sale? A. A consortium including Western Digital, U.S. private equity firm KKR & Co, the state-backed Innovation Network of Japan and Development Bank of Japan is offering around 1.9 trillion yen ($17.3 billion) for Toshiba''s chip business, according to people familiar with the talks.The two sides are in final-stage discussions and had aimed to announce a deal on Thursday, when Toshiba''s board meets. But they have yet to reach a deal.Earlier talks with another bidding group, including private equity firm Bain Capital and South Korean chip maker SK Hynix , broke down after Western Digital, which has investment in Toshiba''s main chip plant, went to court to defend its right to consent to any sale.Sources with knowledge of the matter said late on Wednesday that Bain had revised its offer to 2 trillion yen, including an investment from tech giant Apple. Q. Why does Toshiba need to sell the chips unit, and why did it want a deal this week? A. Toshiba has been trying to sell the unit for months, in an attempt to pay down debt and cover the impact of over $6 billion in liabilities linked to U.S. nuclear arm Westinghouse.Toshiba wants to close the sale by the end of the fiscal year in March to ensure it does not report negative net worth, or liabilities exceeding assets, for a second year running. This could result in a delisting from the Tokyo Stock Exchange.That would be a dramatic blow to already bruised shareholders and make it tougher for Toshiba to raise money.Given regulatory approvals could take months, the company had been hoping to reach a deal by end-August to ensure it can close the sale in time. Q. What is the Western Digital group offering? A. The consortium is offering around 1.9 trillion yen, with the U.S. firm offering 150 billion yen through convertible bonds, according to sources.KKR and the two Japanese funds will offer 300 billion yen each, or 900 billion in total, the sources said.Toshiba''s lenders including Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp and Mizuho Bank would also extend a total of around 700 billion yen in loans, while other Japanese companies will also invest around 50 billion yen to ensure domestic firms hold a combined 60 percent stake, the sources said.Toshiba is also expected to keep a 100 billion yen stake in the business, they said. Q. What is the rival bid? A. The Bain-led consortium has made a revised offer worth around $18 billion, bringing in Apple to help bolster the bid.Bain and South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix Inc will be responsible for 1.1 trillion yen, while Apple will provide up to 400 billion yen and Japanese banks will give around 600 billion yen in support, one of the sources said.The proposal also calls for Toshiba to be part of the deal, investing 200 billion yen, the source said.Bain will invite the state-backed investors - the Innovation Network of Japan (INCJ) and the Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) - to invest in the business only after any arbitration with Western Digital is settled, the source said.Q. Are there any antitrust concerns? A. Western Digital is seeking to allay regulators'' concerns by contributing funds through convertible bonds, avoiding taking an equity stake upfront.In the rival bid, peer SK Hynix will also participate through financing.But some analysts warn this does not mean regulators will give it an easy pass. Q. Why all the fuss to avoid a delisting? A. A delisting would complicate Toshiba''s ability to raise money from markets or banks. Toshiba is already barred from issuing equity as a result of the 2015 scandal.It would be the first major delisting in Japan for over a decade; even camera maker Olympus averted one in 2012, following a scandal around hidden losses. ($1=110 yen) (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Writing by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Neil Fullick) '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/toshiba-accounting-idUSL4N1LF2ZT'|'2017-08-31T03:18:00.000+03:00' +'5855d38c9770a607dc33895398b2c46d3229ea6e'|'BRIEF-Medley Management Inc reports Q2 core earnings per share $0.10'|' 20 AM / in 13 minutes BRIEF-Medley Management Inc reports Q2 core earnings per share $0.10 Medley Management Inc: * Medley Management Inc declares $0.20 per share dividend and reports second quarter 2017 results * Q2 core earnings per share $0.10 * Q2 GAAP earnings per share $0.06 * Q2 revenue $16.4 million versus $21.3 million * Q2 earnings per share view $0.12 -- Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * Medley Management Inc says total assets under management were $5.4 billion as of June 30, 2017 Source text for Eikon: '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-medley-management-inc-reports-q2-c-idUSASB0BEXS'|'2017-08-10T13:20:00.000+03:00' +'d7fc474b3bc4cc12e2600547ebb8b895333ac062'|'LPC - Holland & Barrett latest retailer to limp through loan market'|'August 10, 2017 / 3:36 PM / 11 minutes ago LPC - Holland & Barrett latest retailer to limp through loan market Claire Ruckin 6 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - UK-headquartered health food and supplements chain Holland & Barrett was forced to make significant changes to a 900m-equivalent buyout loan to attract enough support prior to closing, as retail credits struggle to win investor favour. Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridmans L1 Retail announced at the end of June it would buy Holland & Barrett from The Natures Bounty Co and Carlyle Group for 1.77bn, prompting a new leveraged loan that was expected to appeal to deal-starved investors. However, the arranging banks had to reduce a sterling portion of the loan, increase a euro portion and offer higher pricing and more investorfriendly provisions to documents in a bid to wrap up the deal, under pressure to get it off their books before the summer slowdown. The flex was higher than where people expected it to come, an investor said. It comes after French jewellery retailer Thom Europe was forced to scrap plans to pay its private equity owners a 140m dividend at the end of July, after a wider loan refinancing ran into opposition from investors. Like Holland & Barrett, Thom Europe was also a debut loan issuer as it refinanced out of the bond market, but that was not enough to tempt certain funds, which either rejected the deal outright or needed the company to make a number of concessions before going into it, including a pricing increase. SHOPPING FATIGUE A number of investors are wary of lending to the retail sector, which is at the mercy of public confidence and associated discretionary spending. It also continues to face stiff competition from internet retailers. Despite much of the market trading over par this year in Europes secondary loan market amid a supply and demand imbalance, average bids on Western European leveraged first lien retail loans was 92.9% of face value on August 10, according to Thomson Reuters LPC data. Bids rose from 81.9% of face value at the end of the fourth quarter of 2016, to 85.1% at the end of 1Q17 and 87.4% at the end of 2Q17, mainly prompted by technicals driving the market rather than any improvements to the quality of the underlying credit fundamentals. Many loan investors are still scarred after losing money on struggling French clothing retailer Vivarte, which has been through several debt restructurings since 2013. In addition, German outdoor brand Jack Wolfskin recently completed a financial restructuring in July, which saw lenders take control of the business from private equity firm Blackstone in a debt for equity swap. Under the terms of that restructuring, Jack Wolfskin wiped 255m from its 365m term loan debt to a 110m reinstated tranche that has equity stapled to it and its maturity was extended to 2022 in return for handing the keys to the lenders. Other retails have struggled too. New Looks bonds continued to fall into deeper distressed territory after taking a dive on the back of poor results released on August 8. The UK retailers 177m 8% 2023 senior unsecured note traded down to a bid price of 39, while its 700m 6.50% 2022 senior secured note was down to 63 this week, according to Tradeweb data. A large number of investors are agnostic between the loan and bond asset classes and many were spooked by New Look, lenders said. Holland & Barrett has some retail and some wholesale. It is a niche retailer with a tremendous track record and is in a segment that has been growing, health and nutrition, so it is different to New Look and other retailers. Despite this, investors are cautious around retail in general, a senior banker said. PAID UP Some investors didnt buy into Holland & Barretts business case, thinking much of what it retails could be situated within a couple of shelves in a supermarket. Other investors didnt mind the business, but wanted to be paid up for sterling and the fact it was an aggressive structure for a new sponsor, sources said. Holland & Barretts leveraged loan financing finalised with a 450m seven-year first-lien term loan and a 375m-equivalent seven-year euro-denominated first-lien term loan. The sterling launched at 550m, while the euro portion launched at 275m-equivalent. The sterling pays 525bp over Libor, increased from initial guidance of 450bp-475bp and the euro portion pays 425bp over Euribor, up from initial guidance of 350bp-375bp. Both have a 0% floor. The dual-currency loans allocated at 98 OID, from initial OID guidance of 99.5. Citigroup, HSBC and UBS led the debt financing, alongside Barclays and Societe Generale. Soft-call of 101 was increased to 12 months from six months and other tweaks to documentation occurred around improvements to margin ratchet holiday, dividends and additional indebtness. A 75m six-year dual-currency revolving credit facility remains unchanged at 400bp over Euribor/Libor, with a 0% floor. Holland & Barrett just about got over the line, a second investor said. Despite general cautiousness around the sector, new retail loans are expected to continue to be completed, albeit with concessions. Investors are not out of the retail business and banks arent either, were just picking and choosing what we do and how we do it, the senior banker said. Editing by Christopher Mangham'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-retailers-loans-idUKKBN1AQ1XH'|'2017-08-10T18:35:00.000+03:00' +'21a586b3ddbb7cccfa51cff4e11419575dedc52d'|'Chevron CEO John Watson to step down: WSJ'|'FILE PHOTO - John Watson, Chevron''s chairman and CEO, speaks during an interview on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S. on March 8, 2017. Brendan McDermid/File Photo HOUSTON (Reuters) - Chevron Corp ( CVX.N ) Chief Executive John Watson will step down by next month and likely be replaced by Vice Chairman Mike Wirth, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.The unexpected shakeup at the top of one of the world''s largest oil and natural gas producers comes just as it is emerging from a global commodity price slump and is beginning to reap the fruits of a multibillion-dollar expansion spree.Chevron spokesman Kent Robertson declined to comment.Wirth, 56, has been vice chairman since February and also runs the company''s pipeline division. He previously ran Chevron''s refining unit, which has grown rapidly in recent years, with the company investing heavily in expansion and renovations.Chevron last month posted higher-than-expected second-quarter profits on higher production and oil prices LCOc1CLc1 and lower spending on large projects.Under Watson, a 60-year-old Chevron veteran who became CEO in 2010, the company has been shifting additional resources to shale oil projects that promise quicker returns.Watson, an economist by training, rose through the company''s ranks, served as its chief financial officer, and earlier oversaw the integration of Texaco operations following the 2000 acquisition.Shares of San Ramon, California-based Chevron rose 0.5 percent to $106.35 in afternoon trading. The stock has risen about 4 percent in the past year.Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Bill Rigby'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/chevron-ceo-idINKCN1B222T'|'2017-08-22T20:54:00.000+03:00' +'990d5b304abee6d38f66563ab6e0c26eb391e0c0'|'Oil prices steady as Saudi cuts September supplies'|'August 8, 2017 / 12:50 AM / 17 minutes ago U.S. oil prices slip, as market struggles to get through $50 3 Min Read A worker at an oil field owned by Bashneft, Bashkortostan, Russia, January 28, 2015. Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Tuesday, pulling back from recent gains as exports from key OPEC producers rose and despite news of lower crude shipments from Saudi Arabia. The crude market has been in consolidation mode after a sharp rally between mid-June and late July that pushed U.S. crude futures above $50 a barrel for the first time in several weeks. Since then, crude has traded around that number as world supply has been slow to draw down. "It''s just unable to break above $50," said Kyle Cooper, consultant for ION Energy in Houston. "It''s boring, but there''s a fundamental justification for prices being stuck between $45 and $55 without a significant geopolitical event." Benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 was down 21 cents a barrel at $52.16 a barrel at 10:59 a.m. EDT (1459 GMT). U.S. light crude CLc1 was 20 cents lower at $49.19 a barrel. Crude oil exports from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries hit a record in July, largely because of gains in Nigeria and Libya, two countries that are exempt from the agreement to limit production that is slated to continue through March 2018. The recovery in Libya''s oil output and higher production in Nigeria have complicated OPEC''s efforts to curb supply, fueling doubts over the effectiveness of agreed cuts. Saudi state oil company Aramco will cut allocations to its customers worldwide in September by at least 520,000 barrels per day (bpd), sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. Libya pumped 1.03 million bpd in July, according to the latest Reuters survey. Production from Libya''s 270,000 bpd Sharara field is returning to normal after a disruption when protesters broke into a control room, the National Oil Corp said. Oil production remains high in many parts of the world and fuel prices are around half what they were in 2011-2014. A number of U.S. shale drillers, in reporting second quarter earnings, highlighted efforts to improve drilling efficiencies to boost profits, but largely expect to keep pumping oil. Officials from a joint OPEC and non-OPEC technical committee met in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday to discuss ways to increase compliance with the deal to cut 1.8 million bpd in production. The U.S. Energy Information Administration, part of the Energy Department, will release its weekly petroleum status report at 1430 GMT on Wednesday, giving details on stockpiles and refinery runs. U.S. crude inventories last week were expected to have declined for a sixth straight week, while refined product stockpiles probably fell too, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Monday. [EIA/S] Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in Singapore and Aaron Sheldrick in Tokyo; Edited by Alexander Smith and Steve Orlofsky 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUKKBN1AO029'|'2017-08-08T11:01:00.000+03:00' +'0894607e0a6128082e62184bf4a158dbe753b347'|'BRIEF-Enzymotec Ltd Q2 loss per share $0.10'|' 40 AM / 11 minutes ago BRIEF-Enzymotec Ltd Q2 loss per share $0.10 Enzymotec Ltd * Enzymotec Ltd reports second quarter 2017 unaudited financial results * Q2 non-GAAP loss per share $0.06 * Q2 loss per share $0.10 * Qtrly net revenues increased 10.9% to $13.0 million, compared to Q2 of 2016 * Results for Q2 of 2017 were impacted by an inventory write-off of $3.3 million resulting from additional obsolescence Further '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-enzymotec-ltd-q2-loss-per-share-idUSASB0BG3R'|'2017-08-16T14:36:00.000+03:00' +'50c3aff23bd76a088c6081d0f3638f0554c4cd9d'|'Oil prices steady after overnight tumble on dollar strength, China concerns'|'A worker rides past an oil factory at Keihin industrial area in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo October 23, 2009. Issei Kato/Files NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices were little changed on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar climbed and signs of weaker petroleum demand in China weighed the market down for a second day.Benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 was up 8 cents a barrel at $50.81 by 2:13 p.m. EDT (1713 GMT), after retreating to $50.02 earlier. U.S. light crude Cc1 was down 5 cents at $47.54, having earlier hit a low of $47.02, the lowest in three weeks.The dollar rose to its highest in nearly three weeks against a basket of major currencies .DXY, pressuring crude prices. A stronger dollar makes oil more expensive for buyers using other currencies. Some investors turned to oil and gold as safe haven investments last week as tensions rose between the United States and North Korea.Chinese oil refineries operated in July at their slowest daily rates since September, official data showed. The drop was steeper than expected, raising concerns over the state of Chinese demand and the level of domestic stocks."People are taking a hard look at what the balance is," said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC. "We had seen in the past few weeks that demand growth was robust, and this turned that on its head."Ample supply from big oil exporters, including members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the United States, also encouraged investors to sell long positions bought in July during a period of rising prices, analysts said.Brent and U.S. crude reached two-month highs in early August but have slid over the last few days, dropping more than 2.5 percent on Monday.The American Petroleum Institute will issue its weekly U.S. oil inventory data at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT), ahead of the U.S. government''s official report on Wednesday.Analysts polled by Reuters forecast that data would show U.S. crude stockpiles USOILC=ECI fell for a seventh consecutive week, along with a probable drop in distillate and gasoline inventories."The focus remains on OPEC, U.S. inventories and disappointing China demand," said Hans van Cleef, senior energy economist at Dutch bank ABN Amro in Amsterdam. "Those concerns have triggered profit-taking after a strong run-up in July."Efforts by OPEC and other producers to limit output have helped lift Brent past $50 a barrel, but production elsewhere, particularly in the United States, has pressured prices.If U.S. crude falls below $47.00 a barrel and Brent crude breaks below $50.00 a barrel, prices could test lows from June, Kilduff said."We''re on the precipice of a large sell-off," he said.Additional reporting by Fergus Jensen in Singapore and Christopher Johnson in London; Editing by David Gregorio and Bernadette Baum'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/global-oil-idINKCN1AV09A'|'2017-08-15T06:55:00.000+03:00' +'1ba45547d429b84c79b35fe483558145a761ce23'|'Tesla shares rise as investors bet on Model 3 success'|'FILE PHOTO: Tesla Model 3 cars are seen as Tesla holds an event at the factory handing over its first 30 Model 3 vehicles to employee buyers at the companys Fremont facility in California, U.S. July 28, 2017. Tesla/Handout via File Photo SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ) jumped 6 percent on Thursday as its quarterly report fuelled bets that its new Model 3 sedan will propel the luxury electric carmaker into the mainstream.Chief Executive Elon Musk is counting on the Model 3, Tesla''s least pricey car to date, to make the company profitable and establish it as the leading electric carmaker ahead of BMW, General Motors and other long-established players.Tesla''s stock is up 63 percent in 2017, underscoring Wall Street''s confidence in Musk.The Palo Alto, California company late on Wednesday reported quarterly results that beat average analyst estimates, and it said it received more than 1,800 reservations per day for the Model 3 since its launch last week.Tesla had $3 billion in cash on hand at the end of the June quarter, reassuring investors who were worried after Musk warned on Friday that the automaker would face six months of "manufacturing hell" in ramping up production of the Model 3.Musk said investors should have "zero concern" that Tesla would fail to reach its production target of 10,000 vehicles each week by the end of 2018.A Tesla Model 3 sedan is seen in this undated handout image as the car company handed over its first 30 Model 3 vehicles to employee buyers at the company''s facility in Fremont, California, U.S. on July 28, 2017. Tesla/Handout via REUTERS Skeptics believe Tesla''s aggressive production targets are unrealistic and that the company''s electric cars will be overtaken by larger automakers.At least two brokerages raised their price targets following Tesla''s report. RBC Capital Markets raised its target price by $31 to $345, pushing it well ahead of the median price target of $322, according to Thomson Reuters data."While we don''t have meaningful reason to doubt that Tesla can eventually achieve its targets, doing so in a timely manner without some growing pains could prove challenging," RBC Capital Markets analyst Joseph Spak wrote in a research note.The $35,000 base-price Model 3 is Tesla''s least expensive car. It is designed and priced to compete with high-volume luxury sedans like the Audi A4, BMW 3-series or Mercedes C-Class. Those typically sell for between $40,000 and $50,000, or about half the price of Tesla''s previously launched cars, the Model S or Model X.Also on Thursday, Consumer Reports said GM''s Chevrolet Bolt electric car, priced at $37,495, reached 250 miles (402 km) on a single charge, beating out Tesla''s 2016 Model S 75D and 2016 Model X 90D."A new Tesla Model S or X 100D would probably beat the Bolt''s range, but you''d have to pay $100,000 or more for one of those cars," Consumer Reports said.Reporting by Noel Randewich in San Francisco and Sweta Singh Nick Zieminski'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/tesla-results-idINKBN1AJ211'|'2017-08-03T17:04:00.000+03:00' +'0d8db06719d1042520d577491ca925d41773476c'|'Harvey hits U.S. fuel supplies to Latin America'|'NEW YORK (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Harvey could cause fuel shortages in Latin America after it shut in around 1 million barrels per day of U.S. gasoline and diesel exports typically destined for countries such as Mexico.Harvey barreled into Texas on Friday as the strongest hurricane to hit the state at the heart of the U.S. oil and gas industry in over 50 years.The United States is the world''s largest net fuel exporter, and most of those shipments sail from ports in Texas and Louisiana. Harvey shut down the ports of Corpus Christi and Houston in Texas, and both are major fuel export ports."Any hiccup in U.S. refined product exports is highly disruptive to the supply chain given the dependency of nations like Mexico and other Latin American countries on the U.S.," said Michael Tran, director of global energy strategy at RBC Capital Markets."The reliance on U.S. products is particularly key this year given that many refineries in Central and South America are running at abysmal levels."Latin American countries such as Mexico and Venezuela have become increasingly reliant on imports because they have failed to invest in expanding refineries to keep up with rising demand.The U.S. exported 2.49 million barrels per day (bpd) of refined products and 100,000 bpd of crude to Latin America in the first quarter, according to the Energy Information Administration. Over 950,000 bpd ended up in Mexico - the biggest overseas market for American-made fuel.Mexico depends on U.S. fuel to meet nearly three quarters of its domestic gasoline demand.A spokesperson for Mexican national oil company Pemex said its gasoline and diesel inventories were sufficient to make up any shortfall in supply Harvey may trigger.New shipments via safe routes are on the way (to Mexico) and left on time from the southern Untied States before the hurricane arrived, he said.He did not detail the volumes Mexico holds in stockpiles or how many days of demand could be covered with emergency supplies.Aside from waterborne shipments, the United States also sends supplies to Mexico via rail and road, but those flows have been hit too.Union Pacific Corp, the no. 1 U.S. railroad, said it was moving rail cars in yards prone to flooding to high elevations and would curtail trains operating through areas likely to be hit by excessive winds and rain that will impact operations.Serious disruption to global oil supplies could trigger a coordinated international release from the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA). The IEA has previously released emergency supplies to cushion the impact of natural disasters and war on international energy supplies.It is unclear when the port of Houston will reopen as Harvey is forecast to move closer to the area in coming days, dumping torrential rain. The port of Corpus Christi suffered minor infrastructure damages but was making preparations to restart, a spokeswoman said on Sunday.EUROPE Fuel supplies to Europe will also be disrupted by the storm. The United States is the biggest source of ultra low sulfur diesel to Europe and Latin America.Latin American countries such as Mexico will need to seek diesel supplies from Asia and the U.S. West Coast, traders said."They will have to pay high," said one trader of distillates, a group of fuels that includes diesel and jet fuel.Europe would be the most likely source of more gasoline for Latin America, said Vikas Dwivedi, global oil and gas strategist at Macquarie."If there are a lot of shutdowns, whatever capacity is running will get consumed in the U.S., it will have to be, so Latin America will have to get its barrels from elsewhere. It creates a domino effect," Dwivedi said.Harvey''s effect on the prices of gasoline and diesel will have an impact on fuel prices in Colombia, mining and energy minister German Arce told Reuters.At least 2 million bpd of Gulf refining capacity is currently offline and damage assessments at four Corpus Christi, Texas, area oil refineries were underway on Saturday, a first step toward resuming production. However, by Sunday, more refineries were shuttered as the threat of flooding grew.Alternative supplies for some Latin American countries would have come from within the region several years ago, but the largest fuel producers such as Brazil and Venezuela now have very limited capacity for exports.Just over a decade ago, which was the last time a storm as powerful hit the U.S. mainland, the country was the biggest net importer of refined products in the world."It''s a completely different world now than 2008 in terms of crude and products flows," said Matt Smith, director of commodity research at ClipperData.Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar in New York; Additional reporting by Marianna Parraga in Houston, David Alire Garcia in Mexico City, Julia Cobb in Bogota and Jessica Resnick-Ault in New York; Editing by Simon Webb and Andrew Hay '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-storm-harvey-latinamerica-fuel-idUSKCN1B70XF'|'2017-08-28T01:28:00.000+03:00' +'dfedfd6899b83cde0b08b6d3a25d9367d408d5bd'|'CANADA STOCKS-TSX falls as oil prices weigh on energy shares'|'August 28, 2017 / 1:45 PM / 21 minutes ago CANADA STOCKS-TSX falls as oil prices weigh on energy shares Reuters Staff 1 Min Read TORONTO, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Canada''s main stock index fell on Monday as a decline in oil prices weighed on the energy sector. The Toronto Stock Exchange''s S&P/TSX composite index was down 34.9 points, or 0.23 percent, at 15,021.09 shortly after the open.'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/canada-stocks-idUSL2N1LE0IO'|'2017-08-28T21:45:00.000+03:00' +'4fcdf41ed8dd6a46de723c280e0db37467650598'|'BRIEF-Appaloosa LP takes share stake in L Brands, ups share stake in Facebook'|'Aug 14 (Reuters) - Appaloosa LP:* Appaloosa Lp takes share stake of 525,000 shares in Activision Blizzard Inc - sec filing* Appaloosa LP takes share stake of 835,592 shares in L Brands Inc* Appaloosa LP cuts share stake in Boston Scientific Corp by 32.2 percent to 2.3 million shares* Appaloosa LP ups share stake in Facebook Inc by 23.5 percent to 2.4 million class A shares* Appaloosa LP ups share stake in Delta Air Lines Inc by 30.3 percent to 832,438 shares* Appaloosa LP dissolves share stake in ak steel holding corp* Appaloosa LP dissolves share stake in Mckesson Corp* Appaloosa LP cuts share stake in Southwest Airlines Co from 3.1 million shares to 621,604 shares* Appaloosa LP ups share stake in Micron Technology Inc by 92.8 percent to 12.9 million shares* Appaloosa LP ups share stake in Alphabet Inc by 23.2 percent to 585,000 shares of class c capital stock* Appaloosa LP - change in holdings are as of June 30, 2017 and compared with the previous quarter ended as of March 31, 2017 Source text for quarter ended June 30, 2017: ( bit.ly/2uWm5mq ) Source text for quarter ended March 31, 2017 ( bit.ly/2r9xUnP )'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/brief-appaloosa-lp-takes-share-stake-in-idINFWN1L00VR'|'2017-08-14T19:17:00.000+03:00' +'2e3d8a04c4b2e8206b10db83f04bd7a8b116c424'|'Google developing technology for Snapchat-like media content: WSJ'|'August 4, 2017 / 6:13 PM / 2 hours ago Google developing technology for Snapchat-like media content: WSJ 1 Min Read The sign marking the Google offices is lit up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. on June 27, 2017. Brian Snyder/File Photo (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc''s ( GOOGL.O ) Google is developing technology to create media content along the lines of Snap Inc''s ( SNAP.N ) "Discover" platform, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Google has been in discussions with several publishers, including Vox Media, the Washington Post and Time Inc ( TIME.N ), for the project, the Journal said on Friday. ( on.wsj.com/2vAc6rY ) The project, dubbed "Stamp", could be announced as early as next week, the report said. Google was not immediately available for comment. Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/alphabet-snapchat-idINKBN1AK25P'|'2017-08-04T21:13:00.000+03:00' +'f11d38b0abef77449b2f0e1280a549cd6c067a7c'|'Saudi''s Sadara commissions last plant of its Saudi petchem complex'|'KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Saudi-based Sadara Chemical Co, a $20 billion joint venture between Saudi Aramco and U.S. firm Dow Chemical has commissioned the last plant at its petrochemicals complex in Jubail, Saudi Aramco said on Monday.The toluene diisocyanate (TDI) unit began production this week while the dinitro toluene (DNT) and toluene diamine (TDA) started operations in April, Aramco said.TDI is mainly used in the production of flexible polyurethane foam for furniture, mattresses and car seats.It has also other industrial uses, such as coatings, adhesives, sealants, speciality foams among others.Sadara has been announcing the start up of new plants in its complex, which it says is the world''s largest petrochemical facility to be built in a single phase. It started the region''s first mixed-feed cracker last year.The Sadara complex is made of 26 integrated facilities in Jubail, eastern Saudi Arabia and has the capacity to produce more than 3 million tonnes of products per year.Many products are produced in the kingdom for the first time, including isocyanates as the world''s largest oil exporter moves downstream.Sadara will transform the kingdom "from a consumer and importer to a global exporter," the statement Quote: d Saudi energy minister Khalid al-Falih as saying."Sadara''s slate of high-value chemicals, including many firsts for the Kingdom and the region, will create the quality performance, value-added and plastics products that support a higher living standard around the world, especially in the emerging Asia Pacific and Middle Eastern markets that will drive two-thirds of global petrochemical demand over the next decade." (Reporting by Reem Shamseddine, editing by David Evans)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/sadara-plant-idINL8N1L036R'|'2017-08-14T12:18:00.000+03:00' +'41a0eb3447994c561d162efb1036cd46f0e31084'|'South Africa mulls merger of three state-owned airlines'|'FILE PHOTO: Passengers board a South African Airways the capital aircraft t the Hosea Kutako International Airport, outside Windhoek in Namibia, February 24, 2017. Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa''s government is considering merging its three state-owned airlines into one entity, and offering a 25 percent stake of the holding company to a private equity partner, a cabinet minister said on Wednesday.The loss-making South African Airways, its low-cost arm Mango and SAA Express, which services smaller towns, are struggling to remain profitable amid increased competition and rising operational costs."I believe the answer to all of it lies in how we rationalize the three companies and how we bring in a 25 percent shareholder to help us with both management as well as on finances," Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown told a parliamentary committee.Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by James Macharia '|'reuters.com'|'http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-safrica-airlines-idUSKCN1BA0WY'|'2017-08-30T16:40:00.000+03:00' +'c7abf70d147ebdf526c450f753c233f508d7a12a'|'Bank of England stays on hold, hints again at 2018 rate rise'|'August 3, 2017 / 11:10 AM / 2 hours ago Brexit-wary Bank of England leaves rates on hold, cuts growth forecast William Schomberg and David Milliken 5 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England kept interest rates at a record low again on Thursday and, seeing Brexit weighing on the economy, cut its forecasts for growth and wages. The gloomier outlook for the next two years further reduced speculation in financial markets that the BoE might be nearing its first rate hike in a decade. Governor Mark Carney nonetheless sought to keep alive the possibility of one next year. He said uncertainty about Brexit -- in particular lower investment by companies -- meant the economy could not grow as fast as before without pushing up inflation. So, just a small improvement in growth could bring forward a rate hike. "The speed limit, if you will, of the economy has slowed," he told reporters. "That ... could have consequences for monetary policy, depending on the evolution of demand." But investors saw no sign that the BoE was in a hurry to raise rates, a stark contrast to the outcome of its last meeting in June when markets thought a hike might be imminent. The pound hit a nine-month low against the euro and fell by more than a cent against the U.S. dollar. Shares rose and British government bond prices jumped. Central banks around the world have struggled to wean their economies off the stimulus of rock-bottom interest rates, largely because of weak wage growth for workers. The BoE faces the extra challenge of Britain''s leaving the European Union, and its uncertain impact on Britain''s economy. The Bank said it now expects the economy to grow by 1.7 percent this year, down from its May forecast of 1.9 percent. It also shaved its growth forecast for next year to 1.6 percent from 1.7 percent, but kept 2019 at 1.8 percent. The BoE''s rate-setters voted 6-2 to keep Bank Rate at 0.25 percent, in line with forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists. That was more clear cut than an unexpectedly close 5-3 vote at the Monetary Policy Committee''s meeting in June. Since then one of the dissenters, Kristin Forbes, has left the central bank. Michael Saunders and Ian McCafferty voted again for a 25 basis point rate rise. But BoE Chief Economist Andy Haldane, who said in June that he was likely to back a rate hike in the second half of this year, stayed with the majority. The Bank said it might raise borrowing costs a bit more than investors expect over the next three years and suggested that a first hike might come within a year. But U.S. bank Citi said the BoE was probably more worried about the risks of a disorderly Brexit than it appeared on Thursday. FILE PHOTO: Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England attends the quarterly Inflation Report press conference at the bank in London, Britain February 2, 2017. Kirsty Wigglesworth/Pool/File Photo "Brexit downside risks are larger than the MPC can formally acknowledge, which keeps the bar for a pre-2019 rate hike high, in our view," analysts at the bank said in a note to clients. Citi said a smooth exit from the EU was still the most likely outcome, so the BoE would probably raise rates from late 2019, taking them to 2 percent by the end of 2021. The Bank kept its asset purchase programs unchanged on Thursday. It also said a bank lending scheme would end as on schedule in February 2018. Boe Dilemma The split on the MPC over what to do with interest rates highlights the challenge facing the central bank. On the one hand, Britain avoided a recession after the shock referendum decision in June 2016 to leave the EU, inflation is running above the BoE''s 2 percent target, and unemployment is at a four-decade low. At the same time, data has shown the economy had its slowest growth since 2012 in the first half of this year, inflation unexpectedly eased back in June and wage growth is weak. A series of surveys of Britain''s manufacturing, construction and services sectors published this week suggested the economy remained in a low gear in July. Furthermore, Brexit talks between London and Brussels have made little progress, raising concerns that a messy departure from the bloc in 2019 could hammer the economy. In response to the painfully slow rises this year, the Bank cut its forecasts for wage growth in 2018 and 2019 to 3 and 3.25 percent, down by half a percent for each year. It blamed the downgrade on Britain''s stubbornly weak productivity and in part on the Brexit uncertainty. The BoE lowered by only a fraction its forecasts for inflation which it now saw at just under 2.6 percent in a year''s time after peaking at around 3 percent in October. British inflation in June stood at 2.6 percent and the BoE''s latest forecasts see it remaining above its 2 percent target throughout its three-year forecast period. Helping to offset the squeeze on household spending power, exports were seen growing a bit more strongly than in the BoE''s May forecasts. But investment was likely to be weaker than previously expected in 2018 and 2019. Carney said investment levels in 2020 were set to be 20 percentage points below a BoE forecast before the Brexit vote. For graphic click: tmsnrt.rs/2eSYykb Writing by William Schomberg Editing by Jeremy Gaunt. 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-boe-idUKKBN1AJ1I2'|'2017-08-03T14:02:00.000+03:00' +'3133745e000134c62a0842262bcaa8c0e71f7711'|'OPEC holds second day of compliance talks, to issue statement - sources'|'August 8, 2017 / 11:16 AM / 2 hours ago OPEC holds second day of compliance talks, to issue statement: sources Rania El Gamal and Alex Lawler 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: The OPEC logo is seen outside the group''s headquarters in Vienna, Austria May 24, 2017. Leonhard Foeger/File Photo DUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC and non-OPEC officials were holding a second day of meetings in Abu Dhabi to discuss ways to boost compliance with their oil output-cutting pact, sources familiar with the talks said. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other producers are cutting production by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) until March 2018 to get rid of a glut and support prices. In Abu Dhabi, a panel comprising Russia, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, plus officials from OPEC''s Vienna headquarters, has met individually with officials from Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan and Malaysia, one of the sources said. A statement on the compliance-boosting effort is being drafted and will probably be issued after the meeting concludes on Tuesday, two sources said. Major OPEC producers Iraq and the UAE have shown relatively low compliance with the deal based on figures OPEC uses to monitor its supply. Non-OPEC Kazakhstan and Malaysia have been boosting output in the last few months, according to the International Energy Agency. At a meeting held in Russia last month, both OPEC countries confirmed their commitment to the pact but offered no concrete plan on how to meet their production targets, sources said. Iraq and the UAE say the assessment of their production by secondary sources - figures from government agencies, consultants and industry media that OPEC uses to monitor its output - before the pact took effect in January was too low. They argue that as a result, the two countries have the unpalatable task of making an even bigger cut to comply fully. Editing by David Evans '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-opec-oil-compliance-idUKKBN1AO171'|'2017-08-08T14:13:00.000+03:00' +'0a3285ec35264b8c5cdea7623ccb2389dcaddd02'|'Ball to cease production at three beverage packaging plants'|'Aug 30 (Reuters) - Ball Corp* Ball to cease production at three beverage packaging plants, build state-of-the-art specialty beverage packaging facility in Southwestern U.S.* Will begin construction on new beverage packaging facility in Goodyear, Arizona, expected to begin production in Q2 of 2018* Will record a total after-tax charge of approximately $22 million, majority being recorded in Q3 2017* Ball corp - Birmingham, Chatsworth And Longview employees may be provided benefits and outplacement services in accordance with bargaining process '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/brief-ball-to-cease-production-at-three-idINASB0BHOW'|'2017-08-31T00:01:00.000+03:00' +'93036e05986e5a33d30768cfc02133bdaa8f7029'|'Learndirect blames government cuts for damning Ofsted report - Education'|'Learndirect, the UKs largest adult training provider, has blamed the governments austerity programme for its failure to meet the education regulators minimum quality standards .The company, which was privatised by David Camerons coalition government in 2011, on Thursday complained that being forced to manage a reduction in central government funding was part of the reason why its standards had deteriorated so sharply that Ofsted declared it an inadequate provider. Following the official publication of Ofsteds damning report which Learndirect had asked the high court to suppress the company said it had to deal with a 50% dive in its government funding. Learndirect owners still winning government-approved contracts Read more Like all providers in the sector, weve had to manage a reduction in central government funding, a company spokesman said. For Learndirect Ltd this totals a 50% reduction in our adult skills funding over the last five years. These funding reductions were made at short notice and required significant changes to the business for it to remain viable.Our new senior management team, with the support of our stakeholders, has moved quickly to ensure the business responds to the challenges this poses. This includes diversifying our income streams and starting to address areas that require development.The Ofsted report, which was finally published on Thursday, said Learndirects directors and senior managers had failed to take swift and decisive action to stem the decline in performance over the past three years.Oftsed found that the company, which has paid out tens of millions of pounds to its owners and managers since privatisation, requires improvement or is inadequate in all seven areas of its inspection criteria. The inspectors listed 11 areas in which Learndirect was an inadequate provider and found just three strengths of the business.Until very recently, company directors and senior leaders presided over a sustained decline in performance across all programmes, Ofsted inspectors said in the report. The proportion of learners and apprentices achieving their qualifications and the quality of teaching, learning and assessment had deteriorated significantly. Leaders and managers at all levels of the organisation failed to oversee and challenge the particularly poor provision delivered by apprenticeship subcontractors.The report said Learndirects apprenticeship training was a particular concern. Too many apprentices receive insufficient training to develop new skills, and they do not receive enough off-the-job training, the report said. Too many 16- to 19-year-old learners on traineeships do not complete their programmes.Ofsted said the proportion of apprentices completing their training on time had declined significantly over the last three years to very low levels. It said 70% of apprentices failed to meet the minimum standards and six in 10 did not achieve their apprenticeship on time. The company, which is responsible for the training of almost 73,000 people, received 158m of Department for Education funding in the year to July 2017. The department has said it will not grant Learndirect any new contracts and will cease funding the company by July 2018. However, the owners of Learndirect are continuing to win government-approved apprenticeship contracts via a separate company Learndirect Apprenticeships that they set up last year . Learndirect had asked a high court judge to suppress the report , warning that its publication could lead to the catastrophic withdrawal of government funding and the possible collapse of the company.The company sought to reassure its trainees and employees that it is financially stable. The business is well-supported by our stakeholders and will continue to meet its contractual obligations and the needs of our learners as usual, a spokesman said. Our new senior management team, with the support of our stakeholders, has moved quickly to ensure the business responds to the challenges this poses.Learndirect is 65%-owned by Lloyds Development Capital, the private equity arm of Lloyds Bank.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/aug/17/learndirect-government-ofsted-report-adult-training-rating'|'2017-08-17T17:24:00.000+03:00' +'c0914d14ba107c03d30a15ace58d29dda450fd51'|'Are men more irrationally exuberant than women?'|'WOULD more women on the trading floor inject a dose of sanity into the worlds financial markets? This question gained prominence after the 2007-08 crisis. As Christine Lagarde, then Frances finance minister and now head of the IMF, quipped, had Lehman Brothers been Lehman Sisters, history would have been different. Many studies support this idea, showing that testosterone-laden men are prone to overconfidence in trading. Women are more cautious.But things may not be so simple. Previous research has mostly used evidence from the West. To test if the conclusions apply universally, Wang Jianxin of Chinas Central South University, Daniel Houser of George Mason University and Xu Hui of Beijing Normal University looked at both America and China. And they found that in Chinas markets, women can be just as manic as men. 9 The economists arranged for 342 students to form experimental markets. They were allocated dividend-paying shares and tokens (in lieu of cash), and given 15 rounds to trade within gender-based groups. Participants could, in theory, calculate fair value of the shares in any given round but few did so.In America, the outcomes matched past experiments. Shares quickly inflated to a bubble in male-only trading groups, before crashing. Women-only groups traded the shares at a discount for much of the time. In China male-only markets were just as unhinged. But so were the female-only markets, going from bubble to bust just like the male-only ones.Critics will object that this was just an experiment. However, there is a long history of using such devices to study investment behaviour. Anecdotally, women have played a part in Chinas market manias. In trading halls full of elderly day-traders, white-haired ladies sit alongside wizened men. Over the past two years women have also been on the front lines of protests after a series of online investment schemes collapsed.Why Chinas women might be as boldand recklessas men is open to debate. Other research highlights Communist Party policies promoting equality. But in practice women in China are woefully underrepresented in the financial sector. Only when that changes will it be possible to judge if China truly has gender parity in irrational exuberance. Finance and economics "Half the sky"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'https://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21727095-women-are-often-more-cautious-men-trading-not-china-are-men-more?fsrc=rss'|'2017-08-24T22:45:00.000+03:00' +'10446de39d45ccb668c75f0e7c33297845498ad8'|'Ghana''s gold, diamond output to drop as govt curbs small-scale mining - Reuters'|'August 12, 2017 / 6:19 PM / an hour ago Ghana''s gold, diamond output to drop as govt curbs small-scale mining Rajendra Jadhav 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A worker pours gold at the AngloGold Ashanti mine at Obuasi, Ghana, October 23, 2003 . Luc Gnago/File Photo PANAJI, India (Reuters) - Ghana''s gold output is likely to drop sharply in 2017 because of curbs on the small-scale mining that lifted production last year but was causing damage to the environment, a government official said on Saturday. Total gold output from Africa''s second largest producer was 4.1 million ounces in 2016, the highest level in nearly 40 years, up from 2.8 million ounces in 2015. The government of President Nana Akufo-Addo, who took office in January, has temporarily banned artisanal mining, or panning for gold, in a renewed effort to clamp down on those who do it illegally. "We anticipate at least a 50 percent drop in production from the small miners," Barbara Oteng-Gyasi, deputy minister of land and mines told Reuters. "We are trying to control illegal mining which is not good for the environment," Oteng-Gyasi said on the sidelines of the International Gold Convention in Panaji, capital of India''s western state of Goa. Artisanal mining is common in parts of Africa and accidents are frequent. The small miners account for nearly a third of the total gold production and restrictions on their activities could help bigger players to raise production, Oteng-Gyasi said. Canada''s Asanko Gold, US-based Newmont Gold and Anglogold Ashanti''s have mining operations in Ghana. Ghana''s total gold revenues for 2016 including exports from small-scale mining amounted to $5.15 billion up from $3.32 billion in 2015. The country''s diamond output is also likely to fall substantially in 2017 as diamonds are mainly extracted by small-scale mines, she said. Ghana''s diamond production slipped to 143,005 carats in 2016 from 185,376 carats a year before, according to the Ghana Chamber of Mines. Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Andrew Bolton 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/ghana-gold-output-idINKBN1AS0TK'|'2017-08-12T16:19:00.000+03:00' +'17b5a9358dce41a3543f34f07673bbe3284dc692'|'Hyundai will launch pickup, more SUVs to reverse U.S. sales slide'|'August 23, 2017 / 1:50 AM / 4 hours ago Hyundai will launch pickup, more SUVs to reverse U.S. sales slide Paul Lienert and Hyunjoo Jin 3 Min Read The logo of Hyundai Motor is seen on wall at a event of Hyundai Motor Co''s new Accent in Mexico City, Mexico August 2, 2017. Henry Romero DETROIT/SEOUL (Reuters) - Hyundai Motor ( 005380.KS ) plans to launch a pickup truck in the United States as part of a broader plan to catch up with a shift away from sedans in one of the Korean automaker''s most important markets, a senior company executive told Reuters. Michael J. O''Brien, vice president of corporate and product planning at Hyundai''s U.S. unit, said Hyundai''s top management has given the green light for development of a pickup truck similar to a show vehicle called the Santa Cruz that U.S. Hyundai executives unveiled in 2015. Hyundai currently does not offer a pickup truck in the United States. O''Brien also said Hyundai plans to launch a small SUV called the Kona in the United States later this year. People familiar with the automaker''s plans said the pick-up truck is expected to be launched in 2020. They said separately that Hyundai plans to introduce three other new or refreshed SUVs by 2020. Under the plan, Hyundai Motor plans to roll out a new version of its Santa Fe Sport mid-sized SUV next year, followed by an all-new 7-passenger crossover which will replace a current three-row Santa Fe in early 2019 in the United Sates. A redesigned Tucson SUV is expected in 2020. So-called crossovers - sport utilities built on chassis similar to sedans - now account for about 30 percent of total light vehicle sales in the United States. Consumers in China, the world''s largest auto market, are also substituting car-based SUVs for sedans. Hyundai''s U.S. dealers have pushed the company to invest more aggressively in SUVs and trucks as demand for sedans such as the midsize Sonata and the smaller Elantra has waned. "We are optimistic about the future," said Scott Fink, chief executive of Hyundai of New Port Richey, Florida, which is Hyundai''s biggest U.S. dealer. "But we are disappointed that we don''t have the products today." Hyundai''s U.S. sales are down nearly 11 percent this year through July 31, worse than the overall 2.9 percent decline in U.S. car and light truck sales. Sales of the Sonata, once a pillar of Hyundai''s U.S. franchise, have fallen 30 percent through the first seven months of 2017. In contrast, sales of Hyundai''s current SUV lineup are up 11 percent for the first seven months of this year. "Our glasses are fairly clean," O''Brien said. "We understand where we have a shortfall." Reporting by Paul Lienert in DETROIT and Hyunjoo Jin in SEOUL; Additional reporting by Joe White in DETROIT; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Richard Pullin 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hyundai-motor-strategy-idUKKCN1B305Q'|'2017-08-23T04:49:00.000+03:00' +'398099f548c388d624f91a1e40525fb4060db179'|'Second Mexico exchange aims to open at start of 2018 -bourse chief - Reuters'|'MEXICO CITY, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Mexico''s new, second stock exchange BIVA aims to be operating by the start of next year, as it bids to capture part of the existing market in Latin America''s No. 2 economy and entice more companies to issue stock, the new exchange''s president said on Monday.The Institutional Stock Exchange, known by its Spanish acronym BIVA, is set to formally receive its operating license at an event in Mexico City on Tuesday. It will compete with the Mexican Stock Exchange, or BMV.BIVA president Santiago Urquiza told Reuters that he saw a lot of potential for new public offerings from companies with annual sales of between 500 million pesos and 1 billion pesos ($28 million to $56 million)."There is a very big seedbed of highly prepared and institutionalized companies ... which are very close to the requirements to be listed," said Urquiza, who is also president of financial infrastructure provider CENCOR.BIVA will be backed by technology provided by Nasdaq, the second-biggest U.S. exchange, that is used by more than 70 markets around the world, he said.Urquiza said he expected the number of publicly traded companies in Mexico could increase over the next three years by about 30 percent to around 200 while daily volume in Mexican stocks could grow 50 percent to around 20 billion pesos. ($1 = 17.9300 Mexican pesos) (Reporting by Sheky Espejo) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/mexico-exchange-idINL2N1LE1QL'|'2017-08-29T00:28:00.000+03:00' +'385cf31069b3bba4f309922b7b73e94a93fe1f68'|'Husky Energy to buy $435 million Wisconsin refinery'|'CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Canadian integrated oil company Husky Energy Inc said on Monday it is buying a refinery in the United States from Calumet Specialty Products Partners LP for $435 million in cash.The refinery in Superior, Wisconsin, has capacity to process 50,000 barrels per day.The deal, which also includes the refinery''s associated logistics assets, will increase Husky''s refining capacity to 395,000 bpd, the company said.Husky produces primarily heavy oil from oil sands and conventional operations in western Canada and the deal will help it manage exposure to depressed global crude prices, which are hovering below $50 a barrel on concerns about a persistent supply glut."Acquiring the Superior Refinery will increase Huskys downstream crude processing capacity, keeping value-added processing in lockstep with our growing production," said CEO Rob Peabody.Husky currently produces around 320,000 bpd and aims to grow output to 400,000 bpd by 2021.Shares of Calumet rose 9 percent to $5.93 in late morning trade on the Nasdaq, while Husky''s shares rose 0.5 percent to C$14.69 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.Husky said it would retain about 180 workers at the refinery, which can process Canadian heavy crude and light and medium barrels from Canada and the Bakken region, and also boosts the company''s asphalt production capacity.The company said it is deferring a decision on whether to expand asphalt capacity at its Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, refinery until after 2020 and will be considered again as heavy oil production grows.BMO Capital Markets was Husky''s financial adviser on the deal and Milbank LLP its legal adviser.Reporting by Nia Williams in Calgary and Ahmed Farhatha in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and David Gregorio'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/husky-energy-refinery-calumet-splty-idINKCN1AU20T'|'2017-08-14T15:41:00.000+03:00' +'938bce8e0af448895ebd8a9df4d82972c32b6bd7'|'BHPs shale sale could happen: this is not a drill'|'I t has been a turbulent few years for BHP Billiton , the worlds largest mining and petroleum company.First came the Samarco tragedy in Brazil, when the collapse of a dam at its iron ore mine unleashed a flood and killed 19 people. The company is still facing the prospect of criminal charges and a potential $47bn settlement over the worst environmental disaster in Brazilian history.More recently, BHP came under attack from activist hedge fund Elliott Advisors, which has built up a 5% stake as it bids to force executives to rethink the firms strategy. Elliott wants BHPs bosses to bow to its demands, which include the sale of its US shale oil business. The division was snapped up when oil prices were above $100, but is considerably less attractive now that Brent crude is hovering closer to $50.BHP may be reluctant to seek a buyer at a time when the price is likely to be low, but it is caught between an oil-bearing rock and a hard place.Incoming chairman Ken MacKenzie, due to start in September, was Elliotts favoured candidate. He will have been hearing Elliotts views on the matter, as well as those of BHPs many powerful investors. That makes Mondays full-year results presentation among the most important in BHPs recent history. Is Elliotts 5% stake a large enough lever to move the biggest mining firm in the world?Hold your horses, Jacob Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Conservative politician famed for never having changed a nappy and definitely not wanting to be prime minister, this week tweeted the good news that unemployment had fallen to a 42-year low. This, he suggested, gave the lie to the Brexit disaster forecast by HM Treasury. Several pundits and members of the public reminded Rees-Mogg that, as it hasnt happened yet, the Brexit disaster may be looming rather than immediately upon us.Expect similar arguments to be rehearsed this week when a revised estimate of the UKs second-quarter GDP figures is released. This will include data not taken into account when calculating the lacklustre 0.3% GDP rise reported last month. Any downward revision will be seized upon by Brexit naysayers as evidence of icebergs ahead. A stable number or upward revision will strengthen the resolve of those seeking evidence that Britain can prosper on its own.Either way, growth figures released while Britain is still in Europe will tell us very little about life outside. Of course, that wont prevent the numbers being deployed in Brexit arguments from Twitter to the Dog and Duck.Speaking volumes about the jobless It isnt very often that the typically dry lexicon of the Office for National Statistics overlaps with the definitions included in the Urban Dictionary, the online repository for unsavoury slang, youthspeak and neologisms.This coming Thursday is an exception, because the ONS is due to issue the latest figures on Neets, the acronym for people who are Not in Education, Employment or Training. Its a term that, according to Google, came into common parlance in around 1999 and has surged in popularity since. It has even spawned a Spanish equivalent, ni-nis, meaning those who enjoy ni estudia, ni trabajo , meaning neither study nor work.The Urban Dictionary, somewhat unfairly, offers synonyms for Neets including bums and layabouts with no future. The ONS is likely to be more circumspect than that, given that the number of Neets is certainly no laughing matter. Any swelling in their numbers will be seen as a worrying counterpoint to the UKs low jobless count. Thats because people who are not working or studying tend to become less employable with time, suggesting that while unemployment is currently low, we may be storing up a joblessness crisis for the future unless something is done to nip the problem in the bud.'|'theguardian.com'|'http://www.theguardian.com/business/rss'|'https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/aug/20/bhp-billiton-shale-sale-could-happen-not-a-drill'|'2017-08-20T14:00:00.000+03:00' +'cf1bf7d73a32ec08a73f6fa1ffc38dd862264936'|'RPT-Wall St Week Ahead-Shift from non-GAAP bottom lines could be good for stock prices'|'(Repeats story first published Friday with no changes to text)By Noel RandewichSAN FRANCISCO, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Investors worried about lofty stock-market valuations may take comfort in signs that companies in the benchmark S&P 500 index are padding their bottomlines less than they have in previous years.Recent changes to accounting standards and a crackdown last year by the Securities Exchange Commission are encouraging many companies to be more cautious about reporting metrics that do not adhere to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).The difference between S&P 500 companies'' GAAP net incomes and the adjusted versions of net income that they play up to Wall Street is expected to significantly shrink in 2017 for a second year, after hitting a high in 2015, according to a Thomson Reuters analysis.Such a decline may be good news for investors worried that stock prices have risen too far."The closer reported earnings are to GAAP, the more confident I''d be that investors are getting a fair characterization," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank in Chicago.On their income statements, companies often exclude "extraordinary" items, like charges associated with layoffs that they believe give investors an unclear picture of their performance. Those adjustments tend to make their profits appear stronger.After an 8-percent rise in 2017, the S&P 500 is trading at 17.8 times expected earnings, a level many investors consider expensive and increases the risk of a market selloff. But the expected earnings in that valuation are adjusted, not GAAP.To the extent that companies use non-GAAP accounting less this year than in recent years, investors may feel more comfortable paying higher valuations for their stocks."You''re getting more conservative in your earnings approach rather than more aggressive," said Phil Blancato, head of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management in New York. "That''s exactly why I don''t think current PEs are very expensive."NEW STANDARDS Following new accounting standards covering the taxation of stock-based compensation, Google parent company Alphabet Inc. stopped excluding stock-based compensation from its costs in the first quarter. Facebook Inc. said it would no longer emphasize non-GAAP expenses, income, tax rate or earnings per share.Responding to a new standard on revenue recognition, Microsoft Corp. recently said it will switch to GAAP revenue reporting.Analysts expect S&P 500 corporations in 2017 to report a total of about $1.06 trillion in GAAP net income, according to Thomson Reuters data. But allowing for non-GAAP adjustments made by many companies and analysts, total net income is expected to reach around $1.17 trillion.Still, that 10-percent difference between GAAP net income and the net income companies and many investors focus on is much smaller than in 2015, when the difference was 33 percent, the largest gap since at least 2009. Last year, the difference shrank to 22 percent. ( tmsnrt.rs/2fRRogA )Thomson Reuters analyzed 494 S&P 500 companies and adjusted some of their fiscal years to reflect calendar years. In cases where companies and analysts focused on GAAP, that number was counted as adjusted net income.Adding to pressure on U.S. chief financial officers, the SEC last year sent comment letters to corporations questioning their accounting methods. It warned companies not to produce misleading quarterly reports using larger fonts and bolded type to emphasize non-GAAP metrics."The SEC was upset about how non-GAAP was being used, and I think people have tried to listen to that. Nobody wants an SEC comment letter," said Takis Makridis, chief executive of Equity Methods, which advises companies on equity compensation.Silicon Valley''s technology giants have additional reasons to start emphasizing GAAP results."The biggest companies who, earlier in their evolution needed to show numbers that put them in a more favorable light, no longer need that advantage," said Pivotal Research analyst Brian Wieser. "It raises greater contrast with companies that are just emerging."Reporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by Bernadette Baum'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-weekahead-idINL2N1L60A6'|'2017-08-20T15:00:00.000+03:00' +'7d883dea7f0dd3db478fddc89277fe54ef26d472'|'A Google employee inflames a debate about sexism and free speech'|'SILICON VALLEYS leading firms celebrate disruption, but not disruptive employees. Google has found itself at the centre of controversy after an anonymous software engineer, later revealed to be a young Harvard graduate called James Damore, published a ten-page memo on two internal company networks explaining why there are so few women in the upper echelons of the technology industry.Instead of sexism, he pointed to biological factors, such as womens supposedly greater interest in people and their predisposition to anxiety and stress at work. In promoting gender diversity, he charged, Google silences those people whose political views differ from Californias liberal mainstream. 2 hours 2 hours ago Germanys election: a primer Kaffeeklatsch 3 6 6 10 hours ago See all updates Mr Damores insinuation that the small portion of Googles workforce that is both female and works in technology-related roles (see chart) may be unsuited for the work sparked an uproar inside and outside the company. Google was in a bind. It champions free expression and access to information, so many wondered how it would handle an employee who had complained that Silicon Valley was intolerant of different political viewpoints.The answer came on August 7th, when Google sacked him. Sundar Pichai, its boss, said that parts of Mr Damores memo violated its code of conduct and made its work environment hostile for women. Acting swiftly was important for the firm, which has been under investigation by the Department of Labour since April for discriminating against women by allegedly underpaying them by comparison with men.Men still occupy four-fifths of Googles technology-related roles, and 91% of its employees are either white or Asian. The firm probably felt a need to reassure its female employees and workers from ethnic and sexual-minority groups that it takes diversity seriously. In recent months Silicon Valley has been beset with proven cases of sexism against women at work and sexual harassment of female employees. So far it has been Uber, a ride-hailing firm with a particularly toxic culture of sexual harassment, that has come off worst: in recent months it has lost most of its executive ranks, including its boss, Travis Kalanick.Even had Google preferred to dress down rather than dismiss Mr Damore, in practice it would have been difficult to keep him. Women and others could have complained of discomfort working alongside him or reporting to him, and could have made claims against Google for employing someone disrespectful of colleagues and of the firms values.Yet to dismiss Mr Damores memo entirely is to overlook Silicon Valleys character and, perhaps, ways in which it might be changed. Most techies there consider him a black sheep, but he expressed ideas that some male computer-programmers think even if they never utter them aloud. I would be hard-pressed to name a person at Google who would disagree with 100% of what he wrote, says one female Googler. For the boss of a prominent tech startup, Googles sacking of him was chiefly for public consumption. This isnt a question of legality or policy. This is a question of virtue-signalling, he says, reflecting the view of many in the Valley.And although many of the memos assertions were risible, such as the idea that women are not coders because they are less intrigued by things than men are, others made more sense. One is that diversity initiatives could be more transparent. Today firms publish annual numbers about the composition of their workforce, but reveal little else. Companies across all industries could try harder to quantify how their initiatives are faring.Mr Damores broad argument, that the Valley is fairly tolerant of racial and gender diversity but intolerant of diversity of opinion, was his most powerful. In the liberal tech industry, vocal conservatives are as scarce and unpopular as feature phones. When Peter Thiel, a prominent venture capitalist, backed Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, he was condemned by many of his peers. Some say Mr Thiels politics will affect his firm, because some entrepreneurs do not want to be associated with his views and are unwilling to accept investment from his fund. A similar wind of intolerance is sweeping Americas liberal universities, where conservative speakers are facing protests and seeing their speeches cancelled.Mr Damore has said he may sue Google for infringing his right to free speech, although this may not go far. Americans right to free speech is protected by the constitution but does not exist legally at work, though many do not understand the distinction. In California, like most states in America, people are employees at will, so they can be rapidly dismissed if their conduct breaches company policies.He will certainly be lionised by supporters. The Alt-Right movement in America is celebrating his frankness. Some members have started a crowdfunded campaign to support him, should he sue Google and fail. Some wonder if the memos timingpublished in the dog-days of summer when it was likely to get most attentionwas carefully chosen. Before Mr Damore was fired he filed a complaint with Americas National Labour Relations Board, which few employees would think to do without early legal advice, says Pamela Sayad, an employment lawyer.The sacking of Mr Damore may fade from the news, but the debate about gender in technology is likely only to intensify. Those under fire for their treatment of women include not only Uber but several venture-capital firms, accused of inculcating the male-dominated cultures of the young companies they finance. The other effect will be to deepen debate about freedom of expression at work. Google may have acted wisely for its female employees and for its public image. But it has not satisfactorily answered the question of how those who express controversial opinions at work should be handled. Many people will note that a company that is known for its bold, out-of-the-box thinking chose to live and die by its employee manual. "Youre fired"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/rss/business_rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/business/21726078-sacked-james-damore-has-become-hero-alt-right-google-employee-inflames-debate-about?fsrc=rss%7Cbus'|'2017-08-10T22:41:00.000+03:00' +'b61fcd5fd885688a90dd95f8728d51da7269e6b0'|'Britain''s May to lead business delegation to Japan'|'August 15, 2017 / 2:00 AM / 10 minutes ago Britain''s May to lead business delegation to Japan 2 Min Read LONDON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May will visit Japan this month for talks with her Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe to discuss Brexit, trade and defence, her office said on Tuesday. May will lead a business delegation drawn from a range of different sectors on the trip, which comes as her government looks to strengthen its relationship with key international investors ahead of Britain''s exit from the European Union. "The delegation will showcase the strength of British business, the shared confidence in the UK-Japan economic relationship as we leave the EU, and the potential for future growth," a spokesman from May''s office said. The three-day trip begins on Aug. 30. Japanese companies including carmaker Nissan and conglomerate Hitachi have invested more than 40 billion pounds ($52 billion) in Britain, and Japanese companies employ a total of 140,000 people in the country. May''s office did not give details of which businesses would be travelling to Japan. May will also meet Emperor Akihito, the spokesman said. Since voting to leave the EU last June Britain has trumpeted decisions by Japanese carmakers Nissan and Toyota to continue production in the country as a sign that Brexit will not scare off international investors. But both those investments came after the government wrote letters to ease the firms'' concerns, drawing criticism that May was making secret deals and giving firms privileged information on Brexit. Britain said the letters were commercially sensitive. May and Abe, leaders of the world''s fifth and third largest economies, met last month on the sidelines of an international summit in Germany, and in April she hosted him at her English country residence. After Abe''s April visit, he expressed concerns about possible overnight changes in regulations when Britain withdraws from the EU in March 2019 - the latest in a series of unusually strong declarations about the risks of Brexit from Tokyo. (Reporting by William James; Editing by Richard Balmforth) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/japan-britain-may-idUSL8N1L03JR'|'2017-08-15T05:00:00.000+03:00' +'8116d79c564479a9249e6c44b6096033fc5eec6b'|'Henkel counts on new products to tackle weak sales growth'|'August 10, 2017 / 12:19 PM / an hour ago Henkel counts on new products to tackle weak sales growth Martinne Geller and Maria Sheahan 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Samples of liquid and powder laundry detergent Persil from German consumer goods group Henkel are pictured at Henkel''s annual general shareholders'' meeting in Duesseldorf, Germany, April 11, 2016. Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo LONDON/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Consumer goods group Henkel ( HNKG_p.DE ) plans to roll out new beauty products in major markets France and Italy to bolster business after its second quarter growth in organic sales was the weakest in eight years. The maker of Persil laundry detergent, adhesives brand Loctite and Schwarzkopf hair products, said sales of professional beauty care products were robust in April to June. But the retail business, which sells products such as Schwarzkopf and Syoss shampoos and Fa shower gel, had fallen short of the group''s expectations. "The team is looking at where we can innovate in the second half of the year, we have a strong pipeline of products and are doing more rollouts," CEO Hans van Bylen told journalists during a conference call on Thursday. The group would also step up promotions of shower gels and shampoos in Italy and France, as sales had declined in those markets in the second quarter, he said. The German group earlier reported organic sales growth of 2.2 percent for the second quarter, at the bottom of its annual guidance range and sending its shares down more than 4 percent to a six-month low. Bernstein Research said the growth figure, the weakest result in eight years, fell short of analyst expectations for 3.2 percent. Recent sales figures from European rivals L''Oreal ( OREP.PA ) and Unilever ( UNc.AS ) ( ULVR.L ) - which also makes Persil products - fell short of analyst expectations too, but Henkel''s results were perceived to be more disappointing. Organic sales at Henkel''s beauty care business, which accounts for around a fifth of group revenue, were flat year-on-year, as a decline in volumes offset a small increase in prices. "The weak topline result at beauty care might raise eyebrows if Henkel is strategically well enough positioned," analysts at Baader Helvea Equity Research said. According to a recent Baader Helvea research note, Henkel is the world''s No. 4 player in retail hair care, behind L''Oreal, Procter & Gamble ( PG.N ) and Unilever and has market share of around 3 percent in body care, making it the fourth-biggest player in that sector as well. Growth at Henkel''s other two businesses, adhesives and laundry and home care, also slowed in the second quarter. Quarterly group earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT), adjusted for one-offs, rose 11 percent to 839 million euros (756.72 million pounds) on sales of 5.1 billion euros (4.60 billion pounds), missing average analyst estimates for 915 million and 5.23 billion respectively. Liberum analysts, who recommend selling shares in Henkel, said the results showed that Henkel would have to rely on acquisitions to reach its 2020 profit targets as developed markets remain intensely competitive. Henkel stuck to its standard forecast for underlying sales growth in 2017 of 2 to 4 percent, and a 7 to 9 percent increase in adjusted earnings per preferred share. Shares in Henkel were down 4.7 percent at 113.70 euros (102.55 pounds) by 1040 GMT, putting them among the biggest decliners on the STOXX Europe 600 index . Additional reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by David Holmes and Susan Fenton 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-henkel-ag-results-idUKKBN1AQ1G5'|'2017-08-10T15:18:00.000+03:00' +'cb6f4d4fafe1a8bebdd843bf5cd8dc90c9ef89fa'|'Canada auction of C$750 mln ultra long bond yields median 2.197 pct'|'TORONTO, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Canada sold C$750 million of its ultra-long bond, the first reopening since November 2014, at a median yield of 2.197 percent, the Bank of Canada said after an auction on Tuesday.The value of bids submitted by distributors of government securities for the 2.75 percent bond, which matures on Dec. 1, 2064, was C$2,039,240,000, while C$4.25 billion was outstanding after the auction.Details on Bank of Canada webpage: here (Reporting by Fergal Smith) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/canada-bonds-idINL2N1LF134'|'2017-08-29T14:24:00.000+03:00' +'52e0adfff74a69855c40f4b1f2fa314e04ad8321'|'Britain''s Prudential sells U.S. broker-dealer network for $325 million'|'FILE PHOTO: Shadows are cast onto the logo of British life insurer Prudential on their building, in London October 21, 2008. Stephen Hird/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Britain''s Prudential ( PRU.L ) sold its broker-dealer network in the United States for $325 million to LPL Financial ( LPLA.O ), the insurer said on Wednesday.The purchase price may rise to $448 million subject to some transaction criteria, with the sale, through Prudential subsidiary National Planning Holdings, expected to close by the end of the first quarter 2018.The network consists of INVEST Financial Corporation, Investment Centers of America, National Planning Corporation and SII Investments."While we still very much believe in the independent broker-dealer model, our primary strategy in North America is to focus on being the leading manufacturer of retirement products," Barry Stowe, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Prudential''s North American Business Unit said.Last week, Prudential merged its M&G asset management and UK and European insurance businesses to save costs and improve its products.Prudential said its operating profit rose to 2.36 billion pounds ($3.03 billion) in the first half of the year, boosted by growth in Asia and above a forecast 2.2 billion pounds.($1 = 0.7778 pounds)Reporting by Dasha Afanasieva, editing by Maiya Keidan'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-prudential-us-sale-idINKCN1AW0DX'|'2017-08-16T04:32:00.000+03:00' +'39612050c386843f8737dcb371d6af70fd898742'|'UPDATE 1-Glencore to start importing fuel for Mexico in February'|'(Adds Quote: , context on partnership)By Ana Isabel MartinezMEXICO CITY, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Trading firm Glencore expects to start importing fuel for Mexico''s domestic market in February 2018 through its own terminal in the southern state of Tabasco, the head of the firm''s oil division, Alex Beard, said on Thursday."As soon as we have an opportunity to import through our own infrastructure in Tabasco, we will," Beard said at the inauguration of the first gas station branded under the franchise G500, created from a distribution partnership by Glencore and Corporacion G500, signed in May.The fuel provided by Glencore will be ultimately sold through a large network of 1,400 gas stations operated by Corporacion G500, formed in 2014 by independent station owners in response to Mexico''s energy industry reform.G500 sells around 160,000 barrels per day (bpd) of gasoline and diesel in several states of central Mexico through existing Pemex branded gas stations, representing around 12 percent of the country''s service stations.The liberalization of retail fuel prices in Mexico has spurred business opportunities for large refining and trading companies that want to distribute and sell imported gasoline and diesel.U.S. refiners, including Valero Energy and Tesoro Corp, have also announced plans to participate in Mexico''s fuel market. Local mining and infrastructure company Grupo Mexico is building new terminals to discharge independent fuel imports and later distribute it by rail.State-run oil company Pemex is still the largest importer, distributor and seller of fuels in Mexico. (Reporting by Ana Isabel Martinez, written by Marianna Parraga; Editing by Bernadette Baum)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/mexico-oil-glencore-idINL2N1L31FT'|'2017-08-17T17:06:00.000+03:00' +'0cbc1bf167f5eba24eb46b06b07d196b77ddaba6'|'Veiled marketing: Anti-smoking groups slam Indonesia''s Big Tobacco'|'August 2, 2017 / 4:22 AM / 15 hours ago Veiled marketing: Anti-smoking groups slam Indonesia''s Big Tobacco Eveline Danubrata and Stefanno Reinard 4 Min Read A woman holds packs of Sampoerna cigarettes produced by PT HM Sampoerna at a cigarette shop in Jakarta, August 1, 2017. Beawiharta JAKARTA (Reuters) - Anti-smoking groups in Indonesia have slammed Big Tobacco for promoting sales by giving retailers cash rewards, shopping vouchers and even money to renovate, urging authorities to enforce advertising curbs to safeguard public health. The country with one of the highest smoking rates in the world does have a national regulation in place to restrict cigarette advertisements, including a ban on tobacco firms promoting their products while acting as a sponsor. But it is inconsistently enforced by regional authorities. Cigarette makers are making the most of this, tying up with small retailers and rewarding them for in-store promotion of products, the anti-smoking groups said. By mid-2016, Philip Morris-controlled PT Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna Tbk ( HMSP.JK ), PT Gudang Garam Tbk ( GGRM.JK ) and Djarum Group had partnered 513 shop-owners in four cities surrounding Jakarta, a study by the Indonesian Public Health Association (IAKMI) shows. Cigarette companies have stepped up "veiled promotions" following a move by the Jakarta governor two years ago to ban all cigarette advertising on outdoor media, IAKMI said. "Their grip will take root even more, and the consumption of cigarettes will spread," said Widyastuti Soerojo, head of IAMKI''s tobacco control unit. A shop-owner in Tangerang, west of Jakarta, said as a Sampoerna partner he has to follow the company''s display requirements for its products and is not allowed to sell other cigarette brands. In return, Sampoerna has given him free cigarette packs, shopping vouchers, banners and even a million rupiah ($75) to paint his shop, he said, declining to be named as he was not authorised to speak to media. Cigarette advertisements are often found at small shops near schools, making children extremely vulnerable, said Lisda Sundari, head of the Lanterns for Children Foundation. A shocking video of a toddler reportedly puffing up to 40 cigarettes a day on the island of Sumatra went viral around seven years ago, firing up anti-tobacco activists who said it underscored the problem of underage smoking in Indonesia. A street vendor counts money as he buys a box of A Mild cigarettes produced by PT HM Sampoerna at a cigarette shop in Jakarta, August 1, 2017. Beawiharta Despite rising anti-smoking sentiment in the country of 250 million people, Indonesia''s cigarette market was the second-biggest in the world after China with 316.1 billion sticks sold last year, data from Euromonitor International shows. Gudang Garam and Djarum did not respond to requests for comment. Sampoerna did not immediately provide a comment. Industry Needs Room to Breathe Philip Morris, Sampoerna''s parent company, said the overall cigarette market in Indonesia dropped 11.6 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, while its market share fell to 32.8 percent from 33.4 percent. Slideshow (2 Images) The U.S. cigarette giant said tax-driven price increases were partly responsible for the drop. "We are being pressured from all sides: rising excise taxes, a not-so-good economy, anti-tobacco movement," said Muhaimin Moeftie, chairman of the association of Indonesian white cigarette producers. Regulations should give the industry "room to breathe", he added. The decision to raise cigarette excise taxes by an average of 10.5 percent this year, following an 11 percent hike in 2016, was aimed at controlling consumption and distribution, a senior official at the finance ministry said. "The government is concerned about production, we hope production of cigarettes will gradually drop," said Heru Pambudi, director-general of customs and excise. But Indonesia''s parliament has initiated a bill which if passed into law would cut back health warnings on packs and effectively increase production. Proponents of the bill say it would safeguard a vital economic sector that employs millions and contributes nearly 10 percent of state revenues. "Don''t call us a sunset industry," said Moeftie. "We''ve been fighting for a long time. The industry must always be there." Reporting by Jakarta Newsroom and Eveline Danubrata, additional reporting by Stefanno Reinard, Hidayat Setiaji and Cindy Silviana; Editing by Ed Davies and Himani Sarkar 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'http://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-tobacco-idUSKBN1AI0A5'|'2017-08-02T07:21:00.000+03:00' +'808fcb2f81e20d8357e349131b6388410a21e9bd'|'Air Berlin in talks with three possible asset buyers: CEO in FAZ - Reuters'|'An Air Berlin sign is seen at their headquarters in Berlin, Germany August 15, 2017. Axel Schmidt BERLIN/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany''s Lufthansa is considering buying a majority of insolvent Air Berlin''s aircraft, two people familiar with the matter said, as the government and rivals race to carve it up.Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ), Germany''s second-largest airline, filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday after shareholder Etihad Airways withdrew funding following years of losses.The insolvency comes as many Germans enjoy summer holidays, and just ahead of a September general election, both factors which have put pressure on the German government to help minimise travel disruptions and job losses.Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt backed Lufthansa to buy a major portion of Air Berlin''s assets, saying Germany needed a "national champion" in international aviation."That is why it is urgently necessary that Lufthansa can take over significant parts of Air Berlin," he told daily newspaper Rheinische Post.Berlin has granted a bridging loan of 150 million euros ($176 million) that will keep Air Berlin''s planes in the air for up to three months, bringing holidaymakers home and securing 7,200 jobs in Germany while buyers for its assets are found.Air Berlin''s demise offers Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) and rivals a chance to acquire slots at airports such as Berlin Tegel and Duesseldorf, with Germany''s largest airline keen to defend its domestic position against low-cost rival Ryanair ( RYA.I ).One scenario Lufthansa''s Chief Executive Carsten Spohr has presented to the flagship carrier''s supervisory board is that it could take on as many as 90 of Air Berlin''s roughly 140 planes, all of which are leased, one of the people said on Thursday.That would include the 38 aircraft that Lufthansa is already leasing from Air Berlin and its Niki division."These are ideas that Lufthansa is bringing into the talks," the source said, adding that no decisions had been made yet and that it was ultimately up to Air Berlin''s administrator.The other source said the number of aircraft that Lufthansa could take on was lower than 90.The Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper earlier cited company sources as saying that Lufthansa CEO Spohr was due to hold talks with Air Berlin''s administrator and its management on Friday. Lufthansa declined to comment on the matter.Air Berlin itself has said it is in talks with three aviation firms and aims to strike deals with at least two of them by the end of September.SAFE LANDINGS RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND), a group which represents German newspapers, cited government sources as saying that Lufthansa, its budget carrier Eurowings and Thomas Cook''s ( TCG.L ) German airline Condor would likely snap up Air Berlin''s most valuable landing slots.A source has said easyJet ( EZJ.L ) was also part of the negotiations.RND said a few slots could also go to Ryanair, which has filed a complaint with German and European Union competition authorities over the insolvency process, which its chief executive describes as a "conspiracy".Germany faces allegations by the European Commission of maintaining a cosy relationship with its domestic industry and questions about whether authorities did enough to uncover an emissions scandal at carmaker Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ), which is partially state-owned.($1 = 0.8548 euros)Additional reporting by Sabine Wollrab; editing by Robert Birsel and Alexander Smith'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-air-berlin-lufthansa-talks-idINKCN1AX0EZ'|'2017-08-17T03:40:00.000+03:00' +'1520eb91ed9cda28dc0464ef00c0fc6479e117c3'|'Emerging economies await end to ECB largesse with record euro debt'|'August 21, 2017 / 3:21 PM / 3 hours ago Emerging economies await end to ECB largesse with record euro debt Marc Jones and Sujata Rao 8 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A Bank Indonesia employee counts damaged or worn rupiah bank notes exchanged for new ones at the bank''s headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia December 16, 2015. Darren Whiteside/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Emerging economies'' debt in euros has shot to record highs thanks to European Central Bank largesse, and yet an approaching end to this generosity won''t necessarily inflict the kind of pain that markets once suffered at the hands of the U.S. Fed. The ECB''s intention to start winding up its 60 billion-euro (55 billion pounds) a month stimulus programme for the euro zone economy has revived bad memories of when the Federal Reserve tried to signal something similar in 2013. That led to the ''taper tantrum'' when investors took fright at the prospect that the ultra-cheap dollar funding they had grown used to would taper away. While the ECB will doubtless proceed cautiously with its own tapering process, the risk is that it could derail an emerging market (EM) rally. UBS strategist Manik Narain, however, argues that withdrawing quantitative easing (QE) in the euro zone won''t hurt so much as the dollar process. "ECB tapering will have an impact but it''s definitely the lesser of the two evils," he said. While governments, companies and consumers in emerging economies have binged on cheap euro borrowing for the past 2-1/2 years, the total remains modest compared with their dollar debts, Narain pointed out. No central bank is finding it easy to withdraw policies that helped to keep Western economies afloat after the global financial crisis. Investors are awaiting word from ECB President Mario Draghi, who will speak at a central bankers'' meeting in the United States this week, on how he proposes to engineer a gradual end to the era of mass bond buying and negative interest rates. The important thing is to avoid a repeat of the taper tantrum of four years ago. This wiped half a trillion dollars off MSCI''s emerging equity index .MSCIEF in three months, raised countries'' borrowing costs by an average 1 percentage point .JPMEGDR and pushed some emerging currencies down by as much as 20 percent against the dollar. BRLUSD=R TRYUSD=R ZARUSD=R Now it is the ECB''s turn. Draghi will deliver no new policy messages during this week''s conference at Jackson Hole, sources say. However, expectations are high that he will tackle the issue at one of the ECB''s policy meetings next month or in October.. Under Draghi, the ECB has pumped more than 2 trillion euros ($2.35 trillion) into the global financial system. His first hint in June that tapering might be coming pushed the MSCI''s emerging equity index down 2 percent over the following week. On currency markets, Turkey''s lira and South Africa''s rand fell sharply, not only against a broadly stronger euro but also the dollar. Investors were unsettled by the prospect of higher euro zone bond yields dragging up U.S. borrowing costs in their wake. STELLAR GAINS Emerging markets have achieved stellar gains this year but investors using the euro have largely missed out due to the currency conversion. The dollar has fallen 5 percent versus a basket of emerging currencies tracked by UBS, but the euro is up 6 percent. Only four emerging currencies - those of Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Mexico - have strengthened against the euro this year: reut.rs/2fbnVOo . Developing economies are more exposed to the euro than any other time in history. Their euro-denominated debt - including bonds and bank loans - has ballooned by almost 100 billion euros over the last seven years to around 250 billion, according to data from the Bank for International Settlements. In Mexico alone, debt in euros has quadrupled since 2010 to over 42 billion euros: reut.rs/2fp2UQ8 But even then overall emerging borrowers'' euro debt is dwarfed by the $1.7 trillion they owe in dollars. So they are much more susceptible to movements in U.S. government bond yields than those on the euro zone benchmark, German Bunds. "The bulk of EM external debt is in dollars rather than euro and the EM corporate sector gravitates towards dollar funding... so a 50 basis-point move in Treasuries matters a lot more than 50 bps move in Bunds, other things being equal." LIMITED HOLDINGS FILE PHOTO: People look at an electronic board showing the graph of the recent fluctuations of market indices at the floor of Brazil''s BM&F Bovespa Stock Market in downtown Sao Paulo, Brazil, January 7, 2016. Paulo Whitaker/File Photo European exposure to emerging stocks and bonds also lags the United States. UBS research suggests more than 60 percent of EM carry trades - borrowings in cheap developed economy currencies invested in higher-yielding emerging currencies - are denominated in dollars, Narain said. As of June 2016, euro zone investors held about 407 billion euros'' worth of emerging currency-denominated debt, according to calculations by Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML). But this is little changed from December 2013. David Hauner, head of emerging markets cross-asset strategy at BAML, says European investors do not appear to have moved heavily into emerging debt during the ECB''s quantitative easing (QE) years. In fact, most moves happened during the Fed''s own bond-buying from 2009 onwards and when the ECB started its earlier programme of showering banks with unlimited, ultra-cheap funding. A quarter of this money was invested in Polish, Hungarian and Czech debt, the data shows. Turkey accounts for another 42 billion euros, while Brazil and Mexico had 39 billion and 74 billion respectively. Analysis from the Institute of International Finance supports that view. It estimates $200-$300 billion flowed to emerging stocks and bonds annually during the peak years of the Fed''s bond buying in 2012-2013. But by last year, when the ECB''s QE peaked, flows declined to $100 billion. The view that emerging market investing remains a dollar story is supported by a Deutsche Bank study of an equally weighted euro-dollar basket versus 12 emerging currencies. This showed that emerging currencies tended to fall an average 0.6 percent in months when the dollar strengthened, whereas they rose by 0.4 percent against the basket during times of euro strength. "These results suggest that if external conditions remain relatively benign, the current emerging currency appreciation cycle has more room to run," Deutsche''s Gautam Kalani added. At BAML, Hauner says euro-based investors earn a better yield premium by investing in emerging markets than those using the dollar. "Unless dollar strength is extreme, euro-based investors do better in EM than dollar-based investors, as euro/dollar removes much of the volatility in emerging currencies," he said. "In a nutshell we are not very concerned about this." < Emerging market currencies basket in 2017 reut.rs/2fsuv32 EM dollar and euro debt reut.rs/2hGiTdC EM euro debt by country reut.rs/2fp2UQ8 Emerging market currencies vs dollar and euro (static for in line) reut.rs/2fbnVOo Euro investors'' emerging debt holdings reut.rs/2idbJ0H > Reporting by Marc Jones and Sujata Rao; editing by David Stamp 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-emerging-markets-currencies-analysis-idUKKCN1B11T5'|'2017-08-21T18:21:00.000+03:00' +'48566df3b0e7763853b8098ce96d716e7456fed2'|'Exclusive - China''s Belt and Road acquisitions surge despite outbound capital crackdown'|'August 16, 2017 / 12:33 AM / 12 minutes ago Exclusive - China''s Belt and Road acquisitions surge despite outbound capital crackdown Kane Wu and Sumeet Chatterjee 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO - China''s President Xi Jinping arrives for the opening ceremony of B20 Summit ahead of G20 Summit, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, September 3, 2016. Aly Song/File Photo HONG KONG (Reuters) - Mergers and acquisitions by Chinese companies in countries that are part of the Belt and Road initiative are soaring, even as Beijing cracks down on China''s acquisitive conglomerates to restrict capital outflows. Chinese acquisitions in the 68 countries officially linked to President Xi Jinping''s signature foreign policy totalled $33 billion as of Monday, surpassing the $31 billion tally for all of 2016, according to Thomson Reuters data. Unveiled in 2013, the Belt and Road project is aimed at building a modern-day "Silk Road", connecting China by land and sea to Southeast Asia, Pakistan and Central Asia, and beyond to the Middle East, Europe and Africa. At a summit in May, Xi pledged $124 billion for the plan, but it has faced suspicion in Western capitals that it is intended more to assert Chinese influence than Beijing''s professed desire to spread prosperity. The surge in Chinese companies'' acquisition-linked investments in the Belt and Road corridor comes as the volume of all outbound mergers and acquisitions from China has dropped 42 percent year-on-year as of Monday, the Thomson Reuters data showed. Beijing''s move to prop up the yuan by restricting the flow of capital outside the country and clamp down on debt-fuelled acquisitions to ensure financial stability has made it tougher for buyers to win approvals for deals abroad. Regulators have tightened the screws further since June, reviewing deal agreements in minute detail and ordering a group of lenders to assess their exposure to offshore acquisitions by several big companies that have been on overseas buying sprees, including HNA Group, Dalian Wanda Group and Fosun Group. The heightened regulatory scrutiny of overseas acquisitions comes after companies spent a record $220 billion in 2016 on assets overseas, buying up everything from movie studios to European football clubs. The scrutiny, however, has not impacted Chinese companies'' pursuit of targets along the Belt and Road corridor, as those investments are considered strategic for the companies as well as the Chinese economy. "People are thinking in a long-term approach when making investments along Belt and Road countries," said Hilary Lau, a corporate and commercial lawyer and partner at the law firm Herbert Smith Freehills. "The acquisitions are also policy-driven. There are funds allocated by Chinese banks and state funds for Belt and Road deals," he said. FILE PHOTO - A security guard stands at the entrance to the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China, May 14, 2017. Thomas Peter/File Photo The number of Chinese deals targeting Belt and Road countries totalled 109 this year, compared to 175 in the whole of last year and 134 in 2015, the Thomson Reuters data showed. APPROVAL PROCESS Companies enjoy a relatively smooth approval process for deals along the Belt and Road project as regulators tend to put them in a different basket when reviewing outbound investments, according to lawyers and dealmakers. "If you are doing One Belt, One Road, that becomes the first sentence in the document" to the regulators, said a senior investment advisor at a Chinese company that has acquired several overseas businesses. "It is a wise thing to point out early on," said the advisor, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media. Outbound deals currently take as long as six months to be approved by Chinese regulators. However, Belt and Road investments tend to get regulatory clearance within three or four months, according to a Hong Kong-based senior M&A banker. The largest deal in a Belt and Road country so far this year was a Chinese consortium''s $11.6 billion buyout of the Singapore-based Global Logistics Properties ( GLPL.SI ). Other top deals include the $1.8 billion purchase of an 8 percent ownership interest in an Abu Dhabi oil company by the state-owned oil giant China National Petroleum Corp, and HNA Group''s $1 billion acquisition of a logistics company, CWT Ltd, which has not yet closed. The State Administration of Foreign Exchange, China''s foreign exchange regulator, said this month that domestic companies would still be encouraged to participate in Belt and Road activities. HNA, which has seen at least two overseas deals hit a hurdle as a result of the crackdown on transferring money, has said it plans to prioritize investments that are in industries and regions mapped out under the Belt and Road initiative. The belt and road acquisitions are predominantly in energy and infrastructure sectors, said Hilary Lau of Herbert Smith Freehills. "We''ve seen a lot of activities recently in Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar. The whole Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh corridor is also hot as it''s connecting the East and West," he said. Reporting by Kane Wu and Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Philip McClellan 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-m-a-exclusive-idUKKCN1AW00Q'|'2017-08-16T10:18:00.000+03:00' +'60d2a71115044a3e8b22a6cdf5ea33f258526592'|'German watchdog demands on-the-ground management for banks post-Brexit'|' 11 PM / 43 minutes ago German watchdog demands on-the-ground management for banks post-Brexit Reuters Staff 2 Felix Hufeld, President of Germany''s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority BaFin (Bundesanstalt fuer Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht) attends the G20 Germany 2017 Conference in Wiesbaden, Germany January 25, 2017. Ralph Orlowski/File Photo FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany''s top financial watchdog demanded on Wednesday that banks moving to Europe in the wake of Brexit be managed hands-on and on the ground. Managers can''t fulfil their duties by just "casually dropping by", said Felix Hufeld, president of the German regulator BaFin. Hufeld was addressing a reception of foreign bankers in Frankfurt, which has convinced a number of banks to move operations to Germany''s financial capital as Britain prepares to exit the European Union. Fearing a threat to financial stability, regulators want to prevent banks currently in London from setting up mere shells here that would allow them to be licensed for operating in the European Union. "It must be ensured that executives also perform their tasks on the ground in full. Fly & Drive may be acceptable in individual cases for a transitional period, but in the long term we also expect top management to have more than a mere door sign in the EU 27 states," Hufeld said. Hufeld also advised banks seeking a foothold here to apply for a licence sooner rather than later and to use the move as an opportunity to upgrade outdated IT. Reporting by Tom Sims; Editing by Georgina Prodhan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-regulation-idUKKCN1BA2AL'|'2017-08-30T20:11:00.000+03:00' +'03071d81f1f6560854ea7c2257e3dc8b328301c2'|'China sees apparent natural gas consumption rising by 10 percent in 2017'|' 11 AM / 13 minutes ago China sees apparent natural gas consumption rising by 10 percent in 2017 SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China expects its apparent natural gas consumption to rise over 10 percent year-on-year to around 230 billion cubic metres (bcm) this year, the official Xinhua news agency said on Saturday citing a report from the National Energy Administration. The country''s apparent natural gas consumption reached 114.6 bcm in the first half of this year, up 15.2 percent from the same period a year earlier. Reporting by Winni Zhou and Brenda Goh; Editing by Richard Pullin 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-energy-consumption-idUKKCN1AZ092'|'2017-08-19T12:12:00.000+03:00' +'032dedf399e09569ac0b831c63892b71efd5d9a1'|'Goldman Sachs declares 3.9 pct stake in Spain''s DIA - filing'|'FILE PHOTO - A Goldman Sachs sign is seen above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the opening bell in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S. on January 24, 2014. Lucas Jackson/File Photo MADRID (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs owns 3.9 percent of Spanish supermarket chain DIA ( DIDA.MC ), according to a filing with Spain''s market regulator made days after Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman''s investment vehicle bought a stake in the firm.Investors have to declare their company holdings to regulators in Spain when they exceed 3 percent.According to the filing, Goldman''s stake went over 3 percent on July 28, the day Fridman''s LetterOne Investment Holdings said it had bought a 3 percent stake and had an option to buy another 7 percent, sending DIA''s shares up 15 percent.The U.S. investment bank disclosed its stake to the regulator on Aug. 3, the filing shows.Other major investors in DIA include Baillie Gifford, with 10 percent, Black Creek Investment with 4.98 percent, BlackRock ( BLK.N ) with 6.5 percent and Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ) with 6.5 percent, according to Spain''s CNMV regulator.Fridman''s LetterOne is aiming to become a big investor in the food and retail sector. Its L1 Retail division was launched in December and in June agreed to buy Britain''s Holland & Barrett health foods chain for 1.77 billion pounds ($2.3 billion).Reporting by Andres Gonzalez; writing by Sarah White; editing by David Clarke'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-dia-investors-goldmansachs-idUSKBN1AK1KG'|'2017-08-04T16:03:00.000+03:00' +'284505c2b78eb8a2fe0a385db4a59a092adeffeb'|'Worldpay granted second deadline extension for Vantiv deal'|'Traders wait for news at the post where U.S. credit card technology firm Vantiv Inc is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., July 5, 2017. Brendan McDermid LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. credit card payments processor Vantiv ( VNTV.N ) has finalised a deal to buy Britain''s Worldpay ( WPG.L ) and the transaction is expected to be announced on Wednesday, sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.Worldpay, Britain''s biggest payments processor, said earlier on Tuesday that the deadline for the deal first announced on July 5 had been pushed back to Aug. 11 because the two companies needed more time to reach a final agreement.In July, Vantiv offered 55 pence in cash, 0.0672 of a new Vantiv share and a 5 pence cash dividend for each Worldpay share, equivalent to 385 pence per share and valuing the British company at 7.7 billion pounds ($10 billion).One of the sources said Vantiv has made some adjustments to the new governance structure but very little had changed in the composition of its cash and share offer for Worldpay, a former division of British lender Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS.L ).Payments firms have become targets for credit card companies and banks looking to capitalize on a switch from cash to payments by smartphones or other mobile devices and a Worldpay deal would be the latest in a string of acquisitions.The new time limit announced on Tuesday was the second time the so-called put up or shut up deadline had been renegotiated.The sources said that under the finalised terms Cincinnati-based Vantiv would not offer any binding commitment to protect existing jobs in Britain but London would play a dominant role as the international base of the combined entity.The global headquarters of the new company will be in Cincinnati and it will have a primary listing in New York and a secondary one in London, the sources said.A top 20 Worldpay shareholder told Reuters that Vantiv''s initial plan to delist Worldpay from the London stock exchange had changed after objections from some Worldpay shareholders based in Britain who did not want U.S. stock.The Worldpay investor also expressed some concern about the premium the deal would offer in the event of a merger deal.MERGER FRENZY Ahead of an announcement, the two companies have expanded their advisory teams. Barclays ( BARC.L ) has come on board to help Worldpay alongside Goldman Sachs ( GS.N ) while Credit Suisse ( CSGN.S ) is now working for Vantiv with Morgan Stanley ( MS.N ), the Wall Street bank that used to control the business.Worldpay said its half-year results for the period ending June 30 would now be published on Wednesday and Vantiv''s second-quarter results were also pushed back a day to coincide with the new release date.Worldpay employs 4,500 people and says it processes about 31 million mobile, online and in-store transactions each day. It is facing a leadership change in Britain where the head of its UK division, Peter Jackson, will join gambling firm Paddy Power Betfair ( PPB.I ) as CEO.While banks have been trying to develop and buy more sophisticated payments technology, companies such as PayPal ( PYPL.O ) and Worldpay have gained a large market share as consumers adopt online shopping and cashless transactions.Worldpay and Vantiv were both spun out of their banks after the financial crisis and thrived on their home turf but are now part of a wave of payments company mergers around the world.British firm Paysafe Group ( PAYS.L ) has backed a 3 billion pound takeover offer from a consortium managed by Blackstone ( BX.N ) and CVC Capital Partners while London-based buyout fund Permira has taken a stake in payments company Klarna, one of Europe''s most highly valued tech startups.Danish payment services firm Nets A/S ( NETS.CO ) has been approached by potential buyers in what could be another sizeable deal and French payments specialist Ingenico joined the rush with a 1.5 billion euro swoop on Swedish rival Bambora.Reporting by Pamela Barbaglia and Ben Martin; editing by David Clarke'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-worldpay-vantiv-idINKBN1AO0L5'|'2017-08-08T04:48:00.000+03:00' +'934cf3533ccd220e4dcadb6a3486888db0839a21'|'EMERGING MARKETS-LatAm currencies firm after Yellen avoids discussing policy'|'By Bruno Federowski SAO PAULO, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Latin American currencies strengthened on Friday after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen refrained from commenting on monetary policy in a speech, easing concerns of investors who had braced for a hawkish signal. At a conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Yellen said regulations put in place after the 2007-2009 financial crisis had strengthened the financial system without impeding economic growth, and any future changes should remain modest. "Maybe Yellen didn''t comment on the economy because she''s not very confident on the outlook," a New York-based portfolio manager said. A batch of mixed U.S. economic figures have cast a shadow on the nation''s economic recovery, driving some investors to dial back bets on an interest rate increase this year. A slower path of U.S. rate hikes could drive up demand for high-yielding assets, benefiting currencies from emerging-market economies. Currencies in Latin American strengthened between 0.1 percent and 1.2 percent, tracking a global decline in the U.S. dollar. Stock markets, however, were mixed, following a recent stretch of gains. Mexico''s S&P/BVM IPC index was nearly flat, while Brazil''s benchmark index slipped 0.2 percent. Shares of meatpacker JBS SA jumped after an anti-corruption division within the Brazilian prosecutor general''s office on Thursday approved a leniency deal with its controlling shareholder, J&F Investimentos SA. Also fostering appetite for JBS shares was a Reuters report that state development bank BNDES is doing all it can to remove Chief Executive Officer Wesley Batista, who is at the center of a corruption scandal, from the company. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1520 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % change change Latest MSCI Emerging Markets 1086.99 0.42 25.53 MSCI LatAm 2890.79 0.04 23.46 Brazil Bovespa 70965.25 -0.24 17.83 Mexico S&P/BVM IPC 51467.08 -0.01 12.76 Chile IPSA 5169.41 0.32 24.52 Chile IGPA 25808.53 0.32 24.47 Argentina MerVal 23513.82 0.52 38.99 Colombia IGBC 10899.23 -0.26 7.61 Venezuela IBC 201173.22 0.71 534.51 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.1430 0.10 3.38 Mexico peso 17.6300 0.55 17.66 Chile peso 636.12 0.23 5.44 Colombia peso 2926.32 1.15 2.57 Peru sol 3.236 0.03 5.50 Argentina peso (interbank) 17.2150 -0.03 -7.78 Argentina peso (parallel) 18.23 0.16 -7.73 (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/emerging-markets-latam-idINL2N1LB0XL'|'2017-08-25T13:44:00.000+03:00' +'946d5a9af1b9bfd257d28fa6e3fabc2ca8aaed05'|'Exclusive: Hudson''s Bay to review options after activist pressure -'|'FILE PHOTO: People shop inside at the Hudson''s Bay Company (HBC) flagship department store in Toronto January 27, 2014. Mark Blinch/File Photo (Reuters) - Hudson''s Bay Co, owner of the Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor retail chains, plans to review its options, including going private, following pressure from an activist shareholder, people familiar with the matter said.The Canadian retailer''s largest shareholder and executive chairman Richard Baker is looking for a new strategy after unsuccessful attempts this year to merge Hudson''s Bay with U.S. department store operators Macy''s Inc and Neiman Marcus.Hudson''s Bay, which is already working with an investment bank to defend itself against activist hedge fund Land and Buildings, has been seeking to hire another financial adviser to carry out the review, the sources said this week.The review will consider all available options, from the possibility of the company going private to potential sales of retail assets and real estate, the sources said, cautioning that no transaction is certain.The sources asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential. Hudson''s Bay declined to comment.Hudson''s Bay shares ended trading on Friday up 14.2 percent at C$11.45 on the news, giving the company a market capitalization of around C$2.1 billion ($1.7 billion). The company also had outstanding loans and borrowings totaling C$4.2 billion as of the end of April.Hudson''s Bay shares have lost close to 40 percent of their value in the last 12 months, as sales declined and consumers continued their shift away from department stores to online and discount retailers.Land and Buildings urged the company in June to consider going private and to monetize its real estate holdings. The hedge fund''s founder Jonathan Litt has called Hudson''s Bay "a real estate company, full stop."The 347-year-old company dates back to the fur-trading era and once claimed more than 40 percent of what is now Canada and a substantial chunk of what became Minnesota and North Dakota.Today, it owns more than $10 billion in real estate assets in North America and Europe, with the flagship Saks store on Fifth Avenue in New York alone valued at around $3.7 billion.Land and Buildings escalated the pressure last month, saying it would seek to nominate directors to serve on the company''s board unless the company took major steps to increase its stock price, including potentially selling Saks Fifth Avenue or exiting its business in Europe.Litt has also indicated he is open to Hudson''s Bay developing its own plan.Hudson''s Bay is not the first North American department store to consider going private this year. A group of Nordstrom Inc family members is also exploring ways to take the eponymous U.S. department store operator private.Hudson''s Bay has been successful over the years in attracting major property investors, such as RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust ( REI_u.TO ), in joint ventures that have allowed it to place more debt on its retail assets and seek to boost returns from rent and the value of the real estate.However, the strategy has reached its limits as the company''s sales have failed to keep pace with its ambitions for expansion. In addition to Saks Fifth Avenue in 2013, its acquisitions include Germany''s Galeria Kaufhof in 2015 and online shop Gilt Groupe last year.After reporting a wider-than-expected first-quarter loss in June, the company said it would cut about 2,000 jobs across North America.Hudson''s Bay has reported a fall in consolidated same-store sales for five consecutive quarters, and industry analysts and consultants expect another decline when the company reports second-quarter earnings next month.A bid by Hudson''s Bay for Macy''s was spurned earlier this year, as Hudson''s Bay struggled to put together the financing needed, Reuters reported at the time. Hudson''s Bay also explored an acquisition of debt-laden Neiman Marcus, which it subsequently abandoned.Reporting by Carl O''Donnell and Lauren Hirsch in New York; Additional reporting by Greg Roumeliotis and Michael Flaherty in New York and John Tilak and Solarina Ho in Toronto; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli, Tom Brown and Diane Craft '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-hudson-s-bay-m-a-exclusive-idINKCN1B52DN'|'2017-08-25T17:02:00.000+03:00' +'84969be60892efe53e731caf060ffbce67d75ab9'|'Bank of Baroda first-quarter profit slumps 52 percent'|'A man walks past the Bank of Baroda headquarters in Mumbai, May 3, 2016. Danish Siddiqui/Files REUTERS - Indian state-run Bank of Baroda Ltd reported a 52 percent plunge in first-quarter net profit on Friday.The fifth-largest bank in the country by assets reported a net profit of 2.03 billion rupees ($31.65 million), for the three-month period ended June 30, compared with 4.24 billion rupees a year ago. ( bit.ly/2vtmE9a )Gross bad loans as a percentage of total loans rose to 11.40 percent by end of June, from 10.46 percent at the end of March, and 11.15 percent at June-end last year.($1 = 64.1475 Krishna V Kurup Sherry Jacob-Phillips'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/bank-of-baroda-results-idINKBN1AR11P'|'2017-08-11T09:02:00.000+03:00' +'c457a3414051642470169f88990a5a0103a00b85'|'SAIC General Motors recalls 6,451 GL8 minivans in China - Reuters'|'BEIJING, Aug 6 (Reuters) - SAIC General Motors has started recalling 6,451 GL8 minivans in China due to problems with the vehicles'' electronic steering software, the country''s top quality watchdog said.The recall, which started on Friday, involves 2017 Buick GL8 vehicles made last year between June 6 and Dec. 6, China''s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said in a statement on its website.SAIC General Motors, a joint venture between General Motors Co and SAIC Motor Corp, will upgrade the software to eliminate any potential safety issues, according to the statement dated Aug. 4. (Reporting by Ryan Woo; Editing by Susan Fenton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/saic-motor-gm-recall-idINL4N1KS0DJ'|'2017-08-06T13:17:00.000+03:00' +'2022a8a00c83f756b6ed5b47c723c09c9936ebfc'|'RPT-European companies seek help dealing with activist investor threat'|'(Repeats story sent Aug 23, no change to text)By Clara Denina , Ben Martin and Maiya KeidanLONDON, Aug 23 (Reuters) - European companies are being told by their advisers to open up and engage more with existing shareholders to fend off the increasing threat from activist investors, who force strategy changes to push up a target''s share price.Activist investors are mostly hedge funds managing tens of billions of dollars of capital. The largest ones are from the U.S. and, having had success in North America and benefiting from a stronger dollar, they are flush with cash and looking for opportunities further afield.According to JP Morgan, activist investors have launched 119 campaigns in Europe in the 12 months to June 2017, compared to 100 a year earlier and 62 five years ago.That has pushed corporate management teams across Europe to ask investment bankers for help preparing defences in case an activist crops up on their shareholder register."We have seen a significant increase in calls from clients seeking our advice on how to prepare for when these investors knock on the door, especially after the activists'' stakes in Nestle and Clariant-Huntsman became public," said Hernan Cristerna, co-head of global M&A at JP Morgan.New York-based fund Corvex is pushing for Swiss chemicals company Clariant to abandon its proposed merger with U.S. peer Huntsman. Third Point, led by billionaire hedge fund manager Dan Loeb, took a $3.5 billion stake in Nestle in July and has started calling for an overhaul.Though there are several well-known European activists, such as TCI Fund Management and Cevian, most of the world''s largest funds such as Third Point, Elliott Management and ValueAct are American. Their success has crowded the U.S. market.Europe is seen as tempting as financial and political uncertainties have diminished. UK companies are thought to be particularly attractive targets due to corporate governance rules which give shareholders more influence, and the often large number of minority investors.Anglo-Australian miner BHP Billiton has spent the past five months trying to fend off demands for a shake-up by Elliot Management.On Tuesday, BHP said it was looking at options to exit its U.S. onshore shale business, conceding to one of Elliott''s demands.TACTICS Often activist investors initially engage with target companies quietly, discussing possibly strategy changes with them. Some firms welcome them, as they can help secure wider support from shareholders or insiders for major change.But mostly the funds are seen as a threat, especially when they start publicly calling for changes and criticising companies who will not adopt their recommendations."More companies in Europe feel the need to have a discussion with their advisers on activism - no one wants to fend off an activist attack in the public eye," JPM''s Cristerna added.Bankers said they advise clients to engage with existing shareholders to potentially dissuade them from supporting an activist attack. They also look at companies'' assets and advise them if any could be sold to improve shareholder returns.These pre-emptive moves might explain why the success rate of activist campaigns in Europe has been falling since 2014. According to data from industry tracker Activist Insight in 2017 just 32.8 percent of campaigns have been "at least partially successful", compared to 43.2 percent in 2016.Among those that emerged as clear victors this year in Europe is Nordic hedge fund Accendo Capital Managers, which became the largest shareholder in fibre optic manufacturer Hexatronic Group and whose stock has risen almost 80 percent since the initial investment.Others have achieved a more complicated victory, such as British hedge fund TCI, which became embroiled in aero engine maker Safran''s offer for Zodiac Aerospace. "We got most of what we asked for," TCI partner Jonathan Amouyal told Reuters in May after Safran cut its offer.At the same time, TCI has yet to make any tangible impact at Volkswagen where it is pushing for change. Volkswagen stock has fallen 2.14 percent since the hedge fund launched its activist campaign.CULTURAL DIFFERENCE U.S. bankers said that as campaigns targeting European firms increase, they are looking to cash in on advisory work."European institutional investors are less comfortable with the concept of activism from a cultural perspective, particularly when it''s a U.S. hedge fund coming over," said Chris Young, head of contested situations at Credit Suisse in New York."In the U.S., activists are often treated like rock stars, they get a lot of favourable press coverage and that''s not the case in Europe," he added.Citigroup this week announced it had hired Muir Paterson to head the bank''s global team of bankers advising companies on activist shareholders."We had teams in the U.S. dealing with activist issues and we also have now people in Europe, working closely with their U.S. colleagues because more often than not, these activists are the same," Severin Brizay, head of EMEA M&A at UBS said.For the funds themselves, this can also bring benefits.Harlan Zimmerman, a senior partner at Anglo-Swedish activist firm Cevian Capital, said some European companies are becoming more willing to engage with activist investors."With the proliferation of activism, companies and their advisers have gained a much better understanding of the spectrum of activism and how to engage with activists of all sorts," he said."There''s no longer a stigma from having certain activists involved and on a board. In fact some boards see it as a validation and helpful to realising their own objectives for the companies." (Editing by Rachel Armstrong and Elaine Hardcastle)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/investor-activism-europe-idINL8N1L94XM'|'2017-08-24T06:00:00.000+03:00' +'9cabd22f55496a2af58c8e046422f651cfef8902'|'S&P, Dow flat as strong data helps offset Trump''s North Korea comments'|'A street sign for Wall Street is seen outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., December 28, 2016. Andrew Kelly/File Photo REUTERS - The S&P and the Dow opened little changed on Wednesday as investors focused on data that showed stronger-than-expected U.S. economic growth, helping offset worries over President Donald Trump''s latest tweet on North Korea.Gross domestic product increased at a 3.0 percent rate in the April-June period, the Commerce Department said in its second estimate.The upward revision in the second-quarter data from the 2.6 percent pace reported last month reflected robust consumer spending as well as strong business investment.Adding to the positive sentiment, a report from payroll processor ADP showed that U.S. private employers added 237,000 jobs in August for its biggest monthly increase in five months, above the 183,000 jobs expected by economists.The strong data could strengthen the Federal Reserve''s case for another rate hike this year.Chances of a rate hike rose to 37 percent from 32 percent after the data, according to CME Group''s FedWatch tool.The ADP report comes ahead of the more comprehensive government payrolls data for August on Friday.Investors are also keeping an eye out on the ongoing tensions between the United States and North Korea after Trump dismissed any diplomatic negotiations with North Korea, saying "talking is not the answer," a day after Pyongyang fired a ballistic missile over Japan.The "U.S. has been talking to North Korea, and paying them extortion money, for 25 years. Talking is not the answer," Trump tweeted on Wednesday."We suspect the North Korea problem, although not yet causing a rush to exit will eventually take a negative toll on the markets," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial.Also on the radar is Trump''s first speech specifically on tax policy later in the day. The speech, officials said, would be about "why" reforming the tax code was needed, not about "how" to reform it."Trump''s outline of tax reform today is likely to be well received by the markets," Cardillo said.At 9:42 a.m. ET (1342 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 2.2 points, or 0.01 percent, at 21,867.57, the S&P 500 was up 1.23 points, or 0.05 percent, at 2,447.53.The Nasdaq Composite was up 18.79 points, or 0.3 percent, at 6,320.68, on gains in Apple and Amazon.Eight of the 11 major S&P sectors were lower, with the energy index''s 0.52 percent fall leading the decliners.Crude oil prices slid, while gasoline futures hit their highest since mid-2015 on Wednesday as flooding and damage from Harvey shut over a fifth of U.S. refineries. [O/R]Tropical Storm Harvey made its second landfall in Louisiana on Wednesday, pouring down more water after setting rainfall records in Texas.Among stocks, shares of H&R Block fell 7.2 percent to $27.29, the top S&P percentage loser, after the tax preparation service provider reported a bigger-than-expected quarterly loss. Chico''s FAS declined 7.41 percent after the apparel retailer forecast gross margin declines and a bigger drop in full-year comparable sales.Dycom Industries fell 5.71 percent after the broadband fiber installer''s forecast missed expectations.Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by 1,435 to 1,087. On the Nasdaq, 1,152 issues rose and 1,130 fell.Reporting by Sruthi Shankar Sriraj Kalluvila '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-idINKCN1BA1NL'|'2017-08-30T17:31:00.000+03:00' +'18fb2c9f1670da548a36ff84b9e1c5b3fdf30783'|'China Coal Energy''s H1 profit soars on rising demand, prices'|'(Reuters) - China Coal Energy, the country''s second-largest coal producer, posted a 175 percent rise in first-half net profit on robust demand from utilities and government moves to curb oversupply and improve mine safety.Net profit rose to 1.7 billion yuan ($255.14 million) from 616 million yuan a year earlier, it said in a filing on the Shanghai stock exchange on Wednesday."We expect coal market to see stable supply and demand in the near future. Coal prices will remain within a reasonable range," China Coal President Li Yanjiang said in a statement.Thermal coal prices shot to record highs this year as people cranked up air conditioners due to a prolonged heatwave in China, hydropower cuts in the south and a crackdown on mine safety.Coal futures prices have risen more than 40 percent since the start of this year to 591 yuan ($88.71) on Wednesday, which is expected to boost earnings of other major suppliers, such as China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd and Inner Mongolia Yitai Coal Co Ltd.Shenhua Energy, whose first-half results are also due this month, said in late July it expected net profit to jump by almost 150 percent.($1 = 6.6623 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Meng Meng; Editing by Susan Thomas'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/markets/companyOutlooksNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/china-chinacoal-results-idINKCN1B315D'|'2017-08-23T09:02:00.000+03:00' +'ac9d2b7c6084487c91b63cbfca734f8c77227e0a'|'Colombia coal output down 6.95 percent in second quarter'|'August 17, 2017 / 1:35 PM / 5 minutes ago Colombia coal output down 6.95 percent in second quarter 1 Min Read BOGOTA, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Colombia''s coal output fell 6.95 percent to 21.4 million tonnes in the second quarter from a year earlier, the national mining agency said on Thursday. The Andean nation, the world''s fifth-largest coal exporter, produced 23.07 million tonnes in the second quarter of 2016, the ministry said in a statement. The sector is seeking to produce 95 million tonnes this year. The biggest players in Colombia''s coal industry are Drummond Co, Glencore Plc, Murray Energy Corp''s Colombia Natural Resources and Cerrejon, which is jointly owned by BHP Billiton , Anglo American PLC and Glencore. (Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/colombia-coal-idUSL2N1L30LB'|'2017-08-17T16:34:00.000+03:00' +'f9bacc8ea643dfe4c1542a7b8de98d02178c8952'|'Brazil''s Bom Jesus creditors approve reorganization plan -source'|'SAO PAULO, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Creditors of Grupo Bom Jesus, a Brazilian grain producer that filed for bankruptcy protection in May, have agreed to proposed terms of a 2.6 billion reais ($835 million) debt restructuring, a source with knowledge of the matter said.All classes of creditors voted in favor of the plan in a court in the midwestern town of Rondonpolis, the source added.The approved reorganization plan allows the grain producer to sell assets such as farms to raise cash. Creditors can choose between debt maturities to up to 15 years or receive notes that may be repaid earlier once Bom Jesus sells assets, court documents seen by Reuters show.Reuters first reported the proposed terms of the restructuring, which is being advised by Pantalica Partners, a year ago.$1 = 3.1128 reais Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer; Editing by Sandra Maler'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/grupo-bom-jesus-restructuring-idINL1N1KO23B'|'2017-08-02T20:21:00.000+03:00' +'7599493cb84c417fd352944c49d8a74ae568892a'|'Exclusive - Blackstone in talks to sell stake in camera maker Leica: sources'|'August 2, 2017 / 3:44 PM / in 7 minutes Exclusive: Blackstone in talks to sell stake in camera maker Leica - sources Arno Schuetze 4 Min Read Vintage lenses and cameras of German camera manufacturer Leica are on display at the Leica headquarters in Wetzlar, Germany, November 10, 2016. Kai Pfaffenbach FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Buyout group Blackstone ( BX.N ) is in talks with potential buyers for its 45 percent stake in iconic high-end camera and sport optics maker Leica, people close to the matter said. The investor has teamed up with an investment bank to work out strategic options for the company and has already held talks with several potential acquirers, the people said, adding no official auction process was underway. Blackstone declined to comment. Any potential buyer will have to come to terms with Austria''s Kaufmann family, whose vehicle ACM owns a 55 percent stake in Leica, having brought in Blackstone as a co-investor in 2011. "ACM has long-term goals with Leica Camera," Leica Chairman and ACM managing director Andreas Kaufmann told Reuters, adding that his family''s definition of long-term was that of a 100-year horizon. Leica, one of the world''s oldest photography brands, traces its roots back to a German microscope producer founded in 1849, and launched its first 35 mm compact camera in 1924. The rise of competitors after the World War Two, especially in Japan, saw Leica transform into a niche upmarket brand. In 1996, Leica Camera separated from the microscope and measuring devices businesses and listed on the stock exchange, before luxury goods maker Hermes invested in it in 2000, later selling its stake to the Kaufmann family, which by end-2007 held 97 percent of the company. Leica is expected to report earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of roughly 70 million euros this year and may have a valuation of around 700 million euros ($828 million) in a potential deal, people close to the matter said. FILE PHOTO -- The ticker and trading information for Blackstone Group is displayed at the post where it is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) April 4, 2016. Brendan McDermid/File Photo While mass market camera makers such as Canon ( 7751.T ) and Nikon ( 7731.T ) trade at 7 to 9 times their expected core earnings, Blackstone hopes to reap a premium to that for Leica, whose cameras are seen as luxury goods. Sport optics peers include Germany''s Zeiss and Austria''s Swarovski Optik. Zeiss is potentially interested in Leica Camera, but would only agree to a deal if it was able to secure a majority stake, the sources said. Potential buyers include other family investors, they said, adding that Asian optics groups and private equity funds had also shown interest. Last year, Chinese investor CDH expressed interest in buying Blackstone''s stake in Leica, but no deal materialized, one of the people said. China''s Huawei, founded by a former Chinese army engineer, has licensed Leica camera technology for use in some of its smartphones. Huawei is the world''s third largest smartphone maker. Providing cameras for other uses from smartphones to cars has emerged as a second pillar of suppliers, while pocket cameras sales have come under pressure from the rise of smartphones. Expensive lifestyle cameras have so far bucked that trend. Huawei was, however, unlikely to show interest in buying Blackstone''s stake, one of the people said. Zeiss and Huawei declined to comment, while CDH was not immediately available for comment. Additional reporting by Julie Zhu, Dasha Afanasieva and Eric Auchard; Editing by Maria Sheahan and David Evans 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-blackstone-leica-camera-sale-idUKKBN1AI22V'|'2017-08-02T19:00:00.000+03:00' +'c1c8a49185671ad9ccb53fc463bceae0a6487f32'|'California insurance regulator to probe Wells Fargo over unwanted auto policies'|'August 8, 2017 / 3:56 PM / in 4 hours California insurance regulator to probe Wells Fargo over auto policies 3 Min Read A Wells Fargo logo is seen in New York City, U.S. January 10, 2017. Stephanie Keith (Reuters) - California will investigate whether Wells Fargo & Co ( WFC.N ) and an insurance company harmed hundreds of thousands of residents by selling them insurance they did not need, the state''s insurance regulator said on Tuesday. California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said in a statement his department will look into so-called "force-placed" or "lender-placed" auto insurance underwritten by National General Insurance Co NGIN.DU for customers with auto loans from Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo declined to comment on the probe, while a National General representative could not be immediately reached for comment. Unwanted auto insurance is the latest chapter in a months-long scandal over sales practices at Wells, where employees also created as many as 2.1 million deposit and credit card accounts in customers'' names without their permission. The probe by California follows subpoenas issued by New York state''s banking and insurance regulator to two Wells Fargo units on Aug. 2. The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) is demanding Wells turn over loan contracts with New York borrowers, its financing agreements with auto dealers, and agreements between Wells units and insurers, among other details, according to copies of the subpoenas seen by Reuters. Wells first became aware of potential problems a year ago, when the auto lending business began receiving an unusually high number of complaints, Franklin Codel, head of consumer lending, said in a recent interview. The bank said it would refund about $80 million to an estimated 570,000 customers who were wrongly charged for auto insurance from 2012 to 2017, including roughly 20,000 whose vehicles were repossessed. "Wells Fargo discontinued its Collateral Protection Insurance (CPI) program in September 2016 after finding inadequacies in vendor processes and our internal controls that negatively impacted some customers," the company said in a statement. National General was identified as an underwriter of the insurance in a report into the matter prepared for Wells by consultancy Oliver Wyman. The New York Times obtained a copy of the report. Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn; Editing by Bill Rigby and Chris Reese 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-wells-fargo-autos-idUSKBN1AO1VT'|'2017-08-08T18:56:00.000+03:00' +'3b126830da4e33442d8f164cde08363495fb4df1'|'COLUMN-Harvey may succeed where OPEC has struggled by boosting oil prices: Russell'|'(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.)* Graphic of storm Harvey''s path: tmsnrt.rs/2gg5KaMBy Clyde RussellLAUNCESTON, Australia, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Hurricane Harvey may achieve in global crude oil markets in a few days what OPEC and its allies have struggled to achieve in months - a tightening of supplies and a rise in prices.Harvey, which has been downgraded to a tropical storm, hit the coast of Texas on Friday as the most powerful hurricane to hit the U.S. state in more than 50 years, causing widespread damage and flooding.The region where the storm struck is home to some 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) of refining capacity as well as being a major shipment point for both imports and exports of crude oil and fuel products.The refining capacity that has been idled because of the storm is about 11.2 percent of the U.S. total, and the immediate impact is being felt in gasoline prices.Benchmark U.S. gasoline futures jumped as much as 6.8 percent in early trade on Monday in Asia to touch $1.7799 a gallon.Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose as much as 0.8 percent in early Asian trade, reaching as high as $52.84 a barrel.So far, this would imply the crude market is fairly relaxed about the impact of Harvey, but it''s possible the effect of the storm will travel far beyond U.S. gasoline prices, given the United States'' status as an emerging power in crude and refined product exports.It has been U.S. shale oil output that has largely frustrated efforts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and their allies to drive crude prices higher this year by restricting their own production.While much of the offshore crude production in the Gulf of Mexico was shut in ahead of Harvey''s passage, the yet to be quantified damage from the storm may lie with the onshore, shale oil output that was in the storm''s path.The Eagle Ford shale basin lies in the path of the storm and producers in the region have idled production.Among those oil companies that have halted operations in the Eagle Ford are ConocoPhillips, which produced 161,000 bpd of oil equivalent at the end of 2016 in the region, BHP Billiton with 99,000 bpd and Murphy Oil with 46,000 bpd, according to a report from S&P Global Platts.The risk is that this onshore production takes longer to return than the market may expect, given the apparent widespread damage to infrastructure from flooding in the region and the length of time it may take floodwaters to recede.If this is the case, customers for U.S. crude and product exports may well find themselves scrambling to line up replacement cargoes.GLOBAL IMPACT The fallout from Harvey won''t just be limited to the United States and close neighbours.China imported about 130,000 bpd from the United States in the first seven months of the year, including some 174,000 bpd in July, making it the 15th biggest supplier to the world''s top crude buyer, according to customs data.The United States has been exporting around 1 million bpd of crude in recent months, and while not all of this will be affected by Harvey, as much as three-quarters of this is shipped from the U.S. Gulf Coast region.It''s not only U.S. exports of crude that will be affected, the region is also a hub for imports.This means that trade flows will be disrupted, with some cargoes likely to be diverted.Overall, this makes it more likely that prices will rise in the short term as suppliers of crude to the U.S. Gulf Coast seek new buyers, and buyers of U.S. crude seek new supplies.It''s also likely that the spread between various crude grades will be affected, as the U.S. mainly exports light crude but imports heavier grades.A loss of U.S. exports of light crude may stoke demand for similar grades from suppliers such as Angola and Nigeria, while shippers of heavier crudes may have to offer discounts if cargoes headed for the United States have to be diverted.While Harvey may have a short-term impact on global crude and product markets, the question is how quickly U.S. production and exports return to normal.Even assuming it takes no more than a few weeks, Harvey''s impact may be somewhat longer lasting.In effect the storm has given OPEC and its allies, such as Russia, some breathing space.It does appear that Saudi Arabia, OPEC''s leading producer, is shipping less crude as it works to translate production cuts into lower exports.If other producers can follow suit in the next couple of months, it''s possible that any tightness caused by the impact of the hurricane can simply be extended, leading to a sustained price rally.Editing by Richard Pullin '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/column-russell-storm-harvey-crude-idUSL4N1LE18L'|'2017-08-28T05:01:00.000+03:00' +'1574810018fabfec1520382015370c0d4d0dd183'|'SEC says bond liquidity fears overdone'|'August 10, 2017 / 3:51 PM / 23 minutes ago SEC says bond liquidity fears overdone Christopher Spink 5 Min Read LONDON, Aug 10 (IFR) - US regulators have downplayed the impact of stricter regulation in financial markets, suggesting fears of a subsequent lack of liquidity in credit trading is overblown. On Tuesday the Securities & Exchange Commission said in a report to the US Congress that evidence for the impact of regulatory reforms on market liquidity is mixed, with different measures of market liquidity showing different trends. The report said the changes could not be ascribed to the introduction of new rules and regulations alone but had to be considered alongside other factors such as the electronification of markets, changes in macroeconomic conditions, and post-crisis changes in dealer risk preferences. These trends pre-dated the Dodd-Frank Act, which outlawed US-regulated banks from proprietary trading among other measures, and Basel III, which requires banks to hold heightened levels of capital. More specifically, in the US Treasury markets the SEC found no empirical evidence consistent with the hypothesis that liquidity has deteriorated after regulatory reforms. It noted that the Volcker rule in Dodd-Frank, which bans prop trading, did not apply to this market in any case. The SEC said that for corporate bond markets, trading activity and average transaction costs have generally improved or remained flat. It said that more corporate bond issues traded after regulatory changes than in any prior sample period. The report said transaction costs had decreased by 31bp for trade sizes below US$20,000 and were 0.1bp lower for larger trade sizes than the 5.8bp before the crisis. The SEC did say trading was more concentrated in less complex bonds, and bonds with larger issue sizes. That would suggest that market participants feel smaller or more esoteric bonds now show less liquidity since banks can no longer hold such a wide range of inventory, as the report noted. However, it said the number of dealers involved in the market had not declined. Other pockets of seeming illiquidity were also observed. For instance, it said dealing costs had increased for sizeable trades of larger bonds of more than US$500m issue size, some investment-grade bonds, younger bonds issued under two years ago and bonds with maturities over 20 years. It also said that in times of severe market stress dealers may not lean into the wind, but instead make larger cuts in inventory of bonds that are aggressively sold by their customers. The SEC said this supported findings that dealers decrease liquidity provision during such episodes. Finally it said that increased electronic trading and use of single-name credit default swaps may have added to extra liquidity provision since the crisis. HIGH YIELD PICK UP In March, markets regulator IOSCO reached similar conclusions in its own report into the corporate bonds markets, finding no substantial evidence that market liquidity between 2004 and 2015 had deteriorated markedly from historic norms for non-crisis periods. In a separate report on Wednesday, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said that credit market liquidity remained challenging because lower bond supply over the past year and strong central bank buying has resulted in fewer bonds being available for traditional credit investors to buy. But it did find that while trading frequencies had declined in the high-grade euro and sterling corporate bond market, we have seen an improvement in the high-yield space. In the latter case, the liquidity is now concentrated in fewer issues of higher notional. The broker said that this could be because a broader investor base is looking to trade HY bonds as higher-yielding opportunities continued to be sought. Over the past 12 months, a higher proportion of the available stock is trading, it said. A survey of BAML clients found that three-quarters of investment-grade investors thought liquidity had deteriorated or remained unchanged but the same proportion of high-yield investors thought it had improved or remained the same. All said spreads had tightened over the past year. BAML agreed with the SEC report in finding that liquidity was concentrated in certain benchmark bonds with five and 10-year bonds highlighted as showing better liquidity in terms of tighter spreads and higher turnover. (Reporting by Christopher Spink) 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/sec-says-bond-liquidity-fears-overdone-idUSL5N1KW60F'|'2017-08-10T18:50:00.000+03:00' +'019a879e380b5714b319a5c4a4c3ae86f652a3b1'|'JPMorgan launches new algo-driven ''dark pool'' for stocks'|'August 14, 2017 / 8:49 PM / 5 hours ago JPMorgan launches new algo-driven ''dark pool'' for stocks 3 Min Read A J.P. Morgan logo is seen in New York City, U.S. January 10, 2017. Stephanie Keith NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ) has begun trading on a new private stock trading venue, or "dark pool," that lets its clients use the bank''s algorithms to buy or sell stocks at a benchmark price reached over a period of time. Trading in the new dark pool, known as JPBX, began the week of July 17, according to data from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. The move comes at a time of increased regulatory scrutiny of dark pools that has led to a number of trading venues being shuttered, and highlights JPMorgan''s efforts to expand its equities business. JPMorgan''s securities unit also runs JPMX, a dark pool that matches shares in a more traditional manner, within the spread of the best bid and offer prices shown on public stock exchanges like those run by Nasdaq Inc ( NDAQ.O ) or Intercontinental Exchange Inc''s ( ICE.N ) New York Stock Exchange. Brokers looking to get benchmark pricing for their orders can access the new dark pool through JPMorgan''s algorithms. For instance, a broker might have an order for 5,000 shares to buy while another broker has an order for 2,000 shares of the same stock and wants to get the volume-weighted average price. JPBX will lock up the 2,000 shares on both sides for say, two minutes, and then execute at the average price of the stock over the previous two minutes. The bank hopes to have the dark pool fully launched by the end of the month, said a person with knowledge of the matter who did not have permission to be quoted in the media. JPMorgan spokeswoman Jessica Francisco declined to comment. Nearly every major bank has a dark pool, a trading venue that does not have to provide information such as trade sizes or prices to the public prior to trades taking place, with the aim of getting large orders done with minimal price movement. Dark pools have historically been lightly regulated when compared with public exchanges, but in recent years have come under increased scrutiny, driving up legal, compliance, and technology costs for the firms that run them. Over the past several years, the number of dark pools has dwindled to around 30, according to FINRA, from around 50. For the week of July 24, 417,289 shares were crossed on 3,636 orders in JPBX, up from 2,220 shares on 16 orders the previous week, according to FINRA. Reporting by John McCrank; Editing by Lisa Shumaker 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/INbusinessNews'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/jpmorgan-stocks-darkpool-idINKCN1AU2BJ'|'2017-08-14T23:46:00.000+03:00' +'84ccbec5e30f1a5ca44f166cfc87d2f6df681122'|'European shares dip as ex-divs, cyclicals weigh; results boost Aegon, Coca Cola HBC'|'August 10, 2017 / 7:34 AM / 2 hours ago Cyclicals and ex-divs sap European shares amid earnings flurry Kit Rees 3 Min Read Traders work in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, August 9, 2017. Staff/Remote LONDON (Reuters) - European shares slipped on Thursday as cyclicals fell and some big stocks went ex-dividend, while earnings from firms including Aegon and Coca Cola HBC sparked significant moves. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.3 percent by 0835 GMT as basic resources and banks fell, while euro zone blue chips dipped 0.3 percent. Britain''s FTSE 100 dropped 0.8 percent as large caps Anglo American, BT Group, Rio Tinto and Lloyds fell after going ex-dividend, while Germany''s DAX retreated 0.3 percent. While rising political tensions between the U.S. and North Korea hit risky assets globally in the previous session, with financials leading losses amongst European equities, company results were the dominant focus on Thursday. Shares in insurer Aegon and soft drinks bottler Coca Cola HBC rose 8.5 percent and 9.4 percent respectively after their updates. Aegon beat expectations for its second quarter underlying pretax profit, while Coca Cola HBC shares hit a record level after first half sales were higher than expected. "Aegon released a very strong set of Q2 results marked by a significant increase in the group SII ratio, strong underlying earnings and an improved outlook for capital generation," analysts at KBC Securities said in a note. Second-quarter results, however, put pressure on shares in staffing firm Adecco, chemicals company Lanxess and consumer group Henkel, which were among the biggest fallers. Around 70 percent of MSCI Europe firms have reported second quarter earnings so far, of which more than 60 percent have either met or beaten analysts'' expectations, according to Thomson Reuters data. Financials and the energy and materials sectors have seen the biggest beats, while industrials have had the biggest misses "Broadly in Europe, I had thought that (earnings) wouldn''t be as good, partly because the strength of the euro would make (firms'') export market less attractive and earnings would be more impinged by that, but it doesn''t so far seem to be the case," James Butterfill, head of research and investment strategy at ETF Securities, said, adding that a pick-up in domestic demand is likely to have helped. Shares in Belgian biotech firm Galapagos were the top risers on the STOXX index, surging around 17 percent after a successful mid-stage study for its lung fibrosis drug. Telecoms company SFR was up 9.6 percent after Altice raised its stake in the firm to more than 95 percent and said that it was planning a full buyout offer for remaining shares. Reporting by Kit Rees; editing by John Stonestreet and Alexander Smith 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks-idUKKBN1AQ0RE'|'2017-08-10T10:31:00.000+03:00' +'065fb2dbbcb55c21f67f5261de0a525f0a65e859'|'Venezuela''s PDVSA defends ''perfect'' relationship with Russia'|'August 18, 2017 / 8:06 PM / an hour ago Venezuela''s PDVSA defends ''perfect'' relationship with Russia Alexandra Ulmer 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Istanbul, Turkey, October 10, 2016. Sputnik/Kremlin/Alexei Druzhinin via REUTERS CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela''s alliance with Russia is "perfect," the president of state oil company PDVSA said on Friday, blasting what he said was a U.S.-led attempt to sully the growing ties between the two nations. Reuters last week published a Special Report revealing that Venezuela''s unraveling socialist government is increasingly turning to Russia for the cash and credit it needs to survive and offering prized state-owned oil assets in return, sources familiar with the negotiations told Reuters.(For the Special Report click reut.rs/2uMwAZD ) Venezuela''s opposition lawmakers say Russia is behaving more like a predator than an ally, scooping up assets on the cheap and gaining control of much of the OPEC nation''s crude for trading at a time when President Nicolas Maduro is desperate for financing. PDVSA [PDVSA.UL] President Eulogio Del Pino said the United States and its allies were trying to hurt Caracas'' relationship with Moscow because they feared losing Latin America to Russia''s sphere of influence. "That''s why they''re attacking you Russians," said Del Pino in a televised broadcast from the Petrozamora joint venture with Russia''s Gazprombank. "That''s why the North American empire goes against our nation, why they threaten us so blatantly. Because they see a threat to what for over 80 years they considered their backyard." Without directly mentioning Reuters, Del Pino also criticized that "every piece of news that these nation-hating people generate goes against the oil industry" as part of a broader attempt to destabilize leftist-run Venezuela. In what he said was proof of strength in Venezuela''s oil industry, Del Pino said joint ventures with Russian companies in Venezuela were producing some 250,000 barrels per day. "We''re working in perfect alliance," Del Pino said as red-shirted oil workers clapped. Additional reporting by Andreina Aponte and Corina Pons; Editing by Marguerita Choy 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-russia-oil-idUKKCN1AY2AJ'|'2017-08-18T23:05:00.000+03:00' +'4dde03a74e2ac98954002bfc960a5f1d60182649'|'Canada''s OneREIT to be taken private in a C$1.1 billion deal'|'August 4, 2017 / 12:57 PM / 3 hours ago Canada''s OneREIT to be taken private in a C$1.1 billion deal 1 Min Read (Reuters) - Canada''s OneREIT ( ONR_u.TO ) said on Friday it would go private after being bought by SmartREIT and Strathallen Acquisitions Inc in a C$1.1 billion deal, including debt. Under the terms of the deal, shareholders of OneREIT, which owns and operates shopping centers in Canada, will receive C$4.26 per share in cash and SmartREIT unit. The company said it was exploring strategic alternatives earlier this year. Reporting by Ahmed Farhatha in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-onereit-m-a-smartreit-idINKBN1AK1II'|'2017-08-04T10:57:00.000+03:00' +'69b400eaa72f138840b153ac16f2d6d6b32751fa'|'METALS-Metals slip from peaks, but iron ore rally supports'|'MELBOURNE, Aug 22 (Reuters) - London copper edged down on Tuesday from three-year highs touched the session before, but the resumption of a rally in iron ore prices offered support to the sector. FUNDAMENTALS * LONDON COPPER: London Metal Exchange copper had slipped 0.3 percent to $6,567 a tonne by 0153 GMT. That followed 1.5-percent gains the previous session, when prices hit their highest since November 2014 at $6,623 a tonne. * SHANGHAI COPPER: Shanghai Futures Exchange copper was holding 0.6-percent gains at 51,500 yuan ($7,737), having struck its strongest since March 2013 at 52,130 yuan a tonne overnight. * OTHER METALS: ShFE nickel trimmed early gains to hold up 1.7 percent, while zinc and lead sagged by 0.8 and 2.5 percent respectively. * CHINA STEEL: China''s steel sector offered some support, with rebar flat and Dalian iron ore up 3 pct. * PRICE OUTLOOK: "Maybe we have seen the high of this year, prices could consolidate a bit towards Q4," said one trader in Singapore. "I think medium term is still bullish on commodities (but) I am not too bullish for the short term. (Still), not a good time to short, even though looks high now." * CHINA DEBT: Rising corporate profits are providing Chinese policymakers with room to do more to tackle the countrys growing debt problems without inflicting major damage on the economy. * BHP: Global mining giant BHP Billiton posted a surge in annual underlying profit to $6.7 billion on Tuesday, but missed forecasts, and said it was putting its U.S. shale assets up for sale. * GERMANY ECONOMY: The German economy could grow faster this year than earlier expected on the back of exceptionally strong industrial production, exports and consumption, the Bundesbank said in a monthly report on Monday. * SHANGHAI FEES: The ShFE said on Monday it would adjust transaction fees for zinc futures for delivery in October and November and would limit the volumes non-members could trade each day from Aug. 23. * CHILE: The Chilean government rejected on Monday a controversial $2.5-billion copper and iron project proposed by privately-held Andes Iron, though the company vowed to appeal. * MINMETALS: China Minmetals Corp (CHMIN.UL) plans to invest 10 billion yuan ($1.50 billion) to upgrade its copper, lead and zinc smelting facilities Hunan province, a spokesman confirmed on Monday, after a recent rebuke from the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP). * For the top stories in metals and other news, click or MARKETS NEWS * Asian shares edged higher on Tuesday, taking solace from modest gains on Wall Street even as investors remained wary ahead of the annual central banking conference in Jackson Hole later this week. DATA/EVENTS 0830 U.K. Public finances Jul 0900 Germany Economic sentiment index (ZEW) Aug 1300 U.S. Home prices (FHFA) Jun 1400 U.S. Richmond Fed manufacturing index Aug PRICES BASE METALS PRICES 0142 GMT Three month LME copper 6568 Most active ShFE copper 51530 Three month LME aluminium 2070 Most active ShFE aluminium 16310 Three month LME zinc 3110.5 Most active ShFE zinc 26095 Three month LME lead 2329.5 Most active ShFE lead 19155 Three month LME nickel 11295 Most active ShFE nickel 91510 Three month LME tin 20430 Most active ShFE tin 144360 BASE METALS ARBITRAGE LME/SHFE COPPER LMESHFCUc3 542.59 LME/SHFE ALUMINIUM LMESHFALc3 315.17 LME/SHFE ZINC LMESHFZNc3 1304.28 LME/SHFE LEAD LMESHFPBc3 340.99 LME/SHFE NICKEL LMESHFNIc3 1795.98 ($1 = 6.6563 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Joseph Radford)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/global-metals-idINL4N1L819E'|'2017-08-22T00:18:00.000+03:00' +'cb65be5270b1f69121825e857a93e72a2ca51679'|'Russia''s VTB says sees no risks from Otkritie bank''s bail out'|'The logo of Russian bank VTB is seen on a board at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2017 (SPIEF 2017) in St. Petersburg, Russia, June 1, 2017. Sergei Karpukhin MOSCOW (Reuters) - VTB ( VTBR.MM ), Russia''s second biggest lender, sees no risks for itself from the central bank''s bailout of Otkritie bank, it said on Thursday.State-controlled VTB, which holds just under a 10 percent stake in Otkritie group, the holding company that controls Otkritie bank, supported the group via loans and other instruments during its rapid growth.Asked about its role in Otkritie''s expansion, VTB said it worked with financial institutions "purely on a market basis.""Our cooperation with Otkritie is built on the same principles of openness and competitiveness as with other partners," it said in emailed replies to Reuters questions.The central bank said this week Otkritie group, whose other shareholders include holding company executives as well as Lukoil''s top managers and some others, grew too rapidly, with its capital failing to keep up with the expansion.VTB said its share in Otkritie bank''s liabilities was around 3 percent at its peak in the fourth quarter of 2015 and had fallen to insignificant levels since then. Those liabilities, it said, include trading operations with debt instruments."Other Russian financial institutions have worked with Otkritie in a much bigger scale," VTB said, without naming those institutions.The bank, which spent a couple of years absorbing Bank of Moscow, Russia''s biggest banking bail out to date, said Otkritie''s financial rescue did not pose any risks to VTB as it did not have credit risk secured by Otkritie bank shares.Under the bailout plan, the central bank will take a minimum of a 75 percent stake in Otkritie bank, Russia''s biggest private bank and seventh largest by assets. The stake may increase to 100 percent if the bank''s capital turns negative.VTB said it helped to finance Otkritie group''s purchase of a diamond business from Lukoil ( LKOH.MM ) for $1.45 billion, a deal that completed in May.That loan, VTB said, was provided at market rates and was not secured by Otkritie bank or group''s shares, but rather by other assets."We do not plan to pull out of Otkritie''s equity or to increase our current share. Neither do we plan to invest our own funds into the bank," VTB said.Editing by Mark Potter '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-banks-otkritie-vtb-idUSKCN1BB257'|'2017-08-31T18:04:00.000+03:00' +'cc3a91bb3d4847f061c29f3ad82d439c24a3095e'|'Toll''s average price to fall as millennials buy cheaper homes'|'A Toll Brothers residential development is shown in Carlsbad, California, U.S., May 24, 2017. Mike Blake (Reuters) - Toll Brothers Inc''s ( TOL.N ) falling average selling price (ASP) signals a new normal for luxury homebuilders in the United States as they sell more, but lower-priced homes, to thrifty millennials.Toll reported its third straight quarter of ASP declines on Tuesday and forecast its first annual drop in home prices in seven years."We have to work harder to sell larger units at higher price points although we are not competing in the super tall or super expensive condominium product," Toll CEO Douglas Yearley said, talking about the company''s City Living Urban condominium unit.Toll, which typically makes homes that cost nearly $1 million, introduced a range of homes starting from $330,000 earlier this year, aimed at young and affluent first-time buyers. The cheapest Toll home costs upward of $200,000."The biggest opportunity right now is in the more affordable market where perhaps margins are little bit smaller but there is extraordinary demand," said Aaron Terrazas, senior economist at online real estate marketplace Zillow.Nearly a quarter of Toll''s orders this year were from millennial households where one buyer was 35 years of age or younger.Toll''s predicament is indicative of the changing mindset of millennials, who are fiscally prudent, and either want to buy cheaper homes, or rent."What we have seen is that some life events such as getting married and having children - a lot of millennials are postponing some of those and ... want to stay close to the city so their are looking for more affordable products," said Robert Rulla, a director at Fitch Ratings.Homebuilders including D.R. Horton Inc ( DHI.N ), the country''s biggest, and Meritage Homes Corp ( MTH.N ) have also introduced cheaper homes in the past few years.VOLUME GAME Toll''s third-quarter ASP fell 6 percent fell but volumes rose 26 percent. The company expects ASP to range between $800,000 to $825,000 in the fiscal year ending October, down from $847,700, a year earlier, and volumes to rise 15 percent to 20 percent.The trend of homebuilders selling more lower-priced homes is likely to continue in the near future even as average prices of new homes in the United States touch record highs, industry experts said.The median price for new homes sold rose to $316,200 in 2016 from $246,500 in 2006, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.Lower-priced homes come with smaller margins, but have quicker delivery times because they are easier to build."I think most homebuilders are going to take a hit on the margins and sell lower priced homes. It is going to be a volume game going forward," said Tania Onbek, owner of Connecticut-based mortgage broker On Deck Mortgage Services."Millennials are now thinking twice before splurging on buying a plush home ... and investors in the homebuilding industry should get used to this."Reporting by Arunima Banerjee and Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Ankit Ajmera, Rachit Vats and Sweta Singh; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-toll-brothers-results-prices-idUSKCN1B32GG'|'2017-08-24T04:26:00.000+03:00' +'5aee6f9c5203bb4f1cbaff88a922f0f907152260'|'How the shape of global banking has turned upside down'|'IN THE 1980s, when Citicorp was Americas largest bank and pursuing every avenue for international expansion, John Reed, the banks boss, would muse about moving its headquarters to a neutral location, notably the moon. Such sentiments are inconceivable today. Jamie Dimon, boss of JPMorgan Chase, Citis successor atop the league tables, recently said he is an American patriot first, head of a bank second. His strategy, though hardly shunning international markets, reflects this.Mr Dimon turned down several big foreign acquisitions before and during the financial crisis. His stellar reputation may rest as much on those undone deals as on those completed. Citi, meanwhile, has been lopping off foreign affiliates. It has retail operations in just 19 countries, down from 50 in 2007. Further contraction may be in the offing. Bank of America has long chosen to live down to its name, as an almost entirely domestic bank. The same process is under way in western Europe. Visible retrenchments by leading banks in each country reflect even deeper ones that are harder to see. On August 22nd McKinsey, a consultancy, released a trove of statistics showing how the map of global banking has changed over the past ten years. According to its analysis of the leading banks in each country, foreign claims (including loans, guarantees, etc) have contracted by a third for Swiss and British institutions and by half for those in the rest of Europe. Even the volume of foreign-exchange trading, after a long history of expansion, is falling.The downward trend is particularly sharp, and significant, in correspondent banking, traditionally seen as the first level of financial support for world trade (see chart). The correspondent ties between banks in different countries have mattered particularly for companies in places without global banks that can finance imports and exports. The number of correspondent relationships has been declining since 2011, according to McKinsey.Why this has occurred is no mystery. Correspondent relationships used to be seen as a responsible way for a bank to transact business in a country it did not know well. It has become a source of vulnerability: a bank may be held accountable for any transaction even if only as a link in a long chain. The rising cost of complying with regulations on money-laundering, economic sanctions and terrorism-financing has had the predictable consequence of prompting a broad pullback.Harder to understand is work by the Bank of England and Americas National Bureau of Economic Research, showing a long-term correlation between growth in capital requirements and declines in cross-border lending. McKinsey notes that rules passed to ensure liquidity, particularly in a crisis, may be easier to satisfy if money is close to home.American and European retrenchment has been partially offset by expansion elsewhere. Canadian banks, which sailed through the financial crisis, now have half their assets offshore, up from 38% a decade ago. Chinese banks, having had negligible foreign assets a decade ago, now have more than $1trn. Strong domestic growth means that this sum is still just a tiny fraction of their balance-sheets. Banks in Japan, India and Russia are also expanding internationally at a strong pace.This geographic shift could continue for many years to come. Similar trends, however, have been seen in the past only to go abruptly into reverse. The Chinese government has recently signalled its concern at some Chinese firms foreign acquisitions, suggesting there may be problems percolating. Whether Western banks stir from their recent quiescence may also depend on the regulators. Over correspondent banking, for example, there is a debate in government. The State Department wants Americas banks to bring other countries, especially poor ones, into the global financial system. The Treasury, focused on checking untoward activity and holding banks to account, is more cautious. Banks would like to stay out of the crossfire. Finance and economics "Changing maps"'|'economist.com'|'http://www.economist.com/sections/business-finance/rss.xml'|'http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21727088-american-and-european-banks-stay-more-home-chinese-ones-extend-their-reach-how?fsrc=rss'|'2017-08-24T22:45:00.000+03:00' +'5745985fe34437d3b78efebb4cd05ce7984f0cce'|'Western Digital intends to invest in new chip line along with Toshiba'|'TOKYO, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Western Digital Corp on Thursday said it still intends to invest in a new memory chip production line along with Toshiba Corp, despite the Japanese joint venture partner saying that it would go it alone.Toshiba said earlier it would go ahead with the investment to build the Fab 6 equipment line in Yokkaichi without Western Digital as the two failed to reach an agreement about the investment."While we are disappointed by Toshiba''s announcement, the agreements governing the JVs give us the right to participate in investments in Fab 6 equipment along with Toshiba and that is exactly what we intend to do," Western Digital said in a statement. (Reporting by Chris Gallagher and Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Himani Sarkar)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/toshiba-chip-western-digital-idINT9N1IK020'|'2017-08-03T04:44:00.000+03:00' +'f348ca43d942312c7adf139df7bb99ff62ad0a53'|'French group Total buys Maersk Oil in $7.5 billion deal'|'August 21, 2017 / 7:04 AM / 23 minutes ago Total deepens North Sea exposure with $7.5 billion Maersk Oil deal Bate Felix and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen 5 Min Read PARIS/COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Total ( TOTF.PA ) is buying Maersk''s oil and gas business in a $7.45 billion deal which the French major said would strengthen its operations in the North Sea and raise its output to 3 million barrels per day by 2019. For Danish company A.P. Moller Maersk ( MAERSKb.CO ), the sale of Maersk Oil, with reserves equivalent to around 1 billion barrels of oil, fits with a strategy of focusing on its shipping business and other activities announced last year. The world''s top oil companies have been back on the takeover trail over the last year, helped by signs of a recovery in the oil market. Total expects its biggest oil deal since it acquired Elf in 2000 to generate financial synergies of more than $400 million per year, in particular by combining assets in the North Sea. It also said the acquisition would boost earnings and cash flow. Expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2018, the deal could see some job cuts particularly in Britain where there are overlaps, Total said, adding that it could make additional cost savings of about $200 million per year. Total has been betting on new rather than mature fields in the North Sea and the acquisition gives it further economies of scale by making it the second largest player in the region with production of about 500,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Related Coverage Total set to raise cost savings target after Maersk Oil deal The move illustrates Total''s strategy of using a strong balance sheet to acquire attractive assets from struggling competitors having emerged from the prolonged oil downturn stronger than some of its rivals. "It was time for us to do what a real oil and gas company would do in a period such as this when prices are lower and costs are down. Either launch new projects or acquire new reserves at attractive prices," Total Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne told reporters. The purchase also signals some oil majors are prepared to invest to replenish reserves and boost production, anticipating an oil price recovery. With current prices of $50 per barrel most majors are simply struggling to balance their books. ALTERNATIVE TO FLOAT General view of the Total oil refinary in Leuna, November 19, 2014. Axel Schmidt Pouyanne said that Total had proposed a deal to Maersk as an alternative to floating the business. "There was a debate within Maersk and they finally accepted given that it was attractive and also the fact that an IPO in a tense oil market would not be a right move," he said, adding that no other oil major was bidding for the assets. Under the terms of the deal, A.P. Moller Maersk will get $4.95 billion in Total shares and Total will assume $2.5 billion of Maersk Oil''s debt. Slideshow (2 Images) Maersk said it plans to return a "material portion of the value of the received Total S.A. shares" to shareholders in 2018 and 2019 in the form of extraordinary dividend, share buyback or distribution of shares in Total. Analysts from Raymond James said the value of the deal appeared fair with Total paying $13.4 per barrel of reserves in line with what Royal Dutch/Shell paid to acquire its rival BG in the biggest oil transaction of the past decade in 2015. Soren Skou, who took charge of Maersk last year, has embarked on a major restructuring to concentrate on its transport and logistics businesses and separate its energy operations in the face of a drop in income. Consultancy Wood Mackenzie said Total was also rebalancing its exposure to industrialised countries after having gone heavy on investments in higher risk regions such as Iran or Qatar. "It will further shift Total''s weighting towards OECD regions, a core strategic driver for the company as it looks to balance the portfolio away from areas of high above ground risk," said a WoodMac director Valentina Kretzschmar. The Danish oil company has access to high-quality fields in the Norwegian and UK North Sea, which Pouyanne said would help boosts Total''s output to 3 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) as soon as 2019 from 2.5 million boe now. AP Moller Maersk shares were up 2.8 percent by 1450 GMT while Total shares were little changed. Additional reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta, Karolin Schaps and Stine Jacobsen Editing by Keith Weir 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-total-maersk-idUKKCN1B10IU'|'2017-08-21T10:30:00.000+03:00' +'47628e5f082bd5393fa22acb6d38410cf4f6424e'|'China issues order to implement U.N. sanctions on North Korea'|'August 14, 2017 / 8:27 AM / an hour ago China issues order to implement U.N. sanctions on North Korea Reuters Staff 1 Min Read A North Korean flag is pictured at its embassy in Beijing January 6, 2016. Kim Kyung-Hoon BEIJING (Reuters) - China''s Commerce Ministry issued on Monday an order banning imports of coal, iron ore, lead concentrates and ore, lead and sea food from North Korea, effective from Tuesday, as Beijing moved to implement United Nations sanctions announced earlier this month. The U.N. sanctions must be implemented 30 days after the resolution was approved in a vote on Aug. 6. Reporting by Josephine Mason; Editing by Christian Schmollinger 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-northkorea-missiles-un-china-idUKKCN1AU0QS'|'2017-08-14T11:27:00.000+03:00' +'f66ef0f9b620b951de44f14c620d2282950f3ba4'|'Centrica on track to meet 2017 group targets after cuts net debt'|'August 1, 2017 / 6:37 AM / 4 hours ago Centrica raises UK electricity prices despite customer exodus Karolin Schaps and Nina Chestney 4 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Britain''s largest energy supplier Centrica ( CNA.L ) raised its household electricity prices on Tuesday to try to turn around a loss-making part of its business despite shedding another 485,000 customer accounts in under two months. The owner of British Gas is the last of the big six energy suppliers to increase prices this year, with the rising cost of power an increasingly sensitive political issue. "We''re concerned this price rise will hit many people already on poor-value tariffs," a spokeswoman for the British government said. Centrica announced a 12.5 percent power price rise from Sept. 15, its first in nearly four years, and said it had no alternative. "Over the last year and a half I''m afraid it''s (the electricity supply business) got into a more significant loss position," Centrica Chief Executive Iain Conn told journalists. Albeit bad news for its customers, Centrica investors welcomed the effort to stem losses and its shares were up 2.2 percent at 0920 GMT, towards the top of the list of gainers on London''s FTSE index .FTSE . Related Coverage SSE ( SSE.L ), Britain''s second-biggest energy supplier, and rival Scottish Power last month announced further customer losses, underscoring the increasingly competitive nature of a market that has attracted dozens of new entrants. Political Pressure Regulator Ofgem has proposed capping bills for some of the country''s most vulnerable customers. This followed a government request to set out plans to help those placed on the poorest-value tariffs. Centrica said it would protect 200,000 vulnerable customers -- typically seen as those who qualify for receiving a government contribution to pay their energy bills -- from the price rise. Figures published by Ofgem in December showed 74 percent of British Gas customers were on its standard tariff, which is typically more expensive than other offers. Centrica''s price increase also comes despite steep losses in customer accounts as many switch to rivals and new market entrants who often offer cheaper tariffs. The utility shed another 485,000 customer accounts between May 8 and the end of June, bringing the total this year to 746,000. Analysts at RBC Capital Markets, who have a ''sector perform'' rating on Centrica shares, called the customer losses "concerning" and said the price rise would put further political and regulatory scrutiny on the business. The head of Centrica''s consumer business, Mark Hodges, said a majority of those leaving did so as part of collective initiatives to switch suppliers. The utility is focussing much more on delivering end-consumer services like helping with boiler breakdowns or selling energy management equipment. The group''s first-half adjusted operating profit fell four percent year on year to 816 million pounds ($1.1 billion), in line with analysts'' expectations. It said it was on track to meet its 2017 targets and managed to bring down debt into a range it had been targeting to reach by the end of the year. Net debt stood at 2.9 billion pounds at the end of June and Conn said the company was keeping the possibility to raise its dividend under review. Additional reporting by Kylie MacLellan; Editing by Louise Heavens/Keith Weir 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-centrica-results-idUKKBN1AH384'|'2017-08-01T09:37:00.000+03:00' +'48b02277d06abb0d3c825876f049d5c3ec1abaa1'|'Global funds raise European stocks to five-year highs, cut U.S. equities'|'August 31, 2017 / 11:06 AM / 7 minutes ago Global funds raise European stocks to five-year highs, cut U.S. equities Claire Milhench 4 Min Read LONDON (Reuters) - Global investors raised their euro zone equity exposure to the highest level in at least five years in August, citing loose central bank policy, robust growth and strong company earnings. They cut their U.S. stock holdings to 13-month lows. The finings come from Reuters monthly asset allocation polls of 48 fund managers and chief investment officers in Europe, the United States, Britain and Japan, conducted between Aug. 16-29. In this period the euro zone delivered its best manufacturing performance in 6-1/2 years despite a strong euro, whilst the European Central Bank (ECB) maintained its ultra-easy monetary policy. Poll participants lifted euro zone stock allocation to 20.5 percent of their global equity portfolios, with almost 90 percent of managers who answered a question on the outlook for European equities saying they could touch fresh highs this year. Since May the market has come off the boil and looks set to end August down 0.7 percent, yet managers cited cheap relative valuations, strong growth momentum and positive earnings revisions as reasons to be cheerful. Didier Saint-Georges, managing director and member of the investment committee at Carmignac, struck a note of caution. Although he thought a short-term recovery was possible, he said analysts'' estimates were no longer being revised upwards and ECB tapering was looming. "If the U.S. market holds its own, there is room for a second wind in European equities. Otherwise, the latter will struggle to perform much," he said. Investors cut their U.S. equity holdings almost 1 percentage point to 38.5 percent in August, the lowest level since July 2016. The S&P 500 .SPX is ending August down around 0.5 percent after volatile trading. It fell 1.5 percent on Aug. 17, its biggest daily loss in three months, on fresh concerns President Donald Trump will be unable to deliver on his campaign promises to cut taxes and boost spending. SHUTDOWN A late-September deadline is now looming for U.S. officials to raise the debt ceiling or risk default. Trump has threatened to shut down the U.S. government in order to secure funding for a border wall with Mexico. Yet 84 percent of managers who answered a question on the funding battle thought the chance of a U.S. technical default was less than 50/50. "The huge fiscal, economic and reputational costs that emerge from a technical default suggest an intense game of chicken that could result in a compromise around the last week of September," said Peter van der Welle, a strategist at Robeco. He thought U.S. equities and other risky assets could take a hit, as the political hassle around the debt ceiling could reduce the likelihood of congressional approval for Trump''s tax and infrastructure plans, while higher Treasury yields would imply higher funding costs for U.S. corporates. The United States and North Korea are also at a tense nuclear stand off, an issue that wiped $1 trillion off global shares mid-month. But investors who answered a question on this issue were unanimous in saying they did not expect a military confrontation between the United States and North Korea before year-end. Despite the mid-month selloff, investors raised their overall equity allocation by 1 percentage point to 47.1 percent, the highest level since January 2016. But several managers expressed caution, with some warning that volatility would increase if central banks started to tighten in concert. Trevor Greetham, head of multi-asset at Royal London Asset Management (RLAM), also noted that valuations were starting to get a bit stretched. "There is a risk that excessive hawkishness from central banks or escalation in geopolitical events could trigger a more pronounced sell off than we''ve seen so far this year, but we would be willing to buy the dip given a benign longer term outlook for growth and inflation," he said. Additional reporting by Maria Pia Quaglia Regondi and Hari Kishan'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-funds-poll-global-idUKKCN1BB1CH'|'2017-08-31T14:06:00.000+03:00' +'6c98a8032f128569a4b0bfb0604703ed677880c2'|'MOVES-Lloyds names McDougall head of commercial real estate team'|'Aug 8 (Reuters) - Lloyds Banking Group Plc''s commercial banking division on Tuesday named Madeleine McDougall as head of its real estate team.McDougall, who most recently headed Lloyds'' institutional clients team, replaces John Feeney.Feeney was appointed to lead Lloyds'' global corporates division earlier this year. (Reporting by Vibhuti Sharma in Bengaluru)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/lloyds-bank-commercial-banking-moves-mad-idINL4N1KU580'|'2017-08-08T14:47:00.000+03:00' +'4adef636e993d181c200ede7268d77bac0d30558'|'Recruiter InterQuest warns on fees as Brexit hits financial services unit'|'August 29, 2017 / 7:41 AM / 8 minutes ago Recruiter InterQuest warns on fees as Brexit hits financial services unit Reuters Staff 2 Min Read (Reuters) - Technology-focused recruiter InterQuest Group ( ITQ.L ) said on Tuesday that challenging market conditions in financial services, one of its core markets, would materially impact net fee income for the year. The company, which places people in temporary and permanent jobs in Britain, Europe and North America, said in June that it was facing challenges because of Britain''s vote to leave the EU and the outcome of the general elections. Recruitment companies have faced a challenging London market over the past year as Brexit uncertainty causes companies to hire fewer people and candidates move jobs less frequently. Hiring in the financial industry has particularly taken a hit, even as a number of finance companies have committed to moving some operations to continue serving clients in the single market. "Market conditions in one of the company''s core markets, financial services, remain challenging, specifically in the contracting market which is experiencing pressure on margins," InterQuest said in a statement on Tuesday. The result is that the company is more reliant on fees from permanent placements which are more volatile. InterQuest said it expects earnings before interest, taxes, and amortization (EBITA) to be about 3.1 million pounds ($4.02 million) for the year ending Dec. 31. Shares in the AIM-listed company were down 15 percent at 38 pence at 0718 GMT. Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-interquest-group-outlook-idUKKCN1B90ON'|'2017-08-29T10:42:00.000+03:00' +'8de1c5334fcd2211b704e9db8d54b8a1f5f2fd74'|'MOVES-UK insurer Novae names Adam Cragg COO'|'August 10, 2017 / 10:57 AM / 3 hours ago MOVES-UK insurer Novae names Adam Cragg COO 1 Min Read Aug 10 (Reuters) - Lloyd''s of London insurer Novae Group Plc said on Thursday it had appointed Adam Cragg as its chief operating officer. Cragg, who has 25 years of experience in the insurance industry, was most recently Beazley Plc''s head of operations for UK and Rest of the World. Cragg will report to Chief Executive Matthew Fosh, Novae said. (Reporting by Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru) 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/novae-group-moves-adam-cragg-idUSL4N1KW45Q'|'2017-08-10T13:56:00.000+03:00' +'b7cc660b101ca97f15106e9685cffbea978b5c63'|'Hyundai Merchant Marine in talks with BlackRock about potential investment'|'August 21, 2017 / 2:40 AM / 4 minutes ago Hyundai Merchant Marine in talks with BlackRock about potential investment Reuters Staff 1 Min Read People fish in front of a Hyundai Merchant Marine container ship at Kaohsiung Port, Taiwan August 7, 2017. Tyrone Siu SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean shipper Hyundai Merchant Marine Co Ltd (HMM) ( 011200.KS ) is in talks with BlackRock Inc ( BLK.N ) about a potential investment but details have yet to be discussed, a HMM spokesman said on Monday. BlackRock is in talks with HMM to invest up to 1 trillion won ($880 million) in the nation''s largest shipper, the Korea Economic Daily reported on Monday, citing unidentified investment banking and shipping industry sources. A BlackRock spokeswoman could not be immediately reached for comment. HMM shares were up 1.2 percent in morning trade, compared to a 0.2 percent fall for the wider market .KS11 . ($1 = 1,137.0000 won) Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Edwina Gibbs 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-hyundai-marine-m-a-blackrock-idUKKCN1B104Z'|'2017-08-21T05:37:00.000+03:00' +'17c2a03cf293d26029a3ebca721ceaf264aefdda'|'EU sends charge sheet to Visa over inter-regional fees'|' 09 AM / 15 minutes ago EU sends charge sheet to Visa over inter-regional fees Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO: A VISA credit card is pictured next to a computer chip on a bank card in this photo illustration taken June 9, 2016. Maxim Zmeyev/Illustration/File Photo GLOBAL BUSINESS WEEK AHEAD SEARCH GLOBAL BUSINESS 17 JULY FOR ALL IMAGES BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Thursday it had sent a charge sheet to credit card group Visa ( V.N ) over the fees merchants have to pay when customers from outside the bloc make purchases in the European Union. In 2014, the Commission ended another investigation into the company''s fee structure in 2014 when Visa Europe agreed to capping the transaction fees it charged. The Commission said it was now looking at so called inter-regional interchange fees, those charged to merchants when accepting Visa cards issued outside the European Economic Area (EEA), for example when tourists make purchases in the EU. "Inter-regional fees represent an important part of the total fees within the Visa scheme," the Commission said. The Commission, which has the power to fine Visa up to 10 percent of its global turnover if it is found breaching the bloc''s antitrust rules, said it was waiting for the company''s response before deciding on further action, a Commission spokeswoman told Reuters. Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek; Editing by Alissa de Carbonnel 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-competition-visa-idUKKBN1AJ1IL'|'2017-08-03T14:09:00.000+03:00' +'6eb2becc4c949a5fe9cb7231d9382ff3782a3b86'|'CRH sells U.S. distribution arm to Beacon Roofing for $2.6 billion'|'August 24, 2017 / 6:50 AM / an hour ago CRH sells U.S. distribution arm to Beacon Roofing for $2.6 billion Reuters Staff 2 Min Read DUBLIN (Reuters) - CRH ( CRH.I ) ( CRH.L ) has sold its U.S. distribution business to Beacon Roofing Supply Inc. ( BECN.O ) for $2.63 billion (2.06 billion pounds) in cash and will use the proceeds for acquisitions elsewhere, the Irish building materials group said on Thursday. CRH, the world''s third-biggest building materials supplier, said it sold the business at 16 times earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and also announced the acquisition of a leading German lime and aggregates business for 600 million euros ($708 million). "When we look at the value we could crystallise through this transaction, no way could we create that value for our shareholders if we were to hang onto the business," CRH chief executive Albert Manifold told Reuters in a telephone interview. "We will redeploy that (cash) in the years ahead into higher growth and better opportunities. It doesn''t change the strategy of CRH overall, our U.S. distribution accounted for 5 percent of group EBITDA, it doesn''t shift the needle." Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Mark Potter 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-crh-m-a-beacon-us-idUKKCN1B40I2'|'2017-08-24T09:49:00.000+03:00' +'cd0ee7794c1ba45def1f3cbf33f7d494b1998c11'|'Irish monthly retail sales rise on new car registrations'|'August 28, 2017 / 10:27 AM / 3 hours ago Irish monthly retail sales rise on new car registrations Reuters Staff 1 Min Read DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish retail sales volumes rose 11.9 percent month-on-month in July, data showed on Monday, marking the traditional rush by consumers to buy cars with new vehicle registration plates that went on sale last month. However with new car sales down 10 percent so far this year as some motorists prefer to import cars from Britain due to the sharp fall in the value of sterling against the euro, annual retail sales growth remained subdued at 2.1 percent. Excluding the volatile car market, annual "core" sales remained near a 12-month high of 7 percent high, falling 0.2 percent month-on-month. Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Robin Pomeroy'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ireland-economy-retail-idUKKCN1B80YZ'|'2017-08-28T13:27:00.000+03:00' +'9a406746219785fc60ed6aea345df8d6c7fffa10'|'UniCredit profit beats forecasts on stronger fees, lower loan losses'|'Unicredit bank logo is seen in the old city centre of Siena, Italy June 29, 2017. Stefano Rellandini MILAN (Reuters) - UniCredit, Italy''s largest bank, reported its biggest quarterly profit in almost a decade on Thursday, outstripping market expectations and restoring cash dividends after a radical balance sheet overhaul.The result will add to a general sense that the worst is over for Italy''s banks, long seen as the euro zone''s weakest financial link. The strong earnings also confirmed that Chief Executive Jean-Pierre Mustier''s turnaround plan had begun to pay off barely a year since he took up the job.Mustier, appointed in July 2016 to reinvigorate the then weakly capitalised bank, has been selling businesses, cutting jobs and shutting branches to strengthen UniCredit''s balance sheet.He also pulled off a 13 billion euro ($15.43 billion) share issue, Italy''s biggest cash call, in February to bolster the bank''s financial strength.The restructuring helped drive the Milan-based bank''s net profit up 3 percent to 945 million euros. The bank confirmed this was its best quarter since June 2008, even though it highlighted that the scope of its activities had changed since then. The result was 40 percent higher than a consensus forecast distributed by the bank.UniCredit shares were up about 6 percent in afternoon trade.Mustier said Europe''s more benign economic environment had helped the results, along with lower costs and stable net-interest income, a measure of how much a bank makes from its core retail business."These are the early, encouraging signs of our turnaround plan. The engine is working very well," he told reporters, confirming that the bank would pay an all-cash dividend on this year''s accounts, the first time in five years.Italy had failed for years to tackle the problems of its banking industry, saddled with 350 billion euros of bad loans. But this year the government, with European Union approval, committed more than 20 billion euros to rescue three banks, removing systemic risks.Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the world''s oldest bank, is being bailed out by the state, while two Veneto banks were liquidated, with their healthiest assets handed over to UniCredit''s rival, Intesa Sanpaolo."The government action has significantly reduced the risk premium for Italian banks," Mustier said. Italian banking shares have outperformed those of European peers by nearly 15 percent since the start of the year.He was still cautious about the outlook, despite strong profits and a core capital base that is ahead of his "Transform 2019" plan. He did not revise up any goals for this year, except for loan provisioning costs, now expected to be a bit lower.The bank boosted its core capital ratio to 12.8 percent at end-June, making it one of Europe''s strongest, through the sale of Polish division Pekao. It will add another 84 basis points in the next quarter with the sale of asset manager Pioneer.A year ago, the ratio, a key measure of financial strength, stood at a lowly 10.3 percent."It''s better to manage expectations, because not all quarters are the same and there is still a lot of work to do," Mustier said, adding stricter accounting standards and other regulatory requirements would eat into the bank''s capital base in the second half of the year and beyond.Several analysts said UniCredit now had excess capital after years of lagging behind rivals."Things are going much, much better than expected," one trader said. "Yet, at 18-19 euros a share, the restructuring story starts to be priced in and UniCredit could need a revamp in its investment case."Under a plan dubbed FINO (Failure Is Not An Option), the bank last month closed a deal to sell 17.7 billion euros of "sofferenze", the worst kind of bad loans, to a vehicle majority-owned by U.S. funds Pimco and Fortress.Loan-loss charges in the three months to June totalled 564 million euros, compared with analyst forecasts of around 700 million euros. Net fees and commissions rose 7.6 percent from a year earlier, helped by a distribution agreement UniCredit struck with fund manager Amundi after selling it Pioneer.($1 = 0.8422 euros)Addiitonal reporting by Gianluca Semeraro and Danilo Masoni; Editing by Mark Bendeich and Jane Merriman'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/unicredit-results-idINKBN1AJ18L'|'2017-08-03T08:00:00.000+03:00' +'09935379f59115acd69f80230693f36b9386e071'|'Japan manufacturers most optimistic in decade as economy grows - Reuters Tankan'|'August 20, 2017 / 11:17 PM / 3 hours ago Japan''s manufacturers most optimistic in a decade as economy grows - Reuters Tankan Tetsushi Kajimoto and Izumi Nakagawa 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO : Newly manufactured cars of the automobile maker Subaru await export in a port in Yokohama, Japan May 30, 2017. Toru Hanai/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Confidence at Japanese manufacturers rose in August to its highest level in a decade led by producers of industrial materials, a Reuters poll showed, in a further sign of broadening economic recovery. The Reuters'' monthly poll - which tracks the Bank of Japan''s closely watched quarterly tankan - found the service-sector mood fell but still remained at a relatively high level, underscoring the firmness in domestic demand which drove robust expansion in the second quarter. Business sentiment was likely to sag slightly over the next three months, indicating a potential pullback from the hefty 4 percent annualised growth in the April-June quarter driven by private consumption and capital expenditure. The sentiment index for manufacturers rose one point to 27 in August in the poll of 548 large- and mid-sized companies, conducted Aug. 1-16, in which 265 firms responded. It was the best reading since August 2007, just before the last global financial crisis, led by producers of industrial materials such as oil, steel and chemicals, as well as manufacturers of metals, machinery and transport equipment. "Our business is led by overseas markets. The domestic market is not so bad, China is recovering and America and Europe are performing well. Overall the sentiment is positive," Keisuke Fujii, a spokesman for Fanuc Corp, a manufacturer of robotics and automation equipment, told Reuters. The company expects current profits to rise 6.1 percent this financial year and sales to increase 13.9 percent, due to demand for IT-related products in China and Taiwan, and industrial robots in the United States, Europe and China, he said. BAD WEATHER, WARINESS ON OUTLOOK Reflecting some wariness on the outlook, however, the manufacturers'' index was seen slipping to 26 in November, with the yen strengthening amid concerns over developments surrounding North Korea''s missile and nuclear programmes. "Given the ongoing strength of overseas demand, we believe sentiment will remain firm going forward," said Yuichiro Nagai, economist at Barclays Securities. "That said, the Japanese yen is appreciating and share prices are falling amid geopolitical risk. This trend, if it accelerates, could sharply undermine business sentiment." The Reuters Tankan service-sector index slipped to 29 in August from the previous month''s two-year high of 33, dragged down by sectors such as retailing, where confidence fell for a third straight month. The service-sector index was expected to drop further to 25 in November. Cool and rainy weather may dampen consumer spending in August, which would be worrying as private consumption constitutes about 60 percent of the economy and was a primary driver of the second-quarter''s robust expansion. Still, the retailers'' sentiment index is expected to bounce in November, underlining a pick-up in consumption with a change in the weather, and the tightening labour market keeping household incomes firm. The Reuters Tankan indexes are calculated by subtracting the percentage of pessimistic respondents from optimistic ones. A positive figure means optimists outnumber pessimists. The BOJ''s last tankan out July 3 showed big manufacturers'' business confidence hit its highest level in more than three years in the June quarter. Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Eric Meijer 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-tankan-idUKKCN1B00VO'|'2017-08-21T02:16:00.000+03:00' +'a37d96d4aab9a0ef9fae408ce4ce2232885d63d7'|'Strong basic resources boost European shares ahead of euro zone GDP'|'August 16, 2017 / 7:32 AM / 32 minutes ago Strong basic resources boost European shares ahead of euro zone GDP Reuters Staff 3 Min Read Traders work at their desks in front of the German share price index, DAX board, at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany February 28, 2017. Staff/Remote/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Miners and oil stocks helped Europe''s major share index make strong gains on Wednesday, as higher metals prices lent a hand and investors awaited euro zone GDP figures expected to confirm the bloc''s economic growth was on track. The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.5 percent, its third day of gains after a sharp sell-off last week. Euro zone stocks and blue chips .STOXX50E jumped 0.6 percent. Basic resources stocks .SXPP were the top boost, up 1.1 percent after London zinc hit a decade high, lifted by Chinese construction spending. Leading gainers was British builder Balfour Beatty ( BALF.L ), up 4.6 percent after strong first-half profits boosted by a rebound in British construction. Swedish healthcare firm Elekta ( EKTAb.ST ) jumped 2.8 percent after JP Morgan raised it to ''overweight''. British car insurer Admiral ( ADML.L ) was the worst-performing, down 6.5 percent after it reported profits up just 1 percent in the first half, dragged down by injury claims costs due to a government change to personal injury rates. And Swedish food retailer ICA ( ICAA.ST ) fell 5.2 percent after its second-quarter profits missed forecasts. Airlines Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ) and Easyjet ( EZJ.L ) lifted 1.7 to 1.9 percent again, continuing Tuesday''s strong rally as they emerged as likely buyers of Air Berlin''s ( AB1.DE ) assets when the German airline filed for insolvency. Euro zone GDP figures were expected at 0900 GMT, with analysts forecasting 0.6 percent quarter-on-quarter GDP growth, or 2.4 percent annualised. Stronger economic growth is part of the reason global active funds remain overwhelmingly positive on European equities, the biggest consensus overweight position according to Barclays analysis of investor flows. Second-quarter results season was drawing to a close, with earnings expected to grow 15 percent from the second quarter last year, or 12.8 percent excluding the energy sector, Thomson Reuters data showed. Revenue growth was tracking 4 percent, or 2.7 percent excluding energy. Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Angus MacSwan 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks-idUKKCN1AW0J0'|'2017-08-16T10:34:00.000+03:00' +'7e03929c62204514ec999fdaa4655c01513b4524'|'Around 50 investors interested in loss making Wolford - Kurier'|'VIENNA, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Around 50 investors have shown an interest in buying textiles company Wolford, the Austrian group''s finance chief was Quote: d as saying on Friday.Loss-making Wolford, which is in the middle of a restructuring, said in June that it was looking to sell an undefined majority stake in the company.The interested parties are mainly from North America and Asia and include private equity investors, Chief Financial Officer Brigitte Kurz was Quote: d as saying by Austrian daily Kurier.Earlier this month, the chairwoman of the supervisory board, Antonella Mei-Pochtler, resigned from her post to be able to participate in the ongoing bidding process.Wolford reported a loss before interest and tax (EBIT) of 15.7 million euros ($18.5 million) for the year to April 30, reflecting falling demand for its luxury tights, bras and shirts.The company has also had to deal with management changes. In July, the company''s CEO stepped down.Wolford agreed an extension of its credit lines until end of June next year and was granted a bridge loan of up to 10 million euros in July to cover its peak seasonal liquidity requirements.The Bregenz, western Austria-based company''s key markets are the United States, Germany, France, Austria and Britain. ($1 = 0.8481 euros) (Reporting by Kirsti Knolle. Editing by Jane Merriman) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/wolford-ma-idINL8N1LB124'|'2017-08-25T05:19:00.000+03:00' +'bd5a8339b6e1df4050b182ac00ce6b25ce303012'|'Brazil''s Equatorial Energia wants to bid for Cesp, sources say'|'SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil''s Equatorial Energia SA ( EQTL3.SA ) is among the companies interested in bidding for the control of Companhia Energtica de So Paulo, which will be auctioned on Sept. 26, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.The state of So Paulo will auction its controlling stake in the company, which operates three hydroelectric dams, for a minimum price of around 2 billion reais ($633 million).Lawyers and bankers say the interest for Cesp seems to be weaker than for similar assets sold recently. "The dams'' operation licenses expire between 2020 and 2028, and that may explain the low investors'' turnout", said Jose Roberto Oliva Jnior, partner at law firm Pinheiro Neto Advogados.The sources say China Three Gorges Corp may also bid. The persons could not speak for attribution because they are not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.Cesp, as the power company is known, Equatorial and Three Gorges declined to comment. Banco Fator SA, adviser to So Paulo State in the privatization process, also declined to comment.Reporting by Luciano Costa; Writing by Tatiana Bautzer; Editing by Matthew Lewis '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cesp-m-a-idUSKCN1BA2UG'|'2017-08-31T00:05:00.000+03:00' +'d893eb457ffbb9d7c930127f8a66c936ee69a822'|'Asia stocks edge higher, dollar languishes ahead of U.S. jobs data'|'August 4, 2017 / 12:52 AM / 15 minutes ago U.S. payrolls report boosts dollar, equities, bond yields Chuck Mikolajczak 4 Min Read The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is pictured in New York City, New York, U.S., August 2, 2017. Carlo Allegri NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar and bond yields climbed while stocks on Wall St rose modestly on Friday, following a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report, which also showed a pick up in wage growth for the world''s largest economy. The U.S. Labor Department said nonfarm payrolls rose by 209,000 jobs last month. June''s employment gain was revised up to 231,000 from a previously reported 222,000. The unemployment rate fell to 4.3 percent while average hourly earnings rose 0.3 percent, the largest increase in five months. The report may pave the way for the U.S. Federal Reserve to start shrinking its $4.2 trillion balance sheet. U.S. stocks retreated from early highs to keep a gauge of world stocks near the unchanged mark, although the index remained on track for its fourth straight week of gains. The report also bolstered the dollar from 15-month lows against a basket of major currencies. "It really reinforces a lot of the themes weve seen - which is you will continue to see solid, steady growth that is not knocking the cover off the ball, led mainly by the labor market, which is healthy, and consumption, which should continue," said Sameer Samana, global quantitative analyst at Wells Fargo Investment Institute in St. Louis. "For financial markets, for right now, its a good combination good growth that is not leading to inflation." The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 66.71 points, or 0.3 percent, to 22,092.81, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 4.67 points, or 0.19 percent, to 2,476.83 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 11.22 points, or 0.18 percent, to 6,351.56. Financials .SPSY, up 0.72 percent, were the best performing S&P sector, but gains on the broader S&P 500 were curbed by a decline in healthcare names .SPXHC, and a 13.83 percent drop in Viacom ( VIAB.O ). FILE PHOTO: U.S. one hundred dollar bills are seen in this picture illustration, August 2, 2013. Kim Hong-Ji/Illustration/File Photo The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 rose 0.99 percent and MSCI''s gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD PUS gained 0.04 percent. The FTSEurofirst notched its best day since July 12 while the Dow scored its ninth straight day of gains, and eighth straight closing record. The greenback was on pace for its biggest daily percentage gain since Jan. 6 and its first weekly gain in four, buoyed by the jobs report and comments from National Economic Council director Gary Cohn that the U.S. administration is working on a tax plan that would bring corporate profits back to the United States. The dollar had been weakening on political uncertainty in Washington, including news on Thursday that a grand jury had issued subpoenas relating to an investigation of suspected Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. The dollar index .DXY rose 0.66 percent, with the euro EUR= down 0.72 percent to $1.1782. In bond markets, traders were betting the payrolls figures would cause the Fed to start to trim its balance sheet next month while a rate hike later this year could not be ruled out. Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes US10YT=RR fell 10/32 in price to yield 2.2637 percent, from 2.228 percent late on Thursday. Oil prices rose on Friday as the jobs report bolstered hopes for rising demand but declined on the week, weighed down by strong U.S. output and rising OPEC exports. U.S. crude CLcv1 settled up 1.1 percent at $49.58 per barrel and Brent LCOcv1 settled up 0.8 percent at $52.42. Editing by Bernadette Baum and James Dalgleish 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets-idUKKBN1AK021'|'2017-08-04T09:45:00.000+03:00' +'bd855f20f7e7ca263705701ec272be77f906776b'|'LPC: ECi pre-markets debt package backing LBO, merger with Exact'|'NEW YORK, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Bank of America Merrill Lynch and RBC Capital Markets are sounding out investors on a US$570 million financing package that will back the buyout of ECi, a US enterprise resource planning (ERP) software provider, and its merger with Dutch ERP company Exact Software, according to four sources familiar with the situation.The financing for the transaction will comprise a US$50m revolver and a US$380m term loan B led by BAML, and a US$140m second-lien term loan led by RBC, two of the sources said. The revolver will be undrawn at close.Syndication of the debt will begin after Labor Day.BAML and RBC declined to comment.Private equity firm Apax Partners on August 14 said it would acquire ECi and combine it with three units of Exact, which it has owned since 2015.Fort Worth, Texas-based ECi makes cloud-based software and services for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMB) in the distribution, field services, building and construction and manufacturing industries. In conjunction with the buyout, Apax will merge ECi with Exacts Macola, JobBOSS and MAX segments, which are based in the US and also service SMB manufacturers.The deal will be marketed off of US$80.8m of pro forma last 12 months earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, including US$12m of synergies. Based on that figure, leverage will stand at 4.7 times through the first lien and 6.4 times total.Capitalization of the combined company will feature US$363m of equity, including US$59m that will be rolled over from current ECi sponsor The Carlyle Group.Carlyle did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Apax declined to comment.The transactions are expected to close in the third quarter. (Reporting by Andrew Berlin; Editing By Michelle Sierra and Jon Methven) '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/eci-exact-idINL2N1LG1FX'|'2017-08-30T13:44:00.000+03:00' +'d4cd5f925b4b7c3971c389994002b69ba323d9ba'|'Taiwan''s Foxconn to build three ancillary facilities as part of Wisconsin LCD campus'|'August 21, 2017 / 10:19 AM / 8 hours ago Taiwan''s Foxconn to build three ancillary facilities as part of Wisconsin LCD campus Reuters Staff 2 Min Read FILE PHOTO - Terry Gou, founder and chairman of Foxconn reacts during an interview with Reuters in New Taipei City, Taiwan June 12, 2017. Eason Lam/File Photo TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn on Monday said it plans to build three facilities in the U.S. state of Wisconsin for operation as early as next year, as part of a campus housing a $10 billion liquid crystal display (LCD) factory due for 2020. Foxconn, which makes electronics under contract for clients such as Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ), announced its $10 billion plan at the White House in July, saying the LCD plant would occupy 1,000 acres in the state''s south east. Foxconn, formally Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd ( 2317.TW ), said it will begin by setting up a back-end packaging line, high-precision molding line and end-device assembly line. It may also start importing glass from Taiwan, China and Japan. The three facilities will require combined investment of under $1 billion, Louis Woo, special assistant to Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou, told Reuters on Monday. The jobs they generate will fall under the 13,000 positions that Foxconn has said its $10 billion investment would directly create, Woo said. FILE PHOTO - The logo of Foxconn, the trading name of Hon Hai Precision Industry, is seen on top of the company''s headquarters in New Taipei City, Taiwan on March 29, 2016. Tyrone Siu/File Photo Wisconsin''s Republican-controlled state Assembly voted last week to approve a bill aimed at establishing a $3 billion incentive package for the plant. The bill next needs approval from the joint finance committee - with members from both the Assembly and state Senate - as well as from the Senate before going to the governor. Foxconn expects a final decision on the matter in September, and if the bill wins final approval, the firm will immediately begin land survey work, Woo said. He also said Foxconn is considering investing in other states, but has not finalised any plans. Michigan state''s governor recently met Gou at a Foxconn facility in the southeastern Chinese city of Shenzhen. Reporting by Jess Macy Yu; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Christopher Cushing 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews?format=xml'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-foxconn-wisconsin-idUSKCN1B111G'|'2017-08-21T13:19:00.000+03:00' +'9f6b0448605fc5323981a6f6792b580b9d8ffecb'|'Union Bank has sufficent cover for loans to telecoms group 9mobile'|'LAGOS, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Nigeria''s Union Bank has sufficient cover for its 3.9 billion naira ($10.69 million) loan to telecoms group 9mobile and will focus on lending to agricultural and real estate businesses, its chief executive Emeka Emuwa said on Monday.Lenders have agreed to extend a $1.2 billion loan which mobile operator 9mobile, formerly known as Etisalat Nigeria, took out four years ago but struggled to repay due to a currency crisis and a recession in Nigeria.Union plans to raise 50 billion naira in fresh capital from existing shareholders by the end of the year to boost lending. ($1 = 364.8 naira) (Reporting by Oludare Mayowa; Writing by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Adrian Croft)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/nigeria-unionbank-9mobile-idINL5N1KT4ME'|'2017-08-07T15:07:00.000+03:00' +'5505c57ab9d18a6fa2c1b7168f5414605a309a4c'|'Novo Banco starts sale of life insurance unit'|'August 1, 2017 / 3:40 PM / 19 minutes ago Novo Banco starts sale of life insurance unit Reuters Staff 1 Min Read LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal''s Novo Banco has formally launched the sale process of life insurance unit GNB Seguros Vida, one of the country''s biggest insurers with assets of more than 5 billion euros (4.46 billion poounds), Novo Banco said on Tuesday. Portuguese authorities are in the final phase of selling Novo Banco, which was carved out of the collapse of Banco Espirito Santo in 2014, to U.S. fund Lone Star. "Novo Banco has formally started the process of contacts to sell its GNB insurer to ensure an exclusive, long-term distribution contract," a Novo Banco spokesman confirmed to Reuters. The sales process is being advised by consultancy Deloitte. Novo Banco has a network of 475 branches through which GNB life assurance would still be distributed. At the end of 2016 GNB was the ninth largest life insurer in Portugal, in terms of premiums. Reporting By Sergio Goncalves, writing by Axel Bugge 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-novo-banco-insurance-idUKKBN1AH4Q7'|'2017-08-01T18:40:00.000+03:00' +'093426fd235774133a0b18a6c1ae9c08ecf551c4'|'Verizon stuns Kangaroo market with debut bond print Down Under'|'SYDNEY, Aug 4 (IFR) - Verizon Communications (Baa1/BBB+/A) has reopened Australia''s Kangaroo bond market for global corporate issuers with a stunning four-tranche print that can only encourage further issuance from offshore blue chips.The US telecom giant smashed expectations with a A$2.2 billion ($1.76 billion) four-tranche issue. It is the first Kangaroo bond from a corporate issuer this year and the second-biggest corporate bond in the Australian dollar market, just shy of Apple''s A$2.25 billion three-tranche Kangaroo debut in August 2015.Verizon priced well inside guidance levels and in line with its US dollar curve, said market sources.The A$500 million 5.5-year floating-rate note priced 122 basis points wide of three-month BBSW, 8bp below 130bp area guidance, while the A$550 million 3.5 percent fixed-rated February 2023s priced at asset swaps plus 122bp.The A$450 million 4.05 percent seven-year and A$700m 4.5 percent 10-year notes priced 157bp and 185b over asset swaps, versus respective guidance in the 160bp area and 190bp area.Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan were joint lead managers for the trade.Verizon''s jumbo financing again highlights the pent-up demand for corporate credit in Australia''s bank-dominated local market. Local corporate bond sales have jumped to A$8 billion this year versus just A$1.6 billion in same period in 2016 and A$5.1 billion in the whole of last year.Apple revealed the Australian market''s potential as a global funding alternative in 2015 with its inaugural A$2.25 billion four-year and seven-year debut in August 2015 that smashed the previous A$500 million record for corporate Kangaroos. US chipmaker Intel followed with a A$800 million sale of four and seven-year Kangaroos in November 2015.In June 2016, Coca-Cola raised A$1 billion from a four and eight-year issuance, the same month Apple returned with a A$1.425 billion four-year, 7.6-year and 10-year offering.Three other corporate Kangaroos last year raised between A$175 million and A$350 million from single tranche trades.US companies have issued bonds overseas in recent years to avoid high US corporate tax rates levied on repatriated overseas profits.Companies have chosen to keep profits offshore, issuing bonds in foreign currencies and swapping proceeds back to US dollars to help pay dividends and finance stock buybacks.US motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson, rated A3/A (Moodys/S&P), could follow Verizon having held investor meetings in Australia and Singapore in March for a possible Kangaroo debut.Verizon has had a busy week in the Asian capital markets. It also priced a $950 million 5.15 percent 33-year non-call five Formosa bond in the Taiwanese market. Citigroup and BNP Paribas Taipei were local underwriters while Citigroup and Goldman Sachs were structuring agents on the trade.Verizon is a huge bond issuer with over $116 billion-equivalent in bonds outstanding, the vast majority of which is in US dollars. This total includes $3 billion of 16-year notes sold on Tuesday as part of a liability management exercise to take out a number of high-coupon legacy bonds as well as other short-term debt. (Reporting by John Weavers; editing by Steve Garton and Daniel Stanton)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/verizon-debt-bonds-idINL4N1KQ30G'|'2017-08-04T06:52:00.000+03:00' +'f83b7605dba4bd9add8ef981eeceffc794e5e3b2'|'China''s July fiscal spending pace slows, but revenues rise'|'August 11, 2017 / 4:16 AM / 2 hours ago China''s July fiscal spending pace slows, but revenues rise Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Workers replace railway tracks at a station in Jinan, China July 12, 2017. Stringer BEIJING (Reuters) - China''s fiscal spending rose at a slower pace in July due mainly to larger expenditure earlier, but a government-led infrastructure push has kept spending brisk this year. Fiscal spending in July rose 5.4 percent from a year earlier while revenue increased 11.1 percent, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement on its website on Friday. July''s growth rate dropped sharply from 19.1 percent in June, although revenue growth rose from 8.9 percent in that month, the ministry said. The government attributed the slowdown in July spending mainly to significant expenditure earlier. Government spending in the first seven months of the year rose 14.5 percent on year, while revenues increased 10 percent. Government-led stimulus has been a major driver of economic growth over the past years in the world''s second-largest economy, but the pump-priming has also been accompanied by runaway credit growth and created a mountain of debt. But the government has kept its budget deficit at 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) for 2017, the same as last year, and pledged to clamp down on risks associated with local government debt. The Chinese economy has defied expectations for a slowdown and expanded at a solid pace in the first half supported by construction projects, though the broad consensus is for growth to cool slightly in the coming quarters as the authorities continue to crack down on financial risks. Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk and Sue-Lin Wong; Editing by Jacqueline Wong 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-fiscal-spending-idUKKBN1AR0AZ'|'2017-08-11T07:16:00.000+03:00' +'97eb7e3a844fcd483a656ab19943844b2b5c96d6'|'Exclusive - Small UK companies complain after HSBC accounts frozen'|'August 24, 2017 / 3:50 PM / 7 hours ago Exclusive: Small UK companies complain after HSBC accounts frozen Lawrence White 5 Min Read FILE PHOTO: People walk past a branch of HSBC bank in central London, Britain June 09, 2015. Neil Hall/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - An avocado importer, an e-cigarette seller and a toilet-cleaning gun maker are among British companies that have had accounts closed or frozen by HSBC in the last two months, unintended casualties of a crackdown by the bank on illicit money flows. Dozens of companies have been affected, with some unable to pay staff and suppliers, and others suffering financial losses they fear could force them to close. The number is a tiny percentage of all business accounts at HSBC, but those affected are in the small business sector which the government has said it wants to encourage and hopes will thrive after Britain leaves the European Union. HSBC told Reuters there may have been "an issue with how we''ve been communicating" and that it would put right "any case where we have done something wrong". It unfroze the accounts of at least three companies whose cases were brought to the bank''s attention by Reuters. "Inhibiting an account is always a last resort, so to get to that stage we will have done everything we can to contact the customer and get the information we need," said Amanda Murphy, head of commercial banking for HSBC UK. Fourteen companies told Reuters in interviews they had lost access to their accounts after answering questions from HSBC as part of a review of customers. The bank is trying to tighten checks on clients following a $1.9 billion fine in 2012 for allowing itself to be used to launder drug money from Mexico. More than 30 companies have lodged complaints with HSBC about their accounts being closed or frozen, according to sources with knowledge of the complaints and social media postings by the affected companies. David Johnston, whose company Interbrands (Europe) imports frozen avocados, said he received a letter on Aug 10 saying HSBC would freeze his foreign currency accounts on Aug 11, leaving him unable to pay his Mexican suppliers and a shipment stranded. More than two weeks later, the bank told him it had "no set timeline" for resolving the problem and that meanwhile he would be unable to make overseas payments, according to emails seen by Reuters. Johnston said HSBC had told him on Thursday it would unblock his account after Reuters'' inquiries. Agustin Larocca, whose firm Bellmonte supplies luxury e-cigarettes, said his account was also unfrozen after being blocked for nearly seven weeks because of the Reuters'' inquiries. A third company, MHL Consulting Engineers, said its account had also been unblocked. Anti-money laundering regulations prevent banks from informing customers why their accounts are being closed or suspended where such activity is suspected. In some cases, HSBC may be powerless to tell customers why they are suffering. FILE PHOTO: A man walks past a HSBC bank branch in the City of London, Britain November 12, 2014. Stefan Wermuth/File Photo "ROUTINE CHECK" The problems of many of the businesses interviewed by Reuters date back to September 2015, when they received a questionnaire presented by the bank as a routine check. This followed HSBC''s launch of a programme called Safeguard after the 2012 fine to glean more information about customers. FILE PHOTO: The HSBC bank logo is seen at their offices in the Canary Wharf financial district in London, Britain, March 3, 2016. Reinhard Krause/File Photo HSBC, which has a 10 billion pound ($12.8 billion) fund to support small businesses in Britain, started taking action in earnest this year. Some companies that had their accounts closed in July or this month said they had been under the impression they had provided all the information needed. Calan Horsman, whose company Loogun makes a hand-held water gun for toilet cleaning, said he was left in default to suppliers, with stock stuck in China and the company unable to pay staff, after his account was frozen. "My business ground to a halt. I had to unload a container of product that was stuck in a port. We''ve lost a month in our production timeline," Horsman said. Like most of the other companies affected, Martyn Fisher''s company Fisher Fabrics does business abroad. It supplies customers in Asia from suppliers in China and South Korea. "I should be the ideal business post-Brexit. I do nothing within the EU. I''m doing deals with all these countries that are supposed to be our trade partners after Brexit," he said after his company had its account frozen. Banks worldwide have in recent years shut thousands of customer accounts as they seek to avoid fines from U.S. authorities for abetting money laundering and sanctions-busting. More than 300 charities based in Britain have had their bank accounts closed in the last two years after being caught up in the crackdown, Reuters reported last month. ($1 = 0.7812 pounds)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-hsbc-smallmid-idUKKCN1B41YO'|'2017-08-24T18:58:00.000+03:00' +'70c59d1b93ce329da4e36a4aae10e3727cdfc316'|'Deutsche Post open to more electric van projects with Ford'|'August 16, 2017 / 9:57 AM / in 25 minutes Deutsche Post open to more electric van projects with Ford Reuters Staff 2 Min Read Juergen Gerdes (L), executive of eCommerce and Parcel of German postal and logistics group Deutsche Post DHL and Steven Armstrong, Group Vice President and President of Europe, Middle East and Africa Ford Motor Company pose with their joint-venture, the new StreetScooter Work XL electric van based on a Ford Transit transporter in Cologne, Germany August 16, 2017. Wolfgang Rattay COLOGNE, Germany (Reuters) - Deutsche Post ( DPWGn.DE ) said it would consider broadening an electric van alliance with U.S. carmaker Ford ( F.N ) after teaming up to put zero-emissions delivery vans on the road. Germany, the main market for the vehicles, is clamping down on toxic diesel fumes, and unveiled a 500 million euro (455 million pounds) fund this month to help municipalities invest in less polluting vehicles. It would make sense to "think about further activities" with Ford, Deutsche Post board member Juergen Gerdes said on Wednesday, as the two companies presented their delivery van, the StreetScooter Work XL, for which Ford is supplying vehicle technology based on its Transit model. Advances in manufacturing software are allowing auto industry newcomers such as Deutsche Post, Google and start-ups to tap suppliers to design, engineer and test new vehicle concepts without hiring thousands of engineering staff or investing billions in tooling and factories. Deutsche Post initially developed an electric minivan dubbed StreetScooter for its own operations to avoid inner-city emissions after growth in online shopping resulted in increased parcel deliveries. Juergen Gerdes, executive of eCommerce and Parcel of German postal and logistics group Deutsche Post DHL poses in front of a joint venture with Ford Motor Company, the new StreetScooter Work XL electric van based on a Ford Transit transporter in Cologne, Germany August 16, 2017. Wolfgang Rattay But in April it took on carmakers by unveiling plans to step up production and sell to other delivery firms. The group said on Wednesday it would eventually sell the new model being built with Ford components to third parties as well. The model, which adds to the existing StreetScooter Work and Work L vans, is part of a plan to build another production site for the StreetScooter unit and double annual output to 20,000 vans by the end of the year. Board member Gerdes said Deutsche Post would likely pick the location for the second production site next month. Deutsche Post, which is also building a country-wide network of maintenance and repair shops, wants a fleet of at least 2,500 of the Work XL model on the road by the end of 2018. Reporting by Matthias Inverardi; Writing by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Ludwig Burger and Susan Fenton 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/Reuters/UKBusinessNews?format=xml'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deutsche-post-streetscooter-ford-moto-idUKKCN1AW0XI'|'2017-08-16T12:56:00.000+03:00' +'791abd61cdb0ca4e9ae4e919ffe8511b466bdb36'|'Toyota plans truck, possibly SUV production in Mexico after Trump threat'|'Edition United States August 4, 2017 / 2:37 PM / 12 hours ago Toyota plans truck, possibly SUV production in Mexico after Trump threat Anthony Esposito 3 Min Read The Toyota Motor Corp. company logo is pictured at the company''s plant in Onnaing, near Valenciennes, France, May 17, 2017. Benoit Tessier MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp ( 7203.T ) said on Friday it planned to build pickup trucks and possibly SUVs at a new plant in Mexico, a move that followed threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to penalize the company if it built small cars south of the border. Toyota initially planned to produce Corolla sedans at the plant it is building in the central state of Guanajuato but will now switch production of the small cars and a new Mazda SUV crossover to a new assembly plant planned for the United States. Trump threatened in January to impose a hefty fee on the world''s largest automaker if it built Corollas for the U.S. market in Mexico. Toyota de Mexico spokesman Luis Lozano said the global auto maker would study producing SUVs in Guanajuato, in addition to the Tacoma truck model. "We''re going to concentrate only on pickups at the beginning and are studying the potential for SUVs in the future," he said. Trucks and SUVs represented some 65 percent of the North American market, Lozano said. The decision came as Toyota planned to take a 5 percent share of smaller Japanese rival Mazda Motor Corp ( 7261.T ) as part of an alliance that will see the two build a $1.6 billion U.S. assembly plant and work together on electric vehicles. A move to produce SUVs in Guanajuato would mark a continuation of a "burgeoning trend" of Mexican manufacturing meeting quality standards needed to produce more expensive vehicles, said Christopher Wilson of the Woodrow Wilson International Center. "Instead of building lower value cars that generally offer smaller margins in Mexico and keeping high-value SUV and luxury model production in the U.S., they are moving in the opposite direction," said Wilson, deputy director of the think tank''s Mexico institute. "The moves by Toyota seem to be designed to reduce political pressure on the company from President Trump," he added. Toyota''s Lozano told a Mexico radio station later on Friday he expected the company''s level of investment in the region to remain similar despite the shift in plans. "The investment that we calculated when we announced the decision to make a plant for Corolla was for $1 billion dollars," he said. "At present, we don''t have a final figure for what this change means for our assessments. Up to now, it seems it won''t vary substantially," Lozano said. Reporting by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Christian Plumb, Andrew Hay and Paul Tait 0 : 0'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-toyota-mazda-mexico-idUKKBN1AK1QC'|'2017-08-05T05:14:00.000+03:00' +'b76a5b71b06006103ccdabee176bf79033ae452a'|'Shire defends record as UBS cuts price target on staff satisfaction reviews'|'August 29, 2017 / 3:51 PM / 10 minutes ago Shire defends record as UBS cuts price target on staff satisfaction reviews Reuters Staff 2 Min Read LONDON, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Shire is weathering a period a major change well, the company said on Tuesday, as analysts at UBS cut their price target on the stock in response to signs of falling staff satisfaction at the drugmaker. A trawl of 20,000 employee reviews from careers website Glassdoor showed a major decline in staff satisfaction at Shire in 2017, with the company coming 24th out of 26 biopharmaceutical companies on "overall satisfaction", UBS said. Shire, which recently lost its chief financial officer and head of research, faces testing times after buying United States-based Baxalta in its biggest ever deal, leading to inevitable upheaval and challenges. In 2015 and 2016 Shire and Baxalta were just below the middle of the pack on most employee satisfaction measures. "Neither markets nor employees seem as confident as management that things are on track," UBS said, reducing its 12-month price target to 40.95 pounds a share from 45 pounds while rating the stock neutral. Shire''s chief human resources officer, Joanne Cordeiro, said the drugmaker''s own surveys painted a more encouraging picture. "We are in the late stages of significant corporate transformation as we have evolved into the global leader in rare diseases," she said. "Our internal engagement marks for Shire are high despite these changes. We are focused on working to ensure we continue to build the best organisation for our employees, patients and shareholders." (Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by David Goodman)'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/shire-staff-idUSL8N1LF565'|'2017-08-29T18:49:00.000+03:00' +'e04f154ca51dea8917572833beab163c0dd43b62'|'CRH sells U.S. distribution arm to Beacon Roofing for $2.6 billion'|'August 24, 2017 / 6:50 AM / 4 hours ago CRH sells U.S. distribution arm to Beacon Roofing for $2.6 billion Padraic Halpin 4 Min Read DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish building materials firm CRH ( CRH.I ) has sold its U.S. distribution business to Beacon Roofing Supply Inc. ( BECN.O ) for $2.63 billion in cash and will use the proceeds to continue an acquisition spree elsewhere, it said on Thursday. At the same time as announcing the sale, CRH said it was buying German lime and aggregates producer Fels for 600 million euros ($708 million), a business its chief executive said it tried to purchase on three other occasions in the last 20 years. Added to the 632 million euros the company spent on buying 13 other smaller businesses in the first half of the year, that purchase signals a ramping up of acquisitions to a pace chief executive Albert Manifold said he expected to continue. "When we look at the value we could crystallize through this transaction, no way could we create that value for our shareholders if we were to hang onto the business," Manifold said of the U.S. sale in a telephone interview. "We will redeploy that (cash) in the years ahead into higher growth and better opportunities. It doesn''t change the strategy of CRH overall, our U.S. distribution accounted for 5 percent of group EBITDA, it doesn''t shift the needle." Shares in CRH, the world''s third-biggest building materials supplier, were up 3.7 percent at 30.15 euros at 0735 GMT. The company said it sold the Allied Building Products business in the United States for 16 times its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA). It bought Fels for 7 times EBITDA. Beacon, North America''s largest listed roofing and building products distributor, said the deal would take it into new local markets, including New York, New Jersey and the upper Midwest. It said it would immediately boost earnings and expected the combined company to achieve a run-rate of $110 million in annual synergies within two years. The acquisition will be mostly financed through debt, it added. New Jersey-headquartered Allied, which CRH bought in 1996 for $121 million, makes roofing, windows and insulation. Since entering the United States in the late 1970s - where it is now the biggest producer of asphalt for highway construction - CRH has grown into a company employing over 87,000 people through decades of acquisitions. The recent activity meant it spent more in the first six months than in any calendar year for the past decade, apart from 2015 when it spent 8 billion euros on two major deals. CRH also said its first half EBITDA rose 5 percent year-on-year to 1.175 billion euros on rising sales in the United States and Europe, and forecast continued momentum in both markets. "CRH''s on-going commitment to profitable growth and structural improvement in returns is amply demonstrated (in these deals)," Davy Stockbrokers wrote in a note, reiterating an ''outperform'' recommendation on the stock. "This, combined with a reiteration of its positive outlook for full year profits, highlights compelling value in the current share price." Citi advised Beacon on the deal and J.P. Morgan advised CRH. ($1 = 0.8477 euros) Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Mark Potter 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/us-crh-m-a-beacon-us-idINKCN1B40I0'|'2017-08-24T04:50:00.000+03:00' +'366a358092bc52a02e18c1e3063773367e8ca001'|'PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - Aug 15'|'Aug 15 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.Headlines* Telit defends finances and business practices as chief executive departs on.ft.com/2fGtkNu* Danone shares rise on stake building by U.S. hedge fund on.ft.com/2fGcSNl* UK looks to retain Brussels customs deal on.ft.com/2fFQsvI* Pandora names Sling TV founder as new CEO on.ft.com/2fGNEyuOverview- Telit Communications said that its chief executive Oozi Cats, who has led the company since 2000, had resigned. Telit, last week, suspended Cats following allegations of links between him and a U.S. fugitive by the name of Uzi Katz who was accused of wire fraud in Boston in 1992.- Corvex, a U.S. activist hedge fund run by Carl Icahn protg Keith Meister, has built a $400 million stake in Danone SA. Corvex considers Danone to be undervalued.- A UK government paper due to be published on Tuesday makes clear that the UK wants to remain in a customs union with the EU for at least the estimated three years of transition after Britain''s 2019 exit.- Pandora Media Inc has named Roger Lynch, the founding chief executive of Sling TV, as its new chief executive. Lynch will replace Tim Westergren, Pandora''s cofounder, who left in June as part of a plan to "refocus" the online radio company. (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Sandra Maler)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-press-ft-idINL4N1L101Q'|'2017-08-14T22:19:00.000+03:00' +'aba921e6039802f7c8f694d041d65666e61f375f'|'RPT-IEX plans to nab listings from rivals with cheaper, simpler fees'|'(Repeats Aug. 19 story for wider distribution.)By John McCrankNEW YORK, Aug 19 (Reuters) - A year after disrupting the U.S. stock market with a new approach to handling trades, upstart stock exchange operator IEX Group is planning to nab listings from rivals by charging simpler, cheaper fees, Sara Furber, IEX''s head of listings, said in a recent interview.In October, IEX will roll out a flat fee structure for the first companies that call its Investors'' Exchange their home, Furber said. Other venues charge companies based on the number of outstanding shares they have, which is costlier not only for companies with more shares but potentially for those that perform stock splits or make acquisitions."If it''s complicated, but doesn''t serve a purpose and we can eliminate it and make it better for clients, that''s sort of the sweet spot of where we''d like to be," said Furber.To get companies on board for the launch, IEX has also been offering to waive the first five years of listing fees for the initial group of companies that list on its exchange, said an executive at one company that IEX pitched, who requested anonymity to discuss private business negotiations.IEX launched as a trading venue exactly a year ago on Aug. 19, but its founders had already been portrayed as crusaders against predatory trading tactics in the controversial 2014 book "Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt." It upended the status quo by introducing new concepts like a "speed bump" to slow trading, and flat pricing for other types of services, all of which it says benefit investors.IEX now executes just over 2 percent of U.S. stock trading, and building out a listings business is the next stage of its development. That will allow IEX to compete for more volume during the busy open and close periods of trading, when 5 to 15 percent of the volume of each individual stock trades, Furber said.In trying to attract companies, IEX hopes to shatter the near-duopoly currently held by the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Inc. But rivals may simply copy IEX''s tactics, much as they have done with previous IEX innovations such as speed bumps.IEX expects its first listings to be from companies that switch from other exchanges, as opposed to initial public offerings, Furber said. It has a strong pipeline of potential clients from various industries including finance, technology and hospitality, she added.Casino magnate Steve Wynn, an investor in IEX, has said he may switch Wynn Resorts Ltd stock to IEX from Nasdaq. A Wynn spokesman confirmed that is still the case.New York-based IEX is also highlighting its startup-status in an attempt to land listings from Silicon Valley. The exchange recently brought on Snap Inc Chairman Michael Lynton as a board member, and has backing from Iconiq Capital, the multifamily investment adviser used by Facebook Inc CEO Mark Zuckerberg.A successful listings franchise could give the closely held company a boost in revenue and volume.IEX now generates nearly all of its revenue from trading, as opposed to selling things like market data and high-speed laser connections, which have become big money-makers for its rivals. And its market share growth has stalled, partly because it has refused to pay incentives to attract trading volume, which it says creates conflicts of interest.Getting companies to list is "not about a near-term bump," Furber said. "But I do think it gives us a broader pool of revenues and a broader base of clients." (Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Matthew Lewis)'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-exchange-iex-idINL2N1L41SB'|'2017-08-21T09:00:00.000+03:00' +'5d4fa17601275da5df61131c29ce728d4bb41082'|'CEE MARKETS-Forint eases, central bank may try to talk currency down'|'* Forint weaker ahead of Tuesday''s central bank meeting * Central bank may try to talk forint down-dealers * Zloty shrugs off unconfirmed report on PM By Sandor Peto BUDAPEST, Aug 21 (Reuters) - The forint eased on Monday, while most central European currencies were treading water, amid some expectations that the Hungarian central bank (NBH) could try to weaken the currency in the statement it issues after a rate-setting meeting on Tuesday. The region''s most dovish central bank is expected to keep its record-low interest rates on hold this year and next, not tracking the footsteps of its Czech peer which early this month delivered the European Union''s first rate hike since 2012. With Hungary''s inflation seen near 3 percent, the middle of the NBH''s target range, in coming years, the bank is unlikely to rush into interest rate normalization. Robust regional economic growth, and a big Hungarian trade surplus, have been boosted the forint to levels which dealers said the bank probably finds too strong. "The bank would probably not like the forint to go near 300 against the euro and get stuck there," one Budapest-based currency dealer said. "There is a slight chance that the bank will indicate that (stance) somehow tomorrow, on top of what it said in the past. But it will be one headline at the most, rather than a flurry," the dealer said. The forint touched a three-week high against the euro on Monday before retreating. It traded at 303.7 by 0804 GMT, down 0.1 percent, but still near its strongest level since May 2015. Hungarian government bonds were steady. Recent economic growth and inflation data should have fed the NBH''s ultra-dovish stance, Raiffeisen analyst Stephan Imre said in a note. "This should keep the steepness of the HGB (Hungarian government bond) curve at elevated levels in the upcoming period, with the latter mainly being a phenomenon driven by ultra-low short-end levels on the back of excess liquidity conditions," Imre added. In Bucharest, an auction of eight-year bonds could draw good demand on Monday, as Romanian bonds underperformed regional peers in the recent sessions, ING analysts said in a note. Regional assets were mostly rangebound in slow summer trade ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve''s annual central banking symposium in Jackson Hole later in the week. The zloty, trading flat, shrugging off a report in daily Rzeczpospolita that the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party are considering replacing Prime Minister Beata Szydlo with PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski as a response to a more assertive stance by President Andrzej Duda. A government spokesman was not immediately available to comment. CEE MARKETS SNAPSH AT 1004 CET OT CURRENCIES Latest Previo Daily Change us bid close change in 2017 Czech crown 26.098 26.098 +0.00 3.48% 0 5 % Hungary 303.70 303.33 -0.12% 1.69% forint 00 00 Polish zloty 4.2759 4.2769 +0.02 2.99% % Romanian leu 4.5885 4.5892 +0.02 -1.17% % Croatian 7.4030 7.3995 -0.05% 2.05% kuna Serbian 119.36 119.41 +0.04 3.34% dinar 00 00 % Note: daily calculated previo close 1800 change from us at CET STOCKS Latest Previo Daily Change us close change in 2017 Prague 1030.2 1033.0 -0.27% +11.7 2 4 8% Budapest 37004. 36969. +0.10 +15.6 72 15 % 3% Warsaw 2363.6 2359.8 +0.16 +21.3 8 7 % 4% Bucharest 8340.2 8302.8 +0.45 +17.7 8 6 % 2% Ljubljana 809.64 810.23 -0.07% +12.8 3% Zagreb 1903.5 1901.0 +0.13 -4.58% 6 2 % Belgrade 721.07 721.01 +0.01 +0.52 % % Sofia 723.60 722.69 +0.13 +23.3 % 9% BONDS Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs change Bund in Czech spread Republic 2-year -0.026 0 +068b +1bps ps 5-year 0.052 0 +033b +1bps ps 10-year 0.869 -0.013 +046b -1bps ps Poland 2-year 1.79 -0.024 +250b -2bps ps 5-year 2.652 0.009 +293b +2bps ps 10-year 3.315 0 +291b +1bps ps FORWARD RATE AGREEMENT 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interb ank Czech Rep Hungary Poland Note: FRA are for ask Quote: s prices'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'https://in.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets-idINL8N1L717T'|'2017-08-21T07:11:00.000+03:00' +'9196d3e904c73384912857b932461f110a6980db'|'Knorr-Bremse offers regulators sale of Haldex units: CEO'|'MUNICH (Reuters) - Germany''s Knorr-Bremse has offered to sell parts of Swedish brake systems maker Haldex to dispel regulators'' anti-trust concerns, the Germany company''s chief executive said."We have offered concessions in the disc brake and brake control businesses," Klaus Deller told Reuters in an interview."We have looked for buyers for both product areas and have offers on the table," he said, without providing details.EU regulators said last week they would investigate Knorr-Bremse''s bid for Haldex as concessions offered by the German company were insufficient.The decision created another obstacle for Knorr-Bremse after Haldex''s management dropped its support for the 5.5 billion crown ($679 million) all-cash takeover offer in June because of regulatory opposition.Knorr-Bremse, which first bid for Haldex 11 months ago, holds about 15 percent of its shares and has called an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of the Swedish company, scheduled for Aug. 17.Reporting by Irene Preisinger; Writing by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Edward Taylor'|'reuters.com'|'http://in.reuters.com/finance/deals'|'http://in.reuters.com/article/us-haldex-ab-m-a-knorr-bremse-idINKBN1AJ0UP'|'2017-08-03T05:39:00.000+03:00' +'9c6d6c41c34b9aceca56654324642d7c42d073d1'|'Sonova plays catch up with Danish rivals on hearing-aid tech'|'August 17, 2017 / 5:59 AM / 8 hours ago Sonova plays catch up with Danish rivals on hearing-aid tech John Miller 4 Min Read A Phonak Audeo B-Direct hearing aid of Swiss manufacturer Sonova lies on a Phonak TV Connector device in Staefa, Switzerland August 16, 2017. Arnd Wiegmann ZURICH (Reuters) - Sonova on Thursday launched a new hearing aid microchip capable of streaming audio directly from wireless devices as the Swiss company tries to close the gap with Danish competitors that pioneered similar technology years ago. Sonova, the world''s biggest hearing aid maker, was criticised for missing an opportunity with tech-savvy Baby Boomers when rival GN Store Nord introduced direct-streaming hearing aids for Apple devices in 2014. Sonova now aims to compete on that turf with a 2.4 GHz chip that enables direct streaming from not just Apple but other Bluetooth-equipped devices as well, including those running Google''s Android system and conventional cell phones. Android-based smart phones account for more than 80 percent of sales, according to research firm Strategy Analytics, with iPhones at about 13 percent. "We needed a solution that works for everybody," Sonova Chief Executive Lukas Braunschweiler told Reuters in an interview. "We finally showed up with a solution on their (GN Store Nord''s) home turf." Sonova shares had risen 3.2 percent by 1005 GMT and have added nearly 25 percent this year. GN Store Nord -- whose shares rose 7.5 percent, their best day in a year, after second-quarter profit topped forecasts -- credits its "Made for Apple" hearing aids with capturing market share and boosting profits.[nL8N1L31KW] Its switch to the 2.4 GHz technology started in 2010 and was initially dismissed by rivals, GN Store Nord CEO Anders Hedegaard said in an interview on Thursday. A Sonova SWORD chip lies on a Phonak Audeo B-Direct hearing aid of Swiss manufacturer Sonova, in Staefa, Switzerland August 16, 2017. Arnd Wiegmann "Back then, the others laughed at it," Hedegaard said. "Now, it has taken them seven years to enter this market. Going forward, we will focus on selling our product, which is going very well at the moment." Denmark''s William Demant and Widex, as well as U.S.-based Starkey, also have hearing aids that stream audio directly from devices that run on Apple''s iOS system. Sonova''s entry now will help underpin sales growth, analysts said, but is unlikely to produce a windfall because it may cannibalise from other Sonova products. Moreover, high out-of-pocket costs mean wearers typically keep their hearing aids for five years or until they break, meaning a mad scramble for the latest gadgets is unlikely. "Most patients are 70 or 80, and they are dealing with different challenges than whether they can stream music from their phones," Zuercher Kantonalbank analyst Sybille Bischofberger said. But she added: "Technologically, Sonova was no longer on top, so this helps them catch rivals." Sonova, which spent $25 million over three years to develop its low-energy microchip that it calls SWORD, will first equip one of its Phonak-brand hearing aids with the new technology before broadening it to its Unitron, Hansaton and Advanced Bionics lines. The move expands options for "Phonak-friendly" audiologists who since 2014 have had to steer clients demanding direct streaming to hearing aids made by rivals, said Thomas Lang, marketing head for Sonova''s Phonak unit. "This is the slightly younger, Baby Boomer-type consumer that says, ''Direct connectivity is interesting to me because I use the smart phone, it''s part of my life, and I want the hearing aid to seamlessly work with that,''" Lang said. Additonal reporting by Julie Astrid Thomsen in Copenhagen, Editing by Michael Shields and Susan Thomas 0 : 0 '|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/companyNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sonova-technology-idUSKCN1AX0FX'|'2017-08-17T13:59:00.000+03:00' +'6766aab7e2114be0a3882a62317dfaaba87892a9'|'Thomas Cook''s Condor preparing offer for Air Berlin planes: source'|'People watch an aircraft operated by German carrier Air Berlin landing in Berlin''s Tegel airport, Germany, August 23, 2017. Fabrizio Bensch BERLIN/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Thomas Cook''s ( TCG.L ) German leisure airline Condor and Lufthansa are interested in taking on a number of planes from insolvent Air Berlin ( AB1.DE ), sources familiar with the negotiations said on Thursday.Air Berlin, Germany''s second largest carrier, filed for insolvency last week after major shareholder Etihad pulled the plug on funding.The race is on for interested parties to agree a deal for parts of its business, including planes and crew, which would bring access to take-off and landing slots at airports such as Duesseldorf, Berlin Tegel, Munich and Hamburg.Condor is "in the process of preparing a concrete offer", one source said, adding Condor was interested in mainly short-haul routes, and also some long-haul ones.Lufthansa ( LHAG.DE ), which was first to talk with Air Berlin, on Wednesday said it had presented a term-sheet to the insolvent carrier, setting out its interest in taking over parts of the Air Berlin group.The German flagship carrier''s proposal for the carve-up of Air Berlin would see it taking over the insolvent carrier''s leisure airline unit Niki and other planes for a sum in the low hundreds of millions of euros, another source said.Those aircraft, up to 90, would include 38 crewed planes Lufthansa already leases from Air Berlin.The source further said a likely deal could be 80 planes for Lufthansa, 24 for Condor and 40 for easyJet.Air Berlin''s planes are currently being kept in the air thanks to a 150 million euro ($177 million) government loan. But if the money runs out and Air Berlin is grounded, the airport slots go into a pool where they will be divided up among airlines.Thomas Cook repeated an earlier statement that it stood ready to play an "active role".Its interest in a "double-digit" number of planes was first reported by Sueddeutsche Zeitung.EasyJet''s interest in up to 40 planes, with slots in Berlin and Hamburg, was reported by Handelsblatt. The British budget carrier declined to comment.Ryanair ( RYA.I ) has said it would be interested in a bid for the whole of Air Berlin, as has German aviation investor Hans Rudolf Woehrl, who said he had been invited to talks with Air Berlin next week.Meanwhile, Lufthansa''s budget unit Eurowings seemed to be making an early attempt to attract any Air Berlin staff keen to find a new job while negotiations are still ongoing.Eurowings on Wednesday announced a recruitment drive, saying it was seeking around 200 pilots and 400 cabin crew qualified to fly and crew A320 planes. It did not specifically mention Air Berlin in the announcement on its website.($1 = 0.8481 euros)Editing by Mark Potter and David Evans'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/businessNews'|'https://www.reuters.com/article/us-air-berlin-lufthansa-thomas-cook-grp-idUSKCN1B416F'|'2017-08-24T13:52:00.000+03:00' +'5127e795b07ace00d6087181bc85ecd54bd13270'|'Dollar revived by upbeat U.S. data, North Korea respite'|'August 16, 2017 / 12:56 AM / 3 minutes ago Dollar revived by upbeat U.S. data, North Korea respite Wayne Cole 4 Min Read FILE PHOTO - A man cycles in front of electronic boards showing Japan''s Nikkei average (R) and the Dow Jones average (L top) outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, November 10, 2016. Toru Hanai SYDNEY (Reuters) - The dollar hoarded hefty gains on Wednesday after strong U.S. retail data put a Federal Reserve rate hike back on the agenda, while Asia stocks inched ahead as tensions over North Korea simmered down little. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has delayed a decision on firing missiles towards Guam while he waits to see what the United States does, as Washington said any dialogue was up to Kim. The break in threat and counter-threat was enough for South Korean stocks .KS11 to bounce 0.7 percent, though they remain well short of the record peak touched last month. MSCI''s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS edged up 0.2 percent while Japan''s Nikkei .N225 dithered either side of flat. There was no clear lead from Wall Street, where the Dow .DJI had ended Tuesday up a tiny 0.02 percent. The S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.05 percent and the Nasdaq .IXIC 0.11 percent. The economic news, however, was much more emphatic with U.S. retail sales rising the most in seven months in July as consumers spent more on 10 of 13 retail sectors. Importantly, upward revisions to sales for both May and June countered concerns that consumption had entered a downtrend and lifted the outlook for economic growth. Investors reacted by narrowing odds on the Fed tightening again this year and sent two-year Treasury yields US2YT=RR up to 1.36 percent, from 1.29 percent on Friday. "The early Q3 data has served as a reminder that the U.S. expansion is robust," said ANZ economist Daniel Gradwell. "The majority of the Fed are of the view that as long as that remains the case, underlying inflation pressures will gradually intensify and policy normalisation is appropriate." FILE PHOTO - The word "Yen" is pictured on a Japanese banknote on top of a U.S. dollar bill at Interbank Inc. Money exchange in Tokyo, Japan in this September 9, 2010 picture illustration. Yuriko Nakao/File Photo BITCOIN BONANZA The dollar duly rallied to its highest level against a basket of major currencies in nearly three weeks and was last holding at 93.819 .DXY. The euro EUR= eased off to $1.1740, though it had found solid support around $l.1686 overnight. The yen took an added blow from the easing in risk aversion and sagged to 110.54 per dollar JPY= . The dollar''s 1.4 percent jump on Tuesday was the biggest daily rise since April. Sterling also slumped after UK inflation numbers came in below forecast, breaching key support levels against both the euro and dollar. The pound was last at $1.2863 GBP= , having shed 1.1 percent the previous session. All that action paled in comparison to the digital currency Bitcoin, which has surged over $1,200 so far this month to reach $4,150 BTC=BTSP amid fevered speculative demand. "Interest in digital currencies has spiked recently as proponents tout benefits such as a lack of centralised control and limited supply," said William O''Loughlin, an investment analyst at Rivkin Securities. "However, anyone thinking of buying the currency should realise that it is incredibly volatile and could fall in value as quickly as it rose." In commodity markets, the revival in risk appetite dragged gold back to $1,272.68 an ounce XAU=, and away from Friday''s two-month top of $1,291.86. Oil prices nudged higher after data from the American Petroleum Institute showed a much larger fall in crude inventories than expected. [O/R] U.S. crude CLcv1 added 15 cents to $47.70 per barrel, while Brent LCOcv1 firmed 20 cents to $51.00. Editing by Shri Navaratnam'|'reuters.com'|'http://feeds.reuters.com/reuters/UKBusinessNews/'|'https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets-idUKKCN1AW01V'|'2017-08-16T03:57:00.000+03:00' +'ff9830bc3cc992da95b2c6ab27626c093d7e0013'|'Fitch: Bankruptcies to Keep Rising As China Tackles Overcapacity'|'(The following statement was released by the rating agency) HONG KONG/SINGAPORE, August 09 (Fitch) Chinese bankruptcies are likely to continue to rise sharply as the authorities become more accepting of them and tighter financial regulations take effect, but market forces are still playing only a minor role in determining failures in the state-owned sector, says Fitch Ratings. There is little evidence yet that the government is willing to tolerate the job losses and the drag on economic growth that would accompany the bankruptcy of large "zombie" enterprises, which are responsible for the most significant corporate inefficiencies and account for the bulk of overcapacity. The number of Chinese insolvency cases rose to 5,665 in 2016 from 3,684 in 2015, and is on track for another large increase in 2017, with 4,700 case filed in January-July alone, according to data from the Supreme People''s Court. Cases resolved are also rising, reaching 3,602 in 2016 - up by 43% from 2015 - and 1,923 in January-July 2017. The increase in insolvencies is partly policy-driven. China''s authorities have become more accepting of bankruptcies in recent years, including in the state sector, and have made efforts to improve the insolvency framework. Allowing market forces to play a greater role in determining bankruptcies should, over the long run, reduce moral hazard. Meanwhile, resolution of zombie enterprises - those that incur recurring losses and rely on the support of the government and state banks to survive - would be a step towards improving corporate efficiency and addressing overcapacity.